William W. Austin, a farmer and drover of Webster, N.H., the son of Eldad and Naomi Austin, was born in Webster, then a part of Boscawen, July 1, 1829. His grandfather, Paul Austin, of Georgetown, Mass., was one of the first settlers of the town. Taking up land when the country around it was a wilderness, he cleared and brought under cultivation the large farm where the subject of this sketch now lives. He died in 1852; and his wife, Mehitable Lowell, of Georgetown, died in 1829. They had eight children-John, Sallie, Dorothy, Eldad, Eunice, Mary Ann, William, and Samuel.
Eldad, the second son, and the father of Mr. William W. Austin, adopted farming as his occupation, and remained at home with his parents until his marriage, when he bought a farm near by, where he spent the rest of his life. He was a Deacon of the Congregational church at Webster for forty years. He died April 15, 1883, at the age of eighty-three. His wife, Naomi, a native of Webster, died August 15, 1891, aged eighty-nine. They are survived by two of their children, namely: Mary Ann, whose husband, Sherman Little, died September 20, 1895; and William W., of whom we shall now speak.
William W. Austin received his advanced education at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, N.H. He lived at home until he was twenty-eight years of age, when he began to buy and sell cattle, going to Brighton and Watertown markets. He also dealt extensively in lumber, and was on the road the greater part of the time. He was in this business up to about four years ago, but since then he has engaged in general farming and the milk business. His farm consists of about two hundred and fifty acres of well-improved land, and the buildings are new and substantial. He keeps on an average twenty cows, and sells his milk to Whiting & Sons. In politics Mr. Austin is a stanch Republican, and he always takes an active interest in public affairs. He represented his district in the legislature in 1885, and he has been Selectman in the town for eight years. He is connected with the Masonic order, being a member of Harris Lodge, No. 91, A. F. & A. M., of Warner, N.H.
He was married January 1, 1857, to Miss Abbie Cook Morse, a daughter of Samuel and Judith Morse, of Craftsbury, Vt. By this union he had four children, namely: George S., born September 27, 1858, who died March 12, 1894; Henry Herbert, who was born November 19, 1862, was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1885, married Hattie Stott, and lives in Arlington, Mass., where he is engaged as a civil engineer; Mary Abbie, born October 29, 1864, now a nurse living in Boston; and Louisa, born January 29, 1867, who lives at home with her father. Mrs. Abbie C. Austin died October 21, 1880; and Mr. Austin was again married April 25, 1882, to Alma E., the daughter of Erastus and Elizabeth (Morse) Blanchard, of Vermont. She was born in Greensboro, Vt., January 13, 1849. Both Mr. and Mrs. Austin are members of the Congregational church in Webster village.