History of Milford, (Hillsborough County) New Hampshire United States of America

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Biographies:

John Wallace Hutchinson, vocalist, was born in Milford, N.H., Jan. 4, 1821; son of Jesse and Mary (Leavitt) Hutchinson, and a direct descendant from Richard Hutchinson, who settled in Salem Mass., having left England in 1634. He was paid a premium for "setting up" the first plough in Massachusetts. Jesse and Mary Hutchinson were vocalists, and "took part in quartettes of ballads and sacred music," and their thirteen children, who reached maturity, inherited musical talent and became well known as the "Hutchinson Family." As children they sang at home in chorus, and assisted in religious meetings in the neighborhood, the demand for their talent led to the formation of a concert troupe, Judson, Asa, Abby and John forming the quar-tette. They were abolitionists, temperance advocates, and favored woman suffrage, and directed their songs to meet the sentiments of these growing reforms. In 1845 they travelled through Great Britain and Ireland, where they were extremely popular. Their anti-slavery songs led to their receiving engagements from conventions and political mass meetings, and they travelled over the entire north and west, singing to large audiences. In the Republican campaigns of 1856 and 1860 they were especially effective, and when the civil war occurred they visited recruiting camps, where they cheered the volunteers with patriotic songs. John, with his son and daughter, visited the Army of the Potomac in Virginia after the battle of Bull Run, July, 1861, and were at first expelled by order of the commanding general, but an order from President Lincoln, approved by the cabinet, re-admitted them, and they became not only singers, but active nurses in the hospital camps. Jesse (born 1813, died 1853) composed numerous songs which became very popular, including: "Emancipation Song," "Good Old Days of Yore," "The Slave Mother," "The Slave's Appeal," and "Right over Wrong." Judson (born 1817, died 1859) composed and sang political, humorous and pathetic songs. Asa, the basso (born 1823, died 1884), was the business manager. Abby, the contralto (born 1829, died 1892), was married in 1849 and retired from pub-lie life. John Wallace, the most talented singer of the family, composed several anti-slavery and woman suffrage songs and many pathetic ballads. He was the last survivor of the original troupe, and on his seventieth birthday, 1891, his relatives and friends assembled at his home, Tower Cottage, High Rock, Lynn, Mass.,where were present his sister Abby and his surviving children, with those of his deceased brothers, Judson, Noah and Andrew. On his seventy-fifth birthday the American Temperance union, which he had organized twenty-five years before, gave him a reception in Chickering hall, New York, and on his seventy-seventh birthday the Peace society gave him a reception in Independence hall, Philadelphia. In 1901 he had given nearly 11,700 concerts. He is the author of: The Story of the Hutchinsons (2 vols., 1898).

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

George Allen Ramsdell, governor of New Hampshire, was born in Milford, N.H., March 11, 1834; son of William and Maria A. (Moore) Ramsdell; grandson of William and Mary (Southward) Ramsdell, and of Humphrey and Hannah (Peabody) Moore, and a descendant of Abijah Ramsdell, who emigrated from England to America, and settled in Lynn, Mass. He attended Appleton academy, and Amherst college for one year, and studied law in Manchester, N.H. He was admitted to the bar in 1857; was married in November, 1860, to Eliza D., daughter of David and Margaret (Dinsmore) Wilson of Deering, N.H.; practised law in Peterbore, N.H., 1857?63; and was clerk of the supreme court of Hillsborough county, 1864?88, residing at Amherst, 1864?66, and at Nashua, 1866?67. He resigned his clerkship and practised law, 1887?91; represented Hillsborough county in the New Hampshire legislature, 1870?72, where he served on the judiciary and other important committees; was a member of the state constitutional convention in 1876, and of the governor's council, 1891?92. He declined a seat on the supreme bench of the state in 1893, and was Republican governor of New Hampshire, 1897?99. He held many local offices, including the presidency of the board of trustees of the State Industrial School at Manchester, N.H. He received the honorary degree of A.M. from Dartmouth college in 1871. Governor Ramsdell died in Nashua, N.H., Nov. 16, 1900.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor