Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 2.djvu/175

 ■ THE

��GRANITE MONTHLY.

��A MAGAZINE OF LITERATURE, HISTORY, AND STATE PROGRESS.

��vol. ii.

��MARCH, 1879.

��jSTO. 6.

��HERBERT E. N ORRIS.

��Among the young men of New- Hampshire whose names have been prominent in our state politics during the past few years, Herbert F. Norris of Epping, is one of the most active and well known.

The Norrises of Epping, and most of those bearing the name in this section of the country, are the descendants of seven brothers who were among the first settlers of that town, then a portion of Exeter, who located upon farms in the same vicinity, all lying along the road from Epping village to West Epping. The name was prominent in the early history of the town, several of its repre- sentatives taking a prominent part in public and military affairs. We find, in fact, that precisely one hundred years previous to the election of the subject of our sketch as a member of the legis- lature from Epping, in 1877, the town was represented in that body by one Josiah Norris.

Herbert F. Norris was born in Ep- ping, July 28, 1849. He is the eldest of five children (two sons and three daughters)' of Israel F. Norris, a farm- er, of that town. His early years were spent in labor upon his father's farm, and in attending the district school. Subsequently he attended the high

��school in the neighboring town of Ray- mond about a year, and was afterwards engaged in teaching several terms in his own town. In December, 1870, he entered the N. H. Conference Seminary at Tilton, and graduated in the college preparatory course in the summer of 1872, taking high rank in his class, which was one of the largest ever grad- uated from that institution. While in the Seminary he developed a decided talent for debate, and was an acknowl- edged leader in society matters. He had contemplated a college course at Dartmouth, but was prevented from en- tering with the class that year, by a se- vere illness, and finally relinquished the idea. Upon his recovery he engaged in teaching, being successively engaged at West Epping, Fremont, and South Newmarket, and going immediately from the latter place to take charge of the Academy at Canaan, for the spring term of 1873. Subsequently he taught another term of school at Epping, re- turning to Canaan as principal again in the fall, and also teaching the next spring term of that academy. Mean- time, in December, 1873, ^ e entered as a student at law in the office of Eastman, Page & Albin at Concord, and upon the close of the spring term

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