Larnard Powers, for many years one of the leading farmers and most influential citizens of Cornish, was born at Croydon, N.H., April 20, 1808. His grandparents were Lemuel and Thankful (Leland) Powers, and his parents were Colonel Samuel and Chloe (Cooper) Powers. Colonel Powers was born at Northbridge in 1763, and was a soldier and officer of the Revolution. His family consisted of the following named children: Olive, Obed, Judith, Nancy, Chloe, Samuel, Ara, Lemuel, Solomon, Ithamar, Larnard, and Randilla. Olive, born in 1786, died in 1841, unmarried; Obed, born in 1788, married Cynthia Cummings, and had a family of five children; Judith, born in 1790, became Mrs. Barton, and was the mother of seven children; Nancy, born in 1792, died in 1829, was the wife of David Kenney, and had three children; Chloe, born in 1795, married Lemuel Martindale, and bore him eight children; Samuel, born in 1795, died unmarried in 1828; Ara, born in 1797, married Mary Seaver, of Charlestown, and they were the parents of three children; Lemuel, born in 1801, died in infancy; Solomon was born in 1804; Ithamar, born in 1805, died in 1834; Randilla, born in 1811, married Alfred Ward, and was the mother of two children.
Larnard Powers received his education in the common schools of Croydon. After leaving school he engaged in farming in his native town for two years, and then came to Cornish, where he bought the estate upon which his widow and some of his family still reside. In politics he was always a Jeffersonian Democrat; and, although keenly interested in the town affairs, he was never an aspirant for political honors or for town offices. His business and personal affairs required the whole of his attention. His many fertile acres of land were largely devoted to the raising of grain and hay and to the pasturage of his flocks. He started in life as a poor boy, with his own way to make; and he succeeded by thrift, industry, and energy in amassing a comfortable fortune and in reaching a leading position in his line of business. His dairy business was extensive, and it is estimated that his wife made at their farm seventy-five thousand pounds of the highest-grade butter. This was always sought for in the Boston markets; and among the private customers supplied was the Hon. William M. Evarts, of New York City, he having a summer residence at Windsor, Vt. The business was kept up until five or six years ago, when, consequent upon the opening of the creameries, it was discontinued. Mr. Powers took a deep interest in educational matters, and, although not a college-bred man himself, was extremely painstaking in the education of his children. He was a gentleman of the old school, genial, generous, and courteous, and was universally admired and respected.
On April 7, 1836, Mr. Powers was united in marriage with Ruby M., daughter of John Barton, of Croydon; and in 1838 they removed to Cornish. Their children were: Caroline M., born in 1837; Erastus B., born in 1840; Alice V., born in 1846; and Samuel L., born in 1847. Caroline was educated at Claremont and at Kimball Union Academy. After completing her course of study, she became a teacher, and taught with unusual success for many terms, having the painstaking and determination Horace B. Wellman, of Cornish, October 5, 1864, and has one daughter-Ada P., born October 5, 1867. Ada was educated at Kimball Union Academy, as her mother had been; and, like her mother, she also taught school very successfully. She married Nelson H. Morgan, of Springfield, N.H., October 30, 1895, and is now living on the old homestead. Erastus B., second child of Mr. and Mrs. Powers, fitted for college at Kimball Union Academy, was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1865 and at Harvard Law School in 1866. He was a student of unusual ability, and stood first in his class in college. After being admitted to the bar, he taught school for a number of years, and was master of the high school at Nashua, N.H. He entered upon the practice of law in Boston, Mass., and has made a reputation for himself as one of the most talented men in the legal profession of that city. He married Emma F. Besse, of Wareham, Mass., daughter of Captain David and Emma (Knowlton) Besse; and one daughter, Ruby Barton, was born to them November 15, 1872. January 4, 1893, she was married to Clarence Wadsworth Clark, of Malden, Assistant Travelling Auditor of the Boston & Maine Railroad. Alice V. Powers attended Kimball Union Academy, and then taught school in the East and in Cass County, Missouri. She married Nathaniel Randall, of Ohio, an extensive grain grower and stockraiser, and has one daughter-Edith V., born January 12, 1876, who was educated in one of the Missouri Normal Schools. Samuel L. Powers was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1874, and studied law in New York City. After his admission to the bar he opened a law office in Boston, where he has since been a practising lawyer and one of the leaders of his profession in that city. He was elected a delegate to the Franco-American Treaty Convention at Paris in 1878, and has been counsel in many important cases in litigation. He is at present counsel for the New England Telegraph and Telephone Company. Mr. Powers resides in Newton, Mass., and is President of the Newton Club. He married Eva Crowell, of Dennis, Mass., on June 21, 1878, and has one son-Leland, born in Newton, July 1, 1890.
