USA > Massachusetts > Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901 > Part 41
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ILMAN LOEA PARKER, of Read- ing, comes of distinguished Revolu- tionary stock, and on his ancestral record may be found the names of several of the more prominent men and women of the early historical days of the town, among them being Bancroft, Temple, Goodwin, Nichols, and Pool. A son of Loea Parker, he is a deseend- ant in the eighth generation from Deacon Thomas Parker, the emigrant ancestor, the line being thus traced : Deacon Thomas,' Ser- geant John,2 John, 3 Benjamin, + Asa,5 Lieuten- ant Loca, 6 Loea, 7 and Gilman L. $
Deacon Thomas Parker, born in England in 1609, came to Massachusetts with his wife, Amy, in 1635, on the ship "Susan and Ellen." He was admitted a freeman at Lynn in 1637, and soon after settled in that part of the old town of Reading that is now Wakefield, where he died August 12, 1683. His wife died in 1690. Their children were: Thomas, born at Lynn in 1636, died in 1699; Hananiah, born in 1638, died in 1723 or 1724; John, born in 1640, died in 1698 or 1699; Joseph, died in 1644; Joseph, second, died in 1646; Mary, born in 1647; Martha, born in 1649; Na- thaniel, born in 1651, settled in Reading, and died in 1737; Sarah, died in 1656; Jonathan, born in 1656, served in the Indian war, and died in 1680; and Sarah, second, born in 1658.
Sergeant Jobn Parker ? married for his first
wife November 13, 1667, Hannah Kendall, who was born January 29, 1649-50, and died July 8, 1689. She bore him the following named children : John, born December 16, 1668; Thomas, born November 9, 1670, died June 19, 1689; Hannah, born February 25, 1672, died June 17, 1689; Rebecca, born Feb- ruary 18, 1674, died June 19, 1689; Kendall, born March 15, 1677, died June 9, 1755; Abigail, born October 10, 1679, died in in- fancy; Jonathan, born July 18, 1681; David, born October 13, 1686; Abigail, second, born December 24, 1688. By his second wife, Thankful, he had four children - Hananiah, born June 28, 1690 or 1691 ; Rebecca; Thomas; and Elizabeth, born March 27, 1698.
John Parker, 3 born December 16, 1668, died January 11, 1740. He married Elizabeth Goodwin, who died May 11, 1731. Their children, ten in number, were thus recorded : Elizabeth, born June 1, 1695, died March 31, 1703; John, born July 3, 1697; Abigail, born June 5, 1699; John, second, born March 27, 1701; Benjamin, born April 9, 1703; Eliza- beth, who married John Boutelle; Joseph, born in 1707, died in 1708; Mary, born January I, 1709-10; Joseph, second, born June 11, 1711 ; and Thomas, born April 1, 1716, who served in the Revolution, taking an active part at the battle of Bennington.
Benjamin Parker4 was born April 9, 1703. His first wife, Sarah Foster, died October 16, 1741, having borne him eight children, namely : Benjamin, Jr., born January 30, 1726-7; Sarah, December 19, 1728; Phoebe, May 7, 1730; Elizabeth, December 28, 1731; Reuben, May 4, 1733; William, February 19, 1734-5; Lydia; and Asa, born in 1740. Of his subsequent union with Sarah Parker there were three children : Elisha, born in 1746, died in infancy; Elisha, second, born July 21, 1749; and Simeon, born May 30, 1752.
Asa Parker, 5 born in 1740, died August 23, 1809. He married May 20, 1762, Ilephsi- bah Nichols. Their children were: Hephsi- bah; Elizabethi, born August 25, 1767; Asa, February 20, 1770; Rebecca, April 18, 1772; Joshua, May 15, 1774; Loea, who died in in- fancy ; Lucy, born November 2, 1779; Loea, second, born April 11, 1782; Levi, April 20,
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1;84: and Lucinda, July 17, 1786. Asa Parker also served in the Revolution, respond- ing on April 19, 1775, to the Lexington alarm, and being away six days in the company of Captain Thomas Eaton, with Colonel Green's tegiment.
1.icutenant Loea Parker 6 was a soldier in the War of 1812, and died at Fort Independence, November 14, 1814. His wife, Anna Ban- croft, daughter of Lieutenant Joseph Bancroft, was born in Reading, November 25, 1778. Their children were as follows: Loea, the father of Gilman Loea; Asa, born in 1810; Harrison, born in 1812; and Gilman, born De- cember 14, IS14.
The founder of the Bancroft family of New England was Lieutenant Thomas Bancroft, who was born in England in 1622, son of John and Jane Bancroft. He married as his second wife Elizabeth Metcalf, and settled in Reading. Their son, Deacon Thomas Bancroft, born in 1649, married Sarah Pool. The line was con- rinued through their son Thomas, who was born in 1673, married Mary Webster, and died in 1731; Ensign Thomas Bancroft, born in 1696; Lieutenant Joseph Bancroft, Mr. Gil- man L. Parker's great-grandfather, who was born November 10, 1735, and died February 18, 1825. Joseph Bancroft's name was on the Lexington alarm list, and he served in the battles of Lexington and Concord as Sergeant of Captain Thomas Eaton's company, in Colo- nel Green's regiment. On May 6, 1776, he was commissioned by the Council as Second Lieutenant of Company Four, Second Middle- sex Regiment, under Captain James Bancroft, and on August 20, 1777, was made First Lieutenant of the same company, under Cap- tain Abraham Foster. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Lieutenant John and Rebecca (Parker) Temple.
Loca Parker,7 a lifelong resident of Reading, was born May 14, 1809, and died June 12, 1857. He was for many years a dealer in ma- hogany and hard woods in Boston, and at the same time owned a mill property in Reading, where he manufactured veneerings of various kinds, carrying on an extensive business. He was quite prominent in town affairs, holding various offices of importance, and was an active
member of the Congregational church. He married Eliza P., daughter of James and Bet- sey (Pierce) Steel, of Stoneham, Mass. Five children blessed their union, as follows: Eliza Ann, born May 18, 1834, died February 6, 1850; Maria, born March 9, 1836; Clara, born January 21, 1838, died May 28, 1839; Julia, born July 13, 1842; Gilman L., the special subject of this sketch. For his second wife Mr. Parker married Adeline B. Emerson, of Reading, and they had two children, as fol- lows : Elmore, born July 26, 1852; and Annie Bancroft, born August 14, 1855. Maria was married June 12, 1856, to Joel M. Howard, of Greenwich, Conn., and has four children : Loea Parker, born May 28, 1857; Mary Waring, born June 12, 1859; Remsen Fletcher, de- ceased, born March 5, 1861; and Althea Maria, born September 28, 1863. Julia was married October 25, 1887, to Daniel C. San- born, of Reading. Elmore married November 24, 1876, Emma Armstrong, and they have four children: Adaline Elizabeth, born March 8, 1878; Roy, October 13, 1879; Percy, Oc- tober 31, 1881; and Marion, September 25, 1883. A well-educated, accomplished woman, Annie Bancroft Parker has been engaged in teaching several years, and is now supervisor of drawing in the schools of Reading and Wakefield.
Gilman Loea Parker was born in Reading, August 20, 1847. In 1865 he was graduated from the Reading High School, and three years later received his diploma from Dart- mouth College. In 1869 he began business in Boston as junior member of the firm of Briggs & Parker, wholesale dealers in tea and coffee, on Broad Street. Purchasing the interest of his partner after a few years, he has since con- ducted the business himself under the name of Gilman L. Parker, and is now located at S Central Wharf, Boston, where he has built up an extensive trade. Although his business claims the larger part of his time and atten- tion, Mr. Parker takes great interest in his native town. For many years he has been a member of the School Committee, serving as secretary of the board since his first election; and at the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Reading he rendered excellent service as
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one of the Executive Committee. An active member of the Congregational church, he is one of the Board of Assessors, and has served as assistant superintendent of the Sunday- school. He has never married.
EV. EDWARD GRIFFIN PORTER, A.M., Congregational minister, au- thor, antiquary, at the time of his death, February 5, 1900, president of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, was a native of Boston and a dweller in this city in his early and in his later years. Born January 24, 1837, he was the second son of Royal Loomis and Sarah A. (Pratt) Porter, whose home was at 20 McLean Street. He had two brothers: Royal F., who died in 1850; and William R., Lieutenant in the Eleventh Massachusetts Infantry, who was killed at the second battle of Bull Run, Au- gust 29, 1862.
Mr. Porter was of the ninth generation in descent from John Porter, who is said to have come from Essex, England, with wife and nine children in 1638, and who was one of the early settlers of Windsor, Conn. The line was : John,' Samuel,? Hezekiah, 3 James, + James, 5 James,6 Daniel,7 Royal,8 Edward Griffin. 9
Samuel Porter, son of John, married Han- nah, daughter of Thomas Stanley, of Hadley, and settled in that town. His grandson, James, + son of Hezekialı 3 and Hannah (Cowles) Porter, of East Hartford, Conn., married in 1720 Mabel Pitkin, daughter of Roger and grand-daughter of William Pitkin (Treasurer and Attorney-General of the Hartford Colony), by his wife, Hannah Goodwin, daughter of Ozias. James5 married in 1745 Eunice Tay- lor, and was the father of James,6 of East Hart- ford, Conn., who married in 1769 Sarah, daughter of David and Thankful (Eggleston) Porter. Their son, Daniel 7 Porter, who mar- ried Polly Badger, resided in Salem, Conn., and later in Williamstown, Mass. Royal Loomis Porter, son of Daniel and father of Edward Griffin, was born at Williamstown, February 24, ISO1, and died in Charleston, S.C., whither he had gone on account of fail-
ing health, June 9, 1844. He was a graduate of Williams College, class of 1823. With Willard Badger, a kinsman, he began on July 5, 1825, the publication in Boston of the American Traveller, of which for a number of years he was the editor.
Mr. Porter's mother, with whom he made his home after leaving Lexington, was born in Charlestown, Mass., in 1813. Some time after the death of her first husband, Royal L. Porter, she married Nathan Carruth. Surviving bim also, she is now a widow, living with her chil- dren, Herbert S. and Ellen Carruth, in Dor- chester.
Edward Griffin Porter was fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, and was gradu. ated at Harvard in the class of IS;S. He then went abroad, and spent two or three years in study at Heidelberg, Berlin, and Athens. after which he entered the Andover Theological School, where he was graduated in 1864, hav- ing a short time previously been licensed to preach by the Norfolk Association at Braintree. He received the degree of Master of Arts from Harvard in 1861. Going South in the emplay of the United States Sanitary Commission, he contracted a fever, from the effects of which he did not soon recover. Residing with his mother in Dorchester, he preached there and in other places till 1866, when he went abroad. He visited England, Switzerland, Italy, Syria. and Palestine, and aided in distributing the supplies sent from America to the Cretan refugees. Returning to his native land with renewed health and vigor, he was ordained October 1, 1868, as pastor of the Hancock Congregational Church at Lexington. This was his only settlement. He resigned lis charge in 1891, though still, it has been said, retaining his citizenship in Lexington. A local historian, writing in 1890 of Hancock Church and its pastor, said: "He has faith- fully ministered to its people now for nearly a quarter of a century, and has been the leader in all its enterprises, and not only in the work of the church, but also in all matters pertaining to the welfare and progress of the town - the schools, the public library, the his- torical society, and other organizations for the improvement of society. In other ways he has
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Edward Griffin Porter
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proved a patriotic and valued citizen. His relations with Hancock Church have always Ixen harmonious, and his ministry successful."
lle was a corporate member of the American Board of Foreign Missions; and in 1887-88, in company with Dr. March, of Woburn, he visited the missionary stations of the board in T'inkey, India, China, and Japan. An assidu- uns student of history, particularly of New England history, he was an active and valued member of various organizations devoted to gathering and preserving records of the past, among them the Massachusetts Historical So- ciety, the American Antiquarian Society, the American Historical Association, the Bosto- - nian Society, the Colonial Society of Massachu- setts, the Prince Society, of which he was a vice-president, the Winthrop Club, of which he was secretary, and the New England His- toric Genealogical Society, which he joined in 1870, being elected president January, 1899, and re-elected the present year, January 10, 1900. A stanch friend and promoter of edu- cation, he was a trustee of Abbot Academy, Andover, and of Lawrence Academy, Groton, a member of the Board of Visitors of Welles- ley College and Bradford Academy, and was president of the Board of Trustees of the American College at Aintab, Asia Minor.
Of his literary productions probably the best known is the enticing illustrated volume en- titled "Rambles in Old Boston, New England," an invaluable guide to the architectural antiq- uities of the North End as they appeared in 1886. His biographical sketch of Samuel Johnson, founder of the Congregational Club of Boston, appeared in the New England His- torical and Gencalogical Register for January, 1900, and his address as president, January 10, 1900, in the supplementary number for this year. To the third volume of the Memo- rial History of Boston he contributed a chap- ter on "The Beginning of the Revolution." lle was the author of numerous occasional papers and addresses. Among those that have appeared in print may be named the following : "The Aborigines of Australia," a paper read before the American Antiquarian Society, April 30, 1890; address at the Lexington Historical Society, November 5, 1889, on the
hundredth anniversary of Washington's visit to Lexington; address on "The Life and Charac- ter of Samuel Adams," delivered in the Old South Church, Boston, October 26, 1884; "An Ancient Document of the House of Washing- ton" (in American Antiquarian Society's Proceedings) ; "The Cabot Quadri-centenary Celebration at Bristol, Halifax, and St. John," June, 1897 (reprint from the New England Magasine, February, 1898 ) ; "Concerning President Garfield's Ancestry "; "An Histori- cal Sketch of the Town of Bedford, England " (reprint from a chapter contributed to the History of Bedford, Mass. ) ; sermon commemo- rative of one hundred and fifty years of the First Church in Lincoln, Mass., September 4, 1898, with biographical sketches.
Intimate friends and associates of Mr. Por- ter testify to his uprightness of character, his sweetness of temper, the extraordinary activ- ity and usefulness of his life, and the excep- tional quality and extent of his work.
The New England Historic Genealogical Society, at a stated meeting, February 14, 1900, recognizing its great loss in the death of Mr. Porter, adopted the following minute of respect : "For thirty years an active member of the society, he was chosen, but little over a year ago, to the office of president, to which he brought the wise judgment, the clear dis- crimination, and the firm yet kindly manner which always marked him. Distinguished in many lines - pastor, teacher, administrator, historian - he was ever the cheerful worker, the graceful writer, the careful student, the earnest searcher after truth; but what most im- pressed those who came in closer contact with him was his even, sunny disposition and his hearty good will."
OLOMON HALL, for many years an esteemed citizen of Dorchester, Mass., was born in East Machias, Me., April 29, 1827, and died at his residence, the old Hall homestead in Dor- chester, February 7, 1899. He was a son of Elijah and Johanna (Seavey) Hall and grand- son of Solomon and Rachel (Holmes) Hall.
Elijah Hall was born in 1792 at the Dor-
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chester homestead, and there spent the days of his boyhood and youth. When twenty years old he and his twin brother Luther embarked in the lumber business in the Maine woods, be- coming fairly successful in their venture. On retiring from lumbering, Luther Hall engaged in mercantile pursuits, while his brother Elijah became a ship joiner, a trade that he followed much of the time until his death, in 1872. Elijah Hall married. Johanna Seavey, who was born in East Machias, Me., a daughter of John Seavey, the representative of a prominent fam- ily of that State. The children born of their union were as follows: Lucinda, who married Sewell Seavey; Solomon; Stephen; Oliver; Joshua A. Lowell; Sylvanus S. ; and Elijah Glover. The mother attained the advanced age of seventy-eight years.
Solomon Hall was employed in a saw-mill during his early life, an occupation with which he was not satisfied, the pecuniary remunera- tion for his labors being too insignificant. In 1850, attracted by the wondrous tales of the golden treasures discovered on the Pacific coast, he joined the throng of energetic men that were hastening westward, and by the way of the Isthmus reached California. For twenty years thereafter he was profitably engaged in beach mining, being especially fortunate in his labors and investments. Returning then to Maine, he remained in New England two years or more, and during the time took one of the most important steps of his life. '
In January, 1872, Mr. Hall married Miss Laura Hall, daughter of Oliver and Laura (Richards) Hall, of Dorchester, Mass., of whom a more extended biographical notice may be found on another page of this volume, in connection with the sketch of Henry Hall. Directly after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hall spent about two years in California, and again in 1878 they made another journey to the Pacific coast, and at that time Mr. Hall dis- posed of his property there. Returning East, Mr. and Mrs. Hall made their home in Dor- chester, but spent much of their time in travelling, enjoying the fortune that he had accumulated by industry and good management. He belonged to the Unitarian church, of which Mrs. Hall is still a valued member. Politi-
cally, he was a Democrat, and, fraternally, a member of the A. F. & A. M. Mr. Hall was a conservative man, honest and upright in his dealings, and was highly respected by all who knew him.
A LVIN LEWIS WILEY, Town Clerk, Treasurer, and Collector of Wellfleet, Barnstable County, was born in this town, August 6, 1866, son of James and Olive M. (Kemp) Wiley. His paternal grandfather, James Wiley, Sr., who was a son of Moses Wiley, followed the sea for many years as captain of the schooner "Sophia Wiley," doing a general freighting business between Wellfleet and Boston. He, the grand- father, died at the age of fifty-one years. His wife, in maidenhood Sophia Rich, survived him many years, dying June 7, 1898, at the age of eighty-six. She was the mother of two chil- dren who attained adult age, one being James, Jr., the father of the subject of this sketch. She also brought up a boy, named Lorenzo W. Carle, who had been left an orphan, and who now resides in Portland, Me.
James Wiley, Jr., early in youth began to follow the sea. Subsequently becoming a master mariner, he commanded different ves- sels, and continued in a seafaring life for about forty years. He then retired, and now resides in Wellfleet. His wife, Olive M., a daughter of William and Nancy (Ryder) Kemp, was born in Wellfleet. She reared three children - Lillie, Alvin L., and James Lawrence. The last named resides in Roxbury, Mass. Lillie married Abbott H. Walker, of Orleans.
Alvin Lewis Wiley was graduated at the Wellfleet High School at the age of fifteen years. He then engaged as clerk with the firm of Newcomb & Gordan, with whom he re- mained two years. Afterward he was em- ployed in the same capacity by the Mercantile Wharf Company, when nineteen years old being placed in full charge of their store, which he has managed up to the present time, March, 1899. On April 28, 1897, he was united in marriage with Miss Nettie Wiley Higgins, a native of Eastham and daughter of Alonzo K. and Lizzie (Rogers) Higgins. Mr.
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and Mrs. Wiley have one child, Maurice Waterman, born August 22, 1898.
Mr. Wiley cast his first Presidential vote in 18'S for Benjamin Harrison. He is prominent in local politics, serving as secretary of the Re- ; ublican Town Committee, and has been a dele- satte to different Republican conventions, State al Congressional. In 1894 Mr. Wiley was appointed Town Clerk and Treasurer to fill a vacancy, and in 1895 wa's elected by his towns- men to those offices, which he still holds. He also is Collector of Taxes for the town. He Ixlongs to Adams Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Wellfleet. He attends the Methodist Epis- copal church, and has been secretary and treas- urer of the Sunday-school for a number of years.
APTAIN JARED FISHER, a retired whaling-master, residing in Edgar- town, was born in this place on Oc- tober 12, 1818, son of Jared and Sally (Pease) Fisher. His ancestors were among the early settlers of Martha's Vineyard ; and his grandfather, Jonathan Pease, was born here, and here spent his last years, dying at a good old age. He was a mariner. The maiden name of his wife was Eunice Holley.
Jared Fisher, Sr., son of Jonathan, began when young to follow the sea. He rose in time to the position of captain, and commanded vessels in both the whaling and merchant ser- vice. He lived to the age of seventy-eight. Ilis wife, Sally, was a native of Nantucket and a daughter of Captain Valentine and Louise (Daggett) Pease. She attained the age of vighty-two. They reared five children -- Lo- renzo, Jared, Sarah, Mary, and Beulah.
In 1835, at the age of sixteen, the subject of this sketch began a seafaring life on the ship "Gratitude," of New Bedford. He gradually worked his way upward until he became a cap- tain, the first vessel that he commanded being the "Minerva Smith," which was engaged in whaling. In that service he continued until 1861. He then retired, and has since resided in his comfortable home on North Water Street.
Captain Fisher was married in January,
1840, to Desire A. Osborn, a daughter of Cap- tain John and Desire Osborn. She was born in Edgartown, April 26, 1819, and died on August 12, 1896. Captain Fisher has one child living, Eliza C., who is the wife of Leonard C. Bliss, a shoe manufacturer of Bos- ton. Mr. and Mrs. Bliss have four children - Bertha, Alma J., Fannie Agnes, and Grace F. Captain Fisher has been a Republican in poli- tics ever since the formation of that party.
ILLIAM ANDREWS BROWN, ex- Postmaster of Marblehead, was born in that town July 21, 1860, son of Calvin K. and Mary E. (Bailey) Brown. His father was born in New Hampshire in 1826, son of David Brown, of Franeestown, that State, and his paternal ancestry came originally from England. His mother was a native of Marblehead. Calvin K. Brown settled in Marblehead when a young man, and was en- gaged in the shoe-manufacturing industry for a number of years. He is still residing here, and was formerly quite actively interested in public affairs, having served as an Overseer of the Poor and also as a Fire Warden. He is a member of the Masonic order and a comrade of John Goodwin, Jr., Post, No. 82, G. A. R., and of the Fourth Massachusetts Heavy Artil- lery.
William A. Brown was educated in the pub- lie schools of Marblehead. At the age of about twenty years he was admitted to partner- ship with his father under the firm name of C. K. Brown & Son; and he continued in the shoe-manufacturing business some nine years, or until his appointment as Postmaster. After the expiration of his official term he engaged in the hardware business, which he is still car- rying on, and is one of the most enterprising among the younger merchants of this town. Politically, he is a Republican. In 1889 he was appointed by the Harrison administration to the Postmastership, and during his four years of service he transacted the affairs of the office in a thoroughly business-like manner. His in- terest in the prosperity and development of his native town is of a kind which, when called into action, is sure to prove beneficial to the
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community. He is a member of the Order of American Mechanics.
In 1890, December 23, Mr. Brown married Miss Mary Elizabeth Florence, of Marblehead, daughter of Charles and Mary (Fowler) Florence.
ENRY LYNDE, of Melrose, son of Warren and Nancy (Scarlett) Lynde, was born April 6, 1849, on the farm where he now resides. This homestead was the birthplace of his father and also of his paternal grandfather, Benjamin Lynde. The first progenitor of the Lynde family in Massachusetts came from England to Charlestown in 1630, and his descendants were among the first settlers in Melrose. Members of the family served in the French and Indian wars and later in the Revolution and War of 1812.
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