Penacook New Hampshire

Biography of Hon. John Whitaker

Hon. John Whitaker, a retired lumber dealer of Penacook and ex-member of the State Senate, was born in Hopkinton, N.H., June 9, 1835, son of John and Hannah (Bickford) Whitaker. He is a descendant of one of three brothers who emigrated from England in the early days. His paternal great-grandfather, serving as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, participated in the battle of Bunker Hill, and was present at the surrender of Burgoyne. Peter Whitaker, the grandfather, a native of Deering, N.H., was a prosperous farmer. John Whitaker, Sr., Mr. Whitaker’s father, first enlisted for three months’ service in the … Read more

Biography of William H. Carter

William H. Carter, a thrifty farmer of Canterbury and a son of John and Lydia (Gill) Carter, was born December 20, 1842. His grandfather, Nathan Carter, who was born in Boscawen, N.H., April 6, 1762, lived in this town all his life. Nathan carried on farming, and conducted a tavern, and died September 21, 1841. His wife, Sarah, died May 8, 1845. They had five children, namely: Judith, born December 5, 1787, who married John French, and died December 13, 1871; Moses, born August 6, 1790, who died May 30, 1851; John, born December 10, 1797, the father of the … Read more

Biography of Marc Joseph Tetreault

MARC JOSEPH TETREAULT – The main interest that centers in the industrious career of Mr. Tetreault is the dominating quality of perseverance, most exemplary throughout his life, whose success from the start was absolutely dependent upon his own efforts. His belief in performing well the work at hand is paramount, and his record of industry is one that exhibits a wholesome readiness to assume the task and the burden of many trades in order eventually to arrive at a hoped-for goal. When twenty-six years ago, he discovered the road to his vocation, it proved the beginning of a lucrative venture … Read more

Biography of Anson Colby Alexander, M.D.

Anson Colby Alexander, M.D., a prominent homoeopathic physician of Penacook, was born in Littleton, N.H., October 10, 1855, son of Wesley and Sarah B. (Bray) Alexander. Both paternal and maternal ancestors of his served in the War for Independence. Wesley Alexander, a native of Swanzey, N.H., was a prominent resident of Littleton, and took an active part in public affairs. He was one of the original promoters of the Republican movement in this State, having formerly been a supporter of the Whig party. For more than thirty years he used his influence successfully in securing the predominance of these parties … Read more

Biography of Hon. John C. Linehan

Hon. John C. Linehan . – “A hundred years after the Puritans and Pilgrims made a settlement on the coast of New England there came to this country a multitude of emigrants, mostly from the north of Ireland, who soon became absorbed into the ranks of the first settlers, and became the very best of citizens. In the contest for independence they rendered the most efficient services to the colonies, as they had previously done in protecting the frontiers from the inroads of the Indians. After another century, our doors having been opened wide for the reception of people from … Read more

Biography of George Whitefield Abbott

George Whitefield Abbott, of Penacook, President of the J. E. Symonds Table Company, cabinetmakers, was born in West Boscawen, now Webster, N.H., on March 13, 1837. His parents were Nathaniel and Mary (Fitts) Abbott, the former a resident of West Boscawen and the latter of Sandown, N.H. George W. Abbott in his youth, after attending the public schools of Warner, completed his education at a private academy in West Salisbury, N.H. He went immediately to Boston, Mass., where he was employed as a clerk until 1861, when he came to Penacook, N.H., to engage in the grocery business with his … Read more

Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Isabella M’coy – Indian Captivities

Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Isabella M’coy, who was taken Captive at Epsom, N. H., in the Year 1747. Collected From the Recollections of Aged People who knew her, by the Rev. Jonathan Curtis, a Minister of that Town, about Seventeen Years ago, and by Him Communicated to the Publishers of the New Hampshire Historical Collections. The Indians were first attracted to the new settlements in the town of Epsom, N. H., by discovering M’Coy at Suncook, now Pembroke. This, as nearly as can be ascertained, was in the year 1747. Reports were spread of the depredations of the … Read more

Biography of David Arthur Brown

David Arthur Brown, Manager and Treasurer of the Concord Axle Company of Penacook, an ex-member of the New Hampshire legislature, and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in Attleboro, Mass., May 14, 1839, son of Henry H. and Mary Ann (Daggett) Brown. His parents were natives of Attleboro. On the father’s side he is descended from an Englishman who settled in Massachusetts in the year 1624. His great-grandfather was John Brown, and his grandfather was David Brown. On the mother’s side his genealogy is traced through her father, Otis Daggett, of the seventh generation, Joab of the sixth, … Read more

Biography of Hon. Edmund H. Brown

Hon. Edmund H. Brown, the subject of this sketch, was born in Fisherville, now Penacook, a part of Concord, N.H., October 29, 1857. He is the youngest son of Henry Hayes and Lucretia (Symonds) Brown, and traces his ancestry directly back to the early Pilgrim settlers. The late Henry H. Brown, father of Edmund H., conducted an extensive manufacturing business in Penacook for many years, and was one of the most enterprising citizens and prominent residents of that village in his day. Edmund H. Brown was educated at the Penacook Academy and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. After completing … Read more