Collection number: mc 316
Size:
(1 containors)
(0.3 cu.ft.)
About Solon Burpee Sargent (1861-19--)
Solon Burpee Sargent (August 1861-?) was a granite/marble cutter from New London, NH. He was the youngest son of farmer Horace Sargent and Roxanna (Burpee) Sargent. Two older brothers were Newton (1866-1926) and Alfred (1858-1926). He moved extensively in search of work during his early career; censuses list him in New London, Plymouth NH, Boston MA, and Hardwick VT, before finally settling down in Franklin NH and doing business in Tilton, NH. He married Mary E. Hart of Somerville MA (ca. 1860-ca. 1903) in 1884. They had at least one child, Julia Fuller Sargent (1888-1917). In 1904 he married Alice L. Troop Littlefield (1856-19??). He was an active member of the Merrimack Lodge No. 80 of the International Order of the Odd Fellows (IOOF) and the activities of the Lodge are documented in his diaries and account books.
During the early 1880s Sargent worked for stonecutter Peter Dana of Concord. By 1894 he was the proprietor of a busy granite and marble sales and carving business based in Tilton, NH, supplying cemetery headstones for most of the surrounding towns. He traveled extensively doing work for local New Hampshire towns as well as those farther afield, such as Bath and Vassalboro Maine.
About the Sargent Papers (1879-1894)
This collection consists of seven individual diaries and account books related to Sargent’s household and business expenses. The two categories are largely in separate volumes. Household details include money given to his first wife (identified as M.E.S.), who cared for their daughter Julia, fees paid to the Odd Fellows lodge, dances attended, haircuts, travels to his family, and interactions with his brother Alfred who lived in Franklin with him during the late 1880s. There is also information on whom he boarded with before moving to his own home as a newlywed.
Business accounts detail whom he worked for, who worked for him, how much he spent and earned, as well as individual tombstone sketches and details of who ordered or paid for the work and which cemetery the tomb was placed in. He also mentions photos taken of stones; these were not acquired with the collection.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
This collection is open.
Copyright Notice
Contents of this collection are governed by U.S. copyright law. For questions about publication or reproduction rights, contact Special Collections staff.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], [Folder Number], [Box number], Solon Burpee Sargent Papers, 1879-1894, mc 316, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Purchases from Carmen Valentino Rare Books, ca. 2010.
Collection Arrangement
Arrangement is chronological by earliest date listed in volume.
