In all works of charity and philanthropy, Mr. White was foremost or prominent. He was deeply interested in the establishment of the New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane and the State Reform School; in the Orphans' Home, at Franklin, which he liberally endowed; and the Home for the Aged, in Concord, which was his special care. The Reform club of Concord, though not an eleemosynary institution, received substantial benefits from his generosity; and to him, in a great measure, it owed its very existence during the reaction which followed the first enthusiasm.
Besides his extensive interest in the express company, his farm,—which is one of the most highly cultivated in the state,—his charming summer retreat on the borders of Lake Sunapee, and his real estate in Concord, he was interested in real estate in Chicago, in hotel property in the mountain districts, in railroad corporations, in banks, in manufacturing establishments, and in shipping. He was a director in the Manchester & Lawrence, the Franconia & Profile House, and the Mount Washington railroads, and in the National State Capital Bank; a trustee of the Loan and Trust Savings Bank of Concord; also of the Reform School, Home for the Aged, and Orphans' Home, and other private and public trusts.
In 1875, Nathaniel White was candidate for governor, of the Prohibition party; and he had a vast number of friends in the Republican party, with which he was most closely identified, who wished to secure his nomination for the highest honor within the gift of a state, by the Republican party. In 1876 he was sent as a delegate to the Cincinnati convention, which nominated Mr. Hayes for president. During the summer of 1880, he was placed by his party at the head of the list of candidates for presidential electors. With all these honors thrust upon him, Nathaniel White was not a politician, although firm in his own political convictions. The office sought the man, and not the man the office.
Nathaniel White was blessed in his marriage relations. His history is incomplete without a narration of the perfect union, complete confidence, and mutual trust and assistance between him and his wife, during a married life of nearly half a century. November 1, 1836, he was married, by Rev. Hubert Bartlett, of Laconia, to Armenia S., daughter of John Aldrich, of Boscawen, who survives him. Mrs. Armenia S. White is of good old Quaker stock, descending, in the sixth generation, from Moses Aldrich, a Quaker preacher who emigrated to this country in the seventeenth century and settled in Rhode Island: and on the maternal side, from Edward Dotey, a pilgrim who landed in the Mayflower. She was born November 1, 1817, in Mendon, Mass., her parents removing from Rhode Island at the time of their marriage. In 1830, she went with her parents to Boscawen, where she lived until her marriage. Mrs. White has been her husband's companion and helper in every good work.
Their children are John A. White, Armenia E. White, wife of Horatio Hobbs, Lizzie H. White, Nathaniel White, Jr., and Benjamin C. White, who survive. They lost two children,—Annie Frances and Seldon F.; and adopted one,—Hattie S., wife of Dr. D. P. Dearborn, of Brattleborough, Vt.
In early life Mr. White joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He belonged to no other secret society. Anti-slavery societies, temperance societies, charitable and benevolent societies, woman suffrage and equal rights societies, and the Universalist society,—in all of these both husband and wife were deeply and equally interested. During the first four years of their married life, on account of Mr. White's occupation, they boarded; for eight years they lived on Warren street; since 1848, until the death of Mr. White, in their residence on School street. Here they have meted out generous and refined hospitality to the humble slave, the unfortunate, and to the most illustrious guests who have honored Concord by their visits.
Nathaniel White died Saturday, October 2, 1880, having nearly completed the allotted span of three score years and ten. He was stricken down suddenly, although, with his usual business foresight, he seems to have been prepared for the change.
Among the tributes to his worth which were called out by his death was a letter by Hon. H. P. Rolfe, which presents a just and fair estimate of his character, as follows:—
"I remember Mr. White even before you became acquainted with him. I can see him now, as in the early morn, in the dim light before the dawn of day, he drove up over the frozen hills of Boscawen, through the drifting snows, buffeting the bleak winds, and standing erect upon the footboard of his sleigh, with his six frost-covered steeds well in hand. I remember him as in the late afternoon or early evening he went dashing down those fearfully steep hills, called "Choate and Gerrish hills," with his Concord "coach and six," loaded down with sixteen and eighteen passengers, and no break to resist the fearful pressure upon a single pair of wheel-horses. He then had the same quiet, reserved manners that marked the man all through his long, busy, and useful life. There was no noise, no brag, no bluster, no profanity, no tobacco, no rum! He was mild in speech, pleasant in address, gentle in conduct, quiet in action, diligent in business, constant in season and out, and faithful to all his trusts; and every thing he did came fully up to the measure of his responsibility.
'His life was gentle; and the elements
So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, "This was a man."'