Chapter 30 - Exeter from History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire From: William F. (Bill) Prokasy - wprokasy@arches.uga.edu Source: History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and Representative Citizens by Charles A. Hazlett, Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., Chicago, Ill., 1915 Page 402 CHAPTER XXX EXETER-(Continued) MISCELLANEOUS Phillips' Exeter Academy-Robinson Female Seminary-Exeter Manufactur- ing Company-The Banks-Corporations-Societies-Public Library PHILLIPS' EXETER ACADEMY This celebrated educational institution was founded by Dr. John Phillips, by charter dated April 3, 1781, and is the oldest institution of learning estab- lished by state authority in New Hampshire, Dartmouth College having been chartered by royal grant in 1769. Dr. Phillips was born in Andover, Mass., December 27, 1719. His father, who was a clergyman of that town, fitted him to enter Harvard College, where he was graduated in good standing at the early age of fifteen years. After leaving college he taught school for a few years, and was engaged at the same time in studying theology. But though he was a man of strong religious feelings, and deeply interested in the work of the Christian ministry, he was too distrustful of his own powers, especially after he had heard the preaching of Whitefield, to undertake the pastoral" office. He declined an invitation to become the minister of the First Church in Exeter, N. H., but established himself in trade in that town, where he slowly acquired what was deemed in those days a large fortune. He was happily married, but had no children, and as his tastes and habits were simple and inexpensive, and he was not covetous of money either for its own sake or for the distinctions which it could purchase, it seemed to him the most natural and easy thing in the world to give away during his lifetime a large portion of his wealth for charitable and religious purposes, and to bequeath the remainder of it to further the same objects after his death. It was finely said of him that, "without natural issue, he made posterity his heir." Munifi- cence in the endowment of public institutions, in relieving the wants of the poor, and in promoting the cause of education and religion has now become so frequent and fixed a trait of character here in New England with those who have amassed riches by their own exertions that we are in some danger of forgetting the man who first set the example of such noble prodigality, In the obscurity of a country village, a locality where narrow views with penu- rious and selfish habits are too apt to strike deep root, the founder of Phillips' Exeter Academy became the George Peabody of the last century. Nearly all the members of the family to which he belonged, besides earn- ing distinction in many offices of public trust, were noted in their day for Page 403 their wealth and generosity. He was the most liberal of them all, though the least conspicuous before the public, owing to the modesty of his disposition and his retiring habits; but the others seem to have caught his munificent spirit, and to have emulously followed his example. His two nephews, Judge Samuel Phillips, of Andover, and William Phillips, of Boston, each of whom served in his turn as Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, aided him with their counsel and their means in several of his noble undertakings. In con- junction with the former he founded Phillips' Academy at Andover in 1778, during the darkest period of the Revolutionary war, a charter being granted to it by the Legislature of Massachusetts two years afterwards; the nephew contributed for this purpose $6,000, the uncle gave $31,000, about one-third of this sum being bestowed at the outset, and the other two-thirds in 1790. Lieutenant-Governor William Phillips gave $6,000 to the same institution in his lifetime, and left it a legacy of $15,000 more in his will. Dr. John Phillips, of Exeter, was one of the trustees of this academy at Andover from Its first organization till his death, and during the last five years of his life he was president of the board. He also endowed a professorship of theology in Dartmouth College, served for twenty years as one of the trustees of that institution, and made liberal gifts to Princeton College, N. J. The foundation and endowment of Phillips' Exeter Academy were regarded by Dr. Phillips as his own peculiar task, in which he required no coadjutor and sought no pecuniary aid. The charter of the academy was a liberal one, as all the property given to it, whether real or personal, is forever exempted from any tax. The entire management of the institution and its funds is vested in a board of trustees, not more than seven nor less than four in number, with power to fill their own vacancies in continuous succession forever. A majority of them must be laymen, respectable freeholders, and non-residents of Exeter; and to guard still further against undue local influ- ence, they are empowered to remove the institution, if circumstances should render such a change desirable, "and to establish it in such other place within this state as they shall judge to be best calculated for carrying into effectual execution the intention of the founder." It is declared that the academy is established "for the purpose of promoting piety and virtue, and for the edu- cation of youth in the English, Latin, and Greek languages, in writing, arith- metic, music, the art of speaking, practical geometry, logic, and geography, and such other of the liberal arts and sciences or languages as opportunity may hereafter permit, or as the trustees shall direct." The academy was not established merely to give instruction in the various branches of secular learning; it was also solemnly dedicated to the promotion of good manners, sound morality, and pure religion. This purpose of its founder is strongly marked in the constitution and laws, which were drafted by his own hands. In conformity with this design, in October, 1791, the trustees appointed Rev. Joseph Buckminster, of Portsmouth, to be "a Pro- fessor of Divinity in the Phillips' Exeter Academy, and joint instructor with the Preceptor thereof,"with a salary of one hundred and thirty-three and one-third pounds lawful money. He does not appear to have accepted this appointment; but the office was revived in 1817, and continued till 1838, Rev. Isaac Hurd, A. M., of Exeter, being the incumbent. Page 404 At the same time the views of Dr. Phillips in respect to religious instruc- tion were eminently liberal and catholic. He did not require the profession of any creed; and two of the trustees originally appointed by himself, besides three others of those who were chosen in his lifetime, and the first principal of the academy, Dr. Benjamin Abbot, held theological opinions that did not harmonize with his own. The school evidently was not intended to be, and has never been allowed to become, a mere sectarian institution. One restric- tion is made, however, by a clause in the constitution established by Dr. Phillips, which dec1ares that "Protestants only shall ever be concerned in the trust or instruction of this seminary." In the solemn charge delivered by the Rev. Benjamin Thurston, in presence of the founder, to the first preceptor of the academy this sentence occurs: "You will therefore, sir, make no dis- crimination in favor of any particular state, town, or family, on account of parentage, age, wealth, sentiments of religion, etc. ; the institution is founded on principles of the most extensive liberality." This charge formed a part of the inaugural ceremonies when the academy was formally opened, its first 'building set apart for its uses, and its first pre- ceptor, William Woodbridge, A. B., a graduate of Yale College, inducted into office, on Thursday, May I, 1783. It is difficult to ascertain the precise amount of the funds with which the academy was originally endowed by its founder. At three different periods before his death Doctor Phillips made over to the trustees considerabe prop- erty in real estate, mortgages, and notes of hand, large portions of which needed to be held for several years before they could be profitably sold or converted into money. The original grant, dated January 9, 1782, conveys real estate only, consisting of several parcels of land in Exeter, and farms or lots of land in a dozen other towns in the state. A second donation, made in March, 1787, was in promissory notes and mortgages, amounting to four thousand one hundred and sixty-four pounds lawful money; and a third gift, which followed in 1789, was of a similar nature, but uncertain amount. Doctor Phillips died April 21, 1795, aged a little over seventy-five years; and his will, after reserving a slender life annuity to his widow, and a few trifling bequests, as tokens of affection, to his nephews and nieces, conveys two-thirds of his whole remaining estate to Phillips' Exeter Academy, and one-third to Andover Academy. Five years after his death, it appears from the treasurer'5 report that the trustees at Exeter then held as the property of the institution $58,880 in active funds, besides the Phillips mansion-house, then occupied by Doctor Abbot, and the academy building and grounds. As it is stated in the same report that "all these sums have arisen from the benevolent gifts" of the founder it is evident that his whole endowment of the institution amounted to at least sixty-five thousand dollars, or a little more than twice as much as he gave to the sister academy at Andover. Considering the time and the place, this may well be called princely munificence; nothing like it can be found in the history of this country up to the beginning of the present century. And if we look further to the many eminent men who have been educated at this seminary, a large number of whom could not have pursued their studies without the peculiar aids and facilities which it afforded, and to its influence in keeping up a high standard of scholarship and morals, while serv- Pages 405 and 406 contained photos Page 407 ing as a nursery for the principal colleges of New England, especially for Harvard, It may well be said that never was munificence applied to a nobler or more judiciously selected end. Mr. Woodbridge, the first preceptor of the academy, was compelled by ill health to resign his office in the summer of 1788, and in the following October, Benjamin Abbot, a graduate of Harvard of that year, who had held a distinguished rank in his class as a scholar, was appointed his successor. It was a fortunate choice; the reputation of the academy for scholarship and good morals, for harmony and affection of the students for each other and for their principal, began with the opening of his administration, and con- tinued till its close. It remains unabated to this day. Doctor Abbot's firmness and dignity of character, united with great natural sweetness of disposition and suavity of manners, served admirably to reduce to practice and enforce the laws. He never met the youngest academy scholar in the street without lifting his hat entirely from his head, as in cour- teous recognition of an equal; and an abashed and awkward attempt to return the compliment was the urchin's first lesson in good manners and respect for his teacher. He had strong feelings, but a reserve amounting almost to timidity kept down the expression of them, except when he deemed the interests of morality or religion were at stake, and even then the tones of his voice were low and his speech deliberate, though his frame quivered with earnestness. His government was always successful because it was not in his nature to be stem or passionate; and as he always allowed the offender time to deliberate and become sorry for his fault before sentence was pro- nounced, the punishment never seemed unjust even to the culprit. To those who never studied under Doctor Abbot this picture may seem overcharged; but it was not mere accident which procured for him uninter- rupted success and surpassing influence as head of the academy for fifty years, or which gave him such pupils as Lewis Cass, Joseph Stevens Buckminster, Daniel Webster, Leverett Saltonstall, Nathaniel A. Haven, Joseph G. Cogs- well, Theodore Lyman, Edward Everett, the twin Peabodys, John A. Dix, John G. Palfrey, Jared Sparks, George Bancroft, Jonathan Chapman, Ephraim Peabody, and a host of others whom the country delights to honor. It was partly good fortune and partly the exercise of a sound discretion which pro- cured for him, at different times during the half-century, such assistant instructors as Dr. Daniel Dana, Nicholas Emery, Joseph S. Buckminster, Nathan Hale, Alexander H. Everett, Nathaniel A. Haven, President Nathan Lord, Dr. Henry Ware, Jr., President James Walker, and Dr. Gideon L. Soule. In August, 1838, Doctor Abbot, who had then completed the fiftieth year of his services as principal and had begun to feel the infirmities of age, resigned his office. A large number of his former pupils, many of whom had attained the highest honors in professional and public life, assembled once more within the walls of the academy, to pay a fitting tribute of gratitude and respect to their venerated teacher at this golden period of his life. The Abbot Festival, as it was called, was a remarkable meeting, unprecedented in char- acter, and as honorable to those who engaged in it with great interest and zeal as to him whose protracted labors in the moral and intellectual culture Page 408 of the young were there brought to a close. Mr. Webster presided at the dinner which was given on the occasion, and led the way in the hearty and eloquent expression of the sentiments entertained by the whole assemblage towards his and their old "master." Members of all professions, judges and distinguished scholars, ambassadors, and members of Congress followed, each with a tribute of admiration and respect for his former teacher or with some pleasant reminiscences of his school-boy days. Among those who thus spoke were Edward Everett, Judge Emery, Dr. Palfrey, Alexander H. Everett, Leverett Saltonstall, Jonathan Chapman, and John P. Hale. Songs were sung which had been written for the occasion by Dr. H. Ware, Jr., and Mr. A. F. Hildreth. In behalf of the old pupils, whether present or absent, Mr. Webster presented to their venerable teacher an elegant silver vase, as a token of their love and abiding reverence; His portrait, by Harding, had been secured for the occasion, and is now the property of the academy, and hangs in the chapel with Stuart's portrait of its founder and those of Webster, Cass, Bancroft, Hildreth, Sibley, etc. One white-headed man rose and claimed a distinction which, he said, "could belong to no other man living. You were his scholars, I was his teacher. It was little that I had to impart, but that little was most cheerfully given. I well remember the promise he then gave, and Providence has been kind in placing him in just that position where his life could be most usefully and honorably spent." This former instructor of one who had taught others for half a century was the Hon. Jeremiah Smith, a member of Congress from 1791 to 1797, afterwards chief justice, and subsequently governor of New Hampshire. He resided in Exeter, and was for many years president and treasurer of the trustees of the academy, its prosperity being largely promoted by his wise counsels and discreet management. In early life he had been an assistant instructor in Phillips' Academy, Andover, and. among his pupils he could men- tion two presidents of Harvard College, Doctor Kirkland and Mr. Quincy, besides Dr. Abbot. Judge Smith died in September, 1842, at the ripe age of eighty-two, and was buried in the old cemetery at Exeter, not far from the marble monument that covers the remains of Doctor Phillips. Doctor Abbot survived, in a serene and prosperous old age, till October, 1849, when he too, at the age of eighty-seven, rested from his labors. A few years after the festival, his former pupils subscribed $2,000 for the establishment at 'Harvard College of the "Abbot Scholarship," the annual income from which is now devoted to paying the college expenses of some meritorious student from Exeter Academy. Some Items from Academy History.-The academy building, a wooden structure erected in 1794, to which wings were added about twenty-five years afterwards, was burned December 17, 1870, and the present neat and commo- dious brick structure was erected in 1871, at a cost, including furniture, of about fifty thousand dollars. Its expense was defrayed by its alumni and other friends. 1788. Benjamin Abbot became the second principal. 1798. The board of trustees voted, "That after the vacation in April next no student in the academy shall wear silk of any kind as a part of his dress, and that it be recommended to the students after that time to discon- Page 409 tinue the use of gowns, and that it would be pleasing to the trustees to see the dress of the students less expensive, and in all instances, when consistent, composed of the manufactures of your own country." 1809. The first tuition fee levied. (This amounted to $2 per year, and was remitted to "foundationers.") 1814. By the will of Nicholas Gilman the trustees receive $1,000, the income of which is to pay for instruction in "solemn musick." 18I8. The "Golden Branch Society" is founded. 1838. Gideon Lane Soule, '13, became the third principal of the academy. 1855. The room rent in the new dormitory, "Abbot Hall," fixed at $1 per year for each student. 1856. The "Christian Fraternity" founded. 1870. Second Academy building destroyed by fire. 1870. The Alumni determined to raise $100,000 to rebuild the academy, and for other purposes. 1873. Albert Cornelius Perkins elected fourth principal of the academy. 1878. The Exonian founded. 1881. The "G. L. Soule Literary Society" founded. 1884. Walter Quincy Scott elected fifth principal of the academy. 1890. Charles Everett Fish elected sixth principal of the academy. 1895. Harlan Page Amen, '75, elected seventh principal of the academy. Principal Amen died November 9, 1913. The trustees are: Sandford Sidney Smith, A. B., LL. B., president, New York; William DeWitt Hyde, D. D., LL. D., Brunswick, Maine; William Amos Bancroft, A. B., Cambridge, Mass.; George Arthur Plimpton, A. B., LL. D., New York; Robert Winsor, A. B., Weston, Mass.; Jeremiah Smith, Jr., A. B., LL. B., Cambridge, Mass. Finance Committee--Messrs. S. S. Smith. Plimpton, and Winsor. Treasurer-Francis Wilson Lee, Boston; cashier, Emilie S. Spring, Exeter; clerk of the trustees, Perley Gardner, A. B., Exeter. The present number of pupils is 572. The special funds and the general contributions amount to over three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Among the larger donors have been J. L. Sibley, Jeremiah Kingman, John C. Phillips, Francis P. Hurd, Francis E. Parker, Jos. C. Hillard, Edward Tuck, B. P. Davis, H. E. Teschemacher, Margaret E. Langdell, Geo. A. Plimpton and Lars Anderson. The Alumni number about eight thousand, and represent every state of the Union and many foreign countries. Since 1886, the following buildings have been added: The Gymnasium, Boiler House, Physical Laboratory, Chemical Laboratory, Soule Hall, Pea- body Hall, Dunbar Hall, Merrill Hall, Merrill Buildings, Hoyt Hall, Alumni Hall, Emery House, Gilman House, Long House, Tilton House, Watkins House, Williams House, Hooper House, Veazey House, Porter House, Webster Hall, Davis Library, Track and Boat houses, and the Gardiner Gilman House. The Academy Building.-The main academy building, erected in 1872 by the alumni and friends of the school, and since enlarged, is a brick structure of two stories. On the first floor are six class rooms and a large examina- Page 410 tion. room. On the second floor are the chapel, five class rooms," and the Christian Fraternity room. Portraits of the founder and many eminent graduates, instructors, and benefactors hang on the walls of the chapel. The halls and class rooms are decorated with photographs and casts, collected by William E. Merrill, '87, and presented by alumni. The building is equipped with a system of forced ventilation. All the school buildings are heated by steam. Merrill Hall.-Merrill Hall, a commodious three-story building of brick, was presented to the academy In 1902 by Dr. Abner L. Merrill, '38. On the first floor are the administrative offices of the school, consisting of rooms for the trustees, the principal, the secretary, the cashier, and the stenographer; on the second floor are the rooms of the Golden Branch and G. L. Soule Literary societies. The entire third floor forms the Academy Recreation Room. Dunbar Hall, one of the largest, most beautiful, and best appointed of the Academy buildings, was erected in 1908 to take the place of a dormitory of frame construction. It is named in honor of Prof. Charles F. Dunbar, '44, of Harvard University, a former president of the board of trustees. Webster Hall was erected in 1912 and named in honor of Daniel Webster, who was a student of the academy in 1796 and a member of the board of trustees from 1835 to 1852. It closely resembles Dunbar Hall in size, design, and construction and is a beautiful example of the Colonial style applied to school uses. About fifty students can be accommodated in the hall. The Davis Library.-Benjamin Price Davis, of the class of 1862, be- queathed to the academy for the erection of a library a sum of money which with accumulations amounted to $60,000. To this sum the trustees have added more than ten thousand dollars. The new building is of brick and marble, and is designed in the Colonial style by Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson (Boston Office) . Plimpton Playing Fields.-Mr. George A. Plimpton, '73, a member of the board of trustees, presented to the academy in 1905 a beautiful tract of twenty-three acres lying between Court Street and the river. The fields are named in honor of the donor The Plimpton Playing Fields. They comprise twelve clay tennis courts, three baseball diamonds, a football field, and a quarter-mile cinder track with a two-hundred-twenty-yard straightaway. The fields are skirted by the river and by the woods of Gilman Park. The river is navigable for canoes and row-boats for several miles above the town. Dur- ing the year two desirable additions have been made to the equipment of the fields, a well appointed athletic house and a boat house, side by side, on the bank of the Fresh River. Plimpton Fields-Beyond.-In 1910 Mr. Plimpton added to his previous very generous gift the Gilman estate, more than three hundred acres of meadow and wood-land lying just beyond the river and followlng Its winding course about a mile from High Street to the Kensington line. This new tract bears the name of the Plimpton Fields-Beyond. The nearer part, connected by a foot-bridge with the Playing-Fields, is a great meadow, on which is laid out a six-hole golf course and several fields for baseball and football. Beyond Page 411 the meadow lies the forest of pine and hemlock, birch and oak, with occasional clearings, affording ample opportunity for practice in wood-craft. The two fields taken together constitute a play-ground of extraordinary extent and beauty. ROBINSON SEMINARY This institution was established by the liberal bequest of the late William Robinson, a native of Exeter, N. H. It was partially opened April 15, 1867, and reorganized and fully opened September 21, 1869. The seminary build- ing is an elegant and substantial brick structure, beautifully located, with fine grounds, sixteen acres in extent adorned with a great variety of trees and shrubs. Near the seminary buildings are basket-ball grounds, croquet grounds and a tennis court. The trustees are constantly striving to make the seminary a school of the highest type. With this end in view the course of study is arranged to meet the desire of the founder who said in his will: "The course of instruction should be such as will tend to make female scholars equal in all the practical duties of life, such a course of education as will enable them to compete, and successfully, too, with their brothers throughout the world, when they have to take their part in the actual of life." The addition of a home economics course has given to pupils not prepar- ing for college the means of acquiring detailed knowledge of the art and science of housekeeping. This course aims to bring to them the highest ideals of home life. Robinson Seminary is on the list of schools approved by the New England College Entrance Certificate Board. This list comprises the best schools in New England, and assures to students who satisfactorily complete their course of study the privilege of entering without examination all New England colleges using the certificate system, among which are Mount Holyoke, Sim- mons, Smith, Wellesley , and several co-educational colleges. The seminary is also on the list of schools approved by Vassar College. Trustees and faculty endeavor to make the influences of the school of the highest and most uplifting type. The seminary grounds with all their natural beauty and the school's splendid art collection cannot fail to make their influence felt upon the life and the work of the students. The late Mr. Henry C. Moses, for many years president of the board of trustees, presented to the art department a very valuable collection of casts and photographs to illustrate architecture, sculpture, and painting. This collection has been arranged in the corridors of the seminary in the best manner for examination and study. The assembly hall is adorned with illus- trations of Italian Renaissance, the study room with casts and photographs of Greek and Roman art, and the other school rooms with works of art and pictures illustrative of the subjects taught in each room. The late Mrs. Cora Kent Bell, a member of the first graduating class and long president of the Alumnae Association, gave $1,000, to be expended in the interest of the school. This sum, which was generously increased by gifts from Mrs. Bell's mother, the late Mrs. Hervey Kent, has been expended in the purchase of a library of Christian art, in memory of the donor. The library consists of books treating of Christian art as depicted in the principal Page 412 countries of Europe and in the United States, and of an extensive collection of mounted photographs. Both books and photographs have been catalogued in a card index system by subjects, countries, and artists, and, arranged in substantial cases in a room known as the Memorial Room. The room is finished in quartered oak with walls painted in two shades of green. The cases and furniture are of oak. In a large case are arranged engravings. The walls are adorned with several fine engravings, with a very fine oil portrait of Mrs. Bell, by Mrs. Eva D. Cowdery, of Boston, and with the beautiful painting "Across the Brook," by Madame Elizabeth Gardner Bouguereau, which has been presented by the artist to Exeter. The Memorial Room is open for the use of its library during school hours, The use is not limited to members of the school. The books and photographs under certain restrictions are loaned to clubs or individuals of known responsi- bility for the purpose of studying Christian art. The board of trustees: Arthur 0. Fuller, William H. Folsom, James A, Tufts, Dana W. Baker, Henry; W. Anderson, Albert J. Weeks, William Burlingame. The faculty: Harman Melville Bisbee, A. M., principal, Latin; Emily Winslow Tapley, mathematics; Bessie Hamilton Jaques, A. B., English; Fannie Perley, German; Clara Matilda Burleigh, A. B., history and Latin; Elizabeth Louise Mayo, A. B., science; Flora Benton Smith, A. B., French, English, Latin and Greek; Elizabeth Homer Baker, United States history, geography and arithmetic; Maud Louise Jewell: penmanship, nature study; Susan Morse Bryant, first class; Bertha Mary Fisher, drawing and painting; Roxie Odiorne, A. B., English; Carolyn Guild Livingston, home economics; Charlotte Hall Berry, vocal music; Ida May Buckley, secretary. The present number of pupils is 314. The Exeter Manufacturing Company was incorporated in June 26, 1827. Nathaniel Gilman, John Taylor Gilman, Bradbury Cilley, Stephen Hanson, John Rogers, Nathaniel Gilman (3d), and Paine Wingate were named in the act of incorporation. The first meeting was called January 27, 1828, when John Houston was chosen president; Bradbury Cilley, Mark W. Pierce, John Rogers, and Nathaniel Gilrnan (3d) were chosen directors; John Rogers, treasurer; and John T. Burnham, clerk. The first purchase of the company was made Feb- ruary 12, 1828, of the corporation then known as the "Exeter Mill and Water- Power Company" (not now in existence, merged in the present manufacturing company, charter given up). The company commenced building April, 1828. Stephen Hanson was building agent. The first cloth was manufactured in 1830, under John Lowe, Jr., who was agent twenty-nine years and part of the time treasurer. The mill was originally only 5,000 spindles, and cost $40 per spindle, or $200,000. The mill has been increased from time to time until the building of the new mill, when it was increased to 20,000 spindles-428 looms. Nathaniel B. March, of Ports- mouth, was a prominent director, also Mr. James Johnson, of Boston, of the firm of Johnson & Senall, merchants of Boston, who sold the goods for many years, and had the general direction of the corporation. After the death of Page 413 Mr. Johnson the firm was changed to Dale Brothers & Co. Mr. Thomas J. Dale was treasurer; Mr. Ebenezer Dale, president, until their deaths in 1871. Mr. Samuel Batchelder, under the Dales' management, was the principal director, and Mr. James Norris was appointed agent at the suggestion of Mr. Batchelder. He was agent about three years. Hervey Kent was appointed agent in 1862 and treasurer in 1876. The present officers are: President, Ron. E. G. Eastman; treasurer and agent, C. D. Hatch; directors, E. G. Eastman, Henry W. Anderson, Samuel K. Bell, Robert Appleton. The capital is $325;000. BANKS Exeter Banking Co.-Incorporated 1893; capital $25,000, surplus $23,707; president, Wm. H. C. Follansby; cashier, C. E. Byington; directors, W. H. C. Follansby, E. G. Eastman, J. E. Young, J. N. Thompson, Albert N. Dow, John Termpleton, J, H. Hiscock. Union Five-Cents Savings Bank.-Incorporated 1868; total assets, $984,590; president, W. H. C. Follansby; treasurer, Frank W. Taylor; Exeter Co-Operative Bank.-President, W m. Burlingame; treasurer, Lil- lian P. Brown. Exeter Brass Works.-Incorporated 1892; capital, $15,000; president, W. A. Folsom; treasurer and manager, W. B. Folsom. Gate Bros.-Boot and shoe manufacturers; president, John E. Yale; treasurer, J. A. Towle. Exeter Water Works.-Incorporated 1888; capital, $120,000; president, E. G. Eastman; superintendent, C. H. Johnson. Exeter Gas Light Company.-Incorporated 1860; capital, $50,000; presi- dent, Adiorne Swaine; superintendent, Arthur I. Cooper. Rockingham Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company.-Incorporated 1833; president; H. G. Burley; secretary and treasurer, H. A. Shute. Lawyers.-Thomas Leavitt, E. G. Eastman, E. G. Templeton, J. E. Young, C. H. Knight, A. 0. Fuller, John Scammon, Perley Gardiner, W. H. Sleeper, S. E. Rowe, E. D. Mayer, H. A. and R. E. Shute. See Bench and Bar chapters for sketches of other Exeter lawyers. Physicians.-W. H. Nute, W. Tuttle, Alice M. Chesley, W. B. Kenniston, H. C. Day, J. G. W. Knowlton; dentists, C. H. Gerrish, J. E. S. Pray, A. T. Severance, A. G. Hooper . Societies.-East Rockingham Pomona Grange, Gilman Grange, P. of H.; Exeter Lodge, K. of P.; Sagamore Lodge, I. 0. 0. F.; Rebekah Lodge; Moses N. Collins Post, G. A. R.; Woman's Relief Corps; Swanscott Lodge, K. of P,; Exeter Lodge, A. 0. U. W. ; Wheelwright Court, F. of A.; Exeter Commandery, U. 0. G. C.; Star in the East Lodge, St. Alban Chapter, Olivet Council, A. F. & A .M.; Onent Chapter, 0. E. S.; John J. Bell Lodge, I. O. G. T.; Wehanownownit Tribe, I. 0. R. M.; Pekawauket Council, D. of P.; Friendship Council, R. A.; Misr. Senate, K. A. 0. E. ; Catholic Order of Foresters, Junior, 0. V. A. M. ; New England Order of Protection; Daughters of Am. Revolution; Exeter Club, Exeter Board of Trade; Exeter Sportsmen's Club; Exeter Country Club; Exeter Poultry & Pigeon Stock Association; Page 414 Cincinnati Memorial Hall (opened by the Society of Cincinnati, June 20, 1904). Exeter Cottage Hospital erected 1905 at a cost of $50,000. Exeter Public Library.-At the town meeting held March 14, 1853, $300 was voted for the purchase of books for a town library, and on June 2Oth the library was opened to the citizens over a store on the business street. From this room the library was moved to a large room in the old town hall, where it remained for nearly forty years, until the completion of the new library building in September, 1894. At that time there were 9,000 volumes in the library classified by the Dewey system. The library now contains 17,940 volumes under charge of Miss Carrie E. Byington. ********************************************************************** * * * 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 to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to 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. 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