Northwood's Notables
Northwood Historical Society

Northwood Notables & Notorious



Ellen Ahlgren

ABC Quilts is still headquartered in Northwood, 14 years after it's founding. In 1988, local resident Ellen Ahlgren was deeply touched by an article she read about HIV/AIDS infected babies. She decided to do something to help comfort them and quilts were the answer. Only 3 months later, the first 24 quilts were delivered.

In the next year, offers of help were received from quilters around the world. Quilts arrived from Japan and England. 100 quilts were delivered to infected babies in Moscow. The year 1990 marked the delivery of 1700 volunteer-created quilts to AIDS infected babies in Romania.

To date, more than a quarter million quilts, made by school children, scouts, church groups, 4-H clubs, advanced quilters and beginners have been distributed in 40 states, Puerto Rico, Chile, Russia and Romania.

AND it all started right here in Northwood.

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Jabel Barhue

New Hampshire people have always been proud that slave labor was never an important part of their economy. Even in colonial days only the wealthiest New Hampshire families owned slaves and in the years after the Revolutionary War most of them were given their freedom. Northwood was a frontier town then; therefore it is surprising to know even one family here owned a slave.

Jabel Barhue was the third of seven children of African born slaves Belmont and Venus Barhue. All belonged to Jeremiah Burnham of Durham. In 1778, when Jabel was only seven years old, he was given to Jeremiah's daughter Elizabeth who brought Jabel with her to Northwood in 1786 when she married Solomon Buzell. Elizabeth died in 1797 but Jabel remained with the Buzell family until his death in 1813. Jabel Barhue was given a funeral and a place in a corner of the Buzell family cemetery, but his gravestone was marked only with his name and the inscription, 'Faithful unto death.'"

From A Guide to the History and Old Dwelling Places of Northwood,

by Joann Weeks Bailey, 1992

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Samuel Bennett
 
Born January 1, 1791 in Northwood

Died September 21,1853 in Shreveport, Louisiana

Bennett's life was filled with adventure, controversy and eccentricities. He was one of 13 children born to Thomas & Sarah (Davis) Bennett. Along with several other family members, Samuel played a part in the history of Shreveport, LA.

Before leaving NH in 1813, at the age of 22, Bennett fathered a daughter, Mary. While he never married Comfort Batcheldor of Chichester, he supported Mary very handsomely throughout her childhood.

A gambler by profession, Bennett first went to Alabama where he was a land and slave owner. It has been written that "Bennett played chequers unusually well and naturally liked to play that game. Bennett considered it a willful waste of time to play only for the sake of the game, and would not play, except for a stake of not less than $10 a game."

About 1833, Sam Bennett and his brother William returned to NH, where William promptly fell in love with Sam's daughter, Mary. It is believed that they married in New York on their journey south. Within the next 11 years, Mary's husband, son William Jr., and second husband James Cane (widower of Sam's and William's sister, Rebecca!) would all die in Shreveport.

Sam Bennett moved to Shreveport to be near his daughter and grandchildren. He "invested in land and slaves in partnership" with Mary and Cane. After Cane's death in 1844, she married a third time, but this marriage ended in divorce not long after. Mary Bennett is often referred to as the "Mother of Shreveport." She and her daughter Mary Jane returned to visit NH in 1857.

Dr. Bennett died in Shreveport, a victim of yellow fever. One year before his death, he was tried for murder in the shooting death of a man, but was acquitted. His will left part of his estate to Mary and her children, but he did not acknowledge her as his daughter. Relatives in NH and Alabama went to court to disallow her inheritance and were upheld.

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William Jenkins - 1904

While Jenkins was murdered in Strafford near Bow Lake after a rowdy visit to the Rochester Fair, he was returning home to Northwood with 2 other men. After a disagreement about who should hold the reins, Russ Brown stopped his horse and carriage, "grasped a whiffletree that lay under the seat, and struck Jenkins several vicious blows on the head."

Brown rushed to his home "on the shore of Harmony pond" where he armed himself with cartridges, his rifle and hunting knife. Before he was arrested he took off up a hill near his home. "Nobody saw him alive after that."

More than 24 hours later, his body was found. Brown had committed suicide. Thus ended the life of "the town's notorious 'bad man.'"

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Ella Knowles
Ella Knowles was born in Northwood (Ridge) on July 31, 1860 to David and Louisa Knowles. She graduated from the Seminary, attended Plymouth State Normal School & taught for 4 years. It was in 1880 that she made her first mark on society when she entered Bates College in Maine. Four years later she graduated, only the fifth woman to do so, and with high honors.

Law was her next goal. She moved to Manchester to read law, but illness beset her and she was advised to move west for her health. Helena, Montana became her new home. 

Again, she returned to her law studies, at a time when there were only about 50 women lawyers in the nation! She lobbied the Montana legislature to change the law prohibiting women from the practice of law. 

In 1889 this occurred and she was admitted to the bar that same year. She was the first woman admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Montana and the first ever to plead a case in the US District and Circuit Courts.

She became a specialist in real estate and mining law and was very successful. It is said that she once received a $10,000 fee, reportedly the largest ever received by a woman lawyer.

Ella Knowles was also an ardent supporter of equal rights for women. She argued that women had to pay taxes and therefore should have the right to vote.

In 1903, Ella Knowles returned to Northwood where she spoke at the first celebration of Old Home Day.

She died in 1911, age 51, in Butte, Montana and is buried there.

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Georgianna Lovering - 1872

Georgianna was only 13 years old when she was murdered by her great uncle, Franklin Evans, on October 25, 1872. He set up an elaborate trap to trick her into entering the woods, and while he was there, he murdered her.

Evans three-day trial was held in Exeter. Prior to the third day he tried to hang himself, without success. After deliberating for 10 minutes, the jury declared Evans "...Guilty of Murder in the First Degree!" (as the newspaper of the times stated so emphatically) and he was sentenced to hang one year later in Concord. Thus "ended a trial which has excited the public mind to a remarkable pitch of feeling."

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George Rogers

This long-time Northwood resident has made his mark on the international level with his work in many areas of agriculture. From flood control impacts to bulk feed handling... from poultry and egg production to marketing economics... from tariff negotiations and foreign trade analysis to fruit and vegetable economics...from agricultural energy conservation and pricing studies to feed and grain economics.

After graduation from Coe Brown Northwood Academy in 1936, George received his BS and MS from the University of New Hampshire and his PhD from the University of Maryland. He served oversees in the Army during WW II.

He remains committed to Northwood and serves on many committees, as well as giving generously of his time and talents to many local endeavors, including the Historical Society. He is married to Ginny Rogers, has 4 children, 9 grandchildren and 1 great grandson.

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These sketches were provided by Janet Story Clark, Northwood Historical Society.

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