Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume I, Part 35

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 924

USA > Massachusetts > Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 35

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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speaking a noble nature, than the act per- formed by one Captain of the 2nd Massachu- setts, *

* who, standing by the side of * Lieutenant Colonel Savage * * fatally wounded, not believed by the enemy to be worth the saving, refused to surrender until he had wrung from the enemy the pledge that they would, in capturing him, save also his comrade and bear him back to the nearest hospital; declaring that, if they did not, he, single-handed and alone, would fight it out, and sell his life at the dearest cost." Colonel Savage died of his wounds a few days after- wards, and Russell was confined in Libby Prison. He was liberated November 15, 1862, and on January 22, 1863, was made lieutenant colonel of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry. On April 5, 1864, he was made colonel of the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry, a negro regi- ment. It was a position which was then not very desirable, but he accepted it. Between him and his cousin, Colonel Robert G. Shaw, there had been a close friendship. Shaw's death had just occurred at Fort Wagner lead- ing a charge at the head of his negro regiment, and Colonel Russell said, in taking his new com- mand: "Bob would have liked to have me do it." At the head of his regiment on June 15, 1864, before Petersburg, Colonel Russell re- ceived his first wound, a severe one ; he also received special commendation from General Grant, which led a year later to his brevet as brigadier-general of volunteers "for distin- guished gallantry and good conduct."

In February, 1865, by reason of illness in his family, he left the army, and entered the firm of his father-in-law, where he remained three years. Not having a taste for business pursuits, he established at West Roxbury the famous Home Farm, and two years later he removed to his handsome estate, midway between Milton Hill and the Blue Hills, where he passed the remainder of life. He built fine stables, and kept some of the most famous trotting stallions in the country, notably among whom were Fearnaught, Smuggler and Edge- mark. Later he turned his attention to Jersey cattle.

In 1878 he was appointed chairman of the Boston police commissioners. The board had been managed by an aldermanic committee, and had sunk into a pitiable condition. For two years he toiled hard, and brought the force into fine shape. Then he resigned and re- turned to his farm. On January 14, 1895, Mayor Curtis appointed him fire commissioner of Boston. This was a single-headed com-

mission, the commission having the privilege of appointing two deputies and a secretary. This Colonel Russell never did. It was a long and arduous work to bring the depart- ment up to his ideal, but he left it undoubtedly the best organized and the most efficient fire department in the country. "At the beginning the politicians came with their usual demands for influence, but quickly learned that they had absolutely none! Shocked and angry at so 'un-American' condition, they would fain have ejected the colonel, but they found him evenly indifferent to threats, gallantly backed by the powerful insurance interests, and attending to business as if politicians did not exist. In time they appreciated the situation, and ceased from troubling ; and no mayor of either party ever disturbed the fire commis- sioner. With his subalterns he was popular ; and even with the rank and file, for though very rigid and a strict disciplinarian, he was not a martinet. During his term, he made short work of disquieting agitation concerning hours and pay which meddlesome politicians sought to stir; yet his men, proud of being parts of so fine an organization as he had created, did not audibly murmer. He was a strong commander and he reaped the fruits of it." He held the office up to the time of his death. His funeral was, at his own request, closely private, and the burial was in the Milton cemetery. Colonel Russell held the following offices also: Director of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company ; president of Continental (Bell) Telephone Company ; member of school committee, board of assessors, park commission, selectman of Milton, trustee of Westborough Insane Asylum; of Perkins Institute for the Blind; of the Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital ; president of Bay State Agricultural Company ; trustee of Massachusetts Society for Promot- ing Agriculture ; member of the Massachu- setts Republican State Committee ; president of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry Asso- ciation ; member of the Loyal Legion.

Colonel Russell's convictions were strong and definite, and his judgment positive ; he gave the impression of reserved force. He was modest, yet conscious of his power, con- sequently self-reliant. Fear of any sort was utterly absent in his make-up; but he was affectionate by nature, loyal and kindly. He was domestic in his tastes, and loved his fire- side. Without being imperious, he was always thoroughly the master of his soldiers, his policemen, his firemen, and his employees.

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He married, May 26, 1863, Mary Hathaway Forbes, of Milton, daughter of Hon. John M. Forbes. Children : I. James Savage, born March 8, 1864, mentioned below. 2. Ellen Forbes, Milton, October 30, 1865, educated in private schools in Milton and at Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, and passed the entrance exami- nations to Radcliffe College ; married, Novem- ber 15, 1894, Edward Williams Atkinson ; chil- dren: i. Edward Atkinson, born October, 1897; ii. Henry Russell Atkinson, born De- cember 12, 1899; iii. Mary Forbes Atkinson. 3. Mary Forbes, April 28, 1870, educated in private schools in Milton and Boston ; married, in 1889, Copley Amory ; children: i. Copley Amory Jr., born November 2, 1890; ii. Henry Russell Amory, born October 25, 1892; iii. John Forbes Amory, born March 8, 1896; iv. Walter Amory, born June 13, 1899; v. Thomas Chace Amory, born November 30, 1907; vi. Katherine Amory, born April 7, 1908. 4. Margaret, June 24, 1871, died in infancy. 5. Howland Shaw, January 27, 1873, men- tioned below. 6. Anna, August 29, 1875, edu- cated in private schools in Milton and Boston and passed the exminations for Radcliffe Col- lege ; married, 1896, Harrison Otis Apthorp, head master of Milton Academy : children: i. Harrison Otis Apthorp Jr., born October I, 1897 ; ii. Sarah Forbes Apthorp, born May 10, 1900.

(IX) James Savage, son of Henry Sturgis Russell, was born in Milton, March 8, 1864. He attended private schools in Milton and Boston, and entered Harvard College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1887 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was a clerk for six years in the banking house of Lee, Higginson & Company. Since then he has been a real estate broker with offices in Boston. In politics he is a Republican ; in religion a Unitarian. He is a member of Country Club of Brookline, Athletic, Ex- change and City of Boston and Milton clubs. He married, May 21, 1902, Emily Tyson Perry, daughter of Rev. James De Wolf and Eliza- beth (Tyson) Perry, of Germantown, Penn- sylvania. Children, born at Milton: I. Eliza- beth Tyson, born January 3, 1904. 2. George Robert, December 12, 1905.

(IX) Howland Shaw, son of Henry Sturgis Russell, was born in Milton, January 27, 1873. He attended private schools in Milton and Boston and entered Harvard College in which he was a student for two years. He is a broker with offices in Boston. Since February, 1907, he has resided in California on a ranch. In

politics he is a Republican ; in religion a Uni- tarian. He is a member of Milton Club and Eastern Yacht Club. He married, June I, 1904, Catherine S. Thayer, born November 2, 1883, daughter of Eugene Van Rensselaer and Susan (Spring) Thayer, of Lancaster and Boston; child, Henry Sturgis, born Feb- ruary 24, 1905.

STOCKWELL William Stockwell, immi-

grant ancestor, was born in England, about 1650.

The family tradition has it that he was enticed on board a ship when a young lad, and follow- ed the sea after serving his apprenticeship in the old-fashioned way. He finally made his home in Ipswich, but his seafaring life prob- ably explains the absence of records there. It is said that he was born in Scotland, but the name is unquestionably English, and there was another family of Stockwells in Massa- chusetts before he came. William Stockwell had a seat in the meeting house at Ipswich in 1700. He seems to have been in Sutton for several years from 1720 to 1731 or later, but where he died is unknown. His son William used the "Junior" as late as 1731, when he sold land to William Severy in Sutton. He sold ten parcels of land, according to the rec- ords, between 1731 and 1769. The only two deeds in Worcester county given by the immi- grant appear to be those dated October 19, 1720-I, but his wife's name was Mary Stock- well, which was the name of his son William's wife. This William Stockwell sold land seven rods wide and one hundred and six rods long to John Lilly, adjoining land of John Sibley, Jonathan King, Ebenezer Stearns and Samuel Bisco. He sold land also in March, 1722-3, to John Sibley, of Sutton, one and a-quarter acres. The first deed of William Stockwell Jr., according to Worcester records, was dated April 5, 1727, acknowledged 1731, conveying land on Crooked pond between land of Benja- min Marsh and land of William Stockwell to William Severy. He deeded more land in 1729. William married, at Ipswich, April 14, 1685, Sarah Lambert. His children included five sons, who all settled in Sutton, and he probably with them. Children: 1. William, born about 1686, married Mary -; set- tled in Sutton. 2. Captain John, born about 1687, married, 1717, Mary Lombard. 3. Jon- athan, married December 26, 1726; had Ste- phen, et al. 5. David, mentioned below.

(II) David, son of William Stockwell, was born in New England, and married Marcy

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His will was dated May 10 and proved August 18, 1743. He lived in Sutton, where seven of his children are recorded. Children : I. Jeremiah, baptized May 9, 1731 ; married, November 27, 1751, Mary Cutler. 2. Joseph (twin), baptized May 9, 1731. 3. Ephraim, born October 16, 1733; mentioned below. 4. Mary, baptized September 7, 1735. 5. John, baptized November 13, 1737. 6. Mercy. 7. Martha. 8. Jemima. 9. Abigail. IO. Evens, baptized September 6, 1742. II. David, baptized May 14, 1750.

(III) Ephraim, son of David Stockwell, was born at Sutton, Massachusetts, October 16, 1733. He removed from Sutton to Peters- ham. Worcester county, Massachusetts. He bought a farm at Athol, June 26, 1760, of Lydia Moore, widow of Increase Moore, of Athol (Pequoige). He bought land later at Athol of Silas Conant in 1792, and Daniel Duncan Jr. in 1793. He was a soldier in the revolution, lieutenant in Captain Ichabod Dex- ter's company, Colonel Doolittle's regiment, on the Lexington alarm, April 19, 1775; also first lieutenant in Captain John Oliver's com- pany, Colonel' Nathan Sparhawk's regiment (seventh) in 1776, commissioned April 5, 1776: also captain of Twelfth company, Col- onel Sparhawk's regiment (Seventh Wor- cester county), commissioned December 10, 1776; also captain in Colonel Job Cushing's regiment in 1777, sent to reinforce General Stark to the northward. He deeded part of his land to his son Ziba. He died at Phillips- ton, Massachusetts, where he spent his last years, July 13, 1802, aged sixty-eight years. He married, at Petersham (intention dated November 8, 1757) Sarah Grout, who died at Phillipston, October 27, 1817, aged seventy- nine years. His will, dated April 30, 1802, filed August 3, 1802, bequeathed to wife Sarah and children. Children, born at Athol : I. Jesse. 2. Ziba, died January 7, 1849, at Phillipston, aged eighty-six years five months six days. 3. Lois, married at Petersham (in- tention March 17, 1791) Joshua Sprague. 4. Phebe, married, January 14, 1792, William Howe. 5. Josiah, mentioned below.

(IV) Josiah, son of Ephraim Stockwell, was born at Athol, October 14, 1775, and died at Phillipston, in 1853. His father left him fifty acres of land in Gerry ( Phillipston) bought of Silas Conant, with house and barn, his then homestead, on condition that he pay his mother $233.33. Josiah bought fifty acres of land at Phillipston, December 22, 1812, of John Parker, of Lexington. He had already

moved to that town, adjacent to Athol. He also bought land November 8, 1821, on the west side of the county road, of James Oliver and Luther Smith. His will was dated Janu- ary 5, 1850, with a codicil dated April 15, 1850, and allowed October 4, 1853. He mar- ried, at Phillipston (first) Polly Moore, who died December 24, 1818; (second) (intention dated July 4, 1819), at Worcester, Isabella Doty. Children, born at Phillipston (where dates are given) : I. Cyrus, September 16, 1797 ; mentioned below. 2. Hannah, Novem- ber 7, 1799; died before her father; married Bigelow. 3. Elvira, February 2, 1802. 4. Elmer, December 31, 1803, not mentioned in will. 5. Leander, February 9, 1806. 6. Syl- vester, September 20, 1808. 7. Harriet, No- vember 1, 1810; married Jones. 8. Mary Roxana, October 5, 1812; married Skinner. 9. Sophia Angela, October 19, 1814 ; married Clapp. Children of second wife: IO. Isabella. II. Josiah B. 12. Orlando.

(V) Cyrus, son of Josiah Stockwell, was born in Phillipston, September 16, 1797, and died October 13, 1845, before his father. When a young man he lived in Hardwick, Worcester county, and in May, 1818, established a line of mail stages between Worcester and North- ampton, the first to pass through Hardwick and various other towns along the route. He kept a tavern in Hardwick in 1822-23, and then moved to Worcester, where he was en- gaged in the same line of business until his death. He kept a hotel in St. John, New Brunswick, also for a few years. He married, April 22, 1821, Elmira Nickerson, of Wor- cester, who died March 20, 1826, aged twenty- five ; (second) May 21, 1827, Maria Blair, who died May 25, 1889. Children, born at Worcester: I. Adeline, March 17, 1822, died December 23, 1875; married, at Worcester, April 3, 1845. Alexander Bigelow. 2. Stephen N., August 31, 1823; mentioned below. 3. Elmira, March 12, 1826. Children of second wife: 4. James C., born September 5, 1828. 5. Charles Blair, April 21, 1832. 6. Maria B., January 9, 1840. 7. Henrietta, August I, 1844.

(VI) Stephen Nickerson, son of Cyrus Stockwell, was born in Hardwick, August 31, 1823, and died April 8, 1881, in Boston. When only a few months old he removed with his family to Worcester, and there spent his youth with exception of a short stay at St. John, New Brunswick. He learned the trade of printer in the office of the Worcester Spy, later

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with the Boston Journal, and was connected with that newspaper in various positions all his active life. "His professional career," said The Journal editorially, "covered a term of nearly forty years, and with the exception of brief periods of rest he labored with great zeal in the field which he had chosen. From compositor in his youth to the editorial chair, he has filled nearly every intermediate position with rare ability and unsurpassed fidelity. He may almost be said to have originated many departments of a daily newspaper, for his development of whatever task was assigned to him was one of his prominent character- istics. His interest in public affairs was always marked by an intelligent appreciation of pass- ing events. In the house of representatives and state senate, in the common council, and as one of the overseers of the state prison, and in many other positions of religious and poli- tical trust, he performed his work so thoroughly that he won the esteem of his associates. He was one of the founders of the Highland Church on Parker street, contributing gener- ously to build the edifice, and devoting a large measure of time and energy to imparting vitality to the young society. In the promo- tion of Sunday schools he gave of his time and influence, while the aid given by him to many educational institutions in the west will be missed by the recipients of his bounty. Nowhere, however, will our friend and asso- ciate be more severely missed than in his family circle, which has lost a faithful and tender husband and kind father. It was his home which had the greatest attraction for him and the welfare of those he loved was

nearest his heart. His whole life has been one of duty and we who know him best bear willing testimony to his conscientious dis- charge of every responsibility which devolved upon him. So noble an attitude as his when the hand of disease rested heavily upon him and when the inevitable end approached was only possible to one who had led an exemplary and Christian life."

ITis usefulness and ceaseless labor in behalf of The Journal induced the late Major Rogers to make him one of the corporators when a spec- ial act for the incorporation of that paper was secured. During the last two years of his life, his health failed, but still he gave to his work such measure of strength as he possessed until February before he died. He then retired, as he fondly hoped, and was confidently expected by his associates to regain his health by much- needed rest. But he failed rapidly and died

early in April, at his home in Hillside, Roxbury. The Boston newspapers, on the following day, published this expression of sentiment : "The representatives of the press of Boston desire to express their deep sense of bereavement in the death of Stephen N. Stockwell, late one of the editors of the Boston Journal, and to place on record their appreciation of his hon- orable professional labors and their respect for his blameless life. They recognize espec- ially the zeal and fidelity which he displayed in all the varied branches of his calling, his quick intelligence and great industry, his clear- ness of judgment, disinterestedness of prin- ciple in respect to all public interests. In the larger relations of life, he avoided no respon- sibilities and shirked no labor. He fulfilled every trust with consistent fidelity and was thoughtful and generous in the performance of every duty. The heartfelt sympathy of his business associates and friends is heartily ex- tended to his afflicted family."

He married, December 21, 1848, Anna B. Merritt, born January 15, 1822, in Scituate, Massachusetts, daughter of Nehemiah and Anna (Brown) Merritt, died April 20, 1872. He married (second) Martha E. Webb, born March 26, 1840, in Newcastle, Maine, daugh- ter of Luther and Eliza ( Montgomery ) Webb. His widow survives him, and is living in Bos- ton. Children of first wife: 1. Anna E., born July 30, 1850 ; died August 12, 1895 ; married, October, 1872, George W. Basford. 2. Elmira N., born December 8, 1852; married (first) May, 1873, William F. Duncan; (second ) December, 1891, John E. Jacobs; she died April 28, 1908. 3. Amelia W., born Decem- ber 27, 1855; unmarried. 4. George S., born October 11, 1858; lives in Boston ; unmarried. 5. Adeline L., born September 23, 1861 ; mar- ried. September 29, 1882, Moses H. Day. Children of second wife: 6. Marie L., born June 7, 1875. 7. Alice W., February 2, 1881.

Richard Truesdell, the

TRUESDELL first of this family in America, was born in Boston, England, and came as a servant in the employ of Rev. John Cotton, of Boston. The name is spelled variously even at the pres- ent time. We find Truesdale, Trusdall, Trues- dall, Trusdel, Trusdell, Trusedale, Trusedell and other spellings of the same old English surname, originally a place name. Truesdell was admitted to the church at Boston, July 27, 1634, and a freeman, March 4, 1634-35. He was a butcher by trade. He was a prominent

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citizen and became deacon of the Boston church. According to his own deposition dated January 28, 1670, his age was then sixty-four years. He was one of those who revolted at the "disingenuous management by which Davenport was brought from New Haven to be the minister" and he was one of the founders of the Third or Old South Church. In 1639 he was a juror in the in- quest on the death of Peter Fitcher, a suicide ; later on the jury that tried Hugh Bennett for heresy. His will was dated September 9, 1669, and orally amended before his death; proved January, 1671-72. He bequeathed to his wife Mary: to cousins (meaning nephews and nieces as we now use the word) Samuel, Re- becca, Thomas and Richard Truesdell ; to kins- man William Gilbert; to Mr. Cotton's three children : Seaborn, John and Maria Mather. He had no surviving children. His widow in her will proved November 26, 1674, bequeath- ed to the same persons and also Rebecca Gil- bert, wife of her cousin William Gilbert and her son William Gilbert Jr. ; to cousin William Emblin : to brother John Hood's two children ; to Mr. Thomas Thatcher and to the first and third churches of Boston.

(II) Samuel, nephew of Deacon Richard Truesdell, was born 1644-45, perhaps in Eng- land. He, his sister Rebecca, and brothers Thomas and Richard Truesdell, seem to have been in the care of their uncle and it is not known that their father ever came to this country. He received fifty pounds in his uncle's will. He settled in Cambridge and was admitted a freeman in 1685. His home was on the south side of Charles river in what was then Cambridge Village, now Newton, and he was one of the active supporters of the move- ment for separation from Cambridge. He was one of the signers of the secession from the first church of Boston in 1678 and became a member of the third church. He married (first) Mary Jackson, daughter of John Jack- son Sr .; (second) Elizabeth (Hammond) Woodward, daughter of Thomas Hammond Sr. and widow of George Woodward, of Watertown. His will mentions a third wife Mary, and children: Samuel, Thomas, Ebe- nezer, Mary, Mindwell, Rebecca and Experi- ence. His estate appraised at two hundred and twenty-six pounds, six shillings, six pence ; the homestead containing one hundred and twenty acres. Children: I. Richard, born July 16, 1672, married, 1697, Mary Fairbank. 2. Mary, November 3, 1673, married

Foote. 3. Samuel, October 13, 1675, married Elizabeth Hammond, daughter of Nathaniel Sr. 4. Mindwell, August 31, 1676. 5. Re- becca, March 25, 1678. 6. Experience. 7. Thomas, April 27, 1682, married, 1739, Eliza- beth Segar.

(III) Ebenezer, son of Samuel Truesdell, was born in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1685. He joined the stream of emigration from Roxbury and his native town to New Roxbury, Connecticut, then Massachusetts, now a section of Windham county. After a short residence at Quinebaug Valley, he bought land and a house of Thomas Goodell in the southwest part of the "Purchase," later Pom- fret, Connecticut, now in Abington, about 1710. He married, according to the Newton church records, in January, 1710, but the name of his wife has been lost or destroyed in the records, and is not known. He signed a peti- tion of the Mashmuggett Purchase ( Pomfret ), May 14, 1713, for incorporation, horse brand and freedom from rates. The name Pomfret was selected by the general court, a large Gothic capital "P" for a horse brand. Trues- dell was on a committee February 16, 1714, to locate the meeting house, and October 26, 1715, on the committee to provide dinner for the ordination of the minister at Pomfret, October 26, 1715. He was constable December, 1724. He is the ancestor of all the old Con- necticut families of this name. Among his children were: 1. Ebenezer. 2. Ichabod, men- tioned below. 3. Joseph, a soldier in the French and Indian war in 1757, Captain Eleazer Fitch's company. of Windham county. Perhaps others. A grandson, Ebenezer Trues- dell, was an ensign in the Sixth Company at the siege of Boston; grandsons Darius and Jeduthan, of Woodstock, responded to the Lexington alarm in 1775; one or both may have been sons of Ebenezer instead of grand- sons, however. Jeduthan Truesdell lived at Pomfret in 1790 and had three sons under sixteen and one female in his family: Ebe- nezer lived at Branford in 1790 and had no children in his family. A Joel, probably a grandson, was living at Bristol in 1790.

(IV) Ichabod, son of Ebenezer Truesdell, according to family tradition was father of Asa, Darius, Thomas and John. Asa was living at Suffield in 1790. Darius was a soldier in the revolution on the Lexington alarm and later was wounded in the side, narrowly escap- ing death from a ball which struck a large, old-fashioned pocketbook in his waistcoat

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pocket ; died a few years after the war from the effects of this wound. John settled in Woodstock.

(V) Thomas, son of Ichabod Truesdell, was born in Windham county, Connecticut, in or near Pomfret, about 1740. He moved to Monson, Massachusetts, before the revolution and was a soldier from that town on the Lex- ington call in April, 1775. An Ebenezer Trues- dell came from Pomfret to Chesterfield and his son Daniel was a soldier from Hampshire county, Massachusetts, in the revolution, Cap- tain Benjamin Bonney's company, Colonel Elisha Porter's regiment. Children of Thomas Truesdell: I. Perley, born 1771, mentioned below. 2. Simeon, married (intention dated September 1, 1805, at Monson) Sally Hitch- cock, of Weston. 3. Seavius, married, August II, 1814, Lorinda Edgerton. 4. Ruth, mar- ried, April 3, 1815, at Monson, Francis Curtis, of Thompson, Connecticut. 5. Rhoda, mar- ried (intention dated August 6, 1819) Nathan Warriner. Perhaps others.

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Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume I, Part 35

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848- Publication date: 1910 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 924

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 924