USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County, Massachusetts > Part 62
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Returning to Medford broken in mind and body, he was a confirmed invalid for four years. In 1869 he was engaged as clerk in the navy yard at Charlestown, and in 1870 he was appointed, under President Grant, Post- master of Medford. He filled the office fifteen consecutive years, resigning on account of failing health in 1885. In 1886 he moved to the pretty village of Marshfield Hills, where
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he has since resided, and he is now one of the well-known and popular citizens of this place.
Mr. Eames was married in 1866 to S. Au- gusta George, a native of Marshfield, who died in 1890. She bore him four children, two of whom are living - Harry C. and John. In politics Mr. Eames is a Republican. He was one year Commander of S. C. Lawrence Post, No. 66, Grand Army of the Republic, of Medford, and six years, from January, 1887, until January, 1893, Commander of David Church Post, No. 189, of Marshfield. He is a member of Mount Hermon Lodge of Masons, of Mystic Royal Arch Chapter; also of the Knights of Honor, the Legion of Honor, and other organizations in Medford. Mr. Eames has never aspired to public office.
HARLES THOMAS LEAVITT, an ice dealer and successful farmer of Hingham, Mass., was born in this town, July 21, 1857, his parents being Thomas J. and Mary V. (Stoddard) Leavitt.
The progenitor of this branch of the Leavitt family in America was John, who settled in Hingham about the year 1634, and who is sup- posed to have been a Scotchman and runaway apprentice. His son Israel was the father of John, second, and grandfather of John, third, whose son Jacob was the great-great-grand- father of Charles Thomas, the special subject of this sketch. Jacob Leavitt was born in Hingham, and became an energetic and pros- perous farmer. After he was eighty years old he shingled his house, doing all the work him- self. John Leavitt, son of Jacob, born in Hingham, was a pump and block maker by trade. He built what is known as the Leavitt shingle-mill, which was originally designed as a grist-mill, but proved a failure for this purpose, the water power being insufficient.
He married Sally Cushing, and had four chil- dren - John, Thomas, Sally, and Mary.
John, the eldest, mentioned above as the third John Leavitt, whose birth occurred in Hingham on July 3, 1799, was a man of more than ordinary natural ability. After receiving his mental training in the public schools, he learned the trade of a pump and block maker, and soon after started in business for himself in the mill which his father had built for a grist-mill. After a time he added the manu- facture of box lumber and bucket heading, continuing in the business until his death in August, 1877. He was for many years an Overseer of the Poor, but, though urged to ac- cept the nomination for other town offices, always refused to be a candidate. In politics he was a Whig. He married Miss Evalina, daughter of Benjamin Jones, of Hingham. They had six children, namely: Thomas J. ; Sarah, deceased; Benjamin, who died when two years old; Evalina; Mary; and John, de- ceased. John and Evalina (Jones) Leavitt were attendants of the old Unitarian church.
Thomas J. Leavitt was born in Hingham on May 25, 1829. After acquiring a common- school education, he started to learn the trade of a harness-maker, but gave up that occupa- tion at the end of two years, and went to work in his father's shingle-mill, of which he be- came the owner at his father's death. He also manufactured ship chandlery ware, such as pumps and log reels. Up to 1892, when he retired from active pursuits, he conducted a successful business. His marriage with Miss Mary V. Stoddard, daughter of Captain Charles Stoddard, of Hingham, was solem- nized March 21, 1852. A son, and a daughter, Lilla M., were the fruit of their union; but only the son, Charles Thomas, now survives.
Charles Thomas Leavitt was educated in the public schools of Hingham. His first em-
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ployment was with his father in the mill, where he worked three years, and after that he worked about three years in the rope walk. In the summer of 1883 he embarked in the ice business, beginning with one horse and a single wagon, doing all the work himself. He now runs three double teams and one single team, employs from three to four men, and cuts about three thousand tons of ice yearly. He owns a farm which yields about twenty tons of hay annually, grass being the principal crop. Ile is a member of the Dem- ocratic Town Committee, and has been on the Board of Engineers of the fire department since May 1, 1896.
On February 12, 1880, Mr. Leavitt was united in marriage with Miss Julia L., daugh- ter of Edward S. Cushing, of Hingham. They have two children - Lilla C. and Ethel May. Mr. and Mrs. Leavitt are attendants of the Unitarian church.
OBERT SYLVESTER, one of Han- over's most aged and esteemed citi- zens, was born on October 19, 1805, in the house which is still his home. His parents, Robert and Lucy (Bailey) Sylvester, had six children - Lucy, Rebecca, Michael (deceased), Robert (who died in infancy), Robert, and Sarah. The father was a farmer throughout his active life, and died when but thirty-seven years old.
Robert Sylvester, the youngest son, the special subject of this brief biography, re- ceived a district and private school education. Up to seventeen years of age he lived with his parents on the homestead farm, then went to Boston, and served a four years' apprentice- ship at carpentry, which he subsequently fol- lowed in that city for about three years, going from there to Plymouth, where he spent
another year engaged at his trade. Ile then returned to his parental home, and for many years was employed in both farming and car- pentering. He owns about two hundred acres here, a portion of which is comprised in the old homestead farm, where his great-grand- father, Michael Sylvester, first located.
On November 28, 1828, when twenty-three years of age, Mr. Sylvester married Miss Sarah Burgess, of Boston, who was a daughter of Josiah and Sarah (Whitney) Burgess, of Harvard. By this union he had the following children: Loammi B., died September 6, 1862; Susanna F., died October 16, 1893; Belcher, who died when very young; Eliza- beth B .; Sarah E .; Julietta; and Robert. Susanna Sylvester married William T. Lap- ham, of Scituate. Elizabeth B. married Israel H. Macomber, a farmer, living at Marshfield Hills. Sarah E. is the wife of George H. Allen, who lives in Boston, where he is now employed in a bank, and was for- merly for many years Superintendent of Lamps. Juliet married Frank A. Clapp, and their home is in Wakefield. Robert Sylves- ter, Jr., married Mary B. Turner, and lives in Hanover, where he has taken his father's place, and carries on the farm. Loammi B. Sylvester married Emmeline A. Bartlett, and was engaged in the shoe business until he went to the war as a member of Company G, Eigh- teenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers. Ilis death in September 6, 1862, was the re- sult of wounds received in battle. Mrs. Sarah Burgess Sylvester died November 9, 1855; and Mr. Sylvester's second wife, formerly Miss Sarah W. Packard, of Marshfield, whom he married in 1859, died August 12, 1885.
Mr. Sylvester has been a supporter of the Republican party ever since its formation. To show one's loyalty at the polls a half cen- tury ago and more was-not the easy task of to-
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day. When William Henry Harrison was up for President, Mr. Sylvester journeyed forty miles to cast his vote. He is of the orthodox faith in religion, and is a member of the Con- gregational church.
ELEG B. HADLEY, who has been identified with the mercantile and industrial interests of the town of Marion, Plymouth County, for many years, was born August 8, 1848, at Rochester, now Marion. His father, Andrew J. Hadley, was formerly a well-known merchant of this town. He was twice married, his first wife (mother of our subject) being Sarah E. Cobb, daughter of the Rev. Oliver Cobb, a Congregationalist minister, who preached for years in Marion, in which place he died. By her he had two children. His second wife, Louisa Brett, who was a daughter of the Rev. Pliny Brett, a Methodist minister, bore him five children. He and his second wife are still living.
Peleg B. Hadley acquired the rudiments of his education in the Marion schools, after which he attended Dartmouth Academy and Phillips Academy of Andover, Mass. When seventeen years old he entered his father's store as clerk, and while in that position proved himself so well adapted for a mercantile career that he was admitted into partnership with his father. A few years later Mr. Had- ley formed a copartnership with Mr. T. A. Handy, with whom he was in business ten years. In 1890 Mr. Handy died, and the bus- iness was carried on by Mr. Hadley, who had an extensive trade in general merchandise, carrying a good assortment of dry goods, gro- ceries, hay, feed, flour, etc. At the end of two years he sold out to his brother, Stephen D. Hadley. In politics Mr. Hadley is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, and
gives his aid and encouragement to the various enterprises inaugurated for the general welfare of the people of his town and county. For three years he served as Selectman, in 1892 was Town Auditor, and is now Assessor, Over- seer of the Poor, and a member of the Board of Health.
Mr. Hadley has been twice married. In July, 1872, he was united in matrimony with Abbie W. Dean, who bore him two children, one of whom died in infancy. The other, Susie D., was graduated from Tabor Acad- emy, and is now a student at the Boston Con- servatory of Music. After the death of his first wife, which occurred September 25, 1875, Mr. Hadley married Miss Priscilla H. Handy, daughter of Augustus H. and Susan N. Handy. By her he has two children - Augustus A. and Elizabeth B. Mr. Hadley is a Knight of Honor, belonging to Wareham Lodge, No. 1,003, of Marion.
OSEPH OLIVER BURDETT, an able Boston attorney, residing in Hingham, Plymouth County, was born in South Reading (now Wakefield), Mass., October 30, 1848. His parents were Joseph and Sally J. (Mansfield) Burdett. His paternal great- grandfather, Joseph Burdett, was a native of Malden, Mass., where he carried on farming, and lived to a good old age. His son Michael, a farmer and shoemaker by occupa- tion, was a native and lifelong resident of Wakefield. He was prominent in local affairs, and was a Whig in politics. He married Dolly Dix, of Wakefield, and they had seven children. Both parents were members of the orthodox Congregational church. Mrs. Mi- chael Burdett died in early womanhood, while her husband lived to be seventy-six years old. Their children were: Michael, Mary, Oliver,
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Joseph and Sarah D. (twins), George, and Samuel D. Michael died at the age of ninety-five. Mary married Samuel Nichols, an orthodox minister, and they had five chil- dren - Samuel, James, Daniel, Martha, and John H. Samuel and Daniel both served in the Civil War, enlisting as privates; and Daniel was promoted to the rank of Major for bravery. Martha (now deceased), was an army nurse during the war. John H. Nichols is now a member of the firm of Russ Cobb & Co., and resides in Dorchester, Mass. Oliver Burdett died at the age of forty-five. Joseph and Sarah D. Burdett died at the age of eighty, Sarah dying a few months previous to her brother. George was twice married, and by his first wife had four children - George A., Mervin, Melville W., and Francelia. Sam- uel D. Burdett was a medical practitioner in Philadelphia for many years. He died at the age of fifty.
Joseph Burdett, son of Michael and Dolly Dix Burdett, was born May 15, 1811. He first worked at shoemaking, and later went to Providence, R.I., where he was employed as clerk in a furniture store. He subsequently engaged in the manufacture of shoes, but finally gave up that business, and turned his attention to farming. In politics he was first a Jacksonian Democrat, then a Free Soiler; but in his later days he affiliated with the Re- publican party. He was a member of the School Committee, and held other offices. He was actively interested in church work, and belonged to the orthodox Congregational church of Wakefield. He married Sally J. Mansfield, and they had seven children, four of whom are now living: Michael B .; Dolly M .; Josephine; and Joseph Oliver, the sub- ject of this sketch. Michael B., born in 1837, married Albina Long, of Portland, Me. They have four children living - Frederick,
Cyril H., Alice, and Owen. Dolly M., born in 1842, is the widow of Charles Avery, of Wakefield, and has no children. Josephine has been twice married. Her first husband was Delano Robinson, by whom she had two children -- Alvernus and Charles. She re- sides with her present husband, a Mr. Cush- ing, in San Francisco. The father, Joseph Burdett, died in 1891, at the age of eighty years.
Joseph O. Burdett attended the Wakefield schools, and was subsequently graduated from Tufts College in the class of 1871, having al- ternated study with teaching in order to defray his expenses. In 1868-69 he taught in Hing- ham, and for a few months he taught private school in Harvard, Mass. After his gradua- tion from Tufts College he entered the Har- vard Law School; and, while a student there, studied law simultaneously in the office of Judge Hammond. On April 19, 1873, he was admitted to the Middlesex bar, and took up his residence in Hingham. He subsequently 'opened an office in Boston, at 53 State Street, in which he still practises his profession. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party, and has been a member of the State Republican Committee for six years, during three of which he has officiated as Chairman. Mr. Burdett has served on the School Com- mittee continuously since 1876, having been its Chairman for the past seventeen years. Since his admission to the bar he has been a Justice of the Peace, and for twenty-one years he has been Master in Chancery. Since 1876 he has been Town Counsel, and in 1884 and 1885 he was Representative to the legislature. He was the only Hingham resident who took an active interest in the establishment of an electric light plant, and he served as Director of the company until the plant was purchased by the town. He belongs to Old Colony
NATHANIEL CHURCH.
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Lodge, No. 108, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Hingham.
On June 30, 1874, Mr. Burdett was united in marriage with Miss Ella J. Carthell, daugh- ter of John and Joan J. (Ripley) Carthell, of Hingham. Mr. and Mrs. Burdett have three children: Harold C., born May 5, 1877; Edith M, born December 26, 1880; and Helen R., born October 27, 1882. In religious be- lief they are Unitarians.
APTAIN NATHANIEL CHURCH. Among the hale and vigorous old citi- zens of Marshfield -a town boast- ing many remarkable examples of longevity - no one is better known or more esteemed than Captain Nathaniel Church. He was born in Marshfield, Mass., March 19, 1812, a son of Captain David and Betty (Keen) Church, and comes of English stock long planted in the soil of the Old Colony.
Richard Church, the immigrant ancestor of the family, was in Boston, Mass., as early as 1630, and in Plymouth in 1633. He married Elizabeth Warren, who came over with her mother and sisters in the "Ann " nearly three years after her father. Richard came in the "Mayflower." So far as we are aware a com- plete genealogy of the Church family in America, or even of the first five or six genera- tions, has not been published. Historical writers mention among other children of the first Richard, Nathaniel of Scituate, Mass., and Benjamin, born in 1639, the noted leader in the Indian wars, who married Alice South- worth, daughter of Constant Southworth, and lived for a time in Duxbury, Mass., but settled later at Little Compton, R.I. Colonel Benja- min Church had a son Thomas born in 1674; Constant, born in 1676; Edward; Charles; Benjamin, who never married; a son that died
in infancy; and a daughter Elizabeth. Na- thaniel Church, first, of Scituate, was the father of Richard second, Nathaniel second, Joseph, Charles, and three daughters.
The paternal grandfather of Captain Nathan- iel Church of this sketch was Constant Church, a native of that part of the old town of Scitu- ate that is now Norwell, who is thought to have been of the line of Colonel Benjamin Church, several of whose posterity in the early generations bore that name in honor of his wife's father.
Captain David Church, son of Constant Church, of Scituate, followed the sea for a number of years, commanding vessels in the coasting and packet marine service, and was widely known and very popular. He died in Marshfield in 1839. His wife, who was born in Duxbury, Mass., died in Marshfield in February, 1840.
Nathaniel Church grew to manhood on a farm in Marshfield, acquiring a knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic in a little old- fashioned school-house very different from the finely-equipped halls of learning of to-day. His attendance was limited to the winter ses- sions, and when he was sixteen years old his education was supposed to be finished; but, as a matter of fact, he has kept his eyes open, his mind active, and through reading and observa- tion has been a learner from his youth up. During the years of his active manhood he was engaged in farming and teaming, the latter in the winter season. When ship-building was flourishing in this locality, he was kept very busy in winter hauling lumber to the docks. He is now practically retired from business pursuits. He has witnessed many changes in industrial conditions in Marshfield, and is well acquainted with the history of the place for the past three-quarters of a century. Joining the militia when he was eighteen years old, he
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eventually became the commander of a com- pany ; and since that time he has been gen- erally known as Captain Church.
He has been three times married. His first wife, Eveline Sherman, bore him three children : Betsey K., wife of William J. Walsh, of Marshfield; David, who was killed in the battle of the Wilderness; and Edwin, deceased. His second wife, Lucy Carver, of Marshfield, was the mother of one child -- Sarah C. (deceased). Captain Church mar- ried for his third wife Mrs. Janet Logan Sproul Reed, daughter of Matthew and Janet (Logan) Sproul, and widow of Marcus Reed, Jr., of Whitman, Mass. By her first marriage she had four children: Janet A., wife of W. D. Taylor, of Cleveland, Ohio; Susan M., deceased ; Marcus W., of Cincinnati, Ohio; and Amelia F., deceased. Mrs. Church was born in Paisley, Scotland, where the famous Paisley shawls are manufactured and the Coats thread. This city is the home of all her people. Mr. and Mrs. Church are mem- bers of the First Baptist Society of Marshfield. They are well known and esteemed, and the Captain is always ready to favor any reasonable project for the improvement of the town.
OSEPH WHITE, a leading business man of Hanson, Mass., was born in this town, June 14, 1832, son of Joseph and Eliza D. (Bonney) White. He is de- scended from a long line of New England an- cestry. His progenitor, six generations re- moved, was one Gowin White, of whom it is recorded that he was one of the Connihasset partners in 1646. In 1650 Gowin White pur- chased a large farm of William Richards, which remained in the family until about 1850. His son Timothy, born 1679, married Rebecca Simons in 1707. Their son, Timo-
thy White, second, born in 1708, married Sarah Clapp in 1732. Their son Timothy, third, who was born in Scituate, was twice married, his second wife being Temperance Bryant, to whom he was united in 1794. He died in 1825.
Joseph White, son of Timothy, third, and father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Scituate, May 15, 1808. He was educated in the common schools, and engaged in the manufacture of boxes, also dealing to some ex- tent in horses. He married Eliza Delano Bonney, daughter of Nathaniel Bonney, of Hanson, and they had six children, four of whom attained maturity: Joseph; Eliza Bart- lett; Clayton, now deceased; and Sarah J., wife of Bradley S. Bryant. The parents at- tended and helped support the Congregational church, and the mother, who was musically gifted, sang in the choir for five years, dur- ing which time she did not miss a service.
Joseph White, second, direct subject of this sketch, was educated in the common schools, though perhaps the most valuable part of his education has been acquired in the great and practical school of life. He began to be self-supporting at a comparatively early age, working in the tannery and box factory of his father, with whom he remained until he was twenty-one. He then began to deal in horses and carriages on his own account, in which pursuit he showed good judgment, and laid the foundations of his present prosperity. In the early seventies Mr. White built his present factories, and began the manufacture.of heavy wagons, an enterprise the success of which has been marked, and which is still growing. The factory furnishes employment most of the time to eight or ten men, and the business is one of the most firmly established in the town of Hanson.
Mr. White was married November 24, 1859,
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to Sarah E. Perry, daughter of Josiah F. Perry, of Hanover, Mass. They have five children, namely: Josephine, who married Edward Churchill, of East Bridgewater; Jo- seph Bartlett, who married Mrs. Anna Bates, of South Hanover; Catherine A., wife of Walter Calder, of South Hanson; Howard H., who married Annie A. Howland, of Duxbury ; and Bernice E.
Josiah F. Perry, father of Mrs. White, was born in Dorchester, Mass., September 17, 1809. His grandfather was Adam Perry, a native of Hanover, who fought in the Revolu- tionary War, and a farmer by occupation. Jo- siah Perry obtained such education as was then afforded by the district schools. He learned the trade of an iron moulder, which he followed until he removed to Hanover in the early fifties. There he located on a farm which had belonged to his grandfather, and which he carried on as long as he lived. He took an intelligent interest in public affairs, and was a firm Democrat politically. On February 9, 1836, he married Sarah C. Hil- dreth, daughter of James Varnum Hildreth, of Dracut, Mass. By her he became the father of eight children, five of whom grew to matur- ity, namely: Sarah E. (Mrs. Joseph White) ; Josiah Field, now a resident of Haverhill, Mass .; James Henry, who served in the war in the Eighteenth Massachusetts Volunteers, and died in 1890, unmarried; Anna A. Mer- rill; and Clara F., now residing in Provi- dence, R.I., where she is employed as a teacher.
Mrs. Perry can trace her ancestry back on her mother's side for many generations, the first ancestor of whom there is record being Sergeant Richard Hildreth, who was born in England in 1605. He was a magistrate and a man of some importance in his native country. Later in life he came to America, settling in
Chelmsford, Mass., where he died in 1688. His son, Lieutenant James Hildreth, was born in England in 1631. He married Margaret Ward. The next ancestor was Major Ephraim Hildreth. His second son, Josiah, born in 1710, in 1740 married Rebecca Wright, and they had five children. Their fourth child, Captain Josiah Hildreth, Jr., was born in 1746. He fought for American independence in the Revolutionary War, being one of Cap- tain Peter Coburn's company in 1775; and in 1777 he fought under General Gates, in Cap- tain Joseph Varnum's company. After the surrender of General Burgoyne, he was one of those appointed to escort the British prisoners and captured military stores to Boston. He married Hannah Varnum. Their son, James Varnum Hildreth, was the maternal grand- father of Mrs. White. He was born Decem- ber 12, 1774, in Dracut, Mass., and was a farmer by occupation. He married Susannah Richardson, daughter of Obadiah Richardson, and they had eight children, of whom Sarah C., mother of Mrs. White, was the youngest.
From Susannah Richardson Hildreth, her maternal grandmother, Mrs. White traces her ancestry back, as follows: Lieutenant Obadiah Richardson was a son of Moses Richardson, who was son of Captain Josiah, third, who was son of Lieutenant Josiah, second, who was son of Captain Josiah, first, who was the sec- ond son of Ezekiel Richardson, who came from England in 1630, and was one of the founders of Woburn, Mass.
Mr. White is distinctively an American by birth, ancestry, and personal characteristics. His high standing as a business man and citi- zen has been wholly self-achieved. His wife is a woman of rare sagacity and exceptional business ability, and her wise counsels and ready assistance have been of great value to her husband. Besides his regular business
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Mr. White has large real cstate interests in the vicinity of Brant Rock. He and his wife attend and help support the Congregational church.
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