Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Cutter, Nehemiah H ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com September 3, 2007, 5:14 pm Author: Genealogical/Biographical Publishing Co NEHEMIAH H. CUTTER. For a period of sixty-three years the life of Mr. Cutter was associated with the growth and progress of Joliet. Coming to this city in 1834 he found little to encourage a belief that in future years a large and thriving town would occupy the site which then boasted of only a few houses. Deer still roamed through the forests, unmolested as yet by the ambitious sportsman, and wild game furnished the few inhabitants with their supply of meat. Himself a young, energetic and robust man, he was well fitted for the pioneer's arduous work. Entering with energy upon the task of securing a homestead, he made an effort to take up a claim near Joliet, but the condition of the land grants rendered it impossible to do so. About 1835 he built the house that is now occupied by his widow, and two terms of schools were taught in one of its rooms, which he tendered for that purpose. He bought a tract of land in Joliet Township, which he cleared and improved, and afterward he engaged in its cultivation until advancing years rendered manual labor no longer advisable. He also owned and used for gardening purposes a block of ground surrounding his city residence. In addition to his other work he was interested in contracting and building, and through his varied occupations he gained a competency that enabled him to spend the twilight of his useful life in quiet comfort. At the foot of Mount Monadnock, in the village of Jaffrey, N. H., there long stood a house that was large and elegant for its day and was known as The Ark. Opposite that residence stood the birthplace of Nehemiah Hobart Cutter, who was born March 12, 1805. The ancestry of the family was traced back to Richard Cutter, who came from Newcastle-on-the-Tyne, England, and settled at Cambridge, Mass., in 1640, afterward engaging in copper manufacturing and becoming a large land owner. Joseph Cutter was the first of the family to settle at Jaffrey. Capt. Joseph Cutter, Jr., who was born in New Hampshire, followed farm pursuits in that state and built the property to which he gave the unique name of The Ark. He married Phoebe, daughter of Capt. James and Sarah (Lamson) Gage; she attained an advanced age, being almost ninety-two at the time of her death. One of her sons, Samuel T., who came west in an early day and settled in Chicago, is now living in Joliet. The eldest of the children was our subject. He was educated in the Jaffrey schools and Amherst Academy. For some time he taught school, during winters, in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York, devoting the intervening summers to the carpenter's trade. On coming west he established his home in Joliet, with the early growth of which he was intimately identified. He was a man of robust constitution and continued to work actively until he was more than eighty years of age. Besides his private interests, he took part in local affairs, and was elected one of the first aldermen of Joliet, serving for several terms. While serving as school inspector he labored to advance the welfare of the public schools. He was very advanced in his opinions as to what instruction should be given in our free schools, and favored not only the ordinary branches, but also singing, drawing, manual training, etc. At the time of the building of the Rock Island Railroad he served as a member of the commission of appraisers and was much interested in the success of the road. With his mental and physical faculties preserved to a remarkable degree, he retained his health and vigor until two weeks before his death. He passed away March 17, 1897, at the age of ninety-two years and five days. The first marriage of Mr. Cutter united him with Rebecca Bailey, a daughter of Submit and Phoebe (Rugg) Bailey; she was born in East Hampton, Mass., and died in Joliet February 15, 1884. Four years later Mr. Cutter married Miss Eliza H. Gage, who was born in Jaffrey, N. H., a daughter of Jonathan and Hannah (Worcester) Gage, also natives of that town. Her grandfather, James Gage, was born in Amherst, Mass., in 1736, and in 1779 settled near Jaffrey, where he improved a farm. He was a man of honor and ability and filled many offices of trust. For some time he was captain of the New Hampshire militia. In religion he was a Congregationalist. His wife was Sarah, daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Briant) Lamson. He was a son of Thomas Gage, who was born in Bradford, Mass., and married Phoebe Fry. The founder of the family in America was John Gage, who settled near Boston in 1633. The youngest of ten children, Jonathan Gage spent many years of his life at the old Jaffrey homestead, which being at the terminus of a long lane, was known as the End of the Road. On his retirement from business cares he moved to Fitzwilliam, where he died March 18, 1868. In religious faith he was a Universalist. He married a daughter of William and Hannah (Frost) Worcester, the former of whom, a native of Tewksbury, settled in Jaffrey in 1776. He was a son of Moses Worcester, who was born in Tewksbury and spent his entire life there. Mrs. Hannah (Worcester) Gage was next to the oldest among seven children; she was born in Jaffrey and died in Fitzwilliam, when seventy years of age. The founder of the Worcester family in America, Rev. William Worcester, from whom Mrs. Cutter is the tenth generation in descent, came from England and held the pastorate of the Salisbury church between 1638 and 1640, later being similarly engaged in other Massachusetts towns until he died. The family of which Mrs. Cutter is a member consisted originally of ten children, namely: James, who died in Charlestown, Mass.; Jonathan, who died at four years of age; William, who died during a visit in New York state; Mrs. Nancy Worcester, of Pittsfield, Mass.; Abner, who died in Fitzwilliam; Joseph, who died in Hartford, Conn.; Mary, who makes her home with Mrs. Cutter; J. Alonzo, who died in Bozeman, Mont., in 1897; Sarah, who resides with Mrs. Cutter; and Eliza H., Mrs. Cutter. The last named received an excellent education in Melville Academy, after which she followed educational work for many years, principally in Jaffrey, Fitzwilliam (N. H.) and Pittsfield, Mass. For a long time she was an active worker with the Good Templars and she has also been deeply interested in, and identified with, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. In political sentiment she is a stanch Prohibitionist, believing the liquor traffic to be the greatest curse of our age and country. In religion she is a member of Central Presbyterian Church. Additional Comments: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present Biographical Publishing Company; Chicago 1900 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/cutter1650nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 7.4 Kb