New Hampshire’s Leading Suffragist, Human Rights Proponent and Philanthropist: Armenia S. (Aldrich) White (1817-1916)

Armenia S. (Aldrich) White of Boscawen and Concord NH

Armenia Smith Aldrich, daughter of John & Harriet (Smith) Aldrich, was born 1 November 1817 in Mendon, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. In 1830 she moved with her parents to Boscawen NH, where she lived until her marriage.  She married a then stagecoach operator named Nathaniel White, who later became extremely wealthy, often crediting his wife Armenia for his success.

She was an “ardent friend and leading spirit of the anti-slavery cause,” and their home welcomed fugitive slaves as freely as others. She also supported the temperance cause, and women’s suffrage.

Armenia White photograph, undated, taken by Kimball & Sons of Concord NH. New Hampshire Historical Society. Used with permission.

[This following two paragraphs have been  added in 2019 on the centennial celebration of women’s suffrage in the United States].  “It was due chiefly to the untiring zeal and rare devotion of Nathaniel White and Armenia S. White of Concord that New Hampshire had the proud distinction of leading the East in this reform, which has now become a world-wide movement,” states the Brief History of the New Hampshire Woman’s Suffrage Association.

The New England Woman Suffrage Association  (NEWSA) was established in November 1868 to campaign for the right of women to vote in the U.S. Its principal leaders were Julia Ward Howe its first president, and Lucy Stone, who later became president.  Later that same year (1868), Armenia White [along with Mrs. Sarah Piper of Concord] wrote “The Call for the first convention (to create a NH suffrage association). Armenia became the first elected president of that organization, which title she held until 1895 (for 27 years). In 1895 the NH Suffrage headquarters was transferred from Concord to Nashua. Armenia remained a member, holding honorary positions until her death.

In 1869 Armenia and her husband supported the formation of the American Woman’s Suffrage Association, as advertised in the New York Herald of Oct 20, 1869, page 26:  “It is intended to form an American Woman’s Suffrage Association, and for this purpose invitations have been issued to kindred organizations, asking them to meet in a delegate Convention, to be held at Cleveland Ohio on the 24th and 25th of November [1869]….It includes the name of many of the leading advocates of woman’s rights of both sexes….John Neal, Maine; Nathaniel White, Armenia S. White, William T. Savage, New Hampshire; James Hutchinson Jr., C.W. Willard, Vermont; William Lloyd Garrison, Lydia Maris Child, David Lee Child, George F. Hoar, Julia Ward Howe, Gilbert Haven, Caroline M. Severance, James Freeman Clarke, Abby Kelly Foster, Stephen S. Foster, Frank B. Sanborn, Phebe A.  Hanaford, Massachusetts; etc.  The American Woman’s Suffrage Association.”  [Editor’s note: This organization was a rival to the National Woman’s Suffrage Association. The AWSA supported the Fifteenth Amendment that granted African American men the right to vote while the NWSA did not ].

Armenia White was an inspiration, mentor and monetary supporter of many causes, but especially of the push for women’s rights.  She lived to the great age of 98, but died before she could herself vote for a woman running for a state or national office.  A year before she died she held an open house at her home in Concord NH. [see newspaper article and photo at the end of this article].

Newspaper article found in the Washington Herald of 11 April 1930. The caption reads: “Left above, Mrs. A.L. Searles; right, Alice Stone Blackwell. Below, left to right, Mrs. Armenia Smith White, the late Susan B. Anthony, Miss Julia Lathrop,”

On 11 April 1930, an interesting news article appeared in the Washington Herald. It included the photographs show here. “To Mrs. Augustus L. Searles, of Minneapolis, is given credit for the National League of Women’s Voters’ plan to honor the pioneers in the women suffrage movement by the establishment of a memorial fund. A partial list of those to be so honored has been compiled, among them being the late Susan B. Anthony, Miss Julia Lathrop of Rockford Ill, first chief of the U.S. children’s bureau; Alice Stone Blackwell, of Boston, writer and editor, and Mrs. Armenia Smith White, New Hampshire suffrage worker.”  As far as I can tell no such memorial was ever built, but it does bring to light the importance of Mrs. Armenia White among her peers as a national leader in the suffrage movement.

Armenia White’s long-time friends included Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, Mary A. Livermore and Frances E. Willard. She was the first president of the New Hampshire Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and was president of the New Hampshire Women Suffrage Association since its organization.

In addition, Armenia White was a member of the board of trustees for the New Hampshire Centennial Home for the Aged; the Orphans’ Home, Franklin NH; and the Mercy Home, Manchester. She was active in the establishment of those organizations, and liberally supported them. She also was generous to the Universalist Church in Concord and many other charities, both local and general.

The steamship, “Armenia White,” shown on Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire.

During the first four years of their married life, on account of Mr. White’s occupation, they boarded; for eight years they lived on Warren street; from 1848 until the death of Mr. White they lived at their residence on School Street. Besides a farm of 400 acres in Concord NH, Armenia White and her husband had a summer retreat on Lake Sunapee called Pine Cliff. The flagship built and run by the  Woodsum brothers on Lake Sunapee in 1871 was named the “Armenia White” after her. It was a 101 foot long steamship that accomodated 650 passengers. (Nathaniel and Armenia White were financial backers). The steamer retired at George’s Mills in 1917 and was sold for scrap in 1939 for $100.

ALSO SEE: Concord New Hampshire’s White Park And Family [and genealogy of the White family]

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**Family Tree of Mrs. Armenia (Aldrich) White**
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George Aldrich/Aldredge, 1605-1683  [immigrant ancestor]. He m. 3 Sep 1629 in Derbyshire England to Katherine Seald. She was b 1610 and d. 11 Jan 1691 in Mendon MA aged 81. George Aldrich arrived from Derbyshire in 1631 or 32, had land in Dorchester MA set off to him in 1636 and was one of the original members of the church in that town. On 7 Dec 1636 George was admitted a Freeman. He later removed to Braintree about 1644 and after to Mendon MA in 1663.  “June 9, 1663, George Aldridge, Taylor, and Katherine his wife, conveyed to Richard Thayer for thirty pounds sterling, one dwelling house at Monoticot in Braintree, two orchards, eight acres bounded east and west on Richard Thayer, north on Joseph Crosby, south on Monoticot river.”  His will was dated 2 Nov 1681/2 and hed died in Mendon MA on 1 March 1682/3. His will was probated 26 April 1683.
Children of George & Katherine (Seald) Aldrich/Alldredge:
1. Abel Aldrich, b. June 1633 in England, d.y.
2. Joseph Aldrich, b. 4 June 1635 in Dorchester MA
3. Mary Aldrich, b. 16 June 1637 in Dorchester MA; unmarried
4. Miriam Aldrich, b. 29 June 1639 i Dorchester; buried 27 Jan 1640
5. Experience Aldrich, b. 4 Sep 1641 in Braintree MA; died there 2 Feb 1641/2
6. John Aldrich, b. 2 April 1644 in Braintree, died in Bridgewater MA; married with 6 children; m. Sarah –; They had son Jacob Aldrich who m. Margery Hayward. Jacob & Margery had dau Mercy who m. Israel Taft, son of Robert & Elizabeth.
3. Peter Aldrich, b. 14 Apr 1648
7. Sarah Aldrich, b. 16 Ja 1645/6 in Braintree mA; d. 27 Feb 1684/5 in Rehoboth; married abt 1655 to John Bartlett of Mendon MA; 8 children
8. Peter Aldrich, b. 4 April 1648 in Braintree MA; m. c1682 Mehitable Swazey, dau of John Jr. and Katherine (King) Swazey of Mattituck LI; had 3 children
9. Mercy Aldrich, b. 17 June 1650 in Braintree MA: d. 26 Sep 1702 in Weymouth MA; m. c1667 John Randlal of Mendon MA, son of Robert ahd Mary Randall. He was b. c1635 in Weymouth MA; 6 children
10. +Jacob Aldrich, b. 28 Feb 1652
11. Martha Aldrich, b. 10 July 1656 in Braintree MA: m. John Dunbar of Mendon MA; 1 child.

Jacob Aldrich, tenth child of George & Katherine (Seald) Aldrich was born 28 Feb 1652/53 in Braintree MA; He died 22 Oct 1695 in Mendon MA. He married 3 Nov 1675 to Huldah Thayer, dau of Ferdinando and Huldah (Heyward) Thayer of Braintree MA. She was b. 16 June 1657 and died after 1707 in Mendon MA. Jacob and Huldah settled on the Aldrich homestead in Mendon MA which Jacob inherited from his father. He was selected as town treasurer, moderator of the town meeting, selectman and a member of a committee to settle the town line between Mendon and Uxbridge MA. He died intestate. They had 12 children. [additional info on this line here]
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Children of Jacob & Huldah (Thayer) Aldrich:
1. Jacob Aldrich, b. 7 March 1676
2. Abel Aldrich, b. 26 January 1678, died young
3. Seth Aldrich, b. 6 July 1679
4. Huldah Aldrich, b. 6 Nov 1680
5. Rachel Aldrich, b. 22 Feb 1682; d. 25 Nov 1690
6. Sarah Aldrich, b. 25 Oct 1683
7. David Aldrich, b. 23 May 1685; d. 15 March 1771 >> ancestor of Thomas Bailey Aldrich.
8. Peter Aldrich, b. 17 Oct 1686; died 1748
9. John Aldrich, b. 27 Nov 1688; d. 25 March 1750
10. +(Rev.) Moses Aldrich, b. 1 Apr 1690
11. Mercy Aldrich, b. 27 Feb 1692; d. 18 March 1693
12. Rachel Aldrich, b. 27 Dec 1694

Rev. Moses Aldrich, son of Jacob & Huldah (Thayer) Aldrich, b. 1 Apr 1690 in Mendon, Worcester Co MA and d. 9 Sep 1761 Mendon MA. He m. 23 Apr 1711 in Mendon MA to Hannah White, dau of Joseph & Lydia (Copeland) White. She b. 9 Dec 1691 in Mendon MA and d. 1761 in Mendon MA. Moses Aldrich was a versatile man and a noted Quaker preacher. He was also a farmer, had a blacksmith shop, a sawmill, a wine press. His tannery was located just over Muddy Brook on the road to Spindleville. Some of the hair from the hides tanned there were ploughed out of the ground about 1900. As a Quaker preacher, Rev. Moses was sent out as a missionary to all the colonies, Barbadoes, England and Ireland. Tradition says he secured funds from wealthy Quakers in Barbadoes to build the first Mendon Meeting House. Moses and Hannah had twelve children. All of the children lived until the youngest was 60 years of age.
Children of Moses & Hannah (White) Aldrich:
1. Abigail Aldrich, b. 18 Sep 1712 Mendon, Worcester Co MA
2. Mary Aldrich, b. 15 Feb 1714 Mendon MA
3. George Aldrich, b. 13 Jan 1716 Mendon MA
4. Mercy Aldrch, b. 28 Nov 1717 Mendon MA
5. Robert Aldrich b 11 Dec 1719 Mendon MA
6. Lydia Aldrich b 28 Oct 1721 Mendon MA
7. Thomas Aldrich, b. 24 Feb 1724 Mendon MA
8. +Caleb Aldrich, b. 14 Jan 1726 Mendon MA
9. Luke Aldrich, b. 9 Feb 1728 Mendon MA; d. 15 Oct 1804; he m. Hannah French dau of Dependence & Rebecca (Thayer) French on 20 June 1753. She was b. 18 Oct 1728. Their children (Aldrich) Esek, Catharine, Seneca, Watee, and perhaps others.
10. Alice Aldrich, b. 2 May 1730 Mendon MA
11. Moses Aldrich, b. 19 Apr 1732 Mendon MA
12. Aaron Aldrich, b. 3 Jan 1734 in Mendon MA

Caleb Aldrich, son of Moses & Hannah (White) Aldrich, b. 14 Jan 1726 in Mendon, Worcester Co MA and d. 8 Nov 1809 in Smithfield, Providence RI. He m. 1 Jan 1748 in Smithfield RI to Mary Aldrich. She b. 1727 in Smithfield RI. He married 28 June 1753 in Mendon MA to Mary Arnold, dau of Thomas & Susan (Comstock) Arnold. She b. 2 Oct 1730 in Smithfield RI and d. Oct 1816 in Smithfield RI.
Children of Caleb & Mary (Aldrich) Aldrich:
1. Susanna Aldrich, b. 25 Nov 1748 Cumberland, Providence Co., RI
2. Thomas Aldrich, b. 7 Apr 1750 Cumberland RI
3. William M. Aldrich, b. 3 Apr 1752 Cumberland RI
Children of Caleb & Mary (Arnold) Aldrich:
4. Susanna Aldrich, b. 25 Nov 1748 Cumberland RI, and died 30 April 1790, aged 43; she m. Israel Mowry, son of Elisha Mowry.
5. Thomas Aldrich b 7 Apr 1750 Cumberland RI
6. Hannah Aldrich, b. 2 Feb 1752 Cumberland RI
7. William M. Aldrich, b. 3 Apr 1752 Cumberland RI
8. Naomi Aldrich, b. 6 May 1756 Cumberland RI
9. +Naaman Aldrich, b. 6 May 1756 Cumberland RI
10. Joel Aldrich, b. 2 June 1758 Mendon, Worcester Co., MA
11. Augustus Aldrich, b. 9 May 1760 Mendon MA
12. Mary Aldrich, b. 8 Sep 1763 Smithfield, Providence Co., RI
13. Caleb Aldrich, b. 27 Sep 1764 Smithfield RI
14. Moses Aldrich, b. 15 March 1767 Smithfield RI
15. Lydia Aldrich, b. 29 May 1769 Smithfield RI
16. Arnold Aldrich, b. 1 Aug 1773 Smithfield RI

Naaman Aldrich, son of Caleb & Mary (Arnold) Aldrich, was. b 6 May 1756 in Smithfield, Providence Co RI and d. 19 Oct 1824 in Smithfield RI. He m. 6 June 1776 in Smithfield RI to Mercy Arnold, dau of Stephen & Rachel (Arnold) Arnold. She b. 4 Aug 1757 in Smithfield RI and d. 25 Feb 1826 in Smithfield RI. owned large tracts of land in Mendon MA, where he was an extensive farmer and cattle dealer.
Children of Naaman & Mercy (Arnold) Aldrich:
1. Mark Aldrich, b. 13 Oct 1777 Smithfield RI
2. Luke Aldrich, b. 22 March 1780 Smithfield RI; settled in Mendon MA when a young man and followed agriculture.  He m. Lucinda Thayer. Their son Benjamin Franklin Aldrich was b. in Mendon MA on 2 May 1828, and d. 12 Sep 1895. Benjamin married in 1856 to Urana S. Mowry, daughter of George Mowry and had four children: Charles Thorton Aldrich, Mary Louise (Aldrich) Woodbury wife of Henry Harvey Woodbury; Emma E. (Aldrich) Luther, wife of Howard Luther; and Annie Belle Aldrich.
3. Lucy Aldrich, b. 25 July 1782 Smithfield RI
4. +John Aldrich, b. 20 Jan 1785 Smithfield RI
5. Peleg Aldrich, b. 25 Nov 1787 Smithfield RI
6. Alpha Aldrich, b. 30 Aug 1790 Smithfield RI,  d. 28 July 1868 at Pleasant Plains IL. She m. 12 June 1814 to Levi Mowry, son of Jonathan Mowry. He b. 12 Jan 1790 and d. 10 Oct 1863 in his 74th year. Children (MOWRY): Mark Aldrich, Dutee B., Lyman, Lewis Aldrich, Marinda Ballou, Jarvis Hiram, Martin, George, James Heron.
7-9 three ch born at Mendon MA and Smithfield RI betwe 1790-1795, who died young
10. Lewis Aldrich b 18 Feb 1799 Smithfield RI
11. Maria Antonette Aldrich b. 9 June 1802 Smithfield RI

John Aldrich, son of Naaman & Mercy (Arnold) Aldrich, b. 20 Jan 1785 Smithfield, Providence Co RI, and d. 19 March 1865 in Concord NH. He m. 18 Jan 1810 to Harriet Smith, dau of Samuel & Hope (Doten) Smith. She b. 21 Feb 1795 in Smithfield, RI and d. 13 May 1872.  They removed from Rhode Island at the time of their marriage, and moved to Mendon, Mass., where he resided till 1830, when he made Boscawen his home, purchasing a farm on High street, near Salisbury line. He was a member of the Society of Friends. Through life, Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich manifested the frank, honest, sincere traits of character which are emulated by the Friends. They were progressive in their religious views, earnest in their efforts to do good, ever ready to help the poor, guided by a simple faith and trust which ever led them to a higher spiritual life. They were industrious and frugal, simple in their tastes, and patterns of neatness. They lived quietly and ostentatiously, beloved and respected by their friends and neighbors.
Children of John & Harriet (Smith) Aldrich:
1. +Armenia Smith Aldrich, b. 1 Nov 1817 in Mendon Worcester Co., MA
2. John Vespacian Aldrich, b. 9 Nov 1825 in Mendon MA; m. 1 Jan 1853 in Concord NH to  Olive French.

Armenia Smith Aldrich, dau of John & Harriet (Smith) Aldrich of Boscawen NH, was born 1 November 1817 in Mendon, Worcester Co., MA . In 1830 she went with her parents to Boscawen NH, where she lived until her marriage.  She died 7 May 1916 in Concord NH, and is buried in Blossom Hill Cemetery in Concord NH beside her husband. This blog post is about her, see above. [Also SEE White Genealogy in a separate post for additional details about her husband and children].

The Aldrich side of the family is shown here.  In addition, “on the maternal side Mrs. White’s ancestry includes the Pilgrims of the “Mayflower,”–Edward Doty, Francis Cooke and Stephen Hopkins, also Mr. Hopkin’s second wife, Elizabeth, and their daughter Damaris, who both came with him to Plymouth. Mrs. White’s mother, whose maiden name was Harriet Smith, was a daughter of Samuel Smith and his wife Hope Doten, who married at Plymouth MA 3 May 1791. The Doty-Doten Genealogy shows that Hope Doten, born in 1765 was a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Kempton) Doten, and was descended from Edward Doty and his wife, Faith Clark, through John and Elizabeth (Cooke) Doty, Isaac and Martha (Faunce) Doten, and Isaac and Mary (Lanham) Doten  Isaac being father of James and grandfather of Hope Doten.  White’s maternal grandmother, Elizabeth, wife of John Doty or Doten was the daughter of Jacob Cooke (son of Francis) and his wife, Damaris, daughter of Stephen Hopkins and his wife Elizabeth.”

===== PHOTO & NEWS CLIPPING FROM 4 May 1915=====

Photograph of Armenia White from 1915 Boston Globe article transcribed here.The Boston Globe, Tuesday May 4, 1915, page 16Headline:THOWS OPEN HOME AT 97 TO AID SUFFRAGE CAUSE / Mrs. Armenia S. White Gives a Public Reception at Concord, N.H. / Hopes to Live to See Ballot in Hands of Women of the Granite State. / By WINFIELD M. THOMPSON.

CONCORD, N.H. May 5–At the age of 97 years 6 months and 3 days ,Mrs. Armenia S. White today opened her comfortable home on Capitol St., opposite the State House, to all who wished to attend a reception and meeting in aid of equal suffrage. // Seated in a low, bow-backed armchair, Mrs. White received her guests with a handshake–she extended her left hand as there is a touch of rheumatism in the right–a word of welcome and a smile for each. // Her chair was placed before a long scarlet curtain at a window in a drawing-room, almost as large as a hall, in which many meetings have been held. Mrs. White has long been an earnest worker for peace, temperance and equal suffrage, and many persons named in history have been her friends and guests in the home where today she lent her presence once again to the suffrage cause. // Today the kindly old face of the mistress of the house beamed from beneath a turban-like cap of tulle, snowy white. A simple scarf of the same material was held at her throat with a large cameo pin. Her dress was of soft black silk, cut with a flowing skirt, and she wore over her shoulders a thin white knitted shawl. The pin and a small wedding ring were her only jewelry. There was a simplicity in her costume suggesting her Quaker girlhood, to which Mrs. White is proud of referring. // There was nothing in her dress, manner or the plain comfort of her home to suggest that she is the richest woman in Concord; and its heaviest individual taxpayer. Her life has been devoted to good work rather than to indulgence in wealth. //
— Recalled an Old Heart Story —
“Now give us a good account in the paper,” said Mrs. White, in a sprightly manner, when the Globe man sent his representative up from Boston solely to see her. // “O, you don’t want to write me up,” she said with a smile and an approach to a twinkle in her eye. “Write up the meeting; put in a good piece about it. That’s the important thing.” // Mrs. White consented to pose for a photograph–her last one was made more than several years ago, when she was 90–and with some assistance walked into the front parlor, where a local photographer was setting up his camera. // “There’s nothing like being old” she said with a hint of a deprecatory grimace, as she entered the room. “Everyone takes notice of you.” // On her way to a chair she stopped before a tall mirror and regarded her image in the glass. She had on no spectacles, but she could see herself quite well enough to note that her cap was awry. “My cap is untied?” she explained, and with a smile she began setting it straight. // You look all right, Mrs. White,” said the photograph. “You know me; I’m telling you the truth.” “Know you,? Of course I know you!” she replied quickly. “I knew you when you used to come around here to see the girls. You came pretty often and sat on our back porch!” // Her memory had flashed back to a little heart story of 40 years ago, unknown to most of the people present, and half forgotten by others–but not by the photographer. He is gray haired now, but he was a young man then, and one of Mrs. White’s handsome daughters–one who is now no more–was the magnet that drew him to the house. // The aged lady patted his arm today as he helped her to her seat, and calling him by named, repeated in a tone of reminiscent affection, “You came pretty often then!” //
–Living Link with the Past–
A woman’s instinct to look her best survives through more than 97 years it seems; for when she had been posed, Mrs. White demanded how much of her figure would show in the print; if more than the head, the wanted her shawl rearranged. // When the picture had been made, the aged woman resumed her place in the drawing room. She listened with close attention to the speakers, and when a good point was made, no face in the room was more expressive than hers. // She watched the serving of refreshments, but partook of none. She eats regularly, of frugal fare, and her diet embraces a very liberal portion of new cheese, taken twice a day. To this nourishing form of food some of her friends attribute the preservation of her strength, which bids fair to last until she has passed the century mark. // When one of the speakers at today’s meeting–a man–expressed the hope that Mrs. White would live to see equal suffrage established in New Hampshire, the aged subject of his remarks was visibly affected. // She has been laboring for equal suffrage more than 50 years. She cannot remember when she did not take a deep interest in the welfare of her sex. Descended from Mayflower and Quaker stock–she was born in Mendon, Mass., Nov 1, 1817–she came of a race of sturdy and of thinking women. // Though small physically, she was big mentally, and from childhood she had a grasp on the broad significance of events. She has followed the history of her country closely, and today she is sensible of the privilege permitted her of standing as a living link between a younger generation and a distant and storied past.
–Bride in Andrew Jackson’s Time– Some of the persons who were received by Mrs. White today recalled that when she was born James Monroe was in the first year of his term as President. Maine was still a part of Massachusetts. The was of 1812 had so recently come to and end that legislation for the relief of the widows it had caused was being enacted. // Mrs. White was a bride in the second Presidential term of Andrew Jackson–she married Nathaniel White at Concord, November 1, 1836., when she was 19 and he was 25–she had been 10 years married when the Mexican War began, and was a mature matron of 36 when Franklin Pierce, New Hampshire’s President took the oath of office as the Nation’s Chief Magistrate. She was in her 48th year when Lincoln fell, and 52 when Pierce died. // In the long uphill agitation against slavery, Mrs. White and her husband worked steadily. Such men as Wendell Phillips and William Lloyd Garrison were their friends. There are persons in Concord today who remember hearing of fugitive blacks who slept in Mr. White’s stable, en route from slavery to a haven in Canada. // When the slavery fight was won, Mrs. Whit turned her energies to temperance and equal suffrage. She became as associate of Lucy Stone, of Julia Ward Howe, of Mary A. Livermore, of Frances E. Willard. In 1869 she formed the New Hampshire Equal Suffrage Association and became its first president. She also became prominent in the W.C.T.U. // Mrs. White’s interest in public questions was not allowed to intrude upon her duties of motherhood. She bore seven children. Two of these are now spared her–Mrs. Armenia W. Hobbs who lives with her, and Benjamin C. White, a director in a Concord Bank.
–Remembers First Railroad–
Mrs. White has seen manners and customs run the whole range of change from the primitive life of times when the swiftest transportation on land was the stage coach, through the birth of railroads to the era of the luxurious automobile. Last Summer she made a journey from Concord to her Summer home on Lake Sunapee in a big touring car. // She could recall as she bowled luxuriously along the days in her early married life when her husband drove the stage over the rough roads between Concord and Hanover. His life was identified with the development of transportation in New Hampshire. With the coming of the railroad (she remembers it well) he went into the express business, and later, as a partner of B.P. Cheney, amassed a fortune; yet he was not above delivering express matter in Concord with oxen, as late as the early 70’s when an epidemic had seized his company’s horses. // He was one of the largest owners of Concord & Montreal Railroad stock, and his estate therefore lost heavily in the Boston & Maine misfortunes. // Still, Mrs. White is rated as a very wealthy woman. Her tax bill in Concord last year was $1779. She has large property interests on Lake Sunapee and is a stockholder in the transportation company at the lake, which has a steamer named for her. // Mrs. White’s benefactions have been many. The White Memorial Universalist Church in Concord is a monument to her husband. The needs of the aged, and of suffering children appeal to her. She is a supporter and director of the New Hampshire Centennial Home for the Aged at Concord, the Orphans’ Home at Frankin and the Mercy Home at Manchester. // Among her gifts to Concord is a park in a region of hill and vale on the west edge of the city that is among the loveliest public retreats in New England. It was laid out by the late Charles Eliot of Boston.
— Minister and Editor Speak —
Today’s meeting at Mrs. White’s home was held by the Concord Equal Suffrage Association, in observation of National Suffrage Day. The president, Mrs. Helen L. Remick, presided. The speakers were Rev. Henry G. Ives of Andover, N.H., and Frank Knox, editor of the Manchester Union. Mrs. Walter Tinn recited a poem. // The officers of the association are Mrs. Helen L. Remick, president; Mrs. Bertha P. Page vice president; Mrs. Grace E. Foster, treasurer; Elizabeth R. Elkins, recording secretary; Mrs. Armenia W. Hobbs, Mrs. Harry H. Dudley, Mrs. Levin J. hase and Mrs. Nellie P. Chamberlin, directors. ////// end //////

*SOURCES*

1. FamilySearch, Church of the Latter-day Saints, www.familysearch.org
2. Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 4; Lewis Publishing Company, 1908, page 1628
3. Biographical review. : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts.; Boston: Biographical Review Pub. Co., 1899; page 988
4. The descendants of John Mowry of Rhode Island; by William A. Mowry, Providence R.I.: Preston & Rounds Co., 1909.
5. Alldredge-Aldridge-Bracken-Nesmith families and their kin, by Memory Aldridge Lester; Chapel Hill, N.C.: Priv. print., 1957, page 3-4
6. The ancient iron works at Braintree, Mass, by Samuel A. Bates; So. Braintree Mass.: F.A. Bates, 1898.
8. Brief genealogies of the Tyler, Taft, Wood, Bates & Hill families, by Newell Tyler; Worcester, Mass; Printed by Tyler & Seagrave, 1882
9. Ancestors and descendants of Eugene Waterman Mason : including the Stursberg ancestry of Mrs. Mason, by Eugene Waterman Mason; Bernardsville, N.J.1968.
10. The History of Boscawen and Webster, from 1733 to 1878,  compiled by Charles Carlton Coffin, Concord, N.H.: Republican Press Assoc. 1878.
10. New Hampshire Women: A Collection of Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Daughters and Residents of the Granite State; New Hampshire Publishing Company, 1895; page 9.
11. Newbury, Arcadia Publishing 2009, page 47.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated in June of 2019 to be more inclusive of Mrs. White’s extensive work for women’s suffrage.