The Laightons were residents of Portsmouth. The father of Thomas B.
Laighton was a spar-maker and did a considerable business when
shipbuilding was thriving in those times. Thomas B. in his youth was
afflicted with a fever which confined him to his room for many months
and from the effects of which he never recovered. He married Miss Eliza
Rymes, a woman of remarkable good-sense and strong physique. He
preferred journalism to spar-making, and his connection with the New
Hampshire Gazette soon led him into politics. He was an ardent supporter
of "old Hickory" and rewarded for it finally with the position of
postmaster for his native city. Whether he surrendered this position for
the forlorn and less lucrative one of White Island lighthouse on account
of ill-health or from a different motive, is uncertain. There was
formerly a story in circulation that he was defeated as a candidate for
some political office and retired in disgust from the haunts and ways of
men. This however is not likely. Thomas Laighton was a man of a blunt
and rugged sincerity, tenacious and determined; such as would not be
likely to lose his mental balance at the first unfavorable turn of
fortune.
[Illustration: TWILIGHT AT THE ISLES OF SHOALS.]
He went to White Island in 1838, was removed by Harrison the First and
reappointed by Tyler. His life there must have been a rough one.
Pages:
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217