Dana W. Call, a prominent farmer of Franklin, was born in this town, August 27, 1847, son of Hazen H. and Mary (Thomas) Call. His grandfather, Hazen Call, who was a lifelong resident of Franklin, spent his active period in tilling the soil. The father was reared and educated in this town. He was engaged in farming and lumbering, and died October 2, 1888. His wife, Mary, who was a native of Sanbornton, N.H., became the mother of eight children-Joseph L., Calvin T., Helen, Dana W., Horace M., Helen V., David S., and Frederick W. Joseph L. married Ann Severance, and lives in Franklin; Calvin T. married Olive B. Davis, and resides in this town; Helen died at the age of nine months; Horace M., who died December 11, 1876, married Eldora Twombly, of Hill, N.H., who also died leaving one daughter, Helen Luella; Helen V. died at the age of sixteen years; David S., who was for some years a conductor on the Northern Railroad, and is now living with his brother, Dana W., married Inzie Straw, who is now deceased; Frederick William, born in 1855, died April 3, 1873. The mother’s death occurred in April, 1890.
Dana W. Call was ten years old when he went to Andover, N.H. Here he lived with an uncle until he was sixteen. He acquired a common-school education. After leaving Andover he entered the service of the Northern Railway Company, with which he remained steadily until 1870. For the succeeding fifteen years he was engaged in farming and railroading, kept a meat market in Tilton, and was in the grain business in Franklin Falls. In that period he bought his present farm, containing one hundred and twenty-five acres of excellent land, which is well improved. He makes a specialty of dairying, raises poultry, keeps an average of five hundred hens, and ships eggs to the Boston market. He also raises some fine colts. Politically, he supports the Republican party; and he was a member of the Board of Selectmen for two years, besides serving in other town offices.
Mr. Call has been twice married. On June 6, 1869, he wedded Emily W. Eaton, who died December 11, 1873. She was a daughter of the late Wheeler Eaton, formerly a prosperous farmer of Franklin. On January 29, 1876, Mr. Call was united in marriage with his present wife, whose maiden name was Nellie E. Bunton. She was born in Sanbornton, N.H., October 20, 1849, daughter of Charles and Adeline (Shaw) Bunton, natives respectively of Hookset and Sanbornton, N.H. Charles Bunton followed the blacksmith’s trade in Manchester for some time, and for ten years carried on a farm in Auburn, N.H. His wife died April 5, 1881; and he is now living with his daughter, Mrs. Call. Mr. Call’s children by his first marriage were: Lola H., who married Lee Stackpole, an operative in a needle factory at Filmont, N.Y.; and Mabel E., now the wife of Alfred M. Kelley, of Hill, N.H. Charles Herman Call, the only son of the present union, was born in Franklin, N.H., August 26, 1877, and is now a plumber of Franklin.
Mr. Call is a member of Meridian Lodge, No. 60, F. & A. M.; of Merrimack Lodge, I. O. O. F.; of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Knights of Honor, and the grange in Hill. He is in religious communion Franklin. Among several interesting relics left by his ancestry Mr. Call has in his possession a boat chain and a chair which once belonged to Daniel Webster.