USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Boxborough > Boxborough: a New England town and its people > Part 16
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Peter, son of Ephraim Whitcomb, Jr., married Sally Bachellor, and they were the parents of seven children. Myra married a Raymond, and went to Harvard; Peter died in early childhood ; Stillman married Adeline Priest, and their two children went to the Sandwich Islands to live ; Sally married Samuel Hosmer, and went to Acton first, afterward
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settled in Harvard : Peter, Jr. married Betsey Mead, Jan. 2, 1839, and settled in Boxborough. They buried their only child. Augustine A., about three years ago. His wife, a daughter of Mr. William Moore, died some years before. Gran- ville married Caroline Hoar, March 4, 1841, and settled in Boxborough. March 4. 1891, they celebrated their golden wedding. They have nine children, - A. Granville, Elwyn, Edna, Carrie, Myra. Clarence, Frank, Eva and Austin. They are all married but two, and one, Frank, is settled upon the Nathaniel Mead farm in Boxborough. All of the children except two are musicians, and one daughter, Edna, has been a salaried singer in the city of Fitchburg, where she resides. Austin teaches music in the same place. Merrill Whitcomb married in Boxborough, went to Bedford, and afterwards settled in Charlestown. One of his four children, George, married May Wetherbee, of Boxborough, and lives in Charles- town.
Peter and Granville are the only representatives of their family now living. Ephraim Whitcomb, the grandfather of these two, served in town in various positions of trust and responsibility. He was one of the seleetmen when the district was incorporated in 1783, and held that position, at different times. for many years. He also held the offices of town clerk, treasurer, assessor, and he was a prominent worker in the church and society when they were in their infancy. Moses, Ephraim and Joel, sons of Ephraim Whiteomb, Jr .. also held office as selectmen for many years. Moses Whitcomb, Jr., and his son Moses, held this office : the father was superintend- ing school committee at one time. Peter Whitcomb, the father of Granville and Peter, was town treasurer for nine years, for which service he would take no compensation. He also served the town in the capacity of selectman. Mr. Gran- ville Whitcomb has served the town as superintending school committee, town clerk, seleetman, assessor, constable and col- lector, and auditor. He had the honor of being sent represen- tative at one time. and his father, and two of his father's
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John Reed Whitcomb.
brothers, Capt. Ephraim and Joel, also held this position for more than one year.
JOHN REED WHITCOMB.
John Reed Whitcomb, who died at his home in Littleton. Mar. 2, 1890, was a native of Boxborough. His father, Samuel Whitcomb, lived in a dwelling which formerly stood in the field in front of Mr. Parker's present residence. All traces of the habitation have long since passed away. I quote from the Lowell Journal of Mar. 21, 1890, the following item under Littleton : "Died in this town at six o'clock Sunday morning, Mar. 2, John Reed Whitcomb, in his eighty-fifth year. When such a life goes out it deserves more than a passing mention. We do well to pause a moment and reflect upon what is gone. In the hurry of modern life we let pass too easily from the thought the worthy lives of these old people, who have kept their places, and been, as it were, the landmarks in these old towns. Such sterling qualities of character as industry, honesty, frugality, benevolence, gen- erosity, and reverence, may well be considered and emulated. In his simple life, . Uncle Reed,' for by this name was he universally known, preserved all these qualities. It may be said of him that his life was one of strict integrity. It is not probable that any one can point to a single dishonest act. The industry and economy of this good man and his wife were not to gain that they might hoard, but close upon these traits fol- lowed an exemplary generosity and a cheerful benevolence. The sick were not forgotten in his gifts, and those well and strong, but carrying burdens, often felt them lightened by his substantial aid. As the children grew up in the neighborhood and town, and went forth into the world as men and women. they have come back to the old place to find, through what- ever changes, . Unele Reed ' still the same. Although for some years old age has been creeping on apace, yet he was always kind, cheerful and interested in the welfare of them all. We shall miss his face and form from the old, familiar places. The old-time tea-drinkings and sports which have found place
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at the old farm will be remembered by old and young. A large number of friends felt it a privilege to . eall around ' for an afternoon, without invitation, knowing this hospitable couple would always find it . convenient to receive them. As he passed away on that calm Sabbath morning, so quietly that the patient watcher by his side hardly knew when he went, we cannot mourn his loss. Ever since the death of his devoted wife, some ten years since, his has been one long prayer to be released from earth, and to go hence. He had no fear to die, but gladly hailed the messenger when he came.
. And I am glad that he has lived thus long. And glad that he has gone to his reward, Nor can I deem that Nature did him wrong Softly to disengage the vital cord. For when his hand grew palsied. and his eye Dark with the mists of age, it was his time to die.""
In his will Mr. Whitcomb bequeathed the Orthodox and Unitarian societies of Littleton $2,000 each, the income to go toward paying for preaching ; and the town of Littleton $1,000, the income to be used in keeping the Whitcomb lot in order, and for other cemetery purposes.
THE WOOD FAMILY.
The name of Mr. Bennet Wood is intimately associated with the early history of the town. He was the second son of Jeremiah and Dorathy ( Benet ) Wood, the fifth of a family of ten children. Henry Champion, the grandfather of Mr. Wood's mother, Dorathy, was born in England in 1611, and came to New England as one of the first settlers of Lyme and Saybrook. Conn. His father, Jeremiah Wood, was a weaver, a yeoman, gentleman, as shown by account-books and papers. He was constable and collector, later. selectman, and for some years, treasurer of Littleton, and a member and supporter of the church. He purchased his estate there, Jan. 13, 1717, a part of which is still in possession of his descendants. He received the deed from the town of Littleton, as explained by the deed itself, which is now in possession of Isaac Wood, Boston, Mass. Several generations of the Wood family have been born
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The Wood Family.
there. "In uprightness of character, stability of purpose, sound judgment, and high regard for family and personal honor, the family of Jeremiah and Dorathy Wood was no ordi- nary family. Jeremiah Wood died July 15, 1730 : Dorathy, his wife, died July 17, 1752. Their graves are side by side in Littleton, and near them are grouped the graves of some of their children. grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great- great-grandchildren.“
On an old weather-beaten slab in the hill burying-ground in Boxborough, we may read this inscription :
". In Memory of MR. BENNET WOOD who departed this life Apr. 28th, 1797 In the 81st year of his age."
Beside it is erected another stone to the memory of his second wife, Mrs. Isabel Wood, who died Dec. 14, 1797, in the 84th year of her age (the first wife, Lydia Law, of Acton, died Feb. 27. 1765, aged 54 years, 1 month, 13 days, and is buried among the Wood families in Littleton ), and near these lies a granddaughter, Lois Wood, who died Feb. 1, 1782, aged 15 years, 2 months, 22 days. Bennet Wood was a promi- nent and enterprising man, as all his transactions and business connection with his fellow-townsmen plainly testify. He did very much for the formation of the church. and afterward the town, in the early days, and his energy and perseverance helped greatly to pave the way to success.
Mr. Jonathan Wood, the ninth child of Jeremiah and Dorathy, is mentioned as issuing the first town warrant in Boxborough. He is spoken of as an honored citizen, and promi- ment in both civil and military affairs. Mr. John Wood, the sixth child of Jeremiah and Dorathy, has descendants still living in this town. He was twelve years old when his father died. A large part of the real estate was apportioned to him. He mar- ried Lydia Davis, of Harvard. Mass., Oct. 19, 1743. He was
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Borborough : a New England Town and its People.
a constable and collector at the age of twenty-four, a prominent and successful man. had pleasant surroundings for those times, and had a promising young family : but death called him away Apr. 8. 1758. at the early age of forty. Lydia Wood remained a widow for several years, and then married David Goodridge, of Fitchburg. John and Lydia Wood are both buried with the Wood families. in Littleton. Dea. John Wood, son of John and Lydia, the third of a family of seven, was born in Littleton, Sept. 3. 1747. He married Lucy Martin in 1769, and settled upon the home place, where, in 1790, he built himself a fine residence.
The old homestead, recently in possession of George F. Conant, and now occupied by Mr. Campbell, is still in an excellent state of preservation. Deacon Wood was one of Littleton's trusted townsmen : held various responsible public positions, and was deacon of the church for nearly thirty years. He died May 4, 1826, in his seventy-ninth year. Upon his gravestone, in Littleton, is the following :
" Farewell, dear friend and children, too. God has called me home : In a short time he 'll call for you, Prepare yourselves to come."
Lucy (Martin) Wood was born in Old Ipswich, Mass., and died in Littleton, Feb. 20, 1836. The following is upon her gravestone :
" Farewell, my friends, my children dear, My Saviour calls me home : My Saviour calls my children, too, Prepare yourselves to come."
Captain Amariah Wood, sixth son of Dea. John and Lucy Wood, says "My mother's name was Lucy Martin. Her father, George Martin, lived in Old Ipswich ; moved from there to Lunenburg, Mass. Her ancestor, Martin, was a weaver in England ; his wife was one of the higher classes ; her parents were opposed to her marrying a weaver, and they came to America. My mother's great-grandfather's name was Dergy ; he was the King of England's cup-bearer."
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The Wood Family.
Amariah Wood " thoroughly learned the trades of tanner and currier, and carried on that business about a quarter of a century, in Bolton, Mass. He married and had a large family of children by his first wife : he had no children by his second wife. He was an honored citizen, having held civil offices of trust. He held a commission as lieutenant, given him by Governor Caleb Strong of Mass., and a commission as captain. To the former office he was elected Nov. 27, 1812, and the latter, May 3, 1814. and was captain of an independent com- pany later. He was a conscientious and upright man, of marked ability and scholarly attainments ; was a persistent student all his life, and was always ready for research in science and metaphysics ; was a close student of the Bible and was guided by it. He was skilled in musical composition, and took much pleasure in it. Selections from his manuscripts were published long after his decease. He often had original music to use at the meetings of the family. His conversations in later years were masterly, having accurate knowledge and a clear, logical mind, thoroughly disciplined. In his last days he purchased a home near Worcester, Mass., where some of his children had settled. Here he, and the estimable wife of his early and maturer years, and the mother of all his children, rested from their labors. He was born in Littleton, Mass., Sept. 9, 1785."
Martin Wood, the eldest son of Dea. John and Lucy (Martin) Wood, was born Feb. 15. 1774. and died Dec. 27. 1853. He was twice married.
" Martin Wood was well posted in common historical sub- jects, and had a very complete knowledge of the Bible. He was a deacon in the church, and a teacher of the Bible class for men and women in the Sunday school for many years. He was a man of sterling integrity, thoroughly honest and earnest in whatever engaged. He had quite a mechanical talent; was ingenious in making various implements and instruments, was a good carpenter, blacksmith and cooper. He built several of the school houses in Littleton. Several pieces of public roads were contracted for, and built by him. He was a skilful sur-
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Borborough : a New England Town and its People.
vevor, and was often called upon to settle disputed boundary lines where other good surveyors could not agree. He held at different times all the important places of trust in his town as committee-man. assessor, selectman."
Carshena Wood, son of Dea. John and Lucy (Martin) Wood, the fourth child of a family of eleven, was born Nov. 19. 1776. He married Betsey Lawrence for his first wife, and, after her death. Tryphena Lawrence. He died July 13, 1854.
.. C'arshena Wood was a man of ability, but had no ambition for public display so far as he was concerned, but avoided, if possible, every public office. He was an ingenious man, learned the cooper's trade. but was always a farmer. He first settled in Ashby, Mass .. but upon the death of his brother John, he sold his estate there, and was settled upon the homestead of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and resided in the house built for his brother John, near the house of his father, the remainder of his life. He never occupied the fine residence of his father, although it was long in his possession after his parents' decease. He was a man of strict integrity : was punctiliously exact in all his engagements, and dealt honestly with every one ; was a good neighbor and townsman, an early member and regular attendant of his church."
Eunice Martin, daughter of Carshena and Tryphena (Law- rence) Wood, was born in Littleton, Jan. 4, 1819, married Benjamin W. Priest, and resides in Littleton, not far from the Wood homestead. They had three children. The youngest child and only daughter, Arabella Wood, was born June 30, 1841 : married Mr. George F. Keyes, and, with her husband, occupies at the present time the house where Mr. Carshena Wood, grandfather of Mrs. Keyes, formerly dwelt. They have a son, George S. W., twenty-one years of age. engaged at present in the machinist's business in Brooklyn, N. Y., and a daughter, younger, Mattie B., who resides at home.
The estates above mentioned are those recorded as having been transferred from Littleton to Boxborough, May 23, 1831.
MARTIN E. WOOD.
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Deacon Martin E. Wood.
Mr. Walter A. Wood, of Wood's Mowing Machine fame, belongs to one branch of the Wood family. *
DEACON MARTIN E. WOOD.
Benjamin Wood, the grandfather of Dea. M. E. Wood. of this town, was born in Brookfield, Mass., and his grandmother, Abigail ( Waldo) Wood was a native of Canterbury, Conn. They settled in Orange, N. H., where eight children were born to them, among them Nathan Waldo Wood, Dea. Wood's father. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Wood subsequently removed to Alstead, N. H., where the youngest son, Gilbert, was born, and here, this good man and his wife, who lived to rear a large family to Christian activity and usefulness, spent the remainder of their days. Nathan Waldo Wood went to Claremont, N. H., and there married Ann B. Currier, daughter of Eliphalet Currier. They were the parents of three children, two sons and one daughter, of whom (Dea.) Martin Eliphalet Wood. who was born Sept. 20, 1833, is the oldest. Horace Benjamin Wood, the second son, married Jeanette Grandy of Vt., and resides in the city of Worcester, where he is engaged as a molder in the Iron Foundry. They have three children, H. Burton, Minnie and Maud.
The daughter, Mary Abigail Wood, died at the early age of fourteen years. She was a fine scholar, and at the time of her death her friends thought her capable of teaching.
Mrs. Nathan W. Wood, Dea. Wood's mother, died when he was only eight years of age, but the influence she exerted throughout those early years was one never to be forgotten. He himself says of her, "She was a Christian woman and taught us the truths of the Bible by precept and example while she lived, and in her last hours she was sustained and com- forted by them." His father, who died in 1857, was also an earnest Christian. After his mother's death, he went to live with a man in Dalton, N. H., where he remained four years. a
* The Quotations in the above sketch are from Wm. S. Wood's "Genealogy of the Wood Family."
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Boxborough : a New England Town and its People.
period which even in retrospect is not pleasant to dwell upon. because of the want and hardship connected with it. He says of this time, " The farmers raised their own wheat, and my greatest recreation was in going to mill, some eight or ten miles distant, for my employer and the neighbors." From his twelfth to his eighteenth year, he resided with a farmer named Nathan Clark, in Croydon, N. H., and the motherless boy's experience is again best expressed in his own words : "Mrs. Clark was as good to me as though I had been her own son." Removing at the age of eighteen to Claremont, N. H., his childhood's home, he remained there fifteen years. Four years of the time were spent in the service of one man, and here he met the lady who afterward became his wife, Juliette Woodward, daughter of Samuel and Julia (Campbell) Woodward, of Chester, Vt. They were married in 1860, and ten years later removed to Dedham, Mass., where Dea. Wood had charge of the farm con- nected with the "Temporary Asylum for Women," and his wife that of the house.
In 1874, Mr. and Mrs. Wood came to Boxborough, and for the past seventeen years have made this town their home, being settled upon the old Hayward place .-- now in possession of Mrs. Eliza A. (Hayward) Whitcomb,- of which they have had the charge. They have one son, Charles E., who resides at home.
Dea. Wood had only a common-school education, even this advantage having been somewhat limited, but he has always been a great lover of reading, and so has informed himself upon all the current topics of the day. He says, "The first money I ever had of my own,- which I obtained by raising a piece of potatoes when I was about nine years of age,- I ex- pended for a newspaper, called the . Youth's Cabinet.'" Dea. Wood has served the town as school committee, and as assessor for four years. He has been deacon of the Congregational church in Boxborough for fourteen years,-an office which he also held previously in Claremont, N. H.,-superintendent of the Sabbath school twelve years, and has served in various positions connected with the church to which his care and
215
George Cleveland Wright.
thought have been so freely given, and for whose welfare he has labored unceasingly. He was elected a Trustee of the " Literary and Library Association," West Acton, about four years ago.
Mrs. Wood's influence as a patient and willing, though quiet worker, in the church, is also deeply felt. She was presi- dent of the "Ladies' Circle " quite a number of years, and is ever active in promoting its interests. In the home, in the church, in the sick-room, wherever she goes, whatsoever her hand finds to do, she does with her might. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have many friends and are highly respected by all who are acquainted with them.
Rev. Sumner G. Wood, of Easthampton, Mass .. who will be well remembered by many of our Boxborough people, is a son of Mr. Franklin Wood, late of Waltham, Mass., who was a brother of Nathan W. Wood, Dea. Wood's father. We quote from a Waltham paper with regard to Mr. Franklin Wood : "Of deceased it may be truly said that Waltham never had a more conscientious citizen, the church a truer disciple, or home a kinder or more faithful head."
Rev. Horace Wood, who died in Keene, N. H., in 1886. was also a brother of Nathan W. Wood. He devoted himself for thirty-six years to the work of the ministry, only giving it up when compelled to do so by ill-health. It is said of him : " Wherever Mr. Wood labored, his people had confidence in him as a thoroughly good man, a safe and sympathetic counselor, without any of those eccentricities of character which injure the usefulness of so many pastors."
Rev. John Wood, of Fitchburg, Mass., a former pastor in this town, is a second cousin of Deacon Wood.
I am indebted to one of the Wright family for the following sketch : -
GEORGE CLEVELAND WRIGHT.
He was born Jan. 7, 1823, in Bedford. His father, Joel Wright, lived in Boxborough at one time in the brick dwelling- house opposite the Orthodox Church. His grandfather's name also was Joel, and his great-grandfather, Ebenezer Wright,
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Boxborough : o New England Town and its People.
lived in Templeton and Hubbardston. His mother, Dolly H. Reed, was born in Littleton. and afterwards taught school in Boxborough. She was a daughter of Poulter Reed, and her mother. Molly Hartwell, was a direct descendant in the sixth generation from William Hartwell, who came to Concord in 1635-36. Poulter (son of John Reed. of Lexington), soon after his marriage to Molly Hartwell, moved to Boxborough, and lived on a farm about one eighth mile east of the centre,- in a house nearly opposite that now occupied by Simon B. Hager. They soon returned to Lexington, and then to Little- ton, where George's mother was born. Mr. Wright has in his , possession no less than three certificates of his mother's ability to " teach school ;" one of them has a local interest, at least, and reads as follows :-
" BOXBOROUGH,
April 17th, 1813.
These may certify that having examined Miss Dolly H. Reed, I do find her so well versed in English reading and the grammatical construction as to approve of her in the employment of teaching an English school.
(signed) JOSEPH WILLARD, Clerk."
Rev. Joseph Willard was the first minister of the District of Boxborough.
Dec. 31, 1846, he married Susan H. Davis, daughter of Jonathan B. Davis, granddaughter of Simon Hosmer, and grandniece of Captain Isaac Davis, who was killed at Concord tight. Four of the children lived to grow up, born as follows : Estella M., Dec. 20, 1849 : George S., July 13, 1857 ; Effie R., June 13, 1860; T. Bertha, June 5, 1866.
At the age of thirty-one, after being in the milk business in Charlestown and Boston two years, he engaged in the coffee and spice business as a member of the firm of Hayward and Co .. which, after twenty-five years of successful business, united with Dwinell and Co., and soon after with Mason and Co., under the firm name of Dwinell, Hayward and Co .. the largest
+
Gro. C. Might
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George Cleaveland Wright.
coffee and spice house in New England. Though always an equal partner in every respect, he never asked to have his own name appear in the firm name.
For the past thirty years he has been' the coffee buyer of the house, and his frequent trips to the New York markets have made him personally known to most of the prominent coffee- men of this country. As a coffee buyer he has few equals and no superiors. With the courage of his convictions, backed by a most thorough knowledge of the statistical position of the article in question, he has shown his right to the foremost position in his department of the business : notably so in the rise of 1886-1887, when the Brazilian coffees advanced in one vear more than 250 per cent in value.
From small beginnings, the firm of Dwinell, Hayward and Co. has seen a healthy and legitimate growth, and today dis- tributes the products of its extensive factory, located at the corner of Batterymarch and Hamilton Streets, Boston, in almost every State and Territory this side the Rocky Mountains.
Mr. Wright is strictly a self-made man. Without rich or influential friends to help, he has won for himself a position in the business world that any man might envy, and to which few attain. and he bids fair, at the age of sixty-eight. to enjoy for many years the competency he so well deserves.
Early in his successful business life -1861 - he built a worthy home on the brow of the hill overlooking the village of West Acton, which commands a glorious view of the surround- ing country. Here his children grew up, and here he still resides.
He has been prominently identified with the Universalist Parish in West Acton, and was one of three to contribute a large sum toward the erection of its present meeting-house.
In all the village and town improvements, Mr. Wright has always shown a lively interest and a generous help.
Lyceum and temperance, school and library, have found in him a firm friend and a most liberal patron.
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Breborough : a New England Town and its People.
Though Mr. Wright never sought prominence in social or town affairs any more than in his business career, yet he was chosen vice-president, and afterwards president of the Farmers' Club in West Acton, and served as chairman of the building committee in the erection of the present commodious school- house in the same village.
In the Legislature of 1874, he represented the towns of Acton. Wayland, and Sudbury, as a Republican, with credit to himself, and to the satisfaction of his constituents.
Mr. Wright is keenly alive to the times; is still active in business, and is no less enthusiastic in his support of the prin- ciples of Tariff Revision than he was in '48, when his party, at the National Free Soil Convention, at Buffalo, after success- fully balloting for a Presidential candidate, adjourned with the allying ery, ". Van Buren and Free Soil, Adams and Liberty."
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