Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume I, Part 4

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 4

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WEYMOUTH .- Authority: Nash, "Historical Sketch of the Town of Weymouth." The in- crease in population in the town of Weymouth was small for its first century-about 1000 being the estimate for 1643. About 1675 an official estimate sets the number of houses in round numbers at 250 ; which allowing five per- sons to a house would give a population of 1250. In 1750 the estimate was 1200. A census of 1765 showed 1258; 1776, indicated 1471; and in 1790 a declension to 1469. In 1800 it had gained, the total being 1803. The more numerously represented names in Mr. Nashs's lists are Bates, Bayley, Beals, Bicknell, Blanchard, Burrell, Cushing, French, Holbrook, Humphrey, Hunt, Loud, Lovell, Nash, Porter, Pratt. Reed, Richards, Shaw, Smith, Thacher, Thayer. Thomas, Tirrell, Torrey, Tufts, Vin- ing, White, Whitmarsh.

OLD NORFOLK COUNTY.

In 1643 the county called Norfolk embraced six towns, four of which afterwards became a part of New Hampshire, and two remained a part of present Essex county. These two were Salisbury and Haverhill.

SALISBURY .- Authority: Hoyt, "Old Fami- lies of Salisbury and Amesbury." The names noticed to the greatest extent in this book may show with accuracy those families most numer- ously represented, certainly before 1700. Among these are the names of Allen, Ayer or Ayers, Bailey or Bayley, Barnard, Bartlett, Blaisdell, Bradbury, Brown, Buswell, Carr, Chase, Clem- ent, Colby. Currier, Davis, Dow, Eastman, Eaton, Fowler, French, Greenleaf, Hoyt, Kelly, Kimball, Merrill, Morrill, Morse, Osgood, Page, Pike, Rolfe, Rowell, Stevens, True, Webster, Weed and Wells.

HAVERHILL .- In this city the names of Ayer, Chase, Emerson, Johnson, Marsh, Page, Sar- gent or Sargeant, Webster and Whittier appear to be among those most numerously represent- ed. Badger. Bartlett, Bradley, Brickett, Brown, Chase, Cogswell, Corliss, Duncan, Emerson, llow, Johnson, Marsh, Saltonstall and White are among the more prominent names.

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JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

Of the civil officers in the provincial period the justices of the peace were elected more generally perhaps than any other from the mass of the common people. As a class they repre- sent the more active and intelligent members of the country districts. There were very few regular lawyers then, and their places were taken in cases of necessity by average citizens. Between 1692 and 1774, therefore, the honor attached to this office was far greater than that attached to it now. In the single instance cited the county of Essex is selected, and the names are taken from Whitmore's "Civil List." As presented, the year preceding the surname shows the first time that name was mentioned.

ESSEX COUNTY. Period from 1692 to 1774.

1692: Brown ; Woodbridge ; Appleton ; Epps or Epes ; Pierce ; Higginson ; Bradstreet ; Wade ; Wainwright. 1700: Noyes; Legg; Norden. 1701 : Burrill. 1702: Saltonstall; Pike ; Hirst ; Hale ; Wolcott. 1704: Sewall. 1706: Newman. 1707 : Jewett. 1714: Dummer. 1715 : Hathorne ; Corwin ; Turner ; White ; Brattle ; Cawley. 1717 : Rogers. 1719: Bradbury ; Kent ; Stevens ; Gale. 1720: Lindall ; Sargeant. 1722: Currier ; Ged- ney. 1723 : Berry. 1726: Price ; Oulton. 1727: Whipple : Bagley. 1728: Minot; Orne; Ger- rish ; Rolfe. 1729: Lynde; Atkins. 1733: Barton ; Bayley ; Plaisted ; Lambert ; Howard; Blaney; Fairfax; Barnard; March; Cogswell; Baker. 1734: Choate; Lee; Osgood; Wise; Kimball. 1736: Burleigh ; Allen ; Wood. 1737: Kitchen : Hobson ; Marston ; Greenleaf. 1738: Moody ; Skinner. 1739: Frost. 1741 : Rowell. 1744: Mansfield. 1745 : Swett ; Cushing. 1746: Pickman ; Collins. 1747 : Tasker. 1748 : Hooper ; Fowle. 1749: Moseley ; Bowditch; Peaslee ; Norton. 1752 : Gibbs ; Farnham ; Phillips. 1753: Pool. 1755 : Jones ; Stevens ; Davis ; Saunders ; Leach. 1756: Lechmere; Curwin; Nutting; Bourn : Dalton ; Morrill or Merrill; McHard. 1758: Gardner. 1759: Newhall. 1761 : Ropes ; Oliver : Whitham; Prescott; Coffin; Potter ; Gage ; Mulliken ; Henchman ; Holyoke; Chip- man ; Pynchon: Athearn ; Fairfield. 1762: Bowers : Gilbert ; Bowen ; Vans. 1763: Plum- mer : Cockle. 1764: Geary. 1765 : Frye ; Emery ; Putnam. 1766: Gallison. 1768: Dowse ; Story ; Cabot. 1769: Cotnam; Lowell. 1770: Roby. 1771: Derby; Calef. 1772: Harris; Carter ; Sawyer ; Jewett ; Barker ; Cheever.

A few of the above named were judges: Samuel Appleton, one of the earliest appointed,

was born in England and resided in Ipswich, and held office till his death in 1696. He was a military man of considerable note, and com- manded one of the companies engaged in 1675 in the desperate Narragansett fight. Bartho- lomew Gedney, of Salem, was a physician, born in 1640 and died in 1699. John Hathorne, of Salem, was born in 1641 ; he continued in office until his resignation in 1712, and died in 1717. He was appointed to the superior court. Jona- than Corwin, or Curwin, of Salem, was born in 1640, and died in office, 1718. He was appointed to the superior court 1715. William Browne died while in office 1716. He was suc- ceeded by his son Samuel Brown, who con- tinued until his death in 1731. Daniel Peirce, or Pierce, appointed in 1698, held his position until his death, 1704. A man of greater note than most of the preceding was Nathaniel Sal- tonstall, of Haverhill, who was graduated at Harvard 1659. He resigned from the position of judge in 1692, because of his distaste for the witchcraft trials. "He was not bred to the law, but he was a man of strong. mind and sound sense"-not influenced by bigotry and fanaticism. He died in 1707, aged about 68. He was appointed judge of the inferior court of common pleas for Essex in 1702, and held the office till his death about five years after- ward. ( For a full notice of his life, see Sibley, Harv. Gard., vol. ii.).

John Appleton, appointed 1704, was also judge of probate after 1732, which office he held until his death in 1739. He was a nephew of Samuel Appleton. Thomas Noyes, appoint- ed 1707, died, when very old, in 1730. John Higginson, appointed 1708, was a merchant. He held office until his death in 1720. John Burrill, of Lynn, for ten years speaker of the house of representatives, was appointed in 1720, but died in 1721. Josiah Wolcott, appointed in 1722, was a Salem merchant, and died in office, 1729. Timothy Lindall, appointed in 1729, was a graduate of Harvard College in 1695, and at one time speaker of the house of representa- tives (1720). He held his seat as judge until 1754, and died in 1760. John Wainwright, appointed 1729, graduate at Harvard 1709, was a merchant of Ipswich, and died in office, 1739. Theophilus Burrill (a nephew of John Burrill) was appointed in 1733, and died in office 1737. Thomas Berry, appointed 1733. was a graduate of Harvard 1712, and died in office 1756. He was a native of Boston, and a physician of Ipswich. He was also judge of probate for Essex county, 1739-1756. Ben- jamin Marston, appointed 1739, was a graduate

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of Harvard 1715, and also sheriff ; he was a resident of Salem and afterwards of Man- chester. He died while holding the office of a judge, in 1754, aged 57.

Benjamin Lynde, Jr., appointed 1739, was a graduate of Harvard in 1718; son of Judge Benjamin Lynde. He was not a lawyer when appointed. He was appointed to the bench of the superior court. He resigned in 1772 and became judge of probate, which office he held when he died in 1781. His father was a grad- uate of Harvard in 1686, and studied law in London, and was the first regularly educated lawyer appointed to the bench in Massachu- setts ; the father died in 1745, aged 78. He married his wife in Salem, where he had re- moved from Boston. He was a barrister or advocate and judge of the superior court 1712, and chief-justice from 1728 till his death. ( Sib- ley, Harv. Grad. iii. 356).

John Choate, appointed 1746, was of Ips- wich, became chief-justice, and died while in office, 1766. Henry Gibbs, appointed 1754, died in office, 1759. He was a graduate of Harvard in 1726, and a Salem merchant. John Tasker, appointed 1754, was of Marblehead ; and died in office in 1761. Benjamin Pickman, appoint- ed 1756, held office till 1761. He was a Salem merchant, and died in 1774. Caleb Cushing, appointed 1759, became chief-justice after the Revolution. He was of Salisbury. Stephen Higginson, appointed 1761, died 1761, aged 45. Nathaniel Ropes, appointed 1761, was a graduate of Harvard in 1745, and judge of probate ; died 1774. Andrew Oliver, appoint- ed 1761, graduated at Harvard 1749. He held office until the Revolution and died in 1799. William Bourn, of Marblehead, appointed 1766, was a graduate of Harvard 1743, and died 1770, aged 47. William Browne, appointed 1770; died in England, 1802. He was a grad- uate of Harvard, 1755. He was a Loyalist and was made governor of Bermuda, 1781. Peter Frye, of Andover, appointed 1772, graduate of Harvard, 1744, held office till 1775, and died in England, 1820.

Essex county also claims among the judges of the Superior Court of Judicature, from 1602 to 1774, the following: Samuel Sewall, John Hathorne, Jonathan Corwin, Benjamin Lynde (Ist), Benjamin Lynde (2d), Nathaniel Ropes and William Browne. Stephen Sewall, of Salem, graduate at Harvard, 1721; was ap- pointed in 1739, was chief justice, and died 1760. Samuel White, of Haverhill, graduated at Harvard, 1731, was a special justice, 1758, relative to will of Governor Bellingham. Rich-

ard Saltonstall, of Haverhill, graduated at Har- vard, 1722, was appointed judge in 1736, and held his seat until his death in 1756. Before the Revolutionary War very few of the incum- bents of this office were educated in the law, and to that time only four judges in the higher court were lawyers. These were Benjamin Lynde, the first of the two Lyndes, Paul Dud- ley, Edmund Trowbridge and William Cush- ing. Few regular practitioners found their way here from across the sea. There was a preju- dice against lawyers at that time among the New England people. The laws of the colony and province were based on the model made abroad by skilful English lawyers, and of them- selves were well enough ; but in unskilled hands here were often improperly administrated.

Among later judges of the higher court were Samuel Sewall, of Marblehead, a graduate of Harvard, 1776, member of congress, 1797-1800; later a chief-justice, 1813, who died in the following year at Wiscasset, Maine, 1814; Theophilus Bradbury, of Newbury, a graduate of Harvard, 1757, member of congress, died 1803, whose fame belongs mostly to the Dis- trict of Maine.

There were five barristers or advocates in the province in 1768, viz .: Daniel Farnham, graduate at Harvard College in 1739, studied law with Edmund Trowbridge, began practice in Newburyport, became eminent ; held military office, was a loyalist, and died in 1776. William Pynchon, of Salem, graduated Harvard Col- lege in 1743, was a native of Springfield, be- came a lawyer and a judge, and died 1789. John Chipman, graduated at Harvard in 1738, and died in 1768. Nathaniel Poaslee Sargeant graduated at Harvard in 1750, practiced law in Haverhill. In 1776 was appointed judge, and in 1789 chief justice, holding the place until his death, 1791. John Lowell graduated at Har- vard, 1760, was afterwards of Boston, member of congress, judge of Court of Admiralty, etc., died 1802.

Another distinguished lawyer of this period was Tristram Dalton, who graduated at Har- vard, 1755, studied law in Salem, was repre- sentative from Newburyport, speaker of the house and member of the state senate ; United States senator, 1789-91, the first congress after the adoption of the constitution. He died in Boston, 1817.

RUFUS CHOATE.

In a county composed of many great men there is probably no man among them all of greater intellectual reputation than the great

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lawyer, Rufus Choate. He was born on Hog Island, in the town of Essex, October 1, 1799, and died at Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 13, 1859. He began his studies with several clergy- men in succession, and was afterwards at Hampton Academy and at Dartmouth College, where he was graduated in 1819. He then studied law in the office of William Wirt, at Washington, and at the Dane Law School at Cambridge, and was admitted to the Essex bar at Salem in 1823. He began practice in Dan- vers, where he remained and in Salem, until 1834. He was state representative in 1825, state senator in 1827, and member of congress from 1832 to 1834, in which year he removed to Boston. In 1841 he succeeded Daniel Web- ster in the United States Senate. In 1853 he succeeded John H. Clifford as attorney-general of Massachusetts. In 1858, in consequence of ill health, he gave up professional labor, and in 1859 sailed for Europe. At that time the steamer on which he sailed touched at Halifax. On reaching that port he was too feeble to pro- ceed, and landing there, his death occurred in that city.

After the death of Mr. Webster in 1852 he was universally regarded as the head of the bar in Massachusetts. As in legislative fields he seemed out of his element, so, in the domin- ion of the law, he was supreme. An orator of the first class, his greatest forensic efforts were before juries, and nothing ever exceeded in interest the exhibitions of logic and eloquence which he exhibited before a jury. Boys would play truant from school to go hear him. The traditions of his power to sway a jury were permanent in the memory of many who had heard him. He was a man of large frame, broad shoulders, and upright figure, surround- ed by a head and face which it is as impossible to describe, as one has said, as "the flash of the lightning in the cloud or the aurora in the sky."

He was in his procedure all activity, alert- ness, swiftness and grace. He was much be- loved by his fellow members of the bar. He had an office and residence in Salem from 1828 to 1834. He could trace his ancestry to one John Choate, an immigrant from England, who settled in a part of Ipswich, afterwards a sepa- rate town by the name of Essex, and whose son Thomas settled on Hog Island, a part of Essex, whose son, known as Colonel John, born in 1697, died in 1766. This Colonel John was at one time elected speaker of the general court, and his brother Francis, born in 1701, and died in 1777, was the father of William, the father of David Choate, born upon Hog Island, who

was the father of Rufus. David Choate had no children by a first wife, but by a second wife, Miriam, daughter of Captain Aaron Fos- ter, he had two daughters and four sons, one of whom was Rufus. One of the brothers of Rufus Choate was Washington Choate, born 1803, died 1822, while a member of the junior class in Dartmouth College. Rufus spent his boyhood by the sea, and his most brilliant and beautiful lecture, "The Romance of the Sea"- in which he had incorporated much that he had seen and thought of about the ocean, its won- ders and its mysteries-was lost or stolen after its delivery in New York, and never reappeared. His father died when Rufus was only eight years old, and his mother died in 1853, at the age of eighty-one. His early surroundings were pleasant and wholesome, and many pass- ages in his orations were descriptive of the scenery of Ipswich and its vicinity, with which his youth was familiar. He early disclosed an absorbing devotion to reading, and the mature character of what he read in the few solid books then at his command, would now be con- sidered remarkable. Before he was ten, he had pretty nearly exhausted the heavy histories of the village library.

When in college, afterwards, he would read a chapter of the Bible just before retiring, and on waking in the morning could repeat it cor- rectly. At the age of ten he commenced the study of Latin, and he graduated from college when not quite twenty. Before him, after that "stretched away forty years of intense study, struggle, forensic agony and triumph."

It is not our intention here to present more than the salient features of Mr. Choate's life, with the object of calling his eminence to the attention of the present generation. He was married, March 29, 1825, to Helen Olcott, by whom he had seven children. She was the daughter of Mills Olcott, Esq., a lawyer of Hanover, New Hampshire. Her death occurred December 8, 1864.

One of his biographers says: "He threw himself with as much enthusiasm into a trial before a country justice in a shoemaker's shop as if it were before the Supreme Court. He magnified every litigation, and each litigant, magistrate and juryman. He never hesitated to pour out all his wealth of imagery, the pro- fusion of his classical allusions, and all the ex- uberance of his rhetoric upon trival occasions and before an illiterate audience. . . . Cer- tain it is that, as the years went on, the appear- ance of Choate in any cause, under any circum- stances, was the signal for thronged court

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rooms by audiences lifted high and still higher upon the lofty and ever renewed flights of winged eloquence. It is not necessary to go farther with details. Such as Mr. Choate's life had been, it continued till, as was inevitable, his health broke down finally in the early sum- mer of 1859. Determining to pass the season in England, he sailed from Boston, June 29, 1859; but, becoming worse, he left the ship at Halifax, where he died July 13, not yet sixty years old, worn out."

AUTHORITIES: For authorities on the life and career of Rufus Choate consult "The Life of Rufus Choate," by Professor Samuel Gil- man Brown. Edward G. Parker published a volume of "Reminiscences." Edwin P. Whipple wrote much and discriminately of Choate. James T. Fields and others have done likewise in either essays or lectures. A comprehensive sketch of his life, by the Hon. John B. D. Cogs- well, was published in the "Memorial Bio- graphies" of the New England Historic Gene- alogical Society, vol. iii, pp. 383-436.

ANCESTRY .- John Choate (I), baptized at Groton, Bedford, Colchester, England, June 6, 1624, died at Chebacco, Ipswich, Massachu- setts, December 4, 1695, son of Robert and Sarah Choate. His wife Anne died at Che- bacco, February 16, 1727. Children: 1. John, born June 15, 1661, died July 17, 1733, married first, July 7, 1684, Elizabeth Graves; married second, May 19, 1690, Mrs. Elizabeth Giddings ; married third, July 27, 1723, Mrs. Sarah Per- kins, who died November 19, 1728; and mar- ried fourth, Mrs. Prudence Marshall, who died June 9, 1732. 2. Margaret, died February 28, 1692, married Abraham Fitts. 3. Samuel, died about 1713, married Mary Williams, of Rox- bury, Massachusetts ; she married second, 1716, Samuel Story, of Ipswich. 4. Mary, born Au- gust 16, 1666 ; died prior to 1691. 5. Thomas, see forward. 6. Sarah, married, April 13, 1693, John Burnham, of Ipswich. 7. Joseph, married Rebecca. 8. Benjamin, died November 26, 1753; married, June 12, 1707, Abigail Burn- ham. (11. C., 1703).

(11) Thomas Choate, son of John Choate (1), born at Chebacco, Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1671, died March 3, 1745 ; married first, 1690, Mary Varney, daughter of Thomas and Abi- gail ( Proctor ) Varney, of Ipswich, who died November 19, 1733; married second, Septem- ber 24, 1734, Mrs. Mary Calef, widow of Doc- tor Joseph Calef : married third, November 9, 1743. Mrs. Hannah Burnham, who died Octo- ber 2, 1782. He was representative to the General Court 1723-'24-'25-'27. Children : I.

Anne, born May 22, 1691, died August 15, 1759; married October 21, 1710, John Burnham. 2. Thomas, born June 7, 1693, died August 22, 1774 ; married first, Elizabeth Burnham; mar- ried second, October 31, 1738, Mrs. Sarah Mar- shall ; married third, Mrs. Rachel ( Riggs) Luf- kin. 3. Mary, born March 18, 1695, died March 6, 1767 ; married, December, 1716, Par- ker Dodge, of Ipswich. 4. John, born July 25, 1697, died December 17, 1765; married, March 3, 1717, Meriam Pool. 5. Abigail, born Octo- ber 20, 1699; married (published November 27, 1720) John Boardman, of Ipswich. 6. Francis, born September 13, 1701 ; see forward. 7. Rachel, born November 18, 1703, died March 15, 1783; married first, January 16, 1724, Joseph Rust, who died February 3, 1734 ; mar- ried second, March 2, 1737, Isaac Martin. 8. Ebenezer, born March 10, 1705; married, Sep- tember 3, 1730, Elizabeth Greenleaf. 9. Sarah, born July 24, 1708; married Reverend Amos Cheever.

(III) Francis Choate, son of Thomas Choate (2), born at Chebacco, Ipswich, Massachusetts, September 13, 1701, died there October 15, 1777 ; married, April 13, 1727, Hannah Per- kins, born at Boston, Massachusetts, April 4, 1708, died October 2, 1778, daughter of Isaac and Mary ( Pike ) Perkins ; Blacksmith ; Ruling Elder, and Esquire. Children: I. Francis, born February 27, 1727-8, died 1740. 2. \\'ill- iam, born September 5, 1730 ; see forward. 3. Abraham, born March 24, 1731-2, died April 23, 1800 ; married Sarah Potter. 4. Isaac, born January 31, 1734, died May 30, 1813; married Elizabeth Low. 5. Jacob, baptized August 17, 1735, died young. 6. John, born March 13, 1737, died July 7, 1791 ; married first, Novem- ber 14, 1760. Mary Eveleth, who died August 8, 1788: married second, April 16, 1789, Mrs. Sarah ( Johnson ) Newman, who married third, October 24, 1792, Bradstreet Parker. 7. Han- nah, born April 1, 1739, died April 18, 1785; married, November 10, 1757, Rufus Lathrop. 8. Francis, born September 18, 1743, died young.

(IV) William Choate, son of Francis Choate (3). born at Chebacco, Ipswich, Massachusetts, September 5, 1730, died there, April 23, 1785 ; married, January 16, 1756, Mary Giddings, born March 27, 1732, died November 1, 1810, daughter of Job and Margaret (Low) Gid- dings : sea captain ; schoolmaster. Children : 1. William, born October 18, 1756, died No- vember, 1756. 2. David, born November 29, 1757 ; see forward. 3. William, born Angust 10, 1759, died January, 1835; married, All-

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gust 19. 1784. Susannah Choate, daughter of Humphrey and Ruth (Lufkin) Choate. 4. George, born February 24, 1762, died February 8. 1826; married, January 1, 1789, Susanna Choate, daughter of Stephen and Mary (Low) Choate. 5. Margaret, born March 18, 1764; married, May 25, 1786, John Crocker, Junior. 6. Job. born March 1. 1766, died December, 1813 : married first, April. 1797, Lydia Christo- phers ; married second Margaret Adams. 7. Mary, born November 17. 1767. died January, 1852 : married, October 6, 1791, Thomas Baker. 8. Hannah, born November 20, 1770, died March 5. 1810: married, January 10, 1793, Samuel Smith. 9. Sarah, born September 26. 1772. died December 26, 1801. 10. Lydia. born September 24. 1774. died December 14, 1839 : married. February 19, 1801. John Per- kins.

(V) David Choate, son of William Choate (4), born at Chebacco, Ipswich, Massachusetts, November 29. 1757, died March 26, 1808; mar- ried first. June 24, 1784. Mary Cogswell, born December 19, 1760, died August 21, 1784, daughter of Jonathan and Mary ( Appleton) Cogswell: married second, October 15, 1791, Miriam Foster, born November 28, 1771, died January 14. 1853, daughter of Captain Aaron and Ruth (Low) Foster, of Ipswich ; school teacher. He served in the revolutionary war, went to sea, to Havana and Cadiz. Children : I. Polly, born October 3, 1792, died March 29. 1855: married. November 28. 1813. Doctor Thomas Sewall. 2. Hannah, born August 12, 1794. died February 9, 1837 : married, Septem- ber 2. 1822, Reverend Robert Crowell. 3. David, born November 29, 1796, died Decem- ber 17, 1872 : married, January 14, 1828, Eliza- beth Wade. 4. Hon. Rufus, born October I, 1799 : see forward. 5. Washington, born Jan- uary 17, 1803, died February 27, 1822. 6. Job, born December 25, 1806, died March 10, 1808.

(VI) Honorable Rufus Choate, son of David Choate (5), born at Chebacco, Ipswich, now Essex. Essex county, Massachusetts, October I. 1799, died at Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 13, 1859: married, at Hanover, New Hampshire, March 29. 1825. Helen Olcott, born at Han- over. New Hampshire, March 29, 1804, died at Dorchester, Massachusetts, December 8, 1864. daughter of Mills and Sarah ( Porter ) Olcott .* Children : I. Catherine Bell, born May 26,

1826, died May 24, 1830. 2. Infant, born Octo- ber 25, 1828, died same day. 3. Helen Olcott, born May 2, 1830; married, June 2, 1852, Joseph Mills Bell, of Boston, Massachusetts. 4. Sarah Blake, born December 15. 1831, died March II, 1875. 5. Rufus, born May 14, 1834. died January 15, 1866. 6. Miriam Foster, born October 2, 1835 : married, September 23. 1856, Edward Ellerton Pratt, of Boston, Massachu- setts. 7. Caroline, born September 15. 1837, died December 12, 1840.

TIMOTHY PICKERING.

Many local characters in Essex county have been famous in their day and generation, and perhaps none more so at the time of the Amer- ican revolution than Hon. Timothy Pickering. He was born in Salem, July 17, 1745, and died in his native city, January 29, 1829. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1763, was admitted to the bar in 1768, received a degree from New Jersey College in 1798; commanded a militia regiment at the beginning of the revo- lution, held the office of adjutant-general of the army in 1777, and that of quartermaster- general in 1780. After the revolutionary war he settled in Pennsylvania, and between 1791 and 1800 was postmaster-general of the United States, and secretary of war and secretary of state. He returned to Salem, in 1801, and was afterwards chief justice of the Essex county court of common pleas, United States senator from 1803 to 1811, and a representative in congress from 1815 to 1817. His portrait by Stuart, at the age of sixty-three, shows a man of a strong face, indicative of a firm will. He was the father of the famous scholar, John Pickering ( 1777-1846), author of the Greek and English Lexicon bearing his name. This was the first Greek lexicon with definitions in English, and not Latin.

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Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume I, Part 4

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