Ezra Barrett Family (1791-1843), Father of Edward Harris Barrett

Ezra Barrett was the son of Benjamin Barrett and Bridget Lawrence.

Ezra Barrett
B: 1791 Ashby, Massachusetts
D: 1843 Warner, New Hampshire

His wife was:
Rhoda Johnson. (aka: Rhonda)
B: 1789
D: around 1860

When and where were they married?

My original information stated they were married on 11/17/1817 in Ashby, Massachusetts.
According to New Hampshire Records, Ezra was married on 11/18/1817 in New Hampshire to Rhoda Johnson.

NEW HAMPSHIRE MARRIAGE RECORDS 1720-1920
https://www.familysearch.org/

Ezra and Rhoda either moved to New Hampshire, shortly after marrying or were married in New Hampshire.

Their children:
Edward Harris Barrett 1818 Warner, NH
Maria Boardman Barrett 1820 Warner, NH
Caroline Jewett Barrett 1823 Warner, NH
John Woods Barrett 1825 Warner, NH

Due to ambiguous information, a couple of questions are still unanswered about Ezra’s wife, one of his daughters and one of his son’s wives. (As well as Ezra’s marriage mentioned above.)

I’m looking for enlightenment!


Regarding Ezra’s Wife, Rhoda:

Where was Rhoda born?
When and where was her death?
What is her parent’s lineage?

It seems her name was Rhoda Johnson. (Although, some sources have stated her name to have been Rhoda Spalding, it appears to have been Johnson, and that Rhoda Spalding was her mother.)

In our Barrett Bible her name is listed as Rhoda Johnson, born 12/8/1789. (It should be noted that this Bible was reproduced after the original was burned in a fire in 1837.)

http://books.google.com/books?id=9Td7G4YqUiIC&lpg=PA105&ots=ZQihVhGtmq&dq=barrett%20james%20gravestone%20concord%20massachusetts&pg=PA105#v=onepage&q&f=false
Genealogies of Some Old Families of Concord, Massachusetts
(Page 111) (As well as page 23 which isn’t indexed on the above web site)
Rhoda Johnson, born 1789, daughter of Col. Reuben and Rhoda.

Other sources state her fathers name to be William Johnson, which I believe is correct.
http://www.ancestry.com/
In The MN Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, as told by Ezra and Rhoda’s son, Edward Harris Barrett…
(Page 196)
He stated that his grandparents were Benjamin Barrett and Bridget Lawrence, as well as William Johnson and Rhoda Spalding.

http://www.ancestry.com/
Widows pension application through the Concord, NH office, submitted between 1831-1843, on William Johnson. The application is made by his widow, Rhoda Johnson, and it contains sworn statements attesting to the marriage of William Johnson and Rhoda Spalding.
There’s excellent evidence in this Blog to her father being William Johnson. (See the post entitled: “William Johnson, Revolutionary soldier, grandfather of Edward H. Barrett”)

In some old notes of mine, as well as presently posted family tree information, Rhoda (Spaulding) Johnson’s parents were Reuben Spaulding and Mary Chandler, but I have no evidence to confirm or support this.

Rhoda was still living when Ezra passed away. According to our Barrett Bible, she passed away September 6th, 186???---something.

After Ezra’s death, Rhoda can be found living with her daughter and husband, Maria and Samuel Aiken, on the 1850 census in Warner, Merrimack County, NH, along with their son Charles.

On the June 25, 1860 census of Nashua, Hillsborough County, NH, it shows Samuel Aiken (who re-married in 1859) and 2nd wife Mary, with Maria & Samuel’s son Charles, but not Rhoda. There is however, a Rhoda J. Barrett listed on a separate New Hampshire Census from 1860 in Merrimack, Hillsborough County, NH. It certainly makes sense that if her daughter had passed away, she wouldn’t be living with her son-in-law and his “new wife”.

1850 & 1860 US FEDERAL CENSUS & WIDOWS PENSION
http://www.ancestry.com/


Regarding Ezra’s son, Edward:

When and where did Edward’s 2nd wife die?

Edward was the eldest child of Ezra and Rhoda, born 1818 in Warner, NH.

In 1845 he was 1st married to Charlotte E Ladd in Warner, NH. Charlotte was born in 1824 Hallowell, Maine, the daughter of Dudley Ladd, III and Charlotte Eastman. They had 8 children during their marriage. The family traveled from New Hampshire to Illinois and then on to Minnesota where they made their final home in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Charlotte passed away in 1898.

Many of Edward’s children also traveled to other parts of the U.S. While he was visiting some of his children in Seattle, Washington, after Charlotte’s death, he remarried to Anna Dugas in 1899. Anna Dugas was born around 1855 in Baltimore, Maryland to Lewis and Margaret Dugas.

It’s known that at the time of Edward and Anna’s marriage, she was involved with the Crittenton Home, and upon its mission opening in Seattle, a few months after their marriage, Anna was director/matron of the home. Many newspaper tid-bits verify their works with this home while they lived out west.

There were/are many mission locations for the Florence Crittenton Home across the U.S., with there undertaking to help young, unmarried pregnant women. With Edward being accustom to travel, as well as his 2nd wife, their known places of exploit and travel included Seattle, Washington, Ada, Idaho, Washington, DC, and Baltimore, Maryland. As Anna had originally been involved with the Washington, DC and New York missions, before moving on to Seattle, I’m fairly certain their travels were to do with the Crittenton Homes. They returned to Minneapolis, Minnesota shortly before Edward’s death in 1907.

After Edward’s death, one good possibility I’ve found for her is on the 1910 Census (April 23rd) in Harrison Township, part of Terre Haute City in Ward 6, Vigo County, Indiana. There’s an Anna Barrett RN, widowed, having had no children, born about 1855 in Maryland and her parents born in Maryland, which they were. Her employment/occupation on this census is listed as “Philanthropy Works at Institution”. This makes sense as there was a Crittenton Home in Terre Haute, Indiana, which opened in March, 1907.

From there I’ve lost her!

US FEDERAL CENSUS INFORMATION
http://www.ancestry.com/


Regarding Ezra’s Daughter, Maria:

What was Maria’s birth date?

Maria Boardman Barrett was the 2nd child, and eldest daughter, of Ezra and Rhoda.

There’s a question as to Maria’s birth date in Warner, Merrimack County, NH.
7/9/1820 vs. 9/7/1820 vs. 6/7/1820

Our Barrett Bible states 9-7-1820.

This Barrett Bible also states that Maria died on 2-23-1853, never marrying.
The date of death seems to be consistent with another publication, although she did marry.

She appears to be deceased by 1860, as her husband Samuel has remarried and their son Charles is with him.


1850 & 1860 US FEDERAL CENSUS
http://www.ancestry.com/
Warner, Merrimack County, NH
Maria is with her husband Samuel Aiken and their son Charles, as well as her mother, Rhoda Barrett.

MARRIAGE
http://books.google.com/books?id=43epVZYOew8C&pg=PA1066&lpg=PA1066&dq=History+of+Bedford,+NH+from+1737&source=bl&ots=I06Z-pzs6V&sig=-0uPa1R8OIz9wGdFSleW0jqOSn8&hl=en&ei=NcVfTc7sFYOGtwf85MDOCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737: being statistics compiled on…
By Bedford (N.H. : Town)
(Referring to children of Samuel L. Aiken & Nancy A. Clapp)
Page 826
VI
5. Samuel Aiken (1), b. Sept 27, 1816; d. Dec 18, 1890, Lowell, Mass; m. Maria Barrett

NEW HAMPSHIRE MARRIAGES 1720-1920
https://www.familysearch.org/

Marriage: December 17, 1841
Samuel Aiken to Maria Barrett

Marriage: April 6, 1859
Samuel Aiken to Mary Hargrove

BIRTH, DEATH, MARRIAGE
http://books.google.com/books?id=9Td7G4YqUiIC&lpg=PA105&ots=ZQihVhGtmq&dq=barrett%20james%20gravestone%20concord%20massachusetts&pg=PA105#v=onepage&q&f=false
Genealogies of Some Old Families of Concord, Massachusetts
(Page 25 which isn’t indexed on the above web site)
Ezra and Rhoda (Johnson) Barrett. 1179
Maria Boardman b. June 7, 1820, d. Feb 22, 1853, m. Dec 16, 1841 Samuel Aiken

HUSBAND AND CHILDREN
http://books.google.com/books?id=9Td7G4YqUiIC&lpg=PA105&ots=ZQihVhGtmq&dq=barrett%20james%20gravestone%20concord%20massachusetts&pg=PA105#v=onepage&q&f=false
Genealogies of Some Old Families of Concord, Massachusetts
(Page 25 which isn’t indexed on web site)
Samuel and Maria Boardman (Barrett) Aiken. 1290
Mary Augusta b. Oct 5, 1842, d. Mar 21, 1844
Chas Augustus b. Sept 6, 1846

CHILD
https://www.familysearch.org/
FLORIDA DEATHS 1877-1939
Charles August Aitken
Estimated year of birth: 1846
Charles Agustus Aiken born Sept 7, NH - died Dec 25, 1925, Tarpons Springs, Pinellas Co., FL burial Dec 26, 1925, Tarpons Springs.
Parents - Samuel Aiken; Spouse - Amelia Lockwood
(As a matter of record, Charles seems to have been married twice, with his 1st marriage having been to Mary Alice Cobb.)


Regarding Ezra’s daughter Caroline:

Caroline was Ezra & Rhonda’s third child. The information about her in “Genealogies of Some Old Families of Concord, Massachusetts” shows her being born in 1823 and her death in 1844, just a year after Ezra’s death. No other information is noted for her. No documented marriage information has been found. (The same information is documented in our Barrett Bible.)

http://books.google.com/books?id=9Td7G4YqUiIC&lpg=PA105&ots=ZQihVhGtmq&dq=barrett%20james%20gravestone%20concord%20massachusetts&pg=PA105#v=onepage&q&f=false
Genealogies of Some Old Families of Concord, Massachusetts
(Page 25 which isn’t indexed on web site)
Ezra and Rhoda (Johnson) Barrett. 1179
Caroline Jewett b. May 27, 1823, d. Feb 13, 1844


Regarding Ezra’s son, John:

John was the youngest child born to Ezra and Rhoda. The information about him seems fairly straight forward, with his birth in 1825 and his death in 1862. No documented marriage information has been found on him, and indeed, the publication “Genealogies of Some Old Families of Concord, Massachusetts” states that he was unmarried. The same information is documented on his death record and in our Barrett Bible.

http://books.google.com/books?id=9Td7G4YqUiIC&lpg=PA105&ots=ZQihVhGtmq&dq=barrett%20james%20gravestone%20concord%20massachusetts&pg=PA105#v=onepage&q&f=false
Genealogies of Some Old Families of Concord, Massachusetts
(Page 25 which isn’t indexed on web site)
Ezra and Rhoda (Johnson) Barrett. 1179
John Woods b. July 25, 1825, d. Aug 18, 1862, unmarried

MASSACHESETTES DEATH REOCRDS 1841-1915
https://www.familysearch.org/
Name: John W. Barrett
Gender: Male
Estimated Birth: 1825 NH
Death Date: August 18, 1862
Age: 37
Death Location: Springfield, MA
Cause of Death: Bilious Colic
Residence: Springfield, MA
Marital Status: Single
Occupation: Clerk



Genealogies of Some Old Families of Concord, Massachusetts
Pages 23 & 25, not indexed on website, as mentioned above.

Dudley Ladd House of Franklin, New Hampshire -- Underground Railroad

Below is an article published in 1999 by Kathie Helm regarding the Dudley Ladd House of Franklin, New Hampshire.  Dudley Ladd's famliy supported runaway slaves through the Underground Railroad. 


House is Window to State History
"Dudley Ladd Home a Haven for Slaves"
Franklin, NH

By: Kathie Helm
Concord Monitory
January 18, 1999

In the attic of her rambling home, Frances Hildebrand carefully pulls back a disguised door to reveal an ingeniously concealed chamber built around the kitchen chimney.

Not a storage room -- although the 80-year-old used to pack away her cookie tins there - but a secret hiding place believed to have sheltered runaway slaves in the years preceding the Civil War.

"I never get tired of showing this room," says Hildebrand. "Can't you just feel the history, the secrecy?

No one knows how many slaves made their way to freedom in Canada, nor exactly how the black men, women and children attempted the trip. They hid in concealed rooms, under beds, in cellars and old barns waiting for their next escort to transport them along the circuitous route north.

When it was dark they hurried along the lost paths of the Underground Railroad, a network stretched across the northern states. Not a railroad but a journey to freedom - by coach, by wagon, by foot.

Secrecy shrouded their illegal activities and the identities of the abolitionists, men and women who risked jail and stiff fines to help fugitives.

Hildebrand, whose important home is now for sale, has a file of old press clippings handed down from owner to owner that describe the building's historic past.

In 1970, the file was given to her and husband Robert, 78, when they bought what is known as the Dudley Ladd home located on Webster Street in Franklin.

Historians say it is necessary to rely on oral legend passed down from generation to generation and the few records kept by families that contain references to fugitive slaves hiding in their homes to piece together the clandestine system of escape. People who aided slaves rarely kept detailed records or spoke about their plans for fear of being turned in to the authorities.

A 1976 publication by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration documented 41 "stations" on the Underground Railroad; eight were in New Hampshire.

The Dudley Ladd house was not listed in the booklet, but Jim Garvin of the state's Historic Preservation office said New Hampshire has never done a thorough historic survey, beyond the bicentennial publication, to identify Underground Railroad sites.

"We are eager to, and the National Parks Service has asked us and agencies similar to ours, to do just that, but we have not had the staff to go out and visit the sites, collect the data and complete the necessary research," he said. "It's a perennial subject and I often hear about another site that we hadn't heard of."

Garvin has heard about the Dudley Ladd home and its secret chamber but he has not visited the site. But its location, situated just feet from the Northern Railroad, a real railroad that ran through New Hampshire and over to the Vermont border and then up to Canada, was the parallel path many slaves followed to freedom.

"The route was flat because trains could not go up steep inclines at the time so that made it easy for wagons to travel and people to walk," Garvin. "I suspect slaves were directed to follow the railroad and they'd end up in Canada."

Dudley Ladd, a wealthy tinsmith, built the house in 1823 for his new bride, Charlotte Eastman, the daughter of Ebenezer Eastman, founder of Eastman's Village, today West Franklin.
According to what was relayed to reporters in the 1940's by the McFarlands who lived in the house for 64 years, from 1901 to 1965, Ladd's brother would bring the runaways up from Concord or other places farther south. The following day they would be relayed to a refuge in Potter Place, then to a stop in White River Junction, Vt. From there they were taken to the Canadian border.

Dudley Ladd was arrested at one time and charged with aiding fugitive slaves, but was never brought to trial. Raymond McFarland said the charge was dropped officially for lack of evidence, but he suspected that local sentiment against slavery had a lot to do with it. The federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850 ordered up fines, jail terms and civil penalties for those who helped the runaways.

While no official action was taken by the State of New Hampshire to offset the acts, there is evidence of an anti-slavery climate as early as 1796. In that year President George Washington wrote to a Joseph Whipple, collector of customs in Portsmouth, to return an escaped female slave unless the action would "incite a mob or riot," according to research collected at the state's Historic Preservation office.

Whipple replied that return would be impossible, public sentiment being too strong against it.

But there also is documentation that Concord residents were ill-disposed toward abolitionists.

In 1835, British abolitionist George Thompson visited Concord to speak against slavery. Hearing of brewing ugliness, he canceled. But a crowd, cheated of Thompson, paraded his effigy, then burned it in front of the State House.

And in 1841, when abolitionist Stephen Foster interrupted church service to speak, the organists drowned him out. He was later allowed to say his piece at the Unitarian Church.

"All over New England there were pockets of abolitionists - intellectuals, the clergy - who were articulate and radically opposed to slavery," Garvin said. "But the average citizen probably viewed abolitionists with hostility - as someone trying to take away his or her legal property. We have a hard time today thinking of slaves as property, but the structure of American law protected the right to buy and sell slaves. This is a big property rights state and so abolitionists were heckled, even beaten."

Alice Shepard, in her book on the history of Franklin, points our the ironic circumstances that Ladd's overnight refuge was located just a few miles away from the birthplace of Daniel Webster, a moving figure in adoption of the Fugitive Slave Act.

In 1858, the Ladds sold their home to John White, who eight years later sold it to Edwin Stone. The McFarlands bought it from Walter Cross in 1901.

The Malcolms, who lived in the house in the years before the Hildebrands bought it, took off plaster that once surrounded the chimney and door so that school children could look at the structure more closely, said Frances Hildebrand.

The Hildebrands have decided to sell their home - a solid structure filled with immense oak beams and thick pine siding. The property is being marketed by Historic Properties in Pembroke.

The couple hopes to find new buyers who will carry on the tradition of leading visitors up the steep wooden stairs - built years after the rope ladder slaves used was no longer necessary - to the secret, windowless chamber for a look back at history.

"This massive chimney kept slaves on their way to freedom warm for a night or so," says Hildebrand, slapping the red-brick chimney. "I was always very proud to live in this house.

Ezra Barrett House of Warner, New Hampshire

Ezra Barrett's house from 1817 still stands today and is called the "Upton - Chandler House".

Below is an unsourced article publish a number of years ago on the internet.

The Upton/Chandler House: A brief History

Built around 1817, this Federal style house was first occupied by Ezra Barrett from about 1817-1845. As one of the very first deacons of the Congregational Church in Warner, he lived there and ran a scythe-snath shop near the house until 1830.

During the late 1840s, a Doctor Parsons Whidden lived there and entertained a summer guest, Mary Baker Eddy, in the year 1849. Later, storeowner Erastus Wilkins lived in the large house in 1858, as he operated his stores in Lower Warner and the center of town. In 1884, the house was bought from a Dr. Ames for $2030.00 by George Upton, the town’s tax collector in 1874, 1875, and 1878. In 1910, George Hubbard purchased the interest of his sister Mrs. Farrwell P. Merrick that once belonged to their grandmother, Mrs. Sally Hubbard. At a later time, Mr. Hubbard sold his share of the house to Fred C. Brockway. By 1927 the house was owned jointly by the heirs of George Upton (daughter Annie Upton Cogswell) and Mr. Brockway, who later sold it to Mrs. George Cushing and her son James. The most recent owner, John P.H. Chandler Jr., bought the building in 1949 and rented it to numerous tenants.

For years, the house was split down the middle: "tenants had common rights to use of the front-hall stairway, water in the barn, and a shed in the rear." The attached, two-story barn was torn down in the late 1990s, but the main house remains relatively unchanged since it was built.

In 1998, the Warner Historical Society expressed an interest in purchasing the then unoccupied building to be used for museum and exhibition space. The Chandler Family was contacted and in 2000, they gifted the house to the Society. The Historical Society is now in the process of rehabilitating the house, restoring and preserving the interior for exhibitions of Warner history.

William Johnson, Revolutionary soldier, grandfather of Edward H. Barrett

Edward H. Barrett's mother, Rhoda Johnson, was the daughter of William Johnson & Rhoda Spaulding.  Copies of William Johnson's Revolutionary War pension file can be found here: 
https://docs.google.com/#folders/folder.0.0B6n-DvE_zKlFYzdiZWI5NWQtMzhmMC00MTMwLTliMmEtYjlkZWI2OWVlZWIz

Below are some important items extracted from his pension file.  The number refers to the image number at the link above.

3.  Marriage of Willam Johnson of Pelham and Rhoda Spauling of Lyndeborough have been published, Feb 6, 1778.  Peter Clark, Town Clerk of Lyndeborough.

5.  William Johnson died June 1830, Merrimack, NH, who was Private in Captain Woodbury’s Company of Col. Arnold’s NH Line Regiment, 2 years.

7.  31 Dec, 1775 Battle of Quebec, Capt. Dearborn’s Company. 

8.  Rhoda J. Barrett of Warner, Merrimack, NH, 50 years, one of the children of William Johnson, late of Hillsborough County, that W.J. died at Hillsborough Bridge, 9 June 1830. Mother, widow Rhoda, lived with her family in Warner since her father’s death.  Her father told her he had been to Canada with Captain Henry Dearborn’s company, Arnold’s detachment and at xxxxx Point.  Signature of Rhoda J. Barrett.   Dated 7 May, 1840. 

9.  I Sarah Johnson, of Warner, Merrimack NY, 58 years, am one of the children of William Johnson, late of Hillsborough, NH, who died at Hillsborough Bridge, 9 June 1830, and widowed mother lives with Deacon Ezra Barrett of Warner, NH.  He served in Canada with  Capt. H. Dearborn’s company, was taken prisoner in battle, that he scaled the walls and made his escape, and almost starved before he got through the woods to American settlements.  Xxxx point….

10.  Ezra Barrett of Warner, NH, aged 48 years, husband of Rhoda J. Barrett,

House burnt, 29 November 1837, when pension papers and bible burned.   Signature of Ezra Barrett.

11-13.  Declaration of Rhoda Johnson, widow of William Johnson. 31 April 1840 of Warner, NH, 85 years old.   Believes that William on 23 April 1775, entered as private in Capt. Woodbury’s Company, in Stark’s Regiment at Winterhill? , that he was of the detachment under Arnold in Capt Dearborn’s Company to go to Quebec, and was taken prisoner (not sure how long).  Also, reenlisted Sept 1779 as private in Contental Army but unsure of details.   He was a joiner by trade.  Married at Lyndeborough, March 1778 by Rev. xxx Goodrich, the minister of Lyndeborough.  William died June 1830, Hillsborough Bridge.  Signed Rhoda Johnson her mark.  Witness Edward H. Barrett. 

17-18.  Select men of Pelham.  March 24, 1840.  Return of soldiers for the town of Pelham, NH.  Record of service, Wiliam Johnson 1776, Dec 27 1775 date.

20.  Letter from Senator Franklin Pierce [Later US President], of Hillsborough, vouching for 1779 service records for William Johnson.

27.  Letter from Benjamin Goodrich, well acquainted with William Johnson and his wife who was Rhoda Spaulding before marriage, but was not present at their marriage.

28.  Service List. April 1775, 12mos.  Capt Woodbury, Col Arnold to Quebec, Canada.  Sep 1779, 12 mos., Cont’l Army.   Lived in Pelham when married at Lyndeborough. 

31.  William Johnson, Apr 23 1775, Capt Woodbury, Col Stark. Capt Henry Dearborn, Col Arnold, to Canada.

33. William Johnson, age 25, of Pelham, occupation Joiner, list of Captain Henry Dearborn’s Company.  In Col Benedict Arnold’s detachment.  Late Regt – 7^th Starks. 

35.  April 9 , 1777 Hampstead, town meeting, 5 men to Cntl Army, 2 to RI. 

Bethia Hutchins Ladd - Obituary 1835

Bethia Hutchins was the the grandmother of Charlotte Eastman Ladd, wife of Dudley Ladd [1758-1841].  She was born 29 Aug 1765 to Gordon Hutchins and Dorothy "Dolly Stone, married Dudley Ladd on 13 Apr 1783, and died 29 Jan 1835 at Franklin, NH.  

Below is her death notice:
"Died, of pulmonary consumption, on the 29th of first month, at the residence of her son, Bethia Ladd, wife of Dudley Ladd, a much esteemed member and elder of Weare, (N. Hampshire,) monthly meeting, and Concord particular meeting, aged about 71 years. This, our beloved sister, was one amongst a very few that remained firmly attached to early Friends' principles, in her own particular meeting, amid the rendings of that spirit, that "divides in Jacob, and separates in Israel," - and to her latest breath, her Redeemer and Saviour was her evening praise as he had been her morning song. She died in great peace."

Source:  THE FRIEND: A Religious And Literary Journal, VOL. VIII, No. 19 - Seventh Day, Second Month, 14, 1835. p. 148.

Dudley Ladd (1789-1875) father-in-law of Edward H. Barrett

Dudley Ladd, father of Charlotte Eastman Ladd and father-in-law to Edward Harris Barrett was from Franklin, New Hampshire.   He was born August 19, 1789 at Concord, New Hampshire to Dudley Ladd (1758-1841) and Bethia Hutchins. 

Below is a brief biography:

"Dudley went to Hallowell, Maine where he served an apprenticeship with his elder brother [Samuel Greenleaf Ladd] at the tinsmith trade.  In 1815 he removed to Salisbury East Village, (now Franklin) where he began the manufacture of lead pipe in the old Silas (?) Eastman iron wire workshop, standing near the outlet of Webster Lake Brook, near the Clement carriage shop; his shop was carried away during one of the great freshets.  He did much piping for aqueducts in this state, as well as in Vermont and Maine, and much of his work is still seen about the village of Franklin, which speaks well for his usefulness and thoroughness.  When the statehouse was built at Concord, in 1818, he took the contract for the tinning of the dome, which he did from a swinging stage.  While working there one cold windy day his staging caught fire and but for rare presence of mind would have burned so as to have precipitated him to the ground.  In 1833 he built the residence of Edwin C. Stone, and the store; the latter was not rented for some years after its completion because he would not allow liquor sold on its premises.  As a man of wealth, he erected a number of buildings and did much for the prosperity of the place.  Mr. Ladd was a strong anti-slavery advocate and often secreted slaves on their way north to liberty, for which he was once arrested, but the case never went to trial.  He was honorable in his dealings, a strict temperance advocate, and a devout Christian, being one of the pillars of the Congregational church erected at that place, having united with the church in 1837.  He died March 20, 1875.  The first stoves in aforesaid church were a gift from him, being cast at his foundry, which stood near the present Taylor foundry.  He was chairman of the committee on building the church and gave personal and pecuniary aid in its alteration, about 1834.  He married (1) May 21, 1823, Charlotte, daughter of Ebenezer Eastman, who died Jan. 30, 1826.  Married (2) Dec 24, 1837, Amanda Palmer of Orford, who still resides at Franklin [1890]." 

Source: The History of Franklin, New Hampshire, by John J. Dearborn. 1890, Manchester, NH.  p. 650-651.