USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Boston and eastern Massachusetts > Part 95
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TAYLOR The surname Taylor is a very common and ancient English family name, derived from the occupation of the progenitors, as Smith, Mason, Carpenter. The name is found also pretty gen- erally in Ireland. A branch of the family set- tled in the north of Ireland at the time of the grants to the Scotch and English Protestants from which the race of Scotch-Irish, so-called, is descended. John Taylor, gentleman, of Cambridgeshire, England, was granted fifteen hundred acres of land in the precinct of Loughter, county Cavan, Ulster, 1610. This was among the English grants. The Carew Manuscripts, reporting on the condition of these grants some years later, says: "John Taylor, 1,500 acres : came over in the summer of 1610, took possession and remained most part of the following winter, went into Eng- land about Shrovetide last, left his deputy with some seven or eight tenants. Came back about May last with provisions, but went back again and is not yet returned. Brought over three freeholders, whereof two are gone into England for their wives and families, the other, resident, is Taylor's deputy. One copy- holder placed upon the land and eight artifi- cers, able men and servants. A timber house with a chimney furnished, where he means to erect his dwelling house. Materials for build- ing ready, but not drawn home. Competent arms of all sorts to furnish twelve men." In Nicholas Pynnar's survey, dated 1619, we read: "County of Cavan ; precinct of Lough- ty; I. 1,500 acres John Taylor; castle and bawn (sic) built; village of fourteen houses ; seven freeholders, seven lessees, ten cottagers ; able to produce fifty-four men with arms." Another settler in the grant of John Hamil-
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ton, grantee of Lord Ralston, precinct of Clanchy, county of Cavan, was Robert Tail- lor, probably Scotch, as he received his grant from Scotch "undertakers." From one of these settlers Matthew Taylor, mentioned be- low, doubtless descended.
(I) Matthew Taylor, the immigrant ances- tor, was born about 1700, in Ulster province, Ireland. He married Janet --- He came from Londonderry, Ireland, in 1722, and set- tled on a farm in Londonderry, New Hamp- shire, now Derry. The farm is or was lately owned by James Calvin Taylor. Matthew. or his son of the same name, was in Captain John Gregg's scouts in June, 1746, in the old French war. Children: 1. John, born Sep- tember 22, 1721 ; mentioned below. 2. Mat- thew, went to Nova Scotia about 1761, descendants are living in the vicinity of Lon- donderry and Truro. 3. William, born March 23, 1733; married Betsey Grimes (Graham) ; had Mary, John, Janet, Nancy, Adam, Sam- nel, Sarah and Betsey. 4. David, born Aug- ust 10, 1735; married Margaret Kelsey : had David, Robert, Rosa, William, Betsey, Jona- than and John. 5. Adam, born August 15, 1737 : married Mary Cunningham ; had Nancy, Janet and Betsey. 6. Samuel, remained on part of the homestead; married first, Sarah Fisher, second, Eunice Lancaster; had son Matthew (Dartmouth, 1801) minister. 7. Sarah, married Deacon Samuel Fisher. 8. Janet, born June 10, 1731 ; married John An- dlerson ; had John, Matthew and Jane Ander- son.
(II) John Taylor, son of Matthew Taylor (I), was born September 22, 1721, on the voy- age to America. He married Margaret Dick- ey, and resided at Londonderry, New Hamp- shire. Children: 1. Matthew, mentioned be- low. 2. James, married Dickey ; three children: Margaret, Rachel and William. 3. John, married Janet McKeen ; five children : Anna, Margaret. John, Daniel and Samuel. 4. Janet, married Captain John McKeen ; seven children: James, John, Joseph, Robert, Samuel, Sarah and Janet McKeen. 5. Nancy, married William McKeen : six children : Mary, Nancy, Margaret, John, Janet and Alice Mc- Keen.
(III) Matthew Taylor, son of John Taylor (2), was born about 1745. He married Han- nah Knight, of Atkinson, New Hampshire, and resided at Salem, New Hampshire. According to the census of 1790 his family consisted of four sons and two "females." His name appears on a petition February 13,
1783, to have an election set aside on account of errors. He was in the revolution, in Cap- tain James Gilmore's company, Colonel Jacob Gile's regiment, in the expedition to Rhode Island in August, 1778. Children, born at Salem: 1. Sarah, married Nathaniel Warner. 2. Joseph. 3. John, married Judith Bassett, of New Hampshire. 4. James. 5. Oliver, mentioned below.
(IV) Oliver Taylor, son of Matthew Tay- lor ( 3), born in Salem, New Hampshire, 1797, died in Atkinson, New Hampshire, 1857. He was a farmer, and also was engaged in lumber- ing. He served as selectman in Atkinson, and was a prominent member of the Methodist church, being at different times trustee, stew- ard, class leader, etc. He assisted in the war of 1812 by contributing money for a substi- tute. He was a Democrat in politics. He mar- ried first, Lettice, daughter of Jonathan Page, of Atkinson. She died in 1833, aged forty- two, and he married second. Polly White. Children of first wife: I. Otis, born Septem- ber 3, 1811, married Martha Nelson; was a farmer at Atkinson, where he died. 2. Han- nah Knight, born May 7, 1817 : married Mat- thew Paul ; removed to West Newbury, Mass- achustts. 3. Jonathan P., born April 28, 1819; married Charlotte Goodhue, resided at Atkin- son. 4. Reuben P., born June 19, 1821 ; mar- ried Susan H. Gordon ; resided at Haverhill. 5. Levi, born January 13, 1824: mentioned below. 6. Oliver, born June 12, 1826; mar- ried Lucy Fellows; was a clothier at Haver- hill, Massachusetts. 7. Sarah, born April I, 1820: married J. R. Farrington; resided at Holyoke, Massachusetts. 8. Lettice, married Matthew Paul; resided at Haverhill. 9. Asa Hall, born February 22, 1833. Child of sec- ond wife: 10. Caroline. born August II, 1836; resided at Haverhill.
(V) Levi Taylor, son of Oliver Taylor (4), born at Atkinson, New Hampshire, January 13, 1824, died January 1, 1890. He was edu- cated in the public schools. He settled in Haverhill when a young man, and became one of its most prominent and wealthy citizens. He was the senior member of the famous firm of Three Taylors, dealers in clothing, Haver- hill ; a member of the firm of Taylor, Good- win & Company, dealers in lumber, coal and wood, in Bradford, Massachusetts, a town adjoining Haverhill ; also a partner in the firm of Hoyt & Taylor Hardware Company, Hav- erhill. In addition to these extensive and var- ied mercantile interests he dealt in real estate in the city of Haverhill and surrounding terri-
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tory upon a large scale. In the registry of deeds of Essex county alone his name appears on record upon more than four hundred con- veyances of property as grantor or grantee, indicating in a word how extensive his deal- ings were. Many of these transactions in- volved large amounts of money, and repre- sented the gains that went toward a substan- tial fortune. No man in the county carried on more varied and extensive business than he, and few equalled him in business sagacity, foresight and judgment. He had an expert knowledge of the value of property, was a shrewd buyer, and was thoroughly upright in all his dealings. He had the confidence of his townsmen regardless of politics and class. He was for seven years selectman of the town be- fore the city charter was granted and served one year as mayor of the city ; was re-elected but on account of ill health declined to serve. He represented his district in the general court in 1880 and 1881, serving on many important committees, including that on public and char- itable institutions. In politics, he was a Re- publican. He was a trustee of the New Hamp- shire Conference Seminary and Female Col- lege ; director of the First National Bank of Haverhill, of the Groveland Street Railroad Company, and the Haverhill Gaslight Com- pany ; trustee of the Haverhill Five Cents Sav- ings Bank many years; member of the Wes- leyan Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was a prominent member, and of the Lin- wood and Hilldale Cemetery Corporation of Haverhill. He married first, Elizabeth R. Currier, born in Salem, New Hampshire, daughter of Nathan and Sarah Currier. Na- than Currier was the great-great-grandson of Hannah Dustin. He married, second, Frances Sargent. Children, all by the first wife: I. Levi Lee Forest, coal dealer, Haverhill. 2. Henry R., died in boyhood. 3. Ezra W. B., mention- ed below.
(VI) Ezra W. B. Taylor, son of Levi Tay- lor (5), was born in Haverhill, January 9, 1858. He received his education in the public schools of Haverhill and in a business college in Boston. He has been occupied in the man- agement and development of his real estate and other property, and has not been engaged in mercantile or manufacturing business actively. He is interested in historical re- search, and is a member of the Historical Society of Haverhill, and treasurer of the Hannah Dustin Society of that city. In poli- tics he is a Republican. He belongs to the Pentucket Club, the Agawam Club, and the
Haverhill Golf Club. He is an attendant of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He mar- ried, in St. Louis, Missouri, December 23, 1889, Ellen Virginia Godman, born in Madi- son, Indiana, daughter of Thomas Jefferson and Martha ( Sering) Godman, and a descend- ant of the English royal family through her remote ancestors, the Godman family being a prominent family in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Godman, of Philadelphia, was her great-uncle. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have no children.
Nathaniel Clarke, progenitor CLARKE of the Clarke family of New- bury, Massachusetts, was born in 1638, and while it is practically certain that he was related to the immigrants of this name at Ipswich, it is not known that either of them was his father. There were many immigrants of this time to New England and the relation- ship is hard to trace. Nathaniel Clarke was not the first of the surname in Newbury. John Clark, late citizen and surgeon of Lon- don, England, settled there in 1638, but re- moved to Boston in 1651 and died in 1664; he received a patent from the general court of Massachusetts on an invention for sawing wood and warming houses with little cost, and it is said that his stoves mark an era in the history of New England. Nathaniel Clarke was a witness in. the famous controversy be- tween the town of Newbury and its minister, Rev. Mr. Parker, May 13, 1669. He was admitted a freeman April 29, 1668; was on a committee in 1670 to lay out the highway to Amesbury ; in May, 1684, was made naval officer of the ports of Salisbury and Newbury ; June 4, 1685, was ensign in Captain Daniel Peirce's company, at Rowley, vice Stephen Greenleaf, promoted, being the oldest ser- geant ; was town constable March 2, 1667. He and several others had liberty from the selectmen, December 3, 1668, to build a pew in the fourth gallery in the east end. The committee to build the parsonage January 3, 1672, was instructed to make it like Nathaniel Clarke's, giving evidence of the substantial character of his dwelling place. He was a juror in 1678-79 and 1684; constable 1667- 68; tithingman 1679-82-85 ; selectman 1682-88, and probably other years. He died August 25, 1690, aged about forty-eight years. Judge Sewall mentions his death in his diary, and refers to meeting him at the funeral of Cap- tain Gerrish at Salem, August 11, 1687. He owned land on Little Pine Island and on Plum Island, as well as in Newbury, etc. His will
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is dated August 21, 1690, proved September 30, following ; the inventory is dated Septem- ber 2, 1690. He married, November 23, 1663, at Newbury, Elizabeth Somerby, born Novem- ber 1, 1648, died March 15, 1716, daughter of Henry and Judith Somerby, of Exeter, New Hampshire. Her father Henry was son of Richard Somerby. of Little Bytham, Lincoln- shire. England. Her mother was daughter of Edmund Greenleaf, the immigrant, one of the earliest settlers at Newbury, said to be of French Huguenot stock, the name being trans- lated from the French form-Feuillevert. She married second, August 8, 1698, Rev. John Hall, of Beverly, who was chaplain in the expedition of 1690 to Canada, and who (lied May 15, 1700, aged sixty-four years. Children: 1. Nathaniel, born December 5, 1664: died June 6, 1665. 2. Nathaniel, born March 13. 1666; died October, 1690; men- tioned below. 3. Thomas, born February 9. 1667-68: died April 25, 1722. 4. John, born January 24, 1670; died July 25, 1705. 5. Henry, born July 5, 1673; died June 9. 1749. 6. Daniel, born December 16, 1675; died be- fore 1709. 7. Sarah, born January 7. 1677- 78; died August 25, 1741. 8. Josiah, born May 7, 1682; died April 29, 1717. 9. Eliza- beth, born May 15, 1684: died January 24, 1762. 10. Judith, born January 3, 1686-87. II. Mary, born March 25, 1689: died before August 21, 1690.
(H) Nathaniel Clarke, son of Nathaniel Clarke (1), born in Newbury, March 13, 1666; married, December 15, 1685, Elizabeth Toppan, born October, 1665, daughter of Dr. Peter and Jane Toppan, and sister of Rev. Christopher Toppan. Her father was sixth in descent from Robert Toppan, of Linton, near Pately Bridge, West Riding of Yorkshire. In 1686 the town granted to Nathaniel Clarke Jr., one acre of marsh land from Henry Somerby's grant. In 1690 he was a soldier in the expedition to Canada, was wounded, and died in service. Through his chaplain, John Hale, he made a will, but it was lost afterward and an admin- istrator appointed. His widow married sec- ond, James Wise, of Newbury. Children, born in Newbury: I. Elizabeth, born July 27, 1686; died before October, 1690. 2. Nathan- iel, mentioned below.
(III) Nathaniel Clarke, son of Nathaniel Clarke (2), born in Newbury, July 29, 1689, died May 3, 1753. He was a cordwainer by trade. He bought of John Rolfe, May 31. 1710, a dwelling and an acre and half of land in Newbury for 110 pounds. He drew a
share in Narragansett, No. 1, (Buxton), Maine, in the right of Jonathan Clark, lot 21, and another in the right of Daniel Somerby, lot No. 3. Both ancestors were, therefore, soldiers in King Philip's war. He spelled his name with and without the final vowel, and in this respect most of the family seem to have varied in their way of spelling the name. He married, March 7. 1709, Sarah Greenleaf, born November 3. 1692, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Kent) Greenleaf, and great- granddaughter of Edmund Greenleaf and of Tristram Coffin, the first magistrate of Nan- tucket. Sarah Kent was daughter of John and Mary Kent and Mary Kent, granddaugh- ter of James Kent, brother of Richard Kent, who owned Kent's Island and much land in Oldtown, Maine. Children: 1. Samuel, born April 23, 1710: died November 15, 1757, in Stratham. 2. Elizabeth, born October 15,
IZII. 3. Sarah. 4. John. 5. Daniel. 6. Ebenezer. 7. Stephen, born June 9. 1723 : (lied December, 1804. 8. Nathaniel, mention- ed below.
(1\') Nathaniel Clarke, son of Nathaniel Clarke (3), born in Newbury, 1728, died No- vember 7, 1805. He resided in Haverhill, and was a farmer there. He was a member of the Second Company of Foot under Major Rich- ard Saltonstall, April 18, 1757, in the French and Indian war. During the revolution he helped the cause by loans of money to the town on several occasions, and in 1780 was on the town committee to collect clothing for the army. His will is on file at Salem. He mar- ried, February 18, 1753. Mary Hardy, of Bradford, born October 8, 1733, died January 13, 1817, daughter of David Hardy, son of Joseph and Mary (Burbank) Hardy, grand- son of John, brother of William, who came in the family of Governor Winthrop and fin- ally settled in Bradford. Mrs. Clarke's mother Dorcas Gage, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Watson) Gage and granddaughter of Dan- iel Gage, whose father was John Gage, of Rowley, was said to be son of Sir John Gage. Baronet, and his wife Penelope. Sir John Gage was grandson and heir of Edward Gage, knighted by Queen Mary. Children of Na- thaniel Clarke : I. David, born November 27. 1755; died March 16, 1833. 2. Susanna, born April 3. 1758. 3. Nathaniel. died young. 4. Mary, born March 18, 1762, died Novem- ber 25, 1843. 5. Greenleaf, died young. 6. Nathaniel, born 1766; died March 19, 1846. 7. Paul, born 1767; died November 20. 1789. 8. Moses, born May 6, 1770; died September
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28. 1840. 9. Theodore, born April 27, 1773; died December 7, 1829. 10. Rebecca, died before 1792. 11. Greenleaf, mentioned below. (V) Greenleaf Clarke, son of Nathaniel Clarke (4), born in Haverhill, May 5, 1779, died January 12, 1821, at Atkinson, New Hampshire. He had a common school educa- tion, and learned the trade of brick mason. In addition to his trade he followed farming. He settled in the town of Atkinson, which ad- joins Haverhill, and September 6, 1809, bought of Samuel Eaton, of Haverhill, twenty acres and forty rods of land in Haverhill adjoining his Atkinson farm. William Cogs- well witnessed the deed. Clarke's farm was large and fertile. He erected a substantial brick house upon taking up his residence in Atkinson, and there his son, Hon. Greenleaf Clarke, lived after him. Greenleaf Clarke was a prominent citizen of Atkinson, was select- man several years, and as justice of the peace was the local magistrate. He married, Marclı 1, 1810, Julia Cogswell, born February 20, 1789, died January 9, 1860, daughter of Dr. William and Judith ( Badger) Cogswell. Her father was a soldier in the revolution, son of Nathaniel Cogswell, of Haverhill, Massachu- setts, and Atkinson, New Hampshire. Dr. Cogswell married, January 31, 1739-40, Judith, daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Peaslee) Badger. Julia Cogswell was an intellectual woman of much force of character. Before her marriage she was preceptress in the Atkinson Academy. She married second, December 12, 1822, Amasa Coburn, by whom she had four children, all of whom died young, except Mary, who married R. D. Mooers, and lived at Manchester, New Hampshire. Chil- dren of Greenleaf and Julia (Cogswell) : I. William Cogswell, born December 10, 1810; died April 25, 1872. 2. Sarah, born May 4, 1812; married, September 29, 1835, Colonel Samuel Carleton. 3. Francis, born March 28, 1814; died July 10, 1852. 4. Greenleaf, born May 7, 1816; mentioned below. 5. Moses, born January 8, 1818; died March 27, 1864. 6. John Badger, born January 30, 1820; died October 29, 1891.
(VI) Greenleaf Clarke, son of Greenleaf Clarke (5). was born at Atkinson, New Hampshire, May 7, 1816. He was educated in the public schools, acquiring an excellent education and teaching for five years in the public schools. He became principal of the Lynn high school. He returned to Atkinson, and followed farming, and at the same time dealt in real estate and filled various public
offices with credit. As justice of the peace he was the squire and magistrate, the convey- ancer, making the wills and deeds and doing much of the legal and probate business of his townsmen. He was a member of the state legislature in 1842-43-77, and selectman in 1846; was appointed on the governor's staff in 1842, with the rank of colonel ; was a mem- ber of the governor's council in 1850; in 1851 elected from the first councillor district of the state. In 1846 he was appointed by the gov- ernor and council as special commissioner of the Boston & Maine railroad, and he served in this important office until 1857, and was again appointed in 1880 for a term of four years. In 1836 he was a member of the state constitutional convention and 'in 1878 was elected to the state senate for two years from the twenty-first senatorial district. He was a leading Republican. In the senate lie served on the committee on rail- roads, on finance, on corporations and on agri- culture. As a candidate for public office he never met defeat. During the later years of his life he was treasurer of the board of trus- tees of the Atkinson Academy. He was a prominent Free Mason, and a Knight Temp- lar. He died August 18, 1888. Upright, hon- est and straightforward, he kept faith with all men and lived an exemplary life. Of strong character, he attracted friends and wielded a strong and useful influence in the state of New Hampshire. He was for many years one of the foremost citizens of Rockingham county. He was a Congregationalist in religion. He married, March 15. 1855, Sarah Jane Noyes, born July 2, 1829, died 1898, daughter of Silas (6) and Lucy (Noyes) Noyes ; granddaughter of Peter and Sarah ( Noyes) Noyes ; and des- cendant of the immigrant, Nicholas Noyes, of Newbury (see Noyes). Children: I. Sarah, born April 3, 1856. 2. Mary Coburn, born December 9, 1857. 3. Greenleaf, mentioned below. All three are unmarried.
(VII) Greenleaf Clarke, son of Hon. Greenleaf Clarke (6), was born in Atkinson, New Hampshire, June 5, 1862. He was edu- cated in the public schools of his native town. In 1886 he engaged in the grain business in Boston, continuing for a period of seven years. During the next seven years he was traveling salesman for a Boston firm of grain dealers. In 1900 he removed to Haverhill, and estab- lished his real estate and insurance business, in which he has prospered greatly. He has been especially successful as an auctioneer, and has a record during 1906 of one hundred
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and seventeen separate auction sales. He is a member of Gideon Lodge, F. and A. M., of Kingston, New Hampshire: of Rockingham Chapter. R. A. M. ; and of the Pentucket Club of Haverhill. In politics he is a Republican.
Griffin is a common baptismal GRIFFIN name in Wales and has been in use also as a surname for as long a time as surnames have been used. The Domesday Book of William the Conquer- or gives the name of Griffin in Cornwall, Wales. Still earlier there was in Cheshire, England, a Griffin Rex, first a favorite of Ed- ward the Confessor, and afterwards a rebel against him, probably a Welsh border prince. The same ancient records gives a "Grifin puer (boy) and Grifin, Filius," etc., as a tenant in chief in county Hereford. The name is almost as common in England as in Wales, however, especially in Northamptonshire, Staffordshire and Yorkshire, and in these counties are branches of the family bearing arms. The family at Penrith, Wales, bears these arms : Gules on a fesse between three lozenges or each charged with a fleur-de-lis of the first a demi-rose between two griffins segreant of the field. Another Griffin coat-of-arms : Gules a lion rampant or with a bordure in- vecked argent. Also: Ermine a bend gules cotised argent. Most of the other coats-of- arms in use have a griffin, the mythical ani- mal, whence the name is derived in the first instance. One is: Gules three griffin's heads, two in chief couped argent and one in base erased or. Another : Argent a griffin segreant. Lord Braybrooke, who belongs to the Griffin family, has: A griffin segreant argent beaked and forelegs or. Crest : A talbot's head erased sable. Motto: Ne vile velis. There were several of the name in Massachusetts before 1650. Hugh Griffin, of Sudbury, was propri- etor there in 1639; town marshal and clerk of the writs; admitted freeman May, 1645; died June 21, 1656. Humphrey Griffin, butcher, Ipswich, settled there in 1639: married Eliza- beth Andrews; died 1662. His English an- cestry has recently been discovered. Thomas Griffin, of Boston, was part owner of wharf property there in 1639; died at Roxbury in 1661.
(I) Richard Griffin, immigrant, settled in Concord, Massachusetts, and was admitted freeman March, 1637-38; was born 1590; deposed March 21, 1658-59, that he was aged about sixty-seven years; was deputy to the general court and commissioner of court in
1639. He married, December 10, 1660, Mary Hayward ( Harrod), widow, at Concord. He was a prominent citizen in town affairs. He died April 5. 1661. His will is dated March 19, 1661, giving his age as about seventy, and it was proved June 25, 1661. bequeathing to wife Mary; to kinsman Matthew Griffin, of Charlestown; to Christopher Wooly. Admin- istration was granted to widow for herself and children ; a second administration granted and bond given by his son Joseph Griffin, of Bos- ton, tailor, March 26, 1680.
(I) Matthew Griffin, immigrant ancestor of the Methuen family, was probably born in England. He inherited nearly half the estate of Richard Griffin, of Concord, who calls him in his will "dear kinsman, Matthew Griffin of Charlestown." It is unlikely that he would have described his son or brother as "kinsman." He may have been uncle of Matthew who was much younger. He married first, Joan -; second. August 29. 1654, Hannah Cutler, daughter of Robert Cutler, of Charlestown. He married third, Deborah Hill, who died in 1698. Mr. Griffin deeded to his son Matthew a house "granted me and my wife" by her father, Robert Cutler, April 3. 1660. Hannalı is a legatee of Robert Cutler, described as wife of Matthew Griffin, and given her father's shop, tools of his trade, unwrought iron, share in ship "Dolphin," etc. Children of Matthew and llannah Griffin, born at Charlestown: I. Matthew Jr., May 7, 1656. 2. Hannah, No- vember II. 1657. 3. Samuel, July 20, 1659. 4. Elizabeth, baptized February 9. 1661-62. 5. Rebecca, October 3, 1664. 6. Richard, May 11, 1666. 7. John, March 22, 1668. 8. Jonathan, May 29, 1670, mentioned below. 9. Sarah, October 1, 1672. 10. Mary, bap- tized November 15. 1674. Child of Matthew and Deborah Griffin: 11. Benjamin, Febru- ary 16, 1686.
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