Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Boston and eastern Massachusetts, Part 68

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

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as one of its earnest promoters, she was placed on the committee to draw up the constitution. To this cause she was loyal through evil and good report, giving of her time, personal effort and financial aid toward the legal enfranchise- ment of women, for more than forty years. She was an officer in the Equal Rights Club at the time of her death. It was characteristic that the hygienic conditions of the tenement houses for the poor received her early attention, not only as a physician but as a philanthropist, and when in recent years the Civic League was formed, she hailed its advent with enthusiasm, becoming a member and serving on several of its committees, with keen interest in the aims of the organization. She was also a charter member of the Lynn Woman's Club, and a regular attendant unless prevented by duties. She was a charter member of the Lynn His- torical Society, and a member of the Hough- ton Horticultural Society. She was interest- ed in a society for the prevention of tuber- culosis. In aid of the peace movement, she provided in her will for prizes to be paid annu- ally for the best essays written on the subject by the pupils of the Lynn high and ninth grade schools. The Lynn vacation school work, also, owes its existence to her initiative, and she was one of the prominent and active impulses of the committee from its start to the last meeting she attended. She was ex- amining into the merits of the "school city" movement when she succumbed to her last ill- ness. She was confident that this movement would develop manliness of character and a wholesome respect for law in the future citi- zen. She was elected a member of the Lynn school board, in which she served six years, her name having been placed on the ballots of both political parties. Her religious tendencies were toward the Universalist and Free Re- ligious societies, but her associations and sym- pathies were not enclosed within sectarian or racial lines : Catholic and Protestant, Jew and Gentile, seemed to her equally worthy mem- bers of the great Family of Man. She felt and acted as though her life and property were held by her in trust for the benefit of others. It was said of her most truthfully at her funeral, "She has been doing God's work in the world. Her love of humanity and her faith in the fatherhood of God and the brother- hood of man, was most sincere, and was ex- emplified in her daily life. No character was too fine and noble for her to appreciate and sympathize with, and no vice or sin so hideous as to repel her from the attempt to develop the

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soul which was dormant. She strengthened many a weak and wayward soul with her courage and cheerfulness. In her creed was no place for the consideration of expediency ; the path of duty was straightforward and clear, and she unswervingly followed it. May the life just closed prove a guide and inspira- tion to us, imbuing us with courage, faith and hope, expressed in works."

We have to go back to the Stacys STACY of Ballyfield, England, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to reach the ancestors of the New England fami- lies of that surname which have been seated in various parts of the commonwealth of Massachusetts since the times of the Puritans ; and it is found that in colonial times there were Stacys in the provinces of New York and Pennsylvania, of the same English stock as those of New England. Mahlon Stacy was one of the lords proprietors of the province of West Jersey, owning one-fourth of one-tenth part of it, a man of great influence and char- acter there, and one of the English landed gentry.

In early New England history the name now written Stacy, a form accepted by nearly all branches of the family, was variously men- tioned in town and church records as Stace, Stacye, Stacie, Stacey, Stasy and Stacy, the latter the correct form and used perhaps less frequently than some of the others. Hugh Stacy, of the Plymouth colony, 1621, came in the "Fortune," and subsequently settled in the plantation at Dedham. He was of the York- shire family of his surname, perhaps was of kin to others who followed his example in emigrating from the mother country, and he is credited with having been the first of his name to land on the shores of New England. (I) This narrative, however, has to deal with the branch of the family which claims Simon Stacye as its ancestor. He was a commoner in Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1641, and died before 1649. In the records his name is given as Stacye, Stacey and Stace, the latter spelling being most frequently used in what- ever is said of him and his descendants dur- ing the first two or three generations. The year of his death is not given, but it must have been previous to 1649, for on February 22 of that year a parcel of meadow land was granted to "Widow Stace," the same meadow "lying by Mr. Saltonstall's farm." The widow probably was Elizabeth Stace, whose will was proved March 29, 1670, as "received from

her own mouth" by Simon Stace, Sarah Stace, Ann Stace. She directs her body to be "bury- ed in Ipswich burying place," and gives her son Simon "a bullock for the burial of me." She gives her son Thomas "a great Bible and a damask napkin;" legacies to her daughters Sarah Buswell, Susannah French, and daugh- ter Meoers ; and "to my daughter Ann, in con- sideration of her staying with me in my old age, all my other household stuff." This Ann Stace, daughter of Simon and Elizabeth, died Feb- ruary 21, 1681-2, and in her will, dated Feb- ruary 13, 1681-2, mentions her brother Simon, sisters Sarah Burrill, Susan French, Mary Fitch, cousins Simon Adams, Rebecca Stace, Ann French, Elizabeth Mears and William Adams.

(II) Thomas Stace, son of Simon and Eliz- abeth Stace, married Susanna, daughter of Rev. William Worcester, of Salisbury, Mass- achusetts. He was a subscriber to the "Cart Bridge" in 1646, to Major Denison's allow- ance in 1648, and came into full communion with the church March I, 1673-4. He died about November, 1690, and his will, dated February 9, 1688-9, mentions wife Susannah, and children: Thomas; William; Elizabeth, born April 16, 1659; Joseph, born June 27, 1660: Mary, born November 7, 1661 ; Simon, born December 25, 1664; John, born March 16, 1666; Susannah, born January 16, 1668; Sarah, born December, 1670; Nimphas, born May, 1673: Rebecca, married James Burley, May 25, 1685.

(II) Simon Stace, son of Simon and Eliz- abeth Stace, born about 1636, was made free- man April 29, 1668, and appears to have been a man of some consequence. He was select- man 1675-80; appointed ensign 1684, lieuten- ant 1696, captain 1699. In 1679 he was ty- thingman, and in 1695 was one of a committee to consider the proper and suitable dimensions of a new meeting house, and of the most easy way to make payment of the same. He was representative to the general court 1685-6 and 1689-90, and as evidence that he was a man on whom the townsmen could depend it may be mentioned, as an interesting incident of the times, that on the occasion of the death of the Rev. Thomas Cobbett somewhat elaborate preparations were made for his funeral; "that Deaken Goodhue provide one barril of Wine and half a hundred weight of sugar, and that he sent it to Mr. Cobbitts house next second day of the week in the morning, for which he is to have in pay not money four shillings by the gallon and six pence a pound for the sugar.

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That Mr. Rust provide if he can against the funeral, Gloves suitable for men and women, to the value of five or.six pounds not money pay, and some spice and ginger for the syder. That some persons be appointed to look to the burning of the wine and heating of the syder, against the time appointed for the funeral next Monday at one of the clock, and such as will be careful in the distribution." The per- son chosen to see that all things were properly done and to "be careful in the distribution' was "Ensygne" Symond Stace. The will of Simon Stace is dated October 20, 1699, and his estate was appraised at a little more than seven hundred twenty-two pounds. It does not appear that he left any children, and after making generous provision for his wife the remaining part of his property was left to Thomas Stacy (2), William Stacy, John Stacy, Elizabeth Woodhull, Mary Conner, Susannah Martin, Samuel Mears, Elizabeth Adams, Si- mon French, Ann Mudgett and John Adams the brother of Simon Adams; and after the decease of his widow these legatees received the remaining part of his estate.

(III) John Stacy, son of Thomas and Sus- anna (Worcester) Stace, and grandson of Si- mon and Elizabeth Stacye, born March 16, 1666, died in Gloucester, February 22, 1732. His name first appears in the records of the town last mentioned in 1723, when he was ap- pointed innholder on condition that he sell no mixed drink on the Sabbath day. In Ipswich, where he was born, he was known as a miller, and in Gloucester as millwright. The record of his death in Ipswich says that he left a wife Eleanor and an estate of one hundred and forty-four pounds nine shillings five pence. His first wife, Mary, died September 6, 1720, and within the next two months the intention of taking another wife was published. The number and names of his children are not known, but among them was a son Nymphas, so named undoubtedly in allusion to his father's brother Nimphas, as mentioned in a preceding paragraph.

(IV) Nymphas Stacy was a shoemaker, and for many years was deacon of the First church in Gloucester. He died November 14, 1774, aged seventy-five years. He married, in 1724, Hannah Littlehale. They had sev- eral children and among them were sons Nym- phas, Benjamin and Philemon.

(V), Nymphas Stacy, son of Nymphas and Hannah (Littlehale) Stacy, was a shoemaker by trade, like his father, and also succeeded his parent as deacon of the church. Accord-

ing to Mr. Babson's narrative he married four times, and six times if his published intentions of marriage were fulfilled. Yet he died a widower, at Wiscasset, Maine, where he went late in life to live in the family of one of his sons.

(\') Philemon Stacy, son of Nymphas and Hannah (Littlehale ) Stacy, graduated from Harvard College 1765, and taught school sev- eral years. In 1779 he joined the privateer brig "Gloucester," which sailed from port that year and never afterward was heard of; with her loss it is said that sixty wives of Glou- cester men were made widows.

(V) Of Benjamin Stacy, another of the sons of Nymphas Stacy and Hannah Little- hale, little appears to be known, although fami- ly tradition and meagre records indicate that he was a man of more than ordinary promi- nence in that town. He married, 1762, Lucy, daughter of Ebenezer Witham, whose mother was Abigail Babson.

(VI) Eli Stacy, son of Benjamin Stacy, spent his entire life in Gloucester, where he carried on trade as a merchant, ship chandler and also had a rope walk. His wife was Mary Saunders Hough; of whose family mention is made in this work. Their children were Eliza A., Eben H. and Eli F., both of whom were prominently identified with Gloucester inter- ests for many years, each having held the office of collector of customs of the port, and the former of whom was a delegate to the consti- tutional convention of Massachusetts in 1853; Samuel A., and John H. Stacy.

Mary Saunders Hough, who married Sam- uel A. Stacy, was a descendant of Richard Hough, who lived in Macclesfield, Chester county, England. It is said the remains of several preceding generations of his family lie in All Hallows (now St. Michael's) church in that town. The name Hough is indigenous to Cheshire, and in the seventeenth century several families bearing it were living in Mac- clesfield Hundred. Richard Hough arrived in Pennsylvania in the ship "Endeavor," of Lon- don, 7 mo. 29, 1683, bringing with him four servants or dependents. He went to Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where he took up two tracts of land fronting on the Delaware river. He took active part in all of the affairs of the early days of the county, political, social and religious. He belonged to the Falls Meeting of the Society of Friends. He represented Bucks county in the provincial assembly for seven years beginning 1684, and filled the honorable office of provincial councillor in

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1693 and 1700; and he was one of the fore- most men of the province in his time. Rich- ard Hough married Mary Clows, I mo., 17, 1683-4 (o. s.), and is the first one on the Falls record. She was daughter of John Clows, of Gosworth, Cheshire, England, and Margery his wife, who came to Pennsylvania, 7 mo., 29, 1683, in the same ship with Richard Hough, and with their children, Margery, Rebecca and William. Richard Hough and Mary Clows had children: I. Mary, born 6 mo., 1, 1685, died November 1I, 1720; married April 6, 1704, William Atkinson, of Bristol, Pennsyl- vania. 2. Sarah, born 4 mo., 7, 1690; married first, 4 mo., 23, 1708, Isaac Atkinson, brother of William ; married second, Leonard Shallcross. 3. Richard, birth and death not stated ; mar- ried first, 1711, Hester Brown ; second, 7 mo., 27, 1717, Deborah Grumley, of Philadelphia. 4. John, born 7 mo., 18, 1693 ; married, 1718. Elizabeth Taylor. 5. Joseph, born 8 mo., 17, 1695, died May 10, 1773; married Elizabeth West.

(VII) Samuel A. Stacy, son of Eli Stacy and Mary Saunders (Hough) Stacy, born in Gloucester, June 11, 1819. died there Octo- ber 19, 1895. For many years he was engaged in a general insurance business, and while a few years of his business life were spent else- where he nevertheless was prominently identi- fied with Gloucester interests and institutions. In 1847 he went to Ohio and lived a few years in Chillicothe, then returned to Gloucester and afterward lived in that town and subsequent city. He was for a long time senior partner of the firm of S. A. Stacy & Co., insurance underwriters, having an extensive business on Cape Ann, and even before going to the west he served as one of the town auditors of Glou- cester. He was a member of the school com- mittee 1861-62; assessor 1861-63: member of first board of aldermen after the incorpora- tion of Gloucester as a city in 1873, and held that office two years. He also was a member of the special committee charged with the erection of the city hall on Dale avenue; for many years a trustee of Cape Ann Savings Bank, and president from 1888 to the time of his death ; a trustee of Oak Grove Cemetery, the Gloucester Water Supply Company, a di- rector of the old Gloucester Lyceum and of its successor institution, Sawyer Free Library, and was one of the trustees of the library permanent fund. In 1846 Mr. Stacy married Harriet, daughter of Moses Gilbert, of Glou- cester. Moses Gilbert was representative from Gloucester to the general court of Massachu-

setts, 1846. He was a grandson of Jonathan Gilbert, who died about 1800, and whose wife was Abigail Rogers, of Newbury. The Gil- berts were a prominent family in Massachu- setts colonial history, and descendants of the old Gilbert family of Devonshire, England, where one of them, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, the The distinguished navigator, was born. American ancestor of the branch of the family from which descended Harriet Gilbert, wife of Samuel A. Stacy, was Humphrey Gilbert, born in England, 1616; commoner in Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1648; bought lands 1650; died 1657, leaving second wife Elizabeth, only son John, and four daughters-Martha, Hannah, Mary and Abigail. John Gilbert, only son of Humphrey Gilbert, lived in Ipswich hamlet, near the Wenham line, and was a member of the church in Wenham until the organization of the church in Ipswich hamlet, when he was one of its first deacons. By his wife Elizabeth he had twelve children: the eldest, John Gil- bert, born July 14, 1678, married, 1799, Mar- tha Dodge, of Beverly, removed to Kettle Cove, and was the progenitor of the Gilberts of Cape Ann. He sold his lands in Wenham in 1703, and went to Gloucester to live in 1704. By his wife Martha he had sons, John, Wil- liam and Jonathan, and three daughters. His son Jonathan married Abigail Newbury, as has been mentioned.

Samuel A. Stacy and Harriet Gilbert had five children, two of whom died in infancy. Those who grew to maturity are: John C. Stacy, Eliza Stacy (now Mrs. A. H. Calef, of New York), and George O. Stacy of Glou- cester.

(VIII) George Odiorne Stacy, youngest son and child of Samuel A. and Harriet (Gilbert) Stacy, was born in Gloucester, November 3, 1863, and for nearly twenty years has been proprietor of one of most famous summer hotels on Cape Ann, Hawthorne Inn, which he built in 1891, with its several cottage addi- tions in later years. In 1897 he built the Moorland at Bass Rocks, and still is its owner. In 1904 he built the Colonial Arms, the larg- est summer hotel on the North Shore, and which was destroyed by fire early in January, 1908. On March 15, 1899, George O. Stacy married Jane Parker, daughter of John Par- ker, of Gloucester.

This ancient family is traced by

LEACH antiquarians to one John Leach, surveyor to Edward III, of Eng- land. His name is believed to have been de-

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rived from his calling, and the arms of the family, which bears three crowns, is said to have had its origin in an interesting incident. When the kings of France and Scotland were prisoners of Edward. the three were dined together at the house of Jolin Leach. On leav- ing the house King Edward gave to his host three crowns, and later, when as a further mark of the royal esteem a large estate in lands was granted Leach, these emblems ( three crowns ) were placed on his arms.

(I) The immigrant ancestor of the family in America, Lawrence Leach, came from Eng- land and was settled in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1629. He was proposed as freeman 1630, was a member of the first church in Salem be- fore 1636, and that year received a grant of a hundred acres of land from the town. He died in Salem, June 4, 1662. When he came to this country he was accompanied by his wife Elizabeth and their sons John, Richard and Robert, leaving their eldest son Clement in England. A son Giles was born in Salem. Lawrence Leach held several important offices in Salem and appears to have been a man of influence in the town. It is said that more than ten thousand of his descendants are now living in America, although no definite gene- alogical effort has been made to trace them. Captain Richard Leach, son of Lawrence, died in 1647, leaving a son John, who inherited his grandfather's farm on the Rial side.

(II) Robert Leach, of Manchester, Massa- chusetts, son of Lawrence and Elizabeth Leach, born at Devon, England, 1616, died May 22, 1688, and came to America with his parents and brothers Richard and John in the fleet with Rev. Francis Higginson. They were passengers in the ship "Talbot," which drop- ped anchor in Manchester harbor between five and six o'clock, Saturday, June 27, 1629. He was one of the founders of Manchester, set- tling there 1636: was town clerk until 1648; selectman 1658-61, and again 1680-84. He was the founder of the Manchester branch of the family, and his descendants are very numerous, many of them having been eminent in civil and ecclesiastical affairs. Children : Robert, born 1650: Samuel, born 1655; Sarah, Elizabeth ; Mary; Bethiah, and Abigail, mar- ried John Day, December 10, 1682, at Man- chester. He was a son of Anthony and Sus- anna Day, of Gloucester. Anthony Day was at Gloucester in 1645. John Day was a soldier in King Philip's war, and received a grant of land at Kettle Cove for his service. He was born April 28. 1657, and was living in 1715.

Robert's wife Alice married second, Robert Elwell, of Gloucester, by whom she had sev- eral daughters. Her will is dated March 27, 1601.

(III) Samuel Leach, son of Robert and Alice, born at Manchester, Massachusetts. 1655. died October 14. 1696. He was on the committee to distribute the common land 1690; selectman in the town of Manchester in 1681- 82-86-90. In the former year he and his brother Robert petitioned for relief in behalf of that town from the expense of supporting worship, and they came into a church state by themselves in 1716. He was a soldier in King Philip's war. The following account shows the harsh custom of the times and re- veals a source of colonial revenue not open to our country since that day: "Samuel Leach, credited with 2 Indian captives, September 23, 1678. 2 pounds." He was a farmer, and left an estate of six hundred fifty-nine pounds. His son Richard inherited the homestead, it being that on which Robert settled in 1636. After Richard's death it was inherited by his son Benjamin, and after his death by his son Benjamin, who in 1790 tore down the original house (built by Robert) and in 1791 erected another a short distance from the place where it had stood. In 1903 this house was moved back to the site of the old one and remodeled by the present owner. Hon. Henry Clay Leach, of Salem, who makes it his summer home. The estate always has been in the possession of one of this line, having been handed down from father to son to the present time. Sam- uel Leach married first, 1672, Arabella, daugh- ter of John and Arabella Norman, who died in 1681 ; second, Hannah, daughter of John and Hannah (Norman) Baldwin, niece of his first wife. His children were: Penelope, born September 26, 1678; Catherine, born 1680, married Joseph Allen. 1696; Samuel, born 1682, married Hannah Leach, 1705; Hannah, born August 26, 1686, married Jere- miah Hibbard. 1709: Richard, born 1690, mar- ried Abigail Woodbury, 1715; Benjamin, born February 14, 1692. John Norman was a son of Richard Norman, who was with Roger Conant at Cape Ann. and had a house at Salem before Governor Endicott came. Rich- ard Norman, Jr., died at Marblehead, and be- queathed his estate to Hannah, second wife of Samuel Leach, 1682.

(IV) Richard Leach, of Manchester, born there May 6, 1690, was a son of Samuel Leach and Hannah Baldwin. He followed the sea part of his life, visiting many parts of the

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globe, and was present at the taking of Car- thagena. Afterward he became a farmer in his native town, and was selectman there in 1719 and 1722. He died there in 1764, and his will was proved April 1, 1765; letters granted to his daughter, Hannah Osment ; sureties, Edmund Movey, Jonathan Herrick, Jr., and Ezekiel Knowlton. He married first, at Beverly, November 24, 1715, Abigail, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (West) Woodbury ( sometimes written Woodberry), born July 4, 1692, died May 1, 1751. Joseph Woodbury settled in Manchester in 1684, died 1714, son of Nicholas and Anna ( Paulsgrave) Woodbury, and grandson of William, brother of John Woodbury. John Woodbury and family and his brother William were among the early settlers of the town of Beverly. Mass- achusetts, having come from Somersetshire, England. John Woodbury came under the direction of the Dorchester company, which established itself at Cape Ann in 1624. He went to Salem with Conant, Balch and others in 1626, and the next year went to England as an agent for procuring supplies. In 1635 and 1638 he was chosen deputy to the general court, and he also held many other offices of trust. He was an original member of the first church in Salem and he died in 1641.

Richard Leach married second, December II, 1751, widow Emma Haskell, of Manches- ter. She died in November 1761, aged sev- enty-nine years. John Haskell administered, September 13, 1762, on the estate of his mother, Emma Leach. Richard's children by first marriage were: Elizabeth, born April 25, 1717, died April 3, 1718; Benjamin, born January 13, 1719, died in infancy ; Hannah, born 1720, married John Osment, Jr., 1739: Benjamin, born 1723, died 1787, married Emma Knowlton, 1749; Abigail, born May 15, 1726, died unmarried March 1, 1797 ; Andrew, born 1730, died at London, England, in Feb- ruary, 1750, of small pox : Samuel, born Octo- ber 19, 1731, married Rebecca Lee, 1756. was slain. by the Indians off Labrador. 1758; Rich- ard, born October 9. 1735, married Sarah Mor- gan, March 2, 1758. In 1758 soon after his marriage, Richard Leach, John Lee, John Day, John Driver and Samuel Morgan went down in one vessel.

(V) Captain Benjamin Leach, of Manches- ter, born there January 2, 1723, son of Rich- ard and Abigail (Woodbury) Leach, was a shipmaster, and was at Lisbon at the time of the earthquake, where he lost an eye. He died at the island of Jamaica while absent on

a voyage in 1769. He married, May 28, 1749, Emma Knowlton, born at Manchester, Massa- chusetts, in 1724, died 1811, daughter of Ezekiel Knowlton and Emma Foster. (Ezekiel 4, and Sarah Leach, John 3, and Bethiah, Car- ter, William 2 and Elizabeth, William I and Ann Elizabeth Smith). John (3) settled in Manchester in 1684. was selectman there 1700-05-07-08-18: town clerk 1714; represent- ative, 1717. He was a grandson of William (I) and Elizabeth Knowlton of Ipswich, 1640, who came from Chirwick, county of Kent, England. Felt says, "he was the head of a highly respectable family." Captain Benja- min and Emma ( Knowlton) Leach had chil- dren : Benjamin, born 1749, married three times ; Ruth, born 1751, died unmarried, June 13, 1771; Ezekiel, born 1755. married twice; Andrew, born 1757, married Jennie Samples, 1779.

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Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Boston and eastern Massachusetts, Part 68

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