YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

'"'-'.;

C?~> —

HISTORIC HOMES and PLACES
AND
GENEALOGICAL
and PERSONAL MEMOIRS
RELATING TO THE FAMILIES
OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY,
MASSACHUSETTS

PREPARED UNDER THE EDITORIAL SUPERVISION OF
WILLIAM RICHARD CUTTER, A. M.
Historian of the New England Historic Genealogical Society; Libra
rian of Woburn Public Library; Author of "The Cutter Family,"
"History of Arlington," "Bibliography of Woburn," etc., etc.

VOLUME III.

ILLUSTRATED

New York:
LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
i 9 o S

Genealogical and Personal Memoirs.

(For first four generations see Ephraim Wood 4).
(V) Peter Wood, son of Ephraim
WOOD Wood (4), born in Concord,
June 23, 1740; died March 5,
1820, aged seventy-nine; married there, No
vember 22, 1764, Sibyl Howe, daughter of
Thomas Howe. She was born May 1, 1740,
and died July 23, 1822, aged eighty-one. He
lived in Marlborough, Massachusetts, whither
he moved when a young man. In 1766 he
purchased land there of Joseph Williams and
conducted a farm on it for many years. It is
known as the late Ephraim Howe place. He
was commissioned a magistrate in 1783 by
Governor John Hancock, and for many years
thereafter performed the duties of this impor
tant office, held many town offices, and was
prominent in the church. Children : i, Aaron,
born December 18, 1765, died young. 2. Dor
othy, born November 30, 1767, died July 6,
1854, aged eighty-seven ; married Abner Brig-
ham. 3. Thomas, born March 27, 1770, mar
ried, 1792, Dorothy Sawin ; settled in Canada.
4. Martha, born February 14, 1772, married,
Z7°A James Henderson, of Northborough. 5.
Anna, born November 8, 1773, married, 1791,
Windsor Stratton. 6. Moses, born September
24, 1775, married Rebecca Turner. 7. Jede-
diah, mentioned below.
(VI) Jedediah Wood, son of Peter Wood
(5), was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts,
May 16, 1777. He married, September 6,
1801, Betsey Wilkins, who died October 7,
1855, aged seventy-three or seventy-five years,
daughter of Edward and Sarah Wilkins. He
lived in that part of Marlborough then Felton-
ville, now incorporated as the town of Hud
son. He became owner of the grist mill, saw
mill, and also of a woolen mill in which full
ing and cloth dressing was carried on. He
commanded a military company and was a
prominent citizen. He died in 1866 or 1867.
Children: 1. William Henry, mentioned below.
2. Betsey, born January 25, 1804, married,
March 8, 1822, Samuel Arnold. 3. Maria
Louisa, born March 22, 1810, died July 13,
1813. 4. Sophronia, born May 17, 1812, died
August 18, 1829. 5. Elbridge Gerry, born Sep
tember 2, 1814, married, 1839, Almira Rebecca
Bush, who died in 1841 ; (second) Sarah
Priest, who died February, 1848, daughter of
Benjamin Priest, of Boxborough; (third),
September 17, 1848, Ollie, daughter of Dea
con Henry and Ollie (Metcalf) Higgins, of

Hardwick, Massachusetts; he studied medi
cine and practiced in Winchendon and Athol,
Massachusetts, prior to 1848, removed to Iowa
in 1850 but returned in i860 and entered the
drug business at Palmer, Massachusetts; re
tired in 1875 and died October 6, 1880; chil
dren: i. Almira, born at Feltonville, 1840; ii.
Arthur Gerry, born at Athol, February 22,
1845, married Ella Hapgood; iii. Elbridge
Jedediah, born at Athol, February 18, 1850,
married, October 13, 1875, Adelaide Elizabeth
Moulton Hubbard, born at Wells, Maine, Oc
tober 27, 1853, daughter of John B. and Abi
gail (Storer) Hubbard; a wall paper mer
chant in business at 792 State street, Spring
field, Massachusetts; (children: Horace El
bridge, born at Palmer, March 15, 1879; Ed
mund Wendell, born December 30, 1882). 6.
Alonzo, born August 17, 1817. 7. Franklin,
born July 1, 1821, died September 13, 1824.
(VII) Colonel William Henry Wood, son
of Jedediah Wood (6), was born in Felton
ville, now Hudson, Massachusetts, March 3,
1802. He received an excellent common
school education in his youth, and taught
school in the vicinity of his home for a number
of years. He followed in the footsteps of his
father and became a successful business man.
He had the leading general store of the town
and vicinity and prospered. His home was on
the site of the first house erected in Hudson,
in which Robert Barnard and his son Joel re
sided and kept a public house for many years.
It was at the fork of the roads in the very
center of the village and had a commanding
position. He erected a large building at this
point for a dwelling and store, an engraving
of which was published in Hudson's History
of Marlborough (p. 477). He was active in
the state militia, and rose to the rank of colo
nel in command of his regiment He was
prominent in town affairs and held many posi
tions of trust and responsibility; was a mem
ber of the school committee for many years,
assessor for several terms, often moderator of
the town meetings, justice of the peace and
magistrate. He died at Hudson in 1864.
He married Caroline Henderson, born in
Boston, 1802, died 1879, daughter of James
and Martha (Wood)' Henderson. Children: 1.
Henry J., born 1827, died 1850. 2. Marshall,
born 1832, died 1897. 3. Solon, born June 4,
1834, mentioned below.
(VIII) Solon Wood, son of Colonel Wil-

(859)

86o

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Ham Henry Wood (7), was born in Felton-
ville, now Hudson, Massachusetts, June 4,
1834. He received his education in the public
schools of his native town. After leaving
school he became a clerk in his father's store,
and in a practical way learned the business
which he followed so many years with con
spicuous success. When his father died he suc
ceeded to the business. For a period of thirty-
seven years Mr. Wood conducted the general
store established by his father, and his trade
grew year by year. He was perhaps the best
known and most popular merchant in that sec
tion of the country and one of the most pros
perous. When the burden of years began to
manifest itself, Mr. Wood decided to retire
and in 1902 sold the business. Since then he
has been living quietly at his home in Hudson,
attending to his property, but engaging in no
active business. He resides at 49 Washington
street. Mr. Wood has always been a man of
public spirit, interested in the development and
well-being of the town, and has assisted such
public movements as seemed likely to benefit
the community in which he lived. In politics
he is independent. In 1877 he represented his
district in the general court, serving on various
important committees. In 1879 he served the
town on the board of overseers of the poor.
He became a member of the Odd Fellows in
1862. He married September 28, 1856, Anna
T. Bigelow, of Marlborough, Massachusetts,
daughter of Levi Bigelow. They have one
child, Ada T., born January 4, 1861, married
May n, 1887, Alfred C. Woods, and has one
child, Harold Bigelow, born October 4, 1889.

Phineas Warren Sprague, a
SPRAGUE well known Maiden citizen,
with office in Boston, home on
Commonwealth avenue, identified with many
important business enterprises, is a descendant
of an old and honored English family. Most
interesting and somewhat remarkable is the
fact that Sprague and Winship, ancestors of
Phineas W. Sprague, were in England first
and second lieutenants in the Ancient and
Honorable Artillery Company, and on coming
to America held the same rank in the Ancient
and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston.
The ties of friendship formed in England be
tween the Sprague and Winship families prior
to 1629 have been strengthened by intermar
riage. (I) Edward Sprague lived in Upway, Dor
setshire, England, at the opening of the sev
enteenth century. He was the owner of a
stone woolen mill, the ruins of which are still

to be seen. He died in Upway, in 1614. An
exact copy of his will is in the work of Ho-
sea Sprague. His personal estate amounted to
£258 6s. His bequests included a gift to the
church of Upway, also to his sons Ralph, Ed
ward, Richard, Christopher and William, using
the terms "my eldest son," etc., and his daugh
ter Alice, closing with this: "Memorand:—
that whereas, the living of the aforesaid Ed
ward Sprague doth fall unto his son Ralph
Sprague after his decease, the said Ralph
Sprague doth upon his father's request prom
ise that his mother Christian Sprague shall
quietly enjoy the said living until he shall be
one and twenty years of age," and made his
wife, Christian Sprague, "my whole execu
trix." Among the children by his wife Christian
were three sons, Ralph, Richard and William.
It has been comrnonly supposed that the three
brothers came over with Endicott, who arrived
at Salem on September 6, 1628. But Presi
dent Everett and Dr. Young are inclined to the
opinion that they were not of Endicott's com
pany. The latter suggests as more probable
that they came the next year in the fleet which
brought Higginson, Graves and Bright. It
is said they came in their own vessel. Soule's
"Memorial of the Sprague Family" states that
"Amongst others that arrived at Salem at their
own cost were Ralph Sprague, with his breth
ren, Richard and William, who with three or
four more, by joint consent and approbation
of Mr. John Endicott, Governor, did, the same
summer of 1629, undertake a journey from
Salem and travelled the woods above twelve
miles to the westward, and lighted off a place
situate and lying on the north side of Charles
river, full of Indians, called Aberginians." ¦
The inhabitants that first settled this place
were Ralph, Richard, William Sprague, and
seven others. It was jointly agreed that this
place north of the river be called Charlestown,
and was confirmed by Mr. Endicott, Governor.
Ralph Sprague and others began to build their
houses and to prepare fencing their lots, which
were afterwards set up almost in a semi-cir
cular form on the northwest side of the' Town
Hill. (From "Soule's Memorial").
In their journey from Salem to Charlestown
they were attracted by a site suitable for a
town. The town of Charlestown, October 13,
1634, appointed a committee to divide the com
mon land in the territory which now was first
known as Mystic Side and Mystic Field. The
record of the completed allotment which was
made two years later shows seventy-five pro
prietors, and although it is a list of Charles-

SPRAGUE COAT OF ARMS

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

861

town inhabitants, it is of interest as being the
roll of the first white landholders of the future
town of Maiden. Ralph and Richard Sprague
both appear as holding five acres. In the great
allotment, April 23, 1638, Ralph Sprague re
ceived one hundred and twenty-five and Rich
ard Sprague seventy-five acres. (D. P. Corey's
"History of Maiden"). On May 2, 1649, that
part of Charlestown called Mystic Side was
established, now the city of Maiden, and Ralph
Sprague was made a lieutenant of the train
band organized to protect the inhabitants from
unfriendly Indians, and the military history
dated from that time. Ralph and his brother
Richard were the earlier settlers of Maiden.
The settlers formed a part of the church of
Charlestown, from which they received the
ordinances and to which they carried their in
fants for baptism. Religious services may
have been held on Mystic Side and some steps
taken towards a church organization in 1648.
(D. P. Corey's "History of Maiden"). In
1649, "William Sprague, a godly christian but
not an ordained minister, did preach the word
to them."
Bell Rock was the centre of the town, and
for more than eighty years was the centre of
municipal life, and the first church was built
upon that site. The church "teret" being too
small for the bell, it was placed upon a rock,
from which it derived its name. A bell was
not general in New England during the sev
enteenth century; the call to public worship
was by the roll of the drum or the blast of
the conch shell. "Voted the town allow eigh
teen shillings for finesing the teret and hang
ing the Bell." "March 5, 171 1, seventeen men
among them the Spragues, were privileged to
have stable near the meeting house for one
hors." William Sprague and Dorothy his
wife, gave the land on which was built in 1730
the First Parish Church (Universalist) of
Maiden. The present church was built in
1802. From the old Bell Rock Cemetery, Maiden,
the entire line of Spragues and their wives,
commencing with Ralph, have been removed
to Forestdale Cemetery, Maiden. Their head
stones are more or less legibly inscribed.
(II) Ralph Sprague was about twenty-
nine years of age at the time of his arrival at
Salem. According to the Massachusetts Col
ony Records he took the freeman's oath in
May, 1630, and was appointed constable of
Charlestown. His name, with that of his wife,
Joanna, are in the list of those who were first
members of the church in 1632. He is men

tioned in the Charlestown Records, April 18,
1634, commissioned with two others to advo
cate certain interests in the town before the
general court; in November, 1636, he was for
the first time chosen representative to the gen
eral court, and he filled this important post
seven different times. In 1649 he was one of
a commission to settle the bounds between
Mystic Side and Charlestown. "Ralph was,"
says Frothingham, in "History of Charles
town," "a prominent and valuable citizen, ac
tive in promoting the welfare of the town and
colony." He died in 1650; his widow after
wards married Edward Converse.
Richard Sprague became a distinguished
citizen of Charlestown. He died November
25, 1668. He bequeathed Harvard College
thirty-one sheep and thirty lambs, and to the
First Church, Charlestown, £30 in value. His
wharf and warehouse, with other property, he
bequeathed to his nephew Richard, son of
Ralph. His estate was valued at £2,357 16s
8d. ("The Sprague Memorial," 1846, Richard
Soule, Jr.).
William Sprague, the youngest of the three
brothers, remained in Charlestown. He mar
ried Millicent Eames, in 1635. He removed to
Hingham with his father-in-law, Anthony
Eames, 1636.
It is to be regretted that so little record is
left of their individual history. President Ev
erett, in his address commemorative of the bi
centennial of the arrival of Winthrop at
Charlestown, in speaking of the three brothers
Ralph, Richard and William, says they were
"the founders of the settlement in this place,"
and were persons of character, substance and
enterprise, excellent citizens and generous pub
lic benefactors, and the heads of a very large
and respectable family .of descendants.
("Memorial History of Boston," Justin Win-
sor, Librarian of Harvard).
(Ill) Captain John Sprague, son of Lieu
tenant Ralph and Joanna (Warren) Sprague,
was born in Upway, England, in 1624. He
married Lydia Goffe, and died in Maiden,
Massachusetts, in 1692.
(IV) Phineas Sprague, son of Captain
John and Lydia (Goffe) Sprague, was born in
Maiden, in 1665, and died in 1736. He mar
ried Mary Green.
(V) Phineas Sprague, son of Phineas and
Mary (Green) Sprague, was born in Maiden,
in 1700. On the occasion of the Lexington
alarm, in' April, 1775, he, as a member of Cap
tain Hatch's company, although seventy-five
years of age, marched with the company,

862

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

which lay at Beecham's wharf until night,
when the company started for Concord. A
historian says of him, "Although advanced in
years and very deaf, his heart was as imperv
ious to fear as were his ears to sound, and
when the rest of the party were flying he was
seen upon a rising place of ground, swinging
his hat and shouting victory." He died the
same year. He married Rebecca Lynde.
(VI) Phineas Sprague, son of Phineas and
Rebecca (Lynde) Sprague, was born in Mai
den, 1725. He was a member of Captain
Blaney's company, which was in the Rhode
Island service. He was prevented from being
present at the battle of Bunker Hill by a Brit- '
ish man-of-war, which would not allow him
to cross the Mystic river. Persisting in the
attempt, he was fired upon with nine-pound
balls, and one of these, striking in the bank of
the river, was secured by him as a trophy and
was preserved in the family. He died in Mel
rose, December 29, 1805. He married (first)
Hannah Gould; (second) Sarah Fowl.
(VII) Dr. John Sprague, son of Phineas
and Hannah (Gould) Sprague, was born in
Maiden, 1754. He enlisted during the revolu
tionary war as surgeon, and served until cap
tured on board of the American merchant ves
sel, "Thomas." He was carried to England
and held as a prisoner of war until November
22, 1 78 1, when he was released among other
sick and wounded seamen by order of the
commissioners for exchange of prisoners.
"These are to certify that John Sprague, an
American prisoner of war, late surgeon on
board the 'Thomas,' merchant vessel, is set at
liberty pursuant to a order from the Honora
ble Commissioners for sick and wounded sea
men, and for exchanging prisoners of war.
Dated their office, Tower Hill, London, the
twenty-second day of November. Given under
my hand this thirtieth day of November, 1781.
"Jno. Howe,
"Agent for prisoners of war at Hinsdale."
The original copy of this release is now in
the possession of Mrs. C. H. Sprague. He
died at his home in Maiden, 1803. He mar
ried (first) Elizabeth Pool ; (second) Susanna
Fowl. (VIII) John Sprague, son of Dr. John and
Elizabeth (Pool) Sprague, was born in Mai
den, in 1 78 1. He was treasurer of the town
of Maiden for a period of eighteen years, and
died there October 10, 1852. (The town of
Maiden derived its name from Maiden, Eng
land). John Sprague married Sally Hill,
daughter of Charles and Mary Waite. Charles

Hill was the owner and landlord of Hill's Tav
ern, a man of much natural shrewdness and
wit, active in town affairs, holding several
offices and serving on important committees.
Hill's Tavern continued to be known as that
— principal tavern, Maiden — until after the be
ginning of the present century. (D. P. Corey's
"History of Maiden"). The children of John
and Sally (Hill) Sprague were: 1. Sally. 2.
John. 3. Mary. 4. Andrew. 5. Susan. 6.
Abigail. 7. Phineas, was for many years
treasurer of Maiden. 8. Charles Hill..
(IX) Charles Hill Sprague, youngest child
of John and Sally (Hill) Sprague, was born
in Maiden, Massachusetts, April 29, 1827, in
the old Sprague House, corner Salem and
Sprague streets. His preparatory education
was acquired in the public schools of Maiden,
a private school in Lynn, Wilbraham Academy
and the Springfield Scientific School. He' then
entered the Lawrence Scientific School of
Hartford University in 1848, but has no record
in the Quinquennial Catalogue of the Univer
sity, as the degree of Bachelor of Science was
not conferred by that institution until 1851.
He, however, completed the full course of
study required at that time. He was appoint
ed to the editorial staff of the "American
Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac," to make
the astronomical calculations of the important
government of the moon's rays and the fixed
stars, his appointment being made through the
Naval Department at Washington, District of
Columbia. He held this government office for
fifteen years, when he resigned to accept a po
sition in the Lake Superior copper mines, a
position he held for four years. He was the
North American agent of the Chesapeake &
Ohio Railroad Company for a number of
years, and he spent some twelve years in
travel in America and Europe. His home was
in the old Sprague homestead at the corner of
Sprague and Salem streets, Maiden. Mr.
Sprague was a Republican, and represented
his ward in the common council in 1882-3.
For fifty-one years he was a member of the
American Scientific Association. Professor
Charles Girard, of Paris, in a scientific month
ly published in Paris in 1873, named a rare in
sect "Cerebratulus Spraguei," and says : "We
dedicate this to our excellent friend, Charles
H. Sprague, of Maiden, Massachusetts, in
token of our old friendship." He was also a
member of the Old Planters' Society, and a
Thirty-second Degree Mason, being one of
the oldest of Mount Vernon Lodge, of the
city. He was a member of the First Univer-

iikJf^y

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

863

salist Church, and of the Men's Club connected
therewith. His death, which was deeply and
sincerely deplored, occurred June 29, 1904.
Mr. Sprague married, November 2, 1858,
Emeline Martha Winship, a descendant of an
old colonial family, a sketch of whom will be
found elsewhere. Mrs. Sprague was one of the
founders of the Deliverance Munroe Chapter,
Daughters of the Revolution, of Maiden,
named in honor of her paternal grandmother,
Deliverance (Munroe) Winship, daughter of
Marrett Munroe, a niece of Captain John
Parker, of the minute-men of Concord and
Lexington fame. Mrs. Sprague is a member
of the First Parish Universalist Church of
Maiden, active in charitable organizations ;
was one of the committee to select a site or
building for the Soldiers' Home of Chelsea,
Massachusetts, and for many years active in
the interest of the Home ; was on the commit
tee in aid of a fund for building the Intem
perate Woman's Home of Boston; on build
ing committee of Maiden Hospital; on build
ing committee of the New Century Building of
Boston; charter member of George Washing
ton Memorial Association of Washington.
She is a member of the New England
Woman's Club, Charity Club, Wednesday
Morning Club, Business League, and Civil
Service Reform Auxiliary of Boston. Mr.
and Mrs. Sprague had children: 1. Phineas
Warren. 2. Elizabeth Williams, born in Mai
den, July 7, 1867, died there January 10, 1874.
On the occasion of the one hundredth anni
versary of the birth of John Sprague, father
of Charles Hill Sprague, in 1891, Mr. and
Mrs. Sprague gathered a family party to
which young and old were invited. Each
aged person was asked to relate some reminis
cence of the life of the hero of the hour, and
as many of these incidents of his wit and
humor were recalled, so frequently displayed
throughout his life, the halls of the Sprague
homestead rang with laughter, while other
stories brought silence as they related to inci
dents precious to memory. An enlarged pic
ture of the patriarch, seated in his large sleigh,
was given to each grandchild. This old sleigh
was in the possession of the host of the occa
sion, and it became a common sight on bright .
winter days to see it on the boulevard. The
memorial cards distributed on the occasion of
this anniversary represent immortality — the
butterfly; and in the morning of the festivi
ties a beautiful butterfly, with gorgeous blue
wings, was found between the double windows
' that protected the assembly room from the

wintry blasts, and a venerable aunt was made
happy in considering the incident an omen of
good will and of the presence in the spirit of
John Sprague, expressing his pleasure at the
gathering. It is a profitable way to preserve
individual history.
(X) Phineas Warren Sprague, only son of
Charles Hill and Emeline Martha (Winship)
Sprague, was born in Maiden, Middlesex
county, Massachusetts, August 4, i860. He
was educated in the grammar and high schools
of Maiden, afterwards for two years he was in
laboratory work. He became a partner with
his father in 1882 in the wholesale coal busi
ness, with offices at No. 70 Kilby street, Bos
ton, and upon the retirement of his father
from the firm of C. H. Sprague & Son he
assumed the sole management of the busi
ness. The Coal Trade Journal, of July 9,
1902, speaks of his rapid rise in business. He
was one of the founders of the Maiden Trust
Company, and a member of the board of direc
tors. He was a director of the Winthrop
National Bank; of the Boston and Worcester
Electric Railroad Company; vice-president of
the White Oak Transportation Company;
founder and director of the New River Com
pany of West Virginia ; founder of the mining
town of Sprague, West Virginia, in 1906; a
director of the Merrimack Valley Electric
Company; and a director of the Columbia
Life Insurance Company. He is a member of
the following organizations : The General
Society of Colonial Wars, duly elected by the
right of his descent from Lieutenant Ralph
Sprague (1603-1650) of Charlestown, Massa
chusetts, and twenty-five other names ; a mem
ber of the Sons of the Revolution, organized
in New York, in 1875, by John Austin Ste
vens and other direct descendants of Revolu
tionary ancestry; Boston Society of Boston;
Old Planter Society of Salem, Massachusetts ;
Old Town Club of Newburyport ; Terratine of
Bangor, Maine; Prospect Country, Exchange,
Temple, Cumberland, Portland Barge, Massa
chusetts Automobile, Kernwood of Maiden,
Country of Brookline, Algonquin of Boston.
He was on the staff of General B. F. Peach,
Jr., Second Brigade, Massachusetts Volunteer
Militia, for three years, and one of ten on the
executive committee of the two hundredth and
fiftieth anniversary celebration of Maiden,
May, 1899. The Spragues were among the
original members of the Universalist church
in America.
Phineas Warren Sprague married, October
17, 1899, in Brookline, Massachusetts, Eliza-

864

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

beth Summer Shaw, daughter of Hon. Ed
ward Payson and Ann (Trott) Shaw, of
Newburyport, Essex county, Massachusetts.
Hon. Edward Payson Shaw was treasurer of
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from
from 1895 to 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Sprague
have three children, all born in Bos
ton, and christened in the old historical Uni
versalist Church of Maiden: Phineas Shaw,
born, January 14, 1901 ; Charles Gordan, born
October 3, 1903; Elizabeth Shaw, born March
13. «

Lyonel Winshop (Wynshopp),
WINSHIP the ancestor of Mrs. Charles
Hill Sprague, mother of
Phineas Warren Sprague, lived in Wilton,
Ovingham, county of Northumberland, Eng
land, at Wilton Hall, or Wilton Tower. The
tower part was built a great many years ago,
the main part or addition about 1607. He is
buried in the church at Ovingham, county of
Northumberland. In his will he leaves lega
cies to his family, including "my two souns
Willm Wynshopp and Edward Wynshopp,"
now Winship, an exact copy of his will being
in the possession of Mrs. C. H. Sprague.
(II) Lieutenant Edward Winship was
born in England, March 13, 1612. He sailed
from Harwich, England, in ship "The De
fence," to Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony,
in August, 1635, the name of the town being
changed to Cambridge on May 2, 1638. Ed
ward Winship was one of the original owners
of land within the present limits of Lexington.
He erected a saw mill on what was then
denominated as Mill Brook, on or near the
site of the present fur factory. This was un
doubtedly the first mill set up within the
township. He owned extensive tracts of land
in Cambridge and the adjoining town of Lex
ington. The greater part of his prosperity re
mained in the Winship family several genera
tions. He became a member of the military
organization which was later the Ancient and
Honorable Artillery Company of Boston. He
was selectman of the town from 1637 to 1684;
and representative in the general court of
Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1663-64, 1681-86.
He was an active member of the church in
Cambridge; was a lieutenant in the militia;
and his death occurred December 2, 1688. He
married Elizabeth Parks. In his will, dated
1685, among other bequests he gives to his
son Samuel.
(Ill) Samuel Winship, son of Lieutenant

Edward and Elizabeth (Parks) Winship, born
October 24, 1658, was a resident of Lexing
ton all his life. He was selectman of the
town, and subscriber to the meeting house and
for the purchase of the common. He married,
April 12, 1687, Mary Powers, of Medford.
(He died June 18, 1696).
(IV) Samuel Winship, son of Samuel and
Mary (Powers) Winship, was born 'in Lex
ington, Massachusetts, January 8, 1688, and
died in the same town, February 13, 1776. He
was high sheriff of Middlesex county. He
married, January 10, 171 1, Jane Fessenden,
born 1688, died 1771, daughter of Nicholas
and Margaret (Cheney) Fessenden. The
former born 1650, died 1719.
(V) Samuel Winship, son of Samuel and
Jane (Fessenden) Winship, was born in Lex
ington, Massachusetts, September 25, 1712,
and died February 16, 1780. He married, May
5, 1748, Abigail Crosby, daughter of Lieuten
ant Simon Crosby.
(VI) John Winship, son of Samuel and
Abigail (Crosby) Winship, was born in Lex
ington, Massachusetts, May 12, 1754, and died
at West Cambridge, Massachusetts, October
9, 1822. He was a member of Captain John
Parker's company of minute-men who fought
at Concord and on Lexington Common, and
served in the Continental army under Wash
ington, 1777-78. He married Deliverance
Munroe, daughter of Marrett Munroe, a niece
of Captain John Parker, who commanded the
minute-men at Lexington. The home of De
liverance Munroe faces the battlefield of Lex
ington ; on one side is a tablet erected by the
town of Lexington, and on the other side, the
Deliverance Munroe Chapter, Daughters of
the Revolution, have placed a tablet commem
orative of Deliverance Munroe. She was also
related to Rev. Theodore Parker. She was a
descendant in the fourth 'generation from Wil
liam Munroe, ancestor of all the Munroes of
Lexington, Massachusetts, and who was a
direct descendant of George Munroe, ninth
Baron of Fowlis, in direct line from Donald
Munroe, first Baron, who was slain in the
memorable battle of Bannockburn, fought by
Robert Bruce of Scotland against Edward II.
of England, 1314. William Munroe was born
in Scotland in 1625, coming to New England
in 1652, married 1655, was selectman of Cam
bridge of which Lexington was then a part,
and died January 27, 1717. His son, John
Munroe, born in Lexington, March 10, 1666,
married Hannah Merritt, and filled most of
the important offices in the town. The "His-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

865

tory . of Lexington" says that the Munroes,
Merriams and Winships were found on every
battlefield — Louisburg, Quebec, Crown Point,
Ticonderoga, Fort William, and wherever a
foe was to be encountered, or a daring deed
to be performed.
(VII) Stephen Winship, son of John and
Deliverance (Munroe) Wmship, was born in
Lexington, July 15, 1782, and died in the
spring of 1862. He settled in Boston about
181 5. His business was in the old and then
the new Faneuil Hall Market; he removed to
Berlin and thence to Maiden. He married,
November 5, 1815, Elizabeth Williams Pol
lard, an intellectual woman of keen perception,
and for thirty years president of the Chari
table and Sewing Society of Hosea Ballard
Church on School street, Boston (Universal
ist). They had nine children: Hariett, died
in infancy ; Albert, unmarried, died in Maiden ;
Elizabeth, married Frank A. Stowe, of Bos
ton, was in Arkansas at the time of the civil
war, and they afterwards lived and died in
Des Moines, Iowa; Henry, married Elizabeth
B. Pike, of Boston; he has been in business in
Boston over seventy years. Laura; who mar
ried William C. Morey, of Vershire, Vermont ;
lived in Boston; she died in Medford. Ste
phen, unmarried, who went to California,
1849, and died there. Julia, married Otis L.
Larkin, of Berlin; he died in Berlin and later
she died in Maiden. William, married Char
lotte J. Edmands, of Charlestown, Massachu
setts; their home is in Maiden; he is in busi
ness in Boston. Emeline Martha, married
Charles Hill Sprague. She lives at the Sprague
Home, corner Salem and Sprague streets,
Maiden, Massachusetts.
Elizabeth Williams Pollard was a descend
ant in the sixth generation from William Pol
lard. Anne Pollard, a relative, was the girl
who was in the first boat that crossed the
Charles river in 1630 to what is now Boston,
and was the first to jump ashore. Her por
trait, painted in 1721, at the age of one hun
dred, is preserved in the collection of the
Massachusetts Historical Society, and a print
of it appeared in Harper's Weekly some years
ago. She has described her girlish impres
sions as of a place "very uneven, abounding in
small hollows and swamps,, covered with blue
berries and other bushes." ("Memorial His
tory of Boston"). Elizabeth Williams Pol
lard was a daughter of Colonel Moses Pollard.
Colonel Pollard was devoted to historical
and antiquarian research, and at the age of
thirty-three years fitted one of his ships and

sailed for the Mediterranean Sea, the object
being to make explorations in the Holy Land,
and which was successfully accomplished. On
the return voyage, however, the vessel was
spoken off Genoa, and was never again heard
from. It is supposed that she was lost, with
all on board.
Mr. Joseph Hills, from whom Phineas War
ren Sprague is a descendant, was compiler of
the Massachusetts Laws of 1648, came from
Mauldon, England, and gave the name Maiden
to Mystic Side, (Waite side).
At the dinner at the bi-centennial of Mai
den, May 23, 1849, Hon. James D. Green, ora
tor of the day, closed his remarks with the
following sentiment: "The Founders of Mai
den : Puritan in principle, Puritan in practice
— may their memories be cherished and their
character be revered throughout all genera
tions."

Many English pioneers bearing
MOORE the name of Moor came to New
England, and some also from
Scotland and Ireland. In the early days the
spelling was as often Moor, More and Moors
as Moore, though the latter style is now in
general vogue. The family in England is very
ancient, and has many noble and distinguished
branches. (I) John Moore was the immigrant ances
tor of a large number of the families of Mid
dlesex and Worcester counties and western
Massachusetts, also of important branches in
Maine and Connecticut. He ,was born in Eng
land about 1610. He bought a house and land
in Sudbury, Massachusetts, as early as 1642,
of the pioneer, Edmund Rice. His farm was
in the oldest part of the town in what is now
Wayland, Massachusetts. He took the oath
of fidelity July 9, 1645. He married in Sud
bury, Elizabeth Whale, daughter of Philemon
Whale. She survived him. His will, dated
August 25, 1668, describes himself as "aged."
He died January 6, 1673-4, and his will was
probated April 7, 1674, at Cambridge. He
bequeathed to sons John of Lancaster, Wil
liam, Jacob, Joseph to whom he left the home
stead, and Benjamin; also daughters Elizabeth,
wife of Henry Rice; Mary, wife of Daniel
Stone; and Lydia, wife of James Cutler. His
widow was named for executrix. The inven
tory of his estate showed goods valued at 804
pounds seven shillings. His widow died De
cember 14, 1690. Children, born with one
exception in Sudbury: 1. John, born before

866

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

father settled in Sudbury; became proprietor
of Lancaster in 1653-4; married Anna Smith,
daughter of John and Sarah Smith, of Sud
bury ; prominent and wealthy man ; deputy,
etc. 2. William, bought land in Sudbury, in
1664, of Thomas Beesbeech, of Marshfield.
3. Mary, married September 8, 1661, Rich
ard Ward, who was drowned March 31, 1666;
second, Deacon Daniel Stone. 4. Lydia, born
June 24, 1643; married first, May 3, 1664,
Samuel Wright, who died August 21, of that
year; married second, June 15, 1665, James
Cutler. 5. Jacob, born April 28, 1645 ; men
tioned below. 6. Joseph, born October 21,
1647; married Lydia Hay ward and Ruth
 . 7. Benjamin, born January 10, 1649;
married November 11, 1686, Dorothy Wright.
8. Elizabeth, born January 10, 1649.
(II) Jacob Moore, son of John Moore (1),
was born at Sudbury, Massachusetts, April 28,
1645 ; married there May 29, 1667, Elizabeth
Loker, daughter of Henry Loker, of Sudbury.
In 1678 Henry Loker deeded his entire estate
"for love," etc., to his son and daughter, Jacob
and Elizabeth Moore (Middlesex Co. Deeds,
vol. 10, p. 93) and Jacob deeded the same
property, consisting of one hundred and thirty
acres, to his eldest son Jacob for the same con
sideration (Middlesex Deeds, vol. 37, p. 517).
A few months later, in 1678, Jacob also gave
his son Jacob one half of his homestead (Mid
dlesex Co. Deeds, vol. 37, p. 521). In 1716
Jacob disposed of the rest of his property by
dividing it among his other sons — Samuel,
Daniel, Jonathan, James, Richard and Nathan
iel. (Middlesex Co. Deeds, vol. 18, p. 137,
138, 139, 206 and 237). Children, born in Sud
bury: 1. Jacob, born in 1668; living in 1697.
2. Richard, born September 12, 1670; men
tioned below. 3. John, born December 13,
1673. 4. Elizabeth, born February 4, 1675.
5. Nathaniel, born June 21, 1678. 6. Han
nah, born July 18, 1680. 7. Sarah, born Jan
uary 28, 1681-2; died February 9, 1682. 8.
Sarah, born March 3, 1684. 9. Daniel, born
April 13, 1686 or 7. 10. Samuel, born July
15, 1689. 11. James. 12. Jonathan.
(Ill) Richard Moore, son of Jacob Moore
(2), was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts,
September 12, 1670; married Mary Collins,
daughter of Samuel and Mary Collins, of
Middletown, Connecticut. He lived for a time
in Needham, Massachusets, but June 6, 1714,
sold his farm of two hundred and sixty acres
in the south part of that town, arid the follow
ing August bought a house and land in Ox
ford, Massachusetts, of Samuel Hagburn. He

afterwards bought much land in Oxford, and
became the largest landholder in the southern
part of the town. He was the first justice of
the peace in the vicinity, and transacted a large
part of the conveyancing, probate and other
official business in the early years of the town.
He was the second licensed inn-holder in town,
beginning in 171 5. He was for fifteen years
beginning between 1715 and 1741 selectman,
and during most of the time chairman of the
board for fifteen years between 1715 and 1734
town clerk ; was first representative to the gen
eral court from the English settlement in 1721 ;
treasurer of the town in 1721 and 1729, and
often moderator of town meetings. He had
force of character and tenacity of purpose,
and early had a controversy with the Oxford
church, the exact nature of which is not re
vealed by the records, and for a long time
refused to yield. His wife died July 12, 1760;
and he died November 19, 1767. Children:
1. Sybilla, born in Sudbury, September 2,
1694; married Ebenezer Chamberlain, of Ox
ford (there is an interesting letter from Sy
billa Chamberlain in the "History of Oxford,"
p. 437). 2. Abigail, born July 23, 1696. 3.
Collins, born October 17, 1698; mentioned be
low. 4. Isaac, born June 11, 1700. 5. Elijah,
born March 14, 1701-2. 6. Susanna, born De
cember 26, 1703. 7. Abijah, born December
22, 1705. 8. Richard, born January 10, 1708.
9. Mary, born May 15, 1710.
(IV) Collins Moore, son of Richard Moore
(3), was born in Oxford, Massachusetts, Oc
tober 17, 1698; married there May 2, 1722,
Bathsheba Woods, daughter of Nathaniel
Woods, of Groton. He carried on his trade
as a weaver both at Oxford and Worcester.
He resided at Worcester, on a farm of one
hundred acres at Tatnuck, sold his farm in
1730 and removed to Oxford, where he
bought forty acres of Simon Chamberlain and
a larger tract of Benjamin Chamberlain, near
the present almshouse, and settled there. In
1737 his -father, "for love," etc., deeded him
a hundred acres adjoining this land. He died
February 22, 1743, and his widow Bathsheba
administered the estate. She married second,
Samuel Town, and third, Joseph Phillips. The
court settled the property on his son Nathan,
the widow having had her thirds set off.
Children: 1. Abigail, born February, 1723,
married Abial Lamb. 2. Levi, born December
17, 1723-4; died August 2, 1745, leaving by
will two-thirds of his estate to his brother
Nathan and the rest to his brother Richard.
3. Nathan, born April 15, 1726; mentioned

MIDDLESEX. COUNTY.

867

below. 4. Elijah, born August 10, 1727. 5.
Susanna, born January 25, 1729; married
Silas Robinson, of Dudley, Massachusetts. 6.
Mary, born September 25, 1730; married Dan
iel Fairfield. Born at Oxford : 7. Bathsheba,
born February 10, 1732; married Benjamin
Wilson, and lived in Townsend, Massachu
setts. 8. Alice, born December 26, 1733 ; mar
ried Jonathan Ballard. 9. Jerusha, born April
5, 1735; married John Nichols. 10. Richard,
born October 14, 1736; soldier in the French
war; married August 19, 1761, Mary Eddy,
and lived at Ervingshire. 11. Phebe, born
September 3, 1738; married Ebenezer Locke.
(V) Nathan Moore, son of Collins (4)
Moore, was born at Worcester, Massachusetts,
April 15, 1726; married, February 15, 1747,
Sarah Town. He lived on the homestead at
Oxford, Massachusetts, until 1749, when he
sold out to his brother-in-law, Abial Lamb,
and about 1764 settled in Vassalboro, Maine.
He was a soldier in the French and Indian
war. Children, born at Oxford: 1. Hannah,
born December 12, 1747. 2. Collins, born
May 31, 1749. 3. Reuben, born May 12, 1751,
mentioned below. 4. Levi, born October 27,
I753- 5- Nathan, born February 5, 1755. 6.
Sarah, born December 6, 1756; married Eben
ezer Moore, son of Elijah Moore. 7. James,
born September 6, 1758. 8. Bathsheba, born
April 15, 1761. 9. Zerviah, born August 17,
1763; all removed to Maine. Born at Vassal
boro: 10. William, born September 5, 1765.
11. Rebecca, born June 27, 1767. 12. Rich
ard, born May 28, 1769. 13. Ruth, October
(VI) Reuben Moore, son of Nathan Moore
(5), was born in Oxford, Massachusetts, May
12, 1751 ; married, October 17, 1776, his
cousin, Elsie Nichols, daughter of John
Nichols. He removed from Vassalboro to
Gardiner, Maine, in 1787, and died there May
11, 1805. His widow, Elsie, was born 1762,
and died February 12, 1847, leaving sixty-one
grandchildren and forty great-grandchildren.
He was a merchant. Children, born in Vassal
boro: 1. Bathsheba, born December 9, 1779.
2. John, born July 2, 1781, mentioned below.
3. Jerusha, born August 27, 1785, married
Maltiah Lawrence. 4. Reuben, born June 2,
1787. 5. Alice, born at Pittston, April 23,
1789. 6. Charles, born at Gardiner, May 29,
1 79 1. 7. Robert Hallowell, born February 10,
1793. 8. William, born August 9, 1794. 9.
James Parker, born October 28, 1795. 10.
George, born October 24, 1797. 11. Samuel,
born December 5, 1798. 12. Henry, born June

24, 1800. 13. Climena, born November 30,
1803. (VII) John Moore, son of Reuben Moore
(6), was born' July 2, 1781, in Vassalboro,
Maine, and removed when a young child with
the family to Pittston and Gardiner, Maine,
where he lived the rest of his life. He was a
farmer. He married Myra •  . Chil
dren, born in Gardiner: 1. George Robert,
mentioned below. ,
(VIII) George Robert Moore, son of John
Moore (7), was born in Gardiner, Maine, in
1817, and died April 5, 1892, at the age of
seventy-four years. He was educated in the
public schools of his native town, and learned
the trade of wheelwright, which he followed
for some years. He was of an inventive turn
of mind, and had a machine shop at Westford,
Massachusetts, where he settled in 1839, when
he came of age. He and his brother Seth
manufactured worsted goods in the village of
Brookside, in the northeast part of Westford,
near the line which divides that town from
Chelmsford. He married, December 31, 1846,
Philinda R. Richardson, born at Westford,
March 21, 1818, and died March 7, 1885,
daughter of Thomas and Philinda (Wright)
Richardson. Lineage: 'Philinda (8); Thomas
(7) ; Abijah (6) ; Thomas (5) ; James (4) ;
Thomas (3) ; James (2) ; Ezekiel (1). (For
sketch of Ezekiel, one of, the founders of Wo
burn, see Richardson family). Thomas Rich
ardson (7), was a carpenter, a man of enter
prise and action, and was well-to-do. He
bought the Prescott Mills, which from him
were called the Richardson Mills, and for
some years was miller at Westford. He sold
out, and later the flourishing village of Gran-
iteville grew up on his old location. Children
of George Robert and Philinda R. Moore: 1.
George Clifford, born March 27, 1848; men
tioned below. 2. Frederick C, born July 27,
1849. 3- Edward A., born January 20, 1852;
bookkeeper for his brother ; died April 1 1 ,
1899. 4- Mary Ellen, born May 24, 1855 ;
married James W. Flint, of Concord, Massa
chusetts, boss carpenter in the American
Woolen Mills at Maynard, Massachusetts ;
have one child, Grace Flint, born 1891.
(IX) George Clifford Moore, son of
George Robert Moore (8), was born March
27, 1848, at Westford, Massachusetts. He was
educated therein the public schools and at the
Westford Academy. He succeeded his father
in the manufacture of woolen and worsted
cloth at Westford. While the name of George
C. Moore, in the manufacturing world, is of

868

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

international importance, to the people of
North Chelmsford, Westford, etc., it means
everything, for through him the township has
grown by leaps and bounds until it has a pop
ulation (at present writing) of about two
thousand, with schools, churches, waterworks,
and fire company. The story of the founda
tion and growth of the business is a most in
teresting one. Coming to North Chelmsford
in 1872, he founded the Moore Spinning Com
pany. At that time there were two other in
dustries here (the North Chelmsford foundry
and a small hosiery mill), and the population
was less than three hundred. Beginning with
half a dozen hands or so, and occupying very
meagre quarters consisting of one room forty
by twenty feet, occupying a floor space of one-
fourth acre, he and the people of North
Chelmsford, as well as in Lowell and sur
rounding towns, have seen it grow to its pres
ent enormous proportions, and at the present
time (1908) there are four large mills, three
in North Chelmsford and one in Westford,
with a total acreage of twenty-two or twenty-
three acres, and employing a total of about
twenty-two hundred hands. In 1892 the build
ing of the Moore Spinning Company was
burned to the ground, but shortly afterward
Mr. Moore built his present imposing edifice,
adding improvements from year to year to
meet the requirements of the constantly in
creasing trade.
The Brookside Worsted Mill of North
Chelmsford was built in 1890, at which time it
gave employment to one hundred hands ; it has
been added to several times, and now has on
its pay roll from six hundred to eight hundred
employees. The output of the mill is wor
steds, which are known for their excellence
throughout the entire country. The factory
covers an area of one hundred and twenty-
five square feet. The Brookside Worsted Mill
of Westford, built in 1887, is devoted to spin
ning only, covers an area of one hundred and
twenty thousand square feet, and gives em
ployment to between two hundred and fifty
and three hundred hands. The George C.
Moore Wool Carding Mill, founded in 1902-
03, covers an area of one hundred and thirty
thousand square feet, employs three hundred
hands, and is devoted to carding, combing,
spinning and wool scouring.
Mr. Moore is a man of energy, persever
ance, and business sagacity and acumen, as is
evidenced by the success he has achieved dur
ing his business career. He possesses the fac
ulty of planning, managing, and directing

affairs down to the minutest detail, and his
intercourse with his employees is of the most
pleasant nature. He is a Unitarian in relig
ion, and in politics a Republican, active in the
support of the principles and candidates of
his party. , He is a member of the Vesper
Country Club of Lowell and of the Boston
Athletic Club. He is fond of outdoor sports,
and is an enthusiastic automobilist.
Mr. Moore married, March 27, 1872, Ella
J. Gilchrest, died July 12, 1901, daughter of
George C. and Nancy (Towle) Gilchrest, of
Maine. Children: 1. Bessie Linda, born Sep
tember 25, 1881, married, January 30, 1906,
Harry S. Griffin, a merchant with S. H. Knox
& Company, and resides in Buffalo, New
York; they have one child, Elizabeth, born
December 25, 1906. 2. George Clifford, Jr.,
born July 27, 1886, educated in the public
schools and Phillips Academy, Andover,
Massachusetts, class of 1905 ; entered the mills
at North Chelmsford and learned the business
thoroughly under the direction of his father,
is now superintendent of the Brookside Wor
sted Mill; unmarried. 3. Daughter, died in
infancy. 4. Son, died in infancy.

George Roberts, the immi-
ROBERTS grant ancestor of this family,
was born April 19, 1809, at
Bull Hall, Bacup, Lancashire, England. He
came to America when a young man and mar
ried, February 19, 1837, Elizabeth Badger
Morrison, born November 2, 1804, at San-
bornton, New Hampshire. (See Morrison
family). Afterward he removed to Vineland,
New Jersey. His occupation was merchant in
Leicester. Children: 1. George Morrison,
born March 18, 1838, mentioned below. 2.
Esther E., born July 4, 1843, in Leicester,
Massachusetts; married, September 9, 1871,
at A^ineland, New Jersey, William H. Gill, Jr.,
born March 12, 1850, at Cambridge, Ohio;
children : i. Harry R. Gill, born June 27, died
September 20, 1872, at Vineland; ii. William
Henry Gill, born September 1, 1873.
(II) George Morrison Roberts, son of
George Roberts (1), was born in Haverhill,
New Hampshire, March 18, 1838. He was
educated in the public schools and spent his
youth at Leicester, Massachusetts. He enlisted
in the Union army in the Civil war as private
in the Forty-second Massachusetts Volunteer
Regiment in 1863 and served one year. He
was commissioned second lieutenant of his
company in the Sixtieth Massachusetts Infan-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

869

try in 1864, he served four months. He is a
member of H. G. Berry Post, No. 40, Grand
Army of the Republic, of Maiden, and of the
Massachusetts Commandery, Military Order
of the Loyal Legion. After the war he en
gaged in the railroad business in which he has
been prominent for forty years. He has held
various positions in the Boston office of the
Pennsylvania Railroad, and in recent years
has had charge of the New England business
of that corporation with offices on Washington
street, Boston. He is well known among the
railroad men and business men of New Eng
land as a man of tact, discretion, integrity and
ability. He has had much to do with the de
velopment of a great business for the railroad
he represents. He has made his home in
Maiden since 1873, and has a beautiful resi
dence at 197 Clifton street. Always a man of
quiet domestic tastes, he has never entered
public life or given time to clubs and fraternal
organizations. His time is divided between
office and home. He is a Republican in poli
tics. He attends the Episcopal church of Mai
den. He married, in Philadelphia, December 18,
1872, Emma J. Scott, who was born July 19,
1845, m May's Landing, New Jersey, daughter
of John Hancock and Mary (Pennington)
Scott. Her father was born in Burlington,
New Jersey. Her grandfather, John Scott,
married Hannah Eldridge. Mrs. Roberts is a
member of the National Society, Daughters of
the American Revolution, through her
mother's grandfather, Nathan Pennington.
(See Pennington family). Children of George
Morrison and Emma J. Roberts: 1. Virginia
H., born November 13, 1873, at Maiden,
Massachusetts. 2. Richard Briggs, born Octo
ber 7, 1877, died May 20, 1879. 3. Alexander
Pennington, born November 9, 1882, employ
ed by Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.

Daniel Morrison, the immi-
MORRISON grant ancestor, was born
about 1668, undoubtedly of
Scotch ancestry, but whether born in England
or Scotland is yet unknown. He settled in
Newbury, Massachusetts, before' 1690, and
was a farmer there for many years afterward.
On May 20, 1695, he and Thomas Staples pur
chased of Abiel Long and wife Hannah, eigh
teen acres of land. On February 28, 1696, he
was one of sixty-four persons taxed for build
ing the West End meeting-house. On March
iii— 7

14, 1699-1700, then of Newbury, he bought of
Moses Chase of that town fifteen acres; Feb
ruary 3, 1706-07, he purchased of Stephen
Greenleaf, of Newbury, twenty-seven acres,
known as the "Rate" lot. He married (first)
Hannah Griffin, daughter of John and Lydia
(Shatswell) Griffin. Lydia was a daughter of
Theophilus Shatswell, son of Theophilus, Sr.,
of Haverhill, Massachusetts. Hannah (Grif
fin) Morrison was born in Bradford, Massa
chusetts, with her twin brother, John Shats
well, April 2, 1671, and died in Newbury, Oc
tober 9, 1700. His widow, Lydia Griffin, and
children deeded to Stephen Barker, April 7,
1709, for one hundred and five pounds a tract
of one hundred and seventy-eight acres of
land given to the Widow Griffin by her father,
Theophilus Shatswell. This land was on the
north side of the Merrimac river at Haverhill.
In this deed Daniel Morrison "signs in behalf of
his former wife, Hannah Griffin. Daniel
bought land June 20, 1710, in partnership with
his brother-in-law, Thomas Staples. He deed
ed forty acres of land in Newbury "for love
and affection," March 16, 1726, to his son
John. He sold for seven hundred and ninety
pounds a house and thirty-two acres of land,
probably his homestead, April 1, 1731, to Tim
othy Morse, and bought a home in Rowley,
Massachusetts, of John Stevens, December 23,
1731, with thirty acres of land. He and his
wife Mary deeded the thirty acres at Rowley,
for love and affection, to Roger Chase and his
wife Abigail of Newbury, mentioning dwelling
house, barn and orchard. His wife Hannah
died October 9, 1700. Daniel Morrison mar
ried (second), March 27, 1707, Mary, daugh
ter of Deacon John Foulsom, of Exeter, New
Hampshire. She was born September 27,
1664, died February 14, 171 1. He married
(third) Mary  , who survived him. His
will is dated November 3, 1736, and was
proved May 10, 1737. To his wife Mary he
gave ten pounds bills of credit, "provided she'
accept of this last will and testament. In case
she does not accept this my last will, then I do
not give her anything. The reason why I thus
deal with her is because I have given her forty,
pounds, which she hath disposed of, which
money was in lieu of a bargain made between
us before marriage."
Children : 1. Daniel, born in Newbury,
August 1, 1691, resided in Rowley. 2. John,
born in Newbury, March 28, 1693, mentioned
below. 3. Hannah, born in Newbury, Janu
ary 27, 1695-96. 4. Ebenezer, born in New
bury, October 6, 1697, resided in Stratham,

870

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

New Hampshire. 5. Mary, born in Newbury,
March 20, 1699, married Charles Annis. 6.
Abigail, married Roger Chase, of Newbury,
March 16, 1725. Children of second wife: 7.
Lydia (twin), born February 4, 17 10. 8.
Beriah (twin), born February 4, 1710. Twins
born and died April 1 and 2, 1712. The other
twins also died young.
(II) John Morrison, son of Daniel Morri
son ( 1 ) , was born in Newbury, Massachusetts,
March 28, 1693. He was attracted to land in
Exeter, New Hampshire, and on December 9,
1 7 17, bought land and a house on the north
side of the King's Highway in Exeter of Na
thaniel Ladd, of Stratham. He was a resident
of Newbury. On March 16, 1726, he received
a deed of gift from his father Daniel, forty
acres of land in Newbury, on the Bradford
road. Later he was a resident of Haverhill,
apparently in the east parish ; was a rate-payer
there in 1741 and signed petitions there in
1743 and 1748. His will recorded at Salem,
Massachusetts, was dated August 18, 1769,
and proved February 27, 1770. He was a
cordwainer or shoemaker by trade. He mar
ried Lydia Robinson. She was allowed one
hundred and thirty-four pounds, five shillings,
five-pence out of her husband's estate which
was rendered insolvent September 24, 1770.
His son-in-law, John Goodrich, was executor.
Children: 1. Bradbury, mentioned below. 2.
Daniel, settled in Gilmanton or Kingston, New
Hampshire. 3. David, born 1732-33, lived in
Sanbornton, New Hampshire. 4. Samuel, re
sided in Sanbornton. 5. Ebenezer, resided in
Sanbornton. 6. Jeremiah "went to some un
known region." 7. Hannah. 8. Abigail, mar
ried  Folsom, of Gilmanton, New
Hampshire. 9. Lydia, married John Good
rich. 10. Jonathan, died young. 11. Molly.
12. John, resided in Epping, New Hampshire.
(Ill) Bradbury Morrison, son of John
Morrison (2), was born March 1, 1720. He
married Elizabeth — ¦ — — , who was born
March 22, 1723. He was living in Epping as
early as 1740 and until after 1760, as his
rates for the latter year were abated. He
died before the execution of his father's will,
February 27, 1770. He died in Exeter in
1767. His widow married (second) John
Philbrook and followed her son, Jonathan
Morrison, to live in Sanbornton where she
died April 24, 1797, aged seventy- four. Chil
dren, born at Epping: 1. Jonathan, born Sep
tember 28, 1740, died young. 2. Sarah, born
April 9, 1742, married Jonathan Smith, of
Sanbornton. 3. Abigail, born August 5, 1744,

died 1777; married John Johnson. 4. Eliza
beth, born January 20, 1747, married, May 18,
1801, William Smith; died at Sanbornton, De
cember 24, 1837. 5. Mary, born October 1,
1750, married  Rowe. 6. Lydia, born
October 24, 1752. 7. Marriann, born Novem
ber 20, 1756. 8. Jonathan, born June 28,
1759, mentioned below.
(IV) Jonathan Morrison, son of Bradbury
Morrison (3), was born in Epping, New
Hampshire, June 28, 1759. He settled with
others of the family in Sanbornton, New
Hampshire, where he was first employed by
Captain Aaron Sanborn at the Square and
was there injured by a falling tree, having a
thigh broken and a shoulder dislocated. The
history of Sanbornton states that he "was
confined forty days at Captain Sanborn's and
attended by Dr. Hugo March, the first physi
cian, neither of whom would take any pay for
services or for board or care." Afterward he
was able to take part in the Revolutionary war
on three different enlistments, being present at
the surrender of Burgoyne. He married Es
ther J. Perkins, daughter of Abraham Per
kins, in 1782, and settled on a farm east of
Steele's Hill where his sons resided later. He
died there June 20, 1848, aged eighty-nine,
and his wife, August 24, 1856, aged ninety-
four. Children: 1. Jeremiah, born August
27, 1783, died December 26, 1864. 2. Jona
than, born March 12, 1785. 3. John Badger,
born March 18, 1787. 4. Bradbury, born Jan
uary 22, 1789. 5. Miriam, born March 1,
1 79 1, married Rev. Samuel Thompson, Free
Will Baptist clergyman at Holderness. 6.
Molly Brewer, born February 28, 1794, mar
ried Thomas Webster, of Sanbornton. 7. Ab
igail, born March 25, 1796, married Moses
Cheney, of New Holderness, June 23, 1816;
resided at Peterborough and Ashland, New
Hampshire; was paper manufacturer; son
Pren Bur bank Cheney, born December 10,
1817, graduate of Dartmouth College, founder
of the Free Baptist School at Lewiston,
Maine, in 1854, now Bates College, of which
he was the first president; another son, Hon.
Person Colby Cheney, born February 25,
1828, paper maker, mayor of Manchester,
New Hampshire ; state railroad commissioner ;
governor of New Hampshire in 1875-76. 8.
Matthew, born January 26, 1799, died No
vember 13, 1834, at Holderness. 9. Anna
Wadleigh, born February 14, 1801, married
Person Cheney; their son John Tirrell Che
ney, born February 25, 1830, was colonel in
the Civil war; Person Cheney, Jr., born May

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

871

19, 1831, paper maker in Ashland, New
Hampshire; hotel proprietor; mayor of Dix
on, Illinois. 10. Elizabeth, born November 2,
1804, mentioned below. 11. Abraham Per
kins, born October 5, 1806. 12. Simon Rowe,
born October 14, 1808.
• (V) Elizabeth Morrison, daughter of Jo
nathan Morrison (4), was born in Sanborn
ton, New Hampshire, November .2, 1804, mar
ried, February 19, 1837, George Roberts. (See
Roberts sketch).
Mrs. George M. Roberts is a lineal de
scendant on the paternal side of Henry Scott,
one of the London ten commissioners who se
cured from the Crown ten thousand acres of
soil on this side of the Atlantic Ocean in what
is now Burlington county, New Jersey, being
one of the early settlers of that region. The
old homestead (now owned by Joseph Scott)
stands near the present site of the Masonic
Home of New Jersey, which was erected on a
portion of the Scott farm. The early members
of the Scott family were Quakers, but later
generations have become identified with lead
ing other religious denominations.
John Scott, grandfather of Mrs. George M,
Roberts, was a resident of Burlington, New
Jersey, resided on the old homestead, was
widely known, honored and respected as a
good citizen and a man of the strictest integ
rity, and he and his family were members of
the Episcopal church. He married Hannah
Eldridge, of Burlington, New Jersey, whose
ancestors were among the first settlers of
West New Jersey, coming from England. The
children born of this union were : Eliza, mar
ried Joseph Thompson, of Burlington, New
Jersey. Margaret, married Thomas Hancock,
of Burlington, New Jersey. Warren, who
married the widow Copeland. Joseph D. Na
than. John Hancock, see forward. Hannah,
who was a resident of Burlington, died No
vember 27, 1907. Maria, died in early life.
John Hancock Scott, father of Mrs.
George M. Roberts, was born on the old Scott
homestead, and at different times resided in
Burlington, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Penn
sylvania, and Petersburg, Virginia. He was a
contractor and railroad builder, and in this
capacity became well known throughout Bur
lington and Atlantic counties, New Jersey, be
ing an expert in his special line of work. He
was a prosperous, useful citizen of the cities
in which he made his home, an active member
and liberal supporter of the Presbyterian
church, and a leading factor in every worthy
cause that tended toward the betterment of

mankind. lie married Mary Pennington,
daughter of John Pennington, of Mays Land
ing, New Jersey, and their children were:
Joanna Margaret, born January 2, 1836, died
March 8, 1859. 2. Mary Virginia, born Sep
tember 15, 1837, died February 18, 1868.
Was married in the Presbyterian church of
Milford, Delaware, March 30, 1858, by Rev.
John Mears, to Alexander Newell Hall, two
children : Mary Pennington, born at Milford,
Delaware, May 6, i860, married, in Philadel
phia, June 24, 1880, Edward Hallowell Bar
rister, one son, Edward Scott Barrister, born
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 4,
1884; Isabel Virginia, born in Milford, Dela
ware, February 22, 1864, died April 12, 1866.
3. Francis Marion, born September 18, 1839,
retired sea captain, resides in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Was married in Philadelphia,
November 13, 1876, by the Rev. Dr. Allen to
Catherine Godfrey. 4. Alfred Ellis, born July
15, 1841, sea captain, resides in Milford, Del
aware. Was married at Portsmouth, Vir
ginia, October 2, 1887, Emma L. Gray Chit
tenden, of Milford, Delaware. 5. Eliza
Thompson, born July 28, 1843, died February
9, 1888. Married, January 16, 1868, Samuel
A. Short, children: Virginia Hall, born No
vember 15, 1868; Howard Pennington, Sep
tember 20, 1870; Samuel A., Jr., April 27,
1874; Alice, December 11, 1877; George, De
cember 25, 1879, died October 25, 1881. 6.
Emma Johnson, born July 19, 1845, wife of
George M. Roberts, resides at Maiden, Massa
chusetts. 7. Maria Fitzellen, born May 9,
1847, resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
8. Anna Taylor, born March 10, 1851, mar
ried, in Philadelphia, January 9, 1878, Dr.
Theodore N. Jerman; resides in Holmesburg,
Pennsylvania. 9. Lewis Pennington, born
February 9, 1854, died December 2, 1907. For
several years he was an actor of considerable
promise, and for a number of years a com
mercial traveler in the carpet trade. In 1888
he came to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and
in 1895 was elected county clerk for a term
of five years, and was his own successor until
his death. During his administration of the
office there were decided reforms ; the records
of the office were doubly indexed and all the
work conducted in a strictly modern manner.
By his first wife, Isabel Godfrey, he had one
daughter, Isabelle G. By his second wife,
Catherine (Gifford) Scott, daughter of Cap
tain Daniel Gifford, of Mays Landing, whom
he married at Mays Landing, New Jersey,
February 15, 1888, five children: 1. Mary

872

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Gifford, born December 12, 1888. 2. Gifford,
January 7, 1892. 3. Lewis, April 17, 1893.
4. Daniel, March 29, 1899. 5. Pennington,
October 2, 1901. John Hancock Scott died at
Petersburg, Virginia, about the year 1880. His
wife died at Mays Landing, New Jersey, May
12, 1902.

This family traces its
PENNINGTON lineage to Jamel de Pen-
itone a person of note
and affluence, who resided at Muncaster, in
Cumberland, England, long before the Nor
man Conquest in 1066. His lineal descendant,
Sir John de Penington, Knight, gave to Henry
VI a secret reception in Muncaster Castle in
1456 and in return the king gave him a cur
iously wrought glass cup with the blessing to
the family, that they should never want a
male heir, so long as they should preserve it
unbroken. This cup is still preserved, called
"The Luck of Muncaster." A long list of
Penningtons have been high sheriffs in Eng
land and Sir Isaac Pennington was a commis
sioner of the High Court which tried King
Charles I. Edward Pennington, grandson of
Sir Isaac, and brother of William Penn's first
wife, came to Pennsylvania as surveyor gen
eral of the Province, and married Sarah Jen
nings, daughter of Samuel Jennings, the
Quaker governor of West Jersey. He is the
ancestor of the Philadelphia family of Pen
ningtons. (I) Ephraim Pennington, the immigrant
ancestor of this family, was born in England.
He settled in New Haven, Connecticut, and
in 1643 had a grant of land there. His home
lot was on George street, on the south side of
one of the original nine squares, which square
is now subdivided by Orange street. At a
general court in New Haven in 1648 he was
admitted a freeman. In 165 1 a little island
in the East river was granted to him. He died
about March, 1661, leaving a widow Mary and
two children, Ephraim and Mary, who were
baptized October 22, 1648, in New Haven.
The court apportioned two-thirds of the estate
to the son, the other third to the daughter.
There is reason to believe that he was a son
of Sir Isaac Pennington, mentioned above.
Children: 1. Ephraim, born 1645, mentioned
below. 2. Mary, born 1646.
(II) Ephraim Pennington, son of Ephraim
Pennington (1), was born in New Haven,
Connecticut, in 1645 ; was baptized October
22, 1648; died about 1694. He married Mary
Brackett, daughter of John Brackett or Brock-

ett, who signed the first covenant at New
Haven and of Wallingford in 1690. They
were married October 25, 1667, by John
Clarke, at Milford. She was baptized in New
Haven, September 28, 1646. In 1667 they re
moved to Newark, New Jersey, and settled.
In 1673 when the Dutch exacted from the in
habitants the oath of allegiance, he and ten
others were reported absent. Children: 1.
Ephraim, settled in Mendham, New Jersey.
2. Judah, mentioned below.
(Ill) Judah Pennington, son of Ephraim
Pennington (2), was born about 1700; mar
ried Anne  , who died October 8, 1749,
aged fifty-seven. Children: 1. Experience,
born 1724, died September 18, 1741. 2. Sam
uel, born 1725, mentioned below.
(IV) Samuel Pennington, son of Judah
Pennington (3), was born in 1725, died Aug
ust 6, 1791, aged sixty-six years. Married
Mary Sanford, granddaughter of Major Wil
liam San ford, of Barbadoes Neck, New Jer
sey, a councillor of New Jersey in 1682. She
died April 24, 1805, aged eighty. Children:
1. Judah, born 1749, died May 20, 1785. 2.
Rachel, born 1752, died July 2, 1753. 3.
Mary, born 1753, died January 29, 1835. 4.
Anna, born 1756, died April 15, 1837. 5.
William S., born 1757, died September 17,
1826, was governor of New Jersey from 1813
to 1815; his son William was governor from
1837 to 1843, inclusive. 6. Samuel, born
1765, died March 6, 1835. 7. Aaron, born
1770, died December 25, 1799. 8. Nathan.
mentioned below. 9. Rachel, born 1774, died
December 25, 1799.
(V) Nathan Pennington, son of Samuel
Pennington (4), married Margaret Westcott
Leonard, daughter of Colonel Richard and
Margaret (Brazure) Westcott. His birth
place was Dutch Farms, near Newark, New
Jersey. At the age of nineteen he enlisted in
the Revolutionary army and was taken pris
oner, sent to Quebec arid nearly died of star
vation. He finally escaped with others, one of
their number mounting to the top of the wall
by standing on the shoulders of others, who
were pulled up by means of their bed clothing
and lowered on the other side by the same
improvised rope. He served also against the
whiskey rebellion. He was a ship-builder by
trade. He was the first member of the fam
ily to come to Atlantic county, New Tersey.
He was at Chestnut Neck, New Jersey, in
charge of captured property in the Revolu
tion when he married. He resided at Mays
Landing, m a part called Pennington's Point

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

873

where was located the ship-yard in which he
carried on his business. He died about 1809
in Newark where he was visiting. Children:
1. William, born August 24, 1783, died 1836,
in Philadelphia. 2. Ann, born February 13,
1786, died August 29, 1852, in Newark. 3.
Charlotte, born April 25, 1789, lived in Tren
ton. 4. John, born March 31, 1791, men
tioned below. 5. Samuel, born April 26, 1793,
died February 13, 1855, in Louisville, Ken
tucky. 6. Maria, born May 15, 1796, died
June 1854, in May's Landing. 7. Catherine,
born April 29, 1801, died young. 8. Rebecca,
born October 26, 1805, died March 17, 1865,
at May's Landing. 9. James, born August 10,
1807, died June, 1865.
(VI) John Pennington, son of Nathan
Pennington (5), was born March 31, 1791.
Married Elizabeth Taylor, about 1812, at Wil
mington, Delaware. They lived at May's
Landing, New Jersey. He was a sea captain,
vessel owner, and for a time sheriff of the
county. Children: 1. Mary, born September
24, 1 81 3, mentioned below. 2. Ann, born
August 26, 181 5, lived at May's Landing. 3.
William, born July 7, 1818, sea captain, lived
at Hudson City, New Jersey. 4. Margaret,
born August 19, 182 1. 5. John, born August
22, 1823, merchant at Athens, New York. 6.
Hester, born October 13, 1825. 7. Elizabeth,
born November 25, 1827. 8. Andrew, born
October 12, 1830, planter, Columbia, North
Carolina. 9. Lewis W., born October 16,
1833, who was a captain in the merchant ser
vice in the Clyde line of steamers, sailing out
of New York; he was a volunteer naval offi
cer during the Civil war, rising from the grade
of acting master to a lieutenant commander
at the close of the war. He performed gal
lant service during the war and served under
Farragut, was present in the attacks on Forts
Jackson and Philip on the Mississippi river,
and captured one of the flags at the latter fort.
10. Sarah, born March 27, 1836.
(VII) Mary Pennington, daughter of John
Pennington (6), was born in May's Landing,
New Jersey, September 24, 1813, married, in
1836, John Hancock Scott. Their daughter,
Emma J. Scott, born July 19, 1845, married,
December 18, 1872, George M. Roberts. (See
Morrison and Roberts family sketches).

Robert Taft or Taaffe, as the name
TAFT was originally spelled, was born in
Ireland about 1640 and died in
Mendon, Massachusetts, February 8, 1725.

The Taft families of America are descended
from the Robert Taft and a relative, Matthew
Taft, who settled near Robert later. Both
were Protestant Irish by birth. The name
does not appear in Scotland in any form, and
only in England apparently among descend
ants of the Irish family. The name has been
spelled for some centuries Taaffe. It is true
that the Tafts were associated with the
Scotch-Irish just as many English were.
Sir William Taaffe, or Taft, a knight of the
Protestant faith, was among the- grantees at
the time of the Scotch emigration a'nd settle
ment in Ulster Province, Ireland, by order of
King James. In 1610 he received a grant of
one thousand acres of land in the parish of
Castle Rahen in county Cavan. The total
grants in this parish amounted to three thous
and nine hundred and ninety acres, of which
Sir Thomas Ashe held one thousand five hun
dred acres, and in 1619 he also held this grant
of Taft's and one thousand five hundred in
the adjoining parish of Tullaghgarvy. On
Taft's land there was "an old castle new
mended and all the land was inhabited by
Irish." It seems reasonable to suppose that
Sir William Taft's sons settled on this grant.
Perhaps Sir William remained in Louth. At
any rate, this is the only family who had any
relations with the Scotch-Irish settlers whom
Robert and Matthew Taft seem to have been
connected with in some way. County Louth,
the Irish home of the Tafts, is on the north
ern coast, bounded by Armagh in Ulster, ' on
the east by the British .channel and on the
south by the Boyne. It is in the province of
Leinster, and was established as a county in
1210. Robert Taft emigrated to America and was
first at Braintree, Massachusetts, where he
owned a lot in 1678. He sold his Braintree -
land November 18, 1679, to Caleb Hobart,
and about the same time bought his first land
in Mendon. The town had just begun to re
cover from the baneful effects of King Phil
ip's war. He had confidence in the future
and bought freely in the vicinity of Mendon
Pond, becoming one of the largest property
owners in that section. He evidently was a
man of property and influence at the outset.
He was a house-wright by trade. He was
in the first board of selectmen of the organ
ized town of Mendon in 1680, and in the same
year served on the committee to build the min
ister's house, evidently in good standing in the
Puritan church. He and his sons built the
first bridge across the river Mendon. In 1729

874

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

his sons built the second bridge also. He was
one of the purchasers of the tract of land
from which the town of Sutton was formed.
He married Sarah  , and their five sons
all had large families and many descendants.
Children: I. Thomas, born 1671, died 1755.
2. Robert, born 1674, mentioned below. 3.
Daniel, died August 24, 1761. 4. Joseph, born
1680, died June 18, 1747. 5. Benjamin, born
1684, died 1766.
(II) Robert Taft, son of Robert Taft (1),
was born in 1674. Pie settled on part of his
father's land in what became Uxbridge, and
lived there all his life. He was chosen select
man in 1727 at the first March meeting and
re-elected many times. He was one of the
leading citizens. In his will dated February
17, 1747-48, he mentions wife Elizabeth, chi}-
dren Jemima White, Robert, Israel, John and
Gideon Taft, Mary Albee, Jane Morse and
Alice Briggs. Children, all born at Mendon :
1. Elizabeth, January 18, 1695-96, died young.
2. Robert, December 24, 1697, mentioned be
low. 3. Israel, April 26, 1699. 4. Mary, De
cember 21, 1700. 5. Elizabeth, June 18,
1704. 6. Alice, June 27, 1707. 7. Eunice,
February 20, 1708-09. 8. John, December 18,
1710. 9. Jemina, April 1, 1713. 10. Gideon,
October 4, 1714. 11. Rebecca, March 15,
1716. (Ill) Robert Taft, son of Robert Taft (2),
was born at Mendon, Massachusetts, Decem
ber 24, 1697. He resided in Mendon on part
of the homestead. His sister married a Mar
vel and two of her children, Tristram and
Margaret Marvel, are mentioned in the will of
Robert Taft (2). Robert (3) died in 1760.
His will dated June 25, 1760, mentions wife
Mary and children Seth, Robert, Ebenezer,
Deborah Keith, Abigail Smith, and Rhoda
Thayer. Taft was a blacksmith by trade. He
married Mary Chapin, daughter of Seth and
Bethia Chapin. She was born "the last of
April," 1700. Children, born at Mendon: 1.
Seth. 2. Robert, had a guardian in 1770. 3.
Ebenezer, born December 8, 1735, mentioned
below. 4. Deborah, married  Keith.
5. Abigail, married ¦  Smith. 6. Rhoda,
married William Thayer.
(IV) Ebenezer Taft, son of Robert Taft
(3), was born December 8, 1735, at Mendon,
Massachusetts. He resided in Mendon and
perhaps Uxbridge after the Revolution. There
is no record of his estate in the Worcester
probate files. A deed from Ebenezer and
dated January 16, 1758, including all the lands
he had from "his honored father Robert Taft"

was given to Jonathan Henry, of Taunton,
Massachusetts. He may have lived at Taun
ton, though he married and had at least two
children in Mendon, as recorded. He mar
ried, January 2, 1762, at Mendon, Lydia Taft,
born May 10, 1738, daughter of Thomas and
Lydia Taft. Children: 1. Marvel, born Feb
ruary 6, 1763, mentioned below. 2. Lydia,
born January 9, 1766.
(V) Marvel Taft, son of Ebenezer Taft
(4), was born in Mendon, February 6, 1763.
In his sixteenth year he enlisted in the Revo
lutionary army as a private in Captain Ed
ward Seagrave's company, Colonel Wade's
regiment, June 19, 1778, and was discharged
July 12, 1778. This was an Uxbridge and
Mendon company. He served also as a pri
vate in the Rhode Island campaign in Captain
Thomas Fisk's company, Colonel Nathan Ty
ler's regiment, in 1779. ' He was also in Cap- ,
tain Benjamin Read's company, Colonel John
Rand's regiment, from Worcester county,
sent to reinforce the Continental army, and
in 1781 in Captain Philip Amidon's company,
Colonel Dean's regiment. Later in 1781 he
was in Captain Reuben Davis's company, Col
onel Luke Drury's regiment, enlisting for
Mendon for three months. He mortgaged
land in Sutton for the support of his mother,
Lydia Taft, widow, to Nehemiah Adams, De
cember 27, 1805. The mortgage is witnessed
by Bezaleel Taft, Jr., a relative, and Benja
min Adams. Marvel Taft, of Uxbridge,
bought land of- James Morse in Northbridge,
Massachusetts, on the west side of the county
road on both sides of the road, sixty-three
acres of land, and a pew in the meeting house,
March 2, 1805. Half this land he sold to his
son Benjamin in 181 7. To his son Cheney he
deeded half the land he bought of John
Wheeler. His will was made July 24, 1832,
at Northbridge, and was allowed at Worces
ter, November 27, same year, with a codicil
dated October 10, same year. He bequeathed
to wife Molly, and children Benjamin, Adol-
phus, Read, Cheney (died 1840), Orray, Ly
man and Lydia White. He married (first),
at Uxbridge, April 19, 1812, Ruth Murdock,
and (second), at same place, April 21, 1817,
Molly Taft. He removed to Northbridge
when a young man. Children, born at North-
bridge : 1. Benjamin, mentioned below. 2.
Adolphus, married, September 3, 1809, Milly
Balcom, and resided in Douglas, Massachu
setts. 3. Read. 4. Cheney. 5. Orray, died
in 1874. 6. Lyman, died in 1862. 7. Lydia,
married Washington White. He was a char-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

875

ter- member of the Uxbridge Lodge, Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons.
(VI) Benjamin Taft, eldest child of Mar
vel Taft (5), was born in Mendon, about
1790, and died in Ayer at his son's home, Jan
uary 13, 1874. He lived at Northbridge. He
married Syrena Batchelder, of Northbridge,
and their children were: 1. Ruth M., born
April .2, 1816, married Jesse E. Southwick.
2. Marvel, born. 1819. 3. Benjamin Franklin,
born August 17, 1823, further mentioned be
low. 4. Syrena Batchelder. 5. Frank Sibley,
died young.
(VII) Benjamin Franklin Taft, third child
and second son of Benjamin and Syrena (Bat
chelder) Taft, was born in Northbridge, Aug
ust 17, 1823. He received his education in
the common schools of Northbridge and Ber
lin, and the Uxbridge Academy. After leav
ing school he was for a number of years a
clerk in a country school in Holbrooksville,
and later went to New Bedford, where he en
gaged in the mercantile business. After a
time he became interested in the manufacture
of machinery, and went to Worcester, where
he secured employment in a machine shop, re
maining two years. He then removed to Sut
ton, Massachusetts, where he was similarly
employed. He afterward worked in a planing
mill in Charlestown (now Boston) on Front
street, for two years, then removing to Groton
(now the town of Ayer) became manager for
the firm of Nourse, Mason & Co., manufac
turers of agricultural machinery, army wag
ons, stretchers, etc. He later became manager
for the Ames Plow Company, engaged in the
same line of business, and removed to Wor
cester with the last named firm. He removed
to West Acton and engaged in the manufac
ture of tubs and pails for three years. Later
he engaged in the fire insurance business,
establishing an office in Boston, and took
charge of the affairs of the Cotton and Wool
en Insurance Company, then seriously crippled
by the great Boston fire of 1872.' By close
and intelligent application he succeeded in
building up this business until it became profit
able, and so largely extended that it was deem
ed advisable to divide it up into four separate
companies, viz. : the Cotton and Woolen, the
Rubber, the Industrial and the Whiting, and
Mr. Taft became secretary and treasurer of
all these companies. He was already wedded
to the village of Ayer, for he had made his
residence there most of the time since 1853,
making, a daily trip between that place and
Boston. During the Civil war Mr. Taft con

tributed liberally of his means for the equip
ment of soldiers and the maintenance of
their families while they were at the front.
In politics he was an earnest Republican, and
represented the district of Ayer in the general
court, also serving as a member of the school
committee of the town. He attended the Pro
testant Episcopal church, but contributed lib
erally to other denominations. He was a char
ter member of Caleb Butter Lodge, Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, in which he was
past master. He was the one hundredth mem
ber of the Robert Burns Lodge, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. He died in Ayer,
March 22, 1901.
Mr. Taft was married, July 3, 1849, to Car
oline Elizabeth Whiting, born May 17, 1824,
in Cumberland, Rhode Island, daughter of
Jesse and Sarah Whiting. Their children
were: 1. Ellen Franklin, born December 3,
1850, married John W. Kittridge, of Stone-
ham (later of Ayer). 2. Benjamin, born in
Northbridge, April 29, 1852, succeeded his
father in the insurance business, and is pres
ident and secretary of the companies pre
viously named ; married Hattie Lawton. 3.
Syrena Batchelder, born in Groton, July 19,
1855, married Joseph W. Bulkeley, of Boston,
and had three children : Edith, died aged four
years ; Earle, died in infancy ; Frank Stedman,
a physician, at Ayer. 4. Anna S., born in
Groton, September 29, 1857, married, Fred
erick W. Moses, of Nashua, New Hampshire,
and has three children : Frederick, Kathleen
and Carl. 5. Carrie Whiting, born November
24, 1859, married (first) Frederick P. Carle-
ton, of Harvard; and (second) Elmer A.
Fletcher, of Boston.

Secretary Edward Rawson,
RAWSON immigrant ancestor, was born
April 16, 1615, at Gillingham,
Dorsetshire, England, the son of David Raw-
son, citizen and merchant tailor of London,
England. His mother was Margaret, sister of
Rev. John Wilson, minister at Boston. Ed
ward Rawson came to New England in 1637
and settled in Newbury, where he was one of
the grantees and proprietors. He was the sec
ond town clerk of Newbury, notary public and
register, serving from April 19, 1638, to 1647.
He was also selectman of the town and com
missioner to hear and determine small causes.
He was deputy to the general court from
Newbury from 1638 nearly every year until
1650; was clerk of the house of deputies in

876

.MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1645-46 and 1649. He had a special grant for
his services to the general court, a tract of fif
teen hundred acres near the Narragansett
country. He and Joseph Hills revised the
laws of the province. He succeeded Increase
N'owell who had been secretary of the colony
since the beginning in 1636. Rawson was
chosen May 22, 1650, and after that made his
home in Boston. He was re-elected annually
to his position until 1686, when Sir Edmund
Andros came into power. His residence in
Boston was on Rawson lane, so-called, until
changed to Bromfield street, and he owned
some acres bordering on the common. He
and his wife were members of the church of
Rev. John Wilson, after whose death Rawson
became one of the twenty-eight disaffected
persons who left the First Church and united
to form the Third or Old South Church, in
May, 1669. He became the agent or steward
of an English Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel among the Indians in New Eng
land, in 1 65 1. He countersigned the warrant
sent to Massachusetts for the arrest of the
Regicides Goffe, Whalley and Dixwell, but the
arrests were never made. The one blot on his
good record was his participation in the per
secution of the Quakers, then a fashionable
custom. His salary as secretary was at first
twenty pounds a year, later sixty pounds. He
was subsequently elected recorder of Suffolk
county. His family Bible is now or was lately
in the possession of R. R. Dodge, of East Sut
ton, Massachusetts, having descended through
this line: John Rawson Young (6), Anna
(5), David (4), David (3), William (2) and
Edward (1). He was an efficient officer and
a useful and distinguished citizen. He died
August 27, 1693, and administration was
granted to his son William. The warrant to
distribute the estate was dated April 6, 1695 ;
a partial account was dated January 14, 1722.
He married Rachel Perne, daughter of
Thomas Perne, granddaughter of John Hook
er, who married  Grindal, sister of Ed
mund Grindal, archbishop of Canterbury in
the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Children: 1.
Daughter, married and remained in England.
2. Edward, graduate of Harvard in 1653 ; set
tled in Horsmonden, Kent county, England,
1655. 3. Rachel, married, January 18, 1653,
William Aubrey. 4. David, born May 6,
1644, went to England. 5. Perne, born Sep
tember 16, 1646, married Rev. Samuel Tor-
rey. 6. William, born May 21, 1651, married,
July 31, 1673, Anne- Glover. 7. Susan, died
in Roxbury in 1654. 8. Hannah, baptized

October 10, 1653, died May 27, 1656. 9. Re
becca, born October 19, 1654, died young. 10.
Rebecca, born May 23, 1656. n. Elizabeth,
born November 12, 1657, married Thomas
Broughton. 12. Rev. Grindal, born January
23, 1659, mentioned below.
(II) Rev. Grindal Rawson, son of Edward
Rawson ( 1 ) , was born in Boston, January 23,
1659. He was graduated at Harvard in 1678.
After receiving his first degree, Bachelor of
Arts, he was invited by his brother-in-law,
Rev. Samuel Torrey, to come to his house and
study divinity. He proved an apt pupil and
was advised to enter the ministry. He preach
ed his first sermon at Medfield, and for two
months after that he , was heard in various
churches until October 4, 1680, when he
accepted the invitation to fill the pulpit at
Mendon, Massachusetts. He preached there
until April 7, 1684, when he was permanently
settled as minister of the town.
Rev. Cotton Mather, classmate and friend
of Grindal Rawson, in his preface to his ser
mon preached at the funeral of the latter,
quotes the language used by President Urian
Oakes at Commencement in 1678 when he
conferred degrees on the class of that year.
Following is a translation : "The third, some
what high-sounding, is Grindal Rawson,
sprung likewise from a most illustrious stock,
for his honored father holds a high place in
the state; the very pious and orthodox John
Wilson, a truly Apostolic man, was his great
grandmother's brother, and the Right Rever
end Edmund Grindal, sometime Archbishop
of Canterbury, a most saintly man and in the
Archbishopric little less than a Puritan, his
great-great-grandmother's brother, and may
God grant that in learning, holiness and excel
lence of character he may resemble both Wil
son and Grindal." Mr. Mather himself said:
"We generally esteemed him a truly pious
man and a very prudent one, and a person of
temper and every way qualified for a friend
that might be delighted in. We honored him
for his industrious oversight of the flock in
the wilderness which had been committed unto
him and the variety of successful pains which
he took for the. good of those to whom God
had therefore exceedingly endeared him. We
honored him for his intellectual abilities which
procured frequent applications to him and
brought him sometimes upon our most con
spicuous theatres. And we usually took it for
granted that things would be fairly done
where he had a hand in the doing of them.
We honored him for his doing the work of an

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

877

evangelist among our Indians, of whose lan
guage he was a master that has scarce an
equal, and for whose welfare his projections
and performances were such as render our
loss herein hardly to be repaired. Such ser
vices are Pyramids." Dr. Metcalf said of
him: He was an excellent scholar and emi
nent divine." His reputation as a theologian
was of such a character that the general court
sometimes presented grave and serious ques
tions of ecclesiastical polity to him for decis
ion. In 1698 he visited the Indian tribes of
the Province with Rev. Samuel Danforth, of
Taunton. He was appointed chaplain to the
forces going to Canada. He wrote the pamph
let entitled "Confession of Faith," published
in English and Indian. His artillery election
sermon in 1703 and election sermon, May 25,
1709, were published. He died February 6,
171 5. A stone, suitably inscribed, marks his
burial place in Mendon.
He married Susanna Wilson, daughter of
Rev. John Wilson, of Medfield; sister of Dr.
John Wilson, of Braintree, granddaughter of
Rev. John Wilson. She died July 8, 1748.
They were distant relatives. Children: 1.
Edward, born November 21, 1683. 2.Edward,
born 1684, died May 26, 1685. 4. Susanna,
born October 31, 1686, married, 1719, Benja
min Reynolds. 5. Edmund, born July 8, 1689.
6. Wilson, born June 23, 1692, mentioned be
low. 7. John, born October 1, 1695, married
Mercy Hayward. 8. Mary, born June 22,
1699, married, April 9, 1724, Joseph Dorr.
9. Rachel, born September 6, 1701, married
Samuel Wood. 10. David, born October 25,
1703, died January 18, 1704. 11. Grindal,
born September 6, 1707, married Dorothy
Chauncey. 12. Elizabeth, born April 21, 1710.
(Ill) Wilson Rawson, son of Rev. Grindal
Rawson (2), was born in Mendon, June 23,
1692, died December 1, 1726. He was a far
mer at Mendon. He married Margaret Ar
thur, of Nantucket, May 4, 1712: she died
November 14, 1757. Children: 1. Wilson,
born August 13, 1713, mentioned below. 2.
Priscilla, born December 17, 1715. 3. Mary,
born May 12, 1717, died June 22, 1717. 4.
Grindal, born July 13, 1719. 5. Edward, born
April 2, 1721, married Mary Morse. 6., Ste
phen, born April 2, 1722. 7. Paul, born April
9, 1725, married Phebe Gardner. 8. John,
born January 23, 1727.
(IV) Wilson Rawson, son of Wilson Raw-
son (3), was born August 13, 1713, at Men
don, Massachusetts. He settled in Upton. He
married Abigail Temple, of Harvard (inten

tion dated December 24, 1737). He died in
1778 at Upton. His will was dated July 5,
1778, and filed December 2, following. Chil
dren: 1. Wilson, born October 24, 1738, died
March 15, 1744. 2. Caleb, born April 23,
1741. 3, Abigail, born June 9, 1743, married
 Whitney. 4. Joshua; born April 12,
1746. 5. Mary, born March 2, 1748. 6. Wil
son, born February 20, 1752, soldier in the
Revolution. 7. Joshua, born April 1, 1755.
8. Artemas, born 1759, mentioned below.
(V) Artemas Rawson, son of Wilson Raw-
son (4), was born at Upton, Massachusetts,
March 25, 1759, died at Upton, March 27,
181 5. He was a farmer in Upton. In the
Revolution he was a private in Captain Ezra
Wood's company on the Lexington alarm;
also in Captain Benjamin Farrar's company',
Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Tyler's regiment,
at the Rhode Island campaign of 1776. He
married, November 25, 1779, Dorcas Bache
lor, of Grafton. Children, born at Upton:
1. Levi, born January 19, 1780. 2. Asenath
(given Marsena in the genealogy), born July
13, 1782. 3. Emma, born January 25, 1784.
4. Artemas, born September 13, 1785, men
tioned below. 5. Phila, born May 11, 1787,
(also given Philinda). 6. Dorcas, born and
died, 1790. 7. Mark B., born March 3, 1793.
8. Dtircas B., born March 2, 1795, married
William Brooks. 9. Nathaniel Ward, born
April 11, 1797, died January 30, 1818.
(VI) Artemas Rawson, son of Artemas
Rawson (5), was born in Upton, September
13, 1785. He had a common school educa
tion. In addition to the work on his father's
farm he learned during his youth the trade of
shoemaker. For a few years he followed his
trade in his native town, then moved to Paris,
Maine, where he continued to make shoes,
after the custom of the times, and also con
ducted a farm there. He removed to Oxford,
Maine, bought a small farm and continued to
manufacture shoes in the winter. In 1859 he
removed to Arlington, Massachusetts, retiring
at that time from active labor and business.
He died at Lynn, Massachusetts, November
29, 1869. Mr. Rawson was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Originally a
Democrat, he became a Republican in his later
years. When a young man he belonged to the
state militia.
He married, February 3, 1816, at Paris,
Maine, Dorcas Rice and lived there until 1832.
Children: 1. Solon, born October 29, 1817.
2. Aurelia P., born July 22, 1819. 3. War
ren, born July 18, 1821, mentioned below.

S78

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

4. Mary, born October 18, 1823. 5. William,
born May 1, 1826. 6. Dorcas B., born May 1,
1829, died March 1, 1891. 7. Miranda, born
June 17, 1831. 8. Ann E., born June 25,
1833, died August 26, 1871. 9. James, born
July 6, 1835. 10. Van Buren, born July 17,
1839, died September 16, 1869. 11. Elbridge
M., born November 12, 1840. 12. S. Greenleaf,
born December 10, 1842, died March 5, 1865.
(VII) Warren Rawson, son of Artemas
Rawson (6), was born at Paris, Maine, July
18, 1 82 1. His schooling was somewhat lim
ited, attending the village school until he was
twelve and working on the farm. Then he
went to work on the Keith farm in Oxford,
Maine, until he was twenty. In 1842 he came
to Boston, having but seventy-five cents left
when he arrived. He walked to Arlington,
where he found employment on the William
Adams farm. He worked there one year,
and for Albert Winri, market gardener, three
years, in charge of the market wagons in
which the produce was transported to Boston.
He was naturally energetic, frugal, and suc
cessful in bettering his condition. In 1845 he
was able to purchase the farm of Joseph Mott.
This tract of thirty acres is bounded by the
Mystic river and Broadway. Arlington is
famous for successful market gardeners, but
none of them ranked higher than Mr. Rawson
in his day, either in methods of cultivation,
quality of produce or in knowledge of the
markets. He made money rapidly, was care
ful and methodical in expenditures and soon
acquired a modest fortune. In 1872 he was
able to retire from active labor, and he sold
his business to his eldest son, Warren W.
Rawson, building for himself a residence and
greenhouse on Broadway. His was the first
greenhouse built in Arlington, and he had
much enjoyment in carrying on his place as a
means of occupying his time. He died at Ar
lington, July 22, 1893.
Although his school days were short, he
read much and traveled extensively, especially
in his own country, every portion of which he
had visited. He was liberally self-educated,
a veritable mine of general information: He
had a good memory and sterling common
sense, the two great essentials to self-educa
tion. During his active life he displayed un
usual business ability; was temperate in
habits, simple in his tastes and indefatigable in
pushing and developing his business. In man
ner, he was jovial and very approachable. He
was popular among the sportsmen of the town
and each year he made a fishing trip to the

Rangeley Lakes. He was a member of the
Arlington Baptist church, and was prominent
and influential in the society. In early life
a Whig, he was later a Republican. He served
the town of Arlington for seven years on the
board of selectmen and for many years was a
water commissioner. He joined Bethel Lodge,
No. 12, Odd Fellows, at Arlington, but was
not an affiliated member of the order at the
time of his death. He was a member of the
Boston Lancers during the sixties and re
mained a member of the organization all his
life. He married, November 2, 1845, Eleanor
Estabrook Hovey, who was born December
27, 1825, daughter of Ebenezer and Louisa
(Estabrook) Hovey, of West Cambridge. Her
father was a farmer. Children: 1. Warren
Winn, born January 23, 1847, mentioned be
low. 2. Mary Ellen, born February 7, 1849,
died November 1, 1878; married, October 1,
1872, George H. Wright, of Cambridge;
child: Eleanor Heloise Wright, born Novem
ber 1, 1876. 3. Anna Louise, born April 29,
1852, died September 29, 1852. 5. Sarah
Hovey, born December 10, 1856, married
(first), June 14, 1881, Charles C. Cox, of
Winchester, Massachusetts; married (sec
ond), August 31, 1884, Rev. William Walcott
Fay, of Hampton, New Hampshire; child,
Dexter Rawson Fay, born March 15, 1887.
6. Edwin Prescott, born December 9. 1861.
(VIII) Warren Winn Rawson, son- of
Warren Rawson (7), was born in Arlington,
January 23, 1847. He attended the public
schools of that town until he was fourteen
and the Cotting Academy of Arlington for
three years more. He then took a course in
the business college of Chamberlain & Ken
dall, Boston, graduating in 1867. He entered
partnership with his father at the age of
twenty and made a thorough study of the bus
iness of plants, seeds, soil, etc. For five years
he had charge of the sale of the produce in
the Boston markets. In 1872, when he was
twenty-five years old, he bought out his fath
er's business and continued it alone with un
abated success. In 1879 he bought a place at
the corner of Medford and Warren streets
of W- H. Whittemore, consisting of ten acres
of land, and since then has been located on
that farm. In 1880 he built three greenhouses
and in 1881 built his residence. In 1882 he
added two more greenhouses to his plant and
in the year following installed the first steam
heating plant used in a greenhouse. He was
the pioneer in the modern business of raising

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

879

fruits and vegetables under glass. Each year
since then he has added to his greenhouses
until at present he has thirty, covering eight
acres of cultivated area and equipped in the
most approved and up-to-date fashion. His
is the. largest plant of greenhouses in- the New
England states, and he has the largest market
gardening business in that territory. Besides
this business, he is known widely as a dealer
in seeds. In 1884 he purchased the- extensive
seed business of Everett & Gleason, 34 South
Market street, Boston, and has conducted it
under the firm name of W. W. Rawson &
Company. This business has grown to large
proportions under his ownership. In 1887
Mr. Rawson organized the Boston Market
Gardeners' Association and was elected its
first president, an office he has held ever since
by successive re-elections. He takes pride in
the fact that he has never missed a meeting of
the association. The produce from Mr. Raw-
son's farms and greenhouses are sold to re
tailers in Boston and by commission houses
in New York. He makes a specialty of cu
cumbers and lettuce, though by no means con
fining himself to these products. In 1901 he
bought six farms at Newton, New Hamp
shire; and has used them for raising fruit,
seeds, and at present has two thousand hogs
on his Newton property.
Mr. Rawson attends personally to all the
details of his business and as a matter of
course is constantly busy, yet he maintains an
interest in church, social and public affairs
such as few men exhibit. He was elected to
the Arlington school committee in 1884 and
served twelve years. In 1888 he became a
member of the Republican town committee,
serving until 1895, being the chairman three
years. He was moderator of the town meet
ings in Arlington in 1889-90-91, and other
years, eleven in all. He was a member of the
Republican councillor committee for the third
district from 1895 to 1904. In 1897 he was
elected a member of the sewer commission
and served upon it eight years. He was on
the board of selectmen in 1903-04-05, and was
chairman in 1904. He was a member of the
governor's council from the third district in
I905-06, and served on important committees
in that body.
In religion Mr. Rawson is a Unitarian and
is chairman of the music committee of the
Arlington Unitarian Church. He was chor
ister of the Baptist church, before becoming a
Unitarian, for a period of twenty-five years,
and sang tenor in the quartette of the Baptist

choir. Mr. Rawson is a prominent Free
Mason. He was made a member of Hiram
Lodge, June 29, 1893 ; of Menotomy Royal Arch
Chapter, November 9, 1897; of Cambridge
Commandery of Knights Templar; of Mass-
achustts Consistory, thirty-second degree,
Scottish Rite Masonry, Boston. He is also a
member of Friendship Lodge, No. 20, Odd
Fellows, Cambridgeport, and is past noble
grand of Bethel Lodge, No. 12. He was also
formerly its secretary. He is a member of the
Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows. Among other
organizations to which he belongs: The
Massachusetts Republican Club; the Home
Market Club; the Marketmen's Republican
Club'; the Fruit and Produce Exchange; the
Fruit and Produce Beneficiary Association, of
which he was a charter member and for the
past three years has been president. He is a
life member of the Massachusetts Horticul
tural Society, of which he was for three years
vice-president. He is vice-president of the
Bay State Agricultural Society; president of
the Middlesex Agricultural Society, and mem
ber of the Middlesex Club; trustee of the
Lexington Grange, Patrons of Husbandry.
He served eight years on the Massachusetts
State Board of Agriculture. He is a director
of the Orange Judd Company of Springfield
and New York, publishers of the Homestead
and other agricultural journals. He is presi
dent of the Arlington Improvement Company,
and is interested in every movement to de
velop and improve the beautiful town in which
he was born and where he has made his home.
He was one of the three incorporators of the
First National Bank of Arlington, and a direc
tor. He is a member also of the Arlington
Boat Club, one of the twenty-one associates;
of the Arlington Historical Society; of the
Arlington Veteran Fireman's Association; di
rector of the Arlington Co-operative Bank;
honorary member of Francis Gould Post, No.
36, Grand Army. He has been chief marshal
of various public celebrations and parades;
is well known throughout the state as a lec
turer of ability on agricultural and horticul
tural topics; an excellent presiding officer. He
ranks easily among the leading men of the
state in many lines of activity. Mr. Rawson's
distinguishing qualities of mind are perhaps
his great energy and executive ability, his pub
lic spirit and good fellowship. Both in public
and private life his attractive qualities of mind
and heart have attracted and held many
friends. He has the esteem and confidence not
only of his townsmen but of the whole state.

88o

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

He married (first), February 20, 1868,
Helen Maria Mair, who was born December
31, 1846, and died May 4, 1872, the daughter
of George and Lucretia (Emery) Mair, of
Boston. Her father was a sea captain. Mr.
Rawson married (second), September 23,
1874, Sarah Elizabeth Mair, who was born
March 14, 1845, the daughter of Peter and
Sophronia (Emery) Mair. Her father was
a carpenter. Children of Warren W. and Helen
Maria Rawson: 1. Mabel Louisa, born No
vember 19, 1869, died May 2, 1905 ; married,
November 13, 1889, Louis Hall Ross, of Bos
ton; children: Helen Marie Ross, born
September 11, 1890; ii. Beatrice Eleanor Ross,
born March 21, 1892 ; iii. Louis Warren Ross,
born July 18, 1893 ; iv. Madeline Ross, born
May 29, 1895, died September 5, 1906; v.
Donald Gunn Ross, born April 13, 1897. 2.
Eleanor Hovey, born May 4, 1871, died Sep
tember 4, 1871. Children of Warren W. and
Sarah Elizabeth Rawson: 3. Alice, born Oc
tober 21, 1875. 4. Herbert Warren, born
July 2, 1877, mentioned below. 4. Arthur
Mair, born October 15, 1879, died April 24,
1881. ,(IX) Herbert Warren Rawson, son of
Warren Winn Rawson (8), was born at Arl
ington, July 2, 1877. He received his early
education in the public schools there, graduat
ing from the Russell grammar school and
attending the high school one year. In the
fall of 1892 he entered Massachusetts Agri
cultural College ¦ at Amherst and continued
until the spring of 1895 wnen he entered Cor
nell University, graduating there in 1897 with
the degree of Bachelor of Science of Agricul
ture. He then entered the employ of his
father at 34 South Market street, Boston, as
clerk. After four years, during which he
learned the details of the business carefully,
he was admitted to partnership under the firm
name of W. W. Rawson & Company. Mr.
Rawson is manager of the business in Boston
and also of the plant at Arlington that sup
plies the concern with hardy and greenhouse
plants. The firm makes a specialty of plants
and bulbs and all kinds of vegetable seeds,
having customers in all parts of the country.
Many of their specialties are grown for them
under contract in Germany, England and Hol
land, as well as the United States. Special
considerations of soil and climate determine
where certain seeds shall be cultivated. Mr.
Rawson's home is at 295 Broadway, Arling
ton. In politics a Republican, he has been a
member of the school committee two years

and chairman of the Republican town commit
tee in 1906 and 1907. He has been a delegate
to various senatorial, representative and
county conventions of his party and is secre-
atry of the sixth district councillor Republican
committee. He was made a member of Hiram
Lodge of Free Masons, November 12, 1903 ; of
Menotomy Chapter of Royal Arch Masons,
March 20, 1906. He belongs to the Phi Sigma
Kappa fraternity of Amherst and Cornell; of
Theta Nu Epsilon fraternity at Cornell. He
was president of his college class at Amherst
for two years. He belongs to the Arlington
Boat Club; to the Boston Market Gardeners'
Association; the Home Market Club; the
Massachusetts Republican Club; the Boston
Club and is a life member of the Massachu
setts Horticultural Society.
He married, January 14, 1901, Martha
Davis Griffin, who was born at Annisquam,
Massachusetts, January 21, 1878, the daughter
of Willard P. and Marilla (Gunnison) Griffin,
of Annisquam. Her father is a coal dealer at
Annisquam. Children: 1. Marilla Gunnison,
born May 17, 1902. 2. Warren Winn, 2d.,
born April 4, 1906. 3. Elizabeth, born June
20, 1907. The Delaney or Delany f am-
DELANY ily of county Galway, -Ireland,
has an ancient and honorable
history. It has been especially distinguished
by the sons and daughters it has given to the
church. Of the present generation we may
mention the Right Rev. Dr. Delaney, Coad
jutor Archbishop of Hobart, Tasmania, Aus
tralia, a near relative of the late Right Rev.
Dr. Delany, of Manchester, New Hampshire,
mentioned below; Rev. Father Delaney, of
Beechworth, Australia, a cousin of the Amer
ican bishop. But the Irish Delanys were not
all priests. Many stories and traditions of
deeds of valor in battle, of patriotism and
self-sacrifice are repeated to the children of
each generation. The Delanys were stout of
heart and strong of body, leaders of men in
their native land; the history of the family
would indicate how much the honored sons
of this generation owe to heredity, especially
in giving faith, hope, courage and persistence,
the qualities of mind and heart that have been
conspicuous in many of the name.
(I) Bryan Delany, the American pioneer,
was born in Ballanimore Bridge, county Gal
way, Ireland. He married Mary  .
Children: 1. Thomas, born 1836, mentioned

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

88 1

below. 2. Bernard, a tailor in business at
157 Middlesex street, Lowell. 3. John, re
mained in Ireland.
(II) Thomas Delany, son of Bryan De
lany (1), was born at Ballanimore Bridge,
county Galway, Ireland, in 1836, and died in
Lowell, Massachusetts, October 1, 1900. He.
had a common school education in his native
parish, and learned the tailor's trade. In 1857
he came to this country, the first of his family
to leave Ireland. He resided for six months
in Boston, then came to Lowell and entered
the employ of McEvoy, the tailor, in that city,
as a journeyman. A few years later he start
ed in business on his own account as a mer
chant tailor with a store on Market street.
He was successful. Frugal and economical,
he invested his savings wisely and in the
course of time attained the leading position in
his line of business in the city of Lowell. He
accumulated a comfortable fortune and for
many years held a position of influence and
importance in the community. He was an
earnest advocate of temperance, and a member
of various Catholic societies intended to en
courage total abstinence. He was industrious,
capable and intelligent; honest and upright in
all his dealings; kind, sympathetic and helpful
in his relations with other men. He' was well
known in Lowell and enjoyed the respect and
esteem of all classes of his townsmen. At
the time of his death he was the oldest mer
chant tailor in the city. He believed thor-
ougly in education and his children were en
couraged to study and cultivate 'their minds.
It is an interesting fact that Notre Dame
Academy of Lowell had one or more of his
five daughters as pupils constantly for a per
iod of twenty-seven years.
Mr. Delany, 'like his Irish ancestors, had a
sturdy physique, an active brain and a heart
big enough to embrace not only those bound
to him by ties of blood or marriage, but .also
those united to him only by the common bond
of charity, if they were in need for anything
he had to give. "Manly, whole-souled, a
model citizen, a fervent Catholic, he was eas
ily the most respected member of St. Patrick's
parish in Lowell."
He was an earnest and loyal Democrat in
politics, but never sought public office. He
was a. member of no clubs or organizations,
being devoted to his business, his home and
his church. He lived at 791 Broadway, Low
ell. Soon after coming to Lowell Mr. Delany
married Catherine Fox, daughter of James
and Bridget Fox. She was born in county

Monaghan, Ireland. Her mother was a re
markable woman. Bridget Fox was born De
cember 23, 1793, near the town of Bellatrain,
county Monaghan, Ireland, which is beauti
fully situated between Lakes Egish and Sillan,
about twenty miles west of Dundalk, county
seat of Louth; married in Ireland in the
spring of 1814 at the age of twenty. She had
seven sons and one daughter, Catherine, men
tioned above. In 1848 her husband and two
sons and daughter went to the United States
by way of Canada and settled in New York
state, where he found employment in railroad
construction. In 1852, four years later, Mrs.
Fox joined the family in America, having re
ceived a letter telling her the sad news that
her husband and one son had fallen victims
to the cholera during an epidemic. She joined
her two sons and daughter in Lowell. Her
other children died in the old country. She
was then nearly sixty years old, but her won
derful constitution made her as active as many
women of half that age and she went bravely
to work to earn her living, starting a boarding
house that enabled her in time to establish a
comfortable home. She died in Lowell, Jan
uary, 1898, having reached the remarkable age
of one hundred and five years and one month.
Up to the day of her death she retained her
faculties to a wonderful degree. A pleasant
incident of the quiet celebration of her cen
tennial birthday was the receipt of a poem by
her granddaughter, Sister Florence Louise, of
Waltham : " A hundred years of labor!
What conqueror can wear
A crown of nobler laurels
Entwined with deeds so fair?
Deeds of love and kindness,
Of sacrifice and care,
As patient and as silent
As whisperings of prayer.
"A hundred years of labor
And glories are thine;
The laurels most befitting
May angel hands entwine;
And may the King of Glory
Who only knows thy worth,
Each moment make a diadem
Of thy hundred years on earth.'-
Mrs. Fox came of a family noted for long
evity. A sister in Ireland lived to the age of
one hundred and two, dying in 1896. Her
mother was more than a hundred years old
when she died. Mrs. Delany survived her
mother but a few years. She died at her home
in Lowell, December 29, 1906, after a brief
illness, at the age of seventy years. The death

882

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

of her well-beloved son, the Bishop of Man
chester, undoubtedly shortened her life. Near
ly one hundred clergymen showed their re
spect for her memory by attending the funeral
and letters of regret were received from many
more, including one from the present Bishop
of Manchester, Right Reverend Dr. Guertin,
who succeeded Bishop Delany. Although
Mrs. Delany's force for good in the world was
unseen of men and almost unknown, the poor
and unfortunate of the city had special rea
sons for lamenting her death. The character
and worth of Mrs. Delany were appreciated
by her family and friends. The beautiful
tribute of the bishop, her son, at the time of
his consecration is a notable instance. While
still within the sanctuary after his consecra
tion, he looked at his mother and then out up
on the congregation. "All that I am," he said,
"I owe to the home influences which have sur
rounded my youth," and, descending the steps,
he went to her, kissed her and thanked her.
All her days have been devoted to doing good
for others. Even in her later years she re
mained the moving spirit in many of the char
itable enterprises of the city of her home. She
was one of, the most faithful parishioners of
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church.
Children: i. Rose J., married Patrick Gil-
bride, a prominent dry goods merchant and
business man of Lowell. 2. Rev. John Ber
nard, mentioned below. 3. James, died
young. 4. Minnie F., married, 1894, John A.
O'Hearn, formerly manager of the Merrimack
Clothing Company of Lowell, now of Boston,
Massachusetts. 5. Catherine L., educated at
Notre Dame Convent of Waltham, Massachu
setts; now Sister Florence Louise of the
Order of Notre Dame ; at present secretary of
Trinity College, Washington, D. C. 6. Thom
as, Jr., died at Lowell, June 23, 1903. 7.
Rev. Frederick J., educated in St. Patrick's
Parochial School, Lowell ; at Boston College,
from which he was graduated in 1896, and in
Paris and Rome, where he studied for the
priesthood. He was ordained in New York
City in May, 1901, by Archbishop Corrigan at
St. Patrick's Cathedral, and is priest of Bos
ton. 8. Grace C, educated at Notre Dame
Academy, a teacher in the Lowell Training
School. 9. Clotilda Augusta, a graduate of
the State Normal School at Lowell, teacher in
the Concord Street Kindergarten School, Bos
ton. Mrs. Gilbride was a school teacher in
Lowell before she was married.
(Ill) Right Reverend John Bernard De
lany, son of Thomas Delany (2), was born in

Lowell, August 9, 1864. His early education
was obtained at the Greene grammar school
of his native city and Lowell high school. He
attended the Holy Cross College at Worces
ter, Massachusetts, for two years, and then
entered Boston College, from which he was
graduated in 1887. It was during these years
with the Jesuits that the talents and tastes of
Bishop Delany were developed. Though a
close and conscientious student, he never
sought the medals and premiums for high
marks. He showed a distinct love for good
literature, and his knowledge of English books
and authors was beyond that of his classmates.
He read widely in his college days and com
mitted to memory many poems, especially
those of Tennyson who appealed with especial
force at that time to both student and profes
sors. Often Delany's efforts in prose arid
verse were read to his classmates as models
of good work. With the assistance of Pro
fessor J. M. Colgan, S. J., a class paper was
issued. rudely printed on an old gelatine hek-
tograph, called The Diary. Many of Bishop
Delany's first literary efforts were published
in this paper and its successor, The Dawn.
He spent most of spare time in the Boston
public library with kindred spirits among the
students, and their' constant presence caused
one corner of the library to be called by its
frequenters the Boston College Corner. Of
Delany as a student Father Colgan said:
"Young Delany was a boy of steadfast pur
pose. You always knew where he stood, and
he always stood on the side of truth and jus
tice and principle." A classmate writing of
those days said of him: "I do not remember
an angry word ever escaping his lips. He had
an abundance of good nature, which revealed
itself in quips and witty saying's. He did love
a good joke or a funny story and his laugh
was the most infectious I have ever listened
to." * * "Such a man was bound to be a
favorite." From his earliest years he had been
bent on being a priest, but he never expressed
his determination until after his graduation
from college. But he seemed naturally gifted
for his chosen career. His modesty of de
meanor, his reserve and seriousness as well as
his mental and intellectual gifts seemed admir
ably adapted to his chosen career. Immediately
after graduating he went to Paris to study for
the priesthood at the Seminary of St. Sulpice,
perhaps the most famous in the world. Found
ed two hundred and fifty or more years ago,
this seminary numbers among its alumni two
canonized saints, one of whom, John Baptist

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

883

de la Salle, founded the Institute of the Chris
tian Brothers. Nearly all the eminent French
ecclesiastics, living and dead, including Car
dinal Lavigerie and the great preacher Lacor-
daire, were students there. During his study
abroad his mind "was broadened by travel
during vacations. He visited most of the his
toric spots in France, Italy, Germany, Aus
tria and Switzerland. His ordination took
place May 23, 1891, at the hands of Cardinal
Richard, archbishop of Paris. Father Delany
said his first mass at St. Sulpice. He then
offered the Holy Sacrifice at some of the
famous shrines in and about Paris and at
Lotirdes, where he journeyed especially to ask
the blessing of the Mother of God on his new
life and work. He then visited England and
Ireland and finally returned to America. After
passing a few days at his father's home in
Lowell, he reported for duty to his superior,
Bishop Bradley, of Manchester. New Hamp
shire was then in urgent need of priests, espec
ially those familiar with the French language,
and it was the need that induced Father Delany
to offer himself. He began his priestly life
at St. Anne's parish in Manchester. While
there his admirable qualities of mind and
heart and his zeal for every good work en
deared him to both priest and people. After
two years and a half of faithful service in this
parish he was transferred to the Church of
the Immaculate Conception at Portsmouth.
The rector of that church was the Very Rev
erend Eugene M. O'Callaghan, now pastor of
St. John's Church at Concord, : New Hamp
shire, who as vicar general of the diocese under
Bishop Bradley, was continued by Bishop De
lany. After five years at Portsmouth Father
Delany spent a few months in charge of the
parish at Hinsdale, New Hampshire, during a
European trip of the pastor.
He came to St. Joseph's Cathedral in Man
chester, New Hampshire, in 1898, as chan
cellor of the diocese and secretary to Bishop
Bradley. In this 'position he entered all un
consciously upon the course of training that
was specially to fit him for the high office to
which he was later called. He performed his
duties with the efficiency and faithfulness that
had characterized his previous work in his
profession. In addition to his other duties he
preached in his turn with the other priests of
the Episcopal household, and assisted in hear
ing the parish confessions. When the Monas
tery of the Precious Blood was opened in
1898 Father Delany was assigned as chap
lain, and every morning he said mass at the

chapel of the Sisters, heard their confessions
and had general charge of the affairs of their
institute. In 1902 he accompanied twelve of
the members of the order to Cuba and estab
lished at Havana a new foundation of the
order. To no other class in the community,
perhaps, was his elevation to the Episcopal
chair more pleasing than to these Sisters whose
welfare and interests he guarded and directed
so wisely for six years. One of the most con
genial and important duties of Father Delany
came to him 'in August, 1898, when Bishop
Bradley placed him in editorial charge of The
Guidon, a new Catholic magazine, which he
made a success financially and an organ of
large influence and importance. He remained
its editor until the time of his consecration as
bishop. At present this magazine is owned by
a stock company composed of the priests of
the diocese. Much of the material for this
sketch has been suggested by a memorial num
ber of The Guidon, published soon after the
death of Bishop Delany. Nowhere were his
tact, patience and perseverance more needed
and more in evidence than in his building up
of this paper. Its publication began in the
face of difficulties that would have daunted
one less strong. Catholic papers and maga
zines already existed in great numbers. Mem
bers of the clergy were skeptical of the suc
cess of the undertaking and the laymen were
not encouraging. But Bishop Bradley felt the
need of this publication and Father Delany
established it. In six years The Guidon under
his management grew from a small paper with
few advertisers and a nominal circulation to a
large and handsome magazine with a large and
extensive circulation and liberal advertising
patronage, taking rank with the best publica
tions of its class and receiving the approba
tion of the highest dignitaries of the church.
Cardinal Martinelli sent a special message of
commendation to Father Delany for the good
work being done by The Guidon. Bishop
Delany had a high ideal of the mission of
journalism and he kept the pages of this maga
zine singularly free" from anything like sensa
tionalism or cheap literature. His own edi
torials were widely quoted in both Catholic
and Protestant papers. They dealt with all
manner of public questions, such as strikes,
education, temperance, woman suffrage, di
vorce, the conditions of the church in France,
various social and political topics which he dis
cussed openly and fearlessly in the light of his
own faith. He never hesitated to point out to
his people and his readers their rights and

884

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

duties as citizens of the United States and as
members of the Catholic church.
In addition to the multifarious duties already
mentioned Father Delany found time for
other priestly duties. Prior to his elevation to
the bishopric he was diocesan director of the
League of the Sacred Heart, branches of
which he established even in remote parts of
the State. He was director of the Society of
the Holy Childhood and had charge of the
non-Catholic missions of New Hampshire.
At one time he was a member of the State
Conference of Charities and Corrections, and
- he was state chaplain of the Knights of Co
lumbus from the time of their organization
until shortly before his consecration. His last
appointment from Bishop Bradley was a dio
cesan director of the Priests' Temperance
League, an organization the members of which
pledge themselves to further the cause of tem
perance by every means within their power.
But with all these cares and duties Father
Delany found time to write many prose
sketches and occasional poems of more than
ordinary merit for the magazine of which he
was editor, and to deliver public lectures and
addresses on subjects ranging from art and
travel to theology. In 1903 he delivered the
baccalaureate sermon at Boston College, the
highest honor which his alma mater had to
bestow. The qualities that made Father Delany suc
ceed in the discharge of these diverse and
varied duties commended him to his super
ior, and he came thus to be not only Bishop
Bradley's secretary but his confidential friend
and adviser. He often accompanied the
bishop on his travels and frequently repre
sented him on public occasions. His duties as
chancellor too brought him into intimate rela
tions with the pastors throughout the state and
it was natural enough that when Bishop Brad
ley died, Father Delany was the first choice of
the priests of the diocese to succeed him. The
official announcement of the appointment of
Father Delany as bishop was received from
Rome, August 9, 1904. There was general
rejoicing and satisfaction over the appoint
ment outside as well as inside the church.
Bishop Delany was consecrated September
8, 1904, at St. Joseph's Cathedral, Manches
ter. The consecrator was the Most Reverend
Diomede Falconio, the apostolic delegate. The
assistant consecrators were the Right Rever
end Edward P. Allen, bishop of Mobile, Ala
bama, and the Most Reverend William H.
O'Connell, coadjutor archbishop of Boston,

both intimate friends of Bishop Delany. A
representative gathering of clergy and laymen
from all over New England attended the ser
vice. At the close of the ceremony Bishop
Delany made his first address to his people
and gave to them his first Episcopal blessing.
Then came a dinner to the clergy in Mechan
ics Hall, where he was presented with a purse
of gold by the clergy of his diocese. In the
evening he sang pontifical vespers. The first
official act of the bishop was the celebration of
a mass for the school children of the city,
their teachers and members of the religious
orders, Friday, September 9, and on the Mon
day following he celebrated his first pontifical
mass for the repose of the soul of the Right
Reverend Denis M. Bradley, his worthy pre
decessor. The civic celebration in his honor
Monday, September 12, was a notable occa
sion. Delegations from all parts of the state
joined the people of his parish in a represent
ative gathering in his honor. In the speeches
the love and affection, the confidence and rev
erence felt by his people were admirably ex
pressed, and a substantial testimonial was left
to show the general appreciation.
His career as bishop was cut short by death
after twenty-one months in his high office.
Bishop Delany was indefatigable in his efforts
to build up the diocese along the lines laid
down by his predecessor. A few weeks after
his consecration Bishop Delany made a pilgri
mage to Rome. The visit to the Vatican, the
interviews with the Pope, the memorable voy
age home on1 the "Princess Irene," when the
Bishop allayed the terror of hundreds of
storm-bound passengers, the race home from
Halifax where the vessel finally made port,
coming by special train in order to be with his
people on the first Christmas after his conse
cration, and his arrival in the early hours of
Christmas morning and his greeting at mass
are fresh in the memory of his people. Bishop
Delany at once began to enlarge and extend
the work already well begun by his prede
cessor. Even before his consecration he had
installed in the cathedral and residence a sys
tem of electric lighting, and this became his
consecration gift, valued at about twenty-five
hundred dollars, to his parish. His next
thought was of the little ones and he dispensed
with the children's mass in the low-studded,
unattractive basement and had the young peo
ple attend the regular mass that he himself
said when at home. He then did away with
the adult choir and introduced congregational
singing by the children, an experiment that

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

885

proved a delightful success. He was especially
beloved by the children, and he had the happy
faculty of speaking not only within the com
prehension of the children but his speech at
the same time reached and interested his adult
audience. On Sunday, March 19, 1905, the
bishop paid his first official visit to the Holy
Rosary Chapel. He said the two regular
masses there that day and announced at each
his intention of erecting at once a new chapel
which was greatly needed, the old structure
being inadequate either for church or school
purposes to which it was put. Eight months
later, Sunday, November 5, 1905, he had the
pleasure of dedicating the new structure, the
old chapel being used afterward for school
purposes. The bishop improved St. Joseph's
school and renovated from top to bottom the
boys' high school an old and dingy building,
unattractive without and unsanitary within.
It was made as healthful and clean as any
school building in the city. He brought the
course of study up to date and introduced new
typewriting machines for the students. The
old wooden passageway between cathedral and
church was removed to give place to a brick
cloister and to make room for the monument
erected by the priests of the diocese to the
memory of their first bishop. Bishop Delany
was very active in carrying out to the letter
Bishop Bradley's wishes as to the form of
the memorial which was dedicated December
24, 1905, and Bishop Delany caused to be
placed in the cathedral itself a tablet bearing
a more extended inscription. He laid plans
for the Bradley Memorial High School to take
the place of the boys' school, and some months
later he bought a site for the proposed build
ing,' a large tract of land facing Tremont
Common and near by the cathedral itself.
But the project nearest to the bishop's heart
was nearest to fulfillment at the time of his
death. When the city farm was discontinued
in 1905 the city offered to sell to the bishop
for the nominal price of one hundred dollars
seven acres of land for a new orphanage,
but -there were objections and the bishop
declined the gift, asking the privilege of buy
ing the land at public auction. The auction
took place and he paid the market value of the
land, sixty-one hundred dollars. The location
is ideal. Just before his death Bishop Delany
turned the first sod; the plans and specifica
tions were completed. Another project the
bishop had in mind was the erection of a
modern hospital building for the Sacred Heart
Hospital, and he would undoubtedly have car

ried out his plans to a successful issue had he
lived. The bishop knew where the funds
were coming from, and much of his work in
this direction will doubtless be of future value
to his diocese and parish. He readjusted the
debts of the diocese so that he effected a net
annual saving of sixty-five hundred dollars.
He had plans for the reduction of the cost of
insurance that would have lifted another bur
den from the shoulders of his people. Great
as were his projects for the material welfare
of his people, for the care of the poor and suf
fering, the sick, the children, he did not neg
lect ,the great and responsible tasks of his
office in the church. He went from one end
of the state to another visiting convents and
schools and giving confirmations. He preach
ed in both French and English, and at con
firmation made a point of pledging every child
to abstain from intoxicating liquors until he
reached the age of twenty-one. He also
officiated at special church dedications and
delivered addfesses outside as well as inside
his diocese. He never evaded an opportunity
to speak. At school entertainments and com
mencements, at meetings of sodalities or other
organizations, he spoke very often. Twice
in 1905, once at Lowell and once at the cathe
dral in Boston, he addressed immense gather
ings of Knights of Columbus. He maintained
a mission for non-Catholics and worked zeal
ously to bring Catholics who were indifferent
to religion back to the church. He had intend
ed to spend his summer vacation in mission
work. With a French assistant he was to go
about among his French parishioners, preach
ing, baptizing, administering the sacraments.
Bishop Delany was taken ill, June 2, 1906,
and an operation for appendicitis was found
necessary- At first his condition seemed fav
orable, but peritonitis set in and he died June
11. His death was a shock to all the com
munity. At his funeral the love of clergy and
laymen was eloquently expressed. Newspa
pers of every class and denomination spoke
the great sorrow and regret at the untimely
close of so promising and useful a career.
The Manchester Union said of him : "Bish
op Delany will be mourned throughout his
diocese by all sorts and conditions of men.
He_was already widely known and universally
esteemed. Although the youngest bishop in
the United States a.t the time of his consecra
tion, less than two years ago, he entered upon
the duties of his high position fully equipped
for its responsibilities. The enthusiasm of
youth was in him, combined with a clear judg-

886

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ment and a sound understanding. He felt
deeply that there was a great work before him,
but he felt also that there was time in which
to do it well — that he might build broadly and
without haste, albeit at the same time with
out rest. Those who knew him intimately
know how calmly he planned great and endur
ing work in many lines, not for his own glory
or advantage, but for the cause to which he
had consecrated his life and all his powers,
for the welfare of his people, for help to the
needy and distressed, for the strengthening of
faith among men. He was not lifted up by
vain pride by his advancement, but calmly
conscious of his physical and mental strength,
he gratefully welcomed the opportunity for
usefulness which came to him, as a strong man
rejoices to run a race." The Mirror said
among other appreciative things : "To what
eminence he would have attained, what work
he would have accomplished, what measure of
wisdom, sagacity and success he would have
demonstrated, how fully he would have illus
trated the example and teachings of the la
mented Bradley, if he had been spared, can
not be said. * * * He broadened as he prog
ressed. Contact with those of other denomin
ations, experience with affairs, familiarity
with business, made him more and more prac
tical and were steadily winning him public
confidence. In general estimation he was a
larger, more resourceful, more practical man
when he died than he was two years before,
and he goes hence to the great beyond sin
cerely mourned by people of all denomina
tions." The Concord Daily Patriot said: "New
Hampshire loses one of the forces that made
for her best and highest interests. He was a
man universally loved, not because of the
clothes he wore or the office he held, but be
cause of the sterling manhood within him, be
cause of his keen appreciation of human
needs, and quick sympathy for all who suffer
ed. To all who had opportunity to realize
and did realize his splendid ability and loyalty
as a son of the Roman Catholic church, his
taking away at this time so suddenly, appeals
as a calamity — stopped on the very threshold
of his activity, called home when his labors
were but begun."
The Republic, Boston : "Bishop Delany was
the youngest member of the hierarchy in
America ; and withal one of the sanest and
ablest. He did more to place the church on a
permanent and satisfactory basis in New
Hampshire during the time he was bishop,

than any other man has ever done in a like
period. There was a bigness in his mind,
and one cannot help recalling the scheme and
the rosy future which he had mapped out for
the diocese, without regretting doubly this sad
taking off. Peculiarly he has sought to gain
favor for his people in New Hampshire and
he brought the people of that section, hostile
though they were, to a realization of the dom
inant factor for good the church and the
priests were."
Bishop Delany left no property except that
from his life insurance, of which he bequeath
ed the sum of ten thousand dollars to the St.
Joseph's Boys' Orphanage of Manchester. He
was the fourth Lowell man to attain the dig
nity of bishop-coadjutor : Archbishop O'Con-
nell, of Boston ; Bishop Allen, of Mobile ;
Bishop Garrity, of Sioux Falls and Bishop
Delany. Of his personal characteristics, the Guidon
said: "Refined and gentle as a woman, ten
derly mindful of all of God's creatures, par
ticularly those despised or neglected by others,
yet so manfully bold that the idea of weakness
could never be associated with him; true to
the highest ideals of Catholic faith, true to
his country, true to his friends; so 'serene and
high above Life's cheap dishonesties' that no
suspicion of unworthy motive in others ever
destroyed the peace of his soul — he was, as
his eulogist fitly characterized him, 'a manly
priest and priestly man.' His most conspic
uous trait was kindness of heart. A manner
somewhat brisk, but entirely in keeping with
his robust frame and a quick incisiveness of
speech often caused people on first meeting
him, to set him down as severe. Exacting he
certainly was, as a man of high purpose must
be, but unkind never. * * * Nowhere was his
kindness of heart fhore noticeable than in his
family relations. He was the best of brothers,
the most devoted of sons. His one great care
in his last illness was to hide from his mother
the extent of his sufferings. His efforts to
cheer her were pathetic. At the very end as
she bent over him and said: 'We are sorry,
son, to have you suffer so,' he smiled bravely
and gasped, 'I'm picking up, mother.' "
He despised gossip, uncharitable speech,
tale-bearing and vulgarity. He was the soul
of generosity. He gave to the extent of his
means wisely and generously to the poor direct
as well as to the hospitals and organizations
of charity and benevolence. He did not con
fine his gifts to his own creed. He loved chil
dren and did his utmost for the little ones of

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

887

his parish, where ever he was located. He
loved art and nature in all her moods. He
liked walking and many an evening after his
day's work was done he found rest and rec
reation in a long tramp "around the bridges."
He took fishing trips in the wilds of Maine
and New Hampshire. He once said : "These
beautiful mountains of ours are like steps to
Heaven, especially just now when their tops
are covered with snow. I wish you could see
them in the sunlight of an autumn evening
when the country round about is 'brilliant with
foliage ! As daylight dies, a magnificent pur
ple hue filles the atmosphere and this darkens
and deepens slowly into the shades of night.
But the tops still glow long after nightfall
with a radiance as from Heaven."
September 8, 1904.
Our hearts, our hopes are with thee. Art not thou
A king? Thy hands the staff of power hold;
Thy finger rests within Faith's jeweled gold;
The helmet of salvation on thy brow,
Like storied knighthood's tossing plume must now
Be ever seen by us. Yea, manifold
Thy gifts of grace, God's glory to uphold,
Thy floek to lead. Yet while in trust we vow
Our faith we pray — May justice guide they hand;
May gentle love direct they sandaled feet
To hearts irresolute and weak; May pride
Be banished far. May Christlike tones command
But oft'ner still may Christlike love entreat.
May one for all and all for one, abide.
June 11, 1906.
Our hearts are rent; our hopes have fled. The ring
The cross, the staff, those signs of power.
Now toys of Death to help recall the hour
Of that great day — its pomp, its pride; to bring
Us sorrowing to thy tomb — bid us to sing
Thy dirge, to place on thee this faded flower
Which gloriously bloomed the day when our
Mitred King was throned. 'Tis o'er. Our King
Is dead. Long live the King! Through many a year
Be his, let him recall those seeds of love
Of justice, and of truth he sowed- They grew
To garlands which adorned a brief career,
Whose scent was wafted to the eternal throne,
"God needs me more." To God his spirit flew.
— Sacerdos.

BRIGHT

The name Bright is of Saxon
origin and the family dates
back to the time of Henry
VII, when they lived in the Parish of Saint
Mary, Bury St. Edmunds, county of Suffolk,
England. The arms of Bright, of Bury St.
Edmunds: Sable, a fessee argent between
three escallops or. Crest. A dragon's head
gule, vomiting flames of fire proper, collared
and lined. These arms were confirmed in
1615 to Thomas Bright, Jr., showing that they

had been in the family long before that per
iod. Escallops denote pilgrimages or ser
vice in the Holy Land. The English pedigree
of this family is that compiled from original
manuscripts in the Herald's Visitations, deeds,
wills, etc., by H. G. Somerby.
(I) John Bright, of the Parish of St.
Marys, in Bury St. Edmunds, is probably the
progenitor of the Bright family in America.
He lived in the time of Henry VII. He had
three children, Walter, mentioned below,
Roger and Margaret.
(II) Walter Bright, son of John Bright
(1), resided at Bury St. Edmunds. In his
will, dated October 28, 1550, proved in the
prerogative court in London," February 6,
1 55 1, he speaks of his tenements at Bury St.
Edmunds, and gives to his son Thomas an
estate in West Gate street, when he shall be
come of age. He was buried January 25,
1551. He married Margaret  . Chil
dren: 1. John, married Alice Walot, buried
August 10, 1593. 2. Edmund, married Cath
erine Copsey. 3. Thomas, mentioned below.
4. A daughter. 5. Son or daughter.
(Ill) Thomas Bright, son of Walter
Bright (2), resided in the Parish of St. James,
Bury St. Edmunds. His will was' dated Aug
ust 20, 1587, and proved 1587, and showed
him to be a man of much landed property.
He bequeathed also to charities sums amount
ing to three hundred pounds. He was buried
September 1, 1587. His portrait hangs in the
Guildhall of Bury St. Edmunds. He married
Margaret Jervis. Children: 1. Thomas,
married (first), Margaret Kent; (second),
Margaret Beton. 2. Robert, married Kath-
erine  . 3. Henry, baptized December
20, 1560, mentioned below. 4. Jasper, bap
tized December 6, 1567. 5. Margaret, mar
ried Rev. Robert Rhodes. 6. Anne, baptized
October 14, 1562. 7. Thomas. 8. Mary,
baptized June 14, 1566. 9. Joan, baptized
August 13, 1569, died young. 10. Katherine,
baptized at Surry, March 5, 1572, married
Bennet Barker. 11. Joan, baptized February
26, 1572, married Edmund Houghton. 12.
Susan, baptized April 19, 1575, died young,
13. Susan, baptized April 9, 1576, died young.
14. Alice, baptized October 2, 1579, buried
May 13, 1582. 15. Susan, baptized Septem
ber 28, 1579, married  Barker.
(IV) Henry Bright, son of Thomas Bright
(3), was baptized at St. James, December 20,
1560. He had lands and houses at Great Bar
ton and other villages and in Bury . St. Ed
munds. He died 1609. He married Mary

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

 , who after his death, married William
Cole. Children: i. Thomas, baptized No
vember 28, 1596, died unmarried. 2. Mary,
born probably 1594, married William Forth,
of Nayland, gentleman. 3. Elizabeth, bap
tized September 17, 1598, married 
Delh 4. John, baptized November 30, 1600.
5. Henry, baptized December 29, 1602, men
tioned below. 6. Stephen, baptized May 12,
1605, buried November 21, 1607. 7. Samuel,
baptized November 24, 1606, buried July 14,
1607. 8. Anne, baptized February 3, 1609,
died young. 9. Martha, married  Blow
ers. (V) Henry Bright, son of Henry Bright
(4), was baptized December 29, 1602. He
came to New England, settled in Watertown,
and was admitted a freeman May 6, 1635.
He was many times a selectman between 1640
and 1647, and for a long time held the office
of deacon. In early life he was a sergeant.
He married, probably in 1634, Anne Gold-
stone, born 1615, daughter of Henry and Anne
Goldstone, of Watertown. He died October
9, 1686, aged eighty-four. Extract from the
diary of Judge Sewall : "Oct. 6, 1686, Mr.
Bailey is ordained at Watertown. Oct. 7,
Thursday, Dea. Bright, carrying home chairs,
&c, used at Mr. Bailey's, is hurt in his car, —
none seeing, so that he died, Oct. 9, Saturday."
His farm was the land now marked on the
map as that of Widow Hurd and Widow
Pratt. Children : 1 . Anna, died August,
1639, aged four, years. 2. Abigail, born Oc
tober 12, 1637, married Elisha Odlin, of Bos
ton. 3. Mary, born April 23, 1639, married,
October 15, 1657, Nathaniel Coolidge. 4.
John, born May 14, 1641, married Mary Bar-
sham. 5. Anna, born March 17, 1643-44,
died September 5, 171 1; married Captain
Samuel Ruggles, of Roxbury. 6. Elizabeth,
born 1645, married, July 5, 1674, Walter Hast
ings, of Cambridge ; died July 23, 1702. 7.
Nathaniel, born May 5, 1647, mentioned be
low. 8. Beriah, born September 22, 1651,
died October 7, 1734; married Isaac Fowle, of
Charlestown. (VI) Nathaniel Bright, son of Deacon
Henry Bright (5), was born May 5, 1647.
He was a tanner and farmer. His will, dated
September 22, 1725, mentions all but one of
his children. He appointed his four sons '
executors, but John and Nathaniel declined to
serve. He married, July 26, 1681, Mary
Coolidge, born December 11, 1660, died De
cember 1, 1717, daughter of Simon and Han
nah Coolidge. Children: 1. Mary, born Oc

tober 7, 1682, married, December 14, 1704,
Deacon Thomas Livermore. 2. Henry, born
August 16, 1684, died October 24, 1756. 3.
Nathaniel, born December 28, 1686, died De
cember 28, 1737. 4- John, born April 5, 1689,
married, December 17, 1726, Rebecca Traine;
died 1764. 5. Joseph, born July 11, 1692,
mentioned below. 6. Hannah, born August 7,
1694, died 1786; married, February 4, 1718-19,
Jonas Bond. 7. Abigail, married, July 20,
1732, Captain John Brown. 8. Benjamin,
born July 19, 1698. 9. Mercy, married Feb
ruary 10, 1725-26, John Coolidge.
(VII) Joseph Bright, son of Nathaniel
Bright (6), was born July 11, 1692, and died
1757. He married Elizabeth  . Chil
dren: 1. Josiah, born October 19, 1731, men
tioned below. 2. Elizabeth, born August 11,
1734, died September 18, 1812; married, Octo
ber 15, 1760, Captain Ebenezer Mason. 3.
Abigail, born February 25, 1738, married
William Soden, of Cambridge.
(VIII) Josiah Bright, son of Joseph Bright
(7), was born October 19, 1731. he married,
July 21, 1757, Rachel Livermore, born August
12, 1733, daughter of Oliver and Ruth (Bow
man) Livermore. Children: 1. Jonathan
(twin), born September 7, 1758, died Decem
ber 14, 1779. 2. Josiah (twin), born Septem
ber 7, 1758, died young. 3. Joseph, born Aug
ust 23, 1760, mentioned below. 4. Josiah,
born April 28, 1762, died May, 182 1 ; mar
ried  Rice, of Ashby, Massachusetts.
5. Moses, born August 22, 1764, died May 5,
1843 ; married, December 30, 1790, Lucy
Wellington. 6. Francis, born September 3,
1766, died January 15, 1828; married, Decem
ber 27, 1797, Susanna Bright.
(IX) Captain Joseph Bright, son of Josiah
Bright (8), was born August 23, 1760, and
died February or September 12, 1816. He
married Hannah Smith, daughter of William
Smith, of Needham; she died November 7,
1841, aged eighty-four. He served in the Rev
olution in 1776 in Captain John Walton's
company, Colonel Eleazer Brooks's regiment,
on guard duty at Cambridge and Charlestown.
He was a prosperous farmer and a man of
large property, owning much real estate in
Watertown. Children: 1. Hannah, born
August 29, 1783, married, November 25, 1802,
Ehsha Livermore. 2. Joseph, born February
26, 1785, married, July, 181 1, Hannah Wel
lington. 3. John, born November 19, 1786,
died May 12, 1850, unmarried. 4. Samuel,
born May 20, 1788, died November 21, 1824-
married Hannah Ames. 5. Mary, born May

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

889

21, 1790, died October 12, 1823; married
James Barnard. 6. Elisha, baptized February
19, 1792, died February 20, 1820, unmarried.
7. Catherine, baptized February 19, 1792,
died January 5, 182 — ; married James Bar
nard, as his second wife. 8. Josiah, born April
3, 1794, mentioned below. 9. Ann, born
March 30, 1799, married James Barnard as
his third wife. 10. William Smith, born No
vember 14, 1801, married, May 6, 1831, Han
nah Bright, widow of his brother Samuel:
(X) Josiah Bright, son of Captain Joseph
Bright (9), was born April 3, 1794, at Water-
town, now Belmont, and died April 11, 1873.
He remained on the farm with his father, re
ceiving at his father's death his share of the
estate, each brother having as his share thir
teen acres. Josiah bought out Joseph's share
and carried on the farm. He became a suc
cessful market gardener, selling early produce
in the Boston market. He built his house on
the land where his son Frederick now resides.
During his farming his sons were associated
with him in the business. He at one time was
in the Eastern Land Company of Maine.
Later he entered the ice business and was the
first man to conceive the idea of cutting ice
for the Boston Market. This was about the
year 1823 and very few ice tools had been in
vented at that time. His plan was to use saws
and axes. After having made an opening on
the shore, he backed in it a sled drawn by ox
en, and when the sled was loaded it was driven
nearly a quarter of a mile and the ice stored
in two cellars. The cellars were roofed over
and had a door for putting in and taking out
the ice. One of the first customers was the
Massachusetts General Hospital, which took
less than a hundred pounds of ice per day,
and which was supplied by the Bright family
for forty-three years, constantly increasing
their supply. He soon had covered wagons
built by Dexter Pratt, of Cambridge, who is
described by Longfellow as the "Village
Blacksmith." Josiah Bright continued in the
ice business for ten years, when he turned
over the business to his two nephews, Wins
low and Henry Bright, who in ten years sold
out to Horace O. Bright, son of Josiah Bright.
Horace O. Bright carried on the business
eleven years, and then took his brother as a
partner, under the firm name of H. O. and
J. J. Bright, who continued for twelve years,
when with three other concerns, it was merged
into the Boston Ice Company. Horace O.
Bright was the first president of this company,
and served without salary for' twenty-five

years, when he resigned. About 1900 this
company was absorbed by the American Ice
Company, of New York City. After Josiah
Bright retired from the ice business, he re
sided upon his farm, conducting it until his
death. He was a Unitarian in religion; in
politics a Whig, later a Republican. He was
selectman of Watertown, also assessor and
overseer of the poor.
He married Almira Spring, who died Octo
ber 20, 1883, aged eighty-five years. Chil
dren : 1. Frederick William, born December
4, 1819, mentioned below. 2. Horace Or
lando, born June 7, 1823, died March, 1903 ;
married Junia Olivia Howe, of Portland,
Maine, and Standish, Maine ; children : i.
Junia Howe, born May 27, 1870; ii. Alma. 3.
Ann Maria, born July 9, 1825, died September
20, 1832. 4. John Josiah, born January 24,
1832, married, November, 1862, Julia Maria
Sargent, of Portland, Maine; children: i.
John Josiah, Jr., born October 1, 1863, died
September 15, 1883; ii. Charles Frederick; iii.
Ella Gertrude, born December 25, 1868; iv.
Waldo Everett, born November 10, 1869, died
July 12, 1889; v. Willard Sargent, born Feb
ruary 7, 1872, died November 22, 1901 ; vi.
Edgar Warren, married Frances E. Speere, of
New York City, and had Frances ; vii. Blanche
Lillian, born April 3, 1880, married (first)
James G. Hoover, of Washington, D. C, and
had Florence Bright Hoover; married (sec
ond) Edward Dana, of Canton, Massachu
setts, and had Florence Mabel Dana, born
June 19, 1881. 5. Charles Dolliver, born Sep
tember 4, 1834, died unmarried February 5,
1868. (XI) Frederick William Bright, son of
Josiah Bright (10), was born at Watertown
(now Belmont), December 4, 1819. He was
educated in the common schools, with the
addition of a term in the private school of
Theodore Parker, at Newton. He stayed on
the farm with his father until he was about
twenty years Old, when he went to Boston as
clerk in the fancy goods store of Isaac Spring
on Kilby street, remaining eight or ten years.
He later entered the employ of a grocery firm
in East Boston for two years, and in Cam-
bridgeport two years in a similar position, with
Charles Haynes, corner Main and Columbia
streets. He finally returned home and did
market gardening, remaining with his father
until 1873, when his father died. He bought a
part of the farm and erected a fine home,
where he has since resided. He has been one
of Belmont's most successful market garden-

890

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ers, and has only recently retired from active
work. He made a specialty of strawberries
and currants. His produce was raised mostly
under sash, having thirteen acres of tillage.
Mr. Bright is a man of energy, highly respected
by all who know him. In religion he is a Uni
tarian; a Republican in politics, and has been
selectman of the town. He was a member of
the Boston Market Gardener's Association.
He married, March 19, T856, Rooksby Elvira
Foster, born December 13, 1827, daughter of
Moody and Lucy (Lowell) Foster, of Bridge-
ton, Maine. They had one child, George
Frederick, born January 20, 1857, died March
12, 1857.

John Peirce, the immigrant an-
PEIRCE cestor, was born in England
about 1588, at Norwich, Nor
folk county. He was a weaver by trade. He
and his family passed the examination to go
to Boston, New England, April 8, 1637. He
gave his age as forty-nine that of his wife
Elizabeth' as thirty-six. The children were
John, Barbara, Judith and Elizabeth. He had a
servant John Gedney. They came in 1637
either in the ship "John and Dorothy" of Nor
wich or "Rose" of Yarmouth. Other older
children came before. He settled at Water-
town, Massachusetts, and his homestall there
was on what is now Belmont street. He was
admitted a freeman 1638-39. He died August
19, 1661. His will is dated March 7, 1657-
58, and proved October 1, 1661. He bequeathed
to his wife Elizabeth, son Anthony and the
rest of his children. His widow died March
12, 1666-67, aged about seventy-nine years, as
there stated. Her will names children An
thony, Robert, John, Esther Morse, and Mary
Coldham ; granddaughters Mary and Esther
Ball, children of her daughter Elizabeth; John,
son of Anthony, and Judah, daughter of Rob
ert. Children: 1. Anthony, born 1609 in Eng
land, mentioned below. 2. Esther, married,
1636, Joseph Morse, Jr. 3. Mary, married
Clement Coldham. 4. Robert, deposed 1658
that he was thirty-eight. 5. John. 6. Bar
bara. 7. Elizabeth, married, 1643, John Ball,
Jr. 8. Judith, married Francis Wyman.
(II) Anthony Peirce, son of John Peirce
(1), was born in Norwich, England, in 1609,
and came before his father to New England.
He also was a weaver. He settled in Water-
town, Massachusetts, near Cambridge. His
homestall was on the north side of the road
leading from Cambridge to Watertown, west

of that of John Stowers. He left it to his
sons Joseph and Benjamin and also his farm
of eighty-six acres. He was admitted a free
man September 3, 1634. He is the ancestor
of most of the Peirce families of Watertown,
Waltham, Weston, Lincoln and Lexington.
His wife Mary died in 1633. He married
(second), 1633, Anne, who died January 20,
1682-83. Peirce's will was dated September
6, 1671. He died May 9, 1678. Children: I.
John, married, April 15, 1656, Ruth Bishop,
daughter of Nathaniel Bishop. 2. Mary, born
December 28, 1633, died young. 3. Mary,
born 1636, married Ralph Read, born 1632,
son of William and Mabel Read, of Woburn.
4. Jacob, born September 15, 1637. 5. Dan
iel, born January 1, 1639-40. 6. Martha,
born April 24, 1641. 7. Joseph, mentioned
below. 8. Benjamin, born 1649. 9- Judith,
born July 18, 1650, married John Sawin.
(Ill) Joseph Peirce, son of Anthony Peirce
(2), was born in Watertown about 1645; was
admitted a freeman April 18, 1690. He mar
ried (first) Martha  ; (second), June
15, 1698, Elizabeth (Kendall) Winship,
daughter of Francis Kendall, of Woburn,
widow of Ephraim Winship, of Cambridge
Farms. She was born at Woburn, January
15, 1652. Winship was a pioneer at Cam
bridge Farms. During King Philip's war
Peirce took shelter at Woburn at the house of
Francis Kendall and brought his "ancient
mother-in-law Reigner, widow" with him.
She was probably his wife's mother, though
possibly his step-mother. His estate was ad
ministered by his widow and son Jacob, who
were appointed by the court December 2, 1713.
Children, born at Watertown: 1. Joseph,
born October 2, 1669. 2. Francis, born July
27, 1671. 3. John, born May 27, 1673, men
tioned below. 4. Mary, born November 26,
1674. 5. Benjamin, born March 25, 1677. 6.
Jacob, born December 25, 1678, married, May
17, 1706, William Whitney. 8. Stephen, born
October, 1683. 9. Israel, born October 7,
1685. 10. Elizabeth, born September 9, 1687,
married Joseph Bemis.
(IV) John Peirce, son of Joseph Peirce
(3), was born May 27, 1673. Married, Novem
ber 5, 1702, Elizabeth Smith, who was born
January 15, 1673, and died at Watertown,'
September 20, 1747. He settled at Waltham
and Lexington. Children: 1. John, born
September 1, 1703, married Rebecca Fennoe.
2. Jonas, born December 20, 1705, mentioned
below. 3. Elizabeth, born March 7, 1709. 4.
Samuel, born July 3, 1712. 5. Elizabeth, born

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

891

January 3, 1716. 6. Daniel, born October 21,
J7T9- 7- Jonathan, born. September 28, 1724.
(V) Jonas Peirce, son of John Peirce, (4),
was born in Waltham, December 20, 1705. He
resided in Lexington and Westminster, Massa
chusetts. He married, January 4, 1728, Abi
gail Comee, of Lexington, daughter of John
and Martha (Munroe) Comee, of Concord.
The Comee family settled in Gardner.
Peirce's will was dated August 15, 1776. Chil
dren, born in Lexington : 1 . Jonas, born July
7, 1730. 2. Nathan, born December 15, 1732,
married, December 26, 1753, Sarah Reed. 3.
Elizabeth, born May 31, 1735. 4. John, born
July 14, 1736, ancestor of Worcester county
families. 5. Thaddeus, born May 14, 1739.
6. Solomon, born June 15, 1742, mentioned
below. 7. Abigail, born August 3, 1744, mar
ried, March 30, 1762, Nathan Derby, of West
minster. 8. Mary, born February 7, 1747.
(VI) Captain Solomon Peirce, son of
Jonas Peirce, (5), was born in Lexington,
June 15, 1742, and died October 16, 1821. He
married, December 15, 1763, Amity Fessen
den, who was born June 15, 1743, and died
February 18, 181 1. She was one of the
fourth generation from Nicholas Fessenden,
of Cambridge, who was born in England,
about 1650, and died in Cambridge in 1719.
It is said that he came over to inherit the
property of a childless uncle, John Fessenden,
who was from Canterbury, England, at an
earlier date. Thomas Fessenden, son of
Nicholas and grandfather of Amity, came to
Lexington about 1708.
We know little of Solomon Peirce previous
to the Revolution. He was surveyor of high
ways in 1772. His father conveyed to him
fourteen acres of land in that part of Lexing
ton near Waltham, now situate on Concord
avenue, part of the so-called Bryant Place,
the estate next west of the Kite End school
house. There was his home for many years.
He was a shoemaker by trade, and doubtless
followed his trade in winter, farming in the
season. After the Revolution he bought most
of his father's homestead adjoining his own
house lot, amounting in all to ninety-five
acres. He was a member of Captain Parker's
company of minute men of Lexington, and
took part with his comrades in the historic
battle of April 19, 1775. He was wounded
while getting over a wall hastening to join his
company. He had been doubtless to the Buck-,
nam Tavern close by the common, as most of
the company went there, after they were dis
missed from the first roll-call, to await the

coming of the British. His wound, probably
in the ankle, although some reports say it was
in his thigh, was not serious and after the dis
persal of the company he hobbled home where
the wound was bound up by his wife with a
bandana handkerchief, and it is said that he
returned to the highway in Menotomy to take
part with the minute-men in the hazardous fire
that pursued the British in their retreat to
Boston. That the wound was not serious is
shown by the fact that he was on duty at the
battle of Bunker Hill, June 17 and 18, 1775,
and was stationed to guard the roads from
Cambridge. He was again in the service just
before the evacuation of Boston in Captain
John Bridge's company. In 1777 he was ser
geant of a Concord company in Colonel Sam
uel Bullard's regiment under General George
Minot at the campaign ending in Burgoyne's
surrender. He was first lieutenant, commis
sioned June 7, 1780, in Captain William Mun-
roe's company, the third in the Third Middle
sex Regiment of Massachusetts Militia, Colo
nel Francis Faulkner. Of this same cbmpany
after the war, then part of the state militia, he
was made captain July 25, 1784, under Colo
nel Sam Lamson, of Weston. He resigned his
commission and retired from service April 23
of the next year.
After the war he remained in Lexington
until 1788. He bought considerable land in
1783, evidently with borrowed money and,
probably on account of the financial stress
through which the country passed, he lost his
property. In 1788 he went to Arlington and
lived for many years in a house owned by his
son Jonas. After the death of his wife, Cap
tain Peirce lived with his son in the mansion
house where he died. In his memorial address
September 2, 1903, at the dedication of monu
ment to the memory of Captain Solomon
Peirce, Arthur W. Peirce, of Franklin Massa
chusetts, -said : "He was a man of the people ;
a soldier of his country, winning honor for
himself, and a place among the nation's heroes.
Time and place gave him a great opportunity ;
his was the readiness of the minute-men of
1775. Honor to his memory!" This monu
ment is a granite block, rough hewn, except
for the face upon which, cut into the polished
surface, is the inscription: "To the memory
of Solomon Peirce (1743-1811) and his wife
Amity Fessenden (1 743-181 1) erected by their
descendants A. D. 1903. Solomon Peirce, sol
dier of the Revolution, wounded at Lexington,
served at Bunker Hill, sergeant at Benning
ton, first lieutenant 1780; captain 3d. Co. 3d.

892

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Regt. M. V. M. 1784. Patriot Sires Teach
Civic Virtue to Their Sons." Two hundred
and twenty descendants contributed to the
cost of the memorial. The graves of Captain
Solomon and his wife were unmarked but the
spot was definitely known. At the time of the
erection of this monument the descendants of
Captain Solomon numbered over seven hun
dred living.
He was admitted with his wife to the Ar
lington church June 15, 1788; was on the pre
cinct committee in 1794-95. Children; born
at Arlington: 1. Amity, born August 26,
1765, married  Harrington; (second)
John Goodwin; died 1829. 2. Jonas, born
November 16, 1766, married Lydia Prentiss.
3. Abel, or Abiel, born September 22, 1768,
married, 1789, Peggy Russell; (second) Anna
Kingman. 4. Solomon, born September 10,
1770, married Polly Green and died in Bos
ton. 5. Samuel, born January 10, 1772, mar
ried Sophia Stedman. 6. Abijah, born March
11, 1775, married Mary Prentiss; (second)
Lucy Emery. 7. Elizabeth, born January 8,
1777, married, December 20, 1793, Amos Rus
sell. 8. Lucy, born March 10, 1779, married,
1797, Josiah Ditson, of Boston. 9. Thad-
deus, born April 8, 1781, married Lucy
Learned. 10. Leonard, born March 17, 1783,
married, 1803, Relief Allen. 11. William,
born January 2, 1786, married Elizabeth
Floyd, born 1776, died 1816; married (second)
Sarah Perkins, born 1789, died 1859; (third)
Caroline M. Mansfield, born 1802, died 1882;
he died March, 1878.
(VII) Jonas Peirce, son of Captain Solo
mon Peirce (6), was born in Lexington, No
vember 16, 1766, and died January, 1833. He
settled in West Cambridge, now Arlington,
and owned the farm which he sold later to
Amos Russell by whose name it is still known.
The house is still standing. He lived at vari
ous places, the so-called Marsch place on the
border of what is now Belmont, on the Win
ning farm near the Lexington and Woburn
boundaries, now used as a summer resort for
poor children, and the Russell place. He
bought a large farm March 12, 1803, com
posing the whole of what is now Arlington
Heights, known afterward for many years as
Peirce's Hill. The property was then called
Spring Hill Farm, and had been owned by the
well-known Appleton family of Boston and
used by them as a country place. Jonas
bought it of Thomas Perkins, who had mar
ried a daughter of Nathaniel Appleton. The
purchase included about two hundred and

fifty acres of land, a mansion house, a smaller
house and barn, a piece of land called Bear
Hill Pasture, and a piece of salt marsh on the
Charles river, Cambridge. His parents occu
pied the smaller house, while he lived in the
mansion house. It was a beautiful location
with a view unsurpassed in the neighborhood
of Boston. On the apex of the hill where the
stand-pipe of the Metropolitan water commis
sion now stands a park had been laid out by
the former owner and trees planted in a cir
cle, whence the name of Circle Hill. The
park was surrounded by a fence with an orna
mental gateway, called Charlotte's Gate in
honor of Appleton's daughter. For nearly a
century this magnificent property was in the
possession of Jonas Peirce's family. Jonas
Peirce prospered in his ventures. He was a
substantial farmer and tavern keeper. He
also built the second Cooper's Tavern in 1826
on the old site also many other buildings. He
acquired a competence and was counted among
the well-to-do citizens of the town. He was
a member of the Congregational church (or
thodox) and joined the church at Cambridge,
August 28, 1808, with his wife. He was pre
cinct assessor of West Cambridge in 1805-
07. He and his wife owned the covenant at
West Cambridge, October 20, 1805, and their
children were baptized there October, 1805.
Mr. Peirce owned at the time of his death
the house with the brick walls now standing
at the corner of Grove street. He also owned
two houses in the rear of Cooper's Tavern and
another on the site of the Bean House, corner
of Vine street. His farm was left by will to
his three sons, Ebenezer, Thomas and John,
each to pay yearly the sum of one hundred
dollars to their mother during her life. He
bequeathed the tavern to his son George and
daughter Lydia, the two houses on Medford
street to Roxa and Sarah. The homestead he
gave to his son Thomas.
He married Lydia Prentiss, who was born
at Menotomy, April 17, 1771, and died Sep
tember 6, 1865, the daughter of George and
Lydia (Hill) Prentiss, of Menotomy. Chil
dren: 1. Lydia, born December 25, 1790,
died January 3, 1875; married, May 23, 1813,
Thomas Gould. 2. Anna, born October, 1792,
died December 20, 1822; married, April 14,
1814, Alfred Locke. 3. Jonas, born Septem
ber, 1794, died September 10, 1840; married,
May 4, 181 7, Mary T. Livingstone. 4. George,
born August, 1796, died July 1, 1875; married,
March 29, 1819, Harriet Russell. 5. Roxa,
born August, 1799, died January 13, 1878;

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

893

married September 30, 1821, Alfred Brooks.
6. Ebenezer P., born August, 1802, died April
21, 1870; married, May 3, 1827, Elizabeth R.
Brown. 7. Sarah P., born January 9, 1804,
died April 25, 1892 ; married, August 29, 1824,
Daniel Grant. 8. Thomas Perkins, born May
28, 1806, died May 5, 1892; married (first),
April, 1829, Emeline Locke; (second), Jan
uary, 1844, Harriet Locke, of Arlington. 9.
John Appleton Prentiss, born April 1, 1810,
mentioned below. 10. Amanda, born May 20,
1813, died October, 1848; married Stephen
Martin, of Buckfield, Maine. 11. Elizabeth
Melinda, born June, 1816, died August 12,
1892; married, November 24, 1836, Thomas
Randall, r
(VIII) John Appleton Prentiss Peirce, son
of Jonas Peirce (7), was born at West Cam
bridge (Arlington), April 1, 1810, and died
August 13, 1886. He was educated in the
public schools of his native town. He worked
at home on his father's farm until after he
came of age. When his father died the farm
was divided among three sons, each of whom
built a house on his section of the place. In
i860 John Peirce sold his interest to Mr. Con
verse and came to live on what is now Massa
chusetts avenue in an estate in which his wife
had a part interest ; buying out the other heirs
and remodeling the dwelling house. He con
ducted this farm to the time of his death, rais
ing produce and conducting a retail milk bus
iness, and acquired a substantial estate. He
was an influential citizen, highly respected for
his honesty and other sterling qualities. He
was" devoted to his home and family; active
in the temperance movement and in the anti-
slavery cause. He was a member of the Uni
tarian church. In politics he was a Whig, and
after the disorganization of that party a Re
publican. He married, January 16, 1834, Mary Ann
Locke, who was born July 13, 1815, died
November 27, 1884, daughter of Lieutenant
Benjamin and Ame (Keyes) Locke, of West
Cambridge. Her father was a farmer, store
keeper, justice of the'peace, representative to
the general court, lieutenant of his militia com
pany. Children of John A. P. and Mary A.
Peirce: 1. John Winslow, born July 6, 1835,
married (first), November 2, 1856, Nancy S.
Gassett, of Arlington; (second), October 29,
1857, Anna Lydia Peirce, of Watertown;
children: i. Fred Winslow, born August 12,
1858, deceased; ii. Arthur W., born June 3,
i860, married, June 25, 1903, Lydia P" Ray,
of Franklin, Massachusetts. 2. Benjamin

Horace, born September 6, 1838, mentioned
below. 3. Mary Etta, born September 4,
1841, married, January 4, 1863, James A.
Bailey ; children : i. Amy Etta Bailey, • born
December 13, 1863, married, June 7, 1893,
Peter Schwamb and have children, Amy
Esther Schwamb, born April 30, 1896; Theo
dore Alderson Schwamb (twin) and Edward
Bailey Schwamb (twin), born December 18,
1898; ii. James Alderson Bailey, Jr., born
March 25, 1867, married, February 20, 1903,
Helen Gage Doliver and they have children-
James Alderson Bailey 3d, born December 6,
1903, and Edward Hopkins Bailey, born Au
gust 22, 1905 ; iii. Esther Bailey, born August
16, 1868; iv.  Winslow Bailey, born Feb

ruary 12, 1870, married, October 11, 1893,
Horace H. White, of Methuen, and they have
John W. White, born August 11, 1894; Will-
marth White, born July 1, 1897; Ruth Bailey,
born February 16, 1903 ; v. Edward Appleton
Bailey, born November 2, 1872. 4. Warren
Appleton, born June 5, 1849, married (first),
December 6, 1882, Jessie Bacon, children: i.
Warren Appleton, born October 27, 1887; ii.
Horace Winslow, born September 22, 1889;
iii. Arthur Bacon, born November 1, 1892;
Warren Appleton married (second), October
12, 1905, Ruth M. Cook, of Roxbury, Massa
chusetts. 5. Son, born and died September
27, 1847-
(IX) Benjamin Horace Peirce, son of John
Appleton Prentiss Peirce (8), was born at
West Cambridge, September 6, 1838. He
spent his youth working on his father's farm
and attending the district school. When he
was twenty years of age he took charge of his
father's farm under a lease for five years,
making a specialty of market gardening. He
then purchased the Martin Ellis farm in Stone-
ham, whither he went to live. He had a dairy
and was a dealer in milk during the ten years
while he was in Stoneham. About 1855 he
returned to Arlington to enter the employ of
his brother, Warren H. Peirce, in the coal and
grain business on Mystic street, and remained
in that business for six years. In 1876 he
accepted his present position as manager of
the Arlington Heights plant, 10 Park avenue.
At the time of his father's death in 1886, he
inherited his present estate with the old home
stead on Appleton street, on which he built his
present residence in 1890. Mr. Peirce is
modest and retiring in manner and enjoys the
respect and confidence of all who know him.
In religion he is a Baptist ; in politics a Republi
can. He has held various town offices. He is

894

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

the oldest living member of Bethel Lodge, No.
12, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
has held the various offices of the Lodge.
He married, September 6, 1859, Abbie
Louisa Russell, who was born in Arlington,
December 16, 1839, daughter of Bowen.and
Mehitable (Locke) Russell. Her father was
a farmer. Children: 1. Walter Horace, born
July 1, i860, married, January 10, 1889, Clara
Schwamb, of Arlington ; children : i. Ida Fran-
cena, born May 1, 1891 ; ii. Walter Theodore,
born July 20, 1900. 2. Benjamin Locke, born
October 19, 1861, married, February 17, 1890,
Louisa Weinstein; children: i. Alfred Ben
jamin, born December. 21, 1891 ; ii. George
William, born May 14, 1895. 3. Susie Rus
sell, born April 25, 1863, married, October 18,
1896, Edward Isaac Downing. 4. Mabel
Louise, born November 22, 1864, married,
October 5, 1886, Arthur Lincoln Crane. 5.
Alice Monroe, born November 4, 1866, mar
ried, March 25, 1894, Harlan Bradbury Bean,
of Arlington. 6. Charles Appleton, born June
1, 1869, mentioned below. 7. Mary Amy, born
May 5, 1871, died August 8, 1871. 8. Harry
Onslow, born December 5, 1874, unmarried.
9. John Howard, born November 9, 1876, died
May 21, 1877. 10. Herbert Russell, born July
12, 1879, married, March 24, 1906, Edith Neil-
son Fay, of Arlington.
(X) Charles Appleton Peirce, son of Ben
jamin Horace Peirce (9), was born at Wo
burn, June 1, 1869. When he was two years
old his parents removed to Stoneham where he
attended the public and high schools until he
was fourteen years old. He worked one year
in the shoe factory of Sanborn & Mann, of
Stoneham. Then he returned to Arlington
with his parents and entered the employ of
Edwin S. Farmer, driving his market wagon
to business and acting as his salesman until
1903, when he leased Mr. Farmer's farm and
engaged in market gardening on his own ac
count. He has about fifty acres under culti
vation. He has a thousand hot bed sashes and
is usually among the first in the market with
lettuce, celery, tomatoes, dandelions and gen
eral produce, and his farm is a model of good
order and system. He attends to the sale of
his produce in the Boston markets himself.
He resides in a handsome house at the corner
of Massachusetts avenue and Appleton street,
built by him in 1894. In religion he is a Uni
versalist in politics a Republican. He mar
ried, September 25, 1894, Laura Eugenia
Hobbs, who was born September 19, 1870, at
Arlington, the daughter of Clarence F. and

Lizzie (Whittemore) Hobbs. Her father is a
dairy owner. Children: 1. Marion Appleton,
born November 30, 1898. 2. Clifford Mun
roe, born January 22, 1903, died January 25,
1903. 3. Roger Munroe, born August 21,
1905. John Hood, of Halstead, Essex
HOOD county, England, was a weaver by
trade. ..His will is dated Novem
ber 6, 1622, and proved November 20, 1622.
He died at Halstead, leaving his real estate to
his son John, and his wife Anne was execu
trix of the will. His wife Anne married
(second) Thomas Beard. Children: John,
mentioned below; Anne, James, Avese, Cath
erine, Grace, Mary, Rose.
(II) John Hood, son of John Hood (1),
was born in England about 1600, and came to
America about 1638. He was a weaver and
planter ; settled at Cambridge as early as Oc
tober 20, 1638, and leased his property at Hal
stead. He then removed to Lynn where he
was living in 1650. While there he took an
apprentice named Abraham Tilton, son of
Widow Tilton, of Lynn, December 6, 1653.
He returned to England and sent word to his
wife Elizabeth to deliver the apprentice to his
mother, who had married a second time to
Roger Shaw, of Hampton, Massachusetts, and
had died. Accordingly the boy was sent to his
brother, Peter Tilton, of Connecticut, but Mrs.
Hood revoked this act on learning that the
Hampton court had assigned the lad to his
step-father, Shaw. (Norfolk Deeds, I. i©3).
Hood leased his property at Halstead in pos
session of his mother Anne and her second
husband, Thomas Beard. Hood was living in
Kittery, Maine, about 1652. On August 14,
1654, he sold to William Crofts, of Lynn, yeo
man, three tenements in Halstead, forty shil
lings to be paid to each of John Hood's sis
ters, according to the will of their father.
Mary Truesdale in her will in 1672 mentions
John Hood's two children. One of them, ac
cording to all evidence in hand, was Richard,
mentioned below.
(Ill) Richard Hood, son of John Hood
(2), was born about 1625 in England, and is
said to have come from Lynn Regis, county
Norfolk. He was in Lynn as early as 1650
and settled in what is now Nahant, Massa
chusetts, then in Lynn. In 1800 there were but
three families in Nahant — Breed, Johnson and
Hood? His house was on Nahant street, Little
Nahant. He was admitted a freeman in 1691 ;

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

895

was allowed by the church together with seven
other old men, probably all on account of
defective hearing, to sit in the pulpit. He died
September 12, 1695. (See page 186, history
of Lynn, Newhall). He was the father of. sev
enteen children, among whom were the fol
lowing, born at Lynn: 1. Richard, born No
vember 18, 1655, died October 4, 1762. 2.
Sarah, born August 2, 1657, married, October
25', 1675, William Bassett; she was accused of
witchcraft and imprisoned at Boston seven
months before her release came, having an
infant with her. . 3. Rebecca, born February 7,
1664, died December 4, 1730; was a Quaker
and was imprisoned for refusing to be taxed
to support the Puritan church. 5. Hannah,
born October 21, 1665. 6. Samuel, born May
13, 1667, died March 9, 1749-50. 7. Nathan
iel, born June 9, 1669, mentioned below. 8.
Ann, born February 13, 1673. 9. Joseph,
born July 8, 1674, died December 14, 1729.
10. Benjamin, born January 3, 1678.
(IV) Nathaniel Hood, son of Richard
Hood (3), was born in Lynn, June 9, 1669,
and died at Topsfield, October 30, 1748. He
married, October 16, 1706, Joanna Dwinnell,
of Topsfield, and settled near Hood's Pond,
named for this family, in Topsfield. Chil
dren: 1. Nathaniel, born about 17 10, men
tioned below. 2. Nathan, married Elizabeth
Palmer, of Rowley, March 6, 1731 ; died May
4, 1792, aged about eighty- seven. 3. John,
born 1723, married (first) Elizabeth Reding-
ton; (second) Mary Kimball. Probably others.
(V) Nathaniel Hood, son of Nathaniel
Hood (4), was born about 1710. He settled
in Topsfield, Massachusetts. He married,
March 6, 1731, at Rowley, Elizabeth Palmer.
Children, born at Topsfield: 1. William, born
December 26, 1731, mentioned below. 2.
Joanna, born November 19, 1737. 3. Samuel,
baptized June 12, 1737. 4. Nathan, born Jan
uary 10, 1739-40. 5. Daniel, born November
11, 1741. 6. Joseph, born February 2,-1746.
7. Benjamin, born February 13, 1748. 8.
Eliza, born April 19, 1750. 9. Elizabeth, born
March 15, 1752'.
(VI) William Hood, son of Nathaniel
Hood (5), was born December 26, 1731. He
settled at Topsham, Vermont. He married,
August 27, 1754, Mary Hubbard. Children:
1. Amos, born August 12, 1757. 2. Lydia,
born October 16, 1759. 3. Susanna, baptized
February 21, 1762. 4. Moses, baptized March
22, 1763. 5. Aaron, baptized April 5, 1767.
6. Jonathan, born about 1775, mentioned
below.

(VII) Jonathan Hood, son of William
Hood (6), was born about 1775. He married
Hannah Hamlet, of Topsham, Vermont. Chil
dren: 1. Charles, married and had three
children. 2. Susan, married Benjamin Green
and had six children. 3. Sargent, married
Dolly Hosmer, of Graton, Vermont, and had
four children. 4. John, born December 17,
1817, mentioned below. 5. Mary, married
Aaron Hosmer, of Topsham, and had five chil
dren. 6. Angeline, married Elisha Moulton
and had five children. 7. Levi, married Laura
Hosmer, of Topsham, and had four children.
8. Maria, married Gideon Gilbert, of Top
sham, and had three children.
(VIII) John Hood, son of Jonathan Hood
(7), was born at Topsham, Vermont, Decem
ber 17, 181 7. He was educated in the district
school and worked on the farm until he was of
age. At the time he was married, when he
was twenty-two years old, he bought one hun
dred acres of land in what was then wilder
ness and began clearing it. This was situated
about where the centre of Topsham now is.
After cultivating it about eight years, he sold
it to his cousin, Anthony Hood, and bought a
three hundred acre farm at East Topsham,
Vermont, which he has since occupied. Be
sides farming, he has been a stone mason all
his life, and in the earlier years of his life he
laid ten thousand rods of field wall besides
many cellar walls. He was known to be the
strongest man in Orange county. At lifting
bees he lifted one thousand pounds of pig lead,
and he could easily carry a four hundred
pound hog up-stairs. He was a reserved man,
of sound judgment, devoted to his home. He
served in the early militia at Topsham, and
was a Whig, later a Republican ; a member of
the Methodist church.
He married Diana Avery, born May, 1822,
daughter of Andrew and Hannah (Felch)
Avery, of Topsham. Children: 1. Myra. 2.
Isabelle, married John Wright, of Topsham,
and had two children. 3. Alonzo Dustin,
married Lavina Whitehill, of Ryegate, Ver
mont, and had four children. 4. Almira, mar
ried Moses Smith, of Topsham, and had four
children. 5. John Carlton, born March 29,
1854, mentioned below. 6. Frank Charles
(M. D.), born March 24, 1855, a graduate of
the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadel
phia, Pennsylvania; married, March 24, 1883,
Fanny Knapp, of West Newbury, Vermont;
she was born at Haverhill, New Hampshire,
January 27, 1863; children: i. Esther May,
born October 13, 1886; ii. Elmer Knapp, born

896

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

August 3, 1 89 1. 7. Amanda, born April 27,
1856, married, April 27, 1875, Rufus Row
land, of Topsham ; children : i. Mary Eliza
beth Rowland, born December 19, 1879, mar
ried, November 27, 1899, William B. Mann,
of Oakville, Connecticut, and had Marjorie A.
Mann and Beatrice E. Mann; ii. Fred Ernest
Rowland, born September 6, 1885. iii. Char
lotte B. Rowland, born May 18, 1889. 8. Jen
nie, married Charles Smith, of Topsham, and
had three children. 9. Charles, married Flor
ence Carruth, of Topsham, and had one child.
10. George, married Grace Davenport, of
Topsham, and had four children.
(IX) John Carlton Hood, son of John
Hood (8), was born at Topsham, Vermont,
March 29, 1854. He was educated in the
common schools, and at the age of sixteen
went to Ryegate, a nearby town, where he
worked for several years — three years for Wil
liam Gibson, one year for Theodore Smith,
two years for Hugh Gibson and one year for
Martin Hall. At twenty-five years he was
married, and purchased the Daniel Randall
farm of one hundred acres, situated in the
east part of the township. He later added one
hundred acres and did general farming. He
made butter and kept hogs. For twenty- four
years up to 1901 he remained in Topsham,
when the entire property was destroyed by
fire. After an absence "of six months in Cali
fornia, he again returned to Topsham and re
sumed farming till 1903, when he sold out and
removed to Winchester, Massachusetts. He
purchased the Wells property of twenty-three
acres, sitiuated in the west part of Winchester,
near the Arlington line. Mr. Hood is a suc
cessful milk raiser and carries a herd of forty-
five to fifty head of the best Jersey cattle. He
has a large retail trade among the first families
of Arlington. Mr. Hood has in the past been
engaged extensively in lumbering, and has
bought and sold large quantities of lumber^
while in Topsham he dealt extensively in
horses and cattle, to good profit. ,He attends
the Congregational church at Arlington. He
is a Republican and has been road surveyor.
He is a member of the Arlington Men's Club.
He married, October 2, 1879, Luseba Jane
Clark, born September 5, 1856, daughter of
Samuel and Margaret (Buchanan) Clark, of
Ryegate, Vermont. They had one child, Sam
uel Clark, born July 9, 1880, mentioned below.
(X) Samuel Clark Hood, son of John Carl
ton Hood (9), was born at Topsham, Ver
mont, July 9, 1880. Up to the age of fifteen
he received his education mostly from his

mother, who fitted him for a higher course.
He subsequently entered Montpelier Seminary,
where he took a four years course, graduating
with first honors, and then entered the Univer
sity of Vermont, where he graduated in 1904
with a degree of M. S., having taken the scien
tific course. In the spring of 1904 he entered
the Department of Agriculture at Washing
ton, District of Columbia, and was later ap
pointed the head of the experiment station at
Orange City, Florida. The government is
here experimenting in the culture of drug
plants such as camphor, etc., and under Mr.
Hood's efficient management is meeting with
success. Mr. Hood is a free thinker in reli
gion, and a Republican in politics. He is a
member of the Odd Fellows at Burlington,
Vermont, and of numerous college fraterni
ties. He married, October 6, 1905, Nellie Eva
Parmenter, born April 19, 1881, daughter of
George and Jane (Sanders) Parmenter, of
Montpelier, Vermont. They had one child,
Alfred John, born July 6, 1906, died July 9,

William Buck (1585-1657), the
BUCK immigrant ancestor of Silas Ed
ward Bucks, was a passenger on
the ship "Increase" on the voyage from Eng
land to New England that terminated at Bos
ton, Massachusetts Bay Colony, April 15,
1635. He settled in the subsequently organ
ized town of Newe Towne, and on May 2,
1638, the name of the place was changed to
Cambridge. He had carried on the business
of ploughwright in England, and continued
that vocation in the new settlement. He was
accompanied to New England by his son,
Roger Buck, and died in Cambridge, January
24, 1657 (O. S.), and on his death his son
Roger filed an inventory of his property, April
3, 1658, from which it appears that his estate
was located on land known as West Field,
northeast of Garden street on the highway
leading to the Great Swamp (Raymond
street). He had built a house and shop, and '
with his son carried on the business of making
plows for the neighborhood farmers. In the
records no mention is made of his wife or of
other children, and he was either a widower,
or had sought his fortune in America in com
pany with his son Roger, leaving the other
members of his famly in England.
(II) Roger Buck (161 7- 1693), the only
recorded son of William Buck, the elder immi
grant, was eighteen years of age when he

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

897

arrived in Boston, and he worked with his
father in manufacturing plows. His name
appears subsequently as an officer in the town
government as a sheriff or prosecutor, whose
duty it was to inflict punishment on convicted
criminals, and he is recorded in 1668 as hav
ing carried out the sentence of the court by
publicly whipping the culprits. He married,
and about 1685 removed from Cambridge to
Woburn, and died there November 10, 1693.
His wife Susan was the mother of seven chil
dren, all born in Cambridge, and named ac
cording to the town records in the order of
their birth: Samuel, John, Ephraim (q. v.),
Mary, Ruth, who married Thomas Baverick,
and on her father's removal to Woburn pur
chased and lived in his house in Cambridge ;
Elizabeth, who married Joshua Wood; and
Lydia, who married Henry Smith.
(Ill) Ephraim Buck (1646-1721), third
son of Roger and Susan Buck, was born in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 26, 1646, Snd
removed with his father to Woburn, having on
January 1, 1670, married Susan Brooks. They
had nine children, all born in Woburn, and
named successively: Sarah, who married
Thomas Grover; Ephraim, Jr. (q. v.); John,
John Samuel, Eunice, Ebenezer, and Mary,
who married Nathaniel Pike.
(IV) Ephraim Buck, Jr., first son and sec
ond child of Ephraim and Susan (Brooks)
Buck, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts,
July 13, 1676, and lived in that town up to
1706, when he apparently removed to another
town, but there is no obtainable record of his
life and death after leaving Woburn. He
was married December 8, 1697, to Esther
Waget, and five children were born in Woburn
and named in the order of their birth : Sarah,
who married William Fisk, of Andover ; Hes
ter, Ephraim (3), who married (first) Abi
gail Peirce, and (second) Mary Wood, of
Reading, Massachusetts; Susanna, Isaac, the
last child of which a record was found but no
date of birth except the approximate one of
1706. (V) Isaac Buck, the youngest known child
of Ephraim and Esther (Waget) Buck, but
the date of whose birth and death could not be
definitely ascertained beyond the year 1706,
was living in Woburn, December 3, 1729, as
on that date his marriage to Ruth, daughter of
Joseph Graves, of Smithboro, Worcester coun
ty, at Reading, Middlesex county, is recorded.
The newly married couple removed to South-
boro on the estate of Joseph Graves, but of
which they sold their right and title October

T9> 1757- Previous to this time they had two
children- born to them, Isaac (q. v.), and
Esther, who married Elisha Bruce, Jr., of
Southboro. Whether they had other children
at Bolton, the place of their future residence,
does not appear.
(VI) Isaac Buck, Jr., son of Isaac and
Ruth (Graves) Buck, was born either in Wo
burn or Reading, Middlesex county, about
1730, and removed with his father to South
boro, when Isaac, Sr., took possession of the
estate of his father-in-law in that town. About
1755 Isaac, Jr., married Mary Richards, and a
record is preserved of two children of Isaac
and Mary (Richards) Buck: Isaac Buck (3)
and Susanna, who married Elisha Bemis, No
vember 14, 1793.
(VII) Isaac Buck (3) eldest son of Isaac
and Mary (Richards) Buck, was born in
Southboro, Worcester county, Massachusetts,
September 27, 1757, and he removed with his
parents to Bolton, where he was a member of
the provincial militia in Captain Benjamin
Hastings' company, Colonel Asa Whitcomb's
regiment, and at the first call for minute-men
in 1775, he marched to Cambridge, where he
was transferred to Captain James Swan's
company in the regiment commanded by Colo
nel James Crafts in 1776. He next joined the
regular Continental army and was assigned to
Captain Redding's company in the regiment
commanded by Colonel Gamaliel Bradford in
1777. In 1778 he was in captain John Hough
ton's company, Colonel Josiah Whitney's regi
ment, and served in that regiment up to 1780,
when his term of service expired. He was
married May 15, 1780, to Patty Phillips, of
Lancaster, and the same year he rejoined the
American army as a member of Captain
Thomas Jackson's battery in Colonel John
Crane's Third Artillery, and served for one
year. The children of Isaac and Patty (Phil
lips) Buck were: Silas (q v.), and Isaac (4),
who lived also in Sterling.
(VIII) Silas Buck, eldest son of Isaac and
Patty (Phillips) Buck, was born in Sterling,
Worcester county, Massachusetts, about 1781,
and was brought up in that town where he
was a farmer, carpenter and millwright. He
appears to have dealt quite extensively in real
estate, as he owned property at West Sterling
and Holden, and frequently bought and sold
property. He was married March 13, 1793,
to Deborah Beaman, of Sterling, and they had
children: 1. Silas Beaman (q. v.). 2. Tamar
Eddy Buck (1812-1891), who married Eze
kiel Hills, and had children. 3. John Sawyer,

898

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

of Cambridge. 4. Sally, who married Sewell
Richardson, of Sterling, and had children. 5.
Tames Orison (1818-1893), who married Azu-
bah, daughter of Elisha and Chloe (Pratt)
Smith, natives of New York state. 6. Mary
Davis (1819-1904), who married Jeremiah W.
Smallidge, and had four children. 7. Dolly
Wilder (1824-1904), who married Warren
Willard Barron, and had five children. 8.
George, born in 1826, married Lucy Ann
Allen, and had four children. 9. Deborah
Elizabeth (1830-1902), who married Alfred
Wheeler Grossman, and had two children.
(IX) Silas Beaman Buck (1810-1899), eld
est son of Silas and Deborah (Beaman)
Buck, was born in Sterling, Worcester county,
Massachusetts, July 18, 1810. He was a car
penter and builder in Cambridge, Massachu
setts, from 1837 to 1874, when he retired with
a competent fortune. He was married June
14, 1837, to Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Jere
miah and Lucretia (Fulton) Smallidge, of
Medford, Middlesex county, Massachusetts,
granddaughter of  Fulton, who was a
first ctiusin of Robert Fulton, the designer and
constructor of the steamboat "Clermont," the
first vessel to successfully demonstrate the
practicability of using steam as a motive
power in water navigation, and great-grand
daughter of Fulton, the immigrant ancestor,
who came from Kilkenny, Ireland, to Lancas
ter, ..Pennsylvania, about 1730. The five chil
dren of Silas Beaman and Mary Elizabeth
(Smallidge) Buck were: 1. Mary Elizabeth
(1839-1903), who married Benjamin Reed
Rand, of Cambridge, by profession a convey
ancer. She died leaving a husband but no
children, February 27, 1903. 2. William Sam
uel (1841-1880), married, 1869, Isabella Ellis,
of Cambridge ; was a soldier in the Civil war,
1861-1865, serving in the Fortieth Massachu
setts Volunteer Infantry for three years, and
died June 6, 1880. 3. Sarah Augusta, born
1842, married, 1875, A. Leander Floyd, a
member of the dry goods firm of Floyd Broth
ers & Company, Boston, Massachusetts. She
died September 1, 1907. They had no chil
dren. 4. Anna M. (1844-1851). 5. Silas
Edward Buck (q. v.). Silas Beaman Buck
died at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
February 18, 1899.
(X) Silas Edward Buck, son of Silas Bea
man and Mary Elizabeth (Smallidge) Buck,
was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, May
20, 1847. He was a pupil in the public school
of Cambridge, and his first business position
was with Parker, Wilder & , Company, the

well known commission dry goods merchants
of Boston. He remained with this firm for
nine years, and at the end of that time opened
a store in East Cambridge for the sale of
gentlemen's furnishing goods at retail. He
conducted this business for three years, and
then engaged in the coal business in connec
tion with the firm of Joseph A. Wellington &
Company, and he was with this firm for nine
years, when he was offered a partnership, and
on May 1, 1887, the firm of Wellington &
Buck succeeded that of Joseph A. Wellington
& Company, and the business was continued
at 211 Bridge street, East Cambridge. On the
death of his partner, Joseph A. Wellington,
August 1, 1888, he continued the business
alone, but retained the firm name under which "
he was carrying it on in 1907. Mr. Buck was
married November, 1874, to Ellen Antoinette,
daughter of Joseph Abbott and Ellen (Smith)
Wellington, granddaughter of Nehemiah Wel
lington, of Middlesex county, and cousin of
Austin C. Wellington (q. v.), of Cambridge,
and Frederick W. Wellington, of Worcester,
Massachusetts. Silas Edward and Ellen An
toinette (Wellington) Buck had no children.
They resided in Cambridge, and have a sum
mer home, at Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Mr.
Buck is a member of the New England Lodge,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Putnam
Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ;
and of the Cambridge Chapter Commandery,
Knights Templar. He became a trustee of the
East Cambridge Savings Bank, and a mem
ber of the common council of the City of
Cambridge in 1889, and a member of the board
of aldermen of the city in 1890.

(For early generations see Ephraim $).
(V) Ephraim Buck, son of Eph-
BUCK raim Buck (4), was born in Wo
burn, Massachusetts, October 11,
1702. Married, July 26, 1726, Abigail Peirce ;
married (second), May 9, 1728, Mary Wood,
at Reading, Massachusetts. He resided at
Woburn and Wilmington, Massachusetts.
Children, born at Wilmington: 1. Samuel, born
February 15, 1729, married, March 25, 1746,
Mary Killam. 2. Ephraim, born February 13,
1731, married, September 30, 1756, Hannah
Killam. 3. Mary, born July 28, 1736. 4.
Abigail, born April 19, 1738. 5. Asa, born
February 26, 1741, married, October 9, 1766,
Joanna Corneal (Cornell). 6. Nathan, born
February 16, 1744, mentioned below. 7. Es
ther, born September 13, 1751.

'lAcJ

. JO <A*C-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

899

(VI) Nathan Buck, son of Ephraim Buck
(5), was born in Wilmington, Massachusetts,
February 16, 1744, and died there March 9,
1830, aged eighty-six, according to the record.
He married Elizabeth Thompson, of Wilming
ton, December 31, 1790. She died, his widow,
October 27, 1836, aged seventy-three. He was
a soldier in the Revolution, a private in Cap
tain Timothy Walker's company, Colonel
Green's regiment, on the Lexington Alarm,
April 19, 1775, and later. He was drafted by
the committee of safety in 1777 for the pur
pose of reinforcing the northern army. Chil
dren, born at Wilmington: 1. Nathan, born
October 17, 1793, mentioned below. 2. Jona
than, born October 7, 1795. 3. Benjamin,
born October 10, 1797. 4. Rhoda, born April
19, 1800. 5. Mary, born August 2, 1804. 6.
James, born August 10, 1807.
(VII) Nathan Buck, son of Nathan Buck
(6), was born in Wilmington, Massachusetts,
October 17, 1793, and died there May 10,
1884, at the advanced age of ninety years, six
months and twenty-three days, according to
the town record. He married Abigail Clark,
born in Milford, New Hampshire, daughter of
Richard and Abigail Clark, who died June 22,
1843, aSed forty-six years. He married (sec
ond) Ann (Nancy) -^— — , who died Novem
ber 4, 1844, aged forty years. He married
(third), March 25, 1845, Charlotte Caldwell,
of Woburn. He was a farmer and shoe man
ufacturer. Children: 1. Abigail, born No
vember 22, 1812, married, September 26, 1837,
John Brooks Tay. 2. Nathan Otis, died Au
gust 4, 1822, aged seven months and seven
days. 3. Nathan Edwin, born July 27, 1823,
married, December 25, 1853, Elvira V. Bowles.
4. Otis Clark, born December 18, 1825, men
tioned below. 5. Susan Carter, born April 5,
1828, married, January, 1857, Horace Shel
don; 6. Emily Maria, born June 27, 1835,
married, June 12, i860, James Skilton.
(VIII) Otis Clark Buck, son of Nathan
Buck (7), was born at Wilmington, December
18, 1825. He was educated in the public
schools of his native town, and assisted his
father in the manufacture of boots and shoes.
When twenty-one years old he engaged in the
business of butcher and dealer in meats and
provisions in Wilmington, following it with
success during all his active life. He retired
a few years ago, and is now living in Wilming
ton. He served the town very efficiently and
acceptably on the board of selectmen several
years ; for six years was overseer of the poor
and assessor. Both in private, business and in

positions of trust and responsibility that he
has filled, He has displayed much ability and
great energy. He married (first) Esther
Gowing, who was born in Amherst, New
Hampshire. He married (second) Caroline
R. Howard, of North Reading, who died April
21, 1902. Children of the first wife: 1.
Daughter, born 1852, died August 31, 1852. 2.
Esther Elizabeth, born July 18, 1853, married
Edward M. Nichols. Children of the second
wife: 3. Arthur Otis, born January 19, 1858.
4. Caroline Frances, born April 30, i860. 5.
Alma Quimby, born February 19, 1862. 6.
William Clark, born February 25, 1864, men
tioned below. 7. Emily Maria, born April 6,
1866. 8. Helen Howard, born May 23, 1868.
9. Francene A., born April 26, 1871. All the
children were born at Wilmington.
(IX) William Clark Buck, son of Otis
Clark Buck (8), was born in Wilmington,
February 25, 1864. He was educated in the
public schools of his native town, graduating
in 1881 from Wilmington high school. He
has been in the employ of J. M. Forbes & Co.
in Boston, for twenty-five years. He is at
present one of the commissioners of a munic
ipal light board of Reading, Massachusetts.
He is a notary public and justice of the peace.
He is a member of the Congregational church
of Reading, Massachusetts, and has been
treasurer of the parish for several years. In
politics he is a Republican. He has resided
in Reading since 1886. His home is at 46
West street. He married, August 25, 1886,
Sallie U. Flint, of North Reading, born April
24, 1866, daughter of Isaac and Mary J.
(Cutts) Flint. Her father was a farmer, and
is deceased. Children: 1. Marion F., born
October 21, 1888, is a junior in Mt. Holyoke
College. 2. Malcolm R.,born May 1, 1890, is
a freshman at Amherst College, and a mem
ber of the football team. 3. Laurence H.,
born June 27, 1892. 4. Edith A., born April
26, 1895. 5. Robert L., born April 24, 1898.
6. Richard C, born March 5, 1902.

Peter Shumway, the immi-
SHUMWAY grant ancestor, was of
French Huguenot ancestry.
After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes,
when many Huguenots sought refuge in
America, he came, about 1695, to Massachu
setts, and located in Topsfield. The name was
originally spelled Chamois or Charmois. We
are told that the home of this family in France
was in the neighborhood of St. Maixent, in

900

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

the old Province of Poitou. Shumway came
at the same time that Peter Faneuil and other
French Huguenots came, and he was doubt
less with the body of settlers who made their
home in Oxford, Massachusetts, where his
son, a few years later, was a settler. Peter
Shumway resided also at Salem Village, or
Danvers ; was a soldier in King Philip's war ;
and on account of that service his son years
afterward petitioned for a grant of land.
Peter was the progenitor of all of this name in
this country. He married Frances  .
Children: i. Peter, born at Topsfield; men
tioned below. 2. Dorcas, born at Topsfield,
October 16, 1683; married Valentine Butler.
3. Joseph, born at Topsfield, October 13, 1686.
(II) Peter Shumway, son of Peter Shum
way (1), was born in Topsfield, June 6, 1678.
He married February 11, 1701, Maria Smith,
who died January 17, 1739. It is said that
her father built the third house having a cellar
in Boston. Shumway married second, Febru
ary 28, 1740, Mary Dana. He settled in Ox
ford, not with the original settlers and pro
prietors, but on the right of Joshua Chandler,
bought September 13, 1713. His home lot in
Oxford embraced that now or lately owned
by Josiah Russell. His family has been one of
the best known and most respected of the town
ever since. Children: 1. Oliver, born at Box-
ford, June 8, 1701 ; baptized at Topsfield, May
10, 1702. 2. Jeremiah, baptized at Topsfield,
March 21, 1703; mentioned below. 3. David,
baptized at Topsfield, December 23, 1705. 4.
Mary, baptized at Topsfield, May 9, 1708;
married Caleb Barton. 5. Samuel, born March
6, 171 1, at Boxford; baptized April 22, 171 1.
6. John, born at Boxford, June 26, 1713, bap
tized August 15 following. The following
were born at Oxford: 7. Jacob, born March
10, 1717. 2. Hepsibah, born April 1, 1720;
married November 12, 1741, Obadiah Walker.
9. Amos, born January 31, 1722.
(Ill) Jeremiah Shumway, son of Peter
Shumway (2), was born in Boxford, Massa
chusetts, in 1704; baptized at Topsfield, where
his parents attended church, March 21, 1703-
4. He married November 13, 1729, Experi
ence Larned (or Learned) who was born in
171 1, the daughter of Isaac Larned. He set
tled in Oxford, Massachusetts, on the Ithiel T.
Johnson place, on Lot H. 185, with his father,
and remained there until 1755, when he ex
changed farms with his brother-in-law, Isaac
Larned, Jr., and removed to the Shumway
homestead, near the site of the Johnson House,
Lot H. 64, selling it in 1773 to his son Peter,

and buying Lot H. 172 on Long Hill, where he
died. Children: 1. Jeremiah, born Septem
ber 12, 1731 ; married December 4, 1758, Abi
gail Moore, daughter of Elijah Moore, a sol
dier in the French war; Jeremiah died April
13, 1679. 2. Experience, born March 28,
1733 ; married Thomas Read. 3. Peter, born
April 29, 1735 ; mentioned below. 4. Mary,
born March 28, 1737; died young. 5. Martha,
born November 27, 1738; married August 17,
1758, Joseph Willson, son of Jacob Willson.
6. Elizabeth, born November 3, 1740; married
Amasa Kingsbury. 7. Isaac, born November
11, 1742; married November 14, 1769, Re
becca Groo, of Douglas. 8. William, born
December 4, 1744. 9. Solomon, born Febru
ary 19, 1747. 10. Samuel, born April 18,
1749. 11. Benjamin, born November 27,
1752; soldier in Revolution; married April 4,
1775, Eunice Outnam. 12. Mary, born
August 5, 1757, married Jonathan Coburn.
(IV) Peter Shumway, son of Jeremiah Shum
way (3) > was born at Oxford, Massachusetts,
April 29, 1735, and died August 30, 1828, aged
ninety-three years. He was a soldier in the
French war; a private in the Continental
army, Captain Fish's company, Colonel Shep-
pard's regiment, enlisted first April 4, 1777,
and remaining in the service until 1782, in the
third and fourth Worcester county regiments
under Captains Moor and Thomas Fish. He
married June 4, 1759, Rebecca Leavens, who
was born June 29, 1743. This Revolutionary
service may not be his, there being several of
the name old enough to be in the Revolution
from Oxford. His wife died at Oxford,
March 11, 1826, aged eighty-two years. Peter
had the Shumway homestead and resided
there all his life. From 1772 to 1796 he was
an innholder at Oxford. Children, born at
Oxford: 1. Martha, born January 20, 1760;
married Amasa Kingsbury. 2. Zerviah, born
January 18, 1762; died young. 3. Elijah,' born
February 6, 1764; married Chloe Griggs and
settled at Pomfret, Connecticut; he died July
2, 1821 ; she died February 8, 1859. 4. Re
becca, born June 4, 1766; died young. 5. Eliz
abeth, born August 3, 1768; married Jonathan
Kingsbury; married second, November 29,
1798, Samuel Coburn. 6. Noah, born Octo
ber 4, 1770. 7. Leavens, born August 25,
1772 ; married Thankful Johnson, daughter of
Comfort Johnson, of Sturbridge; settled at
Monson ; died April 12, 1830 ; she died at Ox
ford, June 21, 1856. 8. Parley, born Novem
ber 12, 1774. 9. Peter, born December 6,
1777, mentioned below. 10. Rebecca, born

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

901

November 6, 1780; married David Prince. 11.
Zerviah, born July 1, 1785 ; died June 20, 1817,
unmarried. 12. Polly, born February 2i;
1790; died April 8, 1808.
(V) Peter Shumway, son of Peter Shum
way (4), was born in Oxford, December 6,
1777, and died at Groton, Massachusetts, Oc
tober 25, 1873. He married March 8, 1803,
Sarah Spaulding, born October 23, 1782, died
at Oxford, May 20, 1842, daughter of Peter
Spaulding, of Townshend. He married sec
ond, January 15, 1845, Mary (Newhall) Har
ris, widow of Rufus Harris. She was born
at New Ipswich, June 11, 1798, died at Gro
ton, Massachusetts, January 31, 1882. Shum
way removed to Townshend, Vermont, in early
life, but returned to Oxford in 1818, and took
the place of his brother Parley on the home
stead and cared for his parents. In 1841 he
removed the old house and built the one now
standing. When he left the Shumway farm it
passed out of the possession of the descend
ants of Peter Shumway, the pioneer. His last
years were spent with children in Groton. He
was a^ thrifty farmer, of great industry, and
large influence in the town. Children, born in
Townshend, Vermont, and Oxford, Massachu
setts: 1. Stephen, born March 3, 1804; mar
ried, 1832, Martha Holmes, and resided at
Thompson, Connecticut, where he died Feb
ruary 8, 1849. 2- Nelson, born November 15,
1805; married Elizabeth Andrews; resided in
Boston ; dealer in provisions ; he died October
28, 1867. 3. Mary, Heald, born August 23,
1807; died July 4, 1808. 4. Eliel, born Sep
tember 29, 1809; married October 2, 1833,
Eliza Ball ; resided in Groton, where she died
December 1, 1894; married second, May,
1868, Emma S. Perry; he died 1891. 5. Mary
Heald, born November 14, 181 1 ; married John
C. Hurd, son of Deacon John. 6. Nancy
Spaulding, born March 31, 1814; married Au
gust 13, 1850, Walter P. Rockwood; second,
Ephraim Sawtelle, of Groton. 7. Benjamin
Spaulding, born January 11, 1816; married
November 3, 1847, Caroline E. Bacon. 8.
Zerviah Leavens, born December 12, 1817;
married October 20, 1845, Rev. William
Walker. 9. Peter, born December 20, 1822;
died October 21, 1824. 10. Peter (changed
by law to Franklin Peter), born December 8,
1824; mentioned below.
(VI) Franklin Peter Shumway, son of
Peter Shumway (5), was born at Oxford,
December 8, 1824. He married in Boston,
October 30, 184.8, Lucy H. Howe, who was
born in Boston, May 14, 1828. They resided
iii — 9.

in Oxford, Auburndale and Leominster, Mass
achusetts, removing thence to New York City.
He returned to Massachusetts. Children: 1.
Emma Florence, born July 26, 1849; married
George H. Merritt, of Mattapan, Massachu
setts, February 16, 1871. 2. Mary Heald,
born November 13, 1852; married Leonard S.
Leighton, of Boston, April 17, 1878; he died
March 28, 1900. 3. Lucy, born April 17, 1855 ;
died December 9, 1855. 4- Franklin Peter,
born October 23, 1856; mentioned below. 5.
Charles Howard, born February 19, 1858;
died September 26, 1858. 6. Carrie Louise,
born April 23, 1859; married October 4, 1893,
Alfred P. Sewall.
(VII) Franklin Peter Shumway, son of
Franklin Peter Shumway (6), was born at
Auburndale, in the town of Newton, Massa
chusetts, October 23, 1856. He was educated
in the public and high schools. He has been
in the advertising business, and ranks among
the foremost in his profession in New Eng
land. He is at present the head of the Frank
lin P. Shumway Advertising Company of
Boston, one of the largest concerns of its kind.
He has the management of the advertising and
the making of contracts with newspapers,
magazines, and other advertising mediums for
many clients, among whom are some of the
largest advertisers in this section. He stands
high in the business and financial circles of
Boston and among his fellow-citizens of Mel
rose, where he has resided many years. Of
attractive personality and extensive know
ledge of men and affairs, he makes many
friends in social and business life.
He married, September 22, 1880, Lizzie A.
Elliott, of Portland, Maine, daughter of John
M. Elliott, of that city. Children: 1. Willis
Peter. 2. Carl Elliott.

(For first two generations see Peter Shumway 2).
(Ill) Samuel Shumway, son
SHUMWAY of Peter Shumway (2),
was born at Boxford, Mass
achusetts, March 6, 171 1, and baptized there
April 22, 171 1. He died in Sturbridge, Mass
achusetts, September 1 or 2, 1800. His will
is dated May 20, 1786; filed September 19,
1800, bequeathing to one son and four daugh
ters — Abijah, Sarah, Lucy, Lois and Pru
dence. He and his brother David settled in
Sturbridge, Massachusetts, when young men;
their brother Jeremiah in the adjacent town of
Oxford, also Worchester county. He married,
February 19, 1735-36, Sarah Learned, who

902

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

died at Sturbridge, December 26, 1809, at the
advanced age of ninety-three, daughter of
Isaac Learned, of Oxford, Massachusetts.
Children, born at Sturbridge: 1. Sarah, born
April 9, 1737, married, June 12, 1758, Daniel
Faulkner, of Sturbridge. 2. Abijah, born
January 2, 1738-39, mentioned below. 3.
Lusa (Lucy), born January 21, 1 740-1, mar
ried, March 6, 1760, Moses Clark, Jr. 4.
Lois, born October 22, 1743, married, Feb
ruary 16, 1786, John Hill. 5. Prudence, born
February 26, 1745-6, married, March 27, 1771,
William Blanchard. 6. Samuel, born June
10, 1748, died February 11, 1757. 7. Hannah,
born October 11, 1750, died February 2, 1757.
8. Moses (twin), born 1753, baptized March
25> :753- 9- Aaron (twin), baptized March
25, 1753, died February 6, 1757. 10. Miriam,
born October 8, 1755, died February 4, 1757.
(IV) Captain Abijah Shumway, son of
Samuel Shumway (3), was born in Stur
bridge, Massachusetts, January 2, 1738-39,
died there July 25, 1808, aged seventy. His
will is dated July 12, 1808, bequeathing to his
five children. He married, June 25, 1783,
Lucy Weld, at Sturbridge. He was a soldier
in the Revolution, a sergeant in Captain
William Campbell's company, Colonel Ebe
nezer Learned's regiment, in 1775, at Rox
bury; also in Captain Ebenezer Crafts's com
pany, Colonel Learned's regiment, later in the
year. He is called captain in the records later.
Children, born at Sturbridge: 1. Abijah, Jr.,
born June 27, 1784! 2. Samuel, born April 2,
1786, mentioned below. 3. Lucy, born May
24, 1789. 4. Esther, born January 19, 1792.
5. Nancy, born January 18, 1809.
(V) Samuel Shumway, son of Captain
Abijah Shumway (4), was born April 2, 1786,
in Sturbridge. He was a farmer and lived
all his life in Sturbridge. He married Oral
McKinstry, of Sturbridge, rather late in life,
and while they were the parents of seven
children, only one survived infancy: Ellen
Augusta, born July 8, 1853, mentioned below.
(VI) Ellen Augusta Shumway, daughter of
Samuel Shumway (5), was born in Stur
bridge, Massachusetts, July 8, 1853. She was
educated in the public schools of Sturbridge.
In 1873 she went to Lowell and May 15, 1874,
she married Austin Metcalf Wentworth, who
was born in Hope, Maine, September 17, 1850.
Mr. Wentworth is a contractor and builder
in Lowell, Massachusetts, and a very success
ful business man. Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth
attend the Baptist church. They have no
children.

Four generations of the Cayzer
CAYZER family of the line here treated
have lived in America. William
Cayzer, the progenitor of the family in New.
England, was of English birth and ancestry,
a practical hatter by trade, and lived at St.
Colomb, Cornwall, England. In 1849 he left
England with his wife, whose name before
marriage was Mary Edwards (she was a na
tive of Llangothllan, Wales), and their son
John Edward and their daughters Sarah and
Mary, in a sailing vessel and in due season
landed in Boston. When they came to Ameri
ca both William Cayzer and his wife Mary
were past the middle period of life, and al
though previous to his immigration William
Cayzer had always been an industrious, hard
working man at his trade, he lived a retired
life in Massachusetts and afterward in Man
chester, New Hampshire, and died in the city
last mentioned in 1859, his wife Mary having
died there in 1856.
John Edward Cayzer, son of William Cay
zer, was born at St. Colomb, Cornwall, Eng
land, October 24, 1823, and died at his home
in Somerville, Massachusetts, February 27,
1893. While living in England he had learned
the trade of his father, serving an apprentice
ship of seven years, and when he came to
Boston he established himself in the hatter's
business in that city. After a time his health
became broken and he thereupon removed to
the state of Maine and took a farm in the
town of Cumberland. He lived there seven
years, regained his health and at the end of
that time returned to Boston and resumed
his former business. In 18.70 he located at
Somerville and lived in that city until the time
of his death in .1893. He was a successful
and capable business man, a Republican, but
not active in politics, and a Master Mason. In
England he had been brought up under the
influences of the Episcopal church, but after
coming to New England became a Unitarian.
His wife, whom he married January 16, 1855,
was Mary Elizabeth Ricker, who was born in
Lebanon, Maine, March 17, 1834, daughter
of Ebenezer Ricker and Naomi Sherman his
wife, a granddaughter of Ezekiel Ricker and
Mary Hanson his wife, and a descendant on
both the paternal and maternal sides of some
of the best old New England Colonial stock.'
She was educated in town schools of Sanford,
Maine, and the high school at Milton, New
Hampshire. Two children were born to Mr.
and Mrs. Cayzer.
Alfred L. Cayzer, the elder of their two

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

903

sons, was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts,
May 1, 1858, and received his education in
the Somerville grammar and high schools.
After leaving school he was employed for a
time by the New England Glass Company, but
later went to Chicago, Illinois, and became
bookkeeper in a commission house of which
his uncle was proprietor. June, 1881, he
married Nellie P. Eoster, of Brooklyn, New
York, and took up his residence at Evanston,
a suburb of Chicago, where he now lives. Mr.
and Mrs. Cayzer have two children. Their
elder child, Edith M. Cayzer, was born at
Evanston, September 3, 1882, and was edu
cated in grammar and high schools of Evans
ton and St. Mary's school and the Chicago Art
school, having graduated from the latter in
stitution. Their second child, Louise F. Cay
zer, was born at Evanston, April 18, 1887,
and was educated in the grammar and high
schools of that city and also at Rogers Hall
in Lowell, Massachusetts.
John Edward Cayzer, younger of the two
children of John Edward Cayzer and Mary
E. Ricker, his wife, was born in Cumberland,
Maine, July 22, 1862, and died May 1, 1864.
Ebenezer Ricker, whose daughter Mary E.
married John Edward Cayzer, of which men
tion is made in a preceding paragraph, was a
son of Ezekiel Ricker and his wife Mary Han
son, and a descendant of one of the oldest and
most prominent families of New Hampshire
and Maine. The early history of the progeni
tors of the Ricker families now so well scat
tered throughout New England and other
states of the Union is filled with incidents of
thrilling interest and is recorded in genealogi
cal archives and various manuscripts as fol
lows: Two brothers, George and Maturin Ricker,
came from England to Dover, New Hampshire.
.George appeared there in 1670 and was first
taxed in Cocheco in 1672. Tradition in the
family says that he came over with old Parson
Reyner, and at his expense; and that after
repaying the parson his next earnings went to
get his younger brother, Maturin, over. Ma
turin was not taxed in 1672, and the lists for
the next year appear to have been lost. But
as to the Reyner matter the difficulty is that
the parson came over in 1635 and died early
in 1669. However, he owned landed property
in England, and perhaps this tradition may
give a clue as to the place from which George
Ricker came.
George Ricker settled in what is now Roll
ings ford, near the Wentworth property, and

in fact he and John Wentworth traded some
what in land. Maturin Ricker must have
lived in the same neighborhood, and both he
and his brother were killed by the Indians
June 4, 1706. The orginal journal of the
Rev. John Pike, minister at Dover, which is
to be found in the library of the Massachu
setts Historical Society, says, under date of
June 4, 1706: "George Riccar and Maturin
Riccar, of Cocheco, were slain by the Indians ;
George was killed while running up the lane
by the garrison; Maturin was killed in his
field, and his little son (Noah) carried away."
The garrison was Heard's, which stood in the
garden of the late Friend Bangs.
George Ricker married Eleanor Evans,
whose father had been killed by the Indians
and doubtless 'was the "Mr. Evans" whom
Pike mentions as having been killed in the
massacre, in a time of profound peace. It is
said that the Indians chained Mr. Evans to a
barn and then set fire to the building, burning
their victim with it. By his wife Eleanor
George Ricker had nine children: Judith,
John, Mary, Maturin, Elizabeth, Hannah,
Ephraim, Eleanor and George.
Maturin Ricker, younger brother of George
Ricker, the immigrant, married and had at
least four children. The name of his wife
and dates of birth of their children are not
known, but their names were Maturin, Joseph,
Noah and Sarah, the latter being about four
years old when her father was killed.
Naomi Sherman, who married Ebenezer
Ricker, father of Mary E. who became the
wife of John Edward Cayzer, was a daughter
of Thomas Sherman who married Betsey
Keith. Thomas Sherman was a son of An
thony Sherman, grandson of William Sher
man, great, grandson of William Sherman, and
great-great-grandson of William Sherman, the
Pilgrim, who was in Plymouth as early as
1632, but finally settled in Marshfield, Massa- y
chusetts. William Sherman, the Pilgrim,
married, in 1639, Prudence Hill, and had a
son William, Jr., who married, in 1667, De
sire Doty, daughter of Edward Doty (in some
records written Doten) and Faith Clark his
wife. This Edward Doty was a "Mayflower".
Pilgrim. Ebenezer and Naomi (Sherman)
Ricker had eleven children, ten of whom lived
to manhood and womanhood: Joseph S.,
in early life learned the trade of tanner; later
was a banker and railroad man, serving as
one of the directors of the Maine Central Rail
road and others ; he was offered the presidency
of the Maine Central, but declined. For

904

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

twenty years he was associated with a Mr.
Mosly, of Montreal, under the firm name of
Mosly & Ricker, in the leather trade. Gus-
tavus, was a merchant in Cincinnati, Ohio,
and later owned and operated a marble quarry
in Maine; died in Washington,. D. C, where
he resided. Dorcas. Winslow T., was a
wealthy tanner. Freeman F., went to Cali
fornia in 1849, remaining eight years; he fin
ally settled in Kansas. Sherman A., after a
residence in California and the west settled in
Chicago; he was first engaged in the packing
business, and later the grain business, and was
styled the corn king of the grain centre. Mary
E., (Mrs. Cayzer). Elizabeth K. William
A., from' the age of sixteen until his death at
the age of fifty was an invalid. Ebenezer
Ricker, father of these children, died May 1,
1859; his wife, Naomi (Sherman) Ricker,
died at the age of sixty-five.
William Sherman and his wife Desire Doty
had a son William, born' in 1671, who married,
in 1697, Mercy White, daughter of Peregrine
White and Sarah Bassett his wife. This Pere
grine White, born in Provincetown harbor in
1620, was a son of William White and his
wife Anna (sometimes called Susanna) Ful
ler. This Anna Fuller, after the death of her
first husband, William White, in 1621, married
Edward Winslow, governor of the Plymouth
colony, and died in Marshfield, Massachusetts,
in 1680. It appears, according to Davis's
"Ancient Landmarks of Plymouth," that
Thomas Sherman, Sr., was a descendant of
Edward Doty, William White and Susanna
Fuller of the "Mayflower," and also of
William Bassett, whose daughter Sarah mar
ried Peregrine White and who came over in
the "Fortune" in 1621.
Thomas Sherman, Sr., son of Anthony
Sherman and Silence Ford his wife, of East
Bridgewater, Massachusetts, was born in
Rochester, Massachusetts, April 18, 1754. He
was a master mariner in early life. On Sep
tember 20, 1776, he enlisted as a private in
Captain Abram Washburn's company of
Colonel John Cushing's regiment, and served
two months, being stationed at Newport,
Rhode Island. He married Betsey Keith,
daughter of Daniel Keith and Lydia Keyzer
his wife, granddaughter of John Keith and
Hannah Washburn his wife, and great-grand
daughter of Rev. James Keith and Susanna
Edson his wife, all of Bridgewater, Massa
chusetts. Rev. James Keith was a native of
Scotland, educated at Aberdeen, and became
the first minister at Bridgewater in 1664, hav

ing come to New England two years earlier.
Betsey Keith was born January 1, 1763, and
died December 4, 1841, aged seventy-nine
years. Thomas Sherman, Sr., lived in Brookfield,
Massachusetts, in 1782, and ,removed from
there to East Bridgewater, residing there from
about 1785 to about 1794. He then removed
to Tamworth, New Hampshire, and lived
there until about 181 1, thence to Shapleigh
(now Acton), Maine, and about the year 1814
took up his residence on a border farm be
tween Lebanon and Acton. Here he died
February 2, 1846, at the age of ninety-two
years. Both he and his wife became members
of the Orthodox church at Lebanon in 1824.
Thomas Sherman and Betsey Keith, his wife,
had eleven children : Anthony, born Brook-
field, Massachusetts, December 7, 1782. Dan
iel, born East Bridgewater, Massachusetts,
January 7, 1785. Thomas, Jr., born East
Bridgewater, Massachusetts, March 30, 1787.
Joseph Keith, born East Bridgewater, Mass
achusetts, December 12, 1789. Nathan, born
East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, July 7,
1792, died July 17, 1793. Nathan, 2d, born
East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, May 11,
1794. Lydia, born Tamworth, New Hamp
shire, December 3, 1796. Naomi, born Tam
worth, May 1, 1799, married Ezekiel Ricker.
Betsey, born Tamworth, May 8, 1802. Han
nah, born Tamworth, October 17, 1806, mar
ried Henry T. Morrill. Martin, born Tam
worth, May 20, 1810.

John Cutting ( 1 ) , appeared in
CUTTING Watertown, Massachusetts Bay
Colony, before 1636, but his
name does not appear on the list of inhab
itants who took the freeman's oath before
1640. In the earliest list of the inhabitants
of Watertown, dated July 25, 1636, is desig
nated "a grant of the Great Dividends (allot
ted) to the freemen (and) to all the towns
men then inhabiting, being 120 in number."
Sir Richard Saltonstall heads this list, his al
lotment being one hundred acres, Robert
Feake and three others with eighty acres;
and the seventeenth on the list is John Cutting
with sixty acres. This record places him
among the most important of the land holders
of that period. The next record we find of
John Cutting in Watertown is that he was a
soldier in the Narragansett expedition of 1675,
and before enlisting were promised by the
general court an allotment of land for such

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

905

service as they were asked to perform in de
fense of the colonists threatened to be exter
minated by the Indians. Through their law
ful representatives these soldiers petitioned
the general court in 1727. for the land thus
promised, and their petition was granted. The
Watertown men were assigned a portion of
the plantation called Narragansett No. 2,
which became the district of Westminster,
October 20, 1754, and a town April 26, 1770.
Among the names appear John Cutting, for
his father, John Cutting, and James Cutting
for his father, James Cutting. This gave us
four of the name Cutting in Watertown
among the settlers before 1636, and fixes the
date of settlement of John to be 1636, and
James as his probable brother. Willard Cut
ting, the third of the name, came on the ship
with a Richard Cutting. He was a youth of
eleven years, and occupying some position
(ward or servant) in the family of Henry
Kimball, as he was a passenger with them
on the ship "Elizabeth of Ipswich," April 30,
1634, and lived with them in Watertown.
This gives us "four brothers" or possibly three
brothers with Richard (as he was a lad) as
the son of one of them. In the next genera
tion we also have John, and James the son of
James, as residing in Watertown, and of Rich
ard as being made a freeman April 18, 1690.
He was, however, a purchaser of land on Jan
uary 16, 1646-7. There is a Captain John
Cutting who appears in Newbury, Massachu
setts Bay Colony, in 1638, where he was a
proprietor and town officer. He, or another
John Cutting, purchased a house in Charles
town in 1648, and was master of the ship
"Advent," and made many voyages between
England and New England, and died in New
bury in 1659. As this date was before the ser
vice, of John of Watertown in the Narragan
sett expedition, for which service his son John
received the grant of land in the Narragansett
plantation, it places John the soldier as the
possible father of Richard, and first ancestor
of the Cuttings in America, rather than John
the sailor. This would give Richard as of the
second generation and John, James and Wil
liam each some claim of being of the first
generation. (II) Richard Cutting, born in England, in
1623, came to Ipswich, Massachusetts, on the
ship "Elizabeth of Ipswich," with Henry Kim
ball and William Cutting in 1634. He appears
to have had a claim of obligation or relation
ship to Henry Kimball (who acquired by
allotment fifty acres of land in Watertown in

1636), as he lived in his family in Watertown
up to the time he purchased a home in Water-
town in January, 1646-7. He was by trade
a wheelwright, but evidently also a farmer,
as Henry Kimball was a large landholder.
He did not take the freeman's oath until April
18, 1690, at which time he was sixty-seven
years of age, unless there is an error as to the
time of his birth. His wife Sarah died No
vember 4, 1685, in the sixtieth year of her
age, and he died at his home in Watertown,
March 21, 1695-6. They had six children:
James,' John, Susanna, Sarah, Lydia, Zach-
ariah. These names are not arranged in the
order of birth.
(Ill) John Cutting, son of Richard and
Sarah Cutting, was born in Watertown. He
married Susanna Harrington, February 9,
1671-2. His children, seven in number, were
born in Watertown. They were in the order
of their birth: Susan, Sarah, Mary, Eliza
beth, John, Robert and George.
(IV) Robert Cutting, son of John and Su
sanna (Harrington) Cutting, was born in
Watertown, October 15, 1683; married, Janu
ary 20, 1714, Abigail Sawin ; lived in East
Sudbury, where their children, Robert, Sarah,
Samuel, Isaac, Jerusha and Silence, were
born. (V) Samuel Cutting, son of Robert and
Abigail (Sawin) Cutting, was born in Way-
land, November 20, 1720. He married Eu
nice Moore, April 22, 1742. They had five
children, born in Wayland : Samuel, Robert,
Jonathan, Eunice and Susanna.
(VI) Robert Cutting, second son of Sam
uel and Eunice (Moore) Cutting, was born
April 16, 1744, in Wayland. He was sergeant
on Lexington alarm roll of Captain Joseph
Smith's company, Colonel Barrett's regiment,
which marched on alarm of April 19, 1775,
from Sudbury. On January 9, 1778, he was
commissioned captain in Ninth Company,
Fourth Middlesex County Regiment. He
was also captain in Colonel Mcintosh's regi
ment, General Lovell's brigade, engaged Aug
ust 1, 1778, discharged September 13, 1778.
He was a deacon in the town church for many
years. He married Jerusha Curtis, August 6,
1767. They had three children: Robert, Jer
usha and' Ephraim. He died January 21,
1820, and was buried in the old cemetery,
Wayland. (VII) Ephraim Cutting, son of Robert and
Jerusha (Curtis) Cutting, was born August
27, 1774, in East Sudbury. He lived in Sud
bury, Roxbury, and the latter portion of his

906

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

life in Weston, coming there about 1830, and
had children, including George Warren Cut
ting. He died April 7, 1866, at the age of
ninety-three years.
(VIII) George Warren Cutting, son of
Ephraim Cutting, was born in Roxbury, Mass
achusetts. He removed with his parents to
Weston about 1830, and established a general
country store in that town in 1833, and the
same business site has continued in the family
as a country store. He was postmaster from
1859 to tne time of his death, in 1885.
(IX) George Warren Cutting, Jr., son of
George Warren, was born in Weston; in 1834,
and was brought up to the trade of pattern
maker, but gave up this occupation to join his
father in conducting the store in Weston,
which he had established in 1833. He was
married, February 21, 1865, to Josephine M.
daughter of George W. Brown, of Harvard,
Massachusetts. He is a member of the Bap
tist church, a trustee for the Merriam Fund
for the Silent Poor, served as assessor for sev
eral years, and was a representative in the
general court of Massachusetts, in 1889,
served as public weigher and measurer of
wood and bark for many years. He has been
town clerk since 1864, and assistant postmas
ter from 1859 to 1886, postmaster of Weston
since 1886. He is a Republican in national
politics, and generally votes for the nominees
of that party for town, county and state offi
cers. (X) Alfred Leslie Cutting, son of George
Warren, Jr., and Josephine (Brown) Cutting,
was born in Weston, Massachusetts, January
2j, 1868. He was educated in the public
schools of Weston, completing the course at
the Weston high school, and. at Bryant and
Stratton's Commercial College in Boston, in
1885. On graduating he became clerk in his
father's store in Weston, and soon after ob
tained a position in the printing establishment
of Rand & Avery, of Boston, at the time
Thomas W. Lawson was vice-president and
general manager of the corporation. In 1888
he opened a general country store on North
avenue, at Kendal Green, in the town of Wes
ton, and in 1890 he formed a partnership with
his father and they operated two stores, one in
Weston and one at Kendal Green. He was
appointed postmaster at Kendal Green in
1889. In 1900 he was elected selectman of the
town of Weston, and continues in that office.
In 1907 he was elected to represent the town
in the general court of Massachusetts, serving
as a member of the committee on towns. He

is a member of the Baptist church, and is
superintendent of the Sabbath school, and a
member of the Boston Baptist Social Union,
and of the Boston Baptist Sabbath School
Superintendents' Association. He is a mem
ber of Pequod Lodge, No. 229, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, of Wayland, member
of the Republican Club of Massachusetts, and
Business Science Club of Boston; and a di
rector of the Weston Athletic Association. He
was married, December 20, 1890, to May
Child, daughter of Charles H. and Almira
(Child) Livermore, of Weston, Massachu
setts. May Child Livermore was born in
Weston, May 26, 1869; was graduated at the
"Weston high school and at Bryant and Strat
ton's Commercial School, and the ceremony of
her marriage with Mr. Cutting was performed
by Rev. Amos Harris, at Everett, Massachu
setts, and they made their home on School
street, Weston, Massachusetts.

This distinguished family
HUNTINGTON dates its origin in Amer
ica from the days of the
Puritans. (I) In 1633 Simon Huntington, his wife,
Margaret, whose maiden name was Barrett,
and their three sons and one daughter left
their home in England to cast their lot with
the colonists in America. During the passage
over, Simon died of smallpox and was buried
at sea. His widow, who was a native of Nor
wich, England, and daughter of Peter Bar
rett, mayor of said city, arrived in New Eng
land, with her children, and settled first in
Roxbury, Massachusetts, where she married
(second), 1635-36, Thomas Stoughton, of
Dorchester, Massachusetts. They removed to
Windsor, Connecticut, and settled there. Her
four children by her first husband were:
1. Thomas, settled in Connecticut. 2. Chris
topher, married Ruth Rockwell, (see Rock
well family of Leominster). 3. Simon, see
forward. 4. Ann, mentioned in a letter print
ed in the genealogy, written by Peter Barrett,
to his sister Margaret (Barrett) Huntington.
Her three sons (mentioned above) by her
first husband, settled in Connecticut and
reared families. Their descendants are quite
numerous and among them were several dis
tinguished clergymen, including the late Dan.
Huntington, D. D., bishop of the Central Pro
testant Episcopal diocese of New York. Gen
eral U. S. Grant was a descendant on the ma
ternal side of one of these Connecticut Hun-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

907

tingtons, and the late Corliss P. Huntington,
the noted financier and railroad magnate, was
also descended from the same source. Sam
uel A. Huntington, of Maiden, Massachusetts,
a brief outline of whose genealogy is now in
hand is a lineal descendant in the ninth gen
eration of Simon Huntington.
(II) Deacon Simon Huntington, Jr., son
of Simon Huntington (1), was born in Eng
land in 1629, and came to America on the ill-
fated voyage with his mother in 1633. He
settled in Norwich and was a member of Mr.
Fitch's church there. He was deacon of the
church until 1696 when his son succeeded him.
He was a member of the general assembly in
1674, had a grant of land in 1686, was towns
man in 1690 and 1696. In 1694 he was on a
committee to search out and report the de
ficiencies in the public records. He served on
the committee to seat the meeting house in
1697, a delicate and difficult service as the rel
ative rank of all church members was fixed
thus. The early settlers were not at all demo
cratic in their ideas. In 1700 he was on a
committee to give deeds and fix titles of land
in dispute or with defective title. He married,
in October, 1653, Sarah Clark (in Saybrook),
daughter of Joseph Clark, of Windsor, Con
necticut. She died in 1721, aged eighty-eight
years. He died at Norwich, June 28, 1706,
aged seventy-seven years. Their children
were: 1. Sarah, born at Saybrook, August,
1654, married Dr. Solomon Tracy. 2. Mary,
born at Saybrook, August, 1657, married,
 Forbes, of Preston. 3. Simon, born
at Saybrook, February, 1659, succeeded his
father as deacon. 4. Joseph, born Connecti
cut. 5. Samuel, see forward. 6. Elizabeth,
born at Norwich, October 6, 1666, married
Joseph Backus. 7. Nathaniel, born at Nor
wich, July 10, 1672, died young. 8. Daniel,
born at Norwich, March 13, 1675-76.
(Ill) Lieutenant Samuel Huntington, son
of Deacon Simon and Mary (Clark) Hunting
ton, was born at Norwich, Connecticut, March
1, 1665. He was a constable of Norwich, in
1692, also held the office of townsman. Ten
years after he left Norwich and settled in
Lebanon, Connecticut. He was appointed on
a committee to choose a site for the new
meeting house at Norwich, and though the
site selected by the committee was not adopted
then by the town, later the church was built
there, and the committee's good judgment
shown by the subsequent course of events.
He was lieutenant of the military company.
He became well-to-do, owning large tracts of

land. He moved to Lebanon, in 1700, and
died there May 10, 1717. He married, Octo
ber 29, 1686, Mary Clark, of Weathersfield,
Connecticut. She died October 6, 1743. Their
children were: 1. Elizabeth, born at Nor
wich, August 28, 169 1. 2. Caleb, see for
ward. 3. Mary, born at Norwich, October
19, 1696. 4. Rebecca, born at Norwich, Feb
ruary, 1698-99, married Joseph Clark. 5. Sar
ah, born at Lebanon, September 10, 1701. 6.
John, born at Lebanon, May 17, 1706. 7.
Simon, born at Lebanon, August 15, 1708.
(IV) Caleb Huntington, son of Lieutenant
Samuel (3) and Mary (Clark) Huntington,
was born at Norwich, Connecticut, February
8, 1693-94. He settled in Lebanon, Connecti
cut, where all his children were born. He
married, January 28, 1720, Lydia Griswold,
born May 28, 1696. Their children were :
1. Caleb, see forward. 2. Lydia, born April
25, 1724 (twin): 3. Elijah (twin), born April
25, 1724. 4. Abner, born March 6, 1726. 5.
James, born April 25, 1728. 6. Susanna,
born June 23, 1730, married Anderson Dana,
lawyer. 7. Ezekiel, born August 2, 1732. 8.
Daniel, born February 3, 1737.
(V) Caleb Huntington, son of Caleb (4)
and Lydia (Griswold) Huntington, was born
in Lebanon, Connecticut, December 9, 1721.
He removed to Ashford, Connecticut, prob
ably after 1758. He married, February 6,
1747, Zerviah Case. Their children were:
1. Zebulon, born at Lebanon, December 9,
1747, died April, 1748. 2. Ezra, see forward.
3. Bathsheba, born December 12, 1750. 4.
Lydia, born September 9, 1753. 5. Caleb,
born 1758, died at Cape Breton, Nova Scotia,
in 1845. All but the last were born at Leb
anon, Connecticut.
(VI) Ezra Huntington, son of Caleb (5)
and Zerviah (Case) Huntington, was born in
Lebanon, Connecticut, March 24, 1749. In
the political agitation which preceeded the
declaration of independence some of the Hun-
tingtons remained loyal to the crown, and
when they saw that separation from the moth
er country was inevitable and the Whigs pre
vailed 'everywhere, they with others joined
the exodus to Nova Scotia. Among the latter
was Ezra Huntington and his brother Caleb.
Caleb settled in Cape Breton and Ezra in
Cornwallis, Kings county, and he resided^ there
for the remainder of his life which terminated
in 1827. He married Hannah Fitch. She was
probably the Hannah Fitch who was born in
Coventry, Connecticut, June 12, 1735, daugh
ter of Lieutenant Jeremiah and Mary (Por-

908

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ter) Fitch. Her grandparents were Captain
Jeremiah and Ruth (Gifford) Fitch, and her
great grandfather was Rev. James Fitch, who
came from England in the ship, "Defence."
The children of Lieutenant Jeremiah and
Mary (Porter) Fitch were: Lucy, Mary,
Hannah and John. The children of Mr. and
Mrs. Huntington were: i. Ebenezer, born
April n, 1780, married, December 31, 1806,
Elizabeth Strong, and resided in Cornwallis,
Nova Scotia. 2. Simon, see forward. 3.
Ezra, Jr., born December 10, 1789, married
Charlotte Burden; they settled in Cornwallis,
Nova Scotia, where he died in 1836. 4. Bet
sey, married John Elliott, and resided at Wil-
mot, Annapolis county, Nova Scotia. 5. Rini
(Irene) ?
(VII) Simon Huntington, son of Ezra (6)
and Hannah (Fitch) Huntington, was born at
Cornwallis, Kings county, Nova Scotia, Aug
ust 15, 1786. He lived there all his life and
died there in 1829. He married Henrietta
Lockhart. Their children, all born in Corn
wallis, Nova Scotia, were: 1. Daniel Dixon,
see forward. 2. David, born 1824, married
Ann Miller, and resided in Cornwallis, Nova
Scotia. 3. John, born 1826, married Rachel
Miller and lived and died in Kings county,
Nova Scotia. 4. James, born at Cornwallis,
Nova Scotia, and resided there. 5. Lydia,
born at Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, and lived
there all her life, and died there; married
(first) a Mr. Campbell, by whom she had
several children ; several years after his death
she married (second) a Mr. Sutton, no chil
dren. (VIII) Colonel Daniel Dixon Huntington,
son of Simon (7) and Henrietta (Lockhart)
Huntington, was born in Cornwallis, Kings
county, Nova Scotia, December 31-, 1819. In
early life he followed the sea, and for a time
resided in the state of Mississippi, where he
was overseer of a plantation, but eventually
returned to Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, where
he assisted his stepfather, Samuel Kirkpatrick
(his own having died when he was nine years
old), in carrying on the homestead farm.
He followed farming the remainder of his
active life. He was prominently identified
with the provincial militia and rose to the
rank of colonel. He loved music and was di
rector of the choir of the Baptist church to
which he belonged. He died in Cornwallis,
Nova Scotia, December 1, 1873. He married
Eliza Miller, daughter of Samuel Miller, a
prosperous farmer of Wilmot, Annapolis
county, Nova Scotia. Their children were,

ten all told, of whom the following are living:
1. Herbert Charles, married Serena Porter, of
Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, and their children:
i. S. Maud, married Miron Benjamin, of Mai
den, Massachusetts; ii. Herbert Warren, Jr.,
married Katherine Ellen, daughter of Herbert
Montervill Berchard, of Maiden, Massachu- '
setts; iii. Arthur Fremont, married Alice,
daughter of Bernard Gallagher, of Lynn, '
Massachusetts ; iv. Grace ; all born in Maiden,
Massachusetts. 2. Samuel Arthur, see for
ward. 3. Louisa M., married the Hon. Rufus
S. Palmer, now of Minneapolis, Minnesota,
but formerly of New York state. 4. Helen
A., married Horace Austin, of this state and
now warden of the Town Farm, Framingham,
with his wife as matron. They have two sons,
Harold and Leonard. 5. Whitman Morton,
blacksmith, constable and fire warden of West
Boylston, Massachusetts ; married Nellie Ba
ker Chase, of said town; their children are:
Hattie, Clarence W. and Raymond S. 6.
Leonard C, unmarried, now a resident of
Seattle, Washington; he is interested in min
ing in the Cascade Mining District, Mount
Baker. (IX) Samuel Arthur Huntington, son of
Colonel Daniel Dixon (8) and Eliza (Miller)
Huntington, was born in Cornwallis, Kings
county, Nova Scotia, August 13, 1849. His
early education was acquired in the public
schools of his native town and in Maiden,
Massachusetts. In 1869-70 he served an ap
prenticeship at the granite cutters' trade. He
was subsequently employed for about seven
years on the New York, St. Louis, Cincinnati
and Philadelphia postoffices, which were all
cut on the islands of Penobscot Bay, Maine.
Relinquishing his trade he returned to Mai
den, Massachusetts, where he has acquired
important business interests, and for nearly
thirty years has been connected with the Bos
ton Rubber Shoe Company. The latter with
his other business ventures, occupies much of
his time, and most of his investments have
proved successful. Mr. Huntington is one of
the most prominent spiritualists in Maiden
and has devoted much time to the investiga
tion of that phenomena, being recognized in
his locality as one of the most profound think
ers in the field of psychic research. At the
present time he is serving as corresponding
secretary and historian of the "Maiden Pro
gressive Spiritual Society," Inc., making
weekly reports for the Progressive Thinker,
published in Chicago, and monthly reports for
The Herald of Truth, published in Boston, and

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

909

it may be truthfully said that his effort in
seeking to demonstrate the actual truth con
cerning spiritual existence, is characteristic of
his family, many of whom have been noted
for their profundity of thought, especially up
on subjects relating to religion. Politically
Mr. Huntington is a Republican in national
issues, but in local affairs he acts independent
ly. He is a member of the Masonic Order,
and also of the Universalist Men's Club of
Maiden. In 1873, August 27', he was united in mar
riage with Lizzie J. McDonnell, daughter of
John McDonnell, of Maiden. They have no
children. Honored by his craft: Tn 1877 he was
elected secretary of the Hurricane Island
branch of the Granite Cutters' International
Union; in 1878 he was elected president of the
Dix Island branch of said Union, and in the
latter year he was elected a member of the
Granite Cutters' International Union Con
gress, held in Boston in February, and the
Congress elected him assistant secretary and
in said office he had to make a full record of
the doings of the Congress, while from his
records the secretary made a daily report for
the Granite Cutters' International Union Jour
nal, published at that time in Rockland, Maine.
In 1874 he was sent on a mission throughout
New England to "learn the industrial condi
tion, wages," etc., of his craft, making a full
report on his return. In 1878 Mr. Huntington
entered the Maine campaign in favor of T. H.
Murch, of Rockland, for Congress, Fifth
Maine district, who defeated the Hon. Eu
gene Hale. Mr. Huntington is a great admir
er of the great war president, Abraham Lin
coln, and the able member of his cabinet,
Salmon P. Chase, who was the father of the
Greenback currency, feeling that a currency
that was good and strong enough to carry this
nation through the worst crisis in its history
was and is good enough in times of peace.
He believes half of the circulating medium
could be created in this way, exchanging the
same for gold when desired by the holder.
Hence his support of Mr. Murch, who was
elected on the Greenback Democratic ticket.
He does not' believe the borrower should re
ceive interest on the security he gives for the
capital he desires to do business on. He is
a strong temperance man, believing alcohol
should be guarded as strongly as opium. He
is also very strong in his convictions on the
public school question, believing that no text
books should be allowed in any school except

those authorized by the government. He
would have a national' council composed of
two citizens, elected by the people from each
state, who should sit in Washington at least
once in every decade to revise and compile
all text books used in any school, and all peo
ple who could not willingly accept those con
ditions should be invited to live under some
other flag. In this way a canker, would not
be eating away the strongest pillar of the Re
public.

Two immigrants of the
THURSTON same name, Daniel Thurs
ton, came to Newbury,
Massachusetts, before 1638, uncle and ne
phew. A house lot was granted in that town,
November 24, 1638, to Daniel Thurston, on
the Neck over the great river, consisting of
four acres adjoining lot of John Osgood. The
uncle, Daniel Thurston, married, August 29,
1648, Ann Lightfoot, widow of Francis Light-
foot, of Lynn, his first wife dying May 25,
1648. In 1665 the elder Daniel made his will
devising all his estate to his kinsman Daniel,
with whom this pedigree begins.
(I) Daniel Thurston, nephew of Daniel
Thurston, was descended from an ancient
English family whose history extends back to
the time of the Norman Conquest to Tursten
Fitz Rou le Blanc of Bee Crispin, Normandy.
He married, October 20, 1655, Anne Pell,
daughter of Joseph Pell, of Lynn, whence
came also Ann Lightfoot, wife of his uncle,
Daniel Thurston. He was a trooper in Cap
tain Appleton's company in King Philip's
war, and was on a pay roll dated June 24,
1676. He died February 19, 1693. He was
doubtless a weaver by trade as he bequeathed
a loom, etc., in his will. Children: 1. Dan
iel, born July 2, died November 3, 1657. 2.
Hannah, born January 20, 1659, married Ben
jamin Pearson. , 3. Daughter, born November
22, died December 16, 1660. 4. Daniel, born
December 18, 1661. 5. Sarah, born Janu
ary 8, 1664. 6. Stephen, born October
25, 1665, died young. 7. Joseph, born Sep
tember 14, 1667, married Mehitable Kim
ball and Elizabeth Woodbury. 8. Anne, born
September 6, 1669, died young. 9. James,
born September 24, 1670, married Mary Pear
son. 10. Stephen, born October 25, 1672,
died young. 11. Stephen, born February 5,
1674. 12. Abigail, born March 17, 1678, mar
ried Joseph Chase.
(II) Stephen Thurston, son of Daniel

910

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Thurston ( i ) , was born in Newbury,. Mass
achusetts, February 5, 1674. Married (first)
Alary  ; (second) Sarah  . His
estate was administered by his son Moses, ap
pointed in 1728. He lived for a time at Strat
ham, New Hampshire. His estate was
appraised September 9, 1728, for five hundred
and fifty-six pounds, twelve shillings, three
pence. In September, 1732, the widow Sarah
leased her dower to Moses. Children: 1.
Moses, born July 19, 1707. 2. John, born
August 29, 1709, married (first) Phebe Wig-
gin. 3. Rebecca, born 1711, baptized June 17.
4. Robert, born February 25, 1713, mentioned
below. 5. Daniel, born August 27, 1714, died
February 16, 1737. 6. Mary, born June 3,
1716, married Jeremiah Searle. 7. Nathaniel,
born July 12, 1718, married Miner Chase. 8.
Stephen, baptized September 18, 1720, mar
ried Mary St. Clare. 9. Mehitable, married
Captain Jonathan Jewett. 10. Abigail, un
married. 11. Sarah, baptized July 15, 1722.
These children were large landholders as the
registry of deeds shows.
(Ill) Robert Thurston, son of Stephen
Thurston (2), was born at Stratham, New
Hampshire, February 25, 1713, died at the
house of his brother John, February 16, 1752.
He deeded land in the township of Bow, New
Hampshire, "said land, having belonged to my
honored father Stephen of Stratham, New
Hampshire." He was in a company "guard
ing and scouting at Canterbury" under com
mand of Captain Jeremiah Clough from July
4, to July 9, 1746. Children: 1. Robert,
mariner in the Revolutionary war ; died in
Stratham intestate, 1788. 2. Samuel, men
tioned below, 3. James, born 1744.
(IV) Samuel Thurston, son of Robert
Thurston (3), was born probably in Stratham,
New Hampshire, about 1740; married Mary
 . He was a carpenter and joiner by
trade. His home was in Exeter, New Hamp
shire, where he died intestate in 1765. April
28, 1766, dower was set off to Mary, his
widow!. Children: 1. Samuel, married Eliz
abeth Gilman. 2. Ephraim, born March 25,
1753, mentioned below.
(V) Ephraim Thurston, son of Samuel
Thurston (4), was born in Exeter, New
Hampshire, March 25, 1753. Married Annie
Marsh, January 11, 1780. She was born
April 20, 1760, died at Wakefield, New Hamp
shire, November 10, 1789. He was a soldier
in the Revolution. He deeded land in 1787.
Children: 1. Ephraim, born August 22, 1780,
lived in Wakefield, New Hampshire. 2. Bet

sey, born January 1, 1782, died January 6, fol
lowing. 3. Nancy, born April 3, 1783, mar
ried William Pike; died in Oxford, Maine,
April 12, 1859. 4- Betsey, born October 27,
1785, married  Hackett ; lived at Wake
field, New Hampshire. 5. John, born July 31,
1787, mentioned below. 6. Dolly, born August
14, 1789, died in Wakefield, November 17,
1789. (VI) John Thurston, son of Ephraim
Thurston (5), was born at Exeter, July 31,
1787. Married, June 7, 1812, Mercy Hale,
born December 27, 1789, daughter of Israel
and Esther (Taylor) Hale, of Waterford,
Maine. She died in Oxford, Maine, June 18,
1758. He was a farmer in Norway and Ox
ford, Maine, a Methodist in religion, served
in the war of 1812, and -died in 1872, in Sher-
born, Massachusetts. Children: 1. Daniel
Holt, born in Norway, Maine, January 24,
1813, mentioned below. 2. Esther Hale, born
October 18, 1814, died November 2, 1815. 3.
Lorenda Holt, born in Oxford, March 19,
1816, married, May 28, 1845, George N. Da
vis, of Virginia, shoemaker at Natick, Massa
chusetts, died 1850; she removed to Cleve
land, Ohio. 4. Mary Holt, born April 1, 1818,
married in Oxford, February 8, 1866, as his
second wife, George Washington Day, born
December 16, 1809, and lived in Freeport. 5.
Nancy March, born June 15, 1820, married in
Oxford, Willard Otis Haynes, ot Natick ; she
died July 9, 1884; children: Ella Maria,
Willard Augustus, Franklin Wallace and Liz
zie Ella Haynes. 6. Harriet How5, born April
24, 1822, married, November 10, 1851, Joshua
Haynes ; died at Cambridge, Massachusetts,
in 1 87 1 ; children: Lelia Emma, Homer
Dana, John Thurston and Annie Mary
Haynes. 7. Mercy Jane, born May 1, 1824,
died in Oxford, 1841. 8. John Colby, born
December 5, 1825, married Mary Elizabeth
Murphy. 9. Hiram Leonard, born August 7,
1826, learned the shoemaker's trade in Na
tick; married, September 3, 1852, Eleanora
Collins, and moved to Cochituate ; enlisted
August 1, 1862, in the Thirty-eighth Massa
chusetts regiment; was in the Red River Ex
pedition; died in Washington, August 21,
1864, and was buried in Natick; children:
i. Son, died young; ii. Melissa Jane, born Oc
tober 8, 1854, married John Fielding Har-
graves, blacksmith in Saxonville; children:
Frank Fielding Hargraves, Jennie Hargraves,
Charles N. Hargraves, Mary Thurston Har
graves ; iii. Franklin Waldo, born July 15,
1856, died October 10, 1882; iv. Hiram Leon-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

911

ard, born March, 1859. 10. Augustus Aurel-
ius, born February 4, 1831, learned the trade
of shoemaker in Natick; enlisted in the Third
Massachusetts Regiment, April, 1861 ; in
Thirty-eighth Massachusetts Regiment, Aug
ust 1, 1862; was taken sick at New Orleans
and sent to Brashear City, Louisiana, where
he died May 21, 1863.
(VII) Daniel Holt Thurston, son of John
Thurston (6), was born at Norway, Maine,
January 24, 1813. Married (first), in
Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1839, Jane
Drown Shackley, born October 3, 1816,
daughter of Edmund and Mehitable (Drown)
Shackley, of Kennebunk, Maine. She died
November 23, 1866. He married (second),
Esther Battles Shackley, widow of his first
wife's brother, Ebenezer Shackley. He was
a cracker manufacturer, senior member of
the well-known firm of Thurston, Hall & Co.
with factory at Cambridgeport and salesroom
in Boston. He was a prominent and public-
spirited citizen of Cambridge. He was a
member of the common council and of the
board of aldermen. He represented his dis
trict in the general court in 1874-75. He was
a prominent Odd Fellow, charter member of
Friendship Lodge, Cambridge; was a member
of the First Universalist church, Cambridge.
He died, 1896. Children: 1. Sarah Frances,
born April 20, 1840, married, September 1,
1864, Benjamin Franklin Fletcher, member of
the firm of Thurston, Hall & Co., in Cam
bridge; he died January 12, 1872; child,
Charles Walter Fletcher, born November 22,
1865, died October 9, 1877. 2. Helen Jane
Elizabeth, born March 15, 1842, married
(first), March 15, 1866, Oliver Augustus Kel-
ley, member of the firm of Thurston, Hall &
Co., in Boston; he died June 6, 1868; mar
ried (second), October 22, 1871, William H.
Hubbard, a painter, of Cambridge; her chil
dren: i. Grace Gertrude Kelley, born April 9,
1867; ii. Alice Jeannette Hubbard, February
17, 1873 > ni- Amy Louise Hubbard, April 26,
1875. 3- Charles Frederick, born August 28,
1844, mentioned below. 4. Eldora Mehitable,
born" August 18, 1846, married, October 26,
1868, Charles W. Mead, a printer, of Cam
bridge, Massachusetts ; children : i. Ida Fran
ces Mead, born July 12, 1871 ; ii. Olive Jose
phine Mead, November 22, 1874. 5. Harriet
Emma, born in Kennebunk, Maine, April 23,
1849, married, December 7, 1869, Charles Em
ery Pierce, a can manufacturer of Boston;
children : i. James Wilson Pierce, born Aug
ust 28, 1870; ii. Florence Talbot Pierce, Sep

tember 29, 1879. 6. John Edmund, born in
Cambridge, May 1, 1853, married (first), No
vember, 1874, Josephine Cora Bowker, of*
Cambridge; she died January 15, 1875; mar
ried (second), March 25, 1880, Helen Maria
Grover Clark, born in Gloucester, Massachu
setts, September 26, 1858; a cracker manu
facturer of Cambridge; moved to Gloucester,
April 1, 1884, where he is a wholesale dealer
in fish under the firm name of George Clark
& Company ; child, Daniel Winslow, born Jan
uary 15, 1875.
(VIII) Charles Frederick Thurston, son
of Daniel Holt Thurston (7), was' born in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, August 28, 1844.
He was educated in the public schools
of his native city. He became a mem-'
ber of his father's firm, Thurston, Hall &
Company, cracker bakers, in Cambridgeport,
in 1865, continuing until 1891, when the com
pany was dissolved ; he entered the employ of
the National Biscuit Company as manager of
1 different plants, remaining until 1901, when
he was appointed to his present position of
inspector in the United States custom house
in Boston. He lived in Cambridge until 1892
when he removed to Maiden, Massachusetts.
Mr. Thurston is a Republican and has been
prominent in public life. He was representa
tive to the general court from his district in
Cambridge in 1877-78, and often served his
party on committees and as delegate to nom
inating conventions. He was an active mem
ber and has been on the standing committee of
the First Universalist church of Cambridge.
He now attends the Centre Methodist Episco
pal church of Maiden. He is a Free Mason,
member of Blue Lodge and Chapter, and Post
No. 40, Grand Army of the Republic, of Mai
den. He enlisted, September 16, 1861, in the
First Massachusetts Cavalry at the age of
seventeen years and served through the war,
taking part in every engagement of the Army
of the Potomac after the second battle of Bull
Run. He was taken prisoner at the battle of
Aldie, Virginia, June 17, 1863, and sent to
Libby Prison, in Richmond, thence to Belle
Isle. He was within the enemy's lines thirty-
five days and was among the last prisoners
paroled before sending them to Andersonville.
Company D, to which he belonged, was de
tailed as General Meade's escort, and served
in that capacity during the last eighteen
months of the war. He was wounded at Grav
elly Run, Virginia, and at the last attack and
capture of Petersburg, Virginia. The last or
der he had was before Richmond, direct from

912

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

General Grant, to locate the Rebel lines; he
was seriously wounded but reported to Gen-
*eral Grant; was thanked by him for his ser
vice and ordered to the hospital. While there
the hospital was visited by President Lincoln,
with whom . he had the pleasure of shaking
hands. He was commended for his gallantry
on the field and recommended for a commis
sion. He had the rank of corporal. After
returning home he became captain of the Na
tional Lancers of Boston.
He married (first), in Cambridgeport,
March 15, 1866, Annette Maria Holden, born
in Reading, Massachusetts, September 6,
1846, daughter of Cyrus Knight and Lu Fan
nie (Lombard) Holden, of Otisfield, Maine.
She died February 4, 1891. He married (sec
ond), Melina E. (Lee) Wilmarth, widow of
Seth Wilmarth, a native of Danville, Canada,
daughter of Edward Lee. Her mother was a
Rundlett of Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
and her great-grandfather was a soldier in the
Revolution. Children of Charles F. and An
nette M. Thurston: 1. Fannie Jane, born
December 26, 1866, married, June, 1887,
George Marshall Rice, a clerk in Boston, re
siding in Newton Center, Massachusetts ;
child, Pauline Rice, born March 2, 1889. 2.
Carrie Maria, born February 6, 1869, mar
ried Fred Grant, of Wrentham, Massachu
setts. 3. Daniel Herbert, born March 10, died
March 16, 1873.

John Fessenden, the im-
FESSENDEN migrant, was born in
county Kent, England,
about 1600. His name is variously spelled in
the early records Fesenden, Fessinden, Fes-
sington, Fezington, Fiziden, Fisenden, Fis-
senden, Fishenden, Fishington, Phesenden,
and Phesington. He settled as early as 1638
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and made his
home at the south corner of Winthrop and
Eliot streets, selling his estate there in 1639,
however, and buying on the westerly side of
Eliot street, south of Mount Auburn street.
His name is on the list of proprietors for 1636
and he was admitted a freeman June 2, 1641.
He was a member of the church, and was
selectman of the town in 1656-61-62 and 65.
He was a town officer. His relative, Nicholas
Fessenden, doubtless son of a brother, came
over from England to inherit his estate which
was large for his day. He was a glover by
trade. He died December 21, 1666. His nuncupa

tive will was proved April 2, 1666, bequeath
ing to his wife and his kinsman, Nicholas Fes
senden; aid to be given to Hope Atherton if
he came again to the college. His widow died
January 13, 1682, aged eighty. The widow in
her will, dated December 20,  , and proved
March 31, 1684-85, bequeathed her whole
estate to her "cousin," (a Word then used for
uncle, nephew, etc., as well as for what we
call cousin), Nicholas Fessenden, who was to
pay legacies to cousin Hannah More and
others. Judge Samuel Sewall in his diary calls
Nicholas "cousin" also and mentions visiting
"Aunt Fessenden with her children John,
Mary, Elizabeth and Jane at Canterbury" (in
Kent), in 1688-89. John Fessenden bought
land in Charlestown, six acres, of N. Davis
in 1642, and his widow Jane sold it to John
Watson and Mary Cook in 1673. It adjoined
the Charlestown and the Cambridge com
mons. (II) Nicholas Fessenden, nephew and heir
of John Fessenden (1), was born in Canter
bury, England, in 1650. He came to America
in 1674 at the invitation of his uncle and set
tled in Cambridge. He was also a glover. He
died February 24, 1719, in his sixty-ninth
year. He married Margaret Cheney, who
died December 10, 171 7, aged sixty-one. Chil
dren: 1. Jane, born November 28, 1674,
died August 24, 1676. 2. Hannah, born July
27, 1676, died August 4, 1676. 3. John, born
November 4, 1678. 4. Nicholas, born Janu
ary 21, 1681, graduate of Harvard in 1701,
distinguished teacher ; married Sarah Cool
idge. 5. Thomas, born January 4 and died
January 28, 1682. 6. Thomas, born August
12, 1684, mentioned below. 7. Margaret,
born January 22, 1687, died unmarried. 8.
Jane, born April 22, 1688, married, January
10, 1712, Samuel Winship, high sheriff. 9.
Mary, born October 28, 1689, married Joshua
Parker. 10. William, born 1694, married
Martha Wyeth and (second) Martha Brown;
ancestor of Hon. William Pitt Fessenden and
his father, Hon. Samuel G. Fessenden, also
a congressman of Maine. 11. Joseph, mar
ried, December 6, 1733, Mindwell Oldham.
12. Benjamin, born January 30, 1701, gradu
ate of Harvard, 1719, minister at Sandwich,
Massachusetts. 13. Hannah, married John
Chipman. 14. Ebenezer, married Alice Bab-
cock. (Ill) Thomas Fessenden, son of Nicholas
Fessenden (2), was born in Cambridge, Aug
ust 12, 1684. He removed to Cambridge Vil
lage, now Lexington, about 1712. He owned

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

913

the covenant in the church in 1709, when his
first child was baptized. He died March 6,
1738, at Lexington. He married, in 1708,
Abigail Poulter, born September 5, 1692,
daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth Poulter.
She died April 25, 17 19, aged twenty-seven
years, and he married (second), January 8,
1720, Abigail Locke, daughter of Joseph
Locke, of Lexington. She died June 12, 1736,
and he married (third), December 2, 1737,
Anne Fillebrown, who committed suicide July
12, 1753, aged sixty-three years. Children of
first wife: 1. Thomas, born December 9,
1709, mentioned below. 2. Samuel, born Aug
ust 11, 171 1, married, May 21, 1740, Elizabeth
Allen. 3. Abigail, born July 13, 1713. 4.
Mary, born January 17, 1716, married Wil
liam Brown, of Watertown. Children of sec
ond wife: 5. Elizabeth, born March 8, 1721,
married Samuel Hutchinson. 6. Jonathan,
born April 28, 1723. 7. Hannah, born June
18, 1725, died same year. 8. Hannah, born
April 21, 1727, died April 21, 1729. 9. John,
born April 27, 1729, married, November 23,
1769, Elizabeth Wyman; settled in Rutland,
state senator, etc. 10. Timothy, born May 6,
1731, married Elizabeth Pierce; settled in
Westminster, Massachusetts. 11. Benjamin,
born January 9, 1734, resided in Milton,
Braintree, Watertown and Boston. 12. Sub
mit, born May 28, 1736.
(IV) Thomas Fessenden, son of Thomas
Fessenden (3), was born in Cambridge, Mass
achusetts, December 9,' 1709. Married, June
T9> I735- Hannah Prentice, daughter of Na
thaniel and Hannah (Wyeth) Prentice, of
Cambridge, Massachusetts. They were ad
mitted to the Lexington church, October 16,
1737, and there their first child was baptized.
Children, born at Lexington: 1. Hannah,
born August 9, 1736, married, May 20, 1755,
Nathaniel Farmer. 2. Abigail, born Septem
ber 7, 1738, died July 17, 1741. 3- Thomas,
born July 10, 1741, married Elizabeth Ap-
thorp and Lucy Lee. 4. Aaron, born Decem
ber 30, 1744, married Sarah Locke, resided
at Townsend. 5. Nathaniel, born- June 7,
1746, mentioned below. 6. Nathan, born
April 10, 1749, married, October 17, 1771-
7. Sarah, born August 9, 1753, married,
March 4, 1773, Isaac Winship. 8. Isaac (?),
baptized October 23, 1757.
(V) Nathaniel Fessenden, son of Thomas
Fessenden (4), was born in Lexington, June
7, 1746. Married (first), about 1768-69,
Lydia Bemis, daughter of Philip Bemis; she
was accidentally killed by a gunshot, while

holding in her arms their only child, Ichabod,
then an infant, who was unhurt. A lad of
thirteen was the cause of her death. He
snapped a musket at a young girl, not suppos
ing the gun to be loaded, and the ball missed
the girl, but struck Mrs. Fessenden in the eye,
causing instant death. Nathaniel married
(second), June 20, 1771, Elizabeth Webb,
and both owned the covenant December 6,
1772, in the West Cambridge church. Eliz
abeth and her sister, Sarah Webb, of Medford,
were both baptized at West Cambridge, Octo
ber 4, 1772. The Webbs were from Danvers
originally. He died at Medford, January 3,
1790, aged forty-four. Child of first wife :
1. Ichabod, born 1769, baptized December 6,
1772. Children of second wife : 2. Elizabeth,
born November 13, 1772. 3. Nathaniel, born
August, baptized August 21, 1774. 4. Charles
P., mentioned below. 5. Infant, born in Med
ford, 1 78 1, died there, November, 1782, aged
seven months. 5. Ruth, born at Medford,
February, 1785.
(VI) Charles P. Fessenden, son of Na
thaniel Fessenden (5), was born in Charles
town, Massachusetts. He was a cabinet and
picture-frame maker by trade and lived in
Charlestown, on Trainingfield street. He mar
ried there February 3, 1814, Elizabeth Penney,
born November 20, 1786, died of smallpox,
June 18, 1842, daughter of Jonathan and Abi
gail Penney, of Charlestown, and granddaugh
ter of John and Mary (Kettell) Penney. John
was the son of John and Sarah (Smith) Pen
ney, and was born July 8, 1712. The father,
John Penney, born March 24, 1682-83, was
the son of John and Elizabeth (Rand), Pen
ney, all of Charlestown. Children of Charles
P. and Elizabeth Fessenden: 1. Charles,
born April 14, 1815, mentioned below. 2.
Elizabeth Abigail, December 9, 1816. 3.
George F., May 7, 1819. 4. Theodore A.,
November 22, 1821. 5. Elizabeth A., October
16, 1824. 6. Isaac L., January 14, 1826. 7.
Maria, April 6, 1827. 8-9. Nathaniel and Ma
ria H., twins, January 28, 1829. 10. Geor-
¦ gianna- Frances, April 24, 1830.
(VII) Charles Fessenden, son of Charles
P. Fessenden (6), was born in Charlestown,
April 14, 1815. He was also a cabinet maker
in that city. He married, June 9, 1838, Eliza
Boyden, born April 18, , 1811, died February
19, 1886, daughter of Daniel Boyden, of Wal
pole, Massachusetts. Daniel Boyden was born
October 13, 1771, married, in Medfield, Mass
achusetts, November 30, 1797, Susan Cleve
land, of Medfield, and died in Boston, June

914

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

16, 1863. Ezekiel Boyden, father of Daniel
Boyden, of Walpole, was born November 30,
1741, died 1808; married Leah Richardson, of
Walpole. John Boyden, of Walpole, father of
Ezekiel, was born January 22, 1717, married,
1738, Thankful Morse, of Medway, and died
in 1809. John Boyden, of Groton, Massachu
setts, father of John Boyden, last mentioned,
was born December 6, 1672, married Han
nah  . Thomas Boyden, father of John
Boyden, last named, lived in Watertown,
Massachusetts ; was born in 1639, and died
in Groton in 1719; married Martha Holden, of
Woburn. Thomas Boyden, father of Thomas
Boyden, last named, Was the immigrant an
cestor, embarked at Ipswich, England, April,
1634, at the age of twenty-one years, and as
early as 1639 was settled in Watertown with
his wife, Francis. Children of Charles and
Eliza (Boyden) Fessenden: 1. Eliza Maria,
born December 28, 1839, in Charlestown. 2.
Charles Albert, March 4, 1842, mentioned be
low. 3. Daniel Boyden, December 29, 1843,
in Charlestown. 4. Antoinette, June 13, 1846,
in Milton, Massachusetts. 5. Mary Frances,
January 24, 1849, m Charlestown. 6. William
Henry, May 29, 1853, in Charlestown. 7.
Louisa, May 6, 1857, in Everett, Massachu
setts. (VIII) Charles Albert Fessenden, son of
Charles Fessenden (7), was born in Charles
town, March 4, 1842. He was educated in
the public schools of Charlestown, and first
engaged in the meat and provision business in
his native town. In 1868 he opened the first
, meat market in Maiden, Massachusetts, the
town adjoining. Later he became a con
tractor and builder and enjoyed a large and
prosperous business. He built many houses
to sell, having put up- one hundred and four
residences of various sizes and descriptions in
the residential section surrounding Ferry-way
Green, Maiden. He was a sagacious man of
business, thoroughly upright and honorable in
all the walks of life, respected alike by friends
and employees. He had the esteem of all his
townsmen. His residence in Maiden was at
216 Ferry street. Mr. Fessenden died August
30, 1905. He was a member of the Free
Masons, and of the Universalist church of
Maiden. In politics he was a Republican, but
never sought public office.
He married, November 20, 1867, in Everett,
Lydia Louisa Hall, born August 21, 1842, in
East Boston, daughter of Ephraim Abbott
Hall, of Concord, New Hampshire, and
granddaughter of Ebenezer Hall. Her mother

was Lydia Louise (Glover) Hall, daughter of
Elisha Vose Glover, of Boston^ a constable,
living on Bridge street, Boston. The only
child of Charles Albert and Lydia Louise
(Hall) Fessenden is Mary Louise, born in
Maiden, April 25, 1869, educated in grammar
and high schools of Maiden, resides with her
mother at 216 Ferry street, Maiden.

John Fuller, the immigrant an-
FULLER cestor, was born in England, of
an ancient and numerous fam
ily, about 161 1. He came to New England on
the ship "Abigail" under John Winthrop, Jr.
He gave his age as fifteen in 1635, but he must
have been several years older. The passenger
lists as a rule understated ages. In 1656 he
gave his age as about forty, but the best
authority fixes his birth year as 161 1, from the
fact that he was eighty-seven when he died
February, 1697-98. He was a malster by
trade as well as a farmer. He was one of the
first settlers in Cambridge Village (Newton),
about 1644. He bought of Joseph Cooke,
December, 1658, seven hundred and fifty acres
of land for a hundred and sixty pounds. This
farm he increased by further purchase until he
owned a thousand acres, bounded on the north
and west by Charles river and lying between
the farms of Thomas Park and Samuel Shep-
ard. The house was on the south side of the
road and on the west side of Cheesecake
brook which intersected the farm. For many
generations, this was known as the Fuller
Farm. Fuller and his friend, Edward Jack
son, were the largest property owners in the
town and both divided their lands during their
life-time in such a manner that their descend
ants remained for many generations the lead
ing families. They had the most numerous
descendants of the early settlers. Twenty-
two of the Fuller family, his lineal descend
ants, were soldiers in the Revolution. Fuller
deeded his large estate to his five surviving
sons with the provision that if any wished to
sell the other sons or their heirs should tiave
the first offer of the property. His will was
dated January 30, 1695-96, and was proved
February 28, 1697-98, bequeathing to wife
Elizabeth; children, John, Jonathan, Joshua.
Jeremiah, Bethia Bond ; Jonathan Hide, son of
daughter Elizabeth Hide, deceased; also to
grandchildren, Mary Brown, Elizabeth and
Hannah Hide. It should be said that this
family has no known connection with the
"Mayftewer"" immigrant. Children: 1. John,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

915

born in 1645, married, in 1682, Abigail Boyl
ston ; died February 7, 1698-99. . 2. Jonathan,
born 1648, married Mindwell Trowbridge. 3.
Elizabeth, married, 1663, Job Hyde or Hide.
4. Joseph, born February 10, 1652, married,
February 13, 1680-81", Lydia Jackson, daugh
ter of Edward. 5. Joshua, born April 2, 1654,
married Elizabeth Ward, daughter of John
Ward, Sr. 6. Jeremiah, born February 4,
1658, mentioned below. 7. Bethia, born No
vember 23, 1661, married, February 27, 1685,
Lieutenant Nathaniel Bond. 8. Isaac, born
December 2, 1665, died October 6, 1691.
(II) Lieutenant Jeremiah Fuller, son of
John Fuller (1), was born in Newton, Mass
achusetts, (Cambridge Village), February 4,
1658, died there December 23, 1743, aged
eighty-five. He was selectman of the town for
sixteen years and prominent in town affairs.
He was lieutenant in the Indian wars. He
gave his son Thomas a farm of ninety-two
acres, his son Joshua the homestead one hun
dred and twenty-five acres, and Josiah a farm
of sixty-six acres. His first wife Mary died
in 1689; his second wife Elizabeth in 1700;
his third Thankful in 1729 and his fourth in
1742. Children: 1. Elizabeth, born April
14, 1694, died 1694. 2. Jeremiah, born July
3, 1697, died 1703. 3. Thomas, born Septem
ber 12, 1701. 4. Joshua, born April 12, 1703,
mentioned below. 5. Thankful, born Decem
ber 23, 1704, married, 1720, Noah Wiswell.
6. Jeremiah, born November 1, 1707, died
1711. 7. Elizabeth, born August 24, 1709,
died 171 1. 8. Josiah, born Decembers, 1710.
(Ill) Captain Josiah Fuller, son of Lieu
tenant Jeremiah Fuller (2), was born April
12, 1703, at Newton, died August 23, 1777,
aged seventy-five. His first wife died Novem
ber 28, 1739. He signed an agreement with
other owners of the original Fuller farm in
1730 to lay out a road two rods wide to the
town wlay at Solomon's Park's line. Those
who signed were : Joseph, Joshua, Jeremiah,
John, Jonathan, Jonathan, Jr., Isaac, Isaac,
Jr., Thomas and Caleb Fuller, all concerned in
a division .then made of seven hundred and
eighty-eight acres. This street was accepted
as a public highway in 1751. Captain Joshua
Fuller was prominent in the town and mili
tary, fighting in the French and Indian war.
His first wife died November 28, 1739. He
married (second), May, 1746, Anna Stearns,
of Waltham. She died in 1778, aged sixty-
one. Children: 1. Joshua, born March 2,
1747, mentioned below. 2. Ann, born June
18, 1749, married, 1774, Ephraim Whitney.

3. David, born April 18, 1751. 4. Moses,
born April 1, 1753. 5. Eunice, born February
IS> I756- 6. Rachel, born April 29, 1760, died
1761. (IV) Lieutenant Joshua Fuller, son of
Captain Joshua Fuller (3), was born in New
ton, March 2, 1747, died November 18, 1817,
aged seventy. He was a soldier in the Revolu
tion, a sergeant in Captain Amariah Fuller's
company and marched to Cambridge on the
Lexington call, April 19, 1775. He was lieu
tenant in Colonel Ephraim Wheelock's regi
ment commanding a company in the fall of
1776. He married Catherine Jackson, sister
of Colonel Michael Jackson, of Newton. She
died in 1777, aged thirty, and he married (sec
ond) Mary (Brewer) White, widow. Chil
dren, born at Newton: 1. Henry, born June
21, 1773, died 1777. 2. Joshua, born Septem
ber 16, 1774, mentioned below. 3. Jacob,
born March 30, 1776. 4. Moses, died young.
Children of the second wife: 5. Catherine,
married Charles Jackson. 6. Rebecca. 7.
James. 8. Elizabeth, died October, 1835, re
sided at South Boston. 9. Uriel.
(V) Joshua Fuller, son of Lieutenant
Joshua Fuller (4), was born in Newton, Sep
tember 16, 1774, died there July 12, 1805,
aged thirty-one. He was educated in the pub
lic schools and followed farming. He married
March 20, 1800, Hannah Greenwood, of an
old Newton family. She married (second),
Daniel Sanger, of Watertown, and she died
September, 1808, aged twenty-nine years.
The Fuller family of Newton donated the land
for the cemetery. Children: 1. Henry, born
1801. 2. Stephen, born 1803, mentioned be
low. 3. Catherine, born 1805, married Charles
Capen and lived in Framingham.
(VI) Stephen Fuller, son of Joshua Ful
ler (5), was born in Newton, in 1803. His
father died in 1805, leaving his mother with
three young children. She married again but
died within three years leaving her children
orphans. He married Dorcas Howe, who was
born in England. Children: Henry, Joshua,
Joseph, Harriet, Stephen Winchester, men
tioned below; Hannah.
(VII) Stephen Winchester Fuller, son of
Stephen Fuller (6), was born in Charlestown,
Massachusetts, January 1, 1836, died April
28, 1905. He was educated in the public
schools, and early in life engaged in the lum
ber business which he followed all his life with
marked success. He made his home in Somer
ville, where he located after marriage, in i860,
where he died ; he was well known and highly

916

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

respected by his townsmen there. In politics
he was a Republican, and in 1873-74 he served
with credit in the city government. He mar
ried, February 14, i860, Lavina Phebe Turn
er, born at Lyme, New Hampshire, August 15,
1838, daughter of David and Phebe Kelly
Turner. (See Turner sketch). Her sister,
Matilda Jeannette Hibbard, is mother of Post
master G. A. Hibbard, of Boston, a promin
ent Republican leader. Their only child:
Beulah E. Fuller, born November 18, 1864,
died January 1, 1865. They adopted a daugh
ter, Grace M. Fuller, who married Charles
Pritchard; children: 1. Marion Pritchard,
born May 30, 1887, married Perley Rich; 2.
Beulah T., born August 18, 1890.

Humphrey Turner, the immi-
TURNER grant, was born in England
about 1593, and is said to have
been of Essex. He came to Plymouth in New
England about 1628 and bad a house lot
assigned him in 1629; built his house and lived
in Plymouth until 1633, when he removed to
Scituate and had a house lot granted him on
Kent street. He settled, however, on a farm
east of Colman's Hills. He was a tanner by
trade and we are told was possessed of that
"judgment, discretion, energy and persever
ance of character, which eminently fitted him
to be one of the pioneers in beginning and
carrying forward a new settlement." Deane
says in his history of Scituate : "He was a
useful and enterprising man in the new set
tlement and often employed in public busi
ness." He was a member of the first church ;
represented the town several years as deputy
to the general court ; was commissioner to end
small causes ; constable, etc. Following a not
frequent but puzzling custom of his forbears,
he had two sons of the same name, John
Turner, whom he distinguished in his will as
"John" and "Young son John," so named,
tradition says, at the instance of godfathers.
Both brought up families and died at a good
old age at Scituate. At last accounts a lineal
descendant of the pioneer owned and occupied
the Turner homestead in Scituate. His will
was dated February 28, 1669, and proved
June 5, 1673. Besides his children, he men
tions grandchildren. He married in England
Lydia Gamer, who was born in England, died
in Scituate in or before 1673. Children: 1.
John, born in England, married, November 12,
1645, at Scituate. 2. John, married, April 23,
1649, mentioned below. 3. Thomas, born in

Plymouth, married, January 6, 1652, Sarah
Hiland ; died November, 1688, at Scituate. 4.
Joseph, baptized January 1, 1636, never mar
ried. 5. Daniel, married, January 20, 1665,
Hannah Randall. 6. Nathaniel, baptized |
March 10, 1638, married, March 29, 1665,
Mehitable Rigby. 7. Mary, baptized January
25, 1634-35, married at Scituate, November
13, 1651, William Parker. 8. Lydia, married,
August 15, 1649, James Doughty.
(II) John Turner, the younger, son of
Humphrey Turner (1), was born about 1628
and died in 1687 at Scituate, Massachusetts.
He married, April 25, 1649, at Scituate, Ann
James. He lived northeast of Hicks's Swamp,
near the farm lately owned by Leonard Clap.
Children: 1. Japheth, born February 9, 1650,
married Hannah Hudson. 2. Ann, born Feb
ruary 23, 1652, married, in 1695, Joseph Green.
3. Israel, born February 14, 1654, married
Sarah Stockbridge. 4. Sarah, born July 25,
1665, married Ichabod Hoobrook. 5. Miriam,
born April 8, 1658, married, 1687, Nathan
Pickles. 6. Jacob, born March 10, 1667, mar
ried Jane Vining. 7. David, born November
5, 1670, married Elizabeth Stockbridge. 8.
Philip, born August 18, 1673, mentioned below.
9. Ichabod, born April 9, 1676.
(Ill) Philip Turner, son of John Turner,the
younger (2), was born at Scituate, August 18,
1673. Married Elizabeth Nash, daughter of
Joseph Nash, Jr. He had first the farm east
of Hoop Pole Hill. He was a yeoman. Chil
dren : Ann, Elizabeth, Grace, Israel, men
tioned below; Nathaniel settled at the Four <
Corners near Studley Hill; Philip, Jr.
(IV) Israel Turner, son of Philip Turner
(3), was born in Scituate and succeeded his
father on the homestead on Hoop Pole Hill.
He married Deborah Lincoln. Children, born
at Scituate: 1. Benjamin, married Mary
Howard. 2. Philip, born February 9, 1741,
died January 22, 1793; married (first) Judith
Hatch and (second) Sarah Vinal. 3. Israel, .
born June 17, 1745, married, in 1783, Mercy
Oakman. 4. Joshua, born August 31, 1747,
died March 18, 1831, at Oxford, .Massachu
setts. 5. Jacob, born November 26, 1749,
married, in 1779, Rachel Cushing. 6. David,
born August 16, 1753, mentioned below. 7.
Deborah, born October 26, 1756, married,
February 1, 1783, Briant Stephenson, born
June 15, 1759.
(V) David Turner, son of Israel Turner
(4), was born at Scituate, August 16, 1753.
Married there, December, 1781, Rhoda Porter,
who was born July 24, 1764, at Coventry, Con-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

917

necticut, and died April 15, 1850, aged eighty-
six years. He died at Lyme, New Hampshire,
September 6, 1826. He Was a soldier in the
Revolution, a drummer part of the time. He
was a farmer, at Lyme, whither he moved
during the Revolution. Children: 1. Debor
ah, born October 13, 1783, at Lyme, married,
April, 1801, Freeman Josselyn; she died Octo
ber 9, 1822. 2. Nancy, born December 24,
1787, married, October, 1808, Asa Carpenter;
she died May 25, 1843. 3. Rhoda, born June
29, 1789, married, October 1, 1812, Joseph
Smith; lived in Boston. 4. David, Jr., born
April 19, 1 79 1, mentioned below. 5. Philip,
born April 5, 1793, married, November 20,
1817, Sarah Steele. 6. Thomas Porter, born
December 26, 1796, married, December, 1819,
Lydia Gilbert; lived at Oberlin, Ohio. 7.
Joshua, born September 23, 1798, married,
May 1, 1822, Phebe Porter; lived in Boston.
8. Benjamin, born August 9, 1804, married,
January 27, 1831, Charlotte Hamilton; lived
at North Danvers, Massachusetts. 9. Luther,
born August 12, 1807, married Sylphina Gil-
lett and lived at West Newton, Massachusetts.
(VI) David Turner, son of David Turner
(5), was born at Lyme, New Hampshire,
April 19, 1791. Married, December 9, 1813,
Lydia Jenks, who was born at Lyme, Novem
ber 1, 1794, and died December 5, 1821, aged
twenty-seven years. He married (second),
January 22, 1823, Phebe Kelly Andrews, born
June 21, 1800, at Pembroke, New Hampshire,
daughter of Lilbrun Andrews. Her father
was born at Boxford, Massachusetts, in 1758,
and died at Lyme, New Hampshire, November
12, 1838. Her mother was Sarah Hews, born
February 25, 1758, at Danvers; married at
Lyme, February, 1787. The first wife of
Lilbrun Andrews was Huldah Towns, of And
over. Children of Lilbrun Andrews, by first
wife: 1. Nathaniel Andrews. 2. Sarah, born
at Andover, died March, 1842. 3. John Wy-
man, born February 2, 1800, at Pembroke,
married, December 27, 1831, Rhoda Carpenter.
4. James, born in Pembroke. 5. Phebe Kelly,
born June 21, 1802, married, January 22, 1823,
mentioned above. 6. Matilda, born at Pem
broke, lived at Lyme. Lilbrun Andrews was a
soldier in the Revolution.
Children of David and Lydia (Jenks) Turn
er: 1. Lavina, born October 22, 1814, died
June 22, 1834. 2. David, born December 9,
181 5, resided at Richmond, Virginia, where he
was a teacher for twenty-five years. 3. Lou
isa, born September 28, 1816, married, June
24, 1837, Sidney S. Grant. 4- Maria Augusta,

born June 19, 1818, married, September 6,
1842, Moses Wood; she died May 10, 1852,
aged thirty-four. 5. George, born June 22,
1820, resided at Lyme. Children of David
and Phebe Kelly Turner: 6. Rhoda Ann,
born October 25, 1823, married, July 29, 1851,
Varnum J. Blood, and lived at Galena, Illi
nois. 7. Matilda Jeannette, born September
T3> !833, resided in Boston. 8. Lavina Phebe,
born August 15, 1838, mentioned below. 9.
Julia Adelaide, born December 22, 1842,. lived
at Lyme.
(Vll) Phebe Lavina Turner (or Lavina
Phebe), daughter of David Turner (6), was
born at Lyme, August 15, 1838, married Ste
phen Winchester Fuller. (See Fuller sketch).

Richard Nichols, the immi-
NICHOLS grant ancestor, was born in
England and settled first at
Ipswich, Massachusetts. He was one of Ma
jor Denison's subscribers in 1648. His name
appears in the general court records as early
as 1640. He was admitted a freeman in 1638.
He bought of Edward Bragg an acre and a
half of land March 21, 1658, on the south side
of the river, on the highway leading to Che-
bacco on the south and Abraham Fitts's land
on the east. His farm, in the south part of
Reading whither he moved was afterward
known as the Lambert Place. His wife Annis
was admitted to the church at Reading from
the Ipswich church in 1666. He died at Read
ing, November 22, 1674, and his wife Annis
(Agnes) in 1692. His will was dated Novem
ber 19, and proved December 11, 1674. He
bequeathed to wife Annis, Agnes or Ann;
sons John, Thomas and James, and daughters
Mary and Hannah. Children: 1. John, his
father's executor, born about 165 1; married
Abigail Kendall, daughter of Thomas ; both
died in 1721. 2, Thomas, born about 1655,
mentioned below. 3. James, married, 1682,
Mary Poole; he was born at Ipswich, July
25, 1658. 4. Mary. 5. Joanna or Hannah,
born at Ipswich, November 26, 1660. 6. Rich
ard, married, 1706, Abigail Damon, daughter
of Samuel and Mary Damon.
(II) Captain Thomas Nichols, son of Rich
ard Nichols (1), was born in Ipswich about
1655 and died at Reading in 1737. He was dea
con of the Reading church ; selectman and,dep-
uty to the general court. He was selectman
from 169 1 to 1722, a period of thirty years. He
was admitted a freeman in 1684. He was a
soldier in King Philip's war, He married, in

yi8

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1680, Rebecca Eaton, daughter of John and
Elizabeth Eaton. Children, born at Reading:
1. Thomas, born in 1682, mentioned below.
2. Rebecca, born in 1684, married, in 1700,
Nicholas Brown and (second) Deacon Jonaj
than Barrett. 3. Ebenezer, born in 1686. 4.
Judith, born in 1688. 5. Abigail, born in
1693, married, 171 1, Jacob Hersey or Hussey.
6. Elizabeth, born in 1699. 7- Timothy, born
in 1702, settled in Amherst, New Hampshire.
8. Daniel, born in 1707.
(Ill) Deacon Thomas Nichols, son of Cap
tain Thomas Nichols (2), was born in Read
ing in 1682 and died there in 1745. He mar
ried Mary Herbert, daughter of Captain John
Herbert, and succeeded to the farm of his
father-in-law. His wife was granddaughter
of Rev. Samuel Haugh. He was deacon of
the Reading church. Children: 1. Herbert,
born at Reading in 1705. 2. John, born in
1708, died young. 3. John, born 1712, mar
ried, 1734, Ruth Eaton, daughter of Captain
Thomas Eaton. 4. Samuel, born about 1714.
5. Jacob, born about 171 5, mentioned below.
(IV)' Jacob Nichols, son of Deacon Thom
as Nichols (3), was born about 1715 in Read
ing, and died at New Braintree, Massachu
setts, November 20, 1791. He settled in
Lambstown or Hardwick first about 1735-36.
He bought land there March 28, 1735-
36, of Eleazer Warner. He bought a tract in
Brookfield of David Gilbert, February 11,
1742. This was probably near New Brain
tree line. He bought more land in Hardwick,
March 20, 1745, of James Blair. He bought
his place in New Braintree and removed there
about 1750. He distributed his land between
his two sons shortly before his death. The
last tract of thirty acres, the remainder of the
homestead "not before conveyed to said Tim
othy and David Nichols" he gave to his son
Timothy. It was bounded by the farms of
Solomon Mathews, Eliphalet Ayers, Joseph
Tidd and Samuel Joslyn, and the deed was
dated June 11, 1789. Children: 1. Joseph,
baptized at Hardwick, March 23, 1739-40. 2.
Benjamin, baptized at Hardwick, December
20, 1741. 3. Jesse, baptized at Hardwick,
November 27, 1743. 4. Elijah, baptized at
Hardwick, March 5, 1748-49. 5. Jacob, Jr.,
died January 20, 1783, at New Braintree;
soldier in the Revolution. 6. Timothy, born
about 1750, mentioned below. 7. David, born
1758, died November 25, 1846, at New Brain
tree, where he settled on the farm; married
Achsah  , who died September, 1827.
(V) Timothy Nichols, son of Jacob Nich

ols (4), was born probably in New Braintree,
Massachusetts, about 1750, and died there be
fore his father, November 25, 1789. He set
tled on land given him by his father in New
Braintree. He married, at Hardwick, Janu
ary 13, 1774, Joanna Dean. She married (sec
ond) at New Braintree, November 4, 1790,
Nathan Thomson, and died in 1793, leaving
a large family of her Nichols children, under
age. Children of Timothy and Joanna Nich
ols: 1. Betsey, born 1777. 2. Joseph, 1779..
3. Joanna, 1781. 4. Jonathan. 5. Moses. 6.
Phebe. 7. Sally. 8. Cata, 1787. 9. Jacob,
February 25, 1789. The Worcester probate
records of guardians appointed give the names
and ages of the children. The eldest child
died young, December 29, 1774; the others
were living when the parents died.
(VI) Jacob Nichols, son of Timothy Nich
ols (5), was born at New Braintree, Massa
chusetts, February 25, 1789. He was brought
up there or in the vicinity by relatives, being
the youngest of a large orphaned family. He
married, at New Braintree, May 29, 1814,
Hannah Davis, a descendant of the famous
progenitor, Dolor Davis, from whom the Wor
cester county Davis families are descended,
ancestor of the Governors Davis and many,
other celebrated men. He married (second),
Sibyl Wright, born January 2, 1793, died Sep
tember 21, 1838. She was of Nashua. They
settled at Amherst, New Hampshire, where
many of his relatives were living, and he died
at Nashua, September 11, 1878, at an ad
vanced age. He was a farmer. After remov
ing to Nashua, New Hampshire, he was elect
ed selectman of that town. Children: 1. Jac
ob, Jr., born at Amherst, August 18, 1814. 2.
James, August 20, 1816, died September 3,
1896. 3. Mary, October 6, 1817, died Janu
ary 29, 1888. 4. Joseph, February 26, 1820,
died October 24, 1894. 5. William C, June
18, 1822, died February 21, 1901. 6. Sarah
A., March 21, 1825, died July 26, 1906. 7.
Margaret, August 6, 1827, died June 3, 1847.
8. Eliza J., November 21, 1829, died February
16, 1896. 9. Frances, November 25, 1831,
lives in East Douglas. 10. Susan H., April
21, 1834, lives at.Lowell.
(VII) Jacob Nichols, son of Jacob Nichols
(6), was born at Amherst, New Hampshire,
August 18, 1814. When he was very young
the family removed from Amherst to Nashua,
New Hampshire. His parents were in humble
circumstances, and being the eldest he had
to begin work early to contribute to the sup
port of the family. He attended the district

**-~«f?

— V

»

6

i^oc^u^ r_ /Ktc/vcyi.d

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

919

schools in his early youth, but as soon as he
could enter the cotton mills at Lowell he had
no more educational, opportunities except
those he made for himself by study at home
in the evening. At the age of eighteen he
bought his time of his father and left home.
He found employment in the carpet mills of
Lowell, Massachusetts, at the rate of fifty
cents per day. But his steady habits, his
attention to his duties and knowledge of his
work and his evident desire to better him
self finally won promotion and he was advanced
step by step until he became "second hand"
in one of the departments. He left this com
pany to take a position as supercargo on a
sailing vessel, in 1840, conveying print goods
and a miscellaneous cargo to Mexico shortly
before the Mexican war. Upon reaching land
the goods had to be transported by mules to
the point of destination. He was afterwards
employed to superintend the shipping of looms
and machinery to Mexico and putting a cotton
mill into operation there. The work took some
four years and this mill was the first cotton
mill worth mentioning in the country. He
returned to Lowell in 1844 and engaged for
a short time with Mr. Bmby in the leather
business. He afterwards purchased a stove
and furniture store on Dutton street, and be
came one of the most prominent and success
ful merchants in the town. He had this store
for more than fifty years. He sold out at
the end of that period and bought the business
and building of Cutter & Walker, manufac
turers of suspenders, and continued that bus
iness until his death. Mr. Nichols was. also
actively engaged for a number of years in the
real estate business. He died at his home in
Lowell, February 16, 1890.
He was a self-made man, of irreproachable
character, sound business judgment, self-reli
ant and positive in his convictions. He was
highly esteemed and respected by many
friends in all the walks of life. He was much
interested in the growth and development of
the city of Lowell; he had invested freely in
lands and buildings and made every effort in
his power to advance the interests of the city.
He was a member of the Lowell Board of
Trade, a director of the Old Lowell Bank
and of the Lowell & Andover Railroad. He
was a prominent member of the Old Resi
dents' Association. In politics he was a Re
publican and was active in party and muni
cipal affairs, though declining himself to ac
cept public office. He attended the Universal
ist church.

Mr. Nichols married, September 17, 1837,
Almira A. Bixby, of Litchfield, New Hamp
shire, born March 4, 1819. Children: 1.
George H., born June 25, 1839, died October
13, 1857; married Mary A. Sharpies, born
July 6, 1837, one child, Fred. A., born June
20, 1857, married Cora J. Nickerson, born
September 13, 1859; children: i Almira I.,
born November 14, 1877; ii. George E„ born
January 28, 1881 ; iii. Julia S., born April 4,
1885; iv. Maud A., born December 14, 1890;
v. Gladys, born February 24, 1897; vi. Eu
gene, born May 24, 1900. 2. Joseph P., born
April 15', 1845, died April 20, 1845. 3. Ida
M., born in Lowell, October 2, 1847, married
(first) Alfred P. Lyman, born March 31,
1841, died January 31, 1886; married (sec
ond) Orrin W. Cunningham, born June 17,
1841, of Belfast, Maine, November 23, 1889.
Children by first husband : i. John Alfred,
born November 5, 1867, married Ada Woods,
no issue ; ii. George Roland, born March 29,
1869, died December 13, 1869; iii. Walter Ja
cob, born September 11, 1871, married Vivian
Cadwell ; no issue ; iv. Richmond Everett, born
May 6, 1874, married Lizzie Moran, one child,
Ida Lyman, born October 27, 1897; v. Edwin
Nichols, born February 6, 1876, died July 22,
1876; vi. Harry Howland, born June 23, 1878,
married Lillian Gribble, one child, Margaret
F., born November 22, 1901 ; vii. Almira
Nichols, born December 16, 1879, married
Charles P. Hatch, two children: Alden Nich
ols, born April 22, 1904; James Boyd, born
June, 1905. 4. Julia U, born May 15, 1849,
died January 7, 1884; married Jacob Saun
ders, born June 12, 1841 ; two children: i.
Maud A., born April, 1872, died December
25> J875; H. Edwin, born May, 1879, died
same month. 5. Ira E., born March 4, 1851,
died October 1, 1875; married, September 12,
1872, Jennie Chandler, who died November 6,
1872. Mrs. Nichols, the mother and grand
mother of these children, survives her hus
band and resides in Lowell.

(For first generation see Richard Nichols, i).
(II) John Nichols, son of
NICHOLS Richard Nichols (1), was
born in Ipswich, Massachu
setts, about 165 1. Married Abigail Kendall,
daughter of Deacon Thomas Kendall. They
both died in 1721, he aged seventy, she aged
sixty-six years. His farm was in the West
Parish of Reading. ' Children, born in Read
ing: 1, John, born in 1677, mentioned below.

920

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

2. Richard, born in 1679, died young. 3. Rich
ard, born in 1682, married, 1706, Abigail Da
mon. 4. Thomas Kendall, born in 1686. 5.
James, born 1688. 6. Nathaniel, born 1691.
7. Abigail, born 1694, married, 17 13, William
Flint. 8. Samuel, born 1696. 9. Benjamin,
born 1699. 10. Joseph, born 1702.
(Ill) John Nichols, son of John Nichols
(2), was born in Reading in 1677, and died
there in 1721. He married Joanna Nichols.
He succeeded to the homestead of his father.
Child, John, born 1736, mentioned below.
(IV) John Nichols, son of John Nichols
(3), was born in Reading, Massachusetts, in
1736. He succeeded to the homestead of his
father and grandfather. He was likewise a
farmer. The farm was on Pearl street, near
Main, later occupied by Luther Nichols and
his son, William Gates Nichols. He married,
in 1760, Bethiah Burnap, daughter of Captain
Joseph and Abigail (Bickford) Burnap. He
was a soldier in the Revolution in Captain
Thomas Eaton's company, Colonel Green's
regiment, on the Lexington Alarm, April 19,
1775, and remained in the training band.
Children: 1. John, born 1761, mentioned be
low. 2. Mary, born 1763, died unmarried.
3. Kendall, born 1766, married Hannah Sym
onds and went to Sharon to live. 4. James,
born 1768. 5. Hosea. 6. Samuel, born 1772,
went to Stoddard, New Hampshire.
(V) John Nichols, son of John Nichols
(4), was born in Reading, Massachusetts, in
1 76 1 . He succeeded to the Nichols homestead.
He married, in 1785, Jerusha Parker, daugh
ter of Daniel and Sarah (Parker) Parker.
He died in 1823. Children: 1. Jerusha, born
in 1786, married Michael Cross. 2. John,
born in 1788, married, in 1814, Anna Damon.
3. Bethiah, born 1791, married, in 1813, Ed
mund Nichols. 4. Clarissa, born 1793, mar
ried, in 1816, Richard Nichols. 5. Luther,
born 1800, mentioned below. 6. Nancy, born
1805, married, in 1824, Jonathan Frost.
(VI) Luther Nichols, son of John Nichols
(5), was born in Reading, Massachusetts, in
1800, and succeeded to the Nichols homestead.
He married, in 1823, Rebecca Saunders, of
Tewksbury. Children: 1. William G, who
succeeded to the old homestead. 2. Parker
C. 3. John Brooks, born November 11, 1832,
mentioned below.
(VII) John Brooks Nichols, son of Luther
Nichols (6), was born in Reading, Massachu
setts, November 11, 1832. He was educated
in the public schools, and learned the trade of
shoemaker. For many years he was a shoe

manufacturer, but of late has conducted a
dairy farm on Main street, Reading. He is
independent in politics. He and his family
attend the Congregational church of Reading.
He is one of the best known citizens of the
town, having lived there all his life, and he
is one of the few representatives of families
that have remained in Reading from its first
settlement. Nine generations of this Nichols
family have lived in Reading. Among Mr.
Nichols' ances'tors are most of the other pion
eers of the town. He married, November 29,
1853, Caroline E Young, daughter of Joseph
and Susan (Eames) Young, • of Reading.
Children, born in Reading: 1. Herbert E.,
born November 16, 1854, married Clara
Swain, of Wilmington, Massachusetts ; now
living in Reading. 2. Willard B., born June
23, 1859, married Lottie Sewell, of Boston;
now living in Reading. 3. Susan R., born
August 12, 1863, married Arthur Tuttle, of
Reading, is a widow, resides in Reading.

(For first generation see Richard Nichols, i).
James Nichols (2), son of
NICHOLS Richard Nichols ( 1 ) , was born
July 25, 1658, at Ipswich;
married, 1682, Mary Poole, probably daughter
of Jonathan and Judith Poole. She died 171 1
and he 1745, aged eighty-seven years. He
was admitted a freeman in 1691, and was a
respectable citizen of Reading all his life. He
was a farmer or yeoman. Children, born at
Reading: 1. James, born 1683. 2. Mary,
born 1685; married, 1707, Benjamin Wiley.
3. Jonathan, born 1691. 4. William, born
1696. 5. Sarah, born 1699; married, 1722,
Joseph Burnap. 6. Ebenezer, born 1703.
(Ill) Jonathan Nichols, son of James
Nichols (2), was born in Reading, Massachu
setts, in 1 69 1. He lived in South Reading, in
a house lately standing on the west side of
Pearl street, north of Foster street. He mar
ried, 1716, Phebe Eaton. Their children, born
at Reading: 1. Jonathan, born 1717. 2. Ben
jamin, born 1723; mentioned below.
(IV) Benjamin Nichols, son of Jonathan
Nichols (3), was born at Reading, 1723, and
succeeded to the Nichols homestead in South
Parish. He married Mary Trow. Their chil
dren, born in Reading: 1. Joseph, born in
1752, married Molly Dudley, removed to
Hillsboro, New Hampshire. 2. Benjamin,
born 1754; married, 1779, Rebecca Bancroft,
and settled, m Gardner, Massachusetts. 1.
Jonathan, born in 1758; married, 1778 Eliz-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

921

abeth Calnon ; removed to Wilmington, Mass
achusetts. 4. Jesse, born 1760; married first,
1784, Rebecca Walton; second, 1789, Betty
Howard. 5. Mary, born 1756; married, 1776,
William Beers. 6. Ebenezer, born 1762, men
tioned below.
(V) Ebenezer Nichols, son of Benjamin
Nichols (4), was born in Reading, March 14,
1762; married first, in 1789, Rebecca Howard,
of Andover, Massachusetts; second, in 1790,
Betsey Dix. He succeeded to the Nichols
homestead, South Reading, and sold it to
Nathaniel Batchelder, who took down the old
house about 1800. The cellar hole is now or
was lately to be seen, marking the location.
With others of the family he settled at Hills-
boro, New Hampshire. Ebenezer Nichols
was a private in the company of Captain Cad-
walader Ford, of the regiment of Colonel
Eleazer Brooks, in 1777-8, guarding the troops
of the convention at Fort No. 2, Cambridge.
He died September 10, 1840. Children of
Ebenezer and Betsey Nichols: 1. Eben, born
January 20, 1791. 2. Betsey, born October
2, 1792. 3. Jonathan, born September 3,
1794. 4. Rebecca, born March 25, 1796. 5.
Sally, born February 10, 1798. 6. Jonathan,
born March 4, 1800; mentioned below. 7.
Rachel, born January 31, 1802. 8. Nancy,
born December 12, 1804. 9. Daniel, born
July 8, 1805. 10. Mary Ellen, born Septem
ber 3, 1808.
(VI) Jonathan Nichols, son of Ebenezer
Nichols (5), was born in Reading, Massachu
setts, March 4, 1800. He had a common
school education in his native town, but was
largely educated by private reading and study
and practical experience in the world. He
learned the trade of shoemaker; began to
manufacture shoes on his own account and
grew up with the business, extending his facil
ities from time to time until -he did the largest
business of the numerous manufacturers in
Wakefield and vicinity. He prospered and
became wealthy and influential, an excellent
example of the self-made man of the early
part of the nineteenth century. He took no
active part in politics beyond voting the Whig
and later the Republican ticket at elections.
At one time he attended the Methodist Epis
copal church, but later his religious views be
came more liberal, holding opinions that a
generation later are accepted by many in the
church as well as most of those outside the
religious societies; tolerant of the faith of all
men, trustful in the future, upright in his re
lations with the world and honorable in every

walk of life. He devoted himself to business
chiefly and took little time for other interests
and recreation. He held to the serious pur
poses of life. He died at Wakefield, October
20, 1893. He married Elizabeth Emerson,
daughter of James Emerson, of an old Read
ing family, in 1826. Their children: 1. Eliz
abeth, born August 18, 1827; married David
Fairbanks; children: i. Almont Fairbanks;
ii. Warren Fairbanks ; iii. John Fairbanks. 2.
G. Hannibal, born at South Reading in 1830;
enlisted in 1861 for three years in the Union
Army, Company E, Sixteenth Regiment,
Massachusetts Volunteer Militia ; discharged
for inability; married Harriet French; chil
dren : i. Elizabeth ; ii. Abbie ; iii. Arthur G. ;
iv. Francis ; v. Laura ; vi. Grace ; vii. Eben.
3. Abbie, married J. Holman Pope. 4. Fran
ces, born in South Reading, March 15, 1836,
married, April 25, 1865, William O. Stoddard,
of Maiden ; children : i. Henry Warren, born
October 18, 1866, married Ada Edmonds,
children: Ada, Josephine and Hazel Stod
dard; ii. Frank Emerson, born June 6, 1869;
iii. Fred. Bertram, born November 2, 1871 ; iv.
Herbert A., born September 29, 1874, married
Harriet Moulton, one child, Ruth Stoddard;
v. William A., born October 6, 1876. 5. War
ren, born January 30, 1840, mentioned be
low. (VII) Warren Nichols, son of Jonathan
Nichols (6), was born at South Reading,
Massachusetts, January 30, 1840. He attend
ed the public schools of his native place, and
at an early age left home and went to work
in one of the numerous shoeshops of Wake
field, and learned the trade. He was twenty-
one years old when the civil war broke out,
and he enlisted early in 1861 in Company E
Sixteenth Regiment, with his brother Hanni
bal, for three years. He was wounded slight
ly in the battle of Gettysburg. Later he was
taken prisoner, and after a time paroled.
When exchanged he returned to his regiment,
and was severely wounded in the battle of
Cold Harbor. At the expiration of his en
listment he was honorably discharged. He re
turned to Reading and worked at his trade.
His health was shattered by the war service,
but he continued in the shoe business as long
as he was able to work. He divided his time
between his business and his home, having
few other interests. He was a Republican,
but not active in politics. He attended the
Universalist church. He was an honored and
loyal member of Wakefield Post, No. 12,
Grand Army of the Republic. He died at

922

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Wakefield, January 27, 1891. He married,
November 14, 1869, Mercy Ellen French, of
Waterford, Maine, daughter of Washington
and Mary (Henley) French. Her father was
a prosperous farmer, highly respected and
very prominent in the affairs of the town in
which he lived. Her grandfather Henley was
born in Reading, Massachusetts, and his fath
er, Benjamin, moved to Maine. Mrs. Nichols1
maternal grandfather, Phineas Whitney, was
a soldier in the Revolutionary war. They had
one child, Leroy Warren, born November 8,
1873, mentioned below.
(VIII) Leroy W. Nichols, son of Warren
Nichols (7), was born in Wakefield, Novem
ber 8, 1873. He was educated in the public
and high schools there and at a Boston busi
ness college. Just on the threshold of what
promised to be a brilliant career he died, Jan
uary 25, 1893, at the age of twenty years. He
•was of fine character and unusual ability/kind
and attractive in his manners, loved by all
who knew him, and cherished especially as her
only child by his widowed mother.

Daniel Hovey, the immigrant
HOVEY ancestor, was born in England,
in 16 1 8. He settled at Ipswich,
Massachusetts, and in 1637 received a home
lot of six acres there. He bought more land
from time to time, and received many other
grants in Ipswich. In 1660 he built a wharf
which is still in use to some extent. The Ho
vey house, which he built in 1659, stood until
July 17, 1894, when it was destroyed by fire,
He was a landholder in the towns of Tops-
field, Brookfield and Swampfield, and his sons
and grandsons settled in those towns, also in
Boxford and Sutton, Massachusetts. At pres
ent his descendants are to be found in all parts
of the country. He was the only settler of
the name in New England, and most of the
American Hovey families, if not all of them,
are to be traced to this progenitor.
Daniel Hovey was admitted a freeman
March 11, 1673. He removed to Brookfield
before the destruction of King Philip's war;
went thence to Hadley, but returned to his old
home in Ipswich finally, and died there, May
29, 1695. His will was dated March 18, 1691-
92, when his age was stated as seventy-three
year, "gointo seventy fower." (sic). In a
letter to the Essex county probate court,
September 27, 1683, he names his wife and
their six sons and daughter. He married,
about 1642, Abigail Andrews, daughter of

Robert Andrews, a pioneer of Ipswich. She
was sister of Thomas Andrews, the famous
schoolmaster. Her father, Robert Andrews,
was the first tavern keeper in Ipswich licensed
by the general court in 1635. His wife died
June 24, 1665. Children: 1. Daniel, born
1642; mentioned below. 2. John, settled in
Topsfield; married Dorcas Ivory, whence the
very frequent use of the name Ivory Hovey
in this family. 3. Thomas, born 1648; mar
ried Sarah Cook, and settled in Hadley. 4.
James, killed in King Philip's war, August 2,
J675. 5- Joseph, married 1676 Hannah Pratt.
6. Nathaniel, born March 20, 1657; married,
November, 1679, Sarah Fuller. 7. Priscilla,
born about 1660; married John Ayers, born
1649. 8. Abigail, married Thomas Hodg-
kins. (II) Daniel Hovey, son of Daniel Hovey
(1), was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in
1642, and settled in that town. He had a
share in Plum Island in 1664. Under a special
vote of the town, in 1667, he was allowed to
cut "four white oaks for his brother James to
work out in cooper ware for the town's use."
He was a voter in 1679, and had a seat in the
meeting house about that time. He took
the freeman's, oath March 11, 1673. He
died at Ipswich. He married first Rebecca
 , and second, October 8, 1665,
Esther Tread well, who died January 4, 1730,
at the age of ninety years, the daughter of
Thomas TreadwelL Children: 1. Daniel,
born June 24, 1665. 2. Nathaniel, born Octo
ber 9, 1667; died 1696. 3. Abigail, born about
1670; married, according to some accounts,
December 12, 1689, Thomas Hodgkins. 4.
Thomas, born May 28, 1673; mentioned be
low-. 5. John, born August 12, 1675; died
August 17, 1720; married Mehitable Safford.
6. Mary, born June 27, 1678. 7. Ebenezer,
born January 11, 1680; died 1725; married
Elizabeth Dennis. 8. Mercy.
(Ill) Thomas Hovey, son of Daniel Hovey
(2), was born in Ipswich, May 20 or 28, 1673,
and resided there until 1742, when he removed
to Boxford, Massachusetts, and spent the rest
of his days. He died at Boxford, February
16, 1748-9. His wife Martha died there Aug
ust 16, 1761, at the ripe age of eighty-six
years. Children:" 1. Martha, born October
30, 1699 ; married John Fish, of Boxford. 2.
Daniel, born October 29, 1701 ; removed to
Sutton. 3. Esther, born January 21, 1703;
married first, Stephen Reynolds, of Bradford,
November 20, 1728; .second, Luke Hovey, of
Boxford, April 24, 1755 ; she died at Boxford,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

923

February 19, 1776. 4. Thomas, born March
30, 1707; mentioned below. 5. Abigail, born
1711, baptized October 14, 1711; married Job
Reynolds, of Bradford, in 1733. 6.. Phebe,
born 17-12, baptized December 20. 7. Samuel,
baptized April 22, 1716. 8. Mary, baptized
March 21, 1719.
(IV) Thomas Hovey, son of Thomas
Hovey (3), was born in Ipswich, March 30,
1707, spent his youth there and settled there
on a farm. He married, December 17, 1729,
Sarah Rust, and after the birth of two chil
dren removed to Andover, Massachusetts.
Children, born at Ipswich: 1. Lydia, married
Benjamin Pindar. 2. Thomas, born October,
1736; mentioned below.
(V) Thomas Hovey, son of Thomas Hovey
(4), was born at Ipswich, October, 1736, and
was brought up in the neighboring town of
Andover, whither his parents removed. He
was well educated in the public schools, and
became a school teacher. He went to Dracut,
Massachusetts, first as a school teacher, in
1758, and settled there permanently on a farm
in 1760. A part of the present Hovey house
there was standing when he bought the place,
and he made various additions. He became
the leading citizen of the town. He was in
telligent, of good judgment, upright and of un
usual force of character. He was the local
'squire and conveyancer, drew the wills and
deeds, and settled the estates of his neighbors.
He was ensign of the militia company; select
man of the town for thirty years or more;
town treasurer for a long period; often mod
erator of town meetings, and presided when
the town decided to build the meeting house
at Dracut Center. He was deacon of the Dra
cut church for fifty years. He died July 30,
1826, in his ninetieth year. His wife died in
1813, aged seventy-six years. Children: 1.
Thomas, Jr., died at the age of fifty, leaving
no family. 2. Henry A., resided in Milford,
New Hampshire. 3. John, died at the age of
seventeen. 4. James Platts, born 1767; men
tioned below. 5. Mary, died in Pelham, New
Hampshire ; married Moses Whiting. 6. Eliza
beth, died unmarried. 7. Samuel, a carpenter.
8. Benjamin, a hatter by trade. 9. Joshua,
never married. 10. Joseph, a carpenter, re
sided in Dracut ; died at the age of seventy-
six years, leaving a son Joseph, who lived in
Centralville. (VI) James Platts Hovey, son of Thomas
Hovey (5), was born in the old house on the
homestead at Dracut, Massachusetts, in 1767.
He was educated there in the public schools,

and remained on the homestead with his
father, succeeding to the farm after the death
of his parents. He took part in Shay's rebel
lion. He was a member of the Dracut church.
He died at Dracut, November 30, 1831. He
married, May 1, 1800, Rebecca Hovey, daugh
ter of Captain Ivory Plovey, a distant kins
man, of Boxford, Massachusetts. She died at
Dracut, January 31, 1853. Children: 1.
William, a shoemaker by trade; died in Cen
tralville at the age of ninety years and a half.
2. James, born 1804; died in Waldoborough,
Maine, in 1855. 3. Horatio, born 1806, died
in 1899, at the advanced age of ninety-three,
at East Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he
was for many years a merchant. 4. Joshua,
born in 1808; mentioned below. 5. George,
born November 26, 1810; mentioned below.
6. Cyrus, born 1813; died, 1890; a silversmith,
residing in Centralville.
(VII) Joshua Hovey, son of James Platts
Hovey (6), was born in the old house on the
Hovey homestead, Dracut, 1808; died in Low
ell, formerly part of Dracut, Massachusetts,
1899, at the advanced age of ninety-one years.
He was educated in the district schools of
Dracut and at the academy in Northampton,
Massachusetts. Then he learned the trade of
shoemaker, and followed it for several years.
He opened a grocery store in Lowell, and
during the remainder of his active life con
ducted his grocery business with success, ac
quiring a competence and retiring in his old
age. He was a Congregationalist in religion.
and a Republican in politics. He was a faith
ful citizen and an upright man, devoting his
attention almost entirely to his home and his
business. He was greatly esteemed and re
spected in the city where he spent so many
active years in business. He married first, in
1836, Elizabeth Holt, who was born in 181 5
and died in 1846; married second, Harriet
Holt, her sister, born in 1821, died in i860,
the daughter of Joshua Holt, of Haverhill,
Massachusetts. Children of Joshua and Eliz
abeth (Holt) Hovey: 1. Frederick H., born
1846, died, 1 87 1. 2. Sarah E., born in Dra
cut ; resides in the old homestead, Lowell, and
enjoys the esteem and respect of a large circle
of Lowell friends. Children of Joshua and
Harriet M. (Holt) Hovey: 3. Maria Louise,
died young. 4. James N., died young. 5.
James N., born October 19, 1857. 6. Joshua
Warner (twin), born October 19, 1857.
(VII) George Hovey, son of James Platts
Hovey (6), was born November 26, 1810, in
Dracut. He was educated in the district

924

MIDDLES KX COUNTY.

;

schools, and remained at home to assist his
father on the farm. He was just of age when
his father died, and at that time he took charge
of the farm, which he inherited. He lived all
his life, with the exception of three months,
under the same roof under which he was born.
He was a successful and prosperous farmer.
He was ' a deacon of the Dracut church, of
which his grandfather was deacon for so many
years. He was originally a Whig in politics,
but his anti-slavery sentiments led him into the
Free Soil party, and after the Republican
party was formed he became a faithful sup
porter of its principles and candidates. In
1840 he and his five brothers voted for Gen
eral William H. Harrison; in 1888, nearly half
a century later, five of the six voted for his
grandson, General Benjamin Harrison, for
president. A photograph of these venerable
brothers, taken when they were all past eighty
years of age, in a group as they stood by the
window of the old house in which all were
born, is a valued heirloom of the Hovey fam
ily. He was town clerk six years ; town treas
urer three years. One of the treasured heir
looms in the homestead at Dracut is the tall
clock of Thomas Hovey (6), made soon after
the year 1700 by Nathaniel Mulliken of Lex
ington who died in 1767.
He married, December 30, 1841, Nancy
Wood, who was born in Sutton, Vermont, in
1820, and died in Dracut, July 6, 1891. Had
she lived a few months more, they would have
celebrated their golden wedding. Mr. Hovey
died July, 1906. Children: 1. James Sylves
ter, was cashier of the Railroad Bank of Low
ell to the time of his death in 1885 ; children :
i.. James B. ; ii. Philip R. ; iii. Elizabeth D. ; iv.
Marion. 2. Edwin, unmarried, was for a
number of years with the Middlesex Company
of Lowell, and is now the owner of the home
stead. 3. George H., is with a wholesale mil
linery company in Chicago.

This surname is variously spell-
DIMAN ed in the early records of Diman,
Dimon, Demon, Dement, Dem-
ing, Dymond, Diamond, Dyamont, Dimond,
Deamond, Diaman, Dimiond, and doubtless in
a score of other ways that suggested them
selves to the keepers of records and makers
of deeds. John Diman, one of the immigrants,
settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, before 1647,
and removed to Kittery, Maine. Thomas Di
man, ancestor of most of the Connecticut line,
spelled his name usually with a final "D."

John Demon or Diman, was a settler at
Wethersfield, Connecticut, brother of Thomas,
mentioned below, before 1635 and was one of
the chief settlers; was a representative very
often from 1649 to l66i ; was named in the
charter of 1662 ; married Honor Treat, daugh
ter of Richard Treat, and has a numerous pos
terity in New England.
(I) Thomas Diman, the immigrant ances
tor, settled in this country first at Wethers
field, Connecticut, with his brother John, re
moved to Farmington, thence to Southampton,
Long Island, and thence to Easthampton, New
York, where he died. He married, July 24,
1645, Mary Sheafe. He was in Southampton
in 1655 and 1658, appearing in court for
assault and threatening clivers persons. His
name was there spelled Diament. He was in
Easthampton before November 12, 1663, when
he bought all the lands of John Hand in that
town. He was then called "senior" in the rec
ords. His home lot in Easthampton contained
thirteen acres adjoining Stephen Hand's lot
on the south, the common on the west, and on
the north a highway made of land bought of
the said John Hand. He owned divers other
parcels of land also. His name in this record
is spelled Diamon and Diament, also Dyament.
He died in 1683 and the court of sessions, sit
ting at Southampton, Long Island, on the
seventh, eighth and ninth days of March, 1683,
accepted as his will four deeds of gift dispos
ing of his estate. The first, dated August 21,
1677, recites a proposed marriage between
his son James and Hannah, daughter of Min
ister James, and the grantor binds himself to
the Minister James to convey certain lands to
the son to be enjoyed by him after the death of
the grantor and his wife. The second, dated
December 27, 1680, gives to same son furni
ture and personal property. The third, dated
July 28, 1682, recites the death of youngest
son John and gives James additional real es
tate, charging him and grantor's wife Mary to
pay small legacies to daughters, Sarah Head-
ly, of New Jersey, Abigail, Hannah Bird, Ruth
Dayton and Elizabeth Miller. The fourth in
strument, also dated July 28, 1682, calls the
grantor Thomas Dyment, Sr., and recites that
having given the house and land at Georgia
to his youngest son Thomas at marriage, this
deed conveys other land to take effect at the
death of grantor and wife. After his death
the estate was settled by agreement signed by
the widow, Minister James and Edward How
ell. Children: 1. James, mentioned below.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

925

2. John, died before his father. 3. Thomas,
mentioned above.
(II) James Diman, son of Thomas Diman
(1), was born about 1650, died 1721. He
settled with his father at Southampton and
received land as stated above. He married,
1677, Hannah James, daughter of Rev. Thom
as James. Both are mentioned in the will of
her father dated June 5, 1696. He removed
to Easthampton with his father, lived and
died there. His will was dated August 24,
1 72 1, bequeathing to second wife Elizabeth,
eldest son Thomas, sons John and Nathaniel;
daughters Hannah Moore and Abigail Lub-
tan; granddaughter Hannah Hoping; sons
John and Nathaniel executors; proved March
9, 1722. Children: 1. Thomas, born 1680,
mentioned below. 2. Nathaniel. 3. Hannah,
married  Moore. 4. Abigail, married
Lubtan. 5. Daughter, married

Hoping. 6. John, died 1765, leaving will.
(Ill) Thomas Diman, son of James Di
man (2), was born in Easthampton, New
York, in 1680. Married, January 14, 1706-
07, Hannah Finney, born January 14, 1687-88,
daughter of Jeremiah and Esther Finney. Her
mother was daughter of Thomas and Mary
Lewis, of Bristol, then Massachusetts. Her
father, Jeremiah, born August 15, 1662, in
Barnstable, Massachusetts, married, January
7, 1684; was a freeman of Bristol in 1680;
shipmaster; died at Bristol, February 18, 1748.
John Finney, father of Jeremiah, married
(first) Christina, who died at Plymouth, Sep
tember 9, 1649; (second), June 10, 1650, Abi
gail (Bishop) Coggin, widow of Thomas
Bishop and daughter of Henry Coggin;
(third), June 26, 1654, Elizabeth Bailey, who
was buried at Bristol, February 9, 1683-84.
The Finney family came from England before
1639; it then consisted of a mother, daughter
Catherine, and two sons Robert and John Fin
ney. (See N. E. Gen. Reg. 1906, page 67).
Thomas Diman removed from Long Island to
Bristol in 1712. His wife died in Bristol, De
cember 22, 1744. Children, of whom the first
four were born in Long Island: 1. Rev.
James, born November, 1707, mentioned be
low. 2. John, born about 1709. 3. Rebecca.
4. Jeremiah, born 1710. 5. Jonathan, born
' 1712, died February 25, 1797. 6. Phebe, born
1717, died September 14, 1790. 7. Lucretia,
born 1719, died January 31, 1797. 8. Daniel,
died December 16, 1797.
(IV) Rev. James Diman, son of Thomas
Diman (3), was born in Easthampton, Long
Island, November, 1707. He removed to Bris

tol, Massachusetts, now Rhode Island, in 1712,
and was educated there and at Harvard Col
lege, where he was graduated in 1730. He
was settled as pastor of the East church,
Salem, May 11, 1737, and held this parish until
his death, October 8, 1781, aged eighty-one.
He was an enthusiastic endorser of the great
revival work of Whitefield in 1743. He
preached the sermon at the execution of Bryan
Sheehan, the first hanging since the time of the
Winchcraft Delusion with two exceptions. He
preached at the ordination of Rev. Enos
Hitchcock in Beverly in 1771. Among his
children were: -1. James, Jr., born 1750, men
tioned below. 2. John, served in the Revolu
tionary war.
(V) Rev. James Diman, Jr., son of Rev.
James Diman (4), was born in Salem, Mass
achusetts, in 1750, and died at Stratham,
(town records) December 4, 1823, aged sev
enty-four. He married, November, 1779, Es
ther Merrill, who died June 2, 181 1, at Strat
ham. He graduated at Harvard College in
1768 and was a school teacher in Salem, suc
ceeding Mr. Goodale, December 7, 1770. He
removed to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and
finally to Stratham, New Hampshire, where he
devoted his energies to farming for the re
mainder of his life. Children: 1. David R.„
mentioned below. 2. Mary, born March 12,
1783. 3. Eunice, February 18, 1785. 4. Lois,
March 26, 1787, died September 15, 1851, un
married. 5. James, May 13, 1789.
(VI) David R. Diman, son of James Di
man (5), was born about 1790 in Stratham,
New Hampshire, died August 9, 1877, at
South New Market. He resided at Stratham ;
was a Whig in politics, a zealous member and
deacon of the Baptist church of Stratham. He
married, April 1, 1822, Nancy Piper, who died
September, 1863, at Stratham. Children: 1.
Child, born 1825, died August 24, 1825, aged
three months. 2. James Harvey, born 1829,
mentioned below.
(VII) James Harvey Diman, son of David
-R. Diman (6), was born in Stratham, New
Hampshire, in 1,829, died there June 6, 1891.
He married (first), at Exeter, New Hamp
shire, December 5, 1852, Sarah Sinclair; (sec
ond), May 13, i860, Cordelia A. Winters, a
milliner, of Roxbury, who was born in 1834,
at Jackson, Vermont, daughter of James and
Aurilla (Hill) Winters. He was a Republi
can in politics ; a well-to-do and highly re
spected farmer, and was engaged in the hotel
business in Boston. Children: 1. George
Washington, born October 12, 1857, men-

926

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

tioned below. 2. Child died September 23,
i855- (VIII) George Washington Diman, son of
James Harvey Diman (7), was born in Strat
ham, New Hampshire, October 12, 1857, and
was educated there in the public schools. He
is at present engaged in the hotel business.
In politics Mr. Diman is a Republican ; in re
ligion a Baptist. He is a member of Middle
sex Lodge of Odd Fellows, No. 97, but to no
other clubs or secret societies. He resides at
97 Upham street, Maiden, Massachusetts. He
married (first) Mabel Gear, born Concord,
New Hampshire, daughter of John Manley
and Martha Gear. He married (second),
Carrie Hutchins, born at Atkinson, Maine,
March 31, 1867, daughter of Daniel O. Hut
chins, born 1834, died February 14, 1895, at
Atkinson, a farmer, and his wife Caroline
(Rand) Hutchins, born in Medford, Maine.
Child of first wife : 1. Ethel M., born in Hav
erhill, Massachusetts, May, 1887, living at
home with father's family, Maiden. Children
of second wife: 2. Olive D., born at Ash-
mont, Massachusetts, April 23, 1892, graduate
of Maiden grammar school in 1907. 2. Ger
trude Irene, born at Winchester, December 7,
z893- 3- Edna May (christened Carrie Ed
na), born at Boston, February 15, 1895. 4.
Frances Addie, born at Boston, March 2,
1896. 5. Laura Augusta, born at Maiden in
1897, died in Maiden, November 8, 1901. 6.
Dorothy, born at Maiden, Friday, September
13, 1899.

The name of Pickard is of
PICKARD French origin. In Mark An
thony Sower's book on Eng
lish surnames, Vol. 1, page 5, is the following:
"I love you," said Edward IV to some of the
family of Pickard, "but not your name,"
whereupon they adopted others. The name
Pickard may be found in Hollingshed's Copy
of the Roll of Battle Abbey, which contains
the names of those who came over to England-.
with William the Conqueror in the year 1066.
From the following extract copied from the
Institution books in the will office at York,
England, it appears that the name was in
Yorkshire prior to 1621. "21st of February
1621-2 Ezekiel Rogers, Clerk, was installed to
the Rector of Rowley, void by the death of
Henry Pickard, Clerk, on the nomination of
Sir Francis Benington, Baronet." The afore
said Ezekiel Rogers was the same person who
in 1638 came to New England, with a com

pany, and in 1639 settled in Rowley, so called
in commemoration of the town of Rowley, in
Yorkshire, England, where he had preached
during the previous seventeen years. In
Madame Guion's "Life and Experience,." vol.
2, page 190, she mentions under date of July
7, 1695, one of her teachers as Madame Fran
ces Elizabeth L. Pickard.
(I) John Pickard, the immigrant ancestor
of the Hon. Edward L. Pickard, was born
1628, possibly a son of the Rev. Henry Pick
ard, aforementioned. There is reason to be
lieve that he came from Rowley Regis, a town
in Staffordshire, England, five miles west of
Birmingham, with the Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, in
1638, as a member of his family, and set-,
tied on the plantation which on September 4,
1639, was established by Mr. Rogers as the
town of Rowley, Essex county, Massachusetts
Bay Colony. Mr. Pickard was well educated,
possessed some property, was evidently of a
good family, and was an influential member
of society. He married, May 27, 1644, Jane
Crosby, daughter of Dr. Anthony Crosby, a
"Chirurgeon," of Rowley. He was then twen
ty-two years of age and she eighteen. The
widow of Dr. Crosby became the wife of the
Rev. Mr. Cotton, the English Puritan pastor
of the first church in Boston, organized 1630;
he was born 1585, died 1652; he was called
"the patriarch of New England." Children of
John and Jane (Crosby) Pickard: 1. Debor
ah, born October 13, 1646, died young. 2.
Mary, married, February 14, 1670, John Pear
son. 3. Rebecca. 4. John, born March 1,
1653, married (first), February 11. 1679, Sar
ah Smith; (second), March 5, 1691, Joanna
Bishop. 5. Sarah, born January 31, 1658. 6.
Anna, born February' 15, 1659, married,
March 22, 1681-82, Aaron Pengry. 7. Cap
tain Samuel, born May 16, 16 — , see forward.
8. Jane, born April 22, 1666, married, No
vember 6, 1684, Edward Hazen. 9. Hannah,
born April 10, 1670, married, July 19, 1686,
Moses Broadstreet. Either Sarah or Rebecca
married Thomas Hammond, who died Febru
ary 26, 1724-28, and either Sarah or Rebecca
married Solomon Phips. John Pickard, the
father of these children, died September 24,
1683 ; Jane, his widow, died February 9, 1716,
aged ninety. His will was signed and sealed
September 6, 1683, proved November 27, 1683,
and his estate was valued at one thousand two
hundred and seventy-nine pounds, two shillings
and four pence.
(II) Captain Samuel Pickard, second son
of John (1) and Jane (Crosby) Pickard, was

&kl

WTBa.th.ei. MY~

Se^^r-^ ^ytceHSt^C

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

927

born May 16, 16 — , in Rowley, Massachusetts.
He married (first), January 22, 1685, Eliza
beth Broadstreet, who died May 28, 1686,
leaving one child, Elizabeth, born May 14,
1686, died young. He married (second), May
31, 1687, Elizabeth Hale, who died, December
17, 1730. Their children were: 1. Samuel,
born March 9, 1687-88, died June 9, 1689.
2. Samuel, born December 4, 1689. 3. Thom
as, born February 6, 1690-91, married, May
28, 1722, Mehetable Dresser. 4. Moses, born
December 4, 1694, married, November 22,
1716, Lydia Piatt. 5. Elizabeth, born March
22, 1696-97, married, May 27, 1723, Thomas
Dickinson. 6. Mary, born August 20, 1698,
married, December 16, 1736, Jonathan Dick
inson. 7. Joseph, born March 17, 1700, see
forward. 8. Jane, born March 5, 1704, mar
ried, December 2, 1727, Joseph Stickney. He
married (third), March or April, 1732, Sarah
Jewett, who bore one child, Joshua, died Oc
tober 24, 1736. Captain Samuel Pickard died
September 2, 1751, in the eighty-ninth year of
his age.
(Ill) Joseph Pickard, fifth son of Captain
Samuel and Elizabeth (Hale) Pickard, born
March 17, 1700, married Sarah Jewett, and
their children were: 1. Samuel, born 1735,
married, September 26, 1752, Mary Dresser.
2. Jacob, born 1735, married Salome Smith.
3. Sarah, born 1737, married, September 28,
1778, Jonathan Todd. 4. Joseph, died 1790;
married Mary Pickard. 5. Jeremiah, born
May 27, 1747, see forward.
(IV) Jeremiah Pickard, youngest son of
Joseph and Sarah (Jewett) Pickard, born
May 2"j, 1747, married, December 14, 1773,
Mehetable Dresser, and their children were :
1. Moses, born December 4, 1774, married,
1808, Elizabeth Jones. 2. Jeremiah, born Oc
tober 9, 1776, married (first), August 6, 1801,
Elizabeth Foster; (second), January, 1814,
Abigail Foster; (third), April 23, 1818, Han
nah Harvey. 3. Mehetable, born October 10,
1778, died unmarried. 4. Sarah, born Octo
ber 4, 1780, married, 1810, Charles Sargent, of
Canterbury. 5. Amos, born February 8, 1781,
married, February 16, '1815,. Elizabeth Emery,
6. Betsy, born July 24, 1786, died unmarried.
7. Abigail, born January 9, 1791, married,
October 1, 181 8, Enoch Emery. 8. Samuel,
born March 9, 1793, see forward. 9. Daniel,
born October 20, 1795, married Susanna Har
vey. (V) Samuel Pickard, third son of Jeremiah
and Mehetable (Dresser) Pickard, was born
in Canterbury, New Hampshire, March 9,

1793. He was a representative from Rowley,
Massachusetts, in the general court of Massa
chusetts, in 1826-27, and he sat in the legisla
tive body with Rufus Choate and Caleb Cush
ing, and on the vote of the legislature for
presidential candidate in 1826 he refused to
vote for the coalition candidate, ¦ casting his
vote for Daniel Webster, and the following
year Webster was nominated by the Massa
chusetts legislature and became a candidate
before the people of the United States. Mr.
Pickard married (first), May 13; 1823, Sarah
Coffin, daughter of  Coffin and sister of
Joshua Coffin, of Newburyport, Massachu
setts. Their children were: 1. Josiah Little,
born March 17, 1824, married, August 24,
1847, Cornelia Van Cleef Woodhull. 2. Jo
seph Coffin, born September 7, 1826, married,
September 22, 1853, Mary Ann Storer. 3.
Samuel Thomas, born March 1, 1828, married,
April 19, 1876, Elizabeth H. Whittier, born
August 16, 1845. 4. Rev. Daniel Webster,
born June 7, 1830, died February 6, i860;
married, June 14, 1854, Helen Woodhull.
Samuel Pickard married (second), August 2,
1832, Hannah Little, of Newburyport. They
were married in Lewiston, Maine. Their
children were: 1. Sarah Little, born May 4,
1833, married, May 16, 1867, Peter F. San
born. 2. Edward Little, born December 25,
1834, mentioned below. 3. Charles Weston,
born October 28, 1836, married, March 12,
1862, Henrietta Eliza Groth. 4. George Hen
ry, born April 2, 1838, died March 16, 1863.
5. John, born April, 1840? married (first),
October 23, 1862, Anna G. Downs, who died
September 2, 1866; he married (second), May
28, 1868, Addie M. Leavitt. 6. Horace Cha
pin, born December 24, 1841, died February
21, 1868, married Sarah Ridland Sawyer, of ,
Stoneham. 7. Frederic William, born May,
1843, died October, 1844. 8. Hannah Brown,
born September 15, 1845, died September,
1865. 9. Mary Little Hale, born January 28,
1849, married, August 2, 1869, M. W. K.
Dana. Samuel Pickard (father) died 1872.
(VI) Edward Little Pickard, eldest son of
Samuel and Hannah (Little) Pickard, was
born in Lewiston, Maine, December 25, 1834.
He was fitted for college at Lewiston
Falls Academy, Auburn, Maine, and at the
age of thirteen left school to take a posi
tion in the boot and shoe manufactory of
Roak, Pickard & Company, Auburn, Maine,
in which firm his father was a partner. He
remained with this firm, and incidentally un
der the paternal roof, until he reached his

928

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

majority in 1855, when he embarked in the
shoe manufacturing business on his own ac
count as a partner with George Hill, of Au
burn, the firm being Hill & Pickard. This
firm was dissolved March 12, i860, and Mr.
Pickard engaged with Tyler Rice & Sons,
Portland, Maine, and in 1865, became a part
ner, the name of the new firm being N. W.
Rice & Company, with which concern, under
the corporate name of N. W. Rice Company,
dealers in hides, leather, etc., 212 Essex street,
Boston; Mr." Pickard was an active officer;
the business removed to Boston in 1865 ; Mr.
Pickard resided in Lynn, Massachusetts, up to
1872, when he removed to Auburndale, same
state. Mr. Pickard was a member of the com
mon council of Lynn, 1870-71, and a represen
tative to the state legislature, 1897-98. In
1 90 1 he received the Republican nomination
for mayor of Newton, and the opposition party
declined to oppose him, and he received the
unanimous vote of the voters of his adopted
city, although he had not previously served
them in any city office. His administration was
entirely satisfactory, and he distributed in
charity his entire municipal salary, and on the
advice of his physician refused renomination,
and retired from office with the universal and
outspoken regrets of his fellow-citizens, and
carrying into private life their profoundest re
spect and good will. A unique feature of his
political life was the donation of his official
salary to charitable work. He was a member
of the Congregational church of Auburndale,
a member of the Congregational Club of Bos
ton and Newton, a member of the Pine Tree
Club, Newton Club, Katahdin Club, and an
honorary member of the Apollo Club of Bos
ton, having been elected in 1887. He was a
director of the National City Bank of Boston,
having been elected in 1892; a director in the
Fireman's Life Insurance Company of Bos
ton ; a trustee of the Newton Cemetery ; New
ton Home for Aged People ; Newton Asso
ciated Charities.
Mr. Pickard was married at Bangor, Maine,
December 25, 1856, to Fanny Maria Pomeroy
Plummer, daughter of Joshua C. and Sophia
(Dix) Plummer. She was born at Bangor,
Maine, December 23, 1833, and died at her
home No: 174 Woodland road, Auburndale,
Massachusetts, January 12, 1906. Their chil
dren are: 1. Julia Maria, born in Auburn,
Maine, February 9, 1858. 2. Samuel Web
ster, born August 20, 1859, died July 31, 1865.
3. Fanny Dix, born June 23, 1862, died Sep

tember 1, 1862. 4. Charles Dix, born in Port
land, Maine, November 9, 1864, married, De
cember 31, 1888, Lenora Temple, children:
Edward Temple, born August 17, 1889, died
December 15, 1907; Julia, born April 16, 1891.
5. George Plummer, born in Lynn, Massachu
setts, August 3, 1867, married, April 20, 1896,
Marie Valeria De Altier, children: George
Donald, born July 20, 1897, died August 10,
1897; Norman," born February 9, 1899. 6.
Edward Little, born in Lynn, Massachusetts,
February 15, 1870, married, June 1, 1898, Ger
trude Tyler Gould, children: Sarah Frances,
born October 2, 1901 ; John Fairweather, born
June 29, 1906. 7. Augustus Bishop, born at
Auburndale, Massachusetts, July 31, 1873,
died July 31, 1874. Fanny Maria Pomeroy
(Plummer) Pickard, mother of the afore
mentioned children, was a lady of the old
school type and was possessed of many excel
lent qualities of both mind and heart. During
the half century of her married life she always
exemplified in the highest degree, that love of
home and family which ever tends towards
culture and refinement; ever faithful and lov
ing to those around her, she never failed to
consider the needs of those less fortunate than
herself. She was a generous friend and a
good neighbor and at the time of her death
there were many who missed her benefactions
and mourned her loss.
Through their mother these children are
grandchildren of Lieutenant-Colonel Timothy
Dix and his wife, Abigail (Wilkins) Dix, of
Boscawen, New Hampshire ; great-grandchil
dren of Lieutenant Timothy Dix, of the Amer
ican army, 1776-84, and postmaster of Bos
cawen, 1801-09; great-great-grandchildren of
Jonathan and Sarah (Shattuck) Dix, of Lit
tleton, Massachusetts, and descendants of An
thony Dix, Plymouth Colony, 1623, freeman
1631, and freeman of Salem, Massachusetts
Bay Colony, 1632. Their mother was a sister
of General John A. Dix, soldier and states
man, born 1798, died 1879, whose son, Mor
gan Dix, is rector of Trinity church, New
York City.
Edward Little Pickard died at Pasadena,
California, January 6, 1908, whither he had
gone to spend the winter. At the final session
of the board of aldermen of 1907 the an
nouncement was made of the death of ex-
Mayor Edward L. Pickard. The mayor's com
munication was as follows :
"Gentlemen of the Board of Aldermen: I
deeply regret that a last official communication
to you is the announcement of the death of

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

929

Hon. Edward L. Pickard, on Monday, Janu
ary 6th at Pasadena, California, whither he
had recently gone seeking recreation and
health, in escaping the rigors of our New Eng
land winter. As a representative to the gen
eral court of 1907-08 and as mayor in 1901,
he served most honorably. Enthusiastically
promoting the public welfare through the po
litical principles he firmly held, successful in
business, in private life a good citizen, a friend
of the needy, loyally supporting the church of
his faith, it was in his home where the loving
and generous traits of his character held com-
pletest sway. I recommend such action as
may seem to you appropriate." Edgar W.
Warren, mayor. The communication was re
ceived and Alderman Underwood spoke as
follows : "It has been aptly said that the glory
and wealth of the nation or state consists not
so much of her natural interests as in the name
and fame of her distinguished and great men.
With what strength and force the truth of this
thought is brought home to the citizens of this
municipality by the death of ex-Mayor Ed
ward L. Pickard. An unpretentious, patrio
tic citizen, self-made, sagacious, and far see
ing, he combined these qualities with a true
kindliness of heart that endeared him to all
within our confines. In private business and
civic life, his rugged honesty, love of truth,
and unfailing cheerfulness, cornbined with a
lively but kindly sense of humor, accounts in
part for his being mourned for today by a
circle of friends and acquaintances, which ex
tends well-nigh over our whole country. Sin
cere, frank, outspoken in the honest expression
of his opinions, even those whose opinions dif
fered were forced to admire the sterling
strength and clearness of his character.
Throughout his life strongly and faithfully
devoted to advancing the cause of the church,
his influence and assistance were freely ex
tended to all deserving calls. While the citi
zens of the entire city of Newton mourn his
death, yet with far greater force is his loss felt
by the residents of his home ward. As a
neighbor, friend and counsellor, this generous,
loyal, open-hearted, and charitable citizen
leaves a vacancy in our home and civic life that
must long remain unfilled."
Alderman Underwood then presented the
following resolutions which were unanimously
adopted by a rising vote :
Resolved: That the Board of Aldermen of
the City of" Newton have heard with profound
regret of the death of ex-Mayor Edward L.
'Pickard. His loss will be keenly felt by all

who knew him in public and private life. The
example which he set during his public career
might well be emulated by all in public service.
Honesty, fearlessness, directness and sincer
ity governed all transactions in his private and
official life, and in his death the city of Newton
has sustained a great loss.
Resolved: That we tender our heartfelt
sympathy to the family of the deceased, and
we join with them in their sorrow.
Resolved: That 'these Resolutions- be
spread upon the records of the Board, and
that a copy thereof be sent to the family of the
deceased.

Henry Amerige, who was for
AMERIGE many years one of the most
prominent citizens of Maiden,
Massachusetts, and closely identified with all
matters of public interest, represented an old
and honored family of that section of the
country. This family was of Italian origin
and tradition has it was the same as that of
Amerigo Vespucci. They fled from Italy at
the time of the Holy Inquisition.
(I) Morris Amerige, the father of Henry
Amerige, was born in Germany, and was a
young lad when he came to Boston, Massachu
setts, with two brothers. One of these settled
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the other
died, probably at New Orleans, Louisiana.
Morris Amerige married  Brown, oi
Saugus, Massachusetts, a descendant of one of
the oldest families of that town, and had chil
dren: 1. George, who was born in Prince
street, Boston, Massachusetts, in 1809. .He1
went to Califorriia during the gold fever of
1849, and was the owner and editor of the
Alta Calif ornian, the first paper ever publish
ed in that territory. He was a member of the
legislature of California for several terms, an
active member of the Vigilantes, a man of
means and well known throughout the south
west. He died in San Francisco, California,
in 1873. 2- William, born in Boston, Massa
chusetts, in 1814, died in Maco, China, in
1839. He was engaged in the general mer
chandise and trading business along the great
rivers of China at the time of his death. 3.
Henry. (II) Henry Amerige, third and youngest
son and child of Morris and  (Brown)
Amerige, was born in the North End, Boston,
Massachusetts, March 28, 1818. His educa
tion was acquired in the public schools of his
native city. When a young man he entered

93Q

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

the United States navy, and for a time had
charge of the lights in Chesapeake Bay. He
then engaged in business as a ship rigger, and
later was an extensive ship owner as well,
continuing in this line of business for many
years very profitably. His office was at No.
i Commercial Wharf, and he made his home
in Maiden in 1846, where he died July 14,
1898. In his early years he had traveled ex
tensively, and was three times cast away,
once on the coast of the Canary Islands. It had
been his interesting experience to visit almost
all of the countries of the world, and his nar
ratives of his varied experiences were thrill
ing. His political affiliations were with the
Republican party, and he was an active worker
in the interests of this organization. He
served in the common council of Maiden, was
chairman of the street committee, and was
nominated for the representative in the gen
eral court, but declined the nomination. He
was a consistent member of the Maiden Uni
tarian church, and his charities were numerous
and unostentatious. He paid for the educa
tion of a number of boys and gave them an
excellent start in life; was the donor of a bell
to the Methodist Episcopal church of Maiden ;
but preferred to have all his charities un
noticed. He was retiring and unassuming in
his manner, devoted to all children, and was
well known throughout the city. His sterling
character, unusual ability, as well as his in
dustry and enterprise, won for him a high
place in the business world. All his leisure
time was spent in the home circle, and he had
none to spare for secret organizations.
He married, January 21, 1853, Harriet E.
Russell, who died May 20, 1905, daughter of
Benjamin Russell, of Salem, Massachusetts, a
well-known shipmaster. He was one of the
first skippers to bring a cargo of India rubber
to the United States. He married Harriet E.
Giles, also a member of an old Salem family.
Mrs. Amerige was heir to an interest in one
of the French spoliation claims. Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Amerige had children: 1. Mary Ella,
born in Maiden, Massachusetts, November 19,
1853, unmarried. 2. George H., born in Mai
den/March i,*i855, married Annette Jackson,
of Bath, Maine, daughter of Captain Jackson,
a ship builder. They have no children, and
reside in Los Angeles, California. 3. Edward
Russell, see forward. 4. Alfred Brown, born
in Maiden, January 20, 1861, married Olive
Oakes and resides in Everett. 5. Harriet Eliz
abeth, died in childhood. 6. Julia, also died
young. 7. Hattie. Alice, born October, 1866,

married Albert B. Morgan, a druggist living
in Maiden, son of Albert B. Morgan, and
grandson of  Morgan, who was a pow
der monkey on board the "Constitution."
(Ill) Edward Russell Amerige, second son
and third child of Henry and Harriet E. (Rus
sell) Amerige, was born in Maiden, Massa
chusetts, August 1, 1856. He was educated
in the public schools, and his business career
has been an active and interesting one. At
the age of twenty years he and his brother,
George H., started in the grain business in
Boston, Maiden and Newport, in which un
dertaking they were very successful. They
sold the business in 1886, and Mr. Amerige
went to California, where he located at Los
Angeles. About one year later he and his
brother purchased a large tract of land of the
Rancho San Juan Cajon de Santa Anna, in
Los Angeles county, which was subsequently
made Orange county. They drove the first
stake in the survey of the town site of Fuller-
ton, July 5, 1887. This town was named in
honor of President Fullerton, of the land de
partment of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railroad Company. The town has grown
very rapidly, many leading men becoming in
terested in it, and the Amerige brothers
donated the site of a railroad depot. They also
made arrangements for the main line of the
Santa Fe railroad to build from Los Angeles
and touch at Fullerton, on the way to San Di
ego. They erected a number of large build
ings, among them being a fine hotel. This
town is one of. the most thriving in South Cal
ifornia, and is one of the three largest ship
ping points. Mr. Amerige was the president
and a director of the Anahein Union Water
Company for nine years, the largest and one of
the oldest irrigation companies in southern
California. He is interested in a number of
other projects, and has taken a prominent part
in the political affairs of the country. He was
a representative in the legislature of the state
of California in 1903-05 and 1907. He has
never married, and makes his home in Los
Angeles. The surname Giles is of English
GILES origin and the family is an
ancient English one. The ancient
coat of arm is: Per chevron, argent and
azure, a lion rampant, counterchanged, collar
ed or. The crests of various branches differ.
That preserved in the American branch given
below is : Crest — A lion's gambrel, erect and

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

93i

erased, gules, enfiled with a bar gemelle, or,
holding a branch of apples of the last leaved
vert. Giles and Gyles are of the same family ;
the name Gile is not of the same origin, be
longing to the family now spelling the name
Guild. (I) Edward Giles, the immigrant ancestor,
was born in England and settled very early at
Salem, Massachusetts, where he was living
when admitted a freeman May 14, 1634. He
married as early as July, 1636, Bridget Very,
who married first as early as 16 19. Giles re
ceived two grants of land in Salem on Cedar
pond, now in the southwest part of Danvers,
near the present South Reading Branch rail
road, one of the bounds of his stepson's farm
adjoining being Ship or Wigwam rock. The
house was on the north side of Goldthwaite
brook about sixty rods from the South Dan
vers Almshouse. Giles died before 1650, but
his widow survived until 1680. Her will is
dated January 14, 1668-69, and proved No
vember 30, 1680. She was born about 1600
and had three children by her first husband
Very or Verry, born doubtless in England.
Children of Edward and Bridget Giles: 1.
Mehitable, baptized April 2, 1637, married
John Collins. 2. Remember, born 1639, bap
tized June 23, 1639 ; married Henry Moses. 3.
Eleazer, baptized November 2.^, 1640, men
tioned below. 4. John, born April 15, 1645,
married  Giles and Elizabeth Trask. All
the children were baptized in the First Church
of Salem to which their father was admitted
in 1634 and their mother in 1648.
(II) Eleazer Giles, son of Edward Giles
(1), was born in 1640 in Salem, Massachu
setts, and baptized there November 27, 1640.
Married (first), January 25, 1664-65, Sarah
More, of Lynn, who died May 6, 1676. He
married (second), September 25, 1677, Eliz
abeth Bishop, of New Haven, Connecticut.
They were married by her father, a magistrate
of the Connecticut colony. She was born
July 3, 1657, daughter of James Bishop, of
New Haven, secretary of the New Haven
colony in 1661 before its union with Connec
ticut; representative of New Haven, 1665;
assistant of the Connecticut colony; deputy
governor of Connecticut from 1683 to 1690
except while the charter was suspended by Sir
Edmund Andros in 1687 and 1688. Eleazer
Giles lived in that part of Salem now Danvers
all his days. He was a yeoman and of high
social standing, as appears from his marriage
with the daughter of the lieutenant-governor,
and possessed a considerable estate. He

bought and sold many parcels of land in Salem
and vicinity. He was constable of Salem in
1676. He and his wife were dismissed from
the First Church of Salem with thirty-eight
others June 25, 1713, to form a district church
at the Middle Precinct, now South Danvers.
Giles died probably in 1726, aged eighty-six.
His widow Elizabeth died in 1733, aged sev
enty-six. Children, born in Salem and bap
tized in the First Church: (By his first wife),
1. Sarah, born January 1,1665-6: 2. Elizabeth,
December 7, 1667. 3. Hannah, February,
1669-70. 4. Mary, February, 14, 1671-72.
5. Susanna, March 1, 1673-74. 6. Eleazer,
March 3, 1675-6, died young. Children
of Eleazer and Elizabeth (Bishop) : 7.
James, November 15, 1679. 8. -John, August
31, 1681. 9. Abigail, December 7, 1684. 10.
Ruth, December 7, 1684. 11. Edward, April
28, 1689. 12. James, May 15, 1691. 13. Sam
uel, December 17, 1694, mentioned below. 14.
Eleazer, July 8, 1698. 15. Mehitable, April
11, 1701.
(Ill) Samuel Giles, son of Eleazer Giles
(2), was born in Salem, December 17, 1694.
He married, September 10, 1719, Susanna Pal
frey, of Salem, youngest daughter of Walter
Palfrey, who was grandson of Peter Palfrey,
the pioneer. He resided within the present
limits of Salem from about the time of his
marriage until he was sixty years old, when
he removed to Danvers. His house was on
Essex street, Salem, near the present site of
the- Franklin Building. There he had his car
penter shop many years and pursued his trade,
acquiring what for his day was a large prop
erty. He was a member of the First Church
of Salem. He died about 1757. Children: 1.
Susanna, baptized June 26, 1720. 2. Eleazer,
baptized November 5, 1721. 3. Hannah, mar
ried, April 27, 1737, Benjamin Porter. 4.
Elizabeth, baptized Eebruary 9, 1723-24, mar
ried Isaac Very. 5. Abigail, baptized Novem
ber 7, 1725. 6. Mary, baptized August 25,
1728, married Nathaniel Leavitt. 7. Thomas,
born 1731, mentioned below. 8. Mehitable,
married Benjamin Henderson.
(IV) Thomas Giles, son of Samuel Giles
(3), was baptized in the First Church, Salem,
February 7, 1730-31. Married, in Salem, No
vember 4, 1753, Mary Jennison, born about
1734, daughter of Rev. William Jennison,
pastor of the East Church, Salem, and his
wife Abigail (Lindall), daughter of James
Lindall. Mr. Giles was a cabinet-maker and
resided after his marriage In South Danvers.
His wife was well-educated and of great worth

932

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

of character. She devoted herself to the care
and instruction of her children while the father
was absent in the service of his country. Giles
was a soldier in the Old French war.
(IV) Eleazer Giles, son of Samuel Giles
(3), was baptized in the First Church of
Salem, November 5, 1721. Married, April 5,
1743, Elizabeth Smith, of Salem, baptized De
cember 30, 1744, in the Third Church, Salem,
now South Danvers. He lived in South Dan
vers after his marriage until July, 1746, when
he removed to a small tenement in Salem on
the east side of Bridge street. He was a
fisherman. He spent his last years at Beverly
where he died in the summer of 1781. His son
Eleazer was administrator. He was a seaman
in the armed ship "King George," Captain
Benjamin Hallowell, Jr., commander in 1758.
This vessel was owned by the Massachusetts
province and used in guarding the coasts, etc.
Again in 1762 he was pilot of this same ship
and his son Thomas was in the crew. This
was the last year of the war. Children: 1.
Eleazer, born October, 1744, mentioned be
low. 2. Thomas, born about 1745, married
Rhoda Lowell. 3. Benjamin, was killed in a
naval battle in the Revolution when serving on
the privateer commanded by his brother. 4.
Clark, went to Sweden during the Revolution ;
married Elaca  ; was killed on his way
home ; his widow lived with the family of Cap
tain Eleazer for a time and finally returned
to her native land. 5. Elizabeth, born Febru
ary 1, 1750, married Captain Benjamin Ives,
of Salem. 6. Samuel, married Mehitable
(Hathorne) King. 7. Mary, married John
Lord; (second), Alexander Geddes, a native
of Scotland.
(V) Captain Eleazer Giles, son of Eleazer
Giles (4), was born in Salem, now South Dan
vers, October, 1744. Married, March 9, 1768,
Sarah Ellen Wood, of Beverly. He was a sea
faring man, shipmaster, of great personal
courage, energy and determination. At the
age of twenty-four he commanded a schooner
owned by John Prince and Miles Ward, Jr.,
of Salem. In the Revolution he commanded
the armed brig "Saratoga," of Beverly, belong
ing to John and Andrew Cabot, and his brother
was a lad in the' crew. In 1776 Captain Giles
sailed from Beverly in a brig of ten guns and
soon afterward fell in with a fleet of merchant
men laden with stores, bound from Jamaica to
London, four of which he captured : the ship
"Lucia," four hundred tons ; brigs "Alfred,"
"Success" and another, name unknown, of
three hundred tons each. In another cruise

he was less successful. Falling in with a Brit
ish vessel of equal or superior force and rely
ing on the boasted bravery of a newly shipped
crew, he gave battle. Immediately upon the
attack, a portion of his men proved by their
conduct that his confidence in their bravery
had been misplaced ; and after a short but sharp
engagement, in which he was wounded, he was
compelled to surrender, and was carried to
Halifax. His brothers Thomas and Benjamin
who were in the crew were killed, and his
brother-in-law, Benjamin Ives, was wounded.
Captain Giles had to have his leg amputated
twice in one day, after reaching Halifax, once
below, then above the knee. The operation
was performed by Dr. Jeffries, of Halifax,
later of Boston, and the surgeon of the priva
teer, Dr. Elisha Whitney, of Beverly. He lived
thirty years afterward, and continued to follow
the sea, having a wooden leg. He was master
and owner of a brig which he had built and
later altered into a ship called the "Harriet,"
the name of his daughter mentioned below,
and it was employed in the Liverpool trade.
He had a large property, but died abroad and
in some way his heirs were defrauded of
the greater part of it. He resided in Bev
erly and was actively interested in politics. He
adopted a young man of foreign birth, who
afterwards bore the name of Mark Giles ; re
siding in Beverly ; married Judith Haskell and
had a son Eleazer, born January 10, 1826, who
was second lieutenant of the Beverly Light
Infantry, Company E, Eighth Regiment,
Massachusetts Volunteers, in 1861. Captain
Giles died in Liverpool in. 1809. Children: 1.
Ebenezer, born April 15, 1769, married Han
nah Woodbury, of Beverly ; died without issue
at Prospect, Maine, about 1842. 2. Eleazer
Bishop, March 16, 1771, died young. 3. Eliz
abeth, April 27, 1773, married James Wright,
a native of Scotland; a baker in Salem; died
July, 1825 ; she died at a very advanced age.
4. Eleazer, January 23, 1775, died young. 5.
Eleazer, February 23, 1777, died May 21, 1779.
6. Benjamin, February 23, 1779, married
Nancy Williams, of Beverly. 7. Sarah, Jan
uary 9, 1 78 1, married, October 2, 1798, John
Lemon, a native of Ireland, cabinet-maker of
Andover, Massachusetts, and Maiden; she
died in Andover, September 18, 1853 ! had
eleven children. 8. Harriet, January 29, 1784,
mentioned below. 9. Eleazer, January 3,
1786, died about 1830, at father's house. 10.
Amelia, July 9, 1788, married John Brown, of
Ossipee, New Hampshire; lived in Boston;
had seven children.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

933

(VII) Harriet Giles, daughter of Captain
Eleazer Giles (6), was born in Beverly, January
29, 1784. Married, in Charlestown, Massachu
setts, January, 1822, Captain Benjamin Rus
sell, a ship-master of Salem. She died about
1836. Children: 1. Thomas, born August 7,
1823, died about 1901. 2. Harriet Elizabeth,
February 8, 1826, died May 20, 1905 ; married
Henry Amerige, of Boston. (See Amerige
sketch).

Edward Jackson, the immi-
JACKSON grant ancestor, was born in
London, England, in 1604, and
baptized February 3, 1604, in the parish of
Stepney, son of Christopher Jackson. He pur
chased land in Cambridge Village of Samuel
Holley in 1643. He was admitted a freeman
in May, 1645. In l^4^ he purchased a farm
in Cambridge Village of five hundred acres
of Governor Bradstreet for one hundred and
forty pounds, and this was long known as the
Mayhew farm, Bradstreet having bought it
from Thomas Mayhew, of Watertown, in
1636, with all the buildings thereon, for six
cows. This five hundred acre farm commenced
near what is now the division line between
Newton and Boston (formerly Brighton), and
extended westward, including what is now
Newtonville, and covering the site where
Judge Fuller's mansion house once stood. The
site where General Michael Jackson's mansion
house stood was near the centre of the May
hew farm; and a few rods nearer the brook
stood the old dwelling house conveyed with the
farm in Mayhew's deed to Bradstreet. The
house was built, of course, before 1638 and it
is therefore highly probably that it was the
first dwelling house built in Newton. The
cellar hole, according to Jackson's "History of
Newton," was still visible at the time the book
was written, a few rods from the brook, and
almost filled up. In laying out the old high
way in 1708 (long since discontinued) which
passed by the house, the description is, "cross
ing the brook near where the old house stood."
The house which was erected before 1638 was
gone before 1708. At the time of Edward's
death in 1681 his dwelling house was about
three-quarters of a mile easterly, near the line
of Brighton, about twenty rods northerly from
the road to Roxbury. It is described in the
inventory of his estate as a spacious mansion
with a hall designed no doubt for religious
meetings. He was chosen a deputy to the
general court from Cambridge in 1647, and

continued in that office for seventeen years,
and was honored with many other public
offices ; selectman of Cambridge in 1665 ; chair
man of a committee with Edward Oakes and
Lieutenant Governor Dan forth, appointed
x653> by the town of Cambridge, to lay out all
necessary highways in Cambridge on the south
side of the Charles river ; chairman of a com
mittee with John Jackson, Richard Park and
Samuel Hyde "to lay out and settle Highways,
as need shall require in Cambridge Village;"
one of the commissioners to end small causes
in Cambridge for several years. He was con
stantly present with Rev. John Eliot at his
lectures to the Indians at Nonantum, to take
notes of the questions of the Indians and of
the answers of Mr. Eliot. He was one of the
proprietors of Cambridge, and in the division
of the common lands there in 1662 he received
four acres, and in 1664 he had thirty acres.
He was also a large proprietor in Billerica
lands, and in the division of 1652 he had four
hundred acres which by his will he gave to
Harvard College, together with other bequests.
He was the author and first signer of a peti
tion to the general court in 1678, praying that
Cambridge Village might be set off from Cam
bridge and made an independent town. The
petition was granted in 1679, notwithstanding
the powerful opposition of Cambridge, which
in its bitter remonstrance bears strong and
honorable testimony of Edward Jackson.
After saying many hard words about the pe
titioners, it adds : "We would not be under
stood to include every particular person, for
we acknowledge that Mr. Jackson brought a
good estate to the town, as some others did,
and hath not been wanting to the ministry, or
any good work among us, and therefore we
would not reflect upon him in the least." Cap
tain Edward Johnson's "History of New Eng
land" contains a short notice of the characters
of many of the leading men of his time, among
whom he classes Edward Jackson, saying:
"He could not endure to see the truths of
Christ trampled under foot by the erroneous
party." He died June 17, 1681, aged seventy-nine
years and five months (gravestone). His in
ventory showed that he owned more than six
teen hundred acres of land, and the value of
his estate was 2,477 pounds 19 shillings six
pence, and included two slaves valued at five
pounds each. He was probably the first slave
holder of the town. He divided his lands
among his children in his life, erecting the ne
cessary bounds. It is a remarkable fact in

934

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

relation to Edward and his brother John, that
while Edward had but three sons and John five,
there are multitudes of descendants of Edward
and extremely few of John. Forty-four des-
cendents of Edward were in the revolution
from Newton, and not one of John's descend
ants. It is said that his son Sebas (or Sea
born) was born on the passage to this country.
If so, the mother, Frances, died on the voyage
or soon afterward. Jackson married second,
in March, 1649, Elizabeth Newgate, daughter
of John Newgate, and widow of Rev. John
Oliver, who graduated at Harvard in 1645,
and was first minister of Rumney Marsh, or
Chelsea. Children of Edward and Frances
Jackson: 1. Israel, baptized March 9, 1633,
died in infancy. 2. Margaret, baptized Janu
ary 1, 1633. 3. Hannah, born 1634, baptized
May 1, 1634. 4. Rebecca, baptized October
12, 1636. 5. Caleb, born 1638, baptized Oc
tober 10, 1638. 6. Joseph, baptized September
J3> I639- 7- Frances, died in Cambridge in
1648. 8. Jonathan. 9. Sebas, mentioned be
low. Children of second wife : 10. Sarah,
born January 5, 1650. 11. Edward, born De
cember 15, 1652. 12. Lydia, born 1656. 13.
Elizabeth, born April 28, 1658. 14. Ruth,
born January 15, 1664. These children inter
married with the Fuller, Prentice, Ward, Ho
bart and Bond families.
(II) Sebas Jackson, son of Edward Jack
son (1), was born about 1643, on ^e voyage,
according to tradition. At his father's death
he received the farm set apart for him during
his father's life, with dwelling house and one
hundred and fifty acres of land ; also two gild
ed silver spoons. The house was eighteen by
twenty-two feet, two stories in height, and
stood on the same spot occupied in later years
by the mansion of William Jackson. The old
house was built in 1670, enlarged in 1690 to
thirty-nine feet in length, and demolished in
1809. He died December 6, 1690, less than
fifty years of age, and none of his children
were of age. He left all his estate to his wife
for her maintenance and bringing up the chil
dren ; afterward to be divided among the chil
dren. His inventory amounted to about six
hundred pounds. Seventeen years after his
death the property was divided by agreement
of the heirs. He married Sarah Baker, April
19, 1671, daughter of Thomas Baker. Children,
born in Newton : 1. Edward, born September
12, 1672. 2. Sebas, born March 12, 1673,
died young. 3. John, born March 1, 1675. 4.
Sarah, born November 8, 1680. 5. Elizabeth,
born March 2, 1683. 6. John, born March 15,

1685. 7. Jonathan, born September 10, 1686 ;
lost at sea in 1714. 8. Mary, born December
27, 1687. 9. Joseph, born March 6, 1690;
mentioned below.
(Ill) Joseph Jackson, son of Sebas Jack
son (2), was born in Newton, Massachusetts,
March 6, 1690 ; married Patience, daughter of
Samuel Hyde, the grandson of Deacon Samuel
Hyde, November 28, 1717. She died October
25> I775> aged eighty-four. He died June 28,
1768, aged seventy-eight. He left a will, but on
petition of all the heirs it was set aside, be
cause, after he made his will, he sold most of
his real estate. The estate was settled by
agreement, the widow to have the real estate
during her life, after which it was to go to the
son Timothy. Joseph and his brother Edward
had a long and expensive lawsuit over the
settlement of the estate of their brother Jon
athan, who was lost at sea, and Joseph was at
the court house so much that he acquired con
siderable knowledge of law, was called a quack
lawyer, and was often consulted by his friends
and neighbors. But this experience cost him
most of his property. He was a clothier, wor
sted comber, and farmer also, a good penman,
and well informed for his day. He was fam
ous for raising honey bees, and sweetened his
minister and neighbors with large donations of
honey. Parson Cotton came annually for his
pot of honey. Jackson had much company in
honey time, and treated his guests with bread,
spread with butter and honey, and with
."matheiglin" (sic) and cider to wash it down.
He was so lame during his last years as to be
unable to walk, but could use his arms with
much vigor, and he used to sit in an arm chair
especially constructed for him, to cut wood,
and even to plant, hoe and weed his garden.
The chair has been preserved by his descend
ants. Concerning this chair, Mrs. Marian Gil
bert, a descendant of the fifth generation, wife
of Rev. Lyman Gilbert, wrote a most charm
ing poem, a portion of which is in Jackson's
"History of Newton," from which the mater
ial for this sketch has been gathered largely.
Children, born at Newton: 1. Lydia, born
September 20, 1718. 2. Timothy, born April
20, 1726; mentioned below. 3. Joseph, born
August 2, 1729. 4. Patience, born April 21,
1734; married April, 1762, Thaddeus Spring
and settled in Weston.
(IV) Lieutenant Timothy Jackson, son of
Joseph Jackson (3), was born in Newton,
April 20, 1726; married February 20, 1752,
Sarah Smith, of Cambridge. He lived in the
old mansion in the eastern half. He was a

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

935

soldier of the French and Indian war, and dur
ing his absence his wife conducted the farm.
He died June 18, 1774, of consumption, in
testate and insolvent, but his widow Sarah
managed to pay off the debts from her own
property. She was a woman of great courage
and perseverance. She died November 27,
1797, aged eighty-one. Children: 1. Lucy,
born January 22, 1753, married Moses South
er. 2. Sarah, born November 9, 1754, died
unmarried. 3. Timothy, born August 3, 1756;
mentioned below. 4. Mary, born January 22,
1760, married Caleb Gardner, of Brookline.
5. Abigail, born June 10, 1763; died unmar
ried, December 5, 1851.
(V) Major Timothy Jackson, son of Lieu
tenant Timothy Jackson (4), was born August
3, 1756, at Newton. He inherited a part of the
original homestead in Newton, and dwelt un
der the same roof that had sheltered his an
cestors for several generations. This house
was finally torn down in the spring of 1809.
He was athletic and robust in physique, and
had an active and vigorous mind. He had the
usual common school education of his day.
At the age of fifteen he joined one of the
Newton militia companies, and at the age of
eighteen belonged to an independent company
of minutemen in Newton, raised in January,
1775, in accordance with the plans of the Whig
leaders, and when the company responded to
the Lexington Alarm he was corporal. He
heard the signal guns in early morning an
nouncing that the British troops were in mo
tion, and at break of day went to the captain's
house and received orders to warn the com
pany to meet on the parade grounds forthwith,
and before eight o'clock the company was
marching toward Lexington to join their reg
iment at Watertown. Thence the regiment
proceeded to the scene of hostilities, and at
Concord encountered Lord Percy's reserves,
and harassed the retreating British on the
flank and rear until nightfall, when at Lech
mere Point the red-coats embarked in their
boats' and passed out of reach of the Ameri
cans. This company of minutemen publicly
received the thanks of General Warren for
their zeal and bravery throughout the day.
Soon after the battle of Bunker Hill a com
pany was raised to serve eight months, mostly
of Newton men, commanded by Captain Nath
an Fuller, of Newton, and joined the Conti-
nential army under Washington, at Cambridge.
During the last four months of this term he
joined the company, and was appointed order
ly sergeant by Captain Fuller. In September,

1776, he entered the service again on a priva
teer fitted out at Salem, sailing on a cruise the
nineteenth of that month. Ten days later she
was captured by the British frigate "Perseus,"
after a running fight, in which Jackson was
wounded in the neck by a musket ball. The
prisoners were taken to New York city and
"confined in one of those floating hells called
prison ships." After six months torture in
that loathsome place he was impressed into the
British naval service, and placed on board a
large Indiaman, pierced for thirty-six guns, as
a convoy to a fleet of transports to England.
Of the thirty-six men composing the crew of
this ship, ten were impressed Americans.
After a rough and boisterous voyage of eighty
days they arrived in London. Next he was
assigned to a Spanish-built guardship of one
hundred and twenty guns in the Thames, and
transferred thence to the frigate "Experi
ment," bound for Lisbon. On his return from
Lisbon he was put on board Lord Howe's
flagship, and sailed with the fleet to the West
Indies. While on that station he was trans
ferred to the frigate "Grasshopper." After
the cruel treatment he had received on board
these British war vessels he determined to
stand it no longer, and while the "Grasshop
per" lay at anchor in the harbor of Antigua,
about half a mile from shore, he took advan
tage of a severe shower which had driven the
sentinel below, to pass over the stern of the
ship at midnight, unobserved, and sat upon
.the chains until the storm abated, when he
swam ashore. He was quite exhausted by his
half hour of swimming. He walked to St.
Johns, and shipped as a sailor on an English
sloop, Captain Clark, who traded among the
English Islands, but was bound eventually for
New York. He changed his voyage, however, '
and sailed for Cork, Ireland, and Jackson left
the ship at St. Kitts, where he succeeded in en
gaging passage to North Carolina in a pilot
boat, and thence shipped in a vessel bound for
Boston. But on this voyage he was again cap
tured by the British and carried into New
York. While the vessel was furling sails and
hauling alongside the wharf, he made his es
cape unobserved, traveled by land two days
and nights, and had nearly reached the Ameri
can lines when he was captured by an advance
guard of Hessian troops and carried back to
prison in New York, in January, 1778. He
was kept in his loathsome jail for six months,
and his sufferings were appalling. Smallpox
raged, and scarcely a day passed that he did
not see some American soldier writhing in the

936

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

agony of death from this disease. Soon after
the battle of Monmouth he Was exchanged,
and in July, 1778, returned to the American
army in a state of destitution, then two hun
dred miles from home, and without a penny.
Fortunately he met a townsman, Daniel Jack
son, then a sergeant in Captain Bryant's com
pany of artillery, who lent him money for the
journey home, where he arrived in the autumn
of 1778, after an absence of one year and ten
months. After a few months visit to the army
at Rhode Island in the spring of 1779, he took
the homestead at Newton, and settled down as
a farmer, at the age of twenty-three.
At the annual town meeting in March, 1780,
he was elected on the school committee, and
on a committee to raise men for the Conti
nental army. From that time until his last sick
ness in 181 1 he was continually serving town
and state offices ; was adjutant and brigade
major in the militia; kept the public school in
the north district two winter terms ; was dep
uty sheriff of Middlesex county from 1791 to
1801, ten years; selectman many years; mod
erator of nearly all the town meetings from
1795 to 1810 inclusive, and representative to
the general court fifteen years in succession
from 1797. He died November 22, 1814, after
an illness of three years. He was a man of
sound judgment, sterling integrity, and digni
fied bearing; he naturally took a leading part
in public affairs, being for many years the
foremost citizen of the town. He married,
November 28, 1782, Sarah Winchester, daugh
ter of Stephen Winchster. Children, born in
Newton: 1. William, born September 2, 1783.
2. Lucretia, born August 16, 1785, died De
cember 28, 1812; married Enoch Wiswall. 3.
, Stephen W., born March 19, 1787. 4. Francis,
born March 7, 1789. 5. George, born April
22, 1792. 6. Edmund, born January 9, 1795;
mentioned below.
(VI) Edmund Jackson, son of Major Tim
othy Jackson (5), was born in Newton, Jan
uary 9, 1795. He was educated there in the
public schools. He engaged in the manufac
ture of candles and soap when a young man,
established a flourishing business and acquired
a competence. He became intensely interest
ed in the anti-slavery movement, and after he
retired from business, when he was about fifty
years of age, he gave all his time to that cause,
devoting practically all of the remainder of
his life in his efforts to free the slaves in this
country. He became very prominent in the
movement, and was a friend of the Garrisons,
Phillips and other leaders. He was originally

a Whig in politics, and was a faithful and ear
nest member of the Unitarian church. Mr.
Jackson was the founder of the Newton Pub
lic Library, and was its superintendent for
many years, and until the city took it as a
municipal department.
He married, January, 1827, Mary Harriet
Hewes, born in Boston, December 5, 1803.
Children, born in Boston: 1. Charles H.,
born December 17, 1827; died 1828. 2. Har
riet W., born December 3, 1828; married The
odore A. Simmons, and had one daughter. 3.
Edmund, born May 26, 1830; married Anna
Woodward; no children. 4. Henry, born
September 5, 1831 ; died 1832. 5. Ellen, born
June 30, 1833; married Eben Tarbell; had
five children. 6. Sarah, born September 25,
1835, died in infancy. 7. Mary F., born April
4, 1837, died 1842. 8. Charles, born August
24, 1839, died 1842. 9. Frederick, born May
9, 1841, deceased; married Harriet Allen, had
three children. He enlisted in 1862 in the
Forty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry, in Com
pany D. 10. Anna Louisa, born February
12, 1844; resides at home. 11. Lewis, born
September 27, 1847; died in infancy.

The immigrant ancestor of Ir-
WRIGHT win Orlay Wright, of Med
ford, was Walter Wright, of
Andover, Massachusetts. He seems to have
come from England as early as 1663 or 1664.
The town records of Andover state that Wal
ter Wright was on a coroner's jury April 21,
1664, that "sat on ye body of Peter Allyn who
was drowned in ye Shawshine River about a
myle from ye town of Andover." He was a
weaver and twenty-two years of age at that
time. In 1673 Walter Wright and Edward
Whittington, weavers, were granted land "for
the encouragement of erecting a fulling mill."
May 4, 1696, the town voted that "ten men
hereafter named shall have the liberty of mak
ing a ware for ye catching of fish in Merri
mack River — on the following conditions, viz :
to sell to ye inhabitants of this town at any
price not exceeding twelve pence ye score and
ye inhabitants of this town to be supplied be
fore strangers." Walter Wright, Sr., was one
of the ten. He died October 20, 1712, at the
age of seventy. By his will which was signed
January 31, 1711-12, and probated November
3, 1712, it appears he was a farmer as well as
weaver, as he disposed of considerable real es
tate and cattle and sheep. February 26, 1667,
he married Susannah Johnson, daughter of

MIDDLESEX COUNTY

937

Stephen and Elizabeth Johnson, of Andover.
She died June 3, 1684, and he married Eliza
beth Sadis, at Andover. She died October 31,
I7r3> aged about seventy-one. Children, all
born in Andover: 1. Walter, born February
25, 1668, married Experience Hiller, May 23,
1703. 2. Christopher, born November 27,
1671, died January 16, 1673. 3. Mary, born
January 22, 1673, died March 22, 1673. 4.
John, born February 10, 1676, married Mercy
Wardwell, August 31, 1697, died February 16,
1754. 5. Thomas, born March 4, 1678. 6.
Elizabeth, born July 20, 1685. 7 Dorothy,
born July 23, 1688, married William Wardwell,
November 25,- 1706. 8. Joseph, born October
28, 1693, married Sarah Chandler, January
12, 1712. 9. Sarah, born March 20, 1696. 10.
Abigail, born January 31, 1699. 11. Benja
min, born about I700, married Mary Bennett,
of Gloucester. The will mentions another
daughter, but no name is given. The above
eleven children are all there are on record.
(II) Joseph Wright, born in 1693, married
Sarah Chandler, of Andover, January 12,
1712. She died March 15, 1737, aged forty-
four, in Woodstock, Connecticut. He received
from his father ye house and land which he
bought of Joseph Marble on ye west side of
Shawshine River, and a pair of oxen and plow
irons and hoops for cart wheels, and a young
horse colt and a draft chain and an axle when
he reached the age of twenty-one years. In
1722 he sold his Andover property and moved
to Woodstock, Connecticut, like some of his
neighbors. May 5, 1722, he bought of Samuel
Lilley, of Woodstock, a house and forty acres
of land for £90, and moved there the same
month. He afterwards bought three other lots
in that town, where he spent the remainder of
his life. He was a farmer. According to the
town records of Woodstock "in the night of
March 15, 1737, the house of Captain Joseph
Wright was destroyed by fire, and in it his wife
Sarah, son Abid, and a man servant named
John Page, aged thirty." The same year he
married for second wife Elizabeth 

at Woodstock, married Joshua

-, Febru-

She died December 28, 1846. He died in 1747
Children: 1. Joseph, born November 13, 1713
2. Sarah, born August 4, 1715, at Andover
married Edmund Chamberlain, June 1, 1733
3. Hannah, born June 20, 17 17, at Andover
married Bentley Peters, January 8, 1734. 4
Elizabeth, born February 13, 1719, at And
over, married John Carpenter, November 23,
1738. 5. Hepsibah, born October 14, 1720,
at Andover, married Enos Bartholomew
Woodstock. 6. Mary, born August 5, 1722,

ary 11, 1741, of Maiden, Massachusetts. 7.
John, born April 20, 1724, died January 13,
1733. 8. Abiel, born March 11, 1726, died
March 15, 1737. 9. Abigail, born February
15, 1728, at Woodstock, to. Dorothy, born
April 3, 1730, at Woodstock, married Pennel
Bacon. 11. Dorcas, born March 12, 1732, at
Woodstock, married Thomas Jewell. 12.
John, born June 29, 1734, died October 22,
1734- (III) Joseph Wright, born in Andover, in
November 13, 1713, went to Woodstock with
the rest of the family in 1722. Married Abi
gail Chaffee, in Woodstock, May 22, 1733. She
died in 1745, and in 1746 he married for a
second wife, Mary  . In 1767 or 1768
the family moved to Winchester, New Hamp
shire, where he died March 27, 1785. Chil
dren, all born at Woodstock: 1. Sarah, born
September 29, 1734, married Abiel Narrimore,
in Winchester, New Hampshire. 2. Huldah,
born March 21, 1736. 3. Abiel, October 9,
1739, died young. 4. Abigail, September 8,
1741. 5. Samuel, born January 28, 1744. 6.
Hannah, December 16, 1747, married Deacon
Asahel Jewell, November 5, 1767. 7. Rebec
ca, February 26, 1749, married Mr. Richards,
in Winchester.
(IV) Samuel Wright, born in Woodstock,
January 28, 1744, where he learned the shoe
maker's trade. In 1768 he married Mary Co-
burn, in Winchester, New Hampshire, and set
tled 'there and became a farmer. The same
year he bought of Josiah Willard in Winches
ter, "a lot of land in that town situated on
the side of Meeting House Hill and shore of
Humphrey Pond." The latter is two miles
north of Winchester Village. Samuel Wright
was a soldier serving as a lieutenant in Colonel
Ashley's regiment of New Hampshire militia,
on June 29, 1777, for the relief of Ticonder-
oga. On page 888 of Vol. Ill of the New
Hampshire State Papers, Samuel Wright is
named as one of the five selectmen of Win
chester, New Hampshire, who on April 22,
1782, ordered the town treasurer to give a
receipt for all soldier bounties "due to the town
of Winchester." He died July, 1786. Accord
ing to the inventory of his estate, the home
farm of two hundred and sixty-three acres
was appraised at £393 sterling, and the build
ings at £100 sterling. After his death his wid
ow Mary married Samuel Smalley for her sec
ond husband, and after his death she went to *
live with her -son-in-law, Samuel Gleason.
Children, all born in Winchester : 1. Mary,

938

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

born in 1769, married Richard Gale, January
17, 1787, in Winchester. 2. Azubah, born Sep
tember 10, 1772, married Samuel Gleason, De
cember 26, 1787. 3. Susannah, born 1775,
married Robert Prentiss. 4. Eunice, born
1775, married Daniel Twitchell, in 1794. 5.
Olive, born August 8, 1777, married David
Hatch, of Chelsea, Vermont. 6. Erastus, born
January 29, 1779. 7. Jason, born April, 1781,
married Lydia Thayer, about 181 1. 8. Clar
issa, born 1783, married Horace Hedges, 1813.
9. Samuel, born August, 1786, married Lu-
cinda Hedges, removed to Norwich, Vermont.
She died 1817, and he married, in 1818, Clara
Dyer. He was a blacksmith, and the only
skilled edge tool maker in that part of Ver
mont at that time.
(V) Erastus Wright, born January 29,
1779, in Winchester, New Hampshire, married
Susannah Pratt, of Winchester, in 1804. She
died June 10, 1849, aged sixty-eight. In his
old age he lived with his son, Dr. Samuel G.
Wright, of Gill, and after his death with his
oldest son, Noah P. Wright, at Keene, where
he died October 26, 1865. He was a black
smith, and according to the historian of the
Wright family, Mr. Samuel Morrison Wright,
he was "one of the happiest dispositioned men"
he ever knew. Children, all born in Winches
ter : 1. Olivia Pratt, born October 9, 1805,
married Larnard Hawkins. 2. Orvilla, born
October 11, 1807, married Rev. Obed Sperry.
3. Diana, born July 14, 1809, married Allen
Cross, in 1737. 4. Noah Pratt, born June 4,
181 1, married Joanna Stamford. 5. Mary
Ann, born January 1, 1814, married Ephraim
Foster, in 1856. 6. Erastus Alonzo, born
February, 1816, married Abby S. Walker. 7.
Susan Elvira, born May 22, 1818, married
Richard Moore, April 8, 1843. 8. Sarah
Alexander, born October 8, 1822, married
Charles Richardson. 9. Samuel Gleason, born
September 20, 1826.
(VI) Dr. Samuel Gleason Wright, born
September 20, 1826, in Winchester, married
Louisa B. Randall, of Richmond, New Hamp
shire, March 15, 1855. He died at Gill, Mass
achusetts, October 2, 1861. He received his
education in the schools of Winchester and
Mount Caesar Academy, Swanzey. He stud
ied medicine with Dr. Pierce, in Winchester,
and attended the Berkshire Medical College at
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, at that time a very
popular institution, and graduated there. He
commenced the practice of his profession in
his native town of Winchester; but a little later
went to Gill, Massachusetts, and opened an

office there. He was a young man of marked
ability, was showing great skill in his profes
sion, had secured the confidence of the com
munity, and was having a large practice, but
died at Gill, October 2, 1861, as the result of
an accident deeply lamented by the entire com
munity. After his untimely death his wife re
turned to Richmond, New Hampshire, her
former home, and took up the work of teacher,
and subsequently taught in Swanzey. Her
father, Joseph Randall, died when she was
twelve years old, and she had been thrown
much upon her own resources. She was bright
and talented, and was eager to acquire an edu
cation. The country district schools in the
forties were not graded, and the teachers were
for the most part inexperienced and did not
remain in the same school long enough to win
success. In 1846, when only sixteen years old,
Mrs. Wright began her work as a teacher.
From that time until her marriage, in 1855,
with Dr. Wright, she gave a part of her time
to teaching and a part of her time to study at
Mount Caesar Academy. There were at that
time no colleges for women, but by her untir
ing industry and perseverance she obtained
an education equal to most college graduates
of the present time. After her husband's
death she found herself with two little children
to care for, the youngest being only two years
old, and with scanty means for their support.
This responsibility, stress and strain developed
all her powers of mind and heart. She turned
to teaching as a means of livelihood for her
self and her little ones, and she made it a pro
fession. In 1868 she went to Troy, New
Hampshire, teaching in the district schools,
and later in the high school, remaining there
for seventeen years. Though the high school
was largely supported by tuition fees, her great
popularity as a teacher kept the school room
crowded to its full capacity. She became a
power in the life of the town, and helped much
in its intellectual and moral development. It
was while teaching there that she completed
her one hundredth term of school, and she
was honored by her former pupils and the peo
ple of the town by a public reception and ad
dresses from several leading townsmen com
mending her work in the highest terms. She
accepted an invitation to go to Marlboro, New
Hampshire, and taught in the high school there
for five years, gaining new laurels. In fact,
her reputation as a successful teacher was so
great that her services were in great demand.
Some of her former pupils prevailed on her to
accept a position as teacher in Seneca, Kansas,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

939

a thriving city in that new state. In the last
eight years of her teaching there she was the
principal of a fine new twelve room building
in which she taught the high school depart
ment, and for the last three years before she
resigned her pupils were admitted to college
without any examination, but on certificate —
the best possible proof of her thorough and
excellent work as a teacher in preparing pu
pils for entering college. But her health had
become somewhat impaired, and she resigned
her position when she had reached the height
of her remarkable career. In the home of her
son, Mr. Irwin O. Wright, of West Medford,
Massachusetts, she spent the remaining years
of her life, occasionally revisiting some of the
places and friends that she had known in her
fifty years as a teacher. She died in Novem
ber, 1901. Mrs. Wright was more than a
teacher ; she was a thorough scholar in all the
branches she undertook to teach. She kept
abreast of the age, and made herself the peer
of all who occupied like positions with herself.
She was a lover of the beautiful in nature, in
art and in literature. Children, born in Gill,
Massachusetts: 1. Irwin Orlay, born June 5,
1856. 2. Lillian Adelle, October 2, 1859, mar
ried Lee S. McCollester, died of consumption,
in 1886, at Claremon't, New Hampshire.
(VII) Irwin O. Wright, born in Gill, June
5, 1856, married Mary Evelyn Dearborn,
daughter of Joseph A. and Evelyn (Leavitt)
Dearborn, of Hampton, New Hampshire, in
1882. Mr. Wright was educated in the schools
of Troy, New Hampshire, came to Boston in
1873. From 1874 to 1890 he was in a tele
graph office in Boston. Since 1890 he has been
in the telephone work, and for several years
has been superintendent of the Boston division
of the New England Telegraph and Telephone
Company, with office at 119 Milk street, Bos
ton. He is a member of the Boston Athletic
Association, Boston City Club, New Hamp
shire Club, of Boston, Medford Savings Bank
Corporation, Medford Council, Royal and Sel
ect Masters, Coeur de Lion Commandery of
Knights Templar. He is a life member of
the Medford Historical Society, was the first
president of the Medford Citizens' Associa
tion, is a member of the Medford Club, and
was its president for three terms. He resides
on Boston avenue, West Medford. They have
one child, Hope Wright, born January 17,
1898, in West Medford.
On his maternal line of ancestry he is
descended from William Randall ( 1 ) who was
born in England, and came to Providence,

Rhode Island, in 1635. He lived in Marsh
field, Massachusetts, in 1637, and removed to
Scituate, Massachusetts, in 1640, where he
lived until his death. His wife's name was
Elizabeth  . They had nine children,
born in Scituate, of whom the oldest was Wil
liam Randall (2), born in 1649, died in 1712.
He settled in Providence, where he was a mil
ler. He married Rebecca Fowler, daughter of
Henry Fowler, of Providence, Rhode Island.
They had five children, the oldest of whom
was William Randall (3), born September 10,
1675." They lived in Providence. He married
Abiel  ¦ — . They had eleven children of
whom the oldest was William Randall (4),
born in 1698, and lived in Rhode Island. He
married, April 14, 1720, Mercy Williams,
daughter of Joseph and Lydia (Hearndon)
Williams, and great-grand-daughter of Roger
Williams. His brothers, Joseph and John,
married sisters of Mercy . Williams. William
and Mercy (Williams) Randall had four chil
dren. The oldest child was Abraham Randall
(5). He was born November 24, 1731, and
settled in Smithfield, Rhode Island, but re
moved to Richmond, New Hampshire, with his
family in 1763, where he was substantially the
first settler in the town. He changed again in
1786 to Swanzey, New Hampshire, where he
remained till he died. He married Sarah Ly
ons, and they had eleven children. The sixth
child was Levi Randall (6), born December
22, 1761, in Rhode Island. He settled in Rich
mond, New Hampshire. He married Huldah
Newell, daughter of Joseph Newell, November
12, 1792. They had fifteen children. The third
child was Joseph Randall (7), born August
24, 1796, in Richmond, New Hampshire. He
removed in 1823 to McDonough, Chenango
county, New York, where he died a few years
later, when his family returned to Richmond.
His wife was Mary Holbrook, daughter of
David Holbrook. They had seven children of
whom the sixth was Louisa Randall (8), born
June 2, 1830. She was a teacher in her early
life, and again after the death of her husband.
She married Dr. Samuel Gleason Wright.
They had two children, the oldest was Irwin O.
Wright (9) of West Medford, Massachusetts,
married Mary Evelyn Dearborn.
(I) Mrs. Mary Evelyn (Dearborn) Wright,
the wife of Irwin Orlay Wright, is a lineal
descendant of Godfrey Dearborn, one of the
early settlers of Hampton, New Hampshire.
He came from England to Exeter, New Hamp
shire, and was one of the thirty-five men
who signed the famous combination for the

940

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

government of the place in 1639., About 1649
he went to Hampton, and he seems to have
been a leading citizen of that town. He mar
ried his first wife in England, but her name is
not known; November 25, 1662, he married
(second) Dorothy, the widow of Philemon
Dalton, of Hampton. Children, all by his first
wife: 1. Henry, born about 1633, married
Elizabeth Marrian, died January 18, 1725. 2.
Thomas, born about 1634, married Hannah
Colcord, died April 14, 1710. 3. Esther, mar
ried Richard Shortridge, of Portsmouth. 4.
Sarah, born about 1641, married Thomas
Nudd, died August 21, 1714. 5. John, born
about 1642.
(II) John Dearborn was born about 1642,
died November 14, 1731. He married, Decem
ber 12, 1672, Mary Ward, daughter of Thomas
Ward. In Dow's History of Hampton, it is
stated that he was one of a company formed
in 1692 to build a saw mill on Little river,
Hampton. October 31, 1699, he was recorded
as one of the owners of the brigantine "In
crease," forty tons burthen, that had just been
built in Hampton. In 1704 he was one of a
committee of three to build a barn on the par
sonage (lot) for the use of the minister. In
the record of his death he was called "good
old John Dearborn." Children: 1. John, born
September 2, 1673. 2. Thomas, born June 22,
1676, married Huldah Smith, died April 4,
1754. 3. Mary, born May 6, 1678, married
Stephen Batchelder.
(Ill) John Dearborn, deacon, born Septem
ber 2, 1673, died March 19, 1746. Married Han
nah Dow, daughter of David and Elizabeth
(Lamprey) Dow, January 10, 1695. In 1710
he was appointed one of the committee to pro
cure a minister for the town. At a meeting of
the church in Hampton in 1721, he was elected
one of the deacons. Children, born in Hamp
ton : 1. Ann, born October 22, 1695, married
Joseph Philbrick, July 30, 1718. 2. Joseph,
born April 9, 1699, died December 9, 1700. 3.
John, born March 28, 1703.
(IV) John Dearborn, born March 28, 1703,
died March 24, 1754. Married Anna Sanborn,
daughter of John and Ruth (Robie) Sanborn,
September 30, 1724. They lived in Hampton,
and their children were born there. 1. Anne,
born December 17, 1725, married Joseph Wad-
leigh, January 14, 1749. 2. John, baptized
December 22, 1728, died young. 3. Hannah,
born December 3, 1730, married Thomas
Blake. 4. Mary, born August 1, 1732, mar
ried  Wadleigh. 5. Ruth, born June 5,
1734, married Dearborn Blake. 6. Elizabeth,

born March 5, 1736, married Joseph Sanborn.
7. Josiah, born January 11, 1738, married
Sarah Freese, died September 15, 1814. 8.
John, born July 2, 1740. 9. Miriam, born May
8, 1742, married Jeremiah Sanborn. 10. Paul,
born September 29, 1744,. died September 22,
1746. (V) John Dearborn, captain, born Hamp
ton, July 2, 1740, died October 19, 1794. Mar
ried Zipporah Towle, daughter of Francis
Towle. He was a member of the committee of
safety and captain in the Revolutionary war.
(See History Hampton, pp. 255 and 272).
Children, born in Hampton: 1. John, born
August 3, 1763, married Mary Marston; mar
ried (second), Deborah Cote, died December,
1845. 2. Dolly, born July 12, 1765, married
Jonathan Marston, died May 21, 1785. 3.
Jeremiah, born January 8, 1768, married
(first), Ruth, and (second), Nancy, daughters
of Nathaniel Batchelder; moved to Parsons-
field, Maine, died January 25, 1851. 4. Levi,
born December 25, 1769, married Patience
Godfrey, died September 27, 1848. 5. Francis,
born April 3, 1772, married and settled in Par-
sonsfield. 6. Jacob, born May 8, 1774, mar
ried Mary Brown ; settled in Parsonsfield, died
in 1854. 7, Elizabeth, .born September 12,
1776, married Joseph Sanborn, of Sanbornton.
8. Zipporah, born June 15, 1778, married Dav
id Towle, died October 23, 1846. 9. Anna
(Nancy), born June 12, 1781, married Eben
ezer Dearborn, son of Phineas. 10. Josiah,
born November 12, 1783. 11. Thomas, born
August 25, 1786, married Ruth, daughter of
David Johnson. 12. Jonathan, born August
22, 1788, married Sarah Towle, died February
24, 1862.
(VI) Josiah Dearborn, blacksmith, born
November 12, 1783, in Hampton, died 1866.
Married Anna S., daughter of Thomas and
Rachel (Philbrick) Leavitt, was many years a
tavern keeper in Hampton. He built the Union
House on the site of the old Leavitt Tavern;
member of a newly organized fire company in
1833. Children, all born in Hampton: I.
Samuel, born August 28, 1804, married Eliz
abeth Murphy, died 1866. 2. Sally, born June
2, 1806, married David Marston. 3. John,
born September, 1807. 4. Dolly, born August
25, 1810, married Jacob H. Brown, died Au
gust 20, 1848. 5. Josephine, born September
25, 1821, married Major David Marston.
(VII) John Dearborn, born in September,
1807, married (first) Mary Ann Towle,
daughter of James and Abigail (Brown)
Towle, July 12, 1828; married (second), Sep-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

941

tember 28, 1846, Deborah, daughter of Isaac
and Mary (Mace) Marston. They lived in
Hampton. Children: 1. Abby Ann, born No
vember 6, 1828, married, September 27, 1851,
John Newell Brown, of Seabrook. 2. Josiah
James, born October 17, 1830, married Nancy
Knowles. 3. Joseph Alvin, born March 18,
1832. 4. John Worthen, born August 22,
1833, married Sarah M. Brown. 5. Samuel
Wesley, born July 19, 1835, married Sarah O.
Mason. 6. Hale Bradford, born February 10,
1840, drowned in the canal at Richmond, Vir
ginia, October 11, 1865. 7. Thomas Horace,
born March -18, 1842, married Mary Dow.
(VIII) Joseph A. Dearborn, born March
18, 1832, married Eveline, daughter of David
M. and Clarissa (Towle) Leavitt. He is a
carpenter, and they live in Hampton. Chil
dren; 1. Clara Maria, married John Orrin
Drake, of Rye. 2. Mary Evelyn, married
Irwin O. Wright. 3. Marcia Leavitt.
(V) Major General Henry Dearborn, born
in 1 75 1, went to Nottingham, New Hampshire,
and settled as a physician, but responded for
the call for minute men and commanded a
company at Bunker Hill ; was major at the sur
render of Burgoyne, and distinguished him
self at Monmouth. He was a member of con
gress from Massachusetts from 1793 to 1797,
and secretary of war 1801 to 1809. As senior
major general, he was in command of the
United States army at one time, and in the war
of 1812 took York (now Toronto in Canada),
and Fort George at the mouth of the Niagara
river. He was United States minister to Por
tugal, 1822-24; died at Roxbury in 1829. Gen
eral Dearborn was third cousin of Captain
John Dearborn (5).

John Pierce (or Pers), was the
PIERCE immigrant ancestor of the Pierce
family in America. He was born
in Norwich, Norfolk, England, in 1588, and
died August 19, 1666, in Watertown, Massa
chusetts. ' He was a weaver. He came to New
England either in the "John and Dorothy" of
Norwich, or the "Rose" of Yarmouth. Wil
liam Andrews was master of the former, and
William Andrews, Jr., of the latter. With
him were his wife Elizabeth, and children,
John, Barbara, Elizabeth, Judith, and one ser
vant, John Gedney, aged nineteen years. These
were the younger children, some having pre
ceded their parents. He settled at Watertown,
Massachusetts. He was made a freeman,
March, 1638-39. Children: 1. Anthony, born

1609, mentioned below. 2. Esther, married,
1636, Joseph Morse, Jr. 3. Mary, married
Clement Coldam. 4. Robert, born about
1620. 5. John. 6. Barbara. 7. Elizabeth,
married, 1643, John Ball, Jr. 8. Judith, mar
ried Francis Wyman.
(II) Anthony Pierce, son of John Pierce
( 1 ) , was born in England in 1609. He came to
New England before his father and settled in
Watertown, near Cambridge. His homestall
was on the north side of the road from Cam
bridge to Watertown, west of the homestall of
John Stowers. He bequeathed it to his sons
Joseph and Benjamin. He had also a farm of
eighty-six acres and other lands. He was,
admitted a freeman September 3, 1634. His
wife Mary died 1633. He married (second)
1633, Ann  , who died January 20, 1682
83. His will was proved September 6, 1671
Children: 1. John. 2. Mary born December
28, 1633, died young. 3. Mary, 1636. 4
Jacob, September 15, 1637. 5. Daniel, Janu
ary 1, 1639-40. 6. Martha, April 24, 1641. 7
Joseph, 1647, mentioned below. 8. George
1649. 9. Judith, July 8, 1650.
(Ill) Joseph Pierce, son of Anthony Pierce
(2), was born in Watertown, Massachusetts,
probably in 1647. He married (first) Martha
 ¦, and (second), June 15, 1698,' Elizabeth
(Kendall) Winship, daughter of Francis Ken
dall, of Woburn, and widow of Ephraim Win
ship, of Cambridge. She was born at Woburn,
January 15, 1652. He was admitted a freeman
April 18, 1690, and he died in 1713. His
widow Elizabeth and son Jacob were appointed
to administer the estate December 2, 1713.
Children, all born at Watertown: 1. Joseph,
born October 2, 1669. 2. Francis, July 27,
1671, mentioned below. 3. John, May 27,
1673. 4. Mary, November 26, 1674. 5. Ben
jamin, March 25, 1677. 6. Jacob, December
25, 1678. 7. Martha, December 24, 1681. 8.
Stephen, October, 1683. 9. Israel, October 7,
1685. 10. Elizabeth, September 9, 1687, mar
ried Joseph Bemis.
(IV) Francis Pierce, son of Joseph Pierce
(3) was born at Watertown, July 27, 167 1.
He married, December 17, 1697, Hannah John
son, of Lexington ; "a good girl whom I love,"
wrote Rev. Mr. Bailey. She was then living
at Mr. Bond's, was baptized and owned the
covenant February 27, 1686-87. Mr. Pierce
was one of the original members of the Wes
ton Church. John Johnson, of Cambridge,
gave his daughter Hannah, wife of Francis
Pierce, two houses and lands in Cambridge
Farms (Lexington). The will of Francis

942

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Pierce was dated~ April 18, 1728, and was
proved June 10, 1728, bequeathing to his
eldest son Francis, and to other children, Wil
liam, Jacob, Thomas and Hannah. He died
in Weston, April 22, 1728. Children, born in
Weston : 1. Francis, born February 14, 1698,
married (published July 23), 1722, Ruth
Graves. 2. Hannah, September 3, 1702, died
young. 3. Thomas, October 4, 1705, men
tioned below. 4. William, May 1, 1708, mar
ried Sarah Whitney. 5. Mary, July 11, died
August, 1711. 6. Jacob, August 9, 1712, mar
ried Mary Chadwick. 7. Ebenezer, died No
vember, 1714. 8. Hannah, March 8, 1715-16,
married, November 5, 1743, Joseph Locke, of
Lexington. 9. Jonas, 1717, married, April 30,
1743, Mary Adams.
(V) Thomas Pierce, son of Francis Pierce
(4), was born in Weston, Massachusetts, Oc
tober 4, 1705. Married, June 5, 1728, Mary
Huse. Children, born in Weston: 1. Mary,
born April 13, 1729, married, April 7, 1748,
Daniel Carter, Jr. 2. Moses, August 16, 1730,
married, January 17, 1752, Mehitable Rice. 3.
Daniel, April 6, 1733, died young. 4. Han
nah, October 15, 1734, married, December 20,
1753, John Parker. 5. Ephraim, March 5,
1736, died young. 6. Lydia, May 6, 1739,
died October 25, 1740. 7. Lydia, July 22,
1 741, died January 7, 1755. 8. Ephraim,
March 31, 1743, married, December 31, 1765,
Lois Brown. 9. Daniel, July 3, 1749, died at
sea. (VI) Moses Pierce, son of Thomas Pierce
(5), was born in Weston, Massachusetts, Au
gust 16, 1730, and died there. He married,
January 17, 1752, Mehitable Rice, of Worces
ter, born September 10, 1731, died 1779. He
is said to have been a soldier in the Revolution.
He resided in Sudbury and Weston, Massa
chusetts. Children: 1. Mehitable, born May
2, 1753, married, May 1, 1777, Jonas Lamb, of
Spencer, who was born June 24, 1755 ; married
(second), August 25, 1803, Lucretia Dunbar,
widow. 2. Mary, March 28, 1754. 3. Thomas,
August 12, 1756, married, December 11, 1782,
Lydia Underwood; died without issue. 4.
Abel, January 28, 1761, mentioned below. 5.
Lydia, November 2, 1768, married, November
30, 1780, Elijah Travis; who died August 7,
1841. 6. Eliakim, July 30, 1763, married,
March 30, 1788, Elizabeth Mills. 7. Hannah,
September 9, 1786, married Samuel Green
wood. 8. Esther, March 20, 1794, married
Aaron Pease.
,(VII) Abel Pierce, son of Moses Pierce (6),
was born January 28, 1761. He was a soldier

in the Revolution and is said to have been "the
shortest man in Washington's Brigade." If
this be so, it must have been when he was a
mere boy. We find an Abel Pierce credited
with service in Captain Abishai Brown's com
pany and Colonel John Nixon's regiment
(Fifth) during the summer of 1775, his resi
dence being given as Concord and Boston. If
this was our Abel's record, he was less than fif
teen years old and might well be the shortest
soldier. Again he appears to be in Captain
Daniel Whiting's company and Colonel Asa
Whitcomb's regiment in 1776. Even then he
was very young. He was undoubtedly in
Lieutenant William Story's company in 1779
and at that time gave his age as "eighteen,
complexion dark and height five feet eight
inches," therefore was no longer the shortest
man. His residence was Weston. Again in
1791 he was in Captain Noah Allen's com
pany, First Massachusetts Regiment, "age
nineteen years, height five feet nine, complex
ion light, hair brown, birth-place Sudbury, res
idence Weston,"- enlisted November 3, 1779, by
Captain Ashley ; was at Peekskill, West Point,
New Windsor, and in the winter of 1781 at
York Hutts. The fact that his complexion
was called "dark" in one enlistment and
"light" in the other indicates that he was
neither very dark nor very light. He grew an
inch also according to this record. He mar
ried, April 1, 1784, Susanna Spring, born Oc
tober 22, 1 76 1. Children, born at Weston: 1.
Sukey, born January 21, 1786, died unmarried.
2. Nancy, January 24, 1787, married Elisha
Ford. 3. Moses, October 14, 1789, married
(first), Sarah Dillaway; (second) Mehitable
J. Nye. 4. Sewell, January 6, 1792, married
Mary Stowers. 5. John H., August 18, 1794,
married Charlotte M. Cutter.
(VIII) Sewell Pierce, son of Abel Pierce
(7), was born in Weston, Massachusetts, Jan
uary 6, 1792, and died May 17, 1873. He was
a farmer. He removed from Weston to Med
ford and thence to Woburn. He was a Unita
rian in religion. He married, December 10,
1818, Mary Stowers, who was born March 6,
1797, and died April 16, 1868. Children: 1.
Peter, died young. 2. Andrew, born Decem
ber 7, 1820, mentioned below. 3. Mary, Sep
tember 14, 1822, married, May 5, 1842, Henry
Tidd, and resided in Westborough; children:
i. Mary A. Tidd, born April 28, 1848 ; ii. Lewis
T. Tidd, June 24, 1852; iii. Henry Tidd, July
23. 1854. 4. Samuel A., March 19, 1825, mar
ried Cyrine M. Pearsons. 5. George W., May
12, 1828, deceased. 6. John H., September

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

943

29, 1829, married Prudence B. Small. 7.
Joseph, September 19, 1832, married Mary
O'Brien. 8. James, January 20, 1837, married
H. Louisa Hodgkins ; he was president of the
Maiden Savings Bank.
(IX) Andrew Pierce, son of Sewell Pierce
(8), was born at Medford, Massachusetts,
December 7, 1820. He received his education
in the common schools, and at an early age
served an apprenticeship in the trade of tan
ner and currier. He engaged in business on
his own account and had tanneries at Woburn,
Massachusetts, and Sandy Creek, New York.
He was also associated with J. B. Winn, and
E. H. Dunn & Co., of Boston. He came to
Maiden in 1855 with David and John Webster,
whose sons now conduct the Edgeworth tan
neries in Maiden. He was a member of the
firm of Lane, Pierce & Company, 19 and 21
South street, Boston, owning the largest tan
nery in the northern section of New York
state and employing two hundred hands. He
died September 23, 1887. He was a member
of the First Congregational Church, of Mai
den. In politics he was a Republican, and
was an assessor before Maiden became a city.
He married, May 26, 1846, Betsey Flagg, born
in Woburn, October 28, 1823, daughter of
Charles Flagg, a native of Wilmington. Her
mother was Harriet (Jones) Flagg, daughter
of Willard and Bridget Jones, of Woburn.
Her father, Charles Flagg, was a shoe manu
facturer. The only child of Andrew and Bet
sey (Flagg) Pierce was John Arthur Pierce,
born September 23, 1849.
(X) John Arthur Pierce, son of Andrew
Pierce (9), was born in Woburn, Massachu
setts, September 23, 1849. He removed to
Maiden with his father in 1855 and was edu
cated there in the public schools. He became
associated with his father in the tanning busi-
iness, and since his father's death has been
occupied in the management of his real estate.
In national affairs Mr. Pierce is a Republican,
but is independent in municipal politics. He
was a member of the common council of the
city of Maiden, two years, 1898-99, and of
the board of aldermen four years, 1900 to 1903
inclusive. He is a member of the First Con
gregational Church and the Maiden Club. He
married June 8, 1887, Jennie E. Goodhue, who
was born in Bow, New Hampshire, daughter
of Richard W. Goodhue, a native of Dunbar-
ton, New Hampshire. Her mother was Dru-
silla P. (Colby) Goodhue, daughter of Joseph
Colby, of Newton, New Hampshire. Her
grandparents were Jonathan and Eunice

(Marshall) Goodhue, of Dunbarton. Their
only child is Andrew Pierce, born October 4,
1888, in Maiden, graduate of the Maiden high
school, class of 1907.

The earliest date to which the
GOODHUE Goodhue family has been
traced in England is 1280, A.
D. The arms granted to the family in 1790
are described : "Or on a chevron between three
griffins heads, erased Gules, a swan's neck also
erased, ducally gorged gold; on each side of
the field a bee volant ; crest, a young shepherd
leaning on the stump of a tree playing the
flute, his dog by his side; motto, Dieu Avec
Nous. (I) William Goodhue, born in England,
1612-13, emigrated to America in 1635-36, and
was the first of the name in this country. He
married in England Margery Watson, of
Kent, who died at Ipswich, Massachusetts,
August 28, 1668. She was the mother of all
his children. He married (second) Widow
Mary Webb, at Ipswich, February 7, 1669-70.
She died September 7, 1680. He married
(third), July 26, 1682, Widow Bethiah Graf
ton, who died December 6, 1688. He married
(fourth), in 1689, Remember Fisk, of Wen
ham, Massachusetts, who survived him and
died February 16, 1701-02. In his old age he
gave up his place in Ipswich to his son Joseph
and lived with his son William in that part of
Ipswich called Chebacco, now Essex, where
he died in 1699-1700. Children: 1. Joseph,
born 1639. 2. William, 1645, mentioned be
low. 3. Mary.
(II) William Goodhue, son of William
Goodhue (1), was born in Ipswich in 1645.
He married, November 14, 1666, Hannah
Dane, daughter of Rev. Francis Dane, of An
dover, Massachusetts. He was sometimes
called Captain Goodhue. He was deacon of
the Chebacco Church of which Rev. John
Wise was pastor. He was selectman and rep
resentative to the general court. He was one
of those imprisoned and fined by Governor
Andros for protesting against illegal taxation.
He died October 12, 1712, and was buried in
the old burial ground at Chebacco, and his
grave is marked. He appears to have left
considerable of an estate for those times.
Children: 1. William, born November 13,
1667. 2. Nathaniel, August 4, 1670. 3. Han
nah, July 4, 1673. 4. Joseph, March, 1676. 5.
Francis, October 4, 1678, graduated at Har
vard, 1699. 6. Elizabeth. 7. John, August

944

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

28, 1681, died September 19, 1685. 8. Mar
gery, (twin), August 12, 1685. 9. John,
(twin), August 12, 1685, mentioned below.
10. Mary. ii. Bethiah.
(Ill) John Goodhue, son of William Good
hue (2), was born August 12, 1685, and died
January 7, 1773. He married, in 1712, Anna
Cogswell, who died December 16, 1767, aged
seventy-three. Children: 1. Francis, born
May 17, 1714. 2. John, August 26, 1717, died
young. 3. Anna, January 10, 1719. 4. Na
thaniel, November 16, 1721. 5. Lucy. 6.
Jacob, November, 1723, mentioned below. 7.
Elizabeth, January 22, 1726-27, died 1738. 8.
Mary, December 21, 1729. 9. John, Novem
ber 28, 1731. 10. Jonathan, April 6, 1735,
died June, 1738.
(IV) Jacob Goodhue, son of John Goodhue
(3), was born in November, 1723. He mar
ried (first), January 22, 1744-45, Joanna
Story, who died September 4, 1775, in her
fifty-second year. He married (second), June
30, 1776, Rachel (Story) Goodhue, widow of
Joseph Goodhue, and she died July 28, 1781,
aged sixty-three. He married (third), Febru
ary 19, 1782, Widow Eunice Lord, who died
March 1, 1786, in her fifty- fourth year. He
married (fourth), November 13, 1789, Widow
Sarah Rowe, of Gloucester, Massachusetts,
who died about 1812. He died at Essex, Sep
tember 6, 1793. Children: 1. Jonathan, born
December 21, 1746. 2. Elizabeth, April 24,
1748. 3. John, March 25, 1750, died young.
4. Jacob, March 8, 1752. 5. Seth, August 25,
1754, mentioned below. 6. John, September
19, 1756. 7. James, July 8, 1759, died Septem
ber 25, 1774. 8. Nathaniel, February 7, 1762.
9. Anna, 1764. 10. Martha. 11. Joseph.
(V) Seth Goodhue, son of Jacob Goodhue
(4), was born August 25, 1754, and died April
11, 1836. He married, November 23, 1775,
Elizabeth Cogswell, who died June 27, 1814.
Children: 1. Mary. 2. Jonathan (twin), born
October 9, 1779, mentioned below. 3. Eliza
beth (twin), October 9, 1779. 4. Sarah, 1783,
died January 3, 1826, unmarried. 5. Hannah,
April, 1787. 6. Jacob, March 19, 1791.
(VI) Jonathan Goodhue, son of Seth Good
hue (5), was born in Essex, Massachusetts,
October 9, 1779. He resided in Bow, New
Hampshire, where he died in March, 181 1. He
married, in 1808, Anna Wheeler, who died
February 12, 1864. Child, Richard W., born
October 7, 1809, mentioned below.
(VII) Richard W. Goodhue, son of Jona
than G°°dhue (6), was born October 7, 1809,
and died June 10, 1885. He resided at Bow,

New Hampshire. He married, March 27,
1834, Drusilla P. Colby, who died May 31,
1888, daughter of Joseph Colby, of Newton,
New Hampshire. Children: 1. Eveline B.,
born July 30, 1838. 2. Eliza J., December 15,
1842, died January 30, 1845. 3. Annie W.,
March 16, 1844, died December 2, 1845. 4-
Richard W., December 5, 1846, died February
6, 1847. 5- Jonathan C, November 25, 1847,
died June 20, 1872, unmarried. 6. Annie W.,
February 4, 1850. 7. Lewis C, November 15,
1852. 8. Jennie E., April 26, 1855, married
John Arthur Pierce in 1887. (See sketch of the
Pierce Family).

The Stiles family is of Anglo-
STILES Saxon origin in the southeast
part of England in the present
counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Kent, Essex,
Sussex and Northampton, the portion origi
nally conquered by hordes of Jutes, Engles and
Saxons 449-450. The name is taken from a
place name and is spelled Stile, Style or Stiles.
Some of the English families trace a lineage
to William Style, Esq., county Suffolk, who
died in 1500. The English family includes
many noble and distinguished men, and vari
ous branches from the earliest times have had
coats of arms.
( 1 ) Robert Stiles, the immigrant ancestor in
America, was undoubtedly born in England.
He settled in Boxford, Massachusetts. He is
said to have emigrated from Yorkshire. He
owned a farm of two hundred and fifty acres
with buildings in Rowley Village, which was
afterward called Boxford. His residence was
near the present East Parish village. He was
taxpayer from 1660 to 1664, and in 1666-67
he drew more land. The town of Boxford
was established in 1685 and Robert Stiles was
constable in 1686. He married, October 4,
1660, Elizabeth Frye, born in England, in
1637, daughter of John and Anna Frye, of
Andover, Massachusetts. According to the
Boxford records, Robert Stiles had a second
wife, also named Elizabeth, who survived him.
He died July 30, 1690. His wife Elizabeth
administered the estate. She was admitted to
the church February 21, 1703, at Boxford.
Children: 1. John, born at Rowley Village,
June (or January) 30, 1661, mentioned below.
2. Elizabeth, born March 15, 1662, married,
July 8, 1700, John Buswell, of Boxford, and
left a large family of children and descend
ants. 3. Sarah, born January 31, (probably
1664) died February 7, 1664. 4. Abigail, born

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

945

February 15, 1666, probably married, as sec
ond wife, Zaccheus Curtis, who died in 1712.
5: Ebenezer, born February 20, 1669, married
Dorothy Daltpn. 6. Sarah, born October 20,
1672, admitted to the church in Boxford, June
27, 1703. 7. Robert, born November 15, 1673,
married Ruth Bridges. 8. Eunice, married
Robert Willis. 9. Timothy, born October 1,
1678, married Hannah Foster. 10. Samuel,
born May 21, 1682, married Elizabeth Cary.
(II) John Stiles, son of Robert Stiles (1),
was born June (or January) 30, 1661. He
married (first), November 24, 1684, Deliver
ance Towne, born at Topsfield, Massachusetts,
August 5, 1665, twin daughter of Jacob and
Catherine (Symonds) Towne. John Stiles
and his wife were admitted to full commun
ion March 18, 1687-88, and on October 4,
1702, was dismissed to the new church at Box
ford. Deliverance died May 16, probably
1705. He married (second) Mary,  .
She joined the church December 24, 1727. His
home in Boxford was on the south side of Fish
brook. He was called as a witness in the
witchcraft trial of Elizabeth Morse, of New
bury, Massachusetts. He was admitted a free
man 1690, elected constable in 1705, selectman
in 1725. His widow died May 13, 1753.
Children: 1. Deliverance, born September,
1685. 2. Ruth, born February 17, 1686-87,
married Elias Smith about 1717. 3. John,
baptized December 16, 1688, mentioned below.
4. Elizabeth, married John Frame, 1719, and
had four children. 5. Marcy (Mercy), bap
tized December 2, 1694, married James Rich
ardson, May 24, 1722. 6. Mehitable, born
October 22, 1700, (probably) married Samuel
Gould, of Boxford, June 9, 1726. 7. Eleanor,
born February, 1702-03, baptized February 28 ;
married Aaron Bristol, of Harwinton, Con
necticut, and left children and numerous pos
terity. (Ill) John Stiles, son of John Stiles (2),
was baptized at Topsfield, Massachusetts, De
cember 16, 1688. He resided in Boxford, of
which he was selectman in 1729. He married
Eleanor Pearl, January 18, 1715. Children:
1. Benjamin, born November 4, 1716, mention
ed below. 2. John, born September 23, 171 7,
probably died young. 3. Richard, born May
15, 1 72 1. 4. Deliverance, born February 21,
1722-23, baptized March 3, 1722-23; married
Stephen Emery, October 20, 1743. He died
before 1760, and she married (second) Elisha
Towne. 5. John, March 17, 1725, married
Hannah Holt, Hannah Deney and Phebe
Marasser. 6. Abigail, born February 8,

1727-28, married John Emery, probably a
brother of Stephen, of Newbury, Massachu^
setts, December 18, 1753. 7. Mary, born Feb
ruary 3, 1729-30, married Jacob Curtis, May
26, 1752, resided at Boxford, removed to Am
herst, New Hampshire.
(IV) Benjamin Stiles, son of John Stiles
(,3)) was born at Boxford, November 4, 1716.
He married, January 11, 1737-38, Elizabeth
Foster, daughter of John Foster, of Andover,
Massachusetts. Her father was a brother of
Hannah Foster, who married Timothy Stiles,
fourth son of Robert Stiles, the emigrant.
John and Hannah Foster were descendants of,
Reginald Foster, the English emigrant who
settled at Ipswich, Massachusetts. Benjamin
Stiles died at Boxford, Massachusetts, July
25, 1762. Children: 1. Phineas, born Sep
tember 25, 1738, married Hannah  and
Abigail Fisher. 2. Simeon, December 15, 1739,
died in December, 1739. 3. Edmund, born
November 22, 1740, married Elizabeth Pres
ton. 4. Foster, February 21, 1742-43. 5.
Simeon, July 24, 1744, married Mary Gould.
6. Richard, born in Boxford, baptized August
7, 1748; probably married Desire Roundy. 7.
Benjamin, May 31, 1750, married Elizabeth
Cutler. 8. Cyrus, May 13, 1753, mentioned
below. 9. Josiah, May 25, 1755, married Ly
dia Gale. 10. Joshua April 6, 1758, married.
Abigail Gale.
(V) Cyrus Stiles, son of Benjamin Stiles
(4), was born May 13, 1753, in Boxford, and
baptized in the old parish May 27, 1753. Mar
ried (first), February 17, 1781, Hannah Cur
tis, of Middleton, Massachusetts, who died
soon, and he married (second), October
29, 1789, Hannah Berry, of Middleton. He
lived for a time at Middleton, then removed
to Amherst, New Hampshire, after 1792 and
before 1796, and settled in that part of
the town taken with a section of Lynde-
borough to make the new town of Mont
Vernon. The name of Cyrus Stiles was on the
muster roll of Captain. Nathaniel Lovejoy's
company in Colonel Samuel Johnson's regi
ment that marched April 19, 1775, under Lieu
tenant John Adams to Cambridge by way of
Billerica. He died at Amherst, New Hamp
shire, August 24, 1831. Children: 1. Cyrus,
born February 25, 1790, died young. 2. Han
nah Curtis, April 1, 1792, married, March 30,
1813, Joseph Prince. 3. Hiram, died in in
fancy. 4. Mary, born at Mt. Vernon, June 6,
1796, married, September 23, 1818, Peter, son
of Deacon William McNeil. 5. Abby, born
at Mt. Vernon. 6. Cynthia, died at Mt. Ver-

946

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

non, aged fourteen. 7. Lydia, born May 10,
1804, married, April, 1838, George H. Shaw.
8. Josiah Berry, born October 11, 181 1, men
tioned below.
(VI) Josiah Berry Stiles, son of Cyrus
Stiles (5), was born in Amherst, New Hamp
shire, October 11, 181 1. Married, May 5,
1842, Lucy H. Breed, born in Lynn, Septem
ber 15, 181 5, daughter of Joseph and Mary
Breed, of Lynn, Massachusetts, and descend
ant of the Breed family of Lynn, one of the
most important families of that town. He
was for ten years keeper of the Lynn alms
house. He died October 3, 1868; his wife
died at Lynn, July 18, 1891. Children: 1.
Charles Alfred, born at Lynn, July 1, 1843,
mentioned below. 2. Josiah Granville, born
at Saugus, April 7, 1845, married Nellie M.
Hunt, February 22, 1869 ; succeeded his father
as superintendent of the Lynn alms house;
removed to New Hampshire in March, 1888,
to take charge of the Strafford county alms
house; children: i. Willie W., born August,
1877 ; ii. Frank, December, 1880. 3. Lucy H.,
born at Saugus, December 26, 1846, married,
September 8, .1868, Eli B. Gloyd, of Abington,
Massachusetts, of the firm of Harwood &
Gloyd, leather dealers, Union street, Lynn;
son, Arthur E. Gloyd, born May 22, 1871. 4.
Mary J., born at Saugus, April 28, 1849, mar
ried, September 9, 1886, Jacob D. Mudgett,
of Lynn. 5. George W., born at South Mai
den, October 25, 1853, married S. Elma Grov-
er, October 13, 1875; street commissioner at
Maiden, Massachusetts ; children, first three of
whom were born at Lynn, the youngest in Mai
den: i. Millie G., born April 11, 1877; ii.
George W., July 11, 1879; iii. James G., Oc
tober 24, 1881 ; iv. Annie Belle, December 19,
1884, at Maiden. 6. Abbie A., born Septem
ber 1, 1856, married, October 25, 1876, Dan
iel H. Perkins, of Hannaford & Perkins,
plumbers, Western avenue, Lynn ; children :
i. Etta Perkins, born November 3, 1878; ii.
Fred H. Perkins, April 3, 1881 ; iii. Laura
Perkins, March, 1886; Wilbur Perkins, born
at Lynn. (Vll) Charles Alfred Stiles, son of Josiah
Berry Stiles *(6), was born in Lynn, Massa
chusetts, July 1, 1843. He was educated in
the public schools of his native town. He is
president of the Maiden Co-operative Bank.
He is a loyal and active Republican, and has
for a number of years held a commission
from the governor as justice of the peace. In
religion he is a Baptist. He was formerly a
member of the Maiden Club. He is prominent

in Masonic circles, a member of the Mt. Ver
non Lodge of Free Masons, of the Middle
sex Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fel
lows, and the Pine Tree Club. He married,
September 20, 1866, at South Reading, Mass
achusetts, Sarah M. Osgood, daughter of
Knealand Osgood. (See sketch of Osgood
line). Children: 1. Eva May, born March
28, 1869. 2. Charles Alfred, Jr., September
2, 1871, married Charlotte A. Wilson, and
lives in Swamscott. They have one daugh
ter, Marjorie Marie, born December 9, 1902.
3. Edwin Byron, August 27, 1873, married,
November 5, 1902, Margaret Wiggin, daugh
ter of the late Judge Joseph Fernald Wiggin,
of Maiden; resides in Maplewood, Massachu
setts. They have children: Hollis Edwin,
born August 30, 1903 ; and Margaret Osgood,
April 21, 1906.

Christopher Osgood, the im-
OSGOOD migrant ancestor, came to
this country in the ship "Mary
and John" of London from Southampton in
March, 1633-34, and was admitted a free
man .May 16, 1635. He married Margery
Fowler, daughter of Philip Fowler. She mar
ried (second) Thomas Rowell, of Andover,
and had by hiin one son, Jacob Rowell, who
settled in Elizabeth Town, New Jersey. Her
second husband died May 8, 1662, and Mar
gery married (third), Thomas Coleman, of
Nantucket, whither he removed from New
bury before 1673. Christopher Osgood lived
in Ipswich. His will is dated there April 19,
1650. Children: 1. Mary, married, June 1,
1 65 1, John Love joy. 2. Abigail, married John
Wilson. 3. Elizabeth. 4. Deborah, married,
August 28, 1663, John Ross. 5. Christopher,
mentioned below. 6. Thomas, born about
1651, lived in Newbury, 1673, Andover, 1675.
(II) Christopher Osgood, son of Christo
pher Osgood (1), was born in Ipswich in
1643, and was a millwright by trade. He re
moved to Andover, Massachusetts, where he
resided afterward, and sold the place left him
by his father's will in Ipswich, October 2,
1666, to Thomas Metcalf. He sold half a
right to the Ipswich common lands, July 18,
1722, to Edmund Heard. He was admitted a
freeman February 21, 1675. Married (first),
Hannah Belknap, of Lynn, December 6, 1663,
and had six children. She died November 21,
1679, and he married (second), May 27, 1680,
Hannah Barker and had four children. She
died April 6, 1687. He married (third), Sar-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

947

ah

-, by whom he- had no children. She

died July 8, 1689, and he married, (fourth),
Sarah  , by whom he had six children.
He was representative to the general court.
He died in 1723, aged eighty. His will, dated
July 24, 1722, was proved June, 1723. Chil
dren, by first wife: 1. Mary, born July 5,
1665, married John Marston. 2. Hannah, Oc
tober 19, 1668, married John Carlton. 3.
Dorothy, July 4, 1671. 4. Abigail, August 29,
1673, married Joseph Carlton. 5. Christo
pher, June 28, 1675. 6. Ezekiel, November 5,
1679, mentioned below. Children of Christo
pher and Hannah (Barker) : 7. Priscilla,
April 1, 1681, married James Russell. 8. Sar
ah, February 19, 1683. 9. Esther, October
31, 1684. 10. Anna, March 8, 1687. Children
by fourth wife, Sarah: 11. Rebecca, May 3,
1692, married Robert Barnard. 12. Lydia,
June 14, 1694. 13. Lydia, September 1, 1695.
14. Martha, December 14, 1698, married,
1722, Daniel Moore. 15. Mary, 1705, married
John Foster.
(Ill) Ezekiel Osgood, son of Christopher
Osgood (2), was born in Andover, Massachu
setts, November 5, 1679, and lived all his life
there. He married (first), February 20, 1710-
11, Rebecca Wardwell; married (second)
Mary  , who survived him. He died in
1741. His will is dated November 5, 1740, and-
is proved April 20, 174 1. Children: 1. Sam
uel, born May 27, 1714, married Dorothy
Wardwell, (second), Elizabeth Abbot. 2.
Ezekiel, mentioned below. 3. Cristopher. 4.
Hannah, married, November 23, 1758, John
Adams. 5. John, born January 24, 1725. 6.
Mary, born June 16, 1729, married William
Dane. 7. Elizabeth, born August 20, 1732,
married Samuel Martin.
(IV) Ezekiel Osgood, son of Ezekiel Os
good (3), was born in Andover, Massachu
setts, January 17, 1712, and died January 25,
1798. He went to Blue Hill, Maine, in 1765,
from Andover, Massachusetts. He married,
May 15, 1746, at Andover, Mary Barker, born
April 22, 1725, died November 30, 1810. They
had twelve children, most of whom settled in
Blue Hill and had large families. Children:
1. Ezekiel, born June 12, 1747, mentioned be
low. 2. Mary, April 4, 1749. 3. Christopher,
September 20, 1750, a soldier in the Revolu
tion; married Esther Gelyoun. 4. Phebe,
March 22, 1752. 5. Phineas, May 19, 1753,
married Polly Smith, June 1, 1779. 6. Daniel,
May 9, 1755, married Sarah Smith. 7. Nath
an, November 15, 1756. 8. David, February
20, 1758, married Molly Herrick. 9. Dorcas,

April 2, 1759. 10. Hannah, September 21,
1761. 11. John, March 27, 1763, married Jo
anna Obear. 12. Isaac, November 22, 1764.
(V) Ezekiel Osgood, son of Ezekiel Os
good (4), was born in Blue Hill, Maine, June
12, 1747. Married, December 17, 1774, Mary
Blaisdell, born July 30, 1751, died January 8,
1832. He died June 16, 1817. He lived at
Blue Hill. Children: 1. Isaac, born Septem
ber 16, 1775, married Sally Osgood. 2. Jacob,
March 12, 1777, mentioned below. 3. Dorcas,
November 20, 1778, married George Stevens.
4. Susannah, November 29, 1780, married
Thomas Cross. 5. Hannah, September 29,
1783, died July 29, 1793. 6. David, February,
7, 1785, married Nabby Herrick. 7. Jona
than, December 11, 1786, married Susan Bart-
lett, (second) Hannah Smith. 8. Ruhamah,
September 21, 1788, died September 6, 1793.
9. Enoch Blaisdell, December 31, 1789, died
August 14, 1793. 10. Ezekiel, September 23,
1791, died September 23, 1791. n. Mary,
March 25, 1792, married John Gage. 12.
Phebe, December 14, 1793, died next day.
13. Lois, born and died June 3, 1796.
(VI) Jacob Osgood, son of Ezekiel Os
good (5); was born March 12, 1777, died
March 10, 1842, at Blue Hill. He was mar
ried December 23, 1802, at Blue Hill, Maine,
by the Rev. Jonathan Fisher, to Susanna
Tapley, born in Brooksville, Maine, April 27,
1784, daughter of Peletiah Tapley (see sketch
of Tapley family). Children, born at Blue
Hill, Maine: 1. Lucy, born December 13,
1803, married, May 30, 1829, Varnum Stev
ens. 2. Knealand, February 28, 1805, men
tioned below. 3. George, August 29, 1806,
died June 19, 1817. 4. Paulina, October 10,
1808, married (first), at Blue Hill, October,
1829, George Barrett; (second), February 11,
1844, Fred A. Jarvis. 5. Peletiah, February
8, 1810, married, December 11, 1834, Anna R.
Morgan. 6. Hudson D., February 4, 1812,
married, January 15, 1834, Elizabeth A.
Smart. 7. Robert T., February 18, 1814, mar
ried, February 18, 1841, Esther E. Carr. 8.
Enoch, January 17, 1816, married, September
26, 1836, Jane L. Norton. 9. George, Novem
ber 12, 1817, died September 2, 1818. 10.
Susan, June 21, 1819, married, November,
1836, Lee Morgan. 11. Jacob, October 22,
1821, died October 22, 1821. 12. Dorcas, Oc
tober 22, 1821 (twin) ; married, October 3,
1 841, John Barrett. 13. Augusta, January 26,
1823, died February 12, 1825. 14. Mary J.,
February 26, 1825, married, March 3, 1850,
George J. Noyes. 15. James T., December

948

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

17, 1826, married, July 3, 1850, Emily W.
Boston; (second), September 1, 1872, Lavinia
W. Gilman.
(VII) Knealand Osgood, son of Jacob and
Susanna (Tapley) Osgood (6), was born in
Blue Hill, Maine, February 28, 1805, died at
Athens, Maine, November 8, 1859. Married,
May 1, 1833, Christiana S. Morgan, of Surry,
Maine, who died in Maiden, November 11,
1887. She was the daughter of Jacob M. and
Hannah (Bakeman) Morgan. Hannah Bake-
man was the daughter of John Bakeman, the
immigrant, who came from Holland with Mar
tin Van Buren and settled first at Brooksville,
Maine, where, February 9, 1760, he was pub
lished to Christiana Smart, of Brunswick. Her
mother and brothers were the first settlers in
Bangor, Maine. Mr. Bakeman went to Big-
waduce Neck, now Castine, in 1763; his lot
there was next Jeremiah Veazie's in 1771.
He was the third justice of the peace east of
the Penobscot river, and as such called the first
town meeting in Blue Hill, March 28, 1776.
It is said that during the Revolution he went
to Bath, but afterward returned and settled at
Cape Rosier, where he built mills. He was
prominent and influential. He died October
20, 1800, aged seventy- four. In his will June
9, 1793, proved 1801, he names wife Christiana
and children Susannah, Sarah, Christian and
John. His widow died August 4, 1818; his
son John was born March 26, 1764, married
Sarah Young, daughter of Joseph Young,
May 22, 1788; his daughter Nannah (or Nan
cy) Young, born August 18, 1794. John
Bakeman had to abandon his home during the
war and his house was used as a hospital. He
was allowed to take away two boat-loads of
goods when he removed to Bath, and one
boat, being over-loaded by his wife's anxiety
to save her things, was lost. Later he was re
imbursed by the American government for
his losses, his patriotism being above reproach.
Children of Knealand and Christiana S.
(Morgan) Osgood: 1. Cyrus Madison, born
March 17, 1834, killed May 1, 1862, at the bat
tle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, in the Civil
war, Twenty-second regiment, Massachusetts
Sharp Shooters. Married, June, 1856, at
Waterville, Maine, Zilpha Morse, of Clinton,
Maine; children: George Albert, died 1869;
Charles Walter. 2. Byron Alfred, born Octo
ber 24, 1836, married, October 9, 1863, at
Newport, Maine, Emma A. Akely, of West-
brook. 3. Laura Jane, born September 5,
1838, married, January 28, 1862, at Portland,
Maine, Eden N. Whitehouse, who was born

at Minot, Maine, March 18, 1818. 4. Eden
Parris, born August 2, 1840, died at Surry,
Maine, November 29, 1844. 5. Sarah Maria,
born August 7, 1842, married, September 20,
1866, at South Reading, Massachusetts,
Charles A. Stiles, of Lynn, Massachusetts,
now of Maiden,. Massachusetts, mentioned in
the Stiles sketch. 6. Anna Delia, born Sep
tember 11, 1844, married, July, 1867, at Bos
ton, Royal C. Graves, of Melrose; children:
Annie Florence, Laura May and Royal Her
bert Graves. 7. Edwin Parris, born at Somer
set, Maine, December 31, 1846, died June 26,
1905, drowned in his steam launch at Baker
Island; was a dry goods merchant in Boston
thirty years; married, November 10, 1870, at
Lynn, Ada P. Butler, of Lynn. 8. John
Francis, born April 4, 1849, died at Waterville,
Maine, March 29, 1853.

John Tapley, the immigrant
TAPLEY ancestor, was born in England
in 1638. He married at Salem,
Massachusetts, December 6, 1663, - Elizabeth
Pride, daughter of John Pride, of Salem. He
was a fisherman by trade, and bought land in
Salem, June 28, 1666. In 1680 he was a peti
tioner for a new church at Salem. He was a
¦ taxpayer in Salem as late as 1689, and was liv
ing November 14, 1693, when he sold the
house in which he lived to John Higginson.
Children: 1. Elizabeth, born January 20,
1664, married Mathew Barton, who was born
in Salem in 1642; she joined the first church
May 31, 1713. 2. Mary, December 10, 1667,
died July 14, 1668. 3. John, April 7, 1669,
mentioned below. 4. William, August 30,
1670. 5. Hannah, April 21, 1672. 6. Robert,
December 17, 1673. 7. Mary, June, 1678,
married, September 17, 1706, Christopher
Batten. 8. Samuel, February, 1683, .married,
July 15, 1703, Elizabeth Vealy. 9. Benjamin,
February 3, 1688.
(II) John Tapley, son of John Tapley (1),
was born in Salem, Massachusetts, April 7,
1669. Married Anne Lewis, daughter of Peter
and Grace Lewis, of Kittery, Maine ; she was
left property by her father's will in 1712-13-
Tapley was taxed in Salem in 1691 and re
moved afterward to Portsmouth, New Hamp
shire. He sold his homestead lots in Kittery
in 1740-44-59. Children: 1. William, men
tioned below. 2. Mary, of Portsmouth, mar
ried, October 3, 1725, William Partridge, of
Portsmouth. (Ill) William Tapley, son of John Tapley

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

949

(2), was born probably at Portsmouth, where
he first appears on record and where his first
five children were born. He subsequently re
moved to Kittery. In later life he was a tailor.
He gave power of attorney to William Pep-
perell, Jr. ; he and wife Rebecca deeded John
Haley some of her father's real estate Decem
ber 18, 1745. Children, baptized by Rev.
John Emerson and Rev. William Shurtleff at
Portsmouth: 1. Sarah, October 20, 1728. 2.
Thomas, October 20, 1728. 3. Mary, October
19, 1729. 4. William, January 24, 1731. 5.
Elizabeth, August 10, 1735. 6. Joseph, born
T733- 7- J°b» born at Kittery, September 14,
1736, mentioned below. 8. James Robert,
born 1754. 9. Peletiah.
(IV) Job Tapley, son of William Tapley
(3), was born September 14, 1736, at Kittery.
Married Susanna  , who was born July
29, 1740, and died at Saco, Maine. He was a
caulker by trade. Children: 1. Peletiah, born
October 2, 1757, mentioned below. 2. Sally,
born at Kittery, March 25, 1761. 3. Susanna,
born at Saco, June 1, 1765. 4. John, born at
Saco, May 26, 1767. 5. Ellis, born at Saco,
October 26, 1771, died December, 1794. 6.
Joshua, born at Saco, August 30, 1774. 7.
William P., born at Saco, April 5, 1776. 8.
Joel, born at Saco, February 6, 1778, died May
14, 1 78 1.
(V) Peletiah Tapley, son of Job Tapley
(4), was born in Kittery, Maine, October 2,
1757. Married Sallie Stover, who was born at
Brookstive, Maine, August 25, 1768, died
August 16, 1823. He died there October 23,
1831. He removed from his native place to
Bagaduce (now Brooksville), Maine, about
1780, and settled on the right bank of the
Bagaduce river in a log house that he built
himself. He is on the petition for the incor
poration of Penobscot in 1785, and was one of
the original members of the First Parish
Church at Penobscot in May, 1793. From
1784 to 1891 forty-five Tapley children were
born on the old homestead, and but one of
them died in infancy. They include the chil
dren of Peletiah, son Robert, grandson Wil
liam, William's son John and grandson Joseph.
Children, all born at Brooksville: 1. Susanna,
born April 27, 1784, aforementioned as the
wife of Jacob Osgood. 2. Lucy, April 3,
1786. 3. Sally, March 6, 1788. 4. Benja
min, 1789. 5. Rebecca, September 5, 1790.
6. Robert, May 10, 1792. 7. Thomas, March
15, 1794. 8. William, March 13, 1796. 9.
Peletiah, October 16, 1797. 10. Elsy, August
25, 1799. 11. Mary, August 29, 1801. 12.

Job, May 17, 1803. 13. John, May 7, 1805.
14. Luther, April 1, 1808. 15. Nancy, March
29, 181 1. 16. Joel, July 20, 1814.
_ (VI) Susannah Tapley, daughter of Pele
tiah Tapley (5), was born in Brooksville,
Maine, April 27, 1784. Married, December
23, 1802, at Blue Hill, Maine, by Rev. Jona
than Fisher, Jacob Osgood, who was born
March 12, 1777, and died March 10, 1842, at
Blue Hill.

Edmund Faulkner, the im-
FAULKNER migrant ancestor, was born
in England about 1625. He
was the ninth settler in order of their coming
to Andover, Massachusetts. He was licensed
in 1648 as the first innkeeper in the town. He
was one of the ten freeholders who organized
the Andover church, October 24, 1645, and
was one of the few men honored with the
designation "Mr." in the records. He with
Mr. Woodbridge negotiated the purchase of
the plantation from the Indians. He took the
oath of allegiance at Andover, February 11,
1678; was selectman in 1674; town clerk 1675
and held other positions of honor. In King
Philip's war the Indians attacked his house,
knocked off one of his cow's horns, cut out
her tongue, put a horse, ox and cow into a
hovel and then set it afire "only to show how
they delighted in exercising cruelty." His
daughter and her husband, Pasco Chubb, were
killed by the Indians, February 22, 1697-98,
at Andover. The Indians were thus revenged
for a cowardly and treacherous act of Chubb's
when in command of Fort Pemaquid in 1696.
He had killed several Indians who came to
exchange prisoners; then when the French
and Indians attacked the fort he gave up the
fort stipulating only for his personal safety.
For this act of treason he was cashiered and
put in the Boston jail, but was finally released
and was living in seclusion at Andover when
the Indians found him.
Edmund Faulkner married at Salem (by
John Winthrop), February 4, 1647, Dorothy
Robinson, who died, December, 1668. Chil
dren: 1. Francis, born May, 1651, mention
ed below. 2. John, born May, 1654, died
1706; children: Daniel, Joseph and Nehe
miah. 3. Mary, married, May 3, 1671, Jo
seph Marble. 4. Hannah, married, May 29,
1689, Pasco Chubb.
(II) Francis Faulkner, son of Edmund
Faulkner (1), was born in Andover, Massa
chusetts, May, 1651, died there in 1732, aged

95°

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

eighty years. He married, October 12, 1675,
Abigail Dane, daughter of Rev. Francis Dane.
She was a woman of noble character and ex
emplary piety, but was accused of witchcraft,
tried and condemned to death. She passed
through the terrible ordeal with unshaken
faith and courage. The sentence was revoked
and her life spared, however. Children, born
at Andover: 1. Elizabeth, died August 17,
1678. 2. Edmund, had a son John. 3. Am-
miruhammah, mentioned below. 4. Paul.
(Ill) Ammiruhammah Faulkner, son of
Francis Faulkner (2), was born in Andover
about 1692. He came to Concord Village in
1735 and settled at the "great falls" of the
Great Brook where he erected the mills which
have since been owned and occupied by his
descendants. He died there August 4, 1756,
aged sixty- four years. Children: 1. Francis,
born September 29, 1728, at Andover, men
tioned below. 2. James, whose son Paul, born
March 15, 1767, settled in Lancaster, Massa
chusetts. And others.
(IV) Colonel Francis Faulkner, son of
Ammiruhammah Faulkner (3), was born at
Andover, Massachusetts, September 29, 1728,
and came to Acton with his father when a
young child. He died in Acton. August 5,
1805. He married, April 29, 1756, Lizzie
Mussey. He was a member of the Provincial
congress held in Concord in 1774, and was rep
resentative to the general court from Acton in
1783-84-85. He served on the committee of
safety and correspondence. For thirty-five
successive years he was town clerk of Acton
and he kept the records with neatness, clear
ness and system. He was one of the famous
leaders of the Revolutionary war in its early
days. He had a military commission under
the King but resigned, and in 1775 was elect
ed major of a regiment organized to "oppose
invasion." On the morning of April 19, 1775,
he responded to the alarm and marched with
the Acton patriots to the North bridge, Con
cord, where he engaged the British and with
his men pursued them to Charlestown, as col
onel in command of the Middlesex regiment.
He was several times afterward engaged in
actual service, being lieutenant-colonel in the
regiment of Middlesex militia called to rein
force the Continental army at Dorchester
Heights in March, 1776. He was in service
when Burgoyne was taken, and commanded
the regiment guarding the army of prisoners
after the surrender. He was commissioned
major, February 7, 1776, in Colonel James
Barrett's (Third Middlesex County) regiment

of Massachusetts militia, but next day became
lieutenant-colonel. He was commissioned col
onel of the Third Middlesex County Regiment
of Massachusetts militia February 6, 1779.
His son Francis was also in the service as a
fifer in the Acton company in 1776 at the evac
uation of Boston. Colonel Faulkner was a
courageous officer, and able legislator and ex
emplary Christian. He built the mills which
for a century and a half have been known as
the Faulkner Mills, now of South Acton. At
first they were only a saw and grist mill, later
a fulling mill.
The old Faulkner house is thus described
by a writer in the Middlesex County history:
"No tongue and no record fix the original
date of this ancient landmark. It is safe to
call it two hundred years old (in 1890), some
parts of it at least. It was a block-house, and
in the early colonial times it was a garrison-
house, where the settlers in the neighborhood
would gather in the night for protection
against the assaults of the Indians. Enter the
southwest room. It will easily accommodate
100 persons. It is a square room neatly kept
and furnished with antique mementoes.
Raise your hand and you easily touch the pro
jecting beams of dry hard oak, which the
sharpest steel cannot cleave, eighteen inches
solid. The space between the beams of the
sides of the room are filled with brick, which
make it fire-proof against the shot of the en
emy. You notice the two small glass windows
as large as an orange in the entering door of
this room. They were for use in watching the
proceeding of the courts which once were held
here by Francis Faulkner, the justice. Meas
ure the old chimney, nine feet by seven, solid
brick, furnished with three large fire-places
and an oven below and an oven above in the
attic for smoking hams, large enough to ac
commodate all the neighbors and hooks attach
ed to the arch where the hams could remain
suspended till called for."
He married Rebecca Keyes. Children: 1.
Francis, born January 31, 1760. 2. Rebekah,
August 19, 1761. 3. Sarah,. August 10, 1763.
4. Elizabeth, March 13, 1765. 5. Mary, July
12, 1767. 6. Lucy, May 16, 1770. 7. Susan
na, February 21, 1772. 8. Winthrop, March
21, 1774, resided in Acton, but had land in
Worcester county; died March 17, 1813; one
of charter members of Corinthian Lodge of
Free Masons; magistrate at Acton. 9. Wil
liam Emerson, October 23, 1776, mentioned
below. 10. Luther, May 7, 1779. All born at
Acton on the homestead.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

95i

(V) William Emerson Faulkner, son of
Colonel Francis Faulkner (4), was born in
Acton, Massachusetts, October 23, 1776. He
lived in Acton and Berlin. He bought land
in Berlin of Silas Coolidge, of Bolton. Dinah
Baker sold the estate she bought of Stephen
Baker to William Faulkner at Berlin, October
7, 1812. He married Esther Baker, daughter
of Benjamin Baker and Dinah (Wheeler)
Baker. Her father was born in Gloucester,
Rhode Island; settled in Berlin, Massachu
setts, on the present Farwell farm which he
sold to Stephen Baker, his son, and in 1790
bought the place on which  Howe lived
later, and finally he lived on the Ira Brown
farm bought of Benjamin Bruce; children,
born 1758 to 1774: i. Jonathan Baker; ii.
Miriam Baker, married Stephen Wheeler; iii.
Dinah Baker, married Ephraim Larkin; iv.
Elizabeth Baker ; v. Stephen Baker ; vi. Hul-
dah Baker ; vii. Hannah Baker, married James
Rich; viii. Esther Baker, married William
Faulkner, as stated above ; ix. Ann Baker,
married Stephen  . Benjamin Baker was
doubtless a descendlnt of Thomas Baker, an
early settler at Newport and Kingston,
Rhode Island, who was ordained in 1655,
was founder of the Second Baptist Church,
leaving the first church because of a
"prejudice against psalmody and the restraints
that the liberty of prophesying was laid under
and also against the doctrine of particular re
demption and against the rule of laying on of
hands as a matter of indifference;" he re
moved to Kingston in 1666 and succeeded the
first pastor, Rev. Richard Sweet. His son
Benjamin married in 1705 and had a son Ben
jamin born about 17 10. The latter was prob
ably father of Benjamin Baker, of Berlin.
Children of William E. and Esther (Baker)
Faulkner : Lydia, born April 8, 1802, married
Silas Moore, born in Stow, July 31, 1799.
(See sketch of Moore family).

John Moore was born in Eng-
MOORE land. He came to New Eng
land and seems to have settled
first at Sudbury, Massachusetts. He bought a
house and land there in 1642 of Edmund Rice,
from his farms in what is now Wayland. He
took the oath of fidelity July 9, 1645. He mar
ried Elizabeth Whale, daughter of Philemon
Whale. She was executrix of his will. His
estate was valued at eight hundred and four
pounds, seven shillings. His will was dated
August 25, 1668, and proved April 7, 1674.

He died January 6, 1673-74. He mentioned
his sons John Moore, of Lancaster ; William ;
Jacob ; Joseph, to whom he left the homestead,
and Benjamin; daughters Elizabeth, wife of
Henry Rice ; Mary, wife of Daniel Stone, and
Lydia, wife of James Cutler. His wife died
December 14, 1690. Children: 1. Elizabeth,
born perhaps in England, married Henry Rice.
2. John, eldest son. 3. William, born about
1640, bought land in 1664 in Sudbury. 4.
Mary, born September 8, 1641, married (first)
Richard Ward; (second) Deacon Stone. 5.
Lydia, born June 24, 1643, married, May 3,
1664; married (second), June 15, 1665, James
Cutler. 6. Jacob, born April 28, 1645, mar
ried Elizabeth Loker. 7. Joseph, born Oc
tober 21, 1647, mentioned below. 8. Benja
min, born December 13, 1648.
(II) Joseph Moore, son of John Moore (1),
was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts, October
21, 1647, and died January 2, 1725-26. He
received the homestead at Sudbury. He mar
ried (first) Lydia Hay ward, and (second),
after 1718-19, Ruth  . His will was
made in 1718-19, and proved in 1726, with the
consent of the wife, after Benjamin and John
made suitable provision for her support. The
nine children were living when the will was
made. Children: 1. Benoni, born at Sudbury,
April 14, 1669. 2. Joseph, August 1, 1670, men
tioned below. 3. Hannah, January 2, 1673, mar
ried, February 17, 1705, Joseph Gleason. 4.
Thomas, December 9, 1676. 5. Benjamin,
May 5, 1679. 6. John, May 8, 1683. 7. Eliz
abeth, September 20, 1685, married, December
27, 1716, Henry Rice. 8. Lydia, January 5,
1687. 9. Obadiah, died about 1726.
(Ill) Joseph Moore, son of Joseph Moore
(2), was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts,
August 1, 1670. He married Elizabeth  ,
who died March 11, 1748-49. Children, born
at Sudbury: 1. Sapphira, born August 4,
1 70 1, married, August 1, 1721, John Wood
ward. 2. Zerviah or Zibiah, May 8, 1704,
married, June 4, 1728, Benjamin Moore. 3.
Elias, (or Eliab), mentioned below. 4. Mary.
(IV) Elias or Eliab Moore, son of Joseph
Moore (3), was' born in Sudbury, and mar
ried Susanna Thompson. In 1740 he bought
two pieces of land in Sudbury. He died Oc
tober 21, 1770. His will speaks of himself as
"being weak and decayed in body ;" mentions
wife, who with son Obadiah, was executrix.
Children: 1. Obadiah, born September 20,
1726, mentioned below. 2. Isaac, August 4,
1730, died April 19, 1733. 3. Jeduthan, June
1, 1741, married Ruth Moore, daughter of

952

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Hezekiah Moore; settled in Rutland in 1767;
shoemaker, lived on Pound Hill; died in 1816,
leaving wife Ruth and children Ruth, Jesse
and Cumming.
(V) Obadiah Moore, son of Elias Moore
(4), was born September 20, 1726. He mar
ried Eunice Hayden, May 22, 1744, and they
resided in Sudbury, where their children were
born. Children: 1. Sarah, born November
13, 1744. 2. Eliab, April 26, 1747. 3. Lucy,
November 3, 1748. 4. Uriah-, March 4, 1750,
mentioned below. 5. Susannah, July 16,
1 75 1. 6. Catherine, September 21, 1752. 7.
Isaac, April 18, 1753.
(VI) Uriah Moore, son of Obadiah Moore
(5), was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts,
March 4, 1750. He married at Sudbury, April
11, 1776, Lydia Witt, and seems to have set
tled after the Revolution in Stow, Massachu
setts. There were three of this name of about
the same age in Sudbury and the records in
dicate that all were soldiers in the Revolution,
but it is impossible with the information avail
able to determine the exact record of each.
He had two children born in Sudbury: 1.
Eunice, October 15, 1776. 2. Uriah, Decem
ber 29, 1777, mentioned below.
(VII) Uriah Moore, son of Uriah Moore,
(6), was born in Sudbury, December 29, 1777.
He was sergeant of the militia company or
ganized in 1802 by Colonel Cutting, of Marl
borough, Massachusetts. He married at Sud
bury, in 1798, Eunice Willis, born November
22, 1756, daughter of Jesse and Eunice Willis,
of Sudbury. Jesse Willis was born January
8, 1730-31, son of Samuel and Jerusha Willis.
Samuel Willis, father of Jesse, was born April
1, 1675, son of Roger and Ruth Willis, of
Sudbury. Children, born in Stow : Silas, born
July 31, 1799, mentioned below. Warner,
Sarah and Emeline.
(VIII) Silas Moore, son of Uriah Moore
(7), was born in Stow, Massachusetts, July
31, 1799. He resided in Stow and manufac
tured brick there in addition to carrying on his
farm. He died there August, 1869. He mar
ried Lydia Faulkner, born April 8, 1802,
daughter of William and Esther (Baker)
Faulkner, of Berlin, Massachusetts. (See
Faulkner family). She died August, 1888.
Children: 1. Roxanna, married  Miles.
2. Mary Ann, married  Taylor. 3.
Eunice, married  Miles. 4. Charles
Warren. 5. Henry S., born May 10, 1835,
mentioned below. 6. Harriet.
(IX) Captain Henry S. Moore, son of Si

las Moore (8), was born in Gleasondale, for
merly Rock Bottom, in the town of Stow,
Massachusetts, May 10, 1835. He was edu
cated there in the public schools. He learned
the trade of shoemaker and, before the Civil
war, was in charge of the sole leather room
of the Randall & Bigelow factory in
Groton. He was for many years fore
man of the stitching room of Houghton
shoe factory; foreman of the cutting room
in Truell & Mawhinney's factory, where he
had a force of forty-five men. In. every posi
tion he held he had the confidence and esteem
of his employers and proved an efficient and
careful foreman, mindful alike of the rights
and feelings of employees and the require
ments of the business. He won distinction in
the service during the Civil war. He was ap
pointed second lieutenant of Company I, Fifth
Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, June
24, 1862. Later in the year he resigned his
commission to become sergeant in the Thirty-
sixth Massachusetts Regiment, August 1,
1862, and served in the company until the
close of the war, being mustered out June 1,
1865. He was elected captain of Company I,
Fifth Regiment, of which he was formerly a
lieutenant, received his commission from Gov
ernor Washburn and served for a number of
years. He is a member of Reno Post, Grand
Army of the Republic, and in the seventies
was its commander. During the war he took
part in many important battles of the Civil
war — Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, the Wilder
ness, Spottsylvania, Campbell Station, Cold
Harbor and others of less importance. Cap
tain Moore was appointed postmaster of Hud
son, February 1, 1896, by President Cleve
land, and December 1, 1899, was reappointed
by President McKinley, January 5, 1904, he
received his commission for a third term of
four years, but owing to ill health was obliged
to resign in March, 1906. He has since then
been living in Hudson, retired from active
business and labor. He is a member of Doric
Lodge of Free Masons; Houghton Royal
Arch Chapter of Marlborough ; Hiram Council
of Worcester; Trinity Commandery, Knights
Templar, of Hudson; Aleppo Temple, Order
of the Mystic Shrine, Boston; Corinthian
Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star. He also
belongs to Elks Lodge, No. 559.
He married, February 12, 1854, Addie Bou-
tell, born in Groton, daughter of Rev. Luther
Boutell. She died in 1862 and he married
(second), Belle H. Hardy, born 1836, daugh
ter of Dr. Samuel Hardy, of Cornish, New

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

953

Hampshire. His only son, Charles Henry,
horn April 20, 1855, died in 1856.

John Butcher, father of Robert
BUTCHER Heapey Butcher, was born in
Bolton, England, April 4,
1803, was there educated, and early master
ed the art of printing and finishing cotton
cloth. He married an English girl, Elizabeth
Smith, and to them were born in England four
children; one only survived to come with her
parents to Lowell, Massachusetts, about 1827,
who died in early childhood.
Taking employment with the Merrimack
Print Works, he had for many years full
charge of its finishing department from which
position he retired to establish an iron and
steel and heavy hardware business, which he
successfully conducted until his death in April
1 881, four children surviving him — Robert,
Heapey, Elizabeth Anne, Mary Jane, and Aar
on Walter, all born in this country.
Robert Heapey Butcher, son of John, But
cher, was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Feb
ruary 5, 1830, and died July 7, 1883. ' He
attended the public school of his native city,
and later served an apprenticeship as a printer
and finisher under his father's direction, fin
ally succeeding to his father's position with the
Merrimack Print Works, which position he
held for several years. From printing, like
his father, he turned to the iron business, be
coming a partner in the American Bolt Com
pany, of Lowell, Massachusetts, an extensive
manufacturing concern establised in 1841,
which for many years enjoyed a large and
prosperous business and of which he was the
largest owner and treasurer at his death. He
was a Republican in politics, a thirty-second
degree Mason, and a devoted sportsman, an
organizer of the Wild Goose Club of Maine
soon after the war, and rarely missed a trip,
spring and fall, to that charming spot where,
evidenced by the club register, many eminent
men were frequently attracted, among them
General Benjamin F. Butler, his townsman
and warm personal friend.
Mr. Butcher married, December 15, 1857,
Celestia A. Currier, daughter of John and
Mary (Riggs) Currier. Two children were
the issue: 1. Annie Gertrude, wife of Percy
Parker, of Lowell ; children : Robert B., John
M. G., Gertrude, Percy, died in infancy, and
Percy. 2. Walter H., died 1887.
Mrs. Celestia A. (Currier) Butcher is a des
cendant of a distinguished ancestry. Richard

Currier, the first of whom we have definite
information, was born in England, 1616, died
February 22, 1689. His son, Deacon Thomas
Currier, born March 8, 1646, married Mary
Osgood, December 9, 1668, died September
27, 1712. His son, Joseph Currier, born 1685,
married, December 9, 1708, Sarah Brown,
died 1748. His son, Nathan Currier, born
November 16, 1710, married, 1733, Mehitable
Silver, died 1782. His son, Seth Currier, born
March 10, 1734, married Ellis Sargent, died
March, 1792. His son, Joseph Currier, born
August 13, 1770, married, August 26, 1792,
Betsey Kendrick, died May 15, 1814. His
son, John Currier, born July 10, 1810, married,
May 5, 1833, Mary Ann Riggs, and their
daughter, Celestia A., married, December 15,
1857, Robert H. Butcher.
John Currier (father) was born at Ames-
bury, Massachusetts, July 10, 1810, died in
Lowell, Novernber 28, 1881. He was educated
in the public schools, acquiring a practical
knowledge of the lower branches. He later
came to Lowell, Massachusetts, and was em
ployed for a time in the mills there. He sub
sequently engaged in the manufacture of soap,
in which line he was very successful, conduct
ing a very large business until his retirement
from active pursuits a few years prior to his
death. In early manhood he was an adherent
of the principles of Democracy, but shortly
after the organization of the Republican party
transferred his allegiance thereto. He was a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel
lows. John Currier married Mary Ann Riggs,
born August 14, 1808, died January 16, 1901.
She was the daughter of James Riggs, born
April 13, 1776, married, 1799, Sarah Haskell,
died January, 1824. He was the son of Cap
tain James Riggs, born May 28, 1750, married,
February 9, 1775, Mary Rogers. He was the
son of Joshua Riggs, born February 26, 1707,
married, October 23, 1735, Experience Stan-
wood, died 1790. He was the son of Thomas
Riggs, Jr., born December 7, 1666, married,
November 22, 1687, Ann Wheeler, died Aug
ust 17, 1756. He was a son of Thomas Riggs,
Sr., born in England, 1632, married, June 7,
1658, Mary Millet, died February 26, 1722.
He was the emigrant ancestor of the Riggs
family. Mary (Rogers) Riggs, wife of Captain
James Riggs, aforementioned, and great-
grandmother of Mrs. Celestia A. (Currier)
Butcher, was born June 27, 1753. She was the
daughter of the Rev. John Rogers, born Aug-

954

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ust 7, 1719, married, January. 28, 1748, Mary
Ellery, died October 4, 1782. He was a son of
'the Rev. John Rogers, born January 19, 1692,
married, October 16, 1718, Susanna Whipple,
died October 16, 1773. He was a son of Rev.
John Rogers, born July 7, 1666, married,
March 4, 1691, Martha Whittingham, died
December 26, 1745. He was a son of the Rev.
John Rogers, D. D., born January 11, 1630,
married,. 1673, Elizabeth Denison, daughter of
Major-General Daniel Denison and his wife,
Patience Dudley, daughter of Governor
Thomas Dudley. Rev. John Rogers was born
at Coggshall, England, died 1684. He was a
student at Harvard College, and was the fifth
president of that institution. He was a son of
the Rev. Nathaniel Rogers, born 1598, mar
ried Margaret Crane, daughter of Sir Robert
Crane, of Coggshall, Essex county, England,
died July 3, 1655. He was a son of the Rev.
John Rogers, of Dedham, England, born 1571,
married Elizabeth Gold, died October 18,
1636. He was a son of the Rev. John Rogers,
who was burned in the days of religious per
secution in England.

On the Fourth of February,
ROGERS 1555, suffered at Smithfield,
the constant martyr of God,
John Rogers, born, according to early writers,
in Lancashire, England, and educated at
the University of Cambridge. While yet a
young man, for conscience sake, he iwent to
Antwerp, in Brabant, serving many years as
chaplain to the English merchant adventur
ers. Here was formed an ardent friendship
with that worthy servant and martyr of God,
William Tyndale, and Miles Coverdale (after
ward Bishop of Exeter), who, for the hatred
they bore to Popish superstition and idolatry,
and love to true religion, had forsaken their
native country. Conferring with them the
Scriptures, he came to great knowledge of the
Gospel, insomuch as to cast off the heavy yoke
of Popery, and assist in the translation of the
Bible into the English language, which led to
the printing, finishing and notable introduction
into England in 1537 of the folio Bible, being
the first complete edition of both the Old and
New Testament, revised and published by him
alone under the assumed name of "Thomas
Matthew." He printed on the last leaf, these
words :
"To the honoure and prayse of God was this
Byble printed and fynesshed in the yere of
oure Lorde, A. Mdxxxvii."

Here he was married to a woman of this
country, and removed to Wittenberg, in Sax
ony, soon acquiring such a knowledge of the
German tongue as to take" charge of a congre
gation, which faithfully conducting some years
until the accession of King Edward the VI,
upon the establishment of the Protestant re
ligion, he returned to England to spread the
Gospel. In April, 1550, he was admitted rec
tor of St. Margaret Moyses; on the 10th of
July the same year vicar of St. Sepulchre;
and on the 24th of August following, having
resigned this office, Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of
London, bestowed on him a prebend in the
cathedral church of St. Paul, when the dean
and chapter chose him divinity reader. There
in he diligently labored until Queen Mary,
coming to the throne, brought in the Antichrist
of Rome. On the occasion of Queen Mary's
entrance to London he preached a bold and
zealous sermon at St. Paul's Cross, confirming
such doctrines as had been taught in King
Edward's time, and exhorting the people firm
ly to _ adhere to the same and beware of all
pestilent Popery. The council, composed of
Popial bishops, called him to account, before
whom making so stout and witty an answer,
and pleading his cause in such a manner, he
was this time clearly dismissed.
He was caused to remain a prisoner in his
own house for a while, and then was taken to
Newgate, where he was lodged among thieves
and murderers. He was several times sum
moned before a council, and they tried to per
suade him to alter his religion, but of no avail.
He was burned at the stake on the 4th of Feb
ruary, 1555. He was the first of all that
blessed company which suffered in Queen
Mary's time, and styled the Proto-Martyr.
A son of the Proto-Martyr (father of Rev.
John Rogers, of Dedham, Essex, England),
said to have died young, and whose name is
now unknown.
Rev. John Rogers, of Dedham, educated in
the University of Cambridge and for many
years a famous preacher of Dedham, Essex,
Old England. Having lost his parents young,
he was encouraged' and supported in his stud
ies at the University by his uncle, Rev. Rich
ard Rogers, of Wethersfield, Essex. He was
first so wild as to sell his books and spend the
money. Notwithstanding this, his kinsman
procured a fresh stock, and sent him again to
Cambridge. Not amending, but selling his
books and spending the money as before, Mr.
Rogers determined to cast him off; his wife,
however, a prudent woman, persuaded him to

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

955

make another trial. He was sent a third time
to the University with books, and the grace
of God changing his heart, became an illus
trious ornament to the college and a man of
most exemplary piety.
Afterward, Mr. Rogers, seeing what God
had done for his kinsman, used to say, "I will
never despair of any man for John Rogers'
sake." Becoming vicar of Hemingham, Nor
folk, in 1592, he continued there sometime,
and was afterward minister of Haverhill, Suf
folk, whence he removed to Dedham, Essex,
passing there the remainder of his days.
Mr. Rogers was thrice married. The name
of his first wife is unknown ; his second was
Elizabeth Gold, widow of John Hawes; his
third was Dorothy Stanton, widow of Richard
Wiseman, of Wigsborough, Essex. He died
in 1636. In the village burial ground at Ded
ham, in Essex, Old England, is yet visible
among the most striking monuments, one with
this inscription.: Johannes Rogersius
HIC QUAM
praedicavit expectat
ressurectionem Oct. 8:
. Domini 1636
Aetatis 65
Ministeb.ii 42
Hdic Ecclesiae 31
Obiit
hic affect incebi
svmboi.um posuit
Geo. Dunne chirmg. bonis.
In the chancel of Dedham church, England,
is a bust and under it the following inscrip
tion: Johannes Rogersius
praedicavit, expectat
resurrectionem octobris 8 vo.
DOMINI  1636
AETATIS  65
ministerii  42
hujus ecclesie  32
Obiithoc off  sovori simbolum
POSUIT  Caeten DESUNT
This John Rogers was remarkable for his
zeal, and appears to be a man of great piety,
as well as a preacher of extraodinary earnest
ness. The vulgar used to call him "bawling
John Rogers." (The contents of this page
and of others in this narrative, are found in
the "N. E. Historical and Genealogical Reg
ister"). Rev. Nathaniel Rogers, son of John of Ded

ham and Elizabeth' Gold, was born While his
father was settled at Haverhill, in 1598. He
was educated at the grammar school of Ded
ham till about the age of fourteen, when he
entered Emanuel College, Cambridge, making
here great proficiency in academic learning.
Plis first sermon was preached at Sprough-
ton, in Norfolk. He engages as chaplain to a
person of quality, and afterwards undertakes
the charge of a large congregation at Bocking
in Essex, under Dr. Barkham. Later he lived
in Essington, in Suffolk, for five years, then
resolved to moved to New England. His
father-in-law, a gentleman of Coggshall, in
Essex, of a very considerable estate, wouid
gladly have maintained him and his family if
he would have staid at home, but seeing his
mind bent on the New England voyage, he
durst not oppose it. He sailed from Graves-
end to Boston. The first invitation extended
to him was to settle at Dorchester, Massachu
setts, near where part of the good men who
came with him, among whom were some of
his father's parishioners, remained, and from
the name of their native town in Old England
called the place Dedham. With the rest, who
could not all be conveniently accommodated
here he settled at Ipswich, Massachusetts. He
died July 3, 1655, aged fifty-seven. His wife
was Margaret, the daughter of Sir Robert
Crane, of Coggshall, Essex, Old England, by
his first wife Mary, daughter of Samuel Spar-
hawk, Esq., of Dedham, Essex. The name
of Mr. Crane often appears among the rec
ords of the meetings held in England as one of
"The Governor and Company" of the New
Colony to be planted in Massachusetts Bay.
Rev. Dr. John Rogers, fifth president of
Harvard College, son of Rev. Nathaniel and
Margaret Crane, born at Coggshall, in Essex,
England, January 11, 1630, came with his
father to New England in 1636. He was grad
uated at Harvard College in 1649, studied both
physic and divinity, and assisted his father,
Mr. (Abbott) or Cobbet and Mr. Hubbard in
the ministry at Ipswich. He was employed
also as the principal physician in the town.
In June, 1676, he was unanimously chosen
president of Harvard College, which office he
declined. After the decease of President
Oakes, who was a classmate, he was again
elected in April, 1682, and installed August
12, 1683. This event- he did not long survive,
but died suddenly on the day succeeding com
mencement of the next year. The following
epitaph on his tombstone in the burial ground
at Cambridge (of which at this day no traces

956

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

are visible) is supposed to have been written
by one of his students, Dr. Cotton Mather :
Mandatin huic Tenae & Tumulo
Humanitatis Auarium
Theologiae Honeum
Optimarum Literarum Bibliotheca,
Rei Medicinalis System a
Integretatis Domicilium
Fidei Repositorinm,
Christianae simplicitatis Exemplae,
Ro6uv Twv a* etwv Inoavgos.
Se Domini Reverendissimi
D. Joannis Rogkrsii
Rogerii Doetissimi Ipsuienses in
Nov. Anglica, Filii
Dedhamensis, in vetui Anglia per
Orbem Terauem Clarissimi, nepotis
Collegii Harvardani
Lectissimi, ac merito dilectissimi Presidis
Pais Terrestior
Caelestior, a novis erepta fuit
Julii 2, A. D., M. D. C I*, xxx.iv,
Aetatis suae, L I V
Clara est pavs restaus nobis & quando cadever.
The relict of President Rogers, Madame
Elizabeth, died at Ipswich, June 13, 1723, aged
eighty-two. She was the daughter of Major-
General Daniel Denison and Patience Dudley,
a daughter of Governor Thomas Dudley, son
of Captain Roger Dudley.
Rev. John Rogers, son of Rev. Dr. John
and Elizabeth Denison, was born at Ipswich,
July 7, 1666 ; graduated at Harvard College in
1684. He preached in Ipswich. He died De
cember 28, 1745, aged eighty. His parishion
ers vote F 200 O. T. for his funeral expenses.
His wife was Martha Whittingham, to whom
he was married March 4, 1691. She died
March 9, 1659, aged eighty-nine.
Rev. John Rogers, of Kittery, (now Eliot,
Maine), son of Rev. John and Martha Whit
tingham, was born January 19, 1692 ; grad
uated at Harvard College, 171 1; married, Oc
tober 16, 1718, Susannah, youngest daughter
of Major John Whipple and Susannah  ,
of Ipswich. He died October 16, 1773, aged
eighty-one. She died October 22, 1779.
Rev. John Rogers, of Gloucester, son of
Rev. John and Susannah Whipple, born at
Kittery, Maine, August 7, 1719; graduated at
Harvard College, 1739, (librarian of the Uni
versity) ; was settled as pastor of the church
in the town parish of Gloucester (organized
October 27, 1743), when his father preached
. the sermon and his uncle, Rev. Nathaniel, of
Ipswich, also took part in the services. He
died October 4, 1782. His first wife was Sus
annah Allen ; his second was Mary Ellery,
married, January 28, 1748; she died February

1766; his third wife was widow Abigail
Woodward. (From N. E. Historical and Genealogical
Register, vol. 5).

The surname Leathe, Leathes
LEATHE or Lathe, as spelled by various
branches and generations of
this family, is a place name. A "lathe" is a
great division or part of a county in England.
as the "five lathes of Kent," and a "lathreeve"
is an officer of ancient times in authority of
a lathe, reeve being a synonym of ward, and
used also in the titles of such offices as hog-
reeve and deer-reeve, to recent times. The _
earliest meaning of this word lathe was barn
or granary, from the Danish lade, and this
meaning was retained in medieval English,
and is still in use in some sections of the nor
thern counties of England in this sense. In
the United States two pronunciations of the
name are found current, Lathe (like that of
the machine) and Leith (Leeth). The Wo
burn family of which an account is given be
low, pronounce the name as if spelled Lathe.
The Leathe family originated in Cumber
land, and its surname was taken from the lo
cality Leath, now described as a ward or divi
sion of Cumberland, and spelled as is the sur
name at present in some places, Leath, and
Leathes. Burke tells us that the Leathes fam
ily was seated at Leathes in Cumberland short
ly after the Conquest, and is still located at
Leathes and Dale-head, England. A branch
of this family in Suffolk has the same coat-of-
arms, but a different crest. The only Leathe
coat-of-arms to England is : Azure on a bend
between three fleurs de lis or as many mullets
perce gules. The Suffolk crest: A demi-
griff in segreant or, armed and langued gules.
The Cumberland crest: A lion's head affron-
tee. Motto : In Ardua Virtus. From this
family the Leathes of Middlesex county,
Massachusetts, are undoubtedly descended.
(I) Francis Leathe, of Rumney Marsh, B6V
ton, Medford and Woburn, Massachusetts,
died at Woburn, December 29, 1738. He was
a taxpayer in Boxford in 1687. His wife,
Mary, died at Woburn, March 23, 1757. In
1714 he and his son Francis were keepers of
the Fountain Tavern in Medford. His will,
dated July 22, 1738, names his wife Mary,
daughters Mary Lummus and Sarah Blanch-
ard; his three grandchildren, sons of his son
Francis Leathe, of Medford, deceased — Ben
jamin, Robert, and Ebenezer; and his son

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

957

John, whom he named as his executor. He
bequeathed to the Church of Christ in Med
ford £30 in money or bills of credit, to be laid
out in plate for the use of the said church.
Children: 1. Francis, married May 15, 1713,
Sarah Floyd, of Rumney Marsh. 2. John,
see forward. 3. Mary, married Samuel Lum
mus, of Ipswich. 3. Mary, married Samuel
Aaron Blanchard, of Medford.
(II) John Leathe, son of Francis Leathe
(1), died at Woburn, March 2, 1775, married,
May 30, 1717, Eleanor Floyd, born February
12, 1692, daughter of Hugh and Eleanor
Floyd, of Rumney Marsh, Boston. John
Leathe is prominently remembered as the par
ish clerk of the briefly existing third parish in
Woburn which derived its existence from the
religious controversies in Woburn between the
years 1746 and 1760, in which organization a
church was formed of which John Leathe was
deacon. John Leathe died intestate, and un
der date of March 30, 1775, his heirs were
John Leathe, of Medford, Jedediah, of Water-
town, Samuel and Elijah, of Woburn, besides
William Leathe, Benjamin Leathe and Esther
Leathe, his grandchildren, children of his son
Francis, deceased. Children: 1. John, born
August 27, 1718, married November 10, 1741,
Elizabeth Waite, of Medford. 2. Samuel,
born September 26, 1720; married Mercy
 , resided at Medford. 3. Elijah, born
October 4, 1722, see forward. 4. Eleanor,
born March 29, 1726, died at Woburn, Sep
tember 5, 1756. 5. Sarah, born March 6,
1727, married (intention dated July 21, 1749)
Captain James Richardson, of Woburn. 6.
Francis, baptized August 16, 1730; married,
(intention dated September 20, 1751) , Esther
Richardson, of Woburn. 7. Jedediah, bap
tized January 16, 1731-2; married, January
16, 1754, Hannah Blanchard, of Medford. 8.
Mary, baptized April 24, 1734. 9. Elizabeth,
baptized March 21, 1735-6.
(Ill) Elijah Leathe, son of John Leathe
(2), born at Rumney Marsh, Boston, October
4, 1722, died at Woburn, September 30, 1809,
aged eighty-seven years; married (intention
dated February 3, 1749), Mary Richardson,
born July 18, 1725, died April 21, 1807, aged
eighty-two years, daughter of Jacob and Eliz
abeth (Wyman) Richardson, of Woburn. He
was a farmer in Woburn and bought the farm
where his son Elijah afterwards lived. He
was a member of one of the Woburn militia
companies, called the East Company, and was
one of those members who were furnished
with bayonets in 1758. He lived in the easter

ly part of Woburn near the Stoneham line,
and was duly taxed there. During the Revo
lutionary war he paid liberal sums of money
towards supporting the war, and is presumed,
from an order dated October 17, 1778, to have
performed certain military service. He served,
however, as one of the town's committee for
hiring soldiers in 1780. Children: 1. Mary,
born March 23, 1749, married, March 19, 1771,
Edmund Richardson, of Woburn. 2. Eliza
beth, born March 31, 1752, married, May 26,
1772, Ebenezer Wade, of Woburn. 3. Elijah,
born August 12, 1755, see forward. 4. Sus
anna, born January 14, 1757, married, Decem
ber 28, 1780, Jonas Parker, Jr., of Reading.
5. Jeptha, born May 6, 1759, married  ;
had James, Jeptha and William. 6. James,
born August 10, 1761, married, December 16,
1784, Mary Brooks, of Woburn. 7. Rhoda,
born May 14, 1764, married, July 21, 1783,
Joseph Munroe, of Lexington. 8. Sarah, bap
tized' April 5, 1767. 9. Jacob, born August
20, 1 77 1, married, November 30, 1797, Me
hitable Winn, of Woburn.
(IV) Elijah Leathe, son of Elijah Leathe
(3), born at Woburn, August 12, 1755, died
there December 13, 1835, aged eighty years,
gravestone; married, June 22, 1780, Hepsibah
Brooks, born March 3, 1762, died June 18,
1829, aged sixty-eight years, gravestone,
daughter of Benjamin and Susanna (Kendall)
Brooks, of Woburn. Elijah Leathe was
brought up on his father's farm, and received
the education common to the farmer's son of
that period. Like many of his descendants he
early learned the trade of shoemaker, which
he followed through life. His farm was on
Salem street, Woburn, near present Mill street,
and was of large area. In the Revolutionary
war he was enlisted on April 29, 1775, as a
private in Captain Jonas Richardson's (Wo
burn) company, Colonel James Frye's regi
ment, which company was present in Bunker
Hill battle June 17, 1775, and lost several
men killed. He was in this company as late
as December 22, 1775. On April 19, 1775,
the chances were that he was present in the
action, but no special record is found of it.
He was a private in Captain Abraham Fos
ter's company, Colonel Samuel Bullard's reg
iment, which marched to reinforce the North
ern army in the campaign against Burgoyne.
His service of three months and twenty-four
days near Stillwater, New York, was from
August 18, 1777, to November 30, 1777. The
Woburn authorities show that he was drafted
and went personally at this time. The follow-

958

MIDDLESEX COUNTY,

ing notice of his death is taken from the
Bunker Hill Aurora and Boston Mirror, Sat
urday evening, December 26, 1835 :
"Died at Woburn, on the 13th instant, Mr.
Elijah Leathe — he fell dead in his house. He
was a highly respected farmer and worthy cit
izen, a Revolutionary soldier and pensioner.
Was at Battle of Bunker Hill, Bemis Heights,
and at the surrender of Burgoyne. Over fifty
years ago he was almost the first who carried
shoes in saddle bags to market in Boston,
there being no shoe stores. He peddled them
from a bench on the north side of Faneuil
Hall, where gentlemen and ladies of all classes
resorted to buy. He also traveled to Philadel
phia with his load of shoes, where he disposed
of them to good advantage, and on one occa
sion returned with the old fashioned clock
which is still in the family."
Mr. Leathe was a selectman of Woburn in
1797, 1798 and 1799. Children: 1. Hepsibah,
born December 1, 1780, died February 17,
1787, aged seven years. 2. Polly, born Janu
ary 21, 1784, died February 2, 1796, aged
twelve years. 3. Elijah, born October 21,
1786, see forward. 4. Hepsibah, born De
cember 27, 1792, married (intention dated
June 1, 1833), Josiah Converse, Jr. 5. Josiah,
born October 21, 1794, died April 26, 1817.
6. Samuel, born March 13, 1797, married, Oc
tober 31, 1820, Ruth Eames. 7. John, born
October 3, 1800, married, May 13, 1832, Mary
W. Reed, of Burlington. 8. Mary, born Feb
ruary 15, 1804, married (intention dated May
12, 1833) Martin L. Converse, of Burlington.
(V) Elijah Leathe, son of Elijah Leathe (4),
born at Woburn, October 21,1786, died there
October 13, 1863, aged seventy-seven years,
married, May 7, 1807, Margaret Clark, born
January 26, 1787, died November 27, 1843,
aged fifty-seven years, daughter of Matthew
and Nancy (Dickey) Clark, of Londonderry,
New Hampshire. Elijah Leathe was educated
in the district schools and helped his father on
the farm, and learned the shoemaker's trade
of his father, until the time of his marriage.
He continued his shoemaking in his shop
where he lived after his marriage, and also
worked more or less for his father until the
latter gave up business. The son lived on his
father's farm in a house nearby which stood
at the corner of Mill and Washington streets,
Woburn. Like other mechanics of his day
he did some farming. After the death of his
father he removed for a time to Stoneham,
and there worked at his trade. Later he re
turned to the farm in Woburn, where he lived

until he died. He was an attendant of the
Baptist church, a Whig in politics, and served
on the school committee. He greatly. enjoyed
the sport of hunting and fishing, and was con
sidered as among the best in that line, and had
the reputation of being an upright and honest

man.

Children: 1. Elijah Albert, born August
13, 1807, married twice. Children by first
wife: i. Nancy  . ii. Albert. 2. Nan
cy, born August 3, 1809, married (intention
dated November 17, 1829) David Waite, re
sided ' at South Reading, children: Harriet
and Henry. 3. Jeptha, born November 17,
1811, married (first), May 1, 1834, Sarah
Davis, of New York City; married (second),
Charlotte Steere Claxton, of New York City;
children by first wife: i. Mary Porter, born
February. 7, 1835. ii. Sarah, born January 7,
1838. 4. 'Harriet, born April 25, 1815, died
September 5, 1816. 5. Josiah, born June 22,
1817, see forward. 6. William, born March
13, 1820, married, December 26, 1846, Char
lotte G. Small, of Woburn, children : i. Char
lotte Elizabeth, born September 11, 1847, died
November 5, 1851 ; ii. Charles William, born
September 11, 1847, died May 15, 1880; iii.
Clarence Howard, born April 22, 1850, mar
ried, June 12, 1872, Marianna Spinney; iv.
Frank Herbert, born September 25, 1852, mar
ried, November 27, 1873, Elvira E. Munroe;
v. Ada Elizabeth, born November 3, 1854,
married, April 4, 1876, Herbert S. Dickinson;
vi. Harriet A., married, March 15, 1879,
Charles E. Clarke ; vii. Mary Eva, born Octo
ber 10, 1861, died December 11, 1861 ; viii.
Alice Virginia, born February 10, 1865. 7.
Mary Ann, born March 9, 1825, married, Oc
tober 18, 1846, James Parker, of Woburn. 8.
Benjamin Brooks, born April 23, 1825, mar
ried, February 10, 1848, Lucy C. Martain. 9.
Margaret Ellen, born November 7, 1827, mar
ried, July 9, 1845, Alfred Augustus Trull, of
Woburn; children: i. Ellen Eliza (Trull),
born November 22, 1846, married, October 31,
1867, Charles E. Richardson, ii. Mary Ann,
(Trull), born April 27, 1852, died November
26, 1871. iii. Alfred Seymour (Trull), born
January 11, 1855, died August 9, 1874. iv.
Benjamin Leathe (Trull), born November 4,
i860, married, December 24, 1885, Lillie M.
Richardson., (VI) Josiah Leathe, son of Elijah Leathe
(5), born at Woburn, June 22, 1817, died
there, August 9, 1878, aged sixty-one years,
one month and eighteen days, married Mary
Angeline Belcher, born at New London, Con-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

959

necticut, April 4, 1820, died at Woburn, Mass
achusetts, May 2, 1894, aged seventy-four
years and twenty-eight days. Mr. Leathe was
educated in the common schools of Woburn,
and assisted his father, who was a shoemaker.
He served an apprenticeship at shoemaking
with David Waite, of South Reading, and
worked for him several years. He removed
to New York City shortly before his marriage,
and worked at his trade there, and after his
marriage he removed to Orange, New Jersey,
where he opened a shop for fine custom work.
He returned to Woburn in 1846 and built a
house near the shore of Horn Pond, the site
' of the house being then located at what was
then the end of Canal street (the present Ar
lington road), and here he had his shop doing
custom shoemaking. Later in his life he was
station agent at the Cross street station of the
Boston and Lowell railroad, and also contin
ued his work of shoemaking in connection with
his station duties. While occupying this posi
tion he met his death by a stroke of lightning.
At one time in his life he had charge of the
Woburn Cemetery, now known as the Wood-
brook Cemetery. He was a Unitarian in re
ligious belief, a Republican in politics, retired
in manner and of a kind disposition, devoted
to his family and regarded as one of Wo-
burn's best and faithful citizens. Children :
1. Josiah, born June 21, 1842; married, No
vember, 1871, Sidney Skillen, of San Francis
co, California, children: i. Mabel Belcher,
born October 17, 1873, married, June 13, 1902,
Fred B. Rust, of Somerville, Massachusetts.
ii. Wilbur, born March 8, 1879. 2. Henry
Harrison, born September 27, 1848, see for
ward. 3. Charles Belcher, born Eebruary 4,
1850, married, March 1, 1869, Flora Segeberg,
of Boston. Children : i. Charles Walter, born
July 2, 1870, died May 17, 1876; ii. Bertha,
born January 20, 1872. iii. Alice Josephine,
born March 4, 1878. iv. Grace Segeberg, born
January 20, 1880. 4. Wilbur, born July 5,
1853, died in California. 5. Edward Currier,
born January 1, 1865, married (first), Aug
ust 25, 1890, Carrie Jones, of Acton; child:
i. Lora Standish, born September 19, 1892,
and married (second), Helen  • — .
(VII) Henry Harrison Leathe, son of
Josiah Leathe (6), was born in Woburn, Sep
tember 27, 1848, and died in Woburn, January
6, 1908. He was educated in the public schools
of his native town, graduating from the high
'school in 1867. After graduation he entered
the employ of E. Cummings & Company, tan
ners and curriers, at their store in Boston, in

the capacity of bookkeeper for one year, and
subsequently became associated with the firm
of J. O. Cummings & Company, of Boston
and Woburn, for eight years. Later he re
moved to Albion, New York, where for six
years he acted as bookkeeper and paymaster for
Lane, Pierce & Company, tanners and curriers
He subsequently returned to , Boston, where
he was head bookkeeper for the same firm for
two years, when it dissolved, and a new firm
was formed under the name of A. & E. Lane,
with which he remained for two years. In
the meantime the Pierces established a new
plant at Olean, New York, which was con
ducted under the name of James and W. P.
Pierce & Company, and Mr. Leathe was ad
mitted as a partner, having charge of the Bos
ton office. Later the firm was incorporated,
and Mr. Leathe became a director and vice-
president. The house disposes of its products
in Boston, with salesrooms at 44 South street.
Mr. Leathe resided in Woburn, at No. 3 Fran
ces street. He was a member of the Unitarian
church there, and served on its parish commit
tee. He was a Republican in politics, and
served as delegate in various representative,
senatorial and state conventions. He was a
member of Mount Horeb Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons ; of Baldwin Council, No.
618, Royal Arcanum, of which he was a past
regent; of the American Order of United
Workmen ; the Pilgrim Fathers ; the Ameri
can Order of Fraternal Helpers; and of the
Mishawam Club and of the Towanda Club, of
both of which he was an ex-president. He
was a life member of the American Unitarian
Association, and a member of the Rumford
Historical Association, the New England Shoe
and Leather Association, and a member of the
Woburn Five Cents Savings Bank corpora
tion. He also served as justice of the peace.
In his youth he was for three years a mem
ber of the military company known as the
Woburn Mechanics' Phalanx, now known as
Company G, Fifth Massachusetts Regiment,
National Guard.
Mr. Leathe married, March 1, 1870, Aman
da Augusta Johnson, born April 8, 1849,
daughter of John and Eliza (Butman) John
son, of Woburn. Their children are: 1.
Ethel May, born May 12, 1872, died August
30, 1874. 2. Edith Marion, born November
6, 1875, married, June 19, 1900, James Hous
ton Linnell, of Woburn. 3. Fred Elmer, born
September 2, 1877, now assistant treasurer of
the Pierce Company, associated with his fa
ther. 4. Dora Johnson, born August 5, 1879.

960

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

5. Ida Amanda, born April 8, 1881, died De
cember 25, 1889. 6. Maude Evelyn, born June
7, 1883. 7. Henry Harrison, born December
4, 1889.

William Lamson or Lambton
LAMSON came from Durham county,
England, where the Lambtons
are still in the possession of an estate dating
back to 1350, with the ships sent out by Mat
thew Cradock, the first governor of the Mass
achusetts Company, to establish fishing and
trading posts on the Atlantic coast of the col
ony. Through his agent he employed his cap
ital in not only fishing and trading, but also
in shipbuilding, notably at Medford, and his
fishing villages became Marblehead and Ips
wich. Although Governor Cradock never
came to New England, he proposed on July 28,
1629, to transfer the government of the set
tlers to the settlements, and the proposition
was adopted the following month. In March,
1633, John Winthrop, Jr., with twelve others,
began the settlement on the common land
called Aggawam, which on August 5, 1634,
was named Ipswich from that part from which
so many of the settlers had departed. Some
of the Ipswich settlers became "straightened"
and obtained leave to "sit down" at Quasca-
cunquen, which became the town of Newbury,
May 6, 1635, and the same year the settlement
known as Wassoguscus was formally reorgan
ized as a plantation, and on Septembr 2, 1635,
became the town of Weymouth.
When William Lamson came to the colony
in 1637 he followed the business of husband
man. He was made freeman, May 17, 1637,
commoner in 1641, and was one of Major
Denison's subscribers in 1648. He died in
Ipswich, February 1, 1658, and the inventory
of his estate was dated ninth month, 1661. He
married Sarah (Ayers) ( ?). Children: 1. John,
born 1642, married Martha Perkins. 2. Sar
ah, born 1644, married Cornelius Brown. 3.
Phoebe, born 1646, married John Towne. 4.
Samuel, born 1648, married Mary Nichols. 5.
Mary, born 1652, probably married Thomas
Payne. 6. Hannah, born 1654, married Harry
Collins. 7. Nathaniel, born November, 1656.
8. Joseph, born October, 1658, married (first)
Elizabeth Mitchell; (second), Mrs. Hannah
Welch; (third) Dorothy Monsell, and lived in
Charlestown, Massachusetts.
(II) John Lamson, son of William Lamson
(1), was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts,
1642. His will was recorded June 23, 1717.

He married Martha, daughter of Deacon
Thomas and Phoebe (Gould) Perkins, in
Ipswich, Massachusetts, December 17, 1668-
69. Their children were: 1. John, born No
vember 21, 1669, married Abigail Adams. 2.
Phoebe, born August 16, 1673, married The
ophilus Fiske. 3. William, born August 19,
1675, married Lydia Porter. 4. Martha, born
March 21, 1677, married Benjamin Bixby. 5.
Thomas, born January 3, 1682, married (first)
Abigail Faulkner; (second) Sarah Ridge;
(third) Ruth Bowles. 6. Sarah, born 1683,
married Paul Faulkner. 7. Samuel, born Feb
ruary 25, 1684, married Mary Edwards.
(Ill) William Lamson, second son of John
Lamson (2), was born in Ipswich, Massachu
setts, August 19, 1675. Married Lydia, daugh
ter of John and Lydia (Herrick) Porter ; mar
riage notice published at Wenham, Massachu
setts, October 26, 1706. Their children were:
1. William, born at Ipswich, Massachusetts,
March 1, 1708, married Joanna Tuttle. 2.
Benjamin, born April 8, 1710, married Sarah
Cummings. 3. Lydia, born September 21,
1713, married Benjamin Fairfield. 4. Sam
uel, born April 22, 1716, married probably
Catherine Folsom, at Exeter, New Hampshire.
5. Joseph, born December 28, 171 8; see for
ward. 6. Jonathan, born August 13, 1720,
married Anna Dane. 7. Mary, born Septem
ber, 1728, married Thomas Haley.
(IV) Joseph Lamson, fourth son of Wil
liam Lamson (3), was born in Hamilton,
Massachusetts, which was a part of Ipswich,
December 28, 1718. He settled at Exeter,
about 1740, as he bought land there in 1741 ;
he was known as "King Weaver." He mar
ried (first), at Wenham, Massachusetts, Me
hitable Batchelder, daughter of John and Han
nah (Tarbox) Batchelder, November 4, 1740;
married (second) Pernal Giddings, at Exeter,
New Hampshire, September 7, 1747. They
had a son, Joseph Jr., see forward.
(V) Joseph Lamson, Jr., son of Joseph
Lamson (4), married April 29, 1769, at Exe
ter, New Hampshire, Rachel Sanborn, daugh
ter of Captain Caleb and Mehitable (Weare)
Sanborn. Their children, born at Exeter, New
Hampshire, were: 1. Joseph, born November ,
7, 1770, married Susanna Folsom. 2. Mehi
table, born October 6, 1773, died October 27,
1777. 3. Polly, born August 9, 1775, died July
28, 1792. 4. Caleb, born June 29, 1778, see
forward. 5. Asa, born January 7, 1783, mar
ried Margaret Brown. 6. John, born Decem
ber 8, 1785, married Nancy, daughter of Jabez
and Lydia (Philbrick) Dodge, at Exeter, New

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

961

Hampshire, September 15, 1811. Children:
i. Jabez Dodge, born at Exeter, New Hamp
shire, June 18, 1812, married Cybil L. Shat
tuck. ii. Joseph Sanborn, born at Exeter, New
Hampshire, August 27, 181 5, married Eunice
E. Winslow, children : Joseph Harrison, born
Exeter, New Hampshire, July 29, 1840, a
prominent photographer at Portland, Maine;
married Annie Sweeney ; Isabel, born Augus
ta, Maine, February 5, 1843, married Josiah
Packard ; George Albert, born Augusta,
Maine, October 16, 1845, died September,
1846; Charles Henry, born Augusta, Maine,
September 17, 1847, married Elizabeth H.
Cox ; he is a jeweller of Portland, Maine, and
the inventor of the Lamson Kite; Frank
Pierce, born Cambridge, Massachusetts, April
19, 185 1, well known as F. Lamson-Scribner,
formerly head of the Department of Agros
tology, Department of Agriculture, Washing
ton, D. C. ; married Ella Augusta Newmarch.
iii. Asa Brown, born Exeter, New Hampshire,
June 27, 181 8, a well-known potter of Exeter;
married (first) Mary A. Carr; married (sec
ond) Irene R. Fellowes ; his children were :
Rufus, born May 20, 1844, a prominent man
in Portland, Maine; married (first) Emma
Kimball; (second) Ella C. Douglas; Mar
garet, born May 14, 1846, died October 21,
1847; Maragaret Ann, born November 12,
1848, married Jesse Dolloff ; Mary Abbie, born
August 3, 1852, married Charles S. Dodge ;
Sarah Elizabeth, born September 27, 1854,
died July 21, 1858; Frank Hudson, born April
21, 1859, married Carrie E. James; Annie
Belle, born August 18, 1861, married George
F. Lord ; the births of these children occurred
at Exeter, New Hampshire. 7. Rufus, born
1790. (VI) Caleb Lamson, the second son of Jo
seph Lamson, Jr. (5), was born in Exeter,
New Hampshire, January 29, 1778, died 1812.
He married Abigail, daughter of Aquila and
Anna (Moulton) Chase, at Newbury, Mass
achusetts, July 15, 1802. She was born in
Parsonfield, Maine, August 7, 1781, died in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 17, 1848.
Their children were: 1. Mary Ann, born
March 18, 1804, married Jeremiah Greenleaf.
2. William Caleb, born October 25, 1805, died
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 23, 1862.
Married, December 25, 1844, Sarah Ann Sto-
well, of Worcester, Massachusetts. Their
children were : Charles Henry, born in Wor
cester, Massachusetts, September 15, 1848,
married, November 2, 1893, Elizabeth S.
Nicholson. Arthur Franklin, born March 28,

1854, married Elizabeth F. York, and their
children are: Maud Elizabeth, born January
22, 1876; Henry Arthur, April 8, 1877; Her
bert William, February 8, 1879, died 1879;
Frank William, November 14, 1880; Nellie
Ethel, December 1, 1887; Walter Edward,
July 28, 1891. All the children born in Cam
bridge but the youngest, who was born in
Brooklyn, New York, where the family resid
ed. 3. Joseph Moulton, born in Newbury,
Massachusetts, September 26, 1807, died at
Saint Croix, West India Islands, March 31,
1838. He married Mrs. Sarah Leveridge-
Davis, and their children were: Abigail Ann
Leveridge, born in New York, July 18, 1830,
married (first) Robert Dedell; (second)
Wilson Small, a prominent citizen, of New
York; John William Leveridge, born Novem
ber 20, 1831, died July 21, 1851 ; Joseph Moul
ton, Jr., born September 7, 1833, died May 8,
1834; Mary Jane, born April 21, 1835, mar
ried John H. Eddy; Joseph Benjamin Lever
idge, born March 2, 1838, died April 5, 1839.
4. Rufus, born October 2, 1809, see forward.
(VII) Rufus Lamson, son of Caleb Lam
son (6), was born in Newbury, Massachu
setts, October 2, 1809. He removed to Cam
bridge where he was an apprentice under
Franklin Sawyer, a mason and builder, and in
1831 began building on his own account. He
became a large holder of real estate, and he
provided homes for respectable mechanics and
clerks where they could live apart from the
din and confusion of the congested city, and
yet be in close touch with their business places.
To such he was a friend and benefactor and
exercised over them a fatherly care, and by
his liberal treatment the relation of landlord
and tenant was one of mutual advantage and
pleasing intercourse. The citizens of Cam
bridge elected him a member of the common
council in 1859, and again in 1877, for a term
of two years, and he also served as assessor
for the city for twenty-two years. He was
elected president of the Cambridge Mutual
Fire Insurance Company in 1873, having al
ways served the corporation as a director and
as a large patron. , He affiliated fraternally
with the Masonic Order, being a member of
Amicable Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons. He was a member of the Univer
salist Church of Cambridge, a member of
the early Volunteer Fire Department, and
during the Civil war was one of the "Home
Guards." He died at his home in Cambridge,
July -13, 1879, and in conformity with his ex-

962

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

pressed wishes was buried from the Universal
ist church with Masonic honors.
Rufus Lamson married at Boston, on
Thanksgiving Eve, 1832, Mary Jane Butler,
daughter of John and Jane (Brookings) But
ler, and their children are: 1. Rufus William,
born September 29, 1833, see forward. 2. Jo
seph Butler, born March 3, 1837, died 1840.
3. Eveline, born 1839, died 1840. 4. George
Warren, born February 17, 1841. He enlisted
in 1861, in the first company that was raised in
Cambridge and later served in the navy three
years on the "Ino." He died May 29, 1879. 5.
Mary Jane, born February 12, 1844, married
George C. Currier, of the well-known firm of
Bradley & Currier, manufacturers of sash,
doors and blinds, of New York ; their children
are: Mabel Lamson, married Austin Pres-
singer, a lawyer of New York, and Edwin
Bradley, married Irene T. Piatt, who is de
ceased. Their children: Edwin Bradley, born
June 3, 1894; Jane Currier, January 8, 1903.
6. Asa Caleb, born December 27, 1848, see
forward. (VIII) Rufus William Lamson, son of
Rufus Lamson (7), was born in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, September 29, 1833. He was
a mason builder and contractor in Cambridge,
and assisted his father in the building of many
structures of that city. He removed about
June, 1893, to the village of Elkins in New
London, New Hampshire, where he still re
sides on his farm. He is a member of King
Solomon Lodge, No. 14, Free and Accepted
Masons, of Elkins, New Hampshire; Cam
bridge Lodge, .No. 13, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows; Charles River Encampment,
No. 22, Independent Order of Odd Fellows;
St. Omer Lodge, No. 9, Knights of Pythias,
all of Cambridge; Cambridge Veteran Fire
Association. He married Cyrene Dam Eaton,
and their children are: 1. William George,
born November 23, i860. 2. Albert Henry,
born October 21, 1862, see forward. 3,
Charles Allen, born November 25, 1865, mar
ried Mary A. Goodhue, a prominent physician
of Elkins, New Hampshire; their children
are: Donald Charles, born February 7, 1895;
Dorathea, September 5, 1905 ; Seth Albert,
October 24, 1907, born in Elkins, New Hamp
shire. 4. Rufus Edward, born July 1, 1868.
5. Gertrude Eaton, born July 11, 1875, married
Frederic Elwin Everett, September 12, 1900.
Children : Craig Lamson, born February 19,
1903, died January, 1906. Douglas Newton,
born April 3, 1905. Barbara, born April 1,

1907. 6. Ernest Eugene, born September 16,
1877, died August 31, 1880.
(VIII) Asa Caleb Lamson, son of Rufus
Lamson (7), was born in Cambridge, Massa
chusetts, December 27, 1848.. He was edu
cated in the public schools of Cambridge and
at Eaton's Commercial College, Boston. His
first business position was with the wholesale
boot and shoe and sole leather house of Hol
brook & Hobart, 71 Kilby street, Boston, and
he remained with that firm for six years. In
1864 he enlisted for ninety days emergency ser
vice in the United States Volunteers, being a
member of the Twelfth Unattached Massachu
setts Volunteers, his company being commanded
by Captain Walcott, of Cambridge. In 1868 he
was employed by Utley & Boynton, wholesale.
dealers in butter, cheese and eggs, at 53 Com
mercial street, Boston, and in 1872 he resign
ed this position to join Samuel A. King in the
wholesale butter, cheese and egg commission
business, under the firm name of Lamson &
King, 43 North Market street, Boston. In
1874 the firm removed to larger quarters on
the corner of Commercial and Chatham
streets. The business prospered, and in 1879
Mr. Lamson withdrew, owing to the death of
his father, which gave to him the care of his
large estates, and to this business he added
a general real estate agency. Mr. Lamson is
a member of the Masonic fraternity, being
affiliated with Amicable Lodge, of Cambridge ;
St. Andrew's Chapter, Boston; Boston Coun
cil, Joseph Warren Commandery, of Roxbury,
Massachusetts, and Aleppo Temple, Order of
the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the
Royal Arcanum, and of the Pilgrim Fathers.
His religious affiliation is with the Universalist
denomination, in which church he was brought
up from childhood.
Mr. Lamson married, June 26, 1891, Eliz
abeth H., daughter of William Wirt and Irene
H. (Stewart) Virgin, of Peru, Maine. They
have one child, Florine, an adopted daughter,
whom they sent to Paris, France, where she
was taught the French language and received
instruction in art and literature. In 1908 Mr.
Lamson completed on Massachusetts avenue,
Cambridge, a modern apartment house at a
cost of over one hundred thousand dollars,
which he named The Lamson.
(IX) Albert Henry Lamson, second son of
Rufus William Lamson (8), was born in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 21, 1862.
Pie attended the Cambridge schools, and after
completing his studies engaged in mercantile
pursuits, and is now the superintendent of the

RUFUS LAMSON

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

963

Legal Process Company of Boston, with offices
in the Old South building. He is a member
of Cambridge Lodge, No. 13, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows; past high priest of
Tri-Mount Encampment, No. 2, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, of Boston; past major
grand of Canton Shawmont, No. 1, Patriarchs
Militant, of Boston; past master of King Sol
omon Lodge, No. 14, Free and Accepted
Masons, of Elkins, New Hampshire; St.
Paul's Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Bos
ton; Columbia Council, Royal and Select
Masters, of Claremont, New Hampshire; Sul
livan Commandery, Knights Templar, of
Claremont, New Hampshire; Alpha Lodge of
Perfection; Ariel Chapter, P. of J.; Acacia
Chapter of Rose Croix, all of Concord, New
Hampshire ; New Hampshire Consistory, S. P.
R. S., thirty-second degree, of Nashua, New
Hampshire; past patron of Martha Chapter,
No. 34, Order of Eastern Star, of Elkins, New
Hampshire ; past grand patron of Grand Chap
ter, Order of Eastern Star, of New Hamp
shire ; Bektash Temple, Ancient Accepted
Order Nobles Mystic Shrine of Concord, New
Hampshire. He has been a member of Han
del-Haydn Society of Boston for more than
twenty years, member of the New Hampshire
Sons of the American Revolution, Concord,
New Hampshire, New Hampshire Genealogi
cal Society of Dover, New Hampshire, mem
ber of Topsfield Historical Society of Tops-
field, Massachusetts, and one of the charter
members of Piscataqua Pioneers, a historical
and genealogical society of Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, serving in the capacity of secre
tary from its organization. Mr. Lamson was
married to Mary Ella Weeks, of Cambridge,
at Elkins, New Hampshire, December 22,
1897. She died at Cambridge, September 6,
1906.

The Wiley family is one of the
WILEY oldest in Reading, it having been
identified with that town for
more than two hundred and fifty years, and
while many of them have established homes
elsewhere, a goodly number have preferred to
remain close to the original family seat.
Timothy Wiley, who was admitted a free
man in Reading in 1640, is supposed to have
been a son of John, who was residing there at
the same time, and both were probably immi
grants from England. Timothy's wife, whose
Christian name was Elizabeth, died in 1662,
and his death occurred in 1672. Their children

were: Benjamin, Elizabeth, Timothy, Susan
and Sarah. All of the Reading Wileys are
descended from these settlers.
Ira Wiley, born in South Reading, (now
Wakefield) 1802, was an extensive real estate
owner, and a prominent resident of that town.
He died in 1887. He married Lucetta Gerry,
of Stoneham, born 1802, and died 1851. They
were the parents of ten children: 1. Ira, Jr.,
born 1826, died 1877; married Hannah New
hall; died 1870. 2. Louisa Rebecca, born
1827, died 1892-; married J. Francis Harts-
horne. 3. Augusta L., born 1829, died 1852;
married Henry Brown. 4. James Madison,
born 1 83 1, died 1897; married Amanda M.
Stowell, born 1831, died 1896. 5. Lucella O,
born 1833, died 1836. 6. William Henry,
born 1836, died 1894; married Sarah Lucy
Eaton, borri 1849. 7- Charles L., born 1837,
died 1839. 8. Emily, born 1841, died 1843.
9. Francella, born 1845, died 1862. 10. Mar-
cella, born 1846, died 1848.

The family of Pebbles or Pee-
PEBBLES bles was prominent in Scot
land before 1296. The family
name is taken from the town where the family
has its seat, Pebbles or Peebleshire, Scotland.
Several of the family appeared on the famous
Ragman's Roll, the first list of Scottish nobil
ity that has been preserved. The term, "Rag
man Roll" had its origin, says Hanna, in good-
humored banter, and far from being intended
in any way to wound Scottish susceptibility,
was a merry allusion to what in the middle
ages was a famous diversion of the ladies.
Ragman, or King Rageman, was a game much
affected in Anglo-Norman society in the thir
teenth century — a number of characters, good,
bad and indifferent, were written in couplets
consecutively on a sheet of parchment. To
each character a string was attached, having
a piece of wax or metal at the tip. This sheet
when rolled up was called a Ragman's Roll;
each person playing drew a character by pull
ing a string, which he or she maintained for
the remainder of the evening. When the Scot
tish baronage swore fealty to Edward I. of
England at Berwick in 1291, their names were
written down in French by Edward's Norman
scribes, and the seals of such as had them were
attached to the sheet by small strips of parch
ment. The rolls containing the signatures,
when made up with a mass of seals dependent
from them, had each much the appearance of
this game of Ragman ; and that name having

964

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

probably been given it jokingly by some of the
young courtiers in attendance, has stuck to
this important state paper ever since. By far
the greater number of signatures was obtained
on the occasion of Edward's progress through
Scotland in 1296. Among the signers were
Frere Thomas, master de la meson de la Seinte
Croice de Peebles, Peebleshire. (Brother
Thomas of the House of the Holy Cross of
Peebles) ; John visaire del Eglise de Peebles ;
La Communaute de Peebles. The family has
been prominent not only in the early Roman
Catholic Church before the Reformation, but
later in the Scotch-Presbyterian church. Dr.
Robert Peebles was canon of Glasgow in 1322
and lord great chamberlain of Scotland. John
Peebles was archdeacon of St. Andrews; in
1377 lord chancellor of Scotland. William
Peebles of Peebles was a member of the
Scotch parliament in 1468; William Peebles,
of Pender, Lanarkshire, in 1544 and Oliver
Peebles, of Perthshire, in 1572, 1590 and 1597.
In 1322 Lord William of Peebles, prior of the
Monastery of Melrose, Scotland, was killed
by the English and his body cast forth upon
the high altar.
The first of the name to go from Scotland
to Ireland, and the probable ancestor of the
American family of Peebles mentioned below,
was Rev. Thomas Peebles or Pebbles, who
before 1642 was chaplain or minister to the
Scottish regiment of Colonel Eglinston, and
went with the regiment to Ireland. In 1641
twenty thousand English Protestants and a
hundred thousand Scotchmen had been settled
and granted confiscated lands in Ulster Pro
vince, Ireland. Many English emigrated to
Ireland from 1610 to 1640 and came to New
England, and a century later their grandsons
and descendants furnished the second great
body of immigrants to the American colonies
after the famous siege of Londonderry.
Thomas Peebles was one of the leaders in the
Scotch Presbyterian church in Ireland. When
the first Presbytery was formed with only five
ministers and four ruling elders June 10, 1642,
he was elected clerk and held the position until
his death, thirty years afterward. He was
probably born as early as 1600. In 1646 he
became the minister of Dundonald and Holy-
rood. This Presbytery grew rapidly. When
the tables were turned and his sect was per
secuted, Rev. Thomas Peebles, of Dundonald,
Presbytery of Downs, was on the list of eject
ed ministers in Ulster in 166 1. In the same
list appears the name of Rev. Hugh Peebles,
of Lifford, possibly his son. Nine of the

name were grantees of land or holders of land
in Ireland. In 1890 the name seemed to have
disappeared from Ireland, though the name
Peoples, a family of which lives in Donegal, is
probably a corrupt spelling of this surname.
The spelling in the early records varies widely,
some of the forms given by ingenious clerks
are: Peebles, Pebbles, Pebbels, Peibols, Pay-
bols, Pibbles, Peabols, and as many more.
(I) Robert Pebbles, the immigrant, was
born in Ulster Province, north of Ireland,
about 1680. He came with his wife and sev
eral children among the first Scotch-Presby
terians who accepted the invitation of Gov
ernor Shute to come to New England. Of the
first hundred families which came in the fall
of 1718 many settled in Worcester. Robert"
Pebbles was one of the leading men in 1722
and there is every reason to think that he was
among the pioneers in this remarkable emigra
tion. These Scotch settlers at first worshiped
in the old garrison house at the north end of
Worcester. When they attempted to build a
church a mob tore it down to the disgrace of
the town. But on better acquaintance the
Scotch affiliated with their English neighbors,
and Robert Pebbles with others attended the
Old South Church. In 1724 he was assigned
the fifth seat in the meeting house under the
right of Palmer (from whom he bought his
farm). He was prominent in town affairs;
was hogreeve in 1722, fenceviewer in 1723-24,
tythingman in 1725, all important offices in
the pioneer days. In 1725 he was in such
favor that he served on a committee to pre
vent cattle and horses not belonging to land
owners from being brought to town. He was
highway surveyor in 1726 and field driver
1726-27, declined the office of constable in
1728-29, but accepted it in 1732-36-37. As
constable he had the duty of "warning" out of
town all newcomers, a rather disgraceful
method of keeping out possible paupers and
those of other religious opinions. When the
meeting house was seated May 30, 1733, Rob
ert Pebbles was placed up among the leaders
and pillars of the church in the second seat in
the body of the church, while his two grown
sons, Patrick and John, were given seats in the
second pew in the long gallery. It is evident
that the clan feeling was not all gone, how
ever, for most of the prominent Scotch were
together in the second pew, also in the third
and fifth, while the English were mostly in
pews by themselves. Not entirely, however,
for many of the Scotch had already married
into the English families.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

965

A road was laid out by his farm and from
the Rutland road to the country road, Febru
ary 14, i733"34- He bought his homestead
March 7, 1722-23, but the deed was not
acknowledged until May 12, 1726, from
Elisha Bruce, of Marlborough, Massachu
setts, in the eastern part of Worcester, thirty-
seven acres adjoining land of Ephraim Curtis
on the county road to James Taylor's farm.
He probably moved in 1728 to a farm contain
ing sixty-eight acres that he bought April 17,
1728, on North Pond brook, land laid out to
Isaac Miller, but purchased of James Gleason,
of Marlborough. In 1731 he became a propri
etor of the town, buying the right ("tens,"
they were called ten-acre rights) of Palmer
Goulding. But he gave a farm of fifty-five
acres of this land near Panson's pond to his
"well-beloved son, John Pibles" "for love and
affection," dated February 28, 1731-32. A
plan of this farm is recorded in the Worces
ter deeds. John's farm was north of Robert's
and was bounded by common land and land
of John Waldo. The farm was sold to Cor
nelius Waldo in 1739 when Pebbles was pre
paring to leave town. He was a blacksmith by
trade and evidently prosperous. He bought
thirty acres of the south part of the original
right of Ephraim Curtis, September 11, 1727;
forty-seven acres of John Hubbard, of Wor
cester, undivided land and a four acre house
lot granted to Isaac Wheeler, deed dated
March 13, 1727-28. He also bought the
twenty acre house lot granted to William Pain,
of Boston, from James Dunlap, of Canter
bury, Connecticut, November, 1736, the land
being on the road to Lake Quinsigamond. His
son John deeded his farm back to his father
in 1739-40 for some reason, but April 18,
1741, Robert Pebbles, then of Lisbon (now
Pelham, Massachusetts), proprietor, deeded
this place, fifty-five acres on both sides 6i
North Pond brook, back to his son John.
Robert Pebbles and James Thornton, of
Worcester, were the founders of Pelham,
Massachusetts. These two Scotchmen bought
a tract of land three and a half miles wide
by seven and three-quarters in length, the
present site of Pelham, containing sixteen
thousand six hundred and eighty-six and one-
half acres of land, of Colonel Stoddard,
of Northampton, Massachusetts. Stoddard
bought it of the state of Connecticut, the title
of which was given to Connecticut by Massa
chusetts though jurisdiction was retained. The
lands were called Equivalent Lands because
they were given to compensate Connecticut for
iii— 13

the towns of Woodstock, Somers, Enfield and
Suffield, then held by Massachusetts, despite
the fact that by some mistake the grants had
been made south of what was afterward fixed
as the Massachusetts line. The two purchas
ers agreed to settle forty families within two
years. They were all ready, however, for the
deed to the proprietors was made February,
1 738"39» naming the settlers. It was called
the Lisbon, Lisborn or Lysburn propriety and
the first five meetings were held in Worcester,
the fifth April 10, 1740. The sixth meeting
was the first in the new settlement, held Au
gust 6, 1740. He was on the committee May
19, 1 741, to raise the new meeting house, and
November 3, 1741, when they began to have
service he was appointed to keep the minister
at twelve shillings a week. He led the move
ment to incorporate as a town and the bill was
signed by the governor, January 15, 1742;
Robert Pebbles was directed to call the first
town meeting for April 1, 1743, and a fac
simile of this call drawn and signed by him
is reproduced in the Pelham town history. Lis-
burn, or New Lisborn, the name of the pro
priety, was changed to Pelham. Lisborn is
the name of a town on the riyer Lagan in
Antrim county, Ireland. At the first town
meeting he was elected selectman and re-elect
ed in 1744, perhaps served later. He protested
against the meeting of 1751. He was moder
ator in 1744. The town took steps May 26,
1743, to call a minister and Robert was on
the committee for that purpose. Rev. Robert
Abercrombie was settled, but in 1747 trouble
had developed over the minister. Mr. Pebbles
continued to board the ministers; in 1755 he
was paid for ten weeks board and for enter
taining the presbytery. In 1756 for keep of
minister and horse five weeks and next seven
teen weeks. He had three shares in each divi
sion and became a large land-owner. He lived
on lot sixteen of the first division. He died
about 1760. As late as 1757-59 his son was
called "Jr."
He married Sarah  . Children: 1.
John, mentioned below. 2. Patrick, mentioned
below. 3. James, mentioned below. 4. Sarah,
born in Worcester, May 29, 1719, married,
February 10, 1755, at Pelham, Alexander Mc-
Culloch. 5. Mary, born October 12, 1722, at
Worcester, married, April 26, 1757, David
Huston. 6. Ann, born at Worcester, May 25,
1726, married, November 17, 1757, Rev. John
Huston. 7. Robert, mentioned below. 8.
Archibald, mentioned in administration of es
tate of brother John.

966

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

(II) John Pebbles, son of Robert Pebbles
(I), was born about 1715, in Ireland; died in
1756. Married, November 7, 1740, Dorothea
Harvey, daughter of Rev. John Harvey, Jr.
He had a farm at Worcester near North Pond
Brook, but left about the time his father did.
He was a school teacher and seems to have
lived at Palmer, Brimfield, Granville, Pelham,
Massachusetts, and Middlefield, Connecticut,
where he died. Administration was granted to
John Harvey, of Peterboro, New Hampshire,
his father-in-law, September 15, 1756. He
had one right at Pequoige, Rutland District
(now Barre), sold later to Samuel Reed. He
was a proprietor of Worcester in 1732, having
three tens or shares, and was chairman for sur
veying lots in the third division of the common
land. Two of his children were baptized by
his wife's father at Palmer, Massachusetts: 1.
John Harvey, born November 9, 1745, bap
tized December 5, 1745 ; 2. Jean, born Sep
tember 15, 1748. He seems to have married
second in Pelham in 1752 (intention May 2),
Sarah Conkey, and had children. 3. daughter,
born June 11, 1754. He was tythingman in
1762, and seems to have been living on his
father's homestead through which a road was
cut in 1755.
(II) Patrick Pebbles, son of Robert Peb
bles (1), was born in Ireland, about 1710-11.
He had a seat in the Old South meeting house,
Worcester, and was a field driver there in
1732. He was one of the proprietors of Lis
bon when the first division was made, having
a one-sixtieth share. He was the only son
who was a proprietor. He drew lot No. 7 in
1739. He signed the application for the first
town meeting; went to Hadley to post notice
of the first meeting. June 9, 1762, he owned
three shares, probably inheriting two from his
father. He was town surveyor in 1743, school
committeeman in 1751, selectman in 1752, col
lector 1757. In 1766 he and John Pebbles
occupied pew No. 2. He was a blacksmith by
trade, doubtless succeeding his father at Pel
ham. He married (first) Frances  ; and
(second), March 8, 1757, at Pelham, Margaret
Taylor. Children: 1. Son, born April 14,
1737, (probably John), mentioned below. 2.
James, born 1739, mentioned below. 3. Pat
rick, selectman 1796, resided in Pelham; per
haps born 1760. 4. Daughter, born May 22,
1752. Children of second wife: 5. Daughter
born May 20, 1759. 6. Son, born April 20,
1760. (II) James Pebbles, son of Robert Pebbles
(1), was born about 1717, probably in Wor

cester; died at Pelham, October 3, 1752. Chil
dren (according to best evidence at hand) : 1.
John, born about 1748, married, March 17,
1770, (intentions) Anne Shaw; was selectman
in 1784; blacksmith in Pelham 1768 and Rev
olutionary soldier from Chesterfield, Massa
chusetts, in same company with his brother
John, mentioned below. 2. James.
(II) Robert Pebbles, son of Robert Pebbles
( 1), was born about 1725 ; married (intentions
January 30, 1761) Elizabeth Cone; was in a
company of horse under Captain Robert Loth-
erdige, Colonel Israel Billing's regiment, in
1757, and in the same war was in Colonel Wil
liam William's regiment, Captain Salah Bar
nard's company.
(Ill) James Pebbles, son of Patrick Peb
bles (2), was born in 1739, died March 6,
1787, in Pelham. Married, March 5, 1768,
Rachel Young, who married (second) Deacon
Samuel Hyde; she died June 25, 1795. He
was constable in 1779, was set off in new school
district in 1770, served as private in the
French war under Captain Salah Barnard,
Colonel William Williams. Children : born
at Pelham: 1. Robert Young, born March 5,
1769; died February 15, 1791. 2. Molly, born
February 8, 1771, died October 19, 1790. 3.
John, born March 30, 1773. 4. Frank, died
September 24, 1775. 5. James, born July 18,
1782. (Ill) John Pebbles, son of Patrick Pebbles
(2), was born about 1737, died January 1,
1780. He married, August 17, 1759, Mary
Cunningham. He owned one right in 1762.
(Ill) James Pebbles, son of James Peb
bles (2), or one of the above, was born (ac
cording to the town records of Orford, New
Hampshire), at Pelham. He died, according to
the history of Plymouth, New Hampshire, at
a very advanced age in i860, and was undoubt
edly about a hundred years old. He settled in
the town of New Salem, Massachusetts, ad
joining Pelham. When he was a soldier in
the Revolution his residence was given as
Chesterfield, Massachusetts, an adjacent town,
but he may have lived in Pelham or New
Salem, and served for Chesterfield. His name
is spelled Pibbels and he was in Captain Ben
jamin Honney's company, Colonel Samuel
Brewer's regiment, which marched to Ticon-
deroga to reinforce the northern army artd
served under General Stark in the battle of
Bennington. He removed from New Salem,
Massachusetts, to Orford, New Hampshire, in
1797. He married Martha Haskell, who was
born in New Salem, Massachusetts. He was a

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

967

blacksmith by trade. Among his children
were: 1. James, born March 23, 1794, mar
ried, December 30, 1819, Sarah Sloper, born
March 25, 1798; blacksmith and farmer, came
to Plymouth, New Hampshire, in 1862, and
lived on the Joel Read place ; a soldier in War
of 1812; died at Plymouth, May 17, 1874;
wife died December 1, 1869; children and
grandchildren at Plymouth. 2. John, men
tioned below. Seth, Robert, Mary, Mahala.
(IV) John Pebbles, son of James Pebbles
(3), was born in New Salem, Massachusetts,
in 1796, and died at Orford, New Hamp
shire, August 7, 1877, aged eighty-one years,
of old age. His wife died before him. He
was a farmer. He settled in Orford, New
Hampshire, whither his parents removed when
he was an infant. He married Lucretia
Sloper, sister of his brother's wife. He mar
ried (second) Delia Weed; children of John
and Lucretia (Sloper) Pebbles: 1. Riley,
born February 25, 1823, mentioned below. 2.
James T, born February 25, 1825, was a pros
perous farmer of Saxonville, Massachusetts.
Children of John and Delia (Weed) Pebbles:
3. John, served in the Civil war in an Ohio
regiment under General Sherman, was wound
ed in action, and died at Gainesville, Geor
gia. 4. Sumner. 5. William. 6. Hazen, born
1830, married, August 17, 1867, at Rumney,
Ellen M. Blodgett. 7. Lucretia. 8. Delia, mar
ried Webster P. Blodgett, son of Asahel. 9.
Jennie, married Charles Porter, of Wolfbor-
ough, New Hampshire.
(V) Riley Pebbles, son of John Pebbles
(4), was born in Orford, New Hampshire, in
the section called Indian Pond, February 25,
1823. His father being in moderate circum
stances, he was bound out when fourteen years
old to a farmer in Orford and he worked
faithfully until he came of age and terminated
his long apprenticeship. He attended the dis
trict schools but his educational advantages
were nominal. He removed to Boston, March
1, 1846, and in 1851, six years later, came to
Natick, where he has resided ever since. He
learned the shoemaker's trade and on a capital
of eight hundred dollars he began, March 1,
1853, his career as a manufacturer of boots
and shoes. His business prospered and he
gradually evolved a plant that produced two
hundred and ninety thousand pairs of shoes
yearly, the annual sales amounting to about
half a million dollars. For many years he
was one of the leading manufacturers of
Natick. He employed several hundred men,
kept ten traveling salesmen on the road and

kept pace with the progress in methods of
manufacture. He was always ready to try new
labor-saving machinery. He had built for his
factory, the first Beam sole-cutting machine
that proved successful in the work and was
used many years. He made and patented im
provements in this machine and it is now the
standard machine used to cut soles by dies
from the whole side of leather. He invented
many improvements in shoe machinery. He
was the pioneer in the business of selling out-
soles, half-soles and taps to cobblers. He had
some reverses, twice losing his factory by fire.
When his factory was burned the first time, in
1873, he cleared away the debris with a gang
of seventy-five men while the fire still smould
ered, opened the safe, and made out his state
ment of losses for the insurance adjusters.
After a thorough investigation his figures were
accepted without change and he was told by
the adjusters that his was the most exact,
accurate and correct account ever submitted to
them. He rebuilt his factory. After his sec
ond fire he repaired the damaged building and
again resumed business. Mr. Pebbles retired
from the manufacturing business and engaged
in jobbing having -an office in his factory in
Natick and another at his old location oh Lin
coln street, Boston. A few years ago he began
in the retail business in his factory, and after
retiring from the wholesale business he opened
a retail store on Middlesex avenue, Natick, re
moving thence after a few years to his present
location on Main street, in Walcott Block. He
incorporated this business under the name of
the Riley Pebbles Boot & Shoe Company, in
1906; officers: Riley Pebbles, president; Wil
liam H. Quinlan, secretary and treasurer;
William K. Knowlton, director. From time to
time in recent years Mr. Pebbles has invested
extensively in the stock of southern cotton
mill corporations. He now owns large blocks
of stock in the Cannon Manufacturing Com
pany of Concord, North Carolina ; of the Caba-
russ Manufacturing Company of Concord,
North Carolina; of the Gibson Manufacturing
Company of Concord, North Carolina ; of the
Kesler Manufacturing Company of Salisbury,
North Carolina; of the Wiscasset Manufac
turing Company of Albermarle, North Caro
lina. ¦Mr. Pebbles is a Republican in politics, and
was member of the sewerage committee and
chairman four years during the construction
of the sewer system. He was for many years
an active member of the cemetery committee.
Mr. Pebbles has been a director of the Natick

968

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

National Bank since it was organized in 1865.
He was one of the incorporators and founders
of the Natick Five Cents Savings Bank in
1859 and is still one of its trustees. He is a
prominent member of the First Congregational
Church, and has been the most liberal contrib
utor to its support. He has served on its
parish committee and was chairman of the
building committee when the church was erect
ed after the fire in the seventies. The plans
were drafted by Mr. Pebbles.
- He has traveled extensively, especially
through the south, where his chief interests
have been centered for the past ten or fifteen
years. During a. recent trip he was accompa
nied by Judge Henry C. Mulligan, of Natick,
and both Mr. Pebbles and he spoke in the pub
lic schools in the southern towns, Mr. Pebbles
talking on the future duties of the children and
Judge Mulligan comparing the schools of the
north and south.
He takes fully as much satisfaction in help
ing others as he has in his own success in life.
He has given to a number of young men their
opportunity and start in life, and he treasures
the letters that some of them have sent him
acknowledging their obligation, and ascribing
their success in life to his timely assistance.
Some one recently wrote of him: "Having
been educated in the rough school of life,
cramped and handicapped in his early days to
such an extent as would have deterred most
persons from undertaking any serious enter
prise, he had to make special effort to over
come the obstacles in his path. That he did so,
and subsequently achieved a grand success in
his business career, was entirely due to his
persistent energy and indomitable will. He is
a man of strong individuality, and on every
line of his rugged features are stamped in
indelible characters self reliance, fearlessness
and determination. That Mr. Pebbles does
and should command the respect and esteem
of his fellow citizens none can doubt." He
resides in a handsome residence on East Cen
tral street, built in 1871, from his own plans.
Now eighty-five years of age Mr. Pebbles is a
wonderful man, mentally and physically. His
splendid physique shows no impairment while
his wide range of reading, his vast fund of
statistical information, backed by an unusual
mental vigor, render him a formidable antago
nist in debate on any of the vital questions of
to-day. He is deeply interested in the cause of
education, child labor, temperance and the
newer business developments in manufactur
ing.

Mr. Pebbles has been four times married.
He married (first) Laura Messenger, who
was born in Peru, Vermont. Their only child
died at the age of ten months. He married
(second) Mary Jane Cummings, of Dunstable,
Massachusetts, February 25, 1850. She died
July 12, 1850. He married (third) Abigail M.
(Knowlton) Bartlett, who died March 20, 1906.
He married (fourth), March 27, 1907, Isadore
C. Felch, born May, 1843, daughter of Asa
Felch. He has adopted children : Lucy Edith
Miriam Plardy, born 1892. Gertrude Clough,
born 1896.

Edward White, the immigrant
WHITE ancestor, was born in England' '£
in 1593 and resided in Cran- „
brook, county Kent, England, until June, 1635,
when he sailed for America in the ship "Abi
gail" of London with his wife Martha, aged
thirty-nine, and two children — Mary, aged
eight, and Martha, aged ten. He settled in Dor
chester, Massachusetts, and was admitted a
freeman May 26, 1647. Savage gives the date
as December 7, 1636. There were two other im
migrants of the same name, one settling at
Roxbury and the other at Charlestown, or the
evidence seems to indicate that there were
three Edward Whites. On account of the
large number of early settlers of the name of
White, no name presents more difficulties to
the genealogist. There were three immigrants
of the name of John White having numerous
descendants in the same locality. Thomas
White, of Weymouth, has a large posterity,
and the descendants of William White, father
of Peregrine, are also numerous.
Edward White's descendants and those of
Thomas White, of Weymouth, are found in
the same localities in Braintree, Dorchester and
vicinity. Children of Edward: 1. Martha,
born 1625 in England. 2. Mary, born 1627
in England. 3. James, born January 1, 1637,
mentioned below. 4. John, born December
I5, 1639, married, January 11, 1663-64, Mary
Swift. 5. Henry, married Mary  and had
at Dorchester ten children. 6. Peter, settled in
Milton where many of his descendants have
resided. (II) James White, son of James White (1), '
was born in Dorchester, January 1, 1637, and
was baptized in 1638 at Dorchester. He died
there November 11, 1713, aged seventy-six,
according to the death record. He married
at Dorchester, February 22, 1664-65. Sarah
Baker, daughter of Richard Baker, of Dor-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

969

Chester. She died October 13, 1688-89, and
he married (second) February 13, 1696, Eliz
abeth Withington, daughter of Captain John
Withington. She died November 19, 1722.
White took the oath of allegiance and fidelity
in 1678. Children of James and Sarah White :
1. Sarah, born November 8, 1665, died Janu
ary 2, 1665-6. 2. Thankful, born August 18,
1667. 3. Ichabod, born April 26, 1669, died
May 12, 1669. 4. John, bom June 7, 1670.
5. Experience, born March 2, 1673. 6. Mar
tha, born August 28, 1675. 7. Mary, born
1677, baptized November 11, 1677. 8. James,
born May 29, 1679. 9. Richard, born March
2, 1681. 10. Edward, born August 2, 1683,
mentioned below. 11. Ebenezer, born July 3,
1685, graduate of Harvard College in 1704.
(Ill) Edward White, son of James White
(2), was born at Dorchester, August 4, 1683,
and settled in his native town. Children, born
there: 1. Sarah, born March 1, 1708, died
March 3, following. 2. John, born February
25, 1709, mentioned below. 3. Sarah, born
April 3, 1711. 4. Edward, Jr., born Novem
ber 25, 1712. 5. Abijah, born January 23,
1716-17. (IV) John White, son of Edward White
(3), was born in Dorchester, February 25,
1709. He married, November 16, 1732, Han
nah Maudsley. Children, born at Dorchester:
1. John, born October 20, 1733, mentioned
below. 2. Hannah, born February 1, 1734-35.
3. Sarah, born October 7, 1736. 4. Ebenezer,
born September 5, 1739, died November 5,
1740. 5. Ebenezer, born October 4, 1740. 6.
Samuel, born April 24, 1742, died June 2,
1742. 7. Patience, born June 1, 1743. 8.
Mary, born May 24, 1747. 9. Elizabeth
(twin), born September 25, 1752. 10. Anna
(twin), born September 25, 1752.
(V) John White, son of John White (4),
was born at Dorchester, October 20, 1733. He
probably settled at what is now Randolph,
Massachusetts. The name of his wife and
children have not been found recorded. Lieu
tenant John White, of Barre, and James
White, of Barre, both from Randolph, are be
lieved to be his sons.
(VI) James White, son of John White (5),
was born in Randolph, Massachusetts, prob
ably about 1780. He married at Barre, Mass
achusetts, November 16, 1780, Abigail Hook
er. Children, born at Barre: 1. John, born
January 1, 1782, mentioned below. 2. James,
born February 22, 1784. 3. William, born
April 11, 1785. 4. Luke, born November 12,
1790. 5. Horatio, born February' 6, 1793.

(VII) John White, Jr., son of James White
(6), was born in Barre, Massachusetts, Janu
ary 1, 1782. He was always called Junior on
the records, indicating that his uncle John was
living also. Lieutenant John White died in
Barre, March 5, 1835, aged seventy-four
years; his wife also in Barre in February,
1817. The proof is not clear that John, Jr.,
was not the son of Lieutenant John. No rec
ord of his children has been found, and to
support the idea that he was we find that John
White, of Barre, conveyed land to John White,
Jr., cordwainer, for two hundred and thirty
dollars, a farm in the south part of Barre on
the Ware river adjoining the farm of Major
Jones on the road to Hardwick, April 13, 1813.
The name of one child of John White, Sr., is
known from the probate records, Ansyl, who
died in 1829, and her or his father, John White,
signed assent to the appointment of an admin
istrator, July 18, 1829.
Another family of this name in Barre is de
scended from Josiah White, who died at Barre
in 1803, probably of the Weymouth family.
Married at Sutton, April 28, 1737, Mary Tay
lor, and two other wives afterward, Hannah
and Lucy. Children, all born in Sutton: i.
Josiah, born July 8, 1738, died young, ii.
Josiah, born April 1, 1745. iii. Hannah, born
July 20, 1746, married John Moore, iv. Caleb,
born July 31, 1747. v. Ebenezer, born Sep
tember 25, 1752. vi. Abel, born April 21,
1754; died 1844. vii. Rachel, born 1756. viii.
Elias, born December 13, 1759. ix. Noah,
born November 6, 1761. x. Lucy, born April
16, 1764. xi. Job, born March 6, 1766. This
line is very distantly if at all connected with
the line from Randolph.
John White, Jr., married in Barre, Octo
ber 29, 1807, Arathusa Holden, daughter of
James and Hannah Holden. She was born at
Barre, January 8, 1785. Children of John, Jr.
and Arathusa White, born at Barre: 1. Lo
renzo, born March 27, 1808. 2. Eliza, born
September 22, 1809. 3. John, born November
23, 181 1. 4. Ira Johnson, born July 9, 1813,
mentioned below. 5. Silas, born July 4, 1815.
6. James, born November 21, 1817. 7. Mary,
born January 1, 1821. 8. Charles, born Sep
tember 23, 1822, died July 10, 1827, at Barre.
9. Warren, born August 8, 1826. Few of the
children of either generation located in Barre.
(VIII) Ira Johnson White, son of John
White (7), was born in Barre, Massachusetts,
July 9, 1813. He was educated in the public
schools, settled in Boston. He married Sarah
Jane Maling, a native of Charlestown, Massa-

970

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

chusetts. Children: i. Herbert, born Novem
ber, 1848. 2. George Russell, born October
29, 1850, mentioned below. 3. Ira Irving. 4.
Anna A., married Nathaniel P. Jones. 5.
Charles H. 6. Daniel M. 7. Sarah A., died
at five years of age.
(IX) George Russell White, son of Ira
Johnson White (8), was born in Boston,
Massachusetts, October 29, 1850, and was edu
cated there in the public schools. He com
menced his business career as bookkeeper and
clerk for the Boston Machine Company, and
remained with this company for nine years.
In 1875 he came to Melrose and engaged in the
retail milk business, in which he has achieved
marked success. He has enjoyed a flourishing
trade for more than thirty years, and is well-
known and highly esteemed in Melrose and
vicinity. He is a Republican in politics, and
a Unitarian in religion. He married, Decem
ber 24, 1872, Ellen M. Haines, daughter of
William B. Haines, of Boston. Children: 1.
Mabel L., born February 7, 1877, married
Adrian H. Boole, of Boston. 2. Ethel M.,
born April 5, 1880.

The Nichols family of Maiden
NICHOLS and Everett, Massachusetts, to
which the following branch
belongs, had their abode in the southerly part
of Maiden, which is now incorporated as the
city of Everett. Here they have been located
since the year 1660, and here they have been
numerous and many of them have been promi
nent in the community and some of the mem
bers are yet residents upon the lands which
their first ancestor, James Nichols, owned and
occupied. While there were different families
by the name of Nichols, in this part of Massa
chusetts, before 1700, this particular family
appear to have come from the neighborhood of
London, England, and are not, as far as
known, related to the other families of the
name in the adjoining towns.
(I) James Nichols, of Maiden, Massachu
setts, died there, 1694. Married, April, 1660,
Mary Felt, baptized January 26, 1639-40,
daughter of George and Elizabeth (Wilkin
son) Felt, of Maiden. He was made freeman
in 1668. He was a soldier in King Philip's
war in 1676, serving in Captain John Cutler's
company. In 1680 he was appointed tithing-
man. Children: 1. Mary, born March 1,
1660. 2. James, 1662, see forward. 3. Na
thaniel, 1666, married Sarah  . 4. Eliz
abeth, married Andrew Kinsicum. 5. Ann,

married Thomas Dunbar. 7. Samuel, married ''
 , had a daughter Elizabeth. 8. Caleb.
(II) James Nichols, son of James Nichols
(I), was born at Maiden, 1662, died there,
March 22, 1726. Married (first), November
15, 1686, Hannah Whittemore, of Woburn;
married (second), 1691, Abigail  . Chil-
dren: 1. Hannah, born November 22, 1687. 2.
James, January 28, 1688-89, died young. 3.
Esther, January 5, 1690-91. 4. Abigail, Au
gust, 1692. 5. James, October 22, 1694, see
forward. 6. Joshua, January 5, 1696-97. 7.
Caleb, April 27, 1699, died December 18, 1721.
8. Jemima, November 4, 1702.
(Ill) James Nichols, son of James Nichols
(2), born October 22, 1694, died 1730. Mar
ried (first), July 19, 1719, Tabitha Floyd, who
died September 22, 1723, in her twenty-first,
year (gravestone) daughter of John and Rachel ,
(Parker) Floyd, of Rumney Marsh, Boston;
married (second), October 8, 1729, Mary
Byles, born November 3, 1707, daughter of
Josiah Byles. She married (second) Daniel
Ballard. Children: 1. James, born 1720,
died 1740. 2. John, 1723, see forward.
(IV) John Nichols, son of James Nichols
(3), born at Maiden, 1723, died there August
17, 1789. Married, April 21, 1748, Elizabeth
Burdett, born June 2, 1726, died December 7,
1803, aged seventy-eight years, daughter of
John and Hannah (Cole) Burdett, of Maiden. <,_•
He was a member of the military company in
Maiden commanded by Captain John Dexter,
his name being on a bayonet roll of that com
pany, dated Maiden, November 30, 1758.
Children: 1. John, born September 16, 1749,
married, February 27, 1772, Phebe Oakes,
daughter of Jonathan and Esther (Bucknam)
Oakes, of Maiden. 2. Elizabeth, January 11,
1751-52, married, May 2, 1771, Joseph Dyer,
of Boston. 3. Sarah, October 24, 1754, mar
ried, November 6, 1774, Jonathan Oakes, of
Maiden. 4. James, March 17, 1757, died 1830.
5. Ebenezer, April 21, 1759, died September |
10, 1761. 6. Tabitha, April 7, 1761, married ."
(first), May 6, 1787, Benjamin Bill, of Chel
sea; married (second), March 11, 1804, Wins
low Sargent, of Maiden, died May 28, 1805.
7. Ebenezer, April 21, 1763, see forward. '8.
Nathan, April- 18, 1765, married, February 20,
1792, Dorcas Smith, daughter of Isaac and
Dorcas (Barrett) Smith. 9. William, Novem
ber 24, 1767, married, December 19, 1790,
Nancy White, daughter of Stephen and Sarah
(Tufts) White, of Maiden.
(V) Captain Ebenezer Nichols, son of John
Nichols (4), born at Maiden. April 21, 1763,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

971

died there August 1, 1836, aged seventy-three
years. Married, April 5, 1792, Esther Sar
gent, born August 8, 1766, died April 6, 1854,
daughter of David and Mehitable (Green)
Sargent, of Maiden. He was a farmer and he
also worked at. shoemaking during the winter
months as was the custom of that time, having
his shoemaking shop on his farm which con
sisted of thirty-five acres which was on what
is now Nichols street, Everett, where he re-
, sided. Later the farm was sold to Caleb
Pratt. He was a Universalist in religion.
Children: 1. Ebenezer, born March 8, 1793,
married (first), April 22, 1821, Betsey Fletch
er, of Maiden, and (second), November 5,
1835, Mrs. Lucy (Wetherbee) Pitts; children:
i. Ebenezer Walker, born August 2, 1822; ii.
Betsey Fletcher, October 10, 1825. 2. Joseph,
born October 9, 1794, died July 15, 1823, aged
twenty-nine years ; married Abigail W. Camp
bell. 3. Esther, born April 18, 1796. 4. Han
nah, born May 18, 1798, died October 24,
1871 ; married, December 31, 1820, Andrew
Davidson Nichols, of Maiden. Children: i.
Andrew, born January 28, 1823, died July 12,
1823. ii. Hannah, July 1, 1824, died July 14,
1825; iii. Andrew D., March 3, 1826, died Sep
tember 12, 1861 ; married, February 25, 1849,
' Ellen A. Tufts, daughter of Edward and Ellen
Tufts, of Maiden; iv. Benjamin Franklin, July
23, 1830, died February 18, 1832. v. Benja
min Franklin, May 9, 1833 ; vi. Ebenezer, No
vember 9, 1835; vii. Thomas Oakes, Novem
ber 18, 1839; viii. Edward L., November 2,
1843. 5- Phebe, born December 23, 1799, mar
ried, 1827, Isaac Hill, of Maiden ; children : i.
John Sprague (Hill), born December 25,
1828; ii. Ellen M. (Hill), February 15, 1831,
died February 3, 1848, aged seventeen years;
iii. Abraham G (Hill), April 9, 1839. 6. Ben
jamin, born January 16, 1802, married, March
29, 1825, Mrs. Abigail W. (Campbell) Nich-'
ols; children: i. Abigail W., born March 8,
1826, died November 13, 1832; ii. Joseph C,
April 26, 1827; iii. Harriet E, January 3,
1829. iv. Rebecca A., April 27, 1832 ; v. Ben
jamin L, January 19, 1834, died November
25, 1845; yi- Abigail W., born June 5, 1837;
vii. Martha S.', December 28, 1839; viii. Jose
phine. 7. Eliza, born December 11, 1803, died
August, 1833; married, July 15, 1828, James
L. Breeden, child: Ruth Wait (Breeden), born
at Maiden, December 19, 1829. 8. Tabitha,
born December 26, 1805, died August 28,
1885; married, June 1, 1828, Henry Shute of
Maiden, children: i. George Henry (Shute),
born March 21, 1829, died September 4, 1859;

ii. William (Shute), May 17, 1831, died No
vember 28, 1891 ; iii. Eliza Nichols (Shute),
January 1, 1834; iv. Amos (Shute), January 1,
1834, died same clay; v. Charles Francis
(Shute), June 17, 1838; vi. Esther Nichols
(Shute), January 9, 1842, died March 11,
1843; vn- Edward L. (Shute), July 10, 1844;
viii. Esther Nichols (Shute), January 20,
1850, died March, 1890; ix. Mary Waits
(Shute), March 17, 1854. 9. George, born
January 14, 1809, see forward. 10. Harriet,
born April 24, 181 1.
(VI) George Nichols, son of Captain Ebe
nezer Nichols (5), born at Maiden, January
14, 1809, died there November 29, 1852. Mar
ried, November 29, 1830, Mary Farnham, born
August 3, 1808, died May 24, 1895, daughter
of Timothy and Susanna (Berry) Farnham,
of Maiden. He received his education in the
common schools. He assisted his father on
the farm, and learning the art and mystery of
shoemaking of David Faulkner, of Maiden, he
followed that occupation winters and during
the summer worked at farming. About 1840
he worked for his brother Benjamin at the
same occupations and later hired the old David
Faulkner farm situated on what is now Cross
street, which he carried on for some six or
seven years. He also conducted a large busi
ness in cattle, buying of the drovers that came
from Maine and New Hampshire to the mar
kets at Cambridge and Brighton and selling
them to the butchers and farmers. He was of
medium height and dark complexion. In reli
gious belief he was a Universalist, and in poli
tics a Democrat. He served when a young
man in the state militia. Children: 1. George,
born September 15, 1832, died January 7,
1907. 2. Levi Farnham, born July 14, 1834,
married, June 26, 1871, Ellen S. Hall, of Mai
den. 3. Mary Ann, born December 20, 1835,
died January 29, 1836. 4. Mary, born August
3, 1837, died December 29, 1906; married, De
cember 24, 1854, Thomas . M. Balcom, of
Charlestown; children: i. Lucy Melvin (Bal
com), born October 26, 1855, married, April
6, 1881, Frederick T. Mills, of Everett; ii.
Mary Lizzie (Balcom), December 16, 1859,
married, December 28, 1881, Frederick P.
Greenwood, of Everett; children: i. Walter
Melvin (Greenwood), born November 25,
1882; ii. Florence Louise (Greenwood), July
26, 1885; iii. Chester Parker (Greenwood),
July 7, 1890; iv. Jennie. Gladys (Greenwood),
June 27, 1894. 5. Harris, born September 4,
1839, died August 14, 1841. 6. Adeline
Parker, born February 10, 1842, died January

972

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

5, 1888; married, November 15, i860, Wil
liam Henry Adams, child Charles (Adams).
7. Lucy Ann, born January 29, 1844, married,
June 22, 1871, Charles A. Sanborn, child:
Charles Adams (Sanborn), married Blanche
Blomuth and have Beatrice Edna (Sanborn) ;
they reside at Woburn. 8. Benjamin Harri
son, born February 16, 1846, see forward.
(VII) Benjamin Harrison Nichols, son of
George Nichols (6), was born at Maiden, Feb
ruary 16, 1846. Married, at Everett, Decem
ber 28, 1871, Elizabeth A. Hager, born March
18, 1851, daughter of Horatio and Almira
(Robbins) Hager, of Weston. He was six
years old when his father died. His schooling
was obtained in the present Maplewood dis
trict. When lie was seventeen he began work
by driving a milk wagon for W. H. Adams, of
Lexington, on a route into Boston. The fol
lowing four years he drove a wagon on a sim
ilar route from Maiden to Boston. This was
so profitable that from his earnings he bought
a route for himself, about 1869, of C. W.
Bailey, and conducted it for three years, going
daily to and returning- from Boston, with head
quarters at Everett. He then sold his milk
business to Frank Upham, of Melrose, and
from the profits bought another milk route of
a Mr. Murdock. This he again sold out at a
profit and located himself in Woburn where he
purchased an oil extracting business of Messrs.
Follansbee & Randall, which was situated on
the William Bartlett place. The process insti
tuted was that of extracting the oil and grease
out of leather scraps which he disposed of to
the leather dressers. He also manufactured a
stuffing used by the leather manufacturers.
His place of business was destroyed by an ex
plosion in 1898, and he soon afterwards re
tired. At present he is engaged in the care of
his real estate, being the owner of a number
of houses in Maiden and Everett. He built his
present beautiful residence at 37 Warren ave
nue, Woburn, March 4, 1897. He has been to
some extent a dealer in horses and has the
reputation of being an excellent judge of that
animal. Mr. Nichols is genial and popular,
and these qualities with his sunny nature have
led his fellow citizens to call him constantly to
public office. He is Republican in politics, and
has served his party as a delegate to many
state conventions. He has served the city of
Woburn in her city council, as alderman, in
the year 1900-01-06-07, being a member of
the finance, highway and street railway com
mittees. He is an attendant of the Woburn
Congregational church, and is a member of the

Towanda Club of Woburn, and has been call
ed the father of that club, because he pur
chased their present clubhouse and generously
devoted it to their use. Children: 1. Clara
Louise, born at Everett, January 12, 1873,
married, June 7, 1898, Dr. Seth Wight Kelly,
of Woburn. 2. Benjamin Harrison, born at
Woburn, August 19, 1889.

Hoyt is the surname of an ancient
HOITT English family. Even to the
present day the spelling lacks uni
formity. From the same ancestor in America
we trace families spelling the name Hight,
Hoyt, Hoitt, Hoit and Haight. Most of the
family in New Hampshire and vicinity have
followed the spelling Hoyt, though for a cen
tury or more the Northwood branch has clung
to the spelling given in this sketch, Hoitt, and
some of the New Hampshire family use the
spelling Hoit. The word Hoit means to leap, to
caper, and doubtless was originally a designa
tion of some agile progenitor of the thirteenth
or fourteenth century in England. The early
records have the name spelled Hoyt, Hoit,
Hoyte, Hoytt, Hoitt, Hoyet, Hoyett, Hoyette,
Hayght, Hoight, Hight, Hite, Hyatt, Hayte,
Haite, Hayt, Haight, Hayts.
(I) John Hoitt, the immigrant ancestor of
the American family, was born about 1610 in
England, and was doubtless a son or brother
of Simon Hoitt, who settled in Charlestown,
Massachusetts, and was a proprietor there as
early as 1630; removed to Dorchester, Massa
chusetts, where he became a proprietor, and
was admitted freeman May 18, 1631 ; settling
finally at Windsor, Connecticut. William was
a proprietor of Salisbury, Massachusetts, as"
early as 1639, and owned land also at Ipswich
in 1641 and at Haverhill in 1650, but his home
was in that section of Salisbury, across the
Powow river, later called Amesbury. He was
among the earliest settlers of Salisbury and
had land in the first division. His house lot of
one acre was between the homes of William
Holdred and John Dickinson. He had various'
other grants and parcels of land acquired by
purchase in Salisbury. He was once fined for
felling trees on the common lands without per
mission but the fine was abated. He was ad
mitted a townsman in 1650. In common with
other inhabitants of Amesbury he was fined
for neglecting to attend the Salisbury Church,
after the Amesbury people established a church
of their own, without permission of the general
court. ' They had asked for the right in 1649

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

973

and had been refused. The minister at Salis
bury effected a partial compromise of the trou
ble by preaching at Amesbury once a month.
In 1660 the township was set off and in 1672
the first minister, Rev. Thomas Wells, was
called at Amesbury. Hoitt sold his house in
old Salisbury, September 4, 1647, and removed
to Amesbury and was one of the original com
moners of the new town, his name being on
the articles of agreement signed by Salisbury
and the new town in 1652. He held various
town offices; was selectman in 1681-82; mod
erator," April, 1687; and often later years; con
stable; juror and prudential man. A seat was
assigned him in the Amesbury meeting house
July 9, 1667 ; he took the oath of fidelity Oc
tober 3, 1650; was on the grand jury 1652;
was a freeman'; was a planter and also brick-
maker; was sergeant of the military company.
His wife Frances died February 23, 1642-
43, and he married (second) another Frances.
He died February 28, 1687-88. He deeded
most of his property to his sons during his
lifetime. Ten years after his death an admin
istrator was appointed on his estate. Children
of the first wife: 1. Frances, married (first)
John Colby; (second) John Barnard. 2. John.
3. Thomas (twin), born January 1, 1640-41,
mentioned below. 4. Gregory (twin), born
January 1, 1640-41. 5. Elizabeth, born Feb
ruary 23, 1642. Children of the second wife :
6. Sarah, born January 16, 1644-45, died Feb
ruary 26, 1644-45. 7- Mary, born February
20, 1645-46, married Christopher Bartlett. 8.
Joseph, born and died 1648. 9. Joseph, born
and died 1649. 10. Marah, born and died
1653. 11. Naomi, born January 23, 1654, mar
ried John Lovejoy. 12. Dorothy, born April
13, 1656, fined October 9, 1677, "f°r wearing
man's, apparrell." 13. Mehitable, born Octo
ber 25, 1664.
(II) Thomas Hoitt, son of John Hoitt (1),
was born January 1, 1640-41. He married
Mary Brown, daughter of William and Eliza
beth Brown. Children: 1. Lieutenant Thomas,
married (first) Elizabeth Huntington, May
22, 1689; (second), Mary Barnard, widow of
Joseph Barnard, November 18, 1722; held
many town offices. 2. William, born October
19, 1670, died October 29, 1670. 3. Ephraim,
born October 16, 1671, married April 25, 1695,
Hannah Godfrey; married (second), August
12, 1736, Hannah Godfrey; married (third),
September 4, 1738, Elizabeth Macrest (Ma-
cree) ; died 1741-42 ; resided at Hampton,
New Hampshire. 4. John, born April 5, 1674.
5. William, born April 8, 1676. 6. Israel, born

July 16, 1678. 7. Benjamin, born September
20, 1680; mentioned below. 8. Joseph, born
1684, married Hannah Chase, daughter of
Aquila Chase, December 22, 1707; died at
Stratham, New Hampshire, May 24, 1753; re
sided at Stratham and Newbury, Massachu
setts. 9. A daughter. 10. Deliverance, born
May 2, 1688, died May 9, 1688. 11. Mary,
born October 1, 1690, died January 20, 1690-
91. (Ill) Benjamin Hoitt, son of Thomas
Hoitt (2), was born September 20, 1680, and
died 1748-49. He married Hannah Pillsbury,
of Newbury, the intention being recorded Feb
ruary 19, 1703-04. He was admitted to the
church May 10, 1713. He was a tanner and
resided at Salisbury, Massachusetts, when
married, but the first child was recorded at
Newbury, Massachusetts. All the other chil
dren, except Enoch were recorded at Salis
bury. He resided in the First or East parish
in Newbury. He was constable and was ex
cused in 1731-32 on account of lameness of
his hands. He was a man of great strength.
His will was dated December, 1748, and proved
February 6, 1749. The inventory of his
estate filed May 6, 1749, was six hundred
pounds. Children: 1. Benjamin, born April
29, 1706, married Mary  , March 25,
1730; died 1745-46; he joined the South
Hampton church but his children were bap
tized at Salisbury; said to be very strong. 2.
Moses, born March 1, 1707-08, married, July
15, 1731, Mary Carr; died about 1784; resided
at Salisbury and Epping, New Hampshire. 3.
Hannah, born May 8, 17 10, married Daniel
Merrill, December 22, 1736. 4. Enoch, bap
tized September 5, 1714, married Sarah French, ¦
December 3, 1735. 5. Daniel, born March 25,
1715, mentioned below. 6. Joseph, born Sep
tember 20, 1717, married Naomi Smith, of
Exeter; married (second) Susan French;
soldier in the Indian wars; signed the asso
ciation test.
(IV) Daniel Hoitt, son of Benjamin Hoitt
(3), was born March 25, 1715, and baptized
June 5, 171 5. He died November 17, 1757.
He married, June 24, 1736, Judith Carr, of
Carr's Island in the Merrimac, then of Salis
bury. He owned the covenant November 6,
1737, and was admitted to the Salisbury church
August 26, 1744. Pie was dismissed to the
church at Epping, New Hampshire, August 30,
1752, when he removed there. He bought of his
brother Moses his land at Epping in 1754,
when they were both living there. His estate
was administered December 3, 1757, by Joseph

974

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Cilley. Daniel Hoitt had four sons in the
Revolution. Children: I. Judith, born Octo
ber 26, 1737, baptized November 6, 1737,
married Phillip Bartiett. 2. Richard, born
November 2, 1739, baptized November 25,
1739; died in the Revolution or about that
time. 3. Benjamin, born May 2, 1742, baptized
May 16, 1742. 4. Lieutenant Daniel, born
January 13, 1744-45 ; married Thankful
Weeks; (second) Mary Bartiett. 5. Stephen,
mentioned below. 6. Moses, resided at Salis
bury in 1771. 7. Joshua, born August 15,
1750, baptized at Epping; resided at North-
wood; was selectman in 1792 and 1800.
(V) Stephen Hoitt, son of Daniel Hoitt
(4), was born about 1747 and baptized at
Epping, New Hampshire. He married Lydia
Buzzell. He married (second), January 10,
T795> Widow Rachel Piper, of Pembroke,
New Hampshire. He married (third), Widow
Hannah Clap ham, December 7, 1809. He re
sided at Northwood, New Hampshire, but
died in Canada. His farm was on a tract of
land by the end of Jennes pond, which he
bought of Abraham B. Cilley and cleared. He
signed the association test. He served in the
Revolution in Captain Joseph Chandler's com
pany, Colonel Wyman's regiment, in 1776.
There were two Stephen Hoitts in Captain
Isaac Baldwin's company, Colonel John
Stark's regiment in 1775, also a Stephen
Hoitt in Captain Cilley's company on Novem
ber 5, 1775. The historian of Northwood,
New Hampshire, says that the three brothers,
Daniel, Richard and Stephen were "solid men,
good citizens, with good estates, and progeni
tors of a strong and hardy race." Children:
1. Samuel, mentioned below. 2. Richard
Carr, resided at Stanstead, father of Ira
Bartiett Hoitt, sheriff and clerk of the
court at Exeter, Rockingham county, New
Hampshire. 3. John, a school teacher at Sa
lem, Massachusetts; died unmarried at Ports
mouth, New Hampshire, about 1809. 4.
Sally, married, February 21, 1803, William
Locke; resided at Lee, New Hampshire, and
had nine children. 5. Lydia, married Simeon
Griffin and removed to Canada. 6. Nancy,
married Micah- Sinclair, of Stratham, and left
children. (VI) Samuel Hoitt, son of Stephen Hoitt
(5), was born at Northwood, New Hamp
shire, and died May 3, 1819. He was a farmer
at Lee, New Hampshire, owning a large farm
where he raised cattle, sheep, horses and farm
produce. He married Betsey Piper. She
married (second), in 1829, Abraham Batchel

der, who came to Northwood 1809, removed
to Portsmouth in 1814 and to Lee in 1816. -
Children : 1. Colonel Gorham W., born March
5, 1804; in the legislature in 1835-36; aid to
Governor Steele, sheriff of Strafford county;
executed the murderer Andrew Ploward in
1846; died September 5, 1868; married, July
4, 1824, Abigail Lock, of Barrington, New
Hampshire, and had nine children : 2. Joseph
R. W., kept the American House in Damaris-
cotta, Maine; resided his last years in Port
land ; married Elizabeth Wyman, of Damaris-
cotta, Maine. 3. General Alfred, born Janu
ary 10, 1806, mentioned below. 4. Mary
Eliza, married William Clark. 5. William K.,
born November 7, 181 5, married, March 30,
1843, Sarah C. Swain, of Northwood, New
Hampshire. (VII) General Alfred Hoitt, son of Sam
uel Hoitt (6), was born at Lee, New Hamp
shire, January 10, 1806, and died November
9, 1883. He was brought up on his father's
farm, and at the age of thirteen was the sole
support of his widowed mother. At seven
teen he worked seven months as a farm hand
at Stratham, receiving nine dollars a month,
all of which he saved. He started a general
store at Lee which became the center of trade
for the surrounding towns. In 1837 he built
a hotel in Lee, which became famous as a
hostelry. He and his sons made this hotel
very prosperous, and it was known as a "Half
Way House" for the stages. In 1849, after
the Boston and Maine Railroad was built, he
removed to Durham Depot, with his family,
where he continued in the general store busi
ness. Here he built a large store and a fine
residence, near the site of the present Boston
and Maine depot. He closed out the business
in 1857 on account of the financial crisis and
entered into the hay business, buying large
quantities and sending it to Boston. This was
about the first baled hay that came to the
Boston market. In the sixties he practically
retired from active business. He was a large
owner of real estate, making his first purchase
of a wood lot from his first savings and add
ing to his holdings from time to time until
he had nine hundred acres of farm and wood
land within six miles of Durham station.
While engaged in business at Durham he paid
in freight charges alone to the Boston & Maine
Railroad the sum of about seven hundred
thousand dollars. On one occasion he lost his
house and buildings from fire caused by sparks
from a locomotive. Though the charter of
the railroad expressly stated its liability for

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

975

damages in such cases, payment was refused
and litigation kept up for four years. In the
end, however, Mr. Hoitt won his case and the
precedent in that case became the law of the
land. Thus he contended not only for his
own rights but for thousands of others who
were not in a position to fight the corporation
unaided. General Hoitt was fond of the mili
tary life and continued in the state militia
many years, rising in rank through the various
grades to major-general of the state militia,
and he had the reputation of being one of the
best disciplinarians in the service. In politics
he was a Jeffersonian Democrat. He was
selectman of Lee for some years ; surveyor of
highways ; overseer of the poor. While at
Lee he was elected to both branches of the
state legislature, and was again elected to the
house from Durham in 1874. He was honor
ed with a unanimous election to the office of
selectman of Lee. In 1881, although he was
not' a resident of Dover, he was nominated
for mayor by the Democrats and came within
one hundred and seven votes of defeating
the Republican candidate when the Democratic
party was in the normal minority of about one
thousand votes. In religion he was an Ortho
dox Congregationalist.
General Hoitt was equally popular and dis
tinguished in business and public life. He was
ever bright, energetic and active in whatever
he was about; of strong and determined char
acter ; of excellent judgement in business and
of large influence and authority in his town,
county and state. In business he never had
to give a note except for part of the purchase
price of his first venture in real estate. He
was a typical self-made man.
His interesting family was a source of great
, joy and satisfaction to him as the years passed.
After a remarkable family gathering, the
Democrat Press of Dover, New Hampshire,
said in its issue of December 5, 1875 : "The
family gathering at General Hoitt's on Thanks
giving Day was a remarkable one for these
latter days at least. General Hoitt and wife
have been married forty-eight years and have
reared a family of thirteen children, six sons
and seven daughters. All are now living, the
youngest being twenty-seven years. Three
sons and six daughters are married and the
entire family including grandchildren, twenty-
one in number, making forty-two with the
general and his wife assembled at the pater
nal home to celebrate the Thanksgiving holi
day. We doubt if another such family as
General Hoitt's can be found in New England.

Both sons and daughters are all smart and
capable, intelligent and well situated in life —
true chips of the old block. The average
weight of the entire family, father, mother
sons and daughters is one hundred and eighty-
six pounds, and their mental powers are com
mensurate with their bodily vigor. General
Hoitt and wife commenced the labor of life
together with only their own efforts to rely
upon for success; Their prosperity in every
essential respect proves their reliance not a
vain one."
He married, October 26, 1828, Susan De
Meritt, born at Northwood, New Hampshire,
December 22, 1806, and died at Durham, New
Hampshire, April, 1877. He married (sec
ond), January 6, 1879, Mrs. Mary A. Smart,
of Boston. Children: 1. Franklin Wood
bury, born April 5, 1829, died unmarried
February 3, 1877. 2. Alfred DeMeritt, born
October 14, 1830, mentioned below. 3.
Alvina Amanda, born February 8, 1832, died
April 22, 1889;^ married, January 1, 1856,
Daniel C. M. Pierce, of New Market, New
Hampshire, who died April 16, 1889. Chil
dren: i. Ida May Pierce, born January 21,
1864, married, December 18, 1889, J. L.
McKone and had Welden Pierce McKone,
born February 22, 1891, and Evelyn Ruth
McKone, born March 18, 1896; ii. Frank
Daniel Pierce, born November 9, 1867; iii.
Ned Hoitt Pierce, born May 1, 1874, married,
December 14, 1898, Amy Belle Bryant." 4.
Samuel Piper, born March 16, 1833, died
April 20, 1902; married, January 28, 1855,
Mary Elizabeth Doe, of New Market, New
Hampshire; children: i. Carrie Elleri, born
March 18, 1859, died December 2, 1874; ii.
Annie Isabelle, born October 3, i860, married,
November 15, 1882, Henry Gilbert Hayes, of
Madbury, New Hampshire, and had Isabelle
Chadwick Hayes, born January 28, 1884,
Ralph Hoitt Hayes, born August 20, 1885, and
Helen Louise Hayes, born October 31, 1891 ;
iii. Fred Thornton, born June 24, 1866, died
September 9; 1872; iv. George Gaines, born
September 12, 1872, married, June 1, 1893,
Laura Mabel Sleeper, of Alexandria, New
Hampshire, and had Carrie Elizabeth, born
March 17, 1894, Alice Joanna, born April
28, 1895, Martha Luena, born September 2,
1896, Ellen Crawford, born September 1,
1898, Mary Georgene, born November 19,
1903, and Samuel Waldo, born July 23, 1905.
5. Elizabeth Susan, born March 1, 1835, died
January 11, 1906; married- Samuel Chesby
Hayes, of Madbury, New Hampshire; chil-

976

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

dren : i. Harry Edgar Hayes, born December
12, 1865, married, October 16, '1901, Emma
Susan Tilton, of Exeter, New Hampshire, and
had Alfred Henry Hayes, born September 14,
1906; ii. Alfred Samuel Hayes, born May 14,
1869, married, June 8, 1899, Sara May Bart
iett, of Rockland, Maine, and had Robert
Hayes, born June 2, 1907. 6. Lydia Olive,
born October 30, 1836, married, at Durham,
New Hampshire, Rufus W. Willey, of Dur
ham ; children : i. Clarence Hoitt Willey,
married Mary Elizabeth Appleton; ii. Allie
Willey, born May 30, 1868, married, April 18,
1894, Frederick D. Hall and had Marion Hall,
born January 30, 1895, and Eleanor Hall, born
February 17, 1901. 7. Henrietta, born Feb
ruary 28, 1838, married, November 6, i860,
Alden P. Sherburne, of Concord, New Hamp
shire ; children : i. Elmer D. Sherburne, born
November 5, 1868, married, June 25, 1892,
Alice Howe, and had Grace M. Sherburne,
born November 12, 1895, Dprothy P. Sher
burne, born August 5, 1899, and Avis A.
Sherburne, born December 5, 1901 ; ii. Charles
L. Sherburne, born January 25, 1871 ; iii. Al
den Hoitt Sherburne, born October 25, 1880,
married, September 4, 1902, Frances Good
rich, of Concord, New Hampshire, and had
ITarold Sherburne, born April 7, 1904. 8.
Mary Frances, born July 22, 1839, married
(first), i860, Charles Bean, of Nottingham,
New Hampshire ; children : i. Edgar Bean,
born December, 1861 ; ii. Walter C. Bean, born
October 11, 1863, died April 18, 1900; married
(second), January 16, 1870, Jonathan Frank
Young, of Barrington, New Hampshire, who
died June 24, 1905 ; one child ; iii. Jonathan
Frank Young, born May 25, 1872. 9. Martha
Ann, born April 20, 1841, died January 4,
1890; married Marcellus H. Perkins, of Dur
ham, New Hampshire, one child, Alberta Per
kins. 10. George Irving, born February 2,
1843, married Emma Weldon, of Boston. 11.
Washington. 12. Sylvia Victoria, born Janu
ary, 12, 1847, married, May 8, 1879, Laban
M. T. Hill, of Barrington, New Hampshire.
13. Charles Edward, born March 8, 1849,
married Martha Longley, of Durham, New
Hampshire. (VIII) Alfred DeMeritt Hoitt, son of Gen
eral Alfred Hoitt (7), was born in Lee, New
Hampshire, October 14, 1830. He was edu
cated in the public schools of his native town,
removing with his father to Durham in 1849.
He was clerk in his father's store for a time,
and in 1852 was appointed postmaster by Pre
sident Pierce, holding the office also under Pre

sident Buchanan. In 1857 he removed to
Charlestown, Massachusetts, and engaged in
the hay and grain business with a store oh
Canal street, Boston. He was energetic and
enterprising by nature, and soon built up a
profitable business and took a leading position
in his line of trade. He continued in business
in Boston with uninterrupted success for a
period of thirty years and retired with a com
petence in 1887.
While a resident of Charlestown he was a
member of the common council of that city
before it was annexed to Boston, and he was
an alderman the year before annexation. He
removed to Arlington, Massachusetts, in 1873,
and has lived there since that time, filling
many positions of trust and responsibility. He
was a member of the water board and board
of assessors for ten years, and was chairman
of both boards. He has been trustee of the
sinking fund and various other town funds
for a number of years. He has been a direc
tor of the Metropolitan National Bank of Bos
ton for nearly thirty years. He was one of
the founders of the . Arlington National Bank
and has been vice-president many years. He
has been prominent in Democratic politics,
serving on the state committee and being del
egate to several national and many state and
other nominating conventions. He has been
postmaster of Arlington since 1895, when he
was appointed by President Cleveland. A
local newspaper says of him recently : "Quite
an unusual coincidence came to our notice the
other day in a paragraph from a local paper of
New Hampshire. From it was learned that
Mr. Alfred D. Hoitt, the postmaster of Arl
ington, was postmaster of Durham, New
Hampshire, in 1853. It is safe to assume that
Mr. Hoitt will round out his business life as
postmaster. It is now thirteen years since he
received his appointment as postmaster at Arl
ington, and the office has grown almost out
of recognition in these years and is quite a
model of excellence in all respects. Mr. Hoitt
was twenty-two years old when he became
postmaster of Durham and held the office un
til he came to Boston in 1857 and went into
the hay and grain business, in which it is
estimated that he made a tidy fortune, so
that he retired from business many years ago.
"When the vacancy in Arlington postoffice
occurred through the resignation of Mr. Fred
E. Fowle, who had served the town many
years, Mr. Hoitt was sought to return to the
occupation and office of his early manhood
and to give to the town of Arlington the bene-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

977

fit of his mature experience in postoffice work,
and received the appointment. He has always
taken great pride in the office and will no
doubt call these, his last thirteen years, his
best years. Mr. Hoitt is in his seventy-eighth
year, but he has the vigor of many a younger
man, and his enthusiasm and interest in his
work are unabated."
The following extract is from the Boston
Daily Globe, February 18, 1902: "Alfred D.
Hoitt, superintendent of the Arlington branch
of the Boston postoffice is probably one of the
oldest and most successful station superinten
dents in the Boston postal district. Mr. Hoitt
is one of the veterans in years in the service,
but his postoffice experience did not begin (in
Arlington) until the second Cleveland admin
istration when he was appointed as a compro
mise candidate for postmaster. Arlington was
then a presidential appointment, but since then
has been attached to the Boston office and Mr.
Hoitt has continued at the head of the office,
but at half the salary that he formerly re
ceived as postmaster. In addition to the sup
erintendent there are three clerks. During the
first year the sale of stamps amounted to
$7,000. Last year the sales of 1901 amounted
to $16,000. There has been a vast increase in
the registry and money order business."
He married, August 24, 1858, Mary E.
Sawyer, born at Dover, New Hampshire,
December 8, 1833, died at Arlington, Massa
chusetts, May 9, 1880, daughter of Thomas E.
Sawyer, of Dover, New Hampshire, the first
mayor of that city after its incorporation in
1855 and at one time candidate for governor
of the state. Mrs. Hoitt was a member of the
Arlington Congregational Church and much
interested in the benevolent work of that soci
ety. Children: 1. Alice Elizabeth, born at
Charlestown, February 4, 1863, drowned in
Spy pond, May 26, 1875. 2. Gertrude Saw
yer, born August 28, 1866, married, October
30, 1889, T. Ralph Parris, of Arlington, Mass
achusetts, no issue. 3. Eannie Elwood, born
December 7, 1869, married, January 17, 1901,
Walter F. Hooker, of Worcester, Massachu
setts ; children : i. Alice Gertrude Hooker, born
October 7. 1902 ; ii. Robert Elwood Hooker,
born June 21, 1905. 4. Alfred Woodman,
born February 19, 1875, unmarried.

Wood, or Woods, is a surname of
WOOD ancient English origin, and had
its origin in designating some
men from their residence near woods. Atwood
and Bywood are forms of the same name.

The surname Hill is of similar origin, and
perhaps quite as generally used. Other sur
names formed in this way are Pond, Rivers,
Lake, Bridge, etc. The medieval spelling of
this surname was Atte Wode, afterwards soft
ened to A'wood. Since the immigrants came
to this country with the early settlers at Ply
mouth we find Wood and Atwood used inter
changeably. Almost every conceivable Wood
in England surnamed some family back in the
tenth, eleventh or twelfth centuries, and hence
the multitude bearing the name. In Domes
day Book the name is found in the Latin form
De Silva in county Suffolk. In the Hundred
Rolls the forms de la Wode, In le Wode and
Ate Wode are found. Many famous men in
England and America have belonged to the
Wood family. In England and Scotland one
hundred different coats-of-arms belong to the
various Wood families. A branch of the
Scotch Wood family is numerous in Ireland.
There is a general similarity of design in the
armorials of many of these families that indi
cate common ancestry at some remote period.
The Derbyshire family fanily coat-of-arms :
Azure three naked savages proper, each hold
ing in the dexter hand a shield argent charged
with a cross gules, and in the sinister a club
resting on the naked hand proper. Crest:
An oak tree proper acorned or. Many are
like this old one. The families bearing arms
and the surname Wood are numerous in Dev
onshire, Gloucestershire, county Kent and
county Middlesex. Thomas Wood, chief jus
tice of the court of common pleas in 1501, had
these arms: Gules semee of crosses crosslet
fitchee argent three demi-woodmen holding
clubs proper. Note the resemblance in design
to the other. Viscount Halifax bears: Azure
three naked savages ambulant in fess proper,
in the dexter hand of each a shield argent
charged with a cross gules in the sinister; a
club resting on the shoulder also proper on a
canton ermine, three lozenges conjoined fess
sable. Crest: a savage as in the arms, the
shield sable, charged with a griffin's head
erased argent. Motto: Perseverando. Most
of the Scotch and Irish families bearing arms
have the following or one very like it : Azure
an oak tree eradicated or. The family had
seats in Fife and Forfarshire as early as the
sixteenth century.

Josiah Wood, the immigrant an-
WOOD cestor, was one of a score or
more by the name of Wood who
settled in New England before 1650, or soon

978

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.,

after that date. He was born in England in
1629, and died September 24, 1691, aged sixty-
two years. He settled in Charlestown, Mass
achusetts, and was a member of the First
Church. He bought the rights of a commoner
in Charlestown, and was granted the rights
of four common shares in 1681. He bought
two lots of Elizabeth Checkley in 1675-6, and
other lots of Nathaniel Hay ward and Samuel
Carter in Charlestown. His will was dated
May 19, 1691, and was proved December 29,
following. It mentions sons Josiah, Samuel
and Joseph. The inventory shows the estate
was valued at 378 pounds. He married, Octo
ber 28, 1657, Lydia Bacon (by Captain Ed
ward Johnson, magistrate), (see Bacon fam
ily). She was admitted to the Charlestown
church, June 29, 1762, and died November 25,
1674. Children, born at Charlestown: 1.
Josiah, born October 10, 1658, baptized July
6, 1662, died young. 2. Lydia, born Novem
ber 23, 1659; died December 20, 1659. 3.
Josiah, born July, 1662 ; mentioned below. 4.
Lydia, born July, 1662; died September 17,
1 68 1, (gravestone). 5. Samuel, born Novem
ber 12, 1671 ; married Hannah Buck. 6. Jo
seph, born December, 1 674, baptized December
27. 7. Ruth, born June, 1676, baptized June
4- (II) Josiah Wood, son of Josiah Wood
(1), was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts,
July, 1662; died at Woburn, Massachusetts,
March 9, 1740; married, December 13, 1686,
Abigail Bacon, daughter of Michael of Biller-
ica. (See Bacon family). She was born
March 1, 1666, and died December 6, 1743.
Michael Bacon, of Woburn, deeded to Josiah
Wood, Jr., of Charlestown, October 22, 1686,
all his real estate in Woburn, consisting of
housing and lands, in particular, his mansion
house, barn and outbuildings. In 1687, Josiah
Wood was settled in Woburn. Children, born
in Woburn: 1. Josiah, born August 31, 1687;
mentioned below. 2. Lydia, born May 1,
1689; married James Simonds. 3. Abigail,
born September 10, 1691 ; married, in 1723,
Benjamin Simonds. 4. Samuel, born Decem
ber 10, 1693,' died May, 1745 ; married Eliza
beth  . 5. Joseph, born April 25, 1696;
died December 30, 171 3; unmarried. 6. Sol-
oman, born January 23, 1698; died October
13, 1699. 7. Ruth, born January 4, 1700; died
August 2, 1736; unmarried.
(Ill) Josjah Wood, son of Josiah Wood
(2), was born August 31, 1687, in Woburn,
and died there January 4, 1753. He married
Ruth Peabody, who died in 1752. Children,

born in Woburn: 1. Josiah, born April 23,
171 1 ; died February, 1729-30. 2. John, born
November 27, 1713; mentioned below. 3.
Joseph, born December 29, 1715.- 4- Edward,
born February 11, 1717-18. 5. Ruth, born
February 24, 1719-20; married, 1742, Benja
min Nutting. 6. Solomon, born February 23,
1721 ; married, September 20, 1752, Martha
Johnson. 7. Susannah, born March 6, 1724;
married Nathan Reed. 9. Mary, born March,
1726; married, March, 1746, George Reed. 9.
Phebe, born April 23, 1729; married William
Clark. ,
(IV) John Wood, son of Josiah Wood (3),
was born in Woburn, November 27, 17 13, and
died there April 29, 1752. He left all his pro
perty to his wife. He married, October 21,
1736, Esther Johnson, born February 2, 1715,
daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Johnson,
and granddaughter of the pioneer, William.
(See Johnson sketch). Children, born at Wo
burn: 1. Esther, born May 6, 1737; married,
March, 1757, Eleazer Carter. 2. Lucy, born
September 16, 1738; married Ebenezer Locke.
3. John, Jr., born August 23, 1740; mentioned
below. 4. Susannah, born September 13,
1742; married, 1762, Silas Wyman. 5. Ruth,
born May 29, 1745, died October 13, 1763. 6.
Josiah, born June 23, 1747. 7. Silvanus, born
January 27, 1748 ; married Deborah Bruce.
8. Sarah, born October 4, 1752; married
Nathaniel Wyman.
(V) Captain John Wood, son of John
Wood (4), was born in Woburn, August 23,
1740, and died there October 19, 1809' His
birthplace is now within the town of Burling
ton, set off from Woburn, and. his grave is in
the old cemetery in Burlington. He entered
the army at the age of sixteen in the second
year of the French and Indian war, 1755-1763.
The enlisting officer was inclined to refuse
him at first on account of his youth, but, he
offered to test his marksmanship against any
of the other soldiers and recruits, and showed
so much spirit that he was accepted and
assigned to duty. He took part in the expedi
tion against Canada under Benedict Arnold.
One of the soldiers had a sore break out,
swelling and suppurating until he was disabled
from further marching. To leave him alone
meant death, so the commander asked for a
volunteer to remain behind to care for him".
Wood was the only soldier ready to undertake
this dangerous and trying duty. His comrades
built a hut, and left among other supplies a
two-quart bottle of rum. When he drew aside
the blanket in front of the tent next day he

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

979

saw a group of Indians. Seeing that resist
ance was out of the question, if attacked, he
resolved to try other measures, and with his
bottle of rum advanced to meet the enemy,
saying "Oncapee," (ardent spirits). After
the Indians had required him to drink first
to be sure that no trick was being played with
poisoned rum they accepted the firewater and
became friendly. One of them had a knowl
edge of medicine, and when shown the suffer
ing man in the hut proceeded to lance the sore
with a broken flint, and then made a dressing
from an herb that he dug from under the snow
at the root of a hemlock tree. When the re
lief party returned at the end of three days
they found that the Indian remedy had cured
the soldier. He was commissioned captain in
Colonel Loammi Baldwin's regiment in the
Revolution, and served in 1775 and 1777.
When he married, April 4, 1767, he was living
in Cambridge, afterward Woburn district; he
married Dorcas Smith, of Lexington, April 4,
1764. She was born March 28, 1746, and died
September 19, 1809, daughter of Hezekiah
and Elizabeth (Wellington) Smith. Joseph
Smith, father of Hezekiah, married Mary
Richards. Thomas Smith, father of Joseph,
married Mary Hosmer. Thomas Smith,
father of Thomas, married Mary Knapp.
John Smith, father of Thomas, died at Water-
town, Massachusetts, July 12, 1639, aged six
ty; was an immigrant from England.
Captain John Wood was on a committee
headed by Colonel Loammi Baldwin to confer
with a committee of the second parish which
asked for a division of the town, and the con
ferences were held at his house. In 1787 he
was on a committee of seven to secure separ
ation of Burlington from Woburn. Children :
1. John, born December 26, 1764; married
Hannah Blanchard. 2. Lucy, born March 11,
1767, died August 21, 1779. 3. Dorcas, born
March 5, 1769; married  Lawrence. 4.
Josiah, born May, 1773; married Betsey Wy
man. 5. Ruth, born June, 1778; married Jon
athan Trask Fiske. 6. Sylvanus, born Sep
tember 15, 1787; mentioned below.
(VI) Sylvanus Wood, son of John Wood
(5), was born in Woburn, Massachusetts
(Burlington), September 15, 1787, and died
August 14, 1843. He was brought up on his
father's farm and educated in the public
schools. He taught school for some years in
the vicinity. He bought his farm containing
over one hundred acres about the time of his
marriage and conducted it all the rest of his
life. He was a man of sound judgment and

much force of character. He was a justice
of the peace, and filled many other positions
of trust and honor. In personal appearance
he was tall and erect, and resembled in fea
ture Daniel Webster. He was a member of
the Burlington Congregational church (ortho
dox). In politics he was a Whig. He be
longed to the militia company of Woburn.
He married, July 1, 1810, Rebecca Carter,
born July 29, 1789, died October 6, 1850,
daughter of Jonas and Phebe (Carter) Car
ter, of Woburn. Her father was a farmer.
Lineage: Rebecca (7); Jonas (6); Eleazer *
(5); William (4) and Abigail Butters; Eb
enezer (3) and Lydia Butters; Thomas (2)
and Margery Whitmore; Rev. Thomas (1),
the immigrant, born 15 10, died 1684; first
minister of Woburn. Children: 1. Sabra,
born August 21, 1812; married March 16,
1837, Philip Russell ; children, all born in Lex
ington: i. Sabra Ann Russell; ii. Marshall
Russell; iii. Henry Russell; iv. Ella Russell.
2. Lucy, born April 15, 1814; died December
24, 1 841. 3. Sylvanus, born December 3,
1815; died December 9, 1843; unmarried. 4.
Rebecca, born July 27, 1817; died March 11,
1847; married Jeduthan Richardson, of Wo
burn, Massachusetts ; children : i. Rebecca
Richardson; ii. Alvin Richardson. 5. John,
born September 18, 1819; married December
26, 1847, Sylvinia Hart; children: i. Mary
Hart; ii.'John Dexter Plart; iii. Anna Hart;
iv. George Hart. 6. Josiah, born September
8, 1821 ; died August 5, 1850; married August
13, 1846, Mary Jane Tarr. 7. Eliza, born
September 14, 1823; died August 7, 1852;
married, October 13, 1846, George Munroe;
children : Eliza and Georgiana. 8. Albert,
born July 31, 1825, died June 21, 1862; kill
ed in civil war; he married, May 20, 1850,
Sarah M. Deering; children: i. Sarah M.,
born April 4, 1851, died November 8, 1867;
ii. Albert, born May 5, 1852, died July 3,
1853; m- Frank Gilbert, born December
6, 1853 > married September 10, 1877, Edith
M. Tice; iv. Louisa Wilcott, born May
29, 1855, died September 11, 1865; v. Ida,
born March 17, 1857; married, May 31, 1885,
Jacob L. True; vi. Henry, born April 10,
i860, died May 19, 1878. vii. Edward Ever
ett, born April 25, 1862 ; married January 27,
1886, Lenora Birdsall. 9. Marshall, born Oc
tober 2, 1827; mentioned below. 10. Selina,
born May 8, 1829; died November 9, 1848;
married, October 12, 1848, Richard J. Alley;
no children.
(VII) Marshall Wood, son of Sylvanus

980

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

(6), was born in Burlington, Massachusetts,
October 2, 1827. He attended the district
school, and worked during his youth on his
father's farm, and from the time of his
father's death in 1843 he carried on the farm
for his mother until 1850, when he bought the
interests of the other heirs and became the
owner. This farm consists of some eighty
acres in the northeast part of the village. He
had a fine dairy and a productive farm. Since
his death his farm has been conducted by
his widow and son-in-law, A. Dane. Mr.
Wood was devoted to his family and his busi
ness: He attended the Burlington Congrega
tional church. In politics he was a Republi
can; was a member of the school committee
and trustee of the public library.
He married, April 6, 1854, Mary Frances
Cate, born in Boston, December 1, 1832,
daughter of John and Mary Augusta (Story)
Cate, of Boston. Her father was an ornamen
tal sign painter. Children: 1. Emma Flor
ence, born April 7, i860, died September 8,
1877. 2. Jessie Fremont, born October 12,
1861 ; married December 10, 1881, Walter M.
Walch, of Maiden ; children : i. Grace Emma,
married Paul McCurder ; ii. Delia Frances
Walch; iii. Walter Wood Walch; iv. Arthur
Myron Walch. 3. Arthur Wendell, born
August 18, 1864; mentioned below. 4. Albert
Sumner, born October 18, 1866; died May 1.
1905. 5. Bertha Lillian, born December 5,
1871 ; married April 29, 1891, Fred Freeland
Walker, of Burlington, Massachusetts ; chil
dren : i. Freda Lorraine Walker, born Febru
ary 3, 1895 ; ii. William Henry Walker, born
November 24, 1898.
(VIII) Arthur Wendell Wood, son of
Marshall Wood (7), was born at Burlington,
August 18, 1864, and was educated in the pub
lic schools of that town, supplemented with
private instruction under Professor Howell, of
Harvard, Massachusetts. He taught in the
public schools of Burlington, in Norton, Mass
achusetts, and Deerfield, New Hampshire,
where he was principal of the high school.
He taught the grammar school at North Graf
ton, Massachusetts, afterward. Then for five
years he was "a clerk in the Boston Safe De
posit & Trust Company. He accepted a posi
tion as cashier for N. W. Harris & Company,
brokers, State street, Boston. After three
years there he took charge of the bond depart
ment of Fuller, Tilton & Company, Boston,
and built up a large business for that firm. In
1904 this firm was dissolved, and. Mr. Wood de
cided to embark in business for himself, and

he established himself in the brokerage busi
ness at the old stand of Fuller, Tilton & Co.
In March, 1906, he moved to his present
handsome offices, room 85, at 19 Congress
street. While he was connected with Fuller, Til
ton & Company, Mr. Wood organized in 1889
the New England Company for Investments,
incorporated under the laws of Delaware, and
he was vice-president of the concern and man
ager, later becoming its president, his present
position. Mr. Wood's business is exclusively
in bonds and securities for investments, and
he has no dealing on margins. His business
has been very prosperous. Mr. Wood is a
gifted musician, and a member of the Beet
hoven Orchestral Club, of Boston, in which
he plays a clarinet ; this is one of the best ama
teur orchestras in New England. Mr. Wood's
home is at 35 Jason street, Arlington. He is
a member of the Burlington Congregational
church ; is independent in politics, and belongs
to the Arlington Golf Club, the Old Belfry
Club of Lexington ; the Point Shirley Club of
Winthrop, and the Boston Bank Officers' As
sociation. He married, February 10, 1886, at Littleton,
Massachusetts, May Elizabeth Fuller, who
was born February 5, 1863, daughter of Josiah
and Rebecca (Fales) Fuller, of Harvard,,
Massachusetts. Her father was a farmer.
Children: 1. Ralph Arthur, born at Harvard,
November 26, 1886. 2. Marshall' Hayden,
born at Bedford, Massachusetts, August 7,
1900. The surname Henderson
HENDERSON and its kindred form An
derson is found in both
England and Scotland. The Henderson coat
of arms is : Three piles issuing from the sin
ister ar. a chief erm. Crest — Under a tree a
boar pass. Motto — Virtus Nobilitat. Other
branches of the family have mottoes: "Sola
Virtus Nobilitat" and "Sic Cuncta Saduca."
The similarity of the various coats of arms of
the English and Scotch branches indicates a
common origin. The Henderson family of
Scotland had its seat in Fifeshire and Dum
friesshire before 1600. At a very early date
the family of Anderson is found in Aberdeen
shire and Edinburghshire in Scotland. George
Henderson, of Edinburgh, was a member- of
the Scottish parliament in 1543; James Hen
derson, of Edinburgh, in 1504; John Hender
son, of Henrysone, Lochmaben, 1645-7-8,
61-3; Robert Henderson, of Holland, Orkney

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

981

and Zetlandshire, in 1617; Thomas Hender
son, of Jedburgh, in 1587-93-94.
One branch of the family went with the
Scotch Covenanters to settle in Ulster Plan
tation, beginning in 1610. Alexander Hender
son was, in 1619, a lessee of part of the thous
and acre grant to John Hamilton in Precinct
Clanchy, Cavan county, Ireland. He was the
first of the name in Ireland. The first in
county Tyrone on record was William Hen
derson, of Precinct Strabane, who, August 16,
1693, was tenant of James Hamilton, Earl of
Abercorn, who had a grant of three thousand
acres there. The family at present is well
represented in the Scotch counties of Antrim
and Tyrone, in Londonderry and other Ulster
counties, but in no others in Ireland.
(I) George Henderson was born in Kelly-
mallaugh, county Londonderry, province of
Ulster, adjacent to Antrim and Tyrone. His
father was a farmer there, and he was brought
up on the farm and educated in the schools
of his native place. After his marriage he
settled on a farm that he bought in Kelly-
mallaugh and followed farming all his life.
He grew flax, grain and oats and raised many
horses and cattle. His farm is situated in the
eastern part of the town. He was an upright
and honorable citizen, working hard and doing
his full duty as a man and a. citizen. He was
of a happy disposition, and . endowed with
great physical strength and powers of endur
ance. He belonged to the Presbyterian church
of his fathers and was elder for many years.
In politics he was a Liberal. He was a Free
Mason, a member of the lodge in his native
town. He married Jane Hall, a native of
Scotland, daughter of John Hall. Children:
1. James, born August 12, 1833, died Septem
ber 11, 1903; married, February 18, 1861,
Margaret Clark, sister of his brother John's
wife; children: 1. George, born June 10,
1862, married, October 25, 1888, Margaret
Wilson, of Boston, and had Charles Wilson,
born April 26, 1891 ; resides at 9 Preston
street, Dorchester, Massachusetts ; ii. William
Foster, born February 20, 1865, married
(first), November, 1887, Elizabeth McDonald,
of Cambridge, and had: James Foster, born
January 5, 1891 ; William Foster married
(second), August 30, 1894, Ellen Cole, of
Cambridge, and had: Maynard Cole, born
February 5, 1897; Frances Geneva, Septem
ber 5, 1898; Charles Leroy, January 15,
1904); iii. James Hall, born July 3, 1867;
iv. John Thomas, born March 27, 1870, mar
ried, January 4, 1893, Ada J. Drady, of Cam-
iii— 14

bridge, (and had: Ethel Winifred, born Feb
ruary 26, 1894; George Clark, September 30,
1895; Maud Alma, June 15, 1897, died Octo
ber 14, 1899; Everett John, February 13,
1899; Chester Woodman, October 15, 1900;
Elwin Thomas, May 31, 1902; Austin Mel
ville, May 9, 1904 ; Ada Blanche, born July 6,
1906) ; v. Mathew Clark, born October 5,
1872; vi. Joseph Alexander, born May 26,
1875. 2- Mary, married John Henderson. 3.
Elizabeth, married Robert Pickens. 4. John,
mentioned below. 5. Sarah, married Alexan
der Montgomery; resides at Coultersville, Ill
inois. 6. George. 7. Thomas, resides at Mill
wood, Frisne county, California.
(II) John Henderson, son of George Hen
derson (1), was born at Kellymallaugh, Lon
donderry county, Ireland, August 17, 1845.
He was educated in private schools in that
place until twelve years of age, when he be
gan to work on his father's farm. Three years
later he went to work for William McCarter,
a farmer in the same town. He left home March
28, 1863, to seek his fortune in America, and
landed at Boston. He entered the employ of
Cyrus H. Cutter at Arlington, Massachusetts,
in the market gardening business and remain
ed there two years and a half. Thence he
went to Watertown in the employ of Artemas
Locke, remaining a year, and then in the em
ploy of Samuel Butterfield, of Arlington,
eight months, and of William Muller of
North Cambridge, driving his leather team to
Boston for about three years. He leased the
Richard Irwin farm on Front street, in Arl
ington, for one season, and conducted it on his
own account. In 1870 he bought his present
farm, which was a part of the old Russell
estate on Appleton street, and consisted of
thirty acres of land. He built his residence
before coming to the farm and it still stands
on the place. In 1898 he built his present
beautiful residence. Mr. Henderson has made
a success of market gardening, having devel
oped a large business from a small begin
ning, showing what pluck and energy well
directed can accomplish without capital. He
makes a specialty of celery, lettuce, cucum
bers, spinach and other produce, finding his
market in Boston. His son James has of late
years had charge of the delivery and sale of
the produce, and Mr. Henderson devotes his
attention to the cultivation, much of his stuff
being raised under glass. He has established'
a reputation for honesty and uprightness, and
is much respected by his neighbors. He was
brought up in the Presbyterian faith of his

982

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ancestors, but attends the Congregational
church (orthodox) at Arlington. He is a Re
publican. He was formerly a member of the
Royal Order of Orangemen.
He married, September 13, 1866, Catherine
Clark, born August 4, 1846, daughter of Wil
liam and Dorcas (Laught) Clark, of London
derry, Ireland. Her father was a clerk in the
government office. Children, born in Arling
ton : 1. Mary Jane, born March 20, 1868,
married, September 30, 1903, Justin W. Lov-
ett, of Brandon, Vermont; child, Harold Jus
tin, born April 20, 1906. 2. Margaret, born
September 2, 1870. 3. John, born October
16, 1872, married, October 12, 1898, Ada May
Brinton, of Nova Scotia; children: i. Warren
James, born November 27, 1898; ii. Ada
Josephine, February 17, 1902; iii. Dorothy,
April 6, 1905. 4. Elizabeth Ann, born Sep
tember 10, 1874. 5. Sarah Montgomery, born
August 28, 1876. 6. Georgiana Catherine,
born December 7, 1878. 7. Josephine, born
August 22, 1883. 8. William James, born July
20, 1885. 9. Henry Andrew, born January 8,

The antiquity of the
HUTCHINSON family of Hutchinson
in England is very
great. Its origin has been assigned to one
Uitonensis, said to have been a Norwegian
and to have come from Normandy with Wil
liam the Conqueror, but there is no record of
the family after the Conquest until the year
1282, after which the history of the family is
definitely known. The coat-of-arms : Per pale
gules and azure, semee of cross-crosslets or,
a lion rampant argent. Crest — Out of a du
cal coronet or, a cockatrice with wings en
dorsed azure, beaked combed and wattled
gules. (I) Barnard Hutchinson, of Cowlam,
Yorkshire, England, was living in the year
1282. He bore the coat-of-arms just des
cribed. His wife was the daughter of John
Boyvill, Esq., of one of the best families of
Yorkshire. Children: 1. John, mentioned
below. 2. Robert, married  Newcomenr
of Saltfleetby, Lincolnshire. 3. Mary, mar
ried William Sutton, of Washingborough,
Lincolnshire. (II) John Hutchinson, son of Barnard
Hutchinson (1), married Edith Wouldbie, of
Wouldbie. Children: 1. James, mentioned
below. 2. Barbara, married Lewis Ashton, of
Spaulding, Lincolnshire. 3. Julia, married

Allyne Bruxbie, of Shobie. 4. Margaret, mar
ried William Champernowne, of Devonshire.
(Ill) James Hutchinson, only son of John
Hutchinson (2), was of Cowlam. He mar
ried Ursula Gregory, of Nafferton, Yorkshire.
Children: 1. William, mentioned below. 2.
John, married daughter of John Conyers. 3.
Barbara, married John Hathorne, of Cran-
sweke (Cranswick). 4. Daughter, married
John Ocam, Esq. 5. Eleanor, married Thom
as Brown, Esq.
(IV) William Hutchinson, son of James
Hutchinson (3), married Anne Bennet,
daughter of William Bennet, of Theckley
(Thackley), in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Children: 1. Anthony, mentioned below. 2.
Oliver, married daughter of John Tindall. 3.
Mary, married Jervas Abtost (probably Ab-
tofte). 4. Alice, married William English.
(V) Anthony Hutchinson, son of William
Plutchinson (4), married (first) Judith Cros-
land, daughter of Thomas; married (second)
Isabel Harvie, daughter of Robert. Children
of secdnd wife: 1. William. 2. Thomas,
mentioned below. 3. John. 4. Richard, sup
posed to have settled in Ireland. 5. Leonard.
6. Edmund. 7. Francis. 8. Andrew.
(VI) Thomas Hutchinson, son of Anthony
Hutchinson (5), bought the principal part of
the township of Owthorpe, Nottinghamshire,
the remaining portions afterwards coming into
the family of his descendants. He lived in
the reign of Henry VIII. He owned also an
estate at Colston Bassett, a few miles east of
Owthorpe. His actual residence was at Crop-
well Butler. He was living as late as October
9,1550. Children: 1. William. 2. John. 3.
Lawrence, mentioned below.
(VII) Lawrence Hutchinson, son of
Thomas Hutchinson (6), resided at Toller-
ton, a town between Owthorpe and Notting
ham. He married Isabel  , who sur
vived him. His will is dated July 21, 1577,
and proved at York, October 9, following.
Children: 1. Robert. 2. Thomas, mention
ed below. 3. Agnes. 4. Richard. 5. Wil
liam. (VIII) Thomas Hutchinson, son of Law
rence Hutchinson (7), resided at Newark,
Nottinghamshire; died in 1598. His will was
proved May 11 of that year and dated March
1. Children: 1. William, died before his
father. 2. Thomas, mentioned below. 3.
Joan. (IX) Thomas Hutchinson, son of Thomas
Hutchinson (8), inherited his father's estate
at Newark, but removed to Arnold, near Not-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

983

tingham, between 1601 and 1605. He married
Alice  , who survived him. He was buried at
Arnold, August 17, 1618, his will being dated
March 4, preceding. He bequeaths to all his
children, most of whom were doubtless born
at Newark before his removal to Arnold.
Children: 1. John, married twice, lived at
Arnold. 2. Isabel, married Adam Barker. 3.
Humphrey, living in 1618. 4. Elizabeth. 5.
Robert, baptized at Newark, September 6,
1601, lived at Arnold. 6. Richard, mentioned
below. 7. Thomas, baptized at Arnold, June
16, 1605.
(X) Richard Hutchinson, son of Thomas
Hutchinson (9), was born 1602-03. hi J66o
he deposed that his age was fifty-eight. He
married, at Cotgrave, county Nottingham,
England, December 7, 1627, Alice Bosworth,
'probably daughter of Joseph Boswell, of
Southwell, otherwise known as the cathedral
church of Nottinghamshire. He emigrated to
America in 1634 with his wife Alice and four
children and settled in Salem, Massachusetts.
He had a grant of land from the town of
Salem in 1636 and next year a grant of twen
ty acres more, "provided he will set up a
plough." It is said that at that time there were
but thirty-seven ploughs in the entire colony.
In 1654 he had another parcel of land granted
him and in 1660 still another. This land was
situated in the vicinity of Hathorne's hill,
Beaver Dam brook, now called Beaver Brook,
which runs through Middleton into the Ips
wich river. He and his wife were members
of the Salem church as early as 1636. He
bought a farm of one hundred and fifty acres
at Salem village (Danvers) of Elias Stillman
in 1648 and that was his homestead afterward.
He served on a committee of the town to sur
vey Jeffrey's Creek (now Manchester) and
Mackerel Cove.
His first wife Alice was a member of the
First Church at Salem village in 1636 and
Richard joined in 1647. He married (sec
ond), in October, 1668, Sarah Standish, wid
ow of James Standish, of whose estate Hut
chinson was appointed administrator April 1,
1679. His will was dated January 19, 1679,
and proved September 26, 1682. His widow
married (third) Thomas Roots, of Manches
ter, whom she also survived. Children of
Richard and Alice, the first five born in Eng
land: 1. Alice, baptized at North Muskham,
Nottinghamshire, September 27, 1628, and
died there the same year. 2. Elizabeth, bap
tized at Arnold, August 30, 1629, married
Deacon Nathaniel Putnam, of Danvers. 3.

Mary, baptized at North Muskham, December
28, 1630, married Thomas Hale, of Newbury,
Massachusetts. 4. Rebecca, born about 1632,
married James Hadlock, of Salem, May, 1658.
5. Joseph, mentioned below. 6. Abigail, bap
tized December 25, 1636, married Anthony
Ashby. 7. Hannah, baptized at Salem, April
12, 1662, married Daniel Boardman. 8. John,
born May, 1643, married, July, 1672, Sarah
Putnam. (XI) Joseph Hutchinson, only surviving
son of Richard Hutchinson (10), the immi
grant, was born at North Muskham in 1633,
according to his deposition taken in 1660. He
settled upon a portion of his father's estate,
conveyed to him by deed of gift by his father,
July 1, 1703, containing fifty-four acres of
upland on the west side of the Ipswich river
near Cromwell's meadow. Joseph gave to his
son John fifty acres May 3, 1694. In 1673 ne
was on the committee to build the parsonage at
Danvers 'and donated the land for it. He
was one of the petitioners for the incorpora
tion of the town of Danvers February 20,
1689. He was constable in . 1658. He had
five children by his first wife. He married
(second) Lydia (Buxton) Small, daughter of
Anthony and Elizabeth Buxton, widow of Jo
seph Small, February 28, 1678, and had six
children. Children of first wife: 1. Abigail,
baptized September 26, 1666, died young. 2.
Bethiah, baptized September 26, 1666, died
in 1690. 3. Joseph, baptized with the two
preceding; resided at Danvers. 4. John, bap
tized with the preceding ; married Mary Gould.
5. Benjamin, baptized with preceding; mar
ried Jane Phillips and Abigail Foster. Chil
dren of Joseph and Lydia Hutchinson : 6.
Abigail, born January 14, 1679. 7. Richard,
born May 10, 1681, married Rachel Bunce.
8. Samuel, born October 9, 1682, unmarried.
9. Ambrose, born June 4, 1684, mentioned be
low. 10. Lydia, born September 13, 1685,
married George Nourse. 11. Robert, born
November 3, 1687, married Elizabeth Putnam.
(XII) Ambrose Hutchinson, son of Joseph
Hutchinson (11), was born in Danvers, Mass
achusetts (Salem Village), June 4, 1684, died
in 1757. He was a farmer and lived and died
on that part of the homestead given him by
his father June 3, 1708, consisting of thirty
acres adjoining land of his brother Robert and
the highway. Administration was granted
September 26, 1757, to his widow and son
George. The inventory amounted to one
hundred and three pounds and some shillings.
He married, June 24, 1709, Ruth Leach,

9§4

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

daughter of John and Elizabeth Leach, born
March 31, 1692. Children: 1. Amos, bap
tized June 10, 1710, a mariner, married, July
7, 1737, Hannah Hutchinson, daughter of Eb
enezer ; three children. 2. James, died youijg.
3. Samuel, baptized April 24, 1714, mariner in
early life, moved to Woodstock, Massachusetts,
now Connecticut, and manufactured scythes;
married Elizabeth Judd; two sons. 4. John,
baptized July 5, 1719, mentioned below. 5.
James, died 1752. 6. George, born at Dan
vers, November 1, 1730, farmer, removed
about 1764 to Lyndeborough, New Hamp
shire; married (first), June 8, 1748, Elizabeth
Bickford, of Middleton, Massachusetts; (sec
ond), Sarah Bevins; twelve children. ,
\ (XIII) John Hutchinson, son of Ambrose
Hutchinson (12), was born in Danvers, Mass
achusetts, and baptized there July 5, 1719. He
and his brother George settled about 1767 in
Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. He mar
ried probably Deborah  . He died there
about 1789. A widow Deborah with two
daughters is given in the census of 1790, re
siding in Lyndeborough. According to this
census the following, doubtless sons of John,
were heads of families in Lyndeborough: 1.
Nehemiah, had two sons and two daughters.
2. Nathaniel. 3. Thomas, mentioned below.
4. Ebenezer, had two sons under sixteen and
a daughter. (XIV) Thomas Hutchinson, son of John
Hutchinson (13), was born about 1760. He
was a soldier in the Revolution, a private in
the Seventh Company, Second Regiment, un
der Colonel Reid, and later a sergeant, in
1780. He married  Chickering.
Among their children were : Charles, Osgood,
Nathaniel, Abigail, Hannah, Thomas, born
May 6, 1800, mentioned below.
(XV) Thomas Hutchinson, son of Thomas
Hutchinson (14), was born at Lyndeborough,
New Hampshire, May 6, 1800, and died April
5, 1875. He received a common school edu
cation and worked during his youth on his
father's farm. He learned the butcher's trade,
and when a young man removed to West Cam
bridge, Massachusetts. There he worked for
several years for Abner Pierce who had a
slaughter house and meat market, and when
John P. Squire, who became famous later for
his success in the pork business, was an appren
tice in the same place, Mr. Plutchinson taught
him his trade. Mr. Plutchinson resided at
what was called Brick End, Schooler Court,
Arlington. In later years he worked for his
son, Thomas K. Hutchinson, in the teaming

business, moving furniture, etc. He finally
removed to Plainfield, Vermont, where he fol
lowed farming, and died there at the home of
his daughter, Clara Bartiett, April 5,_ 1875.
In religion he was a Baptist; in politics a
Democrat. He married, June 26, 1823, Bet
sey Blackington, of Wrentham, daughter of
Edward Blackington. She died May 25, 1826,
at Arlington. Children: 1. Thomas Kit-
tridge, born April 18, 1824, mentioned below.
2. William, married (first) Alice Gallup, and
(second) Hannah  , of Charlestown,
Massachusetts;' children: i. Ida, married
George Cunningham, of Arlington-; resides at
10^/2 Common street, Boston; child of second
wife: ii. William. 3. Abigail, died young. 4.
Eliza Jane, died young. Thomas Hutchinson
married (second), in 1835, Lavina E. Page,
born at Francestown, New Hampshire, May
10, 1806, died January 18, 1878, daughter of
Daniel and Rebecca (Fuller) Page. Rebecca
was a direct descendant of Dr. Samuel Fuller,
who came over in the "Mayflower," in 1620.
Children : 5. Augusta, born July 4, 1837,
died February 28, 1859; married Alpheus
Batchelder and had one son. 6. Clara, born
March 12, 1843; married, June 22, 1862, Jo
seph Bartiett, of Plainfield, Vermont; chil
dren: 1. Augusta Bartiett, born June 3, 1863,
died February 21, 1903; married, October 7,
1885, C. P. Kellogg; ii. Alice Bartiett, born
July 29, 1864, died June 5, 1878; iii. Edward,
born May 3, 1868, married, February 26, 1896,
Emma Sanborn; iv. Levie Thomas Bartiett,
born February 24, 1873, died July 4, 1906;
married, October 2, 1895, Gertrude Farns-
worth; v. Roscoe C, born September 21, 1877,
married, October 10, 1900, Annie Clark; vi.
Clement Bartiett, born December 11, 1879,
married, October 3, 1901, Maud Batcheller.
(XVI) Thomas Kittridge Hutchinson, son
of Thomas Hutchinson (15), was born at Arl
ington, Massachusetts, April 18, 1824, died
February 21, 1904. He received his educa
tion in the public schools of his native town,
and in his youth worked out from time to
time on adjacent farms and was finally ap
prenticed to a farmer at Francestown, New
Hampshire, but in about a year he returned to
Arlington and served an apprenticeship under
Joshua Caldwell. Later he worked at his
trade for Elijah Cutter, but owing to an oper
ation on his hand for a felon, from which his
hand was partly disabled, he had to give up
his trade about 1850 and devoted himself to
dealing in horses. He bought horses in Can
ada and sold them in the vicinity of his home.

14\ /{. fttd&jut***^

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

985

He was put in charge of the street lighting
of the town. He leased the old Jason Russell
estate and carried on market gardening.
About 1879 he bought the Amos Russell farm
on Appleton street and conducted it success
fully until he sold it to his son, Walter K.
Hutchinson. He spent his last years with his
son Jesse, whose home is on Central street.
He was a jovial man, having a host of friends ;
was always very industrious and highly re
spected. He was a Democrat in politics and
was active in the temperance movement.
He married, at Arlington, Joanna Perkins,
who was born at Plymouth, Massachusetts,
January 13, 1826, died February 10, 1881,
daughter of Stephen Perkins. Her father was
a miller. Children : 1. Thomas M., born
January 10, 1849, died May. 13, 1852. 2.
Laura Ann, born August 9, 1850, married,
February 3, 1868, Robert Jost, of Boston;
children: i. Joseph Minot Jost, born January
3, 1869, married, September 4, 1886, Augusta
E. Nelson, of Salem (children: Herbert Nel
son Jost, born May 18, 1887; Pearl Jost, Aug
ust 12, 1891 ; Edith Ruby Jost, born June 13,
1893; Nelson Minot Jost, born May 29,
1898) ; ii. Louisa Frances Jost, born October
30, 1871, married, June 12, 1894, Theodore
Woods, of Fairhaven, Vermont; iii. George
Little Jost, born October 7, 1873 ; iv. Herbert
Ridgeley Jost, born September 15, 1875, died
February 3, 1877; v- Cora Emma Jost, born
January 12, 1879, married, April 5, 1896,
Thomas E. Desmond, of Medford, (children:
Helen Laura Desmond, born January 25,
1897; Gouveneuer Gerald Desmond, born De
cember 16, 1898; Minot Sargent Desmond,
born November 3, 1900; Norman Kittridge
Desmond, born February 11, 1902; Beulah
Eliza Desmond, born July 11, 1906). 3.
Thomas Merrill, born April 8, 1852, married,
June 1, 1883, Ella  ; children: i. Laura
Leslie, born August 2, 1884, married, May
22, 1906, Ernest W. Slack and had Ethel Lou
ise Slack, born October 17, 1906; ii. Thomas
Merrill, Jr., born December 12, 1885, married,
August 30, 1905, Agnes L. Hines and had
Lydia L., born May 14, 1906; iii. Karl Elgin,
born December 22, 1887; iv. Benjamin Kit
tridge, born June 15, 1890, died young;- v.
Rosella, born December 23, 1891 ; vi. Edward
Barnum, born July 5, 1894. 4. Walter Kit
tridge, died young. 5. Charles, born Decem
ber 23, 1856, married, May 6, 1887, Mrs. Em
ma Louisa (Boyd) Forsythe, of Arlington,
Massachusetts, and had Charles Percy, born
September 23, 1892, died July 22, 1893. 6.

Jesse, born in 1859, married, August 8, 1-893,
Annie M. Luce; children: i. Plerbert Luce,
born May 4, 1895; ii. Gertrude N., born
March 31, 1897. 7- Elizabeth, married Orin
West, of Strafford, Vermont, had one child,
Leon N., deceased. 8. Eliza Jane, born No
vember 17, 1862, married, November 17,
1887, J. W. Newman, of Boston; no children.
9. Walter Kittridge, born November 20, 1863,
mentioned below. 10. Emma Reed, born June
3, 1866, married October 15, 1891, Alfred F.
Waite, of Medford, Massachusetts; child, Al
den H. Waite, born December 22, 1892.
(XVII) Walter Kittridge Hutchinson, son
of Thomas Kittridge (16), was born at Arl
ington, Massachusetts, November 20, 1863,
and was educated there in the public schools.
When he was eighteen he began to lay the
foundation of future success by retailing the
produce from his father's gardens from
house to house, and continued in this business
until twenty-four years old, when he entered
the employ of W. E. Smith in the Faneuil
Hall Market, Boston. A year later he' left
to engage in business on his own account. He
bought a wagon and retailed the' produce from
his father's farm, buying and selling all kinds
of fruits and vegetables also, and butter, eggs,
cheese and poultry. His trade steadily , in
creased and he was able two years later to buy
the grocery establishment of Thomas H. Rus
sell at the Center. His business flourished. In
order to facilitate his business he opened a
branch store at Arlington Heights, September
22, 1900, and November 1, 1901, removed the
original store to its present location in the
Associates Block. He has one of the largest
and finest grocery and provision stores in the
county. Each department is a model of its
kind. The store is equipped with all the latest
and best devices and fixtures, forming a strik
ing contrast in appearance and methods with
the old store.. In February, 1907, he opened
another branch store, located on Church street,
Winchester. He has a farm of forty acres at
Arlington Heights which he leases, and twen
ty acres adjoining, formerly owned by his
father, and two acres at his homestead on
Massachusetts avenue, sixty-two acres in all
of fine tillage land. He is a very successful
market gardener and supplies his stores with
all kinds of produce and fruits. His surplus
goes to the Boston market. He was president
of the Boston Wholesale Grocery Company
for three years, a Massachusetts corporation,
one of the largest buying syndicates in New
England. Mr. Hutchinson originated the bill

986

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

which prohibits the sale of liquor in any gro
cery store or provision store in the state, and
is known as the Hutchinson bill. In the last
legislature it failed to pass but will doubtless
be introduced again. He attends the Unitar
ian church ; is a Republican in politics ; and
member of the Menotomy Council, Royal Ar
canum, the Boston City Club, the Young
Men's Club, the Boston Fruit and Produce
Association, the Boston Retail Grocers Asso
ciation. He is a director of the Massachusetts
State Association of Retail Grocers.
He married, August 16, 1890, Fannie Wy-
and Desmond, born December 17, 1871,
daughter of Dennis Gerald and Eliza Olden
(Conklin) Desmond, of Brooklyn, New York.
Children: 1. John Gouveneuer, born July 20,
1891. 2. Walter Kittridge, Jr., born January
8, 1895. 3. Edward Hooker, born November
18, 1898. 4. Frank Hubbard,, born May 22,
1904. 5. Charles Frederick, born June 13,
1906.

The Ward family has an ancient
WARD and distinguished English his
tory. The records extend back
to the days of Ward, a captain who came over
from Normandy with William the Conqueror.
The first of the family to assume an addition
al name, so far as we know, was William de
la Ward who resided in Chester, England, in
1 175. The Wards of Yorkshire spread grad
ually over the adjoining counties and the sim
ilarity of their arms indicate a common origin,
probably in Yorkshire. The arms are : Azure,
a cross baton, or. Crest, a wolf's head, erased.
(I) William Ward, the immigrant ances
tor, was born in England in 1603, probably in
Yorkshire. He came to New England before
1639 when he was living in Sudbury, Massa
chusetts. He was admitted a freeman May
10, 1643, was a deputy to the general court
in 1644, and was for a number of years chair
man of the board of selectmen in Sudbury and
commissioner to end small causes, appointed
by the general court. He and eight others
were the original petitioners for the grant of
land on which Marlborough was founded. As
originally laid out the town included not only
the present city of Marlborough but West-
borough, Southborough and Northborough.
Ward moved thither in 1660, the year that the
town was incorporated. He deposed October
4, 1664, that he was sixty-one years old. He
had a fifty acre house lot on the south side of
the road nearly opposite the meeting house.

He was elected deacon of the church. His
lands finally extended westward to what is
called Belcher's pond, near which was built
the tavern of his son-in-law, Abraham Wil
liams, who married his eldest daughter. He
suffered with the other settlers great priva
tion and loss during King Philip's war. One
son was slain, his buildings burnt and cattle
killed. He died August 10, 1687. His will was
dated April 6, 1686. He bequeathed to his
wife Elizabeth; to children John, Increase; to
the children of his sons Richard and Eleazer,
deceased; to his son-in-law, Abraham Wil
liams; to all his children by former wife and
present wife. The widow died December 9,
1700, in her eighty-seventh year. Children:
1. John, born about 1626, married Hannah
Jackson. 2. Joanna, born 1628; married Ab
raham Williams. 3. Obadiah, born 1632,
married Mary  . Richard, born 1635,
married Mary Moore. 5. Deborah, born
1637, married John Johnson. 6. Hannah,
born 1639, married Abraham How. 7. Wil
liam, born January 22, 1640, died young. 8.
Samuel, born September 24, 1641, mentioned
below. 9. Elizabeth, born April 14, 1643. IO-
Increase, born February 22, 1644, married
 Record. 11. Hopestill, born February
24, 1646, married James Woods. 12. William,
born February 12, 1648-49, married Hannah
Eames. 13. Eleazer, born 1657, married
Hannah Rice. 14. Bethia, born 1658, married
Daniel Rice.
(II) Samuel Ward, son of William Ward
(1), was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts,
September 24, 1641, and died 1729. He was a
farmer in Marlborough. His will dated May
22, 1727, said he "was well stricken in years
and crazy in body, but of perfect mind and
memory." The will was contested December
19, 1729, by all his children and heirs except
Samuel, to whom he gave the most, on the
ground that he was crazy in mind as well as
body when he made the will. The heirs finally
settled the case out of court. He married,
June 6, 1667, Sarah How, of Marlboro,
daughter of John How. She was born Sep
tember 25, 1644, and died August 11, 1707;
married (second) Elizabeth  , who sur
vived him. Children: 1. Sarah, born April
22, 1668. 2. Joseph, born 1670, married
Abiah Wheelock. 3. Elizabeth, born March,
1672, married Nathaniel Hapgood, September
6, 1695 ; resided in Stow ; son of Shadrach
and Elizabeth (Treadway) Hapgood. Her
father was killed at Brookfield, August 2,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

987

1675, by the Indians. 4. Mary, born 1676,
married Caleb Rice. 5. Samuel, born March,
1678, mentioned below. 6. Bethia, born May
25, i68iKdied unmarried, 1857; a lace maker
by trade. 7. Daniel, born 1687, died April 13,
1700, aged thirteen years.
(Ill) Samuel Ward, son of Samuel Ward
(2), was born in March, 1678, and died at
Marlborough, February 27, 1737-38, aged six
ty years. He married Mary  , who died
January 17, 1758. They resided in Marlbor
ough. Children born there : 1. Ephraim, born
June 26, 1705, married Susanna Weeks. 2.
Absalom, born September 20, 1706, mentioned
below. 3. Tamar, born February 11, 1708,
died unmarried in Marlborough. 4. Usley,
born August 23, 1711^ married Nathan Pres
cott, of Marlborough, March 30, 1736. 6.
Uriah, born August 2, 1716, married Sarah
Oaks. 7. Benjamin, born November 10, 1719,
married Mary Oaks.
(IV) Absalom Ward, son of Samuel Ward
(3), was born September 20, 1706. He and
his brothers and sisters signed an agreement
in settlement of the estate of their father Sam
uel, a copy of which is recorded at Worcester.
It provides for an equal partnership in the
cedar swamps of the deceased located in West-
borough and was signed by Ephraim and Ab
salom Ward, of Southborough ; Samuel, Uriah
and Benjamin Ward, of Marlborough, dated
November 1, 1743. Absalom lived at South
borough and died there, a farmer. He mar
ried, December 4, 1740, Mary Wilkinson, at
Southborough. She died February 22, 1793.
He died January 21, 1788. His will provides
for his wife Mary "a good maintenance ; to be
carried to meeting and to visit her friends and
relatives as she shall choose ; also wherewithal
to treat others when they come to visit her
in like manner; to be performed by my son
Erasmus." Among other articles willed to
son Samuel was a "claret-coloured jacket."
Erasmus had the homestead and paid the other
legacies. The will was dated June 26, 1777.
Children: 1. Rhoda, born July 20, 1742, mar
ried Jabez Newton, December 21, 1769; re
sided at Southborough. 2. Lucy, born Octo
ber 17, 1744, married Ezekiel Newton, (3),
May 13, 1772; (second) John Fessendon, of
Westborough. 3. Molly, born April 20, 1746,
married Bezaleel Newton, December 20, 1769,
and settled in Ashfield, Massachusetts; (sec
ond)  Damon. 4. Samuel, born Janu
ary 1, 1747-48, settled at Cooper stown, New
York. 5. Abigail, born December 15, 1749,
married, September 11, 1776, Josiah Bridges.

6. Erasmus, born March 29, 1752, mentioned
below. (V) Erasmus Ward, son of Absalom Ward
(4), was born at Southborough, Massachu
setts, March 29, 1752, and died there February
17, 1834. He was a soldier in the Revolution
at the time of the Lexington Alarm, in Cap
tain Josiah Fay's company, Colonel Artemas
Ward's regiment : the Southborough minute
men. He had the homestead and residue of
his father's estate and lived all his life at
Southborough. He deeded his real estate be
fore his death and made no will. Larkin New
ton administered his estate in 1834. He deed
ed April 26, 1813, half of his ninety acre
homestead where he lived to his son Hollis.
The farm was on the road to Concord. He
deeded also on the same date a lot of twenty
acres on a small brook adjoining land of Jo
seph Richardson and of Lemuel Chamberlain.
The homestead had for neighbors at that
time Pierpont Brigham, Abner Brigham and
Brigham Fay. The frequency of the name
Brigham, Fay and Newton in the records of
Southborough is remarkable. The population
seems to be composed chiefly of these fam
ilies and their relations. The other half of the
homestead was conveyed to Peter Fay, March
9, 181 6. Erasmus deeded to Oliver Jewett,
of Bolton, the north part of a farm in South
borough, containing thirty-eight acres, sixty-
four rods, adjoining land of Silas Brigham, by
deed dated June 11, 1817. Erasmus and Han
nah Ward deeded April 26, 1813, to their son,
Putnam Ward, a farm of thirty-five acres
where he was living at the time — bought by
Erasmus of William Flagg, September 20,
1809. Erasmus Ward married, December 24,
1782, Hannah Chamberlain, who was born in
1760, died January 28, 1834, aged seventy-
four years. Their children: 1. Putnam, born
January 11, 1786, mentioned below. 2. Hol
lis, born October 28, 1788, married, March 4,
1815, Mersylvia Jewett, of Bolton. 3. Syl
vester, born August 11, 1791, died November
29, 1838; unmarried. 4. Avery, born June
28, 1794, married, July 26, 1814, Jane May-
nard. 5. Artemas, born December 28, 1799,
died unmarried at Boston. 6. Hannah, born
June 5, 1802, married, October 14, 1827,
Moses Wyman; resided in Charlestown; no
children. (VI) Putnam Ward, son of Erasmus Ward
(5), was born at Southborough, January 11,
1786. He had a farm given him by his father
and resided there most of his active life. He
married, January. 23, 1809, Betsey Johnson,

988

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

who was born at Southborbugh, March 17,
1787, daughter of Joseph and Charlotte John
son, of Southborough. Children: 1. Horace,
born at Southborough, February 25, 1810,
mentioned below. 2. Charlotte, born at South
borough, March 29, 1817, married, June 3,
1842, Thomas Denneke; children: i. John
Denneke, born April 2, 1843; ii- William Den
neke, November 29, 184.5 '< iii- Josephine Den
neke, March 23, 1847. 3. Catherine (twin),
born March 29, 1817, married, February 2,
1842, Charles Warren, of Westborough; chil
dren : i. Son, died September 9, 1843 > ii- Char
lotte E. Warren, born October 19, 1844; iii.
Catherine Elizabeth Warren, October 17,
1848. 4. Clarissa, living in 1850. 5. Eliza,
living in 1850.
(VII) Horace Ward, son of Putnam Ward
(6), was born at Southborough, February 25,
1810. His education was received in the com
mon schools of his native town. He worked
on the farm of his father until he left home to
learn the trade of carpenter at Southbridge,
Massachusetts. After working there as a
journeyman for several years he removed to
Framingham, Massachusetts, where he work
ed for the town and other employers. While
he was in Framingham he set out the trees
around the common, and they are now grown
to large proportions and present a very attrac
tive appearance. He was always interested
in floriculture and horticulture. He went to
Lowell from Framingham and continued his
business as carpenter, and many of the cor
poration houses were built by him ; he had
,many contracts in that city. He went next to
Boston where he resided in the Fort Hill dis
trict and continued his business as carpenter
and builder. He located finally at Woburn.
He had the contract for the old General
Thompson tannery, and among the finest
structures on which he worked were the resi
dences of Peter C. Brooks at Medford and of
Joseph Nickerson at Jamaica Plain, also many
of the fine residences of Woburn and vicinity,
Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and Medford. He
lived two years at Bedford on the Robert Bird
farm, which he bought. He sold it to Thomas
Ryan at the end of that time, however, and
returned to Woburn. He built the tannery
and residence of John Cummings, of Woburn,
and then took charge of all the alterations and
repairs in the property of Mr. Cummings.
Owing to failing health Mr. Ward made a trip
to Colorado, but died there August 29, 1877.
He was buried at Woburn. He was a member
of the Woburn Congregational church. In

politics he was a Republican. At the time of
the Civil war he was a member of the Wo
burn militia company. He married, October
13, 1835, at Acton, Massachusetts, Mary Hap
good Billings, of Acton, daughter of Jonathan
and Rebecca (Hapgood) Billings, of Acton.
She was born March 3, 1811. Jonathan Bil
lings was a clock-maker. Children: 1. Mary
Elizabeth, born at Acton, October 11, 1840,
died at Woburn, March 13, 1880. 2. Emily
Sophia, born September 10, 1841, died of con
sumption at Woburn, March 11, 1876; school
teacher in Woburn public schools. 3. William
Horace, born April 9, 1855, mentioned below.
(VIII) William Horace Ward, son of
Horace Ward (7), was born at Woburn,
Massachusetts, April 9, 1855. He received
his education in the public schools, supple
mented by a course in Warren Academy in
Woburn. He worked at the carpenter's trade
with his father when not in school, but he
preferred the business of florist and was em
ployed in the greenhouses of John Cummings,
of Woburn, for ten years, finally being placed
in charge of the business of his employer. In
1878 he entered the coal and wood business at
Marlborough with his cousin, Charles F. Rob
inson, under the firm name of Robinson &
Ward. The business proved successful and
increased rapidly. At the end of eight years
he sold his interests to his partner and bought
the J. H. Rogers property at Montvale in Wo
burn and started in the florist business. At
first he had only one greenhouse sixty feet in
length; his business has prospered and re
quired greater facilities until at present he has
six large greenhouses equipped with the latest
improvements and having an area of fifteen
thousand square feet of glass. He has also
bought more land and his residence and build
ings are among the most desirable and attrac
tive in the eastern part of the city. In his
business he makes a specialty of carnations
and of tomatoes, finding an excellent market
in Boston. At one time Mr. Ward was inter
ested in the cultivation of oranges in Florida.
Mr. Ward has an attractive personality and
enjoys the esteem of many friends and the
confidence and respect of all his townsmen.
He is a member of the Congregational church
at Woburn. In politics he is a Republican and
has been delegate to conventions of his party.
He is well known in Masonic circles, being a
member of Mount Horeb Lodge of Free
Masons. He is also a member of Baldwin
Council, No. 125, Royal Arcanum; of the

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

989

Florists' Club of Boston and formerly of the
Misawum Club of Woburn.
He married, November 24, 1887, Sarah
Louise Proctor, who was born at Marlbor
ough, May 1, 1856, the daughter of Thomas
W. and Mary Brown (Dennis) Proctor, of
Marlborough. Her father was a shoemaker
by trade. Mr. and Mrs. Ward have no chil
dren.

General Edward Goddard, of
GODDARD Norfolk, Essex county, Eng
land, a farmer and the pos
sessor of a good estate, sided with the Parlia
mentary forces under Oliver Cromwell in the
great civil strife which resulted in the trial and
execution of Charles I., in 1649. His house
was destroyed and his substance plundered by
a party of Royalists, and this misfortune is
said to have caused his death. He was the
father of nine sons and three daughters, and
the Goddards mentioned in this article are
undoubtedly descended from him through his
son William.
William Goddard, seventh son of General
Edward, is also given the title of general in the
old records. He married Elizabeth Miles, and
came to New England in 1665, for the purpose
of collecting a debt, but being favorably, im
pressed with the country he decided to remain,
and settling at Watertown, Massachusetts, he
died there in 1691.
Moses Goddard, a descendant of General
William, and probably a son of Nathan God
dard, was a native of Springfield, Massachu
setts. He learned the tanner's trade, and early
in life went to western New York, and during
the war of 1812-15 served as a soldier on the
frontier of that state. He operated a tannery
in Barre, New York, for a few years, but
about 1837 removed to Porter, Niagara coun
ty, and settled upon a farm of one hundred
and fifty acres. He raised large crops of
wheat and other products, as well as cattle,
sheep and horses, and was a very successful
farmer. Aside from his legitimate calling his
activities were confined principally to religious
matters, and he was a prominent member of
the Porter Baptist Church, contributing liber
ally toward its support. In politics he was a
Whig. He was married in Middlebury, Ver
mont, to Deborah Peebles.
Squires Billings Goddard, son of Moses and
Deborah (Peebles) Goddard, was born in
Barre, New York, March 28, 1833. At the
age of four years he removed with his parents

to Porter, where he was reared and educated.
He assisted his father in farming until seven
teen years old, when he went to Niagara Falls
and for two years was collector of ferries.
He next became ticket agent for the Sandusky
line of steamers on Lake Erie, going later to
the Cleveland line in the same capacity, and
was finally appointed ticket agent at Niagara
Falls for the New York Central railroad, re
taining that position four years. Leaving the
railway service he engaged in the grain busi
ness at Toronto, Ontario, but a year later re
turned to New York state and became cashier
of the Lockport National Bank. Resigning
that position, he went to California, and ac
quiring an interest in the Cutting Packing
Company of San Francisco, packers of fish.
fruit, etc., he remained upon the Pacific coast
about twelve years. Disposing of his business
interest in 1872 he came to New England, and
after residing in Woburn for a year, went to
New York city, where he became a special
partner in the packing house of V. H. Dudley
& Company for the specified time of two years,
during which he travelled abroad. His pack
ing interests in the metropolis having expired
by limitation, he again retired from business,
but in 1882 he returned to Woburn, where he
established himself in the insurance business,
also having office quarters in Boston, and in
1894 admitted his son, Ralph F., to partner
ship, tinder the firm name of S. B. Goddard &
Son. Some time since he withdrew from active
participation in the business, still retaining his
interest however, and lived in retirement at
Woburn. He died January 22, 1908.
Mr. Goddard served as vice-president of the
Woburn Co-operative Bank, as director of the
First National and the Woburn National
banks, and as a trustee of the Woburn Five
Cents Savings Bank. In politics he acted
independently, and during the first two years
of the Woburn city government served on the
board of aldermen. He was made a Master
Mason in Niagara Frontier Lodge, Niagara
Falls, was exalted in Ames Chapter, Royal
Arch Masons, Lockport, and knighted in Gen
esee Commandery, Knights Templar, of that'
city. He was a member of the Towanda and
the Meshawum clubs of Woburn. In his reli
gious belief he was a Unitarian. On October
21, 1865, Mr. Goddard was married, in San
Francisco, to Miss Cynthia Bucklin Frost, who
was born April 15, 1838, daughter of Walter
and Esther (Ingraham) Frost, of Boston. She
became the mother of three sons: Walter
Frost Goddard, born July 16, 1866, died Au-

990

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

gust n, 1867; Frank Cutting Goddard, born
March 10, 1869; and Ralph Frost Goddard,
who will be again referred to.
Mrs. Cynthia Bucklin Frost Goddard is a
lineal descendant in the seventh generation of
Edmund Frost, an early English immigrant
through Ephraim (2), Edmund (3), Gideon
(4), Walter (5) and Walter (6). Edmund
Frost was a passenger in the ship "Good
Hope" from Ipswich, England, in 1635, and
settled in Cambridge, where he was made a
freeman in 1636. He was a close personal
friend of the Rev. Thomas Shepard, whom he
had known in England, and he became ruling
elder in the church of which that clergyman
was pastor. He bought and sold property in
Cambridge, and it is thought that he finally
settled on the north side of Kirkland street,
near what is now Divinity Hall avenue, where
his descendants resided for at least two hun
dred years. He died July 12, 1672. His
first wife, Thomasine, who accompanied him
from England, died in Cambridge, and prior to
1669 he married widow Reana Daniel, who
survived him. By wife Thomasine he had
John, Thomas, Samuel, Joseph, James, Mary
and Ephraim. (N. B. — Savage says that he
had other children by wife Mary).
Ephraim Frost, sixth son and seventh child
of Edmund and Thomasine Frost, was born at
Cambridge in 1646 or '47, and died January
2, 1717-18. The Christian name of his wife
was Hepzibah, and his children were : Mary,
Edmund, Ephraim, Thomas, Ebenezer and
Sarah. Edmund Frost, second child and eldest son
of Ephraim and Hepzibah Frost, was born in
Cambridge, March 14, 1679-80, died Novem
ber 6, 1752. He was a shoemaker by trade,
and occupied the homestead on Kirkland
street. He married Hannah Cooper, daughter
of Deacon Samuel Cooper, and she died May
15, 1767, aged eighty-three years. Their chil
dren were: Hannah, Elizabeth, Edmund, Ste
phen, Jonathan and Gideon.
Gideon Frost, youngest child of Edmund
and Hannah (Cooper) Frost, was born in
Cambridge, and baptized June 14, 1724. He
was a blacksmith. He acquired possession of
the Kirkland street homestead by purchasing
the interests of the other heirs, and about 1763
removed to a house on "the easterly side of
North avenue, nearly opposite Linnaen street,
in North Cambridge. For twenty years he
was a deacon of the Congregational church.
January 18, 1753, he married Sarah Ireland.
He died January 30, 1803, and his wife died

July 1, 1805, aged seventy-six years. Their
children were:' Sarah, Gideon, John, Eliza
beth, Walter, Martha and William.
"Walter Frost, third son and fifth child of
Gideon and Sarah (Ireland) Frost, was born
in Cambridge, August 29, 1766. He was a
tanner. His residence was on the eastern side
of North avenue (now Massachusetts avenue)
near the railroad bridge, and stood on the
estate recently owned by Ozias Morse. This
property passed out of his hands in 1807, and
he probably removed from Cambridge that
year. His death occurred in Haverhill, Mass
achusetts, April 20, 1818. He was married
June 21, 1792, to Martha Tufts, of Charles
town, and had a family of seven children:
Martha (who died young), John, Walter,
Martha, Sarah Ann, Gideon and Samuel T.
The mother of these children died July 30,
1805, aged thirty-two years.
Walter (2) Frost, second son and third
child of Walter and Martha (Tufts) Frost,
was born in Cambridge, February 2, 1796. It
was his intention to pursue a collegiate course,
but suspended his preparatory studies at the
age of sixteen years in order to enlist for ser
vice in the war of 181 2- 15, and his regiment
was engaged in erecting the fortifications at
Fort Warren, Boston Harbor. Upon leaving'
the army he relinquished his college aspira
tions at the advice of his uncle, who was his
guardian, and at the latter's suggestion he
learned the carriage-maker's trade, serving an
apprenticeship of seven years. He subse
quently established himself as a carriage-
maker in Boston, where for many years he
transacted an extensive business, having a
large domestic demand for his products and
also exporting them to Cuba. Thomas God
dard and Thomas Hall, both of whom became
celebrated carriage-makers, served their ap
prenticeship in his factory, which was located
in the rear of the present City Hall. His resi
dence in the same locality afterwards became
the site of the famous Boston Museum, and is
now occupied by the Kimball Building. In
1845 Mr. Frost retired from business with a
comfortable competency, and purchasing the
present Frost homestead in Pleasant street,
Woburn, he resided there for the rest of his
life, which terminated March 28, 1867. While
residing in Boston he served as a captain in
the state militia. After removing to Woburn
he was instrumental in organizing the Unita
rian Church, of which he became a deacon. In
politics he was originally a Whig, but later
acted with the Republican party, and in addi-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

991

tion to serving upon the school board he held
other offices under the Woburn town govern
ment. He was married May 7, 1825, to Es
ther Ingraham, who was born May 29, 1805,
daughter of Jabel and Fannie (Sweet) Ingra
ham, the former of whom was one of the pio
neer cotton manufacturers of Pawtucket,
Rhode Island. She was the mother of four
teen children: 1. Walter Ingraham, born June
9, 1826, died March 16, 1854; he was mar
ried June 13, 1850, to Caroline Langdon
Whittemore of West Cambridge (now Arling
ton), and left one. son, Walter Langdon Frost,
born September 6, 185 1. The latter married
Emma Catherine Stearns. 2. Stephen Cooper,
born June 8, 1827, died February 4, 1832. 3.
Thomas Austin, born December 2, 1828, died
November 9, 1855. 4. Sarah Elizabeth, born
August 17, 1830; she married first, December
25, 1858, Frederick Smith, by whom she had
one daughter, Helen Josephine, born May 4,
i860, died November 7, 1869; and October 21,
1874, she married for her second husband
Joseph P. Bemel, of New York City. 5. Mar
tha Austin, born January 30, 1830, died May
26, 1839. 6. Joseph Lee, born August 3, 1833,
died November 29, 1835. 7. Frances Isabelle,
born February 25, 1835 ; she was married, May
13, 1858, to Francis Cutting, of Boston, and
has two children — Isabella Sweet, born March
16, i860,, and Frederick Page, born January
8, 1868. The latter married Elizabeth Hurl-
burt, of New York City. 8. Esther Agnes,
born February 17, 1837; she was married
April 8, 1868, to Walter Champney, of Wo
burn, and has two sons — Walter Frost, born
January 29, 1869; and George Kuhn, born
March 10, 187 — , died July 8, 1877. 9. Cyn
thia Bucklin, previously referred to as the
wife of Squires B. Goddard. 10. Horatio
John, born January 16, 1840, died February
23, 1861. 11. Mary Ann, born March 1,
1842. 12. George Kuhn, born May 23, 1844,
died November 8, 1846. 13. Bertha, born
April 7, 1846. 14. Ephraim, born October 26,
1849, died December 14, same year.
Ralph Frost Goddard, youngest son of
Squires B. and Cynthia B. (Frost) Goddard,
was born in Aiken, South Carolina, April 19,
1873. From the public schools of New York
City he went to those of Woburn at the age
of nine years, and from the Woburn high
school he entered Bryant and Stratton's Busi
ness College, Boston. Upon leaving the last-
named institution he entered the employ of
the Boston wool house of Hutchins & Com
pany as clerk and assistant bookkeeper, re

maining there some eighteen months. Having
acquired some knowledge of the insurance
business in his father's office, he accepted in
1891 a clerkship in the agency of Messrs. Bul-
lard & Davenport, which he retained for two
years, and has ever since been engaged in that
business. In 1894 he was admitted to part
nership by his father under the firm name of
S. B. Goddard & Son, at the same time becom
ing assistant special agent and adjuster in the
New England states for the Western, and the
British American Assurance companies, and
he continued in that capacity for six years. In
1900 he became adjuster in Boston and east
ern Massachusetts for Messrs. Simpson, Ide &
Company, but withdrew from their employ
three years later, and from 1903 to the present
time he has devoted his energies exclusively to
the interests of S. B. Goddard & Son, his
father having retired from active participation
in the business. This concern transacts a gen
eral insurance business, embracing fire, life,
steam-boiler, plate-glass and liability, and rep
resents forty of the most reliable foreign and
domestic companies.
In politics Mr. Goddard is independent. He,
resides in Woburn. He is secretary of the
Woburn, Winchester and Stoneham Board of
Underwriters, a trustee of the Five Cents
Savings Bank, director of the Woburn Nat
ional Bank, and a trustee of the Home for
Aged Couples. His club and fraternal affilia
tions include Woburn Lodge, Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, the Mishawum and
Towanda Clubs, Woburn, and the Exchange
Club, Boston. He is unmarried.

Joseph Morse, the immigrant
MORSE ancestor, probably the son of
John Morse, was born in Eng
land, in one of the western counties, about
1587. He is said to have been brother of
Samuel Morse, a pioneer of Dedham, Massa
chusetts. Joseph was one of the first of this
name in New England. He was among the
earliest settlers of Ipswich, Massachusetts,
about 1633. He appears on the list of com
moners, February 28, 164.2. He was a man of
standing and piety; of influence and educa
tion. He married in England Dorothy  ,
and their children were grown up when they
came to America. His will was dated April
24, and proved September 29, 1646. Pie be
queathed his house to his wife Dorothy and
mentions his children. The inventory is dated
September 28, 1648. Children: 1. Joseph,

992

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

mentioned below. 2. John, died 1694-95 ; mar
ried Dinah  , and resided at Ipswich,
Groton and Watertown. 3. Hannah, married,
June 8, 1665, Thomas Newman, of Ipswich.
(II) Joseph Morse, son of Joseph Morse
(1), was born in England in 1610, died at
Watertown, Massachusetts, March 4, 1690-91.
He embarked at Ipswich, England, April 16,
1634,, then aged twenty- four years, on the ship
"Elizabeth." He settled at Watertown and
his name is on the earliest list of proprietors.
He drew one hundred and twenty acres of
land in 1637. He was admitted a freeman,
May 6, 1635. His son John administered his
estate. He married Hester Pierce, daughter
of John and Elizabeth Pierce. Five of their
children are recorded in Watertown. Chil
dren: 1. Joseph, botn April 3, 1637, died
1677 > resided at Groton. 2. John, born Feb
ruary 28, 1638-39, mentioned below. 3. Jona
than, died May 12, 1643. 4" Jonathan, born
November 7, 1643, died July 31, 1686; mar
ried, October, 1778, Abigail Shattuck, propri
etor and town clerk of Groton. 5. Hester,
born March 7, 1645, married, December 22,
1669, Jonathan Bullard. 6. Sarah, married,
June 2, 1669, Timothy Cooper ; resided in
Groton. 7. Jeremiah, died at Newton, Mass-
acu setts, September, 1727. 8. Isaac, resided
at Newton; wife died 1714.
(Ill) Deacon John Morse, son of Joseph
Morse (2), was born at Watertown, February
28, 1638-39, died there July 28, 1702. He was
a planter at Lancaster and Watertown. He
was one of the first deacons of Rev. Mr. An-
gier's church,, elected June 30, 1697. He mar
ried (first) Anne Smith, daughter of John
Smith, of Lancaster. She died prior to 1666.
He married (second) Abigail Stearns, April
27, 1666, and she died October 15, 1690. He
was admitted a freeman, May 15, 1672. Chil
dren: 1. Lydia, born April 6, 1660. 2. John,
born April 7, 1662, died young at Lancaster.
3. John, born May 10, 1667, died young. 4.
James, born November 25, 1668, died 1718;
married Abigail Morse. 5. John, born March
15, 1669-70. 6. Joseph, born August 25,
1671, died June 24, 1709; settled at Guilford,
Connecticut. 7. Abigail, born December 23,
1673, died March 6, 1673-74. 8. Abigail, born
August 6, 1677, died April 13, 1683. 9. Isaac,
born June 5, 1679, died November 24, 1694,
at Watertown. 10. Samuel, born June 21,
1682, died 1702. 11. Nathaniel, died March
10, 1729-30; married (first) Grace Dyer;
(second) Phebe Cook.
(IV) John Morse, son of Deacon John

Morse (3), was born in Watertown, March
15, 1669-70; married (first) Elizabeth Good
ing, January 8, 1689-90; married (second)
Hepzibah Stone, January 7, 1701-02. His first
wife owned the covenant, October 3, 1697. He
was admitted a freeman, June 2, 1699-1700.
He settled in Needham, formerly Dedham,
before 1718. He was admitted to full commu
nion in the church, June 2, 1699-1700. Chil
dren: 1. Susannah, born at Watertown, Janu
ary 5, 1694-95. 2. John, baptized October 3,
1697. ¦ 3. Isaac, born at Watertown, February
11, 1696-97, settled in Cambridge. 4. Eliza
beth, baptized October 3, 1697. 5. William,
born November 18, 1699, died 1752; settled
in Cambridge before 1740. 6. Hepzibah, born
February 14, 1702-03. 7. Henry, born at
Watertown, September 14, 1704, mentioned
below. 8. John, born 1705, died 1767; settled
in Cambridge. 9. Rebecca, born November
16, 1706. 10. Abigail, baptized March 5,
1709-10. 11. Sarah, born June 3, 1708. 12.
Sarah, born October 9, 1712, died March 26,
1714. 13. Susanna, born October 9, 1712,
(twin, died March 26, 1714. 14. Mary, bap
tized June 19, 1715.
(V) Henry Morse, son of John Morse (4),
was born in Watertown, 'Massachusetts, Sep
tember 14, 1704. Married Mary Follet. He
went to Attleborough from Needham, where
his father settled. Children, all born in Attle
borough: 1. Jemima, born July 7, 1728. 2.
Elihu, born August 19, 1730. 3. Mary, born
May 4, 1732. 4. Henry, born July 22, 1734,
married Esther Pidge, daughter of John Pidge,
of Attleborough, March 20, 1755. 5. William,
born July 4, 1736, mentioned below. 6. Beu
lah, born November 13, 1738, married, 1758,
Joseph Bradford. 7. Noah, born April 12,
1740, married and lived in Attleborough;
wheelwright. 8. Daniel, born June 9, 1743,
settled in Maine. 9. Isaac, born March 6,
1745-46. 10. Sarah, born April 1, 1748, mar
ried Samuel Allen, of Dedham. 11. Abigail,
born June 11, 1750, at Attleborough.
(VI) William Morse, son of Henry Morse
(5), was born in Attleborough July 4, 1736.
Married there Hannah- Bradford, of the Attle
borough branch of the family, descendant of
Governor William Bradford, who came over
on the "Mayflower." All her descendants are
entitled to belong to the Mayflower society.
Children, born at Attleborough: 1. Elihu,
born February 20, 1763, died January 26,
1824; married, September 23, 1792. 2. Wil
liam, born October 21, 1764, married Lucy
Tingley and resided in Attleborough. 3.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

993

Charles, born October 23, 1766, married Sabra
Shepherdson and lived in Attleborough. 4.
Hannah, born November 17, 1770; died Octo
ber, 1847, unmarried, at Attleborough. 5.
Stephen P., born August 22, 1774, mentioned
below. 6. Polly, born April 18, 1776, married
Jeremiah Brown, of Vermont. 7. Lucy, born
January 22, 1779, married Uriah White, of
Vermont. (VII) Stephen P. Morse, son of William
Morse (6), was born in Attleborough, August
22, 1774. He resided in Attleborough, also
Providence, Rhode Island. He married Bet
sey Tingley. Children, born at Attleborough :
1. Nelson, born August 27, 1798, mentioned
below. 2. Nathan T., born August 14, 1800,
married Alice S.  , resided in Providence.
3. Albert, born September 29, 1802. 4. Eliza,
born June 25, 1805, resided at Attleborough.
5. George, born October 25, 1808. 6. Han
nah, born June 16, 1811. 7. Lucy, born No
vember 8, 1 81 6, resided at Attleborough.
(VIII) Nelson Morse, son of Stephen P.
Morse (7), was born in Attleborough, Mass
achusetts, August 27, 1798. He resided in
Nashua, New Hampshire,' and Lowell, Mass
achusetts. He died at Lowell, December 23,
1854. He was buried in Attleborough. He
moved to Lowell about 1835. He married
Eliza Blackington. Children: James Nelson,
born February 24, 1826, at Nashua ; mentioned
below. Charles Henry, born at Lowell, Sep
tember 9, 1836.
(IX) James Nelson Morse, son of Nelson
Morse (8), was born in Nashua, New Hamp
shire, February 24, 1826. He attended the
district schools of his native town and of
Lowell, whither his parents removed when he
was about ten years of age. He fitted himself
for the position of expert accountant, and fill
ed many positions of trust and responsibility
in his profession in banks and commercial
houses in Lowell and Boston. He was of a
quiet and retiring disposition, and devoted
himself wholly to his home and his office work.
He was a Republican in politics, a Universal
ist in religion. He married Cynthia Felker,
who was born in Concord, Maine, and died in
Lowell, October 25, 1899, aged seventy-one
years. She was the daughter of Eben C. and
Mary (Bean) Felker, of Concord. James N.
Morse was a valued and respected citizen. He
died in Lowell, November 16, 1899, aged ac
cording to the record seventy-three years,
eight months and twenty-two days ; interred at
Lowell. Children, born in Lowell: 1. Fred
erick Nelson, born September 20, 1854,

(twin), mentioned below. 2. Ella E., born
September 20, 1854 (twin), who resides in the
Morse homestead on Wilder street; is a mem
ber of the Universalist church and active in
charitable work. 3. May Amelia, born May 15,
1862, died June 26, 1883, aged twenty-one
years, one month, eleven days.
(X) Frederick Nelson Morse, son of James
N. Morse (9), was born in Lowell, Septem
ber 20, 1854. He attended the public schools
of his native place and was graduated from
a Maine business college. He then took a
course in the Burdett Business College of
Boston, and fitted himself for the duties of an
expert bookkeeper and accountant. His first
position was bookkeeper in the Lowell National
Bank. He went from there to the office of the
Boston & Maine Railroad and was with the
railroad until his death. He was a capable and
efficient man in his profession; he had a
promising career before him, cut short by an
untimely death. He stood high in the estima-
ton of his employers and friends throughout
the city. He was of upright character and at
tractive personality. In politics he was a Re
publican; in religion a Universalist. Mr.
Morse died September 27, 1905. He married
in Lowell, August 28, 1897, Addie A. Law,
daughter of Henry and Anna E. (Rugg)
Law, of Lowell. The widow survives. They
had no children.

Families by the name of Moore
MOORE are numerous in England and
Ireland. There is a family of
this name entitled to bear arms, having their
residence at Tullyhallen, county Louth, Ire
land. John Moore, of county Meath, was son
of John Moore, M. D., of Tullyhallen, and
grandson of John Moore, Esq., of Dublin, who
purchased in 1721 a considerable estate in the
county of Louth. The family who are the
subject of the following sketch are of ancient
origin and have resided in the county of Louth
for generations. Though the precise genealog
ical facts concerning them are not readily
accessible on this side of the Atlantic, the
descendants in America have proved to be a
credit to their ancestors.
(I) Thomas Moore, great-grandfather of
Thomas Moore (4), was the father of James
Moore (2).
(II) James Moore was born near Stone-
town, in county Louth, Ireland, and died when
he was eighty years old. He was brought up
on his father's farm, and acquired the usual

994

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

common school education of a farmer's son
at that period. He acquired a substantial farm
property after his marriage, and followed the
occupation of farming to the time of his
death. He was considered well-to-do, and
owned about forty acres of well paying prop
erty. He raised flax, barley, wheat and pota
toes, and also possessed sheep, cattle and
horses. The farm is still retained in the family
at Stonetown. James' Moore was a large well-
built man of a light complexion and jovial
disposition, and also a great sportsman. He
was liberal in his political sentiments, and a
Roman Catholic. His wife was Katherine
O'Connor, daughter of Owen O'Connor, and
also of county Louth. Their children were :
I. Edward, see forward. 2. Thomas, married
Alice Duffy. 3. Bridget, married James Con-
ley. 4. Mary, married James Burns. 5. Pat
rick, married Mary Keegan.
(Ill) Edward Moore, son of James Moore
(2), born at Stonetown, county Louth, Ire
land, June, 1817, died at Woburn, Massachu
setts, January 12, 1885. Married, in 1842,
Mrs. Mary (Connelly) Murphy, born in coun
ty Monaghan, Ireland, died at Woburn, April
19, 1885, aged seventy-six years and three
months, daughter of John and Nellie (Mc-
Mahon) Connelly; her father was a farmer.
Edward Moore received an excellent education
in the schools of his native parish, and worked
on his father's farm until his departure for
America. He came to Woburn, July 29, 1850,
and first found employment in different kinds
of work. He at length entered the employ of
Abijah Thompson, and learned the trade of
tanner and currier, in which employment he
remained ten years. He then went to Charles
town, Massachusetts, where he was employed
for two years in the currying shops of Charles
Guild and Son. Returning to Woburn he then
worked at his trade in the shops of P. W.
Kenaey, Stephen Dow and Company and
Horace Conn & Company, and was actively
engaged in this manner until about two years
before his death. He was a member of St.
Charles (Roman Catholic) Church, and a
Democrat in politics. He belonged to one of
the town fire engine companies in 1853-54.
He never held any public office, although he
was deeply interested in the politics of his
adopted town. While his manner was quiet,
he was withal a great talker. He was large
in stature and very jovial by nature, and up
right and very honest in all his dealings with
his fellow men. Children:
1. Bridget, born June 15, 1843, married,

March 5, 1874, Patrick Murray, of Woburn,
by whom she has : i. Thomas J., born March
9, 1875, married at Woburn, Susan Grant, and
have: Theodore, William Henry, Thomas
Edward and Donald Francis. ii. Annie
Maria, born December 14, 1876, married at
Woburn, Barney Doherty, by whom she has
Charles Francis Doherty. iii. Julia Elizabeth,
born January 11, 1879, single, iv. Catherine
Augusta, born October 13, 1880, married, Feb
ruary 9, 1902, Edward Long, of Woburn, by
whom she has Flelen Long, born August 3,
1902, Mary Frances Long, born June 17, 1904,
and Plazel Gertrude Long, born October 13,
1906. 2. Thomas, born July 10, 1845, see for
ward. 3. Catherine, born May 1, 1848, mar
ried, October 28, 1867, Timothy Driscoll and
resides at Ballston Spa, New York ; their chil
dren are: i. Dennis Francis, born September
24, 1868, married, October 16, 1895, Mary
Quinn. ii. Mary Ann, born October 28, 1870,
married, July 19, 1903, Naaman J. Ward. iii.
Alice Loretto, born February 19, 1873, mar
ried, December 26, 1900, Reuben S. Calkins.
iv. Patrick Sarsfield, born March 12, 1875. v.
Timothy Vincent, born April 8, 1877. vi.
Thomas Edward, born October 8, 1879. vii.
Honora Helen, born March 8, 1882. viii.
Joseph Ferretti, born August 7, 1885. ix.
Kathleen Veronica, born December 29, 1889.
4. Alice, born August 2, 185 1, married, Octo
ber 17, 1871, Jeremiah Murphy, who died May
15, 1888, by whom she had: i. William Fran
cis, born December 15, 1872, married, June
5, 1901, Annie Murray, of Woburn, and have:
Thomas, born March 16, 1902, Anna Mary,
born May 15, 1903, Charles, born May 1 1, 1906.
ii. Mary, born December 27, 1875, died Septem
ber 9, 1877. iii. Katherine Elizabeth, born Oc
tober 5, 1877. iv. Alice Gertrude, born Janu
ary 14, 1880. v. Jennie Marie, born Novem
ber 4, 1882. vi. Martha Veronica, born Octo
ber 18, 1883. vii. Margaret, born November
23, 1885, died September 5, 1889. viii. Mary,
born March 5, 1888, died September 14, 1895.
(IV) Thomas Moore, son of Edward
Moore (3), was born at Stonetown, county
Louth, Ireland, July 10, 1845. Married (first),
February 15, 1871, Sarah Talty, born at Mill-
town, county Clare, Ireland, died at Woburn,
October 30, 1875, aged thirty-two years,
daughter of Michael and Bridget (Crane)
Talty; her father was a farmer. Married
(second), January 24, 1877, Jane Dwyer, born
in Milltown, died November 7, 1886, aged
thirty-seven years, daughter of John and EHz-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

995

abeth Dwyer. Married (third), Ellen Madi-
gan, born May 15, 1858.
Thomas Moore came to America at the age
of five years, and settled with his parents in
Woburn, Massachusetts, July 29, 1850. He
received his education in the Woburn public
schools until about the age of fourteen years,
when he was employed at different work by
George Emory and Gawen R. Gage. Later he
drove a team to Boston for David Russell. In
1861 he entered the employ of James Skinner,
tanner, and remained with him about nine
months. Subsequently he entered the curry
ing shop of Abijah Thompson, and learned
that branch of the trade, and there he remained
for about eighteen months. On'August 7, 1863,
during the Civil war, he enlisted in the United
States navy, and was assigned to the, ship
"Ohio." Later he was drafted to the ship
"Release," on which he served at picket duty,
seeing during his enlistment no actual ser
vice. He was honorably discharged at Brook
lyn, September 16, 1865. He then returned to
Woburn and entered the employ of George L.
Ingerson, currier, and remained with him until
1868, when he entered the grocery store of
John H. Connoly as clerk, and remained in his
employ five and a half years. On September
16, 1874, he entered into partnership with
Richard Morris, in the grocery business, under
the firm name of Moore & Morris, in a small
store below his present one. This connection
lasted sixteen years, when Mr. Moore bought
out Mr. Morris, and continues doing business
under his own name. The store was moved
to the present location in June, 1875. In it
to-day is done one of the largest retail busi
nesses in its line in the city of Woburn. It
supplies the best trade. Mr. Moore is well
known to the entire community as an honor
able man and as possessing uncommon busi
ness talents. The writer of this sketch is
aware that Mr. Moore has deservedly made
his fortune by his own unaided talents and by
constant industry. He has not eaten the bread
of idleness, and he is never lacking in his aid
of every worthy cause. He has interested him
self in the improvement of his own city, and is
interested in its real estate values, of which he
possesses a large number. In 1894 he bought his
present residence at No. 70 Montvale avenue,
then known as the Bryant estate, one of the
best in the city.
The respect of his fellow citizens has called
Mr. Moore many times to public office. He is
a Democrat in politics, and a member of St.
Charles Church, the church of his fathers. He

has served his party many times as a dele
gate to state, representative, senatorial and
congressional conventions. In 1898-99-1900
he was a member of the board of public works
in the city of Woburn. He is a member of
Woburn Council, No. yj, Knights of Colum
bus, a member of Woburn Lodge, No. 908,
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and
has been commander of Burbank Post, No.
44, Grand Army of the Republic, for the past
three years. Children by first marriage :
1. Mary Josephine, born December 19,
1871, married, September 6, 1899, Henry M.
Leen, of Boston, by whom she has had two
children: i. Thomas Moore, born at Boston,
died in Woburn, April 24, 1906, aged three
years, ten months and nine days. ii. Mary,
born in Woburn, July 16, 1904. 2. Sarah
Elizabeth, born July 1, 1873, died March 13,
1875. 3. Thomas, born October 17, 1875, died
March 12, 1887. Children by second mar
riage: 4. John Edward, born January 25,.
1878, single. 5. Nellie Frances, born April
6, 1879, married, June 12, 1907, Dr. Thomas
Caulfield, of Woburn. 6. James William,
born August 21, 1880, died October 12, 1880.
7. Joseph, born August 13, 1881, died Septem
ber 17, 1881. 8. Jennie, born August 21,
1883. 9. James Henry, born July 11, 1884,
died August 8, 1884. Children by third mar
riage: 10. Thomas, born July 16, 1892, died
August 3, 1892.

Joseph Brown, the progenitor;
BROWN was born and lived in England.
It does not appear that he came
to America, though his son, James Brown,
came when a mere youth and perhaps other
children were among the numerous English
settlers of New England.
(II) James Brown, son of Joseph Brown
(1), was born in England in 1605 or 1617-18,
and when "a youth of seventeen" came to
America on the ship "James," sailing from
Southampton or Hampton, England, and ar
riving in Boston, June 3, 1635. This record
may not belong to the James Brown here de
scribed or the age as frequently the case, may
have been given wrong. This James Brown
was known as James Brown, the glazier; set
tled first in Charlestown, Massachusetts, where
there was apparently another of the same
name and about the same age. James, the
glazier, was admitted a freeman May 17, 1637;,
hired Lovell's Island of the town of Charles-'
town in 1636 and must have been of age at

996

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

that time. He removed to Newbury where he
was one of the proprietors in 1637 and was
elected to various town offices. He removed
again to Salem. He deposed December 29,
1658, that he was about fifty-three years old.
That would make his year of birth 1605, and
that is probably correct. He died at Salem,
November 3, 1676. His will was proved No
vember 29, 1676, bequeathing to wife Sarah;
brother Nicholas Noyes; children, John,
James, Samuel, Abraham, Anna, Mary, Abi
gail, Martha, Sarah Beasly ; to eldest son John
estate left by Henry Bright, of Watertown,
for money lent him many years ago ; estate at
Newbury left to wife by her father, Captain
John Cutting. He married (first) Judith Cut
ting, daughter of Captain John Cutting, and
(second) Sarah Cutting, sister of his first
wife. She was born in 1605, according to her
statement in 1658. Children: 1. John, born
January 4, 1637-38. 2. James, born in 1642,
died in 1643. 3. James, born August 19,
1647, mentioned below. 4. Nathaniel, born
November 21, 165 — . 5. Samuel, born January
14, 1656-57. 6. Hannah, baptized September
2, 1658. 7. Abraham, baptized October 14,
1660. 8. Mary, born May 25, 1663. 9. Abi
gail, born October 24, 1665. 10. Martha, born
December 22, 1667.
(Ill) James Brown, son of James Brown
(2), was born August 19, 1647. He was also
a glazier by trade. He married Hannah Huse
or Hughes, who died, his widow, November
18, 171 3. He died February 27, 1708. Chil
dren: 1. James, born February 3, 1671, men
tioned below. 2. Samuel, born at Charles
town, December 3, 1672. 3. Hannah, born at
Ipswich, November 13, 1676, died young. 4.
Sarah, born August 10, 1678, at Salisbury. 5.
Benjamin, born March 21, 1681, at Newbury.
6. Abraham, born March 17, 1683, died young.
7. Joseph, born May 19, 1685. 8. Hannah,
born November 16, 1687.
(IV) James Brown, son of James Brown
(3), was born at Charlestown, February 3,
1670-71. He married (first) Mary Edwards,'
April 28, 1694. She died May 5, 1700. He
married (second) Rebecca Kelly, of New
bury, daughter of John Kelly, of Newbury,
and widow of  Brown. John Kelly was
the first settler of Newbury. Children, born
at Newbury: 1. Elizabeth, born October 14,
1696. 2. Sarah, born November 8, 1701. 3.
Samuel, born July 7, 17 12, mentioned below.
(V) Samuel Brown, son of James Brown
(4), was born at Newbury, Massachusetts,
July 7, 1712, and died at Hampstead, New

Hampshire, about 1780. He married, in 1735,
Hannah Pike, who was born March 13, 1713,
at Newbury, daughter of Hugh and Hannah
(Kelly) Pike. Her parents settled in Plais-
tow, New Hampshire, before 1741, on the
farm now or lately owned by Joseph G.
Brown. She was received into the Newbury
church, June 2J, 1762, and she died at Hamp
ton in 1804 over ninety years old. July 2,
1734, she received from the executor of the
estate of her uncle, Richard Kelly, a feather
bed and she made her mark on the receipt.
Later she made another receipt for her por
tion of the estate with the explanation : "She
had in the interval of the two receipts obtain
ed a husband and had also learned to write."
The Browns lived at Hampstead. Children:
Moses, born at Hampstead about 1740, men
tioned below. 2. Joseph, married Susannah
Johnson. 3. John, married Lucy Abbott. 4.
Samuel, Jr., married Hannah or Abigail
George, and had ten children born at Hamp
stead.- (VI) Moses Brown, son of Samuel Brown
(5), was born in 1740 and settled in Hamp
stead, his native town. He married Sarah
Kimball, daughter of Moses and Sarah (Web
ster) Kimball, of Hampstead. He was a sol
dier in the Revolution, a private in Captain
Hezekiah Hutchins' company in 1777. Chil
dren, born at Hampstead: 1. James, born Au
gust 15, 1763, mentioned below. 2. Abigail,
born July 4, 1764. 3. Sarah, born March 6,
1767, married her cousin, Daniel Brown. 4.
Simeon, born July 2, 1769, married Susannah
Johnson and had six children. 5. Jonathan.
6. Alice, born February 17, 1776, married
Thomas Pierce, of Atkinson. 7. Moses, born
March 24, 1780. 8. Hannah, born June 23,
1783, died unmarried.
(VII) James Brown, son of Moses Brown
(6) was born at Hampstead, New Hampshire,
August 15, 1763, married there -Alice Ferrin.
They resided in Hampstead, and in 1783 he
petitioned for a representative for the town.
Children: 1. Enos, born November 13, 1784,
married Sally Brown, daughter of Samuel and
Hannah (George) Brown, his cousin. 2. Jon
athan Kimball, born March 10, 1790, mention
ed below. 3. Sarah, born October 10, 1794.
(VIII) Jonathan Kimball Brown, son of
James Brown (7), was born at Hampstead,
March 10, 1790, and died December 24, 18.27.
He married, 1816, Hannah Noyes, who was
born in Wilmington, Massachusetts, January
1, 1790, died November 9, 1863, daughter of
Moses Noyes (5) born May 12, 1744, at New-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

997

bury, and his second wife Phebe Richardson
whom he married in 1775. Was sergeant in
Captain Timothy Walker's company of Wil
mington, Colonel Green's regiment, in 1787.
Moses Noyes was the son of Moses Noyes,
born May 8, 171 5, married, 1738, Susannah
Jaques, died July 23, 1753. Moses Noyes (4)
was son of John and Mary (Thorlo) Noyes.
John Noyes was born February 16, 1677-78.
He was a blacksmith and died June 15, 1719,
at Newbury. His father, John Noyes (2),
was born January 20, 1645, at Newbury; mar
ried, November 23, 1668, Mary Poore, of An
dover. She was born in 1651 and died in
1716. He was a house carpenter by trade,
and his house built by his own hands is still
standing at Newbury, owned by his descend
ant, Silas M. Noyes (8). John Noyes (2)
was the son of the immigrant, Nicholas Noyes,
who was born in England in 161 5-16, married
Mary Cutting, daughter of Captain John Cut
ting. Nicholas was a leading citizen for many
years, deputy to the general court in 1660-79-
80-81, and deacon of the church. He died
November 23, 1701, at Newbury. Nicholas
was son of Rev. William Noyes, born in Eng
land, 1568, died at Cholderton, Wiltshire, Eng
land, April 30, 1622; graduate of University
College, Oxford, in 1592; rector of Cholder
ton; married, 1595, Anne Parker. Nicholas
and James, his sons, are ancestors of most of
the Noyes families of America. (See sketch).
Jonathan K. Brown was a tanner by trade.
He resided in Amherst, Hampstead and the
adjoining town of Atkinson, New Hampshire.
•Children: 1. Alice. 2. Francis, born Novem
ber 14, 1820, mentioned below. 3. Sarah.
(VIII) Francis Brown, son of Jonathan
Kimball Brown. (7), was born in Atkinson,
New Hampshire, November 14, 1820, the sec
ond of three children. He was educated in the
public schools of Amherst, New Hampshire,
and at the Dracut Academy. (Massachusetts),
from which he was graduated at the age of
twenty-two. He worked at home during the
summer seasons. He then served an appren
ticeship of three years in the trade of wool
sorting in the Middlesex Mills, Lowell. He
was then appointed overseer in the wool de
partment of the Washington Mills at Law
rence, Massachusetts, under Samuel Law
rence, agent. Five months later he was called
back to the Middlesex Mills to take a similar
position as overseer of the wool department,
and he continued in this position a period of
forty-seven years. During much of the time
he assisted in the buying of wool for the mills

and traveled extensively for this purpose in
the middle and western states. After his re
tirement from active life he devoted himself
largely to the care and improvement of his
real estate, having invested wisely in Lowell
property. In politics Mr. Brown was a Re
publican. He was elected a member of the
common council in 1868-69, and was for two
years overseer of the poor, 1870-71. He was
a trustee of the Central Savings Bank, a mem
ber of the William North Lodge of Free Ma
sons, of Lowell Commandery, Knights Temp
lar. When a young man he was a memeber
of the Amherst Rifle Company. He attended
the Universalist church. Mr. Brown exerted
a large and wholesome influence in the city of
Lowell, and he always commanded the utmost
confidence and esteeem of his townsmen. He
died in Lowell, February 14, 1906.
He married Susan Odell, who was born in
Goffstown, New Hampshire, July 16, 1821, a
daughter of Luther and Betsey (Green) Odell,
of Mont Vernon, New Hampshire. She sur
vives him. Children: 1. Adelaide Augusta,
born March 6, 1849, died in 1880. 2. Frank
K, born June 12, 1852, was educated in the
public and high schools of Lowell, and is con
nected with the Middlesex Mills, holding the
same position in the mills as his father, wool
buyer. He is one of the leading citizens of
Lowell. He married Sarah Webster and they
have one child, Gladys.

Studley is an old English sur-
STUDLEY name of county Kent, also of
Yorkshire. The seat of the
latter branch of this family was in Studley
Park, near the ruins of the celebrated Foun
tains Abbey, a famous resort for tourists,
each one of whom is entitled to "meat by
measure" (a quarter of a yard of roast beef
for dinner), "and a great black jack of strong
drink" on calling for the same. The coat-of-
arms given by Barry in his "History of Han- ¦
over, Massachusetts," for this family is : Ar
gent a fesse vert between three stag's heads
cabossed or. Crest — A stag's head cabossed
or pierced through the scalp with an arrow in
bend sinister feathered argent headed sable.
(I) Two branches of the English family
located in New England, one in Boston, the
other in Sandwich, Massachusetts, and de-
, scendants of both lived in the town of Han
over and vicinity. John Studley, the immi
grant ancestor, was living in Boston as early
as 1659, and may have been in Gloucester

111—15.

998

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

earlier. John Studley, an apprentice, of Glou
cester, was sued by his employer in 1643 ; was
a witness in court in 1647; was proprietor of
Gloucester in 1650, and mortgaged his house
and land in 1651. He was mentioned in a
letter of Tristram Dalliber (Dolliver). He
was doubtless' a mariner, as following the sea
was the exclusive industry, at Gloucester, and
therefore left little record behind him either
there or at Boston. Children of John and
Elizabeth Studley (the name is also spelled
Stutly and Stoodly) : 1. John, born Decem
ber 8, 1659, 2. Benjamin, May 23, 1661.
(II) Benjamin Studley, son of John Stud
ley (1), was born in Boston, May 23, 1661.
He went to Hingham in his youth. Though
we have no information on the subject, the
lack of further references to John Studley
indicate that he died or was lost at sea when
his sons were very young, and his widow may
have married a Hingham man. About the
time he came of age in 1680-81, he removed
to Scituate, and settled near Merritt's brook,
a few rods southeast of the bridge. He married,
in 1683, Mary, daughter of John Merritt. Chil
dren, born in Scituate: 1. John, born Decem
ber 11, 1684. 2. Benjamin, December 7, 1687.
3. James, July 15, 1690, married, 1717, Sarah
Farrar, of Hingham. 4. Jonathan, June 19,
1693, resided at Hingham ; married Susanna
Lane. 5. David, January 19, 1696, mentioned
below. 6. Mary, September 23, 1699. 7.
Elizabeth, June 8. 1701. 8. Deborah, Decem
ber 19, 1703. 9. Eliab, September 10, 1706.
(Ill) David Studley, son of Benjamin
Studley (2), was born January 19, 1696, and
died about 1759. He married, 17 17, Susannah
Vinton. His will was dated July 14, 1759,
bequeathing to his wife, daughters Susanna,
Abigail, and Priscilla, sons David and Thomas,
and grandson John Studley. Children, born
at Scituate: 1. Susanna, 171 8. 2. David, 1720,
mentioned below. 3. Amasa, 1722. 4. Daniel,
1725. 5. Thomas, mentioned in will. 6. Abi
gail, mentioned in will. 7. Priscilla, mentioned
in will.
(IV) David Studley, Jr., son of David
Studley (3), was born in Scituate in 1720.
He married, in 1744, Elizabeth Curtis, daugh
ter of Richard Curtis, one of four brothers
who came from England and settled at Scitu
ate. Children, born in Scituate: 1. Mercy,
1745. 2. David, 1748, soldier in the Revolu
tion. 3. William, 1752, soldier in the Revolu-.
tion ; had sons William and Amiel of Scituate.
4. Elizabeth, 1754. 5. Amiel, 1757, soldier in
Revolution. 6. John, 1760, mentioned below.

(V) John Studley, son of David Studley,
Jr. (4), was born in Scituate, 1760. He was
a soldier in the Revolution, a private in Cap
tain Heywood Peirce's company, Colonel John
Cushing's regiment, serving eleven days in the
Rhode Island campaign at Bristol. The pay
roll is dated at Scituate. His name was spelled
Study. ("Mass. Soldiers and Sailors of the
Revolution"). He married Sarah Cole Gan
nett, of Scituate, daughter of Samuel and
Sarah (Cole) Gannett. Children: 1: Alson,
born December 6, 1794, mentioned below. 2.
Benjamin, resided in Scituate, and his sons
still occupy the homestead, the original house
being still well preserved. 3. Homer.
Matthew, the pioneer ancestor of the Gan
nett family, came from England to America
in 1618, and settled at Hingham, and in 1651
removed to Scituate. He was one of a com
pany known as the Cohasset partners, who
purchased a tract of land from one Ann Vinal.
He died in 1695. His will, made in 1694,
names his wife Hannah, sons Matthew (2)
and Rehoboth, daughters Hannah Adams and
Elizabeth Levett, a granddaughter Esther
Palmer, daughter of his son Joseph, who was
evidently deceased, as he was not named in
will. Of this family, Joseph and Matthew
settled in Bridgewater. Joseph married
Benoni Sharp, and had children: 1. Hannah,
born 1684. 2. Joseph, 1686. 3. Matthew,
1688, married Mary Bacon, 1708. 4. Deborah,
1690. 5. Joseph (2), 1693, the first of that
name probably dying young. Matthew (2),
had sons Matthew and Joseph. Matthew (3),
married Sarah Chapin, 171 2, and had: 1.
Matthew, has sons Prince and Angus, living
in Vermont, and son Elkanah living at Scitu
ate. 2. Seth, died in infancy. 3. Samuel,
married Sarah Cole, and had sons Samuel and
Joseph, both now living in Scituate.
(VI) Alson Studley, son of John Studley
(5), was born in Scituate, December 6, 1794,
and died at Charlestown, December 23, 1871.
He removed from Scituate to Charlestown in
1826, and started the first omnibus line be
tween that place and Boston the same year,
continuing in this business with much success
during his active life. His first stage line was
from Charlestown Neck to Elm Street Tav
ern, and the fare was nine-pence. He had
another line from Bunker Hill to Charlestown,
Green and Summer streets, Boston, for a
shilling. He sold out in 1853 to his son John
H., and two of his old drivers, Spear and
Downing. He married, at Hingham, Decem
ber 6, 1 82 1, Sarah Waters Burr, daughter of

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

999

Theopilus Burr, of that place. Their children :
i. John Henry, see forward. 2. Emma, mar
ried Nathaniel Robinson, of Charlestown;
children: Emma, died young; Emma F.,
Arthur, Henry. 3. Joseph, unmarried. 4.
Sarah, married Luther Davis, of Charlestown ;
children : Richard, Elizabeth, and Helen. 5.
Cornelius, married Kate Trask, of Beverly;
children : Elizabeth and Catherine. 6. Lizzie,
married William P. Peirce, of Charlestown ;
children : Susie and Sarah. 7. William Burr,
still living.
(VII) John Henry Studley, son of Alson
Studley (6), was born in Charlestown, Octo
ber 28, 1828, and died there March 28, 1903.
He was brought up in the home on Main street,
near Thorndike, opposite the old Johnson
house. He attended the Bunker Hill school
and a night school kept by one Holmes, in the
building now occupied by the Charlestown
Enterprise newspaper. On the day that the
capstone was placed on Bunker Hill Monu
ment, June 17, 1843, the b°y began his career
in the transportation business, taking fares on
his father's omnibuses; he purchased his in
terest in 1856 and continued until 1858, when
the horse car having gradually superseded the
omnibus, he became a clerk in the office of the
Middlesex Street Railway Company. On
March 2, 1861, Mr. Studley was appointed
superintendent of the road, and that position
he held until this corporation went out of ex-
• istence in August, 1886.. He remained in the
employ of the Consolidated Street Railway
Company, until November, 1887, and of the
West End Railway Company and the Boston
Elevated Road System, their successors. He
was retired on full pay in 1899 in recognition
of his long and faithful service, in succession
as division superintendent. At the time of his
death the Charlestown Enterprise said of his
business career : "A position like that held by
Mr. Studley not only involved a great deal of
responsibility but afforded opportunity, to gain
the good will or incur the enmity of employes.
He was first of all a satisfactory superintend
ent to the management and patrons of the
road. His untiring zeal and undivided inter
est in the advancement of the road's welfare
helped in the success of the road, and his elec
tion year after year was signal proof of his
ability. While he labored to merit a continu
ance of the trust imposed in him by the offi
cials he never was unmindful of the men's in
terests and their wants, and, though duty may
have impelled him to discharge an employe,
his heart and pocketbook never lacked sym

pathetic assistance in their behalf. Deeds of
charity untold by him and seldom, if ever,
brought to public light, were a part of his
daily duty, and many a poor family of a dis
sipated former attache of the road have kept
the wolf from the door through his helpful
ness, while not a few persons who have had
no claim whatever upon him have been saved
from a pauper's grave and their bodies de
cently buried beside their own by his sym
pathetic and substantial generosity. Beneath
his bluff exterior was hid a heart as tender as
a child's. The late John H. Studley was one
of the most successful street railroad men of
Boston. Always with characteristic modesty,
disclaiming any superior ability on his own
part, it is a known fact that his sagacity, per
severance and clearheaded determination has
done more to make the railroad system what
it has been and is in Charlestown and the out
lying communities of what is the immense Di
vision No. 6 (his division), than that of any
other person. The history of the railroad
business in this vicinity is in a way a history
of Mr. Studley's life. He had been through
all its obstacles and successes and ever among
all the changes the one shining light for over
sixty years of service."
Hardly a citizen of Charlestown, who had
lived there long enough to form an acquaint
ance with any of the people, that did not know
Mr. Studley. His ingratiating, genial ways
made him a friend of everybody. One still
hears him affectionately called "John H.,"
"Father John" and "Uncle John," in Charles
town. He was held in the highest respect by
the entire community. He was a prominent
Free Mason, a member of Faith Lodge, of
Charlestown ; of Signet Royal Arch Chapter ;
and of Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights
Templar. He was a member of the First
Parish Church (Congregational) of Charles
town. In politics he was a strong Republican,
serving two years in the house of representa
tives. He married, May 19, 1850, in the First
Parish Church, Charlestown, Cordelia Hol-
man Mellen, of an old Charlestown family,
daughter of Ira A. and Mary A. (Guillard)
Mellen. His wife died May 12, 1867, in
Charlestown. The Guillard family was of
Watertown, Maine. Children: 1. John
Henry, Jr., born June 27, 1852, mentioned
below. 2. Nettie Cordelia, October 31, 1855,
died May 13, i873- 3- Carrie Mellen, April
24, 1858, married Charles N. Stockbridge, of
Charlestown, (now Hingham). 4. Grace

1000

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Robinson, May 5, 1863, married Charles B.
Spencer; she died in 1893. >
(VIII) John Henry Studley, son of John
Henry Studley (7), was born in Charlestown,
now Boston, June 27, 1852. He was educated
in the public schools. He has been in the street
railway business since June 1, 1878, in the
service of the Boston Elevated Railroad Com
pany and its predecessors. He was treasurer
of the old Middlesex railroad under his father's
management, and when it was consolidated
with the West End Railroad Company he be
came assistant auditor of the larger corpora
tion. A year later he was appointed assistant
purchasing agent, a position he held for four
teen years. He is at present general ticket
agent of the elevated and surface lines of the
Boston Elevated Railroad, and one of the most
prominent street railway men of New Eng
land. Mr. Studley is an important and in
fluential Republican. He resides at 108 Haw
thorne street, Maiden, and is highly esteemed
by his townsmen. He is secretary of the
Kernwood Club of Maiden, member of the
Maiden Chapter, Sons of the American Revo
lution, and auditor of the Metropolitan Mu
tual Aid Association, Boston Elevated Rail
way Company. He has been very prominent
in Masonic circles. He is past master of
Henry Price Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma
sons, Charlestown; past high priest of Signet
Royal Arch Chapter, of Charlestown ; past
thrice illustrious of Melrose Council, Royal
and Select Masters, of Maiden; past eminent
commander of Coeur de Lion Commandery,
Knights Templar, of Charlestown; past dis
trict deputy of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter
of Massachusetts ; past senior grand steward
of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts ; mem
ber of the Massachusetts Consistory, Thirty-
second degree; and of Aleppo Temple, Mystic
Shrine, Boston. In religion Mr. Studley is a
Universalist. He married, April 25, 1878, Dora Francis
Norton, of Charlestown, born June 10, 1854,
daughter of John Baize Norton, a leading
man of Charlestown, and Elizabeth Bennett
(Kaler) Norton. Their only child is Eliza
beth Dearborn, born in Charlestown, March
25, 1879, married, September 17, 1906, Alex
ander Edwin McCallum, of Chicago, Illinois.

(I) William Brown, the immi-
BROWN grant ancestor, was born in
England, according to the best
evidence obtainable, about 1640. He was a

seafaring man, and made his home in Salem
and Marblehead. He was living in Marble
head in 1669 and later. Children of William
and Sarah Brown: 1. John, born in Marble
head, October 10, 1669. 2. Joseph, born
August, 1672. 3. Benjamin, born August,
1674. 4. William, probably about 1675 or
earlier. 5. Deliverance (?), married, 1694, at
Marblehead, John Waldron. 6. Eleanor,
married November 29, 1689, John Cruff, at
Marblehead. (II) William Brown, son of William
Brown (1), was born in 1675 or earlier, in
Marblehead or vicinity. He married Septem
ber 23, 1695, at Marblehead, Hannah Joy, of
Salem. Children, born at Marblehead : 1.
Thomas, born about 1698; mentioned below.
2. William, baptized April 28, 1700. 3. Mary,
baptized March 14, 1702-03. 4. Samuel, born
March 11, 1705-06. 5. Eleanor, born Febru
ary 2, 1707-08.
(Ill) Thomas Brown, son or nephew of
William Brown (2), was born at or near
Marblehead, about 1698; "married there June
4, 1724, Mary Nicholson, of the Nicholson
family of Marblehead. Children born at Mar
blehead : 1. Thomas, baptized November 28,
1725 ; died young. 2. Mary, baptized Novem
ber 27, 1726. 3. Elizabeth, baptized June 1,
1729. 4. Robert, baptized October 24, 1731..
5. John, baptized February 27, 1736-37; died
at Marblehead, September 10, 1816, in his
seventy-ninth year. 6. Elizabeth, baptized
November 16, 1740. 7. Thomas, baptized
April 10, 1748; mention below.
(IV) Thomas Brown, son of Thomas
Brown (3), was baptized in Marblehead April
10, 1748. He was a soldier in the revolution,
in Captain Nicholson Broughton's company,
Colonel John Glover's regiment, in 1775 ; also
in Captain William Hooper's company and
Captain Edward Fettyplace's company in
1776; also in Colonel Lamb's regiment of
artillery in the Continental army in 1777; his
brother Robert was also in the service and was
captured and imprisoned in England. He mar
ried, October 3, 1769, Jane Cross, descendant
of an Ipswich family. Children, born at Mar
blehead: 1. Thomas, baptized July 7, 1771 ;
died young. 2. Thomas, baptized June 13,
1 773-. 3- Robert, baptized October 8, 1775;
mentioned below.
(V) Robert Brown, son of Thomas Brown
(4), was born in Marblehead, and baptized
October 8, 1775, in the Marblehead church.
Like his ancestors, he followed the sea for a
livelihood and became master of a vessel. He

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

iooi

was lost at sea in the prime of life. He mar
ried Betsey Woodbury, daughter of Nathaniel
Woodbury, of Ipswich. (See Woodbury).
Children: i. Nathaniel, born about 1805. 2.
Captain Robert, born at Salem, Massachusetts,
June 9, 1810; commanded a whaling-vessel at
the age of twenty-three; died on board the
barque "Emerald," in the Indian Ocean, near
the Isle of France, October 7, 1841 ; owned
land on Pearl and Northey streets, Salem,
bought shortly before his death ; married Mary
Cleveland: John (6); Ebenezer (5); John
(4) ; Josiah (3) ; Josiah (2) ; Moses (i),born
at Salem. His widow married second, Hon.
James Gregory, son of Joseph and Plannah
(Hooper) Gregory, of Salem; children: i.
John Cleveland, born December 20, 1836, died
at Salem, January 7, 1841 ; ii. Robert Bancroft,
born April 19, 1840; married at Marblehead,
June 26, 1866, Ruth Ann Gregory, born at
Marblehead, August 21, 1838, daughter of
Hon. James and Ruth (Roundy) Gregory;
was educated for the bar ; lived at Salem to
April, 1861 ; became second lieutenant of
Company C, Second Massachusetts Infantry,
Colonel Gordon, and filled various positions in
the army during the entire war; was in Sher
man's March to the Sea; located in 1865 at
the close of the war, in St. Louis, where he
has since lived; manufacturer; (Children:
Mary Cleveland, born March 29, 1868, at Mar
blehead; Anna Gould, born December 15,
1872, at St. Louis; Ruth Gregory, born Au
gust 4, 1875, at Marblehead; Gregory, born
August 14, 1878, at Salem; Bancroft, born
December 14, 1880, at St. Louis). 3. Samuel
Thurlow, born February 12, 1816; mentioned
below. (VI) Samuel Thurlow Brown, son of Cap
tain Robert Brown (5), was born in Salem,
Massachusetts, February 12, 1816. His father
died when he was quite young, and at the age
of eight years he was sent to Derry, New
Hampshire, to live with a family there, and he
received his education in the Pinkerton Acad
emy at Derry, New Hampshire, and the Lynn
Academy, Massachusetts. In 1839 he made
his home in Lowell, Massachusetts. He work
ed in a market and provision store for a num
ber of years, then engaged in the same line of
business on his own account. He was suc
cessful in business, and as he invested his
surplus in Lowell real estate, which the rapid
growth of the city greatly enhanced in value,
his property finally required all his time and
attention, and he retired from his business.
He died in Lowell, June 12, 1902. He became

a member of Saint Paul's Methodist Episcopal
Church in 1858, and continued an active and
devout member of this society until his death,
being for several years its treasurer, and
always interested in its charitable work. Mr.
Brown was known, in the community in which
he lived and in which he did so much for its
betterment, as a man of spotless integrity and
sterling honesty. Personally agreeable and
attractive in manner, he made many friends,
and was much beloved and respected.
He married (first) Elizabeth Draper;
(second) 1875," Mary Jane Sweat, of Vassal-
borough, Maine. She was well educated, and
before her marriage was a school teacher in
her native town. She survives her husband,
living in the homestead at Lowell, and since
his death has had the entire care and manage
ment of her late husband's real estate and
other property. She is a member of Saint
Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church, and a lib
eral contributor to its various charities. She
is also an active member and supporter of the
society in charge of the Children's Home of
Lowell. They had no children.

John Woodbury, the im-
WOODBURY migrant ancestor, came
from Somersetshire, Eng
land, about 1624-25, in the interests of the
Dorchester Company, which established itself
at Cape Ann, now Gloucester, Massachusetts,
at or shortly before that period. Perhaps no
better or clearer account can be given of his
earlier connection with this company as its
agent, than to give in full the deposition of his
son Humphrey, who accompanied him thither
on his second voyage. This deposition was
given to disprove Mason's claim to extensive
tracts of land in Massachusetts and New
Hampshire, under date of February 16, 1680-
81: "Humphrey Woodbury, Beverly, aged sev
enty two, testifies, that when I lived in Somer
setshire in England, I remember that my
father, John Woodberye (since deceased) did
about 56 years agoc remoove for new England
& I then traveled with him as farr as Dorches
ter (Eng.) & I understood that my said father
came to new England by order of a company
caled Dorchester company (among whome mr.
White of Dorchester in England was an active
instrument) & that my father and the com
pany with him brought cattle & other things to
Cape Ann for plantation work & there built an
house & kept theire cattle & sett up fishing &

1002

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

afterwards some of them removed to a neck
of land since called Salem. And after about
three years absence my said father returned to
England & made us acquainted with waht set
tlement they had made in new England & that
he was sent back by some that Intended to set
tle a plantation about 3 leagues west of Cape
Ann. to further this designe after about half
a years stay in England, my father returned to
new England & brought me with him; wee
arrived at the place now caled Salem in or
about the month of June, 1628; where wee
found several persons that said they were ser
vants to the Dorchester company & had built
another house for them at Salem besides that
at Cape Ann. The latter end of that sumer,
1628: John Endecott Esq: came over gover
nor, declaring his power from a company of
pattentees in or about London; & that they
had bought the houses boates & servants which
belonged to the Dorchester company and that
he sd Endicott had power to receive them
which accordingly he did take possession of ;
when we settled the Indians never then
molested us in our improvemts or sitting
downe either on Salem or Beverly side of the
ferry, but showed themselves very glad of our
company & came & planted by us & oftentimes
came to us for shelter saying they were afraid
of their enemy Indians up in the country : &
wee did shelter them when they fled to us &
wee had theire free leave to build & plant
where wee have taken up lands ; the same
year, or the next after, wee came to Salem,
wee cut hay for the caltel wee brought over
on that side of the ferry now caled Beverly:
& have kept our possession there ever since by
cutting hay or thatch or timber & boards & by
laying out lotts for tillage : & sometime after
building & dwelling heere, where, with others
have lived about 40 years : In all this time
of my being in new England I never heard
that Mr. Mason took possession here, dis-
bursted estate upon, or layd claime to this
place of ours, save the discourse of a claim
within this yeare or two."
John had a brother, William Woodbury, who
came over before 1630, when the two brothers
settled in what is now Beverly, near Wood
bury's Point, on Mackerel Cove. John was
admitted a freeman in 1630, and was deputy
to the general court from 1635 to 1638. In
1635 John was appointed one of the commit
tee to lay out lands. In the year in which
Harvard College was established, 1636, Cap
tain Endicott, in behalf of Colonel John
Humphries, presented a motion to the general

court to set off some lands beyond F'orest river
for the erection of a college there. Woodbury
was appointed on the committee of six to view
the lands. In 1637 he was elected selectman,
and continued in that office until his death,
being present at every meeting. He and wife
Agnes were among the original members of
the First Church at Salem, in 1629. His will
was proved February 8, 1642-43, but is not
preserved. He was probably about sixty
years old at the time of his death. Children:
1. Humphrey, born 1609-10; mentioned below.
2. John, resided in Beverly, called senior. 3.
Hannah, baptized December 23, 1636 ; married
April 26, 1658, Cornelius Baker. 4. Abigail,
baptized November 12, 1637; married John
Hill. 5. Peter, baptized September 19, 1640
(born June 19, 1640, according to Savage).
(II) Humphrey Woodbury, son of John
Woodbury (1), was born in 1609-10, in Eng
land. He and six others were granted a half-
acre each at Winter Harbor for fishing trade
and to build upon. In 1636 he received a grant
of forty acres of land, and January 29, 1636-7,
forty acres more. He was called "fisherman"
in the deeds of various parcels of land that he
bought. He married Elizabeth — who made
her will May 1, 1689. It was proved Novem
ber 26, 1689, mentioning her two grandchil
dren: Peter, son of John Woodbury, and
Peter, son of William, to both of whom she
gave ten shillings because they were named
for her son Peter, who was killed by the In
dians in King Philip's war, under Captain
Lathrop; two daughters, Susanna (Tenney)
and Christian Trask, to whom she gave a
legacy of twenty shillings each, and daughter
Elizabeth Walker, Peter Woodbury and Cor
nelius Baker, her friends, were named as over
seers of her will. Children: 1. John, baptized
October 24, 1641. 2. Isaac, baptized Febru
ary 4, 1643-4; died March 11, 1725. 3. Hum
phrey, baptized March 8, 1646-7; died April
9, 1727. 4. Thomas, born about 1639; men
tioned below. 5. Susanna, born February 4,
1648-9; married December 2, 1668, John Ten
ney, son of Thomas and Ann Tenney, of Row
ley, who was born December 14, 1640. 6.
William, baptized May 4, 1651. 7. Peter, born
March 28, 1653; killed in 1675. 8. Richard,
born February, 1654-5. ; died 1690 on return
from Canada expedition. 9. Elizabeth, born
April 28, 1657; married —  Walker, of
Boston. 10. Christian, born April 20, 1661 ;
suicide ; married April 9, 1679, John Trask.
(Ill) Thomas Woodbury, son of Hum
phrey Woodbury (2), was born about 1639.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1003

His will is dated December 11, 1716, and
proved April 20, 1719, mentioning wife Eliza
beth; sons William, Jonathan and Samuel;
daughters Hannah, wife of John Ober, and.
Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Herrick, and chil
dren of his son Samuel, deceased, viz. : Sam
uel, Keziah, Mary. Thomas deeded to his
son William a house in which William had
been living. He gave other heirs divers parcels
of land during his life-time. He married first,
Hannah Dodge, daughter of William and Eliz
abeth Dodge. She was baptized in the First
Church of Salem, July 24, 1642, and died Jan
uary 2, 1688. She was first the wife of Sam
uel Porter, son of John, the immigrant, who
died in 165 1, leaving one son, John, who set
tled in Wenham. "Woodbury married second,
April 29, 1690, Elizabeth Curtis, widow of
Samuel. Children of Thomas and Hannah
Woodbury: 1. William, born September 17,
1662; died November, 1725. 2. Samuel, born
1665-6; died April 18, 1689. 3. Thomas,
baptized July 3, 1667. 4. Israel, born May
23, 1670. 5. Hannah, born February 25,
1672; married July 5, 1694, John Ober. 6.
Elizabeth, born February 6, 1676; married
Joseph Herrick. 7. A daughter, born January
20, 1679, died young. 8. Susanna, baptized
March 7, 1680; died before 1716. 9. Jona
than, born September 12, 1682 ; mentioned
below. 10. Samuel, born February 2, 1690-1.
(IV) Jonathan Woodbury, son of Thomas
Woodbury (3), was born September 12, 1682,
at Beverly, Massachusetts. He was a shore
man by trade. His will is dated April 29,
1762, and proved February 7, 1774. He mar
ried March 25, 1708, Eleanor Ellinwood,
daughter of Benjamin and Mary Ellinwood, of
Beverly. She was baptized with her brothers
William and Benjamin, June 26, 1692, and she
died in 1759. Children, born in Beverly: 1.
Benjamin, born April 4, 1709 ; died September
11, 1710. 2. Hannah, born November 2, 1710;
died March 29, 175 1. 3. Eleanor, born Feb
ruary 4, 171 1 ; married, 1734, Ralph Elling-
wood. 4. Jonathan, born December 11, 1713.
5. Elizabeth, born May 15, 1716; married
William Ellingwood. 6. Cornelius, born June
11, 1718; died November, 1807. 7. Nathan
iel, born April 1, 1720; mentioned below. 8.
Edward, born December 1, 1721 ; died De
cember 13, 1721. 9. Johannah, born June 5,
1725; died September 10, 1738. 10. Eunice,
born June 21, 1727; married George Gallup
and William Dike. 11. Anna, born March
20, 1729 ; married Joseph Lovett. 12. Edward,
born April 21, 1731 ; died 1754 going to Vir

ginia. 13. Susanna, born September 16, 1734;
died November 26, 1761.
(V) Nathaniel Woodbury, son of Jonathan
Woodbury (4), was born in Beverly, Massa
chusetts, April 1, 1720; died there December
24, 1805. He married, September 24, 1747,
Abigail Dike, daughter of Benjamin and Anna
Dike. She was baptized February 26, 1 720-1.
Children, born at Beverly: 1. Charity, born
May 17, 1747; married November 16, 1769,
George Honour; married second, William
Stevens. 2. Benjamin, born February 9,
1749; died July 13, 1753. 3. Benjamin, born
September 2, 1751. 4. Nathaniel, born
September 2, 1751 ; mentioned below. 5..
Israel, born March 29, 1753; married, in 1774,
Sarah Smith. 6. Abigail, born June 14, 1755 ;
married Daniel Bunker. 7. Benjamin, bap
tized September 18, 1757; died October 26,
1759. 8. Anna, born April 6, 1763; married,
in 1785, Nathaniel Black. 9. Betsey, born
August 11, 1766; married, in 1788, William
T. Manning. 10. Joanna, born July 11, 1768;
married Henry Seward.
(VI) Nathaniel Woodbury, son of Nathan
iel Woodbury (5), was born at Beverly, Sep
tember 2, 1 75 1. "He married Mary Wood
bury. They resided at Beverly or Ipswich,
Massachusetts. Child: Betsey, born about
1775; married Robert Brown; (See Brown
sketch). Asa R. Minard, of Medford,
MINARD Massachusetts, is a lineal de
scendant of Stephen Hopkins,
who came to Plymouth in the "Mayflower," in
1620. (I) Stephen Hopkins was born in England,
and died in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1644.
He married, and his children were: 1. Gyles.
2. Constance, married Nicholas Snow. 3.
Damaris; married Jacob Cook. 4. Oceanus.
5. Caleb. 6. Deborah. 7. Ruth. 8. Eliza
beth. (II) Gyles Hopkins lived in Plymouth. His
daughter, (III) Mary Hopkins, married Stephen
Smith, son of Rev. Ralph Smith, one of the
earliest ministers of Plymouth. Their son
(IV) John Smith, married Bethia Snow,
whose mother, Constance, was the second child
of Stephen Hopkins, and a sister of Gyles;
she married Nicholas- Snow. John and Bethia
(Snow) Smith. They had a son
(V) Stephen Smith, born in Chatham, Cape
Cod, 1706, died January 13, 1766. He married

1004

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Bathulia Colins, who was born in 1726. They
had a son.
(VI) Stephen Smith, who married Mehita
ble Eldridge, granddaughter of Roger Conant,
of Salem, Massachusetts, and removed to
Nova Scotia in 1760, where he died November
9, 1807. They had a daughter, Tabitha.
(VII) Tabitha Smith, daughter of Stephen
and Mehitable (Eldridge) Smith, married
William Cahoon, who was born in New Eng
land, September 20, 1752. They had a daugh
ter, Dorcas.
(VIII) Dorcas Cahoon, daughter of Wil
liam Cahoon and Tabitha (Smith) Cahoon,
married Asa Morine, August 13, 1785, who
was descended from a Frenchman, a retired
officer in the French army. They had a son,
Asa. (IX) Asa Morine, son of Asa and Dorcas
(Cahoon) Morine, married Mary Foster
daughter of Edward and Lucy Foster. They
had a daughter, Amorene Kinsman.
(X) Amorene Kinsman Morine, daughter
of Asa and Mary (Foster) Morine, married
James Rogers Minard, whose great-grand
father on his mother's side,_Ladowick Smith,
was a son of Stephen and Mehitable Smith,
and a brother of Tabitha, who married Wil
liam Cahoon. Ladowick married Elizabeth
Cahoon, a sister of William, November 18,
1778. They had a daughter Hannah. She
married William Lewis, a retired sea captain
from England, and had a daughter Melinda.
Melinda Lewis, daughter of William and
Hannah (Smith) Lewis, married James Mi
nard. Their eldest son (X) James Rogers
Minard, married Amorene Kinsman Morine.
Children: 1. Viola Maud, born December 12,
1867, died February 19, 1880. 2. Edna Jane,
born April 6, 1869, died 1880. 3. Lionel
Claude, born November 10, 1870. 4. Asa Ray
mond, born August 31, 1873. 5- Bradford
Lester, born June 12, 1875, died December
24, 1880. 6. Eva Mabel, born 1877, died
1880. 7. Lester Douglas, born June 28, 1881.
8. Clifford, born March 6, 1883. 9. Alice
Maud, born June 17, 1885.
(XI) Asa Raymond Minard, born August
31, 1873, a* Port Medway, Queens county,
Nova Scotia. He was educated in the public
schools of Nova Scotia and Boston, also at
tended evening high and Boston Latin school.
He is a member of the Baptist denomination,
and has held the following positions : Worthy
patriarch of Signal Light Division, Sons of
Temperance, of Boston; worthy patriarch of
Ray of Hope Division, Sons of Temperance,

of Nova Scotia; president of the Lafayette
Lyceum of the Loyal League of America, a
patriotic organization; superintendent of the
Bible Schools of the Baptist church in West
Somerville, and also at West Medford; chair
man of the standing committee at the West
Medford church; has held offices in the fol
lowing churches: Ruggles Street Baptist
Church, Boston; First Baptist Church, Bos
ton; West Somerville and West Medford
churches ; president of the largest Young Peo
ples' Society in New England in 1893; presi
dent of the Boston Central Convention, com
posed of the Young Peoples' Societies in the
Baptist churches of Greater Boston ; president
of the Young Men's Baptist Social Union in
1904; treasurer of the Boston East Associa
tion of Baptist churches from 1904 to 1907;
secretary of the Canadian Club of Boston
1905-6-7, and elected president, January 6,
1908; sent as a special representative by the
Canadian Club to represent it at the annual
dinner of the Canadian Clubs at Hamilton,
Ontario, in March, 1906, at Ottawa in Feb
ruary, 1907, at Toronto, November, 1907;
sent as a special delegate to the International
Council of the Canadian Clubs and Societies
of Nova Scotia and Canada at the Clifton
House, Niagara Falls, Canada, in July, 1907;
was elected vice-president of the council and
chairman of the councils of the Canadian
Clubs of the United States. Mr. Minard was
a member of the Medford board of aldermen
in 1904-05 ; member of the Boston City Club ;
an original member of the Massachusetts
Naval Brigade, having joined Company D the
night of its organization; original member of
the Neighborhood Club of West Medford;
member of Mt. Hermon Lodge, Free and Ac
cepted Masons of Mystic Royal Arch Chap
ter, and of Medford Council of Royal and
Select Masters. Mr. Minard has filled many
engagements as a platform speaker at relig
ious and political gatherings, also as an after-
dinner speaker.
He married, August 7, 1894, Adelaide Mer
cy Minard, daughter of David and Louisa
(Chute) Minard. Their children are: 1.
Asa Raymond Minard, Jr., born January 3,
1896, at Boston. 2. Basil Boise Wood, born
August 17, 1897, at Leominster, Massachu
setts. 3. Roger Wolcott, born December 26,
1900, at West Medford. 4. Robert Butter-
worth, born April 4, 1907, at West Medford.
Adelaide M. Minard, wife of Asa R. Min
ard, is descended from Elijah Minard (1),
who came from the state of Connecticut about

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1005

1761, and married Peggy Peach. They set
tled in Milton, Queens county, Nova Scotia.
Children: 1. Wheeler, married Sarah Slo
comb, daughter of Captain Slocomb.
(II) Levi Minard, born Milton, 1763; mar
ried Rebecca Kempton, daughter of Richard
and Fear Kempton, of Plymouth, Masschu-
setts, June 27, 1790. Lived in Liverpool,
Nova Scotia. Children: , 1. Levi, born 1792;
was the first manufacturer of the well-known
"Minard's Liniment." 2. Lucy, born 1795 ;
married Edward Foster, of Port Medway;
their daughter Mary married Asa Morine,
grandfather of Asa R. Minard. 3. David,
born May 8, 1801 ; married Sarah Wear, Sep
tember 25, 1828; died at Cornwallis, Decem
ber 10, 1880. His wife Sarah, born at Clem
ents, Nova Scotia, October 2, 1810, died in
Boston, February 25, 1887. Their son David
Minard (3), was born December 19, 1833;
married Louisa O. Chute, September 14, 1865,
at Clements, Nova Scotia. Children, born in
Brooklyn, Nova Scotia. 1. Percy I., born
August 29, 1866. 2. Clarence R., born April
21, 1868. 3. Serena A., born April 24, 1870,
died at birth. 4. Serena E., born June 3, 1871.
5. Adelaide M., born August 24, 1874, mar
ried Asa R. Minard. 6. Archibald E., born
January 18, 1878. 7. James F., born August
24, 1881, died 1886. Asa R. Minard is also a
lineal descendant of Richard Warren (1), who
came to Plymouth in the "Mayflower" in
1620. (II) Mary Warren, daughter of Richard
Warren, married Robert Bartiett, who came
over in the "Anne" in 1623.
(Ill) Sarah Bartiett, daughter of Robert
and Mary (Warren) Bartiett, married Sam
uel Ryder.
(IV) Samuel Ryder, son of Samuel and
Sarah (Bartiett) Ryder, married Lydia Til-
den. (V) Hannah Ryder, daughter of Samuel
and Lydia (Tilden) Ryder, married Jeremiah
Jackson, of Boston.
(VI) Faith Jackson, daughter of Jeremiah
and Hannah (Ryder) Jackson, married James
Shurtleff, of Plymouth.
rVII) Faith Shurtleff, daughter of James
and Faith (Jackson) Shurtleff, married Cap
tain Slocomb, and moved to Liverpool, Nova
Scotia, about 1764.
(VIII) Sarah Slocomb, married Wheeler
Minard. (IX) James Minard, son of Wheeler and
Sarah (Slocomb) Minard; married Melinda
Lewis.

(X) James Rogers Minard, son of James
and Melinda (Lewis) Minard, married Am
orene Morine.
(XI) Asa Raymond Minard, son of James
Rogers and Amorene (Morine) Minard, mar
ried Adelaide M. Minard.
The Minards came from France, which
country they left with other Huguenot fami
lies. Passing over into Scotland, where they
lived for some years, some of their members
crossed into the north of Ireland, and from
there went to Connecticut. Although not
numerous, they may be found in New Eng
land, New York state and Pennsylvania.

John Bancroft, the immi-
BANCROFT grant ancestor, came from
England with his wife Jane
on the ship "James," sailing from London in
1632. They settled at Lynn, Massachusetts,
where he died in 1637. In 1638 the widow
received a grant of land in Lynn. Her son
John went to Connecticut early and is the
founder .of the Connecticut branch- of the fam
ily. There is a family tradition that the Wid
ow Jane went to Connecticut also to live with
this son, and that she died there. Children of
John and Jane Bancroft, all born in England :
1. Thomas, mentioned below. 2. Amos. 3.
John, settled in Connecticut. 4. Samuel. 5.
William (probably).
(II) Thomas Bancroft, son of John Ban
croft (1), was born in England about 1622,
and came with his parents to Lynn in early
life. He was a townsman of Dedham in 1648,
and built his house near the Beaver dam. He
removed to Reading about 1653 and settled in
the west parish. In 1655 he hired a farm of
five hundred acres from Samuel Bennett. The
farm was in that part of Lynn now Saugus,
Massachusetts, three or four miles south of
Reading, where he attended church. He had
no part apparently in the common lands of
Reading and may never have lived in that
town. He was a lieutenant of the military
company and a prominent citizen. The name
of Bancroft still clings to the place just south
of the straits, a narrow roadway through the
rocky hills from Reading to Saugus. Surveys
of the line between Lynn and Charlestown
about 1670 mention "the house that was En
sign Bancroft's." In 1670 he bought seventy
acres of land at Lynnfield, only three miles
east of the Reading church, which was still
the nearest meeting house, and in 1678, the
deed of the adjoining Holyoke farm recites

ioo6

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

that it "had been for some years in possession
and improvement of Thomas Bancroft" and a
half acre with a building was reserved from
the five hundred and fifty acres and deeded
to Bancroft. He died intestate at Lynn, Aug
ust 19, 1691, but the settlement of his estate
is on record. The inventory was filed Novem
ber 24, 1 69 1, by his son Ebenezer, showing
that he owned land at Lynn, Reading and
other places. The agreement for division of
the real estate was signed by the widow Eliz
abeth ; sons Thomas, John and Ebenezer ; Jo
seph Brown, husband of the daughter Eliza
beth; and Sarah Bancroft, youngest daugh
ter. His widow Elizabeth, died May 1, 171 1.
He married (first), March 31, 1647, Alice
Bacon, daughter of Michael Bacon. She died
March 29, 1648. He married (second), July
15, 1648, Elizabeth Metcalf, daughter of Mich
ael and Sarah Metcalf. She was admitted to
the Dedham church, December 14, 1651, and
joined at Reading, being dismissed from Ded
ham, November 22, 1669. The only child of
Lieutenant Thomas and Alice Bancroft,
Thomas, born and died in 1648. Children of
Lieutenant Thomas and Elizabeth Bancroft:
2. Thomas, born 1649, mentioned below. 3.
Elizabeth, born and died, 1650. 4. John, born
February 3, 1651-52. -5. Elizabeth, born at
Reading, December 7, 1653, married Joseph
Brown. 6. Sarah, born 1660, died 1661. 7.
Raham, born 1662, died 1683. 8. Sarah, born
1665, married John Woodward. 9. Ebenezer,
born 1667. 10. Mary, born 1670, died unmar
ried, in 1 69 1.
(Ill) Thomas Bancroft, son of Thomas
Bancroft (2), was born in Dedham, Massa
chusetts, in 1648 or 1649. He settled in Read
ing and became one of the most prominent
and useful citizens of that town. He was a
selectman several years and an officer in King
Philip's war. He resided in the western part
of the town where the old Bancroft homestead
is to be seen at the present time. His was the
fourth house built in the west parish ; it was
near what is now called the Abraham Temple
place. He married, in 1673, Sarah Poole,
daughter of Jonathan and Judith Poole. Chil
dren, born in Reading: 1. Thomas, men
tioned below. 2. Jonathan, born and died in
J675- 3- Sarah, born 1676, married Abraham
Bryant. 4. Mehitable, born 1678, married
 Parker. 5. Jonathan, born 1681, died
in 1702. 6. Raham, born 1684. 7. Judith,
born 1688, married  Parker. 8. Samuel,
born 1691, died 1692. 9. Samuel, born 1693.
10. Elizabeth, born 1696, married in 171 3.

(IV) Captain Thomas Bancroft, son of
Thomas Bancroft (3), was born in Reading
in 1673. Married Mary Webster and settled
in his native town. Pie was captain of the
military company and leading citizen of the
town. Children: 1. Thomas, born about
1705. 2. Benjamin, captain, settled in Gro
ton, Massachusetts. 3. Jonathan, married
Mary Pierpont. 4. Joshua, married Mary
Lamson, resided in Reading and Worcester,
Massachusetts. (V) Lieutenant Joseph Bancroft, son of
Ensign Thomas Bancroft (4), was born in
Reading, Massachusetts, in 1735. He lived on
the place on West street, Reading, now or late
ly owned by his grandson, George Bancroft,
and inherited from his father, first settled by
his grandfather, Thomas Bancroft (3). He
married Elizabeth Temple, daughter of Lieu
tenant John and Rebecca (Parker) Temple,
She died in 1815; he died in 1825. He was a
soldier in the Revolution, a sergeant in Cap
tain Thomas Eaton's company, Colonel
Green's regiment, in 1775 ; second lieutenant
of Captain James Bancroft's company
(Fourth Company), Second Middlesex Reg
iment, in 1776; first lieutenant in Captain Ab-
ner Foster's company (Fourth), Second Mid
dlesex Regiment, commissioned August 20,
1777; also first lieutenant in Captain Jesse
Wyman's company, Colonel Jacob Gerrish's
regiment, serving as guards for Burgoyne's
army in 1778. Children: 1. Elizabeth, born
1756. 2. Rebecca, born 1758. 3. Susanna,
born 1760, married, 1778, Timothy Wakefield,
4. Joseph, born 1762, mentioned below. 5.
Timothy, born 1764, succeeded to the home
stead ; father of Captain George Bancroft ;
married, 1789, Lydia Parker, daughter of
Daniel and Sarah Parker. 6. Thomas, born
1766, settled in Lynnfield. 7. Nehemiah, born
1768, settled on Captain Abraham Foster's
place. 8. Jonathan, born 1774, settled in Wil
mington, Massachusetts. 9. Hannah, married
James Weston. 10. Anna, married, 1807,
Loea Parker.
(VI) Captain Joseph Bancroft, son of
Lieutenant Joseph Bancroft (5), was born in.
Reading, Massachusetts, in 1762, and settled
on the Emory Bancroft farm in his native
town. He married, in 1784, Abigail Upton, of
North Reading. He died in 1832, aged sev
enty years. The homestead descended to his
son Emory, his son Joseph having a part of
the farm and his house stood near the old
house. Children, born in Reading: 1. Abi
gail, married Miles Johnson. 2. Rebecca,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1007

married, in 1810, Aaron Parker. 3. Susanna,
born 1788, married Jonathan Parker. 4. Bet
sey, born 1793, married, 181 5, Rufus Damon.
5. Emory, born 1804, married, 1832, Plarriet
Bachelder, daughter of John and Sally
Bachelder; he died in 1864; father of Solon
Bancroft, a prominent lawyer ; Emory, Fred
eric and Alvin. 6. Emily, married, 1827,
George Porter. 7. Joseph, born 1801, men
tioned below.
(VII) Joseph Bancroft, son of Captain
Joseph Bancroft (6), was born in Reading in
1801. Married (first), 1833, Betsey Wake
field; (second), 1846, Mahala Foss. He was
a farmer and land surveyor, prominent and
successful in this profession, in which he was
succeeded by his son, John M. Bancroft, of
Reading. Children, born in Reading: 1.
John M., married Mary Hay, daughter of
Samuel L. Hay. 2. Sarah J., born August
17, 1841. 3. Lewis Melvin, born December
31, 1851, mentioned below. 4. Mary E., born
September 1, 1854.
(VIII) Lewis Melvin Bancroft, son of
Captain Joseph Bancroft (7), was born in
Reading, Massachusetts, December 31, 185 1.
He was educated in the public schools of his
native town, and learned the trade of carpen
ter which he followed in his younger days.
From 1876 to 1891 he was employed as a mill
engineer and proved himself a skillful and
efficient mechanic, employed by various manu
facturing companies throughout New Eng
land, and acquiring a high reputation in his
line of work. Mr. Bancroft is best known,
perhaps, for his excellent work in planning
and superintending the installation and oper
ation of the Reading water works. His knowl
edge of civil engineering was particularly val
uable to the town in planning and carrying
out this very important public work. , He was
appointed on the original committee April 25,
1888, having charge of the subject of water
works, and being in the legislature at the time
was able to exert enough influence to secure
the passage of the necessary legislation. The
bill was signed by the governor June 4, 1889.
He was chairman of the water board from
that time to 1896, and has had the satisfaction
of seeing the system built and in successful
operation ever since. Mr. Bancroft is a Re
publican in politics, and has been on the board
of selectmen and was its chairman in 1883-84.
He was representative to the general court
from the district in which Reading was located
in 1889. He is a member of the Boston So
ciety of Civil Engineers, the New 'England

Water Works Association, Security Lodge of
Odd Fellows, and Good Samaritan Lodge of
Free Masons. In religion he is a Congrega-
tionalist. He is at present a director and
treasurer of the Mechanics' Savings Bank,
and treasurer of the New England Water
Works Association.
He married, May 19, 1874, Annie B. Black,
of Andover, Massachusetts, daughter of
Thomas D. and Anna (Boyce) Black. Chil
dren: 1. Clinton L., born March 6, 1876,
married Jennie Pope, of Marblehead, Massa
chusetts ; one child, Robert L. 2. Mabel E.,
born June 22, 1880, married William A. Phil
lips.

David R. Harvey, the son of
HARVEY William and Annie (Taylor)
Harvey, was born in Somer
ville, Massachusetts, May 9, 1869. He was
educated in the public schools of that city. In
1887, when eighteen years old, he entered the
employ of the John P. Lovell Arms Com
pany, Boston. From 1889 to 1897 he was
manager of the bicycle department, acting as
a director for the company from 1895. Pie
resigned from the Lovell Arms Company in
December, 1897, to open a branch house for
the Iver Johnson Sporting Goods Company at
408 Washington street, Boston, and is at the
present time manager of the company. After
the failure of the Lovell Arms Company, Mr.
Harvey's company assumed the lease of the
Lovell building, at which place they are now
located, 147 Washington street, and will' be
until March, 1908, when they will remove to
the new building of Iver Johnson and Com
pany, at Cornhill and Washington streets,
Boston. Mr. Harvey served in the city coun
cil of 1900, and the board of alderman of 1901
and 1902, and he was a member of the Re
publican ward and city committees, and is
now on the executive board of the Citizen's
Association and secretary of the New Eng
land Automobile Dealers' Association. He is
a member of Mt. Hermon Lodge, Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, Mystic Royal
Arch Chapter, of the Bay State Automobile
Association, and vice-president of the Royall
House Association. He is a public spirited
citizen. In 1895, Mr. Harvey married Gertrude
Sophia Stahl, daughter of Warren P. and So
phia (Coombs) Stahl, of Medford, at which
time he became a resident of Medford, and at
present resides at 59 College avenue. Mr.

ioo8

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

and Mrs. Harvey have one daughter, Gladys
G., born January 31, 1901.

Charles Mandeville Ludden is
LUDDEN descended from Jacob Lud
den (1), one of the early set
tlers of Turner, Maine. He was born there in
1760. Joseph Ludden, who was in the "Bos
ton Tea Party," and in the Continental army
in 1775, was of the same family; also Timothy
Ludden and Mandeville T. Ludden. The lat
ter began the practice of law in Turner, and a
few years later removed to Lewiston, where
he was mayor of the city, and became a noted
advocate of the Androscoggin bar. Jacob
Ludden moved to Canton, Maine, where
(II) John Soule Ludden was born Septem
ber 3, 1805. He removed to Dixfield, Maine,
where (III) John Mandeville Ludden was born
February 6, 1837. He married Elevene J.
Carver. They resided in Dixfield. Their
son (IV) Charles Mandeville Ludden was born
there November 3, 1863. He acquired his
early education in the. public schools in Dix
field, his native town. He entered Tufts Col
lege, graduating in 1886 at the head of his
class, with the degree of A. B. He studied
law at the Harvard Law School for three
years, graduating in 1889 with honors, re
ceiving the degrees of LL. B. and A. M. from
Harvard University. When in Tufts College
he was editor-in-chief of the Tuftonian, a
college publication, and in the law school he
was one of the editors of the Harvard Law
Review. He was admitted to the Suffolk bar
in 1889, and two years later to the United
States courts, and has since practiced law in
the city of Boston. After graduation Mr.
Ludden settled in Waltham, Massachusetts,
where he held the position of city solicitor
from January, 1891, until his resignation in
March, 1896. He moved to Medford in 1897,
and has since resided there. He is a member
of the Harvard Law School Association, the
Phi Beta Kappa Society, the Medford Club,
and the Medford Historical Society. Since
residing in Medford he has served in the
Medford common council for two years, the
last year being chairman of the board. He
is associated with his younger brother, Judge
William E. Ludden, in the practice of law in
Boston. The firm of Ludden & Ludden is
principally engaged in corporation law, with
offices in the Old South Building, Boston.

The Luddens of Maine went there from
Masschu setts. Their immigrant ancestor was
one of the early settlers of Braintree, Massa
chusetts. Charles M. Ludden is a lineal
descendant of Peregrine White, of the "May
flower." On November 24, 1891, he was mar
ried to Kathleen Hobart Hayes, daughter of
Edward W. Hayes, of Medford, a cousin of
Rutherford B. Hayes, former President of
the United States. They have three living
children : Hobart, Karleen and Martha
Raymond. Their first child, John Mande
ville Ludden (2nd), died at the age of five
months.

The surname Fletcher is
FLETCHER derived from the occupa
tion of arrow-maker, or
maker of bows and arrows, from the Anglo-
Saxon word "fledge," alluding to the feather
ing of an arrow. The family is ancient, com
ing, it is said, from Burgundy, now the Can
ton de Vaud, Switzerland. The first Fletcher
in England came to England with the Nor
mans at the time of the Conquest in 1066. The
ancient coat-of-arms of the Fletcher family
is : Sable, a cross flory between four scallop
shells, argent.
There were several pioneers of this family
in New England before 1640. Moses Fletcher
came in the "Mayflower," signed the Com
pact, and died soon after his arrival. Ed
ward Fletcher came from Badgeden, Glouces
tershire, but returned to England. Robert
and William Fletcher settled in Concord,
Massachusetts, but no proof -of this relation
ship has been found.
(I) Robert Fletcher, the immigrant ances
tor of this family, was born in England in
1592. The family tradition says that he came
from Yorkshire, where the name is common;
in fact, it is found through the north of Eng
land widely scattered. Robert Fletcher set
tled in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1630, and
became wealthy and prominent. He was ap
pointed by the general court a constable for
Concord, November 2, 1637. He was one of
the founders of the town of Chelmsford,
Massachusetts, joining with William Fletcher
and others in 1654 in inviting Mr. John Fiske
and the Wenham church to remove to Chelms
ford in a body. He died at Concord, April 3,
1677, aged eighty-five. His will was made
February 4, 1672, then aged four-score years;
in it he commits his wife to the care of his son
Francis and wife; bequeaths to sons Francis,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1009

William and Samuel Fletcher. The inventory
is dated May 12, 1677. Children: 1. Luke,
born in England; died May 21, 1665. 2.
William, mentioned below. 3. Caroline, mar
ried  Kebby. 4. Samuel, born 16 — .
5. Francis, born 1630; married Elizabeth
Wheeler. (II) William Fletcher, son of Robert
Fletcher (1), was born in England, in 1622;
came to Concord with his father when he was
eight years old ; was admitted a freeman May
10, 1643; was selectman 1655, the first town
meeting November 22, 1654, being held at his
house; in 1673 was appointed a commission
er for Chelmsford. He was the owner of a
tract of land embracing what is now the city
of Lowell. A part of the original lot, near
the meeting house at Chelmsford, has been
occupied more than two hundred years by his
descendants. He died November 6, 1677,; his
wife Lydia died October 12, 1704. He mar
ried October 7, 1645, Lydia Bates, of Con
cord. Children: 1. Lydia, born January 30,
1647; married Rev. John Fiske. 2. Joshua,
mentioned below. 3. Paul, married April 12,
1705, Deliverance Stevens. 4. Sarah. 5.
William, born in Chelmsford, February 21,
1657. 6. Mary, born in Chelmsford, October
4, 1658. 7. Esther, born in Chelmsford, April
12, 1660. 8. Samuel, born July 23, 1664.
(Ill) Joshua Fletcher, son of William
Fletcher (2), was born at Concord, March 20,
1648, and admitted a freeman March 11, 1689.
He married, May 4, 1668, Grissies Jewell,
who died January, 1682 ; second, July 18, 1682,
Sarah Willey. He died November 21, 171 3.
The only child on record of Joshua and Gris
sies Fletcher was Joshua, born about 1669;
married about 1700, Dorothy Hale. Children
of Joshua and Sarah Fletcher : 2. Paul, born
1682, resided at Chelmsford; belonged to the
snow-shoe company of soldiers in the Indian
war in 1724; was town treasurer. 3. Rachel,
born June 27, 1683. 4. Timothy, born Octo
ber 1685; died March 2, 1705. ,5. John,
born at Chelmsford, May 7, 1687; married
Hannah Phelps. 6. Joseph, mentioned be
low. 7. Sarah, born January 21, 1690; mar
ried Thomas Reed. 8. Jonathan, married
May 5, 1735, Jane Chamberlain, and settled
in Westford ; his widow lived to be a hundred
years old. 9. Elizabeth, born June 10, 1698;
married Samuel Hartwell. 10. Jonas, born
1694. (IV) Captain Joseph Fletcher, sixth child
of Joshua Fletcher (3), born in Chelmsford,
June lo, 1689; married Sarah Adams, of Con

cord, November 17, 1712. She was born in
1691 and died April 24, 1761 ; he died Octo
ber 4, 1772. They settled and lived in West
ford, adjoining Chelmsford, on the place
known as the E. Tower place, where all the
children were born. Children: 1. Joseph,
born July 6, 1713. 2. Benjamin, born Aug
ust 8, 1716; married twice. 3. Timothy, born
April 12, 1719. 4. Thomas, born March 10,
1 72 1. 5. Sarah. 6. Edith, born April 8,
1725 ; married Benjamin Carver. 7. Pelatiah,
mentioned below. 8. Joshua, born November
20, 1731. 9. Ruth, born August 28, 1733.
10. Mary, born August 29, 1735; married,
January 16, 1755, Eleazer Fletcher.
(V) Captain Pelatiah Fletcher, son of Cap
tain Joseph Fletcher (4), was born in Chelms
ford, May 3, 1727; married Dorothy Hildreth,
daughter of James Plildreth, January 13,
z757- She was born August 26, 1736; died
June 14, 1784. He married second, Widow
Betty eyes (born in Hartwell), October 13,
1782. He was sent as a delegate from West
ford to the convention of committees from the
towns, held in Dracut, November 26, 1776.
He died February 23, 1807. Children: 1.
Betsey, born December 15, 1757. 2. Dorothy,
born December 21, 1759; married Sampson
Fletcher. 3. Joseph, born November 6, 1761 ;
died December 25, 1765. 4. Sarah, born
August 12, 1763 ; died August 22, 1783. 5.
Lucy, born November 14, 1765 ; died July 1,
1766. 6. Pelatiah. 7. Joseph, born May 13,
1769; married Frances (Grant) Keyes. 8.
Lucy, born February 12, 1771 ; married Joseph
Rockwood, of Groton. 9. Adams, born
March 10, 1773; died September 27, 1775.
10. Ezra, born October 9, 1774. 11. Polly,
born August 11, 1776; married Abram Pres
cott. 12. Adams, born August 17, 1779.
(VI) Joseph Fletcher, son of Pelatiah
Fletcher (5), was born May 13, 1769, and
died January 23, 1843. He lived at Groton.
He married April 7, 1794, Frances Grant,
daughter of Jonathan Keyes. Children, born
in Groton and Chelmsford: 1. Joseph, born
at Chelmsford, December 25, 1794; had son
Walter. 2. Frances Grant, born at Groton,
May 12, 1796; married May -10, 1815, Gard
ner Fletcher, of Chelmsford. 3. Walter, born
November 13, 1797; mentioned below. 4.
Louisa, born October 28, 1799, at Westford.
5. Charles Hartwell, born February 6, 1801 ;
married April 12, 1826; died April 17, 1846.
6. Polly, born June 13, 1802; married June
29, 1826, Orville Richardson, of Leominster.
7. Nancy, died young. 8. Abijah, born Janu-

IOIO

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ary 28, 1807, married Louisa Lawrence, of
Hollis, New Hampshire; died December 25,
1862; resided at Westford; children: i. Luke
Lawrence; ii. Elizabeth Caroline, born April
3, 1834; married George W. Heywood; iii.
Charles H., born December 28, 1843, married
Mary E. Leighton. 9. Nancy, born January
22, 1808, married Samuel J. Nichols, of
Westford. 10. Jonathan Varnum, born at
Westford, February 28, 1812; married, No
vember, 1836, at West Cambridge, Mercy Ann
Hill, born May 9, 1815; was merchant at
Faneuil Hall Market, Boston; resided at Bel
mont ; children : i. Frances Ann ; ii. Ellen
Louisa, born September 25, 1840, died Sep
tember 27, 1842; iii. George Varnum, born
July 17, 1842; married, October 22, 1868, at
Belmont, Frances Lucretia Marsh; iv. Joseph
Henry, born September 24, 1844, married
Nellie F. Woodbridge, and had three chil
dren; v. Ella Amelia, born June 17, 1848,
married Herbert A. Clark, and had four chil
dren ; vi. Ida Florence, born August 16, 1850,
married Arthur F. Estabrook.
(VII) Walter Fletcher, son of Joseph
Fletcher (6), was born at Groton, Massachu
setts, November 13, 1797, died March 13,
1868. He married first, December 2, 1829,
Mrs. Matilda Stacy, who died November 9,
1831, granddaughter of Gershom Cutter, of
West Cambridge. He married second, April
4, 1833, Maria Rice, daughter of Captain Mat
thew Rice, of Charlestown. He resided at
West Cambridge from 1824 to his death,
March 13, 1868, and was a prominent and use
ful citizen. He held various offices. Children :
1. Warren, born October 18, 1830; married,
first, Caroline Prentiss, and second, Martha
Lewis, of Brunswick, Maine, born August 2,
1836; removed to East Boston, 1853; was
member of Boston school board ; children : i.
Grace Lucia, born April 16, 1861, died No
vember 16, 1872; ii. Walter, born 1869, died
1870; iii. Maud, born December 24, 1871 ; iv.
Walter Varnum, born January 23, 1873. 2.
Maria Frances, born July 3, 1834; married
November, 1853, Samuel S. Davis, of Chelms
ford ; died October 17, 1872 ; child, Ida
L. Davis, born August 23, 1857, married
Charles W. Prescott, of Concord. They have
one son, George L. Prescott, born December
20, 1883, a student m Harvard Medical
School. 3. Joseph Varnum, born 1835; died
1837. 4. George W., born and died, 1837.
5. Matthew Rice, born August 30, 1838; men
tioned below.
(VIII) Matthew Rice Fletcher, son of

Walter Fletcher (7), was born August 30,
1838, at West Cambridge, now Arlington. He
was educated in the public and high schools
of West Cambridge, his native town. He
learned the trade of carpenter in his youth,
and then worked for parties taking large con
tracts. He resided in Arlington until 1884,
when he sold his property and located in Bed
ford, Massachusetts, where he has since lived.
He had the old Fitch farm, laid it out in build
ing lots, and sold them. This tract is an at
tractive residential section containing forty-
three acres. He built his own house on one
of the lots. In 1894 he built a business block
in the village. Mr. Fletcher was originally a
Democrat in politics, casting his first vote in
a presidential campaign for Stephen A. Doug
las in i860, but in recent years has been a
Republican. He and his wife are members of
the Universalist church. Mr. Fletcher ' is a
useful and progressive citizen. His enterprise
and public spirit have done much to advance
the interests of the town of Bedford as a place
for suburban home-seekers.
He married, January 1, 1861, Mary A.
Hartwell, born February 21, 1839, daughter
of Benjamin Farley and Mary F. (Fitch)
Hartwell, both natives of Bedford. (See
sketch of Hartwell family herewith): She in
herited the Fitch homestead, which was orig
inally owned by her grandfather, David Fitch,
born June 28, 1777. The Fitch family has re
sided since early colonial days in Bedford.
Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher have no children.

The Hartwell family in
HARTWELL England is traced back
to the days of William
the Conqueror, who allotted land to one of his
followers in Normandy by the name of Hart:
well, perhaps the progenitor of all the English
families of that name. He must have been
born as early as 1050 A. D. Although the
American progenitor's ancestry is not defin
itely known, he is probably a descendant of
this ancient family, and he is undoubtedly
the ancestor of all the American families of
that name.
(I) William Hartwell, the immigrant an
cestor, was born in England about 161 3. He
was among the first settlers of Concord, in
New England, in 1636, and was admitted a
freeman May 18, 1642. Pie signed a petition
for the grant of Chelmsford in 1653. He was
commissioned a corporal in 1671 and quarter
master in 1673. He had a homestead in Con-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ion

cord a mile east of the common on the road to
Lexington, lately occupied by E. W. Bull. In
1666 he owned two hundred and forty-seven
acres of land, and was among the largest tax
payers of the town. He died March 12, 1690,
aged seventy-seven years. His wife Jazan de
posed May 11, 1675, that she was sixty-seven
years old, which would fix her birthday in
1608. She died August 5, 1695. Children: 1.
Sarah, died July 8, 1674; married April 18,
1661, Benjamin Parker, of Billerica. 2. John,
born December 23, 1640; married June 1,
1664, Priscilla Wright; married second, Eliz
abeth Wright, her sister. 3. Mary, born about
1643; died February 13, 1695-96; married
Jonathan Hill. 4. Samuel, born March 26,
1645 ; mentioned below. 5. Martha, born May
25, 1649; died before 1690.
.(II) Samuel Hartwell, son of William
Hartwell (1), was born at Concord, Massa
chusetts, March 26, 1645, and died July 26,
1725. He married October 26, 1665, Ruth
Wheeler, born February, 1641-2, died Decem
ber 9, 171 3, daughter of George and Catherine
Wheeler, of Concord. He married second,
Rebecca  , who died January 23, 1721-
22. He married third, February 6, 1724, Eliz
abeth Fletcher, of Chelmsford, born June 10,
1698, died October 4, 1732. He settled in
Concord, where his children were born. He
was a soldier in King Philip's war, and was
probably a participant in the celebrated "Hun
gry March" during that famous war. Chil
dren, all by the first wife : 1. Samuel, born
October 6, 1666. 2.. Mary, born February 16,
1667-68; died March 14, 1738-39; married
November 1, 1688, John Parling, of Concord.
3. Ruth, born October 17, 1669; died July,
1756; left estate to Ephraim Hartwell. 4.
William, born August 16, 1671 ; mentioned
below. 5. John, born June 18, 1673; died No
vember 16, 1746; married Deborah —  ,
who died June 15, 1744, aged sixty-eight;
married second, December 3, 1744, Mary Hill,
widow of Jonathan Hill, of Billerica, who
after his death married Isaac Hartwell, of
Oxford; had no children. 6. Hannah, born
October 7, 1675; died January 5, 1755; mar
ried February 13, 1695-96, Thomas Hosmer,
of Concord, born July 6, 1672. 7. Jane, born
November 30, 1684; died young. 8. Jona
than, born 1686; died December 9, 1770; mar
ried-June 11, 1713, Hannah Blanchard, of
Concord, born 1690, died January 1, 1763;
married second, Hannah Willard, died Jan
uary 15, 1771 ; removed to Littleton, Massa

chusetts, where he settled and had numerous
descendants. (Ill) William Hartwell, son of Samuel
Hartwell (2), was born at Concord, August
16, 1671, and died December 11, 1742. He
married Ruth  , who died February 17,
1852. He was the second of the charter mem
bers of the church in 1730. He contributed
five pounds towards the starting of the town
of Bedford, Massachusetts, which was incor
porated in 1729. He was chairman of the
committee to call the first minister in Bed
ford. Children : 1. William, born November
5, 1703; was a prominent citizen of Bedford.
2. Ruth, born May 14, 1705 ; married 
Bacon. 3. Dorothy, born March 27, 1707;
married  Arnold. 4. Daniel, born
March 20, 1709-10. 5. Timothy, born Sep
tember 15, 1712. 6. Stephen, born 1716. 7.
Joseph, born January 17, 1722-23; mentioned
below. (IV) Joseph Hartwell, son of William
Hartwell (3), was born January 17, 1722-23,
and died July 7, 1792. He was in the Revolu
tion under Captain John Moore, at the Lex
ington Alarm, April 19, 1775. He married,
December 12, 1750, Jemima Batchelder, who
died July 13, 1786. Children: 1. Joseph, died
young. 2. Jemima, born September 6, 1753 ;
married Ebenezer Cummings, of Woburn. 3.
John, born May 18, 1755; married April 7,
1787, Elizabeth Moore. 4. Lydia, born No
vember 1, 1757; died February 13, 1788. 5.
Hannah, born July 9, 1759; married John
Skelton. 6. Ruth, born February 2, 1761 ;
married June 3, 1788. 7. Joseph, born May
9, 1762. 8. Dolly, born January 10, 1764;
married Abraha'm Whitcomb; died August 12,
1841. 9. Timothy, born September 7, 1765.
10. Molly, born April 5, 1769. 11. William,
born June 25, 1770; mentioned below.
(V) William Hartwell, son of Joseph Hart
well (4), was born in Bedford, June 25, 1770,
and died May 8, 1819. He married first, Oc
tober 13, 1796, Joanna Davis, daughter of
Eleazer Davis, born August 19, 1769. She
died October 30, 1808, and he married second,
April 6, 1809, Mary Lake, born November 13,
1789, who died January 4, 1854. He had six
sons whose aggregate age was four hundred
arid seventy-five years, with an average age of
seventy-nine and one-fourth years. His sons
Isaac and Benjamin died within eight days of
each other, aged eighty-one and eighty-four
years respectively. His sons William and
John died within five days of each other, aged
ninety-one and eighty years. Children of the

IOI2

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

first wife : I. William, born January 12,
1797. 2. Amos, born August 3, 1798. 3.
Benjamin Farley, born June 8, 1800; men
tioned below. 4. Joseph, born April 7, 1802.
5. Isaac, born March 1, 1804; married June
19, 1862, Lucy Frost; died, December 6, 1884.
6. Mary Joanna, born May 17, 1806; married,
November 3, 1863, Robert Bartiey. 7. John
Batchelder, born June 21, 1808. Children of
the second wife : 8. Samuel Chandler, born
February 4, 1810. 9. Loiza, born December
31, 181 1 ; married Elias Skelton. 10. George,
born August 4, 1814; settled in California;
had a son born and died 1818. 11. Eldridge,
born January 5, 1820.
(VI) Benjamin Farley Hartwell, son of
William Hartwell (5), was born at Bedford,
June 8, 1800, and died December 14, 1884. He
married November 13, 1828, Lucy Webber,
who died April 20, 1834; married second,
January 20, 1835, Mary F. Fitch, who died
May 15, 1871. He married third, November
I7> z875, Mrs. Nancy Brooks. In the active
years of his life he conducted the Converse
farm in South Bedford. He lived with his
second wife at 'the Fitch homestead in Bed
ford. He was a member of the church sixty-
seven years, and was a useful and honorable
citizen. Children of the first wife: 1. Lucy,
born and died in 1830. 2. Lucy Ann, born
and died 1832. Children of the second wife :
3. Lucy Webber, born January 16, 1837 ; mar
ried November' 25, 1858, Hannibal S. Pond;
resided at the homestead in South Bedford,
and was killed October 2, i860. 4. Mary Al-
zina, born February 21, 1839, married, Janu
ary 1, 1861, Matthew R. Fletcher. (See sketch
of the Fletcher family herewith) ; returned
from Arlington to Bedford in 1884, and lo
cated on the maternal homestead.

Thomas King, the immigrant an-
KING cestor, came to New England in
the ship, "Blessing," in July, 1635,
age twenty-one with his wife Susan. He set
tled at Scituate, Massachusetts, and was ad
mitted to the.church February 25, 1637. He
was on the list of those able to bear arms in
1643. He married (second), Sarah  ,
who died June 6, 1652. He married (third),
March 3, 1653, Jane Hatch, widow of Wil
liam Hatch, and she died October 8,' 1653.
He married (fourth), Anne Besbey, daughter
of Sarah Besbey, who survived him. He built
a house a few rods south of that of William
Vassall, with whom he came from England,

on top of the hill at Belle Plouse Neck. He
also owned lands on the nbrth side of Rotten
Marsh, where his son, Deacon Thomas King,
had a house in 1666. He was chosen to suc
ceed Elder William Hatch in the second
church. He died September 24, 1691. He
made a will June 30, 1691, which was proved
March 16, 1691-92, in which he made bequest
to wife Anne, grandsons John and Thomas
Rogers ; set free his negro servant Robin, and
gave him his bed and five pounds in money.
The residue of the estate went to his son
Thomas. Children: 1. Rhoda, born October
11, 1639; married John Rogers, at Boston. 2.
George, born December 24, 1642; probably
died young. 3. Thomas, born June 21, 1645;
mentioned below. 4. Daniel, born February
4, 1647; settled at Marshfield, Massachusetts.
5. Sarah, born May 24, 1650; married Elisha
Bisby, Jr. 6. John, born and died, 1652.
(II) Deacon Thomas King, son of Elder
Thomas King (1), was born June 21, 1645,
and died in 171 1. He bought the Nathaniel
Rawlins farm at Stoney Cove Brook, Scit
uate, before 1680. He left this farm to his
son George, and the original homestead to his
son Daniel. He married, 1669, Elizabeth
Clapp, who died in 1698, daughter of Deacon
Thomas Clapp. He married (second), in
1699, Deborah Briggs. Children: 1. Sarah,
born 1669. 2. Thomas, born 1671 ; died
young. 3. Jane, born 1673. 4- Daniel, born
1675 ; resided at Marshfield. 5. John, born
1677; mentioned below. 6. Mercy, born 1678.
7. Ichabod, born 1680; had son Thomas born
in 1703 and resided at Marshfield. 8. Deacon
George, born 1682; inherited the farm at
Stoney Cove Brook. 9. Anna, born 1684.
(Ill) John King, son of Deacon Thomas
King (2), was born in 1677, and died 1730.
He married Sarah Whiton, of Plingham, and
(second), Rebecca  . They settled at
Marshfield. Children of John and Rebecca,
born at Marshfield: 1. John, born August 11,
1704; mentioned below. 2. Rebecca, born
July 25, 1706. 3. Joseph, born December 17,
1707. 4. Benjamin, born February 27, 1710.
5. Elizabeth, born May 7, 1720. Perhaps
others. (IV) John King, son of John King (3),
was born August 11, 1704, and died in 1799.
He removed to Connecticut and married, prob
ably for his second wife, in Norwich, July 6,
1660, Elizabeth Birchard, died May 16, 1775,
daughter of Daniel Birchard. John King was
corporal in the Windham (Connecticut) com
pany on the Lexington call, April 19, 1775.

OLD FITCH HOMESTEAD

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1013

Children of John and Elizabeth Birchard
King; born at Mansfield, Connecticut: 1. ¦
John, born May 26, 1672; mentioned below.
2. Elizabeth, born March 8, 1764. 3. Anna,
born August 5, 1767. 4. Asa, born January
16, 1770.
(V) John King, son of John King (4),
was born at Mansfield, Connecticut, May 26,
1762, and died in 1836. He was a soldier in
the Revolution a short time in March, 1778,
and perhaps later, if he is the same John
King who was a Revolutionary pensioner in
Tolland county, Connecticut, in 1832. He
married Jane Knight, of Lisbon, and resided
at Norwich and Mansfield, Connecticut. Chil
dren: 1. Dan, born January 27, 1791 ; men
tioned below. 2. Thomas, bprn April 4, 1793.
3. Jerusha, born August 12, 1796. 4. Anna,
born August 11, 1799.
(VI) Dr. Dan King, son of John King (5),
was born January 27, 1791, in Mansfield,
Connecticut. He attended the public schools,
studied medicine- in Yale College, and received
the degree of M. D. from the Pittsfield Med
ical College. His professional life was in
Rhode Island, except from 1848 to 1862, when
he was located at Taunton, Massachusetts.
He was a prominent citizen of Charlestown,
Rhode Island, and was a member of the gen
eral assembly of that state. Just before what
is known as the Dorr war, he and Thomas W.
Dorr were the two candidates for congress
from Rhode Island, and were defeated. He
died at Greenville, Rhode Island, November
13, 1864. He married Cynthia Pride, a lineal
descendant of Elder William Brewster. Three
of his sons became physicians, practicing at
Providence, Rhode Island, and two others be
came lawyers. Children: 1. John, born 1817,
died 1899. 2. Absalom Pride, born 1820,
died 1868. 3. Thomas K., born 1822, died
1871, at one time state senator in Rhode Isl
and, and was judge advocate, general on Gov
ernor Burnside's staff. 4. Howard W., born
1824, died 1875, surgeon in the Second Rhode
Island Cavalry Regiment, and later surgeon-
general on Governor Burnside's staff. 5. Jane
Knight, born 1826, died 1900; married Alex
ander H. Williams, of Taunton, Massachu
setts. 6. Henry Clay, born 1828, died 1891.
7. Charles Phillips, born 1830, died 1900. 8.
Huldah Maria, born 1832; married James
Winsor. 9. George Augustus, born 1834;
mentioned below. 10. William Brewster, born
1836, died 1839. 11. Mary Stanton, born
1839, died 1866, married James A. Pitts.
(VII) George Augustus King, son of Dr.
iii— 16.

Dan King (6), was born in Charlestown,
Rhode Island, March 12, 1834. He was edu
cated in the common schools and at the Taun
ton, Massachusetts, Academy. He read law
with Hon. Edmund H. Bennett, at Taunton,
and was admitted to the bar in March, 1858.
He began his practice at Yarmouth, Cape Cod.
While on the Cape he was appointed by Gov
ernor Andrew a commissioner to determine
the question of the claims of the Dartmouth
Indians to lands in Dartmouth and Westport,
and his report settled a long standing contro
versy. He was a member of the Board of
Agriculture in 1868 and 1869, and was asso
ciated with Professor Agassiz on the com
mittee of visitors to the Agricultural College.
He was senator from the Island district in
1869 and 1870. In 1870 he opened an office
in Boston, and removed in 1871 to Concord,
Massachusetts, where he has since resided.
His Boston office is at 53 State street. He
does a general law business, and has been as
sociated at different times in partnership with
the late George Marston, attorney general,
and with the late Governor George S. Bout-
well. With Governor Boutwell he conducted
before the legislature the case for the removal
of Judge Day from the office of judge of pro
bate for Barnstable county, and on his remov
al by Governor Long he argued before the su
preme court the question of the right of the
governor under the constitution to remove a
judge on the address of the legislature. Mr.
King argued in the supreme court of the Uni
ted States the case of Manchester vs. Massa
chusetts on the admiralty jurisdiction of the
United States, and the case of Blagge vs.
Balch on the construction of an act of Con
gress relating to French Spoliations. Since
1873 he has been a member of the committee
of the Concord Free Public Library, and on
the death of Mr. Emerson, was made chair
man of the committee. Quite a number of his
arguments in the senate before legislative
committees and in the courts have been pub
lished. He married, April 17, i860, Martha A.
Brigham, born at Framingham, Massachu
setts, April 28, 1837, daughter of Rev. David
and Elizabeth (Durfee) Brigham, of Bridge-
water, Massachusetts. Children: 1. Mary
Brigham, born February 22, 1861 ; educated at
Vassar College ; married Professor Eugene H.
Babbitt; resides in New York, and has two
children — Margaret Babbitt and George King
Babbitt. 2. Maud, born April 29, 1865 ; edu
cated at Vassar College ; married Edgar Gard-

ioi4

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ner Murphy, then an Episcopal clergyman,
now secretary of the Southern Educational
Board ; resides ' in New Haven, Connecticut,
and has two sons — DuBose Murphy, and
Gardner Murphy. 3. Louise Brewster, born
May 28, 1869; educated at Radcliff College;
living at home. 4. George Glen, born Febru
ary 10, 1875 ; educated at Boston, Massachu
setts, Institute of Technology and Harvard
Law School ; practicing his profession in Chi
cago, Illinois; married Margaret Christie.

Captain Richard Walker, born
WALKER in England in 1593, came to
New England in 1630, settling
first in Lynn, where he was made a freeman
in 1634, and he later moved to Reading, Mass
achusetts. He was prominent in both military
and civil life and served as representative to
the general court from Reading in 1650. By
wife Anne he had Richard, Samuel, Tabitha
and Elizabeth.
(II) Captain Samuel Walker, second son
of Captain Richard (1) and Anne Walker,
was born in England about 161 5. It is as
sumed that he came with his brother from
London in the "Elizabeth" in 1635, and if this
is true he was entered in the passenger list of
that vessel as William Walker. He resided
for a number of years in Reading, where he
served as surveyor of highways, but his name
disappears from the records of that town after
1653, and he probably became a resident of
Woburn that year. A church record states
that Captain Samuel Walker and his wife
were dismissed from the church in Boston,
and admitted to the Reading church by Rev.
Samuel Haugh in 1650. In Woburn he was a
malster and an innkeeper, and he lived at what
is now 616 Main street. In old records he
is designated as both Captain Samuel and
Samuel, Sr. February 25, 1661-62, he was
chosen supervisor of highways in Woburn.
His death occurred there November 6, 1684.
The maiden name of his wife is unknown.
His children were : Samuel, Joseph, Israel
and Hannah (twins), and John.
(Ill) Deacon Samuel Walker, eldest child
of Captain Samuel Walker (2), was born in
Reading, May 7, 1643 (another record says
June or September 28, 1643). He resided at
Woburn, which he represented in the general
court, and was a deacon of the First Church.
He was an officer in the colonial militia serv
ing as corporal in 1683-84, as sergeant 1684-
90, as ensign 1690-92, and participated in the

early Indian wars. His headstones in the an
cient burial ground near the common shows
that he died January 8, 1703, and this date
agrees with that in the town records. He was
first married September 10, 1662, to Sarah
Reed, daughter of William and Mabel Reed,
of Woburn. She died November 1, 1681, and
he was again married April 8, 1692, to Abi
gail Fowle (nee Reed), widow of James
Fowle. His children, all of his first union,
were: Edward, born in 1663, died in 1690.
John, see next paragraph. Samuel, born in
1667, was married June 1, 1689, to Judith
Howard. Sarah, born in 1670. Timothy, born
in 1672. Isaac, born in 1677. Ezekiel, born in
1678. (IV) Sergeant John Walker, second child
of Deacon Samuel (3) and Sarah (Reed)
Walker, was born in Woburn, July 2, 1665.
He resided in his native town and served in
the local militia company. He died in early
manhood, April 29, 1699. His wife, who he
married November 9, 1691, was Ruth Kendall,
daughter of Thomas and Ruth Kendall, and
in 1710 she married for her second husband
Josiah Wood. The only child of Sergeant
John mentioned in the data at hand is a son
Edward. (V) Edward Walker, son of Sergeant John
(4) and Ruth (Kendall) Walker, was born
in Woburn, October 7, 1694. In the Woburn
town records he is almost invariably styled
"Mr. Edward Walker," and this mark of re
spect, which is quite unusual in these archives,
may be considered as significant of his promin
ence. He represented Woburn in the general
court for the years 1744-45-52-53 and 54.- He
lived to the age of ninety years, his death hav
ing occurred December 6, 1787, and he there
fore witnessed the establishment of our na
tional independence. March 31, 1718, he mar
ried Esther Pierce, born October 25, 1696,
daughter of Benjamin Pierce, and she died
September 23, 1761. Among their children
were two sons, Joshua and Josiah, the latter
born November 13, 1730.
(VI) Captain Joshua Walker, son of Ed
ward (5), and Esther (Pierce) Walker, was
born in Woburn Precinct (so called), October
5, 1728. He resided in that part of Woburn
just referred to as the Precinct, which in 1799
was incorporated as Burlington, and he was
taxed there as late as 1783. He was a prom
inent and influential citizen, noted for his'
sterling integrity, and he acted as guardian for
the minor heirs of several estates. His ardent
desire for the separation of the colonies from

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1015

the oppresive yoke of the mother country was
fully demonstrated in the field during the
Revolution, and his patriotism was trans
mitted to his children, no less than six of his
sons having participated with him in that
struggle. His military service began in the
French and Indian war, in which he served
as a lieutenant at Lake George in 1758, and
he subsequently held commissions in the colon
ial service, including that of a captain. He
was an ensign in the third company of minute
men organized in Woburn under the com
mand of Captain (Deacon) Timothy Winn,
and it is evident that Captain Walker and not
Deacon Winn was in command of this com
pany on April 19, 1775, as Sewall, in his "His
tory of Woburn," says that while it was yet
dark on that morning, a man was dispatched
from Captain Walker to Jonathan Proctor,
drummer for the company, with orders to
beat an alarm as soon as possible, as the red
coats were on the march towards Lexington.
It was a member of this company, perhaps
Captain Walker himself, who observed as he
sped on towards Lexington, that "the winter
rye waved like grass before the wind." In
the Lexington Alarm rolls Captain Walker's
company is credited with twenty-nine days'
service. According to the Massachusetts Rev
olutionary rolls his official record is as fol
lows: "Lieutenant, 3d foot company in Wo
burn under command of Capt. Timothy Winn,
May 13, 1775; also in Colonel David Green's
regiment, 2d regt. of foot, Co. Middlesex
previous to February 9, 1776; commissioned
Capt. May 6, 1776." _He died in Woburn,
October 2, 1798, and his headstone in the
Burlington cemetery is appropriately decor
ated with the flag of the Sons of the Ameri
can Revolution. The christian name of his
first wife was Hannah. His second wife,
whom he married in 1749, was Mary Proctor.
He was the father of twelve children : Mary,
born December 30, 1750, died young. Joshua,
born November 24, 1751, married in 1775
Mary, daughter of William and Mary
(Brooks) Whitman, of Medford. Edward,
who will be again referred to. Josiah, born
December 15, 17 — . James, born January 25,
1756. Mary, born March 15, 1757, died
young. Mary, born December 9, 1758. John,
born February 7, 1762. Timothy, born May
8, 1764. Samuel, born July 13, 1766, died Jan
uary 20, 1807; married, June 16, 1785, Mary
Reed, of Burlington. Judith, born January
10, 1769, died young. Judith, born March 10,
1771. Of his sons Hon. Timothy Walker

served in the Revolution and became a prom
inent citizen of Charlestown. General John
Walker also served in the Revolution and in
1790 was appointed by President John Adams
a major-general in command of the army at
Oxford. Samuel Walker, youngest son of
Captain Joshua, was in the Continental army,
as was also the latter's brother Joshua, and
he settled at Rindge, New Hampshire, in
1780. James Walker, son of Captain Joshua,
was also a Revolutionary soldier.
(VII) Edward Walker, second son and
third child of Captain Joshua (6), and Mary
(Proctor) Walker, was born in Woburn (Pre
cinct) January 3, 1754, died September 25,
1821. He resided in what is now Burlington
and was a prosperous farmer. Like his father
and brothers he fought in the struggle for
national independence. He was married June
11, 1778, to Abigail Reed, born August 13,
1757, died April 16, 1795. He had a son Ed
ward, also other children whose names are
not at hand.
(VIII) Edward (2) Walker, son of Ed
ward (7) and Abigail (Reed) Walker, was
born in Woburn (precinct), October 11, 1786
or '87. He was reared upon his father's farm,
acquiring the usual district school education
common to farmer's sons of that period, and
learning the butcher's trade in Charlestown he
established himself in business at Charlestown
Neck. He subsequently transferred his busi
ness to Boston, leasing two stalls in Faneuil
Hall Market, where he conducted an exten
sive trade, but became financially embarrassed
owing to the dishonesty of his confidential
clerk, who diverted the funds to his own use.
Closing out his business in Boston, he en
gaged in farming at Burlington, and became
very successful, retrieving in a great meas
ure his losses in the provision business, and
he invested quite largely in Burlington real
estate. He made a specialty of producing
potatoes in large quantities which he sold in
Boston and also to the state prison in Charles
town, kept a large herd of blooded cattle,
and sold milk in Boston. He took particular
pride in the appearance of his property and
always kept it in excellent repair. His per
sonal appearance was attractive and he was
noted among his neighbors for his keen intel
ligence and sound judgment. In politics he
supported the , Whig party, and his religious
affiliations were with the .Unitarians. In his
younger days he served in the militia. His
death occurred in Burlington, June 24, 1852.
He was married November 14, 181 6, to his

ioi6

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

cousin, Hannah Walker, who was born Feb
ruary 12, 1795, daughter of Samuel and Mary
(Reed) Walker, of Burlington. She survived
him many years, dying July 16, 1883. Ed
ward and Hannah Walker were the parents of
ten children : Hannah, born September 22,
181 7, died September 26, same year. 2. Ed
ward, born August 22, 1818, died August 21,
1863, at Alton, Illinois ; he was married in
1841 to Rachel Simonds, of Burlington, daugh
ter of Nathan Simonds, and had two sons :
Edward ; and William, born August 18, 1844.
3. Hannah Bowman, born September 13,
1820, died September 11, 1905; in 1842 she
married for her first husband Jayson Wyman,
of Woburn, and in 1861 she married for her
second husband Samuel Russell, also of Wo
burn. 4. Frances Abigail, born March 2,
1823, died September 2, 1901 ; she was mar
ried August 16, 1850, to William Lawrence,
of Burlington. 5. James, born December 19,
1824, died April 29, 1904; he was married
May 18, 1847, to Mary A. P. Simonds, of
Cambridgeport and had a family of six chil
dren : i. Theodore Horatio, born December
25, 1847, died same day. ii. Mary Emma,
born July 21, 1849, married James A. Brown,
in 1872. iii. Carrie Frances, born August 1,
1854, died April 9, 1876. iv. Frank Edward,
born February 5, 1857, married Jessie H. Wal
ton, of Stoneham, and their children are
Ernest, Bertha, Roy and Edna. v. Lillie Ger
trude, born May 25, 1859, married Erlon R.
Chadbourne, of Lewiston, Maine, in 1887,
and has one son, Ralph, born December 10,
 . vi. Nellie Alice, born December 13,
1865, married J. William Denno, in 1888, and
has one daughter, Beatrice Eleine, born March
8, 1 89 1. 6. Mary Jane, born January 28,
1828, died October 1, 1876; she was married
April 14, 1850, to Charles Roswell Damon, of
Wayland, Massachusetts, and has three chil
dren : i. Charles Edward, born October 27,
1851 ; ii. Benjamin Walker, born January 14,
1854, married Cora Goodell, in 1876, and had :
C. Edith, born October 24, 1876; Mary
Walker, born September 2, 1878; Ruth, born
June 10, 189a.; and Esther, born January 24,
1895. iii. Emily E., born May 24, 1858, mar
ried J. Howard Richardson, in 1854, has one
daughter, Elinor, born March 12, 1888. 7.
Timothy, born November 1, 1828, lost at sea
at the age of twenty-three years. 8. Samuel,
born August 26, 1830, died October 16, 1891 ;
married June 14, 1857, to Edna E. Kendall,
of East Boston; four children: i. Charles H.,
born June 5, 1858. ii. Samuel Edward, born

March 18, i860; married in 1881 to Rosa May
Poole, of Billerica, and their children are :
Edith May, born February 20, 1882; Clydeck
and Clarence H., (twins), born April 6, 1884,
both died the same year; Charles H., born
March 23, 1887, died next day; Evelina H.,
and Ernest L. (twins), born June 23, 1890,
both died in infancy; Wilford Almon, born
April 22, 1895. Edith May Walker was mar
ried in 1903 to Edward W. Lindel ( ?) of
Cambridge, and has one son, Harold Walker,
born May 22, 1905. Edith Evelyn Walker,
born January 1, 1862, died January 30, 1883,
the wife of Charles A. Hamlin, of Westford;
Hannah Frances, born January 21, 1864, mar
ried, in 1886, H. Howard Nichols, of Bur
lington, and has one daughter, Edna H., born
January 23, 1891. 9. William Henry, who
will be again referred to. 10. Lucy Johnson,
born August 17, 1841 ; she was married March
24, 1864, to Luke Lawrence Fletcher, of
Westford, and has one daughter, Luanna
Walker Fletcher, born April 2, 1866. The lat
ter was married October 10, 1888, to Frank
W. Worthing, of Chelmsford, and has had
two children ; Irene Fletcher, born November
4, 1891 ; and Lucy Hayward, born July 8,
1896, died October 10, 1898.
(IX) William Henry Walker, fifth son and
ninth child of Edward (8) and Hannah
Walker, was born in Charlestown, November
11, 1832. His- early education began in
Charlestown, continued in Burlington, was
completed at the Warren Academy, Woburn,
and his agricultural training was acquired
under the direction of his father. After the
death of the elder Walker he and his brother
Samuel leased the homestead property of their
mother and conducted the farm together for
over thirty years, or until her death, when
their partnership was dissolved, William H.
purchasing the interest of the other heirs and
remaining in full possession, while Samuel
purchased and removed to the Cutler farm
adjoining. The homestead, which was long
known as the original James Walker place,
and had been inherited by William Henry's
mother, comprised eighty acres of excellent
tillage land, and Mr. Walker utilized its fer
tility to the best possible advantage, raising
vegetables for the Boston market. The sale
of milk from his large herd of cows proved
the source of considerable profit, and as his
enthusiasm was fully equalled by his energy
he became financially successful. In addition
to his Burlington property he owned jointly
with William H. Winn a good farm in North

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1017

Woburn, a portion of which is now owned by
his widow. In personal appearance he re
sembled his ancestors, being large of statue
and well developed physically, and he was
naturally amiable and kindhearted. He was a
member of the Burlington. Congregational
church, serving upon its various committees,
and he supported with vigor the cause of
temperance. Although naturally averse to
public notoriety, he nevertheless participated
to some extent in local civic affairs, serving as
a selectman and as overseer of the poor ; in
politics he was a Republican. Mr. Walker
died in Burlington, January 10, 1891. • At his
funeral it was said of him that he was sub
stantial in all his ways — a kind husband and
father, a reliable friend and a public-spirited
citizen. Mr. Walker was married June 16, i860, to
Abby Amanda Johnson, of Bristol, Maine,
born August 28, 1835, daughter of Captain
Samuel Page and Mary (Pearson) Johnson,
of that town. Captain Samuel Johnson, who
was a shoemaker by trade and also engaged
in mercantile pursuits, acquired his military
rank in the militia. Of this union were born
three children : Leila Johnson, born July 10,
1861, died November 14, 1903; Henry Lin
coln, born July 26, 1866, died September 7,
1867 ; and Fred Freeland, who is mentioned at
greater length in the succeeding paragraph.
Leila J. Walker was married October 2, 1889,
to Frank Carter Marion, of Burlington, who
is represented in this work. She became the
mother of two children — Raymond Henry,
born September 3, 1890, died September 12,
same year ; and Henry Leonard, born October
15, 1892. Mrs. Abby A. Walker is still living
and resides in Woburn.
(X) Fred Freeland Walker, youngest child
of William Henry (9) and Abby A. (John
son) Walker, was born in Burlington, Jan
uary 6, 1868. He began his education in Bur
lington, continued it at the grammar and high
schools in Woburn, and concluded his studies
with a commercial course at Bryant & Strat-
ton's Business College, Boston. Being thus
equipped for a business career, he entered his
father's employ, giving his attention to the
sale of the farm products in Boston, at the
same time familiarizing himself with the most
approved methods of cultivating garden pro
ducts and the raising of live stock. He has
since devoted his energies to the market-
gardening and dairy interests, and has become
an expert in both of these branches of agri
culture. After his father's death he settled the

latter's estate, bought his personal property,
and in 1892 acquired possession of the home
stead by purchasing the interests of the other
heirs. This farm, which now comprises about
one hundred acres, is located in the easterly
part of Burlington. He also owns an adjoin
ing farm of thirty-five acres, formerly the
property of his uncle. He is an extensive
grower of garden products, nearly all of which
is supplied to one wholesale house in Boston,
distributes large quantities of milk to the trade
in Winchester, and as a cattle expert is in
constant demand, his judgment being invari
ably relied upon.- He keeps an average of
from thirty-five to forty head of Jersey and
Holstein cows, and for the past four years he
has been associated with Mr. M. T. Corrigan,
of Concord, in handling Holstein stock. His
citizenship is of a type to commend him to the
esteem and confidence of his fellow-towns
men, and he has rendered able service to the
community as a member of the school board.
In politics he is a Republican, and has attend
ed as a delegate various party conventions.
He is especially interested in the welfare of
the Congregational church, and as a member
of the parish committee. In 1904 he was made
a Mason in Mount Horeb Lodge, Woburn,
and is also a Royal Arch Chapter Mason. He
is a member of the Boston Market Garden
ers' Association, and of the Towanda Club,
Woburn. On April 29, 1891, Mr. Walker was united
in marriage with Miss Bertha Lillian Wood,
born in Burlington, December 5, 1871, daugh
ter of Marshall and Mary Frances (Cate)
Wood. Her father was a prosperous farmer
and a prominent resident of Burlington, hold
ing various town offices. Mr. and Mrs.
Walker have two children — Freda Lorraine,
born February 3, 1895 ; and William Henry,
born November 24, 1898.

The name of Buxton originated
BUXTON in England, and was trans
planted in America by Anthony
Buxton, who was born in the mother country
about the year 1601 and came to New Eng
land in or prior to 1637, in which year he set
tled in Salem, Massachusetts. The approxi
mate date of his birth is determined through
the medium of a deposition made by him in
Connecticut in 1677, in which he declared him
self to be seventy-six years old. He was
granted five acres of land in Salem shortly
after his arrival, and the early records of that

IOIS

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

town show that he became a person' of con
siderable prominence. The year of his death
is determined by his' will, which was made
March 3, 1683-4, and proved July 29, of the
latter year. By his wife Elizabeth, who may
have been his second spouse, he had Rachel,
Elizabeth, John (who died young), another
John, Lydia, Mary, Sarah, Anthony, Samuel,
James, Thomas, Joseph and Plannah.
Ebenezer Buxton, a lineal descendant of
Anthony and Elizabeth Buxton, probably
through their son, John, was born in Salem or
its immediate vicinity, but a record of his birth
is not at hand. He settled in North Reading,
where he became an extensive farmer and
landowner, and his property included a large
cranberry meadow. Being a man of sterling
integrity he stood high in the estimation of
his neighbors, who submitted to him all diffi
culties or disputes arising among themselves,
and he was outspoken in his advocacy of the
temperance cause. In his younger days he
was a prominent figure in the iocal militia
company. He was a member of the Congrega
tional church, and attended divine service reg
ularly. In politics he was a Whig. He was
married in Salem or Peabody to ¦  Damon,
and had a family of eight children: 1. Ebe
nezer. 2. Esther, who became the wife of
 Emerson, of Reading, and had children
who are still residing there. 3. Elijah, who
lived in Reading, and whose children are also
residing there. 4. Lydia, who married for her
first husband  Batchelder, and married a
second time. 5. Frederick, who married
Susan Fowle, of Woburn, for his first wife,
and for his second wife Clarissa Rice, of Har
rison, Maine. The children of his first union
are: Mary Fowle, born July 28, 1823, married
April 21, 1842, Charles Austin Wyman; Ange-
line, born March 25, 1825 ; and Susan, born
April 8, 1827, died in 1906, the wife of Fred
erick Ordway. The children of Frederick
Buxton's second marriage are: Marshall
Fowle ; Evelina Euphemia ; Harriet Frances,
married Charles Mclntire, of Reading ; Wil
liam Melvin, born July 8, 1851; and Herbert
Sidney, born 1854. The sixth child of Ebe
nezer Buxton was Joshua, who resided in
Lowell; he married Abigail Parker, of Ster
ling, Massachusetts. 7. Mary, who will be
again referred to. 8. Thirza, who died at the
age of eighteen years.
Mary Buxton, third daughter and seventh
child of Ebenezer Buxton, was born in North
Reading. She became the wife of -= — : — Upton,
and both she and her husband died of cholera

during an epidemic of that disease. They left
two sons, both of whom assumed the name of
Buxton. John Buxton, son of Mary and grandson of
Ebenezer, was born in North Reading, Sep
tember 25, 181 5. Left an orphan in his early
childhood, he was placed in the care of a
neighboring family, by whom he was reared
and educated. When nineteen years old he
obtained employment on the old Richardson
place in Winchester, and subsequently marry
ing its owner's daughter he carried on the
farm in the interest of her aged parent, who
was an invalid. Having learned the cabinet
maker's trade he was for a time employed in ,
a piano case factory, later became a sawyer
of veneers for Parker, Palmer & Parker, of
Winchester and Boston, and still later worked
at his trade for S. C. Small, remaining with
the latter for ten years. Shortly after set
tling in Winchester he united with the Con
gregational church, and at the time of his
death, which occurred January 8, 1903, he had
been a member for more than sixty years,
serving as sexton a considerable portion of
that period. He also played the bass viol when
it was customary to use that instrument in
church. When a young man he served in the
militia. He was upright and conscientious in
his dealings, exceedingly temperate in his
habits, abstaining totally from the use of liq
uor or tobacco, and these, together with his
other attractive qualities gained for him the
sincere respect of all who knew him. ,
John Buxton was married May 26, 1841, to
Miss Linda Richardson, born in Woburn, De
cember 29, 1820, daughter of Thomas and
Rebecca (Buckman) Richardson, of that
town. Among the large number of colonists
who accompanied Governor John Winthrop
from England in 1630 were Ezekiel, Thomas
and Samuel Richardson, and Mrs. Buxton
was a lineal descendant of Ezekiel. Upon
their arrival they united with the church in
Charlestown, where they first located, but a
few years later, when it became necessary to
annex more land to that settlement, they were
among the seven men sent to explore a new
grant of land, which was to provide homes for
those who were unable to obtain sufficient
ground for cultivation in Charlestown proper.
The Richardson brothers removed to the new
settlement, which was first called Charlestown
Village, and was in 1642 incorporated as the
town of Woburn. They were instrumental in
organizing the first church under the pastor
ship of the Rev. Thomas Carter, and were

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1019

active participants in the early public affairs
of the town, and the locality which is now
included within the limits of Winchester, is
still known as Richardson's Row. The pos
terity of these early settlers is very numerous,
and portions of their original estates are still
in the possession of their descendants. Mrs.
Lydia (Richardson) Buxton died in Winches
ter, April 9, 1877. She was the mother of
eight children: 1. Abbie E., born November
18, 1843, died September 23, 1874. May 11,
1870, she became the wife of Barnett W. Red-
fern, and left one daughter, Alice Buxton, born
May 9, 1871. 2. John Henry, born Novem
ber 14, 1845, died May 17, 1881 ; he married,
July 29, 1869, Minnie Poor, and left one son,
Edward Henry, born February 21, 1873, died
April 26, 1901. The latter left a widow, who
was before marriage Effie Jones. 3. Mariana,
born July 27, 1848, died June 27, 1873. 4.
Charles R., born January 6, 1851; he was
married October 11, 1882, to Ardie L.
Wyman, and has two children : Edith Blanche,
born November 13, 1883 ; and Merrill Wyman,
born December 24, 1885. 5. Hattie R., born
November 5, 1853. 6. Lynda S., born January
3, 1857, died. October 17, 1893. 7. Edward,
born December 20, i860, died August 31, 1861.
,8. Albert Buckman Buxton; see forward.
Albert Buckman Buxton, youngest child of
John and Lydia (Richardson) Buxton, was
born in Winchester, October 22, 1864. He
acquired his education in the common and
high schools of Winchester. When eighteen
years old he began his business career with
Simonds, Hatch & Whitten, wholesale dealers
in gents' furnishing goods, Boston, and during
his five years' connection with that firm he
occupied several positions of responsibility and
trust. Relinquishing mercantile pursuits, he
entered the employ of Martin Ellis, a well-
known building mover of Woburn, and taking
a profound interest in the practical part of
the business, he in due time mastered every
detail of the work, which is often complicat
ed and perplexing. After the death of Mr.
Ellis in 1895, he purchased the business in
partnership with J. H. Cole, and under the
old firm name of Martin Ellis & Company,
Messrs. Buxton and Cole are transacting an
extensive business, their field of operation em
bracing the six New England states. They
are experts in their special line of work, which
comprises the moving and raising of buildings,
bridges, heavy machinery, stacks, safes, etc. ;
also the erection of new stacks, for which they
have special machinery and appliances. Among

their more notable contracts may be mentioned
the moving of the cable towers at the Metro
politan water basin in Clinton, Massachusetts,
the residence of James Marshall at Woods
Holl, also a stable at the latter place, belong
ing to J. R. Whipple, the well-known Boston
hotel proprietor ; two bridges at Williamstown,
Massachusetts, and most of the stacks in use1
at the various tanneries in Woburn.
In politics Mr. Buxton is a Republican. He
was made a master mason in Mount Horeb
Lodge, Woburn ; is a member of Crystal Fount
Lodge, Independant Order of Odd Fellows;
a charter-member of the Woburn Encamp
ment, of the same order; and belongs to the
Towanda Club. In his religious belief he is
a Congregationalist.
On April 20, 1887, Mr. Buxton married
Miss Lydia Lucinda Ellis, born April 20, 1866,
daughter of Martin Ellis, of Woburn, previou-
ly referred to, whose wife was before her
marriage to him, Mrs. Lucinda Knowles Ea
ton (nee Doane). Mr. and Mrs. Buxton have
two daughters — Nellie Ellis, born August 21,
1891 ; and Mabel Ruth, born July 8, 1894.

(1) John Ellis, the immigrant an-
ELLIS cestor, was born in England. His
surname is spelled in the early
records in a variety of ways, such as Elis,
Elce, Else, Alice. He settled at Dedham,
Massachusetts, were his brothers Lieutenant
Richard, Thomas and Joseph, and Ann Ellis,
his sister, also settled. There is no evidence
that this family was related to John Ellis,, of
Sandwich, who married Elizabeth Freeman.
John Ellis was admitted a freeman of Ded
ham June 2, 1641, though he was one of
the pioneers of Dedham in 1636. Pie was ad
mitted to the church July 17, 1640. He was
one of the first thirteen grantees of the ad
joining town of Medfield, Massachusetts, and
his house was on Main street, lately 'owned
by Thomas Upham. He became a leading citi
zen of the new town, and was selectman for
seven years. He married November 10, 1641,
at Dedham, Susannah Lumber, who died June
16, 1655, and he married (second) at Med
field, June 26, 1656, Joan Clapp, of Dorchester.
She died March 2, 1703-04. He died April 2,
1697. His will was dated September 24, 1690,
and was proved June 24, 1697, bequeathing to
wife Joan; to eldest son John; to daughters
Susannah Evins and Hannah Rocket (Rock-
wood) articles that belonged to their mother,
his first wife ; to sons Joseph and Eleazer.

1020

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Children of. first wife: i. John, born April
26, 1646; mentioned below. 2. Susanna, died
1724; married Matthias Evans. 3. Hannah,
born April 9, 1651; married, 1671, Samuel
Rockwood; she was the first white child born
in Medfield, as stated on the fragment of
gravestone still preserved. 4. Samuel, born
May 24, 1660; died 1684. 5. Joseph, born
October 24, 1662. 6. Eleazer, born April 24,
1664. (II) John Ellis, son of John Ellis (1), was
born in Dedham, Massachusetts, April 26,
1646, and died at Medfield, November 14,
171 6. He settled in Medfield, on the west side
of the river, later the town of Medway. His
house was on the old Mendon road, near where
it is now crossed by Pleasant street. He mar
ried first, in 1677, Mary Herring; second,
April 7, 1698, Mary Hill, of Sherborn, who
died March 3, 1729. Children, born in Med
field: 1. John, born 1678. 2. Joseph, born
1681, prominent citizen of Medway. 3. Mary,
born 1686; married, 1701, Zachary Partridge;
second, John Barber. 4. Sarah, born 1688;
married John Taylor. 5. Samuel, born 1699;
mentioned below.
(Ill) Samuel Ellis, son of John Ellis (2),
was born in Medfield, in 1699, and died Aug
ust 14, 1769. He married Dorothy  ,
who was born in 1700, and died May 13, 1790.
They resided in Medway, on the homestead
of his father. Children, born in Medway: 1.
Dorothy, born June 27, 1721 ; married Job
Harding. 2. John, born October 28, 1723;
mentioned below. 3. Samuel, born February
15, 1726. 4. Ebenezer, born July 17, 1729. 5.
Mary, born October 7, 1731. 6. Benjamin,
born March 29, 1734. 7. Henry, born June 7,
1736. 8. Hannah, born March 31, 1740.
(IV) John Ellis, son of Samuel Ellis (3),
was born in Medway, Massachusetts, Octo
ber 28, 1723. He was a farmer at East Med
way ; married Sarah Harding. Children, born
in Medway: 1. John, born 1754. 2. Abel,
settled in Sutton, Massachusetts. 3. Abijah,
resided in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. 4.
Sarah, married, 1773, Elisha Richardson.
(V) Colonel John Ellis, son of John Ellis
(4), was born in Medway, in 1754, and died
there November 25, 1826, aged seventy-one
years eleven months and twenty-five days. He
was a soldier in the revolution, and in 1789
was commissioned major of a regiment sent
by Governor Hancock to quell a disturbance in
Rhode Island ; later was commissioned colonel
of militia. He was a prominent citizen, tran
sacted much legal business, settled many

estates ; was state senator six years ; justice of
the peace and magistrate many years. He
married Rhoda Partridge, born February 3,
1759, at Medway, daughter . of Joshua and
Elizabeth (Kingsbury) Partridge. Children:
1. Ferdinand, born June 16, 1680. 2. Moses,
born November, 1782; mentioned below. 3.
Alexander. 4. Rhoda, married Moses Hard
ing and Orion Ellis.
(VI) Moses Ellis, son of Colonel John -
Ellis (5), was born in Medway, November
17, 1782, and died there November
26, i860. He was a prosperous farmer. He
married, January 18, 1816, Almera Wood
ward, born October 15, 1784, at Franklin,
Massachusetts, and died at Medway, June,
1843. Children, born at Medway : 1. Rhoda,
born April 6, 1820; married April 29, 1840,
Elisha Adams Jones; she died September 27,
1873. 2. Moses H., born January 30, 1821;
died March 28, 1822. 3. James Harvey, born -
September 12, 1823 ; mentioned below. 4.
John Preston, born March 8, 1828; died Feb
ruary. 8, 1845.
(VII) James Harvey Ellis, son of Moses
Ellis (6), was born in Rockville, Medway,
September 12, 1823, and died there November
J5> 1875. He owned and conducted a farm
in East Medway, now the town of Millis, and
was an extensive dealer in live stock. He was
also engaged in the manufacture of box lum
ber, and owned considerable woodland, the
stumpage of which he cut, hauled and sawed
at his mill in Medway. In his later years he
was a Republican in politics, and took a prom
inent part in public affairs, serving the town
eight years as selectman, overseer of the poor
several terms, and member of the school com
mittee. He represented his district in the
general court two years. He married, No
vember 18, 1843, Laura Ann Harding, born
October 25, 1825, in East Medway, daughter
of Nathan and Keziah (Adams) Harding.
Keziah was born in Medfield, descendant of
Captain Adams, who was killed during the
attack on the town in King Philip's war.
James Harvey Ellis was a farmer at Medway
during his active life. Children: 1. Almera
Frances, born September 9, 1844, died No
vember 25, 1861, unmarried. 2. George A.,
born July 25, 1849; married, November 20,
1872, Maria M. Keep ; resided at Franklin. 3.
Estella A., born April 26, 1852 ; married Jason
M. Hawkes, and lived at Valley Falls, Rhode
Island. 4. Edward Harvey, born February 6,
1856; mentioned below. 5. Laura J., born
July 27, 1859; married, September 1, 1876,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1021

Charles Fiske; resided in Chelsea. 6. Rhoda,
born June 27, 1864; married November 19,
1882, Arthur E. Waite, of Millis, Massachu
setts. (VIII) Dr. Edward Harvey Ellis, son of
James Harvey Ellis (7), was born in East
Medway, Massachusetts, (now Millis), Feb
ruary 6, 1856. He attended the public schools,
and completed his early education in 1876 at
Dean Academy, Franklin, Massachusetts. He
began the study of medicine in the office of
Dr. Gallison, at Medway, entered the Boston
University Medical School, and was graduated
in 1879 with the degree of M. D. He began
immediately to practice his profession in the
town of Holliston, Massachusetts, but in the
following September located at Marlborough,
Massachusetts, where he has practiced to the
present time with much success. Dr. Ellis
has made anesthesia a special subject of study
and research, and is counted an authority on
that subject. He practices both the Hahne
mann and allopathic methods, according to the
needs of the case. He is a member of the
Massachusetts State Medical Society, of the
Marlborough Medical and Surgical Club", and
the Framingham Medical Society. He is sec
retary of the United States Pension Board of
Examiners of the district. Dr. Ellis is a man
of business as well as of medicine, and is a
director of the First National Bank of Marl
borough. He is prominent in Masonry, a
member of United Brethren Lodge, of Hough
ton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and Trin
ity Commandery, Knights Templar. He is a
Republican in politics.
He married, November 30, 1881, Harriet
Harding Bullard, born July 24, 1858, daughter
of Henry Bullard of Holliston, Massachusetts,
descendant of Benjamin Bullard, one of the
pioneer settlers of Sherborn. (See Bullard
family sketch). Dr. and Mrs. Ellis are mem
bers of the Unitarian church, Marlborough.
They have one daughter, Helen B., born Oc
tober 4, 1885.

Walter Abbott (or Abbot),
ABBOTT the immigrant ancestor, was
settled in Exeter, New Hamp
shire, and in all likelihood was born about
1600, in England. He was a vintner by trade,
though a farmer by occupation in this coun
try. Shortly after his settlement in Exeter
he removed to the then adjoining town of
Portsmouth, where he died in 1667. His will,
dated May 15, 1667, bequeaths to widow,

Sarah Abbott, who was sixty-four years of age
in i68j, and probably a second wife. She
married (second) Henry Sherburne. Chil
dren. 1. Peter. 2. Thomas, mentioned be
low. 3. William. 4. Walter. 5. John, made
his will March 19, 1721-22, naming his wife,
Mary, and children: John, James, (whose
children were Michael, Mark and Lambeth),
William Laud, Walter, Reuben, Sarah Pick
ering, Ruth Spriggs and Anna Bratten. 6.
Sarah, married Thomas Wills. 7. . Mary, mar
ried Leonard Drowne. 8. Elizabeth.
(II) Thomas Abbott, son of Walter Ab
bott (1), was born in 1643, according to one
deposition that he made, and in 1635, accord
ing to another, the latter being probably cor
rect. He married, before 1668, Elizabeth
Green, daughter of John and Julian Green.
He died in Berwick, Maine, March 8, 1712-
13. He was selectman several times in Ber
wick, and ensign of his militia company there.
Children, probably born in Berwick: 1.
Thomas, blacksmith, married, about 1726,
Elizabeth Emery, no children ; deeded fifty
acres of land to his kinsman Thomas, October
3, 1727. 2. Joseph, married Alice Nason,
daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (Jenkins)
Nason; estate was administered by his son
Thomas in 1726. 3. Moses, married, Sep
tember 11, 1701, Moses Abbot. 4. Walter,
mentioned below. 5. John, married, January
3, 1694, Abigail Nason, sister of Alice Nason ;
married (second), January 22, 171 6, Martha
Littlefield. 6. Elizabeth, married Thomas
Butler. 7. Patience, married William Lord
in 1705. 8. Mary, married Josiah Goodrich.
9. Hannah, married, November 6, 17 12, Hum
phrey Chadbourne.
(Ill) Walter Abbott, son of Thomas Ab
bott. (2), was born about 1670, in Berwick,
Maine, and lived there and in Kittery, Maine.
He married, January 3, 1694, Elizabeth Key,
daughter of John Key. His descendants are
numerous in Berwick. Children: 1. Moses,
born January 22, 1695, mentioned below. 2.
Walter, born April 25, 1698. 3. Thomas, born
August 12, 1700. 4. James, born April 4,
1704. 5. Sarah, born October 27, 1707. 6.
Ebenezer, born February 27, 1711-12. 7.
Elizabeth, born July 4, 1715.
(IV) Moses Abbott, son of Walter Abbott
(3), was born in Kittery or Berwick, Maine,
January 22, 1695. He and probably all his
brothers lived in Berwick, and all had sons
in the revolutionary war, some having grand
sons also. James Abbott, Jr., son of James,
was in Lieutenant-Colonel Smith's regiment,

1022

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

in 1777, Captain Daniel Pillsbury's company;
reported sick at Dunkertown, and probably
died there. Walter Abbott was in Captain
Philip Hubbard's company, Colonel James
Scammon's regiment, in 1775; also in Captain
Francis' company, Colonel Benjamin Tup-
per's regiment. Thomas Abbott, Jr., of Ber
wick, was first lieutenant in Captain Josiah
Staples (Twelfth) company, Second York
regiment, succeeding Captain Hubbard, re
signed; also in Captain Hamilton's company,
Colonel John Frost's regiment in 1776; Cap
tain John Goodwin's company, Major Daniel
Littlefield's regiment in 1779. John Abbott, of
Berwick, was in Captain Hubbard's company
also in 1775, and was three years, 1778-80, in
the Continental army under Captain Dudley.
Theophilus Abbott was also in Captain Hub
bard's company in 1775. Moses Abbott him
self was a soldier in 1740 from Berwick, in
Captain John Hill's company. There is a tra
dition that there is Scotch-Irish blood in this
family. If so, Moses Abbott's wife may have
been Scotch.
(V) Moses Abbott, son of Moses Abbott
(4), was born about 1730 in Berwick, Maine.
He was a soldier in the revolution, a corporal
in Captain Daniel Sullivan's company, Colonel
Benjamin Foster's regiment, in 1777, serving
at three alarms at Machias, Maine. He was in
the same company (Sixth Lincoln County
Regiment) in 1780, called out to protect
Frenchman's Bay under Colonel John Allen.
Later he had the rank of lieutenant. Among
his children was Moses, mentioned below.
(VI) Moses Abbott, son of Moses Abbott
(5), was born in Berwick, Maine, about 1775.
He was a farmer in his native town. He mar
ried Susan Jaquith, children : Moses, Caroline,
Charles E., John H., Anna, Sylvester K., men
tioned below. ,
(VII) Sylvester K. Abbott, son of Moses
Abbott (6), was born in Bedford, Massachu
setts, 1831, died in Maiden, same state, 1890.
He was educated in the public schools of his
native city, and after completing his studies
followed various occupations — farming, clerk
ing in a store, and learning the shoemaker's
trade. After his marriage, in Andover, about
1855, he went west and took up land, which he
cultivated for a time, then sold out and finally
located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, taking an
active part in the development of that embryo
town in its early days, as is attested by the
different "Abbott's Additions" recorded on
early maps. Returning to Boston about 1859,
he engaged in the bookbinding business, first

on Corn Hill, and later on Federal street, be
ginning in partnership with his brother, whom
he soon bought out. By systematic business
methods, clear judgment and keen foresight
he succeeded in building up an extensive and
profitable trade, which is now carried on by
his sons, they, after his death, locating at
100 Purchase street, Boston, where they em
ploy about two hundred hands, being the larg
est establishment of its kind in New England.
Sylvester K. Abbott resided for some time in
Charlestown, from whence he removed to
Maiden, in the interests of which city he took
a prominent part. He was an active member
of the First Congregational Church at Mai
den. In politics he was a Republican, very
prominent in the counsels of his party, but no
candidate for elective office, preferring to de
vote his leisure time to his home and business
pursuits. He was a trustee of the Forestdale
cemetery, Maiden. He was prominently iden
tified with the Masonic fraternity, being a
charter member of Converse Lodge, Maiden,
Tabernacle Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and
Beauseaunt Commandery. He was also a
member of the Maiden Club, and Deliberative
Assembly of Middlesex County. He married
Rebecca B. A. Smith, born in Corinna, Maine,
1831, died in Maiden, 1903, daughter of John
Smith. The ceremony being performed by
Rev. Mr. Beecher, brother of Rev. Henry
Ward Beecher. Children: 1. R. S. Belle,
born 1858, died 1874. 2. John S., born i860,
died 1885, unmarried. 3. Ralph K., born
August 12, 1863, mentioned below. 4. Harrie
S., born June 5, 1866, mentioned below.
(VIII) Ralph K. Abbott, son of Sylvester
K. Abbott (7), was born in Charlestown,
Massachusetts, August 12, 1863. He was ed
ucated in the public schools of Charlestown,
and Maiden, Massachusetts. He became as
sociated with his father in the bookbinding
business, and upon the decease of the latter he
and his brother, Harrie S., succeeded to the
business, conducting the same at 100 Purchase
street, Boston, one of the best known firms in
their line in that thriving city. Ralph K. Ab
bott served in the common council of Maiden
during the year 1895, having been elected
from the fourth ward. He is an attendant of
the First Congregational Church at Maiden,
gives his allegiance to the candidates of the
Republican party, and holds membership in
Converse Lodge, Free and Accepted "Masons,
Tabernacle Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and
Beauseaunt Commandery.
¦(VIII) Harrie S. Abbott, son of Sylvester

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1023

K. Abbott (7), was born June 5, 1866. He
attended the Maiden grammar school, and
Phillip's Academy at Andover, Massachusetts,
acquiring a thorough education. He learned
the bookbinding business, working his way
upward from boyhood, and after the death of
his father became equal partner with his
brother, Ralph K., in the business established
by their father. The business has increased
materially under the skillful management of
the brothers, who are both capable and effi
cient business men, and by giving employment
to numerous mechanics has proven a source
of good in the community. He has served in
the common council of Maiden three years,
was chairman of the Republican committee
of ward three, Maiden, for the past eleven
years, member of congressional committee,
seventh district, of Massachusetts for seven
years, delegate to state and county conven
tions several years, and in fact is as prominent
in the counsels of his party as his father was.
He gives his allegiance to the Republican par
ty. He is a member of Converse Lodge, Free
and Accepted Masons, Tabernacle Chapter,
Melrose Counsel and Beauseaunt Command
ery. He is president of tne Maiden Club, Mai
den Automobile Club, and trustee of the Mai
den High School Field Association. He mar
ried, March 12, 1889, Viola M. Robinson, of
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, born August 11, 1866,
daughter of Henry and' Eliza (Dickson) Rob
inson, the former of whom was a native of
Iowa and the latter of Kentucky. Mr. and
Mrs. Robinson are the parents of four other
children, namely: James M., Martha, Curtis
L. and Harry L. Mr. and Mrs. Abbott reside
in the old home in Maiden.

The surname Bryant or Bri-
BRYANT ant is traced back to Sir Guy
de Briant, who lived in the
time of Edward III and whose descendants
had their seat in the castle of Hereford in
the marches of Wales. Arms : the field is or,
three piles meeting near in the base of the
escutcheon, azure. No connection has been
established between this family and the first
of the name who came to America with the
early settlers of Plymouth colony, though re
lationship is probable. About 1640 there
were in Plymouth colony four pioneers of
this surname:- John Briant, of Taunton; John
Briant, Sr., of Scituate ; Stephen Briant, of
Plymouth, and Lieutenant John Briant, of
Plympton. It does not appear from any rec

ords examined by the writer that these fam
ilies were related (except as shown by deed,.
first discovered by Dr. Lapham, that Lieuten
ant John of Plympton was a son-in-law of
Stephen). Tradition says, however, that
John, Sr., of Scituate, and Stephen, of Ply
mouth, were brothers.
(I) John Bryant, Sr., the immigrant an
cestor of the Scituate family, was born in Eng
land, and was in Scituate as early as 1639
when he was admitted a freeman. According
to tradition he came from Kent county, in the
ship, "Ann." His farm was on the second
Herring brook, ten rods east of the mill, and
an ancient orchard now or lately marked the
site. He was prominent in the early history of
Plymouth colony, and throughout his life was
active in public affairs ; was a land owner and
actively engaged in surveying public lands.
He was a house carpenter by trade. He was
a deputy to the general court at Plymouth in
1657 and again in 1677-78. He lived in Barn
stable for a short time before settling in Scit
uate. In 1643 he appears on the list of men
able to bear arms in Scituate.
He married (first), in 1643, Mary Lewis,
daughter of George and Mary (Jenkins)
Lewis, then of Barnstable. In 1657,'. he mar
ried (second), Elizabeth Wetherill, daughter
of Rev. William Wetherill, of Scituate. He
married (third), in 1664, Mary Highland,
daughter of Thomas Highland, of Scituate.
Children of John, Sr., and Mary Bryant: 1.
John, born August 17, 1644, mentioned be
low. 2. Hannah, born July 25, 1646, married,
1665, John Stodder, of Hingham. 3. Joseph,
died June 16, 1669. 4. Sarah, born Septem
ber 29, 1648. 5. Mary, born February 24,
1650, died April 8, 1652. 6. Martha,, born
February 26, 1652. 7. Samuel, born Febru
ary 6, 1654, died 1690, in Phipps Expedition to
Canada. Children of John, Sr., and his third
wife, Mary: 8. Elizabeth, born August, 1665,
died December 17, 1783. 9. Daniel, ' married
Dorothy  . 10. Mary. 11. Benjamin,
born December, 1669, died in 1701, unmar
ried. 12. Joseph, born 1671. 13. Jabez, born
February 18, 1672, died 1697, unmarried. 14.
Ruth, born August 16, 1673, married William
Wanton, afterward governor of Rhode Island.
15. Thomas, born July 15, 1675, married
Mary Ewell, daughter of Gershom. 16. De
borah, born January 22, 1677. 17. Agatha,
born March 12, 1678. 18. Ann, born No
vember 20, 1679. 19. Elisha.
(II) Lieutenant John Bryant, son of John
Bryant (1), was born in Scituate, Massachu-

1024

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

setts, August 17, 1644, died at Scituate, Janu
ary 26, 1708, leaving a will proved February
12, 1708. The inventory shows an estate val
ued at three hundred and ninety-five pounds.
He built the first saw-mill on Herring brook
in 1690, and later a grist mill also. He and
his descendants occupied a large tract of land
from Spring Brook to James Bowker's on
which the sons settled. Joshua, mentioned
below, settled near the place where his de
scendants, Snow Bryant, lived lately. He mar
ried Mary  . Children: 1. John, Jr.,
born March 27, 1678, married, January 1,
1707, Deborah Barstow. 2. Jonathan, born
January 1, 1679. 3. Mary, born September
3, 1682, married, May 6, 1707, Jabez Rose.
4. David, born August 17, 1684, married
Hannah Church. 5. Joshua, born November
14, 1687, died June 9, 1709. 6. Samuel, born
January 15, 1689, mentioned below. 7. Mar
tha, born August 22, 1691.
(Ill) Samuel Bryant, son of Lieutenant
John Bryant (2), was born in Scituate, Janu
ary 15, 1689, and died there in 1753. He was
a wheelwright by trade. He married, Febru
ary 14, 171 1, Abigail Turner, of Scituate (by
Rev. Nathaniel Ellis). Children, born in
Scituate: 1. Joshua, born January 6, 1713,
mentioned below. 2. Samuel, Jr., baptized,
July 29, 1 7 16, married Mary Bucks. 3. John,
born December 21, 1718. 4. Abigail, born
July 21, 1723.
(IV) Joshua Bryant, son of Samuel Bry
ant (3), was born in Scituate, Massachusetts,
January 6, 1713. He settled in Scituate and
married  . Children, born in Scituate:
Joshua, Jr., mentioned below. Probably
others. (V) Joshua Bryant, Jr., son of Joshua Bry
ant (4), was born July 6, 1751, and died
March 29, 1817. He was a farmer and ship-
joiner by trade. He was a soldier in the Rev
olution. Joshua Bryant, of Scituate, was in
Captain Samuel Stockbridge's company of
minute men and responded to the Lexington
alarm, April 19, 1775 ; was in Captain Joseph
Stetson's company, Colonel Dyke's regiment,
in 1776, when Dorchester Heights were forti
fied by Washington; in Captain Nathaniel
Winslow's company, Colonel Simeon Carey's
regiment, in February, 1776, and in 1777 was
in Captain Thomas Samson's company, Col
onel Thomas Lothrop's regiment in the Rhode
Island campaign. Joshua Bryant, of Scituate,
probably his father, was second lieutenant in
Captain Francis Cushing's company (third
Scituate), Second Plymouth Regiment in

1776. He and his wife were admitted to the
Second Church of Scituate, (now at Norwell,
Massachusetts,) July 1, 1798. He married,
February 2, 1775, Abial Stockbridge, born
August 2, 1752, at Scituate, and died July 13,
1817. Children: 1. Sally, born March 5,
1776, married Captain Thomas Brown. 2.
Ira, born September 3, 1777, married Arteme-
sia Hatch. 3. Snow, born December 9, 1779,
married Deborah Hatch. 4. Hosea, born Sep
tember 25, 1780, lost at sea. 5. Elijah, born
April 10, 1782, drowned at sea, December 21,
1803. 6. John, born October 25, 1787, men
tioned below. 7. Thirza, born January 7,
1790, married (first), Jacob Reed, and (sec
ond), Martin Stockbridge. 8. Noah, born
December 30, 1793, drowned at sea.
(VI) John Bryant, son of Joshua Bryant
(5), was born at Scituate, October 25, 1787,
and died November 6, 1862, at Charlestown,
Massachusetts. He was brought up in his
native town and enjoyed the usual common
school education of his day. At an early age
he learned the trade of ship-carpenter, which
he followed for a time. About the time of
his marriage he removed to Hanover, Massa
chusetts, and followed his trade there. About
1819 he removed to Chelsea, Massachusetts,
and later to Charlestown, Massachusetts,
where he followed his trade, having a shop
on Austin street near the present site of his
grandson's place of business. He had an ex
tensive local trade. He married Rebecca Jac
obs, born October. 25, 1790, died August 2,
1868, daughter of Perez and Relief (Bowker)
Jacobs. Children, born in Hanover: 1. Re
becca, born September 2, 1812, died June 1,
1876; married Reuben Waite, of Maiden. 2.
John, born August 18, 1815, mentioned be
low. 3. Charlotte, born August 11, 1819, died
October 19, 1895 ; married Henry E. Turner,
of Maiden. 4. Thomas Brown, born April
16, 1822, died July 13, 1854. 5. Adeline C,
(twin), born January 25, 1825, died October
10, 1825. 6. Angeline (twin), born January
5, 1825, died August 24, 1905; married (first),
James D. Burgess; (second), Benjamin D.
Dyer; (third), Samuel Oakman. 7. Edward
Curtis, born December 21, 1827, died Decem
ber 23, 1834. 8. Adeline A., born January
13- J829, died January 17, 1830. 9. Plenry
Wade, born December 28, 1832, died March
26, 1838. 10. Joseph Henry, born April 5,
1834, died May 25, 1903; married Sarah A.
Titus, who died April 11, 1907.
(VII). John Bryant, Jr., son of John Bry
ant (6), was born at Hanover, Plymouth

Lewis Mstmicdl Hub. Co.

j^^^^yn^ ^^->^^€^n^^

Lewis Bistoricdl Piiblishiiy Co

LA. Struck

¦y-

Syfa^^&t

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1025

county, Massachusetts, August 18, 1815, and
died at North Edgecomb, Maine, September
21, 1894. At the age of four years he re
moved to Chelsea and resided on a farm on
the site of the present naval hospital. He
attended the district schools and the old train
ing field school at Charlestown. He learned
the trade of carpenter and joiner and follow
ed it for a time, shipping as ship's carpenter
on a number of voyages. He also learned the
trade of wheelwright and carriage builder
and established a business at 15 Austin street,
Charlestown, in 1836, in carriage building, re
pairing and painting, and conducted it for
many years. The business has been continued
to the present time. He was sexton of the
First Baptist Church, and in 1852 was ap
pointed undertaker. His sons succeeded to
both the carriage and undertaking business
under the firm name of John Bryant's Sons.
He had the best patronage in the city, and up
to the time of his retirement in 1893 had had
charge, of the funerals of no less than six
thousand, nine hundred and thirty-eight per
sons. About ten years before his death he
retired from active pursuits and spent his sum
mers at North Edgecomb, Maine, on the farm
that had belonged to his wife's ancestors.
There he died September 21, 1894. He was
pleasant, even jovial in disposition, kindly
and sympathetic and well suited to meet the
difficulties of his business. He was of medium
height and of excellent physique. He was
in early life a Whig in politics, later a Repub
lican. He was a member of the Baptist
church; of Bunker Hill Lodge, No. 14, Odd
Fellows, of which he was a past noble grand ;
of Bunker Hill Encampment, No. 5, Odd
Fellows; of the Massachusetts Total Absti
nence Society, in which he was an active and
effective worker. He belonged to the old
volunteer fire department in Charlestown and
to the Veteran Association ; also to the Train
ing Field Association, having been for many
years in the Prescott Light Guards.
He married, June 13, 1843, Sarah Naomi
Gove, born at North Edgecomb, Maine, Feb
ruary 11, 1824, and died at Wilmington, Mass
achusetts, July 11, 1900, daughter of Solomon
and Jane (Chase) Gove, granddaughter of
David Gove, and great-granddaughter of
Solomon Gove, one of the early settlers in
that section. Her father, Solomon, was a sea
captain and served in the war of 1812. Chil
dren: 1. Eddie A., born April 13, 1844, died
January 24, 1847. 2- Thomas Weston, born
December 20, 1851, mentioned below. 3.

John Eddy, born May 27, 1856, mentioned be
low. 4. Charles Freddy, born May 27, 1856,
mentioned below.
(VIII) Thomas Weston Bryant, son of
John Bryant (7), was born at Charlestown,
Massachusetts, December 20, 1851. He was
educated in the public and high schools of his
native city. In 1871 he entered the employ of
Franklin Haven & Company, 132 Milk street,
Boston, dealers in paints and oils, as clerk, and
remained one year. Then he entered the em
ploy of his father as clerk, later becoming the
bookkeeper and assisted his father at funer
als. After his father's death the financial de
tails of the business devolved on him and he
was appointed an executor of the estate and
trustee. He became senior member of the
new firm of John Bryant's Sons in 1900. The
firm continues the carriage making and re
pairing, painting, etc., and execute the uphol
stering and finishing of all their caskets. He
is a member of the Baptist church at Charles
town. In politics a Republican, he has been
on. the ward committee and delegate to Sena
torial conventions of his party. He is a mem
ber of Henry Price Lodge of Free Masons,
joining January 22, 1890; of Signet Chapter
of Royal Arch Masons and is treasurer of its
permanent fund ; of Orient Council of Royal
and Select Masters at Somerville ; of Coeur
de Lion Commandery of Knights Templar at
Charlestown; of Bunker Hill Lodge, No. 14,
Odd Fellows, of which he is past noble grand ;
of Bunker Hill Encampment, No. 5, Odd Fel
lows ; and was formerly a member of Bunker
Hill Canton of Odd Fellows, and of Pres
cott Council, Royal Arcanum. He is a mem
ber of the 999 Club Artillery Association and
has been its president; is treasurer of the
Massachusetts Association of Undertakers;
Director of the Winchester Home for Aged
Women. He married, November 14, 1876, Jennie
Matilda Doe, born at Charlestown, January
22, 1856, daughter of Nahum A., born Octo
ber 18, 1828, died May 23, 1899, and Augusta
(Dodge) Doe, born February 10, 1828, died
July 1, 1905, of Charlestown, Massachusetts.
Her father was for twenty years an officer of
the state prison at Charlestown ; was assistant
pastor of the First Baptist Church; served in
the Union army in the Civil war. Children:
1. Edith May, born January 22, 1879, died
October 14, 1888. 2. Marion Alice, born Oc
tober 13, 1888.
(VIII) John Eddy Bryant, son of John
Bryant (7), was born at Charlestown, May 27,

1026

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1856. He attended the Warren grammar
school, was for one year in the high school
and took the course at Bryant & Stratton's
Business College in 1872. In 1873 he was a
clerk for a short time in the store of Knight,
Adams & Company, Cornhill, Boston, book
sellers and stationers. In January, 1874, he
began to work for his father in the undertak
ing business, as collector, bookkeeper and
clerk, and gradually mastered the business.
He took lessons of experts in embalming, and
after the death of his father in 1894 con
tinued the business, in partnership with his
brothers, for the estate until their mother died
in 1900. The present partnership, John Bry
ant's Sons, was formed July 13, 1900, consist
ing of John E. Bryant, Charles F. Bryant and
Thomas Weston Bryant, and their house con
tinues to be the leading, most popular and
best equipped undertaking establishment in
Charlestown. The business was established at
15 Austin street, in 1852.
John E. Bryant attends to the outside du
ties of the firm in Charlestown, Charles F. to
the Somerville branch and T. Weston Bryant
attends to the bookkeeping and finances. John
E. Bryant resides on Appleton street, Arling
ton, in the house known as the Elbridge Farm
er place which he has owned since August,
1901. He is a member of the Charlestown
First Baptist Church, and for many years was.
assistant librarian of the Sunday school. He
is a Republican. He belongs to Henry Price
Lodge of Free Masons at Charlestown, join
ing May 22, 1889; to Signet Chapter, Royal
Arch Masons, of Charlestown; to Orient
Council, Royal and Select Masters, of Somer
ville; to Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights
Templar, of Charlestown ; to Aleppo Temple,
Order of the Mystic Shrine- at Boston; to
Bunker Hill Lodge, No. 14, Odd Fellows, of
which he was noble grand in 1886 and of
which he has been the recording secretary
since 1888; to Bunker Hill Encampment, No.
5, Odd Fellows. He was formerly a member
of Bunker Hill Canton of Odd Fellows; of
Suffolk Council, No. 60, Royal Arcanum. He
belongs to the Massachusetts Undertakers'
Association, Massachusetts Embalmers' Asso
ciation and Massachusetts Social Club of Un
dertakers of Boston. He was a private in
Company A, Fifth Regiment, Massachusetts
Volunteer Militia, in 1878-79-80-81.
He married, December 21, 1881, Ida Fran
ces Buttrick, born at Charlestown, May 20,
1861, daughter of Albert and Laura Jane
(Poole) Buttrick, of Charlestown. Her fa

ther was a glazier by trade. Children: 1.
John Chester, born June 5, 1883. 2. Edgar
Stanley, June 1, 1885. 3. Elwood Gove,
March 20, 1895.
(VIII) Charles Freddy Bryant, son of John
Bryant (7), was born at Charlestown, May
27, 1856. He attended the Charlestown pub
lic schools, graduating from the Warren
grammar school, and attended the Bryant &
Stratton Business College, Boston, until 1872.
He worked for two years and a half as clerk
for Thompson, Brown & Co., Cornhill, Bos
ton, book publishers and stationers, then owing
to ill health he gave up his position and re
moved to North Edgecomb, Maine, and lived
on his father's farm there most of the time
until 1890, when he returned and entered the
firm with his brothers, having charge of the
Somerville office and business. In 1893 he
removed the business place to 170 School
street, and in 1899 removed to 353 Medford
street, where the firm now have their Som
erville branch office. In 1900 he became a
member of the present. firm of John Bryant
Sons. He is a Republican in politics. He.
is a member of the Winter Hill Baptist
Church, Somerville; of Soley Lodge of
Free Masons; of Somerville Chapter of
Royal Arch Masons; of Bunker Hill Lodge,
No. 14, Odd Fellows ; of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen ; was formerly a member of
the Royal Arcanum. He belongs to the Mass
achusetts Undertakers' Association and the
Massachusetts Embalmers' Association; also
to the Massachusetts Social Club of Under
takers. He is a member of the Somerville
board of trade.
He married, June 30, 1887, Alice Maria
Sawin, born at Charlestown, August 22, 1863,
daughter of John Traverse and Sarah (Whit
ney) Sawin. Her father was a milk dealer,
residing in Charlestown. Children: 1. Ruth
Walcott, born November 24, 1889. 2. Esther
Parmelia, August 19, 1897. 3- Frederic
Sawin, June 5, 1899.

Joseph Howland Bancroft
BANCROFT was the son of Jacob and
Martha (Gray) Bancroft,
and was born in Boston, April 3, 1829. Jacob
Bancroft was a native of Groton, Massachu
setts, and Martha Gray Bancroft was a native
of Boston and the daughter of Captain Robert
Gray, who in his good ship "Columbia" dis
covered the Columbia river and saved Oregon
to the United States.

<^/oyi^^>^^

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1027

Joseph H. Bancroft, the subject of this
sketch, attended the public schools of his
native town, and on graduation from the Bos
ton English high school was awarded a Frank
lin medal, which was a prize • always greatly
valued. During his early years he assisted/
his father in his business, and on leaving
school entered the hardware business and
later was in the crockery ware trade. About
1853 or 1854 he started in business for him
self selling wall papers and crockery. He was
located at 121 Hanover street, in a store
owned by his father, which store was cut off
by the widening of Hanover street and was
subsequently rebuilt and again occupied . by
him down to 1887, when he practically retired
from business, though he had an office in
Boston for some time longer.
In 1855, on April 3, his birthday, he mar
ried Maria B. Faxon, then of Cambridge, but
who was born in Boston. They had been
friends and neighbors from their earliest
years. On his marriage he came to Cam
bridge to live and from that time until his
death he resided there, first on Ellery street
and later on Harvard street (No. 380). In
1876 he was elected to the Common Council
of Cambridge, and served in that body during
the year 1876 to 1877. He gave his best and
most earnest efforts to his duties in the coun
cil being zealous for the most economical and
efficient conduct of public affairs. He was
always a good citizen, attending strictly to all
his civic duties, feeling that it belonged to
every man to attend the public gatherings for
the nomination and election of those who were
to govern the city. In 1869 he with his wife
became a member of the First Church of Cam
bridge (Congregational), of which he was
always a zealous and earnest member, giving
of his substance and his assistance in its work.
He was a most devoted husband, kind father,
steadfast friend and courteous gentleman. He
died at Cambridge, on October 9, 1906, mourn
ed and sadly missed by all who knew him. He
left a widow, and one son, Jacob Bancroft.

Elisha Paddock Coleman, of
COLEMAN Cambridge, Massachusetts,
was born in Nantucket,
Massachusetts, November 2, 1823, son of
Thomas and Emma (Paddock) Coleman, and
grandson of Silas Coleman. Thomas Cole
man (father) was a sail maker by trade, and
conducted a large and remunerative business.
He and his wife were the parents of nine chil

dren, five of whom are living at the present
time (1907) : Elisha P., see forward; Thomas,
who is connected with the Metropolitan Coal
Company in Charles street, Boston; Mrs.
George H. Brock, of Nantucket, Massachu
setts; Mrs. James H. Bigelow, of Elizabeth,
New Jersey; Emma, of Nantucket, Massa
chusetts. Elisha Paddock Coleman was educated in
Nantucket, and at seventeen years of age came
to Boston and was employed by a dry goods
firm. In 1869 he became associated with the
American Baptist Missionary Union, which
represents the Foreign Missionary Society of
the Baptist denomination, and has been iden
tified with the same ever since. He served in
the capacity of assistant to the treasurer for
fourteen years, receiving money from people
for the Foreign Missionary Society and send
ing it to missionaries in foreign lands, and is
now (1907) treasurer emeritus. His duties
have always been performed in a highly cred
itable and efficient manner, and during his res
idence of nearly four decades in Cambridge he
has won and held the confidence and esteem
of his fellowmen and the love of those who
have the honor of close acquaintanceship.
Mr. Coleman was married, in Boston, Mass
achusetts, to Sarah A. Bass, of Braintree, Ver
mont, who bore him five children, three sons
and two daughters, the daughters being the
sole survivors. Their sons were: Frank W.,
who was a clerk in the office of the Vermont
Central railroad; Edward B., who was en
gaged in the cotton business in Boston; Ar
thur W., who was engaged in the banking bus
iness in Boston, and later in St. Paul, Minne
sota, where he went on account of ill health.

On account of the large number
WHITE of pioneers of the name of
White and of the large number
of descendants many of them had, it is ex
tremely difficult to trace an accurate and com
plete lineage in this family. At Salem, Bev
erly, Haverhill, Wenham and other adjacent
towns of Essex county there were different
branches of White families.
(I) Thomas White, immigrant ancestor,
was in Marblehead, Massachusetts, as early as
1674. Elias White, believed to be his brother,
was also in Marblehead from 1669 to 1674.
There is good reason to believe that the fol
lowing were children of Thomas White: 1.
Thomas, born about 1670, married at Marble
head, July 4, 1692, Susanna Grant. 2. Sam-

1028

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

uel, married at Marblehead, November 2,
1692, Arabella Post. 3. Mary, married at
Marblehead, November 3, 1696, Joseph Ped-
rick, or February 16, 1693, Samuel Hooper. 4.
John, born 1671, mentioned below. 5. (?)
Joseph, married, August 31, 1711, at Box
ford, Beatrix Holton. 6. (?) Philip, settled
in Beverly.
(II) Deacon John White, son of Thomas
White (1), was born in 1671 and died at
Marblehead, July 1748, aged seventy-seven.
He married at Marblehead, June 7, 1694, Eliz
abeth Trevy. Children: 1. Elizabeth, bap
tized August 9, 1696. 2. Sarah, born July 9,
1699, married, May 1, 1718, John Adams. 3.
John, baptized September 14, 1701, died Sep
tember 26, 1 718. 4. Joseph, born October 9,
1704, mentioned below. 5. Elizabeth, born
May 16, 1709, married, October 1, 1719, Wal
ter Thorn. 6. Samuel, born July 8, 171 1, mar
ried June 8, 1739, Hannah Shaddock. 7. Ben
jamin, baptized February 9, 1717-18.
(Ill) Joseph White, son of Deacon John
White (2), was born at Marblehead, October
9, 1704. Married there February 19, 1732-33.
Children: 1. Mary, born at Marblehead, Feb
ruary 3, 1733-34. 2. Joseph, baptized May
13, 1744, mentioned below. 3. Samuel, bap
tized February 28, 1747. 4. John ( ?) married
at Middleton, June 26, 1777, Rebecca Curtis,
born January 2, 1749, daughter of Amos and
Rebecca Curtis; settled in Boxford and Mid
dleton. 5. ( ?) Anna, married at Middleton,
May 26, 1760, Samuel Nichols, born Novem
ber 18, 1743, son of Samuel Nichols.
(IV) Joseph White, son of Joseph White
(3), was born at Marblehead and baptized
there May 13, 1744. Married there August
3, 1766, Elizabeth Saltkins. He probably re
moved to Middleton, an adjacent town. Chil
dren, born at Marblehead: 1. Samuel, bap
tized November 9, 1766, at Marblehead, men
tioned below. 2. Joseph, baptized June 19,
1768, mentioned below.
(V) Samuel White, son of Joseph White
(4), was born at Marblehead, baptized No
vember 9, 1766, died at Middleton, September
5, 1818. He married Hannah  , who
died at Middleton, August 28, 1813, aged
forty-four years, four months. He married
(second), February 5, 1817, Phebe Stiles, born
at Middleton, May 17, 1800, daughter of John
and Rebecca Stiles; married (second), Au
gust 5, 1829, Samuel Tyler, Jr., and she died
February 19, 1872, aged seventy-two years.
Children of Samuel and Hannah: 1. Ruth,
born 1792, died March 10, 1812, at Middleton,

aged twenty years, seven months, eleven days.
2. (?) Oliver, born about 1795, married
Asenath  and settled in Middleton. 3.
Perley, born July 28, 1802; died February 23,
1839; married November 30, 1826, Eliza
Hutchinson, daughter of Abijah; she died
November 6, 1845, aJ?ed forty-five. 3. Char
lotte, born August 10, 1804. 4. Lydia, born
October 9, 1808. 5. Charlotte, born May 16,
1812. Child of Samuel and Phebe White: 6.
Samuel Christopher Kilby.
(V) Joseph White, brother of Samuel
White, and son of Joseph White (4), was
baptized at Marblehead, June 19, 1768. Mar
ried at Middleton, January 2, 1794, Rachel
Curtis, of Middleton, born May 17, 1757,
daughter of Amos and Hannah, sister of his
brother John's wife. Children, born at Mid
dleton: 1. Joseph, baptized August 30, 1794,
had a son Joseph H. and other children. 2.
Betsey, baptized November 8, 1795. 3. Patty,
baptized November 8, 1795. 4- John, prob
ably about 1797, mentioned below.
(VI) John White, son of nephew of Joseph
White (5), was born in or near Middleton,
Massachusetts. He married Mehitable Kin
ney, widow. Mehitable Wilkins married
Israel Kinney, Jr., of Hollis, New Hamp
shire, October 9, 1794. Kinney was born in
Hollis, September 14, 1768. Mehitable Wil
kins baptized July 5, 1772, daughter of David
and Margaret Wilkins, of an old Middeton
family. By her first marriage she had W. J.
C. Kinney, who was for many years general
freight agent of the Boston & Maine railroad,
retiring at the age of eighty years. The only
child of John and Mehitable (Kinney) White
was George W., born September 2, 1821, at
Middleton, mentioned below.
(VII) George W. White, son of John
White (6), was born at Middleton, September
2, 1821. He was a farmer at Middleton.
Later he was conductor and yard master at
Charlestown, Massachusetts, for the Boston
& Maine railroad up to the time of his death.
He died there November 18, 1896. He mar
ried, November 26, 1846, Augusta Ann Per
kins, born September 22, 1827, daughter of
William and Hannah (Moore) Perkins. Her
parents were married at Middleton, December
2, 1824. Her father was probably the son of
Oliver Jr., and Betty Perkins. Oliver, Jr.,
married Betsey Berry, December 4, 1796. She
survives her husband, George W. White, Sr.
Children: 1. George W., born March 1, 1847,
mentioned below. 2. Frank Clarendon, born
February 23, 1849, died young.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1029

(VIII) George W. White, son of George
W. White (7), was born in Middleton, Mass
achusetts, March 1, 1847, town record. He
was educated in the public schools- of Ports
mouth, New Hampshire, whither his parents
removed when he was about eight years old.
He left school at the age of fourteen and went
to work on a farm in Greenland, New Hamp
shire. At the end of that season he found
employment in a grocery store in Portsmouth,
New Hampshire, remaining eighteen months,
then went to East Boston, Massachusetts, as
a clerk in a market. Then for ten years he
was employed in the Suffolk Market in the
butter business. In the same line of business
he struck out for himself in partnership with
Charles O. Stickney under the firm name of
White & Stickney in the Suffolk Market. He
sold his business interests to his partner in
1891, and in 1892 formed a partnership with
Henry M. Corliss under the firm name of
White & Corliss in the butter business in Bos
ton. In 1896 Mr. White sold his interests to
A. C. E. Fairbanks and retired. In politics
he is a Republican; in religion a Methodist.
He married, February 9, 1876, Emma F. Han
son, who was born November 7, 1852, daugh
ter of Luther and Emily (Millett) Hanson, of
Manchester, Massachusetts. Her father was
a cabinet maker, a native of Vermont, a Re
publican in politics, and an excellent citizen.
Children of George W. and Emma F. White:
1. Edith M., born May 10, 1879. Married
Joseph G. Allman, of the firm of Allman
Brothers, Melrose; they now reside in San
Francisco, California. 2. Frank C, born
March 11, 1887, is in the advertising business
in Boston.

Mary

The following settled in Fitch-

(For first two generations see Philip Mclntire I).
(Ill) Ebenezer Mclntire, son
McINTIRE of John Mclntire (2), and
grandson of Philip Mclntire
(1), was born in Reading, 'Massachusetts',
about 1695. He was a taxpayer of Reading
as early as 1720, and lived there all his life.
He had land at Fitchburg, where his son, John
Mclntire, settled before the Revolution. He
married Susanna Freeman.
(IV) John Mclntire, son of Ebenezer Mc
lntire (4), was born in Reading about 1730.
He bought land of Ebenezer and Susanna Mc
lntire, his parents, February 7, 1789. This
lot adjoined land of Jacob Mclntire. He
deeded land to Daniel Mclntire, his son,
March 15, 1794, at Fitchburg. He married
iii— 17

burg and all appear from the records to be
sons of John and Mary Mclntire: 1. Elijah,
soldier in the Revolution from Fitchburg. 2.
Elias, mentioned below. 3. David. 4. Daniel.
(V) Elias Mclntire, son of John Mclntire
(4), was born in Reading in 1761, according
to the Revolutionary Rolls. He was nineteen
years of age November 20, 1780, when he
enlisted in the army ; his hair and complexion
were recorded as dark. He is called some
times of Billerica and of Reading. He was in
Captain Nathaniel Heath's company, Febru
ary 13, 1779, discharged May 12, 1779, in
guard duty about Boston. Elijah Mclntire of
Fitchburg, probably a brother, and David Mc
lntire, also of Fitchburg, mentioned above,
were in the Fitchburg company in the Revo
lution in 1775. Elias Mclntire did not
remove to Fitchburg until after the Revolu-
lution. He bought a farm there October 24,
1791, of Jonathan Fletcher, of Fitchburg, giv
ing his own residence at that time as Read
ing; his land adjoining land of Simeon Shat
tuck, Jacob Burnap, Martin Herrick and Ben
jamin Herrick. He bought another parcel of
land January 31, 1799, of Abraham Far well,.
situated in the northwest part of Fitchburg.
In 1797 Elias, Daniel and Jacob Mclntire were
members of the Baptist church of Fitchburg.
Elias and others were refused a rebate on
taxes paid for the support of religion, although
other Methodists and Baptists were paid back
a portion of their taxes. He had failed to file
a written protest when paying his taxes.
Elias was a highway surveyor of Fitchburg in
1801-02. He left town about 1808. He sold
a pasture lot to Thomas Hilton, September
11, 1806, and his farm to Reuben Smith, Sep
tember 29, 1806. The remainder of his land
was deeded to Thomas Hilton, March 18, 1807.
He bought the Underwood homestead with his
brother-in-law, Abraham Farwell, in 1806.
His sister-in-law, Lucy Underwood, of Read
ing, quitclaimed her rights to Elias Mclntire
in the estate of her late father, Joseph Under
wood, March 3, 1806, and Abel Farwell
bought of Elias Mclntire and Abraham Far-
well the land, buildings, etc., of the home
stead. Elias then settled in Stoddard, New
Hampshire, where he lived the remainder of
his life. He married Rebecca Underwood,
daughter of Joseph and Mary Underwood, of
Reading and Fitchburg.
Joseph Underwood, the immigrant ancestor,
came to Hingham, Massachusetts, where he
was a proprietor as early as 1637; was a free-

1030

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

man May 16, 1645, and died February 16,
1676-77, in Watertown, whither he removed.
Married (first) Mary  , (second), in
Dorchester, April 26, 1665, Mary Howe; chil
dren : Joseph, mentioned below ; Sarah, Mary,
Martha, Hannah, married, October 14, 1680,
John Gibson; Elizabeth, married William
Bull; Thomas, Margaret Underwood.
Joseph Underwood, Jr., son of Joseph Un
derwood, the first settler, was born in Water-
town in 1650, died 169 1. Was admitted a
freeman April 18, 1690. Children of Joseph,
Jr. and Elizabeth: Mary, born 1673; Joseph,
born 1675; John, born March 6, 1679, married
Nathaniel Cutler; Joseph, born May 28, 1681,
mentioned below. Joshua, born January 31,
1682-83; Sarah, born February 9, 1687; Han
nah, born 1690, baptized April 13, 1690.
Joseph Underwood, third of the name in
direct line, married, 1739, Ruth Barney.
Joseph Underwood, fourth of the name,
married, 1762, Mary Poole, and resided in
North Chelmsford and Reading. Children:
Mary, born 1763, married, 1785, Thomas
Miles; Lucy, born 1771, mentioned above;
Joseph, born 1773; Rebecca, born 1775; mar
ried Elias Mclntire, mentioned above ; Sally
Underwood. The children of Elias and Rebecca (Under
wood) Mclntire: 1. Levi, married, at Stod
dard, December 21, 1823, Mary Tuttle. 2.
Martin Willard, mentioned below. 3. Sally,
married, February 9, 1826, Jesse Reed. 4.
Clarissa, married, March 15, 1830, at Stod
dard, Jesse Reed. All were born probably at
Fitchburg ; not recorded.
(VI) Martin Willard Mclntire, son of
Elias Mclntire (5), was born probably in
Fitchburg, Massachusetts, about 1795, died
1875 in Nelson, New Hampshire. He was
educated in the public schools, and followed
farming at Nelson for his occupation. The
farm was in the section known as Munson-
ville. He married Mary Taylor, of Stoddard.
Children: 1. Adeline, settled in Nelson;
married Amos B. Mclntire. 2. George Wash
ington, born at Stoddard, March 9, 1825, men
tioned below. 3. Dr. Horatio, married Lydia
Holt, of Nelson ; married (second) Addie
Black, of New York City; resided at Han
cock, New Hampshire, then at Milford ; both
his children died of consumption and he
finally settled in Dakota.
(VII) George Washington Mclntire, son
of Martin Willard Mclntire (6), was born at
Stoddard, New Hampshire, March 9, 1825.
He resided in Chelmsford, Massachusetts;

married Elizabeth Reynor, daughter of
Thomas Reynor, born in York, England, Sep
tember 29, 1827. Children: 1. Charles H.,
born November 16, 1862, mentioned below. 2.
Laura, married John Cressey; she died 1877.
(VIII) Charles H. Mclntire, son of George
Washington Mclntire (7), was born, in
Chelmsford, Massachusetts, November 16,
1862. He was educated in the public and
high schools and at Brown University, grad
uating 1885. He is at present practicing law in
Lowell, entering into partnership in Decem
ber, 1896, with William H. Wilson, under the
name of Mclntire & Wilson with offices in the
Hildreth building. He married, August 25,
1890, Martha Josephine Libby, at Lowell. She
was born May 11, 1865, at Lowell, daughter
of William Eaton and Martha (Knight)
Libby. Children: 1. Laura Josephine, born
February 7, 1899. 2. Eleanor Reyner, born
November 29, 1901.

In England, Scotland and Ire-
SKAHAN land (viz.), in "Burkes Gen
eral Armory" we find that this
family is undoubtedly of ancient lineage and
was settled in England, about the time when
surnames came into use. A. D. 1200 or soon
after that period, we also find in "Burkes
General Armory" that the family name has
been spelled in various ways ; at Bonby, Lin
colnshire, England, the name appears as
Skearne and Skerne ; we also find the name in
Yorkshire, England. The family coat-of-
arms are described (viz.) : Gules, in the dex
ter chief and sinister base points: a tower or:
in the sinister chief and dexter base points; a
lion rampant of the last;
Crest, on a tower or, a lion couchant ar.
In the west of England and Ireland the
name appears as Skearne, Skerne, Skyre, or
Skryne and at a later period the name appears
as Skahn and Skane. In Scotland the name
appears as Skene and Skeene. It is of this
branch of this family that the celebrated phy
sician and surgeon, Alexander J. Skene, of
Brooklyn, New York, was a descendant.
The arms of the Irish and Scottish branch
of this ancient family are the same arms, only
the charges ar, Crest — on a tower or, a lion
Ramp, of the last; that the members of the
Irish branch of this family have been at seri
ous variance with their English brethren there
can be no doubt, hence the radical departure
from the original coat-of-arms.
(I) John Skahan was a prosperous farmer

*m

PATRICK SKAHAN

SARAH SKAHAN

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

103 1

of Queen's county, Ireland. He came of a
prominent family which thrived for many
generations and which numbers among its
ancestors many notable men. John Skahan
was considered one of the best farmers in
that part of Queen's county where he lived.
He had three sons and three daughters.
Among the sons was John, mentioned below.
(II) John Skahan, son of John Skahan
(1), was born in Durreen, Castle Durrugh,
Queen's county, Ireland. He was brought up on
his father's farm, and received what schooling
was available in those times. Although this
was very meagre, he acquired through his own
efforts a good education. When a young man
he was appointed wood-ranger and game
keeper for Lord Ashbrook in his township,
remaining with him for twenty years. He
then bought a farm of eight acres nearby of a
London merchant named Palmer. He also
hired some of the adjoining property of Mr.
Palmer and became a successful farmer. At
that time he was considered comfortably well
off. He raised wheat, oats, barley, potatoes
and sheep. He was a farmer all his life and
was held in high esteem by all who knew him.
He was very active and businesslike, and was
noted for his great strength, being able to lift
more than any other man in his town. He
was a liberal in politics, and was influential in
his party, succeeding several times in electing
his candidates to parliament. He and his
family were members of St. Paul's Church at
Durrugh. He married Ellen Kelley, of Kill-
dare, Queen's county, Ireland. Among his
children were: 1. James, married Margaret
Dunn and had one child, James! 2. Michael,
died at the age of twenty-one. 3. John, mar
ried  Huestis and had three children,
William, Patrick and Michael. 4. Thomas,
married Ann Hartford, of Kilkenney, and
had: i. Mary, married Thomas Cosgrove, of
Cambridge, Massachusetts; ii. Thomas. 5.
Patrick, born 1828, mentioned below. 6. Wil
liam, married Bridget O'Connor, of Castle
Island, Ireland, and had: i. Mary, married
Daniel Frazier, of Montreal, and had John
Frazier; ii. Katherine, married Daniel Kelley,
of Cambridge, and had William,. Edward,
Katherine and Mary. iii. William, married
Jennie Malone.
(Ill) Patrick Skahan, son of John Skahan
(2), was born in Durreen, Castle Durrugh,
Queen's county, Ireland, in 1828, and died at
Belmont, Massachusetts, November 10, 1890.
He was the emigrant ancestor. He .was of
sturdy stock — and began early to support him

self. He learned the trade of iron moulder,
serving seven years apprenticeship, and work
ed at his trade a short time before coming to
America. When he was twenty-one years old
he started for America, landing at Boston, and
subsequently going to Belmont, then West
Cambridge. Here he found employment with
William Richardson, a market gardener, where
he remained two years. During this time he
attended the night school at Cambridge, and
later became associated in partnership at mar
ket gardening with Mrs. William Gay, of
Belmont, and Henry Richardson was sales
man for their products. He continued here
for ten years, and it was the beginning of his
success at market gardening. At the time the
partnership with Mrs. Gay was dissolved he
leased the eight acre farm of D. F. Leonard
nearby, and started in business for himself.
In 1 87 1 he purchased the present homestead
of five acres on Grove street of Helen M.
King, also continuing on the Leonard farm on
Harvard Lawn, cultivating about fifteen acres
of outside growth. In 1887 and 1889 he built
his first and second greenhouses and the third
was being erected at the time of his death.
He raised all kinds of garden produce, and at
first employed Edward Richardson as selling-
agent, but later attended to that part of the
business himself. For the last five years before
his death his son relieved him of that care.
He was a careful and shrewd business man,
strictly honorable in all his dealings. He was
of a jovial disposition, and had his share of
Irish wit. In politics he was a Democrat, and
was a local leader in his party. He was an
attendant of St. Peter's Roman Catholic
Church at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He married, January 1, 1855, Sarah (Fergu
son) O'Rourke, adopted daughter of Michael
and Mary (Ferguson) O'Rourke. Her father
was a mason by trade. Children: 1. Mary
Ellen, born November 15, 1856, married, No
vember 20, 1881, Joseph M. Turk, of Water-
town, Massachusetts; children: 1. Francis
Warren Turk, born September T, 1882; ii.
Mary Alma Turk, born April 4, 1887 : iii. Nor-
mand Joseph Turk, born April 11, 1897. 2.
John WilHam, born July 3, 1858, mentioned
below. 3. Alice Agnes, born April 15, i860,
married, October 9, 1881, Christopher New
man, of Mount Auburn, Massachusetts ; chil
dren: i. Frederick Newman, born July 15,
1882, died September 20, 1882 ; ii. Christopher
Francis Newman, born March 4, 1885 ; iii.
Marion Elizabeth Newman, born December
19, 1886; iv. Alice Newman, born May 11,

1032

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1890, died July 10, 1890; v. Edward Newman,
born June 10, 1892. 4. Elizabeth Ann, born
August 20, 1862, died June 29, 1890; married,
October 11, 1885, Thomas Powers, of Water-
town ; children : Ellen FLlizabeth Powers, born
April 4, 1888; ii. Francis Leo Powers, born
October 14, 1889. 5. Edward -Francis, born
March 2, 1865, mentioned below. 6. Ellen
Theresa, born May 11, 1869, unmarried. 7.
Sarah Gertrude, born August 20, 1873, mar
ried, October 1, 1902, John J. O'Brien, of
Arlington, Massachusetts, and had Helen
Frances O'Brien, born July 15, 1903.
(IV) John William Skahan, son of Pat
rick Skahan (3), was born at Belmont, Mass
achusetts, July 3, 1858. He attended the pub
lic schools at Belmont until the age of fifteen,
and then worked at market gardening with his
father. In 1885 he took the ten acres of the
Leonard farm on Harvard Lawn which his
father had previously run, and commenced
business on his own account. Here he re
mained for ten years. In 1893 he purchased
three acres from the old Learned estate, of
Revolutionary fame, and later erected his first
greenhouse. Soon after, in 1895, he built the'
fine residence where he now resides. He has
since erected seven more greenhouses on land
he has added to his original purchase. In all
he has under cultivation, outside and inside,
about fourteen acres. The capacity of the
greenhouses is sixty-five thousand square feet,
where he raises lettuce, cucumbers, radishes
and water cress. The outside cultivation is
under the supervision of James Norton, and
consists of tomatoes, beans, radishes, lettuce
and dandelions. John J. Maher is his sales
man for the Boston market. Mr. Skahan em
ploys on an average of ten or twelve garden
ers the year round. He also owns other real
estate, outside the farm. He is a member of
the Boston Market Gardeners' Association. In
politics he is independent, always preferring
to use his own judgment rather than to follow
party nominations entirely. He attends the
Sacret Heart Roman Catholic Church at
Watertown. He married, November 25, 1885, B. Annie
Kilroy, born at Cambridge, Massachusetts,
February 8, 1863, daughter of Patrick and
Ellen (Cummings) Kilroy. Her father was a
stone mason of Cambridge. Children: 1.
Alice Evangeline, born September 26, 1886, is
a bookkeeper for her father. 2. Frederick
John, born May 4, 1896. 3. Charles Francis,
born April 17, 1900.

(IV) Edward Francis Skahan, son of Pat
rick Skahan (3), was born at Belmont, Mass
achusetts, March 2, 1865. He attended the
public schools of Belmont, going two years to
high school. At an early age he was asso
ciated with his father at market gardening,
learning thoroughly every branch of the bus
iness, which he afterward followed so success
fully. At his father's death in 1890 he and
his mother formed a partnership and conduct
ed the place eight years, with great .financial
success. Every part of the business was under
his personal supervision. During this time
five greenhouses with a capacity of twenty
thousand square feet were built for the grow
ing of early produce. In 1898 he purchased
three acres of the best tillage adjoining the
home property and started in for himself.
Five years later he leased the home farm of
the heirs, and later added two acres to his own
land. He has erected on his own property six
of the largest and most improved greenhouses,
containing forty-one thousand square feet,
with boiler house for steam heating. He de
votes eight acres to outside cultivation. He
goes daily to the Boston market. Mr. Skahan
is an example of a self-made man, and both
he and his brother, John W. Skahan, are con
sidered among the most successful market
gardners in the state. He resides in a beauti
ful home at 91 Grove street, which he built in
1898. He is also interested in real estate,
dealing in mortgages and loans. His seven
children are all under nine years of age. Mr.
Skahan is independent in politics, and is dep
uty warden of Belmont and for some time was
engineer of the Belmont Fire Department.
He is a member of the Boston Fruit & Pro
duce Exchange and of the Boston Market
Gardener's Association. He and his family
attend the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic
Church of Watertown. He was married Feb
ruary 16, 1898, at 9 o'clock a. m., by Rev.
Father P. M. O'Connor, at St. Agnes Roman
Catholic Church, at Arlington, Mary Ellen .
Purcell, born November 5, 1869, daughter of
James and Julia (Hines) Purcell, of Arling
ton. Her father was a prominent market
gardener of Arlington. Children: 1. Mary
Gertrude, born December 20, 1898. 2. Ruth
Katharine, born January 10, 1900. 3. Elean
or Purcell, born September 21, 1901. 4.
Sarah Madeline, born November 26, 1902. 5.
Julia Frances, ,born Februarv 12, 1904.^ 6.
Alice, born July 10, 1905. 7. Edward Fran
cis, Jr.,-bOrn April 4, 1907.

Ruth Katherine Sarah

Ellen (Purcell) Mary Gektrude Alice
Edward Francis, Jr. Julia Frances
MR. & MRS. E. F. SKAHAN AND FAMILY

Eleanor Purcell

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1033

All the American Sanborns
SANBORN are descended from the
three brothers who settled
in Hampton in 1639. This surname is derived
from the'Anglo-Saxon words Sand and Burn
(a stream), evidently a place-name before it
became a family name and it seems probable
that the English progenitors who first used
Sambourne, the original form of Sanborn, as
their surname were in Sambourne in War
minster, Wiltshire. The earliest mention of
the name in England, in 1 194, gives it spelled
De Sandburne, but as early as 1330 it is com
monly spelled Samborne and Sambourne,
and since the fourteenth century these two
forms have been the accepted spelling
in England, the only two surviving branches
in that country using them. The Amer
ican progenitor spelled the name Samborn and
Samborne but gradually the name has been
changed to Sanborn, the form adopted by
almost all of the American descendants. In
Illinois the spelling Sanburn and in Michigan
Sandburn is in use by members of this fam-
ily. The Sanborn or Sambourne coat-of-arms :
Argent, a chevron, sable, between three mul
lets gules, pierced or. Crest : a mullet as in the
arms. The Sambourne ancestry has been
traced by V. C. Sanborn, compiler of the Gen
ealogy, to Nicholas Sambourne or Samborne,
of Wiltshire, in 1320. Nicholas Samborne
was born about 1320; probably held the fourth
part of a knight's fee in Biddestone, St. Nich
olas, Wiltshire; represented Bath City at the
parliament held at Westminster, November 3,
1391; His son, Nicholas Samborne, Jr., was born
about 1350; held the fourth part of a knight's
fee, mentioned above; was in parliament in
1393-94; married Katherine, the youngest
daughter and co-heir of Sir John Lushill or
De Lusteshull, who was connected with the
House of Lancaster. A grandson, Walter
Samborne, was born 1420; held Fernham
and Lushill manors but probably lived at
Southcot House, near Reading, Berkshire ;
married Margaret Drew, daughter of Thomas
Drew, of Seagry, Wiltshire ; she died in 1494
and her will is extant.
Nicholas Samborne, son of Walter and
Margaret Samborne, was born about 1450
and made his home at Mapledurham, Oxford
shire; married Elizabeth, daughter of John
Brocas, of Beaurepaire, Mampshire; descend
ant of an ancient and honorable family, from
which she inherited considerable property, in

cluding Timsbury, which the Sambornes oc
cupied. Timsbury Plouse, now the most an
cient Samborne residence in England, is cel
ebrated for the interesting and artistic Tudor
architecture. The house today is practically
unchanged since 1542 except for minor alter
ations and repairs, and the loss of one wing by
fire. The probable line of descent from this
Nicholas to the American immigrants is given
by the family historian as : Nicholas Sam
borne (VI), born 1500; Edward Samborne
(VII), born about 1550; William Samborne
(VIII), who married Anne Bachiler and was
of Brimpton, Berkshire, in 161 6; their sons
Lieutenant John, William and Stephen Sam
borne, being the three American emigrants.
A sketch of Lieutenant John Samborne ap
pears elsewhere.
(I) William Samborne, son of William
and Anne (Bachiler) Samborne, was born in
England about 1622, as .shown by the record
of his death. His is the earliest Samborne
record found at Hampton, now New Hamp
shire, where the family settled. The records
show that on November 27, 1639, William
Samborne was appointed to ring the bell be
fore meetings on the Lord's Day and other
days for which the town voted that he should
be paid six pence by each and every one hav
ing a lot in the town. In June, 1640, a house
lot was granted him on the road towards the
sea, southwest of his brother John's. He was
selectman of Hampton in 1651-60-67-71-77-
83. Savage says he was deputy to the general
court; he was often on town committees. He
was a soldier in King Philip's war. He sold
his house and lot May 17, 1647, to Sergeant
Thomas Philbrick. The will of his wife's
father, John Moulton, dated March 23, 1649,
proved March 8, 1650, bequeathed various
parcels of land to William and Anne (Moul
ton) Samborne. He was admitted a free
man October 8, 1651. He deeded land June
22, 1681, to his eldest son, William; on the
same date to his son Josiah the houselot
bought of Thomas Thurston. He was a con
stable in 1676. He died November 18, 1692.
A fragment of his will is preserved and the
inventory, dated December 1, 1692. He mar
ried Mary Moulton, daughter of John Moul
ton, of Ormsby, Norfolk county, England, and
Hampton, New Hampshire. Children: 1.
Mary, married, December 17, 1662, Sergeant
Joseph Dow. 2. Mehitable, married Decem
ber 23, 1669, Ensign Daniel Tilton. 3. Wil
liam, born 1652. 4. Josiah, married Hannah
Moulton; representative to general court;

1034

MIDDLESEX1 COUNTY.

well-to-do citizen. 5. Mercy, born July 19,
1660, married Samuel Cass. 6. Mephiboseth,
born November 5, 1663, married Lydia Levitt
and lived in Hampton. 7. Sarah, born Feb
ruary 10, 1667, married Samuel Marston. 8.
Stephen, born September 4, 1671, mentioned
below. (II) Stephen Samborne, son of William
Samborne (1), was born in Hampton, Sep
tember 4, 1 67 1. He resided in Hampton and
was in D. Tilton's Garrison, 1695-96 ; at Exe
ter in 1696; a soldier in the service in 1704 ^
and 1708. In 1704 Samuel Roby, of Hampton,
complained that Samborne was with others
engaged in a riot. Samborne is said to have
lived a hermit's life in "a side-hill cave for
thirty years," but the records do not seem to
corroborate the story. He deeded his farm
and homestead to his sons, Stephen and James
Samborne, in consideration of keeping him
the remainder of his life and paying certain
sums to other children. His will was dated
September 19, 1734, mentioning his children
as given below. He died June 21, 1750. He
married Hannah Philbrick, daughter of Lieu
tenant James Philbrick, of Hampton. Chil
dren: 1. Stephen, born May 1, 1694, men
tioned below. 2. James, born June 20, 1697,
died August 4, 1767; married Sarah Towle
and Esther Shaw. 3. Anne, baptized Septem
ber 10, 1699, married, February 8, 1726,
Moses Chandler, of Andover, Massachusetts.
4. Hannah, born June 23, 1701, married, Feb
ruary 8, 1726, William Palmer, of North
Hampton. 5. Phebe, born June 20, 1703,
married, February 13, 1724, Elisha Prescott,
of Hampton Falls. 6. Abiathar, born Febru
ary 25, 1705, served in 1724 under Sergeant
Jonathan Prescott ; lived in Greenland and Ep
ping and late in life in Parsonsfield, Maine.
7. Zadock, baptised June 1, 1707. 8. Amy,
baptized December 10, 1710, married Jacob
Sanborn. 9. Abigail, baptized June 15, 1712,
married, March 13, 1733, Abraham Tilton, of
Hampton Falls. 10. Mary, born July 17,
171 5, married, October 28, 1736, John Mason,
of Hampton, son of Robert ; died October 25,
1778. 11. Jonathan, born March 16, 1718,
lived in Hampton; married Priscilla Bryant;
he died February 13, 1804.
(Ill) Stephen Samborn, son of Stephen
Samborne (2), was born in Hampton, May 1,
1694, and settled in his native town. He mar
ried, November 30, 1721, Ruth Levet, daugh
ter of Aretas Levet, of Hampton; she died
May 30, 1776. He died May 30, 1778. Chil
dren: 1. Hannah, born September 14, 1722,

died 1807 ; married

Chandler.

Amos, born June 1, 1726, mentioned below.
3. Joseph, born August 4, 1731, removed to
Watcrboro, Maine; married, May 7, 1758,
Elizabeth Dearborn, of Hampton.* 4. Ruth,
born May 12, 1735, married, February 2, 1762,
Ezekiel Moulton, of Moultonborough.
(IV) Arnos Sanborn, son of Stephen Sam-
born (3), was born in Hampton, June 1,
1726. Lived there until 1776 when he settled
in Moultonborough, New Hampshire; died
March 11, 1815. Married Polly — ¦¦  . Chil
dren: 1. Sarah, born January 26, 1760, mar
ried  Glines. 2. Abigail (twin of Sar
ah), born January 26, 1760, married

Chandler. 3. Robert, born February 6; 1762,
mentioned below. 4. John, born March 20,
1764, married, November 13, 1797, Sarah Cas
well, of Portsmouth; he died December 17,
183 1. 5. Patience, born June 20, 1769, mar
ried Charles Leonard, of Moultonborough. 6.
Rebecca, born October 6, 1777, married . 
Emery, and removed to western New York.
(V) Robert Sanborn, son of Amos San
born (4), was born at Hampton, February 6,
1762. He settled in Sandwich, New Hamp
shire. He was a farmer. He married (first),
Mary Glines, who died December, 1812 ; (sec
ond), Betsey Emery, who died September 12,
1832. He died at Sandwich, February 24,
1 85 1. Children: 1. Anna W., born in Moul
tonborough, September 2, 1785, died unmar
ried in Somerville, Massachusetts. 2. Benja
min Towle, born July 5, 1788, served in the
war of 1812; married Huldah Sherman and
Mary Parris ; resided in Boston, where he
died January 9, i860. Children: i. Jeremiah
Russell, born December 25, 1816; ii. Mary;
iii. George Washington, born January 9, 1833,
police officer of Boston, married, June 29,
1867, Isabel Swain, and had two daughters:
Gertrude H., born May 4, 1868, and Edith I.,
born September 30, 1870. 3. Nathaniel Am
brose, born November 23, 1790. 4. Mary,
born August 25, 1792, married John Keser, of
Northfield, Vermont. 5. David Ambrose,
born February 14, 1795, mentioned below. 6.
Robert, born September 9, 1799, married Mar- '
tha A. Stone, sister of wife of David Ambrose
Sanborn, his brother ; resided in Somerville ;
children: i. George Augustus, born April 8,
1824, was postmaster of Somerville several
years; ii. Albert Lyman, born May 1, 1826,
married H. M. Orcutt; iii. Martha Maria,
born August 11, 1832; iv. Mary Jane, born
December 8, 1840. 7. Amos, born November
16, 1801, married Lavinia Wallace; died at

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1035

sea; child, Lewis, lived in Sandwich and had
one son, Dr. Wilbur Fiske, born 1850, gradu
ate of Harvard Medical School, 1877. 8.
Sarah, born March 31, 1814, married, June
26, 1836, Richard S. Roberts, a mason of East
Boston. 9. Grace, born May 22, 1817, mar
ried, June 26, 1834, John Duncan, of Lowell,
Massachusetts; died April 23, 1838. 10. Sol
omon, born in Sandwich, May 6, 1719, a
mason residing in Roxbury; married, May 4,
1845, Elizabeth Wright. 11. John, born in
Holderness, New Hampshire, March 31, 1823,
lived in Holderness and Moultonborough;
married Ann Clement; (second), Jane Bick-
ford and (third), Mary Abigail Bean.
(VI) David Ambrose' Sanborn, son of Rob
ert Sanborn (5), was born in Sandwich, New
Hampshire, February 14, 1795 ; lived and died
in Somerville, Massachusetts. He was edu
cated in the public schools of his native town,
brought up on his father's farm, and at the
age of eighteen came to that section of
Charlestown, Massachusetts, that is now the
city of Somerville, and engaged in farming
and the manufacture of bricks in which he
attained a competence. He was a prominent
and influential citizen of Somerville. He died
February 19, 1875. He married, September
30, 1 82 1, Hannah Adams, who was born Jan
uary 18, 1794, died July 15, 1875, daughter
of John Stone, of Somerville. Children: 1.
Mary A., born July 23, 1822, married Warren
Leland; died June, 1870. 2. Daniel Alford,
born June 30, 1825, died 1826. 3. Daniel Al
ford, born April 5, 1827, a prominent publish
er in Boston and Brooklyn, New York ; mar
ried, October 6, 1853, Anne R. Foster, of
Somerville, born January 10, 1832 ; he died in
Brooklyn, April 11, 1883; children: i. Louise
S., born May 20, 1858, married Edwin Bu
chanan, of Brooklyn ; ii. Charles F., born Aug
ust 5, 1859, died September 30, 1881 ; iii. Wil
liam A., born September 4, 1864, residing in
Hartford, Connecticut ; married, October 30,
1884, Nellie A. Quinbey, of Philadelphia ; they
have one daughter. 4. David Augustus, born
April 21, 1828, mentioned below.
(VII) David Augustus Sanborn, son of
David Ambrose Sanborn (6), was born in
Charlestown, now Somerville, April 21, 1828.
Pie was educated in the public schools there,
and learned the carpenter's trade. He fol
lowed building as a journeyman and contrac
tor for more than thirty years. He invested
in real estate in Somerville, and his last years
were occupied in the care and management
of his real estate. He was one of the leading

builders of that section, built many of the most
important buildings and fine residences. He
was a man of great enterprise and public spir
it, interested in the growth, development and
prosperity of the city and a leader in muni
cipal affairs. : He was a Republican in poli
tics; in 1876 he was a member of the common
council; in 1888-89 was on the board of asses
sors. He was also an overseer of the poor
and held other offices of responsibility and
trust. He was especially interested in the up
building and efficiency of the Somerville fire
department, of which he was chief engineer
for seven years. He was for many years
afterward president of the Veteran Firemen's
Association and treasurer of the Firemen's
Relief Fund. For more than a quarter of a
century he was an active member and gen
erous supporter of the First Universalist
Church. He was a charter member of Oasis
Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
and of Somerville Encampment, of the same
order, and at his death had been trustee of
each for the long period of twenty-two years.
He was also affiliated with Soley Lodge, Free
and Accepted Masons. He died at his home
in Somerville, September 11, 1900, after a
long, useful and successful career.
Mr. Sanborn married, January 30, 1850,
Annie Sarah Magoun, who was born August
13, 1830, died May 27, 1900, before her hus
band; she was daughter of John Calvin and
Sarah (Adams) Magoun. Her father was for
many years prominent in town affairs. He
was assessor for twenty-eight years, and was
a captain in the militia, and as such was in
command of his company in the procession
when Lafayette visited Boston. Annie Sarah
(Magoun) Sanborn was descended from Pet
er and Anne Adams Tufts, of Revolutionary
fame, who in 1783, built the house now stand
ing on Broadway, Winter Hill, and known as
the Magoun homestead. Of her marriage
with David Augustus Sanborn were born two
children : Adeline L., August 30, 1850, who
resides in Somerville; and John Walter, to be
further mentioned.
(VIII) John Walter Sanborn, only son of
David Augustus and Annie Sarah (Magoun)
Sanborn, was born in Somerville, April 2,
1855. He was educated in the public grammar
and high schools of that place. He entered
upon active life as an employee of Hathaway
& Woods, commission merchants, Boston, and
was so occupied until 1886, when he succeeded
to the business, which he is now successfully
conducting under the firm name of J. Walter

1036

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Sanborn & Company, millers' agents and
commission merchants in hay and grain, lo
cated at 504 Chamber of Commerce. The
house conducts an extensive trade in hay,
grain, flour and produce. Besides caring for
his large business interests, Mr. Sanborn is
also active in community affairs, taking a
prominent part in municipal, financial and fra
ternal concerns. He is a member and vice-
chairman of the Somerville school board, vice-
president of the Somerville Savings Bank,
and a member of its board of investment ; and
a member of the Boston Chamber of Com
merce. He is affiliated with numerous Mason
ic bodies — Soley Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons, in which he is a past master ; Som
erville Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; and De
Moley Commandery, Knights Templar. While
presiding as worshipful master of Soley
Lodge, Mr. Sanborn had a remarkable ex
perience in being privileged to confer the
three blue lodge degrees upon his own father,
one of the degrees being worked in the pres
ence of the grand master and more than four
hundred members of the craft, probably not
one of whom had ever before witnessed such
an unusual event.
Mr. Sanborn married, April 30, 1885, Julia
L. Stevens, of Somerville, born April 27, 1858,
daughter of Levi Franklin and Hannah
Knowles (Rich) Stevens, of Truro, Massa
chusetts. (See Stevens family, following).
Two children were born of this marriage :
Herbert Stevens, February 7, 1888; and Ar
thur Harvard, May 5, 1892.

Richard Stevens was one of
STEVENS the early settlers of Taunton,
Massachusetts. He was one
of the associates in that town in 1672 in the
purchase of land at Three Mile River. He
signed a deed with other associates in 1683,
and in 1689 was one of the inhabitants of
Taunton to whom Governor William Brad-.
ford made a confirmatory grant. It is likely
that he was related to Edward Stevens, of
Marshfield, a man of about the same age, but
no proof of kinship has been discovered by
the writer. Children, born at Taunton: 1.
Richard, born March 20, 1667-68. 2. Nicho
las, February 23, 1669-70. 3. Mary, July 8,
1672. 4. Thomas, February 3, 1675. 5.
Tamsin or Thomasin, July 3, 1677. 6. Na
thaniel, July 30, 1680.
(II) Richard Stevens, believed to be the
son of Richard Stevens (1), and born March

20, 1667-68, at Taunton, Massachusetts, first
appears on the records at Eastham in Ply
mouth county, where he married, in 1708, Abi
gail Treat, daughter of Rev. Samuel Treat,
who himself performed the marriage cere-'
mony. Rev. Mr. Treat was the son of Gover
nor Treat, and grandson of the immigrant,
Richard Treat. The high social standing of
the Treat family indicates that the Stevens
family was likewise prominent. The sugges
tion of the Truro history that Richard was
from Dover, New Hampshire, is a mere
guess. Nathaniel Stevens, of Dover, was the
son of John Stevens, of Salisbury, Massachu
setts, and no indication of a son Richard is
found. In fact the wife of Nathaniel is given
to Richard in this Truro account. If Richard
of Eastham and Truro was not the Richard
born in Taunton, son of Richard, he was un
doubtedly an immigrant himself from Eng
land. In 1710 Richard and his wife Abigail
with their eldest son Levi removed from East
ham to Truro; was formally admitted an in
habitant of that town, which is on Cape Cod.
His house was at Eastern harbor, and he was
one of the proprietors of the beaches and
meadows of Eastern harbor; was selectman in
1720 and all his life prominent. His wife was
admitted to full communion in the Truro
church, July 13, 1712. He is buried in the ,
North Truro graveyard but there is nothing
but his name inscribed on his gravestone. The
vicinity of this homestead is still knowrt as
Stevens Bank. His descendants in the town ,
have been prominent, though not very num
erous. The name, Richard Stevens, has been
supported by one or more descendants, how
ever, from the first. The town had but just
been incorporated when Stevens settled there.
The Truro history particularly mentions the
prominence of the family in town affairs and
their gift in public speaking. Children, all
born at Truro, except the eldest: 1. Levi,
born September 27, 1709, at Eastham, bap
tized July 13, 1712, at Truro. 2. Richard,
born September 4, 171 1, baptized at Truro,
July 13.. 171 2; mentioned below. 3. Joanna,
born August 11, 1713, baptized August 13,
1713. 4. Abigail, born March 14, 1714-15,
baptized April 24, 1715. 5. Jerusha, born
March 17, baptized March 17, 1717. 6. John,
baptized December 7, 1718, died young. 7.
Mary or Mercy, baptized July 23, 1721. 8.
John, baptized September 13, 1722, died No
vember 6, 179,0; married (first), Joanna
Smith, who died June 15, 1743; (second),

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1037

November 15, 1744, Betty Mayo; had twelve
children at Truro by second wife.
(Ill) Richard Stevens, son of Richard
Stevens (2), was born at Truro, September
4, 1711, baptized July 13, 1712; died Decem
ber 26, 1792, according to his gravestone at
North Truro, but the date should be 1791.
He married (first), June 11, 1741, Mary
Gross, born June 9, 1720, daughter of Micah
and Mary Gross. He married (second), No
vember 10, 1768, Mary Nickerson, of Pro-
vincetown. Richard Stevens, an adult, was
baptized at Truro, January 2, 1737. He was
a cooper by trade. He bought pew No. 12 in
the Truro meeting house in 1765 for one hun
dred and three pounds. He was on an emer
gency committee during the Revolution in
1776; and was town treasurer 1777-78-79.
His will is dated March 19, 1787, and proved
March 27, 1792. Children: 1. Jonah, born
May 8, baptized June 20, 1742 ; married, Oc
tober 17, 1765, Rachel Rich. 2. Micah, born
April 14, baptized May 13, 1744. 3. Mary,
baptized February 22, 1747. 4. Levi, born
May 5, 1748, mentioned below. 5. Richard,
born April 22, baptized June 23, 1751. 6.
Mary, born October 30, 1754, baptized June
J9> 1755- 7- Abigail, born June 16, 1756,
baptized July 18; died February 9, 1770. 8.
Henry, born September 13, 1759, baptized Oc
tober 28.
(IV) Levi Stevens, son of Richard Stevens
(3), was born May 5 and baptized June 5,
1748, at Truro. He died there March 16,
1829, aged eighty-two years, and is buried in
the North graveyard. He married, October
14, 1772, Anna Snow, baptized April 28, 1751,
daughter of Deacon Anthony and Sarah
(Paine) Snow. The record on her gravestone
gives her death September 6, 1830, aged
eighty years. Both owned the covenant in the
church May 1, 1774. He was town clerk
1791-92, selectman in 1797 and nine years af
terward and deputy to the general court in
1800. Children: 1. Abigail, born January 5,
1774, baptized at Truro, May 1 ; married,
1792, Joseph Chandler. 2. Jonah, born De
cember 1, 1775, died 1859, aged eighty- f our ;
married, 1797, Hannah Sellew; (second),
Mercy Sellew, who died in 1850. 3. Richard,
born February 13, 1778, baptized February
22; lost at sea May 1, 1799. 4. Mary Gross,
born June 27, baptized July 9, 1780; married
Samuel Atkins, 1799. 5- Henry, born Sep
tember 1, baptized 9, 1781, died July 10, 1853.
6. Sarah Snow, baptized March 27, 1785.
7. Anna, born June 20, 1787, married Francis

Small. 8. Levi, born September 4, 1789, men
tioned below. 9. Captain John, born January
14, 1792, baptized April 8; married, 1817,
Polly Cone; he was lost at sea August 28,
1830. 10. Betsey, baptized April 6, 1794,
died December 19, 1795.
(V) Levi Stevens, son of Levi Stevens
(4), was born in Truro, September 4, 1789,
baptized November 8. Married, August 25,
1812, Mehitable Lombard, daughter of James
Lombard, she died in 1852. Children, born at
Truro: 1. Betsey, born April 25, 1814, mar
ried Benjamin Davis. 2. Jane, born Febru
ary 14, 1819, married W'arren Newcomb. 3.
Levi L., born 1821, died young. 4. Mehitable,
born 1825, died December 6, 1829, aged twen
ty-seven months. 5. Levi L., born 1826, died
young. 6. Levi Franklin, born May 24, 1828,
mentioned below. 7. Mehitable A., born
March 30, 1830, married Lewis Lombard. 8.
Matilda H., born June 10, 1833, married Eph
raim A. Nickerson and Captain Isaac Collins.
9. Hannah King, born February 18, 1737,
married Captain Ambrose Snow, Jr.
(VI) Levi Franklin Stevens, son of Levi
Stevens (5), was born in Truro, May 24,
1828. Married, 1850, Hannah Knowles Rich,
daughter of Joshua Rich, who was born at
Orleans, Massachusetts, and his wife Ruth,
daughter of John Caldwell, of Burlington,
Massachusetts. Children of Joshua and Ruth
Rich : i. Julia Rich, married Elisha Littlefield ;
ii. Jerome Rich', married Emily Spofford; Jo
nas Rich, died in early manhood. Children of
Levi Franklin and Hannah Knowles Stevens :
1. Levi, died aged one year. 2. Herbert
Franklin, born April 1, 1855. 3. Julia L.,
born April 27, 1858, married J. Walter San
born, of Somerville, Massachusetts. (See
sketch). 4. Emma . Frances, born July 27,
1867, married Arthur W. Glines.

This surname is an ancient
LEARNED English family surname.
In the early records it is
spelled Learned, Larned and Larnett, most
commonly, and usage still differs in the Amer
ican branches of the family as to the spell
ing. (I) William Learned, the immigrant an
cestor, was of Bermondsey parish, Surrey,
England. He came to Charlestown, Massa
chusetts, as early as 1630, and was admitted
to the church there in 1632. He was admitted
a freeman May 14, 1634, and was selectman of
Charlestown in 1636. He removed to Woburn

io38

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

in 1641, and is counted among the founders
of that historic old town. He held the office
of selectman and other places of honor in
Woburn, where he lived the remainder of his
days on his farm, and where he died April 5,
1646. He was member of the committee to
propose to the general court a body of laws
in 1638; evidently a man of education and
ability, and a leader. He married Judith
 , who was admitted to the church at the
same time that he was, December 6, 1632. He
married (second), Sarah or Jane  ,
who died at Maiden, January 24, 1660-61.
Administration granted to Ralph Shepherd,
April 2, 1660. Children: 1. Isaac; men
tioned below. 2. Sarah, born 1607, in Eng
land, married (first) Thomas Ewer and (sec
ond, Thomas Lothrop.
(II) Isaac Learned, son of William Learn
ed (1), born in England, in Bermondsey,
Surrey, came with his father to Charlestown;
was also an early settler of Woburn; was ad
mitted a freeman in 1647. He sold his pro
perty at Woburn in 1652, and removed to
Chelmsford among the first settlers, and be
came a prominent citizen ; was selectman. He
married, July 9, 1646, Mary Stearns, daughter
of Isaac Stearns, of Watertown. (See
Stearns). She married , (second), John
Burge. Children: 1. Mary, married Moses
Barron. 2. Hannah, married Joseph Farwell.
3. William, shipmaster, never married. 4.
Sarah, married Jonathan Barrett. 5. Isaac,
born September 16, 1655, mentioned below.
6. Benoni, born November 29, 1657, settled
in Sherborn ; married Mary Fanning and Sar
ah  .
(Ill) Isaac Learned, son of Isaac Learned
(2), was born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts,
September 16, 1655. He was a soldier in King
Philip's war, in Captain Davenport's company
and was wounded in battle in the Narragan
sett fight, December 19, 1675. He bought,
February, 1679-80, of Thomas Eames, a house
lot of forty acres in Framingham at the south
erly end of Learned's pond, and built a house
near the pond in what is now Jordan's garden ;
had civil and religious privileges in Sherborn
until 1700; selectman of Framingham in 171 1 ;
died September 15, 1737. He married, July
23, 1679, Sarah, daughter of John Bigelow,
of Watertown. Children: 1. Isaac, born
May 10, 1680, mentioned below. 2. Sarah,
March 16, 1682. 3. Abigail, March n„ 1684,
married John Gleason. 4. Mary, April 12,
1686. 5. William, February 12, 1688, married
Hannah Bryant, lived in Sutton, Massachu

setts, and Kiliingly, Connecticut; deacon,
selectman, treasurer; died June 11, 1747; had
eight children whose descendants all write the
name Larned. 6. Ebenezer, September, 1690,
married Deborah Haynes, and settled in Ox
ford; colonel, justice of the peace; died March
15, 1772; descendants spell their name Larn
ed. 7. Samuel, October 4, 1692, removed to
Medford, soldier in 1725. 8. Hannah, Sep
tember 16, 1694, married Obadiah Walker, of
Marlborough. 9. Elizabeth, July 27, 1696.
10. Moses, April 29, 1699. 11. Martha, May
21, 1702, married Jacob Cummins, of Ox
ford. (IV) Isaac Learned, son of Isaac Learned
(3), born in Framingham, May 10, 1680;
Married there, November 19, 1706, Sarah
How, daughter of John How. She was born
December 24, 1686. He was one of the first
thirty English settlers of Oxford, Worcester
county, Massachusetts. He was a worthy,
substantial, useful citizen; lieutenant in the
army; land surveyor; constituent member of
the Oxford church ; selectman fourteen years,
1717-1743 ; town clerk six years. He resided
on Johnson's Plain. He died May 20, 1758.
Children: 1. Josiah, born at Framingham,
December 1, 1707, married Catherine Rice
and settled at New Salem, Massachusetts. 2,
Isaac, October 2, 1709. 3. Experience, July
29, 171 1, married Jeremiah Shumway. 4.
John, about 1714, mentioned below: 5. Mary,
May 4, 1716, married John Mayo. 6. Sarah,
June 8, 1718, married Samuel Shumway and
settled in Sturbridge. 7. Elizabeth, May 13,
1720, married1 William David. 8. Samuel,
1722, died 1 741. 9. Joseph, November 27,
1724, removed to Lebanon, Connecticut. 10.
Hannah, July 12, 1730, married Samuel Rob
inson, of Dudley.
(V) John Learned, son of Israel Learned
(4), was born about 1714 at Oxford, Massa
chusetts. Married, September 13, 1737, Hep
sibah Smith, who died July 18, 1747; married
(second), January 31, 1751, Miriam Smith,
who died February 2, 1803. He died April
8, 1796. He bought land and settled west of
the river opposite his father's farm, and his
house was near the river southeast from the
house now or lately owned by Orlin Allard.
His first house was burned in 1786.
Jacob, his son, rebuilt on the same spot,
and there John himself died. He was cap
tain of an Oxford company in the French
and Indian war, being lieutenant in Captain
John Foy's company, first Worcester county
regiment, September 24, 1756, and was pro-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1039

moted captain in 1757. He was constable and
collector of the state tax in 1751. Children:
1. Sarah, born April 14, 1738, married Isaac
Moffitt. 2. Elijah, November 14, 1739, men
tioned below. 3. Hepsibah, February 8, 1752,
married Benjamin Upham, of Dudley. 4.
Elihu, 1754, died 1758. 5. Jacob, 1756, died
1758. 6. John, June 20, 1758. 7. Jacob, July
31, 1760. 8. Miriam, March, 1764, married
Simon Upham. 9. Jemima, December 6,
1766, married Joseph Brown. 10. Ruth, Aug
ust 7, 1769, married Jacob Smith.
(VI) Elijah Learned, son of John Learned
(5), was born in Oxford, November 14, 1739.
Married, April 1, 1762, Rachel Kingsbury,
daughter of Theodore Kingsbury. Elijah died
^September 2,. 1819; his wife February 25,
1813. ' He settled on a seventy-five acre farm
cut from his father's homestead. He was a
soldier in the French and Indian war, also in
the Revolution and took part in the battles of
Saratoga. Children: 1. Edward, born July
23, 1762, never married. 2. Jonathan, April
18, 1764. 3. David, September 8, 1766, men
tioned below. 4. Lucy, July 8, 1768, married
Benjamin Cox. 5. Simon, July 3, 1770. 6.
Polly, July 14, 1772, married Joseph Coburn.
7. Salem, December 9, 1775.
(VII) David Learned, son of Elijah Learn
ed (6), was born in Oxford, September 8,
1766. Married Betty Amidown, and settled
in Oxford near his father. He was an in
genious mechanic, though crippled. He lived
during the latter part of his life in the woods
on a part of his father's farm where he fram
ed a house, laid the sills, but not being able to
raise the frame, roofed it over and lived there.
He died February 10, 1843 ; his wife January
19, 1853, aged eighty-four. Children: 1. Pru-
della, married Joel Eddy. 2. Jonathan, born
March 18, 1790, in Charlton, lived in Stur
bridge. 3. Mills, 1793, died 1794. 4. Sally,
July 27, 1794, never married. 5. Betsey, De
cember 29, 1796, married Thurlo Stimpson
and lived at Ward (Auburn), Massachusetts.
6. Lavina, June 1, 1799. 7. David, 1800, died
1803. 8. Alice, June 7, 1805, married, No
vember 3, 1825, Edward Joslin, of Thompson,
Connecticut. 9. Huldah, September 3, 1808,
married, June 20, 1830, Albro Joslin, of
Thompson, where they died. 10. Sylvanus,
April 4, 181 1, mentioned below.
(VIII) Sylvanus Learned, son of David
Learned (7), was born in Oxford, April 4,
181 1. Married, August 4, 1835, Lucretia P..
Wellington. He removed to Newport, New
Hampshire, where he died January 3, 1850.

She married (second), November 17, 1850,
Ezbon White, of Webster, Massachusetts.
and she died September 8, 1885. Children:
1. Sarah A., born June 29, 1836, at Millbury,
Massachusetts, married Horace Israel Joslin,
of Webster. (See Joslin sketch). 2. Clara,
April 25, 1838, Waterville, Maine. 3. Henry
S-, November 19, 1840, of Newport, New
Hampshire. 4. Albert, 1843. died 1845, at
Newport. 5. Charles D., born November 24,
1845, died July 8, 1872, at Webster. 6. Ed
ward, 1848, died 1849, at Newport.

The Joslin family is of ancient
JOSLIN traceable lineage. Its known
history extends even further
back than the time of Charlemagne, whose
daughter married Count Joceline. One of the
descendants of this union was Sir Gilbert
Jocelyne, who accompanied William, Duke of
Normandy, in his conquest of England, in
1066, and became the founder of the Joslin
family in England. He received from Wil
liam extensive territorial grants in the county
of Lincoln, including the lordships of Sem-
pringham and Tyrington. His son Gilbert de
voted himself to a religious life and founded
the order of Gilbertines, and was canonized
by Pope Innocent III, in 1202. The younger
son, Thomas, married Maude, daughter and
co-heiress of John Hyde, of Hyde Hall, and
granddaughter of Baron Sudeley, by which
marriage the family obtained the estate which
has ever since remained in its. possession. One
of the descendants married Anne, the heiress
of the Percys, and became Duke of Northum
berland. Another was a signer of the Magna
Charta. Another is the present Earl of
Roden. (I) Nathaniel Josselyne was born in 1452
and was brother of Sir Ralph, the Lord May
or of London, and Sir Thomas, of Hyde Hall,
from whom descended Lord Newport, Vis
count Josselyn and Earl of Roden.
(II) James Joslin, seventh son of Nathan
iel Josselyne (1), was born in England, in
1497. He was the first to spell the name
Joslin. Previously the spelling varied accord
ing to the whim of the writer.
(Ill) Robert Joslin, sixth son and youngest
child of James Joslin (2), was born in Eng
land, probably about 1560. He married Mar
tha Cleveland.
(IV) Thomas Joslin, son of Robert Joslin
(3),. the fourth child, was born in England
about 1591. He was the emigrant ancestor of

1 040

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

the American Joslins. He married in 1614, in
London, Rebecca Marlowe. He came over in
the ship, "Increase," in April, 1635, and land
ed in Hingham, Massachusetts, with his wife
Rebecca, son Nathaniel, and four daughters —
Rebecca, Dorothy, Eliza and Mary. Later
an elder son Abraham, who had been left at
school in England, joined^ the family. Eliza
beth Ward, a servant, came with the Joslins.
Thomas Joslin was a proprietor of the town,
1637, was elected to various town offices, and
was a selectman in 1645. Thomas and Na
thaniel Joslin sold their land at Hingham,
March 11, 1652-53, to George Land and
Moses Collier. Thomas Joslin removed to
Sudbury, now Wayland, and later, with
others, went to the Nashua valley to make a
settlement, and settled in Lancaster, Massa
chusetts, in 1654. He and his son Nathaniel
had lands located on the west side of what is
now Main street, a little north of the center.
¦At the time he settled in Lancaster it was on
the western outpost of civilization. Thomas
Joslin died before the attack by -the Indians in
1675. His son Nathaniel and his family man
aged to escape to Marlborough. The grand
son Abraham had married and had an infant
child ; they took refuge in the Rowlandson
Garrison which he helped defend until they
could no longer hold it, and he with others
perished in the conflict. His wife and child
were taken captive and carried into the wild
erness where they were both subsequently put
to death. Thomas Joslin died in 1660. His
will was dated May 9, 1660, and proved
March 20, 1661. He bequeathed to his wife
Rebecca, sons Abraham and Nathaniel,
daughters Rebecca Nichols and Elizabeth Em
mons, son-in-law Roger Sumner, grandson
Abram Joslin. His own signature fixed the
proper spelling of the name as Joslin, though
variously spelled in records. His widow mar
ried William Kerly, of Lancaster. Children
of Thomas and Rebecca Joslin: 1. Rebecca,
born in 1617, married Thomas Nichols, died
in Hingham, September 22, 1675. 2. Abra
ham, born 1619, was in Hingham in 1647 and
afterwards in Lancaster and Stow ; he was lost
at sea in 1670, and Beatrice, his widow, mar
ried (second), 1671, Sergeant Benjamin Bos-
worth, of Hull ; his son Abraham was killed
by the Indians in Lancaster in 1674, aged
twenty-five. 3. Joseph, born 1621, married
and had children. 4. Dorothy, born 1624. 5.
Nathaniel, born 1627. 6. Elizabeth, born
1629, married, in Boston, June 21, 1652, Ed
ward Yeomans (Emmons). 7. Mary, born

1634, married Roger Sumner, great-great-
great-grandfather of Senator Charles Sum
ner. (V) Nathaniel Joslin, son of Thomas Jos
lin (4), was born in 1627, in England. He
came to America with his parents in 1635;
resided for a time at Hingham and Wayland,
then at Lancaster, where 'he signed the orig
inal covenant with his father, 1654. He was
a large land owner in Lancaster and Marlbor
ough, and his will dated March 3, 1694, dis
posed of it very carefully, each member of his
family receiving a plot of land. His "loving
wife" and his sons Nathaniel and Peter, with
his friend, Isaac Amsden, were made "over
seers" of the will. Nathaniel Joslin was a
man of more than average ability. He held
several town offices and was held in high es
teem. He married Sarah King, daughter of
Thomas King, of Marlborough, in 1656. He
died April 8, 1694, at Marlborough. Children:
1. Elizabeth, born June 7, 1657; died July 16,
1657. 2. Nathaniel, born June 21, 1658; died
June 8, 1667. 3. Sarah, born July 15, 1650.
4. Dorothy, born March 4, 1662. 5. Peter,
born December 22, 1665. 6. Elizabeth, born
June 7, 1667. 7. Martha. 8. Nathaniel. 9.
Rebecca, born May 14, 1672.
(VI) Nathaniel Joslin, son of Nathaniel
Joslin (5), was born probably in Lancaster,
June 21, 1658. He married Hester Morse, of
Marlborough, where he removed with his par
ents in King Philip's war. They had thirteen
children, among whom was Thomas, born
March 10, 1707.
(VII) Thomas Joslin, son of Nathaniel
Joslin (6), was born March 10, 1707. He
married (second) Lucy Forbush, of Marlbor
ough. Children of Thomas and  Joslin :
1. Lucy, born 1741, died 1743. 2. Israel,
July 13, 1743, married Ann Newton. 3.
Thomas, August 6, 1745, was a soldier in the
Revolution. 4. Jonas, April 25, 1754, men
tioned below.
(VIII) Jonas Joslin, son of Thomas Joslin
(7), was born April 25, 1754. His widow
Lydia married (second)  Hill. Chil
dren of Jonas and Lydia Joslin: 1. Israel,
born December 13, 1778, mentioned below.
2. Nathan, February 6, 1782, died in Black-
stone, Massachusetts. 3. Otis, August 13,
1784, resided in Medford, Massachusetts.
(IX) Israel Joslin, son of Jonas Joslin (8),
was born in Marlboro, Massachusetts, Decem
ber 13, 1778. He settled in Smithfield, Rhode
Island. He married Asha Crosby, born No
vember 20, 1788, daughter of Benjamin Cros-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1041

by, of Smithfield, a, soldier in the Revolution,
who married, October 26, 1775, Sarah Smith,
born March 17, 1760. Children of Israel and
Asha Joslin: 1. Elisha C, born March 31,
1807. 2. Nathan, May 5, 1810, mentioned be
low. 3. Asher, April 26, 1816.
(X) Nathan Joslin, son of Israel Joslin
(9), was born May 5, 1810. He lived for a
time in Burrillville, Rhode Island. He re
moved to Webster, Massachusetts, and in
early years was a wool-sorter. At the request
of the temperance people of Webster, he
opened the Joslin House of Webster in oppo
sition to a travellers' hotel where liquor was
sold. This he conducted successfully. He
married Lucretia, daughter of Horace Cook,
of Wrentham. He was a Congregationalist
in religion, a man of sterling character and a
citizen of much influence and usefulness in
the town of Webster. Children: 1. Horace
Israel, born September 24, 1836, mentioned
below. 2. Caroline L., 1839, died in 1851.
3. Emma F., born August, 1853, married
Henry Hovey, of Connecticut.
(XI) Horace Israel Joslin, son of Nathan
Joslin (10), was born in Webster, Massachu
setts, September 24, 1836, and died there De
cember 25, 1885. He was educated in the
public schools of his native town and became
associated with his father in the management
of the Joslin House, succeeding him as the
proprietor. He was for many years one of
the leading citizens of the town. In politics
he was a Republican and was active in the
party councils; served his district for three
years as representative in the general court;
was chief engineer of the Webster fire depart
ment for many years ; was the leading member
of the Republican town committee and was
frequently a delegate to the nominating con
ventions of his party. In many ways Mr. Jos
lin was for years the Republican leader of the
town. He was for many years an active and
prominent member of Webster Lodge of Free
Masons, and was a past master. He was a char
ter member of Franklin Council, Royal Arca
num, of Webster. He married, November 19,
1855, Sarah Earned, born June 29, 1836, at
Millbury, Massachusetts, daughter of Sylvanus
Larned, who was a native of Oxford, Massa
chusetts, but removed to Newport, New
Hampshire, where he spent his later years
and where he died. Her mother, Lucretia
Pierce (Wellington) Larned, was born in
Worcester, March" 31, 1810, daughter of Wil
liam and Lydia Wellington. Mrs. Sarah
(Larned) Joslin is living with her son, Fred

erick Nathan Joslin, in Maiden. Mr. Joslin
died December 25, 1885. Children: 1. Car
rie, born June 23, i860, married William Pal
mer. 2. Albert, March 25, 1863, died in No
vember, 1863. 3. Frederick Nathan, Septem
ber 9, 1866, mentioned below. 4. Maud, July
9, 1870, married Chester M. Elliott, of Put
nam, Connecticut, one son, Harold, born De
cember 24, 1899.
(XII) Frederick Nathan Joslin, son of
Horace Israel Joslin (11), was born in Web
ster, Massachusetts, September 9, 1866. He
was educated in the public schools of "Web
ster and went to work at an early age. In
1886 he came to Boston as salesman for Col-
man, Mead & Company, jobbers, dealing in
small wares. After a few years he decided
to engage in business on his own account,
and to get a more intimate knowledge of the
retail business in the suburban district he
worked for seven months in a retail dry goods
store in Lynn. In 1891 he associated himself
with others in opening a store in Maiden un
der the firm name of F. N. Joslin & Co. in
Central square. They have made a great suc
cess in business and built up the largest trade
in the dry goods line in the vicinity of Boston,
outside of the city itself. The Joslin store is in
every respect an up-to-date department store
and wins business in close competition with its
metropolitan rivals. They are clever in adver
tising and retain the confidence of their pat
rons to a remarkable degree. In politics Mr.
Joslin is a Republican ; in religion an Epis
copalian, being an attendant at St. Paul's
Protestant Episcopal Church, Washington
street, Maiden. He is a member of the Mai
den Automobile Club and other organizations,
but of no secret orders. He has devoted him
self to his business with a singleness of pur
pose that accounts in large measure for his
success. '
He married, March 7, 1894, Emma East-
hope Evans, born in Wolverhampton, Staf
fordshire, England, daughter of Henry and
Emma (Hudson) Evans. Their only child
is Freda, born at Maiden, September 16,
1897. (For early generations see preceding sketch).
(VI) Peter Joslin, son of Na-
JOSLIN thaniel Joslin (5), was born at
Lancaster, December 22, 1665,
and died at Leominster, in 1759. He was a
proprietor in Lancaster, and an influential man
in town affairs. For many years he was

1 042

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

selectman, and was often moderator of town
meetings. August 4, 1715, he was chosen
deacon of the Church of Christ, Lancaster.
He was known as Captain Joslin, on account
of his military services in the defence of the
town. In 1704 he was an ensign, and com
manded a garrison having under his charge
eight families. July 18, 1692, Peter Joslin was
at work in the field when the Indians attacked
his house and murdered his wife and three
youngest children ; also a Mrs. Whitcomb, who
happened to be with them at the time. The
eldest child, Peter, they carried away with
them into the woods, and afterwards barba
rously murdered him. Peter Joslin married
first, Sarah How, of Marlborough, who was
killed by the Indians, July 18, 1692 ; married
second, Johanna Whitcomb, born January 8,
1673; died September 24, 1717; daughter of
Josiah and Rebecca Whitcomb ; married third,
Hannah Woods, of Groton, died August 14,
1739, aged seventy-one years; married fourth,
Mrs. Martha Wheeler, born 1679, died May
21, 1742; children by first wife: 1. Peter,
born December 8, 1686 ; taken captive by In
dians, July 18, 1692, and afterwards killed.
Three younger children killed with the mother
on the same day. Children of second wife :
5. Peter; 6. Johanna, baptized May 30, 1708;
7. Sarah, baptized May 30, 1708; 8. Rebecca,
baptized May 30, 1708; 9. Deborah, baptized
October 31, 1708; married Joseph Wilder July
4, 1733. 10. John, baptized December 10,
1 7 10, mentioned below. 11. Abigail, bap
tized August 2, 1713 ; married John Carter
March 10, 1736-7; died December 18, 1795.
12. Dorothy, baptized December 26, 17 14;
died April 22, 1732. 13. Damaris, baptized
September 1, 1717; married Jonathan Carter;
died July, 1801.
(VII) John Joslin, son of Peter Joslin (6),
was baptized at Lancaster, December 10, 1710,
at Lancaster, and died later than August 25,
1779. He settled in that part of Lancaster
now Leominster. He held many town offices,
being selectman, assessor 1748, surveyor of
highways 1757, tything man in 1758, also 1763.
He was active in the church, and his name
appears among" those attached to the remon
strance against the dismission of Rev. John
Rogers as minister. From several deeds exe
cuted in 1779 to various members of his fam
ily, the consideration of which is "love and
affection," and from the fact that he left no
will, it may be presumed that he disposed of
his estate largely before he died. No mention
was made in these' transactions of his wife,

and probably he was a widower at that time.
He married July 4, 1733, Lucy Wilder. The
ceremony took place at Lancaster, Joseph
Wilder, Esq., officiating. Children: 1. Lucy,
born at Lancaster, May 6, 1734; died Decem
ber 1, 1736. 2. Captain John, born September
17, 1735 ; mentioned b'elow. 3. Joseph, born
January 31, 1743. 4. Abijah, born at Leo
minster, January 24, 1745. 5. James, born at
Leominster, July 31, 1747; married Mary
Daby (probably Derby), January 8, 1767. 6.
Peter, born at Leominster, May 9, 1749; kill
ed in the Revolution. 7. Lucy, born at Leo
minster, October 14, 1750; married Deacon
David Wilder. 8. Samuel, born at Leomin
ster, March 11, 1752. 9. Johanna, born at
Leominster, December 21, 1753; married Levi
Warner. 10. Sarah, (twin), born April 3,
1756. 11. Relief, (twin), born April 3, 1756.
12. Thomas, born September 30, 1758; killed
at battle of Bennington. The eldest daughter,
not recorded here, died in infancy.
(VIII) John Joslin, commonly called Cap
tain John, son of John Joslin (7), was born
in Lancaster, September 17, 1735. He was
prominent in the town, and was selectman a
number of years, treasurer of the town some
thirty years ; and representative to the general
court. He was deacon of the church forty-
one years. He served in the Revolution, being
made captain of the company of which his
youngest brother Thomas was a member, and
who was killed at the battle of Bennington by
the first volley, being shot through the heart.
On March 24, 1777, the town voted five hun
dred pounds to pay those who should enlist
for three years, and John Joslin was among
the number. He was in the battle of Mon
mouth, and some others. He lived on Joslin
Hill, in the northeasterly part of Leominster.
He married first, Susannah Carter, born April
20, 1739, died December 5, 1775. The mar
riage was published December 5, 1757. He
married second, Martha Wilder, December 12,
1776; married third, Mrs. Martha Phelps,
1780. Children of first wife: 1. John, born
November 23, 1758; married Sarah Bowers.
2. Susannah, born October 1, 1760; died
young. 3. Nathaniel, born October 25, 1761 ;
married Susannah Buss. 4. Elias, born April
29, 1763; mentioned below. 5. David, mar
ried October 23, 1787, Rebecca Richardson. 6.
Susannah, married November 25, 1790, John
Eames. 7. Dorothy, married December 20,
1787, Stephen Wood. 8. Luke, born May 10,
1 77 1 ; married February 14, 1799, Sally Bea
man. 9. Lucy, born May 15, 1773; married

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.'

1043

April 12, 1792, Jonah Carter. 10. Sally, born
March 3, 1775; married, January 7, 1796,
Oliver Miles. Children of second wife: 11.
Thomas, married January 26, 1812, 
Adams; he was a deaf mute, very bright and
intelligent ; he married second, Hannah Adams,
sister 'of his first wife. 12. Marsha, born
March 7, 1779; married December 8, 1801,
John Ireland, of Cambridge. Child of third
wife: 13. Calvin, born September 4, 1781 ;
married February 17, 1805, Patience Allen.
(IX) Elias Joslin, son of Captain John
Joslin (8), was born at Leominster, on the
place known as Joslin Hill, April 29, 1763.
He lived on the estate in the southerly part of
Leominster now owned by the town. He pur
chased the land from the heirs of Edward
Phelps. He erected a large two-story house,
which was standing at the time the town of
Leominster bought the premises but was soon
afterwards destroyed by fire. He served in
the Revolution as a private in Captain Elias
Pratt's company, at Rutland, from April to
July, 1779, being sixteen years old at the
time, in early manhood he fell from a tree
while gathering chestnuts, and so injured his
spine that he was partly paralyzed, and it was
with difficulty that he could walk with the
help of a cane. He died December 10, 1824.
He married August 28, 1787, Prudence Lin
coln, born April 20, 1768, died January 16,
1848. Children: 1. Betsey, born December
15, 1788; died January 26, 1790. 2. William,
born May 3, 1791 ; died May 27, 1795. 3.
Elias, born November 10, 1795; mentioned
below. 4. Lor ing, born August 6, 1797; died
November 26, 1799. 5. Dorothy, born August
26, 1799; married Thomas G. Merriam April
8, 1824; died October 20, 1849. 6. 'John L.,
born February 22, 1804; married twice; died
October 24, 1863. 7. Dorinda, born January
3, 1807; married William Stearns, October 11,
1831 ; died October 17, 1850.
(X) Elias Joslin, son of Elias Joslin (9),
was born November, 10, 1795, died July 11,
1874. He resided in his native town, Leomin
ster. When he was a young man he entered
the employ of Deacon William Burrage, of
Leominster, who was a tanner and currier by
trade, and became engaged to his daughter,
Polly Burrage. She died before the wedding,
of consumption, and in an oral will left one
hundred dollars to Elias Joslin. He afterwards
married Elizabeth Stearns, who was a foster
daughter of Deacon Burrage, April 11, .1819.
She was born November 17, 1799, daughter of
Levi and Elizabeth Stearns, of Lunenburg.

She was a twin with William Stearns, who
married Dorinda Joslin, sister to Elias Joslin,
Jr. Elizabeth survived her husband and died
at Leominster, January 24, 1885. William
Stearns was a resident of Boston, and a
wholesale merchant, Chatham street. Elias,
Jr., did not like the trade of a tanner, and with
the assistance, of Deacon Burrage bought the
farm in Leominster known afterwards as
"Sheldon Hill." In a short time his father
gave him about one hundred acres of land,
near his own farm. The old house on the
place was replaced by a new one, and nearly
all his children were born there. He resided
there until 1844, when he purchased his
father's farm, his father having been dead
twenty years. His sister Dorothy's husband,
Thomas Merriam, had been the owner of this
farm meanwhile, and had much improved it,
and had erected several shops in which he
manufactured combs of horn. When Elias
Joslin became old and infirm the place was
sold to the town of Leominster. He was a
successful farmer and a prominent man. He
was a member of the Leominster artillery
company, and was called into service in 1812,
when he was seventeen years old. He served
three months at South Boston, continued in
the militia several years, and became major of
the regiment to which the artillery company
belonged. He was a Whig and later a Repub
lican, and a strong believer in good govern
ment. He and his family were members of
the old First Church at Leominster. He and
his wife lived to celebrate the fiftieth anni
versary of their marriage in 1869. Children:
1. William Stearns, born January 22, 1820;
married Elizabeth G. Morse, born October
23, 1819. They settled in Areola, Illinois.
He died October 15, 1898; she died December
24, 1899. 2. Charles Loring, born January
12, 1823; married October 28, 1846, Martha
Jane Adams ;. died January 2, 1893. 3. John
Elias, born August 1, 1825 ; married Janu'ary
14, 1846, Eliza Ann Dorrison; died at Ches
terfield, New Hampshire, July 6, 1901. 4.
Francis Lincoln, born January 9, 1828; mar
ried Susan Ann Jaqueth, November 28, 1849;
died December 22, i860. 5. Mary Elizabeth,
born May 16, 1830; married Nathaniel G
Thorn, September 21, 1852; he died July 27,
1893 ; the widow survives and resides .at
Haverhill, Massachusetts. 6. George War
ren, born March 9, 1832; died October 28,
1835. 7. James Thomas, born June 23, 1834;
mentioned below. 8. Martha Ann, born Feb
ruary 13, 1837; married William B. Tisdale.

1044

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

9. George Clesson, born August 19, 1839;
married first, Martha Walker, September 15,
1863 ; married second  . 10. Ellen
Louisa, born July 16, 1842; died June 10,
1905, unmarried.
(XI) James Thomas Joslin, son of Elias
Joslin (10), was born in Leominster, Massa
chusetts, June 23, 1834. He was educated in
the common and high schools of his native
town, followed by a two years' course at Law
rence Academy at Groton. He commenced
to teach school when he was eighteen years
old, and taught five winters in Leominster,
besides acting as assistant in the high school
one year. He also taught in the Hale high
school at Stow during the autumn of 1857,
and in 1859 completed a term in a school at
Gardner, Massachusetts, where three teachers
had proved unequal to the task. Pie studied
law two years in the office of Hon. Charles H.
Merriam, Leominster, and then spent two
years in the office of Wood & Bailey, Fitch
burg, and was admitted to the bar in i860. He
served two years on the school board, and
was collector of taxes a year in Leominster
while he was prosecuting his legal studies.
Immediately after admission to the bar he
opened an office in Feltonville, Marlborough.
He was one of those most interested in the
incorporation of a new town, on account of
the rapid growth of the village, and in 1864
was one of a committee of five to attend to
the business of incorporating the town of
Hudson, which was done in 1866. He is now
the only surviving member of that commit
tee. He has been elected thirty-nine times
moderator of town meetings in Hudson. He
is a Republican, and for two years was a
member of the state central committee. He
was active in the construction of the Massa
chusetts Central railroad, being a director and
counsel, and retained his interests in it until
it was leased to the Boston & Lowell Railroad
Company. He was appointed trial justice in
1867; held the office twenty-five years, and in
1906 was recommissioned ; he was postmaster
two years during Lincoln's administration.
He is a prominent Odd Fellow; was first
noble grand of Hudson Lodge, and in 1880
was elected grand master of the Grand Lodge,
and two years following was representative
to the Sovereign Lodge, and has held many
offices in that order. -He was a trustee of the
Odd Fellows' Plome for seven years. He is
a Mason, and a past eminent commander of
Trinity Commandery, Knights Templar, of
Hudson. He is affiliated with the Unitarian

church, and is a life member of the American
Unitarian Association.
Pie married, October 14, 1861, Annie
Catherine Burrage, born September 25, 1840,
daughter of John and Mary Watson Burrage ;
she died December 10, 1907. Children: 1. Ralph
Edgar, born at Marlborough (now Hudson),
August 26, 1864; mentioned below. 2. ' Nel
lie Watson, born September 16, 1866; mar
ried, March 25, 1896, Arthur C. Lamson, and
resides at Marlborough, Massachusetts, where
the husband is a dealer in hardware and a
prominent citizen. They have a daughter,
Marion, born December 27, 1904.
(XII) Ralph Edgar Joslin, son of James
Thomas Joslin (11), was born at Marlbor
ough, Mass. (now Hudson), August 26, 1864.
He began his education in the common
schools, entered Tufts College in 1882, and
graduating in 1886 with the degree of A. B.
He then went to Boston University Law
School, where he graduated in two years with
the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In June,
1888, he was admitted to the bar, and in
1889 to partnership with his father and prac
ticed in Hudson and Boston. On March 1,
1901, his father retired from the partnership,
and Samuel W. Mendum, of Woburn, was
admitted under the firm name of Joslin &
Mendum, with offices 'at 10 Tremont street,
Hemenway Building, Boston. They are gen
eral practitioners. Judge Joslin has quarters
with them. Ralph E. Joslin moved from
Hudson to Winchester, Massachusetts, in
1900. He attends the Unitarian church and is
a Republican in politics. He was on the
school board at Hudson, and is a member of
that body at the present time in Winchester.
He has been a member of Hudson Lodge, No.
154, I. O. O. F., at Hudson, since 1887; and
is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity
of Tufts College. He was made a member of
Doric Lodge of Masons at Hudson in 1890,
and has since transferred his membership to
William Parkman Lodge of Winchester. He
is a member of the Calumet Club, and the
Middlesex Bar Association. He was for
merly a trustee of the Hudson Savings Bank.
He served as a private in Company M, Fifth
regiment M. V. M., in 1887, '88, '89 and '90.
He married, February 8, 1892, Fanny Me
lissa Davis, born at Fitzwilliam, New Hamp
shire, June 16, 1867, daughter of George W.
and Melissa Ann (Metcalf) Davis, of Hud
son, Massachusetts. Children: 1. Catherine,
born March 31, 1897, died the following day.
2. Ralph Davis, born March 1, 1898. 3.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1045

Ruth, born June 7, 1901 ; died May 22, 1902.
4. Mary, born April 24, 1903. 5. James Met
calf, born July 11, 1905.

John Peter Schwamb was
SCHWAMB born doubtless in the town
of Untenheim, Rhine-Hes-
sen, Germany. The records of that period
have been destroyed by the ravages of war in
and about the Rhine provinces. He began life
as a miller, and carried on what is known as
Schwamb's Mill, in Untenheim, near the
border of Kongernheim. The family tradi
tion is that the mill was built many years be
fore his day, and he undoubtedly inherited the
mill from his father. He did a thriving bus
iness, the grain from all the surrounding pro
vince being brought to his mill. It was of
two stories, with ell and outbuildings, barns
and sheds, and a large water wheel, and was
on the main road between Untenheim and
Kongernheim. He also had a farm of many
acres and lived there all his life. He was a
Lutheran in religion. He married, in 1790,
Lena Maria Gebhardt, in Untenheim. Chil
dren: 1. John Peter, born August 22, 1791,
mentioned below. 2 and 3. Twins, who died
young. (II) John Peter Schwamb, son of John
Peter Schwamb (1), was born in Untenheim,
Germany, August 22, 1791, and died at Kong
ernheim in the same province in 1866. He
was educated in his native town, and at the
age of fourteen was confirmed in the Luth
eran Protestant church. He worked on his
father's farm and early learned the trade of
miller, which he followed until 1812. He
was then drafted to serve in the army under
Emperor Napoleon, the Rhein provinces being
under his domain at that time. He was taken
to a military post in the North Sea, received
training for the artillery, and then entered the
service. He was in the battle of Lutzen, May
2, 1813, and in the battles of Bautzen, Vit-
toriam Dresden and Leipsic in October of the
same year. He was in Napoleon's retreat
through Saxony back to the Rhine, where he
was honorably discharged from the service.
He settled on a farm of twenty acres in
Untenheim, which came to him through his
marriage, from the parents of his wife. Here
he became prosperous, but in the thirties sold
his farm and removed to the nearby town of
Kongernheim, and bought a forty-acre farm,
four acres of which was vineyard. Here he
lived the remainder of his life. He was a
iii— 18

man of medium size, dark in complexion, of
powerful physique; a, man of great industry
and thrift. His cheerful temperament and
fine character made him respected in the com
munity. Plis spare time was spent in wood
working, and he excelled in the craft.
He married, August 20, 1814, at Unten
heim, Elizabeth. Katharina Schwamb, born at
Untenheim, December 11. 1794, died at Kong
ernheim in 1864, daughter of John Jacob and
Anna Christina (Bock) Schwamb. Her
mother was the daughter of the burgomaster
of Untenheim, and her father, though of the
same name, was no relation to John Peter
Schwamb. Her father was born June 2,
1765, and was the eighth child of John D.
Schwamb, who married, September 25, 1749,
Maria Eva Manz. Children: 1. Jacob, born
November 28, 1815, mentioned below. 2.
Louis Ludwig, born January 4, 18 18, men
tioned below. 3. Dorothea, born December
29, 1819. 4. Maria Christina, born February
6, 1 82 1, died 1888; married, December 24,
1854, Anton Does, of Gau Odernheim, Hes-
sen, Germany; children: i. Frederick Does,'
born October 1, 1855, married, October 20,
1887, Lena Matthes, of Lawrence, Massachu
setts, and had Fred Albert Does, born Decem
ber 4, 1890; Charles Henry Does, born De
cember 28, 1892; Ethel Augusta Does, born
July 26, 1899; Mildred Elizabeth Does, born
February 19, 1902; ii. Elizabeth Does, born
October 1, 1855, married Balthaser Reinhart;
iii. Jacob Does, born January 19, 1859; iv.
Mary Annie Does, born December 29, 1861.
5. Katharina, born April 30, 1824, married
Jacob Eberhart, of Untenheim, Hessen, Ger
many; children: i. Christian Eberhart, mar
ried (first)  Loos, (second)  Balser
and had Frederick Eberhart; ii. Marie Eber
hart, married Adam Giess, and had Philip
Giess and Marie Giess ; iii. Wilhelm Eber
hart; iv. Elizabeth Eberhart, married 
Kaiser and had two children; v. Peter Eber
hart; vi. Barbara Eberhart, married John
Bausmann ; three children : vii. Jacob Eber
hart; viii. Philip Eberhart, born August 10,
1867. (See Eberhart). 6. Elizabeth, born
January 10, 1826, unmarried. 7. Karl,
born May 29, 1828, married, November
28, 1852, Jane Hinton; children: i. Karl
William, born September 9, 1854, mar
ried, May 7, 1878, Nellie Augusta Parks,
adopted daughter of his Grandfather Hinton,
of St. Louis, Missouri, and had : Clinton War
ren, born July 13, 1879, married, November,
1901, Maud Florence Hinton and have Elmer

1046

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Clinton; Edith Beatrice, born October 9, 1881,
married, October 31, 1904, George Graham
Sweet, of Denver, Colorado; and Louis Hin
ton, born February 13, 1885 ; ii. Hattie Louise,
born August 11, 1856, died January 20, 1891 ;
iii. Jane Elizabeth, born November 26, 1858,
died February 2, 1884, married Daniel
Wyman, of Arlington, Massachusetts, and had
Elsie Wyman, born January 4, 1884, died
August 9, 1885; see sketch of Wyman family;
iv. Alice Hinton, born January 15, 1861, died
July 14, 1890; v. Gertrude Florence, born
October 1, 1862, died May 9, 1886 ; vi. Her
bert W., at present resides in Denver Colo
rado ; he married a Miss Hadley and has four
children; vii. Arthur, born October 29, 1864,
died August 17, 1865; viii. Olive, born August
7, 1870, died August 22, 1870; ix. Harry,
born March 10, 1872, died June 10, 1872. 8.
Peter, born March 30, 1830, mentioned below.
9. Theodore, born February 29, 1832, men
tioned below. 10. William, born November
23, 1833, married Elizabeth Regner, of Kong
ernheim, Germany ; children : i. Annie ; ii.
William, married  Geihl; iii. Katherine;
iv. John, born October 5, 1873, married Annie
Marie Happel, of East Boston, Massachu
setts; v. George. 11. Frederick, born Octo
ber 28, 1835, died March 7. 1905, at Tarpon
Springs, Florida; married, November 22,
1857, Thekla Breivogel, of Kongernheim,
Germany, born September 17, 1836; children:
i. Elizabeth Clara, born September 17, 185 — ,
died January 16, 1894; married, September
7, 1886, Thomas W. Cutting and had Mabel
Irene Cutting, born November 1, 1888, died
January 11, 1894; ii. Emma Grace, born No
vember 12, i860, married, October 6, 1878, Fred
Geist, born March 26, 1855, and had Edwin
Fred Geist, born October 30, 1879, married,
April 17, 1906, Mary Driscoll and had Grace
Thekla Geist, born January 30, 1907; Willis
George Geist, born June 1, 1881, Lester John
Geist, born March 6, 1884, Warren Freeman
Geist, born June 10, 1886, Lorena Grace Geist,
born August 3, 1889, Ruth Emma Geist and
Raymond Christopher Geist, twins, born April
26, 1892 ; iii. Frederick William, born June
28, 1862, unmarried; iv. Thekla Florence,
born February 24, 1871, married, February
21, 1893, Benjamin Chester Sammons, of Blue
Hill, Illinois, and had Marie Sammons, born
October 14, 1894, and Frederick Cyrus Sam
mons, born August 25, 1897.
(Ill) Jacob Schwamb, eldest son of John
Peter Schwamb (2), was born at Untenheim,
Germany, November 28, 1815, died at Ar

lington, Massachusetts, February 20, 1881. He
received his education in the schools of his
native town, and early learned the trade of
cabinetmaker, meanwhile assisting his father
on the farm. He came to Boston from Ger
many in 1838 and started to work at his trade
in the employ of Lord & Cumstom, piano
case makers. He remained with them several
years, until the firm was dissolved, to be suc
ceeded by Hallett & Cumstom, with whom he
continued for several years longer. Subse
quently he removed to Leominster, and made
cases for J. C. Lane for some years. In 1853
he removed to West Cambridge and entered
into partnership with his brother Charles for
the manufacture of piano cases. Two other
brothers were admitted to the firm later, and
Schwamb Brothers continued business until
1862, when the firm was dissolved. Jacob
established a business in Boston, making cases
for the Mason & Hamlin Organ Company,
living at West Medford. Later he removed
his family to Roxbury and contracted to make
cases for William P. Emerson, at first in the
old Emerson Piano factory at Boston, and
later in a building which he leased on Hanner-
man street, Roxbury. After the Emerson
company went out of business, Mr. Schwamb
removed again to Arlington and took the P.
T. Dodge factory. Later he erected a factory
near Brattle street on Massachusetts avenue,
where he made piano cases for Henry F.
Miller, continuing until his death, February
20, 1 88 1. After his death the heirs, including
his widow and William F. Schwamb, his son,
carried on the business for a time, and finally
closed it out. Air. Schwamb was a man highly
esteemed in the community, of strong relig
ious convictions. He was one of the founders
of the Lutheran church at the corner of Wal
tham street and Shawmut avenue, Boston, and
was one of its best workers. Often, in the
absence of the pastor, he would supply the
pulpit. In politics he was a Republican.
He married (first) Magdelene Hammerlee,
born May 26, 181 6, died September 7, 1846.
He married (second), 1847, Hammetta Butz,
who died October 12, 1853. He married
(third), March 5, 1855, Katherine Guething,
born April 9, 1825, died November 14, 1888.
Children of the first wife: 1. John, born
May 15, 1842, married, September 20, 1864,
Sarah E. Dexter, of West Cambridge; chil
dren: i. Warren Cummings, born July 7,
1865, married, February 10, 1891, Anastasia
Penney, of Boston, and had no issue; ii. Lou
ise, married, September 26, 1892, Leonard

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1047

Stone, of Belmont, and had Dorothy Stone,
born September 4, 1900. 2. Jacob, born May
13, 1843, died unmarried February 22, 1872.
3. Louisa, born October 1, 1845, died unmar
ried February 23, 1852. Children of the sec
ond wife: 4. Charles, born January 3, 1848,
died 1907. 5. Theodore, born December 27,
1849, died unmarried February 18, 1871.
Children of the third wife : 6. William Peter,
born January 12, 1856, died December 31,
1906; married, July 9, 1884, Lucy M., Daniels,
of Boston; children: i. Walter Edward, born
May 22, 1885, married, May 3, 1905, Kath
erine Cunningham, of Cambridge, and had
William Lester, born April 10, 1906, died
September 22, 1906; ii. Lester Gilbert, born
September 18, 1887; iii. Katherine Rebecca,
born December 5, 1889. 7. Henry William,
born May 15, 1857, died March 20, 1890;
married Emily Sertoli, of Boston, and had
Robert Hamilton, born March 20, 1888. 8.
Emma Louise, born February 27, i860, mar
ried, August 29, 1883, George A. Heinold, of
Boston; children: i. Ada Florence Heinold,
born March 8, 1887; ii. Alice Louise Heinold,
born February 5, 1895. 9- Eliza Augusta,
born October 12, 1862, unmarried, 10. Ed
ward Warren, born April 3, 1865.
(Ill) Louis Ludwig Schwamb, son of
John Peter Schwamb (2), was born in Un
tenheim, Rheinhessen, Germany, January 4,
1818, and died at New Haven, Missouri, July
18, 1898. He was educated in his native town
and learned the trade of cabinetmaker. He
came to America and settled in Ripley county,
Indiana, in February, 1850, where he started
in business at his trade. Later he moved to
Grass Plain, Ripley county, and engaged in
farming. In the spring of 1867 he removed
to Franklin county, Missouri, four miles east
of New Haven, where he conducted a pros
perous farm for the remainder of his life.
His widow now resides on the homestead
there. He married, Rosalie Constantine Ob-
endorf, who was born in Saxony, Germany,
June 24, 1833, and came with her parents to
Ripley county, Indiana, in 1846. Children :
1. Theodore Clark, born November 5, 1851,
married, December 19, 1877, Minnie Chris
tina Vick, born October 10, 1855; children:
i. Lewis Herman, born August 7, 1878; ii.
Otto Oscar, born January 21, 1880; iii. Marie
Clara, born June 30, 1881, married, August
16, 1905, William E. Stiles and had Gertrude
Marie Stiles, born July 3, 1906 ; iv. Ferdinand
Theodore, born September 23, 1883 ; v. Olivia
Thekla, born June 27, 1885 ; vi. Adela Minnie,

born November 3, 1887; vii. Augusta Alma,
born December 2, 1889; viii. Bertha Rosalie,
born March 6, 1892, died March 7, 1893; ix.
Minna Selma, born April 26, 1899. 2. Amalie
Katharina, born February 18, 1853, married
December 30, 1886, Josef Lang, born June 9,
1843; children: i. Willie Lang, born August
27, 1889, died December 30, 1890; ii. Clara
Rosalie Lang, born December 2, 1890; iii.
Louis Noland Lang, born July 23, 1896. 3.
Herman Louis, born January 4, 1855, married,
March 22, 1881, Louise Ottilie Shelb, born
July 24, 1856; children: i. Richard Gustave,
born December 25, 1881, died August 21,
1882; ii. Rosa Clara, born March 3, 1883;
iii. Vora Louise, born. January 8, 1885, mar
ried, September 17, 1905, Johann Johnson and
had Emil Johann Johnson, born October 17,
1907; iv. Carlisle Herman, born December
21, 1887; v. Josephine Huldah, born July 19,
1892 ; vi. Edwin Otto, born June 18, 1895 ;
vii. Frederick Wilhelm, born February 28,
1901, died August 12, 1901. 4. Emanual Con
stantine, born December 24, 1856, died Sep
tember 15, 1857. 5. Ida Maria Ottilie, born
September 12, 1858, died December 7, 1864.
6. Clara Christina, born January 10, 1861,
married, iMay 29, 1884, Charles Frederick
Viedt, born November 7, 1852; children: i.
Arthur Charles Viedt, born July 1, 1885 ; ii.
Ida Clara Viedt, born February 14, 1887. 7.
Josef Henry, born April 17, 1863, married,
April 14, 1887, Minnie Struebbe, born Sep
tember 2, 1866; children: i. Ella Louise, horn
September 25, 1887, died December 3, 1896;
ii. Annie Lilly, born September 16, 1889, mar
ried, December 25, 1906, Eddie August Kiebl-
man; iii. Daughter, born August 22, 1891,
died August 28, 1891 ; iv. Philip Otto, born
September 4, 1895 ; v. Elmer Herman, born
March 21, 1898; vi. Albert Leo, born October
3, 1903. 8. Peter Otto, born February 10,
1866, married, December 12, 1900, Lena Lou
isa Kassel, born October 31, 1877; children:
i. Esther Laura, born January 8, 1902 ; ii.
Walter August, born December 15, 1904; iii.
Lawrence Otto, born November 27, 1907. 9.
Louis Philip, born June 14, 1869, married,
October 26, 1897, Clara I. Kassel, born Octo
ber 4, 1874; children: i. Ezna Fredericke,
born August 28, 1898; ii. Aloyn Louis, born
March 4, 1900; iii. Frida Rosalie, born De
cember 27, 1901 ; iv. Roy Gustave, born No
vember 8, 1905. 10. Laura Amanda, born
February 23, 1872, married, March 18, 1890.
Charles William Struebbe, born August 18,
1862; children: i. Lillie Elizabeth Struebbe,

1048

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

born July 9, 1891 ; ii. Tina Rosalie Struebbe,
born May 13, 1893; iii. Ida Louisa Struebbe,
born July 5, 1896; iv. Carl Willie Struebbe,
born February 24, 1899.
(Ill) Peter Schwam'b, son of John
Peter Schwamb (2), was born March 30,
1830, and died March 28, 1858. He married,
April 16, 1857, Clara Buecher, born March 17,
1830, at Graach, Rhinepreussen, Germany,
and died at Arlington, Massachusetts, August
15, 1902, daughter of Nicholas and Christina
Buecher. Child, Peter, born February 13,
1858, mentioned below.
(Ill) Theodore Schwamb, son of John
Peter Schwamb (2), was born at Untenheim,
Germany, February 29, 1832. He received
his education in the schools of his native town,
and at the age of fourteen was confirmed in
the Lutheran church. He early began to work
in his father's vineyard, and took charge of
it until he was twenty years of age. His
brothers had already emigrated to America,
and he determined to join them. In June,
1853, he left for America, arriving in Boston
August 7 of that year. He located in West
Cambridge, and in October apprenticed him
self to his brothers to learn the trade of cabi
netmaker. The following brief sketch of
Schwamb Brothers is taken in substance from
"Arlington Past and Present :"
The oldest Jacob, a cabinetmaker, came to
Boston in 1838 and established himself in
business. Charles came to West Cambridge
in 1848 and apprenticed himself to Paul F.
Dodge to learn the trade, at what is now 1171
Massachusetts avenue, later going into busi
ness with Mr. Dodge. Peter came to West
Cambridge in 1850 and learned the trade at
their shop, and in 1853 Theodore and the
younger Jacob came also. The two elder
brothers entered into partnership, and at that
time Theodore started on his apprenticeship.
They made' piano cases and did turning and
sawing. Theodore served his time and then
was a journeyman for two years, when he and
his brother Peter were admitted into the firm,
under the firm name of Charles Schwamb &
Bros. They occupied the old Dodge mill-site
and continued in business until 1862, when
the firm was dissolved. Charles and Frederick
continued the business, and Jacob established
himself in Boston.
Theodore then began the manufacture of
piano cases, where No. 1093 Massachusetts
avenue now is, and continued at this location
until 1872, with great success. In 1871 he
purchased the Stephen Cutter mill property

and the next year removed his business there.
It was the site of the original Schwamb Bros.
mill, and water power was available there. In
1 88 1 steam power was installed and in 1886
extensive additions were made to the build
ings and plant, then employing twenty men.
The corporation of Theodore Schwamb Com
pany was formed in 1897, with Mr. Schwamb
as president, Peter Schwamb treasurer, and
Philip Eberhart and Jacob Biterz, directors.
They have been actively engaged in the busi
ness for a number of years, and Mr. Eberhart
was appointed superintendent in the mill.
The business increasing, in 1901 other addi
tions were made, nearly doubling the former
floor space, and in 1905 the crowded condi
tion of the plant made still further additions
desirable. Land was purchased in the rear
of the buildings, giving access to the railroad,
and permitting the construction of a spur
track for the convenience of the delivery of
lumbers A lumber storehouse and brick factory
sixty by eighty feet were built in 1905, and in
1906 drying houses and a new boiler plant were
added. About sixty-five men are employed,
and the finest case work is manufactured at
the plant. Many of the oldest piano makers
are customers of the firm. Theodore Schwamb,
although advanced in years, is still the leading
spirit in the business.
Although confirmed a Lutheran, Mr. Sch
wamb now attends the Arlington Baptist
church. In politics he is a Republican, and
is now a member of the sinking fund commis
sion. He has been for forty years a member
of Bethel Lodge, No. 121, Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, and has served as noble
grand of the lodge. He is a member of East
Cambridge Encampment, No. 34, of the same
society. He is a director of the Arlington
National Bank, and trustee of the Arlington
Savings Bank.
He married, April 17, i860, Mrs. Clara
(Buecher) Schwamb, widow of his brother
Peter, born March 17, 1830, died August 15,
1902. Children: 1. Clara, born January 20,
1 861, married January 10, 1889, Walter
Horace Peirce, of Arlington; children: i.
Ida Francena Peirce, born May 1, 1891 ; ii.
Walter Theodore Peirce, born July 20, 1900.
2. Ottilia, born January 17, 1863, died Febru
ary 18, 1864. 3. George, born August 20,
1864, died August 2, 1866.
(IV) Peter Schwamb, son of Peter Sch
wamb (3), was step-son of his uncle, Theo
dore Schwamb (3), was born at West Cam
bridge, now Arlington, Massachusetts, Feb-

'jev,

cdo-u y/c^/vbtSCrryi^

MIDDLESEX. COUNTY.

1049

ruary 13, 1858. He received his education in
the public and high schools of Arlington, and
then entered the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, graduating with a degree of A.
B. in 1878. He subsequently took a post
graduate course of a year in chemistry, and
spent a part of the year as assistant in physics.
The next year he accepted a position as chief
draughtsman in the Howe Scale Company at
Rutland, Vermont, where he remained a year.
In 1880 he entered the employ of the Hinck
ley Locomotive Works at Boston as draughts
man and remainded three years, doing design
ing and mechanical engineering work. In the
fall of 1883 he was appointed instructor in
mechanical engineering in the Massachusetts
Institution of Technology. From 1884 to
1888 he was assistant professor of mechanism,
and director of the mechanical laboratories.
From 1888 to 1896 he was associate professor
in the same department, and from 1897 to
1902 was full professor. In 1902 he was
appointed professor of machine design and
director of the mechanical laboratories, which
position he holds at the present time. In col
laboration with Professor A. H. Merrill, he
is the author of "Notes and Elements of
Mechanism." Mr. Schamb was elected in 1897 treasurer,
and director of the Theodore Schamb Com
pany. In religion he is a Unitarian, and in politics
a Republican. From March, 1896, to 1904,
he was on the water commission of Arlington,
and was instrumental in having his town ad
mitted ' into the Metropolitan water system.
He was on the school board from 1897 to
1899, and served on the committees which had
charge of building the Locke and Cutter
schools, being chairman of the latter. In 1904
he was elected as one of the original members
of the board of public works then created,
and continues to the present time (1908) as
chairman of the board. He is a member of
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
Boston Society of Civil Engineers, Eastern
Manual Training Association, Technology
Club, Mathematical and Physical Club, Arl
ington Boat Club and the corporation of the
Arlington Savings Bank.
He married, June 7, 1893, Amy Etta
Bailey, born at Arlington, December 13,
1863, daughter of James Alderson and Mar
ietta (Peirce) Bailey. Her father was a saw
manufacturer ; selectman of Arlington ; mem
ber of Company E, Fifth Massachusetts Vol

unteers, in the Civil war. Children: 1. Amy
Esther, born April 30, 1896. 2. Theodore
Alderson (twin), born December 18, 1898.
3. Edward Bailey (twin), born December 18,

Philip Eberhardt, son of
EBERHARDT Jacob and Katherina
(Schwamb) Eberhardt,
was born at Kongernheim, Rhein-Hessen,
Germany, August 10, 1867. At the age of
four he was taken into his aunt's family, in
the adjacent township of Guntersblum, where
he was educated in the schools. At the age
of thirteen he was confirmed in the Lutheran
church and was apprenticed to learn the trade
of cabinetmaking of his eldest brother, Chris
tian Eberhardt. After a year he came to
America, landing at Boston, June 16, 1882,
and entered the employ of his uncle, Theo
dore Schwamb, at Arlington. He began at
the foot and worked in all the various de
partments of the factory, and became a
skilled workman. In 1890 he became the sup
erintendent of the entire plant, and it is main
ly throught his efforts that the business has
so rapidly increased. When the Theodore
Schwamb Company was incorporated in 1897,
he became a partner and director of the cor
poration. He now attends the Arlington Bap
tist Church, and in politics is a Republican.
He has served his party as delegate to the
various conventions.
He married, November 30, 1892, Nora May
Dennett, born September 14, 1868, at
Gloucester, Massachusetts, daughter of Dr.
John Plummer and Louisa (Tilden) Dennett,
of Pittsfield, New Hampshire. Children: 1.
John Dennett, born June 7, 1894. 2. Kather
ine, March 2, 1896. 3. Eunice Grace, No
vember 8, 1898.

John Warren, the immigrant
WARREN ancestor, was born in Eng
land, in 1585, and came from
Hayland, to Boston with Governor Winthrop
in the ship "Arabella," arriving at Salem,
June 12, 1630. From Salem he came with
the rest of the company to Charlestown,
whence after a brief stay they removed to
Watertown, Massachusetts. He was admitted
a freeman May 18, 1631 ; was selectman of
Watertown 1636 to 1640 ; was on the commit
tee to lay out highways. His homestead was
between those of John Bisco and Isaac
Stearns and William Hammond. He had

1050

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

seven other lots amounting to one hundred
and seventy-six acres. He sympathized with
the Quakers, and was at odds with the Puri
tan church, though he retained his member
ship. He was warned March 14, 1658-59, for
not attending church, and was fined April 4,
1654, for not attending church fourteen Sab
baths, at five shillings each — three pounds ten
shillings. His house and that of his neighbor,
Goodman Hammond, were searched "for
Quakers," May 27, 1661. His wife Margar
et died November 6, 1662. He died Decem
ber 13, 1667, aged eighty-two years. His will
was dated November 30, and proved Decem
ber 17, 1667. Children, born in England:
1. John, born 1622, admitted a freeman May
18, 1645. 2. Mary, married, October 30,
1642, John Bigelow. 3. Daniel, born 1628,
mentioned below. 4. Elizabeth; married,
1654, James Knapp.
(II) Daniel Warren, son of John Warren
(1), was born in England, 1628, and came
with his parents to America. He lived in
Watertown, was a farmer, and died there.
He was a soldier in King Philip's war ; select
man of the town of Watertown, 1682 to 1698.
He took the oath of fidelity 1652. He mar
ried, December 10, 1650, Mary Barron.
Children: 1. Mary, born November 29, 1651,
died May 1, 1734; married, May 29, 1668,
John Child. 2. Daniel, born October 6, 1653,
admitted freeman April 18, 1690; selectman
and deputy. 3. Hannah, born September 24,
1655, married David Mead. 4. Elizabeth,
born December 6, 165 — , married Jonathan
Taintor. 5. Samuel, born July 4, 1658. 6.
Susanna, born December 26, 1663, died 1678.
7. John, born March 5, 1665-66, mentioned
below. 8. Joshua, born July 4, 1668, died
January 30, 1760. 9. Grace, born March 14,
1671-72, married, January 20, 1690-91, Jo
seph Morse, Jr., of Watertown.
(Ill) Ensign John Warren, son of Daniel
Wrarren (2), was born at Watertown, March
5, 1665-66. He was admitted a freeman May
16, 1690. He married, March 25, 1682-83,
Mary Brown, who was admitted to full com
munion in the church August 19, 1688, and
who married (second), Samuel Harrington.
Warren held various town offices, and the
rank of ensign in the military company. He
died at the age of thirty-seven, leaving a
widow and three sons. Children: 1. John,
born March 15, 1684-85, died March 25,
1745 ; father of Ebenezer, first settler of the
name at Leicester, ancestor of the Warrens
of that town and Holden. (It has finally been

definitely proved that Ebenezer Warren of
Leicester was in no way connected with the
family to which General Joseph Warren be
longed, notwithstanding persistent family tra
dition and several lineages in print that seem
ed warranted by the facts known at the time).
2. Jonathan, born April 26, baptized April 29,
1688. 3. Daniel, mentioned below.
(IV) Captain Daniel Warren, son of En
sign John Warren (3), was born in 1689,
and baptized September 1, that year. He
married Rebecca Garfield, who died at West-
borough, October 21, 1720, and (second),
(according to Caleb Wail), Mary Witherby.
Children: 1. Daniel, born at Watertown,
November 19, 1712, married Hannah  ,
resided at Westborough and Shrewsbury;
served in the French and Indian war in 1746,
was taken prisoner, carried to Canada, and
never heard from. 2. Timothy, born Septem
ber 14, 1715, mentioned below. Born at
Westborough: 3. Jonas, November 16, 1717.
4. Silas, July 28, 1720. Children of Captain
Daniel and second wife, Mary (Witherby)
Warren, whom he married at Westborough,
May 23, 1727, and who died there January 18,
1738-39; all born at Westborough: 5. Moses,
born October 10, 1728. 6. Nahum, Septem
ber 25, 1730. 7. Mary, September 12, 1732.
8. Jonathan, October 14, 1734. 9. Rebecca,
December 27, 1736, died September 17, 1740.
10. Submit, January 13, 1738-39, died Feb
ruary 7, 1738-39.
(V) Timothy Warren, son of Captain
Daniel Warren (4), was born in Marlbor
ough, Massachusetts, September 14,* 171 5,
died in Westborough, August 3, 1803, in his
eighty-eighth year. He lived at Westbor
ough; married there, November 22, 1739,
Rebecca Taintor, who died September 16,
1796. Children, born at Westborough: 1.
Timothy, Jr., born May 28, 1740, married,
March 26, 1767, Thankful How. 2. Joseph,
born April 24, 1742. 3. Rebecca, born March
30, 1744. 4. Benjamin, born July 21, 1745,
mentioned below. 5. Jemima, born Novem
ber 10, 1748. 6. Ruth, born March 9, 1749.
7. John, born February 21, 175 1. 8. Eunice,
born March 31, 1757. 9. Sarah, born May 1,
1759. 10. Abner, born March 15, 1761.
(VI) Benjamin Warren, son of Timothy
(5), was born at Westborough, July 21, 1745.
He settled in his native town, and owned a
large farm near the Northborough line, on
the present site of the Lyman school. The
Assabet river divided his farm. He also had
a saw mill, raised cattle to a considerable ex-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1051

tent, and traded in cattle at the Brighton
market, buying and selling there and through
out this section of the country. He was fond
of hunting, and one of the most successful
and tireless hunters of his day. He was a
member of the Westborough church. He
married, April 23, 1767, Lucretia How, who
was born June 30, 1751, daughter of Benja
min and Tabitha How, of Westborough.
Children, born in Westborough: 1. William,
baptized July 7, 1776. 2. Molly, baptized
July 7, 1776. 3. Hepzibah, baptized July 7,
1.776; married, June 11, 1798, Benjamin Plow,
of Northborough. 4. Bernice, baptized July
7, 1776. 5. Thankful, born June 27, 1779,
married, March 31, 1805, George Washington
Beeton ; children : i. Harriet Beeton, born
June 21, 1806; ii, Seraph Beeton, July 13,
1809; iii. Martha Beeton, November 19, 1817;
iv. Wealthy, November 19, 1817. 6. Lucre
tia, born May 19, 1782, married, April 12,
1803, Moses Herhenway, of Framingham. 7.
Benjamin, born July 4, 1784, married, March
4, 181 1, (intention) Anna Segers, of North-
borough ; children : i. Lucy Rice, born May
28, 1813; ii. Willard Warner, May 30, 1815;
iii. Thomas Baldwin, December 5, 1816; iv.
Abraham Beeman, August 1, 1818. 8. Jos
eph, born July 4, 1784, mentioned below. 9.
Daniel, born September 10, 1786, married
(first), December 19, 181 1, Mary Bullard;
(second),  . 10. Nahum, born September
10, 1786, married, January 8, 1828, Mary
Childs; child, Mary Ortentia, born September
25, 1828. 11. Hannah, born November 30,
1788. (VII) Joseph Warren, son of Benjamin
Warren (6), was born at Westborough, July
4, 1784, died there September, 1863. He was
brought up on the farm, and educated in the
district schools. About the tinte of his mar
riage he bought a section of his fathers farm
and built a house on it. He was a stone
mason by trade and worked out in the vicinity
of his home. He sold his place and in" later
years lived on the Parmenter farm. On
account of lameness and rheumatism he was
obliged to retire from active business before
he was sixty. He had a large and powerful
physique, and was very active before his
health failed. He belonged to the state mili
tia. He married, August 30, 1812, Arathusa
Sever, born at Worcester, July 6, 1799, died
at Westborough, February 27, 1881, daughter
of Edward and Lucretia (Harris) Sever.
Children, born at Westborough: 1. Joseph
How, born March 13, 1813, mentioned be

low. 2. Nancy, born June 17, 1815, married,
at Marlborough, Massachusetts, Samuel
Chandler Fay, of Uxbridge, Massachusetts.
(For children see Fay genealogy). 3. Wil
Ham, born March 15, 1827, married (first),.
Widow Thornton; (second),  .
(VIII) Joseph How Warren, son of Jo
seph Warren (7), was born at Westborough,
March 3, 181 3, died at Shrewsbury, Massa
chusetts, March 27, 1856. He was educated
in the public schools, and learned the trade of
tanner, serving an apprenticeship of seven
years in the Davis tannery at Northborough.
He followed this trade for some years, then
worked in a shoe factory in Worcester in
1847, as shoe dresser, living at 28 Elm street;
in 1849 he worked in the finishing depart
ment, and in 1850 as cutter of upper leather,
continuing in this position until his health
failed in 1852. Then he opened a hat store at
247 Main street, removing soon to 85 Pleas
ant street, Worcester. In 1855 he removed
to Shrewsbury to live on the farm of his wife's
father, Calvin Newton, in the hope of improv
ing his health. He established a business soon
afterward as itinerant merchant, carrying in
his wagon household goods, dry and fancy
goods in great variety. He was successful in
this business and pursued it as long as his
health permitted, shortly before his death. He
died of consumption, March 27, 1856. He
and his wife were consistent members of the
Congregational church (orthodox). He was
a Whig in politics. When a young man he
served in the militia.
He married, at Shrewsbury, December 31,
1846, Abigail Newton, born at Shrewsbury,
February 8, 1820, died March 28, 1856,
daughter of Calvin and Patty (Rice) New
ton, of Shrewsbury. Her father was a farm
er and held various town offices in Shrews
bury. Children: 1. Joseph Edson, born De
cember 22, 1848, married, November 16, 1871,
Marion Elizabeth Perry, of Shrewsbury,
daughter of William Holland and Mary Ann
(Mahan) Perry, of Shrewsbury; child, Mabel
Genevra, born January 31, 1873. 2. Calvin
Edwin, born September 26, 1850, mentioned
below. (IX) Calvin Edwin Warren, son of Joseph
How Warren (8), was born in Worcester,
Massachusetts, September 26, 1850. At the
age of four years he removed to Shrewsbury
with his parents. His father died there March
27, 1856, and his mother the following day.
Singularly enough his grandfather and grand
mother in the Warren line also died within

1052

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

twelve hours of each other, and his great-
grandparents, John and Elizabeth (Wheelock)
Rice, died within four hours of each other,
the husbands dying first in each case. Calvin
E. Warren went to live in Marlborough, after
the death of his parents, with Elbridge Wil
kins. He lived there one year and attended
school there. He returned to Shrewsbury
and lived with his grandfather, Calvin New
ton, and was educated there in the public
schools, working on the farm until he was
nineteen years old. Then he went to Marl
borough again and learned the trade of car
penter, being in the employ of his uncle, El
bridge Wilkins, for a year. Then he went
to Boston and began a mercantile career as
clerk in the store of A. M. Aldrich & Com
pany, wholesale produce, Quincy Market, re
maining a year. In the spring of 1872 he
accepted a position as billing clerk for the
firm of Wright, Bliss & Fabyan, Franklin
street. The firm was burned out in the great
Boston fire in November of that year, and he
entered the employ of Burr, Page & Com
pany, produce merchants, 7 Merchants Row,
as bookkeeper, continuing until 1880, leaving
at that time to enter the employ of the well-
known insurance firm of John C. Paige & Co.,
20 Kilby street, Boston, and in a few years
rose to the position of auditor of agents'
accounts for City of London and Metropole
Insurance companies. In 1885 he became
superintendent of the sub-agency of the Na
tional Life Insurance Company for, Massachu
setts under James T. Phelps, the state agent,
remaining in this position until 1893, when
he engaged in business on his own account
as insurance agent with offices at 40 Water
street. He removed later to 79 Milk street
to his present offices. Mr. Warren conducts
a general fire, life, accident and liability in
surance. His principal life insurance com
pany is the Union Central Life Insurance of
Cincinnati, Ohio. He resides at 64 Gray
street, Arlington, Massachusetts, removing
thither from Everatt, Massachusetts, in 1900.
He is a member of the First Congregational
Church of Arlington. While at Everett, he
was a member of the Congregational church
and served on the standing committee. He
was treasurer for one year of the Young Men's
Christian Association at Everett and was on
the finance committee. In politics he is a
Republican, and has been delegate to various
political conventions; also serving in the
common council of the city of Everett in
1898 and on the school house commission of

that municipality. He is a member of Olive
Branch Lodge, No. 78, Odd Fellows, of
Charlestown; of the Independent Order of
Red Men; of the Men's Club of Arlington;
of the Boston Underwriters' Association. He
is treasurer of the Massachusetts Hide Cor
poration, also a director. He was formerly a
member of the Glendon Club of Everett.
He married, June 17, 1874, Emma Frances
Briggs, born November 22, 1849, daughter of
Thomas Henry and Elizabeth Lilly (Burke)
Briggs, of Boston. Her father was a painter
by trade, veteran of the Civil war, having
served in the First Massachusetts Calvary;
was taken prisoner at the battle of Galveston
and confined in Libby prison. Children: 1.
Edwin Clifton, born November 28, 1876,
mentioned below. 2. Ednah Abigail, born Jan
uary 12, 1878, teacher in the Everett grammar
school. 3. Evelyn Martha, born December 4,
1885, student in Radcliffe College, Cambridge,
, class of 1908.
(X) Edwin Clifton Warren, son of Cal
vin Edwin Warren (9), was born at Somer
ville, Massachusetts, November 28, 1876,
died at Colorado Springs, Colorado, Decem
ber 25, 1896. When he was three years of
age he removed with his parents to Everett,
Massachusetts, and was educated there in the
public schools, graduating from the grammar
schools with great credit and high standing,
and from the high school in 1896, also among
the leaders of his class. He entered Harvard
College in September following, taking such
electives as would aid him in his intended bus
iness career and in music. His instructors
paid high tribute to his ability and faithful
ness. He took high rank in the brief time
he was in college, being the star of the mus
ical classes. Early in life he displayed musi
cal talent, which had been cultivated under
competent teachers from childhood. Between
the ages of nine and twelve he was alto solo
ist in the boys' choir of Emanuel Church,
Boston, and was for some years pre-eminent
in his position. At the early age of fifteen he
was chosen organist of the First Congrega
tional Church at Saugus, Massachusetts.
From there he went to the Third Congrega
tional Church at Chelsea as organist, and
from there to the Winthrop Street Methodist
Church at Boston Highlands. He was next
the organist of St. Paul's Protestant Episco
pal Church of Maiden, and also its choir
master, being then but seventeen years old
and the youngest person in the state having
a like responsible position. Here he organized

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1053

the choir of ten men and twenty-three boys,
demonstrating remarkable executive ability.
He held this position two years, while a stu
dent in the high school, resigning to become
organist and choir director of St. John's
Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church of
Cambridge, while attending college at Har
vard. He died after a short illness at Colora
do Springs, whither he was sent in the hope
of benefiting his health.
In boyhood he was a general favorite, full of
life, yet considerate always of the rights and
feelings of others. He was loyal to his mates,
and was never heard to utter a harsh or un
manly criticism. He was bright, hopeful in dis
position, absolutely truthful and upright. His
loyalty to his friends was well repaid, and it
is said that he had not a single enemy in the
world. He was active in the Young Men's
Christian Association and for six months was
president. His musical ability was exception
al. He had what is known in musical par
lance as the "absolute pitch" and could recog
nize any note or notes with comparing. His
ear was attuned to the harmonies. Besides
his natural ability, his knowledge of the
theory'of music and his command of his in
strument, he had the ability to organize and
construct, a magnetism that drew all to his
support and made his work as director par
ticularly efficient. He was confirmed at the
Emanuel Church of which he was a member,
and he was a faithful Christian.

The Yerrinton family is
YERRINTON of ancient English stock.
The name was spelled
Yarranton, Yerrington, Yarrington, Yarran,
and was derived from two farms called Great
Yarranton or Yarran, (originally Yarhamp-
ton) in the parish of Astley, Worcestershire,
England. Andrew Yarranton, a distinguished
member of the family, a Worcester ironmas
ter and captain in Cromwell's army during the
civil war, was born in Astley in 1616. Bishop
Watson said that he ought to have had a
statue erected to his memory because of his
eminent public services.
The American progenitor settled in Wind
ham county, Connecticut, about 1750 or ear
lier. At the time of the Revolution we find
several of his sons or grandsons in Preston,
Ashford, Windham and vicinity. Ezekiel
and Ephraim Yerrington were in the Revolu
tion as early as May, 1775, in the same com
pany which was composed of men from Pres

ton and vicinity. Ephraim was a farmer in
Preston in 1776.
Daniel Yerrinton of Preston, was one of
the prisoners returned , in exchange in 1777
by the British; was a pensioner in 1818, then
living in New York ; married at Preston, Con
necticut (by Rev. Samuel Mott) Susannah
Tracy, December 7, 1780. Abraham and
David Yerrington were in Captain Percival's
(Eighth) company in 1775 and 1776, men
from Norwich and Preston. Jesse Yerring
ton was in Captain Gallup's company, Colo
nel Parsons' regiment, in 1776; a resident of
Groton, Connecticut. Reuben Yerrington was
a soldier from Norwich in 1781, and William
Yerrington, of Windham, was in Captain
WilHam Moulton's company in 1781. Joseph
Yerrington, a brother of those mentioned,
was born in 1742; married, 1770, Lucy Lef-
fingwell ; second, Anna, daughter of Ezra
Witter, of Preston, widow of Jonathan Park ;
their daughter Polly married WilHam Grant,
and was an ancestor of General U. S. Grant.
(I) James Yerrinton, of this family, born
in Ashford, Connecticut, December 31, 1772,
died in Providence, Rhode Island, February
24, 1843. He was a millwright and carpenter
by trade, and built the spire of the First Bap
tist Church in Providence, where he settled
and followed his trade. He married August
25, 1796, Catharine Brown, born April 11,
1768, died August 28, 1831, daughter of Cap
tain Jeremiah and Mary (Cushing) Brown.
Captain Jeremiah Brown, son of Deputy
Governor Elisha Brown, born December 28,
1746, married April 21, 1765, Mary, daughter
of Elijah and Hannah (Barker) Cushing,
born at Hanover, now Scituate, Massachu
setts, December 27, 1737. She was the eldest
daughter of his stepmother Hannah, second
wife of Elisha Brown. Jeremiah married sec
ond, in Boston, October, 1791, Susanna, widow
of Thomas Bowen,of Seekonk, and daughter'
of John Welch of Boston. She was born April
29, 1756, and died December 16, 1821 ; her
father was a carver by trade in Boston. Jer
emiah Brown lived on Smith street, Provi
dence, on land bequeathed to him by his
mother, Martha (Smith) Brown, a two-story
building with a row of Lombardy poplars in
front. Governor Elisha Brown, father of
Captain Jeremiah, born May 25, 1717, was a
man of great ability and enterprise, and pos
sessed at one time a large property, but was
afterwards unfortunate in business and lost
the greater part of his fortune; was promi
nent in public affairs, some years member of

1054

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

the general assembly. During the Ward-Hop
kins controversy he supported Governor
Ward, and served as deputy governor of the
colony of Rhode Island, 1765 to 1767. The
homestead of Elisha Brown was on North
Main street, Providence, north of Olney street,
in an orchard with its gable end to the street,
and the door to the south; and upon this site
was built in 1859 the Church of the Redeemer,
the old house being moved a little to the north
east and a basement added. The old house is
now approached through Riley street. The
stone bearing the inscription, "E. B.," which
formerly formed part of the wall in
front of the house, has been placed in
the underpinning of the church near the
robing room. Elisha, later in life, re
moved to Wenscutt, North Providence,
some distance to the West of the locality
now bearing that name, and his house
there has been torn down. He died April 20,
1802. Late in life he joined the Friends. He
married Martha Smith, daughter of John and
Deborah (Angell) Smith. Her father, John
Smith, the fuller, died May 24, 17 19, shortly
after her birth. She was a granddaughter of
James and Abigail (Dexter) Angell, and great-
granddaughter of the first Thomas Angell
and Gregory Dexter. In consequence of the
failure of male heirs in the direct line, the
grist mill and adjoining territory reverted to
Martha (Smith) Brown, and was recovered
by her as heir-at-law to Charles Smith (son of-
her uncle Philip Smith, miller) in 1754. This
sub-division of the home seat of John Smith,
miller, comprised the land now known as
Smith's Hill, between Smith street on the
South and Orms street on the north, and ex
tended to the Moshassuck river. It was call
ed Charlestown, and after the building of the
first Mill street bridge in 1733 was the most
populous part of the town of Providence.
Portions of this land are. still owned by des
cendants of the Smith family. Martha
(Smith) Brown died September 1, 1760, and
Elisha married second, February 22, 1761,
Hannah Cushing, widow of Elijah Cushing
and daughter of James Barker.
James Brown (3), father of Governor
Elisha (4), born in 1666, died October 28,
1732; married December 17, 1691, Mary Har
ris, daughter of Andrew and Mary (Tew)
Harris, granddaughter of William and Sus-
sannah Harris, and also of Richard and Mary
(Clarke) Tew. She was born December 17,
1 67 1, and died August 18, 1736. From 1705
to 1725 James Brown was almost continuous

ly member of the town council, 17 14- 18 town
treasurer ; was elder and pastor of the First
Baptist Church, associated with Elder Pardon
Tillinghast and later with Ebenezer Jenckes,
succeeding the latter in the ministry in 1726
and remaining pastor until his death in 1732. '
Jonathan Edwards wrote of him: "He was
an example of piety and meekness worthy of
admiration." John Brown (2), father of James Brown
(3), born 1630, died about 1706; married
Mary Holmes, daughter of Rev. Obadiah and
Catharine Holmes, of Newport, Rhode Island.
Pie resided in the North End of Providence,
near the junction of North Main and Randall
streets. He was often on jury duty; commis
sioner on union of towns 1654; freeman
1665 ; surveyor of lands ; surveyor of high
ways 1659; moderator, member of town coun
cil, deputy in the legislature, assistant. He
was elder of the Baptist church. Nearly a
hundred years after he sold the homestead in
1672, his great-grandsons, John and Moses
Brown, bought part of the land and presented
it to Brown University. In 1701 he and Par
don Tillinghast, elders, ordained James
Clarke as pastor of the Second Baptist church
in Newport.
Chad Brown (1), father of John Brown.
(2), was born in England and came to this
country in the ship "Martin," which arrived
at Boston in July, 1638. He soon afterward
removed to Providence, where he became a
leader and prominent citizen. With twelve
others he signed the Providence Compact. He
was appointed surveyor to compile a list of
the home lots of the first settlers on the Town
street and of the meadows allotted to them.
His own home lot was on Town street, now
South Main and Market Square, with the
southern boundary to the southward of Col
lege and South Main streets, about one hun
dred and twenty feet wide and extended east
erly to the Highway, now Hope street. The col
lege grounds of Brown University comprise a
large part of his lot. He served on various
important committees to settle the line be
tween Providence and Pawtuxet, to prepare
the first written form of government, to nego
tiate peace with Warwick settlers and Massa
chusetts Bay. In 1642 he was ordained as
the first settled pastor of the Baptist church;
Chad and Elizabeth Brown were buried in
an orchard on his home lot, College street,
corner of Benefit, where the county court
house now stands, and their remains were re-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

i°55

moved in 1792 to the Nicholas Brown lot in
the North Burial Ground.
The children of James and Catharine
(Brown) Yerrinton, born in Providence: 1.
James Brown, born December 4, 1800; men
tioned below. 2. Barker Taylor, born April
20, 1803 ; married Ann Maria Daggett, of Pro
vidence, daughter of Captain Preston and
Nancy (Read) Daggett; for many years he
was engraver and bookkeeper with Church &
Metcalf, manufacturing jewelers. 3. Cathar
ine, born March 22, 1806; died June 24, 1828;
married Eliakim Briggs and left an only
child, Julia A., born November 12, 1827, mar
ried William H. Randall (their only child,
William H. Randall, Jr., born April 2, 1856,
married, August 28, 1882, Betsey A. Whit
man, and second, August 27, 1884, Margaret
E. Cahoon). 4. Sarah, born December 25,
1807 ; died August 20, 1843 > married William
Webster,- son of Ebenezer, and left an only
child, Ebenezer Webster, removed to Cali
fornia. (II) James Brown Yerrinton, son of
James Yerrinton (1), was born in Provi
dence, Rhode Island, December 4, 1800,
died October 17, 1866. He received a good
education, in the public schools of his native
town. He was apprenticed to Hugh- H.
Brown, of Providence, to learn the printer's
trade, and among his fellow-apprentices there
was James D. Knowles. About the time he
came of age he removed to Boston, where he
followed his trade. With William Goodell he
established the newspaper known as the
Philanthropist and Investigator,, devoted to
general reforms, and published both at Boston
and Providence. About 1840 he removed
with his family to Amherst, Massachusetts,
and became the editor of the Amherst Gaz
ette, but after a few years returned to Boston.
He was foreman of the composing room of
the Daily Advocate during its existence in
Boston. He was associated with William
Lloyd Garrison from 1845 in the printing of
The Liberator until it ceased publication De
cember 29, 1865. Although he was a printer,
he wrote many articles for the paper and was
intensely interested in its mission. He was
a friend of Wendell Phillips and other lead
ers in the anti-slavery cause. He died in
Chelsea, in 1866. His residence was in Cedar
street, at the West End. He was a Unitarian
in religion, and was active in the anti-Mason
ic crusade. He was strong both mentally and
physically; genial, kindly and beloved espec
ially by the children whom he knew.

He married first, January 17, 1825, Phebe,
daughter of Samuel Boyd; married second,
Mrs. Olive (Forbes) Metcalf. Children: 1.
James Manning Winchell, born October 24,
1825; mentioned below. 2. Caroline Eliza
beth, born April 20, 1832; married, March
24, 1850, Daniel S. Remington, of Providence,
Rhode Island; children: i. Samuel Reming
ton, born 1 85 1, died April 26, 1877; ii. James
Winchell Remington, born September 15,
1852 ; iii. George Walter, born April 6, 1855 ;
married September 21, 1876, Annie Chapman
and had three children — Annie ; Wallis, de
ceased; and"-  ; he died August 19, 1886;
iv. Carrie Belle Remington, born July 30,
1858, married, January 4, 1883, John A. How
ard, and had one child, Louise; v. Olivia
Stanhope Remington, born June 29, 1871. 3.
Anna, born 1833 ; died August 30, 1873 ; mar
ried, December, 1854, David White; who died
April 21, 1873; children: i. Carrie Delia
White, born June 6, 1856, married, June,
1882, Alfred Sidwell, of East Boston, resides
7 Hudson street, Somerville; ii. Anna Belle,
born December, 1857, died November, 1865 ;
resides at Hadley, Massachusetts. 4. Phila,
born November 23, 1837, died in Salem, May
1, 1870; married, July 9, 1857, Albert F. Ar
nold, of Providence ; children : i. Adela J.,
married, June 10, 1880, Edward G. Pratt;
children : i. Adela J. Pratt, born at Newport,
December 30, 1882; ii. Mary Elizabeth Ar
nold, born August 23, 1859, married, June 20,
1883, Elisha P. Reeves; iii. Anna Frances Ar
nold, born July 21, 1864, died 1866. 5. Frank
M., born June 2, 1839; married Ellen M.
Waterman, in Fairlee, Vermont, who died
November 10, 1875; children: i. Ellen, born
1868; ii. Frank M., born January 14, died
January 30, 1870; iii. Alice W., born August
1, 1872, died December 17, 1873; they reside
at 42 Dana street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
(Ill) James Manning Winchell Yerrinton,
son of James Brown Yerrinton (2), was born
in Boston, October 24, 1825, and died Novem
ber 1, 1893. He received his education in the
public and high schools of Boston, working
during his spare hours in his father's printing
office. At the age of seventeen he began to
work regularly at the printer's trade, and
followed it until i860, when he became assis
tant editor of William Lloyd Garrison on
The Liberator, the famous old anti-slavery pa
per. He was for a time in business for him
self editing with Charles Slack a newspaper
called Excelsior. After leaving the employ of
William Lloyd Garrison he was for a time in

1056

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

the employ of George T. Garrison, a son.
He became one of the most expert short-hand
reporters in the country during his newspaper
career, and finally was appointed stenographer
of the superior court for Suffolk county, a
position he filled with conspicuous ability until
his death. He was a Unitarian in religion, a
strong anti-slavery man, anti-Masonic in his
beliefs also; supporting the temperance re
form ; and in later life a Republican. He was
of large stature, of cheerful, happy disposi
tion, devoted to his home. ,
He married, May 21, 1850, Susan Eliza
beth, born March 10, 1826, daughter of Ben
jamin and Sophia (Wyman) Mayhew, of
Hallowell, Maine. She was of the ninth gen
eration from Thomas Mayhew, of Southamp
ton, England, born 1592, died 1682, who in
1641 had a patent from Sir Ferdinando
Gorges, agent of the Earl of Sterling, for
Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and the Eliz
abeth Islands. Lineage : Benjamin (8) ;
Francis (7); Ephraim (6); Benjamin (5),
(4) ; John (3) ; Thomas (2), (1). Benjamin
Mayhew was a miller by trade. Children of
James M. W. and Susan E. Yerrinton: 1.
Eleanor Elizabeth, born March 2, 1851, mar
ried, October 31, 1881, James Lewis Duncan,
of Boston ; child, Eleanor Duncan, born No
vember 24, 1882. 2. Annie Isabella, born
April 26, 1853, died unmarried, February 21,
I9°5- 3- James Frederick, born October 27,
1854, died April 20, 1858. 4. Wendell Phil
lips, born February 7, 1857; mentioned be
low. 5. Arthur Brown, born October 21,
1863 : died September 18, 1864. 6. Carrie
Mayhew, born October 3, 1866; married
September 9, 1890, Charles Augustus Den
nett, of Portland, Maine.
(IV) Wendell Phillips Yerrinton, son of
James Manning Winchell Yerrinton (3), was
born at Chelsea, Massachusetts, February 7,
1857. He was educated in the public schools,
graduating from the Chelsea high school in
1876, then studying stenography under his
father, who was an expert. He preferred a
commercial career, however, and entered the
office of Jordan & Marsh's wholesale dry
goods store, as office boy, and became sales
man. He next entered the employ of Rodliff
& Eaton, dealers in wool at 102 Federal street,
and was bookkeeper and salesman there from
1878 to 1891. About the time that Mr. Rod
liff retired Mr. Yerrinton was admitted to
partnership, and the firm name became W. D.
Eaton & Co., with its store at No. 6 Leather
Square, where the business was located in

1886. When Mr. Eaton died in 1896, Mr.
Yerrinton bought his interests. In 1904 the
business was moved to quarters at 114 Fed
eral street, and in June, 1906, to the present
location, 139 Federal street. He has eight
thousand square feet of floor space, deals en
tirely in domestic wool, and has customers
from the Mississippi river to St. John, New
Brunswick, and from Canada to the Mason
and Dixon line. Mr. Yerrinton resides at 59
Jason street, Arlington, in the beautiful house
erected in 1896. He is a member of the Uni
versalist church, and is a trustee in the Arl
ington society, and was formerly superintend
ent of the Sunday school in Chelsea, Massa
chusetts. He belongs to the Universalist
Men's Club. In politics he is a Republican.
He was made a member of Hiram Lodge of
Free Masons of Arlington in December, 1902;
of Menotomy Chapter, Royal Arch Masons,
February 17, 1903, and holds office in both
those bodies. He is a member of the Arling
ton Boat Club. He is a trustee of the Poor
Richard Association, an investment concern
of Boston.
He married first, September 6, 1883, Sarah
Marshall, born June 4, 1862, and died July 19,
1887, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Luma)
Marshall, of Chelsea, Massachusetts. Her
father was a weaver by trade. Child: 1.
Katherine Ivanetta, born May 2, 1885. He
married second, October 28, 1891, Margaret
Ella Johnston, of Louisville, Kentucky, born
December 16, 1862, and died April 20, 1897,
daughter of John and Mary (Dixon) John
ston, of Louisville. Her father was a whole
sale grocer. Children: 2. .Elizabeth, born
June 24, 1893. 3. Bertha (twin), born April
18, 1897. 4. Margaret (twin), born April 18,
1897.

This surname is spelled
CHENERY Chinery, Chenery, Genery,
Ginery, Ginere, Genere and
in various other ways. The family coat-of-
arms is: Azure, a chevron, ermine between
three lions rampant; or, armed and langued,
gules, on a canton, vert, a harp of the third,
stringed, argent. Crest: An eagle rising
from the top of a globe all proper, collared, or.
Motto : "Nee temere, nee timide" — neither
rashly nor with timidity.
(I) Lambert Chenery, the immigrant, was
born in England in 1593, and died in Dedham,
Massachusetts, January 30, 1574-75. He set
tled first in Watertown with the early pion-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1057

eers of that town, after a short stay at Salem,
where he owned land. His wife and two
sons, John and Isaac, came from England
with him. In 1635 or 1636 he removed to
Dedham among the first settlers of that pious
old town, and he signed the famous Dedham
covenant. Pie did not dispose of all his Wa
tertown interests, however, for he was called
of Watertown August 18, 1668, when he rent
ed to his son John the north part of the Ayers
farm that he had hired February 8, 1667-68,
for a term of eight years. His wife was ad
mitted to full communion in the Dedham
church December 4, 1640, and he was ad
mitted June 9, 1644. He deposed June 17,
1673, that he was eighty years old. He was a
prominent citizen of Dedham, and mentioned
constantly in the town records for many
years, serving in various places of trust and
honor. He married second, May 14, 1658,
Tamazin Hews, who died at Watertown, Jan
uary 2, 1669-70. Chenery died January 30,
1673-74. His will was dated February 17,
1673, and was proved February 4, 1674, be
queathing to sons John and Isaac, daughter
Mary; son-in-law Richard Ellis, daughter-in-
law Ruth Ellis, widow; and to the church of
Dedham. The inventory of his personal es
tate amounted to about a hundred pounds,
dated April 12, 1674. Children: 1. John,
mentioned below. 2. Isaac, settled in Med
field; married, November 16, 1654, Elizabeth
Gamlyn. 3. Mary, born December 24, 1659.
The two sons were by the first wife.
(II) John Chenery, son of Lambert Chen
ery (1), was born in England, about 1630,
and died in Watertown, Massachusetts, Sep
tember 5, 1675. About 1654 he bought a tract
of land in New London, Connecticut, the
homestead of Captain Daniel Dennison, who
had moved to Mystic. In 1657 his agent, Rev.
Richard Blyman, sold this estate to William
Chapman. If Chenery lived in New London
at all it was a very short time. He was a
soldier in the Watertown company in King
Philip's war ; was wounded at the battle at
Northfield, Massachusetts, by the Indians,
and died from the effects of his wound the
following day. The inventory of his estate
April 1, 1776, shows that he owned a house,
forty-eight acres of land in the homestall, ten
acres of pasture, formerly owned by Daniel
Hudson, and five acres formerly owned by
George Adams, a legacy left by his father, a
right to land in New London.
He married at Watertown, March 12, 1655-
56, Sarah Boylston, widow of Dr. Thomas

Boylston, the first physician at Muddy River
(Brookline), Massachusetts, and grandmother
of Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, a famous physician
of his day. Sarah died September 14, 1704.
The only child of John and Sarah Chenery:
1. John, mentioned below.
(Ill) John Chenery, Jr., son of John Cljen-
ery (2), was born in Watertown, December
17, 1657, and died there December 19, 1723.
He was admitted a freeman April 18, 1690.
He married June 4, 1684 (or 1685), Elizabeth
Stratton, born July 2, 1664, daughter of John
and Elizabeth (Franie) Stratton. The moth
er died May 7, 1708, and he died April 7, 1691.
Samuel Stratton, Sr., his father, was the pi
oneer at Watertown. Children of John and
Elizabeth Chenery: 1. Sarah, died young. 2.
Sarah, born and died August, 1688. 3. Eliz
abeth, born January 27, 1691-92; married, De
cember 14, 1727, John Fiske. 4. John, born
November 16, 1692, died young. 5. John,
born July 21, 1695; died September 18, 1723,
aged eighteen. 6. Ebenezer, born November
10, 1697; mentioned below. 7. Abigail, born
February 28, 1700-01 ; married, June 24, 1725,
David Ransford, of Canterbury, Connecticut.
(IV) Ebenezer Chenery, son of John
Chenery (3), was born in Watertown, No
vember 10, 1697, and died there July 28,
1723, aged twenty-eight. He was in Major
Samuel Moody's company from April to No
vember, 1722, with other Watertown men, and
served against Canada. Doubtless his death
the following summer might be traced to this
military service. His estate was insolvent.
He married first Hannah Cutter, born July 22,
1690, daughter of Ephraim and Deborah
(Stone) Cutter, granddaughter of Richard
Cutter. He married second, Ruth  ,
who owned the covenant July 18, 1720. Child
of' the first wife, born in Watertown: 1.
Elizabeth, born June 22, 1722. Children of
the second wife : 2. Mary, baptized June 18,
1725. 3. Abigail, baptized May 19, 1728;
married September 19, 1747, Edward Rich
ardson. 4. John, born November 1, 1730;
died May 6, 1732. 5. Ebenezer, born June
14, 1734. 6. Ruth, born September 14, 1736;
married, November 1, 1753, Thomas Burdett.
7. John, born October 4, 1739; mentioned be
low. 8. William, born July 24, 1742; set
tled in Cambridge ; married Sybil Cox ; chil
dren : i. William, born October 27, 1765, set
tled in Jay, Maine ; ii. Anna, born January 22,
1767; married, 1794, John Aspinwall, of
Brookline; iii. Elisha, born 1770, baptized De
cember 30, 1770; iv. Sybil, born October 13,

io58

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1774; v. Samuel, born May 10, 1778; vi. Ruth,
born May 8, 1780.
(V) John Chenery, son of Ebenezer Chen
ery (4), was born at Watertown, Massachu
setts, October 4, 1739. He was a farmer. He
served in the Revolution in Captain Samuel
Barnard's company, Colonel Thomas Gard
ner's regiment, on the Lexington Alarm, April
l9> I77S- He married in 1751 (intention pub
lished at Maiden, Massachusetts, November
J5' I75I)> Phebe Sargent, of Maiden. Chil
dren: 1. John, born March 5, 1761 ; died
young. 2. Joseph, born March 20, 1763. 3.
Ebenezer, born January 23, 1765 ; mentioned
below. 4. Moses, born November 23, 1771 ;
married, June 23, 1796,  ; children:
i. Moses, born October 3, 1797; ii. John, born
October 18, 1798; married second, Lucilia
Pomroy, and had seven children. 5. Solo
mon, born February 2, 1774; married 
Pond, and had five children; settled in Fal
mouth, Maine (now Portland). 6. John, born
March 18, 1777; settled in Falmouth, Maine;
had five children. 7. David, born February
7, 1780; settled in Maine. 8. Joseph, settled
in Maine ; had five children. 9. Phebe, born
January 24, 1784; married Phinehas Sander
son, of Watertown, and had five children.
(VI) Ebenezer Chenery, son of John
Chenery (5), was born at Watertown, Mass
achusetts, January 23, 1765, and died at Bel
mont (then Watertown), August 23, 1847. He
was brought up on his father's farm, and
from boyhood was studious. All his spare
time was spent in reading and he was very
fond of history. He spent all his life on the
farm, and with the aid of three of his sons
who lived at home made the place yield a
handsome income. They adopted all the latest
ideas in agriculture and were progressive
farmers in every sense of the word. They
made a specialty of fruit. He was a patriot,
deeply interested in the elections. He voted
for Andrew Jackson, but soon afterward be
came a Whig. He never held public office.
When the Revolution broke out he was a boy
of ten, too young to go; but later, during
Shay's Rebellion, he received a lieutenant's
commission from the governor. In religion
he was a Unitarian.
He married, October 23, 1803, Sally Hast
ings, of Waltham, born June 13, 1775, and
died May 21, 1866, daughter of Josiah and
Lydia (Ball) Hastings; she was a lineal des
cendant of Lord Hastings of England, her
father was a farmer and shoemaker of
Waltham., Children: 1. Isaac Hastings, born

September 12, 1804; mentioned below. 2.
Ebenezer, Jr., born January 14, 1806; died
July 3, 1813. 3. Sarah, born May 22, 1808;
died June 12, 1826. 4. David, born August
16, 1810; died August 10, 1886; married, Oc
tober 1, 1835, Caroline Homer, of Boston,
Massachusetts; children: i. George Homer,
born August 23, 1836, died March 24, 1901 ;
married, April 27, 1887, Harriet Matilda
Farmer; ii. David, born July 3, 1838; married,
July 18, 1863, Flora Pierce, of Waltham, and
had : Mabel Young, born October 30, 1864,
died October 5, 1866; Gertrude Adele, born
September 25, 1867 (marrfed, November 6,
1889, Charles William Benjamin and had
Harold Chenery Benjamin, born June 30,
1891), Nella Carrie, born November 30, 1869,
Florence, born December 24, 1875, (married
Edwin Emery Farnham, of Cambridge, Mass
achusetts, and had Caroline Farnham and Ed
win Farnham), Franklin Winthrop, born
March 16, 1875, Howard, born November 15,
1876, died young; iii. Caroline Maria, born
October 25, 1840; iv. Franklin Winthrop,
born January 21, 1843, died May 2, 1872; v.
Henry Augustus, born July 20, 1849, died July
19, 1883 ; vi. Emma Victorine, born May 9,
1852. 5. Lydia Ball, born August 16, 1812,
died September 1, 1891 ; married, June 3,
1834, John Pond Farmer, of Boston-; chil
dren : i. Eben Chenery Farmer, born Febru
ary 14, 1836, died February 28, 1853; ii. John
Pond Farmer, Jr., born September 9, 1838,
died May 19, 1841 ; iii. John Pond Farmer,
born March 11, 1842, married, July 31, 1873,
Mary Crosby Crowell, and had Edith Crowell
Farmer, born February 10, 1875 (married
February 14, 1907, Herman Andrew Hard
ing), and John Pond Farmer, Jr., born March
13, 1882 ; iv. Sarah Lydia Farmer, born Aug
ust 10, 1844, died September 1, 1845. 6.
John, born June 29, 1815; died July 5, 1836;
he was a student at Harvard. 7. Susannah,
born March 8, 1818; married, February 11,
1851, Davis Crosman, of Sennet, New York;
children : i. Annett Lydia Crosman, born Aug
ust 30, 1853, married first, November • 26,
1872, Chauncey Osborne Abbott, married sec
ond, April 29, 1875, Charles Karson Hall,
and had Florence Crosman Abbott, born Oc
tober 10, 1873 (married October 14, 1896,
Burt Leonard Rich, and had Chauncy Abbott
Rich, born May 25, 1898, Mildred Annette
Rich, born January 8, 1900, Warren Adelbert
Rich, born September 6, 1903), Mary Os
borne Abbott, born March 20, 1879, (married
October 17, 1900, Lawrence Richard Boden,

DAVID CHENERY

sM

/

"?

:4M

' &:sj|

¦'Jr;jgM
>
#&-'
i
4
i "
-^-  1
K*-
-A
^^pg"-  **«
#.
CAROLINE (HOMER) CHENERY
MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

io59

and had Susanna Ashton Boden, born July 6,
1903) ; ii. William Chenery Crosman, born
June 8, 1858, married, October 13, 1880, Fan
nie Maud Sherwood, of Auburn, New York,
and had Mabel Sherwood Crosman, born
March 22, 1887, and William Ballou Crosman,
born August 11, 1891. 8. Mary, born May
12, 1820; died February 2, 1832.
(VII) Isaac Hastings Chenery, son of Eb
enezer Chenery (6), was born at Watertown,
Massachusetts, September 12, 1804, and died
there October 24, 1873. He was educated in
the public schools, and early became identified
with his father in the business of market
gardening, going to Boston market every day
for years. At the death of his father the
homestead came to him and his brother David,
and the farm was carried on as 'a fruit farm,
principally peaches, cherries and plums.
About two years before his death he gave up
active work. He was much loved especially
among the poor, for his kindness and benevo
lence. He had a pleasant disposition, and was
popular on account of his many sterling qual
ities. He was large of stature. In religion
he was a Unitarian, and in politics a Republi
can, and although he was asked many times to
enter active politics, he would never accept
public office. He was a member of the fire
department, and served in the militia in
Watertown. He married, October 23, 1839, Mary Ann
Homer, born May 29, 1819, died April 1,
1906, daughter of William and Mary (Lakin)
Homer, of Boston, Massachusetts. Children:
1. Charles Edward, born December 3, 1840;
mentioned below. 2. Mary Louisa, born
January 8, 1842 ; died July 23, 1842. 3. Mary
Louisa, born June 8, 1843; died April 10,
1871. 4. Maria Frances, born February 19,
1845; married, November 17, 1870, Daniel
Augustus Hart, of Townsend, Massachusetts ;
children: i. Grace Louise Hart, born Novem
ber 6, 1871, married, February 8, 1898, Henry
Thomas Baker, of Auburn, New York, and
had Marion Lindsay Baker, born November
11, 1898; ii. Mabel Chenery Hart, born Aug
ust 25, 1876, married June 1, 1898, Oliver
Max Dennett, and had Kenneth Dennett, born
November 22, 1898, Helen Dennett, born May
26, 1900, Dorothy Dennett, born November 2,
1901, Donald Hart Dennett, born December
22, 1903, and Frances Dennett, born Febru
ary 10, 1905. 5. Harriet Lydia, born May 31,
1847; married, June 6, 1872, Horace Edwin
Stone, of Belmont, Massachusetts. 6. George
Whiting (twin), born September 23, 1849;

mentioned below. 7. Sarah Elizabeth (twin),
born September 23, 1849; died January 27,
1850. 8. Susan Annette, born February 5,
1857; died February 7, 1857.
(VIII) George Whiting Chenery, son of
Isaac Hastings Chenery (7)', was born in
Watertown (Belmont), September 23, 1849.
(VIII) Charles Edward Chenery, son of
Isaac H. Chenery (7), was born in Watertown
(Belmont), Massachusetts, December 3, 1840.
These two brothers were educated in the
common schools in their native town, George
W. going to the high school and Charles E.
taking a course in the high school at Water-
town. The brothers have been closely iden
tified with one another all their lives. They
assisted their father on the farm when they
were boys, and later took the care of the busi
ness from him. Charles E. took charge of the
marketing in Boston, and George W. super
intended the garden work. At the death of
their father they inherited the estate, and con
tinued' the business under the firm name of
Chenery Brothers. They grow all kinds of
fruit, among them cherries, apples, quinces,
and strawberries. Besides the early market
produce they have made a great success grow
ing squash. Two greenhouses, 150 by 22 feet
are used for the cultivation of lettuce, parsley,
and dandelions. The original farm was
twenty-two acres, and was the first Chenery
homestead; the farm consists now of about
sixteen acres, and they also own land in Walt
ham, Massachusetts. They owned land for
merly in Cambridge, which that city took for
a park. The brothers are highly respected,
and enjoy the confidence and esteem of their
townsmen. They attend the Unitarian church
at Belmont, and are Republican in politics.
They are both members of the Unity Club of
Belmont. Charles E. has served as engineer
of the fire department, and is a member of the
Boston Market Gardeners' Association. He
is unmarried. George W. married, September
26, 1900, Carrie Ashley Shaw, born October
30, 1854, daughter of Job Lawton and Phebe
(Ashley) Shaw, of New Bedford, Massachu
setts. Her father was a grocer, and served
in the New Bedford city council. They have
no children.

(For early generations see preceding sketch).
(VII) David Chenery,
CHENERY fourth child of Ebenezer
Chenery (6), was born at
Watertown, now Belmont, Massachusetts,
August 16, 1810, died August 10, 1886. He

io6o

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

attended the district school house, which was
a mile from the homestead, with his brothers
and sisters ; the school house was an ancient
structure, with the desks for the older pupils
arranged continuously around the wall, caus
ing the scholars to sit with their backs to the
teacher and the remainder of the school, while
the inside tier of seats were facing each other
on opposite sides in battered condition, show
ing the unmistakable marks of jack-knives of
the boys. It was during the winter months
that David attended this school and went to
the evening singing school, and he later sang
in the choir of the Unitarian church. When
he completed his studies his father, having two
older sons to assist him on the farm, wished
David to learn a trade, and he was apprenticed
to a wheelwright in Cambridgeport, where he
remained for a short period of time, but dis
liking the business and growing homesick, he
obtained his father's permission to return
home. After David and his brothers attained
the age of twenty-one, they were given one
hundred and fifty dollars a year and board.
Isaac, the eldest brother, attended to the mar
keting of the farm produce among the wealthy
people of Cambridge and the college boarding
houses ; Eben died ; Lydia, the sister, was
married in 1834, and John, the youngest son,
when eighteen, was employed in a grocery
store in Cambridge ; its proximity to Harvard
College and being brought in daily contact
with the students inspired him with an intense
desire to fit himself to enter there. With
his father's permission he left the grocery
business and entered a private school at
Watertown village taught by Theodore Park
er, later of Harvard Divinity School. After
teaching school at Concord, Massachusetts,
and later taking a course in South Reading
Academy, he entered Harvard at the age of
twenty, but during the second quarter he died,
July 5, 1836.
In 1834 the profits of the farm were shared
with David and his brother Isaac. In 1835
David, then twenty-five years of age, wishing
to be married, his mother willingly gave him
the privilege of occupying one-half of the
homestead, and October 1, 1835, he was mar
ried to Caroline Homer, of Boston, born Feb
ruary 28, 1811, died March 14, 1855, daugh
ter Of David and Sukey (Glover) Homer.
Here in the old homestead David and his wife
lived until the birth of their second child,
David. He then purchased a lot on Common
street, containing ten acres, where he erected
the buildings which constituted his home and,

fireside during the remainder of his days, and
where his daughters, Caroline and Emma,
now reside. This land was contiguous to the
land belonging to his father, and at the death
of his father became a part of his share in
the estate. David Chenery was a very indus
trious man, a practical farmer, progressive in
his methods. Like his father he had no de
sire to hold any public office in the gift of his
townspeople, yet he kept in touch by constant
reading with the affairs of the nation and the
world at large, and felt like many of his neigh
bors that to attend to the affairs of his own
farm and family was the first and highest duty
of a citizen. The division of his native town
ship of Watertown leaving him in the new
town of Belmont, changed somewhat his affil
iations with the town officials and his church,
but did not change his principles, which re
mained the same as he had been taught in his
youth. At his decease his property became
the property of his son George, who had al
ways remained with him.
David and Caroline (Homer) Chenery were
the parents of eight children, two of whom
died in infancy, and the remainder grew to
maturity. Mrs. Chenery died March 14,- 1855,
when Caroline, the eldest daughter, was about
fifteen years of age, and consequently from
that time, with the aid of a housekeeper, she
became the caretaker of the family. George,
aforementioned, erected a fine house and sta
ble near his father's house; he was a member
of the Unitarian church and of the Masonic
order; his life was comparatively short and
his wife did not long survive him.
(VIII) David Chenery, Jr., second son of
David Chenery (7), was born on the old '
homestead in Watertown, now Belmont,
Massachusetts, July 3, 1838. He attended the
common schools of his native town, and
worked on his father's farm. When a young
man he went with his uncle, Charles Homer,
who was a supervisor for a Boston firm on
a merchant vessel bound for Gibraltar. On
his return he stopped at New Orleans and
made his way up the Mississippi river to Illi
nois, where he was engaged for a season at
farming, but returned home previous to the
civil war. He enlisted in Company A, Thir
teenth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer
Militia, and until called into active duty was
stationed at Fort Independence, Boston har
bor. He served three years and participated
in many battles; while at Bull Run, serving
as standard bearer for his company; and was
wounded in the thigh at the battle of Antie-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1061

tarn, and fell trailing the colors in the dust.
While his comrades were bearing him from
the field to a place of safety he was again shot
near the first wound. During the conflict he
lay bleeding until the surgeons came to his
aid. They would have probed to remove the
bullets, but he protested saying he would pre
fer to have them remain than be butchered
like many of his comrades had. been. He
often feels a serious effect from them for they
still lie embedded in his person.
On his return from the war he married, in
1863, and removed to Illinois, where he pur
chased a farm and remained some years, but
later returned to his native town in Massachu
setts. For several years he was employed as
superintendent of highways, occupying the
house erected for the homeless. When the
Grant estate, which joined his father's farm
was offered for sale, his father purchased it,
and after repairing the buildings gave it to his
son, David, Jr., which is still his home. He
is a prosperous market gardener, and his son
Franklin W. is associated with him as salesman
of the farm products. Mr. Chenery is a Uni
tarian in religion, a Republican in politics, and
a member of the Grand Amy of the Republic,
of Francis Gould Post, No. 36, Arlington.
Mr. Chenery married, July 18, 1863, Flora
C. Pierce, of Watertown, born November 17,
1845, daughter of Jonathan and Saphronia
(Underwood) Pierce. Children: 1. Mabel
Young, born October 30, 1864, died October
5, 1866. 2. Gertrude Adele, born September
25, 1867; married, November 6, 1889) Charles
William Benjamin, of Watertown, Massachu
setts, child, Harold Chenery, born June 30,
1891. 3. Nella Carrie, born November 30,
1869. 4. Florence, born December 24, 1873;
married April 23, 1903, Edwin Emery Farn
ham, of Cambridge, Massachusetts; children:
Caroline, born March 15, 1904; Edwin, born
November 20, 1905. 5. Franklin Winthrop,
born March 16, 1875. 6. Howard, born No
vember 15, 1876, died in infancy.
(VIII) Franklin Winthrop Chenery, son
of David Chenery (7), was born January 21,
1843, on tne old homestead in Watertown,
now Belmont, Massachusetts. He was rear
ed on his father's farm, and educated in the
common schools of Watertown. He enlisted
in Company G, Forty-fourth Massachusetts
Volunteers, during the civil war, and after his
return was for a time employed by his cousin,
John P. Farmer, in a market on Howard
Square, Cambridge. He died unmarried, May
2, 1872. iii— 19.

(VIII), Henry Chenery, youngest son of
David Chenery (7), was born on the old
homestead at Watertown, now Belmont,
Massachusetts, July 20, 1849. After leaving
school he went to Florida to settle, but re
mained only a short time, removing to Ore
gon, near Portland, where he purchased a
farm and conducted it, together with duties as
janitor of a school during the winter months.
Owing to ill health he returned to his father's
home, where he died July 19, 1883.

John Lathrop, the American
LATHROP immigrant and progenitor of
the Lathrop family in New
England, was pastor of the First Independent
Church in London, England, and came from
Egerton, Kent, England, in 1634, and was
the first minister of the church established at
Scituate, Plymouth Colony, July 1, 1633, and
on the founding of the town of Barnstable on
the Cape, March 5, 1638, became minister of
the church at that place and where he died in
1653- His descendant in the fifth generation was
the Rev. John Lathrop, who was graduated at
the College of New Jersey, Master of Arts
1766, Harvard, Bachelor of Arts, 1763, (ad
eum.) 1768, S. T. D. Edinburg 1785; was
minister of the Second Church, Boston, Mass
achusetts, 1768-1816, and a fellow of Harvard
College 1778-1816. His son, John Lathrop,
was graduated at Harvard, Bachelor of Arts
1789, Master of Arts 1792, and died 1820.
Dr. George Alfred Lathrop and his sons
Francis Lathrop, the artist, and George Par
sons Lathrop, the author; the Rev. John T.
Lathrop, son of Job Lathrop (of Harvard
1789) and father of John Lathrop, the distin
guished jurist of Boston ; the Rev. Joseph
Lathrop (1731-1820) of Springfield, Massa
chusetts, state senator and representative in
the United States Congress 1819-27, were of
the same progenitors.
Elias Lathrop, father of Rufus Lathrop,
was born in Vermont, in 1763, and died in
1 83 1. He married Betsey Bohanan and their
eight children were, named in the order of
their birth: Chauncey, Walter, Betsey, Al
fred, Hiram, Warren, Lodicia and Rufus.
Rufus Lathrop was born at Vershire,
Orange county, Vermont, March, 1801, and
died there March 18, 1878. He was a shoe
maker, and at an early age removed to South
Weymouth, Suffolk county, Massachusetts,
where he' worked at his trade for several

1062

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

years. He married Ruth Shaw, of South
Weymouth, in September, 1832. Ruth Shaw
was born June 6, 1800, and died in 1871.
Their six children were: 1. Mary Sophia
Lathrop, (q. v.). 2. Daniel Webster Lathrop,
born 1834. 3. Isaac Newton Lathrop, born
1838, died 1863, while in the army. 4. Mar
tha Ann Lathrop. 5. Hiram Gordon La
throp, born 1842, died in the service of his
country during the civil war in 1862. 5. Lu
cinda Lathrop, died in childhood. Rufus
Lathrop was a man greatly beloved by his
neighbors in Vershire, Vermont; given to
charitable work to the extent of his means and
opportunities; and a faithful citizen of the
commonwealth. Mary Sophia Lathrop, the eldest child of
Rufus and Ruth (Shaw) Lathrop, was born
in Vershire, Orange county, Vermont, Janu
ary 6, 1833, and became devoted to the care of
a large family of brothers and sisters, and to
charitable work. She removed to Lowell,
Massachusetts, in 1868, and was attached to
the First Baptist Church, subsequently to
the Adventists in that city, in charitable and
religious work, principally among the needy
and unfortunate foreigners attracted to the
city by the demand for women and girls to
work in the large cotton and woolen mills.
Her sister, Martha Ann Lathrop, married
Cyrus Hosmer, and was his fourth wife.
This marriage proving to be uncongenial, Mrs.
Hosmer went to live at the home of her sis
ter Mary Sophia Lathrop.

The surname Slade is derived
SLADE from a place-name meaning
valley, hollow, den, hanging
woody plain, breadth of green land in fields
and plantations. It was in use as a surname
as early as 1200 and the name of de la Slade
occurs in the Hundred Rolls of the thirteenth
century. The coat-of-arms of the Slade fam
ily of Trevennen in Gorran, county Cornwall,
in the time of Queen Elizabeth : Argent three
nags' heads erased sable a chief gules. An
other form:- Gules a fesse ermine between
three nags heads coupled and looking to the
dexter argent maned sable. Crest — A lion's
gamb erased holding three ostrich feathers.
The Slade family of Maunsell House, county
Somerset, England: Per fesse argent and
sable a pale counterchanged and three horses'
heads erased two and one of the second a chief
ermine thereon two bombs fired proper. Crest
— On a mount vert a horse's head erased

sable encircled with a chain in form of an
arch or. Motto: Fidus et Audax. All three
of the foregoing are sufficiently alike to indi-
date the same origin. The Slade family of
Ireland bears arms : Or fretty gules on a chief
of the last three trefoils slipped of the first.
Crest a lion's head erased gules, pierced with
an arrow proper.
(I) William Slade, the immigrant ances
tor, was probably born in Ireland, of Protest
ant stock, not Scotch-Irish, but possibly Eng
lish originally. He came to New England,
however, from the Isle of Great Britain. He
settled in Connecticut, it is supposed, as his
family is found there, but little is to be learn
ed of him from the records. His son used the
Junior as late as 1747, so that there is ground
for believing that William, Sr., was living
near Windsor, Connecticut, at that time. He
married Thankful Hutchinson. Among his
children were: 1. William, Jr., settled in
Windsor and had children there in 1747 and
later. 2. James, settled in Windsor and had
children there from 1751 to 1765. 3. John,
mentioned below. 4. Samuel, killed while
unloading wood.
'(II) John Slade, son of William Slade (1),
was born about 1725, died at Alstead, New
Hampshire, March 17, 1797, aged seventy-
two years. He married, at Windsor, Connec
ticut, September 12, 1751, Martha Abby Glea
son, widow, who died at Alstead, New Hamp
shire, August 22, 1795, aged sixty-nine years.
After the birth of the two older children they
removed to Enfield, Connecticut, where the
remainder of them were born. In the autumn
of 1773 they removed to Alstead, New Hamp
shire, where he and his four sons cleared a
tract of land, and he became a prosperous
farmer. He lies buried in the family burying
ground on the top of a high hill in Alstead.
He was in the French and Indian war in
1759 under General Phineas Lyman in the
company of Captain Giles Wolcott, while he
was living in Enfield. He was in the Revolu
tion in Captain Jeremiah Stiles's company, Col
onel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, August
L x775> at the siege of Boston, (p. 285 v.
XIV. Mass. Soldiers and Sailors). Children:
1. John, born at Windsor, Connecticut, June
10, 1752; settled finally at Brookfield, Ver
mont. 2. Martha, born in Windsor, drowned
when ten years old. 3. Lieutenant William,
born November 25, 1756. 4. Samuel, born
January 12, 1760, died young. 5. Samuel,
born February 2, 1762, mentioned below. 6.
Thomas (twin), born August 22, 1764, settled

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1063

in Windsor, and had five sons and three
daughters. 7. Daniel (twin), born August
22, 1764, died October 3, 1765. 8. Martha,
born February 6, 1765, died September 14,
I765- (III) Samuel Slade, son of John Slade
(2), was born at Enfield, Connecticut, Febru
ary1 2, 1762, died at Alstead, New Hampshire,
September 28, i860. At an early age he re
moved with his parents to Alstead, where he
made his home for the remainder of his life.
He and his three brothers remained upon the
land on which their father settled and became
prominent men in the town. They were well-
to-do farmers, their residences being about
fifty rods apart. They were hard working men
of strict and regular habits, using tobacco and
spirits in moderation. In politics . they never
agreed, and were never known to vote alike.
Samuel was an ardent Democrat. Their reli
gious views were also entirely different, and
yet such was their tolerant and kindly disposi
tion, that while they scarcely ever agreed
upon any matter, they were never known to
use hard or unkind words, and lived always
in peace with each other. Samuel was in the
Revolution, in Captain Salter's company of
artillery at Fort Washington, November 5,
1775, and in 1776; also in Captain George
Turner's company, Major Hackett's regiment
in 1776. July 26, 1779, the selectmen of
Alstead paid the soldiers of Colonel Mooney's
regiment, of which he was one, in colonial
money. He was in his usual health until
about four weeks before his death, when he
fell and broke his hip, from which accident he
never recovered. He is buried in the family
cemetery near the Slade homestead. He mar
ried, November 15, 1785, Hannah Thompson,
born September 14, 1768, at Alstead, died
November 14, 1841. Children : 1. Enoch,
born April .12, 1787, died July 28, 1866; mar
ried three times. 2. Patty, born December 15,
1789, died March 12, 1854; married 
Wood. 3. Jane, born June 18, 1792, died Au
gust 23, 1852 ; married Benjamin Webster. 4.
Betsey, born August 8, 1794, died February
4, 1814, unmarried. 5. Samuel, born May 10,
1797, died May 3, 1857; married Eunice
Ainger. 6. Harriet, born July 4, 1801, died
July 5, 1865; married Eliphalet Webster. 7.
Laura, born July 22, 1804, died March 23,
1884; married Ira Rust. 8. Alice, born Sep
tember 17, 1806, died September 19, 1865;
married (first)  Rust; (second) Ben
jamin Webster. 9. Horace Thompson, born
August 10, 1809, mentioned below.

(IV) Horace Thompson Slade, son of
Samuel Slade (3), was born at Alstead, New
Hampshire, August 10, 1809, died August 29,
1894. He was brought up on the farm and at
an early age learned the trade of tinsmith,
which he followed for a number of years. His
shop was near the centre of the town and he
did a good business. After about ten years
he bought a large farm at Langdon, New
Plampshire, situated on Langdon hill. Here he
lived about three years, and early in the fifties
went west and settled in Detroit, Michigan.
He was clerk and bookkeeper for Samuel
Webster for ten years, and then removed to
Grand Rapids, where he purchased a farm.
Five years later he went to Saginaw and
again entered the employ of Samuel Webster
as manager and bookkeeper in the lumber
business. After a number of years he retired
from active business, and died at Saginaw,
Michigan, where he is buried in the Brady
Hill cemetery. He was a man of unimpeach
able character, and made friends everywhere.
He was a strong temperance man, and in reli
gion was a Universalist, devoted to the church.
He was a natural musician and played the
organ in church, sang, and was leader of the
choir. He also held other church offices. In
politics he was a Democrat. When a young
man he was a member of the militia at
Alstead. He married (first), January 26,
1832, Achsah Wiley, born. February 19, 1810,
died January 3, 1846 (?), daughter of Robert
and Abigail (Campbell) Wiley of Alstead.
Her father was a farmer, born December 13,
1767, died January 22, 1826. Her mother was
born April 10, 1775, and died May 4, 1844.
He married (second) November 9, 1846-47,
Arilla T. Holdbrook, of Swanzey, New
Hampshire, born September 9, 1816, died No
vember 22, 1881. Children of the first wife:
1. Rosette, born October 18, 1833; married,
August 13, 1854, A. Judson Lobdell, of De
troit, Michigan; children: i. Judson Lobdell,
married Sarah  ; ii.Mary A., born No
vember 7, 1835, married, December 19, i860,
John Wiley, of Belmont, Massachusetts ; chil
dren : i. Charles Frederick Wiley, born March
22, 1866, died September 2, 1866; ii. Bertha
Achsah Wiley, born December 5, 1869, died
July 20, 1900. 3. Achsah, born October 17,
1839, died October 17, 1858/ 4. Charles
Horace, born October 1, 1842, mentioned
below. 5. Edwin R., born December 28, 1844",
married, November 16, 1880, Mary Jane
Grantham; no issue. Children of the second
wife: 6. Norman Holdbrook, born -April 17,

1064

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1849, married, April 19, 1882, Sarah E. Brad
ley, born in New Brunswick, resided in Sagi
naw ; they have an adopted son, Leigh Wycoff
Slade. 7. Madella L., born December 25,
1850, married, August 10, 1876, Henry R.
Frazier ; no issue. 8. Lewis Cass, born Jan
uary 5, 1854, married, June 17, 1885, Joanna
Roberts, of Detroit, Michigan, and have an
adopted daughter, Grace Roberts, born Octo
ber 15, 1897, at Saginaw, Michigan. 9.
George W., born February 5, 1856, married,
March 26, 1884, Margaret J. Menzie, of Port
Sarnia, Ontario, born January 6, i860, and had
George Adelbert, born July 6, 1888.
(V) Charles Horace Slade, son of Plorace
Thompson Slade (4), was born at Alstead,
New Hampshire, October 1, 1842. He re
ceived his education in his native town, and at
the age of nineteen, in 1861, removed to Bel
mont, Massachusetts, and found employment
at market gardening on the farm of Newell
Brown. He remained here twelve years, the
latter part of the time taking entire charge of
the farm. He then leased the farm, twenty-
three acres, together with the Stone farm of
seventy-five acres, which he conducted for
eight or ten years. In 1874 he purchased his
present farm of twenty-one acres from the
Leonard Stone heirs and has since been en
gaged in market gardening, cultivating in ad
dition to his own farm an eight acre lot near
by. His greenhouses have a cultivating space
of 25,000 square feet, mostly used for cucum
bers and lettuce. His lettuce is his especial
pride and commands a high price. Mr. Slade
now operates about fifty acres in the best sec
tion of Belmont, of which thirty-one acres is
under cultivation. For years he did his own
marketing, but now it is in the hands of his
son Walter. His produce goes to Boston and
New York. He lives at 363 Common street,
Belmont. He is a member of the Orthodox
Congregational church and has served on its
standing committee. In politics he is a Re
publican and has served as selectman of Bel
mont for five years, and on the school com
mittee for the same length of time. He is a
member of the Belmont Lodge of Free
Masons ; Trapelo Lodge, No. 238, Independ
ent Order of Odd Fellows, at Waverly, Mass-
achusett; Waverly Council, No. 113, Royal
Arcanum. He belongs to the Boston Market
Gardener's Association, and is a director of
the Waverly Co-operative Bank.
He married, September 26, 1867, Susan
Frances Holden, born August 6, 1845, daugh
ter of John and Jane (Bright) Holden, of

Waterfown, Massachusetts. Her father was
a dairy merchant and later a collector for the
J. P. Squires Company. Children: 1. Charles
Frederick, born August 23, 1868, mentioned
below. 2. Jennie Frances, born February 18,
1870, died August 4, 1870. 3. Albert Rust,
born August 21, 1871, died July 26, 1872. 4.
Fanny Louise, born March 8, 1873, married,
April 1, 1895, Thomas Powers, of Water-
town ; children : i. Ruth Frances Powers, born
January 5, 1896; ii. Warren Thomas Powers,
born September 18, 1899. 5. Mabel, born
May 1, 1874, married, July 22, 1896, John
Benjamin Kendall, of Belmont; children: i.
Charles Benjamin Kendall, born August 11,
1897 ; ii. Richard Slade Kendall, born May 21,
1 901. 6. Leslie Holden, born October 9,
1875, married, December 31, 1898, Grace
Totten, of Waltham, born January 10, 1877;
children : i. Horace Totten, born August 9,
1899; ii. Leslie Foster, born January 24, 1901 ;
iii. Bertha, born August 17, 1902; iv. John
Albert, born July 11, 1905; v. Philip, born
September 17, 1907. 7. Sidney Creeley, born
October 1, 1878, died September 10, 1885. 8.
Walter Horace, born February 12, 1882. 9.
Harry Brown, born September 12, 1883. 10.
Ada Mary, born June 4, 1885. 11. Ethel
Rosette, born May 15, 1888.
(VI) Charles Frederick Slade, son of
Charles Horace Slade (5), was born at
Belmont, Massachusetts, August 23, 1868.
He was educated in the Belmont schools,
graduating from the high school in 1884. He
entered the employ of the Fitchburg Railroad
at Boston as clerk in the freight office, remain
ing until 1888, when he took a position as
clerk and salesman for Russell & Company,
manufacturers of confectionery. Four years
later he became traveling salesman for this
firm and for George Close, of Cambridge-
port, in the same business. After. three years
he entered the employ of the Bay State Con
fectionery Company of Cambridgeport as
travelling salesman, remaining with them five
years. He then returned to Russell & Com
pany, which had reorganized, and makes a
specialty of chocolate candies. Mr. Slade is
travelling salesman for New England. He
resided at 11 Chester street, North Cam
bridge. He and his family attend the Univer
salist church at North Cambridge. He is a
Republican, but never aspired to public office.
He is a member of Waverly Council, No. 313,
Royal Arcanum, and of the White Mountain
Travellers' Association; also of the Massa
chusetts Pharmaceutical Association. He is a

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1065

member of the Newtowne Club of Cambridge
and has served on the board of directors for
two years. He is a member of the Belmont
High School Alumni Association, and was
formerly a member of the Arlington Boat
Club. He married, June 6, 1889, Mary Elizabeth
Kendall, born at Lexington, September 3,
1869, daughter of Jonas Brown and Joanna
Agnes (Lundergan) Kendall. (See sketch of
the Kendall family in this work.)
Children: 1. Marion Kendall, born at West
Somerville, July 25, 1894. 2. Esther Ken
dall, born at Cambridge, May 4, 1898.

This ancient English surname is
DOE derived from the name of the ani
mal, and is of the same class of
surnames as Hart, Roe, Buck, Lion, Stag,
proceeding originally from nicknames, per
haps, before surnames came into use. Lower
says in his Patronymica Britannica that "those
mythical parties to so many legal proceedings,
John Doe and Richard Roe, are evidently of
forest extraction and point to the days when
forest laws prevailed and venison was a sac
red thing." The census of land owners, etc.,
taken by Edward I on his return from Pales
tine after the death of his father, called the
Hundred Rolls (1273) (Rotuli Hundred-
dorum) contains the name of John Le Doe,
one of the first, if not the original progenitor
of the family. The only coat-of-arms was
confirmed in 1749, but may be much older.
It is borne by a family of Sanghall, Lanca
shire, England, and is described : Argent a
chevron between three coulters sable. Crest —
A garb or with a coulter stuck within the band
in bend sinister sable. The Dow family, a
branch of which settled in Hampton, New
Hampshire, is entirely distinct in origin. This
surname is derived from Dhu (black) or the
Scotch Doo (pigeon).
(I) Nicholas Doe, the immigrant ancestor,
came from England and settled at Oyster Bay,
later Durham, New Hampshire, among the
earliest settlers. His name appears on a list
of taxpayers at Oyster Bay in 1667, and he
was received as an inhabitant September 21,
1668. He had a law case with John Goddard
which was settled in 1674. He married Mar
tha — ¦  . Children, the last three recorded
at Dover, New Hampshire: 1. Samuel. 2.
Simon. 3. Daniel. 4. John, born August 25,
1669, married Elizabeth  , and had
John, Daniel, Mary, Elizabeth, Martha. 5.

Samson, born April 1, 1670, mentioned below.
6. Elizabeth, born February 7, 1673.
(II) Samson Doe, son of Nicholas Doe
(1), was born at Oyster River, Dover, now
Durham, New Hampshire, April 1, 1670. He
resided at Durham. He appears to have had
two wives, Mary and Temperance. Children :
1. Samuel, born August 5, 1701. 2. Tem
perance, born 1709, baptized December 8,
1718, aged nine years. 3. Martha. 4. Na
thaniel, baptized March 2, 1717-18. 5. Nicho
las, baptized June 7, 1719, mentioned below.
6. Elizabeth, baptized 1722-23. 7. Zebulon,
baptized July 15, 1725.
(Ill) Nicholas Doe, son of Samson Doe
(2), was baptized at Durham, New Hamp
shire, June 7, 1719, by Rev. Hugh Adams. He
was called a "minor son." He resided at Dur
ham, New Hampshire. Children: 1. Nathaniel,
settled in Newfield, Maine ; soldier in the Rev
olution ; children : i. Dearborn, of Parson-
field, Maine ; ii. Henry, of Augusta, Maine ;
iii. Simon, of Fairfield, Maine ; iv. Nathaniel,
of Waterville, Maine ; v. John W., of Tam
worth, New Hampshire. 2. Joseph, set
tled in Newmarket, New Hampshire ; sons :
i. Walter, of Albany; ii. Joseph, of Somers-
worth, New Hampshire; iii. Bartiett, of Sara
toga, New York; iv. Nicholas Churchill,
drowned in Newmarket, New Hampshire. 3.
Gideon, born 1740, settled in Wolfboro; re
moved to Parsonfield; married Abigail Con
ner. 4. John, born September 9, 1748, men
tioned below.
(IV) Deacon John Doe, son of Nicholas
Doe, was born September 9, 1748, and died at
Parsonfield, Maine, February 21, 1819. He
was a corporal in the Revolution, in Captain
Nathaniel Fales' company from August 1 to
August 15, 1779, in the expedition to Major-
bagaduce, which was ordered by General
Lovel. John Doe and his brother Gideon were
among the first settlers of Parsonfield, Maine,
coming from Wolfboro, New Hampshire, to
Province Lake. They selected a beautiful
spot on the slope of a hill, near a lake, and
cleared the land for their homes. Camps were
made and huts covered with bark, and the
work was pushed vigorously, so that their
wives and children joined them before the
winter of 1775. A part of these lands were
bought in later years by a descendant, William
K. Doe, in 1875, and remodelled and rebuilt.
He was selectman in 1785-91, and town clerk
in 1785-86.
He married, December 27, 1773, Elizabeth

io66

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Ames, of Newmarket, New Hampshire.
Children: i. Anne, born September 15, 1774,
married Josiah Hannaford. 2. Bartiett, born
June 22, 1776, died young. 3. John, Jr., born
August 31, 1778, married, in 1800, Abigail
Giddings; died January 24, 1821 ; ten chil
dren: Deborah, Betsey, John, Martha, Mary,
Bartiett, Ira, Rufus, Maria, William K., who
resided at Parsonfield. 4. Mary, born June
23, 1 78 1, married Morris Leavitt, and had
four children-. 5. Betsey, born September 13,
1783, married David Crockett, and had eight
children. 6. Bartiett, born July 30, 1785,
mentioned below. 7. Sally, born July 29,
1787, married James Marston. 8. Comfort,
born August 11, 1790, married, 1809, Gideon
Colcord; died 1833; children: Rufus, Eliz
abeth, Climena, Josiah, Clara, Mercy.
(V) Colonel Bartiett Doe, son of Deacon
John Doe (4), was born on the homestead
in Parsonfield, Maine, on the west slope of
Doe Mountain, July 30, 1785, died there Feb
ruary 11, 1872. The spot is most picturesque;
to the west lie the Green Mountains, and the
beautiful plain below is dotted with lakes.
Province Lake lies at the foot of the hill. On
all sides in the distance are towering moun
tains, the rugged crest of Chocurua and even
the summit of Mount Washington being vis
ible. He was a well-to-do farmer, of high
moral character, a true gentleman of the old
school. His courteous manner and generous
nature endeared him to all. His tall com
manding presence and fine physique, together
with his handsome features and deep, clear
voice, made him easily a leader among men.
He rose in the militia to colonel of the Second
Regiment. Three of his sons, Bartiett, John
S. and Charles F., went to San Francisco,
California, and became prominent financiers.
He married (first), November 29, 1810,
Mary Sanborn, born June 20, 1791, died May
22, 1863, daughter of John and Hannah
(Batchelder) Sanborn, of Parsonfield. Her
father was a farmer, born at Newmarket, New
Hampshire, March 20, 1763, and removed to
Parsonfield in 1787. He married (second),
November -29, 1864, Mrs. Lydia (Lord)
Moulton, widow of Cutting Moulton, of Par
sonfield, and daughter of Colonel Wentworth
Lord. Children, all by the first wife: 1.
Martha A., (twin), born August 15, 1811,
died September 9, 1869 ; married, April, 1833,
Ira Moore, of Parsonfield. 2. Mary S.
(twin), born August 15, 1811, died June 22,
1885 ; married, August 13, 1837, Jonathan
Wedgwood, of Effingham, New Hampshire;

sh,e married (second) Oliver Jones, of Ray
mond, New Hampshire. 3. Alvah, born Aug
ust 28, 1813, mentioned below. 4. Amzi, born
September 23, 181 5, lost his life by accident,
July 18, 1867; married, 1843, Lorania E.
Wade, who died March 22, 1866; children:
i. Arthur F., born December 16, 1844; mar
ried, January 12, 1882, Estelle E. Lombard;
ii. Calvin W., born December 3, 1846, married,
October 16, 1868, Edna E. Hughes, (children:
Edith L., born December 17, 1869, married
Homer E. Sly, December 18, 1895; child,
Helen M. Sly, born December 30, 1902; Earl
O, born October 2, 1871, died October 11,
1882), wife died December 12, 1878; children
of Calvin W. and second wife, Jennie L.
(Campbell) (married, April 30, 1881) Doe:
Edna A., born January 18, 1883, married,
September 29, 1905, Ralph J. Binney (chil
dren: Lawrence D. Binney, born August 15,
1906; Louise J. Binney, born November 26,
1907) ; Bartiett C, born February 9, 1889.
5. Hannah S., born March 9, 1818, died No
vember 2, 1902 ; married, May 17, 1859, Dan
iel Field, of Auburn, Maine. 6. Bartiett, born
July 13, 1820, died April 18, 1906. 7. John
S., born September 26, 1822, died January 23,
1894; married, February, 1890, Eleanor Guest,
of Michigan. 8. Elizabeth A., born December
27, 1824, died January 27, 1891 ; married, No
vember 29, 1891, David Moulton, of Newfield,
Maine, and have one child, Ella Frances. 9.
Calvin, born April 6, 1827, died June 7, 1829.
10. Calvin, born February 20, 1829, died Aug
ust 17, 1846. 11. Nancy FL, born May 6,
1831, married, December 4, 1853, Samuel F.
Kezar, of Parsonfield. 12. Charles F., born
August 13, 1833, died January 16, 1904.
(VI) Hon. Alvah Doe, son of Colonel
Bartiett Doe (5), was born at Parsonfield,
Maine, August 28, 1813, died July 4, 1885.
He was educated in the public schools and in
Effingham Academy. When he was a young
man of twenty he went to Boston as clerk in
a grocery store, but owing to ill health he soon
went back to the farm. During the winter
months he taught school in Saco, Maine, and
in other Maine and New Hampshire towns.
For many years he was a popular and success
ful teacher. He was a prominent Democrat,
a leader in his party. He was selectman in
1841-42-43-59-66 and 67; a member of the
school committee in 1849-62-63 and 64; town
clerk in 1854-56-57-58. At the early age of
thirty-two he was elected to the state legisla
ture, and in 1863 was state senator. He was a
charter member of Charter Oak Lodge, No.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1067

58, of Free Masons, at Effingham, New
Hampshire, and was its worshipful master
four years. He was captain of Company D,
Second Regiment, Maine Infantry, and later
adjutant of his regiment. Mr. Doe was
a natural mechanic and gifted with inventive
genius. He had a keen and discriminating
judgment in business affairs, and his advice
was constantly sought by friends and freely
given. In public life his foresight and knowl
edge of human nature made him particularly
strong with all classes of citizens. He was
easy and agreeable in manner and attracted
and retained friends readily. His character
was exemplary in every respect and he car
ried the same standards into public life that
he held in private life.
He, married (first), June 11, 1837, Martha
Jane Leavitt, born June, 1814, died March,
1870, daughter of Jeremiah and Martha
(Chadbourn) Leavitt, of Effingham, New
Hampshire. Her father was a carpenter. He
married (second), August 11, 1872, Susan
Elizabeth Moulton, daughter of Cutting and
Lydia (Lord) Moulton, of Parsonfield. She
was the daughter of Alvah Doe's stepmother.
Children, all by the first wife: 1. Edward
Augustus, born February 6, 1838, died No
vember, i860. 2. George Irving, born Febru
ary 6, 1841, mentioned below. 3. Amzi San
born, born March 5, 1843, died of yellow
fever at Galveston, Texas, September 6, 1867.
4. Augustus Leavitt, born July, 1845, died
1846. 5. Mellen Leavitt, born September 4,
1847. 6. Frank Pierce, born July 24, 185 1,
married, November 23, 1876, Mayella Rob
erts, of Dover, New Hampshire ; no issue.
7. Charles Webster, born April 25, 1855,
married, January 13, 1885, Laura Frances
Mitchell, of San Francisco, California ; chil
dren: i. Alvah Bartiett, born December 15,
1885; "• Laura Mitchell, born December 11,
1887; iii- Aileen, born September 13, 1892;
iv. George Irving, born May 29, 1895, died
April 22, 1896; v. Marion Elizabeth, born
February 22, 1897; vi. Charles Webster, born
September 4, 1898.
(VII) George Irving Doe, son of Hon. Al
vah Doe (6), was born at Parsonfield, Maine,
February 6, 1841. He was educated in the
public schools at Parsonfield, supplemented
by two terms at the Parsonfield Seminary. In
January, 1861, he went to Boston and entered
the employ of his uncle, Bartiett Doe, as clerk.
The firm dealt in building supplies, and the
young man stayed with them nine years. They
shipped a great amount of goods to California

at that time. In company with his cousin,
Charles H. Moore, of Galveston, Texas, he
formed a partnership to continue the business
of Bartiett Doe & Company, which they
bought out. Mr. Moore remained in Galves
ton and Mr. Doe in Boston, and the shipping
was done to the south, instead of to Califor
nia. In 1872 Mr. Doe sold his interest in the
firm to his partner, and removed to New York
City, where he became financially interested in
the Atlantic Giant Powder Company, with
Thomas Varney as a partner. They manu
factured dynamite, with factories at Drakes-
ville, New Jersey, and offices at Park Place,
New York City. Mr. Doe was the selling
agent, and the goods were shipped to all parts
of the country, largely for railroad tunnels
and mining operations. This company fur
nished the greater portion of the dynamite
for the blowing up of Hell Gate, in the East
river, New York harbor. After nine years,
owing to impaired health, Mr. Doe retired to
Wilton, New Hampshire, where he bought a
fifty-five acre farm of his father-in-law. He
carried on the farm for eight years, raising
garden produce and cattle, until 1889, when
he removed to Arlington, Massachusetts,
where he built his present spacious residence
at No. 44 Jason street. With the exception of
his interest in real estate, he has retired from
active business. He and his wife attend the
Orthodox Congregational church at Arlington.
In politics he is an independent Democrat,
and has served his party at various state and
other nominating conventions. He was asses
sor of Arlington for ten years, from 1892 to
1902, and selectman from 1896 to 1905. He
was a member of the New Hampshire legis
lature in 1888-89 and was on the committee on
manufactures. He is a trustee of the Parson
field Academy at Parsonfield, Maine.,
He married, January 21, 1864, Clara Aurilla
Clifford, daughter of Robert C. and Martha
(Perkins) Clifford, of Edgecomb, Maine. Her
father was a farmer. They have no chil
dren.

The Weeks family is of ancient
WEEKS English origin. The name was
variously spelled Week, Weeks,
Wick, Wyke, Wickse, Weekse. The family
settled early in the counties of Somerset,
Gloucester, Wiltshire and Devon. The fol
lowing English pedigree of the American emi
grant is founded on a Visitation of Essex
county, in 1634; Harl. So. Edit., part 1, p.

io68

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

535, and parish registers of Chew Magna
and Compton Martin, both of Somerset.
(I) Henry Wyke, of Stanton Wyke (in
Stanton Drew, Somersetshire), a younger
brother's son, of Henry Wyke, of Hanham
Wyke, Gloucestershire, married one of the
twenty daughters of Thomas Willett, of Bat-
comb near Urington, Somersetshire, sister of
Mr. Willett, of Lincoln's Inn.
(II) John Wyke, eldest son of Henry
Wyke (i), married Bridget West, daughter
of Edmund West, of Harptree, Somersetshire.
Children: i. Peter, married (first) Blanche
Nightingale, sister of Sir Geoffrey Nightin
gale, of Newport pond, Essex; married (sec
ond) Frances Elsington, daughter of William
Elsington, of Hormead, Hertfordshire. 2.
Leonard, of Compton Martin, 1599, appears
by name in visitation but was not then living
there ; buried as of Moreton in Compton Mar
tin, February 27, 1625-26. 3. John, mention
ed below.
(Ill) John Wyke, son of John Wyke (2),
was born at Chew Magna according to the
visitation then made in 1634. Children: 1.
John, mentioned below. 2. Sarah, baptized
June 12, 1599. 3. Elizabeth, baptized June
12, 1603. 4. Leonard, baptized at Compton,
July 29, 1605, buried December 23, 1618. 5.
Henry, baptized December 13, 1607, died Oc
tober, 1618. 6. Francis, baptized May 17,
1612. (IV) John Wyke, son of John Wyke (3),
was baptized at Compton, June 24, 1598. He
resided at Compton when his servant Chris
tian Hardin was buried in 1639; resided also
at Chew Magna. Children: 1. Roger, born
1633. 2. Martin, born 1634-35. 3. William,
born 1637. 4. Leonard, mentioned below.
(V) Leonard Weeks, or Wyke, son of John
Wyke (4), was baptized at Compton Martin,
August 7, 1639. He came to America and his
name first appears in public records as witness
to a bond in York county, Maine, December
6, 1655, and next in the Portsmouth town rec
ords, June 29, 1656, when he received a grant
of five acres of land, and next in the Ports
mouth records, June 29, 1656, when he re
ceive a grant of eight acres. It is said that
when he first went to that part of Portsmouth
now called Greenland, he lived one year on a
farm owned by Captain Champernoon. In
February, 1660-61, he had settled at Winnicut
River, now in Greenland, where he spent the
remainder of his life, dying in 1707. He was
a selectman of Portsmouth in 1661, and after
wards constable and for several years sheriff.

In 1669 he was on a committee to lay out the
highway between Greenland and Bloody
Point. He was fined ten shillings according to
the court record June 26, 1660, for swearing
by God and admonished for calling John Hall,
of Greenland, "ould dog & ould slave & that
he would knock him in the head." He divided
his lands among his sons before his death by
deeds dated April 23, 1706, retaining posses
sion during his life. He 'died before March,
1707-08. Much of the land he owned in
Greenland has remained in the possession of
his descendants to the present time.
He married in 1667 or before Mary Haines,
daughter of Deacon Samuel Haines, of Ports
mouth, his neighbor. Children : 1. John,
born June 14, 1668. 2. Captain Samuel, men
tioned below. 3. Joseph, born March 11, 1672.
4. Captain Joshua, born June 30, 1674, mar
ried Comfort Hubbard, November, 1699. 5.
Mary, born July 19, 1676, married Lieutenant
Joshua Brackett. 6. Jonathan, born about
1677, married Elizabeth Cate. 7. Margaret,
born June 4, 1679, married Tobias Lear. 8.
Sarah, married Tobias Langdon. The last two
children were by his second wife Elizabeth.
(VI) Captain Samuel Weeks, son of Leon
ard Weeks (5), was born in Greenland, New
Hampshire, December 14, 1670. He was a
farmer on the homestead left him by his
father ; was a man of intelligence, energy,
wealth and influence in town and church.
About 1 7 10 he is said to have built the brick
house from which his descendants came to be
known as the Brick House Family as dis
tinguished from the Bay Side Family of
Weeks, descended from his brother Joshua.
The brick house is now or lately was owned
and occupied by a descendant, Robert B.
Weeks. The old house stands a little west of
the Parade in Greenland, about twenty-two
by thirty-six feet. The earthquake in 1755
caused a great rent in the walls at each end,
but the bricks have since been coated with
cement. It is built of heavy oak timbers and
is still a very substantial building. ¦ In his will
proved April 30, 1746, Captain Samuel left
his house to his son Walter. He was captain
of the military company. He married Elinor
Haines, daughter of Samuel Haines, Jr., of
Greenland. She was born August 23, 1675,
and died November 19, 1736. He died March
26, 1746. Children: 1. Lieutenant Samuel,
baptized, 1712, tanner by trade; married Me
hitable Pickering, of Portsmouth. 2. John,
baptized, 1712, cordwainer in Greenland; was
also of Epping. 3. Walter, baptized 1712,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1069

farmer on the homestead and lived in the
brick house; married Comfort Weeks. 4.
Matthias, mentioned below. 5. Mary, bap
tized 1712, married Paul Chapman, of Green
land. 6. Elinor, baptized 1714, unmarried. 7.
William, baptized 1717, and probably died
young. (VII) Matthias Weeks, son of Captain
Samuel, Weeks (6), was born in 1708. He
married about 1735 Sarah Ford, widow,
daughter of John Sanborn, of North Hamp
ton. In 1766 he sold his land that he inherited
from his father on the Great Bay, and in 1773
followed his sons to Gilmanton, where he
died before October, 1777. His widow Sarah
died there December 7, 1.799, aged eighty-six
years. Children: 1. John, mentioned below.
2. Olive, baptized 1738, married, August 26,
1755, John Haines, of Greenland. 3. Mat
thias, Jr., born June 5, 1740, married in Ex
eter, November 21, 1760, Judith Leavitt,
daughter of Dudley Leavitt. 4. Elinor, bap
tized 1742. 5. Mary, baptized 1744. 6. Rev.
Samuel, born November 21, 1746, married
(first) Mercy Randlett, of Stratham; -removed
to Gilmanton in 1773; first-pastor of the Free
will Baptist Church of Parsonfield, Maine;
married (second) Sarah (Barnes) Guptail,
widow of S. Guptail. 7. Joanna, baptized
July 14, 1751. 8. Benjamin, born February
28, 1749, removed to Gilmanton in 1772. 9.
Deacon Noah, born July 12, 1754, married,
February 28, 1782, Betsey Meed-: 10. Josiah,
born about 1756; shipwright; married, Octo
ber 31, 1776, Abigail James, daughter of Dud
ley James.
(VIII) John Weeks, son of Matthias
Weeks (7), was born in 1736 and married
Dorothy  . . He removed in 1773 to~ Gil
manton and settled in district No. 2, near his
brother, Benjamin Weeks, and Orlando Weed.
In 1787 he was paid six pounds for killing two
wolves. He died February, 181 5, in Gilford,
New Hampshire, aged eighty-four years, and
his widow Dorothy administered the estate.
Children: 1. Nathaniel, mentioned below. 2.
John Lang, born in Greenland, August 3, 1763,
settled in Tamworth ; married in Burton,
March 4, 1800, Judith Plummer. 3. Noah,
born 1 771, married in Gilmanton, March 12,
1793, Sarah Morrill.
(IX) Nathaniel Weeks, son of John Weeks
(8), was born about 1758 in Greenland, and
was a shoemaker and tanner by trade. In
1773 he removed to Gilmanton. He married
Huldah Pottle. He married (second), May
6, 1787, in Exeter, Polly Pottle, of Exeter.

Between September, 1788, and April, 1789, he
removed to Stratham, New Hampshire, but
returned to Gilmanton and died there before
July 21, 1 81 5. His widow Polly afterwards
lived with her children in Exeter. He died in
1815. Children of Nathaniel and Huldah
(Pottle) Weeks: 1. Samuel P., born 1784,
married Huldah Knight, of Falmouth, Maine.
Children of Nathaniel and Polly (Pottle)
Weeks. 2. Jane (twin of Nicholas). 3.
Nicholas (twin of Jane). 4. Mary (Polly),
married  Clark of Allenstown. 5. Nich
olas, died young. 6. Joseph, changed name to
George, and settled in New York state. 7.
Major Nathaniel, born in Gilmanton in 1796,
married at Exeter, Harriet Byram Gilman ;
he was a well-known merchant. 8. Timothy,
mentioned below. 9. Joshua, born 1806, mar
ried Dorcas Neally, of Exeter.
(X) Timothy Weeks, son of • Nathaniel
Weeks (8), was born in Bridgewater, New
Hampshire, November 13, 1801, married, Oc
tober 6, 1825, Elizabeth Barnard Whitney,
born in Westminster, Massachusetts, May 27,
1804, and died April 17, 1887, in Everett,
Massachusetts, at the home of her son-in-law,
N. W. Frye, aged eighty-three years. Timo
thy died in Lowell, July 1, 1854, aged fifty-
two years. Children: 1. Adaline Elizabeth,
born in Northampton, Massachusetts, Octo
ber 2, 1826; married as his second wife N. W.
Frye and resided in Everett; she died March,
1887, leaving, one son Nathan Wyman. 2.
Mary Abigail, born in Granby, Connecticut,
July 28, 1828, married, February, 1849, Henry
Augustus Fielding, and resided in Bozeman,
Montana; child: Fred Augustus Fielding. 3.
Harriet Gilman, born in Sutton, Massachu
setts, September 25,' 1830, married, July 1,
1849, Jeremiah S. Hall, who was killed at the
battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; child: Al
bert Henry Hall, resides in New York City
and has two children: Harriet A., born
March 12, 1884, and Harry M., April 2, 1885.
4. Augustus Whitney, mentioned below. 5.
Cynthia Jones, born March 25, 1836, at Cav
endish, Vermont, died at Perkinsville, Ver
mont, May 15, 1842. 6. Ellen W./ born in
Windsor county, town of Perkinsville, Ver
mont, October 2, 1838, married in Groton,
Massachusetts, December 8, 1862, Rev. Ed
ward P. Tenney, born in West Concord, New
Hampshire, September 29, 1835, and resided
in Manchester, Massachusetts; children: i.
Emma Wilson, born in Lowell, June 6, 1873 ;
ii. Elizabeth Hale, born in Ashland, April 7,
1876. ,7. Emeline Dorcas, born May 13, 1841,

1070

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

married, March 2. 1869, General Lester S.
Wilson, resided in Bozeman, Montana, with
two children living.
(XI) Augustus Whitney Weeks, son of
Timothy (10) and Elizabeth B. Weeks, was
born in Worcester, Massachusetts, February
5, 1833. He attended school at Tilton, New
Hampshire, and later entered Wesleyan Uni
versity at Middletown, Connecticut. He in
tended studying for the ministry, but aband
oned this in order to serve his country in her
hour of need, enlisting from Middletown in
Company G, Sixth Regiment, and serving
nine months. Upon his return from the war
he served as head clerk at the Freedman's
Bureau in Virginia under General Armstrong,
retaining this position for a period of three
years. He then came to Lowell, Massachu
setts, and accepted a position as manager of
the Kittredge Coal Company of Lowell, re
maining until his death, February 21, 1892.
He was a prominent member of St. Paul's
Church of Lowell and a local elder for many
years ; was a Republican in politics ; a prom
inent Mason, also served two years as com
mander of local post of Grand Army of the
Republic; and was much loved and respected
by all who knew him. He married, March
25, 1867, Lauraetta Frye, born in Lowell,
1838, daughter of Ira Frye, who was born in
Danville, Vermont, June 7, 1803 ; he was one
of the original proprietors of the old Ameri
can House at Lowell, was a well known tav
ern keeper in his day, a prominent • citizen,
and popular among his townsmen. He mar
ried Laura Butterfield. Mrs. Weeks has one
sister living, Miss Civil M. Frye. Before her
marriage Mrs. Weeks was for a number of
years engaged in teaching in the Colburn
school of Lowell. Their only child, Laura E.
Weeks, died in infancy.

John Hall, the immigrant ancestor,
HALL was, according to his own deposi
tion, born in 1617. He first ap
pears in New England in Charlestown, where
he was made a freeman May 6, 1635. He re
moved to Dover, New Hampshire, where his
name appears on the tax list from 1648-49
until 1677, and often in land records. In
1652 he lived at Dover Neck, next to the
meeting house, the lot on the southwesterly
side which reached to the river and -embraced
a spring which is still flowing and is called
Hall's spring. He was first deacon of the
First Church of Dover as early as 1655. He

was lot-layer as early as 1657 and as late as
1674. In 1658-59 he was one of three to lay
out the town bounds between Lamprey and
Newichawannock rivers, and to run the north
boundary. In 1663 he was on a committee to
lay out the highway from Lamprey river to
the waterside. He was selectman in 1660,
and was occasionally "commissioner to end
small causes;" grand juror in 1663-66 and 68;
"clerk of ye writs" for the court in 1663-68
and 69; town clerk in 1670-75-79 and other
years. In 1677 Deacon Hall received a lot of
twenty acres on the west side of Back river,
which had been laid out to George Webb in
1642. He gave to his son Ralph by deed Feb
ruary 1, 1685-86, one-half the house and land,
and the other half at his death, this deed was
proved as his will May 4, 1692, and recorded
February, 1694-95. He married Elizabeth
 . Children: 1. Sheba, baptized Jan
uary 9, 1639-40. 2. John, born in Charles
town, September 21, 1645, representative to
the New Hampshire legislature, 1694-95-96;
died 1697. 3. Elizabeth, born September 4,
1647, died young. 4. Elizabeth, born Novem
ber 2, 1648, died young. 5. Nathaniel, taxed
in 1680. 6. Ralph, mentioned below. 7.
Grace (?), born May 16, 1663-64.
(II) Ralph Hall, son of John Hall (1),
was heir to his father's homestead at Dover's
Neck. July 11, 1694, he lost twenty acres of
land at Fresh creek in a lawsuit with Richard
Waldron. Richard and Elizabeth Pinkham
gave him a quitclaim deed to land in consider
ation of the sum of ten pounds. He was aud
itor in 1702 and constable in 1705. He died
November 13, 1706. He married (second),
May 26, 1 701, Mary Chesley, daughter of
Philip Chesley. In 171 3 she, with her sister
Esther, wife of John Hall, quitclaimed their
father's plantation at Oyster river. She mar
ried (second), February 26, 1717-18, John
Fox, and quitclaimed her share in the estate
of her first husband, to John Hall, son of the
first wife. Ralph, John and James Hall were
administrators of the estate of their father
Ralph, March 4, 1706-07. The estate was div
ided between seven sons, the eldest getting a
double portion, and fifteen pounds to Jona
than who was "weak and sick." Children of
the first wife: 1. John, born about 1685, set
tled in Somersworth, New Hampshire, mar
ried, August 9, 1705, Esther Chesley, sister
of his stepmother. 2. James, died before
1735- 3- Jonathan. 4: Isaac, removed to
Massachusetts. Children of the second wife:
5. Benjamin, born June, 1702. 6. Ralph, born

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1071

about 1704, married Elizabeth Willey, of Lee,
New Hampshire. 7. Joseph, born March 26,
1706, mentioned below.
(Ill) Joseph Hall, son of Ralph Hall (2),
was born at Dover, New Hampshire, March
26, 1706, and died November 14, 1782. He
married, December 19, 1734, Peniel Bean.
Children: 1. Anna, baptized July 29, 1735,
married (first) Reuben Daniels, of Wolfs-
boro; (second) Philip Kelley, of Wakefield.
2. Mary, baptized May 23, 1736, married Paul
Hessey, and had four children. 3. Joseph,
baptized November 5, 1738, mentioned below.
4. Daniel, baptized August 22, 1742, resided
at Wakefield, and married widow Patience
Taylor, of Sanbornton, New Hampshire. 5. Ab
igail, baptized October 7, 1744. 6. Samuel,
baptized March 19, 1748. 7. Hannah, bap
tized April 2, 1749, married (second) Reuben
Long. 8. John, baptized November 2, 1752.
9. Peniel, married, March 19, 1775, John
Scribner, of Wakefield.
(IV) Joseph Hall, son of Joseph Hall (3),
was baptized November 5, 1738, and resided
at Bartiett, New Hampshire. According to
the federal census of 1790, Joseph Hall was
the head of the only family of this name in
the town of Bartiett. He was in the Revolu
tion in Captain Joseph Parsons' company.
Children: 1. Joseph, born about 1760. 2.
Dorcas. 3. Nathan. 4. Betsey. 5. Rev.
Elias, mentioned below. 6. Josiah. 7. Polly.
8. Benjamin.
(V) Rev. Elias Hall, son of Joseph Hall
(4), was born at Falmouth, (Portland),
Maine, August 16, 1777, and died at Jefferson,
New Hampshire, October 16, 1851. He re
moved to Bartiett, New Hampshire, when
young and was educated there in the district
schools, and studied for the ministry in the
Free Baptist denomination and was settled
in Bartiett for many years. He married
(first), about 1798, Hannah, daughter of
Richard Tina, who died April 29, 1801, aged
twenty-nine years. He married (second) Pol
ly Hubbard, who died at Bartiett, February 5,
I8i3, aged twenty-eight years. He married
(third) Hannah Seavey, born April 22, 1790,
died August 26, 1839, daughter of Joseph and
Abigail (Cummings) Seavey, of Bartiett. He
married (fourth) Sarah (Mead) Chase, wid
ow. Elias Hall removed to Shapleigh, Maine,
where he preached in the Free Baptist church.
As a preacher he stood in the foremost ranks
of his denomination ; as a man he was kindly,
sympathetic and charitable, attracting many
friends; of large heart and high character.

Children of Rev. Elias Hall: 1. Samuel,
born at Bartiett, December 24, 1799, died at
Meredith, New Hampshire, about 1870. 2.
Ivory, born at Shapleigh, Maine, February 23,
1801, mentioned below. 3. Hannah, born at
Shapleigh, October 15, 1803, died at Bartiett,
New Hampshire, about i860; married Barzilla
Emery. 4. Dorothy, born at Shapleigh, Jan
uary 6, 1806, died November, 1880; married
Isaac Nute. 5. Elias Merrill, born at Bart
iett, New Hampshire, March 3, 1808, married
Clarinda Stillings, and had Charles Mitchell
(married Melissa Hall), Loami, Elmira. 6.
Elmira, born May 17, 1810, died 1816. 7.
James Hubbard, born at Bartiett, June 16,
1812, died at Gorham, Maine, about 1870;
married Sarah Ann Hall, daughter of Judge
Hall, and had Betsey, Sarah Ann, Mary, and
James. 8. Timothy Emerson, born June 9,
1814, died about 1818. 9. Alvah, born April
10, 1816, died at Stamford, Connecticut, June
23, 1 88 1 ; married, at New York City, Sophia
E. Pettigrew, daughter of Robert and Helen
(Boistreage) Pettigrew; children: i. Sophia
Virginia, married William N. Beach; ii. Ana
Byrd, married Albert C. Hall; iii. Alice, mar
ried William B. Duncan; iv. Isabel McRae.
10. Joseph Seavey, born March 24, 1818, died
1898, married (first) Sarah Crawford, (sec
ond) Julia Baltshaw, widow; (third) Calista
Fay; had one child by second wife, Josepha
(Stone). 11. Dudley Pettingill, born Oc
tober 2, 1820, died at Lyndon, Vermont,
June 22, 1885 ; married Amelia Hibbard
Gregory; children: i. Edward, died young;
ii. Emma Hibbard, married Rev. U. C.
Brewer; iii. Albert Clement, married his
cousin Anna Byrd Hall, and had Albert
Clement, " Jr., Audrey Boistreage, Ella
(unmarried), Mabel, (married Charles T.
Walter), Alice, (married Herbert E. Walter).
12. Charles, born November 25, 1822, died
at East Lyndon, Vermont, 1907. 13. Timo
thy Emerson, born December 14, 1824, died at
North Monroe, New Hampshire, December,
1894. 14. Thomas Shepard, born April 1,
1827, died at Meriden, Connecticut, December
1, 1880; married (first) Mary Page, (second)
Isabel McCrea, of New York; third Kate
Phillips, died 1907, daughter of Rev. Dr. Phil
lips, of New York, City; children of first wife:
i. Alvah William; ii. William Phillips, mar
ried Charlotte Hollister; iii. Harry; iv. Mel
ville Phillips ; v. Mason ; vi. Mary ; vii. Fanny.
15. Jonathan, (twin) born July 22, 1829, died
same day. 16. David (twin), born July 22,
1829, died March, 1899. 17. John, born Aug-

1072

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ust 22, 1832. 18. Mary Elizabeth, born at
Hart's Location, New Hampshire, November
10, 1834, died at Lyndonville, Vermont, Octo
ber 15, 1896; married Robert Pettigrew, of
New York City.
(VI) Ivory Hall, son of Rev. Elias Hall
(5), was born at Shapleigh, Maine, February
23, 1801, and died April 4, 1883. His mother
died when he was a few days old, and he was
brought up in the family of his uncle, Joseph
Tina, of Shapleigh. He was educated in the
public schools, and settled in Shapleigh and
became a successful farmer. His brothers be
came prominent citizens in the localities in
which they settled, without exception. One
brother survives, John Hall, of North Mon
roe, New Hampshire. Ivory Hall married,
October 10, 1824, Louise Marie Thompson,
who died July 18, 1896. Children:
1. John T., born August 21, 1825, died Oc
tober, 1903 ; married Mary E. Garvin, No
vember, 1849; children: i. Harlan P. ii. Sarah
L. iii. Edwin H. iv. Thomas G., married
Mabel Page; children: Edith M., Bertha, John
T., Preston G., of Alfred, Maine. 2. Abbie
E., born December 22, 1827 ; married Edmund
Warren, June, 1849; children: i. Hannah A.
ii. Alvah Hall. iii. Charles F. iv. Willis E. v.
Lillia M., of Kennebunk, Maine. 3. Joseph
M., born April 12, 1830, died October 25,
1907 ; married Mary O. Pray, December,
1856; children: i. Frank P. ii. Grace L., of
Moline, Illinois. 4. Woodbury A., born March
14, 1833 ; married Delia W. Abbott, Septem
ber, 1857; children: i. Eva A. ii. Carrie E. iii.
Mary Louie, of Kennebunk, Maine. 5. Han
nah T., born January 28, 1836; married An
drew J. Lord, of Acton, November 20, 1855 ;
child, Ida Bell. 6. Lavinia, born October 26,
1838; married, June 8, 1863, Benjamin F.
Peirce, of Waterboro, surgeon in United
States navy. 7. Ivory Alphonse ; see for
ward. (VII) Ivory Alphonse Hall, son of Ivory
Hall (6), was born in Shapleigh, Maine, Sep
tember 4, 1841, and died December 2, 1895".
He was a farmer in his native town. He
served in the -Twenty-seventh Maine regiment
for nine months in the Civil war and later en
listed in the Second Maine Cavalry; he took
part in many of the important engagements of
the war. In religion he was a Baptist. In
politics he was a Republican, and for many
years was deputy sheriff of his county. He
married Olive Maria Clark, born September
7, 1848, daughter of Samuel and Betsey (Lit-
tlefield) Clark. Her father was the proprietor

of a prosperous general store in Kennebunk,
Maine, and an extensive dealer in lumber.
Children : 1. Herbert A., born April 21, 1869,
resided in Kennebunk; married, December 7,
1895, Eliza B. Leavett, of Shapleigh, Maine;
one child, Nelson B. Hall, born January 15,
1902. 2. Harry A., born July 9, 1870, men
tioned below. 3. Samuel C., born September
5, 1872, married, October 25, 1898, Daisy L.
Moody, of Liberty, Maine; children: Victor
ia, born August 13, 1901 ; Ivory A., born No
vember 27, 1904. 4. Charles H., born July
25, 1874, married, June 28, 1902, Mary L.
Dresser, of Kennebunk, Maine; child, Milton
F., born April 25, 1903.
(VIII) Harry Alphonse Hall, son of Ivory
Alphonse Hall (7), was born in Shapleigh,
Maine, July 9, 1870. He received his early
education in the common schools of his native
town and the Lindsay high school of Shap
leigh. He started on his mercantile career in
the general store of his uncle, Charles H.
Clark, at Kennebunk, as clerk. He worked
two years in Portland and then became a
travelling salesman for a Boston house deal
ing in paints and varnish. In 1899 he en
gaged in business, being one of the incorpora
tors of the Boston Varnish Company, of
which he is treasurer and manager. This
company has its factory and office at Everett,
Massachusetts. Mr. Hall has devoted his
whole time and energy to his business and has
had the satisfaction of seeing it grow rapidly
and constantly. He has demonstrated unusual
ability and a thorough knowledge of the var
nish business. He is a Republican in politics,
but not active in public affairs. He is a thirty-
second degree Mason. He is a member also
of the Kernwood Club of Maiden, the Paint
and Oil Club of Boston and the National
Paint, Oil and Varnish Association.
Mr. Hall married, November 8, 1899, El-
vianna Hutchinson, of Newmarket, New
Hampshire; one child, Harry A., Jr., born
September 27, 1904.

John Pope, the senior immigrant
POPE ancestor of George Barker Pope,
came to New England from Sus
sex, England, before 1634. He appeared be
fore the general court of the Massachusetts
Colony, September 3, 1634, and took the free
man's oath, thus becoming a member of the
governing body of the new colony, known as
the great and general court of Massachusetts.
Forty-three equally prominent leaders in the

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1073

town governments and making up the colony
of Massachusetts Bay took the oath at the
same time and returned to their several towns
to represent them in the general court that as
sembled to frame laws for the government of
the province. John Pope lived in the same
field in the town of Dorchester where Edward
and Roger Clap or Clapp had taken up home
lots.
, On account of his prominence in the govern
ment of the church and town he was desig
nated "Goodman" Pope, or as sometimes
written, Poape. The date of his arrival in the
place is not known, but he certainly was liv
ing in the town in the autumn of 1634. He
is by tradition variously credited as a pass
enger on the "Mary and John," when that
good ship landed colonists May 30, 1630; on
the "Lion" from Bristol, England, February
8, 1 63 1, and on a ship from Weymouth, Eng
land, that arrived in the colony July 24, 1633.
His wife Jane and children, John, Jr., and
Patience, were with him in Dorchester and
his wife was a passenger with him ; it is prob
able that his daughter Patience was born in
New England. About this time Thomas Pope,
a Plymouth immigrant, appeared and may
have been his brother, and Joseph Pope, the
Salem immigrant, may have been his brother
or son. Contemporaneous writers in record
ing the history of the settlement of Dorches
ter, Massachusetts, name as the pillars of the
church of that town : Richard Mather, George
Minot, Thomas Jones, John Kimley, Nathan
iel Duncan, Henry Withington and John Pope.
These seven pillars are credited with really
supporting the church, so greatly weakened
by the exodus of colonists in quest of more
favorable climate, soil and freedom, in the
Connecticut valley. John Pope made his last
will and testament February 12, 1646, but the
exact date of his death is not recorded. His
wife Jane survived him probably six years,
as the date of his death is recorded as January
12, 1662. John and Jane Pope may have had
other children than John, Jr. and Patience, but
of this nothing positively is known, but gene
alogists have accounted, for persons of the
name in different parts of New England by
such a "guess."
(II) John Pope, Jr., son of John and
(probably) Jane Pope, was born in England,
but does not appear to have come to New
England with his father. He may have mar
ried his first wife Jane in England, and his
first son John, born June 30, 1635, may have
been born and died in England, as no positive

record of his name appears in the Dorchester
Records. His second son, Nathan, was born
in Dorchester, Massachusetts, July, 1641, and
died immediately after his birth, which prob
ably caused his mother her death. John Pope,
Jr., married as his second wife Alice  ,
and their first son was Thomas, born Novem
ber 27, 1643, mentioned below. John Pope,
Jr., married as his third wife Margaret 
who was born in England in 1628, and died in
Dorchester, Massachusetts, October 20, 1702.
By this marriage he had ten children. The
eldest, Margaret, married  Pierce, and
had one child Margaret Pierce. The second,
John, born March 5, 1658, married, September
20, 1683, Beatrix Houghton, and had children
as follows : i. Susanna, married Thomas Wild
er ; ii. Beatrix ; iii. Margaret. John, the father
died in 1698. The, third, Susanna, married
John Cook or Cox. The fourth, William,
married Mary  , and their only child,
Mary, was born May 21, 1692. The fifth, Eb
enezer, died before 1700. The sixth, Thank
ful, married, July 29, 1691, Smith Wood
ward. She died in 1738. The seventh, Ralph,
born in 1673, was the progenitor of the Dor
chester family.
(Ill) Thomas Pope, son of John, Jr. and
Alice Pope, was born in Dorchester, Massa
chusetts Bay Colony, November 27, 1643. He
was deprived of a mother's care when quite
young ; he also did not have the advantages of
church membership or church instruction, his
father being neither a freeman or entitled to
hold town offices, in fact being recorded as de
linquent in paying the "Rates of the Ministry,"
one record appearing as having failed to pay
for three years, the sum total being £1 18s,
1 id, in 1665, and another record mentions
him as appearing before the selectmen to give
an account of the education of his children "by
way of Catechising" and he promised "to En
deavor for time to come to be more diligent
that way to attain instruction for them."
When he was twenty-four years old, "the
selectmen were minded to admonish certain
young men under the Government of famyles
according as the law enjoins:" "and though
not called to the lecture room for a warning,
Thomas Pope was privately cautioned that he
must have a place as an obedient child under
his father's roof, or find some other home."
This action on the part of the town officials
resulted in his marriage about the year 1670
to Elizabeth Merrifield, daughter of Henry
Merrifield, the farmer who cultivated part of
the Clapp lands, adjacent to the farm of his

1074

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

father. Previous to this time he had taken
some interest in public affairs as his name ap
pears on the petition of the inhabitants of the
town of Dorchester abut 1664, addressed to
King Charles II, looking to gaining the favor
of that ruler for the purpose of averting any
revenge on the part of the son of a beheaded
monarch for the part taken by the New Eng
enders, who had sympathized with the Crom
well party during the Revolution and the es
tablishment of the short-lived Commonwealth.
The humble and submissive words spoken in
the address of the signers to the restored Stu
art were excused by the fear of such liberties
and privileges as they enjoyed in the new col
ony. In 1675, possibly looking to the need of
finding a home, he was granted by the town
officials "libertie to get about 2 or 300 rails out
of the 500 acrs," and four years later to cut
and haul from the same town lands "soe much
timber as to build a hous of 18 foot long and
16 wide," the land on which it was erected
being provided by his father. He was also
provided by the town with a share of the leg
acy left by Jane Baryes to the needy people of
the town, his father-in-law also receiving a
share. After five children had been born of
the marriage his wife died, and he married
Margaret Long, by "the Worshipfull Hum
phrey Davy, Esq.," November 18, 1681. In
1683 he built and sold his property to Increase
Summer for the benefit of his creditors, and
thus freed from debt he moved to the Connec
ticut valley, his seventh child Mindwell, being
born in Suffolk, Connecticut, September 12,
1689. His wife Margaret died in Springfield,
Massachusetts, December 28, 1688, and his
daughter Experience in Northampton, Mass
achusetts, September 20, 1689. He died be
fore 1700, as he had a right laid out to him in
the New Grant beyond the Bless Hill that is in
Stoughton, July 29, 1698. The children of
Thomas and Elizabeth (Merrifield) Pope
were : Thomas, born in Dorchester, Novem
ber 26, 1670 (q. v.). Wilenonton, born in Dor
chester, May 21, 1671. Henry, born in Dor
chester, December 20, 1673. Experience, born
in Dorchester, June 21, 1675, died September
20, 1689. Alice, born in Dorchester, Decem
ber 20, 1676, married John Harris, of Lan
caster, Massachusetts. John, died August 20,
1683, and may have been a child by his sec
ond wife, born in Dorchester. The other child
by his second wife was Mindwell, born in
Suffield, Connecticut, September 12, 1689.
(IV) Thomas Pope, Jr., son of Thomas
and Elizabeth (Merrifield) Pope, was born in

Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony, No
vember 26, 1670. He received adult baptism
and owned the covenant, October 28, 1705.
He was married at Roxbury, Massachusetts
Bay Colony, January 2, 1705-06. His wife,
Margaret (Downing) Pope, was baptized at
the New South Church, Boston, October 30,
1719. Thomas next appears at Gloucester on
Cape Ann, where his second wife, Mary Pope,
was received in full communion at the Second
Church, February 25, 1727-28, and the chil
dren of Thomas and Mary Pope join that
church : Elizabeth Pope and Hannah Willetts,
July 10, 1737; Ann Steele (wife of William),
and Margaret Pope, August 7, 1737. Mary
Pope was dismissed to the Second Church,
Haverhill, March 15, 1740-41, and her daugh
ter, Elizabeth Pope, married, January 15,
1740-41, David Haskell, of Gloucester. When
the boundary line between Massachusetts and
New Hampshire was established in 1741, the
house of Thomas and Mary Pope in Haverhill
was found to be in the state of New Hamp
shire. On November 1, 1741, it is recorded
that Mercy Pope, the wife of Theodore Pope,
received a letter of dismission from Second
Church of Gloucester. On October 14, 1742,
the records of the town of Methuen records
the marriage of Thomas Pope, of Haverhill,
New Hampshire, to Hannah Austin, of Me
thuen, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Austin,
and in the records of the Second Church of
Haverhill, afterwards Plaisters, New Hamp
shire, Thomas and Hannah Pope owned the
covenant February 26, 1743, and on June 3,
1743, Hannah, daughter of Thomas Pope, Jr.,
and April 20, 1746, David, son -of Thomas
Pope, Jr., and on November 4, 1750, Betty,
daughter of Thomas Pope, were baptized. In
the petition for the location of a new meet
ing-house in Henniker, New Hampshire, Sep
tember 11, 1786, Thomas Pope, Daniel Pope
and Simon Pope signed the petition. Thomas
Pope died in Henniker, New Hampshire, No
vember 12, 1807. ,
(V) David Pope, son of Thomas and Han
nah (Austin) Pope, was born in Plaisters,
New Hampshire, March 13, 1746. Married
(probably), in Henniker, New Hampshire,
Susanna Clark. Lived on the homestead his
father had located on the south slope of
Craney Hill, the most elevated eminence in
the town of Henniker. The children of David
and Susanna (Clark) Pope, were: 1. Han
nah, born September 4, 1774, married Elisha
Brown. 2. Thomas, born January 18, 1776,
in Henniker, removed to Weare, and later

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

io75

to Washington, Vermont, where he sought
land in 1799 and died there. He was married
before 1797 and had seven children, born be
tween 1797 and 1820. 3. Bettie, born Febru
ary 7, i777j married Jonathan Kimball, of
Weare; died September 11, 1865, and had five
children. 4. Sarah (Sally), born April 16,
1780, died about 1865-66. 5. David, Jr., born
April 5, 1782 (q. v.). 6. Susanna, born August
2, 1784, married a Mr. Stoning. 7. Ada
(Edith), born April 24, 1786, died about 1865.
8. Mehitable, born February 25, 1789, mar
ried Jonathan Collins, of Weare. 9. William,
born March 17, 1791, married, December 30,
1818, Mary, daughter of Dr. Peter and Molly
(Muzzy) Emerson, of Hillsboro, New Hamp
shire; was a farmer in Hillsboro and had
three children: i. Sarah, born February 20,
1820, married George Eastman Hoit, a farmer
of Hillsboro Bridge ; ii. Ralph Emerson, born
December 24, 1821, a mechanic in Hillsboro;
iii. Frederick William, born June 17, 1824,
married Mary Florence Fletcher, of Amherst,
New Hampshire, and had three children:
Nellie Florence, Frank Fletcher and William
Frederick Pope. David Pope died in Henni
ker, New Hampshire, about 1820.
(VI) David Pope, Jr., son of David and
Susanna (Clark) Pope, was born in Henniker,
New Hampshire, April 5, 1782. He lived on a
farm in Henniker. Married, February 1,
1809, Susanna, daughter of Dr. Peter and
Molly (Muzzy) Emerson, born in Hollis, New
Hampshire, December 10, 1781, died Decem
ber 20> 1865. His wife was a direct descend
ant of Thomas Emerson, the immigrant pion
eer of Ipswich, Massachusetts Bay Colony,
through his son the Rev. Joseph Emerson,
minister at York, 1648, made a freeman of the
colony in 1653 .' minister to Wells 1664-67 ;
minister to Mendon from 1669 for many
years; married Elizabeth, daughter of Rev.
Edward Bulkeley, of Concord, and died at
Concord, Massachusetts, January 3, 1680.
Their son, Peter Emerson, born 1673, married,
1696,- Ann, daughter of John Browne and his
wife Anna Fiske. Their son, Rev. David Em
erson, was born in Reading, Massachusetts,
May 20, 1 716; Harvard College, A. B., 1739;
minister to Hollis, New Hampshire; married
Hannah  , and had several children, in
cluding Dr. Peter Emerson, surgeon in Col
onel Momey's regiment, 1779, physician in
Hillsboro, New Hampshire; married Molly
Muzzy, and their oldest daughter Susanna
became the wife of David Pope. Another
daughter, Mary, married William Pope. The

children of David, Jr., and Susanna (Emer
son) Pope, were: 1. William Clark, born in
Henniker, New Hampshire, November 23,
1809, married, December 16, 1834, Persis
. (Warren) Lane, and their only child, Warren
Lane Pope, born in Reading, December 5,
1842, married Mary Harriet Treat, of Walt
ham. 2. Mahala, born in Henniker, New
Hampshire, July 7, 181 1, died August 20,
1865. 3. Zeresh, born in Henniker, New
Hampshire, October 27, 1812, died September
24, 1813. 4. Daniel Emerson, born in Henni
ker, New Hampshire, July 31, 1814 (q. v.)
5. Hannah, born in Henniker, New Hamp
shire, March 29, 1816, married, June 14, 1855,
Stephen Austin, of Manchester, New Hamp
shire. 6. Mark, born in Henniker, New Hamp
shire, February 17, 1818, married (first), May
22, 1849, Elmira Edith (1823-1861) daughter
of Luther and Edey (Moore) Johnson, of
Nashua, New Hampshire, by whom he had
five children born in Charlestown, Massachu
setts; married (second), June 6, 1868, Olive
Andrews, daughter of Edward and Harriet
Spear (Andrews) Wilson, of Camden, Maine.
7. John Muzzy, born in Henniker, New
Hampshire, November, 1819. 8. Luke, born
in Henniker, New Hampshire, 182 1, died
1826. 9. Albert, born in Henniker, New
Hampshire, September 13, 1822, married
Alma Stearns Seavy, of Tunbridge, Vermont,
and had -two children, Burt David and Charles
William Wilson Pope. David Pope, Jr., died
in Henniker, New Hampshire, May 31, 1861.
(VII) Daniel Emerson Pope, son of David,
Jr. and Susanna (Emerson) Pope, was born
in Henniker, New Hampshire, July 31, 1814.
He learned and carried on the trade of machin
ist during his early manhood. He made his
home in Waltham, Massachusetts, after 1840,
when he carried on a general mercantile busi
ness for forty years. His son George Barker
Pope became a partner in 1863. He became
well and favorably known during his long and
successful career as a merchant at Waltham ;
he was a man of sterling principles, and in all
his business transactions his word was as good
as his bond. He was possessed of a genial
and kindly disposition, and was much de
voted to his home and family. He mar
ried, August 3, 1837, Sophia, daughter
of Reuben and Rebecca (Davis) Barker, of
Acton, Massachusetts. The children of Dan
iel Emerson and Sophia (Barker) Pope were:
1. Susan Sophia, born July 3, 1838, in Lowell,
died November 11, 1841-2. 2. George Barker,
born in Lowell, May 4, 1842 (q. v.) 3. Fran-

1076

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

cenia Rebecca, born in Waltham, December
28, 1843, married, June 5, 1871, James Davis,
son of Abel and Olive (Davis) Hosmer, of
Concord, Massachusetts ; she died January 17,
1907. 4. Albert Taylor, born in Waltham,
Massachusetts, May 26, 1846, married, May
26, 1870, Helen Priscilla, daughter of Ascel
and Hannah (Rhodes) Lerned, of Cam
bridge, and their son, Daniel Arthur, was born
April 3, 1 87 1, and their daughter, Anna
Martha, was born December 10, 1875. Dan
iel Emerson Pope, died in Waltham, Massa
chusetts, November 25, 1895.
(VIII) George Barker Pope, son of Dan
iel Emerson and Sophia (Barker) Pope, was
born in Lowell, Massachusetts, May 4, 1842.
He received his elementary educational train
ing in the schools of Waltham, and after
attending the English and Latin School of
Nathaniel Allen at West Newton, Massachu
setts, intending to enter college, he became
identified with his father in the mercantile
business at Waltham, Massachusetts. He
later engaged in the grain, flour and feed bus
iness, which line of enterprise he successfully
conducted up to the time of his death which
occurred December 1, 1899. He was progres
sive and enterprising, and in every way worth
ily upheld 'the, traditions of his ancestors; his
name always stood as a synonym for honesty
and straightforwardness in all his . business
transactions. He took an active interest in
all local enterprises as had for their object the
good and welfare of the community. He was
a member of the Chamber of Commerce of
Boston, and one of the board of directors for a
number of years, was an active member of the
board of directors of the Waltham National
Bank. He served as treasurer for over six
years of Christ Church at Waltham, and was
one of the vestrymen for many years. Polit
ically he was a Republican, but never sought
any preferment of public office. He was de
voted to his home and family, which afforded
him. the chief pleasures of his career. George
Barker Pope enlisted during the civil war
in Company E, Forty- fourth Massachusetts
Volunteers, under Captain Stephen W. Rich
ardson, served his time of nine months with
valor, and took part in the engagements at
Rawles Mills, Winston, Whitehall, Goldsboro
and Little Washington, and was honorably dis
charged June 18, 1865. He returned home
and again took up his interests with his father
at Waltham. ,
He married, January 22, 1867, Sarah Field,
daughter of Lester and Sarah (Whipple)

Mason, of Rutland, Vermont. Sarah Field
Mason was born in Rutland, July 16, 1842,
and on her -marriage removed to Waltham,
Massachusetts, where she has since resided.
Children of George Barker and Sarah Field
(Mason) Pope: 1. George Frederick, born
in Waltham,, Massachusetts, December 14
1868, graduated from Cornell University,
1893, and then entered College of Physicians
and Surgeons in New York City; graduated
from that institution with degree of , M. D. ;
he spent one and a half years in the City
Hospital at Rochester, New York. He mar
ried, May 17, 1897, Edna Simmonds, and has
children : i. Marguerite Marion, born Novem
ber 6, 1899. ii. George Maurice, born August
14, 1901. 2. Florence Whipple, born in Walt
ham, Massachusetts, February 16, 1873, re
sides with her mother in Waltham. 3. Rich
ard Emerson, born in Waltham, Massachu
setts, July 31, 1877, graduated at Harvard Col
lege in 1900. 4. Philip Mason, born in Walt
ham, Massachusetts, November 28, 1884, at
present a student in the scientific department
of Harvard University.

The surname Lathrop, or
LATHROP Lothrop, is derived from the
parish Lowthorpe. Thorpe
means village, so the meaning of the word
literally is low village. Lowthorpe is a small
parish in the wapentake of Dickering, East
Riding of York, England, having only about
a hundred and fifty inhabitants. Walter de
Lowthorpe was elected high sheriff of York
shire in 1216, and the name has been common
in Yorkshire from that time. Robert and
Richard Lowthorp lived at Whepsted, Thin-
goe Hundred, Suffolk, in 1287. A prominent
family of Lathropps lived in Staffordshire be
fore 1 560. Arms : Sable an eagle displayed
argent. Crest — A Cornish chough proper.
(I)* John Lathrop (or Lowthroppe, as the
name used to be spelled) is the first of the
ancient family in England to whom the Amer
ican line can be definitely traced. Early in the
sixteenth century he was living in Cherry Bur
ton, about four miles from Lowthorp. He
was, though belonging to a junior branch of
the family, a gentleman of quite extensive
landed estates both in Cherry Burton and in
various other parts of the county. In the
thirty-seventh year of Henry VIII., 1545, his
name appears on a subsidy roll, assessed twice
as much as any other inhabitant of the parish.
Of his parentage and brothers and sisters,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1077

nothing has been discovered, the early parish
registers having disappeared. He left a son
Robert, mentioned below, and three daughters
whose names are unknown, though their fam
ilies are mentioned in their brother's will.
(II) Robert Lathrop, son of John Lathrop,
or Lowthroppe ( 1 ) , succeeded to his father's
estates in Cherry Burton, and during his life
time made considerable additions to them.
He died in 1558. His will dated at North
Burton (Sheriburton) July 16, 1558, was
proved at York, October 20, 1558. He was,
of course, a good Roman Catholic, and left
bequests to the church ; to various friends and
relatives, to wife Ellen, children John,
Thomas, Lawrence, Margaret. Children: 1,.
Thomas, mentioned below. 2. John, died
without issue. 3. Lawrence, died before
1572. 4. Margaret, married Robert Hodge-
son. (Ill) Thomas Lathrop, son of Robert
Lathrop (2), was born in Cherry Burton;
married Elizabeth Clark, widow, who was
buried at Etton, July 29, 1574; married sec
ond Mary  , buried in Etton, January 6,
1588; third Jane  , who married after
his death  Coppendale. He removed to
Etton, Harthill wapentake, East Riding of
Yorkshire, about 1576, and died in 1606. His
will is dated October 5, 1606, and proved Jan
uary following. Neither of the sons who were
educated were legatees in his will. Children of
first wife: i. Robert, married January 27,
1607-8, Ann Pattison. 2. Catherine, married
June 12, 1607, William Akett, of Leckonfield.
3. Awdrey, married  Wickham. 4.
Elizabeth, married, February 19, 1587-8,
Thomas Rowood. 5. Anne, baptized at Etton,
February '13, 1568-9, died young. 6. Isabell,
baptized at Etton, July 3, 1570. 7. Martin,
baptized at Etton, October 21, 1572, died same
year. 8. Andrew, baptized at Etton, April 23,
1574. Children of second wife: 9. Anne,
baptized at Etton, July 29, 1576. 10. Mary.
11. Thomas, baptized in Etton, October 14,
1582; graduate Queen's College 1604. 12.
John, baptized December 20, 1584; mentioned
below. 13. William, baptized May 24, 1587.
Children of third wife: 14. Margaret, bap
tized in Etton, February 12, 1 590-1. 15. Isa
bel, baptized September 29, 1592. 16. Lucy,
baptized in Etton, January 1593-4; married
June 16, 1613, Ralph Cawnsley. 17. Richard,
baptized October 12, 1595; married Dorothy
Lowden, settled in Cherry Burton. 18. Mark,
baptized in Etton, September 27, 1597; died
in England. 19. Lawrence, baptized August

29> J599- 20. Jane, baptized March 14, 1600-
01. 21. Joseph, baptized December 31, 1602.
22. Bartholomew, baptized March 1, 1604-5.
All these parishes and other places are in the
same locality.
(IV) Rev. John Lathrop, son of Thomas
Lathrop (3), was born at Etton, Yorkshire,
England, and baptized there December 20,
1584. He spelled his name Lothropp. He
was educated in Queen's College, Cambridge,
graduating in 1601 with the degree of B. A.
and taking his master's degree in 1609. He
became curate of the parish church in Egelton
in the Lower Half Plundred of Calehill, Lathe
of Scray, county of Kent. He was there as
early as 1614, probably in 161 1, and as late as
the fall of 1619, and it was doubtless his first
and only parish as minister of the Church of
England. When he could no longer subscribe
to the creed of that church he renounced his
orders in 1623, and allied himself with the
Puritans. In 1624 he was called to succeed
Rev. Henry Jacob, an independent minister of
the First Independent Church of London, who
had resigned to go to Virginia. The worship
of this church was illegal and their meetings
secret. The church was discovered by a spy
named Tomlinson, and forty-two made pris
oners, eighteen being allowed to escape, April
22, 1632. The Puritan prisoners were con
signed to the old Clink prison, in Newgate
and in the Gatehouse. In the spring of 1634
all were released on bail except Mr. Lathrop.
In the quaint language of Nathaniel Morton in
his "New England Memorial" (1669) the
story of his further stay in England is briefly
told : "His wife fell sick, of which sickness
she died. He procured liberty of the bishop
to visit his wife before her death, and com
mended her to God by prayer, who soon gave,
up the ghost. At his return to prison his poor
children, being many, repaired to the bishop
at Lambeth, and made known unto him their
miserable condition, by reason of their good
father's being continued in close durance, who
commiserated their condition so far as to
grant him liberty, who soon after came over
into New England." He came to Boston with
part of his flock in the ship "Griffin" and
another, sailing in the fall of 1634, and arriv
ing September 18, proceeded to Scituate,
where nine pioneers had already located and
prepared the way for others. He was chosen
pastor January 19, 1634. He married again
Anna  . He was granted a farm near
the First Herring Brook and had shares in tne
salt marshes. He left his home at Scituate

1078

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

after some disagreement in the church, and
with others from Scituate located at Barn
stable on Cape Cod, arriving October n, 1639,
bringing with them the crops they had raised
in Scituate. Mr. Lathrop fearlessly proclaim
ed in Old and New England the great truth
that man is not responsible to his fellowman
in matters of faith and conscience. Differences
of opinion he tolerated. "During the fourteen
years that he was pastor of the Barnstable
church, such was his influence over the people
that the power of a civil magistrate was not
needed to restrain crime. No pastor was ever
more beloved by his people, none ever had a
greater influence for good. * * * To be
come a member of his church no applicant was
compelled to sign a creed or confession of
faith. He retained his freedom, he professed
his faith in God, and promised that it should
be his constant endeavor to keep his command
ments, to live a pure life and to walk in love
with his brethren." He stood among the Puri
tans, a Congregationalist of the Unitarian
denomination, as we now class them. Morton
says : "He was a man of humble and broken
heart spirit, lively in dispensation of the Word
of God, studious of peace, furnished with
godly contentment, willing to spend and be
spent for the cause of the church of Christ."
Mr. Lathrop died at Barnstable, November 8,
1653. His will was dated August 10, and
proved December 8, 1653, bequeathing to son
Thomas, the eldest; to son John, who was in
England; son Benjamin, daughters Jane and
Barbara ; to each of the rest of his children,
both his and his wife's.
Children: 1. Jane, baptized at Egerton,
England, September 29, 1614; married April
8, 1614 (by Captain Miles Standish) Samuel
Fuller, son of Edward, who came on the
"Mayflower." 2. Anne, baptized in Egerton,
May 12, 1616, buried there April 30, 1617. 3.
John, baptized February 22, 161 7-8, died
young. 4. Barbara, baptized October 31,
1619; married John Emerson. 5. Thomas,
born in England ; became a prominent citizen
at Barnstable. 6. Samuel, born in England;
married at Barnstable, November 28, 1644,
Elizabeth Scudder; removed to New London,
Connecticut, later to Norwich. 8. Benjamin,
born in England ; married Maria :  ; set
tled in Charlestown, Massachusetts. 9. Bar
nabas, baptized at Scituate, June 6, 1636; mar
ried first, December 1, 1658; second, Abigail
Dddson, widow. 10. Child born and died July
30, 1638. 11. Abigail, baptized at Barnstable,
November 2, 1639; married James Clark. 12.

Bathsha (or Bathsheba), baptized February
27, 1641 ; married Alexander Marsh, lived at
Braintree. 13. John, born at Barnstable, Feb
ruary 9, 1644; married January 3, 1671-2,
Mary Cobb ; second, December 9, 1695, Han
nah Fuller, widow of Dr. John. 14. Son,
born and died January 25, 1649.
(V) Samuel Lathrop, son of Rev. John
Lathrop (1), was born in England, and came
with his father to Scituate in 1634. He re
moved to Barnstable, where he married No
vember 28, 1644, Elizabeth Scudder, who had
been dismissed from the church in Boston,
November 10, 1644, to the Barnstable church.
They settled_in Barnstable, next the house of
John Scudder. Samuel was a house builder
and farmer. He was on the list of those able
to bear arms in 1643. In 1648 he removed to
New London, Connecticut, then called Pequot.
His house lot was the third in order from that
of John Winthrop Esq., and his name is among
the first eighteen to whom were assigned lands
on the east side of the "great river" of Pequot,
January, 1648-9. He was one of the judges in
the local court of Pequot, organized in May,
1649, and served on important committees in
the town. He assisted in the defence against
the Narragansett Indians in the fort at the
head of the Nahantick. In 1679 he had the
contract to build the Second Church at New
London. In 1661 he sold his town house to
Rev. Gershom Bulkley. It stood "beyond the
bridge over the mill brook, on the east side of
the highway toward Mohegan." In 1668 he
removed to Norwich, Connecticut, where he
was granted a house lot originally granted to
John Elderkin. He erected a house on the
town street before 1670, where he spent the
remainder of his days. The house built by
Dr. Daniel Lathrop, his great-grandson, prob
ably stands on the same site. He was con
stable 1673 and 1682, and "townsman" 1685.
He married second, 1690, in Plymouth, Mass
achusetts, Abigail Doane, born January 29,
1632, died 1734, aged one hundred and two
years, daughter of Deacon John Doane, of
Plymouth. "On her one hundredth birthday a
large audience assembled at her house, and a
sermon was preached by the pastor of the
church." Samuel Lathrop died February 29,
1700, leaving a nuncupative will, proved in
1 701. Children : 1 . John, baptized in Boston, De
cember 7, 1645; married, December 15, 1669,
Ruth, daughter of Robert Royce ; died August
25, 1688. 2. Elizabeth, born March, 1648;
married December 15, 1669, Isaac, son of

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1079

Robert Royce, and settled in Wallingford,
Connecticut; married second, Joseph Thomp
son, of Wallingford. 3. Samuel, born March,
1650; married first, November, 1675, Hannah
Adgate; second, December 30, 1697, Mary
Edgerton ; settled in Norwich ; died December
9, 1732. 4. Sarah, born October, 1655 ; mar
ried April 21, 1681, Nathaniel Royce, of Wal
lingford. 5. Martha, born January, 1657;
married, 1677, John Moss. 6. Israel, born
October," 1659; mentioned below. 7. Joseph,
born October, 1661 ; married first, April 8,
1686, Mary Scudder; second, February 2,
1696-7, Elizabeth Waterhouse ; third, Novem
ber 22, 1727, Mrs. Martha Perkins ; died July
5, 1740." 8. Abigail, born May, 1665; married
December 9, 1686, John Huntington. 9.
Anna, born August, 1667; married William
Hough; died November 19, 1745.
(VI) Israel Lathrop, son of Samuel La
throp (5), born October, 1659; married April
8, 1686, Rebecca, daughter of Thomas and
Elizabeth Bliss, who went from Saybrook to
Norwich. Her grandfather was Thomas
Bliss, Sr., of Hartford. They settled in Nor
wich. Israel Lathrop was a thrifty man,
prominent in the town. He had a large family
of sons, who are said to have planted them
selves on seven hills within the old nine-miles
square of Norwich. He died March 28, 1733,
and she died August 22, 1737. His headstone
in old Norwich is the oldest one there, con
taining an inscription: "Here lies buried ye
body of Mr. Israel Lothrup, ye Husband of
Mrs. Rebekah Lothrup, who lived a life of
exemplary piety & left ye Earth for Heaven
Mar. ye 28, 1733, in ye 73d year of his age."
Children; 1. Israel, born February 1. 1687;
married June 20, 1710, Mary Fellows ; married
second, June 9, 1747, Mrs. Sarah Tuttle. 2.
William, born September 20, 1688; married
December 18, 1712, Sarah Huntington; died
September 27, 1778. 3. John, born October 2,
1690; mentioned below. 4. Samuel, born July
12, 1692; married June 26, 1712, Elizabeth
Waterman. 5. Rebecca, born April 20, 1695 ;
married February 21, 171 5-6, Hon. Isaac
Huntington. 6. Mary (twin), born Novem
ber 15, 1696; married Simon Lathrop. 7.
Martha (twin), born November 15, 1696;
married March 24, 1714, after the death of
her sister Mary, Simon Lathrop. 8. Benja
min, born July 31, 1699; married November
r3> 1718, Martha Adgate; married second,
June 15, 1741, Mary (Worthington) Jones. 9.
Ebenezer, born February 7, 1702-3; married
May 13, 1735, Lydia Leffingwell; died Janu

ary 28, 1781. 10. Jabez, born January 11,
1706-7; married first, November 28, 1728,
Elizabeth Burnham; second, May 30, 1734,
Delight Otis; third, Lydia (Lothrop) Weth-
erell; died February 11, 1796.
(VII) John Lathrop, son of Israel Lathrop
(6), born in Norwich, October 2, 1690; mar
ried April 7, 171 5, EHzabeth, daughter of
Joshua and Mehitable (Smith) Abel, of Nor
wich. They settled on Meeting House Hill,
West Farms parish of Norwich, now Frank
lin, Connecticut. He and his wife united with
the church at West Farms in 1720. He was
prominent in church and town. Letters of ad
ministration were granted his widow May 5,
1752. In the division of the estate November
14, 1752, the heirs named are: the widow and
the children Zebulon, John second, Azubah,
Bethia, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Ann and Rhoda.
Children: 1. Zebulon, born January 10, 1717;
mentioned below. 2. Azubah, born March 3,
1718-9; died April 23, 1719. 3. Azubah, born
June 18, 1720; married December 2, 1755,
Abijah Fitch. 4. Bethia, born in Bozrah, July
26, 1723; married, 1743, Joseph Sanford; died
1808. 5. Elizabeth, born in Norwich, May 26,
1726; married, 1743, John Packer. 6. Re
becca, born December 15, 1728; married Abial
Squire. 7. Sarah, born September 23, 1731 ;
died April 17, 1744. 8. Anna, born March 23,
1734; married November 17, 1754, Elijah
Abel; died December 15, 1764. 9. Rhoda,
born June 2, 1740; married May 28, 1760, Eli
Hyde ; died February 19, 1821. 10. John, born
in Norwich ; married Lydia Hyde ; died Octo
ber 8, 1803. 11. Azel, married Elizabeth
Hyde. (VIII) Zebulon Lathrop, son of John
Lathrop, was born in Norwich, Connecticut,
January 10, 1717. He married, September 4,
1740, Lois Rogers, born July 22, 1721, died
September 21, 1777, daughter of Dr. Theop
hilus and Elizabeth (Hyde) Rogers, of Nor
wich. He died January 13, 1781. They were
both buried in the Franklin cemetery. Chil
dren: 1. Zebulon, born November 29, 1744;
mentioned below. 2. Uriah, born April 30,
1750; married, December 30, 1784, Lois
Hinckley; settled in Bozrah. 3. Elizabeth,
born 1753 ; died in Coventry, Connecticut, De
cember 4, 1806. 4. Lois, born April 22, 1742;
married, December 31, 1761, Samuel Lathrop;
died July 18,1813.
(IX) Zebulon Lathrop, son of Zebulon
Lathrop (8), was born in Norwich, November
29, 1744. He married Alice Edgerton, who
died in Lebanon, Connecticut, February 3,

io8o

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1794, aged forty-nine. He removed to Tol
land, Connecticut, where he purchased a farm
of Samuel Tilden in the southeast part of Tol
land, March 26, 1800. He died in Tolland,
March 29, 1814. Children: 1. Asa, died
1780. 2. John, born 1771 ; married Polly Kin
ney; died March 17, 1837. 3. Uriah, born
1774; married Betsey Hartshorn, of Lebanon;
died April 17, 1814. 4. Varanus, mentioned
below. 5. William, born 1779; married,
March 22, 1803, Amelia Paulk; died June 14,
1807. 6. Sarah, born December 1, 1782;
married, May 7, 1801, Captain Daniel Edger
ton. 7. Anna, born June 24, 1785; married,
March 23, 1803, Reuben Edgerton.
(X) Varanus Lathrop, son of Zebulon
Lathrop (9), married in Franklin, 1797, Lucy
Edgerton, born July 8, 1779, died June 14,
1854, daughter of Hezekiah Edgerton, of Tol
land. He removed from Lebanon, Connecti
cut, to Hyde Park, Vermont, and still later to
Cambridge, Vermont. Children: 1. Alice,
born at Lebanon, February 17, 1798; married
Thomas Ellenwood. 2. Horatio Nelson, born
April 19, 1800; died February 24, 1874; mar
ried, July, 1825, Sarah, daughter of Jesse
Whitney, of Cambridge, Vermont. 3. Lucius,
born at Lebanon, July 26, 1802 ; married
Sarah Keyes, daughter of Solomon. 4. Lu
cretia Edgerton, born at Hyde Parke, Ver
mont, November 26, 1808; married Burrell S.
Miner, M. D. ; resided at Cambridge, Ver
mont. 5. William, born Hyde Park, Decem
ber 29, 1809; married Adaline Perkins, daugh
ter of Thomas ; second, Maria L., daughter of
Dr. Gershom Newton ; resided at Manston,
Wisconsin. 6. Charles, born at Hyde Park,
-June 8, 1813, died young. 7. Charles Taintor,
"mentioned below. 8. Uriah, born at Hyde
Park, September 18, 1818; married Ann
Holmes ; resided several years at Cambridge,
Vermont, and removed to Waterville, Ver
mont. 9. Elias, born at Cambridge, August
8, 1820; married Louisa Wilder, sister of Ma
tilda mentioned above; resided at Lawrence,
Massachusetts. (XI) Charles Taintor Lathrop, son of
Varanus Lathrop (10), was born in Johnson,
Vermont, May 18, 18 14. He was educated in
the public schools and learned the trade of
wheelwright and blacksmith. He settled in
Cambridge, Vermont, and established himself
iii the business of carriage building and man
ufacturing axes and edge tools. He was a
prominent citizen and capable business man.
He married Matilda B. Wilder, born at Ash-
burnham, Massachusetts, eldest daughter of

Caleb and Matilda Wilder, of Ashburnham
and Newport, New Hampshire. Children: 1.
Addison' Barbour, born April 13, 1838; mar
ried Lucie A. King. 2. William Locke, born
June 2, 1840; mentioned below, 3. Lucius,
born April 22, 1842. 4. Adelia Jane, born
January 1, 1844. 5. Alonzo Wetherbee, born
June 18, 1847; died November 12, 1850. 6.
Charles Wilder, born April 6, 1850. 7. Fred
Daniel, born October 18, 1852; married Jennie
G. Munyun, of Worcester, Massachusetts. 8.
Ada Louise, born April 15, 1855; died July
2, 1863.
(XII) William Locke Lathrop, son of
Charles Taintor Lathrop (11), was born June
2, 1840, at Cambridge, Vermont. He received
his education in the public schools, leaving
home at the age of fourteen and beginning his
business career in the employ of B. P. Clark
& Company, wholesale confectioners, at Cam
bridge, Massachusetts. He was with this firm
for fourteen years, advancing from place to
place and in the latter years of his connection
with the house was a travelling salesman. He
left this firm to establish his own business as
a cigar and tobacco dealer in Boston. He con
tinued in business with marked success for a
period of thirty years, when he retired. He
has continued to reside in Cambridge from the
first. Mr. Lathrop became a member of Ami
cable Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of
Cambridge, in 1864. He is a member of Cam
bridge Chapter of Royal Arch Masons; of
Boston Council, Royal and Select Masters;
Boston Commandery, Knights Templar ; and
has attained the thirty-second degree in Ma
sonry. Mr. Lathrop is of the- strictest integ
rity, possessing the confidence and esteem of
all his townsmen and business associates.
He married, September 3, 1863, Adeline
Emerson, of Waltham, Massachusetts, daugh
ter of Charles and Adeline Emerson, and niece
of Mrs. B. P. Clark, wife of the head of the
firm for which Mr. Lathrop worked fourteen
years. Children: 1. Carrie Adelia, born Sep
tember 25, 1865 ; married Victor M. Cupples,
of the firm of Cupples & Leon, book publish
ers, New York. 2. Arthur William, born
August 28, 1871 ; died September 7, 1899. 3.
Alice E., born July 31, 1873; married Lanius
D. Evans, employed at the Riverside Press,
Cambridge ; resides with her parents.
The immigrant ancestor of Wilton
FAY Burgess Fay, of Medford, was
John Fay (1), born in England,
about 1648. He embarked May 30, 1656, at

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1081

Gravesend, on board ship, "Speedwell," Rob
ert Locke, master, and arrived in Boston on
the 27th of June. Several of the passengers,
including John Fay, went to Sudbury. With
some others he removed to a new grant that
had been made, which was incorporated as the
town of Marlboro. His name is found on the
Marlboro records as early as 1669, when he
was made a freeman. He had a wife and one
child at that time. In 1671 he and three or
four others petitioned the general court for
a place westward of the Connecticut river,
but nothing seems to have come from it. In
1675 he appears as one of the proprietors of
Worcester, and he had a lot of fifty acres as
signed him lying west of the county road to
Boston. The King Philip war was breaking
out then, and the organization of Worcester
did not come until later. He continued to
reside in Marlboro until the Indians became so
active in their efforts to exterminate the white
settlers that he and many others of the peo
ple of Marlboro left the settlement and took
their families to places of greater safety. He
located in Watertown, and while there his wife
and one of his children died. At the close of
the war he returned to Marlboro and settled
in the northerly part, on a lot now included in
the town of Southboro. John Fay seems to
have been a man of character and standing in
the community, and was favorably known in
the county, as shown from that the fact that
he was appointed one of a committee to lay
out highways connecting Sudbury, Marlboro,
Sherburn, Framingham and other towns. He
was a large landholder and bequeathed ex
tensive tracts to his sons. His first wife, who
died in 1676, was Mary Brigham, daughter of
Thomas and Mary (Hurd) Brigham, of
Watertown, and later of Cambridge. By her
he had four children. His second wife, to
whom he was married July 15, 1678, was Sus
anna Shattuck, daughter of William Shattuck,
of Watertown, and widow of Joseph Morse.
She outlived him and was married a third
time to Thomas Brigham, a brother of Mr.
Fay's first wife. To her were born, besides
seven children by her first husband, four chil
dren by Mr. Fay. Children : John, born No
vember 30, 1669, married Elizabeth Welling
ton. 2. David, born October 15, 1671, died
young. 3. Samuel, born October 11, 1673,
married Tabitha Ward. 4. Mary, born Feb
ruary 10, 1675, married Jonathan Brigham. 5.
David, born April 23, 1679, married Sarah
Larkin. 6. Gershom, born October 19, 1681,
married Mary Brigham. 7. Ruth, born July

15, 1684, married Increase Ward, Jr. 8. De
liverance, born October 7, 1686, married Ben
jamin Shattuck.
(II) David Fay inherited the homestead on
the north side of Clear Hill. He settled in
that part of Northboro that was set off to
Southboro. He was chosen constable of
Southboro, and also served as selectman in
z73°> x733 and 1735- He united with the
church April 2, 1710. Before the incorporation
of Southboro he was placed on a committee
to seat the people in the Marlboro meeting
house. In company with Robert Home he
built a grist mill on Stony brook about 1731,
and he also combined the callings of weaver
and farmer with that of miller. On May
1, 1699, he was married to Sarah Larkin,
daughter of John and Joanna (Hale) Larkin.
He died in 1738. Children: 1. John, born
January 30, 1700, died December 23, 1704.
2. Joanna, born December 7, 1701, died No
vember 23, 1720. 3. Sarah, born March 1,
1704, married Ebenezer Pike. 4. David, born
March 25, 1707, died October 4, 1720. 5.
Lois, born March 11, 1709. 6. John, born
December 16, 1710. 7. Moses, born October
7, 1712. 8. Robert, born July 20, 1715. 9.
Edward, born May 16, 1717. 10. Aaron,
born April 18, 1719. 11. Joanna, born July 3,
1 72 1, died November 22, 1721. 12. David,
born April 6, 1723, married Jemima  .
(Ill) Robert Fay was born in Marlboro
in 171 5. In 1749 he bought of Jacob Wheeler
a farm situated in Southboro, about a mile
and a half from the center of the town. He
was surveyor of the highway, and collector of
taxes in 1755, and tithing man in 1763 and
1765. He served in the French and Indian
war, and attained the rank of captain before
the close of the war. Like his brother Aaron,
he had two wives and twenty children. He
first married Elizabeth Joslyn. She died Sep
tember 4, 1760, and he married Anna Harring
ton. Children: 1. Elizabeth, born March 27,
1744, married Abner Ward. 2. Robert,, born
September 30, 1746, died young. 3. Nathan
iel, born September 30, 1746, died young. 4.
Reuben, born September 25, 1749. 5. Asa,
born November 11, 1752, married Comfort
Newton. 6. David, born March 5, 1755.
married Jane Ward. He was a soldier in the
Revolutionary war. 7. Joshua', born February
9» 1757, died young. 8. Submit, born March
8, 1758, died young. 9. Rebecca, born July 21,
1759, died young. 10. Elijah, born August 26,
1760, died young. II. Jason, born March-31,
1762, married Miriam Newton. 12. Robert,

1082

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

born March 24, 1764. 13. Ephraim, born
July 31, 1768, died 1779. 14. Enoch, born
September 7, 1770, married Sarah  .
15. Daniel, born December, 1772, died 1783.
16., Rufus, born December 13, 1779, married
Patty Woods. 17. Silas. 18, 19 and 20,
daughters. (IV) Reuben Fay, born in Southboro, 1749,
died 1797. Lived in Southboro, was overseer
of poor, surveyor of the highways, field driv
er, tithingman. Married a cousin, Bethia Fay,
daughter of Captain Aaron and Thankful
(Newton) Fay. Children: 1. Reuben, born
July 20, 1772. 2. Solomon, born October 22,
1774, married Elizabeth Fay. 3. Isaac, born
June 22, 1777, died April, 1796. 4. Stephen,
born April 4, 1779, died 1796. 5. Anna, born
January 21, 1781, died 1796. 6. Lovinah,
born February 19, 1783, married Elihu Root.
7. Rebecca, born February 9, 1785, died April
30, 1796. 8. Bethia, born June 30, 1787, died
1796. 9. Hepsibah, born March 3, 1789, mar
ried Jonathan Rice. 10. Betsey, born May 4,
1 79 1, died in 1796. 11. Thankful, born June
23, 1793, died in 1796. 12. Dana, born Octo
ber 22, 1795, died May, 1796. 13. Lovica,
born July 3, 1798, married Israel Hemenway,
of Royalton. Eight of the above children died
within forty-two days of each other. There
is no record whether there was some epidemic
that carried them off.
(V) Reuben Fay was born in Southboro in
1772, and died August 13, 1854. He married
Esther Parks, of Framingham, residence,
Southboro. Children: 1. Dana, born Janu
ary 14, 1797, married Mary Ann Parker. 2.
Susan, born June 5, 1798, died 1849. 3- Park,
born May 10, 1800. ' 4. Amanda, born March
27, 1802, married Samuel Perry, of Brookfield.
•5. Isaac, born June 9, 1804, died July, 1804.
6. Isaac, born July, 1805, married Harriet
Shepard. He was a large landholder,
wealthy citizen and benefactor of the city of
Cambridge. 7. Dorothy, born August 4, 1807,
married Edmund C. Flagg. 8. Gideon, born
September 24, 1809, died 1831. 9. Hannah
Fuller, born 1812, died 1813. 10. Harriet,
born March 15, 1814, married Nathan Fay.
11. Hannah' Fuller, born November 26, 1816,
married William F. Stone, of Natick.
(VI) Park Fay was born in Southboro in
1800, and died in Lincoln, December 6, 1854.
He was a selectman from 1830 to 1840; mar
ried, March 21, 1825, Sally S. Williams, of
Lincoln. Children: 1. Gilbert P., born
Framingham, March 6, 1826, married Laura
Sophia Brigham. 2. Benjamin Wetherbee,

born in Southboro, May 29, 1828, married
Hannah G. Edmunds. 3. Sarah Jane, born
in Southboro, May 24, 1830, died young. 4.
Sarah Jane, born September 11, 1832, married
George Baker, of Lincoln. 5. Eliza Ann, born
Southboro, June 12, 1836. 6. George Gideon
Fuller, born Southboro, November 5, 1838,
died young. 7. Martha Fuller, born South
boro, May 21, 1 841, died young. 8. Franklin
Sullivan, died young.
(VII) Benjamin Wetherbee Fay was born
May 29, 1828, in Southboro, Massachusetts.
He was educated in the public schools of
Southboro and the academy at Northampton,
Massachusetts. He died in 1870. He was a
successful manufacturer in the latter 50's and
early 6o's, with offices in Boston, New York
and Manchester, New Hampshire. On Aug
ust 31, 1853, he was married to Hannah Gove
Edmunds. His wife was a granddaughter of
Jonathan Edmunds, a prominent shipbuilder
of Salisbury, Massachusetts, and later of
Ware, New Hampshire, and a daughter of
Jonathan Edmunds, born in Salisbury, Massa
chusetts, and afterwards removed to Salis
bury, New Hampshire, where he was a teach
er and leading citizen. The future Mrs. Fay
was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, Sep
tember 11, 1827. She was educated in the
schools of Salisbury, the Academy at Hopkin
ton, New Hampshire, and finished at Mr.
Kendall's private school for young ladies in
Manchester, New Hampshire. At the acad
emy she received a teacher's certificate at the
age of fifteen years.
(VIII) Wilton Burgess Fay was born Oc
tober 3, 1865, in Fairmont, now a portion of
Hyde Park, but at that time in Milton, Massa
chusetts, the summer home of his parents. His
earliest years were spent there and in New
York and Boston. He was educated in. the
Boston public schools and in the Ellis school
for boys at Kingston, Massachusetts. He
took high rank in his classes, graduating in
1880 from Rice grammar school and in 1883
from English high school. His popularity
here gained for him the election to his class
presidency. During his high school course he
took extra work in preparation for entering
Harvard, but adverse circumstances compelled
him to give up his plans for a college course,
a deprivation which caused him keen and last
ing disappointment. After his graduation
from high school he entered upon a business
career, in the course of which he spent some
time in New York and the West. In Novem
ber, 1890, he entered the employ of Bliss, Fab-

'^y\{3B^ (!$(

if

¦Jfcairsfffll'S ftPSft SS3W Ps(3©S -J® -4foBS IW®<y>ss ?
Wbv -ftfoe M®wse ®f «fee Ht^fotssws sfexaDJ aftaraeJf

a fccjijejiraij, wradrscr w&i©8« <g<so-ifi><3tr-0$®tTi®
F@®®rd is ploesel era "ftfoe ftfeSpftosGfe (£357 ©f
miSraeftssis Swtixslprsd snadl Gt^©,,
t's 4lkis fosisa® ©f Wolilsini H(arr<gse@ (Fsj£?„ ond Hsflera
<gcdls®iB) IFeiy, Ikits Wo'jfs, pssodsira-iis erjf 4fo<3$ psicri ®f
©o^c ®f M®df®vd fer»®wra as Was* IMlodfetrd, Jra
©OlJODDtrDfJlInlWfSea/lljlk) ®-f tMl(38@<3elri)IMIS@'&'Ss.^^>-D^T>^o-o^— a
Irfss®rr-eJ®sl fesllow <a.r/© -ftfo® s 5jj m a-ft w tre 8 ®jf illfesss
feerrs ®f rjfes ©©raacpsl! <aifi>s3 !L®e<si .©©vsrfKUrWe.ra'fi 109
se «ifi ¦fifes ¦fticms _ rajf®pssaiae3 0 wto© GUrrse^tV faptressraiS
c-soieJeia-Ss ®$ ftfooa fosmras.

* »>»> • ««««

Ak^yy Cc^v £-eC*,<^

'-.(Zi^tJrV

A-^cCe-n.

19
yCUsrryJ £> Nl J t^CMjJLJjLAJ
(F13g©fl®gMT ®f sfo©
ArasscBsei.(FssJapaJ ,§?sraei<S®t?s tfroSB
^]irs©a •jf'ff'eiHn! -Sfoe SS*8' ©sb-
.jlirsssisKieifl ©os'Siroe-iJ ©f
¦Sfes ©©traKS®Kiwa<all'viliT) ©^
<&e>v&tna®v ®J -stja (5©rea-
BQsw.wsal'fth ®j^ Masses..
[Liia<8ifJarfi)aciiiJ-<SopQircii©tr ©fj
4Dss @ais»ra®rawGe]|l4lri! ajf
S^ m<ddiessn ©eisxgfetri'-
S<Sra<!@ [^epirQssr/o^rsj^J^g
K@jBiressrr8<t<a45v@ ©Is-JrieS.
IXIewop ©j? ftfe® (gj-g^ @f
M«%®irrii. ^ *
AWsinraootTi ®ff Wstrdl @ ©{?
Sfes <Sj<y ©f MseJgWeJ. "
©awrasJllTBTieirj ®j? ^/cgpsj ,§
ov.i Hu|low,( |
MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1083

yan & Company, Boston, with which firm he
still remains. In the same year he took up his
residence in Medford, where he has ever since
been an active participant in social, public and
political affairs.
In politics, Mr. Fay is a Republican, and has
given freely of his time and efforts for the
advancement of that party's interests. In
this branch of his activities he had a uniformly
successful career, due to a genius for organi
zation, capable management, good judgment
and capacity for hard, unremitting work.
Ever zealous in his party's cause, he has con
tributed greatly to the success of many can
didates; while the honors he has enjoyed have
come to him unsolicited. He has served as
a member and as chairman of his ward com
mittee; also as treasurer and chairman of the
city committee, holding the latter office from
1900 to 1907. During the years 1901 and 1904,
inclusive, he also acted as secretary to the
mayor. He has represented his city as a del
egate to state and other conventions ; and at
different times has served on the state recep
tion committee. In 1904, the year of presi
dential election, he was chairman of that com
mittee by appointment of the state committee.
Since 1 90 1 he has been a member and also
treasurer of the Eighth Congregational dis
trict committee, in which latter capacity he has
done exceptional work. His political career
to the present time has been rounded out by
a unanimous election from his district as a
member of the Republican state committee.
In other directions, also, Mr. Fay's capacity
has been recognized. In 1903 he received an
appointment for a four years' term as a mem
ber of the board of park commissioners of
Medford, and was reappointed by Mayor
Brewer, and confirmed by the board of alder
men in 1908 for a second term of five
years. In 1906, on the occurrence of the
San Francisco disaster, he was appointed by
the mayor as chairman of the relief commit
tee for his ward. In the same year he also
served on the executive and financial commit
tees in connection with Medford's two hun
dred and seventy-fifth anniversary celebration,
his work on the latter committee being a great
factor in the success of the occasion. Mr.
Fay is a member of the Middlesex Club, Re
publican Club of Massachusetts, Medford
Club, Neighborhood Club, Medford Boat
Club, Medford Historical Society, a life mem
ber of the Boston Horticultural Society, and a
councilor of the American Civic Association.
Although Mr. Fay has devoted rriuch time and

energy to the political field, it has not been
at the expense of his home life. For seven
years after marriage a modest home in HastL
ings Lane, West Medford, received his chief
attention. In the winter of 1901 Mrs. Rich
ardson, his mother-in-law, proposed building
a new home for the young people. For this
purpose a piece of land, about half an acre in
extent, was secured on Wyman street, West
Medford, and plans were drawn by Messrs.
Little & Brown, a Boston firm of architects.
Ground was broken in the spring, an immense
amount of excavation being required, not only
for the foundations of the house, but also in
preparation for the lawns and gardens. The
house is a fine example of the colonial style
of architecture of the Georgian period. The
first story is of smoothface old field stone, cut
and fitted closely together, in the selecting and
collecting of which Mr. Fay himself spent much
time and covered a great deal of territory.
The cutting and laying of the stones has been
done with great care, the result being a struc
ture of such finish and appearance that ex
perts have pronounced it the best example
of its kind in the state. Above the stone work
the finish is of honeycomb plaster, dull gray
in color. The hall, which runs through the
house, is panelled in old English oak with tap
estry hangings above in harmonizing colors.
A distinctive feature is a heavy lantern in an
tique pattern of wrought bronze suspended
from the second floor beam by a massive
chain. The dining room, done in mahogany,
has held gathering of men well known in na
tional and state politics, and in large mercan
tile, industrial, and financial affairs. The lay
ing of the cornerstone, on October 30, 1902,
by Mayor C. S. Baxter with a silver trowel,
was an occasion of much interest. Under the
stone was placed a copper box holding many
coins, photographs, papers old and recent, an
autograph poem written for the occasion by
Sarah Warner Brooks and also two parch
ments. One of these from the office of the
architect contains plans and a sketch of the
house. The other is an illuminated document,
the work of Mrs. Anna Davis Hallowell, hav
ing for its contents matters of interest regard
ing the occupants, and, to quote from it, "Au
tographs of members of the General and Local
Governments in office at the time, who direct
ly represent the residents of this house." The
signatures of President Roosevelt, George F.
Hoar, and Henry Cabot Lodge, United States
senators from Massachusetts ; Samuel W. Mc-
Call, representative in Congress; Winthrop

1084

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Murray Crane, governor ; and John L. Bates,
lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts, and the
various members of state and city govern
ments, complete the record.
In the laying out of the grounds, Mr. Fay
has had a chance to display his taste and hor
ticultural knowledge. A connoiseur in rare
and valuable varieties of shrubs and flowers,
he has selected specimen plants in the varie
ties chosen for the adornment of his place.
Through careful study of the requirements
and application of the knowledge gained, the
results obtained by him have rivalled those of
more pretentious establishments. Massive
face walls of ledge stone, six feet in height,
surround the grounds on the sides and rear,
while the front is adorned by' a fence one
hundred and sixty feet long, painted gray and
sanded with handsome entrance gates and high
posts in keeping with the colonial style of the
house. On April 30, 1904, Mr. Fay and his family
entered into possession and took up their res
idence here. On March 11, 1893, Mr. Fay
was married to Helen Francis, daughter of
Luther and Sarah Noyes (Stearns) Richard
son, of Medford. Children: 1. Katherine
Stearns, January 25, 1904, died December 15,
1907, of scarlet fever. 2. Wilton Burgess, Jr.,
March 17, 1907.
Helen Frances Richardson, who married
Wilton Burgess Fay, is descended from Sam
uel Richardson, who was one of the organi
zers of the church and founders of the town of
Woburn in 1642. He was born in England
about 1610, and when about twenty-five years
old, came to New England and settled in
Charlestown. His brother Ezekiel's name is
on a list of fifty-eight inhabitants of Charles
town, dated January 9, 1663-64.
(I) Samuel Richardson, with his brother
Thomas, was on a committee July 1, 1636, to
lay out lots of land for hay. On November
5th, 1640, the three brothers, Ezekiel, Samuel
and Thomas Richardson, and four others were
chosen by the church of Charlestown as com
missioners or agents for the organization of
a church and "town within what was then the
limits of Charlestown, but soon after made
into a separate town and called W0Durn- That
whole territory was then a wide uncultivated
waste. The church was organized August 14,
1642, in Woburn, and Samuel Richardson was
one of the charter members. He lived in that
part of Woburn, now included in the town of
Winchester, a little east of the Southern Divi
sion of the Boston and Maine Railroad.

He was a selectman of Woburn from
1644 to 165 1. In 1645 he paid the highest
tax of anyone in the town. His wife's
name was Joanna  . He died March
23,1658. She died about 1667. Children: 1.
Mary, baptized February 25, 1637-38; married
Thomas Mousall. They lived in Charlestown.
2. John, baptized November 12, 1639, mar
ried (first) Elizabeth Bacon; (second), Mary
Pier son; (third), Margaret Willing. 3. Han
nah, born in Woburn, March 8, 1641-42. 4.
Joseph, born in Woburn, July 27, 1643, mar
ried Hannah Green. 5. Samuel, born May 22,
1646, married, (first), Martha  , (sec
ond), Hannah Kingsbury; (third), Phebe
Baldwin; (fourth), Sarah Hayward, daugh
ter of Samuel of Maiden. 6. Stephen, born
August 15, 1649, married Abigail Wyman. 7.
Thomas, born December 31, 1651, died Sep
tember 27, 1657. 8. Elizabeth, born 1654.
(II) Joseph Richardson, born 1643. He
was admitted freeman May. 15, 1672, and was
therefore member of the church. He was one
of Major Samuel Appleton's soldiers, and
was engaged in the fierce assault on the Nar
ragansett fort, December 19, 1675. He was a
selectman of Woburn, 1693, 1694 and 1702.
He died March 5, 1717-18. He married Han
nah Green, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth
Green, of Maiden. Children, born in Woburn :
1. Hannah, born October 22, 1667, married
Daniel Baldwin. 2. Mary, born March 22,
1668-89, married (first) James Fowle; (sec
ond), Samuel Walker. 3. Elizabeth, born
June 28, 1670, married (first) John' Coggin;
(second) Jacob Wyman. 4. Joseph^ born
May 19, 1672; married Mary Blodget. 5.
Stephen, born February 7, 1673-74; married
Bridget Richardson.
(Ill) Joseph, born May 19, 1672, lived in
Woburn, and was selectman in 1714-1716.
His wife died March 11, 1752. He died De
cember 5; 1754. He married, October 24,
1693, Mary Blodget, daughter of Samuel and
Ruth Blodget, of Woburn. Children, born in
Woburn: 1. Mary, born January 10, 1694-
95 ; married Henry Baldwin. 2. Hannah,
born August 17, 1697; married Thomas Car
ter. 3. Joseph, born November 8, 1699 ; mar
ried Susannah Wyman. 4. Josiah, born Jan
uary 12, 1701-02; married Experience Wright.
5. Reuben, born January 12, 1704; married
Esther Wyman. 6. Loiver, born August 15,
1706; married (first) Lydia Wyman; (sec
ond) Eunice Pierce. 7 and 8. David and Sam
uel (twins), born October 12, 1708, died same
day. 9. Charles, born July 27, 1710; married

EXTERIOR VIEW OF RIDGEHOLM

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

108=

(first) Mary Roper, (second) Susannah _
 . 10. Ruth, born June 17, 1713; mar
ried James Baldwin.
(IV) Major Josiah Richardson, born Jan
uary 12, 1701-02. He removed to Sudbury,
Massachusetts, and lived there nearly forty
years. He was a man of much activity and
prominence. He was a major in the militia.
He died August 30, 1770. He gave one-half
of his personal property and the improvement
of one-half of his real estate, also his negro
girl Dinah, and his negro boy Caesar, to his
wife. He married, October 23, 1728, Exper
ience Wright, daughter of Benjamin Wright,
of Sudbury. Children: 1. Gideon, born June
5, 1730, in Chelmsford, married Martha
Thornton. 2. Josiah, born May 29, 1733, in
Sudbury, married Elizabeth Eveleth of Stowe.
3. Experience, born in Sudbury, married
Abishai Crossman, of Sudbury. 4. Luther,
born July 14, 1748, died October 6, 1752.
(V) Josiah Richardson, born May 29, 1733,
lived in Sudbury. He was a farmer, and had
one hundred and twenty acres of land. House
and land was rated at $2,870. He married
Elizabeth Eveleth, of Stowe, Massachusetts,
January 31, 1760. Children, born in Sudbury:
1. Gideon, born March 1, 1761 ; married Lucy
Hemenway, 1784. 2. Sarah Eveleth, born
May 13, 1763 ; married Abel Blake, 1788. 3.
Luther, born November 24, 1764; married
Persis Hemenway, 1790. 4. Reuel, born Sep
tember 13, 1768, died young. 5. Loa (Loam
mi), born July 15, 1770.
(Vi) Luther Richardson, born November
24, 1764, lived in Sudbury, died October 5,
1814. He married in June, 1790, Persis Hem
enway, daughter of Benjamin and Lucy
(Stone) Hemenway, of Framingham, Massa
chusetts. Children, born in Sudbury: 1.
Charles, born October 10, 1791, married Mary
Locke. 2. Lucy, born January 17, 1793, mar
ried Gardner Hunt. 3. Luther, born March
14, 1799, married Nancy Stetson. 4. Pren
tiss, born July 1, 1802, married Harriet Nich
ols. (VII) Charles Richa-rdson, born in Sud
bury, October 10, 1791. He first settled in
Charlestown, Massachusetts, and afterwards
removed to Mount Vernon, New Hampshire,
Later he resided in Amherst, New Hampshire,
and was deputy sheriff and jailer about twenty
years in Amherst. After this he moved to
Manchester, New Hampshire, and was for
several years paymaster in the Amoskeag
Mills. In 1856 he became a citizen of Worces
ter, Massachusetts, where his wife died in

1875. He died in 1878. He married Mary
Locke, daughter of Josiah and Elizabeth
(Richardson) Locke, June 14, 1812. Chil
dren: 1. Charles Augustus, born September
16, 1813, lived in Manchester, died 1853. 2.
Andrew Jackson, born April 20, 181 5, mar
ried, July 5, 1843, Elizabeth Page, daughter of
James Page, of Boston. He was a merchant
in Boston, afterwards in New York. 3. Wil
liam Henry Worthington, born October 9,
1816, died young. 4. William Henry Harri
son, born December 28, 1817; married Eliza
R. Pray. 5. Mary Ann, born July 23, 1820,
married James F. Allen. 6. Luther Frederick,
born December 29, 1823, married Sarah N.
Stearns. 7. Edmund Parker, born January
12, 1825, died at Amherst, New Hampshire,
1826. 8. Sarah Elizabeth, born January 13,
1827, married George Sumner. 9. Benjamin
Franklin, born April 30, 1829, unmarried. 10.
Edward Prentiss, born March 29, 183 1. He
was in the Fifty-first Massachusetts Regiment,
serving in the Civil war. He died in the Mc-
Kim Hospital in Baltimore, July 19, 1863. 11.
Frances Adelia, born February 10, 1837, died
October, 1881, unmarried.
(VIII) Luther Frederick Richardson, born
December 29, 1823, was a merchant in Boston,
being senior partner in the firm of Richard
son, Bird & Company, Franklin street. He
lived in Medford and died there, May 1, 1882.
He married in 1854, Sarah Noyes Stearns,
daughter of Simon and Sarah E. Stearns, of
Watertown. Children: 1. Emma, born Jan
uary 27, 1 861, in Boston. 2. Helen Frances,
born July 15, 1869, in Boston, married Wilton
B. Fay.
Mrs. Helen (Richardson) Fay, the wife of
Wilton Burgess Fay, of Medford, is a lineal
descendant of
(I) Isaac and Mary Stearns, who came to
Salem with Governor Winthrop and others,
in the ship "Arabella," arriving June 12, 1630.
They soon proceeded from Salem to Charles
town, and were among the first settlers of
Watertown, Massachusetts, locating near what
is now Mount Auburn. He was admitted a
freeman May 16, 1631, and was a selectman
several years. In 1642 we find his homestead
bounded on the north by the land of John
Warren; west by the highway, south by the
land of John Biscoe; east by Peques^sett Mea
dow, a part of which meadow he owned. In
1647 he and Mr. Biscoe were appointed by
the selectmen "to consider how the bridge over
the river shall be built, and to agree with the
workman for doing it ac:-<Wing to their best

io86

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

discretion," says Dr. Francis in his history.
"This is the first mention of a bridge over the
Charles river at Watertown."
Isaac Stearns came from Nottinghamshire,
England, descended from Bishop of York.
His wife, Mary Barker, seems to have been
from the parish of Nayland in Suffolk, and
they were married in 1622. He died June 19,
167!, and she died April 2, 1677. He had
given a part of his estate to each of his seven
children ; the remaining part was appraised at
£524 '4s 8d after his decease. Children: 1.
Mary, baptized January 6, 1626, in parish of
Nayland, Suffolk, England, married in Wo
burn, ' Massachusetts, July 9, 1646, Isaac
Learned, born in England, February 25, 1624.
He died November 27, 1657, and she married
John Burge, of Weymouth, June 9, 1662; 2.
Hannah, baptized October 5, 1628, in Eng
land, married, December 25, 1650, in Water-
town, Henry Freeman. 3. John, born about
1631, married Sarah Mixer, daughter of Isaac
and Sarah Mixer, of Watertown. 4. Isaac,
born January 6, 1633, married Sarah Beers, of
Watertown, died 1676. 5. Sarah, born Sep
tember 22, 1635, in Watertown ; married, June
7, 1655-, Deacon Samuel Stone, of Cambridge.
She died in 1700. 6. Samuel, born April 24,
1638, married Hannah Manning, died June
24, 1683. 7. Elizabeth. 8. Abigail, married,
April 27, 1666, Deacon John Morse. She died
October 16, 1690.
(II) Samuel Stearns, born 1638, died Aug
ust 3, 1683 ; married Hannah Manning, daugh
ter of William and Dorothy Manning, of Cam
bridge. Mr. Stearns' homestall or farm fell
into the possession of his son John, then to
his grandson Josiah, then to his great-grand
son, Phineas Stearns, and did "lately" belong
to the heirs of Abijah White, his great-great-
grandson. Inventory October 9, 1683, ^4^1
4s. Children, born in Watertown: 1. Sam
uel, born May 4, 1664, died June 7, 1671. 2.
Hannah, born December 8, 1666 ; married, De
cember 26, 1684, Thomas Briscoe. 3. Na
thaniel, born December 13, 1668, died August
24, 1716; married Elizabeth Dix. 4. Sarah
Stearns, born April 23, 1671 ; married, Octoc
ber 27, 1714, Joseph Winship, died Septem
ber 25, 1725. 5. Samuel, born March 29,
1673, married Mary Hawkins. He was town
clerk and represented Watertown from 1714
to 1 73 1. He was selectman and assessor
many years. 6. Isaac, born December '31,
1674, died 1737, married Mary Bemis. 7.
John, born June 24, 1677, died 1729, married
Abigail Fiske. 8.. Mary, born April 5, 1679,

married Samuel Jennison. 9. Abigail, born
April 16, 1680, married Benoni Garfield. 10.
Joseph, born December 11, 1682, died Febru
ary 4, 1683.
(Ill) John Stearns, born 1677, married
Abigail Fiske, daughter of John and Abigail
(Parks) Fiske. He resided on the homestead
of his father, died in 1729. The inventory of
his estate, 1735, was £952 3s iod. Children:
1. John, born November 18, 1702, married
Anna Coolidge. 2. Josiah, born October 14,
1704, died April 11, 1756, married Susannah
Ball; a farmer and blacksmith. 3. Joseph,
born July, 1706, died April 11, 1756; insane.
4. Abigail, born June 3, 1708, married Colo
nel Benjamin Bellows, the founder of Wal
pole, New Hampshire. 5. Rev. David, born
December 24, 1709, graduate Harvard 1728,
minister in Lunenberg, married Ruth Hub
bard. 6. Thomas, born October 8, 171 1, mar
ried Hannah Clarke; settled in Westminister,
died 1785. 7. James, born and died in 1712.
8. Hannah, born December 20, 1713, died
1779, married Deacon Samuel Johnson. 9.
Benjamin, married Anna Taylor, died 1761,
settled in Lunenberg. 10. Deacon William,
born March 11, 1717-18, married Elizabeth
Johnson, lived in Lunenberg. 11. Lydia, born
October 7, 17 19, married Joshua Goodrich, of
Lunenberg. 12. James, born July 9, 1721.
13. Lois, born January 18, 1723, married
Jones White. 14. Colonel Abijah, born De
cember 19, 1724, married Sarah Heywood, of
Lunenberg. (IV) John Stearns, born 1702, married
Anna Coolidge, daughter of Deacon John and
Margaret (Bond) Coolidge, of Watertown,
February 15, 1725. They resided in Water-
town, until about 1741, when they removed to
Westminster, where he died in 1775. Chil
dren: 1. Moses, born May ,29, 1728, married
Ruth Houghton, June 13, 1754. 2. Jerusha,
born November 5, 1730, married Darius
Houghton, of Lunenberg, and removed to
Windsor, Vermont. 3. Anna, baptized March
3, 1736. 4. Abigail, baptized October 13,
1739, married Roger Wellington, March 10,
1757. 3. Hepzibah, -baptized November 12,
1741, married Benjamin Stratton, February 2,
1764. 6. Aaron, born February 2, 1746, mar
ried Esther Glazier. 7. Elias, born September
3°> T753. married Sarah Keyes, December 12,
1776. (V) Moses, born May 29, 1728, married
Ruth Houghton, lived in Westminister until
1763, when they removed to Walpole, New
Hampshire, where he died September 24,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1087

1808. Children: 1. Ephraim, born April 6,
1755, married Molly Gilman. 2. Esther, born
April 11, 1757, married James Eastman, and
settled in Newfane, Vermont. 3. Reuben,
born September 4, 1759, was a farmer at Wal
pole, 'New Hampshire, where he died 1791,
unmarried. 4. Relief, born March 8, 1762,
married Simon Farrar, and settled in Herki
mer, New York. 5. Elizabeth, 'born Septem
ber 4, 1764, married John Adams. 6. Lois,
born August 7, 1766, married James Knapp.
7. Benjamin, born October 11, 1768, married
Mehitable Symonds; physician, settled first in
Hillsboro, New Hampshire, afterwards in Pic-
tou, Nova Scotia. 8. Lucy, born January 14,
1771, died November 29, 1796, unmarried. 9.
Abigail, born February 27, 1775, married Isaac
Gibson, of Grafton, Vermont.
(VI) Deacon Ephraim Stearns, born 1755,
married Molly Gilman, December 13, 1781,
died October, 1843, a farmer, and lived in
Walpole, New Hampshire. He served in the
Revolutionary war in 1776. Children: 1.
Simon, born February 26, 1783, married Sarah
Ellis Noyes. 2. Calvin, born June 24, 1784,
married Deborah Allen, died in 1840. 3. Ste
phen, born April 27, 1786, married Harriet
Hosmer, March 11, 1819. 4. Molly, born
June 2, 1788. 5. Ephraim, born June 2, 1788,
died July 4, 1806. 6. Mary, born August 16,
1790, married Zephaniah Kidder, August 16,
1790. 7. Lyman, born August 16, 1792, died
March 27, 1803. 8. Curtis, born June 23,
1794, married Rebecca D. Barron. 9. Wil
lard, born June 6, 1796, married Harriet Pet-
tingill. 10. Wilder, born June 6, 1796. 11.
Elijah, born July 27, 1798, married Sarah
Blanchard. He was a merchant and lived in
Boston, died 1861. 12. Harvey, born June 3,
1800, married Rebecca Brown, lived in Wal
pole. 13. Dr. George, born May 10, 1802,
M. D. Harvard, 1827, lived in Groton.
(VII) Simon Stearns, born in 1783, mar
ried Sarah Ellis Noyes, daughter of Joseph
Noyes, of Boston, May 26, 181 1. Mr. Stearns
was a merchant in Boston, with residence in
Watertown. He died August 12, 1858. She
died November 24, 1880. Children: 1. Wil
liam Henry, born March 21, 1812, died young.
2. George A., born October 24, 1813, a mer
chant in Boston, continuing his father's bus
iness with residence at Watertown, died Jan
uary 12, 1900. 3. William Edward, born Aug
ust 23, 1819, died young. 4. Sarah Noyes,
born July 21, 1827, in Boston, married Luther
F. Richardson, of Boston, July 13, 1854. They
resided in Boston and later in West Medford.

Children: 1. Emma Stearns, born January
27, 1 86 1, in Boston. 2. Helen Francis, born
July 15, 1869, in Boston, married Wilton B.
Fay, and lives in West Medford.

John Gove (Gobe, or Goffe), im-
GOVE migrant ancestor, was born in
1604, in England; settled in
Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he was ad
mitted a freeman May 22, 1638. He was ad
mitted to the church May 3, 1647. He was a
dealer and worker in brass. His will, dated
January 22, 1647, bequeathed to wife, sons
John and Edward; daughter Mary, to be
adopted with wife's full consent by Ralph
Mousall and his wife, and to the latter he be
queathed a silver porringer and five pounds
in money; the legacies to be paid out of the
brass in the house, or that which was to come
from England. The widow Sarah, born 1601,
married second, John Mansfield, who joined
her in paying the legacies to her sons Decem
ber 5, 1655. Gove bought his house and land
in Charlestown, September 29, 1647. Chil
dren: 1. John, has many descendants in
Watertown, Cambridge and vicinity. 2. Ed
ward, mentioned below.
(II) Edward Gove, son of John Gove (1),
was born in Charlestown, in 1639, according
to his deposition made in 1667. He settled in
Hampton, New Hampshire, and became a very
prominent citizen. He headed a movement to
overthrow Governor Cranfield of New Hamp
shire, but the conspiracy failed, and he and ten
others, including his son John, were arrested
and tried for treason. He was found guilty
and sentenced to death and his estate seized
for the crown. The others were pardoned
after conviction, but he was sent to London
and kept for three years in the Tower of Lon
don. At length he also was pardoned and his
estates restored to him. He is the ancestor of
all the Gove families of New Hampshire and
Maine. Children, born at Hampton : 1. John,
born September 19, 1661. 2. William, born
October 21, 1662; died March 1, 1663. 3.
Hannah, born March, 1664; marrjed Abiah
Clements. 4. Mary, born April 14, 1666 ; mar
ried Joseph Sanborn. 5. Abiel, born July 23,
1667; died at Haverhill, Massachusetts, Aug
ust 28, 1667. 6. Penuel, born July 10, 1668;
married Philemon Dalton, Benjamin Sanborn
and James Prescott. 7. Ebenezer, born June
23, 1671. 8. Edward, born May 13, 1673;
died November 12, 1675. 9. Jeremiah, born
October, 1674; died September, 1692. 10.

io88

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Rachel, born January 26, 1676, died young.
11. Ann, born January 9, 1677; married Jere
miah Conner. 12. Sarah, born November 5,
1678 ; married Samuel Dearborn.
(Ill) John Gove, son of Edward Gove (2),
born in Hampton, September 19, 1661 ; mar
ried Sarah  ; resided in Seabrook, New
Hampshire. Children: 1. Mary, born Octo
ber 29, 1687; married Nehemiah Heath; she
died April, 171 5. 2. John, born May 29,
1689; married March 24, 1720, Ruth Johnson,
daughter of Edmund. 3. Hannah, born April
1, 1 69 1. 4. Jonathan, born May 2, 1695 ; men
tioned below. 5. Sarah. 6. Abigail, married
January 6, 1721, Joseph Norton.
(IV) Jonathan Gove, son of John Gove
(3), was born in Seabrook, May 2, 1695 ; mar
ried first, July 21, 1720, Mary Lancaster,
daughter of Thomas. He married second,
March 23, 1730, Hannah Worthen. Gove
died August 6, 1760, and the widow Hannah
married second, Abner - Philbrick, son of
Thomas. Children, born at Hampton: 1. Ly
dia, born 1720. 2. John, born 1722; mention
ed below. 3. Mary, born 1724. 4. Hannah,
1732. 5. Nathan, 1734. 6. Dille, born 1736;
married, March 28, 1754, John Bean. 7.
Hannah, born 1738. 8. Sarah, 1740. 9. Jo
nathan, born 1742, settled at Nottingham. 10.
Michael, born 1744. 11. Samuel, 1746. 12.
Richard, born 1749, settled in Seabrook, New
Hampshire. 13. Elijah, born 1751, resided in
Weare, New Hampshire. 13. Amy, 1754.
(V) John Gove, son of Jonathan Gove (4),
was born in 1722, in Seabrook, Hampton, or
vicinity. He probably settled in Deerfield,
and also lived in Hampton Falls.. Children:
1. Jeremiah; mentioned below. 2. John.
' (IV) John Gove, son of John Gove (3),
was born at Hampton, May 29, 1689; married
March 24, 1720, Ruth Johnson, daughter of
Edmund. He died March 23, 1759. Children:
1. Edward. 2. Daniel. 3. Obadiah. 4. Ruth.
5. Jonathan, settled in Enfield, New Hamp
shire, or vicinity. 6. David, went with broth
er Jonathan to Enfield. 7. Patience.
(VI) Jeremiah Gove, son of John Gove
(5), was of -Deerfield. According to the cen
sus of 1790 he had a son over sixteen, another
under sixteen living at home. John, the only
other man of the name in that town, was
doubtless his son ; had three sons under six
teen and four females in his family. He was
in Captain Thomas Currier's company, Colo
nel Davis's regiment, from Salisbury, New
Hampshire, in 1814. He is presumed to be
son ,of Jeremiah (6) who was in the French

war in Captain Samuel Leavitt's company,
Colonel Weare's regiment, 1759. Gove mar
ried the daughter of Philip Pevear and lived at
Hampton Falls, where after his death his wife
kept a store.
(VII) John Gove, son or near relative of
Jeremiah Gove (6), was born at Hampton
Falls, or vicinity; married  Eastman.
He was related to the Weare family, of Gove,
many of whom settled in Salisbury, New
Hampshire, where he made his home. Chil
dren : John, mentioned below.
(VIII) John Gove, son of John Gove (7),
was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, and
married April 3, 1827, Betsey White, in New
port, New Hampshire. He was a prominent
citizen of" Grantham, New Hampshire, where
he located; was justice of the peace, highway
surveyor, representative to the state legisla
ture. He was a prominent Free Mason. Chil
dren, born in Grantham: 1. Mary, married
Nathaniel Leavitt, of Grantham; no children;
both deceased. 2. Sarah, married Philip Gree
ley; children: i. Florence Greeley; married
Haney Clapp, master of Roxbury high school
(their son, Philip Clapp, is a student in Har
vard College ) ; ii. Kitty Ann Greeley, married
Benjamin James, of Boston; an insurance
agent. 3. Betsey Ann, died aged eighteen
years. 4. Charles Scott, born July 30, 1830;
see forward. 5. Susan, married Joseph L.
Day, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, no
children. (IX) Charles Scott Gove, son of John
Gove (8), was born in Grantham, New
Hampshire, July 30, 1830, and was educated
in the public schools of his native town. He
was brought up on a farm. Leaving his home
in New Hampshire when he was eighteen, he
came to Boston in the spring of 1848 and
found employment as driver of a soda water
wagon. With his first savings he embarked
in the same line of business in partnership
with Hiram M. Comstock, under the firm
name of Comstock & Gove, with place of bus
iness on North Canal street, Boston. The firm
took a prominent position among the manu
facturers of soda and dealers in mineral water.
Mr. Comstock died in 1883, and later Mr.
Gove admitted to partnership A. P. Kelly,
who remained in the firm until 1900, when
both he and Mr. Gove sold their interests and
retired. Mr. Gove has lived, since his retire
ment, in his home at 28 Warland street, Cam
bridge, Massachusetts. He is a member of
Salome Lodge of Odd Fellows of Boston;
Gate of the Temple Lodge of Free Masons of

tZA^^^TrfZgt*

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1089

Boston; of Cambridge Chapter, Royal Arch
Masons; and Boston Commandery, Knights
Templar;, of Cambridge Knights of Pythias;
of Tribe of Red Men of Boston. In religion
he is a Universalist, in politics he is a Repub
lican. Mr. Gove married, March 8, 1866, Carrie
Comstock, born November 14, 1840, at Straf
ford, Vermont, daughter of Israel and Weal
thy (Mclntire) Comstock, and sister of Hiram
M. Comstock, his first partner in business.
Children: 1. Carrie Belle, born March 10,
1867; married Dr. A. M. Follette, of Somer
ville; no children. 2. Gertrude May, born
February 21, 1869; educated in the public and
high schools of Cambridge; now a teacher in
the Wellington School, of Cambridge (kinder
garten). Mrs. Gove is a granddaughter of
Israel Comstock, and a great-granddaughter
of Samuel Comstock, who died in - Dudley,
Massachusetts, and removed to Connecticut,
where many of his descendants are numbered
among the leading families of the state. He
was a revolutionary soldier.

Michael Raftery was born
RAFTERY August 22, 1822, in the par
ish of Achrom, county Gal
way, Ireland. He attended the schools of his
native parish. During the first of the flood
of emigration caused by famine in Ireland, he
determined to make his home in America. He
came in 1846 and went to live in Milford,
Massachusetts. After working here for a
short time he went to Hopkinton, an adjoining
town, in 1846. At that time almost every
farm had its shoe shop and almost every man
followed the trade of shoemaker, at least for
a part of each year. Raftery learned the
trades of crimping and bottoming in the little
shops of Hopkinton, and at length began to
manufacture shoes in his own shop. He made
a success of this venture, and for twenty-five
years was a successful shoe manufacturer.
Then came the day of machinery and the
concentration of the business in large factories
where by the use of steam power and the new
ly invented machines the old hand-made shoes
were driven out of the field, and all the little
shops finally closed. The small manufactur
ers had to choose between the factory and the
farm; they no longer went together. Mr.
Raftery preferred the farm to working for
some larger manufacturer or to undertaking
the manufacture of shoes under the new and
somewhat problematical conditions. He

bought a farm in Hopkinton, and from a small
beginning increased his holdings until he had
three hundred acres of land. His industry,
frugality and thrift, aided by that of his good
wife, made farming profitable even among the
rocky hills of Hopkinton. To have come to
America penniless in his young manhood, to
have acquired such a property and to have
raised a large family, are achievements of no
small account. Mp. Raftery was a man of
great force of character, firm determination
and unquestioned integrity. He was probably
the oldest of the Irish settlers of Hopkinton.
He had seen his town grow from a humble lit
tle hamlet to a leading position among the
shoe towns of the state, though in later years
its industries have fallen off and some of the.
large factories have been closed. Mr. Raftery
was a firm and faithful follower of the faith
of his fathers, and a pioneer of the Roman
Catholic religion in Hopkinton. He remem
bered well when he and others of his faith
had to walk many miles to attend mass. He
and his wife were the prime movers for the
establishment of a, church in Hopkinton, and
it can be said truly that Mrs. Raftery caused
the first step to be taken by enlisting the sym
pathy and assistance of many not Catholics.
One prominent citizen, John Wilson, became
interested in the effort to establish a church,
and in 1857 through his aid a meeting was
called and funds raised to establish the church.
From that feeble beginning this church has
grown until the Hopkinton parish has the
finest place of worship in the Boston arch
diocese, and it is a fitting memorial to those
devoted few who kept alive the fire of their
faith and by their self-sacrifice supported the
church in the difficult early years. Mr. Raf
tery died January 31, 1908,
He married at Milford, May 16, 1848,
Catherine Supple, daughter of Michael and
Mary Supple, of Milford, Massachusetts.
She died September, 1892, at Hopkinton.
Children: 1. Mary, born February 28, 1849;
married Albert Hickok. 2. Honora, born
August 15, 1851; married, August 18, 1870,
Thomas Healy; children: i. Mary Healy,
born November 22, 1871 ; ii. John Healy, born
April 2, 1873; iii. Margaret Healy, born April
26, 1874; married, August 28, 1899, Thomas
Gorman, and they have a son, Joseph Gor
man; iv. Michael E. Healy, born January
19, 1875; v. Martin Healy, born August 9,
1878; vi. Catherine Healy, born September 6,
1880; married, 1906, Thomas J. Rich, of Bos
ton. 3. Edward, born April 1, 1855. 4- Mi"

1090

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

chael, born May, 1857, died young. 5. Pat
rick, born January 15, 1859; died 1887. 6.
Michael, born 1861. 7. Thomas, born June
17, 1863; died 1885.

Humphrey Orr and two brothers,
ORR John and another, were Scotch
Presbyterians who came from the
north of Ireland, Humphrey and John settled
at Plumstead, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in
1730. John Orr was a graduate of Dublin
University, and married Roxanna Cameron,
and their son William married Isabella Er-
win and lived in Chester, District South Car
olina, where their son John Orr (1820-1883)
was born. He was president of Stewart Col
lege, which became in 1875 the Southwestern
Presbyterian University, 1851-53; an educator
in Green county, Ohio ; and clerk of the coun
ty court 1864-82. Humphrey Orr's son, John
Orr, married Jane B. Checkscale, of South
Carolina, and their son Christopher married
Martha McCann, also a Scotch Presbyterian,
and was the father of the Hon. James Law
rence Orr, governor of South Carolina, who
was born in Craytonville, Anderson county,
South Carolina, May 12, 1822, was graduated
at the University of Virginia, 1842, a repre
sentative in Congress 1849-59, and speaker of
the house 1857-59. He was in command of a
regiment of South Carolina rifles 1861-62;
Confederate States senator 1862-65; governor
of South Carolina 1865-68; judge of Eighth
South Carolina Circuit 1870-73 ; United States
minister to Russia 1872-73; and died in St.
Petersburg, Russia, May 5, 1873. The third
brother,  Orr, settled in New York
state, and among his descendants is Benjamin
Orr, the grandfather of Henry Wheden Orr.
Benjamin Orr lived in Washington county,
New York, in the neighborhood of Fort Ann
and Lake George, the greater part of his life.
He was a farmer, and married Eunice or Sus
an Folger, a native of Nantucket, Massachu
setts, and a descendant from John and his
son Peter Folger, the immigrant ancestors
of all of that name in America, including
Abiah Folger, daughter of Peter, and the
mother of Benjamin Franklin. John Folger
and his son Peter came from Norwich, Eng
land, to Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Col
ony, in 1680, and removed to Martha's Vine
yard in 1641, and to Nantucket Island in 1663.
Charles James Folger (1818-84), New York
state senator 1861-69; judge of New York
court of appeals 1871-81 ; secretary of United

States treasury in the cabinet of President Ar
thur, 1881-84, and unsuccessful candidate
against Grover Cleveland for governor of
New York in 1881, was of this family, and
the Frelinghuysens of New Jersey were of the
same family by marriage.
John Andrew Orr, son of Benjamin and
Eunice or Susan (Folger) Orr, was born in
Schaghticoke, near Troy, Rensselaer county,
New York, September 9, 1835. He married
Lucinda, daughter of David and Lucinda
(Allen) Whedon, of West Pawlet, Vermont,
who was born in that town April 8, 1839.
The Whedons were farmers and original set
tlers of the town of Hebron, New York. John
Andrew Orr was a farmer in Schaghticoke,
New York, and in West Pawlet, Rutland
county, Vermont.
Horace Whedon Orr, son of John Andrew
arid Susan (Folger) Orr, was born at West
Pawlet, Vermont, March 27, 1865. He was
graduated at Friends' Academy, Granville,
New York; at Eastman Business College,
Poughkeepsie, New York; and from the Col
lege of Law connected with the University of
Nebraska, and he took a post-graduate course
in the American Institute of Technology, Chi
cago, and at Lake Chautauqua, New York.
He removed to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1885,
where he engaged in business as a hardware
merchant and dealer in plumber's supplies.
While resident there he was elected in 1887
a member of the city council, and as he was
at the time only twenty-two years of age he
was the youngest man ever elected to that
office in the state. He was closely associated
with William J. Bryan, twice presidential can
didate; Charles E. Magoon, governor of the
canal zone, and United States minister to
Panama ; Elmer Jacob Burkett, United States
senator from Nebraska, who was a classmate
of Mr. Orr ; Daniel N. Wing, president of the
First National Bank of Boston; and Charles
Gates Dawes, the financier at that time prac
ticing law in Lincoln. He was associated with
Dawes, Burkett and others in the formation
of the Republican Club of Lincoln, the first
club in the United States to nominate William
McKinley, Jr., for president.
Of Mr. Orr's ancestors, his father was a
supporter of the government during the civil
war, and spent both money and time in fitting
out troops, including a company of infantry,
in response to the call of President 'Lincoln
in 1861, and his father's brothers all volun
teered in the Union service, George S. Orr
being a major, and Horace J. Orr and Moses

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1091

Edgar Orr serving in the ranks of the Federal
army, Horace Whedon Orr removed to New-
tonville, Massachusetts, in 1895, where he en
gaged in. the hardware and plumbing business,
and he organized the H. W. Orr Company, of
which he was made president, and the com
pany erected on Washington street, Newton-
ville, a large two-story building built of brick,
and made so as to accommodate his large
stock of hardware and plumbing furnishings
and supply rooms for manufacturing supplies
incident to his business.
He married, July 20, 1893, at South Gran
ville, New York, Ellen Jane, third child of
Jefferson and Louise Margaret (White)
Tompson, and granddaughter of Squire
White, of North Hebron, New York, and
through the paternal side of Campbells who
came from Scotland and settled in the Berk
shire county, Massachusetts, and one of them
married the father of Jefferson Tompson
who removed from Massachusetts to South
Granville, New York. Horace Whedon and
Ellen Jane (Tompson) Orr had no children.
They were members of the Congregational
church at Newtonville, and Mr. Orr was a
member of the Universalist Club and the Cen
tral Club of Newtonville, and affiliated with-
the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias,
in which fraternal organization he was an ac
tive member and officer.

' Daniel Lane, a descendant of the
LANE Lane family of Gloucester, prom
inent in that town from the ear
liest settlement, and also of the Waterman
family of Gloucester, lived in Cofinna and
Dexter, Maine, and Chelmsford and Tewks
bury, Massachusetts. He was a farmer and
was much respected by all who knew him.
He was a Whig in politics during the exis
tence of that party. He died in Tewksbury.
He married Laura Stanchfield, of Maine.
Children: 1. Daniel Waterman, mentioned
below. 2. Daughter, married  Fish
and resided in Dexter and Bangor, Maine.
(II) Daniel Waterman Lane, son of Dan
iel Lane (1), was born at Corinna, Maine.
He was educated in the common schools. He
lived in Corinna and Dexter, Maine, and later
in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and was war
den in Tewksbury and Billerica and was at
one time warden of the town farm of Chelms
ford for several years. He married, at Dex
ter, Maine, Mary Dickey, of a prominent

Scotch-Irish family. He was a staunch Re
publican, and was road commissioner of
Tewksbury, Billerica and Chelmsford, serving
for many years. In his later years he lived
in Lowell, retired from active labor, though
he still owned a farm in the adjoining town
of Chelmsford. Children: 1. Charles. 2.
Lyman, born during the Civil war, followed
the sea. 3. Frank A., born August 10, 1858,
mentioned below.
Ill) Frank A. Lane, son of Daniel Water
man Lane. (2), was born in Lowell, Massachu
setts, August 10, 1853, and was educated in
the public schools. He took up farming for
an occupation and followed it for a time, but
is now a commission merchant in Chelmsford.
He is a Republican in politics, and a member
of the Baptist church. He married, Decem
ber 13, 1875, Effie W. Watson, born at Lowell,
daughter of Benjamin and Mary A. (Ladd)
Watson, of Lowell. Mrs. Lane traces her an
cestry to the Puritan settlers in the Fox, Rob
inson, Sanborn, Gile, Tuttle, Kennard, Cilley,
Clarke, and Ames families of New Hamp
shire and Massachusetts, as well as to the
prominent Scotch family of Watson. Chil
dren, born in North Tewksbury: 1. Ella Char
lotte, born July 13, 188 1. 2. Abbie Adelaide,
December 13, 1883. 3. Edward Watson,
September 11, 1886.

The Conant family appears to
CONANT be of Celtic descent, for the
name Conan, or Conon, is
found at a very early period among the var
ious races of Celtic origin, including the Bri
tons, Welsh, Irish, Gaels and Bretons. The
name Conant in very nearly its present form
has existed in England for more than six hun
dred years, and thirty-two forms of spelling
the surname have been found on the records.
It is derived from the Celtic Conan, meaning
a chief, or leader.
(I) John Conant, with whom the authentic
genealogy of this family begins, lived in the
parish of East Budleigh, Devonshire, Eng
land, where he was a taxpayer in 1671, and
in 1577 warden of the church. He was bur
ied March 30, 1596.
(II) Richard Conant, son of John Conant
(1), was born in the parish of East Budleigh,
about 1548. In 1588 he was assessed for lands
there, and he was church warden in 1606 and
1616. He married, February, 4, 1578, Agnes,
daughter of John Clarke, Sr., of Collyton.
Her father married, June 9, 1544.- Anne,

1092

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

daughter of William Macy, of Coylton. Rich
ard and his wife were buried on the same day,
September 22, 1630. Both are spoken of in
the "Life of John Conant" as "persons of ex
emplary piety." His will was proved at Exe
ter, October 13, 1631. Children of Richard
and Agnes Conant: 1. John, baptized Janu
ary 20, 1579-80; married  Richards. 2.
Richard, baptized February 21, 1581-82. 3.
Robert. 4. Jane, baptized May 9, 1584; mar
ried, September 18, 1609, Thomas Knowles.
5. John, baptized March 18, 1586-87. 6.
Thomas, baptized April 30, 1587. 7. Christo
pher, baptized June 13, -1588; was a grocer in
London; married September 14, 1619, Anne
Wilton; came to Plymouth in New England
in 1623, in ship "Ann." 8. Roger, mentioned
below. (Ill) Roger Conant, son of Richard Con
ant (2), was the American immigrant. He
was baptized at All Saints' Church, East Bud
leigh, England, April 9, 1592. One of his
brothers was educated at Oxford, and Roger
received a good education. On January 20,
1619-20, Christopher Conant, grocer, and
Roger Conant, Salter, both of the parish of St.
Lawrence, Jewry, London, signed the compo
sition ' bond of their brother John for the
"first fruits" of the rectory of Lymington.
He was first at Plymouth, but owing to differ
ences on religious belief he followed Rev.
John Lyford and others to Nantasket (Hull).
While at Nantasket he made use of Gover
nor's Island, which for some time was called
Conant's Island. In 1632 it was granted to
Governor John Winthrop, however. In 1624-
25 Conant was chosen by the Dorchester Com
pany to govern their colony at Cape Ann.
Lyford was chosen as minister at the same
time. After a year at the Cape he removed
with those colonists who did not return to
England, and settled at Naumkeag, later called
Salem. Conant's house was removed from
Cape Ann and became the parsonage, then an
inn, and the frame, which is said to have been
brought from England originally, is still in
use, forming part of a stable on the north side
of Church, near Washington street. The ex
act site of Conant's house, which was the first
built in Salem, cannot be ascertained. After
the patent for the territory had been received,
John Endicott, one of the patentees, was sent
over with some fifty colonists and superseded
Conant as governor after he had held that of
fice three years. Although he is not univer
sally recognized as the first governor of Mass
achusetts, Roger Conant is fairly entitled to

that honor, for the colony of which he was
the head was the first permanent settlement
in the Massachusetts Bay territory. After
some friction Conant and the old settlers
made their peace with Endicott and the new
comers. Conant was admitted a freeman May
18, 163 1, having previously supported the Es
tablished Church under Lyford. He was jus
tice of the quarterly court at Salem three
years; selectman 1637 to 1641, and 1651 to
1654 inclusive, also in 1657 and 1658. In
1667 he was one of the original members of
the Beverly church. He had large grants of
lands, and bought and sold extensively in Sa
lem, Beverly and vicinity. He died November
19, 1679. His will was dated March 1, 1618, in
the parish of Blackfriars, London; married
Sarah Horton. Children: 1. Sarah, christened
September 19, 1619; buried in London, Octo
ber 30, 1620. 2. Caleb, christened May 27,
1622, came to Massachusetts, but returned to
England. 3. Lot, born about 1624; mention
ed below. 4. Roger, born 1626, first white
child born in Salem- 5- Sarah, born about
1628. 6. Joshua. 7. Mary. 8. Elizabeth. 9.
Exercise, baptized December 24, 1637.
(IV) Lot Conant, son of Roger Conant
(3), was born about 1624, in Nantasket or at
Cape Ann, and settled as early as 1657 at
Marblehead. He was a selectman in 1662
and a householder in 1674. His father gave
him a farm and homestead at Beverly, Novem
ber 20, 1666, and about this time he moved to
Beverly and built a house near his father's.
He was one of those dismissed from the first
church of Salem to form the Beverly church,
July 4, 1667. Many of his deeds are on rec
ord. He died September 29, 1674. His will
was dated September 24 of the same year.
He married Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Wil
liam Walton, who took degrees at Emanuel
College, Cambridge, in 162 1 and 1625, and
was settled over the parish of Seaton, Devon
shire, where his daughter was baptized Octo
ber 27, 1629. He was pastor at Marblehead
in 1639 and until his death in 1668. Eliza
beth, widow of Lot Conant, married second,
January 10, 1681-82, as his third wife, An
drew Mansfield, son of Robert and Elizabeth
Mansfield, of Lynn. Children of Lot and
Elizabeth Conant: 1. Nathaniel, born July
28, 1650. 2. John, born December 15, 1652;
mentioned below. 3. Lot, born February 16,
I657-58- 4- Elizabeth, born May 13, 1660.
5. Mary, born July 14, 1662. 6. Martha, born
August 15, 1664. 7. Sarah (twin), born Feb
ruary 19, 1666-67. 8. William (twin), born

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1093

February 19, 1666-67. 9- Roger, born March 10,
1668-69. 10. Rebecca, born January 31, 1670-71.
(V) John Conant, son of Lot Conant (4),
was born December 15, 1652, at Beverly,
Massachusetts, and settled there on the sixty
acres of upland lying near Richard Dodge's
farm given to his father by his grandfather in
1666. He built a house on the north side of
the road called Dodge street, a third of a mile
from the present North Beverly railroad sta
tion on the Eastern railroad, and this house
stood until 1830. He was a weaver as well as
farmer. He served in King Philip's war in
Captain Samuel Appleton's company in 1675.
He was admitted to the church at Beverly,
August 23, 1691. He died September 30,
1724, disposing of his estate by will dated Sep
tember 21, 1724. He married, May 7, 1678,
Bethiah, daughter of Andrew Mansfield. She
was born April 7, 1658, and died July 27, 1720.
Children: 1. Lot, baptized June 1,1679, men
tioned below. 2. Elizabeth, born January 14,
1681-82. 3. Bethia, born 1684. 3. John,
born July 7, 1686. 5. Deborah, born Febru
ary 20, 1687-88. 6. Mary, born October 20,
1689. 7. Daniel, born November 19, 1694.
8. Rebecca, born March 29, 1696. 9. Benja
min, born October 22, 1698. 10. Jemima,
born November 9, 1701.
(VI) Lot Conant, son of John Conant
(5), was baptized June 1, 1679, at Beverly;
removed to Concord, Massachusetts, about
1716. April, 1710, he bought fifteen acres in
Manchester, and while at Concord sold the
same land to his father and brother Daniel
in Beverly. He lived in the house owned later
by Colonel Brown. He died May 15, 1767.
He married, May 15, 1698, Martha Cleaves,
who was admitted to the First Church at Bev
erly, May 31, 1701, and died at Concord, Feb
ruary 15, 1725, aged according to her grave
stone, forty-four years. He married second,
Susannah Clark, and third, Mary ¦.  .
Children of Lot and Martha Conant: 1.
Robert, born April 26, 1699. 2. Andrew,
baptized January 25, 1702-03; mentioned be
low. 3 William, baptized July 6, 1707. 4.
Dinah, baptized August 20, 1710. 5. Ezra,
baptized June 15, 1712, died young. 6. John,
baptized October 4, 1713. 7. Elizabeth, bap
tized April 3, 1715. The preceding were born
in Beverly, the following in Concord: 8.
Martha, born July 10, 1716. 9. Bethia, born
1720. Children of Lot and Susannah Conant :
10. Ezra, born September 19, 1730. 11. Sar
ah, born about April 29, 1732; married Jona
than Hodgman.

(VII) Andrew Conant, son of Lot Conant
(6), was baptized in Beverly, January 25,
1702-03; removed to Concord with his par
ents, and in 1723 bought a farm adjoining his
father's in Concord. He was also a clothier
by trade. He married at Charlestown, May 2,
1723, Elizabeth Taylor, who died September
IO> I759> aged fifty-eight; married second, at
Concord, June 7, 1759, Mrs. Mary Hubbard
who died November 30, 1763, aged sixty;
married third, at Danvers, July 19, 1764, An
na Gardner, widow of Daniel. Children of
Andrew and Elizabeth (Taylor) Conant, all
born in Concord: 1. Elizabeth, born Febru
ary 10, 1723-24. 2. Andrew, born August 22,-
1725. 3. Lydia, born December 22, 1728, died
October 26, 1731. 4. Nathan, born February
2, 1730-31. 5. Kezia, born February 1, 1732.
6. Nathan, born March 18, 1734-35, died
young. 7. Lydia, born October 29, 1737. 8.
Silas, born August 15, 1740. 9. Eli, born
March 16, 1741-42; mentioned below. 10.
Ruth, born March 25, 1744-45; died March
14, 1760. 11. Abel, born April 5, 1747. 12.
Nathan, born June 23, 1751.
(VIII) Eli Conant, son of Andrew Conant,
(7), was born March 16, 1741-42, in Acton,
Massachusetts, formerly Concord. He lived
in Concord. He was a sergeant in Captain
Wheeler's company in 1776 and lieutenant in
1777 in the expedition to Rhode Island. He
died May 26, 1801. He married, December
23, 1767, in Concord, Elizabeth Gardiner.
Children: 1. John Gardiner, born August 30,
1768. 2. Mary, born October 26, 1769. 3.
George, born April 7, 1771. 4. Pamela, born
October 7, 1772. 5. Sarah, born January 2,
1774; married Reuben Durrant. 6. Anna,
born October 17, 1775. 7. Betty, born March
9, 1777. 8. Artemus, born February 19, 1779.
9. Rufus, removed to New Hampshire and
Vermont. (IX) George Conant, son of Eli Conant
(8), was born in Concord, April 7, 1771 ; re
moved to Enfield, New Hampshire; married
Eunice Crossman, who was born in Bolton,
Massachusetts, March 16, 1772. Children: 1.
Sarah, born December 16, 1791, in Fitchburg,
Massachusetts ; married Bela Johnson, of En
field; she died July, 1882. 2. Andrew G,
born November 14, 1795, in New Chester,
New Hampshire; died March 18, 1800. 3.
Mary, born November 21, 1797, in Enfield;
died October 23, 1800. 4. Anna, born No
vember 23, 1799; married Eben Clark, of Ca
naan, New Hampshire; she died December 3,
1822. 5. George, born April 16, 1802; died

ic»94

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

January 22, 1809. 6. Mary, born August 5,
1804; married Thomas Merrill. 7. Elizabeth,
born November 23, 1807; married Thomas
Goodwin; she died September 6, 1871. 8.
Alpheus, born March 17, 1810. 9. George
W., born July 2, 1812; mentioned below.
(X) George W. Conant, son of George Co
nant (9), was born at Enfield, New Hamp
shire, July 2, 1812; married Louisa Ann Mer
rill, of Enfield. Children: 1. Thomas Mer
rill, born 1850; resides in Boston. 2. Harriet
Miriam; married Benjamin F. Dutton in i860.
(See Dutton family sketch herewith).

The family of Dutton or
DUTTON Dunton takes its name from
the ancient town of Dutton,
England, mentioned thrice in Domesday
Book. One part of this town was held by
Odard, or Udard, also spelled Hodard and Hu-
dard. After Hodard received his grant from
the Earl of Chester, his descendants added the
name of the town to their Christian names,
as John de Dutton. The family has borne a
coat-of-arms, from the earliest days, and from
1060 to the present time has ranked among
the leading noble families of Great Britain.
(I) Hodard, the progenitor of the family
in England, came from Normandy in 1066
with William the Conqueror. In the distrib
ution of the conquered lands he received a
good part of the town of Dutton, in Cheshire,
and settled there. This grant came from
Hugh Lupus, formerly Earl of Avranches,
later Earl of Chester. The sister of Hugh
Lupus married William of Normandy. One
authority makes Hodard a nephew of Hugh
Lupus, and therefore a nephew by marriage
to the King. Hodard had five brothers — Ed-
afd, Wolmere, Horswyne, Wolfarth and Ni-
gell. Hodard held Aston under William Fitz-
Nigell, Baron of Halton. Hodard was Lord
of Dutton; according to the family record in
1665 his land was then in the custody of his
lineal descendant, Lady Elinor Vicomptess Kil-
morey, daughter of Thomas Dutton, and had
been treasured then for some six centuries,
in the possession of the direct heirs to Dutton.
(II) Hugh, son of Hodard (1), also had
lands conferred by the Earl of Chester at the
end of the reign of Henry I, probably at
Dutton. (Ill) Hugh de Dutton, son of Hugh (2),
inherited the estate. Children: 1. Hugh, men
tioned below. 2. Adam, ancestor of the War-

burtons. 3. Geoffrey, ancestor of the Dut-
tons of Cheshire. 4. Sir Roger.
(IV) Hugh Dutton, son of Hugh de Dut
ton (3), married a daughter of the Bar'on of
Dunham-Massy. He bought Little Moldes-
worth of Robert de Moldesmith, son of Mat
thew, about 1250. He also bought Preston near
Dutton, of Henry de Nuers and Julia his wife.
He bought the town of Little Leigh in fee-
farm from Simon, son of Osberne, and the
annual rent of two marks of silver was paid
many centuries by his heirs to the Earl of
Derby as of his manor of Harden. He pur
chased a moiety of Barnton from William,
son of Henry. Children: 1. Hugh. 2.
Thomas, mentioned below. 3. John. 4.
Adam. (V) Sir Thomas Dutton, son of Hugh
Dutton (4), was living in 1249 and 1268. He
bought Clatterwigge, a hamlet in Little Leigh,
near Barterton, from Hude de Clatterwigge,
about 1244. He was sheriff of Cheshire in
1268. He built a chapel at the manor house
of Dutton. He married Phillippa, daughter
of Vivian de Sandon, or Standon. Children:
1. Hugh, mentioned below. 2. Thomas, had
lands of his father in Staffordshire. 3. Sir
Robert. 4. Mary; married William Venables.
5. Katherine, married John, son of Urian de
Sancto Petro.
(VI) Sir Hugh Dutton, son of Sir Thomas
Dutton (5), was born in Dutton about 1250,
and died 1294.' He built the county bridge at
Acton Ford, about 1286. He bought Barter-
ton. He married Joan de Sancto Petro,
daughter of Sir Urian. Children: 1. Hugh,
mentioned below. 2. William of Stockport in
1305. 3. Robert, parson of Eccleston. 4.
Margaret. (VII) Sir Hugh, son of Sir Hugh Dutton
(6), born December 8, 1276, married Joan
Holland, daughter of Sir Robert, of Holland,
in Lancashire. She married second, Edmund
Talbot, of Bashall, and third, Sir John Rat-
cliff, of Lancashire. She died December 24,
1326. Children: 1. Thomas, mentioned be
low. 2. William Parson of Thornton. 3.
Geoffrey. 4. Robert.
(VIII) Sir Thomas Dutton, son of Sir
Hugh Dutton (7), was born at Dutton in
131 5, and died in 1381. He purchased lands
formerly belonging to Halton-Fell, and also
those in Dutton formerly of Boydell, of
Dodleston, and this made the entire township
his own. He was made seneschal, governor,
and receiver of the castle and honor of Holton
in Cheshire, by William Clinton, Earl of

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1095

Huntington, and also of all lands and manors
in Cheshire and Lancashire. He married first,
Ellen, daughter of Sir Peter Thornton, of
Thornton. He married second, PhilHppa
Thornton, widow of Sir Peter Thornton. She
died in 1389. He was sheriff of Cheshire, and
a knight. Children: 1. Sir Peter. 2.
Thomas. 3. Lawrence, his heir. 4. Edmund ;
mentioned below. 5. Henry. 6. William.
(IX) Edmund Dutton. son of Sir Thomas
Dutton (8), of Dutton; married Joan, daugh
ter and heir of Henry Minshull de Church-
Minshull, by whom he' had the manor of
Church-Manshull and Aston-Mondrau. His
widow married William de Hooton. Chil
dren: 1. Sir Peter, born 1367, heir to his
uncle Sir Lawrence Dutton. 2. Hugh, born
about 1370; mentioned below. 3. Lawrence
4. Thomas. 5. Agnes, married William Lei
cester of Nether-Tabley. 6. Ellen.
(X) Hugh Dutton, son of Edmund Dut
ton (9), was born in Dutton, about 1370.
He was sheriff of Cheshire in 1422. His sec
ond wife, Emma, was the widow of Hugh
Venables, of Golborne, and daughter of Nich
olas Warren, of Pointon. Children: 1. John,
heir; mentioned below. 2. Randle, rector of
Christleton, near Chester. 3. Hugh. 4. Eliz
abeth, married Richard Manley, of Manley.
(XI) John Dutton, son of Hugh Dutton
(10) was born about 1410. He was mayor of
Chester. He married Margaret Atherton,
daughter of William Atherton, of Lancashire.
Children: 1. Peter, heir. 2. Richard, men
tioned below. 3.' Geoffrey. 4. Cicely, mar
ried John Bird of Braxton. 5. Ellen; married
 Gilibrand.
(XII) Richard Dutton, son of John Dut
ton (11), of Hatton, was alderman and justice
of the peace of Chester.
(XIII) Ralph Dutton, son of Richard Dut
ton (12), had sons: William and Richard.
(XIV) Richard Dutton, son of Ralph Dut
ton (13), was born about 15 10.
(XV) William Dutton, son of Richard
Dutton (14) was born in Chester about 1530-
40; married Agnes, daughter of John Conway,
of Flintshire. Children: 1. John, bought the
manor of Sherborn in Gloucestershire; one of
the knights of that county to sit in parliament
in 1640 ; was loyal to the king, and had to pay
a large sum in consequence ; left two daugh
ters, no sons. 2. Sir Ralph, mentioned below.
(XVI) Sir Ralph Dutton, son of William.
Dutton (15) was born about 1570-80. He
was gentleman extraordinary to King Charles
I, and was high sheriff of Gloucestershire in

1630. His estate was sequestered during the
civil war, and he fled from the country. His
son William succeeded to the large estates of
John of Sherborn, his brother. Several of his
sons left the country. It may be that one or
more of them settled in New England.
(I) John Dutton, the American ancestor,
came to America in 1630. He was before the
general court of Massachusetts, October 29,
1640. The names of Dunton and Dutton have
the same origin, and in the same families the
two spellings were used even as late as the
Revolution. It is presumed therefore that the
Dutton and Dunton pioneers at Reading,
Massachusetts, may have been sons of John
Dutton, viz. : 1. Thomas, born 1621 ; mention
ed below. ' 2. Josiah, lived in Reading, near
the Great Pond. 3. Robert, of Reading, came
from Lynn ; was selectman of Reading, 1647-
49. 4. Samuel, of Reading, born about 1620;
descendants spelled name Dunton ; had sons
Thomas, John, Samuel, Nathaniel; died No
vember 7, 1683.
(II) Thomas Dutton, son of John (1), was
born in England, in 1621. Most of the Dut
ton families of New England of colonial stock
are traced to him as their ancestor. He fig
ured in two rather remarkable cases in court.
He was charged with beating his wife in 1661,
and was fined, notwithstanding the denials of
both his wife and himself. In 1668 he brought
suit against Michael Bacon, Jr., for slander
in charging him with theft of a napkin and
spoon. Bacon was found guilty and fined fif
teen pounds, showing that the court regarded
the unfounded story as a malicious lie. At
that time fifteen pounds was an enormous
penalty in a case of this kind. The best men of
Reading and Woburn testified to the excellent
character of Dutton, and effectually disposed
of any suspicion aroused by the charge of wife
beating. Dutton lived in Reading seven years,
and in 1668 had lived ten years in Woburn.
He removed to Billerica in 1669 and was ac
cepted as an inhabitant November 22, 1669.
He settled on the south side of Fox Brook, by
the old and abandoned road to the Great Plain,
northwest of the Davis place. He was living
in Billerica in 1675, and died there January 22,
1687. His wife Susannah died August 27,
1684, aged fifty-eight years. He married sec
ond, November 10, 1684, Ruth Hooper, prob
ably widow of William Hooper, of Reading.
Children of Thomas and Susannah Dutton:
born at Reading: 1. Thomas, born Septem
ber, 1648. 2. Mary, born September 14,
1651, married Jacob Hamlet. 3. Susanna,

1096

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

born February 27, 1653-54; married John
Durrant. 4. John, born March 28, 1658-
59. Born at Woburn: 5. Elizabeth, born
January 28, 1658-59. 6. Joseph, born Janu
ary 25, 1660-61. 7. Sarah, born March 5,
1661-62 ; married April 3, 1683, Samuel Lew
is. 8. James, born August 22, 1665. 9.
Benjamin, born February 19, 1667; married
Joanna (Jefts) Davy, widow of Humphrey
Davy. (Ill) Thomas Dutton, son of Thomas Dut
ton (2), was born in Reading, Massachusetts,
September 14, 1648. He married in Billerica,
January 10, 1678-09, Rebecca Draper, widow,
of Concord. She died March 16, 1720-21.
He married second, November, 1721, Sarah
Converse. , He bought or had land of his fath
er in Billerica in 1670; also purchased land of
John Stearns. He was in Sergeant Hill's
garrison in 1675, and in the center squadron
'in 1707. In 1677 he served in the ill-starred
expedition to the Eastward, as the Kennebec
country was called. His petition to the gen
eral, court (Mass. Archives, vol. Ixix, page
209) contains the best account of this expedi
tion known. Two hundred Christian Indians
from Natick and forty English soldiers took
part under Captain Benjamin Sweat, of
Hampton. Of these, fifty men were killed
by the Indians and a score more wounded.
Dutton was shot through the side of his belt
and through the left knee, "and fell down not
able to help himself." His escape from death
was marvelous. Children: 1. Rebecca, born
November 13, 1679; married Daniel Shed.
2. Thomas, born August 2, 1681 ; mentioned
below. 3. John, born February 24, 1683-84;
died December 14, 1687. 4. Susannah, born
April 30, 1687; died September 3, 1688. 5.
Susan, born November 4, 1687. All born at
Billerica. (IV) Thomas Dutton, son of Thomas Dut
ton (3), was born in Billerica, August 2, 168 1 ;
married there, January 31, 1710-11, Hannah
Burge, of Chelmsford. They removed to
Westford after 1738, and he died there in
1759. He and his sons resided in the vicinity
of the Jonathan T. Colburn place. Children,
born in Billerica: 1. Joseph, born December,
1 7 12; settled in Westford; married Rebecca
Adams, of Chelmsford. 2. Thomas, born
August 28, 171 3; settled in Rockingham, Ver
mont ; married Mary Hill. 3. John, born Feb
ruary 13, 17 14-15; mentioned below. 4. Jo
siah, born February 21, 1716-17; resided at
Nottingham West, now Hudson, New Hamp
shire ; ancestor of the Francestown family. 5.

Hannah, born August 10, 1718; died October
following. 6. Rebecca (twin of Hannah),
born August 10, 1718, died young. 7. Benja
min, born May 2, 1720; married, 1751, Mary
Runwell. 8. James, born May 5, 1721 ; mar
ried Rebecca Hildreth. 9. Hannah, born June
13, 1723; married Joshua Frost. 10. Rebec
ca, born May 18, 1726. 11. Ephraim, born
January 1, 1727-28. 12. David, born 22, 1731;
ancestor of the Hancock family; son of Henry
settled in Deering; married, 1761, Esther
Heald. 13. Susanna, born March 10, 1732-
33- (V) John Dutton, son of Thomas Dutton
(4), was born February 13, -1714-15, at Biller
ica, and died December 1, 1760, of smallpox.
His wife died December 19, and his daughter
December 17, of the same disease. He mar
ried, February 18, 1740, Rebecca, born June
5, 1720, daughter of Benjamin Shedd (or
Shed), born August 5, 1696. John Shed, fa
ther of Benjamin, was born March 2, 1655 ;
married Sarah Chamberlain. Daniel Shed,
father of John, was the immigrant; settled in
Braintree and removed to Billerica in 1659,
buying the George Willis right of Joseph Park
er. Children, born at Billerica or Chelmsford :
1. Rebecca, born January 19, 1741, died De
cember, 1760. 2. John, born June 20, 1746,
died August 19, 1749. 3. Hannah, born Oc
tober 11, 1747; died September 2, 1749. 4.
John, born January 16, 1750-51 ; soldier in
Revolution; removed to Hillsboro in 1777;
selectman there 1806-08; town clerk, 1786,
and for seven years afterward ; moderator two
years. 5. Hannah, born October 12, 1752;
married, March 30, 1773, William Parker. 6.
Benjamin, born May 13, 1754; mentioned be
low. 7. William, born January 30, 1759.
(VI) Benjamin Dutton, son of John Dut
ton (5), was born at Chelmsford, May 13,
1754. He was a private in Captain Edward
Farmer's company, Colonel Green's regiment,
April 19, 1775; in Captain Jonathan Stick-
ney's company, Colonel Ebenezer Bridge's
regiment, in the same year; and also Captain
Solomon Pollard's company. All these were
of Massachusetts. He removed with his
brother John to Hillsboro, New Hamp
shire, in 1777. He was on the tax list for
that year, and perhaps bought his farm the
year before. He married, at Billerica, Patty,
daughter of Nathaniel Cummings, of Billeri
ca, February 27, 1777. Children, born at Hills
borough: 1. Jeremiah, born April 14, 1778;
mentioned below. 2. Silas, born March 5,
1780; selectman of Hillsborough in 1806.

The Leu/is Fu,blishinq. Co

WT Bather N.Y

/ Ox^Aa^^^ if

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1097

(VII) Jeremiah Dutton, son of Benjamin
Dutton (6), was born April 14, 1778. He was
a farmer in Hillsboro. He married Betsey
Baker. Children: 1. Patty Cummings, born
June 7, 1802; died October 10, 1839. 2. Re
becca, born September 1, 1803; died January
7, 1864; married, Aprils, 1821, Samuel Das-
comb. 3. Benjamin, born September 1, 1805;
merchant in Boston; later returned to Hills
boro. 4. Ephraim, born August 25, 1807;
mentioned below. 5. Betsey, born August 21,
1810; died March 18, 1856; married Samuel
Gilman Barnes, November 16, 1827. 6. Silas,
born October 5, 1812; died February 15, 1817.
7. Jeremiah, born May 31, 1818; farmer at
Hillsboro. 8. Catherine, born August 18,
1820; died May 20,  ; married, at Hopkin
ton, New Hampshire, Tilton Symonds. 9. Eme
line Baker, born November 30, 1824; died
September 18, 1865 ; married July 20, 1847,
Gilman Shattuck.
(VIII) Ephraim Dutton, son of Jeremiah
Dutton (7), was born in Hillsboro, August
25, 1807, and died there September 10, 1891.
He was a farmer and proprietor of a general
store in Hillsboro. He was a Democrat in
politics, and cast his first vote for Andrew
Jackson. He was a man of strong character
and a leader in the community. He married,
September 3, 1829, Phebe Beard Wilson, born
March 8, 1812. Children, born in Hills
boro: 1. Benjamin Franklin, born - October
14, 1831 ; mentioned below. 2. Clarissa Wil
son, born September 27, 1835 ; married, first,
George B. Ward; second, Edwin B. Morse.
(IX) Benjamin Franklin Dutton, son of
Ephraim Dutton (8), was born in Hillsboro,
October 14, 1831. He was educated in the
public schools and at Captain Partridge's
Military Academy and Private School at Nor
wich, Vermont, where he was graduated in
1851. He was for a short time in business
in Washington, D. C. Having made a reputa
tion as a teacher of penmanship and hook-
keeping, he opened a commercial college in
Alexandria, Virginia, and established a suc
cessful business. His father's health having
failed, he was obliged to give up his business
in the south and return to New Hampshire,
where for seven years he was associated with
his father in conducting the general store at
Hillsborough Bridge, New Hampshire. In
1859 he came to Boston and engaged in the
small ware and millinery jobbing business un
der the firm name of B. F. Dutton & Com
pany, later Dutton & Wyman, Brown & Dut
ton, .and finally B. F. Dutton & Company. In

the firm of B. F. Dutton & Company, Mr.
Dutton's partner was John B. Smith, who was
afterwards governor of the state of New
Hampshire. In 1874 Mr. Dutton's connec
tion with the present house of Houghton &
Dutton began. He entered partnership with
S. S. Houghton under the firm name which is
so well known throughout New England. (See
sketch of S. S. Houghton in this work). The
department store of Houghton & Dutton is
one of the largest and most popular in Bos
ton. After the death of Mr. Ploughton his in
terests were bought by Mr. Dutton, who has
since been the head of the firm and in control
of the enormous business of the concern.
Since 1877 Mr. Dutton has resided in Mai
den. He has been interested in the welfare
and development of the town in which he
lives, has contributed freely to public enter
prises, and is recognized as one of the fore
most citizens of Maiden. He purchased from
the estate of George Lockman, known as Glyn
Rock, comprising sixty acres, and his resi
dence and grounds are regarded as among the
finest residential properties in the state. He
is owner of twenty houses in the town of
Maiden, of which number seven, built by' him
self, on Glyn Rock Hill, are occupied by his
children. In politics he is a Democrat of the
old school. He cast his first presidential vote
for Franklin Pierce, who was born and lived
in the same town in New Hampshire. He has
had neither time nor inclination for a public
career, and has declined to accept public
office. In religion Mr. Dutton is a Congre
gationalism a member of the Second Congre
gational Church of Hillsboro. He is a promi
nent Free Mason, and a member of De Molay
Commandery, Knights Templar. He be
longs to the New Hampshire Club, the Maiden
Club, and other organizations.
Mr. Dutton has been pre-eminently a busi
ness man. To the upbuilding and enlarge
ment of the great retail store of which he was
the founder with Mr. Houghton, he has given
his whole time and energy. All other inter
ests were subsidiary. His thorough knowledge
of trade ;' his discernment in matters of public
taste and demand ; his faculty in attracting all
classes of people to his counters, have made
him conspicuous in the business world of New
England for nearly fifty years. Mr. Dutton's
personality has attracted friends in business
as well as in social life.
He married first, 1851, Harriet L. Hatch,
born 1831, died 1858, daughter of Elisha and
Sophia (Kingsbury) Hatch, of Hillsboro. He

1098

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

married second, i860, Harriet Miriam Conant,
daughter of George W. and Louise A. (Mer
rill) Conant. (See Conant sketch). Children
of Benjamin F. and Harriet L. (Hatch) Dut
ton: 1. Ellen, born in Hillsboro, 1852; mar
ried Professor J. B. Claus, a noted German
scholar and professor of music, who died in
Europe in 1906; she resides in Maiden; no
children. 2. Harry, born in Hillsboro, July
4, 1856; educated in the public schools and
at Highland Military Academy of Worcester ;
married Alice, daughter of S. S. Houghton,
senior partner of Houghton & Dutton; chil
dren : i. Marion Dutton, married Irving , P.
Morse, a Harvard graduate ; ii. Mary Dutton,
graduate of Medford high school ; iii. Alice.
Harry Dutton resides in Medford, and is a
member of the firm of Houghton & Dutton.
3. Hattie, born in Hillsboro, May 29, 1858;
educated in the Melrose schools; married Dr.
B. D. Peaslee, of Weare, New Hampshire,
June 12, 1893 ; no children.
Children of Benjamin F. and Harriet
Miriam (Conant) Dutton: 4. Cora, born July
21, 1862, educated in the public schools of
Maiden and at a finishing school in Toronto ;
married John Little, of Maiden ; children : i.
John Dutton Little, born at Maiden, April 12,
1895. Cora, married second, in 1904, Alfred
B. Lounsbery, of New York. 5. Frank, born
at Medford, April 13, 1867; a graduate of
Chauncy Hall School, Boston; married
Blanche Merrill, of Boston, and had one
daughter, Dorothy, born August 13, 1892, at
Colorado Springs; is now a student in Miss
Brown's private school; Frank died January
8, 1893, and his widow married Elmer A.
Lord, of Brookline, Massachusetts. 6. George
Conant, born at Medford, October 13, 1869,
attended the Maiden public schools and
Chauncy Hall School, Boston; is a member
of the firm of Houghton & Dutton ; married
Gertrude E., daughter of Mayor Stevens, of
Maiden; children: i. Gertrude Stevens, born
at Maiden, May 30, 1902 ; ii. Benjamin Frank
lin (2) born June 5, 1904, at Maiden; they
reside in Maiden. 7. Claire Miriam, born at
Melrose, November 19, 1875 ; educated in the
public schools of Maiden and at Andover;
married Alexander McGregor, of Pawtucket,
Rhode Island, in 1895 ; a member of the firm
of Houghton & Dutton ; they reside in Mai
den; children — i. Alexander McGregor (2),
born March 31, 1897; ii. Claire Dutton Mc
Gregor, born July 13, 1898; iii. Miriam Mc
Gregor, born November 29, 1903. 8. Nina,
born November 23, 1876, in Melrose; edu

cated in the public schools and high school of
Maiden and Andover ; married, October, 1900.
John F. Everhart, of New York City; he died
March, 1904; she is living with her parents in
Maiden ; children — i. Helen Dutton Everhart,
born October 12, 1902; ii. Mary Everhart,
born April 23, 1904.

The Nichols family of Wo-
NICHOLS burn is of Scotch descent and
the "History of Bedford" (N.
H.) states that its immigrant ancestor settled
in Billerica, Massachusetts, some time pre
vious to 1775. (N. B. "Hazen's History of
Billerica" fails to corroborate this statement).
Benjamin Nichols, whom the "History of
Bedford" says was a native of Billerica,
moved from that town to Milford, New
Hampshire, and thence to Bedford, subsequent
to 1803. He purchased the property on Joppa
Hill known as the Worcester farm, which was
the birthplace of Joseph E. Worcester, the
distinguished lexicographer. Here he erected
a new residence, using in its construction some
of the timbers from the old Worcester house,
and in addition to producing large quantities
of wheat he raised cattle, sheep and horses.
Politically he acted with the Whig party, and
in his religious faith was a Presbyterian. This
farm is still in the possession of his descend
ants, each successive proprietor bearing the
name of Benjamin, and the present owner is
the fourth Benjamin Nichols to occupy it.
He married for his first wife Elmira Blanch
ard, of Medford, Massachusetts, and for his
second wife Mrs. Comfort Tay (nee Tidd),
widow of Captain Jesse Tay. She was born
in Woburn about the year 1765, and was de
scended from an early settler in that place
(see Linscott). Her father and at least two
of her brothers served in the Continental army
under General Washington during the Revo
lutionary war. The children of Benjamin
Nichols, all of his first union, were: Benja
min, Blanchard, Elzaphan, Stephen (who set
tled in Winchester, Massachusetts), Tracy C,
Rebecca, Betsey (who became the wife of
John Upton), Lydia (married a Mr. Tarbell,
of Milford, New Hampshire, and died about
the year 1865, leaving two children, (Joseph
and Mary), and Lucy Blanchard (who mar
ried John Shepard). Benjamin Nichols' sec
ond wife had one daughter by her first mar
riage — Betsey Tay.
Tracy Collins Nichols, fifth child of Benja
min and Elmira (Blanchard) Nichols, .was

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1099

born in Milford, New Hampshire, May 6,
1803. In early childhood he accompanied his
parents to Bedford, where he attended school,
and going to Danvers, Massachusetts, after
the death of his mother, he resided for a time
with a family named Collins upon a farm.
When a young man he served an apprentice
ship at the currier's trade in the Tidd curry
ing establishment at North Woburn, where
he was employed for some years, and subse
quently he followed his trade for a short time
in Stoneham. Returning to Woburn he re
sumed his trade in the shops of General Abi
jah Thompson, who was later succeeded by
Stephen Dow and Company, and he remained
in the employ of the latter concern for the
remainder of his life, which terminated Feb
ruary 2, 1 88 1. For many years he resided at
the corner of Lexington and Burlington
streets. His energetic nature was tempered
with an amiable and jovial disposition, which
gained for him the respect and good will of
his fellow-townsmen, and his efforts in behalf
of the moral as well as of the intellectual wel
fare of his children were characteristic of an
upright, conscientious man and a useful citi
zen. At one time he attended the Baptist
church, but in his later years worshipped with
the Congregationalists. In politics he was a
Republican. In his younger days he acted as
drummer for the local militia company, also
played the fife and the clarionette, and at
the military display at Bunker Hill in honor
of the visit of General Lafayette he beat the
bass drum. In 1826 he married Louisa Kim
ball, daughter of Ezra and Lydia R. (Fowles)
Kimball, of Woburn, and she died April 20,
1837. His second wife was Mrs. Lydia R.
Richardson (nee Stratton), also of Woburn,
and her death occurred November 21, 1891.
She bore him three sons and one daughter.
' The children of his first union were : 1. George
Collins, born 1826, died September 20, 1876;
he was married December 9, 1849, to Sarah
Ann Tidd, born April 29, 1829, daughter of
Marshall and Sarah Ann (Martin) Tidd, of
Woburn. Of this union there is one son,
Tracy Warren, born December 21, 1853 ; mar
ried, November 7, 1877, Susette E. Tillson,
and has Roy Tillson, born June 4, 1883 ; and
Lee Tracy, born August 7, 1884. 2. John
Curtis, born February 29, 1828, never mar
ried. 3. Stillman, born June 4, 1830; he was
married June 23, 1855, to Hannah Frances
Durgin, born in Lee, New Hampshire, Octo
ber, 28, 1835, daughter of Stephens and Han
nah (Kenniston) Durgin, of that town. Still-

man and Hannah have had four children: i.
Nellie Florence, born August 22, 1857, died
July 10, 1864; h. Frederick Stillman, born
September 19, 1862, died September 1, 1889;
iii. George Wilbur, born August 26, 1865,
married Emma French, of Winchester, and
died December 5, 1897; iv. Arthur Curtis,
born June 20, 1869, -married November 11,
1899, Mrs. Sarah R. Burns, nee Goff, of New
Bedford, Massachusetts. 4. Mary Louisa,
married George Parker, of Woburn, and was
the mother of four children : i. Helen Louise,
born April X2, 1865 ; ii. Gertrude Evangeline,
born December 11, 1870, died October 1,
1871 ; iii. John Curtis Nichols, born June 10,
1872, married, October 5, 1898, Mabel L.
Hovey, of Woburn, and has Eugenia Frances,
born July 19, 1899; and Curtis Kimball, born
January 30, 1903; iv. George Newton Parker,
born August 26, 1876. The children of Tracy
C. Nichols' second marriage are : 5. Martha
Ann, born May 9, 1839; she was married in
1865 to Milton, son of Milton and Rhoda
(Dean) Moore, of Chelsea, and has had three
children: i. Mabel, born August 19, 1867; ii.
Arthur Milton, born August 25, 1869; iii.
Nellie Dean, born May 9, 1871. 6. Charles
Albert, born April 26, 1842; he was married
March 30, 1865, to Evelena Orville Souther-
land, born May 12, 1841, daughter of Daniel
and Clarissa P. (Hoyt) Southerland, of Wo
burn. The three children of this union are:
i. Carrie May, born July 25, 1867, died Sep
tember 16, 1869; ii. Grace Clarabel, born Jan
uary 9, 1872, married, January 31, 1901, Ed
win K. Porter, of Woburn; iii. Albert, born
April 15, 1878. 7. Sarah Maria, born No
vember 17, 1843; she was married December
29, 1869, to George Jacob Monroe, son of
Jacob and Martha (Caldwell) Monroe, of
Burlington. George J. and Sarah M. Mon
roe have seven children : i. Edith Marion, born
November 9, 1870; ii. Florence Lydia, born
August 29, 1872; iii. Martha Ada, born De
cember 7, 1874; iv. George Chalmers, born
July 18, 1877; v. Bertha Nichols, born May
25, 1880, was married April 6, 1903, to Dr.
Arthur Linwood Parker, of Penacook, New
Hampshire ; vi. Harold Knapp, born July 10,
1884; vii. Ralph Milton, born September 6,
1886. 8. Frank Calvin, the well-known ice
dealer of Woburn.
Frank Calvin Nichols, youngest child of
Tracy C. Nichols, was born in Woburn, Sep
tember 26, 1849. He attended the public
schools, including the high school, and after
concluding his studies learned leather splitting

1 100

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

under the direction of his father in the shops
of Stephen Dow and Company, remaining in
their employ some eight years. In 1874 he
entered the employ of John P. Crane, with
whom he plied his calling for seven years, and
for the succeeding two years was employed
by E. L. Shaw in the same occupation. Some
twenty-five years ago Mr. Nichols engaged in
the ice business in company with P. J. Good
rich, under the firm name of Nichols & Good
rich, and they established their plant and head
quarters at the foot of Beacon street. Two
years later Mr. Nichols sold his interest to
Daniel B. Morrill, but later acquired the inter
est of his former partner, Mr. Goodrich, and
the firm of Nichols & Morrill continued for a
period of two years. At the expiration of that
time Mr. Morrill was succeeded by J. R. Car
ter, who added his coal trade to the business,
and the firm of Nichols & Carter carried on
both lines of trade for the ensuing two years,
when it was dissolved, Mr. Carter resuming
the coal trade, thus leaving Mr. Nichols sole
proprietor of the ice business, which he has
ever since carried on with profit. During
the past few years his business has greatly in
creased. His houses, which cover a space of
fifteen thousand square feet, have a capacity
for storing five thousand tons, and twelve
horses are required for its distribution. In
1879 he erected his present residence on Bur
lington street, upon land inherited from his
mother, and his property constitutes one of
the most attractive estates in that locality.
Mr. Nichols is a progressive as well as a
successful business man, enjoying the esteem
and confidence of his patrons and has a wide
circle of personal friends and acquaintances.
Politically he is a Republican and has served
his party with ability as a delegate to conven
tions. His fraternal affiliations are with
Crystal Font Lodge, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and he is also a member of the
Massachusetts Ice Dealers Association. He
attends the Congregational church.
On February 12, 1880, Mr. Nichols was
united in marriage with Mary Elizabeth Cros
by, his first wife. She was a daughter of Rufus
Pierce and Mary Elizabeth (Sherburn) Cros
by, of Woburn. She died December 14, 1884,
leaving two children : Rufus Stratton, born
September 24, 1881 ; and Dana Frank, born
August 3, 1883, died March 19, 1888. Rufus
S. was married December 31, 1904, to Edwina
F. Cloutman, of Farmington, New Hamp
shire, daughter of Edwin Franklin and Ellen
Frances Cloutman. She has one son — Ros-

well Cloutman, born July 6, 1905. On June
4, 1886, Mr. Nichols married for his second
wife Sarah Elizabeth Carter, born July 26,
1863, daughter of William and Susan Emma
(or Susan H.) (Butters) Carter, of Wilming
ton, and granddaughter of William and Mary
(Marion) Carter, of Burlington. Mrs. Nich
ols is a lineal descendant of the Rev. Thomas
Carter, who was born in England about 1610;
prepared for the ministry in the mother coun
try; came to New England in the "Planter"
from London in 1635 and was ordained the
first pastor of the first church in Woburn in
1642. ,
On the maternal side she is of the eighth
generation in descent from William Butter,
who was born in Scotland about the year 1630,
settled in Woburn prior to 1660 and his name
frequently appears in the town records for
thirty years thereafter. Although there is no
record of his having subscribed to the free
man's oath he, nevertheless, must have en
joyed good standing in the town, as in addi
tion to his taxes he contributed regularly
toward the support of the church and its pas--
tor. He acquired by grant and purchase sixty-
one acres of land, and resided at what was
known as Boggy Meadow. He was a soldier
in King Philip's war, serving in Captain Joseph
Syll's company for three months in 1676. He
died in Woburn, November 13, 1692. The
maiden surname of his wife does not appear
in the records, which merely state that by wife
Mary he had one son, William. She seems to
have been legally separated from him pre
vious to 1691, in which year she contracted a
second marriage, and she died at Watertown,
January 5, 1701, under the name of Stratton.
William Butter, only child of William and
Mary Butter, was born at Boggy Meadow
End, Woburn, in. 1665. He was one of the
original settlers in Wilmington, which was in
corporated as a town in 1730, and the follow
ing year was chosen a selectman. In 1732
he served upon a committee appointed to se
cure the services of Rev. Ward Cotton as
pastor of the first church (organized in 1733),
in which he was baptized and admitted to
membership in 1738. The locality of his resi
dence, which has ever since been peopled
mostly by his descendants, has long borne the
appropriate name of "Butter's Row." The
date of his death is somewhat uncertain. Ac
cording to his headstone in the old Wilming
ton cemetery he died February 9, 1746, aged
about eighty years, but the probate record is
April 28, 1745. The former is probably cor-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

IIOl

rect. He was married about the year 1687
and the christian name of his wife was Re
becca. She survived him. She was admitted
to the Wilmington church by letter in 1734.
His will, which was dated October 25, 1733,
distributed an estate inventoried at one hun
dred and seventy-four pounds', seven shillings
and six pence, and it makes ample provisions*
for his widow. His children were : William,
(who died in infancy), William (died aged
about twenty years), Rebecca (died in child
hood), Lydia, Rebecca, Samuel, John and a
third William.
Samuel Butter, third son and sixth child
of William and Rebecca Butter, was born in
Wilmington, June 21, 1703. He was one of
the petitioners for the separation of Wilming
ton from Woburn and became a permanent
and wealthy resident of the' newly organized
town, owning much timber land. He was a
farmer and also operated a sawmill. His
death occurred in November, 1788. January
20, 1726, he married Sarah Jaquith, born
March 8, 1703, daughter of Abraham and
Sarah (Jones) Jaquith, early settlers in Wil
mington. She became the mother of seven
children: Sarah, Hannah, Samuel, Reuben,
Mary, John and Rebecca.
'John Butter, sixth child and youngest son
of Samuel and Sarah (Jaquith) Butter, was
born in Wilmington, April 26, 1732. He in
herited land from his father, was a prosper
ous farmer and had business dealings with
the distinguished Sir Benjamin Thompson
(Count Rumford). He served in the war for
national independence as a member of Captain
Simeon Hazeltine's company, which marched
to Lexington, April 19, 1775. April 26, 1757,
he married Mary Killam, daughter of Daniel
and Mary Killam, of Wilmington, and with
her was baptized at the Church of Christ on
May 14 of the following year. He survived
his wife and died in 1793, as his will was pro
bated June 4 of that year. Their children
were: John, Mary (died young), Abel (also
a Revolutionary soldier), Jedediah and Mary.
Jedediah Butters, fourth child and young
est son of John and Mary (Killam) Butter,
was born in Wilmington, February i67 1764.
He inherited his father's homestead and car
ried on general farming. In 1799 he pur
chased land of his brother John in Westford,
Massachusetts, but there is no record of his
"having removed to that town. He was mar
ried February 17, 1789, to Betsey Boutwell, of
Wilmington, and tradition asserts that they
had twelve son's and one daughter. Their

children, according to a record at hand, were :
Abel, Daniel, Franklin, John, Jedediah, Joel,
Nancy and James.
Daniel Butters, second child of Jedediah
and Betsey (Boutwell) Butters, was born in
Wilmington, August 7, 1791. He was mar
ried in 1817 to Susan Goodwin, born August
18, 1796, daughter of Uriah and Mary (Cum
mings) Goodwin, of Bedford, Massachusetts.
Daniel died in February, 1844, and his wife
died September 29, 1848. They were the par
ents of ten children: Daniel H., Thomas G,
Susan H. (Susan Emma), Timothy D., Wil
liam A., George E, Sarah M., Mary E., Mar
tha J. and Stephen O.
Susan Emma Butters, third child and eldest
daughter of Daniel and Susan (Goodwin)
Butters, was born in Wilmington, February
25, 1822. In 1842 she became the wife of
William Carter, son of William and Mary
(Marion) Carter, of Burlington. William
Carter, Jr., died August 15, 1870. Their chil
dren are: Henry, born December 2, 1843,
married, September 30, 1865, Lizzie J. Ham-
den, daughter of Erwell and Julia Hamden.
George, born in 1845, no longer living. Eliza
A., born September 7, 1847, married, Septem
ber 14,' 1865, William Putnam, son of Joseph
and Sarah Putnam. Susan E., born Febru
ary 9, 1849. Walter D., born in 1853, mar
ried, May 17, 1873, Lizzie, daughter of David
and Mary Boyce. Ella L., born in 1857, mar
ried, October 14, 1878, Martin, son of Tim
othy and Mary Holt. Charles E., born in
i860, married, September 19, 1883, Annie,
daughter of Isaac and Nancy Cazneau. Sarah
Elizabeth Carter, who became the second
wife of Frank C. Nichols as previously stated.
The children of Mr. Nichols' second union
are : 1. Byron Curtis, born July 2, 1887, died
February 22, 1895. 2. Hubert Frank, born
July 3, 1890. 3. Walter Collins, born Octo
ber 9, 1891. 4. Alice Russell, born April 8,
1893. 5. Ernest William, born February 15,
1895. 6. Ruth Elizabeth, born March 23,
1897. 7. Raymond Carter, born December
17, 1903. Widow Walker, the immi-
WALKER grant ancestor, was doubtless
born and married in England.
Whether her husband died in England or after
they came to America is not known. She was
one of the first purchasers and proprietors of
Seekonk (Rehoboth), Massachusetts. Her
name is in the list of those who in 1643 gave

1102

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

in the value of their estates for a pro rata
division of the lands. Hers was fifty pounds.
In the division made June 30, 1644, she had a
share, and lots were assigned to her in several
divisions afterward. She had a share in the
new meadow divided February 18, 1646. Her
name then disappears from the record.
Whether she married again or died about that
time we know not. The company in which
she was associated was from Weymouth,
Massachusetts, noted for its strongly religious
character, being in fact a majority of the
church at Weymouth. The interest of John
Brown in her children, who were his nephew
and niece, who came in 1635 as his servants
and the fact that the mother was associated
with Mr. Brown in the settlement of Reho
both favors the theory that she was his sister
rather than his wife's sister. Children: 1.
James, of Taunton, born in England 1619-20,
came in the ship "Elizabeth" from London
with his sister Sarah in the family of John
Brown ; drew land in Rehoboth but failed to
settle there, remaining at Taunton. 2. Sarah,
born in 1618 in England, married John Tis-
dell, of Duxbury, Massachusetts. 3. Philip,
born in England about 1630, mentioned below.
(II) Philip Walker, son of Widow Walker
(1), was born in England about 1630. The
earliest record of him is a deed bearing his
signature dated at Rehoboth in 1653. He was
on the grand jury May 17, 1655 ; was pro
pounded for freeman June 8, 1655 ; took the
oath June 1, 1658. June 22, 1658, his name
appears in the first division of Rehoboth North
Purchase, now Attleborough, when lots were
drawn for the meadow, on the north side of
the town, and again May 26, 1668, in the divi
sion of North Purchase lands. He married,
about 1654, Jane Butterworth, of Rehoboth.
She married (second), June 2, 1684, John
Polley, of Roxbury, and lived there until her
death in 1702. Deacon Walker was buried
August '2i, 1679. His estate was inventoried
at six hundred and eighty-one pounds. His
farm and home were on Watchemoket Neck,
south of the Great Plain, at what is how Kin-
nicut Place on the road from Providence to
Barrington, Rhode Island, about a mile from
India Bridge and in Rehoboth,. now Seekonk.
He left a new house unfinished, which the
court ordered completed at the expense of the
estate. In 1659 his occupation was given as
that of weaver. He became at length one of
the wealthiest men of the town and held many
offices of trust and honor ; surveyor 1657, con
stable 1658, on grand inquest 1668 and 1678,

selectman several years between 1666 and
1675, and was deputy to the general court at
Plymouth in 1669. He was chosen on a com
mittee May 14, 1669, to meet a committee
from Swansea to settle a controversy. He
was deacon of the church. He was appointed
November 2, 1663, on the committee to buy
or build a parsonage and to raise the funds for
it. He contributed twenty-six pounds toward
the fund to support the war against the Nar
ragansetts, the largest sum advanced in Reho
both out of seventy-seven contributors. The
first and also the last bloodshed of King
Philip's war took place in this town, which was
particularly exposed to Indian attack. Dea
con Walker and all the able-bodied men of the
town took part in the gallant fight against
Philip. "There is not a single spot on his
escutcheon. He was prosperous, accumulat
ing a property that was large for that period.
He was entrusted with the most responsible
office in the church, save that of minister. It
was indeed a grateful record, his generous
contribution for his country and for Christ.
His office and his services are a proof of
superior excellence in character and useful
ness, and leave no doubt that he was eminently
a Patriot and Christian. Cut down in the
vigor of manhood, his death must have been
a sore calamity to the colony and the church."
Children: 1. Samuel, born February, 1655,
died August 12, 1712; married Martha Ide;
was a soldier in King Philip's war and rose to
rank of captain; was deputy to the general
court. 2. Sarah, born February 16, 1657, died
1693; married, December 27, 1677, Abraham
Perrin, son of John. 3. Philip, born March,
1661-62, mentioned below. 4. Elizabeth, born
1661-62 (twin of Philip), accidentally drown
ed August, 1664. 5. Mary, born May, 1663,
died May 8, 1694. 6. Experience, buried No
vember 10, 1674. 7. Elizabeth, born April I,
1666, married, March 31, 1687, Henry Sweet,
of Swansea, who died December 8, 1704. 8.
Michael, born March 1, 1667, fell through the
floor of the saw mill upon the wheel and was
drowned in February, 1677. 9. Ebenezer,
born November, 1676, died March 13, 1717-
18 ; married, November 19, 1700, Mehitable
Willmarth; (second) Dorothy Abell, who
married (second) John Reed. 10. Martha,
not of age in 1680.
(Ill) Philip Walker, son of Philip Walker
(2), born March, 1661-62, and buried at Re
hoboth, Massachusetts, where he died Febru
ary 17, 1739-40, in his seventy-eighth year.
His wife was buried there May 22, 1694. He

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 103

married (second) Sarah  , died Febru
ary 6, 1739, in her sixty-eighth year. He
joined the church April 25, 1697. On his
gravestone in the old Seekonk cemetery is the
epitaph: "Blessed are the dead which die in
the Lord." Children of the first wife: 1.
Ebenezer, born October 21, 1688. 2. James,
born September 3, 1690, died November 28,
1747; married Elizabeth — ;  , who died
December 29, 1.747-48; resided at Rehoboth.
3. Philip, born August 13, 1693, died Novem
ber 5, 1742; married, December 7, 1721, Mary
Chard; (second), March 4, 1737-38, Ann Mar
tin, of Bristol, Rhode Island. Children of sec
ond wife: 4. Sarah, born January 8, 1695-
96, married, February 3, 1724, Thomas Kil-
ton. 5. Esther, born 1697, married 
Avery. 6. Mary, born March 19, 1699- 1700,
married  Robinson. 7. Jane, born
March 21, 1702, married, December 23, 1724,
Samuel Newman, Jr., of Rehoboth. 8. Na
thaniel, born January 31, 1703-04, mentioned
below. 9. Daniel, born October 10, 1706, mar
ried, January 1, 1729-30, Mary Perry, daugh
ter of Jashiel and Rebecca Perry; he was in
• the Quebec expedition and took part in the
capture of the city. 10. Stephen, born Aug
ust 7, 1709, married, January 2, 1733-34, Re-
bekah Millard, daughter of Solomon Millard.
(IV) Nathaniel Walker, son of Philip
Walker (3), was born in Rehoboth, January
31, 1703-04, died April 20, 1783. Married,
May 11, 1727, Anna Sweeting, daughter of
- H.enry. She was born May 1, 1707, and died
March 23, 1772. He is called "best-beloved
son" in his father's will. He united with the
church March 25, 1733, and held the office of
deacon. He was deputy to the general court
in 1750-51. He lived at Rehoboth. Children,
born there: 1. Nathaniel, born September 5,
1728, died March 24, 1814; married Nabby
Smith, born May 8, 1731 ; lived in Pawtucket,
Rhode Island. 2. Enos, born December 9,
1730, mentioned below. 3. Susanna (twin),
born March 3, 1732-33, died November 19,
1744. 4. Anna (twin), born March 3, 1732-
33, died unmarried at Clarendon, Vermont. 5.
Ephraim, born March 8, 1735-36, died March
29, 1815; married Priscilla Rawson. 6. Amos,
born May 9, 1740. 7. Esther, born October
6, 1743, removed to Clarendon, Vermont. 8.
Lewis, born December 13, 1745, died May 21,
1813; married Hannah Cooper and settled in
Clarendon. 9. Benjamin, born April 1, 1747'
died March 17, 1748.
(V) Enos Walker, son of Nathaniel Walker
(4), was born in Rehoboth, December 9, 1730,

died May 3, 1782. Married, January 17, 1750,
Patience Peck. He was a soldier in the Rev
olution, a minute man in Captain John Perry's
company. He was killed by accident in at
tempting to repair some trouble with the water
wheel in his saw-mill. Children: 1. Benja
min, born August 14, 1751, mentioned below.
2. Charles Philip, born March 3, 1754, re
moved from Smithfield, Rhode Island, to
Ballston, New York; he was crippled for life
by a fall from a tree, and his death was
caused by another accident in which his leg
was again broken. 3. Enos, born March 14,
1756, prisoner in the Revolutionary war. 4.
Richard, born March 10, 1758, captain in the
Revolution and aided in bearing Colonel Mon
roe, afterward president, from the field at the
battle of Trenton, New Jersey; married Abi
gail Estabrook, of Bristol. 5. Nathan^ born
July 21, 1760, enlisted in Continental army
for three years, May 28, 1777 ; supposed to
have died of yellow fever, having taken that
disease when a prisoner on ship-board and be
ing put ashore by the British. 6. Jedidiah,
born August 25, 1762, died January 19, 1841,
in Covington, New York; was in Captain
Amidon's company in the Revolution ; married
Polly Goss and (second) Olive Squire. 7.
Lewis, born November 18, 1765, married
Mary Potter ; lived at Clarendon and St.
Albans, Vermont.
(VI) Colonel Benjamin Walker, son of
Enos Walker (5), was born in Rehoboth,
August 14, 1751, died May 14, 1822, in his
seventy-third year. He married, November
15, 1773, Margaret Rawson, of Mendon, who
died in Barre, Vermont, August 14, 1793, in
her forty-first year, daughter of William and
Margaret (Cook) Rawson. Her father was
a lawyer and man of learning, son of Captain
William Rawson, a farmer of Mendon, and
graduate of Harvard College in 1703. Colo
nel Walker married (second), June, 1794,
Mrs. Eunice (Willard) Caryl, widow of Dr.
John Caryl, of Chester, Vermont. He re
moved from Grafton, Vermont, in 1793, to
Barre, Vermont, where he died. He joined
the army at the beginning of the Revolution
and attained the rank of colonel. He was at
the capture of Burgoyne and commanded his
company of Massachusetts Line. He was then
lieutenant. He took part in the battle .of
White Plains and in his later years was pen
sioned by the government, but because he
had some property his name was taken from
the rolls. He was a Universalist in religion
and we are told by the family historian that

no4

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

all his descendants at Barre are of the same
faith. Children: i. Nancy, born April 29, 1775,
died December 12, 1858; married Captain
Allen Cole; resided at Seekonk. 2. Benja
min, born October 26, 1777, in Mendon, Mass
achusetts, died May 30, 1856; married, March
26, 1799, Jemima Farwell, born May 7, 178-1,
died December 29, 1809, daughter of Rev.
William Farwell. He married (second), Feb
ruary, 181 1, Mary Bigelow, of Dummerston,
Vermont, who died in 181 7. He married
(third), at St. Charles, Missouri, April, 1822,
Mrs. Abigail Farwell; was major of militia,
town clerk, selectman, justice of the peace. 3.
Patience, born December 21, 1779, married,
March 1, 1798, Lemuel Farwell; resided at
Barre, Vermont. 4. Enos, born November 5,
1781, 'married, May 12, 1804, Hannah Nich
ols; was in war of 1812 and first lieutenant in
regular army under General Hampton ; re
moved to North Bangor, New York. 5. Bet
sey, born in Grafton, December 25, 1783, died
August, 1786. 6. Daniel, born August 22,
1786, in Grafton, died March 10, 1839; mar
ried, September 22, 1814, Maria Abbott, daugh
ter of Abijah ; removed to Michigan where he
was town clerk, town treasurer and a Univer
salist preacher. 7- John, born September 17,
1788, mentioned below. 8. Betsey, born July
14, 1790, married, November 28, 1813, Alvan
Carter, prominent citizen at South Barre, Ver
mont. 9. Nathaniel R., born January, 1792,
drowned August, 1793. 10. Lucy, born May
2, 1806, married, October 16, 1832, Dennis
Britain ; resided in South Barre.
(VII) John Walker, son of Colonel Ben
jamin Walker (6), was born in Grafton, Ver
mont, September 17, 1788. Married, Septem
ber 16, 1810, Mary French, of Barre, Ver
mont, born there March 3, 1792. He was a
farmer and prominent citizen of Morristown,
Vermont, where he lived from March, 1825,
to March, 1840, and in Barre, where he lived
before and after that period. He was justice
of the peace for fifteen years ; selectman five
years; on the jail committee two years. Chil
dren: 1. Allen C, born in Barre, August 13,
181 1, married Emma Spaulding, of Morris-
town, Vermont, born August 23, 1818, died
July 30, 1843; married (second) Bethiah K.
Staples, of Taunton, born March 1, 1822; two
children : Edgar, died at the age of fourteen ;
Louella, died young. Allen C. was a farmer.
2. Londus B., born in Barre, September 12,
1813, married, January 2, 1842, Celia Har
rington, of St. Johnsbury, Vermont; she died

April 23, 1843, aged twenty years; one child,
Celia Harrington, widow of Charles E. Weeks,
of Lynn. Married (second), January 7, 1847,
Myra Morrison, of Barre, born March 2,
1824 ; children : Stephen L., of Chicago. Ida,
now Mrs. Fred. J. Dannis. William Walker,
married Abigail Gale, of Vermont. Londus
B. was1 a wheelwright; resided in Chicago. 3.
Otis Fl, born in Barre, April 2, 1816, married,
January 27, 1846, Jane Brown, of Barre, born
in Orange, Vermont; children: John, died at
North Swansea, Massachusetts, 1901; and
Louella ; Otis F. was a farmer and justice of
the peace. 4. John Henry, born in Barre,
October 5, 1819, died 1897; merchant in Mont
pelier, Vermont; married, October 23, 1843,
Elizabeth Pratt, of Bakersfield, Vermont,
born May, 1825 ; had three children. 5. Mari
etta, born in Barre, September 20, 1820, mar
ried, January, 1845, Enos T. Fuller, born in
Barre, October 20, 1816, superintendent of an
iron foundry; resided at Mechanicsville, New
York; children: John, born November 4,
1846, deceased ; Martha B., born July 27,
1848; Aurora, born May 2, 1850; Ida Elnora,
died in infancy. 6. Benjamin H., born Octo
ber 9, 1823, mentioned below. 7. Alvan C,
born in Morristown, Vermont, January 17,
1826, was a student at Middlebury College;
removed to Illinois and was a teacher and
railroad surveyor; studied law at Barre and
practiced in Chicago. 8. Martha Ann, born in
Morristown, February 5, 1828, married,
March 7, 1849, George W. Harrington, of
Barre, Vermont, born there January 31, 1827,
a member of the legislature. 9. Susan Aurora,
born June 5, 1832, in Morristown, died 1897;
married, June 29, 1855, Thomas B. Nichols,
born February 25, 1830, one child, Lucy, de
ceased. 10. Celinda E., born November 11,
1836, married Kimball Blanchard, two chil
dren. (VIII) Benjamin Harvey Walker, son of
John Walker (7), was born in Barre, Ver
mont, October 9, 1823, died November 26,
1899, in North Swansea, Massachusetts. He
married (published January 6, 1847) Phebe
Williams, of Taunton, Massachusetts, daugh
ter of John Williams, of Taunton. She was
born July 25, 1825, and died in Maiden, Mass
achusetts, a widow, in 1905. He resided at
Taunton. He was educated in the common
schools, learned the trade of millwright, which
he followed during his active life. Children:
1. Nellie P., born June 25, 1850, married Syl
vester R. Briggs, >of~ Somerville, Massachu
setts, had two children, Lena and Nellie May.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 105

2. George Benjamin, born January 5, 1853,
mentioned below.
(IX) George Benjamin Walker, son of
Benjamin Harvey Walker (8), was born Jan
uary 5, 1853, at Barre, Vermont. He was
educated in the public schools and at Bristol
Academy, Massachusetts. He has been en
gaged in the hardware business for many
years, and is at present the western manager
of the H. L. Judd Company of New York
City, wholesale dealers in hardware. His
headquarters are in Chicago where he resides
most of the time, but he retains his residence
in Maiden, Massachusetts. In politics he is
a Republican ; in religion a Universalist. He
is a member of Tremont Lodge, No. 15, Odd
Fellows, and Massasoit Encampment, No. 1,
of Boston, of which he is past high priest. He
is also a member of the Glen View Country
Club, the South Shore Country Club, the
Emore Country Club, the Chicago Athletic
Association and the Chicago Yacht Club, all of
Chicago. He married, October 30, 1877,
Grace Clinton Hadley, daughter of William
Hadley, of Gloucester, and Eliza Jane (Cun
ningham) Hadley, of Marblehead, daughter
of Nehemiah Cunningham, of Rockport;
granddaughter of George Thomas Hadley, of
Gloucester, Massachusetts.
(I) George Hadley, immigrant ancestor of
Mrs. Walker, was born in England, and set
tled in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where he was
planter and yeoman and before 1639 one of
the proprietors. He removed to Rowley
(Merrimac, Massachusetts, now Bradford),
before 1655. He conveyed property June 9,
1670, to wife Deborah and made a contract
with her relative to what she brought with her
at marriage. He returned to Ipswich. He
married first  Proctor; (second), June
29, 1668, Deborah Skillings. He was living in
Ipswich in 1678. Children: 1. John, married,
September 3, 1682; settled in Gloucester and
had a half -acre of upland for his house-lot
on the road to Little Good Harbor in 1683 ;
died in Gloucester, October 22, 171 1. 2. Sam
uel, mentioned below. 3. Martha. 4. Abi
gail, died September 12, 1661. 5. Elizabeth,
died March 12, 1660.
(II) Samuel Hadley, son of George Hadley
(1), was born in Ipswich or Rowley about
1655 ; settled in the West Parish of Amesbury.
He was a weaver. He took the oath of alle
giance in December, 1677; belonged to the
training band in 1680, and was living as late
as 1727. He married, about 1676, Jane Mar
tin. Children: 1. Esther, married, January

6, 1701-02, Richard Goodwin. 2. Samuel,
married, January 20, 1703-04, Dorothy Colby.
3. Hannah, married, 1707, Ephraim Pember-
ton. 4. John, mentioned below. 5. Son. 6.
Susannah, married, September 19, 1714,
Thomas Potter. 7. George, born August 25,
1686, married Sarah Wiggins. 8. Elizabeth,
born October 10, 1688. 9. Sarah, married,
December 15, 1720, Thomas Wills. 10. Mar
tha, born February 24, 1694-95, married, De
cember 21, 1714, Samuel Whiting. 11. Joseph,
born December 26, 1700, married Hannah
Flanders. 12. Benjamin, born February 24,
1703-04, married, 1727, Anna Weed.
(Ill) John Hadley, son of Samuel Hadley
(2), was born about 1680 at Amesbury, Mass
achusetts. He and his uncle, John Hadley,
settled in Gloucester, Massachusetts, an adja
cent town, and he was known as John, Jr.
He married,- November 8, 1707, Hannah
Lowe. He was living in 1765. Children: 1.
Daniel, died at Gloucester, June 10, 1737;
married, 1736, Susanna Milberry. 2. John,
mentioned below. 3. Benjamin, born 1726,
married at the age of eighteen, in 1744, Sarah
Elwell ; had one child.
(IV) John Hadley, son of John Hadley
(3), was born in Gloucester. Married, 1737,
Sarah Witham. They had several children.
Their son John was a soldier in the Revolu
tion from Gloucester in the company of Cap
tain Daniel Warner from March 31 to De
cember 31, 1778. Joseph Hadley, probably
another son, also of Gloucester, was in Cap
tain Barnabas Davis's company, Lieutenant
Colonel Loammi Baldwin's regiment in
1775 ; in Captain Abiah Childs's company,
Colonel James Wesson's regiment in 1779; in
Captain Samuel Carr's company, Colonel
Micah Jackson's regiment. He was born in
1743; was five feet, nine inches tall, light hair
and complexion, according to the revolution
ary records. He enlisted February 9, 1777,
for three years. George Thomas Hadley was
of this Gloucester family.

William Nickerson, immi-
NICKERSON grant ancestor, was born
in England in 1604, and
came from the city of Norwich, England, in
April, 1637, with his wife Anne and children
Nicholas, Robert, Elizabeth and Anne, sailing
in the ship "John and Dorothy," April 8, land
ing in Boston on June 20. He went to Water-
town, Massachusetts, where he was made a
freeman May 2, 1638, having been first ad-

no6

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

mitted to the church. He removed to Yar
mouth about 1646. He bought lands of the
Indians at Manamoiet (Chatham, Massachu
setts) before December 1, 1663, and settled
there about 1666. He was living in Chatham
in 1670. In 1641 he was fined for some dis
respectful criticism of the church. He was a
weaver by trade. His sons-in-law — Robert
Eldred, Nathaniel Covell and Tristram
Hedges — were in court with him October 31,
1666, on account of a letter he had written
alleged to be defaming Governor Hinckley. In
those days freedom of speech was not a reality
in the colonies. His sons Nicholas, Robert,
Samuel, John and Joseph, joined him in a
petition for land at Manamoiet, June 5, 1667.
He married Ann, eldest' daughter of Nicholas
and Bridget Busby, of Norwich, who came
over in the same ship. She was born about
1609. Her father left her a legacy in 1660.
Children: I.Nicholas. 2. Robert. 3. Joseph.
4. Ann. 5. Samuel. 6. John. 7. William,
mentioned below. 8. Elizabeth, married, Oc
tober, 1649, Robert Eldred.
(II) William Nickerson, son of William
Nickerson (1), was born at Yarmouth, in
1642, baptized there June 1, 1646, and died at
Chatham in 1719. He was one of the early
proprietors of Chatham, and its first town
clerk, the district of Manamoiet being incor
porated June 11, 1712. He was clerk of- the
district before that. Some of the land origin
ally purchased by his father is now or was
lately in the possession of his descendants at
Chatham. This family must be counted as the
chief founders of the town. William Nicker
son Jr. married January 22, 1691, (perhaps
second) Mercy Williams, born 1644, died
April 7, 1744, daughter of Thomas and Eliza
beth (Tate) Williams. Children of first wife:
1. Thomas, mentioned below. 2. William,
born at Chatham, 1670, died there 1742; mar
ried Deliverance  and Anna  . Chil
dren of William and Mercy Nickerson : 3.
Mercy, born March 17, 1692. 4. Nicholas,
March 19, 1694.
(Ill) Lieutenant Thomas Nickerson, son
of William .Nickerson (2), was born in
Monomit (Monomoy, Manamoiet, Chatham)
about 1670-5. He married Mary  , who
was admitted to the church at Brewster, No
vember 14, 1708, and dismissed to the Chat
ham church July 7, 1728. Thomas was lieu
tenant of the militia company. He seems to
have lived in Brewster for a few years and
returned to Chatham after the death of his
father, whom he succeeded as town clerk. He

was a prominent citizen of the town; select
man, 171 1, constable, 1722, and holding other
offices from time to time. The children were
all baptized October 9, 1709, at the First Par
ish church of Brewster. Children: 1. Jona
than, born about 1692, mentioned below. 2.
Mercy, married March 23, 1714, Seth Cro
well, at the house of her father, by Rev. Hugh
Adams. 3. Thomas, born December 24, 1696;
married May 16, 1716, Lydia Covell. 4.
William . 5. Ebenezer. 6. Edward. 7. Nath
aniel. 8. Mary. 9. Thankful.
(IV) Jonathan Nickerson, son of Thomas
Nickerson (3), was born at Chatham or
Brewster, about 1692. He married first Jane
 , and second Sarah  . After the death
of his first wife about 1730, he removed from
Chatham to Provincetown, where his descend
ants have since been located in large numbers.
Children of Jonathan and Jane Nickerson,
born at Chatham: 1. Judith, April 9, 1720.
2. Jane, April 9, 1722. 3. Jonathan Jr., Janu
ary 14, 1723-4. 4. Simeon, April 10, 1727.
Child of Jonathan and Sarah Nickerson, born
at Provincetown : 5. Seth, mentioned below.
(V) Seth Nickerson, son of Jonathan Nick-
e/son (4), was born in Provincetown, May
28, 1734. He married Martha  . Another
Seth of about the same age resided in Province-
town, a cousin of some degree, and Seth Nick
erson became a name in great favor in the
family, to the despair of the genealogists.
Children of Seth and Martha, born in Pro
vincetown: 1. Jonathan, July 5, 1754, men
tioned below. 2. Stephen, September 6, 1756.
3. Martha, May 7, 1759. 4. Joshua, Decem
ber 7, 1761. 5. Seth, April 17, 1764; settled
in Provincetown. 6. Rebecca, August 25, 1766.
7. Bethia, April 4, 1768. 8. Ruth, June 4,
1771. 9. Sarah, June 29, 1773. 10. Nathaniel,
December 24, 1775. 11. 'Reuben, November
21, 1777. (Seth Nickerson was a private in
the company of Captain Thomas Nickerson,
probably his brother ; regiment of Colonel
Zenas Winslow, in 1776. A Seth Nickerson
of Harwich was corporal in Captain Benja-r
min Gedney's company, Colonel Josiah Whit
ney's regiment in 1777).
(VI) Jonathan Nickerson, son of Seth
Nickerson (5), was born in Provincetown
July 5, 1754. He married Bethiah  .
Children, born at Provincetown: 1. Abigail,
August 26, 1777. .2. Isaiah, March 18, 1779.
3. Jonathan, August 19, 1781. 4. Elisha, July
14, 1783, mentioned below. 5. Levi, Novem
ber 2, 1785. 6. Bethiah; March 14, 1788. 7.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 107

Thomas, April 11, 1790. 8. Anna, October
29, 1792. 9. Betsey, January 2, 1796.
(VII) Elisha Nickerson, son of Jonathan
Nickerson (6), was born at Provincetown,
July 14, 1783; died July 24, 1849. He was
made a Master Mason in King Hiram Lodge
of Provincetown, Free Masons, February 10,
1806, and a member November 3, 1806. The
charter of that lodge was signed by Paul Re
vere, grand master, December 12, 1796. He
married November 29, 1806, Phebe Young,
who died without issue September 22, 1809.
He married second, November 27, 1810, by
Rev. J. Parker, Bethiah Atkins, born Febru
ary 20, 1789, died December 24, 1863. Chil
dren of Elisha and Bethiah Nickerson, born
at Provincetown: 1. Phebe, born December
16, 181 1 ; died at Somerville, Massachusetts,
July 9, 1868. 2. Elisha Jr., born November
6, 1813; died at Provincetown, February 27,
1814. 3. Elisha Jr., born December 27, 1814;
died at Provincetown, June 1, 1899. 4. Beth
iah, born July 31, 181 7; died at Provincetown,
September 20, 1817. 5. Atkins, born Decem
ber 14, 1818; mentioned below. 6. Bethiah,
born December 6, 1820; died at Provincetown,
February 18, 1821. 7. Bethiah, born October
1, 1822; died at Provincetown, November 28,
1822. 8. Lorenda, born June 24, 1824; died
at Provincetown, October 11, 1824. 9. Lor
enda, born August 15, 1825; died at -Province-
town, November 5, 1825. 10. Sally (Sarah)
Atkins, born May 15, 1827; died at Milton,
Massachusetts, July 20, 1896. 11. Martha,
born March 11, 1829; died at Provincetown,
July 30, 1829. 12. Child, died in infancy.
(VIII) Captain Atkins Nickerson, son of
Elisha Nickerson (7), was born in Province-
town, Massachusetts, December 14, 1818. He
obtained his education in the public schools of
Provincetown. At the age of fifteen he made
his first voyage to Bay Chaleur, cod fishing;
when twenty-two he sailed as captain of the
schooner "Caroline," cod fishing. For twenty-
five years he followed the sea, a captain dur
ing most of that period, engaged in whaling
in the North and South Atlantic Oceans. His
last voyage was in the brig "Eschol" in 1857.
In the year following he engaged in the ship
chandlery and outfitting business at Province-
town. He was successful, and continued in
trade for twenty-six years, retiring from ac
tive business January 1, 1883. He had var
ious partners during his career, the firm name
being successively, Eben S. Smith & Company,
R. E. & A. Nickerson & Company, and Cen
tral Wharf Company. He died at the resi

dence of his son, Walter I. Nickerson, at Mel
rose, Massachusetts, March 3, 1899. He was
an energetic, successful business man, of sterl
ing integrity and great industry. He was
identified with the Seaman's Savings Bank of
Provincetown from 1855, serving as one of
its trustees for eighteen years; member of its
board of investment sixteen years from Jan
uary, 1 88 1, and was vice-president in 1881.
He was also a director of the Atlantic Mutual
Insurance Company from January, 1858, to
1887, when the company was liquidated; also
a director of the Equitable Marine Insurance
Company for eighteen years to January, 1899.
He was chosen a director of the Provincetown
Steamship Company when it was organized
February 20, 1883, and served thirteen years,
being elected president in 1891, and filling that
position several years. Captain Nickerson
was a Universalist in religion. In politics he
was a Republican. He repeatedly declined to
accept public office. During the thirty years
before his de,ath he frequently visited his son
at Melrose, was well known in that city, and
enjoyed the friendship of many. Of his father's
twelve children he was the last to die, ex
cepting only Captain Elisha Nickerson, of
Provincetown, his brother, who died June 1,
1899, three months later, at the age of eight-
four. He married, February 27, 1842, (by Rev.
Mr. Cogswell) Hannah' Jane Freeman, born
at Brewster, Massachusetts, August 10, 1820,
died at Provincetown, December 14, 1895,
daughter of John and Phebe (Myrick) Free
man of Orleans, Massachusetts (see Myrick).
We quote from an obituary notice : "Mrs.
Nickerson was for many years a member of
the Universalist church, and her faith in the
goodness of God and the certainty of the fu
ture was unswerving. She was until the last
few years an earnest worker in the church and
Sunday school, and her interest in the temper
ance cause was always strong, and she never
failed to give it her most earnest support. A
woman of sterling integrity and most unsel
fish life, she always sought the welfare and
happiness of others before her own, and her
faithfulness to her home and her dear ones
there was of the best and truest character.
Full of trust in the love of the Father in
heaven, she bore with unswerving patience the
long and severe suffering incident to her last
days and died in perfect confidence that she
should meet all her friends in a better world."
Her father, John Freeman, son of John Free
man and Bethiah, born November 10, 1794,

no8

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

died at sea, July 20, 1824, in Bay of Mexico,
of yellow fever, at the age of thirty years.
Children: 1. Walter I., born July 29, 1845,
died October 6, 1850. 2. Herbert M., born
November 16, 1848, died May 19, 1849. 3.
Walter Irving, see forward.
(IX) Walter Irving Nickerson, son of Cap
tain Atkins Nickerson (8), was born at Brew-
ter, Massachusetts, July 4, 1850. His early
home, however, was at Provincetown, where
he was educated in the public and high schools.
He also attended Comer's Commercial College
of Boston. He began his business career in
the employ of William F. Parker & Company,
wholesale grocers, at 181 State street, Boston,
early in 1869, and in July of that year became
bookkeeper for George H. Yeaton & Com
pany, and continued with their successors,
Joseph H. White and Joseph H. White &
Son, commission merchants and wholesale
dealers in produce, at 18 North Market street,
until 1872, when they located at No. 7 Black-
stone street. After filling the position of book
keeper for this house with credit and ability
for a period of twenty-four years and one
month, he resigned to accept the position of
cashier of the Melrose National Bank, at Mel
rose, Massachusetts, succeeding as cashier Mr.
John Larrabee, who organized the bank the
year previous. Mr. Nickerson has held this
position since, and the institution has grown
to large proportions. Mr. Nickerson is a Re
publican in politics, and an earnest and faith
ful supporter of his party. He cast his first
vote for president for General Grant, and has
voted at all the presidential and state elections
since he came of age, and also at municipal
elections. He was one of the organizers of
the Municipal League of Melrose, and, wasJts
first secretary, serving from October 4, 1897,
to December 14, 1901. He was town auditor
of Melrose from 1885 to 1891. He was audi
tor of the Melrose Savings Bank from Janu
ary, 1893, to January, 1905 ; a charter mem
ber of the National Bank Cashiers' Associa
tion of Massachusetts, organized in 1895, and
secretary from May, 1903, to the present time.
Mr. Nickerson is a Universalist. Before
leaving home in 1869 he attended the Church
of the Redeemer at Provincetown. He at
tended the First Universalist Church at Mel
rose, and became a member of that church on
confession and by baptism, Easter Sunday,
April 5, 1874; served as treasurer and collec
tor of the parish 1873 and 1874, as collector
1877 to 1885, and as clerk 1885 to 1892. For
the past fifteen years he has been connected

with the Orthodox Congregational Sunday
school which his son attended, and from 1898
to 1905 Mr. Nickerson was treasurer of that
Sunday school.
Mr. Nickerson is well known in Masonic
circles, a member of Wyoming Lodge of Free
and Accepted Masons, raised May 28, 1873;
was master of that lodge from 1889 to 1891,
and active officer of the lodge for ten years
continuously; was made an honorary member
in 1891, and is at present a trustee of the char
ity fund. He is also a member of Waverly
Royal Arch Chapter since April 5, 1882. He
became a member of Melrose Council, Royal
and Select Masters, June 21, 1882, and of
Hugh de Payens Commandery, Knights Temp
lar, receiving the Order of the Temple, De
cember 19, 1882, and the Malta degree June
13, 1883. He has been a member of the
Franklin Fraternity of Melrose since July,
1873, and its treasurer from March 25, 1886,
to the present time. He joined Bethlehem
Council, No. 131, Royal Arcanum, in June,
1886, and is at present one of its trustees. He
became a member of the Massachusetts So
ciety Sons of the American Revolution, in
1908. He has been a resident of Melrose
since January 1, 1869.
He was married, at Windsor, Vermont, Oc
tober 6, 1885, by Rev. William Greenwood,
to Charlotte Almira Bishop, born Novem
ber 30, 1850, daughter of Rev. Nelson and
Susan (Converse) Bishop. She was educated
at Tilden Seminary, West Lebanon, New
Hampshire, and at Mt. Holyoke Seminary,
class of 187 1. Her father, Rev. Nelson Bishop,
born in Connecticut, November 20, 1803,
died at Windsor, Vermont, January 7, 1871 ;
a Congregational minister; editor and pub
lisher of the Vermont Chronicle, the leading
religious paper of that state; associate editor
of the Boston Recorder until it was merged in
the Congregationalist. Susan Converse was
born at Weathersfield, Vermont, February
14, 1815, died December 22, 1891, at Burling
ton, Vermont, daughter of Rev. James Con
verse, who was settled for forty years as min
ister over the Congregational society at
Weathersfield, Vermont, his first and only
pastorate. The only child of Mr. and Mrs.
Nickerson is Atkins, born at Melrose, Octo
ber 1, 1887; attended the Melrose public and
high schools and prepared for college at
Worcester Academy; entered Dartmouth Col
lege in 1906 and is a student there at present,
class of 1910.

QfattR ^^^L

'Clsui~€rtsj

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 109

Lieutenant William Myrick,
MYRICK or Merrick, as many of the
family spell the name, was the
immigrant ancestor, the eldest of four broth
ers who came among the first settlers to New
England from England. He came to Charles
town, Massachusetts, sailing in the ship
"James," in 1636. He was born in Wales,
we are told, in 1603. He removed to East
ham, in the Plymouth Colony, and was active
in the little army there under Captain Myles
Standish for six years. He was in. Eastham
as early as 1641 ; was a proprietor of East
ham and Duxbury; was a surveyor of high
ways in 1646; constable in 1647; admitted
freeman May 22, 1655, at Eastham. He was
ensign in the militia. His will was dated De
cember 3, 1688, and proved March 6, 1688-
89, about eighty-six years old; bequeathing to
wife Rebecca, sons William and Stephen; and
"the rest of my Children." He married, 1642,
Rebecca  . Children : 1 . William, born
September 15, 1643. 2. Stephen, May 12,
1646. 3. Rebecca, July 28, 1648. 4. Mary,
born November 4, 1650; married Stephen
Hopkins, Jr., son of Stephen Hopkins, of the
"Mayflower." 5. Ruth, born May 15, 1652;
married, January, 1677, Edmund Freeman.
6. Sarah, born August 1, 1654; married, De
cember 18, 1672, John Freeman, son of Major
John. 7. John, born January 15, 1656-57. 8.
Isaac, born January 6, 1660-61. 9. Joseph,
born June 1, 1662; mentioned below. 10.
Benjamin, born February 1, 1664-65.
(II) Joseph Myrick, son of William My
rick (1), was born June 1, 1662, at Eastham,
and died there June 15, 1734. He married,
May 8, 1684, Elizabeth Howes, daughter of
Joseph and Elizabeth (Mayo) Howes. Her
father was born in England, son of Thom'as
and Mary (Brown) Howes. Myrick married
second, Elizabeth (Freeman) Remick, daugh
ter of Samuel and Mercy (Southworth) Free
man, widow of Abraham Remick. She was
born in 1671, and had two daughters by her
first marriage, Elizabeth and Mercy Remick.
Elizabeth (Mayo) Howes was the daughter
of Rev. John Mayo, of Yarmouth. Joseph
Myrick was a legal inhabitant of Eastham in
1695. Children, born at Eastham, all by his
first wife: 1. Elizabeth, January, 1685; mar
ried  Young. 2. Mary, July 7, 1687.
3. Joseph, March 8, 1689; married October
21, .1716, Elizabeth Twining. 4. William,
January 26, 1692-93 ; mentioned below. 5.
Hannah, 1695 ; married Nathaniel Freeman,

son of Nathaniel and Mary (Howland)
Freeman. 6. Isaac, August 12, 1697. 7.
Phebe, married Richard Paine.
(Ill) WilHam Myrick, son of Joseph My
rick (2), was born at Eastham, Massachu
setts, January 26, 1692-93 ; died there Decem
ber 14, 1754; married there, October 20, 1715,
Elizabeth Harding. Children, born at East
ham: 1. William, born January 15, 1716; died-
young. 2. William, born April 8, 1718, men
tioned below. 3. Betty, born June 6, 1720;
married  Brown. 4. Joseph. 5. Jos
iah, married Rachel Doane. 6. Heman. 7.
Hannah, married, March 22, 1744, Hatsel
Nickerson. 8. Rebecca, married 
Brown. 9. Mary, married, November 23,
1749, John Mulford. 10. Elizabeth.
(IV) William Myrick, Jr., son of William
Myrick (3), was born April 8, 1718, at East
ham : wife Phebe Smith. Children mentioned
in his father's will: 1. John, mentioned
below. 2. Joseph. 3. Betty. 4. Rebecca. 5.
Hannah. 6. Mary. 7. Elizabeth.
(V) John Myrick, son of WilHam Myrick,
Jr., and Phebe (Smith) Myrick, was born in
Eastham, Massachusetts, April 1, 1757; died
at Orleans, Massachusetts, August 11, 1839.
He married Thankful Linnell, July 11, 1780.
Children: 1. Priscilla, born May 20, 1782.
2. Lucy, born June 3, 1784. 3. Samuel, born
March 9, 1786. 4. Phebe, born March 30,
1788. 5. Thankful, born October 4, 1790.
He married second, Hannah Knowles, No
vember 17, 1793. Children by this marriage :
1. Thankful, born December 1, 1795. 2. Han
nah, born March 21, 1798. 3. Lucy, born
November 5,. 1800. 4. John, born July 31,
1802. 5. Abigail, born January 2, 1806. 6.
Eliza, born September 13, 1808. Hannah
(Knowles) Myrick died March 25, 1838, aged
seventy-two years. John Myrick served in
Captain Joseph Smith's company at Truro in
September, 1776; also in Captain Abijah
Bang's company, Colonel Dike's regiment,
December 13, 1776, February, 1777. ("Mass
achusetts Soldiers and Sailors," vol. XI p.
262). He enlisted March, 1777; served nine
months ; rank private ; serving under Captain
George Webb and Colonel Shephard, and
was at the capture of Burgoyne. He applied
for pension May 26, 1818; claim allowed, age
at that date sixty-one years. In 1820 he stated
that his wife Hannah was fifty-five years old,
and his children, Lucy, nineteen and Eliza
eleven years of age. He was father of Phebe
(Myrick) Freeman, who married John Free-

IIIO

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

man, son of John and Bethiah Freeman, who
was born November 10, 1794, and died at sea,
July 20, 1824.

Humphrey Barrett, the im-
BARRETT migrant ancestor, was born
in England, in 1592, and
died November 7, 1662, aged seventy years.
He came to Concord, Massachusetts, from
England, about 1640, and settled on the Abel
B. Heywood place. He was admitted a free
man May 6, 1657. He had three hundred
acres of land, house lot number twelve, on
what is now Monument street, Concord. He
married Mary  who died in 1663, aged
seventy-three. Children, born in England :
1. Thomas, drowned in the Concord river in
1652; had son Oliver, who died 1671 ; his
widow Elizabeth married (second) Edward
Wright. 2. Humphrey, born 1630; mention
ed below. 3. John, of Marlborough (accord
ing to Shattuck). 4. James, of Charlestown.
(II) Deacon Humphrey Barrett, son of
Humphrey Barrett (1), was born in England,
in 1630, and died January 3, 1715-16. He
married first, July 17, 1661, Elizabeth Paine,
who died 1674. He married second, March
23, 1764-65, Mary Potter, who died November
17, 1713, daughter of Luke Potter, one of the
first settlers of Concord. Children: 1. Mary,
married Josiah Blood. Children of the sec
ond wife: 2. Captain Joseph, born 1678;
died April 4, 1763, aged eighty-five; married,
1701, Rebecca Minott, who died June 23, 1738;
had eight children. 3. Benjamin, mentioned
below. (Ill) Benjamin Barrett, son of Deacon
Humphrey Barrett (2), was born in Concord,
Massachusetts, May 7, 1681, and died October
25, 1728, aged forty-seven. He married, Jan
uary 3, 1705, Lydia Minott, sister of Rebecca
Minott, and daughter of James and Rebecca
(Wheeler) Minott, of Concord. He was a
deacon in the church, and was admitted a free
man May 24, 1762. He was a member of the
general court in 1691, and was ensign of the
foot company. In May, 1685, General Good
win reported to the general court : that Con
cord train band "had but one commissioned
officer that officiates in that company, viz :
Left. Buss, who is very aged and not well
able to conduct the affairs of ye great com
pany, therefore having informed himself as
to the fittest man to supply the place of ensign
for that company, and did propose to the
court, Humphrey Barrett, who was a freeman,

and of ye church at Concord, a sergeant of
that company, that the court would make him
ensigne of Concord foot company." The re
port was accepted and approved October 14,
1685. Children: 1. Benjamin, born Novem
ber 5, 1705 ; mentioned below. 2. Deacon
Thomas, born October 20, 1707; died June
20, 1779; married, 1730, Mary Jones; chil
dren : Thomas, Charles, of New Ipswich,
Samuel, Amos, Ruth and Mary. 3. Colonel
James, born July 29, 1710; died April 11,
1779; married, December 21, 1732, Rebecca
Hubbard; member of general court, 1768 to
1777; superintendent of military stores at
Concord; colonel of regiment in March, 1775,
and in command on April 19, though sixty-
four years old ; on various committees to raise
men, supplies, etc., for the Revolution; chil
dren : James, Nathan, Lydia, Rebecca, Persis,
Stephen, Peter and Lucy. 4. Lydia, born
August 2, 1712; died June, 1802; married,
January 13, 1732, Deacon Samuel Farrar. 5.
Rebecca, born March 29, 1714; died young.
6. Timothy, born January 2, 1716; died Janu
ary 4, 1800; married first, Mrs. Dinah Will;
second, Anna Vaughn ; third, Rebecca Brown.
7. Mary, born December 27, 1717; married
Aaron Parker. 8. Stephen, born April 18,
1720; married, May 15, 1750, Elizabeth (Hub
bard) How.
(IV) Benjamin Barrett, son of Benjamin
Barrett (3), was born November 5, 1705,
and died at Concord, October 23, 1738. He
married, about 1730, Rebecca Jones. Chil
dren: 1. Rebecca, born February 14, 1730-
31; died March 30, 1803; married, 1750, Na
thaniel Boynton. 2. Lydia, born March 16,
1732-33; died March 24, 1733. 3. Benjamin,
born January 9, 1734-35; mentioned below.
4. Lieutenant Jonas, born September 24,
1737; died January 31, 1803; married, No
vember 19, 1776, Mary Fletcher, born 1739,
died 1777; married second, Uranah Locke,
born 1758, died 1838, daughter of James and
Hannah Locke.
(V) Benjamin Barrett, son of Benjamin
Barrett (4), was born at Concord, January
9, 1734-35, and died September 14, 181 1. He
married, November 14, 1761, Sarah Merriam,
born 1735, died 1781 ; he married second,
Hannah Jones, born 1742, died 1831, daughter
of William and Sarah (Locke) Jones. He
was in the Revolution, serving as private in
Captain Samuel Stone's company, Colonel
AVilliam Prescott's regiment, on the Lexing
ton alarm, April 19, 1775. The time of ser
vice was fifteen and one half davs. Children,

?h<^n^(^%^3h

"UA-

MARYAFLE T CHER

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

iiii

born at Ashby, Massachusetts: i. Benjamin,
born June 21, 1762; mentioned below. 2.
Jonas Prescott, born September 2, 1764; died
October 31, 1781. 3. Mary, born March 25,
1767; died August 22, 1841 ; married, Feb
ruary 18, 1790, Josiah Whitney. 4. Cynthia,
born November 7, 1769; died February 20,
1784. 5. John Beaton, December 5, 1774;
died April 5, 1800. 6. Joseph Merriam, born
September 30, 1778; died January 21, 1806;
married, May, 1803, Sally Green.
(VI) Benjamin Barrett, son of Benjamin
Barrett (5), was born at Ashby, Massachu
setts, June 21, 1762, and died November 6,
1842. He married first, Bridget Lawrence,
who died in 1793. He married second, Rhoda
Stearns, born 1756. Children, born at Ash
by: 1. Jonas Prescott, born March 10, 1783;
married, December 30, 1803, Sally Foule. 2.
Benjamin, born June 18, 1786; died August 3,
1837; married, February 7, 1809, Nancy
Stone. 3. Colonel Charles, born February
21, 1788; died June 8, 1855; married, Septem
ber 19, 181 1, Sarah Hastings; second, August
5, 18 1 7, Betsey Johnson. 4. Oliver, born
January 31, 1790; mentioned below. 5. Ezra,
born May 11, 1791 ; died January 1, 1843;
married, November 17, 1817, Rhoda Johnson.
6. Polly, born August 29, 1792; died Febru
ary 8, 1857; married, December 3, 1820, Sam
uel Wiggins; second, June 24, 1834, William
Richardson. 7. Thomas, born 1793 ; died Sep
tember 26, 1793. Children of the second
wife: 8. Sally, born 1795. 9. Cynthia, born
May 26, 1797; died March 15, 1881 ; married,
December 5, 1816, Isaac Foster.
(VII) Oliver Barrett, son of Benjamin
Barrett (6), was born at Ashby, Massachu
setts, January 31, 1790, and died 1880. He
married first, January 14, 1812, Betsey Stone,
born 1792 and died 1842. He married second,
Mrs. Sophia Wheeler; third, Widow Jefts.
Children: 1. Oliver, born July 13, 1812;
mentioned below. 2. John Otis, born April
18, 1815; married, April 30, 1839, Harriet
Richardson, born 1816, died 1882, daughter
of Josiah and Betsey Richardson. 3. Cyn
thia Eliza, born March 24, 1843 ; married
Joseph Jackson Waters, born 1806, died 1880.
4- George Benjamin, born May 10, 1819;
died 1870; married, November 24, 1857, Nan
cy Haradan, born 1820, died 1861 ; second,
Anna Potter. 5. Clarissa Davis, born May
22, 1 82 1 ; married April 17, 1850, Rodolphus
Priest, born 1828. 6. Thomas Parker, born
July 5, 1823 ; died January 27, 1872 ; married,
March 26, 1848, Sophia Sawtelle, born 1829.

7. Ephraim Cobleigh, born July 26, 1828;
married first, Martha Tenney; second, Mrs.
Howard Nutting; no issue. 8. Emily Augus
ta, born August 8, 1827; died July 3, 1829.
9. Henry A., born September 7, 1830; died
June 2, 1 83 1. 10. Emily Ann, born Novem
ber 14, 1831; married William H. Potter. 11.
Nancy Stone, born May 2, 1835; married,
April 17, 1857, Oliver W. Norris, born 1830,
died 1 86 1 ; married second, Amasa Whiting,
died 1887. 12. Oliver Tracy, born October
5, 1838; died November 5, 1879; married
Louisa Stone.
(VIII) Oliver Stone Barrett, son of Oliver
Barrett (7), was born at Ashburnham, Mass
achusetts, July 13, 1812, and died in Maiden,
Massachusetts, January 2, 1891. He mar
ried, September 2, 1834, Lucy Wyman, born
1814, and died 1877. Children, born at Ash
burnham: 1. Elizabeth, born June 10, 1835;
died May 2, 1844. 2. Henry Oliver, born
June 28, 1843 ; mentioned below. 3. Charles
Gregg, born December 15, 1847; died March
13, 1848. 4. Clara Adelaide, born June 16,
1850; married November 18, 1875, John E.
Staples. 5. Ella Sophia, born August 1, 1854;
married, June 3, 1880, Earl S. Sloan.
(IX) Henry Oliver Barrett, son of Oliver
Stone Barrett (8), was born at Ashburnham,
Massachusetts, June 28, 1843. He resided in
Maiden, Massachusetts, and is a most prom
inent and respected citizen. He is a mem
ber of the firm of Braman, Dow & Co., steam
fitters, Causeway street, Boston. In politics
he is a staunch Republican, but notwithstand
ing repeated invitations would never accept a
nomination from his party. He is a member
of Converse Lodge of Free Masons, and a di
rector of the Maiden Trust Company. He is
a member of the First Congregational Church
of Maiden. He married, July 9, 1863, Mary
Forsythe. Children: 1. Lizzie May, born
September 24, 1865 ; married December 25,
1884, Charles W. Seavey, son of Malcolm B.
Seavey; resides with her father. 2. Henry
Wyman, born October 25, 1867; mentioned
below. 3. Nellie Louise, born June 30, 1869;
married January 14, 1891, WilHam C. Keen.
(X) Henry Wyman Barrett, son of Henry
Oliver Barrett (9), was born at Maiden,
Massachusetts, October 25, 1867. He re
ceived his education in the Maiden schools,
and at the age of nineteen entered the employ
of Braman, Dow & Co., of which firm his
father was a member. He is now a member
of the firm. He is a Republican in politics,
but has no ambition to hold public office. He

III2

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

is a member of the First Congregational
Church of Maiden ; of the Kernwood Club ; of
Converse Lodge of Free Masons, of the Royal
Arch Chapter, of Beauseant Commandery,
Knights Templar, and of Melrose Council,
S. P. R. S. His home is on Greystone Road,
Maiden. Mr. Barrett married first, October 25, 1888,
Harriet M. Bishop, born in Gardiner, Maine,
died October 24, 1895, daughter of Hudson
M. and Olive (Rogers) Bishop; he of Harle-
well, Maine, she of Bowdoinham, Maine. He
married second, November 17, 1897, Gertrude
A. Ring, born in Somerville, daughter of
Gardner W. and Anne S. (Walden) Ring, of
Somerville, Massachusetts. Child of the first
wife: 1. Dorothy B., born February 23,
1894; children of the second wife: 2. Made
leine, born November 4, 1900. 3. Henry Oli
ver, born January 22, 1903.

There are three known
NESMITH branches of this family in
.America. Thomas Nes-
mith, a rigid Presbyterian, lived near Phila
delphia, in 1730. A grandson of his, James
H. Nesmith, was living in 1867 in Lewisburg,
Greenbrier county, West Virginia, and was of
the opinion that this Thomas Nesmith was a
brother of James, the ancestor of the London
derry, New Hampshire, family. Another
branch is descended from John Nesmith, who
was contemporary with Thomas in Pennsyl
vania and James of Londonderry. There was
much communication between the New Hamp
shire and Pennsylvania settlements of the
Scotch-Irish in the early days and it is not un
likely that the three immigrants mentioned
were brothers.
(I) Deacon James Nesmith, immigrant an
cestor of the New England family of this
name, born in 1692, was one of the first six
teen settlers and founders of Nuffield, New
Hampshire, later called Londonderry, April
22. 1719. He was One of the signers of the
memorial to Governor Shute sent from Lon
donderry, Ireland, under date of March 26,
1718, for a suitable grant of land in Massa
chusetts. The Nesmiths were of ancient
Scotch ancestry. The name was also spelled
Nasmyth and the family is found in Berwick
shire and Peeblesshire, Scotland, before the
year 1 300. The ancestors of Deacon James
are said to have removed from Scotland to
the valley of the river Bann, province of Ul
ster, Ireland, in 1690. The family were

staunch Presbyterians. Deacon- Nesmith mar
ried in Ireland in 1714 Elizabeth McKeen,
daughter of Justice James and Janet (Coch
ran). McKeen, and sister of Janet Cochran,
wife of the immigrant, John Cochran, of
Windham, New Hampshire. She was born
in 1696 and died in Londonderry, New Hamp
shire, April 29, 1763, aged sixty-seven years.
Two of their children were born in Ireland,
the remainder in Londonderry, New Hamp
shire ; the eldest was buried in the old coun
try. Deacon James was a proprietor of the
new Londonderry and was prominent in town
affairs. At the formation of the West Parish
Church in 1739 he was chosen elder.
Children: 1. Arthur, bbrn in Ireland, died
young. 2. James, born in Ireland, August 4,
1718, married Mary Dinsmoor, of Windham,
and settled in North Londonderry; was in the
battle of Bunker Hill; died July 19, 1793.
3. Arthur, born April 3, 1721, married Mar
garet Hopkins, daughter of John and Eliza
beth (Dinsmoor) Hopkins, of Windham, and
settled in North Londonderry. 4. Jean, born'
April 12, 172 — , probably died young. 5.
Mary, born January 29, 1726, probably died
young. 6. John, born February 6, 1728, mar
ried Elizabeth Reid, sister of General George
Reid, of Londonderry, settled in the south
part of Londonderry. 7. Elizabeth, born
January 8, 1730. 8. Thomas, born March 26,
1732, mentioned below. 9. Benjamin, born
September 14, 1734, married Agnes Gilmore,
sister of Colonel James Gilmore, of Windham,
daughter of James Gilmore, of Londonderry;
settled in Londonderry, "Canada."
(II) Thomas Nesmith, son of James Nes
mith (1), was born in Londonderry, March
26, 1732. He married, 1761, Annis Wilson,'
daughter of James and Jennet (Taggart)
Wilson, and granddaughter of Alexander Wil
son, of Londonderry. Both her father and
grandfather came with the Scotch-Irish pio
neers. She was born September 23, 1743.
They settled in Windham, a town adjoining
Londonderry, and the house in which they
lived stood a few rods in front of the house
now or lately of Horace Berry; a depression
in the ground is all that remains to mark the
site of the old house. They were industrious
and frugal, shrewd and far-seeing, accumulat
ing by their joint efforts a large property for
those days. They were generous to the poor
and unfortunate among their neighbors and
their home was a refuge for the needy. He
died November 30. 1789, in his fifty-eighth
year ; she survived him thirty-four years, and

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1113

died January 4, 1824, aged eighty-one years.
Children, all born in Windham: 1. John, born
March 29, 1762, mentioned below. 2. Eliz
abeth, married Jonathan Wallace; resided on
the English Range, Derry, and in 1814 re
moved to Essex county, New York, near Lake
Champlain. 3. James, died young.
(Ill*) John Nesmith, son of Thomas Nes
mith (2), was born at Windham, New Hamp
shire, March 29, 1762. He married Lucy
Martin, daughter of Captain Jacob Martin.
He succeeded his father on the Nesmith
homestead in Windham and with him lived
his mother. The farm consisted of some
four hundred acres, a part of which is still
owned by his descendants. The old house
was torn down a few years ago ; it had seven
teen rooms with a store attached and a large
hall connected with it which was a famous
place for dances and other social gatherings
of a century ago. Mr. Nesmith kept a general
store and prospered. He had just returned
from Newburyport, where he had been to
purchase goods, when he was taken with his
last sickness and died in a few days, at the
age of forty-four years, February 20, 1806.
His wife was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts,
November 17, 1765, and died at her daughter's
Mrs. John Patten's, in Derry, February 20,
1837. She possessed remarkable business
ability. Though lame and obliged to use a
crutch she was able to perform more work
than most women. Her portrait, now in pos
session of descendants, pictures a face beau
tiful in expression and of strongly marked
character. With the aid of her sons she car
ried on the store for a few years until her
second marriage in 1813 to Deacon Daniel Mc
Keen, of Derry. She took her two younger chil
dren with her to her new home, the others re
maining on the homestead with the grand
mother. After the death of Deacon McKeen,
November 4, 1820, she returned' to her old
home where she lived until near the end of life.
Children, born at Windham : 1 . Colonel Jacob
Martin, born September 20, 1786, resided
at Windham; died January 21, 1863. 2.
Thomas, born September 7, 1788, mentioned
below. 3. Betsey, born April 30, 1791, died
January 18, 1836; married Alexander Park.
4. John, born August 3, 1793, mentioned be
low. 5. James Wilson, born May 28, 1796,
married Eliza G. Parker; resided at Derry,
died April 29, 1881. 6. Lucy, born November
:3> J798, married, December 3, 1829, John
Patten, who was born October 15, 1798, and
died December 19, 1866; farmer at Derry;

she died April 22, 1848. 7. Annis, born Jan
uary 16, 1801, married, December 27, 1827,
William Davidson; settled in Pike, New
York; she died March 31, 1877. 8. George
Reid, born March 14, 1803, resided at Wis-
coy, New York; died August 21, 1882. 9.
Jonathan Wallace, born October 28, 1805,
married Mary Manton, of Providence, Rhode
Island; settled in New York City in commis
sion business; died in Somerville, Massachu
setts, November 2, 1847.
(IV) Colonel Thomas Nesmith, son of
John Nesmith (3), was born in Windham,
September 7, 1788. He attended the district
schools of his native place and the academy
at Derry, now known as the Pinkerton Acad
emy, then taught by Samuel Burnham. After
the death of his father he helped his mother
carry on the business. In 1810 he went into
business for himself, buying the home-made
thread of the farmer's wives, had it made into
cloth and sold the linen in Lynn, Massachu
setts, and in other large towns. Five years
later, having saved some six thousand dollars,
he hired a room of Robert Clark, near the
meeting house in Windham, and in partner
ship with his brother John, opened a general
store. He was active in town affairs and
served as town clerk of Windham in 1821.
In 1822 James Nesmith took the store at
Windham, and Thomas and John removed to
Derry where they carried on a general store
in the house formerly occupied by Patterson
& Choate. John Nesmith went to New York
City and entered the commission business.
He was soon joined by Thomas, but they soon
decided to locate in Lowell and purchased the
Livermore estate there. Thomas Nesmith de
voted the remainder of his life to the man
agement of his investments, the Lowell real
estate proving the basis of a large fortune.
An old friend wrote of him : "To great dili
gence he through life added sound judgment
and forethought, which produced very re
markable results of gain with small percentage
of loss. He accumulated a large estate, but
only by regular business transactions. He
defrauded no man and left no enemies. His
integrity was not questioned and his moral
and courteous bearing made him a pattern man
in business affairs, a good citizen and neigh
bor, a gentleman in social life." When he
went to Lowell manufacturing corporations
and city institutions were just assuming tangi
ble form. He was a member of the city gov
ernment the first two years of its existence
and helped to forward many enterprises then

1 1 14

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

struggling to get ahead. In the War of 1812
he was a soldier, drafted from Windham and
was enlisted September 15, 1814, for three
months ; was "third lieutenant in Captain Na
thaniel Bradley's company, stationed at Ports
mouth, New Hampshire. In May, 1820, he
was appointed colonel of the Eighth Regi
ment of New Hampshire militia. He was
charitable in life and generous in his public
bequests in his will. He founded the Nes
mith public library at Windham, and to the
deserving poor of Lowell he left the income of
the Nesmith Fund of twenty-five thousand
dollars, now in the hands of trustees and doing
noble work year after year. He died in Lowell,
July 31, 1870.
He married, May 20, 1832, Lucinda Fay,
born at Lebanon, New Hampshire, June 12,
1810, daughter of Winslow and Betsey (Col-
burn) Fay. She was educated at Miss Grant's
School at Ipswich Massachusetts. She was
the principal of the Adams Female Seminary
at Derry. She died at Lowell, December 18,
1852. Children: 1. Lucinda C, born July
15, 1834, died August 5, 1834. 2. Lucy Eliza
beth, born May 11, 1838, resided at Lowell.
3. Mary Manton, born February 18, 1841,
died November 24, 1848. 4. Maria Louisa
born July 18, 1844, married, December 6,
1875, Walter H. McDaniels, son of John ; she
died August 29, 1876. 5. Henrietta Wash
burn, born June 8, 1846, married, September
28, 1870, Edward Hastings, son of Henry and
Sarah (Marchant) Hastings, and she died
November 27, 1881 ; resided at Lowell; chil
dren: Ethel, born October 31, 1871 ; Henri
etta Nesmith, born January 25, 1877.
(IV) Lieutenant-Governor John Nesmith,
son of John Nesmith (3), was born in Wind
ham, August 3, 1793. Till his twenty-ninth
year he was intimately connected with the his
tory of his native town and mingled actively
in its affairs. He was prominent in politics
early in life; was town treasurer in 1819 and
1820 and representative to the general court
in 1 82 1. In 1822 he removed to Derry, for
merly a part of the town of Londonderry. He
commenced life a comparatively poor boy and
had only the education of the common schools
of his day. At the age of fourteen he became
clerk in the general store formerly conducted
by his father and served an apprenticeship
of five years. When he was nineteen years
old he and his elder brother Thomas started
in business on their own account in a general
store at Windham. They prospered and as
soon as their cash capital and enlarged credit

would warrant the adventure they removed to
New York City and built up a large and highly
profitable trade. In 183 1, foreseeing the fu
ture importance of Lowell, Massachusetts, as
a manufacturing centre,, the brothers settled
in that city. Lowell is not far from their na
tive town ; doubtless their love for the old New
Hampshire hills influenced their selection of
a location as well as their personal knowledge
of the town and its vast possibilities as a man
ufacturing place. They invested largely in
real estate and identified themselves with
every movement and measure calculated to
develop the town or increase its prosperity.
They were leaders in enterprise and progress,
shrewd and farsighted men of affairs. John
Nesmith became interested in the manufacture
of blankets, flannels, printing cloths, sheetings
and other textile fabrics and that became
eventually his principal vocation. He became
agent or part owner in mills in Lowell, Dra
cut, Chelmsford, Hookset and other places,
and managed those enterprises with almost
unvarying and uninterrupted success. He was
also a large stockholder in the Merrimack
Woolen Mills Company. Appreciating more
than any other man the natural advantages of
the water powers which have made Lowell
what she is, he bethought himself of securing
the supply of water in Winnepesaukee and
Squam lakes in New Hampshire as reservoirs
for the Lowell Mills in dry seasons and letting
the water into the Merrimac river when need
ed by artificial canals. This brilliant concep
tion was at first scouted by the manufacturers
along the river, but Mr. Nesmith, satisfied
that they would eventually require the water,
bought the right to use both these lakes for
the purpose and before long the manufactur
ers had to buy of him at a handsome profit.
Mr. Nesmith was the first to discern the
natural fitness of the site now occupied by the
flourishing city of Lawrence on the Merrimac
river for a manufacturing point, and made
large purchases of land on both sides 'of the
river, securing also the necessary charter to
control the water power. About 1844 his bold
scheme attracted the attention it deserved
from from Boston capitalists, and factories be
gan to rise at Lawrence as if by magic, and
that prosperous city has amply vindicated the
wisdom of its real founder, John Nesmith.
He bought the Gedney estate at Belvidere,
Lowell, with its large mansion house, the Old
Yellow House, as it was called, erected in
1750. He laid out several streets, giving his
name to one of them. His purchase being

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1115

made soon after the formation of the Merri
mack Manufacturing Company, he sold the
property to good advantage. While carrying
on these varied and arduous undertakings Mr.
Nesmith still found time to devote to mechan
ical study and experiment. Several of his
discoveries and inventions were of great im
portance and value — among others the well-
known machines for making wire fence and
shawl fringe.
Though naturally averse to mingling in
politics, and never stooping to the acts by
which popularity is often won, he was elect
ed to various offices in the city government of
Lowell, where his sound practical sense and
extraordinary business capacity were acknowl
edged and appreciated by his townsmen of
both parties. Like most anti-slavery men he
joined the Republican party when it was form
ed, and he was a presidential elector from his
state in the college that choose Abraham Lin
coln president both in 1861 and 1865. He
contributed freely of his means to assist the
anti-slavery movement. He was elected lieu
tenant-governor of Massachusetts on the
ticket with Governor John A. Andrew in 1862
and declined a re-election the following year.
He was afterward appointed United States
collector of internal revenue for his district,
an office in which a zealous and active man
could give tangible support to the government
in its hour of greatest need by discovering
the taxable property and preventing adroit
evasions. He filled the position ably and
creditably until his resignation only twelve
days before he died.
Mr. Nesmith's attachment to the principles
of his party was that of the moralist rather
than that of the partisan, and he never lost
the respect and confidence of either friends or
opponents in political affairs. The temper
ance movement in Massachusetts early en
gaged his hearty support and liberal contrib
utions, and he was for some years president of
the State Alliance. From the large fortune
acquired by his tact and industry, he niade
generous donations to many objects of char
ity and benevolence which won his sympathy,
and was invariably kind and hospitable to his
friends and neighbors. In his home he was
especially affectionate and charming. He made
in his will handsome provision for the care,
support and education of the indigent blind
of New Hampshire, a foundation known as
the Nesmith Fund; and also provided a pub
lic park in the town of Franklin, New Hamp
shire.

He married, June, 1825, Mary Ann Bell,
daughter of Samuel Bell, of Chester, New
Hampshire. She died at St. Augustine, Flori
da, February 26, 1831, aged twenty-eight
years, leaving two children. He married
(second), Eliza Thorn Bell, daughter of John
Bell, also of Chester. She died at Lowell,
September 4, 1836, aged thirty years, leaving
two children. He married (third), October
19, 1840, Harriet Rebecca Mansur, daughter
of Aaron Mansur, of Lowell. She was born
July 4, 1816, and resided in Lowell. Chil
dren of John and Mary Ann Nesmith: 1.
John, died young. 2. Lucy Anne, died young.
Children of John and Eliza T. : 3. John, died
young. 4. Eliza Jane Bell, born August 19,
1836, married, December 4, 1873, John Bell
Bouton, of Concord, New Hampshire ; author
and newspaper editor, New York. Children
of John and Harriet R. : 5. Harriet Bell, born
August 16, 1841, married, October 29, 1868,
Horace B. Coburn, of Lowell, merchant; she
died March 1, 1871. 6. Mary, born April 26,
1843, resides at Lowell. 7. Isabel, born Oc
tober 1, 1844, married, October 1, 1872, Fred
erick T. Greenhalge. (See Greenhalge family
sketch). 8. John, died young. 9. Julia Dal
ton, born February 1, 1848, married, January
31, 1894, Thomas Parker Ivy, of Georgia.
10. Rebecca, died young. 11. Arthur, died
young. 12. William, died young. 13. James
E., born January 27, 1856, died July 25, 1898.
James E. Nesmith, poet, publisher of three
books: the "Life of Governor Greenhalge,"
and two volumes of verse, "Philoclites," and
"Monadnock, and Other Poems." He was one
of the most promising of the younger Ameri
can poets. A sonnet to Michael Angelo is
quoted in Steadman's Anthology" and "Mon
adnock" in Douglas Sladen's "The Younger
American Poets." 14. Joseph Aaron, born
March 25, 1857, mentioned below.
(V) Joseph Aaron Nesmith, son of Lieu
tenant-Governor John Nesmith (4), was born
at Lowell, Massachusetts, March 25, 1857. He
received his early education in the public and
high schools of Lowell, and at Exeter, New
Hampshire, fitting there for college. He
graduated from Harvard University in 1881.
He resides in Lowell. In politics Mr.
Nesmith is a Republican, but has never
been active in party affairs nor sought
public office. He attends the Unitarian
church. He is president of the Art Asso
ciation of Lowell, and has interested himself
in all that pertains to the development of a
true artistic taste in his native city. He has

in6

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

painted many pictures, especially of the fine
scenery of Conway, New Hampshire, where
he spends the summer in his country home.
He has held several highly successful exhibi
tions of his work both in Lowell and Boston.
He married, at Lowell, June 10, 1891, Louise
A. Barker, daughter of Horace R. and
Martha M. Barker. Her father for thirty-
four years carried on an extensive business
in steam and gas fitting in Lowell and vicinity
and amassed a large fortune. He was a mem
ber of the board of alderman from 1877 to
1879; director of the Merchants' National
Bank; president of the board of trustees of
the Lowell cemetery; died September 8, 1886.
Mr. and Mrs. Nesmith have four children :
Harriet Louise, Katherine B., Joseph Warren,
Mary.

The name of Reed is found not
REED only in England where it has been
common from the time surnames
came in use and as a clan name before that
time, but in Ireland, Scotland, and various
countries on the continent of Europe. The
name at present is spelled generally in three
ways — Reed, Reid and Reade. The genealogy
of the Read family of Kent, England, dates
back to 1 1 39 to Brianus de Rede of Morpeth
on the Wensback river in the north of Eng
land. (I) Thomas Reed, progenitor, according to
the genealogy, as living in Berkshire, England,
in 1575, at Barton Court. He married Ann,
the daughter of Thomas Hoo, of the Hoo, in
the county of Hertford.
(II) Thomas Reed or Read, son of Thom
as Reed (1), also lived at Barton; married
Mary Stonehouse, of Little Peckham, county
Kent, and at Radley. He was clerk of the
Green Cloth.
(Ill) Thomas Reed, son of Thomas Reed
(2), was knighted. He married Mary, daugh
ter of Sir John Brocket, of Brocket Hall, in
Hertfordshire. Children : Thomas, John,
James. All three were baronets. Also two
daughters. (IV) Thomas Reed, son of Sir Thomas
Reed (3), married Mary, daughter of Thomas
Cornwall, lord of Shropshire. Children:
Compton, Edward, and three sons believed to
be Thomas, William and John who came to
America. Edward and Compton had families
in England and their descendants have been
distinguished. (V) William Reed, supposed to be son of

Thomas and Mary Reed, of Brocket Hall,
Hertfordshire, was born in England in 1587,
and was the oldest of the immigrants of this
surname. He sailed from London in the ship
"Defence" in July, 1635, Captain Edward
Fostick, and arrived in Boston the same year
with his wife, who was Mabel Kendall, born
in 1605. They had with them children:
George, born 1629. Ralph, born 1630. Jus
tice, afterward called Abigail, born 1633. Mr.
Reed settled first in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
He was made freeman March 4, 1638. In
August, 1639, he sold his real estate in Dor
chester to Thomas Clark and removed to Scit
uate, where he was constable in 1644. His
wife made the journey to Dorchester on
horseback in 1644 *° have her infant son Is
rael baptized. William Reed removed to
Muddy River (Brookline), having bought of
Esdras Reed, said to have been his brother,
a farm granted by the town of Boston, and he
lived there until 1648 when he bought a farm
in Woburn of Nicholas Davis, of Charles
town, and removed thither. He is the ances
tor of the Woburn, Lexington, Bedford and
Burlington Reads; the ancestor of most of
the Reeds in Maine. He returned to England
finally and died at Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1656.
A letter of administration was taken out by
his widow under Oliver Cromwell. She re
turned to America and after administering
the estate married Henry Summers, of Wo
burn, November 21, 1660. She survived her
second husband and lived with her son George
at the time of her death, June 5, 1690, in her
.eighty-sixth year. Children of William and
Mabel Reed: 1. George, born 1629, men
tioned below. 2. Ralph, born 1630, married
Mary Pierce, daughter of Anthony Pierce, of
Watertown. 3. Abigail, born 1633, married
Francis Wyman. 4. Bethia, born in America,
married John Johnson. 5. Israel, born 1642,
married Mary Kendall, daughter of Francis.
6. Sarah, married, September 10, 1662, Sam
uel Walker. 7. Rebecca, married Joseph
Winn. (VI) George Reed, son of William Reed
(5), was born in England in 1629. He bought
a farm in Woburn of Rebecca Terrace, No
vember 7, 165 1, and settled there. This farm
was lately owned by Nathan Blanchard and is
now within the limits of Burlington. He be
came a large landholder and wealthy, giving
farms to his sons in what is now Woburn,
Burlington and Lexington. He was for many
years deacon of the church in Woburn. He
died February 21, 1706, in his seventy-eighth

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1117

year. He married (first), August 4, 1651,
Elizabeth Jennison, daughter of Robert, of
Watertown. She died February 26, 1665. He
married (second), November 9, 1665, Hannah
Rockwell, of Charlestown. Children of George
and Elizabeth: 1. Elizabeth, born July 29,
1653, married December 15, 1675, David
Fiske, of Watertown. 2. Twins, born No
vember 14, 1654, died unnamed. 3. Samuel,
born April 29, 1656, married, April 19, 1679,
Elizabeth Munsal. 4. Abigail, born June 27,
1658, married, September 18, 1694, Nathaniel
Richardson. 5. George, born September 14,,
1660, married, February 18, 1684, Abigail
Pierce. 6. William, born September 22, 1662,
married, May 24, 1686, Abigail Kendall. 7.
Sarah, born February 12, 1665. 8. Hannah,
born February 12, 1669. 9. John, born March
18, 1671, married, June 10, 1697, Ruth John
son. 10. Mary, born June 15, 1674, married,
in 1697, Matthew Johnson. 11. Timothy, born
October 20, 1678, mentioned below. 12.
Thomas, born July 15, 1682, married, Febru
ary 1, 1704, Sarah Sawyer.
(VII) Timothy Reed, son of George Reed
(6), was born in Woburn, October 20, 1678.
His father gave him a farm of forty acres
in Woburn Great Lots, in the third and fourth
ranges, March 15, 1700. This place was lately
owned by Mr. Duren, whose mother was a lin
eal descendant of Timothy Reed. Mr. Reed
also owned land in Hodge's Hole. He died
October 17, 1758. He married his cousin,
Persis Kendall, who died September 16, 1748.
Children, born in Woburn: 1. Persis, born
July 31, 171 1, married, February 20, 1738,
Jonathan Gray. 2. Timothy, born in 1713,
married Huldah  . 3. Jacob, born Jan
uary 31, 1714, mentioned below. 4. Jonathan,
born May 19, 1718, married, February 26,
I739» Kersey Converse. 5. Alice, born March
24, 1720. 6. Amos, born July 1, -1722. 7.
Ezekiel, born August 1, 1728.
(VIII) Jacob Reed, son of Timothy Reed
(7), was born in Woburn, January 31, 17 14.
Married Elizabeth French, of Billerica, June
19, I741- He remained on the homestead
with his father and inherited it after his
father's death. He died July 20, 1804; his
wife Elizabeth died August 7, 181 1, aged
eighty-nine years. Children, born in Woburn :
1. Jacob, born April 30, 1745, died December
30, 1770. 2. Reuben, born March 2, 1747.
3. Joseph, born in 1748. 4. Amos. 5. Eliz
abeth, born April 18, 1750. 6. Sarah, born
July 25, 1752. 7. Isaac, mentioned below.
(IX) Isaac Reed, son of Jacob Reed (8),

was born in Woburn, August 9, 1756, and died
there April 20, 1848, aged ninety-two years,
three months. He was a soldier in the Revo
lution, a private in Captain Samuel Belknap's
company, and marched to Concord and Cam
bridge, April 19, 1775. He belonged to the
Train Band of the First Woburn -company
under Captain Josiah Johnson, serving in
1775. He seems also to have been a private in
Captain Cadwalader Ford's company, Colonel
Brook's regiment of guards, from November
4, 1777, to April 3, 1778, at Fort No. 2, Cam
bridge. He married, April 27, 1780, Susanna
Munroe, daughter of William Munroe, of
Lexington. They settled in Lexington, where
she died October 15, 1829, aged seventy-five
years. Children, born in Lexington: 1.
Isaac, born January 12, 1781, died October 29,
1853; married Elizabeth Munroe; lived in
Lexington. 2. Susan, born October 16, 1782.
3. William, born March 14, 1785, died De
cember 30, 1 85 1. 4. Oliver, born August 4,
1787, died September 1, 1833; married Sarah
Thayer. 5. Thomas, born January 18, 1790,
died February 10, 1829 ; married Relief Pratt.
6. Reuben, born March 25, 1792, mentioned
below. 7. Hugh Maxwell, born December 23,
1793, died April 18, 1822, unmarried. 8.
Enos, born August 21, 1796, married Sarah
Gardner. ,
(X) Reuben Reed, son of Isaac Reed (9),
was born in Lexington, March 25, 1792, and
died there March 4, 1864. He received his
education in the common schools, and worked
for his father and his Uncle Reuben with
whom he lived from early youth. After his
uncle's death in 1800 he continued to run the
farm for the widow until her death in 1817.
The farm came to him and he followed farm
ing on this place during his active life. His
farm consisted of one hundred and sixty-five
acres. He had excellent orchards and manu
factured cider extensively ; his cider mill is
still standing on the homestead in Lexington.
He married (first), December 8, 1819, Sally
Hutchinson Russell, who was born January
17, 1796, in Cambridge, and died August 2,
1822. He married (second), February 26,
1824, Mary (Polly) Haskell Willard, who
was born October 15, 1791, and died February
11, i860, daughter of Joel and Polly (Has
kell) Willard, of Harvard, Massachusetts.
Her father, Joel, was born April 28, 1765, son
of Lemuel and Hannah (Haskell) Willard.
Lemuel was born July 28, 1725, son of
Joseph and Elizabeth (Tarbell) Willard.
Joseph, born 1685, was son of Henry and

ni8

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Mary (Lakin) Willard, of Lancaster, Massa
chusetts. The Willards were among the
founders of Lancaster. Child of Reuben and
Sally Hutchinson (Russell) Reed: I. Reu
ben, Jr., born February 5, 1821, died June 22,
1822; Children of Reuben and Mary Haskell
(Willard) Reed: 2. Reuben Willard, born
January 12, 1825, died in Orwell, Vermont;
married, October 26, 1854, Georgianna
Augusta Ferrin, of Charlestown, Massachu
setts ; children : i. Emma Georgianna, born
November 10, 1856, married, October 28,
1903, Allston Pineo ; ii. Mary Hattie, Septem
ber 7, 1859; iii. Lizzie Virginia, April 27,
1866. 3. Josiah Haskell, born February 12,
1827, mentioned below. ,
(XI) Josiah Haskell Reed, son of Reuben
Reed (10), was born at Lexington, February
12, 1827, died March 22, 1890. He attended
the public schools of his native town until six
teen years of age, and worked on his
father's farm until he came of age. He took
over the milk route that his father had estab
lished in the adjacent town of Charlestown,
now in Boston. He carried on this milk bus
iness for a period of twenty-five years. In
1870 he disposed of the business to George
Wellington and Robert Miner, of Somerville,
and returned to the old homestead in Lexing
ton, of which he and his brother became the
owners at the death of their father in 1864.
They sold ninety acres of the old farm in 1870
and in 1872 Josiah built a house opposite the
homestead and made his home there until
1882, when he sold it to William E. Litchfield,
who sold it to its present owner, Charles B.
Patch. At that time Josiah bought out the in
terests of his brother, Reuben W. Reed, and
went to live in the homestead and began mar
ket gardening, in which he was successfully
occupied to the time of his death. Modest
and unassuming in his manner, he was natur
ally jovial and witty, and was a man of many
friends. Moderate and conservative in his
views, he was tolerant of. the opinions of other
men and lived in harmony with his neighbors,
having their esteem in an unusual degree. In
religion he was a Unitarian ; in politics a Re
publican. He was a trustee of the Lexington
Savings Bank.
Fie married, October 9, i860, Clara Rebecca
Gates, who was born at Ashby, October 17,
1835, and died at Lexington, August 16, 1884,
the daughter of Howard and Clarissa (Ken
dall) Gates, of Ashby. Her father was a
farmer, selectman, assessor, and representative
to the general courts of 1850-51. Children of

Josiah H. and Clara R. Reed : 1. Frank Has
kell, born December 26, 1862, mentioned be
low. 2. Alice Gates, born August 25, 1864,
unmarried; now a resident of Plainfield, New
Jersey. 3. Mary Willard, born July 4, 1868,
married, September 11, 1900, Edward F. Mil
ler, of Cambridge, professor of steam en
gineering in the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology of Boston.
(XII) Frank Haskell Reed, son of Josiah
Haskell Reed (n), was born in Lexington,
December 26, 1862. He was brought up on
his father's farm, and attended the public
schools of his native town until eighteen years
old, when he entered the employ of Cumner
Jones & Company, tailors, trimmings, etc., at
85 Summer street, Boston, becoming a sales
man of this firm, in the employ of which he
remained seven years. He subsequently en
gaged in the retail milk business in Charles
town, obtaining his supply from D. Whiting
& Sons. In the two years during which he
had this business he prospered, but he was
obliged to dispose of it in 1890, after the
death of his father, and return to the home
stead in Lexington. After a time he bought
the interests of his sisters in the estate and has
since devoted his attention to farming and
the dairy. He has an extensive milk route in
Arlington. The Reed farm is in the western
part of Arlington on the Lexington line, and
the old colonial dwelling house was built by
Reuben Reed, mentioned above, in 1789. The
present farm consists of seventy-five acres of
land with well-kept buildings and modern
methods. Mr. Reed is progressive and enter
prising. He has thirty-five cows in a model
dairy. He is a member of the Unitarian
church. In politics he is a Republican. He is
a member of the Arlington Boat Club and the
Old Belfry Club of Lexington.
He married, April 20, 1893, Gertrude Read
Fobes, who was born at Roxbury, January 6,
1870, the daughter of Edward and Annie Sho
wed (Sturtevant) Fobes, of Somerville,
Massachusetts. Her father was in the men's
furnishing and tailoring business. Children of
Frank Haskell and Gertrude R. Reed: 1.
Haskell, born June 4, 1894. -2. Malcolm
Willard, December 17, 1895. 3. Kendall
Sturtevant, August 9, 1898.

This family .name seems to
WHITING have retained substantially the
same pronunciation, though it
has been spelled with not less than sixteen

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1119

variations between the years 1085 and 1630.
The name has been distinguished in many
counties of England. The coat-of-arms used
by some of the American family is: Azure,
a leopard's head or, between two flaunches
ermine; in chief, three plates of the last.
Crest : A demi-eagle with two heads displayed
proper. The fact that in practically all of the
Whiting armorials the leopard's head is the
chief emblem, indicates relationship of all the
branches. (I) John Whiting, the English progenitor,
lived in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. His
ancestor, William Whitting, of Boston, is
mentioned on the records in 1333 in the Sub
sidy Record of Edward III. He was a mem
ber of common council and erection bailiff
1590, mayor of Boston 1600 and 1608, and
vice-admiral of Lincolnshire in 1602. In his
will recorded in the parish register of St.
Botolph, in Boston, dated October 20, 1617,
two days before his burial, after providing for
donations to the poor of parish and to the vicar
of Boston, his friend and pastor, Rev. John
Cotton, he bequeaths to his wife Isabel; his
daughter Margaret, wife of Richard Carter;
sons James and John ; daughter Audrey, wife
of Robert Wright ; and son Samuel, providing
for the latter's education at Harvard College.
Children, with dates of baptism: 1. Isabel,
December 10, 1587, died May 4, 1602. 2.
Audrey, September 28, 1589. 3. John, June
4, 1592. 4. Margaret, August 4, 1594. 5.
Samuel, mentioned below. 6. James, August
21, 1599. John Whiting, Esq., mayor of Bos
ton, England, and brother of Rev. Samuel
Whiting, of Lynn, advanced fifty pounds in
aid of the Massachusetts Colony. In return
the general court granted him five hundred
acres of land which he transferred to his
American brother, who gave it to his son, the
Billerica pastor. This grant was located on
the Salmon Brook, Dunstable.
(II) Rev. Samuel Whiting, son of Hon.
John Whiting (1), was born November 20,
1597, and baptized the day following in St.
Botolph's Church, Boston, England. Both his
brothers were mayors of Boston and the fam
ily was prominent. His kinsman, Atherton
Hough, who came to New England in 1633
with Rev. John Cotton, had been mayor of the
borough 1628,- alderman 1633, and served in
the general court of. Massachusetts. Rev. John
Cotton and Rev. Increase Mather were
cousins. He was a pupil at the Boston
School, and entered Emanuel College, March
2"], 1613, as sizar, and received his degree of

A. B. in 1616. While he was in college his
father died, leaving an ample estate. In 1620
he received from the university the degree of
A. M., and later the degree of D. D. He took
holy orders in the Church of England and be
came chaplain in a family of five ladies and
two knights (Sir Nathaniel Bacon and Sir
Roger Townsend) in Norfolk county, with
whom he resided three years, and then became
rector of Lynn Regis as colleague of Rev.
Mr. Price. After three years he was com
plained of for non-conformity, and to avoid
trouble he resigned his rectorship and left the
town, settling in Skirbeck, near Boston, and
was made rector of the church there, and
preached and practiced non-conformity as
much as ever. The old church is still standing
on the left bank of the river Witham. He
preached there until he left for America early
in April, 1636, accompaniel by his wife, son
Samuel and daughter Dorothy. He sacrificed
all his property in England. Upon his arrival
in Boston, May 26, he and his family were
welcomed to the hospitable home of Atherton
Hough, his kinsman. He was invited to
become the pastor of the church at Lynn. In
1654 he was appointed an overseer of Harvard
College. Some of his sermons were published.
Lynn (formerly Saugus) was so named as a
compliment to him, he having lived in Lynn
Regis, England. He was admitted a freeman
in December, 1636. "He was scholarly,
devoted, liberal and popular, having a strong
hold on the affection of his people and highly
esteemed by the leaders of the state. He was
one of the few brave, disinterested and states
manlike Puritan clergymen to whom we are
chiefly indebted for whatever of liberty in
government or religion was preserved or main
tained in the colony of Massachusetts Bay.
He demanded that the magistrate should not
interfere in matters of the church. From the
plain duty of Christians to do unto others that
which they would have others do to them,
he deduced the grand principle of religious
toleration. * * * Of all the Christian ministers
who forsook their native country that they
might preserve freedom of conscience, of all
who devoted their lives to the service of their
heavenly master, no one was more worthy of
our love and reverence than the venerable
pastor of Lynn." He left a large estate for
his day, dying December 11, 1679. His will
was dated December 11, 1679, and proved
March 30, 1680. The name of his first wife
is not known. He married second, August 6,
1629, Elizabeth St. John, daughter of Right

II20

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Hon. Oliver St John and his wife, Sarah
(Bulkeley) St. John. She was of the twen
tieth generation of a noble family, the pedigree
of which is of interest to all descendants of
this family. (See St. John).
"Mrs. Elizabeth (St. John) Whiting added
grace to her name by the beauty of her person
and the worth of her character. Her noble
and gentle blood proved its true quality by the
faithfulness with which she performed the
duty and bore the hardships of her position as
the wife of the humble country minister. Pier
rank and wealth did not bind any fetters
around the freedom of their religious convic
tions, and when the Puritan minister would
leave all that must have made England dear,
she was ready to face the hardships and perils
of the wilderness with him, and prove herself
his true helpmeet."
(Ill) Rev. Samuel Whiting, son of Rev.
Samuel Whiting (2), born in Skirbeck, Eng
land, March 25, 1633, came to America with
his father when about five years old. He grad
uated at Harvard College in 1653. His thesis
subject at commencement was the question :
"An detur Maximum et Minimum in
Naturae?" and he spoke on the affirmative.
He remained at college a year after gradua
tion, and the fact is noted as peculiar that his
quarterly bills were almost always paid in
silver. He was admitted a freeman May 11,
1656, and in 1658 settled in Billerica as a
preacher ' from year to year until November
11, 1663, when he was ordained pastor of the
church organized about that time. Here he
remained almost fifty years, and was esteemed,
as Rev. Cotton Mather, says: "A reverend,
holy and faithful minister of the gospel." He
preached the artillery election sermon in 1692.
On his settlement the town granted him
a ten acre lot or single share with town priv
ileges. His house lot was twenty acres lying
upon the township on the south side of it,
bounded by land of George Willis on the
north, the brook highway on the east, by
Charnstaffe Lane on the south, John Steam's
field on the west. The highway known as the
Concord road crossed it. The field in which
his house stood was owned lately by Miss
Susan Hill. He received in various parts of
the town at various times grants of twenty-
three lots of land, amounting to more than
two hundred acres. Pie was one of the seven
teen ministers opposed to the settlement of
Rev. John Davenport in Boston. His manu
script sermons have been lost recently. He
married, November 12, 1656, Dorcas Chester,

born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, November
1, 1637, daughter of Leonard Chester, who
was a nephew of Rev. Thomas Hooker, D. D.
Chester lived a year or more at Watertown,
and assisted in exploring the Connecticut
Valley, and in selecting the site for settlement
there when Dr. Hooker removed to Hartford.
He died December 11, 1648; his widow mar
ried Hon. Richard Russell, one of the fore
most citizens of Charlestown ; she died a
widow, November 30, 1698, aged eighty.
Rev. Samuel Whiting's house was used as
"ye main Garrison house" (Billerica). There
is a boulder as marker, at corner of Charn-
staff Lane and Old Concord Road, placed
there by the Billerica Historical Society. The
(Whiting) parish was large, extending from
Concord and modern Acton to the Merrimack
and Andover. Rev. and Mrs. Whiting were
married fifty-six years, and separated by death
only thirteen days. She died February 15,
1712-13, and he died February 28. Cotton
Mather tells us, and we may thank him for the
item, that he died "an hour before Sunset."
And, not for their poetry but their truth, we
may repeat the lines :
"Whiting, we here behold, a starry light,
Burning in Christ's right hand, and shining bright;
Years seven times seven sent forth his precious rays,
Unto Ihe Gospel's profit and Jehovah's praise."
That he had opinions and convictions far
in advance of his century, is pleasantly pre
served in this record : "30 October, 1693.
At this meeting our Rev. Paster, Mr. Samuel
Whiting, did set at liberty and free from his
service, Simon, Negro, who hath been his ser
vant about thirty and one years." Does the
country afford an earlier prophecy of the great
Emancipation Proclamation ! "This faithful
servant, in his will, which bears date a few
clays after Mr. Whiting's death, 'in considera
tion of the respect which I have and do bear to
my Master's family,' gives them his homestead
and land west of Concord river."
Children of Rev. Samuel Whiting: 1. Eliz
abeth, born November 6, 1660; married, Octo
ber 14, 1702, Rev. Thomas Clark, pastor of
Chelmsford. 2. Samuel, born January 19,
1662-63. 3- John, born August 1, 1664, grad
uate of Harvard College, 1685 ; pastor at Lan
caster ; killed by Indians, September 11, 1697.
4. Oliver, born November 8, 1665 ; mentioned
below. 5. Mary, born May 28, 1667. 6.
Dorothy, born September 23, 1668. 7. Joseph,
born February 7, 1669-70, graduate of Har
vard, 1690. 8. James, born August 20, 1671.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

II2I

9.. Unis (Eunice), born September, 1672, died
September 20. 10. Benjamin, born Septem
ber 26, 1676, died October 18 following. 11.
Benjamin, born November 5, 1682, died No
vember 15 following.
(IV) Oliver Whiting, son of Rev. Samuel
(3), born in Billerica, November 8, 1665;
married, January 22, 1689-90, Anna, daughter
of Jonathan Danforth. He was a prominent
citizen of Billerica — town clerk, selectmap,
justice of the peace; also deputy to general
court. He died December 22, 1736, and his
widow August 13, 1737. Children: 1. Oliver,
born March 29, 169 1. 2. Dorcas, born March
21, 1692-93; married Deacon Joshua Abbot.
3. Mary, born May 4, 1695. 4- John, born
November 11, 1697, died December 17 fol
lowing. 5. John, born October 14, 1699. 6.
Samuel, mentioned below. 7. Eleazer, born
July 25, 1707. 8. Benjamin, born February
12, 1711-12.
(V) Samuel Whiting, son of Oliver Whit
ing (4), born in Billerica, September 6, 1702;
married, May 8, 1729, Deborah Hill, daughter
of Samuel. She died September 5, 1745, and
he married (second), November 2, 1749, Eliz
abeth Winchester, widow. He was deacon of
the church and a leading man in his native
town. Children, born in Billerica: 1. Sam
uel, May 18, 1730; mentioned below. 2. Tim
othy, February 13, 1731-32. 3. Deborah, born
December 8, 1733; died September 15, 1749.
4 Anna, born March 29, 1736; married Heze
kiah Crosby. 5. Martha, born June 14, 1738,
died April 29, 1742. 6. Benjamin, born July
3, 1740, died July 30 following. 7. Achsah,
born August 4, 1741 ; married John Phelps,
of Lancaster. 8. Zilpah, born September 8,
1743. 9. David, born August 7, 1745, died
August 24 following.
(VI) Samuel Whiting, son of Samuel
Whiting (5), was born in Billerica, May 18,
1730; married Sarah Stevens; and died No
vember 18, 1769. She married (second),
Jonathan Hill. Children, born in Billerica:
1. Samuel, born December 12, 1758; mention
ed below. 2. Sarah, born August 20, 1760.
3. Martha, born July 3, 1762; married, No
vember 28, 1782, John Abbot, of Ashburnham,
Massachusetts. 4. Caleb, born March 9, 1765.
(VII) Samuel Whiting, son of Samuel
Whiting (6), was born in Billerica, December
12, 1758. The following sketch is from the
"History of Billerica," written by Dr. John S.
Whiting, grandson of Samuel (7) : "In 1840
I went to school in Billerica and lived with
my grandfather. He was then eighty years

old, somewhat infirm, but able to attend to his
usual round of duties. He went to church
regularly twice a Sunday, locking up his house
and taking his whole family with him, he rid
ing with one of his daughters in his 'one-hoss
shay;' the others walking after with me and
the foot-stoves. It was in the winter, I think,
that he resigned his deaconship. After com
munion, when this fact was announced, Mr.
Preston moved that the church give him a
vote of thanks for his forty years of duty,
during which time he had not been absent a
single service; which motion, in a few appre
ciative remarks, my grandfather deprecated as
unusual and improper, whereupon it was with
drawn. In 1776 he was drafted into the army
and served about eight months as a private
and sergeant, acting as clerk of his company.
He was at the battle of Stillwater and at the
taking of Burgoyne. I delight in recalling his
narrative of incidents of the campaign as
drawn from him by the questions of neighbors
and friends, some of whom sat around his
walnut fire nearly every winter evening. I
well remember a boyish question of mine :
'Grandfather, did you ever shoot a red-coat?'
and the very solemn answer, which I did not
understand : T hope not.' Also, I recall with
moistened eye he told of taking deliberate aim
and firing at that famous scout Harvey Birch,
the hero of Cooper's "Spy," but happily with
out effect. How he managed to get an educa
tion I never knew, but he was well versed in
mathematical science — I knew of his calculat
ing eclipses — and became Mr. Pemberton's
assistant at his academy as instructor in the
English branches. One of his pupils, Hon.
Thomas G. Cary, spoke of him at the be-
centennial in 1855 as 'that brave old soldier
of the Revolution and servant of God, Deacon -
Whiting, who had practiced the handwriting
which he taught us, in making out rolls and
returns with benumbed fingers on the drum
head.' Like his ancestor, Jonathan Danforth,
he became a surveyor, and many of his plans
of Billerica farms are now preserved among
the records at East Cambridge. I have in my
possession a barometer, marked as made by
W. & S. Jones, No. 35 Holbron, London,
which hung beside the tall clock in the family
room for I don't know how many years before
my time. I doubt if there are many older in
the country still in going order. There was
also an improvised sun-dial upon the window
sill arranged scientifically so as to indicate
noon at any season of the year. For him I
had and have the greatest veneration as a thor-

1 122

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

oughly good man, living a simple and blame
less life, and doing kindness wherever it was
in his power. Not less do I revere the sainted
name of his eldest daughter, my aunt Harriet,
then a maiden lady of fifty-one, and the good
angel, it seemed to me, of the whole town.
Were any seriously ill, she was always ready
and first called to watch with them and fur
nish those little comforts and delicacies which
sick people are supposed to require ; and if
any died, it was she who was expected to pre
pare tenderly the remains for the last solemn
rites. * * * Of my grandfather's personal
appearance, I cannot speak very definitely.
He was one of medium stature, of a venerable
aspect, with white hair worn in a queue tied
up in a black sick ribbon, not an eelskin."
Deacon Whiting lived south of the Charnstaffe
Lane, west of the brook and opposite the place
of the Rev. Samuel Whiting. He married,
January 22, 1789, Rachel Rogers, daughter
of Samuel Rogers. She was born May 23,
1765 ; descended from John Rogers, the immi
grant, who settled at Watertown. Children,
born in Billerica: 1. Harriet, born October
20, 1789. 2. Anna and 3 Catherine (twins),
born October 13, 1792. 4. Augustus, born
March 2, 1795 ; mentioned below. 5. Mary
Ann, born May 25, 1801 ; married George P.
Elliott. (VIII) Augustus Whiting, son of Samuel
Whiting (7), was born in Billerica, March 2,
1795. He graduated from Harvard College
in 1816, and from the Harvard Medical School
in 1820. He practiced his profession in Hav
erhill and Charlestown, Massachusetts, and
became, a prominent physician. He married,
May 30, 1822, Catherine Walker, daughter of
Major Timothy Walker, of Charlestown. The
Rev. Dr. James W. Walker, late president of
Harvard College, was a member of this family.
Augustus Whiting died May 4, 1867', and his
wife died June 6, 1864, aged sixty-five. Chil
dren : 1. George Augustus, born March 20,
1823; married Lucy J. Austin. 2. James
Henry, born November 25, 1824, died April,
1856. 3. William, born September 13, 1826,
mentioned below. 4. John Samuel, born Oc
tober 6, 1828, graduate of Harvard in 1850;
physician in Charlestown ; married Lucy L.
Barker and had children : i. Eleanor Felton,
born February 1, 1865; ii. Charles Baker, Oc
tober 15, 1866; iii. Jasper, June 15, 1868. 5.
Catherine Augusta, born June 26, 1831 ; mar
ried David C. Lang. 6. Henry, born October
10, 1834. 7. Ellen Louisa, born December 25,
1836; married Francis B. Austin. 8. Eliza

beth Wheeler, born January 24, 1839, died
1840. 9. Francis Henry, born April 2, 1842,
died 1842.
(IX) William Whiting, son of Dr. Augus
tus Whiting (8), was. born in Haverhill, Mass
achusetts, September 13, 1826. He attended
the public schools of Charlestown, Benjamin
Greenleaf school and Bradford Academy. He
resided for a time after his marriage at Merri
mac, Massachusetts; he bought a residence
on Main street, Andover, where his children
were born. Afterward he bought a fine estate
of one hundred acres at Billerica, Massachu
setts, which he still retained at the time of his
decease. While he and Mrs. Whiting were
travelling and spending the winter in Florida,
he was accidentally killed on the railroad at
Sorrento, January, 1888. His body was
brought home to Billerica for burial, and rests
in the family lot. He had placed in Billerica
Unitarian Church a marble tablet ;n honor of
his ancestor, the Rev. Samuel Whiting, the
first minister of Billerica, 1658. Mr. Whiting
was a staunch Republican in politics, and was
greatly interested and generous in public
affairs, but owing to a difficulty in hearing
declined to accept public office. He was a close
observer, read widely and thought deeply. He
was a faithful member of the Unitarian church
and active in church work.
William Whiting married, December 30,
1852, Anne Stickney Brown, of Bradford,
Massachusetts, a member of the old families
of Kimball-Harton. Children, born at Biller
ica: 1. Augustus Harton, died 1889; he was
interested in medicine, studied at Harvard
Medical School and with Dr. Bachelder, of
Boston. 2. Millard Weston, died May 4,
1878; he was a student at Phillips Academy,
Andover. 3. Wilfred Elton, died 1867. 4.
Anna Laura, married, December, 1895, Del-
bert Moyer Staley, president of the College of
the Spoken Word, Boston, Massachusetts;
their only child, Samuel Whiting Staley, born
October 2, 1896, died January 23, 1907; he
was a rarely beautiful child, of a lofty and
rare spiritual personality. He was a member
of the Asa Pollard Society, Children American
Revolution. Mrs. Whiting resides at "The
Apple Boughs," Old Concord road, Billerica,
her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs.
Staley, sharing the home with her. She has
in her possession land which has been in the
family for over two hundred and fifty years.
In the "Whiting Memorial" it is stated that
the St. John family (see above) is of royal
blood, through eleven Kings and Queens of

SAMUEL WHITING STALEY

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 123

England and France. Arms: argent on a
chief gules two mullets pierced, or. The fam
ily name is derived from a place called St.
John in Normandy.
(I) William de St. John, was one of the
barons who accompanied William the Con
queror to England ; was grand master of artil
lery in the invading army; married Olivia de
Fiegiers. (II) John de St. John, Lord of Stanton,
also Henry I.
(Ill) Roger de St. John married Cicey de
Haya. (IV) Muriel de St. John married Reginald
de Aureval.
(V) Mabel de Aureval married Adam de
Port, Baron of Basing, county of Southamp
ton, of a prominent Southampton family.
(VI) William de Port assumed the name
of his grandmother, St. John, as his surname,
and was Baron of St. John of Basing; mar
ried Godchild Paganal.
(VII) Robert de St. John, second Baron of
Basing, married the daughter and heir of Wil
liam de Cantilupe.
(VIII) WilHam St. John married Isabel
Cobmartin. (IX) Sir John St. John, Knt.
(X) Sir John St. John, Knt., married Eliz
abeth Humphreville, co-heiress of the Lord of
Penmark. (XI) Sir Oliver St. John, Knt., Lord of
Penmark. (XII) Sir John St. John, Lord of Pen-
mark. (XIII) Sir Oliver St. John, Knt., married
Margaret, sister and sole heir of John de
Beauchamp, of Bletsoe; (second) John Beau
fort, Duke of Somerset, and by him had Mar
garet, Countess of Richmond, mother of
Henry VII.
(XIV) Sir John St. John married Alice,
daughter of Sir Thomas Bradshaw, of Haugh,
Lancashire, descendant in the fourteenth gen
eration of Sir John Bradsheagh.
(XV) Sir John de St. John of Bletsoe,
married Sybil, daughter of Morgan ap Jenkins
ap Philip.
(XVI) Sir John St. John, Knt., married
Margery, daughter of Sir William Walde-
grave, descendant in the ninth generation from
Warine de Walgrave.
(XVII) Oliver St. John created in 1559
Lord Baron St. John of Bletsoe; married
Agnes Fisher.
(XVIII) Right Honorable Thomas St.
John.

(XIX) Right Honorable Sir Oliver St.
John, M. P., of Cayshore in Bedfordshire;
married Sarah Buckley, of Odell, in Bedford
shire. (XX) Oliver St. John, son of Right Hon
orable Sir Oliver (19), was the celebrated
chief justice of England during the Common
wealth, and it has been stated that he was the
favorite cousin of Oliver Cromwell, the Pro
tector. He was a brother of Elizabeth (St.
John) Whiting. "His wife was a right
comelie dame, and belonged to a great familie,
being Chief Justice St. John his sister. She
was a godly woman, and did much to cheer
and help her husband. By her learning she
was able to give much instruction to the dam
sels of the parish, and they did all love her as
she were a tender mother." She died March
3, 1676-77, in her seventy-third year. Chil
dren of first wife : Two sons died young. 3.
Daughter, married, June 4, 1650, Thomas
Weld. Children of second wife: 4. Rev.
Samuel, born in Skirbeck, March 25, 1633,
mentioned above. 5. Joseph, born April 6,
1641, assistant to father at Lynn, minister at
Southampton, Long Island. 6. John, born at
Lynn, graduated at Harvard, 1657; went to
England, and was preacher at Butterwick,
then rector at Leverton, England. 7. Doro
thy, married Thomas Weld, who also married
her elder sister. 8. Elizabeth, married Rev.
Jeremiah Hobart, of Topsfield, Massachusetts.

Thomas Walker, immigrant
WALKER ancestor, was probably from
England. The first record of
him in America is in Boston, , 1650. He was
born about 1600, and died in 1659, leaving,
according to Pope, a young widow, Anne, and
several young children. He was a brickmaker
by trade. Administration was granted Sep
tember 1, 1659, to his widow Anne and son
Thomas, who must have been born of an
earlier marriage to have been of age at that
time. Children: 1. Thomas, mentioned below.
2. Elizabeth, born August 18, 1650. 3. John,
born March 15, 1652. 4. Anne, born 1654,
died 1655. 5. Samuel, born June 26, 1656. 6.
Anne, born and died in 1659.
(II) Thomas Walker, son of Thomas
Walker (1), was born in the old country
about 1625. It is possible that the children
given by Pope as born to his father by a sec
ond marriage were the son's by a first mar
riage. He was in Sudbury in 1664 and re
ceived encouragement there to keep a free

1 124

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

school. He kept an ordinary there in 1672 and
he died in 1697. He married Mary  .
Children: 1. Mary, married James Sherman.
2. Thomas, born May 22, 1664, mentioned
below. 3. William, married Sarah Goodnow.
4. Hannah, died young. 5. Hannah, born
1669, married Deacon David Rice, of Fram
ingham. 6. Daniel, died young. 7. Daniel,
married Dorothy  . 8. Sarah. 9. Abi
gail, married John Stevens. 10. John. 11.
Elizabeth. (Ill) Thomas Walker, son of Thomas
Walker (2), was born May 22, 1664. He
bought of Gookin and How sixty acres of land
at Framingham on both sides of the county
road adjoining farms of John Adams, John
Bent and Thomas Drury. He built a house
near the present school house at Rice's End.
He was one of the organizing members of the
Framingham church; town treasurer in 1700.
He died October 25, 1717. He married, De
cember 7, 1687, Martha How, daughter of
Samuel How. She married (second), Novem
ber 10, 1718, John Whitney, and she died No
vember 14, 1721. Children of Thomas and
Martha Walker: 1. Thomas, born Septem
ber, 1688, died young. 2. Samuel, born Sep
tember 24, 1689. 3. Obadiah, married Han
nah Learned. 4. Martha, married Joseph
Haven. 5. Mary, married Elkanah Haven.
6. Thomas, settled in Hopkinton, Massachu
setts; was clerk of the market there in 1724,
constable, 1726, town clerk and selectman,
lieutenant. 7. Asa, born June 7, 1702, died
1723. 8. Hannah, born June 1, 1705, mar
ried Moses Haven. 9. Jason, born October
28, 1708, mentioned below. 10. John, born
February 1, 1713-14.
(IV) Deacon Jason Walker, son of Thomas
Walker (3), was born in Framingham, Mass
achusetts, October 28, 1708. He married at
Hopkinton, Massachusetts, December 25,
1732, Hannah Burnap. He was selectman in
1752-69-1770; town treasurer in 1761-68;
town clerk 1763-68, a very prominent citizen
in the new town in which he was one of the
early settlers. Children: 1. Jason, born Jan
uary 23, 1733-34. 2. Thomas, born August
12, 1735, mentioned below. 3. Asa, born Feb
ruary 9, 1738-39. 4. Hannah, born July 8,
1741. 5. Benjamin, born May 24, 1743. 6.
Mary, born June 28, 1745. 7. Martha, born
July 22, 1747. 8. John, born June 20, 1749.
9. Mehitable, born November 15, 1753. 10.
Sarah, born November 28, 1754. 11. Jerusha,
born June 23, 1755.
(V) Thomas Walker, son of Jason Walker

(4), was born in Hopkinton, August 12, 1735.
He married (first) EHzabeth  ; (sec
ond), March 31, 1761, Lois Goodwin.
A "T. Walker" was a soldier in the Revolu
tion from Hopkinton (either this Thomas or a
Timothy Walker), a private in Captain John
Holmes' company on the Lexington Alarm.
The records call this Thomas Walker "Junior"
sometimes to distinguish him from an uncle
of the same name. Child of Thomas and
Elizabeth Walker: 1. Nathan, born Septem
ber 26, 1752, died in 1771. Children of
Thomas and Lois Walker : 2. Deliverance,
born June 3, 1763. 3. James Goodwin, born
September 9, 1764. 4. Elnathan, mentioned
below. 5. Jason, born March 9, 1768. 6.
Ruana, born May 26, 1770. 7. Lois, born
March 11, 1772. ,
(VI) Elnathan Walker, son probably of
Thomas Walker (4), was born at Hopkinton,
Massachusetts, about 1766. He married and
was the father of Abel, mentioned below.
(VII) Abel Walker, son of Elnathan
Walker (6), was born in 1796 at Heartland,
Vermont. He resided in Milford near Silver
Hill, according to the history of Milford. He
married Martha Phipps, born November 10,
1805, the twelfth child of John and Hannah
(Coolidge) Phipps. Hannah Coolidge, daugh
ter of Joseph Coolidge by wife Elizabeth
(Frost) Coolidge, was granddaughter of Isaac
Coolidge, Esquire, of Sherborn, and wife
Hannah (Morse) Coolidge, daughter of Cap
tain Joseph Morse, great-granddaughter of
John Coolidge of Sherborn, by wife Mary
Coolidge, and great-great-granddaughter of
Ensign John Coolidge, of Watertown, by wife
Hannah (Livermore) Coolidge. The father
of Ensign John was John Coolidge, of Water-
town, the immigrant, who took the freeman's
oath May 25, 1636.
John Phipps was born in Douglas, son of
Jedediah Phipps, who settled in Douglas, May
5, 1768; was moderator in 1778-79; select
man in 1773-80; with President Lock and
Hon. Daniel Whitney on the committee of
correspondence in 1774-75; delegate to con
vention in 1779 at Concord; a very prominent
citizen; married Sarah Learned, who was
born in 1731 and died March 6, 1810, daugh
ter of Captain Edward Learned, of Sherborn,
by wife Sarah (Leland) Learned, daughter of
Ensign Henry Leland and wife Mary (Morse)
Leland. Ensign Leland's father was Deacon
Benoni Leland, his mother Sarah (Fanning)
Leland; granddaughter of Isaac Learned, of
Woburn, son of William Learned, of Charles-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 125

town. Jedediah Phipps, born March 11,
1724-25, died in his ninety-fifth year, son of
John Phipps, Jr., who was the first of the name
to settle at Sherborn. He was a descendant of
Solomon Phipps, of Charlestown, the immi
grant, who was admitted to the church there
January 15, 1641-42, and a freeman May 18,
1642; town officer; died 1671. Children: 1.
Charles Elnathan, born December 24, 1827,
died young. 2. Caroline Augusta, born De
cember 21, 1829, died January 30, 1906. 3.
George Phipps, born August 2, 1833, men
tioned below. 4. Harriet, born October 5,
i835- (VIII) George Phipps Walker, son of
Abel Walker (7), was born in Milford or
Hopkinton, August 2, 1833. (See Milford
History). He moved with his parents to Men
don or Milford, Massachusetts, an adjacent
town, when he was a young child, and thence
to Andover, Massachusetts, where he learned
the trade of cabinet maker. He acquired the
'usual common school education of his day. He
finally went into business on his own account
in Wilton, New Hampshire, in the manufac
ture of wooden- ware. In 1870 he removed to
Lowell, Massachusetts, where he established
himself as a manufacturer1 of soap. He built
up a very large and successful business, and
after acquiring a competence retired from
active business. In politics Mr. Walker is a
Republican. He was an alderman of the city
of Lowell in 1876. He is a director in the
Moxie Manufacturing Company. He is a
member of Pawtucket Lodge of Free Masons,
joining in 1876, and of the Middlesex Knights
of Pythias, and is past grand master. In reli
gion he is a Congregationalist and a member
of the West Andover Congregational Church.
He married (first), September 24, 1867,
Sophia Strout, born in Bradford, Maine. He
married (second) Lucy Bassett, of Lowell.
She died in 1890. His only child died in in
fancy, but he has two adopted daughters: 1.
Bertha W., born September 9, 1870, married
George B. Damon, have Carolyn Walker. 2.
Jessie, born July 27, 1876, married Loren
Mackey, have Jean and Dorothy.

The surname Kendall of Eng-
KENDALL land is of local derivation
from the town of Kendall,
Westmoreland county. The town's name was
doubtless derived from that of the river Ken,
on which it is located. The family in Eng
land is very large and widely distributed,

many of the branches bearing arms and hav
ing distinguished members. The name is
found common in Bedfordshire, at Basing-
borne, Essex; in Lancashire; at Smithsby,
Derbyshire; in Cornwall; in Devonshire; and
Hertfordshire. In 1575 a branch of the fam
ily settled in Thorpthules, Durham, a younger
son of the Kendall family of Ripon, York
shire, where the family lived at an early date.
Among the early Kendalls who were promi
nent was John Kendall, sheriff of Nottingham,
killed in the battle of Bosworth in 1485, fight
ing in the army of Richard III.
(I) John Kendall, progenitor of the Amer
ican family, lived in the county of Cambridge,
England, in 1646, died there in 1660. Two of
his sons came to America: 1. Francis, men
tioned below. 2. Deacon Thomas, who was
a proprietor of Reading, Massachusetts, in
1644; was admitted freeman May 10, 1648;
had ten daughters and no sons, thus leaving no
descendants bearing his name.
(II) Francis Kendall, the immigrant ances
tor, son of John Kendall (1), was born in
England, and is believed to be the ancestor
of all the Kendalls of America. In December,
1658, he deposed that his age was about thir
ty-eight years. On April 2, 1662, he deposed
that his age was about forty-eight years. Pos
sibly the date of his birth was between the
two dates indicated by these statements, say
1618. He came from England before 1640.
With thirty-one others he signed the town
orders of Woburn, December 18, 1640. He
had been living in Charlestown, of which Wo
burn was then a part, and where he was a
taxpayer in 1645. Francis Kendall married,
December 24, 1644, Mary Tidd, daughter of
John Tidd. In the record he is called Francis
Kendall, alias Miles. There are several ex
planations of this record. It was common
with emigrants to America to take assumed
names to avoid vexatious laws, and there is a
tradition that Kendall left England against
the wishes of his femily, using the name of
Miles until he was settled in this country. His
brother Thomas seems not to have used any
other name. Francis Kendall was admitted a
freeman May 10, 1648. Sewall says of him:
"He was a gentleman of great respectability
and influence in the place of his residence."
He served the town at different times for
eighteen years as selectman, and on important
committees such as those for distributing
grants to the pioneers, and on building the
meeting house. He was tything man in 1676.
He' was not entirely in accord with the Puritan '

1126

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

church, and was fined for some infraction of
church rules about infant baptism or attend
ance at communion or attending meetings of
the Anabaptists. He was a miller by trade and
owned a corn mill, which he left to his sons
Samuel and John. This corn mill, at Wo
burn, has been in the possession of the family
down to the present time. The mill now, or
lately on the Kendall place, is one built
by Samuel Kendall soon after 1700 and is
some distance from the location of the first
mill. He died in 1708, at the age of eighty-eight,
according to the record, corroborating the
affidavit of 1658. His wife Mary died in
1705. His will was dated May 9, 1706. His
sons Thomas and John were the executors.
Children: 1. John, born July 2, 1646. 2.
Thomas, born January 10, 1648-49, mentioned
below. 3. Mary, born January 20, 1650-51,
married Israel Reed about 1669. 4. Elizabeth,
.born January 15, 1652-53, married (first),
Ephraim Winship; (second) James Pierce. 5.
Hannah, born January 26, 1654-55, married
William Green, Jr., as his second wife. 6.
Rebecca, born March 2, 1657, married, De
cember, 1706, Joshua Eaton. 7. Samuel, born
March 8, 1659. 8. Jacob, born January 25,
1660-61. 9. Abigail, born April 6, 1666, mar
ried, May 24, 1686, William Reed.
(Ill) Thomas Kendall, son of Francis
Kendall (2), was born in Woburn, January
10, 1648-49, died May 25, 1730. He married,
1673, Ruth Blodgett, who died December 18,
1695. He married (second), March 30, 1696,
Abigail (Reyner) Broughton, who died De
cember 31, 1 716. He was a farmer at Wo
burn. Children, born at Woburn: 1. Ruth,
born February 17, 1675, married John Walker,
Jr. 2. Thomas, born May 19, 1677, married,
1702, Sarah Cheever; settled in Framingham,
Massachusetts. 3. Mary, born February 27,
1680, married Joseph Whitmore. 4. Samuel,
born October 29, 1682. 5. Ralph, born May
4, 1685. 6. Eleazer, born .November 16, 1687.
7. Ephraim, born 1690, mentioned below. 8.
Jabez (twin), born September 10, 1692. 9.
Jane (twin), born September 10, 1692, mar
ried, 1712, Joseph Russell. 10. Child born
and died December 16, 1695.
(IV) Ephraim Kendall, son of Thomas
Kendall (3), was born at Woburn in 1690,
and was a farmer there. He married Judith
Walker, of an old Woburn family. Children,
born at Woburn : 1. Ephraim, born March
27, 1716, mentioned below. 2. Edward, born
' September 27, 1718. 3. Ezra, born January

1, 1721. 4. Reuben, born May 20, 1724. 5.
Judith, born December 11, 1728.
(V) Ephraim Kendall, son of Ephraim
Kendall (4), was born in Woburn, March
27, 1716. He settled in Wilmington, formerly
part of Woburn, Massachusetts. He was a
soldier in the French and Indian war and died
in the army at Lake George, July 18, 1758.
He married, at Wilmington, February 24,
1736-37, Ruth Pierce (or Peirce, both spell
ings being used interchangeably), daughter of
Lieutenant Ebenezer and Mary Pierce, of Wil
mington. Lieutenant Pierce died April 16,
1766, in his eighty-eighth year at Wilmington;
his wife died there January 26, 1764, in her
eightieth year.
The heirs of Lieutenant Ebenezer Pierce
united in a deed to Ebenezer Pierce, Jr.,
dated May 5, 1767, viz. : Samuel Wyman and
wife Mary, William Johnson and wife Eliz
abeth, Noah Eaton and wife Deborah, Keziah
Wyman, all of Woburn; Samuel Butters, Jr.,
and wife Ruth, Reuben Wyman, of Billerica,
Catherine Wyman, of Wilmington, Increase
Wyman, of Billerica, Joshua Kendall, cord-
wainer, of Cambridge, Jacob Barrett, of Ips
wich, mariner, Joshua Pierce,- of Leominster,
Massachusetts, and Jonathan Pierce, of Provi
dence, Rhode Island. Ebenezer Pierce, Jr.,
settled in Sutton, Massachusetts.
Children, born in Wilmington: 1. Eph
raim, born October 29, 1737, probably died
young. 2. Ephraim, born May 14, 1741, mar
ried Susanna Perkins, baptized at Ipswich,
September 11, 1743, daughter of Joseph Per
kins (4), Jacob (3), John (2), John (1) ;
bought his farm, part of the old Brown estate
in Ipswich, November 26, 1771, of Samuel
Sawyer; bought more land April 29, 1782, of
Dr. Samuel Smith, Ipswich; his widow sold
the farm May 28, 1816, to the county and for
many years it was occupied by the old brick
county building; children: i. Ephraim, born
October 28, 1765, resided in Ipswich; ii. Su
sanna, born September 11, 1767; iii. Jonathan,
born November 1, 1769; iv. Lucy, born Octo
ber 4, 1774; v. Mary, born July 22, 1777; 3.
Joshua, born September 29, 1746, mentioned
below. His daughters are mentioned in the,
list of heirs given in the deed to Ebenezer
Pierce, Jr., mentioned above.
(VI) Joshua Kendall, son of Ephraim Ken
dall (5), was born at Wilmington, Massachu
setts, September 29, 1746, died July 25, 1818,
at West Cambridge. He early learned the
shoemaker's trade, and followed it during the
summer season, going about the country from

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 127

house to house, as was the custom, making the
yearly outfit of shoes for the family. During
one of his trips he stopped at the house of
Josiah Shattuck, a prosperous farmer of West
Cambridge. He engaged himself to work for
Mr. Shattuck on the farm for the winter, and
while there he became engaged to marry the
voting and beautiful daughter of the house,
Susannah Shattuck. (See sketch of Shat
tuck family herewith). They were married
April 26, 1770, and lived on the Shattuck
homestead, which, on the death of her father,
his wife inherited. The homestead in 1884
was occupied by Adolphus Brown, grandson
of Joshua Kendall, and was within the limits
of the town of Belmont.
Joshua Kendall was both a good farmer and
business man, and his farm proved profitable.
For many years he supplied milk for the Bos
ton market. At the time the Concord turn
pike was put through in front of his house,
he was an interested investor, although the
enterprise was never a financial success. At
the time the road was being constructed, he
took some thirty of the workmen to board,
and during that season they drank up thirty
barrels of his cider.
His wife Susanna died September 9, 1803,
and he inherited her estate. Children: 1.
Benjamin Shattuck, born July 30, 1771, died
July 12, 1832; married, May, 1811, Hannah
Stearns, of Belmont, Massachusetts ; no issue.
2. Susanna, born November 14, 1773, died
November 5, 1833; married Thomas Brown,
of Weston, Massachusetts ; children : i. Mar
shall Brown, born December 18, 1793, died
February 15, 1842; married, October 23,
1821, Louisa Lawrence, of Waltham, and had
Leonard Lawrence Brown, born August 7,
1822, married, January 20, 1848, Adaline
Barnes, and had Addie Louise Brown, born
November 6, 1848, died April 9, 1873 ; Louisa
Maria Brown, born February 18, 1824, mar
ried, April 14, 1847, Samuel F. Clark (and had
Maynard Marshall Brown, born June 30,
1848, died June 15, 1861 ; Ira Edgar Brown,
born October 18, 1852, and Leonard Brown,
born September 8,1862); and Maynard Mar
shall Brown, born August 5, 1841, died April
21, 1842; ii. Almira Brown, born January 29,
1799; died 1863; iii. Adolphus Brown, born
November 29, 1800, died May 11, 1893; mar
ried, November 30, 1826, Mary Warren, of
Weston, and had Josiah Kendall Brown, born
September 7, 1827, died October, 1884; Mary
Elizabeth Brown, born July 21, 1829; Thomas
Warren Brown, born March 6, 1832 ; Susanna

Brown, born October 30, 1833, died Decem
ber 9, 1866; (married, August 9, 1855, Henry
W. Maynard, of Cambridge, and had Herbert
Fuller Maynard, born February 23, 1856) ;
Almira Brown, born January 28, 1836 (mar
ried, November 30/1876,  ¦ Porter) ; Char
lotte Brown, born April 12, 1839, died Febru
ary 3, 1 841 ; Edward Adolphus Brown, born
March 27, 1841 ; Emily Augusta Brown, born
November 13, 1843 (married, May 27, 1869,
Oliver H. Fillebrown, and had Charles War
ren Fillebrown, born April 18, 1870, died July
29, 1872, Mary Louisa Fillebrown, born Jan
uary 29, 1872, William Locke Fillebrown,
born October 23, 1873, Blanche Rebecca Fille
brown, born July 4, 1875, Emilie Frances
Fillebrown, born November 8, 1877, Warren
Fillebrown; Annie Louise Brown, born De
cember 30, 1846. 3. Joshua, born February
4, 1777, died June 5, 1846. 4. Mary, born
November 16, 1779, died September 3, 1849.
5. Lucy, born June 27, 1782, died June 18,
1 80 1. 6. Betsey, born May 28, 1785, died at
Ludlow, Vermont, September 1, 1854; mar
ried, October 3, 1805, Newell Bent, of Cam
bridge, Massachusetts, born October 9, 1778,
died February 9, 1831 ; children: i. Eliza Ann
Bent, born August 7, 1806, died April 23,
1838; ii. Newell Bent, born March 5, 1810,
died December 18, 1872; iii. Susan Maria
Bent, born March 11, 1814, died December 21,
1874; iv. Mary Kendall Bent, born August
12, 1822, died March 25, 1825 ; v, Mary Lu
cretia Bent, born April 19, 1826, died Febru
ary 20, 1855 ; vi. Fanny Loretta Bent, born
March 22, 1828, died March 6, 1896. 7. Jo
siah, born January 27, 1788, mentioned below.
8. Hannah, born May 5, 1790, died May 10,.
1823 ; married, March, 1820, Washington
Pierce. 9. David, born May 26, 1793, died
March 4, 1855 ; married, November 25, 1819,
Lucretia Lawrence. 10. Charles, born June
11, 1796, died October 9, 1876; married. May
31, 1825, Julia Smith; children: i. Charles
Dexter, born April 20, 1826, died 1895 ; ii.
David, born September 7, 1827, married, Feb
ruary 3, i860, Mary Jane Adams, of Waltham,
and bad Charles Ellis, born February 3, 1861,
died March, 1879, May Ritchie, born Septem
ber 26, 1866, Lena Anna, born 1870, died Oc
tober, 1876, Josie Adams, born March, 1872,
Arthur Edgar Shattuck, born October 8, 1877 ;
iii. Arthur Atkins, born April 13, 1832, mar
ried Anna Maria Cox; iv. Julia Ann, born
January 30, 1834, died 1834; v. Julia Ann,
born November 2.5, 1835, died November 10,
1856; vi. Susan Shattuck, born May 14, iF

1 128

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

died January, 1908; vii. Lucia, born Apr-il 3,
1841, died at Clifton Springs, New York, Oc
tober 29, 1875.
(VII) Josiah Kendall, son of Joshua Ken
dall (6), was born at West Cambridge, Mass
achusetts, January 27, 1788. At an early age
he was apprenticed to a carpenter, but did
not follow the trade. About 1821 he and his
brother David purchased the David S. Eaton
plaCe in the northeast part of Waltham, near
the home of their birth, within the limits of
what is now Belmont. This farm contained
about one hundred and twenty acres, which
the brothers later divided. Both the brothers
were industrious and their business sagacity
soon made them men of importance and
wealth. Josiah ran a saw mill and David a
grist mill on Beaver Brook, just below Josiah's
house. Although his principal income was
from the mill, which was very profitable, he
sold garden produce to the housewives of
Boston, going himself from house to house
to dispose of his stock. His goodness and
honesty endeared him to all, and his love for
his kinspeople and friends was very strong.
He was tall and slim, of a rather retiring dis
position. He died at his home on Mill street,
Belmont, in the prime of life, April 5, 1845,
aged fifty-seven. In religion he was a Uni
versalist and later a Unitarian. In politics he
was a Whig; he was much opposed to secret
societies, considering them a dangerous
menace to the country.
He married, May 29, 1821, Mary Ann
Brown, born at Waltham, November 2, 1797,
died August 10, 1850, daughter of Jonas and
Relief (Pierce) Brown, of Waltham. Her
father was a farmer, town officer, and a dea
con of the church. Children: 1. Elizabeth
Baldwin, born March 20, 1823, unmarried. 2.
Josiah Shattuck, born March 30, 1825, men
tioned below. 3. Joshua, born January 4,
1828; married, September 14, 1854, Phebe
Mitchell, of Nantucket, Massachusetts, born
February 23, 1828; died June 4, 1907; chil
dren : i. William Mitchell, born February 13,
1856, married, July 14, 1897, at Geneva, Switz
erland, Grace Elliott, of Detroit, Michigan. 4.
Benjamin, born May 22, 1830, married, No
vember 11, 1852, Sarah C. Marston, of Pow-
nal, Maine ; children : i. Susan Ring, born
August 28, 1853, died October 28, 1854; ii.
Frank Marston, born September 8, 1855, died
April 24, 1856; iii. Susan Ring, born October
19, 1858, resides in California. 5. Jonas
Brown, born May 7, 1834, whose sketch fol
lows. 6. George, born August 25, 1838, mar

ried, November 7, 1866, Harriet L. Collins, of
Watertown, Massachusetts; children: i.
George Albert, born October 26, 1868, un
married; ii. James Henry, born August 10,
1870, unmarried; iii. Lillian Eliza, born Feb
ruary 15, 1872, unmarried; iv. Lucretia Har
riet, born March 14, 1874, died June 11, 1875;
v. Charles Francis, born March 5, 1876, died
August 31, 1876; vi. Hannah Louise, born
January 13, 1878, unmarried.
(VIII) Josiah Shattuck Kendall, son of
Josiah Kendall (7), was born on the old Ken
dall homestead in the northeast part of Walt
ham, Massachusetts (now Waverly), March
30, 1825, died there March 13, 1907. He re
ceived his education in what was known as the
Trapelo district just over the line in Waltham.
When he was about twenty years old, his
father died, and at about the age of twenty-
two he bought the shares of the farm held by
his brothers and sisters, who had inherited it
with him, and became a successful farmer.
The farm ¦ comprised seventy-five or eighty
acres "more or less." He sold quite a large
tract to the Metropolitan Park Commission,
and another to the McLean Asylum, leaving
about forty-five acres for cultivation. He
conducted a successful dairy farm, selling the
milk to his brothers in Boston, who were in
the milk business. The garden produce was
sold from house to house -as his father had
done. For a few years during the sixties he
ran the grist mill, which had been established
by his uncle David one hundred years before.
Mr. Kendall was one of the finest examples
of the old-fashioned New England farmer,
upright and honorable, strictly honest, and
although sometimes blunt in speech, possessed
of a kindly heart. He was a natural orator,
and served the public without reward, and
was honored with positions of trust and
responsibility. He was an old-time Whig, but
later a staunch Republican, serving as dele
gate many times to his party conventions. He
was chairman of the board of selectmen and
of the board of assessors, and member of the
school committee. When he retired from pub-
1 lie office on account of the infirmities of ad
vancing age, about 1895, the gratitude of his
fellow citizens expressed itself unanimously
in the most enthusiastic kind of a public recep
tion in the town hall. At this time an oil por
trait of Mr. Kendall, given by public subscrip
tion, was unveiled as an inspiration to future
generations. Mr. Kendall was brought up in
the Waltham Unitarian church, but became
identified with the Waverly Unitarian church,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 129

being chairman of the parish committee. He
was a member of the Republican Club of
Massachusetts; he belonged to the early mili
tia. He married, November 24, 1852, at Walt
ham, Martha Helen Wellington, born at Walt
ham, September 27, 1830, died at Belmont,
December 10, 1899, daughter of Sullivan and
Martha Howe (Hardy) Wellington, of Walt
ham. Children: 1. Mary Ann, born Decem
ber 12, 1853, married, November 8, 1877,
Larra Watson Munroe, of Cleveland, Ohio, a
travelling salesman; resides at Dorchester,
Massachusetts; children: i. James Albert
Munroe, born June 29, 1880, unmarried; ii.
Walter Nathan Munroe, born July 29, 1884,
unmarried; iii. Larra Kendall Munroe, born
November 21, 1886, unmarried. 2. George
Frederick, born August 28, 1857; mentioned
below. 3. Walter Shattuck, born March 17,
1866, married, November 14, 1900, Clara
Alice ' Willard, of Waltham, Massachusetts ;
children: i. Helen Willard, born September 3,
1901 ; ii. William Shattuck, born October 12,
1906. 4. Francis Howe, born August 23,
1869, married, June 6, 1900, Lilly Miller, of
Medford, Massachusetts ; no issue.
(IX) George Frederick Kendall, son of
Josiah Shattuck Kendall (8), was born at
Belmont, Massachusetts, August 28, 1857.
He was educated in the schools of Belmont,
graduating from the high school in 1873. He
was associated with his father on the farm
until his father's death in 1907, when he inher
ited the estate. The farm has always been
profitable under the efficient management of
his father and himself. He keeps an average
of twenty-seven head of Ayrshire and Hol
stein cattle, and the dairy buildings are models
of neatness and convenience. He has thirty-
five acres of tillage, and raises in large quanti
ties, corn, peas, tomatoes, beans, squash, let
tuce and celery. His brother, Walter S. Ken
dall, who is associated with him, attends to the
marketing of the produce in Boston. The
house on the farm is in a good state of pres
ervation, and contains all the original timbers.
It was on the property when it was bought
from David S. Eaton, and was built over one
hundred and sixty years ago.
Mr. Kendall is a member of the Unitarian
church at Waverly, and is a member of the
parish committee. In politics he is a Repub
lican, and has served his party as chairman of
the Republican town committee, and as a mem
ber of the board of registration. He is a
member of Trapelo Lodge, No. 238, of the In

dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and has
held offices in the order. He is a trustee of
the, Waverly Co-operative Bank.
He married, January 7, 1891, Carrie
Frances Eames, born January 15, 1861, daugh
ter of Henry Harrison and Hannah Shores
(Eaton) Eames, of Cambridge, Massachu
setts. Her father was an ice dealer in Cam
bridge and superintendent of the Cambridge
cemetery. Children: 1. Ella Wellington,
born September 23, 1892. 2. Harrison Shat
tuck, born February 19, 1894.
(VIII) Jonas Brown Kendall, Sr., son of
Josiah Kendall (7), was born at Waltham,
Massachusetts, May 7, 1834. He attended
the district school until he was fifteen years
old, when he entered Phillips Academy at
Duxbury, Massachusetts, remaining eighteen
months to study civil engineering. He then
engaged at work on the farm for his mother,
continuing for three years. When he was
twenty years old he purchased the milk route
of his brother Benjamin, and two years later
sold it to Ambrose Stearns, of Lexington. He
then bought another Cambridge route of
Phineas Stearns, which he conducted for eight
years. This he sold to Andrew Stearns and
Charles Brown, of Waltham, and bought a
Boston route of John Marsh. After ten years
of successful business he sold out and bought
his last route, which was in Cambridge, of
John Lawrence, of Waltham. In 1888 he sold
the business to his sons and retired from active
work. Mr. Kendall is a man of quiet and re
tired manner, interested chiefly in the welfare
of his family. He resides at No. 21 Russell
street, Cambridge, in a house which he bought
in 1897. He has been a Unitarian from youth;
in politics is a Republican, although he never
sought public office. He is a trustee of the
Belmont Savings Bank.
He married (first), June 1, 1858, Joanna
Agnes Lundergan, born August, 1839, died
March 26, 1887, aged forty-seven years, six
months, daughter of  — and Margaret
Lundergan. He married (second), June 20,
1888, Harriet Isabel Thompson, born at West
Newbury, Massachusetts, daughter of Peter
and Sarah Gerrish (Davis) Thompson, of
Byfield, Massachusetts, the former a native
of Scotland and the latter of Newberryport,
Massachusetts. Children, all by the first wife: 1. Agnes,
born September 1, 1859, married, October 26,
1882, Elmer A. Russell, of Waverly, Massa
chusetts ; children : i. Edith Lois Russell, born
August 26, 1883; died August 29, 1883: ii.

1130

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Florence Agnes Russell, born February 14,
1888, died October 17, 1889; iii. Maud Elmer
Russell, born December 11, 1890. 2. Philip
Shattuck, born October 8, i860, married Jan
uary 13, 1907, Annie Lahey, of South Boston,
Massachusetts. 3. Jonas Brown, Jr., men
tioned below. 4. George Henry, mentioned
below. 5. John Benjamin, mentioned below. 6.
Mary Elizabeth, born September 3, 1869, mar
ried, June 6, 1889, Charles Frederick Slade,
of Belmont, Massachusetts ; children : i.
Marion Kendall Slade, born July 25, 1894; ii.
Esther Slade, born May 4, 1898. 7. Anna
Florence, born June 26, 1871. 8. Edith Helen,
born May 14, 1879.
(IX) Jonas Brown Kendall, Jr., son of
Jonas Brown Kendall, Sr., (8), was born
at Watertown, Massachusetts, August 18,
1862. At the age of three years he removed
with his parents to Lexington, Massachusetts,
where he attended school until he was ten
years old, when the family removed to Bel
mont, Massachusetts, where he completed his
schooling. When he was sixteen he worked
for his father, driving the milk wagon to Bos
ton. In April, 1888, he and his brothers,
Philip, John B., and George H., formed a
partnership and bought the milk business of
their father, and have ever since been suc
cessful. Their place of business is at No. 41
Russell street, and three wagons are required
for the serving of the customers. They enjoy
the patronage of many of the best families of
Cambridge. Mr. Kendall has charge of one
of the routes. He resides at No. 7 Bowers
avenue, West Somerville. He was reared in
the Unitarian church, and is a Republican in
politics. He married, June 6, 1906, Florence
Bridges Freeman, widow of James Freeman,
of Cambridgeport; she was born December
29, 1875, daughter of Esaias Brook and Mary
Ann (Gason) Bridges, both natives of Sussex
county, England.
(IX) George Henry Kendall, son of Jonas
Brown Kendall (8), was born at Lexington,
Massachusetts, December 25, 1864. At the
age of seven he removed with his parents to
Belmont, where he entered the public schools,
attending the high school three years. He
assisted his father about the farm, and in the
milk business, and later drove a wagon to the
Boston market for his father. In 1888, he
and his brothers bought the milk business
from their father, and have conducted it suc
cessfully ever since. He conducts a section of
their large route, the business being entirely
in the city of Boston among the best people.

They supply nearly five hundred patrons. Mr.
Kendall is retiring in disposition, devoted to
his home and business. He resides at No. 15
Windom street, West Somerville. He and
his family attend the Park Avenue Methodist
Church. He is a Republican, but has never
aspired to. public office. He is a member of
Caleb Rand Lodge, No. 197, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, at Davis Square, West
Somerville. He married, May 29, 1901,
Amanda Lousia Johnson, born in the city of
Jonkoping, Kingdom of Sweden, August 11,
1874, daughter of Samuel Johan and Sarah
Eliza (Johanson) Johanson (or anglicised)
Johnson. Her father was a farmer. They
have one child, Chester Brown Kendall, born
September 4, 1902.
(IX) John Benjamin Kendall, son of Jonas
Brown Kendall (8), was born at Lexington,
Massachusetts, January 1, 1867. At the
age of five his parents removed to Bel
mont, where he received his education in the
public schools, attending the high school near
ly four years. He then entered the grocery
store of Herbert H. Russell at Waverly,
Massachusetts, where he remained, seven
months as clerk. Subsequently he accepted a
position with E. A. Russell, a , confectionery
manufacturer of Cambridge, as clerk and
salesman. He remained in his employ three
years and a half, and then went into partner
ship with his three brothers in the purchase of
their father's milk business. Mr. Kendall is
the junior partner, and attends to the finan
cial part of the business, acting as secretary
and keeping the books for the firm. He re
sides at No. 25 Russell street, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. He and his family attend the
Cambridge Universalist church. In politics
he is a Republican. He is a member of the
New Towne Club of Cambridge, and has
served as house officer for the club.
He married, July 22, 1896, Mabel Slade,
daughter of Charles Horace Slade, of Bel
mont, Massachusetts. Her father is one of
the best known market gardeners of Belmont.
Children: 1. Charles Benjamin, born August
11, 1897. 2- Richard Slade, born May 21,
1901. (See Slade family sketch).

William Shattuck, the pro-
SHATTUCK genitor of most of the
American families of that
name, was born in England in 1622, accord
ing to his deposition made April 3, 1660. He
was the immigrant ancestor. He died in

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1131

Watertown, August 14, 1672, aged fifty years.
He was one of the proprietors of Watertown
in 1642, and his homestall there was between
that of John Clough and William Perry. He
added to his original holdings by purchase and
grants. He bought John Clough's place July
4, 1654, including house, garden and thirty
acres of land on Common Hill, south of the
present site of Wellington Hill station of the
Fitchburg railroad, east of Common street,
leading to Watertown village.
He was a cordwainer or shoemaker, though
the genealogy gives his trade as weaver. He
removed to Boston in 1652, but returned to
Watertown in 1654. He acquired a large
property and held a respectable position in
society. One of his descendants, Lemuel
Shattuck, erected a monument in 1853 over his
grave at Watertown, in honor of the emi
grant, and his son, John Shattuck, who died
in the service of his country. His will was
dated August 3, and proved August 29, 1672.
He bequeathed to his son Samuel Church; to
sons John, Philip, William, Benjamin and
Samuel; to my ten younger children that are
married; to wife Susanna and to each grand
child. The widow married (second) Richard
Norcross, who survived her. She died Decem
ber 11, 1686, at Watertown.
Children: 1. Susannah, born 1643, married
J. Morse and J. Fay. 2. Mary, born August
25, 1645, married Jonathan Brown. 3. John,
born February 11, 1646-47; married Ruth
Whitney; soldier in King Philip's war; was
drowned in the Charles river through the cap
sizing of the ferry boat. 4. Philip, born
1648, mentioned below. 5. Joanna, died April
4, 1673, unmarried. 6. William, born 1653,
married Susanna Randall. 7. Rebecca, born
1655, married Samuel Church. 8. Abigail,
born 1657, married J. Morse and J. Parker. 9.
Benjamin, born in Watertown, died in his
twentieth year. 10. Samuel, born February
28, 1666, married Abigail  .
(II) Dr. Philip Shattuck, son of William
Shattuck (1), was born in 1648, died in
Watertown, June 26, 1722, aged seventy-
three. He lived in Watertown and his farm
was near the present Waverly Station of the
Fitchburg railroad. He was a physician of
eminence and a leading man in the town. Pie
was moderator of town meetings, assessor and
treasurer, chairman of selectmen, and held
other offices of trust and responsibility. His
will was dated January 29 and proved August
30, 1722. As shown by the will, he had two
sons named Philip, called Philip of Saybrook

and Philip the younger. The will mentions
Isaac as executor, sons Philip of Saybrook,
Joseph and Benjamin, son-in-law John Under
wood, daughters who married  Park-
hurst and  Norcross, daughter Ann
Sanderson, sons Amos and Philip the younger,
and granddaughter Rebecca Underwood.
He married, November 9, 1670, Deborah
Barstow, who died November 24, 1679, daugh
ter of William and Anna Barstow. Her
father died at Dedham, January 1, 1668. He
married (second), February 11, 1680, Re
becca Chamberlain, who died in 1728. Her
will was dated December: 13, 1727, and proved
November 19, 1728. The sons Amos and
Philip were executors. Children of the first
wife: 1. Deborah, born October 10, 1671,
died October 19, 1671. 2. Philip, born Janu
ary 26, 1673, married Margaret Pratt. 3. Su
sanna, born August 6, 1675, married Nathaniel
Norcross. 4. Anna, born December 8, 1677,
married William Sanderson. Children of the
second wife: 5. Joseph, born August 12
1681, died November 7, 1683. 6. Rebecca
born March 10, 1683, married John Under
wood. 7. Benjamin, born March 15, 1685
mentioned below. 8. Joseph, born March 6
1687, married Mary Ladd. 9. Nathaniel, born
January 14, 1689, married Hepsibah Hastings
10. Isaac, riiarried Mary  . 11. Amos
born March 19, 1693. 12. Sarah, born Octo
ber 26, 1696, married Samuel Parkhurst. 13
Theophilus, born October 19, 1699. 14
Philip, "the younger."
(Ill) Benjamin Shattuck, son of Dr. Philip
Shattuck (2), was born at Watertown, March
15, 1685, died in 1767, aged eighty. He lived
on the family estate in Watertown, and was
a prominent man. He was constable of Cam
bridge in 1732. His will was dated September
28, 1730, with a codicil dated December 29,
1754. It was proved December 8, 1767. All
the real estate was bequeathed to Rachel and
Josiah, and mention was made of Benjamin,
Deliverance Fay, and Sarah. Benjamin and
Deliverance died before the codicil was exe
cuted. He married (first), February 20, 1707,
DeHverance Fay, of Marlborough, born Octo
ber 7, 1686, died at Watertown, January 22,
171 1, aged twenty-four years, three months
and fifteen days. He married (second), March
27, 1712, Rachel Clark, born April 17, 1683,
daughter of Samuel Clark, of Cambridge.
Children of the first wife: 1. Deliverance,
born December 22, 1707, married Samuel Fay.
2. Benjamin, born January 23, 1709, died un
married. Children of the second wife: 3.

1 132

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Sarah, born January 15, 1713, died December
22, 1703. 4. Josiah, born February 20, 1715,
mentioned below. 5. Susan, married, January
2, 1 741, John White, of Boston. 6. Sarah,
born December 27, 1718, married, December
12, 1739, Jonathan Fay, of Westborough.
(IV) Josiah Shattuck, son of Benjamin
Shattuck (3), was born at Watertown, Feb
ruary 20, 1 71 5, died at West Cambridge about
1779. He was a farmer and succeeded to the
family estate. With David Kendall and
others he carried on an extensive business as
a dealer in meats, and amassed a large prop
erty. He married, March 28, 1744, Abigail
Stone, of Lexington, born September 26, 1716,
died about 1750, daughter of Joseph and Mary
Stone. He married (second), January 11,
1753, Mary Hastings. Children of the first
wife: 1. Josiah, born October 13, 1744-45,
died young. 2. Benjamin, born February 19,
1746, died unmarried. 3. Susanna, born Feb
ruary 28, 1748, died young. Child of the sec
ond wife : 4. Susanna, born December 2,
1756, mentioned below.
(V) Susanna Shattuck, daughter of Josiah
Shattuck (4), was born at West Cambridge,
Massachusetts, December 2, 1756, died Sep
tember 9, 1803. She was the only surviving
child of her parents, and married at the early
age of thirteen years, three months, twenty-
three days, April 26, 1770, Joshua Kendall.
(See Kendall family sketch herewith).

Thomas Cole came to New Eng-
COLE land and settled in Salem, Massa
chusetts. He is recorded as a hus
bandman in Salem in 1649-50. He probably
came in the ship "Mary and John" March 24,
1633, and first settled in Hampton in 1638,
and afterwards removed to Salem. He mar
ried Ann  . His will was dated Decem
ber 15, 1678, and proved April 27, 1679. His
widow Ann made her will November 1, 1679,
and it was proved May 2, 1681. Children:
Abraham, John, born 164 — , mentioned below.
(II) John Cole, son of Thomas Cole (1),
was born in 164 — and was a cooper by trade.
He lived in Salem until about 1675, when he
removed to Maiden, and about 1684 to Lynn,
where he died October 8, 1703, intestate. He
was one of the inhabitants of Salem who pro
tested against imposts in 1668. He made a
will October 5, 1703, which is endorsed "Will
not perfect" and was not proved. It had but
two witnesses. His son, Samuel Cole, of Box
ford, was appointed administrator of the

estate of his widowed mother, Sarah Cole, of
Bradford, May 25, 1741. John Cole married
(first), Mary Knight, probably daughter of
William Knight, May 28, 1667, who died
before 1675. He married (second), between
1675 and 1686, Sarah Alsbee. She was tried
for witchcraft at Charlestown, and acquitted
February 1, 1693. Children: 1. John, born
May 18, 1668, in Salem. 2. Thomas, born in
Salem, November, 1669, died 1669. 3. Mary,
born in Salem, September 1, 1671, living in
1703-04. 4. Hannah, born December 12, 1674,
living in 1703. 5. Samuel, born December 27,
1687, mentioned below. 6. Anna, born in
Lynn, August 5, 1690, married.  Ses
sions before 1728.
(Ill) Samuel Cole, son of John Cole (2),
was born in Lynn, December 27, 1687. He
removed to Boxford in 1717, where he died
January 20, 1765. He was a farmer in the
west parish of Boxford and was 'taxed in
Boxford from 1717 to 1749. He married in
171 — Susanna  , who died July 29,
1785, aged ninety-five years. Children: 1.
Samuel. 2. John, mentioned below. 3. Re
becca, married Andrew Bradford, June 16,
1743, and died before 1762. 4. Susanna, mar
ried, November 4, 1746, Andrew Bixby; set
tled in Amherst, New Hampshire, and was liv
ing in 1762. 5. Mary, married, January 11,
1757, John Plovey, Jr., was living in 1762.
(IV) John Cole, son of Samuel Cole (3),
was probably born in Lynn and went with his
parents to Boxford when a child. He resided
in Boxford untd about 1763, when he removed
to Amherst, New Hampshire. He was prom
inent in town and church affairs. He was a
soldier in the Revolution, in Captain John
Crosby's company, Colonel Nichol's regiment,
in the Rhode Island campaign in 1777. He
married (first), April 14, 1746, Abigail Brown,
who died March 8, 1747, aged twenty-three.
He married (second), December, 1748, Eu
nice Spofford. Children, born in Boxford, all
by the second wife: 1. Abigail, born Febru
ary 5, 1750. 2. Hannah, born October 7,
I75I- 3- John, born June 27, 1753, killed at
Bunker Hill. 4. Nathan, baptized February
23, 1755, mentioned below. 5. Priscilla, bap
tized December 12, 1756.
(V) Nathan Cole, son of John Cole (4),
was baptized at Boxford, Massachusetts, Feb
ruary 23, 1755. He removed to Amherst, New
Hampshire, with his parents in 1763, and set
tled about 1792 in Antrim, New. Hampshire.
He lived first on a farm on Jeremiah hill next
west of the town pond. Later he lived on the

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 1 33

John Gilmore farm, and a road was laid out
from the Nesmith place to his house January
i9> 1793- He removed to Hill, New Hamp
shire, (formerly New Chester), in 1802. He
was a soldier in the Revolution and fought in
the battle of Bennington. His brother John
-was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill. He
died at Danbury, New Hampshire, a town
near Hill, in 1834, aged eighty-four years. He
married (first) Nabby Brown. She had no
children. He married (second) Molly Flint.
Children: 1. John, born 1777, married Jenny
Gregg, of Antrim; she died in 1804 and he
married (second), 1810, Sally Smith; resided
on Meeting House hill, Antrim; removed
thence to Hill where he died aged eighty-
nine. 2. Nathan, married, 1805, Polly Nichols;
lived near Linn Parker's and removed in
1808 to Cattaraugus county, New York, forty
miles northwest of Buffalo; in 1817 to Ohio
and finally to what is now Columbus, Ohio,
where he died October 21, 1856, aged seventy-
seven ; had . six children. 3. Levi, married
Polly Philbrick, of Andover; he died at Dan-
bury, New Hampshire, about 1850, aged sev
enty-four. 4. Miles, married Sally Bixby, of
Hillsborough; removed to Illinois in 1840 and
died at English Prairie, Illinois, in i860; son
Nathan was colonel in Union army in the
civil war. 5. Jedediah, mentioned below. 6.
Polly, married, December 19, 1793, (second)
James Barrett. 7. Betsey, married John Wad-
leigh, of Hill, where she died September 14,
1867. 8. Susan, married William Winter, of
Danbury; she died about 1834. 9. Lucy, born
October 26, 1791, married (first) Samuel
Pillsbury; (second) C. Roads and resided at
Parkman, Maine, where she died October 12,
1879, the last surviving child of her parents.
(VI) Jedediah Cole, son of Nathan Cole
(5), was born in 1788. He married Pamelia
Chase, of Franklin, New Hampshire. He re
moved to Hill, New Hampshire, when a young
man with his father and others of the family
and was a farmer in that town until his death,
June 25, i860, aged seventy-two. Children:
Cyrus W., born 1822, mentioned below;
Charles B., Chase, Mary Ann.
(VII) Cyrus W. Cole, son of Jedediah
Cole (6), was born at Hill, New Hampshire,
March 27, 1822. He was educated there in
the public schools, and remained on the farm
helping his father until he came of age. He
then went to Boston and drove a hack there
for seven years. With his savings he pur
chased a general store at East Andover, New
Hampshire, and carried on a prosperous busi

ness there until he retired. He was succeeded
in business by his son. He died in East An
dover in 1899 and is buried there. He mar
ried Abbie C. Piper of Sanbornton, New
Hampshire, born November 12, 1827, daugh
ter of Daniel Piper. Children: 1. Lorin P.,
married Belle Bullock, of Grafton, New
Hampshire; their son Ralph graduated from
the medical department of Tufts College and
is now a physician practicing in New York
City and on the staffs of one of the hospitals.
2. Elmer E., born February 11, 1861, men
tioned below. 3. Edna S., born November
6, 1868, died March 20, 1891, at the age of
twenty-three. (VIII) Elmer E. Cole, son of Cyrus W.
Cole (7), was born at East Andover, New
Hampshire, February 11, 1861. He was edu
cated there in the public schools, and entered
the employ of his father in the general store
in his native town. After five years he
bought the business and his father retired
with a comfortable competence. A few years
afterward the son lost heavily from a fire that
destroyed the store. He was only partly pro
tected by insurance. He sold out and removed
to Billerica, Massachusetts, where he pur
chased the hay and grain business of W. C.
Phillips in 1897. Under his management the,
business has doubled in volume within a few
years. He deals in coal in addition to the orig
inal business that he bought, and is the owner
of a soap factory in Lowell, Massachusetts,.
The soap business is rapidly extending, the
concern having at present a large list of cus
tomers. He is an active and influential Repub
lican, but has never been a candidate for pub
lic office. He is an attendant of the Unitarian
Church. He is a Mason, member of Kear-
sarge Lodge, No. 81, of Andover, New Hamp
shire. He married, February 11, 1886, M.
Lizzie Emery, born October 9, 1861, at Lon
donderry, New Hampshire, daughter of John
R. and Esther (White) Emery. John R.
Emery was born 1820, died 1891 ; his wife
died March 7, 1895, aged fifty-seven years.
Mr. and Mrs. Cole have one child, Esther
Emery Cole, born January 1, 1900.

The Noyes families of America
NOYES trace their ancestry to two
brothers, Rev. James and Nich
olas Noyes, who embarked on the ship "Mary
and John," Robert Sayers, master, of London,
March 24, 1633. They settled in Medford in
1634 and removed to what is now Newbury,

."34

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Massachusetts, the following year. The
Noyes arms used by the family after coming
to America as well as in England : Azure,
three crosses in a bend, argent. Crest : On a
chapeau azure turned up ermine a dove argent
in the beak an olive branch vert.
(i) Rev. William Noyes, born in 1658,
died in Cholderton, Wiltshire, England, before
April 30, 1622. He had brothers Richard
Noyes and Robert Noyes, both also of Chol
derton, and they were probably sons of Rob
ert Noyes, for the will of Richard Noyes, of
Manningford Bruce in the diocese of Sarum,
February 2, 1590, mentions "the sons of
Robert Noyes of Cholderton. Richard Noyes,
of Manningford Bruce, was son of William
Noyes, of Urchfont, yeoman, who purchased
the prebend of Urchfont in 1540, from the
Earl of Hertford, afterwards Protector Som
erset. The Noyes family of Urchfont was of
the same stock as that of Cholderton. The
family lineage extends back to the time of the
Norman conquest. Cholderton is about eleven
miles from Salisbury. The old church at
Cholderton of which Rev. William Noyes was
once rector was about sixteen by forty feet in
dimensions and was torn down or remodeled
as a parish school in 1850. William Noyes
was matriculated at University College, Ox
ford, November 15, 1588, and received the de
gree of B. A. May 31, 1592; was instituted
rector of Cholderton in 1602. He married
Anne Parker about 1595. She was the sister
of Robert Parker whom Cotton Mather called
one of the greatest scholars of the English
nation, and was, in a measure, the father of
all non-conformists." She was born in 1575
and buried at Cholderton, March 7, 1657. Her
will mentions "sons James, and Nicholas, now
in New England, and son-in-law Thomas Kent
of Upper Wallop, England." She was ap
pointed administratrix of her husband's estate
May 28, 1622, about two months after his
death. Children, born in England: 1. Eph
raim, born 1596, lived-at Orcheston, St. Mary;
married  Parnell; was buried at Chol
derton, October 28, 1659. 2. Nathan, born
1597, matriculated at Lincoln College, Oxford,
May 19, 1615; B. A. October 26, 1616; in 1622
succeeded his father as rector of Cholderton ;
died September 6, 1651, and was buried at
Salisbury; will made August 28, 165 1, was
proved November 18, 1651. 3. James, born
1608, married 1633, in England, Sarah Brown,
of Southampton, Hampshire, England ; he was
matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford,
August 22, 1627, but was not graduated; came

to America with his brother Nicholas and
preached in Medford, then Mystic, in 1634;
was one of the first settlers of Newbury; died
October 22, 1656. 4. Nicholas, born 1615-16,
mentioned below. 5. Daughter, married
Thomas Kent, of Upper Wallop. 6. John,
married and lived at Newton, Wiltshire.
(II) Nicholas Noyes, son of Rev. William
Noyes (1), was born in Cholderton, England,
1615-16, and came to this country in 1633. He
was admitted a freeman May 17, 1637, walk
ing forty miles to Cambridge in order to take
the oath and qualify as a voter. He married,
about 1640, Mary Cutting, daughter of Cap
tain John Cutting, a London shipmaster, and
his wife Mary. Noyes was deputy to the gen
eral court at Boston from Newbury in 1660-
79-80; deacon of the first parish church,
chosen March 20, 1633-34; died November 23,
1701, at Newbury. His will was made July 4,
1700, and proved December 29, 1701. In it he
mentions sons John, late of Newbury, de
ceased ; Nicholas, of Salem; Cutting; Tim
othy ; Thomas, deceased ; and daughters Mary,
wife of John French of Salisbury; Sarah,
wife of Mathew Pettingill,- of Newbury;
Rachel, wife of James Jackman, of Newbury,
and Abigail, unmarried. His homestead is
now occupied by a lineal descendant, having
remained to the present time in the family. In
1653 the wife of Nicholas Noyes was pre
sented in court for wearing silk hood and
scarf, but she and two other women were dis
charged on proof that their husbands were
worth two hundred pounds each. Children;
born in Newbury: 1. Mary, born October
15, 1641, married John French. 2. Hannah,
born October 13, 1643, married (first) Peter
Cheney, in 1663; (second) John Atkinson in
1700. 3. John, born January 20, 1645, men
tioned below. 4. Rev. Nicholas, born Decem
ber 22, 1647, died December 13, 1677. 5. Cut
ting, born September 23, 1649, married, 1675,
Elizabeth Knight. 6. Sarah, born August 22,
1653, married, 1674, Mathew Pettingill. 7.
Timothy, born June 23, 1655, married, 1680,
Mary Knight. 8. James, born May 16, 1657,
married, 1684, Hannah Knight. 9. Abigail,
born April 11, 1659, married, 1707, Simeon
French. 10. Rachel, born March 20, 1661,
married, 1682, James Jackman. 11. Thomas,
born June 20, 1663, married, 1685, Sarah
Knight. Three more died young.
(Ill) John Noyes, son of Nicholas Noyes
(2), was born January 20, 1645, in Newbury.
Married, November 23, 1668, in Newbury,
Mary Poore, of Andover. She was born in

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"35

1651, died after 1716, the date of her father's
will in which she is mentioned. Noyes was
admitted a freeman January 9, 1674. He was
a house carpenter by trade and lived in what
was afterwards known as the farm district of
Newbury in a house built in 1677 and -Owned
in 1879 by Luther Noyes. John died in 1691
and his widow Mary and son Nicholas were
appointed to administer, making their account
September 28, 1694; the personal estate was
valued at three hundred and nine pounds, the
real at two hundred and forty-six pounds.
The homestead originally -belonged to John
Hull. The house built by John Noyes is still
occupied by his descendants, the family of
Silas M. Noyes, descended from John, his
son and grandson Daniel, to Major Samuel, to
Samuel his son, to Luther and his nephew
Silas M. The front hall is wainscoted and a
handsome staircase with the elaborately carved
balisters, then fashionable for the first-class
mansions, leads to the second story. On this
farm is situated the mines which were dis
covered a few years ago. Children, born in
Newbury: 1. Nicholas, born May 18, 1671,
mentioned below. 2. Daniel, born October
23, 1673, married Judith Knight, 1702 ; died
1716. 3. Mary, born December 10, 1676, mar
ried, 1700, John Noyes. 4. John, born
February 19, 1677; married, 1703, Mary
Thurlow. 5. Martha, born December 15,
1680, married, 1792, Joseph Lunt. 6. Na
thaniel, born October 28, 1681, married,
1704, Priscilla Merrill. 7. Elizabeth, born
November 15, 1684, married, " 1707, John
Adams. 8. Moses, born May 22, 1688, died
August 6, 1714. 9. Samuel, born February 5,
1691, married, 1714, Hannah Poor. One other
died young.
(IV) Nicholas Noyes, son of John Noyes
(3), was born in Newbury, May 18, 1671.
Married, 1695, (intentions dated July 17)
Sarah Lunt. He removed to Abington, Mass
achusetts, in 1712 with his younger brother
Samuel. He died November 8, 1718. Chil
dren, born at Newbury; 1. Sarah, born Sep
tember 15, 1697. 2. John, born December 6,
1699, mentioned below. 3. Hannah, born
July 23, 1709, married, 1732, Jacob Reed. 4.
Martha, born July 2, 171 1. 5. Elizabeth;
born September 10, 1712. One died young
also. (V) John Noyes, son of Nicholas Noyes
(4), was born in Newbury, December 6, 1699,
died December 18, 1792. Married Elizabeth
Poole in 1727. Children, born in Abington:
1. John, born February 8, 1728-29, mentioned

below. 2. Samuel, born December 6, 1731,
married, 1770, Hannah Pratt. 3. Sarah, born
September 9, 1733. 4. Molly, born July 12,
1735, married John Fullington. 5. Betty, born
April 14, 1737, married, 1756, James Hersey.
6. Jane, born July 23, 1739, married, 1764,
Andrew Thompson. 7. Eliab, born May 31,
1744, married (first) Abigail  ; (sec
ond), 1790, Huldah Pratt. 8. Huldah, born
April 3, 1746. 9. Olive, born June 1, 1750,
married, 1799, Jephtha Acob. 10. Moses,
born April 9, 1755, married, 1775, Olive Whit-
marsh. Two others died young.
(VI) John Noyes, son of John Noyes (5),
was born in Abington, February 8, 1728-29.
Married Sarah Hersey in '1752. He resided
in Bridgewater, Sharon and Worcester, Mass
achusetts, returning to Bridgewater in 1795.
He was a soldier in the Revolution in Captain
Chadwick's company of Worcester and in the
Bridgewater company of Josiah Hayden under
General John Thomas. Children, born at
Bridgewater, Sharon and Worcester : 1. John,
born November 18, 1754, mentioned below. 2.
Sarah, born May 18, 1756. 3. Bela, born
July 20, 1757, married Elizabeth Mahan; he
died August 21, 1833. 4. Levi, born in 1768,
died June 12, 1816; married  Sweeny.
(VII) John Noyes, son of John Noyes (6),
was born in Bridgewater, November 18, 1754-
Married, 1776, Ziba Brett. He removed to
Minot, Maine, where he died January 24,
1836. Children, born in Bridgewater : 1.
Simeon, born June 2, 1777, died 1863; mar
ried Polly  . 2. John, born February
28, 1782, died April 5, 1868; married Polly
Whitney. 3. Eliphalet, born March 21, 1785,
mentioned below. 4. Sally, born August 4,
1788, married, 181 1, Charles Record; died
1867. 5. Nancy, born January 4, 1791, died
1834; married, 181 1, Joshua Knowlton. 6.
Daniel, born January 21, 1793, died 1876;
married Rachel Simmons.
(VIII) Eliphalet Noyes, son of John Noyes
(7), was born in Bridgewater, March 21,
1785, died March 3, 1878, at Minot, Maine,
where he was a farmer during his active life.
Married, 181 1, Joanna Record. Children,
born at Minot: 1. Diana, born June 11, 1812,
married, 1830, Eli Young; she died July 28,
1831. 2. Rufus K, born September 25, 1814,
married, 1836, Mehitable J. Smith; died 1876.
3. Cynthia, born October 19, 1816, died 1877;
married, 1839, Ephraim Rounds. 4. Joanna,
born August 1, 1819, died March 3, 1891 ;
married, 1849, Jane Gowell. 5. Levi P., born
July 23, 1822, mentioned below. 6. Henry H.,

1136

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

born September 17, 1825, died 1895; married,
1 85 1, Louisa McBride.
(IX) Levi P. Noyes, son of Eliphalet
Noyes (8), was born in Minot, Maine, July
23, 1822. He was a farmer. He married,
1849, Jane Gowell. He died March 3, 1891.
Only child: Frank A., born May 9, 1850,
mentioned below.
(X) Frank A. Noyes, son of Levi P.
Noyes (9), was born in Auburn, Maine, May
9, 1850. He was educated in the public
schools in his native town, and during his
youth helped his father on the farm. When
he was eighteen years old he went to Port
land, Maine, to work, and at twenty-three
went to Boston where he has been engaged in
business ever since. He is a member of Odd
Fellows; of Soley Lodge of Free Masons;
Royal Arcanum ; Highland Chapter, Order of
the Eastern Star; the Boston Business Men's
Association ; vice-president of the Boston
Chamber of Commerce ; past grand patron of
the Order of the Eastern Star; treasurer of
the Somerville Unitarian Church for the past
ten years. In politics he is a Republican, and
served two years in the Somerville board of
aldermen. He married, June 24, 1874, Anna R. Mason,
daughter of Seth Clark and Rebecca (Perley)
Mason, of Gray, Maine. She was the grand
daughter of Seth and Hannah (Bryant)
Mason; the former a native of Watertown,
Massachusetts, where his ancestors were
among the earliest settlers, and the latter a
native of Saco, Maine. The children of Seth
and Hannah Mason were : Margaret A.
Mason, Seth C. Mason, mentioned . above ;
Joseph Bryant Mason, Hannah E. Mason,
Sumner Mason, Joseph Mason. Rebecca Per
ley was the daughter of Abraham Perley, who
married (first) Rebecca Humphrey and (sec
ond) Lois Haskell; whose children were:
George Perley, John Perley, Nathaniel Per
ley, Mary Perley, Pauline Perley, Jonas Per
ley, father of Major Harry Otis Perley, who
has distinguished himself in the service in the
Philippines ; Rebecca, mentioned above. The
lineage to th.e first settler is Abraham (6),
Samuel (5) and (4), John (3), Samuel (2),
Allan Perley (1).
The only child of Frank A. and Anna R.
Noyes : Florence R., born at Somerville,
Massachusetts, April 13, 1878, was educated
there in the public and high schools, and at
Wellesley College where she was graduated in
1900 with the degree of A. B. She married,
September 29, 1903, Charles Drouet, and they

have one child, Elinor Drouet, born at Dracut,
Massachusetts, July 17, 1904.

Henry Fairfax Whiting, a rep-
WHITING resentative of an old Lowell
and Chelmsford family, mem
bers of which have been prominent in the vari
ous walks of life, is a native of Lowell, Mass
achusetts, born February 11, 1858, son of
Phineas and Clara (Bagley) Whiting, of
Lowell, and grandson of Phineas and Sarah
Whiting. Phineas and Clara (Bagley) Whit
ing were the parents of eleven children, the
names of which, although not in the order of
birth, are : Gertrude, Phineas, Walter, Ar
thur, Eva, Clare, Ethel, Henry. F., Leslie,
Alice and George.
Henry Fairfax Whiting attended the public
schools of Lowell and the private school of
Dr. Lloyd Hixon at Newburyport, Massachu
setts. He engaged with his father in the
leather belting business at the corner of Shat
tuck and Middle streets, Lowell, which line he
is still following, achieving therein a large
degree of success. He is a member of the
Episcopal church, and of the Appalachian,
Yorick, Vesper-Country clubs, and a Republi
can in politics. Mr. Whiting married, Octo
ber 26, 1886, at Lowell, Louise Hazeltine
Wescott, born March 18, 1863, daughter of
Robert and Hannah Little (Noyes) Wescott.
Children : 1 . Phineas Wescott, born October
28, 1887, attended the public and high schools
of Lowell, graduating from the latter in class
of 1907, and is now a student at Dartmouth
College. 2. Donald Fairfax, born at Lowell,
April 13, 1891, a student at the Lowell high
school, class of 1910.
Mrs. Henry F. Whiting is a descendant of
George Wescott, who died June 28, 1781. He
married, in 1761, Patience Story, who died
October 16, 1820. She was a descendant of
Robert Story, who was a resident of Flushing,
Long Island, about 1668. He was a merchant
in New York City, 1674, and was the owner of
a house on the south side of the present Wall
street. He was of English descent. He was
a member of the Society of Friends. He mar
ried Patience Gardiner, who bore him three
children : Mary, Mercy and Enoch. Robert
Story died December 29, 1683. Enoch Story,
son of Robert Story, was born December 12,
1680, died December 17, 1723. He married
Sarah, daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth Car
penter. One of their eight children was Enoch,
born September 4, 17 14, died October, 1748.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"37

He married, February 23, 1740, Elizabeth
Houston, who died 1752. They were the par
ents of four children, among whom was
Patience, above mentioned.
Robert Wescott, son of George and Patience
(Story) Wescott, was born January 19, 1769,
married, January 1, 1806, Catherine De Vis-
mes Brown, who was born at West Chester,
New York, November 19, 1787, died at Potosi,
Missouri, November 25, 1832. They had
eleven children, among whom was George
Burr, see forward.
George Burr Wescott, son of Robert and
Catherine De Vismes (Brown) Wescott, born
October 20,, 1806, died November 28, 1836.
Married, August 10, 1830, Caroline Daven
port, who was born- April 14, 1809, died No
vember 20, 1863. Their children were: 1.
Robert, see forward. 2. William Davenport,
born April 21, 1834, died January 28, 1861,
unmarried. 3. Mary Kimball, born August
22 1835, died April 20, i860. Married John
Garrin Dale, of the Inman Steamship Com
pany. Children : i. Mary Davenport, born
November 18, 1857, died November 22, 1893 ;
married John E. Birwind. ii. Frederick Gray,
born May 8' 1859, died April 15, 1885. iii.
John, born April 16, i860, died May 7, i860.
Robert Wescott, son of George Burr and
Caroline (Davenport) Wescott, born Octo
ber 5, 1832, died April 29, 1890. His birth
occurred at Bethany, Pennsylvania. He grad
uated from the Philadelphia Medical School,
August 31, 1855, and later enjoyed an exten
sive practice at Elizabeth, New Jersey, where
he resided many years. He married Hannah
Little Noyes. Children: 1. Louise Hazeltine,
born March 18, 1863, aforementioned as the
wife of Henry Fairfax Whiting. 2. George
Burr, born June 30, 1866, died September 16,
1866. 3. Helen Davenport, born October 30,
1867, died February 2, 1868. 4. Robert Ed
ward, born January 2,0, 1869. These children
were born at Elizabeth, New Jersey.

The names Barnard and Bar-
BARNARD net seem to be identical.
Whereever we find one of the
name Barnard in the early records we find
the name spelled Barnet, which may be the
oldest form. It is an ancient English family
name. Jbhn Barnard, of Watertown, Massa
chusetts, came with his wife Phebe and chil
dren sailing in the ship "Elizabeth" of Ips
wich, April 30, 1634. On the list of propri
etors in 1645 his name is spelled Barnett. It

is also spelled Bernard on the records. An
other pioneer of the name who has many de
scendants in New England was Robert Bar
nard, of Salisbury, 1642, of Andover, 1644,
and of Nantucket, 1663.
(I) John Barnard, or Barnet, as more com
monly spelled, was born in 1654 in London-'
derry, Ireland, and died October 8, 1740, ac
cording to his gravestone in the old' Forest
Hill cemetery, Londonderry, now East Derry,
New Hampshire. He was therefore sixty-
four years of age when he came to New Eng
land with the colony of Scotch-Presbyterians
from Ballymondy, Londonderry, Ireland,
with their pastor, Rev. James MacGregor. He
was at the head of one of the sixteen families
that settled Nuffield, New Hampshire, later
Londonderry, and built their homes in the
spring of 1718. His son John and family must
have been with him, for John Barnett drew
two shares in the division of 1722 and he
probably lived with his son. His farm is now
known- as the Isaiah W. Haseltine place. He
drew land in the Windham Range and several
of his grandsons lived for a time in the town
of Windham. He and his son signed a remon
strance at the method of dividing lands in
1728. (II) John Barnard or Barnet, son of John
Barnet (1), was born in Londonderry, Ire
land, about 1690, and doubtless came with his
father, or soon afterward, to Londonderry,
New Hampshire. He taught the school for
this famous Scotch- Irish village as early as
1725, and was, therefore, one of the best edu
cated men of the colony. He signed a peti
tion to the general court of New Hampshire
under date of 1758 concerning the restriction
of the sale of intoxicating liquors, and another
with his sons Robert and John, Jr., in 1769.
He lived on the farm lately owned by Isaiah
W. Haseltine. He married probably in Ire
land Jean  . His family lived in Lon
donderry and Windham, but were soon scat
tered widely. All or nearly all of his descend
ants adopted Barnard as the proper spelling.
A Margaret Barnet who died September 17,
1 77 1, aged fifty-five years, may have been his
sister or a second wife. Children of John and
Jean Barnard: 1. John, born 1731, married
Sarah  , who was born in 1735 and died
January 28, 1760, aged twenty-five. 2. Robert,
born 1733, died February 24, 1772, aged thirty-
nine; was in Windham in 1769, when he sign
ed a petition with his father and brother John ;
married Sarah  and they had a son,
Parker Barnet, who died August 24, 1755,

n38

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

aged four years and John, born 1763, died
1764. 3. Hannah, born 1735, died April 20,
1753, aged eighteen. 4. William, born in
Londonderry, 1738, died 1749, aged eleven
years. 5. Moses, was town clerk of London
derry in 1768 and one of the signers support
ing the legality of a contested election Sep
tember 15, 1768; may have settled in New
market, New Hampshire. 6. Jonathan, men
tioned below. There were probably daughters
not known to the writer.
(Ill) Jonathan Barnard, son of John Bar-
net (2), was born in Londonderry, New
Hampshire, about 1740. About the time he
came ¦ of age he went to the unincorporated
section of what was then known as Society
Land, which was later divided into the two
towns of Hancock and Antrim, New Hamp
shire, and largely settled by the sons and rela
tives of the pioneers at Londerry, the Scotch
Presbyterians whose influence has been felt
through the whole country for the past cen
tury and a half. He cleared his farm in the
wilderness. His neighbors were few. Those
known during the first years, before the Rev
olution, were : Moses Morrison, William
Lakin, John Young and John Moor (from
Windham), all of whom signed in 1776 a
protest against a proposed town in the Soci
ety lands such as would be a bar to their
securing a town charter indefinitely. Peters-
borough appears to have been the nearest set
tlement, though his farm was doubtless in the
section incorporated later as Hancock. He
and his neighbors won their contention, and
January 14, 1777, he and John Moor, Moses
Morrison, George McClurg and Thomas Mil
ler, all Scotch-Irish, living in the south part of
the Society Lands, certified to the general
court their willingness to have the north part
incorporated according to the line agreed upon,
and Antrim was later incorporated. The his
torian of Hancock seems to think that he went
away from his farm, was at Petersborough,
and returned in July, 1791, with a wife and
eight children. Subsequently he returned to
Petersborough, which was the town adjoin
ing, and he died there in 1807. He married
Molly  . He was a soldier in the Rev
olution and his record appears on the rolls of
Massachusetts and also of New Hampshire, the
name being spelled both ways. He was in Cap
tain William Scott's company, Colonel Paul
Dudley Sargent's regiment, when they marched
at the Lexington call, April 20, 17.75, and re
mained in the service some months. He was
in the same company and regiment November

14, 1775, when he received an order for a
bounty coat or its equivalent. He gave his
residence both as Petersborough and "Soci
ety." Children: 1. Benjamin, married, Oc
tober 9, 1800, Anna Davis; resided on Lot No.
18, and was on the tax list in 1799 and 1800.
2. Polly. 3. Jonathan. 4. Priscilla. 5. John,
born about 1780, was taxed in 1806. 6.
Jacob, born 1789, mentioned below. 7. James.
8. William.
(IV) Jacob Barnard, son of Jonathan Bar
nard (3), was born in Petersborough, New
Hampshire, January 4, 1789, died August 7,
1830, in Boston. He removed to Boston and
married there, May 28, 181 5, Grace Stearns,
daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Bigelow)
Stearns, of Waltham. He was an inn keeper
in Boston and North Reading, Massachusetts,
also proprietor of stage route between Boston,
Massachusetts, and Concord, New Hamp
shire. She married (second), December 5,
1835. Dr. Nathan O. Richardson, of South
Reading, Massachusetts, and he died September
17, 1837, aged fifty-six years. She died No
vember 26, 1872, aged eighty-two years, in
Wakefield. Children of Jacob and Grace
(Stearns) Barnard: 1. Prentiss S., born
April 4, 1 8 16, married, November 26, 1841,
Lucy Ann Hinckley. 2. Susan Barnard, born
September 28, 1818, married, April 3, 1837,
Dr. Solon O. Richardson, of South Reading,
now Wakefield; (see sketch). 3. Henry, born
April 19, died July, 1820. 4. William H.,
born September 10, 1821, died April 27, 1834.
5. Mary Jane, born January 20, 1823, mar
ried, May 15, 1842, Eben Wiley, son of Ben
jamin B. Wiley, of South Reading. 6. Ben
jamin F., born July 10, 1824, mentioned
below. 7. James, born November 28, 1825,
died July 1, 1826.
(V) Benjamin F. Barnard, son of Jacob
Barnard (4), was born at North Reading,
July 10, 1824. His father died when he was a
boy of six years and his mother married (sec
ond), Dr Nathan O. Richardson, of South
Reading, where the youth was reared and re
ceived his education in the public schools. He
became a very successful merchant in Boston.
He enlisted under President Lincoln's first
call for troops, to serve for ninety days, in
April, 1861, and in May, 1862, re-enlisted for
three years in the Richardson Light Guard,
which became Company K, Twenty-third
Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia,
and which he aided to recruit and organize.
At re-enlistment he was commissioned second
lieutenant, was subsequently promoted to first

r

^jt^h^o^.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"39

lieutenant, and was discharged in 1863 to ac
cept commission as first lieutenant and quar
termaster in the Fifty-ninth Veteran Regi
ment, and so served until the close of the war.
He is a companion of the Military Order of
the Loyal Legion, Massachusetts Command
ery; and is affiliated with the Masonic Order.
He is a Democrat in politics, but pursues an
independent course in looal affairs. Mr. Bar
nard married (first) Sarah Emerson, daugh
ter of Captain Thomas Emerson, and of this
union was born a daughter, Grace M., now
deceased. Mrs. Barnard died November 15,
1885. Mr. Barnard married (second) March
16, 1887, Ida M. Purdy, and their children
were: Ruby M., died February 21, 1893;
Jacob S., at home ; and Flora Ida, died August
3, 1892.

No name is. better known in Mid-
WINN dlesex county, Massachusetts, or
has been longer before the public,
than that of Winn. Its members have filled
military and civil offices from the first settle
ment. One was the first-born child recorded
in Woburn, and to him was given the signifi
cant name of Increase. From a family which
had contributed to Woburn many of its most
prominent and influential citizens came the
donors in later years of the magnificent Wo
burn Public Library — Jonathan Bowers Winn
and his son, Charles Bowers Winn, both now
deceased. From a remote period the Wynn, Wynne
and Winn families were located in Wales.
The family abroad has been most prominently
represented by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn,
of Wynnstay, Denbighshire, whose lineage is
ancient and noble. Edward Winn, the progen
itor of the Woburn family, it has been con
jectured, was born in Wales, but more likely
was a native of England, related possibly to
the Converses, Johnsons, and other early Wo
burn families since of late years many of these
relationships of early English immigrants
have been incontrovertibly established.
(I) Edward Winn came evidently from
England to America, bringing his wife Joanna,
and children Ann, Elizabeth and Joseph. He
settled first in Charlestown, Massachusetts,
and was one of the commissioners for found
ing the contemplated town of Woburn. He
was one of the signers of the "town orders,"
or by-laws, for Woburn in 1640, one of the
original planters of that town in 1641, and
was taxed in the first tax rate of Woburn,

1645. He was also the father of the firstborn
child. He was made freeman 1643, and select
man 1669. His will was made at Watertown,
May 6, 1682, and he died September 5, 1682!
His residence was near a place in Woburn,
known as the Vineyard, at which was a water
ing-place (on present Park street), the house
being on some spot near Middlesex, Chestnut
and Kilby streets. His wife Joanna died in
Woburn, March 8, 1649. He married (sec
ond), August 10, 1649, Sarah Beal, died in
Woburn, March 15, 1680. He married (third)
Ann or Hannah Wood, respectively the wife
of William Page, of Watertown; Nicholas
Wood, of Medfield; and Edward Winn, of
Woburn. She died before November 1, 1686.
Children: 1. Ann, married, September 26,
1648, Moses Cleveland (ancestor of ex-Pres
ident Grover Cleveland). 2. Elizabeth, mar
ried, May 21, 1649, George Polk. 3. Joseph,
see forward. 4. Increase, born December 5,
1641, died December 14, 1690.
(II) Joseph Winn, son of Edward Winn
(1), probably born in England, was a soldier
in King Philip's war, 1676, and an ensign in
Phipps' Canada expedition to Quebec, 1690.
His company was commanded by Captain
Ebenezer Prout, of Concord (in the Middle
sex county regiment, commanded by Major
Nathaniel Wade, of Medford), the lieutenant
of his company being Nathaniel Barsham, of
Watertown, and the ensign Joseph Winn, of
Woburn. He died February 22, 1714-15. He
married Rebecca, born at Brookline, died 1734,
daughter of William and Mabel Reed, of Wo
burn. Children: 1. Rebecca, born May 25,
1665, died April 6, 1679. 2- Sarah, born No
vember 9, 1666, married, April 13, 1691, Ebe
nezer Johnson, of Woburn. 3. Timothy, died
March 22, 1677-78. 4. Abigail, born June
18, 1670, died June 25, 1670. 5. Joseph, born
May 15, 1671. 6. Josiah, born March 15,
1673-74. 7. Joanna", married, July 13, 1699,
Edward Knight, of Woburn. 8. Rebecca
(twin), born February 14, 1679-80, married,
March 5, 1699-1700, Timothy Spaulding, of
Chelmsford. 9. Hannah (twin), born Feb
ruary 14, 1679-80. 10. Abigail, married John
Rogers, of Billerica. 11. Anne, born Novem
ber 1, 1684, died September 13, 1686. 12.
Timothy, born February 27, 1686-87, see for
ward. (Ill) Timothy Winn, son of Joseph Winn
(2), born at Woburn, February 27, 1686-87,
married Elizabeth, died May 14, 1724, daugh
ter of John and Mary (Bruce-Cranston)
Brooks, of Woburn. He married (second),

1 140

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

February 29, 1729-30, Jane, born November
4, 1699, died May, 1775, daughter of Thomas
and Jane (Cheney) Belknap, of Woburn. He
received a deed of his father's homestead,
August 5, 1709. He died in Woburn, January
5, 1752. Children: 1. Timothy, born July,
1712, died March 3, 1800. 2. Elizabeth, born
September 1, 1719, married, December 7, 1742,
Nehemiah Wyman. 3. Ruth, born August 6,
1732, married Samuel Reed, Jr. 4. Joseph,
born July 3, 1734, see forward. 5. Joshua,
born August 4, 1740, married, September 27,
1774, John Burnham.
(IV) Lieutenant Joseph Winn, son of Tim
othy Winn (3), was born at Woburn (Second
Parish), July 3, 1734. He married, October
16, 1760, Betsey, born August 18, 1742, died
October 21, 1817, daughter of Captain Tim
othy and Elizabeth (Goodwin) Pool, of
Lynnfield. He resided on his father's farm;
enlisted in the French war, 1755; served at
Lexington, in the battle of April 19, 1775 ;
was ensign, First Company of Woburn mili
tia, April 30, 1775; was lieutenant in Captain
Cadwallader Ford's company before April,
1778, for three months. Nine Woburn men
under his command, who were engaged Sep
tember 6, 1778, to serve at Rhode Island, were
ordered afterwards to Boston, for three and
one-half months, ending January 1, 1779. He
was called lieutenant from 1776 in tax lists.
He was a selectman of Woburn several years,
and chairman of the first board of selectmen
of the town of Burlington. He was a mem
ber of the First Baptist Church in Woburn.
He died in Burlington, April. 30, 1817. Chil
dren: 1. Joseph, born September 29, 1761,
2. Timothy, born August 12, 1763. 3. John,
born December 20, 1765. 4. Abel, born De
cember 9, 1767, see forward. 5. Betsey, born
March 15, 1770, died November 16, 1828. 6.
Susanna, born November _ 2, 1771, married,
May 13, 1817, John Stearns, of Billerica. 7.
Benjamin, born April 9, 1774. 8. Sarah, born
June 10, 1776, married, April 28, 1796, Ebe
nezer Fay; married (second) Jesse Converse.
9. Pamelia, born January 7, 1778, married,
March 8, 1814, Gideon Foster. 10. Jerusha,
born January 25, 1780, married, December 22,
1799, Benjamin Tay, of Salem. 11. Lucy,
born January 22, 1782, died October 18, 1833.
12. Olive, born December 6, 1784, married,
April 28, 1805, Moses Billings Walker, of
Burlington. (V) Abel Winn, son of Lieutenant Joseph
WTinn (4), was born at Woburn (Second
Parish), December 9, 1767. He married, July

29, 1795, Ruth, born November 3, 1771, died
January 24, 1848, daughter of Bartholomew
and Sarah (Converse) Richardson, of Wo
burn. He died in Burlington, October 12,
1847. He was a farmer and resided on the
farm he inherited from his father. He was a
magistrate, and a man of thrift. Children: 1.
Ruth, born February 22, 1796, married, Jan
uary 4, 1816, Samuel Abbott, of Woburn. 2.
Betsey, born February 22, 1798, married Au
gustus Roundy, of Beverly. 3. Abel, born
September 2, 1800, see forward. 4. Joseph,
born August 22, 1806, married Almira Shed,
of Burlington. 5. Mary, born June 28, 1809,
married, May 4, 1828, Timothy Newhall, of
Woburn. 6. George, born November 12,
181 1, married, December 10, 1844, Maria
Parker, of Woburn.
(VI) Abel Winn, son of Abel Winn (5),
was born at Burlington, September 2, 1800.
He married, April 19" 1827, Lydia Stearns,
born May 9, 1803, died December 9, 1868,
daughter of John and Ruth (Cummings)
Lovering, of Woburn. He died May 9, 1868.
He resided on his father's place in Burlington,
attended the Baptist church of Woburn, was a
Democrat in politics and later a Republican.
He was a private in the early militia. One
child, John, born July 3, 1828, see forward.
(VII) John Winn, son of Abel Winn (6),
was born at Burlington, July 3, 1828, and died
February 17, 1907. He attended the common
schools of Burlington and the Warren Acad
emy of Woburn until eighteen, helping his
father on the farm in the meanwhile. When
twenty years old he started a milk route, and
continued in that line for three years. Sub
sequently for ten years he carried produce
into Boston. In 1858 his father gave up busi
ness, and John Winn started farming on his
own account. He hired the farm and raised
produce, and by general farming and large
herds of cattle has carried on successfully the
affairs of the place td the present day. On
the death of his father the entire property
became his ; it was a notable fact that a war
ranty deed had never in the occupation of the
Winn family been given on the farm. The
original tract comprised forty acres which he
increased to three or four hundred. These
lands are situated on the town line between
Burlington and Woburn. Mr. Winn was still
active in farming and business at his death.
He bought and sold real estate in and around
Woburn for himself and others, and owned
much realty and residential property in Wo
burn and Cambridge. He built, a few- years

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1141

since, an elegant residence on the Woburn
side of his farm for the occupancy of one of
his sons.
Mr. Winn was a Unitarian in religious be
lief, and a Republican in politics. He had
been a delegate to state, county and councilor
conventions ; was a member of the legislature
in 1878, and there served on the committee of,
agriculture, being elected again in 1895 to
represent in the house the towns of Burling
ton, Lexington, Bedford and Billerica, and he
served on the committee on drainage. The
only town office he ever held was that of
"field driver." He was vice-president and
director of ' the Woburn Five Cents Saving
Bank, and served on the investment commit
tee of that bank for fifteen years. He was
elected a member of the board of trustees,
October 4, 1880, and vice-president, July 3,
1896. He was also one of the board of direc
tors of the Winning Home Farm, a charitable
institution for children of Boston.
Mr. Winn married, 1851, Marah L. Bald
win, born May 6, 1830, died October 11, 1852,
daughter of Jonathan and Betsey (Parker)
Baldwin, of Woburn. He married (second),
November 30, 1854, Martha Williams Garri
son, born August 26, 1832, daughter of John
Stanley and Sarah Ann (Cosman) Garrison,
of Perry, New York. Child of John and
Marah L. (Baldwin) Winn: Marah Baldwin,
born June 12, 1852, married, October 4, 1886,
Frank Murray Pushee, of Thetford, Ver
mont. Resides in Woburn. They have Harold
Baldwin, born January 16, 1890. Children of
John and Martha Williams (Garrison) Winn:
1. George Edward, born April 13, 1856, see
forward. 2. Joseph Franklin, born December
22, 1857, see forward. 3. Helen Louise, born
October 27, i860, married, August 30, 1890,
Charles Willard. One child, Winn, born May
14, 1891. 4. Marcia, born September 21,
1864. 5. John Garrison, born November 11,
1866, see forward. 6. Abbie Maria, born Oc
tober 6, 1871. Mr. and Mrs. Winn celebrated
their golden wedding November 30, 1904.
Colonial Mansion.
In Winn Family Two Hundred and Sixty
Years.
By the death of John Winn, a lineal descen
dant of one of the early settlers of the town
of Woburn, forcibly brings to mind the old
Colonial mansion in which he was born, lived
and died; and in which many of his ancestors
iii— 24.

lived and prospered, and where all of his
children first saw the light of day. It is a
house rich in historical lore, and if its walls
could but speak, what thrilling tales it could
unfold. In the Public Library is the fragment of a
deed acknowledged 1709, whereby Joseph
Winn, Senior, "for the love he bore his son
Timothy Winn," granted to that son his home
stead, consisting of one dwelling house, barn,
corn house and other outhouses, with the land
in the field before the dwelling house, the Bil
lerica road parting this part of his home
stead from the other part, whereon the house
standeth, in other words, going between the
two parts. Other lands were also transferred,
allowing, however, that his now "married
wife" have the use of the house and barn on
the homestead during her life, but after her
death the son Timothy was to have full pos
session. The son Timothy Winn died intestate .in
1752 and the court assigned to the two sons,
Timothy and Joseph, two-thirds of the real
estate. Through this son Joseph the home
stead then passed to his son Abel, then to his
son Abel, who was the father of John Winn.
It will thus be seen that the old homestead
has been in continuous possession of the fam
ily for a period of two hundred and sixty
years at least and perhaps much longer than
that. The house now standing is the original
building on the original spot where it was first
erected, although it has at various times been
enlarged and improved.
Such a house under whose roof tree so
many men and women in long succession have
been born, lived and died, is exceedingly fruit
ful in romance, reminiscence and suggestive
thought of what has gone before.
The old hand-hewn timbers are many of
them in plain sight, the open fire-place and
oaken projecting beams in the chambers are
mute yet eloquent witnesses to the age of the
venerable structure now among the few early
ones yet remaining. It is a typical home of
the early colonists, with the stately ash trees
guarding the front entrance, and in conjuring
up the past, it is quite easy to picture in the
mind the four-in-hand stage coach driving up
to the door to obtain refreshments for man
and beast, for in those days this house being
located on the direct road to Billerica, Groton
and thence to Canada, was a tavern, pure and
simple, and a design for the sign hung out at
this hostelry is still in possession in the Library

1 142

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

and from it a portion of the Winn so-called
coat-of-arms was probably taken.
This house was known the country round as
the "three broiled chickens," from a portion
of the design on the sign.
In this old mansion are many relics of the
past, old pewter ware, ancient china, solid
mahogany four-posted bedsteads, surmounted
by the richly carved pineapples from the solid
wood. Hanging above the mantle in the din
ing-room is the old Queen's arm flint lock
musket carried in the Revolutionary war by
Lieutenant Joseph Winn, great-grandfather of
the deceased John Winn.
The old brick oven of our grandfathers'
days is another prominent feature of this
time-honored home.
It is extremely doubtful if another house as
old as this can be found in the country, in as
good a state of preservation and containing
all the modern improvements.
(VIII) George Edward Winn, son of John
Winn (7), was born at Burlington, Massachu
setts, April 13, 1856. He was educated in the
common schools of Burlington until twelve
years of age, supplemented by a course in the
Woburn public schools until eighteen, when
he pursued a course at Sawyer's Commercial
College at Boston. From early life he assisted
in the work of the farm, and for a year or two
after completing his education he continued
this, shortly afterward engaging in the milk
business for his father, which line of work
he followed for twelve years. He then de
cided to engage in business on his own account,
and subsequently ventured for himself, begin
ning with two customers, and at the present
time (1908) his customers number between
seven and eight hundred of the best citizens of
Woburn. He has an extensive creamery on
his place, and he purchases his milk stock
from his brother, John G Winn. He resides
in his beautiful residence at 236 Winn street,
just over the Woburn line in Burlington. His
time is devoted exclusively to his business and
his home. He is an attendant of the First
Congregational Church (Orthodox) of Wo
burn. Pie casts his vote for the candidates
of the Republican party. George E. Winn
married, June 17, 1896, Alice Laura Bond,
born February 5, 1864, at Thetford, Vermont,
daughter of Chester Freeman and Persis Wil
son (Dewey) Bond, of Thetford, Vermont.
No issue.
(VIII) Joseph Franklin Winn, son of
John Winn (7), was born at Burlington,
Massachusetts, December 22, 1857. He re

ceived his education in the common schools of
Burlington and Woburn, and graduated from
the grammar school when seventeen. He
early began to Ijelp on the farm, and after
schooling entered the milk business, for his
father first, later for himself. This he con
tinued until 1902, his product having been sold
mostly in Woburn. In 1898 he entered into
the sale of coal at Winchester, just beyond the
Woburn line. He conducts an extensive trade
in Woburn and Winchester, wijh offices in
both places, his yards being in Winchester. He
resides on his fifty acre farm on Wyman
street, just in the edge of Burlington, for
merly known as the old Kendall farm. Mr.
Winn is also engaged during the season in
market gardening. He is a Unitarian in reli
gion, and a Republican in politics, having
served his party as delegate to various con
ventions, and at present is on the Republican
town committee for Burlington. He is a mem
ber of Towanda Club, a social organization of
Woburn. Joseph F. Winn married (first),
August 3, 1887, Mary Ella, born October 19,
1857, daughter of Augustus W. and Ellen
(Montgomery) Jeffers, of Woburn, Massa
chusetts, the former of whom was a currier.
Children : Martha, died young. Madeline Jef
fers, born November 30, 1890. He married
(second), March 29, 1900, Mary Ellen Briggs,
born May 1, 1852, daughter of John and Mary
Ann (Jeffers) Briggs, of Woburn. John
Briggs was a shoemaker and civil war veteran.
(VIII) John Garrison Winn, son of John
Winn (7), was born at Burlington, Massa
chusetts, November 11, 1866. He was edu
cated in the Burlington district schools until
seventeen, and then pursued a one year course
in the high school, and subsequently, after
assisting his father on the farm, completed a
three term course in Bryant & Stratton's Com-,
mercial College at Boston. He continued at
market gardening and milk raising with his
father until April, 1898, when he purchased
his present farm in the southeastern part of
Burlington, consisting of forty-five acres,
known as the old Walker place. Mr. Winn is
a successful market gardener and milk pro
ducer, supplying the Boston market and local
trade, also supplying his brother, George E.
Winn. He has a fine herd of twenty head,
mostly Holstein. The homestead is one of the
oldest in the town, having been built in 1744,
this being the original building. He is a Uni
tarian in religion, and a Republican in politics.
John G. Winn married, April 21, 1898, Mar
garet Jessie, born in Garden of Eden, Pictou

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"43

county, Nova Scotia, May 10, 1875, daughter
of Roderick and Mary Ann (Cummings)
Campbell. One child, Martha Campbell, born
January 14, 1904.

(For first generation see. preceding sketch)!
(II) Sergeant Increase Winn, son
WINN of Edward Winn (1), was born
in Woburn, December 5, 1641, the
first white child born in that town. He was
a sergeant in the company of Captain Thomas
Brattle, of Boston, in King Philip's war,
August 24, 1676, et seq. He was a prominent
citizen of Woburn and selectman 1687-8. He
married, at Woburn, July 13, 1665, Hannah
Sawtelle, who was born in Watertown, Mass
achusetts, December 10, 1642, and died at
Woburn, February 18, 1722-3, daughter of
Richard and Elizabeth Sawtelle. He died
December 14, 1690. Children, born at Wo
burn: 1. Hannah, born April 11, 1666, mar
ried Samuel Baker. 2. Edward, born June 15,
1668. 3. Mary, born May 1, 1670, died 1756;
married Nathaniel Wyman, and second John
Locke. 4. Sarah, born December 23, 1672 ;
married Peter Fowle. 5. Abigail, January 8,
1678. 6: Rebecca, November 5, 1679. 7.
Jacob, October 4, 1681 ; mentioned below. 8.
Joanna, June 24, 1683. 9. Increase, February
9, 1685.
(Ill) Jacob Winn, son of Increase Winn
(2), was born in Woburn, October 4, 1681 ;
married first, June 28, 1704, Prudence Wyman,
born at Woburn, December 26, 1683, daughter
of William, and granddaughter of Francis
Wyman, of Woburn. William Wyman mar
ried Prudence Putnam, daughter of Thomas,
and granddaughter of John Putnam, of Salem.
Thomas Putnam's wife was Ann Holyoke.
Winn married second, July 14, 1737, Phebe
Palfrey. Children of first wife : 1. Prudence,
born July 28, 1705. 2. Elizabeth, born Sep
tember 29, 1707, married December 25, 1733,
Andrew Richardson. 3. Hannah, born March
1, 171 1. 4. Increase, born January 24,
1716-7 ; married Elizabeth Knight. 5. Joshua,
born April 4, 1719 ; mentioned below. 6.
Abigail, born January 25, 1722-3, married
Mary Haseltine, of Bradford.
(IV) Joshua Winn, son of Jacob Winn
(3) was born April 4, 1719; married about
October, 1745. Children, born at Woburn :
i. Joshua, born May 17, 1747. 2. Jeremiah,
April 29, 1749; mentioned below. 3. Molly,
APril 5. I75i- 4- James, April 7, 1753. 5.
Jonathan, October 18, 1755.

(V) Jeremiah Winn, son of Joshua Winn
(4), was born in Woburn, April 29, 1749.
He was a soldier in the Revolution, in Captain
Pettingill's company, in August, 1775, Colo
nel Loammi Baldwin's regiment. He settled
in Burlington, Massachusetts. He married
first, Mehitable Buck, of Wilmington, Massa
chusetts, and second, Rebecca Johnson, of
Burlington. Children: 1. Jeremiah, born
April 2, 1776; married Elizabeth Richardson,
October 30, 1797. 2. James, born April 12,
1778; mentioned below. 3. Moses, born
March 17, 1780; married first, Sally Johnson,
born September 25, 1784, daughter of John
and Achsah (Simonds) Johnson; married
second, Fanny (Damon) Nichols, born Jan
uary 11, 1780. 4. Francis, born June 8, 1782;
married Eliza Jackson. 5. Sally, born July
22, 1788. 6. Sewell, born July 19, 1789; mar
ried Lydia Whittemore. 7. Mary, born Oc
tober 17, 1790, married Ebenezer Hartshorn.
8. Mehitable, born March 3, 1793; married
first, John Dean; second, April 17, 1816, Ben
jamin Stevens. 9. Abigail, born December
28, 1797; married Jeremiah Bryant.
(VI) James Winn, son of Jeremiah Winn
(5), was born in Burlington, April 12, 1778,
and died September 11, 1832, at West Cam
bridge. Pie was educated in the district schools
and reared on his father's farm. When he
left home he bought a small farm in the
southern part of Burlington, near Cummings-
ville, West Woburn. In later years he became
a chronic invalid and was a great sufferer. He
was baptized in the Congregational church
October 27, 1805, and later was a member of
the Baptist church. He and his wife owned
the covenant in the precinct church (Congre
gational) October 27, 1805. In politics he
was a Democrat. He served in the militia in
his younger days. He married, September 2,
1804, Sally Frost, born September 11, 1782,
died September 17, 1855, daughter of Seth
and Sarah (Hill) Frost, granddaughter of
Samuel Frost, son of Ephraim, (see Frost).
Children: 1. James, born January 31, 180 — ,
baptized February 28, 1808 ; died January 10,
i860; married May 19, 1836, Hannah Con
verse of West Cambridge, who died March
30, 1888; children: i. Jane, born March 24,
1837; ii. Louise, born July 1, 1839; iii. James,
born Tuly 25, 1841, married April 9, 1891,
Mary"Turnbull; iv. Harriet A., born October
,31, 1843, married October 5, 1870, Stratton
Penstone; v. Rebecca, born October 11, 1845,
died March 14, 1846; vi. Charles G, born De
cember 11, 1847, married July 27, 1896, Lora

"44

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Dimmitt; vii. Jeremiah, born March 15, 1850.
died February 25, i860; viii. Abbie, born July
27, 1853, married March 11, 1875, Louis H.
Dean ; ix. Elizabeth, born August 25, 1854,
married September 26, 1878, Charles H. Bash-
forth. 2. Charles Grant, born February 28,
1805 (see sketch). 3. Albert, born June 10,
1810; married December 14, 1837, Sarah
Prentice, of West Cambridge ; children : i.
Sarah Georgiana, born October 16, 1842 ; ii.
Albert, born December 7, 1843; "'• George
Prentice, born October 9, 1846; iv. William
Adams, born December 1, 1848; v. Susanna
Adams, born September 28, 1852. 4. Samuel
Frost, born July 11, 1812; mentioned below.
5. John Jewett Crafts, born August 23, 1814.
6. Sarah Ann, born July 6, 1819, never mar
ried. (VII) Charles Grant Winn, son of James
Winn (6), was born at West Cambridge, Mass
achusetts, February 28, 1805, and died January
22, 1872. He attended the district school
during the winter, and helped on the farm until
he was fourteen years old, working also on the
farms in the neighborhood of his father's place.
He later went into Faneuil Hall market, in the
early days of the market after 1826, selling
produce for Williams of Roxbury. With
Samuel Butterfield and Lemuel Pitts he
formed a partnership for the selling of pro
duce under the firm name of Butterfield, Winn
& Pitts. After a while this firm dissolved
and Mr. Winn went into partnership with
Louis C. Ricker and Joshua Bragdon, under
the firm name of Winn, Ricker & Company,
which continues to-day. Some years before
his death, owing to poor health, Mr. Winn'
sold his interest in the business to J. W. Hill.
He was an invalid for some time up to his
death. Mr. Winn was very successful in all
his business transactions, and his genial nature
won him a host of friends. His interest in the
young merchants in his line led him to advance
much capital to assist them in starting busi
ness. He was devoted to his home, and took
a keen interest in church affairs, being a con
stant attendant at the Unitarian church. He
was a Democrat in politics. He married, July
2, 1837, Ann Louise Wellington, born No
vember 7, 1817, and died March 19, 1895,
daughter of Charles and Ann (Locke) Wel
lington of West Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Mr. Wellington was a farmer, was prominent
in town affairs and a. vast property owner.
Children: 1. Charles Wellington, born April
28, 1843, mentioned below. 2. Frederick
Wellington, died in chillhood. 3. Adeline

Nichols, born August 6, 1853; died February
10, 1893; married Joaquin Hernandez; chil
dren: i. Robert A. Hernandez, born October
17, 1882 ; married April 24, 1907, Nancy
Swift, ii. Charles Joaquin Hernandez, born
December 1, 1885.
(VIII) Charles Wellington Winn, son of
Charles Grant Winn (7), was born in Boston,
Massachusetts, April 28, 1843. He was edu
cated in the public schools of Boston, after
wards taking a course at Chapman Hall under
Master Baker, where he graduated when he
was eighteen years old. Soon he entered the
employ of his father as clerk in his stall in
Faneuil Hall market, where he stayed a year.
The work proved most uncongenial owing to
the confinement, so he decided to start at mar
ket gardening on the home farm at Belmont,
where his parents had moved about 1856. He
was successful in this from the start, and in
1868 he took entire charge of the business,
most qf the product going to his father in the
market. On the death of his mother in 1895
the property, which was hers by inheritance
from her father, descended to him. His present
residence was built on his mother's property
in 1875. He cultivated about twelve acres
with four greenhouses for inside growth of
lettuce and cucumbers, with a cultivating area
of about twenty thousand square feet. He
also grows lettuce and cucumbers. His pro
duce is handled by Winn, Ricker & Company,
his father's old firm. Mr. Winn comes from
a sturdy stock, the Winns being one of the
oldest of the Woburn families. He is of a
retiring disposition. He is a Unitarian in reli
gion, and a Republican in politics, and has
served his party as delegate to state and county
conventions, and the town as registrar of
voters. He is a member of the Republican
Club of Boston, of the Middlesex Club of
Boston, of the Belmont Club, also of the
Boston Market Gardeners' Association. He
is a trustee of the Belmont Savings Bank. He
married, February 10, 1869, Anna Maria But
terfield, born at Arlington, Massachusetts,
September 30, 1848, daughter of Joseph and
Judith Ann (Cutler) Butterfield, of West Cam
bridge. They have one child, Alice Louise,
born July 19, 1879.
(VII) Samuel Frost Winn, son of James
Winn (6), was born at Burlington, Massachu
setts, July 11, 1812. He received his educa
tion in the district schools of his native town,
attending the winter terms until about fifteen
years of age. He and his brothers began
early in life to work on their father's farm

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"45

and he followed farming all his life. He left
the homestead when a young man and worked
on the farm of his brother Albert, at West
Cambridge, remaining with him a number of
years, returning at length to Burlington, after
his father's death, and buying the interests of
the other heirs settled there on the homestead.
He devoted his attention to raising marketable
produce for the Boston markets. He was a
man of quiet manner, respected by all who
knew him for his many excellent qualities. He
died March 21, 1881. He attended the Arling
ton Baptist church, and later the Burlington
Baptist church. In politics he was a Democrat.
He served in the militia.
He married, March 3, 1841, Lucy Tufts
Cutter, of West Cambridge, born at Charles
town, September 10, 1820, daughter of Ammi
and Lucy (Tufts) Cutter. Her father was a
miller by trade ; descendant of the Cutters of
Arlington. (See Cutter family). Children:
1. Samuel Frost, Jr., born December 9, 1841,
died January 1, 1842. 2. John Jewett, born
July 15, 1843, died January 13, 1847. 3.
James Henry, born July 24, 1845 '< mentioned
below. 4. Ammi Cutter, born February 18,
1849, married April 17, 1878, Elizabeth C.
Kyle, of Roxbury, Massachusetts ; children : i.
Clarence Henry, born April 11, 1879; ii. James
Herbert, born March 21, 1882, married March,
1906, Harriet Upton, and had Doris, born No
vember 16, 1906; iii. Chester Russell, born
April 6, 1884, died July 6, 1887 ; iv. Edward
Samuel, born April 26, 1893 ; v. Nancy Lillian,
born November 16, 1895. 5. Lucy Frances
Russell, born June 9, 1851.
(VIII) James Henry Winn, son of Samuel
Frost Winn (7), was born at Burlington,
Massachusetts, July 24, 1845. He attended
the common schools of his native town until
he was fourteen, meanwhile assisting his
father on the homestead. He then began an
apprenticeship in Sibley's machine shop at
Stony Brook, Waltham. After his three years
as apprentice had passed he entered partner
ship with Bardwell A. Goodell, under the firm
name of Goodell & Winn, to manufacture
hands for watches. Waltham is the home of
the American watch industry. After a few
years they removed to Woburn and occupied
a factory at Cummingsville, removing thence
to Winchester. After a time Frank W. Winn
bought Mr. Goodell's interest and became
associated; with his father, the name being then
changed to J. H. Winn & Son. In 1900 the
present commodious brick factory was erected
to provide for the increase in the business.

This firm supplies watch hands to the princi
pal watch-making firms of the country. The
firm also makes retarders used in bowling
alleys, a device patented by Mr. Winn. The
firm does a large and flourishing business, and
Mr. Winn ranks among the leading business
men of the community. He attends the Uni
tarian Church at Winchester. In politics a
Republican, he has been selectman of the town
of Winchester, and has shown himself con
cerned in the welfare and material interests
of that town. He has also filled the office of
overseer of the poor and that of road commis
sioner. He is a member of the Calumet Club,
and of William Parkman Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons. He married, November 25,
1868, Julia Anna Cummings, born at Milbury,
July 3, 1849, daughter of  and Sere-
phena Cummings, of Milbury. Children :
1. Arthur Locke, born September 8, 1869.
He attended the public school, and graduated
from the high school at Winchester. He next
attended the Gordon Missionary and Bible
School in Boston for some time, and next
entered the Newton Theological Seminary,
graduating from that institution in 1895. He
was ordained to the ministry of the Baptist
church the same year, and assumed his first
charge at the First Baptist Church of Water-
boro, Maine, and of the Baptist Church at
North Alfred, Maine, in 1898. In consequence
of sickness in his family he relinquished his
charge and became associated with his father's
manufacturing business. He married, June
11, 1895, Nettie Francis Chamberlain Rust,
of Winchester, Massachusetts. While he has
no regular charge Rev. Mr. Winn frequently
preaches in local parishes in the neighborhood
of his home.
2. Frank Whittemore, born November 1,
1871. Pie was educated in the schools of Win
chester. Upon taking up the practical duties
of life he purchased the interest of Bardwell
A. Goodell, who was his father's partner, and
has since been actively identified with the firm
of J. H. Winn & Son. He is active in frater
nal and local public affairs. He was admitted
to membership in Parkman Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons, in October, 1906; Woburn
Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, January, 1907 ;
Hugh de Payens Commandery, Knights Tem
plar, May, 1907; and Medford Council, Royal
Select Masters, June, 1907. He is also a
member of Aleppo Temple, Ancient Accepted
Order Mystic Shrine. Politically he supports
the principles of the Republican party, and at
present fills the position of selectman of the

1 146

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

town of Winchester. He was married, Octo
ber 30, 1894, to Laura Mabelle Crosby, of
Winchester, and has children: Ethelyn Mil
dred, born August 28, 1902, and Violet
Frances, born January 6, 1908.
3. Anna Louise, born April 28, 1873 ; mar
ried, September 9, 1896, George Herbert
Lochman, of Cambridge, Massachusetts; no
children. 4. Harry Tufts, born July 24, 1877 ; mar
ried first, June 12, 1900, Edith Mae Blank, of
Winchester, who died June 18, 1901 ; one
child, Ruth Christine, born April 2, 1901. Mr.
Winn married (second) September 26, 1904,
Flora Alice Stover, of Cape Neddick, Maine;
one child : Marion Stover, born January 16,
1906. 5. Helen Frances, born February 7, 1882;
married, November 21, 1905, Albert Caldwell,
of Buffalo, New York; one child: Harry
Albert, born January 31, 1907.
(VII) John Jewett Crafts Winn, son of
James Winn (6), was born in Burlington,
Massachusetts, August 23, 1814. He received
his education in the district schools which he
attended in winter, working at other seasons
on the farm. At the age of nine years he
went to live with his aunt Rebecca Crafts, for
whom he worked at farming. When a young
man he learned the trade of shoemaker and
followed it until the time of his marriage.
Then he entered the . employ of his brother,
Charles Winn, in his meat and provision bus
iness in old Faneuil Hall Market, Boston, and
was a clerk for him several years. In 1846 he re
moved to Arlington and conducted the Samuel
Butterfield farm for a few years. He gave up
farming and established himself in the mason
and contracting business, making excavations
and preparing the foundations for many
buildings in the vicinity, including those of the
Unitarian church. After nine years in this
business he established an express business
between Arlington and Boston, and with the
exception of two years he carried on the ex
press business until his death. He died March
27, 1874, at Arlington. Mr. Winn built the
dwelling house on Central street, now occu
pied by his grandson, Dr. Lawrence Peirce,
and another at 5 Academy street, Arlington.
He attended the Arlington Baptist church,
later the Congregational church. In politics he
was a Republican.
He married September 22, 1841, Susan
Phebe Newcomb, born at Truro, Massachu
setts, April 17, 1816, died at Arlington, Sep
tember 14, 1898, daughter of Elisha and Phebe

(Thayer) Newcomb, of Truro. Her father
was a sea captain. Children: 1. Susan Ann,
born August 20, 1842; married August 11,
1864, Elias Augustus Dupee, of East Lexing
ton, Massachusetts ; child : Mary Lyman, born
December 27, 1865, married January 4, 1899,
Charles Henry Gannatt, of Augusta, Maine,
and they have Esther Dupee Gannatt, born
December 3, 1900. 2. John Henry, born May
14, 1844; died February 8, 1892; married first,
June 1, 1865, Lucy G. Osgood; second, Octo
ber 6, 1878,. Frankie Brewster; children: i.
Ruth Georgianna, born August 20, 1879, mar
ried February 15, 1902, William Henry Davis,
and have Henry Winn, born December 22,
1902 ; ii. Dora Cornelia, born January 19,
1881, married February 25, 1903, Nelson W.
Dana, and have Forest Warren, born Decem
ber 15, 1903; iii. Lora Fidelia, born January
19, 1881 ; iv. John Jay, born June 20, 1882. 3.
William Newcomb, born April 13, 1848; men
tioned below. 4. Sarah Caroline, born April
21, 1851 ; married January 16, 1870, Leander
Peirce, of Arlington ; children : i. Harrie Winn,
born August 30, 1872; ii. Laurence Locke,
born May 24, 1878; married February 8, 1899,
Marion Kimball; children: Lawrence Locke
Peirce, Jr., born November 9, 1899; Albert
Kimball Peirce, born July 11, 1901 ; David
Leander Peirce, born May 13, 1904.
(VIII) William Newcomb Winn, son of
John Jewett Crafts Winn (7), was born at
Arlington, Massachusetts, April 13, 1848. He
received his education in the common schools
of his native town. From the age of fifteen to
twenty-three he assisted his father in the ex
press business, driving an express wagon be
tween Arlington and Boston. Then he and his
brother John Winn purchased a farm at Walt
ham, Illinois, and cultivated it together.
After two years Mr. Winn returned to Arling
ton and took charge of the express business
his father had established, became the owner,
and conducted a large business, having three
teams making daily trips to Boston. In De
cember, 1891, he gave up his express business
to devote all his time to the Peirce & Winn
Company, dealers in coal, hay, grain, etc. The
history of this concern dates back to 1846,
when it was established by Josiah Russell on
Mystic street, where the business of the com
pany is still located. He was succeeded by
his son, J. Willard Russell, and J. Winslow
Peirce, brother of Warren A. Peirce, in 1859.
In 1862 the business came under the control
of J. W. Peirce, and when he died it was sold
to D. Richards, who finally turned it over to

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"47

Warren A. Peirce, brother of the former
owner, in 1885. As the business grew and
more capital was required, Mr. Winn became
interested financially. He was elected presi
dent in 1891, with Warren A. Peirce, treas
urer, and Frank Peabody, who was in charge
of the Lexington end of the business, secre
tary. The capital stock of the company is
thirty thousand dollars. The plant was en
larged and improved under new management
until it covered an area of two acres. An ele
vated railroad track was built to reach the
coal pockets, which extend the whole length
of the yard. The coal pockets have a total
capacity of ten thousand tons. The main
building contains the office and salesroom,
has storage room for hundreds of tons of
grain, feed, hay and straw, all handled by the
most approved and labor-saving machinery;
being designed and built to accommodate the
business of the firm to the best advantage.
The firm is agent for the Pillsbury flour,
Akron drain pipe, and various fertilizers. The
firm employs at its plants in Lexington, Ar
lington Heights and the Mystic street plant,
twenty-five men and twenty teams. Mr. Winn
resigned on account of ill health after six
years and a half, and retired from business.
After resting three years and regaining his
health, he resumed his partnership in the firm,
though having less financial interest, and is
now caring for the finances of the firm and
selling goods. He resides at yy Summer
street, the old William Cutter homestead of
interesting history.
In religion he is a Universalist, and has
been chairman of the board of trustees of the
church and was also treasurer of its trust
funds. In politics he was a Republican; was
selectman of Arlington in 1891 ; assessor in
1890-91. For the past four years he has been
on the board of public works. He is a member
of Hiram Lodge of Free Masons ; of the
Young Men's Universajist Club; of the. Men's
Club of the Orthodox Congregational Church ;
the Frost Family Association; of the Ko-
Koal Social Club of coal dealers; of the New
England Coal Dealers' Association; director
of the Contocook Needle Company of Conto-
cook, New Hampshire, and a director of the
Arlington Co-operative Bank.
He married, September 15, 1881, Mary
Rebecca Prentiss, born September 15, 1856,
at Belmont, Massachusetts, daughter of
George and Mary Maria (Cooke) Prentiss,
of Belmont. Her father was a farmer. Chil
dren: 1. Amy Josephine, born November 9,

1885. 2. Edith Newcomb, born June 10
1893.

(For early generations see preceding sketch).
(IV) Timothy Winn, son of Tim-
WINN othy Winn (3), born July, 1712,
died March 3, 1800; married De
cember, 1739, Mary Bowers, born about 1716,
died at Burlington, October 5, 1807, aged
ninety-one years, daughter of Jonathan and
Hannah (Barrett) Bowers, of Billerica.
He joined the Woburn Second Parish
church, May 4, 1740, and was chosen deacon
December 26, 1752, holding the office until his
death. He was noted for industry, economy
and success in accumulating wealth. He was
a selectman of Woburn in 1756, '57 — , '73,
'74 and '75 ; representative to the general
court, i787-'88-'9i. In December, 1787, he
was chosen as one of the two delegates from
Woburn to the convention which met in Bos
ton, January 9, 1788, respecting the ratifica
tion of the constitution of the United States.
He was prominent in local military affairs ;
held the office of ensign in the Third Military
Company of Foot in Woburn Second Parish,
(now Burlington) in 1750-52 ; lieutenant 1758,
and captain of the same company 1762-64.
As lieutenant he was called into active service
in 1757 in a company commanded by Captain
David Green, in Colonel Eleazer Tyng's regi
ment, which was impressed into His Majesty's
service under Sir William Peppered, stationed
in August, 1757, at Springfield, and prepared
to march for the relief of Fort William Henry.
The Woburn men were under Lieutenant
Winn's command, and were marched, per his
return, from Woburn to Worcester, forty-
five miles, when,, their service no longer re
quired, they were dismissed. His commis
sions as ensign and captain, 1750 and 1762,
and two oil portraits, one of himself and the
other of his wife, painted about 1798, are
extant. In the Revolutionary war he belonged
to the militia company of the Woburn Second
Precinct. His name appears in the alarm list
of that company in March, 1 776, and an equi
page list of the company shows that he had
a very full equipment. He was in May, 1775.
captain in command of the Third Foot Com
pany in Woburn, the local militia company on
duty at home. He contributed for a substi
tute to go for himself and others, when draft
ed, into the Northward army against Bur-
goyne, a time when a large portion of the
active Massachusetts militia were summoned

1 148

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

into service. His portrait shows him to have
been a man of firm character, stern in his
ways, and tradition bears out this impression.
He died on March 3, 1800, and was buried
March 7, at Burlington; the cause, old age,
per his minister's -(Marrett's) records. Chil
dren: 1. Timothy, born December 20, 1740,
see forward. 2. Mary, born June 21, 1743;
married, January 2, 1777, a (second wife)
Colonel Jonathan Waldron, of Dover, New
Hampshire. 3. Jonathan, died December 29,
1747, aged six months and five days.
(V) Timothy Winn, son of Timothy Winn
(4), born December 20, 1740, died April 3,
1817; married (first) January 23, 1766, Sarah
Reed, born June 26, 1742, died at Woburn
Second Precinct, January 17, 1767, in her
twenty-fifth year, daughter of Thomas and
Lydia (Parker) Reed of Woburn; married
(second) May 4, 1772, Mary Bridge, born
about 1750, died at Burlington, November 28,
1834, aged eighty-four, daughter of Rev. Ebe
nezer and Elizabeth (Stoddard) Bridge of
Chelmsford. Mr. Winn resided at the old
homestead in Woburn Second Precinct, (now
Burlington), and was a farmer. He was call
ed, in distinction from his father, Timothy
Winn, junior, and Ensign Timothy Winn. He
acquired the title of ensign from service in the
French and Indian war in 1762, when he
served for nine months, and seventeen days
in a company in His Majesty's service under
the command of Captain Ebenezer Cox. He
was present in Lexington and Concord battle,
April 19, 1775, in Captain Joshua Walker's
company, Woburn Second Precinct, and was
on duty for eight days at that time. A tomb
in the old Burlington burying ground is in
scribed: "Erected in memory of Mr. Timothy
Winn and his family, A. D. 1820." Child, by
first wife: 1. Jonathan, died January 17,
1767. Children by second wife: 2. Timothy,
born September 20, 1773, married Rebecca
Delano, resided in Washington, D. C. 3.
Mary, born June 8, 1775, married, March 29,
1801, Luke Reed, of Woburn. 4. Ebenezer
Bridge, born November 13, 1777; married
Elizabeth Wheat; resided in Charlestown. 5.
Jonathan Bowers, born December 6, 1780,
married Mary Adams of Westford. He went
to South Africa as a missionary, where he and
his wife died, August, 1821. 6. William, born
February 14, 1784; see forward.
(VI) William Winn, son of Timothy Winn
(5), born February 14, 1784, died at Woburn,
April 13, 1856; married (first) August 29,
1805, Abigail Walker, born at Woburn Second

Precinct, September 2, 1785, died at Burling
ton, May 11, 1826, daughter of Edward and
Abigail (Reed) Walker; married (second)
December 21, 1826, Mary Cutler, born May
30, 1805, died at New Bedford, May 9, 1871,
daughter of James and Mary (Dean) Cutler
of Burlington. Mr. Winn was interested in
military affairs. He was colonel of the Sixth
Regiment Massachusetts Militia, justice of the
peace, and, while not a lawyer, did consider
able business in conveyancing. Children by
his first wife: 1. Son, born August 2, died
August 29, 1807. 2. William, born April 8,
1809; see forward. 3. Jonathan Bowers, born
August 24, 181 1, married, intention dated,
March 1, 1835, Nancy W. Cummings; their
son Charles Bowers Winn, was the donor of
the Woburn Public Library building. 4. Abi
gail, born September 6, 1814; married May,
1852, Jonas Stephen Hale, of Burlington. 5.
Timothy, born September 25, 1817; married
April 20, 1843, Abigail Maria Kendall, of
Wilmington. Child by second wife: 6. Lavi
nia, born November 4, 1827, died at New Bed
ford, May 24, 1881 ; married, September 6,
1853, Rev. Daniel D. Winn, of Woburn.
(VII) William Winn, son of William Winn
(6), born at Burlington, April 8, 1809, died at
Woburn, August 19, 1892; married, Novem
ber 7, 1833, Abigail Parker, born March 26,
1814, died at Woburn, March 10, 1889, daugh
ter of Henry and Abigail (Hutchinson)
Parker, of Woburn.
William Winn lived on the old estate — suc
cessively the homestead of his great-grand
father, Timothy Winn, Esquire; his grand
father, Ensign Timothy Winn ; and his father,
Colonel William Winn — which was located in
Burlington near the Woburn line, the original
house of his great-grandfather being still the
homestead of the family. Here he resided
until 1873, when he removed to Woburn and
occupied a residence which he built there.
Gifted with a natural power of eloquence, a
strong bodily frame, and a forceful character,
he was a marked man among his fellows, and
a strong leader among the people of the small
agricultural town of Burlington. The whole
of his very active life was spent in the vicinity
of his birthplace and he held probably more
offices of trust and honor than any other citi
zen of his town. For thirty-two years he
added to the arduous duties of a farmer those
of an auctioneer and he performed the func
tions of the latter in a manner to make him the
most popular auctioneer in the county. As
a seller of standing wood he had no equal ; and

-MIDDLESEX COUNTY:

"49

the number of sales, for example, of household
goods and personal property that passed under
his hammer was incalculable. For twenty-
four years he was a selectman of Burlington;
twenty-seven years an assessor ; eighteen years
an overseer of the poor ; five years town treas
urer; and at different times a member of the
legislature — 1850, 1851, 1854, 1866, 1870, and
1875. For twenty-two years he presided at
Burlington annual town meetings. He was a
Democrat in politics, and so well known that
it was said of him that when he was up for
office the citizens rallied for him irrespective
of party leanings, and it is said that he was
never defeated when voted for. His funeral
was largely attended from the Unitarian
church in Woburn, and ministers of the Con
gregational and Unitarian denominations made
eulogistic addresses commemorative of his
record as a good man. He was an honest and
valuable citizen, whom all regretted to lose.
Child: 1. William Henry, see forward.
(VIII) William Henry Winn, son of Wil
liam Winn (7), born at Burlington, February
8, 1840, died there April 2, 1898; married
(first) November 11, 1863, Harriet Josephine
Dow, born March 28, 1843, died at Woburn,
March 25, 1870, daughter of Stephen and
Celinda (Thompson) Dow, of Woburn; mar
ried (second) at Potsdam, New York, Febru
ary 15, 1870, Elizabeth Jane Pollock, born at
Brashear, St. Lawrence county, New York,
¦May 8, 1849, daughter of, James and Ellen
(Whiteside) Pollock, of Canton, New York.
His education was acquired in the common
schools of his native town and at Warren
Academy, Woburn. Until he was eighteen
years of age he helped his father on the farm.
In 1 87 1 he removed to Woburn, where he
filled the position of clerk and bookkeeper for
his father in the auction business. He re
mained with his father in business for a
number of years, when he returned to the
-homestead in Burlington and engaged in the
farming business until his death. On the
death of his father in 1892 he inherited the
farm, which at the present time has descended
through six generations of one family, the
children of William Henry Winn being the
present owners. The farm is located in the
easterly part of Burlington, near the line
which separates that town from the city of
Woburn. Mr. Winn was a successful market
gardener, finding the market for his produce in
Boston. He was a Democrat in politics. He
was greatly interested in all the affairs of his
native town, and held the offices of selectman

and assessor, overseer of the poor, and school
committeeman of Burlington. He belonged to
the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In
religious belief he was a Unitarian, and an
attendant of the church of that denomination
in Woburn. He was retiring in manner, high
ly respected by his fellow citizens, and known
to all as honest, and upright in his dealings.
His children: 1. William Henry (by his first
wife) born at Burlington, March 25, 1869,
and died only a few hours old. Children by
second wife : 2. Josephine Harriet, born at
Woburn, May 24, 1872; married April 12,
1893, George Parker Russell, of Woburn, son
of George and Betsey Fidelia (Parker) Rus
sell. Children: i. Lois Winn (Russell) born
February 26, 1895, died April 26, 1895. ii.
Winn (Russell) born November 22, 1896. iii.
Fred (Russell), born June 17, 1898. 3. Fred
Hartwell, born at Woburn, November 10,
1873; married November 13, 1905, Bertha
Amanda Buckman, born March 17, 1877,
daughter of Willis Johnson and Harriet
(Wiley), Buckman of Woburn. Child: Dor
othy, born at Boston, March 12, 1907. 4.
Ellen Pollock, born at Woburn, September 6,
1876; married, October 21, 1903, Frank Til
ton Buchanan, born April 12, 1877, son of
George and Olive J. (Lowell-Faxon) Buch
anan of Woburn. 5. Timothy Bowers, born
at Burlington, December 16, 1878. 6. Abi
gail Parker, born at Burlington, September
20, 1880, died there, October 9, 1881. 7.
Ethel Louise, born at Burlington, September
14, 1883. 8. William, . born at Burlington,
July 10, 1885; married, October 29, 1906,
Cornelia Marie Ingerson, daughter of George
L. and Helen (Nash) Ingerson. 9. Alice
Maria, born at Burlington, August 21, 1886.
10. Frank Graves, born at Burlington, Febru
ary 6, 1890. The surname Loker is variously
LOKER spelled in the early records-
Look, Looke, Looker, Loker,
Locker, Loaker, Lucar and Luker, but the
spelling Loker has prevailed among all the
descendants. It seems likely that in England
the Loker and Locke families were originally
the same.
(I) Robert Loker, the immigrant ancestor,
was born in England, and is doubtless the
ancestor of all the Lokers of America. He
settled with his wife Elizabeth in Sudbury,
Massachusetts, about 1639. We find his name
as witness on Webcowites' deed to Jotham

"5°

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Gibbons, dated January 13, 1639. He prob
ably died about 1640, for we find.no further
record of him after May 20, 1640, when he
became bondsman for John Griffin. His
widow Elizabeth died in Sudbury, May 18.
1648. Children: 1. Henry, proprietor of
Sudbury in 1639, admitted freeman May 10,
1643; married, March 24, 1647, Hannah Bar-
torn, who died February 14, 1679. In 1678
Henry Loker deeded to his daughter Elizabeth
and her husband, Jacob Moore, all of his real
estate, showing that she was the only sur
viving child; Henry Loker died October 14,
1688. (Robert Davis, of Sudbury, mentions
"his brother Henry Loker" in his will dated
July 17, 1655. As the name of Henry's wife
is known, it seems likely that the wife of
Davis, Bridget, must have been a sister of
Henry and John Loker, of Sudbury. Davis
came from Penton Weyhill, Hampshire, Eng
land, in 1638, and settled in Sudbury). 2.
John, mentioned below.
(II) John Loker, son of Robert and Eliza
beth Loker (1), was born in England, and
came to this country in 1638 with his parents
and brother Henry, and perhaps sisters. He
settled in Sudbury in 1639 and was granted
one acre that year for a house lot; also three
acres and a half in 1639 and six acres in
1640. His brother Henry had similar grants
at the same time. Both shared in the divisions
of land to the proprietors. In 1655 John
Loker had nineteen acres in the "Second
Squadron." This John was son of John (2).
John died intestate June 18, 1653. His estate
was appraised that year. (See Cambridge
probate records). He married Mary  .
His widow bought a house and lot at Sudbury
in 1654. Children: 1. John, mentioned
below. 2. Mary, born September ,28, 1653,
(posthumous). (Ill) John Loker, son of John Loker (2),
was born about 1650 in Sudbury, Massachu
setts, and died there November 10, 1719. In
his will he gave land in Needham to his
daughter Mary and her husband, Stephen
Bacon. This estate was in what is now North
Natick in the vicinity of Bacon street, near
Felchville. He married Sarah Rice, of Sud
bury, daughter of Mathew Rice, and grand
daughter of the immigrant, Edmund Rice, of
Sudbury. In his will dated 1717 Mathew Rice
gave property to the "four children of daugh
ter Sarah Loker, deceased," (Middlesex Coun
ty probate records). Sarah (Rice) Loker
died at Sudbury, March 9, 1702. John Loker
was living on the homestead in Sudbury, west

of the meeting house, in 1678, when the town
bought the land and the east end of the house,
the orchard and four acres of land and the
reversion due him in the west end of the
house then occupied by his mother.
Children: 1. Sarah, born at Sudbury, Oc
tober 22, 1676, married, October 10, 1710,
John Greaves, of Sudbury. 2. John, died un
married in 1762, bequeathing to children of
his brother and sisters. 3. Henry, born at
Sudbury, March 9, 1684-85, mentioned below.
4. Mary, married, January 6, 1703, Stephen
Bacon, son of John Bacon, and grandson of
Michael Bacon, of Dedham (1). (See sketch
of Bacon family). Children, born in Need
ham (now North Natick) except the two
eldest: i. Sarah Bacon, born 1704; ii. Mary
Bacon, born March '20, 1707-08; iii. Lieuten
ant John Bacon, who was killed in the battle
of Lexington; iv. Stephen Bacon; v. Henry
Bacon. (IV) Henry Loker, son of John Loker
(3), was born in Sudbury, 'Massachusetts,
March 9, 1684-85. He settled in Sudbury.
Married Mary  . Children, born at
Sudbury. 1. John, born May 7, 1718, died
young. 2. John, born September 5, 1719,
married Beulah Rice ; children : i. Eunice,
born March 2, 1759; ii. John, born April 27,
1 761 ; iii. Hannah, born September 11, 1763;
iv. Ebenezer, born February 16, 1766; v. Oli
ver, born October 7, 1768; vi. Ann, born Sep
tember 1, 1 771. 3. Henry, born September
20, 1724, mentioned below. 4. Jonas, bqrn
December 3, 1730, -married, March 2, 1775,
Abigail Barbour; soldier in the Revolution,
killed by cannon ball. 5. Moses, born
November 8, 1733, resided in Needham
Leg and was a soldier in the Revolution.
6. Stephen, born September 7, 1736. 7.
Captain Isaac, born March 5, 1739, mar
ried, October 2, 1766, Ann Brintall; married
(second), August 27, 1795, Mehitable Ward;
captain of Sudbury horse troop in the Revolu
tion ; children : i. Dorothy, born June 30,
1767; ii. Alpheus, born October 7, 1769; iii.
Isaac, born February 21, 1772; iv. Paul, born
July 2, 1774. 8. Sarah, born May 12, 1742,
probably she married, January 6, 1778, Ben
jamin Mills, Jr., of Needham, at Sudbury.
(V) Henry Loker, son of Henry Loker
(4), was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts,
September 20, 1724. Married there May 22,
1755, Hannah Barber, who was born in 1735
and died at Natick, Massachusetts, March 29,
1829, aged ninety-four. Henry Loker died
at Natick, June 4, 1813. He settled at Natick

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"5i

and was with Natick minute men who re
sponded to the Lexington alarm, April 19,
1775, ranking as sergeant. (See Needham
epitaphs by George Kuhn Clarke, of Needham,
Massachusetts). It is traditional that Lieuten
ant (Sergeant) Henry Loker was the one to
repulse the first British soldier, who claimed that
his army had possession of the fort at Bunker
Hill. Another tradition states that during this
siege the American soldiers were hot only
without ammunition but also food, and to
meet the emergency a small pet dog, belonging
to Sergeant Loker was sacrificed. He was a
selectman of Natick. Children, born at
Natick: 1. Stephen, born November 30, 1755.
2. Oliver, born June 15, 1759. 3. Abigail,
born September 22, 1761. 4. Henry, Jr.,
born August 25, 1764, died June 4, 1837, aged
forty years, according to the gravestone,
buried in the North cemetery; wife Sarah
(Trull) Loker, whom he married October 15,
1807, died June 2, 1846, aged seventy-three.
5. Jane, born April 5, 1766. 6. Abraham,
born April 20, 1768, died April 18, 1844. 7.
Betty, born August 20, 1771. 8. Ephraim,
born May 9, 1773, mentioned below. 9. Jonas,
born February 29, 1776, married, November
21, 1808. 10. Hannah, born June 9, 1778. 11.
James, (called "Jonas" in the index of the
records, "James" in the text of the copy)
married, May 5, 1799, Lydia Ward.
(VI) Ephraim Loker, son of Henry Loker
(5), was born in Natick, Massachusetts, May
9, 1773. When a young man he lived at Way-
land, formerly East Sudbury, and two of his
children were born there. He was a carpenter
by trade. He married Susanna, daughter of
Abraham Loker. She died December 20, 1857,
aged seventy-nine years, nine months. He
died December 25, 1849, aged seventy-six
years, nine months. Both are buried in the
graveyard at North Natick and have grave
stones. In 1725 the mill on the Hawes brook
in the Hundreds came into the possession of
the Lokers. This brook is west of Parker
Plain and runs from Nonesuch pond to Moses
pond. Hawes Hundred was granted to Ed
ward Hawes in 1661 and there was a mill on
the brook very early. In 1899 and doubtless
at present the boundary monuments on Blos
som street, Needham and Weston, and Wash
ington street, Needham and Natick, remained
unchanged, although the town of Wellesley
was established in 1881.
Of Ephraim's wife Susanna, we are told:
"To keep an estate in land partly inherited,
partly purchased by the fruits of her industry

and toil, this lady followed the calling of a
market woman. She nursed and supported
her husband, a consumptive invalid in his later
years, and cared for a relative who was in ill-
health. She taught a large family the value
of frugal habits and constant toil. She left
a large property to her heirs." Children of
Ephraim and Susanna Loker: 1. Sophia,
born at Wayland, October 1, 1796. 2. Nabby
(Abigail), born at Wayland, October 18,
1797, probably died young. 3. Patty
(Martha), born at Wayland, (East Sudbury)
January 24, 1799 (Natick records). 4. Walter,
born at Natick, April 13, 1801, died June 17,
1801. Also born at Natick: 5. Nancy, born
April 12, 1803. 6. Ephraim, born 1807, died
April 11, 1897, a farmer, lived twenty years in
The Hundreds, which he inherited from his
Rice ancestors ; he kept Loker Tavern, now
known as Sunnyside, formerly Elm Park
House, on the road between Felchville and
Natick at the corner of Worcester turnpike ;
resided the last twenty years of his life on
the turnpike; married Sarah Carter, children:
i. Nancy' Adeline, born at Needham, January
29, 1848, died March 11, 1862; ii. Ephraim,
Jr., born April 9, 1850, died 1874. iii. Eugene,
living in the west. 7. Winthrop, born July
29, 1809, married, May 26, 1835, Irene Col-
burn, at Natick. 8. Walter, born December 3,
181 1, mentioned below. 9. Phebe, born De
cember 5, 1814. 10. Susan, born April 21,
181 7. 11. George Washington, born May 17,
1820, a farmer, resided in Natick.
(VII) Walter Loker, son of Ephraim
Loker (6), was born in Natick, December 3,
181 1, and died there May 8, 1872. He was a
farmer, owning a fine farm of two hundred
acres at Lokerville, the fruit of his own indus
try and frugality. He was a lifelong resident
and much respected citizen of Natick, widely
known in the community, and was noted for
his genial manners, good judgment and sturdy
honesty. He was a member of the school
committee, and held other public offices. He
was a member of the Congregational church,
and a Democrat in politics. He married, in
1840, Zelinda Wright, born November 20,
1815, in Swanzey, New Hampshire, daughter
of Luke and Rhoda (Belding) Wright. In
her youth she had advantages which few at
that time possessed, for her father was town
librarian and the books were kept at his
house. She taught school for a time in her
native town, then came to Natick, where her
marriage occurred. After her husband's
death, in 1872, she removed to Natick Centre

"52

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

and lived with her children on Pond street,
but subsequently returned to the spot where
her early married life had been spent. She
died at her home on Hartford street, South
Framingham, August 24, 1901, in the eighty-
sixth year of her age.
Children of Walter and Zelinda (Wright)
Loker: 1. Martha Jane, born April 14, 1841,
married, in 1862, Allen J. Eldridge, and they
live at 34 Pond street, Natick ; children : Fred
erick W, born October 16, 1866; Ralph
Waldo, born 1870, died November 2, 1895 ;
Walter Belding, born November 28, 1876. 2.
Julia Emma, born August 14, 1844, died Sep
tember 4, 1906. 3. Francis Edwin, born Feb
ruary 12, 1846, died February 29, 1846. 4.
George C, born May 8, 1847, married Alice
L. Burtt, has one son, Harold Wesley, born
May 1, 1874, graduated from Harvard Uni
versity, class of 1895, now principal of
Swampscott high school. 5. Walter F., born
September 17, 1849, married Carrie L. Morse,
children : Melvin W, born June 19, 1887 ; and
Earle, born November 16, 1893. 6. William
W., born April 29, 1851, married Mrs. An-
netta Marr, resides at Lokerville — Natick. 7.
Albee E., born August 26, 1854, partner in. the
firm of Loker Brothers engaged in the grocery
business, Natick ; married Elizabeth Olyott,
children : John Olyott, born July 24, 1892 ;
Dorothy, June 12, 1894; William W., April 8,
1896; Mary Tilton, November 26, 1898;
Donald Prescott, August, 1901. The family
resides on Florence street, Natick. 8. Fred
erick S., born June 14, 1858, mentioned below.
(VIII) Frederick Samuel Loker, son of
Walter Loker (7), was born in Natick, June
14, 1858. He was educated in the public
schools of his native town. He became a part
ner in the firm of Loker Brothers at the age
of eighteen, with his brothers Walter F. and
Albee E. Loker. The firm enjoyed a large,
prosperous and growing business for many
years. In 1887 they sold to Kennedy & Buck
ley, agreeing not to resume business for one
year. Frederick S. and his brother Albee E.
went to California for an extended trip. Re
turning to Natick the Loker Brothers engaged
in farming and the real estate business from
1887 to 1893. The firm of Loker Brothers
was re-established in the grocery business in
1894 by F. C. Loker and his two brothers,
Walter F. and Albee E. Loker. In the spring
of 1906 Walter F. retired, selling his interests
to his two brothers. The firm continues in
the grocery business with much success. Their
store is at 17 South Main street, Natick.

Frederick S. Loker is the proprietor of the
Natick storehouse, a large building used for
storage purposes. In politics he is an inde
pendent Republican. He was elected on a non
partisan ticket as selectman of the town of
Natick, in March, 1907, by what was said to
have been the largest vote ever given a can
didate for selectman in the town. He stood
on a platform of no-license and the enforce
ment of the law. George Nutt, of the same
party, was also elected, thus giving control of
the board, and Mr. Loker was chosen chair
man of the board, and chairman of the light
ing committee. He is an active member of the
First Congregational church and for several
years has been deacon. He is one of the cor
porators of the Natick Five Cents Savings
Bank. He married, September 15, 1886, Marion
Mabel Gleason, born October 19, 1859, daugh
ter of Charles Willard and Jennie (Storey)
Gleason, of Holden, Massachusetts, and
Natick. Her father was for many years chair
man of the school board and instrumental in
having the grades system introduced in Natick.
He was a California pioneer, and a thirty-
second degree Free Mason, and an officer in
the various Masonic bodies. He was one of
the organizers and charter members of the
Order of the Eastern Star in Natick. (See
sketch of her uncle, Major D. H. L. Gleason,
Natick, and the Gleason family). Children,
born in South Framingham: 1. Marion Story,
born November 5, 1890. 2. Ruth Belding,
born June 14, 1893, died July 23, 1894.

Jonas Eaton, immigrant ances-
EATON tor of the Eaton family, settled
in Reading with his brother WilJ
Ham Eaton. William Eaton was from Staple,
England, sailing from Sandwich, England,
before June 9, 1637; settled first at Water-
town, where he was a proprietor in 1642; re
moved to Reading, where he was a proprietor
in 1644 and a town officer; he and wife and
children were legatees in the will of the wife's
sister, Margaret Lane, of London, England,
September 3, 1662; died at Reading, May 13,
1673. Jonas Eaton was in Reading as early
as 1647, doubtless the younger brother of Wil
liam. He was admitted a freeman in 1653,
and was selectman of the town several years.
He and his wife Grace were members of the
Reading church in 1648. His residence and
farm were on Cowdrey's Hill, in the north
west part of the town. He died February 24,

FREDERICK S. LOKER.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"53

1674, and the widow married, November 18,
1680, Henry Sillsbee, of Lynn. His will was
proved April 7, 1674. He bequeathed to his
wife Grace ; sons John, James, Joseph, Joshua,
Jonathan and daughter Mary. The children
of Jonas and Grace Eaton: 1. Mary, born
February 8, 1643-4, died 1731. 2. John, born
September 10, 1645. 3. Jonas, born and died
September 24, 1648. 4. Sarah, born 1650. 5.
Joseph, born 1651. 6. Joshua, born Decem
ber 4, 1653. 7. Jonathan, born 1655. 8.
David, born September 22, 1657, died October
7, 1657.
(II) Jonathan Eaton, son of Jonas Eaton
(1), as born in Reading, Massachusetts, De
cember 6, 1655. He lived on the homestead on
Cowdrey's Hill. He was selectman of the
town and held other positions of trust and
honor, and was lieutenant of the Reading
military company. He died 1743, aged eighty-
eight years. He married first 1683 Elizabeth
Burnap, daughter of Robert Burnap, Jr. She
died in 1688, and he married second, Mary
 . Children: 1. Sarah, born 1684; mar
ried John Poole. 2. Jonathan, born 1686 ;
was a soldier in the Nova Scotia expedition,
and died at Annapolis Royal, in 171 1 ; unmar
ried. 3. Elizabeth, born 1688; married Joseph
Parker. 4. Mary, born and died 1691. 5.
Samuel, born and died 1693. 6. Mary, born
1694; married, 1716, Josiah Nurse. 7. John,
born 1697. 8. Samuel, born 1702. 9. Na
thaniel, born 17 — ; married Lydia  .
10. Noah, born 1704, mentioned below. 11.
Joanna, born and died 1708.
(Ill) Noah Eaton, son of Jonathan Eaton
(2), was born in Reading, Massachusetts,
1704; married Phebe Lilley, of Woburn,
whence the name Lilley so common in this
family in later generations. She died 1786,
and he in 1770. He lived for some years on
the homestead, Cowdrey Hill. In 1732 he
purchased of Benjamin Gibson of Boston the
former homestead of Zachariah Poole, leather
dresser, who had sold it to Gibson and re
moved to Medford — the same place formerly
owned by Deacon Jacob Eaton, at the corner
of Eaton and Crescent streets. On this place,
-which included the land on both sides of Eaton
street and extended easterly to the Lot End
road, now Vernon street, , he lived until his
death. Children of Noah and Phebe Eaton:
1. Noah, born 1728, settled in Woburn.
2. Phebe, born 1731 ; married Thomas Hart,
of Lynnfield. 3. Katharine, born 1735,
died young. 4. Hannah (twin), born 1738;
married  Boutwell, of Amherst, New

Hampshire. 5. Lilley. (twin), born 1738, men
tioned below. 6. Katharine, born 1744; mar
ried John Emerson. 7. Susanna, born 1749.
8. Reuben, married, 1773, Sarah Hart.
(IV) Lilley Eaton, son of Noah Eaton (3),
was born in Reading, Massachusetts, 1738;
married, 1762, Sarah Emerson, daughter of
Deacon Brown Emerson. He died 1812, aged
seventy-three years; she died his widow in
1 82 1, aged eighty years. He lived in the
ancient mansion that stood until a few decades
ago at the corner of Eaton and Crescent
streets. His son Jacob occupied part of the
house. Jacob was one of the founders of the
Baptist church at Reading, and its deacon for
more than half a century; a prominent citizen.
Children of Lilley and Sarah Eaton: 1. Sarah,
born 1763 ; married Joseph Boutwell, of Am
herst, New Hampshire. 2. Lucy, born 1765;
died 1807. 3. Susanna, born 1766; died 1828.
4. Lilley, Jr., born 1768, mentioned below. 5.
Jacob, born 1771. 6. Caleb, born 1773. 7.
Phebe, born 1777; married Cornelius Sweet-
ser. 8. Hannah, born 1779; married, 1801,
Lemuel Sweetser, Esq'. 9. Catherine, born
1781 ; married Benjamin Badger, Esq.
.(V) Lilley Eaton, Jr., son of Lilley Eaton
(4), was born in Reading, Massachusetts,
1768. He lived in South Reading, now Wake
field, at the corner of Main and Salem streets.
He married, 1797, Eunice Evans (see sketch),
daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Evans. He
died there in 1822, aged fifty-four years; his
widow Eunice died there 1866, aged eighty-
five years. He built his house in 1804, when
it was by far the most costly and imposing
dwelling in the village, and occupied a posi
tion then accounted the centre of population
and business for the South Parish. Mr. Eaton
in early life was a shoemaker and manufac
turer. After he erected his house he opened
therein a general store which he continued, ex
cept from 1809 to 1812, when it was occupied
for the same purposes by T. & A. Evans, up to
the time of his death. For many years it was
the most important store in the vicinity, and
its proprietor flourished. In 1813 he had the
honor of establishing the first temperance
grocery store ever kept in the town. He was
one of the founders, and for many years a
staunch and generous member and supporter
of the Baptist church and society. He fur
nished for many years free of charge a room
in his house for the society to use for reli
gious, social and conference meetings. In the
third story of his house a hall was furnished
for this purpose, and known as the Meeting

"54

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Chamber. The house was long and widely
known as the Pilgrims' Hotel, as it was the
place of entertainment for so many traveling
clergymen and brethren and sisters of the
Baptist faith, famous for its hospitality and
good cheer.
Mr. Eaton was a liberal upright and honor
able man, and his widow, who survived him
many years and who during her last decade
was totally blind, ever sustained the character
of an earnest, hospitable and Christian woman.
Their children : i. Eunice, born 1798; mar
ried, 1833, Charles H. Hill, Esq. 2. Sally,
born 1800; died 1801. -3. Lilley, born 1802,
mentioned below. 4. Mary Bentley, born
1805; married first, 1823, Abraham Emerson;
second, 1853, Captain Ira Wiley, of Wake
field. 5. Stillman, born 1807; died 1828. 6.
Emily, born 181 1; married, 1838, Rev. Peter
Folsom, formerly of Maine, later of Wake
field; he died 1872. 7. John Sullivan, born
1822 ; married first, 1846, Harriet W. Oliver,
of Maiden, who died 1852; second, 1854, Ann
E. Knowles, of Corinna, Maine; lived in
Wakefield. (VI) Lilley Eaton, son of Lilley Eaton
(5), was born in South Reading, Massachu
setts, January 13, 1802, and died in Wake
field, January 16, 1872. He was educated in
the common schools of his native town. In
early manhood he showed a remarkable apti
tude for public business, and during a long
series of years the confidence of the people in
his capacity and integrity was manifested by
intrusting to him almost every public office in
the gift of his townsmen. He was selectman
twenty-five years, and a member of the school
committee nearly as long, and during the
larger part of the time chairman of both
boards. He was town clerk twenty years,
representative to the general court seven
years; state senator two years; justice of the
peace thirty-eight years ; and delegate to the
constitutional convention in 1853. He is said
to have shaped to a great extent the policy
and action of the town upon almost all sub
jects, during a long period of time. The prac
tical wisdom which he brought to the solution
of public questions gave great weight to his
counsels, and often an opinion from him was
sufficient to decide any matter. Thoroughly
conversant with the laws, and their application
to the various interests of business and to
town affairs, and also with the opinions and
spirit of the people, he was able to suggest the
best measures for their consideration and deci
sion. There was nothing dictatorial in his

nature; he always appealed to the judgment
of the people, and advocated nothing for
which he could not give sound reasons. Pro
gressive in his spirit, he was a friend of all
improvements. He introduced system in the
mode of conducting town business, and offi
cers of other towns adopted some of the
features which he devised. He was greatly
interested in the public schools, and the town
owes much to his leadership for the excellent
schools of to-day.
His integrity, ability and attractive person
ality gave him great influence in private affairs.
Those who were in trouble, the poor and the
destitute, found in him a safe counselor and
friend. The settlement of estates, the invest
ment of money and the temporary control of
funds were often intrusted to him. He had
much to do with financial affairs. He and
Thomas Emerson were mainly instrumental in
establishing the Mechanics and Agricultural
Institution, and he was its first and until his
death its only treasurer. At the formation of
the South Reading Bank he was elected cash
ier, and held that position the rest of his life.
In these positions he was methodical, careful
and accurate, and in all respects worthy of the
confidence reposed in him. Although enjoying
but few advantages not possessed by others,
he found time to cultivate a literary taste, and
was from time to time called upon to deliver
addresses of historical importance. He was
much given to antiquarian and genealogical
research, and the "History of Reading and
Wakefield," which was his most elaborate
work, gives abundant evidence of his patience
and skill and wide knowledge of early history
and pioneer families. He possessed skill in
delineating character, was fond of a joke, and
had a fund of entertaining anecdotes drawn
chiefly from early New England characters
making both speech and writing entertaining
as well as valuable.
The sketch of his life in the history of the
town, from which most of the material of this
article is drawn, has this estimate of his per
sonal character : "The personal traits exhibited
by Mr. Eaton were very attractive. A perpet
ual urbanity disarmed opposition to the plans
he might be at any time urging. He had the
faculty of imparting his views- not so much
by direct iteration as by quiet suggestion. He
rarely expressed half-formed opinions, but
when a controverted subject was presented
gave himself time for reflection, and then ex
pressed his opinion and the reasons for it so
courteously that those who could not agree

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"55

with him were never Offended with him. This
urbanity was not a skilfully woven garment
to cover and enable him to prosecute selfish
designs, but it was the natural expression of
his character; his heart was kind and gentle,
and his manners were but the language in
which it uttered his real feelings. Though
Mr. Eaton never connected himself with any
church he was a constant attendant upon pub
lic worship and accepted the truths of the Gos
pel in their more, direct and personal meaning.
The death of Mr. Eaton occurred but two
months after that of Mr. Emerson, with whom
he had joined in many relations of business
and friendship for fifty years. On the very
day on which he was stricken with the disease
which terminated his life, he had prepared at
the request of his pastor a brief account of
• the life of his lamented friend, Mr. Emerson.
The kind and truthful words with which that
account closed, the last words which he ever
penned, as they described the character of his
friend, so also do they describe his own. These
are the words : 'His was an unblemished
reputation for" honesty, integrity and upright
ness. He was patriotic, wise, liberal, kind,
peaceable.' "
Mr. Eaton married 1824 Eliza Nichols,
daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Nichols.
Their children : 1. Henry L. 2. Stillman A.
3. Everett W. 4. Chester W., mentioned
below. (VII) Chester W. Eaton, son of Lilley
Eaton (6), was born January 13, 1839, in
South Reading, now Wakefield, Massachu
setts. He received his early education in the
district and high schools of his native town
and fitted for the Chandler Scientific Depart
ment of Dartmouth College from which he
was graduated in the class of 1859. He then
studied for the legal profession at the Harvard
Law School, and in the office of Gooch &
Copeland, Boston. He was admitted to the
Middlesex bar in 1864 and immediately began
the practice of law in South Reading. In 1864,
he also opened a law office in Boston. In 1880,
he added the business of publishing and editing
the Wakefield Citizen and Banner, a weekly
local newspaper, and in 1886 also entered the
real estate business. He disposed of his news
paper in 1891 in order to give more time to his
law business. He has made a specialty of
conveyancing and titles and is an authority on
the history of the old places and of all titles
to real estate in the vicinity. He has the same
fondness for antiquarian and historical re
search that characterized his father. In fact,

he rendered no little assistance to his father
in preparing the history of Reading by collect
ing facts, establishing dates through research
in town, county and state archives. Mr, Eaton
is an easy writer and has the happy faculty of
clothing his thoughts in appropriate language.
He has written concise histories of Wakefield
for Drake's History of Middlesex County and
for the Lewis History of Middlesex County,
D. H. Hurd, editor. He labored early and
late to promote the success of the quarter-mil-
lenial celebration at Reading and indeed, it is
doubtful, under the adverse circumstances of
the times, if any tangible form would have
been given to the proposition, if it had not
been for his persistency in keeping the subject
before the people and preparing their minds
for such an event. In recognition of his val
uable services in procuring the favorable
action of the town in the matter, he was hon
ored by being made president of the general
committee ,of Wakefield. He proved his exec
utive ability in his share of the management
preparatory to the memorial services, and the
part he took in the Town Hall was in har
mony with and in furtherance of the great
interests of the joyous occasion; and he
was selected by the publishers of the Memo
rial Volume and by the joint committee of the
three towns to prepare a full account of all
the proceedings of the celebration in Wake
field and to have the editorial direction of
other historical matter pertaining to the Old
Parish. The Wakefield Historical Society
owes its existence largely to his efforts. The
subject had been discussed for years, but no
action taken until he called a meeting in Jan
uary, 1890, when the society was formed. He
assisted in the incorporation of the society
and was elected' its first president, and held
the office for five years, when he declined
further -service, wishing the honor to be shared
by his associates.
He has frequently been honored with im
portant town offices, and has creditably filled
the offices of town clerk, town collector, mem
ber of the school committee and trustee of the
public library. He has been justice of the
peace and notary public for the past forty
years. Before the district courts were estab
lished he- was a trial justice.' He was for
several years treasurer of the Wakefield Say
ings Bank. During the civil war he served
as a private in the South Reading company,
the Richardson Light Guard, known as Com
pany E, Fiftieth Regiment, and took part in
the campaign ending with the surrender of

"56

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Port Hudson, on the Mississippi river. He is
an active member of H. M. Warren Post No.
12, Grand Army of the Republic. When a
young man he was for several years assistant
principal of the Wakefield high school, and
also taught in the schools of Waterboro,
Maine. He is affiliated with the Masonic
order. He married, May 14, 1868, at Rye,
New Hampshire, Emma G. Leach, daughter
of Rev. Giles and Elizabeth (Thompson)
Leach, the former a descendant of' Roger
Conant, distinguished in the early history of
Massachu setts. The children of Mr. and Mrs.
Eaton are : 1 . Richard Gardner, born Sep
tember 8, 1869; is a graduate of Yale Univer
sity and Harvard Medical School ; is in prac
tice at Wakefield, Massachusetts ; he married,
June 1, 1905, May Louise Crafts, of Holyoke;
children : Richard Gardner, Jr., and Elizabeth
C. 2. Theodore, born April 15, 1872; is a
graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law
School ; is practicing his profession in Boston
and Wakefield with much success. 3. Emma
Florence, born February 23, 1874; is a grad
uate of Smith College, and pursued supple
mentary courses of study at Oxford, Eng
land ; she is possessed of fine literary tastes,
and is author of "Dramatic Studies from the
Bible."

(II) John Eaton, son of Jonas
EATON Eaton (1), was born September
10, 1645, and died in Reading,
May 25, 1691. He married, November 26,
1674, Dorcas Green, and they lived at Read
ing. Children: 1. Jonas, born March 13,
1676-7 ; died March 28, 1676-7. 2. Grace,
born January 12, 1677-8; married John Bou-
telle. 3. Noah, born January 26, 1678; died
in 1701. 4. Thomas, born June 22, 1679;
died November 30, 1679. 5- Jonas, born May
18, 1680, mentioned below. 6. Joseph, born
April 18, 1681 ; died April 29, 1681. 7. Ben
jamin, born January 16, 1683-4, died February
2, 1683-4. 8. Joseph, settled in Reading. 9.
Benjamin, settled in Roxbury. 10. Dorcas,
born July 26, 1688; died young. 11. Stephen,
born August' 11, 1689; died August 25, 1689.
12. Phoebe, born August 25, 1690; married
Jonathan Nichols.
(Ill) Jonas Eaton, son of John Eaton' (2),
was born May 18, 1680. He was a carpenter
and bricklayer and settled in Framingham.
He purchased March 10, 1705-6, the east half
of what was known as the "Half Mile Square,"
and died there August 13, 1727. He married

Grace, daughter of John Gould. Children: 1.
Mehitable, born February 17, 1706-7. 2. Noah,
born July 22, 1708, mentioned below. 3. John,
born September 3, 1710; settled in Kiliingly,
Connecticut. 4-5. Phebe and Jonas (twins),
born October 22, 1714. 6\ Joseph, born
March 12, 1716. 7. Mary, born March 12,
1718. 8. Joshua, born July 1, 1721 ; settled
in Yoluntown, Connecticut. 9. Benjamin,
born' October 9, 1723. 10. Ebenezer, born
September 2, 1727, cordwainer.
(IV) Noah Eaton, son of Jonas Eaton
(3), was born July 22, 1708, and died Octo
ber 8, 1 79 1. He resided in Framingham. He
married Hannah Vinton, on Stoneham, who
died March 8, 1795. Children: 1. Hannah,
born November 8, 1731 ; married John Cheney.
2. Noah, born August 7, 1733. 3. Abigail,
born February 1, 1735; married Daniel Greg
ory. 4. Jonas, born January 29, 1737. 5.
John, born July 30, 1740. 6. Mehitable, born
April 21, 1743; married Deacon Samuel
Dakin. 7. Ruth, born February 16, -1744;
married Peter Parker. 8. Maltiah, born Jan
uary 15, 1747. 9. Silas, born December 1,
1750, mentioned below. 10. Mary, born May
11, 1753; married Simon Goddard, of Phil-
lipston. (V) Silas Eaton, son of Noah Eaton (4),
was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, De
cember 1, 1750. He lived on the old Joseph
Pratt place, east of the state muster field. He
died July 18, 1828. He married, February,
1782, Polly Nichols, daughter of John Nich
olas, and he died October 30, 1818. He was
a soldier in the Revolution from Framingham,
a private in Captain Samuel Edgel's company
of minute-men, April 19, 1775; also a private
in Captain Lawson Buckminster's company,
Colonel Abner Perry's regiment, in 1780. Chil
dren: 1. Josiah, born November 11, 1782. 2.
Silas, Jr., born October 18, 1784. 3. Mary,
born October 20, 1786, married Luther Stone.
4. Hannah, born January 2, 1789, died young.
5. Martha, born March 10, 1791 ; married
Abner Wheeler. 6. Samuel, born May 14,
1794, died young. 7. Nabby (twin), born
May 31, 1798, died young. 8. Hitty (twin),
born May 31, 1798, died young.
(VI) Major Silas Eaton, son of Silas
Eaton (5), was born in Framingham, October
18, 1784, and lived there on his father's place.
He married, March 5, 1812, Nancy Stone,
born November 29, 1780, at Framingham,
daughter of Dr. Elijah Stone. (See sketch of
Stone family herewith). He died August 6.
1845. Children: 1. Philander, born August

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"57

2, 1813, settled in Farmington, New Hamp
shire ; married Sarah Pearl. 2. Lorenzo, born
August 8, 1815; mentioned below. 3. Frank
lin H., born April 18, 1817, settled in Pitts
burg, Pennsylvania; married Josephine Wl
Alden. 4. Ann Maria, born March 1, 1819;
died August 26, 1826. 5. Louisa Jane, born
March 14, 1822; married Mordecai De Lange,
of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. 6. Caroline O.,
born August 28, 1823; married Henry Rich
ardson, of Pittsburg.
(VII) Lorenzo Eaton, son of Major Silas
Eaton (6), was born in Framingham, August
8, 1815, and died July 10, 1901. He rernoved
to Concord at the age of twelve years, and was
educated in the schools in those towns. He
was apprenticed for three years to James
Adams, of Concord, to learn the cabinet
maker's trade, and then followed. his trade in
various places until 1848. After following
successfully the wooden and willow ware bus
iness for twenty years, he established a car
riage repository in Concord, in which he was
very successful, acquiring a competence. He
retired about five years before his death, spend
ing his last years in Concord, his home being
at 8 Monument street. He was a useful and
public spirited citizen. He was for twenty-five
years connected with the American Powder
Company; for thirty-five years an officer of
the Middlesex Society for Savings, elected
trustee June 17, 1867, and a member of the
investment committee June 3, 1879 ; was seven
years a director of the Middlesex Fire Insur
ance Company. He was a life member of the
Unitarian Association; an honorary member
of the Concord Artillery ; an original member
of the B. C. W. Club ; a member of the Anti
quarian Society; and a member of the Social
Circle from 1847 untii his death. He married,
August 8, 1839, Harriet N. Pratt, born No
vember 14, 1819, died May 2, 1841, daughter
of Alvin Pratt. He married second, June 1,
1843, Mary Stow, born February 16, 1816,
died May 4, 1868, daughter of Nathan and
Mary (Barnett) Stow. (See Stow sketch).
Child of first wife : Amelia Frances, born Sep
tember 24, 1840, married Frank S. Wheeler,
of Washington, D. C; one child, Isabelle
Wheeler. Children of second wife: 2. Har
riet Louise, born December 30, 1845, graduate
of Concord high school, and Boston normal
school ; a school teacher at present. , 3. Mary
Stow, born November 18, 1849;- graduated
from Concord schools.
iii— 25

John Stow, the immigrant ances-
STOW tor, was born in England and came
to Massachusetts in one of Win-
throp's companies, bringing his wife and six
children, and settled in Roxbury. He arrived
May 17, 1634, and the same year was admitted
a freeman. In 1638 he was admitted a mem
ber of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery
Company. He was a deputy to the general
court in 1639. His wife died in 1638 and was
buried August 24, 1638, daughter of Mrs.
Rachel Biggs, who came in 1635 to Dorchester
with her daughter Foster, and the Foster -and
Stow children received valuable legacies from
their uncles, John and Smalhope Biggs, of
Cranbrook and Maidstone, Kent, England.
He sold his Roxbury property June 20, 1648,
and removed to Concord, Massachusetts,
where he was living in 1648. Children, all
born in England: 1. Thomas, sold land in
Concord to Thomas Goble and David Dam,
removing to Connecticut about 1650, and set
tling at Middletown. 2. Elizabeth, married
Henry Archer, of Ipswich. 3. John. 4. Sam
uel, born 1620, graduated from Harvard Col
lege in 1645, in the second class to graduate,
none graduating the year before ; was a cler
gyman in Middletown, Connecticut; died 1704.
5. Nathaniel, mentioned below. 6. Thankful,
married John Pierpont of Roxbury.
(II) Nathaniel Stow, son of John Stow
(1), was born in England, in 1622, according
to a deposition that he made at Ipswich in
1670, when he gave his age as forty-eight
years. His first wife Elizabeth died June 8,
1661 ; he married second, in 1662, Martha
Brigham, who died in 171 7, aged ninety years.
Children, born at Concord : 1 . John, born
June 29 or 30, 1657, died November 14, 1657.
2. Hannah, died May 14, 1658. 3. Thankful,
born January 4, 1659. Children of the second
wife: 4. Nathaniel, born September 18, 1663;
married December 3, 1690, Ruth Merriam, of
Concord. 5. Samuel, born April 22, 1666;
died March 11, 1667-8. 6. Ebenezer, born
June 28, 1668; mentioned below.
(Ill) Ebenezer Stow, son of Nathaniel
Stow (2), was born in Concord, June 28,
1668. He married at Concord, May 2, 1700,
Abigail Parlin. Children, born at Concord :
1. Ebenezer, born March 3, 1701-2, mentioned
below. 2. Ephraim, born February 23, 1703-4.
3. Martha, born January 14, 1706-7. 4.
Daniel, born June 22, 1708. 5. Josiah, born
July 16, 1712; died September 13, 1712. 6.

"58

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Amos, born April 15, 1718.7. Thankful, born
February 10, 1 720-1. 8. Nathan, born May
26, 1722.
(IV) Ebenezer Stow, son of Ebenezer
Stow (3),. was born at Concord, March 3,
1701-2. Among his children was Nathan,
born 1744; mentioned below.
(V) Lieutenant Nathan Stow, son of Ebe
nezer Stpw (4), was born in Concord 1744,
died April 15, 1810, aged sixty-six, according
to the records. He married January 27, 1780,
Abigail Merriam. He was a soldier in the
Revolution, a sergeant in Captain Abraham
Brown's company, Colonel John Nixon's regi
ment (fifth) in 1775; first lieutenant in Cap
tain Zachariah Fitch's company, Colonel Sam
uel Brewer's regiment, in 1776; quartermaster
of Colonel John Robinson's regiment of Mid
dlesex and Lincoln counties, in 1776. Chil
dren, born in Concord: 1. Nathan (twin),
born May 22, 1783; mentioned below. 2: Re
becca (twin) born May 22, 1783. 3. Abigail.
4. Cyrus, born September 5, 1787.
(Vi) Nathan Stow, son of Lieutenant
Nathan Stow (5), was born in Concord, Mass
achusetts, May 22, 1783 ; died there November
10, 1 83 1, aged forty-eight according to the
town records. , He married (intentions dated
March 19) in 1814, Mary (or Polly) Bar
rett. Children, born in Concord: 1. Mary,
born February 16, 1816; married Lorenzo
Eaton. (See Eaton sketch). 2. Lydia Brooks,
born December 27, 1817; died June 2, 1836.
3. Harriet, born February 17, 1821. 4. Nathan
Brooks, born November 28; 1822. 5. Sarah
Abigail, born October 19, 1824. 6. Caroline,
born November 7, 1827.

Gregory Stone was baptized in
STONE Great Bromley, Essex county,
England, April 19, 1592A Ac
cording to his own deposition made Sep
tember 18, 1658, he was born in 1591 or
1592, his age being about sixty-seven
years. His age at death November 30,
1672, was given as eighty-two years. He
was probably born, therefore, in 1591. He
was the son of David and Ursula Stone, and
grandson of Simon and Agnes Stone, all of
England. He had a brother, Simon Stone,
who also emigrated to America, sailing in the
ship "Increase," April 15, 1635; settled in
Watertown; was admitted freeman May 25,
1636; town officer and deacon; died Septem
ber 22, 1665. Various other immigrant set
tlers have erroneously been supposed to be

brothers of Gregory; Rev. Samuel Stone, of
Hartford was not a brother. Gregory Stone
was admitted a freeman with his brother
Simon, May 25, 1636. He was a proprietor of
Watertown, but resided most of his life in
Cambridge. He had some famous orchards
for his day. His farm was on the present site
of the Botanic Gardens of Harvard Univer
sity. He was one of the most prominent men
of his day; a deputy to the general court; was
elected deacon of Shepard Mitchell's church,
and served thirty-four years, being the last
survivor of the original membership ; was a
civil magistrate, and one of the governor's
deputies. His will, proved December 14, 1672,
mentions his wife Lydia and her children by
her former husband, John Cooper ; his sons
Daniel, David, John and Samuel; daughter
Elizabeth Porter; daughter Sarah, wife of
David Miriam; grandson John, son of David
Stone. -He married in England July 20, 1617,
Margaret Garrad, born December 5, 1597,
died in August,. 1626, in England. He mar
ried second, Lydia Cooper, widow, who died
June 24, 1674. Her son by her former hus
band was John, married Anne Sparhawk; her
daughter Lydia married David Fiske. Chil
dren of Gregory and Margaret Stone: 1.
John, baptized July 31, 1618, mentioned below.
2. Daniel, baptized July 15, 1620; settled at
Cambridge ; married three times — Elizabeth,
Dorcas and Hannah. 4. Elizabeth, baptized
October 3, 1624; buried at Nayland, England.
Children of Gregory and Lydia Stone: 5.
Elizabeth, baptized March 6, 1628; married
Anthony Porter. 6. Samuel, baptized Febru
ary 4, 1630; died September 27, 171 5; resided
at Lexington; married first, Sarah Stearns, of
Watertown; married second, June 7, 1655,
Abigail  . 7. Sarah, baptized February
8, 1632; died 1677; married July 12,
1653, Joseph Merriam (Miriam). These chil
dren were all baptized at Nayland, England.
(II) John Stone, son of Gregory Stone
(1), was baptized at Nayland, England, July
31, 1618, and died at Cambridge, Massachu
setts, May 5, 1683. He removed to Sudbury
with the early settlers, was a proprietor there,
and shared in three divisions of land. He
bought of the Indians at Natick, May 15,
1656, ten acres of land on the south side of
the river at Sudbury, and his purchase was
confirmed by general court in 1656, together
with a grant of fifty acres of land for ser
vices, etc. He added to the tract he already
owned in what is now the village of Saxon-
ville, in the town of Framingham, until he

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"59

owned a very large stretch of land. He built
his house where the present railroad station is
located in Saxonville. He built the first house
in what is now the village of Cochituate, in
the present town of Wayland, then Sudbury.
He built in all six houses in Sudbury and
Framingham, and built the first mill in Fram
ingham in 1659, at the falls now known as
Stone's Mills, a corn mill, and his son Daniel
built there the first saw mill. He was appoint
ed fence viewer in 1654, town clerk in 1655,
and was admitted a freeman in 1665. In 1645
he sold his house in Sudbury to John Moore.
He was the first to build his house in Framing
ham. He located, without having a grant, at
Otter Neck, on the west side of Sudbury, in
1646-7. He married, in 1638, Annie Howe,
born in England, daughter of Elder Edward
and Margaret Howe. Children: 1. Hannah,
born June 6, 1640, married July 1, 1658, John
Bent. 2. Mary ; married Isaac Hunt ; second,
April 30, 1681, Eliphalet Fox. 3. Daniel,
born August 31, 1644, mentioned below. 4.
David,, born October 31, 1646; married Su
sanna  . 5. Elizabeth, born 1650 ; married,
1678, Samuel Stow. 6. Margaret, born Oc
tober 22, 1653; married January 11, 1695,
William Brown. 7. Tabitha, born May 20,
1655; married November 3, 1674, John Rice.
8. Sarah, born September 22, 1654; married
Jacob Hill. 9. Nathaniel, born May 11, 1660;
married Sarah Wayt, of Maiden, April 25,
1684. 10. John, (non compos mentis). Two
later children died young.
(Ill) Daniel Stone, son of John Stone
(2), was born August 31, 1644, and died in
1719, aged seventy-five years. He had the
mill, and May 22, 1711, sold a quarter interest
in the water privilege to Samuel How, Sr., of
Sudbury, but bought it back February 15,
1714. The mills remained in the Stone family
until 1824, when the business was incorpo
rated. Daniel settled in one of his father's
houses near his father's residence. He was
one of the first board of selectmen of the town
of Framingham in 1700, and was for two
years before that the deacon of the Sudbury
church. He married November 2, 1667, Mary
(Moore) Ward, widow," a school teacher in
1693-4 in Sudbury; died June 10, 1703, in
Framingham. He married second, February
6, 1704, Abigail Wheeler, died October 28,
17". He married third, November 18, 1712,
Ruth Haynes, of Sudbury. His son John
administered the estate. Children of Daniel
and Mary Stone: 1. Daniel, born November
22, 1668. 2. Anne, born January. 15, 1670.

3. Tabitha, born May 4, 1673 ; married David
Haynes. 4. Sarah, born February 14, 1675 ;
married James Rice. 5. Mary, born August
10, 1677; married Jonas Rice. 6. Elizabeth, ,
born November 9, 1678; married Joseph Liv
ermore. 7. Abigail, born February 13, 1680;
married Dr. John Sherman. 8. John, married
Anne Tileston, of Dorchester, January 31,
1706-7; died November 26, 17 10; she died
March 25, 1733.
(IV) John Stone, son of Daniel Stone (3),
was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, and
resided at what is now the village of Saxon
ville, in Framingham. In 17 16 he held as a
slave one Joan Jackson, whose husband, John
Jackson, was in New London. He died No
vember 26, 1719, at the house of Rev. Mr.
Swift. He married January 31, 1706-7, Anne
Tileston, of Dorchester, sister of Mrs. Swift.
She died January 31, 1733. Children, born in
Framingham: 1. Daniel, born October 21,
1707 ; mentioned below. 2. John, born March
31, 1709, died February 5, 1730. 3. James,
born July 5, 171 1. 4. Uriah, born May 16,
1713, living at Oxford. 5. Ann, born January
21, 1715-6, died young. 6. Abner, born 1717,,
baptized August 18, 17 17. 7. Abijah, born June
17, 1719; married October 20, 1739, Ann
Jones of Natick, and died November 5, 1758.
(V) Daniel Stone, son of John Stone (4),
was horn in Framingham, October 21, 1707,
and lived near the Abner Stone place. His
house was destroyed by fire. He was a prom
inent citizen, deacon of the church many
years and selectman. He died May 15, 1783.
Pie married March 12, 1733-4, Mary Frost,
who died May 26, 1760, aged forty-six. He
married second, November 27, 1761, Martha
Goddard, widow of Rev. David Goddard, of
Leicester, Massachusetts. Children of Daniel
and Mary Stone, born at Framingham: 1.
Anne, born May 12, 1735 ; married March 28,
1759, John Haven. 2. Elijah, born Septem
ber 28, 1736; mentioned below. 3^ Daniel,
born October 13, 1738; died February 25,
1754. 4. Mary, born August 4, 1741 ; died
January 6, 1770; married November 24, 1764,
James Page, of Hardwick, Massachusetts. 5.
Phineas, born November 2, 1743, died young.
6. John, born  , died September 19, 1751,
aged eight years. 7. Jane, born 1749, died
September 22, 175 1, aged two years. 8. Abner,
born February 2, 1751. 9. Beulah, born De
cember 1, 1752, died unmarried, February 22,
1824. 10. Eunice, born April 14, 1755; mar
ried December 14, 1773, Nathan Stone; sec
ond Moses Fiske of Natick.

n6o

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

(VI) Elijah Stone, son of Daniel Stone
(5), was born in Framingham, September 28,
1736. He built what is now known as the
Joseph Brown house, Framingham, and after
ward bought the Captain Benjamin Pepper
place on Pratt's Plain. He was a physician ;
was admitted to the Framingham church Au
gust 3, 1766. He died August 10, 1804. He
married Elizabeth Lyndes, of Leicester, who
died July 24, 1830, aged eighty-nine. Chil
dren, born in Framingham: 1. Elizabeth,
baptized August 3, 1766; married Joseph
Lyndes Bannister. 2. Elijah, baptized March
31, 1771, married  Rawson. 3. Daniel,
born November 18, 1773. 4. Fortunatus, born
September 27, 1775; married Sally Cutler, of
Sudbury ; died in New York in 1840. 5.
Polly, born April 18, 1777, died young. 6.
Olive, born July 22, 1779; married Captain
Josiah Parker and died July 4, 1826. 7.
Nancy, born November 29, 1780; married
Silas Eaton, mentioned elsewhere. (See
Eaton sketch). 8. Jonathan, born May 30,
1783, married  Upham and settled in
Illinois. 9. Polly, born April 18, 1785.

This family is of ancient Eng-
UPHAM lish origin, but whether of Nor
man or Saxon stock there is no
proof. The surname is a place name, very
ancient, perhaps of Celtic origin. There is a
town of Upham, in Hants, England, and the
church of Upham in Wiltshire in the Hundred
of Kynwolmershee.
(I) John Upham, immigrant ancestor of
3.11 who have borne this surname in America,
was born in England, probably in Somerset
shire. He came to Weymouth, Massachusetts,
with the Hull colony, giving his age as thirty-
five, his wife's as thirty-two, Sarah Upham's
as twenty-six. The latter was probably a sis
ter. They had with them three children :
John, aged seven ; Nathaniel, five, and Eliz
abeth, three. For some reason the ages as
given on the ship registers were usually under
stated. Upham's age, according to his grave
stone, was "some three years greater, and his
birth year was probably 1597. His wife was
probably of the Webb family.
Upham was admitted a freeman September
2, 1635, at Weymouth, and must have pre
viously belonged to the church there. On this
date the name of the settlement was changed
from Wessaguscus to Weymouth, and it was
made a plantation with the privilege of a dep
uty to the general court. The plantation was

divided into three factions, one of whom se
lected John Upham as deputy, but he finally
retired from the contest. William Reade was
chosen by those favoring colonial government,
Captain John Bursley by the original settlers,
and Mr. Upham by the Hull emigrants. In
1636 Upham had a grant of thirty acres;
elected deputy 1636, and again in 1638, 1639;
in 1642 was one of six who treated with the In
dians for the lands at Weymouth and obtained
from them a title; in 1643 was a selectman;
in 1644 was appointed by the general court
commissioner to end small causes at Wey
mouth ; was selectman 1645, 1646 and 1647,
in Weymouth. Before 1650 he removed to
Maiden, Massachusetts, for he was a select
man of that town March 22, 1650-51. He was
a commissioner to end small causes at Maiden,
appointed April 5, 1659, and again June 25,
1661, and June 17, 1662. He married second,
August 14, 1671, Katherine, widow of Angell
Plollard, one of the Hull company with the
Uphams in 1635. Upham was moderator of
town meetings 1678, 1679, 1680. He was in
terested in the settlement of Quinsigamond
(Worcester) in 1678. Children: 1. John
Jr., born in England, 1628, died at Wey
mouth, June, 1640. 2. Nathaniel, born in
England, 1630, married, March 5, 1661-2,
Elizabeth Steadman ; he died without issue
March 20, 1661-2; was a minister; widow
married second, 1669, Henry Thompson. 3.
Elizabeth, born in England, 1632; married
Thomas Welch; she died January 12, 1705-6,
thirteen children. 4. Mary, died June 27,
1677; married John Whittemore. 5. Pris
cilla, born 1642, died December 8, 1717; mar
ried Thomas Crosswell. 6. John, adopted
son, born 1648, brought from the Barbadoes
when four years old, fatherless and friendless ;
died of small pox November 25, 1677, unmar
ried ; gave his musket to Phineas Upham,- Jr.
(gravestone at Maiden). 7. Phineas; men
tioned below.
John Upham (1), was prominent in the
church as well as the town, and for twenty-
four years or more was deacon. Dr. Albert
G. Upham in 1845 wrote of him: "Through
his long life, matured by an experience of
thirty-eight years in England and forty-six in
this country in times which drew largely on
the intellect and energy of men, he appears to
have sustained himself well, as a strong man
and respected citizen, and to have been an effi
cient co-laborer among those who, in times of
peril, laid the foundations of a free state."
(II) Lieutenant Phineas Upham, son of

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1161

John Upham (1), was born in Weymouth in
1635. Being the only son of John Upham who
left posterity, he is also progenitor of all of
that surname in this country. He married, at
Maiden, April 14, 1658, Ruth Wood. In 1671
he was .constable of Maiden; in 1673 a com
mittee to lay out a road from Cambridge to
Maiden. As early as 1672 he was interested in
lands at Worcester. He attained the rank of
lieutenant' as early as September, 1675, and
was in active service in King Philip's war,
under Captain Wayte. September 24, 1675,
he was on his way into the Nipmuck country in
company with Captain Gorham, one of the
Plymouth officers. Lieutenant Upham gave
an account of this march in a letter from
Mendon, October 1, 1675. This report shows
that the party reached Mendon, September 24,
marched to Grafton the next day to find In
dian guides, but the Indians had left their
homes ; marched on the day following to Wor
cester, where "we found a field of good corn
and well formed, which we did think convenient
not to destroy, concluding that, for aught we
knew, some of the nearest found inhabitants
would be willing to save it; but we could not
find any Indians, neither the sign of any being
there of late, and we, marched from thence
unto Manchaug, (Oxford) and Chabanama-
gum (Dudley) where we found some corn and
wigwams we burnt and destroyed, but could
not find our enemies." Thence they returned
and marched to an Indian plantation called
Shockologand, where they found no Indians
but a quantity of good corn which was re
served for the Mendon settlers. On Septem
ber 30, they returned to Mendon. "Now, see
ing in all our marches we find no Indians, we
verily think they are drawn together into great
bodies far remote from these parts. If your
honors please to send us on any farther service,
I hope we shall not be unwilling, but forward
to do our best endeavors, withall desiring that
you should be pleased to add to our numbers,
seeing that besides the garrison men which
must be left here in the garrison, we have but
thirty men besides myself — Captain Gorham
being now on his march to Mount Hope, and,
if we go farther, we desire we may have a sur
geon, and some other that may be acquainted
with the woods where you may send us — the
want of which has been a .discouragement to
our men. And as for the town of Mendon I
am desired to commend the desolate condition
of them unto your honors, several of their
inhabitants being removed from them, and
those in garrison being but poor helps, and in

number but twelve men, with their arms very
defective." About October 9 Upham was with Major
Appleton, who had succeeded Major Pynchon
in command of the Massachusetts troops.
Shortly afterward he was assigned to Captain
Johnson's company, took part in the great
Narragansett fight, was wounded and carried
to Wickford, Rhode Island, after the battle,
where he remained until January 6, 1675-6,
when he was sent to Rhode Island. He never
recovered, but after a long sickness died at
Maiden, October, 1676. The records of the
general court in 1676 tell the sad story: "In
answer to the petition of Ruth Upham, widow
and relict of Lieutenant Phineas Upham, the
court judgeth it meet to order that the bills
of charge to chirurgeons, doctors and diet,
etc., mentioned in the said petition be payed
by the treasurer of the county; and in con
sideration of the long and good services her
husband did for the country, and the great
loss the widow sustained by his death, being
left with seven small children, and not able
to carry on their affairs, for the support of
herself and family, do further order the treas
urer of the county to pay unto the said widow
ten pounds in or as money." She died January
18, 1696-7.
Children: 1. Phineas, born May 22, 1659;
mentioned below. 2. Nathaniel, born 1661.
3. Ruth, born 1664; died December 8, 1676.
4. John, born December 9, 1666; married Abi
gail Hayward. 5. Elizabeth, married October
28, 1691, Samuel Green. 6. Thomas, born
1668. 7. Richard, 1675.
(Ill) Phineas Upham, son of Lieutenant
Phineas Upham (2), was born at Maiden,
May 22, 1659; married Mary Mellins (or»Mel-
len), probably in 1682. He inherited from his
father the new dwelling house. He was one
of the selectmen of Maiden from 1692 to 1696
inclusive and from 1701 to 1704, 1709, 1710,
T717; town treasurer 1697 to 1701 inclusive,
and during the same time was employed in
settling various estates ; deputy to the general
court from Maiden in 1701, 1702, and 1716-
1718; moderator of Maiden in 1717. He died
October, 1720 (gravestone). Children: 1.
Phineas, born June 10, 1682 ; mentioned
below. 2. Mary, born 1685 ; died August 20,
1687. 3. James, born 1687. 4- Mary, born
1689; married May 28, 1713, John Griffin of
Charlestown, and removed to Middleton, Con
necticut. 5. Ebenezer, married, October 10,
1717, Elizabeth Blanchard. 6. Jonathan, born
1694: of Nantucket. 7. William, born Octo-

1 102

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ber 30, 1697. 8. Elizabeth, born 1699 or
1700; married May 19, 1726, Jonathan Dowse,
Jr., and died in Charlestown, June 19, 1730.
(IV) Phineas Upham, son of Phineas Up
ham (3), was born in Maiden, June 10, 1682;
married by Rev. Mr. Wigglesworth, Novem
ber 23, 1703, to Tamzen (Thomasin), daugh
ter of Isaac and Sarah (Bicknell) Hill. She
was born December 10, 1685, and died April
24, 1768. He was a yeoman at Maiden. He
settled, one of the first inhabitants at North
Maiden. In 1707-8 he was ensign of the
Maiden military company; selectman 1707,
1708, 1709, 1710; assessor 1711-12; moderator
of town meetings 1725-30, 1748 and 1752. His
will was made in 1751, and filed for probate
April 29, 1766. His wife died in 1768, at the
age of eighty-three. Dr. Upham says : "Mr.
John Edmonds of Maiden, an old soldier, now
(1845) eighty-nine years of age, informs me
that when a boy he often saw Phineas Upham.
He states that he was of medium height, his
hair abundant, but of pure white, and his cos
tume that of his times, viz. : breeches, cocked
hat, etc. He used to walk about the village
with the assistance of an ivory-)ieaded cane,
and he had a favorite seat beneath a wide-
spreading tree, where he was often seen re
posing. He "valued himself," says Mr. Ed
monds, "on his French blood." The follow
ing interesting account of the old house still
standing at Melrose, formerly North Maiden,
was prepared by Mary Elizabeth Upham,
daughter of Orne Upham, who was born in
the house and whose Upham ancestors have
continued to live and died there since the days
of the third Phineas. It is, therefore, the
ancestral home of all who descend from
Phineas Upham, third, and for that reason
should be of especial interest to such. This
account was written in April, 1890, at which
time the homestead was the property of Orne
Upham. "Phineas Upham, son of Deacon Phineas,
and grandson of Lieutenant Phineas, was one
of the earliest settlers in North Maiden, now
Melrose. Accounts differ as to the time of
the building of his homestead. The dates
1695, 1698 and 1700 are given by different
authorities as the time when the land was
granted to him. The old Maiden record says :
'Phineas Upham and Tamzen Hill were joined
in marriage, ye 23d of November, 1703, by
Mr. Wigglesworth,' so we may be sure that
soon after the opening of the eighteenth cen
tury, young Phineas and his bride Tamzen
were established in their primitive dwelling on

the wooded crest of Upham Hill. The orig
inal house must have been quite small. A
family tradition has taught us that it little
more than covered the present cellar, which
extends under less than half the building. A
huge chimney with a fireplace ten feet long,
and as high as the main room of the dwelling
— rivaled the' house itself in size. But it was
not long before the family outgrew its narrow
quarters. Then was the first building supple
mented by such additions that it came to be a
large, substantial dwelling, thirty feet in
length, and two stories high toward the south.
On the north the roof sloped nearly to the
ground. Later still (and yet so long ago that
no one now living remembers it) the sloping
roof was raised, so that the house is nearly
two stories high on the north, to-day. In the
old garret, the original sloping rafters may yet
be seen, The front door is away from the
street on the south side. Crossing its smooth
door stone, we enter a small passage-way
from which a few stairs with two square
landings lead to the upper floor. At the right
a low door-way admits us to a large room,
eighteen feet square, presumably the best room
of the house. Its low wainscot and high
mantel, the broad beams across the ceiling —
but a short distance abqve our heads — and the
long hearth of the primitive fireplace — all
point to the age of the structure. On the left
of the front entry is another room, much like
the first. The centre of the house is occupied
by the huge chimney, and on the north are the
smaller rooms. The oak beams are in many
cases eighteen inches thick and the walls are
filled with brick and clay. The chimney is
made of bricks of many sizes, and clay instead
of mortar is used. The fireplaces have been
made smaller, within a century, but the orig
inal hearths — in some of which square tiles
are placed — are still left."
Children of Phineas and Tamzen Upham:
1. Tabitha, born December 11, 1704; married,
1728, Daniel Newhall. 2. Mary, born March
5, 1706; married, 1740, Captain Daniel Goff,
of Boston. 3. Phineas, born January 12,
1708. 4. Sarah, born May 31, 1709; died
September 25, 1709. 5. Timothy, born Au
gust 29, 1710. 6. Zebediah, born March 13,
1712; died April 28, 1712. 7. Tamzen, born
May 5, 1713; died young. 8. Isaac, born
July 31, 1714. 9. Jabez, born January 3,
1717. 10. Amos, born September 29, 1718;
mentioned below. 11. Tamzen, born May 21,
1720; married in 1750 Jonathan Wiley of
Lynn. 12. Sarah, born October 21, 1721 ;

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 163

married Benjamin Rice, of Brookfield; 13.
Jacob, born April 30, 1723.
(V) Amos Upham, son of Phineas Upham
(4), was born in Maiden, September 29, 1718 ;
married, March 10, 1740-1, Lois Green. He
was a member of the Maiden church May 1,
1770. He was a farmer at Maiden. He died
January 23, 1786; his wife died September 20,
181 1, aged ninety. Children: 1. Amos, born
1741, baptized December 6, following. 2.
William, married Hannah Walton; was sol
dier in Revolution. 3. Phineas, born 1744;
lived in Amherst, New Hampshire. 4. Loi^,
born 1745-6. 5. Hannah, born 1748, and died
young. 6. Martha, married Samuel Tufts, of
Medford,. May 29, 1781. 7. Ezra, mentioned
below. (VI) Ezra Upham, son of Amos Upham
(5), was born in Maiden, in 1759; married,
1782, Sally Watts, of Chelsea, Massachusetts.
She died in 1796, aged thirty-eight years, and
he married second, February 1, 1798, Sally
Abbott, who died November 5, 1852, aged
eighty-three. He was a soldier in the Revo
lution, a private in Captain Blaney's company
of Maiden, marching on the Lexington alarm,
April 19, 1775. He died at Wilton, New
-Hampshire, January 12, 1831, aged seventy-
two. Child by his first wife: Ezra Jr., men
tioned below.
(VII) Ezra Upham, son of Ezra Upham
(6), born in Maiden, November 24, 1783,
died February 16, 1868. He was educated in
the- public schools of his native town. When
a young man he removed to Wilton with his
parents. His father built the house which
Ezra Jr. bought, March 4, 1808, for three hun
dred dollars and the care of his father for the
remainder of his days. The homestead was in
West Wilton, on Bunker Hill, and consisted of
sixty acres. He did general farming, shipping
butter and eggs to the Boston market after the
railroad was built. He had a large dairy, and
his farm in many respects was the best of that
section. -He raised sheep as well as cattle. He
prospered and left a considerable estate for a
farmer. He was, however, generous to those
in need, and distinctly benevolent in his char
acter. He was gifted with a sense of humor,
and always kept on the lookout for a good
joke or a comical situation. He kept those
about him also cheerful and in good spirits.
He was an earnest member of the Baptist
Church at Wilton. In politics he was a Whig.
He was in the state militia when a young man.
He married Bethia Burnap, born Septem
ber 12, 1784, at Temple, New Hampshire, died

March 3, 1874, daughter of Samuel Burnap.
Children: 1. Sally Watts, born February 23,
1809; died August 12, 1850; married Decem
ber 21, 1826, Nathaniel B. Holt; children: i.
Sarah Lavinia Holt, born December 10, 1828 ;
married Reuel Hannaford ; ii. Nathaniel Abner
Holt, born June 20, 1831 ; married July 4,
I853, Sarah Whitcomb; iii. Adeline Bethia
Holt, born April 5, 1834; married Samuel
Sargent; iv. George Francis Holt, born June
12, 1836; v. Charles Burnap, born February
28, 1839; married Mary Jerome of Moscow,
Idaho; vi. Henry Harrison Holt, born Sep
tember 1, 1841 ; married Mattie Day, of North
Easton, Massachusetts ; vii. Georgianna Au
gusta Holt, born August 22, 1845, married
Andrew Erecson; viii. Lorenzo Upham Holt,
born May 12, 1-848, married Clara Baker. 2.
Bethia, born June 12, 181 1; died June 25,
1843 > married Abner Holt. 3. Ezra Abbott,
born October 18, 1813 ; mentioned below. 4.
Clement, born January 20, 1816, died July 26,
1886; married Almira Wilson Barry of Hold
erness, New Hampshire ; lived in Chelmsford.
Children : i. Melintha Hazelle, born June 28,
1844, died December 6, 1892; married No
vember 28, 1866, Frank F. Abbott; ii. Lutyer
Clement, born November 8, 1848; married
September 5, 1872, Ella M. Putney; iii. George
Howard, born July 5, 1853; iv. Julia Etta,
born April 25, 1856; married January 14,
1877, Fred G. McGregor; v. Clara Matilda,
born July 15, i860; married December 20,
1883, Floyer J. Whittemore. 6. Almira, born
June 11, 1822, diedxJuly 26, 1847; married
Abner Holt. 7. Lorenzo Dow, born Novem
ber 30, 1825; died unmarried, July 31, 1847.
(VIII) Ezra Abbott Upham, son of Ezra
Upham (7), was born in Wilton, October 18,
1813. He attended the common schools there
until he was eighteen, chiefly during the winter
terms, working on his father's farm in sum
mer. He left home at the age of eighteen and
found employment with Dr. Thompson,
Charlestown, Massachusetts, for two years.
He then worked for Deacon David Perham, of
Chelmsford; for some time as driver of his.
milk wagon, and there learned the trade of
butcher, and for many years was a dealer in
cattle and stock, meat and provisions. At that
time every dealer in meats slaughtered his own
cattle and followed the ancient trade of
butcher. He bought a farm December 6,
1838, of Owen Emerson, containing eighteen
acres, afterward adding by purchase until his
farm consisted of thirty-five acres and he
conducted it in addition to his other business.

1 164

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

He removed to Bedford, an adjoining town, in
1867, selling his farm to Joseph Reed. He
bought a twenty-acre farm in Bedford, but,
after living there about nine months, sold it
and removed to Arlington, where he continued
his business as butcher, having a slaughter
house off Medford street and a meat market,
in partnership with his son Franklin M.
Upham, under the firm name of E. A. Upham
& Son. He retired from active business in
1872, and another son, Edward E. Upham,
took his place in the firm, the name becoming
then Upham Brothers, and continuing thus
until 1878, when Edward E. Upham bought
out his brother's interests.
Ezra A. Upham, after he retired, lived in
Lowell a year, but returned to Arlington,
where he died May 1, 1874. He was of very
large physique; jovial and cheery in disposi
tion ; upright and honorable in business :
having the confidence and friendship of his
neighbors. He was a member of the Baptist
church of Arlington and was deacon of the
Chelmsford Baptist church. In politics he
was a Republican from the time the party was
organized. He was a member of the Middle
sex North Agricultural Society. He was
largely interested as a stockholder in the Bos
ton & Lowell railroad and in the Appleton
Bank of Lowell. He served in the state mili
tia in his youth.
He married, at Lowell, Almira Morgan
Morse, born at Plainfield, Vermont, June 9,
1816, daughter of Friend Moody and Phebe
(May) Morse of Lowell. Her father was a
tavern keeper. Children: 1. Almira Augusta,
born January 28, 1837; married February 19,
1856, Joseph Augustus Chamberlain, of
Chelmsford ; child : Hattie Aldula Chamber
lain, born April 12, 1866; married August 27,
1885, Robert G. Shuey; had Clara Almira
Shuey, born August 28, 1887, and Lucien
Glossbrenner Chamberlain, born October 31,
1895 ; resided at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 2. Har
riet Adeline, born December 2, 1838; died
January 5, 1892 ; married December 3, 1856,
Joel E. Pierce, of Chelmsford, later of St.
Paul, Minnesota; children: i. Fred Augustus
Pierce, born February 23, 1859; married De
cember 13, 1893, Mrs. Effie May Reed, of St.
Paul, and had Grace Harriet Pierce, born
April 2, 1895, and James Edgar Pierce; ii.
Frank Abbott Pierce, born March 22, i860;
married, May 22, 1890, Mary Luella Part
ridge, of St. Paul, and had, Edwin Paul
Pierce, born December 4, 1891, Harriet Mary
Pierce, born November 18, 1893, and Mar

garet Lounell Pierce, born April 30, 1898;
iii. William Edgar Pierce, born April 16,
1866, died July 26, 1866. 3. Ezra Abbott Jr.,
born April 22, 1841 ; married, February 5,
1863, Lucy Coburn, of Lowell; her daughter
Maud Rose, born October 28, 1868, married, •
May 24, 1892, Frank Eustis, of Minneapolis;
children: i. Grace Genevieve Eustis, born
June 14, 1893 ; ii. Maria Upham Eustis, Jan
uary 5, 1896; iii. Walter Coburn Eustis, July
30, 1898, died March 22, 1902; iv. Frank
Coburn Eustis, born August 23, 1902. 4.
Edward Everett, born April 10, 1843; men
tioned below. 5. Franklin Monroe, born Sep
tember 10, 1846; mentioned below. 6. Laura
Jane, born September 5, 1849; married, Octo
ber 22, 1866, Phinehas S. Bond, of Warren,
Maine ; child, Everett Phinehas Bond, born
December 26, 1867, unmarried. 7. Jennie
Elizabeth, born July 6, 1851 ; married Decem
ber 2, 1873, William Wyman, of Arlington,
born September 1, 1850, died February 25,
1903; children: i. William Herbert Wyman,
born January 18, 1876, died October 12, 1876;
ii. Mabel Jennie Wyman, born September 22,
1877; iii- Fred Upham Wyman, born May 29,
1881 ; iv. Julius Clark Wyman, born Febru
ary 4, 1893.
(IX) Edward Everett Upham, son of Ezra
Abbott Upham (8), was born at Chelmsford,
April 10, 1843. He was educated in the com
mon schools and at Chelmsford Academy.
When sixteen years old he removed with his
parents to Springfield, Ohio, and attended
school' there for two years, subsequently
returning to Chelmsford. He went to work
soon afterward as clerk in the shoe store of a
brother in South Boston. The name of his
brother's firm was Pierce & Upham. After
six years in this store he went west, locating
at Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, where he
engaged in trading, buying and selling cattle,
hides, etc. He came east again in 1871 and
settled in Arlington and entered the firm of
Upham Brothers, succeeding his father in
partnership with his brother, Franklin M.
Upham. At the end of seven years of pros- ,
perous business he bought out the interests of
his brother and continued the business alone
until February 20, 1907, when he sold to H. P.
Hinckley. In 1871 he bought of Edward
Storer his present residence at 15 Avon Place,
Arlington. He attends the Baptist church,
and belongs to the society, in which he is
much interested. In politics he is a Republi
can. He is a member of Hiram Lodge of '
Free Masons, joining September 28, 1871.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 165

He was formerly a member of Chelmsford
Cavalry, Company F, Massachusetts Volun
teer Militia. He married first, November 22,
1871, Rosella Storer, born at Arlington, No
vember 30, 1846, died October 5, 1872, of
heart disease, daughter of Edward and Elmira
(Pierce) Storer, of Arlington. He married
second, at Shapleigh, Maine, November 3,
1874, Lois Ann Thing, born March 22, 1850,
died March 13, 1877, daughter of Charles P.
and Dorcas (Ross) Thing of Shapleigh. Her
father was a farmer. He married third, Feb
ruary 5, 1883, Mrs. Julia E., (Moore) Emer
son, born August 27, 1859, at Gouldsboro
(Bunkers Harbor), Maine, daughter of Isaac
and Priscilla (Arey) Moore, of Gouldsboro.
Her father was a fisherman and sea captain.
Child of Edward E. and Lois A. Upham: 1.
Lois Alice, born March 8, 1877, at Arlington.
(IX) Franklin Monroe Upham, son of
Ezra Abbott (8), was born at Chelmsford,
September 10, 1846. He was educated in his
native town and at Springfield, Ohio, in the
public schools. After the family returned to
Massachusetts, he was associated in business
with his father and became partner in the bus
iness at Arlington under the firm name of E.
A. Upham & Son. When his father retired he
admitted his brother Edward E. Upham to
the firm. He retired from the firm in 1878,
and removed to Minneapolis, Minnesota,
where he engaged in business under the firm
name of F. M. Upham & Company, at 11
First street. He married, January 22, 1874,
Mary Addie Lawrence of Arlington ; children :
1. Laura Addie, born June 4, 1875 ; married,
October, 1899, Josiah E. Snow, of Somerville,
and had Esther Snow, born March 1, 1901.
2. Mary Lawrence, born October 20, 1876;
married May 12, 1893, John E. Brockhouse,
of Somerville, Massachusetts. 3. Zula Mor
gan, born February 7, 1881 ; unmarried. 4.
Franklin Monroe, Jr., born August 17, if"-"

The Locke family in England
LOCKE was the subject of a notice in
the Gentleman's Magazine, in
1792. The family was noted then, as it is
now, by having as one of its members John
Locke, commonly called "the great philoso
pher and metaphysician," whose fame and
character are too well known to require a
more extended notice. His fame and charac
ter led to considerable attention to his geneal
ogy, and hence appeared the notice in the
Gentleman's Magazine and pedigree pub

lished in connection, cited in the "Booke of
the Lockes" (Appendix K and L, pp. 342-
359). From this publication, tradition assigned
the name of Locke to be of Scotch extrac
tion, spelt originally Loch, but this if so must
have been in very early time. When Alfred
divided his kingdom into parishes, the home
of a great man known by the name of Locke
was called after that worthy, Lockstown, or
the Town of Locke. There was such, a town
in England in 1792, where the family at one
time became numerous. Later it was called
Lockston, or Loxton. Nearby was Locking,
a parish, and also a large farm called Lock-
inghead. The Locke family in that neighbor
hood considered themselves as descended from
a very ancient house, arguing that they gave
name to the parishes where they lived before
the time of the Conquest, and do not derive
their name with a De from the parishes, as
is very commonly the case. However, there
does not appear to be any especial account of
the family before. 1350, and John Locke,
sheriff of London, 1460 or 1461, is the first in
an extant pedigree. It was supposed that he
was descended from Thomas Locke of Mer-
ton Abbey, in Surrey, where the rectory of
Merton was granted to Thomas Locke by
Edward III in 1291. In Burke's General
Armory of England, Scotland and Ireland, we
find the Locke family coat-of-arms, viz. :
Locke (granted 5 July, 2 Philip and Mary,
and now borne by Wadham Locke, of Ashton
Gifford, County Wilts, Esq., son and ,heir of
the late Wadham, of Rowde Ford House,
near Devizes, Esq., M. P. : Per fesse az, and
or, a pale counterchanged, three hawks with
wings endorsed of the last. Crest — a hawk
with wings endorsed, holding in the beak a
padlock or. ,
In New England there appears to be fam
ilies by the name of Locke coeval with the
family of William Locke of Woburn, such as
that of John Locke, of Hampton, New Hamp
shire, and the Lockes of Rhode Island, be
sides many scattered individuals who settled
in the seaport towns, of whom only scant
accounts are given. William Locke, the Wo
burn settler, it is claimed was born at Stepney
Parish, London, England, and came to this
country when a mere boy with his uncle
Nicholas Davies, or Davis, and settled in
Woburn, on two lots which he paid for in
clapboard bolts, and in which town he died
June 16, 1720, aged ninety-one years and six
months. (I) William Locke, born at Stepney parish,

u66

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

London, England, December 13, 1628, son of
William Locke and Elizabeth Locke; married
December 27, 1665, Mary Clarke, born at
Watertown, December 10, 1640, daughter of
William and Margery Clarke of Woburn; she
died at Woburn, July 18, 171 5, and he died
there June 16, 1720. aged ninety-one years
and six months. Mr. Locke was a deacon of
the Woburn First Church from 1700 until his
death in 1720, and a selectman of Woburn
1687 and 1696. His uncle, Nicholas Davis,
of York, Maine, in his will' dated April 27,
1667, says, "I give unto my Cosson (nephew)
AVilliam Locke of Woborne two silver spoones
& five shillings In Silver." Children, born at
Woburn, Massachusetts: 1. William, born
December 27, 1657, died January 9, 1658. 2.
William, born January 18, 1659 ; married,
first, May 29, 1683, Sarah Whitmore, of
Cambridge; married second, June 8, 1698,
Abigail Hayward, of Woburn. 3. John, born
August 1, 1661 ; married first, May 31, 1685,
Elizabeth Plympton, of Sudbury; married
second, November 30, 1720, Mary (Winn)
Wyman, of Woburn. 4. Joseph, born March
8, 1664, married first, Mary  ; married
second, Margaret Mead, of Woburn ; married
third, Hannah Peirce, of Weston. 5. Mary,
born October 16, 1666; married March 30,
1692, Samuel Kendall, of Woburn. 6. Sam
uel, born October 14, 1669 ; married first, Ruth
 ; married second, Mary Day,' of Ips
wich. 7. Ebenezer, born January 8, 1674;
married first, October 18, 1697, Susanna
Walker, of Woburn; married second, October
14, 1701, Hannah Mead, of Woburn. 8.
James, born November 14, 1677, see forward.
9. Elizabeth, born January 4, 1681, married
October 14, 1700, James Markham.
(II) James Locke, son of William Locke
(1), born at Woburn, November 14, 1677,
died December 11, 1745, aged sixty-eight
years; married, December 5, 1700, Sarah Cut
ter, born August 31, 1673, daughter of Rich
ard and Frances (Perriman-Amsden) Cutter,
of Cambridge. His father "let him go to
work for himself to get something to begin
the world with," and gave him about £30. to
help him purchase land to cultivate and live
upon, and by so doing considered that he had
given him his full portion, but gave him ten
shillings more in his will as a token of his
love. In 1699 James bought forty-six acres
in Woburn near a place called Pine Mountain.
This land was in the present northwesterly
part of Winchester, near the former Cam
bridge, now Lexington line. The heights has

been called in more modern times Zion's Hill.
He also extended his estate till his lands cov
ered a large part of the present Winchester
Hills adjoining the present Winchester and
Lexington lines. On these hills he built his
first house, a short distance from the house
of his great-grandson Jonathan Locke, whose
place was near the west line of Winchester,
formerly Woburn. James Locke held various
minor town offices. His property was large
for the times, and was inventoried at £1370..
His son Jonathan had two-thirds of his real
estate. Children: 1. Hannah, born July 11,
1701 ; married, November 5, 1722, Thomas
Pierce, of Woburn. 2. James, born June 17,
1703; married January 11, 1727, Elizabeth
Burnap, of Reading. 3. Ruhannah, born
April 23, L705; married first, June 15, 1726,
Benjamin Whittemore, of Concord, who died
October 22, 1734; married second, John Bond,
of Lexington. 4. Sarah, born July 5, 1707;
married, December 25, 1733, William Jones,
of Weston. 5. Phebe, born August 15, 1709;
married first, September 9, 1731, Daniel
Brewer, of Concord ; married second, July 14,
1776, Isaac Hartwell, of Oxford. 6. Rebecca,
born November 11, 1711; married, March 6,
1735, William Munroe, of Lexington. 7.
Mary, born October 12, 1713; married, Jan
uary 4, 1738, John Wright, of Woburn. 8.
Jonathan, see forward.
(Ill) Jonathan Locke, son of James Locke
(2), born at Woburn, January 17, 1717, died
there January 10, 1799, aged eighty-two
years; married February 1, 1746, "Phebe
Pierce, born September 28, 1713, died at Wo
burn, March 2, 1893, aged eighty years,
daughter of James and Hannah Pierce of
Woburn. At the settlement of his father's
estate he was allowed £280 for serveices ren
dered after he was twenty-one. His father's
farm was decreed to him by the court October
6, 1747, and is the same property later owned
and occupied by his grandson Jonathan. It
has been supposed that he was the Jonathan
who was impressed into the army with Ezen-
ezer Locke before 1746. Children: 1. Jona
than, born September 12, 1746, died -young.
2. Phebe, born March 1, 1747-8; married, Oc
tober 4, 1770, Aaron Fay, of Woburn. 3.
Jonathan, born November 29, 1749; married,
January 3, 1775, Mary Frost, of Cambridge.
4. James, born April 7, 1752, married, 1777,
Sarah Symmes, of Charlestown. 5. Josiah,
see forward.
(IV) Josiah Locke, son of Jonathan Locke
(3), born at Woburn, February 3, 1753, died

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 167

there August 5, 181 1, aged fifty-seven years;
married, December 27, 1775, Elizabeth Rich
ardson, born December 30, 1755, died April 2,
1835, aged seventy-nine years, daughter of
Jacob and Judith (Lawrence) Richardson, of
Woburn. Mr. Locke was a member of the
train band of the First Woburn (militia)
Company, under Captain Josiah Johnson,
April 30, 1775. He resided in the ' locality
called the Hill District, formerly in Woburn,
but now in Winchester. In 1804 he bought
the old Philemon Wright farm in South Wo
burn, which now belongs to his great-grandson
George Lewis Locke (7). His homestead was
that which originally belonged^to the first James
Locke. Children: 1. Sarah, born December
25, 1777; married first, June 24, 1801, Shad-
rach Shattuck, of Charlestown; married sec
ond, 1827, Silas Stickney, of Beverly. 2..
Josiah, born December 23, 1779; married,
January 30, 1803, Susanna Frost. 3. Asa,.
born May 5, 1781 ; see forward. 4. Artemas,
born July 18, 1784; married April 25, 1816,
Ruth Butterfield, of West Cambridge. 5.
Micajah, born December 14, 1786, married,
September 20, 1812, Elmira Russell, of West
Cambridge. 6. Betsey, born March 5, 1788,
died June 23, 1793. 7. Mary, born August 3,
1791 ; married, June 14, 1812, Charles Rich
ardson, of Sudbury. 8. Alfred, born October
8, 1792; married, April 14, 1814, Anna D.
Pierce. 9. Jonathan, born March 26, 1794;
married, March 5, 1816, Elizabeth Russell, of
West Cambridge.
(V) Asa Locke, son of Josiah Locke (4),
born at Woburn, May 5, 1781, died at Win
chester, July 16, 1857; married, April 7, 1807,
Lucy Wyman, born January 18, 1779, died at
Winchester, December 8, i860, aged eighty-
one years, daughter of Daniel and Lucy
(Gardner) Wyman of Woburn. He was
educated in the common schools of Woburn.
Mr. Locke was a successful farmer and
accumulated a good property. He disposed
of the products of his farm in the Charlestown
and Boston markets. He was a large pqwer-
ful man, and positive in opinion, and was a
man of strong temperance principles. He
was a member of the Baptist church, and a_
Democrat in politics. In his early life he was
a member of the militia.
Children: 1. Elbridge Gardner, born March
22, 1808; married, first, May 15, 1832, Eliza
B., daughter of Charles and Sarah (Robbins)
Cutter, born 1809, died October 8, 1844; and
married second, October 5, 1845, Mary E.,
daughter of James and Mehitable Colby.

Children by first wife: i. Sarah Eliza, born
February 20, 1833. ii- Warren Elbridge.
iii. Ruth Augusta, born November 1, 1836.
iv. Charles, v. William. Child of second
wife: vi. James Henry, born April 19, 1847.
2. Almira Wyman, born July 18, 1809, died
February 26, 1888; married, April 7, 1829,
Hiram Andrews, born October 28, 1802, died
October 21, 1881. Children: i. Delmont Mal-
com (Andrews) born May 10, 1831. ii. Henry
Edwin Gardner (Andrews), September 16,
1833. iii. William Hiram (Andrews), July
31, 1836. iv. Ellen Maria (Andrews), Aug
ust 26, 1839. v. Asa Locke (Andrews), born
November 19, 1842. vi. Daniel Wyman (An
drews), born April 19, 1847. 3. Lydia, born
June 27, 181 1, died June 28, 1876. 4. Betsey
Richardson, born August 28, 1813; married,
November 19, 1843, Timothy Eaton, of West
Cambridge. Children : i. Joseph Henry
(Eaton), born December 31, 1844. ii. Jose
phine A. (Eaton), May 16, 1847. 5- Josiah,
born November 22, 181 5, see forward. 6.
Asa, born January 23, 1818, died April 22,
1899; married Caroline Hutchins, of Carlisle.
Children : i. Emily Carrie, born May 16,
1858; married, Walter Symmes, of Winches
ter, ii. Lucy, born November 27, i860, iii.
Hattie L., born March 25, 1862 ; married Fred
Fiske. iv. Mary R., died March 24, 1866. v.
Asa Wyman, born April 13,-1866. vi. Helen
Adelaide, February 24, 1870. vii. Arthur
Hibbert, died April 25, 1874. 7. Daniel
Wyman, born December 21, 1819; married,
April 20, 1843, Adeline Matilda, born Septem
ber 24, 1817, daughter of Jonathan and Betsey
S. Locke, of Woburn. Children: i. George,
died in infancy, ii. Benjamin Franklin, born
1844, died August, 1873; married Mary Cox;
no issue, iii. Walter Wyman, born June 11,
1853; married, June 1, 1882, Augusta Ger
trude (Boynton), born July 31, 1854. widow
of Benjamin Smith; child, Ronnald Walter
Locke, born February 13, 1883; married
Gertrude S. Waldemere, December 24, 1901 ;
she was born April 6, 1881 ; their chil
dren are : Ronnalda Wilhelmina, born Janu
ary 15, 1903; Gertrude, born October 9, 1904;
Catharine Varnum, born August 22, 1907. iv.
William Eugene, born 1856; married Nellie
Bemis; one child, Florence Locke. Nellie
and Eugene Locke died in 1890. v. Daniel
Wyman, born 1858-9, died 1862, vi. Varnum
Prescott, died aged two and a half years.
Daniel Wyman Locke, the father, died in
May, 1886, and the mother, Adaline Matilda
Locke, died November 29, 1903. 8. Lucy

n68

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Gardner, born August 23, 1823; married, Jan
uary 22, 1846, William Adam's, of West Cam
bridge. Children: i. Lucy Ann (Adams), born
November 27, 1846. ii. William (Adams), iii.
Frederick (Adams), iv. Warren (Adams).
(VI) Josiah Locke, son of Asa Locke (5),
born at Woburn, November 22, 181 5, died at
Winchester, April 2, 1899; married, January
5, 1843, Harriet Priscilla Symmes, born at
Charlestown, August 3, 1819, died at Win
chester, December , 13, 1904, daughter of
Stephen and Harriet Priscilla (Reed)
Symmes, of Charlestown. He obtained his
education in the common schools and at the
Warren Academy in Woburn, supplemented
by a course at the academy in Hampton Falls,
New Hampshire. During the winter of 1839
and 1840 he taught school in the Hill district
of South Woburn, and one of his pupils says :
"To the unpretentious building which he had
for a school house he playfully gave the name
of Meadow Gate Seminary, from the fact
that there was a meadow very near it and
across the road a gate. The name clung to it
as long as it was used for a school house.
When the town of Winchester was incorpor
ated the building was sold and it is now used
as a storehouse on a neighboring farm. He
was a successful farmer and had an honest
pride in his calling; of this his productions
and well kept farm gave ample proof. He
possessed a genius and a passion for hard toil,
which was in his case a sort of birthmark.
He was self-reliant and exhibited sound judg
ment in practical matters. He was ever ready
by voice and vote to promote the best interests
of his native town. As his residence was near
the borders of the town of Arlington he
attended the Baptist church in that place,
which he joined in 1842 and was a member of
for fifty-seven years. He was one of its
strong supporters and in his piety, industry
and free thought, a sturdy specimen of the
earlier New England type. At the death of
his father in 1857, he and his three brothers
bought his father's farm, and later Josiah
and Asa, two of the brothers, bought out the
others and carried on the old place together
until 1872, when a division was made. He
ppssessed strong temperance principles, and
was very patriotic during the civil war. He
was six feet in stature, and very powerful in
physique ; quiet in manner, and respected by
all. He was a Democrat in politics, and a
delegate to various conventions of • that, party
and was once nominated-, for. representative;
but suffered defeat at the polls.

Children: 1. Albert Henry, born June 3,
1844, died August 17, 1848. 2. Louisa
Symmes, born January 13, 1846; married, De
cember 10, 1874, Ira Locke Russell, of Arling
ton. Children: i. Harriet Priscilla (Russell),
born November 14, 1876. ii. Amy Louisa
(Russell), born April 22, 1878; married Octo
ber 7, 1902, Charles T. Bunker, of Arlington,
and have Amy Helen (Bunker), born Febru
ary 11, 1905. iii. Warren Locke (Russell),
born August 16, 1880; married June 26, 1907,
Lois Alice, daughter of Everett and Lois
(Thing) Upham. iv. Howard Symmes (Rus
sell), born July 28, 1887. v. Abbie Munroe
(Russell), born April 15, 1890. 3. Harriet
Priscilla, born November 6, 1847, died No
vember 4, 1856. 4. Julia Ann, born January
23, 1850, died September 15, 1853. 5. Josiah
Howard, born March 9, 1852, died September
8, 1853. 6. Abbie Francina, born June 18,
1854; married, December 25, 1876, Edwin S.
Farmer, of Arlington; one child, Chester
Edward; died in early life. 7. Stephen
Symmes, born October 7, 1856; married, July
21, 1880; Helen Humphrey Wharton, of
Arlington. Children : i. Helen Maud, born
January 20, 1882. ii. Abbie Louise, born
June 1, 1887, died August 22, 1887. iii. Mar
ion Estelle, born November 14, 1889. 8.
George Lewis, see forward.
(VII) George Lewis Locke, son of Josiah
Locke (6), born at Winchester, December 15,
1859; married, September 12, 1880, Elizabeth
Ellis, born December 15, 1858, daughter of
Robert and Agnes (Ryan) Ellis, of Shipa-
nacty, Nova Scotia. He was an attendant of
the Winchester public schools until seventeen
years old, when defective eyesight prevented
further attendance. He then began the market
gardening business on his father's farm. On
the death of his father in 1899, he assumed
the responsibility and bought out the heirs
and began business entirely on his own behalf.
Mr. Locke has made market gardening a suc
cess, and raises lettuce, celery, peas, squash
and other produce which he markets in Bos
ton. His four , sons are also engaged in the
same work. The farm is situated in the west
part of Winchester on Ridge street — being
the Philemon Wright place of yore. This
estate was purchased by Josiah Locke (4)
of Philemon Wright (the founder of Hull and
Ottowa, Canada), in the early part of the
century. Mr. Locke cultivates under ten
thousand square feet of glass the early raising
of his product. His teams are run- daily to
Bpston in the summer and three times- a week

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 169

in the winter. He is a member of the Arling
ton Baptist church, and voted for Cleveland,
but is now a Republican. He is a member of
the Market Gardeners' Association of Boston.
Children: 1. George Ellis, born February
1, 1881. 2. Chester Cleveland, July 3, 1886.
3. Edna Florence, September 8, 1887. 4.
Wendall Wyman, January 6, 1889. 5. Alice
Bertha, February 3, 1890. 6. Harry Dexter,
December 7, 1891. 7. Arthur Church, March
25, 1895. 8. Willard Reed, November 18,
1896. Many French Huguenots
BOSSON sought refuge in the beautiful
little Isle of Jersey, and not a
few of our early Salem families came from
that island, the descendants of the Huguenots,
Philip English and others. The records of the
Bosson family were lost at the time of the
civil war, but tradition is strong that they
were Huguenots and came to Salem, Massa
chusetts, with the early families. These
refugees are said by historians to have been
among the very best people in France. As
men of character and moral worth, they were
eminent. In comparison with the Puritans
they were as firm and well established in their
religious opinions, and as devout, less bigoted,
yet more cultivated and refined. They were
intelligent in religious matters, profound Bible
students, and also excelled in music, having
a metrical translation of the Psalms, and the
hymns of Beza, and of Marot, who was called
the French Watts, set to the sweet harmonies
of Goudinel, an early French composer.
(I) William Bosson, the immigrant, came
to America before 1630, with son William.
From Salem, Massachusetts, he settled near
Watertown, and was there called Bassom and
Barsham. The records say William Bassom
was in Watertown, 1636, and William Bas
som was a proprietor at Wethersfield. Bond,
tjhe historian of Watertown, gives the coat of
arms : Per pale gu, and ar., a chief or. Crest
— a garb in fesse. (Bond, Page 677). Wil
liam Bosson served on a jury inquest Septem
ber 28, 1630; was selectman in 1653; sealer of
weights and measures. He bought a lot of land
in Watertown, March 22, 1646-47, of Abigail
Benjamin and others, perhaps heirs of an
estate he or' his wife was interested in. This
place was east of Jeremiah Norcross's land.
He married second, Annabel  , and their
children were: 1. William, mentioned be
low. 2. John, born December 8, 1635, men

tioned below. 3. Hannah, born January 7,
l637"38> died in Newton, August 18, 1710;
married, September 19, 1656, John Spring, Jr.
4. Joshua, born March 15, 1640-41. 5. Susan,
born January 28, 1641-42; married John
Capen, Jr. 6. Nathaniel, born 1644, married,
March 13, 1678-79, Elizabeth Bond. 7.
Sarah, , married  Brown. 8. Mary,
born June 24, 1648; married, May 7, 1675,
Deacon John 'Bright; married (second); De
cember 12, 1700, Hananiah Parker, of Read
ing (see Lowell family). 9. Rebecca, born
December 12, 1657; married, May 14, 1683,
Edward Winship, of Cambridge. 10. Eliza
beth, born July 29, 1659; married, July 5,
1694, Adam Eve, of Boston. William Bosson,
father of these children, died July 3, 1684.
In will dated August 28, 1683, codicil dated
April 15, 1684, and proved August 29, 1684,
he bequeathed to sons John, Joshua and Na
thaniel; daughters Hannah Spring, Susannah
Capen, Sarah Browne, Mary Bright, Rebecca
Winship and Elizabeth Bosson; grandson
William Bosson, son of John.
(II) William Bosson, son of William (1).
We know nothing of this son until we find in
1660, in Marblehead, (then part of Salem),
his widow and two sons, William (3) and
John. The following items show their con
nection with Marblehead, where the spelling
is Bosson, Boatswain, Boatson, Boson, and
Bosen. "Widow Boatson in Marblehead, in
1660." — Marblehead Church Records.
"Widow Boatson was one of 114 householders
in Marblehead in 1674, only one other woman
mentioned, Widow Stacie." — History of Mar
blehead. "William Bosson gone out of town.
He, of Marblehead." Endorsed on back of
writ, 1684, No. 62 files. "William Boatson
and Ann Hooper married August 7, 1689.": —
Marblehead Town Records. "William Boats
wain, administrator to the estate of his brother
John Boatswain." "William Bosson, of Rox
bury, administrator of the estate of John Bos
son, late of Marblehead, September 17, 1714."
"October 6, 1714. William Bosson, of Rox
bury, tailor, appointed administrator of the
estate of his brother, John Bosson, of Marble
head, Mariner." "Inventory of estate of John
Boatswain, late of Marblehead, deceased, May
26, 171 5." — Probate Records. "William Bos
son and Dorothy his wife, sold June 30, 1721,
for fifty pounds, the house his brother John
left to him in Marblehead."
(II) John Bosson, son of William Bosson,
( 1 ) , was born in Watertown, December 8,
1635. He graduated from Harvard College

1 170

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

in I-658, and was a minister of the gospel.
Bond says he settled in or near Exeter, New
Hampshire, and gives the following children
from records at Concord, New Hampshire,
where the old Exeter files are now deposited:
1. Annabel, May 31, 1670; 2. Mary, February
26, 1672; 3. Dorothy, February 2, 1674; 4.
Sarah, August 11, 1676; 5. William, April 25,
1678. William Bosson, only son of Rev. John
Bosson (2) last named, was born April 25,
1678, in the vicinity of Exeter, New Hamp
shire. He was a tailor by trade. The records
say little about him.
William and Dorothy (Holbrook) Bosson
came to Roxbury from Marblehead in
1706. Dorothy's father or brother, John
Holbrook, was made trustee of the property
that William Bosson bought at Roxbury.
He bought of James Bailey of Roxbury
a lot of land with shop, between the
road and brook, granted originally by the
town to Bailey, in October, 1697. This
deed is dated April 29, 1706. Mrs. Dorothy
(Holbrook) Bosson was a haberdasher or
small ware seller of some capital. She opened
a shop with stock brought from England, the
first in Roxbury. She would make trips alone
rowing herself in a wherry across Charles
river to supply her trade with potters ware
from Charlestown. She was quite authorita
tive at home and abroad, reared her children
well, with perhaps more expectation than
industry. William and Dorothy his wife,
made a trust deed, dated October 25, 1706, for
their two children, William and Dorothy, in
trust until they came of age. He may not
have been well, and so left his property in this
way. Another deed of trust was made May
16, 171 3, to John Holbrook for the son Wil
liam, and May 19, 1713, to Dorothy, of land
in the rear of the plot given to the son. Dor
othy, either mother or daughter, deeded land
to Joseph Scarborough, September 22, 1739,
near Town street. Widow Bosson was one of
the owners in 1741 of pews in the Third
Meeting House of the First Church in Rox
bury. Dorothy, born about 1695, married
August 5-, 1714, Elias Monk, son of Elias
Monk. Children : Hopestill, born October 31,
1720; Elias, born April 9, 1723.
(Ill) Rev. WilHam Bosson, son of (2)
WilHam and Dorothy, was born before 1700,
and died about 1748, according to the Harvard
Quinquennial Catalogue. He' was graduated
from Harvard in 1723, and admitted to the
Roxbury Church, August 14, 1726. He was
a preacher, and for many years chaplain at

Castle William, Boston Harbor (see Win-
throp's Interleaved Catalogue ; also Massa
chusetts House Journal, August 16, 1744,
reg. vl., p. 190). He mortgaged his house in
Roxbury, November 18, 1742, as security for
a note, and the mortgage was discharged in
1744. He signed the petition of the members
of the Roxbury church in 1737 for the adop
tion of the Tate and Brady Psalm Book' in
place of the Bay State Psalm Book then in
use. "Among the founders of the original
church were George Alcock, William Packe,
William Pynchon and Thomas Lamb, and
among the occupants of pews in 1736 are a
number of well-known families. .In the
spacious gallery pews were such worthies as
Deacon Samuel Gridley, Mrs. William Bos
son, and Samuel Gore." Among the Sub
scribers to Prince's Chronological History of
New England, in 1736, is William Bosson,
M. A., of Roxbury.
Rev. William Bosson married Mary, whose
surname is unknown, and she owned the cove
nant at Roxbury, June 23, 1728-29. Children:
1. William, born April 29, 1724. 2. John,
born 1726; married September 3, 1747, Elea
nor Nissbet ; children : John Elizabeth, and
William, baptized together, January 18, 1756.
3. Dorothy, born September 4, 1727. 4. Win
ter, born January 1, 1732; married, 1761,
Mary Abrams, of Milton. Children : Nathan
iel, born August 22, 1762, and William, July
11, 1765, at Milton. 5. Sarah, born March
29, 1739; married May 3, 1759, William Pat
rick. (IV) William Bosson, son of Rev. William
Bosson (3), born in Roxbury, April 29, 1724.
He was a wig or peruke maker, and also called
a barber. He bought the interests of the other
heirs of his father's estate, June 14, 1779. The
property is described as a cellar near the
school-house, on the junction of roads to Mil
ton and Dedham. His grandmother,- Dorothy
Bosson, whom the deed calls a shopkeeper,
deeded him a cellar 18 by 21 feet on the road
to Boston and Braintree, adjoining his land.
Pie bought land in Roxbury, April 12, 1750,
of John Solomon, a wheelwright. He mar
ried August 15, 1745, Abigail Partridge, born
in Medfield, November 7, 1707, daughter of
Samuel and Hannah (Mason) Partridge. Her
children were: 1. Abigail, born October 27,
1748; married Daniel Kelly; her daughter
Mary married John Proctor. 2. Mary, born
December 29, 1750, died. 3. .William, born
April 28, 1753 ; major in Revolutionary war.
4. Mary, born February 18, 1755; married

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1171

John Browne, August 4, 1777. 5. Nehemiah,
born May 22, 1757; in Revolutionary war;
enlisted May 1, 1775, fifer, under Captain
Moses Whiting. 6. Thaddeus, born Septem
ber 3, 1759; in Revolutionary war, and a pris
oner on the ship "Jersey," in the Wallabout
Bay, New York, who with many others never
fully recovered from his hardships there.
(There were five prison ships in Wallabout
Bay, Brooklyn, New York, during the latter
part of the war of the Revolution, viz : The
"Jersey," the "John," the "Scorpion," the
"Strombolo," and the "Hunter." Upon the
"Jersey" over eleven thousand prisoners of
war actually died from hardship, starvation
and contagion). 7. Lucy, born March 27,
1761. 8. Jonathan Davis, born June 14, 1762;
in Revolutionary war. WilHam Bosson, the
father, married second, July 9, 1767, Ruth
Curtis, of Dorchester, Abigail (Partridge)
Bosson having died July 9, 1766. Ruth's chil
dren were: 1. Charles, baptized at Roxbury,
March 27, 1768; died April 12; buried in old
Roxbury burying ground. 2. Nancy, born
1769; Ralph Smith, of Roxbury, was appoint
ed her guardian, January -12, 1790. Ruth
(Curtis) Bosson died May 13, 1769. William
Bosson married third, January 24, 1771, Sarah
Hawes. No children. WilHam Bosson died
in 1787. His son William (5) was appointed
administrator February 27, 1787, with
Thomas Clark as surety on his bond; his
account was filed October 23, 1787, and he was
buried in the old Roxbury burying ground,
the first burying place in Roxbury. Abigail.
(Partridge) Bosson and two children, Mary
and Ann, were also buried there, and Ruth
(Curtis) Bosson. and her infant son.
(V) Major William Bosson, born in Rox
bury, Massachusetts, April 28, 1753, son of
William Bosson (4), married September 18,
I777, Prudence Mayo, born December 18,
1755, daughter of Thomas, Jr., and Mary
(Heath) Mayo. Children: 1. William, born
July 9, 1778, died August 1, 1799, on island
of Grenada. 2. Nehemiah, born August 31,
1779, January 10, 1807, lost on the coast of
Africa. 3. Prudence, born February 14, 1782,
died August 16, 1787. 4. Sukey, born April
10, 178^4, died in fall of 1833 ; married Jonathan
Hill; children: Prudence, Mary, George and
Willey. Mrs. Prudence (Mayo) Bosson died
May 29, 1784. Major William Bosson mar
ried second, December 16, 1784, Susanna
Mayo, his first wife's sister. Children: 1.
Thomas Mayo, born November 9, 1785; in
1812 went to Cincinnati, Ohio; a physician;

married Mary, daughter of Lemuel Whiting;
died May, 1850. 2. Prudence, born August
13, 1787, died August 4, 1790. 3. John Som-
ers, born January 29, 1790, died April 4, 1790.
4. Charles Thompson, born April 7, 1791 ;
graduated at Harvard, class 181 1, a classmate
of Edward Everett; Charles T., died at his
father's house at Murfreesboro, Tennessee,
during the seige of that place by Forrest, and
a day before the battle of Nashville, December,
1864. He was a lawyer in Kentucky, leaving
one son, James. 5. John Somers, born May 11,
l793> graduated Yale, 181 3; was a physician
at Cincinnati; died, 1818. 6. Joseph, born
April 22, 1795, emigrated and joined brothers
in Cincinnati in 1817. Children: William,
David and Susan. 7. Catherine Mayo, born
March 23, 1797; married Judge Powers, of
Cincinnati, brother of Hiram Powers ; one
daughter, Ellen, married Daniel, Kelly. 8.
Nancy S., born March 5, 1799, died January
22, 1803, at Boston. 9. Mary Heath, born
July 29, 1801, died 1871, Troy, Ohio. 10.
William, born September 29, 1803, married
Julia Bennett; two boys: Thomas Mayo, bom
February, 1856, and William, June, 1857.
Major William Bosson (5), father, was in
battle of Lexington, was afterward major,
and served to the end of the war. His com
mission is signed by John Hancock and In
crease Sumner. "The first public library of
Roxbury was established in 1805, and was
kept in the lower story of the building where
the dial is. Bacon's Block is the site of Ed
ward Dorr's residence about the middle of the
last century, and also that of Major William
Bosson, a veteran of the Revolution, and one
of the minute-men at Lexington." "In 1784,
on the sight of the Greyhound, was located the
first fire engine of Roxbury. Among the
engine men appoined was Wm. Bosson, Jr."
He was a merchant in Roxbury street from
1785 to 1817, and was one of the selectmen
for many years. "Pew, No. 61, on lower floor.
Sold by the First Parish at their sale of pews
on the 10th May to Mr. William Bosson, for
the sum of $320 as appears by deed of their
Clerk dated June 3, 1805." "The above is
from the Record of Sales of Pews in our pres
ent building when it was completed." Signed,
William Crosby, Treasurer, 1898.
In 181 6 Major William Bosson made a trip
to Cincinnati, Ohio, returning on horseback,
and in August, 1818, the family emigrated to
Cincinnati to be with the brothers living there.
Soon after, in search of health for Thomas
Mayo Bosson, the oldest of the brothers

1 172

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

living, and of the Major's sons, they settled
in Tennessee. Major William Bosson was
loyaHo the Union, and was driven from home
because of his loyalty by the rebels in the
Civil war, and the family records, which' they
buried with other valuables, were totally
ruined. He was a member of the reconstruc
tion convention of Tennessee, and was for
years in the senate and house of representa
tives of that state, and was state director for
the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad
system. He was in early life a Whig in poli
tics and naturally a Republican later. Major
William Bosson died August 12, 1823, at Cin
cinnati, Ohio. His wife, Susanna (Mayo)
Bosson, died February 15, 1826, at Cincinnati,
Ohio. (VI) William Bosson, born Roxbury, Sep
tember 29, 1803, son of Major William (5),
married Julia Burnett, of Russel Centre, Ohio,
daughter of Detroit Burnett and Malinda
Munn. The Burnetts and Munns came to
Ohio in 181 5 from Warwick, Franklin coun
ty, Massachusetts. Children: 1. Thomas
Mayo Bosson, born February 13, 1856; mar
ried, October 20, 1886, Susan Farrow. 2.
William Bosson, born June 30, 1857. William
Bosson died April 7, 1887, and Julia Burnett
Bosson, his wife, died at Indianapolis, Indi
ana, July 25, 1898, and both lie in the beauti
ful Forest Hill cemetery at Greencastle,
Indiana. (VII) William Bosson was born in White
county, Tennessee, in 1857; graduated from
Asbury University 1876; came to Indianapolis
1882, and practiced law until 1888, when he
entered the Bank of Commerce as cashier, a
position he held for many years. He married,
September 12, 1885, Maragaret Hill. They
have seven children: 1. Margaret, born Aug
ust, 1886. 2. William, born January, 1889,
is now in Wabash College, Indiana. 3 and 4.
Richard Mayo, Robert N., twins, born Aug
ust, 1890. 5. Catherine, born, 1892. 6. John,
born February 29, 1896. 7. Rosemary.
(V) Jonathon Davis Bosson, born June 14,
1762, youngest of the eight children of Wil
liam and Abigail (Partridge) Bosson, and
the fourth son to be active in the Revolution.
He enlisted in 1780. He married, Salem,
June 18, 1783, Martha, daughter of Joseph
Young, one of the volunteer company in the
Revolution from Salem in 1778. Children:
1. Martha, born Salem; married a Bicknell;
and married second, a Cole; her daughter
Rachel married Joseph F. Paul, Boston; she
died July 15, 1895. 2. Thaddeus, born Salem;

married, November 13, 1808, Abigail Fowler.
3. Jonathon Davis, born Salem, January 1,
1786; married Lydia Palfray. 4. Jonathon
Davis Bosson, the father, died on board the
"Constitution" in Boston Harbor. He was
accidentally killed just before sailing. From
the old home in Roxbury he was buried in the
old Roxbury burying ground, on the inclining
hill-side toward Boston.
(VI) Jonathan Davis Bosson, son of Jona
thon Davis Bosson (5), was born in Salem,
January 1, 1786. He was educated in the com
mon schools, and learned the trade of tanner
and currier, which he followed for some years
at Salem, Massachusetts. About 1820 he
removed to Boston and engaged in the leather
and upholstery business. At one time he had
a partner, Deacon Moses Grant. About 1840
he removed to Chelsea, establishing the mat
tress making industry, which for many years
he followed with great success. He became
one of the prominent business men of that
city, and was well-known and greatly respect
ed and honored by his townsmen.. In his
later years his venerable figure was one of
the most familiar of the older citizens of
Chelsea. He was an active member of the
Salem Cadets for a period of seventy years,
and that organization was proud with good
reason of his remarkable fidelity to the organ
ization and of that physique that made it pos
sible for him to take active part in the
arduous duties of a military company for a per
iod unprecedented in the history of the militia.-
He served in the war of 1812 in a Salem
privateer, the very effective form of navy
then in use. After the service he resumed his
connection with the Cadets, and was detailed
with them often to duty as coast guard. He
was one of the oldest admitted members of
St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church,
though in his last years he was a Baptist. He
died at Hudson, Massachusetts, February 15,
1880, from the effects of a fall, shortly after
celebrating his ninety-fourth birthday. He
was there visiting his daughter, Mrs. William
Williams. He retained his health and activity
to the end of his long life, and he was fond of
outdoor life and active in his habits.
He married, November 29, 1810, Lydia Pal
fray, of Salem, daughter of Warwick and
Hannah (Chapman) Palfray, and a descend
ant in the eighth generation of John Pickering,
of Salem, whose descendants were, perhaps,
as a whole the most distinguished family of
that section of the colony and state ; also- lineal
descendant of Peter Palfray, one of the

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"73

founders of Salem, Massachusetts. She was
i born in Salem, December 4, 1791, and. died
in Chelsea, July 1, 1863 (see Pickering).
They celebrated their golden wedding for
which Rev. S. F. Smith, author of "America,"
wrote an appropriate poem. Children:
1. Lydia, born January 1, 1813, died August 19,
1892; married, June 18, 1835, Nathaniel P. H.
Willis ; six children. 2. Charles Proctor, born
December 30, 1814; married Elizabeth Hobbs;
four children; mentioned below. 3. William,
born November 17, 1816, died 1899; men
tioned below. 4. Edward P., born September
29, 1818, died unmarried, June 29, 1866. 5.
Martha E., born July 25, 1820, mentioned be
low. 6. James W, born 1822, mentioned be
low. 7. Hannah P., born December 18, 1823,
died March 30, 1891, in Chicago; married
William Williams ; five children. 8. George
C, born October 11, 1825, mentioned below.
9. Rebecca Palfray, born September 16, 1827,
died of Asiatic cholera at Calcutta, India,
March 27, 1856 ; married Captain Henry Reed
(name changed from Goldman, when he came
to America, to correspond with the change in
name already made by his brother who pre
ceded him). 10. Henry A., born June 9, 1829,
died unmarried, April 6, 1861. 11. Benjamin
P., born April 26, 1831, died December 30,
1864; married, September 4, 1853, Maria E.
Lane; two children. 12. Mary P., born May
30, 1833; married Isaac N. Peabody; resided
at Newton; four children. 13. Jonathan
Davis, Jr., born May 12, 1836; married, May
20, 1863, Almena B. Ellis; no children; both
living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(VII) Charles Proctor Bosson, son of
Jonathan Davis Bosson (6), was born in
Salem, December 30, 1814. He married Eliz
abeth Sargent, daughter of Daniel and Sarah
(Sargent) Hobbs, of Boston. He was con
nected for many years as a writer, editor and
reporter with the newspaper press of Boston.
At the time of his death, December 9, 1866, in
New York city, and for some three years pre
viously, he had been one of the editors of the
Evening Commercial. He had also been con
nected with the Pilot, and for several years
was editor of the Herald. He was a very
industrious man, and in his time performed a
great amount of brain work. About 1830 he
was connected with the agricultural ware
house of Mr. Barrett, North Market street,
now owned by Joseph Breck & Sons Corpora
tion, and for a time he was editor of the
Yankee Farmer, published at Portland, Maine,
afterward removed to Boston. He was per

sonally interested in agriculture, and visited
France to study the manufacture of sugar
from beets and he published his researches in
a pamphlet. He also wrote and published
several other works of importance on the sub
ject of potato rot, care of bees, etc. He was
a contributor to a French periodical on horti
culture, and was an honorary member of one
or more agricultural societies. The great
and proposed work of Mr. Bosson's life was
the publication of a "Statistical Account of
the United .States" similar in character to the
work of Sir John Sinclair upon Scotland. He
had nearly completed this great work. He
wielded a ready pen, and as a correspondent,
reporter or editorial writer had few equals,
while his contributions upon "agricultural and
horticultural topics were distinguished for
unusual research and thorough, practical
knowledge. His general good nature, genial
ity, warm heart and freedom from shams,
secured for him friends in all walks, of life.
Children: Charles P.; George T. ; Lucinda;
Elizabeth, married B. F. Larrabee.
(VII) William Bosson, son of Jonathan
Davis Bosson (6), was born in Salem, Mass
achusetts, November 17, 1816, died in 1899.
He married Mary B. Hawkes, of Wakefield,
daughter of Benjamin and Fannie (Sweetser)
Hawkes, May 20, 1841. They celebrated their
golden wedding, it being the third golden wed
ding in the Bosson family within a year. The
same lines which were written for Mr. Bos-
•son's father's anniversary by Rev. S. F. Smith
were read on this occasion. Children: Mary
B., William B., Lydia A., Frank U. and
Edward P.
(VII) Martha Elizabeth Bosson, daughter
Jonathon Davis Bosson (6), was born in
Salem, July 25, 1820, died in Worcester, May
11, 1885. She married Benjamin F. Dam,
born in Shapleigh, Maine, and died in Chelsea,
Massachusetts, son of Joseph and Sarah (Fur
long) Dam, of Shapleigh. He was a book
keeper and lived in Chelsea ; he was drowned,
by falling from the wharf while waiting for a
ferry boat. They had nine children.
(VII) James Winchell Bosson, son of
Jonathan Davis Bosson (6), was born 1822.
He married Nancy H. Fielding, who died No
vember 12, 1893, aged seventy-one, daughter
of John and Abigail (Sawtell) Fielding. He
was an upholsterer by trade, and lived at Bal
timore, Maryland. He enlisted August 15,
1862, in the Fifth Maryland Regiment in the
Union army; was wounded twice at the battle
of Antietam, and after leaving the hospital

"74

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

was placed on detached service at Alexandria,
Virginia, as chief clerk in the Second Division,
and afterwards as record clerk at Washington,
where he remained until discharged at the
close of the war. Children: James, Alfred,
Emma, Mary and Edward.
(VII) George Chapman Bosson was born
in Charlestown, Massachusetts, October ii,
1825. While still an infant his parents moved
to Boston. When he was about ten years old his
father erected a house on Chestnut street, in
the newly laid out Winnisimmet village, now
Chelsea, and there the family took up its res
idence. At that time there was neither church
nor school in the village, but a Baptist church
was gathered the following year, and Mr.- Bos
son was one of the constituent members of
the Sunday school. About the same time a
school was organized, which he attended until
he was ' fourteen years old, learning there
thoroughly the elementary studies which were
then taught in the public schools, and acquir
ing a clear and beautiful penmanship, which
his letters still evidence. At the age of four
teen he entered the employ of Eliphalet Baker
& Co., then one of the largest importing
houses of Boston, and became an inmate of
Mr. Baker's home on Beacon street, Boston.
He there acquired an extensive acquaintance,
as well as a thorough knowledge of the trade.
Just before his nineteenth birthday he was
sent by the house to Europe to become famil
iar with the purchasing of foreign goods, and
for a number of years thereafter made annual
trips, buying goods for the firm.
In 1 85 1 he went into the textile business for
himself, and also acted as agent for domestic
manufacturing concerns. He continued in
this business until 1871, acquiring not only a
reputation for intelligence and probity, but
also accumulating a competence. With his
partner, Robert M. Bailey, he organized and
built the Arlington Mills at Lawrence, a
pioneer in America in the manufacture of
dress goods, and which is now one of the most
important textile establishments in the United
States. For nearly twenty years he was a
director in the Merrick Thread Company, one
of the most extensive manufactories of spool
cotton in the country. He was also interested
in the Hookset Manufacturing Company, the
Gilmanton Mills, the Belknap Mills of
Laconia, New Hampshire, and many other
enterprises. In 1871 he became associated
with the well-known commission house of
Lawrence & Co., of which Amos A. Law
rence, the well-known man of affairs and phil

anthropist, was the head. While connected
with this firm and for nearly twenty years he
was the managing director of the Gilmanton
Mills and the Ipswich, Massachusetts, Mills.
Under his direction the latter enterprise grew
from a small struggling concern until it
became a large and successful business. In
18 — he retired from the active direction of
manufacturing enterprises, retaining, how
ever, several directorships ; and associating
himself with his friend, Mr. George Reed,
engaged in the fire insurance business, mak
ing a specialty of mill insurance. He became
an important factor in underwriting circles in
Boston, and his influence was widely felt to
the time of his death.
He married, May 10, 1849, Mary Jane,
daughter of Rev. Jacob and Sophia (Need
ham) Hood, who survives him. Children:
1. Jennie Hood Bosson. 2. Albert Davis
Bosson. 3. Harry Palfray Bosson. 4. Fred
erick Needham Bosson. 5. George Chapman
Bosson. At a very early age Mr. Bosson united with
the First Baptist Church of Chelsea, and was
one of the constituent members of the Cary
Avenue Baptist Church of Chelsea, remaining
a member of that church to the time of his
death. He was always active in church and
Sunday school work, and his genial kindness
and presence impressed themselves upon all
who came in contact with him in religious
work. In politics he was an energetic supporter of
anti-slavery measures, casting his first vote for
Free Soil candidates, and from the founda
tion of the party to the day of his death was
a devoted and unwavering Republican. Al-
thought frequently solicited to be a candidate
for office, he preferred to serve his party in
the ranks and his country as a loyal private
citizen. His interest in education, however,
led him to accept an election to the school
committee, in which capacity he served the
city of Chelsea for many years. During the
Civil War he was an energetic supporter of
the Government, making many sacrifices of
money, time and business interests to the
cause of the Union. Chelsea had no more
liberal contributor to the various funds
raised for the benefit of soldiers and sailors
in the service.
In 1890 he removed to Reading, and there
amid pleasant surroundings, in the company
of his life-long companion, and in his com
fortable home he spent happily the last ten
years of his life. There he frequently called

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"75

around him his children and grandchildren,
all of whom cherish precious memories of his
handsome, well-preserved face and figure, his
warm affection, his old-time courtesy ; in fact,
all those qualities which are the characteris
tics of the Christian gentleman. Unselfish
ness, honor and loyalty were the dominant
points of his character. He died, beloved by
all who knew him, March 7, 1900.
(VIII) Jennie Hood Bosson, born Febru
ary 26, 1850; married, May 25, 1870, Chelsea,
Massachusetts, Frederick William Hatch, born
Bath, Maine, April 14, 1845, son of Captain
William Boyd and Sarah (Hunter) Hatch.
He removed to Chelsea, Massachusetts, when
a young boy. For many years he was a mem
ber of the well-known shipping firm of
Kilham, Loud and Company, of Commercial
street, Boston, whose house-flag a quarter cen
tury ago floated over one hundred vessels
engaged in foreign and domestic commerce.
While a resident of Chelsea he served in both
branches of the city government. In 1880 he
purchased a summer residence in Reading,
Massachusetts, which a few years later, on
retiring from business, he made his permanent
residence. He was a member of the board of
selectmen of Reading several years, serving as
chairman in 1894 and 1895. He, with Mrs.
Hatch, travelled extensively in Europe. He
also served as a visitor for the Associated
Charities in Boston for several years. He
took an active interest in all that promoted
the material and moral prosperity of his
adopted town, and his many acts of charity
endeared him to the unfortunate. He was,
while a resident of Chelsea, a member of the
Review Club, and at the time of his death, a
member of the Twentieth Century Club of
Boston. He died in Boston, December 18,
1897. (VIII) Albert Davis Bosson was born in
Chelsea, November 8, 1853. He was educated
at the Chelsea high school, graduating 1869;
then at Phillips' Exeter Academy, where he
remained from the fall of 1869 to January,
1871 ; then deciding to enter Brown Univer
sity, he entered the University Grammar
School at Providence, where he finished his
preparation for college,, graduating from
Brown University in 1875, taking the degree
of Bachelor of Arts, and afterwards receiving
from the University in 1878 the degree of
Master of Arts. He studied law in the office
of Brooks, Ball & Story, and also at the Law
School of Boston University. He was admitted
to the bar February 18, 1878, and immediately

commenced the practice of law in Boston. In
1887 he married Alice Lavinia Campbell,
daughter of the Hon Charles A. and Lavinia
(Hutchinson) Campbell; two children: Camp
bell Bosson, born November 18, 1888, now a
student in Harvard University; and Pauline
Arlaud Bosson, born February 24, 1894.
In 1890 he was elected mayor of Chelsea,
and while mayor reorganized the finances and
various departments of the city. Having
accomplished the purposes which he had in
mind upon his election, he declined a re-nomi
nation. In 1882 he was appointed by Gov
ernor John D. Long special justice of the
Chelsea court, and in 1892 was appointed jus
tice of the court by Governor William E. Rus
sell, which office he now holds. Mr. Bosson
was the founder of the Provident Co-oper
ative Bank of Chelsea and of the County
Savings Bank, serving the latter as president
from the date of its incorporation, 1890, until
the present time. He was one of the organ
izers of the Winnisimmet National Bank, and
served it as director, vice-president and presi
dent. He is president of the Boston & Lock-
port Block Company, the Hood Rubber Com
pany, and various other manufacturing cor
porations. He is a member of the Univer
sity, - Saint Botolph, Harvard Travelers',
Twentieth Century, Chelsea Review, and other
clubs. In college he was a member of Alpha
Delta Phi. He was senior warden of St.
Luke's Church, Chelsea, for several years and
has been for many, years a member of the ves
try of the Church of the Ascension, Ipswich.
For purposes of business, health, or pleasure
he has made frequent trips to Europe, where
he has traveled somewhat extensively.
(VIII) Harry P. Bosson was born February
26, 1857. He was educated in the public
schools of Chelsea, graduating at the high
school. He married, April 26, 1883, Florence
Richmond, daughter of James E. F. Eustis;
his children were Eustis Bosson, a graduate of
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 1907, born
February 8, 1884, died December 29, 1907;
George Chapman Bosson (3d), born October
11, 1886; Genevieve Bosson, born August 14,
1890. He has been engaged in the insurance bus
iness during nearly the entire period of his
business life. He was the Massachusetts
agent for the New York Plate Glass Insurance
Co., and since 1900 has been associated with
the firm of Obrion & Russell, of Boston. Mr.
Bosson was the founder and since its organi
zation the secretary of the Reading Co-opera-

1 176

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

tive Bank. Pie has been active in the Baptist
Church, being a member of the First Baptist
Church of Reading, and has been particularly
active in Sunday school work, being superin
tendent of the Bible school in that church for
many years.
(VIII) Frederick Needham Bosson was
born December 15, 1861, and was educated at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
After graduation he took up the work of mill
and bridge construction, being the engineer in
charge of laying the bridges on the line of the
Massachusetts Central railroad. In 1888 he
became an electrical engineer, and soon after
entered in the service of the Calumet & Hecla
Mining Co., for which concern he has been
the electrical engineer to this date. He mar
ried, April 27, 1882, Caroline Augusta Good
rich, by whom he had one daughter, Amy
Goodrich Bosson. His first wife died January
29, 1904. He married second, September 29,
1906, Miss Bessie M. Chambers.
(VIII) George Chapman Bosson, Jr., was
born June 11, 1865. He was educated in the
public schools of Chelsea, and when still young
entered the employ of the Arlington Mills of
Lawrence, in which concern his father was a
director. He went through all the depart
ments in order to familiarize himself with the
business, afterwards spending some months in
England, gaining a knowledge of textile man
ufactories there. In 1887 he married Mary
Fisher, daughter of James Fisher of Law
rence, Massachusetts. In 1888 he became in
terested in the manufacture of leather board
and artificial leather, in which business he has
continued to the present time. He is a direc
tor in the International Leather Co., the Bos
son Manufacturing Co., of Middle Falls, New
York, of which he is also treasurer ; the Amer
ican Shoe Finding Co., Bosson Fibre Board
Co, and other manufacturing concerns.
An extant list of the military ancestors of
the children of Mr. and Mrs. George Chapman
Bosson gives twenty-five names. Of these
two were of the "Old Planters," two served
in the Royal navy ; two in Indian wars ; three
in King Philip's war; three in the French war;
eleven in the Continental army of the Ameri
can Revolution ; and one in the war of 18 12,
between the United States and Great Britain.

Hayes is the English form of
HAYES the Scotch surname Hay or
Hays. Nearly all if not all the
old New England families of the surname

Hayes are from three Scotch immigrants who
came to America about 1680. They were re
lated and it is known that two were, brothers.
From the circumstances and date of coming
it seems likely that the three were. George
Hayes, born in Scotland in 1655, is said to
have gone to Derbyshire, England, with an
uncle with whom he lived for a time. From
there he removed to London, and about 1680,
certainly before 1682, he settled at Windsor,
Connecticut. It is thought that the spelling
of his name was changed to Hayes during his
stay in England. Whether John Hayes, men
tioned below, was in England or not is un
known. He was Scotch, according to indis
putable records, and related to George Hayes;
the latter was ancestor of President Hayes.
The Hay family is one of the most numerous
and prominent in Scotland. The coat-of-arms
of the Hay family of Inchnook, Scotland, is :
"Argent, a mullet between three escutcheons
gules. Crest — A dexter arm embowed holding
an ox yoked proper."
In both the Windsor and Dover families the
tradition has been independently preserved
and is generally accepted concerning their
origin, given below. This story, however, be
longs to the Hay family, and therefore, pretty
conclusively establishes the fact that the Hayes
family of New England is part and parcel of
the Hay family of Scotland.
The story runs that in the reign of Kenneth
III of Scotland, the Danes, who had invaded
Scotland, having prevailed at the battle of
Luncart near Perth, were pursuing the flying
Scots from the field when a countryman and
his two sons appeared in the narrow pass
through which the vanquished were hurrying
and impeded for a moment their flight.
"What," said the rustic, "had you rather be
slaughtered by your foes than die ' honorably
on the field ; come, rally ! rally !" And he head
ed the fugitives, brandishing the yoke of his
plow and crying out that help was at hand.
The Danes, believing a fresh army was fall
ing on them, fled in confusion and the Scots
thus recovered the laurels which they had lost
and freed their country from servitude. The
battle being won, the old man, afterwards
known by the name of Hay, was brought to
the king, who, assembling a parliament at
Scone, gave to Hay and sons as joint reward
for their valor as much land on the river Tay
in the district Gowrie as a falcon from a man's ,
hand flew over until it settled — which being
six miles in length was- afterward called Errol.
The king being desirous to elevate Hay and

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 177

his sons from their humble rank in life assign
ed them a coat-of-arms : Argent three escut
cheons gules (to intimate that the father and
two sons had been the three fortunate shields
of Scotland). The stone on which the falcon
lit is still to be seen in the Carse of Gowrie
in a small village called Hawkstone. The tra
dition, unchanged for many centuries, embel
lished perhaps by time and romance at an
earlier date, has some foundation in fact. The
lowly family of Hay certainly has borne for
eight hundred years or more not only the
escutcheons gules, but a broken yoke as part
of their crest, two Danes in armor as their
supporters (one of them with a plowstaff or
plow paddle, as the Scotch call it). Motto:
"Renovate Animos." There are other ver
sions of the story, but all agree to the effect
that the name Hay, Hays or Hayes came from
this incident. The family was settled before
A. D. 1300 in Perthshire, Fifeshire, Peeble-
shire, Banffshire, Wigtonshire, and has the
titles: Marquis of Tweeddale, Earl of Errol,
Earl of Gifford, Earl of Kinnoul, Earl of Kil
marnock in Scotland and Earl of Carlisle in
England; also Viscount of Dupplin, Viscount
of.Walden and Lordships of Hay and Kin-
fauns. (I) John Hayes, the immigrant ancestor,
came from Scotland about 1680 and settled at
Dover, New Hampshire, at what is known as
the "Corner." His brother Ichabod, who came
with him, settled "South"' and was progenitor
of the Connecticut family. ( See Genealogical
Register XXXVII, page 287). John had a
grant of land at Tole End and Barbadoes in
Dover, May 19, 1693-94. He bought consid
erable land from time to time and became a
citizen of some prominence. He is buried
in Pilgrim lot, Pine hill, Dover, beside his son,
Deacon John Hayes. He married, June 28,
1686, Mary Home. According to tradition she
was but thirteen years old at the time of her
marriage. Children, born at Dover: 1. Dea-
on John, Jr., born 1686-87, mentioned below.
2. Peter, resided at Tole End, married Sarah
Wingate, daughter of John; died 1762; only
child married Dr. Ezra Green. 3. Robert.
4. Ichabod, born March 13, 1691-92, resided at
Littleworth, New Hampshire ; killed at 'the
mill logging June 1, 1734. 5- Samuel, born
March 16, 1694-95, resided on Back river ; mar-
' ried Leah Dam, daughter of William and
Martha (Pomfret) Dam, November 23, 1720.
6. William, born September 6, 1698. 7. Ben
jamin,' born September, 1700. 8. Daughter,
married  ¦ — Ambrose, of Salisbury, Mass-

ahusetts. 9. Daughter, married  Phipps
of Salisbury. 10. Daughter, married 
Ambrose, of Chester, New Hampshire.
(II) Deacon John Hayes, son of John
Hays (1), was born in 1686-87, died June 3,
1759, and is buried in Pine Hill cemetery,
where his gravestone may be seen. He was
deacon of the First Crnirch, Dover, ana resid
ed at Tole End, a farming locality a few miles
up the Cocheco river from the falls. At his
funeral a gold ring was given to the minister
of the parish, Mr. Cushing. On this ring was
engraved the date of the deacon's death, 1759,
and his age, seventy-three years. The ring
is now or was lately in possession of Deacon
John Hayes, the great-grandson of the donor.
He married Tamson (Wentworth) Chesley,
widow of James Chesley, who was killed by
the Indians September 17, 1707, son of Philip
Chesley. She was daughter of Ezekiel and
Elizabeth Wentworth, and granddaughter of
the immigrant, Elder William Wentworth.
She had a son by her first husband, James.
She died December 30, 1753, aged sixty-six,
and John married (second) Mary (Roberts)
Wingate, widow of Samuel Wingate. Chil
dren: 1. John, born October 19, 1711, resided
at Barrington; died unmarried May 7, 1776.
2. Paul, born September 16, 1713, resided at
Barrington ; died April 9, 1776. 3. Deacon
Thomas, born September 29, 1715, resided at
Tole End. 4. Deacon Elihu, born December
16, 1717, resided at Tole End; married Han
nah Twombley; died March 12, 1751. 5.
Hezekiah, born February 2, 1719-20, mention
ed below. 6. Elizabeth, born April 5, 1721,
married her cousin, Ichabod Hayes (3). 7.
Abram, born February 17, 1723-24, married
 Montgomery, of Strafford. 8. Robert,
born March 21, 1725-26, resided at Green Hill,
Barrington. 9. Wentworth, born' January 27,
1727-28, resided at Rock; married (first)
Mary Mann; (second) Susan (Burnham)
Roberts. 10. Samuel, born March 12, 1729-
30, resided at Green Hill, Barrington; died
April 22, 1776. 11. Jonathan, born April 17,
1732, married Mary Wingate, daughter of his
father's second wife; resided at Tole End on
the homestead; died April 15, 1787.
(Ill) Hezekiah Hayes, son of Deacon
John Hayes (2), was born February 2, 1719-
20, and died February 24, 1790. He resided at
Barrington, New Hampshire. He married
Margaret Cate. Children: 1. Mary. 2.
Hannah, married her cousin, Daniel Hayes
(5). 3. Margaret, living in 1784. 4. Eliza
beth, baptized April 30, 1745, married Moses

1 178

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Hayes (5). 5. William, baptized May 1,
1748, resided at Poland, Maine. 6. Elihu,
born August 18, 1757, mentioned below. 7.
Hezekiah, resided at Barrington; married his
cousin, Sophia Cate.
(IV) Elihu Hayes, son of Hezekiah Hayes
(3), was born at Barrington, New Hampshire,
August 18, 1757. He was a farmer and owned
much land there. He married, at Barrington,
Betsey (or Elizabeth) Davis, born March 2,
x753> at Madbury, New Hampshire, daughter
of Samuel Davis (2), born September 26,
1692 ; he had a grant of land in the north part
of Madbury which, on his death February 13,
1 77 1, was left to his daughter Betsey. Samuel
Davis (2) was son of James Davis (1), one of
the earliest settlers of Madbury, which was set
off' from Dover in 1755; he married, October
1, 1688, and lived near what is now the central
.part of the town. Children: 1. Jonathan,
born April 25, 1774, mentioned below. 2.
Sarah Ann, married Nicholas Pike. 3. Eliza
beth, married her cousin, Deacon Solomon
Hayes. 4. Reuben, married  and had
one' son, Reuben.
(V) Jonathan Hayes, son of Elihu Hayes
(4), was born April 25, 1774, and died in
Madbury, New Hampshire, March 27, 185 1.
He had a common school education, and
worked on the farm until he was twenty years
of age. He then removed to New Durham
with his bride, where they lived three years,
and. then removed to Madbury in 1797. Here
he took up land and became a farmer. He
raised grain, farm produce and cattle, sheep
and horses, and was a prosperous farmer for
that period.
He married, July 3, 1794, Mary Ham, born
at Barrington, April 11, 1773, and died at
Madbury, December 25, 1859. Children: 1.
Elizabeth, born December 19, 1794-95, died
October 4, 1843; married (first), February 1,
1816, Hezekiah Hayes, who died March 29,
1816; married (second), December 9, iWiy,
Paul Randall, and resided at Lee, New Hamp
shire. 2. Samuel Davis, born April 8, 1796,
mentioned below. 3. Margaret, born May 4,
1800, married, January 24, 1822, Jacob K.
Hayes, and resided on a farm in Barrington,
being the fourth generation to occupy the
place. 4. Mary, born July 4, 1802, married
George Caverno and resided at Strafford, New
Hampshire. 5. Sophia, born December 14,
1805, died, October 26, 1826. 6. Sarah Ann,
born April 29, 1808, married Oliver Cromwell
Demerritt and resided in Durham, New
Hampshire, and Lawrence, Massachusetts. 7.

Lydia, born January 17, 1811, died January
25, 1817. 8. Charles, born April 3, 1814, mar
ried Clara Augusta McDuffee (Stevens), and
resided in Madbury and Dover, New Hamp
shire. (VI) Samuel Davis Hayes, son of Jonathan
Hayes (5), was born at New Durham, New
Hampshire, April 8, 1796. At the age of two
he removed with his parents to Madbury,
which was his home the remainder of his life.
He received a common school education, sup
plemented by a few termsi at a private school.
In 1814 he went as a drummer with the Mad
bury company of state militia to the defence of
Portsmouth, and after three days was trans
ferred to the Strafford Ridge company as
drum major, to beat all the calls in the same
manner that the bugle is used now. He after
wards rose in the ranks until he had held all
the offices in the company. He was elected
seven times as selectman in Madbury and held
other town offices. Immediately after his
marriage he moved to a new and comfortable
home on the farm adjoining the old Hayes
homestead. The house was the successor of
the original log garrison of the Daniels family,
who had received the farm as a grant and
occupied it for three generations. Mr. Hayes
was a man of prominence in the community,
and enjoyed the esteem of his fellow towns
men to a remarkable degree. He and his wife
were of the Orthodox faith, and he was an
old time Democrat in politics.
He married, July 1, 1827, Comfort Chesley,
born October 8, 1806, died August 6, 1870,
daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Perkins)
Chesley, of Madbury. Her father was a farm
er. Children: 1. Ann Sophia, born Novem
ber 4, 1829, died January 15, 1902; married,
John S. F. Ham, who died December 2, 1903 ;
resided at Dover, New Hampshire; no issue.
2. Samuel Chesley, born February 18, 1834,
mentioned below. 3. Charles Woodman, born
September 11, 1836, married, November 8,
1866, Ellen Maria Weeks, born April 29, 1843,
daughter of William and Maria (Black)
Weeks, graduate of the Chandler Scientific
School of Dartmouth College in 1858; teach
er ; on school committee of Madbury in 1866-
68-71-72 ; leader in the choir of Congrega
tional church; superintendent of the Sunday
school ; surveyor and engineer ; children : i.
Nellie Maria, born May 4, 1870, married, Oc
tober 30, 1895, George E. Crosby; ii. Anna
Lillian, born October 11, 1873, married
Charles Sumner Fuller; iii. Cora Enniette,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"79

born December- 25, 1877, died April 27, 1879;
iv. Clara Comfort, born July 12, 1886.
(VII) Samuel Chesley Hayes, son of Sam
uel Davis Hayes (6), was born at Madbury,
New Hampshire, February 18, 1834, and died
June 20, 1904. He attended the district school
in Madbury and also two spring terms at Wal
nut Grove school at Lee, New Hampshire,
three terms at the People's Gymnasium and
Military school at Pembroke, New Hampshire,
and later one term at the academy at South
Berwick, Maine. He then taught two terms at
Rochester, New Hampshire, during the win
ters of 1853-54 and 1854-55. About January
1, 1855, he entered into partnership with his
brother-in-law, John S. F. Ham, in the gro
cery business, which was dissolved in the fall
of ' that year, and he engaged in dealing in
apples and potatoes for the Boston market.
Early in 1856 he took a course in Comer's
Commercial College, in Boston, and in April
of that year went west with B. Frank Rockley,
of Dover, New Hampshire, to Dank Rapids,
Minnesota. While there he formed a partner
ship with Hezekiah C. Nute, of Madbury, and
George D. Watson, of Rochester, New Hamp
shire, and Charles A. Gilman, to locate, sur
vey and establish the town "Peep-o-day,"
twelve miles from Dank Rapids. The next
year they spent building a road, log house, and
mill privilege, and clearing six hundred and
forty acres of land. In the hard times of 1857
the others became discouraged and he bought
•their interests. In 1858 he was clerk in a gro
cery store at Dank Rapids, and in the summer
of 1859 returned to Madbury, the owner of
more than one thousand acres of Minnesota
land. In the fall of 1859 he entered the em
ploy of D. Lathrop & Co., druggists, and
learned the business. In 1862 he removed to
Ottawa, Canada, and took charge of Booth's
saw mill, remaining three years. In the spring
of 1865 he returned to Madbury once more
and carried on the farm until he went to Bos
ton in 1867. In Boston he entered into part
nership' with his father-in-law, Alfred Hoitt,
and his brothers-in-law, George S. and Wash
ington ( Hoitt, in the hay and grain business,
under the firm name of A. Hoitt & Sons, at
108 Canal street. After the death of the sen
ior Hoitt Mr. Hayes went into partnership
with Washington Hoitt, under the firm name
of S. C. Hayes & Co., dealers in hay and
straw. In a few years Mr. Hoitt retired from
the firm and Mr. Hayes continued the business
until compelled by failing health to retire,
giving the management of the business intp

the hands of his son Alfred. He was a regu
lar attendant at the Congregational church, '
and in politics was an independent Democrat. .
He was a member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, of the Royal Arcanum, and
of the Knights of Honor. He also belonged
to the Chamber of Commerce. Being a man
of social tendencies, he was a welcome addi
tion to any company, especially for his gift of
story telling, and he had a host of friends.
He was of powerful physique, weighing about
two hundred and thirty pounds, and was six
feet, one inch tall.
He married, November, i860, Elizabeth
Susan Hoitt, born March 1, 1835, died Jan
uary 11, 1906, daughter of General Alfred and
Susan (DeMerritt) Hoitt, of Durham, New
Hampshire. Children: 1. Harry Edgar, born
December 12, 1865, mentioned below. 2.
Alfred Samuel, born May 14, 1869, mentioned
below. (VIII) Harry Edgar Hayes, son of Sam
uel Chesley Hayes (7), was born in Madbury,
New Hampshire, December 12, 1865. When
two years of age he removed with his parents
to Boston, where he received ,his education in
the Phillips grammar school, and the Boston
Latin school, graduating in 1884. He then
entered Harvard College, graduating with the
degree of A. B. in 1888. In 1890 he graduated
from the Massachusetts Institute, of Technol
ogy with the degree of B. S. In the mean
time he was assistant for two years in the
scientific department of Harvard, and he was
assistant in the mechanical engineering de
partment in 1890-91. He took a post-graduate
course in electrical engineering from 1888 to
1890. After 1 89 1 he was employed by the
American Telegraph & Telephone Company,
of New York City, where he remained until
September 1, 1907. He was engaged with
superintending the inspection of material used
in outside construction and engineering work,
having a range of territory as far west as St.
Louis and south to Florida. For five years he
was in charge of the lines and overhead con
struction. He attends the Unitarian church.
He is a member of Columbia Lodge of Free
Masons at Boston; of St. Paul's Chapter of
Royal Arch Masons; of DeMolay Command
ery of Knights Templar; of Massachusetts
Consistory, Scottish Rite Masons; of Aleppo
Temple, Mystic Shrine. He is a member of
the American, Institute of Electrical Engineers
of New York; of the New Hampshire Club.
In politics he is an independent Democrat.
He married, October 16, 1901, Emma Susan

n8o

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Tilton, born at East Kingston, New Hamp-
* shire, March 14, 1874, daughter of Levi Ben
son and Sarah Frances (Tilton) Tilton, of
Exeter, New Hampshire. Her father was a
meat merchant. They have one child, Alfred
Henry, born September 14, 1906.
(VIII) Alfred Samuel Hayes, son of Sam
uel Chesley Hayes (7), was horn at Boston,
Massachusetts, May 14, 1869. He attended the
Phillips grammar school and the Boston Latin
school, graduating in 1887. He graduated
from Harvard University in 1891 with a de
gree of A. B. and in the fall o'f that year went
to Europe for travel. During his trip he
attended lectures in economics and philosophy
for four months in Goettingen University, and
then went to Paris and took lectures, a six
weeks' course, at the Sorbonne, in the same
branches of learning. Upon returning home
he, entered the Harvard Law School and grad
uated in 1894 with an LL. B. degree. In the
January before graduating he was admitted to ¦
the bar, and began practice at 61 Court street
with Judge Joseph Bennett. After but three
months he opened an office at 23 Court street,
where he practiced until September, 1896,
when he came to his present quarters in the
Tremonf building, room 937. Mr. Hayes does
a general business in corporation and business
practice, and is counsel for many corpora
tions. He is also a director in a number of
companies. January 12, 1903, he purchased
the old Eames place at Hopkinton, Massachu
setts, where he has since resided. He carries
on the farm of one hundred and sixty acres,
cultivating forty acres, and keeping from sev
enteen to forty head of cattle. He employs
five men on the farm.
He attends the Congregational church at
Hopkinton. He is a member of St. John's
Lodge of Free Masons of Boston, was exalted
in St. Andrew's Chapter of Royal Arch Masons
at Boston, was knighted in De Molay Com
mandery of Knights Templar at Boston, and
is a member of the Mystic Shrine, Aleppo
Temple. He is a member of the Boston Art
Club, the Boston Athletic Association, the old
Boston Dining Club, of which he is president,
the Boston City Club, the Armory Athletic
Association, the Democratic Club, the Boston
Bar Association. He has been admitted to
practice in the United States supreme court
and the Massachusetts supreme court. He is
a Democrat, and was elected to represent his
district in the general court in 1898 and served
on the committee on Metropolitan affairs. He
was a state delegate to the International Ex

position at Omaha, and was one of the speak
ers for Massachusetts there. Mr. Hayes is
the fortunate possessor of a fine tenor voice,
and sang in the Harvard chapel in Cambridge,
at St. Paul's Episcopal church at Boston and
at the Shepard Memorial Church at Cam
bridge. He married, June 8, 1899, Sara May Bart
iett, born June 25, 1873, daughter of 
Bartiett, of Rockland, Maine. They have one
child, Robert, born June 2, 1907.

George Fowle, of Concord and
FOWLE Charlestown, Massachusetts, died
at Charlestown, September 19,
1682, aged seventy-two years,' gravestone. His
wife Mary, maiden name unknown, died at
Charlestown, February 15, 1676, aged sixty-
three years, gravestone. George Fowle was a
tanner, freeman, March 14, 1638-39, surveyor
of arms. His will dated March 11, 1681-82,
was probated October 3, 1682. Children: , 1.
Hannah, married, 10 (11) 1645, Samuel Rug-
gles, of Roxbury, and died October 24, 1669.
2. John, married, 25 (11) 1658-59, Anna Car
ter, of Charlestown. 3. Mary, born at Con
cord, 24 (9) 1640, died young. 4. Peter, born
at Concord, 2 (10) 1641, married Mary Car
ter. 5. James, born at Concord, 12 (1) 1642,
see forward. 6. Mary, born at Concord, 9
(12) 1644, died at Charlestown, July 4, 1667.
7. Abraham, married, July 14, 1679, Hannah
Harris. 8. Zechariah, married, 24 (10) 1675,
Mary Paine. 9. Isaac, married, November 30,
1671, Beriah Bright, of Watertown. 10. Jacob,
died 1678, of Boston. 11. Elizabeth, born at
Charlestown, January 27, 1655-56, died March
10, 1656-57.
(II) Lieutenant James Fowle, son of
George Fowle (1), born at Concord, 12 (1)
1642, died at Woburn, December 17, 1690,
aged forty-nine years, gravestone; married
Abigail Carter, born April 21, 1648, daughter
of Captain John and Elizabeth Carter, of Wo
burn. She married (second), April 18, 1692,
Ensign Samuel Walker, of Woburn, and mar
ried (third) Deacon Samuel Stone, of Cam
bridge Farms (now Lexington), and died his
widow, at Woburn, May 11, 1718, aged sev
enty-one years, gravestone. Lieutenant Fowle
is the ancestor of the well known Fowle fam
ily of Woburn. His brother Peter, who mar
ried a sister of his wife, died here December
11, 1 72 1, but his descendants of the Fowle
name' settled elsewhere. James Fowle had
eight children, from whom a large number

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1181

have descended, who have borne a prominent
and distinguished part in the affairs of Wo
burn. Some time between 1686 and 1689 he
was appointed an ensign by Governor Andros,
and later elected a lieutenant of the local
military company. In the documents of the
time it is stated that he was previously a
trooper. As Andros was unpopular with the
majority of the colonists, Mr. Fowle's appoint
ment as ensign and his election as lieutenant
met with strenuous opposition, and was the
subject of several lengthy documents. How
ever, he was patriotic and enlisted in the
Phipps Expedition to Quebec in 1690. This
expedition was unsuccessful owing to the ex
cessive cold weather and the incompetence of
its commanders, and many of the men com
posing it took colds which ended the lives of
a large number. Mr. Fowle lived to get home
and died December 17, 1690, as a result of it
is confidently supposed the prevailing dis
temper. He appeared first in Woburn in 1666,
and had a right in the common lands of the
town in 1668. In 1678 he was allowed to take
in "a little piece of land behind the Bell Hill,"
an elevation adjoining his residence known by
various names from the first settlement — such
as Mount Seir, etc. ; known to-day by the name
of Powder House Hill. He was a cordwainer
or shoemaker by trade. In' his will dated July
30, 1690, probated May 6, 1691, he says "being
by a call of God bound for Canada in the Ex
pedition against the French Enemy, and not
knowning whether I shall ever return home
alive" names wife Abigail, sons James, John,
Samuel and Jacob; mentions daughters, but
does not call them by name; names his son-in-
law Jonathan Wyman, and his pastor, Rev.
Jazez Fox.
Children: 1. James, born March 4, 1667,
see forward. 2. Abigail, born October 15,
1669, married, July 31, 1689, Jonathan
Wyman, of Woburn. 3. John, born March
12, 1671, married, July 1, 1696, Elizabeth
Prescott, of Concord. 4. Samuel, born Sep
tember 17, 1764, married Susanna Blaney. 5.
Jacob, born April 3, 1677, married, November
3, 1701, Mary Broughton. 6. Elizabeth, born
September 28, 1681, married (first), March
2, 1699, Timothy Walker, of Woburn, and
(second) Lieutenant Stephen Hall, of Med
ford. 7. Hannah, born January 23, 1683-84,
married, December 25, 1705, Samuel Trum
bull, of Charlestown. 8. Mary, born July 18,
1687. (Ill) Captain James Fowle, son of Lieu
tenant James Fowle (2), born at Woburn,

March 4, 1667, died there, March 19, 1714,
aged forty-seven years and fourteen days,
gravestone; married, October 2, 1688, Mary
Richardson, born March 22, 1668-69, daugh
ter of Joseph and Hannah (Green) Richard
son, of Woburn; she married (second), Dea
con Samuel Walker, and died his widow at
Charlestown, October 23, 1748, aged eighty
years, gravestone. His homestead was on the
site of the present Central House, Main street,
Woburn, and he held the office of sergeant in
the Woburn militia company from 1693 to
1701, and that of captain from 1712 to 1714.
He was called captain in the epitaph on his
gravestone now standing in the old yard back
of the estate on which he lived. Like other
Fowles of his time he had a large landed
property. His estate evidently derived from
his father, Lieutenant James Fowle, descended
to his soft, Major John Fowle, in greater part.
He was a selectman of Woburn, in 1693-94-
1700-01 (1702 declined) 1703-05-07-14. He
was town clerk 1701-14. Children: 1. Mary,
born June 18, 1689, married, June 17, 1714,
James Simonds. 2. James, born July 20,,i69i,
died October 11, 1706, gravestone at Cam
bridge. 3. Abigail, born August 22, 1693,
married Jonathan Thompson, of Medford. 4.
John, born November 11, 1695, see forward.
5. Hannah, born September 13, 1697, married
Samuel Walker, of Wilmington. 6. Elizabeth,
born August 9, 1699, married,. December 28,
1721, Benjamin Newhall, of Lynn. 7. Ruth,
born April 16, 1701, died March 3, 1713. 8.
Sarah, born July 29, 1703, married, September
14, 1728, James Richardson, of Woburn. 9. (
Samuel, born June 10, 1705, married, Sep
tember 5, 1727, Susanna Reed. 10. Esther,
born May 29, 1707, married, November 2,
1726, Nathan Simonds, of Woburn.- 11. Mar
tha, born March 12, 1709, married, August 11,
1737, Rev. Supply Clapp, of Woburn. 12.
Catherine, born September 29, 171 1, married,
March 4, 1729-30, Irish Whittemore.
(IV) Major John Fowle, son of Captain
James Fowle (3), born at Woburn, November
11, 1695, died there, September 28, 1775.
Married, December 25, 1718, Mary Converse,
born January 12, 1702, daughter of Captain
Josiah and Ruth (Marshall) Converse, of
Woburn. The house Major John Fowle built
about 1730 is now standing in Woburn in the
angle between Main, Salem and Broad streets,
and occupied as a store. It is a large gambrel-
roof structure of two stories and was occupied
for a long time in its later history as a tavern.
Major John Fowle, who is supposed to be

Il82

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

its builder, derived the land on which it stands
from his father, Captain James Fowle, who
inherited, it from his father, the first James
Fowle. Major John Fowle appears to have
made a fortune in the sale of the Province
Lands granted to the soldiers and their de
scendants in the different wars. The method
of speculation was for single individuals to
buy up these shares of the legal heirs to the
lands and sell that at a profit. The success of
the different towns where these new allot
ments were laid out was also the greater suc
cess of the speculator. This Major John Fowle
was one of the early owners of Petersborough,
New Hampshire, and probably of other places.
He was captain of one of the local militia
companies, per Woburn tax lists 1738-48, and
major, 1749-75, per the same authority. In
1758 he was captain of the East Company of
the militia in Woburn, per a bayonet roll of
that date. He was in service as a major in
Colonel Tyng's regiment from September 9,
1755, to January 3, 1756; this was the period
of the French and Indian war. He was a
selectman of Woburn in 1741. Children: 1.
James, born June 13, 1720, married, Novem
ber 28, 1744, Mary Reed, of Woburn. 2.
John, born February 1, 1726-27, married, De
cember 28, 1759, Mrs. Bridget Burbeen. 3.
Josiah, see forward. 4. Mary, born May 12,
1734, married, April 24, 1760, Joshua Wyman,
Junior, of Woburn. 5. Leonard, born Janu
ary 8, I737-38.
(V) Josiah E°wle> son °I Major John
Fowle (4), born at Woburn, July 14, 1731,
died there, February 28, 1805, aged seventy-
four years, gravestone. Married, (intention
dated 1752) November 25, Margery Carter,
born August 3, 1730, died July 1, 1812, aged
eighty-two years, gravestone, daughter of Cap
tain Samuel and Margery (Dickson) Carter,
of Woburn. He was present at Lexington
battle on April 19, 1775, as a member of Cap
tain Jonathan Fox's company from Woburn,
and remained in the service for thirty days at '
that time. Either he or his son Josiah enlisted
April 29, 1775, as private in Captain Jonas
Richardson's company, Colonel James Frye's
regiment, which was present at the battle of
Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. He resided on
the estate afterwards occupied by his son,
William Fowle, now belonging to James Skin
ner, Esq., on Montvale avenue, Woburn. He
was a man of large property, principally in
real estate.
Children: 1. Josiah, born March 20, 1754,
married, April 13, 1780, Abigail Belknap, of

Woburn. 2. John, born November 10, 1756,
married, October 18, 1780, Lois Richardson,
of Woburn. 3. Mary, born October 9, 1761,
married (first), May 9, 1781, Luke Richard
son, of Woburn, who died September, 1783,
and married (second), May 12, 1785, Dr. Syl
vanus Plympton, of Woburn, and died Novem
ber 1, 1835. 4. William, see forward. 5.
Margery, born October 6, 1767, married, May
26, 1791, as his second wife, Colonel Loammi
Baldwin, of Woburn. She was a cousin of
her husband's first wife Mary Fowle, who was
a, daughter of James Fowle, a brother of her
father, by his wife, Mary Reed.
(VI) William Fowle, son of Josiah Fowle
(5), born at Woburn, April 25, 1763, died
there, July 27, 1850, aged eighty-seven years.
Married, November 7, 1782, Sarah Richard
son, born January 29, 1767, died December 30,
1847, aged eighty years and eleven months,
daughter of Deacon Jeduthun and Mary
(Wright) Richardson, of Woburn. He was a
farmer and occupied the estate of his father
on present Montvale avenue, Woburn. He
was one of the last of Woburn' s Revolutionary
soldiers, and enlisted for three months in 1780
in a company commanded by Captain William
Green, of Reading, for service at Rhode
Island. He removed with his family to Mar
blehead about 1790, where he remained for
several years and about 1798 returned to Wo
burn. Children: 1. William, born March 3, 1783,
married, April 6, 1814, Nancy or Ann Hilton,
of Dorchester. 2. Sarah, born November 22,
1784, married, September 17, 1806, Jonas
Hale, of Woburn. 3. Susan, born February 4,
1787, died December 17, 1788. 4. Susan, born
January 2, 1789, unmarried, died ' November
18, 1850. 5. Josiah, born January 4, 1791,
married at Scarborough, North Carolina,
Mary Carr. 6. Mary, born April 21, 1793,
married, February 21, 1815, Benjamin Fowle,
of Woburn. 7. Fanny, born March 10, 1795,
married, October 27, 1814, Ezra Wyman Reed,
of Woburn. 8. Samuel R., born February 10,
1797, married (first) at North Carolina, 1822,
Martha Marsh, married (second), November,
1847, Ann Marsh, a sister of his first wife. 9.
James, born April 19, 1799, died June 1,
1818. 10. Luther, born March 17, 1801, died
June 16, 1822. 11. Luke, see forward. 12.
Jonathan, born December 21, 1804, married,
December 9, 1828, Louisa Locke, of Woburn.
13. Edward, born May 30, 1807, married
(first), September 16, 1828, Mary Locke,
married (second), March, 1835, Deborah

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 183

Parker, married (third), May 24, 1858, Han
nah Cannon, married (fourth), March 8,
1865, Nancy- Harwood, of Mt. Vernon, New
Hampshire. 14. Abigail, born March 28, 1809,
married Caleb Mclntire, of Reading.
(VII) Luke Fowle, son of William Fowle
(6), born at Woburn, December 15, 1802,
died December 19, 1872. Married (first),
May 16, 1826, Rhoda Clark, born May 18,
1800, died April 22, 1839, aged thirty-nine
years, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Rogers)
Clark, of Tewksbury; married (second), Au
gust 2.1, 1845, Eliza Richardson, born July 17,
1808, died October 8, 1893, daughter of Dea
con Calvin and Sarah (Steele) Richardson, of
Woburn. He was a schoolmaster in early
life and taught in Woburn and neighboring
towns. Afterwards he began farming with
his father. At the death of his father he
inherited the farm of one hundred acres sit
uated on the east side of Woburn which ex
tended from Montvale avenue to beyond
Fowle street. He was an honest hardworking
man and of strong temperance principles. He
was an attendant' of the First Congregational
Church of Woburn and served on the parish
committee. He belonged to the Masonic fra
ternity, being a member of Freedom Lodge.
Children by his first wife: 1. William
Clark, born April 8, 1827, died August 23,
1827. 2. Rhoda Clark, born February 15,
1829, died August 1, 1904; married, Septem
ber 24, 1848, Horatio Symmes, Junior, resided
at Winchester, children: i. Alice Maria
(Symmes), born January 28, 1850, died April
17, 1903 ; married- Howard Malcolm Stover, of
Cape Neddick, Maine, and had : William Mat
thew (Stover), born August 3, 1872; Flor*
Alice (Stover), December 11, 1878; Charles
(Stover), November 6, 1884. ii. Carrie Bald
win (Symmes), born April 2, 1852, married,
April 8, 1890, Myron Robinson Abell, of Leb
anon, Connecticut, iii. Helen Clark (Symmes),
born January 31, i860, died May 6, 1905. 3.
Sarah Richardson, born March 20, 1831, died
April 9, 1888; married, March 21, 1850, Leon
ard Houghton Allen, of Woburn, children : i.
Ella Frances (Allen), born March 3, 1851,
married, August 21, 1872, Joseph R. Green,
and have : Susan Allen Green, born February
26, 1880. ii. Frank Houghton (Allen), born
July 17, 1852, married, May 10, 1883, Harriet
Bickford, of Woburn, and have Harold Bick-
ford (Allen), born May 20, 1884, of Flushing,
Long Island ; married Mable Anderson ; Lam
son, born June 2, 1855, married, October 15,
1884, Martha Ruth Wyman, of Woburn. 4.

Mary Rogers, born November 8, 1832, mar
ried, December 1, 1859, Lewis S. Rowe, of
Stoneham, and have: i. William (Rowe). 5.
Abigail Parker, .born December 5, 1833, died
September 24, 1834. 6. Martha Matilda, born
November 5, 1836, married, August 13, 1863,
Frank C. Eastman, of Chelsea. Children: i.
Albert Goodhue (Eastman), born July 1, 1866,
married, February 20, 1895, Carrie Augusta
Fowle, and have: Marjorie Fowle (East
man), born February 7, 1897; Frederick
Goodhue (Eastman), born March, 1902; ii.
Frederick Warren, born September 29,
1867, died February 3, 1888. 7. Luke War
ren, see forward. Children by his second
wife: 8. Eliza Maria, born July 9, 1846, mar
ried, September 12, 1871, Benjamin F. Bel
lows, of Woburn, and have : i. Mary Frances
(Bellows), born July 22, 1872, died Novem
ber 20, 1893. ii. Harriet Louisa (Bellows),
born April 30, 1874, married, July 19, 1896,
Joseph J. North, of Ozona, Texas, and have:
Mary Frances (North), born June 30, 1898;
Nora Elizabeth (North), born April 12, '1900,
died September 14, 1901 ; Joseph Warren
(North), born April 1, 1902; Gertrude Emma
(North), born February 16, 1906. iii. Warren
Dexter (Bellows), born July 5, 1878, died
May 22, 1879; iv. Albert Frederick (Bellows),
born September 6, 1880, married, January 7,
1904, Emma Josephine Boyd, and have : Jose
phine May (Bellows), born December 24,
1904; Benjamin Frederick (Bellows), born
November 28, 1906. 9. James Luther, born
December 29, 1847, married at Auburndale,
August 28, 1878, Carrie P. Farnsworth, of
Cesarea, Turkey, and have : i. Mary Caroline,
born April 23, 1881 ; ii. Charles Warren, April
9, 1882; iii. Theodore Wilson, January 1,
1885; iv. Luther Richardson, July 30, 1886;
v. Herbert William, June 16, 1888; vi. Eleanor
Frances, February 27, 1892; vii. Wilson Farns
worth, December 25, 1896. 10. Emma
Frances, born May 20, 1851.
(VIII) Luke Warren Fowle, son of Luke
Fowle (7), born at Woburn, January 25, 1838,
married, November 17, 1861, Emma Louise
Eastman, born at Derry, New Hampshire,
February 27, 1837, daughter of Timothy and
Abigail (Hall) Eastman. He was educated
in the common schools and at the Warren
Academy. At the age of nineteen he entered
the employment- of Chamberlain, Kimball &
Doe, Quincy market, Boston, as a clerk, where
he remained for three years. In June, i860,
he with D. Milton Cochran as a partner
entered the produce business under the firm

n84

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

name of Cochran, Fowle & Company, having
their store on South Market street, Boston.
In 1866 the partnership was dissolved and Mr.
Fowle with Mr. Salmon P. Hibbard formed
a new partnership under the firm name of
Fowle, Hibbard & Company, and carried on
the line of business at 9 and 11 Commercial
street, Boston. Here the concern had a large
trade and later they removed to 174-176 State
street. On June 1, 1871, John W. White was
admitted as a partner and on August 1, 1866,
Edwin J. Whitman was admitted. Mr. Hib
bard died December 18, 1900. The firm name
of Fowle, Hibbard & Company remained un
changed. This concern have an extensive
trade in New England, and are large buyers
of beans, from New York, Michigan and Cal
ifornia, butter from Vermont, New York and
the west, and eggs from the west.
Mr. Fowle is a member of the First Congre
gational Church of Woburn, has been on the
parish committee, and has been a member of
the Congregational Club of Boston. He is a
Republican in politics and has served his party
as delegate to state conventions. He is a mem
ber of the Chamber of Commerce and of the
Fruit and Produce Exchange, Boston, and is
a trustee of the Woburn Five Cents Savings
Bank, also a member of its board of invest
ment. He is a man of high principles and is a
firm believer in temperance. Mr. Fowle re
sides at 51 Fowle street, Woburn. / Children :
1. Angie Warren, born February 9, 1866. 2.
Frank Windsor, born October 3, 1870.

William Simonds, the immi-
SIMONDS grant ancestor of this family,
was born in England. He was
an early settler at Concord, Massachusetts,
where his wife Sarah died and was buried
April 3, 1641. He removed to the adjacent
town of Woburn, Massachusetts, about 1644,
and his posterity has been very numerous in
that town even to the present time. His farm
was in a section still known by the name of
Dry Brook, and he was taxed in Woburn on
real estate in 1645. He held various town
offices, and was a man of prominence there.
He was born in 161 1, according to his deposi
tion giving his age as forty-seven in December,
1658. He married second, January 18, 1643-
44, Judith Hayward, widow of James. She
was a fellow-passenger on the ship "Planter"
from London in 1635, with her first husband
and in the service of the same man. Her
maiden name was Phippen. She died Janu

ary 3, 1689-90. He died June '17, 1672, and
administration was granted to his widow
Judith and sons Caleb and William. The lat
ter died in 1672, and his estate was divided
among his ten brothers and sisters, and grand
children of widow Judith Simonds. Joseph,
Benjamin and James Simonds were minors at
the time. Children, born at Woburn: 1.
Sarah, born July 28, 1644. 2. Judith, born
December 9, 1647. 3. Mary, born December
9, 1647. 4. Caleb, born August 16, 1649
mentioned below. 5. William, born April 15
1651. 6. Joseph, born October 18, 1652. 7
Benjamin, born March 18, 1654. 8. Tabitha
born July 20, died August 20, 1655. 9
Joshua, born 1657, died July 16, 1657. 10.
James, born November 1, 1658; married, De
cember 29, 1685, Susanna Blodgett. 11.
Bethia, born May 9, 1659;. married, August
13, 1696, John Walker Sr. 12. Huldah, born
November 26, 1660; married Samuel Blodget.
(II) Caleb Simonds, son of William Sim
onds (1), was born August 16, 1649, died No
vember 4, 1702, at Woburn. He married,
September 25, 1677, Sarah- Bacon, who died
April 11, 1727. Children, born at Woburn:
1. Samuel, born June 30, 1678; mentioned be
low. 2. James, born January 15, 1683-84. 3.
Sarah, born November 11, died November
16, 1687.
(Ill) Samuel Simonds, son of Caleb
Simonds (2), was born in Woburn, June 30,
1678. He died at Lexington, June 2, 1764.
He married Hannah  , who died Octo
ber 11, 1 741. Children, born at Woburn: 1.
William, born November 23, 1700; mention
ed below. 2. Josiah, born March 21, 1703;
•married December 9, 1730, Elizabeth Con
verse. 3. Hannah, born August 2, 1704; died
September 23, 1725.
(IV) William Simonds, son of Samuel
Simonds (3), was born at Woburn, Novem
ber 23, 1700. He married Elizabeth  .
He settled in Lexington, where several
branches of this family lived. Children: I.
Child died at Lexington, November 23, 1723.
2. William, born January 15, 1724-25; men
tioned below. Perhaps others not recorded
in Lexington.
(V) William Simonds, son of William
Simonds (4), was born in Lexington, January
15, 1724-25, and baptized two days later.
With several other Woburn families he re
moved to Township No. 4, in New Hampshire
— Charlestown. Other Simonds families re
lated to him came afterward. Elijah and Jehazel
Simonds came before the Revolution. Wil-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 185

liam was in Charlestown before 1752, when
his first child was born there, and for about
five years was one of the most prominent of
the settlers in that town. In 1757 or soon
afterward he became one of the pioneer set
tlers of Rockingham, Vermont. A number of
the grantees of Rockingham were citizens of
Charlestown, but not more than three or four
of the fifty-nine to whom the township of
Rockingham was granted, December 26, 1752,
ever became actual residents of the town.
Most of them accepted the grants in a specu
lative spirit and sold their rights soon after
ward. Of the few who came, however, none
was more prominent in public affairs or more
influential among his townsmen than William
Simonds. He was in Rockingham soon after
1757, and certainly as early as 1761, for at the
first town meeting on the last Wednesday of
March, 1761, he was elected constable, hog-
reeve and highway surveyor for the ensuing
year. From that time until his death in 1817,
hardly a record of a town meeting appears
without mention of him as an officer of the
town. He was town clerk from 1769 to 1784.
He was a member of the committee ®f safety
and correspondence during the Revolution in
1776. He was commissioned captain in Colo
nel Bradley's regiment, as shown by an old
pay-roll printed on page 608 of the Vermont
Revolutionary Rolls, and was in active ser
vice in October, 1782. His company was
ordered to assist the sheriff at Guilford, Ver
mont, at that time. His son, Gardner Simonds,
was in this company. After the war he was
always known as Captain William Simonds.
The records of the governor and council
show that at various times he was a member
of the Cumberland county committee of
safety ; a committee to arm and organize min
ute men; a committee to appraise the grand
list; and he was appointed as arbitrator of
disputes for this committee: Captain Simonds
evidently became a wealthy man for his day,
as the town records show that he held title to
large tracts of land in the town. His home
stead, on which he lived at Rockingham, was
on the hill above the Jonas Aldrich place, a
• mile or more from Rockingham village, and
the cellar hole there still marks the site of his
home. There the town clerk's office was
located while he held the office and much of
the town business transacted.
The Bellows Falls Times of April 20, 1905,
contains a sketch of Captain Simonds by L.
S. Hayes, in which he says: "All tradition,
as well as town and other records, -indicates

Captain Simonds to have been of strong,
independent and sturdy character, honest and
aggressive in carrying out his ideas of what
was justice and right. As an instance of his
liberal and yet independent nature, the town
records show upon page 409 of volume 1,
in his own handwriting, the following cutting
denunciation of what he evidently considered
as an injustice to him in the action of the town
of Rockingham:
The Accompt Services Done for the Town by Wm. Simonds,
first, registered all the proceedings of the town for 22 years and
Sacreficed Considerable paper for which has brought No
Charge against the town. Charge for my service on County
Business at Westminster and Brattleboro :
31 days at 4s pr day 6 pounds 4s od.
In the year '62 paying out Road 4 days 12 0
In the year '70 paying out Roads two Days ,8 0
In the year '73 3 days 12 o
making Rates 5 Days 100
in the year 72 made Rates 1 Day
in the Year 82 Laying out roads 1 Day & half
Sent to Walpole to git the prop'rs Book one day
Recording Roads
Sum total

4 o
6 0
4 0
6 0
10 pounds 4-0

"the above accompt has bin adjusted by
the Committee and valued Good. I perposed
to the town that • they allow me one shilling
and sixpence as Expense money for all my ser
vices Done at Westminster and Brattleboro &
and to allow me my highway work this year
and that to cancel the whole, the same has bin
laid before the Town who has thrown the
whool of the above out — Never to be called in
Question again. * * * also I have with three
more bought the Ground where the meeting
house stands with the Burying Yeard thr
same was made a present to the Town by us
Namely William Simonds, Charles Richards,
Nath'll Davis and Mr. Divoll— all. to settle
peace and good harmony. Now consider Ye
and See whether justice Reigns or Not and
Speak Your minds. Your Faithful Servant
William Simonds."
"After the lapse of one hundred and twenty
years it would seem as if the captain was right,
and the action of the town narrow and un
just." In receiving title to his first land in the town
he is described as William Simonds, cooper,
but his occupation is usually given as yeo
man. It was stated at the time of his death
that he planted the first orchard in the town.
The homestead remained in the family for
several generations, and until a recent date
was owned by a descendant. Captain Simonds
and his wife Susannah were buried in the old
cemetery that he helped buy for the town. /

lit

MIDDLESEX. COUNTY.

The inscriptions on their gravestones read:
"Capt. Wm. Simonds Died June 2, 1817 In
the 94th year of his age." "I have fought a
good fight, I have finished my course. I have
kept the faith." His wife's epitaph: "In
memory of Mrs. Susannah Symonds (as the
name was formerly spelled often) Wife of
Capt. Wm. Simonds who died Dec. 12, 1812
in the 83rd year of his age." "As I am now
so you must be, from death's arrest no man is
free." The maiden name of Susanna is be
lieved to be Gardner. Children: 1. Susannah,
born at Charlestown, New Hampshire, July
31, 1752. 2. Gardner, born at Charlestown,
January 8, 1755 ; was a soldier in the Revo
lution, in his father's company, Colonel Brad
ley's regiment, in 1782; also in Captain Jona
than Holton's company, Colonel Ebenezer
Woods's regiment; settled in Elizabethtown,
New York, and became a skillful hunter and
shrewd trader with the Indians; he killed an
Indian at Pitts ford, Vermont, discovering
him prowling about with the purpose of kill
ing his friend, Abel Stevens, against whom the
Indian had a grudge; Gardner married, Feb
ruary 26, 1776, Nancy Titus at Rockingham.
3. Hannah, born at Charlestown, June 14,
1757. 4. Lynds, born November 16, 1772, at
Rockingham; mentioned below. 5. Mary,
baptized October 26, I783> at Rockingham.
(VI) Lynds Simonds, son of Captain Wil
liam Simonds (5), was born in Rockingham,
Vermont, November 16, 1772. He was named
for an old family of Woburn and Charlestown,
Massachusetts, descended from Thomas
Lynds, who came from Bedford, England, be
fore 1634, to Charlestown. Lynds Simonds
was a farmer at Rockingham all his active
life. He married, February 6, 1792, at Rock-
' ingham, Mary Albee, born February 7, 1774,
died April 12, 1847. Children, born at Rock
ingham: 1. Hannah, born April 1, 1793;
died January 25, 1796. 2. Lynds, born Jan
uary 30, 1795 ; died March 3, 1795. 3. Maria,
born June 25, 1796; married Jedediah Davis
and lived at Rockingham. 4. Betsey, born
July 15, 1798; died April 5, 1812. 5. Laura,
born December 11, 1800; married John
Roundy; her daughter, Mrs. Laura Gowing,
resides at North Charlestown, New Hamp
shire. 6. Jehial, born April 4, 1803 ; died No
vember 7, 1857 ; married, April 5, 1822, Betsey
Minard, born March 12, 1800; died April 7,
1858 ; children : i. Mary M., born January 6,
1824; married John Veazey; ii. Lynds W.,
born August 28, 1826, died April 8, 1889; iii.
Betsey H., born June 2, 1828, married John

Dorand; iv. Jehial, born April 12, 1831, living
at Ludlow, Vermont; v. Lucy, born April 20,
1836, never married; vi. Martha P., born Jan
uary 8, 1840, married, January 23, 1865, John
Barrett, lives at Ludlow, Vermont;' vii. John
V., born August 28, 1844. 7. Willard W.,
mentioned below.
(VII) Willard W. Simonds, son of Lynds
Simonds (6), was born in Rockingham, April
1, 1806, and died in 1856. He was a machin
ist there all his life. He married Mary George,
born 1808, who died in 1858. He was a natur-
at mechanic, became a skillful machinist, and
was employed in structural work such as ships,
buildings, bridges, etc., in which metal was
used. Children: 1. Katherine, born 1831,
died April, 1905 ; married George D. Phelps,
of Fitchburg, Massachusetts; children, born
in Northfield, Massachusetts: i. Willard
Phelps; ii. Charles Phelps. 2. Angeline, born
November 7, 1836; married, 1863, Abram A.
Perley; no children. 3. Frances, born March,
1838; 'married Henry F. Billings; children:
Fred Billings, Olie Billings. 4. Daniel, died,
aged ten years. 5. Josephine, born 1848, in
November, 1900, married Julius McCoy, died
1901 ; one child, died. 6. John, born June 14,
1854, died September, 1899; married Jean
McArthur ; children : i. Harry W. ; ii. John
G., married Ella Fails, has two children: i.
Jean, born February 22, 1897; ii. Larmond F.,
born November 23, 1902. 7. Mary Almerine,
died July, 1898; married Henry Stimpson, of
Montague, Massachusetts; son Perley, and
one died in infancy. 8. Laura, born April 11,
1854; never married; died June, 1903. 9.
Adaline E., born April 26, 1855 ; mentioned
below. 10. Lydia P., born October 3, 1858;
married G. A. Lewis; child: Charles, mar
ried Ellen Fisk, and had one child, Helen
Lewis. 11. Susan, born March 22, i860; mar
ried first Henry Long; second, David Long;
daughter, Susannah Long, born December 29,
1896. (VIII) Adaline E. Simonds, daughter of
Willard W. Simonds (7), was born in Wind
ham, Windham county, Vermont, April 26,
1855. She married, April 18, 1879, as his second
wife, Joseph P. Childs, who was born at
Northfield, Massachusetts, September 18,
1823, died November 5, 1890. Mr. Childs
married first, Araminta Rosinda Wright, and
had. one son, George H. Childs, who married
Beatrice Corey, and have no children. There
were no children by the second marriage, but
Mr. and Mrs. Childs have an adopted daugh
ter, Pauline, born October 1, 1893. Mrs.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 187

Childs resides at the homestead, 199 Wilder
street, Lowell, Massachusetts,

The Irvine, Irving, or Irwin
IRWIN family, of Scotland, Ireland,
and England, is descended from
William de Irwin, whom Robert Bruce made
armor bearer, and on whom he conferred a
grant of land comprising the forest of Drum.
His own device or arms, when Earl of Car-
rick, was the three holly leaves now found in
the coats-of-arms of all the Irwins, Irvines
and Irvings, of this family, his descendants.
From the Irvines of Drum, county Aberdeen,
we find the late chief' Alexander Irvine, the
Irvines of Lenturk, Hilltown, Kingcausie,
Fortrie, Murthill, Cutts, etc., all are descend
ants. Some branches of the family in Ireland
retain the old spelling, Irwin; others use the
more common Irvine. Sir Gerard Irvine was
created a baronet (29 Charles II) of Castle
Irvine, county Fermanagh. Burke says of the
Irwin family in Ireland: "The Irwins of
Tauragoe have maintained a position of great
respectability amongst the gentry of the coun
ty of Sligp since their settlement in Ireland,
but from which branch of the Scottish Irvines
or Irvings they descend has not been ascer
tained. The peculiar name of Crinus, borne
by members of the family, is traditionally de
rived from Krynin Abethnae, second husband
of the mother of Duncan, King of Scotland,
to whom and his descendants that monarch
granted the privilege of bearing the thistle as
a crest. John Irwin, who married a daughter
of Colonel Lewis Jones, of Ardna-glass, held a
commission in the parliamentary army, in
which his father-in-law also served, and
accompanying Cromwell to Ireland, settled at
Sligo. Alexander Irwin, son of John Irwin, lived
at Sligo ; married a sister of  Griffiths,
Esq., of Ballincar, and aunt of Colonel Grif
fiths, who was father of Anne, Countess of
Harrington, and of Lady Rich. Of their six
sons all died without issue except the eldest,
John, mentioned below.
Colonel John Irwin, son of Alexander, was
born in 1680, in Sligo ; died in 1752 ; married
first, Lady Mary Dilkes, widow, of county
Cork, and had no children. He married
second, Susanna Cadden, of an ancient Cavan
family and had children: 1. Lewis Francis,
mentioned below. 2. Letitia, married Captain
Thomas Webber, of the Fourth Horse, had a
son and daughter. 3. Margaret, married Rob

ert Browne, Esq., of Fortland, county Sligo.
Lewis Francis Irwin, son of Colonel John
Irwin, resided at Tauragoe, county Sligo, Ire
land, where he was born in 1728 and died in
1785. He married, in 1766, Elizabeth Harri
son, only sister of the late John Harrison,
Esq., of Norton Place, Lincolnshire, England.
She died in 1815, aged eighty-two. Children:
1. John, mentioned below. 2. Crinus, took
holy orders and became archdeacon of Assoy;
married in 1807, Amy, eldest daughter of Mr.
Justice Chamberlain, judge of the King's
Bench in Ireland; two sons, John Lewis and
Lewis Chamberlain. 3. Elizabeth, died in
1822; married Robert Jones, of Fortland. 4.
Mary, married Rev. Schuckhurgh Rupton, of
Templeton family. 5. Beatrice Susanna, mar
ried Benjamin Agar, Esq., of Brockfield, York
shire. John Irwin, son of Lewis Francis Irwin,
was born about 1770; succeeded his father at
Tauragoe, Calloony. He was colonel and
high sheriff in 1822.
Of the county Fermanagh family of Irvines
mentioned above, we find at present the repre
sentative is John Arthur Irwin, Esq., of Derry
Gore. He was high sheriff in 1887, and jus
tice of the peace. He was born January 1,
1854, son of Edwin Irwin, who' was high
sheriff in 1862, and justice of the peace ; mar
ried Hannah Baynes. The seat of this fam
ily has been and is Derrygore, Enniskillen,
county Fermanagh. The coat-of-arms: Ar
gent, a mural crown gules between three holly
leaves proper; upon the escutcheon is placed
a helmet befitting his degree, with a mantling
gules, doubled argent. Crest : Upon a wreath
of the colors a mailed arm fesseways holding
in the hand a thistle and a holly leaf, all pro
per, and charged on the arms with a crescent
gules. The motto : Nemo me impune lacessit
(No-one attacks me with impunity). Similar
coats-of-arms are borne by Thomas Angelo
Irwin, justice of the peace, county Cumber
land, England, born April 10, 1845; bY Sir
George Irwin, justice of the peace, York
shire, born in 1832. Practically the same arms
are borne by the Irvines of Bonshaw, Scot
land, a family of great antiquity which pos
sessed Bonshaw from the remotest period.^
The Irvines of Castle Fortagh, Scotland, and
in fact most of the families of this name,
bear arms with the holly, crest with the thistle,
somewhat varied but much alike and establish
ing kinship clearly enough.
(I) John Irwin, progenitor of the family
recorded below, was of the Fermanagh family

Hi

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

described above, and resided at Florence
Court, county Fermanagh, Ireland. He was
probably born about 1720-30.
(II) John Irwin, son of John Irwin (1),
was born at Florence Court, county Ferman
agh, Ireland, about 1760; was educated there
in the parish schools, and was brought up on
a farm. He became a prosperous farmer in
his native place, owning a sixty acre farm on
free land, raising sheep, cattle and horses,
large quantities of flax and all kinds of pro
duce, and employing many hands. He was
accounted a man of wealth at the time of his
death. He was a member of the Royal Order
of Orangemen in Florence . Court. He mar
ried first, Esther Bracken ; married second,
Margaret Brown. Children of John and
Esther Irwin: 1. John, mentioned below. 2.
Richard, barried Annie Carr. 3. Thomas,
died unmarried. 4. Jane, married John Bel-
ford. Children of John and Margaret Irwin :
5. James, married Mary Montgomery. 6. Ed
ward, married Margaret Graden. 7. Chris
topher, married Katherine Jones. 8. Sarah,
married Robert Manley. 9. Mary, married
Thomas Burley.
(Ill) John Irwin, son of John Irwin (2),
was born a^ Florence Court, county Ferman
agh, Ireland, in 1788. -He received his educa
tion in that parish, and was an apt student.
He worked during his youth on his father's
farm. After his marriage he leased a twenty-
five acre farm of the Lord of Enniskillen,
and lived upon it all the rest of his life. He
raised general farm produce and much flax,
horses, cattle and sheep. He was yeoman
and forester for Lord Enniskillen. His chil
dren, Margaret and Richard Irwin, after his
death, conducted the farm until they left for
America in 1865. John Irwin was of large
and powerful physique, jovial and amiable in
disposition, making many friends. He served
in the military company under Lord Ennis
killen. He died in 1856. He was a faithful
parishioner of the Church of England, and
member of the Royal Order of Orangemen.
He married Margaret Johnson, who died in
1865, daughter of William and Jane (Wilson)
Johnson. Her father was a farmer and weav
er. Children: 1. John, born April 1, 1830;
married, February 6, 1858, Mrs. Jane (Arm
strong) Price, of Arlington, Massachu
setts ; both deceased ; no children. 2. Ann
married William H. Wilson ; mentioned
below. 3. William, born at Enniskillen, Oc
tober 31, 1823; mentioned below. 4. Esther,
born June 6, 1830; married, September 13,

1855, Irving Johnson; mentioned below. 5.
James, married Mary Lunny. 6. Thomas,
died in, infancy. 7. Henry, died in infancy.
8. Jane, died at age of three. 9. Margaret,
born January 22, 1840; married, July '30, 1865,
George Drummond; mentioned below. 10.
Richard, born 1835; mentioned below. 11.
Thomas, born December 22, 1841 ; married
Mary Jane Clark; children: William and
Mary. (IV) William Irwin, son of John Irwin
(3), was born at Enniskillen, October 31,
1823. He was brought up on his father's
farm there, and educated in the parish schools.
He followed farming until about 1850, when
with his wife and part of the family he re
moved to this country, locating first at Hunt
ingdon, Province of Quebec, Canada, where
he began farming on the Barrett farm, remain
ing four years. Then he leased the John Gra
ham farm at Malone, New York, and con
ducted it for a number of years. About 1872
he removed to Dundee, Canada, and purchased
the Frazier farm of two hundred acres. He
is a successful farmer, raising corn, wheat and
having a large dairy. He has one of the finest
herds of cattle in the section. Like most of
the family he is of large physique, upright and
honest, and highly respected by all his neigh
bors for his many good qualities of mind and
heart. He is a member of the Protestant
Episcopal church. While in this country he
was a Republican in politics. He married,
August 7, 1845, Deborah Chambers, born in
Fermanagh county, Ireland, February 2, 1823,
daughter of Andrew and Ann (Hill) Cham
bers. Children: 1. David, born May 23,
1846; mentioned below. 2. John, born De
cember 29, 1849; married, September 4, 1871,
Esther Ray; mentioned below. 3. William,
born May 20, 1851; married, October 27,
1865, Jessie McLane, of Murray Harbor,
Prince Edward Island; children: i. George;
ii. Julia; iii. Elizabeth; iv. Deborah; v. Wil
liam ; vi. Daniel. 4. Richard, born December
J3> !853; mentioned below. 5. Andrew, born
May 6, 1856; married, October 28, 1890,
Sarah McCloud, of Bonshaw, Prince Edward
Island ; mentioned below. 6. James, born Oc
tober 11, 1858; married, April 1, 1885, Cath
erine -Nicholson ; mentioned below. 7. George,
born October 18, i860; unmarried. 8. Mary
Ann, born July 5, 1862, unmarried. 9. Mar
garet Jane, born October 11, 1863; married,
July 16, 1890, William Cranston, of Arling
ton, Massachusetts ; children : i. Elizabeth Bea
trice Cranston, born April 6, 1892 ; ii. Deborah

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 189

Annie Cranston, born March 16, 1894; iii.
Marion Jennett Cranston, born June 26, 1896;
iv. Ruth Helen Cranston, born September 24,
1898. 10. Eliza, born May 20, 1865 ; married
July 3, 1888, John Irwin; no children. 11.
Lucy, born May 29, 1869 ; married, December
31, 1891, John T. Arnold, of Dundee, Pro
vince of Quebec, Canada ; children : i. Arthur
Thompson Arnold, born April 24, 1893; ii-
Sarah Mildred Arnold, born June 25, 1894;
iii. Franklin Arnold, born December 14, 1901 ;
iv. George Arnold, born March 31, 1907.
(IV) Ann Irwin, daughter of John Irwin
(3), married William H. Wilson, of Arling
ton, Massachusetts. Children: 1. James
Alexander Wilson, born November 5, 1859,
married, March 24, 1885, Lillie F. Elliott, of
Montreal, Canada ; children : i. Annie Rebecca
Wilson, born December 29, 1885, married,
November 5, 1906, Frank B. Needham; ii.
William Elliott Wilson, born July 22, 1888,
died August 24, 1899 ; iii. Edna Gertrude Wil
son, born October 27, 1892, died April 2, 1895 ;
iv. George Skirmish, born November 30, 1896;
v. Norman, born November 2, 1898, died No
vember 18, 1899; yi- Walter Bolton, born
September 7, 1899; vii. Irving Wilson, horn
December 17, 1901 ; viii. Lilly F. Wilson, born
May 10, 1905. 2. Mary Jane Wilson, born
January 25, 1861 ; married September 9, 1891,
Joseph Dixon, of Arlington, Massachusetts;
children: i. Thomas Wilson Dixon, born No
vember 23, 1892; ii. Annie Dixon, born July
12, 1894; iii. Eliza Dixon, born April 4, 1896;
iv. William Henry Dixon, born September 6,
1897; v. Margaret Jane Dixon, born August
25, 1898; vi. Ralph Wardlaw Dixon, born Oc
tober 9, 1900.
(IV) Esther Irwin, daughter of John Irwin
(3), was born in Ireland, June 6, 1830; mar
ried, September 13, 1855, Irving Johnson, of
Fermanagh county, Ireland. Children: 1.
Sarah Jane Johnson, born June 19, 1856, died
September 11, 1857. 2. William James John
son, born March 23, 1858, died April 4, 1858.
3. Harriet Emily Johnson, born March 14,
1859; unmarried. 4. Joseph Henry Johnson,
born September 1, 1861 ; unmarried. 5. Fred
erick William Johnson, born August 25, 1863 ;
married Jennie Chambers, of Huntingdon,
Province of Quebec; child, Frederick Jr., born
January 5, 1893. 6. Annie Irwin Johnson,
born July 1, 1865; unmarried. 7. Everett
Hale Johnson, born January 16, 1868, died
June 29, 1869. 8. Jennie Esther, born Feb
ruary 3, 1870; married, April 12, 1893,
Nelson Hayden, of Ferrisburg, Vermont;
iii— 27

child, Irving Nelson Hayden, born January 7,
1897. J y />
(IV) Margaret Irwin, daughter of John
Irwin (3), was born January 22, 1840; mar
ried, July 30, 1865, George Drummond, of
Arlington, Massachusetts. He was killed by
accident May 2, 1877. Children: 1. Thomas
William Drummond, born October 10, 1866;
unmarried. 2. John James Drummond, born
August 5, 1868; married, October 8, 1905,
Emma White; no children. 3. Irwin Drum
mond, born October 11, 1870; died September
27, 1873. 4- Rebecca Jane Drummond, born
November 1, 1871 ; married first, February 18,
1889, Henry Campbell, of Somerville; chil
dren : i. Margaret Campbell, born March 20,
1892; ii. George Edward Campbell, born
March 6, 1894; Rebecca married second, Feb
ruary 18, 1907, Harry L. Taylor. 5. Mar
garet Drummond, born April 15, 1873; died
June 6, 1873. 6. Annie Drummond, born
June 15, 1875; died July 22, 1875.
(IV) Richard Irwin, son of John Irwin
(3), was born in Ireland, 1835, died December
9, 1885; married, May 5, 1864, Louisa Mor
rison; children: 1. William, born August,
1865, died November 6, 1866. 2. Jane Eliz
abeth, born December 4, 1867; married, March
4,1902, George A. Finley; children: i. Bea
trice Louise Finley, born July 30, 1902; ii.
George Irwin Finley, born June 28, 1905. 3.
Richard Henry, born August 5, 1869; died
June 12, 1889. 4. John Henry, born March 5,
1871; married, March 18, 1897, Margaret E.
Brenton ; children : i. Ada May, born January
31, 1898, died April 14, 1906; ii. Richard John,
born March 12, 1899; iii. Lizzie May, born
May 7, 1900; iv. Marion Ellen, born Febru
ary 23, 1903 ; v. Mildred Elizabeth, born June
4, 1904; vi. John Henry Jr., born August 9,
1906. 5. William Henry, born February 21,
1873; married July 20, 1900, Margaret May
Finlayson. 6. Annie Louise, born April 19,
1875 ; married, May 12, 1896, Thomas H. Ma-
gee, of Canning, Nova Scotia ; children : i.
Abbie Louise Magee, born October 12, 1897;
ii. William Henry Magee, born May 5, 1898;
iii. Jennie Elizabeth Magee, born February 10,
1900; iv. Dena Leopold Magee, born January
30, 1902; v. Thomas Henry Magee Jr., born
April 5, 1904; vi. John Henry Magee, born
October 3, 1905 ; vii. Dorothy. Lillian Magee,
born November 17, 1906.
(V) David Irwin, son of William Irwin
(4), was born at Enniskillen, county Ferman
agh, Ireland, May 23, 1846. His father and
mother came to America when he was but

1 190

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

seven years of age, and he was left to the care
of his grandparents and attended school in
his native place. When he was eleven years
old he came to America to join his parents at
Malone, New York. He lived on the farm
and worked for his father four years. He
left home when only about fifteen years old,
and secured employment on the Central Ver
mont railroad at White River Junction, Ver
mont, in the round house. After two years
in this position he removed to Arlington,
Massachusetts, just a few days after the town
was incorporated, and began work for Asa
Locke, farming and driving his market team
for a year; then for a year working for
Joseph Butterfield, Lake street. He left Arl
ington and took a position at New Britain,
Connecticut, in a lock factory, but returned to
work for Samuel Butterfield in Arlington.
He then worked for Samuel A. Fowle, pro
prietor of the Arlington mills, having charge of
the farm and gardens for' six years. While
in Mr. Fowle's employ he bought the place he
now occupies and built his house upon it. He
has about twenty-five acres of land located on
an elevated spot overlooking Cambridge and
Boston. He makes a business of market gar
dening, and he has a reputation for being ahead
of his competitors with early produce, making
a specialty of tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce,
dandelions, etc. He attends to the sale of his
produce in person, and is well known in the
Boston markets. Much of his early crops he
cultivates under sash. His home is on Brattle
Lane, Arlington. He is a man of high charac
ter and ability, of strict integrity, and large
influence 'in the community. He is a member
of the Protestant Episcopal church, and has
been a vestryman. In politics he is a Repub
lican. He married, March 15, 1869, at New
Britain, Connecticut, Mary Jane Irwin, who
was born April 6, 1847, at Lisblake, county
Fermanagh, Ireland, daughter of James and
Mary (Montgomery) Irwin, of Lisblake, Ire
land. Her father was a farmer. Children,
all born at Arlington: 1. Ann Jane, born
January 7,^1870, died March 28, 1879. 2.
Sarah Elizabeth, born March 4, 1872; unmar
ried. 3. Robena Mary, born September 28,
1874; married, August 13, 1895, William E.
Dodge, of Somerville ; children : i. Helen Ger
trude, born February 5, 1897 ; ii. David Irwin,
torn April 12, 1899; iii. Everett Watson, born
February 12, 1900. 4. Albert, born January 15,
1877, died January 15, 1877. 5. Margaret,
torn January 7, 1880; married, October 19,

1906, John Wilworth, of Dorchester, Massa
chusetts. 6. Harriet, born February 8, 1881 ;
unmarried. 7. Helen Annie, born September
21, 1883; married Ernest J. Walker, July 10,
1907. 8. James William, born January 26,
i886;» unmarried. 9. Florence Lucy, born
March 23, 1888.
(V) John Irwin, son of William Irwin (4),
was born December 29, 1849; married, Sep
tember 4, 1871, Esther Ray. Children: 1.
William, born October 8, 1872, drowned Aug
ust 29, 1880. 2. John David, born April 15,
1875 ; married, August 6, 1898, Mabel G.
Rowe, of Bedford, Massachusetts; children:
i. Violet; ii. Pearl; iii. Clifton. 3. Deborah,
born October 4, 1877; died August 6, 1878. 4.
Ada Harriet, born May 31, 1881 ; married,
December 31, 1897, James E. Newth, of Win
chester, Massachusetts; child, Willard Ray
Newth. (V) Richard Irwin, son of William Irwin
(4), was born in Enniskillen, Ireland, De
cember 13, 1853; died at Arlington, Massachu
setts, June 21, 1905. He removed with his
parents when an infant to Huntingdon, Pro
vince of Quebec, and later to Malone, New
York, where he received a common school
education. He worked on his father's farm
until he was seventeen years old, when he came
to Arlington, Massachusetts, and was employ
ed in market gardening for three years and
then returned to Malone to work for his
father. Later he came to Lexington, Massa
chusetts, and became foreman on the Batchel-
lor farm, having charge of the sales as well
as the gardens. He married in 1879, and
about that time bought a farm in Woburn,
but six months later sold it and removed to
Arlington and entered the employ of Samuel
Fowle, of the Arlington mills, and drove a
grain team for eleven years. Then he bought
his farm of WilHam Prentice, on Mount Ver
non street, built a house, and became a well-
to-do market gardener on his own account.
He had fourteen acres of land, and at the time
of his death owned also a double house at the
corner of Mystic and Brattle streets, and was
a stockholder in the Odd Fellows Block. He
was a quiet, industrious, honest man. He was
a member of the Protestant Episcopal church ;
a Republican in politics. He was a member of
Mount Sinai Lodge, No. 169, Odd Fellows, of
North Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He married at Woburn, Massachusetts,
March 22, 1879, Maria Hamilton, a native of
Fermanagh county, Ireland, the daughter of
George and Helen (Johnston) Hamilton.

'£#-?'&'-&

&,m^^

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1191

Children: 1. George William, born May 15,
1883, died November 11, 1887. 2. Warren
Richard, born June 2, 1891. 3. Johnson
Chambers, born January 31, 1893. 4. Fred
erick Thompson, born June 27, 1897.
(V) Andrew Irwin, son of William Irwin
(4), was born at Malone, New York, May 6,
1856. He received his education in the public
schools of that town, of Godmanchester, Pro
vince of Quebec, Canada, and at Dundee, Can
ada.- Early in life he began to work on his
father's farm. At the age of twenty he left
home to enter the employ of his uncle, Richard
Irwin, at Arlington. He returned to Malone,
New York, for a time, but soon came back .to
Arlington and entered the employ of William
Wilson, an uncle, and later of Samuel A.
Fowle, the proprietor of Fowle's mills,
where he worked four years. Pie was then
. ..: coachman for S. D. Hicks four years,
and then appointed on the Arlington police
force in 1889, a position he holds at the
present time. He is a capable aud efficient
officer, having the confidence of his townsmen,
and a flawless record. In 1883 Mr. Irwin built
his residence at 27 Central street, where he has
since resided. He is a member of the Protes
tant Episcopal church at Arlington. In poli
tics a Republican, he has served as constable
of the town several years. He is a member
of the Ancient Order of United Workmen,
and of Court Pride, Order of Foresters, Arl
ington. While living in Malone, New York,
he served as private in the New York National
Guard, Company B, Seventeenth Regiment.
He married, October 28, 1890, Sarah Mc-
Cloud, born July 17, i860, daughter of Donald
f |||f and Christine McCloud, of Bonshaw, Prince
Edward Island. Children: 1. Edward
Andrew, born February 6, 1892. 2. Philip
.... Arthur,, born July 25, 1894; died August 2,
1900. 3. Irene Ruth, born May 6, 1897. 4-
Oliver Wendell, born July 18, 1900.
(V) James Irwin, son of William Irwin
(4), was born October 11, 1858; married,
April 1, 1885, Catherine Nicholson. Children:
1. John William, born September 10, 1887;
died February 22, 1891. 2. Sarah, born
March 16, 1889; died February 18, 1891. 3.
Deborah, born December 2, 1891. 4- Chrisr
tine Ann, born February 5, 1893. ' 5. James
Jr., born Februarv 18, 1894. 6. Margaret,
born March 1, 1896. 7. Maud, born January
12, 1898. 8. Thompson, born April 14, 1900.
9. Annie, born December 2, 1903. 10. Cora
Otteline, born September 13, 1906.

While the surname Woolson
WILSON or Woolston appears to have
been a distinct name, in every
generation of the family given below some
members have spelled the name Wilson. For
convenience the spelling used by the present
generation will be used throughout this sketch.
(I) Thomas Woolson or Wilson came from
England or Scotland, and settled in New
Cambridge, Massachusetts, before 1656. He
may have been one of the numerous Scotch
prisoners of war sent over by Cromwell. In
1656 he sold land in New Cambridge to Jona
than Hyde. In 1672 he bought two hundred
and fifty acres of land in Weston, (Water-
town), of Richard Norcross, and June 8, 1672,
eighty-two acres of John Sherman, land that
Sherman bought of James Cutler, May 14,
1667 ; also thirty acres in the West Pine mead
ow of John Sherman. He also purchased, De
cember 5, 1693, of "Mother" Temperance
Hyde part of the farm originally granted to
Simon Stone. He conveyed all his large pro
perty to his son, Joseph Woolson, December 6,
1708, except a thirty-acre lot given to his son,
Thomas Woolson. He was a prominent citi
zen, well-to-do, and kept a tavern in Water-
towniand Weston from 1686 to 1708. He was
fined twenty shillings and eight shillings costs
December .15, 1685, and put in the stocks one
hour for selling drink without a license, but
evidently had no difficulty in getting licensed
the following year. The early settlers guarded
the sale of liquor rigiously, not on their own
account, but for fear of the Indians who be
came the best customers of the public houses.
Woolson died about 1713. He married, No
vember 20, 1660, Sarah Hyde, who died, his
widow, September 11, 1721, in Sudbury,
Massachusetts. Children: 1. Sarah, born
1661, married, September 30, 1680, Thomas
Bond. 2. Thomas, born February 28, 1666-67,
¦died July 21, 1723; married Elizabeth Chad-
wick. 3. Elizabeth, born April 30, 1668, mar
ried, in Sudbury, November 3, 1686, John
How. 4. Mary, born November 28, 1673,
married, May 19, 1700, Samuel Jones, who
died January 6, 171 7-18; widow married, Oc
tober 1, 1724, Francis Fulham, of Weston.
5. Joseph, born November 16, 1677, mention
ed below. 6. Nathaniel, of Sudbury, died
without issue; married, 1709, Elizabeth Reed.
(II) Joseph Wilson (Woolson), son of
Thomas Woolson (1), was born in Cam
bridge Farms, November 16, 1677. Married
Hannah  , who died April 30, 1721, at

1 192

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Weston. His will was dated November 27,
1751, and proved May 16, 1755. Children,
born at Weston : 1. Joseph, Jr., born Decem
ber 13, 1699, died November 3, 1766; married
(intentions dated March 19, 1726) Elizabeth
Upham, of Maiden; (second), November 3,
1 76 1, Grace Gregory. 2. Mary, born Sep
tember 13, 1791, married, October 30, 1725,
James Myrick. 3. Hannah, born August 8,
1704, married, December 31, 1724, Josiah
Brewer. 4. Thankful, born June 3, 1708,
married, June 8, 1733, Jonathan Stimson. 5.
Isaac, born February 17, 1710-11, mentioned
below. 6. Beulah, born March 1, 1713-14,
married, July 21, 1743, Nathaniel Walcott, of
Brookfield, Massachusetts.
(Ill) Isaac Wilson (Woolson), son of
Joseph Woolson (2), was born in Weston,
February 17, 1710-11. Married (published
March 18, 1738-39), Sybil Roper, daughter of
Ephraim Roper, of Sudbury, Massachusetts.
Isaac died at the early age of thirty-three,
August 13, 1743. His widow married Thad-
deus Bowman, of Lexington, and the step
father became guardian of the two children of
Isaac and Sybil Wilson: 1. Ephraim, born
April 11, 1740, mentioned below. 2. Anna,
born June 14, 1742, married, at Lexington,
October 31, 1765, William Petten, of Water-
town, Massachusetts.
(IV) Dr. Ephraim Wilson (Woolson),
son of Isaac Woolson (3), was born in Wes
ton, April 11, 1740. After the death of his
father and the second marriage of his mother,
February 8, 1753, to Thaddeus Bowman, the
family -lived in Lexington. His mother had.
two children by this marriage: 1. Thaddeus,
Jr., born February 10, 1742-43, who settled in
Princeton, Massachusetts, and Lieutenant Sol
omon Bowman, born June 2, 1745, also set
tled in Princeton. For this half-brother, Sol-
oman Bowman, Dr. Ephraim Wilson named
his own son Solomon. Ephraim Woolson
graduated at Harvard College in 1760. He
studied medicine and settled in Princeton,
Massachusetts, with his brothers Thaddeus
and Solomon Bowman. In 1770 he was the
only Woolson or Wilson in the town, the
head of family. He died at Princeton in 1802
intestate. He married, at Princeton, Massachusetts,
July 29, 1765, Mary Richardson, born Novem
ber 12, 1742, at Sutton, daughter of Charles
Richardson. Her father, born at Woburn,
July 27, 1710, married (first), February 21,
1737, Mary Roper, of Westford; (second)
Susanna-  ; settled in Oxford and Sut

ton, Massachusetts, in the section set off later
as Ward, now Auburn; died September 2,
1783; children: i. Mary, born October 3,
1737, died young; ii. Lucretia, born February
1, 1739, married Samuel Marble; iii. Mary,
born November 12, 1742; iv. Charles, born
September 11, 1745.
Joseph Richardson. (3), father of Charles
Richardson (4), was born May 19, 1672; mar
ried, October 24, 1693, Mary Blodget, born
September 15, 1673, daughter of Samuel and
Ruth Blodget, of Woburn. The Blodgets set
tled in Woburn and Samuel was selectman
in 1681 ; Joseph was selectman in 1714-16,
died December 5, 1754, aged eighty-two; wife
died March 11, 1752, aged seventy-eight; sons
Josiah and Charles resided in Sudbury.
Joseph Richardson, father of Joseph Rich
ardson (3), mentioned above, was born in
Woburn, July 27, 1643; married, November
5, 1666, Hannah Green, born 1647, daughter
of Thomas and Elizabeth Green; Joseph was
freeman May 15, 1672; soldier in King
Philip's war under Major Samuel Appleton
at the Narragansett Fort, December 19, 1675 ;
selectman of Woburn 1693-94 and 1702; died
at Woburn, March 5, 1717-18, leaving five
children. Samuel Richardson, father of Joseph Rich
ardson (2), was the immigrant. A sketch of
him and his English ancestry is given else
where in this work. He was one of the found
ers of Woburn.
Dr. Ephraim Woolson, as he always spelled
his name, conveyed land February 6, 1782, to
Moses Gill, of Princeton, and another lot to
the same man December, 1785. He bought
land in Princeton of Silas Houghton and later
of Tilly Littlejohn, of Sterling, Massachu
setts. The history of Princeton gives his
name as Wilson in some places and his chil
dren all seemed to have adopted the spelling
Wilson. Children: 1. Solomon, born about
1767, mentioned below. 2. Lewis,, born May
3, 1768, at Princeton, died February 7, 181 5;
married, March 4, 1788, Keziah Parkhurst. 3.
Charles Richardson, born March 17, 1770.
4. Dr. Ephraimr Jr., born October 1, 1772, an
cestor of many of the Wilsons of Princeton;
married (first) Persis  , who died
March 15, 1795, aged thirty-five; married
(second), November 5, 1795, Clarissa Gale.
5. Lovin (also spelled Lovice), died 1816,
brother Ephraim administrator, widow Han
nah died April 10, 1849, aged seventy-two,
daughter of Reuben and Martha Parmenter.
6. Fanny, born June 2, 1775. 7. William,

GEO. H. WILSON, JR.

FREDERICK N. WILSON

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"93

born April 7, 1778. 8. Polly, born February
24, 1781.
(V) Captain ¦ Solomon Willson or Wilson,
son of Dr. Ephraim Woolson (4), was born
about 1767-68, died at Princeton, August 6,
1847, aged, according to the gravestone, sev
enty-nine years. He bought land of Moses
Gill, of Princeton, April 2, 1802. He is called
captain in the town records and was doubtless
at the head of the militia company there. He
married, May 26, 1799, at Princeton, Persis
How, born at Princeton, March 28, 1778,
daughter of Adonijah and Lydia How. He
and wife Persis quit-claimed to Bartholomew
Cheever land in the southwest part of Prince
ton, about forty-three acres, March 19, 1807.
Children, born at Princeton: 1. Persis, born
November 1, 1801. 2. Hamilton, born July
29, 1804, mentioned below. 3. Louisa, born
December 5, 1806. 4. William, born Eebru-
ary 8, 1809. 5. Abram How, born September
20, 181 1. 6. David, born November 7, 1813.
7. Jonas, born January 11, 1818. 8. Fanny
Ripley, born May 3, 1820. 9. Leonard, born
June 1, 1822. 10. Martin How.
(VI) Hamilton Wilson, son of Solomon
Wilson (5), was born in Princeton, Massachu
setts, July 29, 1804. He was educated there
in the common schools, and learned the trade
of mason. He became a prominent contractor,
building roads, bridges, mill dams and all
kinds of stone work. He lived in Princeton
and Hubbardston all his life. In politics he
was a Democrat, and for some years was
selectman of Princeton. In religion he was a
Universalist and member of the Princeton
Universalist church. He died in Princeton in
1842. He owned land in Hubbardston and
Princeton. He married, April 30, 1829, El
mira Wheeler, who survived him and admin
istered the estate.
Children, born in Princeton: 1. Elmira
Wheeler, born January 16, 1830. 2. George
Hamilton, born December 17, 1831, mention
ed below. 3. Moses Cheever, born December
1, 1833. 4. Susan Llewellyn, born June 8,
1835, died March 6, 1840. 5. Charles, born
1840, died April 3, 1840. 6. John Lincoln,
died April 7, 1840. 7. Charles L.
(VII) George Hamilton Wilson, son of
Hamilton Wilson (6), was born in Princeton,
Massachusetts, December 17, 1831. He, re
moved to Hubbardston, Massachusetts, in the
same county, when very young and lived there
•until he was twenty, receiving his education

in the public schools of that town. In 1851
he went to Boston to establish a trucking bus
iness, beginning with one horse. His business
prospered and he extended his facilities from
time to time. He had a large stable on Sixth
street, South Boston, near the corner of F
street, employing twenty men and owning
twenty-five horses used in his business. He
retired from the business in 1882 and sold out.
He removed to Centre Harbor, New Hamp
shire, where he lived two years, then came to
Chelmsford, Massachusetts, in 1884, for the
summer months, living at his old home on' F
street, .South Boston, in winter. He built the
house in which he lives at Chelmsford in the
year 1885, and conducts a summer hotel which
is largely patronized.
He was a member of the Gate of the Tem
ple, South Boston. He is a Democrat in pol
itics, and under Cleveland was postmaster of
Chelmsford for a term of four years. In re
ligion he is a Congregationalist.
He married (first) Lizzie B. Newhall, born
at Boston, 1843, died at Boston, 1887, daugh
ter of John and Sarah (Taylor) Newhall. He
married (second) .Octavia (Spare) nee
Sweetsir, born Boston, September 24, 1846,
daughter of James Sweetsir and Dorcas Phil-
brook (Chute) Swe.etsir. Children, born in
Boston: 1. George Hamilton, Jr., born May
4, 1864, educated in the public and high schools
of Boston and at the state normal school at
Bridgewater, Massachusetts; was for two
years principal of the high school at Wayne,
Pennsylvania ; pursued a post-graduate course
in the University of Pennsylvania and received
the degree of B. S. and is now working for
his doctor's degree; was appointed superin
tendent of schools in Wayne in 1893, a P°si~
tion he has held to the present time ; married
Alice Hewett, born at Bridgewater, Massa
chusetts, daughter of Herman Hewett; child,
Elizabeth, born at Wayne. 1-2. Frank and
Frederick N. (twins), born January 8, 1868;
Frank died at age of two years. Frederick N.
is a graduate of the Boston high school and of
the Harvard Medical School, (M. D. 1894) ;
was on the- staff of the Eye and Ear Infirmary
a short time, at the Post Graduate Hospital,
New York, two years, and then spent two
years abroad, studying the hospital methods
of England, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, and
in 1898 returned to this country and estab
lished himself in practice in New York City.
He is unmarried.

1 194

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

William Story, the immigrant
STORY ancestor, was born in England,
in 1614, of an ancient English
family. He was a carpenter by trade, and
when he passed the examination to go to New
England, April 8, 1637, was in the employ of
Samuel Dix, a carpenter and joiner. They
came from Norwich, England. Story settled
at Ipswich, where he was a proprietor as early
as 1642. He was a commoner. He subscribed^
to the Major Denison fund in 1648; had a
share and a half in Plum Island in 1664. In
1679 he was a voter in town affairs and was
called "senior." He owned land and -sold a
lot previous to February 12, 1643. He bought
of William Symonds and John West, January
1, 1655, two lots of land adjoining land he had
bought of Robert Kinsman, seven acres of
which was granted by the town of Ipswich to
John Wedgewood. He was surveyor of high
ways in 1662. He owned land in Chebacco,
November 10, 1652. He had permission to
set up a mill in 1671 on the Chebacco river.
He signed the Loyalist petition in 1666, and
also the Proctor petition. His wife Sarah
deposed in 1668 that she was about forty-eight
years old, fixing her birth year, therefore, as
1620. Children: 1. William, married Octo
ber 25, 1671, Susannah Fuller. 2. Mary. 3.
Hannah, born August 19, 1642. 4. Seth, born
1646; mentioned below.
(II) Seth Story, son of William Story (1),
was born in Ipswich, in 1646; died there Oc
tober 9, 1732, aged eighty-six. He was deacon
of the Ipswich church. He was a soldier in
the Narragansett winter campaign in 1675
under Major Appleton. He served on the
jury in witch trials at Salem 1692-3. He mar
ried Elizabeth  . Children, born at Ips
wich: 1. Zechariah, born March 14, 1684;
(published July 14, 1714, to Rachel Andrews).
2. Sarah, married  Jewett. 3. Elizabeth,
married  Andrews. 4. Martha, born
September 28, 1691 ; married Thomas Butler
(published January 16, 1719). 5. Seth, born
April 14, 1694; mentioned beiow. 6. Damaris,
born January 26, 1696; married Joseph Mar
tin (published March 17, 1722).
(Ill) Seth Story, son of Seth Story' (2),
was born in Ipswich, April 14, 1694; died
there August 15, 1786, aged ninety-three
years. He married Martha Low, (published
November 30, 1717). He lived at Ipswich.
Children, born there: I. Elizabeth, born
March 3, 1718; married Jacob Perkins. 2.
Amos, born November 16, 1720; died Decem
ber 4, 1820; was in the French war of 1755. 3.

Martha, born December 16, 1721 ; died Sep
tember 20, 1761. 4. Joanna, born October 13,
1723; married, 1744, Jacob Goodhue. 5.
Sarah, born September 18, 1725; died January
14, 1752; married, 1744, Joshua Martin. 6.
Anna, born September 12, 1727; died June 6,
1729. 7. Lydia, born March 18, 1728; died
January, 1820; married Nathaniel Lufkins. 8.
Seth, born May 18, 1730, died June 2, 1730.
9. Anna, born April 21, 1731. 10. Seth, born
August 30, 1733. 11. William, born October
2, 1734; died October 25, 1734. 12. Hannah,
born December 2, 1735 ; died May 14, 1737.
13. John, born January 8, 1738; died October
14, 1785. 14. Ebenezer, born April 2, 1740;
died November 1, 1803. 15. Lucy, born May
18, 1743.
(IV) John Story, son of Seth Story (3),
was born at Ipswich, Massachusetts, January
8, 1738, and died October 14, 1785. He was
sergeant in Captain Jonathan Cogswell's com
pany, April 19, 1775, on the Lexington alarm;
also in Captain David Low's company, Colo
nel Cogswell's regiment (Third Essex) in
1778; belonged to the Train Band. Children:
1. John, born February 25, 1761 ; soldier in
Revolution. 2. James, born October 17, 1762;
mentioned below. 3. Abraham, born May 17,
1764. 4. Seth, born November 11, 1765. 5.'
Martha, born May 3, 1767. 6. Isaac, born
July 6, 1769; died October 14, 1807. 7. Amos,
born April 25, 1771. 8. Cyrus, born Novem
ber 4, 1773. 9. Hannah, born October 10,
1775. 10. Elizabeth, born November 29,
1777. 11. Susanna, born October 10, 1779. 12.
Phinehas, born May 4, 1782. 13. Lucy, born
August 1.5, 1784.
(V) James Story, son of John Story (4),
was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, October
17, 1762, and died December 16, 1851. He was
a soldier in the Revolution, enlisting for three
years, March 14, 1781, in Captain Jeremiah
Miller's company, Colonel Joseph Vose's regi
ment. He married  Woodbury, of
Pigeon Cove, Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Children: 1. Sally, born January 3, 1787;
married first  Going; second 
Lane. 2. James, born 1788. 3. Lucy, born
November 8, 1790, died young. 4. Hepsibah,
born November 20, 1792; married a currier.
5. Susanna, born January 20, 1795. 6. Amos,
born January 14, 1797. 7. John, born April
8, 1799. 8. David, born October 21, 1801;
mentioned below. 9. Martha, born November
12, 1803; married first  Dennison; sec
ond  Lane. 10. Elizabeth, born March
28, 1805; died March 17, 1841. 11. Mary,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"95

born July 16, 1808 ; married  Lane.
12. Judith, born February 22, 1812; died at
Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1906; married
first  Sanborn ; second  Lane.
(VI) David Story, son of James Story (5),
was born at Gloucester, Massachusetts, Octo
ber 21, 1 801 ; died August 12, 1845. He was
brought up in the district school of that town,
and early in life began as a fisherman. After
his marriage he settled in Annisquam, Glou
cester, where he continued to follow the sea
as a fisherman, and became the owner of
various vessels engaged in fishing. He also
ran a stone sloop between (Boston and Glou
cester, transporting stone to Boston and
bringing various freight for the merchants on
his return trips. He built a dwelling house
at Lobster Cove, where he resided to the time
of his death in 1845. He made a success of
the fishing business. He was naturally inge
nious, and it is said constructed a very val
uable violin among other products of his
handiwork. He was amiable, and made many
friends. He was a member and liberal sup^
porter of the Universalist church. He was a
Whig after the organization of that party. He
was strongly in favor of the temperance move
ment. He was a member- of the Gloucester
militia company.
He married, first, December 4, 1825, Ade
line Lane, of Lanesville, Gloucester, born July
21, 1803; died November 11, 1839; daughter
of David and Abigail Lane. Children, born
in Gloucester: 1. Adeline, born October 6,
1826; died April 10, 1889; married December
25, 1844, Jonathan Dennison ; children : i. Wil
liam Augustus Dennison, born May 18, 1845 >
married April 30, 1868, Celia A. Woodward,
(children: William Sanford Dennison, born
July 4, 1869 ; Carrie Augusta Dennison, born
May 2, 1872, died March 31, 1874; Grace
Mabel Dennison, born May 31, 1874; Alice
May Dennison, born August 19, 1876) ; ii.
Bertha Ellen Dennison, born October 17,
1847, married first, February 21, 1869, Fred
erick Davis (child, Freddie Dennison Davis,
born April 10, 1873, died January 2, 1881)
married second, December 24, 1881, Burt
Emerson ; iii. Adaliza Dennison, born Septem
ber 1, 1849; died September 28, 1851 ; iv. Ade
line Story Dennison, born November 6, 1853,
married February 25, 1876, George W. Har
vey, (child— Dana R. Harvey, born May 12,
1887) J v. Susan Fellows Dennison, born No
vember 23, 1855 ; married May 10, 1877, Reu
ben Clark, (child — Bertha Dennison Clark,
born December 18, 1877). 2. Eleanor, born

March 7, 1829; died December 23, 1863; mar
ried, in 1857, Jacob Brown; child, Jennie
Brown, born April 28, 1858, died 1890; mar
ried George B. Watson, of California, (child,
Robin Bradley Watson, born July 19, 1881).
3. Augusta Leonard, born December 1, 1831,
died August 20, i860; married November 26,
1853, George Henry Perkins, of Topsfield,
Massachusetts; children: i. Jane McCloud
Perkins, born May 5, 1855, married May 5,
1884, George Lunt, (child, George Perkins
Lunt, born October 6, 1888). 4. Mary Lane,
born at Annisquam, August 26, 1835, died Au
gust 20, 1903; married June 1, 1857, William
Webster Gallop; of Topsfield ; children : i.
Nellie Augusta Gallop, born in Danvers, Mass
achusetts, July 11,1858; married September 7,
1781, William A. Perkins (children: Lyndon
Story Perkins, born in Topsfield, May 21,
1885; Clarence Webster Perkins, bor^i in
Topsfield, October 1, 1889, died May 4, 1892;
William Augustus Perkins, born in Topsfield
May 20, 1891). William A. Perkins died
January 13, 1891, and his widow married sec-
ond,-- November 1, 1899, Lewis Anson Chap
man; ii. Ida Porter Gallop, born in Danvers,
November 26, 1864; died January 15, 1870.
5. Martha, born August 26, 1835 ; died Decem
ber 13, 1835. 6. David Orville, born January
20, 1838; mentioned below. Child of David <
and his second wife, whom he married April
30, 1844, Betsey Parsons, of Gloucester, born
March 30, 1803, died June 14, 1871, daughter
of Jonathan and Betsey (Elwell) Parsons.
7. Georgiana, born March 9, 1845 ; died March
22, 1906, unmarried.
(VII) David Orville Story, son of David
Story (6), was born in Annisquam, ' Glouces
ter, Massachusetts, January 20, 1838. His
mother died when he was two years old and
his father when he was only eight years old,
so he went to live with his eldest sister. He ¦
had a rather meagre common school educa
tion, and at the age of nine was bound out' to
Cogswell & Fiske, carriage painters, of
Brighton, Massachusetts. At the age of
fourteen he began to work as a journeyman
carriage painter for Hiram Nash, a prominent
carriage manufacturer of Boston. He work
ed also for George W. Manning & Berry, Hay-
market Square, Boston, for whom he painted
and decorated furniture. In 1861 he entered
partnership with Benjamin Parker under the
firm name of Story & Parker in the furniture
trade. The firm was dissolved after a few
years, and Mr. Story returned to the occupa
tion of decorating furniture. He had the repu-

1 196

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

tation of being the most skillful and artistic
craftsman in this line of work in Boston, and
his services were in great demand. He also
painted scenery as well as sign and fresco
work. He was connected with the firm of
Hutchins & Plaisted, of Boston, for a time,
and for George W. Stevens and S. S. Hamill,
of Cambridge, decorating organ pipes. He
worked also in this line for Peirce, of Read
ing, and for the New England Organ Com
pany. His first place of business in scenic
painting was on Sudbury street, thence to
Brattle Square, thence to New Devonshire
street, where he was working in 1876 and did
much of the decorative painting for the cele
bration that year of the Centennial. From
there he went to Charlestown street and finally
to Beverly street, where in 1882 his son took
the business. He then went to Denver, Colo
rado, where he painted the pictures and deco
rations in the Arapahoe county court-house ;
thence to California and to Santiago, Cuba.
After his return he worked for his son until
his death. In 1867 he made his home on Tufts
street, Somerville, where he lived until the
time of death, November 4, 1895. He was
attractive in personality, and had many friends,
honest, upright and industrious, he won fairly
the success that he achieved. In religion he
was a Universalist; in politics a Republican.
He was a member of Salome Lodge of Odd
Fellows, of Boston; and a charter member of
Boston Lodge of Elksl
He married, April 5, i860, Apphia Janes
Parsons, born June 29, 1839, at Boston, daugh
ter of Josiah and Jane (Higgins) Parsons, of
Walpole, Massachusetts. Her father was a
carpenter. Children: 1. Orville Lincoln,
born January 14, 1861 ; mentioned below. 2.
Edward Parsons, born January 12, 1863 ; died
February 10, 1873. 3. Mary, born June 29,
1865; died January 31, 1866. 4-5-6. Triplets,
born May 1, 1868; died in infancy. 7. Mabel
Jane, born August 25, 1871; married October
24, 1894, Frank Irving Sewell, of Somerville,
Massachusetts ; children : i. Madeline Story
Sewell, born March 5, 1897; ii. Edith Lau-
rette Sewell, born July 8, 1898, died August
16, 1898; iii. Ralph Irving Sewell, born Octo
ber 20, 1899, died August 18, 1900; iv. Ruth
Apphia Sewell, born January 8, 1902 ; v. Har
riet Eloise Sewell, horn June 11, 1903. 8.
Arthur Webster, born February 5, 1875 ; re
sides with parents.
(VIII) Orville Lincoln Story, son of
David Orville Story (7), was born in Charles

town, Massachusetts, January 14, 1861. At
the age of six years he moved with his par
ents to Somerville, where he was educated in
the public and high schools. At the age of
sixteen he began to work for his father at
scene painting and learned the trade. At the
age of nineteen he took up the business of
stage carpentering, and a year later was em
ployed in this trade by the Boston Ideal Opera
Company for a season. He was subsequently
with the Whitney Opera House at Fitchburg,
Massachusetts, in charge of the stage carpen
tering. In 1882 he succeeded to his father's
business as scenic painter. The place of busi
ness was then on Beverly street, Boston,
where he remained for a time, removing at
length to a place on Haverhill street. The
business prospered. In 1890 he removed to
21 Tufts street, Somerville, where he had
buildings erected especially for the business,
Mr. Story is a contractor for scenic painting
and complete fitting of stage settings. Most
of his work is for travelling companies, halls,
theatres, etc., in New England. Among his
many contracts are those for the Empire and
Imperial Theatres of Providence, Rhode
Island, Pittsfield, Great Barrington, Lynn and
Lawrence, Massachusetts. He made many
of the special stage settings for the Harvard
College society and fraternity plays. His bus
iness was incorporated in 1906 under the laws
of Massachusetts, with Mr. Story as secre
tary, treasurer and general manager; George
F. Lord, president.
Mr. Story is interested in real estate in
which 'he has invested freely in Somerville. .
His beautiful residence at 10 Devereaux street,
Arlington, is one of the finest in that town.
It is on the shores of Spy Pond, with a beau
tiful view to the eastward. He designed the
house and its furnishing. Mr. Story is a water
color artist of note, and has many of his works
in his home. He is a member of the Univer
salist church at Somerville, and is at present
the auditor of the society. In politics he is a
Republican. He is a member of Oasis Lodge
of Odd Fellows, Somerville; of Columbia
Council, Royal Arcanum; of the Universalist
Club and the Arlington Men's Club, both of
Arlington. He is a member also of the Uni
versalist Men's Club of Somerville. He be
longs to the Theatrical Mechanics' Association
of Boston.
He married August 21, 1902, Florence Au
gusta Rickey, born January 14, 1864, at Mon
treal, Canada, daughter of Robert and Eliz-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

"97

abeth McRobert (Shiels) Rickey, of Pres
cott, Ontario. Her father was a bookkeeper
in Montreal. They have no children.

John McAlvin, father of John
McALVIN H. McAlvin, was born in
Antrim, Hillsborough county,
New Hampshire, January 9, 1800. He was
carried to Francestown in the same county, to
which place his parents removed in 1802,' his
father having purchased a farm there. He
spent his childhood and youth on this farm,
attending the district school in the winter
months. He worked on the farm up to 1829,
when he removed to Lowell, Middlesex coun
ty, Massachusetts, where he was married Oc
tober 12, 1836, to Achsah, daughter of John
and Abigail (Billings) Kimball, of Wilton,
New Hampshire, and had six children, all
born in Lowell, Massachusetts: 1. John H.
McAlvin, born August 2, 1831, died May 1,
1896. 2. William F. McAlvin, born March
27, 1833, died July 29, 1834. 3. Granville K.
McAlvin, born July 27, 1835 ; married, and
lived in Boston, Massachusetts. ' 4. Frances
J. McAlvin, born April 12, 1838; married to
Stephen B. Smith, of Lowell, Massachusetts,
October 25, 1866, where one child, Katherine
Smith, was borrt, April 13, 1870, and she re
sided with her parents in Boston, Massachu
setts. 5. Emily Ann McAlvin, born February
12, 1840, resided in Boston, Massachusetts.
6. George Warren McAlvin, born in Lowell,
Massachusetts, August 9, 1843, died January
10, 1845. John McAlvin died in Lowell,
Massachusetts, February 5, 1866.
John H. McAlvin, son of John and Achsah
(Kimball) McAlvin, was born in Lowell,
Massachusetts, August 2, 1831. He was a
pupil in the public schools of Lowell, and was
graduated at the Lowell high school, 1846.
He was clerk in the office of the Hamilton
Manufacturing Company, Lowell, Massachu
setts, for a short time, resigning the position-
to accept that of assistant in the Lowell post-
office under Postmaster Gilman. He remained
in the Lowell postoffice for eight years, and in
January, 1858, was elected city clerk of Low
ell, and in March, 1869, was made city treas
urer and collector of taxes. He held this posi
tion without interruption for fourteen years,
1869-83. He accepted the position of finan
cial manager of the Noveling Plaster Works
in Lowell in 1883, and in 1884 took that of
treasurer of the Lowell Electric Light Com
pany, holding the latter position for twelve

years. In 1896 he was made treasurer of the
Tyler Cigar Company,, and his connection with
that corporation was terminated by his death,
May 1, 1896. His position as a member of
the Republican party was always that of a
non-office holder up to 1896, when he accepted
the nomination and was elected to the board
of aldermen of the city of Lowell, in 1896.
He was an attendant of the Unitarian church
of Lowell, and for a number of years served
as clerk of the Unitarian Society. He was a
director of the Lowell Cemetery Corporation,
and served as treasurer of the corporation for
twenty-seven years. He affiliated with the
Masonic fraternity, and became a Mason of
high degree.
Mr. McAlvin married, January 4, 1853, Nel
lie Marian, daughter of Johnathan and Mercy
(Kimball) Ives, of Pittsford, Vermont, and
the children by this marriage were: 1. Henry
John McAlvin, born in Lowell, Massachusetts,
April' 27, 1854; educated in the public schools
and high schools of Lowell ; married, Novem
ber 5, 1890, Sarah J., daughter of Oscar M.
and Eliza (Knights) Newell, of Searsmont,
Maine. 2. Blanche McAlvin, born in Lowell,
Massachusetts, June 23, 1859; educated in the
public schools of Lowell ; married November
20, 1894, Clarence H. Additon, florist, of Bos
ton, Massachusetts. 3. Marian McAlvin,
born in Lowell, Massachusetts, September 12,
1870; graduated at the Lowell high school;
married, November 22, 1898, Harry L. Quil-
lie. Nellie Marian (Ives) McAlvin, widow of
John H. McAlvin, died in Lowell/ Massachu
setts, June 18, 1907.

George Wheeler, of the
WHEELER Wheeler family of Concord,
a sketch of which appears
in this work, was born there about 1670, and
was doubtless grandson of the first settler,
George Wheeler. He married (first), at Con
cord, August 14, 1695, Abigail Hosmer, grand
daughter of James Hosmer, who was born in
England in 1607, came to America in 1635
with wife and children and settled in Concord.
She died December 27, 1717, one of the num
erous victims of the "distemper," a very fatal
contagious disease. He married (second)
December 3, 1719, Abigail Smith, of Sudbury.
Children, born in Concord: 1. Tabitha, born
January 16, 1695-96. 2. Abigail, born Feb
ruary 6, 1696-97. 3. Jemima, born September
5, 1700. 4. James, born September 5, 1702.

1 198

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

5. Peter, born October 23, 1704, mentioned
below. 6. Daniel, born June 5, 1707.
Peter Wheeler, son of George Wheeler, was
born in Concord, October 23, 1704, and died
March 28, 1772, aged sixty-seven, at Concord.
He married Hannah  . He settled at
Hollis, New Hampshire. His first child was
born at Concprd, Massachusetts, the last five
at Hollis. Children: 1. Love, born at Con
cord, May 10, 1728. " 2: Peter, settled at Hol
lis; married, March 19, 1751, Mehitable
Jewett. 3. Thaddeus, mentioned below. 4.
James, settled at Hollis ; married, November
1, 1750, Mary Butterfield. 5. Timothy, set-'
tied at Hollis; married, September 8, 1773,
Mary Nevins. 6. Lucy, born at Hollis, June
1, 1744. 7. Alice, born December 1, 1745.
8. Ebenezer, born July 15, 1748, married Azu
bah Taylor. 9. Lebbeus, born October 15,
1750, married Elizabeth Carter. 10. Jemima,
born August 15, 1756.
Thaddeus Wheeler, son of Peter Wheeler,
removed with his parents to Hollis, New
Hampshire, where he settled on a farm. He
married, at Hollis, October 17, 1769, Elizabeth
Farmer. Children, born at HolHs : 1. Eliza
beth, July 22, 1770. 2. Thaddeus, October 10,
x773- 3- Minot, May 16, 1777. 4. Theodore,
January 7, 1780. 5. Amos, July 12, 1783. 6.
James, August 6, 1785. 7. Benjamin, Octo
ber 16, 1790.
Benjamin Wheeler,, son of Thaddeus
Wheeler, was born in Hollis, October 16, 1790.
He settled in that town. He married  .
Children: Benjamin, Minot, Thaddeus, Clar
issa, Sally, Mary Ann, Desire and Deziah
(twins), and Cyrus, mentioned below.
Cyrus Wheeler, son of Benjamin Wheeler,
was born in Hollis in 1819. He was reared on
a farm, and educated in the common schools
of his day. In connection with farming he
engaged in the trade of cooper. About 1850
he moved to Ackworth, New Hampshire,
where he devoted his attention to farming.
He was a Democrat in politics. He was a
quiet, unpretentious man, faithful in the dis
charge of his duties, and held the confidence
and esteem of all who knew him. He mar
ried Dr. Eliza B. Richard, whose father and
brothers were physicians, all of whom en
joyed a large and successful practice. They
were the parents of eight children, two of
whom Amaziah and Edwin F. were born in
Hollis, and the remainder in Acworth. Their
children were: Amaziah, Edwin F., George
E., William E., Aline A., Minot E., Clara May
and Lulu I. In the fall of 1863 Mr. and Mrs.,

Wheeler were bereaved, from the effects of
diphtheria, by the loss of four children, name
ly: Minot E, November 13, aged six and a
half years. Lulu I., November 10, two and a
half years. Amaziah, November 24, seventeen
years. Clara May, November 27, four years.
Aline A., married Dr. J. Lindsey, of Worces
ter, Massachusetts. Mr. Wheeler died at the
home of his son in Stow, 1898. His wife died
in Stow, 1904, aged seventy-eight years.
Edwin F. Wheeler, son of Cyrus Wheeler,
was born at Hollis, New Hampshire, Decem
ber 25, 1848. The family removed to Acworth,
New Hampshire, and his education was
acquired in the schools of Acworth and Al
stead. At an early age he started to make his
own way in the world. His first employment
was on a farm, and in the fall of 1868 he
came to Stow, Massachusetts, where he work
ed at farming until he engaged in the mills of
M. Smith & Son and Folsom & Priest. In
the fall of 1886 he purchased one-half the
mill, the lumber, box and grist mills, and con
ducted business under the name of Folsom &
Wheeler; in 1890 he purchased his partner's
interests. In addition to this he conducted a
grocery store and blacksmith shop, which
proved exceedingly remunerative. He invest
ed his capital in real estate, from which he
derived a good income. He served on the
school committee of Stow for several years ;
served on the board of selectmen in 1889 and
1906, and in 1907 was again elected and is now
acting as chairman of the board; served on
the board of health two years, and as fire
warden and special police many years. He Is
a member of the Unitarian church and a mem
ber of the parish committee, and a Republi
can in politics. He is a charter member of the
West Acton Lodge, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and was a charter member of
Stow Grange, Patrons of Husbandry.
Mr. Wheeler married (first), December 25,
1872, Anna A. Davidson, an adopted daughter
of Benjamin Davidson, of Stow, who bore
him three children: 1. Charles E., born April
5, 1874, a contractor and builder of Nashua,
New Hampshire ; he married Nettie Wheeler,
of Hollis, daughter of Augustus Wheeler;
three children: Arline Vesta, Evelyn Viola
and Edward Francis. 2. Carrie Frances, born
September 5, 1875, married Frederick Bartiett
Davis, of Manchester-by-the-Sea, ^Massachu
setts, in Nashua, New Hampshire, February
29, 1896. He was born August 11, 1873.
They had eight children, three of Vhom died
in childhood. The surviving members of the

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

nc

family are: i. Marian Hamlet Davis, born at
Hollis, New Hampshire, February 4, 1897; ii.
Pearl Wheeler Davis, March 18, 1898, at
Worcester, Massachusetts; iii. Clinton Bart
iett Davis, at Providence, Rhode Island, May
22, 1903; iv. Beatrice Jennie Davis, at South
Kingston, Rhode Island, November 29, 1905 ;
v. Elsa Frederica Davis, at Providence, Rhode
Island, September 29, 1907. 3. Ernest Wil-
mot, born June 22, 1877. Anna A. (David
son) Wheeler died in 1882. Mr. Wheeler
married (second), January 17, 1888, Carrie
Augusta Ricker,. born in Medfield, Massachu
setts, March 4, i860, daughter of Chapman S.
and Martha M. Ricker, the former a native of
Maine. Mrs. Wheeler attended Lawrence
Academy, and Olivet College, Olivet, Michi
gan; she taught for several years in Massa
chusetts and Michigan. Children of second
marriage: 1. Jennie Alberta, born March 10,
1889, a graduate of the normal school at
, Framingham. 2. Arthur Gates, born Novem
ber 19, 1894. 3. Everett, born March 13,
1899, died November 30, 1899.

The surname Storer is of
STORER ancient English origin. It has
undergone various ch'anges in
its transmission from the early centuries of
the era. It is spelled Storr, Storee, Storah and
Story in the same family -in the early records.
(I) Rev. Thomas Storer (or Storr), was
vicar of Bilby, Lincolnshire, England. Of his
children: 1. Augustine, mentioned below. 2.
Mary, married Rev; John Wheelwright, the
founder of Exeter, New Hampshire.
(II) Augustine Storer, son of Rev. Thomas
Storer (1), was born at Bilsby, England;
came to Boston, Massachusetts, with his wife,
and joined the combination at Exeter. He
was elected one of the three ruling elders
of the church at Exeter, in January, 1640,
with Anthony Stanyan and the first elder,
Isaac Gross, with duties corresponding to
those of selectman. He came from England
in July, 1637, and was in Exeter in the spring
following. When the first division of land
was made he was allotted, with the title of
"Mr.," twenty acres and one hundred poles of
upland and two and three-quarters acres of
marsh. When Wheelwright left Exeter,
Storer (or Storre) also left the town, settling,
it is said, in Wells, where his grandsons re
sided. He married Susannah Hutchinson,
daughter of Edward, and granddaughter of
John Hutchinson, the mayor of Lincoln, Eng

land, 1556-64. She was sister of Wheel
wright's second wife.
(Ill) William Storer, only known son of
Augustine Storer (2), lived in Dover, New
Hampshire, where he died in 1660. He mar
ried Sarah Starbuck, daughter of Edward
Starbuck, who came from Derbyshire, Eng
land ; was a member of the Dover convention ;
elder of the church. His widow married, sec
ond, Samuel Austin, of Wells, in 1661, and the
family then removed from Dover to Wells,
Maine, where the children were placed under
the guardianship of Austin, in whose family
they continued until of age. Austin kept a
public house and was commissioner for trials
for several years. The sons came to manhood
well grounded in moral principles, despite
their surroundings, and became men of great
usefulness. Children: 1. Benjamin, killed
by the Indians in 1677. 2. Joseph, born Sep
tember 23, 1648; mentioned below. 3. Jere
miah. 4. Samuel, resided in Charlestown,
Massachusetts ; mariner ; member of church in
York; married Lydia Austin; died June 10,
1700. (IV) Joseph Storer, son of William Storer
(3), was born September 23, 1648; died 1730.
He was lieutenant commanding the Wells
garrison in the Indian wars, King Philip's,
1675-76, and later. He engaged in the lumber
business, building mills and making boards,
etc. He built a house on the main road of
Wells, Maine, where John S. Pope now or
lately lived, about 1679, and afterwards added
fortifications and palisades around it. During
the next war he built several small houses
inside the fortification for the use of those
who took refuge there, and his house was con
stantly open to the public. Officers and sol
diers resorted to it ad libitum, while he with
truly patriotic spirit was always ready to re
spond to the wants of all who had been driven
from their homes by peril and suffering.
Wheelwright had not yet built his garrison,
so that at three periods afterward this was the
¦frontier garrison of the province. Storer was
in every way active in the defence of the
province, encouraging the settlers to hold their
ground, and giving up his own land near the
fort for cultivation and pasturage of the re
fugees. The wounded were brought to his
house as to a hospital, and he and his family
cared for them. For all this service he re
ceived no remuneration. He was an officer
in the service, but this voluntary service
eclipsed any war record possible at that time.
It is said that to him more than any other man

1200

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

the province was indebted for its preservation
from entire desolation. Without his little fort
the savages would have swept the country
clear of English settlers.
Storer was one of the founders of the
church at York, and thus his name is not
among the founders of the Wells church,
though he was deacon there until the end of
his life. From him descend all the Storer
family of Wells and vicinity. He married
Hannah Hill, daughter of Roger and Sarah
(Cross) Hill, of Saco, Maine. At the period
of his death in 1730 he was the wealthiest man
in Wells, his estate being appraised at about
$5,000. He probably resided at York in his
last years. His will is dated February 20,
1721-22, proved February 13, 1729-30. He
mentions wife Hannah; sons Ebenezer, Seth,
John ; .daughters Hannah Hammond, Sarah
Colburn, Mary St. Germain, Abigail Little-
field, Keziah Plummer. John was sole execu
tor. Children: 1. Hannah, born May 6, 1680;
married Joshua Littlefield. 2. Sarah, born
December 9, 1682 ; married J. Colburn ; died
January 21, 1770. 3. Mary, born May 12,
1685 ; married, at Montreal, August 25, 1747,
Jean St. Germaine. 4. Abigail, born October
29, 1687. 5. Joseph, born August 29, 1690.
6. John, born September 5, 1694. 7. Keziah,
born May 2, 1697; married Ebenezer Plum
mer. 8. Ebenezer, born at Saco Fort, June 4,
1699; mentioned below. 9. Seth, born May
26, 1702; ship-owner with Ebenezer, lived in
Boston. (V) Ebenezer Storer, son of Joseph Storer
(4), was born at Saco Fort, June ,4, 1699. He
married, June 20, 1723, Mary Edwards, who
died December 6, 1772; he died May 22, 1761.
He and his brother Seth attempted to make
a visit to their aged mother in 1746, but hav
ing reached Kittery had to turn back to Boston
on account of the French and Indian war.
They owned a sloop in company in 1739, and
it was lost in 1741. He seems to have lived
in Boston and Wells. Children: 1. Joseph,
born April 25, 1724; died September 12, 1724.-
2. Mary, born June 21, 1725 ; died June 28,
1727-28. 3.. Elizabeth, born December 24,
1726; married, October 9, 1746; died June 27,
1786. 4. Ebenezer, born December 16,
1728; died December 22, 1728. 5. Eben
ezer, born June 27, 1729-30; mentioned
below. 6. Mary, born April 8, 1732; died
October 22, 1733. 7. Hannah, born Jan
uary 16, 1734-35; died April 29, 1737. 8.
Mary, born January 2, 1736-37; married, April
14, 1757, Edward Green; second, August 23,

1 79 1, Benjamin Hall. 9. Hannah, born May
23, 1739; married, October 7, 1762, Joshua
Green; died September 2, 181 1. 10. Sybil,
born February 6, 1742-43; died February 28,
1749. (VI) Ebenezer Storer, son of Ebenezer
Storer (5), was born January 27, 1729-30.
He married first, July 17, 1751, Elizabeth
Green, daughter of Joseph Green, of Boston.
He married second, November 6, 1777, Han
nah Lincoln, born September 11, 1738. Line
age: Hannah (Quincy) Lincoln, widow of
Dr. B. Lincoln; Hannah (6) ; Josiah (5) ; Ed
mund (4, 3, 2, 1) Quincy. He was a soldier
in the Revolution from Wells, in Captain
James Hubbard's company; also in Captain
Noah Moulton Littlefield's company, Colonel
Moulton's regiment, April 19, 1775; also in
Captain Samuel Sayer's company, Colonel
James Scammon's regiment, in 1775. He died
January 6, 1807.
(VII) Ebenezer Storer, son of Ebenezer
Storer (6), was born at Wells, Maine, De
cember 26, 1775, and died December 26, 1859.
He married Sarah Sherman, who was born
October 18, 1778, and died October 28, 1837.
Children, born at Wells: 1. John, born Oc
tober 5, 1807. ^2. Seth, born June 4, 1809.
3. Ebenezer, Jr., born January 22, 181 1. 4.
Lydia, born February 10, 1813. 5. Joseph,
born February 29, 1816. 6. Edward, born
April 4, 1818; mentioned below. 7. Mary H.,
born November 14, 1820.
(VIII) Edward Storer, son of Ebenezer
Storer (7), was born at Wells, April 4, 18 18,
and died in Arlington, Massachusetts, July 1,
1901. He received his education in the com
mon schools of his native town. He came to
Arlington (then West Cambridge), before he
was of age, and apprenticed himself to James
J. Jarvis, whose carpenter shop was built over
the brook that runs through the old burying
ground, on land belonging to him there. After
working a number of years for Jarvis, Mr.
Storer and another employee, James Blan
chard, took over the business and established
the firm of Blanchard & Storer, carpenters
and builders, with a shop on Mill street. Then
Mr. Storer bought out his partner, who re
mained in his employ, however, preferring to
work for wages. They were always close
friends, and were associated together in this
way until Mr. Blanchard died. Mr. Storer
built for himself the house now occupied by
the Boston & Maine railroad, Water street,
and had his shop at that place. When the
Lexington & Boston railroad was built it was

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1201

laid out through the lot on which the shop
stood. He located his new shop on Central
street near his former home. He was a car
penter and builder for more than sixty years,
and he built many of the fine residences for
which Arlington is famous, among them being
residences of Mr. Osborne, Mr. Harris, Mr.
Smith, and of his son, George Warren Storer,
which was the last house he built. Avon Place
owes its existence largely to his enterprise in
real estate affairs, and the Pelham Terrace sec
tion was developed by him also. He built the
Cutter school-house and also the Russell
school-house. He was a very active and en
terprising man, a useful citizen, of high char
acter, good understanding and sound judg
ment. He was at one time a member of the
Universalist church, and served on its parish
committee. He was a Democrat in politics,
and took a lively interest in town affairs,
though he never sought public office. He was
at one time fire warden, and for a time was
town sexton. He was a leading light in
Masonic affairs ; was made a member of
Hiram Lodge of Free Masons, May 3, i860,
and was its worshipful master in 1871 and
1872. It was largely due to its efforts that
Menotomy Royal Arch Chapter of Masons,
was successfully established in Arlington, and
he was a charter member, serving as its second
most excellent high priest in 1868 and 1869,
and always retaining an active interest in its
welfare. In 1897 when he was eighty years
old, he took the chair and worked the mark
master's degree, assisted by a staff of past high
priests. He was for many years a member of
the charity committee of the Grand Royal
Arch Chapter of Massachusetts. He was at
one time a member of Boston Council, Royal
and Select Masons, and Boston Commandery,
Knights Templar.
He married, June 5, 1842, Elmira Peirce,
who was born July 3, 1822, and died March
15, 1907, daughter of Samuel and Sophia
(Steadman) Peirce, of Arlington. Her father
was a farmer. Children: 1. Sarah, born
September 1, 1844; died January 13, 1853. 2.
Rosella, born October 31, 1845; died October
15, 1872; married, November 22, 1871, Ed
ward Everett Upham (see Upham sketch in
this work). 3. Edward Henry," born Novem
ber 26, 1847; died May 2, 1864. 4. George
Warren, born May 4, J 850; mentioned below.
5- Nelson, born February 19, 1855 ; died
March 28, 1855. 6. Charles Edward, born
January 4, 1859; died August 1, 1859. 7.
Ella, born August 27, i860; died May 25,

1 891; married, December 30, 1880, Charles
K. Crane, of Arlington, Massachusetts.
(IX) George Warren Storer, son of Ed
ward Storer (8), was born at Arlington,
Massachusetts, May 4, 1850. He was edu
cated in the public schools of Arlington, and
learned the trade of carpenter in his father's
employ. At the age of sixteen he entered the
employ of Prescott, Proctor & Fowle, dry
goods merchants in Arlington. A year later,
he accepted a position in the office of Presi-'
dent John E. Lyon, of the Boston, Concord
and Montreal railroad, Liberty Square, Bos
ton. When this road was leased by the Bos
ton & Lowell railroad, he was appointed assis
tant general passenger agent. Under the old
corporation he had been promoted to the head
of the department for cleaning and repairing
rolling stock ; and in charge of train men when
in Boston, then purchasing agent and Boston
ticket agent. Under the new management he
became assistant general passenger agent, re
maining in that position until Lucius Turtle,
now the president of the Boston and Maine
railroad, then general passenger agent of the
Boston and Lowell railroad, went with the
Canadian Pacific railroad, and Mr. Storer suc
ceeded him as general passenger agent. When
this road was leased to the Boston and Maine
in 1882, Mr. Storer became assistant general
passenger agent of the larger corporation, and
filled that position until the New Hampshire
courts decided that the Boston & Maine could
not legally hold the Boston & Lowell. Then
he went to Concord & Montreal railroad as
New England passenger agent, with offices at
207 Washington street, Boston. He had charge
of the passenger business in Boston, and was
superintendent of the parlor car service, re
maining until this road was also leased by the
Boston & Maine. Since then he has been
assistant general passenger agent of the Bos
ton & Maine railroad, having been in all forty
years in the service of the Boston & Maine
and its leased roads.
Mr. Storer is well known not only among
the railroad men of the country, but by men
in all lines of business. He is popular socially,
and has many friends. He built his present
residence at 20 Jason street, Arlington, in
1890. His lot was formerly a part of the old
Teel estate. He attends the Arlington Uni
versalist church, and was a member of its
parish committee. In politics he is a Republi
can. The only public office he has held is the
ancient and now functionless office of hog-
reeve, to which joke-loving citizens now and

1202

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

then are elected by their good friends. It
was once the duty of the hogreeve to impound
all hogs found running at large -without the
wooden collar devised to prevent them from
getting through fences. Then the gardens
instead of the hogs were put into pens and had
fences to keep out cattle, sheep and hogs.
Mr. Storer was made a member of Hiram
Lodge of Free Masons at Arlington, October
26, 1871, and was worshipful master in 1881
and 1882; secretary for six years, and is now
treasurer. He was made a member of Me
notomy Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, at
Arlington, November 29, 1872, and was most
excellent high priest in 1885, 1886 and 1887.
He is past junior grand warden of the Grand
Lodge of Masons of Massachusetts, and past
grand king of the Grand Chapter of Royal
Arch Masons of Massachusetts. He was made
a member of Medford Council of Royal and
Select Masons of Medford, Massachusetts,
May 17, 1888; of Boston Commandery of
Knights Templar, October 16, 1882; of La
fayette Lodge of Perfection, Fourteenth de
gree, Scottish Rite Masonry, Boston, Febru
ary 1, 1889; of Aleppo Temple, Order of the
Mystic Shrine, of Boston, September 27, 1890.
He is a director of the Arlington Co-operative
Bank. He married, December 1, 1872, Louise Car
oline Russell, born August 10, 1852, at Bel
mont, Massachusetts, daughter of Oliver and
Lucinda (Frost) Russell, of Arlington, Mass
achusetts. Her father was a farmer. (See
sketch of the Russell family). Their only
child was George Edward, born October 11,
1875; died May 10, 1897.

George Morton, the immi-
MORTON grant ancestor, was born in
Austerfield, Yorkshire, Eng
land, baptized there Februnary 12, 1599, and
came to America in the ship "Ann" in 1623.
In the same ship came Thomas Morton, be
lieved to be his brother, and both with their
families settled at Plymouth. Thomas set
tled at Dartmouth, of which he was one of the
original purchasers.
George Morton lived less than a year after
his arrival and died in June, 1624. He mar
ried at Leyden, Holland, July 23, 1612, Julia
Ann or Juliana Carpenter, daughter of Alex
ander Carpenter. He is presumed to be the
editor of the valuable book usually called
Mourt's Relation. (See Dr. Young, Chron. of
Pilgrims, p. 113 and Dr. Felt's Annals of

Salem). This book is made of contributions
from Robert Cushman, John Robinson, Wil
liam Bradford and Edward Winslow, covering
much the same ground as Governor Brad
ford's work. It was published by John Bel-
lamie in London in 1622. Morton wrote the
introduction only and signed his name G.
Mourt. His son Nathaniel in his New Eng
land Memorial (Cambridge, Mass., 1669, page
48) says of his father: "Mr. George Morton
was a pious, gracious servant of God and very
faithful in whatsoever public employment he
was betrusted withal, and an unfeigned well-
wilier and according to his sphere and condi
tion a suitable promoter of the common good
and growth of the plantation of New Pli-
mouth, laboring to still the discontents that
sometimes would arise amongst some spirits,
by occasion of the difficulties of these new be
ginnings ; but it pleased God to put a period to
his days soon after arrival in New England,
not surviving a full year after his coming
ashore. With much comfort and peace he fell
asleep in the Lord in the month of June, Anno
1624." The New England Memorial contains
some of the matter published in Mourt's Re
lation. Mr. Morton appears to have been an
agent of the Leyden colony in London at the
time the book was published. As to his an
cestry there is ,reason to believe that he was
the George Morton of the family of Anthony
Morton, of Bawtry. The Carpenter family
belonged in Wrington, Somersetshire, Eng
land. Juliana (Carpenter) Morton died Feb
ruary 19, 1665-66, aged eighty-one. Children:
1. Nathaniel, born about 1613, died June 29,
1685 ; married, 1635, Lydia Cooper. 2. Pa
tience, born about 1615, married, 1633, John
Faunce. 3. John, born about 161 5. 4. Sarah,
born about 1618, married, December 20, 1644,
George Bonham. 5. Ephraim, born about
1623, mentioned below.
(II) Ephraim Morton, son of George Mor
ton (1), was born about 1623, according to
tradition during the voyage to America, and
died September 7, 1693. Married (first) Ann
Cooper, who died September 1, 1691, and
(second), October, 1692, Mary Harlow,
widow, daughter of Robert Shelly, of Scituate.
Mr. Morton was a prominent man, served in
the council of war, was prominent in the mili
tia, colonel of his regiment, was deputy to the
general court for twenty-eight years from
1657 and again under the new charter in 1692.
He was deacon of the church and was suc
ceeded by his son George. Children: r.
Ephraim, born January 27, 1648-49, died Feb-

fI.

&-74<t6o0

e «*%*#&

#-Zs£?

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1203

ruary 18, 1731-32. 2. Rebecca, born March
15, 1651- 3- Josiah, born 1653. 4. George,
sleeps on Burial Hill, Plymouth, died August
2, 1727, in eighty-second year of his age. 5.
Nathaniel. 6. Eleazer. 7. Thomas, born
1667, mentioned below. 8. Patience, married
John Nelson.
(Ill) Thomas Morton, son of Ephraim
Morton (2), was born in Plymouth, Massa
chusetts, in 1667. Married there in 1696 Mar
tha Doty. Children: 1. Thomas, born 1700.
2. Lydia, born 1702, married Benjamin Bart
iett. 3. Lemuel, born 1704, mentioned below.
4. Sarah, born 1706, married Joseph Bartiett.
5. Nathaniel, born 1710. 6. Mary, born 1712
married  Nelson.
(IV) Lemuel Morton, son of Thomas Mor
ton (3), was born in 1704, at Plymouth, Mass
achusetts. V) Lemuel Morton, descendant of George
Morton and according to the best evidence
of Lemuel (4) is mentioned in Sabine's
Loyalists as one of the prominent men of
Massachusetts who remained loyal to the King
and at the time of the Revolution made his
home with thousands of others of the wealth
iest and most prominent citizens of the col
onies. He became a magistrate, and major
of the militia in Nova Scotia. He died at
Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, in 181 1. (Sabine,
Vol. ii. p. 109).
Davis, in his history of the Morton family,
tells us that Elkanah Morton, Jr., also emi
grated to Nova Scotia. Elkanah, Jr., was born
in 1 73 1 in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. His
father, Elkanah, was born in 1702 in Ply
mouth, son of Ephraim Morton, and grandson
of George Morton, who was son of Ephraim
Morton (2), mentioned above. According to
family tradition the ancestor of the Cornwallis
line was from Connecticut, and it is likely that
Lemuel was born there for no record of his
birth is found in Plymouth. He was granted
land at Cornwallis and followed farming there.
Among his children was Samuel, mentioned
below. (VI) Samuel Morton, son of Lemuel Mor
ton (5), was born at Cornwallis, King's coun
ty, Nova Scotia, about 1780-90. He received
an excellent education in the schools of his
district, and early began to teach. He taught
in the schools of his native town, and in Prince
Edward Island, being considered very capable,
and a strict disciplinarian. He taught until
the new school act went into force, when the
government established public schools. Later
he retired and lived with his brother, the Hon

orable John Roland Morton, of Shelburn,
Shelburn county, Nova Scotia, and a member
of parliament at Halifax. Samuel died at
Kentville, Nova Scotia. He was a public-
spirited man, of great integrity. He was pop
ular, being considered quite a wit. He was a
member of the Presbyterian church at Corn
wallis, Nova Scotia, and was a strictly tem
perate man. He was a Conservative in poli
tics, had served on the school committee and in
the military. He married Cynthia Webster,
daughter of Dr. William Webster, of Kent
ville, Nova Scotia. Children: 1. Agnes, mar
ried William Ells ©f Cornwallis. Their child,
Richmond Morton Ells, born May 7, 1846,
died, 1907; married, August 7, 1872, Georgi
anna Rockwell, who died in 1906; (children,
Fanny Barclay Ells, born May 3, 1873, mar
ried, December 18, 1892, Tennyson L. Baker,
of Somerville, Massachusetts; Stanley Rich
mond Ells, born June 6, 1877, married Carrie
Vreeland, of Somerville, Massachusetts; Lucy
Winifred Ells, born January 6, 1880; Rupert
Harry Ells, born November 22, 1882). 2.
Mary, married Andrew Barclay, of Shelburn,
Nova Scotia; children: i. Allie, married
 Haley; ii. James; iii. Cassie, married
Thomas R. Jolly; iv. Belle, married Rupert
Rockwell, of Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, who re
moved to California where they reside; v.
Stanley, who attended college and studied
medicine; he died in early manhood; vi.
Charles, who married a Miss Morrison, and
died in Boston in 1898. 3. Thomas Charles,
born July 24, 1826, mentioned below.
(VII) Thomas Charles Morton, son of
Samuel Morton (6), was born at Kentville,
King's county, Nova Scotia, July 24, 1826.
While yet in his boyhood he was left depend
ent upon his own efforts. He received a com
mon school education at Somerset, King's
county, attending school until he was fifteen
years old. When he was eighteen years of age
he came to Eastport, Maine, where he worked
at farming until he was twenty-one. Then he'
went to Boston and worked on the Adams
farm, on Adams street, Winter Hill, for about
three years. From there he went to Arlington,
Massachusetts, and entered the employ of
Warren Rawson, where he worked at market
gardening, driving a team to the Boston mar
ket. After a few years with Rawson, he
worked for a number of years for George
Hill of Arlington, in a similar position. About
the time of his marriage he became foreman
on the Charles Winn farm, which he conduct
ed for about three years. In the latter part

1204

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

of the fifties he bought the Edward Fillebrown
property on Spring street, Belmont, Massa
chusetts, of about twenty-seven acres, situated
partly in' Arlington. Here he built his home.
He became a successful market gardener and
accumulated considerable property. He was
interested at one time in the Arlington Street
Railway, and had investments in Toledo,
Ohio. A man of stern appearance, he had a
kind heart, and was always a friend to those
in need, giving generously though quietly. He
was a man of much determination, and of
sterling character. A member of the Univer
salist church, and a man of temperance prin
ciples ; a Republican in politics. He married
at Arlington, Eliza Ann Johnson, born Octo
ber 4, 1835, died March 19, 1869, daughter of
William and Ruth (Murless) Johnson, of Arl-'
ington, who died October 9, 1884, aged eighty-
four years. Children: 1. Edward Fillebrown,
born May 27, 1859, mentioned below. 2. Al
fred M., born January 1, 1866, mentioned be
low. (VIII) Edward Fillebrown Morton, son of
Thomas Charles Morton (7), was born at
Arlington, Massachusetts, May 27, 1859. He
received his education in the public schools of
Belmont, going two and one-half years to the
high school, meantime working with his father
on the farm. From the age of sixteen to twenty-
five he remained with his father, when he en
tered the employ of Artemas Locke, driving
his market wagon to Boston daily for a year.
He then returned to the homestead, which he
hired for five years and then bought, conduct
ing it ever since. The farm is the original
Fillebrown place of twenty-seven acres, dating
back to the ancient Fillebrowns, and was for
merly part of an Indian village. Many Indian
relics have been found there. It is situated on
a hill overlooking Boston harbor, six miles
distant. From here can be seen the state-
house, Memorial Hall, Cambridge, Bunker
Hill monument and other points of interest, it
being the most sightly spot in the country.
Mr. Morton has a large plant of two green
houses, one hundred and fifty by forty feet,
and cultivates under six hundred sash, besides
employing a force all the year round, making
four trips to Boston weekly during the season.
He raises all kinds of garden produce, making
a specialty of lettuce, celery, onions and dan
delions. He is a Republican in politics, a
member of the Universalist church at Arling
ton. He is a member of Hiram Lodge of
Masons since January 18, 1894, and of Me
notomy Chapter of Royal Arch Masons since

November 9, 1897. He married, January 3,
1894, Annette Wadman, born May 21, 1864,
daughter of James and Sarah (Fulmer)
Wadman, of Five Islands, Colchester county,
Nova Scotia. Children: 1. Ruth Murless,
born August 2, 1894. 2. Stanley Webster,
born July 12, 1897.
(VIII) Alfred M. Morton, youngest child
of Thomas Charles (7) and Eliza Ann (John
son) Morton, was born at Arlington, Massa
chusetts, January 1, 1866. He was educated in
the public schools of his native town, and was
reared to manhood under the parental roof.
During this period he assisted his father in
the duties of the farm and under his tuition
learned the various details of garden farming,
which line of occupation he has successfully
followed up to the president period (1907).
Mr. Morton is of a modest and retiring dis--
position, and is systematic and orderly in the
management of all his affairs. He has
worthily upheld the traditions of his ancestors,
and is regarded by all who know him as a good
and useful citizen.

The Emerson family, which
EMERSON has been prominent in New
England since its first settle
ment, originated in England, and numbers
among its members many distinguished and
able men. The first to use the name Emerson
in England was Johannes Emeryson, of
Brancepeth parish, county Durham, who was
born before 1300. From him the, various
branches of the English family are descended.
The coat-of-arms was borne ' by the Amer
ican branches of the family as well by the
English. (I) Thomas Emerson was born some time
before 1540, in England. He was a resident
of Great Dunmow, county Essex, where his
three children are recorded. He was probably
son of Ralf, of Foxton, who received arms in
1533. Children: 1. Robert, baptized October
25, 1 56 1 ; see forward. 2. Joan, baptized
1562. 3. John, baptized 1565.
(II) Robert Emerson, son of Thomas Em
erson (1), was born at Great Dunmow, and
baptized there October 25, 1561. He may be
identical with Robert Emerson, of 'Bishop's
Stortford, who married there, November 24,
1578, Susan Crabb, who was buried there No
vember 20, ,1626, aged seventy years. Robert
was buried at Bishop's Stortford, January 6,
1820. Children: 1. Alice, baptized November
22, 1579. 2. Margaret, baptized February 21,-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1205

1581-82. 3. Thomas, baptized July 26, 1584,
see forward. 4. Anne. 5.- Robert, baptized
April 12, 1696. 6. John.
(Ill) Thomas Emerson, son of Robert
Emerson (2), was baptized at Bishop's Stort
ford, England, J*uly 26, 1584, and was the
immigrant ancestor. In the church warden's
book of St. Michael's he is recorded as a col
lector for the poor in 1636, probably the year
that he came to America. He married, at
Bishop's Stortford, July 1, 161 1, Elizabeth
Brewster. The genealogist of the Emersons
of England suggest that she was the daughter
of the postmaster of Scrooby, the elder of the
colony at Plymouth, New England. Emerson
was in Ipswich, Massachusetts, as early as
1638, when his name appears on the list of
proprietors of that town, and he was select-
'man in 1646. Late in life he conveyed to his
son John for a yearly rental, during the lives
of himself and wife Elizabeth, the homestead
on which he lived, making many stipulations
of interest. He died in Ipswich, Massachu
setts. His will was dated May 31, 1653, and
proved January 4, 1660, naming his wife as
executrix, and bequeathing also to sons
Joseph, John and Nathaniel; to daughters
Elizabeth Fuller and Susan Emerson; to son
James, "if he shall come over to this coun
try;" and to wife Elizabeth. Children, all
baptized in St. Michael's Church, Bishop's
Stortford, England : 1. Robert, baptized May
24, 1612. 2. Benjamin, baptized October 2,
1614. 3. Ralfe, baptized October 19, 1615,
killed June, 1626, by falling tree. 4. James,
baptized February 16, 1617, never emigrated.
5. Joseph, baptized June 25, 1620, see for
ward. 6. Elizabeth, baptized June 14, 1623,
married John Fuller. 7. John, baptized Feb
ruary 26, 1625, died December 2, 1700; set
tled in Gloucester, Massachusetts. 8. Thomas,
died before 1653. 9. Nathaniel, baptized July
18, 1630, settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
10. Susan, baptized March 17, 1632.
• (IV) Joseph Emerson, son of Thomas
Emerson (3), was born in England, and bap
tized June 25, 1620; died at Concord, Massa
chusetts, January 3, 1680. Through his son
Joseph he was the progenitor of that most
illustrious American, Ralph Waldo Emerson
—Ralph Waldo 8, William 7, Joseph 6, Ed
ward 5, Joseph 4. He married, in 1646, Eliz
abeth Woodmansey, daughter of Robert and
Margaret Woodmansey; her father was a
schoolmaster of Boston. Mr. Emerson settled
at Ipswich, Massachusetts ; removed to York,
Maine; and finally to Milton, Massachusetts.

He was a minister of the standing order of
Puritan clergymen. Of his education nothing
is known, though tradition says that he was
educated in England. He may have studied
at Harvard, but he did not graduate there. He
was in Ipswich as early as 1638; was admitted
a freeman there December 19, 1648. He
preached at York, Maine, the same year. In
1653 he was a resident of Wells, Maine, took
the freeman's oath July 4, 1653 ; and was an
inhabitant when the- commissioners took the
submission of the people, the court for that
purpose being held in his house. He favored
submission to Massachusetts in 1651-52, and
was a leading man of his party holding that
view. He signed a petition to Cromwell as of
Wells, asking the protector to confirm the
jurisdiction of Massachusetts over the inhabi
tants of Wellsj In this petition, which he
probably wrote, the people of Wells refer
Cromwell to their pious and reverend friend,
Mr. John Wheelwright, "sometime of us, now
in England," for any desired information as
to their condition of character. Emerson soon
lost his hold on the affections of the people of
Wells; largely perhaps -because of the political
dissensions which disturbed the church. About
1664 he left Wells, and the church fell to
pieces soon afterward. He was minister at
Milton for a time, and finally at Mendon,
Massachusetts, where he was settled Decem
ber 1, 1669, remaining until that town was de
stroyed by the Indians in King Philip's war ;
he then returned to Concord, where he spent
the remainder of his life. He married (sec
ond), December 7, 1665, Elizabeth Bulkeley,
daughter of Rev. Edward Bulkeley, of Con
cord, granddaughter of Rev. Peter Bulkeley,
D. D, first minister of Concord. She was
born in 1638, and died September 4, 1693, then
wife of Captain John Brown, of Reading.
Children by first marriage : 1. Joseph. 2.
James, married Sarah  . By second
marriage: 3. Lucy, born October 2, 1667,
died 1740; married, May 15, 1683, Thomas
Damon, and lived in- Reading, Massachusetts.
4. Edward, born April 26, 1670, died May 9,
1743; married, January 27, 1697, Rebecca
Waldo. 5. Peter, born 1673, died 175 1 ; mar
ried, 1696, Anna Brown. 6. Ebenezer, died
1751. 7. Daniel, married, May 19, 1709, Jane
Armitage, of Boston.
(V) Edward Emerson, son of Joseph
Emerson (4), was born April 26, 1670, died
May 9, 1743; married, January 27, 1697, Re
becca Waldo. They resided in Chelmsford,
Newburyport and Boston.

1206

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

(VI) Edward Emerson, . son of Edward
(5), and Rebecca (Waldo) Emerson, was
born. at Chelmsford, May 8, 1702, and died in
Boston, 1740. He married, November 13,
1729, Hannah Beale, who was born in Brain
tree. He removed to Boston and was a shop
keeper there. He left a large estate, over
eleven thousand pounds according to the in
ventory. He had a grant of land in Lunen
burg in his father's name, May 11, 1720. He
was clerk of the market in Boston, March 11,
1728; was elected constable March 14, 1736;
hogreeve March 13, 1737. He owned land
in Chelmsford and Lunenburg at the time of
his death. Children: 1. Joseph, born Septem
ber 13, 1 73 1, mentioned below. 2. Hannah,
born January 5, 1736.
(VII) Captain Joseph Emerson, son of
Edward Emerson (6), was born September
13, 1731. His will was dated at Chelmsford,
October 17, 1792, and was proved March 13,
1793. His homestead at Chelmsford adjoined
that of Noah Spaulding. At the time of his
death Owen was not quite of age. He men
tions an apprentice, Samuel Holt, in his will,
and two other sons, Samuel and Luther, prob
ably older than Owen. The will provided a
bequest of sixty pounds for his (Owen's)
services in conducting the farm before he came
of age, provided he continued after testator's
death to run the farm and the shoe shop for
the benefit of the estate. Children: 1. Sam
uel, died at Concord, March 2, 1838 (?). 2.
Luther. 3. Owen, mentioned below.
(VIII) Owen Emerson, son of Captain
Joseph Emerson (7), was born in Chelms
ford or vicinity about 1772. He married
Mary Spaulding, of a noted family of that
section. He was a shoemaker by trade, and
worked in a shop on the farm as his father
had done before him. Children, born in
Chelmsford: 1. Owen, born October 24, 1796.
2. Mary, April 20, 1798. 3. Joseph, May 31,
1799. 4. Bryant, January 29, 1801, mentioned
below. 5. Franklin, September 4, 1806. 6.
Elizabeth, July 23, 1808. 7. Rufus, March 3,
1810. (IX) Bryant Emerson, son of Owen Em
erson (8), was born in Chelmsford, January
29, 1801. He married Hannah Bradford, of
Salem, New Hampshire. She died at Glou
cester, Massachusetts, aged seventy-eight
years. He died at Chelmsford, 1846-47.
Children: 1. John Bryant, went to California
by ship and died just as the vessel reached
port ; aged twenty-one years. 2. Joseph Brad
ford, mentioned below. 3. Rufus Webster,

resides at Boxford, Massachusetts. 4. Han
nah Elizabeth, died young. 5. Burt, resides in
Gloucester. 6. Henry Harrison, resided in
Chelmsford. 7. James Pitts, born March 4,
1843, mentioned below.
(X) Joseph Bradford Emerson, son of Bry
ant Emerson (9), was born at Chelmsford,
March -15, 1833, in the Emerson homestead
which is one of the oldest in the town. It is
the work of three different builders at differ
ent periods, the last' addition having been made
by Bryant Emerson about 1825. Joseph Brad
ford Emerson was only thirteen when his
father died, but he soon took charge of the
farm and gave evidence early of the business
ability he developed later. At the age of nine
teen he settled in Rock Island, Illinois, in com
pany with George Parkhurst, but he suffered
from malaria and after an unhappy experience
of four years returned to Chelmsford. He
subsequently lived for two years at London
derry, New Hampshire, after which, in 1866,
he again returned to the homestead and re
sided there the remainder of his life. He did
a large speculative business in cattle, wood,
timber, etc., and kept a large dairy. Among
other enterprises in which he invested was the
Lowell Creamery. His judgment in business
matters was excellent, as events showed. He
died February 1, 1886. He was for nine years
chairman of the board of selectmen and a
member for a much longer period, and he took
an active interest in town and public affairs.
In religion he was a Unitarian.
He married, September 9, i860, Sarah
Parkhurst Byam, who was born on the old
Byam homestead now owned and occupied by
Charles Wellington Byam. She was the
daughter of Henry and Relief (Spaulding)
Byam. She survives her husband and resides
on the Emerson homestead witfy her son and
his family. Children: 1. Fred Lincoln, a milk
dealer in Lowell. 2. Walter Bryant, a farmer
on the homestead at Chelmsford; married,
December 6, 1885, Addie L. Fulton, a native
of Maine, who died January 10, 1887, leaving
one son, Breck Emerson; married (second),
October 24, 1893, Addie V. de Chautal, whose
father is a Montreal business man. 3. Agnes
Bradford, died at the age of three years and a
half. 4. Edith Williams, a teacher in the Som
erville public schools.
(X) James Pitts Emerson, son of Bryant
Emerson (9), was born in Chelmsford, Mass
achusetts, March 4, 1843. He received his
early education in the public schools of his
native town, afterward attending Westford

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1207

Academy. He worked at farming in his youth
and early life. For three years he was
engaged in the produce business in Boston;
he then returned to Chelmsford and estab
lished an express business between that town
and the adjoining city of Lowell. The busi
ness was successful and was continued until
the steam railway began operations between
the two places. Since then Mr. Emerson has
devoted his whole attention to farming and
trading. In politics he is a Republican. Prior
to engaging in the produce business in Boston,
he enlisted in Company H, Sixth Massachu
setts Volunteer Regiment, for nine months
service in the Union army during the Civil
war. He is an active member of the Chelms
ford Unitarian church. He is a member of
Chelmsford Lodge, No. 218, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows; Chelmsford Veteran
Association; Ladd & Whitney Post, No. 185,
of Lowell.
He married, 1864, Addie Kittridge, who was
born October 22, 1842, and died February 10,
1906, daughter of George and Eliza (Heald)
Kittridge, of Lowell. Children: 1. Harry B.,
born May 13, 1865, died January 15, 1901 ;
was unmarried and lived at home with father.
2. James A., born March 6, 1874, died Octo
ber 2, 1893. 3. Ralph Waldo, born March 26,
1876, at present postmaster of the town of
Chelmsford; married Mabel Florence Ten-
derson, of Lowell.

(For early generations see preceding sketch).
(V) Ebenezer Emerson, son
EMERSON of Joseph Emerson (4) and
grandson of Thomas Emer
son (3), was born in Mendon, Massachusetts,
and died in 1751. He married, in 1707,
Bethia Parker, daughter of Nathaniel and
Bethia (Polly) Parker, of Reading, who was
born in 1685 and died in 171 5. They resided
in Reading, Massachusetts. He was a farmer.
He married second, in 1716, Mary Boutwell,
daughter of Captain James and Mary (Ken
dall) Boutwell, of Reading. She was born
in Reading in 1685. They resided at Franklin
Weston place in Reading. It is said that he
had two more wives, but the names are un
known to the writer. His will was proved in
1751. Children: 1. Nathaniel, born March
31. 1705; married April 15, 1725, Hepzibah
Burnap. ' 2. Bethia, born July 2y, 1709 ; mar
ried April 14, 1 73 1, Nathaniel Parker. (See
sketch). 3. Susan, born March 8, 1713; mar
ried February 19, 1736, Isaac Burnap. 4.

Ebenezer, born January 6, 1716; married May
15, 1746, Anna Nichols; second, December 7,
1749, Rebecca Putnam. 5. James, born Jan
uary 9, 1720; married, November- 28, 1744,
Mary Farrar, and second, Elizabeth Nichols.
6. Joseph, born November 3, 1721 ; married
December 7, 1749, Phebe Upton. 7. Thomas,
born July 12, 1724; married April 16, 1747,
Elizabeth Bruce, and second, Mary Dresser.
(VI) Nathaniel Emerson, son of Ebenezer
Emerson (5), was born at Reading, Massa
chusetts, March 31, 1705; died at Reading,
1777; married, 1725, Hepzibah Burnap,
daughter of Captain Joseph and Tabitha Bur
nap. They resided in Reading. He was a
farmer. His will, dated April 3, 1776, and
proved June 24, 1777, bequeathed to wife and
children. Children, born in Reading: 1. Na
thaniel, born 1726. 2. Hepzibah, born 1729;
married William Melendy. 3. John, born
1732 ; mentioned below. 4. Susannah, born
1734; died 1778; married December 28, 1756,
Josiah Upton. 5. Tabitha, born 1737. 6.
Martha, born 1739. 7. Mary, born 1739; mar
ried Nathaniel Batchelder. 8. Samuel, born
1740. 9. Joseph.
(VII) John Emerson, son of Nathaniel
Emerson (6), was born in Reading, in 1732;
married, in 1755, Hannah Nichols, daughter
of John and Joanna Nichols, of Reading,
where she was born in 1734. They lived in
Reading. He was ensign of the town military
company, in provincial days ; was selectman
in 1779, 1780 and 1786. His will, dated Sep
tember 4, 1799, proved April 25, 1803, be
queaths to wife Hannah, three sons and two
daughters, his son David being the executor.
Children, born in Reading: 1. John, born
1755; mentioned below. 2. Nathaniel, born
July 13, 1757; married January 2, 1781, Mercy
Badger. 3. David, born August 30, 1762 , died
July 28, 1845 > married first, February 8, 1787,
Sarah Gowing; second Selina Gassett. 4.
Hannah, born 1765. 5. Abigail.
(VIII) John Emerson, son of John Emer
son (7), was born in Reading, in 1755, and
died there in 1833; married September 9, 1777,
Phebe Beard. He was a member of the train
band, and a soldier in the Revolution in Cap
tain Eaton's Reading company, Colonel
Green's regiment. Children, born in Reading:
1. Phebe, born April 6, 1778. 2. Phebe, born
July 9, 1779. 3. Olive, born March 16, 1781 ;
died December 16, 1854. 4. John, born Jan
uary 18, 1783; mentioned below. 5. Luke,
born December 7, 1784; died October 12, 1839.
(IX) John Emerson, son of John Emer-

1208

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

son (8), was born in Reading, Massachusetts,
January 18, 1783 ;. died there in 1870; mar
ried, 181 5, Nancy Wiley, who was born in
1800 and died September 1, 1849. They re
sided at Reading. He was a deputy sheriff
of Middlesex county. Children: 1. Charles,
born June 8, 1815; mentioned below. 2. An
drew, born July 17, 1817. 3. George, born
May 17, 1820. 4. John Adams, born April 5,
1822. 5. John Brooks, born April 5, .1822
(twin of preceding). 6. Orin, born May 3c,
1824. 7. William, born July 18, 1826. 8.
Nancy, born March 29, 1831.
(X) Charles Emerson, son of John Emer
son (9), was born in Reading, Massachusetts,
June 8, 181 5. He was educated in the public
schools of his native town. He learned the
trade of shoemaker, and became a prominent
manufacturer of Stoneham, Massachusetts.
He retired from business at the age of severity,
and died December 12, 1898. He had a long,
honorable and highly successful career in bus
iness. He was energetic, enterprising and
upright in all his dealings. In politics he was
a Republican. He married July 29, 1848,
Anna Hay Noble, born in Stoneham, October
11, 1821, and died there January 6, 1904,
daughter of Ellis and Anna H. (Wheeler)
Noble. Ellis Noble was born March 9, 1799;
his wife August 8, 1800. Children of Charles
and Anna Hay Emerson: 1. Charles Chapin,
born in Stoneham, April 14, 1842 ; died No
vember 28, 1863 ; married Josephine Stone,
a native of Maine. 2. Albert Orin Chapin,
born June 30, 1844, in Stoneham ; married
Lizzie Mellin, of Maiden ; he died December
1, 1900. 3. Abby A., born in Stoneham, July
29, 1848; married June 7, 1877, Nathan
Green. (See sketch of the Green family).

Thomas Green, the immigrant
GREEN ancestor, was born in England in
about the year 1600, according
to a deposition that he made August 16, 1662.
Thomas Green, probably his son, came to
Massachusetts at the age of fifteen, in the
ship "Planter," which sailed from England
on April 2, 1635. The same name and age
appear also in the passenger list of the ship
"Hopewell," which sailed the next day, and
are believed to represent the same Thomas
Green Jr. Preceding the list of passengers in
the "Planter" is a certificate which states that
Thomas came from St. Albans, Hertfordshire.
It seems likely that Thomas Green Sr. came to
New England at the same time or a little

earlier, and settled at Lynn and Ipswich,
Massachusetts. He was living at Lady
Moody's farm at Lynn about 1646. He re
moved to Maiden about 1650, and was living
there October 28, 1651, when his wife Eliza
beth and daughter Elizabeth signed a petition
to the general court. He had a farm of sixty-
three acres in the northern part of Maiden.
He was one of the leading citizens, serving
repeatedly on the grand jury in 1658 as select
man of Maiden.
The first wife of Thomas Green (1), Eliz
abeth, whom he married in England, was the
mother of all his children. She died August
22, 1658. He married second, September 5,
1659, Frances Cook, born 1608, marrie'" first
Isaac Wheeler, and second, Richard v^ook,
who died October 14, 1658. She had children
by the first two husbands, none by her third,
Thomas Green. Thomas Green (1), diec De
cember 19, 1667. His will dated November
12, 1667, was proved January 15, 1667-8, be
queathing to five sons, five daughters and his
wife. The homestead was situate in that part
of Maiden now included in Melrose and
Wakefield. Children of Thomas and Eliza
beth Green: 1. Elizabeth, born in 1620. 2.
Thomas, born in 1620; married, 1653, Rebecca'
Hills, ancestor of the Leicester and Worcester
Greens. 3. John, born in England about 1632 ;
married Sarah Wheeler, December 18, 1660.
4. Mary, born in England about 1633 ; married
Gaptain John Waite. 5. William, born about
1635 ; married Elizabeth Wheeler and Isabel
(Farmer) Blood. 6. Henry, born 1638. 7.
Samuel, born March, 1645 ; mentioned below.
8. Hannah, born 1647; married November 5,
1666, Joseph Richardson, of Woburn. 9.
Martha, born 1650. 10. Dorcas, born in Mai
den, May 1, 1653; married January 11, 1671-2,
James Barrett, of Maiden.
(II) Samuel Green, son of Thomas Green
(1), was born March, 1645; married first,
1666, Mary Cook, daughter of Richard Cook,
whose widow married Thomas Green (1).
She died November 24, 171 5. He married
second, Susanna  , who survived him.
He settled in Maiden, and was called "Senior"
in the records. In October, 1670, he purchased
of his brother William one-half of his father's
farm, and from that time occupied the old
"Mansion House," buying the other half of
the homestead of his brother Henry, June 13,
1684. He died October 31, 1724, aged sev
enty-nine years seven months (gravestone).
His will was dated January 3, 1721-2; proved
November 13, 1724. He mentions his wife

MIDDLESEX* COUNTY.

1209

Susanna, six sons, three daughters, and all
the sons were appointed executors. Children :
1. Samuel, born January, 1667-8; married
May 4, 1694, Mary Wheeler. 2. Thomas,
born 1669; mentioned below. 3. John, born
April 1, 1672.' 4. William, born August, 1674;
married May 29, 1707, Elizabeth Farmer. 5.
Mary, born about 1677; married John Green.
6. Jonathan, born February 2, 1679-80; mar
ried November 15, 1715. 7. Martha, born
1683; married Samuel Green. 8. David, born
1685; married December 10, 1713, Martha
Pratt. 9. Elizabeth, born November 16, 1687 ;
married David Gould. 10. Isaac, born May
20, 1690; married Mary Pratt.
(Ill) Thomas Green, son of Samuel Green
(2), was born in Maiden, about 1669; mar
ried May 10, 1698, Hannah Vinton, daughter
of John Vinton (2) of Maiden, by his wdfe
Hannah (Green), daughter of Thomas Green
(2). He was a farmer at Maiden, and had
a fair estate. He died August 24, 1725. The
inventory was taken September 28, 1725. A
cider mill was part of his real estate. The
estate was valued at seven hundred and thirty-
four pounds, equivalent to nine hundred and
sixty Spanish milled dollars, or five thousand
dollars in present values. His real estate was
divided February 20, 1727-8. His widow
married before April 21, 1729, John Poole,
of Reading, Massachusetts. Children: 1. Han
nah, born March 6, 1698-9 ; married Ebenezer
Pa'rker. 2. Thomas, born December 9, 1702 ;
mentioned below. 3. Joshua, born September
14, 1708. 4. Jonathan, born April 2, 1714.
(IV) Thomas Green, son of Thomas Green
(3), was born at Maiden, December 9, 1702;
married Mary Green, born January 17, 1709-
10, daughter of Deacon Daniel Green (3) of
Stoneham, Massachusetts. He settled in Read
ing as early as 1727, and probably immediately
after his marriage. He died in 1753. His
will was dated February 7, 1753, proved March
I2> T753- He owned a large tract of land in
Holden, Massachusetts, which he bequeathed
to sons Thomas, Amos and Nathan. His
widow Mary married Timothy Wright, of
Stoneham, Massachusetts. She died June 20,
1787, aged seventy-eight years (gravestone).
Children, born in Reading: 1. Mary, born
December 2, 1728; married Ebenezer Smith.
2. Thomas, born May 9, 1731. 3. Daniel,
born July 8, 1733 ; mentioned below. 4. Han
nah, born November 20, 1735. 5. Sarah, born
November 14, 1738; died young. 6. Amos,
born May 16, 1740, settled in Amherst, New
Hampshire. 7. Nathan, born July 6, 1743,

died young. 8. Sarah, born October 3, 1745.
9. Nathan, born November 27, 1748; a miser;
lived at Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, un
married. (V) Deacon Daniel Green, son of Thomas
Green (4), was born in Reading, July 8, 1733 ;
married first, in 1760, Ruth Oakes, of Med
ford (published June 6, 1760) ; married sec
ond, April 16, 1801, Joanna (Oakes) Gerry,
widow, born 1761. She was a niece of his
first wife; married first, 1781, Reuben Gerry,
who was born November 17, 1760, and in 1788
his brother Daniel, born November 3, 1769,
sons of David and Keziah Gerry of Stone
ham. She died September 27, 1839, aged
seventy-eight (gravestone). He inherited
from his grandfather, Daniel Green (3), in
1759, the homestead, including land formerly
owned by Henry Green (3). Daniel Green,
his grandson, stated that he bought the farms
of Isaac Green (4) and John Green (4) in
South Reading, bordering on Stonham, where
the village of Greenwood is now located, about
1785, when thes^e brothers removed to Maine.
Daniel lived in Stoneham from about | the time
of his first marriage; was an active man of
affairs, and an influential citizen. In 1774 he
was chosen deacon of the church; was select
man 1769-73-75-77-79-81-82; town treasurer
1775-76-77-78-80-81. After he had lived over
the line in Reading three years he petitioned in
December, 1888, to have his farm annexed to
Stoneham. At first that town consented, but
in January, 1789, reconsidered the vote, and
had it erased from their records. The present
name of Greenwood is a compliment to Dea
con Green and his family. His homestead was
inherited by his son Charles. Daniel Green
was buried in Stoneham, though he died in
Reading, April 28, 1818, aged eighty-six years
(gravestone). Children: 1. Daniel, born Sep
tember 20, 1761 ; married, 1783, Sarah Evans;
second, Mary Evans, and third, Elizabeth
(Evans) Ash, in 1838; all sisters. 2. Nathan,
born March 31, 1765; mentioned below. 3.
Reuben, born March 14, 1767. 4. Ruth, born
April 15, 1769; married December, 1814.
Thomas Green; she died August 8, 1845. 5-
Abigail, born June 18, 1771 ; married Nathan
Simonds, of Stoneham. 6. Rhoda, married
Thaddeus Perry, who died August 14, 1833.
7. Mary, married Samuel Larrabee. 8.
Charles, born 1785; married Mary Green,
daughter of Aaron Green, of South Reading;
Charles inherited the homestead at Green
wood. Child of the second wife: 9. Isaac.
(VI) Nathan Green, son of Daniel Green

I2IO

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

(5), was born in Stoneham, Massachusetts,
March 31, 1765; married Elizabeth Orr, of
Charlestown. He lived for some years in
Stoneham, where he was tithingman in 1790
and collector of taxes also for 1790. After
ward lived at South Reading, in what is now
the village of Greenwood. Children, born in
South Reading. 1, Betsey. 2. Nathan, men
tioned below. 3. Jane, married 
Adams ; resided in Worcester. 4. Rebecca,
married, September 1, 1818, William Rowe, of
Stoneham, brother of Susan Rowe ; he died
March 13, 1826, from drinking poison by mis
take. 5. Belinda, married  Drake.
(VII) Nathan Green, son of Nathan Green
(6), was born about 1790; married, May 18,
1715, Susan Rowe, who was born April 13,
1793, daughter of William A. and Susanna
Rowe, of Stoneham, Massachusetts. Chil
dren: 1. Susan. 2. Pamelia, married May 6,
1838, George Bucknam, of Stoneham. 3.
George, married November 2, 1846, Mary
Jane Buck, born November 19, 1825, daugh
ter of Captain Joseph and Sally Buck, of
Stoneham. 4. Nathan, born 1826; mentioned
below. (VIII) Nathan Green, son of Nathan Green
(7), was born in Greenwood, formerly part of
South Reading, now Wakefield, Massachu
setts, in 1828. He was educated in the public
schools there. He was a shoe manufacturer in
Stoneham, Massachusetts. He was a member
of the local lodge of Free Masons, and he and
his family were members of the Unitarian
church. He married June 7, 1877, Abby A.
Emerson, who was born in Stoneham, July
29,1848. Children: 1. Nathan C, born April
18, 1879; died in May, 1885. 2. Charles A.,
born November 24, 1880, lives with his mother
at the family home, 293 Main street, Stone
ham.

The Averys of America belong
AVERY to the Dedham branch of the
family, the progenitor being
Robert Avery, who resided near Shepton Mal
let, Hundred of Whitestone, Somersetshire,
England. The arms of the Avery family are:
"Gules a chevron between three bezants, or,
crest, two lions gambs, or, supporting a
bezant." The arms indicate the possession of
money, and the estates of the Averys were
located in the parish of Pill (Pylle) Somerset
shire. The generations from Robert Avery
who lived near Shepton Mallet, England, was
through his son William and grandson Robert,

the latter being the father of William Avery,
the immigrant.
(I) William Avery resided in Berkham,
Berkshire, England, and in 1650 immigrated to
the New England colonies, bringing with him
his wife and three children, first locating in
Dedham, Massachusetts Bay Colony, where
four children were born, making a family of
seven children. He purchased considerable
land in the town of Dedham, was an officer in
the militia, organized and drilled to make a
suitable army to prevent Indian troubles, and
he was also a deputy to the general court of
the colony. He had learned the trade of
blacksmith in early life, but had also studied
medicine, being one of the earliest physicians
in Dedham, and .he was also a bookseller in
Boston, after 1680, and was esteemed as a
patron of learning. He was one of the orig
inal proprietors of the grant of eight thousand
acres of land at Deerfield, Franklin county,
Massachusetts Bay Colony, established as a
town October 22, 1677, the colony settling
apart the land to the town of Dedham.
(II) Robert Avery, son of William Avery,
of Berkham, England, was born there in 1649,
and was brought by his father and mother
to Dedham, Massachusetts Bay Colony, in
1650. He married Elizabeth Lane, of Mai
den, and they had children, including a son,
John. (Ill) John Avery, son of Robert and Eliz
abeth (Lane) Avery, was born in Dedham,
and was baptized in the First Church of Dor
chester, April 2y, 1686. He was graduated at
Harvard College A. B. 1706, and A. M. in
course. He was the first minister of the First
Church, Truro, Barnstable county, Plymouth
Colony, organized July 16, 1709; was married
November 23, 1710, to Ruth, daughter of Eph
raim and Mary (Sturtevant) Little, grand
daughter of Thomas and Ann (Warren) Lit
tle, and great-granddaughter of Richard War
ren, a Mayflower passenger, 1620, and his
wife Elizabeth. The Rev. John Avery died
at Truro while the pastor of the church he
founded and which he served for forty-four
years, in 1754.
(IV) Ephraim Avery, son of the Rev. John
and Ruth (Little) Avery, was born in Truro,
Barnstable county, Massachusetts Bay Colony,
April 22, 1713. He was graduated at Har
vard College A. B. 1731, A. M. in course", and
became pastor of the Congregational church in
Brooklyn, Connecticut, where, he was ordained
and settled in 1735. He was married in 1738
to Deborah Lathrop, and had a son Ephraim,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

I2II

who was ordained to the priesthood of the
Church of England by the Bishop of London,
1765. The Rev. Ephraim Avery died in
Brooklyn, Connecticut, October 20, 1754, after
a pastorate of nineteen years.
(V) Ephraim Avery, son of the Rev. Eph
raim and Deborah (Lathrop) Avery, was born
in Brooklyn, Connecticut, April 13, 1741. He
was graduated at Yale College A. B, 1761, A.
M. Kings College, New York, 1767, after
having been ordained to the ministry of the
Church of England by the Bishop of London
in 1765. He was married in 1762 to Hannah
Piatt, and they named their son John William
Avery. The Rev. Ephraim Avery died in Rye,
Westchester county, New York, in 1776.
(VI) John William Avery, son of the Kev.
Ephraim and Hannah (Piatt) Avery, was
born in Rye, Westchester county, New York,
May 24, 1767; was a clergyman in the Prot
estant Episcopal church. He married Sarah,
daughter of John Curtis Fairchild, of Strat
ford, in 1794, and died in Stratford, Connec
ticut, in 1799.
(VII) Elisha Lathrop Avery, son of the
Rev. John William and Sarah (Fairchild)
Avery, was born in Stratford, Connecticut,.
in 1799. He worked on a farm, and then
served an apprenticeship with a cordwainer in
New York City, but left him to carry on the
trade of shoemaker. Meanwhile he was per
fecting his education and in a few years
opened a private school in Chrystie street, New
' York, which he gave up to become principal
of the Allen street grammar school in 1851.
In 1862 he resigned his position in order to
open a private academy in Brooklyn, New
York, for the fitting of boys for college and
for the United States Naval Academy. He
was a remarkable linguist. For his inventive
accomplishments the American Institution of
New York awarded him a prize. He was lec
turer in the public schools of New York City
. . for many years. In 1863, during the darkest
period of the civil war, he joined the Home
Guard of Brooklyn, although at the time he
was over sixty years of age. He married, in
1822, Jane Gunning, and their children were:
John William, Elisha Lathrop, and Jane. Mrs.
Avery died in 1837, and he was married (sec
ond) April 12, 1839, to Sarah, daughter of
David Coit, of New London, Connecticut, and
the children by this marriage were: Sarah
Coit, Ogden, Charles French, and Harriet.
(VIII) Charles French Avery, son of
Elisha Lathrop and Sarah (Coit) Avery, was
born in New York City, March 25, 1847.

Pie attended the public schools of New York
City, and the Free Academy, afterward known
as the College of the City of New York, and
, he left the academy in 1862 to engage in the
business of buying and selling wool, and in
1873 he joined a fellow clerk, Nicholas
Mauger, in forming a partnership to carry on
the wool business under the firm name of
Mauger & Avery, with offices in New York
and Boston, and Mr. Avery continued the bus
iness on his own account after the withdrawal
of Mr. Mauger in January, 1906, retaining the
firm name. He was married, November 12,
1877, in the Church of the Messiah, Brooklyn,
New York, to Florence Adelaide, daughter of
Henry and Mary C. Topping of Brooklyn, and
the children by this marriage were: 1. Elisha
Lathrop Avery, born in Brooklyn, New York,
January 19, 1879; was educated in the public
school and high school of Newton, and became
connected with his father in business as a
salesman; was a member of the Republican-
ward and city committees of Newton. He
married, August 1, 1906, May, daughter1 of
William and Judith Urquahart, of New Bruns
wick, Canada. 2. Charles Henry Avery, born
in Newton, Massachusetts, March 5, 1880, was
graduated at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Newton high school, and the
Lowell Textile School, and obtained practical
knowledge of the manufacture of wool in mills
in North Adams. 3. Helen Ogden Avery,
born in Newtonville, Massachusetts, May 2,
1 88 1 ; graduated at the Newton high school
and Miss Dana's School in Morristown, New
Jersey; married, October 22, 1907, to Fred
erick H. Blake, of Yonkers, New York. 4.
Lester Hobart Avery, born in Newtonville,
Massachusetts, March 10, 1884; entered Wil
liams College ; died May 28, 1905, before com
pleting his college course. 5. Florence Gladys
Avery, born in Newtonville, Massachusetts,
January 25, 1885, graduated at the Newton
high school, and entered Boston University,
September, 1906. The family removed from
Brooklyn, New York, to Newton, Massachu
setts, in 1880, and in 1881 Mr. Avery pur
chased a beautiful estate on Crafts street,
Newtonville, which became the centre of an
extended hospitality shared by parents and
children alike for many years. The mother
of his children died at her home on Crafts
street, February 22, 1907. Mr. Avery was
prominent in the educational and civic inter
ests of the city of Newton, and was for six
years a member of the school board, declining
further service. He was a member of the

1212

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Newton Club, of the Middlesex Club, of the
Episcopal Club, the Commoners Club, the
Albemarle Golf Club, of which he was one of
the founders, and later president, and of the
Hatherly Club of North Scituate, of which he
was also president. He was elected to mem
bership in the Bostonian Society, and was an
associate member of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, New York City, of which his cousin,
Samuel Putnam Avery, was one of the found
ers. He was made a director of the Waltham
Street Railway Company, his church affilia
tions were with the Protestant Episcopal
Church, being while in New York City a mem
ber of St. Stephen's Church, on Chrystie street,
and on returning to Brooklyn, a member and
treasurer of the Sunday-school of the Church
of the Messiah, on Greene avenue, for many
years, and a founder and junior warden of St.
John's Church, Newtonville, Massachusetts,
of which his son, Elisha Lathrop Avery, was
the director of the very superior mixed choir
of that church.
Charles French Avery, besides being de
scended from the immigrant ancestors already
recited is descended through Deborah Lathrop,
who married the Rev. Ephraim Avery, in
1738; from the Rev. John Lathrop, born in
England, December 20, 1584, educated at
Queen College, immigrated to Massachusetts
Bay Colony, arriving in Boston in the ship
"Griffin," September 18, 1634, died at Barn
stable, November 8, 1653, and this same ances
tor married as her second husband John Gar
dener, fifth proprietor of Gardiner's Island,
and for her third husband, Colonel Israel Put
nam, afterward a major-general, in the United
States army, and she died at Putnam's head
quarters in the Highlands, Hudson river, New
York, in 1777. Sarah Fairchild, who married
the Rev. John William Avery, was a descend
ant in the sixth generation from Thomas Fair-
child, who married a daughter of Robert Sea
brook, and became one of the sixteen house
holders of Stratford Connecticut Colony in
1639. Sarah Coit, mother of Charles French
Avery, died in Newtonville at the home of
her son on Crafts street, February 12, 1892.
She was a direct descendant in the seventh
generation from John Coit (see note at end of
this narrative) who came probably from
Walkes, through England, to Salem, Massa
chusetts Bay Colony, between 1630 and 1638,
removed to Gloucester in 1644, and was
selectman 1648. He received a grant of land
in 1650 in New London, Connecticut, where
he died August 29, 1659.

Through his mother, Charles French Avery
was also a descendant of John Ogden (1643-
1682), one of the founders of Elizabethport,
New Jersey, whose granddaughter, Sarah
Ogden, was a favorite of General Washington
at Morristown, New Jersey. Mrs. Avery's
father was part owner of the pilot boat "Mary
A. Williams," which did service for the United
States government in the civil war. He was
connected with various early Dutch families
of New York and Brooklyn, his grandfather
who was a friend of John Jacob Astor, invest
ing with him, and at his advice in New York
and Harlem real estate, but unlike Astor he
was unable to hold it through a long period of
depression. He was descended from Lord
Loudon, of an aristocratic Scotch family, and
through her mother Mrs. Avery came from
the Griswold and Hobart families, who sup
plied clergymen and bishops to the Episcopal
church in America.
Charles French Avery may be classed as a
useful citizen of Newton. He was active
in helping to secure the depression of the rail
road tracks through the city, and as president
of the Newtonville Improvement Association
in converting "Poverty Block" into a public
park, and in aiding prominent liberal citizens
in securing the Governor Claflin estate to the
city for educational and park purposes. As a
member of the school board he urged the
building of modern school buildings, and
in Newton, and several of the finest school
buildings, including the high school, were
built while he was in office. His polit
ical home was with the Republican party.
He was elected to the office of alderman No
vember, 1907, but has never been ambitious
for official distinction. As a wool merchant
he stood at the head of the trade both in Bos
ton and New York, and enjoyed the uninter
rupted confidence of the United States custom
officials as well as the manufacturers and wool
merchants with whom he dealt. The finance
committee of the United States Congress fre
quently called him in consultation on questions
of tariff, and the house of Mauger & Avery
furnished important statistics to committees
in Congress which aided in framing the Mc-
Kinley and Dingley bills as they related to the
tariff on wool. Mr. Avery established a sum
mer home at North Scituate Beach, Massa
chusetts, about 1892, before the development
of the Scituate Neck, and he helped to organ
ize the Hatherly Association and was its pres
ident for several years. He was also a direc-.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1213

tor of the North Scituate Beach Improvement
Association. Note— The following is a statement of his
line of eligibility for membership in the Soci
ety of Mayflower Descendants :
1. Elder William Brewster, of the "May
flower," who was born 1566 or 1567, and died
at Plymouth, Massachusetts, on April 10, 1644,
was married to Mary  , who died at Ply
mouth, Massachusetts, on April 17, 1627.
Their son was
2. Jonathan Brewster, born at Scrooby,
England, on August 12, 1593, died at Connec
ticut on August 7, 1659 ; married at Plymouth,
Massachusetts, on April 10, 1624, to Lucretia
Oldham. Their daughter was
3. Mary Brewster, born at Plymouth, Mass
achusetts, on April 16, 1627; married at Ply
mouth, Massachusetts, on November 10, 1645,
to -John Turner. Their daughter was
4. Grace Turner, born at Scituate, Massa
chusetts, 1667; married at New London,
Connecticut, on September 3, 1 691, to Richard
Christophers, born at Devonshire, England, on
July 13, 1662, died at New London, Connecti
cut, on June 9, 1726. Their daughter was
5. Grace Christophers, born at New London,
Connecticut, November 14, 1698, died at New
London, Connecticut, on November 9, 1745 ;
married at New London, Connecticut, on July
2, 1718 or 1719, to John Coit, born at New
London, Connecticut, on May 25, 1696, died
at New London, Connecticut. Their son was
6. Samuel Coit, born at New London,
Connecticut, on October 14, 1726, died at New
York, New York, November, 1792; married
at New London, Connecticut, on February 18,
I753> to Elizabeth Richards, born at New
London, Connecticut, on February 9, 1733-4,
died at New London, Connecticut, on August
14, 1826. Their son was
7. David Coit, born at New London, Con
necticut, on December 29, 1764, died at New
York, New York, on May 13, 1831 ; married
at Morristown, New Jersey, on February 4,
1789, to Sarah Ogden, born at Morristown,
New Jersey, on April 23, 1768, died at New
York, New York, on April 30, 1841. Their
daughter was
8. Sarah Coit, born at New York, New
York, on May 10, 1806, died at Boston, Mass
achusetts, on February 12, 1892; married at
New York, New York, on April 12, 1839, to
Elisha Lathrop Avery, born at Stratford, Con
necticut, on 1799, died at Sea Cliff, Long
Island (residence being in Brooklyn), on
August 3, 1879. Their daughter was

9. Sarah Coit Avery, born at New York,
New York, on April 12, 1842, the applicant,
married at Brooklyn, New York, on December
25, 1865, to John Lester Keep, born at New
Haven, Connecticut, on March 18, 1838.
New London, Conn., June 21, 1905.
State of Connecticut,
County of New London, ss'
This is to certify that there appears on the
records of Births, Marriages and Deaths on
file in this office, the birth of Samuel Coit
(the son of John Coit and Grace his wife dated
the 14th days of October, 1726. Also the
birth of Elizabeth Richards, daughter of David
Richards and Elizabeth his wife dated the 9th
day of February, 1783. Also the marriage of
Samuel Coit and Elizabeth Richards dated
February 18, 1753. Recorded in Births, Mar
riages, Deaths Book p. 83. Also the marriage
of David Richards Jr, (son of David Richards
and Elizabeth Edgcomb, the daughter of John
and Hannah Edgcomb) dated the 3rd day of
April A. D. 1733. Elizabeth, the daughter of
David Richards and Elizabeth his wife was
born the 9th day of February A. D. 1733-4.
Recorded in Births, Marriages and Deaths'
Books, p. 118.
FRANK L. KENYON,
Town Clk. C Mc Registrar.
Correct Copy.
EDWARD H. WHORF,
(Seal.) Historian Gen.
July 14, 1905.

Charles Gott, the immigrant ances-
GOTT tor, born about 1600, came from
England with Governor John En
dicott in the ship "Abigail," in September,
1628. He settled at Salem, Massachusetts;
was admitted a freeman May 18, 1630; was
the first deacon of the Salem church; was a
deputy to the general court from Salem in
1635, and in 1654 from Wenham, whither he
removed. In 1629 he wrote to Governor Brad
ford a description of the election and installa
tion of Pastor Skelton. He was the only one
of the Wenham settlers honored with the title
of "Mr." After the removal of Mr. Fiske he
was appointed 'with James Moulton to procure
a minister, and when the church was reorgan
ized under Rev. Mr. Newman, in 1663, his
name stood next to that of the pastor. He
was commissioner to end small causes in 1654.
He and his descendants were prominent in
Wenham until the time of the Revolution,
when they left the town. Tradition says they

1214

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

were tanners, and that their tanyard, which
stood on the north side of the road to Dan
vers and a little west of the house now' occu
pied by Mr. Joseph Kent, was once the largest
in Essex county. He was dismissed with wife
and son Charles from the Salem church to
Wenham, December 10, 1663. He died Jan
uary 15, 1667-8. His widow deposed in 1667
that she was sixty-six years old. Children : 1.
Lieutenant Charles ; see forward. 2. Daniel,
baptized June 29, 1646. 3. Sarah, was adopt
ed by Captain Thomas Lathrop after the death
of her mother, his wife's cousin. 4. Deborah,
baptized February 12, 1636-7.
(II) Lieutenant Charles Gott, son of
Charles Gott (1), was born about June, 1639;
married November 12, 1659, Sarah Dennis,
who died August 8, 1665. He married sec
ond, December 25, 1665, .Lydia Clark. He
was admitted a freeman in 1663. He died
February 11, 1707-8; his widow February 20,
1717-8. Children, all born at Wenham: 1.,
Bethia, born April 24, 1661, died young. 2.
Charles, born August 7, 1662, died young. 3.
Sarah, born January 4, 1663, died young. 4.
Sarah, born December 2, 1664. Children of
second wife: 5. John, born November 8,
1668; married July 19, 1693, Rebecca Tarbox,
daughter of Samuel; father of Dr. Benjamin
Gott, of Marlborough, Massachusetts. 6. De
borah, born October 16, 1670. 7. Bethiah,
born July 16, 1674. "8. Samuel, born 1677;
mentioned below.
(Ill) Samuel Gott, son of Charles Gott
(2), was born in Wenham, about 1677, and
removed to Gloucester, Massachusetts, as early
as October 23, 1702, when he bought of Wil
liam Cogswell, of Chebacco, for sixty pounds,
lawful money, eight six-acre lots lying upon
Halibut Point, and fixed his abode in that
remote section of the town. He married Mar
garet Andrews, daughter of William Andrews,
of Ipswich, Massachusetts. She died October
30, 1722, aged forty-six years; he married sec
ond, in 1723, Bethany Cogswell, of Ipswich,
and she died November 3, 1748, about seventy-
one years of age. He had a large family of
children, the, names of five of whom are men
tioned in his will.
Of this branch of the family a number
were soldiers in the Revolution. Ebenezer
Gott, of Cape Ann, was in Captain John Row's
company, Colonel Ebenezer Bridge's (27th)
regiment in 1775. John Gott, of Cape Ann,
was corporal in the same company, and doubt
less brother of Ebenezer. Joshua Gott, of
Gloucester, was a private in Captain Barnabas

Dodge's company, Colonel Gerrish's regiment,
in 1775; also in Captain Dodge's company,
Colonel Loammi Baldwin's regiment, in 1775
and 1776;. was in Trenton in 1777.
(IV) Charles Gott, descendant of Samuel
Gott (3), was born in Gloucester, about 1775.
He was a fisherman, and followed the sea all
his life, going to the Banks in his younger days.
He lived to a ripe old age and was well known
and popular among his townsmen. In reli
gion he was a Universalist, and he and his
wife were active members and liberal sup
porters of the church. He was proseprous in
his business affairs. Children: 1. Charles,
born in Gloucester, about 1810 ; mentioned
below. 2. Henry. 3. David. 4. Mary Ann,
born December 1, 1817, died October 27, 1889;
married Addison Butler, who was born July
3, 1816, died April 24, 1887; children: i. Ad
dison Butler, Jr., born August 3, 1839, mar
ried November 5, 1863, Ellen Robinson (chil
dren: Frank F. Butler, born September 3,
1865; Fred G. Butler, born January 1, 1867;
Blanche, born January 23, 1871 ; Addison, Jr.,
born May 3, 1872 ; Matilda J. Butler, born
June 14, 1877; Ellen Butler, born November
23, 1879) ; ii. David Butler, born January 16,
1841, died 1841 ; iii. Walter, born July 8, 1843,
unmarried; iv. Alfred Butler, born July 1,
1846, married first, July 1, 1867, Susan Davis,
(children: Ella Butler, born September 24,
1867; Alice Butler born February 27, 1869;
Walter Butler, born April 22, 1870) ; Alfred
Butler married second, October 3, 1895, Chris
tie McPhee; v. David Butler, born September
27, 1848, unmarried; vi. Charles, born October
10, 185 1, married Jane Bisbee and had Charles,
Louis, Edward ; vii. George H. Butler, born
December 9, 1854; married May, 1890, Bella
Bird, and had Alfred, born December 1, 1893;
viii. Annie M. Butler, born August 11, i860;
married November 21, 1890, William Towle.
5. Amelia, married Gideon Lane.
(V) Charles Gott, son of Charles Gott (4),
was born at Gloucester, Massachusetts, about
1810, and died December 25, 1886, at the age
of seventy-six years. He was educated in the
public schools of his native town, and while
still a schoolboy began to take fishing trips.
He followed his father's vocation, and, like
most of the men of Gloucester went to the
Banks of Newfoundland in the fishing boats.
Later he shipped as a sailor on various vessels
and made voyages to Liverpool, to France, to
South America, and to the West Indies. After
his marriage he continued fishing on the Banks
with great success, and finally became part

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1215

owner of a number of fishing vessels. Among
his vessels was the "Cyrene," in which he took
great pride. He was fortunate in escaping the
perils of the sea and was never shipwrecked.
He owned his home in Gloucester. He con
tinued in the fishing business until he retired
on account of age a few years before his death.
During his last years he followed farming1 and
gardening, selling his own produce in and
about the city of Gloucester. He was a thor
oughly upright and straightforward man. In
personal appearance he was rather striking,
being over six feet tall, and quite slim, though
very active and strong. In religion Mr. Gott
was a Universalist; in politics a Republican.
He was an earnest believer in total abstinence,
and used all his influence to promote temper
ance reform in the community in which he
lived and among the men in his employ. He
married, at Gloucester, Mary Nichols, daughter
of Peter Nichols, of Boston. She died at the
age of sixty-five. Children, born at Glouces
ter: 1. Charles, born October 30, 1844; men
tioned below. 2. Mary, born in 1848; mar-^
ried William Stevenson, of Portsmouth, New
Hampshire. (VI) Charles Gott, son of Charles Gott
(5), was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts,
October 30, 1844. He received his schooling
in his native town, working at odd times in
the stone quarry there. After completing his
education he went to Belmont, Massachusetts,
and became an apprentice to learn the black
smith trade in the shop of ,R. A. Knight,
blacksmith and wheelwright. After some
months he removed to North Andover, Mass
achusetts, where he served out his three years
of apprenticeship in the blacksmith shop of
Thomas H. Kimball. He then worked at his
trade at North Andover Depot and at Bel
mont for John C. Hill, returning again to
North Andover, where he worked two years
for John W. Faulltner. Then in company
with John C. Hill he engaged in business for
himself in March, 1873, buying the business
and blacksmith shop of William Kimball, and
later also the business of Thomas Haley, at
Arlington, Massachusetts. The firm was dis
solved at the end of five years, Mr. Gott buy
ing out his partner. His shop was on Mass
achusetts avenue, near the present shop, until
he removed into the new shop in January,
1896. His present place of business was built
for his use by R. L. Hodgdon's heirs. Mr.
Gott makes a specialty of wagon and carriage
work. He manufactures all kinds of wagons,
chiefly for use of farmers, market men and

coal dealers. He has a spacious wheelwright
shop, 40 by 80, two stories high, and a large
carriage painting shop, besides a horseshoeing
shop on Massachusetts avenue in front of the
main building. Much of his work is done for
customers in Boston and towns within a
radius of ten miles. His plant is equipped
with the most improved machinery, such as
drills, planers, saws and trip-hammer, oper
ated by power. He has a reputation for sub
stantial and artistic work.
He attends the Arlington Congregational
Church. In politics he is a Republican, and
has served his party as delegate to senatorial,
representative and county conventions. He
was elected on the board of fire engineers two
years previous to 1877, when he became chief
engineer of the department, a position he has
filled with the greatest credit to himself and
satisfaction to his townsmen to the present
time. He has brought the department to ' a
high standard of efficiency, being second to no
town of its size. He established the perman
ent department and installed the fire alarm-
system. He is known throughout the state
among insurance and firemen for his ability
as a fire fighter and the length of time he has
been in the service. He was made a member
of Belmont Lodge of Free Masons, Febru
ary 17, 1870, and joined Hiram Lodge of Arl
ington, September 8, 1870; Menotomy Chap
ter, Royal Arch Masons, at Arlington, June
:5> T897. He is also a member of Bethel
Lodge, No. 12, of Odd Fellows, Arlington,
and is a past noble grand. He is a member
and former president of the Adelphi Club ;
president of the Farmer's Relief Association;
member of the Fire Chiefs' Club of Massa
chusetts; of the National Fire Chiefs' Associ
ation; of the Wagon and Carriage Makers'
Association of Boston, and was for a number
of years director of the Arlington Co-opera
tive Bank.
He married, October 21, 1868, Bessie H.
Elwell, born at Gloucester, December 5, 1846,
daughter of George and Clara (Haskell) El
well, of Gloucester. Her father was in the
fishing business there. Children: 1. Mabel
Nichols, born September 21, 1869; married,
December 8, 1891, William K. Cook, of
Provincetown, Massachusetts; children: i.
Robert Parker, born June 8, 1895; ii. Stan-
wood Hilliard, born May 21, 1898. 2. Edith,
born June 15, 1871 ; died December 25, 1877.
3. Florence May, born June 20, 1873; mar
ried, December 10, 1901, Egbert E. Stackpole;
children: i. Alan Douglas, born September 7,

I2l6

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1902; ii. Edith, born March 21, 1904. 4. Jen
nie Louise, born August 8, 1876. 5. Bessie
Elwell, torn August 9, 1877; married, August
23, 1899, Herbert Francis Winn, of Arling
ton, Massachusetts ; children : i. Warren Bail
ey Winn, born October 26, 1900; ii. Richard
Wilkins Winn, born June 19, 1903; iii.
Frances Winn, born September 17, 1906. 6.
Charles William, born October 9, 1878, died
November 4, 1878. 7. Maud Evelyn, born
October 2, 1880; married, December 6, 1905,
Oscar S. Creeley, of Belmont; child, Phillip
Laurie, born February 16, 1907. 8. Harriet
Califf, born December 3, 1882; married, June
27, 1906, William B. Brown, of Somerville.
9. Hollis Marshall, born May 25, 1885 ; mar
ried, April 17, 1907, Adele H. Tribble, of
Somerville, Massachusetts. 10. Charles, Jr.,
born September 29, 1887. 11. Marjorie Stan-
wood, born September 7, 1890. ' 12. Ploward
Palmer, born October 21, 1892.
Mr. Charles Gott died November 26, 1907,
after a brief illness resulting from a surgical
operation. When at 11. 10 o'clock on the night
of Tuesday, November 26, two blasts from the
fire gong vibrated over the town of Arlington,
there were many saddened hearts besides
those in the bereaved family of the deceased.
Mr. Gott stood in high esteem with his towns
men, all of whom felt that they had lost a good
friend, and the town a good and useful citizen.
The funeral services were held in the Congre
gational church (Orthodox), at Arlington, on
Saturday afternoon, November 30, 1907. The
business houses and city departments and
offices were closed out of respect to the de
ceased.

Walker is an English sur-
WALKER name, although many of its
representatives in New Eng
land since the time of the colony are of Scotch
extraction. Their names have been found
among the early immigrants to America and
the records disclose that at least fourteen fam
ilies, not including those of the "Old Colony"
nor those related to each other, were in the
country previous to the year 1650. The Walk
ers of the particular branch proposed to be
treated in this place are believed to have been
descendants of John Walker, of Charlestown,
Massachusetts, "bricklayer," age thirty-five in
1675, which mention of him in Wyman's
"Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown"
appears to be the first authenticated account
of him and his family in New England his
tory.

The genealogist of the Walker family in
several of its important branches gives no
account of John Walker, of Charlestown, and
his descendants, and makes no mention what
ever of that numerous and highly respectable
branch of his descendants who are believed
ultimately to have become seated in the pro
vince of Maine, and one of whom has been
mentioned in history as proprietor of the town
of Fryeburg. In his admirable work entitled
"Saco Valley Settlement and Families," Mr.
Ridlon speaks of the Walkers of Fryeburg
as having borne the same christian names as
the immediate descendants of John Walker of
Charlestown, and his wives Anna Leager and
Hannah Mirick. By his first wife he had four
children : John, Richard, Samuel and Anna ;
and by his second wife had ten children:
Mary, Joseph, Anna, Benjamin, Lydia, Ben
jamin, Sarah, Hopestill, Rebecca and Joseph.
John Walker, eldest of these children, set
tled in Newington, New Hampshire, and had
children, and some of them, or their children,
settled in Fryeburg and other towns in Maine,
and became themselves progenitors of fami
lies. Among those of the surname who appear
earliest in the records as heads of, families in
Fryeburg were Joseph Walker and his wife
Mary; Lieutenant John Walker, who is men
tioned as one of the "nobilities" of the town,
having served >at Fort William Henry when
Quebec was taken,1 and there suffered many
hardships and privations ; Ezekiel Walker,
who settled in the town in 1766-67 and was its
first licensed innkeeper ; Lieutenant Isaac
Walker, who settled there with others of the
same family in 1767; Samuel, whose settle
ment dated 1767 and who by his wife Hannah
had eleven children.
The Walker family of Maiden, Massachu
setts, two generations of which have been
closely identified with the business and civil
history of the city of Boston and its, vicinity
during the last more than two score years;
is descended from the Maine branch of the
same family and from one of its represents- ,
fives whose name is mentioned in the preced
ing paragraph, although because o,f the ab
sence of records the connection between John
Walker of Fryeburg and Exeter, Maine, and
the earlier generations of his ancestors cannot
be determined with genealogical certainty. It
is understood that John Walker was a son of
Samuel Walker, and that he was born in Frye
burg. The youngest but one of the children
of Samuel Walker and his wife Hannah was
Samuel, born December 6, 1784, and who,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1217

while not known to have been the immediate
ancestor of John Walker of Fryeburg and
Exeter, was at least contemporary with his
time. John Walker is believed to have been born
in Fryeburg, although the scene of his life
was chiefly laid in Exeter, where he died in
1879. He was a farmer and merchant, suc
cessful in his business life, a man of quiet
tastes, and highly respected in the community
in which he lived. He married twice. His
first wife was Abigail Cox, who bore him two
children: Olive Ann, who married James
Woodbury, of Bangor, and died in that city
in 1906; and George Willis Walker, of whom
particular mention is made in later para
graphs. For his second wife John Walker
married  Hamilton, by whom he had
two children : Abigail, unmarried, now living
in Bangor; and John W., unmarried and liv
ing in Exeter.
George Willis Walker, son of John Walker
and his first wife, Abigail Cox, was born in
Exeter, Penobscot county, Maine, August 27,
1827, and died at his home in Maiden, Massa
chusetts, October 4, 1901. His young life
was spent in his native town, where he was
educated in the public schools and worked on
the farm with his father until he was about
eighteen years old, when he started out to
make his own way in life. After a few months
spent in Bangor he went to Boston, and when
he arrived in that city the sum of his cash
capital amounted to just six dollars; but what
was df far greater value to him at that time
than the money he had, was a strong consti
tution and an equally strong determination to
succeed. He soon found work to do and did
it, and also made excellent acquaintances,
among whom may be recalled the names of
Thomas N. Hart, afterward mayor of Boston,
and the late J. K. C. Sleeper, at one time
mayor of Maiden.
After working at various occupations in
Boston for about three years, Mr. Walker
found employment with a stove dealer in the
city, and afterward continued in that line of
work with two other dealers, and each of the
three in subsequent years became his own em
ployees after he had returned from Troy, New
York, to Boston, and established himself as
proprietor of a general furnace and stove
store business. He went to Troy in 1853 and
secured a position with the large house of
Fuller, Warren & Co., stove founders and
dealers, remained there five years, then re
turned to Boston and became proprietor of a

general stove and furnace business. His cap
ital at that time was not large, but he had
good credit with the trade, especially with his
former employers in Troy, who shipped him
their goods with every confidence in his integ
rity and business capacity ; and they were not
disappointed in ultimate results. In the course
of about six years Mr. Walker removed his
stock of goods from his original location in
Boston to Union street, where for more than
thirty-five years afterward, both as sole pro
prietor and as president and active manager
of the Walker & Pratt Manufacturing Com
pany, he was well known in business circles
throughout New England. The company
dates its incorporation from the year ' 1874,
and is known as one of the large and success
ful manufacturing enterprises of the city.
His business life was rewarded with a com
fortable fortune and whatever measure of
success he achieved was entirely the result of
his own personal effort.
In 1869 Mr. Walker took up his residence
in Maiden, and his home soon became a cen
ter for the cultured and musical people of the
town and subsequent city, while he himself
in later years became actively identified with
the social and civil history of Maiden. He
held many public offices, and was chairman
of the board of selectmen during the last two
years of its existence as a town. He was
sinking fund commissioner fifteen years, a
trustee of Maiden Public Library more than
twenty years, water commissioner several
years, representative of Maiden in the legis
lature in 1885 and 1886, and presidential elec
tor in 1892. He also was active in Masonic
circles, a member, of the various subordinate
bodies of the order, Converse Lodge, Taber
nacle Chapter, Melrose Council and Beauseant
Commandery, and past commander of the lat
ter body. At the time of his death he was
president of the Maiden Club. He had been
a consistent member of the church since his
youth, and on coming to Boston he united at
once with the Shawmut church; and later in
Maiden he was a member and liberal support
er of the First Trinitarian Congregational
church. Mr. Walker married twice. His first wife,
whom he married in Albany, New York, Sep
tember 2, 1857, was Elizabeth M. Kinnicutt,
of Troy, New York, a native of Mayfield,'
Fulton county, New York, and a daughter of
John Wesley Kinnicutt. She died June 3,
1879, and Mr. Walker married (second), Mrs.
Dorcas E. Hagar, of Maiden. His children,

I2l8 !

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

all born of his first marriage: i. George Kin
nicutt, born in Albany, New York, March 9,
1859, died in Boston, May 4, i860. 2. Arthur
Willis, born in Boston, May 8, 1861, now pres
ident of the Walker & Pratt Manufacturing
Company (see post). 3. Gertrude Annie,
born in Boston, April 5, 1863, now a prac
ticing physician of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
and Whitefield, New Hampshire (see post).
4. Elizabeth Louise, born in Boston, July 7,
1868. 5. Mary Lena, born in Maiden, March
20, 1870
Arthur Willis Walker, second child and
only surviving son of George Willis Walker
and his wife Elizabeth M. Kinnicutt, was born
in Boston, Massachusetts, May 8, 1861. His
earlier education w,as acquired in the public
schools of Maiden, and his higher education
in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
After leaving the latter institution he became
connected with the manufacturing business
of which his father was the head, and spent
two years in the foundry at Watertown, Mass
achusetts, where he . acquired a practical
knowledge of the business in all its details.
From that time he was advanced through var
ious higher positions to that of treasurer of
the company, which he held '.bout ten years,
and as his father's years increased he assumed
more and more of the responsibilities and con
duct of the general business of the company;
and upon the death of his father in 1901 he
succeeded him as president, which office he
still holds. Mr_ Walker is strictly a business
man, a member of the Congregational church
of Maiden, a Templar Mason, and in politics
is a Republican.
He married, October 28, 1884, at Maiden,
in the old Dexter family homestead, Annie
Murdock Dexter, who was born in Maiden.
daughter of Richard Dexter and Julia A. Dole
his wife, and a descendant of Richard Dexter,
the immigrant ancestor, and one of the earliest
settlers of what now is the city of Maiden.
(See Dexter family). Four children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Walker ; all in
Maiden: 1. Margaret, born April 6, 1886,
died April 6, 1886. 2. George Willis, born
October 11, 1888, died May 18, 1889. 3. Rich
ard Dexter, born December 4, 1890. 4. Eliz
abeth Dexter, born August 3, 1897.
Gertrude Annie Walker, third child and eld
est daughter of George Willis Walker and
Elizabeth M. Kinnicutt his -wife, was born in
Boston, Massachusetts, April 5, 1863. She
was educated in the public schools of Maiden
and entered Smith College, Northampton, in

1881, graduating A. B. in 1885. She began
the study of medicine in the Woman's Medi
cal College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in
1889, made the course of that institution and
was graduated with the degree of M. D., in
1892. During the next year she was interne
at the New England Hospital for Women and
Children at Roxbury, Massachusetts, then
took a special course of study of diseases and
treatment of the. eye, and in 1893 became pro
fessor of ophthalmology in the Woman's Med
ical College of Pennsylvania, her alma mater.
She is engaged in active practice in Philadel
phia and also at her summer home in White-
field, New Hampshire. Dr. Walker is a mem
ber of various prominent medical societies,
also of the Society of Colonial Dames, and
enjoys celebrity as an authoress. Her "Songs
and Games for Little One's" was published by
Ditson & Co. in 1887, and later, in collabora
tion with her sister Elizabeth, she produced
"The Children's Song Serial" and "Songs of
Nature," and besides these works she also has
published, through P. Blakiston & Co., of
Philadelphia, a text book on diseases of the
eye.

The Dexter family of New
DEXTER England of the particular
branch under consideration
here appears to have been one of great
antiquity in Europe, and although seated in
Ireland for perhaps two or more centuries
previous to the immigration of Richard Dex
ter to this country soon after the year 1640,
there is reason to believe that the family orig
inated elsewhere than in Ireland, and that one
of its ancient branches became planted there
as early as the twelfth century.
One authority informs us that Richard Dex
ter, the immigrant, was descended from one
of the lords chief justice of Ireland, that he
lived and probably was born in the town of
Alede, in county Meath, and there married his
wife Bridget, whose family name does not
appear in any of the published records. It is
further said, and probably with much truth,
that Richard Dexter and his family were sub
jected to religious persecution, for they were
Protestants, and that by reason thereof they
were compelled to find refuge in England,
from whence soon afterward they embarked
for America.
The work, "American Ancestry," speaks of
Richard Dexter, of Charlestown and Maiden,
as having been born probably in Ireland in

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1219

1606, and died at Charlestown in 1680. He
was admitted as townsman at Boston, Febru
ary 28, 1641-42. The same authority says that
Richard Dexter was probably descended from
Richard de Exeter, governor of Ireland, 1269,
and Richard de Exeter, chief justice of the
Dublin bench, 1307, and whose descendants
can be traced in the County Meath until their
names finally became spelled Dexter. Savage
mentions Richard Dexter as having been ad
mitted townsman at Boston, February 28,
1642, and was of Charlestown, 1644, on the
Mystic side, where his estate descended
through five generations. To this statement
we may add that the estate of Richard has con
tinued in his family from his time to that of
the present generation of his descendants. The
"Memoirs of Prince's Subscribers" says that
Richard Dexter became the owner of a farm
in Maiden by deed dated December 7, 1663,
which has continued in possession of his des
cendants to the present time, and that the orig
inal purchase was afterward increased to
about two hundred acres. Little is known of
Bridget, the wife of Richard Dexter, except
that" she is believed to have been born in coun
ty Meath, Ireland, and in Maiden was num
bered among the faithful followers of the
meek preacher, Rev. Marmaduke Matthews.
She has been mentioned by some chroniclers
as a woman of great piety, and her life and
Christian example lived long after she had
gone to the grave. On one occasion the wife
of one of the townsmen spoke ill of her, and
for the offense was speedily brought before
one of the magistrates. She bore her hus
band five children: Alice, Ann, Elizabeth,
John and Sarah, the latter having been born
in Boston in 1644.
John Dexter, only son of Richard Dexter
and Bridget his wife, was born in 1639, prob
ably in Ireland, and died in Maiden, Massa
chusetts, December 8, 1677, having been shot
by one John Hunting, but whether by accident
or otherwise does not appear in the records.
This John Dexter succeeded to the paternal
estate in Maiden. By his wife Sarah he had
three children, a son John, a daughter Sarah,
and one other child.
Deacon John Dexter, son of John Dexter
and Sarah his wife, was born in Maiden in
1671, and died there November 14, 1722. He
was commander of a company of foot under
George I, and received his commission from
Governor Samuel Shute in 1717. He was a
weaver by trade, but a farmer by principal
occupation. His wife, Winifred Sprague, was

i

born in Maiden, December 31, 1673, and died
there December 5, 1722, soon after the death
of her husband. She was a daughter of Sam
uel Sprague, granddaughter of Ralph Sprague
and great-granddaughter of Edward Sprague
of Upway, Devonshire, England, whose three
sons, Ralph,. Richard and William, all born in
the early part of the seventeenth century,
landed at Salem in 1628. Deacon John Dex
ter and his wife Winifred had eight children,
f whom the Rev. Samuel Dexter, born Octo-
er 23, 1700, died January 29, 1755, was the
third child and second son, and Captain John
Dexter was the seventh child.
Captain John Dexter, otherwise known as
Deacon Dexter, was born in Maiden, Decern-
ber 19, 1705, and died there March 17, 1790.
He was town clerk of Maiden several years,
a delegate to the provincial congress at Con
cord, and an active and 'efficient man during
the revolutionary war. He held a commis
sion as ensign from Governor William Shir
ley, George II, 1743, of a company of foot of
Maiden, under the command of "Honorable
Spencer Phipps as colonel." Throughout his
life he continued to occupy the family man
sion in Maiden, which had been occupied by-
three generations of his ancestors before him
and which now is in possession of his great-
great-grandchildren. Captain . John Dexter
married three times. His first wife was Sus
annah Hewitt, daughter of Winter Hewitt, of
Marshfield. She died March 9, 1735, aged
twenty-two years eight months. His second
wife, Abigail, died January 19, 1746, aged
thirty-one years. His third wife was Joanna
Parker, who died February 28, 1783, aged
sixty-nine years. In all Captain Dexter had
thirteen children, six of whom survived him:
Susannah, Winifred, John, Rebecca, Bridget
and Richard.
Captain Richard Dexter, son of Captain
John Dexter and his wife Joanna Parker, was
born in Maiden, June 4, 1756, and died there
November 3, 1842, aged eighty-six years five
months. His wife was Martha Hatch, who
died January 5, 1816, daughter of Captain
Naylor Hatch. Captain Dexter and Martha
Hatch his wife had six children: Dr. George,
Martha, Rebecca Parker, Richard, Lucretia
and Samuel, the latter of whom was lost at
sea. Richard Dexter, son of Captain Richard
Dexter and Martha Hatch his wife, was born
in Maiden, January 26, 1796, and died Septem
ber 18, 1831. His wife was Jerusha Baldwin,
daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Sargent)

1220

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Baldwin, and by whom he had three children —
Elizabeth, Richard and Samuel.
Richard Dexter, second child and elder son
of Richard Dexter and Jerusha Baldwin his
wife, was born May 18, 1824, in Maiden, on
the old Dexter place, which has been in the
family since 1663. The house in which he
lived and died has a commanding appearance,
being approached by avenues of fine old elm
trees. George Washington was at one time a
visitor at the estate, and rested under the shade,
of these elms. The beauty of the West End
of Maiden is largely due to Mr. Dexter's en
ergy and foresight. The beautiful wide
streets, shade trees, long lawns and fine effects,
are the result of his wisdom in developing the
property which was left him by his father and
grandfather. Mr. Dexter never held any pub
lic office, but was much interested, with his
brother, Samuel G. Dexter, in the development
of his property. Richard Dexter married, De-
- cember 24, 1846, at Fitchburg, Massachusetts,
Julia A. Dole, who was born December 24,
1824, daughter of Stephen and Hannah (Mur
doch) Dole, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
Children of Richard Dexter and Julia A. Dole
his wife; all born in Maiden: 1. Richard
Franklin, born December 17, 1848, died June
5, 1869, unmarried. 2. Julia Elizabeth, born
April 22, 1852, married Ezra Allen Stevens.
3. Rebecca Parker, born January 7, 1859, died
July 11, 1874. 4. Annie Murdock, born May
27, i860; married to Arthur Willis Walker.

The first immigrant of this family,
GOSS John Goss, came from England
with Governor Winthrop in 1630,
and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, May
18, 1631, he was admitted a freeman, but he
left no sons and has no descendants of the
name Goss. It is practically impossible in
many cases to distinguish the Gross, Gosse
and Goffe families in the early records. Most
of the Worcester county families of Goss have
descended from Philip Goss, who was born
about 1650.
(I) Edward Goss was of Marblehead in
1668, according to Savage, but he lived and
died without leaving many traces behind him.
There is reason to believe that he was the
father of Richard Goss, mentioned below.
(II) Richard Goss, believed to be son of
Edward Goss (1), was born in 1662, at Mar
blehead or vicinity, and died January 24,
1714-15, aged fifty-two years. He married
Mary  . Children : 1. Eleanor, mar

ried, July 1, 1721, Thomas Rhodes, of Marble
head. 2. Thomas, married a Harraden. 3.
John, born about 1700, mentioned below. 4.
Richard, Jr., born 1711, and baptized January
6, 171 1-12, resided in Gloucester. 5. William,
baptized August 1, 1714, at Ipswich, Massa
chusetts, and settled at Marblehead ; married
Rebecca —  .
(Ill) John Goss, son of Richard Goss (2),
was born about 1700. Married, October 20,
1725, Sarah Philips. He resided in Ipswich,
and his children were baptized at Ipswich.
Children: 1. Sarah, baptized August 28,
1728. 2. Unity, born 1728, baptized June 23,
1728. 3. John, baptized June 28, 1730. 4.
Richard, baptized April 30, 1732. 5. Thomas,
baptized September, 1734, died June 27, 1748.
6. Zebulon, baptized June 19, 1737, mention
ed below. 7. Daniel, baptized March 4, 1738,
died June 29, 1748. 8. William, baptized.
June 20, 1742. (See Essex Register, Vol. 1,
p. 128).
(IV) Zebulon Goss, son of John Goss (3),
was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1737, and
was baptized a few days later in the Ipswich
church June 19. He was a soldier in the Rev
olution from Mendon, Worcester county,
where he settled a few years before. He was
a private in Captain Samuel Craggin's com
pany, Lieutenant-Colonel Nathan Tyler's reg
iment, from December 8, 1776, to January 21,
1777, on a Rhode Island alarm; also in Cap
tain Philip Ammidon's company in Colonel
Tyler's regiment in the Rhode Island cam
paign of 1780. The Mendon proprietors' rec
ords show that' he and James Lovett met and
perambulated the line between their land and
Misco hill, adjoining Josiah Adams, exchang
ing some parcels of land at the time and con
firming the bounds by agreement as record
ed January 17, 1772. He was a farmer in
Mendon the remainder of his life. He died
in 1821. His will was dated June 24, 1815,
and was proved July 3, 1821, bequeathing to
his wife and the children named below: 1.
Henry, sole executor. 2. David. 3. Zebulon,
mentioned below. 4. Enos. 5. William. 6.
Eunice, married a French. He bought his
farm in Mendon in 1763, ninety acres in all
in Mendon and Upton, of Edmund Potter, of
Sutton, Massachusetts. He also bought land
in 1762 of Samuel Green, of Mendon. He
was a trustee of the First Congregational
Church at Mendon in 1787. He married, in
1763, (intentions dated at Upton, December
3, 1762) Mary Wood, of Upton.
(V) Zebulon Goss, Jr., son of Zebulon Goss

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1221

(4), was born in Mendon, Massachusetts,
about 1770, and removed to Vermont from
Mendon, and settled at West Dummerston.
He married Delana Prouty, who was also born
in Mendon. Children: 1. Irena, born Feb
ruary 17, 1801. 2. Orra, born August 25,
1802. 3, Harriet,- born May 25, 1804. 4.
Henry, bom January 20, 1806, see forward.
-5. Mary, born December 19, 1807. 6. Ros-
well, born October 17, 1809. 7. Chester,
born August 27, 181 1. 8. Emery, born March
28, 1813. 9. Melinda, born January 8, 1815.
10. Daniel, born January 25, 1817. 11. Han
nah, born August 12, 1819, married Richard
Deane. 12. Lydia, born July 17, 1821.
(VI) Henry Goss, son of Zebulon Goss,
Jr., (5), was born in Mendon, Massachusetts,
January 20, 1806. He went with his father's
family to Vermont, and .spent his youth on
the farm. He married, at Dummerston, Ver
mont, in 1829, Betsey Kendall, daughter of
Luke and Anne (Wilder) Kendall, of West
Dummerston. Henry Goss came to Boston
soon after his marriage and engaged in the
fruit and produce business. After the death
of his wife he followed the sea for six years,
and then kept a restaurant in the old State
House, Boston. He died in 1845 m Boston.
Children: 1. Elbridge Henry, born December
22, 1830, mentioned below. 2. Harriet El
vira, born June 12, 1833, died December 24,
1874. 3. Jason Edward, born 1836, died 1866.
(Vii) Elbridge Henry Goss, son of Henry
Goss (6), was born in Boston, Massachusetts,
December 22, 1830. He attended the Adams
school and then the English high school in
Boston, for one year. At the age of sixteen
he began the active duties of life in earnest,
and during the next two years was a clerk
in the clothing store of Kimball & Fisk, No.
28 old Washington street. During the next
two years he was cashier in the dry goods
house of Chandler & Company, then located
on Summer street, after which he spent five
years in the employ of W. F. Shaw & Com
pany, No. 174 Washington street. He then
accepted the position of bookkeeper for the
firm of A. L. White & Company, leather deal
ers, and was with this firm and its successors
for thirty consecutive years. In the meantime
he had been living since 1856 in Melrose,
Massachusetts, and in 1875 was elected treas
urer of the Melrose Savings Bank, a position
he has filled with conspicuous ability and suc
cess to the present time. He is a well known
iii— 29

citizen and has been elected to many offices of
trust and honor. He has been city auditor,
water register, trustee of the public library
since 1870, and chairman of the board for six
teen years. He is an active and influential
Republican, and in 1874 and 1875 was repre
sentative to the general court. During his first
term he was on the committee on libraries,
and during his second term was chairman of
the committee on engrossed bills. He has
been a member of the Melrose Orthodox Con
gregational Church since he made his home in
Melrose, is deacon of the church, for more
than fifty years has been treasurer and collec
tor of the Society, and has been superinten
dent of the Sunday school.
Mr. Goss. is especially interested in the sub
ject of American history. He is a member of
the Bostonian Society; of the New England
Historic Genealogical Society since November
3, 1869; of the American Historical Associa
tion, the Bunker Hill Monument Association,
and the Bostonian Society. He has made
many valuable contributions to the history of
his town and state. Among his published
works are: "The Melrose Memorial; or His
tory of Melrose in the Rebellion," (1868);
"Early Bells of Massachusetts;" "Centennial
Fourth;" "History of Melrose" in Drake's
"History of Middlesex County," (1880), and
another sketch of Melrose in the "History
of Middlesex County" by J. W. Lewis & Com
pany. (1890); "Bibliography of Melrose"
(1889); "Life of Colonel Paul Revere," in
two volumes, (1892); and "History of Mel
rose" (1902), besides numerous contributions
to various historical and genealogical maga
zines, including the Magazine of American
History, the New England Magazine, and
others. He is best known by his volumes on
Paul Revere.
Mr. Goss married, December 22, 1853, Han
nah Jane Baker, daughter of Martin and Pru
dence (Richardson) Baker, of Boston. They
have two children: 1. Frank Martin, born
May 26, 1855; was educated in the public
schools of Melrose, and was many years man
ager of the educational publications of Lee &
Shepard, 10 Milk street, Boston; married
Abbie D. Symonds, daughter of Robert S. D.
Symonds, of Peabody, Massachusetts, and re
sides in Melrose. 2. Mary Alice, born Jan
uary 1, 1863; married Edward E. Babb, of
Melrose, and has one son, Edward Everett
Babb, Jr.

1222

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

The Bissell, or Byssell family,
BISSELL is probably of French Hugue
not origin. Many French
-Huguenots fled to England to escape the per
secutions following the massacre of Saint
Bartholomew's in 1572. Little is known of
the history of the Bissells in England. The
coat-of-arms : Gules on a bend argent three
escallops sable. Crest : A demi-eagle with
wings displayed sable, charged on the neck
with an escallop shell or. Motto : In recto
Decus. (In Rectitude Honor).
The family of John Bissell, who settled in
Windsor, Connecticut, is the only Bissell fam
ily known to have come to this country, and all
the Colonial families are descended from him.
It is said that he and his brother Thomas
came from Somersetshire, England, to Ply
mouth in 1628; that Thomas died at Plymouth
or returned to England. There is also a tra
dition that Thomas married an Indian girl, a
Poquonnoc Sachem's daughter, and died with
out issue. This same tradition has been held
concerning Thomas, son of John Holmes (1).
No trace of such a marriage or of the immi
grant Thomas Bissell is to be found, how
ever. (I) John Bissell, the immigrant ancestor,
was born in England, and settled in Windsor,
Connecticut, before 1640. He received a
grant from the Colonial court of a monopoly
of a ferry across the Connecticut river. His
house was located on the east side of the river
near the wharf now belonging to the Quarry
Company. The road on the northeasterly side
of the Connecticut river leading from it fol
lowed the present road easterly to the foot of
the hill; thence on a northeast course up the
hill across the farm known as the George
Prior farm where the road now has the
appearance of being very ancient. Bissell built
a house on the east side of the river as early
as 1659-60. In 1662 he gave the homestead
with the ferry in Old Windsor to his son John
and removed with his son Nathaniel to the
east side of the river below the mouth of the
Scantic, and his was probably the first family
actually residing on the east side of the river.
Cellars and houses were there earlier and in
1648 William Hills sold a dwelling house, barn
and appurtenances on that side, but the houses
were occupied by laborers who cultivated the
meadows and cut the hay which was stored
in ricks until winter, then carried across the
river Over the ice. At the time of King Phil
ip's war Bissell had neighbors, and his house
was fortified and used as a garrison house

for the neighborhood. John Bissell, Jr., was
released from the ferry contract on condition
that some one be found to fill his place. In
1677 Nathaniel Bissell was running Bissell's
Ferry. The landing on the east side was
changed to the south side of the Scantic about
a hundred years ago. John, Jr., died at the
homestead in 1693; was succeeded by his son
Daniel, born 1663, and he by his. son Daniel,
born 1694. His son Daniel sold the house in
1790 and removed to Randolph, Vermont.
The old house was sold to Jacob Odborne and
removed to another part of the town.
John Bissell died October 3, 1677; his- wife
died May 21, 1641. Children: 1. John,- born
in England, married, June 17, 1658, Isabel
Mason, of Saybrook, daughter of the Indian
fighter, Captain John Mason. 2. Thomas,
mentioned below. 3. Mary, born in England,
married, April 12, 1649, Jacob Drake; no chil
dren. 4. Samuel, married Abigail Holcomb,
June 11, 1661. 5. Nathaniel, born at Wind
sor, September 24, 1640, married Mindwell
Moore, September 25, 1662; married (second)
Dorothy Fitch, daughter of Rev. James Fitch,
September 25, 1683. 6. Joyce, born about
1642, married, November 7, 1665, Samuel
Pinney. (II) Thomas Bissell, son of John Bissell
(1), was born in England about 1630. Mar
ried, October 11, 1655, Abigail Moore, daugh
ter of Deacon John Moore. He settled on the
east side of the Great river and died there July
31, 1689. His will was dated August 24, 1688,
and proved November 11, 1689. In 1655 he
bought a house and eleven and a quarter acres
of land of Thomas Gilbert, formerly the home
of Josiah Hull on the west side of Main street,
Windsor. He. and his wife owned the half
way covenant; he January 31, 1657; she Feb
ruary 28, 1657. Children, born at Windsor:
1. Thomas, born October 2 or 12, 1656, bap
tized February 7, 1657. 2- Abigail, born No
vember 23, 1658, married, October 17, 1678,
Nathaniel Taylor. 3. John, born January 26,
1660, mentioned below. 4. Joseph, born April
18, 1663. 5. Elizabeth, born June 9, 1666,
married John Stoughton. 6. Benjamin, born
September 9, 1669, died May .5, 1698. 7.
Sarah, born January 8, 1671-72; married
(first) Captain Daniel White and mother of
Rev. Thomas White, pastor, of Bolton, Con
necticut ; she died at Hatfield, Massachusetts,
July 18, 1703. 8. Isaac (lieutenant) born
September 22, 1672. 9. Ephraim, baptized
April 11, 1676, died April 22. 10. Esther,
born April 2, 1677, died March 9, 1678. n.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1223

Ephraim, born September 4, 1680. 12. Luke,
born September 22, 1682.
(Ill) John Bissell, son of Thomas Bissell
(2), was born at Windsor, January 26, 1660.
It is known that the Rhode Island family is
descended from the Windsor family mention
ed above, and it is believed that he was the
father of the pioneers of this name at New
port and North Kingston, Rhode Island. A
John Bissell, of North Kingston, was admitted
freeman at Newport, May 4, 1736. This John
may be the son mentioned below, however.
Children: 1. Samuel, mentioned below. 2.
Job, admitted freeman in Newport, May,
1730; son Job, born July 14, 1736, and settled
there; other children. 3. John, married Ann
 , and settled at North Kingston where he
had three children born 1728-34. 4. George,
mentioned below. (A Harry Bissell is_ men
tioned -at Newport about 1700 and may be the
father of Job (4), instead of John (3)).
(IV) Samuel Bissell, eon of John Bissell
(3), was born about 1700, probably in Rhode
Island (not recorded). He was a blacksmith
by trade, and in 1721 was granted two hun
dred pounds as a loan to be repaid in four
years and a half for "encouragement to carry
on the nailing trade." He was then of New
port, but settled in North Kingston, Rhode
Island. He married (second) Sarah Aldrich
 19, 1753; she died December 11,  .
The record of his children is partly illegible.
Children, born at North Kingston: Thomas,
born February 28, 1724, died October 4, 1725.
Hannah, born January 5, 1729. Son born Jan
uary 7, 1732. Jonathan William. William
died off Cape Florida and was buried at sea
September 23, 1806. Betsey. Izett. Caleb
Allen. Sarah. Sarah. Samuel. Mary, born
December 2, 1757. David, born February 4,
1763. (IV) George Bissell, .son of John Bissell
(3), was born about 1690-1700. If not the
son of John he must have been closely related
and was doubtless brother of Samuel, men
tioned above, of North Kingston, and also of
John of North Kingston. He married Eliz
abeth  . They had three children, born
at North Kingston: 1. Susanna, born July
2, (about 1720). 2. Thomas, mentioned be
low. 3. Arter Levy, born November 17,
(about 1725). The name George was perpet
uated for 'several generations, though not
found earlier in this family.
(V) Thomas Bissell, son of George Bissell
(4), was born in North Kingston, June 21,
about 1720. He was admitted freeman there

April 3, 1745. He married Hannah Pinder.
Children, born and married at North King
ston : 1. Daniel, born September, about 1742,
married, June 4, 1776, Waite Congdon, daugh
ter of Benjamin Congdon, deceased; she was
born in December, 1641. 2. John, born May
25, about' 1744, married, December 15, about
1770, Ruth Congdon. 3. Thomas, born April
13, about 1746. 4. Samuel, born November
23, about 1755, mentioned below. 5. Susan
nah, born December 17, 1759. 6. William,
born February 16, about 1762. 7. Mary, born
July 16, about 1764. 8. George, born about
1766, married, December 2, 1787, Elizabeth •
Allen, daughter of Captain Jonathan Allen.
(VI) Samuel Bissell, son of Thomas Bis
sell (5), was born November 23, about 1750-
55. He married Sarah  , probably Sarah
Mumford, daughter of Stephen and Judith
Mumford, of North Kingston. He was a sol
dier in the Revolution, ensign of the regiment
from Kings county, (now Washington county,
in which the Kingstons are located). Chil
dren : Thomas, died young ; Mary, Hannah,
Samuel, Elizabeth, John P., Hannah, Thomas,
Randall Mumford, mentioned below, Thomas,
George. (VII) Randall Mumford Bissell, son of
Samuel Bissell (6), was born in North King
ston in August, about 1780. Child, Daniel,
mentioned below.
(VIII) Daniel Bissell, son of Randall
Mumford Bissell (7), was born in Providence,
Rhode Island, in 1805. He was a thrifty and
successful farmer. He removed to Canada
where he died in 1896, aged ninety-one years.
He married Mary Cokey, of Albany, New
York, born 1804, and died 1880, aged seventy-
, six years. They had ten children, among
whom was Archibald, mentioned below.
(IX) Archibald Bissell, son of Daniel Bis
sell (8), was born in 1833 in Clifton, Canada,
whither his father removed from Providence,
Rhode Island, and died in Lowell, Massachu
setts, in 1899. He attended the common
schools of his native town only two years and
was largely self-educated. He worked at
home, helping his father on the farm until his
twentieth year, when he went to Lowell to
learn the machinist trade in the Lowell Ma
chine Shop. He worked his way up until he
became a contractor under the old system of
managing mills. For thirty years under the
superintendency of Mr. Burke and of Mr.
Hildreth he continued in the capacity of con
tractor, and was in all connected with this con
cern for forty years. In politics Mr. Bissell

1224

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

was a Republican, but never aspired to office. .
He had few interests outside his business and
domestic life. He was an active and promin
ent member of the Second Advent Christian
Church of Lowell, and for a period of more
than twenty-five years was deacon of that
church. He married (first), in 1855, Ruth H. Col
lins, who died in 1889. He married (second),
in 1 89 1, Florence L. Lovett, daughter of
Thomas J. and Elizabeth A. (Dowse) Lovett,
of Lowell. Mrs. Bissell survives her husband.
She resides in the homestead on Liberty street,
Lowell, and is an active and highly esteemed
member of the Second Advent Church. Child
of Archibald and Ruth H. Bissell: Archie
B., born 1858, died 1863.

Edward Hall, the immigrant an-
HALL cestor of this family, was born in
England, son of Francis Hall, of
Henborough, England, according to a certifi
cate of health preserved, dated July 15, 1640.
He was of Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1640,
and about that time also of Duxbury and of
Taunton in 1640-41 in the employ of Francis
Doughty, of Taunton. He was a proprietor
of Plymouth in 1637. He sold his house and
lands at Taunton in 1642 and returned to Dux
bury. His name is on the list of those able
to bear arms, dated 1643, and he served against
the Narragansetts in 1645. He went from
Duxbury to Rehoboth, Massachusetts, where
an allotment was made to him, March 26,
1645-46. and he owned a fifty-fourth part of
the town from 1646- 1650, when he withdrew
and located at Braintree, Massachusetts. He
was of Duxbury when mentioned as legatee
of the will of John Gove, of Charlestown,
Massachusetts. (Reg. vii, 170). After living
at Braintree from 1650 to 1655 he returned to
Rehoboth, and was No. 41 of the forty-nine
who drew lots in order of settlers' estates for
meadow land in the north side of the town,
June 22, 1658, at town meeting. He had a
share also in lots drawn in the North Pur
chase (Attleborough, -Cumberland, Rhode Isl
and, Norton and Mansfield, Massachusetts).
He died in 1670 and his will was dated at
Rehoboth, November 23, 1670; inventory
March 6, 1670-71, bequeathing to wife Esther
and son John ; others not named. A quit
claim deed was given in 171 5 by sons, Samuel
Hall, of Taunton, Thomas Hall, of Dedham,
Andrew Hall, of Newton, Benjamin Hall, of
Wrentham, relinguishing all claim to the

estate of Edward and Esther Hall, their par
ents, in Rehoboth and Attleborough, Massa
chusetts, to their brothers, John Hall, of Reho
both, and Preserved Hall, of Hingham. Chil-
dred: 1. John, born at Braintree, January
18, 1650-51,. mentioned below. 2. Esther,
born October 23, 1654, married, December
24, 1674, Thomas Jordan. 3. Samuel, born
October 24, 1656, married, April 14, 1686,
Elizabeth Brown. 4. Jeremiah, born July 24,
1658. 5. Thomas, born March 31, 1661. 6.
Preserved, born March 20, 1663, settled in
Hingham. 7. Andrew, born May 10, 1665.
8. Benjamin, born August 7, 1668.
(II) John Hall, son of Edward Hall (1),
was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, Janu
ary 18, 1650-51, and died 1721. He was a
soldier in King Philip's war and took part
in the Swamp Fight in 1675 ; was also in the
Narragansett Expedition of 1689 and ad
vanced sixteen pounds to sustain the war.
His will mentions as legatees wife Martha,
children Edward, Mary, Esther and Hannah;
younger children not named. He married at
Rehoboth, November 18, 1688, Mary Newell,
of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Children, born
in Rehoboth: 1. John, born October 13, 1685,
died 1686. 2. Jeremiah, born March 11, 1687.
3. John, born March 11, 1691 (?). 4. Mary.
5. Martha. 6. Edward, born March 10, 1694,
died 1760; widow Rebecca; bequeathed to
John, son of his brother John, and Ephraim,
son of brother Ephraim. 7. Esther, born Feb
ruary 28, 1696. 8. John, born March 27,
1697-98, mentioned below. 9. Priscilla, born
March 27, 1700, died March 28, 1703. 10.
Hannah, probably married November 7, 1727,
Samuel Sabin, of Rehoboth. 11. Ephraim,
born July 26, 1704.
(Ill) Lieutenant John Hall, son of John
Hall (2), was born in Rehoboth, March 27,
1697-98. By agreement in the probate office
he was to have his sisters' shares on payment
of sixty pounds. He is mentioned in the will
of his brother Edward. He bought the rights
of his brother Edward and his sisters in 1721.
He was then living in Taunton, Massachu
setts. He sold his house in Rehoboth in 1722,
and was in Braintree as early as 1763. He
died at Braintree, September 27, 178*0, aged
eighty-three years. His wife Sarah died at
Braintree, February 23, 1766, aged ;¦ sixty
years. The graves of both at Braintree are
marked. Sarah was probably his second wife.
His only child, as far as is known, was John,
mentioned below.
(IV) Captain John Hall, son of Lieutenant

THOMAS J. LOVETT

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1225

John Hall (3), was born about 1740; married
Elizabeth  . He was a soldier in the
Revolution, captain of a Braintree company of
minute men in the north parish, Colonel Ben
jamin Lincoln's regiment, on the Lexington
Alarm; also captain in Colonel Palmer's regi
ment in 1776. He was captain under the
Crown before the war and at the request of
the town, November 14, 1774, resigned his
commission to continue his service as captain
under Provincial authority. He lived in that
part of Braintree which was set off as Quincy,
and signed the petition to the general court
for the division of the town in 1792 ; was
selectman and assessor of Braintree in 1792
and held various offices in Quincy later. In
1808 he was on the committee which raised a
fund and bought of the Vesey family its right
of herbage and pasturage in the cemetery. In
1841 his grandson James, a wealthy bachelor,
gave a thousand dollars to fence the grave
yard now known as the Hall cemetery. Chil
dren, born in Braintree: 1. John, born No
vember 16, 1764, established a hat factory on
Adams street, where the old Cherry Tavern
stood ; was succeeded by his son James. 2.
Lydia, born January 2, 1767. 3. Edward,
born December 21, 1771, mentioned below.
4. James. 5. Charles. 6. Ann.
(V) Edward Hall, son of Captain John
Hall (4), was born in Braintree, Massachu
setts, December 21, 1771. He succeeded to
his father's farm. From his farm was taken
the granite used in building the Bunker Hill
Monument. He married (first)  Hard
wick, and (second)^  . Child, Edward,
born about 1800, mentioned below.
(VI) Edward Hall, son of Edward Hall
(5), was born in Quincy, Massachusetts,
about 1800. He was engaged in the manufac
ture of hats at Quincy until he retired in 1848,
when he removed to Bolton, Massachusetts,
and followed farming the remainder of his
life. He married Abigail S. Brown, of Bol
ton. Children: 1. Mary E., married John
Wesley Martin, of Milton, Massachusetts.
2. Abby Ann, married (first) Rufus C.
Nourse, of Bolton, Massachusetts, and they
resided there until his death; four sons were
the issue of this marriage, three of whom are
living at the present time (1907). She mar
ried (second) Eliphas Heyward, of Braintree,
where her death occurred several years later.
3. Sarah M., married Falderick J. Fuller, of
Quincy. 4. Harriet L., twin, born January
25, 1836, married Eliphas Haywood, resides

in Quincy. 5. Charles Edward, twin, born
January 25, 1836, mentioned below.
(VII) Charles Edward Hall, son of Ed
ward Hall (6), was born at Quincy, Massa
chusetts, January 25, 1836. He was educated
in the public schools of Quincy and Bolton
and in the Bolton high school. He learned the
trade of harness maker, and at the age of
twenty-one engaged in business on his own
account, with a shop at Braintree, Massachu
setts. A year later he returned to Quincy and
worked there at his trade two years. He es
tablished his business at Hudson, Massachu
setts, in March, i860, and was prosperous
and successful in the making of harness and
dealing in harness and similar goods. After
a period of forty-six years, he retired June 24,
1906, and is now devoting his time to the care
of his property and enjoying a well-earned
rest. Mr. Hall was for eleven years treasurer
of the Hudson Co-operative Bank. He is a
charter member of the Doric Lodge of Free
Masons, charter member of Trinity Com
mandery, No. 32, Knights Templar. He mar
ried, December 30, i860, Nancy M. Pope, born
January 24, 1834, at Quincy, daughter of O
M. Pope, of Quincy, Massachusetts. She died
September 11, 1903.

Isaac Hall, the immigrant ancestor,
HALL was born in England, about 1700.
He was a baker by trade, and he
lived first in this country on King street,
now State street, Boston, where he fol
lowed his trade. The births of two of his
children are recorded in Boston. About 1737
he removed to Harpswell, or New Meadows,
Maine. A list of the settlers in that town
in 1738 includes the names of Isaac Hall
and of his three minor sons — Isaac, Jr.,
John and Nathaniel. Their home was_ on
Merriconeag Neck. He married Abigail
 . Children: 1. Isaac, Jr., born in Bos
ton, January 31, 1724; mentioned below. 2.
Joseph, mentioned in the "History of Rock
land, Maine." 3. Nathaniel, born in Boston,
October 16, 1727; was a soldier in the Revolu
tion under Captain Larrabee ; also served on
a privateer. 4. John, resided on the Neck at
Harpswell. (II) Isaac Hall, son of Isaac Hall (1),
was born in Boston, January 31, 1724. He
married  Coombs, of Harpswell. He
resided at first in old Thomaston, Maine, but
finally settled and died at St. Georges. _ He
was a soldier in the Louisburg expedition.

1226

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Children: i. Caleb, born about 1755; men
tioned below. 2. Rev. Isaac ; married Sarah
Saywood, pastor of the Baptist Church at
Knox, Maine. 3. Rev. Ephraim, married
Polly Swan ; Baptist minister at St. Georges ;
he died October 5, 1809. 4. Deacon Peter,
married Polly Pierson ; lived and died at St.
Georges. 5. Lewis, born February 28, 1764;
married Anne Dyer ; he died November 4,
1845. 6. Elijah, Esq., married first Betsey
Robinson; second Rebecca (Mann) Coombs,
(published May 1) 1828. 7. Mehitable, mar
ried  Stober ; lived and died at St.
Georges,. 8. Joanna, married John Curtis ;
lived and died at St. Georges. Revolutionary
service is credited to Isaac Hall, of Harps
well. He was in Captain Richard Mayberry's
company. Colonel Ebenezer Francis's regi
ment, in 1776; private in Captain John Snow's
company in 177 — ; served in the militia
raised to protect Harpswell in 1778; corporal
in Captain Abraham Tyler's company, Colo
nel Poor's regiment, from May 30, 1778, to
January 29, 1779, and was at North River and
elsewhere in the campaign in New York.
(Ill) Caleb Hall, son of Isaac Hall (2),
was born in Harpswell, Maine, about 1755.
He was a soldier in the Revolution, drummer
in Captain Nathaniel Larrabee's company for
six months on seacoast duty; private 1775;
sergeant in Captain George Rogers's company,
Colonel Nathaniel Jordan's regiment at Fal
mouth, in 1779. He married Hannah Snow,
and they resided at St. Georges, Maine, whith
er his father went to live. He died there Feb
ruary 8, 1814. Children, born at St. Georges,
near Thomaston, Maine: 1. Isaac, married
Anna Anderson, of Warren, Maine; resided
at St. Georges. 2. Elijah, born January 18,
1777; mentioned below. 3. Ephraim. 4.
Elisha, had two or more children. 5. Lewis,
had a large family. 6. Caleb, Jr. 7. Rebecca ;
married Michael Fountain; resided at St.
Georges. 8. Samuel. 9. Jeremiah.
(IV) Elijah Hall, son of Caleb Hall (3),
was born in St. Georges, January 18, 1777;
married there, Betsey (Buckland) Dunning.
He married second, Mary Wheeler. His
home was at South Thomaston, Maine, where
he carried on a farm on what is now or was
lately called the Dunning lot. Children, born
at South Thomaston: 1. George, born Janu
ary 29, 1802; married (published January 27),
1831, Ardea Monk, of Winthrop, Maine. 2.
Ephraim, born August 6, 1806; mentioned be
low. 3. Sylvia, born February 6, 1810. 4.
Mary, born December 25, 1815. 5. Harriet,

born- December 26, 1821. 6. Caroline, born
March 12, 1823. 7. Nathan B., born October
16, 1825; mariner, resided at South Thomas
ton. 8. Isaac S., born October 17, 1827;
farmer at South Thomaston. 9. Elijah, born
January 16, 1829. 10. Sarah, born June 9,
1 831; died December 4, 1846. 11. Albion K.
P., born October 17, 1835. \
(V) Ephraim Hall, son of Elijah Hall (4),
was born in South Thomaston, Maine, Aug
ust 6, 1806. He settled in Rockland, where
he bought a farm. He was a well-to-do farm
er, and a citizen of wide influence. He mar
ried, October 3, 1830, Catharine A. Spear,
born in Rockland, daughter of Captain John
Spear. Children: 1. John S., born 1843;
druggist; was a soldier in the Union army
in the civil war, in a regiment of sharpshoot
ers. 2. George M., see forward.
(VI) George M. Hall was born June 19, 1851.
He was educated in the public schools of
Rockland, but at the early age of fourteen
struck out for himself. He had a varied ex
perience in many lines of work, from clerking
in a grocery to learning in the druggist busi
ness. In 1871 he came to Melrose, Massachu
setts, to work for Seth E. Benson, dealer in
coal and wood. He worked his way by con
stant application to business, by a thorough
knowledge of all its details and the utmost
faithfulness, to a position of large responsi
bility, and finally became a partner of his em
ployer in 1 89 1, and continued until the death
of Mr. Benson in 1903. Since then Mr. Hall
has been the sole proprietor of the business,
which has grown to large proportions. Mr.
Hall is a member of the local lodge of Free
Masons ; of the United Workmen, and a char
ter member of the Boston Lodge of the
Heptasophs. He is a Republican in politics,
and a Universalist in religion. He married,
October, 1881, Addie Temple, daughter of
Charles Temple, of Saco, Maine. Children :-
1. Bessie T, born May 15, 1883; married
Frank Flower, who is in the United States
navy; their home is at Rockport, Maine. 2.
George L., born February 2, 1894. 3. Son,
died young.

John Wilson was born in Eng-
WILSON land and came to this country
in the latter part of the
eighteenth century. He was a tailor by trade.
He was in business in Boston. He was war
den of Christ Church, Boston, where all his
children were baptized. . He married, twice.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1227

By his second wife his children were: 1.
William. 2. Harriet, married Major William
Cook, of Plymouth, Massachusetts; (second)
Samuel Cary, of Illyria, Ohio. 3. John, left
no issue. 4. George Washington, born in
Boston, July 4, 1816, mentioned below. 5.
Frances, married David Merrill, of Boston;
married (second) William Cary, of Boston.
(II) George Washington Wilson, son of
John Wiison (1), was born in Boston, Mass
achusetts, July 4, 1816. He received his edu
cation in the public schools of Boston and in
the Protestant Episcopal School at Wickford,
Rhode Island. After he came of age he was
associated in the tailoring business in Boston
with his father and after a few years was ad
mitted to partnership. He was in business
for himself for some years. About 1852 he
removed to Maiden and established a nursery
that soon developed into a very extensive and
prosperous business. He made a specialty
of fine fruits and roses, and imported much of
his fancy stock. He remained in business
until shortly before his death in 1892. One
of the reasons that led him to remove to Mai
den was a disastrous fire in his Boston home,
in Crescent place, in which the family had a
narrow escape. Mr. Wilson carried his
daughter down a ladder and his wife followed
when escape by the stairway had become im
possible. His home in Maiden was the par
sonage of the parish, and it had been occu
pied by Rev. Joseph Emerson, progenitor of
Ralph Waldo Emerson, during a pastorate of
forty-six years. Authority from the general
court was necessary before Mr. Wilson could
secure a title to the property from the church,.
the First Parish of Maiden. Mr. Wilson was
a loyal and staunch Republican from the date
of that party's organization. He was an in
tense anti-slavery man and earnest in advo
cating women's suffrage. He was active in
various reform movements and attended the
meetings of Wendell Phillips in Boston and
served on many local committees connected
with the abolition movement and anti-slavery
agitation. He was a member of no secret
society. His interest in town and political
affairs was strong. Although never in public
office he was influential in town affairs and
particularly active and prominent in securing
a municipal water supply for Maiden. In his
honor Wilson avenue was named by the city.
In his day he was a leading citizen in more
senses than one. He commanded the esteem
and confidence of his townsmen and exerted
himself at every opportunity to advance the

interests of the town. Of strict integrity and
irreproachable character, he was essentially
a just man. He sympathized with the poor
and oppressed, and sought to improve evil con
ditions in politics and society as far as his
efforts and influence could reach.
He married Marie Christina Plamboecht, of
Boston, daughter of John and Katherine
(Lindt) Plamboecht. Her great-grandfather
Lindt was a native of Germany; learned the
trade of making cut-glass and was the first
artisan to make cut-glass in the United States.
Tradition connects the Lindt family in some
way with Queen Marie Antoinette of France.
Children of George Washington and Marie
Christina Wilson: 1. George Lindt, born at
Maiden in 1847, educated in the Maiden
public schools ; married Ada Cummings and
had one child, Christine C. Wilson, who re
sides in Maiden; he married (second) 
Morrill, of Boston. 2. Marie Plamboecht,
born in Boston, educated in the public schools
of Maiden and at the Misses Hodges' private
school, Boston, and Professor Agassiz's school
in Cambridge; is greatly interested in the
Woman Suffrage movement and is president- of
the Maiden Woman Suffrage Club, and direc
tor of the New England Woman's Club; she
has traveled extensively at home and abroad.

Richard Foster, of an ancient
FOSTER Scotch family, was born at Call-
hame, county Donegal, Ireland.
His family came some three centuries ago,
according to the best authorities, from England,
and settled in the Protestant section of the north
of Ireland. He received the simple education
given to the youth of his day. He worked on
his father's farm for some years, followed
the sea when a young man, and finally settled
down in his native town and became a pros
perous farmer. In later years he came to
America and lived for a time in Charlestown
and Woburn, Massachusetts, returning near
the end of his life to Callhame, where he lived
until his death with his son, Patrick Foster.
He belonged to the Established Church (of
England) in his native parish.
(II) Patrick Foster, son of Richard Foster
(1), was born at Callhame, county Donegal,
Ireland, educated there in the schools of the
parish, and worked during his youth on his
father's farm. He left home at the time of
his marriage, but when his father died the
farm became his. It was centrally located and
when the government re-established the

1228

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

squares his property was taken for the pur
pose. With the compensation that he received
he bought a farm of ten acres in the north
part of Callhame and built a house in which
he lived the remainder of his days. He raised
abundant crops of oats and flax, and had fine
herds of cattle and sheep. Industrious, honest,
upright and unassuming, very domestic in his
tastes, Mr. Foster was a good citizen in every
walk of life. He was a devout and faithful
member of the Episcopal church. He was a
member of the organization known as the
Loyal Orangemen. He married Margaret
Baskin, daughter of Adam and Katie (Alcorn)
Baskin, of Glen Cove, county Donegal, Ire
land. Her father, Adam, was a farmer. Chil
dren of Patrick and Margaret Foster: I.
Ellen. 2. Richard, unmarried. 3. Adam, born
April 19, 1872, mentioned below. 4. William
James, unmarried; served in the Spanish-
American war, enlisting from Woburn; at
present is in South Africa. 5. George, mar
ried, November 30, 1896, Margaret Baskin;
children: i. William J., born May 19, 1899.
ii. Ethel, April 13, 1900; iii. George Baskin,
November, 1902. 6. Mary, twin of George,
married Robert Foster, of Woburn, Massa
chusetts, and has four children. 7. Margaret,
married James McKay, and had three chil
dren. (Ill) Adam Foster, son ,of Patrick Foster
(2), was born at Callhame, county Donegal,
Ireland, April 19, 1872, and was educated in
the schools of his native town and worked on
the paternal homestead. At the age of eighteen
he left home and sought his fortune in Amer
ica. He landed in New York City in August,
1890, and secured employment at once in Eliz-
abethport, New Jersey, in the foundry of
Moore Brothers. After eight months in this
place, he returned to New York City and for
a time was a hostler in a private stable. He
removed thence to Woburn, Massachusetts, and
entered the employ of Levi Teel and later of
Frank Flagg, Pleasant street, Woburn, where
he worked for two years during the summer
seasons, being employed in the winters in the
morocco shop of Sears & Company. Then for
some three years and a half he was employed
by Heald Brothers in market gardening. He
was teamster for J. R. Carter and subsequently
became motorman on the electric road in
Woburn. In 1901 he purchased his present
farm and engaged in the business of florist and
market gardening in Woburn. He has erected
three large greenhouses, containing sixteen
thousand square feet of cultivating space and

occupies at the present time about twenty
acres of land. He makes a specialtyof cucum
bers and violets for which he finds a conve
nient market in Boston. He has built up one
of the most extensive and prosperous busi
nesses in his line in this section. His suc
cess has demonstrated his ability as a grower
and his shrewdness in business. He is a mem
ber of the Woburn Protestant Episcopal
Church. In politics he is a Republican. He
is a member of the Loyal Orange Institution
and formerly belonged to True Blue Lodge,
No. 119, of Woburn.
He married, August 30, 1893, Ellen Boyd,
who was born June 24, 1873, at Carrickama-
hill, county Donegal, Ireland, daughter of
James and Mary Ann (Lamond) Boyd, of
that place. Her father was a gardener by oc
cupation. Children: 1. Mabel Gertrude, born
June 15, 1894. 2. William James, March 27,
1896. 3. Robert Boyd, May 15, 1897.

The first American ancestor
MAYNARD of George A- Maynard, a
resident of Somerville, was
Sir John Maynard, a native of Cambridge,
England, who came to New England in 1638
and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts Bay
Colony, being one of the original proprietors
of that town at the organization, September 4,
1639, and made up the new plantation at Con
cord, to which was added land granted May
13, 1640, and May 2, 1649, and the boundary
between Sudbury and Watertown established
May 13, 1651. The descendants of Sir John
Maynard included: Hon. Horace Maynard
(18 14-1882), of the sixth generation, member
of United States house of representatives from
Tennessee, 1857-63, and 1866-75, United
States minister to Turkey, 1875-80, and post
master-general, 1880-81. Edward Maynard
(1831-1891), inventor of the Maynard rifle
adopted by the United States government, and
for which he received honors from Prussia
and Sweden. George Willoughby Maynard,
son of Edward Maynard, just mentioned, born
1843, member of the National Academy of
Designs, Society of American Artists, Amer
ican Water Color Society, and mural artist;
his work is exhibited in numerous public build
ings throughout the United States. Charles
Johnson Maynard, born 1845, president of the
Newton Natural History Society, vice-presi
dent of the Nuttall Ornithological Club of
Cambridge, editor and author. Samuel Tay
lor Maynard, born 1844, botanist and horolo-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1229

gist of Massachusetts State Board of Agri
culture. Washburn Maynard, born 1844, rear
admiral of United State navy, retired.
Antipas Maynard, father of George A. May
nard, and son of Antipas Maynard and his
wife, whose maiden name was Rice, was born
December 31, 1801, died November 18, 1882.
He married, December 3, 1822, Almira Samp
son, born October 13, 1806, died July 29, 1886.
Their children were: 1. Nancy, born Octo
ber 27, 1823. 2. George A., born March 3,
1826, of whom later. 3. Lambert M., born
March 26, 1828. 4. Sarah A., born August
11, 1830. 5. Caroline E., born May 23, 1833.
6. Jane A., born March 27, 1836. 7. Elliot A.,
born October 14, 1839. 8. Susan H., born
March 8,. 1841. 9. Mary I., born July 20,
1843. 10. Charles W., born October 20, 1845.
11. Emma, born November 7, 1848. 12. Infant.
George A. Maynard, eldest son of Antipas
and Almira (Sampson) Maynard, was born
in Keene, New Hampshire, March 3, 1826. He
removed with his parents to Ashburnham,
Massachusetts, where he was a pupil in the
public school. March 17, 1843, when seven
teen years of age, he went to Boston and en
tered the baking business of his uncle, Jesse
Maynard, and in 1849 engaged in the bakery
business, on his own account. In 1871 he
withdrew from the baking business and en
gaged in the produce commission business,
which he conducted for twenty-two years, re
tiring in 1893. He was for fifty years a dea
con in the Spring Hill Baptist Church, Som
erville, founded in 1852, and for forty-six
years was a teacher in the Sunday-school. He
was a Republican in political faith ; he was not
an active political worker, but on occasions of
national or state feud came to the aid of the
party with both voice and purse.
George A. Maynard married, September 25,
1848, Sarah Ann, daughter of Captain John
and Sarah (Glidden) Merry. Their children
were: 1. Everett A., born in Boston, Febru
ary 14, 1850; married Agnes Woodbury, one
child, Wesley A. 2. Alfred S., born March
23, 1852 ; married Caroline Wood ; no children.
3. George H., died at the age of nine months.
4. Ida May, born September 8, 1854; married
Frank Dadman; two children: infant, who
died young; Mabel, married Charles Bunker.
5- Charles M., born in Chelsea, November 8,
i860; married, and lived in Iowa. 6. Eva G.,
born in Somerville, January 30, 1863; mar
ried Arthur Willard, and had two children.
7- Fred L., born in Somerville, May 23, 1865 ;
married Minnie Lord, two children: Kennith

and Alva. Mrs. Sarah Ann (Merry) May
nard died September 2, 1870. Mr. Maynard
married (second), October 12, 1871, Mary E.
McLeane. Their children were : 1. G.Arthur,
born in Somerville, May 30, 1877, died at the
age of six years. 2. Erville H., born in Som
erville, October 13, 1880. 3. Clarence D.,
born in Somerville, August 31, 1886.

The name of Webster is of
WEBSTER great antiquity, and the fact
that it is derived from the
Saxon word "webbstre," meaning a female
weaver, is conclusive of its Anglo-Saxon ori
gin. The following lines relative to the name,
which may have been written in Chaucer's
time, or perhaps earlier, would imply a differ
ence between the Webster and the weaver :
"Bakers and Brewsters, and brochiers many,
Woolen webbersters and weavers of lyynen."
The most important English family of the
name of Webster clairhs descent from John
Webster, who was a resident in Bolsover,
Derbyshire, in the reign of Henry IV, and
whose descendants were settled in Essex, in
which county as well as in Cambridgeshire
and Huntingdonshire, that monarch granted to
John Webster large estates, about A. D. 1400.
The Scotch family of Webster, presumably
descendants of this same John Webster, set
tled in Edinburghshire, Scotland, before 1700,
probably not long before that date. There is
no other family of the surname in Scotland
bearing arms, though descendants are now
found in other sections of the country. The
armorial bearings of the Webster family of
Edinburg are : "Argent a fesse gules between
three crosses crosslet fitchee azure. Crest:
The sun rising out of the sea ppr. Motto:
Emergo." The Hay family which intermarried with
the Websters in Edinburg is one of the most
numerous, distinguished and widely scattered
of the ancient Scotch families. No less than
forty-eight •coats-of-arms, most of them of
obviously independent origin, are in use in
Scotland, or recently have been. The family
is reputed of Norman origin, but before A. D.
1300 is found in Perthshire, Fifeshire, Banff
shire and Wigtonshire. The family has the
marquisate of Tweedale; the earldoms of
Errol, Gifford, Kinnoul and Kilmarnock (and
of Carlisle in England) the viscountcies of
Dupplin and Walden; and the lordships of
Hay and Kin fauns.

1230

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Of the American families of the surname
Webster there are two important branches,
from one of which came the great statesman,
Daniel Webster, and from the other Noah
Webster, of dictionary fame. David Webster,
a resident of Edinburg, Scotland, was a tailor
by trade. He married Margaret Hay, whom
it was believed was of the same family as the
late Hon. John Hay, the distinguished Amer
ican statesman and diplomatist. David and
Margaret had at least two sons — David,
through whom the present line is traced ; and
James, who remained in Scotland, and pur
sued his father's occupation in the city of his
birth. David (2), son of David.(i) and Margaret
(Hay) Webster, was born in Edinburg, Scot
land, in November, 1799. When a lad of some
fourteen years he was impressed into the
British navy and forced to serve on board a
man-of-war bound for America to participate
in the second conflict between the United
States and Great Britain (1812-15). While
the ship lay at anchor in Halifax harbor,
Nova Scotia, he made his escape from a ser
vice which was distasteful to him, and having
succeeded in reaching the United States, he
located permanently in New Sharon, or Rome,
Maine. He died October 9, 1854. In his reli
gious belief he was an Episcopalian. His wife
was before marriage Mary Allen. She became
the mother of eight children: William, who
married Electa Foster, of Dracut, Massachu
setts. Mary A., who became the wife of
James French, of New Sharon. David, who
married Asenath Tracy. Charles Vaughn,
who married Almena Pettingill, of Hancock,
Maine. Betsey, who became the wife of Owen
McGrath. James Batchellor, who will be men
tioned at greater length presently. John
Chandler, who married a Miss Baker. Lydia
Margaret, wife of Charles W. Shaw, of Win
throp, Maine. Of these William, Mary A.,
David, Betsey and John C. are no longer
living. James Batchellor Webster, fourth son and
seventh child of David and Mary (Allen)
Webster, .was born in Rome, Maine, March
11, 1834. He was educated in the public
schools of his native town and resided there
until twenty-three years old, at which time he
decided to seek his fortune in Boston, arriving
in the New England metropolis on July 3,
1857. Without much difficulty he succeeded in
obtaining an agreeable mercantile position as
clerk in a large hay and grain establishment
at 250 Commercial street, and perceiving the

possibilities for advancement open to him he
determined to acquire as rapidly as possible a
full knowledge of the business. Practical ex
perience soon developed his natural ability for
mercantile pursuits, and when his employer
became incapacitated by ill health from giving
personal attention to the business, its man
agement devolved upon Mr. Webster, who for
some time conducted its affairs ably and faith
fully in the interest of the owner. He finally
acquired possession of the business by pur
chase and admitting Mr. Lord to partnership
established the well-known firm of Lord &
Webster, which has ever since continued with
prosperity at the old stand. This concern is
now one of the largest hay and grain houses
in New England and employs a numerous
clerical force. In 1873 Mr. Webster estab
lished his residence in Maiden, where he has
frequently been solicited to accept public office,
but has invariably declined. Politically he is a
Republican. He is an influential and highly
respected member of the Boston Chamber of
Commerce. He is well advanced in the Ma
sonic Order, belonging to the Blue Lodge,
Chapter and Commandery, is among the orig
inal members of the Kernwood Club, Maiden,
and an attendant of the Universalist church.
In 1868 Mr. Webster was united in mar
riage with Lydia Browned Smith, of Berwick,
Maine, daughter of Isaac and Mary (Butler)
Smith, both of that town, the latter a grand
daughter of Samuel Butler, of Berwick, who
married Lydia Kimball, a native of Dover,
New Hampshire. Mrs. Webster's paternal
grandparents were Isaac, Sr. and Nancy
(Straw) Smith, of Sandwich, New Hamp
shire. Nancy Straw was a daughter of
Thomas Straw, a Revolutionary soldier who
went from Chester, New Hampshire, to Sand
wich. Mr. and Mrs. Webster have had two
children : Harrison Maynard, born in East
Boston in 1870, died 1905. Lillian Mary, who
was born in Maiden and educated in the public
schools of that city. She is a member of the
Daughters of the American Revolution.

James Hill, son of James Hill, was
HILL an early colonist in Charlestown,
Massachusetts. There were many
Hill families among the early settlers in Bos
ton, Maiden, Charlestown and vicinity, and it
is not known whether James Hill belongs to
the Maiden or other family or whether he
himself was an immigrant. As to his parent
age we know only that he was called Junior

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1231

on the records some of the time, implying that
his father was James, and in this country. He
was born about 1700. He was a miller by
trade, 4 and with Peter Hay and John Gould
built a grist mill in what is now Stoneham,
Massachusetts. The families of these three
men have been prominent throughout the his
tory of the town of Stoneham. Hill's farm
was on the north side of Marble street, near
High street. He is recorded as present at the
first town meeting December 24, 1725, and
therefore is entitled to the honor of being
counted among the founders of the town. He
married, December 30, 1726, Lois Upham, of
Maiden. Children: 1. Joseph, mentioned
below. 2. John, was a soldier in, the French
and Indian wars under Captain Ebenezer
Nichols; taxpayer irii Stoneham in 1784.
(II) Joseph Hill, son of James Hill (1),
was born in Stoneham, Massachusetts, about
1730. He was on the tax list first about 1760,
when he had "one horse and two cows" taxed
as personal property. He was a soldier in the
Revolution in the Reading company of Cap
tain John Bachiller, regiment of Colonel Eben
ezer Bridge, on the Lexington alarm, April
l9> 1775- Children, born at Stoneham: 1.
James, mentioned below. 2. Joseph, Jr., a
soldier in the Revolution; probably the eldest
son. (Ill) James Hill, son of Joseph Hill (2),
was born about 1770 in Stoneham. He was a
prominent citizen of the town of Stoneham,
and was appointed with several of the leading
citizens on a committee of which Captain
Caleb Richardson was captain to consider
national affairs in 1812; doubtless he and his
fellow committeemen were trying to find
measures to prevent the war with Great Bri
tain which found practically no support in
Massachusetts. He was selectman in 1802-03-
04-06. He married Mary Holden. Children :
1. John, born 1794, mentioned below. 2.
Luther, born February 3, 1808, mentioned
below. 3." Levi, father of Amos Hill, a prom
inent citizen of Stoneham.
(IV) John Hill, son of James Hill (3), was
born in Reading in 1794. He came to Stone
ham when a small boy and lived in the old
Hill homestead on Marble street. He settled
when he left home in the southern part of the
town of Stoneham, and built a house opposite
the end of Wilson Lane, owned by the late
Jesse Green. He learned the trade of shoe-
making in his youth, as nearly all the boys of
that vicinity did, and he became a manufac
turer in a small way early in life. He carried

his shoes to Boston to sell and bought his stock
there. It is said that at first he used to leave
his hired vehicle on the Charlestown side to
save ferriage and lugged his goods to market
from the ferry on his back. After a time he
removed to what is now Central Square, Stone
ham, and bought of Reuben Geary the build
ing afterward enlarged and converted into
the hotel called the Central House. At that
time Mr. Geary kept a store there. The frame
was gotten out by Captain David Geary who
intended the building for a tavern, and Mr.
Hill subsequently carried out the original
intention of the builder and made it a tavern
which he opened to the public December 31,
1829. After keeping hotel a few years he sold
out to Benjamin Goldsmith, and erected soon
afterward the house in which he lived the
remainder of his days and in which he died.
At first, part of his house was used for business
purposes, but in 1840 a building was erected
for his shoe factory on the corner of Main
and Franklin streets. With the additions
made to it from time to time it grew into the
spacious building still in use by the shoe man
ufacturing concern known for many years as
John Hill & Company. In 1832 he took his
brother Luther into partnership, and in 1844
John Hill, Jr., his son.
Mr. Hill had for several years a large inter
est in a pork packing establishment at Mere-
dosia, Illinois. Some years prior to his death
he retired from active business, and passed
the final years of his long and useful career
in the care of his property and the enjoyment
of some degree of ease in the society of his
friends and family. The firm name continued
in use, the firm consisting of Luther Hill and
John Hill, Jr. The Hill shop has been for
many years the principal shop in the town.
John Hill died in 1858. He was much loved
and respected, a leader in the Whig party and
gentleman of the old school, dignified, polite,
courteous. He married Mary Wiley; chil
dren: 1. John, Jr., mentioned above, suc
ceeded his father in the shoe business. 2.
Aaron, mentioned below.
(IV) Luther Hill, son of James Hill (3),
was born in Reading, Massachusetts, Febru
ary 3, 1808. He was educated in the public
schools and at the South Reading Academy
(now Wakefield) under the principalship of
Professor Heath. He taught school for some
years at Stoneham and Danvers. At the age
of eighteen years he struck out for himself
with a capital of twenty dollars and a good
knowledge of the trade of shoemaking. From

1232

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

small beginnings his business grew to large
proportions. He joined forces with his brother
John in 1838 under the firm name of John
Hill & Company. Luther Hill was responsible
chiefly for the success of the firm in its mechan
ical department, the actual manufacturing.
Theirs was the first firm to use power to oper
ate shoemaking machinery. He invented the
die for stamping out the lappets and tongues,
operated by steam power, and a great improve
ment over the old process of cutting with
knives by hand. He applied power first to the
machines for stamping out the vamps, quar
ters and soles. In 1858 the large shop was
erected and equipped with steam power to
operate the machinery. His inventive ability
was in constant demand during the rapid devel
opment of the shoe manufacturing industry.
He was a man of positive and original con
ceptions. In 1857 he put into use the first
pegging machine; in 1862 the first heeling
machine ever used, developing it until with
Gordon McKay and others the stock company
of the McKay Heeling Machine Association
was formed. This McKay machine with addi
tional patents is still in general use in the shoe
factories ; Mr. Hill was the first to apply and
develop the machine, the first to operate it
with steam power. Many of the most useful
and most complicated machines used in the
manufacture of shoes to-day have sprung
from the ideas and inventions of Mr. Hill.
After a successful and honorable career in
business, lasting forty years, he retired No
vember 10, 1866.
He enjoyed the love and esteem of all who
knew him, and had ever at heart the welfare
and progress of his native town. He helped to
promote the growth of Stoneham; invested in
real estate there ; was instrumental in having
street lighting by gas introduced and with six
other public-spirited men planned and built the
Stoneham Street Railway. He was a strong
character, of decided convictions, and a nat
ural leader. His good judgment and dispas
sionate manner during debate gave weight to
his opinions and strengthened his influence in
public affairs. He served the town as select
man, on the school committee, on the board of
overseers of the poor and as assessor, always
with commendable fidelity, honesty and integ
rity. He was among the first in his vicinity to
join the then unpopular anti-slavery movement
led by George Thompson and William Lloyd
Garrison. He was one of the founders of
the Stoneham Unitarian Church, and was a
liberal supporter and constant attendant upon

its services. He was an advocate of woman
suffrage and other progressive movements.
He died at Stoneham, October 31, 1877. He
was a man of model private life, upright in
business dealings, of spotless character, gen
erous to the unfortunate, liberal in his thoughts
as well as his benevolences.
He married, June, 1840, Sarah Atwell Ste
vens, daughter of Darius Stevens, and grand
daughter of Rev. John H. Stevens. Children:
Mariah, unmarried. Frank A., deceased, was
an extensive traveller through Egypt and the
Holy Land and lectured in this country on that
subject. Octavia, deceased; she was the wife
of Harry Holden, also deceased. Walter, a
teacher in New York. Charles, shoe manufac
turer in Peabody, Massachusetts. Nellie,
teacher in New York.
(V) Aaron Hill, son of John Hill (4), was
born in Stoneham, March 23, 1825. He was
educated in the public schools of his native
town. He removed in early life to Cincinnati,
Ohio, where he engaged in business as mem
ber of the firm of Wooley & Company, manu
facturers and dealers in leather, from about
1856 to 1861, when he returned to Stoneham,
succeeding to his father's business, which he
conducted until his retirement in 1877; is still
living. He served as town treasurer ; is mem
ber of Wyoming Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons. In 1849 went around the Horn to
California in ship "Albetross," Captain Walton ;
worked for a time in lumber, later in the
mines, then back to the Isthmus where he fol
lowed butchering, thence back home. He mar
ried Mary J. Farnum, of Rumford, Maine.
She was born May 27, 1831, in Rumford,
Maine. Children: 1. Mary Josephine, born
1853, died in 1856. 2. Aaron, Jr., born April
2, 1858, mentioned below.
(VI) Dr. Aaron Hill, Jr., son of Aaron
Hill (5), was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, April
2, 1858. He was educated in the public
schools and studied for his profession in the
Boston Dental College. He established him
self in the practice of his profession in Mel
rose, where he resides, and has been very suc
cessful. Dr. Hill is a Republican in politics
and active in the duties of citizenship. He
has served the city of Melrose seven years as
an alderman and during four years was presi
dent of the board. He gave to the city his time
and zeal in the interests of good government,
and was an able and efficient public, servant.
He is a member of Melrose Lodge, No- T57>
Odd Fellows, of Melrose, and of Wyoming
Lodge, Free Masons, ,of that city. Also the

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1233

Melrose Club. He married, September 9,
1880, Anna M. Thompson, daughter of Charles
A. Thompson, of Stoneham. Children, born
in Stoneham: 1. Arthur, born November 3,
1881, registered pharmacist. 2. Charles A.,
born April 5, 1886, electrical and marine engi
neer. 3. Mary J., born June 12, 1891.

Samuel Gibson, the immigrant
GIBSON ancestor of many of the New
Hampshire Gibsons, was born in
Ulster, Ireland, 1693. One authority gives his
birthplace as Lisbon, parish Artrea, Tyrone,
Ireland, and his trade as weaver. He was of
Scotch descent, and his parents were probably
born in Scotland. He came to Massachusetts
with the Scotch-Irish about 1730. He married
second, August 30, 1733, at Boston, Ann Mc-
Affee. He resided in Boston until 1741-2,
when he removed to Hillsborough, New
Hampshire. His daughter Elizabeth was the
first white child born in that town, May. 19,
1742. It is possible that he had a brother
James, although tradition alone seems to sup
port the statement that the name of the "first
settler" was James. In 1744 he removed to
Litchfield, New Hampshire, on account of
Indian troubles; later he was at Merrimac,
New Hampshire, where he died September 4,
1779. Several of the sons settled at Sanborn
ton, New Hampshire. According to the best
authority the children of Samuel were: 1.
Barnabas, said to have been born on the voyage
over; settled at Pelham, New Hampshire. 2.
William, born in Boston, April 1, 1735. 3.
James, born May 23, 1736, probably died
young. 4. Samuel, born August 24, 1737, at
Boston; died in Amherst, New Hampshire,
November 3, 1820 ; married Elizabeth Stewart,
daughter of John Stewart, who came with
Rev. James MacGregor in 1719, and was of
the royal Scotch family; this marriage prob
ably explains the traditions of noble blood in
the Gibson family; their son John settled in
Francestown, New Hampshire. 5. Jeremiah,
lived in Sanbornton, near the south end, on
what is called the Lakeman Place; married
Eleanor Forrest, sister of Jane ; removed with
four children to Canada ; children : i. Robert.
ii. John. iii. Judith, iv. Comfort. 6. Enoch,
was also at Sanbornton; removed to Canada.
7- Thomas ; mentioned below. 8. James, born
July 12, 1741 (perhaps a nephew).
(II) Thomas Gibson, son of Samuel Gib
son (1), located directly across the river from
Sanbornton, on the Gilmanton side, at Union

Bridge, having previously settled in Canter
bury. He married Jemima Shepard, daughter
of James Shepard, a soldier in the revolution.
Children: 1. Abigail, died young. 2. Martha,
died young. 3. Enoch, born March 19, 1784;
died in Canterbury, November 28, 1862, at the
age of seventy-eight years eight months ; mar
ried first, Polly Gibson, in 1810, and she died
September 14, 1817, aged twenty-six. He
married second, Nancy (McCrellis) Clough,
widow of Nehemiah Clough, of Canterbury;
children: i. Thomas, born April 1, 181 1, at
Union Bridge, died April 28, 1833; (was six
feet four inches tall) ; ii. Caroline, born Octo
ber 15, 1814, married first, May 7, 1840, Sam
uel Tallant, farmer, who died April 1, 1846,
having one daughter, Mary Tallant, born No
vember 10, 1842, died April 8, 1872; married
second, David Morrill Clough, of Canterbury,
June 17, 1856, at one time famous as the Corn
King of New Hampshire; iii. Enoch, had a
son Nehemiah, settled in Hamilton, Missouri ;
iv. Polly, married Moses Elkins, of Lake Vil
lage. 4. Polly, married John Prescott, a
farmer of Gilmanton, at Lake Village; died
at Manchester, aged seventy-two years. 5.
Nancy, died young. 6. Elsey, married Robert
Smith, of Gilmanton. 7. Naaman; mentioned
below. 8. Jemima, married Benjamin C.
Swasey, and left five children. 9. Naomi,
married David Lane, of Lowell; children: i.
Jemima Lane, married Amos Whitney, and
had Inez Blanche Whitney, born September
10, 1861, in Lowell; ii. Elsey Lane, married
Samuel Farson; children: Isora Farson;
Frank Farson, born June 19, 1845 ; Fred Far- -
son, born June 1, 1846; Mary Farson, born
November 30, 1848, married Frank Stanwood,
and had three children, Elsie, Sarah and
Harold Stanwood ; Lettie Farson, born March
1, 1 85 1, married Edwin Vinall, and had one
child, Lucena Inez Vinall; Minnie Frances
Farson, born December 19, 1852, married Dr.
Gerry Bradt, and had two children, Alice
Helen Bradt and Elsie Farson Bradt; Flora
Inez Farson, born May 2, 1855, married
George Scribner and had two children —
Arthur, died aged eight years, and Harold
Scribner. 10. Royal, married Harriet Thorne,
daughter of Phineas Thorne, then of Canter
bury, August 17, 1825, afterwards of Lind,
Wisconsin; children: Hollis, Charles, Lucia
and AHce. 11. John, died unmarried.
(Ill) Naaman Gibson, son of Thomas Gib
son (2), was born in Canterbury, New Hamp
shire, August 11, 1794- He married Mary
Hutchins, and died July 28, 1874, at Stan-

1234

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

bridge, Province of Quebec, Canada. She was
born April 24, 1801, and died August 24,
1839. Children: 1. Edwin, married Susan
Fuller, and had two children: Thomas, who
married Lilla Simms, and they had: Edwin,
died in infancy; Blanche, Edwin, Grace Doris
and Lizzie. 2. Martha, married  Corey.
3. Thomas, born February 14, 1835 ; men
tioned below. 4. Lizzie, married Ephraim
Hitchcock, of New York, fur manufacturer;
she died at Pelham Manor, New York; no
children. 5. Abbie, died unmarried.
(IV) Thomas Gibson, son of Naaman Gib
son (3), was born in Highgate, Vermont, Feb
ruary 14, 1835, and died December 9, 1882.
He attended the district schools of his native
town until he was eighteen years of age. In
1853 he came to Lowell, Massachusetts, to
learn the machinist's trade with his uncle,
David Lane, on Willie street. A short time
after completing his apprenticeship he left his
employer and in i860 located in Yonkers,
New York, where he had charge of the pistol
department in a firearms factory, and remained
there until the close of the civil war, his duties
being considered equivalent to military duty,
exempting him from the draft law. After the
war he worked in factories at Norfolk, Con
necticut, and Norwich, Connecticut. He then
became overseer of the tap and die works for
about five years, at Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Then he became a contractor under the old
system of manufacturing at the Howe Sew
ing Machine Works at Bridgeport, Connecti
cut. His health failed a few years later, and
he found it necessary to leave the shop. He
engaged in the grocery business in a store on
Middlesex street, Lowell. Two years later he
went to Brooklyn, New York, and while work
ing there took out a patent for a machine for
clipping fur. In politics he was a Republican ;
in religion a Congregationalist. He was a
member of the lodge of Odd Fellows, Lowell.
With no advantages of education or wealth or
influence, he made his way in the business
world to positions of trust and responsibility,
and won the confidence and esteem of his
townsmen. Of good natural ability, he had
supplemented his early education by study and
extensive reading. He was capable and re
sourceful in his own line of business.
He married, June 29, 1861, Isora D. Farson,
who died in August, 1899. She was born in
Lowell, December 26, 1842. Their only
child, Grace Isora, born June 16, 1870, mar
ried September 5, 1893, Amos Francis Hill, of
Lowell, cashier of the Traders' National Bank

of Lowell; he is a Republican in politics; a
member of William North Lodge of Free
Masons, and of the Country Club. Mrs. Hill
is a member of the Middlesex Club of Lowell,
of the Bay State Daughters American Revolu
tion, and of the Elliott Congregational church.

William Morris Bird, of Chelms-
BIRD ford, England, was a celebrated
physician and surgeon, and acted
as assistant to Sir Bransley Cooper, physician
and surgeon to Queen Charlotte, wife of King
George. Ascending to the etiquette of royalty,
Dr. Bird always visited the Queen in court
dress on every occasion of professional ser
vice. He married Mary Blanche Pugh, daugh
ter of the Rev. Dr. Pugh, a well known cler
gyman of the Established Church at Bath,
England, and all their sons except, George
Bird were physicians and their daughter mar
ried Dr. Watson, a well known English phy
sician. (II) George Bird, the youngest child of
Dr. William Morris and Mary Blanche
(Pugh) Bird, was born in Chelmsford, Eng
land, February 3, 181 1, and he was the only
member of the family to make a home in
America. He sailed from London, England,
to Cape Breton in 1852, and came thence to
Boston, Massachusetts, where he worked for
the municipal government as a carpenter. He
next engaged in the collection and sale of
second hand furniture, principally old styles
of imported antique. He went from this to
the theatrical business as a manager, and he
leased the old National Theatre, Boston, for
ten years and successfully managed the busi
ness, introducing to the Boston public Char
lotte Cushman shortly after she had made her
first appearance in New York on the dramatic
stage as Lady Macbeth to the. Macbeth of Wil
liam Barton in 1836. He also engaged Madale
Celeste, and all the other famous actors of the
day, making the National the chief theatre of
the city in point of high class performances.
Edwin Forrest Macready, the - English actor,
William Warren, Barney Williams, Mr. and
Mrs. Vincent, Fannie Essler, the dancer, and
other celebrities were attractions he offered
to the Boston public. He purchased for $11,-
000 the Federal street theatre, building, and
sold it for old lumber. He then purchased the
Tremont Theatre then located where Tremont
Temple now stands, and in which house Char
lotte Cushman made her debut, April 8, 1835,
as Countess Almaviva in the "Marriage of

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1235

Figaro" and during this engagement also sang
in "Guy Mannering," The Tremont Theatre
building he also demolished, converting the
material to second hand, lumber. He was
married in 1835, to Mrs. Mary Steele, of Bos
ton, and removed about 1838 to Brighton,
where he erected a number of dwelling houses.
His next place of residence was at Harvard
and Columbia streets, Cambridge, where he
resided for many years. He married (second)
Elizabeth Corbett, of Cheshire, England, in
1891. He resided at No. 1 Forest street, Cam
bridge. Here he passed his time in managing
his estate and in the enjoyment, under the
watchful care of a devoted wife, of the last
days of a well rounded and useful life. He
was always a charitable man but his gifts were
a matter between the benefactor and the
objects of his benefactions, his public gift of
$10,000 to build the Epworth League Church
on Massachusetts avenue, North Cambridge,
being a noted exception as to publicity. He
died at his home in Cambridge, December 2,
1907. The surname Holden, Holdin,
HOLDEN Holding or Houlding, is an
cient and distinguished in Eng
land. Various branches of the family bear
coats-of-arms and titles.
(I) Richard Holden, the immigrant ances
tor, was born in England in 1609, and came
to this country in the ship "Francis," sailing
from Ipswich, England, April 30, 1634, and
settling, first, at Ipswich, Massachusetts, where
he was for a time a land owner. His brother
Justinian, who was born in 161 1, came over
a year later and settled in Watertown, Massa
chusetts, whither Richard also removed soon
afterward. A manuscript family record writ
ten about 1800 states that they had brothers
Adam and William, and an uncle, James
Holden, "one of the Lords of England," who
secured their release by the sheriff who had
arrested them for attending "a dissenting
meeting" on condition that they would do so
no more "in that country."
Richard Holden resided at Cambridge for
a time. Justinian settled there. Richard was
a proprietor of Woburn in 1658. Pie sold his
place in Watertown in 1655 to J. 'Sherman.
He was admitted a freeman, May 6, 1657. In
I656-57 Richard settled in Groton, where he
had nine hundred and seventy-five acres of
land in the northerly part of the town, now in
Shirley, part of which was lately occupied by

Porter Kittridge. His land extended on the
west bank of the Nashua river from a point
near Beaver pond to the northward. He spent
his last years with his son Stephen, to whom
he gave his real estate March 23, 1691, calling
himself at that time "aged, infirm and a
widower." He died at Groton, March 1, 1696;
his wife died at Watertown, December 6,
1681. He married in 1640 Martha Fosdick,
daughter of Stephen Fosdick, of Charlestown.
The latter left a forty acre lot of land to
Richard, situated in Woburn.
Children: 1. Stephen, born July 19, 1642,
killed by fall from a tree at Groton in 1658.
2. Justinian, born in 1644, resided in Billerica.
3. Martha, born January 15, 1645-46, mar
ried Thomas Boyden. 4. Samuel, settled in
Groton and Stoneham; mentioned below. 5.
Mary, married Thomas Williams. 6. Sarah,
married, December 20, 1677, Gershom Swan.
• 7. Elizabeth. 8. Thomas, born 1657. 9. John,
born 1657. 10. Stephen, born about 1658.
(II) Samuel Holden, son of Richard
Holden (1), was born in Watertown, June 8,
1650, and died in Stoneham in 1739. The-
history of Stoneham, Massachusetts, says of
him: "Another citizen of Groton, who set
tled here was Samuel Holden, who lived for a
time in Woburn, and bought a tract of forty-
five acres in the westerly part of the town
south of Marble street in 1690." The Holdens .
owned an extensive territory in the south
westerly part of Stoneham and easterly of
Bear Hill. It is impossible to say with cer
tainty where Samuel first located, but probably
on the land which he originally purchased
near Marble street, although subsequently-
some of his descendants lived in two houses
westerly and southwesterly from the last resi
dence of the late John Bucknam. In1 an ancient
paper now in possession of one of the family
is the following reference to him while in
Groton. "Samuel Holden, second son of Richard
Holden, lived in Groton until the Indian war
(King Philip's). The town in the night was
beset by Indians ; the Indians came to his house
in the night and broke it open and came in.
His wife made her escape out of a door with
two small children in her arms and went into
a cornfield. Mr. Holden stood behind a door
with a gun in his hand intending to kill some
of them, but it being so dark he could not
see them. He also made his escape out of the
house, and went to a garrison house. The
Indians after plundering the house went off.
Soon after this Samuel Holden moved to

1236

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Stoneham (then Charlestown) for fear of the
Indians. (The town of Groton was aban
doned). He died on or about the year 1739,
aged eighty-eight years." As the observant
pedestrian tramps over the pastures between
the Nathan Bucknam house and Bear Hill,
he notices three depressions in the ground
where once stood human habitations which
have long since disappeared. Two of them
were occupied by Holdens and the one farthest
south by Isaac Howe, who purchased there a
house and barn and eighty-two acres of land
in 1715. "His daughter Naomi married
Joseph Holden." He bought forty-five acres
of land in Charlestown near Woburn line in
of John Allen, and sold a part of it in

1691. He appears in the Charlestown records
in 1699. Stoneham, where he lived, was not
incorporated until 1725. His wife Anna died
June 18, 1 73 1, aged seventy-two years, at
Stoneham. Her gravestone is still standing.
Children: 1. Anna, born in Groton, March
1, 1682. 2. Joseph, taxpayer in Stoneham in
1725; married Naomi Howe, daughter of
Isaac Howe, formerly of Roxbury. 3. Sam
uel, born July 23, 1699, mentioned below. 4.
Abigail. 5. Mary.
(Ill) Samuel Holden, son of Samuel
Holden (2), was born in Stoneham, Massa
chusetts, then Charlestown, July 23, 1699. He
married Elizabeth Dix, daughter of John Dix,
of Reading, and they settled in Stoneham,
where he was a taxpayer the first year of the
town's existence, 1725. Children: Samuel,
born October 2, 1729, mentioned below. 2:
Nathan (?), was soldier from Stoneham in
Captain William Peabody's company, Colonel
Plaisted's regiment, and died at Crown Point
in the service, 1756.
(IV) Samuel Holden, son of Samuel
Holden (3), was born in Stoneham, October
2, 1729. Married, June 6, 1757, Martha Call,
daughter of Samuel Call, of Maiden. They
lived at Marblehead until about 1773, then
removed to Stoneham. He died in Stoneham,
March 12, 1800. His will was dated Septem-,
ber 28, 1785, proved in 1800; mentions by
name wife Martha, son Samuel, and grand
son, Jesse Dike. They had nine children,
however. Some of them were: 1. Samuel,
baptized at Marblehead, August 17, 1766. 2.
William, baptized at Marblehead, April 10,
1768. 3. Thomas, baptized at Marblehead,
April 15, 1770, born April 11; settled in Bil
lerica; married, October 12, 1794, Mary Mun
roe, of Woburn; removed to Billerica in 1802 ;
died there December 14, 1842 ; widow died

March 14, 1847. 4. Elizabeth, baptized May
31, 1772, at Marblehead. 5. Asa, born at
Stoneham, December 11, 1773, mentioned be
low. (V) Asa Holden, son of Samuel Holden
(4), was born in Stoneham, December 11,
1773. Married, January 1, 1801, Nancy
Wyman, of Burlington, Massachusetts, a de
scendant of Lieutenant John Wyman, one of
the earliest settlers of Woburn, Massachusetts ;
also a descendant of Governor John Endicott,
of Salem. This was his third marriage. He
married (first), July 23, 1795, Sally Miller,
and (second), April 5, 1796, Polly Richardson,
who died December 10, 1799. His third wife,
Nancy, died December 1, 1833, and he mar
ried (fourth), July 10, 1834, Elizabeth Gould,
of Stoneham. She died April 2, 1841. He
married (fifth), Widow Lawrence, of Med
ford, and she died about 1855. He came to
Billerica about 1804; died fhere in 1856. Chil
dren: 1. Asa, born June 28, 1799. 2. Nancy,
born September 21, 1802, died February 10,
1808. 3. Isaac, born November 9, 1803. 4.
Perkins, born March 3, 1805. 5. Benjamin
Franklin, born December 14, 1806, a manu
facturer in West Concord, New Hampshire.
6. Daniel, born April 20, 1809, mentioned
below. 7. Martha Wyman, born August 10,
181 1, married, April 22, 1838, Joseph White,.
of Bedford, who died September 13, 1872. 8.
Nancy Richardson, born December 22, 1816,
died March 5, 1834. 9. John Wyman, born
September 25, 1818, died October 6, 1819.
(VI) Daniel Holden, son of Asa Holden
(5), was born in Billerica, Massachusetts,
April 20, 1809. Married Sarah Haynes,
daughter of Reuben Haynes, of Sudbury,
Massachusetts. She is descended from Walter
Haynes, who in 1638 with his wife Elizabeth,
five children- and three servants, sailed from
Southampton, England, in the ship "Confi
dence," bound for New England, and became
one of the original proprietors of the town of
Sudbury. In 1844 Daniel Holden married
Roxanna Haynes, another daughter of Reu
ben Haynes. In 1829 he came to Lowell,
Massachusetts, to work in the flannel mill of
H. G. Howe in Belvidere. Three years later
he began to manufacture goods on his own
account under contract with the mill owners.
In 1837 he was employed by the Chelmsford
Company as agent of their mill at the navy
yard, Dracut, where he remained for ten
years. In 1847 he removed to West Concord,
New Hampshire, and began the manufacture
of woolen goods. He was treasurer of the

I . . '

USZtZ

cn^cLesyis

Z ems Historical Tub Co

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1237

ConGord Manufacturing Company at the time
of his death. He had four children by his
first wife and seven by his second, among
whom was Edward Daniel, born July 11, 1848,
mentioned below.
(VII) Edward Daniel Holden, son of Dan
iel Holden (6) ( was born in West Concord,
New Hampshire, July 11, 1848. He received
his early education in the public schools of
Concord, afterward continuing his studies in
Boscawen, New Hampshire, and at West-
brook, Maine, under the tuition of Rev. S. H.
McCollester, D. D. He went to work in his
father's mill and learned the business thor
oughly, and became superintendent in a few
years. He left Concord and became the agent
of the Sterling Mills, Lowell, Massachusetts,
November 14, 1874, a position he held until
his death in 1902. He was one of the fore
most citizens of Lowell socially as well as in
business and financial affairs. He was trustee
of the Five Cents Savings Bank, member of
the Board of Trade, member of the National
Association of Wool Manufacturers and trus
tee of the Lowell General Hospital Associa
tion. He was a member of the William North
Lodge of Free Masons, and of Royal Arch
Chapter, of Lowell. He was an active and
, influential Republican ; was alderman of the
city of Lowell in 1888-89 and served on the
water board, representing the aldermen in
1888. He was an active member and generous
supporter of the Eliot Congregational Church
of Lowell. A man of sterling character, sound
judgment, large executive ability and happy
temperament, he was greatly loved and es
teemed by his friends and townsmen. He
was interested in public affairs, co-operated
in all efforts to advance the interests and pros
perity of the city, lent his hearty influence and
support to movements for the moral and
ethical advantage of the people. He was a
man of unusual ability in many ways, and
his untimely death has been greatly deplored.
He married (first), December 14, 1871,
Hannah Martin Brown, daughter of George
W. Brown, of West Concord, New Hamp
shire. She died August 23, 1894. He married
(second), February 5, 1898, Minetta K. Phil
lips, daughter of William and Elizabeth Phil
lips, of Kingston, Ontario. Children of the
first wife: 1. Ge'orge ¦ Brown, born August
25, 1874. '2. Bertha Haynes, born October
29, 1877. Child of the second wife: 3.
Louisa Phillips, born January 17, 1901.
iii— 30

John Law, the immigrant ancestor,
LAW was born about 1635, and accord
ing to family tradition was of
Scotch descent and birth. He is said to have
come to America in 1656, and seems to have
been nicknamed "Shepherd." At about that
time Cromwell sent many thousands of his
Scotch prisoners of war to New England and
it is likely that he was one of them. He set
tled in that part of Concord, now Acton, Mass
achusetts, soon afterward, and lived there the
remainder of his days. He died January 4,
1707-08. He married, at Concord, Massachu
setts, March 5, 1659-60, Lydia Draper, daugh
ter of Roger Draper. She was born in 1638,
died January 6, 1732-33, at the advanced age
of ninety-three. Children, born in Concord:
1. John, born March 7, 1660-61, died Decem
ber 5, 1690. 2. Thomas, born September 10,
1663, mentioned below. 3. Stephen, born
August 28, 1665, died November 25, 1733;
married Deborah  . 4. Dr. Samuel, born
May 28, 1680, married, December 15, 1708,
Martha Wheeler, and had Lydia, born April
24, 1710, and Martha, October 7, 171 1. 5.
Mary, married, in 1710, Samuel Davis. 6.
Elizabeth, married Jacob Read. -
(II) Thomas Law, son of John Law (1),
was born in Concord, September 10, 1663.
Married Sarah ¦ — — ¦ — . He settled in Acton,
then Concord, Massachusetts. Children, born
in Concord: 1. Lydia, born January 14, 171 1-
12. 2. John, born September 15, 1714, men
tioned below. 3. Titus, born October 26, 1716,
and had at Acton: i. Elizabeth, born Decem
ber 20, 1744; ii. Stephen, July 8, 1748; iii.
Amos, May 25, 1750; iv. Stephen, February
27, 1754; v. Ann, June 27, 17 — ; vi. Susanna,
March 22, 1756; vii. Molly, March 18, 1759.
4. Sarah, born March 14, 1719-20. 5. Sus
anna, born October 20, 1723. 6. Stephen,
born July 8, 1727.
(Ill) John Law, son of Thomas Law. (2),
was born in Acton, then Concord, September
15, 17 14; He was a soldier in the Indian wars
with his brothers Stephen and Titus. When
the town of Acton was incorporated Titus
Law (1735) was living on the road from mill
corner, Stow, to Concord. On the same road,
on part of the old homestead no doubt, were
John, Stephen and Amos his brothers. He
married, May 7, 1737, Sarah Barker. Chil
dren, born in Acton: 1. Lucy, born March
10, 1738. 2. John, born October 24, 1739, sol
dier in the French war, killed in 1759. 3.

I238

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Thomas, born November 28, 1741: 4. Sam
uel, born August 27, 1744. 5. James, born
October 27, 1748. 6. Reuben, born October
22, 1 75 1, mentioned below. 7. Andrew, born
July 4, 1754.
(IV) Reuben Law, son of John Law (3),
was born in Acton, Massachusetts, October
22, 1 75 1. He was a- soldier in the Revolution,
a private in Captain John Hayward's company
of minute men, of Colonel Abijah Pierce's
regiment, which marched April 19, 1775, and
he was in the fight at the Concord bridge when
Captain Davis fell. He was also in the com
pany of Captain David Wheeler, regiment of
Colonel Nixon, in 1776; also enlisted for nine
months in Captain Hunt's company, Colonel
Brooks's regiment, and served in New Y°rk
in 1778. The Revolutionary.' rolls give his age
correctly as twenty-seven ; his height five feet,
nine inches ; residence Acton. His brothers
Andrew and James were also in the Revolu
tion from Acton. He married, January 13,
1778, Alice Piper (by Rev. Moses Adams),
born 1759, daughter of Joseph and Esther
Piper, of Acton. She died in 1821. He mar
ried (second), September 5, 1827, Ruth,
widow of Captain Daniel Piper. Children:
1. David, settled in Union, Maine. 2. Lin
coln, settled in Union,. 3. Alexander. 4.
Rebecca. 5. Jonathan, mentioned below.
(V) Jonathan Law, son ¦ of Reuben Law
(4), was born in Acton, Massachusetts, about
about 1775. He married Mary Bartiett, -of
Princeton, Massachusetts. In 1808 he re
moved to Hubbardston, Massachusetts, and
was a farmer there until about 1833, when he
settled in Pharsalia, New York, where he pur
chased a large tract of land. He was an en
ergetic and capable man. Children, all but
the first three born in Hubbardston: 1. Ste
phen, born at Acton, May 1, 1805*. 2. Aaron,
born at Acton, November. 27, 1806, died Sep
tember 19, 1857; married, September 23, 1849,
Louisa Schwartz ; children : i. Ellen Jane, born
October 2, 1851, married, September 14, 1892,
Rev. A. W. Barrows ; ii. Fannie Louise,, born
January 23, 1854, married, November 8, 1891,
Halbert Grant; iii. Howard Schwartz, born
August 24, 1855', married, May 22, 1876,
Eleanor Cromb ; iv. Aaron Chester, born Janu
ary 30, 1857, married, June 30, 1896, Kittie
Gilbert. 3. Hamilton, born at Acton, October
25, 1808, died April 27, 1900; married (first),
September 15, 1833, Mary G. Greenleaf ; mar
ried (second), November 9, 1837, Eleanor
Sweeney; child of first wife, Francis L., born
June 3, 1834, died September 7, 1838; chil

dren of the second wife: ii. Elizabeth F.,
born October 1, 1838, married (first), Decem
ber 10, 1856, Avery C. Keaton; (second), De
cember 25, 1870, Andrew J. Keaton; iii. Mary
M., born July 3, 1840, married (first), De
cember 25, 1859, Giles White, and (second),
John Sweeney; iv. Miles H., born February
25, 1843, married, October 8, 1871, Susan
Sweeney. 4. William, born September 4,
i8n,.died March 1, 1886; married, in 1831,
Elvira. Ball; children: i. Frederick William,
born 1832 ; ii. Emily Elvira, born June 8, 1835 ;
iii. Laura Jane, born March 28, 1838, married
Pike D. Bosworth and -had Emma Jane, born
August 2, 1857; Helen Azelle, September 23,
1861 ; Alice Chapel, September 4, 1865; Hattie
Luelle, May 4, 1867; Varnelle Decatur, Oc
tober 28, 1870 ;'iv. Emerson W., born January
3, 1840, married February 11, 1874, Sarah W.
Nutting, of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 5.
Prescott, born July 17, 1813. 6. Emerson,
born September 14, 1815. 7. Asa, born Jan
uary 31, 1818, married, March 28, 1839, Lucy
Ann Jackson, of Plymouth, Massachusetts;
children: i. Abbie Crandon, born December
22, 1840; ii. Adrianna S.ebastianna, born July
2, 1842, died October 9, 1881 ; iii. Asaphine
De Fargail, born October 15, 1846; iv. Emma
Adelaide Josephine, born February 4, 1859.
8. Jonathan, born 1820, baptized January 28,
1 82 1. 9. Charles, born December, 1822, bap
tized April 27, 1823; died July 15, 1864;
married, May 28, 1859, Annie C. Ballard, of
Cambridge ; children : i. Charles Edward, born
October 17, i860, died July 25, 1861 ; ii. Fred
erick William, born November 18, 1861, mar
ried, July 15, 1886, Anna Ball Montgomery,
and have Frederick William, Jr., born May
8,-1887, died July 16, 1887, and Charles Emer
son, born October 3, 1890. 10. Mary, born
March 5, 1825, died October 3, 1877; married
Daniel Chapel, of Pitcher, New York; no chil
dren. 11. Moses, born March 13, 1827, men
tioned below. 12. Child, born and died April
4, 1830.
(VI) Moses Law, son of Jonathan Law
(5), was born at Hubbardston, Massachu
setts, March 13, 1827. He attended the public
schools in his youth. At the age of twelve he
was bound out to a farmer. He learned the
trade of printer and followed it to the time
of his marriage, and for a time afterward. He
was employed by the American Bank Note
Company in Boston, but was obliged to give
up the work on account of its effect on his
health. He settled in Bolton, Massachusetts,
and conducted the Knight farm, at what is

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1239

called Fiddlers' Green, near the center of the
village. In 1863 he sold this farm, which his
wife had inherited, and removed with his fam
ily to Medford, Massachusetts. He took up
the trade of blacksmith in the shop of Teel
& Hill, an old firm of blacksmiths and carriage
makers. After his time as apprentice was out,
he was employed as a journeyman for ten
years. He then worked for the firm of Fos
ter & Manning, lumber merchants, as yard
man and driver of lumber wagons. Later he
was emplqyed by another lumber concern in
Boston for about four years. His death was
caused by a fall from his wagon, December 7,
1889. Mr. Law Was naturally capable and en
ergetic, of jovial and happy disposition. He
was a Universalist in religion, a Democrat in
politics. He was a member of the Medford
Fire Department, and of the Lawrence Light
Guards at Medford, Company E, Fifth Regi
ment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.
He married, September 3, 1854, Lydia
Maria Knight, born December 21, 1834,
daughter of John and Lucy Newhall (Whit
ney) Knight. Her father was born at Salem,
November 25, 1803, son of Aaron and Sarah
Knight; her mother was born April 27, 1804,
daughter of Isaiah and Susannah Whitney,
of Bolton, Massachusetts. Children of Moses
and Lydia' Maria Law: 1. George Asa, born
August 17, 1855 ; mentioned below. 2. Lucy
Maria, born August 17, 1857, died December
5, 1882. 3. Mary Annie, born March 25,
1861. 4. Grace Darling, born June 9, 1871,
married (first), February 4, 1893, Charles
Dougherty, of Waltham; child, Helen Mar
garet, born March 1, 1895; married (second),
September 8, 1897, James Homer Patrill, of
Hardwick, Massachusetts ; children : ii. George
Elbridge, born June 6, 1899 ; iii. Ida Gertrude,
born November 21, 1901.
(VII) George Asa Law, son of Moses Law
(6), was born at Bolton, Massachusetts, Aug
ust 17, 1855. At the age of five years he
moved with his parents to Medford, Massa
chusetts, where he was educated in the public
schools. At the age of sixteen he began to
drive an express team from Medford to Bos
ton and continued for two years; at nineteen
he bought out an express business in Boston
and conducted it under the name of the City
Express for nine months. It was not a good
business venture and he gave it up to enter the
milk business with a route in Arlington and
Somerville, living in Arlington. He sold out
at the end of two years to Albert Boynton
and engaged in the retail fish business in Arl

ington. During the next two years he estab
lished his livery business, and afterward
(1888) devoted all his attention to his stable.
His first stable was on Walnut street where
he remained for five years, removing then to
the old car barn at the corner of Academy
street and Massachusetts avenue. At the end
of ten years he removed to his present stable
which he purchased. It is fifty-five by one
hundred and fifty feet, two stories high, and
has accommodations for thirty-five horses, the
number he keeps. He does a large hack and
carriage business and deals extensively . in ~
horses. He attends the Arlington Congrega
tional Church. He is a charter member of
Menotomy Council, Royal Arcanum, No.
1 105, of Arlington, and belongs to the Metro
politan Driving Club of Boston.
He married, September 3, 1875, Mary Ann
Clark, born September 3, 1858, daughter of
David and Mary Burton (Brown) Clark. Her
father was a livery stable proprietor. Chil
dren: 1. Ida Gertrude, born September 20,
1876, married, July 5, 1905, George W. Britt,
of Boston; child, Esther Covert, born July 17,
I906. 2. Joseph Harwood, born October 18,
1879, married, May 12, 1907, Vivian Jane
Doughty, now a resident of Fitchburg, Mass
achusetts ; no children. 3. Mary Maria, born
April 26, 1880, unmarried. 4. David Clark,
born August 1, 1885. 5. George Asa, Jr.,
born May 1, 1888. 6. Emerson Charles, born
March 27, 1891. 7. Grace Darling, born June
15, i894-

(For ancestry see William Marston i).
(Ill) Isaac Marston, son of
MARSTON Thomas Marston (2), born
in Hampton, New Hamp
shire, about 1647; married first, December
23, 1669, Elizabeth Brown, daughter of John
Brown; second, April 1.9, 1697, Jane Haines.
He settled where David S. Marston now lives
(1897). The house was a short distance
north of the site of the present one. John
Brown was born in England, in 1588-89;
settled in Hampton as early as 1639. Chil
dren of Isaac and Elizabeth Marston: 1.
Caleb, born July 19, 1672; mentioned below.
2. Abigail, born December 25, 1673; died June
20, 1674. 3. Elizabeth, born April 30, 1675.
4. Mary, born April 18, 1677. 5. Thomas,
born December 21, 1678; married Lydia
Moulton. 6. Sarah, born November 6, 1680.
7. Abigail, born May 7, 1682. 8. Bethia,
born July 6, 1687.

1 240

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

(IV) Caleb Marston, son of Isaac Mar
ston (3), was born July 19, 1672, at Hamp
ton, New Hampshire, and died there April 18,
1747. He married, November 12, 1695, Anna
Moulton, daughter of Lieutenant John Moul
ton, called "The Giant," and Lydia (Taylor),
daughter of Anthony. John Taylor, father of
Lieutenant John, was born in -England about
1599; first deputy from Hampton to the gen
eral court in Boston in 1639. Caleb Marston
inherited his father's homestead, and settled
at Hampton. Children, born in Hampton: 1.
James, born .May 18, 1697. 2. Caleb, born
July 3, 1699; married Jerusha Smith and Tab
itha Page; died February 7, 1778. 3. Lydia,
born April 24, 1702. 4. Isaac, born October
23, 1704. 5. Elizabeth, born December 19,
1706; died January 28, 1718. 6. John, born
March 10, 1709. 7. Mary, born December 5,
1710. 8. Sarah, born November 16, 1713;
died October 7, 1767. 9. David, born De
cember 31, 1 7 16; mentioned below.
(V) David Marston, son of Caleb Marston
(4), was born in Hampton, December 31,
1716; died February 23, 1779; married, Aug
ust 13, 1741, Abigail Garland, daughter of
Jonathan Garland, born October 28, 1689, and
Rachel (Dow) Garland, daughter of Deacon
Samuel Dow. Peter Garland, father of Jon
athan, was born at Hampton, November 25,
1659. His father was John Garland, the im
migrant, pioneer in Hampton, who married
second, 1654, Elizabeth Chase, widow, daugh
ter of Thomas Philbrick. David Marston was
cornet in the Hampton military company;
settled on the homestead and was a farmer.
Children, born at Hampton: 1. Isaac, born
April 17, 1742; married Molly Nudd; died
March 3, 1805. 2. Rachel, born February 2,
1744; died December 4, 1830; married Samuel
Brown, of Hampton. 3. Sarah, born June 14,
1746;. died July 15, 1828; married Reuben
Lamprey. 4. Molly, born September 30,
1748; died May 28, 1825 ;, married John Lam
prey. 5. James, born March 30, 1751 ; mar
ried, November 28, 1776, Elizabeth Brown,
daughter of Samuel ; settled in Parsonsfield,
Maine. 6. Abigail, born October, 1754; mar
ried David Philbrick. 7. David, born Febru
ary 5, 1756; mentioned below. .8. Levi, born
March 14, 1758; died November 8, 1834; mar
ried Abigail Fogg; his son Henry S. inherits
the homestead at Hampton. 9. Caleb, born
October 8, 1760; died, 1838; married, Octo
ber 9, 1784, Rachel Garland, and settled in
Parsonsfield. 10. Elizabeth, born March,
1763; died unmarried, November, 1856. 11.

Anna, born May 28, 1766; married Moses
Lane. 12. Jonathan, born January 6, 1769;
married Mary Leavitt.
(VI) David Marston/ son of David Mar
ston (5), was born in Hampton, February 5,
1756; married, 1782, Mary Page. He was a
soldier in the Revolution, a private at the age
of eighteen in Captain James Norris's com
pany, Colonel. Poor's regiment; also in the
Continental army in 1776, from North Hamp
ton. He was educated in the public schools
of his native town. In his youth he worked
on his father's farm. His occupation as given
on the Revolutionary war rolls was cord-
wainer (shoemaker). After his marriage in
1782 he removed to Parsonsfield, Maine,
where he bought a farm in the west village,
and became a well-to-do farmer, raising many
fine horses as well as cattle and sheep. He
died there January 29, 1835. He was very re
ligious, and of exceptional force of character.
He was a devout and generous member and
for many years deacon of the Baptist church,
and he brought up his children to a strict ob
servance of the rules of religion as he under
stood them. In politics he was a Democrat,
and a town officer many years. He was repre
sentative to the general court of Massachusetts
from Parsonsfield, Maine, (then in Massachu
setts), from 1806 to 1809. He married, April
4, 1782, Mary Page, who died in 1847. Chil
dren: I.- David, born March 23, 1783. -2.
Abigail, born February 23, 1785 ; married
Eben Marston. 3. Mary, born January 25,
1787; married Jonathan Ayer. 4. Levi, born
 . 5. Anna, born June 6, 1792; married
Andrew Page. 6. Jacob, born October 16,
1794; died September 6, 1796. 7. Elizabeth,
born April 8, 1797; married Jeremiah Mar
ston. 8. Jacob, born April 16, 1799; mention
ed below. 9. Ruth, born December 6, 1801 ;
died November 12, 1803.
(VII) Jacob Marston, son of David Mar
ston (6), was born at West Parsonsfield,
Maine, April 16, 1799, and died there January
29, 1853. He was brought up on his father's
farm, and had a common school education.
He learned the trade of blacksmith in his
youth, and when not engaged in farming fol
lowed his trade. He remained at home with
his father until his death, then became the
owner and conducted it-the rest of his life.
His blacksmith shop was near the farm. In
addition to the shop and farm he was a stone
cutter, and employed a number of men in
getting out stone for various uses. He was
prominent in church and town affairs, being

J^Ti[7^aMZ2n

L

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1241

a member of the Baptist church, active in the
temperance movement, beloved by all his
friends and neighbors. In politics he was a
Democrat, and represented his district in the
Maine legislature; was selectman for a num
ber of years in Parsonsfield; also overseer of
the poor and member of the school committee.
He married, in 1826, Martha Doe, who wad
born March 21, 1807, at Parsonsfield, and died
June 7, 1870, daughter of John and Abigail
(Giddings) Doe. Her father was a farmer.
Children: 1. John Doe, born June 3, 1827;
married, 1852, Mary Staples', of Old Orchard,
Maine; child, William Staples, born May 23,
1853, married, December 29, 1880, Marguer
ite Woodrugg of St. Catherine's, Ontario,
Canada, (children: William Woodruff, born
October 9, 1881 ; Peirce, born January 13,
1883). 2. Abigail Giddings, born July 24,
1829; died October 1, 1849, unmarried. 3.
David Wells, born March 27, 1831 ; died un
married, February 5,1852. 4. Comfort Hilton,
born September 29, 1833 ; married, June, 1854,
Addison Woodbury Glidden, of Effingham,
N. H. ; she died January 23, 1906 ; children :
i.' Clinton Elmer Glidden, born September 12,
1856 ; ii. Ira Woodbury Glidden, born October
14, 1862 ; iii. Mamie Edalla Glidden, born
September 24, 1866, died January 22, 1869;
iv. Nellie May Glidden, born August 9, 1868.
5. Oran Butler, born April 20, 1836; men
tioned below. 6. Hon. Ira Doe, born April
30, 1838; married Goodee Weir; resides at
. Kearney, Nebraska, where he is judge of the
county • court. 7. ' Elizabeth, born December
27, 1839, died aged two years. 8. George
Whitefield, born April 3, 1842; married, Jan
uary 28, 1866, Harriet Maria Puffer, of Arl
ington, Massachusetts, born in Newton, Mass
achusetts, September 1, 1836; children: i.
Maria Abigail, born September 3, 1867, in
Arlington, married, October 16, 1890, in West
Somerville, Massachusetts, John Franklin
Ferry, of Concord, New Hampshire, born No
vember 11,-1862; (their children: Warren
Franklin Terry, born February 18, 1895;
Marion Katherine Terry, born August 30,
1899; George Hilliard Terry, born June 25,
1901, died January 23, 1902 ; all Born in West
Somerville, Massachusetts) ; ii. George War
ren Marston, born December 10, 1869, in Arl
ington; married in West Somerville, June 28,
1907, Mary Ethel Davis, born in Providence,
Rhode Island, February 1.4, 1872-73 ; no chil
dren. 9. Maria Elizabeth, born November,
1844; 'married, June 5, 1882, Henry S. Colby,
of Richmond, Maine, born July 12, 1851,

died February 25, 1893; no children. 10. •
Jacob, born March 15, 1847, married Martha
Annie Batson, of Danvers, Massachusetts;
children : i. Charlotte Pauline, born December
26, 1880; ii. Grace Bernice, born February 21,
1895. 11. Frank Russell, born June 28, 1850,
mentioned below. 12. David Bennett, born
August 20, 1852, died June 18, 1905 ; married,
June 27, 1877, Linnie Cline, of Cambridge,
Illinois;, child: Mary Linnie, born June 4,
•1894. (VIII) Oran Butler Marston, son of Jacob
Marston (7), was born at Parsonsfield, April
20, 1836. He received his education in the
public schools of his native town, helping his
father on the farm during his youth, and learn
ing the trade of carpenter. In i860 he left
home and entered the employ of James
Nowell, builder and contractor, of Boston, for
whom he worked five years, part of the time
as foreman. In April, 1865, Mr. Marston re
moved to Arlington, where he worked as a
journeyman for Edward Storer, then one of
the leading builders and contractors of Arl
ington. He was soon promoted to foreman.
In 1882 Mr. Storer retired from business, and
Mr. Marston established himself in business,
beginning in a small way at Swan place, where
he purchased a lot and built his shop. No man
in his calling every enjoyed a more uninter
rupted reputation for good and reliable work
than Mr. Marston. Among his first contracts
was a house for pfenry Swan. He built the
residence of George I. Doe ; for Henry Swan,
on Massachusetts avenue; for Clarence T.
Parsons, Arthur Bacon, Herbert L. Tileston,
Frederick Rich, Charles Whytal, Frank M.
Bott, Mrs. Wetherbee, George A. Smith, L.
K. Russell, R. W. Hilliard, and the C. W.
Allen' house and many others, all of which
stand as a monument to his skill and genius.
He remained in active business until a short
time before his death. He died September 14,
1904. Since then his daughter, Mrs. F. B.
Wadleigh, has successfully conducted the bus
iness. Mr. Marston was a man of peculiarly quiet
and even disposition and temperament, but his
sterling worth was understood and appreci
ated by his friends. He is held in grateful
remembrance by many of the younger gener
ation whom" he has helped by word and ex
ample. He was in his day one of the leading
business men of the town, taking part in every
movement intended to improve and benefit his
native town. In politics he was a Democrat.
One who knew him wrote : "A contractor and

1242

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

builder by occupation, beginning life as most
men begin, in a humble way, in course of time
he became the employer and bearer of respon
sibility. The buildings that he erected are
monuments. There was thought, artistic sense
and honesty of purpose in them. It was his
motto, 'What is worth doing, is worth doing
well.' The abomination of his- life was care
less, partial or cheap work. So enamored with
accuracy was this man that frequently he gave
people much more, in order to have it right,,
than was called for in the contract. As long
as these buildings stand, his monument will
be visible, and even longer than this." He held
many positions of trust and honor in the
church, but none more sacred in his sight
than the superintendent of the Sunday school,
serving at two different periods. A lover of
children and young people, he was their com
panion, friend and father. In his later years
the venerable man, with his wagon filled with
children, in the midst of a circle of young
people, or presiding at a session of the Sun
day school, were characteristic. When the
Arlington Co-operative Bank was founded he
became a stockholder, and from the first was
a director and member of the investment
board. He was a member of the Arlington
¦ Improvement Association.
He married, January 14, 1861, Anne Eliz
abeth Brown, born at West Parsonsfield,
Maine, April 25, 1840, and died at Arlington,
Massachusetts, June 18, '1896, daughter of
Nathan and Comfort (Stevens) Brown, of
Parsonsfield. Her father was a farmer and
shoemaker. Children: 1. Edwin, born at
Boston, March, 1863 ; died soon. 2. Nellie
Comfort, born in Boston, June 12, 1864; mar
ried, September 14, 1892, Francis Bowen
Wadleigh, of Winchester, Massachusetts ; en
gaged in the mill, remnant supply business;
they have no children.
(VIII) Frank Russell Marston, son of
Jacob Marston (7), was'born at Parsonsfield,
Maine, June 18, 1850. He married first, Aug
ust 14, 1871, Susan A. Young, of Middleton,
New Hampshire ; married second, September
29, 1883, Ada L. Davis, of Farmington, and
she died June 22, 1902 ; married third, January
3, 1905, E. Ellen Davis, of New Durham,
New Hampshire. Children of the first wife:
1. Fred B., born May 30, 1872; married Hes
ter Bumpus, of Maine; child, Frank M. Mar
ston. 2. Mattie A., born June 10, 1874; mar
ried Fred J. Twombly, of Haverhill, Massa
chusetts; children: i. George Twombly; ii.
Raymond Twombly; iii.  Twombly;

iv. Son. 3. George F., born November 8,
1876; unmarried.

Thomas Wellman, the im-
WELLMAN migrant ancestor, was born
in England, about 1620. He
came over in the ship "Hopewell," when he
was twenty-one years old. He was an inhabi
tant of Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1640. The
family, according to some traditions, is said
to be Welsh, but the name is English. He
married Elizabeth  . Children: 1,
Abraham, born about 1643 ; father of Thomas,
born 1669, who settled in Reading. 2. Isaac,
born about 1650; mentioned below. 3. Eliz
abeth. 4. Sarah. 5. Mary. 6. Stephen (?),
killed by the Indians, September 18, 1675, at
Deerfield. (II) Isaac Wellman, son of Thomas Well-
man (1), was born about 1655, in Lynn, or
vicinity, Massachusetts. He married, March
13, 1679, Hannah Adams, who died after
17-11. He married second (intentions dated
August 23, 1717), Mary Slafter, who sur
vived him. Some of this family settled in
Killingworth, Connecticut. Children, born at
Lynn: 1. Isaac, born February 7, 1679-80;
died September 18/ 1682. 2. Stephen, born
September 6, 1681 ; mentioned below. 3.
Isaac, born about 1684; his widow died about
1711. (Ill) Stephen Wellman, son of Isaac Well-
man (2), was born in Lynn, September 6,
1 681; died, -1767. He married (intentions
dated April 27, 1706), Abigail Boston, of
Wells, Maine. Children: 1. Stephen Jr., born
at Lynn, August 19, 1712 (recorded at Lynn).
According to the family historian, he "fell
down stairs and broke his silver cord," dying
in consequence, July 1, 1768. He married at
Salem, January 9, 1740, Susanna Pedrick, who
died June 24, 1768, of consumption. Children,
born at Lynn: 1. Thomas, born May 13,
1742; married Martha Follet, of Attleborough,
born 1737, died April 19, 1792. 2. Jesse, born
December 27, 1743. 3. Stephen, born June
21, 1746. 4. Susannah, born September 20,
1749. 5. Ezekiel, born February 6, 1751-52;
mentioned below. 6. Bartholomew, born May
25, 1754. 7. Ann, born May 5, 1759. 8.
Caleb, born May 3, 1761 ; married Susanna
Williams. (V) Ezekiel Wellman, son of Stephen
Wellman (4), was born February 6, 1751-52,
at Lynn ; died there December 7, 1816. He
resided at Salem. He married Elizabeth Ellin-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1243

wood, who was born in Salem, February 20,
1752; died in Beverly, January 20, 1842, aged
eighty-nine years. Children, born at Salem;
1. Elizabeth, born September 22, 1776; mar
ried Philip Leach, who was lost at sea ; sec
ond, Captain Timothy Hawks, who was lost
at sea; she died April 25, 1863, aged eighty-
seven years, at Tapleyville, Danvers. 2.
Anna, born December 7, 1778; married Jacob
Reed, who died June 6, 1875 ; she died at
South Danvers, July 27, 1855. 3. Lydia B.,
born September 25, 1780; married James Os
borne, who died at Lynn, April 6, 1854, aged
seventy-six; she died December 24, 1866. 4.
Elisha, born May 10, 1783; married Clap
Trask; he died September 26, 1824. 5; Desire
E., born February 16, 1785 ; married John
Porter Webber, of Beverly; she died January
5, 1865. 6. Samuel, born April 27, 1788; died
unmarried, October 12, 1820. 7. Stephen,
born October 27, 1791 ; mentioned below.
(VI) Stephen Wellman, son of Ezekiel
Wellman (5), was born October 27, 1791 ;
died December 19, 1855, aged sixty-four
years. He settled in New Salem, New Hamp
shire, and married there, Charlotte Rollins.
Children: 1. John Rollins, born November
17, 1819; mentioned below. 2. Hannah
Chase, married, April, 1845, Asa M. Sawyer,
of South Danvers ; married second, John
Paine, of San Francisco ; children : i. George
Sawyer; ii. Thomas Sawyer; iii. Simon Saw
yer. 3. Elizabeth Woodbury, born January,
1827; married Josiah S. Burrell; children:
i. Charlotte E. Burr ill, born March 29, 1845 I
ii. Charles Smith Butrill, born March 22,
1847, died July 17, 1864; iii. Mary Alice Bur-
rill, born April 29, -1850; iv. Frank Rollins
Burrill, born February 9, 1859. 4- Lucy
Hynes, married Charles H. Simonds, of South
Danvers; died at West Andover, June 5, 1852,
aged twenty-one; one son, William Augustus
Simonds, aged five months. 5. Calet. 6.
Bartholomew, lost at sea. 7. Susan, married,
July 12, 1887, James Brown, of Lynnfield;
children: i. John Brown, married 
Mansfield; ii. Stephen Brown, born 1794,
died 1864; iii. Jonathan Brown; iv. Rebecca
Brown, married Elijah Hewes; v. Susanna,
married John Seaver ; vi.  Brown.
(VII) John Rollins Wellman, son of Ste
phen Wellman (6), was born in Salem, Mass.
achusetts, November 17, 1819. He was edu
cated in the public schools. He was engaged
successfully in the metal and iron business
at Lawrence, where he spent his days. His
death occurred June 21, 1899. He was a Re

publican in politics. He and his family attend
ed the services of the Baptist church. He was
a member of the Royal Arcanum, and of
Grecian Lodge, Free Masons, at Lawrence.
He married, November 18, 1874, Lucretia C.
Tucker, of Cherryfield, Maine, daughter of
David W. and Mary (Tucker) Tucker. Their
only child ,was John Ralph, born August 8,
1876; mentioned below.
(yill) John Ralph Wellman, son of John
Rollins Wellman (7), was born August 8,
1876. He was educated in the public and high
'schools of Melrose and at Brown University,
from which he was graduated in 1899. He
studied law at Harvard Law School and is
now practicing law in Boston. He is a Re
publican in politics. He is a member of 
Lodge, Free Masons ; of the  Chapter,
Royal Arch Masons ; of  Council Royal
and Select Masons ; of Hugh De Payens Com
mandery, Knights Templar, and of the Order
of the Mystic Shrine.
He married Cora C, Cutter, daughter of E.
Cutter Jr., April 15, 1902. Children: 1.
John Rollins, born September 10, 1903. 2.
Ephraim C, born August 14, 1904, died Oc
tober 26, 1907. 3. Elizabeth B., born July 11,
1906. Henry Dexter, a celebrated
DEXTER painter and sculptor, born Oc
tober 11, 1806, in the town of
Nelson, Madison county, New York, and died
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, June 23, 1876,
when within three months of seventy years of
age, traced his ancestry back through eight
generations to the Rev. Gregory Dexter, of
Olney, Northampton county, England, born
1610. Gregory Dexter was first a printer and
stationer in London; an adherent and trans
atlantic correspondent of Roger Williams. He
printed for Roger Williams, in 1643, a dic
tionary of the Indian language as spoken in
New England. In 1644 he accompanied
Roger Williams on one of his return trips to
Providence, where he , became a regular
preacher among the Baptists, baptizing many
people in the Providence Jordan, otherwise
called the Mooshassick. He was the first edu
cated printer in this country, often called to
Boston and Cambridge to assist in setting up
matter too difficult for the local journeyman,
and as the printer of the first Rhode Island
almanac. He and all his descendants lived
in and around Providence up to the close of
the eighteenth century, when they began to

1244

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

disperse, some going as far west as Connecti
cut and even New York, others to the far
south, to North Carolina and Alabama. The
father of Henry Dexter went to New York in
1805 to better his fortune, in which attempt he
failed after 'various efforts at farming, shoe-
making and tanning.
The date of the first schooling of Henry
Dexter, is not given, but he records that he
learned three letters the first day and received
from his teacher "a ticket of merit." School
and books formed only a minute item in the
life of country children of that time, and they '
began very early to bear the yoke of labor.
In his father's tanyard Henry drove the horse
that turned the stones for grinding bark. His
chief early employment, however, was helping
his mother spin and weave. She had the large
wheel for woolen yarns and the small for
flax, and Henry had to wind quills and spool
yarn for many, a web and woof. From an
older brother he learned the secrets of trap
ping, fishing and shooting, and in this way
became familiar with the brooks and forest
ways of the region. Forests were every
where as yet uncleared, and when he found
any spot where he could see beyond them, it
appeared to him that the world — a word he
heard often and that perplexed him much —
must be there. At the age of twelve years,
having lost his father, the mother and chil
dren went to the home of the mother's father
in Connecticut. The journey thither was
through Albany, where they boarded the
schooner "Sallie," Captain Spellman, which
including stops was seventeen days in making
New York City. The days were full of won
der and novelty to Henry who had never be
fore seen a vessel, a city, or any scenery com
parable to that of the Hudson river. He ob
served and took- note of everything, and fifty
years afterward could recall every incident
of the voyage. After four days the "Sallie"
headed for the East river, passed through
Hell Gate, and subsequently reached Provi
dence, their port of destination. From this
place the journey was continued by land to
Kiliingly, Connecticut, the home of Mrs. Dex-
ter's parents.
Mrs. Dexter did not remain long with her
parents. She hired a house on the borders of
Kiliingly and Pomfret, where Henry, the oldest
child at home, had plenty of work in assist
ing his mother, chopping wood, and in the care
of a garden. He also worked out in the neigh
borhood, when wanted, for a dollar a week.
Later he entered the employ o'f Stephen Dana,

in Pomfret, attending school in winter, where
he proved an apt pupil, standing at the head
of his classes, and assisting with the work of
the farm, and he remained an inmate of this
home for three years. April 7, 1822, he began
an apprenticeship at the trade of blacksmith
with John Chol'lar, at Danielsonville, six miles
from Pomfret, and after a few weeks' trial
was indentured to Mr. Chollar for four years,
to learn the whole art and mystery of black-
smithing. In the first year he plated a hoe,
a difficult work, and mended the broken horn
of the- anvil, which his master had told him
could never be done. Eighteen months after
his apprenticeship had begun an event hap
pened which, seemingly unimportant, proved
of much consequence. A family by the name
of Kelley moved into the house next to his
master's. Mrs. Kelley was a sister of the
painter, Frank Alexander, a celebrated por
trait-painter. At the close of his apprentice
ship he had become the most skilled workman
in the region. Whatever could be done at
the forge or t bench, with anvil or hammer or
file or cold chisel, he cOuld do. Difficult jobs
were entrusted to him, and he never failed of
success. It was doubtless the native art in
stinct which made him such an accomplished
artisan in working his rough materials. He
was then earning a dollar a day and his board.
In the summer of 1826 or 1827 it was an
nounced that Francis Alexander would spend
his vacation at his home if half-a-dozen sit
ters could be obtained for him. By the exer
tions of Henry Dexter, five were promised,
and he himself would be the sixth. It was
not any wish to see himself on canvas that in
fluenced him, but simply the desire to discover
how the work was done. This appears to
have been the absorbing thought of his life
at this period — "to see a painter commence a
portrait and' learn the rudiments of the art."
A great disappointment awaited him, for when
the painter began to work he' could not see
the canvas ; it was turned from him. How
ever, he made some important discoveries by
asking questions.
In May, 1828, Mr. Dexter married Miss
Kelley,' and they went to housekeeping in an
outlying village of Kiliingly, where he had
purchased a blacksmith's stand and begun
business for himself. Now his own master,
disposer of his own days and with a house
where he could do what he pleased without
observation, his mind dwelt much on painting,
and he resolved to try. He had no materials
for the attempt, and did not dare to go to

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1245 '

Providence, the. nearest city, for fear one of
the six persons whom he knew in that city
should discover him buying paints instead of
iron. Accordingly he decided to go to PI art-
ford, forty-five miles away, and where no one
knew him. His mother was his first subject.
He worked at once with the brush, without
drawing, and in three sittings had completed
the portrait as far as his skill and time would
allow. It was a faithful likeness, good in
form and color, whatever technical faults it
had. That he might paint during any moment
of leisure, he kept one room in his house which
was so hear to his shop that he could easily
be called when wanted. The room and its
purpose were kept a profound secret to all
save his own family, among whom he found
subjects sufficient for his frequently inter
rupted sittings. It became noised about--in the
town that he was painting portraits. It reach
ed the ears of Alexander, who sent him word
that he would be at home shortly, and would
call and examine his work. He came; the
pictures were shown, and the humble black
smith felt that his fate was in the hands of
a man whom he had every reason to believe
his friend. Instead of criticism, Alexander
asked him if he intended to become an artist,
and, if so, what was to become of his family?
When Mr. Dexter flinched at this question,
and "like a fool," as he himself said, "denied
myself, and answered that I should never be
an artist." Alexander, apparently relieved by
this answer, began to speak in praise of the
.portraits, and suggested what was needed to
improve them.
Seven years later, during which time he
followed his trade of blacksmith, Mr. Dexter
rented his business, sold his house and began
in earnest to paint portraits of his family and
friends until he felt sure enough to offer his
brush to a larger public. In the spring of
1836, by the advice of Alexander, he went to
Providence and opened a studio. After he
had exhausted the opportunities that Provi
dence offered, he decided to go to Boston, and
in the autumn of 1836 he arrived in that city
and hired Bromfield Hall, on the street of the
same name, a room sixty by twenty feet. This
he divided into three portions, one for a
studio, another for a chamber and a third he
rented. The times were hard, money scarce,
and sitters were scarcer. He struggled on
for some time, painting a few portraits and
copying a few, barely earing enough to meet
his expenses. But suddenly a new turn came
in his affairs. He was casually recommended

to secure some clay which the sculptor
Greenough was leaving behind him when
about to go to Italy, and practice modelling
as a help toward obtaining a better knowledge
of form in portraits. He had the clay brought
to his studio, where it lay in a corner for some
months, growing dry and hard. In an idle •
hour he gathered up some of it, softened it
with water, placed it on top of a barrel and
began to mould the head of a brother artist
who happened in, and to whom he playfully
remarked, "Come, White, let me put your
head into this mud." He had no knowledge of
the manner of handling clay, and having no
tools, he used his fingers for forming the fea
tures. The clay became an amorphous lump ;
then the rude outline of a face such as we
fancy we see in clouds or mountain crag ap
peared ; and at last the distinct lineaments and
similitude of the face before him, frighten
ing himself and astonishing his model.
For a time longer Mr. Dexter continued
painting -portraits and modelling in clay, ac
cording as he had orders for the one or leis
ure for the other. He had had no regular in
struction in either art, and devised his own
methods and made his own tools. At this
period, with a single exception, he had never
even watched a painter at his work, or clay in
the hands of a sculptor ; least of all, had he
any notion how to handle a block of marble,
for it is doubtful if a portrait bust in marble
or any sort of statuary had hitherto been at
tempted in this country. Suitable marble was
hard to obtain and very expensive. Colonel
Samuel Swett, whose portrait he had already
painted, sat to him for. a portrait-bust. This
brought him into public notice. He was known
as the "Blacksmith artist" at" first. He
was not overpowered with his successes, but
labored with increased ardor and the most pa
tient industry to make himself master of the
sculptor's art. He took lessons in anatomy,
and was constantly studying the human -fig
ure. He made busts of the Rev. Hubbard
Winslow, and of Peter Harvey, Daniel Web
ster's great friend, and" Samuel Eliot, Boston's
most honored citizen and its mayor. When it
was completed and in plaster, Mr. Eliot was
so well satisfied that he said, "Mr. Dexter,
you may put my bust into marble." To his
first marble bust Mr. Dexter succeeded in giv
ing an admirable likeness. It was considered
a great achievement, and Mr. Eliot's personal
worth and official position added lustre to the
work, and attracted attention and commenda
tion to the artist. Mr. Dexter's record of the

1246

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

work is this: "I have this day, June 9, 1838,
completed a marble bust of Hon. Samuel A.
Eliot, it being the first I ever made, the first
time I ever struck marble with mallet and
chisel." The next order was from Hon. Thomas H.
Perkins, foremost among Boston's art patrons.
It was for a bust of Ellen Tree, the most cel
ebrated English actress of her day, and whom
Mr. Dexter had already painted in one of her
stage characters. His next marble bust was of
Judge Jackson. Then followed the memorial
marble of "The Binney Child," the little Em
ily, which at once made him famous. This
pathetic figure in full length and recumbent —
its little hands folded over the bosom, sleeping,
nevermore to awaken, nor would one wish to
disturb so reposeful and sweet -a sleep, drew
throngs to Mount Auburn. Charles Dickens,
who made his first visit to this country in 1842,
sat to Mr. Dexter for a bust. Samuel Apple-
ton was another of his generous patrons, also
Messrs. Lawrence, Amos, Abbott, Winthrop,
Warren, Adams, Chickering, Mudge, Little,
all men of eminence in various ways. His
most distinguished patrons in Cambridge were
George and Isaac Livermore. He also made
the busts of two presidents of Harvard Col
lege — Walker and Felton. In 1840 he made a
bust of his mother, and in the same year he
made the bust of Marcus Morton, Democrat
ic governor of Massachusetts. The following
year he made one of John Davis, of Worces
ter, one of the most popular of Massachusetts
governors. From 1840 to 1845 he made more
than twenty-five busts and statues of living
subjects, and one of the Magdalene, his first
attempt in the ideal. In 1846 he made a bust
of Governor Briggs, of Massachusetts, six
other busts, and an elaborate mural monu
ment in marble, representing Grief. In 1847
he made The Backwoodsman. From 1850 to
1856 he executed twenty-one busts, besides an
ideal figure, The Yankee Boy, one mural mon
ument, and a dog in freestone. He made the
statue of General Joseph Warren, the hero
of Bunker Hill, which was set up and dedicat
ed on the anniversary of the battle, June 17,
1857. He also made a portrait-bust of Henry
Wilson, a famous anti-slavery agitator, United
States senator from Massachusetts, and later
vice-president of the United States. In 1859
Mr. Dexter conceived the idea of making a
complete collection of busts of all the state
governors and the president, James Buchanan,
forming, as it were, an official gallery of the
period. The first bust in the group was that

of James Buchanan, who gave him daily sit
tings, and Governor Buckingham, of Connec
ticut, was his first 'subject among the state
governors. His last order was for a bust of
a Mr. Taylor, of Boston, who was lately de
ceased, and Mr. Dexter worked from photo
graphs. His love of his country, which was one of
his strongest and steadiest traits, made him
deeply interested in the Centennial Celebra
tion. He could not expatriate himself at a
time when other lovers of art thought it was
the price to be paid for opportunities and
success. For some time before the Exposi
tion, in the intervals when released from the
extreme sufferings of his disease, he amused
himself in writing a Centennial poem. It con
sists of about twelve hundred lines descriptive
of the gathering of all the nations — Europe,
Asia and Africa — with their products, their
animals, even to the smallest insects, upon the
coast of England, whence they sail for Amer
ica. Then follows an account of the assemb
ling of the people, and their several belong
ings, from every part of North and South
America, and their reception at Philadelphia.
This was the last effort with his pen. This
outlet through writing poetry was his faithful
companion and playmate throughout his ardu
ous and laborious life, giving him moments of
pleasure and repose. The following is one of
his later poems :
God! my spirit calleth to its cause;
Soul! as that is which in me
In its spirit seekest thee;
Yet not the word but conscious laws.
Word? What word can e'er my spirit lead?
What the drop can ever show
Kindred drop by which to know
God, that source from which we all proceed?
That which God is, language ever veils;
Line on line, fold over fold,
Ever telling, never told;
In vain, in vain, no tongue reveals.
God! Then sound deep the soul-struck lyre
Stringed with human soul and heart;
Yet then only can impart
Some spark from that celestial fire.
Nay, touched of God his spirit speaks,
Grants us now responsive sound
Though all human tongues confound —
Blest! Supreme! feels the thought it seeks.
In May, 1828, Mr. Dexter married Calista
Kelley, and to his wife's excellent administra
tion of his affairs was due in large measure his
endurance of the early struggles, and in his
later successes a good measure of freedom

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1247

from worldly cares. They had three children :
A- son who died in infancy and two daughters;
one of the latter, Mrs. Harriet D. Mason, is
deceased, and the other, Mrs. Anna E. Doug
lass, still lives, and has devouted much time
and care to the preservation of her father's
works and memory. In 1857 Mrs. Dexter
died. Mr. Dexter married (second) Mrs.
Martha Billings, of Millbury, Massachusetts.
Robert Douglass, son-in-law of Henry Dex
ter, was born June 17, 1806, in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, died February 19, 1885. He
was a son of Robert . and Betsey Douglass.
Robert Douglass, Jr., was engaged in the man
ufacture of confectionery, and had' the largest
and oldest established business in those days.
He was a member of the water board, presi
dent of the Cambridge Bank and the First
National Bank, the name later taken by the
Cambridge Bank, serving nineteen years,
trustee of the Cambridgeport Savings Bank,
and treasurer of the Union Glass Works of
Somerville for a number of years.
Mr. Douglass married (first) Adaline
Welch, of Cambridge, no children. He mar
ried (second) Anna E. Dexter, daughter of
Henry and Calista (Kelley) Dexter, of Cam
bridge, and three children were born to them :
Adaline A., Harriet D., deceased, and Eliza
beth P. Douglass.

Thomas Buckminster,
BUCKMINSTER- the immigrant ances
tor, born in England
was a descendant of John Buckminster (or
Buckmaster), of Peterborough, Northampton
shire, of one of the ancient and noble English
families. He settled first in Scituate, Massa
chusetts, and as early as 1639 in Boston, and
in that year had a house lot laid out to him
in Sudbury near the two ponds at the west end
of the town plot, but it is not known that he
built on it. He and his wife Joanna were ad
mitted to the Boston church October 4, 1645,
upon letter of dismissal from the Scituate
church. He was admitted a freeman May 6,
1646. He lived at Muddy River (Brookline)
and died there September 28, 1656. His will
mentions wife Joanna; sons Zachary, Thomas,
Joseph, Jabez; daughters Elizabeth Spowell
and her two children, Mary Stevens, Dorcas
Corbin; and Sarah Buckminster. His widow
married second, September 1, 1661, Edward
Garfield, of Watertown. Children: 1. Law
rence, died about 1645 ; bequeathed to sisters
Elizabeth Buckminster, Abigail Sherman;

brother Zachary Buckminster; his father;
Thomas Spaule and his daughter Mary Spaule
(or Spowell). 2. Zachariah (or Zachery),
married March y; 1654-55, Sarah Webb, and
settled in Sherborn. 3. Elizabeth, married
Thomas Spowell. 4. Mary, married — ¦  ¦
Stevens. 5. Dorcas,- married Clement Cor
bin. 6. Thomas, lived in Boston. 7. Sarah,
married John Lawrence. 8. Joseph, mention
ed below. 9. Jabez'.
(II) Joseph, son of Thomas Buckminster
(1), born about 1640, lived at Brookline,
Massachusetts, and died there November 20,
1668, a young man. Pie married, in 1665,
Elizabeth Clark, torn January 31, 1648, in
Watertown, Massachusetts, daughter of Hugh
and Elizabeth Clark. Clark lived at Water-
town and Roxbury; was born in 1613 in Eng
land, died in Roxbury, July 20, 1693 ; was a
member of the Ancient and Honorable Artil
lery Company ; coat-of-arms : Gu. three
swords erect, arg. hilts or. Crest, lion ram
pant, or. Elizabeth (Clark) Buckminster died
in Roxbury or Brookline, but her body was
removed to Framingham by her son and de
posited in the family tomb there. She owned
the covenant at the Roxbury church in 1666.
Children: 1. Joseph, born July 31, 1666;
mentioned below. 2. Elizabeth (posthumous),
baptized in Roxbury, January 10, 1668-69.
(Ill) Colonel Joseph Buckminster, son of
Joseph Buckminster (2), born in Brookline,
July 31, 1666, was admitted to the Roxbury
church in 1684, though he continued to live at
Brookline (Muddy River), where he follow
ed the. trade of tanner. In May, 1693, he and
Joseph White took a lease of the larger part of
Governor Danforth's great estate at Framing
ham, Massachusetts, and Buckminster renewed
this lease in his own name March 25, 1699. This
lease is published in Temple's "History of
Framingham" in full, page 126. The provis
ions and devises of Governor Danforth's will
and the terms and reservations of this lease
to Buckminster were important factors in the
later history, and growth of Framingham,
especially during the fifty years subsequent.
Buckminster built in Framingham, on the'
place since known as the Brinnley, Wheeler
and Bowditch farm, in 1702, and removed
his family in the spring of 1703. The house
stood at the angle of roads to the southeast
of the present mansion of Mr. Bowditch. He
sold land to new settlers, and was for many
years one of the' foremost men of the town;
he was selectman for seventeen years; deputy
to the general court twelve years; justice of

1248

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

the peace; captain of grenadiers in Sir Charles
Hobby's expedition to Port Royal, and attain
ed the rank of colonel of his regiment. Tra
dition describes Colonel Buckminster as "tall
and athletic, of great physical powers and of
a resolute spirit." He died April 5, 1747. He
married (first), May 12, 1686, Martha, daugh
ter of John Sharp. He married (second),
February 7, 1716, Martha Dall, of Boston,
who died February, 1724-25. Children: I.
Elizabeth, born 1687, married, March 3, 1704-
.05, John Wood, of Framingham. 2. Joanna,
born 1690, married (first) June 23, 1712,
John Eames; (second) March 19, 1741, John
Butler. 3. Martha, born 1693, married (first)
February 13, 1717-18, Ebenezer Winchester,
of Framingham; (second) November 1, 1749,
Rev. James Bridgham, of Brimfield. 4.
Joseph, born 1697; mentioned below. 5.
Sarah, born 1702, married, June 23, 1720, Dr.
Bezaleel Rice. 6. Sybilla, born 1705 ; married,
January 24, 1728, John White. 7. Zerviah,
born July 26, 1710; married, December 19,
1729, William Brintnall.
(IV) Colonel Joseph Buckminster, son of
Colonel Joseph Buckminster (3), was Born at
Brookline, 1697, and came with his father to
Framingham when a young boy. He lived
for a time after he came of age on the Bow
ditch farm, then built a hbuse on the minis
terial lands west of the old cemetery in 1725,
and lived there most of the remainder of his
life. He went through the grades of military
promotion, receiving his commission as col
onel in 1739; took part in the French and In
dian wars and in thet opening of the Revolu
tion. In town affairs he was also very prom-'
inent, being a selectman for twenty-eight
years, town clerk thirty-two years, and deputy
to the general, court nineteen years. He died
May 15, 1780. He married (first) June 18,
1719, Sarah Lawson, of Hopkinton, who died
September 11, 1747. He married (second)
Hannah Kiggell, widow, who died October 25,
1776. Children, born at Framingham: 1.
Joseph, born March 1, 1719-20, graduate of
Harvard, 1739, ordained minister of Rutland,
Massachusetts, September 15, 1742; died No
vember 3, 1792 ; married, June 30, 1743, Lucy
Williams, of Weston. 2. Martha, born Aug
ust 20, 1726; married, December 28, 1751,
Obadiah Curtis, of Boston. 3. Anne, born
December 3, 1728; married, September 11,
1751, Rev. Abraham Williams, of Sandwich,
Massachusetts. 4. Sarah, born April 6, 1733;
died March 9, 1842. 5. William, born De
cember 15, 1736; married Martha Batnes,

daughter of Edward, of Marlborough; settled
in Barre, Massachusetts ; commanded a . com
pany of minute-men from Barre, April , 19,
1775 ; lieutenant-colonel of Jonathan Brewer's
regiment; dangerously wounded at the battle
of Bunker Hill; died June 22, 1786. 6.
Frances, born November 23, 1738; married
Colonel Jonathan Brewer. 7. Lawson, born
April 8, 1742; mentioned below. 8. Thomas,
born August 18, 1751. (By second wife).
(V) Major Lawson Buckminster, son of
Colonel Joseph Buckminster (4), was born in
Framingham, April 8, 1742. He was a soldier
in the Revolution, second lieutenant in Captain
Simon Edgell's company of minute-men on
the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775, march
ing to Concord and Cambridge ; also first lieu
tenant in Captain Joseph Winch's company
(Second Framingham), Fifth Middlesex reg
iment, commissioned March 27, 1776; also
first lieutenant in Captain Aaron Gardner's
company, Colonel Eleazer Brooks's regiment
in 1776, at various times; captain second com
pany, Fifth regiment of Middlesex, commis
sioned June 11, 1778; also in Lieutenant Col
onel Samuel Peirce's regiment, 1779, also cap
tain in Colonel Abner Perr's regiment in 1780,
in Rhode Island campaign. Later he was com
missioned major of the Fifth regiment. He
was equally prominent in town affairs ; town
clerk twenty-four years, and selectman many
years. His' home was on the place now or
lately owned by Moses Ellis. He built the
house there in 1768, and had a tavern many
years there. He died February 26, 1832. He
married, May 4, 1769, Mary Jones, daughter
of John Jones arid wife Mary, of Hopkinton.
She died September 17, 1842, aged ninety-
two years. Children: 1. Sarah, baptized July
1, 1770, married Daniel Stone, Jr. 2. Betty,
born August 25, 1772; died July 5, 1793. 3-
John, born May 6, 1774, died March 14, 1798,
unmarried. 4. Ruth, born September 17,
1776, married Eli Bullard. 5. Lawson,, Jr.,
born May 16, 1779, lived in Framingham. 6.
Nancy, born August 26, 1781 ; married, July
17, 1801, Daniel Bell, of United States army,
Boston; died July 10, 1811. 7. William, born
January 22, 1784; mentioned below. 8. Jones,
born December 5, 178 — , graduate of Harvard,
1804; died April 3, 1806. 9. Mary Jones,
born January 19, 1788; died November 9,
1805. 10. Caroline, born March 27, 1790;
married Captain John J. Clark. 11. Fanny,
born March 29, 1792; married, May 29, 1823,
Hon. George Morey, of Boston; died May 11,
1866, aged seventy-six; wife died July 19,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1249

1880. 12. Elizabeth, born October 8, 1796,
married Levi Eaton, and died January 4, 1874.
(VI) William Buckminster, son of Major
Lawson Buckminster (5), was born in Fram
ingham, Massachusetts, January 22, 1784. His
father was desirous that he should devote him
self to agricultural pursuits, as his elder broth
er was in trade, and the younger had gradu
ated at Harvard College in 1804. He remain
ed on the farm at Framingham until his twen
ty-first year, when he commenced in earnest
the work of preparation for college, and in one
year and three months was fitted to enter one
year in advance, and was admitted to the class
of 1809. He did not graduate, as the great re
bellion occurred in 1807 and he took part with,
as he thought, the oppressed, and left college.
He entered the law office of Judge Ward, of
Boston, and was admitted to the bar in 181 1
in Middlesex county, and lived to be its oldest
surviving member. In 1812 he began to prac
tice his profession in the town of Vassalboro,
Maine, then in Massachusetts, and remained
there for ten years. In the autumn of 1822 he
returned to Framingham with his family, four
children having, been born in Maine and two in
Massachusetts. He followed the law as a pro
fession until 1839, when he became one 6f the
proprietors and sole editor of the Boston Cul
tivator. In October, 1841, he established an
agricultural paper in Boston, the Massachu
setts Ploughman, and was the only editor for
about four years, when his eldest son, Wil
liam J. Buckminster, became associated with
him. In 1862 Mr. Buckminster retired from
active business and lived on his father's home
stead in Framingham, part of the original
thousand acres owned by the first Colonel
Joseph Buckminster as early as 1693. While
practicing law he gave some attention to farm
ing, inventing and patenting a horse rake, a
corn planter and a mill-gate, his attention
being called to the need of such a device by
operating a small saw mill on his own farm.
He was very active in procuring the Agricul
tural Branch railroad to Fitchburg. He was
the principal mover in procuring the charter
for the Middlesex South Agricultural Society
and in locating their grounds in Framingham
and was chosen the first president of that soci
ety, resigning at the end of three years. He
was a justice of the peace for fourteen years
in the town of Framingham, where he made
his home the remainder of his days. Early in
March, 1865, he began to sink under the
infirmities of age, but conversed cheerfully
until two weeks before his death, riding out

in his carriage to enjoy the beauties of nature,
of which he was ever fond, and even to the
end he was in possession of his mental facul
ties unimpaired. He died Friday, June 9,
1865, in his eighty-second year. He was
cousin of Rev. Joseph Buckminster, of Ports
mouth, New Hampshire, the father of Rev.
Joseph Stevens Buckminster, the gifted pastor
of Brattle Street Church, Boston. The inter
ment was near the ancient Buckminster tomb,
in the old burying ground in Framingham.
William Buckminster married (first), Octo
ber 21, 1812, Sally Larrabee, of Maiden, who
died July 22, 1842, aged fifty-four years. He
married (second) June 6, 1848, Lydia Nelson
Hastings, born at Dedham, Massachusetts,
November 26, 1818, daughter of Jonathan and
Nancy Hastings, of Brighton, Massachusetts.
She was of the seventh generation from the
immigrant, Thomas Hastings, who settled in
Watertown in 1634,. and was selectman, town
clerk, deputy and deacon ; he was a distin
guished citizen, and the progenitor of an hon
ored and excellent family. Mrs. , Buckminster
wrote in substance the sketch of her husband
here given. Children of William, and Sally
Buckminster: 1. William John, born in 181 3;
mentioned below. 2. Harriet L., born  ;
died young.- 3. Harriet L., born 1818, died
April 19, 1789. 4. George Morey, born 1822;
died unmarried, September 24, 1879. 5. Ellen
K., born 1827; married Edwin B. Stone, of
Cornish, Maine, who died July 26, 1878.
(VII) William John Buckminster, son of
William Buckminster (6), was born in Vassal
boro, Maine, in 1813. He was educated in
the public schools of Framingham and at Har
vard College, where he was graduated in 1835.
He became associated with his father in the
publication of the Massachusetts Ploughman,
and succeeded him as editor in October, 1862.
He resided in Boston. In politics he was anti-
slavery in sentiment, and became a steadfast
Republican. He was an active member of the
Unitarian church. He died March 2, 1878, at
his home in Maiden, Massachusetts. He mar
ried Eliza (Eaton) Dodge, of Boston. Chil
dren: 1. William Bradley, born in Boston,
September 9, 1847; mentioned below. 2.
John Morey, born January 15, 1850, in Boston,
now a resident of San Francisco, California.
(VIII) William Bradley Buckminster, son
.of William John Buckminster (7), was born
in Boston, September 9, 1847. He attended
the public schools of that city and Maiden,'
and graduated at Harvard College in 1870.
He chose a business career and began in the

1250

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

counting room of Charles W. Dabney &
Company, Boston, as bookkeeper. He was
later with Isaac Rich & Company, of Bos
ton, wholesale dealers in fish, and finally en
gaged in the mining business in the west. As
a man of business and 'finance Mr. Buckmin
ster has achieved great success. He is a direc
tor of the Maiden Trust Company, of the Cox
Last Company of Maiden, the HurQn Milling
Company of Michigan, and of other corpora
tions. He has resided in Maiden since 1873,
living previously at Melrose. In politics he
is a Republican. ' He was a member of -the
Maiden common council in 1885 and 1886,
and has always shown his interest in his home
city in every possible way. He served as
water commissioner from 1891 to 1897, was
chairman of the board five years, and also
chairtnan of the joint board of water commis
sioners of - Maiden, Medford and Melrose,
during the same time. He has been trustee of
the Forest Dale Cemetery, Maiden, since 1892.
In religion Mr. Buckminster is a member of
the Protestant Episcopal church of Maiden.
He is a Mason, affiliated with Mount Vernon
Lodge, Free and Accepted Mason's ; Chapter
of the Tabernacle, Royal Arch Masons ; and
Beauseant Commandery, Knights Templar.
He is a member of the Eastern Yacht Club,
the Kernwood Club, the Tedesco Country
Club at Swampscott, and the Middlesex Club.
He was formerly a member of the Algonquin
Club of Boston.
Mr. Buckminster married, in Cambridge,
September 14, 1870, Christine I. Chase,
daughter of Francis Christopher and Amelia
(Willard) Chase. She was' born in Leomin
ster, Massachusetts, where her father was a
merchant, and she was educated there in the
public schools. She is descended from Major
Simon Willard, the founder of Lancaster, and
from the Chase family of Newbury,. Massa
chusetts. (See Chase). She is a member of
Faneuil Hall Chapter, Daughters of the Amer
ican Revolution ; of the Old and New Club of
Maiden, of the Hospital Society, vice-presi
dent of the Ladies' Aid -Sewing Society, and of
the executive committee of the Aged Persons'
Home. Children: 1. William Read, born at
Maiden, January 17, 1872; educated at Maiden
and at- Harvard, where he graduated in 1894,
summa cum laude; graduated from Harvard
Law School in 1897, and is now practicing law
in Boston ; married June 10, 1897, Mary Alice
Miller, of Boston; children: Constance Brad
ley, born June 3, 1899; Joan, born March 8,
1901. 2. Harold Chase, born June 23, 1874,

educated in the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in Boston, making a specialty of
mining engineering, and is now associated with
his father in the mining business; married in
1903, Susan Grace Purrington, of Topsham,
Maine. 3. Morey Willard, born December 5,
1880; died January 31, 1898. 4. Roy, born
June 8, 1886; died April 23, 1893.

The immigrant ancestor of the Prior
PRIOR family, which is of remote EngUsh
origin, was Thomas Prior, who came
from London with Rev. John Lothrop, and
settled at Scituate, Massachusetts, in 1634.
Land was allotted him on the east side of
"Hickses" swamp, but he was not permitted
to enjoy for any great length of time the reli
gious liberty so dear to the opponents of the
Established Church of England, as he died
in 1639. His children were Samuel Thomas,
Elizabeth and Mary, who were still in Eng
land in 1639 ; and Joseph, John and Daniel,
who probably accompanied him to this coun
try. His will, made in 1639, bequeaths to his
sons Samuel and Thomas, in England, twelve
pence each ; to Samuel five pounds if he come
to this country; to daughters EHzabeth a*nd
Mary six pounds each ; to John and Daniel,
rest of land divided equally between them;
to the pastor, Mr. Lothrop, ten shillings. His
son Joseph, who was born in England in 1623,
settled in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in 1643,
and died in 1690. The Christian name of
Joseph's wife was Hannah. John Prior, son
of Thomas, also settled in Duxbury, and
there married Eleanor Childs, daughter of
Ebenezer Childs.
Benjamin Prior, grandson of Thomas of-
Scituate, was a native of Duxbury, and resided
there his entire life. He was the son of either
Joseph or John Prior mentioned above, but the
"Historian of Duxbury" is unable to determine
which of them was his father. December 9,
1697, Benjamin married Bethiah Pratt, who
died at the age of seventy-seven years. Their
children were: Benjamin, see next paragraph;
Abigail, born September 9, 1701 ; Ruth, born
August 4, 1704 (married John Delano, Jr.) ;
Joshua, born August i, 1709; arid John, born
March 21, 1712.
Benjamin (2) Prior, eldest child of Benja
min and Bethiah (Pratt) Prior, was born in
Duxbury, October 30, 1699. He married
Deborah Weston, November 7, 1723, and she
died December 7, 1775, aged seventy-three
years. His death occurred December 3, 1766.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1251

He was the father of eleven children : Rebecca,
born in 1725 ; Jabez; torn April 16, 1727, died
in 1757; Lois, born January 25, 1729, died in
1812; Eunice, born February 25, 1731, died
in 1734; Eliphaz, see next paragraph; Syl
vanus, born June 13, 1735, died in 1738;
Eunice, born December 15, 1736, married
Michael Louden; Sylvanus, born February 3,
1739, died at Martinique, October 6, 1762;
Benjamin, born October 23, 1740; Ezra, born
in 1743, died in 1756; and Joseph, twin
brother of Ezra.
Eliphaz Prior, second son and fifth child of
Benjamin and Deborah (Weston) Prior, was
born in Duxbury, September 11, 1733. He
resided in his native town, where he married
Hannah Howard, daughter of Josiah Howard,
and she died May 31, 1776. Their children
were: Sylvanus, who will be, again referred
to; Sarah,' who married Benjamin Prior
(probably a relative) in 1783 ; and Hannah.
Sylvanus Prior, eldest child of Eliphaz
and Hannah (Howard) Prior, was born in
Duxbury, August 3, 1764. For a number of
years he followed the tanner's trade, but relin
quished, it in order to engage in farming, 'and
he owned a farm of considerable area located
near the present Duxbury town hall. In poli
tics he was a Whig. He. attended the Con
gregational church.. January 31, 1793, he
married Christiana Chandler, of Duxbury, born
February 20, 1770, and they had a family of
nine children: Eliphaz, born February 13,
1794, died at sea; Charles, born February 11,
1796; Lucy Chandler, born November 23,
1801, married Hosea Windsor ; Sylvanus, born
January 1, 1805; George, born February 6,
1807, married Caroline Windsor, of Duxbury,
and had a daughter, Gertrude, who became
the wife of John Hollis ; Henry, born October
16, 1808; Hannah, born March 22, 181 1;
Allen, the date of whose birth is given else
where; and Christiana, who became the wife
of Zenas Faunce, of Duxbury.
Allen Prior, eighth child and youngest son
of Sylvanus and Christiana (Chandler) Prior,
(was born in Duxbury, October 5, 1813. He
was a ship carpenter, and followed that occu
pation in Duxbury when the shipbuilding
industry was extensively carried on in that
town. About 1858 he engaged in the flour
and grain trade, establishing a profitable busi
ness and eventually admitting his son to part
nership under the firm name of Allen Prior
& Son. He finally retired from business and
spent his declining years at his home in Dux
bury, where he died in February, 1890. In his

younger days he served in the local militia
company. At his majority he allied himself
with the Whigs, but joined the Republican
party at its formation in 1856, and though
not an aspirant for public office he rendered
able services to the town as a justice of the
peace. He was a leading member and a liberal
supporter of the Congregational church, sing
ing bass and' directing the choir for many
years, and he also officiated as superintendent
of the Sunday-school. He married Sbphia
Ann Peterson of Duxbury, who bore him one
son, Eliphaz.
Eliphaz Prior, only child of Allen and
Sophia A. (Peterson) Prior, was born in Dux
bury, February 16, 1838. His studies in the
public schools were supplemented with a
course at Patridge Academy, Duxbury, and in
his seventeenth year he began an apprentice
ship at the wheelwright's trade with Thomas
Turner, in Hanover, Massachusetts. After
remaining there, for a time he returned to
Duxbury, where he resumed his apprentice
ship in the carriage-rnaking establishment of
Nelson Stetson, and upon its completion he
purchased the business, taking the former pro
prietor into his . employ. Three years later he
sold the business back to Mr. Stetson, in order
to enter the employ of his father in the flour
and grain "business, and was subsequently
admitted to partnership as previously stated.
The firm of Allen Prior & Son continued in
business for nine years, and at the expiration
of that time Eliphaz engaged in general mer
cantile business' at Plymouth. Selling his busi
ness there some eighteen months later he
returned to Duxbury, and forming a partner
ship with Henry Sheldon under the firm name
of Prior & Sheldon, he carried on the coal and
lumber business for two years, when he sold
his interest to John S. Loring. In 1879 Mr.
Prior removed to Woburn, where he pur
chased the grocery business of F. H. Tarbell,
which he carried on for six months and then
sold to George H. Mann. He next opened a
department store, which he conducted suc
cessfully for a number of years, at the same
time transacting a brokerage business in Bos
ton, and he finally closed out his department
store. In 1882 he turned his attention to the
auctioneering business, which he has followed
successfully ever since, and from 1902 to the
present time he has conducted a general real
estate, insurance and auctioneering business in
Woburn, occupying office quarters in Johnson'
Block, on Main street, and having a numerous
clientele. For a period of twelve years, 1890

1252

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

to 1902, Mr. Prior served as a member of the
Woburn board of assessors, and was its chair
man .for eighteen months. Politically he is a
Republican, and has attended as a delegate
various party conventions. His church affil
iations are with the Congregationalists. He
was made a Mason in Corner Stone Lodge,
Duxbury, and is a past officer of that body.
Mr. Prior was first married, in Duxbury, to
Miss' Sarah Jane Tisdale, a native of that
town,' and a daughter of William R. Tisdale.
She died, leaving one son, William Allen, who
is mentioned at greater length in the succeed
ing paragraph. His second wife, whom he
married at Marshall, Massachusetts, was Miss
Esther Jane Sears, of Dennis, Massachusetts,
daughter of Joshua Sears. Her death occurred
in Woburn, September 23, 1902, at the age of
fifty years ten months and eighteen days.
The children of this union are : Mary Davis,
born in Plymouth, and Frederick Weston,
born in Woburn.
William Allen Prior, only child of Eliphaz
Prior, by his first marriage, was born in Dux
bury, October 31, 1863. .He was graduated
from the Partridge Academy at the age of
sixteen years, and during the latter part of his
attendance there he resided with his grand
father, his father having removed to Wo
burn. After the completion of his studies he ,
rejoined his father in Woburn and subse
quently obtained a position with H. E. Boyn-
ton & Company, a wholesale shoe house at the
corner of Pearl and Franklin streets, Boston.
Four years later he entered the employ of the
S. B. Thing Company, in the same line of
trade, being when twenty-one years old placed
in charge of their wholesale branch house in
Troy, New York, and was afterwards ad
mitted to the firm. Selling his interest in 1896,
he became associated with his brother Fred
erick W. in the shoe trade at 26 Lincoln street,
under the firm name of Prior Brothers, and
becoming sole proprietor of this business in
1899 he conducted it for about five years. He
then became associated with William F. Mayo
& Company, and for a period of eighteen
months took charge of their shoe department.
After severing his connection with the last-
named concern in 1906, he established the W.
A. Prior Company, a.t 146 Lincoln street, and
has built up an extensive trade, handling rub
ber footwear exclusively, and occupying the
entire second floor of the building.
Mr. Prior resides in Woburn, and is a direc
tor of the Co-operative Bank in that city. He
has been chosen a delegate to several Repub

lican conventions, was for three years one of
the overseers of the poor, and has served up
on the board of health. A Congregationalist
in his religious faith, he is a leading member
of the First Church, and also has served on
the parish committee, and has been assistant
superintendent of its Sunday school. He is
a member of the Towanda Club.
October 22, 1888, Mr. Prior married Miss
Clara Matilda Ames, born in Woburn, Feb
ruary 26, 1864, daughter of Erskine and
Sarah (Farrington) Ames, of that city. Mr.
and Mrs. Prior have two children — Allen
Ames, born November 19, 1890, and Ruth Tis
dale, born March 23, 1894.

The surname Parmenter
PARMENTER is a trade name meaning
tailor, akin to the class
of surnames adopted in the twelfth century —
such as Smith, Carpenter, Mason, Farmer,
Fuller, Weaver. Though the name is obso
lete now as a trade-name, -it is a common sur
name in England. It is a Norman-French
word. Among the medieval forms are Geof
frey le Parmunter, Saher le Parmentier, Wil
liam le Parmeter, Richard le Parmuter. The
Hundred Rolls give us the same sobriquet in
a Latin dress as William Parmuntarius. (See
"Our English Surnames," by Beardsley). The
present spelling in England is Parmenter, Par-
miter and the old French Fermentier. (See
"Patronymic Britannica," by Lower). Fair-
bairn gives the crest of this family as: An
eagle displayed ppr.
In the early American records the name is
spelled in a multitude of ways. In the Massa
chusetts Revolutionary Rolls alone we find the
following variations, mostly due probably to
the simple' spelling of the clerks and keepers
of records : Palmenter, Palmentor, Palme'r-
ter, Palmeter, Palmiter, Palster, Palmuter,
Pamarter, Pamener; Pamenter, Pamerter,
Pamertor, Pameter, Parmanter, Parmater,
Parmenetr, Parmentar, Parmente, Parmento,
Parmentor, Parmentr, Parmerter, Parmeter, #
Parmether, Parmetor, Parmetr, Parmetur,
Parmmetur, Parminter, Parmiter, Parmitter,
Parmorter, Parmortr, Parmntr, Parmtr,
Parmnter, Parmter, Parnenter, Pearmnter,
Pelmater, Pelmeter, Pemertor, Pemerton,
Pemetor, Permenter, Permento, Permertor,
Permertor, Permeter, Perminter, Permiter,
Perrnitter and Prmentr. Before 1650 three
of this name came from England — John Par
menter, mentioned below ; Benjamin of Salem,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1253

born 1609, proprietor in 1637 ; and Robert Par
menter of Braintree, admitted freeman May
22, 1650, resident of Braintree, deacon of the
church, and prominent citizen.
(I) John Parmenter, the immigrant ances
tor of this family in America, was born in
England in 1588, and died May 1, 1671, aged
eighty-three. He settled first in Roxbury,
Massachusetts, where he resided for some
time, then removed to Sudbury, Massachu
setts, with the first settlers. Later he return
ed to Roxbury. He was the second deacon
of the Sudbury church ; was one of the com
mittee to lay out lands appointed September
4, 1639, and was a proprietor in that year.
He was selectman, and in 1640 commissioner
to end small causes, and also held other posi
tions of trust. He was in Watertown in 1638,
but did not remain there for a long time. His
wife Bridget and son John came with him to
this country. She died April 6, 1660, and he
married second, at Roxbury, August 9, 1660,
Annis Dane, widow of John Dane, and for
merly also of William Chandler. His will is
dated March 25, 1671, and proved July 25,
following. He bequeathed to his grandson
John Parmenter; to wife Annis; to daughter
Woods, to son-in-law John Woods, of Marl
borough; to cousin Cheever, shoemaker in
Boston, one of the executors ; to cousin John
Stebbins, one of the overseers. The widow's
will, dated November 1, 1672, proved No
vember 15, 1683, bequeathed to her son John
Chandler the estate left her by her husband
Dane, he to pay John Dane and her sons
Thomas and William Chandler certain sums ;
to her daughters Hannah Abbot and Sarah
Cleaves; cousin Elizabeth Denison, Anna
Stebbins and sister Wise, to aid in the divis
ion of her estate. Children of John Parmen
ter: 1. John, mentioned below. 2. Mary,
married John Woods. Perhaps others who
remained in England.
(II) John Parmenter, son of John Parmen
ter (1), was born in England, and died April
12, 1666. He was a proprietor of Sudbury;
was admitted a freeman May 10, 1643; i°
1676 signed a petition for relief from taxes.
He kept a hotel called the Parmenter Tavern,
at which the committee of the colonial court
and ecclesiastical council for settlement of
difficulties in Sudbury in 1655 were entertain
ed. The hotel was situated on the south
street of the settlement of Wayland, on a
house lot assigned in general allottment in
1639. Until the beginning of the nineteenth
century a hotel was conducted at the same

spot, which was a little westerly of the house
late of Dana Parmenter. He married Amy
 , who died 1681. Children: 1. John,
born about 1639; made executor of his grand
father's will. 2. Joseph, born March 12, 1642.
3. Mary, born June 10, 1644; married Rich
ard Burk. 4. George, married Hannah John
son, daughter of Solomon Johnson, and resid
ed at Sudbury and Framingham; died 1727.
5. Benjamin, mentioned below. 6. Lydia,
born October 16, 1655 J married June 5, 1681,
Thomas Pratt, Jr.
(Ill) Benjamin Parmenter, son of John
Parmenter (2), died May 1, 1737. He mar
ried, in 1680, Thamazin Rice, who survived
him and died April 15, 1748. Children: 1.
Lydea, born September 29, 1681. 2. Benja
min, born January 21, 1682-83; married, De
cember 16, 1708, Mary Adams, at Sudbury.
3. David, born April 12, 1685, mentioned be
low. 4. Mercy, born December 8, 1687. 5.
Mary, born September 7, 1691. 6. Thankful,
married, May 11, 1727, Ebenezer Playden.
7. Jonathan, born January 15, 1702-03.
(IV) David Parmenter, son of Benjamin
Parmenter (3), was born April 12, 1685, and
died March 6, 1742-43. He married, February
12, 1712-13, Abigail Brewer, who died June
6, 1758. Children, born at Sudbury: 1.
James, born May 4, 1719. 2. Samuel, born
May 11, 1722; mentioned below.
(V) Samuel Parmenter, son of David Par
menter (4), was born in Sudbury, Massachu
setts, May 11, 1722. He married, November
14, 1751, Mary Tower, in Concord, Massa
chusetts. Children: 1. Rufus, born July 4,
1752. 2. Persis, born November 17, 1753. 3.
Jonas, born October 8,- 1757. 4. Ezra, born
June 26, 1760; mentioned below. 5. Eliza
beth, born May 7, 1762. 6. Abigail, born
September 28, 1764; died young. 7. Mary,
born January 28, 1767. 8. Abigail, born July
2, 1771. 9. David, born February 13, 1775.
(VI) Ezra Parmenter, son of Samuel Par
menter (5), was born at Sudbury, June 26,
1760, and died at Boston, April 14, 1808. In
his youth he learned the trade of blacksmith,
and when seventeen years old he went
to Boston and worked at his trade. Dur
ing the Revolution he worked as a member
of the army in a workshop situated on or
near the old burial ground on Boylston
street, Boston. His return papers were
signed by Thomas Chase, D. Q. M. G
of wagoners, artificers, etc., serving in his de
partment. Parmenter appears among "black
smiths enlisted" stationed in Boston. Pie was

m—31

1254

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

also in Captain Asahel Wheeler's company,
Colonel John Robinson's regiment, for one
month and twenty-eight days. Afterward he
carried on a blacksmith shop with Peter Mack
intosh for several years, but on February 13,
1797, the firm of Mackintosh & Parmenter
was dissolved, and Mr. Parmenter carried on
the business the rest of his life. He was em
ployed by most of the leading merchants of his
day, and shortly before his death did the iron
work for the enlargement of Faneuil Hall.
Mr. Parmenter was a patriotic citizen and
a man of strong intellect. He was fond of
music, and sang in the choir of the New South
Church on Summer street. He was the author
of the once popular psalm tune called "Com
plaint," which was sung in the churches of
New England for many years. His house
which he occupied on Lincoln street is de
scribed as a convenient and well-furnished
dwelling, three stories high, two rooms on a
floor, kitchen and large yard, woodhouse and
well. Ezra Parmenter was an original member of
the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics'
Association, and was a personal friend of
Paul Revere, who was one of the officers of
that organization. He was a man six feet
tall, large and muscular. He married, January
21, 1781, Mary Ellison, born December 3, 1762,
and died June 10, 1807, daughter of WilHam
and Mary (Bishop) Ellison. Her father was
a mason by trade, and was born October 1,
1741, and died May 15, 1816. Her mother
was born April 25, 1740, and died February
23, 1817. Children: 1. Mary, born May 16,
1783; died October 2, 181 1; married, Thomas
Drayton, and had Thomas A. Drayton, and
other children who died in infancy. 2. Bet
sey, born December 19, 1784; married Colonel
Gardiner Thompson, and resided at New
burgh, New York ; children : i. Ezra Parmen
ter Thompson; ii. Catherine Greenleaf
Thompson, married Eliphalet Bootman; iii.
Gardiner Greenleaf Thompson ; iv. Mary Eliz
abeth Thompson, married Charles Peck; v.
William Parmenter Thompson, vi. Nancy
Parmenter- Thompson, married Fletcher
Smith; vii. Maria T. Thompson, married Ed
ward Phillips ; viii. Helen Frances Thompson,
married F. Hathaway ; ix. Susan Parmenter
Thompson, married Rev. Andrew Bell; x.
Charles Francis Thompson; xi. George J.
Thompson, xii. Julia Thompson. 3. Sally,
born September 4, 1786; died September 30,
1802. 4. William, born March 30, 1789;
mentioned below. 5. Samuel, born March

2, 1791 ; was surveyor, auctioneer and musi
cian; married Eliza Crane, of Newton, and
resided at Newburgh, New York; died June
29, 1 84 1 ; children: i. Charles J. Parmenter,
died young; ii. Susan E. C. Parmenter; iii.
Stephen C. Parmenter. 6. Nancy, born March
12, 1793; died October 19, 1794. 7. James,
born July 21, 1795, died April 27, 1826; print
er and publisher; married Maria Haskell
Thayer ; children : i. Ann Elizabeth, married
Rev. William Martin, and had Wisner Martin,
Joseph Martin, who had a son Joseph Henry
Thayer Martin and several daughters, and
James Parmenter Martin, who had Wisner
Bell Martin and William Parmenter -Martin;
ii. Harriet Mary, married Sovereign Ander
son, and had several children. 8. Nancy, born
August 31, 1797; died October 3, 1831 ; mar
ried Caleb French. Their children were: i.
Caroline Elizabeth French; ii. Jane Bates
French; iii. Maria Haskell Thayer French,
who married Dr. Jonah Franklin Dyer; iv.
Granville Ellis French; v. Cynthia Brown
French, who married Joseph Prescott Wil
liams, and had children — Harriet Josephine
Williams, Charles French Williams, William
Parmenter Williams and Horace Dutton Wil
liams ; vi. Ann Elizabeth Williams.
(VII) William Parmenter, son of Ezra
Parmenter (6), was born March 30, 1789.
He attended the public schools and the Boston
Latin school, where he received the Franklin
medal. He completed his mercantile educa
tion with Pratt & Andrews, merchants of Bos
ton, and then was in trade a few years. Dur
ing the war of 1812 and for some years after
ward he was chief clerk under Amos Binney,
navy agent. While there he acquired a knowl
edge of the navy and made the acquaintance
of the leading naval officers, and wrote arti
cles on naval topics for the press, which were
extensively copied. In 1824 he removed to
East Cambridge as agent and manager of
the New England Crown Glass Company, a
corporation established at that place for the
manufacture of window glass, and he con
tinued in this business until 1836 with marked
success. Mr. Parmenter was active in public life and
was honored by his fellow-citizens in many
positions of trust and responsibility. He was
for a time selectman of Cambridge. He
served his district as representative to the gen
eral court, where he achieved distinction, and
later was elected to the state senate. In 1836
he was elected to congress from his district,
and was re-elected at each subsequent elec-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1255

tion for four terms, retiring finally in March,
1845. He was an influential member of the
Democratic party, and during the greater part
of his public service was the only Democratic
member of the , house from Massachusetts.
He was associated with many distinguished
leaders of the opposing parties, Democrats and
Whigs — President John Quincy Adams, Hon.
Robert C. Winthrop, Leverett Saltonstall, and
Hon. Caleb Cushing. He sometimes departed
from the policy of his party — for instance,
in the tariff question, standing for protection
of the home industries by tariff regulation.
He was alluded to in a speech by Daniel Web
ster in Faneuil Hall as having by his vote se
cured the passage of the tariff act in 1842.
He served chiefly on the committee on naval
affairs, of which he was a member for several
terms, and when his party was dominant he
was chairman. For this duty his experience
had given him special qualifications. He un
derstood the needs of the business men and
of the country. He was a ready and practiced
speaker and held his own in debate on the
floor of congress. He was tactful and efficient
in the work of the committees. In that part
of the duty of a congressman, which includes
attention to the individual interests of consti
tuents, he had occasion to do more than serve
his own district. Owing to the nearness of
his residence to Boston and to his prominence
as a manufacturer himself, he was identified
with the business men of Boston, and his
correspondence with them was as extensive
as with his own constituents, and in many
ways he represented them directly in Congress
as conscientiously as his own district. When
he left Washington in 1845 he accepted the
appointment of naval officer of the port of
Boston, and held that office four years. He
then retired to his •home in Cambridge and was
not in business or office afterward, except in
the official supervision of some of the county
institutions. He was occupied until his death,
February 23, 1866, with his private affairs.
The outbreak of the civil war in his advanced
years seriously affected his health and spirits.
While he grieved over the war, he was loyal
to the government at Washington, and out
spoken in its support throughout the rebellion.
Mr. Parmenter was of fine presence and
impressive manner, of superior intellectual en
dowment and wide information, conservative
in his opinions and cautious in his judgments,
of sterling common sense and unusual force of
character. He was at times called upon to
preside as moderator at large and excited

town meetings in Cambridge, before the city
charter was granted, and he displayed a pecul
iar parliamentary skill and control over these
assemblies. He married, August 13, 1815, Mary Parker,
born February 27, 1793, died October 5, 1866,
daughter of Thomas and Abigail Hart (Park-
man) Parker. Her father, Thomas Parker
Jr., was born November 1, 1743, and died Oc
tober _ 12, 1807, son of Thomas Parker; was
prominent in Boston, and said to have taken
part in the Boston Tea Party; children: i.
Mary Parker, born February 27, 1793, above
mentioned; ii. Martha Parker; iii. Thomas
Parker; iv. George Parker; v. Abigail Hart
Parker, born 1804, died January 15, 1880; vi.
Charles Parker. Her mother, Abigail Hart
(Parkman) Parker, was born June 19, 1773,
daughter of Elias Parkman, born December 9,
1747, at Boston, and Abigail (Treat) Park-
man, (daughter of John and Abigail Treat),
born December 9, 1747; they were married,
April 25, 1771 ; children: i. Abigail Hart Park-
man, born June 19, 1773, above mentioned;
ii. Polly Chandler Parkman, born March 9,
1775 ; iii. Elias Parkman, Jr., born December
29, 1779; iv. Sally Parkman, born June 5,
1783; v. Elizabeth Parkman, born June 6,
I785- In 1784 Thomas Parker bought the estate
in Boston, at the corner of Middle and Rich
mond street, now the corner of Hanover and
Parmenter streets. After his death it came
into the possession of his daughter Mary and
her husband William Parmenter, and is now
owned by their descendants. The old house was
taken down in 1870 when Parmenter street
was widened, and on the site is now a dwell
ing, under which in recent years is an apothe
cary shop, kept by a grandson, George W.
Parmenter, from 1842 until his death in 1887.
Thomas Parker purchased this house from an
old lady who sold it because it stood opposite
the Second or "Cockerel" church", which had
a steeple, and she was afraid that the steeple
would fall on the house. This steeple was
taken down, and another one put up and,
strange to say, this second steeple did fall, but
did not damage the house.
Children of William and Mary (Parker)
Parmenter: 1. William Ellison, born March
12, 1816; mentioned below. 2. Mary, born
August 4, 1817; died unmarried, December
30, 1906. 3. George Washington, born Janu
ary 15, 1819; died April 17, 1886; married,
May 12, 1853, Elizabeth Hannah Bent, and
had Elizabeth Frances, born May 23, 1854.

1256

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

4. Martha Parker, born February 26, 1820;
died unmarried, August 8, 1849. 5- Elizabeth
Thompson, born May 24, 1821 ; died Febru
ary 13, 1902 ; married, October 13, 1853, Free
man Hunt, of Brooklyn, New York, editor of
Hunt's Merchants Magazine, who died March
2, 1858; children: i. Freeman Hunt, Jr., born
September 4, 1855, married, June 8, 1887, Ab
bie Ellen Brooks, of Cambridge, and had
Edith Brooks Hunt, born March 5, 1891, and
William Parmenter Hunt, born May 27/1896.
6. Dr. Ezra, born March 20, 1823; died un
married, January 31, 1838; was mayor of
Cambridge, representative to the general court,
1872-73, and state senator, 1874-75. 7. Anna
Maria, born December 19, 1824; died unmar
ried, November 8, 1841. 8. Abigail Hart
Parker, born July 17, 1826; died unmarried,
March 18, 1849.
(VIII) Judge William Ellison Parmenter,
son of William Parmenter (7), was born in
Boston, March 12, 1816, and died October 4,
1903, at Arlington, Massachusetts. He re
ceived his early education at the Framingham
Academy and the Angier Academy at Med
ford, and entered Harvard College, graduating
in 1836, and then taking a course in the Har
vard Law School. He read law in the office
of John Mills, United States district attorney,
and was admitted to the Suffolk county bar
in 1842. He practiced law in Boston for thir
ty years, and in 1871 was appointed by Gov
ernor Claflin special justice, and later in the
same year associate justice of the municipal
court of that city. In 1883 Governor Butler
appointed him chief justice, a position which
he occupied until his retirement in January,
1902. In politics, he was an active Democrat up
to the time of the civil war, and was chairman
of the Democratic state committee in 1858.
After i860 he took no active part in politics,
although he always took an interest in public
matters. During the war he showed himself
to be an actively patriotic citizen. He was
captain of the West Cambridge Drill Club, an
organization of which many members joined
the Union army. In 1824 he removed with
his parents from Boston to East Cambridge,
where he resided until 1853, when he made
his home in Arlington for the rest of his life.
The only public office he ever held besides
that on the bench was that of a member of the
Arlington school board. He was chairman of
the board nearly a quarter of a century, and
did more than perhaps any other man to raise
the standard of the Arlington schools.

He had a remarkable memory, and in his
old age could recall many notable incidents
which he had witnessed, and many anecdotes
of famous men. In 1823 and 1824 he attend
ed the Eliot School in Boston, and recalled
clearly the visit of Lafayette to the city at
that time, and the procession when Lafayette's
carriage was drawn between two lines of
school children. When only six years of age
he attended the Catholic Cathedral on Frank
lin street, then the only Catholic church in
Boston, one Sunday with his father, and saw
Bishop Cheverus, afterwards bishop of Bor
deaux, sitting in his episcopal chair. The
bishop was beloved by all Boston, and his go
ing back to France was much regretted. In
1825, from the roof of the home of a school
mate, he saw the procession on the occasion ¦
of the laying of the corner stone of Bunker
Hill monument, as it passed through Prince
street on the way to Charlestown.
He was a freshman in college, and was pres
ent at commencement when the degree of
LL.D. was given to Andrew Jackson. The
ceremonies took place in the chapel, at that
time in University Hall, and a Latin speech
was pronounced by a member of the senior
class, (who was afterwards professor) Francis
Bowen. Judge, Parmenter remembered Wen
dell Phillips well. - He is quoted as saying:
"I recollect being present in Faneuil Hall in
1837, when Wendell Phillips, then a young
lawyer, made a speech at a meeting which had
been called for the purpose of taking some ac
tion on the doings of the mob which had killed
Editor Love joy, of St. Louis, because of the
abolition sentiment of his paper. Attorney
General Austin spoke on that occasion against
expressing any condemnation of the mob, and
said that Love joy had died by his own illegal
act, and had consented to his own death. Phil
lips came from the floor, mounted the rostrum,
and denounced the attorney general. His
speech on that occasion was the first of his
great public efforts, and brought him at once
into prominence. At the time there was a
divided feeling at the meeting, and Phillips'
speech created considerable tumult. However,
the meeting passed resolutions condemning
the crime."
He recalled distinctly the burning of the
Ursuline Convent in Charlestown, August 11,
1834. There was much excitement at the time
on account of an incendiary pamphlet which
had been published, called "Six Months in a
Convent." He was present at the trials which
followed, and knew well the victim of the only

ff f^/^?*^6>c~^Z

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1257

conviction which was obtained, that of a boy
who was. not present at the time of the fire.
but was guilty of some disorderly acts on the
ground afterward. He was sentenced to
state prison, but later pardoned.
In the early forties Judge Parmenter was
with his father, who was a congressman in
Washington, and heard all the famous men of
the time. Among them were Clay, Calhoun,
Webster, Choate, Silas Wright, Benton, Mc
Duffee and Rives. He says : "I was present in
the senate chamber at the long evening session
in 1845, when resolutions were passed author
izing the annexation of Texas. I remember
very well hearing John Quincy Adams, then
in the house, reply to the attacks of Wise and
others made on him in consequence of his
presentation of petitions favoring the aboli
tion of slavery. It was a great treat, and I
remember his fiery tongue and speech; how
his face flushed and the blood coursed through
his veins so that the very bald spot on the top
of his head was red. All this I enjoyed, de
spite the fact that I was a Hunker Democrat."
The Chief Justice heard Rufus Choate,
Frank Dexter, Webster and Jeremiah Mason,
Webster's great opponent, in court. He re
membered when Chief Justice Shaw took his
seat on the supreme bench in Middlesex for
the first time after his appointment in 1830.
Judge Parmenter became a member of New
England Lodge, No. 4, I. O. O. F.,. of East
Cambridge, in 1842, when the Odd Fellows
numbered only three hundred in the state.
He went through the various chairs of the
order, and in 1847 became grand master of
the grand lodge of Massachusetts, and after
ward member of the grand lodge of the United
States. He was a member of one of the old
est societies extant in New England. It is
called "A Republican Institution," and was
founded in 1819. It was organized originally
as a Democratic organization politically, and
so continued until politics changed in 1834.
The membership is substantially by inheri
tance, and it became a social association, meet
ing on March 4 every year. It has sixty or
seventy members, whose fathers or grand
fathers were among the organizers of the
society. In 1844 he became a member of
Mount Lebanon Lodge of Free Masons of
Boston, and later of the Hiram Lodge of West
Cambridge (Arlington). He was master of
his lodge from 1857 to 1861, and later was dis
trict deputy grand master of the state. He
was a member of the old First Parish (Uni
tarian) church, and always took a deep inter

est in the work of the church, serving as mod
erator, as chairman of the parish committee
and in other ways. He was buried from the
church. At the age of eighty, Judge Parmenter was
described as a man about five feet eight inches
tall, with smooth face, piercing blue-gray eyes,
high forehead, and hair that was gray rather
than white ; whose walk was firm ; speech mild
and distinct, and hearing perfect. At that age
and for several years afterwards his mind was
vigorous and clear, and his health perfect, as
it had been all his life. He was a man highly
respected by his associates and beloved by all.
He married, June 30, 1853, Helen James,
of South Scituate, Massachusetts, born De
cember 23, 1823, and died at Arlington, March
31, 1898, daughter of Joshua and Sally (James)
James. Her father was a farmer and black
smith, and was born June 20, 1787, and died
July 21, 1859. Her mother was born Decem
ber 25, 1785, and died January 20, 1874.
Children: 1. William Ellison Jr., born Feb
ruary 7, 1855, graduate of Harvard, 1877;
married, June 6, 1894, lone Frederica Fisher,
of Cayuga, Mississippi, daughter of George
and Jane Eliza (Smith) Fisher; is a farmer in
Orange Park, Florida; children: i. Mary
Fisher Parmenter, born December 7, 1895 ; ii.
Helen Fisher Parmenter, born May 2, 1902,
died September 1, 1903; iii. William George
Parmenter, born December 20, 1904. 2. James
Parker, born November 29, 1859; mentioned
below. (IX) James Parker Parmenter, son of
Judge William Ellison Parmenter (8), was
born at Arlington, Massachusetts, November
29, 1859. He was educated in the public
schools of his native town, graduating from
the high school in 1876, and then taking a
post-graduate course of a year to fit himself
for Harvard College. He entered college in
the fall of 1877, graduating with the degree of
A. B. in 1881. Three years later, in 1884, he
graduated from the Harvard Law School with
the degrees of LL.B. and A.M. He then en
tered the office of Charles P. Greenough,
where he read law until he was admitted to
the bar in January, 1885. For the next ten
years he was associated with Mr. Greenough,
and in 1895 he opened an office at 53 State
street, Boston, for general practice, remaining
until 1902. At this time he was connected
with' the Bay State Gas Company as one of its
attorneys. In 1902 he was appointed asso
ciate justice of the municipal court of Boston,
where he now presides.

1258

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Judge Parmenter resides on Russell street,
Arlington, in the family homestead. He is
interested in history, and has contributed to
the history of Arlington in Hurd's "Middle
sex County History," which Was published in
1890. He has served his town in positions of
tru-st as a- member of the school committee
from 1886 to 1895, and as a trustee of the
Robbins Library at Arlington, from 1883 to
the present time. He is a member of the Bar
Association of the city of Boston ; of the Ab
stract Club (a society of lawyers) ; of the Arl
ington Historical Society; of the Unitarian
Club of Boston; of the "Republican Institu
tion," of which his father was a member; of
the Bunker Hill Monument Association; the
Bostonian Society; the American Forestry
Association ; and the Appalachian Club. He
is a trustee of the Arlington Savings Bank, and
treasurer of the Channing Home hospital in
Boston. Judge Parmenter is unmarried.

Simon Crosby, the immigrant
CROSBY ancestor, was born in Eng
land in 1608. He embarked
for New England in the ship "Susan and
Ellen," April 18, 1634, with his wife Ann,
aged twenty-five years, and son Thomas, aged
eight weeks. He was a prominent citizen of
Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was
selectman in 1636-38. He resided at the cor
ner of Brattle street and Brattle square near
the site of the old Brattle House. He died
September, 1639. His widow Ann married
(second), the Rev. William Thompson, of
Braintree, before 1646, surviving her second
husband, who died December 10, 1666.
Thomas Crosby, believed to be his brother,
was in Cambridge as early as 1640, residing on
the westerly side of Ash street, removing
thence to Rowley, Massachusetts. Children :
1. Thomas, born February, 1634, graduate of
Harvard in 1653, minister in Eastham, Mass
achusetts. 2. Simon, Jr., born in Cambridge,
August, 1637, mentioned below. 3. Joseph,
born February 1638-39, settled in Braintree,
where many descendants have lived: married
Sarah Brackett.
(II) Simon Crosby, son of Simon Crosby
(1), was born in Cambridge in August, 1637.
Married, July 15, 1659, Rachel Brackett,
daughter of Deacon Richard Brackett, of
Braintree. He settled in Billerica, Massachu
setts, on the north side of Bare Hill, and be
came a large landholder, innkeeper and lead
ing citizen. He was representative and dep

uty to the Provincial assembly in 1.691 and
1697-98. He died there January 22", 1725-26.
Children: 1. Rachel, born August 20, 1660;
married, January 6, 1685, Ephraim Kidder.
2. Simon, born 1663, mentioned below. 3.
Thomas, born March 10, 1665-66. 4. Joseph,
born July 5, 1669. 5. Hannah, born March
30, 1672, married Samuel Danforth. 6. Na
than, born February 9, 1674-75. 7. Josiah,
born November 11, 1677. 8. Mary, born No
vember 23, 1680, married John Blanchard. 9.
Sarah, born July 27, 1684, married William
Rawson, of Braintree, October 26, 1706.
(Ill) Simon Crosby son of Simon Crosby
(2), was born in Billerica, Massachusetts in
1663. He married Hannah • — ¦  , who died
May 6, 1702. He married (second), March
16, 1702-03, Abigail Parker, widow of John.
She died, a widow, March 31, 1755. His house
was near Shawsheen. Children, born in Bil
lerica: 1. Simon, born August 23, 1689. 2.
Abigail, born January 6, 1691. 3. John, born
April 11, 1694, died January 6, 1695-96. 4.
John, born April 18, 1696. 5. Samuel, born
October 4, 1698, mentioned below. 6. Han
nah, born June 12, 1700. 7. Mary, born May
1, 1702. 8. James, born May 29, 1704. 9.
Phineas, born November 26, 1705. 10. Solo
mon, born April 8, 1708. 11. Nathaniel, born
December 3, 1710, died May 28, 171 1. 12.
Rachel, born June 7, 1712. 13. Benjamin,
born December 16, 171 5.
(IV) Samuel Crosby, son of Simon Cros
by (3), was born in Billerica, October 4,
1698. Married, at Billerica, December 9,
1729, Dorothy Brown. He settled in Shrews
bury in 1729 on house lot No. 8 and died there
January 23, 1749, aged fifty. His widow,
Dorothy, married Jonathan Wood, of Upton,
and they removed to Spencer where she died
in 1 78 1 and her second husband in 1796, aged
ninety-four years. Children, born in Shrews
bury: 1. Dr. Samuel, born February 2, 1732,
mentioned below. 2. Sarah, born April 21,
1734, married, February 6, 1750, Robert Cook,
of Westboro. 3. Jabez, born February 7,
1736, settled in Brookfield, Massachusetts.
4. Elisha, born January 10, 1738. 5. Silas,
born December 9, 1740, married, July 8, 1763,
Rebecca Forbes, of Westboro, and went to
Wilmington, Vermont. 6. Abigail, born De
cember 22, 1742. 7. Aaron, born November
27, 1744. 8. Hannah, born August 29, 1747,
married  Spring, of Uxbridge, and Col
onel Fletcher, of Northbridge.
(V) Dr. Samuel Crosby, son of Samuel
Crosby (4), was born in Shrewsbury, Febru-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1259

ary 2, 1732. Married Azubah Howe, daugh
ter of James Howe, of Westboro, in 1753;
was surgeon in the Revolutionary army ; mag
istrate, etc. He lived on Boston Hill in the
southeast part of the town of Shrewsbury un
til 1 78 1, when he removed to Winchendon.
In 181 1 he removed to Montpelier, Vermont,
where he died December 11, 1814, aged eighty-
three. His widow Azubah died there October
14, 1818, aged eighty-five years. Children :
1. Sarah, born September 24, 1754, married,
February 8, 1779, Stephen Bailey, of Bolton,
and died there in 1812. 2. Samuel, born Sep
tember 12, 1756,'graduate of Harvard in 1777;
settled in Charlestown, New Hampshire; died
there in 1802. 3. Simeon, born September
13, 1758, mentioned below. 4. Dorothy, born
August 26, 1760, married, October 28, 1784,
Dr. Israel Whiton, of Winchendon; she died
in Antrim, New Hampshire, 1826. 5. John,
born October 1, 1762, died young. 6. Euse-
bia, born August 23, 1763, married Dr. Royal
Humphrey, of Athol ; died 1833. 7. Otis, born
January 15, 1766, graduate of Dartmouth Col
lege in 1 79 1 ; invited to a pastoral charge at
New Gloucester, Maine, but died before or
dination, unmarried, 1795. 8. John, born Oc
tober 18, 1767, settled in Montpelier, Ver
mont. 9. Flavel, born January 26, 1770. 10.
Arethusa, born March 22, 1773, married
Thomas Wilder, of Winchendon, and settled in
Dixmont, Maine. 11. Sophia, born January
9, 1775, married Daniel Spooner, of Hartland,
Vermont. (VI) Simeon Crosby, son of Dr. Samuel
Crosby (5), was born in Shrewsbury, Massa
chusetts, September 13, 1758. Ward's his
tory says that he had a family at Winchendon,
though the records do not indicate it; that he
died in Cambridge, New York, in 1818. He
married, May 7, 1787, in West Cambridge,
Massachusetts, Lydia Frost, who was born in
West Cambridge and baptized November 16,
1766, the daughter of Samuel and Abigail
(Cutter) Frost. Ephraim Frost, father of
Same Frost, died July 26, 1769, aged eighty-
seven, at West Cambridge. Ephraim Frost,
father of Ephraim Frost, was son of Edmund
Frost, the immigrant, who settled in Cam
bridge. (See Frost sketch for lineage in full).
Simeon Crosby seems to have lived at Shrews
bury and Lexington during the Revolution.
Simeon Crosby, of Lexington, was a soldier
in Captain John Reed's company, Colonel
John Robinson's regiment, in 1777; in Captain
Francis Brown's company, Colonel Mcin
tosh's regiment, in 1778. Possibly he had

other service credited to other towns. He and
his wife were admitted to the Baptist church
at Cambridge, Northwest Precinct, July 21,
1787. Children: 1. Simeon, Jr. 2. Isaac. 3.
Samuel, born July 26, 1791, died April 6,
1853; married, December 2, 1822, Margaret
Frost ; children : i. Samuel C, born September
7, 1823, died April 12, 1899; married, Novem
ber 18, 1854, Elizabeth P. Searle; ii. Maria,
born December 26, 1824, married, January 9,
1849, Alba A. Farr, of Littleton, New Hamp
shire. 4. Jesse, born September 27, 1795 ;
married (first), December 31, 1818, Hannah
McClure, born in 1797, daughter of John Mc-
Clure, and had children : i. Hannah, born Aug
ust 20, 1821 ; ii. George, born May 15, 1824,
died May 24, same year ; iii. Franklin, born
September 28, 1826, died December 21, 1899;
he married Mary Shepherd Ingraham, June
16, 1853; had one son, Charles Franklin, born
April 1, 1857, died July 29, 1903; iv. Martha,
born June 15, 1828, died August 23, 1833; v.
Jesse, born May 18, 1831, died May 21, 1831.
Hannah (McClure) Crosby died August 16,
1837. Jesse Crosby married (second) Fanny
McClure, sister of his first wife, born in 1812;
children: i. Martha, born September 12, 1839,
died December 29, same year; ii. Martha
Tufts, born June 26, 1841, died July 30, 1873;..
iii. Mary, born August 22, 1843, died August
25, 185 1 ; iv. Eliza Patten, born November 16,
1845, died September 23, 1847; v- Elizabeth
Patten (Mrs. Myron Taylor), born July 19,
1848; vi. Fanny, born June 16, 1853, died July
24, 1854. Jesse Crosby, father of the afore
mentioned children, died April 3, 1872 ; his
wife, Fanny (McClure) Crosby, died Febru
ary 3, 1873.
(VII) John Crosby, son of Simeon Crosby
(6), was born at West Cambridge, Massachu
setts, 1797. He received a common school ed
ucation, and early in life began to work on his
father's -farm and later for other farmers of
the vicinity. At the time of his marriage he
bought the old Frost farm at Belmont and
conducted it a number of years. During the
winter of 1851, the year that the Minot's
Ledge light-house was carried away during the
worst storm on record, he was exposed and
took a severe cold which developed into con
sumption of which he died three years later,
February 24, 1854. He was ambitious and
industrious, conscientious, honest, upright, of
sound principles and excellent character. He
was an earnest advocate of ' temperance re
forms. He was a faithful member of the old
Arlington Baptist church. In politics he was

1260

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

a Whig, and active in the support of its candi
dates and policies. He belonged to the militia
company, in his younger days. He married,
April 13,' 1817, Mary Bucknam, of West Med
ford, Massachusetts, born in 1797, died in
1885, daughter of Spencer and Mary (Frost)
Bucknam. Children: 1. Belinda Green, bap
tized November 9, 1817-18, married, June 12,
1843, James W. Brooks, of West Cambridge.
2. Eliza Ann, born November 10, 1819, died
February 9, 1893; married Jacob H. Hutchin
son, of Winchester, Massachusetts ; children :
i. Mary Eliza Hutchinson, born January 22,
1839, died May 13, 1854; ii. George Homer
Hutchinson, born June 27, 1843, died April
28, 1907; iii. Adelaide Crosby Hutchinson,
born November 15, 1851; iv. Frederick Hut
chinson, born December 5, 1857, died Decem
ber 17, 1857. 3. Louisa Lydia, born July, 18 — ,
died August 25, 1852; married, October, 1840,
Daniel B. Keating, of West Cambridge, born
August 4, 1818, died February 7, 1907; chil
dren : i. Abbie Louisa Keating, born June 27,
1 841, married, April 19, i860, Oliver J.
Locke, of Winchester; (children: Elwood Os
borne Locke, born March 12, 1863, died Octo
ber 21, 1865; Lewis Oliver Locke, born Octo
ber 9, 1866, married, March 15, 1903, Dorothy
I. Fisher, of Cambridge, and had Marjory,
born October 30, 1906, died December 6,
1906 ; Warren Shattuck Locke, born Novem
ber 27, 1868, died August 7, 1878; Idalene
Crosby Locke, born February 8, 1879, died
September 23, 1895 ; Alice Caroline Locke,
born June 25, 1880, died October 25, 1880) ;
ii. Mary Ann Keating, born July 11, 1843,
died November 11, 1847; iii. Ella Maria
Keating, born August 25, 1845, died Novem
ber 25, 1847 ; iv. Walter Keating, born Aug
ust 1, 1847, died February, 1886, married
Alma Bushnell, of Oregon ; v. Lewis Edwin
Keating, born August 25, 1849, died June 17,
1883 ; married, February 5, 1883, Albina D.
Conover, of New Jersey. 4. Mary, baptized
October 1, 1826, married Clark Brown, of
Tuftonborough, New Hampshire; son,
Charles Brown. 5. John Spencer, born April
17, 1829, mentioned below. 6. Sarah R., born
May 30, 1835.
(VIII) John Spencer Crosby, son of John
Crosby (7), was born at West Cambridge,
Massachusetts, April 17, 1829. He received
his education in the common schools of West
Cambridge, and was employed at intervals on
his father's farm. At the age of sixteen he
entered the service of Stetson & Keyes, dry
goods dealers, on Hanover street, Boston.

After one and a half years he returned to en
gage in business with his father, with whom he
remained until he was twenty-two. At this
time, for the purpose of engaging in market
gardening, he formed a partnership with
Francis Hill, of Belmont, under the firm name
of Hill & Crosby. Three years later he bought
his father's farm of four acres, adding six
more by purchase, and continued the business
alone, until 1867 he sold out to Sylvester
Frost, of Belmont. He then moved to Arl
ington, and bought the old Whittemore place of
forty-five acres on Mystic street, where he has
since conducted market gardening on a com
prehensive scale, assisted by his sons. His
residence stands on one of the best known
sites of old West Cambridge. He is a member
of the Arlington Baptist Church, where for
many years he was one of its prudential com
mittee, and also a deacon. Since the forma
tion of the Republican party he has been an
ardent Republican in politics. In the year
1872 he was a member of the board of select
men and chief of the fire department, and for
several years served upon the school commit
tee. He married (first), in October, 1855, Ade
laide Cynthia Frost, born at West Cambridge,
August 29, 1835, died May 10, i860, daughter
of Isaac and Cynthia (Wilkins) Frost, of
West Cambridge. Her father was a farmer.
Child, Helen Edith, born July 29, 1856, died
January 13, 1889. IN MEMORIAM.
Helen Edith Crosby, daughter of John S.
and Adelaide C. (Frost) Crosby, was educated
in the public schools of Belmont and Arling
ton, graduating as valedictorian of her class
from the Arlington high school in 1874. She
was a devoted member of the Arlington Bap
tist Church, and a faithful supporter of all
its services. She labored indefatigably in its
Sunday school, both as a teacher and for the
general welfare of the school. She was keen
in her appreciation of the best in literature,
and possessed from early years marked liter
ary ability. The exceeding beauty of her char
acter manifested itself in all her social rela
tions, but it was especially felt in her home
life, where for years she was the loyal and
loving sister and counsellor of her brothers,
her father's children by his second marriage.
She died in the years of her youth sincerely
mourned, and the memory of her sweet and
helpful spirit still lives in the hearts of those
who loved her.

T&^sUjL

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1261

John Spencer Crosby married (second),
November 5, 1863, Sarah P. Blake, born No
vember 9, 1839, at West Cambridge, now Arl
ington, daughter of Ellis and Ann Elizabeth
(Wyman) Blake, of West Cambridge. Chil
dren: 1. John Howell, born December 30,
1867, mentioned below. 2. Nelson Blake,
born June 20, 1871, married, August 21, 1895,
Cora Thankful Kimball, of Arlington. Chil
dren: i. Pauline Kimball, torn May 30, 1898;
ii. Miriam Blake, born September 2, 1901 ; iii.
John Samuel, born December 11, 1902; iv.
Rachel, born July 13, 1907. 3. Roland Spen
cer, born October 7, 1873, married, December
27, 1899, Susan Caroline Chamberlain, of
West Medford, Massachusetts. Child, Dor
othy Blake, born January 26, 1905. 4. Eliza
beth Wyman, born February 17, 1883, died
March 2, 1883.
(IX) John Howell Crosby, son of John
Spencer (8) and Sarah P. (Blake) Crosby,
was born at Belmont, December 30, 1867. He
moved with his parents when an infant to
Arlington, and received his early education
there in the public schools. After three years
in the high school he left to assist his father
in the market gardening business. In 1893
he and his brother, Nelson B. Crosby, were
taken into partnership, and the firm name be
came J. S. Crosby & Sons. In 1895, by rea
son of ill health, Nelson B. withdrew from the
firm, and the name was then changed to J. S.
Crosby & Son. They have one of the best
equipped hot house plants and most produc
tive farms of this section. Mr. Crosby bought
in 1893, and still resides on the old Luke Wy
man place, one of the well known "old places"
of the town. He is a member of the Arlington
Baptist Church, and one of its prudential com
mittee, and is also one of the past superinten
dents of the Sunday school. He has been a
member of the school cammittee of the town,
and in 1907-08 served upon the board of select
men. He has always been active in the inter
ests of the Repuhlican party in Arlington,
serving on its party committee both as its
chairman and in the ranks. He has also
served his party as delegate to various state
and district conventions. He was representa
tive to the general court from his district, com
prising the towns of Arlington and Lexing
ton, in 1899-1900-01-02. He served upon the
committee on taxation, banks and banking,
public service, and in 1900-01-02 was a mem
ber of the house committee on ways and
means. 1900 he served on a special committee
on congressional^ re-districting.

He married, December 9, 1891, Daisy
Adelia Conant, born May 31, 1872, daughter
of Benjamin and Clara Maria (Newhall) Con
ant, of Arlington, Massachusetts. Her father
is a member of the firm of Conant & Newhall,
of Boston. Children: 1. Helen Edith, born
September 14, 1892. 2. Phyllis Newhall, born
November 13, 1893. 3. Ruth, born December
9, 1897. 4. Evelyn, born March 28, 1903.

The immigrant ancestor of Wil-
CROSBY Ham E. Crosby, of Medford, was
(1) Simon Crosby, who came to
New England in the ship "Susan and Ellen,"
Edward Payne, master, sailing from London
in May, 1635, there being ninety-four passen
gers in all. Pie was twenty-six years old, his
wife, Ann, twenty-five, and their son Thomas,
eight months old. He settled in Cambridge
and was admitted a freeman March 3, 1636,
and on the 7th of November the same year
he was elected selectman and served as such
again in 1638. His house stood at the corner
of Brattle street and Brattle square. He died
in 1639, at the early age of thirty. His wife
Ann was left with three children — Thomas,
born in England, Simon, born in Cambridge in
1637, and Joseph, born in Cambridge in 1639.
She married in 1646 or 1647, the Rev. WilHam
Thomson, of Braintree, but was again left a
widow a few years later and died October 8,
1675. Mr. Thomson was the first minister of
the church in Braintree, was a graduate of
Oxford and was a man of distinction. He
prepared his son William and his step-son
Thomas Crosby for college and they both en
tered Harvard and graduated there in the
class of 1653. Thomas Crosby, like the most
of the Harvard graduates, of that time, became
a clergyman and was the minister at Eastham
from 1658 to 1670, when he left the ministry
for business life and became a successful man
of affairs. Nearly all by the name of Crosby
on Cape Cod are his descendants.
(II) Simon Crosby, son of Simon and Ann
Crosby, born 1637, married Rachel Brackett,
daughter of Captain Richard Brackett, of
Braintree. Captain Brackett was a deacon of
the church and a leading citizen of the town.
Simon Crosby settled in Billerica and became
a large landholder in that newly organized
town and took an important and leading part
in town affairs. He died January 26, 1725-26.
Children: 1. Rachel, born August 20, 1660,
married Ephraim Kidder. 2. Simon, born in
1663. 3. Thomas, born March 10, 1665-66.

1262

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

4. Joseph, born July 5, 1669. 5. Hannah, born
in 1672, married Samuel Danforth. 6. Nathan,
born February 9, 1674-75. 7. Josiah, born
November 1, 1677. 8. Mary, born November
23, 1680, married John Blanchard. 9. Sarah,
born July 27, 1684, married William Rawson,
of Braintree.
(Ill) Josiah Crosby, son of Simon and Ra
chel (Brackett) Crosby, born November 11,
1677, married, November 11, 1703, Mary
Manning, daughter of Samuel Manning. He
was a farmer and his residence in Billerica
was on the road leading to Woburn between
the village and Bare hill. Children: 1.
Josiah, born August 5, 1704. 2. Eliphalet,
born August 6, 1705. 3. Elizabeth, born Aug
ust 7, 1706, died 1709. 4. Anna, born April
29, 1708, married John Bowers, of Dracut.
5-6. Isaac and Ephraim (twins), born No
vember 7, 1709, died November 10, 1709. 7.
Mary, born August 24, 1712, married Roger
Toothaker. 8. Elizabeth, born December 1,
1713, died young. 9. Jane, born June 14, 1716.
10. Joanna, born July 16, 1718. 11. Jona
than, born August 1, 1719. 12. Esther, born
July 16, 1721, died 1722.
(IV) Josiah Crosby, eldest child of Josiah
and Mary (Manning) Crosby, born 1704, died
about 1743, and tradition says that he was kill
ed by Indians. He was a farmer and lived
in Billerica. He married Elizabeth, daughter
of Deacon William French, of Billerica. Chil
dren : 1. Josiah, born November 24, 1729,
married Sarah Fitch. 2. William, born Feb
ruary 16, 1732-33. 3. Elizabeth, born Janu
ary 9, 1734-35, died 1836. 4. Esther, born
September 17, 1736, married Isaac Manning.
5. Alpheus, born April 22, 1739.
(V) Josiah Crosby, eldest child of Josiah
and Elizabeth (French) Crosby, born Novem
ber 24, 1729. He was a farmer and lived in
Milford, New Hampshire, on the road to Wil
ton, and about a mile from the town house ;
the property has remained in the family, and
is owned by his great-grandson, Matthias F.
Crosby. He was an active and influential cit
izen. In 1747 he was in the military service
at the Connecticut river, and at Bunker Hill
was a captain in Colonel Reed's regiment.
Four of his sons were in the Revolutionary
war. He married, November 24, 1750, Sarah
Grimes, of Bedford. Children: 1. Josiah,
born in Bedford, October 18, 1751. 2. Joseph,
born in Milford, October 15, 1753, was a
farmer, and lived in Amherst; married Esther
Lane. 3. Sarah, born in Milford, 1756, mar
ried Allen Goodrich, of -Mont Vernon. 4.

William, born January 29, 1758. 5. Elizabeth,
born June 27, 1760, married William Low,
of Amherst. 6. Alpheus, born November 16,
1762, married, November 18, 1788, Elizabeth,
daughter of Roger Gilmore, of Jaffrey. 7.
Asa, born July 15, 1765, married Betsey Hoyt,
daughter of Nathan and Polly (Page) Hoyt,
of Sandwich, New Hampshire. He was a
physician, at Sandwich and Hanover, New
Hampshire, and was very successful in his
profession. Several of his sons also dis
tinguished themselves. Dr. Dixi Crosby was
professor of surgery in the medical depart
ment of Dartmouth College for more than
thirty years. Alpheus Crosby was professor
of Greek in Dartmouth College for nearly
twenty years, and the author of Crosby's
Greek Grammar, and other books that were
widely used. Hon. Nathan Crosby was judge
of the municipal court of Lowell, and Dr.
Josiah Crosby and Dr. Thomas R. Crosby
were successful physicians at Manchester and
Hanover, New Hampshire. Dr. Asa Crosby
died at Hanover in 1836. 8. John, born
in Milford, New Hampshire, April
10, 1768, married Priscilla, daughter of
Augustus and Bridget (Lovewell) Blanchard,
of Milford. 9. Esther, born February 3, 1771,
at Milford, married Augustus Blanchard, of
that place. 10. Fitch, born in Milford, July
14, 1773, married Rebecca Davis, of New Ips
wich. When the father of this family (Josiah
Crosby) died, in 1793, all his ten children were
married, and he is said to have had eighty-
five grandchildren.
(VI) Josiah Crosby, eldest child of Josiah
and Sarah (Grimes) Crosby, born October 15,
1751, was a farmer, and lived in Milford,
New Hampshire. He married, 1772, Eliza
beth Littlehale. Children: 1. Josiah, born
June 22, 1773. 2. Joseph, born October 19,
1774, see forward. 3. Abraham, born June
22, 1776, married Mary Tibbets, of Belgrade,
Maine. 4. Sally, born April 8, 1778, married
David Woolson. 5. William, born January
12, 1780, married Polly Creasey. 6. Alpheus,
born March 11, 1782, married Deborah G.
Turner. 7. Jotham, born December 19, 1783,
married Margaret Beeth. 8. Betsey, born Jan
uary 16, 1786, married John Steele. 9. Othni,
born September 1, 1787, married Anna Davis.
10. Porter, born April 14, 1791, married Sus
anna Hopkins, of Providence. 11. Polly, born
March 25, 1793, married William Crosby, of
Merrimack. (VII) Joseph Crosby, second son and child
Of Josiah and Elizabeth (Littlehale) Crosby,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1263

born October 19, 1774, died May 23, 1838.
He was a farmer, and lived in Milford. He
married, January 6, 1801, Anna, daughter of
Benjamin and Lucy (Hopkins) Conant; she
died in 1843. Children, born in Milford:
1. Nancy, September 27, 1801, married Asa
Burns, of Milford. 2. Harriet, October 20,
1802, married Freeman Cros,by, of Milford.
3. Lucy, August 29, 1804, married Jabez
Bills, of Amherst. 4. Joseph, born March 3,
1806. 5. Benjamin, October 1, 1807. 6.
Josiah Dixi, November 12, 1809. 7. Betsey,
February 26, 1812, married Abram Fifield, of
Lowell. 8. Rachel Orinda, August 12, 181 3,
married Rev. Samuel K. Snead, of New Al
bany, Indiana. 9. Abel Conant, November 28,
1815. • 10. Mary, October 12, 1817, married
John L. Minot. 11. Deborah Gutterson, De
cember 8, 1819, married, February 19, 1840,
Joseph Lund, of Merrimack.
(VIII) Josiah Dixi Crosby, sixth child and
second son of Joseph and Anna (Conant)
Crosby, born November 12, 1809, lived in
Milford, district No. 5, and was a shoemaker ;
he died in Brashear City, Louisiana, May 10,
1863, while serving his country in the civil
war. He married, March 18, 1833, Almira L.,
daughter of William and Sally (Fessenden)
Lovejoy. Children: 1. Dixi Josiah, born
July 23, 1834, was a farmer ; married Martha,
daughter of Lyman and Sarah (Blackmer)
Fairbanks, of Chicopee. 2. Mary, born April
20, 1836, married, November 7, i860, Jason E.
Hutchinson. 3. Susan Ellen, born April 23,
1838, married Henry Baker, of Goffstown,
New Hampshire. 4. George Edwin, born De
cember 5, 1839, see forward. 5. Adaline Al
mira, born May 12, 1842, married Thomas B.
Hall. 6. Charles Henry, born January 22,
1844, married, November 12, 1865, Mary F.
White, of Manchester; he was a machinist,
and resided there. 7. Lydia Ann, born March
31, 1845, married Jason E. Hutchinson. 8.
John Frank, born January 31, 1847, married
Etta M. Little. 9. Walter Joseph, born July
23, 1849, married Ida, daughter of George
W. and Mary E. (Crouch) Robinson, of Bos
ton, Massachusetts ; residence Manchester. 10.
Clara Jennette, born May 15, 1851, died Octo
ber 28, 1 85 1. 11. Clara Cornelia, born June
8, 1856.
(IX) George Edwin Crosby, fourth child
and second son of Josiah Dixi and Almira L.
(Lovejoy) Crosby, was born in Milford, De
cember 5, 1839. He lived in Cambridge for
several years, and removed to Medford in
1876, and where he still resides. He is a sen

ior partner in the firm of the George E. Cros
by Company, printers, 234 Congress street,
Boston. He married, June 3, 1865, Augusta
R. Hill, daughter of William H. Hill, of Bid-
deford, Maine. He and Mrs. Crosby took a
very active part in organizing the West Med
ford Baptist church, and he has been one of
the deacons from the beginning. Mrs. Crosby
was a member of the Medford school com
mittee for several years, and did much to pro
mote the success of the schools. She was a
very active member of the Woman's Chris
tian Temperance Union. Mr. Crosby mar
ried (second) Sophronia Fairfield, February
6, 1901. Children, all by first wife: 1. Archer
Guy, born in Cambridge, November 1, 1869,
married Mary Isabelle Simonds. 2. William
Edgar, born in Cambridge, June 1, 1871, see
forward. 3. Cora Nell, born October 11,
1873, married Rev. Pharaoh Lee Cobb, June
27, 1900. 4. Amy Leah, born January 7,
1876, in Cambridge, married John Cotton
Clapp, September 4, 1906. 5. Mabel Eliza
beth, born December 10, 1880, in West Med
ford, married Ralph Amos Moody, October
22, 1906. 6. Ruth Susan, born September 14,
1882, in West Medford, is a teacher in high
school, Dover, New Hampshire. 7. George
Edwin, born May 19, 1884, in West Medford,
married Jean Lloyd Glover, June 15, 1904.
The above named children were all educated
in the public schools of Medford. In addition,
Archer took a course in Worcester (Massa
chusetts) Academy; William gave special
attention to music; Cora and Ruth graduated
at Wellesley College, taking the degree of
A. B. ; Mabel took a special course at Cornell ;
and George attended for some time the Rindge
Manual Training School in Cambridge.
(X) William Edgar Crosby, second son
and child of George Edwin and Augusta R.
(Hill) Crosby, was born in Cambridge, June
1, 1871. He was educated in the public schools
of Medford, and later took an extended
course in music, devoting himself to the study
of the organ and theory of music. He passed
the examination of the College of Musicians,
New York, and received the degreeof Asso
ciate and Fellow. He has been musical direc
tor and organist of the First Baptist Church
of Medford for fifteen years, a position he
still holds. He is a member of the Neighbor
hood Club of West Medford, and a charter
member of the Medford Boat Club, and its
treasurer for seven years. He is affiliated
with Mt. Hermon Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons; Medford Chapter, Royal Arch

1264

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Masons ; Medford Council, Royal and Select
Masters ; and Warren Lodge, Ancient Order
United Workmen. He has been an active and
influential member of the board of aldermen
of the city of Medford for the last three years,
but declined a re-election. He is a member of
the well known printing firm of George E.
Crosby Company, 234 Congress street, Bos
ton. He is a member of the Baptist church
of West Medford. He resides on Allston
street, West Medford. He married Grace
Geneva, daughter of Rev. Roscoe L. and Ella
(Wilson) Greene. Children, born in West
Medford: 1. William Edgar, Jr., March 25,
1902. 2. Helen, December 8, 1903. 3. Henry
Greene, March 2, 1905.
Grace Geneva Greene, wife of William Ed
gar Crosby, is a lineal descendant of Gover
nor Thomas Dudley, of the Massachusetts
Bay Colony, who was born in Northampton
shire, England, 1576, came to New England
in 1630, sailing from Yarmouth, April 8, 1630,
in the ship "Arbella," three hundred and fifty
tons, carrying twenty-eight guns and fifty- two
men, and arriving in Salem on June 12, 1630.
He was deputy governor thirteen years, gover
nor in 1640-45-50, and assistant five years.
He served four years as major-general, under
appointment by the general court in- 1644. As
member of a special committee he favored es
tablishing a college at Cambridge, and as gov
ernor signed the charter of Plarvard College.
He was one of the principal founders of the
First Church of Boston. He died in Roxbury,
July 31, 1653, aged seventy-seven years, hav
ing served the colony with great ability. He
married (first), Dorothy Yorke, in England,
about 1609; she died December 27, 1643. He
married (second), Mrs. Catherine Hackburn
(family name Dighton), widow of Samuel
Hackburn. Children of Governor Dudley : 1.
Rev. Samuel, born about 1610, in England. 2.
Anne, born about 1612, married Governor Si
mon Bradstreet. She is distinguished as one
of the earliest poets of New England. Among
her descendants who have become eminent
were Wendell Phillips, Oliver Wendell
Holmes, and others. 3. Patience, born about
1615, married Major-General David Denison.
4. Sarah, born July 23, 1620, in England, died
at Roxbury, 1659; married Major Benjamin
Keaine. 5. Mercy, born September 27, 1621,
in England, died July 1, 169 1, at Newbury,
Massachusetts; married Rev. John Wood-
bridge, of Newbury. By his second wife
Governor Dudley had three children: 6. De
borah, born February 27, 1645, died November

1, 1683; married Jonathan Wade, of Medford.
7. Joseph, born September 23, 1647, at Rox
bury, died there April 2, 1770; married Re
becca, daughter of Judge Edward Tyng. 8.
Paul, born September 8, 1650, died December
1, 1 68 1 ; married Mary, daughter of Gover
nor Leverett.
Mrs. Catherine Dudley, widow of Governor
Dudley, married (third) Rev. John Allin, of
Dedham, November 8, 1653, and he proved an
excellent stepfather to Governor Dudley's
young children. Joseph Dudley was sent to
college, and graduated at Harvard in 1665, at
the age of eighteen. It was expected he would
be a clergyman, but he preferred political life.
He was in King Philip's war, serving on Gen
eral Josiah Winslow's staff, and acting as
chaplain. Later he was president of the* Mass
achusetts council, chief justice of the supreme
court, and later governor of the colony, in the
interests of which he went to England three
times. While there in 1693 he received from
King William a commission as lieutenant-gov
ernor of the Isle of Wight, where he continued
eight years, and served in the house of com
mons in the last parliament of William III.
(II) Rev. Samuel Dudley, eldest child of
Governor Thomas Dudley, born in England
about 1610, came to America with his father
when he was about twenty years old. In 1632
he married Mary, daughter of Governor John
Winthrop. They first settled in Newtown
(Cambridge), living in what is now Dunster
street. He soon removed to Ipswich, and in
1638 went to help settle Salisbury, and remain
ed there about twelve years. His wife died
April 17, 1643, at Salisbury, and he married
Mary Byley, of that place. He was a repre
sentative from Salisbury to the general court,
1641-45 ; chairman of the board of selectmen
several years ; March, 1648, was appointed
associate judge to hold court from year to year
in Salisbury; and was made commissioner to
settle boundaries of towns, etc., in great dis
pute. To this time he had been a farmer and
magistrate, and owned over two hundred
acres of land. He acted as lieutenant in a
military company while in Cambridge. May
13, 1650, he agreed with the people of Exeter,
New Hampshire, that he would be their minis- '
ter, the town to pay him forty pounds and
give him use of a house and land. In 1652
he and John Legat were permitted to erect a
saw mill," and have timber for the mill on the
commons. In 1655 he asked to have his salary
lowered, and declined a call to Portsmouth
at double the salary. He was sent as* agent

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1265

to the general court at Boston before any
deputy was elected, and was often engaged in
the public business. He was a large landowner,
and was much interested in agricultural as
well as spiritual and intellectual affairs. Chil
dren: 1. Thomas, baptized at Boston, March
9, 1634, graduated at Harvard, 1651, and was
a fellow; died 1655. 2. John, baptized at
Boston, June 28, 1635, died young. 3. Mar
garet, baptized, Boston, died young. 4. Sam
uel, baptized, Boston, August 2, 1639, died
April 17, 1643, in Salisbury. 5. Ann, born
October 16, 1641, married Edward Hilton, of
Exeter. 6. Theophilus, born October 31,
1644, at Salisbury, died at Exeter, 1713. 7.
Mary, born April 21, 1646, at Salisbury, died
December 28, same year. 8. Byley, born Sep
tember 27, 1647, at Salisbury, married Eliz
abeth Gilman. 9. Mary, born January 6,
1648-49, married Dr. Samuel Hardy. Rev.
Samuel Dudley married (third) Elizabeth
 , by whom he had : 10. Elizabeth, born
1652, married Hon. Kinsley Hall, September
25, 1674. 11. Stephen, see forward. 12.
Thomas, born in Exeter, married Mary
 . 13. James, born 1663, a shipmaster
and merchant, married Elizabeth Leavitt. 14.
Timothy, died before 1702. 15. Abigail, mar
ried Jonathan Watson. 16. Dorothy, married
Moses Leavitt. 17. Rebecca, married Francis
Lyford. 18. Samuel, married Hannah Thyng,
and died in Exeter, 1732.
(Ill) Stephen Dudley, son of Rev. Sam
uel Dudley, was born in Exeter. He was a
large landowner and leading citizen there. He
married, December 24, 1684, Sarah, daughter
of Hon. John Gilman, of Exeter. Children :
1. Samuel, born at Exeter, December 19,
1685, died February 16, 1718; married Han
nah, daughter of Samuel and Mary Colcord.
2. Stephen, born March 10, 1688, married
Sarah Davidson, of Newbury. 3. James, see
forward. 4. John, born October 4, 1692, kill
ed by Indians, June 23, 1710. 5. Nicholas,
born August 27, 1694, died 1766, at Brent
wood, formerly a part of Exeter. 6. Joanna,
born May 3, 1697, married Nicholas Perry-
man. 7. Trueworthy, born 1700, married
Hannah, daughter of John Gilman; died 1745.
8. Joseph, born 1702, married Maria, daugh
ter of Joshua Gilman. 9. Abigail, married a
Lyford, of Exeter. 10. Sarah, born 1706,
married Major Ezekiel Gilman. 11. Eliza
beth, married Simon Gilman.
(IV) Lieutenant James Dudley, third son
and child of Stephen and Sarah (Gilman)
Dudley, was torn at Exeter, June 11, 1690,

died 1746. He was a cooper and farmer. He
was an officer in the regiment of New Hamp
shire troops commanded by Colonel William
Moore, raised for the reduction of Louisburg
in 1644, and which was accomplished in 1645.
He married Mercy, daughter of Deacon John
Folsom. Children: 1. James, born 1715,
died 1 76 1 ; married Deborah Bean. 2. Abi
gail, born October 31, 1716, married Aaron
Young, of Kingston. 3. Samuel, born at Ex
eter, 1720, married Miss Ladd. 4. Hon. John,
born April 9, 1725, married Elizabeth Gilman,
and removed to Raymond, New Hampshire.
He was a farmer, and in the lumber business.
From 1775 to 1784 he was in the legislature,
and speaker of the house, and one of the com
mittee of safety during the Revolution, and
judge of the superior court until he resigned,
1797- 5- Joseph, see forward. 6. Joanna,
married Captain David Ladd, of Deerfield.
7. Mercy, married Mr. Emerson. 8. Sarah.
(V) Joseph Dudley, fifth child and fourth
son of Lieutenant James and Mercy (Folsom)
Dudley, was born in Exeter, 1728, died 1792.
When sixteen years old he accompanied his
father to Cape Breton, and- took part in the
siege of Louisburg. At thirty he embraced
the doctrine of non-resistance, similar to- the
principles of the Friends, or Quakers, and be
came an enthusiast in matters pertaining to
religion. The latter part of his life he lived
in Raymond, New Hampshire, and was a
farmer, and built a mill, and was also a cooper.
He would never accept public office, but did
not refuse to act as arbitrator or surveyor of
lands. He left an estate of about one thous
and pounds. He married Susanna Lord, who
died in 1802. Children, born in Exeter: 1.
Joseph, born February 15, 1750, married De
borah Bean. 2. Benjamin, born 1753, died
1795, Mt. Vernon, Maine. 3. Thomas, born
November 18, 1766, died 1839, Chelsea, New
Hampshire. 4. Daniel ; see forward. 5. EHz
abeth, married Samuel Gilman, of Kingston,
New Hampshire. 6. Joanna, married Reuben
Bean, of Candia. 7. Mary, married Nathaniel
Wells, of Gilmanton. 8. Hannah, married
Nathan Robie, of Raymond. 9. Susannah,
married Jonathan Gilman.
(VI) Daniel Dudley, fourth child and son
of Joseph and Susanna (Lord) Dudley, born
in Exeter, 1768, settled in Mt. Vernon, Maine.
He married Susan, daughter of John Glidden,
and sister of Nancy Glidden, wife of his
cousin, Moses Dudley, Esq. Children: 1.
Joseph; see forward. 2. Ann, born 1796,
married Isaac Ball, of Corinth, Maine. 3.

1266

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Susannah, born 1799. 4. Benjamin,, married
Cynthia Whittier. 5. Thomas, born 1804,
married Miranda Dascomb.
(VII) Joseph Dudley, eldest child of Dan
iel and Susan (Glidden) Dudley, born in Mt.
Vernon, Maine, 1794, died in Bangor, Maine,
1874. He married, June 23, 1822, Ruth Davis.
Children : 1. Mary Jane, born March 10, 1823,
at Auburn, Maine, married Leonard B. Green,
of that place. 2. Susanna, born December 26,
1824. 3. Juliette, born February 17, 1828.
4. Albion W., born January 4, 1830, married
Elizabeth A. Jordan. 5. Octavia A., born Oc
tober 30, 1833, in New Sharon, married John
F. Jordan.
Leonard B. Greene, who married Mary Jane
Dudley, daughter of Joseph Dudley (7), 1846,
went to California in 1850, and, instead of
engaging in gold hunting, as did most of the
emigrants, he embarked in the lumber busi
ness. Returning home four years later, he
went into the lumber business in Bangor,
Maine. He was also a local preacher of the
Methodist Episcopal church, preaching from
time to time in different towns. His children,
born in Bangor: 1. Roscoe Leonard; see
forward 2. Juliette Augusta, born June 16,
1648, married Dana B. Holmes. 3. Melvin
Leslie, born June 20, 1850, married Florence
Upham. 4. Edith May, born April 16, 1864,
married Charles W. Talpey.
Rev. Roscoe Leonard Greene, son of Leon
ard B. and Mary Jane (Dudley) Greene, was
born in Bangor, Maine, December 26, 1846.
He attended the public schools of his native
city, and prepared for college at Kents Hill,
Maine, graduated from Wesleyan University,
Middletown, Connecticut, and studied theol
ogy there. He is a clergyman of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and is pastor of Emanuel
Church, Waltham. He has held some im
portant pastorates, among them the First
Methodist Episcopal Church of Lynn, the
Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church of
Charlestown, St. John's Methodist Episcopal
Church of Boston, and the People's Church,
Boston. On March 12, 1864, at the age of
sixteen, he enlisted as a drummer in the Civil
war, remained to the end of the war, and be
came an orderly. He married, July 25, 1876,
Ella, daughter of Hubbard and Elizabeth
(Allen) Wilson. Children: 1. Grace Geneva,
born June 4, 1877, married William E. Cros
by. 2. Henry Torsey, born December 14,
1878, at Lewiston, Maine, died September 29,
1904. 3. Edgar Wilson, born February 22,
1882, at Somersworth, New Hampshire, mar

ried Maude Estelle Case, of Lynn, April 10,
1907. Among the distinguished descendants of Gov
ernor Thomas Dudley were: Joseph Dudley,
previously mentioned; Paul Dudley, chief jus
tice of the supreme court, Massachusetts, and
fellow of the Royal Society of London; John
Dudley, member of New Hampshire legisla
ture and speaker of the house several years
during the Revolution, member of committee
of safety, a judge of the highest court of New
Hampshire during and after the Revolution,
until he resigned; Ann Dudley Bradstreet, the
first poet of New England; and Richard H.
Dana, Sr., the poet.

Eames like other names
EAMES-AMES comprised of four or
five letters is subject to
many different spellings and also in the lapse
of time to being confounded with other names;
this Amee is Amey, not Ames, as sometimes
interpreted — Amey of the Colonial period in
New England being an altogether different
family as well as name. In England families
entitled to a place in the general armory are
found bearing the name of Hame, Ham and
Hames ; also Hamey, with different shields,
from which may be derived the name of Amey.
Owing to the well known peculiarity of the
English pronunciation Hames could readily
become Ames, and Eames readily become
Ames. We will not further attempt to present
the variants of Eames and Ames in this coun
try. The two names are still pronounced
E-ames and Ames (Aimes) in this country.
There appears to be no other way of approach
for them to families of the higher classes
in the mother country, except through the
name of Hames, already mentioned. In the
early settlement of New England several
individual heads of families appeared on these
shores. For example Anthony, of Charles
town and. Hingham, Gershom of Marlborough,
Thomas of Dedham, Henry of Boston, Rob
ert of Woburn, Robert of Andover, Robert of
Chelmsford or Dracut, and Richard of Row
ley, besides the Ameses of Dedham, Duxbury,
Braintree and Cambridge, and others. All
these came to New England between the years
1630 and 1700.
(I) Robert Eames, of Woburn, Massachu
setts, died there July 30, 1712. His wife Eliz
abeth, surname unknown, died March 22, 17 10.
Robert Eames was in Dedham in 1648, of
Charlestown, 1651, subsequently removing to

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1267

Woburn. His first homestead at Woburn
Center he sold to his son John in 1697. He
also owned land at Boggy Field in Woburn
in 1694, where he had a house. This estate
was in the well-known Eames-Ames neigh
borhood, on New Boston street, where mem
bers of the family have resided for upwards
of two centuries. Robert Eames apparently
the Robert of Woburn, since several Woburn
men were in the same companies, was a sold
ier in King Philip's war in 1675, in Captain
Thomas Prentice's company at Mount Hope,
and in 1676 in Captain Daniel Henchman's
company. Children: 1. Samuel, born April
7, 1653, died April 14, 1653. 2. John, died
January 18, 1654. 3. Elizabeth, born June 14,
1659, married, May, 1682, John Eames, of
Sudbury. 4. Mary, born June 11, 1661, mar
ried, . November 19, 1684, Abraham Cousens.
5. Priscilla, born May 2, 1663, married Sam
uel Polly. 6. Samuel, see forward. 7. Abi
gail, born September 22, 1666, married, Aug
ust 29, 1688, Samuel Wesson, of Reading. 8.
John, born May 9, 1668, went to Connecticut
after 1697.
(II) Samuel Eames, son of Robert Eames
(1), born at Woburn, September 2, 1664, died
there, March 5, 1747; married Mary, maiden
name not known. In 1710 he owned land in
Woburn situated in present Wilmington, and
near a bridge near the Reading line known at
that time as Matthew Edwards's bridge. His
estate was set off from Woburn and was in
cluded in the present town of Wilmington in
1730. The births of his children are found,
however, on the vital records of Woburn.
Children: 1. Samuel, see forward. 2. Lydia,
born October 28, 1694, married, November 25,
1713, Ebenezer Buck, of Woburn. 3. Daniel
born January 10, 1697, married (first), at
Reading, March 8, 1720, Mrs. Abigail (Harn-
den) Nurse; married (second), at Bradford,
August 9, 1748, Mrs. Mary (Kimball) Chad-
wick, and married (third), at Bradford, Feb
ruary 26, 1756, Mrs. Priscilla (Hazen) Kim
ball, resided at Wilmington and Haverhill. 4.
Jacob, born July 11, 1699, died January 18,
1722. 5. Hepzibah, born March 9, 1702. 6.
Joshua, born May 8, 1705, married Hannah
—  . 7. Caleb, born March 17, 1708, mar
ried (first), April 5, 1732, Sarah Simonds,
of Woburn, married (second), August 17,
1760, Mrs. Grace (Fay- Walker) Hathorn, of
Wilmington. 8. Elizabeth, horn March 26,
T7n, married (intention dated August 2,
731) Robert Stirman, of Boston. 9. Robert,
died October 6, 1712. 10. Abigail, torn April

11, 1714. 11. Jonathan, born August 18,
1716, married (first), March 14, 1738, Sarah
Roberts; married (second), November 22,
T75°> Joanna Alexander, and married (third),
intentions dated June 15, 1754, Dorothy Rich
ardson. (Ill) Samuel Eames, son of Samuel
Eames (2), born at Woburn, September 8,
1692, died there, January 20, 1775, "in ye 84th
year of his Age," gravestone at Woburn.
Married (first), July 2, 1717, Judith Simonds,
of Woburn, born October 5, 1695, died Janu
ary 10, 1766, daughter of Benjamin and Re
becca Simonds; married (second), July 4,
1770, Mrs. Joanna (Paige) Fassett, of Bed
ford, widow of Captain Josiah Fassett, and
daughter of Nathaniel and Susanna (Lane)
Paige; she was born October 29, 1714, and
died July 12, 181 3, in her ninety-ninth year.
Samuel Eames lived in the well known Eames-
Ames neighborhood and occupied at different
periods of his life two houses which are now
standing. He devised his property to his wife
Joanna, son Jacob, daughter Judith Symmes,
son-in-law Elijah Wyman and daughter Hul
dah Wyman, wife of said Elijah. This estate
for the times was quite large. He held the
office of a lieutenant of militia in Woburn
from 1733 to 1 74 1, was a captain in the same
1741 to 1744, and deacon of the church from
1745 and onwards. Children, all by his first
wife: 1. Judith, born March 22, 1718, mar
ried, October 29, 1741, Zachariah Symmes, of
Woburn. 2. Samuel, born February 13, 1720,
died April 15, 1727. 3. Jacob, see forward.
4. Rebecca, died April 21, 1728. 5. Samuel,
born June 28, 1727, died December 12, 1756.
6. Huldah, born March 4, 1733, married,
March 13, 1765, Elijah Wyman, of Woburn.
(IV) Jacob Eames, son of Samuel Eames
(3), born at Woburn, August 10, 1723, died
there, November 4, 1783; married, intention
dated March 15, 1748, Rachel Wyman, born
July 31, 1724, died August 26, 1795, daughter
of Nathan and Huldah (Simonds) Wyman,
of Woburn. He was a soldier in the militia
of this town in early life, entered active ser
vice early in the French war, serving in Cap
tain Ebenezer Jones's company, Colonel Grid-
ley's regiment in the expedition to Crown
Point from September 15, 1755, to December
17 of that year. While not especially young
he was present in the engagement fought at
Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775, as
a member. of Captain Jonathan Fox's (Wo
burn) company. He occupied his ancestor's
estate and all the records concerning him show

1268

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

that he was an active and enterprising citizen.
Children, i. Rachel, born November 5, 1749,
married, October 5, 1775, Jonas Evans, of
Reading. 2. Jacob, see forward. 3. Nathan,
born April 11, 1753, died July 21, 1773. 4.
Ruth, born May 28, 1758, married, July 30,
1778, Samuel Evans, of Reading.
(V) Jacob Eames, son of Jacob Eames (4),
born at Woburn, June 6, 1751, died there, No
vember 10, 1824, aged seventy-three years,
gravestone. Married, August 3, 1775, Esther
Tay, of Woburn, born August 22, 1755, died
December 14, 1836, aged eighty- one years,
gravestone ; daughter of William and Susanna
(Jones) Tay. This Jacob Eames and his
descendants spelled their name Ames. He was
a farmer on his father's farm all his life.
When the alarm was given on April 19, 1775,
he joined the company to which his father
belonged and marched with it to Lexington
and Concord, and took part in all the action
that occurred on that memorable day. That
is, he belonged to Captain Jonathan Fox's
(Woburn) company. His term of service
was three days. He was also in active service,
being called out on the event of the Shay's
insurrection of 1786. Plis house was struck
by lightning in 1801. These are about all the
recorded facts we have about him. It is said
that when the alarm was given of the fight
at Bunker Hill that he was haying in his field,
and springing for his gun and knapsack went
to Charlestown to take part in the fight. He
was by nature courageous and venturesome
and never hesitated to expose himself to dan
ger, if duty called. It was probable that he
may have rendered other service during the
Revolutionary war of which no record has
been kept, as his absence from town seems
apparent from the fact that his name is not
mentioned on the tax list from 1775 to 1779.
From his character as a severe man and ex
acting in all his transactions, and the tradi
tions that the gun which he had in battle is
still extant in the possession of the family of
his late grandson, Samuel Henry Leathe, of
St. Louis, Missouri, this is evidently so, and
his service^ may have been much longer than
we have stated, being confounded also possibly
with that of a man of the similar name who is
said belonged in and served from the town of
Wilmington near the line of which town our
Jacob Ames lived. The house in which he
lived is still standing on the southerly side of
Plain street, in the Eames-Ames neighborhood.
This house, once occupied by his grandfather,
Deacon Samuel Eames, is reputed to have

been built by his ancestor, Robert Eames,
when he removed from the center of Woburn
to this part of the town. Children: 1. Jacob,
born February 15, 1776, died young. 2.
Jacob, born March 27, 1778, married, intention
dated August 22, 1809, Henrietta Higgins, of
Charlestown, Maryland. 3. Samuel, born
March 4, 1780, married, May 30, 1805, Eliza
beth Tay, of Woburn, he died August 31, 1817,
and his widow married (second), intention
dated July 18, 1824, Jacob Converse, of Wo
burn. 4. Robert, see forward. 5. Nathan,
born February 2, 1785, died March 1, 1822.
6. Esther, born May 4, 1787, married, April
24, 1806, Elijah Wyman, of Woburn. 7.
Ruth, born June 12, 1798, married, October
31, 1820, Samuel Leathe, of Woburn.
(VI) Robert Ames, son of Jacob Eames or
Ames (5), born at Woburn, April 4, 1782,
died there, November 10, 1866, in his eighty-
fifth year. Married (first), December 30,
1822, Lucy (Tay) Oystead, born September
22, 1785, died June 7, 1825, aged thirty-nine
years, daughter of William and Hannah (Pol
lard) Tay, of Woburn, and widow of Cap
tain John Oystead, of Boston; married (sec
ond), June 1, 1826, Sarah Gleason, born Aug
ust 1, 1797, daughter of William and Sally
(Bacon) Gleason, of Billerica. She died his
widow, January 3, 1879, in her eighty-second
year. He was educated in the common schools
of his native town, attending during the win
ter months and farming at other times on his
father's land and continued thus until his
father's death,; He then took the farm as a
whole, beginning first by buying out the other
heirs and later buying other lots until he ac
quired the whole. This is now represented
by the large homestead on Plain street. Later
he bought the water privilege, belonging to
John Tay and moving his father's old saw
mill to another location more advantageous
for the work, he began custom sawing, a bus
iness which he pursued for many years. He
sawed large quantities of lumber which on
his own account he sold to Woburn builders.
Later the mill privilege was sold to James F.
Baldwin, who conducted it for a time and later
still the premises were sold to the Boston &
Lowell Railroad and the Richardson family
(Stephen Richardson and sons) finally owned
it. He also conducted general farming, raised
cattle, teamed to Boston, with a four oxteam,
bringing in with it considerable produce to
Woburn. He also manufactured large quanti
ties of cider. He had the first covered wagon
in Woburn. He was a man of immense

MIDDLESEX. COUNTY.

1269

Strength and could lift a barrel of cider and
place it easily in a team. He was at first a
Democrat in politics and later a Republican.
He attended the First Congregational Church
of Woburn and held some of its offices. In
stature he was six feet and had an imposing
figure. In early life he served in the Wo
burn militia as an officer and was at one time
elected captain but would not accept the posi
tion. Child,. by his first wife: 1. Charles Oy
stead, born November 3, 1823, married (first),
May 28, 1846, Mary Bacon Plummer, of
Georgetown, who died September 23, 1873;
married (second), February 12, 1876, Sarah
Fidelia Knapp, of Georgetown; children all
by first wife : i. Charles Warren, born April 28,
1851, married, December 29, 1875, Lucy E.
Gordon, of Georgetown; children: Francis
Wendell, married, 1899, Ida Hawkins, and
their children are: Gladys Rachel, born Aug
ust 29, 1900, and Lucy Vernon, born May,
1902; ii. Clarence Elmore, born September 15,-
1853, died November 12, 1863 ; iii. Mary Jane,
born August 17, 1855, married, June 11, 1884,
Howard A. Thompson, of Haverhill. Chil
dren by second wife: Robert Gleason, died
April 24, 1827, aged two months. Erskine,
see forward. Henry Lyman, born August 29,
1834, married, April 19, 1882, Charlotte -E.
Converse, of Woburn, and died June 1, 1896.
(VII) Erskine Ames, son of Robert Ames
(6), born at Woburn, July 15, 1828, died there
May 12, .1906. Married (first), January 1,
1862, Sarah Matilda Farrington, horn at
Andover, died at Woturn, February 15, 1873,
daughter of Benjamin and Harriet (Farns-
worth) Farrington. Married (second),
March 1, 1874, Marianna Sevrens, born April
21, 1848, daughter of Uriel and Mary Jane
(Hall) Sevrens, of Woburn. Mr. Ames re
ceived his education in the common schools and
at the Warren Academy in Woburn. He
worked on his father's farm and was also
engaged in teaming and in selling wood. When
he became of age he apprenticed, himself to
Jotham Hill, house carpenter, to learn that
trade, and after he had served his apprentice
ship of three years he worked for Mr. Hill
as a carpenter for a number of years, later
working at the same trade for George R. Bald
win and Thomas B. Coolidge. He was a skill
ful and faithful workman, and had charge of
the building of many fine residences in Wo
burn, among which were those of Joseph W.
Hammond, Parker L. Converse, and Lewis
Shaw. He was a man devoted to his family,
a great reader, having a large library, and was

broad in his views. He was a deep thinker
and_ was always found on the side of what
was' right. He was a man of deep religious
convictions, kind and charitable, and was a
worthy citizen of his native town.
As we have shown, he was of the seventh
generation of the family in this country." His
ancestor, Robert Eames, built and occupied
the small red house now standing opposite the
house on Plain .street in which Erskine Ames,
the subject of this sketch, was born. Here also
his ancestor, Deacon Samuel Eames, owned
six hundred acres of land. Deacon Samuel's
son Jacob, and Jacob's son Jacob, also as we,
have said found their .homes on the same es
tate, and this steady influence of a long abid
ing race showed its characteristics in their
descendants. Erskine Ames was remarkable
for his devotion to one .pursuit, as others
of his race have been, either as tillers of the
soil on their native heath, or as dwellers near
it in other similar conservative pursuits. Such
men give a fixed idea of what our best Amer
ican citizen is — and Erskine Ames was an
eminent example.
Children by first wife: 1. Clara Matilda,
born February 26, 1864, married, October 22,
"\, WilHam Allen Prior, of Woburn; chil

dren: i. Allen Ames (Prior), born November
19, 1890; ii. Ruth Tisdale (Prior), March 23,
1895. 2. Erskine Luville, born July 18, 1870,
married, January 1, 1896, Mary Alversa Good-
ale, of Lowell ; children : i. Goodale Harold
Farrington, born December 1, 1896; ii. War
ner Goodale, September 3, 1899; iii. Charles
Nathan, March 16, 1906.

This surname is of the class
ELLISON of the class of Johnson and
Williamson, derived from per
sonal names. Ellis, or Elles, means son-in-
law by the wife, as Els, or Ells, means a son-
in-law by the husband. The surname is also
derived from Elias, used in France as a proper
name in the days of Charlemagne, and heredi
tary at the time of the Norman Conquest.
William Alis, mentioned in the Domesday
Book, was progenitor of the Ellis family of
Kedall, county York, and Stoneacre, Kent,
from whom descended Sir Archibald Ellys,
crusader of the time of Richard I. No less
than eighteen variations of spelling Ellis are
found. Allison and Ellison are both common
forms of this surname. In Scotland, where
the family is numerous, the family bears arms :
Per bend gules and or. a fleur-de-lis in bend
between two annulets all counter-charged.

ni—32

1270

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Several prominent English Ellison families
bear arms: Per pale gules and vert an eagle
displayed or. Crest: An eagle's head erased
per fesse or and gules gorged with a mural
cornet azure. Another: Argent a chevron
gules between three griffins' heads erased sable.
Crest : a greyhound sable. The family in coun
ty Durham bears : Gules a chevron or between
three eagles' heads erased argent. Crest :
Eagle's head erased or. ' \
(I) Lawrence Ellison, immigrant ancestor
of the Ellison families of New York and New
England, born in England, about 1590, settled
first in Watertown, Massachusetts, and went
thence to Wethersfield, Connecticut and Stam
ford, and later to Hempstead, Long Island,
with others in the party of Rev. Richard
Denton, in 1644. Most of these families who
located at Hempstead were from Hemel,
Hempstead, England, twenty miles from Lon
don. Others were from Halifax, Yorkshire,
whence Mr. Denton himself came with Sir
Richard Saltonstall in 1630. Ellison was taxed
at Hempstead, 1657, and became a townsman,
1659. He died there, 1664, and his estate was
administered by Richard, Thomas and John,
the second estate listed upon the • surrogate's
books of that county — New York. Children :
Richard, mentioned below. 2. Thomas, born
about 1622, resided at Hempstead. 3. John,
born about 1624. 4. Daughter, married John
Ellington. (II) Richard Ellison, son of Lawrence Elli
son (1), was born in England, about 1620. He
was in Braintree, Massachusetts, as early as
1645 ; removed to Hempstead, Long Island,
where his fathers and brothers lived, about
1663, and in 1673 was taxed there on sixty
acres of land; had land allotted to him of
Hempstead Plain, and was there in 1682. His
will was dated February 14, 1630, and proved
June 13, 1683. He bequeathed to wife "Tami-
sen," to son John a hundred and fifty acres of
-land and a house; to son Thomas twenty-two"
acres; to sons-in-law Jonathan Smith and
Joshua Jannock. Children of Richard and
Thomasin, all born in Braintree: 1. Mary,
born June 15, 1646. 2. Hannah, May 24,
1648. 3. John, June 26, 1650; died unmar
ried, leaving his property by will dated No
vember 8, 1684, and proved in New York city,
to his brother Thomas, of Herhpstead. 4.
Sarah, born October 4, 1652; married Joshua
Jannock. 5. Thomas (not Thomasin) born
January 1, 1655; mentioned below. 6. Exper
ience (daughter). 7. Richard, born February
7, 1660. 8. Rachel, married Jonathan Smith.

(Ill) Thomas Ellison, son of Richard Elli
son (2), was born in Braintree, Massachusetts,
January 1, 1655. He inherited property from
his father and his brother John.. His older
brother Richard settled in New Jersey, while
he seems to have remained at Hempstead,
though he doubtless held property at Brain
tree and lived there some of the time, but final
ly moved to Mendon, Massachusetts, and was
the father of John Ellison, of Mendon and
Uxbridge, Massachusetts, which Were settled
mainly by Braintree and Weymouth families.
He was a farmer and shoemaker, or cord-
wainer. (IV) John Ellison, son of Thomas Ellison
(3), was born about 1710. He married, 1731,
Hannah  , and they settled in Uxbridge.
His first land he bought June 17, 1740, of
Peter Aldrich, forty acres in Uxbridge. He
was a blacksmith by trade, sometimes called
Bloomer in the records, and doubtless divided
his time between his forge and his farm, after
the custom of the early settlers who had trades.
He learned his trade at the iron works in New
York province, where his father lived, and
at Braintree, in this province, for blacksmiths
were not usually called bloomer's. He bought
more land at Uxbridge, April 14, 1741, of
Joseph Thompson, and three more parcels of
land of Peter Aldrich, October 15, 1747,
March 23, 1764, and April 11, 1769. He died
in 1773. His estate was divided among his
heirs, June 10, 1774; widow Hannah; children,
John Jr., Susanna, Ann Williams, Thomas,
Jacob, Molly, Hannah, and Martha. The
widow Hannah had a guardian in her old age,
appointed January 5, 1790. Children, born in
Uxbridge: 1. Susannah, born September 24,
1732. 2. Thomas, October 7, 1734. 3. John,
born September 7, 1736, mentioned below.
4. Anne, July 21, 1738. 5. Thomas, March
20, 1740-41. 6. Molly, April 11, 1742. 7.
Jacob, July 5, 1744, mentioned below. 8.
Hannah, July 24, 1749. 9. Martha, February
2, 1752. io. Sarah, November 9, 1754. This
is the only family of the name in Massachu
setts at that time, and all the Uxbridge fam
ilies are descended from John Ellison.
(V) John Ellison Jr., son of John Ellison
(4), was born in Uxbridge, September 7, 1736.
He enlisted in the Revolution, April 26, 1781,
as a private in the Continental army for three
years. He bought land on the west side of the
Great river, of Samuel Aldrich, land given him
by the late Deborah Aldrich to her son Solo
mon Aldrich, thirty acres. His father deeded
him land at Uxbridge, September 5, 1763. He

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1271

was a prosperous farmer in east part of Ux
bridge. (V) Thomas Ellison, son of John Ellison
(4), was born at Uxbridge, March 20, 1740-
41, and settled in the adjoining town of North-
bridge. He seems to have lost all his property
in 1814 by failure, as various pieces of real
•estate were sold under the execution at that
time to Amariah Chapin, Alpteus Dean, Aaron
Thayer, Abijah Willard arid Allen Thayer.
He bought property July 14, 1784, of his
brother Jacob, at Northbridge, and sold land
February 7, 1800, to James Fletcher of North-
bridge. (V) Jacob Ellison, son of John Ellison (4),
' was born in Uxbridge, July 5, 1744. He was a
housewright by trade. He married Hannah
Berry. They were interested in the estate
of Henry and Abigail Chase, of Petersham,
as heirs, in 1799. He had litigation over the
.settlement of his father's estate. He resided
at Uxbridge and Northbridge. He was a sold
ier in Captain John Howard's company, Colo
nel Samuel Brewer's regiment, in 1777, in the
Revolution; (pay abstract for travel allowance
from Saratoga home; warrant allowed in
council, March 12, 1777). His father deeded
land to him in 1765. He had a son Henry,
and other children.
(VI) Edward Ellison, son of John Elli
son (5), was born April 7, 1770, in Uxbridge,
or vicinity. He was brother of Joseph Ellison,
whose eldest son was named Willard. He
married, at Northbridge, February 28, 1793
(by John Crane) Polly Pierce, born April
7, 1771, daughter of Isaac and Martha
(Graves) Pierce. Her father was born
October 11, 1731; married, October 22, 1755,
Martha Graves. Edward Ellison resided
at Uxbridge at the time of his marriage.
He settled in Chester, Vermont, previous to
1800, and had a large farm. His wife's line
age was Polly (7); Isaac (6); Isaac (5);
Daniel (4) ; Daniel (3) ; Anthony (2) ; John
(1). (See Pierce sketch). Children: 1.
Nahum. 2. Josiah, mentioned below. 3.
Adolphus (his brother Joseph also had son
Adolphus). 4. Cook, married  Bruce.
5: Ruth. 6. Lucy, married James Paine. 7.
Maty, married —  Gassett. 8. Almira,
married Willard "Bailey. 9. Willard. 10.
Joseph (probably named for uncle). 11.
Abijah. 12. Elizabeth. The foregoing are
not in order of birth, as dates were not obtain
able. (VII) Josiah Ellison, son of Edward Elli
son (6), was born in Chester, Vermont, No

vember 5, 1800, and died at Plolyoke, Massa
chusetts, October 14, 1872. He was brought
up on his father's farm, and attended the com
mon school. Pie left home when a young man,
and engaged in the trucking business in Bos
ton, doing an extensive business in the em
ploy of many large houses until 183 1, the year
of his marriage, when he returned to his na
tive town and purchased a farm of ninety
acres, four miles north of North Chester vil
lage and conducted it successfully until about
1858, when he sold it and removed to Charles
town, New Plampshire. He -continued farming
at Charlestown until the death of his wife in
1863. He spent his last years with his daugh
ter Melissa Dudley. Though of a retiring dis
position he was affable and genial among his
friends, and highly respected by all who knew
him: He and his wife attended the orthodox
Congregational church. He was originally a
Whig, later a Republican. He served in the
. militia of New Hampshire.
He married, January 6, 1831, at Boston,
Eliza Ann Lund, born at Philadelphia, October
2, 1805;' died at Charlestown, New Hamp
shire, March' 16, 1863, daughter of David
Lund, an officer in the army. Children: 1.
George Pierce, born at Chester, October 28,
1 83 1 ; died at Holyoke, March 19, 1906; mar
ried May 31, 1854,- Mary Ann Isham, of Ches
ter ; children: i. Flora, born March 20, 1855,
died January 10, 1881 ; married, October 8,
1879, John Hildreth, of Holyoke, and had
Mattie E. Hildreth, born August 14, 1880,
died December 28, 1880. ii. George Schuyler,
born June 9, 1859, died March 5, 1861. Hi.
Bertram Edgar, born December 27, 1864 ; died
June 5, 1867. 2. Henry Malcolm, born April
17, 1834; mentioned below. 3. Sarah, born
February 24, 1836; died February 29, 1836.
4. Charles Delano, born May 13, 1837; mar
ried first, July 25, 1861, Maryette Lynds, of
Charlestown, New Hampshire; married sec
ond, August 12, 1893, Hattie E. Grant, of
Holyoke; children of first wife: i. Florence
Maryette, born February 14, 1863; married
first, May 8, 1880, William Easter, of Charles
town, New Hampshire, and had son Charles
Allen Easter, born June 18, 1882; she mar
ried second, 1888, James O. White, of Maine,
and third, 1892, Edwin P. Weeks, and had
three more children — Bertha May Weeks,
born June 9, 1894; William Payson Weeks,
June 2, 1897; Charles Edward Weeks, Sep
tember 22, 1900 ; ii. Hattie Estella, born March
2, 1868; married, June 25, 1887, Herman L.
Davis, of Springfield, Vermont; children:

1272

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Frank Leslie Davis, born December 29, 1889;
Herman Harold Davis, April 21, 1892; Ruth
Arlene Davis, February 20, 1898; ElHson Lyle
Davis, March 10, 1903. iii. Charles Jonathan,
born August 2, 1872; died unmarried, March
2, 1900. iv. Eliza Ann, born July 11, 1874;
married, 1889, Elma Weeden, of Woodstock,
Connecticut, and had Lottie Weeden, born
November 12, 1890. 5. Albert, born July 17,
1 841, died April 4, 1892; married, February
12, 1864, Lucinda Lynds, of Charlestown, and
had son George. 6. Melissa, born December
3, 1843; died February 10, 1888; married,
February 5, 1864, Charles' Dudley, of Clare
mont, N. H. ; had son Plenry Dudley.
(VIII) Henry Malcolm Ellison, son of
Josiah Ellison (7), was born at Chester, Ver
mont, April 17, 1834. He received his educa
tion in the district schools of his native town,
and during his youth assisted his father with
the work of the' farm. He left home at the
age of seventeen, went to Mendon, Massachu
setts, and learned the trade of shoemaker. He
worked at his trade in Mendon and in the ad
joining town of Uxbridge, where his ancestors
settled. At the age of twenty-three he re
moved to Charlestown, New Hampshire,
where he was employed for four years in the
boot and shoe factory of Hanson & West.
After his marriage in 1859 he went to -Bel
mont, Massachusetts, in the employ of his
wife's father, Tisdale Harlow, superintendent
of the John Cushing farm, one of the finest
in that locality, and when Mr. Harlow re
linquished his position Mr. Ellison was his
successor. When Samuel Payson bought the
estate of the Cushing heirs, Mr. Ellison con
tinued in the management. Mr. Payson be
came embarrassed financially and the property
fell into the hands of a real estate company
formed to develop it as building lots. About
a year afterward Mr. Ellison retired, buying
three acres of the estate and erecting his man
sion. He cultivated his land up to the time of
his death, December 27, 1898, though not in
active business. He was a man of strict integ
rity and sterling character, much loved for his
many good qualities of mind and heart. He
attended the Baptist church. He was trustee
of the Waverley Co-operative Bank. In poli
tics he was a Republican.
He married, November 23, 1859, Harriet
Harlow, born at Charlestown, New Hamp
shire, December 20, 1839, daughter of Tisdale
and Mary Jane (Wiley) Harlow, of Charles
town. Her father was a farmer at Charles
town and at Belmont. Children: 1. William

Henry, born at Belmont, August 30, i860;
married, September 29, 1886, Phebe Craw
ford, of St. John, New Brunswick, daughter
of Henry and Mary Jane (Dunham) Craw
ford, of that place ; no issue. 2. Frank Dex
ter, born December 19, 1866; married, April
15, 1896, Annie Corinne Colburn, of Stonghton ;
no issue. 3. Bertrand Payson, born November
8, 1870; married, June 2 1, 1896, Lillian Corser ;
child, Henry Corser, born February 28, 1899.

The Glazier family settled
GLAZIER early in Sudbury, Massachu
setts, and another branch be
fore the Revolution was located in northern
New York province. Beamsley Glazier had a
grant of land dated May 2, 1764, in the town
ship called later Hartford, in Washington
county, New York, near the Vermont line.
He was a provincial officer and a leading
citizen among the pioneers.
(I) Norman L. Glazier was born at 'Hague,
New York. He was a merchant for many
years at Waltham, Massachusetts. He mar
ried Mary Ann (Vilas) Estabrook, who died
in 1886. He died in 1890. Of their four chil
dren, three died in infancy.
(II) Dr. Frederick P. Glazier, son of Nor
man L. Glazier (1), was born at Waltham,
Massachusetts, September 27, 1859. He was
educated in the public and private schools of
his native town, and studied his profession in
, the Boston School of Medicine -from which
he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in
1883. In September following he opened an
office for the practice of his profession in Hud
son, Massachusetts, and has continued there
with marked success to the present time. He
has a large practice in Hudson and vicinity.
Dr. Glazier is a member of the American
Institute of Homeopathy, Massachusetts
Homeopathic Medical Society, Massachusetts
Surgicaland Gynecological Society and Wor
cester County Homeopathic Society.
Dr. Glazier is a prominent Free Mason, a
member of Doric Lodge; Houghton Chapter,
Royal Arch Masons; Hudson Chapter, Order
of the Eastern Star. He is past noble grand
of Hudson Lodge, No. 154, Odd Fellows;
member of the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows
of Massachusetts and of the Grand Encamp
ment. He is past chief patriarch of Re-
bekah Lodge, and member and medical exam1-
iner of council, Royal Arcanum, No. 936.
He is also the medical examiner of the Ancient
Order of United Workmen; past master of

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1273

Hudson Grange, No. 108, Patrons of Hus
bandry; associate member of Reno Post,
Grand Army. Dr. Glazier is a member .of the
Hudson Methodist Church. He is an active
and influential Republican, and for the past
three' years has been chairman of the Repub
lican town committee, He has been for nine
years a member of the school committee of
Hudson; was selectman three years; moder
ator of town meetings on various occasions,
and has the confidence of political opponents
as "well as those of his own party.
Dr. Glazier married, 1883, Annie C. Jones,
born in Nashua, New Hampshire, August 14,
1859, daughter of Philip Jones, of Waltham.
Children: 1. Philip Norman, born at Hudson,
April 25, 1884, graduate of Clark College,
Worcester, of the first class graduated from
that institution, receiving his diploma from the
hands of President Roosevelt; graduate also
of the Bryant & Stratton Business College of
Boston; now a bookkeeper in the office of the
American Woolen Company, at Boston. 2.
Howard M., born at Hudson, April 1, 1887,
graduate of the Hudson high school, now stu
dent in the Massachusetts Institute of Tech
nology, Boston, of the class of 1909.

(I) Nicholas Butler, immigrant
BUTLER ancestor, of Eastwell, England,
a yeoman, according to his state
ment when coming to America, with his wife
Joyce, three children and five servants, came
from Sandwich, England, before June 9, 1637,
and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He
was a proprietor before September 10, 1637.
Their names appear on the passenger list of
the ship "Hercules," sailing June, 1637. He
was admitted a freeman March 4, 1638-9, and
is called "gentleman" on the records, a posi
tion one might suppose belonged to him from
the number of servants. He was a town
officer and leading citizen in Dorchester. He
removed to Martha's Vineyard in 1651, when
he gave a power of attorney to his son John
for the sale of lands, etc. He sold land in
Roxbury in 1652. He died at Edgartown,
Martha's Vineyard, August 13, 1671. The
will of Joyce, his widow, mentions her grand
children John and Thomas Butler, Mary*
Athearn, and Hannah Chadduck and son
Henry. Children: 1. Rev. Henry, school
master at Dorchester in 1652, proposed for
minister at Uncatie, England,, 1656; settled at
Seoul, Somerset, until August 24, 1662, later
at William fr ary, five miles from Frome ; per

secuted by authorities. 2. John, mentioned
below. 3. Lydia, married May 19, 1647, John
Minot of Dorchester.
(II) Captain John Butler, son of Nicholas
Butler, was born in England and he or an
infant son John was baptized September 22,
1645. In 1658 he was constable at Edgar-
town, whither he removed with his father's
family. The records show that "his brother
Henry owed him certain moneys. He was
captain of the military company in 1654-5. He
married Mary  . He died in 1658.
(Ill) John Butler, sort of John Butler (2),
was born in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard,
in 1653. He made his will November 10, 1733,
at the age of eighty. He was a constable in
1692. He married Priscilla Norton, daughter
of Nicholas and Elizabeth Norton. They
resided at Martha's Vineyard. Children: 1.
Henry, married Sarah  . 2. John, Jr.,
married December 16, 1708, Elizabeth Dag
gett, daughter of Captain Thomas Daggett.
3. Thomas, born about. 1680; married Septem
ber 18, 1702, Anne Torrey, of Weymouth, who
died October 1, 1735, aged about fifty-one. 4.
Nicholas, born at Martha's Vineyard ; married
September 5, 1726, Sarah Ripley; second,
Thankful Marchant.' 5. Samuel, married, after
1712, Elizabeth (Clay) Stanbridge, widow of
Samuel Stanbridge; died December 23, 1768;
he died February 24, 1765. 5. Joyce, married
November 20, 1705, Joseph Newcomb. 6.
Onesimus. 7. Simeon, married, 1712, Hannah
Cheney. 8. Zephaniah, died September 15,
1 72 1 ; married Thankful Daggett. 9. Malachi,
mentioned below. 10. Priscilla; married; in
1748 was widow of Thomas Snow. 11.
Gamaliel ; married Sarah Chase ; he died Feb
ruary 24, 1765, aged seventy-four.
(IV) Malachi Butler, son of John Butler
(3), was born about 1700, at Martha's Vine
yard. He bought a lot of his father, or was
given a tract adjoining the place of his brother
John, March 24, 172 1-2, about the time of his
marriage. After 1733 and before 1745 he
removed to Windham, Connecticut, and in the
latter year, then being of Windham, deeded
to his nephew Shubael Butler half the pew he
Owned with his brother, Gamaliel. In 1758 he
was settled in Woodbury, Connecticut, and
that year deeded his property in Martha's Vine
yard to John Pease. These deeds were recently
discovered in a search since General B. F. But
ler died, and were published by his daughter,
Mrs. Adelbert Ames. General Butler and all the
other descendants had confused Malachi with
an Irish family of Butler in the vicinity,

1274

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

many of whom have been distinguished,
especially in New York State. In 1757 Mala
chi Butler had a guardian appointed, being
ill and "partly insane." His son Benjamin
graduated at Harvard in 1752, and settled
in Nottingham, New Hampshire, while Zeph
aniah was in the Connecticut troops in the
French war in 1757 and 1758. Malachi married
Jemima Daggett, daughter of Thomas and Eliz
abeth (Hawes) Daggett, of Yarmouth. Thomas,
who died August 25, 1726, was son of Thomas
Daggett and Hannah (Mayhew) Daggett ; Han
nah Mayhew, born April 15, 1635, was daugh
ter of Governor Thomas Mayhew. Thomas was
the son of Thomas and Bathsheba Daggett, the
pioneers. Children of Malachi and Jemima But
ler : 1. Thankful, baptized at Edgartown, Jan
uary 20, 1723. 2. Susanna, baptized December
20, 1724. 3. Zephaniah, baptized at Edgar
town, January 15, 1727-8; mentioned below.
4. Rev. Benjamin, born April 9, 1729; baptized
May 4, 1729; died December 29, 1804; married,
May, 1753, Dorcas Abbott, who was born May
11, 1729, and died April 19, 1789; his farm is
still owned by lineal descendants at Nottingham,
New Hampshire. 5. Margery, baptized July 18,
1731. 6. Silas, baptized at Edgartown, Novem
ber 11, 1733 ; settled in New York. 7. Solomon,
removed to New York, thence to South Caro
lina, where he left issue. 8. Lydia. 9. Mary.
(V) Captain Zephaniah Butler, son of Mal
achi Butler (4), was born in January, 1728;
baptized in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard,
January 15, 1827-8. He went with his father to
Windham, thence to Woodbury. He went to
Quebec in the army of General Wolfe in the
French and Indian war, and General B. F. But
ler's family has the powder horn he carried,
engraved with his name, and the date April 22,
1758. He was at the battles of Louisburg and
Quebec. He was also a soldier in the Revolu
tion, a private in Captain Nathan Sanborn's
company, in the regiment of Colonel Thomas
Tash, raised to reinforce the Continental army
in New York, September, 1776; also in Cap
tain Amos Morrill's company, Colonel John
Stark's regiment, in 1777. Both he and his son
Benjamin, who was afterward on the staff of
his uncle* Colonel Joseph Cilley, were in Cap
tain Nathan Sanborn's company at the battle
of Bunker Hill, as was also the second son,
Enoch. After the war he was a captain of
militia. Zephaniah Butler was a school teacher
and farmer. He settled near his brother- Benja
min, the minister, and was called the "school
master." He married Abigail Cilley, daughter of
General Joseph Cilley. She was born in 1740,
died in 1824. He died in 1800. Children: 1.

Benjamin. 2. Enoch. 3. John, mentioned below.
(VI) Captain John Butler, son of Captain
Zephaniah Butler (5), born at Nottingham, N.
H., May 17, 1782 ; died March, 1819. For the war
of 18 12 he raised a company of light dragoons,
was commissioned captain, July 23, 1812, and
served on the northern frontier. He married ,
first, June 5, 1803, Sarah Batchelder, of Deer
field, New Hampshire; second, July 21, 1811,
Charlotte Ellison, who was born February 4,
1792, died October 4, 1870. Children of John
and Sarah Butler: 1. Polly True, born June 8,
1804. 2. Sally, born March 11, 1806. 3. Betsey
Merrill, born January 9, 1808; married Daniel
B. Stevens, March 2, 1827; she died at Not
tingham, September 22, 1904 ; children : i. Eliz
abeth B. Stevens, widow of Colonel John B.
Batchelder, artist and historian; ii. Thomas
Stevens ; iii. Amanda Stevens ; iv. Charlotte B.
Stevens ; resides at Washington, D. C. ; v.
Walter D. Stevens, of Derry, New Hampshire.
Children of John and Charlotte Butler : 4.
Charlotte, born May 13, 1812; died. August,
1839. 5. Andrew Jackson, born February 13,
1815; died February 11, 1864; efficient aide
and assistant of his brother in the civil war. 6.
Benjamin Franklin, mentioned below.
(VII) General Benjamin Franklin Butler,
son of Captain John Butler (6), was born No
vember 5/1818, at Deerfield, New Hampshire;
died January 11, 1893. He was rather a puny
child, and quiet, gentle, and eager to learn, at
the age of four was taught his letters by his
mother. In the summer he was sent away to a
school in Nottingham Square, quite two miles
from his home. He attended that school for six
weeks and learned to read with little difficulty.
He remained at home during the autumn, when
the family shoemaker gave him a copy of Rob
inson Crusoe. "The question was not whether
I wanted to read it," he wrote in his autobiog
raphy, "but whether I could be kept from read
ing it, so as to do the little matters that I ought
to do, and was able to do, called in the New
Hampshire nomenclature 'chores.' My mother,
laying aside her labors which were quite neces
sary for our support, taught and explained the
book to me with great pains. But being a reli
gious woman of the strictest sect of Calvin, she
thought that I ought not to have so much
, secular reading without some Christian teach
ing; so we struck-a bargain that I should learn
so many verses in the New Testament, if she
would help me read so many pages of Robin
son Crusoe, she agreeing to explain both to
me. My reading, thereupon, was almost con
tinuous, scarcely anything but eating and
sleeping intervening." He had his chores to

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1275

do, including driving the cows to and from
pasture daily, giving him some enforced out
door exercise. In the following winter his
mother and uncle provided a home for him
in Deerfield with "Aunt Polly" Dame, and he
went to school there. In the winter of his
sixth year he walked from home every morn
ing to Nottingham Square to school, and
proved a hright pulpil. In the course of time
he was virtually adopted hy his grandmother,
and attended a private school and academy at
Deerfield until eight years of age, under James
Hersey, afterward postmaster of Manchester,
New Hampshire. He was then sent to Phil
lips Exeter Academy to he fitted for college.
A clergyman, who had befriended his wid
owed mother, tuilt a house for her to occupy
in Lowell, and in 1828, at the close of the
winter term, Butler went to his mother's house
and studied Latin at home during the spring
and summer following, having the kindly as
sistance of Seth Ames, then a lawyer, after
wards a justice of the supreme court. Later
in the year it tecame necessary for him to
earn some money, and his mother procured
him a place at Meecham & Mathewson's, the
Franklin bookstore, the only establishment of
its kind in the town. He remained in this
clerkship until December 18, 1830, when the
Lowell high school was established through
the exertions of Rev. Theodore Edson, rector
of St. Anne's Church. The school began with
about forty pupils, in a one-story wooden
building, Thomas N. Clark, teacher. He fin
ished his fitting for college, to which he went
unwillingly. He wished to go to West Point
Military Academy and, when his appointment
seemed assured, his mother's clergyman, a
good Baptist, advised her to send the toy to
the Baptist College at Waterville, Maine, in
the labor department, where he could do some
thing toward his own support. He was re
ligiously trought up and inclined, giving his
good mother the hope that he would study for
the ministry. His college career was a disap
pointment to him, having set his heart on the
more virile and practical course at West Point.
He became interested in chemistry and
physics, outside of his prescribed work, and
loved experimental research. He tecame lat-
oratory assistant to Professor Holmes. He
became liberal in his religious views before the
conclusion of his college course, holding opin
ions common enough even in the Calvinistic
churches to-day, hut which in his youth were
condemned as heresies. He taught school dur
ing the long winter vacations at college. At
the time of his graduation, Butler was so re

duced ty a severe cough that he weighed only
ninety-seven pounds, and he seemed in danger
of consumption. But a sea voyage restored
him to health which even during the privation
and exposure of the rehellion never deserted
him until his last illness. On his return to
Lowell he began the study of law in the office
of William Smith, in the early autumn of 1838,
and not many months later before he wa's ad
mitted to the bar secured much valuable ex
perience in the Lowell police court. In the
autumn of 1839 he accepted the position of
teacher in a Dracut school, of peculiar diffi
culty, which tested thoroughly his powers as a
disciplinarian as well as his physical strength
in thrashing intractable youth. He declined a
reappointment, and devoted all his attention to
studying law and practicing in the police court.
At the September term of the court of common
pleas in 1840, he was examined for the bar and
admitted by Justice Charles Henry Warren.
Except for the distractions of military and
political life, thereafter he devoted himself to
the practice of his profession with an earnest
ness, zeal and natural fitness that won him a
foremost place as a trial lawyer, toth in civil
and criminal courts.
He became interested in politics when quite
young; he learned by heart the Constitution of
the United States, and studied the fundamental
principles that divided the parties, as well as
the public questions then agitating the public
mind. He began his career in politics at home.
Coming to Lowell when he was but twelve
years old, he grew up with the town from a
humble manufacturing village. In 1836 it had
become the second city of New England, and
the largest city in the country entirely
devoted to manufacturing. The mills were
owned by corporations and managed by non
resident capital. All the people — men, women
and children — mostly recruited from the
farms of northern New England, all of good
Yankee stock — were employed in the cotton
mills, and the hours of labor then prevailing
left them time for nothing else but sleep, ex
cept on Sundav. The hours of labor were thir
teen and a half daily. Butler made his first
bitter political enemies by battling for shorter
hours for the mill hands. Even among the
workmen the movement was not popular, and
those who hoped for a ten hour day ultimately
were afraid to express their feelings. The
characteristic pugnacity and disregard of his
future interests were shown in this first strug
gle. He took advantage of a coalition made
by the Democrats and the new Free Soil party
in 185 1, made to defeat the Whigs, and se-

1276

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

cured candidates from Lowell pledged to the
ten-hour movement. He was a Democrat. It
was impossitle to carry through this radical
reform in the legislature, tut great strides
were made in the right direction, and after un
successful efforts in several legislatures a com
promise bill was enacted, fixing the hours of
labor at eleven and a quarter. After the civil
war the ten hour law was adopted, and other
legislation lifting the burden of the toiler and,
to the amazement of the employers, not re
stricting either their prosperity or their output,
under the new conditions wrought by the
progress in mechanical skill. In 1852 he was
elected to the general court, and again he
espoused a very unpopular cause, the reim
bursement of the Order of St. Ursula for the
destruction in 1834 of their convent in Charles
town by an anti-Catholic mob. Almost the en
tire Protestant clergy of the state made him
the target of abusive sermons and unkind if
not slanderous criticism. In the constitutional
convention of 1852 he was a delegate from
Lowell, and served as chairman of the commit
tee to which was assigned the revision of Chap
ter Six of the old constitution. The defeat of
this constitution at the polls by the Roman
Catholics brought the triumph of the Know-
nothing party in 1855 and the downfall of the
Whigs in Massachusetts. Butler was extreme
ly opposed to the bigotry and narrowness of
the Know-nothing party, and again the arrows
of prejudice flew in his direction. He attend
ed every Democratic national convention from
1848 to i860 inclusive ; and was frequently a
candidate for congress, but his party in Low
ell was in a hopeless minority. In 1858 he was
elected to the state senate from Lowell, the
only Democrat on the ticket. He drew the act
reforming the judiciary of the state and the
superior court established in place of the old
court of common pleas. Most of the provisions
of that act are still the law of the state. In
i860 he accepted the nomination for governor
of Massachusetts from the Breckinridge wing
of the Democratic party, and received only
atout six thousand votes, while as the Demo
cratic candidate for governor in 1859 he had
had more than 35,000. He was a memter of
the national committee of that wing of his
party. But when the war broke out, he stood
by the Republican governor of Massachusetts
and the Republican president, and became the
most conspicuous volunteer general of the be
ginning of the war, on account of his former
political affiliations making his example of in
calculable value to other Democrats who were
brought to enlist and fight for the Union, and

on account of his promptness in getting his
troops to Baltimore and his success in action.
He came of a race of fighters. In 1839 he
enlisted in the Lowell City Guard and served
three years as a private, believing that in
the course of time he should be called into
service, as his father and grandfather had
been before him. Step by step he was pro
moted until he became colonel of the regi
ment in which he first enlisted. During the
Know-nothing furore, Governor Gardner
reorganized the militia of the state for the ex
press purpose of disbanding companies of
Roman Catholic soldiers, and as a conse
quence Colonel Butler lost his command, it
being assigned to another district in which he
did not live. Not long afterward, however,
he was elected, brigadier-general by the
field , officers of the brigade, and received
his commission from the same Know-noth
ing governor. He encamped with his bri
gade in 1857, 1858, 1859 and i860. In i860
Governor Banks called together the whole
volunteer militia, six thousand men, at Con
cord, so that when he went into service he
had seen together for discipline, instruction
and military movement, a larger body of
troops than even General Scott, the com
mander-in-chief himself. With foresight and
persistent effort, General Butler caused the
Massachusetts volunteer militia to be made
ready so that they were the first organized
armed force marched into Washington for its
defence. As early as January 19, 1861, the
Sixth Regiment under Colonel Edward F.
Jones, of Lowell, was prepared and tendered
its services to the government. When the
call came it found General Butler trying an
important case in Boston. He stopped short,
asked the judge for adjournment, and in fact,
Butler tells us that the case has never been
finished. He helped devise the means to raise
money to transport the troops. The Sixth
Regiment, strengthened with two companies
from others, started for Washington on April
17. General Butler stayed behind to get his
two other regiments in order, and to wait for
the Eighth Regiment, which he took to the
front April 18. He was in Philadelphia when
his Sixth Regiment was attacked in Baltimore,
with six men killed and thirty wounded. The
Sixth finally reached the capital, and President
Lincoln, as he shook the colonel's hand, said :
"Thank God you have come; for if you had
not, Washington would have been iri the hands
of the rebels before morning." With his com
mand General Butler proceeded to Annapolis
and took possession of it against the protest of

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1277

the mayor and of the governor of the state, of
which it was one of the capitals. Thus he held
open a way for the transportation of troops to
Washington and insured its safety. The Sev
enth New York Regiment, under Colonel Lef-
ferts, followed. The Eighth Regiment showed
the country of what stuff it was made, when
Charles Homans put a disabled and dismantled
locomotive into commission and the men relaid
the tracks on which their train proceeded to
Washington. That incident was characteristic
of the resourcefulness of General Butler, as
well as his foresight influencing public opinion.
The whole world has had a higher opinion of
the Massachusetts soldiers since that dramatic
railroad trip to Washington. General Butler
occupied and held the Relay House, and so
prevented an assault upon Washington from
Harper's Ferry, which the rebels had captured
and were occupying for that purpose. From
thence he made a descent upon Baltimore and
established it as a Union city, which it always
remained. These movements effectually pre
vented the secession of Maryland, and held her
loyal through the war.
He was placed in command of the Depart
ment of Virginia, North Carolina and South
Carolina, with headquarters at Fortress Mon
roe. He had immediately to solve one of the
most perplexing questions of the war. Under
the civil law, the negro slaves that took refuge <
in the Union lines were chattels, and should be
returned to their owners, but it would be out
of the question for northern troops to act as
slave-catchers. Butler cut the Gordian knot,
to the relief of the whole country, by declaring
the slaves contraband of war — a legal subter
fuge, under which during the rest of the war
the slaves were set free, and which paved the
way for the Emancipation Proclamation. No
single act or thought early in the war helped
the Union cause more. Within forty-five days
after the fall of Fort Sumter, without orders
from anybody, he seized and strongly fortified
the important strategic point of Newport
News, at the mouth of the James river, which
was held during the war, thus keeping open a
water way for the transportation of troops and
supplies to the intrenchments around Rich
mond, by which the Army of the Potomac un
der McClellan escaped from Harrison's Land
ing. In co-operation with the navy he captured
Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark (thus making
the holding of the sounds of Virginia and
North and South Carolina possible) August
29, 1861, the first victory of any account that
came to the Union army, taking 715 prisoners,
and giving new courage after the defeat at

Bull Run. He went home on leave of absence,
but soon became aroused to the need of a bet
ter system of recruiting soldiers. He saw the
political necessity of the situation, and offered
his services to President Lincoln to recruit six
regiments of loyal Democrats in New England.
That effort was successful, uniting the North,
and destroying the suspicion that the war was
a Republican party affair and to be supported
by partisans of Lincoln. He raised this divi-
'sion of six thousand men for the United States
without the payment of bounties or impress
ment. With them he sailed to Ship Island, in
an expedition aimed at New Orleans, and, aid
ed with an equal number of troops added to his
command, co-operating with the fleet of the
immortal Farragut to his entire satisfaction,
they opened the Mississippi, captured New
Orleans, subdued Louisiana, and held all of it
that was ever held afterwards permanently as
a part of the United States. He enforced there
a proper respect for the nation's flag, its laws
and power. By proper sanitary regulations he
rescued New Orleans, the commercial port of
the Gulf of Mexico, from its most potent dan
ger, the yellow fever, from the ravages of
which in no year had it ever escaped, a foe
which the rebels relied upon to destroy Butler's
army, as it surely would have done if left un-
combated. He enlisted there the first colored
troops ever legally mustered into the army
of the United States, thus inaugurating the
policy of arming the colored race before Con
gress or the President had adopted it, and by
so doing pointing the way to recruiting the,
armies of the United States by the enlistment'
of colored men to the number of 150,000, and
establishing the negro soldier as a compon
ent and permanent part of the military re
sources of the country. Presumably on ac
count of his politics, he was superseded by
General Banks in command of New Orleans.
He was appointed again to the command of the
Department of Virginia and North Carolina,
November 2, 1863, and subsequently commis
sioner for the exchange of prisoners, notwith
standing the angry proclamation of Jefferson
Davis ordering him hanged if captured, and
placing a big reward on his head at the time he
"tamed" New Orleans. He grappled again
with a trying problem. After a time, the ex
change ceased. The North wished the prison
ers exchanged to save the suffering and starv
ing Union soldiers in Rebel prisons, but Gen
eral Grant declined to have further exchanges,
on the ground that the armies of the South
were recruited by the exchange, while_ the
Union soldiers were reduced to such condition

1278

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

that their value as soldiers had ceased. Gen
eral Butler haggled over the terms of exchange
and the treatment of captive negro soldiers, all
to carry out the secret purpose of his com
mander-in-chief. In the spring of 1864, General Butler "de
vised, organized and perfected the strategy
for a campaign against Richmond hy having
an impregnable intrenched camp containing
thirty square miles of territory within its
boundaries, which could be held by ten thou
sand men against the whole Rebel forces for
ever,". to- quote his own words, "within eight
miles of the Rebel capital, like a hand upon
its throat never to be unclenched, as it never
was." He fortified it as a refuge to which the
Army of the Potomac could repair in safety
as a base of supplies, as it did when it failed
to drive Lee's army in retreat to the defences
of Richmond. He took possession of this
camp, to be intrenched, by a march wholly of
his own planning and execution, by moving
more than thirty thousand men, with their
artillery, supplies and munitions of war, by
water, seventy-five miles through the enemy's
country, in a single day, without the loss of a
man, and without any knowledge on the part
of the rebels of his presence until he was in
camp. From that intrenched camp at Ber
muda Hundred, July 15, he captured Peters
burg, but lost it, as he says, "through the
sloth or incompetency of a corps commander
who had a technical military education." With
the Army of the James, September 29, he
captured Fort Harrison and a line of in
trenched works, a strong part of the defences
of Richmond, which were held by colored
troops until Richmond was evacuated. He
planned, carried out and constructed the
great strategic work, the Dutch Gap Canal,
which was prevented from being made entire
ly efficient only by a naval officer who was af
terward convicted for cowardice in that mat
ter, and which remains to this day a most val
uable public work in the navigation of the
James River, worth more as a commercial
avenue in time of peace than all it cost as a
military undertaking. He says: "By firmness
of purpose which subsequent events have
shown to have been the best military judg
ment, as I knew it was then, I prevented my
major-general of division from making an as
sault on Fort Fisher by which very many of
the troops of the expedition would have been
slaughtered in a useless attack. In all mili
tary events I never met with disaster, nor
uselessly sacrificed the lives of my men." He
was sent to New York at the time of the pres

idential election, and took effectual means to
prevent disorder and threatened illegal voting
and rioting. He has called this creditable feat
"taming Mackerelville." As a result of his
success, the premium on gold failed to make
its promised advance to three hundred, and
the election of Lincoln gave evidence that the
Union would be saved, that McClellan's idea
of a dictatorship would be avoided; and the
credit of the country grew more firm, the con
fidence of the people in the government
stronger, and the courage of the men in the
field better. Butler was offered the portfolio
of secretary of war, but declined it, as he had
also declined to be nominated as vice-presi
dent on Lincoln's ticket. At a banquet in
New York, tendered him by the leading citi
zens after election, Rev. Henry Ward Beech
er nominated him as Lincoln's successor to
the presidency. General Butler did not take
the compliment of Beecher seriously, but had
occasion afterward to regret that he had not
turned the political current, as he could easily
have done by suggesting Grant as the only
logical successor to Lincoln. As it was, he
became handicapped by the supposition in
high quarters that he had political intentions
of the kind suggested.
In January, 1865, when General Butler was
relieved from his command, he accounted for
and turned over five hundred thousand dol
lars which he had collected in various ways,
such as taxes on traders — tolls on cotton sent
north. With the money thus shrewdly gained
for the Union cause, he paid largely the cost
of the Dutch Gap Canal; built a hospital at
Point of Rocks and barracks at Fortress
Monroe, etc. He used the revenues at New
Orleans with great shrewdness, and was com
plimented hy his superiors for the condition
of his accounts, and by the business men of
that city for his regulation of the medium of
exchange and the banking business, prevent
ing hardship to the people, and yet saving the
banks from disaster. He cleaned Norfolk,
Virginia, just as he had cleaned New Orleans
and made it habitable. He put deserters and
petty criminals to work on the streets, taking
for three months a thousand loads of filth a
week out of the city. He was as proud of
keeping the yellow fever out of Norfolk as
out of New Orleans. Grant himself wrote to
Lincoln: "As an administrative officer Gen
eral Butler has no superior. In taking
charge of a department where there are no
great battles to te fought, but a dissatisfied
element to control, no one could manage it
better than he." That describes the popular

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1279

opinion as well, after his work in Norfolk and
New Orleans.
For twenty years after the war, General
Butler was one of the foremost figures in the
political world. In 1866 he was elected to con
gress from the Essex district as a Republican,
although his residence was in Lowell. He
was placed on the committee on appropria
tions. He took an active part in the debates
of the house. He took up the cudgels for the
legal tender or "greenback" currency issued
as a war measure, and the controversy over
this money lasted many years. A party known
as the Greenback Party existed for several
years, and General Butler became a promi
nent figure in it. In 1868 Butler was re-elect
ed, and again in 1870 and 1872, tut in 1874
he was defeated. In 1867 he became one of
the most prominent figures in the impeach
ment of the president, as the attorney for the
board of managers on the part of the house
in the trial before the senate, making the
opening argument. In 1871 he became a
candidate in the Republican convention for
the nomination for governor, and was de
feated by William B. Washburn. The follow
ing year he ran again against Governor
Washburn. General Butler claimed that he
had a majority of the delegates elected, that
the Republican state committee by fraud and
contests secured his defeat, and then declared
that he should never be governor of the state.
"I then came to the conclusion," he writes,
"that I could not be governor in the Repub
lican party. I allowed myself to be put in
nomination as an independent candidate for
governor in 1878, and as such reduced the
Republican majority largely." He also had the
nomination of the Democratic party, but a
section of that party supported another candi
date, and he again was defeated. In 1879 he
was again the Democratic and so-called
"Greenback" candidate, and was again de
feated. In 1880 he supported the nomination
of General Hancock for president, "the first
Democratic candidate I had supported since
the war began." In 1882 he again became
the Democratic candidate for governor, and
after a hot canvass won hy fourteen thousand
plurality. His administration was hampered
by the fact that his council was almost unan
imously Republican, as well as the legislature.
He had one sensational investigation, that of
the Tewksbury almshouse, something in the
line of what has come in fashion generally in
later days of muck-raking and graft-probing.
The Republican party gathered its forces to

gether, nominated George D. Robinson, arid
a historic campaign was fought in the fall of
1884 when the Republican governor re
claimed the state by a slender majority of
nine thousand. But General Butler, by his
own force of character and personal magnet
ism, had broken down party lines and carried
his long battle against the Republican poli
ticians. He had been governor of the com
monwealth in spite of them and their allies in
the opposing party. In 1884 General Butler
was elected by the Democratic state conven
tion one of the delegates-at-large to' the na
tional convention at Chicago, and served on
the platform1 committee. Now General But
ler had always stood for the doctrine of a pro
tective tariff for American industries. He
thought all other national questions at that
time subordinate to that. "I could not agree,"
he said, "that the Democratic party, which I
supposed would be in the ascendant, could
stand upon anything but the Jackson doctrine
of a "judicious tariff," a tariff to raise suffi
cient revenue for the wants of the country,
and to give American industry incidental pro
tection against foreign, labor. I was over
ruled, and some mongrel resolution was
adopted which meant anything or nothing, as
one chose to construe it." He declined to
support any candidate on that platform, and
effected a fusion between the Democrat and
Greenback parties in Michigan, but failed in
other states to carry out his plan, which would
have defeated Cleveland's election. He be
came a candidate for president, and labored
earnestly in the hope that the Democratic
vote in New York would be split and the Re
publican candidate elected. He says: "Elec
tion day came and there were votes enough
thrown for me several times over to have pre
vented Mr. Cleveland's election," but in many
of the polling places they were counted not
for me but for Cleveland, and so the electoral
vote of the state of New York was counted
for him by a few hundred votes only. If John
Kelly had not fallen sick, General Butler's
contest in New York would have been pushed
stoutly, and doubtless Blaine, not Cleveland,
would have been seated as president. In 1888
Mr. Butler made two speeches in favor of
General Harrison; after that he took no
active part in politics.
General Butler's thorough knowledge of
law and his successful practice of the pro
fession of law had much to do with his suc
cess as a military and political leader. He
says of himself: "I tried my cases critically,

1280

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

catching at every point in the faults of my op
ponents, and of course was immediately called
'sharp' by the attorneys conducting criminal
cases, who frequently tegged of me to over
look their blunders which might enable me
to save my clients. But upon these matters
I was inexorable; I held that a good point of
law in his favor was as much the property of
my client as was a good point of fact, and that
I had no< more right to waive one than to give
up the other. I was quite successful in my
defence of criminals." * * * Mr. Butler
thus states the reasons of his professional
success: "The closest application to the study
of law applicable to any case in hand, and
careful, thought of what the law ought to be
as applied to the case, and then the most
careful study of the books to see how it has
been applied in like instances. I thought out
my cases, and thought out the law as applied
to them, and then verified or corrected my
thought by the opinions of the courts. The
highest legal authority has declared the com
mon law to be the perfection of common
sense, so- that any man who thoughtfully ap
plies his common sense ought to know what
the common law is. The only need he has of
the cases in the books is not so fnuch to guide
himself, as to use them to direct the minds of
judges to adopt his common sense as the law
of the case, resulting from precedents. * *
* I am called in largely in desperate cases,
but I have made it a rule of my life never to
refuse to assist in trying cases, however des
perate, if I believe there is any chance to
win." John Quincy Adams Griffin said of
Butler: "General Butler had the power, pos
sessed by but few men, of attending to sev
eral important mental operations at the same
time. * * * Unexampled success attend
ed his professional efforts, so characterized by
zeal and shrewdness. When the war sum
moned him from his toils, he had a larger
practice than any other man in the state. I
have no doubt that he tried four times more
causes, at least, than any other lawyer, during
the ten years preceding the war. The same
qualities that made him efficient in war made
him efficient as a lawyer — fertile in resources
and stratagem, earnest and zealous to an ex
traordinary degree, certain of the integrity of
his client's cause, and not inclined to criti
cise and inquire whether it was strictly con
stitutional or not, but defending the whole
line with a boldness and energy that generally
carried court and jury alike. His ingenuity
is exhaustless. If he makes a mistake in

speech or action, it has no sinister effect, for
the reason that he will himself discover and
correct the error before any 'barren spectator'
has seized upon it. He is faithful and ten
acious to the last degree. There is no possi
bility of treachery in his conduct. He would
not betray the devil to his fellow. * * A
pleasant humor and a lively wit, and their
constant exercise, are the possession and the
habit of General Butler."
He married, May 16, 1844, at St. Anne's
Church, Lowell, Sarah Hildreth, daughter of
Dr. Israel Hildreth, of Dracut, a town adjoin
ing Lowell. Mrs. Butler had a distinguished
career on the stage before her marriage. She
had been taught Shakespeare's plays by her
father, and began her professional life at the
Tremont Theatre in Boston and the Park
Theatre, New York, with brilliant success.
She was trained for her work by Mrs. Vernon,
a very accomplished tragedienne, and Isaac C.
Pray, a playwright, in one of whose plays she
made her first appearance. After her marriage
she devoted herself wholly to her husband and
family. She was with him during the whole
of his civil war service, except during active
campaigning. General Butler wrote: "My
wife, with a devotion quite unparalleled, gave
me her support by accompanying me, at my
earnest wish, in every expedition in the war of
the rebellion, and made for me a home wher
ever I was stationed in command. She joined
me at Annapolis, and accompanied me to Fort
ress Monroe when I was assigned there in
May, 1861. She went with me on the expe
dition to Ship Island for the attack upon New
Orleans, wherein I was exposed to the greatest
peril of my life ; and only when my ship was
hourly expected to go to pieces, and when I
importunately appealed to her good sense that
our children must not be bereft of both pa
rents, did she leave me to seek safety on board
a gunboat. She suffered great privations and
hardships on the sands of Ship Island while
we were awaiting the attack on New Orleans,
and was on the first vessel that went up the
river after the surrender of Forts Jackson and
St. Philip. She went ashore with me and
lodged at the St. Charles Hotel on the night
after I took possession of New Orleans. *
* * Thus I had an advantage over most
of my brother commanding generals in the de
partment and in the field, in having an adviser,
faithful and true, clear-headed, conscientious
and conservative, whose conclusions could al
ways be trusted. Returning home with me after
I retired to civil and political life, Mrs. Butler

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1281

remained the same good adviser, educating and
guiding her children during their young lives
with such skill and success that neither of them
ever did an act which caused me serious sor
row or gave me the least anxiety on their be
half. She made my home and family as happy
as we could be. She took her place in society
while in Washington, and maintained it with
such grace, dignity, and loveliness of charac
ter that no one ever said an unkind or dis
paraging word of her." She died April 8,
1876. Children: 1. Paul, born June, 1846, died
April, 1850. 2. Blanche, born 1847; married,
1871, Adeltert Ames (see sketch). 3. Paul,
born 1852; graduate of Harvard College in
1875. 4. Ben Israel, mentioned below.
(V) Ben Israel- Butler, son of General Ben
jamin F. Butler (4), was born in Lowell in
1854. He was educated in the public schools
and high school of Lowell, and at West Point.
He graduated with honor, and accepted a
lieutenant's commission in a regiment of col
ored troops stationed on the Plains, that he
might have, in addition to his instruction at
the academy, the knowledge of the movement
and care of troops in the field and in actual
service. In this onerous work of defending
the scattered population on the frontier from
Indian raids, he served one year.
Four generations of the Butler family
fought in the wars of their country and held
commissions. General Butler had the swords
of Captain Zachariah Butler, of the French
War and Revolution; Captain John Butler
of the war of 1812; General Benjamin F. But
ler, of the Civil War, and that of his son ; all
kept together in a glass case at his home, a
unique and perhaps unexampled testimony of
the loyalty and military prowess of one family
in direct line of descent. General Butler be
lieved that there would be a war in each gen
eration, and wished his son to be prepared to
do his part, but he planned also to make him
his partner in the law business. He studied
at Columbia Law School in New York, and
after two years was admitted to the bar, but
on the very day that his career in partnership
with his distinguished father was to hegin, he
died, Septemher 1, 1881. "I had hoped to
lean upon him in my declining years," wrote
his father, " to take my place in that profes
sion which I love and honor. Man proposes,
but God disposes."
The sketch of the Ames family shows that
a fifth generation has added its contribution
to the military history of General Butler's
family.

Captain Anthony Ames (or
AMES Eames-, as the name was more
commonly spelled by the early
generations in America, although as early as
1652 his name is spelled and was doubtless
pronounced "Ames,") was the immigrant an
cestor of this family. He was a proprietor
of the town of Charlestown, Massachusetts,
as early as 1634. (Pope's "Pioneers of Massa
chusetts," p. 149). A few years later he re
moved to Hingham, Massachusetts, and in
1636 owned a house lot there on the Lower
Plain. From the first he appears to have
been one of the foremost citizens of Hing
ham. He was admitted a freeman March 9,
1636-1637, and represented the town in the gen
eral court in 1637, 1638,1639, 1643 and 1644. He
assisted in laying out the boundary between
the Massachusetts and Plymouth patents. He
was lieutenant of the military company, but
when he was chosen captain there was a seri
ous controversy between his friends and
others, developing into- a lasting difference
that continued for several generations to di
vide the citizens of Hingham. The town
granted permission to Anthony Ames, Sam
uel Ward and Bozoun Allen, June 12, 1643,
to set up a corn mill for the town; Gowen
Wilson had been miller of the town ; in future
either Thomas Lincoln or John Pogger was
to be the miller. He removed to Marshfield,
in Plymouth Colony, about 1650. He and
his son Mark bought a house and land to
gether at Marshfield, December 10, 165 1. For
many generations the family lived in that
town. He was deputy to the general court
at Plymouth in 1653, 1654, 1655, 1656, 1657,
1658 and 1661, and was a member of the
council of war. He was admitted freeman in
the Plymouth Colony, March, 1654-5. He
also served the town of Marshfield as mod
erator. His wife Margery was admitted to
the Charlestown church, September 13, 1635.
Children: 1. John, died at Hingham in 1641.
2. Mark, born 1620; died September, 1698;
witness of will of John Rogers, at Marshfield,
with his father Anthony, February 1, 1660;
appraiser of estate of Robert Waterman, of
Marshfield, January 13, 1652; also of Thomias
Little's estate, July 1, 1672; deputy to the
general court, 1662, and fourteen years out
of the next twenty: children: i. John, born
at Marshfield, September 6, 1649; ii. Jona
than, born 1656; iii. Elizabeth, married, De
cember 5, 1672, Andrew Lane. 3. Margery,
married October 20, 1653, John Jacobs. 4-
Elizaheth, married Edward Wilder, of Hmg-

1282

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ham. 5. Justus, mentioned below. 6. Milli-
cent, married William Sprague. 7. Daugh
ter, rriarried Michael Peirse. (Michael re
fers to Anthony as "father" and to Mark as
"brother" in his will). The foregoing are
probably not in order of birth.
(II) Justus Ames, son of Anthony Ames
(1), was born in 1626, in England, and died
in 1697, in Marshfield. He settled in Marsh
field, and married, May 2, 1661, Mehitable
Chillingworth, daughter of Thomas Chilling-
worth, a pioneer at Sandwich and Marshfield.
Justus served as juror at grand inquests in
1669 and 1677. His children were mentioned
in his will proved in 1697, viz.: 1. Anthony,
mentioned below. 2. Nathaniel. 3. John. 4.
Josiah, married Hannah  . 5. Joseph.
6. Ephraim. 7. Millicent. 8. Justus, Jr.,
and four daughters whose names are not
given. (Ill) Anthony Ames, son of Justus Ames
(2), was born probably in Marshfield, in 1663,
and died in 1739. He married Elizabeth
 . He settled at Marshfield; was on the
jury in 1692; moderator in 1722, 1724, and
1725;' selectman in 1694 and 1714, 1716, 1717
and 1719; treasurer in 1734. He used the
designation "Jr." on account of an elder An
thony, not his father, until about 1706. His
will was dated January 17, 1738-9; in it he
mentions the following children: 1, Anthony,
Jr. 2. Margery; married November 5, 1719.
3. Thomas. 4. Caleb, born July, 1702. 5.
Joshua, born November, 1704. 6. EHzabeth,
born November, 1704. 7. Elizabeth, born
July, 1706; married Samuel Williamson. 8.
Benjamin, born September, 1709. 9. Eben
ezer, born December 20, 171 1; mentioned be
low. (IV) Ebenezer Ames, son of Anthony
Ames (3), was born at Marshfield, Decem
ber 20, 171 1 ; died at North Haven, Maine.
He removed from Marshfield, with various
other citizens of that town and vicinity, after
the French and Indian wars, and settled first
at Fox Island, in 1765. He was a farmer.
He married, August 27, 1740-1, Margaret
Barstow, who was baptized June 27, 1725,
daughter of Benjamin and Mercy (Randall)
Barstow. Mercy was daughter of Joseph
and Hannah (Macomber) Randall and grand
daughter of the pioneer, William Randall.
Benjamin Barstow, born July 22, 1690, was
the son of William and Sarah Barstow, and
grandson of the first settlers, William and
Anne (Hubbard) Barstow, of Scituate,
Massachusetts. Children: 1. Mark, born
1742; mentioned below. 2. Justus, born

1744; also removed to Maine. 3. Margaret
(or Peggy), married William Dyer. 4. Ruth,
married Benjamin Dyer.
(V) Mark Ames, son of Ebenezer Ames
(4), was born in 1742; died at North Haven,
Maine, March 29, 1823. He removed with
his father and brother Justus to the province
of Maine, about 1765, and took up a large
tract of land at North Haven. He was a
soldier in the Revolution, credited to Part-
ridgefield, Maine, in Captain Nathan Wilkin's
company of minute men who marched for
Boston, April, 1775, on the Lexington alarm.
He enlisted May 5, 1775, in Captain Nathan
Watkins's company, Colonel John Patter
son's regiment, and served until November
1775, or later. ("Massachusetts Soldiers and
Sailors of the Revolution"). He settled at
North Haven. He married, October 11,
1769. His two eldest children were baptized
at Marshfield, June 20, 1773. Possibly they
did not leave Marshfield until after that date,
though it is presumed that they returned on
a visit of some kind. His wife was born
August 27, 1746, and died at North Haven, May
7, 1796, daughter of Benjamin and Experience
(Egerton) Howland, of Halifax. Experience
was born October 11, 1725, and married Feb
ruary 10, 1743. Benjamin, born September
30, 1 72 1, was the son of Abraham Howland,
who was born in 1675; grandson of Samuel
and Mary Howland ; great-grandson of Henry
and Mary Howland, of Duxbury. Henry How
land was a pioneer at Duxbury, died June
16, 1674. Mark Ames married second, 1797,
Rebecca Crosbery. Children of Mark and
Priscilla Ames: I. Mark, baptized June 20,
1773; died February 28, 1831; married Mercy
Perry. 2. Experience, baptized June 20,
1773, at Marshfield; married Nathaniel Lind-
sey, and died January 7, 1842. 3. Rev. Ben
jamin, born May, 1774; married first, Mar
garet Dyer; second," Olive Waterman; he was
a student of theology in 1806 under Rev. Mr.
Merrill, and was ordained a Baptist minis
ter at North Haven in 1809; was minister
at St. George's from 181 1 until his death,
August 23, 1845. 4- Anna, born 1780; mar
ried William Dyer, of North Haven. 5. John,,
mentioned below. 6. Isaac, born 1785; mar
ried Abigail Clark; resided and died at Ma-
chias, Maine. 7. Abraham, born 1787; mar
ried  Clark; third, Olive Drinkwater;
resided at Machias. 8. Hezekiah, born Oc
tober, 1790; married Betsey Fowler; second,
Sally Scofield; resided at North Haven.
(VI) John Ames, son of Mark Ames (5),
was born November 8, 1782, at North Haven,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1283

and died there May 13, 1861. He was a
farmer. He married, in 1805, Hannah Perry,
who was born February 18, 1784, died October
11, 1867, the daughter of John and Lucy
(Wooster) Perry. Her father was born No
vember 10, 1750, and died January 14, 1833,
the son of Ephraim and Mary (Babcock)
Perry. Mary Babcock was the daughter of
Ebenezer and Abigail (Leland) Babcock;
granddaughter of Ebenezer and Hannah
(Barbour) Babcock. Ebenezer, Sr., was son
of the immigrants, Robert and Joanna Bab
cock; his wife was the daughter of George
Barbour, the pioneer. Abigail, wife of Eben
ezer Babcock, Jr., was daughter of Hope-
still and Mary (Bullard) Leland; granddaugh
ter of Hopestill and Elizabeth (Hill) Leland;
great-granddaughter of the immigrant, Henry
Leland. This family was one of the leading
and most prominent in Sherborn, Massachu
setts. Ephraim Perry, born November 14,
1715, was the son of Josiah and Bethia (Cut
ter) Perry. Bethia was the daughter of Cap
tain Ephraim and Bethia (Wood) Cutter;
granddaughter of Richard and Elizabeth
(Williams) Cutter, one, of the principal fami
lies of Arlington and Cambridge, Massachu
setts. (See sketch). Josiah Perry was the
son of John and Sarah (Clary) Perry, and
grandson of John and Joanna (Holland)
Perry of Watertown, Massachusetts. Chil
dren of John and Hannah Ames: 1. Dura,
born May 7, 1806; died December 2, 1825.
2. Captain Jesse, born February 4, 1808;
mentioned below. 3. Olive W., born Fetru-
ary 13, 1810; died 1847; married Samuel Ran
kin, of Rockland. 4. Charlotte S., torn Feb
ruary 14, 1812; died March 27, 1834; married
Hiram Brewster. l 5. Lucy P., born July 7,
1814; married Nathaniel Crockett, of Rock
land, Maine. 6. Captain Jackson, born De
cember 29, 1816; died November 22, 1855;
married Sally Thomas; resided at Rockland,
and died at Port au Prince, November 22,
1855. 7- David, born June 26, 1819; married
Sally Dyer; resided at North Haven. 8.
Hezekiah, married  Thomas, and re
sided at North Haven. 9. Otis, born Octo
ber 27, 1823; died June 16,' 1831. 10. Nancy
P., born July 30, 1826; married Captain Oli
ver J. Conant; resided at Rockland.
(VII) Captain Jesse Ames, son of John
Ames (6), was born at North Haven, Maine,
February 4, 1808; died there December 6,
1894. He was a farmer. He removed to
Minnesota from Rockland, Maine, in middle
life. He married, October 23, 1832, Martha
Bradbury Tolman, born May 8, 1813, daugh

ter of Thomas and Lydia (Ingraham) Tol
man. Lydia, born April 4, 1784, married De
cember 3, 1810, daughter of Joseph and Brad
bury (Keen) Ingraham. Joseph, born July 1,
1759, died October 23, 1848; married July 1,
1783; son of John Ingraham, Jr., born Janu
ary 25, 1727-8; married June 24, 1750, Mrs.
Mary Gladding. John Ingraham, Sr., his fa
ther, born December 8, 1701; married No
vember 27, 1723, Mary Fry; was the son of
Timothy Ingraham, who was born July 2,
1660; married Sarah Co well, who was born
April, 1660. Timothy, son of William In
graham, the immigrant, lived in Boston. Will
iam married Mary Barstow, daughter of
William Barstow, of Dedham.
Thomas Tolman, born February 8, 1753,
died November 25, 1827; married Martha
Calderwood, daughter of John and Elizabeth
(McCurdy), granddaughter of a Scotch-Irish
settler, James Calderwood, was the son of Isaiah
Tolman, born May 18, 1721 ; married September
12, 1745, Hannah Fuller, descendant of Thomas
Fisher, of Dedham, Massachusetts, through
his son Thomas Fisher, and grandson Jere
miah, her father. Isaiah was son of Thomas
and Mary (Hartwell) Tolman of Dorchester,
grandson of Thomas and Experience Tolman,
and grandson of Thomas and Elizabeth
(Johnson) Tolman. Hannah Fuller was the
daughter of Jeremiah Fuller and Hannah
(Newell) Fuller, of Roxbury. Jeremiah Ful
ler was born November 20, 1696; married
July 16, 1724, son of Jeremiah and Esther
(Fisher) Fuller. Jeremiah Fuller, born June
23, 1662, died April 23, 1733; married April
25, 1688, Esther Fisher, born August 5, 1667,
died April 3, 1747. Thomas Fuller, father of
Jeremiah Fuller, was born in England, died
September 28, 1690; married November 22,
1643, Hannah Flower, who was born in Eng
land, died between 1690 and 1703, in Massa
chusetts. Daniel Fisher, father of Esther
(Fisher) Fuller, was born in England, died in
Massachusetts, October 8, 1683; married
September 17, 1641, Abigail Marriott, who
was born in England, and died in this country
October 11, 1683.
Captain Ames was educated in the com
mon schools, and then went to sea, rising to
the command of a sailing vessel. When the
civil war broke out he removed to Minne
sota and established a flour business, in which
he prospered. He afterwards went to New
York state to live, and continued in the flour
business there until his death. Children of
Captain Jesse and Martha Ames: 1. John
Thomas, born at Rockland, February 15,

1284

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1834; proprietor of Clover Hill Farm, North-
field, Minnesota; married July 9, 1858, at
Boston, Ellen Maria Clough. Children: i.
Martha Ellen, born at St. Paul, May 18, 1859;
married Charles F. Nickels; had children:
Ellen Nickels, born February 16, 1880; Fran
ces Nickels, born February 18, 1882. ii.
Sarah Frances, born March 17, 1861, at St.
Paul; married Edward Loyhed; their chil
dren: John Henry Loyhed, born July 24,
1885, died August 23, 1887; Thomas Henry,
born March 30, 1887; Benjamin Loyhed,
born July 4, 1888; died June 28, 1889; Lois
Dorothy Loyhed, born November 3, 1889,
at Minneapolis ; Kathryn Loyhed, born March
31, 1892, at Seattle, iii. Alice Adelbert, born
December 12, 1863; married Alden S. Hall;
their children: Margaret Ames Hall, born
October 12, 1889, at St. Paul; Catherine
Ames Hall, born November 29, 1891. iv.
John Adelbert, born February 3, 1869, at
Northfield. 2. General Adelbert, born Octo
ber 31, 1835; mentioned below.
(VIII) Major General Adelbert Ames,
son of Captain Jesse Ames (7), was born at
Rockland, Maine, October 31, 1835. He was
educated in the public schools of his native
town, and at the United States Military Aca
demy at West Point, entering July 1, 1856,
and graduating May 6, 1861. On the day of
his graduation he was assigned to the Second
Artillery, with the rank of second lieutenant.
A week later, May 14, he received a commis
sion as first lieutenant of the Fifth Artillery,
and until July was engaged in drilling volun
teers at Washington. He took part in the
Manassas campaign, and was in the battle of
Bull Run, July 21, 1861. Early in the day he
was shot through the right thigh, and Cap
tain Griffin ordered him to the rear. This
order Lieutenant Ames declined to obey.
When the battery changed position, he was
at first able, with the assistance of his men,
to' mount and dismount his horse, but later
in the day, when the wounded limb had stif
fened so that he could not sit upon his horse,
he was placed on a caisson with a cannoneer
as a supporting pillow. Thus conditioned he
led the battery under the direction of Captain
Griffin over the rough and plowed ground to
its last position where men and guns
were finally lost. He was carried by
his men to the rear to find painful transporta
tion to the city of Washington. He received
a medal for his bravery, and was breveted
major July 21, 1861, for gallant and meri
torious services at the battle of Bull Run.
He was able to return to duty September 4,

1 86 1, in the defences of Washington. He was
assigned October 1, 1861, to the command
of Battery A, Fifth United States Artillery,
and until March, 1862, was in Virginia
in the Peninsular campaign, in the Army
of the Potomac from March to Sep
tember of that year. He took part in the
siege of Yorktown, April 5 to May 4, 1862, and
was in the battle of Gaines Mill, June 27,
1862, and the battle of Malvern Hill, July 1,
1862, being breveted lieutenant colonel for
gallant and meritorious services in the latter
battle, July 1, 1862. He was appointed col
onel of the Twentieth Maine Volunteer Regi
ment, Fifth Army Corps, Army of the Poto
mac, in Maryland, in the campaign from, Sep
tember to November, participating in the
battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862. He
marched to Falmouth, Virginia, in October
and November, 1862, in the Rappahannock
campaign, and participated in the battle of
Fredericksburg, December 13, 1863, and of
Chancellorsville, as aide-de-camp to Major
General Meade, May 2-4, 1863. In the spring
of 1863 his regiment was inoculated with small
pox, disabling them for duty for some time, and
he served through the Chancellorsville cam
paign on the staff of General Meade, com
manding the Fifth Corps, and General Joseph
Hooker, commanding the Army of the Poto
mac. He took part in the combat at Beverly
Ford, and in the movement against Culpep-
er Court House in command of a brigade,
having been commissioned brigadier general
of United States Volunteers, May 20, 1863,
and assigned June 9, 1863, to the command
of the Second Brigade, First Division, Elev
enth Corps, on the march north from the
Rappahannock river, and led in the first day's
fight at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. The divi
sion commander being wounded and disabled,
the command devolved upon General Ames
during the rest of the first day and the two
subsequent days of the battle. He was brev
eted colonel in the regular army for gallant'
and meritorious service on that occasion.
In August following he was sent with his
command to join the forces besieging
Charleston, South Carolina, and in Florida,
until 1864, when with the troops of
that department he proceeded to Fortress
Monroe, Virginia. In the Army of the James
he took part in the operations before Peters
burg and Richmond, being engaged in the
action at Port Walthall Junction, in May; the
battle of Cold Harbor, in June ; of Derbytown
Road, in October; and was selected in De
cember, 1864, to command a division of three

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1285

-brigades in an expedition against Fort Fisher,
jijorth Carolina. In January he led his com
mand against that fort. The only order re
ceived from the commanding general affect
ing his movement was: "The time has come
to make the assault." General Terry, com
manding the expedition, reported as follows:
"Of General Ames I have already spoken in
a letter recommending his promotion. He
commanded all the troops engaged, and was
constantly under fire. His great coolness,
good judgment and skill were never more
conspicuous than in this assault." In the
Maine Bugle, in April, 1897, General J. P. Cil
ley wrote in comment on a paper written
by General Ames describing this attack:
"The paper on Fort Fisher, read by General
Ames, is almost entirely one of authorities,
each statement being drawn from offi
cial reports and recognized history, but
between its lines, to a soldier's eye, a bril
liant attack, unequaled in modern wars, is de
picted. The three brigades of the division de
livered their timely blows with the cadence and
force of a triphammer. Under the heroic lead
ership of Ames's staff officer, Captain Law
rence, the First Brigade made a lodgment in
the first traverse, and then the Second Brigade,
accompanied by Ames, was launched, followed
by the Third, capturing the second and third
traverses, and the division obtained a grip on
the stronger than Malakoff tower." Captain
Breese, of the navy, sets forth his admiration :
"Being a witness to the assault of the army
after our repulse, I cannot but express my ad
miration of the extreme gallantry of its at
tack. It was the most inspiring sight to see
how splendidly our brave soldiers did their
work. The determined work of the division
from the closing hours of the short winter day
till ten o'clock, as it assaulted one traverse
after another, or the gallant work of Abbott's
Brigade, as at nine o'clock at night it moved
by the flank between the palisades and the
foot of the fort and climbed up the slope en
veloping the sea end of the fort, can never be
adequately described. This crowning work
of General Ames's military career renders a
notice of his previous army service appr^
ate. I remember with most pleasing accuracy
my "first meeting with General Davis Tillson.
The Fourth M&ine Infantry was being organ
ized at the time. In referring to this regiment,
General Tillson spoke of a young cadet about
to graduate from West Point, whom he
thought would make an admirable lieutenant-
colonel and a fitting support to Colonel Berry.
The name of the cadet was Adelbert Ames.

He was tendered the appointment, but the mil
itary authorities at Washington decided that
his services were needed with the battery of
light artillery to which he would be assigned.
This battery, at the first battle of Bull Run,
was stationed to the right of the celebrated
Henry House, and was exposed to disastrous
infantry fire. Ames was severely wounded,
but in his disabled condition stuck to his guns,
and kept them at work on the enemy till or
dered to retire from the field. For this gal
lantry a medal of honor was bestowed on him,
and Maine first knew his heroic qualities.
When the Twentieth Maine was raised, Ames
was made its colonel. He took hold of this
regiment as a baker is supposed to take hold
of dough, and drilled it with such persistent
and continual effort that officers and men were
tempted to declare that they hated the man,
but as this regirnent was advanced from shel
ter of the houses of Fredericksburg, over the
open fields which stretched on and up to the
stone walls on Marye's Heights, Ames went
to the forefront, and the men heard the voice
of command they had learned to' obey. They
felt the value of the man and the quality of the
work he had wrought in the ranks of the regi
ment, and from that moment forward they
took pride in their commander and gave him
unqualified homage. During its entire service,
the value of Ames's military labors was ap
parent in the conduct and history of this regi
ment. Ames soon advanced to the command
of a brigade. * His whole career was marked
by a faithful and complete performance of an
military duties assigned him, with a gallantry
and personal bravery seldom equaled, until the
darkness of that winter night of January 15,
1865, was made luminous with the capture of
the Fortress by the Sea."
General Ames was promoted after the tak
ing of Fort Fisher to the rank of major-genr-
eral of United States Volunteers by brevet. At
the close of the war he was assigned to the
command of the territorial districts in North
and South Carolina until April 30, 1866. He
was breveted brigadier-general in the regular
army for his gallantry at Fort Fisher, and bre
veted major-general March 13, 1865, for his
gallant record throughout the rebellion. He
was given the command of the Fifth United
States Artillery, February 22, 1865, and be
came lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty-fourth
United States Infantry, July 28, 1866. A
board of general officers consisting of Major
Generals W. T. Sherman, George G. Meade
and George H. Thomas, assembled at St.
Louis, Missouri, March 14, 1866, recommend-

1286

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ed certain officers of the regular army for pro
motion to the rank of brigadier-general by
brevet, and among them was General Ames,
for the capture of Fort Fisher. Subsequent
to his election as president, General Grant said,
referring to General Benjamin F. Butler: "If
I had given him two corps commanders like
Adelbert Ames, he would have made a fine
campaign, and helped materially in my plans.
I have always been sorry that I did not do so."
General Ames was placed in command of
the Military District of Mississippi ty General
Grant in 1869. He resigned from the army to
accept the office of United States senator,
March 4, 1869. He resigned his seat in the
senate on being elected governor of Missis
sippi, in 1873, by a majority of about forty
thousand. His administration during the very
difficult and trying times of reconstruction was
marked by an earnest and successful effort to
improve the material condition of the state,
and by the economical and judicious use of the
public revenue which left the financial con
dition above criticism. But owing to the race
prejudice and bitterness following the defeats
and disasters of the civil war, any government
by a northern man would have proved obnox
ious to the white people of that state, the for
mer slave owners and secessionists, the men
ruined in health and finances by the war. A
northern general elected by the votes of ignor
ant black voters recently emancipated from
slavery could hardly accept a more dangerous
or trying task than the government of an old
slave state. A riot at Vicksburg, December
7, 1873, between the political parties, resulted
in the disorganization of the civil government
and in an era of crime and murder throughout
the state. Governor Ames appealed to the
federal government for aid in enforcing the
law and establishing order, but he was in
structed to "take all lawful means to preserve
the peace by the forces in his own state." The
November elections, in which every method
of fraud, intimidation and even murder were
resorted to by the secession element to gain
control of the government again, resulted in
the overthrow of the Republican party and
made the legislature Democratic. Following
up the game, the Democratic legislature de
termined to remove the governor and gain
complete control. Charges were trumped up
in order to impeach Governor Ames, and real
izing the hopelessness of accomplishing any
further good for the state, and the certainty
of the success of the scheme to oust him from
office by vote of the Democratic legislature, he
offered to resign on condition that all charges

were withdrawn against him, rather than be
tried by a jury whose verdict was determined
in advance. After resigning he left the state
and went into business in New York city,
where he resided until 1893, when he made
his home in Lowell, Massachusetts, and now
resides there in the mansion of his late father-
in-law, General Benjamin F. Butler. He is
president of the Lowell Woolen Company; the
Wamesit Power Company, and director of
various other Lowell corporations. He is a
member of the New York Commandery, Loyal
Legion. In the Spanish war of 1898 General
Ames commanded a trigade, and participated
in the surrender of Santiago, Cuba. He has
taken a leading position in the social and
business life of the city, and no man is more
generally liked and honored than he.
He married, in 187 1, Blanche Butler, daugh
ter of General Benjamin F. Butler. (See
sketch) . Mrs. Ames is a member of the May
flower Society, being eighth in descent from
John Howland. She was for some years his
torian of the. Colonial Dames of New Hamp
shire. She is the author and compiler of a
genealogy of the Butler family, and has de
voted much time to historical and genealogical
research. Children: 1. Hon. Butler, born
August 22, 1871 ; mentioned below. 2. Edith,
born March 4, 1873, at Washington, D. C. ;
educated at Bryn Mawr College ; married June
19, 1896, E. Brooks Stevens, nephew of Moses
Stevens of Lowell ; he is a manufacturer ; chil
dren: Ames Stevens, Edith Stevens, Harriet
Stevens, Brooks Stevens. 3. Sarah, born Oc
tober 1, 1874; educated at Bryn Mawr Col
lege; married Spencer Borden, Jr., of Fall
River, a manufacturer ; children : Blanche Bor
den, Spencer Borden, Joan Borden. They re
side in Fall River. 4. Blanche, born Fetru-
ary 18, 1878 ; graduate of Smith College, class
of 1899, was captain of the basket ball team,,
and senior captain of her class ; married Oakes
Ames, son of Governor Oliver Ames, of North
Easton, Massachusetts, a descendant of Wil
liam Ames, a settler in Braintree in 1641, grad
uate of Harvard College in 1898; A.M. 1899;
now instructor in the Arnold Arboretum, and
an authority on the subject of orchids, author
of "Studies in the Family Orchidaceae," which
is beautifully illustrated by plates from the
drawings of Mrs. Ames; children: Pauline
Ames ; Oliver Ames ; a son. 5. Adelbert, born
August 19, 1880 ; fitted for college at Phillips
Academy, Andover, Massachusetts ; graduated
from Harvard University in 1903, and from
the Harvard Law School in 1906; was admit
ted to the bar in January, 1906, and is now

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1287

with the law firm of Long & Heminway, Bos
ton; was manager of the Harvard foot ball
team in his senior year ; an expert at polo, se
lected as one of the four best players at My
opia. 6. Jessie, born in New York city, No
vember 2, 1882 ; graduate of Smith College in
1903 ; was captain of the basket ball team, and
senior captain of her class ; is now living at
home. (IX) Hon. Butler Ames, son of General
Adelbert Ames (8), was born in Lowell, Au
gust 22, 1871. He attended the public and
high schools of his native town, completing his
preparation for college at Phillips Academy,
Exeter, New Hampshire. He entered the
United States Military Academy at West
Point, from which he was graduated in 1894.
He resigned soon afterward, and studied at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
where he was graduated in 1896. He began
his business career immediately as superin
tendent of the Wamesit Power Company, of
which his father is president. He has been
interested in various manufacturing concerns
in Lowell, chiefly the Wamesit Power Com
pany. He volunteered his services when the
Spanish war broke out, and was appointed
adjutant of the' Sixth Massachusetts Regi
ment and promoted to the rank of lieutenant-
colonel after the skirmish at Guanica a Yauca
road, Porto Rico, during the operations on that
island. He began his political career directly
after graduating from college. He is a Re
publican. He served two years in the common
council of Lowell, and two years as represen
tative to the general court of Massachusetts.
In 1902 he was elected to congress from his
district, and re-elected in 1904 and 1906. He
has shown a special fitness for legislative du
ties, and grown constantly stronger in the con
fidence and esteem of his constituents. He is
an able stump speaker and during the political
campaign of recent years he has been called
upon constantly. He is a memter of the Union
and University Clubs of Boston. He is un
married.

The immigrant ancestor of Ed-
BROOKS ward Brooks, of Medford, was
Thomas Brooks, who is said to
have come from Suffolk, England. He was
one of the earliest settlers in Watertown, Mas
sachusetts, where he had a lot assigned him on
the main road in 1631. He was admitted a
freeman, December 7, 1636, but removed to
Concord, Massachusetts, two years later. He
was elected constable of Concord by the gen

eral court, December 4, 1638. He was a depu
ty to the general court seven years, represent
ing the town of Concord ; was captain of the
Concord military company; was an assessor
or appraiser of horses, cattle, etc., for the pur
pose of taxing; was appointed a special officer
to prevent drunkenness among the Indians. He
purchased of the general court the right to
carry on the fur trade at Concord for the sum
of five pounds. He was a leading citizen of
the town both in civil and military affairs. He
was a large owner of real estate in Concord,
but sold his farm there October 22, 1664. In
1660, he, with his son-in-law, Timothy Wheel
er, bought four hundred acres of land in Med
ford for £404 of Edward Collins, it having
been part of the Governor Craddock estate.
He died in Concord, Miay 21, 1667. His wife
Grace died May 12, 1664. Children: 1. Mary,
married Captain Timothy Wheeler; she died
October 4, 1693; he died July 10, 1687. 2.
Hannah, married, December 13, 1647, Thomas
Fox. 3. Joshua, born 1630; freeman 1652;
married Hannah Mason, daughter of Captain
Hugh Mason, October 17, 1653. He remained
in Concord. 4. Caleb, born 1632, in Water-
town, married Susanna Atkinson. 5. Gershom,
married, March 12, 1666-7, Hannah Eckles,
daughter of Richard and Mary Eckles, of
Cambridge. (II) Caleb Brooks, born in Watertown, in
1632, removed from Concord to Medford, in
1679. He married (first) Susanna Atkinson,
daughter of Thomas Atkinson, April 10, 1660 ;
after her death he married (second) her sis
ter Hannah. He inherited that part of his
father's estate lying east from the Weir bridge.
His house was situated about midway between
the bridge and the Lowell railroad. It was
torn down in 1779 by his grandson Samuel.
He died July 29, 1696, aged sixty-four years.
His second wife Hannah died March 10, 1702,
aged about seventy years. His first five chil
dren were by his first wife. Children of Caleb
and Susannah Atkinson Brooks were: 1. Sus
annah, born December 27, 1661, died unmar
ried, December 23, 1686. 2. Mary, born No
vember 18, 1663, died young. 3. Mary, mar
ried Nathaniel Ball. 4. Rebecca, died unmar
ried. 5. Sarah, married Philemon Russell,
October 18, 1705. By his wife Hannah: 6.
Ebenezer, born February 24, 1670, married
Abigail Boylston, daughter of Dr. Thomas
Boylston, of Brookline. 7. Samuel, born Sep
tember 1, 1672.
(Ill) Samuel Brooks, born in Concord, Sep
tember 1, 1672, moved to Medford in 1679.
He lived nearly opposite the site of the house

1288

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

since built by his descendant, Peter C. Brooks
Sr. He was a farmer, and was interested in
town affairs, serving as town treasurer in 1729.
He was called captain in the town record, and
probably commanded ,the military company of
the town. He was interested in church mat
ters, but declined to be deacon when elected
February 11, 1713. He was a contributor and
aided in supplementing the money voted by the
town to build the first meeting house. His
father, Caleb Brooks, was one of a committee
to carry out the vote of the town in 1693. Cap
tain Samuel Brooks was one of a committee to
determine the size and shape and build the
second meeting house as voted by the town in
1726, the first not being sufficient to accom
modate the people. He was given the fourth
place in choice of seats in the new meeting
house when it was completed. He died
July 3, 1733. His wife died October 16,
I736, aged fifty-six years. She was Sarah
Boylston, sister of his brother Ebenezer's wife,
and daughter of Dr. Thomas Boylston, of
Brookline. Their brother Peter Boylston's
daughter Susannah married Deacon John Ad
ams, of Braintree, in 1734, and was the mother
of President John Adams and grandmother of
President John Quincy Adams. Children of
Captain Samuel and Sarah (Boylston) Brooks
were born in Medford, and were : 1. Samuel,
born September 3, 1700, married Mary Bout
well, of Reading. 2. Sarah, born April 17,
1702, married Rev. Shear jashub Bowen, of
Scituate, February 12, 1736.
(IV) Samuel Brooks was born in Medford,
September 3, 1700. He lived in Medford on
the ancestral estate. His house, built in 1727,
which stood about thirty rods north of his
father's, was taken down in i860. The brick
wall built by his son Thomas about 1765 from
bricks of his own make, was put up by Pomp,
his negro slave. It has been repaired many
times, but is still standing. It was the custom
in the town of Medford to have the captain or
lieutenants of the military company of the town
elected by the citizens in a town meeting in
stead of being appointed by the legislature or
elected by the members of the company. March
3, 1740, the town of Medford voted that Cap
tain Samuel Brooks shall have the keeping of
the town's stock of ammunition. In 1753
Captain Samuel Brooks was chairman of a
committee of Medford men, requesting Gov
ernor Shirley to allow the part of Charlestown
adjoining Medford to be annexed to the town.
In 1748 he was one of the selectmen. His
will proves him to have been one of the few
slaveholders in Medford. He died July 15,

1768. His wife died May 25, 1772, aged sev
enty-four years. She was Mary Boutwell, of
Reading, who was the owner of quite a large
property in that town. Children: 1. Mary,
baptized January 1, 1728, married William
Whitmore. 2. Samuel, born August 24, 1729,
died March, 1807; graduated at Harvard Col
lege in 1749; lived and died in Exeter; was
twice married and had four sons and two
daughters. 3. Thomas, born January 6, 1732.
4. Edward, born November 4, 1733, married
Abigail Brown. 5. Jonathan, horn August 17,
1735, died in college in 1750.
(V) Rev. Edward Brooks was born No
vember 4, 1733. He graduated at Harvard
College in 1757. He was ordained minister of
the First Church in North Yarmouth, Maine,
July 4, 1764. He seems to have been a man
of excellent ability, and was received with
great favor by the people, but was too liberal
in his views to suit the majority of the parish.
A large minority were very enthusiastic in his
support, but it seemed best for him to give up
his pastorate, and he left in 1768 and returned
to Medford, and was not again settled as a
minister, but preached occasionally for the
Rev. Mir. Turell, who was settled over the
Medford church. He hastened as a volunteer
to the Concord fight in 1775. His son, Peter
Chardon Brooks, wrote that his father "went
over to Lexington on the 19th of April, 1775,
on horseback, with his gun on his shoulder,
and in his full-bottomed wig. I remember it
well." He seems to have taken an active part
in the business of that day, and preserved the
life of Lieutenant Gould of the Eleventh Regi
ment. In 1777 he was chaplain of the frigate
"Hancock," and was captured and carried to
Halifax. While confined there on parole he
took the small pox. His health became much
broken, and he died May 6, 1781. His wife
died November 29, 1800. He married, Sep
tember 23, 1764, Abigail, daughter of Rev.
John and Johanna (Cotton) Brown, of Haver
hill, Massachusetts. Through her mother she
was a lineal descendant of the famous Puritan
divine, the Rev. John Cotton, of the First
Church of Boston. Children: 1. Cotton
Brown, born North Yarmouth, July 20, 1765,
died May 12, 1834. He had eight children,
among whom was William Gray Brooks, born
in 1805, who was the father of Bishop PhilHps
Brooks, of Massachusetts. 2. Peter Chardon,
born North Yarmouth, January 6, 1767, mar
ried Ann Gorham. 3. Mary, born January 27,
1769, married Samuel Gray, of Salem. 4. Jo
anna Cotton, born May 18, 1772, married Na
thaniel Hall, November 26, 1793.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1289

(VI) Peter Chardon Brooks was torn Jan
uary 6, 1767, and died in "Boston, January 1,
1849. He was trought up on the farm at Med
ford. When of age he went to Boston, and
soon established himself in the insurance busi
ness on State street, at the corner of Kilby
street. This was before the incorporation of
public insurance offices, and all underwriting
was done by individuals at private offices, of
which there were but three at that time in the
town. He continued in business about fifteen
years, until 1804, when he retired, having
amassed a fortune. He afterwards passed his
summers at Medford in agricultural pursuits,
of which he was very fond. The house he first
occupied in Boston was on the corner of Con
gress and Water streets. Mr. Brooks was
often called to the discharge of important pub
lic and private trusts. For a period of about
ten years he was in the house of representa
tives, senate and council chamber. He was a
member of the constitutional convention of
1820, and a member of the first city council,
1822, at the organization of the first city gov
ernment of Boston. In 1792 he married Ann
Gorham, daughter of Hon. Nathaniel Gorham,
of Charlestown. According to Hunnewell's
"History of Charlestown," "Nathaniel Gorham
reached the highest official position attained
by any of its natives." According to Wyman,
"he was one of the most eminent men ever
resident in town. He was a successful merch
ant, representative to the general court, speaker
of the house, delegate to the provincial con
gress, 1774-5, member of board of war, 1778-
1781 ; delegate to the state constitutional con
vention in 1779, state senator, member of gov
ernor's council ; judge of the court of common
pleas ; delegate to the continental congress two
terms, and its president in 1786. In 1787 he
was a delegate to the convention which framed
the constitution of the United States, where
he took high rank and sometimes presided in
the absence of Washington." Children of
Peter Chardon and Ann (Gorham) Brooks:
1. Edward, born December 22, 1793, married
Elizabeth Boott. 2. Gorham, born February
10, 1795, married Ellen Shepherd, died Sep
tember 10, 1855. 3. Peter Chardon, born
July 4, 1796, died young. 4. Ann Gorham,
bom July 19, 1797, married Rev. Nathaniel L.
Frothingham, an eminent Unitarian clergy
man, whose descendants have distinguished
themselves. 5. Peter Chardon, born August
26, 1798, married Susan Oliver, died June 3,
1880. 6. Sidney, born October 7, 1799, mar
ried Frances Dehon, died March, 1878. 7.
Charlotte Gray, born November 4, 1800, mar

ried Hon. Edward Everett, the eminent scholar
and statesman. He was professor and after
wards president of Harvard College, governor
of the state of Massachusetts, member of con
gress', United States senator, secretary of state
of United States, and United States minister
to Great Britain. 8. Ward Chipman, born
April 21, 1804, died March 19, 1828, unmar
ried. 9. Abigail Brown, born January 22,
1806, died young. . 10. Henry, born February
2, 1807,- died September 2, 1833, unmarried.
11. Abigail Brown, born April 25, 1808, mar
ried Hon. Charles Francis Adams, of Quincy,
the scholar and diplomatist. He was member
of congress, United States minister to Great
Britain at the time of the civil war, and United
States commissioner at the Geneva Arbitra
tion. 12. Horatio, born September 20, 1809,
died May 24, 1843, unmarried. 13. Octavius,
born October 27, 1813, died young.
(VII) Edward Brooks was born in Boston,
December 22, 1793, died April 11, 1878. He
graduated at Harvard College in the class of
1812, and studied law in the office of the Hon.
Benjamin Gorham, his uncle. He was one of
the representatives of Boston in the legislature
of Massachusetts for the years 1834-36-37 and
1842. He was very active in the temperance
movement, and was one of the first to interest
himself in the Blind Asylum, in connection
with Dr. Howe. He was the first president of
the General Theological Library, and continued
in that position for nine years. He was a fre
quent contributor to the North American Re
view. On account of the ill health of his wife
he spent many years in foreign lands. The last
years of his life he passed in West Medford,
at the old homestead, and was much interested
in matters relating to church and town. He
was the first president of the Medford Savings
Bank. He married, May 3, 1821, Elizabeth
Boott. She was born July 20, 1799, and died
June 21, 1865. They resided in Boston and
Medford. Children of Edward and Elizabeth
(Boott) Brooks: 1. Edward, born February
14, 1822, graduated at Harvard Medical
School, 1843, died in 1851. 2. Francis Boott,
born November 21, 1824; name changed to
Francis, omitting Boott, in 1854. 3. Anne
Gorham, born January 22, 1830, died October
27, 1848.
(VIII) Francis Brooks was born November
21, 1824; graduated at the Harvard Law
School in 1846. Resided at the ancient man
sion at Grove street, West Medford. He
spent many years abroad, and with Mr. Ed
mund Dwight was sent by the city of Boston
to distribute the Boston relief fund among

iv— 2

I2y0

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

the peasantry in the neighborhood of Paris,
after the Franco-Prussian war of 1871. He
represented the town of Medford in the gen
eral court of Massachusetts in 1862. He was
much interested in the management of the
Blind Asylum of Boston, as his father was.
He held no other public office, but was loyal
to the best interests of the town. He mar
ried (first) Mary Jones Chadwick, May 6,
1850, who died March 14, 185 1 ; he married
second, Louise Winsor, November 29, 1854.
She was a daughter of Henry and Mary Ann
(Davis) Winsor, and was born February 8,
1835. Henry Winsor was a great-grandson of
Samuel Winsor, who was born May 14, 1725,
and settled on Clark's Island, in Duxbury Bay.
He built several small vessels, and several of
his children were born there. Later he re
moved and built a house on the southern slope
of Captain's Hill, Duxbury. His son Joshua,
the second of ten children, was born May 1,
1749. He married (first) Olive Thomas, who
was born December 28, 1752; second, Ruth
Thomas, born June 14, 1755 ; third, Deborah
Fish, born December 11, 1756, and died May
6, 1843. He died in 1827. He lived in Dux
bury. His son Thomas was the third of ten
children, and was born July 22, 1780; married
Wealthea Sprague, daughter of Seth and De
borah (Sampson) Sprague. They settled in
Boston. Henry Winsor, the eldest of their ten
children, was born December 31, 1803. He re
sided in Boston, and was a merchant. He mar
ried, May 29, 1832, Mary Ann Davis. Louise,
their second child, married Francis Brooks, of
Medford. The children of Francis and Louisa
(Winsor) Brooks were: 1. Fannie, born in
Paris, France, August 22, 1855. 2. Edward,
born in Paris, France, October 19, 1856. 3.
Henry, born in Medford, October 16, 1857.
He was educated abroad. He married Flor
ence Howard, daughter of Charles Howard;
lives in Concord, Massachusetts. 4. Frederic,
born in Medford, November 20, 1858. He
was educated abroad; married Grace Oakes,
daughter of Thomas Oakes. 5. Elizabeth
Boott, born in Medford, June 29, i860, mar
ried Edmund M. Wheelright, architect, of Bos
ton. 6. Louise Winsor, born in Jefferson,
New Hampshire, September 9, 1874.
(IX) Edward, born October 19, 1856; pre
pared for college at Phillips Academy, Exeter,
and was in the class of 1880 at Harvard Col
lege. He is engaged in Business, being secre
tary and treasurer of the Wellman Sole Cut
ting Machine Company, with factory and of
fices at Medford. He belongs to the Harvard
Club of New York, the Somerset Club Athletic

Association, New England Kennel Club of
Boston, and the Historical Society of Med
ford. He resides in Boston ; married Mary C.
Hammond, daughter of Gardiner Greene and
Elizabeth Crowninshield (Mifflin) Hammond,
October 21, 1885. Children of Edward and
Mary (Hammond) Brooks : 1. Edward, born
West Medford, May 19, 1887. 2. Elizabeth
Hammond, born New London, Connecticut,
October, 1889.
Edward Brooks (9) is descended through
his mother's paternal line from Captain
Miles Standish and John Alden. Alexan
der Standish, of Duxbury, son of Captain
Miles Standish, married Sarah Alden, daugh
ter of John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden.
Their daughter, Sarah Standish, married Abra
ham Sampson, of Duxbury. Their son, Nath
aniel Sampson (born in 1683), married Ke-
turah Chandler in 1703. Their youngest son,
Abner Sampson, of Duxbury (born in 1726),
married Deborah Bisbie, in 1756. Their daugh
ter, Deborah Sampson (born in 1761), married
Hon. Seth Sprague, of Duxbury, in 1779. He
served in the Revolutionary war. Their daugh
ter, Wealthea Sprague (born in 1784), mar
ried Thomas Winsor, of Duxbury and Boston.
Their son, Henry Winsor, of Boston (born in
1803), married Mary Ann Davis in 1832. Their
daughter, Louise Winsor (born in 1835), mar
ried Francis Brooks, of Medford, in 1854.
They were the parents of Edward Brooks.
Among the eminent descendants of Captain
Thomas Brooks may be named.
(V) General John Brooks, who distin
guished himself in the Revolutionary war, and
was governor of Massachusetts from 1816 to
1823. (VII) Rev. Charles Brooks, preacher, edu
cator, historian, and originator and promoter
of normal schools in the United States.
(VIII) Rev. Octavius B. Frothingham, a
distinguished preacher, writer and Radical.
(VIII) Phillips Brooks, eloquent preacher,
beloved bishop of the Protestant Episcopal
Church of Massachusetts.
(VIII) Charles Francis Adams, president
of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and
historian. (VIII) Dr. William Everett, scholar, teach
er, poet, writer, lecturer, and former member
of congress from Massachusetts.
(IX) Rev. Paul Revere Frothingham, pop
ular preacher.
It is an interesting fact that of the four
hundred acres of land in Medford bought of
Thomas Brooks and his son-in-law, Timothy
Wheeler, in 1670, nearly three hundred acres

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 291

have been held and occupied continuously by
the family for two hundred and thirty-eight
years, and are now owned by the eighth gen
eration of his descendant. The paternal im
migrant ancestor of Mrs. Mary Crowinshield
(Hammond) Brooks, wife of Edward Brooks,
was ( 1 ). Thomas Hammond, of Melford, Eng
land. He was baptized with his twin brother
John, September 2, 1603. He was son of
William and Mary Hammond, of Melford,
Suffolk county, England, and grandson of
John and Agnes Hammond, of Lavenham,
England. He was first cousin of William
Hammond, who settled in Watertown, Mas
sachusetts, in 1636. He married, in Laven
ham, November 12, 1623, Elizabeth Cason,
born in Great Whelrietham, and a daughter of
Robert and Prudence (Hammond) Cason.
Thomas Hammond was one of the first set
tlers in Hingham, Massachusetts. Land was
granted him there in 1636. He was made a
freeman March 9, 1636-7. He served on the
grand jury in 1637. About 1650 he removed
to Cambridge village (now Newton), but
held lands in Hingham for several years. His
homestead in Newton was near the Brookline
boundary, and near a beautiful sheet of water
which has since borne this name, "Hammond
Pond." The homestead remained in the family
for several generations. He was one of the
wealthiest men in Newton in his day. He died
September 30, 1675. The inventory of his
estate amounted to £1139 16s 2d. Children
of Thomas and Elizabeth (Cason) Hammond :
1. Thomas, born about 1630, in England. 2.
Elizabeth, born about 1633-4, married, in Eng
land, George Woodward. 3. Sarah, haptized
September 13, 1640, in Hingham, married
Nathaniel Stedman, of Brookline. 4. Na
thaniel, baptized March 12, 1643, in Hingham,
married Mary Griffin.
(II) Thomas Hammond, born in England,
about 1630, died at Newton, Massachusetts,
October 20, 1678, of small pox. He was a
farmer on the estate left him by his father.
The inventory of his estate amounted to £468
8s. He married, December 17, 1662, Elizateth
Stedman. Children, torn in Newton: 1. Eliza
beth, bom November 3, 1664, married Thomas
Chamberlain. 2. Thomas, born Decemter 16,
1666, married Mehitatle Vevy, June 15, 1693.
3-4- Isaac and Sarah (twins) , torn December
20, 1668; Isaac married Ann Kenrick, De
cember 7, 1692. 5. Nathaniel, born February
3> 1671, died young. 6. John, born April 30,
l674- 7- Eleazer, torn Novemter 13, 1677,
married Hannah Harrington, April 29, 1703.
(Ill) Thomas Hammond, born December

16, 1666, died at Newton, 1720. He was a
farmer and quite an extensive landowner. At
one time was selectman of the town. He mar
ried, June 15, 1693, Mehitable Vevy. After
her death he married, August 8, 1705, Mary
Bacon, of Roxbury. The first four children
were by his first wife, the last two by his sec
ond. Children: 1. Mehitable, born January
29, 1695, married James Petty. 2. John, born
May 16, 1696. 3. Thomas, born July 10,
1698, married Jane  . 4. Caleb, born
July 4, 1700, married Mary Brewster, descend
ant of Elder William Brewster, of the "May
flower," November 21, 1723. 5. Mary, born,
May 13, 1707, married Samuel Benjamin, No
vember 28, 1723. 6. Samuel, born July 9,
1709, married Eunice Bacon, December 31,
1730. _ (IV) John Hammond, born May 16, 1696,
died at Newton, June 27, 1763. He was a
farmer in Newton. He was quite an extensive
owner of land, and at his death it was valued
at £667 is 8d. He also had considerable per
sonal property. December 11, 1718, he mar
ried Margaret Wilson, daughter of Samuel and
Experience (Trowbridge) Wilson, of Newton.
Children of John and Margaret (Wilson)
Hammond : 1. John, born July 25, 1719, mar
ried, 1745, Lydia Hammond, his cousin. 2.
Joshua, born March 10, 1721, married Eliza
beth Prentice, May 15, 1739, daughter of Cap
tain Thomas and Elizabeth (Jackson) Pren
tice Newton. He was one of the wealthiest and
most prominent men of the town, taking a
leading part in all town affairs. He served in
the French and Indian war, and later in the
Revolution. 3. Thomas, born April 23, 1723,
died February 15, 1738. 4 and 5. Mary and
Margaret (twins), born October 7, 1725 ; Mary
died young; Margaret married Thomas
Marean in 1751. 6. Daniel, born October 18,
1727; married, April 17, 1751,. Lucy Jones,
daughter of Captain Nathaniel and Mary
Jones, of Worcester. He served in the expedi
tion against Louisburg. 7. Samuel, born June
14, 1730. 8. Abijah, born November 5, 1732,
married June 3, 1755, Mary Saltmarsh, daugh
ter of Captain Thomas and Mary (Hazen)
Saltmarsh, of Watertown. He served in the
French and Indian war, and was an officer in
the Continental army during almost the_ entire
Revolution, rising to the. rank of captain. 9.
Enoch, bom October 29, 1734; married, May
10, 1764, Lucy Fiske, daughter of Deacon
Samuel and Anna (Bemis) Fiske, of Wal
tham. He belonged to the Newton militia
which marched at the Lexington alarm April
19, 1775. 10. Anna, born Septemter 23, 1736;

1292

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

married, in 1758, Gulliver Winchester, of New
ton. 11. Martha, born April 10, 1738, died
October 12, 1757. 12. Abigail, born 1741 ;
married, February 1, 1764, Lieutenant John
Marean, of Newton.
(V) Samuel Hammond, born in Newton,
June 14, 1730, died in Newton, January 28,
1770; married, March 13, 1754, Mary Fiske,
daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Green)
Fiske, of Newton. His widow married (sec
ond), in 1777, Lieutenant Isaac Jackson, of
Newton, a soldier in the French and Indian
War. Children of Samuel and Mary (Fiske)
Hammond: 1. Mary, born May 5, 1755; mar
ried, March 3, 1777, Ebenezer Fairbanks, of
Dedham. He was a Revolutionary soldier on
the Lexington alarm list. 2. Rebecca, born
January 17, 1757; married, March 18, 1779,
Ephraim Traine, of Weston; they removed to
Hillsboro, New Hampshire. 3. Samuel, born
September 30, 1758, died young. 4. Jonathan,
born November 21, 1761, in Watertown; mar
ried, March 18, 1790, Beulah Hyde, of Brook
line, daughter of Elisha and Mary (Knapp)
Hyde ; he served as a soldier in the Revolution
ary war. 5. Margaret, born April 1, 1764, in
Watertown; married, April 30, 1794, Captain
John Pritchard. 6. Samuel (name changed
from Asa), born July 12, 1766.
(VI) Samuel Hammond, born in Water-
town, July 12, 1766, died in Boston, November
4, 1833. He went to Boston when a young
man and amassed a large fortune for those
times. He engaged in different business en
terprises which yielded liberal returns. He
owned land on Somerset street, also land situ
ated in the best business portion of Boston,
that became extremely valuable through the
growth of the city. He left a large estate
which was administered by his widow in 1834.
(See Suffolk Probate Records, No. 30, 675).
His wife was the sister of Colonel William
Dawes, who rode with Paul Revere, April 19,
1775. He married in Boston, June 4, 1794,
Sarah Dawes. Children, born in Boston: 1.
John Lucas, born February 21, 1795, died May
10, 1846. 2. Charles, born May 18, 1796, died
unmarried. 3. Hannah Dawes, born Novem
ber 4, 1797; married, February 13, 1822, Hon.
Nathaniel Pope Russell, of Boston, she being
his second wife. 4. Mary Ann, born January
15, 1799; married, March 11, 1823, Hon. John
Gorham Palfrey. He graduated at Harvard
College in 1815, succeeded Edward Everett as
minister of Brattle Street Church, 1818, and
received the degree of D. D. in 1834; of LL.D.
in 1838. He was professor of sacred litera
ture in Harvard Divinity School from 1830 to

1839. He was editor of the North American
Review for several years, secretary of the com
monwealth of Massachusetts from 1844 to
1847, member of congress from Massachusetts,
postmaster of the city of Boston, and author
of Palfrey's "History of New England," in
three volumes, which takes the highest rank
on subjects treated. 5. Samuel, born October
7, 1801. 6. Sarah, February 21, 1803, died
October 20, 1820. 7. Catherine, born May 20,
1804; married, September 19, 1833, John
Gardiner Gibson, of Boston. 8. William
Dawes, born April 13, 1806, graduated at
Harvard College in 1827, died unmarried No
vember 12, 1835. 9. Almira, born December
30, 1809; married, September 3, 1838, Walter
Cooper Greene. They lived in New York City.
, (VII) Samuel Hammond, born in Boston,
October 7, 1801, died in Brookline, September
10, 1834; married, November 5, 1828, Sus
annah (Clarke) Greene, born October 29, 1806,
died March 22, 1844, daughter of Gardiner
and Elizabeth Clarke (Copley) Greene, of Bos
ton. She was the third wife of Gardiner
Greene, and was the mother of Mrs. Ham
mond. She was the daughter of John Single
ton Copley, the most famous American por
trait painter of that time. He was born in
Boston, July 31, 1737, son of Richard and
Mary (Singleton) Copley. He visited Italy
in 1774, settled in London in 1776, and became
a member of the Royal Academy in 1783. He
died September 25, 1815. His son became
Lord Lyndhurst, lord high chancellor of Great
Britain. Children of Samuel and Susannah
Clark (Greene) Hammond were: 1. Francis
Henry, born October 6, 1829, died November
28, 1829. 2. Samuel Hubbard, born October
13, 1830, died July 20, 1833. 3. Gardiner
Greene, born November 19, 1832. 4. Samuel,
born January 4, 1835, died May 27, 1896; mar
ried, October 28, 1858, Mary Crowninshield
Warren, daughter of Dr. John Mason and
Anne (Crowninshield) Warren, of Boston.
(VIII) Gardiner Greene Hammond, born
November 19, 1832, married (first), October
29, 1856, Elizabeth Crowninshield Mifflin
(born in Philadelphia), daughter of Dr.
Charles and Mary (Crowninshield) Mifflin.
She died near New London, Connecticut,
February 21, 1877. He married (second),
Judy 11, 1891, Mrs. Elizabeth (Bowditch)
Fay, daughter of Nathaniel I. and Eliza
beth (Francis) Bowditch, of Boston. Mr.
Hammond's first wife, Elizabeth Crown
inshield Mifflin, was the granddaughter
of Samuel and Elizabeth (Davis)' Mifflin,
of the wellknown Mifflin family of Phila-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1293

delphia. Her mother, Mary (Crowninshield)
Mifflin, born in Salem, Massachusetts, August
9, 1806, was daughter of Benjamin Williams
and Mary (Boardman) Crowninshield, of
Salem. Mr. Crowninshield, obtained letters of
marque in the war of 18 12, and was the owner
of several privateers in connection with his
father and brothers. The armed ship "Amer
ica," owned ty George Crowninshield & Sons,
carrying twenty-one guns and one hundred and
fifty men, was the fastest privateer in the war
of 1812, and captured and brought into port
twenty-six prizes valued at over $1,000,000,
besides many others turned and sunk. This
family was for a long time famous for ship
building and trans-Atlantic trade. Children
of Gardiner Greene and Elizabeth Crownin
shield (Mifflin) Hammond, are: 1. Elizabeth
C, born April 19, 1858, died at Norwich, Con
necticut, July 1, 1880; married, January, 1879,
William Appleton, son of William and Emily
(Warren) Appleton, of Boston. Mrs. Apple-
ton was killed in a railway accident at the
second Harvard- Yale boat races. 2. Gardiner
Greene, born September 28, 1859; married,
June 8, 1893/ Esther Lathrop Fiske, daughter
of George Jenckes and Frances Lathrop (Bee-
be) Fiske, of Boston. She was the grand
daughter of James M. Beebe, eminent mer
chant of Boston. 3. Charles Mifflin, born Au
gust 4, 1 86 1 ; married, December 18, 1888,
Harriet Paine Lee, daughter of George. Cabot
and Caroline (Haskill) Lee, of Salem. Her
sister, Alice Lee, was the first wife of Presi
dent Roosevelt. 4. Susan Greene, born March
24, 1863; married, August 10, 1888, William
Otis Edmonds, of Newton; live in California.
5. Mary Crowninshield, born in New London,
Connecticut, October 5, 1864, married Edward
Brooks. 6. Edward Crowninshield, horn in
New London, Connecticut, Novemter 4, 1868.
At the death of his mother in 1877, he was
adopted ty Mr. and Mrs. George B. Ironside,
of New London.
(IX) Mary Crowninshield Hammond, born
in New London, Connecticut, October 5, 1864,
died January, 1904, married Edward Brooks,
of West Medford, October 21, 1884. Chil
dren: 1. Edward Brooks, born West Med
ford, May 19, 1887. 2. Elizabeth Hammond
Brooks, born New London, Connecticut, Sep
tember 24, 1889.

This family of the surname
SWAN Swan (Swann, Swanne, Swayne
or Swain), is of very ancient ex
traction, Swain, a Dane of noble ancestry,
having early settled in the southeastern por

tion of England. The Swans have been pos
sessed of landed property in the counties of
Kent and Derby since the Conqueror (1066),
when we find their names occur twice in the
Domesday Book, as land owners, and as early
as the reign of Richard II. they wrote them
selves "Gentlemen," as appears from ancient
deeds. John Swan, of Southfleet, county Kent, sat
as Baron for the borough of Sandwich in the
reigns of Henry VI., Edward IV. and Richard
III. The family held large possessions in the
county of Kent, including the Manors of
Swanscombe, Demsted, Sutton, Denton.
The chief seats of the Swan family were Hook
Place in Southfleet, the residence of the elder
branch, from which Swan of Baldwinstown
claims descent, and Lydd and afterwards Wye
and Denton Court, the places of location of the
younger branch, which inter-married with the
Derings, Boys and Twisdens, all families
of high extraction and great antiquity in the
county Kent. (See Berry's County Genealo
gies of Kent). Both these English branches
have become extinct, the former in the per
son of Edward Swan, son of Sir Francis
Swan, of Denton Court, who died without
issue in 1643. Joseph Percival Swan, the
present possessor (1858) of Baldwinstown,
(representative of the Irish branch) claims to
be also the representative of the Southfleet
family, being lineally descended from the
John Swan of that place, who as above stated
sat for the borough of Sandwich. This John
Swan acquired the Manor of Swanscomb and
died in 1490. His son, John Swan, Esq., pre
sented the large bell to the church at South-
fleet; died 1550, leaving a son Thomas who
left at his decease in 1561 two sons: i. Sir
William, Knight of Hook Place, county Kent;
ii. John, who founded the Irish line, went to
Ireland in a military capacity under the Earl
of Essex in the reign of Elizabeth. The coat-
of-arms of the present Swan family of Ireland
of this lineage is : Azure, on a fess, wavy arg,
between three swans displayed ppr. unguled
and crowned, or, a trefoil vert. Of the vari
ous coats-of-arms of past families in Kent all
were similar in that they used the swan as an
emblem, indicating doubtless the origin of the
name. The motto : Sit Nomen Decus.
(I) John Swan, the immigrant ancestor of
this family, descended doubtless from the
Swans of Kent, England, was born in 1620-
21, and was brought to this country and
raised in the family of Thomas Bittlestone,
who provided by will November 3, 1640, that
his wife Elizabeth should be served five years

1294

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

by his "boy, John Swan," and she should
then pay him five pounds, showing that he
was under some form of apprenticeship at the
time. Swan became a farmer at Menotomy
(now Arlington). He was a member of the
Cambridge church, but for some reason was
excommunicated in 1684. "It would seem
that he was not easily moved from his pur
poses, good or bad, for in that day," says
Paige, "when excommunication was gener
ally regarded as an effectual bar against sal
vation, he withstood the power of the church
more than twenty years; but at length, when
he had attained extreme old age, he made his
peace with the brethren, and was restored to
communion December 22, 1706." He was a
proprietor of Cambridge in 1642. He had
been earlier at Watertown, the town adjoin
ing. He died June 5, 1708, aged eighty-
eight, as shown by his gravestone. He mar
ried (first), June 1, 1650-51, Rebecca Palfrey,
who died July 12, 1654. He married (second)
March 2, 1655-56, Mary Pratt, of Charles
town, daughter of Phinehas and Mary (Priest)
Pratt, who. died February 11, 1702, in her
seventieth year. Mary (Priest) Pratt was a
daughter of Digerie Priest, who was one of
the band of Pilgrims who came to Massa
chusetts in 1620 in the "Mayflower." Chil
dren of John and Rebecca Swan: 1. Ruth,
born March 10, 1652. 2. Gershom, born
June 30, 1654, married, December 20, 1677,
Sarah Holden, of Watertown, who died April
9, 1737; he died July 2, 1708. Children of
John and Mary Swan: 3. Samuel, born May
1, 1657, died June 20, 1678. 4. Mary, born
May 2, 1659. 5. Elizabeth, born July 14,
1661, married, July 27, 1687, Ezekiel Rich
ardson. 6. Lydia, born July 28, 1663. 7.
John, born May 1, 1665, married, April 11,
1692, Sarah Thompson, of Woburn. 8.
Hannah, born February 27, 1667. 9. Mercy,
born about 1670, died June 23, 1748; mar
ried, December 19, 1706, John Perry, of
Cambridge. 10. Ebenezer, born November
14, 1672, mentioned below.
(II) Ebenezer Swan, son of John Swan
(1), was born November 14, 1672, died July
27, 1740. He married, March 2, 1698, Eliza
beth Bruce, of Woburn. Children: 1. Eliza
beth, born March 29, 1699, married, January
8, 1724, Ezra Skinner, of Norton. 2. Sarah,
born February 26, 1701, married, December
14, 1727, Ephraim Cook, of West Cambridge,
Massachusetts, died March 24, 1748. 3.
Ebenezer, born March 23, 1704, mentioned
below. 4. Mary, born March 4, 1706-07, died
1750, unmarried. 5. Samuel, born April 5,

171 1, married Sarah Patten; died June 19,
1750. 6. William, born January 31, 1713-14,
married, April 13, 1743, Ruth Polley, of Med
ford, Massachusetts ; married (second) 
at New London, Connecticut.
(Ill) Ebenezer Swan, son of Ebenezer
Swan (2), was born March 23, 1704, and died
April 23, 1752. He married, September 12,
1728, Bathsheba Grant, of Watertown. Chil
dren: 1. Peter, born January 6, 1729. 2.
Ebenezer, born November 18, 1730, men
tioned below. 3. Benjamin, born April 20,
1733- 4- Joseph, born February 16, 1735-36,
married, January 26, 1764, Jannet MacCloud.
5. Bathsheba, born February 15, 1737-38,
died August 26, 1805, unmarried. 6. Mary,
born January 29, 1738-39, died July 22, 1740.
7. Joshua, born June 28, 1743, married, July
20, 1762, Sarah Cutler; died in April, 1777. 8.
Mary, born April 3, 1745, died August 1,
1747- (IV) Ebenezer Swan, son of Ebenezer
Swan (3), was born November 18, 1730, and
died August 8, 1798. He married in January,
1757, Mary Mansur, of Watertown. Chil
dren: 1. Peter baptized February 19, 1758,
died young. 2. Ebenezer, baptized January
25, 1761, mentioned below. 3. Peter, born
May 12, 1763, chairmaker, died February 21,
1822, unmarried. 4. Gershom, born March
18, 1766, chairmaker; married, January 4,
1787, Cherry Hill; died October 10, 1827. 5.
Timothy, born August 16, 1769, married
Lydia Munroe, of West Cambridge; died De
cember 12, 1813.
(V) Ebenezer Swan, son of Ebenezer
Swan (4), was born at West Cambridge,
Massachusetts, (Menotomy) and baptized
January 25, 1761. He was brought Up on his
father's farm and received the usual education
of a farmer's son of that period. He con
tinued farming all his life. It was his house
that his grandsons, Henry and Harrison
Swan, moved to the rear of the present Swan
block when it was built in the seventies. He
was a soldier in the Revolution, being a pri
vate in Captain Alexander Foster's company,
Colonel Thomas Carpenter's regiment, in
Rhode Island in the summer of 1778; also in
Captain Joshua Walker's company, Colonel
Samuel Denny's regiment, in 1779, three
months to reinforce the Continental army;
also in Captain Abraham Andrew's company,
Colonel Cyprian Hows's regiment, July 27,
1780, to October 30, 1780, detached from
Middlesex county for the same purpose. He
was a stern man, very strict in the manage
ment of his home. He-was a member of the

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1295

First Church. He died February 3, 1814.
He married, October 9, 1791, Sally Adams,
of Waltham, Massachusetts. They had one
child, Henry, born 1792, mentioned below.
(VI) Henry Swan, son of Ebenezer Swan
(5), was born at West Cambridge, Massachu
setts, 1792, and died March 15, 1846. He was
educated in the district school, going during
the winter months, and helping his father on
the farm, where he stayed until he was of age.
He early started in the poultry business. Na
than Robbins, afterwards a leading poultry
dealer, worked for him. He carried on this
business all his life. In those days, before
vessels could be supplied with ice, live stock
was carried to be killed en route. He made
a business of supplying outgoing vessels with
poultry and hogs, some of which was fur
nished by nearby farmers. His house was on
a three acre plot, which was his share of the
Swan property. He was a man six feet tall,
of slender build, and like his father was very
stern and decided. He was an Orthodox
Unitarian, and a Whig in politics. He was
in the War of 1812, and served at Fort Inde
pendence. His widow received a pension
during her life. He died of consumption
March 15, 1846.
He married, August 27, 1815, Elizabeth
Parker, of West Cambridge, born in 1793,
died October 29, 1884, daughter of David and
Elizabeth (Tufts) Parker. Children: 1. Sally
Ann, born 1816, married (first), September
11, 1842, Daniel Peirce, of Lexington, and
(second), Frederick Fiske, of Holliston; died
without issue in 1889. 2. Elizabeth, born
March 23, 1818, died October 22, 1878; mar
ried, September 4, 1842, Eli Simonds, of Lex
ington; children: i. Alice Parker Simonds,
born June 8, 1843, married, April 6, 1871,
James H. Wright, of Concord, and had Harry
Simonds Wright, born November 5, 1885,
who was married June 6, 1905, to Harriet
Martha Roberts and had Harry Simonds
Wright, born July 2, 1907. ii. William Henry
Simonds, born November 1, 1844, married
(first), May 3, 1877, Jenny Garty, of Concord,
Massachusetts, who died March 20, 1891; he
married (second), July 14, 1892, Winifred B.
Thorndyke, of Rockport, Maine. Child of
the first wife, Frank Herbert Simonds, born
April 5, 1878, married, Decemter 25, 1902,
Mary Gledhill, and had Katharine Garty
Simonds, born November 26, 1906; children
of the second wife : Margaret Simonds, born
July 31, 1895; Ruth Thorndyke Simonds,born
May 31, 1897. iii. Frank H. Simonds, born
May 12, 1848, died February 22, 1878; mar

ried, March 23, 1877, Eliza Maria Emery, of '
Lexington, and had Gertrude Naomi Si
monds, born October 31, 1877. 3- Henry,
born August 24, 1822, mentioned below. 4'
Hannah Adams, born May 19, 1824, died
August 8, 1891; married, March 24, 1841,
John J. Brown, of Lexington; children: i.
Henrietta Brown, died young; ii. Henry
Brown, died young; iii. Ida Florence Brown,
born November 7, 1849, married, September
9, 1868, Frank E. Richardson, of Arlington,
Massachusetts, and had Alice Brown Rich
ardson, born August 3, 1872, who married,
December 2, 1900, Dr. Charles W. W. Miller,
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; iv. Charles
Adams Brown, born December 2, 1851, died
March 1, 1907. 5. William Parker, born
February 24, 1827, died August 24, 1848. 6.
Benjamin Franklin, born 1829, mentioned be
low. 7. Harrison, born January 9, 1832,
mentioned below. 8. Gershom, born June 19,
1834, died August 2, 1893; married, June 9,
1864, Mary Ward Harrington, of Lexington,
who was born November 24, 1834, and died
September 6, 1884; children: i. Charles Ward
Swan, born July 24, 1866; ii. Elizabeth
Bowen Swan, born November 16, 1869, died
July 22, 1870. 9. Ellen Parker, born March
3, 1838, died March, 1906; married, June 4,
1865, William Mullet, of Brighton, Massa
chusetts. 10. Ebenezer Willard, born August
4, 1825; died June 9, 1891; married (first)
Octavia Bragdon, of East Boston, Massachu
setts; (second), in 1850, Emily Hutchins, of
North Kennebunk, Maine; (third), Caroline
Cushing, of Framingham, Massachusetts;
(fourth), Nellie E. (Hallett) Tidd; children of
the second wife: i. Emma Hutchins Swan,
born September 25, 1852, married, March 22,
1875, James S. Southgate, of Worcester,
Massachusetts, and had Freddie Swan South-
gate, born February 29, 1876, died February
26, 1877; Edna Southgate, born July 10,
1877; Alfred Willard Southgate, born Sep
tember 27, 1878; Herbert Ralph Southgate,
born December 22, 1879, married, March 20,
1907, Helen May Trim; Stewart Swan South-
gate, born July 15, 1887. Children of the
third wife: ii. Allston DeWitt Swan, mar
ried Hattie Morse; iii. Harry Everett Swan;
iv. Dr. Roscoe Wellesley Swan, married
Elizabeth Prentice; v. Bertha Cushing Swan,
married John Kennedy.
(VII) Henry Swan, son of Henry Swan
(6), was born at West Cambridge, August 24,
1822 and died October 1, 1895. He was edu
cated in the West Cambridge common
schools until sixteen years of age, assisting

1296

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ploy of his brother Henry, who was a poultry
dealer, and became a salesman for him until
about 1854. Then he went to Lowell, Massa
chusetts, and became a salesman for the
wholesale provision house of Smith & White,
Fletcher and Dutton streets, remaining about
two years. After returning and working for
his brother another year, he started in busi
ness for himself, making daily trips to Boston
market with his poultry until September 25,
1871. At this time he took stall No. 1, base
ment No. 3, New Faneuil Hall market, in
company with Nathan A. Fitch, under the
firm name of Swan & Fitch. The firm con
tinued the business successfully until January
12, 1885, when Mr. Fitch sold his interest in
the firm to Mr. Swan, and bought out the
business of George C. Boynton at stall No.
10. Mr. Swan then admitted George H.
Valpey to the business under the name of
Swan & Valpey, poultry and game. Mr. Val
pey remained in the firm four years, retiring
September 29, 1888, later acquiring the busi
ness of George H. Scoville, stall No. 8, butter
and eggs. Since the retirement of Mr. Val
pey Mr. Swan has conducted the business
alone, occupying the same stall in which he
began business in 1871. Mr. Swan has been
a member of the Arlington First Baptist
Church since 1867, and has served on its
standing committees. He is a Republican.
He married, January 29, 1857, Rebecca
Monroe Walton, born at Lexington, Massa
chusetts, October 23, 1834, daughter of Jona
than and Eliza (Locke) Walton, of West Cam
bridge. Children: 1. Hattie Maria, horn No
vember 27, 1861. married, September 18,
1882, Wesley E. A. Legg. of Boston; chil
dren: Harrv Wesley, Marion Edith, Vera
Mildred. Edward Raymond Leg/g. 2. Eliza
beth Walton, born June 17, 1864, died April
17. 1865. 3. Mildred Eliza, born April 17,
1867, married. February 17, 1897, Rev. Jonas
Hamilton Woodsum, of Hyannis, Massachu
setts, native of Boston: children: Mildred
Mumoe. born May 5. 1902; Hamilton Swan,
March ;, tooc;, died Septemher 25, 1906.
(VTID Benjamin Franklin Swan, son of
Benjamin Franklin Swan (7), was born at San
Francisco. California, August 14, 1864. Whjen
he was quite young his parents removed to Ar
lington. Massachusetts, their former home,
where he received his education in the com
mon schools, graduating- from the grammar
school and going two years to the Cotting
high school. During- these two years he
worker! after school hours in the local drug
=f^-°, Dodge's Pharmacy. Then his desire

to learn the business impelled him to give up
school, and he spent two and one-half years
in the Dodge Pharmacy. Then he entered
the wholesale drug business of Gilman Broth
ers at 50 Franklin street, Boston, as clerk.
Strict attention to business soon led to pro
motion, and to-day he occupies a position of
trust, being buyer and salesman for the firm.
Gilman Brothers is one of the old-established
firms in Boston, and went through the big
fire in 1872. Mr. Swan purchased in 1892 a
house at 68 Evans street, Dorchester, Massa
chusetts, where he resides with his family.
Since 1906 he has been a member of the
Church of the Epiphany (Episcopal) in Dor
chester. He was one of a committee of five
to start that society, and has always been a
leader in the church, to-day being treasurer
of the society. In politics he is a Republican.
He is a member of the church club. He was
formerly a member of the Arlington Boat
Club, being captain of the first club bowling
team that was entered in inter-club competi
tion. He married, October 11, 1892, Sophia Pris
cilla Rudolf, of Dorchester, Massachusetts,
born May 8, 1864, daughter of John George
and Priscilla Couch (Callings) Rudolf, of
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Her father was a
sea captain and a prominent Free Mason, a
descendant of the old family of Von Ru
dolphs of Germany. Children : i. Franklin
Rudolf, born February 22, 1897. 2. Ernst
Thaxter, August 6, 1900, died September 22,
1900. 3. Evelyn Elizabeth, September 14,
1903.

This Dutch sur-
KNICKERBOCKER name, made fam
ous by several dis
tinguished New York personages and by the
pseudonym of Washington Irving, was vari
ously spelled in the early records of New York
Knikkelbakker, Knickerbacker, Knickerbak-
ker and Knickerbocker. The name of the
immigrant was Van Bergen, but when his
descendants finally held to a surname and
abandoned the old Dutch custom of naming,
Knickerbocker was adopted.
(I) Van Wye Knickerbocker (Harmen
Janse) went from New Amsterdam to Dutchess
county, New York, and settled finally in Al
bany. His will is dated January 7, 1708-09.
Children: 1. Johannes, mentioned below. 2.
Lourens. 3. Cornelia, baptized September 2,
1688, died young. 4. Cornets, baptized Janu
ary 6, 1692, died young. 5. Cornelia, bap-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1297

his father on the farm until early manhood.
He then entered the employ of Joshua Rob
bins, a poultry dealer, where he remained un
til about 1846, doing much of the selling for
Robbins. Then he started a business of his
own, having good success, selling poultry in
the Boston market. After a time he opened
a stall, No. 18, in Faneuil Hall market, where
he was associated with Sullivan B. Newton
under the firm name of Swan & Newton, af- v
terwards Swan, Newton & Co., where he con
tinued up to the time of his death. The firm
continues under the same, the present part
ners being Kidder, Richardson and Newton.
Sullivan B. Newton died September 30, 1907.
In 1876 the general appearance of Arlington
Center was improved by the removal of the
old Swan house and erecting on a portion of
the lot the westerly half of Swan's block ty
Henry and Harrison Swan, owners of the
property. Two years later another and larger
section was added, the upper part being fin
ished as a public hall. Within a short time
this was leased to the trustees of the Robbins
Library, and was used as a library and read
ing room until the new library was built.
Henry Swan and his brother Harrison
were associated in the real estate business in
Arlington, buying out the heirs of the old
Swan homestead, which had been held by the
Swan family since 1650. The old house bore
, many evidences of its extreme age. It was
made of cedar timbers, and when it was taken
apart for removal, several bullets were found
embedded in the timbers. Henry Swan was a
man who enjoyed the confidence of his fellow
citizens to a remarkable degree. Upright
and honorable, his word was as good as his
bond, and he had many friends. He was a
member of the Universalist church, serving
on the parish committee, and was superin
tendent of the Sunday-school for twenty-two
years. He was a public-spirited man, and
held several town offices. He was a Republi
can, and had held the offices of selectman and
overseer of the poor. He was a member of
the school committee for twenty-five years.
He belonged to Hiram Lodge of Masons, the
Boston Chamber of Commerce, and was also
a director of the Arlington Five Cents Sav
ings Bank.
He married, May 10, 1846, Lydia Ann
Frost, daughter of John and Lydia (Win
ship) Frost, of West Cambridge, who was
born March 19, 1825, and died August 21,
1904. Children: 1. Henry Oscar, born
August 1, 1848, died October 11, 1851. 2.
Lizzie M„ March 16, 1851, died July 18, i860.

3. Annie Florence, July 3, 1853, died Sep
tember 30, 1900, unmarried. 4. Nellie Hor-
tense, January 18, 1858, married, April 29,
1885, Rev. Charlie Arthur Knickerbocker, of
Arlington, and had Henry Swan Knicker
bocker, born June 5, 1888. (See Knick
erbocker sketch). 5. Grade Greenwood,
October 3, 1859, married, April 22, 1891.
Shirley C. Ingraham. 6. Harrie, May 6, 1863,
died March 12, 1864.
(VII) Benjamin Franklin Swan, son of
Henry Swan (6), was born at Arlington,
Massachusetts, 1829, and died at San Fran
cisco, California, January 9, 1900. He had a
common school education in Arlington, and
assisted his father in the poultry business. He
went to work for Nathan Robbins, a poultry
dealer, driving his team to Boston, and gath
ering the stock from farmers of the district.
When he was twenty years of age the gold
fever broke out, and he was one of those
early "Forty-niners" who braved countless
dangers to go overland to California. When
he had accumulated quite a fortune, he re
turned and married, taking his wife back to
California with him, by way of the isthmus.
In 1866 he again returned to Arlington,
where he lived several years, but finally re
turned to California. Like all "Forty-niners"
money came easily and went as it came, and
he made and lost three large fortunes. He
was for a long time interested in stocks, and
was a member of the Pacific Stock Exchange
at San Francisco for years. During the last
few years of his life he suffered from a severe
kidney trouble, which terminated in a heart
affection, causing his death, January 9, 1900,
at San Francisco. He was a man of strong
qualities and superior intellect, energetic in
business. He was a member of the Congre
gational Church at Arlington. In politics he
was a Republican. He was a member of
Hiram Lodge of Masons at Arlington. He
married, April 8, 1863, EHzabeth Thaxter, of
Arlington, who died June 25, 1885, aged thir
ty-nine years and nine months. Children: 1.
Benjamin Franklin, born at San Francisco,
August 14, 1864, mentioned below. 2.
James Thaxter, born April 4, 1867, married
October 9, 1889, Alice Gertrude Tappan, of
Arlington, Massachusetts.
(VII) Harrison Swan, son of Henry Swan
(6), was born at Arlington, Massachusetts,
January 9, 1832. He was educated in the
common schools of his native town, attend
ing school until he was seventeen years of
age, the last four years going only during
the winter months. He then entered the em-

1298

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

tized July 21, 1695. 6. Evert, baptized Sep
tember 3, 1699. 7. Pieter, baptized April 19,
1722 (adult). 8. Jannetie, married, March 4,
1704, Flenrik Lansing, Jr., widow in 1708.
The baptisms were in the Albany church.
(II) Johannes Harmense Knickerbocker,
son of Van Wye Harmen Janse Knicker
bocker (1), was born in Dutchess county,
New York, about 1675. Married, September
27, 1 70 1, Anna Quackenbos. They settled at
Schaaticooke, New York. Children: 1. Lys-
beth, baptized November 1, 1702. 2. Neel-
tie, baptized June 30, 1706. 3. Harmen, bap
tized December 25, 1709, married Rebecca
De Wandelaer and had son Johannes bap
tized May 25, 1746. 4. Wouter, baptized Oc
tober 19, 1712, married Elizabeth Fonda,
January 9, 1735; he died at Saratoga, August
8, 1797, aged ninety-four years, nine months;
children: i. Anna, baptized November 9,
1735; ii. Isaac, baptized November 20, 1737;
iii. Alida, baptized November 20, 1737; iv.
Elizabeth, baptized September 28, 1740; v.
Johannes, baptized April 3, 1743, died young;
vi. Johannes baptized November 16, 1746;'
vii. Rebecca, baptized June 18, 1749. 5.
Cornelia, baptized October 21, 1716. 6. Jo
hannes, baptized March 24, 1723, mentioned
below. (Ill) Johannes Knickerbocker, son of Jo
hannes H. Knickerbocker (2), was born about
1723 and baptized at Schagticoke, New York,
March 24, 1723" He married Rebecca Fonda,
who was baptized November 9, 1729, daugh
ter of Pieter and Maritie (Beekrrian) Fonda.
Johannes Fonda, father of Pieter, was of
Manor Rensselaerwyck ; married Maritje
Loockermans, December 5, 1694. Douw Til—
lese Fonda, father of Johannes, owned land
at Troy in 1676; died November 24, 1700.
Jillis Douwese Fonda, the progenitor, was in
Beverwyck as early as 1654; his wife was
Hester  — . He died before 1664. In
1666 Hester Douwese was the widow of Bar-
ent Gerritse. Children of Johannes and Re
becca (Fonda) Knickerbocker: 1. Johannes,
baptized March 24, 1751. 2. Anna, baptized
March 11, 1753, died at Schaghticoke, No
vember 10, 1827, aged seventy-six years, nine
fnonths and nineteen days. 3. Neeltie, and 4.
Elizabeth, baptized November 24, 1754.
(IV) John or Johannes Knickerbocker,
son of Harmen and Rebecca (De Wandelaer)
Knickerbocker (3), mentioned above, was
born in 1746. (See baptisms above). Among
the early settlers of the town of Perrinton,
Monroe county, in which the village of Fair-
port, New York, was incorporated in 1867,

was John Knickerbocker, and David Wool-
sey, who came in or before 1810. The town
was named for Glover Perrin, the pioneer set
tler. Knickerbocker's farm ¦ was near Per-
rin's. Richard Woolsey settled in the north
east part of the town about the same time,
doubtless a relative. John's wife was prob
ably a daughter of Richard Woolsey.
(V) Richard Woolsey Knickerbocker, son
of John Knickerbocker (4), was born August
2, 1789, and settled in Perrinton with his fa
ther. In 1835 he and his family removed
from Perrinton (now Fairport), New York,
to Michigan and received a grant of eighty
acres in the wilderness, since known as the
city of Detroit. His grant was dated October
15, 1835, and was signed by Andrew Jackson,
president of the United States. He built a
- log cabin and cleared his farm. He was a
farmer by occupation, a man of large frame
and great strength, of much piety and natural
dignity. He was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church. He married (first), at Per
rinton, New York, Patience Smith. Chil
dren, born in Perrinton: 1. Samuel, bom
May 10, 1814, married, March 12, 1838,
Philinda Clark; children: i. Dariua, born De
cember 16, 1838, married, March 10, 1859,
Clara E. Turesdale; ii. Alonzo, torn July 29,
1841, married, October 2, .1862, Mary J.
Smith; iii. Theresa, horn August 5, 1843, died
young; iv. Etta, born August 29, 1854, died
January 4, 1904. 2. Mary, born June 24,
1817," died July 20, 1854; married, March 26,
1837, Heman Tyler, of New York state; chil
dren: i. Phebe Ann Tyler, born August 24,
1838, died March 14, 1876, married Hiram
Co-wles, of Michigan; ii. Israel B. Tyler, born
April 6, 1840, married Mary Grace; iii. Rich
ard Woolsey Tyler, born January 1, 1842,
married, 1867, 'Eleanor Leary, of Lexington,
Kentucky ; iv. Survetas Tyler, born January
15, 1.843, died August 1, 1864, in the Civil
war; v. George Henry Tyler, born June 24,
1845; vi. Daniel D. Tyler, born August 24,
1847; vii. Hanford Tyler, born January 4,
185 1 ; viii. Elmer Tyler, bom March 5, 1853,
died February 13, 1855. 3. Ursula, mentioned
below. 4. Smith. 5. Chauncy Washington,
mentioned below. 6. Daniel, born Septem
ber 15, 1826. 7. Frank, resided in St. Joseph,
Missouri. (VI) Ursula Knickerbocker, daughter of
Richard Woolsey Knickerbocker (5), was
born April 13, 1822, died May 30, 1905. Mar
ried, February 18, 1842, Henry Fargo. Chil
dren: 1. Lucy, bom November 5, 1843, mar
ried, May 15, 1858, John Underwood; she

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1299

died December 24, 1867; four children. 2.
Elva, born October 11, 1848, died January
16, i860. 3. Christian, born August 25, 1849,
died March 10, 1873. 4. Olive, born Febru
ary 2, 1851, married Alvin Hubbard, Decem
ber 14, 1868; she died May 3, 1872; one
child. 5. Mary, born May 3, 1853, died Feb
ruary 15, 1870. 6. Hubbard, born December
14, 1868, died May 3, 1872; one child. 7.
Mary, born January 2, 1871.
(VI) Rev. Chauncy Washington Knicker
bocker, son of Richard Woolsey Knicker
bocker (5), was born at what is now Fairport,
Monroe county, New York, June 11, 1824)
and died April, 1884. He attended the com
mon schools until he was eleven years old,
when he removed with his parents to Wayne
county, Michigan, where they were among
the pioneers. For the next five years he was
occupied with his father in clearing a ope
hundred and sixty acre farm. He continued
to study as he worked, and when he was six^
teen years old he opened a school in a log
cabin, and for the next six years was the
school master of the vicinity. When he was
twenty-one an itinerant Methodist minister
came to preach in his little school house. His
sermon was from the text: "The Wages of
Sin Is Death," and it impressed the young
teacher so forcibly that his whole after-life
was changed by it. He did not agree with
the conclusions of the preacher, and he an
nounced that on the following Sunday he
would preach from the same text. His views
were liberal, logical and convincing. He was
encouraged to study for the ministry. While
studying and teaching school he joined for
one year a surveying party, and assisted in
making the survey of Lake Michigan, Lake
Huron and the Straits of Mackinaw. When
he was twenty-three years old he was regu
larly ordained as a Universalist minister, and
devoted his life to religious teaching and
work. He was active on the frontier, an ef
fective and useful missionary in the new
towns and camps. He built nine churches in
the state of Michigan and one in Ontario,
Canada. He was located in Bay City for six
years and in Lansing for several years. He
became unquestionably the best known and
most prominent preacher in Michigan in his
day. He owned a part of his father's home
stead in Wayne, and at intervals gave up
preaching to conduct his farm. He was of
large and striking physique and generous
equipment. Cheery, jovial, confident in him
self and God, he worked laboriously and con
tinually for religion in a fruitful field. He

preached the doctrine of total abstinence in a
community where strong drink was a par
ticularly dangerous foe. He was honored
and beloved by the community he served so
long and so well. He was a member of the
Masonic fraternity, of the Blue Lodge, the
Royal Arch Chapter, and Bay City Com-.
mandery, Knights Templar. He marrried
June 7, 1843, Lene Jenkins, who was born
in Wayne county, New York, December
22, 1822, died December 28, 1903, daugh
ter of John and Anna (Brockway),
Jenkins, of Nankin, Wayne county,
New York. Her father was a farmer and
carpenter. Children: 1. Ada Evelyn, born
August 1, 1846, married, December 1, 1868,
Charles Edward Pitcher, of Wayne, ' Michi
gan, now residing in Plymouth, Michigan;
children : i. Mary Almyra Pitcher, born Sep
tember 28, 1869, died November 30, 1882; ii.
Mona Irwin Pitcher, born October 12, 1871,
married, 1888, Herbert J. Thomas, and died
June 21, 1894 (had Evelyn Thomas, born July
28, 1889); iii. Chauncy Washington Pitcher,
born December 18, 1872, married, September
1, 1 901; (children: Thelma Genevieve, born
August 16, 1902, and Edward Keith, born
May 15, 1907); iv. Ina Electa Pitcher, born
February 19," 1874, died June 12, 1874; v.
Charlie Smith Pitcher, born February 22,
1875, married, November 23, 1900, Maggie
Church; vi. Ada Knickerbocker Pitcher,
born December 1, 1882; vii. Richard Arthur
Pitcher, born July 28, 1885, married, Decem
ber 24, 1906, Eva Ford. 2. Zera Smith, born
May 14, 1849, married, August 30, 1877,
"Elizabeth Ireton, of Wayne, Michigan; he
died September 23, 1886; no children. 3.
Frank Howard, M. D., bom August 17, 1857,
married, November 6, 1882, Emma Magill,
of Milford, Michigan; children: i. Arthur,
born July 3, 1887; ii. Faith, born March 22,
1895. 4. Charlie Arthur, born November 9,
1859, mentioned below.
(VII) Rev. Charlie Arthur Knickerbocker,
son of Chauncy Washington Knickerbocker
(6), was born at Lansing, Michigan, Novem
ber 9, 1859. He removed with his parents
when an infant to Wayne, Michigan, where
they lived until he was eleven years old and
he attended school there. At Bay City, where
the family located next and remained six
years, he attended the high school, but re
turned to Wavne and graduated from the
high school there in 1879. He entered Tufts
College that year and graduated in 1883,
with the degree of B. D., in the theological
department. During his last year in college

1300

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

he filled the pulpit in the Universalist church
at Arlington, Massachusetts. After his
graduation he had a call to the pastorate at
Spencer, Massachusetts. Two years later he
was called from there to Merlden, Connecti
cut, where he preached four years. He re
signed on account of ill health and took the
long sea voyage around Cape Horn to San
Francisco, returning by rail. He accepted a
pastorate at Erie, Pennsylvania, and re
mained until January, 1892, when he resigned
again on account of ill health and took a
southern trip for rest and recuperation. After
his return he lived for a year at Arlington,
Massachusetts, and then accepted the pastor
ate of the Uphams Corner (Dorchester) Uni
versalist church, where he organized the
church society and built the fine new church
on Virginia street. He filled this important
charge for eight years. He was afterward
pastor of the Universalist church at Auburn,
Maine, for two years, and then his health
gave way completely. He bought a farm at
Hartford, Vermont, and devoted his atten
tion to farming from 1901 to 1904. Much im
proved in health he returned to Arlington
where he has since resided, supplying various
pulpits but accepting no pastorate.
He has been a zealous and faithful pastor
to the full extent of his capacity and even
beyond it. He is an earnest worker and
advocate of the temperance movement, and
while in Auburn he succeeded in enforcing
the prohibition law, through a committee or
ganized in Androscoggin county for that pur
pose. As a result of his crusade no less than
two hundred and fifty places where liquor was
heing sold were closed. In politics he is an
independent. He was made of the Spencer
Lodge of Free Masons, June 3, 1884. He is
a member of the Arlington Historical
Society. He married, April 29, 1885, Nellie Hor-
tense Swan, who was born at Arlington, Janu
ary 18, 1858, daughter of Henry and Lydia
Ann (Frost) Swan, of Arlington. Her fa
ther was a market man at Faneuil Hall mar
ket, Boston; served on the. school committee
twenty-five years; was selectman and over
seer of the poor in Arlington. Their only
child, Henry Swan, was born June 5, 1888.

Roger Wellington, im-
WELLINGTON migrant ancestor, born
in England about 1609,
died in Watertown, March 11, 1697-8. His
name appears on the earliest list of the set

tlers of Watertown, 1636. He seems to have
lived for a short time in Boston, the births of
some of his children being recorded there. He
was admitted a freeman April 18, 1690. His
will dated December 17, 1697, proved April
11, 1698, mentions five sons and other heirs.
He married Mary Palgrave, 163,7, daughter
of Dr. Richard Palgrave, of Charlestown.
Children: 1. John, born July 25, 1638. 2.
Mary, born February 10, 1641; married May
21, 1662, Henry Maddock, and (second), Sep
tember 16, 1679, John Coolidge. 3. Joseph,
born October 9, 1643. 4. Benjamin, bom
about 1645 ; see forward. 5. Oliver, bom No
vember 23, 1648. 6. Palgrave, married Sarah
Bond, daughter of William.
. (II) Benjamin Wellington, son of Roger
Wellington (1), was born in Watertown, Mas
sachusetts, about 1645, an(i died in Lexing
ton, January 8, 1710. He married December
7, 1671, Elizabeth Sweetman, eldest daughter
of Thomas and Isabel Sweetman of Cam
bridge; she was born in Cambridge, 1646-7.
His will is dated July 13, 1709, proved Janu
ary 30 following. Children: 1.. Elizabeth,
born December 29, 1673, married John Fay.
2. Benjamin, born June 21, 1676; died at
Lexington, November 15, 1738; see forward.
3. John, born July 26, 1678. 4. Ebenezer,
married Deliverance Bond. 5. Ruhamah,
married November 15, 1699, Deacon Joseph
Brown. 6. Mehitable, baptized March 4,
1687-8; married. September 13, 1715, William
Sherman of Newton; she was mother of Hon.
Roger Sherman, a signer of the Declaration
of Independence. 7. Joseph, baptized Janu
ary 4, 1690-1. 8. Roger.
(Ill) Benjamin Wellington, son of Ben
jamin Wellington (2), born June 21, 1676, and
died at Lexington, Massachusetts. November
15, 1738. He was a prominent citizen of Lex
ington, assessor sixteen years, town clerk fif
teen years, treasurer three years, deputy to
the general court three years. He married,
January 16, 1699, Lydia Brown. They were
admitted to the church at Lexington June 10,
1705. She died May 13, 171 1. He married
(second) December 25, 1712, Elizabeth
Phipps, born in Roxbury, August 21, 1675,
died January 7, 1730, aged fifty-four years.
He married (third) Mary Whitney. He died
November 19, 1738, aged sixty-three years.
Children: 1. Benjamin, born May 21, 1702,
died November 15, 1738. 2. Lydia, born Au
gust 24, 1704; died August 10, 1718. 3. Kezia,
born March 28, 1707. 4. John, born Novem
ber 12, 1709; died September 22, 1728. 5.
Abigail, born July 14, 171 5. 6. Timothy, born

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 301

July 27, 1719; see forward. 7. Mary, born
October 20, 1732. 8. Oliver, born April 14,
1735- (IV) Timothy Wellington, son of Benjam
in Wellington (3), was born in Lexington,
Massachusetts, July 27, 1719; married Re
becca Stone, born January 22, 1721, daughter
of Jonathan and Chary (Adams) Stone of
Lexington. After his death his widow mar
ried (second) February 14, 1754, John Dix, of
Waltham, Massachusetts. Children: 1. Ben
jamin, born August 7, 1743. 2. Chary, born
July 12, 1745. 3. Timothy, born April 15,
1747; see forward. 4. Abigail, born March
14, 1749; married December 29, 1768, Daniel
Cutting of Waltham. 5. Ruhamah, born Sep
tember 4, 1 75 1.
(V) Timothy Wellington, son of Timothy
Wellington (4), born in Lexington, Massa
chusetts, April 15, 1747, died there April 2,
1809. He married May 1, 1776, Hannah W.
Abbott, born December 10, 1758, died No
vember 1, 1785, daughter of Joseph and Sarah
(White) Abbott. He was a soldier in the Revo
lution, a-private in Captain Parker's company,
which shed the first blood in the Revolution
ary war. He was in the service at Cambridge
five months following in 1775. Children: 1.
Rebecca Stone, born February 5, 1777; mar
ried John K. Coolidge. 2. Timothy, torn
March 29, 1778; died April 8, 1781. 3. Ne
hemiah, born January 1, 1780, see forward. 4.
Dr. Timothy, born October 8, 1781; married
Mary E. Law, and (second) Lydia Yates. 5.
Hannah, born July 4, 1783, died young. 6.
Joseph Abbott, born July 14, 1785.
(VI) Nehemiah Wellington, son of Timo
thy Wellington (5), born in Lexington, Massa
chusetts, January 1, 1780, died there May 11,
1857. He married May 16, 1805, Nancy
Stearns, daughter of Joshua Stearns, of Wal
tham. He was selectman of Lexington, 1841;
assessor 1840; representative to the general
court in 1836 and 1838. Their children: 1.
Anna Eliza, born March 2, 1806; died Octo
ber 3, 1822. 2. Augustus, born June 15, .1807.
3. Hannah Maria, born November 17, 1809;
married Samuel Bridge. 4. Timothy W.,
born July 4, 181 1; settled in Worcester; had
four sons prominent in civil war. 5. Sullivan,
born November 8, 1813. 6. Jonas Clarke,
born November 30, 181 5, father of Austin C.
Wellington, the well known coal merchant. 7.
Horatio, born September 6, 1817, see for
ward. 8. Avis Moore, born June 27, 1819,
married October 17, 1850, Emory Abbott
Mulliken. 9. Joseph Abbott, torn June 12,
1821; married Fetruary 10, 1846, Ellen A.

Smith, daughter of Billings Smith; moved to
Cambridge in 1854.
(VII) Horatio Wellington, son of Nehe
miah Wellington (6), was born in Lexington,
Massachusetts, September 6, 1817, and died
March 25, 1894, in Charlestown. He was
educated in the public schools, and early in
life displayed unusual business ability. The
Wellington family were pioneers in the
coal business in New England. In 1854
the firm of J. C. Wellington & Com
pany, consisting of three brothers, Jon
as C, Horatio and Joseph A. Wel
lington, was formed, purchasing Hough
ton's wharf in East Cambridge. Four years
later J. C. Wellington retired, and the firm
became Wellington Brothers, consisting of
Horatio and Joseph A. Wellington. This
firm continued in business on this same wharf,
which by this time came to be known as Well
ington's wharf, until the year 1872, when
Joseph A. Wellington retired. The firm then
consisted of Horatio Wellington, who carried
on the business alone under the title of Hor
atio Wellington & Co., until 1884, when he
took into partnership with him- two sons —
J. Frank Wellington, a well-known resident
of Somerville, and Alfred H. Wellington.
Horatio Wellington continued at the head of
the firm until his death in 1894. Few busi
ness men achieved greater success in life and
won a larger measure of respect and confi
dence from fellow townsmen than Mr. Wel
lington. He was active in public affairs, and among
other positions of trust and honor was repre
sentative to the general court from the First
Middlesex District in 1863 and 1864. He was
also a member of the common council and
board of aldermen of the old city of Charles-
cown. For many years he took an active in
terest in the order of Odd Fellows, and in
1875 was grand master of the Grand Lodge
of Massachusetts. He was also connected
with the Masonic order, being a charter mem
ber of Henry Price Lodge, of Charlestown.
He married, December 16, 1841, Mary
Bowman Teele, daughter of Amos Teele, of
Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he re
moved in 1850. Children of Horatio and
Mary B. Wellington: 1. Arthur Horatio,
born in Lexington, September 21, 1843, died
February 1844. 2. Arthur N., born in Lex
ington, March 1, 1845, died May 4, 1866. He
enlisted in the civil war at the age of sixteen
in the Thirteenth Regiment and was dis
charged for disability; re-enlisted in
Thirty-sixth Regiment, was taken pns-

1302

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

oner, paroled and finally discharged. He
married Susie A. Bradley, of Charlestown.
One child, Lillian A., born September 12,
1865, married October 28, 1891, John S.
Lamson; children: i. Horatio Wellington,
born in Somerville, January 2, 1892; ii. Mil
dred, born in Somerville, April 16, 1895, died
April 29, 1896; iii. Marguerite, born in Som
erville, March 10, 1897; iv. John Stevens,
born in Arlington, August 27, 1901 ; v. Char
lotte Hunnewell, born in Arlington, April 16,
1904. 3. Alfred H., born in Lexington, May
25, 1848, died in Somerville, January 18, 1903;
married November 28, 1869, Maria Isabel
Denning; child: Amy Louise, born in
Charlestown, April 23, 1872. 4. Jonas Fran
cis, born November 20, 1849; see forward. 5.
Mary Isabel, born in Charlestown, March 14,
1852; married October 15, 1874, Henry A.
Gooding, of Charlestown; he died December
30, 1885; children: i. Florence Wellington,
born in Somerville, October 10, 1875; mar
ried December 29, 1902, Ernest M. Gleason;
i. Daniel Irwin, born in Somerville, October
10, 1875, died February 6, 1897. ii. Marion
Louise, born in Somerville, January 23, 1877;
married October 17, 1900, Arthur B. Howe,
of Somerville; child, Isabel, born August 4,
1906. iii. Arthur Francis, born in Somer
ville, May 19, 1882. 6. Edith Louise, born
in Charlestown, May 18, 1859.
(VIII) J. Frank Wellington, son of
Horatio Wellington (7), was born in Lexing
ton, Massachusetts, November 20, 1849. His
father moved to Charlestown when he was an
infant, and he was educated in the public
schools, graduating from the Charlestown
high school in 1867. He began his business
career in the upholstery trade in Boston,
where he spent five years. In 1872 he became
associated with his father in the coal busi
ness, and was admitted to the firm, together
with his brother Alfred H. Wellington, in
1884. He removed to Somerville in 1876, and
has lived there ever since. In 1894, when his
father died, Mr. Wellington became head of
the firm of Horatio Wellington & Co., and so
continued until 1898, when his firm and B. F.
Wild & Co., of Charlestown, formed a cor
poration under the name of Wellington- Wild
Coal Company, of which Mr. Wellington is
treasurer and director.
Mr. Wellington has been an active and
prominent citizen of Somerville for many
years. He was elected to the common coun
cil in 1 88 1, and served in the board of alder
men in 1882 and 1883. He was on the board
of registrars of voters in 1885 and 1886, and

was a member of the board of health from
1887 to 1893, being chairman of the
board for three years. In 1893 he was
elected a member of the board of trustees
of the Somerville Public Library, which
position he now holds. He is also prominent
in financial circles — president of the Somer
ville Co-operative Bank, and trustee of the
Charlestown Five Cents Savings Bank. In
1896 he was elected a trustee of Tufts College,
which conferred upon him the degree of A.
M. in 1904. He is also a trustee of the Somer
ville Hospital. He is a member of Soley
Lodge of Free Masons, Somerville Royal
Arch Chapter, and DeMolay Commandery,
Knights Templar of Boston, of Howard
Lodge of Odd Fellows of Charlestown. He
is also a member of the Sons of the American
Revolution, and Society of Colonial Wars.
Mr. Wellington married, in 1875, Charlotte
A. Hunnewell, daughter of Edwin and Sarah
A. (Cutter) Hunnewell, of Charlestown. They
reside on Summit avenue, Somerville.

Abraham Hill, the progenitor of the
HILL Hill family, settled in Charlestown
as early as 1636. On August 2,
1660, he deposed that he was about forty-five
years of age, fixing the date of his birth at
about 1615. In the Abbey of Saint Albans,
Hertfordshire, England, there is a record of
the family of Robert Long. Among the mar
riage records of his children there is mentioned
an Abraham Hill, who married Alice Patten,
July 25, 161 1. It seems probable that this Abra
ham was the father of the Abraham who settled
in Charlestown. He was admitted to the church
June 3, 1639, and was made a freeman May
13, 1640. He was mentioned as a town of
ficer. In 1646 he sold his house and removed
to Maiden, where he died February 13, 1669.
His widow administered the estate, the in
ventory heing filed Fetruary 2, 1670. He is
buried in Bell Rock cemetery, Maiden, in an
unmarked grave. He married Sarah Long,
born 1617, died February 13, 1669-70, daugh
ter of Robert and Elizabeth Long, who em
barked in the "Defense" for New England,
July 7, 1635. Robert Long, an innholder, was
born in 1590, and came to New England with
his wife Elizabeth, aged thirty, a servant
and ten children. His daughter Sarah was
then eighteen years of age. She was ad
mitted to the church September 10, 1644.
He kept a mill for John Coitmore in
Charlestown. Children: 1. Ruth, born April
2, 1640, married William Augur. 2. Isaac,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

!3n3

born October 29, 1641 ; married (first)
Hannah Haywood; married (second) Sarah
Bicknell, in 1679. 3. Abraham, born Oc
tober 1, 1643, died October. 23, 1713; mar
ried Hannah Stowers. 4. Zachariah, born
about 1645, mentioned below. 5. Sarah, born
August, 1647,' died young. 6. Sarah, born
October, 1649, died October, 1649. 7. Mary,
born May, 1652.
(II) Zachariah Hill, son of Abraham Hill
(1), was bom about 1645, an(i died in 1672.
He resided in Charlestown. He married, Sep
tember 24, 1668, Deborah Norton, daughter
of Captain Francis Norton. His widow mar
ried (second) Matthew Griffin. Children: 1.
Zachariah, born November 10, 1668-69, diet!
1700 ; married Judith  ; lived in Charles
town and Boston. 2. Abraham, born 1672,
mentioned below. 3. Benjamin, died intestate,
1698. (Ill) Abraham Hill, son of Zachariah Hill
(2), was born in Maiden, Massachusetts, 1672,
died March 9, 1746. The inventory of his
real estate, dated November 21, 1746, was
twenty-one hundred and twenty-eight pounds ;
, of his personal estate, dated May 12, 1746,
one hundred and eighty-five pounds in the
house and one hundred and twenty-one
pounds outside; besides cash due upon bond
to estate, of three hundred and forty-four
pounds ; also one hundred pounds given to Eb
enezer Frost, the husband of Abraham's
daughter Deborah. The widow continued to
live in the home under the terms of the will the
remainder of her life. The house is the pres
ent home of Miss Harriet Hill. Abraham
Hill appointed his son-in-law, Ebenezer Frost,
his lawful attorney to recover all lands in
Charlestown, Lancaster and elsewhere, as one
of the heirs of his honored grandfather, Cap
tain Francis Norton. He afterwards con
veyed to Mrs. Soley his right to a certain tene
ment, garden, housings, etc., at Charlestown,
belonging to his father, bounded ty a house
' plot owned formerly by his father, Zachariah
Hill. He married Sarah Long, horn June 24,
1672, died March 30, 1752, daughter of John
and Abigail (Norton) Long. Her father was
a sea captain and innholder ; he was admitted
to the church March 13, 1680; married (first)
Abigail Norton, who was admitted to the
church in 1660 and died February 21, 1674;
married (second) September 10, 1674, Mary
Winslow, who died July 20, 1683. Abigail
Norton was the daughter of Francis Norton,
who came to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in
1631, and died in 1667. Sarah (Long) Hill
was admitted to the precinct church at the or

ganization, September 9, 1739, and to the
Cambridge church, March 8, 1742. Children:
1. Abraham, born 1694, died February, 1723;
married Mary  . 2. Deborah, born Feb
ruary, 1696, married Ebenezer Frost. 3. Zach
ariah, born April 26, 1708, mentioned below.
(IV) Zachariah Hill, son of Abraham Hill
(3), was born in Cambridge (Pleasant street,
Belmont), April 26, 1708, died March 10,
1768. He was a farmer and a prominent man.
He was precinct committeeman in 1750-51;
precinct assessor in 1746-50-51. He married
Rebecca Cutter, February 10, 173 1, who was
bom 171 2, died February 1, 1797, daughter
of John and Lydia (Harrington). Cutter, of
Cambridge. She was admitted to the church
(now Arlington Unitarian), September 9,
r739- She married (second), December 11,
1770, Captain Samuel Carter of Woburn. She
is buried in the old cemetery at Arlington.
Her gravestone says she was the mother of
eleven children, grandmother of one hundred
and three, great-grandmother of one hundred
and fifty, and the fourth generation had one
hundred and thirty-four. She was admitted
to the Cambridge church before marriage,
January 11, 1730. Children: 1." Sarah, born
October 15, 1732, married, 1750, William
Adams. 2. Abraham, born 1733, died Decem
ber, 1812; married (first) Susan Wellington;
married (second) Rebecca Wellington. 3.
Zachariah, born 1736, died March, 1812; mar
ried Ruth Robbins. 4. John, born January 11,
1738, died January, 1798; married, August 1,
1765, Dorcas Bowes. 5. Samuel, born April,
1 74 1. 6. William, born October 8, 1743, men
tioned telow. 7. Retecca, born September 25,
1745, died February 2, 1820; married, January
24, 1765, John Cutler, 3d. 8. Lydia, torn 1747.
9. Susannah, born March, 1750. 10. Mary,
born June, 1752, died January, 1822 ; married,
July 4, 1770, Stephen Hall. 11. Deborah, born
July 18, 1756, married, October, 1781, Nehe
miah Cutter.
(V) William Hill, son of Zachariah Hill
(4), was born in Cambridge (Belmont) Octo
ber 8, 1743, died June 13, 1815. He .was a
farmer and chairmaker. He married, Decem
ber 3, 1767, Mercy Perry, born January 17,
1748, died July 31, 1828, daughter of James
and Lydia (Tufts) Perry, and a descendant of
Digerie Priest who was one of the "Mayflow
er" Pilgrims, and who had a daughter, Mary
Priest, who married Phineas Pratt, and their
daughter, Mary Pratt, who was born about
1633, according to her gravestone, became the
second wife of John Swan, the emigrant an
cestor of the Swan family. He and his wife

i3°4

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

were admitted to the precinct church, July 17,
1768. Children: 1. Mercy, born October 29, 1768;
died unmarried February 2y, 1808. 2. William,
born July, 1770, died July 8, 1820; married
Nancy Bond. 3. James, born April 4, 1773,
baptized April 11, 1773 ; married Anne Adams.
4. Benjamin, born August 12, 1775, died Sep
tember 23, 1845. 5- Anna, born October 13,
1777, died January 7, 1806. 6. Amos, born
December 9, 1779, mentioned below. 7. Lydia,
born March 14, 1782, married, March 24, 1805,
Jonathan Teele. 8. Rebecca, born July 19,
1784, married, December 24, 1805, Walter
Russell. 9. Samuel, born July 4, 1787, died
unmarried August 3, 1815. 10. Sally, born
November 23, 1789, died December 22, 1808.
(VI) Amos Hill, son of William Hill (5),
was born at West Cambridge, Massachusetts,
December 9, 1779, died at Belmont, Septem
ber 10, 1865. He was a farmer. He owned
over a hundred acres in the east part of the
present town of Belmont. He built a house
and two large barns which later were destroy
ed by fire. He raised a large amount of fruit,
making a specialty of peaches for the Boston
market. He traded in cattle, dealing with the
Brighton market. His son Amos was asso
ciated with him in that business. He was a
man of large physique, of happy disposition,
with a keen sense of humor ; also a man of
strong temperance principles. He attended the
Unitarian church, and was a Whig in politics.
He served in the War of 1812, being on duty
in Boston harbor. He married, January 10,
1807, Rebecca H. Davis, born February 24,
I779, died February 6, 1863, daughter of
Amos and Lucy (Weston) Davis, of West
ford, Massachusetts. Amos Davis was son of
Thomas and Sarah (Jones) Davis. Thomas
Davis was son of James and Ann (Smeadly)
Davis. James Davis was son of Simon and
Mary (Blood) Davis. Simon Davis was son
of Dolor and Margery (Willard) Davis, the
immigrant ancestor. Children of Amos and
Rebecca H. Hill: 1. Amos, torn September 12,
1809. 2. Henry Yiend, born February 5, 181 1,
mentioned below. 3. Timothy Davis, born
April 8, 1813, died unmarried April 28, 1870.
4. Samuel, born September 29, 1814, died Oc
tober 5, 1818. 5. Francis, born October 5,
1816, married, November, 1846, Evelina Frost,
of Belmont ; children : Anna Frances, Charles
Herbert, Lena Frost. 6. Rebecca I., born
November 12, 1818, died January 10, 1861 ;
married, October 3, 1844, George Teele; chil
dren, George and Helen. 7. Lucy Ann, born
February 25, 1821, died December 19, 1896;

married, June 16, 1845, Warren Heustis, of
Putney, Vermont ; children : i. George Freder
ick Heustis, born June 18, 1847, died Septem
ber 18, 185 1 ; ii. Lucy Melvina Heustis, born
March 31, 1851, married, June 27, 1876, James
W. Shillings, of Winchester, Massachusetts,
and had Rhoda Skillings, born April 25, 1877,
and Alice Skillings, born November 7, 1878;
iii. Warren Howard Heustis, born December
20, 1858, married, April 21, 1881, Isabella Otis
Lancaster, and had Lancaster Howard Heustis,
born September 12, 1885; Warren Clifford
Heustis, born December 14, 1892; Stanley
Gordon Heustis, born August 4, 1895.
(VII) Henry Yiend Hill, son of Amos Hill
(6) , was born at West Cambridge, Massachu
setts, February 5, 181 1, died at Belmont, May
19, 1886. At the death of his father he re
ceived his share of the estate and began mar
ket gardening. He was successful, raising all
kinds of produce for the Boston market. He
took Jonathan B. Heald as an equal partner,
and they were associated for a time, when Mr.
Heald went to Woburn. Mr. Hill then con
tinued in the business alone, until ten years
before his death, when he let the property to
Edward and Marcellus Hemmenway, who
continued in his place. He later dealt exten
sively in stocks. He was a very successful
gardener, running his farm on a paying basis,
and his accounts were always correct to a cent.
He was considered strictly honest in all his
dealings. He was a man of medium height
and complexion, retiring in manner ; generous,
doing many deeds of charity. He was an at
tendant at the Unitarian church, later at the
Baptist church. He was a Whig, later a Re
publican ; a man of strong temperance princi
ples. He trained when a young man in the
early militia. He married, at Alexandria, New
Hampshire, Sarah Emily Bailey, born Novem
ber 6, 1825, daughter of George and Sally
(Bailey) Bailey. Children: 1. George Bailey,
bom Decemter 8, 1847, died August 8, 1849.
2. Emma Rosella (twin) , born September 25,
1850, married, November 18, 1875, John
Howard Richardson, of Belmont; children: i.
Lillian Hill, born January 21, 1877; ii. Helen.
Manness, September 11, 1879 ; iii. Grace Hard
ing, July 22, 1882. 3. Ella Evalina (twin),
born September 25, 1850, married, June 30,.
1885, Henry H. Sturtevant, of Zanesville,
Ohio. 4. Georgianna, born December 25,
1852, married, November 16, 1882, Henry
F. Bowen, of Weston, Massachusetts. 5. An
infant son died May 5, 1855. 6. Sarah Maria,
born in 1856, died February 24, 1858. 7. Helen
Augusta, born January 16, i860, married Ar-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

!3n5

th« Jeduthan Wellington, of Belmont; chil
dren: i. Charles Oliver, born October i, 1886;
ii. Henry Hill, May 6, 1890 ; iii. Emily, June
5, 1891 ; iv. Dorothy, April 14, 1893 ; v. Bar
bara, January 6, 1895 ; vi. Ruth, February 7,
1898. 8. Henrietta, born April 2, 1862, died
June 16, 1879. Mrs. Sarah Emily (Bailey)
Hill has at all times taken an active interest in
all enterprises that tended toward the advance
ment of the church and moral good of the
neighborhood. She was active in the building
of the First Baptist Church of Arlington, and
also in the building of the present new edifice,
having been a member of the building commit
tee.

(For early generations see preceding sketch).
(VII) Amos Hill, son of Amos
HILL Hill (6), was born at West Cam
bridge, Massachusetts, September
12, 1809, and died January 4, 1883. He received
seventeen acres as his share of the homestead
after his father's death. He was an extensive
cattle dealer, buying at the Brighton market
and driving the cattle into New Hampshire
and back in the fall, selling in the surround
ing country. He did market gardening and
raised fruit; was also a large grower of hay.
He was a man five feet eight inches tall, and
weighed two hundred pounds. He was jov
ial and popular among his townsmen ; was al
ways found on the side of right. He was a
temperate man and attended the Arlington
Baptist Church, being one of its trustees, and
holding other offices. He was a Whig, later
a Republican. He was selectman and on the
school committee; also engineer of the fire
department. He served in the Watertown
militia. He married (first) Rosella Simonds.
He married (second), May 12, 1853, Mrs.
Margaret H. (Cheeney) Clark, of Waltham;
she died August 19, 1899, aged seventy-nine
years, seven months and twenty-two days;
daughter of Ebenezer and Margaret Bailey
Cheeney, of Saint Andrews, New Brunswick.
Children: 1. Amos Edwin, born March 26,
1854, mentioned below. 2. Minnie Alice,
born 1855, died 1886. 3. Timothy Davis,
born September 5, 1856, died February 17,
1859. 4- Clara A., born April 6, i860, died
December 10, 1902; married, May 20, 1879,
Elbridge C. Ellis, of Cambridge. 5. Timothy
Davis, born March 22, 1862, married, Octo
ber 31, 1883, Elizabeth B. Livermore, of Bel
mont, who died October 2, 1907.
(VIII) Amos Edwin Hill, son of Amos
Hill (7), was born at Belmont, March 26,
iv-3

1854 He received his education in the pub-
he schools, going three years to high school
and then two winters to Union Business Col
lege in Boston. He then did market garden
ing with his father, continuing until his fath
er's death in 1883. In 1881 he and his broth
er, Timothy Davis Hill, formed a partnership
as market gardeners under the firm name of
Hill Brothers. After three years he bought
out his brother's interest and conducted the
business on the home place until 1894, when
he rented the farm that came to him and his
sister after his father's death, to E. P. Mars
ton, who conducted it four years. In Janu
ary, 1894, he entered the employ of Swift &
Company, as salesman and manager of the
New York and Pennsylvania departments, re
maining four years, when he returned and
took up market gardening again. In the
spring of -1906 he sold the farm to the Henry
Y. Hill heirs. Mr. Hill made a speciality of
growing celery, and was also an extensive
grower of violets in his greenhouse, which
was one hundred and fifty by thirty feet.
Since selling his farm he has been engaged
in the meat and provision business on Leon
ard street, Belmont, where he enjoys a large
local trade. He occupies a fine residence on
Leonard street. He was formerly an attend
ant of the Baptist Church at Arlington, and
now attends the Unitarian Church at Bel
mont. He is a Republican in politics, and
has served as water commissioner one year.
He was made a member of Belmont Lodge of
Masons, February 10, 1876, and was worship
ful master in 1905-06. He was exalted in the
Waltham Royal Arch Chapter of Masons,
1887. He was a member of the Boston Mar
ket Gardeners' Association, trustee of the
Belmont Savings Bank from its start until
1894. He married (first), November 10, 1874,
Alice Martha Hemmenway, born July 29,
1855, died February 20, 1886, daughter of
Cyrus T. and Caroline Hemmenway, of
Maine. He married (second), October 28,
1891, Mattie Mabel Kyle, born August 24,
1864, daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Dean)
Kyle, of Roxbury, Massachusetts. They '
have one child, Edwin Davis, born July 9,
i895- 
(For early generations see preceding sketches).
(VI) James Hill, son of William
HILL Hill (5), was born- at West Cam
bridge, Massachusetts, April 4,
1773, and was haptized April 11, 1773-
He married, October n, 1796, Anne

1306

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Adams, born April 1, 1775, daughter of Jo
seph and Hannah (Hall) Adams. They were
admitted to the precinct church October 14,
1798. Joseph Adams was admitted to the
Cambridge Church, December 3, 1738, and
to, the precinct church at West Cambridge,
September 9, 1739. Joseph Adams married
(first) Martha Frost, daughter of Ephraim
Frost, January 10, 1740. She died December
23, 1749, aged twenty-eight. (See Frost
sketch). He married (second) September 11,'
1750, Hannah Hall, daughter of Thomas
Hall. Mr. Adams was chosen deacon of the
precinct church December 5, i759> and on
the day of the battle of Lexington the vessels,
linen and cash belonging to the church were
taken from his home in West Cambridge or
Menotomy by the King's troops. The ex
perience of his wife on that eventful day was
mentioned by President Langdon of Har
vard College in his election sermon, May 31,
1775, at Watertown "as that of a woman in
bed with a new born infant (Anne Adams)
forced by the threats of the soldiery to escape
almost naked to an open out-house (a corn-
crib) her home then set on fire." The follow
ing extract is from the appendix to a sermon
preached at West Cambridge, February 8,
1852, on the Sabbath following the death of
James Hill, by Rev. James F. Brown, pastor
of the First Congregational Church. "Among
the articles (taken by the British from the
house of Deacon Adams) was a silver tankard
presented to the church in 1769 by Jonathan
Butterfield. When the British soldiers were
returning from Lexington a detachment en
tered the house of Mr. Adams (which is now
owned by Mr. Artemas Locke) and began the
work of plunder and destruction. Mr. Adams
being connected with some secret committee
and fearing for his life, secreted himself in a
barn now owned by Miss Bradshaw. Mrs.
Hill (Anne Adams) was then an infant in her
mother's arms. The lives of the mother and
daughter were spared through the interposi
tion of an English officer, but they were or
dered from the house and accordingly fled and
concealed themselves in the barn. Several of
the children were under the bed. Parlors were
probably not as common then as now, and
beds were made up on the lower floor of the
house. In this snug retreat the children were
suffered to' remain and watch the movements
of the household foes. As the soldiery were
about to take possession of the communion
service, Joel Adams, then a lad of about nine
years old, knowing how sacred these things
were to his father, could restrain himself no

longer and thrusting his head from beneath
the quilt with a burst of indignation told
them: 'Not to touch them things or Daddy
would lick them.' The name of our spirited
hero is worthy of being remembered. He
grew up to be a man and no doubt acted well
his part but we follow him no farther than to
say that he died at New Salem at the age of
seventy-six. Tradition tells us that the tank
ard was taken and pawned to a silversmith in
Boston, by the name of Austin. After the
British evacuated Boston, however, it was re
deemed and is now in the hands of the
church." The deeds of the place were taken -
and were afterward found on board an Eng
lish vessel that was captured by an American
ship-of-war commanded by Captain (after
wards Commodore) Tucker. Before the sol
diers left the house of Deacon Adams they
set fire to it, but one of the older children ex
tinguished the blaze with some beer that had
just been brewed and water brought from1 the
tank at the side of the house.
James Hill joined the church under Rev.
Thaddeus Fiske, October 14, 1798. He died
February 2, 1852, having been a communi
cant for nearly fifty years and interested all
his life in the work and welfare of the church.
For the space of thirty years he sang in the
choir. We are told that he was gentlemanly
in deportment, kind and conciliatory in spirit,
industrious and temperate in habits, and
walked ever in the fear and love of God. He
had a certain dignity and politeness of man
ner that would attract even a stranger to
him, for he possessed all the inherent quali
ties and many of the external graces of a gen
tleman. He was indeed a fine type of the old
school of politeness. His integrity was
founded upon a Christian character and ex
perience. Though impulsive, he never lacked
self-restraint. His feelings were tender; his
charity comprehensive. He was prominent
in town affairs and was on the school com
mittee from 1823 to 1826. His vocation was
farming. He married, October 11, 1796, Ann Adams,
born April, 1775, and died December 3, 1855,
daughter of Deacon Joseph and Hannah
(Hall) Adams, of West Cambridge. Lineage*
Deacon Joseph Adams (4), Lieutenant Jo
seph (3), Joseph (2), John (1). Children: 1.
Anna, baptized February 24, 1799, died April
16, 1813. 2. Sophia, taptized November 9,
1800, died January 11, 1801. 3. Hannah, bap
tized March 7, 1802, married, May 5, 1831,
Thomas Hall, of West Cambridge, and had a
daughter, Ann Louisa Hall, died young. 4-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1307

Eliza, baptized January 15, 1804, married,
August 25, 1825, Elijah Allen, of Medford;
children: James and Edward Allen. 5.
James, baptized October 6, 1805, married
Harriet Davis, of Boston; children: James
Frederick, Harriet, Charles Edward, Richard.
6. Lucy, born November 15, 1807, married,
September 20, 1832, George S. Adams, of
Charlestown; children: George Franklin, Al
fred A., Edward E., Emily Preston. 7. Jo-'
seph, born December 4, 1809, mentioned be
low. 8. Sally, baptized September 20, 1812,
died July 7, 1828. 9. Mary Ann, born May
9, 1815, mentioned below. 10. Louisa So
phia, born August 28, 1818, mentioned below.
(VII) Joseph Hill, son of James Hill (6),
was born at West Cambridge (now Belmont),
Massachusetts, December 4, 1809, and died
May 25, i860. He attended the winter terms
of the old district school near his father's
homestead, and he remained on the farm with
his father, finally taking charge of it and be
coming the most successful market gardener
in that section. He astonished all his neigh
bors by his enterprise. In 1835 he sold $3,600
worth of produce in thirty-six days, whereas
the most any of them had sold from their
farms before that had been a thousand dollars
worth in a year. He became an extensive buy
er of apples and poultry in New York and
Massachusetts, shipping to the Boston market.
He was t]ie first to ship dressed poultry from
New York state to the Boston market. His
headquarters were at 107-109 Faneuil Hall
Market, Boston, where he sold his apples, poul
try and produce during his whole active career.
He continued market gardening, raising all
the early vegetables and celery. He was one
of the pioneers in the ice cutting business and
had at one time two ice houses on the shores
of Spy Pond. He was upright, energetic and
genial, always interested in public affairs. He
was a Democrat in politics, and was a member
of the school committee in 1840-42-49-54, also
at the time the first school report was pub
lished in 1845. He was one of the prime mov
ers in securing the incorporation of Belmont
as a separate town, and was a member of the
first board of selectmen (1859). He took an
active part in organizing the First Congrega
tional (Unitarian) Society of Belmont and
was one of the original pew holders. He mar
ried, at Rindge, New Hampshire, October 12,
1836, Abigail Brigham, born May 22, 1807,
died March 15, 1894, daughter of Willard
Brigham, bom June 18, 1775, died Febraary
7> J843, and Abigail (Munroe) Brigham, of
Marlborough, Massachusetts. Her father was

-the sixth generation from Thomas Brigham
of Watertown. He was a farmer and captain
of the state militia. Her mother was the fourth
great-granddaughter of Mary Chilton, the first
woman to land on Plymouth Rock. Children :
1. Abby Ann. 2. Joseph Willard, born Au
gust 4, 1840, mentioned below. 3. Harriet Ann,
born June 21, 1843. 4. James Munroe, born
January 28, 1850, died February 23, 1863. 5-
Anna Adams.
(VII) Mary Ann Hill, daughter of James
Hill (6), was born May 9, 181 5, baptized May
14, 1815. She married, November 3, 1836,
Jonathan Varnum Fletcher, of Westford,
Massachusetts. Children: 1. Frances Ann,
born July 23, 1837, married, November 3,
1856, James Munroe Hale, who was born at
Sharon, Maine, January 12, 1827, and died
August 10, 1872; children: i. George Varnum
Hale, born May 2, 1858, married, January 1,
1886, Lucie Bretherton and had Carrie Fran
ces Hale, born May 27, 1889; ii. Nellie
Frances Hale, born September 16, 1861, mar
ried, January 24, 1883, Ansel Winnek, of
Belmont, and had Marion Frances Winnek,
born October 3, 1883; iii. Carrie Fletcher
Hale, born January 14, 1864, died August 8,
1883; married Clinton Hale, of Chicago,. 2.
George Varnum,, born July 17, 1842, mar
ried, October 22, 1868, Frances Lucretia
Marsh, of Belmont, who was born July 19,
1845, and died June 5, 1895. 3. Joseph
Henry, born September 26, 1844, married,
September 17, 1874, Nellie Emeline Wood-
bridge, born March 15, 1848; children: i.
Henry Francis Fletcher, born October 4,
1875, died October 11, 1875; ii. Anna Mun
roe Fletcher, born January 12, 1877, married
January 12, 1898, John Cameron Abbott, of
Westford, Massachusetts, and had John
Fletcher Abbott, born November 29, 1898,
and Robert Fletcher Abbott, born March 28,
1904; iii. Ida Woodbridge Fletcher, born
April 11, 1879; iv. Frank Varnum Fletcher,
born January 30, 1881, died February 4,
1881 ; v. Henry Varnum Fletcher, born May
2, 1884, died July 7, 1889; vi. Arthur War
ren Fletcher, born March 15, 1887. 4- Ella
Amelia, born June 17, 1848, married Hertert
Appleton Clark, and their children: Henry
Hunt Clark, Rohert Browning Clark, married
Frances Southgate and had one son; Clara
Sherman Clark. 5. Ida Florence, born Au
gust 19, 1850, married Arthur Frederick
Estabrook, had one son who died young.
(VII) Louisa Sophia Hill, daughter of
James Hill (6), was born August 28, 1818,
baptized' April 15, 1821, and died April 28,

i3o8

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1861. She married, October 26, 1843, James
Adams Estabrook, of West Cambridge, who
died November 12, 1866. Children: 1. Theo
dore Augustus, born April 14, 1845, married,
April 9, 1872, Elizabeth Brown Clark, of
West Newton, Massachusetts; children: i.
Charles Theodore Estabrook, born February
16, 1875; ii. Clarence Ware Estabrook, born
June 19, 1878; iii. George Clark Estabrook,
born September 6, 1881; iv. Louise Esta
brook, born August 3, 1884. 2. Arthur
Frederick, born May 17, 1847, married, Octo
ber 8, 1874, Ida Florence Fletcher his cousin,
of Belmont, daughter of J. Varnum Fletcher.
(VIII) Joseph Willard Hill, son of Joseph
Hill (7), was born at West Cambridge, Mas
sachusetts, August 4, 1840. He received his
education in the common schools of his native
town and at Cotting Academy at Arlington,
then West Cambridge. He worked on the
farm in his youth, and at the age of twenty,
after his father's death, conducted the home
stead and the market gardening business. In
1872 he purchased the interests of Joshua
Bragden in the lease of stalls Nos. 93 and 95
in Faneuil Hall market and basement No. 17
south side of the market. He formed a co
partnership with Lewis C. Ricker, a former
member of the firm of Winn, Ricker & Co.,
the business being continued under the old
firm name. In 1873 Mr. Ricker disposed of
his share in the firm to Charles C. Balch, who
in 1885 retired and William Craig purchased
his interest in the firm, and the present firm of
Winn, Ricker & Co. is composed of Mr. Hill
and Mr. Craig. The firm does a commission
business in fruit and produce, making a
specialty of lettuce and cucumbers.
Mr. Hill resides at 400 Pleasant street, Bel
mont, on the property occupied by many gen
erations of his ancestors in the Hill family,
and his residence and the grounds surrounding
are among the most attractive in that section.
In religion Mr. Hill is a Unitarian. Formerly
a Democrat, he has in recent years adhered to
the Republican party. He was selectman of
the town of Belmont in 1871-72, and was
formerly a park commissioner of Belmont and
a trustee of the Belmont Savings Bank. He is
a member of the Boston Chamber of Commerce
and of the Boston Fruit and Produce Ex
change. He is a member and for many years
has served on the fruit committee of the Mas
sachusetts Horticultural Society.
He married, February 8, 1866, Louise De
borah Wetherbee, daughter of John and Mary
Ann (Upton) Wetherbee, of Lunenburg, Mas
sachusetts. Her father was a farmer. Chil-

' dren: 1. Mabel Maria, born December 28,
1867, died September 17, 1868. 2. Qarence
Ordway, born October 27, 1869. 3. Amy
Louise, born April 15, 1871, died August 17,
1871. 4. Willard Munroe, born May 9, 1877,
5. Florence Abigail, born October 5, 1879,
married, September 25, 1907, Everett Pendle
ton Turner, of Arlington, Massachusetts. 6.
Alfred Cowden, born December 23, 1881.
Louise Deborah (Wetherbee) Hill, mother of
the aforementioned children, died December
30, 1895. She was a woman possessed of
many excellent qualities of both mind and
head, and her death was not only a great be
reavement to her family, but also to a wide
circle of neighbors and friends.

The surname Crocker, or
CROCKER Croker, as it is usually writ
ten in England, is very an
cient. An old proverbial distich records that:
" Crosker, Crewys and Copplestone
When the Conqueror came, were at home."
The Crocker family in England originally
was seated at Crocker's Hale and Crokem
and at Lineham, Devonshire. The genealogy
of the Crokers of Lineham is accurately re
corded and exhibits a descent of eleven John
Crokers in almost uninterrupted succession.
Members of the family removed to Cornwall,
Waterford and other places.
(I) Deacon William Crocker, immigrant
ancestor, born in England, came to this
country with Rev. Mr. Lothrop and his
church October 21, 1639, and his brother
John, came the following spring. They were
first at Roxbury, Massachusetts, but soon
settled in Barnstable. John, elder brother,
left no family; William's posterity is very
numerous, and a large majority of all of this
name in the United States and Canada trace
their descent to him. The farm of John
Crocker, now or lately owned by descendants
of Deacon William, Joseph and Prince
Crocker, is at the northeast corner of the
West Parish of "Barnstable. John Crocker
was admitted a freeman June 4, 1650; juror
1647, 1650, 1654; surveyor of highways 1668;
kept an ordinary 1649 and later; died 1669,
leaving wife Jane; bequeathing his estate to
the sons of his brother.
Deacon William Crocker joined Mr. Lo-
throp's church in Scituate, December 25,
1636; came to Barnstable October 21, 1639,
among the first settlers. He built a frame
house in Scituate in 1636, the forty-fourth in
that town. He was proposed for freeman

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1309

June 5, 1644; was constable 1644; grand jur
or 1654-55-57-61-67 and 75; selectman 1668;
deputy to general court at Plymouth 1670-71-
74; surveyor of highways 1673. He was on
the jury in 1675, when the murderers of John
Sassamon, secretary of King Philip, were
condemned. He was one of the leading citi
zens of his day, often employed in the busi
ness of the town and in settling estates. He
probably settled first in the easterly part of
the town, and removed to West Barnstable
about 1643. It is thought that his first house
was on the lot next west of that of Henry
Bourne. He acquired a large landed estate
and for many years was the richest man in
town. His sons also were all wealthy. In
1655 Deacon William Crocker owned one
hundred and twenty-six acres of upland and
twenty-two acres of meadow at West Barn
stable, and forty acres of meadow at
Indian Ponds. The West Barnstable farm
was bounded easterly by the farm of
John Smith, now known as the Otis farm,
and by the farm- of Samuel Hinckley, now
owned by Levi L. Goodspeed; southerly it
extended into the woods. The southerly part
of the farm in 1654 was bounded on the west
by the commons, and the northerly part by
lands then owned by Governor Bodfish and
afterwards ty Lieutenant John Howland. He
afterwards added largely to his West Barn
stable farm, and to the farm at Indian pond,
the latter containing one hundred acres at his
death. The West Barnstable farm was two
miles in length from north to south, extend
ing from the salt meadows on the Barnsta
ble harbor to the vicinity of the meeting
house. The lands he first occupied were the
southeasterly part of the farm, the old stone
house, which according to tradition was his
first residence, was about a fourth of a mile
easterly from the West Barnstable meeting
house. This house was taken down many
years ago. This part of the farm was owned
later by his son Josiah. There was another
stone house on the southwesterly part of the
farm owned by the descendants of Eleazer;
this was taken down in 181 5. It was called
the old Stone Fort, and stood on the site of
the Captain Josiah Fish house.
Deacon Crocker married, in 1636, Alice
 , who was living in 1683, but died soon
afterward. He married second, Patience,
widow of Robert Parker and daughter of
Elder Henry Cobt. Crocker died in the fall
of 1692, aged ahout eighty. His will is dated
September 6, 1692, giving his son Job his
brother John's old farm. The present road

running north from the West Barnstable
meeting house to the Cape Cod Railroad
depot divides the old Crocker estate in halves.
On the east side of this road Josiah had the
south part, excepting a portion given to
John; Joseph had the north part. On the
west side John had the south part, including
a strip running north to the meadows and a
strip on the east adjoining Josiah's land
where Nathaniel Crocker afterward lived and
Eleazer had the northwesterly part. Swift
says: "Deacon Crocker died in good old age.
For many years he was deacon of the Barn
stable church, and living an exemplary and
pious life. He has a clean record. Nothing
dishonest or dishonorable was ever laid to his
charge. Men who acquire great wealth often
make enemies of the envious; but Deacon
Crocker appears to have been beloved and re
spected by all. He was industrious, econo
mical and a good manager. His boys were
as industrious and as prudent as the father
and that was the whole secret of their becom
ing wealthy." Children: 1. John, born in
Scituate, May 1, 1637. 2. Elizabeth, born in
Scituate, September 22, 1639; died unmar
ried, May, 1658. 3. Samuel, born in Barn
stable, June 3, 1642; died December, 1681,
from a kick by Indian James, who, was ac
quitted of murder after trial. 4. Job, born
March 9, 1644-5; deacon of church and lead
ing citizen; married November, 1668, Mary
Walley; second, Hannah Taylor. 5. Josiah,
born September 19, 1647; married Melatiah,
daughter of Governor Thomas Hinckley. 6.
Eleazer, born July 21, 1650; mentioned be
low. 7. Joseph, born 1654; sergeant; mar
ried December, 1677, Temperance Bursley,
daughter of John.
(II) Eleazer Crocker, son of Deacon Will
iam Crocker (1), was born in Barnstable, July
21, 1650. He was admitted townsman in
1 68 1 ; in 1692 was one of committee appoint
ed to draw up a list of the proprietors of com
mon lands and determine each man's right.
After the death of Nathaniel Bacon he was
chosen by the town to be surveyor and lay
out the town lands. He married April 7,
1682, Ruth, daughter of Elder John Chip-
man. She died April 8, 1698, aged thirty-
four. He married second, January 25, 1716-7,
Mercy Phinney. Children : 1. Benoni, born May
13, 1682; died February 3, 1701. 2. Bethia,
born September 23, 1683; married John
Whiton, March 13, 1710. 3- Nathan, born
April 27, 1685; mentioned below. 4- Daniel,
born March 23, 1686-7; died 1723. 5- Sarah>
born March 23, 1689; married November 7,

1310

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1712, Joseph Bursley. 6. Theophilus, born
March 11, 169 1. 7. Eleazer, born August 3,
1693. 8. Ruth, born August 3, 1693; mar
ried, 1718, Samuel Fuller. 9. Abel, born
June 15, 1695; married Mary Isum. 10. Re
becca, born December 10, 1697. 11. Mercy,
born by second wife; mentioned in will.
(Ill) Nathan Crocker, son of Eleazer
Crocker (2), born at Barnstable, April 27,
1685 ; married March 10, 1708-9, Joanna,
daughter of John Bursley. He was a farmer,
and resided in the old stone fort at Barn
stable, on the homestead. Children, born at
Barnstable: 1. Jabez, born June 20, 1709;
married July 6, 1732, Deliverance Jones; Feb
ruary 9, 1737-8, Mary Baker; third, Remem
ber Fuller. 2. Benoni, born February • 24,
171 1-2; mentioned below. 3. Nathan, born
March 7, 171 3-4; married Mehitable Crocker.
4. Isaac, born May 6, 1719; married March
22, 1738-9, Elizabeth Fuller. 5. John, born
January 11, 172 1-2; was in Cape Breton ex
pedition. 6. Temperance, born October 3,
1724; married December 31, 1744, Joseph An-
nable. (IV) Benoni Crocker, son of Nathan
Crocker (3), born February 24, 1711-2; mar
ried February 19, 1736, Abigail, daughter of
John Bursley. He inherited the old stone
fort, or garrison house, in which he resided
and carried on the farm. He built an addition
to the stone house. Children, born at Barn
stable : 1. Lemuel, bom March 1, 1737; mar
ried Sarah Backus. 2. Barnabas. 3. Abigail,
born May 22, 1745. 4. Abner, mentioned be
low. (V) Abner Crocker, son of Benoni Crocker
(4), was born in West Barnstable or what
was known as the Great Marshes, August 18,
1747. He was a soldier in the Revolution, a
corporal in Captain Micha Hamlin's company,
Colonel Jonathan Reed's regiment (first) of
guards ; marched to Cambridge and served in
1778; also Captain Ebenezer Jenkins's com
pany, Colonel Freeman's regiment; also Lieu
tenant Ebenezer Baker's company, Colonel
Nathaniel Freeman's regiment, on the alarm at
Falmouth in 1779. He died at Great Marshes,
his lifelong residence, December 25, 1837.
Abner Crocker married (first) Sarah Blos
som, of Sandwich, intention, Barnstable rec
ords, June 20, 1772. The supposition is that
she died shortly afterward, leaving no issue.
He married (second) in Barnstable, July 27,
1778, Martha, daughter of William and Han
nah (Baker) Crocker, of Great Marshes,
where she was born November 28, 1748; she
died at Great Marshes. He married (third)

Lydia Cobb, born in Barnstable. She died at
Great Marshes. Children of second wife: 1.
Sarah, married Benjamin Wright, of Great
Marshes, and had children: i. Temperance,
born September 24, 1799, married (first) Free
man Cobb, December 11, 1825; (second) Cap
tain Thomas Cobb, February 6, 1832; (third)
Bartiett West Cobb, March 26, 1838. ii. Wil
liam, born March 22, 1801. iii. Asa (captain)
born May 4, 1802, married Hodiah Jenkins,
daughter of Samuel and Hodiah (Jenkins)
Crocker, and granddaughter of Simeon and
Hodiah (Hinckley) Jenkins, all of Great
Marshes. Captain Wright lived in Barnstable-
Hy annis until 1867, when he removed to Hol
liston, Massachusetts, where he died February
1, 1868. The widow was living in Andover,
Massachusetts, in 1880, with her son, Harlan
Page. Children, all born at Hyannis, were :
1. Harlan Page, born January 26, 1838, mar
ried at Andover, Massachusetts, October 5,
187 1 ; residence, 1880, Andover; a dealer in
boots and shoes; children at that date (1880) :
Manly, born June 22, 1873 ; Howard Harlan,
June 8, 1875 ; Grace Darling, October 28,
1878. 2. WilHam Nelson, born January 21,
1840. 3. Asa Warren, born January 10, 1842.
4. Chessmon, born March 12, 1843; married
at Holliston, July 16, 1869, Caroline Miller
Cutler, born at Holliston, November 13, 1844;
residence, 1880, North Woburn, Massachu
setts ; a dealer in meat and provisions at that
date; they had children: Edith Cutler, born
April 16, 1871 ; Erving Crocker, July 10, 1873;
Walter Chessman, November 6, 1875; Jennie
Burr, April 23, 1877, died January 26, 1878;
Grace Caroline, born July 1, 1878; Effie
Louise, September 1, 1879. William Nelson
and Asa Warren were lost August 1, 1863, on
the west coast of Africa ; the former was cap
tain and the latter second mate of a vessel;
Asa W. lost his life in trying to save his broth
er. 5. Herbert Crocker, born October 19,
1846, married at Lawrence, Massachusetts,
May 22, 1871, Clarabel Noris Armington, born
at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, November 28,
1846. Residence, 1880, Marlboro, Massachu
setts ; dealer in dry goods, small wares, jew
elry, etc., at that date; children, born in Marl
boro: Florence Armington, born Decem
ber 6, 1872, married in Marlboro, December
2, 1896, Rev. Ulysses Sherman Davis; Ar
thur Warren, April 15, 1876; Blanche, Oc
tober 28, 1878 ; Herbert Harold, July 2, 1880.
iv. Benjamin, born September ,9, 1804. y.
Sophia Granby, bom December 27, 1805. vi.
Lois, born February 4, 1807. vii. Nelson,
born October 29, 1808, died January 1, 1810.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1311

viii. Betsy, born May 23, 1810. ix. Chloe
Hall, born November 10, 181 1, died April 16,
1823. x. Martha, born May 12, 1813, mar
ried her cousin, William Crocker, son of Lot
Crocker, xi. Nelson, born August 15, 1815,
died November 23, 1839. xii. Lot Crocker,
born April 25, 1817, died October 25, 1823.
xiii. Nancy Crocker, born December 5, 1818.
xiv. Chloe Hall, born May 5, 1823. Benjamin
Wright, father of these children, died Septem
ber 2, 1842, and his wife, Sarah (Crocker)
Wright, died December 3, 1840. 2. Lot, born
September 13, 1782, died at Hyannis, August
15, 1856. He was a farmer and manufacturer
of salt from sea water. He married in Barn
stable, January 1, 1810, Elizabeth Chipman,
born at Great Marshes, February 6, 1792, died
at Hyannis, March 2, 1839 ; she was a daugh
ter of John and Joanna (Howland) Chipman.
Children of Mr. and Mrs. Grocker: i. John
Chipman, bom August 19, 181 1, married Mary
A. Alexander, ii. WilHam, born February 5,
1813, married Martha Wright, iii. Timothy,
born February 8, 181 5, married Harriet Alex
ander, iv. Lot, bom May 27, 181 7, married
Anna N. Coffin, v. George Henry, torn June
30, 1819, married Sylvia Hallett. vi. Albert,
born January 19, 1821, married Rebecca C.
Ryder, vii. Louisa, born March 12, 1825, died
January 1, 1844. viii. Gara, born November 4,
1826, married William E. Parker, ix. Hannah
Gorham, born December 7, 1828, unmarried, x.
Aurin R, born April 5, 1832, married Sarah
C. Bearse. 3. A daughter, name, date of birth
and marriage not known; they settled in the
6tate of New York. 4. Abner, mentioned
below. (VI) Abner Crocker, son of Abner Crocker
(5), was born in West Barnstable, Massachu
setts, September 22, 1786, died at Great
Marshes, December 25, 1828. He followed
the .occupation of farming. He married Han
nah Gorham, of Barnstable Village, March 9,
1.809 ; she was daughter of Josiah and Hannah
(Childs) Gorham ; she died at Great Marshes,
July 30, 1832. Children: Nancy Gorham,
born Decemter 22, 1809, died January 8, 1831.
Charles, mentioned below.
(VII) Captain Charles Crocker, only son
of Abner Crocker (6), was born in Barn
stable, Massachusetts, January 11, 1813, died
at his home at Great Marshes, Barnstable Vil
lage, March 22, 1895. He married Sarah
Goodspeed, born at Great Marshes, and was
living (1901) with her son in Taunton. Chil
dren: Nelson S., mentioned below; Charles;
Josiah. (VIII) Nelson S. Crocker, son of Captain

Charles Crocker (7), was born in Barnstable
Village, Massachusetts, October 16, 1836. He
learned the trade of printer. He married in
Barnstable, August 7, 1859, the Rev. Daniel
Webb officiating, Elizabeth Oliver Hinckley,
born in Barnstable, October 18, 1836, died in
Barnstable, June 14, 1875, daughter of Oliver
May and Elizabeth Adams (Sturgis) Hinck
ley. Children, born in Barnstable : 1. George
Everett, born October 12, i860. 2. Sophia
Goodspeed, March 12, 1862. 3. Edward Hinck
ley, August 6, 1864, married Clara D. Alger.
4. Frank Winthrop, September 10, 1866, died
June 8, 1868. 5. Frank Winthrop, mentioned
below. 6. Susan Smith, May 20, 1871. 7.
Joseph Henry, August 7, 1872. 8. Elizabeth
Oliver, April 5, 1875, died November 21, 1875.
(IX) Frank Winthrop Crocker, son of Nel
son S. Crocker (8), was born in Barnstable,
Massachusetts, January 30, 1869. He was ed
ucated in the public schools, and at the present
time (1907) is serving in the capacity of priv
ate secretary for E. C. Swift, of Boston. He
has resided in Maiden, Massachusetts, since
1892. He is a Universalist in religion, and a
Republican in politics. He is a member of the
Kernwood Club of Maiden. He married, De
cember 28, 1892, in Chelsea, Massachusetts,
Nettie Louise Belding, who bore him two chil
dren, Carlton Woodbury and Warren Sturgis,
both died in infancy. Mrs. Crocker is a daugh
ter of Charles Henry and Emily R. (Arnold)
Belding, who were the parents of another
daughter, Nellie Annie, who married Charles
Bates Burleigh, of Maiden. Charles Henry
Belding, of Boston; a butcher and meat dealer,
is a son of John and Abigail (Warren) Beld
ing, the former of whom resided in Boston and
Chelsea, and was a butcher and dealer in meats
and provisions, and the latter was of Concord,
Massachusetts. Emily R. (Arnold) Belding,
born in Medway, October 24, 1842, is a daugh
ter of Nathan Arnold, a resident of Medway,
Massachusetts.

Richard Belding, immigrant
BELDING ancestor, was born in Eng
land. His name is also
spelled Belden, Bayldon, etc. His brother,
William Belding, came with him to this coun
try and both settled at Wethersfield, Connec
ticut but William removed to Norwalk,
though in 1660 he died at Wethersfield, leav
ing wife Tamesin and sons Samuel, Daniel
and John. Richard had eight tracts of land
allotted to him by the town February 7, 1641.
He had a case in court in 1643, and was

1312

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

bondsman for George Chappell in 1645. He
was admitted a freeman in 1657, at the same
time as his brother John. He deeded a farm
to his son Samuel in October 1654. Chil
dren: 1. Samuel, mentioned below. 2. John,
born 163 1 ; married April 24, 1657, Lydia
 ; was trooper of Wethersfield in 1658;
died 1677; leaving a large family.
(II) Samuel Belding, son of Richard Beld
ing (1), was a resident of Hatfield, Massachu
setts; died January 3, 1713. His wife Mary
was killed during the attack on Hatfield, Sep
tember 19, 1677, by the Indians. He mar
ried second, June 15, 1678, Mary Wells,
widow of Thomas. She died September 20,
1691, and he married third, Mary Allen,
widow of John, and fourth, Sarah Wells,
widow of John. Children: 1. Mary, born
July 10, 1655; married Daniel Weld. 2.
Samuel, born April 6, 1657; married Sarah
Billings, daughter of Samuel and Mary Hast
ings, widow of Dr. Thomas. 3. Stephen,
born December 28, 1658; mentioned below. 4.
Sarah, bom September 30, 1661. 5. Ann, born
January 27, 1665. 6. Ebenezer, born Novem
ber 16, 1667; married Abigail  . 7.
John, born November 13, i( '

(III) Stephen Belding, son of Samuel
Belding (2), born in Hatfield, December 28,
1658, died October 6, 1720. He married Au
gust 16, 1689, Mary, daughter of Thomas
Wells. She married second, January 2, 1723,
Captain Joseph Field, of Sunderland, and she
died March 15, 1751. Children, born at Had
ley: 1. Elizabeth, born February 2, 1683;
married Richard Scott. 2. Mary, born May
20, 1685; married February 12, 1702, John
Wait. 3. Stephen, born February 22, 1689.
4. Samuel, born October 23, 1692; married
May 8, 1717, Elizabeth Dickinson. 5. Jona
than, born 1694; mentioned below. 6.
Joshua, born 1696; married December
1, 1725, Sarah Field. 7. Esther, married 1724
Nathaniel Gunn. 8. Lydia, died July 4, 1714.
(IV) Lieutenant Jonathan Belding, son of
Stephen Belding (3), was born in Hadley, in
1694. He was a soldier in Rail's war, 1724.
He had a grant of twelve acres of land at
Northfield, Massachusetts, on condition that
he would build a saw mill there in 1717. He
died July 6, 1778, nearly eighty-three years.
He married July 7, 1720, Hepzibah Dickin
son, daughter of Nathaniel, of Hatfield. She
died December 29, 1761, aged sixty-five. He
married second, October 6, 1762, Lydia Doo-
Httle, widow of Rev. Benjamin. Jonathan's
widow married third, November 3, 1778, at
the age of seventy-nine, Japhet Chapin, of

Springfield. She died June 16, 1790, aged
ninety-two. When she was eighty she rode
to Northfield to visit her children, a distance
of forty miles in one day, on horseback, es
quired by her husband, aged eighty-two.
Children of Jonathan and Hepzibah Beld
ing: 1. Hepzibah, born May 12, 1722; died
October 13, 1736. 2. Jonathan, bom Octo
ber 1724; died November 12, 1727. 3. Kath
erine, born June 24, 1727; died October 17,
1736. 4. Jonathan, born January 29, 1729;
mentioned below. 5. Submit, born May 13,
1732; married August 31, 1757, David Keyes
of Western (now Warren), Massachusetts;
second, December 3, 1765, John Eastman, of
Hadley. (V) Jonathan Belding, son of Jonathan
Belding (4), was born in Northfield, January
29, 1729. In early manhood he was an in
valid for years and barely escaped death from
consumption. He became extremely careful
and methodical in matters relating to his
health, and was never known to run. His
only food was bread and milk and a glass of
wine three times a day, smoking a definite
quantity of tobacco daily in a clay pipe. He
was withal a man of imposing appearance, in
his colonial dress with cocked hat. We have
this description from a descendant. He died
September 24, 1825. He married Sarah
Dickinson, of Hatfield, who died January 17,
1762, aged thirty. He married second, De
cember 28, 1763, Keziah, daughter of Joseph
Eastman of Amherst; she died October 24,
1779. Children: 1. Jonathan, born April 3,
1761; settled in New York state. 2. Asa,
born October 28, 1764; no issue. 3. Sarah,
born August 1, 1766; died unmarried August
12, 1829. 4. Samuel, born March 1, 1768;
mentioned below. 5. Joseph, torn April 3,
1670; soldier in the Revolution; married De
cember 31, 1801, Elizabeth Boyle. 6. Hepzi
bah, born January 19, 1772; married Novem
ber 1, 1789, dement Milner. 7. Keziah
(twin), born May 20, 1774; died February,
1841. 8. Elijah '(twin), born May 20, 1774-
9. Mary, born November 7, 1776; died un
married June 8, 1822.
(VI) Samuel Belding, son of Jonathan
Belding (5), was born in Northfield, March 1,
1768; married Mary Moore, horn November
21, 1779. They lived at Warwick, Massachu
setts. Children: 1. Mary, born at Vernon,
Vermont, March 4, 1802; married 
Allen. 2. Samuel, born at Vernon, August
10, 1804. 3. Abigail, bom at Vernon, No
vember 8, 1806. 4. Harriet, born at War
wick, July 20, 1808. 5. Esther, born at War-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1313

wick, May 10, 1810. 6. John, born April 15,
1812; mentioned below. 7. Sumner, born at
Warwick, April 20, 1814. 8. Sarah A., born
at Warwick, November 30, 1818.
(VII) John Belding, son of Samuel Beld
ing (6), born at Warwick, April 15, 1812, died
December 21, 1903. He married Abigail
Warren, born at Concord, Massachusetts,
December 30, 1820, died November 25, 1901.
He was a well-known provision merchant in
Boston, having a store on Commercial street
and a stall in the Blackstone Market. He
was a staunch Democrat. Children: 1.
Charles H., mentioned below. 2. William.
3. Abbv W. 4. Edward E., born January 30,
1852. (VIII) Charles H. Belding, son of John
Belding (7), was born in Boston, Massachu
setts, June 21, 1840. He followed his father
in the meat and provision business in Boston,
where he was educated and brought up. He
is now retired, living at Oak Terrace, Mai
den, Massachusetts. He is a member of Star
of Bethlehem Lodge of Free Masons, Chel
sea, Massachusetts. He enlisted during the
civil war in Company E, Thirty-ninth Regi
ment Massachusetts Volunteers, and is a
member of Maiden Post, Grand Army. He
married Emily R. Arnold, born at West Med
way, Massachusetts, October 24, 1842,
daughter of Nathan and Maria Green (Hard
in) Arnold, and granddaughter of Phineas
and Sally Croswell (Adams) Harding. Sally
Croswell Adams was daughter of Abraham,
born at Boston 1750, and Mary (Blackman)
Adams, and granddaughter of Benjamin,
born at Newbury, Massachusetts, April 13,
1723, and Sarah (Burrage) Adams. Mrs.
Belding died April 5, 1885. Children of
Charles H. and Emily R. Belding: 1. Nellie
Annie, born at Maiden, October 6, 1865. 2.
Nettie Louise, born at Chelsea, March 29,
1873; married at Chelsea, December 29, 1892,
Frank W. Crocker. (See sketch herewith).

The Wheeler family is of
WHEELER English origin. Between
1620 and 1650 many immi
grants of the name came to America, settling
in Virginia, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Among the earliest of these was John Wheeler,
ancestor of the family to be herein traced, who
came in the ship "Mary and John," sailing
March 24, 1633-4, from Salisbury, Wiltshire,
England, where he was born atout 1580. His
settlement was in the town in Massachusetts
which took its name from his English tirth-

place, Salisbury. He was a farmer and a bar
ber, who was in that day somewhat of a
physician, doing cupping and leeching. He was
a proprietor of Salisbury in 1639, and until
1652. He removed to the adjacent town of
Newbury, where his wife Anne died, August
15, 1662. He died in 1670. His will, dated
March 28, 1668, and proved October 11, 1670,
bequeathed to son David; to sons John and
Adam, of Salisbury, England ; to son William,
if he come over to this country, to Mercy,
Elizabeth Button and Ann Chase ; to Susanna,
wife of his son George, and to his children
Ephraim and Samuel ; to son Roger's children,
Mary and EHzabeth; to daughter-in-law, Sus
anna, the land formerly given to her husband
George; on which he built; he appointed his
son Henry executor. His son David came in
the ship "Confidence," in April, 1638, aged
eleven. (Although there is no trace of a sec
ond George Wheeler, of Concord, the name of
George's wife is in doubt, and while Ephraim
and Samuel were both of Concord at one time,
they are not named in the will of George in
1685. They may have been dead, or George,
son of John, may have died earlier.
(II) George Wheeler, son of John Wheeler
(1), was born in Salisbury, England, about
161 5. He was a man of prominence in Con
cord, where he was settled in 1638, perhaps as
early as 1635. His name appears often on pe
titions for various purposes to the general
court and on the town records, to the time
of his death. He was a selectman in 1660, and
held many other positions of trust and honor,
and served on many committees. He owned
land in every part of the town — Brook
Meadow, Fairhaven Meadow, the Cranefield,
by Walden, Goose, and Flint's Pond, on White
Pond Plain, on the Sudbury line, etc. He died
between 1685 and 1687, and his will was dated
January, 1685, and offered for probate June 2,
1687. He married Katherine  , who
died at Concord, January 2, 1684-5. They had
eight children, five of whom were not recorded
in Concord, and were probably born in Eng
land : 1. Thomas, married October 12, 1657,
Hannah Harrod. 2. Elizabeth, married, Oc
tober 1, 1656, Francis Fletcher. 3. William,
married October 30, 1659, Hannah Buss. 4-
Ruth, married October 26, 1665, Samuel Hart
well. 5. Hannah, named in will as daughter
Hannah Fletcher. 6. Sarah, born at Concord,
March 30, 1640; married, October 26, 1665,
Francis Dudley. 7- John> born March *9>
1642-3 ; see forward. 8. Mary, born Septem
ber 6, 1645; married October 26, 1665, Eli
phalet Fox.

I3H

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

(Ill) Sergeant John Wheeler, son of George
Wheeler (2), was born in Concord, Massachu
setts, March 19, 1642-3, and died there Sep
tember 27, 1713, aged seventy. He married,
March 25, 1663-4, Sarah Larkin, who died at
Concord, August 12, 1725. He was admitted
a freeman 1690; was constable 1684, when
Robert Blood Sr. was fined ten pounds for
assaulting him. His house lot was south of the
mill pond, between the corner of Main street
and the almshouse, and adjoined Robert Mer-
riam's now the site of the Trinitarian meeting
house, and Joseph Wheeler's now owned by
Nathan B. Stow. Children of John and Sarah
Wheeler: 1. John, born February 6, 1663-4.
2. Samuel, born July 6, 1664. 3. Sarah, born
December 12, 1666. 4. Edward, born July
17, 1669. 5. Joanna, born December 21, 167 1.
6. Mary, born September 15, 1673. 7. Lydia,
born October 27, 1675. 8. Esther, born De
cember 1, 1678. 9. Joseph, born January 27,
1679-80. 10. Ebenezer, born June 3, 1682.
11. Thankful, twin of Ebenezer. 12. Sarah,
born November 11, 1686. 13. Abigail, born
December 29, 1689.
(IV) Deacon Edward Wheeler, son of John
Wheeler (3), was born in Concord, July 17,
1669; died there February 17, 1734; married
November 23, 1697, Sarah Merriam, of Con
cord, born August 18, 1675, daughter of Sam
uel and Elizabeth (Townsend) Merriam. Ed
ward Wheeler was a weaver. Children born
at Concord: 1. Edward, born October 23,
1698-; married Elizabeth Herrick, and moved
to Littleton. 2. Nathan, born March 2,
1 700- 1 ; married Mary  , and was living
at Nashua in 1723, removed to Boston, where
he was living in 1736. 3. Esther, born Octo
ber 15, 1702; married a Simpson. 4. David,
born December 26, 1707; married Sarah Mer
riam. 5. Sarah, born November 27, 1709, died
December 11, 171 1. 6. Abigail, born Novem
ber 9, 1712; married Ephraim Brown. 8. Mary,
born April 20, 17 15.
(V) Deacon David Wheeler, son of Deacon
Edward Wheeler (4), was born in Concord,
December 26, 1707, and died there March 24,
1784, aged seventy-seven years. He was a
farmer irt Concord, and deacon of the church
there from 1766 until his death in 1784. In
1735 he assigned to Samuel Freeland land
that he held in Templeton, Massachusetts. He
was an ardent patriot, and performed heroic
service in the cause of independence. Although
sixty-eight years old, far past the age of mili
tary service, he marched out under arms at the
Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. He mar
ried Sarah Merriam, and their children, born

in Concord, were: 1. David, born 1730, died
November 10, 1803, aged seventy-three; fath
er of Captain David, born June 30, 1758, by
wife Rebekah Jones, whom he married March
r5> J757- 2- Ephraim, born December 11,
1734; see forward. 3. Sarah, born January
31, 1737; married David Vose, of Milton; sec
ond,  Harlan.
(VI) Lieutenant Ephraim Wheeler, son of
David Wheeler (5), was born in Concord, De
cember 11, 1734, and died there September 23,
1809, aged seventy-five years. He made an
excellent military record during the revolu
tion. He was in the fight at North Bridge,
Concord, in February, 1776; was commissioned
first lieutenant in Captain Thomas Hubbard's
company, Colonel Edgar Brooks' regiment of
militia, and was in the battle of Dorchester
Heights. In September, same year, his regi
ment entered upon a three months campaign,
during which he participated in the battle of
White Plains. In January, 1777, he began
service in the Continental line, as lieutenant in
Colonel Nixon's regiment, and joined the
northern army. He was honorably discharged
December 22, 1777. In 1780 his name stands as
first lieutenant of the fourth company, Third
regiment of militia. He married, November
27, 1766, (Ceremony by Rev. Mr. Emerson),
Sarah Heywood, of Concord; as his widow,
June 13, 181 1, she became the third wife of
Deacon William Parkman, whose daughter
Sarah had been for about twelve years the wife
of Ephraim Wheeler, Jr. ; she died November
:5> 1%S7> aged upwards of ninety-two years.
Children of Lieutenant Ephraim Wheeler, born
in Concord: 1. Sarah, born August 27, 1767,
died September 4, 1775. 2. Rebecca, born Jan
uary 20, 1770; married Thomas Hubbard. 3.
Ephraim, born March 21, 1773; see forward.
4. Jonathan, born July 31, 1776, died Septem
ber 4, 181 1. 5. Sally, born January 24, 1786;
married Seth Bemis. ,
(VII) Ephraim Wheeler, son of Lieutenant
Ephraim Wheeler (6), was born in Concord,
March 21, 1773, and died there August 19,
1848. He married, September 26, 1799, Sarah
Parkman (see above), ceremony by Abiel Hey
wood, Esq. Children: 1. Lydia Parkman,
born July 13, 1800; married Cyras Hosmer.
2. Henry Adams, born November 22, 1802;
see forward. 3. Jonathan, bom October 14,
1804; married Deborah S. Train. 4. Abiel
Heywood, born February 13, 1807; see sketch.
(VIII) Henry Adams Wheeler, son of Eph
raim Wheeler (7), was born in Concord, No
vember 22, 1802, died September 4, 1881. He
married, at Holden, Massachusetts, September

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

r3i5

30, 1828, Dolly Kendall, born at Boylston, Sep
tember 19, 1809, djed September 5, 1885,
daughter of Caleb and Dolly (Sawyer) Ken
dall; her father was born in Boylston, Janu
ary 27, 1779, son of Caleb and Priscilla
(Townsend) Kendall, and a descendant of the
immigrant Francis Kendall, of Woburn, from
whom all the Kendalls of Massachusetts are
descended. Children of Henry and Dolly
Wheeler; all born in Concord: 1. Mary Jane,
born August 18, 1829, died January 13, 1851.
2. Sarah Eliza, born February 13, 1832, died
October 10, 1865. 3. Lucy Ann, born Janu
ary 6, 1834, died April 13, 1854. 4. Rebecca,
born August 6, 1835 ; married Thomas Todd.
5. Abba Frames, born May 20, 1837 ; married
Julius M. Smith. 6. Eliza Kendall, born De
cember 21, 1840, died March 1, 1842. 7. Caleb
Henry, born" November 10, 1842; see forward.
8. Fanny Wood, born February 5, 1845, died
July 14, 1847. 9- Martha Washington, born
February 22, 1849 ! married Dr. Samuel Wor
cester. (IX) Caleb Henry Wheeler, son of Henry
Adams Wheeler (8), was born in Concord,
November 10, 1842, died September 4, 1900.
He received his education in the public schools
of his native town. He was brought up on his
father's farm, and being the only son remained
on the farm, which he conducted during his
mother's lifetime after the death of his father,
and eventually became owner of the home
stead. During his active career he filled the
part of, a useful and public spirited citizen.
One of the best known and most trustworthy
men of the town, he was often called upon to
occupy positions of public honor and trust,
holding the office of selectman, and most of the
other town offices from time to time. In poli
tics he was an earnest and loyal Republican.
He enlisted in the Union army at the very be
ginning of the civil war, in Company G, of the
famous Fifth Regiment Massachusetts Volun
teers, April 19, 1 86 1, under President Lin
coln's first call for three months troops. On
the expiration of his term of service he re-en
listed in Company G, Forty-seventh Massa
chusetts Volunteers, and was honorably dis
charged at the end of the war, having risen to
the rank of first sergeant. He was a man of
fine military ability, and after the war was
chosen captain of Company I, Sixth Regiment
Massachusetts Militia, and served with credit
until May, 1869, when he resigned. He was
a charter member of the Old Concord Post,
Grand Army of the Republic, and was at one
time its commander. He was also a member
of the Masonic fraternity and of the United

Workmen. In its report of his funeral, the
Concord Enterprise of September 12, 1900,
said : "The funeral of Caleb H. Wheeler was
held at his home on Sudbury Road last Friday
afternoon. The services were in charge of
Rev. Loren B. Macdonald, assisted by Rev.
George A. Tewksbury. A male quartet rend
ered several selections. The high esteem held
for our former townsmen by his fellow-citi
zens was indicated by the large numbers who
were in attendance, and by the several organ
izations gathered to escort the body to Sleepy
Hollow. The Old Concord Post was present
at the services, and with Company I, Sixth
Regiment, as military escort, and the members
of the local lodge of United Workmen, attend
ed the body to the grave, where the Post held
a burial service, and the bugler of Company I,
Sixth Regiment, sounded 'Taps.' " The fol
lowing tribute is from the Middlesex Patriot,
September 7, 1900: "The death of Caleb H.
Wheeler removes from among us one of that
class of citizens that Concord can ill afford to
spare. A lineal descendant of one of the little
band of Englishmen who were the original
settlers of Concord two hundred and sixty-five
years ago, and bearing in his veins some trace
of the blood of nearly every one of those hardy
pioneers who planted this settlement in the
wilderness, he was in his generation a typical
representation of those New England char
acteristics that we delight to recall and to
honor. Honest, plain spoken, brave, quiet and
undemonstrative, not ambitious of office or
wealth, or even of popularity, living his simple
life quietly and yet generously, finding his
greatest pleasure in devotion to his family and
his friends, he has left not an enemy on earth."
He married, first, Ellen A. Brown, born
June 6, 1844, died January 19, 1869; one
child, Nellie, born January 11, 1869, died
April 28, 1869. He married (second) Novem
ber 13, 1879, Sarah Elizabeth Parks, who was
born March 14, 1854, daughter of Dr. Luther
and Julia (Dale) Parks, of Boston, and sister
of Dr. Edward L. Parks. Her father was only
son of Luther and Sarah (Dutch) Parks;
Sarah Dutch was daughter of Deputy Sheriff
Daniel Dutch of Ipswich. Children of Caleb
H. and Sarah E. (Parks) Wheeler: 1. Julia
Dale, born October 19, 1880; graduated from
grammar and high schools, Concord, then at
Misses Weeks and Lougee's private school,
Boston, one year. 2. Sarah Kendall, bom
May 25, 1882 ; educated at public schools, at
Simmons College, Boston, and graduate of
Gregg School of Boston: now private secre
tary to firm of Whitmarsh & Johnson, Printing

1316

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Art University Press, Cambridge. 3. Mary
Ellen, born April 18, 1885 ; educated in public
schools ; member of the Boston and the Massa
chusetts Arts and Crafts societies ; has a priv
ate studio, where she is a metal worker. 4.
Elizabeth Parks, born April 21, 1889; kinder-
gartner, now training with Mrs. Stannard, 19
Chestnut street, Boston. 5. Caleb Henry,
born May 22, 1891 ; student in Concord high
school, class of 1908.

(VIII) Abiel Heyward
WHEELER Wheeler, son of Ephraim
Wheeler (7), (see above)
was born in Concord, Massachusetts, February
13, 1807. He settled in Concord, and like his
ancestors for many generations followed farm
ing. He was a highly respected citizen of ex
cellent character. He was formerly deacon of
the Congregational church. He married (in
tentions dated January 2, 1829, Harriet Lin
coln, of Ashby, Massachusetts, born January,
1807, daughter of William and Jeal (Cushing)
Lincoln. Children, all born in Concord: 1.
Henry Lincoln, born February 5, 1630, men
tioned below. 2. Charles Parkman, born No
vember 6, 1832, mentioned below. 3. Harriet
Lincoln, born January 10, 1834. 4. Sarah
Elizabeth, born May 10, 1840. 5. George
Francis, born February 2, 1842, mentioned be
low. 6. Mary C, born May 15, 1847.
(IX) Henry Lincoln Wheeler, eldest son of
Abiel H. Wheeler (8), was born February 5,
1830. He went to California in 1850. He en
listed in the Fifth Massachusetts Volunteer In
fantry for three months during the civil war,
and participated in the first battle of Bull Run ;
he was taken prisoner and confined for thir
teen months, when he was exchanged ; he was
first confined in Libby prison, then in New Or
leans, and subsequently in Salisbury, North
Carolina. While in prison he became quite
intimate with General Todd, a Confederate of
ficer in charge of prisoners, a brother of Mrs.
Abraham Lincoln, who secured for him the
bones of animals from which he cut out jewelry
which he sold, thus saving the lives of many
of his comrades who would otherwise have
starved ; he also had some of the other pris
oners assist him in the work. After he was
exchanged he enlisted in the Forty-seventh
Massachusetts Volunteers, and was appoint
ed commissary sergeant ; he went to New Or
leans, and being a civil engineer was detailed to
repair the guns and fortifications of that place,
rendering therein great and important service.
After completing this work he accepted a com

mission as captain in the Ninety-sixth United
States Colored Engineers. He was detailed to
repair the works at Port Hudson, also at
Brazier City, ana from there went to Mada-
gordia Bay. He was on General Canby's staff,
and had charge as engineer of the mounting of
the seige guns at Mobile Bay, and Spanish
Fort. He was brevetted major for meritorious
conduct, but the strain of his work there was
probably the direct cause of his death. He was
honorably discharged at the close of the war.
Subsequently he was engaged in some of the
southern railroads as engineer, and was one
of the pioneers to develop the iron and coal
industries of Birmingham, Alabama. He mar
ried Adelaide Bliss, of Vermont, who bore him
two children, Harry E. and Mabel. Henry L.
Wheeler died February 2, 1886.
(IX) Charles Parkman Wheeler, second
son of Abiel H. Wheeler (8), was born No
vember 6, 1832. He was a graduate of Wil-,
Hams College, after which he went to Cali
fornia, and for some time taught school in
Portland, Oregon, and Walla Walla, Wash
ington. At the breaking out of the civil war,
being an enthusiastic Abolitionist, he returned
east and enlisted as first lieutenant of the Fifth
Massachusetts Cavalry; he was later quarter
master of the regiment, serving with it
throughout his term of service, which regi
ment was the first to enter Richmond, Vir
ginia ; he served until the close of the war. He
was then employed in the Freedmen's Bureau,
and served as postmaster at Eufaula, Alabama.
Later he settled on a farm in New Hampshire,
where his death occurred October, 1898. He
married Ella Jaqmeth, of Milford, New Hamp
shire, a teacher in the south, who bore him six
children : Robert, Clara, Margaret, George,
Mary and Herman.
(IX) George Francis Wheeler, third son of
Abiel H. Wheeler (8), was born in Concord,
Massachusetts, February 2, 1842. He was
brought up on the homestead of his father,
and assisted his father on the farm during his
youth. He was educated in the public and
high schools of his native town. He has con
tinued to the present time on the homestead,
and is one of the best known and most pros
perous farmers of the section. In 1862 he en
listed in the Union army in Company G, For
ty-seventh Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer
Infantry, as a private. He was stationed some
eleven months at New Orleans, under Captain
Barrett and Colonel Lucius B. Marsh, of Bos
ton, and while there was on detailed service
with his brother in repairing the works in front
of that city ; he was also engaged in the quar-

*j-C{fr<jtJL^ vi

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1317

termaster's department; he was mustered out
of service at the end of his term of enlistment
at Readville, Massachusetts. He is a Republi
can in politics, and takes an active interest in
public affairs. He is a member of the Trini
tarian Congregational Church.
He married Alice, daughter of Thomas and
Emily (Thompson) Rattray. Children born
at Concord: 1. Arthur Lincoln, born October
26, 1867, educated in the public and high
schools; Williams College, two years; Brown
University, two years ; Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, two years in the electrical en
gineering department ; and is now an instructor
in the Providence (Rhode Island) Manual
Training School. He married Cora F. Dun-
nells; children: Margaret, Mary Constance
and George Francis. 2. Blanche Emily, born
January 9, 1870, educated in the public and
high schools of Concord, and at Smith College,
where she was graduated in 1892; she was a
school teacher in Providence, Rhode Island,
for some years, after which she took up the
study of archaeology, spending one year in
Greece. In 1902 she went to Crete with Miss
Harriet Boyd, and while there they excavated
and discovered the buried city of Gounia, and
are now completing a work on their discover
ies. She became the wife of Emile F. Wil
liams, of Boston. 3. Thomas R., born Octo
ber 4, 1871, attended the Concord public and
high schools, Boston Dental College, River
View Academy, Dental Department of the
University of California, at Berkley, Cali
fornia; he has the degree of Doctor of Dental
Surgery. He married Florence Haggerty, of
Michigan. 4. Ralph, born September 30,
1873, attended the public and high schools of
Concord, and is a graduate of the civil en
gineering department of the Massachusetts In
stitute of Technology. He was employed as
engineer in the water department of Brooklyn,
New York, for three years was employed on
the subway of New York, after which he ent
ered the service of S. A. Gillespie, of New
York. He married Edith G. Starkey, of Fox-
boro ; children : Thomas Granville and Alice
Charlotte. 5. Wilfrid, born September 8,
1876, attended the public and high schools of
Concord, Brown University, and Bussey Insti
tution of Harvard University; he resides on
the homestead. He married Emily Lillie ; one
child, Wilfrid Stayner, torn March 3, 1901. 6.
Allan R., born May 10, 1879, attended the
public and high schools of Concord, Brown
University, of which he was a graduate class
of 1901, and Columbia University, of which he
was a graduate; he is now a teacher in St.
George's School, Newport, Rhode Island. He

married Florence Williamson, of Chicago ; one
child, Elizabeth, born February 17, 1907.
(VIII) Jonathan Wheeler,
WHEELER son of Ephraim Wheeler
(7), was born in Concord,
October 14, 1804. His father was appointed
his guardian to receive a bequest from his
brother Jonathan, a wealthy merchant of Bal
timore, Maryland, who died at Watertown,
Massachusetts. His will dated October 5,
1809, proved September 28, 181 1, mentioned
also his sister Sarah, wife of Seth Bemis; sis
ter Rebecca, wife of Thomas Hubbard of Con
cord; his brother Ephraim; partner John
Richards ; the town of Concord ; mother Sarah.
Jonathan Wheeler settled in Carlisle, Massa
chusetts, adjoining Concord. Carlisle was in
corporated as a town in 1805, formerly the dis
trict of Carlisle, set off from Acton, Billerica,
Chelmsford and Concord. His home was
probably in the Carlisle district and town all
his life. His father followed the sea for a
livelihood, and was lost while on a fishing trip
while still a young man. Jonathan married
Mary Angeline Baker, of Springfield, Massa
chusetts. Children: 1. Lydia Angeline. 2.
Caroline Fidelia. 3. Joseph Cheney. 4. Clara
Sophia. 5. Alvin Wheeler. 6. Francis Ann,
mentioned below.
(IX) Frances Ann Wheeler, daughter of
Jonathan Wheeler, was born in Acton, Massa
chusetts, November 25, 1839. She was edu
cated in the public schools of her native town.
She came to Lowell when twenty years old,
and has lived there ever since. She married
March 6, 1866, Orrin Bartiett, 01 Lowell, now
deceased. Mrs. Bartiett is a member of the
Congregational Church, and is deeply inter
ested in the work and benevolence of the
church. Children, born in Lowell: 1. Wil
liam Tecumseh Sherman, born April 19, 1867 ;
was educated in the Lowell schools, now a
prosperous dealer in hardware in Lowell;
married Alice M. Colton, of Lowell ; children :
i. Winthrop Colton. ii. Cyrania. 2. Frank,
born December 21, 1868 ; educated in the Low
ell schools; married Lydia Currier; no chil
dren. 3. Cora Mabel, born April 20, 1873,
educated in the Lowell schools; now book
keeper for her brother in hardware store.

(For early generations see preceding sketches).
(Ill) Thomas Wheeler, son
WHEELER of George Wheeler (2), born
in England, died in Decem
ber, 1686. He married at Concord, Massa
chusetts, October 12, 1657, Hannah Harrod

i3i8

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

(now spelled Harwood). His estate was ad
ministered in Suffolk county in 1687 (vol. x,
p. 115). Children, bom in Concord: 1. Han
nah, born October 25, 1658, died August 12,
1659. 2. Thomas, born January 1, 1659-60.
3. John, born September 2, 1661, mentioned
below. (IV) John Wheeler, son of Thomas Wheel
er (3), born in Concord, Massachusetts, Sep
tember 2, 1661, died in 1721, in Marlborough.
He married, in Concord, June 25, 1684, Eliza
beth Wells. They had three children in Con
cord, and about 1700 removed to Marlborough.
Children: 1. John, born August 15, 1695, set
tled in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. 2. Mar
tha, born July 22, 1698. 3. Joseph, born April
19, 1700; married January 16, 18 18, Elizabeth
Holloway. 4. Ephraim, born May I, 1702;
see forward. 5. Daniel, born August 12, 1704.
(V) Ephraim Wheeler, son of John Wheeler
(4), born in Marlborough, May 1, 1702, died
April 29, 1755 ; married, at that place, De
cember 30, 1730, Miriam Martin, of Shrews
bury, who was admitted to the church in 1734,
and died there July 9, 1756. Children, born in
Shrewsbury: 1. Adam, born April 29, 1732;
married Mary, daughter of Isaac Wheeler, of
Rutland, an early settler there, coming from
Medfield, and married November 17, 1763,
settled in Hubbardston, where he was deacon
of the church, and a captain in the Continental
army. 2. Ephraim, born March 12, 1734,
mentioned below. 3. Daniel, baptized June 6,
1736. 4. Dinah, born August 12, 1739; mar
ried, 1757, Aaron Smith. 5. Miriam, born
September 1, 1742; married 1763, Asa Rice.
6. Elizabeth, baptized October 28, 1744; mar
ried, 1764, Asa Smith. 7. Aaron, bom Octo
ber 10, 1747.
(VI) Ephraim Wheeler, son of Ephraim
Wheeler (5), was born in Shrewsbury, March
12, 1734, on the homestead on Shrewsbury
Hill, died June 13, 1798. He removed to New
Salem about 1770. He married, at Shrews
bury, November 4, 1761, Azubah, daughter of
Abraham Eager. He married (second) March
22, 1769, Elizabeth, widow of Francis Temple,
of Shrewsbury. His first three children by
first wife, born in Shrewsbury, were: Cath
erine, June 10, 1762; Sarah, March 23, 1764;
Annie (Agnes), July 16, 1767. His sons,
born in New Salem, were : Nathan, February
19, 1788; Colonel Ephraim, Jr., died 186 — ;
Simeon. He bequeathed three farms at New
Salem to these three sons.
(VII) Nathan Wheeler, son of Ephraim
Wheeler (6), born in New Salem, February
19, 1788, died August 10, 1871, aged eighty-

three years. He was a farmer, and a well-known
citizen of New Salem. He married Esther
(Thompson) Fish, born August 5, 1787, died
September 18, 1867, daughter of Seth and
Esther (Thompson) Fish, and their children
were: 1. Esther T., born September 17, 1813,
died March 23, 1896; married Charles Felton,
of New Salem. 2. Charles Wyman, see for
ward. 3. Silvia Briggs, born May 18, 1819,
died December 23, 1857; married, November
24, 1839, James Brown, resided in Belle Plain,
Iowa. 4. Eunice Fish, born December 8,
1824, died January 5, 1886; married, October
11, 1857, Josephus Wilder, of Enfield, Massa
chusetts. 5. Chloe Dillingham, born May 18,
1827, died September 25, 1903 ; married, June
20, 1849, Edwin W. Chamberlin, of Prescott,
Massachusetts. 6. Nancy Cutter, born April
30, 1830, died April 16, 1896; married, Octo
ber 22, 1850, Abner Lincoln; resided in Phila
delphia. (VIII) Charles Wyman Wheeler, second
child and eldest son of Nathan and Esther
(Thompson) Wheeler, born in New Salem,
October 28, 1815, died August 15, 1869. He
was educated in the common schools of his
native town. He became proprietor of a gen
eral store and several mills, and part owner
of a match factory at Erving, Massachusetts,
and was an extensive dealer in lumber in New
Salem and Orange, Massachusetts. He was
a keen and successful man of affairs, with
varied interests, and was a most useful citi
zen. In religion he was a Congregationalist,
and in politics a Republican. He married
Elizabeth Wells Lamb, born in Longmeadow,
Massachusetts, daughter of Samuel and Elice
Lois (Merritt) Lamt; her father was a sol
dier in the revolution, and took part in the bat
tle of Bennington. The children of Charles
W. and Elizabeth (Lamb) Wheeler were: 1.
Charles Wyman, born March 19,' 1839, mar
ried Nancy Moore, of Erving, Massachusetts;
died May 9, 1864; he served in the civil war
in Company B, Twenty-seventh Massachusetts
Infantry, was shot in the battle of the Wilder
ness, and died on the battlefield. 2. Mary E.,
born September 22, 1840, married Naman
Tyrrell, of Orange; died April 11, 1902. 3.
John Wells, horn April 3, 1844 ; married Ella
G. Foskett, of Orange. 4. Ellen E., born
January 28, 1847; married Isaac Green, of
Shutesbury, Massachusetts ; died February 14,
1872. 5. Alice E., bom October 3, 1854; un
married. 6. Emma J., born July 26, 1858;
married Samuel Gaunt, of Brooklyn, New
York. 7. Fayette W., of whom further.
(IX) Fayette Winthrop Wheeler, youngest

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1319

child of Charles Wyman and Elizabeth Wells
(Lamb) Wheeler, was born at Orange, Mas
sachusetts, August 24, i860. He received a
liberal education in the public schools of Or
ange and New Salem, and the New Salem
Academy, from which he graduated in 1878,
at the age of eighteen. He was an instructor
in the academy for one year, and a teacher' in
the Orange and New Salem schools for two
years. He then went to Columbus, Ohio,
where he was for some years engaged in the
manufacture of mill machinery, and afterward
of carriages and high-class delivery wagons,
and was also proprietor of a coal and ice busi
ness. He took an active part in the musical or
ganizations of Columbus, and in 1884 aided in
incorporating and was one of the charter mem
bers of the Arion Club of forty-five voices,
which soon became one of the leading male
chorus clubs of Ohio. He was an active work
er in the Republican party while in Columbus,
and a member of several clubs. He was a
member and one of the deacons of the East
wood Congregational Church of Columbus.
While in Ohio he organized in 1892, at Chilli-
cothe, the old capitol of the state, a Sunday
school which soon formed a church organiza
tion which he named the "Plymouth Congre
gational Church," and which was the first
church of that denomination to be established
in Ross county, Ohio. He had an inclination
for a professional life, however, and in 1895 he
relinquished the pursuits before mentioned,
and went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he
took up the study of law in the office of Judge
Charles H. Drew. He was admitted to the
bar in February, 1898, since which time he has
been engaged in the practice of his profession
in Boston, in which city and vicinity he has
drawn to himself a large and influential cli
entele. His residence is in Maiden, where he
served as a member of the common council in
1899 and 1900, during which period he rend
ered efficient service as a member of the com-
mitteee to revise the city ordinances. In poli
tics he is a Republican, and a member of the
Republican Club of Massachusetts. He is a
member of the Robinson Methodist Episcopal
Church of Maiden, served on its building com
mittee, organized a surpliced boy choir of sixty
voices, and was superintendent of its Sunday
school. He was also on the board of directors
of the Maiden Young Men's Christian Asso
ciation. He is a memter of the Knights of
Pythias. Mr. Wheeler married, July 26, 1882, Cora
Anna Lyman, born in Greenfield, Massachu

setts, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah D.
(Hastings) Lyman. Her father was son of
Anson Marshall Lyman, of Winchester, New
Hampshire, and her mother was daughter of
Asa Hastings, a farmer of Marlborough, New
Hampshire, a member of the Universalist
church, and a well known citizen, whose wife
was Mary Wilkinson, of Marlborough.
Philip Lyman Wheeler, only child of Fay
ette Winthrop and Cora A. (Lyman) Wheeler,
was born in Columbus, Ohio, June 6, 1887. He
is a graduate of Maiden high school, class of
1905. He is a member of the Robinson Metho
dist Episcopal Church, and is employed in the
National Security Bank of Boston.

(For early generations see George Wheeler 2.)
(Ill) William Wheeler, son
WHEELER of George Wheeler (2), and
grandson of John Wheeler
(1), was born about 1635 and died December
31, 1683. (One record gives it November.)
He married, October 30, 1659, Hannah Buss,
born February 12, 1641, at Concord, daughter
of Ensign William Buss, (Busse, Buzie or
Bussey) of Concord, and his wife Ann. Wil
liam Wheeler was admitted a freeman in 1660 ;
was a farmer at Concord, Massachusetts.
Children, born at Concord: 1. Hannah, born
October 23, 1660. 2. Rebecca, February 25,
1661. 3. Elizabeth, January 2, 1663. 4. Wil
liam, February 8, 1665-6, mentioned below.
5. John, May 10, 1668. 6. Richard, September
19, 1672, died March 31, 1689. 7. Hannah,
April 8, 1673.
(IV) William Wheeler, Jr., son of William
Wheeler (3), was born in Concord, February
8, 1665-66, and died there May 29, 1752, at
the advanced age of eighty-seven. His grave
stone gives his age as eighty-seven years, three
monfhis, twenty-one days, while the town rec
ords call him eighty-six. The gravestone is
correct. He married Sarah Fletcher. (See
sketch of. the Fletcher family) . Children, born
in Concord: 1. William,. January 9, 1693-94.
2. Joseph, Febraary 29, 1695-96. 3. Francis,
February 8, 1697-98, mentioned below. 4. Hez
ekiah, June 13, 1700. 5. Nathaniel, Septem
ber 18, 1702. 6. Elizabeth, October 2, 1704.
7. Sarah, March 8, 1706-07, died November
26, 1707. 8. Jeremiah, November 22, 1709.
(V) Francis Wheeler, son of William
Wheeler (4), was born in Concord, February
8, 1697-98, and died there November, 1774,
aged seventy six. He was a farmer at the
homestead in Nine Acre Corner, Concord.

1320

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

His first wife Mary died in 1737. He married
(second), January 23, 1740-41, Sarah Blood.
Children, born at Concord, by first wife: 1.
Francis, February 22, 1724-25, died Decem
ber 14, 1727. 2. Mary, August 27, 1726, died
June 21, 1736. 3. Francis, July 31, 1728. 4.
Rhoda, August 24, 1730. 5. Nathaniel, April
29, 1732. 6. Miriam, January 3, 1733. 7.
Solomon, November 5, 1735. Children of
Francis and Sarah (Blood) Wheeler : 8.
Sarah, June 23, 1742. 9. Samuel, October 5,
1743. 10. Phineas, April 3, 1745. 11. Han
nah, January 23, 1746. 12. Noah, January 25,
1749-50, mentioned below.
(VI) Noah Wheeler, son of Francis Wheel
er (5), was born in Concord, January 25, 1749-
50, and died February 23, 1834, at the ad
vanced age of eighty-four. He married, July
30, 1776, Sarah Merriam. His wife Sarah was
born in Concord in 1753, died 1825. He was
a farmer at the homestead on Nine Acre Cor
ner. Children, born in Concord : 1. Noah,
Jr., February 3, 1778. 2. Francis, January
29, 1780. 3. Sally, July 21, 1782. 4. Cyrus,
November 10, 1786, mentioned below. 5. Polly,
August 5, 1789. 6. Betsey, January 3, 1792.
(VII) Colonel Cyrus Wheeler, son of Noah
Wheeler (6), was born November 10, 1786,
and died there in 1855. He married, Decem
ber 19, 1816, Elizabeth Smith, of East Sud
bury, Massachusetts, where she was born in
1793. She died in Concord in 1877. The
present Wheeler farm owned by Anson Wheel
er, mentioned below, standing on an elevation
commanding a fine view of this most fertile
section of Concord, was settled first by Noah
Wheeler (6), and inherited by Colonel Cyrus
and Noah Wheeler, Jr., his sons. Noah,
Jr.'s son George resides on a portion of this
estate. Cyrus Wheeler was active in the state
militia and rose to the command of his regi
ment. He was stationed with his regiment
in Boston for a time during the war of 1812.
He held many town offices and was a prom
inent citizen of Concord for many years. Col
onel Cyrus erected the buildings now standing
on the farm occupied by his grandson, Anson
Wheeler. He was an enterprising and suc
cessful farmer. He was held in the highest
esteem by his townsmen. Children, born in
Concord: 1. Edwin, October 19, 1817. 2.
Eivene, July 1, 1820. 3. Gardner, May 10,
1822, mentioned below. 4. Elizabeth, April
15, 1824. 5. Martha, Augut 16, 1827. 6.
Sarah, October 3, 1829.
(VIII) Gardner Wheeler, son of Colonel
Cyrus Wheeler (7), was torn in Concord,

Massachusetts, May 10, 1822. He lived all
his life on the homestead which he inherited
from his father, and was a prominent and well-
to-do farmer. He had a common school edu
cation in his native town. He purchased addi
tional land and increased the acreage of the
homestead. He devoted his attention to mar
ket gardening with uniform success during his
active life, and in recent years since his sons
have been associated in the business it has
grown to large proportions. Mir. Wheeler was
a Republican in politics; a Unitarian in re
ligion. He served the town as member of the
school committee, as road commissioner and in
other positions of trust and honor. He died
February 3, 1900. He married, December 28,
1847, Maria Rice, who was born in Hookset,
New Hampshire, March 13, 1826, and died at
Concord, March 2, 1894. Children, born at
Concord: 1. Alvah G., January 1, 1849, re
sides on part of the homestead. 2. Mary E.,
October 11, 1850, died at the age of eleven
years. 3. Cyrus, December 7, 1852, settled
in Los Angeles, California. 4. Richard R.,
August 28, 1857, superintendent of a mine in
California. 5. Anson, November 5, 1863,
mentioned below. 6. Mabel, November 3,
1866, married Murray Ballou1, Concord, Mas
sachusetts. (IX) Anson Wheeler, son of Gardner
Wheeler (8), was born in Concord on the
homestead, November 5, 1863. He was edu
cated in the public and high schools of Con
cord. From early youth he worked for his
father on the farm and became an expert mar
ket gardener. He and his brother succeeded
their father in the market gardening business
and have been very successful. Anson Wheel
er built four large greenhouses before his fath
er's death and employed ten or fifteen men.
He made a specialty of rhubarb, radishes, let'
tuce, beets and cucumbers. He has increased
his plant until at present he employs a force
of ten to eighteen men and has forty-five thou
sand square feet of glass under cultivation.
He is one of the best known market gardeners
of the vicinity. He is a Republican in politics,
and a Unitarian in religion.
He married, April 14, 1887, Mary E. An-
gier, born May 4, 1866, daughter of Daniel and
Elizabeth (Trefethen) Angier, of Concord.
(See sketch of Angier family). Children, born
at Concord: 1. Raymond, March 10, 1888. 2.
Mabel, April 1, 1890. 3. Edith V., December
10, 1892. 4. Marion, July 17, 1894. 5. Alden
Rice, December 5, 1897. 6. Dorothy, Decem
ber 14, 1902.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1321

Most of the American fami-
ANGIER lies of this name trace their
ancestry to Edmund Angier,
of Cambridge, father of Rev. Samuel Angier,
and son of John Angier, of Dedham, Eng
land. The name is confused in records with
Augur in its various spellings.
(I) John Angier, the ancestor of the Bos
ton family, had a very brief career. He mar
ried, in 165 1, Hannah Aspinwall, bom in
Boston, December 25, 163 1. His son John
was born September 16, 1652, and baptized
August 27, 1654, in the First Church, Boston.
Savage says that John Angier graduated from
Harvard in 1653, and died in 1657. This John
Angier, of our lineage, died or returned to
England apparently, but we find neither will,
administration, or even deeds of his large
estate. He was called a cousin of Rev. John
Cotton in his will, December 23, 1652. He
assigned a mortgage on land of Sampson
Shore, Boston, to his father-in-law, William
Aspinwall, Esq., and this mortgage was dis
charged before Aspinwall returned to Eng
land, under date of July 13, 1652. John
Angier was a witness on a deed dated May 31,
1652. Aspinwall deeded all his lands to
Angier, November 11, 165 1, and in 1652, June
8. What lends color to the belief that John
Angier died in 1657 is a letter written from
England by Aspinwall, March 13, 1662, in
quiring of the magistrates in Boston about
the land he "gave to his son Angier." A Sarah
Angier died in Boston, September 18, 1692.
(II) John Angier, son of John Angier (1),
was born in Boston, September 16, 1652, tap
tized in the First Church Boston, September
18, 1654. He must have left Boston with his
mother after his father's death. We find no
father record of him in Boston.
(Ill) John Angier, son of John (2), ac
cording to the best evidence obtainable, ap
pears in possession of his grandfather's estate
in Boston. He may have been in England,
though the Boston records are defective, and
the family may have resided there. He died
intestate in Boston 1743. He married Ann
— : — . Children, born in Boston: 1. John,
born January 17, 1714. 2. Robert, born May
26, 1717; mentioned below. 3. Eliza, born
April 3, 1719.
(IV) Robert Angier, son of John Angier
(3), was born in Boston, May 26, 1717. He
married at Charlestown, Massachusetts, April
12, 1742, Abigail Mallet, who owned the
covenant and was taptized October 30, 1743.
His will was made September 8 and proved
Novemter 19, 1753; devised to wife, and chil-
iv— 4

dren Robert, Abigail and Sarah. Children- 1
Abigail, baptized October 30, 1743. 2. Sarah,
born September, 1744. 3. Robert, baptized
September 22, 1751. 4. Margaret, baptized
September 16, 1757.
(IV) John Angier, son of John Angier (3)
was born in Boston, January 17, 1714. He
left Boston, and of his family the record has
not been found. But we find Robert Angier,
his son we believe, at Billerica as early as
1763. (V) Robert Angier, the first of the family
at Billerica, son of John (4), was born about
1740. He married Martha  . He was
on the Billerica tax list from 1770 to 1775.
Children: 1. Jesse, born July 9, 1763. 2.
John, born August 21, 1765; mentioned be
low. 3. Asa, born March 29, 1769. 4. Betts,
born June 19, 1771. 5. Samuel, born 1765,
baptized November 3, 1765.
Robert Angier (6) was a soldier in the
revolution from Billerica, Massachusetts, a
private in Captain Haffield White's company,
Colonel Rufus Putnam's regiment, in the
Continental army, in 1777. He was also in
the service in 1775 from Billerica (page 379,
vol. I, "Mass. Sold, and Sailors") in Captain
Ford's company, Colonel Ebenezer Bridge's
regiment (twenty-seventh), giving his age as
forty-two; stature five feet five inches; com
plexion, light; occupation, farmer; enlisted
April 28, 1775. His son Jesse was in the
revolution at the age of seventeen years as
fifer and drummer. The ages in the rolls
were not given with any attempt at accuracy.
(V) John Angier, son of Robert Angier,
was born in Billerica, Massachusetts, August
21, 1765. He was in Maiden at the time of
his marriage, March 2, 1794, to' Mary Si
monds, of Lexington, daughter of John and
Mary (Tufts) Simonds. He must have estab
lished himself in Lexington directly after his
marriage, for his name appears soon after
ward on the tax lists. He lived on Burling
ton street, near what was called Bull Hill
Meadow. Children: 1. John, born March,
1794, according to Hudson's history; was in
the war of 1812 and in the Mexican War;
settled in Wisconsin. 2. Daniel, born August
24, 1796; mentioned below. 3. Abigail, born
February 11, 1798; married Samuel C. Si
monds of Burlington. 4. Amos, born De
cember 27, 1802; married November 3, 1828,
Esther R. Winn, of Salem, daughter of Ben
jamin and Sarah (Estabrooks) Winn, of Bur
lington; children: i. Amos M., born Febru
ary 28, 1831; married May 31, 1857, Sarah F.
Blaisdell, of Charlestown; ii. Lucius B., born

1322

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

May 14, 1833, served in a Massachusetts regi
ment in civil war; iii. Louisa, born September
27> z835; iv. Henry A., born April 30, 1838;
wounded at Bull Run; resided at Somerville,
Massachusetts; v. Everett M., born Decem
ber, 1 84 1.
(VI) Daniel Angier, son of John Angier
(5), was born in Lexington, Massachusetts,
August 24, 1796; married June 15, 1823, Sally
Davis, of Concord, Massachusetts. They
lived in Lexington. Children: 1. Marshall,
born October 26, 1823. 2. Charles D., born
January 26, 1825. 3. Rufus H., born July 8,
1828. 4. Sarah L. H., born August 31, 1830.
5. Harriet Mi., born August 5, 1832. 6. Dan
iel E., born September 16,. 1834, mentioned
below. 7. Massillon W., born October 3,
1838. 8. Cyrus L., born May 3, 1845.
(VII) Daniel Eustis Angier, son of Daniel
Angier (6), was born in Lexington, Massa
chusetts, September 16, 1834. He married
(first) Evelina F Lawrence, of Cohasset,
Massachusetts, who bore him one child
George Eustis, who died at the age of three
months. He married (second) Elizabeth
(Trefathen) Gross, a widow, who has by her
first husband, Newton D. Gross. Elizabeth
was the daughter of Henry and Mary
(Thompson) Trefathen of Monhergan Island,
Maine; their children: Harriet N., William
S., Jane H., Henry E., died young; George,
Charles E., Henry, Elizabeth, mentioned
above. Henry Trefathen, father of Henry just
mentioned, married (first) Mina Sterling and
after her death married (second) and (third).
Mary (Thompson) Trefathen was the daugh
ter of James and Elizabeth (Davis) Thomp
son, of Friendship, Maine; their children:
Rachel, Dorcas, Lizzie, Anna, Ezekiel, Eben
ezer, James, and three daughters who mar
ried three brothers, Sally, married George
Trefathen, Nancy, married Joseph Tre
fathen; Mary, married Henry Trefathen,
mentioned above: Elsie Thompson. Child
of Daniel E. and Elizabeth (Trefathen) An
gier: Mary E., born May 4, 1866, in New
Castle, New Hampshire, married Anson
Wheeler. (See Wheeler family).

(For early generations see William Wheeler 3.)
(VIII) Edwin Wheeler,
WHEELER son of Colonel Cyrus
Wheeler (7), was born in
Concord, Massachusetts, October 19, 1817.
He resided at Nine Acre Corner, Concord.
He purchased the farm of his father, now
owned and occupied by his son Frank, and

conducted agricultural pursuits successfully
until his retirement in 1888, after which he
removed to the village of Concord where he
resided until his death, June 29, 1898. He
was prominent in town affairs, and held vari
ous town offices, also membership in the gen
eral court. He took an active interest in the
Universalist church. He married, January 15,
1845, Mary Rice, of Concord, who is living at
the present time (1908).
(IX) Edwin M. Wheeler, son of Edwin
Wheeler (8), was born in Concord, Decem
ber 22, 1845. He was educated in the public
and high schools of that town. He was em
ployed part of the year after he left home as
shipper for the firm of Reed & Barton, silver
smiths, of Taunton, Massachusetts. After
working for a boot and shoe store in Boston
for a time, he returned to the employ of Reed
& Barton, and in 1867 became a department
manager for this concern in New York City.
He married Clara Session, of New York City.
Children: Elizabeth Fisher and Edwin
Wheeler. (IX) Harvey Wheeler, son of Edwin
Wheeler (8), born in Concord, Massachusetts,
November 5, 1847. Educated in public
schools of the town; member and lieutenant
of Massachusetts Volunteer Militia; promin
ent in Good Templars order; after spending
a year and more in California returned to
Massachusetts, where he developed the Bos
ton Harness Company, Concord Junction,
Massachusetts, wholesale harness manufac
turers. He married Annie A. Bent, Canton,
Massachusetts. Three children, Roger,
Gladys, Berkeley. Prominent in town af
fairs; chairman of selectmen a number of
years, member to the general court three
years. (IX) Elbert- Wheeler, son of Edwin
Wheeler (8), born in Concord, Massachu
setts, September 18, 1849. Educated in pub
lic schools of the town, and West Point Mili
tary Academy. Served two years in the army.
Married Clara Roby, Nashua, New Hamp
shire. Settled in Laconia and Nashua, New
Hampshire. Served as inspector general on
the staff of several successive governors of
that state. Treasurer of lighting and water
companies. (IX) William Wheeler, son of Edwin
Wheeler (8), born in Concord, Massachusetts,
December 6, 1851. Educated in public
schools of the town, and in the pioneer class
of Massachusetts Agricultural College.
Helped establish Agricultural College at Sap-
paro, Japan. Returned to Massachusetts;

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1323

established business of civil engineering,
principally installing water companies. Mar
ried Fannie E. Hubbard, of Concord, Massa
chusetts. (IX) Frank Wheeler, son of Edwin
Wheeler (8), was born in Concord, Massa
chusetts, April 3, 1856. He was educated in
the public and high schools of his native
town, and has followed farming as his occu
pation, conducting his operations on the
homestead, making a specialty of market
gardening. In 1888 he purchased the home
stead at Nine Acre Corner, Concord. He
served on the school committee for twelve
years, in 1906 was elected on the board of
selectmen, and the following year was ap
pointed chairman of the board. He is a Re
publican in politics. He married, April 3,
1888, Lucie Howe Brigham, born June 3,
1865, daughter of Alonzo Howe and Mary
(Parmenter) Brigham (See sketch herewith
of the. Brigham family). Children, born in
Concord: 1. Hilda, born July 15, 1889. 2.
Esther Howe, July 26, 1891. 3. Priscilla,
March 8, 1894. 4. Elizabeth Rice, March 23,
1899. 5. Eirene, April 18, 1901. 6. Frances
Brigham, December 5, 1904.
(IX) Mary Wheeler, daughter of Edwin
Wheeler (8), born in Concord, Massachu
setts, March 23, 1859, unmarried.
(IX) Eirene Wheeler, daughter of Edwin
Wheeler (8), born in Concord, Massachu
setts, March 30, 1861, married Frank A.
Nichols, Concord, Massachusetts, died Octo
ber 16, 1904.
(IX) Sam Wheeler, son of Edwin Wheeler
(8), born in Concord, Massachusetts, April 2,
1866. Educated in public schools, and Insti
tute of Technology, Boston, as civil engineer.
Married S. Agnes Bent, of Sudbury, Massa
chusetts. Moved to Ashland, Wisconsin,
where he is superintendent of water works.
Five children: Ruth, Helen, Robert, Mary,
Theodore.

The name Brigham is from
BRIGHAM the Saxon brigg (bridge)
and ham (house). There is
a manor of the name in county Cumberland,
adjoining Scotland, and in ancient days a part
of Scotland. The Barony from which the
family name is derived is now generally called
by another name, Cockermouth. The old
castle was one of the strongest in its day. It
was built largely, of material taken from an
old Roman castle in the vicinity. As late as
1648 it was garrisoned and stood seige for a

month. After it was captured it was nearly
destroyed, but at last accounts a small part
was still habitable. From this Manor the
English and American Brighams get their
names, and all probably are descended from
the early Brighams of this place.
(I) Thomas Brigham was born undoubt
edly in England in 1603. He embarked at
London for New England, April 18, 1653, in
the ship "Susan and Ellen," Edward Pyne,
master. He settled at Watertown. In 1637
he had a fourteen acre lot there, bought of
John Doggett. It was situated in a part later
annexed to Cambridge. He built his house
in Cambridge on a lot containing three acres
and a half. His neighbors were Joseph,
Simon and Isaac Crosby. His home was
about two-thirds of a mile from Harvard Col
lege, and at one point abutted on the Charles
river. He resided there until 1648. He was
admitted a freeman April 18, 1637. He was
one of the leading citizens, was selectman in
1640-42-47, and was constable in 1639-42. He
made a specialty on his farm of raising hogs,
and in 1647 owned a third of all the swine in
the town. He was fined for letting his hogs
get away and run at large. He owned a wind
mill in which corn was ground. He died De
cember 8, 1653. His will was dated Decem
ber 7, 1653-54, and was proved October 3,
1654. He married Mercy Hurd, who is said
to have come with her sister alone from Eng
land owing to religious differences from
which they suffered annoyance and persecu
tion at home. After the death of Mr. Brig
ham she married (second), March 1, 1655,
Edmund Rice, of Sudbury and Marlborough,
by whom she had two daughters; she married
(third), William Hunt, of Marlborough, who
died in 1667, and she died December 23, 1693,
after being in her third widowhood twenty-six
years. Children of Thomas and Mercy: 1.
Mary, born probably at Watertown. 2.
Thomas, born 1640-41, died November 25,
1717; married Mary Rice. 3. John, born
March 9, 1644, died September 16, 1728. 4.
Hannah, bom March 9, 1649, married Samuel
Wells. 5. Samuel, born January 12, 1652-53,
mentioned below.
(II) Captain Samuel Brigham, son of
Thomas Brigham (1), was born in Cam
bridge, Massachusetts, January 12, 1652, and
died in Marlborough, July 24, 1713. At the
time of his mother's marriage to Edmund
Rice, he was three years old, and removed
with her to Sudbury and Marlborough. He
had a "twenty-five acre grant in the first lay
ing out of Worcester in 1673, it lying in the

I324

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

eastern squadron next to the County Road to
Boston." He was a lieutenant of Captain
Thomas Howe and was rewarded by govern
ment for military services in Queen Anne's
war. A garrison was established at his house
in this war. In 1707 he drew a lot of twenty-
one acres and a lot of one hundred and three
acres south of Tobacco Meadow, bounded by
the path to his Stony Brook Meadow, where,
in his right, his heirs drew other lots. He
was town treasurer in 1699 and 1703; select
man in 1707 and 1710; representative to the
general court in 1697-99 and in 1705. He re
sided three-fourths of a mile east of East Vil
lage, near the old tan-yard of the Late Cap
tain Daniel Brigham. He was the first man
to engage in the tanning and shoemaking
trades in Marlborough. The first tannery in
the town was erected by him about 1700, near
his dwelling house on present East Main
street. This tannery, said to have been the
first west of Charlestown, descended in regu
lar succession to Captain Daniel Brigham,
who retired from active business in the early
fifties, when the tannery ceased to be used;
It was taken down piecemeal, and by 1876 it
had entirely disappeared. He married Eliza
beth Howe, born April 5, 1665, died July 26,
1739, daughter of Abraham and Sarah
(Ward) Howe, of Marlborough.
Samuel Brigham is buried in the old ceme
tery in the rear of the academy in Marl
borough, the only one of the second genera
tions of Brighams whose grave is marked.
He died intestate; his widow and eldest son
administered the estate, which was valued at
one thousand two hundred and sixty three
pounds, eight shillings.
Children, born at Marlborough: 1. Eliza
beth, born March 24, 1685, married Samuel
Robinson. 2. Hepsibah, born January 25,
1686, married John Maynard. 3. Samuel,
born January 25, 1689, mentioned below. 4.
Lydia, born March 6, 1691. 5. Jedediah,
born June 8, 1693. 6. Jotham, born Decem
ber 23, 1695. 7. Timothy, born October 10,
1698. 8. Charles, horn December 30, 1700.
9. Persis, born July 10, 1703, married, No
vember 22, 1721, Edward Baker, Jr., a first
settler of Westborough, Massachusetts. 10.
Antipas, born October 16, 1706, died April
23, 1746, at Grafton, Massachusetts.
(Ill) Captain Samuel Brigham, son of
Captain Samuel Brigham (2), was born at
Marlborough, January 25, 1689, and died at
Grafton, September 1, 1771. In December,
1727, leave was granted ty the general court
to him and thirty-nine others to purchase

Grafton of the Indians, under restrictions and
conditions, which seem to have been strictly
observed. He settled in the south part of
Marlborough, and held many town offices.
He was moderator of meetings, assessor in
1739-40; town treasurer; town clerk in 1754-
55; selectman in 1741-42-44-46-48-49-54;
in 1716 one of a committee "to seat the meet
ing." He left a large estate, settled without
an administrator. He served in the Colonial
wars, being on the alarm list, Second Sud
bury Company, in 1757, under Captain Josiah
Richardson. He married, August 23, 1716, Abigail
Moore, who died November 20, 1731, aged
thirty-five. Children: 1. Samuel, born June
13, 1717, died June 14, 1717. 2. Sybillah,
born October 15, 1718, died September 27,
1807; married Eleazer Goddard, of Athol and
Framingham. 3. Mary, born April 13, 1720.
4. Abigail, born December 10, 1721, died
September 27, 1755. 5. Samuel born March
3, 1723.. 6. Phineas, born December 18,
1725, died August 23, 1736. 7. Uriah, born
September 10, 1727, mentioned below. 8.
George, born March 17, 1730.
(IV) Lieutenant Uriah Brigham, son of
Captain Samuel Brigham (3), was born in
Marlborough, September 10, 1727, and died
there October 22, 1782. He was brought up as
a gentleman's son, and never did manual labor.
He lived in the style of the English gentry,
receiving the visits of the elite from far and
near, keeping open house, in which there was
no limit to his hospitality. His estate bore
the strain of such a lavish style of living much
better than might have been expected, lasting
through his time, but was so involved at his
death that the administrators had employ
ment for thirty years. He resided in the
south part of Marlborough on a part of the
estate which had belonged to his father. He
was warden in 1764; selectman in 1765-68-69,
and town clerk in 1769. He was in the Col
onial war in 1762, in Captain Thomas How's
company, Colonel Ward's regiment, Third
Marlborough company. He married, July
12, 1750, Sarah Breck Gott, born March 21,
1729, died January 31, 1815, daughter of Dr.
Benjamin and Sarah (Breck) Gott, of Marl
borough. Children, bom in Marlborough: 1.
John Gott, born February 8, iy 50-51, men
tioned below. 2. Henry, born October 26,
1752. 3. Sarah, born January 22, 1755, mar
ried Dr. Nathaniel Gott, of Wenham, Massa
chusetts. 4. Uriah, bom July 11, 1757- 5-
Abigail, born December 31, 1759, married
David Wait. 6. Persis, born April 7, 1762,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1325

married Alexander Watson. 7. Edward,
born June 13, 1764. 8. Nathaniel, born Au
gust 17, 1766, died young. 9. Robert, born
December 14, 1769, died young. 10. Anne,
born August 16, 1773, married Charles Saf-
ford. 11. Robert Breck, born January 2,
1776, died about 1815, unmarried.
(V) John Gott Brigham, son of Uriah
Brigham (4), was born in Marlborough, Feh-
ruary 8, 1750-51, and died April 30, 1816. He
resided in Marlborough. He was a soldier in
the Revolution, being a private in Captain
Morse's company, Colonel Howe's regiment.
He was five feet, nine inches in height, of a
dark complexion. He married, January 10,
1833, Mary Collins. Children, born in Marl
borough: 1. Hepsibah, born October 30,
1794. 2. John Gott, horn August 2, 1796,
mentioned below.
(VI) John Gott Brigham, son of John Gott
Brigham (5), was born August 2, 1796, and
died November 27, 1871. He was a wheel
wright and resided in Concord, Massachu
setts. He married, January 9, 1820, Lucy
Howe, born June 6, 1798, died February 28,
1863, daughter of Benjamin and Abigail
(Howe) Howe, of Marlborough. Children,
the two eldest born in Marlborough, the
others in Concord: 1. Hepsibah Collins, born
October 21, 1821, died August 7, 1872; mar
ried George Albert Houghton. 2. William
Eustis, born April 14, 1823. 3. George Howe,
torn December 5, 1824, married. Melissa
Wheelock, of Newport, Vermont. 4. Alonzo
Howe, born April 16, 1826, mentioned below.
5. John Edward, born March 9, 1828, mar-
'ried Isabella Smith. 6. Harrison Gray, born
November 4, 1829, married Josephine Gar
field. 7. Francis Eugene, born October 10,
1831, died September 11, 1833. 8. Mary Ann,
born May 3, 1834, married Francis Bacon.
9. Lucy Jane, born July 3, 1836, died Octo
ber, 1873.
(VII) Alonzo Howe Brigham, son of John
Gott Brigham (6), was bom in Concord, Mas
sachusetts, April 16, 1826, and died there
January 5, 1892. He was a farmer and re
sided at Concord. He married, January 4,
1863, in Neponset, Massachusetts, Mary
Elizabeth Parmenter, born June 17, 1836,
daughter of Amory M. Parmenter, of Marl
borough, Massachusetts. Children, born at
Concord: 1. Frank A., born December 15,
1863, died August 5, 1866. 2. Lucie Howe,
born June 3, 1865, married Frank Wheeler,
of Concord, Massachusetts, mentioned else
where in this work. 3. John Burt, born De
cember 18, 1866, married, August 7, 1904,

Flora Stuart, of. East Boston. 4. Harry Win
throp, born December 22, 1868. 5. Amy
Belle, born January 11, 1871, died December
25, 1871. 6. Alice May, born September 14,
1877, married, March 25, 1897, Harry Sidney
Walcott.

John Whitcomb, immi-
WHITCOMB grant ancestor of this
family in America, was un
doubtedly of English birth, and the name
was originally Whetcombe. He was long
supposed to be the son of Symon Whet
combe, who was one of the original patentees
of the old Massachusetts Bay Colony, but the
publication of the will of John Whetcombe of
Sherbourne, Dorsetshire, England, probated
in 1598, shows that Symon was then a minor,
and that he could not have been the father of
the American progenitor, who was born
about 1588. Some authorities believe that
the American John was brother of Symon,
and the John Whetcombe mentioned in the
will of Symon's father.
John Whitcomb settled in Dorchester,
Massachusetts, and was a church member
there in 1635; this and the birth of his young
est son Josiah, in 1638, are the only events
of his family life recorded during the years
he spent in Dorchester. Later evidence shows
him to have been well-to-do for the times, a
man of intelligence and enterprise, much
given to buying and selling land. In 1640 he
removed to Scituate, where he owned land,
one piece being a farm of one hundred and
eight acres near the mouth of the North
river, on the Marshfield side, and after 1646,
when he became one of the Conihasset part
ners, he owned the lands which through that
transaction became his share. While in Scitu
ate he was constable, then one of the most
important offices. He was admitted a free
man June 3, 1652. In 1644 he sold his farm
on North river to Thomas Hicks; in 1654 he
sold half his share in Conihasset lands to
John Williams, Jr., giving the other half to
his son Robert. In the same year he re
moved to Lancaster, Massachusetts, where he
had bought a share two years before, when
the town was laid out. Not all his children
accompanied him thither; Catherine married
and settled in Scituate; Robert remained in
Scituate and settled in Boston. John Whit
comb and his son John are counted among
the pioneer settlers of the town of Lancaster,
originally the Nashaway Plantation. The
homestead of John, Sr., was on lot No. 33;

1326

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

John, Jr. had lot No. 34. The present post
office and bank building in Lancaster is on
the original house lot.
He died September 24, 1662, aged about
seventy-four years. He married in England,
Frances  , who made a will May 12,
1671, and died at Lancaster May 17, 1671.
The agreement of division of John Whit-
comb's estate has the name spelt by his own
children three different ways — Wetcomb,
Whetcomb and Whitcomt, October 7, 1662.
Children: 1. Catherine, married, 1644, Ro
dolphus Ellmes, of Scituate, nine children. 2.
James, born in England, settled in Boston;
owned five acres of land opposite Boston
Common; died in Boston, November 23,
1686; married first, Rebecca  , second
Elizabeth  ; had ten children. 3. John,
Jr., may have been the eldest son, and was
most closely associated in later life with his
father; married May 19, 1669 or 1671; died
April 7, 1683, leaving wife Mary and two
daughters. 4. Robert, remained at Scituate;
married Mary, daughter of General James
Cudworth, in Rhode Island; they were the
first to settle in the Beeches, the family place
at Scituate. 5. Jonathan, born about 1630,
in England; settled in Lancaster,Massachu-
setts, and Wethersfield, Connecticut. 6. Abi
gail. 7. Job, land surveyor at Lancaster;
married May 19, 1669, Mary  ; settled
at Wethersfield, Connecticut. 8. Josiah, men
tioned below.
(II) Josiah Whitcomb, son of John Whit
comb (1), was born in Dorchester, Massachu
setts, in 1638. He accompanied his father
from Scituate to Lancaster in 1654, and his
name appears often on the earliest town
records. In 1688 he was paid a bounty for
killing a wolf, and he and his brother Job
figured in an action for damages to a neigh
bor's swine. It seems that Stephen Gates,
their next neighbor, had three pigs killed by
the Whitcomb boys, and their father agreed
to settle for the damage by paying forty-five
¦shillings in wheat "within a week after
Michael tyde next 1658 to be payed at his
house in Sudbury," tut later Whitcomt
asked the« general court to relieve him from
payment. The court decided in favor of
Gates, because he had the note, though Whit
comb alleged that the note was obtained bv
false representations and that he was not li
able for the hogs. "It was by reason of age
and weakness I did not consider of it that I
had no right to pay anything to him before
he did duly make it apeare that I had damni
fied him." (See Gates family).

Josiah married, January 4, 1664, in Lancas
ter, Rebecca, daughter of Lawrence and Ann
(Linton) Waters, of Watertown, Lancaster
and Charlestown, Massachusetts. She was
born February, 1640. During Queen Ann's
war, 1702- 171 7, he was allowed a garrison
for protection against the Indians; it was situ
ate in what is now Bolton, then Lancaster.
He was commander of the garrison. In 1705
he was selectman: in 1708 was one of thirty
who signed the church covenant, and he con
tributed liberally to the support of the
church; in 1710 was a deputy to the. general
court. In his will dated March 20, 1718, he
gave to each of his children an eighth part of
his right in the town of Littleton, Massa
chusetts. His widow died in 1726. A rough
granite slab marks his grave in Lancaster,
and gives the date of his death March 21,
1718, in his eightieth year. Children: 1. Jo
siah, Jr., born November 12, 1665, died same
day. 2. Josiah, Jr., born January 7, 1666 or
1667. 3. David, born February 20, 1668,
mentioned below. 4. Rebecca, bom Novem
ber 12, 1671 ; married Jacob Houghton, 1704. 5.
Johannah, born March 8, 1674; married, De
cember 26, 1708, Peter Joslin; she died Sep
tember 24, 1717. 6. Hezekiah, born Septem
ber 14, 1681. 7. Deborah, born December
26, 1683; probably died young. 8. Damaris,
married in Marlborough, Massachusetts, Na
thaniel Wilder. 9. Mary. 10. Abigail, bom
March 13, 1687; married Josiah White, June
26, 1706. 11. Eunice.
(Ill) David Whitcomb, son of Josiah
Whitcomb (2), was married May 31, 1700, in
Concord, Massachusetts, to Mary (Hayward)
Fairbanks, widow, a descendant of Resolved
, White, who came over in the "Mayflower," a
small boy, with his father and mother, and
whose brother Peregrine is famous as the
first white child born in Massachusetts, or
New England. Her husband, Jonathan Fair
banks, was killed by the Indians at Lancaster,
September 4, 1697; she was taken captive,
but was returned January 17, 1699, on the
Province Galley from Casco Bay. While in
captivity she acquired a knowledge of herbs
from the Indians, and was afterward for this
reason called Doctress. They lived in the
southeastern corner of what is now Bolton,
and he kept a tavern. He died intestate April
11, 1730, and his wife Mary died January 5,
1734, in the sixty-seventh years of her age.
The real estate of David was divided among
his heirs by a partition agreement. Children:
1. David. 2. Jonathan. 3. Joseph, born
1700, mentioned below. 4. Rebecca, bap-

(^-Z^c^lsu^ ~^^/4/A^i^^^*^--

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1327

tized 1708, married Ezra Sawyer, January 16,
1725-6. 5. Benjamin, born 1710, baptized
November 26, 1710, at Lancaster. 6. Simon,
baptized March 7, 1713-4.
(IV) Joseph Whitcomb, son of David
Whitcomb (3), was born in Lancaster, 1700.
He married, January 20, 1725, Damaris,
daughter of John and Anna (Houghton)
Priest. They settled in Lancaster, in what
is now Leominster; removed about 1760 to
West Swanzey, New Hampshire, where his
wife died November 12, 1770. He moved
into the wilderness, built a saw mill and grist
mill, making the privilege on which now
stand the Stratton mills and the box and
bucket shops. He owned an extensive tract
of land, was a man of high standing, and a
leading citizen. He died November, 1792,
aged ninety-two years, and was buried in
Swanzey; his wife died November 12, 1770.
In the expedition which laid siege to Louis
burg in 1745, Joseph Whitcomb was lieuten
ant in Company Four, of which John War
ner was captain, in Colonel Samuel Willard's
regiment. In the Crown Point expedition,
1755, he was lieutenant, and in the conquest
of Canada, 1758, was captain in Colonel
Timothy Ruggles's regiment.
Children: 1. Ahigail, torn April 13, 1726;
married  Derty. 2. Elizateth, born
December 3, 1728. 3. Lieutenant Joseph,
born March 15, 1731-2; soldier in Revolu
tion. 4. Benjamin, born September 1, 1735;
died young. 5. Damaris, born January 7,
1737, died young. 6. Benjamin, born Sep
tember 29, 1738. 7. Colonel Jonathan Priest,
born January 14, 1740, at Leominster; was in
the Revolution. 8. Colonel Elisha (twin),
born October 18, 1742. 9. Elizabeth (twin),
born October 18, 1742. 10. Damaris, born
May 21, 1746; married April 3, 1765, Jona
than Carter; she died July 6„ 1820. 11. Gen
eral Philemon, born October 29, 1748. 12.
Abijah, born June 25, 1751 ; mentioned be
low. 13. Anna, born 1755; married June 19,
1775, John Carter, of Leominster.
(V) Abijah Whitcomb, son of Captain
Joseph Whitcomb (4), was born June 25,
1751, at Leominster, Massachusetts, and
moved with the family to Swanzey, New
Hampshire. He built a saw and grist mill on
the west side of the river at West Swanzey,
and later with his brother Philemon built a
saw mill at what is now- Spragueville, New
Hampshire. He was a soldier in the Revo
lution and took part in the battle of Bunker
Hill, and served eight months and a half in
the army at Cambridge in 1775. He was a

pensioner late in life. He was in Captain
Jonathan Whitcomb's company, Colonel
Reed's regiment. Four of his brothers had
commissions in the army, while Abijah, the
youngest, was a private. His brother, Cap
tain Jonathan, who commanded the company
in which Abijah was, was entertaining some
visitors at Cambridge, and without ceremony
ordered Atijah to fetch some rum. He felt
slighted at not being introduced to the visit
ors, and so, it is said, bawled out: "Which
will you have, Brother Jonathan, Old Eng
land or New England?" The five brothers
settled in Swanzey, and of this line comes the
character made famous on the stage as
Joshua Whitcomb. In 1840 Abijah was liv
ing with Joseph Whitcomb, Swanzey. He mar
ried first,, November 6, 1786, Mary Seaver, born
November 8, 1764, died August 25, 1789,
. daughter of Shubal Seaver. Abijah married
second, February 6, 1791, Susanna Warner,
born August 19, 1766, died December 10,
1825, daughter of Daniel Warner. Abijah
died May 17, 1847. Children: 1. Abijah,
born October 25, 1791; married November
24, 1815, Susanna Graves, born 1790, died
November, 1845, daughter of Elijah Graves;
he died October 10, 1872; children: i. Caro
line Maria, born January 7, 1818, died April
29, 1867; ii. Benjamin Franklin, born Sep
tember 7, 1820. 2. Joseph, bom January 31,
1800, mentioned below. 3. Susanna, born
January 4, 1807; married William Read.
(VI) Joseph Whitcomb, son of Abijah
Whitcomb (5), was born in Swanzey, New
Hampshire, January 31, 1800, and died May
8, 1842. He married Betsey Page, who was
born in Rupert, Vermont, in 1799, and died
August 9, 1873. Their children, all born at
Swanzey: 1. Chestina, born April 21, 1829;
resides in Toronto, Canada; married Septem
ber 23, 1853, James Elbridge Underwood, of
Lawrence, Massachusetts. 2. Joseph Page,
born April 29, 1831; resides in Keene, New
Hampshire; married Mary Elizabeth Good
now; children: i. Alice Mary, born February
7, 1856; married November, 1886, Marshall
W. Nims, of Concord, New Hampshire; ii.
Carrie Elizabeth, born January 5, 1862;
teacher at Keene (New Hampshire), high
school. 3. Irvine Abijah, born April 9, 1839;
mentioned below.
(VII) Irvine Abijah Whitcomb, son of
Joseph Whitcomb (6), born at Swanzey, New
Hampshire, April 9, 1839. He was educated
at the district school in old No. 5, and at Mt.
Caesar Academy at Swanzey Centre, from
which he was graduated at the age of sixteen.

1328

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

He was familiar with hard work, like most
boys of his day, and at the completion of his
schooling went to work in the pail factory
in his native town. In a few years he left the
mill and opened a stationery store in Law
rence, Massachusetts, where for some years
he was very successful. Disaster finally com
ing upon him through no fault of his, he was
obliged to settle with his creditors as best he
could, and wind up the business. His char
acter is well shown by the fact that he later
paid all these debts with interest, a form of
honesty that is by no means common in these
times. He then accepted a position as travel
ing agent for the Boston, Concord & Mon
treal railroad, going south as far as Balti
more, west as far as St. Louis, Chicago,
Cleveland and Buffalo. The six years he
spent in this position made him thoroughly
familiar with the railroad business, and re
vealed to him its possibilities. He was forty
years old when he began the life work that
made his name known throughout the civil
ized world. He formed a partnership with
Walter Raymond. In 1879 Raymond &
Whitcomb put into successful operation
their plans to manage railroad excursions in
the United States. These trips proving suc
cessful,, they were gradually extended until
they reached the Pacific coast and beyond,
and finally the Raymond & Whitcomb ex
cursions became known all over the world.
The first excursion to California from the
east was in the spring of 1881. The party
consisted of two hundred and eighty-four per
sons, and the train was divided in two, sec
tions. Before this, however, Raymond &
Whitcomb had made trips to Washington,
the White Mountains, Montreal, Quehec,
Niagara Falls, etc. In 1882 the firm sent out
five trains each carrying a hundred or more
passengers. The business greatly increased
from year to year, and new routes were se
lected. The first winter excursion covered a
period of seven months, carrying sixty pas
sengers; the second numbered one hundred
and thirty-eight, and the third over four hun
dred. The business was incorporated in the state
of Maine in 1900, under the name of Ray
mond & Whitcomb Company, Mr. Raymond
being the first president, and Mr. Whitcomb,
general manager and treasurer of the com
pany. In 1903 or 1904 Mr. Whitcomb was
made president, and retained that position, as
well as that of treasurer, until his death. The
company has offices at 25 Union Square, New
York; 1005 Chestnut street, Philadelphia;

Park Building, Fifth avenue, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania; 133 East Jackson Boulevard,
Chicago. The Agencies: Union Ticket Of
fice, 377 Main street, Buffalo, New York;
New York Central City Ticket Office, Uni
versity Block, Syracuse, New York; 20 State
street, Rochester, New York; 64 North Pearl
street, Albany, New York ; 33 Seneca street, .
Geneva, New York; 385 Main street, Wor
cester, Massachusetts; 404 Main street,
Springfield, Massachusetts; 216 West Fourth
street, Los Angeles, California; San Francis
co, California; 132 Third street, Portland,
Oregon; 20 Cockspur street, S. W. London;
14 Hare street, Calcutta; 59 Hornby Row,
Bombay, India. Besides these mentioned,
there are correspondents in Paris and Lon-
London, and all other agents of the Com-
pagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits and
the Trans-Siberian Railway throughout
Europe. Besides organizing and managing
personally conducted tours, the company
makes a business of providing the ordering of
cars for family and other parties anywhere
in the world, selling foreign exchange, pro
viding letters of credit, travelers' checks,
bankers' money orders to all parts of the
world. The company sells railroad and
steamship tickets at regular rates to all
points, and has as authorized agents from
Boston, the Boston & Albany, the Boston &
Maine, the New York, New Haven & Hart
ford, including the steamship lines; from New
York, the New York Central & Hudson
River, West Shore, Baltimore & Ohio, Le
high Valley, Central Railroad of New Jersey,
the Erie; from Philadelphia, the Baltimore &
Ohio, Philadelphia & Reading ; also the United
Railways of Havana, all the principal lake and
river steamship lines, coastwise lines of
steamers to points in Maine and the maritime
provinces, the Chesapeake Bay ports, the
South, the West Indies, Porto Rico, South
America, Alaska, also all trans-Atlantic and
trans-Pacific steamship lines.
These excursions were not managed solely
to save money, but to make traveling more
comfortable and freer from those petty details
that are so annoying to many people. Ladies
and those unaccustomed to travel were taken
in charge and cared for in such a satisfactory
manner that these excursions soon acquired
a popularity that has persisted to the present
day. They catered, to the best classes in the
community. They gained their confidence
and patronage, and it was their constant aim
to give their patrons a little more than they
promised, never anything short of what was

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1329

stated in their announcements, and many can
tear witness to their faithfulness in living up
to this standard. Much of this excellent re
sult was due to the arduous and intelligent
effort of Mr. Whitcomb, and it was largely
through his great energy, perseverance and
tact that he was enabled to place this enter
prise upon its successful foundation. The
business involved an infinite amount of de
tail. Mr. Whitcomb knew the railroads, their
officers, managers and conductors, times of
moving trains, connections to be made, places
for stop-overs, the names of the parlor and
sleeping cars, the hotels and eating houses
and their owners and managers, carriage men
and stage proprietors, in fact every one and
everything having to do with his business, to
which his great energy was entirely devoted.
Mr. Whitcomb was the pioneer in this par
ticular tranch of industry in this country. His
energy, his honesty, his reliability, his ability
to accomplish results, his loyalty to his
friends and to the public, his generosity, and
his great humanity, all go to the formation of
that high character which his friends and ac
quaintances will always associate with his
memory. Mr. Whitcomt resided in Somerville, Mas
sachusetts, where he had a handsome home.
He was a Congregationalist in religion, and
joined the Broadway Congregational Church
of Somerville on Sunday, December 2, 1906.
He, however, for many years was active in
the affairs of the parish, and contributed lib
erally to the various charities and societies of
the church. He gave three thousand dollars
to the fund for a parsonage, and his plan to
raise the money to pay for the building was
successful. For fourteen years various con
tributors of the fund are to pay over the sum
of five hundred dollars annually, and when the
aggregate is seven thousand dollars, Mr.
Whitcomb's contribution is to pay the bal
ance. The parsonage cost ten thousand dol
lars, and the condition of the gift is that it be
used always as a parsonage. Mr. Whitcomb
gave freely to other religious societies that
appealed to him for aid, and in all affairs,
whether municipal, political or religious,
showed the spirit of a patriotic American citi
zen. He was an active supporter of Republi
can policies and candidates. He was a mem
ber of Tuscan Lodge of Free Masons, of the
Congregational Club, Boston, and of the
Home Market Club, of Boston. He _ was
popular among his townsmen and business
associates, and was one of the most widely

known and highly respected business men in
the United States.
Mr. Whitcomb married (first), June, 1865,
Helen M. King, daughter of A. B. P. King.
He married (second), July 3, 1877, Emma F.
Read, daughter of Edwin F. and Ambre
(Stone) Read, of §wanzey, New Hampshire,
her parents were natives there, residing in
Keene, New Hampshire. Mrs. Whitcomb is
prominent in Somerville society and a mem
ber of the Heptorean Club. Children of Irvine
A. and Helen M. Whitcomb: 1. Frank
Irvine; attends the Episcopal church; resides
in New York City; married, in San Fran
cisco, October 15, 1890, Miriam Miller, born
in Bear Valley, California, May 11, 1868;
child, Frank Irvine, Jr., born November 6,
1891, at New York. 2. Nelson, died in child
hood. Children of Irvine A. and Emma F.
Whitcomb: 3. Ernest Read, born October
11, 1886, at Somerville; student in Tufts Col
lege. 4. Emmons Joseph, born April 5, 1888,
at Somerville; student in Massachusetts In
stitute of Technology.
Mr. Whitcomt died April 15, 1907, at
Somerville, Massachusetts. At his funeral,
April 18, 1907, the following remarks were
made by his pastor, Rev. Robert Welsted
Beers, of the Broadway Congregational
Church, Somerville:
*" In sorrow's dark and gloomy day
We blindly grope the troubled way.
And question mid our trembling fears
Why earth is such a vale-of tears:
'Til Faith lifts up her radiant eyes,
And sees upon the azure skies
These words in heavenly beauty glow,—
' Believe— Hereafter ye shall know.'
" We ask in hours of pain and grief
Why Love Divine grants not relief—
Why earth no comfort can impart,
No solace for the breaking heart;
Yet, when the promise we survey,
Our hearts with joyful meekness say,
' Since Love Divine ordains it so.
Amen: Hereafter ye shall know.'
" How oft the funeral march we tread,
And, weeping o'er our buried dead.
The mourning heart the answer craves
Why earth is such a world of graves:
Then Faith discerns the promised dawn
And hails the Resurrection morn;
And Jesus speaks to soothe our woe:—
' Rejoice— Hereafter ye shall know.'
"May this blessed Promise of our Divine
Redeemer, the Friend that sticketh closer than
a brother, serve to take away the gloom and
sorrow of this present occasion, which are due
to its peculiar circumstances :
"The keys of death and the grave are in the
hands of Him who was dead, but is alive for
evermore— in the hands of Him who is the
Lord of life and death, and who has so loved

133"

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

us as to die the death of the Cross in our be
half. Death can come, neither to us, nor to our
loved ones, without His permission. And,
since He is infinite Love and infinite Wisdom,
we may be confident that He permits it at the
right time and in the right way to accomplish
the largest outworking of good.
'We should therefore today bow before His
superior wisdom, although we would all doubt
less have preferred that Mr. Whitcomb should
have remained with us many years longer to
use in the service of humanity the endowments
and resources with which God had blessed
him, and which he himself was anxious to use
to the best possible advantage.
"He was a man of large experience with
men, and a man of great possibilities, as was
evidenced in his ever-expanding business ; and
he was still in the prime of his usefulness, so
that we are constrained at this time to exclaim
in the words of the prophet : "How is the
strong staff broken !" He had a strength of
character which became manifest very quickly
to all with whom he had to do. He had a posi-
tiveness of conviction, a persistence of energy,
a solidity of opinion, which made him a tower
of strength against opposing forces, and equal
ly a strong staff to lean upon for counsel or as
sistance. He was a man of great frankness, of
deep earnestness, of strong determination, and
of sterling integrity. Accordingly, he com
manded the respect of the entire community.
"Added to these characteristics, he had a
mind of natural keenness, of broad vision, and
trained skilfulness, which constituted him still
more a man of strength — a strong staff wher
ever he appeared. This was made manifest
especially in his business career. He was in
love with his business, and burned with en
thusiasm at each new achievement, and strove
to use all his powers to advance its utility.
Progress was always his watchword. He was
intensely active. He could not sit still. And
his activity was never aimless. It was always
for a purpose ; and that purpose was to secure
better and larger things.
Not only was his activity and strength man
ifested in his chosen business. It was also '
shown in behalf of the community in which he
lived. He was a public spirited man, taking a
deep interest in everything that pertained to
the advancement of the community, whether
it was of a material, intellectual, or moral char
acter. He was also intensely interested in
the church. He thoroughly believed in it as a
Divine institution. He thoroughly believed
that it is the great uplifting power in the
world. And for many years he has been one

of the chief financial supporters of the Broad
way Congregational Church, of which I am
now pastor.
"And then, in addition to his great strength
of character, exhibited in all spheres of his
life, there was the social and private side of his
character, which was as sweet and generous as
a woman's, which made him quick to sympa
thize with and relieve others. He had an ex
ceedingly tender heart, full of kindness, which
often impelled him to stretch forth his hands
in deeds of love and benevolence. If I could
chisel upon his tomb the symbol of his char
acter, as it was made apparent to me, I would
carve a flaming heart upon a broad and open
liand. A flaming heart to denote the intensity
of his nature, his burning enthusiasm, his all-
consuming persistency of energy — and the
broad and open hand to denote his large heart
ed sympathy and liberality. A flaming heart
upon a broad and open hand is the truest sym
bol of his character.
"We are fortunate today in having with us
one who has been very intimate with the fam
ily for years — one married in this house, and
who will soon speak to you from a much longer
acquaintanceship with Mr. Whitcomb than it
was my fortune to have. Nevertheless, I feel
that although my knowledge of him has cov
ered but a year and a half, yet in that time by
reason of circumstances in the Providence of
God, I have become far better acquainted with
his true self than many others who may. have
been acquainted with him a great deal longer.
"A year and a half ago I came "a stranger"
to Somerville ; and he at once "took me in," —
took me into his great big heart of loving sym
pathy, and lavished his affection upon me as
a father upon his son. Nay, more ; he took me
into his secret confidence, and talked to me of
matters the most private and sacred. In re
turn I unbosomed myself to him, — told him my
plans for the Church, the encouragements and
discouragements that I saw before me. And
as a result, on the one hand, I am living today
in a home provided by his generosity, fitted up
according to my own desires — a project in
which he took the keenest delight, not only be
cause he knew that it brought happiness to
me and my family but because he believed
he was providing a suitable home for the
future pastors of our Church for all time
to come. I do not believe he ever did
anything in his whole life which gave him
more gratification than that. And, as the re
sult of our mutual confidences, on the other
hand, it afforded me very great pleasure to be
the instrument in God's hands of lifting him

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

i33i

up to the higher spiritual plane of open con
fession of Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord.
I will never forget our communion service last
December, when he and ex-Mayor Perry were
both received into the membership of the
Broadway Church on confession of their faith
— two strong men — each one a tower of
strength. And I will never forget the earnest
ness of grasp, expressive of his gratification
at the step he was taking, which Mr. Whitcomb
gave me when I gave him the right hand of
fellowship, together with his life-motto in these
words of our Risen Lord: "Him that over-
cometh will I grant to sit with me in my
throne." "I had hoped, because of this higher spir
itual vantage-ground which he had reached, to
have his wise counsel and liberal assistance in
everything pertaining to my pastora; work for
many years to come ; so that I am sure you can
enter somewhat into my feelings when I tell
you that I feel a very keen personal loss — a
loss which seems to me just now to be irrepar
able. But I know that God's ways are always best.
"He is not; for God hath taken him." And
do you know that I think the manner of his
death was not only the most merciful way
possible, preventing as it did, much pain and
suffering, but also the most beautiful way.
When last Monday evening I received a mes
sage over the 'phone of his death, I hurried
at once to his home, and to the room where
he died. His death had taken place only a
few minutes before ; and as I looked upon him,
sitting on his couch with his head resting
peacefully against the wall, he looked as if he
had only fallen into a sweet, calm sleep, and
the words which came instinctively to my ffps
were: "So God giveth his beloved sleep."
"Perhaps the finest tribute to the dead that
can be found in English literature is that
which Tennyson paid to his bosom-friend, and
is known under the name of "In Memoriam."
There is a line in it, which I think is specially
appropriate to this occasion, and certainly in
accord with God's Word. The line is this :
"God's finger touched him, and he slept."
" 'God's finger touched him,' — no enemy,
but his best Friend, his heavenly Father.
'God's finger touched him,' and bade him go
up higher, to larger opportunities under better
conditions. 'God's finger touched him' — the
last touch of the Divine Sculptor upon his soul
here on earth — the touch that perfects, and
makes one fitted for the inheritance of the
saints in light.
'"God's finger touched him, and he slept.'

He sleeps. He is not annihilated, nor gone
into a state of unconsciousness of soul. He
has entered into the peaceful rest of God.
He sleeps. He is obtaining refreshment and
re-invigoration. He will be ready to greet us
in the morning — the same man, only the
stronger and brighter because of the sleep of
death. "And so, my dear friend, we follow you to
day, not with the word 'good-bye!' upon our
lips, as though we might never see you more,
but rather with the world 'good-night,' for we
shall greet you again in the morning.

iFor first generation see preceding sketch.)
(II) Jonathan Whitcomb,
WHITCOMB son of John Whitcomb
(1), born in England,
about 1630, removed from Scituate to
Lancaster with his father in 1654. He
with others signed a petition for aid after
the Indian raid of 1675-76, and he lived
nearly all the remainder of his life in
Lancaster. With his brother Robert and his
brother-in-law, Rodolphus Ellmes, he served
on the jury of inquest upon the death of Rich
ard Mann, of Scituate, February 16, 1655. The
family property at Lancaster became his by
inheritance, and he added to it. He died Feb
ruary, 1690, and the inventory of the estate
was taken February 25, 1691, by his brother-
in-law, John Moor, Samuel Sumner and
Cyprian Stephens, and was returned under
oath by his widow, April 7, 1691. The amount
of the inventory was about eighty-eight
pounds. His widow was killed by the Indians,
July 18, 1692, at the house of Peter Joslin in
Lancaster. He married, November 25, 1667,
Hannah  . Children: 1. Hannah, born
September 17, 1668, died December 9, 1668. 2.
Jonathan, born February 26, 1669, mentioned
below. 3. Hannah, born August 29, 1671,
married Joseph Blood, of Groton. 4. Abigail,
born May 5, 1674, married William Kelsey, of
Windsor, Massachusetts, 1694. 5. Elizabeth,
born 1676. 6. Katherine, born 1678. 7. Ruth,
born 1680. 8. Mary, born 1682. 9. John,
born May 12, 1684.
(Ill) Jonathan Whitcomb, son of Jonathan
Whitcomb (2), was born February 26, 1669.
He married (first), somewhere between 1685
and 1689, Mary (Blood) Joslin, of Lancaster,
daughter of Abraham and Mary Blood, of
Lancaster. (Samuel Smith, of Littleton, re
corded he was married (first) to Mary Joslrn
and (second) to Mary Blood, daughter of
Joseph Blood, of Groton, Massachusetts.) He

1332

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

married (second) at Concord, Massachusetts,
September 4, 1710, Deborah Scripture, of Gro
ton. He died April 10, 1715, and she probably
died sometime before him, as about that time
he paid Samuel Barrows for a coffin. The chil
dren were named in settling the estate, but the
correct order of birth is uncertain. Children:
1. Jonathan, born 1690, mentioned below. 2.
Joseph. 3. Nathaniel. 4. Hannah, married
Joseph Powers, nine children. 5. Martha,
died March 18, 1701. 6. Ephraim, born April,
1702. 7. Mary, born 1704, married John Cob-
leigh, jr. 8. Benjamin, born December 11,
171 1, in Groton. 9. Lydia.
(IV) Jonathan Whitcomb, son of Jonathan
Whitcomb (3), was born about 1690. He "had
lime kilns, was a tanner, currier, blacksmith,
shoemaker, and made coffins. By a deed, Oc
tober 20, 1 7 10, he was a cordwainer. The old
dam still remains, and places can be seen,
where he got his lime rock." He married, May
15, 1 7 16, Deliverance Nutting, daughter of
James Nutting, at Groton, Massachusetts. He
died about 1767 or 1770. His wife was living
as late as 1774 in Lancaster. Children: 1.
Jonathan, born December 23, 1717. 2. Wil
Ham, born September 10, 1719. 3. Oliver,
torn August 21, 1721. 4. Elizabeth, born
January 17, 1723-24. 5. Tamer, born March
20, 1726, married Isaac Haild, June 7, 1745.
¦6. Lydia, born March 22 or 23, 1727-28, mar
ried Ezekiel Powers; died 1767. 7. Job, born
April 16 or 26, 1730, mentioned below. 8.
Martha, born December 25, 1732, unmarried
in 1767. 9. Abner, born February 12, 1734.
10. Jotham, born August 8, 1737.
(V) Job Whitcomb, son of Jonathan Whit
comb (4), was born April 16 or 26, 1730. He
is said to have been a soldier in the Revolution,
tut his record has not yet teen found. He
married (first), May 2, 1757, Jemima Farr;
(second), March 6/1769, Abigail Whitney;
he may have had a third wife as Templeton
records mention "Jemima, daughter of Job
and Mary Whitcomb." Children of the first
wife: 1. Simeon, born June 11, 1759. 2.
Olive, born June 24, 1761. 3. Levi, born April
24, 1763, mentioned below. 4. Reuben, born
May 9, 1765. 5. Dille, born September 7,
1766, at Wendell, Massachusetts. Children of
the second wife : 6. Susanna, born April 4,
1770. 7. Susanna, born March 2, 1772, died
young. 8. Achsah, born August 20, 1773,
married, November 26, 1801, Abijah Fiske,
and probatly removed to Canada. 9. Mille,
torn July 9, 1775, died unmarried in Temple-
ton, Massachusetts. 10. Jemima, born 1778,
married Ephraim Bush ; died July 27, 1824.

11. Abigail, born May 21, 1779, died unmar
ried in Templeton, fall of 1848. 12. Job, born
January 24, 1782.
(VI) Levi Whitcomb, son of Job Whitcomb
(5), was born April 24, 1763, at Templeton,,
Massachusetts. He settled in Nelson, New
Hampshire, where he lived until 180 1, when
he removed to that part of Marlborough,- New
Hampshire, which became Troy. He was a
blacksmith, and later purchased a farm upon
which he died September 23, 1827. He served
for a while in the Revolution, but the dates and
term of service are wanting. He married,
February 13, 1787, Hannah Baker, born Jan
uary 21, 1764, and died February 16, 1825.
Children : 1. Nancy, born December 2, 1787,
married Captain William Farrar. 2. Simeon,
born May 23, 1790, mentioned below. 3. Ase-
nath, born January 5, 1794, died April 19,
1869, unmarried. 4. Polly, born April 2,
1796, died February 13, 1854, unmarried. 5.
Dexter, born June 27, 1797. 6. Adeline, born
September 20, 1800, unmarried. 7. Gilman,
bora May 19, 1805, unmarried.
(VII) Simeon Whitcomb, son of Levi Whit
comb (6), was born May 23, 1790. He was a
deacon in the Congregational church in Marl
borough for many years. He married, Decem
ber 2, 1813, Sally Lincoln, born May 16, 1792,
and died April 8, 1876. He died January 1,
1869, in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Chil
dren: 1. William Lincoln, born August 1,
1814, died September 24, 18 15. 2. Sally Lin
coln, born April 9, 1816. 3. Joel Cushing,
born April 6, 1818. 4. William Chalmers",
born February 9, 1820, mentioned below. 5.
Sally Leavitt, born February 14, 1822. 6.
Albert Simeon, born March 8, 1825. 7. Han
nah Baker, born June 22, 1827. 8. Henry
Lincoln, born July 13, 1831, died March 6,
1838. 9. Harlan Page, born July 5, 1837, died
October 30, 1838.
(VIII) William Chalmers Whitcomb, son of
Simeon Whitcomb (7), was born February 9,
1820. He studied at Gilmanton Theological
Seminary in 1847. He was licensed to preach
in 1845, and was ordained May 1, 1851. He
settled in Stoneham, Massachusetts, and after
wards was pastor at Southbridge, North Car
ver and Lynnfield, Massachusetts. He was
commissioned by Abraham Lincoln in July,
1862, as chaplain of hospitals in and around
Newbern, North Carolina, and served as chap
lain until his death, October 29, 1864. While
the yellow fever plague was raging, he was in
Portsmouth, North Carolina, a year, and after
wards at Moorhead City, North Carolina,
where he died. He married, May 1, 1851,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1333

Harriet Lincoln Wheeler. (See sketch of
George F. Wheeler, of Concord, Massachu
setts). Children: 1. Eva Myrtella, bom Janu
ary 6, 1853, married S. R. Bartiett. 2. Mary
Harriet, (twin) born August 22, 1855, died
September 28, 1855. 3. Maria Sarah, (twin)
born August 22, 1855, died October 27, 1855.
4. Lizzie Philena-, born July 12, 1856, mar
ried Rev. S. W. Adriance; children: i. Wil
liam Adriance, born December 23, 1880. ii.
R. I. Adriance, born February 16, 1885. iii.
Margaret Adriance, born July 6, 1898. 5. Al
bert William, born March 8, 1858, at Roches
ter, New York, married Alice Bennett, one
child, Irene Bennett, born December, 1890. 6.
Mira Florence, born April, i860, died May,
i860. 7. Nellie Lincoln, born June, 1861. 8.
John Chalmers, born March, 1865, died Sep
tember, 1879.

(I) Francis Bushnell, the
BUSHNELL immigrant ancestor, was
born in England. He set
tled at Guilford, Connecticut, where he was
the third signer of the Guilford covenant in
1639. He lived but a few years after coming
to this country, dying in 1646. His will was
proved October 13, 1646. Rev. John Hoadley,
who also signed the covenant, came in the same
ship. On the voyage to this country, accord
ing to his grandson, the famous Bishop Ben
jamin Hoadley, the minister met Sarah Bush
nell, daughter of Francis (1), and an. attach
ment followed, resulting in marriage.
Francis Bushnell (1) married Rebecca
 . He had a home lot of three acres in
Guilford, his neighbors being John Hoadley,
William Dudley and Thomas Jordan. Chil
dren: 1. Francis, born in 1609; died Decem
ber 4, 1681 ; came in the ship "Planter," in
April, 1635, with his wife Marie, aged twen
ty-six, and child Martha, aged one year; set-
tied at Boston; was admitted an inhahitant
of Salem in 1636; was a carpenter by trade;
removed to Guilford with his father, and fol
lowed his trade and operated a mill there. 2.
Rebecca, married, 1646, at Guilford, ' John
Lord. 3. William, born about 1612; men
tioned below. 4. John, born 1614; barber
and glazier by trade ; came in the ship "Hope
well" in April, 1635, and settled first at Salem ;
was paid for glazing windows of the meeting
house in 1637; removed to Boston, and died
August 5, 1667. 5. Sarah, baptized November
26, 1625, at Horsfield, county Sussex, Eng
land; married July 14, 1642, Rev. John Hoad
ley; returned to England and died at Hal-

sted, county Kent, July 1, 1693; she died at
Rolvender, county Kent, July 28, 1668; her
sons were Bishops Benjamin and John Hoad
ley. 6. Richard.
(II) Lieutenant William Bushnell, son of
Francis Bushnell (1), was born in England
about 16 12, and come with his father to Guil
ford, Connecticut, as early as 1639. He was
lieutenant of the militia company, and doubt
less fought against the Indians. He settled in
Saybrook, Connecticut; married Rebecca
Chapman, sister of Robert Chapman. He died
November 12, 1683. Children: 1. Joshua,
born May 6, 1644; died March, 1710. 2. Sam
uel, born 1645; mentioned below. 3. Re
becca, born October 5, 1646; married John
Hand. 4. William, born February 15, 1648-9 ;
died December 9, 171 1. 5. Francis, born Jan
uary 6, 1749-50; died young. 6. Stephen,
born January 4, 1653-4; died August, 1727.
7. Thomas, born January 4, 1653-4 (twin). 8.
Judith, born January, 1655-6; died November
17, 1740; married Joseph Seward, of Guilford
and Durham, February 5, 168 1-2; he died
February 14, 1732. 9. Abigail, born Febru
ary 5, 1659-60; died January 30, 1750; mar
ried Captain John Seward, of Guilford (see
N. E. Reg. July, 1898) June 25, 1678. 10.
Lydia, died August 24, 1753; married Caleb
Seward of Guilford and Durham, brother of
Joseph and John Seward. 11. Daniel, born
1683 ; died, February, 1727-8.
(Ill) Samuel Bushnell, son of Lieutenant
William Bushnell (2), was born in Saybrook,
Connecticut, in the middle of September, 1645.
He was a farmer at Saybrook. He married,
October 7, 1675, Patience Rudd ; second, April,
1700, Priscilla Pratt. He died in 1727. Chil
dren of the first wife, born in Saybrook: 1.
Abigail, born July 27, 1677; married May 30,
1705, Eliphalet Hall. 2. Judith, born Septem
ber 14, 1679; died at Durham, March 11,
1715-6; married James Wright, Jr., Decem
ber 14, 1707. 3. Samuel, born August 21,
1682; married March 31, 1710, Hannah Hill,
who died in 1776. 4. Jonathan, born April
10, 1685 ; mentioned below. 5. Daniel, born
February 20, 1687-8. 6. Nathaniel born Feb
ruary 18, 1690-1, resided in Saybrook; died
January 1, 1755; married April 8, 1725, Tem
perance Seward. Children of the second wife :
7. Hepzibah (twin), born August 19, 1701. 8.
Ebenezer (twin), born August 19, 1701. 9.
Priscilla, born December 19, 1703. 10. Josiah,
born June 9, 1706.
(IV) Jonathan Bushnell, son of Samuel
Bushnell (3), was born in Saybrook, April 10,
1685 ; married March 2, 1710, Mary Calkins.

1334

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Children: I. Jonathan, born 1720; mentioned
below. And others.
(V) Jonathan Bushnell, Jr., son of Jonathan
Bushnell (4), was born in 1720; married, De
cember 9, 1741, Elizabeth Stevens. He died
March 19, 1801. He resided in Saybrook all
his life. Children: 1. Nathan, born July 18,
1753; mentioned below, and others.
(VI) Nathan Bushnell, son of Jonathan
Bushnell (5), was born in Saybrook, July 18,
1753 ; married October 20, 1774, Rhoda Bush
nell ; second, Esther (Hester) Lord, Novem
ber 16, 1777. The records show a Nathan
Bushnell in Captain Martin Kirtland's com
pany, Colonel Erastus Wolcott's regiment, at
New London, February 28, 1777, in the Revo
lution. Children of Nathan and Esther Bush
nell: 1. Nathan, Jr., born October 17, 1779;
mentioned below. 2. Rhoda, born September
2, 1781. 3. Elihu, born July 25, 1784. 4. Polly,
born March 25, 1787. 5. Lydia, born July 6,
1788. 6. Henry Lord, born July 15, 1792. 7.
Harvey, born November 2, 1794. 8. Richard
Kirtland, born July 28, 1797.
(VII) Nathan Bushnell, son of Nathan
Bushnell (6), was born in Saybrook or Madi
son, Connecticut, October 17, 1779. He mar
ried first, September 26, 1805; second, Mrs.
Chloe (Scranton) Judson, who was descended
from John Scranton, who came from England
in 1635. He was a manufacturer of shell
combs. Children of first wife: 1. Electa
Ann, born September 21, 1806; married Se-
lah Lee; children: i. Elliott Lee; ii. Hamil
ton Lee; iii. Maria Lee, married Bidwell; iv.
Isabel Lee, married Blackstone; v. Anna Lee
married Boss; vi. Katie Lee, married Rich.
2. Elizabeth M., born April 28, 1809'; married
Frederick Hall, of Guilford; children: Martha,
Mary, Josephine, Grace, Adelaide. 3. Wil
liam C, born' March 17, 181 1; died October
19, 1887; married Cynthia Anne Griswold,
born 1815, died August 8, 1854; children: i.
Ann Augusta, born May 18, 1840, died March
30, 1844; ii. Adelaide Eliza, born March 2,
1842, died April 14, 1849; iii. Frank Chap
man, born April 16, 1847; iy- Ellen A., born
December .1, 1848, died August 30, 1854; v.
Charles Wilfred, born October 30, 1850, at
Madison, Connecticut; married, January 4,
1881, Lillie A. Ravenscroft, born in Litch
field, Connecticut, March 27, 1853; children:
Ellen Almyra, born April 1, 1883, Lillian
Adelaide, born March 26, 1885; William
Charles, born January 27, 1887; Ruth Fran
ces, born September 20, 1888; Frank Chap
man, born April 20, 1890, died April 1, 1898;,
Pauline Gladys, born April 1, 1892; Earle

Rouse, born May 17, 1894 • Antoinette Louise,
born April 30, 1897. vi. Charlotte Elizabeth,'
born August 28, 1852. vii. Cynthia Ann,
born June 18, 1854. Mr. Bushnell married
(second) Adelaide Louise Burgess, born De
cember 28, 1818, and they had a son, Arthur
Burgess, born March 8, 1857, died January 9,
1865. 4. Harry Lord, born July 9, 1816, died
September 23, 1882; married Harriet Wilcox;
children: Julia, Eliza and Harriet, all married.
Children of Nathan and Chloe Bushnell: 5.
Mary Judson, born September 25, 1822, died
1892. 6. Nathan Townsend, born January 18,
1825, died February 23, 1905; children: i.
Frances Grace, died April 25, 1900; ii. Jane
Finch. 7. Samuel, died young. 8. Cornelius
Scranton, born July 19, 1828; see forward.
(VIII) Cornelius Scranton Bushnell, son
of Nathan Bushnell (7) was born in Madison,
Connecticut, July 19, 1828, died in New York
City, May 6, 1896. His boyhood was spent in
his native town, where opportunities were few
but work plentiful on his father's farm and in
his quarry. In winter he attended the vil
lage school, making good use of his advan
tages. At the age of fifteen he began his life
career— work 'in earnest. Starting out on a
coasting vessel he became in less than a year
master of a sixty-ton schooner, and by great
effort and economy succeeded in saving dur
ing the next five years the sum of $2,700, and
invested it in a house in New Haven, Con
necticut, where he made his home henceforth.
When he was of age he entered into a part
nership with his brother, Nathan Townsend
Bushnell, in the wholesale and retail grocery
business, establishing what became and con
tinues to be the largest concern in this line in
the state. Early in 1858 he tecame interested
in the New Haven & New London Railroad
Company, which at that time was greatly em
barrassed for want of funds. It had become
evident that the running of trains must be
abandoned unless a larger earning capacity
could be secured, and the only way to save
the road was to extend it to Stonington. He
was chosen president, and set out to procure
the funds for this extension. He used his own
credit freely, and enlisted the aid of enterpris
ing financiers, and in i860 trains began to
run through to New York. Great difficulty
was met in the opposition of the New York
& New Haven railroad, and its refusal to sell
through tickets or to check baggage over the
New Haven & New London road owing to
a previous contract with the Hartford road.
Mr. Bushnell had recourse to the legislature,
then in session at Hartford, and with the aid

dV^7 /d^Ot^^n^i^-^-~&J^-

< r

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1335

of Charles R. Ingersoll, representative from
New Haven at that time, later governor of
the state, he secured the passage of a bill
compelling the New York & New Haven
railroad to afford the New Plaven & New
London, or "Shore Line" railroad equal fa
cilities with those granted to any other line.
The bill was stoutly opposed by the opposi
tion railroad interests, and was not obeyed
until the supreme court of the state issued a
mandatory order after long litigation. Mr.
Bushnell's next effort was for the recognition
of the post office authorities, and a long and
exciting struggle (incredible as it seems a
generation later) was necessary before mails
were sent over this important artery of trav
el. In this contest he had to spend much time
at Washington, and be became well ac
quainted with the heads of various depart
ments. The Civil War was seen to be in
evitable. Washington was full of disloyal
conspirators, and the federal government was
without security or defense. When Fort
Sumter was bombarded, Mr. Bushnell was in
the capital, and with other loyal residents en
listed in the Washington Clay Battalion for
the purpose of guarding the public buildings
and residences of officials until troops ar
rived. He performed service from April 13,
to May 4, 1861, being mustered in April 18,
and discharged and mustered out May 4. His
discharge paper bears the signatures of Pres
ident Lincoln, and of Simon Cameron, Secre
tary of War, with an expression of the thanks
of the government for services rendered at
that critical time. This service made Mr.
Bushnell eligible to the Grand Army of the
Republic, and he joined Admiral Foote Post,
No. 17, Department of Connecticut, June 5,
1886, and he was buried with Grand Army
honors. He was one of the organizers of the Union
Pacific Railroad Company, and a potent fac
tor in pushing to completion this great enter
prise, and was the only one of the original or
ganizers who remained with the road from its
inception to the beginning of operations and
running of trains. -
Before the Civil War actually began, Mr.
Bushnell had been impressed with the need
of better naval forces. He seems to have been
providentially selected to give the Union
most timely and almost dramatic assistance.
He foresaw the necessity of armored vessels
and the need of supplying the navy with a
stronger type of vessel in the war. He es
tablished a shipyard at Fair Haven, Connec
ticut, and built many steam vessels and other

craft for the government, under the superin-
tendency of S., H. Pook, a naval constructor
of Boston. With the assistance of Mr. Pook,
he developed the plans for the ironclad war
vessel "Galena," for which he received a con
tract from the government under the provi
sions of a law secured by the Hon. James E.
English, Representative in Congress from the
New Haven district, authorizing the Secre
tary of Navy to appoint three naval experts
to examine all plans for iron vessels and
adopt whatever might be approved. But
many naval officers doubted the stability of
the "Galena" under the weight of armor pro
posed, and it was while Mr. Bushnell was con
sulting mechanical engineers as to the proba
ble stability of the "Galena" that the most
momentous incident in Mr. Bushnell's life oc
curred — his meeting with Captain John Erics
son, of New York, the inventor of the "Mon
itor." Not only was this meeting a most for
tunate event for the United States, but it
marked a step in the change from wooden to
iron and steel war vessels. Mr. Bushnell thus
describes his historic interviews with Erics
son: "C. H. Delamater, of New York, ad
vised me to consult with the engineer, Cap
tain John Ericsson, on the matter (the stabil
ity of the "Galena"). This I proceeded at
once to do, and on supplying him with the
data necessary for his calculations promptly
gained the answer: 'She will easily carry the
load you propose, and stand a ix-inch shot if
fired from a respectable distance.' At the
close of this interview, Captain Ericsson
asked if I had time just then to examine the
plan of a floating battery absolutely impreg
nable to the heaviest shot or shell. I replied
that this problem had been occupying me for
the last three months, and that, considering
the time required for the construction, the
"Galena" was the best result I had been able
to obtain. He then placed before me the plan
of the "Monitor," explaining how quickly and
powerfully she could be built, and exhibiting
with characteristic pride a medal and letter of
thanks received from Napoleon III. For it
appears that Ericsson had invented the bat
tery when France and Russia were at war,
and out of hostility to Russia had presented it
to France, hoping' thereby to aid the defeat of
Sweden's hereditary foe. The invention,
however, came too late to be of service, and
was preserved for another issue."
Mr. Bushnell was entrusted with the plans,
with which he was delighted ; and he followed
the Secretary of the Navy, Hon. Gideon
Welles, to Hartford, to whom he explained the

1336

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

possibilities of the invention. The secretary
advised Mr. Bushnell to present the plans im
mediately to the naval board, and he went to
Washington, after securing the cooperation of
Hon. John A. Griswold, of New York, and
John F. Winslow, of Troy, both friends of
Governor Seward, and large manufacturers of
iron plates. Governor Seward furnished them
with a strong letter of introduction to Presi
dent Lincoln, who was at once greatly pleased
with the simplicity of the plans and agreed to
accompany Mr. Bushnell to the Navy Depart
ment at n A. M. next day, and aid as best he
could the adoption of the invention. "He was
on hand promptly," writes Mr. Bushnell in his
letter to Secretary Welles. "Captain Fox, to
gether with part of the Naval Board, were
present. All were surprised at the novelty of
the plan. Some advised trying it, others ridi
culed it. The conference was finally closed for
that day by Mr. Lincoln's remarking: 'All I
have to say is what the girl said when she put
her foot into the stocking, it strikes me there's
something in it.' The following day Admiral
Smith convened the full Board, when I pre
sented as best I could the plan and its merits,
carefully noting the remarks of each member
of the Board. I then went to my hotel quite
sanguine of success, but only to be disappoint
ed the following day. For during the hours
following the last session, I found that the air
had been thick with croakings that the De
partment was about to father another Ericsson
failure. Never was I more active than now in
the effort to prove that Ericsson had never
made a failure, that on the contrary he had
built for the government the first steam war
propellor ever made ; that the bursting of the
gun was no fault of his, but of the shell. * *
I succeeded at length in getting Admirals
Smith and Paulding to promise to sign a re
port advising the building of one trial battery,
provided Captain Davis would join them. On
going to him I was informed that I 'might take
the little thing home and worship it, as it
would not be idolatry, because it was made in
the image of nothing in the heaven above, or
the earth below, or in the waters under the
earth.' One thing yet remained which it was
possible to do. This was to get Ericsson to
come to Washington and plead the case him
self." Mr. Bushnell returned to New York,
and made use of some clever diplomacy to in
duce Ericsson to go to Washington, for the
reason that Ericsson believed himself so un
justly treated in the Princeton affair that he
had repeatedly declared that he would never

set foot in Washington again. Mr. Bushnell
told Ericsson that Admiral Smith said it was
"worthy of the genius of an Ericsson" (how
well history justified his judgment!) and that
Paulding said it was just the thing to clear
the "Rebs" out of Charlestown, but that Cap
tain Davis wanted two or three explanations
in detail which Mr. Bushnell could not give,
and so Secretary Welles proposed that he
should get Ericsson to come to Washington to
explain to the entire board in his room next
day. Ericsson went. "You remember," wrote
Mr. Bushnell to Secretary Welles, "how he
thrilled every person present in your room
with his vivid description of what the little
boat would be and what she could do; that in
ninety days time she could be built, although
the Rebels had already been four months at
work on the "Merrimac," with all the appli
ances of the Norfolk Navy Yard to help
them !" The Board unanimously recommend
ed the contract, and immediately (on the next
day) most of the material for construction was
bought. After the work of construction had
begun, and before the formal contract was
signed, a great clamor arose against the trial
of an Ericsson experiment, so that when the
contract was made the inventor and his asso
ciates had to give a bond to refund the money
advanced during construction in case of fail
ure. As one of the sureties to the government
for the satisfactory performance of the "Moni
tor," with Hon. N. D. Sperry and Daniel
Drew, Mr. Bushnell risked all his property on
Ericsson's untried invention. Secretary Welles
wrote to Mr. Bushnell: "Next after Ericsson
himself, you are entitled to the credit of bring
ing his invention to the knowledge of the De
partment." What the "Monitor" built by Mr.
Bushnell and his associates did for the Union,
is one of the best known chapters of the Civil
War. Mr. J. Rice Winchell, in his memorial to
Bushnell, wrote: "Had it not been for Mr.
Bushnell's intuitive and instant perception of
the masterful completeness of Ericsson's draw
ings of the vessel; had he wavered a moment
in doubt, or had he been for an instant influ
enced by the selfish and sordid thought that his
interests in the "Galena" might be jeopardized
by his advocacy of the merits of the "Moni
tor," all would have been lost — there would
have been no "Monitor," there would have
been no consummate flower of triumph at
Hampton Roads — there would have teen no-
Ericsson honored and sung by every civilized
nation. Also, there might have been no mag-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1337

nificent Union stretching from shore to shore,
under one starry flag, over all from the lakes
to the gulf."
It should be borne in mind, too, that the
"Monitor" was still the property of its tuilders
when she defeated the "Merrimac." A quar
ter interest each was owned by Mr. Bushnell,
Captain Ericsson, Mr. Griswold and Mr. Win-
slow. Afterward eight more monitor batteries
were constructed by C. S. Bushnell & Co.,
among them the "Puritan" and "Dictator,"
either of which at that time could have con
tended successfully with the navy of any other
nation in the world.
Mr. Bushnell's contracts for these vessels
brought him often to Washington, and into
contact with many public men. Senator Dixon,
of Hartford, placed his name in the original
Pacific Railroad bill as one of the incorpora
tors, and from that time forward this enter
prise commanded his closest attention. He
attended the meeting for organization at Chi
cago, in 1863, and was appointed on the com
mittee to secure sutscriptions to the stock,
two millions being required and twenty per
cent, paid in before the company could begin
business. Of this two millions Mr. Bushnell
secured more than three-quarters and was him
self the largest subscriber to the capital stock.
He was also largely instrumental in securing
the amendment of 1864, without which it
would have been impossible to finish the road.
He was also the only corporator who remained
until the road was completed and successful,
and then, unfortunately, to embark in the con
struction of what became the eastern end of
the Southern Pacific. Owing to the great fi
nancial depression of 1873, and the repudia
tion of the bonds by the state of Louisiana,
the company from which Mr. Bushnell was to
have received millions of dollars on contracts
failed, and so embarrassed him that he was
compelled to suspend, losing thus the large
fortune which he had spent twenty years in
accumulating. Overwork and anxiety pros
trated him, and for some years his health was
far from good. During 1864 he purchased an
extensive iron property called Iron Ridge, in
Wisconsin, and erected a tlast furnace, using
charcoal as fuel, making pig iron at a lower
price per ton than at any other furnace in the
country. This property he sold to Byron Kil-
burn's Rolling Mill Company for a large profit
on the original cost. He also, with associates,
purchased a large lead and silver mine in Utah,
which was afterwards sold to English capital
ists for more than three hundred thousand
dollars profit. In 1871-72 he erected the Ma-
iv— 5

sonic Temple at New Haven, at a cost of more
than $200,000. In 1865-70 he built the horse
railroad over the Cincinnati and Covington,
Kentucy, great wire bridge, extending for sev
eral miles into the latter city.
"He was an extraordinary man, a typical
example of American pertinacity and versatile
ability. Larger in stature and physical devel
opment than ordinary men, he excelled them
also in activity and the power of comprehend
ing great things." His youth was such as to
develop an inherited strong body, and the in
fluence of his home instilled into his mind the
foundation of a sterling character.
Mr. Bushnell was a Republican in politics,
and a Congregationalist in religion. He was
a member of various organizations.
He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, New
Haven, Connecticut; and a fitting memorial
monument was dedicated to his memory on
May 30, 1906, in New Haven, at the corner of
Derby Avenue and Chapel Street. The state
of Connecticut contributed the sum of five
thousand dollars. More than that sum was
raised by popular subscription. The monument
was designed by Herbert Adams, and Charles
M. Piatt, landscape architect, designed the
pedestal. The monument is of granite, artis
tic and substantial, suitably engraved, and sur
mounted with a beautiful bronze piece repre
senting the American eagle in militant pose,
with wings uplifted.
Mr. Bushnell married first, July 19, 1849,
Emily Fowler Clark, born at New Haven,
1829, died January 10, 1869, aged thirty-nine
years, two months, and sixteen days, daughter
of Samuel and Emily (Fowler) Clark, of New
Haven, Connecticut. He married second,
March 15, 1870, Mrs. Caroline Mary (Pad
dock) Hughston, widow of Hon. J. A. Hugh-
ston. She was born in 1835, and died July 4,
1887, daughter of Hon. Joseph W. Paddock,
of New York, lawyer and member of Con-
gress, and consul to China. Her mother was
Mary (Welles) Paddock. By her first mar
riage she had one son and two daughters, one
of whom, Annie, is dead, and the other is the
wife of Cornelius Judson Bushnell, son of
Cornelius Scranton Bushnell. He married
third, June 25, 1889, Mrs. Elizabeth Ford,
widow, who survived him. His children
were all by his first wife: 1. Sereno
Scranton, born August 12, 1850, married,
October 20, 1875, Margaret Livingstone
Crofts, of Linlithgo, New York; chil
dren : i. Charlotte Livingstone, born Au
gust 2, 1876, married April 2, 1902, John Pot
ter Love, of Grafton, West Virginia ; children :

1338

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Gilbert Watson Love, born June 30, 1903, and
John Bushnell Love, born February 6, 1905.
ii. Robert Livingstone, born January 25, 1881.
2. Samuel Clark, born March 8, 1852; men
tioned below. 3. Charlotte Beecher, born Au
gust 25, 1853; married April 9, 1884, Gilbert
L. Watson, of Olean, New York; children: i.
Cornelius Bushnell Watson, born June 4,
1887; ii. Emily Winthrop Watson, born May
3, 1889, died February 22, 1898. 4. Corne
lius Judson, born September 20, 1855; mar
ried September 20, 1876, Katherine Wells
Hughston, of New Haven, Connecticut; chil
dren: i. Cornelius Huntington, born June 6,
1880; ii. Katherine Wells, born November
21, 1883. 5. Nathan, born July 22, 1857;
married May 18, 1881, Wilhelmina Merrill, of
Dorchester, Massachusetts; children: i.
Mary Rosalia, born January 13, 1883, mar
ried June 12, 1907, Robert Maxwell Ingham;
ii. Nathan Jr., born December 21, 1889; iii.
John Merrill, born January 6, 1900. 6. Hen
ry Northrop, born March 15, 1857; died at
Baldwinsville, New York, 1875. 7. Ericsson
Foote, born December 10, 1862; married No
vember 10, 1897, Bertha Tudor Thompson, of
New York City; children: i. Agnes, born
August 4, 1898, died August 5, 1898; ii. Win
throp, born September 14, 1899; iii. Henry
Thompson, born August 13, 1900; iv. Bertha
Tudor, born September 12, 1902, died De
cember 25, 1904; v. Emilie, born October 28,
1905. 8. Winthrop Grant, born March 20,
1864; unmarried. 9. Edward William, born
December 25, 1866; unmarried. 10. Levi
Ives, born December 26, 1868, drowned in
Long Island Sound, August 8, 1890.
(IX) Rev. Samuel Clarke Bushnell, son of
Cornelius Scranton Bushnell, (8), was born
at New Haven, Connecticut, March 8, 1852.
He attended the public schools, Lee's Acad
emy at Madison, Connecticut, and the Hop
kins Grammar School in New Haven, where
he graduated in 1870, entering Yale College
the same year and graduating in 1874 with
the degree of A. B. He studied for the min
istry in Yale Divinity School, where he re
ceived the degree of B. D. in 1877. After a
year spent in traveling around the world, Mr.
Bushnell began a pastorate in the First Con
gregational Church of New Bedford, Massa
chusetts, in December, 1878, and continued
for a period of eleven years. This church
was founded in 1696. He resigned to accept
a call from his present church, the Orthodox
Congregational Church of Arlington, Massa
chusetts, where since February 1, 1890, he
has enjoyed a very successful and happy pas

torate. He is an active memter of the Yale
Alumni Association, and is a member and for
three years was president of the Yale Club of
Boston. In politics he is a Republican. For
a number of years he has been chairman of
the board of trustees of the Robbins Library
of Arlington, and was a member of the Arl
ington school committee. He belongs to the
Phi Upsilon and the Skull and Bones frater
nities of Yale. He is one of the first members
of the Arlington Boat Club; member of the
Arlington ¦ Golf Club ; the Arlington Men's
Club; the Congregational Club of Boston;
the Fortnightly Club; secretary of the Win-
. throp Club; and one of the editors of the pub
lications of the Monday Club of Boston.
He married October 14, 1880, Mary Eliza
beth Kendall, who was born in Charlestown,
Massachusetts, August 12, 1855, daughter of
Isaac and Elizabeth (Beals) Kendall. Her
father was a merchant in the West India trade
with store on State street, Boston. Children:
1. Alice Kendall, born March 20, 1887. 2.
Samuel Kendall, born May 29, 1892.
Hinman gives as the coat-of-arms of the
Bushnell family of Connecticut Argent, five
fusils in fess gules in chief three milles sable.
Crest: on a ducal coronet a wivern sans feet.

Between 1633 and 1644 there
KENT came from England to New Eng
land three families bearing the
surname Kent, who became the progenitors
of three distinct lines whose descendants have
contributed an honorable service toward the
upbuilding of the moral, educational and po
litical history of the country.
In 1633 the "good shipp Mary and John"
of London had as passengers Richard Kent,
Senior, and Richard Kent, Junior, supposed
to have been cousins. They settled at New
bury, Massachusetts, where they were joined
in 1634 by James Kent, a brother of Richard
Jr. In 1635 Stephen Kent, a brother of Rich
ard Kent Sr., joined them. He evidently re
turned to England, as his name appears with
that of his wife Margery on the list of pas
sengers of the ship "Confidence," in 1638. He
remained in Newbury until 1646, when he re
moved to Haverhill, and in 1665 settled in
Woodbridge, New Jersey. The descendants
of these Kents are known as the Newbury
line. Thomas Kent, born in England, emigrated
with his wife prior to 1643, and was one of the
proprietors of Gloucester, where he settled.
His son Samuel, removed to Brookfield,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1339

Massachusetts, and on the destruction of that
town by the Indians in 1676 went to Suffield,
Connecticut, where he died February 2, 1690-
1. The Kent Memorial Library stands on the
site of the log cabin which he built upon his
arrival at Suffield. To this Gloucester line be
longs James (6) Kent, Chancellor of New
York, and author of "Kent's Commentaries
on American Law." He was born at Fred
ericksburg, New York, July 31, 1763. His
ancestry was: Moss (5); Elisha (4); John (3);
Samuel (2); Thomas (1).
Under date of May 2, 1643, the town rec
ords of Dedham, Massachusetts, state that
"Joshuah Kent is admitted Townsman & hath
libertie to purchase Edward Culuers Lott."
The records of the First Church of Dedham
state that "Joshua Kent went for England
with our testimoniall but to returne againe
11m 1644, and he returned 1645," "and ye
said Jushuah Kent having brought ov'r 2 of
his brothers & placed them in ye country, yet
with his wife returned to England 10m 1647."
"And ye said Joshuah Kent upon ye trebles
arising againe in England & wares ther 1648
he returned wth his wife againe about ye 8m
yt year." His trothers were named John and
Joseph, and these three trothers were the
founders of the Kent line. Joshua was prom
inent in town and church; died without male
issue; Joseph was of Dedham in 1659, of
Block Island 1664, of Swansea, Massachu
setts, 1673, and died there 1704, leaving four
sons and one daughter.
The English ancestry of the Dedham line
has not been traced and it is not proved that
they were related to the Newbury and Glou
cester pioneers.
(I) John Kent, the immigrant ancestor of
this line, was not a son of Richard Kent, Sr.,
of Newbury, as stated in the Kent Genealogy.
This is an error, as amply proved by re
searches of Daniel Kent, register of deeds,
Worcester, Massachusetts. The will of Eliz
abeth Harder, of Braintree, dated June 1,
1664, mentions as legatees John and Joseph
Kent and three daughters of Joshua Kent.
John Kent was admitted to the Dedham
church July 16, 1652, and admitted freeman
May 3, 1654. His name appears on a tax list
dated August 29, 1653, and he continued to
be taxed at Dedham until November 22,
1664. He was one of the signers to a petition
to the general court May 7, 1662; was elected
one pf the fence viewers for the West Field,
February 24, 1664-5. He removed to
Charlestown, Massachusetts, and was re
ceived in the church there by letter fromi the

Dedham church, with his wife Hannah, April
l3> !673- She was admitted to the Dedham
church February 5, 1664. They were in
Charlestown in 1667, when their first child
was born. Kent was tithingman at Charles
town in 1679. He married, at Dedham, May
21, 1662, Hannah Griswold, who was born at
Cambridge, March 4, 1644-5, and died at
Charlestown, January 9, 1690-1, the daughter
of Francis and Mary Griswold (or Grissell).
of Charlestown, who resided on the north side
of Kirtland street. On December 5, 1636,
"there is granted unto Francis Greshold, the
Drummer, two acres of -land lying at the end
of Barnabe Lambson's pole toward Charles-
towne, in regard of his services amongst the
soldiers upon all occasions, as long as he stay-
eth." He died at Charlestown, October 2,
1652. No record of the death of John Kent
has been found, but he was living at Charles
town as late as 1707, when he conveyed land.
The children of John and Hannah (Griswold)
Kent: 1. Hannah, born July 2, 1667; married
Joseph Cahoon. 2. Maria, born February 3,
1669. 3. John Jr., born 1670; married first
Sarah Smith, December 22, 1692; second
Elizabeth  ; he removed to Scituate in
1698, to Mansfield, Connecticut, in 1709, and
died there in 1753; representative in 1724. 4.
Joshua, born June 15, 1672; died June 20,
1672. 5. Joshua, born July 4, 1674; married
Agnes Okeman, November 4, 1.697; resided
in Boston. 6. Joseph, born October 13, 1675;
mentioned below. 7. Samuel, born March 23,
1678; died March 16, 1702-3. 8. Ebenezer,
born August 18, 1680; died at Hingham,
Massachusetts, February 16, 1752; married,
December 8, 1703, Hannah Gannett; ances
tor of the Kents of Leicester, and of Daniel
Kent, register of deeds, Worcester. 9. Lydia
born July 16, 1683; married, 1714, Ebenezer
Simmons, of Scituate. 10. Mary, born May
12, 1686, married, 1710, Joseph Barber, of
Hingham. 11. Susannah, born August 13,
1689. (II) Joseph Kent, son of John Kent (1),
was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Oc
tober 13, 1675; married, November 26, 1702,
Rebecca Chittenden, of Scituate, Massachu
setts. She died April 2, 1762, aged eighty,
and is buried in the old Phipps street burying
ground, Charlestown. Kent was admitted to
the Charlestown church in 1703, and in 1753-
4 a negro woman Jane belonging to him was
admitted to this church. He was taxed in
Charlestown from 1727 to 1737, and from
1 74 1 to 1748. His will is dated May 28, 1753,
two days before his death. He bequeathed

1340

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

several negro slaves: Peggy to his daughter,
Mehitable; Venus to daughter Rebecca;
Jenny to son Benjamin and Violet to son,
Stephen. He gave to his son Samuel sixteen
acres east of the orchard he bought of N.
Hayward, near Winter Hill (now Somerville),
also other lots. Children, born at Charles
town: i. Joseph, born March 5, 1703-^4; died
1757, unmarried. 2. Stephen, born June 14,
1706; resided at Chelsea and Roxbury, Massa
chusetts. 3. Benjamin, born 1708; chaplain
at Brunswick in 1731; pastor of Marlbor
ough, Massachusetts, 1733 to 1735; in Boston
1747 to 1755; in Worcester county 1757 to
1767; at Halifax and Windsor, Nova Scotia;
died 1788. 4. Mehitable, born August 26,
171 1 ; married Jotham Tuttle. 5. Samuel,
born July 18, 1714; mentioned below. 6.
Jonathan, born March 29, 17 17; graduate of
Harvard College, 1739; buried at Copps Hill,
Boston. 7. David, born June 1, 1719; lived
at Charlestown, Scituate, and Boston; also
Philadelphia. 8. John, born September 24,
1722. 9. Rebecca, born May 6, 1725; mar
ried Ebenezer Rockwell.
(Ill) Samuel Kent, son of Joseph Kent
(2), was born at Charlestown, Massachusetts,
July 18, 1714, and died there in 1773. He
married November 27, 1740, Rebecca, Adams,
born September 12, 1720, daughter of Joseph
Adams. She was admitted to the church at
Cambridge May 20, 1739; to the precinct
church at West Cambridge (now Arlington)
September 9, 1739. Kent resided in Cam
bridge and Charlestown, now Arlington and
Somerville, Massachusetts. His house in
Somerville was the low hip-roofed house stil!
standing at the corner of Garden street. He
was a blacksmith by trade, and in early life
was also a school master. He was a teacher
in West Cambridge in 1768. He was select
man of Charlestown in 1767-70-71. His es
tate was partly burned by the British, June
17, 1775, at the battle of Bunker Hill. Ap
parently the house was saved, for his report
of losses showed five pounds damage to
house, eighty pounds ten shillings to trees,
land and fences. He was a soldier in the
French War, a private in Captain John Cod-
man's company in 1748. In 1760 he appears
as one of the managers of a public lottery,
then very popular and authorized ty the law.
He was a taxpayer in 1736-37, 1741 to 1770
inclusive. Children, born at Charlestown: 1.
Samuel, born September 16, 1741; died De
cember 23, 1741. 2. Rachel, born March 17,
1742; married May 22, 1765, Rev. Thomas
Prentice. 3. Rebecca, born December 17,

1746; married February 12, 1788, Timothy
Tufts. 4. Lucy, born February 11, 1748, died
young. 5. Lucy, born January 31, 1750;
married September 6, 1770, Joseph Adams. 6.
Sarah, born 1753; married March 5, 1778 or
1781, Colonel Nathaniel Hawkins, of South
Kingston, Rhode Island. 7. Samuel, bom
November 21, 1760; mentioned below. 8.
Elizabeth, born October 19, 1764.
(IV) Samuel Kent, son of Samuel Kent (3)
was born in Charlestown, November 21, 1760.
He was a soldier in the revolution, private in
Captain Stephen Dana's company, Colonel
Mcintosh's regiment, in 1776; first lieutenant
on the brigantine "Massachusetts." He re
sided in what is now Arlington and Somer
ville, Massachusetts, was constable of Charles
town in 1789; was admitted to the West Cam
bridge church March 9, 1783. He married
Rhoda, daughter of Abraham Hill, June 20,
1782. She was born January 1, 1764, bap
tized January 8, 1764; died January 1, 1841,
aged seventy-seven years. Children: 1. Sam
uel, born January 7, 1783; married Lucy
Johnson. 2. Joseph, married (intentions
dated February 2, 1812,) Martha Boardman.
3. John, mentioned below. 4. William. 5.
Benjamin, probably died in 1794. 6. David.
7. Sarah. 8. Rebecca, married Nathaniel
Monro. (V) John Kent, son of Samuel Kent (4),
was born about 1790, in West Cambridge or
Charlestown, Massachusetts. He and his wife
Mary were dismissed to the church at East
Sudbury in 1832. In 1815 he bought land in
Framingham, Massachusetts, and built a
house there. He was a carriage maker by
trade. Owing to deafness he sold out, and in
1832 removed to Wayland (east Sudbury)
Massachusetts, where he died March 27, 1852.
He married Mary Goddard, of Cambridge, in
May, 1816. Children: 1. John, born Octo
ber 17, 1817; drowned July 26, 1825. 2.
Mary, born October 29, 1819. 3. Harriet,.
born 1821. 4. Thomas S., (twin), died young..
5. Samuel D. (twin), mentioned below. 6.
Thomas Goddard, bom December 12, 1829;
graduate of Yale College, 185 1; studied law
at Winchendon, Massachusetts, in the office
of Judge Edward Mellen; was admitted to the
bar and began to practice at Milford, Massa
chusetts; appointed justice of the peace; was
representative to the general court, 1868-69;
married Anne E. Snyder, daughter of Peter
and Sarah (Freeland) Snyder, of Claverack,
New York; she died in 1863, and he mauried
second, August 21, 1866, Charlotte Elizabeth
Woodbury, born November 3, 1846, died

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1 34i

June 21, 1877, daughter of Rev. James T. and
Augusta (Porter) Woodbury; no children;
married (third) Lucy Flagg, of Worcester;
for many years has lived in Worcester; senior
partner of the law firm of Kent & Dewey. 7.
Elizabeth. 8. Sarah.
(VI) Samuel Davies Kent, son of John
Kent (5), was born in Framingham, Massa
chusetts in 1827. He removed to Wayland
with his parents, and was educated in the pub
lic schools. He learned the trade of book
binder in the town of Concord. He married
Eliza Bigelow, who was born at Concord,
daughter of Hartwell and Lavina Jones JBige-
low, of Lincoln. She died, and he mar
ried (second) Lavina Clark, born Decem
ber 28, 1829, daughter of Joseph and Mary
(Davis) Clark. Children of the first wife,
born in Concord: 1. Edward Lamson, died
in infancy. 2. Henry Davies, died in in-fancy.
3. Charlie Goddard, born June 6, 1864, men
tioned below.
(VII) Charlie Goddard Kent, son of Sam
uel Davies Kent (6), was born in Concord,
Massachusetts, June 6th, 1864. He attended
the public schools, and was a student in the
Concord high school two years. He began
his business career as bookkeeper, for eight
years worked in the counting-room of Jones,
MeDuffie & Stratton, of Boston. He was
then a shipping clerk for the firm of Cobb,
Bates & Yerza, wholesale grocers, Boston, for
four years. Then he bought an interest in
the business of George W. & C. H. Towle,
and started under the firm name of Towle &
Kent, in March, 1895, his present business,
which has been very successful. He is a
member of Corinthian Lodge of Free Ma
sons, of which he is at present the junior
steward. He attends the Concord Congrega
tional church, and is a Republican in politics.
He married June 11, 1889, Grace Edwards
Wood, born February 7, 1864, daughter of
Albert Edward and Ellen (Shattuck) Wood.
She graduated from the Concord high school
in 1880, and before her marriage was book
keeper for her uncle, in Union Stone Com
pany of Boston. Children of Charlie God
dard and Grace Edwards (Wood) Kent: Ber
tha Bigelow, born September 9, 1890; Sam
uel Goddard, born February 6, 1895.

(For flrBt generation see preceding sketch).
(II) Ebenezer Kent, son of John
KENT Kent (1), born August 18, 1680,
was baptized in Charlestown, Au
gust 22, 1680. He removed to Hingham,
Massachusetts, about 1700 and before 1703.

He built there on Beechwood street the first
dwelling house erected on the west side of the
Cohasset river. He was a yeoman. He
was a member of the Second Church (Cohas
set) ; constable in 1727 and 1736, and owned
land in several towns. His will is dated June
16, 1748, and proved May 29, 1752. He mar
ried Hannah, daughter of Joseph Gannett, of
Scituate, born there in 1684, died in Hingham,
March 27, 1767. He died February 16, 1752
(gravestone). Children: 1. Abigail, born Oc
tober 12, 1706; died March 12, 1709. 2. Han
nah, born 1707; married, January 16, 1727-8,
Israel Whitcomb. 3. Mercy, born July 31,
1709; married Stephen Stoddard. 4. Eliz
abeth, born September 6, 1710; married (first)
May 7. 1735. Eliakim Mayo; and (second),
Pitcher. 5. Susanna, born 171 1, died April
23, 1715. 6. Isaac, bom September 27, 1712;
mentioned below. 7. Mary, born 1715 ; mar
ried, August 31, 1743, Joseph Blake. 8. Ebe
nezer, Jr., born April 18, 1717, settled in Lei
cester, Massachusetts. 9. Seth, born April 3,
1721. 10. Abigail, bom March 29, 1723; mar
ried, October 22, 1744, Joseph Souther. 11.
Lydia, born April 24, 1725 ; married December
22, 1743, Noah Ripley, settled at Barre, Mas
sachusetts. 12. Abel, born August 7, 1730.
(Ill) Isaac Kent, son of Ebenezer Kent
(2), born September 27, 1712, in Conihasset,
near Hingham, Massachusetts ; married (first)
October 25, 1739, Rachel Beal, daughter of
Andrew and Rachel (Bates) Beal. She was
born in Hingham, August 25, 17 19. They re
moved to Mendon, Massachusetts (now Mil
ford), and were received in the church there
April 11, 1746, by letter from Second Church
of Hingham. Their home in Milford was in
the southeastern part of the Bear Hill district.
He was a selectman 1750 to 1760. He is said
to have removed to Bellingham, but in 1770
was dismissed to the church in Anapolis Gran
ville. Rachel Kent died May 15, 1805, aged
eighty-six. Children: 1. Rachel, born July 28,
1740, in Hingham; died 1746. 2. Isaac, born
June 9, 1742; mentioned below. 3. Susanna,
born July 30, 1744; died May 2, 1751. 4.
Elizabeth, born August 15, 1746; died March
13, 1749. 5. Rebecca, born August 11, 1748-9;
died June 9, 1791. 6. Anna, born July 25,
1750; died June 9, 1791. 7. Abigail, born
March 1, 1752. 8. Arach (twin), torn Octo
ber 4, 1754. 9- Zarah (twin), born October 4,
1754. 10. John, born January 31, 1757. 11.
Caleb (twin), bom April 15, 1759. 12. Joshua
(twin), born April 15, 1759. 13. Hannah,
born September 12, 1764; died April 4, 1796.
(IV) Isaac Kent, son of Isaac Kent (3),

1342

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

born in Mendon, Massachusetts, June 9, 1742 ;
married first, (by Rev. Mr. Willard), May 17,
1770, Sarah Wheelock, in Mendon. She died
November 13, 1779, aged twenty-eight. He
married (second) August 17, 1780, Sarah
Way, who died August 20, 1790. He married
(third) April 21, 1791, Sarah Holbrook, of
Grafton, who died February 27, 1813, aged
fifty-nine. He married (fourth) October 26,
1814, at Wethersfield, Vermont, Rhoda Kenny,
widow. He died January 1, 1835, aged ninety-
three. He and his brother John petitioned for
the incorporation of a religious society in
Alstead. Isaac is said to have had a brother
Benjamin who settled in New York. Isaac
lived in Warwick, Massachusetts, until 1776,
when he removed to Alstead. Several of his
family, including his brother Zarah, were loy
alists in the Revolution, and removed to Nova
Scotia, probably refugees. Isaac was a soldier
in the Revolution, a private in Captain Reuben
Butterfield's company, Twentieth Regiment, in
1776 (Colonel Thatcher). He enlisted in the
Continental army July 5, 1777, and served un
til January 1, 1778, in Captain Joshua Parker's
company, Colonel Robinson's regiment. He
may also have been in Captain Moses Barnes'
company, Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Pierce's
regiment, in 1779. At the time of his death
Rev. Mr. Gerould said : "He was a valuable
member of society, always punctual to all en
gagements, and peculiarly so in his attendance
on public worship." In his last illness "Prayer
was proposed, and a moment after the pastor
commenced, the spirit took its flight, we trust
to mansions of rest." Children of Isaac and
Sarah Kent: 1. Israel, born May 28, 1773;
died December 29, 1831. 2. Amariah, born
March 4, 1775 ; died June 16, 1825. 3. Anna,
born January 16, died February 6, 1777. 4.
Rebecca, born January 13, 1778; died Novem
ber 10, 1783. 5. Benjamin, born November
I3» J779- Children of Isaac and Sarah (Hol
brook) Kent: 6, Sally, born August 17, 1792;
died October 12, 1858. 7. -Asa, born February
28, 1794; remained on the homestead; died
1882, aged eighty-eight. 8. Arad, born Octo
ber 10, 1795; died August 4, 1831, in Marion,
Ohio. 9V Stephen, born May 27, 1797; died
August 10, 1834, leaving a son, a lawyer in
Ohio. (V) Benjamin Kent, son of Isaac Kent (4),
was born in Warwick, Massachusetts, No
vember 13, 1779.
(VI) Abel Willard Kent, son of Benjamin
Kent (5), was bom in Alstead, New Hamp
shire, about 1800. He was brought up on the
farm of Frank Phelps, in Alstead, and received

his education in the district schools there. He
then learned the trade of shoemaker, which he
followed most of his active life, and also did
farming and teaming in Alstead. When he
was about thirty-three years of age he decided
to go west. He located at Casapolis, Michi
gan, and after a time sent for his family, but
before they arrived he was stricken with fever,
died, and was buried at his new home. He
was a Congregationalist in religion and a
Whig in politics. He belonged to the state
militia in Alstead. He married Lucinda Gould,
of Marlborough, Massachusetts, daughter of
Benjamin and Abigail (Clark) Gould. Her
father was a blacksmith ; settled near Alstead ;
served in the war of 1812. Children: 1. Re
becca, born at Alstead ; died at Wilton, New
Hampshire ; married at Nashua, George Love
joy, of that town. 2. Adeline, born at Alstead;
married William K. Ritchie, of Northumber
land," New Hampshire ; children : Marion,
Sarah, Addie. 3. Frank Phelps, mentioned
below. 4. Pliny Payson.
(VII) Frank Phelps Kent, son of Abel Wil
lard Kent (6), was 'born at Alstead, September
8, 1835. When he was only three years old
he went with his mother to Casapolis, Michi
gan, but on account of the death of his father
before they joined him, returned to Alstead,
Two years later they removed, to Nashua, New
Hampshire, where he attended the public
schools. When he was nine years old they re
moved to Pelham, New Hampshire, where he
worked until he was seventeen for David Cut
ter, attending the public school in winter. He
returned to Nashua, and for the next three
years was clerk in the grocery store of John
G. Blunt, and later worked in the meat market
of James Mooney. At the age of twenty-one
he removed to Boston, Massachusetts, and for
two years was clerk with James Eggerton in
the Quincy Market. Then he went into busi
ness on his own account as proprietor of a
restaurant at 83 Hanover street, Boston, con
ducting it successfully and selling it to advan
tage at the end of a year. He opened a restau
rant at Milford, New Hampshire, selling it
after he had carried it on three years and a
half to Daniel Sargent, of Milford, and re
moving to Wilton, New Hampshire. He
bought a restaurant at Wilton of Wells Dunck-
lee, and also engaged in the livery stable busi-_
ness and conducted a meat market. He sold
his store about 1886 to James Shea. His stable
was destroyed ty fire afterward, and he then
sold his restaurant to Frank Hutchinson, and
in May, 1887, removed to West Medford,
Massachusetts, where he purchased a meat

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1343

and grocery business of Burroughs Brothers.
The store was near the railroad station. He
conducted it six years, removing then to the
Usher Block, where he was in business ten
years. In 1902 he built his present block, into
which he moved in January, 1903. He also
built the stable, with accommodations for five
horses and about twenty vehicles. Mr. Kent
is a very popular . and prosperous grocer and
provision merchant, enjoying a large trade,
and owns a large business block at Wilton,
- New Hampshire. He is of retired habits, do
mestic in his tastes, devoting himself wholly to
his home and business. He resides in apart
ments in his block. He attends the Unitarian
Church at West Medford. In politics he is a
Democrat. He is a member of Mount Vernon
Lodge of Odd Fellows, West Medford.
He married, August 15, 1863, Mary Eliza
beth Blanchard, of Milford, New Hampshire,
born at Concord, Massachusetts, February 16,
1843, daughter of Bradley and Mary (Bow
ers) Blanchard, of Milford. Her father was a
carpenter and cabinet maker. Children : 1 .
Minnie Bowers, born at Milford, November
20, 1864; died July 13, 1873. 2. Edward
Frank, born at Wilton, October 23, 1868 ; mar
ried, January 14, 1897, Harriet Havilah Gates,
of Annapolis, Nova Scotia, daughter of Edwin
and Horatia Nelson (Ryerson) Gates ; chil
dren: i. Marjorie, born July 26, 1898, died
July 26; ii. Katherine Havilah, born Noven>
ber 4, 1902. 3. Jessie Blanchard, born at Wil
ton, September 24, 1870; married, September
28, 1892, John H. Chute of Annapolis, Nova
Scotia ; child : Edward Kent Chute, born Au
gust 24, 1894, died August 26, 1894. 4. Bessie
Lovejoy, born at Wilton, February 15, 1872.
5. Kittle, born at Wilton, June 10, 1875 ; mar
ried March 4, 1903, Albert H. Fisher, of Wal
tham, Massachusetts ; no children.

The family of Beard or Baird is
BEARD found in England, Ireland and
Scotland. The Irish branch if
of Protestant Scotch origin, and belongs to
that ancient branch of the Baird family found
earlier than A. D. 1200 in Lanarkshire, Ayr
shire and Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The
Bajrds went to Ireland at the time James I.
sent the English and Scotch Protestants to
settle the province of Ulster, about '1620.
The family is located at present near the orig
inal place of settlement in the counties of An
trim and Down, Province of Ulster. Curious
ly enough, the progenitor of the family at
New Boston, New . Hampshire, a Scotch

Irishman, born in Antrim, Ireland, in 1710,
had the same name, Andrew Beard, as the
progenitor of the family given in this sketch,
who was doubtless from England and of an
earlier generation. The similarity of the
names suggests that the Irish branch may
have been related in some way.
(I) Andrew Beard, according to family tra
dition, was born in England, coming to
America with two brothers, both of whom lo
cated in Canada. The first American record
of him was at Menotomy, (West Cambridge,
now Arlington) Massachusetts, where he was
elected a hogreeve in 1692. He moved to
Shawshin (Billerica) as early as 1713, and set
tled in that part of the town which was an
nexed to Wilmington in 1737. He died there
January 8, 171 7, leaving minor children, for
whom the court record shows that guardians
were appointed. His widow Mary married
second, James Frost. Children of Andrew
and Mary Beard: 1. John, born about 1695,
had a son David. 2. Simon, born about 1700;
mentioned below. 3. Ebenezer, born Janu
ary 1, 1701-2. 4. Jacob, born December 26,
1709. 5. Martha, born August 21, 1714, mar
ried Jacob Manning. 6. Nathan, had a guar
dian appointed in 1719.
(II) Simon Beard, son of Andrew Beard
(1), was born about 1700, at Arlington, then
Menotomy. Pie married, at Billerica, June 2,
1725, Sarah Hopkins, daughter of William
Hopkins. She was born May 26, 1703, of a
famous family. They settled first in Woburn,
where two, children were born, then removed
to the vicinity of what is now Pelham, New
Hampshire, where Simon was living as late
as 1754. Thomas Beard, of Woburn, was per
haps a brother of his father. Children of Si
mon and Sarah Beard: 1. Sarah, bora at Wo
burn, May 14, 1726. 2. William, see forward.
3. Simon Jr., born in vicinity of Haverhill,
Massachusetts, near Pelham, New Hamp
shire, about 1730. He served in the French
and Indian war under Colonel Joseph Blanch
ard, under the immediate command of John
Goffe, Esq., and also in the Revolution as a
private in Captain James Aiken's company, in
a regiment of militia under Colonel Thomas
Bartiett, in 1780. He signed the petition of
inhabitants of Pelham for the division of the
state into' counties in 1769.
(Ill) William. Beard, son of Simon Beard
(2), Was born at Woburn, Massachusetts,
March 13, 1728.
(IV) Simon Beard, son of William Beard
(3), was born in Pelham, New Hampshire,
July 17, 1762. He was educated there. He

1344

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

finally settled in Lebanon, New Hampshire,
where he followed the occupation of farming.
He married (first), December 13, 1781, at
Pelham, Mary Kent, who bore him the fol
lowing children: 1. Anna, born April 17,
1783, died December 27, 1871, unmarried. 2.
David, born January 16, 1785, died October,
1864, aged seventy-nine years, at Pelham. 3.
William, see forward. 4. Rachel, born June 4,
1792. He married (second), June 28, 1804, at
Pelham, Hannah Wyman, widow.
(V) Williami Beard, son of Simon Beard
(4), was born at Lebanon, New Hampshire,
July 14, 1788, died there September 27, 1864.
He married, and had children: 1. Mary E.,
born June 19, 1813, married Jedediah A.
Blackwell, of Waterville, Maine, September
9, 1848, at Nashua, and died February 18,
1873. 2, William H., born October 2, 1815,
died January 9, 1873. 3. Israel H., born Au
gust 31, 1818, married Miss Flanders. 4.
George, born July 5, 1821, see forward. S.
Marie, born October 11, 1823, died October
9, 1900. 6. Simon Andrew, born June 15,
1826. 7. Arthur L., born September 21, 1827,
resides at Dover, New Hampshire. 8.
Charles W., born April 25, 1830, died Octo
ber 9, 1852. 9. Betsey, born October 25,
1835, died October 11, 1895.
(VI) George Beard, son of William Beard
(5), was born at Lebanon, New Hampshire,
July 5, 1821, and died at Natick, Massachu
setts, August 14, 1883. He was educated in
the district schools of his native town. He left
home at the age of eighteen years and worked
at various occupations in Concord, New
Hampshire, and vicinity. He opened a gen
eral store at White River Junction, Vermont;
was prosperous, and after several years sold
out to good advantage. He then went to
Pembroke, New Hampshire, and thence to
Biddeford, Maine, where he was unforunate
in business and lost his savings. He had de
voted all his leisure time since leaving school
to the study of medicine. In 1850 he left
Biddeford and located at Dover. Here he
made a reputation in his chosen profession
by treating successfully certain cases pro
nounced incurable by well known physicians.
After that he devoted himself entirely to the
practice of medicine in Dover until 1854,
when he removed to Natick, Massachusetts,
and opened an office. He supplemented his
study and practice with a course in the Eclec
tic College of Medicine at Worcester, gradu
ating about 1858 with high honors. In addi
tion to his office at his residence, on West
Central street, Natick, Dr. Beard had an of

fice on Concord street, South Framingham.
His practice was large and successful. Pa
tients came to him from all over New Eng
land. He died August 14, 1883. He was
originally a Congregationalist, but later in
life attended the Universalist church at Na
tick. He was a Democrat. He was a mem
ber of the Odd Fellows Lodge at Framing
ham; of various Masonic bodies, Meridian
Lodge, Parker Royal Arch Chapter and Na
tick Commandery, Knights Templar; and
a charter member of Natick Council, Royal
Arcanum. He was a member of the Boston
Lancers in his younger days, and in 1876 was
surgeon. He was engineer of the Natick fire
department for a number of years. In 1882
he was elected president of the Farmers' and
Mechanics' Association of Natick. He mar
ried at Concord, New Hampshire, November
14, 1844, Eliza Ann McCauley, born Novem
ber 27, 1820, at Dunbarton, New Hampshire,
daughter of James and Betsey (Bailey) Mc
Cauley of Dunbarton. See sketch. Children:
1. Charles Franklin, born October 9, 1845,
mentioned below. 2. Adelia. 3. George
Oliver, unmarried.
(VII) Charles Franklin Beard, son of
George Beard (6), was born at Dunbarton,
New Hampshire, October 9, 1845. At the
age of two years he removed with his parents
to Pembroke, New Hampshire, subsequently
living in Biddeford, Maine, and Dover, New
Hampshire. He entered the public schoqls
in Dover, and continued until 1854 when he
came to Natick with his parents and gradu
ated from the Natick high school. Between
school terms he pegged shoes, after the cus
tom of the day, from the age of twelve to six
teen. He went to work in the card room of
the Saxonville mills at the age of sixteen. At
the age of eighteen he entered Allen's school
at West Newton, and studied there for two
years. He worked four years afterward in
South Framingham, pressing straw in the
shops of Franklin Manson and Curtis Bar
ber. Then he studied dentistry in the offices
of Dr. Alonzo Sylvester, Dr. Chandler and
Dr. Battles. He was also in the offices of Dr.
James Bartiett at Hotel Pelham for about a
year. In 1872 he opened his office in the
Nobscot Block, South Framingham, which
was destroyed by fire February, 1904. Dr.
Beard opened his present office in the Smith
Block, April, .1904. He has enjoyed a large
and lucrative practice, being particularly suc
cessful with crown and bridge work. He
built his residence at No. 5 Walnut street in
1885. He was formerly steward of the Meth-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1345

odist church at South Framingham, but is at
present a member of Grace Congregational
Church. He is a Republican in politics; a
member of following Masonic bodies: Meri
dian Lodge, Parker Royal Arch Chapter, and
Natick Commandery, Knights Templar; and
a charter member of Garfield Council, Royal
Arcanum, of which he is past regent and rep
resentative to the grand council. He was for
a number of years a member of Company A,
National Lancers, Boston. He married,
March 20, 1867, Fannie Augusta Morey, born
September 26, 1845, daughter of William and
Mary (Ames) Morey, the former of whom
was master mechanic in the shipyards, Ban
gor, Maine, died April, 1872, and the latter
was born in 1810, died October 20, 1862. The
only child of Dr. Charles F. and Fannie A.
(Morey) Beard is .George Franklin, see for
ward. (VIII) Dr. George F. Beard, son of Dr.
Charles F. Beard (7), was born in Natick,
Massachusetts, July 6, 1868. He removed
with his parents while young to South Fram
ingham, Massachusetts, where he received his
education in the public schools up to the
fourth grade, followed by' a course of private
instruction, when he entered the high school.
He studied until 1892, when he went into the
post office as clerk for a few months, then re
ceiving an appointment as railway mail clerk
from Boston to Springfield. After two years
he entered the Boston Dental College, and
graduated in 1890 with a degree of D. D. S.
He then established himself in South Fram
ingham, with dental offices in Nobscot Block,
where he now makes a specialty of fine oper
ating and bridge work. Dr. Beard's practice
is very extended, and he has a fine class of
patients. He resides in the old Beard home
stead in West Natick. He is a member of
Grace Congregational Church at South
Framingham, Massachusetts. He is a Re
publican and has served as precinct officer.
He was formerly a member of the Framing
ham Club. He is a member of the Silver
Gray Club, and of the Massachusetts Dental
Society. He was a member of Company E,
Sixth regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Mi
litia for five years from 1892. He was ap
pointed in 1903 first class sergeant, and at
present is connected with the signal corps of
the state.
He married, July 10, 1890, Edith Francis
Henderson, born at Campbello, Massachu
setts, April 28, 1869, daughter of John A. and
Eliza M. (Holmes) Henderson of South
Framingham, Massachusetts. They have one

child, Ralph Henderson, born February 28,
1897.

Alexander McCauley, immi-
McCAULEY grant ancestor of this fam
ily, was born in Ulster prov
ince, north of Ireland, in 1707. He was of
genuine Scotch stock, the seat of the family
being in Dunbarton, Scotland. He and his
brother James McCauley came to America to
gether, locating first near Boston, then came
to Hillsboro, New Hampshire. The descend
ants of James mostly spell the name McColley
and McCalley. Alexander married Mary
Pinkerton, who was born in Ireland in 171 2,
and died in Merrimac, New Hampshire,
January 20, 1791. Alexander also died
at Merrimac. Mary Pinkerton was a
cousin of John Pinkerton, of Londonderry.
Children: 1. James of Dunbarton; mentioned
below. 2. Robert, born 1733 ; married Abigail
Smith, of Dunbarton, July 11, .1774; left An
trim about 1794; wife was niece of General
John Stark and his adopted daughter; Robert
died in Crown Point, New York, in 1826, aged
ninety-three years ; he was a tailor, and Revo
lutionary soldier ; children : i. John, settled in
Potsdam, New York; married Polly Moody;
ii. Alexander, born August 25, 1780, died
young ; iii. James, born May 2, 1783 ; settled at
Ashtabula, Ohio, married Charlotte Hancock;
iv. Isabel Pinkerton, born January 25, 1785;
died at Mendon, Michigan, October, 1846;
married Jesse Everett ; v. Thomas, born March
1, 1787; settled at Ashtabula, Ohio, married
Mary Town; vi. Smith, born March 9, 1789;
died at Crown Point, Indiana ; married Dorcas
Dawley, of Mt. Holly, Vermont; vii. Moody,
born November 15, 1792; removed 1792 to
Ashtabula; married Hannah Hill of Walpole,
New Hampshire ; viii. Charles, married Rachel
Barrett. 3. Sarah, married Captain Thomas
Stuart, of Antrim. 4. Alexander, Jr., had a
son David who inherited the property of his
uncle Captain Thomas Stuart, at Antrim; Al
exander lived at Merrimac; had also two
daughters, Mrs. Betsey, wife of Thomas Mc
Coy, and Mrs. Sally S. ; married, 1808, Suth-
eric Weston.
(II) James McCauley, son of Alexander
McCauley (1), was bom in 1746; settled in
Merrimac and Dunbarton, New Hampshire,
where he died January 24, 1812. He is called
by the town history "a well known agent in
promoting the progress of the town of Dun
barton." He was a soldier in the Revolution,
in Captain McLaughlin's company, Colonel
Stark's regiment. He was "a worthy man and

1346

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

an uncompromising Democratic Republican in
politics." He married Isabel Jameson. His
early education was somewhat meagre. He
attended the brief terms of the district school,
and studied at night by the light of the blazing
pineknot. He followed farming on the home
stead at Dunbarton, situate in the easterly part
of the town, where in later years the father
of James Waite lived. Children, born at Dun
barton, except perhaps the two last mentioned,
who may be the eldest: i. Mary, born July 20,
1777. 2. Alexander, born January 27, 1782.
3. Thomas, born July 29, 1784. 4. Charles,
born November 25, 1786. 5. James, born No
vember 30, 1790; mentioned below. 6. Hugh,
born August 29, 1798. 7. Isabel. 8. John.
(Ill) James McCauley, son of James Mc
Cauley (2), was born at Dunbarton, New
Hampshire, November 30, 1790. He worked
on his father's farm, and attended the district
schools at Dunbarton in youth. He remained
with his father until he married, when he
worked for a time for his wife's father. Later
he became the driver of the stage carrying the
mails from Concord to Keene, New Hamp
shire, a position that he held for a number of
years. Afterward he settled on a small farm
that he bought in Dunbarton. His place was
in the eastern part of the town. He made a
specialty of raising hops. He attended the
Orthodox church; was a Democrat in politics,
and served the town on the boards of select
men, assessors and school committee. He was
a Free Mason, and held to the principles of
that order very religiously. He belonged to
the Lebanon military company in his youth.
He married Betsey Bailey, daughter of Oli
ver Bailey. Children: 1. Celenda. 2. Belinda,
born July 16, 1817; died October 15, 1897;
married B. F. Marshall, of Concord, New
Hampshire ; children : i. Ellen Marshall ; ii.
Augusta Marshall; iii. Charles Marshall; iv.
Wendell Marshall. 3. Eliza Ann, born No
vember 27, 1820; mentioned below. 4. James
Oliver. (IV) Eliza Ann McCauley, daughter of
James McCauley (3), was born at Dunbarton,
New Hampshire, November 27, 1820 ; married
at Concord, New Hampshire, November 14,
1844, Dr. George Beard, born at Lebanon,
New Hampshire, July 5, 1821 ; died at Natick,
August 14, 1883. (See Beard sketch).

John Cutler, the immigrant
CUTLER ancestor, was originally from
Sprowston, now Sprauston,
two miles north of Norwich and about eight
miles south of Hingham, county Norfolk,

England. This is proved from Daniel Cush
ing's manuscript records of settlers from Nor
folk. He first appears in American records
among the persecuted adherents of Rev. Rob
ert Peck, A. M., of Hingham, who "sold their
possessions for half their value, and named
the place of their settlment after their natal
town." He embarked, it is belived, in the
ship "Rose" of Yarmouth, William Andrews,
Jr., rnaster, which sailed on or about April
18, 1637, and Cutler was in Hingham by June
10, of that year with his wife, Mary, seven
children and one servant. He died, however,
in 1637-38, before he had an opportunity fair
ly to become established in the colony. He
was assigned a home lot of five acres on the
south side of the town street, two "planting
lots" of six and seven acres bounded on one
side by the "World's End" and twenty acres
on the plain for a "great lot." He was granted
June 10, 1637, an acre and a half of salt marsh
in Weymouth meadow and two lots of one
and two acres of fresh meadow. The widow
must have been in difficult circumstances, and
it seems that the sons were cared for by Dea
con Robert Cutler, of Charlestown. The wid
ow married (second) Thomas Hewett, of
Hingham, whose first wife died May 22, 1649.
He died May 24, 1670. A power of attorney
to Samuel Cutler, one of the sons, was given
February 14, 1761, by Thomas Cutler, then
of Charlestown, and Nathaniel Cutler, then of
Reading, to represent their interests in the
father's estate. The children: 1. Henry, died
before 1670. 2. John, born about 1625 in
England, settled in Reading, Massachusetts;
married Olive Thompson ; (second) __ Mary
Browne, daughter of Abraham Browne, of
Watertown. 3. Samuel, born 1629, men
tioned below. 4. Nathaniel, born 1630, died
in 1724, aged ninety-four years. 5. Thomas,
torn about 1633-35, died December 7, 1683;
settled in Charlestown; married, March 19,
1659, Mary Giles, daughter of Edward and
Bridget Giles. 6. Hannah, married, Novem
ber 6. 1654, OnesiferdUs Marsh, who was
born in 1630; removed about 1674 from
Hingham to Haverhill, Massachusetts, and
built a house which their descendants have
owned and occupied to the present time;
married (second) Elizabeth Worcester.
(II) Samuel Cutler, sOn of John Cutler (1),
was born in England in 1629, and was of Mar
blehead, Massachusetts, in 1654, of Salem in
1655, of Topsfield and Hingham in 1671 and
of Gloucester in 1693. He married (first)
Elizabeth  , who died at Gloucester,
March 17, 1693. He was again of Salem

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1347

when, July 7, 1698, he married (second) Sar
ah Church. In 1671 he, as heir and attorney
for his brothers and sisters, united with his
mother, Mary (Cutler) Hewett, in the sale of-
the patrimonial estate at Hingham. He was
often employed to settle and appraise estates.
Just before his death in 1700 his deposition
was taken, in which he stated that before
1652 he worked with William Flint in the
town of Salem. He was then seventy-one
years old. Children: 1. Hannah, born De
cember 6, 1645, married John Putnam, son
of Nathaniel Putnam. 2. Abigail, born No
vember 7, 1650, died August 25, 1660. 3.
Sarah, born October 23, 1658. 4. Samuel,
born 1661, died at Salem, 1733. 5. Ebenezer,
born 1664, mentioned below.
(Ill) Ebenezer Cutler, son of Samuel Cut
ler (2), was born at Salem, Massachusetts, in
1664. Married, March 11, 1689, Mary Marsh,
daughter of Zachery and Mary Marsh, sister
of Zachery Marsh, Jr., who settled at Kiliing
ly, Connecticut, born December 8, 1666. Mr.
Cutler died about 1729 at Salem, intestate.
His widow Mary, died at Salem in 1734, the
sale of the homestead there followed soon
and the family left town. Children, born at
Salem: 1. Mary, born March 19, 1691,
married  ¦ Sibly, of Salem. 2. Eliza
beth, born June 26, 1693, married Samuel.
Chamberlain, of Kiliingly, Connecticut. 3.
¦Ebenezer, born October 1, 1695, mentioned
below. 4. Zachariah, bora February 5, 1695,
died in Sutton, 1779. 4. Zachariah, born Feb
ruary 5, 1698-99, died July 18, 1784. 5. Eze
kiel, born November 4, 1700, died about 1756.
6. Amos, born Octoter 4, 1703; in 1734 he
was a fisherman at Salem.
(IV) Ebenezer Cutler, Jr., son of Ebenezer
Cutler (3), was born October 1, 1695, and
died in Sutton, Massachusetts, 1779. He
married Mary Stockwell, daughter of Wil
liam Stockwell, October 16, 1732. He inher
ited the farm at Sutton which was purchased
by his father of William Stockwell, and he
settled there before 1728. It is said that three
of his sons resided on this farm at one time,
each occupying a separate house. His will
proved April 3, 1779, mentions wife Mary.
Their children: 1. Mary, born at Sutton, tap
tized April 7, 1734; married, Novemter 27,
1731, Jeremiah Stockwell. 2. Jonathan, bap
tized at Sutton, October 3, 1737, mentioned
below. 3. Amos, born 1738, died March 6,
1823, aged eighty-five. 4. Sarah, baptized
April 17, 1743, married Jonathan Jacobs,
May 2, 1759. 5. Stephen, baptized June 23,
1751, married Anna Davidson, of Sutton,

February 2, 1773; removed from Oxford,
Massachusetts, to Montpelier, Vermont. 6.
Ebenezer. 7. Zacheus.
(V) Jonathan Cutler, son of Ebenezer Cut
ler (4), was born at Sutton where he was bap
tized October 3, 1737. He married Elizabeth
Holman, daughter of Stephen Holman, of
Sutton, October 20, 1757, and settled in Roy-
alston, Massachusetts, about two miles north 1
of the village center. He died in August,
1826, and his wife EHzabeth died in January,
181 7. He and his son Ebenezer were sol
diers in the Revolution. Children: 1. Mary,
born December 28, 1758, in Sutton, married
Nathan Thompson; settled at Buffalo or Ro
chester, New York. 2. Ebenezer, born Sep
tember 9, 1760, in Sutton, died at Hunting
ton, Vermont, 1843. 3- Elizabeth, born Oc
tober 26, 1762, in Sutton, married Isaac Gale,
of Royalston. 4. Jonathan, born October 6,
1764, mentioned below. 5. Sarah, born
April 25, 1768, (twin) in Royalston, married
Judah Stockwell, of Royalston. 6. Hannah,
born April 25, 1768 (twin), died May 12, 1768.
7. Tarrant, born September 10, 1770, died
1841. 8. Hannah, born February 11, 1774,
died August 6, 1778. 9. Mehitable, born July
1, 1776, in Royalston, married Moses Nichols,
of Royalston.
(VI) Jonathan Cutler, son of Jonathan Cut
ler (5), was born in Sutton, Massachusetts,
October 6, 1764, died July 9, 1842. He mar
ried Lydia Waldron, daughter of James Wal
dron, of Dighton, Massachusetts, who was
born December 13, 1766, and died July 13,
1823. He married (second) Fanny Tower
Butler, of Hinsdale, New Hampshire, where
she was born December 9, 1787, and died
April 11, i860, aged seventy-three years. He
bought a farm at Fitzwilliam, New Hamp
shire, about 1790; sold it about 1799 and set
tled in Newfane, now Brookline, Vermont,
where he died July 9, 1842. He was one of
the founders and the first deacon of the Baptist
church at Brookline. Children of Jonathan
and Lydia Cutler: 1. Jonathan, born January
2, 1789, in Royalston. 2. David, born January
2, 1789, was ordained at Brookline, 1827, and
preached two years; was settled six years at
New Berlin, Chenango county, New York,
and in various other towns of Central New
York. 3. Dr. James, born March 5, 1791, in
Fitzwilliam, practiced medicine at Painted
Post, New York; married (first) Mary Kim
ball and (second) Emily Hoisington, and died
1870. 4. Isaac, born at Fitzwilliam, July 20,
1793, married Mary Willard and Sally Hill;
was a hatter by trade, residing in Carthage,

1348

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

New York. 5. Samuel, born August 13, 1796,
in Fitzwilliam, mentioned below. 6. Ira, born
August 17, 1798, at Fitzwilliam, a substantial
farmer on the old homestead at Brookline,
Vermont; usually holding some town office;
married, Octoter 19, 1823, Eleanor Rounds,
daughter of Josiah ; she died October 30, 1863,
he died February 16, 1867. 7. Lydia, born
April 14, 1801, in Newfane, married John
Thomas and lived in New York. 8. Melinda,
born April 12, 1804, in Newfane, married
Jacob Rounds; residence, Freedom, New
York. Children of Jonathan and Fanny Cut
ler: 9. Laurinda, born March 11, 1827, in
Brookline, married Albert Milton White: Tesi-
dence, Waterbury, Connecticut. 10. Calista,
born June 19, 1828, in Brookline, died April
3, 1829. 11. Fanny, born April 28, 1830, in
Brookline, married -Joseph Bent, residing in
Thompson, Connecticut, and has two sons.
(VII) Samuel Cutler, son of Jonathan Cut
ler (6), was born August 13, 1796, at Fitz
william, New Hampshire. He married, Feb
ruary "17, 18 17, Ruth Phillips, daughter of
John Phillips, of Easton, Massachusetts. She
was born April 2, 1798, and died January 8,
1833,' aged thirty-five years. He married
(second), June 5, 1834, Sally Phillips, who
was born November 7, 1807, and died June 9,
1867. Mr. Cutler was a carpenter and farmer,
residing most of his life in Brookline and
Townsend, Vermont; he was a representative
in the Vermont legislature; died at Brattle
boro, Vermont, August 3, 1866. Children :
Luther, born August 28, 1820, died January
13, 1821. 2. Jonathan, born June 16, 1822,
died May 30, 1867; married Loretta E. Ab
bott, September 27, 1848; he died May 30,
1867, in Brattleboro; widow married 
Starkey; children: i. Mary E., born April 16,
1853, died August 25, 1856 ; ii. Ellen G., born
July 19, 1855, died July 12, 1873 . "*¦ Freder
ick A., born September 18, 1858, resides in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. 3. Samuel, born Au
gust 27, 1825, mentioned below. 4. Ruth Phil
lips, born August 1, 1828, died August 25,
1856. 5. Albert S., born January 8, 1833, re
sided in St. Charles and Rochester, Minnesota,
and subsequently in Tracy, Lyons county,
Minnesota, where he died February 24, 1883.
6. John Henry, born August 12, 1835, farmer
at Tracy, Minnesota.
(VIII) Samuel Cutler, son of Samuel Cut
ler (7), was born in Townsend, Vermont, Au
gust 27, 1825. Married Sarah Jane Bennett,
daughter of Samuel Bennett, of Putney, Ver
mont, May 13, 185 1. He settled in Boston
and became one of the most prominent busi

ness men of that city. He settled in Somer
ville in 1856. He was president of the Bay
. State Belting Company of Boston and a mem
ber of the firm of Hill & Cutler, dealers in
cotton waste, Boston. He was a Republican in
politics; he was more or less prominent for
over forty-nine years, especially in connection
with the Perkins Street Baptist Church
and the East Somerville Baptist Church,
in both of which he was deacon. He
was a representative from ward one
in the general court in 1887-88. He
died July 12, 1905. Mrs. Samuel Cutler died
April 26, 1899. Children: 1. Samuel Newton,
born January 25, 1855, mentioned below. 2.
Clarence Henry, born July 14, 1856, died Aw-
gust 25 following. 3. Frank Ernest, born
February 7, 1863. 4. Ella Florence, born April
22, 1866. 5. Jane Ruth, born February 16,
1868. (IX) Samuel Newton Cutler, son of Sam
uel Cutler (8), was born at East Boston, Mas
sachusetts, January 25, 1855. He removed to
Somerville with his parents when he was one
year old and since then has resided there. He
graduated at the Prescott school in 1869, from
the high school in 1873 and from Harvard
College in 1877, taking the degree of A. B.
cum laude. He won several prizes for scholar
ship in college and was elected to the Phi Beta
Kappa before graduation. After a brief ex-.
perience in teaching school and in western life,
he entered the employ of his father's firm, Hill
& Cutler, Boston, exporters and dealers in cot
ton and wool stock, in 1880. He was admitted
to partnership in 1892 and has since then been
active in the management of the concern. He
has continued his interest in education, and
from 1886 to 1903, inclusive, represented ward
one of Somerville in the school board, being
chairman of that board from September, 1900,
to January, 1904. He also represented that
ward (Middlesex Sixth Representative Dis
trict) in the legislature during 1904-05, serv
ing on the committees on education, taxation
and labor. He united with the Perkins street
Baptist Church, Somerville, in March, 1871,
and was one of the constituent members of the
East Somerville Baptist Church, organized in
March, 1890. Of this latter church he was
chosen deacon in April, 1904, and he is teacher
of a Bible class in its Sunday school. He is a
life member of the New England Historical
and Genealogical Society, the Bostonian So
ciety, the Somerville Historical Society and
the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth. He is a
member of the Vermont Association of Boston,
Boston Baptist Social Union, Young Men's

<SJvz^&^ ^fe^

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1349

Baptist Social Union, life member of the Har
vard Union, member of Excelsior Council,
Royal Arcanum, of Somerville, and trustee of
the Somerville Savings Bank, the Somerville
Hospital and of the New England Baptist
Hospital. He resides at 28 Flint street, Som
erville. He married, November 9, 1882, Ella Fran
ces Stearns, who was born August 6, 1854,
daughter of Hiram Newell Stearns. Her
father married, July 4, 1850, Charlotte A.
Chipman, daughter of Samuel . and Edith
(Guilford) Chipman, of Marlborough. He
was born July 15, 1828, the son of Captain
Freeborn and Clarissa (Demary) Stearns, of
.Rindge, New Hampshire; he was a Boston
merchant. Captain Freeborn Stearns was born
November 24, 1784, the son of Bartholomew
and Mary (Raymond) Stearns, of Winchen
don, Massachusetts ; was a blacksmith by trade ;
was captain of the militia company; married,
February 14, 1809, Clarissa, daughter of Eze
kiel Demary, of Dublin, New Hampshire ; they
had fourteen children; she died August 31,
1865. Bartholomew Stearns, born August 4,
1742, was the son of Jotham and Mary
(Flagg) Stearns, of Worcester; settled in
Winchendon; married, February 25, 1767, at
Holden, Mary Raymond, who was born May
10, 1745 ; had ten children. Jotham Stearns
was baptized June 22, 1718, in Watertown,
Massachusetts, son of Captain John and De
liverance (Bigelow) Stearns, of Lexington,
Massachusetts; married, 1741, Mary Flagg,
daughter of Bartholomew Flagg. Captain
John Stearns, born 1692, son of John and Ju
dith (Lawrence) Stearns, married, August 10,
1715, Deliverance Bigelow, who was born
September 22, 1695, daughter of Samuel and
Mary (Flagg) Bigelow, of Watertown; he
was a blacksmith and settled in Worcester as
early as 1722; was captain of the Rangers of
Worcester in Indian campaigns. John Stearns,
born January 24, 1657,, son of Charles and Re
becca (Gibson) Stearns, of Cambridge, house-
wright by trade, married, 1681, Judith Law
rence, who was born May 12, 1660, daughter
of George and Elizateth (Crispe) Lawrence;
married (second), April 2, 1713, Mary Nor
cross, who was born July 10, 1663, daughter
of Richard and Mary (Brooks) Norcross.
Charles Stearns, the immigrant, was admitted
freeman May 6, 1646, and drew land at Water -
town, Massachusetts; he was a town officer,
removed to Lynn about 1681 ; his first wife
Hannah died June 30, 1651, and he .married
(second), June 22, 1654, Rebecca Gibson,

daughter of John and Rebecca Gibson. Mr.
and Mrs. Cutler have no children.

Some authorities tell us
CONVERSE that the origin of the Con
verse family was in Na
varre, France, from whence Roger de Coig-
niers emigrated to England near the end of
the reign of William the Conqueror, and to
whom the Bishop of Durham gave the con-
stableship of Durham. William G. Hill in the
"Family Record of Deacons James W. and
Elisha S. Converse" traces the lineage to this
Roger de Coigniers. Recent research has
established the fact that this lineage is not
correct as to the immediate ancestors of the
American immigrant, Edward Converse of
Maiden, Massachusetts. The name is spelled
Combers in some of the old registers and
records, but Convers was the correct spelling
as early as 1430. Robert Converse was in
Westham before 1430, and the family was
numerous at Westham and Navestock, county
Essex, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
There is every reason to believe that the fam
ily is descended from the Le Convers family of
France. Roger Convers was of London in
1258. John, son of this Roger, was in the
service of the king in 1277; Nicholas le Con
vers, who died 1304-5, may have been another
son, and Roger le Convers a third. The lat
ter married Agnes, who married second
Miles de Mountney prior to 1318. Roger and
Agnes had a son Roger. Richard Converse
is mentioned as of Navestock in 1389, and on
a roll nine years earlier are found the names
of Roger Confers and of Matilda Confers,
both of that place. This Richard is presum
ably the progenitor of the Navestock family
mentioned below.
(I) Richard Convers, probably the husband
of the widow Margaret Convers, from whom
the lineage is traced, died intestate and. was
buried at Navestock, October 21, 1542. The
will of Margaret, widow, was dated Decem
ber 10, 1565, and proved February 1, 1565-
6, mentioning her son John and his children.
Children of widow Margaret: 1. John Con
vers; mentioned below. 2. Annys, executrix
of her mother's will. 3. Richard, had a son
living in 1585.
(II) John Convers, son of Margaret Con
vers, widow (1), had house and lands at Nave
stock, lived at Stanford Rivers ; will dated
August 6, 1574, proved October 5, 1574. His
wife Joan was executor with William Sum-

i35o

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

ner, of Harlow. Children: i. Allen, of South
Weald, Essex, had houses and lands in Nave
stock, Stanford Rivers and Fyfield; men
tioned below. 2. Thomas, baptized at Nave
stock, May 31, 1560. 3. Anthony, baptized
in Navestock, October 18, 1562; buried Janu
ary 28, 1622; married January 29, 1587, Clem-
ence Spady. 4. John, baptized at Navestock,
May 5, 1566; will dated 1627; was of Shen-
field. 5. Jeffrey, baptized January 16, 1568,
died 161 2. 6. William, baptized February 18,
1570. 7. Jane.
(Ill) Allen Convers, son of John Convers
(2), was of South Weald. His will was dated
January 3, 1636, and proved June 28, 1639.
He owned houses and lands in Navestock,
Stanford Rivers and Fyfield. He married
first, Joanna  , who was buried June 22,
1602. Children of Allen and Joanna Con
verse : 1 . Allen, baptized at Navestock, Feb
ruary 28, 1586, married Sarah  , who
was buried December 5, 1626, at South
Weald; his son Allen, baptized August 18,
1 5 16, was the American immigrant who set
tled in Salem, a nephew therefore of Edward
Converse, mentioned below. 2. Edward, bap
tized at Navestock, February 23, 1588; men
tioned below. 3. Andrew, baptized Novem
ber 30, 1 59 1. 4. Anne, baptized June 20,
x599- 5- Richard, named in father's will.
Children of second wife, Elizabeth (Palmer) :
6. Susan, baptized at South Weald, March 18,
1603. 7. Gabriel, baptized March 24, 1604.
8. Daniel, baptized February 18, 1609. 9. Hes
ter, baptized April 26, 1612; married, October
28, 1830, William Skinner.
(IV) Deacon Edward Convers, son of
Allen Convers (3), was baptized at Nave
stock (county Essex, England, February 23,
1588. He was one of the select company of
Puritans who came from England in the fleet
with Winthrop, whose ship, the "Arabella,"
preceding the other vessels of the fleet, ar
rived at Salem on June 12, 1630, after a
stormy passage of sixty-three days. With
him came his wife Sarah, and children Josiah,
James and Mary. They settled first in Charles
town, Massachusetts, and were among the
first members of the church received on the
Sunday following its organization in Charles
town, July 30, 1630, and which included in its
congregation members on both sides of the
river, the majority of whom had removed to
Boston within a few months. This was the
First Church of Boston, and from it Edward
and Sarah Convers and thirty-three other
members were dismissed October 14, 1632,
to be embodied as the First Church of

Charlestown, entering into mutual covenant
for this purpose November 2, 1632. He was
admitted a freeman May 18, 163 1, among the
first to be admitted to the company in, New
England. He established the first ferry be
tween Charlestown and Boston, under the
vote of the general court, November 9, 1630,
and June 14, 163 1, was authorized to charge
for ferriage "two pence for every single per
son, and one penny apiece if there be two or
more." This lease was renewed November
9, 1637, for three years, Convers paying forty
pounds a year for the privilege. This ferry
crossed where the old Charlestown bridge
crosses now, and was called the "Great
Ferry," to distinguish it from the ferry be
tween Charlestown and Winnisimmetj oper
ated by Thomas Williams Convers held the
lease until October 7, 1640, when it was
granted for the support of Harvard College.
He was a juror September 28, 1630; select
man from -1635 until his removal to the new
town of Woburn in the founding of which he
was prominent. His name was at the head of
the seven commissioners appointed by
Charlestown to establish the town and church
at Woburn. He built the first house in Wo
burn, previous to January 4, 1641, which was
at the mill once called by his name in the
south village, now Winchester. He also, built
this first mill there, a corn mill. On the or
ganization of the town he was chosen one of
the seven selectmen, April 13, 1644, and
served until his death in 1663. On March 3,
1649, he was one of the four selectmen ap
pointed to settled the disputed boundary be
tween Woburn and Charlestown; from 1649
to 1660 he was one of the three commission
ers for the trial of small causes; in 1660 he
was deputy to the general court. He was one
of the two deacons chosen by the Woburn
church, and continued in that office until his
death. He was a tithing man at various times.
Deacon Convers was known as a man of in
fluence, energy, strength of character and
substantial estate. His wife Sarah died Janu
ary 14, 1661-2, and he married again, Sep
tember 9, 1662, Joanna Sprague, widow of
Ralph Sprague, of Charlestown. She died
February 24, 1679-80. Deacon Convers died
in Woburn, August 10, 1663. His will was
dated August, 1659, and recorded October 7,
1663. His estate was valued at 827 pounds.
In his will he mentions his wife Sarah; sons
Josiah, James and Samuel; Edward, the son
of James; his daughter Mary and her chil
dren by her first marriage ; his kinsman, Allen
Convers; his kinsman John Parker, and his

.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

i35i

kinswoman Sarah Smith. Children of Dea
con Edward and Sarah Convers: 1. Deacon
Josiah, born in England, baptized at South
Weald, October 30, 1618; died in Woburn,
February 3, 1689-90; married Esther Champ-
ney. 2. Lieutenant James, born in England,
about 1620; died in Woburn, May 10, 1715;
married Anna Long. 3. John, baptized in
South Weald, November 29, 1620. 4. Mary,
born in England, 1622; married first Simon
Thompson, second John Sheldon. 5. Sarah,
baptized at South Weald, June 2, 1623. 6.
Sergeant Samuel, mentioned below.
(V) Sergeant Samuel Convers, son of Dea- •
con Edward Convers (4), was baptized March
12, 1637-8, in the First Ghurch, Charlestown,
and born a few days earlier; died February
20, 1669; married June 8, 1660, Judith, daugh
ter of Rev. Thomas and Mary (Parkhurst)
Carter. Her father was the first minister of
Woburn and continued forty-two, years. Jud
ith survived her husband, and married second
May 2, 1672, Giles Fifield. She died 1677.
Samuel Convers was admitted freeman, 1666,
and was sergeant in the Woburn train band.
He came to an untimely death by an accident
in the corn mill, which he inherited with his
brothers from his father. His head was
caught between the wheel and wall while he
was cuttting ice from the wheel. He died in
testate. Children; 1. Samuel, born April 4,
1662, mentioned below. 2. Abigail, born in
Woburn; died July 14, 1689.
(VI) Samuel Convers, son of Sergeant
Samuel Convers (5), was born in Woburn,
Massachusetts, April 4, 1662; died in Thomp
son Parish, Kiliingly, Connecticut, about
1732; married Dorcas  , prior to 1694.
In 171Q Samuel Convers and family removed
to Tnomtpson Parish, Kiliingly, Connecticut,
and occupied a farm that he had bought of
Richard Evans, the first- settler of Kiliingly.
Mr. Convers was the first settler in Thomp
son, his farm being in that part of the town
set off as Putnam. In 1716 he sold the Evans
farm and purchased a part of the "Quinatis-
set Farm" laid out to John Gore of Rox
bury, surveyor, in 1686. This farm is about
a mile southwest of Thompson Hill, and in
1882 was occupied by Stephen Ballard and
Benjamin Bugbee. He deeded parts of this
farm to his sons as they settled 'in life. They
attended church at Kiliingly until the erec
tion 'of Thompson parish in 1728. Convers
and his sons were active in building the
Thompson meeting house, and his _ name
heads the list of church members at its or
ganization January 28, 1730. Children of

Samuel and Dorcas Convers: 1. Samuel, born
in Woburn, May 26, 1694; married first Han
nah Bartiett, and second Sarah Atwell. 2.
Edward, born September 25, 1696, mentioned
below. 3. Thomas, born October 28, 1699;
married first Martha Clough; second Abigail
Fay. 4. Dorcas, born in Woburn, February
1, 1702-3; married April 28, 1723, Daniel
Whitmore. 5. Pain, born November 25, 1706;
died September 10, 1781; married Mary Hal-
ford. 6. Josiah, baptized in Kiliingly, No
vember 20, 1714; married Mary Sabin.
(VII) Ensign Edward Convers, son of
Samuel Convers (6), born in Woburn, Sep
tember 25, 1696, died July 9, 1784. At the age
of fourteen he removed with his parents to
Thompson. He married August 6, 1717,
Elizabeth Cooper, who died February 19,
1776, daughter of John and Elizabeth Cooper.
Edward Convers received fromi his father,
February 6, 1718, the deed of fifty acres of
land north of -the homestead. He built the
house occupied by him and his sons for many
years, and known as the "Convers Tavern."
He was a man of energy and sound judgment,
much employed in public affairs, was one of
the constituent members of the church, and
served as committee in building the meeting
house. He was chosen to repair bridges, help
survey doubtful bounds, collect, receive and
distribute school money and "settle with dis
trained Baptists on as easy terms as he
could." He was active in military affairs,
serving as an ensign for many years. At a
town meeting, December, 1732, he was elect
ed constable. His real estate was doubtless
made over to his sons in his lifetime. He died
intestate. Children of Ensign Edward and
Elizabeth (Cooper) Convers: 1. Captain
James, baptized September 27, I7i9;-married
Mary Leavens. 2. Captain Edward, baptized
at Kiliingly, November, 8, 1720; married
Mary Davis. 3. Jonathan, baptized April 28,
1723; mentioned below. 4. Lieutenant Jacob,
born at Kiliingly, February 26, 1727; married
Ann White. 5. Asa, born September 30, 1730;
married Ruth Lee. 6. Jesse, born November
30, 1732; married Damaris Chandler, widow.
7. Elizabeth, born April 4, 1736; died March
18, 1737. 8. Zacharias, born April 4, 1736,
probably died young. 9. Elizabeth, born
March '29, 1738; married, May 20, 1757,
Timothy Attwood. 10. Susanna, born Octo
ber 28, 1741; died August, 1833; married first
Diah Johnson, and second Dr. Samuel Rug-
gles. (VIH)Jonathan Converse, son of Ensign
Edward Convers (7), born in Thompson,

1352

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Connecticut, in 1723, baptized April 28, 1723;
married Keziah Hughes, daughter of Jonathan
Hughes, an early resident of Kiliingly. He
died in 1761. He occupied after his marriage
a farm on a by-road running northwest from
Brandy Hill, near the old Hale and John
Jacobs places, until about 1752, when he re
moved to the homestead afterwards occupied
by Elijah and Riel Converse, near the pres
ent village of Wilsonville. Living in such re
mote neighborhoods, he had little to do with
public affairs, neither does his name appear
On the society records; but he evidently man
aged to ,attend church, as his children were
baptized. Children: 1. Elijah, born June 20,
1745; died June 14, 1820; married first, Janu
ary, 1770, Experience, daughter of Jonathan
and Experience Hibbard; served three years
in the revolutionary war. 2. Alice, born Feb
ruary 11, 1747. 3. Rhoda, born March 12,
1748, died young. 4. Elisha, born April 4,
1750, died young. 5. Lois, born May 29,
1751. 6. Esther, born October 29, 1752. 7.
Jonathan, born November 25, 1754; died May
9, 1761. 8. Rhoda, born August 23, 1756;
married November 26, 1778, Jeremiah Con
verse. 9. Elisha, born March 13, 1758; mar
ried second, Mary Wells, of Woodstock; lived
when a boy with James Larned, of Kiliingly;
was a private in Colonel Israel Putnam's regi
ment, and took part in the battle of Bunker
Hill; removed to Wadsbury, Vermont, and
acquired a considerable estate. 10. Jonathan,
born January 27, 1760; mentioned below.
(IX) Deacon Jonathan Converse, son of
Jonathan Converse (8), was born in Thomp
son, Connecticut, January 27, 1760; died
there October 25, 1845. He married first,
Esther Whipple, November 20, 1783. She
was born October 30, 1762, and died March
24j 1832'. He married second, April 7, 1833,
Mrs. Sarah Wilber, who died May 1, 1837,
and he married third, September 24, 1837,
Zeruiah Sprague. His father died when he
was an infant, and he left home at an early
age. In July, 1776, he enlisted in the revolu
tionary army as a private in Captain Stephen
Crosby's company, Colonel Comfort Sage's
regiment, *and doubtless served in the disas
trous campaign in New York. He afterwards
passed a few years at Glocester, Rhode
Island, where his elder children were born.
He was admitted an inhabitant of Thompson
in 1788; purchased land in various sections
of the town, and occupied for a number of
years the farm sold by him in 1801 to the
Baptist Society. In 1795 he was chosen dea
con of the Baptist church, and was also very

active in other ways, serving on the building
committee in 1803, and securing the minis
terial farm. He was also active in political
life, assisting in the organization of the old
Republican (or Democratic) party, and assist
ing in the first public Independence Day cele
bration on Thompson Hill in 1806. Through
life an active member of the Masonic frater
nity (member of Warren Chapter and Mont
gomery Council), he joined in later years with
his former political opponents in the tremen
dous fight against anti-Masonry. Deacon Con
verse was jovial and convivial, after the fash
ion of his times, enjoying good living and
good fellowship. Among other avocations he
followed for a time that of landlord, keeping
tavern for a period at Brandy Hill, and also at
Brass Hill in the extreme northeast part of
the town. He was also interested in various
mills, and was one of the prime movers in the
upbuilding of Quaddick factory and village,
Selling out his interests in Quaddick Manu
facturing Company in 1812, Deacon Con
verse then removed to a farm in the
south part of the town, and lived there
until his death, October 25, 1845. His
first wife, Esther Whipple, mother of all
his children, was much esteemed as a quiet,
self-sacrificing, earnest, Christian woman.
She was the daughter of  Whipple,
who died March 17, 1816, and she died March
18, 1813, in her eighty-fourth year Children
of Jonathan and Esther (Whipple)' Converse:
1. Thaddeus, born August 28, 1784; died
April 30, 1869; married first Matilda Hosmer,
who died October 3, 181 1; second, October
18, 1812, Elizabeth Covell, who died Decem
ber 23, 1852. 2. Elisha, born June 19, 1786;
mentioned below. 3. Pamela, born October
26, 1788, died July 15, 1876; married ^aron
Clough, of Thompson, September 11, 1815;
he died February 22, 1821, son of Obadiah and
grandson of Deacon Jonathan Clough. 4.
Augustus, born Novemter 24, 1790; died Oc
tober 28, 1843, at Cambridge, Illinois; mar
ried December 12, 1812, Sybil Smith, bom
March 27, 1791, died October 5, 1843. 5-
Lucyna, born in Thompson, February 26,
1793; died May 31, 1855; married, December
2, 1816, Davis L. Whitmore, born January 31,
1783, died December 21, 1845. 6. Deacon
Joseph, born in Thompson, February 2, 1795;
died in Worcester, Massachusetts, April 6r
1849; married, 1820, Betsey Day, born May
1, 1796, died March 12, 1880; engaged with
brother Benjamin in shoe business, Boston;
later he settled on a farm in Worcester. 7.
Deacon Benjamin, born in Thompson, Feb-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1353

ruary 2, 1795- died May 15, 1874; married
July 30, 1821, Adaline Battelle, born Septem
ber 14, 1801; associated with his brother
Joseph in business in the Boylston Market
building many years, and resided in that vi
cinity until late in life, when he removed to
Cambridge, Massachusetts. 8. Nancy Lor-
rey (or Laura) born in Thompson, February
11, 1797; died May 20, 1878; married June
ii, 1820, Joseph Phelps Barrett, born No
vember 9, 1789, died October 23, 1836. 9.
Adolphus B., born in Thompson, Connecti
cut, January 21, 1799; died in Boston, April
12, 1871; married Pamela Day, born in
Dover, Massachusetts, February 8, 1800, died
in Boston, November 1, 1852. 10. Esther,
born February 9, 1802; died September 7,
1838; married, November 2, 1823, Erastus
Buck, of Kiliingly, born April 28, 1800. The
descendants of the children of Deacon Jona
than have been very numerous.
(X) Elisha Converse, son of Deacon Jona
than Converse (9), was bom in Glocester,
Rhode Island, June 19, 1786, and died in
Stoneham, Massachusetts, January 26, 1854.
He married March 20, 1807, Betsey, daugh
ter of Deacon James and Sarah (Slade)
Wheaton, of Thompson. She was born Janu
ary 30, 1783, and died at Melrose, February
20, 1873, m the ninety-first year of her age.
Elisha Converse removed with his parents
when very young to Thompson, Connecticut.
After marriage he was landlord over the tav
erns at Brandy Hill, in Thompson, and also
one at the extreme eastern end of the town,
and keeper of the turnpike gates at these
points. In the business depression following
the declaration of peace in 1814 and 181 5 and
the decline of manufacturing in Thompson, he
removed to Dover and thence to Needham,
Massachusetts. In 1824 he returned to Con
necticut and settled in Woodstock, just across
the Thompson line, and near the residence of
Deacon James Wheaton. In 1848 he removed
from this farm to Stoneham, Massachusetts,
where they were near the home of most of
their children, who had previously located in
Boston or vicinity. He and his wife became
members of the Baptist church early in life.
He was slow of speech, but of decided convic
tions, of strong character, strict integrity, and,
withal, kindly and considerate of the feelings
of others. He was greatly devoted to his
family and home. After his death his widow
removed to Melrose where she lived at an
advanced age, a devoted Christian, beloved hy
all who knew her, a blessing to children and
grandchildren. She often used to say that
iv— 6

her children were a great' comfort to her '
Her declining years were full of health, hope
and pleasure. She was buried by the side of
her husband in Mount Auburn cemetery.
Children: 1. James Wheaton, born January
11, 1808; mentioned below. 2. Maria, bom
in Thompson, September 26, 1843, buried at
Mt. Auburn; married March 28, 1833, Aaron
Butler, born in Townsend, Massachusetts,
July 4, 1803; resided at the corner of Broad
way and Dorchester avenue, South Boston,
for some years; after the death of his wife in
1843 Mr. Butler removed to St. Louis, Mis
souri; thence to Alton, 111., where he settled
on a farm; was postmaster there for sixteen
years; children: i. Aaron Gilbert, born at
Boston, January 30, 1834; married September
12, 1867, Mrs. Phebe B. Fair, at Bethalto,,
111., born September 3, 1836, in St. Clair
county, 111. (Children: Charles Aaron, born
June 11, 1868, died November 11, 1868; Eve,
born November 4, 1869; James E. Butler,
bom September 2, 1871, died July 16, 1872;
William Butler, born April 9, 1875, died April
26, 1875); ii. Emma Maria Butler, born in
Boston, October 13, 1841; married John D.
Hodge, M. D., October 20, 1867, at Upper
Alton, born August 16, 1840, at Bunker Hill,
Illinois, a man of character, good principles
and education. (Children: Richard Hodge,
born November 1, 1868, died November 1,
1868; Nelson Butler, born September 30,
1869; Frederick Humbert, born December
10, 1870; John G., born January 26, 1872,
died July 3, 1872; Maria C, born March 24,
1873; died November 3, 1877; John T, born
May 27, 1875; Charles A., born December 17,
1876, died November 22, 1878; Margaret J.,
born May 16, 1879; Mary L, born October
10, 1880; William E., born April 14, 1882). 3.
Sarah", born June 22, 181 1; mentioned below.
4. Elisha, Jr., born March 27, 1813; died De
cember 28, 1813. 5. Esther, born November
27, 1814; died June 28, 1830, member of
Methodist Episcopal church. 6. Caroline,
born in Needham, October 25, 1817; died in
Melrose, March 11, 1876, buried at Wyoming
Cemetery, Melrose; married September 7,
1840, Nelson W. Bickford, at Woodstock,
Connecticut; member of Baptist church at
Melrose, and for a long time teacher in Sun
day school, and a devout Christian; for many
years a great sufferer from ill health, and in
her last years became totally blind. 7. Eme
line, born in Needham, October 25, 1817;
mentioned .below. 8. Elisha Slade, born July
28, 1820; mentioned below.
(XI) Deacon James Wheaton Converse,

1354

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

son of Elisha Converse (10), was born in
Thompson, Connecticut, January n, 1808.
When he was six years old his parents re
moved from Thompson to Woodstock, Con
necticut, and two years later to Dover, Mas
sachusetts, and thence to Needham. In 1821,
while yet but a mere lad of thirteen years, he
left his home and went to Boston, a poor boy,
and then and there began an eventful, useful
and very successful life, a career which affords
as good a guide t for the coming generation to
follow as they will be likely to find. He
obtained employment with his uncles, Joseph
and Benjamin Converse. In 1828 his uncles
assisted him to commence in business in the
Boylston Market. On January 1, 1832, he
formed a copartnership with William Hard
wick, under the firm name of Hardwick &
Converse, in the boot, shoe and leather busi
ness, at the corner of Milk and Broad streets,
Boston. January 1, 1833, he joined Isaac
Field, under the firm name of Field & Con
verse, at 43 and 45 Broad street, Boston, to
conduct a hide and leather business. In 1838
Mr. Field retired from the firmi, and his
brother, John Field, took his place, forming
the firm of Field & Converse, which became
one of the leading concerns in this line of
trade. This firm stood high in the com
mercial world and enjoyed good credit
through all the business panics during the
thirty-seven years of its existence. Mr. Con
verse retired from the firm January 1, 1870,
and also from all -active business, and from
then to the time of his death was occupied in
the investment of his fortune and care of his
property. The Mechanics Bank of Boston was organ
ized May 16, 1836, when Mr. Converse was
elected a director, and held that office to the
close of his life. In 1847 he was elected presi
dent and continued long in that office. In Octo
ber, 1 82 1, Mir. Converse joined the Charles
Street Baptist Church. He was one of the orig
inal members of the Federal Street Baptist
Church, organized in 1827. In May, 1833,
Miss Emeline Coolidge, afterwards his wife,
united with this church. In 1845 Mr. Con
verse removed to Jamaica Plain, and attended
various churches in Boston. He was a mem
ber of the Tremont Temple Baptist Church,
and later of the Shawmut Avenue Baptist
Church, now the First Baptist Church of Bos
ton. For fifty years Mr. Converse served as
deacon in various churches, being first elected
July 5, 1837, in the Federal Street Church.
Deacon Converse lived for about ten years in
a house on Pearl street, between High and

Purchase streets, Boston, and in 1845 he re
moved to Jamaica Plain, where in 1849 he
erected an elegant house, which was sur
rounded by beautiful grounds. In 1865 he re
turned to Boston, and lived on West Newton
street for about twenty years. In 1885 he
built his home on Beacon street, where he re
sided most of the time until his death. A
beautiful marble tablet in commemoration of
the life and benefactions of Deacon James
Wheaton Converse, was unveiled Friday,
March 9, 1900, in the vestibule of Tremont
Temple, Boston. The tablet reads: "Con
verse Hall. In memory of James Wheaton
Converse, a constant and generous benefac
tor of Tremont Temple and the Baptist De
nomination. Born January 11, 1808, died Au
gust 26, 1894." The memorial is placed on
the wall of the vestibule, about the height of
the eyes, and will be seen readily by all
ascending the stairs to enter the main audi
torium. It is about two by three feet. The
body is of light colored Belgian marble, while
a raised border of dark Egyptian marble
gives the tablet a modest prominence. The in
scription is in large letters, and can be easily
read. The donors of the tablet were Elisha
S. Converse, brother of the deceased, Costello
C. Converse and Mrs. Isaac W. Chick, chil
dren of the late Deacon Converse. The exer
cises were in charge of Rev. Dr. Lorimer, the
pastor, who, said in part: "Deacon James
Wheaton Converse, in whose honor this great
hall is named, was one of the foremost lay
men of the Baptist denomination. He united
with the Charles Street Church, October,
1821, under the pastorate of Rev. Daniel
Sharp, D. D., and afterwards became one of
the constituent members of the Federal
Street Church in 1827. In moving tt> Jamaica
Plain he connected himself with God's people
there, and subsequently was a member of Tre
mont Temple, Shawmut avenue, and the First
Church. He was chosen a deacon in 1837,
which office he held to the close of his life.
From the beginning of his religious career he
was intensely active and practical. But what
was specially noticeable from the first was his
broad and progressive views concerning the
extension of God's kingdom. While he was
never a restless vagrant Christian, wandering
about in search of new sensations on the
Sabbath, but was always to te found in his
own pew each Lord's Day, sustaining his pas
tor loyally, nevertheless he was in his busi
ness a sagacious expansionist, ever seeking
larger fields for operations and opportunities
for new investments. He did not neglect to

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1355

build up opposite his own home, but he be
lieved in helping his neighbor to build up op
posite his as well. The man's conception of
the Christian spirit and the magnificent com
pass of his obligations is illustrated in the en
couragement he extended to Rev. William
Howe, D. D., when a student at Newton in
1833, whom he helped financially, and by his
counsel inspired to begin that magnificent
mission work in Boston, which contributed to
the formation of Tremont Temple, and quick
ened and stimulated other churches; and it is
further shown in his watchful care for young
Lyman Jewett, who afterward became one of
the greatest of our missionaries. Thus Dea
con Converse realized that the child of God
was called to embrace not only his own city,
but the world, in his sympathies and benefac
tions; and this spirit in him was recognized at
an early day, and consequently he was ap
pealed to by feeble churches, infant colleges,
and debt-burdened seminaries all over the
land, probably more frequently than any
other layman of his generation; and was-
chosen to serve the Missionary Union on its
executive committee, which he did for many
years, helping it by advice and money in
more than one crisis of its history. The num
ber and value of his gifts to the Baptist de
nomination are not easy to compute. Were
all of his gifts collected into one sum the total
amount given in his life would probably
largely transcend the donations bequeathed
by others — with a rare exception here and
there — in their death. Struggling institutions
of learning in the west and south, innumer
able school buildings he never saw, and
church edifices he never entered; and, in ad
dition, youths educated and endowments en
riched, bear witness to his liberality. From
Boston to Grand Rapids, from Grand Rapids
to Chicago, and from Chicago to destitute
home fields and far-off heathen desolation, his
money was sent on its enlightening and evan
gelizing ministry. And among those who are
entitled, therefore, to rank as the real bene
factors of our denomination, Deacon J. W.
Converse occupies a leading position.
"When the Tremont Temple enterprise was
first projected, its avowed leader, Deacon
Timothy Gilbert, relied largely on the judg
ment and on the open purse of his brother.
Indeed, much of the financial responsibility
was assumed by Deacon Converse, and notes
which he paid for the infant society yet ex
tant prove the depth of his interest. When
hours of trial came he did not lose heart, and
in financial emergencies the assistance of his

credit was not withheld. As his business
foresight and pecuniary aid helped in securing
the Merrimac street property, so they were
both engaged in the purchase and preserva
tion of the Temple property. From the first
to the day of his death he thoroughly believed
in the mission of the "Strangers' Sabbath
Home," and in the duty of the denomination
to see it established on sure and abiding
foundations. When he was a member of the
Temple Church, his liberality was proverbial.
His rule was to give twice as much for every
object as the richest of his brethren donated,
and always so modestly that hardly anyone
knew about it. Had he survived to see the
new Temple, he would have been the most
generous of its benefactors. But after the fire
and during the rebuilding, he was too feeble
for me to make the subject of money the
theme of our conversation; and, moreover, I
knew from my long intimacy with him that if
he bequeathed not a single dollar, his bene
factions had been so generous, extensive and
varied when in health, that he might well be
saved from applications of the kind when in
sickness and on the threshold of dissolution.
What he did not live to accomplish, his
brother, Hon. Elisha S. Converse, and his
children, Mr. Co.stello C. Converse and Mrs.
Isaac W. Chick, in the best spirit of their
father, have done for him and in his name;
and if this great property has been able to
diminish its mortgage debt to a safe, if not an
altogether satisfactory limit, it is mainly due
to1 their liberality."
He married, in Boston, September 5, 1833,
Emeline Coolidge, daughter of Nathan and
Nabby (Shepard) Coolidge. Children: 1.
James W., Jr., born January 9, 1844. , 2. Cos-
tello, born September 22, 1848. 3. Emma
Maria, born March 28, 185 1.
(XI) Sarah Converse, daughter of Elisha
Converse (10), born in Thompson, June 22,
181 1 ; died in Thompson, June 24, 1850; mar
ried Novemter 15, 1835, James Hill, who was
born December 14, 1795, and died January
29, 1875. She was a member of the Baptist
church, and an earnest and active Christian.
The lineage of her husand, James Hill (8);
Ebenezer (7); James (6); Captain Caleb of
Douglas, Massachusetts (5); Ephraim (4);
Samuel (3); John (2); John Hill (1), of Ply
mouth, Massachusetts, who settled there be
fore 1630. Children: 1. James Hill, Jr., bom
November 6, 1836; died August 26, 1838. 2.
Rev. James F. Hill, torn in Thompson, Au
gust 12, 1839: married August 9, 1866, Lucy
Smith Burge, of South Jackson, Michigan;

1356

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

united with Second Baptist Church, Cam
bridge, Massachusetts, 1855; graduated at
Kalamazoo College (Michigan) in 1863, re
ceiving an A. M. later; graduated at Theolog
ical Seminary at Rochester, New York, in
1866; ordained pastor of the Baptist church,
at Norwalk, Ohio, September 4, 1866, remain
ing some four years; then settled over the
church at Muskegon, Michigan, and remained
until after 1885, and now presides over the
church at Big Rapids, Michigan; child, Frank
Burge, born at Norwalk, Ohio, January 18,
1870. 2. William G. Hill, born in Thompson,
October 15, 1840; married Kate C, daughter
of Charles G. and Elizabeth Thompson, at
Richmond, Virginia, November 20, 1867; he
is engaged in the leather business; children:
i. Beatrice C. Hill, bora at Richmond, Sep
tember 28, 1868, died March 1, 1869; ii. Will
iam G. Hill, Jr., bora July 10, 1871, at East
Cambridge, Massachusetts; iii. Clarence Ed
ward Hill, born June 8, 1876, at Maiden, Mas
sachusetts. 4. Rowland Hill, born February
1, 1843; died March 29, 1844. 5. Betsey
Maria Hill, born June 20, 1847; died July 29,
1870; was adopted by her grandmother, Mrs.
Elisha Converse, and took the name of Con
verse. 6. Nelson B. Hill, born June 13, 1850;
died August 22, 1850.
(XI) Emeline Converse, daughter of Eli
sha Converse (10), was born in Needham,
Massachusetts, October 25, 1817; married
November 26, 1846, Jeremiah L. Williams,
at Woodstock, Connecticut; resides at Mai
den, Massachusetts; member of the Baptist
church. Mr. Williams was a man of unblem
ished character, a consistent member of the
Baptist church, and highly respected by his
townsmen. He died November 20, 1872, after
some years of ill health, and is buried in the
Wyoming cemetery, Melrose. Children: 1.
Andrew Williams, born October 19, 1847;
died May 25, 1853. 2. John N. Williams,
born at Woodstock, Connecticut, March 31,
1849; married December 22, i87o,Caroline J.,
daughter of Joseph and Phebe C. Bickford, of
Thompson, Connecticut; resides in Maiden,
and has been for many years connected with
the Boston Rubber Shoe Company; children:
i. Lena Williams, born October 6, 1871 ; ii.
Elisha S. WilHams, born June 18, 1873; iii.
Frank B. Williams, born August 28, 1876; iv.
John N. Williams, Jr., born August 10, 1880,
died September 10, 1880; v. Florence Alice
Williams, born September 18, 1884. 3. Al
mira Williams, born April 23, 1851; died Sep
tember 2, 1852. 4. Judson Williams, born
April 14, 1853, in Ashland, Massachusetts, as

sociated many years with Hon. E. S. Con
verse in his rubber boot and shoe business,
and held a prominent position in the manage
ment of the company.
(XI) Hon. Elisha Slade Converse, son of
Elisha Converse (10), was born in Needham,
Massachusetts, July 28, 1820. His parents re
moved to Woodstock, Connecticut, in 1824,
and he was brought up there with all the ad
vantages that accompanied rural life in New
England at that time, including excellent re
ligious training and daily manual labor on the
farm, whence he drew practical lessons in in
dustry and frugality. When he was twelve
years old his parents removed to Mechanics-
ville, Connecticut, where he worked for most
a year in the cotton factory, and attended
school during the brief terms. In April, 1833,
he removed to Boston, and lived there with
his brother, Deacon James W. Converse, for
a short time, and attended the McLean School.
During this period he was admitted as a mem
ber of the Federal Street Baptist Church by
letter from the Brandy Hill Baptist Church of
Thompson. He subsequently went to live with
his sister, Mrs. Maria (Converse) Butler, then
living at the corner of Broadway and Dorches
ter avenue, South Boston, and was employed
by her husband, Aaron Butler, in his general
store. He remained with Mr. Butler until the
latter removed to Troy, New York, in 1836,
and then returned to the home of his parents
in Woodstock, Connecticut, where he attended
school and worked on a farm until he was sev
enteen years old. At this age he removed to
1 nompson, and engaged to work two years for
Albert G.Whipple to learn the clothier's trade.
In 1839, in partnership with Albert G. Whip
ple, of Thompson, he first became actively en
gaged in business on his own account. This
business so prospered that the firm soon es
tablished a branch store at Webster, Massa
chusetts, a town about five miles north of
Thompson Center. This branch was under
the sole management of Mr. Converse, and also
prospered. In about a year after his marriage,
having closed out his business in Webster and
in Thompson, they moved to Boston, where he
immediately formed a co-partnership with
Benjamin Poland and carried on a wholesale
boot, shoe and leather business, 36 North Mar
ket street, under the firm name of Poland &
Converse. This firm soon took on the addi
tional business of manufacturing and dealing in
dyestuffs, spices, etc., purchasing and operating
the so-called "Red Mills," in Stoneham, Mas
sachusetts, three-quarters of a mile west of the
present Wyoming station of the Boston &

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1357

Maine railroad. To this charming spot, in
1847, Mr. and Mrs. Converse removed, and
again set up their household gods. Septem
ber 5, 1847, both united with the Baptist
church of Maiden. In those days there was
no road between the "Red Mills" and Melrose,
and the only way to drive between was via
Maiden. Beautiful as was the location at the
Red Mills, it was a bit isolated, and in winter
lonesome for Mrs. Converse, so in 1850 they
moved again and made their home on Linden
Court, later called Linden avenue, Maiden,
whence they moved in i860 to the mansion of
their later years. He acquired a large tract of
land on what was after 1870 the border line
between Maiden and Everett, which was in
corporated that year.
In 1849 Poland & Converse dissolved part-
; mership, and Mr. Converse went into company
-faith John Robson, under the firm name of
Converse & Robson, continuing the same busi
ness at the Red Mills, with offices at 34 North
Market street, Boston. During the year 1853
he dissolved the partnership with Mr. Robson.
He had secured an interest in the Maiden Man
ufacturing Company, through the regular
channels of trade, and in 1855 accepted the of
fice of treasurer of the corporation, the busi
ness being reorganized at that time and the
name changed to Boston Rubber Shoe Com
pany, which has since acquired a world-wide
fame. Through the persistent solicitation of
the other directors of this concern he was in
duced to sell his interests in the shoe and
leather and other business in Boston, and de
vote all his time and ability to the manufacture
of rubber shoes in Maiden. He became buyer
and selling agent as well as treasurer and
established stores, wholesale and retail, to dis
pose of the product of the factory, not only in
Boston but in all the large cities of the country,
the factories and stores being all under his
care. His authority and judgment were fol
lowed to the letter, and the great success of the
business was in large measure a personal suc
cess for Mr. Converse. His business affairs
prospered exceedingly and he became a man
of great wealth and influence in the financial
world. He was the founder and president of
the First National Bank of Maiden ; president
of the Rubber Manufacturers' Mutual Insur
ance Company; of the Standard Stave and
Cooperage Company; director of the Ex
change National Bank of Boston ; a trustee of
the Five Cents Savings Bank, of the Maiden
Public Library, of the Soldiers' Home at Chel
sea ; president of the Maiden Hospital Board ;
and one of the trustees of Wellesley College.

At the time Maiden was incorporated as a
city, in 1882, he was unanimously elected first
mayor. His administration was signally suc
cessful. He laid down the lines which have
been followed since with great growth in the
population and assessed valuation. He lived to
see the city have a population of thirty thou
sand souls, and to see the total valuation for
purposes of taxation over twenty million dol
lars. The building which he and his wife gave
to the city for the Free Public Library was
erected in memory of their son. He also gave
the city the land upon which the city hospital
is built, and contributed the sum of twenty
thousand dollars for hospital purposes, besides
his very valuable services as president of the
board. He represented his district in the gen
eral court in 1878 and 1879, and was state sen
ator for 1880 and 1881. He was a Republican.
He was an earnest and devout member and
liberal supporter of the First Baptist Church
of Maiden and held various offices in that
church. Mr. Converse died January 5, 1904. A
memorial service at which Mayor Charles L.
Dean presided was held by the city, Decem
ber 14, 1904. The meeting was opened with
prayer by Rev. Charles H. Moss. Judge Wil
liam Schofield, in his tribute to the character
of Mr. Converse, spoke especially of the Con
verse Memorial Building. "In April, 1885,"
he said, "the legislature passed an act by which
the trustees then in office were incorporated
as the Maiden Public Library. * * * This
charter was enacted subject to the acceptance
by the city council. A number of citizens ob
jected to this manner of selecting trustees as
undemocratic, and to the transfer of city prop
erty to the corporation. A somewhat heated
discussion was begun, and finally under a use
ful provision in our city charter a public meet
ing was called. The meeting was held early in
July, 1885, in the old skating rink; the hall
was filled to the doors, about 1,500 men being
present. Mr. Converse said : 'No one of you,
fellow-citizens, can regret more than myself
that I have been the cause of strife amongst
you. I do not intend to discuss the question or
to answer the arguments presented by Judge
Pettingill, and do not propose to force upon
Maiden this building which has been erected
for the purpose of a public library. Some of
you would like to know why the building has
been erected. For several years my wife and I
have considered the plan of doing something
for Maiden without regard to nationality, sex
or creed ; it was to be a memorial to him who
passed away from this earthly home twenty-

1358

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

three years ago. I sought the best advisers I
could find, some lawyers, but none of them
judges. Everyone told me to keep the build
ing out of politics, and out of politics it is going
to be kept. I called upon the mayor, and I
laid before him my views of the matter ; I said
I wanted to have the best I could for the citi
zens of Maiden. A charter was prepared
which -was believed to be too strong, and it
was changed to what it is at present. I have
had it thrown at my face that I didn't know
what I wanted, but I am the father of that
charter, and mean to stand by it ; and if I have
any standing in business I stake my whole
reputation on that charter. It is right, every
word of it. If in five years this time you shall
not say that I am right, you may excommuni
cate me from your midst.' The vote to accept
followed without a dissenting vote." Judge
Schofield continued: "To have acquired a
great fortune as he did by years of effort,
proves him to have been a man of sound judg
ment in business affairs. To give away a for
tune wisely requires almost equal ability, al
though of a different kind. * * * So, al
though Deacon Converse is dead, he lives and
works among us in the Public Library, in the
Maiden Hospital, in the Home for Aged Per
sons, in the Young Men's Christian Associa
tion, and .in all the institutions founded or
aided by his benevolence and guided or assist
ed by his sound, practical sense and wisdom.
* * * He was by nature a public-spirited
man. When Maiden was a town, he was ac
tive in public affairs. Those who search our
annals in the early days of the civil war, when
committees of citizens all over the land were
straining every nerve to raise money and men
to defend the Union, will find that in Maiden,
Deacon Converse was a leading spirit, if not
the foremost in that great work. * * *
While in the senate he was chairman of the
important committee on banks and banking,
and during his service in the legislature was
also on the committees on manufactures, on
parishes and religious societies, and on a joint
special committee, which seems to have been
important, in those days, on the Hoosac Tun
nel and Troy & Greenfield railroad. In 1881,
while Mr. Converse was in the senate, an act
was passed making Maiden a city. * * *
He was fortunate in another respect. Many
men of wealth and education, well fitted by
training and ability to render most valuable
public service, are not acceptable to the voters
because they have not a certain democracy of
manner which a democratic community likes to
see in its public men. Deacon Converse had

this democratic manner. He recognized with
out effort the fundamental equality of men ; he
was courteous to his office boy; he made all
men feel that he regarded himself as a plain
citizen, * * '* There is another quality
more important than all others in determining
the value of public work, and that is the spirit
in which it is done. In his inaugural, by way
of summary, he said : 'In short, we are to
administer the affairs of the city with the same
care we exercise in the management of our
own private business.' No better motto could
be placed over the doors of the city hall than
this sentence from the inaugural of the first
mayor. After his term he retired to private
life, and continued to the time of his death to
make his an influence felt in the intellectual
and moral life of the city. Disappointment did
not sour him. He was nominated for con
gress in 1884, but accepted defeat with an even
mind, such as Horace commends, and kept
right on doing good to the hour of his death.
At the celebration of the 250th anniversary of
Maiden, in which he was unable to take an ac
tive part, he sent a response to the toast "The
Industries and Wealth of Maiden,' which was
read by the toastmaster. One passage is very
affecting: 'Though this was not my birth
place,' he wrote, 'Maiden has been the home
of my life, and is endeared to me by many sad
and many happy memories. In the midst of
her people I have met all the varied joys and
sorrows which come to the life of man. In the
many friendships which have come to me here
I have found inspiration and strength. I feel
all the loyalty to' the good old town that a na
tive can feel.' "
Rev. Richard Nagle, in the course of an
eloquent eulogy, said : "No, it was not because
he was a rich, successful man that we do him
honor and give praise to-night, but because he
was a good man, a man of honor, conscientious,
just, charitable, modest and kind-hearted. In
times when the industrial world was filled with
wars and rumors of wars, he knew how to
dwell in peace and harmony with his little army
of working people, a peace founded on mutual
respect, good will, justice and charity. * * *
That Mr. Converse was conscious of the re
sponsibilities of his stewardship as the possessor
of great wealth, was often shown by his gen
erous gifts to many good causes. A consider
able portion of his income was devoted to the
public good ; for generations to come the hos
pital which he founded will be a benefaction in
this community. * * * His great influence
was always given for the cause of human
brotherhood, and I believe it is owing largely

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1359

to his splendid example that our community is
so free from the blight of narrow prejudice
and bigotry. * * * The influence of imi
tation is strong in human nature, hence the
force of example, be it good or bad; and the
example of men like Mr. Converse living a
modest, unostentatious, but earnest, public-
spirited life, has been and for long years to
come will continue to be a power for good,
not only in our immediate neighborhood, but
wherever his upright, manly life was known,
admired and loved."
Hon. John D. Long, former governor of
Massachusetts, and ex-secretary of the navy,
spoke particularly of the simplicity of life and
character of Deacon Converse. He said: "In
him was the very exemplification of the simple
life — in the days of his youth, in the days of
his struggles, in the days of his achievements ;
in the days of his poverty, and not less in the
days of his accumulated wealth. * * * He
was simple in his home — that exquisite home,
which is as idyllic as the sweetest poem that
was ever written. I love to think of the early
days of the Connecticut village where he lived,
the home a mile or two away where lived the
sweet girl whom he loved and married, and
who with him made that beatific domestic
circle, to which Judge Schofield has so beauti
fully referred. Could there be anything in the
way of the simple life more typical than that
home relation? Was there any other example
there except that of the sweetest, simplest love
between husband and wife, which afterward
distilled into the love for children — for sons
and for daughters, and for the family circle?
* * * The same simplicity went into his
business, and there too, young men, is an ex
ample for you. It was simple fidelity, industry
and accomplishment of the thing in hand,
whether it was work on the farm or, a little
later, the work as clerk in the store, or, a little
later still, the assumption of the business of
the merchant, or later the important office of
superintendent of the rubber works then start
ing in this community. There was always the
same steady, assiduous attention to the busi
ness in hand ; there was no wasting of time or
of material; there was no flinching from the
task; there was no uncertainty in questioning
whether some other calling in life were not
better; but the work at hand was done, and
every day was a step forward and upward.
There was no 'frenzied finance' in his com
position or in his career; he had not only the
ability to accumulate and make money, but
also to keep it, and keep the ball rolling, be
cause he relied upon fundamental principles,

upon industry, and not upon speculation. There
was simplicity in the management of his busi
ness and in his relations to* his fellow-men. He
was an example of the true democracy. He
lived simply with his neighbors, his friends,
the people whom he employed, the business
people with whom he associated. His yea was
yea, and his nay was nay. He was absolutely,
as Father Nagle has suggested, sincere, true as
the needle to the pole; although wealth and
honors came, it was still the same simple man.
He was simple in his charities. They were
sometimes so broad that the right hand could
not help knowing what the left had done, but
there were unnumbered others of which the
words of the proverb were true. You have
been told of the scene when in later life he
gave up vouchers of indebtedness represent
ing tens of thousands of dollars — of throwing
them into the fire because they were for loans
which he had made to those who could not re
pay, and whom his only purpose was to assist.
Beyond number, too, are the churches and in
stitutions of learning throughout the com
munity that are indebted to him,. * * * So
it was that to institutions of education and of
charity and of religion, of all denominations,
as well as to individuals everywhere, there
went out the great charity of his heart, which
recognized its simple relation to the brother
hood of men. What makes a man great ? Is it
because two of three years of his life he has
served on the battlefield and shed blood and
won a victory? Is it because some time he
has made a great speech, or at another time has
written a verse of poetry that has become a
household word? Is it not a great thing to
live a long, useful, efficient advancing benefi
cent life ? That is what Mr. Converse did and
in that respect he was a great man. * * *
His spirit still lives, especially in your com
munity. It is for you to cherish it, and thereby.
pay the best tribute to him and to his life — a
life so long, so simple, even to the end, as
some of you remember who saw him in those
last days, with his serene face, children still
clinging to his knee ; he still interested in good
deeds and thoughts ; still interested in the char
ities which he had established ; still interested
in the fortunes and the welfare of his em
ployees and neighbors. Fitting it is that Mai
den should pay him this honor. And happy
am I who was associated with him many years
in a cordial personal relationship — happy am I
that I can join here and now in giving testi
mony to the example of his true, noble and
simple life."
Mr, Converse married, September 4, 1843,

1360

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Mary D. Edmands, at Thompson, where she
was born, March 3, 1825, daughter of Hosea
and Ursula (Burgess) Edmands. Children:
1. Frank Eugene, born October 1, 1846; pass
ed away December 15, 1863. 2. Mary Ida,
born January 7, 1853 ' married January 4,
1882, Costello C. Converse, of Boston; men
tioned below. 3. Harry Elisha, born May 7,
1863 ; see forward. 4. Frances Eugenia, born
May 19, 1865.
(XII) Harry Elisha Converse, son of the
late Hon. Elisha Slade Converse (11), was
born in Maiden, May 7, 1863. He at
tended the grammar school there, and at
the early age of seventeen, in 1880, entered
the employ of the Boston Rubber Shoe
Company, of which his father was pres
ident. Beginning as a boy, in the Bos
ton establishment, he worked his way
to the positions successively of shipper, assist
ant purchasing agent, and sales agent, in the
latter capacity having in charge all sales. He
was then advanced to the position of assistant
general manager, then to general manager,
and on the death of his father succeeded him in
the presidency of the corporation. With this
large responsibility, Mr. Converse is at the
same time prominently identified with various
other important interests, being a director of
the First National Bank of Maiden, of which
his" father was president ; and also of the Glyn-
ark Milling Company, the Glindale Elastic
Company, and the United States Rubber Com
pany. He is an active Republican, and has
rendered efficient service as a member of the
Maiden common council. He was for many
years prominent in the military affairs of the
state, serving as quartermaster from 1882 to
1893, and from 1897 to 1900 as assistant quar
termaster-general on the staff of Governor
Wolcott. He is affiliated with Converse Lodge,
Free and Accepted Masons, of Maiden, and
with the superior bodies to and including the
Thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite. He is a
member of the Algonquin Club and the Coun
try Club, of Boston, and the New York Yacht
Club and the Calumet Club of New York City.
He married Nellie Parker, a daughter of John
H. Parker, of Maiden, and they are the parents
of five children : Elisha E., Margaret, Parker,
Robert Wolcott, and Mary.
(XII) James W. Converse, Jr., son of James
W. Converse (11), was born in Boston, Jan
uary 9, 1844, and died May 1, 1876, at Grand
Rapids, Michigan. He attended the public
schools of Jamaica Plain during his youth, and
completed his education at Chauncy Hall
School, Boston. In 1858 he was admitted by

baptism to the Baptist church at Jamaica Plain.
He was a close student and ranked well, and
entered with great zest upon the sports and
athletics of his school days. He was among
the first to enlist in the Union army in the
civil war at the age of seventeen. He was ap
pointed sergeant of Company H, Twenty-
fourth Regiment Massachusetts Infantry, and
served with great credit. He particularly dis
tinguished himself at the battle of Newberne.
According to his colonel, Lucius B. Marsh,
"his fearless gaze and steady step keeping his
men well in hand as they swept forward to the
charge, which was met by determined resist
ance under the cover of their defences; but
overcome and routed by the gallant Twenty-
fourth. The conduct of young Converse was
noted by his officers, and as a token of their
approbation he was sent home in the autumn
of 1862 for promotion." He was elected sec
ond lieutenant of Company K, Forty-seventh
Regiment Massachusetts Infantry, November
30, 1862, and left for the Department of the
Gulf in December. Colonel Marsh was com
mander of independent positions in the de
fences of New Orleans, and in March, 1863,
was in full command. As the lieutenant-
colonel and major were on special service, the
colonel selected young Converse as his active
man; and "in command of Texas cavalry on
several occasions," writes the colonel, "of ex
treme necessity (for we ourselves were then
under siege) penetrated some ten or twelve
miles beyond our lines in and through a par
tially constructed road through the swamp.
* * * Young Converse was, as his photo
graph shows, small in stature, but closely put
together ; a fearless eye and a calm, quiet but
determined countenance. He never indicated
fear, but was always ready for dangerous
work. With such men as young Converse the
commander held the defences of New Orleans
in the hour of great peril." Upon the expira
tion of the term of service of his regiment he
returned to Boston and helped recruit another
regiment. He was elected captain of one of
the companies, but before the regiment started
for the front the war ended. Lieutenant Con
verse made an extended tour of Europe and
portions of Asia, including the Holy Land.
After his return he was employed for several
years in the leather business by Field, Converse
& Company. Then he settled in Grand Rapids,
Michigan, and conducted some of his father's
extensive business interests. He was of good
business ability and was highly esteemed by his
business associates. He had one of the most
beautiful homes in the city. He died there

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1361

May 1, 1876, and was^ buried at Mount Au
burn. He married June 20, 1871, Harriet
Crickmay, who has resided since her husband's
death in Massachusetts. Children; 1. Emma
Frances, born August 12, 1872. 2. Eva
Wheaton, born Septernber 4, 1874.
(XII) Costello C. Converse, son of Deacon
James W. Converse (11) was born at Jamaica
Plain, Massachusetts, September 22, 1848. He
received a liberal education, and is distin
guished for business ability and financial suc
cess. He has held many positions of trust and
responsibility in large corporations, such as
president, director, trustee and treasurer. He
married, at Maiden, January 4, 1882, Mary
Ida, daughter of Deacon Elisha S. Converse.
He resides in Maiden. Children: 1. Costello
Ida, bora April 3, 1883 ; died April 5, 1883.
(XII) Emma M. Converse, daughter of
James W. Converse (n), was born at Jamaica
Plain, March 28, 1851 ; married October 31,
1877, Isaac W. Chick, Esq., of Boston. He is
a member of the well-known firm of John H.
Pray, Sons & Co., dealers in carpets, etc., Bos-
tion. He was born at Petersborough, New
Hampshire, June 25, 1851. Children: Emma
Louise Chick, born February 26, 1881 ; died
September 27, 1881. 2. Mabel Clark Chick,
born December 7, 1882. 3. William C. Chick,
born March 2, 1884.

Richard Kimball, the immi^
KIMBALL grant ancestor, was born in
England. He embarked with
his family at Ipswich, England, April 10,
1634, in the ship "Elizabeth," William An
drews, master. He landed at Boston, and set
tled in Watertown, Massachusetts. On the
shipping list his age was given as thirty-nine,
but other evidence shows that he was' older.
The ages on shipping lists were commonly
under stated. He was, however, in the prime
of life, and soon became an active and promi
nent man in the new settlement. His home-
stall of six acres was bounded on the north
by the Cambridge line, east by land of W.
Hamlet, south by the highway, and west by
land of Edward White. This lot was a long
distance from the center of the villiage, and is
now in the city of Cambridge, near what is
now the corner of Huron Avenue and Apple-
ton street. He was admitted a freeman May
6, 1635 ; was a proprietor in 1636-7. Soon af
terward he was invited to remove to the town
of Ipswich, where they were in need of a
competent wheelwright, and he spent the re

mainder of his days there. The town granted
him a house lot February 23, 1637, next ad
joining Goodman Simonds, at the west end of
the town, and also forty acres beyond the
North river. He was a commoner of Ipswich
in 1 64 1 ; was selectman in 1645 ; contributed
to the Denison fund; was one.of a committee
in 1653 to survey fences in the common fields.
He married Ursula Scott, daughter of Henry
Scott, of Rattlesden, county Suffolk, Eng
land, and their son Henry .was baptized
there. Her father, Henry Scott, bequeathed
to her in his will, proved January 10, 1624-5 ;
her brother Thomas Scott settled in Ipswich.
Richard Kimball married second, October 23,
1661, Margaret Dow, widow of Henry Dow
of Hampton, New Hampshire. Kimball died
June 22, 1675, leaving a will dated March 5,
preceding. His widow died March 1, 1676.
Children : 1 . Abigail, born at Rattlesden,
England ; died in Salisbury, Massachusetts,
June 17, 1658 ; married John Severance: 2.
Henry, born at Rattlesden ; mentioned below.
3. Elizabeth, born at Rattlesden, in 1621. 4.
Richard, born in Rattlesden 1623; died in
Wenham, Massachusetts, May 26, 1676. 5.
Mary, born in Rattlesden, in 1625 ; married
Robert Dutch, of Gloucester and Ipswich. 6.
Martha, born at Rattlesden, 1629; married
Joseph Fowler. 7. John, born at Rattlesden
in 163 1 ; died May 6, 1698. 8. Thomas, born
1633; died May 3, 1676. 9. Sarah, born
1635; died June 12, 1690; married November
24, 1658, Edward Allen, of Ipswich. 10. Ben
jamin, born at Ipswich, 1637. ,11. Caleb, born
1639; died 1682.
(II) Henry Kimball, son of Richard Kim
ball (1), was born in Rattlesden, in 161 5, and
came to America in the ship "Elizabeth" with
his father. He married, about 1640, Mary
Wyatt, daughter of John and Mary Wyatt,
who came in the same ship. She died at
Wenham, August 12, 1672. He married
second, Elizabeth (Gilbert) Rayner, widow of
William Rayner, son of Thurston Rayner.
Elizabeth Gilbert was a daughter of Hum
phrey 'and EHzabeth Gilbert. Henry Kimball
remained at Watertown after his father re
moved to Ipswich, but about 1646 he also re
moved to Ipswich, and in 1655 to Wenham,
where he lived the rest of his life. In 1659 he ,
subscribed to the fund for the new meeting
house ; was constable at Wenham in 1669. He
died in Wenham in 1676, leaving twelve chil
dren who divided the estate by agreement
dated September 26, 1676. Children: 1.
Mary, born at Watertown, November 29,
1641.' 2. Richard, born October 13, 1643; re-

1362

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

sided in Wenham. 3. John, born December
25, 1645 ; mentioned below. 4. Caleb, born at
Ipswich in 1647; was in Captain Lothrop's
company at Bloody Brook, in King Philip's
war, and was killed. 5. Dorcas, born about
1649; married December 1, 1668, Thomas
Dow. 6. Abigail, born about 1652; married
May 14, 1673 ; John Wycome. 7. Sarah, born
about 1654; married May 3, 1675, Daniel
Gage. 8. Henry, born about 1655. 9. Me
hitable, born at Wenham in 1658; died De
cember 7, 1689, in Bradford. 10. Benjamin,
born December 12, 1659. 11. Joseph, born
January 20, 1661. 12. Martha, born in Wen
ham, August 18, 1664; married August 25,
1683, Daniel Chase, of Newbury, Massachu
setts. 13. Deborah, born at Wenham, in
1668. (Ill) John Kimball, son of Henry Kimball
(2), was born in Watertown, Massachusetts,
December 25, 1645. When about sixteen
years of age he went to live with his grand
father, John Wyatt, of Ipswich, and remained
until his grandfather died in December, 1665,
when' the property was left to him on his ful
filling certain conditions. This homestead
was bounded by the Meeting House Green.
He sold it March 25, 1667, and settled in
Newbury, Massachusetts. About 1669 he
again removed, settling in Amesbury, where
he lived the rest of his life. He was a witness
in the trial of Susan Martin for witchcraft,
May 16, 1692. He was a yeoman, wheel
wright by trade; took the oath of allegiance
December 20, 1677; was admitted a freeman
in 1690. He died previous to May 20, 1726,
and his son John was appointed administrator
June 6, 1726.
He married, October, 1665, Mary Jordan,
daughter of Francis and Jane Jordan. He
married second, probably February 9, 171 2- 13,
Mary Pressey, of Amesbury. He married
third, April, 1715, Deborah (Weed) Bartiett,
widow, who was born June 15, 1659, daugh
ter of John Weed. Children : 1. Mary, born
July 19, 1667; died unmarried. 2. John, born
July 19, 1668; mentioned below. 3. Abigail,
born June 12, 1669, married November 8,
1712, Daniel Morrison of Newbury. 4. Jo
seph. 5. Abraham, born about 1670; died un
married. 6. Hannah, married January 5,
1710-11, Roger Eastman of Amesbury. 7.
Deborah, born in 1678; married January 29,
1 701, Barnes Brouse.
(IV) John Kimball, son of John Kimball
(3), was born in Newbury, July 19, 1668. He
was a wheelwright by trade and lived in
Amesbury, Massachusetts. He married Han

nah Gould, daughter of Nathaniel Gould, who
died in 1693, and she shared in the estate as
shown by the deed dated February 11, 1713-14.
Children: • 1: Benjamin, born April 14, 1699;
died young. 2. Sarah, born November 15,
1700; married August 2y, 1724, Israel Shep
ard.. .3. Jonathan, born November 23, 1703.
4. Judith, born March 1, 1705. 5. Benjamin,
born May 27, 1707; mentioned below. 6.
Hannah, married December 23, 1736, Jacob
Colby. 7. Mary, born February 24, 1710. 8.
John, born April 18, 1712. 9. Nathan, born
June 21, 1719; died 1750.
(V) Benjamin Kimball, son of John Kim
ball (4), was born in Amesbury, Massachu
setts, May 27, 1707; died in 1784; married
October 19, 1728, Elizabeth Greeley. March
11, 1738, he and his wife Elizabeth, his broth
er John Kimball, and Martha his wife, sold to
David Greeley, of Salishury, "all our -shares
and interest in the homestead of our father,
John Greeley, of Salisbury." Kimball lived at
Amesbury, tut late in life removed to Poplin,
now Fremont, New Hampshire. His will was
proved October 2, 1784. Children: 1. David,
born December 5, 1730; mentioned below. 2.
Abigail, born August 13, 1731; married John,
Smith. 3. Joseph, born February 21, 1733,
died young. 4. Joshua, born June 21, 1734,
lived in Poplin, New Hampshire, and proba
bly never married. 5. John, born January 10,
1736. 6. Judith, born May 12, 1739; married
Nathan Kimball, of Hopkintown, New
Hampshire. 7. Moses, born October 12,
1 741; lived at Poplin. 8. Aaron, born June
25, 1744; died young. 9. Elizabeth, born
November 21, 1746, died young. 10. Mar
tha, born July 23, 1750; died young.
(VI) David Kimball, son of Benjamin
Kimball (5), was born in Poplin, New Hamp
shire, December 5, 1730; died 1801. His will
was proved October 27, 1801. He married
October 28, 1751, Annie Sargent; married
second Abigail  . He lived for a time at
Amesbury, Massachusetts, and Brentwood,
New Hampshire. He and his brothers were
living in Brentwood, in the westerly part, in
1764. Children: 1. Bathsheba, born March 4,
1752. 2. Hannah, born April 14, 1753. 3.
Levi, born February 18, 1755. 4. Joseph,
born August 9, 1759. 5. Sargent, born April
27, 1761. 6. Elizabeth, born April 16, 1763.
7. David, born at Brentwood, March 11,
1766; soldier in Revolution; settled in Har
mony, Maine. 8. Jonathan, born May 30,
1768. 9. Ensign, born April 23, 1770; men
tioned below. 10. Benjamin, born April 14,
1774; married July 9, 1798, Susan Scribner.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1363

11. Anne, born March 31, 1776; married
May 1, 1794, John Scribner. 12. Joel, born
July 4, 1777. 13. Rebecca, born February
7, 1779. 14. Moses, born October 22, 1780.
15. Aaron, born November 16, 1782; mar
ried April 14, 1800, Polly Young; resided in
Watertoro, Maine.
(VII) Ensign Kimball, son of David Kim
ball (6), was born April 23, 1770; died Octo
ber 27, 1815; married May 8, 1791, Hannah,
Granville, born May 13, 1773. He resided at
Waterboro, Cornish and Parsonsfield,
Maine. He was a well-to-do farmer and
prominent citizen. Children, born at Parson
field: 1. Joseph, born November 15, 1791. 2.
James, born August 22, 1794; died August
x5> !833- 3- Stephen Granville, born Decem
ber 23, 1796; died November 28, 1884. 4.
Mercy, born April 12, 1800. 5. David, born
June 30, 1802. 6. Sophronia, born April 3,
1805. 7. Thomas, born February 22, 1808. 8.
Hannah, born October 11, 181 1; died at Hart-
land, Maine, June 15, 1850. 9. Samuel En
sign, born June 5, 181 5; mentioned below.
(VIII) Samuel Ensign Kimball, son of En
sign Kimball (7), was born at Parsonsfield,
Maine, June 5, 1815, died at Cornish, Maine.
His father died when he was an infant, and
he was brought up in the family of a farmer
named Goddard, going to, the district schools
in the winter, working at other seasons on the
farm, during his boyhood. He learned the
trade of a tanner in Kittery, Maine, and fol
lowed this trade for a time. Later he became
a shoemaker. About 1840 he bought the old
Nathaniel Brackett farm at Cornish, Maine,
consisting of about a hundred acres. He car
ried on his farm and raised cattle, horses and
sheep in great numbers, also following his
trade of shoemaker between seasons, after
the custom of that time. In the fifties he
gave up his shoemaking and devoted all his
energies to his farm during the rest of his
life. He was a man of sterling character, with
a decided sense of honor that made him a
cheerful and desirable companion. He was a
devout member of the Free Will Baptist
church, and was a deacon for many years. In
politics he was originally a Whig, afterward a
Republican. He held the town office of high
way surveyor and in his younger days was in
the militia company.
He married, May 15, 1841, Thankful Irish,
who was born July 11, 1819, the daughter of
Asa and Patience Irish. Her father was a
farmer at Cornish. Children: 1. Harriet Au
gusta, born July 16, 1842; died September
29, 1877; married January 5, 1869, Albert

Henry Kimball, of North Chelsea, Massachu
setts; children: i. Samuel Albert, born Oc
tober 22, 187 1, died September 12, 1872; ii.
Lucretia Beulah, born December 25, 1873;
married December 25, 1901, Frank L. Smith
of Salem, Massachusetts; no children. - 2.
Samuel Edwin, born June 1, 1845; mentioned
below. 3. Ensign Asa,' bom May 24, 1849;
married first, December 25, 1875, Ella Fran
ces Brown, of Parsonfield, Maine; child,
Flora Ella, born August 22, 1879, died Feb
ruary 26, 1904. Ensign Asa married second,
November 17, 1881, Julia Alice Cartland. 4.
Daniel Edmund, born December 28, 1853;
married first, April 4, 1882, Harriet I. Cart-
land, who died January 9, 1901; children: i.
Harriet Maria, torn January 18, 1883, mar
ried December 20, 1905, Gilman C. Libby; ii.
Samuel Albert, born October 15, 1887; Dan
iel Edmund married second, January 15,
1902, Eunice Ellen Cartland, of Parsonfield,,
Maine. (IX) Samuel Edwin Kimball, son of Sam
uel Ensign Kimball (8), was born at Cornish,
Maine, June 1, 1845. He received his edu
cation in the common schools and at Limer
ick Academy, and during his youth assisted
his father with the farmwork on the home
stead. He also taught school in the winter
terms in the vicinity of his home for several
years. In the spring of 1864 he left home
and found employment at Saco, Maine, with
Obadiah Durgin, who was engaged in the
ice and brick business. After six months he
returned home, but soon left again, working
eight months in the early part of the year
1865 at North Chelsea, on the farm- of Au
gustus Hall. He again returned to Cornish,
and taught the winter term of the public
school. His next employment was driving an
express wagon for his cousin, Stephen Kim
ball, between Revere and Boston, Massachu
setts. In 1867 he entered the employ of
James Durgin, of Arlington, driving his ice
wagon for two years, and in 1870 was ap
pointed superintendent of streets of the town
of Arlington. In this position he served the
town faithfully and capably for a period of
twenty-five years. In 1878 he engaged in the
ice business on his own account, but after
two years sold out to Hannum & Preston,
managing the business for them for two years
afterward. Subsequently he removed to Re
vere and leased the Augustine Hall farm,
and conducted it successfully for three years.
Then he returned to Arlington, and devoted
sixteen years to the office of superintendent
of streets. During his service in that office

1364

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

many of the principal streets were macadam
ized under his supervision. Since his resigna
tion from this office he has devoted his at
tention to the real estate business, and was
built for investment a number of houses in
Arlington. Mr. Kimball has a winning per
sonality that has attracted a host of friends.
Few men in that town are better known or
more popular than he. He attends the services
of the Congregational (Orthodox) church. In
politics he is a Republican, and has often
been delegate to the nominating conventions
of that party. He was chairman of the board
of selectmen in 1885, and a member of the
board of public works. He is a member of
Bethel Lodge of Odd Fellows, of which he
became a member in 1872, and of which he is
past noble grand, and at present member of
the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. He is a
member of the Royal. Arcanum of Cam
bridge; of the Massachusetts Highway Com
mission, which has done so much to make
the highways of the Commonwealth attrac
tive and good; director of the Cambridge Ice
Company of Cambridge.
He married, March 22, 1868, Maria Mel
rose Durgin, born at Limerick, Maine, Au
gust 11, 1849, daughter of James and Han
nah (Heald) Durgin, of Limerick. Her fa
ther was in the ice business; resided at Ar
lington, and held various town offices there;
was a member of the Boston National Lan
cers. Children: 1. James Edwin, born Oc
tober 19, 1868; mentioned below. 2. Cora
Thankful, born April 2, 1872; married Au
gust 21, 1895, Nelson Blake Crosby, of Ar
lington, Massachusetts; children: i. Pauline
Kimball Crosby, born May 30, 1898; ii.
Miriam, Blake Crosby, born September 2,
1901 ; iii. John Samuel Crosby, born Decem
ber 11, 1902; iv. Rachel Crosby, born July
13, 1907. 3. Roscoe Clinton, born January
20, 1875; married January 15, 1901, Mary
Elizabeth Flood of Cambridge, Massachusetts ;
child, Arthur Richard, born July 2, 1902. 4.
Mabel Eliza, born November 29, 1879; mar
ried December 24, 1904, Charles Franklin
Wyman, of Arlington, Massachusetts; child,
Franklin Edwin, born October 3, 1906.
(X) James Edwin Kimball, son of Samuel
Edwin Kimball (9), was born at Cornish,
Maine, October 19, 1868. At the age of two
years he removed with his parents to Ar
lington, Massachusetts, and received his edu
cation there in the public and high schools.
He then entered the employ of A. W. Clapp,
104 Pearl street, Boston, dealer in boots and
shoes, and for six years represented the house

on the road, traveling through the central
states. In 1891 he became the treasurer of
the Cambridge Ice Company, his present po
sition. He is also treasurer of the Medford-
Arlington-Belmont and Mutual Ice Com
pany of Boston, and is absorbed in the duties
of his positions. In 1891, when the Cam
bridge Ice Company was established, it had
but five delivery carts. The headquarters
were at 122 Hampshire street. The com
pany now has thirty-eight carts on different
routes, and has added stables and sheds at
North Cambridge. In 1902 Mr. Kimball be
came interested in the Medford Ice Company,
and April 1, 1902, a corporation was formed
under the laws of Maine with W. J. Wood,
president; James E. Kimball, secretary and
treasurer; R. W. Hopkins, director. The
Cambridge Ice Company is also incorporated.
The officers are: President, Fred W. Smith;
secretary and treasurer, James E. Kimball.
This is a Massachusetts corporation. The -
Arlington-Belmont Ice Company is incorpor
ated, with these officers: President, Fred W.
Smith; secretary and treasurer, James E.
Kimball, also under Massachusetts laws.
Mr. Kimball attends the Baptist church. In
politics he is a Republican, and has been
somewhat active in the party organization,
serving as delegate to conventions, etc., and
was for some time chairman of the town com
mittee. He is trustee of the cemetery com
mission of Arlington. He is a member of
Hiram Lodge of Free Masons, joining that
body April 25, 1901 ; was made a member of
Menotomy Chapter, Royal Arch Masons,
March 15, 1904; is a member of Cambridge
Commandery, Knights Templar; of the New-
towne Club of Cambridge; of the Massachu
setts Ice Dealers' Association.
He married, October 22, 1891, Emma
Webber Allen, born in Arlington, July 7,
1 87 1, daughter of Andrew and Mary Jane
(Webber) Allen, of- Arlington. Her father
was a market gardener. Children: 1. An
drew Allen, born September 26, 1893. 2.
Emma Beatrice, born March 18, 1898. 3.
Sherman Edwin, born December 22, 1900;
died February 17, 1902. 4. Doris, born Sep
tember 11, 1907.

Samuel Allen, the immigrant an-
ALLEN cestor, was born about 1588 in
England and came from Brain
tree, county Essex, to America, in' 1632. He
settled first at Cambridge, Massachusetts,
where his brother Colonel Mathew Allen also

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1365

located. Colonel Allen (or Allyn) afterward
resided at Windsor and Hartford, Connecti
cut. He was also a brother of Deacon Thomas
Allen of Middletown, Connecticut. Samuel
also removed to Connecticut, making his home
in Windsor. He was a juryman there as early
as March 5, 1644. He was a farmer. He had
numerous grants of land from the town, was a
man of public spirit, and was honored by his
townsmen with various positions of trust and
honor. He died at Windsor, and was buried
there April 28, 1648, aged sixty. His widow
removed to Northampton, Massachusetts, and
married, second, William Hurlbut. She died
in Northampton, November 13, 1687. Allen's
will is dated September 8, .1648, and his in
ventory amounted to seventy-six pounds eigh
teen shillings eight pence. Children: 1. Sam
uel, born in 1634; married November 29, 1659,
Hannah Woodford, daughter of Thomas and
Mary (Blott) Woodford. 2. Nehemiah, mar
ried, 1664, Sarah Woodford, sister of Sam
uel's wife; he died in Northampton, Massa
chusetts, in 1684; was great-grandfather of
General Ethan Allen, son of Joseph Allen and
grandson of Samuel Allen. 3. John, men
tioned below. 4. Rebecca, died 1648. 5. Mary,
died 1648. 6. Obadiah, died at Middletown,
Connecticut, April 7, 1723 ; married October
23, 1669, Elizabeth Sanford, of Milford, Con
necticut; second, Mary Whetmore, widow of
John Whetmore, daughter of John Savage;
was heir of his uncle Thomas L.
(II) John Allen, son of Samuel Allen (1),
was born about 1645 ; married December 8,
1669, Mary Hannum, daughter of William and
Honor Hannum. She was born April 5, 1650.
He was killed by the Indians at Bloody Brook,
Deerfield, Massachusetts, September 18, 1675.
Children: 1. John, born September 30, 1670;
married Bridget Booth, and Elizabeth Gard
ner; settled in Enfield, Connecticut. 2. Sam
uel, born February 5, 1673 ; mentioned below.
3. Hannah, born at Northampton, May, 1675 ;
baptized June 20, 1675.
(Ill) Samuel Allen, son of John Allen (2),
was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, Feb
ruary 5, 1673 ; married there, in 1700, Hannah
Burroughs, who was born in 1675. He re
moved from Northampton to King street, En
field, Connecticut, to escape from Indians,
about 1700. His farm was the present Chaun
cy Allen place. He died in Enfield in 1735.
Children, all born in Enfield, Connecticut: 1.
Samuel, born in 1702; mentioned below. 2.
Joseph, born July 30, 1704; married Mary
Hewlett; lived in Enfield. 3. Hannah, born

November 13, 1706. 4. John, born 1712; re
sided in Enfield, Connecticut.
(IV) Samuel Allen, son of Samuel Allen
(3), was born 'in 1702, at Enfield. He mar
ried, January 27, 1728, Elizabeth Booth, who
was born in Enfield, August 19, 1705, and died
at East Windsor, September 10, 1751. He set
tled at East Windsor, where he died Decem
ber 20, 1 77 1. His home was on the old
"Landlord Allen Place." Children, all born
at East Windsor, Connecticut: 1. Samuel,
born June 13, 1729; died January 20, 1759. 2.
Elizabeth, born March 28, 1731. 3. Abel,
born August 14, 1733; mentioned below. 4.
Tabitha, born April 13, 1736; married, in 1781,
Abner Uhapin, of Somers, Connecticut; died
April, 1790; one child. 5. Love, born July
\3> I738.: died September 17, 1757. 6. Pele
tiah. 7. Zachariah, born October 31, 1742;
married Huldah Parsons, and Hannah Baker;
kept public house;- also tanner and carpenter.
8. Sarah, married Jonah Pasco. 9. Amzi.
(V) Abel Allen, son of Samuel Allen (4),
was born in East Windsor, Connecticut, Au
gust 14, 1733 ; married January 1, 1756, Eliza
beth Chapin, of Enfield, Connecticut. Chil
dren : 1. Peter, mentioned below. 2. One
other child.
(VI) Peter Allen, son of Abel Allen (5),
was born in East Windsor, February 3, 1764.
He was a soldier in the Revolution, enlisting
in a Connecticut regiment June 1, 1781. Late
in life he applied for a pension, living at that
time at Bristol, Connecticut. He married at
Andover, Vermont, January 12, 1790, Abigail
Towne, born at Amherst, New Hampshire,
February 18, 1765, daughter of Archelaus and
Patty Towne. He died March 18, 1809. She
died April 11, 1852. Children: 1. Dr. Cha
pin, born December 21, 1790; married Decem
ber 1, 1817; lived at Boston, Massachusetts,
and at Jacksonville, Illinois, where he died;
his son succeeded to his practice. 2. Abbott,
born December 24, 1792, mentioned below.
3. Samuel, born December 19, 1795 ; married
first, October 11, 1820, Mary Saul; second,
December 16, 1821, Harriet Maynard; third,
Elizabeth Conley, sister of Mrs. Hezekiah
Allen, May 19, 1828; they settled at Lagrange,
Texas, where both died. 4. Mary, born April
5, 1798; married, April 19, 1820, Asa Mc
Clure; resided at Amherst, New Hampshire.
5. Martha Towne, born April 25, 1800; died
unmarried at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Au
gust 22, 1873; buried at Nashua, New Hamp
shire. 6. Hezekiah Rice, born April 28, 1803;
married Catherine Augusta Conley, of Boston,

1366

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

November i, 1829; died at the home of his
brother, Chapin, at Jacksonville, Illinois, when
on a visit, July 18, 1840, and was buried in
the college burying ground there; his widow
died at Boston, January 11, 1887; children:
i. George Hillman, born in Boston July 28,
1830, died December 6, 1835. ii. Catherine
Elizabeth, born in Boston, March 12, 1832, died
June 5, 1859, married Robert Restieaux Kent,
of Boston, December 22, 1852, (only surviv
ing child is (1907) George H. Kent of New
York City) ; Robert Restieaux Kent married
secondly, and has two children, Harry and
Catherine Kent. iii. Hannah Augusta, born
at Boston, December 19, 1834, died August 16,
1838 ; iv. George Hillman (twin), born at Bos
ton, April 13, 1837, died at Chelsea, Massa
chusetts, October 23, 185 1. v. James Henry
(twin), born April 13, 1837; went west, died
at Rockford, Illinois; married February 4,
1859, Mrs. H. M. Hovey, of Cleveland, Ohio,
at Kewaunee, Wisconsin, (children : Hannah
Milton, born November 10, 1859, died Decem
ber 15, 1862; Sarah Cassandra, born October
4, 1863, married William H. Keyt, of Rock-
ford, Illinois, and was living thane in 1907;
James Charles, born December 30, 1868, lives
at Rockford) ; vi. Hannah Augusta, born at
Boston, April 17, 1839; died there August 28,
1894, married July 24, i860, Augustine J.
Chamberlain, of Winchester, Massachusetts ;
vii. Henrietta Rice, born at Boston, November
13, 1840, died in Chelsea, September 14, 1842.
(VII) Abbott Allen, son of Peter Allen (6),
was born at Andover, Vermont, December 24,
1792, and died at Arlington, Massachusetts, in
1877. When he was a young boy the family
removed to Amherst, New Hampshire. He re
ceived a common school education, and learned
the trade of harness maker. At the age of six
teen he left home and found employment at
Arlington, Massachusetts, in the card clothing
factory of William Whittemore & Company.
This factory stood just south of the present
site of the Robbins Library. He worked for
Gershom and Henry Whittemore until about
1825, when he resumed farming on his wife's
father's place, the site of the present Allen
homestead, on Massachusetts avenue. Later
he bought the farm. He carried on market
gardening, and became one of the earliest and
best-known market gardeners of West Cam
bridge. He added much land to the farm, in
cluding the Home estate and the island in
Spy Pond, which was part of the farm, but
being inadvertently omitted in his deed he lost
it and the Fitchburg Railroad Company bought
it. He was very industrious and conscientious

in his work, achieving a large measure of suc
cess. In his later years his two sons Andrew
and Henry took the farm, and he worked for
them, free of responsibility. The produce
found a good market in Boston. Mr. Allen
was a selfmade and self-educated man, having
an excellent memory and a vast store of gen
eral infonnation. He was a member of the
Baptist Society at Arlington, and on the board
of trustees. He was a total abstainer himself,
and an earnest temperance worker. Original
ly a Democrat, he was -in later life a Republi
can in politics. He was for many years town
clerk, assessor and town treasurer, and the
town paid him the honor of exempting him
from giving a bond. He served in the war
of 1812 at Fort Independence for one day.
He married, May 1, 1825, Hannah Foster,
of West Cambridge, daughter of James Fos
ter. Children: 1. John Foster, born Novem
ber 16, 1826, died July 30, 1886 ; married, Feb
ruary, 1855, Mary Jane Leach, born July 1,
1833, daughter of Jonathan Gove and Lucy
Jane Turtle Leach, of ' New Boston, New
Hampshire; children: i. George Gove, born
December 6, 1855, married October 27, 1881,
Fannie Dora Crane, of Arlington, Massa
chusetts, and had son, John Watson, who died
in infancy, and daughter Helen Gertrude; ii.
Elizabeth, died in infancy; iii. John Foster,
Jr., married Lucia Evelyn Cole, of Brockton,
and have Andrew Foster; iv. Etta Frances,
died in childhood ; v. Irving Atherton, married
Lena Morse, of Hudson, Massachusetts. 2.
William Henry, born July 1, 1829; married
January 5, i860, Ann Louisa Ramsdell; chil
dren: i. Ann Louisa; ii. Arthur Lincoln,
graduate of Harvard College; iii. Abbott,
married Minnie Gifford; iv. Edith Louise,
married Charles Burleigh Horton ; v. William ;
vi. Herbert, unmarried. 3. Andrew Foster,
born February 1, 1834; mentioned below.
(VIII) Andrew Foster Allen, son of Abbott
Allen (7), was born in Arlington, Massachu
setts, February 1, 1834. He attended the pub
lic schools there, and then studied under the
tutorship of Daniel C. Brown in the old Groton
Academy at Groton, Massachusetts, where he
was graduated in his eighteenth year. He
then became associated with his father in the
market gardening business. Later he entered
partnership with his brother, taking their fath
er's farm and continuing his business. For
about thirty years this firm of brothers con
tinued together in business with constant suc
cess, having a stall for retailing their produce
in Faneuil Hall market, Boston. In 1886, ow
ing to impaired health, Andrew F. Allen dis-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1367

posed of his interests to his brother, William
Henry, about two years before. his death. His
department of the business was the selling of
the produce and transporting it to Boston. The
firm's gardens were among the finest and most
extensive in that section. They made a
specialty of lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes.
His residence was at 333 Massachusetts ave
nue, where he died November 15, 1888.
Mr. Allen had a . genial and social disposi
tion, cheerful, good-natured and pleasant, at
tracting to himself a host of friends. Upright
and honest in all the walks of life, he com
manded the confidence of his townsmen al
ways. He was public spirited and interested
in the welfare of the town, though he never
sought or held public office. He was a Repub
lican. He was a member of the Baptist so
ciety, though not of the church. He was made
; a member of Hiram Masonic Lodge, October
25, i860; was a member of Cambridge Chap
ter of Royal Arch Masons, and a charter mem
ber of Menotomy Royal Arch Chapter ; also of
Boston Council, Royal and Select Masters;
member also of Dfe Molay Commandery,
Knights Templar, of Boston; of the Massa
chusetts Consistory, thirty-second degree; of
the Boston Horticultural Society; and the
National Lancers of Boston during the six
ties. He married, December 14, 1870, Mary Jane
Webber, born December 29, 1839, daughter of
Philip and Ann (Underwood) Webber. Her
father was a baker in Boston. Children: 1.
Emma Webber, born July 7, 1871 ; married
October 22, 1891, James Edwin Kimball, born
October 17, 1868, son of Samuel E. and Maria
\ (Durgin) Kimball. (See sketch.) 2. Gracie,
born February 18, 1873, died March 14, 1873.

(For first generation see Richard Kimball 1.)
(II) Benjamin Kimball, son
KIMBALL of Richard Kimball (i), was
born in 1637, about the time
his father moved from Watertown to Ipswich.
He died June 11, 1695. He was a carpenter by
trade ; resided in Exeter, New Hampshire, in
1659; removed to Salisbury, Massachusetts;
thence to Rowley, where, May 12, 1663, he
bought land of Elizabeth Starrett, of Haver
hill. This land was in what was later Brad
ford. On February 20, 1668, at the first town
meeting in Merrimack, afterwards Bradford,
he was elected an overseer of the town. He
bought various other lots of land in Bradford.
He and his brother Richard Kimball were sol
diers in 1683 and 1684 in Captain Appleton s

company. Another brother, Thomas, was
killed by an Indian, May 3, 1676. Benjamin
was a cornet of horse troops. His house was
in the west parish of Bradford, not far from
the ancient cemetery. He was a wheelwright
as well as farmer. He married, in Salisbury,
April, 1661, Mercy Hazeltine, born October
16, 1642, and died January 5, 1707-8, daugh
ter of Robert and Ann Hazeltine., She was
one of the first members received into the First
Church in Bradford, when she and sixteen
other women were admitted January 7, 1702-3.
He owned a fourth part of a saw mill at Ha
verhill, near Amesbury, bought of Matthew
Harriman. The gravestones of Benjamin and
Mercy Kimball are in the old graveyard. Chil
dren : 1. Anna, born December 23, 1661 ; died
January 1, 1774; married April 21, 1682, Rich
ard Barker, of Andover. 2. Mary, born De
cember 27, 1663; died February 5, 1663-4. 3.
Richard, born December 3, 1664 ; died January
10, 1710-11. 4. Elizabeth, bom July 24, 1669;
married Edward Carleton, of Bradford. 5.
David, born July 26, 1671 ; died June 14, 1743-
6. Jonathan, born November 26, 1673 ; men
tioned below. 7. Robert, born March 5,
1675-6; died February 24, 1744. 8. Abra
ham, born March 24, 1677-8; died February
25, 1707-8. 9. Samuel, born March 28, 1680.
10. Ebenezer, born June 20, 1684 ; died Janu
ary 23, 1715. 11. Abigail, born June 20, 1684;
died January 23, 1715; married June 2, 1703,
Moses Day.
(Ill) Jonathan Kimball, son of Benjamin
Kim-ball (2), was born in Bradford, Massa
chusetts, November 26, 1673 ; died September
30, 1747; married, July 15, 1696, Lydia Day,
who was born March 18, 1676, and died Sep
tember 16, 1739, daughter of John and Sarah
(Pengry) Day. He married second, Novem
ber 3, 1739, Jane Plummer, widow, who died
in 1764. She survived him. He bequeathed
all his lands to be equally divided between his
four sons, Benjamin, Jonathan, Nathaniel and
Isaac, November 12, 1733. Children, born in
Bradford: 1. Benjamin, born May 16, 1697;
mentioned. below. 2. Jonathan, born October
30, 1698; died August 12, 1746, at Boxford. 3.
Nathaniel, born August 30, 1700. 4. Lydia,
born February 15, 1703-4; married May 22,
1729, Thomas Eaton. 5. Moses, born March
20, 1705-6; died young. 6. Isaac, bom July
2, 1707. 7. Rebecca, born July 2, 1707; mar
ried January 7, 1731, Stephen Webster.. 8.
Ruth, born January 30, 1709-10; married Oc
tober 2, 1730, Joseph Hardy. 9. Abraham,
born June 12, 1712, died young. 10. Mehitable,
married, March 1, 1737, Ebenezer Webster,

1368

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

born September 22, 171 1. 11. Hannah, bap
tized January 19, 1718.
(IV) Benjamin Kimball, son of Jonathan
Kimball (3), was born in Bradford, Massa
chusetts, May 16, 1697 ; died August 5, 1741 ;
married March 21, 1696, Mary Emerson,
daughter of Joseph and Martha (Toothaker)
Emerson, and granddaughter of Robert and
Ann (Grant) Emerson. He lived in the north
ern part of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and
when the line was fixed between Massachusetts
and New Hampshire, his farm fell in the latter
province, in the present town of Hampstead.
He and his wife belonged to the church in
Plaistow, or North Haverhill, in November,
1730. He was the first deacon of the church
in Plaistow, elected February 3, 1731, He
bequeathed land in Chester, New Hampshire,
to his son Moses. It is said that he married
at the age of eighteen, and went north of the
river, three miles into the woods, to clear his
farm, and his mother was very much dis
tressed at the great danger he ran from the In
dians. The date of his death on the monu
ment erected to his memory in Plaistow grave
yard as 1752 is wrong. Children: 1. Mary,
born June 1, 1718. 2. Jonathan, born April
14, 1720; mentioned below. 3. Benjamin,
born May 3, 1722; resided at Hampstead. 4.
Lydia, born October 20, 1724; died May 3,
1762; married November 10, 1741, Isaac Brad
ley. 5. Martha, born December 28, 1726;
died September 23, 1737. 6. Moses, born
June 15, 1721 ; resided at Hampstead. 7. Abi
gail, born April 12, 1733 ; died September 13,
1737. 8. Joseph, born November 12, 1735 ;
died August 12, 1737. 9. Mehitable, born
August 28, 1739; married, 1755, Thomas Hale.
10. Benjamin.
(V) Jonathan Kimball, son of Benjamin
Kimball (4) , was born in Haverhill, April 14,
1720; died October 17, 1807; married August
22, 1738, Elizabeth Little, daughter of Daniel
Little. She was born November 12, 17 19, and
died February 8, 1753. He married, second,
November 29, 1753, Abigail True, of Salis
bury; born November 26, 1723, died January
23, 1814. He joined the church February 5,
1738, and was elected deacon January 25, 1739.
His wife Elizabeth joined the church May 18,
1740. He is said to have been one of the first
to settle in the northern part of Plaistow, now
Hampstead, New Hampshire ; that he went up
-into the woods and had twenty men to help
him build his log cabin, and that two stood
guard against the Indians while the others
worked. He afterwards returned to the pres
ent town of Plaistow, where he was the town

clerk twenty-one years from 1757 to 1778, and
was deacon fifty-seven years. Children: 1.
Benjamin, born August 5, 1741 ; died August
25, 1779- 2. Jonathan, born September 14,
1744, resided in Haverhill, Massachusetts. 3.
Daniel, baptized July 19, 1747, died in in
fancy. 4. Nathaniel, born November 7, 1748.
5. Daniel, born July 5, 1751 ; mentioned below.
6. Elizabeth, born October 6, 1754; married
June 16, 1785, John White. 7. True, bora
January 28, 1757; died July 16, 1816. 8. Mar
tha, born January 4, 1758; died November 30,
1849; unmarried. 9. Joseph, born October
15, 1759; resided at Plaistow.
(VI) Lieutenant Daniel Kimball, son- of
Jonathan Kimball (5), was born in Plaistow,
New Hampshire, July 5, 1751 ; died in 181 3;
married Lucy Dutton, daughter of Jacob and
Rebecca (Hildreth) Dutton, of Billerica, Mas
sachusetts, and granddaughter of Thomas Dut
ton. She survived him, and married second,
June 26, 1 81 7, Daniel Hartwell, of Littleton.
Kimball removed early in life to Littleton,
Massachusetts, and became a prominent citi
zen of that town. He was a soldier of the Rev
olution, taking an active part; was corporal
in Captain Reed's company, Colonel Prescott's
regiment, April 19, 1775 ; also sergeant in 1775
in Captain Gilbert's company, Colonel Pres
cott's regiment; also first lieutenant, commis
sioned April 24, 1776, in Captain Jewett's
company, Sixth Middlesex regiment. Chil
dren: 1. Lucy, born September 27, 1778;
married March 18, 1813, Abraham Mead. 2.
Daniel, born April 20, 1780, died July 23,
1852. 3. James, born October 24, 1782; men
tioned below. 4. Benjamin, born March 30,
1784; died May 27, 1858. 5. Jesse, born Sep
tember 12, 1787; died December 27, 1862. 6.
John, born April 16, 1792. 7. Sophia, born
April 27, 1794 (twin) ; married Colonel Na-
hum Harwood. 8. Sibia, (twin), born April
27, 1794; died August 21, 1858. 9. Rebecca,
born July 8, 1800; married June 22, 1822,
Eleazer Fletcher, of Littleton, Massachusetts.
(VII) James Kimball, son of Daniel Kim
ball (6), was bom in Littleton, Massachusetts,
October 24, 1782; died June 11, 1869; mar
ried June 27, 1807, Rachel Hartwell, born in
1785, died September 6, 1845. He married
second, November 25, 1847, Mary B. Harris,
who died March 24, 1874. He was brought
up on his father's farm, and educated in the
public schools of his native town. He Became
an expert penman. He owned a hundred acre
farm near Nashoba Hill in the eastern partvof
the town of Littleton, and knowp later as the
Varnum Flagg place. Later in life he sold this

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1369

farm, and bought a house in the village, retir
ing from active labor at that time. He was a
short but powerful man, said to have been the
strongest man in the town in his day. He was
town clerk for more than thirty years, and his
records are models of fine script. He was a
Whig in politics, and served the town also as
assessor and selectman many years. Children :
1. James, Jr., born December 11, 1807; died
July 4, 1857. 2- Mary Ann, born October 13,
1809; died in Littleton, April 24, 1856; mar
ried John Adams, of Littleton. 3. Lucy Maria,
born August 30, 181 1; died July 23, 1834.
4. John H., born January 9, 1814; died Febru
ary 9, 1850. ' 5. George, born December 29,
1815; died December 26, 1840. 6. William,
born December 2, 1817; mentioned below. 7.
Sophia Hartwell, born November 4, 1819;
married August, 1840, William Hurter, of
Jacksonville, Florida. 8. Elizabeth Rachel,
born January 5, 1823 ; died at St. Paul, Minne
sota, October 26, 1891; married September
19, 1850, George Stevens, of Pittsfield, Mas
sachusetts. 9. Martha S., born May 12, 1825 ;
died January 28, 1852 ; married April 29, 1850,
P. H. Perkins, of Kennebunk, Maine. 10.
Josiah Pollard, born June 10, 1827, died Octo
ber 8, 1865. 11. Henry Dix, born June 26,
1829 ; died November 7, 1882, unmarried ; was
over seven feet tall, and was called "the Little
ton giant."
(VIII) William Kimball, son of James
Kimball (7), was born at Littleton, Massa
chusetts, December 2, 1817, and died October
14, 1884. He worked on the farm in his youth,
and attended the winter terms of the district
schools. He left home to take a clerkship in a
grocery store in Boston. After two years of
experience he established himself in business
in his native town as the proprietor of a gen
eral store. He was successful from the out
set, and continued for a period of twenty years.
His health failed owing to overwork and to
close attention to business, and he accepted a
favorable opportunity to sell his business. He
spent a year in the west at Omaha, Nebraska,
at St. Louis, and elsewhere. Later he occupied
a farm of one hundred acres near Littleton
common, and conducted it to the time of his
death. He had a dairy of forty cows, and sold
his milk in the Boston market. He went to
the Brighton cattle market each week, and
bought and sold cattle. He was a tall, power
ful man; sturdy, upright, genial ; of excellent
judgment, good common sense and quiet de
meanor. He had strong convictions, and was
especially earnest in supporting temperance
reforms. He was a devout member of the
iv-7

Congregational church, and served on various
committees. He was a Whig in his younger
days, later a Republican, and served the town
as assessor, selectman, and for a period of
thirty years he was town clerk. He belonged
to the state militia when a young man.
He married first, in 1845, Mary Adams Law
rence, of Littleton, born June, 1827, and died
May 9, 1864, daughter of George and Re
becca (Merriam,) Lawrence. Her father was
a farmer. He married second, in 1869, Mrs.
Lucy Maria (Goldsmith) Houghton, who was
born September 15, 1833, and died March,
1896, daughter of John and Sebia (Kimball)
Goldsmith, of Littleton, Massachusetts. Chil
dren of the first wife: 1. Josephine Merriam,
born October 21, 1846; died September 21,
1849. 2. George Albert, born May 14, 1850;
mentioned below. 3. William Lawrence, born
January 7, 1854; married first, September 12,
1877, Henrietta Bruce, of Littleton; married
second, November 8, 1906, Caroline B. Record,
of Onset, Massachusetts ; children of William
Lawrence and Henrietta Kimball ; i. Bernard
Marshall, born November 20, 1878, resides in
Cleveland, Ohio; ii. William Lawrence, Jr.,
born August 10, 1882, married February 22,
1906, Marion F. Jones of Cambridge ; child of
William L. and Caroline B. Kimball; Mildred
Chapin, born January 11, 1893. 4. Alfred
Adams, born May 29, 1859; died August 11,
i860. 5. Myron Adams, born May 8, 1864;
married May 12, 1885, Grace E. Putnam, of
Westford, Massachusetts. 6. Mary Eliza,
horn May 18,  ; married September 6,
1888, John W. Harlow, of Becket, Massachu
setts ; children : i. Myron Lincoln Harlow,
born November 15, 1889; ii. Leslie Kimball
Harlow, born May 10, 1891 ; iii. Vivian, born
December 17, 1895.
(IX) George Albert Kimball, son of Wil
liam Kimball (8), was born in Little
ton, Massachusetts, May 14, , 1850. He
received his education in the common
schools, suppleme-nted by a course in
the .academy at New Ipswich, New Hamp
shire, where he prepared to enter the soph
omore year at Dartmouth College, but ow
ing to serious trouble with his eyes he had to
abandon a college course. In 1869 he took
up the study of civil engineering in the office
of Frost Brothers, of Somerville, continued
with the firm, and in 1873 was admitted to
partnership, the firm name remaining Frost
Brothers. He made a specialty of railroad and
municipal work, such as sewerage and water
works. In 1874 he withdrew from the firm
and opened his own office in Union Square,

1370

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Somerville, continuing two years with work in
adjacent towns and cities. In January, 1876,
he was elected city engineer of Somerville, and
served in that office until 1887. He was also
chairman of the Somerville Board of Health
eleven years. During his administration of the
engineering department the water works were
extended, several fine parks laid out, and the
sewer system established. He resigned in
1887 to resume his private business as an en
gineer, with offices at 194 Washington street,
Boston. He made a specialty of sewerage, and
was consulting engineer during the construc
tion of sewerage plants and extensions in
Brockton, Massachusetts; Montpelier, Ver
mont; New Bedford, Milton, and Arlington,
Massachusetts. He built the water works for
the town of Millis, Massachusetts. In 1888 he
was appointed by Governor Ames a member
of the grade crossing commission, consisting
of three expert engineers, to examine all the
grade crossings in the state and to report some
feasible method of abolishing them. The re
port of this commission resulted in the passage
of the Grade Crossing Act, under which a
large number of the dangerous crossings have
been abolished, the state, railroad and locality
sharing the cost jointly.
In 1896 he was appointed by Governor
Roger Wolcott a member of the Metropolitan
Sewerage Commission and served on that
board until it was consolidated with the Met
ropolitan Water Board in 1901. In 1896 he
was elected chief engineer of the Boston Ele
vated Railroad, and proceeded immediately to
plan a system of elevated railways for Boston
and suburbs. The project was duly author
ized by the general court in 1897, and con
struction begun soon afterward, part of the
system being completed in 1901 and opened
for business in June of that year between Rox
bury and Charlestown, including Atlantic ave
nue. This original system, with its stations,
power house and rolling stock, cost a round
thirteen million dollars. This elevated system
was designed by him and constructed under
his personal supervision. The subway plans
were submitted to him for approval also, as
the chief engineer of the Boston Elevated Rail
road Company, which was to lease and operate
the tunnels. In 1902 Mr. Kimball was sent
abroad by his company to study methods of
transportation, and he visited England, France,
Germany, Austria, Scotland and Ireland, re-*
turning late that year. In 1903-4-5 he was
engaged in making extensions in the elevated
railroad system of Boston, and in planning
further subway and elevated roads to improve

the rapid transit facilities between the business
section of Boston and its numerous suburbs.
He is at present making plans for the subway
in Cambridge at an estimated cost of six mil
lion dollars. This extension provides for the
passage of trains from Harvard Square, Cam
bridge, to Park Square, Boston, underground.
It was authorized by an act of the legislature
in 1906. He has charge also of the design of
the elevated road from Sullivan Square,
Charlestown, to Everett and Maiden, at a cost
of three million dollars. Boston and New
York have serious problems of transportation
to solve year by year. Much of the wonder
fully efficient and successful system in Boston
is due to the foresight and engineering genius
of Mr. Kimball.
While in Somerville he was a member of the
board of health seven years ; member of the
board of aldermen in 1889 and 1890; and for
many years a member of the water board.
Since 1905 he has resided in his beautiful villa
at 336 Mystic street, Arlington, Massachu
setts, overlooking Mystic Lake and much of
the cities of Cambridge and Boston. He is a
member of Prospect Hill Congregational
Church at Somerville, and was superintendent
of the Sunday school several years, also serv
ing on various church committees. Since 1905
he has attended the Congregational church in
Arlington. He is a Republican in politics, and
has served his party frequently as delegate to
representative, senatorial and congressional
nominating conventions. He is a member of
John Abbott Lodge of Free Masons, of Somer
ville, since April 5, 1882 ; of the Knights of
Honor; of Excelsior Council, Royal Arcanum,
Somerville. He is a member of the American
Society of Civil Engineers ; of the Boston So
ciety of Civil Engineers ; of the New England
Water Works Association; of the Congrega
tional Club of Boston ; of the Winchester Coun
try Club ; is a director of the Somerville Co
operative Bank ; and was formerly a member
of the Home Market Club of Boston.
He married, February 29, 1872, Elizabeth
Emily Robbins, who was born in New Ipswich,
New Hampshire, May 10, 1853, the daughter
of Lewis and Emily (Winship) Robbins, of
New Ipswich. Her father was a farmer, and
a soldier in the local military company. Chil
dren : 1. Herbert Leslie, born July 24, 1874;
married, November 25, 1897, Blanche Evelyn
Hosmer, daughter of Samuel and Jane (Ax-
tel) Hosmer of Somerville; children: i. Hos
mer Robbins, born September 19, 1898; ii.
Harlan Winship, born November 14, 1900;
iii. Richard Russell, bom February 3, 1905.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

i37i

2. Josephine Merriam born March 26, 1876;
married October 3, 1906, Charles Kingsley
Woodbridge, of Somerville, Massachusetts. 3.
Ernest Robbins, born October 8, 1880, lives at
home. 4. Elizabeth, born December 1, 1895.

(For early generations see Benjamin Kimball 5).
(VI) John Kimball, son of
KIMBALL Benjamin Kimball (5), was
born January 10, 1736, died
December 1, 1814. He married Dorothy
 , who died September 7, 1817. They
resided in Poplin, now Fremont, New Hamp
shire, and he was one of the petitioners for
annexation to Hawke, New Hampshire, in
1782. His will dated July 21, 1813, be
queathes to wife and all his children: 1.
Dorothy, married Richard Fitts. 2. John,
born March 23, 1768, mentioned below. 3.
Benjamin. 4. Abel,, died August 23, 1822. 5.
Moses, born April 15, 1775, died December 8,
1835, at Vienna, Maine. 6. Sarah, married
Jabez Page. 7. Nathaniel, born April 4, 1780,
married, November 20, 1803, Polly Bickford,
of Berwick, Maine. 8. William, born March
17, 1783, resided at Vienna, Maine. 9. James,
bom April 22, 1785, resided at Vienna. 10.
Caleb, born September 24, 1790, died Au
gust 7, 1874.
(VII) John Kimball, son of John Kimball
(6), was born at Poplin, New Hampshire,
March 23, 1768, died at Topsham, Vermont,
Febraary 8, 1838. He married Hannah Peck,
bora August 24, 1778, died September 12,
1844. He was educated in the district schools
and brought up on his father's farm. He
went to Lebanon, New Hampshire, and lived
there until he removed to Corinth, Vermont,
and thence to Topsham, Vermont, where he
died. Their child, Henry, born April 13,
1812, mentioned below.
(VIII) Henry Kimball, son of John Kim
ball (7), was born in Corinth, Vermont, April
13, 1812, and died at Bradford, Vermont.
He was educated in the common schools, and
brought up on his father's farm where he
worked until he came of age. After he mar
ried he settled in West Topsham, Vermont,
where he bought a farm. In 1848 or 1849 he
sold this place and removed to Corinth,
where he purchased a farm in the west vil
lage. He had a hundred and fifty acres and
was a successful farmer. In his day much of
the cloth used by the family was spun at
home, carded and finished at a neighboring
mill, and Mr. Kimhall sold much of his sur
plus wool to his neighbors. He also raised

horses and cattle. In 1867 he sold the farm
at Corinth and removed to Warren, New
Hampshire, where he and his sons bought
a seven hundred acre farm and engaged in
the lumber business. About 1877 Mr. Kim
ball removed to Bradford, Vermont, and re
tired from active business, living his last
years quietly at the home of his daughters
Nellie and Susanna. He was a man of quiet
tastes and sterling integrity, very industrious
and enterprising. He attended the Free Will
Baptist church. In politics he was a Republi
can. He served in the militia.
He married Zilpha Merrill, born at Cor
inth, January 24, 1816, daughter of Benjam
in and Patty (Kyle) Merrill. Children: 1. Lu-
cetta, born October 15, 1838, at Topsham;
married, February 22, 1859, Alba M. Banks,
of Corinth, Vermont; children: i. Alvin H.,
born August 16, 1867, died August 3, 1869; ii.
Alta L., born August 11, 1870, married, at
Bradford, Vermont, March 18, 1897, Harley
D. Wheatly; children: Marjorie B., born No
vember 23, 1899, and Orville P., born Feb
ruary 21, 1900; iii. Mervin E., born October
29, 1875, married, at Lancaster, New Hamp
shire, November 23, 1898, Nellie Smith. 2.
Nellie Mary, born September 13, 1842, lives
at Bradford; married, January 1, 1862, Abel
A. Heath, of Bradford, Vermont; no issue. 3.
Susannah, born March 28, 1845, hves at
Bradford; married, October, 1868, Lyman J.
Heath, of Bradford, Vermont; children: i.
Walter Henry, bora February 17, 1875, died
March 30, 1875; "• Herbert Kimball, born
April 3, 1878, died September 13, 1878. 4.
Charles Henry, born February 5, 1847, mar
ried (first) Flavilla C. Hanson; (second)
Sarah A. Gerrish, one child, Ada Maude,
born September 26, 1884, married Jay K.
Bowker, of Franklin, New Hampshire, one
child, Marian Elizateth, born September 2,
1905. 5. Oscar H., born October 2, 1849,
lives in Lancaster, New Hampshire; married,
November 2, 1880, Sharlie A. Cossett, of
Lancaster; child, Florence E., born March
10, 1882. 6. Benjamin Franklin, born Au
gust 1, 1853, mentioned below. 7. James
Monroe, born September 6, 1855, lives at
Lancaster, New Hampshire; a jeweler; mar
ried (first) Eva Poor, of Offord, New Hamp
shire, one child, Wendell, born 1881; mar
ried (second), July 17, 1883, Cora I. Rowell.
(IX) Benjamin Franklin Kimball, son of
Henry Kimball (8), was born in Corinth,
Vermont, August 1, 1853. He attended the
district school of his native town until he was
fourteen years old, when he removed with his

1372

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

parents to Warren, New Hampshire, and
completed his schooling in that town. He
worked with his father on the farm during
his youth. He was for one year clerk in the
general store of Ira Weeks. In 1875 he came
to Woburn and for a time was employed by
A. A. Clement in his ice business and for
four years was clerk in the office of James O.
Cummings, tanner. Then he became a part
ner of his employer under the firm name of
B. F. Kimball & Company, owning two tan
neries, one in charge of each of the partners.
This partnership continued for twelve years,
when Mr. Kimball's tannery was destroyed
by fire and the firm was dissolved. During
the following year Mr. Kimball continued in
the leather business, having his leather pre
pared at other tanyards and having his place
of business in Boston. Mr. Cummings then
retired from business and Mr. Kimball con
ducted the tannery for three years when that
also was burned. He then leased the plant
now occupied by the Linscott Heel Com
pany and continued there for two years. In
August, 1904, he bought his present property
at the corner of Fowle and Main streets,
where he established the leather business of
B. F. Kimball & Company. Mr. Kimball
originally carried on the currying of the
rough hides until about 1900, since when he
employed the chrome tanning process, get
ting out four hundred sides a day to be made
into patent leather, and most of his leather is
made on contract for Thayer, Foss & Com
pany, of Boston, and put through the patent
leather process at the Foucar plant. The fac
tory of B. F. Kimball & Company occu
pies a floor space of about twenty-five thou
sand square feet and employs a force of about
forty hands.
Mr. Kimball is a member of the Woburn
Congregational Church, having been deacon
since 1883 and treasurer since 1887. He has
been for eighteen years superintendent of the
Sunday-school, and is a member of the par
ish committee. In politics he is a Republican;
was selectman two years under the town gov
ernment; alderman in 1898-99; assessor three
years in ward six; has often served his party
as delegate to state and other nominating
conventions. He was formerly a member of
the Independent Order of Red Men; he is a
member of the Young Men's Congregational
Club of Boston, and of the Boston Sunday
School Superintendents' Union. He was
four years director of the Woburn Co-opera
tive Bank and was one of its organizers.
He married, October 28, 1880, Harriet

Celina Cummings, born December 25, 1854,
daughter of James Otis and Susan Celina
(Bennett) Cummings, of Woburn. Her fa
ther was a tanner. Children: 1. Laura
Lynne, born Decemter 6, 1883. 2. Marion,
born September 22, 1887.

This surname is of German
WYMAN origin, and was originally
spelled Weymann, but for
many centuries the ancestors of the American
family of this name have lived in. England.
The crests of the English families of Wymond
and Wyman are the same.
(I) Francis Wyman, progenitor, lived in
the parish of Westmili, in county Hertford
shire, where he died in 1658. He was a
farmer and a man of some property. In his
will dated September 15, 1658, proved Febru
ary 14, 1659, he bequeathed to wife Jane; to
two sons Francis and John, "which are be
yond the sea ten pounds apiece of lawful
English money to be paid to them if they be
in want and come over to demand the same."
The sons never had the legacies, both being
prosperous citizens of Woburn, Massachu
setts. He also bequeathed to sister Susan
Huitt, widow. He left his homestead to son
Thomas, who was likewise the residuary le
gatee. He married, at West Mill, May 2,
1617, Elizabeth Richardson, doubtless relat
ed to the three Richardson brothers who with
Wyman were among the founders of Wo
burn, Massachusetts. She was buried July
12, 1656; he was buried September 19, 1658.
Children: 1. Thomas, baptized April 5, 1618,
remained in England ; married March 5, 1653,
Ann Godfrey. 2. Francis, baptized February
24, 1619, tanner by trade; freeman May 6,
1657, proprietor of Wobum; married Decem
ber 30, 1644, Judith Peirce; second, October
2, 1650, Abigail Read, daughter of William;
died November 28, 1699, aged about eighty-
two, according to his gravestone. 3. John, bap
tized February 3, 1621 ; mentioned below. 4.
Richard, baptized August 31, 1628. 5. Wil
liam, baptized August 31, 1628, died July,
1630. (II) John Wyman, son of Francis Wyman
(1), born in West Mill parish, Hertfordshire,
England, was baptized February 3, 1621. He
came to Charlestown, Massachusetts, with
his brother Francis in 1640, and they were
among the founders of Woburn that year.
He subscribed to the town orders in Decem
ber, 1640, and was taxed there for the coun
try rate September 8, 1645. He was lieuten-

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1373

ant of the military company; held various of
fices; was admitted freeman May 26, 1647;
-was a proprietor. He deposed December 18,
1660, that his age was about thirty-nine years.
He married November 5, 1644, Sarah Nutt,
born in England, and came to this country
with her father, Myles Nutt, who settled first
in Watertown, then in Woburn, and became
a prominent and useful citizen. She married
second, August 25, 1684, Thomas Fuller, of
Woburn. He died May 9, 1684. Children: 1.
Samuel, born September 20, died September
2y, 1646. 2. John, born March 28, 1648; died
1676; mentions in inventory housing and land
given him by grandfather Nutt. 3. Sarah,
born April 15, 1650; married December 15,
1669, Joseph Walker, of Billerica; died Janu
ary 26, 1729. 4. Solomon, horn Eetruary 26,
1651-2; died September 22, 1725. 5. David,
torn April 7, 1654. 6. Elizabeth, born Janu
ary 18, 1655-6; died November 21, 1658, 7.
Bathsheba, bora October 6, 1658; married
May 30, 1677, Nathaniel Tay, of Billerica. 8.
Jonathan, born July 13, 1661. 9. Seth, born
August 3, 1663; mentioned below. 10. Jacob.
(Ill) Seth Wyman, son of John Wyman
{2), born in Woburn, August 3, 1663; mar
ried Esther, daughter of Major William
Johnson, December 17, 1685. He was a lieu
tenant in the Woburn company. He died
•October 26, 1715. His widow Esther died
March 31, 1742. Children: 1. Seth, born
September 13, 1686; mentioned below. 2.
Esther, born October 25, 1688. 3. Sarah,
born January 17, 1690-1; married Caleb
Blodgett. 4. Jonathan, born November 5,
1693; died January 19, 1693-4. 5. Susanna,
born June 30, 1695. 6. Abigail, born Febru
ary 6, 1698-9; married January 19, 1725,
Timothy Brooks. 7. Love, born February
14, 1701-2.
(IV) Seth Wyman, son of Seth Wyman
{3), was born in Woburn, September 13, 1686.
He was a soldier under Lovewell, anjj had
charge of the company during me greater
part of the day of the famous Indian fight.
Sewall says of him: "At Lovewell's fight he
greatly distinguished himself by his self-pos
session, fortitude and valor. All his superior
¦officers having been killed or mortally
-wounded, he had then command of our men
almost the whole time of its continuance ; and
ty his prudent management and courageous
example he was doubtless mainly instrument
al, under God, for preserving so many of
them as were there from being utterly cut off.
Seeing them in danger of being dispirited in
the contest, in view of the greatly superior

numbers and other advantages of the enemy,
he animated them to action (it was afterwards
reported by Eleazer Davis, who was one of
them), by assuring them that 'the day would
yet be their own, if their spirit did not flag;'
and so encouraged were they by his exhorta
tions, and so briskly did they fire in conse
quence, that several discharged their mus
kets 'between twenty and thirty times apiece.'
Immediately upon his return he was honored
by Lieutenant Governor Dummer, then com
mander-in-chief of Massachusetts, with a
captain's commission. He had also presented
to him, in testimony of the public approbation
of his valor, a silver-hilted sword. But he did
not live long to enjoy his honors. To
encourage volunteers to enlist against the In
dian enemy, the general court offered four
shillings a day in addition to a bounty of a
hundred pounds for every scalp. Many en
listed and marched, under the command of
Captain Wyman and others. But the ex
treme heat of the weather, and the prevalence
of dysentery, prevented them from going far,
and several of them died on their return, Cap
tain Wyman among the rest, before he com
pleted his thirty-ninth year, Septemher 5,
1725." He married, January 26, 171 5, Sarah
Ross, of Billerica, who survived him little
more than two years, dying Novemter 5,
1727. Children: 1. Seth, born November 5,
1715. 2. Ross, August 16, 1717. 3. Peleg,
August 20, 1719. 4. Hezekiah, mentioned
below. 5. Sarah, September 20, 1722.
(V) Hezekiah Wyman, son of Seth Wy
man (4), was born in Woburn, Massachu
setts, August 5, 1720. He married Sarah
.  , and they settled in Wohurn. He was
baptized by the Arlington minister June 28,
1779, only'a few days before his death. Chil
dren, born in Woburn: 1. Hezekiah, born
March 21, 1747; mentioned below. 2. Seth,
March 17, 1749, died young. 3. Seth, Feb
ruary 17, 1750. 4. Daniel, March 6, 1752.
5. Sarah, May 12, 1754. 6. Isaac, December
12, 1756.
(VI) Hezekiah Wyman, son of Hezekiah
Wyman (5), was born in Woburn, March 21,
1747. He settled in Weston, formerly Water-
town, Massachusetts, and married at Cam
bridge, Massachusetts, May 31, 1770, Abi
gail Frost. He was a soldier in the Revolu
tionary war from Woburn tefore 1777- Chil
dren of Hezekiah and Ahigail Wyman: 1.
Ahigail, bora March 20, 1771 ; married March
3, 1796, Joseph Cox; had son whose name
was changed to Joseph Wyman, a watch
maker at Nashua, New Hampshire. 2. Sam-

1374

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

uel Frost, bom June 5, 1772; mentioned be
low. 3. Hezekiah, born October 9, 1773;
settled in Stow, Massachusetts; died October
13, 1803. 4. William, born May 26, 1776. 5.
Amos, born July 2, 1778; married, 1803, Su
sanna Gates, of Stow. 6. Ezekiel, died De
cember 13, 1803, aged twenty-four. 7. Lydia,
married February 26, 1804, David Clarke.
(VII) Samuel Frost Wyman, son of Heze
kiah Wyman (6), was born June 5, 1772, in
Weston, or moved there from Woburn when
quite young. He was educated in the district
schools of Weston. When a young man he
went to West Cambridge and learned the
trade of blacksmith, which he followed dur
ing his active life, and his sons Abner and
John P. Wyman succeeded him in business.
His shop was a popular resort for the best
men of the town. His shop being centrally
situated, the grappling irons for use in cases
of drowning, were kept there, and he was
often called upon to use them after drowning
accidents. On one occasion, while trying to
recover a body, he infected a sore foot, and
though his leg was finally amputated in an at
tempt to save his life, he died from the effects
of blood poisoning. He was upright, con
scientious, and kind; he had a sense of humor
and appreciation of a good story; of strong
convictions and much force of character, he
was an influential citizen. In politics he was
a Whig. He owned the covenant in the West
Cambridge church, August 20, 1797; and died
August 10, 1825, aged fifty-three years. He
married November 10, 1796, Polly Palmer,
born June 19, 1778, daughter of Stephen and
Mary (Bemis) Palmer; she died October 4,
1863. Children, born in West Cambridge: 1.
Mary, born August 4, 1797; died June 18,
1885. 2. Samuel, born October 7, 1800, died
December 25, 1836. He married a Widow
Clark, who had a daughter by her first hus
band, Julius Clark, named Susan M. Clark,
who married Abner P. Wyman. 3. Anna
Elizabeth, born November 27, 1804, died
June 26, 1881 ; married  Blake. 4.
Susanna Palmer, born September 15, 1807. 5.
Abner P., torn May 2, 1810; see forward. 6.
John P., bom July 31, 1815, died July 1, 1891;
married November 16, 1843, Margaret Rich
ardson, daughter of Eben, of Arlington; chil
dren: i. Mary Ann, unmarried. ii. Sarah
Elizabeth, iii. Sarah Elizabeth, married Au
gust, 1880, Frank A. Gooch, of Cambridge;
child Meredith. iv. Samuel Edwin, born
March 7, 1852, married Annie G. Gooch. v.
John Palmer, Jr., born March 7, 1853, mar
ried Minnie Squire, of Arlington; four chil

dren, vi. Joseph Palmer, born March 13,
1856, married October 21, 1880, Carrie W.
Studley, of Hingham, Massachusetts; (Chil
dren: Forester Studley, born July 15, 1881;
Gretchen, January 22, 1887; Ernest Hamil
ton, September 10, 1888; Joseph Richardson,
December 21, 189 — ). vii. Nellie Frost, mar
ried John Harrison Atwood.
(VIII) Abner Palmer Wyman, son of
Samuel Frost Wyman (7), born at West Cam
bridge (Arlington), May 2, 1810, died No
vember 2, 1884. He attended the public
schools of Watertown until seventeen years
of age, and learned the blacksmith trade of
his father. He went to sea as a cabin boy
and again as a seaman, on the brig "Volante,"
under Captain Phinney, having twice sailed
through to ports in North Europe, but when
his father died he took up his trade and con
tinued the business in company with his
brother John P. Wyman, who had just fin
ished his college career. They began the
manufacture of the first ice tools made in
this country. Their shop was situated on the
site later occupied by William T. Wood, near
the present Grand Army Hall on Massachu
setts avenue, and the present Gifford Wood
Company is the successor of these pioneers.
The Wymans also made pitchforks, spading
forks, etc. In 1845 the business was sold to
William T. Wood, who had learned his trade
as blacksmith under Abner P. Wyman. The
Wyman brothers then devoted their attention
to market gardening on the homestead until
about 1857, when they dissolved partnership.
Abner P. purchased the estate on Lake street,
and for a short time engaged in market gar
dening, associated with Elisha N. Peirce.
There have been few more successful farm
ers in Arlington than Mr. Wyman in his day.
He associated with him in business his two
sons Franklin and William Wyman, and later
another son Daniel. At present the firm con
sists of Franklin and Daniel Wyman. Abner
died "November 2, 1884.
Mr. Wyman was naturally studious and, his
hearing being impaired for many years, he
sought company and friends chiefly in his
books, of which he grew very fond. His read
ing was systematic, though covering a wide
range of subjects and his mind became a rich
storehouse of learning. He was very indus
trious and faithful in business. He was a
prominent and influential member of the Bap
tist church, one of its trustees, and at the
time of his death one of the oldest members.
Tn politics a Republican, he was especially in
terested in the temperance reform work.

Lewis Historical Tub Co.

/jfflMYU/V~ ^ /4^-^>^l^A^^.

LAStrucK

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1375

He married November 22, 1836, Susan M.
Clark, born November 5, 1815, at Boston
died at Arlington, daughter of Julius and
Susan (Smith) Clark. Her father was in the
trucking business. Children: 1. Mary Eliza
beth, born November 11, 1837; died May 16,
1850. 2. Susan Maria, born January 13, 1840'
mentioned below. 3. Ellen Louise, born De
cember 28, 1842; died 1844. 4. Abner, Jr
born May 5, 1845; died September 16, 1847'
5. Franklin, born March 3, 1849; mentioned
below. 6. William, born September 1, 1850;
died February 25, 1903; married December
2, 1873, Jennie E. Upham, of Arlington; chil
dren: i. William Herbert, born January 18,
- 1876, died Octoter 12, 1876; ii. Mabel Jen
nie, bom September 22, 1877, unmarried; iii.
Fred Upham, born May 29, 1881; iv. Julius
Clark, born February 4, 1893. 7. Anna Clark,
born March 3, 1853; married November 22,
1876, Warren Lincoln Frost, of Belmont;
children: i. Edith Anna Frost, born March
J7> 1877; »• John Newton Frost, born De
cember 25, 1878. 8. Daniel, born May 13,
1855; mentioned below. 9. Hattie Mariel,
born August 9, 1857. 10. Emma, born Feb
ruary 9, i860.
(IX) Daniel Wyman, son of Abner Wy
man (8), was born in Arlington, Massachu
setts, May 13, 1855. He helped his father on
the farm and attended the grammar and high
schools of his native town until eighteen years
old, then for some time was engaged as ma
chinist under Alfred Hobbs. He worked on
the farm with his father until he came of age,
when he was taken into partnership with his
father and brothers under the name of Abner
P. Wyman & Sons. William Wyman with
drew from the firm and went west three years
before the death of the head of the firm in
1884, and the business was continued by the
remaining partners, Franklin and Daniel, who
bought out the other interests and changed
the name to the present firm of Wyman
Brothers. The Wymans built among the
first greenhouses used in market gardening
in Arlington. At present the firm has no less
than thirteen greenhouses with the best
equipment, covering an area of 122,000
square feet, with a boiler house fifty by fifty,
and four boilers of four hundred horse-power
combined, and additional hot water boilers,
forming one of the largest and best plants of
the kind in New England. The firm has also
sixty acres of uncovered land devoted to
vegetables. In the houses they raise during
the winter season three crops of lettuce and
parsley, followed by a growth of cucumbers.

Their outside crops are chiefly celery, let
tuce, romaine and cabbage. They are among
the leaders in the celery trade. Their produce
is sent not only to Boston but to New York
and Buffalo markets. They employ from
twenty-five to forty men, according to the
season. Mr. Wyman is a member of the Arlington
Baptist church. He is a Republican in po
litics; served for four years on the school
committee, and is at present a member
(1907). He is a member of the Boston Mar
ket Gardeners' Association; director of the
Arlington Co-operative Bank, and was form
erly a member of the Arlington Boat Club.
He married first October 10, 1882, Jennie
L. Schwamb, born November 26, 1858, died
February 2, 1884, daughter of Karl and Jane
(Hilton) Schwamb of Arlington, Massachu
setts ; child: 1. Elsie, born January 4, 1884,
died August 9, 1885. He married second, Jan
uary 10, 1888, Cora Ina Feakins, born at Pitts-
ford, Vermont, February 7, 1869, daughter of
Frederick and Esther C. (Ward) Feakins, of
Arlington. Frederick Feakins was a painter
by trade. Children: 2. Esther Mariel, born
November 28, 1888. 3. Dorothy, born May
11, 1890. 4. Mildred, born March 27, 1892.
5. Frances, born November 26, 1895. 6.
Cora, born December 31, 1898. 7. Elizabeth,
born November 29, 1900. 8. Robert, born
March 12, 1903; died January 28, 1904.
(IX) Susan Maria Wyman, daughter of
Abner Palmer Wyman (8), was born January
13, 1840; died September 20, 1892; married
September 29, 1863, Elisha Nye Peirce, of
Medford, who died October 30, 1904. Chil
dren : 1 . Mabel Peirce, born November 24,
1864; died July 19, 1865. 2. Edith Peirce,
born February 14, 1866; married September
25, 1905, George A. Bishop of Hamilton, Ber
muda Islands ; no issue. 3. Elisha Allen
Peirce, born May 18, 1869; married, June 15,
1899, Margaret Wendell Phillips ; children : i.
Allan Wyman Peirce, born March 25, 1900;
ii. Margaretta Peirce, born January 11, 1902;
iii. Miriam Edith Peirce, born September 12,
1903 ; iv. John Phillips Peirce, born Septem
ber 26, 1905. 4. Susan Murdock, born Sep
tember 26, 1870, died December 31, 1870. 5.
Herbert Wyman Peirce, born January 20,
1872 ; married October 28, 1903, Violet Au
gusta Hall of Belmont; children: i. Elisha
Nye Peirce, barn June 28, 1904; ii. Byron
Hall Peirce, born October 3, 1906.
(IX) Franklin Wyman, son of Abner Pal
mer Wyman (8), was born in Arlington
March 3, 1849. He received his education in

1376

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

the public and high schools of his native town
and at Comer's Commercial College, Boston,
where he studied bookkeeping. He worked at
home on his father's farm when not in school
until he was nineteen years old. He worked
for a year or more as bookkeeper for John P.
Squire in his stall at Faneuil Hall market, Bos
ton, then was admitted to partnership in his
father's business. His brother William also
became a partner, and another brother, Daniel
Wyman, was admitted later, the firm name be
coming Abner P. Wyman & Sons. William
withdrew from the firm, however, and re
moved to the west after having been a partner
for four years. When their father died, No
vember 2, 1884, Franklin William and Daniel
Wyman were appointed administrators and
trustees of the estate. At the end of two years
they purchased the interests of the other heirs
and continued the business under the firm
name of Wyman Brothers, as at present.
Franklin Wyman was the selling agent until
recently, and his son Charles F. Wyman suc
ceeded him in that responsible position.
Franklin Wyman is a member of the First
Baptist Church of Arlington, and for many
years has been on its standing committee, of
which for eight years he has been chairman.
He is also one of the trustees of the church.
In politics he is a Republican, and has often
served his party as delegate to nominating
conventions. He was formerly a member of
the school committee of Arlington. He is well
known in Masonic circles, a member of Hiram
Lodge ; of Menotomy Chapter, Royal Arch
Masons ; of Somerville Council, Royal and Se
lect Masters ; of De Molay Commandery,
Knights Templar ; of Boston Consistory, thir
ty-second degree, Scottish Rite Masonry. He
is past noble grand of Bethel Lodge of Odd
Fellows, of Arlington ; and a member of Som
erville Encampment of Odd Fellows. He be
longs to the Arlington Boat Club, the Boston
Fruit and Produce Exchange, and is a director
of the First National Bank of Arlington. He
served for three years in Company F, Fifth
Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, at
Medford, Massachusetts.
He married, January 8, 1874, Lucy Adelaide
Wilson, born August 24, 1853, daughter of
Charles William and Lucy Clark (Fillebrown)
Wilson, of Waltham, Massachusetts. Her
father was a contractor and carpenter. Chil
dren, born in Arlington : 1. Charles Franklin,
born April 12, 1875 ; married Mabel Eliza
Kimball, of Arlington, daughter of Samuel E.
and Maria Melrose (Durgin) Kimball of Ar
lington ; child : Franklin Edwin, born October

3, 1906. 2. Herbert Clark, born December 17,
1876. 3. Helen Adelaide, born November
22, 1878; married October 14, 1903, Roger
Sherman, Jr., of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
4. Arthur Palmer, born April 6, 1885.

There is good reason to be-
SAWYER lieve that the three immigrants
of the Sawyer family — Ed
ward, William and Thomas — were, as
tradition tells us, brothers. They were born in
England, and came to America about 1642, all
three settling at first in Essex county. Edward
Sawyer, born in 1608, married Mary  ,
and died 1673, leaving one son, John, who was
a settler at Rowley, and perhaps Ezekiel, who
was killed in King Philip's war. William
Sawyer was a proprietor of Salem in 1642;
removed to Wenham, and thence to Newbury ;
had eleven children.
(I) Thomas Sawyer, immigrant ancestor,
was a yeoman. He settled first in Rowley, but
in 1643 or soon afterward he located in Lan
caster, Massachusetts. He took the oath of al
legiance 1647, and was on the list of pro
prietors of Lancaster 1648. He was one of
the first six settlers and was one of the pru
dential managers of the town in 1647. In 1654
he was admitted a freeman. His house was on
the east side of what is now the Main street
at South Lancaster, and next south of the
home of his father-in-law, John Prescott. He
was one of the leading men of the town all his
life. There were only five fullfledged freemen
in Lancaster in 1654 — Edward ' Breck, Richard ,
Smith, William Kerley, John Whitcomb, and
Thomas Sawyer. He was a prominent mem
ber of the church, and held many town offices.
During King Philip's war he left town with
all the other survivors of the massacre, but he
returned and helped to build up the town anew.
He married Mary, daughter of John Prescott.
(See sketch). He died about 1719. His will
was dated March 6, 1705-6. He bequeathed
to his wife Mary ; sons Thomas, Joshua, James,
Caleb, and Nathaniel ; and daughter Mary
Wilder. The latter testified that she had her
father and mother during eight or nine months,
while her brother Thomas was in captivity.
Her name and that of her mother was spelled
generally Marie, not Mary. Children: 1.
Thomas (q. v.) born July 2, 1649. 2. Eph
raim. born January 16, 1650-1 ; killed February
10, 1676. 3. Marie, born January 4, 1652-3.
4. Joshua, born March 13, 1655. 5- James,
horn March 22. 1657; mentioned below. 6.
Caleb, born April 20, 1659 ; settled in Harvard,

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1377

Massachusetts. 7. John, born April, 1661. 8.
Elizabeth, baptized January 5, 1663. 9. Han
nah. 10. Nathaniel, bora November, 1670.
(II) James Sawyer, son of Thomas Saw
yer (1), was born in Lancaster, March 22,
1657, removed to Pomfret, Connecticut, where
he bought in 1709 a mill privilege on a small
brook running into the Quinebaug, known as
Bark Meadow brook, and built thereon the first
grist mill in the settlement of Pomfret. In 1710
a military corps was organized, and though
he was about fifty-three years old he was
elected cornet of the company, a distinction
implying previous service. After that he was
called Cornet in the public records. The com
pany consisted of fifty men of all ages from
sixteen to sixty, under Captain John Sabin.
Cornet Sawyer was a selectman in 1714, and
was elected February 16, 1714, on an import
ant committee to locate the meeting house at
White's Plain, in Pomfret. He married, Feb
ruary 4, 1678, Mary Marble, probably of the
Stow family. She died at Pomfret in 1708,
leaving four children. He married second,
Mary Prescott, of Pomfret, and had seven
children. He is given as a resident of Pomfret
in 1731. Children: 1. James, Jr., resident of
Pomfret, in the East Purchase, in 1731. 2.
Benjamin, called a "first settler" in the early
Pomfret records. 3. Ephraim, had a grant in
the adjacent town of Scotland in 1718. 4.
Captain Joseph, born December 6, 1721 ; men
tioned below. 5. John, one of the first
grantees of Reading, Vermont, in 1761, then
residing in Pomfret, Connecticut.
(Ill) Captain Joseph Sawyer, son of Cor
net James Sawyer (2), was born in Pomfret,
Connecticut, Decemter 6, 1721, or, according
to another record, August 20, 1724. He was
brought up in Pomfret. Land was granted in
Vermont at what was later called Reading, to a
company of Pomfret men, among whom were
John, James and Joseph Sawyer, June 16,
1776. The settlement was made during the
dose of the Revolutionary war. Joseph had
the rank of captain, and probably served in
the French wars. He commanded a company
from Reading, Vermont, called out August 23,
1780, and in service until November 15, 1780.
Sergeant John Sawyer and. Cornelius Sawyer,
his sons, were in this company. He and his
family came to Reading as early as 1779, per
haps some of them came earlier. Captain
Sawyer was a representative to the legislature
in 1783 from Reading. He married, Novem
ber 4 or 21, 1750. Hannah, daughter of Thom
as and Sarah Hutchins, of Pomfret, of a well-
known Connecticut family. Children, born at

Pomfret: 1. Anna, born October 5, 1751,
died August 3, 1786. 2. Joseph, born April
*4, 1753; died April 8, 1846; married at Read
ing, Vermont, March 18, 1781, Abigail Ken
dall : children born there. 3. John, born Sep
tember 7, 1755; died May 15, 1847; sergeant
in Revolution; married daughter of Deacon
Weld ; settled in Reading. 4. Cornelius, born
February 6, 1760; mentioned below. 5. Ben
jamin, born February 3, 1762; mentioned be
low. 6. Mary, born August 9, 1765 ; died
August 16, 1843. 7- Eleanor, bom January 6,
1769 ; died March 28, 1813. 8. Daughter, twin
of Eleanor, died young.
(IV) Cornelius Sawyer, son of Captain Jo
seph Sawyer (3), born in Pomfret, Con
necticut, February 6, 1760, died at Reading,
Vermont, February 9, 1835. He was a farmer
and wheelwright. ¦ He was a soldier at the
age of sixteen, in Captain Daniel Lyon's com
pany of Pomfret, in 1776, in the Eighth regi
ment of militia, raised in Windham county and
serving in New York. He also served in his
father's company in Vermont in 1780, enlisting
November 15. He removed to Vermont about
1778-9 with his father's family. He married
at Reading, May 27, 1782, Allis (Alice) Robes
(Robie). Children, born at Reading: 1. Jo
seph, born March 24, 1785. 2. Simon, born
December 25, 1786. 3. Joshua, born Septem
ber 23, 1783; mentioned below. 4. Thomas,
born September 26, 1789. 5. Allis (Alice),
daughter, born November 8, 1792. 6. Cor
nelius Jr., bora March 27, 1796. 7. James,
born December 9, 1798. 8. Thankful, born
August 13, 1803.
(IV) Benjamin Sawyer, son of Captain Jo
seph Sawyer (3), was. born in Pomfret, Feb
ruary 3, 1762. He removed to Reading with
the family. He and his brother John were the
originators of a legend of an enchanted stone
in Reading. John was a builder, and when he
was putting up a house for Charles Buck asked
Benjamin to help him find a big flat stone for
the hearth, probably. They found a stone
which by splitting would serve, but left it for
another that served without splitting. Soon
afterward, when another such stone was need
ed for another new house, John searched for
the stone and to his surprise it had disap
peared. Benjamin was sure he could find it,
but he also failed in his search. Soon the stone
reappeared, however, in the very spot where it
had been first discovered. The superstitious
explained the mystery' of the stone that came
and went, and the public came to believe that
the stone marked hidden treasure. It was sup
posed that the ghostly guards who had to

1378

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

watch over the treasure got tired of their job
occasionally and hid away the stone. At any
rate, enough credence was given to the story
of enchantment to cause many parties to dig
for the fabled treasure, and the stories of
their experiences add an interesting chapter
to the town history. Benjamin Sawyer was a
soldier in the Revolution, according to the
Reading history. He settled and cleared a
farm in Reading, now or lately owned by
Charles A. Davis, and built the house on that
place in 1796. He was a well-to-do farmer
and prominent citizen. He was on a commit
tee to lay out the taxes of the town in 1784.
He and his brother John joined the Reformed
Catholic church December 12, 1796. He kept
a hotel, and was succeeded in that business by
his son Benjamin. He married at Reading,
April 12, 1787. Sara (or Sally) York, a native
of Pomfret; her mother, Anna Fling, mar
ried Captain John York, who died at sea;
married second,  Shuttleworth, and
went to live in England, near London. Mrs.
Sawyer died April 13, 1835; Benjamin died
August 12, 1843. Children, born at Reading:
1. John York, born March 7, 1788; soldier in
war of 1812; lieutenant in infantry; lawyer;
went west. 2. Anna, born December 4, 1789;
married James Whoral Hall ; she died Febru
ary 1, 1870. 3. Benjamin Jr., born May 22,
1793, partner of Erastus Preston in mill busi
ness ; had father's tavern ; married Maranda
Whiting, daughter of Dr. Joseph Whiting;
Benjamin died April 5, 1875. 4. Sally, born
February 3, 1797; married Elijah Miles Has
kell ; she died January 20, 1884. 5. Nathan,
born August 22, 1799; removed to Genesee
county, New York ; school teacher ; lawyer at
Medina ; married Lucretia Moore, of Ridge-
way ; became a Universalist minister of note ;
preaching at Monroe, Orleans and Wayne
counties, New York; died August 21, 1859.
6. Hannah, born February 13, 1802 ; married
April 12, 1825, Charles Buck; she died No
vember 28, 1887. 7. Rev. Dr. Thomas Jeffer
son, born January 9, 1804; died July 24, 1889;
one of the leading Universalist preachers of his
day; professor in Tufts College, Massachu
setts (See "Life of Dr. T. J. Sawyer," by Dr.
Eddy). 8. Seth Thompson, born August 19,
1806; educated at Chester Academy, taught
school at South Chester in 1827, at Wethers
field in 1828 ; at Reading 1829 ; went to Medea,
New York, studied law; published The Spec
tator; was prominent citizen; married, May,
1847, Sarah Jane Smiley, daughter of Rev.
Robinson Smiley; he died February 9, 1895.
9. Emily or Emilia, born January 25, 1810;

married September 6, 1837, Dr. William C.
Pierce. (V) Joshua Sawyer, son of Cornelius Saw
yer (4), was born at Reading, September 23,
1783, and died there June 18, 1854. He was a
farmer at Reading. He married Martha Bar
rett. Children, born there : 1. Simon Forbes,
born November 16, 18 16, died at Sherburne,
Vermont, 1907. 2. Orrin Spalding, born Jan
uary 4, 1820 ; mentioned below. 3. Martha I.,
born September 8, 1822; died February 6,
1857, unmarried.
(VI) Orrin Spalding Sawyer, son of Joshua
Sawyer (5), was born at Reading, Vermont,
January 4, 1820. He was a farmer during his
active years. He is living in Windham, Ver
mont. He married Sophronia S. Wheelock,
who was born in Cavendish, Vermont. Her
parents were born near Ashby, Massachusetts,
and she was a descendant of the immigrant
Ralph Wheelock. (See sketch of Wheelock
family in this work.) He was a farmer in
Reading. Children : 1 . Charles E., born June
9, 1852 ; mentioned below.
(VII) Charles E. Sawyer, son of Orrin
S. Sawyer (6), was born in Reading, Vermont,
June 9, 1852, and was educated in the district
schools of his native town, and at the Chester
Academy, which he attended one term. He
worked on his father's farm from an early
age. When- he came of age he left home and
located at Melrose, Massachusetts, where he
entered the employ of N. P. Jones a farmer.
He was a skillful carpenter, and for three years
followed his trade in Melrose. In 1883 he
took his present position as shipping clerk of
the firm of Cunmer, Jones & Company. He
resides in Melrose ; is a member of the local
lodge of Odd Fellows. In politics he is in
dependent. His family is connected with the
Melrose Protestant Episcopal church. He
married, October 10, 1893, Grace Duncley,
daughter of Nathan S. Duncley, of Charles
town, Massachusetts, now Boston. Children :
1. Mildred W., born June 10, 1897. 2. Ger-
aldine, born November 2, 1905.

(For first generation see preceding sketch).
(II) Thomas Sawyer, son of
SAWYER Thomas Sawyer ( 1 ) , was born
in Lancaster, Massachusetts,
July 2, 1649, the first white child born there.
His capture by the Indians forms one of the
most familiar stories of the colonial period in
Massachusetts. He was a man of fifty-five
when the event took place, and was living in
the garrison. Queen Anne's war was making

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

1379

the lives of the colonists unsafe, especially on
the frontier. Indians made frequent attacks,
and massacred men, women and children. On
October 16, 1695, Thomas Sawyer Jr., his son
Elias, and John Bigelow of Marlborough, were
at work in his saw mill when they were sur
prised and captured by the Indians. The In
dians took their captives to Canada, and turned
Bigelow and young Sawyer over to the French
to ransom. The Indians kept the other Thom
as Sawyer to put to death by torture. Sawyer
proposed to the French governor that he should
build a saw mill on the Chamblay river, in con
sideration of saving his life from the Indians,
and giving the three captives their freedom.
The French needed the mill and were glad of
the opportunity. But the Indians had to be
reckoned with. They insisted on burning
Thomas Sawyer at the stake. They knew him
and knew he was a brave man, not afraid of
torture and death. The crafty French gov
ernor defeated their purpose by a resort to the
church. When Sawyer was tied to the stake,
a Fench friar appeared with a key in his hand,
and so terrible did he paint the tortures of
purgatory, the key of which he told them he
had in his hand ready to unlock, that they gave
up their victim. Indians fear the unseen more
than the real dangers, and doubtless the friar
took care not to specify what he would do in
case the auto-de-fe was carried on. Sawyer
built the mill successfully, the first in Canada,
it is said. He and Bigelow came home after
seven or eight months of captivity. Elias
Sawyer was kept a year longer to run the mill
and teach others to run it. The captives were .
well treated after the French found them use
ful to them.
Thomas Sawyer married first, Sarah  ,
1670; second, Hannah  , 1672; third,
Mary White, 1718. He died at Lancaster,
September 5, 1736, and his grave there is
marked by a stone. His will mentions four
sons and two daughters. He bequeathed twelve
pounds to purchase a communion vessel for the
Lancaster church. Children: 1. William. 2. Jo
seph. 3. Bazalie. 4. Elias. 5. Mary, mar
ried Josiah Rice of Marlborough. 6. Hannah,
married Jonathan Moore, of Bolton. 7. (Per
haps) Sarah, married Rev. Nathaniel Whit
man, of Deerfield.
(Ill) William Sawyer, son of Thomas Saw
yer (2), was bom in Lancaster. He married,
1700, Hannah, daughter of John Houghton,
2nd. They settled in the southern part of what
is now the village of Bolton, then Lancaster.
Their garrison assignment near the centre was
with John Moore, near Fryeville. He owned

land in other places — a hundred acres on the
west slope of Gates Hill, now called Sawyer
Hill, and one hundred and twenty acres on the
east slope of the hill. Children: 1. Benjamin.
2. Israel. 3. Joseph. 4. William. 5. Josiah,
mentioned below. 6. Uriah. 7. Aholiab. 8.
Mary, married Phineas Willard. 9. Hannah,
married John Snow. 10. Hepsibah, married
Increase Powers ; married second, Thankful
Fairbanks. 11. Martha, married Charles Wil
der. (IV) Deacon Josiah Sawyer, son of Wil
liam Sawyer (3), was born in Lancaster, in
1 7 14. He was one of the charter members of
the Berlin church, and its deacon. His Bible,
and the stand on which it rested during his
daily family devotions, have been preserved by
his descendants. In 1735, while he was a
young man, he was living with his father at
Bolton, but was clearing the land on Sawyer
Hill and was preparing to make his home
there. While returning home one evening
afoot, as was his custom, an Indian waylaid
him, just as he was descending the hill north
of the Quaker meeting-house. Sawyer dodged
the upraised tomahawk and took to his heels.
Fortunately for him, he was a good runner,
for he was unarmed. The savage soon saw
that he was outclassed, and gave up the pur
suit. By measurement the next day it was
found that one of the leaps, as the footprints
showed, was sixteen, feet. That leap is fam
ous in Berlin history.
He married Sarah  , who died 1762.
He married second, Mary Tooker. The Took-
er family preceded the Chase family on the
Acre in Clinton. She died March 25, 1709,
aged seventy-one years. He died July 3, 1805,
aged ninety-one years. He was deacon of the
church from 1770 to 1799. Children of first
wife: 1. Josiah, born November 24, 1738;
died young. 2. William, born March 5, 1740.
3. Hannah, born June 25, 1743 ; married 
Curtis, of Harvard. 4. Rebecca, born Feb
ruary 15, 1745; married  Wilder, of
Putney, Vermont. 5. Sarah, born Feb
ruary 6, 1747; married William Wilder, of
Putney, Vermont. 6. Aholiab, born 1749. 7.
Josiah, born November 8, 1752 ; mentioned be
low. Children of second wife : 8. Levi, born
November 10, 1764. 9. Silas, born July 5,
1766. 10. Thomas, born March 9, 1770; died
1771. (V) Josiah Sawyer, son of Deacon Josiah
Sawyer (4), was born in Berlin, Massachu
setts, November 8, 1752. He married Bath
sheba Moore, of Putney, Vermont, who died
March 17, 1778. He had the homestead in

1380

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

Berlin, which he left to his daughter Lucinda.
The place is now or was lately owned by Will
ard G. Bruce. Josiah was a farmer. He mar
ried second, Persis, daughter of Samuel Baker,
who died 1785. He married third, Prudence
Johnson of Leominster, Massachusetts, Janu
ary 4, 1786. Children of first wife: 1. Alvah,
born October 30, 1770. 2. Eunice, born No
vember 10, 1774; married Ephraim Babcock.
3. Bathsheba, born May 9, 1778; died young.
Children of second wife : 4. Susanna, born
November 19, 1781 ; married Caleb Houghton.
5. Bathsheba, born 1784; died young. Chil
dren of third wife : 6. Ira, born October 1,
1787. 7. Lucinda, born April 20, 1789; mar
ried first, Armory Carter; second, Cummings
Moore. 8. Rufus, born September 22, 1790;
mentioned below. 9. George, born February
6, 1793. 10. Asa, born September 3, 1795.
11. Persis, born June 18, 1798; married Lor-
ing Howe, of Marlborough. 12. Sarah, born
July 12, 1800; married Lewis Carter; died
February 26, 1895. Josiah Sawyer was a sol
dier of the Revolution, in Captain Benjamin
Hasting's company, Colonel John Whitcomb's
regiment, in 1775, also in Captain Jonathan
Houghton's company, and Captain David
Nourse's company ; he served at Fishkill, New
York, and at the Bennington alarm in 1778.
(VI) Rufus Sawyer, son of Josiah Sawyer
(5), born September 22, 1790, died April 12,
1865. He settled in Berlin, Massachusetts, on
the farm belonging to Hezekiah Gibbs, now or
lately owned by F. A. Woodward. He mar
ried, June 13, 1813, Seraph, daughter of Adam
Bartiett. They celebrated their golden wed
ding in the room in which they were married
in Judge Baker's stone mansion in 1863. She
died December 3, 1863. Children: 1. Alden,
born March 24, 1814.' 2. Almina, born July
11, 1815; married Horace Bigelow. 3. Israel,
born October 12, 1817. 4. Lucinda, born Au
gust 5, 1819; married Israel Moore, of Bolton;
died October 27, 1840. 5. Edwin, born Sep
tember 16, 1821 ; mentioned below. 6. Eli,
born May 22, 1823. 7. Addison, born April
6,-1825; married Elizabeth. Brigham ; resided
at Reading; died March 9, 1893. 8. Joseph,
born June 2, 1827; married Elona Smith; re
sided at Hadley; died June 18, 1886. 9. Jon
athan Orison, born July 26, 1829; married
Alice Currier; resided at Lawrence; died
April 26, 1887. 10. Rufus Curtis, born Oc
tober 8, 1832.
(VII) Edwin Sawyer, son of Rufus Saw
yer (6), born September 16, 1821, died No
vember 19, 1 89 1. He was a shoemaker, and in
later years a farmer. He settled in Carterville,

a part of Berlin, on the place now or lately
owned by W. B. Morse, and his children were
born there. He was selectman of Berlin 1871
and 1873, and his portrait is in the "Berlin
History.' He married Emily, daughter of
Leonard and Abigail Pierce Hartwell, who
died March 12, 1892. Children: 1. Alice
Viola, born January 10, 185 1 ; died May 19,
1897. 2. Edwin Irving, mentioned below.
(VIII) Edwin Irving Sawyer, son of Ed
win Sawyer (7), was born in Berlin, Decem
ber 8, 1855. He was educated in the public
schools of his native town and in a private
school at Clinton, Massachusetts, and at the
Bryant & Stratton Business College in Boston.
From the age of twelve years he worked with
his father in the manufacture of shoes. He
became a clerk in the general store at West
Boylston at the age of twenty. A year later
he became bookkeeper for J. Boyd & Company,
Marlborough, Massachusetts, and remained
with that firm until 1879, when he accepted a
similar position with the firm of S. H. Howe.
When the business was incorporated in 1887,
under name of the S. H. Howe Shoe Company,
he was made clerk of the company and director
and during the same year became superin
tendent of the factory, a position he has held to
the present time. The business of the S. H.
Howe Shoe Company is among the largest in
the state and stands among the leading houses
in the character of its product as well as in the
amount of its output.
Mr. Sawyer is a member of Marlborough
Lodge of Odd Fellows, No. 85, with which he
affiliated in 1876, and in which he has held all
the offices in succession. He was district depu
ty several terms. He is a member of Marl
borough Lodge of Free Masons ; of Houghton
Royal Arch Chapter ; of Trinity Commandery,
Knights Templar, and of the various bodies to
and including the thirty-second degree of Ma
sonry. In 1891, when the city was incorpor
ated, he was elected the first alderman from
Ward Six. In 1905 he was elected a trustee
of the Marlborough Savings Bank, a:nd has
been a director of the First Nationa1 Hank orf
Marlborough since 1904. He is cl*rK of the
O. H. Stevens Manufacturing Comipjn-5, and
director and clerk of the Marlborough Build
ing Association.
In October, 1877, Mr. Sawyer married Liz
zie A. Johnson, born September 3, 1856,
daughter of George E. and Harriet B. Johnson,
of Berlin, Massachusetts. They had one child,
Alice Maude, born September 17, 1888, died
December following.