Two Cousins From Salisbury, NH
James Haskell, abt 1842 – d.1870
John Haskell, 1841 – d.1901
Nov 11, 2023 Veterans Day
After many delays beyond our control, the John Haskell Tombstone was finally dedicated in a ceremony thanks to our very determined members. A reading, singing of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, prayer, playing of Taps, and gift of the flag to the Salisbury Historical Society all completed the process of long research with the acknowledgment and dedication to James & John Haskell.
The Warner Plaque Dedication several years earlier.
James Haskell was an American of African descent.
He was born about 1842, actually in Warner, New Hampshire, and also lived for a time in Salisbury, and is buried here. He was the child of William Haskell and *Caroline M. Clark (see below). His father, William Haskell, was a well-known basket maker who lived in Warner, NH:
John Haskell (parents unknown at this time) & Lucinda Clark resided on the Warner end of the Couchtown Road, it is believed.
William Haskell, Son of John Haskell & Lucinda Clark, b. Warner Dec 31, 1818 (brother John, see below, was born in 1821) was a well-known and talented basket maker in Warner, NH. m. Caroline Clark, daughter of Anthony Clark & Lucinda Moore (Lucinda Moore was the daughter of Sampson Battis)
James Haskell, son of William & Caroline Haskell, b abt 1842, 1866 m. Dorcas Ann Puul, b 1825 Gilmanton, daughter of Jacob Paul and Catherine Wallace. 1860: Warner, James, living with his parents in New Hampshire with his parents. James Franklin Haskell enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts Regiment in 1863 and mustered out in 1865.Residences
1863: Warner, New Hampshire (military enlistment). James Haskell is listed as a farmer standing at about 5’4″ (1.63m) tall with a dark complexion, black eyes, and black hair upon enlistment.
MILITARY SERVICE
From government records;
Haskell, James F.
Age at enlistment: 21
Enlistment date: 19 Mar 1863
Residence at enlistment: Warner, NH
Profession at enlistment: farmer
Rank in: private
Rank out: private
Company: D
Fate at Ft. Wagner: survived
Mustered-out date: 20 Aug 1865
During the Civil War, he served as a Private in Company D of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army, the second regiment in the United States made up entirely of enlisted men of color.
He served under Robert Gould Shaw, who perished at Fort Wagner.
The Movie
The film is about one of the first military units of the Union Army during the American Civil War to consist largely of African-American men (except for its officers), as told from the point of view of Colonel Shaw, its white commanding officer. The regiment is known especially for its heroic actions at the brutal battle at Fort Wagner on Morris Island in South Carolina, where Col. Shaw lost his life.
The Monument
Joshua B. Smith, a black businessman, former slave, and former employee of the Shaw family, initiated a campaign for a monument. It wasn’t until 1883 that enough funds were raised to hire a sculptor. Renowned American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens took the job, but the process took him another decade.
Information on the project Robert Gould Shaw and the Fifty-fourth Regiment Memorial | WTTW Chicago
Mustered out 20 August 1865 with his regiment. Five years after he passed from consumption.
The story of the 54th Mass is well told in the movie Glory. A large monument exists at the Boston State House depicting Colonel Shaw and his regiment marching down Beacon Street.
James Franklin Haskell died May 8, 1870, in Newport, NH (he was a mill operator) and is buried in Salisbury, NH, in the Bean/Smith’s Corner Cemetery, now on Route 4 in Salisbury. His wife, Dorcas Paul, is buried in Sanbornton, NH.
Caroline Clark, mother to James Haskell, was the daughter of Anthony Clark & Lucinda Moore. Lucinda Moor appears to be the daughter of Sampson Battis/Moore (abt 1751-1853) and Lucy Carey. Sampson Battis/Moore of Revolutionary War fame was from Canterbury. Sampson Battis Moore was a slave ot Archelaus Moore, who took a great liking to him, and they fought together in the Revolutionary War. Sampson achieved the rank of Major and was given command of a battalion by then-Governor Gilman in 1800. He lived as a free man with his wife *Lucy (Carey), and a large family on his 100 acres, lived to be 102 years old, and is buried in Canterbury. The area in Canterbury was called “New Guinea,” as were many areas where clusters of Americans of African descent lived.
Lucy Carey, who married Sampson Battis, was a slave to William Coffin, and Sampson worked for him for a year to earn her freedom.
John Franklin Haskell (third John) to John Haskell & Nancy Potter was born in Warner, abt 1841, Warner, and records indicate he attended school there. Nancy Ann Potter was born in Andover in abt 1815.
John Franklin Haskell was 5′ 8 1/2″ tall. He followed his first cousin James Haskell into the army; 45th Regiment, US Colored Infantry, mustered out in 1865 in Texas, and is on the 1870 Sutton census living with his parents. He had no children and was never married. Died June 20th, 1901, Tucker Pond, Salisbury, NH, buried at the Bean/Smith’s Corner Cemetery on Route 4 in Salisbury.
Nancy Ann Potter who married who married John Haskell (the second John), was born in Andover in 1814. However, records show that Richard Potter had only three children: 3 boys and a girl, Julia, who died at the age of 20. Richard Potter was America’s first famous black magician and was a ventriloquist. More research is needed.
Military Service
According to the Haskell Journal, Summer 2021
“The 45th regiment was at Darbytown road on October 13, 1864, six days after col Alexander Cheves Haskell lost his eye there. However, the 45th regiment was also at Appomatox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, so perhaps John Haskell witnessed Colonel Alexander Cheves Haskell surrender the Confederate Cavalry that day.” About Confederate Colonel Alexander Cheeves Haskell: It was at Darbytown Road where he was most seriously injured after suffering a shot to the head and losing the function of his left eye. (Tom Haskell, Alexander’s great-grandson, says that “while left for dead on Darbytown Road, a northern soldier removed Alexander’s wedding band. When he realized later that Alexander had survived, he returned it to him after the war.”) Alexander was appointed by General Lee to surrender the Confederate Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia at the Appomattox Court House on April 12, 1865.”
In 1902, John Haskell drowned in Tucker Pond. He was originally interred in the Bean/Smiths Corner graveyard and moved with the others in 1941 and reinterred at the newer cemetery complex on Route 4.
Burial Site of the Haskell Cousins
Research about John Haskell came together in the summer of 2019, and an application for a tombstone was sent to the Veterans Administration, which was granted.
After more than 118 years since his death, we are pleased to say a Civil War Military memorial stone has been erected at his memorial site next to his cousin James Haskell. We thank everyone who contributed their research and energy to make this happen. See photos above.
