Part 18

Notwithstanding the variety and extent of his purely business transactions, Mr. Pike has also found leisure to fill with efficiency many stations in the public service. At one period of his career, during several successive years he was selectman of Cornish. This led the way to other offices. He who had discharged with faithfulness and skill the responsibilities in the town, was deemed worthy to be honored with higher duties, and Mr. Pike found himself, in 1859, 1860, and 1861, the incumbent of the office of county commissioner for Sullivan county. At the end of his third term, his fellow-townsmen withdrew him from the commissionship, which he had ably filled, and made him their representative to the general court for 1862, and again for 1863. He made an intelligent and active legislator, and soon became familiar with the business of the house. The estimate which was put upon his services and standing in the house is seen in the fact that in his first year he served on the committee on manufactures, and, in his second year, was made chairman of the committee on banks, which at the time was one of the most difficult and responsible positions in the house. If Mr. Pike did not often attempt to influence legislation by debate, he had what Wirt attributes to Jefferson, "the out-of-door talent of chamber consultation," and used it with good effect. The years 1862 and 1863 were two of the most anxious and trying years of the civil war, and perplexing propositions were brought before the legislature for solution. There were sharp antagonisms and earnest debates among the strong men of those sessions; questions of jurisdiction and policy touching the national defense and the rights of states, new to legislation and embittered by party rancor, became the subjects of action; the frequent calls for men and money to meet the demand which the prolonged and sanguinary conflict made upon the state gave to the legislation of the period unprecedented interest and importance. Through it all, no man was more active, more true, or more patriotic, than Capt. Pike.

In 1863, the subject of our sketch was appointed provost-marshal of the third New Hampshire district, and during that and the two succeeding years, when the war-cloud hung heavy and dark on the southern horizon, he discharged the duties of this delicate and difficult office with unusual ability, and received from Mr. Frye, the provost-marshal-general, the highest possible commendation for the integrity and success with which he administered the affairs of his department of the public service. Associated with him in this branch of the military organization, were some of the foremost men of the state: Hon. Francis A. Faulkner, an able lawyer of Keene, was commissioner, and Dixi Crosby, the distinguished head of the Dartmouth Medical College, was surgeon of the board of enrollment; Senator H. W. Blair, Hon. Ossian Ray, and Col. Nelson Converse of Marlborough were the deputy-marshals, and Judge W. H. H. Allen of Newport, C. C. Kimball, Esq., of Charlestown, and Henry C. Henderson, Esq., of Keene, were clerks of the board. To have conducted the office in a way to secure the respect and co-operation of such a body of men is in itself a distinguished honor.

In 1866, Mr. Pike received the nomination for councilor of the fourth councilor district, but declined, and was subsequently appointed United States collector of internal revenue. His administration of the duties of this position was deservedly popular with the department at Washington, and with the people at home, and he remained in it till the districts of the state were consolidated. In 1876 he was a delegate from Cornish in the constitutional convention, receiving every vote cast by his fellow-townsmen.

In addition to these public offices, Mr. Pike has been a director in the Claremont National Bank for fifteen years, and an active member and officer of the Sullivan County, the Connecticut River, the New Hampshire State, and the New England agricultural societies. To have earned and to have enjoyed the popular favor in a republic and in so many and varied places of honorable trust, is to have passed the crucial test of fitness for public life.

Few men of positive character and recognized ability, if in exalted positions, are so fortunate, in this age, as to escape criticism; but it will be acknowledged that in all the state and national trusts held by the subject of our sketch, he has so borne himself as to win the approval of the authorities, the good will of the people, and the respect of his friends.

In 1862, Mr. Pike was united in marriage to Amanda M. Fay, the daughter of Hon. Levi Chamberlain Fay, of Windsor, Vt., a lady of attractive manners and varied accomplishments. Mrs. Pike has been a most loyal wife in all the relations of life, and the beloved mother of four children,--three sons and a daughter,--of whom but one survives, Chester Fay Pike, a lad of twelve years.

In the above narrative, we have done little more than to set down in order the events in the life of a quiet citizen of one of the country towns of our state; but, when we consider how much this gentleman has accomplished and that he is only now at the meridian of life, we realize that his is no ordinary career, and that New England does not furnish a long catalogue of men who have so well illustrated the genius of our institutions, and the possibilities of a sagacious mind that has a fixed purpose to succeed in the race of life. The man who does difficult work and wins the love of friends deserves to be honored of all. In all the relations of public and private life Mr. Pike,--

"By nature honest, by experience wise, Healthy by temperance and exercise,"

has acted well his part, and so honored his state, and made a name which his descendants will cherish in the years to come.

COL. THOMAS P. PIERCE.

BY HON. JOHN H. GOODALE.

Most of the success and thrift which during the past thirty years have attended the manufacturing interests of New Hampshire are due to the untiring industry and intelligent foresight of that class of self-reliant, progressive business men who, starting in life with ordinary advantages, have had the nerve to seize and the capacity to improve the opportunities within their reach. Prominent among this class of enterprising and valuable citizens of this state is the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this page,--HON. THOMAS P. PIERCE.

Col. Pierce was born in Chelsea, Mass., on the 30th of August, 1820. He came from Revolutionary stock on both the father's and mother's side. After limited training in the public schools, he learned the trade of carriage and ornamental painting in Boston.

In 1840, the subject of this sketch came to Manchester, which was then springing into existence as a manufacturing village, under the auspices of the Amoskeag Land and Water Company. Three years previous the first improvements were begun, and it was now a bustling town of six hundred families, gathered from every section of northern New England. With much of the rush and recklessness of a newly grown community, there were then germs of that energy which has since made Manchester an eminently prosperous city. Young Pierce, not yet of age, worked as a journeyman at his trade, and by his unvarying courtesy and cheerful spirit was a favorite among his associates. He was an active member of the famous Stark Guards,--a military organization of which Hon. George W. Morrison and Walter French, Esq., were successively in command.

There is no more exhaustive test of a young man's stamina than life in a rapidly growing manufacturing village. One literally goes in and out in the presence of the enemies' pickets, though they may not be intentional enemies. The temptation to excess is constant and persistent. Often the most brilliant and sagacious fall victims. It is to the credit of Thomas P. Pierce that he passed the ordeal unscathed. In the summer of 1842 it was his good fortune to marry Miss Asenath R. McPherson, the daughter of a farmer in the adjoining town of Bedford.

The war with Mexico began in 1846. When it was decided that an army under Gen. Scott should be raised to march to the city of Mexico, it was ordered that a regiment of infantry should be raised in New England. Mr. Pierce at once volunteered as a private, and was soon after commissioned, by President Polk, as second lieutenant of one of the companies of the New England regiment. The command of this regiment was first assigned to Franklin Pierce; but on his promotion to the command of a brigade it was given to Truman B. Ransom, a brave and accomplished officer from Vermont.

Early in the summer the brigade under Gen. Pierce was ordered to proceed to the eastern coast of Mexico, and to land in the vicinity of Vera Cruz, to be ready to co-operate with the main army under Gen. Scott in the march to the Mexican capital. The troops disembarked on the 28th of June,--a most unfavorable season of the year. The heat was so intense on the lowlands that to march between nine o'clock in the morning and four in the afternoon was impossible. With the exception of a few of the officers, the entire force was made up of new recruits. It occupied two weeks to secure mules for army transportation. On the 14th of July the movement toward the city of Mexico began, and, on reaching the foothills, every bridge and fortified pass was strongly guarded by hostile Mexicans. There was constant skirmishing, and the enemy, from the cliffs and thickets, made annoying and sometimes dangerous attacks. The climate, the difficulties of marching, and hardships of a military life in a strange country bore heavily on the inexperienced soldiery. Amid these perplexities, the tact, the genial spirit, and untiring attention to the wants of his comrades won for Lieut. Pierce a high regard and strong personal attachment. In the sharp conflicts which occurred on reaching the table-lands, Lieut. Pierce took an active part. At the battle of Contreras, fought August 19, he was personally complimented by Col. Ransom for bravery,--himself soon after a martyr to his personal valor.

Reaching the higher lands, Gen. Scott found the flower of the Mexican army entrenched among the cliffs of Churubusco. To leave the enemy in the rear was to hazard everything; and in the dangerous task of dislodging and utterly routing them the New England regiment bore a conspicuous part. In his report of the battle, Gen. Scott placed the name of Lieut. Pierce on the list of those recommended for promotion on account of gallant and meritorious conduct. The storming of Chepultepec soon followed, in which the New England regiment had literally to cross a succession of ridges and ravines, exposed to a deadly fire from the enemy among the crags. The assault was successful, and the surrender of the Mexican capital immediately followed. In this action, and in the details of patrol service during the winter, while the city was occupied by the American army, Lieut. Pierce was officially commended for the vigilant discharge of his duties.

The campaign in Mexico, with its varied experiences, had, without doubt, a marked and favorable effect upon the subject of this sketch. The novelty of climate and productions, the grandeur of the scenery, and the immense natural resources of that region were not lost upon him. But of still greater value was the experience gained from association with men of large attainments, positive ideas, strong will, and comprehensive views. The majority of the army officers in that campaign were of this character; and the young soldier, at the close of the war, returned home in March, 1848, with higher aims and a better and truer estimate of the duties and responsibilities of life.

Col. Pierce again engaged in business at his trade, in Manchester, which, in the meantime, had been incorporated a city. In 1849 he became a member of the city government; and in the same year was appointed a member of Gov. Dinsmoor's staff. Upon the inauguration of Gen. Franklin Pierce as president, in March, 1853, he was appointed postmaster at Manchester. This position, in the largest and most prosperous city of the state, was one of unusual labor and responsibility. Col. Pierce filled the office for eight years, and to the entire satisfaction of the citizens of all parties.

On the breaking out of the rebellion, in 1861, Col. Pierce was selected by Gov. Goodwin as commander of the Second New Hampshire regiment, of the three months' troops. Having satisfactorily discharged his duties, he retired after the term of enlistment was changed to three years. The next year, September, 1862, unexpected difficulties having arisen, Gov. Berry telegraphed to Col. Pierce to take command of the Twelfth New Hampshire regiment, then completing its organization at Concord. How well he accomplished the duty assigned him was expressed in a statement, signed by the officers of the regiment, at the time of his withdrawal, in the following words:--

"Your generous and patriotic course in assuming temporary command of the regiment during a period of great excitement and confusion, thereby saving it from dissolution and the state from disgrace, merits our admiration and sincere thanks."

In 1866, Col. Pierce removed to Nashua, for the purpose of engaging in the manufacture of card-board and glazed paper. Since then he has been an active member and one of the directors of the Nashua Card and Glazed-Paper Company,--one of the most successful business enterprises in the state, and which, in the variety and excellence of its products, is not surpassed by any corporation of its kind in the country. Col. Pierce is also a director of the Contoocook Valley Paper Company in Henniker, a director of the Second National Bank and president of the Mechanics Savings Bank at Nashua.

In 1874, Col. Pierce was elected a member of the New Hampshire state senate, the only candidate of his party ever elected from that district; and in 1875 and 1876 he was sheriff of Hillsborough county. While unwavering in his attachment to, and support of, the Democratic party, he is not rabid in his policy or partisan in his associations. When President Hayes visited Nashua, in 1877, he was selected by the city government as chairman of the committee of arrangements; and no citizen took a more efficient part in securing a proper observance of the obsequies of President Garfield. He and his family are attendants of the Universalist church.

In his social and domestic relations, Col. Pierce has been fortunate. Of his two children, the eldest, Mrs. Julia M., wife of William N. Johnson, resides at West Henniker, where her husband is a paper manufacturer; his son, Mr. Frank Pierce, is associated with him in business.

A few years since, having purchased the homestead of the late Gen. J. G. Foster, he built a spacious and elegant residence. Situated on an acclivity on the north side of the Nashua river, surrounded by ample grounds and stately trees, it is a home of rare attractions. Col. Pierce is still in the prime of active life, and his past record, as well as his present position, is a guarantee that he will ably and faithfully meet the responsibilities of the future.

COL. MARTIN V. B. EDGERLY.

BY H. H. METCALF.

In these days of varying fortune in business life, and in this country especially, where property is accumulated or lost more readily and frequently than in any other land, the beneficent nature of the institution of life assurance has come to be very generally appreciated. This institution, which, so far as its general establishment is concerned, is peculiarly an American one, is indeed a natural outgrowth of our social and business system, and is coming to be more fully recognized, from year to year, in one form or another, as the only medium through which men in general business, or most of the avocations of life, may make substantially sure provision for the support of their families or those depending upon them, in case of their own removal by death before acquiring a competency, or after the loss of the same through business reverses or adventitious circumstances. The man who stands before the public as a leading representative of an institution of such importance becomes properly a person of note in the business community; and when he is endowed with those powers and qualities of mind which naturally bring him into prominence in social and political circles and the general activities of life, he may well be classed among those who are esteemed representative men of the times in the state and section wherein he resides, and which is the field of his active labor. Such a man is the subject of this sketch.

MARTIN VAN BUREN EDGERLY is a native of the town of Barnstead,--a town, by the way, which has sent out its productions into the world in the form of able, energetic men,--men of strong minds in strong bodies, who have made their mark in the world, and stand at the front in the various fields of activity in which they have engaged. In the domain of law, of theology, of politics, and of general business, the sons of Barnstead hold high rank, as is abundantly demonstrated by reference to the names of Lewis W. Clark, Rev. Alonzo H. Quint, John G. Sinclair, and John P. Newell. Mr. Edgerly was the fifth of nine children--five sons and four daughters--of Samuel J. and Eliza (Bickford) Edgerly, born September 26, 1833. Samuel J. Edgerly was a man of far more than ordinary intelligence and mental activity, who, but for the misfortune of disease, which impaired his physical powers in early life;, would have become unquestionably a leading spirit in public affairs. As it was, he was recognized by all with whom he came in contact in life as a man of strong mind and decided character. He was a descendant, upon the maternal side, and was named in honor of that Col. Samuel Johnson who was one of the early settlers of the town of Northwood, and of whom it is said, in sketching the history of that town, that upon the first night of his abode within its limits he slept upon the ground between two rocks, with a quilt or piece of canvas for covering.

When a lad of twelve years, Col. Edgerly removed with his parents to Manchester. He attended the public schools for a time, but at an early age entered the service of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, being engaged at first in the mills and afterwards in the machine-shop; but, after several years, becoming dissatisfied with the dull routine of mechanical labor, and desirous of testing his powers in the field of business, in October, 1856, at the age of twenty-three, he embarked in trade as a joint proprietor of a drug-store with Mr. Lewis H. Parker. He was thus engaged but a short time, however, removing the following year to the town of Pittsfield, where he soon established himself in the insurance business, taking the agency of various companies, fire and life. This, it may be truly said, was the actual starting point in his career. He found in this business a field of labor congenial to his tastes, and peculiarly adapted to the development and exercise of the distinctive powers of mind and body with which he is endowed; and he entered into his work with heart and soul. He was not long in discovering the special line of effort to which he was best adapted, and which gave the best promise of substantial success in response to such effort; nor were the managers of the business in question long in ascertaining, from the character of the work already accomplished, the direction in which their own advantage lay; and so it came about in a short time, that after a visit to the company's office in Springfield, made upon the solicitation of the president, Col. Edgerly became exclusively the agent of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, relinquishing all other agencies, and devoting his entire efforts to the interests of the company.

So thorough and satisfactory was the work which he accomplished, that a year later he was given the general agency of the company for the state of New Hampshire, with headquarters at Manchester, to which city he removed with his family, when, in 1863, he was given charge of the business for Vermont and northern New York in addition to this state. Under his efficient management and supervision the business of the company increased to a remarkable degree in the entire territory of which he had control, until the net annual receipts in premiums upon new policies, in New Hampshire alone, had risen from substantially nothing in 1859, when he first commenced work, to nearly seventy-five thousand dollars in 1866, representing the proceeds from the issue of a thousand policies, covering an aggregate insurance of more than a million and a half of dollars. This remarkable success was due, not simply to the work of personal solicitation, in which line Col. Edgerly has no superiors, but more especially to the keen discernment and ready knowledge of men with which he is endowed, enabling him to select proper agents and judiciously supervise their work.

In 1868 he accepted the position of superintendent of the company's agencies throughout the country. For two years he labored as none but a physically robust and mentally active man can, establishing agencies and working up the business of the company throughout the West, while retaining and directing his own special work in the East. This double labor was too arduous, even for a man of his powers, and in 1870 he resigned the position of superintendent, and confined his work to his former field in New Hampshire, Vermont, and northern New York. In September, 1874, however, he was induced to accept charge of the company's agency in Boston, in addition to his other duties, and since that date he has divided his time and labor between the two positions, efficiently directing the work of both, and largely increasing the business at the Boston office. In January last he was made a member of the board of directors of the company which he has so long and faithfully served, and which owes its prosperity, in no small degree, to his intelligent efforts.

Col. Edgerly has been a Democrat from youth, and has ever manifested a lively interest in political affairs, although he has had neither the time nor inclination to enter, to any extent, upon the duties of public position, even had it been in the power of his party to confer the same. He has, however, in such time as he was able to command, done a great deal of party work in different campaigns; and in 1874 was elected a member of the board of aldermen, although his ward was strongly Republican at the time, thus demonstrating his personal popularity and the esteem in which he is held in the community where he resides. He has frequently served as a member of the Democratic state committee, and as treasurer of the same, and a member of the executive committee; also, as chairman of the Democratic city committee in Manchester. He was a delegate from New Hampshire to the Democratic national convention at Baltimore, in 1872, which nominated Horace Greeley for the presidency, and was the New Hampshire member of the Democratic national committee from 1872 to 1876. Again, in 1880, he was chosen a delegate-at-large to the national convention of his party. In 1871 he was appointed, by Gov. Weston, chief of staff; and in 1873 and 1874 he held the position of commander of the Amoskeag Veterans, of which organization he has long been an active and popular member. In 1874 he was appointed, by President Grant, an alternate commissioner to represent New Hampshire at the centennial exposition and celebration in Philadelphia.