USA > Massachusetts > Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901 > Part 54
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65
An early settler in New England was Jonas Humphrey, who came over, it is said, in 1637, and was the founder of the Dorchester and Weymouth families of Humphrey. Michael Humphrey, another English immigrant, whose descendants are numerous, was living near ancient Windsor, Conn., in 1643. Savage mentions, also, a Nathaniel Humphrey, of Ips- wich, freeman in 1680. Marblehead had in- habitants bearing the name Humphrey, Humphreys, or Humphries far back in Colo- nial times. The records show that an Eliza- beth Humphrey was a member of the First Church of that town in 1694.
Amos Humphrey, of Marblehead, father of William, Sr., was born in 1760. He married October 24, 1782, Martha Hale. William Humphrey, Sr., who was a well-known Mar- blehead fisherman in his day, was captured by the British while serving as a privateer in the War of 1812, and sent to Dartmoor Prison in England. He married December 28, 1815, Lucy Gallison.
William Humphrey, Jr., William C. Hum- phrey's father, was an active business man and a lifelong resident of . Marblehead. Having learned the cooper's trade, he followed it first as a journeyman, and then engaged in that business on his own account, carrying it on
some four years. Later he became owner and part owner of several vessels, some of which were engaged in the foreign and coasting trades, while others were engaged in the Grand Banks fisheries; and he built two fishing-ves- sels, which he named the "Emeline " and the "Sarah Jane," in honor of his daughters. Ile also conducted quite an extensive business in the curing and shipping of fish. From 1841 to 1881 he was engaged in the coal and wood business, in company with the late Ebenezer Twisden, and after the latter's retirement he was associated with his son, W. C. Humphrey. In connection with the above he was interested in various other business speculations, in all of which he displayed unusual executive abil- ity and sound judgment ; and as the result of his long period of activity he accumulated a substantial fortune. He was a director of the National Grand Bank and a member of the old Columbian Society, a useful organization of its day. In religious belief he favored Unitarianism and attended that church. His public services were of a nature to commend him to the sincere esteem of his fellow-towns- men, and included terms as Selectman, As- sessor, Collector, and Overseer of the Poor. In politics he was a Republican. William Humphrey, Jr., died April 10, 1898, surviv- ing his wife, whose death occurred September 7, 1882. He was the father of four children : Emeline Knight, wife of Stephen C. P. Trefry, of Haverhill, Mass. ; Sarah Jane and William C., both of Marblehead; and Francis Hum- phrey, a resident of Lynn, who died October 4, 1899.
William C. Humphrey obtained his ele- mentary education in the Marblehead public schools, and completed his studies at a private school in Salem. In 1867 he became clerk for the firm of Humphrey & Twisden, retain- ing that position until the withdrawal of Mr. Twisden in 1881, when he became associated with his father, and practically took charge of the business, the office and yards being located on Humphrey's Wharf, which was purchased by the elder Humphrey in 1845. The old firm name was continued until 1896, when it was changed to W. C. Humphrey. On July I. IS99, Mr. Humphrey sold out the business,
419
AMERICAN SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
which is now carried on under the style of The Humphrey Coal Company. Mr. Humphrey is widely and favorably known in the business circles of this section. Ile succeeded his father as a director of the National Grand Bank. Politically, he is a Republican.
August 22, 1872, Mr. Humphrey married Miss Mary Ellen Holden, daughter of John and Margaret S. (Williams) Holden, of Marble- head. Their children are: Nellie Williams and Flora Maria Humphrey. Mr. John Hol- den, the father of Mrs. Humphrey, died Janu- ary 1, 1892; and her mother died June 9, 1873.
ACOB McGAW HASKELL, one of the leading merchants of Boston, a member of the firm of Haskell, Adams & Co., wholesale grocers and flour dealers, was born in Garland, Penobscot County, Me., Jan- uary 20, 1830, a son of Bildad Arnold and Rebecca (Mayhew) Haskell. The Haskell family of New England dates back to early Colonial times, and its members in general have been noted for the possession in large measure of the sterling traits of character that distinguished their Puritan ancestors.
Mr. Haskell's father, a native of New Gloucester, Me., followed conjointly the time- honored occupations of blacksmith and farmer, by means of which he succeeded in supplying the modest wants of himself and family. He was honest and industrious; and, had he pos- sessed a larger share of ambition, or been fa- vored with greater opportunities, his success in life might have been greater in proportion. In the War of 1812 he showed his American patriotism by going out as Captain of a com- pany from Garland, Me. He died at the age of seventy-three years, respected and esteemed by those who knew him. His wife, Rebecca Mayhew, was the daughter of the first white child born in Bangor, Me. She united to her husband's virtues those of a faithful wife and loving mother. They had ten children - Charles H., Andrew M., Mary, Parmelia, Isaac, William F., Jacob M. (the subject of this sketch), Susan, Rebecca, and Edward Kent. Of this family the present survivors
besides Jacob M. are: Andrew M., William F., Susan, Rebecca. Charles H. and Isaac served in the federal army during the war of the rebellion. Charles died at Tortugas, Fla. ; and Isaac died at home.
Jacob M. Haskell's opportunities for acquir- ing an education in his youth were limited to a brief attendance at the common schools of his native town. He began at an early age to be self-supporting, working on the farm or in the shop or store, and in the meanwhile learn- ing the great secret of success, the practice of economy. Determined to advance himself in life, he early saw the necessity of seeking a wider field of action; and at the age of six- teen years, cutting loose from home and his early associates, though not without regrets and tender leave-takings, he went to Portland, Me., where for two years he was employed as boy and clerk in the grocery store of Sawyer & Forsaith. During this period he resided with the family of the senior member of the firm, Mr. Sawyer. In 1849 he came to Boston, but, after arriving in this city, was for some time unable to find employment. Finally, as he was about to give up the quest and return to Portland, his means having become nearly ex- hausted, he accepted a position as clerk with the wholesale grocery house of Dexter Fay & Sons at a salary of two hundred dollars per year. At the end of his first three months with this house he was rewarded for his dili- gence and business-like qualities by a present of twenty-five dollars in excess of his salary, and at the end of the first year received four hundred and fifty dollars. He remained with this firm eleven years, during which time he gained a thorough practical knowledge of the wholesale grocery business, as well as the con- fidence of his employers; and, when the house failed, he was appointed to the responsible position of assignee, and successfully settled the affairs of the firm.
He was then for two years with Steadman & Thayer, wholesale grocers on Broad Street, with a salary of three thousand dollars per year. In 1861 was formed a copartnership under the style of Jones, Haskell & Bramhall, wholesale grocers, located at 219 State Street. This was continued for three years; and at the
420
AMERICAN SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
end of that time the firm became Jones, Has- kell & Co., the business being thus carried on till 1867. In that year was formed the co- partnership of Haskell & Adams, which has been continued up to the present time. The new firm remained at 219 State Street eighteen years, and then removed to their present loca- tion, 84 Commerce Street, in the Tabernacle Building, where they now carry on the largest and most diversified wholesale grocery business in the city of Boston.
Mr. Haskell has taken no active part in pol- itics, rarely attending party caucuses. He has been extensively interested in shipping, at one time being interested in a fleet of sixty merchant vessels, plying to all the principal seaports of the world. During his career of ceaseless activity his hours of leisure have been largely devoted to reading and study; and in this manner he has acquired a respect- able knowledge, not only of history and gen- eral literature, but also of scientific subjects, keeping well in touch with the progress of the age. He is an advanced and independent thinker, slavishly following no particular mas- ter, though an admirer of Theodore Parker, with whose writings he is well acquainted.
On September 1, 1856, Mr. Haskell was united in marriage with Adaline Locke, daugh- ter of Edmund and Sophia (Locke) Clark, of Amesbury, Mass. Of this union there are three children - Waldo Clark, Edmund May- hew, and Adelaide Mayhew.
Waldo Clark Haskell, born June 6, 1858, was educated in the schools of Boston. Edmund M. Haskell, born February 27, 1861, was also educated in the Boston schools, and is now en- gaged in the cotton business on Post-office Square. He married Rena Haskins, of Bos- ton, and has two children - Helen and Ralph. Adelaide M. Haskell, born February 26, 1875, and educated in Boston, resides with her parents,
ILBUR F. ADAMS, a well-known young business man of Boston and a member of the Board of Aldermen of this eity, was born in Hopkinton, Mass .. March 6, 1865, a son of Amos R. and Sarah E.
(Fisk) Adams. He comes of an old Colonial family, being a descendant of Henry Adams, of Braintree, who is believed to have arrived in New England about the year 1632 or 1634, accompanied by his family, which included eight sons. The governing authorities at Boston allotted to Henry Adams in February, 1641, forty acres of land at Mount Wollaston, or Brain- tree. He dicd in October, 1646. His will mentions his wife, five sons, and a daughter. His son Joseph was the common ancestor of President John Adams and Samuel Adams, of Revolutionary fame, who were cousins. An- other son and the next in this line of descent was Ensign Edward Adams, who was born in England, and who about the year 1652 settled in Medfield. In 1676 Edward Adams's house was burned by the Indians. He held the office of Selectman for many years, and was the Med- field Representative to the General Court in 1689, 1692, and 1702. He was three times married, and by his first wife, Lydia Rockwood, was the father of fourteen children. He died in 1716.
His ninth child, Elisha, born in Medfield, August 21, 1666, married December IS, 1689, Mehitable Cary, of Bristol, R.I. After his death she is said to have married December 5, 1700, Miles Standish, son of Josiah and Sarah (Allen) Standish.
Continuing the line of descent from Elisha were William, born in Bristol, R.I., June 3, 1693, and his son, William Adams, Jr., born, probably in Mendon, Mass., September 19, 1719, who settled in Braintree, and later removed to Medway and thence to Hopkinton, where he died in the eighty-first year of his age. This second William was father of Elisha, born in Braintree, February 25, 1751, who married Sarah Watkins, daughter of Andrew and Thankful (Morsc) Watkins. She was born in Hopkinton, August 1, 1757. Their son, Aaron, born in Hopkinton, May 1, 1801, married May 14, 1828, Joanna Rockwood, daughter of Ezra Rockwood. She was born in Hopkinton, Mass., February 26, 1809. Their children were : Amos R., Sarah E., Mary E., Sabrina, and Henry.
Amos R. Adams, son of Aaron and father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Hopkin- ton, Mass., February 22, 1830. Brought up on
.
.
CAPT. WALTER S. SAMPSON.
423
AMERICAN 'SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
the parental farm, he acquired a good knowledge of agriculture in its various branches and of kin- dred occupations, and when able to branch out for himself he engaged in dairying, dealt in dairy products, and conducted a milk route for thirty- three consecutive years. His death took place July 14, 1898. Personally he was of a retiring disposition and domestic tastes. He attended the Congregational church and, politically, was a Republican. He was a cousin of ex-Governor Claflin, of Newton, Mass. llis wife, Sarah, was a daughter of Levi Fisk, of Upton, a representa- tive of an old Massachusetts family. Their children were five in number: Nellie E. ; Emma J., who died when nine years of age ; Wilbur F., whose record follows; Grace L., the wife of George O. Wood, of Boston ; and Albert, who died in infancy. The mother of these children, Mrs. Sarah E. Adams, still resides at the homestead in Hopkinton, Mass.
Wilbur F. Adams was educated in the public schools of Hopkinton, being graduated from the high school, and at Comer's Commercial Col- lege, where he was graduated in 1884. His first regular industrial experience was acquired as book-keeper for the Norton Door Check and Spring Company, and he continued as an em- ployee of that firm, acting in different capacities, among others that of selling agent for New England, which he was for eight years, till Janu- ary, 1899. He then entered the employ of the W. A. Murtfeldt Company, who are engaged in the construction and laying of roofing, tar con- crete, granolithic sidewalks, and asphalt floors, with an office at 192 Devonshire Street, Boston. This position he now holds.
He has taken an active interest in local politics, and was secretary of the Republican Ward Com- mittee that divided old Ward Twenty-four into two wards, Twenty and Twenty-four. He was nominated and elected to the Council in 1 897 and 1898, and was elected as Alderman at large by a large majority in 1899 and 1900. On September 25, 1900, Mr. Adams was nominated as Representative to the General Court from the Twentieth Suffolk District. He is socially popular, and belongs to several fraternal and other organizations, being a member of the An- cient Order of United Workmen, the I. O. O. F.,
the North Dorchester Republican Club, and the Chickatawbut Club.
Mr. Adams was married in Hopkinton, Mass., in ISSS, to Miss Hattie A. Phipps, a native of Massachusetts and a member of an old family. Five children have been born of this union, namely : Maude A., who died at seven years of age; Marion L .; Frederick W. ; Harold B. ; and John Q. Mr. and Mrs. Adams have a pleasant home at 15 Vinson Street, Dorchester Centre.
APTAIN WALTER SCOTT SAMP- SON, a well-known business man of Boston and a veteran of the late Civil War, was born February 22, 1835, in Kingston, Mass., a son of Benjamin and Sarah (Bradford) Sampson, coming of Pilgrim stock on both sides of the house, the founders of the American families of Sampson and Bradford having both been passengers on the "May- flower" in 1620.
On the paternal side Captain Sampson is a descendant in the seventh generation of Henry Sampson,' the line being continued through Stephen,2 Benjamin,3 Benjamin,‘ Croade,5 Benja- min,6 and Walter Scott.7
Henry Sampson came to Plymouth on the " Mayflower " as a member of the family of his uncle, Edward Tilley, but was too young to sign the "Compact" of November 11, in the cabin of that vessel while it lay at anchor in the harbor of Provincetown. He was, however, enumerated in the assignment of land in 1623 and in the division of cattle in 1627. In 1637 he was ad- mitted a freeman of Plymouth Colony. He settled in Duxbury, and there married February 6, 1635-6, Ann Plummer. In 1645 he became one of the original grantces of Bridgewater, but did not remove there. In 1661 he was made Constable of Duxbury, "an office of high trust and responsibility," to which none but men of good standing were eligible. His will, bearing date of December 24, 1684, may be found in the Old Colony Records, volume 4, page 94. A copy of it is in the Mayflower Descendant for July, 1900. To his sons, Stephen, John, and James, he willed a tract of land in Dart- mouth, assigning one-third of it to each. To his son Caleb he gave one shilling. Ile also
424
AMERICAN SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
gave one shilling each to his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Robert Sprout, and to his daughters Hannah, Mary, and Dorcas, and ten shillings to his daughter, " the wife of John Hanmore." No mention is made in his will of his wife. The Rev. Ichabod Wiswell, pastor of Duxbury from 1676 to 1700, was the overseer of the will, while Thomas Delano and Joseph Chandler were witnesses. His death, according to statistics compiled by Mr. G. E. Bowman, occurred in Duxbury, January 3, 1685.
Stephen Sampson, son of Henry, was born in Duxbury, and died, probably, in the winter of 1714-15. In 1690 he was appointed Constable. His wife's name was Elizabeth His two older sons, Benjamin and John, had by deed from their father in his lifetime one-half of his lands in Dartmouth.
Benjamin Sampson was born in Duxbury in 1686, and died " April 19, 1758, in his 72nd - year," readeth his gravestone. After 1710 he settled in Kingston, becoming the common an- cestor of the Sampsons of that town. On March 19, 1716, he married Rebecca Cook, of Kings- ton, who died April 14, 1769. She was the daughter of Jacob Cook, Jr., and grand-daughter of Jacob and Damaris (Hopkins) Cook. Her grandfather, Jacob Cook, Sr., was a son of Francis Cook, who came over in the "May- flower " in 1620; and her grandmother, Damaris, was a daughter of another " Mayflower " pilgrim, Stephen Hopkins.
Benjamin Sampson, Jr., a lifelong resident of Kingston, was born February 11, 1728-9, and died in 1779. He married first, January 4, 1759, Deborah Cushing, of Pembroke, and after her death married in 1770 Esther Weston, who survived him, dying in 1782.
Croade Sampson, a son of Benjamin and Deborah (Cushing) Sampson, was born in Kings- ton, December 12, 1763, and died October 4, 1836. While a young man he served from September 4, 1781, until December 8, 1781, in a regiment of militia raised to join the army of Washington. On March 9, 1794, he married Bethany Dawes, of Kingston, who died March 2, 1823.
Benjamin Sampson, the eldest son of Croade, was born in Kingston, Mass .. April 24, 1797, and died in that town July 10, ISSO, He was
a farmer by occupation, and much esteemed in the community. He married in 1823 Sally Bradford, who was born in Kingston, July 8. 1805, and died March 8, 1870. They became the parents of eleven children, of whom three are now living, namely: Martin ; Walter Scott. the particular subject of this sketch ; and Wen- dell A. Sally Bradford, the mother of Captain Sampson, was a direct descendant of Governor William Bradford, the line being: William .: William,2 Samuel,3 Gamaliel,+ Peabody,5 Lewis,- Sally.7
William Bradford, the second Governor of the Plymouth Colony, was born at Austerfield. England, in March, 1590, and died at Plymouth. Mass., May 19, 1657. " He married, first. in Holland" (according to Mr. Bowman's statistics. published in the Mayflower Descendant for April, 1900), "in 1613, Dorothy May, who was born about 1597," came over with him in the " Mayflower," and was accidentally drowned at Cape Cod Harbor, December 17, 1620. He married, second, August 24, 1623, Mrs. Alice (Carpenter) Southworth, who was born about 1590, and died at Plymouth, April 5 or 6, 16;0.
William Bradford, second, born June 17, 1624. died February 20, 1703-4. Next to Myles Standish, he was chief military man of the colony, and in King Philip's War was com- mander-in-chief of the Plymouth forces, and often exposed himself to all perils. At the Narragan- sett fight he received a musket-ball in his flesh. which he carried to the end of his days. He was Assistant Treasurer and Deputy Govern .: of Plymouth Colony from 1682 to 1686 and from 1689 to 1691, in the latter year being als one of the Council of Massachusetts. His first wife, Alice, daughter of Thomas Richards, of Weymouth, died December 12, 1671, aged forty- four years. He married, second, a Widow Wise- well (or Wiswall) ; and third, Mrs. Mary Holmes, widow of the Rev. John Holmes, second minister of Duxbury, and a daughter of John Wood (or Atwood), of Plymouth. She died January 6, 1714-15.
Samuel Bradford, known as Lieutenant Samuel, was born in Kingston in 1668. He married Hannah Rogers, of that town, in July, 1689. He was chosen as a juryman in I;co. was a Constable in 1701, a Selectman in 1702,
425
AMERICAN SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
and in 1710 was one of the three men appointed to divide the common lands. He died April 1 I, 1714.
The direct line was continued through his third son, Gamaliel, who was born May 18, 1704, and died in 1778. He resided in Duxbury dur- ing the larger part of his life, being known as Honorable Gamaliel, having served as a member of the Council of Massachusetts and as Judge in the County Court. On August 30, 1728, he married Abigail Bartlett, of Duxbury, who died in 1776.
Peabody Bradford, their fourth son, was born March 8, 1735. In 1760 he married Wealthea Delano, of Kingston, the line being continued through their second son, Lewis.
.
Lewis Bradford was born August 21, 1761, and died in Boston in October, 1832. He married Priscilla Tupper, who was born in Kings- ton, and died in 1834 in Boston. Their daughter Sally, born in 1805, married Benjamin Sampson, the Captain's father.
Walter Scott Sampson lived in Kingston until eighteen years of age, when he came to Boston to work at the trade of a stone mason. He very soon became identified with the militia, and at the breaking out of the Civil War, in 1861, was Captain of Company K, Sixth Regi- ment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, which he commanded during the three months' campaign of that year. Returning from the field of action to Boston, he was made Cap- tain of the Twenty-second United States Volunteers, which, as a part of the Army of the Potomac, was in active service until the latter part of the year 1862. Again returning to Boston, Captain Sampson resumed his trade, and in the years that followed achieved great success, erecting many of the prominent build- ings of this city, among others being the Suffolk County Court-house. Active in Grand Army circles, he has been Commander of the Charles Russell Lowell Post, No. 7, several years, and is also a prominent member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, of Boston, and on its late memorable visit to England had the honor of being the bearer of the State flag.
Captain Sampson is a prominent and enthu- siastic Mason, being a member of St. Paul Lodge, F. & A. M., of South Boston ; St. Mat-
thew's Chapter, of South Boston, R. A .; St. Omer Commandery, K. T., of South Boston; and belongs to all the Scottish Rites, including the thirty-second degree. He is a member of the society "The Direct Descendants of the May- flower," of the Society of Colonial Wars and Sons of the Revolution, a member of the "Ten of Us" Club and the London Club, also hono- rary member of the High School Association of Kingston.
On January 8, 1858, Captain Sampson mar- ried Mary Ann Gilman, a daughter of Joseph Gilman, of Boston. Captain and Mrs. Sampson are the parents of six children, three of whom died in childhood, the others being as follows : Benjamin Franklin, who married Annie K. Taft. of Boston, has three children - Frank Scott. Edward Bradford, and May Ethel ; William A. married Bessie S. Woodell, of Natick, Mass., and they have one child, Arthur Franklin ; and Walter S., Jr., married Helena J. Taft, of Bos- ton, and they have one child, Dorothy H.
IDWIN STANDISH WOODBURY. manufacturer of and wholesale dealer in boots and shoes, Boston, was born in this city, July 22, 1849, son of Charles and Relief Lincoln (Ball) Woodbury. His father was a well-known Boston building contractor. and his mother was a daughter of Micah R. Ball, of Leominster, a representative of an old Massachusetts family.
Charles Woodbury was born in Salem, N. H., January 3, 1809. When a young man he left the homestead farm to learn the mason's trade; and, having completed his apprenticeship, he in 1830 came to Boston on foot, with five dol- lars in his pocket, which constituted his entire cash capital. Finding ready employment at his trade, he followed it as a journeyman; but, being a young man of energetic and ambitious nature, he embraced the first opportunity which presented itself for advancement by forming a copartnership with Lemuel Miles Standish for the purpose of entering the building field. The firm of Standish & Woodbury was the leading building concern in Boston for the succeeding fifty years, during which time it was prominently identified with both the improve-
426
AMERICAN SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
ment and enlargement of the city's business and residential districts. The portion of Bunker Hill Monument constructed by them and the Soldiers' Monument on Boston Common will undoubtedly be among the most enduring specimens of their work, which includes such buildings as Music Hall, the Chickering pianoforte factory, a large number of Back Bay residences, and innumerable business blocks in different parts of the city.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.