USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Boston and eastern Massachusetts > Part 5
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TIMOTHY PICKERING.
Many local characters in Essex county have been famous in their day and generation, and perhaps none more so at the time of the American Revolution than Hon. Timothy Pickering. He was born in Salem July 17. 1745. and died in his native city, January 29. 1829. He was graduated from Harvard Col- lege in 1763. was admitted to the bar in 1768. received a degree from New Jersey College in 1798: commanded a militia regiment at the beginning of the Revolution, held the office of adjutant-general of the army in 1777. and that of quartermaster-general in 1780. After the
** The Porter Genealogy," p. 285. calls Mills Olcott "Honorable." Sarah Porter, wife of Mills Olcott, was a daughter of Asa Porter, by his wife Mehit- able (Crocker). Asa Porter was a loyalist. (See Sabine, p. 198.) H. C. 1762. The line of Asa is John (1), Samuel (2), John (3). Benjamin (+), Moses (5), Asa (6).
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Revolutionary war he settled in Pennsylvania, and between 1791 and 1800 was postmaster- general of the United States, and secretary of war and secretary of state. He returned to Salem, in 1801, and was afterwards chief jus- tice of the Essex County court of common pleas, United States senator from 1803 to 1811, and a representative in Congress from 1815 to 1817. His portrait by Stuart, at the age of sixty-three, shows a man of a strong face, indicative of a firm will. He was the father of the famous scholar, John Pickering ( 1777-1846) author of the Greek and English Lexicon bearing his name. This was the first Greek lexicon with definitions in English, and not Latin.
Timothy Pickering was conspicuous for the force and dignity of his character. From 1774 when the first colonial legislature assem- bled in Salem, Pickering politically was at the centre of events that preceded and included the Revolution. Eminent as he was in public life, he was but one in a group of professional and business men of rare ability and great attainments. He was associated in his native city with educated men who were not only familiar with affairs in their own country, but also were at home in foreign lands, having much of the culture gained by travel after the usnal course of education was finished. They were not provincial in the narrow sense.
It is remembered of Timothy Pickering that he was near-sighted and wore glasses at a period in the history of the country when such articles were uncommon, and near-sight- ed people having no glasses were relegated to the limbo of old age and to the realms of pre- mature uselessness. At home he was presi- dent of the county agricultural society and one of the school committee. About 1770 he published a manual of military tactics which he used in drill service before the breaking out of the following war and which he applied later in a critical way to the instruction of officers superior to him in rank as the war progressed. He published an exhaustive let- ter on the "Conduct of the American Govern- ment towards Great Britain and France," and a "Review of the Correspondence between President John Adams and W. Cunningham." besides other papers connected with his varied official service. The late George Bailey Loring says of him: "Colonel Pickering was not only governed by a high sense of duty throughout his long career, and by strong convictions, but he also expressed himself in a nervous, vigor- ons style, and in controversial correspondence
was a most formidable foe. To no man is this country more indebted for its independent nationality and the strength of its institutions. He performed his service with such fearless- ness and honesty that he was at times placed on the defensive; but he now stands in the front rank of the great and pure men of the Revolutionary and Constitutional period in our history. In a literary point of view, he has left for the imitation of those statesmen who come after him a clear and impressive style and great power of statement."
He is sometimes criticized for his marching from Salem, with his regiment of three hun- dred men, on April 19, 1775. in pursuit of the British troops retreating from Lexington, and failing to come up with them near Charles- town, from which he threatened to cut off their retreat. An observer on Prospect Hill. in present Somerville, saw Colonel Pickering's regiment on the top of Winter Hill, nearby, and the enemy being very near in Charlestown road. And Washington wrote: "For they (the British) had not arrived in Charlestown, under cover of their ships, half an hour, be- fore a powerful body of men from Marble- head and Salem was at their heels, and must, if they had happened to be up one hour sooner, inevitably have intercepted their re- treat to Charlestown."*
ANCESTRY .- John Pickering (1), born in England, about 1615, died in Salem, Massa- chusetts. 1657. married, about 1636, Elizabeth ; she married second, December 25, 1657. John Deacon, and died August 8, 1662. According to the Aspinwall Notarial Records, under date of 1650, John Pickering of Salem owned a house near the Newgate in Coven-
*On February 13, 1775, he was elected colonel of the First Regiment of Essex county militia, and received his commission from the royal govern- ment. He held this office sometime after he had joined the army of the United States in 1777. It is generally understood that he was present at the North Bridge when Colonel Leslie attempted to capture the cannon that were stored on the North Field, Salem; and the accounts of the affair printed in the "Essex Gazette" have been attributed to him. April 19, 1775, he led his regiment to assist the colonists on that eventful day, but arrived too late. The affray at Lexington had already taken place, and the British were on their return to Boston, when Colonel Pickering and his men reached Med- ford. Colonel Pickering's behavior on this occasion has been the subject of adverse criticism; but a careful inquiry into the facts shows clearly that his conduct was all that could be desired from a brave and careful officer. December 5, 1776, ne collected a regiment of seven hundred men, who marched under his command, and went through the campaign in New York and New Jersey. The cam- paign ended April 1, 1777.
Colonel Pickering's reputation and his frequent visits at headquarters made so favorable impres- sion on General Washington that he wrote him an urgent letter dated March 30, 1777, offering him the post of adjutant-general, which he declined at first, but afterwards accepted.
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try, county Warwick, England, which leads to the belief that he came from there or near there. Children: 1. John ; see forward. 2. Jonathan ; died 1729, married March 19, 1665. Jane Cromwell. 3. Elizabeth, baptized March 3. 1044, died young. 4. Elizabeth, baptized August 31, 1645, died young.
( II) John Pickering, son of John Picker- ing (1), born at Salem Massachusetts, 1637. (lied May 5, 1694, married Alice ( Flint ) Bul- lock, widow of Henry Bullock, Junior, and daughter of William and Alice Flint. He was a lieutenant in Captain Samuel Appleton's company in 1675-6, and under Captain Mose- ley went to the rescue of Captain Lathrop's company at Bloody Brook, 1675. Children : 1. John, born 1658, see forward. 2. Jonathan, born September 27, 1660, died young. 3.
Joseph, born September 9, 1663, died young. 4. Benjamin, born January 15, 1665-6, died 1718, married April 27. 1693. Jane Hobby. 5. Sarah, born September 7, 1668, died before 1692, married John Buttolph. 6. Edward. birth unrecorded. 7. William, born January 11. 1670-1 : married June 19, 1695, Hannah Brownc. 8. Elizabeth, born September 7. 1674: married first, before 1696, Samuel Nich- ols ; married second, February 22. 1698-9. James Browne. 9. Hannah, born July 2, 1677. died before July 29, 1714: married first. Dan- iel King; married second, 1701. Nathaniel Beadle : married third, October 29. 1706, Rich- ard Palmer.
(III) John Pickering, son of John Pick- ering (2), born at Salem, Massachusetts, Sep- tember 10, 1658. died there June 19, 1722; married June 14. 1683, Sarah Burrell, born May 16, 1661, died December 27. 1747, daugh- ter of John and Lois ( Ivory) Burrell, of Lynn, Massachusetts. Children: Lois, born May 1, 1684: died February 12, 1754; mar- ried April 17. 1700, Timothy Orne. 2. Sarah, born July 25, 1686; died December 20, 1744: married July 17. 1707, Joseph Hardy. 3. John, born October 28. 1688: died September 10, 1712. 4. Mary, born May Ir, 1691 ; died July 8, 1702. 5 Ruth, born October 10, 1693 : (lied July 27, 1702. 6. Joseph, born Novem- ber 20, 1695; died July 22, 1702. 7. Lydia, born March 17. 1698: died October 10. 1702. 8. Theophilus, born September 28, 1700: died October 7. 1747. 9. Timothy, born February 10. 1702-3; see forward. IO. Eunice, born October 3, 1705: died October 8, 1783: mar- ried first, December 10, 1724, Joseph Neal. married second. April 6, 1738. William Pick- ering.
(IV) Timothy Pickering, son of John Pickering (3), born at Salem, Massachusetts, baptized February 14, 1702-3, died there, June 7, 1778, married November 21, 1728, Mary Wingate, born at Hampton, New Hampshire. June 14, 1708, died at Salem, Massachusetts, December 12, 1784, daughter of Colonel Joshua and Mary ( Lunt) Wingate. Chil- Iren: 1. Sarah, born January 28, 1730. died November 21, 1826; married John Clarke. 2. Mary, born March 29. 1733; died January 30. 1805. 3. Lydia, born February 27, 1736 ; died October 21, 1824: married March 15, 1758. George Williams. 4. Elizabeth, born Novem- ber 12, 1737: died October 12, 1823 ; married November 7. 1757, John Gardner. 5. John, born March 2. 1740: died AAugust 20, 1811. 6. Lois, born April 19, 1742: died February 4, 1815 : married 1772, John Gooll. 7. Eunice, born April 19. 1742: died January 14, 1843. in her one hundred and first year; married May 23. 1765, her cousin, Paine Wingate, who died in his one hundredth year. 8. Tim- othy, born July 6. 1745; see forward. 9. Lucia, born November 12, 1747 ; died October 31. 1822 ; married June 17, 1776, Israel Dodge.
(\') Colonel Timothy Pickering, son of Timothy Pickering (4). born at Salem, Mass- achusetts, July 6, 1745: died there. January 20, 1829: married April 8, 1776, Rebecca White, born at Bristol, England, July 18, 1754, died at Salem, Massachusetts. August 14. 1828, daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth ( Miller ) White. Children: 1. John, born February 2, 1777 : died May 5. 1846; married March 3. 1805. Sarah White. 2. Timothy. born October 1, 1779: died May 14, 1807: married December 29, 1804, Lurena Cole. 3. Henry, born October 8. 1781 : died May 8. 1838. 4. Charles, born May 25. 1784: died May 12, 1796. 5. William, born February 16. 1786: died June 16, 1814. 6. Edward, born September 12. 1787: died October 10, 1793. 7. George, born August 7, 1789. died April 23, 1826. 8. Octavius, born September 2, 1791 ; died October 29, 1868 : married Decem- ber 29, 1836, Jane Pratt. 9. Mary, born No- vember 21. 1793: died March 22, 1863 : mar- ried April 12, 1813. Benjamin Ropes Nichols. 10. Elizabeth, born November 21, 1793; died August 11, 1819: married August 12, 1816, Hammond Dorsey.
THEOPHILUS PARSONS.
Theophilus Parsons, whose judicial knowl- edge and legal acumen won for him the title of "Giant of the law," was a native and emi-
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nent citizen of Essex county, Massachusetts, and born at Byfield, February 24, 1750, SON of Moses Parsons, a settled minister in that place. He died at Boston, October 30, 1813.
He was a student at Dummer Academy. and graduated at Harvard College in 1769. After graduation he taught a grammar school at Falmouth, now Portland, Maine. Ile was an insatiable student, and when not otherwise occupied studied law in the office of a cele- brated practitioner at Falmouth, where he himself was admitted to the bar in 1774. During the following year Falmouth was dle- stroyed by British ships of war, and Mr. Par- sons returned to his home in Byfield. But here he found Judge Edmund Trowbridge, of Cambridge, who, through the exigencies of the war, was stopping at Mr. Parsons's house. Mr. Trowbridge was regarded as the most learned lawyer of his time in New Eng- land, and Mr. Parsons, at once, became his pupil, while the former remained in Byfield. Mr. Parsons profited by this goklen oppor- tunity. The formation of a constitution, about the time of the Declaration of Independ- ence, became a matter of much moment to many of the colonies, which were just about to become states, and Mr. Parsons interested himself in this question with his usual ability. He, at first, objected to the quality of the con- stitution offered, at this early period. and he was sustained by the warm sympathy of ex- cellent men. A meeting was held in his county setting forth their objections, which were published under the name of the "Essex Result." This pamphlet was written by Mr. Parsons. This was an early encounter with a great question, which was settled later, but not without opposition. It was not without certain amendments, called in that day, "con- ciliatory resolutions," written by Mr. Parsons, that the constitution was adopted, and the country saved.
Mr. Parsons had by this time become a res- ident of Newburyport. In 1800, however, he removed to Boston. In 1806 he was invited to become the chief-justice of the state, and having accepted held the office till his death. He was married, January 13, 1780, to Eliz- abeth, daughter of Judge Benjamin Green- leaf, of Newbury.
ANCESTRY .- Jeffery Parsons ( 1), of Glou- cester, Massachusetts, born in England. 1631. died at Gloucester, August 16, 1689: married November 11. 1657, Sarah Vinson, who died January 12, 1708, daughter of William and Sarah Vinson, of Gloucester. Jeffery Par-
sons left England when quite young for Bar- badoes, and lived there several years with an uncle who went with him from England. IIe came thence to New England. He had sev- eral relatives in England whose names are known from their letters, who appear to have belonged at Ashprington, near Dartmouth. He settled in Gloucester, where he was a selectman. Children: 1. James, born Decem- ber 18, 1658, died October 1, 1733. aged sev- enty-five : married December 18, 1688. Han- nah Younglove, of Ipswich, Massachusetts, who died March II, 1733, aged seventy-eight. 2. Jeffery, born January 25. 1661 ; married May 5. 1686, Abigail Younglove, of Ips- wich, Massachusetts. 3. Sarah, born April 19. 1663. 4. John, born May 24, 1666, died December 1, 1714: married first, January 19. 1693. Isabella Haynes, who died November 20, 1700 ; married second, July 29, 1701, Sarah Norton, who died July 25. 1726, aged fifty- six. 5. Elizabeth, born March 22, 1669. 6. Jeremiah, born May 28, 1672, was impressed on board of a man-of-war when young, and is said to have settled in Virginia. 7. Nath- aniel, born March 16, 1675. died May 21, 1722; married December 27. 1697, Abigail Haskell. 8. Abigail, born March 25, 1678. 9. Ebenezer, born January 5, 1681, died young. 10. Ebenezer, born January 28, 1682 ; see forward.
( II ) Ebenezer Parsons, son of Jeffery Par- sons (1), born at Gloucester, Massachusetts, January 28, 1682, died December 19, 1763. aged eighty-two years (gravestone) ; married Lydia Haskell, born September 4. 1681, died October 2, 1734. aged fifty-three years (grave- stone ). daughter of William and Mary ( Brown) Haskell, of Gloucester. He was published April 11, 1741, to Mrs. Alice Nor- wood, and December 4. 1742, to Mrs. Jemima ( Nelson-Bennett ) Todd, of Rowley, Massa- chusetts, whom he married ; she died April 25. 1752, aged sixty-five, and he married third, October 31. 1754. Mrs. Elizabeth Andrews, of Ipswich, Massachusetts. He was a trader, selectman, deacon and ruling elder of the First Church. His will dated December 15, 1760, probated December 26, 1763. names wife Elizabeth, sons Jacob and Isaac Parsons, son Moses Parsons and daughter Lydia Low. Children: 1. Ebenezer, lost at sea, October 26, 1732. aged twenty-six years. 2. Jacob, married Sarah Redding. 3. Isaac, died July 5. 1767, married 1734. Hannah Burnham, of Ipswich, Massachusetts. 4. Moses, born June 20, 1716, see forward. 5. Lydia, married Low.
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(III) Reverend Moses Parsons, son of Ebenezer Parsons (2), born at Gloucester. Massachusetts, June 20. 1716, died at New- bury. Massachusetts. December 14, 1783: married January 11, 1742. Susanna Davis ; she died in Boston, December 18. 1794, aged seventy-five years, daughter of Ebenezer and Mary ( Wharf ) Davis, of Gloucester. He was graduate from Harvard College 1736, and was settled on June 21, 1744. a pastor of the By- field parish church. In his youth he taught a school for several years, and while preparing himself for the work of the ministry he was chosen to assist Rev. John White of the Glou- cester First Parish ; this was in the year 1742. and instead of healing dissensions which had long existed in the parish. it made them worse, and he accepted a call to Byfield, where he was distinguished as a preacher and remained. llis will dated May 21. 1776, probated March 27. 1784. names wife Susanna. sons Moses. Eben, Theophilus. Theodore and William. and daughters Susanna, Judith and Mary. Children : 1. Moses, born May 13. 1744. died 1801, (H. C. 1765). 2. Ebenezer, baptized March 2, 1746, died ist9: married 1767. Mary Gorham. 3. Theophilus, baptized January 17. 1748, died January 12. 1748-9. aged twelve months and twelve days. 4. Theophilus, bap- tized February 18, 1750: see forward. 5. Theodore. baptized August 4. 1751. (11. C. 1773) : lost his life at sea on board a privateer. about March. 1779. 6. Susanna, baptized April 29, 1753. 7. William. baptized August 10, 1755. died March 19, 1837, aged eighty- two years. 8. Judith, baptized November 13. 1757. 9. Mary, baptized September 11. 1763. (IV) Honorable Theophilus Parsons. son of Rev. Moses Parsons (3). born at Byfield, Massachusetts, baptized there February 18, 1750, died at Boston, Massachusetts, October 30, 1813, aged sixty-three years : married Jan- uary 13. 1780, Elizabeth Greenleaf, born July 13. 1758. died February 13, 1829, daughter of Hon. Benjamin and Elizabeth (Chauncy ) Greenleaf. of Newbury, Massachusetts. ( H. C. 1769). His will dated October 25, 1813. entered for probate November 8, 1813, names his wife Elizabeth, two sons, Theophilus and William ; three daughters, Mary Judith, Lucy and Charlotte ; son Charles Chauncy, daugh- ter Mrs. Watson, his wife ( Elizabeth Parsons ) and his son Charles Chauncy Parsons joint executors. Children : 1. Charles Chauncy, born April 8, 1782. (11. C. 1801) ; married Judith Parsons, of Gloucester. 2. Theophilus. born May 17. 1797. (H. C. 1815) ; died at
Cambridge. January 26, 1882. Ile was Dane professor of law at Harvard University, and an eminent author. 3. William, born Febru- ary 17, 1800. (11. C. 1818). 4. Elizabeth, married August 6. 1809. Benjamin Marston Watson. 5. Mary Judith. 6. Lucy Greenleaf. 7. Charlotte, born January 26, 1793, died July 11. 1830 ; married November 23. 1820. Charles Porter Phelps.
NATHANIEL BOWDITCH.
Nathaniel Bowditch was born in Salem, March 26, 1773. and died in Boston. March 16. 1838. Ile began life in the forecastle of an East Indiaman, and a recent writer has said of him: "Nathaniel Bowditch everybody has heard of who ever smelled salt water. Ife was famous both on sea and shore. His fame was so extensive and stable that even his con- temporaries who used his "Navigator," and worked out their problems by use of his tables, often thought of him as being as ancient and famous as Sir Isaac Newton. After his ma- rine experience was over he lived as a quiet business man in Salem, not especially conspic- nous in a place and at a time when firstrate attainments and achievements were expected of many men in many modes of action." In Salem he was president of the Essex Fire and Marine Insurance Company. Therefore in an intellectual point of view his career is one of the most remarkable and admirable records in history.
The present writer holds in his hand a bound volume of pamphlets, entitled by its former owner "Bowditch's Eulogies." The volume was formerly the property of Eliza S. Quincy, a daughter of an eminent president of Harvard University, and contains her autograph. Their titles are "A Discourse on the Life and Char- acter" of Dr. Bowditch, by Alexander Young ( Boston, 1838), 114 pp. A "Eulogy," by John Pickering ( Boston, 1838). 101 pp .; and another "Eulogy" by Daniel Appleton White ( Salem, 1838). 72 pp.
His parents were Habakkuk and Mary In- gersoll Bowditch. His ancestors for three generations were shipmasters, and his father on retiring from that mode of hard industry, carried on the trade of a cooper, by which he gained a precarious subsistence for a family of seven children, of which Nathaniel was the fourth. He sailed on his first voyage, at the age of twenty-two, on January 11, 1795. in the capacity of captain's clerk, and was absent a year. In 1800, at the age of twenty-three. he issued the first edition of his "New Ameri-
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can Practical Navigator," a work which has been of immense service to the nautical and commercial interests of this country. By this single act, without doing anything more, he would have conferred a lasting obligation upon his native land. "The Practical Navigator," to the time of his death, was never superseded. Ile learned the French and Spanish languages withont any instructor. Subsequently in life he acquired the German and the Italian. In 1790 he began to study Latin in order to read mathemetical works in that language. Having qnitted the sea in 1804 he became the presi- dent of the marine insurance company in Salem, which we have already mentioned, and retained that office until 1823, when he was elected to a high position in another insurance company, and removed to Boston at the age of fifty, and spent in that city the last fifteen years of his life. He was eminently a self- taught and self made man. He became one of the greatest scientific men of his age. He was a contemplative, recluse student, and, at the same time, an active public man. At the same time he was one of the most skilful of financiers. He translated and commented on La Place "Mecanique Celeste :" the first volume in 1829, the second volume in 1832, and the third volume in 1834; or about one thousand pages each, quarto; the fourth and last was incomplete at his decease.
On October 28, 1800, he married his cousin, Mary Ingersoll, as his second wife, daughter of Jonathan and Mary Hodges Ingersoll : she was born December 4, 1781, and died in Boston, April 17, 1834. By his second marriage he had eight children, six of whom (four sons and two daughters) survived him. His first wife was Elizabeth Boardman, daughter of Francis Boardman, married March 25. 1798; she died while he was absent on a voyage, at the age of eighteen years.
Nine years of his life were spent in five voyages upon the sea ( four of them to the East Indies ). He was the author of many scientific articles described by John Pickering, who ventures the remark that the mere me- chanical bulk of Dr. Bowditch's work exhibits an amount of actual labor "that astonishes
Daniel Appleton White (in 1838) speak- ing to the inhabitants of Salem, states, that "some of you remember him at school, as an active, bright boy, and uncommonly fond of the study of arithmetic . .... his genius for the mathematics then began to manifest itself." and this before the age of ten, when
he quitted the school, because of the obliga- tion to go to work. At the age of fifteen he made a manuscript almanac for the year 1790, complete in all its parts ; and so onward.
The names of Dr. Bowditch's brothers and sisters were Mary ( who married), Habakkuk, Elizabeth, William (who died in 1799, aged 23), Samuel and Lois (the last named was un- married, and died about 1808). Five of this number died before the age of twenty-three, and the eldest of them died in 1808, at the age of forty-two. The mother of Dr. Bow- ditch was a daughter of Nathaniel Ingersoll, and his ancestors were all inhabitants of Salem, where the first was William Bow- ditch, who, with his wife Sarah, came from England among the early settlers. Their son William was collector of the port of Salem for the colonial government. He died sud- denly in 1681, leaving a widow named Sarah, and an only son named William, who was mar- ried to Mary, a daughter of Thomas Gardner. This third William was a respectable mer- chant, and for many years a representative to the general court. He had been a shipmaster. Among his children was Joseph, who was a man of note in his day, and Ebenezer, the grandfather of Dr. Bowditch, who in 1723 married Mary, daughter of John Turner, an opulent merchant, long a member of the Pro- vince Council. Dr. Nathaniel Bowditch's father and grandfather were both respectable shipmasters. (D. A. White).
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