USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County, Massachusetts > Part 5
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In addition to the Thomas property, to which he would allow no other name than Green Harbor, Mr. Webster bought the old Winslow place, "Careswell," and other lands, making in all about two thousand acres. His farming was on a grand scale, and was a source of perpetual delight. He is credited with having been the first in the town to use kelp as a fertilizer. setting an example of untold value to the neighboring farmers. His spe- cialty was the raising of fine stock, particu- larly cattle, hogs, and sheep; also fancy poul- try. He set out orchards, and the seeds of forest trees he planted with his own hand. In 1839, having sold his house in Boston, on Summer Street, he removed the furniture, books, and pictures therefrom to Green Har- bor, henceforward to be distinctively the Web- ster home. He owned and carried on Elms Farm in Franklin, N.H., a part of which he had inherited from his father.
His delight in the details of farming, and his close oversight, is shown in his familiar letters, abounding in such expressions as these: "The spring, though very cold, has been dry, and the weather, therefore, favor- able to field labor. Porter Wright has planted twelve or fifteen acres of potatoes in one field.
Another piece of as many acres is receiving corn." The Indian's rule he notes as a good one; "namely, to plant corn when the new leaf of the white oak has got to be as big as a mouse's ear"; and he goes on: "The field where the beets and turnips were last year, twenty acres, is laid down in clover. The ploughed land inside the gate is to rejoice in a crop of millet, and be put down to grass. Opposite, in the old orchard, two acres of pumpkins are to show the land we live in. I believe you were here last autumn when the hands were putting kelp on part of Fletcher's enclosure. Beets are to have the enjoyment of six acres of that, and a large kind of field peas, sowed in drills, the remainder. .
"The cattle have been well taken care of, and look well, the sheep especially. We have lambs, both South-Down and Cheviot, as fine as I have ever seen. . . . The progenitor of all the porkers, now eighteen years old, if not nineteen, still bristles up if you come near his habitation." A thousand bushels of corn, three thousand of turnips, and seven or eight hundred of beets, and barns full of hay are elsewhere mentioned as illustrative of a year's harvest.
His biographer, noting his practice of giving minute directions, even from Washing- ton, of what was .to be done on the farms, guiding the men "with the exactness of an overseer and the experience of a day-laborer," thus comments on the fact that, "although he was, in one sense, a successful farmer, he was never an economical one." "He never kept reg- ular accounts, or had them kept, and probably there never was a year in which he could have told how much the expensive luxuries of farm- ing had cost him out of his other resources, or what was the balance against either of his farms." His hospitality, it should be remem- bered, was a large factor in his expenditures.
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At the State House in Boston in January, 1840, Mr. Webster gave a familiar talk on the scientific and systematic cultivation of the soil in England, as witnessed by him in his recent journey. A paragraph may here be quoted :---
"Agriculture feeds us, to a great extent it clothes us. Without it we could not have manufactures, and we should not have com- merce. These all stand together, but they stand together like pillars in a cluster, the largest in the centre, and that largest is agri- culture. Let us remember, too, that we live in a country of small farms and free-hold ten- ements, a country in which men cultivate with their own hands their own fee-simple acres, deriving not only their subsistence, but also their spirit of independence and manly free- dom, from the ground they plough. They are at once its owners, its cultivators, its de- fenders. And whatever else may be underval- ued or overlooked, let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. Man may be civilized in some degree without great progress in manufactures, and with little commerce with his distant neighbors; but without the cultivation of the earth he is, in all countries, a savage. Until he gives up the chase and fixes himself in some place, and seeks a living from the earth, he is a roaming barbarian. When tillage begins, the arts follow. The farmers, there- fore, are the founders of human civilization."
Daniel Webster died at his home in Marsh- field, October 24, 1852. On the 29th was there conducted the simple funeral services, in accordance with his wish "to be buried without the least show or ostentation, but in a manner respectful to my neighbors, whose kindness has contributed so much to the hap- piness of me and mine, and for whose pros- perity I offer prayers to God."
FORGE H. WATSON, M.D., of Bridgewater, Mass., is an able and widely-known physician and sur- geon, prominent in social as well as profes- sional life. He is a native of Sedgwick, Me., where he was born August 1, 1847, son of Samuel and Diana B. (Harding) Watson. His great-grandfather Watson, who was an Englishman by birth, had at the time of the Revolution resided on this side of the Atlan- tic long enough to become deeply attached to his adopted country; and when the colonies rebelled against the despotism of the greater power he took up arms in behalf of American independence. Captured by the royal troops he was for some time in durance, and died in captivity on one of the prison-ships in New York Harbor.
Samuel Watson, Dr. Watson's father, who was a native of the Pine Tree State, was a seafaring man, being commander of many a large ship engaged in the foreign trade; and he was also interested in ship-building at Sedgwick, Me., and was the owner of interests in many ships. His wife also was born in Maine. Two of their children entered pro- fessional life; namely, George H., and his sister, Laura S. Miss Laura S. Watson is the present principal of Abbot Academy for Young Ladies at Andover, Mass., one of the oldest and most renowned female seminaries, as such schools used to be called, in the United States. Miss Watson is gifted with rare intellectual and administrative qualities, and admirably fills her responsible position.
George H. Watson spent his boyhood in Sedgwick, obtaining his primary education in the schools of that town. He attended Hebron Academy at Hebron, Me., and the academy at North Bridgeton, Me., and in 1866 entered Amherst College, graduating in 1870. Pursuing his professional studies at
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Albany (N. Y.) Medical School - the medical department of Union College - he received his degree in 1872, and subsequently took a post-graduate course at Bellevue Hospital Medical College. New York City, graduating therefrom in 1873. Thoroughly grounded in the best theories and methods of his profes- sion, and further qualified and strengthened by the varied experience gained at Bellevue, he began to practise at Halifax, Mass., and was so successful that he remained in that town for a number of years. In 1882 he re- moved to Bridgewater, and here he has a large and lucrative practice, his visiting list includ- ing not only the townspeople, but also many in the out-lying district. Dr. Watson is a fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Society; also of the American Medical Association ; and he belongs to Pioneer Lodge, No. 183, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Bridge- water.
B ELA B. HAYWARD, a respected citizen of Brockton, was born in Stoughton, Mass., April 22, 1821, son of Bela and Lavinia (Drake) Hayward. The family is an old one, and comes of Eng- lish stock. Its first representative in Amer- ica was Thomas. who settled in Duxbury, Mass., previous to 1663. His son, Deacon Joseph Hayward, married Alice Brett, and they became the parents of Thomas, who had a son Edmund. Edmund's son Waldo, the grandfather of the subject of this biography, married in 1781 Lucy, daughter of Samuel Bartlett, and was the father of seven children - Ira, Abby, Bela, Zina, Waldo, Ortho, and Lucinda. Bela Hayward, who was born in North Bridgewater, November 16, 1787, learned the trade of gunsmith, and drove a team for Leonard Hodges, of Stoughton. He was also engaged in the mill business with
Mr. Gay for a time. His wife, Lavinia, who was a lady of Stoughton, bore him eight chil- dren, of whom Bela is the only one living. The father died in 1832, at the age of forty- five years.
Bela Hayward attended school in Stoughton until he was eleven years old, when he came to North Bridgewater, now Brockton, to com- plete his education at Deacon Heman Pack- ard's School. At the age of fourteen he began pegging shoes for his uncle, with whom he lived, earning one hundred dollars in two years. He continued shoemaking, taking out work from various shops until 1870, being employed at one time by Peleg and Lucius Leach. In 1864 he enlisted in Company C, Sixtieth Massachusetts Regiment as a private. He was detailed as bugler, and performed guard duty, first at Baltimore, and then at In- dianapolis, where the most of the time was spent. He was discharged in the following November.
In 1843 Mr. Hayward was united in mar- riage with Olive Porter, daughter of Caleb Copeland, and has now three children - Olive Augusta, Elmer B., and Edward B. Olive married Sylvester Churchill, and resides in this city; Elmer B. works in a shoe shop; Edward B. is also married, and a resident of Brockton. The father moved to his present residence in 1854. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party, and he is a mem - ber of the First Congregational Church. He belongs to the Fletcher Webster Post, No. 13, Grand Army of the Republic.
APTAIN MIRANDA R. SAMPSON, who has charge of the Manomet Point Life Saving Station, was born July 27, 1835, in Plymouth, this county, son of Truman and Ruth Sampson. At the age of
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eighteen, although reared on a farm, he en- gaged in seafaring on coasting and fishing- vessels. Seven years later he was given the command of a craft, and subsequently continued in his nautical calling until 1873. In 1874 he came to the Manomet Point Life Saving Station, at which he served as a surf- man for a decade. He was then appointed Captain of the station, in which capacity he has efficiently served for eleven years. The life-saving crew numbers seven men besides the Captain. These are: George F. Benni- son, George A. Manter, George W. Holmes, Alonzo C. Sampson, William L. Bartlett, Warrick H. Cleveland, and Charles Dickson. Among the many wrecked vessels to which Captain Sampson and his men rendered val- iant service was the lumber schooner "Wel- lington," which went ashore in 1878 or 1879.
The Captain has resided since 1864 on his present estate in Plymouth, which comprises thirty-five acres of land. On January 17, 1860, he married Miss Malancia Q. Pierce, who was born in Plymouth in 1838, daughter of Melzar and Polly Pierce. They have had seven children - Melzar B., Lydia A. P., Mattie Q., Mary, Emerson F., Thomas M., and George E. The latter died in infancy. In politics Captain Sampson is found in the ranks of the Democratic party. His religious faith brings him into fellowship with the Congregationalist church of Plymouth.
OSIAH QUINCY PACKARD, an up- to-date farmer of Brockton, was born here, January 6, 1860, at the family residence on East Ashland Street, son of Nelson and Martha P. (Ames) Packard. He is a de- scendant in the direct line of Samuel Packard, who came from Windham, England, in 1638, in the ship "Diligent," and settled in Hing-
ham, Mass. Samuel subsequently removed to West Bridgewater, where he kept a tavern, and officiated as Constable. He married and became the father of twelve children. Zac- cheus, the fourth child, married Sarah, daugh- ter of John Howard; became the father of nine children; and died on August 3, 1723. His youngest child, Abiel, born April 29, 1699, was married on January 11, 1723, to Sarah, daughter of John Ames. Abiel was a captain of militia, and the largest land- holder in the North Parish, owning one thou- sand adjacent acres. He died in 1776, at the age of seventy-six. His wife, who survived him fourteen years, died in Bridgewater in 1790, at the age of eighty-three. They had ten children, of whom Josiah, the eldest, born on October 2, 1723, married Sarah, daughter of Thomas Ames, January 12, 1747. Josiah and his wife also had ten children.
Josiah Packard, Jr., the fourth-born of his parents' children, was the great-grandfather of Josiah Quincy. He was united in marriage with Rebecca Perkins on October 10, 1782. Captain Luke, born August 21, 1783, who was the eldest of their four children, married January 1, 1807, Lucinda, daughter of Samuel Battles. He followed the occupation of farmer, and was also engaged in cutting and carting timber for ship-building. His five children were: Marcus, Nelson, Eliza Dyer, Josiah, and Marietta. Marcus, born Septem- ber 7, 1808, married Lucinda Bates; Nelson, born December 21, 1810, was the father of Jo- siah Quincy, the subject of this sketch; Eliza Dyer, born August 20, 1813, became Mrs. Charles Bates, of Boston; Josiah, the fourth child, who was born on March II, 1816, died unmarried; and Marietta, born December 3, 1821, married Seth Sumner.
Nelson Packard, the second child of his parents, after acquiring a common-school edu-
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çation. engaged in farming. He also took work from the shoe factories. In politics he was a straight Republican. By his marriage with Martha P .. daughter of Theron Ames, of this city. he became the father of six children - Charles Nelson, Eliza Frances, Martha Jane. Luke Elliott, Helen Miriam, and Josiah Q. Charles Nelson. born February 25, 1839, served as private in the Tenth Massachusetts Battery, and died in 1876, at the age of forty- seven ; Eliza Frances, born April 20, 1840, married Ansel C. Jenney, of Brockton ; Martha Jane, born October 8, 1845, married George Farwell. of Waltham, and resides here; Luke Elliott, born June 4. 1854, and Helen M., born November 5, 1856, are also residents of Brockton. The father died in 1888, at the age of seventy-eight, while the mother, who was born in 1819, is still living, being now seventy-seven years old.
Josiah Quincy Packard, after completing his education in the Brockton High School, engaged in farming, which he still continues. He also runs a milk farm. In politics he fol- lows in the political wake of his father, affili- ating with the Republican party. He has been a member of the Common Council for three years. and is a member of Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M. His religious prefer- ences have led him into communion with the Porter Congregational church. On Septem- ber 3. 1894. he was united in marriage with Elizabeth S., daughter of Lucius Howard, of South Easton, Bristol County.
ON. SPENCER LEONARD, Presi- dent of the Bridgewater Savings Bank, has long been identified with the progress of the town of Bridgewater, serv- ing as Selectman for thirty-two years, presid- ing year after year as moderator of the town
meetings, and filling other important posi- tions. Bridgewater has been the home of his family for many generations. He was born here August 18, 1814; and his parents, Spen- cer, Sr., and Mary (Wood) Leonard, were both natives of this town.
Solomon Leonard, an Englishman, was the first of this branch of the family in America, settling in Duxbury, Mass., in 1687, and a few years later removing to Bridgewater. Mr. Spencer Leonard's great-grandfather, who was the fourth in descent from Solomon, fought in the Revolutionary War; and his grandfather, also Samuel Leonard, who was a native of Bridgewater, served in the Continental army. Samuel Leonard was one of the first to strike for liberty, being a member of the sturdy band of minute men. His son, Spencer Leonard, Sr., was a soldier in the War of 1812. A well-to-do farmer, he was one of the leading citizens of Bridgewater, and served as Select- man for a number of years. He reared a fam- ily of seven children, of whom Spencer is the sole survivor.
Spencer Leonard was reared on the farm in Bridgewater, and received a common-school education. For many years in the early part of his life he was engaged as a travelling dry- goods salesman; and, on retiring from that line of business, he settled on the farm where he has since made his home. He was suc- cessfully engaged for a number of years in the wood and lumber business, and when the Bridgewater Savings Bank was incorporated he was made a Director. His probity in business and ability in financial affairs won the confi- dence of the community, and later he was made President of the bank. Mr. Leonard was one of the incorporators of the Plymouth County Co-operative Creamery Company, was its first president, and its superintendent for a number of years; and he has been identified
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for nearly half a century with the Plymouth County Agricultural Society, serving as Trus- tee and Vice-President.
Mr. Leonard was married in 1840 to Miss Samantha T. Sturtevant, a lady of beautiful character, who, dying December 13, 1892, was sincerely mourned by her family and a large circle of friends. She was the mother of five children, namely: Mary L., wife of Marcellus G. Howard, residing in Florida ; Abbie F., wife of James W. Leach, of Bridge- water, Mass. ; Austin, in Rhode Island; and Cora C. and Spencer, with their father.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Leonard has served the public for more than half a century. In 1846 and 1847 he was a Representative in the State legislature; and during the Civil War he was United States enrolling officer for the town of Bridgewater. He has held the office of Justice of the Peace for a number of years. After having been a member of the Board of Selectmen for thirty-two years, he was nominated for re-election, but declined to serve any longer ; and he presided so often as moderator of the town meetings that the mod- erator's chair seemed to belong to him. Al- ways interested in the progress of his native town, with hand and voice he has aided every project for its improvement ; and in the long years of his residence here he has fostered many changes for the better. He attends di- vinc service at the New Jerusalem church.
ANDALL WEBSTER COOK, dealer in general merchandise, grain, and coal, South Avenue, Whitman, Mass., is one of the best-known merchants in this vicinity, having been in trade himself for forty years, succeeding his father, who es- tablished this business some sixty years ago. Mr. Cook was born in Whitman, August 29,
1841, a son of Randall and Sarah T. (Bates) Cook. He is of old Colonial stock, tracing his descent from Francis Cook, who was a member of the "Mayflower" band of Pil- grims.
Francis Cook was from the parish of Blyth, adjoining Austerfield, in Nottinghamshire, England, three miles from Scrooby, York- shire, the home of Bradford and Brewster. He was born in 1577. A convert to the Sep- aratist doctrine, he joined the congregation, of which John Robinson and Willian Brew- ster were the leaders, and with the little com- pany went to Holland. In that country he married Hester, a Walloon woman, who bore him seven children. These children were: John, who accompanied his father to America; Josias ; Jacob; Hester; Mary ; Jane ; and Eliz-
abeth. Francis Cook, with the other Pilgrim Fathers, signed the compact drawn up on the " Mayflower " in Plymouth Harbor, November II, 1620, binding themselves in a "civil body politic " "for our better ordering and preserva- tion; . .. and by virtue hereof to enact, con- stitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience." Francis Cook was one of the strong men in the sturdy settle- ment, and from 1642 to 1648 was in office as a public servant. He died in 1663. His son John was a volunteer under Captain Prince, serving in 1637 in the Pequot War. He died November 23, 1675, the last of the company who came on the "Mayflower " in 1620. John Cook was married to Sarah Warren, March 28, 1634.
Jacob, the third son of Francis Cook, came to America with his mother in the "Ann," landing in Plymouth in August, 1623. He
RANDALL COOK.
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married Damaris. daughter of Stephen Hop- kins. Jacob Cook also was one of the volun- teers who fought in the Pequot War in 1637. He died July 7, 1676. The line of descent from him continues through Francis, Robert, and Nathaniel, to Levi, a soldier of the Revo- lution, who was the paternal grandfather of Randall Webster Cook. Levi Cook was born in Kingston. Mass. He removed to Abington when a young man, and resided in that part of the town now called Whitman until his death. He was a blacksmith by trade. His wife was Sarah Poole, a native of Abington, Mass., and a member of one of the early families. Their son, Randall Cook, was born in Whitman, November 7, 1800. In 1837 he started in business as a grain and flour merchant, and in 1849 he opened a store for the sale of general merchandise, establishing the business which is now under his son's management. He died January 7, 1871. His wife, Sarah T. Bates, was a descendant of one of the old families of the town of Hingham, Mass. She was born in Plainfield, Mass., November 25, 1810, and died February 6, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Ran- dall Cook had a family of seven children, six of whom are living, namely: Sarah J., wife of John G. Taylor, in Abington; Fidelia H., wife of John A. Allen, in Brockton, Mass. ; Harriet B., Randall Webster, Edward C., and Carrie I., wife of Leonard K. Wood, all in Whitman.
Randall Webster Cook has resided in Whit- man since the day of his birth. His educa- tion was obtained in the common schools, and he went to work in the store at the age of fif- teen. Gifted with a natural aptitude for trade, he gave his best energies to the business, which he has developed to large proportions ; and he is now one of the leading merchants of the locality. He is one of the Directors of the First National Bank, a Trustee of the
Savings Bank, and a member of the Board of Investment.
Mr. Cook and Marcia Soule, of Kingston, were married in 1870. They have four chil- dren - Sarah Wadsworth, Lucy Ethel, Ran- dall Bradford, and Francis Gray. Mrs. Mar- cia S. Cook, through her mother, is descended from Francis Cook, her husband's Pilgrim forefather; and, among her ancestors in direct line, she numbers also George Soule and Will- iam Bradford, of the "Mayflower " company.
In politics Mr. Cook favors the Democratic side. He has been Chairman of the Board of Registrars of Voters continuously for twelve years. A thirty-second degree Mason, he was one of the first in the establishment of the Mystic Shrine; and he is a prominent Knight Templar. His wife is a member of the Uni- tarian church, and he is one of the Board of Trustees, taking an active interest in the sup- port of the organization.
ICHOLAS A. CLARK, a well-known citizen of Brockton, was born in West Fairlee, Vt., August 19, 1846, son of Henry H. and Eunice (Emery) Clark. His great-grandfather, John Clark, who was a sea captain, came from England in 1782. His grandfather, William Clark, was a native of Bradford, Essex County, and served his coun- try in the War of 1812. Grandfather Clark married a Miss Chase, who lived in that vicin- ity ; and they had five children, three boys and two girls. The father died when about seventy years of age. Henry H., the second child of William, a native of Bradford, Vt., born in 1813, was engaged in agricultural pursuits. He owned at one time one hundred and ten acres of land, subsequently buying a smaller and better farm. His wife, Eunice, a daughter of Noah Emery, of Groton, Vt.,
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had five children - Elizabeth A., Nicholas A., James, Jennie, and George -- all of whom are living. The father died May 10, 1883, aged sixty-nine years, ten months, and six days. The mother lived to be fifty-seven.
Nicholas A. Clark, after acquiring a com- mon-school education in Bradford, was work- ing on his father's farm when the Civil War broke out. On June 2, 1863, he enlisted in Battery L, First Vermont Heavy Artillery. At Fort Slocum he was taken sick with the scarlet fever, and was carried to Fort Lincoln. Here he received his discharge April 13, I 864. After three years, during which he was unable to work, he assisted his father on the farm for some time. Then he went to East Corinth, Vt., and was employed on Mr. Ladd's farm there for three years, receiving for salary fifty dollars and board the first year, and one hundred and fifty for the next two years. Mr. Caleb Ladd, of Watertown, Mass., then hired him to work on his farm for twenty dollars a month. He continued there for a ycar, and saved two hundred dollars out `of the two hundred and forty he earned. Mr. Clark then went to Boston, where a week after he met a Mr. Clifford, of Stoughton, with whom he agreed to learn the junk busi- ness for a consideration of fifty cents a day for a month, after which he was to receive two hundred and thirty-five dollars a year. In the second year he received an advance, and dur- ing the third year he earned one dollar a day. In 1873 he started a junk business in the same town for himself, and carried it on for six years. A copartnership was then formed with his former employer, K. R. Clifford, under the style of Clifford & Clark, which contin- ued five years. Mr. Clark then came to Brockton, and started in the same husiness. He has been very prosperous since, and now owns a good deal of real estate here.
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