Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901, Part 48

Author:
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Boston, Graves & Steinbarger
Number of Pages: 924

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John Hawks, of the sixth generation, born on the homestead in Lynn in 1754, was en- gaged in agricultural pursuits during his entire life. He was a man of great influence in the community, filling nearly every town office, and being everywhere respected and trusted, and was frequently given full control of estates as a guardian for minors. He died in 1811. His wife, whose maiden name was Rachel Bancroft, bore him twelve children.

Joshua Hawkes, son of John and Rachel, born in 1791 in that part of the old town of Lynn which in 1814 was incorporated as Lynn- field, settled upon the home farm, and was engaged in tilling the soil until his death in 1859. His wife, Abigail, daughter of Timo- thy and Abigail (Taylor) Bancroft, died in 1853. Timothy Bancroft, father of Mrs. Hawkes, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War; and his brother Ebenezer served in both the French and Indian War and the War of the Revolution, losing a finger at the battle of Bunker Hill. Ebenezer Bancroft, notwith- standing that he went through two wars, lived to the advanced age of ninety years.

Joshua and Abigail (Bancroft) Hawkes were the parents of seven children, namely : Joshua, Jr., who died December, 1827, aged nine years; Rachel Bancroft, who married William

Emerson Cox, of Lynnfield, and died in 1875, aged fifty-five years, leaving a son, John Orne, and a daughter, Williamine E., now Mrs. Ransom, residing in Custer, Big Stone County, Minn. ; George Lathrop, whose personal his- tory is given below; Abigail Taylor, who died in 1845, aged twenty-two years; Sarah Eliza- beth, who married Alanson A. Upton, of North Reading, and died there March 25, 1886, aged fifty-nine years; Mary Bancroft, for many years a successful school-teacher, now living in Lynnfield Centre; and Joshua Gilman, a gradu- ate of Amherst College, class of 1859, who was drowned in the Mississippi River while returning home with his regiment, the Fifty- second Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, July, 1863, aged thirty-one years.

Alanson A. Upton and Sarah E. Hawkes were married in 1849. Mrs. Upton is sur- vived by her husband and five children; namely, Henry Augustine, Mrs. Emma Ban- croft Edwards, Arthur Franklin, Irving Hawkes, and Wallace Flint -all living in North Reading except Irving H., who resides in Boston.

George Lathrop Hawkes was educated in the common schools of Lynnfield and at the South Reading Academy. Learning the carpenter's trade when a young man, he worked at it for a while, and then engaged in the manufacture of doors, sash, and blinds at Montrose, Mass., where he carried on a successful business until 1864, when he retired. He subsequently de- voted his attention to general farming, which occupied his time until 1893, when he sold his farm and removed to Wakefield, where he spent his declining years in quiet leisure. At one time Mr. Hawkes held the title to the old mill property mentioned above, which was bought by his great-grandfather, Adam Hawks,s in I 773. The succeeding owner, Adam Hawks, Jr. (not in this line), built a new grist-mill on the opposite side of Old Salem Street in Read- ing; and on the Lynn side he built a fulling- mill, in which flannels and other woollen goods were dyed. He also erected a woollen-mill on the present site of Mr. Gerry's cider-mill. The old mill next came into the possession of his son, Adam Hawks, third, who sold it in 1843 to Edward Upton. Major John Wiley,

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the next owner, tore down the fulling-mill, and on its site built, in 1844, a sash and blind factory, and near by erected a house. In 1845 the property was sold to H. G. O. Hawkes, who in November, 1846, sold it to B. U. Preston and George L. Hawkes. In 1851 G. L. Hawkes disposed of his interest to W. G. Strong, who entered into the sash and blind business with Mr. Preston. These gentlemen built a stable and bought the grist- mill of P. R. Slater, who had purchased it from Mrs. Elizabeth, widow of Adam Hawks, Jr. On January 1, 1858, Preston & Strong sold the whole estate to G. L. Hawkes, and he in May, 1864, sold it to the Rev. Amos Binney, whose son-in-law, Samuel G. Lane, subsequently used it as a factory for making piano cases and sewing-machine cabinets. Mr. Lane destroyed the grist-mill, putting in its place a saw-mill, and rented the piano factory to the Hope Thread Company. In 1868 the mill was rented to a company that manufact- ured shoddy, and additional buildings were put up. In December, 1871, all the buildings, excepting the house and stable, were destroyed by fire. In 1876 the water privilege and the remaining buildings were sold to the Pranker Manufacturing Company, who sold the dwell- ing-house and stable to John S. Ashman, of Boston, and, in 1894 the mill privilege to the city of Lynn, in whose possession it will doubtless remain.

Politically a Republican, Mr. Hawkes was a member of the State convention that elected delegates to the national convention which nominated John C. Fremont to the Presidency. He filled at various times nearly all the town offices in Lynnfield, having been Selectman, Overseer of the Poor, School Committee, and Assessor. In 1865 he represented his district in the State Legislature, where he served on the Committee on Roads and Bridges. He attended the Congregational church.

On January 19, 1858, Mr. Hawkes married Mary Ellen, daughter of John M. and Louisa (Southwick) Ives, of Salem, Mass. She died in November, 1862. Their only child, Ellen Louisa, died in May, 1859. Mr. Hawkes's second wife, Mrs. Catherine E. Brown, whom he married on October 3, 1876, died on Febru-

ary 1, 1898. She was a daughter of Captain John and Catherine (Sweetser) Perkins.

VERETT WEBSTER EATON, one of the leading citizens of Wakefield, Mass., where he is carrying on a substantial business as a dealer in groceries, flour, and grain, was born in South Reading, now Wake- field, Mass., July 9, 1835. He is a son of the late Hon. Lilley Eaton, and a descendant in the seventh generation of the emigrant an- cestor, Jonas Eaton, the line being as follows : Jonas, ' Jonathan,2 Noah, 3 Lilley, + Lilley, 5 Lilley,6 Everett W.7

Jonas Eaton came to New England less than twenty years after the settlement of Boston, and about 1643 was living in Watertown, but a few years later settled permanently in Read- ing, upon a farm on Cowdrey's Hill, where he resided until his death in 1674. He was made a freeman by the General Court in 1653, and afterward served as Selectman. By his wife, Grace, he had the following named children : Mary, born in 1643, who died single in 1732; John, born in 1645; Jonas, born in 1655; Joseph, 1651; Joshua, 1653; Jonathan, 1655; David, who was born in 1657, and died in the same year; and Sarah, who in 1671 married Joseph Dodge.

Jonathan, the fifth son, succeeded to the ownership of the old homestead on the hill, and died there in 1743, aged eighty-eight years. He was a lieutenant in the local militia, and for many years served as Select- man. He married first, in 1683, Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Burnap, Jr. She died in 1688, leaving three children, namely : Sarah, born in 1684, who married John Poole; Jona- than, born in 1686, who was a soldier in the Nova Scotia expedition, and died at Annapolis Royal in 1711; and Elizabeth, born in 1688, who married Joseph Parker. By his second wife, Mary, he had eight children, including, besides three who died in infancy : Mary, born in 1694, who married in 1716 Josiah Nurse; John, born in 1697; Samuel, born in 1702; Nathaniel, born about 1700; and Noah, born in 1704.

Noah Eaton, the youngest son of Jonathan,

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bought from Benjamin Gibson, of Boston, in 1732 the former homestead of Zachariah Poole, corner of Eaton and Chestnut Streets, Read- ing, now Wakefield, and resided there until his death in 1770. His wife, Phebe Lilley, survived him, dying in 1786. The record of their children is as follows: Noah, born in 1728, settled in Woburn, Mass. ; Phebe, mar- ried in 1749 Thomas Hart, of Lynnfield; Katherine, died in infancy; Hannah, born in 1738, married a Boutwell of Amherst, N. H. ; Lilley, twin brother of Hannah, born in 1738, died in 1812; Katherine, born in 1744, mar- ried John Emerson; Susanna, born in 1749; Reuben, married in 1773 Sarah Hart.

Lilley Eaton, son of Noah, born in 1738, died in 1812. Ile married in 1762 Sarah, daughter of Deacon Brown Emerson, and had nine children - Sarah, Lucy, Susanna, Lilley, Jacob, Caleb, Phebe, Hannah, and Catherine.

Lilley Eaton, second, born in 1768, died in 1822. For many years he was proprietor of the village store, which was located at the corner of Main and Salem Streets. He mar- ried in 1797 Eunice Evans, daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Evans. They reared seven chil- dren ; namely, Eunice, Sally, Lilley, Mary B., Stillman, Emily, and John Sullivan.

The Hon. Lilley Eaton, third, was born January 3, 1802, in that part of Reading now called Wakefield, and here spent his entire life, dying in 1872. A man of sterling in- tegrity and ability, he became identified with the highest interests of his native town, and from his earliest manhood assisted in its de- velopment and improvement. He was honored by his fellow-townsmen by election to the highest offices of the community, and these he filled most faithfully. For more than a quar- ter of a century he was Selectman, being much of the time chairman of that board, as he was of the School Board, on which he served an equal length of time. He was Town Clerk twenty years. For seven years he was a Rep- resentative to the lower branch of the State Legislature, and for two years was State Sena- tor. He was one of the trustees of the Public Library from its formation in 1856, was a Jus- tice of the Peace for thirty-eight years, and in 1853 was a member of the Constitutional Con-

vention. He was elected cashier of the South Reading Bank at its establishment, and re- tained the position as long as he lived. Deeply interested in antiquarian research, he was a member of the New England Historic- Genealogical Society, and was the author of the "History of Reading from 1639 to 1874," which was published after his death. In this work he traced the genealogy of many of the old families of the town, and recorded many important facts and interesting events. He married Eliza, daughter of Samuel and Eliza- beth (Hay) Nichols, of Reading, and was the father of five children, namely: Everett Web- ster, who lived but two years; Stillman Au- gustus, who also is deceased; Henry Lilley; Everett Webster, the special subject of this sketch; and Chester W.

Everett W. Eaton acquired his education in the public schools of South Reading (now Wakefield). At the age of eighteen he began selling patent medicines, travelling on the road. for William D. Skinner three years. For a short time thereafter he engaged in the manu- facture of shoes, but gave that up to become book-keeper for the firm of L. Beebe & Co., cotton dealers of Boston and New Orleans, and remained in their Boston office until the breaking out of the Civil War, in 1861. In the spring of 1862 Mr. Eaton accepted an ap- pointment as Commissary Clerk under Colonel Amos Beckwith, Chief Commissary for the Army of the Potomac; while there, was assigned to Captain T. E. Berrier, going with him into the field as Clerk in the Commissary Department, and for four months being sta- tioned at Fort Runyon. The following two months he was at Alexandria, the headquarters of the Reserve Army Corps, under General Sturgis, with whom he subsequently went into active service as a part of the Army of Vir- ginia, and was in Pope's retreat. He then took a position under Captain Knowles as Commissary of Subsistence in the Maryland campaign, and was present at the battle of Antietam and with the army during its march to the Rappahannock. Subsequently, owing to serious malarial troubles, Mr. Eaton gave up his position, and returned to his home. Soon after he established himself in the grocery .

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business in Wakefield, at the corner of Albion and Railroad Streets, his present location, where he has built up a prosperous trade in general groceries, flour, and grain.

In polities Mr. Eaton is a stanch supporter of the Republican party. For ten years he has served as Town Auditor. He has been Justice of the Peace fourteen years, and is at present chairman of the Cemetery Committee. At the quarter-millennial celebration of the "Ancient Town of Reading," in 1894, he took an active part, being a member of the General Committee, secretary of the Executive Committee, and chief of the Fourth Division of Parade. He has served with ability on many of the town committees. Fraternally, he belongs to a number of local social and beneficiary organizations, including among others : the Golden Rule Lodge, F. & A. M., of which he has been treasurer since its forma- tion ; of Souhegan Lodge; No. 38, I. O. O. F., in which he is Past Grand; of Columbian En- campment, No. 43, of which he is Past Chief Patriarch; and the Grand Encampment. He is vice-president of the Wakefield Co-operative Bank.

On November 5, 1863, Mr. Eaton was mar- ried to Abbie Ellen, daughter of Samuel B. and Catherine D. (Smith) Clark, of Wakefield. Mr. and Mrs. Eaton have two children - William Everett and Lilley. William Everett Eaton, born August 17, 1864, completed his education at the Phillips Andover Academy ; and he is now engaged in the real estate busi- ness, and is manager of the Citizen Banner, a local newspaper. He married April 20, 1887, Mabel, daughter of John K. L. Baker, of Wakefield. They have three children, namely : Max Everett, born March 28, 1889; Paul Baker, born March 30, 1892; and Malcomb, born August 29, 1897. Lilley Eaton, fourth, the younger son, born August 14, 1871, was educated in the Wakefield public schools and at Dartmouth Medical College, from which he received his degree November 22, 1892. He is now actively practising his profession at Winchester, Mass. He was a member and the secretary and treasurer of the Miller River Medical Society, and since his removal to Winchester is a member of the Massachusetts

Medical Society. He married December 29, 1898, Mabel Alberta, daughter of Phineas P. Pettes, of Somerville, Mass. Both sons are members of the Masonie fraternity, William E. belonging to the Wakefield lodge and Lilley to the William Parkman Lodge of Winchester. Mrs. E. W. Eaton is prominently identified with many social and fraternal societies, being a member and an officer of the Cosmos Club; treasurer of the Home for Aged Women; a member of the Rebecca Lodge, No. 22, I. O. O. F., of which she is Past Noble Grand ; Past President of the Women's Relief Corps, No. 69, H. M. Warren Post, G. A. R. ; and also Past Department Aid of the Department of Massachusetts. She is a charter member of the W. C. T. U., and is Chaplain of Har- mony Chapter of the Order of Eastern Star.

AMES FREEMAN ELDREDGE, chairman of the Republican Committee of the town of Orleans, Barnstable County, was born at Harwichport, Mass., September 3, 1849, son of Benjamin Walker and Caroline (Snow) Eldredge. His paternal grandfather was Elijah Eldredge, a farmer and, so far as is known, a lifelong res- ident of South Harwich, Mass.

Benjamin W. Eldredge carried on business as a merchant at Harwichport for a number of years, and also filled various offices of trust in that town, including those of Postmaster and Selcetman. He died at the age of forty-one. His wife, Caroline, who was born in Harwich, a daughter of Laban and Polly Snow, died at the age of sixty-five years. She was the mother of five children, two of whom are now living, namely: James F. ; and Thomas R., the latter being a resident of Harwich.

James Freeman Eldredge in his boyhood was well grounded in the elements of book learn- ing, attending school regularly until he was twelve years old, when, owing to the death of his father, he was obliged to assist in the sup- port of the family. From that time until he was twenty-three he worked at different kinds of employment, chiefly teaming. He then came to Orleans to take the position of station agent for the Old Colony Railroad, which he

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retained until 1895, when he resigned it. In the meantime he had established a trade in grain, flour, and coal; and to this trade, since his retirement from the railway service, he has given his time and attention. As already men- tioned, he is chairman of the Republican Town Committee. He also belongs to Pilgrim Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Harwich; Fraternal Lodge, No. 132, I. O. O. F. ; Orleans Lodge, No. 1556, K. of H., of which he is Director ; and to Nauset Council, No. 939, Royal Ar- canum, in which he is Reporter.

He was first married in 1877 to Adelaide F. Sears, who was born in Harvard, Mass., a daughter of the Rev. Franklin and Ruth Sears. She died July 7, 1879. Mr. Eldredge married for his second wife, in 1881, Sadie L. Smith, a native of Orleans and a daughter of William E. and Pattie (Linnell) Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Eldredge attend the Universalist church of Orleans.

APTAIN DARIUS ALLEN NEW- COMB, who is engaged in oyster cult- ure in Wellfleet, Barnstable County, was born in this town, June 27, 1834, son of Lemuel and Temperance (Wiley) Newcomb. According to the best information obtainable, he is a descendant of Lieutenant Andrew Newcomb, supposed to have been a son of Captain Andrew Newcomb, a native of England and a master mariner, who was in Boston as early as 1663. The line of descent from Lieutenant Andrew is traced, through his son Simeon, his grandson Andrew, who settled at Truro, Mass., and his great-grandson Lem- uel, to Lemuel, second, grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch. Lemuel Newcomb, second, son of Lemuel, was born in 1756, and married Lucy Holbrook, February 24, 1785. Both were natives and lifelong residents of Well- fleet. The date of her birth was 1761. She died at the age of about eighty-five years; and her husband, who was a pensioner of the Revo- lution, died at the age of eighty-seven. They reared five children - Charlotte, Thomas, Lemuel, Sally, and Polly.

Lemuel Newcomb, third, father of Captain D. A. Newcomb, was born in Wellfleet, June

19, 1795. He was one of the first to engage in oyster culture in this town, and he con- ducted business here for many years. He died at the age of sixty-seven. His wife, whose maiden name was Temperance Wiley, was born in Wellfleet, and spent her entire life here. dying at the age of sixty-eight. They reared eight children - Hannah, Thomas, Ruth. Luey, Ann, Eunice, Darius, and Julia.

Captain Darius A. Newcomb began a sailor's life at the age of thirteen years, in the mack- erel fisheries. He continued to be engaged in. fishing and in the oyster trade for many years, commanding successively several different ves- sels. About 1889, when fifty-five years old, he gave up the sea, and engaged in oyster planting and dealing in oysters. In 1892 he removed to Everett, Mass., where he lived for two years. He then returned to his native town, and resumed the oyster business, which he still carries on, having been quite success- ful. He has served four years as a member of the Board of Selectmen and Assessors and as Overseer of the Poor. IIe belongs to Adams Lodge, F. & A. M., of Wellfleet ; Joseph War- ren Royal Arch Chapter, of Provincetown ; and Fraternal Lodge, No. 132, I. O. O. F.

Captain Newcomb was married on May 9, 1859, to Miss Carrie Rich Atkins, who was born in Orleans, Mass., April 19, 1838. Her father, Henry Atkins, a native of the same town, was a seafaring man. Somewhat late in life he removed to Wellfleet, where he died. His wife, Thankful, mother of Mrs. Newcomb, was a native of Truro, Mass., and daughter of James and Sally (Dyer) Rich.

Captain and Mrs. Newcomb are the parents of six children - Leonora Atwood, Richard Higgins, Carrie Eva, Henry Franklin, Nannie Waterman, Anna Martin. Leonora A. married James L. Gordon, and has one child, Grace Eva. Richard H. married Ida Paine, and has one child, Gladys Sycamore. Carrie Eva be- came the wife of Walter C. Edmester, and is the mother of one child, Earl Carlisle. H. Franklin married Estelle Miller. Nannie married Freeman A. Morse, and has one child, Carlton B. Anna M. became the wife of Al- bert F. Buffum, and is the mother of one child, Irving Newcomb.

HIRAM H. HEALD.

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Captain Newcomb is one of Wellfleet's most respected citizens, and his influence as a mem- ber of the Board of Selectmen may be counted upon on behalf of any substantial improve- ments and at the same time of a wise economy in the use of the public funds. Captain New- comb is a trustee of the Methodist church of Wellfleet.

IRAM HERSEY HEALD, of Sand- wich, tack manufacturer, and one of the most prominent business men of Barnstable County, was born Novem- ber 12, 1828, in the town of Sumner, Oxford County, Me., of which his grandfather, Ben- jamin Heald, was an original proprietor. Ben- jamín Heald was born in Carlisle, Mass., June 25, 1764, and was not quite twenty years of age when he removed to Oxford County, Maine. From the Centennial History of the town of Sumner we learn that he was one of the twenty-one settlers who had taken up land there and made improvements by the opening of the year 1784, each of whom received from the State of Massachusetts a deed of one hun- dred acres. He was one of the committee of six who drew the petition that was presented to the Legislature of Massachusetts, which resulted in the incorporation of the town of Sumner, June 13, 1798. As a pioneer in the agricultural development of that locality he was more successful than many of his neighbors, who, though sturdy and industrious, probably lacked the energy and thrift which were among his chief characteristics. To each of his sons he gave a farm at marriage, and, it would seem, still had land to spare, as at the time of his death he was owner of three good farms. In politics he acted with the Democratic party, and was a leading spirit in the public affairs of Sumner in his day. He died October 12, IS41. His wife, Rebecca Spaulding, was born Novem- ber 10, 1766, and died June 10, 1858. They had eleven children, eight of whom married and reared families.

Hiram Heald, the third son, improved and brought to a high state of cultivation the farm which he received from his father ; and, by judiciously exercising the sterling abilities he

had inherited, he became one of the successful farmers of Sumner, where he was born, and where the active period of his life was spent. At the formation of the Republican party he gave it his hearty support, and rendered his share of service to the town as Selectman, hold- ing that office for a number of years. He was a member of the Congregational church, and took an active interest in religious affairs. The maiden name of his wife was Sophronia Hersey. She was the daughter of James and Althea (Pool) Hersey, native of Plymouth County. James Hersey is said to have been a lineal descendant in the fifth generation of William Hersey of England, who settled in Hingham in 1635. James Hersey lived in Abington, Mass., for a time after marriage, and removed from there to Minot, Me., and thence to Sumner, in 1801. Hiram Heald lived to be eighty-three years old, and his wife died at eighty. Of their eleven children, eight are now living, namely : Marcella, Lysander, Hiram H., Abel S., Stephen C., Imogene S., Althea P., and Oscar F. The others were : Albert H., James H., and Benja- min F. Six of the sons served in the Civil War; namely, Lysander, Albert H., Stephen C .. James H., Benjamin F., and Oscar F. Ben- jamin F. died of wounds received in the battle of the Wilderness. James died of disease con- tracted while in the service.

With a common-school education and a firm determination to win his way to fortune, Hiram H. Hcald, at the age of twenty years, left the paternal roof for South Abington, Mass. (now Whitman), where he served an apprenticeship in a tack factory. He followed his trade as a journeyman for some years, coming to Sandwich in 1855 ; and, during the Civil War he became a member of the Sandwich Tack Company, in which he now owns a half-interest. About the year 1869 he, in company with the late Isiah T. Jones, purchased a tack factory in Wheeling. WV. Va., and continued to transact business in that city until 1891, when the factory was moved to Norristown, Pa. This plant, which is still in operation, is equipped with one hundred modern machines, and produces a large output annually. He was also interested with Mr. Jones in the cultivation of cranberry bogs at Half-way Pond, Plymouth, Mass., the partner-

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ship continuing until the death of his associate, which occurred in November, 1898. This cir- cumstance, indeed, has not as yet caused any change of ownership, either in the tack factory or the cranberry bog enterprise, as the heirs of Mr. Jones prefer to retain their inherited inter- est, and both are ably managed by the surviving partner. Mr. Heald is actively concerned in the manufacturing of silk braid as one of the principal stockholders in the Union Braiding Company, of Sandwich, and he is also exten- sively interested in Western lands.

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Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901, Part 48

Author: Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Boston, Graves & Steinbarger Number of Pages: 924

Author:
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Boston, Graves & Steinbarger
Number of Pages: 924