USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County, Massachusetts > Part 33
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On April 21, 1810, he married Polly Cor- thell, who died June 10, 1832. Their eldest son, Samuel, born May 26, 1811, married
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January 17, 1833, Eliza Wilkes, who died July 8, 1862; and on December 13, 1863, he was united to Betsey B. Gardner. Mary, eldest daughter of Samuel and Polly Reed, born January 16, 1813, was a successful teacher. She was married April 20, 1837, to John Burrill, and had two children, a son and a daughter. Levi Reed, born December 31, 1814, was educated at Phillips Academy, An- dover, and taught school for three years in Dedham, Mass., and for thirteen years in the Washington School in Roxbury, Mass. Re- turning to Abington, he was elected to the State Senate, and the following year was made Auditor of the Commonwealth. He was mar- ried April 20, 1837, to Louisa C. Drake, and had the following children: Louisa Maria, born January 10, 1838; Samuel Bryant, born September 10, 1841; May Emily, born July 27, 1850; and Alfred Levi, born October 9, 1855. The other children of Samuel and Polly (Corthell) Reed were: Dexter, born No- vember 10, 1816; Mehitable, born September 14, 1818; and Mehitable, born March 31, 1822. Samuel Reed's second wife, whom he married September 5, 1833, was Serissa (Litchfield) Bailey, widow of Rowland Bai- ley, of Scituate. The children by this union were: Serissa, born June 27, 1834; Rowland, October 13, 1836; Martha, November 13, 1838; Sophia, October 3, 1840; and Anna, November 13, 1844.
Isaac Reed, the youngest child of Thomas and Mary (Hobart-White) Reed, was born August 4, 1770, was a well-to-do farmer, and lived to be seventy-seven years old. He was first married on May 5, 1793, to Sarah Pull- ing, daughter of his father's second wife, and by that union had the following children : John Pulling, born September 15, 1795; Sarah Pulling, born September 19, 1797, who married Charles Lane; Lucy Johnson, born
May 29, 1800, who married Jesse Reed; Mar- tha Pulling, born March 16, 1802, who mar- ried Seth Pratt: Mary Hobart, born April I, 1804, who married Greenwood Cushing ; Isaac, born January 21, 1806; Betsey Gannett, born August 25, 1807, who married Merritt Jen- kins; Ruth Torrey, born July 31, 1809, who married John Woodbridge Jenkins; and Annis Jenks, born December 13, ISII, who died in December, 1817.
Deacon Isaac Reed married second on Feb- ruary 3, 1819, Nancy Lincoln, who lived to be eighty-five years old. Her children were: Horace, the subject of the present sketch; William Lincoln, born October 5, 1825, a notice of whom appears elsewhere in this work; and Annis, born September 3, 1828, now the wife of Charles H. Cooke.
Horace Reed was educated in the common schools of this vicinity and at Abington Acad- emy. He had little time for play in his boy- hood, being required to work on the farm when quite young. In early manhood he be- came interested in the shoe business, and with his brother, William L. Reed, engaged in the manufacture of shoes until 1883, winning the confidence of the business community by his probity and good judgment in financial mat- ters. Elected Treasurer of the Whitman Sav- ings Bank in 1888, at the time of its incor- poration, he has had the management of the institution ever since; and it has prospered increasingly under his charge. He is also a Trustee of the bank.
Mr. Reed was married in 1840 to Lurana H. Bates, daughter of Christopher Bates. Mrs. Reed died December 3, 1896, at the age of seventy-seven years, six months, and ten days. Mr. Bates was a native of Plymouth County. He was a large contractor and builder; and his daughter was born in Richmond, Va., where he was engaged in the erection of factories.
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Mr. Reed has two living children - Helen Augusta and Arthur Ellsworth. The former is the wife of J. P. Bates, of the firm of Cobb, Bates & Yerxa, Boston, and mother of two living children - Carrie Almera and Mabel Frances. The latter, who resides in Hyde Park, Mass., is married, and has three children' -- Helen, William, and Olive Augusta Reed.
A stanch Republican, Mr. Reed was in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1862-63, during the administration of Gover- nor Andrew. In 1884-85, during Governor Robinson's administration, he was in the Sen- ate; and in 1886-87 he was on the Board of Census Enumeration, under Colonel Wright, travelling through the State, collecting statis- tics relative to the manufacturing interests of the country. In the old town of Abington he was a member of the School Board; and he is the present Secretary and Treasurer of the Whitman School Board, and has been on the School Committee for ten years. Mr. Reed is a member of the Masonic order. He is active in the Congregational church, and was super- intendent of the Sunday-school for sixteen years.
'EARING BURR is known to the pub- lic as a writer on horticultural subjects and on the history of Hingham, his native town, where he has made his home dur- ing the greater part of his life. He was born December 11, 1815, the eldest child of his parents, Fearing and Emma (Jacobs) Burr.
The progenitor of this branch of the Burr family was Simon Burr, who came to Hing- ham in 1647, but whose birthplace and de- scent are open questions. It is thought by some that he was an original settler; by others, that he was son of the Rev. Jonathan Burr, who was settled as colleague of the Rev. Cotton Mather in Dorchester in 1640, and died
in August, 1641. (See "History of the Burr Family," by Charles Burr Todd, published in 1891.) Simon Burr, of Hingham, was a farmer, a man of some prominence, living on' what is now School Street, Hingham Centre. He died February 7, 1692, in his seventy-fifth year, having lived through the height of the witchcraft excitement, in which Dr. Mather took such an active part. He was twice mar- ried, and had two children by his first wife, and four by his second.
John, born January 6, 1660, in Hingham, was the third child of the second marriage. He, too, was a farmer, living in Hingham Centre, and was a man of considerable influ- ence in the town. It is recorded that he was Constable in 1698, and he seems to have had much to do with town affairs. He died De- cember 7, 1716. His estate was a large one, valued at that day at nine hundred and twenty-one pounds, sixteen shillings, and five pence. John Burr was married December 24, 1685, to Mary, daughter of John and Deborah (Wilson) Warren, of Boston. She died in Hingham, July 26, 1742. This couple were the parents of ten children. The sixth child, Jonathan, the next in the line now being traced, was born in Hingham, February 3, 1698. He was a cooper by trade and occupa- tion, living at the junction of Turkey Hill Road and Leavitt Street. He died June 23, 1762. Jonathan Burr was married in Boston, April 19, 1720, to Mary, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Lewis) Lincoln. She was born in Hingham, January 14, 1696, and died in the same town, October 26, 1784.
They, too, were the parents of ten children ; and the seventh child was Thomas, who was born in Hingham, August 17, 1735. A cooper by trade like his father, he was also a farmer, and was a very industrious man. His home was on Main Street, Hingham Centre.
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Thomas Burr served in the French and Indian War, and was present at the capitulation of Fort William Henry in 1757, and at the taking of Fort Frontenac (which stood on the present site of Kingston, at the outlet of Lake Ontario) in 1758. During the Revolution he held a commission in the Continental army as Lieutenant in Captain Peter Cushing's Com- pany. He died September 23, 1812. On August 22, 1759, he was married to Margaret, daughter of Hawkes and Margaret (Lincoln) Fearing. She was born in Hingham, Septem- ber 25, 1742, and died April 1, 1821. Her children were five in number, and Fearing, first, father of the subject of this sketch, was the youngest.
Fearing Burr, Sr., was born in Hingham, June 12, 1778. Besides keeping a general store, he was interested in the practical study of horticulture, to which he devoted much time; and he was noted for his knowledge of plants, shrubs, and trees. He died January 13, 1866. He was married March 25, 1812, to Emma, daughter of Peter and Emma (Fear- ing) Jacobs. She was born in Hingham, Oc- tober I, 1792, and died February 18, 1831. She was the mother of six children, the father's namesake being the eldest of the family.
Fearing Burr, Jr., was given good cduca- tional privileges in the common schools of his native town and Derby Academy. While pursuing his studies, and for some time after- ward, he helped his father on the farm, and imbibed from him a love for horticulture, learning much from his father, and reading all the publications on the subject that came within his reach. He was for twelve years in the seed business in the house of M. & F. Burr, Boston, and during the rest of his active life has been occupied on the home farm, and in the store established by his father. After
the death of their father, Fearing Burr and his brother succeeded him as managers of the business, which was conducted uninterruptedly for fifty years. The brothers then practically retired from trade. Fearing Burr has accom- plished considerable literary labor. He is the author of a valuable work, entitled "The Field and Garden Vegetables of America," published in 1865, and co-author with George Lincoln of an octavo volume of four hundred and fifty pages, published in 1876, entitled "The Town of Hingham in the Civil War," which gives an exhaustive history of the part Hingham took in the national crisis. Mr. Burr later rendered valuable service in the preparation of "The History of the Town of Hingham," issued in 1893, in four large oc- tavo volumes, to which he contributed the interesting chapter on "Publications," treat- ing of authors and literary works connected with the town. He has also been engaged in various business enterprises, and has proved himself to be a man of unusual ability.
Mr. Burr cast his maiden vote in the ranks of the Whigs. He is interested in public affairs, but has avoided political preferment. A friend and helper of the cause of education, he has served on the School Committee, and is now a Trustee of the Hingham Public Library. In religious matters he is liberal, though holding well-established views of his own. He is a member of the First Church, with which his ancestors worshipped for many generations, a Unitarian church now, though originally Trinitarian. The edifice, the "Old Meeting-house," as it is called, was built in 1681, and has been so well cared for that it is in a good state of preservation, having been twice enlarged.
Mr. Burr's brother Peter, born February 26, 1820, and a sister Margaret, born February 6, 1825, live with him at the old homestead, the
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three forming a harmonious and happy house- hold. Another sister, Meriel, born in 1818, also unmarried, was with them up to the time of her death, a short time since, the four hav- ing lived under the same roof as members of one family for more than seventy years.
ILLIAM H. SANDERSON, super- intendent of the Bridgewater and Abington public schools, has dis- tinguished himself as an educator in Vermont and Massachusetts. A native of Shrewsbury, Rutland County, Vt., he was born October 23, 1855, son of Thatcher and Mary (Harkness) Sanderson. His earlier ancestors on the pa- ternal side resided in New York State. The first representative of the family to locate in Vermont was his grandfather, Amos San- derson, who settled in Rutland County. Thatcher Sanderson, who was a native and lifelong resident of the Green Mountain State, followed the occupation of farmer up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1878. His wife, also deceased, was born in Scotland.
William H. Sanderson obtained his early education in the public schools of his native town. Thrown practically on his own re- sources at the age of fourteen, he worked at whatever offered, in order to obtain funds to complete his education. In this effort he was successful. He graduated from the Green Mountain Academy at South Woodstock, Vt. At the age of twenty-one he entered Vermont University at Burlington, where he studied for two years. Gifted with the character and the insight into human nature which make the successful teacher, he further qualified himself for the profession by making a close study of the principles and practice of pedagogy. For ten years he was principal of the high school at Woodstock, Vt., and for five years of that
time he was superintendent of the Woodstock schools. Also for a number of years he served in the capacity of examiner of candi- dates for teachers' long-term certificates in Windsor County; and for three years, by the appointment of the governor, he was examiner for the. Vermont State Normal Schools. He became a resident of Bridgewater in 1891, since which time his earnest and disinterested work as an educator has won recognition. By his thoroughness and administrative ability he has noticeably raised the standard of the schools now under his charge.
In 1876 Mr. Sanderson was united in mar- riage with Gertrude Maxham, of Montpelier, Vt. His children are: Ernest J., who is a student at Harvard College; Ruth G .; and Mary B. While in Vermont, he was for some time President of the State Teachers' Associa- tion, and a member of its Executive Commit- tee. In politics Mr. Sanderson is a Repub- lican.
APTAIN CHARLES BRYANT, who is now living in retirement in Matta- poisett, Mass., has spent a number of years in the whale fishery, and has twice held important governmental positions in the Behring Sea district. He was born in Rochester, Plymouth County, May 9, 1820, a son of William and Mary (Johnson) Bryant. Reared in Rochester, he acquired his early knowledge of books in a district school, but is mainly self-educated. He began to learn the sail-maker's trade in New Bedford when six- teen years of age, and worked at it for four years and a half, shipping then as sail-maker on the whaling brig "Montezuma," which cruised in the Atlantic Ocean, and was out eighteen months. His next engagement was as boat steerer on the ship "Julian," also a whaling vessel, which was two and a half
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years out from the home port, cruising in the North Pacific. He was subsequently engaged as third mate of the ship "Nimrod," which was out thirty-four months in the Pacific Ocean, returning as second mate; as second mate of the "Ohio," which was gone three years in the same waters; as mate of the ship "Euphrates," which was out from port nearly three years ; and, lastly, as mate of the whaling ship "John Howland," which cruised in the Okhotsk Sea and the Arctic Seas, being gone forty-four months. Deciding then to retire from the sea, Mr. Bryant purchased a farm at East Fairhaven, where he resided some twelve years; but fortune had not willed that he should retire to private life so soon, and he was called from his farm to undertake a mis- sion to Alaska to report on the fur-seal in- terest in that vicinity. He was given charge of the islands in the Behring Sea, receiving his appointment from Hugh McCulloch, then Secretary of the United States Treasury, and spent the winter of 1868 at Sitka, returning to his home in September, 1869. In March, 1870, he was sent again to the islands in the seal region, and given authority to act as gov- ernor of the natives, receiving his appointment from George S. Boutwell, Secretary of the Treasury. There he remained until 1877, when he returned to the old Bay State, and settled in Mattapoisett, his home up to the present time.
Captain Bryant was married in 1851 to Miss Hannah Eldridge, daughter of Peleg and Han- nah (Briggs) Eldridge, of Taunton, Mass. He has no children. He has long been inter- ested in public affairs, and has held a number of offices of trust. In 1867 and 1868, while a resident of Fairhaven, he occupied a seat in the State legislature; and in Mattapoisett he has served as a member of the Board of Health, and as a member of the School Board
for four years. He is a man of ability, who efficiently performs all duties intrusted to him.
ENRY C. HARDING, the esteemed Treasurer of the Hingham Institution for Savings, was born here April 27, 1832, son of David and Betsy T. (Tilden) Harding. Thomas Harding, the grandfather, who was born at Chatham, Mass., in 1774, settled in Hingham in 1802. He was a sea captain, and lived near the harbor on North Street in this town. In 1795 he married Patience, daughter of Joshua Mayo, of East- ham, Barnstable County, and they had eight children - David, Eliza Willis, Josiah Mayo, Sarah Doane, Mary, Thomas, Rebecca, and Seaman Harding. David was born at East- ham, June 4, 1796. Eliza Willis, born at Eastham, November 20, 1797, married Ben- jamin Chamberlain, of Boston, December 4, 1817, and died August 10, 1818, at the age of twenty-one years. Josiah Mayo, born in Chatham, June 11, 1800, married Nancy Jen- nings, and resided in Boston. Sarah Doane, born in Hingham, May 28, 1803, married Cornelius Nye on June 13, 1826, and died September 1I, 1828. Mary, born November 13, 1804, died July 21, 1827. Thomas, also deceased, was born February 18, 1807. Re- becca, born February 16, 1811, married Cap- tain Samuel Easterbrook. Seaman, who was born March 17, 1812, removed to Boston, and was married October 7, 1833, to Emeline Ruggles. He died in Melrose, Mass., January 29, 1872. The father died July 24, 1821, at the age of forty-seven years; and the mother, in Hingham, November 4, 1823, at the age of forty-eight.
David Harding, the eldest son of Thomas, was Secretary of the Hingham Mutual Fire Insurance Company for many years, Treasurer
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of the Hingham Institution for Savings, and one of the founders of both institutions. He was twice married, the first time on March 7, 1824, to Lydia Lane, daughter of Rufus and Hannah (Marsh) Lane. She was born in Hingham, March 12, 1796, and died October 10, 1824. His second marriage was con- tracted June 1, 1829, with Betsy T. Tilden, daughter of Jotham and Betsy (Turner) Til- den, of Marshfield, Mass. She was born there October 2, 1799, and died in Hingham, March 14, 1873. David died on February 14, 1874. They resided on Main Street, opposite Derby Academy, and had two children - Sarah Mayo and Henry Clay. Sarah Mayo, who was born September 14, 1830, on October 5, 1852, married Robert W. Oliphant, M.D., of St. Louis, Mo. She died there July 10, 1875, while her husband lived until October 9, 1883. They had one son, Robert Henry, born Sep- tember 9, 1854, who died in Hingham, Feb- ruary 8, 1873, being then a Freshman of Harvard College.
Henry C. Harding, the second child of his parents, after attending the public schools and Derby Academy, entered the employment of the bank in which he has grown up with the business. The Hingham Institution for Sav- ings was incorporated April 2, 1834. David Harding was elected its first Treasurer on No- vember 8, 1834. The first deposit was re- ceived December 24, 1834, and the amount of deposits at the end of the first year, January 1, 1836, was thirty thousand, one hundred and thirteen dollars and fifty-four cents. The
growth of this institution has been healthy, owing in a great measure to the faithful ser- vices rendered by David Harding in the capa- city of Treasurer, and his son, Henry C., who succeeded his father in 1863. According to a tabular statement of the Treasurer made Jan- uary 1, 1896, the amount now on deposit at
this bank is over two million dollars. Mr. Harding is a Director of the Hingham Mutual Fire Insurance Company, a Trustee and the Treasurer of Derby Academy, and President of the Proprietors of Hingham Cemetery. In politics he was formerly a Whig, and now affiliates with the Republican party.
Mr. Harding has been twice married. The first time was October 11, 1859, when he was united to Elizabeth A. Lincoln, daughter of Calvin and Elizabeth (Andrews) Lincoln, of Hingham. She died in St. Louis on Decem- ber 31, 1864. His second marriage, per- formed June 2, 1874, wedded him to Helen M. Stowell, daughter of Hersey and Crissey (Hersey) Stowell. In religion Mr. Harding is a Unitarian, and he is Treasurer of the First Parish Church, the old meeting-house. Mr. Harding commands the entire respect and confidence of his fellow-townsmen, who regard him as a most worthy son of a most worthy father.
RTHUR B. MARSTON, merchant, a member of the firm of Howard & Cald- well, Brockton, was born March 13, 1857, in Chatham, Mass., of which place his mother's family have long been residents. His parents were Zenas L. and Rhoda C. (Young) Marston.
Zenas L. Marston was born at Marston's Mills, which received its name from the family, woollen goods being manufactured there. He came to Brockton, then North Bridgewater, in 1860, and for many years was engaged in business in that part of the town known as Campello,. where he is still living, at the age of seventy-four years. He was formerly an engineer in the Brockton fire department, in which he has always taken much interest. While at Chatham, he owned
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and conducted a store several years. He was sexton of the South Congregational Church of Brockton. He married Rhoda C., a daugh- ter of Joseph and Bethiah Young, of Chat- ham, where her father was a large land- owner. Mr. and Mrs. Zenas L. Marston are the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters, all of whom are living in Brockton, Harry being chief of the fire de- partment. Russell Marston, proprietor of the famous restaurant which bears his name on Brattle and Hanover Streets, Boston, is a cousin of Zenas L. Marston.
Arthur B. Marston received his education in the Brockton schools. As a boy, ambitious and energetic, with a natural bent for trade, he peddled apples in Brockton, becoming well known on the street. At sixteen he entered the clothing store of Howard & Caldwell, with whom he has since remained, having applied himself sedulously and faithfully to business. He was admitted to partnership in 1886, the firm name, however, continuing unchanged.
Mr. Marston was united in marriage with Miss Abbie H. Eldredge, daughter of Charles H. and Abigail Eldredge, of Brockton, on June 1I, 1879, and they now have two chil- dren, a boy of ten and a girl of twelve years.
Mr. Marston votes the Republican ticket, but further than that does not participate in political matters. Fraternally, he is a mem- ber of St. George Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Campello; Satucket Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and the Bay State Commandery, Knights Templars, of Brockton; Electric Lodge, No. 204, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the Ancient Order of United Work- men, Campello Lodge, No. 30; and Garfield Commandery, No. 158, United Order of Gol- den Cross. He is a member of the Congrega- tional church, and Chairman of Music Com- mittee of that society.
INOT S. CURTIS, the Chief of the East Bridgewater fire depart- ment, and a contracting painter and decorator, was born in this town, May 9, 1843. He is a son of Elbridge and Matilda W. (Horton) Curtis, both natives of Massa- chusetts. Elbridge Curtis, who was a cutter by trade, and was employed for a great many years in the manufacture of hand-made custom shoes, died some years ago. His widow is now in her eighty-third year. . Of their chil- dren Elbridge R., Edward B., Lucius J., and Minot S. are living.
Minot S. Curtis was educated in the com- mon schools and at East Bridgewater Acad- emy. At the age of seventeen he began to learn the painter's trade. After finishing a three years' apprenticeship with Braman Brothers, of Bridgewater, he became one of their regular employees, and remained with them for several years. When the men of Plymouth County were mustering for the de- fence of the Union he was one of them. He enlisted May 9, 1861, in Company C, Twenty- ninth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, which afterward served with the Second Brigade in the Army of the Potomac, under McClellan and other leaders, finishing his term under the command of General Grant. In action most of the time, he took part in twenty-four battles, including the second Bull Run, Antie- tam, the siege of Vicksburg, the Wilderness, and Spottsylvania Court-house. During the Peninsular Campaign, at the battle of White Oak Swamp, he was wounded in the left arm. Receiving his discharge in September, 1864, he returned to his native State, and resumed his trade. For the past twenty years he has been in business for himself as contracting painter and decorator. His admirable taste, and his promptness and accuracy in filling con- tracts have made him a favorite in his line,
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and brought him a large and lucrative busi- ness. He keeps ten men employed almost constantly, while in the busy season he is obliged to double the number.
Married in November, 1864, to Miss Ada- line Thompson, Mr. Curtis has one child, Henry M. In politics he favors the Repub- lican side. For the past six years he has been the Chief of the Fire Department, in which capacity he has given eminent satisfac- tion. He is a member of Satucket Masonic Lodge, of East Bridgewater, and was thir- teen years Quartermaster of Justin Dimick Grand Army Post. Mr. Curtis is well known in the Bridgewaters, and enjoys the esteem of all with whom he has dealings.
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