A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 3, Part 4

Author: Hutt, Frank Walcott, 1869- editor
Publication date: 1924
Publisher: New York, Chicago, Lewis historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 528

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On September 21, 1782, John Brayton married Sarah Bowers, the daughter of Philip Bowers, a lineal de- scendant of three of the Pilgrim band who came on

the "Mayflower" on her first voyage in 1620. They were the parents of eleven children. On the death of his father, about 1791, John Brayton inherited the Brayton homestead, and resided there until his death. It was during his lifetime that Somerset was set apart from Swansea, and in the former town he died May 12, 1829.

About 1796, finding the old house too small for his rapidly growing family, John Brayton erected the pres- ent house. The original house was left standing, and early in the nineteenth century part of it was moved near the new house.

John Brayton was one of the first members of the Methodist church in Swansea, joining soon after its organization, and remaining throughout his life a use- ful and influential factor in its affairs. He contributed generously to its support, and tendered cordial hospi- tality to the itinerant ministers. At the centenary cele- bration of that church, held March 2, 1902, as a. memo- rial to John Brayton, his grandchildren and great- grandchildren gave to the church the sum of fifteen hundred dollars, the income to be used for the support of the gospel.

(VI) Israel (2) Brayton, son of John and Sarah (Bowers) Brayton, was born in Somerset, Massachu- setts, on the Brayton homestead, July 29, 1792. He spent his entire life there, and died November 5, 1866. In early life, however, he had for a time resided in Swansea and Fall River, and although he returned to the Homestead Farm on the death of his father, he retained his associations in these places. He continued his membership in the Central Congregational Church of Fall River, and was one of its most regular attend- ants. The "Fall River News," of November 9, 1866, describes the funeral services of Israel Brayton and pays tribute to him as a man :

It was a scene long to be remembered,, as the family and friends gathered around the grave on that serene and most beautiful Indian summer morning, and united with bowed heads and sympathizing bearts in the simple, heartfelt and deeply impressive prayer which was there offered; and we could but feel how grand a lesson is taught us when a good man is called from earth to heaven; a man who bas filled the measure of bis days in his Master's service, and whose memory will be cherished by his friends and kindred as among the best of earthly treasures.

Israel Brayton married, August 19, 1813, Keziah Anthony, daughter of David and Submit (Wheeler) Anthony, they the parents of children. (See Wheeler and Anthony). Keziah (Anthony) Brayton was the last to reside permanently upon the Homestead Farm, where she died October 24, 1880, aged eighty- nine years. She was a direct descendant of John An- thony, one of the pioneer settlers of Rhode Island, who came from England in the year 1634. The An- thony family was' prominent in Rhode Island affairs, and had become allied with many of the most im- portant families of the colony. Israel and Keziah (Anthony) Brayton were the parents of the following children : 1. Mary, born in Foxboro, Massachusetts, May 9, 1914; married (first), in 1842, Major Bradford Durfee, of Fall River, who died in 1843, leaving one son, Bradford Matthew Chaloner Durfee, born June 15, 1843, died, unmarried, in 1872. His mother gave in his memory the B. M. C. Durfee High School in the city of Fall River. She married (second), in 1851, the

BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS

Rev. Jeremiah S. Young, who died in 1861. She died in Fall River, March 22, 1891. 2. William Bowers, born in Swansea, April 6, 1816; married Hannah Tur- ner Lawton, of Tiverton, Rhode Island. 3. Nancy Jarrett Bowers, married Daniel Chase, and their only child died in infancy. 4. Elizabeth Anthony,/married Rev. Roswell Dwight Hitchcock, and they were the parents of the following children: Roswell, Mary B., Harriet W., and Bradford W. 5. David Anthony, born in Swansea, April 2, 1824, died August 20, 1881; married Nancy R. Jenckes, of Fall River. 6. John Summerfield, born in Swansea, December 3, 1826; married Sarah J. Tinkham, of Middleboro, Massachu- setts. 7. Israel Perry, born in Swansea, May 24, 1829, married Parthenia Gardner, of Swansea. 8. Hezekiah Anthony, mentioned below.

(VII) Hezekiah Anthony Brayton, one of the most vital figures in the history of the industrial develop- ment of Fall River, son of Israel (2) and Keziah (Anthony) Brayton, was born June 24, 1832, on Main street, Fall River, Massachusetts. Here he passed his childhood, and attended local schools for his education. Later he was entered as a student at the East Green- wich Academy, East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and after being graduated from that institution, returned to his native State and taught school for one year in the town of Seekonk. He did not find in this pro- fession the opportunity which he desired, however, and at the end of the first year secured a position in a railroad office where, besides the work involved in his duties, he continued the study of mathematics, specializ- ing in that branch of the science which bears directly on civil engineering. His character was of the type with which New England has made us familiar ; deter- mined to advance, he perfected himself sufficiently in the study of mathematics to qualify as a surveyor. In this capacity he went West and worked for a consider- able time in Texas. On his return to Massachusetts, he settled for a time in Lawrence, where he was en- gaged in the carding and mechanical engineering de- partment of the Pacific Mills.

It was around this period that there occurred in the East what was known as the "Westward Movement," and this Mr. Brayton joined, in association with his brother, Israel Perry Brayton, establishing himself in Chicago, and engaging in the grain and commission business on the Chicago Board of Trade. This busi- ness was afterward transferred to New York and was carried on in connection with the Produce Exchange there. Mr. Brayton spent nearly twenty-five years in Chicago and New York, and in 1872 returned to Mas- sachusetts, where he remained until the close of his life. In the industrial, financial and business life of Fall River from 1872 onward, he played a vital and influential part. He was vice-president of the First National Bank of Fall River, in which institution he also held the office of cashier. A number of years later, upon the failure of the Sagamore Mills, he was appointed one of the trustees in charge of that prop- erty, and took an active and important part in the set- tlement of the affairs of this concern. Upon its re- organization as the Sagamore Manufacturing Company, he was elected treasurer and a member of the board of directors. These two offices he continued to hold until his death, and the large growth of the business was

due in no small measure to his capable management. In addition to his heavy interests and responsibilities in the Sagamore Manufacturing Company, he was also prominently identified with the Durfee Mills, of which he was president and a member of the board of direc- tors. Mr. Brayton was regarded by his associates in Fall River, and throughout the milling industry in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, as one of the most successful mill operators of this section of New Eng- land. During the period of his management the Saga- more Manufacturing Company did a most extraordi- nary business, and established a record that has not been surpassed. His great success in large affairs was undoubtedly due to the fact that he found the keenest pleasure in business combinations and organization, and he was in a great measure a prototype of the great captains of industry of today. His conception of mill operations was intensive in character, and he carried the efficiency of his mills to a high point, keeping equipments and conditions up to the very latest and most modern standards. He possessed the gift of me- chanical genius, which combined with a thorough knowledge of every phase of the business in which he engaged, and executive and organizing ability of the first order, made him one of the ablest mill men in New England in the latter decades of the nineteenth century. He rarely made an error of judgment, and his advice consequently was much sought in financial matters. At the time that he assumed charge of the Sagamore Manufacturing Company, one mill was in operation and the foundation of a stone mill had been laid. The results were quickly discernible, and one after another he erected the requisite buildings. Mr. Brayton was succeeded in the office of treasurer by his son, William Lawton Slade Brayton, who had previ- ously engaged in business as a cotton broker.

Hezekiah A. Brayton was deeply interested in the welfare of the city of Fall River, and devoted much time to work in its behalf. He possessed great faith in the future of the city, and did all he could to im- prove its fortune. He was always conceiving new com- binations in the business world, and was ever ready to aid in the development of new and promising enter- prises. There can be no doubt that the present great prosperity of the city owes much to his judgment and foresight, his energy and enthusiasm, which were con- tagious. It is interesting to note that the last cotton corporation formed in Fall River prior to his death had his backing, and that he was a large subscriber to its stock.

The death of Mr. Brayton occurred at his home on North Main street, Fall River, March 24, 1908, in his seventy-sixth year. The board of directors of the Sagamore Manufacturing Company passed the follow- ing resolutions to his memory at the meeting convened the day after his death :

Hezekiah A. Brayton, treasurer of this corporation since the 6th day of November, 1879, died after a short illness, on the twenty-fourth day of March, 1908, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. The ability and signal success with which he managed the affairs of this corporation are recognized by every one familiar with it, and by the community-at-large. His personality dominated the entire organization and impressed upon it his own belief in honest work and fidelity to every- day duty. It was his pride to make good, and to keep his word absolutely. A contract was to him a matter of personal honor, as well as of dollars and cents. He was a man of

BRAYTON, ENGLAND TIVE

BRAYTON

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Chase

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Anthony

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BIOGRAPHICAL

strong and unique individuality, direct and straightforward in his dealings, frank of speech, absolutely honost and with a rare touch of humor. As the years passed, he acquired in an extraordinary and ever increasing degree the confidence of those who associated and dealt with him. He was fortunate in his life, and he died at the height of his success, before age had dulled his interest or impaired his mental vigor. His death is a serious loss to this corporation, and to us, his associates.

Mr. Brayton married, March 25, 1868, Caroline Elizabeth Slade, of Somerset, Massachusetts, a daugh- ter of the late Hon. William Lawton and Mary (Sher- man) Slade. Mrs. Brayton survives her husband and resides at the Brayton home in Fall River. (See Slade VII). Mr. and Mrs. Brayton were the parents of the following children: 1. Caroline Slade, born March 10, 1869. in New York City; resides in Fall River, Mas- sachusetts. 2. Abby Slade, born November 10, 1870, in New York City; married Randall Nelson Durfee, of Fall River, and they are the parents of four chil- dren : Randall Nelson, Jr., born March 13, 1897; Brad- ford Chaloner, born August 12, 1900; Caroline, born March 12, 1904; Mary Brayton, born March 4, 1909. 3. William Lawton Slade,-born November 13, 1873, in New York City; now treasurer of the Sagamore Manu- facturing Company, in which office he succeeded his father ; he married, June 18. 1903, Mary Easton Ash- ley, daughter of Stephen B. and Harriet Remington (Davol) Ashley, of Fall River; their children are: Lawton Slade, born June 20, 1904; Lincoln Davol, born October 20, 1905; Constance, born March 22, 1907; Ruth Sherman, born April 17, 1908; Perry Ashley, born May 25, 1910; Mary Elizabeth, born June 11, 1912; Richard Anthony, born June 19, 1913; Harriet, born December 26, 1916; Sherman, born July 19, 1919. 4. Israel, born August 5, 1874, in Fall River; is now a member of the law firm of Wood & Brayton; married Ethel Moison Chace, of Fall River, and they are the parents of three children: Charlotte, born March 24, 1913; Philip Sherman, born December 3, 1914; Roswell, born April 14, 1917. 5. Mary Durfee, born May 1, 1877, died March 18, 1889. 6. Stanley, born March 20, 1879, died June 29, 1902, in Caux, Switzerland. 7. Arthur Perry, mentioned below. 8. Margaret Lee, born December 14, 1883. 9. Dorothy, born December 19, 1885; married, February 23, 1916, Dr. William Russell MacAusland, of Boston, Massa- chusetts ; they are the parents of three children: Doro- thy, born April 16, 1917; Donald, born June 17, 1918; and a son, born May, 1920. 10. Katharine, born De- cember 16, 1887; married Andrew Roy MacAusland, June 2, 1920, and has a daughter, Katharine.

Mr. Brayton was no less happy in his domestic rela- tions than in his business. His home was always the abode of hospitality, and expressed in its appearance the culture and refinement of its dwellers. He was a devoted husband and father, and the same characteristics which made him so popular among his friends kept his household in an ever cheerful state.

(VIII) Arthur Perry Brayton, son of the late Heze- kiah A. and Caroline E. (Slade) Brayton, and the descendant of several of the oldest and most influential families of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, May 25, 1881. He was educated in the B. M. C. Durfee High School, and later attended the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Con-

necticut. On completing his studies he engaged in busi- ness pursuits in Fall River, and devoted his attention to the management of the Durfee farm in South Som- erset, of which he was owner. In connection with the Durfee farm he conducted a highly successful dairy business. Following the entry of the United States into the war, and up to the time of his death, he served the government in an official capacity in the training of women for agricultural work, and employed many on his farm in Somerset. He also supplied farmerettes to the neighboring farmers. An able busi- ness man and an active worker in charitable and re- ligious fields, he had crowded into his comparatively brief span of years a wide range of interests which but seldom characterizes the man who has attained three score and ten. Business was not his field-he was successful in the ventures which he entered, a keen, sagacious investor, and an able manager, yet he re- sented the demands which large affairs almost invari- ably make to the exclusion of other interests. He was a man of broad-minded tolerance, a keen observer, widely travelled, who had weighed the frenzied rush and specialized effort of commercialism against the well-ordered, well-rounded life of the man who en- gages in many pursuits, and finds the zest of life in widely diversified channels.

A sincere desire to be of aid to humanity, to do the greatest good for the greatest number, inspired the entire career of Arthur P. Brayton. In 1896 he be- came a member of the First Congregational Church, and until his death maintained an active interest in the church and Sunday school. For many years he was clerk of the church, president of the Young People's Society, and librarian of the Sunday school. He was also one of the founders of the Adams and Junior Adams clubs, church societies for men. He was prominently identified with many church organizations, and for many years was treasurer of the Seaside Home. His gifts to charitable causes were large, and no rea- sonable appeal to him was ever refused. He gave impulsively, and for this reason the actual extent of his gifts to charities and philanthropic causes never became known. He was a man well loved by hundreds, for he had the social instinct, the gift of making and holding a friendship, an earnest sincerity and warmth which drew men to him instantly. Mr. Brayton was a favorite in club circles. He was a member of the Quequechan Club, the Fall River Country Club, and numerous business organizations. Yachting was his favorite sport, and he was the owner at different times of several yachts and speed boats. As commodore of the Fall River Yacht Club for several years, he did much to promote its interests. He was also president of the Narragansett Bay Yacht Racing Association from February 14, 1917, until his death.

Mr. Brayton was unmarried. His death in Fall River, Massachusetts, October 14, 1918, was the cause of sincere and widespread grief.

(The Coggeshall Line).

The early Coggeshalls formed one of the wealthiest and most prominent of the families of Rhode Island. John Coggeshall, the progenitor of the family in Amer- ica, was born in the year 1599, in Essex, England. The family, which had been established there for

BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS

centuries, was of Norman origin and possessed large estates in Essex and Suffolk, including the manor of Little Coggeshall, and Codham Hall, Wethersfield, in the vicinity of Coggeshall-on-the-Blackwater. The old- est Coggeshall families followed the usages of the Normans, writing the name de Coggeshall, as Thomas de Coggeshall, who was the owner of the above- namcd vast estates in the reign of King Stephen of Blois, grandson of the Conqueror, 1135-1154. Five of the family, several of whom were knights, were sheriffs of Essex, which until 1556 included Hertfordshire. Coggeshall, the most famous of the Cistercian Order, was built by King Stephen in 1142, and endowed by his queen, Matilda, of Boulogne, and his son Eustace, with their lands in France.

(I) John Coggeshall, immigrant ancestor and founder of the Coggeshall family in America, arrived in Boston on the ship "Lyon," September 16, 1632, and settled cventually in Newport, Rhode Island, where he died. He settled first in Roxbury, Massachusetts, re- moving in the spring of 1634 to Boston, where he held many important offices in church and State. "On the 11th of Sept., 1634, he appears as one of the first Board of Selectmen of Boston, together with Win- throp, Coddington, Underhill, Oliver, etc., etc. * *

* At the first General Court of Massachusetts, that of May 14, 1634, he heads the list of deputies from Bos- ton, who were John Coggeshall, Edmund Quincy and John Underhill." On the banishment of the celebrated Ann Hutchinson, Coggeshall, who was one of the most staunch supporters and defenders, was removed from office and compelled to depart -- 1637-38. Eighteen men, including William Coddington, John Clarke, the Hutchinson family and himself, by the advice of Roger Williams, who was already in Providence, now pur- chased the Island of Aquidneck from the Narragan- sett sachems, and there a civil organization was ef- fected based on the principle of religious liberty. They laid the foundations first of the little town of Ports- mouth, near the north end of the island. This little colony grew so rapidly that enlargement soon became necessary, and a settlement was made on the south end of the island which resulted in the founding of Newport. In 1647 Coggeshall was elected president of. Rhode Island, with Roger Williams as assistant for Providence, William Coddington for Newport, and Randall Holden for Warwick. John Coggcshall as- sisted in the founding of two cities, two States, and two separate and independent governments. He died in office, November 27, 1647, aged about fifty-six years, and was buried upon his estate in Newport. Here also lies his wife Mary, who survived him thirty-seven years, dying December 19, 1684, aged eighty-seven years. John Coggeshall, Jr., who suc- ceeded to his father's estate, and filled various im- portant offices in the colony for more than forty years, is also buried here, as are Abraham Redwood, founder of the Redwood Library, and his wife, Martha (Cogge- shall) Redwood; William Ellery, signer of the Dec- laration of Independence. Over the grave of the first president of the Rhode Island Colony has been erected a granite obelisk. The name of John Coggeshall, with the date of his presidency, may be seen in one of the memorial windows of the Metropolitan Methodist Epis- copal Church, Washington, D. C.

(II) Major John (2) Coggeshall, son of John (1) Coggeshall, was born in England in 1618, the eldest son. He was fourteen years old at the time of the arrival of the family in America in 1632. Upon the death of his father, in 1647, he came into possession of his large estate. Major John Coggeshall was long and often in office, for nearly half a century exhibit- ing eminent executive ability. He was commissioner of Newport, upon the union of the four towns and reorganization of the government, August 31, 1654, also at the last election under the old charter, May 22, 1663. He was one of the original grantees of the royal charter of 1663, and at the first general election under. the charter, May 4, 1664, he was elected one of the five assistants, with Governor Benedict Arnold and Deputy Governor William Brenton; also in 1665, 1670, 1671, 1674, 1676, he held the same office. He was treasurer of the colony in 1664, 1665, 1666, 1683, 1684, 1686; and was deputy for Newport, October 25, 1665. In 1684 he was chosen major-general for the forces of the island. He was deputy governor in 1686, and in several elections was proposed for governor, but de- clined to serve. But few men of the time exerted greater influence or rendered the colony such faithful service.

(III) Content Coggeshall, daughter of Major John (2) and Elizabeth (Baulstone) Coggeshall, married, in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Preserved Brayton. (See Brayton III). She died in Swansea, Massachusetts, in 1759.

(The Luther Line).

The name of Luther has been perpetuated forever in the minds of mankind since the age when the great- est of its bearers, Martin Luther, the leader of the Reformation, originated his earth-shaking doctrines. Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, Prussian Saxony, November 10, 1483. The events which led up to the publication of his famed ninety-five theses are histori- cal, and these were followed by his excommunication from the Church of Rome in 1520; the translation of the New Testament, which permanently established the literary language of Germany, was published in March, 1522, and his first hymn-book was printed in 1524, the whole number of his works being sixty-seven volumes. In 1525 Luther married Catherine von Bora. It is a deplorable circumstance that the history of his posterity should have been allowed to sink into oblivion. Stu- dents of the family history claim descent from the brother of Martin Luther for the American family of the name.

Johannes Luther, brother of Martin Luther, was born in Eisleben, and spent his life there. His de- scendants in the third or fourth generation emigrated to Holland, whence a century later some of them re- moved to Sussex, England, among them one Wilhelm Luther, who attained the venerable age of one hundred and eight years. After the settlement in England, some branches of the family amassed great wealth, and became the owners of extensive landed estates. The family was known in local parlance as Luton, but in all legal papers the name was spelled Luther, and it is under this form that it is found in early American records.

The surname Luther was originally derived from

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Luther

Gardner

AYITO VIRET

WarSmell

CEDANT ARMA

TOGAE

Reed

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BIOGRAPHICAL

two sources, one a local and the other baptismal. The first source was the place name, signifying literally "of Luther" or "Lowther," the second, the font name, signifying "the son of Lothar." The name never became popularized in England under its German form, but came into use in the Italian form, Lothario, and the French, Loathaire.

The founding of the Luther family in America occurred but fifteen years after the coming of the "Mayflower." Through the progenitor, Captain John Luther, and his sons, Samuel and Hezekiah Luther, have descended all of the name whose lineage is traced to the early decades of our history. The family first had its seat in the town of Reho- both in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, whence it spread throughout New England.

(I) Captain John Luther, the founder, was born in Shrewsbury, England. There has been a differ- ence of opinion as to the place of his birth, the late Rev. Mr. Root, of Providence, genealogist, stating that Captain Luther was a native of Germany, whence he emigrated to New England in 1635. No proof, however, has been found to substantiate the theory. John Luther is first of record in Boston in 1635, having sailed in the same year from Great Canford, County Dorset, England. In 1637 he was one of the first purchasers and settlers of Swansea, Massachusetts, and his ninety acres of land are said to have been purchased from the Indians for a peck of white beans. It is quite possible that the land was assigned by the Colonial authorities, and the peck of beans quieted any claim of the Indians. In the same year he was one of the first forty-six purchasers of land in Taunton, Massachusetts, but in 1642 he disposed of his lands there and became one of the original settlers of Gloucester. He was a master mariner, and was employed by the mer- chants of Boston as captain of a vessel to go to Delaware bay on a trading voyage. He was killed there by Indians in 1644. It is thought that his son, John Luther, Jr., was captured at the time of his father's death, for on May 2, 1646, the General Court of Massachusetts awarded to the Widow Luther the balance of her husband's wages, accord- ing to sea custom, ruling that the merchants should retain the sum paid to the Indians for the redemp- tion of her son. Although early records mention only two sons of Captain John Luther, genealogists incline to the theory that he must have had a son considerably older than Samuel and Hezekiah Lu- ther, who were eight and four years old respectively at the time of their father's death. It is probable that the John Luther, of Attleboro, Massachusetts,, in 1658, who sold land to Samuel Millitt, and in 1667, with Millitt and several others, was one of the purchasers of Swansea, and captain of militia there in 1682, was the elder son of the progenitor.

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A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 3, Part 4

Author: Hutt, Frank Walcott, 1869- editor Publication date: 1924 Publisher: New York, Chicago, Lewis historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 528

Author: Hutt, Frank Walcott, 1869- editor
Publication date: 1924
Publisher: New York, Chicago, Lewis historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 528