Alton New Hampshire Biographical Sketches
Belknap County

Transcribed by Jeffrey Tooley

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Alton New Hampshire Biographical Sketches extracted from History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, by Hurd, Duane Hamilton, ed, 1885.

Rollins, Amos L.

Amos L. Rollins was born in the town of Alton, N. H., December 11, 1826. His fether, Ichabod Rollins, Jr., was a farmer and died when Amos was but nineteen years of age. His grandfather, also named Ichabod, was one of the earliest settlers in the town of Alton, whither he came from Newington, N. H.

Amos L. was brought up as a farmer's son, receiving only such educational advantages as were to be obtained at the common schools of the village. He has done more or less at husbandry all his life; but for many years his time has been chiefly taken up with the public business of the town.

The first official duty to which he was chosen was that of town clerk, which position he held five years. In 1862 he was elected second selectman of Alton, and in 1864 was chosen chairman of the board, and that position he has held each consecutive year to the present writing (1885). He has also held the otlice of moderator for twenty-one years in succession, and the office of town treasurer seventeen years. He was chosen a member of the Constitutional Convention which met at Concord, 1876. He has been county commissioner three years, and has been treasurer of the Alton Five-Cents Savings-Bank from its organization to the present time.

He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1866, and was secretary of the order four years. In political affiliation he is a Republican, and in religion a Free-Will Baptist, and has been superintendent of the Sunday-school three years.

He married, in Alton, December 25, 1851, Sarah K. Kimball. They had five children,— three sons and two daughters. In 1866 he lost two of his sons aged nine and one years respectively, by diphtheria. Mrs. Rollins died April 23, 1871, leaving Mr. Rollins with a family of three children. His second marriage was to Permelia A. Pendergast, of Barnstead, N.H., June 14, 1872. March 29, 1875, he lost his only remaining son by consumption. At present his family consists of wife and two daughters, one of whom, the elder, is married and lives in Manchester, N. H.; the younger resides with her father.

The best evidence of the esteem in which Mr. Rollins is held by his neighbors and townsmen is shown by the various positions of ofiice and trust in which they have placed him. Probably no man who has ever lived in the town of Alton has filled so long and ably the various offices of the town, or made more personal sacrifices for the welfore of its people. In whatever position he has been placed he has sought neither personal emolument or aggrandteement, but simply and solely to do his whole duty.

His advice and counsel are sought constantly ia the multiform perplexities that arise in the course of daily life and business, and is candidly and freely given. There is, probably, no one who knows Mr. Rollins who would for oue moment doubt his sincerity or candor in any opinion he might express. He is widely known and highly respected throughout the State. The family from which he sprang is an ancient and honorable one in the annals of New England. It has furnished men who have filled ably the public trusts of our land, men who have worn with credit and ability the judicial ermine, men who have stood high in the councils of the nation ; but it has furnished no better representative of the pure, high-minded, useful and honorable citizen than Amos L. Rollins. The value of such men in a community is best known and appreciated when their career has closed, and their neighbors seek, too often, alas ! in vain for some one to ably fill their places in all the duties of citizenship.

Savage, Major George D.

Major George D. Savage was born in New Durham, N. H., March 7, 1818. His father, Captain Benjamin Savage, was one of the sturdy pioneer yeomanry of the State, and his mother was descended from a like ancestry. Major Savage was the oldest of ten children. eight of whom lived to adult life. His boyhood and youth and part of his early man- hood were spent on his father's farm. After he had attained sufficient age, the winter months were spent in teaching school. He early evinced great ardor for military life, and as a boy and young man, took much interest in the militia trainings and musters of half a century ago. As soon as old enough he enlisted in the State militia and gradually rose to the rank of major, and served in that capacity a number of years. The title thus obtained clung to him through life, and he was known far and near till the time of his death as Major Savage, notwithstanding the fact that he was promoted to a higher rank during the War of the Rebellion.

In 1849 he moved to Alton, N. H., and engaged successfully in shoemaking, merchandising and ho- tel-keeping, being proprietor of the Cocheco House about twenty-five years, where he achieved the reputation of being one of the most genial and popular Bonifaces in the State. He was active, generoushearted and public-spirited, and was held in the highest esteem by those who knew him best. The projection and building of the Cocheco Railroad was largely due to his enterprise and influence. In politics he was a prominent, active Republican, sagacious in council, bold in utterance and uncompromising in his political principles.

When war sounded its dread alarums, and the call came for more troops to defend the nation's flag, the old military ardor was once more aroused, and with the cry of "Come, boys!" Major Savage oftered his services in his country's cause. Says one writer, "The history of the raising of the Twelfth New Hampshire Regiment is too well known to be repeated. The fabled Cadmus sowed dragon's teeth and raised a crop of men, but we are ignorant of the time it took to mature that crop. Colonel Whipple, Colonel Stevens and Major Savage sowed the seeds of patriotism and loyalty, and in four days a tlwusand men, as loyal as ever stood, was the result."

Mythology was eclipsed by reality. The major of militia was commissioned major of volunteers. They were enlisted Sejitember 17, 1862, and went at once to the front. His regiment went into action in the battle of Fredericksburg, and at Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863, as Major Savage was repeating orders from the colonel, he was shot through the jaw by a sharp-shooter, which shot nearly cost him his life. After partially recovering from the wound he returned to the regiment and remained until honorably discharged. May 28, 1864. He was promoted to a lieutenant-coloneley February 5, 1864. At the same time he was wounded at Chancellorsville, his brother Henry, captain of Company A, in the same regiment, was killed. The military career of Major Savage was perhaps not distinguished by superior generalship or his knowledge of correct military mana>uvres or tactics, but niaiiy a sick and weary soldier w^as cheered by bis kind words and hearty sympathy, he often dismounting from his horse to give such one a ride or carry his knapsack. He possessed in an eminent degree those qualities of heart that served to endear him to the members of his regiment, and his memory is tenderly cherished by every surviving comrade.

After returning to private life (1864) he was ap- pointed a deputy sherifl', wliich position he held to 1880. In 1861-62 he was a member of the State Legislature. In 18(56 he was elected railroad commissioner for three years. He was a member of the Masonic order and the first Commander of the G. A. R. Post at Alton. Few men were better known in the State, and perhaps none had more friends. He died of consumption at his home in Alton, February 17, 1883, leaving five children who still survive (1885), — Mrs. John W. Currier, Mrs. George F. Jones, Mrs. Charles H. Downing, George Frank (who is pro- prietor of the Cocheco House, so long kept liy his fatborj and Miss Jessie Savage.

Sawyer, Alonzo Havington

Alonzo Havington. The Sawyer families of New England trace their lineage to Thomas Sawyer, who emigrated from Lin- colnshire, England, to America in 1635 or 1636. He was about twenty-one years of age at the time of his immigration, and settled first at Rowley, Mass.,but in 1647 he went with the first proprietors to settle the town of Lancaster, Mass. He was married to Mary Prescott. They had a family of eleven children, and from them are descended most, if not all, of the Sawyers of this country.

Alonzo H. Sawyer was born May 17, 1827, in Alton, N. H. He was the son of Hon. Daniel and Tamson (Walker) Sawyer, of that place. His grandfather, Enoch Sawyer, was one of the pioneers of Alton, being the second who built a house in what is now the village. Years later, as the village grew and prospered, he kept an inn and a general store, and was one of the substantial men of the town. His son, Hon. Daniel Sawyer, was one of Alton's principal townsmen, his time being almost wholly employed in public affairs. He wjis counselor on the staff of Ichabod Goodwin, New Hampshire's famous war Governor, represented his town in the General Court, and held repeatedly the various offices in the gift of his townsmen. He had but one brother, Seth, who was a Freewill Baptist minister. There were two sisters, one of whom became the wife of Judge Ira Mooncy, of Belmont; the other married a Mr. Gate, of Alton. Hon. Daniel Sawyer was easily the leading citizen of his town; a man of strong physical and mental organization, pronounced in his views and opinions and not easily swayed in his judgments. An ardent Whig in politics, he was particularly strong in his antislavery views, and also an earnest advocate of the temperance "cause. In religion he was a Free-Will Baptist. Public-spirited, and with broad views for the welfare of his towns-people, he was a man whose loss was severely felt in the community. He died September 13, 1869, aged sixty-eight years. His children were Alonzo H., Ellen (afterwards Mrs. Jeremiah Jones, of Alton) and Frank P., who married Jennie Farnham, and resides in Lynn, Mass.

Alonzo H. was educated at New Hampton and Gilmanton Academies. He then taught school at various places in New Hampshire and Maine till his twenty-third year, when he married (November 7, 1850) Martha J. Shapleigh, of Lebanon, Me. She was the daughter of Samuel and Eunice Shapleigh. After his marriage he went to Great Falls, N. H., and en- gaged in merchandising. Continuing there four years, he returned to his native town of Alton; established himself there as a merchant and continued that avocation till within two years of his death, part of the time alone and part of the time in connection with his brother-in-law, Mr. .lones, who succeeded him in the business.

They had one child, a son, Fred. Shapleigh Sawyer, born July 20, 1853; died May 9, 1872.

Mr. Sawyer was appointed postmaster of Alton du- ring Lincoln's administration, and held the office uninterruptedly a period of twenty-two years. He was a member of the Winnipesaukee Lodge, F. and A. M. He was town treasurer several years, holding that office at the time of his death. He was a member of the Provident Mutual Relief Association, and one of the trustees of the same. He was an ardent lover of music and possessed a good voice, well cultivated, and was for more than twenty years leader of the choir in the Free-Will Baptist Church, of which he was a member.

He held for many years a commission as justice of the peace, and only for his position as postmaster under the government he might have held at any time any office in the gift of his townsmen. He was a director in the Alton Savings Bank and a shareholder in the Hover and Winnipesaukee Railroad. He died of heart disease July 17, 1885. His widow survives him, and resides at the homestead in Alton.

At the close of his funeral services the following lines, from the pen of his fellow-townsman, John W. Currier, were read by Rev. W. S. Packard, the officiating minister:

"Toll the bell softly, toll the bell low,
Ringing out gladness, ringing in woe
Telling of anguish, blinding my eyes;
Breaking my heart-strings, sundering such ties;
Earthly hopes blasting, cherished dreams fled,
Hearthstone so lonely, he being dead.
Nothing to live for, of him bereft.
Nothing remaineth, nothing is left;
Constantly asking— Can it be so?
Yes, answers Reason— my poor heart— no.
Reason be gone! — It cannot be so.
Husband is sleeping— toll the bell low.

Thus, brother, sister, kindred and friends,
Neighbors and townsmen, life's chapter ends.
One of our number just stepped before,
Into the unseen, shutting the door,
into the realms of unending day.
Into the mansion over the way.
Leaving a record for us to read,
Teaching us lessons worthy of heed.
Diligent in business, honest and true.
Giving to each his merited due.
Sincere in purpose, noble of mind.
Simple in mannors, neighborly, kind.
Seeking no honors, wishing no fame,
Character unquestioned, unsullied name,
Loyal to country, sturdy for rigight,
Battling for justice with all his might.
Honored by office, trusted in such,
Faithful in little, faithful in much,
Loving the sabbath, keeping its laws,
Liberally giving to every good cause,
Others might travel, others might roam.
Best of all places he loved his home.
Loathing the false and shunning parade.
Such is the record our frieiul has made.

Take him up gently, bear him away.
Lay him down softly in the clay.
Under the green grass, under the skies;
Cover with flowers the spot where he lies.
Leaving him there sleeping under the sod,
Angels to watch him— trusting to God."