David A. Sargent, a hotel-keeper in Croydon, was born January 5, 1829, in Grantham, N.H., son of Moses and Mary (Clement) Sargent. His paternal grandfather was one of the early settlers of Warner, N.H. The father was born in Warner, May 1, 1788, and remained there for some time, carrying on general farming. Later he removed to Grantham, where he spent the remainder of his life. While a Republican in politics, he never held public office. He died in 1849, at the age of sixty-one years. His wife Mary, who was born in Warner, December 3, 1788, died in 1870, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Grantham. Their nine children were born as follows: Seth C., May 12, 1815; Benjamin, July 12, 1817; Moses C., September 30, 1819; Aaron, June 18, 1821; Rozilla, February 3, 1823; Elizabeth C., December 19, 1824; John C., October 21, 1826; David A., January 5, 1829; Almira N., February 20, 1831. Of these children the survivors are: Elizabeth C., David A., and Almira N.
David A. Sargent was educated in the public schools of Grantham. He was afterward engaged in general farming, carrying on the farm after the death of his father, and continuing there for a number of years. In 1862 he started in the hotel business in the same town, running the Grantham House for six and one-half years. Then he disposed of that property, and in 1870 located in Croydon, where he has since lived. He has conducted the hotel there for the past twenty-six years. He is a liberal in his religious views. In politics he is a Republican. He has been Town Clerk for the past two years. On April 8, 1853, Mr. Sargent married Mary A. Clark, who was born in Grantham, daughter of Asa Clark, and died in 1885. Subsequently he married Diana M. Wallace, a native of Vermont, who died in 1891. Darwin A. Sargent, son of the first wife, born in 1860, was engaged in general farming, and resided in Croydon. He married Mabel A. Allen, and died in 1895, leaving his wife with three children-Otis C., Roy A., and Dora M. Mr. Sargent is a self-made man and one who has the respect of his townsmen. He is a very pleasant man to meet, and is one of the oldest business men in Croydon. His hotel, which is very homelike, accommodates twenty guests. It is but a short drive from Austin Corbin’s park, and many visitors annually stop with him and enjoy the mountain scenery.