wilderness, where lands were cheap, and purchase him a farm. Wandering one day in the region of what is now the town of Hillsborough, N. H., he stopped by a pleasant stream, which contained a plenty of the finest trout. This was an excellent recommendation of the spot in the eyes of the cap tain, and spying a log-hut in the distance, he sought its proprietor, and put to him the question : "Will you sell your farm?" The reply was "Yes." "How large is it?" asked the captain. "One hundred and fifty acres, with a half-dozen of it cultivated." "I will give you just one hundred and fifty dollars for it," said Captain Pierce, "and that is all the money I have to spare." After a little thought, the man accepted the offer, and Captain Pierce settled down in the wilderness as a farmer. In the fall of the year 1786, General Sullivan, who was then a resident of New-Hampshire, determined upon forming the militia of Hillsborough county into a brigade, and appointed Benjamin Pierce a brigade-major. His services were of great value to the militia of New-Hampshire, and he finally rose to be brigadier general. The first wife of Benjamin Pierce, Elizabeth Andrews, of Hillsborough, died at the early age of twenty-one, leaving a daughter, who is now the widow of the late distinguished General John McNeil. He again married Anna Kendrick, of Amherst, N. H., by whom he had three daughters and five sons. She was a woman of excellent character, and died just two months before her husband. One of the daughters died before attaining the age of womanhood, and the remaining two became accomplished women. The eldest married General Solomon McNeil, of New-Hampshire; the youngest became the wife of Hugh Lawrence, Esq., of Boston. They both died in the year 1837, leaving behind them families to mourn their loss. The only sister, therefore, living of Gen. Frank Pierce, is the widow of Gen. John McNeil, and the daughter of Gov. Benjamin Pierce by Elizabeth Andrews, his first wife. Mrs. McNeil is a very accomplished, affable, witty woman, and is loved and admired by a large circle of friends. The sons of Benjamin Pierce were, in the order of their ages, Benjamin U., J. Sullivan, Charles S., Franklin, and Henry D. Sullivan and Charles died young; the eldest, Benjamin U., entered Dartmouth College, and commenced reading law, but when the war of 1812 opened, his enthusiasm was so great that he forsook his situation for the army, where he soon rose to the rank of brevet-colonel. He was a brave and accomplished officer and gentleman. He was married three times, and left three daughters at his death in 1850, to mourn his loss. He gained considerable renown in the Florida War, and was in many respects like his brother, Franklin Pierce. He was exceedingly amiable and kind, was graceful in his manners, and everywhere he was known was loved. The youngest son of Governor Benjamin Pierce, Col. Henry D. Pierce, is now scarcely forty years of age, and is a drover and farmer. He is wealthy, intelligent, and has been elected to the Legislature of his native State for several terms. But to return to the sketch of old Governor Pierce's life: In 1789, he was elected from Hillsborough to sit in the House of Representatives at Concord, and continued to represent that town in the House for twelve consecutive years. In 1803, he was elected a member of the Governor's Council, in which office he continued until 1809, when he was appointed Sheriff of Hillsborough county. This office he occupied for four years. For many years following he was either Sheriff of the county which was his residence, or he was a member of the Governor's Council. In 1827, Benjamin Pierce was elected Governor of the State of New-Hampshire; in 1828, in times of great political agitation, he was for once defeated in his election, but he was triumphantly re-elected again in 1829. After this he lived in retirement to a good old age. He died April 1st, 1839, at the age of eighty-one years, and his remains were deposited in the town burying ground. Benjamin Pierce, as we have before remarked, was an extraordinary man, and from him the present distinguished Franklin Pierce has derived many of his best qualities. Without the advantages of early education-without opulent and powerful friends, Benjamin Pierce grew to be the most influ ential man in New-Hampshire. His influence in the county of Hillsborough was overwhelming, and indeed, throughout the State. He was, in fact, a man of great native talent. Shrewd, good-natured, and possessed of common-sense, he soon took his position as a leader of men. In personal appearance he was striking. He was rather short, and thick-set, had a rigid, honest-looking face, resembling, to a degree, the best portraits of Gen. Jackson. His eyes were bright and merry, his nose was prominent, his lips expressive of firmness, while his hair, during the latter portion of his life, was as white as snow. He had always a full flow of animal spirits, and was lively in temperament. He was a universal favorite-fearless, frank-hearted-entirely devoid of all aristocratical pride-he was well calculated to please the great body of the people. He was exceedingly fond of hunting and fishing, and as soon as he had brought his farm in Hillsborough under cultivation, he constructed a pond, in the centre of the lawn in front of his house, which he at all times kept well stocked with trout. He was a man of the most humane disposition. He was constantly engaged in some kind and generous work, and he gave to the poor and deserving a portion of his wealth. In 1818, there was considerable excitement in reference to the oppressive laws which obtained in reference to debtors. Under the laws then in force in the State of New-Hampshire, (and indeed the majority of all the States of the Union) an unfortunate, though strictly honest man, was liable to be thrown into the most foul of all dungeons, where he must remain till death should come to release him. There were cases of the imprisonment of the noblest of men-of men who had fought and bled in the wars of their country-and who, for misfortune alone, were doomed to rot their lives out in the confined dungeons of a prison. In the jail at Amherst, New-Hampshire, there were, in 1818, three aged prisoners; one of them had remained there for four years, in the closest confinement. When Benjamin Pierce was elected Sheriff of the county, one of his first acts was to appoint a day for the releasement of these prisoners. The people thought the occasion worthy of a public meeting, and when the day arrived, the 20th of November, 1818, they all assembled in front of the prison, when Sheriff Pierce, after having opened the door of the prison, addressed them as follows: "Moses Brewer, Isaac Lawrence, and George Lancy-By the return made me by Israel W. Kelly, Esq., my predecessor in the office of sheriff for the county of Hillsborough, it appears that you, Moses Brewer, was committed, December 13, 1814; and you, Isaac Lawrence, was committed December 27, 1815; and you, George Lancy, July 2, 1817: "MY UNFORTUNATE FELLOW-CITIZENS : The feelings excited by a view of your situation are inexpressible. That those heads, silvered by age and |