The Saunders family was a family of important
industrialist
A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
s and politicians in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...
.
Daniel Saunders Sr.
Daniel Saunders Sr. (June 20, 1796 – October 8, 1872) was born in
Salem, New Hampshire
Salem is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 30,089 at the 2020 census. Being located on Interstate 93 as the first town in New Hampshire, which lacks any state sales tax, Salem has grown into a commerci ...
. His youth was spent in both Salem and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
. He entered the textile industry as a teen-aged apprentice. After a stint as foreman at the
Abbott Mills in
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.
An encyclopedia (American Engli ...
, he became connected with
North Andover Mills. Then Saunders built his own small mill in Andover, and in 1840 he purchased mills in
Concord, New Hampshire. In 1843 he sold the
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
mills and the one in Andover in preparation for an even bigger enterprise. Daniel Saunders' new
textile mill
Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful go ...
near Andover was the foundation for the new city of
. Daniel Sr. was also rumored to have been involved in the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...
. The Daniel Saunders Elementary School is named after him.
[{{cite web, title=Daniel Saunders Sr. (1796–1872) Lawrence, MA « Queen City Massachusetts, url=http://queencityma.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/daniel-saunders-sr-1796-1872-lawrence-ma, accessdate=2010-04-03]
Daniel Saunders Jr.
Daniel Saunders Jr. was a son of Daniel Saunders Sr. He married a Mary Livermore (not
Mary Livermore
Mary Livermore (born Mary Ashton Rice; December 19, 1820May 23, 1905) was an American journalist, abolitionist, and advocate of women's rights. Her printed volumes included: ''Thirty Years Too Late,'' first published in 1847 as a prize temperance ...
), granddaughter of
Samuel Livermore
Samuel Livermore (May 14, 1732May 18, 1803) was a U.S. politician. He was a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire from 1793 to 1801 and served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1796 and again in 1799.
Life and career
Livermore ...
. Daniel Jr. was a
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...
and the 6th mayor of Lawrence, from 1860 to 1861, as a
Democrat.
Caleb Saunders
Caleb Saunders was a son of Daniel Saunders Sr. He was the 19th mayor of Lawrence in 1877, as a Democrat.
Charles W. Saunders
Charles Wesley Saunders (d. 1891) was a son of Daniel Saunders Sr. and the son-in-law of
Nicholas Gaubert Norcross.
Charles G. Saunders
Charles Gurley Saunders (ca. 1848–1918) was the son of Daniel Saunders Jr.
Edith Saunders
Edith Saunders was one of three daughters of Daniel Saunders Jr. She was the last surviving member of this influential family.
Grafton County Lumber Company
Daniel Jr. and Charles W. founded the Grafton County Lumber Company in 1874. While the company office and sales department was in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
, the logging operations centered about
Livermore, New Hampshire
Livermore is an unincorporated civil township and ghost town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. It was briefly inhabited as a logging town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The site of the former village is about west of No ...
and included the
Sawyer River Railroad
The Sawyer River Railroad was a lumber railroad that operated along the Sawyer River in Livermore, New Hampshire from 1877 until 1928, when all rail traffic ceased.
By comparison with other logging roads of the day in the White Mountains, this w ...
and a large
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
. Indeed, every building in Livermore belonged to the Saunders, along with 30,000 acres of timberland. Daniel gave up his share in the company in 1880 to his son Charles G. After the death of Charles G. Saunders, the inheritance passed to his three sisters. Logging and sawmill operations continued until 1928, and the mostly-logged out land was sold to the
U.S. Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Nationa ...
in 1935.
References
Political families of the United States
Business families of the United States