Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Boston and eastern Massachusetts, Part 65

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 768

USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Boston and eastern Massachusetts > Part 65

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(VII) Lieutenant Colonel George Henry Woods, son of Ephraim Woods, was born in Salem, February 2, 1831. He attended the public schools of his native town and the Latin high school of Salem, completing his prepara- tion for college at Wesleyan Seminary, Wil- braham, Massachusetts, graduating from Brown University in the class of 1853, and from Harvard Law School with the degree of LL. B. in 1855. He practiced law for a time in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but after the civil war, preferring a mercantile career en-

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gaged in the grain commission business, first in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later at Decatur, Illi- nois, where he was in partnership with Albert G. Webber, attorney at law, under the firm name of George H. Woods & Company, and still later was a member of the firm of W. T. Roberts & Company, grain commission dealers.

When the civil war broke out he entered the service and was mustered in April 29, 1861, as first lieutenant of Company D, First Regiment Minnesota Infantry Volunteers. He was appointed regimental quartermaster July 18, 1861, and captain and commissary of subsistence of volunteers November 16, 1861. He served as lieutenant-colonel, com- missary of subsistence, by assignment, from August 20 to September 27, 1862, and from January 9, 1863, to July 3, 1865. He was chief commissary of subsistence of both Sedgwick's and Richardson's divisions of both the Second and Third Corps, and also of the Cavalry Corps, and finally of the Middle Military Division under General Philip H. Sheridan. While serving in the latter capacity it fell to him to be the bearer of the first authentic information to General Sheri- dan, then at Winchester, of the disaster of the army at Cedar Creek, which resulted in Gen- eral Sheridan's famous ride "from Winchester, twenty miles away." (See Gen. Sheridan's "Personal Memoirs," vol. 2). He also ful- filled important duties as staff officer under Generals Sheridan, W. H. French and E. V. Sumner. He was seriously wounded during the Seven Days battle of the Peninsular cam- paign of 1862, while a staff officer for General E. V. Sumner. After the assassination of President Lincoln he was one of the honored bodyguard during the funeral. He was mus- tered out and honorably discharged from the service with rank of captain and commissary of subsistence of volunteers, July 1I, 1865, after the close of the war. He was brevetted major of volunteers, July 10, 1865, for efficient and meritorious services.

He never fully recovered from the wound and hardships of war, and though he lived until September 30, 1884, his health was never good, and he was obliged to travel much for his health from time to time. His former part- ner wrote this of his character and abilities :

"One day in the early summer months of 1881 a gentleman walked into my office, then at 137 East Prairie street, in the city of De- catur ; he informed me that his name was Woods, and that he was looking for desk room. This gentleman was Colonel George H. Woods.

He was a large man physically, his manner and appearance plainly indicating a man of culture, refinement and business. I was so favorably impressed by Colonel Woods that we were soon office partners and friends. One of the first prominent characteristics of Colonel Woods was his strong individuality. He was a man of superior mental endowments. When he spoke, all others listened. He was a man of commanding presence although he was the embodiment of politeness. There was a deli- cacy and refinement about Colonel Woods that would have graced the most polished young lady. He was exceedingly careful in sparing the feel- ings of others, and was scrupulously just and honest in all his dealings. No one who knew him ever questioned Colonel Woods' honesty nor his word. He was a man of personal purity in thought and in action. One day a number of other men present at the office be- gan to tell stories that were not to be repeated in polite company. Colonel Woods became as indignant as I ever knew him to be, and said : 'Gentlemen, have you forgotten yourselves ? I do not want to be unkind, but I must insist on having such talk stopped.' At another time, while in court, in a grain case in which he was interested, the presiding judge was ruling decidedly adverse to our side of the case, and when his attorney was unsuccessful in gaining his point Colonel Woods arose and asked the court to be heard. He was so polite and dignified that the judge not only heard him, but at the succeeding question reversed himself and held with us.

"When Colonel Woods received his mail, on returning to the office from an absence, he always put the letter from his wife into his inside vest pocket, and I think always read it when alone. There was something extraordi- nary in the complexion of Colonel Woods. His face was as smooth and delicately white as a baby's in the glow of a spring morning. A day or two before his death I met him, re- marked how well he looked, and said: 'Col- onel, you look like the picture and type of a Judge.' He smiled and thanked me for the compliment. A day or two afterwards, God's finger touched him and he slept."

Colonel Woods married, July 22, 1857, Kate Tannatt, born December 29, 1835, at Peek- skill, New York, daughter of James S. and Mary (Gilmour ) Tannatt. Her father was born in Boston, descendant of an old Welsh nobleman who came to America chiefly for the pleasures of the hunt. James Tannatt went abroad when young; he was for many

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years editor of various New York publications. Mary (Gilmour ) Tannatt, a brilliant woman, was a descendant of Sir John Gilmour, of Craigmiller Castle, near Edinburgh, Scotland. Kate Tannatt Woods, as she has been known for a half century in the American literary world, achieved distinction early in life as an author, editor and poet. In childhood she had delicate health and a chronic rheumatic trouble kept her from enjoying the active sports of girlhood. But she was fond of study and ex- celled in scholarship. Books were her greatest source of pleasure and her tastes were care- fully cultivated by her parents, though her reading of fiction was limited to the works of Scott. She began to write for publication at the age of ten, and at the present time she is a frequent contributor to newspapers and mag- azines. She has not only contributed to the leading magazines regularly, but for many years published one book a year. She was an editor of the Ladies' Home Journal of Phila- delphia for many years. Her published poems and short stories, of which she has written hundreds, have not been collected, though they have contributed largely, if not chiefly, to her fame and literary standing. In early life many of her works were published under the pseud- onym "Kate True." Among her notable juvenile books and novels are : "Six Little Rebels," "Dr. Dick," "Out and About," "All Around a Rock- ing Chair," "Twice Two," "That Dreadful Boy," "The Minister's Secret," "Hester Hep- worth." "Hidden for Years," "Barbara's Ward," "A Fair Maid of Marblehead," "Toots and His Friends," "A Little New England Maid." Two of her poems. "The Wooing of Grandmother Gray," and "Grandfather Gray." have been beautifully illustrated in a recent edition. Mrs. Woods has been an editorial writer on the Boston Globe and other news- papers. She has written extensively on the subjects of embroidery and cooking, and ranks high as an authority in those departments. Since her sons have grown to manhood she has been much on the public platform and active in various organizations of women. She is in much demand as a public speaker and lec- turer, has often read from her works in public for various charitable purposes, and often lec- tures on historical subjects.

She never allows literature to turn her from the path of domestic duty. Her education was interrupted by the death of her father. She had been a promising student in the Peekskill Seminary. Her mother went with Kate to live with her eldest daughter who had married a

doctor, then practicing in New Hampshire, later at Manchester, Massachusetts. Subse- quently the family lived at Salem, and Kate taught school when many of her pupils in her classes were older than she. On account of her health she had to decline a position of larger responsibility and salary. She spent a year in the study of music in New York City, and her fondness for music has always con- tinned. She has no little skill also as a painter in oil and water colors, having won many prizes in the art line. Her knowledge of the fine arts has made her a critic of high standing and has served her well in her literary work. She has inherited enough love of outdoor sports to make her an excellent horsewoman, and to give her a delicate and enthusiastic apprecia- tion of the out-door world. After her mar- riage she went to Minneapolis with her hus- band, her first two children were born there, and some of her finest poems were written there. When her husband went to the front in the civil war, she went with him, taking her two babes, and devoted herself to the care of the sick and wounded. After the death of her husband she sailed for Europe where she spent six months in study, travel and rest.

She has been a prominent figure in the club movement among women, and a leader in vari- ous organizations. She is a member of the New England Woman's Club, and was an officer of the General Federation of Woman's Clubs ( first auditor ) ; vice-president of the Woman's National Press Association; also was president of the New England Press Association, 1906-7. She is an active member of various charitable and literary clubs of Salem, of the Unity Art Club of Boston, of the Authors' Society of London, the founder and first president of the Thought and Work Club of Salem. Children: 1. Arthur Tannatt, born at Minneapolis, January 9, 1859; died at Chicago, February 7. 1893; companion Mili- tary Order of the Loyal Legion by virtue of his father's service : admitted February 6, 1892. to Commandery of State of Missouri, and trans- ferred to Illinois Commandery, November 21, 1892 : married, September 2, 1884. Harriet Scott De Krafft, who survives him ; no children. Ar- thur Tannatt Woods was educated in the public schools of Salem, Massachusetts : entered U. S. navy, 1876, and was graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1880 as cadet engi- neer; promoted to assistant engineer 1882; served in Bureau of Steam Engineering at Washington, 1882-83 ; professor of mechanical engineering. University of Illinois, 1887-91;

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professor of dynamic engineering, Washing- ton University, St. Louis, Missouri, 1891-92; associate .editor Railroad Gazette, Chicago, Illinois, September, 1892, to February, 1893. Author of a book on mechanism, a book on compound locomotives, and various papers and articles on mechanical engineering in maga- zines devoted to that subject. In 1890 received degree of Master of Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. 2. Harry, died in infancy. 3. Katie, died in infancy. 4. Samuel, died in infancy. 5. Prince Tannatt, mentioned below.

(VIII) Dr. Prince Tannatt Woods, son of George Henry Woods, was born in Omaha, Nebraska, August 9, 1870. He removed to Salem with his parents when he was a year old. He attended the public schools of Salem, Massachusetts, and Proctor's Academy, An- dover, New Hampshire. He began to learn the printing trade in the office of Blair & Hal- lett, Boston, and left that office to become a reporter on the Boston Globe, and was police and fire reporter on this newspaper from 1886 to 1890. He decided then to study medicine, and entered the Boston University School of Medicine, where he was graduated in 1894 as M. B. and in 1895 as M. D. For six months prior and six months after graduation he was resident physician of the Homoeopathic Dis- pensary at Roxbury, 1894-5. He began to practice his profession at Salem, Massachu- setts, in September, 1895, and has enjoyed an extensive practice in the towns of Salem, Bev- erly, Wenham, Middleton and vicinity. He resides at present at Grenewold, 97 Maple street, Middleton, Massachusetts, an attractive country home.

Dr. Woods has a national reputation as a writer of popular and semi-scientific articles and books on poultry, and as a lecturer on this subject. He has edited several books on poul- try and kindred subjects and is associate editor of specialty agricultural journals, including the Reliable Poultry Journal, of Quincy, Illinois. He has also written a number of short stories, published in magazines and newspapers. He is a member of the Massachusetts Command- ery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion by virtue of his father's service. In politics he is a Republican, and he is a member of the school committee of Middleton, elected first in 1907. He is a member of the Essex County Homoeopathic Society; of the Alumni Asso- ciation of Boston University School of Medi- cine: the American Health League; of the American Poultry Association, and one of its

lecturers. He prepared the advertising and catalogues for the Cyphers Incubator Company of Buffalo from 1902 to 1908. He is honor- ary member of the Essex County Poultry Association.

He married, at Colora, Maryland, Septem- ber 4, 1895, Helen Eunice Tyson, born June 17, 1876, daughter of Samuel and Jane (Jan- ney) Tyson, of Colora, now Rising Sun, Mary- land. Her father was the son of Thomas and Dorothy (Tyson) Tyson, and grandson of Nathan and Catherine ( Jones) Tyson. Doro- thy was daughter of John and Sallie (Ogle- bee ) Tyson. Jane (Janney ) Tyson was daughter of Thomas and Rachel M. ( Blake) Janney ; granddaughter of Thomas and Mary ( MacVey) Janney; Rachel M. Blake was daughter of Solomon and Mary (Ewing) Blake. All of the family mentioned lived in Cecil county, Maryland. Samuel Tyson is a descendant of Raynor Tyson, one of the first settlers of Maryland. Raynor Tyson was a Quaker who came to this country with William Penn. His descendants have done much in the building up of southeastern Pennsylvania and Maryland. Children of Dr. Prince T. and Helen T. Woods: I/ Richard George, born at Salem, August 14, 1898 ; killed by rail- road train, April 28, 1906. 2. Robert Prince, born at Buffalo, New York, November 6, 1903. 3. Dorothy. Tyson, born at Middleton, Massa- chusetts, July 23, 1907.

John Wright, immigrant ances- WRIGHT tor, born in England in 1601, settled in Woburn, Massachu- setts, among the first settlers. He was promi- nent in church and town affairs. He married Priscilla - , who died April 10, 1687. He died June 21, 1688. Children: I. John, born 1630, mentioned below. 2. Joseph, 1639. 3. Ruth, April 23, 1646, married Jonathan Knight; died April 13, 1714. 4. Deborah, born January 21, 1648-49. 5. Sarah, February 16, 1652-53, married Joshua Sawyer.

(II) John Wright, son of John Wright, was born in 1630. He lived in Chelmsford for a time, but returned to Woburn. His will was dated May 24, 1701, proved 1704. He mar- ried, May 10, 1661, Abigail Warren, died April 6, 1726, aged eighty-four, daughter of Arthur Warren, of Weymouth. Children: I. John, born 1662. 2. Joseph, October 14, 1663. 3. Ebenezer, 1665. 4. Josiah, mentioned below. 5. Ruth, married Jonathan Butterfield ; died January II, 1754, aged eighty. 6. Priscilla, born 1671, married, March 7, 1707, Samuel

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Damon, of Charlestown. 7. Deborah, married, February 17, 1701-02, Nathaniel Patten, of Cambridge ; died March 9, 1716, aged thirty- eight. 8. Lydia, married, November II, 1724, Giles Roberts.

(III) Josiah Wright, son of John Wright, died January 22, 1745. He married, Septem- ber 17, 1700, Ruth Carter, who died January 31, 1774, aged at least ninety-two years. Chil- dren: 1. Josiah, born December 2, 1701. 2. Samuel, February 28, 1703. 3. Ruth, April 4. 1706. 4. John, July 14, 1708. 5. Mary, January 29. 1711 ; married Rev. Ebenezer Wy- man. 6. Abijah, May 27, 1713. 7. Joshua, May, 1716, mentioned below. 8. Abigail, De- cember 7, 1718, married, January 12, 1738, Stephen Parker. 9. Phebe, July 13, 1721, died December 7, 1724. 10. Benjamin, settled in Pepperell.

(IV) Captain Joshua Wright, son of Josiah Wright, born May, 1716, died August 5, 1776. He was a soldier in the French war and cap- tain of the Hollis company of militia before the revolution. He settled in Hollis, New Hampshire, and was selectman in 1749. 1769. In 1775 he paid the second largest tax in Hol- lis. He married, March 6. 1739, Abigail Rich- ardson. Children: 1. Joshua, born January I, 174I. 2. Esther, born November 6, 1742, mar- ried, December 20, 1764, John Shed, of Pepperell. 3. Abigail, born November 10, 1744. 4. Abijah, born August 15, 1746. 5. Lemuel, born December 30, 1748, died young. 6. Ruth, born February 13. 1751. 7. Lemuel, born December 30. 1752, married Mary G. Jolison ; served in the revolution ; died May 13, 1833. 8. Uriah, born December 8, 1754, mentioned below. 9. Timothy, born Septem- ber 8, 1756. Io. Libbie, born February 13, 1759. II. Susannah. born November 5. 1761, married. August 23, 1778, Ensign William Wood, of Hollis, and had fourteen children (see Hollis History). 12. Sarah, born May 6, 1763. married Eliphalet Brown : died Janu- ary 4, 1841 : he died aged seventy-nine, and was a soldier in the revolution.

(V) Uriah Wright, son of Captain Joshua Wright, was born December 8. 1754. He re- moved from Hollis to Beverly, Massachusetts. He was a soldier in the revolution. He mar- ried, June 15. 1780, Eunice Jewett, born Sep- tember 4, 1761, died August 21, 1797, daugh- ter of James and Margaret Jewett. Her father was in the revolution. (See sketch of Jewett family herewith). Children: I. Uriah, born June 3, 1781. 2. Eunice, born March 19, 1783, married Ephraim Woods. (See

Woods family). 3. Joshua, born March 9, 1785, died young. 4. James Jewett, born March 25, 1787. 5. Margaret, born July 5, 1789. 6. Timothy, born April 13, 1791. 7. Joshua, born April 21, 1793. 8. John, born May 26, 1795.

Edward Jewett (1) lived in JEWETT Bradford, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He was a clothier. He married Mary Taylor and died in 1614-15. Children: 1. William, bap- tized September 15, 1605. 2. Maximilian, bap- tized October 4, 1607, mentioned below. 3. Joseph, baptized December 31. 1609, went to England. 4. Mary. Perhaps others.

(II) Maximilian Jewett, son of Edward Jewett, was baptized in Bradford, England, October 4, 1607, and was the immigrant an- cestor of this branch of the family in America. ITe settled in Bradford, Massachusetts, and was one of the first deacons of the church, chosen in 1639, and served until his death. He was one of the leading men of the town, and was town clerk from 1642 to 1655. He married, in England, Ann Children : I. Ezekiel, born January 5, 1643-44, mentioned below. 2. Anna, born December 12, 1644. 3. Mary, born December 18, 1648. 4. Elizabeth, born March 22, 1650. 5. Faith, born October 8. 1652. 6. Joseph, born 1655. 7. Sarah, born January 17, 1658, buried June 19, 1660. 8. Sarah, born 1660. 9. Priscilla, born May 19, 1664

(III) Ezekiel Jewett, son of Maximilian Jewett, born January 5, 1643-44 died Sep- tember 2, 1723. He was chosen deacon to succeed his father in 1686. Ilis gravestone is in the Howley graveyard. He married Faith Parrot, daughter of Francis Parrot. Children : I. Francis, born March 15, 1664, mentioned be- low. 2. Thomas, born September 20, 1666. 3. Ezekiel, born July 24. 1668. died young. 4. Ezekiel, born October 23, 1669, lost in the ex- pedition to Canada. 5. Maximilian, born February 5, 1671-72. 6. Ann, born September 29, 1673. 7. Sarah, born November 24, 1675. 8. Elizabeth, born March 29, 1678. 9. Na- thaniel, born February 12, 1681-82. IO. Stephen, born February 23. 1682-83.

(IV) Francis Jewett, son of Ezekiel Jewett, was born March 15, 1664. His stone is stand- ing in Groveland cemetery. Children : I. Samuel, born April 26, 1694, mentioned be- low. 2. James, born April 16, 1696, died young. 3. Mary, born October 20. 1706. 4. Sarah, born October 5, 1708. 5. Nathaniel,

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born November 20, 1710, married, 1734, Sus- anna Goodwin. 6. James, born April 26, 1713. 7. Esther, born December 9, 1719.

(V) Samuel Jewett, son of Francis Jewett, was born April 26, 1694. He resided in Brad- ford and married Ruth Hardy. Children: I. Lydia, born August 14, 1719, married John Boynton, Jr. 2. Jacob, born April 10, 1721, died young. 3. James, born August 6, 1722, married Margaret -, and had Eunice, who married Uriah Wright. (See sketch of Wright family herewith ). 4. Ruth, born May 7, 1723, married Deacon John Boynton. 5. Sam- uel, born December 30, 1725, married Sarah Hardy. 6. Jacob, born August 7, 1727, died young. 7. Sarah, born January 25, 1728, died young. 8. Mehitable, born December 5, 1730, married Peter Wheeler. 9. Jacob, born July 24, 1732, died young. 10. Ezekiel, born May 28, 1736, married (first), Lucy Townsend ; (second) II. Sarah, born June 10, 1738, married Edward Hardy. 12. Esther, born June 30, 1740.

FARLEY The family whose history is here chronicled, first appears in New England in the ancient town of Ipswich, about 1675, and came from England, although some of the most reliable authorities on the derivation of our English patronymics have traced it to a Celtic origin. (I) It is recorded in American colonial history that the immigrant ancestor of this branch of the Farley family was Michael Far- ley, who with sons Michael and Mesheck en- tered the plantation at Ipswich and were made welcome there. In 1683 the elder Michael was licensed to sell liquors by the quart and gal- lon, and in 1684 his license was renewed for another year. From this it will be seen that he was a man of good report. He had a grant of land from the town, and this he be- stowed upon his son Mesheck in contempla- tion of his marriage with Sarah, daughter of Lieutenant Thomas Burnham. His sons were orderly young men and devout in their relig- ious duties, as may be inferred by their united petition to the town, through their father, ask- ing for a grant of "eight or ten rods of ground for to build a small dwelling upon where we may be neare to attend ye towne service, near

the end of John Safford's orchard.

If you see not good to bestow it freely on your servant for his son: I will pay ten shill- ings per rod within a twelve month." The petition was granted and the land was "be- stowed freely." Michael Farley, the father,

died June 15, 1700, his wife surviving him about thirty-six years, dying December 12, 1736, aged seventy-two years. She is believed to have been his second wife, and neither her name nor the name of his first wife is now known. He had two children, both born of his first marriage. He and his two sons started the first woolen mill in this country.

(II) Michael Farley, elder son of Michael Farley, born in England, about 1654, died in Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1736. In 1708 he married Mary Woodbury, of Beverly. She died in 1712, without children, and he married second, April 15, 1724, Hannah Emerson, who bore him three children, Jane, Hannah and Nathaniel. His second wife was much younger than himself, and it appears from the town records that he was not wholly free from the troubles that occasionally affect the domestic contentment of old men who marry young wives, for he caused a memorandum to be recorded in the town clerk's office declaring that "he allowed no body but his wife to sit in the pew granted to him" and James Burn- ham, "& as for his wifes Bros and sisters he had never given them leave to sit in the said pew, nor never should, nor any of their rela- tions, but forbid them all." After his death his widow married Abel Huss, Jr., of New- bury.

(II) Mesheck Farley, younger son of Michael Farley the immigrant, born in Eng- land. 1663, died in Ipswich, Massachusetts, August 15, 1689. The inventory of his estate, dated December 23, 1696, amounted to one hundred sixty-four pounds eight shillings two pence. The house and homestead lands were appraised at sixty pounds. He married, Ang- ust 6, 1684, Sarah, daughter of Lieutenant Thomas Burnham. She was born June 28, 1664. Children: I. Mesheck, born June 1. 1685. 2. Michael, born August 2, 1686. 3. Jane, died March 6, 1692.

(III) Michael Farley, second son and child of Mesheck and Sarah (Burnham) Farley, born in Ipswich, August 2, 1686, died May 9, 1757. In his will he calls himself "cordway- ner," and bequeaths to his son John one-half of his outlands, and one-half of his household goods "and leather, and shoes, and tools, and cattle," and the other half of his leather to his son Michael. He married, April 12, 1716, Elizabeth Baker, born September 16, 1693, died February 26, 1745. daughter of Captain Thomas and Priscilla Baker, of Topsfield, Massachusetts, and granddaughter of John Baker, of Topsfield, whose wife was Kath-

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Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Boston and eastern Massachusetts, Part 65

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918 Publication date: 1908 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 768

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 768