Jonas Hosmer Family from Walpole As It Was and As It Is (1880) Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by MLM, Volunteer 0000130. For the current email address, please go to http://www.rootsweb.com/~archreg/vols/00001.html#0000130 Copyright. All rights reserved. ************************************************************************ Full copyright notice - http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm USGenWeb Archives - http://www.usgwarchives.net ************************************************************************ Surname: HOSMER Source: Walpole As It Was and As It Is by George Aldrich, The Claremont Manufacturing Co., Claremont, N.H., 1880, pages 282-287 HOSMER, JONAS, was born Oct. 24, 1758, and was in the Revolutionary war, and was wounded in General Sullivan’s retreat from Rhode Island. He was brother of Abner Hosmer, who was killed at the same time with Capt. Davis, at the battle of Concord, April 19, 1775. He came to this, town, a single man, from Acton, Mass., in 1783, and worked here, at the trade of a mason, for Eliphalet Fox, who lived on Carpenter’s Hill. He purchased the farm now owned by his son Edwin, of Jonathan Jennison, in 1785, and lived upon it till his death, which occurred Feb. 1, 1840, age 81. Mr. Hosmer was for many years deacon of the old town church, and was considered a man of spotless character and a good citizen. He married Betsey Willard, of Harvard, Mass., Dec. 15, 1786, lazy whom he had twelve children, four of whom died in infancy, and no further account will be given of them. Those who survived were as follow: I. Olive, b. July 14, 1792; d. Aug. 6, 1833. II. Eli, b. Sept. 13, 1794; m., twice, Olive and Lucy Robbins, cousins, and had two ch. He followed the vocation of a teacher, and was favorably known as such. III. Harriet, b. July 3, 1796; m. Stephen Stearns, of this town, and had one child, Josiah W.; she d. Dec. 20, 1827. (See Stearns.) She possessed all the womanly virtues, and was highly respected wherever she was known. IV. Hiram, b. Sept. 14, 1798. He learned the trade of a cabinet-maker, and was a very ingenious workman. Some of his work may be seen in town at this time. Subsequently he studied medicine, and after completing his studies event to Watertown, Mass., where he had an extensive practice, and became eminent in his profession. He married Sarah, the daughter of Samuel and Phoebe (Bellows) Grant, of this town, by whom he had four children, two of whom died in infancy, and the third, a daughter, died in her teens, of consumption; and about the same time the mother died, also, of the same disease, leaving the father and husband with an only daughter, Harriet Grant, who was born Oct. 9, 1830, and inherited the frail and feeble constitution of her mother and sister. Her father, in his imaginations by day, and in his dreams by night, saw his only daughter and earthly solace wasting away by that insidious disease that had heretofore visited his family, and he determined, if possible, to ward off the hand that was seemingly reaching forth for another victim. He knew very well, as a physician, that it would not do to keep her within doors as children are usually kept; therefore he gave free rein to any whim or caprice that might enter her head, provided that physical development might result from it. He used to say " There are many years for the mind to develop, but only a few months for the development of the body ;" and he was anxious that nothing should interfere with its healthy growth, if freedom would give it. Dr. Hosmer’s house was but a short distance from the quiet flow of Charles River, and here her wild nature was wont to disport itself during her early years. She was furnished with boat and skates, and here she learned to swim like a duck, dive like a loon, skate with the wind, and row like a trained athlete. Her father supplied her with a gun and pistol, and a pony to ride was at her command; with the first she was considered the "best shot" in the region, and with the latter she became a bold, graceful, and daring equestrienne. A clay pit was in the vicinity of her home, which afforded her an opportunity to gratify her innate qualities of mind by moulding cats, dogs, horses, and any and every thing that she fancied, bedaubing herself like a child in making mud cakes. She was very fond of hunting, and when she went forth on an occasion of the kind she used to dress in a kind of hybrid costume, somewhat resembling a boy, which greatly facilitated her movements. A favorite dog always accompanied her on her hunting excursions, which she took much pains to bedeck fantastically with brilliant colored ribbons, and with a tiny bell attached to his collar. Her father fitted up a room for her own special use, and the stuffed skins of the fur and feather tribes of the forest, which she brought down with her gun, were made to contribute to its furnishing. She used for an ink-stand a sea-gull’s egg, placed in the head of a stuffed kingfisher, and in a conspicuous place in her room was a crows nest, which she climbed a lofty pine to procure, when at school at Lenox, Mass., as an evidence of her daring and agility. According to an eyewitness, her room wore the appearance of a miniature museum. Up to the age of sixteen she had scattered wild oats in profusion, and their growth had become so rank that her father was anxious that she should do something for her intellectual improvement. She had been sent to school occasionally but she cared nothing for books, and her untamed nature gave her teachers much care and perplexity; and on one occasion it is said she was expelled from school. Her father at length placed her in charge of Mrs. Sedgwick at her school in Lenox, Mass., where; she remained three years, her father stipulating that her physical training should not be abridged during the time. At the end of the prescribed term her physical strength and powers of endurance were truly remarkable. When she returned home she commenced taking drawing and modeling lessons of Mr. Stephenson, of Boston, Mass., frequently walking there and back daily, a distance of fourteen miles, besides giving close attention to her lessons. About this time she completed the bust of a child, and the head of Lord Byron, which were evidences of developing genius. She could not obtain from books and the instructions of her father the anatomies knowledge she wanted, and she was driven to the alternative of seeking the desired information at the Medical College in St. Louis, it being then the only institution of the kind in the country where females could be admitted as students. When firmly installed in her new quarters she set aside the prudish conventionalities of society, and bid defiance to the tongue of animadversion. She carried a pistol in her pocket for protection from insults, but never had an occasion to use it; for her bold, defiant manner was a sure guard against rude insults. She received a diploma for her attainments while at St. Louis,. and no stigma rested upon her character when she left. Before she returned to Watertown she made several extended excursions about that broad field, and among others she ascended the "Father of Waters" as far as the falls of St. Anthony, on a steamer. The captain of the boat became interested in her peculiarities, and spoke of a cliff which had been considered insurmountable, and gave her to understand that no woman could surmount it. But what was his astonishment when he saw her scale the height with the agility and grace of the mountain chamois, and perch herself on the topmost pinnacle. The height is now known as. "Hosmer’s Cliff." When she returned to Watertown, she wrought a small copy of Canova’s bust of Napoleon for her father, in a studio fitted up for her by him; her own small and delicate hands doing all the chipping, etc. Her first origina1 undertaking was "Hesper," which was much admired. At this time she hinted to her father that Rome was a better place for her to pursue her studies; and he responded to the gentle hint, and due preparations were soon made, when she set out and reached the far- famed city by way of England, Nov. 12, 1852. She had been in Rome but forty-eight hours when she secured the instructions of Mr. Gibson, the first artist in the place and was soon installed in his studio, and for some time was engaged in copying. In 1855 she produced a full length figure in marble called "Ænone" Her father at this time having become somewhat pecuniarily embarrassed, could not support her expensive living in Rome, and she was therefore thrown upon her own resources, in a measure, for support; and in order to "raise the wind" or do something that might yield an immediate return, she produced "Puck," one of Shakespeare’s fairies, which met with a ready sale. A companion piece, called "Will 0’ the Wisp" soon made its appearance and by the sale of both she was enabled to pursue her studies without anxiety. In 1857 she returned to her native shores bringing with her a well-earned reputation, to which she added on her return to Rome, by the production of "Zenobia" the Queen of Palmyra, which settled her reputation as an artist. Miss Hosmer received large offers for this work on the other side of the Atlantic, but all well refused, as she was determined it should have a place among her own countrymen. In 1860 she revisited her native land, on account of the illness of her father; and while here she received an order for a colossal statue of Thomas Hart Benton, for the city of St. Louis, which was completed in 1868. A further sketch of the career of Miss Hosmer would not be in accordance with the plan of this book. It will be sufficient to say that she is now (1879) forty-nine years old; and for the last twenty-seven years she has resided in Rome, diligently at work producing in marble the wonderful and beautiful conceptions of her versatile mind. Within the last fifteen years a large number of enviable works have been the offspring of her genius, equal, if not superior to those already enumerated; every one of which, adds new lustre to her wide-spread fame. Wherever art is known on either side of the Atlantic, Miss Hosmer’s name stands preeminent, and she will be known to posterity as one of the most remarkable women of the nineteenth century. V. Isabella, b. Feb. 6, 1801; m. Edmund A. Marsh, of this town, and had ten children, six of whom lived to maturity (See Marsh.) VI. Alfred, b. May 7, 1802, and learned the shoemaker’s trade, studied medicine and became a skillful physician. He m. Mary Ann Grahm by whom he had three children, two of whom arrived at manhood; 1st Alfred, now a practicing physician in Watertown, Mass. 2d. Elbridge, m. Ellen Makepeace, and d. Dec. 4, 1868, aged 34, leaving one child, Ethel. VII. Edwin, born Mar. 7, 1805; m. Maria, the dau. of Adams Whipple. Ch. 1st. George Edwin, b. Dec. 12, 1836. At his majority he went to Illinois, a mere boy, and bravely faced the ordeal incident to a new settlement; but now it is said he its the owner of 11.800 acres of land in Texas, besides several hundreds in Indiana and Illinois. 2d. Helen M., b. Jan. 14, 1841; m. E. K. Seabury of this town. (See Ap.) Edwin is the only surviving member of the family, and has always resided in town; by occupation a farmer. He represented the town in the Legislature in 1843. VIII. Elbridge, b. Sept. 28, 1807; m. Faith C. Sabin and had one child. He graduated at Dartmouth College and followed teaching as a vocation. He died in Cleveland, Ohio, Sep. 14, 1852. Jonas Hosmer’s first wife died in 1813, and he subsequently married Mrs. Abigail Cook; whose maiden name was Sparhawk. She died Feb. 13, 1843, aged 77. It is a singular occurrence, that in a family so large, no wrong doing has ever been imputed to one of its members.