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��HON. EZEKIEL A. STEAW.
��the position a higher degree of executive ability and practical knowledge of af- fairs, or who was more universally gov- erned in the performance of his duties by his own convictions of right, regardless of the demands of mere partisans.
Since 1873, Mr. Straw has not been en- gaged in public service, except as a member of the Centennial Commission from this State, to which position he was appointed by President Grant. In this capacity he labored with great zeal, and did much to contribute to the success of the great exposition, especially so far as the New Hampshire department was con- cerned.
Gov. Straw was a member of the New Hampshire delegation in the Republican National Convention at Cincinnati last year, and was one of the three delegates wbo from the first opposed the nomina- tion of Mr. Blaine, giving their votes at first to Gen. Bristow, and subsequently to Mr. Hayes.
Notwithstanding the magnitude of his business cares, which have ever received full attention, and which have involved not alone the management of the Amos- keag Manufacturing Company's extensive operations, but also a share in the direc- tion of other enterprises, including that of the Langdon Mills, the Blodgett Edge Tool Company, and Amoskeag Axe Com- pany, as well as the control for some time of the Namaske Mills, of which he was the principal, and for a time, sole, owner, until their consolidation with the Amoskeag, he has found time and oppor- tunity for a vast amount of general read- ing and practical observation, so that, with a mind endowed with rare powers of comprehension and analysis, and with a most retentive memory, he has secured a large fund of information in almost every department of useful knowledge, which he is able to utilize upon all occa- sions. Some years since he received from Dartmouth College the honorary degree of Master of Arts, a distinction which in his case certainly was well merited.
Mr. Straw married Miss Charlotte S. Webster at Amesbury, Mass., in April,
��1842, by whom he had four children, two sons and two daughters. One of the sons died in infancy. The other, Her- man Foster Straw, is now assistant su- perintendent of the Amoskeag Mills. One daughter became the wife of Wm. H. Howard of Somerville, Mass., and the other of Henry M. Thompson, formerly agent of the Manchester Print Works, and now agent of the Lowell Felting Company at Lowell, Mass. Mrs. Straw died in 1852, and Mr. Straw has never re- married.
In religious belief Gov. Straw is a Uni- tarian of the advanced order, with broad and liberal views. He was one of the founders of the First Unitarian Society of Manchester, of which organization he has served as clerk and treasurer, and for some years as president, and was chairman of the building committee which erected the church edifice in which the society now" worships.
The home of Gov. Straw is a stately brick mansion, among the largest private residences in the State, without exterior ornamentation, but elegantly finished and richly furnished throughout. It is situated upon Elm St., in the upper part of the city, surrounded by spacious and well kept grounds, embracing several acres of land which was a gift from the corporation which he has served so long and efficiently. It commands a broad and extensive view, especially to the westward, overlooking the valley of the Merrimack, with the Uncanoonucks standing out boldly in the background. The house is connected by telegraph with the Amoskeag Manufacturing Com- pany's office, so that he can be consulted or give directions concerning important matters at any time withont leaving his room.
Gov. Straw is now but fifty-eight years of age, in the full vigor of his intellect- ual powers, and endowed as he is with a strong physical constitution, notwith- standing the vast amount of labor he has performed, may reasonably look forward to many years of useful activity and hon- orable achievement.
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