Rev. Lucius Harrison Thayer Biography from History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire From: Laura Armetta - FURRY1000@aol.com Surname: THAYER Source: History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and Representative Citizens by Charles A. Hazlett, Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., Chicago, Ill., 1915 Page 967 REV. LUCIUS HARRISON THAYER, pastor of the North Con- gregational Church, Portsmouth, N. H., was born in Westfield, Mass., November 28, 1857, a son of Lucius Fowler and Martha (Harrison) Thayer. He is a descendant of Richard Thayer and Dorothy Mortimer, his wife, who came to Braintree, Mass., in 1640, from Thornbury, Eng- land. The Thayers have been residents in Westfield for a number of generations. The subject of this sketch, who was the eldest child of his parents, began his education in the public schools of Westfield, Mass., and sub- sequently fitted for college. Before taking up his collegiate course, however, he followed a sea-faring life for two years, 1876-78, being supercargo on the ship "Lucy S. Wells," in the East Indies. He then entered Amherst College, where he was graduated A.B. in 1882. In 1882 and 1883 he was with the Franklin Foundry and Machine Company, of Providence, R. I., and was subsequently engaged in teaching and in reading law until 1885. In the fall of the latter year he entered Yale University, from which he was graduated B. D. in 1888. He was Dwight Fellow at Yale, 1888-90. He was called to Portsmouth in the spring of 1890, but traveled in Europe until November of that year, when he came to this city. He was ordained and installed pastor of the North Congregational Church January 28, 1891, since which time he has served in that office. In 1909 he received the degree of D.D. from Dartmouth College. Since 1908 he has been a member of the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and president of the New Hampshire Home Missionary Society since 1909. He has been a member of the Portsmouth Board of Instruction since 1895. Mr. Thayer was married, June 29, 1892, at Westfield, Mass., to Helen Chadwick Rand, a daughter of Albert T. and Sophia (Chadwick) Rand, all natives of Westfield. Mrs. Thayer was a graduate of Smith College in 1884, and later attended Newnham College, Cambridge, England. She was a founder of the College Settlement in New York, in 1889, has served as trustee of Smith College and is president of the College Settlements Association. Mr. and Mrs. Thayer are the parents of three children, two sons and one daughter, namely: Dorothy Goldthwait, born 1893; Lucius Ellsworth, born 1896, and Sherman Rand, born 1904. Mr. Thayer has three brothers and one sister now living-Hiram H. Thayer, of Minneapolis, Minn.; William F. Thayer, of Somerville. Mass. ; Page 968 Charles S. Thayer, of Hartford, Conn., and Mary S. Thayer, of West- t field, Mass. Since coming to Portsmouth he and his wife have made many friends among the people of the city. They have ever kept in mind the fact that the highest aim in life is to perform useful service for God and humanity, and their influence has been felt for good in many directions. ********************************************************************** * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files t other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIORto uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. * * * *The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.