Upstream Newsletter of the Upper Pemigewasset Historical Society Spring 2013 Think about Being a Docent this Summer UPHS always needs more docents. If you are interested in sitting at the museum during open hours in the summer, please contact Donna Thompson at 745-8821. People are needed on Wednesdays from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. You can sign up for as many or as few sessions as you want. Shortly after the Civil War people began to be vacation minded and Woodstock became a sum- mer home for many people. Isaac Fox had guests at his House of Seven Gables and the guest book for 1874 is very interesting. Nathan- iel Boynton, Curtis L. Parker, George Russell, Edward Gordon were pioneers in the work of taking in summer boarders. (Continued on page 3) Woodstock and its Changing Role in Accommodating the Traveler In the mid 1850’s there were not many tourists in the Woodstock area, but there was still a need for boarding houses. Norcross Company, and later N. H. Weeks, had big lumbering operations in the Potato Hill area where logs were delivered to the banks of the Pemigewasset River to be sent south. Though the loggers lived in the woods, the teamsters lived in the boarding houses. Located on Daniel Webster High- way just north of Woodstock village Gardner G. Bas- ton ran a boarding house for the teamsters and Tho- mas J. Gilman ran the company store nearby. A bit further north, where the road to Mt. Cilley connected to the main road, Edward Smith ran a store and hotel. Of course lumbering was only a winter enterprise, but these rooms were available to the occasional traveler, hunter or fisherman the rest of the year. Hiram Shipley, S. S. Smith, Freeman Merrill or Frank Lear, to name a few, often served as guides for the interested sportsman. When the railroad made its appearance coming north, changes began to take place. More people came as the stage ride became shorter from where ever the railroad terminus was, and in 1883 the rail- road arrived in Woodstock. To accommodate this growing number of travelers, some farmers added on to their homes, some built new hotels. These travel- ers were not just hunters and fishermen, but hikers here to see the wonders of the area, families here to escape the heat of the cities to our south. Guides were needed since the Flume, the Old Man of the Mountains, the Basin, Lost River were not as easily accessed as they are today. There were no facilities at these sights nor walkways through places like the Flume and Lost River. The new boarding houses and hotels often pro- vided their guests with transportation and even guides to these sights. Ida Sawyer wrote the following about this era:
Transcript
Upstream Newsletter of the
Upper Pemigewasset Historical Society
Spring 2013
Think about Being a
Docent this Summer
UPHS always needs more docents. If you are
interested in sitting at the museum during open hours
in the summer, please contact Donna Thompson at
745-8821. People are needed on Wednesdays from
2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 6:00 to 8:00
p.m. You can sign up for as many or as few sessions
as you want.
Shortly after the Civil War people began to be
vacation minded and Woodstock became a sum-
mer home for many people. Isaac Fox had
guests at his House of Seven Gables and the
guest book for 1874 is very interesting. Nathan-
iel Boynton, Curtis L. Parker, George Russell,
Edward Gordon were pioneers in the work of
taking in summer boarders.
(Continued on page 3)
Woodstock and its Changing Role
in
Accommodating the Traveler
In the mid 1850’s there were not many tourists
in the Woodstock area, but there was still a need for
boarding houses. Norcross Company, and later N. H.
Weeks, had big lumbering operations in the Potato
Hill area where logs were delivered to the banks of
the Pemigewasset River to be sent south. Though the
loggers lived in the woods, the teamsters lived in the
boarding houses. Located on Daniel Webster High-
way just north of Woodstock village Gardner G. Bas-
ton ran a boarding house for the teamsters and Tho-
mas J. Gilman ran the company store nearby. A bit
further north, where the road to Mt. Cilley connected
to the main road, Edward Smith ran a store and hotel.
Of course lumbering was only a winter enterprise,
but these rooms were available to the occasional
traveler, hunter or fisherman the rest of the year.
Hiram Shipley, S. S. Smith, Freeman Merrill or
Frank Lear, to name a few, often served as guides for
the interested sportsman.
When the railroad made its appearance coming
north, changes began to take place. More people
came as the stage ride became shorter from where
ever the railroad terminus was, and in 1883 the rail-
road arrived in Woodstock. To accommodate this
growing number of travelers, some farmers added on
to their homes, some built new hotels. These travel-
ers were not just hunters and fishermen, but hikers
here to see the wonders of the area, families here to
escape the heat of the cities to our south. Guides were
needed since the Flume, the Old Man of the Mountains,
the Basin, Lost River were not as easily accessed as
they are today. There were no facilities at these sights
nor walkways through places like the Flume and Lost
River. The new boarding houses and hotels often pro-
vided their guests with transportation and even guides
to these sights.
Ida Sawyer wrote the following about this era:
2 Upstream Spring 2013
UPHS will feature displays of Woodstock memorabilia this summer.
Be sure to come in and visit.
*Woodstock, New Hampshire
250th Anniversary Celebration
July 11 – July 14, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
5:30 pm—Opening Ceremonies on the Town Common—Proclamation to be read/Firing of the Cannon /
Dignitaries welcomed.
6:00—7:30 pm—Reception at Woodstock Inn—Awards for local youth essay/art contests, unveiling of
the official 250th Coin.
7:30—9:30 pm—Dinner event and North Country Stories by Rebecca Rule. Details still to be determined
Friday, July 12, 2013
10:00 am—4:00 pm—A day filled with historical displays, demonstrations, museum tours and more.
5:00 / 6:00—Special night on the Dinner Train
6:00—8:00 pm—Ice Cream Social
7:00—9:00 pm—Community talent/variety show and a storyteller! (Start rehearsing)
Saturday, July 13, 2013
10:00 am—4:00 pm—A day filled with historical displays, demonstrations, museum tours and more.
11:00 am—Parade down Main Street! Antique cars, music, floats and more!
1:00—4:00 pm—Hot Air Balloon Rides Family / children activities
7:00 pm—Fire Department BBQ
8:00—11;00—Street Dance with Uncle Steve Band
9:30 pm—Fireworks!
Sunday, July 14, 2013
7:00—9:30 am—Pancake Breakfast
10:00 am—Outdoor Non-denominational Community Service at Cascade Park
12:00—2:00 pm—Community Picnic
2:00—3:30 pm—Old Time Softball Game
3:30 pm—Community Photo—aerial photo to be taken of all those in attendance.
4:00 pm—Closing Ceremony—firing of the cannon
**ALL EVENTS ARE STILL TENTATIVE AT THIS TIME…
To find out the up-to-date schedule check out the website
www.woodstock250.org
Also available on this website:
Woodstock Photos
Woodstock History
2013 UPHS Newsletters
3 Upstream Spring 2013
Our Facility
The building at 26 Church Street in Lincoln has
had a long and varied history and for many years has
been home to the UPHS. Over the past several years
many improvements have been made. It is now ap-
parent that the siding and roof needs to be replaced.
This project will probably cost about $75,000
We would welcome any donations toward this
capital project. Thank you for your consideration.
Contact Carol Riley at 745-8159 for more infor-
mation.
in 1938 on north slope of Grand View and a
ski tow installed.
In 1883 Steven Sharon built the Mountain
View and for years offered hospitality and that
hotel often boasted that descendants of Mr.
Sharon’s early guests patronized it. Hotels
sprang up and did a flourishing business.
Three Rivers House, the Russell House, the
Fairview House and the Alpine were famous.
In 1885 Samuel Bell built the Deer Park and
with his brother John operated it. This after-
ward became the property of Herman Sanborn,
grandson of the pioneer hotel keeper Steven
Sharon. Many farm houses opened their doors
to Summer boarders, took the city people in as
part of their families and the farmer’s family
benefitted by the money and the ideas these
guests brought.
The automobile brought a change to this indus-
try. Instead of staying from two weeks to two
months in a place, people stayed one night and
the transient business flourished. Soon camp
outfits appeared on the automobiles and in-
stead of rooms the tourists asked for room on a
man’s property to pitch his tent. This was soon
followed by camps built for sleeping equipped
with bed, bureau and washstand with pitcher
and bowl, and these have in turn given way to
the cabins equipped with all the comforts of
modern homes and renting from $1.00 to $5.00
a night per person. In 1940 Woodstock had
eighteen of these little villages operating
through the summer months.
In 1933 Woodstock was made winter sport
conscious by the Boston and Maine snow
trains which brought about 2100 people to
North Woodstock to enjoy the scenery, skiing,
snowshoeing and riding behind sled dogs from
the Clark farm. The March meeting of that
year voted to allow Raymond B. Sawyer to
spend $200 on ski trails. Trails were made
with the W.P.A. help on the south slope of
Grand View Mt. and on Russell Mt. emerging
near the Cox home. Later a slope was laid out
(Continued from page 1)
By the late twentieth century, interstate high-
ways cut down further the time needed to travel from
more populated areas. At the same time, more activi-
ties were made available for people to enjoy. Many
could now imagine day trips to this area, and then the
feasibility of a second home not too far away for
weekend getaways. This need was met by the rush of
condominium developments, some with very familiar
names: Alpine, Deer Park, Jack O’Lantern.
We can only imagine what new changes and
challenges the future will bring.
4 Upstream Spring 2013
The following is a brief accounting of some
early residents of Woodstock, their service in our
early wars and their service to Woodstock. For sim-
plicity I have used the name of Woodstock through-
out, even though the town was Peeling prior to 1840
____________________________________
Peter Russell, Joseph Russell, Joseph C. Rus-
sell, Henry C. Russell, Stephen S. Sharon
Peter Russell, son of Peter Russell and Deborah
Crosby, was born in Litchfield, New Hampshire in
1738. Son Peter and his older brother, Pelatiah, both
fought in the French and Indian War, where Pelatiah
was wounded and taken prisoner, dying at the age of
30 around 1757. Peter married Mehitable Stiles and
they raised a family in the southern part of the state,
then Peter went off to fight in the Revolutionary War.
After the war, some of their children married and re-
mained in southern New Hampshire, others moved
north to eventually settle in the Woodstock area.
Census records tell us that Peter and Mehitable as
well as his son Joseph and family were living in
Woodstock by 1800. According to Elmer E. Wood-
bury, writing as Justus Conrad in 1898, the first meet-
ing of the Proprietors actually held in this town was
held on June 4, 1789 at the home of Peter Russell; and
the first Town Meeting on March 11, 1800 was at the
home of son Joseph Russell. Peter’s wife Mehitable
died in here in 1811 and Peter died in 1814.
Joseph married Mary (Molly) Robbins in 1795
and they had nine children. In 1800 he was chosen as
Peeling’s first Town Clerk, as well as Selectman,
along with Isaac Spencer and Benjamin Barron. He
also served as representative to the State Legislature.
In the War of 1812 he served as a Private under Cap-
tain John Willey’s Company, 3rd Regiment. Though
he left the area sometime after the war, his wife and
most of his children made this area their home.
Some of Joseph and Molly’s children:
Joseph, was born in 1796. He married Abigail S.
Pinkham, daughter of Abijah and Sarah (Spencer)
Pinkham. They had nine children but four died
when very young (Jane, Abigail, Joseph Jr., and
Charles R). Of the remaining five, Gilman R. and
5 Upstream Spring 2013
Mehitable’s youngest son was Elmer E. Woodbury
who went on to write prolifically about the Town of
Woodstock, usually under the pen name, Justus
Conrad. After George and Margery’s son, Amos
Bryant Russell, was born, Margery died at the age
of 29. George then married Sally Mills and had
eight children. Some of their children played a big
part in Woodstock’s Boarding House history in the
late 1800’s:
George F. Russell married Belinda Merrill
and they were proprietors of the Russell
House on Main Street in North Woodstock.
Charles H. Russell married Mary H. Chapman
and their son Lewis H. Russell, married Apha
S. Clark, daughter of Daniel Clark and Sa-
brina Hunt. Charles and son Lewis were pro-
prietors of the Cascade House in North Wood-
stock.
Abigail P. Russell married Stephen S. Sharon.
Stephen S. Sharon was born in Boston, and at
the age of 21, he enlisted to serve in the Civil
(Continued on page 6)
Mary Jane Russell both married and moved away.
The three who stayed are:
Susan C. Russell, born March 22,1827, mar-
ried Moses Sawyer in 1846. It was Susan and
Moses’ son Albert W. Russell who built and
ran the Fairview House for many years.
Emily A. Russell married William Lougee,
and after he died, Nathaniel Boynton, but her
only child died at the age of 8.
Joseph C. Russell, born May 20, 1836, mar-
ried Betsey J. Hoit of Barnstead in 1859. In
August 30, 1862 he enlisted to serve in the
Civil War, Company B, New Hampshire 12th
Regiment and was mustered out June 21, 1865
in Richmond, Virginia. His son Harry was
born in 1872 in Barnstead, New Hampshire
where Joseph was a merchant. Joseph died in
1920.
George W. Russell born June 11, 1802, first mar-
ried Margery (Pinkham) Bryant, the young widow
of Amos Bryant. George and Margery’s daughter,
Mehitable, married David Woodbury. David and
6 Upstream Spring 2013
Curtis Leander Parker
Curtis Leander Parker was born in Concord, Ver-
mont in 1838, but moved to Woodstock in 1850 with
his parents, Reuben and Mary and sisters Martha and
Abby. At the age of 22 he enlisted in the 6th New
Hampshire Regiment, Company B, and was dis-
charged disabled a year later. According to family
history, he was one of the men saved from the ship-
wreck of the steamer “West Point” off Cape Hatteras,
when ninety lives were lost. He returned to the family
farm and in 1872 married Eliza J. Fox, daughter of
Benjamin and Eleanor Bean (Rowe) Fox. For a time
he was proprietor of the Parker House in North Wood-
stock.
Curtis and Eliza had three sons, the first two,
Reuben and Walter, died in infancy, and the third son,
Leander Fox Parker was born December 17, 1880. He
served the town as Selectman for several terms and as
representative to the State Legislature for one term.
Leander married Clarice Vinn Clark, daughter of
Daniel Clark and Sabrina Hunt (and sister to Apha S.
Clark who married Lewis H. Russell). Leander and
Clarice had one child, Eleanor Clark, born in 1920.
She devoted her life to her teaching, her church and
her home town of Woodstock.
John M. Rowe
John M. Rowe was the younger brother of Elea-
nor Bean Rowe, great grandmother of Eleanor Parker
mentioned above. He was born in 1828 in Campton,
the son of Alexander and Sally (Bean) Rowe. He was
Just north of Fairview is the old Pinkham-
Russell homestead. This house is, no doubt,
the oldest frame building in town, being built
by Thomas Pinkham at the beginning of the
century just closing. For many years it was the
home of the late Peter Russell, son of Joseph
Russell, in whose house the first town meeting
was held. In it dwells Mrs. James Burney.
War, Company F, 18th New Hampshire Regi-
ment. After the war he moved to Woodstock
and married. Later they built the Mountain
View House on the height of land overlooking
the intersection in North Woodstock. One of
their sons, Willie R. Sharon was the proprietor
of the Three Rivers House.
(Continued from page 5)
Mountain View House, Stephen S. Sharon Proprietor
Peter Russell born 31 October 1806, married Pame-
lia Pinkham. She was the daughter of Thomas and
Margery (Vincent) Pinkham and granddaughter of
the Thomas Pinkham known for having given the
land for the Woodstock Cemetery near the Town
Hall. Peter and Pamelia Russell had two children:
Henry C. Russell, born in 1842 enlisted in the
Civil War at the age of 19, Company F, 9th
New Hampshire Regiment. He died of dis-
ease October 29, 1962 at Washington, DC.
Amelia Russell, born in 1845 married James
Burney April 25, 1870. One of their five chil-
dren was Mary P. Burney who married Irving
Cox and their daughter was Priscilla Cox who
lived in the family homestead nearly her
whole life.
Of this home, only recently razed, Justus Conrad
wrote the following over a century ago:
7 Upstream Spring 2013
Julia, born November 1, 1835, married Jesse
Jackman (son of Royal Jackman) in 1856.
They had seven children before they both died
in 1875.
Alice, born October 6, 1836, married James F.
Kimball from Hollis, Maine in 1855. They had
three children before he enlisted at age 31 to
fight in the Civil War, Company E, 18th New
Hampshire Regiment. He was mustered in as
Corporal September 28, 1864, appointed Ser-
geant January 1, 1865, and mustered out June
10, 1865. Alice died in 1872 and a year later
James married Julia Blood and moved across
the country to Oregon.
David, born in 1833, married Abby V. Parker
(sister of Curtis L. Parker) in the 1850’s. At
the age of 28 he enlisted to serve with Com-
pany B, 6th New Hampshire Regiment, being
mustered in November 27, 1861 as Sergeant.
He was discharged as disabled October 31,
1862 at New York City. He died in Lincoln in
1897.
Levi G. was born September 2, 1839. At the
age of 22 he joined Company A, 5th New
Hampshire Regiment, being mustered in Octo-
ber 12, 1861. He was appointed Corporal Sep-
tember 21, 1862, and Sergeant November 1,
1862. He died of disease January 22, 1863 at
Falmouth, Virginia.
Henry C. was born August 17, 1843. At the
age of 19 he joined Company F, 9th New
Hampshire Regiment, being mustered in Au-
gust 19, 1862. Civil War Historian Vinnie
Toland wrote the following about him:
living in Woodstock when he enlisted at the age of 34
into Company C of the 13th New Hampshire Regi-
ment. After the war he lived in Bethlehem, New
Hampshire.
Henry W. Benton
Henry W. Benton married Matilda Selingham
March 28, 1858 in Woodstock. Matilda was the
granddaughter of Jacob Selingham veteran of the
Revolutionary War, daughter of Daniel Selingham
veteran of the War of 1812 and sister of Frank W.
Selingham who fought in the Civil War. Henry and
Matilda had a daughter Adeline before Henry went off
to fight in the Civil War in Company B, 15th New
Hampshire Regiment. He died of disease May 11,
1863 at Carrollton, Louisiana. After Henry’s death,
Matilda married William Moses Sargent, a veteran of
the Civil War, Company C, 13th New Hampshire
Regiment. William Sargent was also brother of Se-
neca Sargent, a veteran of the Civil War.
David Dearborn, Henry C. Dearborn, Levi G.
Dearborn, James F. Kimball
Reuben and Elizabeth (McClure) Dearborn mar-
ried in 1793 and had about eleven children in the Ply-
mouth area before moving up the valley to Woodstock
by 1840. At least four children died young and four
married and moved away. The three remaining were
Hannah, William and Russell:
Hannah Dearborn, born in 1797, married John Gray
and lived in Woodstock until her death in 1891.
William Dearborn, born in 1801, married Eliza
Darling in 1831 and they raised ten children in
Woodstock. William died in 1892 and Eliza in
1889. They outlived all but three of their children
by more than twenty years. Those three moved out
of New Hampshire.
Russell Dearborn, born in 1806, married Lydia
Bailey Aldrich /Aldridge in 1832 and they had six
children as follows, (Russell and Lydia were to
outlive all but one of their children):
Harriett, the youngest daughter, born February
17, 1850 lived only a little more than a month.
“On October 1, 1862, twelve days after Amer-
ica’s most sanguinary day in history where
26,000 American soldiers of both north and
south were felled in the Battle of Antietam
near Sharpsburg, Maryland, Henry Dearborn of
the 9th Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers
became the first soldier from Woodstock to
(Continued on page 8)
8 Upstream Spring 2013
Royal A. Fifield, Albert A. Fifield, Frank Lear
Jonathan Bean Fifield was born in Durham, New
Hampshire in 1779. He married Sally Pinkham in
1805. She was the daughter of Abijah and Sarah
(Spencer) Pinkham, and the sister of Asigail Pinkham
who married Joseph Russell. Jonathan and Sally had
four daughters and two sons. The sons are Charles and
Benjamin:
Charles Fifield, born in 1811, married Emily
Plumer and they had three children.
George F. Fifield married Louisa Maria
Spencer and they lived in the north country.
Rhoda R Fifield married Augustus Bean in
1857 in Maine where she died in childbirth in
1876.
Royal A. Fifield, born in 1844, went off to
fight in the Civil War at the age of 21. He
mustered in July 29, 1862, Company C, 9th
New Hampshire Regiment, appointed corpo-
ral January 1, 1865, and was mustered out
June 10, 1865. In 1870 he married Sarah A.
Smith. They had a daughter, Viola Belle, who
died at the age of 8. Royal A. Fifield died in
1910 at the Soldier’s Home in Tilton.
Benjamin Fifield, born in 1820, married Valarah L.
Keen and they had several children. Two of them
were son Albert A. and daughter Josephine:
Albert A. Fifield was born in 1844. At age 19
he enlisted and was mustered in Company B,
15th New Hampshire Regiment October 8,
1862, discharged August 13, 1863. Then
September 1, 1864 he was mustered in Com-
pany G, 1st Regiment New Hampshire Heavy
Artillery, mustered out June 15, 1865. Re-
turning home, he married Emily Clark in
1867.
Josephine S. Fifield was born in 1859. She
first married Jacob Calvin Benton of Thorn-
ton. After he died in 1882, she married Frank
Lear in 1884. Frank Lear was a veteran of the
Civil War, who is known to have changed his
name from Antoine LaPorte to Frank Lear
after the war.
Matthew P. Hunt
Matthew Perkins Hunt was eighth of ten children
born to Philip and Anna (Perkins) Hunt in Sanbornton,
New Hampshire. He was born 17 November 1794
and at the age of 20 went off to fight in the War of
1812. He married Deborah Taylor in 1817 and,
around 1824, they moved to Woodstock where the last
four of their eight children were born. Three children
died young. Five of the remaining sons are:
Ezra G. married Esther Gurnsey of Lisbon in
1841, he died at the age of 45 while they lived in
Franconia.
lose his life in the Civil War.
Two days prior to the Battle of Antietam, the
9th New Hampshire experienced its initial en-
gagement with the enemy at South Mountain,
Maryland. Then at Antietam, the 9th New
Hampshire was hurled into the uproar of
America’s most savage, most bloody day –
ever. The 9th fought along the Antietam River
upon the far left wing of the battlefield and
after grueling attempts crossed the fiercely
contested Rohrbach Bridge, later named the
Burnside Bridge, after 9th Corps commander,
General Ambrose Burnside, gained headway
across the river toward the town of Sharpsburg
before being forced back by a terrific counter-
attack by a Confederate Corps commanded by
General Ambrose Powell Hill.
In the aftermath, nearly two weeks after the
Battle of Antietam, Henry Dearborn lost his
life near enough to the main battlefield, that his
official records list his place of death as Anti-
etam. Dearborn was the first of seven Wood-
stock soldiers to lose their lives in the war…six
of them to the rigors of disease.”
(Continued from page 7)
9 Upstream Spring 2013
Albert married Mary Russell in 1851, (she was
granddaughter of Joseph Russell, veteran of the
War of 1812) and he died in Woodstock at the
age of 38.
Andrew J. married Relief Coleman in 1850 and
he died at the age of 37 in Campton.
George W. married Katharine Huckins in 1867
and died eight years later in Woodstock.
Arthur Hunt was born February 24, 1824. He
served Woodstock as representative to the State
Legislature, Tax Collector, and many years as
Selectman. He married Hannah Thayer in 1844,
but she died in 1847. They had a daughter Sa-
brina who married Daniel Clark in 1863. Arthur
Hunt then married Sophronia Jackman, daughter
of Royal Jackman and sister of Lyman. They had
five children, the youngest being Wilbur L. E.
Hunt, born 1859, who married Jennie S. Emmons.
They had one child, Mary Lyla, who died of con-
sumption when she was 14 years old. W. L. E.
Hunt served as Postmaster, was elected Town
Clerk for several years, had a clothing business
and was proprietor of the Innette in North Wood-
stock.
Royal Jackman, Lyman Jackman
Samuel Jackman, a Revolutionary War veteran,
married Submit Brown and settled in the Boscawen
area. Their son, Royal Jackman, was born there May
17, 1791. He served in the War of 1812, then married
Lucretia Ladd on March 4,1817. They moved to
Woodstock before 1840 and the younger of their
twelve children were born there. Some who stayed in
the area were:
Jesse Jackman married Julia Dearborn in 1856.
Both died in 1875 leaving seven children. He
served as representative to the Legislature in 1861,
Town Clerk 1865—1869, 1871-1875, and Superin-
tendant of Schools 1872.
Lewis Jackman married Syrena Buzzell. After
Lewis died at the age of 35, she married B. M. B.
Selingham.
Royal C. Jackman married Eliza Gray. They had
six children, but lost three in one week in January
of 1863 to Scarlet Fever.
Sophronia Jackman married widower Arthur Hunt.
(Continued on page 10)
The sketch below showing the Fifield House and the Matthew P Hunt House is of unknown origin, found among the
many papers that belonged to Ida Tilton Sawyer. The road angling back from left is Lost River Road, and the road
along the front is Main Street.
10 Upstream Spring 2013
marked, “He was esteemed one of the most
efficient and trustworthy officers of the regi-
ment and brigade. He could be relied upon at
all times and was always found at his post,
ready for regular or extraordinary duty. The
several important positions held by him, as
aide-de-camp, quartermaster and inspector-
general, on the staffs of different generals,
prove that his excellent military qualities were
duly appreciated by competent judges.”
Upon enlistment into the 6th Regiment New
Hampshire Volunteers, Jackman was ap-
pointed First Sergeant, but by mid-May, 1862
was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. At the second
Battle of Bull Run, fully an embarrassing, mo-
rale breaking defeat of the Union Army due to
poor generalship which led to the court martial
of New Hampshire’s Major General Fitz John
Porter of Portsmouth largely due to jealousies
and backbiting of high ranking generals and
their political loyalties…Jackman was
wounded in the battle. Even so, he continued
on, being promoted to 1st Lieutenant on Janu-
ary 1, 1863, then Captain of Co. C, August 1,
1864. He served with distinction in many of
the grueling battles that pushed the rebel army
southward through Virginia into the siege and
trenches of Richmond and Petersburg. He led
his company in battles such as The Wilderness,
Spotsylvania, North Anna River, Totopotomoy
Creek, Bethesda Church and Cold Harbor
where 7,000 Union soldiers fell in just twenty
minutes in a recklessly futile charge. Northern
newspapers reacted with vilifying words, call-
ing General Ulysses Grant, “The Butcher.” In
private conversations Grant admitted, it was
his worst mistake of the war.
In fighting at Poplar Springs Church, Septem-
ber 30, 1864, Captain Jackman was taken cap-
tive and shuttled as a prisoner of war to Pe-
tersburg, then to Richmond, then to the Con-
federate Prison at Salisbury, North Carolina.
Yet again, he was transferred to the custody of
the Confederate Prison at Danville, Virginia,
Woodstock’s highest ranking soldier during the
Civil War was Lyman Jackman, an excellent
soldier born with military bearing followed in
the footsteps of a grandfather that fought in the
Revolutionary War, two uncles that fought in
the War of 1812 in addition to his father, Royal
Jackman, who enlisted twice during that war
serving over five years.
In respect to Lyman Jackman’s patriotic and
valuable service, General Simon Griffin re-
Lyman Jackman
Lyman Jackman was born December 15, 1837. He
enlisted in the Civil War at the age of 23 on No-
vember 11, 1861 and served until mustered out
July 17, 1865. On December 25, 1866 he married
Sarah True Tilton and they had two sons, Charles
Lyman Jackman and Freemam Tilton Jackman.
Here is what New Hampshire Civil War historian
Vinnie Toland said about him:
(Continued from page 9)
11 Upstream Spring 2013
Thank you
Thornton historian, Sandy MacIntosh, shared
her research of the Russell families.
Justus Conrad, the pen name of Elmer E.
Woodbury, wrote prolifically about the Wood-
stock area for the Plymouth Record and other
publications. He wrote for several decades,
starting in the late 1800’s. Since he was over a
hundred years closer to Woodstock’s begin-
nings than I am, I choose to quote him as often
as I can.
Vinnie Toland, has spent his retirement com-
piling information about Civil War veterans
from New Hampshire. His research on veter-
ans from Woodstock is available at the Moosi-
lauke Public Library.
Ida Tilton Sawyer spent years researching
Woodstock’s history before she died in 1970.
Her family has shared her notes with me.
Soldiers’ Memorial
In the Winter 2013 issue of Upstream I wrote a
bit about some of the people whose names are on our
First Soldiers Memorial: Revolutionary War—James
McNorton, Benjamin Barron, Jacob Selingham,
Henry Selingham; War of 1812— Daniel Selingham,
Jacob B. Demeritt, John V. Barron; Civil War—
Frank W. Selingham, Seneca Sargent.
In this Spring issue I have included the follow-
ing: Revolutionary War—Peter Russell; War of
1812— Joseph Russell, Royal Jackman, Matthew P.
Hunt; Civil War— David A. Dearborn, Henry C.
Dearborn, Levi G. Dearborn, Curtis L. Parker, Royal
A. Fifield, Albert A. Fifield, Henry C. Russell,
Stephen S. Sharon, Lyman Jackman, Henry W. Ben-
ton, John M. Rowe, Frank Lear, James F. Kimball,
Joseph C. Russell.
Over the coming months I hope to cover the
remaining names: Revolutionary War—Thomas Vin-
cent; War of 1812— Samuel Smith, Simon Tuttle,
William Vincent, Lucien Smith, Isaac Jones Sr., Isaac
Jones Jr., Israel Jones, William Jones; Civil War—
