Daniel Saunders Biographical Sketch
Source Material Boston Biographical Review

HON. DANIEL SAUNDERS, senior member of the law firm of Daniel, Caleb & Charles G. Saunders, of Lawrence, Mass., was born in Andover, Essex County, October 6, 1822, the eldest son of the late Hon. Daniel Saunders, founder of the city of Lawrence. He is of early New Eng- land Colonial stock, being a lineal descendant of William Saunders, who, we are told, came from England in 1636, and in 1645 took up land at Mitchell's Eddy, on the Haverhill side, in the town of Newbury, Mass., where he was a permanent settler. James Saunders, the grandfather of Daniel, the special subject of this sketch, was born in Salem, N.H., July 12, 1751, and died in Stanstead, P.O., December 14, 1830. On November 15, 1774, he married Elizabeth Little, who was born March i, 1755, in Newbury, Mass., a daughter of Henry Little, and died in Salem, N.H., April 13, 1838. Henry Little also was of English extraction, and the representative of one of the old and prominent families of Essex County, an ancestor, several generations removed, having been the original owner of a Newbury farm that is still in the possession of his Little descendants.

James Saunders and his wife had a family of twelve sons and one daughter. One son died in in- fancy, and one at the age of sixteen years. The ten sons remaining and the one daughter all married and reared children. One son, Caleb Saunders, became an early settler of Illinois, while three of his brothers located in Eastern New York. One of them, Henry Saunders, M.D., was for many years a prominent physician of Saratoga; another. Major William Saunders, a resident of Ballston Spa, was an officer in the War of 1812; another son, Samuel, was a carpenter on board the famous old ship "Constitution" in the same war.

The Hon. Daniel Saunders was born in Salem, N.H., June 20, 1796, and when a young lad began working in a woollen-mill as an employee in the lowest department. He gradually became familiar with all branches of the industry; and, when ready to establish himself in business, he purchased a mill in North Andover, on the Cochicewick Brook, and later bought another in Concord, N.H.

Becoming convinced in his mind that some time in the near future the falls in the Merrimac River between the present cities of Lawrence and Lowell would be utilized by manufacturers, he began in 1832 to verify by a personal inspection surveys which had previously been made for another purpose, that of estimating the expense of building locks and canals so that the river would be navigable for large boats of merchandise. His examinations still further convincing him of the possibility of the development of a large manufacturing district in this section, he sold his large mills in Concord and North Andover, and invested every penny he coulil lay his hands on in lands bordering on the Merrimac, in order that he might control the water power. Consulting then with his son Daniel, the subject of this sketch, as to the best means of calling the attention of the public to this most desirable location for mills, they decided to build a manufacturing plant themselves. In 1837, therefore, his legal adviser, the Hon. Josiah G. Abbott, then' a member of the General Court, secured for him an act incorporating the "Shawmut Mills" to be erected in Andover, not saying in what part. In the charter granted, the name of Saunders was not used, those of Caleb Abbott, Arthur Livermore, and John Nesmith only being apparent.

Prominent manufacturers near by were then told of the grand water power. Samuel Lawrence and others of Lowell investigated the matter, and found two good places for damming the river, one at Peters Falls, the other at Bodwell's, the location of the present dam. The Merrimack River Water Power Association was soon after formed, with Daniel Saunders as president and manager of the company, which consisted of Mr. (afterward Judge) Hopkinson, Samuel Lawrence, John Nesmith, Daniel Saunders, Jr., Nathaniel Stevens, and Jonathan Tyler. The president of the company originated a plan for bonding the lands in the vicinity of both falls; and, when the present site was selected as the most favorable point for operations, the neighboring farms were purchased at a reasonable price. His own real estate, which he had previously bought, he sold at the original price plus simple interest on his investments, although, had not his high sense of honor forbidden him, he might have asked and received almost any sum.

A large portrait of the Hon. Daniel Saunders, upon which is a tablet stating that he was the founder of the city of Lawrence, was presented to the city by his sons in April, 1888, and now graces the Akiermanic Chamber of the City Hall.

On June, 1821, he married Phebe Foxcroft Abbott, who was born February 8, 1797, in Andover, Mass., and died March, 1890, in Lawrence. Her father, Caleb Abbott, was three times married ; and of his three unions there .were fifteen children. The maiden name of her mother was Lucy Lovejoy. Daniel and Phebe Foxcroft Saunders had five children, namely: Daniel, born October 6, 1822; Charles, who was born in June, 1824, and was extensively engaged in the manufacture of lumber in Lowell until his death in May, 1891; Martha, who died in childhood; Martha, the second, who also died at an early age; and Caleb, born September 4, 183S. On May 3, 1845, the parents removed from Andover to Lawrence, and, having settled on the farm previously purchased, there spent their remaining days, the father's death occurring October 8, 1872.

Daniel Saunders, the younger, studied law with the Hon. Josiah G. Abbott, and was for some years closely associated with his late father in his various enterprises. He continued his law practice all the time, however, and is now at the head of one of the best known legal firms, of this section of Essex County. He was Mayor of Lawrence in i860, at the time of the fall of the Pemberton Mills. In commemoration of his distinguished services, in the care of those wounded at that time and the relief of the families of those killed, he was presented by the citizens of Lawrence, irrespective of parties, with a magnificent silver service, which he prizes as one of his most valuable treasures. He served a year as Senator, and also he has represented the city in the lower branch of the State legislature.