Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 9.djvu/302

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��Jeremiah IV. White, Esq.

��city was not a sinecure position. But the young man was not averse to toil, and by assiduous and systematic atten- tion to his duties was preparing the way for future success. Added to his other duties he began the study of medicine in all its branches, and con- tinued it for several years after, until he was qualified for, and, if occasion had required, could have entered upon, professional service.

Finishing his engagement at Boston, he engaged as clerk to Luther Angier, postmaster and druggist at Medford, Massachusetts, with the agreement that with proper notice he could leave to engage in business for himself. Early in the summer of 1845, Mr. White be- lieved that that time had arrived. He had never visited Nashua, but had heard of its reputation as a growing manufac- turing town. A few hours' inspection settled the question, and before leaving he hired the store which he afterwards occupied for nearly thirty years.

Mr. White, in engaging in trade for himself in Nashua, was aware that a young man and a stranger must en- counter severe difficulties in entering upon mercantile life. Many before him succumbed to the obstacles which he was now to encounter. He did not hesitate. Laying out his plan of busi- ness, he examined into the most minute details of its management. He was never idle. No man was more thor- ough and painstaking in the discharge of obligations to his customers. His labors often extended far into the night. In fact, he lived in labor, and thought no plan complete till its execution was secured. With these habits, added to sound business judgment and foresight and a rare knowledge of men, the record of the business life of Mr. White has been an uninterrupted success ; and

��it is in this department of consistent and persistent effort that his example is worthy of imitation.

In many of the business enterprises of Nashua Mr. White has taken an ac- tive, and in some of them a prominent, part. Engaging in the transportation and sale of coal on his arrival, he has always been the leading dealer in the trade. After the close of the war he originated the project of, and gave his attention to, the construction of the large block of stores on Main Street, known as the " Merchants' Exchange," retaining for himself and son the corner store, which he still occupies. Early in 1875 l"*^ conceived the idea of estab- lishing a new national bank, and in the April following obtained a charter. The people of Nashua and vicinity, believ- ing in his financial ability, immediately subscribed for the stock and elected him president, a position he continues to hold to the satisfaction of the stock- holders and the advantage of the insti- tution.

In addition to the presidency of the Second National Bank, Mr, White is now recognized by the public as a sa- gacious and influential railroad manager. Since 1876 he has been prominendy connected with the affairs of the Nashua & Lowell Railroad as a director and large stockholder. For many years this road had been connected with, and used by, the Boston & Lowell Railroad cor- poration, and, as Mr. White clearly saw, on terms greatly disadvantageous to the stockholders of the Nashua & Lowell company. The stock had gradually declined much below par. To resist so great and powerful a corporation re- quired pluck and energy. To be suc- cessful ag-ainst such odds demanded a leader daring, prompt, aggressive. Mr. White was the man for the emergency.

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