Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume I, Part 40

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 40

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).

Frank Morosby 1

Frank .M. Crosby

George Crosby

Frederick Crosby Laomi Crosby

William Crosby liam

I59

MASSACHUSETTS.

tember 22, 1808, died December 12, 1819. II. Asenath, April 23, 1812.

(VII) George, son of Michael Crosby, was born at Littleton, March 6, 1805, died at Bos- ton, April 16, 1870, at the age of sixty-five years, ten days. He removed with his parents to Bedford. He had a common school educa- tion, and on the death of his father purchased the homestead of the other heirs. He con- ducted the farm and the raising of milk was the chief industry. In 1837 he sold his farm to his brother (Michael) and bought an ad- joining farm in Bedford ; he later bought the old Blodgett mill property on Shawsheen river ; he sold the latter in 1845 and in 1846 bought the Johnson farm in Burlington; he soon sold this property to Rev. Frothingham, of Boston, and the same year he bought the Crosby home- stead farm residing on the same for five years ; when he removed to Charlestown and thence to Boston, where he spent the latter years of his life. In 1857 he purchased stall 66 in Faneuil Hall Market, and sold beef and pork with David Simonds as partner, under the firm name of Crosby & Simonds. In 1860 Mr. Simonds retired from the firm, and Mr. Crosby bought his interests and admitted his two sons, Frank M. and William Crosby, to partnership. Two years later Frank M. was succeeded by his brother William, and Fred- erick Crosby bought his father's interests. Two years later Mr. Crosby retired from the busi- ness. He resided on Allen street, Boston, until he died. He was a member of the Bed- ford Congregational Orthodox church, an active worker and liberal supporter of its benevolences. He was generous to those in need and he had many grateful friends among the poor and unfortunate. He was upright and honorable in all his dealings and never allowed his personal gain or advantage to deter him from the course he believed to be right. He married, April 22, 1829, Abigail Harriet Gleason, born January 22, 1808, died October 3, 1884, daughter of William and Sarah (Bacon) Gleason, of Billerica. Chil- dren: I. Frank Michael, born January 9, 1833, mentioned below. 2. George, March 5, 1838, mentioned below. 3. William, July 6, 1840, died February II, 1880; married, Feb- ruary 22, 1866, Florence Wyman, of Arling- ton; had William Wyman, born March 3, 1871, graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 4. Frederick, December II, 1842, mentioned below. 5. Mary Louise, August 5, 1848, married, January 1, 1880, Frank Sid- ney Adams, of Derry, New Hampshire. 6.

Laomi, March 1, 1851, died September IO, 1875.

(VIII) Frank Michael, son of George Crosby, was born at Bedford, January 9, 1833. His education began in the little red school- house some three miles from the homestead. His home training was of the best. He began early in life to work on the farm and acquired habits of economy and industry that were great factors in his later career. When he came of age he engaged in the milk business for a year at Charlestown, Massachusetts, then traveled in the west for a season. On his return he entered the employ of H. L. Law- rence & Company, 48 Faneuil Hall Market, dealers in game and poultry. In 1860 he entered partnership with his father and brother William in the beef business at stall No. 60, Faneuil Hall Market, Boston, retiring after two years, selling his interests to his brother Frederick. He then embarked in the butter and cheese business at stalls 57 and 59 in the same historic building in partnership with George C. Nichols and Charles H. Gass under the firm name of Nichols, Gass & Crosby. The business was formerly owned by Howard Emerson. After two years Mr. Nichols with- drew from the firm, selling out to his partners and the firm name became Gass & Crosby. The name was again changed to Gass, Crosby & Chapin when Edward D. Chapin was ad- mitted to partnership. In 1868 Messrs. Gass and Chapin retired and the business was con- tinued by Mr. Crosby and his brother Fred- erick under the firm name of Crosby Brothers, basement No. II being taken in addition to the two stalls, and then enjoyed a long period of great prosperity and success. When the

junior partner died in 1899 the business was continued by Mr. Crosby alone. The business was incorporated January 8, 1900, under the laws of Massachusetts, with Frank M. Crosby as president and Charles H. Farnsworth as treasurer. The company is one of the most extensive and flourishing concerns in this line of trade in Faneuil Hall and has an enviable reputation for fair dealing and wise manage- ment. Mr. Crosby is a member of Park Street Congregational Church, Boston. In politics he is a staunch Republican. He is a member of the Massachusetts Lodge of Free Masons; of St. Andrews Chapter Royal Arch Masons ; of De Molay Commandery, Knights Templar, of Boston. He belongs to the Boston Athletic Association, the Boston Art Club, the Metro- politan Driving Club of Boston, the Gentle- men's Driving Club of Readville, the Boston

160

MASSACHUSETTS.

Fruit and Produce Exchange and the Chamber of Commerce. He is popular socially, and in business of sterling character and attractive personality. He married, October 17, 1866, Celia B. Burnham, of Hudson, Massachusetts, born July 29, 1842, died November 25, 1867. They had one child, Harry Wallace, born October 28, 1867, died February 7, 1877.

(VIII) George (2), son of George (I) Crosby, was born at Bedford, March 5, 1838. He was educated in the public schools of his native town, and at Phillips Academy, An- dover, Massachusetts, and at ~Rev. William Cushing's private school at Bedford. During his boyhood he worked on his father's farm and later entered the employ of Merriam Pear, a grocer of Boston, as clerk. He returned to his farm for a year and a half and then was for two years clerk in the grocery store of Seavey Brothers, Boston. Then for four years he was receiver for the Suffolk Street railroad, after which he spent a year in travel and six months as clerk in a general store at DeWitt, Iowa. On his return he was appointed re- ceiver of the Metropolitan Street Railroad Company. A year later he went west again, buying a farm at Oconee, Illinois, and con- ducting it for six years. He returned to Bos- ton in the spring of 1872 and was appointed clerk in the Boston postoffice. A year later he was appointed letter carrier in the Charles- town district, a position he still holds. He is one of the oldest and most capable men in the service. For the past eighteen years he has resided in a house that he bought at 17 Madi- son street, Somerville. He and his family attend the Broadway Congregational Church of Somerville, of which he is an active mem- ber. His wife is a member of the Winter Hill Baptist Church of Somerville. He has been secretary of the Sunday school at Green Val- ley, Oconee, Illinois, and for several years a teacher. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of Mount Tabor Lodge of Free Masons, East Boston; of Warren Council, Royal Arcanum; of the Knights of Honor ; the National Letter Carriers' Association and the Boston Letter Carriers' Association. He married (first) December 25, 1866, Mary Susan Haynes, of Charlestown, born January 12, 1841, died May 2, 1876, daughter of Will- iam and Susan B. ( Nelson) Haynes. Her father was a carpenter. He married (second) May 19, 1879, Clara Rosette Hall, born at Rockland, Maine, July 21, 1854. daugliter of John and Cyrena ( Piersons ) Hall. Her father was a lime burner by trade. Children of first

wife I. Harriet Louise, born March 2, 1869, died January 15, 1909. 2. Florence, February 12, 1871, died September 19, 1884. 3. Georgina, April 26, 1876. Children of second wife: 4. Howard Hall, March 2, 1887, graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, class of 1908. 5. Marion Wayland, January 28, 1889.

(VIII) Frederick, SON of George (I) Crosby, was born in Bedford, December II, 1842, died November 15, 1899. He attended the district schools of his native town, the public schools of Charlestown after 1857 and Comer's Commercial College, Boston. He was clerk for a time in a provision store on Bow- doin street, Boston. When his brother Frank M. went west, he succeeded to his position in the milk business and continued there until 1862, when he bought the interests of his brother Frank M. in stall No. 60 and became a member of the firm, engaged in the beef trade. In 1868 he entered partnership with his brother, Frank M. Crosby, in the produce trade in stalls 57-59. The basement No. II was added to their store and the firm of Crosby' Brothers became one of the most successful in the market. He was a member of King Solomon Lodge of Free Masons, Charlestown ; of St. Andrews Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; of De Molay Commandery, Knights Templar, Boston ; of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Boston Fruit and Produce Exchange, the Boston Athletic Club, the Boston Art Club, and was well known and highly esteemed in all these organizations. He was absolutely upright and square in all his dealings. He was kindly, courteous and agreeable in his manner. He possessed business ability and good judgment. He married, May, 1868, Georgina M. Chase, of Boston, stepdaughter of G. H. Roberts, and daughter of his wife, Georgina Chase, by her first husband. Their only child was Bertha Eugenie, born March 2, 1872, married, June 5. 1895, Frank E. Derby- shire, of Concord, New Hampshire, born March 5, 1850.

"This surname," says Mark MORRIS Anthony Lower, "which is, and has been variously written Morriss, Morres, Morice, Morrice, Maurice. Morys, Moris, Morrish, Morse, *

* and which is found associated with various pre- fixes, such as Fitz, Clan, Mount, De, &c., may be traced to various sources." "Of the Eng- lish families of that name," observes Burke, "there are two classes, those of native and

161

MASSACHUSETTS.

those of foreign extraction. The latter came over with the Conqueror. Of the former the most ancient are derived from Wales. One section of the foreign class had a Moorish origin, as indeed the name expresses, and crossed over from Africa to Europe by way of Spain. With respect to the second class of foreign origin, their name is stated to be a corruption from Mars or Moors, the god of war." Morris is also the use of the personal name for a surname, as is found in various other names. It is also possible that in some cases the English Morris may be a corruption of the French Dumarais, Dumaresq, latinized De Marisco. Jonathan Flynt Morris, who compiled the Morris genealogy, does not attempt to trace the name of the family of which he writes to its origin ; neither does he trace the origin of the American family far . back into England.

(I) Lieutenant Edward Morris, the settler, is believed to have been the son of Thomas and Grissie (Hewsone) Morris, of Waltham Holy Cross Abbey, in the county of Sussex, England, and was born in August, 1630, and baptized on the eighth day of the same month, in the Abbey church, by Rev. Joseph Hall, rector, afterwards bishop of Norwich. No account of his emigration to America or that of his parents is to be found. It is probable that he was brought over by them in his early childhood, and that they settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts, where they had relationship with other families. The earliest account we have of Edward Morris in America is found in the records of Roxbury, February 23, 1652, and is a record of the allotment to him by the town of four acres of common land, which grant he subsequently forfeited, not making the improvements required. After his mar- riage Edward Morris had land in "the high- way from Elder Heath's pasture lot by Stony river and Gamblin's end," now Armory and School streets. This locality was on the south- eastern border of Jamaica Plain, and there he was living in 1663, when he was ordered to remove his fence to widen the highway. Jan- uary 27, 1661, he was made chairman of a committee to act with selectmen of the town in surveying "the common land belonging to the town." January 19, 1662, the town voted that "no more land should be given away, but be kept for the town's use, and Edward Morris to have an eye that the common be not dammi- field, and for his services in informing the town of the bounds of their common they give him fifteen shillings, and that he should have

half the pines for the year for his care of the preservation of the common,"-that is, Jamaica Plain. He was chosen one of the constables of the town, January 2, 1664. Afterward he performed various duties, viewing fences, run- ning lines, &c. October 13, 1666, William Hubbard, of Ipswich, sold to Isaac Johnson Senior, William Davis, and Edward Morris, one hundred and eighteen acres of land in the western part of Roxbury, described in the deed as "the 13th lot of the second allotment of lots in the last or second division of land." This purchase was equally divided among the

purchasers. Edward Morris's part lay on what is now "South Street," about four miles from Roxbury meeting house. To that land he removed, and upon it he lived until he went to Woodstock in 1686. He was chosen select- man of the town at "a full town meeting," held January II, 1674, and was afterwards chosen to that office as long as he lived in Roxbury-a period of twelve years, with perhaps the ex- ception of the year 1680. He had for his associates four other leading men of the town ; but no one of them during this period was so long continued in office. In 1674 he also served as juror to the court of assistants. In 1676 he was appointed one of three trustees for the high school at Jamaica Plain, and in 1678 he was chosen deputy from Roxbury to the gen- eral court, and was thereafter annually chosen until the vacation of the colonial charter in 1686, a period of nine years. In 1686 Edward Morris was one of the company which went out from Roxbury into the "Wappaquassett Country, westward of the Myankesit River," and formed the new settlement of New Rox- bury, now Woodstock. There Edward Morris drew lot No. 37, containing thirty acres. The same day there was granted Mr. Edward Morris a twenty-acre lot. November 3 he was one of three elders appointed "to treat young Mr. John Wilson of Medfield to come and preach to them with a view to settlement." and April 29, 1687, he was one of three appointed "to treat and agree for the building of a corn-mill." In 1688 he was appointed chairman of a committee of seven to lay out such highways as might be considered then necessary or needful in the future for the good of the town. The committee reported seventeen highways ; their report was accepted and the highways laid out and constructed. In 1689 Edward Morris was chosen select- man. Up to that time he had been mentioned in the records as "Mr." Morris ; but from that time forward he was known as "Lieutenant."

i-II

I62

MASSACHUSETTS.

In 1690 he was chairman of a committee chosen to get a confirmation of the grant of lands and to obtain a change of name of the town, both of which were secured. He was chosen to the office of selectman for the last time May 26, 1690, and died in September of the same year. The stone marking his grave is still standing. He is believed to have been the first of the Woodstock settlers to die and his death is the first mentioned in the records. He was the oldest of the settlers in the town, and for many years a leading citizen. Edward Morris was married to Grace Bett, November 20, 1655, by Richard Bellingham, deputy gov- ernor. She died in Roxbury, June 6, 1705. Edward Morris was admitted to the church in Roxbury, September 12, 1658. His wife was admitted May 22, 1659. Their children were: Isaac, Edward, Grace, Ebenezer, Eliz- abeth, Margaret, Samuel and Martha.

(II) Deacon Edward (2), second son of Lieutenant Edward (I) and Grace (Bett) Morris, was born March, 1659, and baptized at Roxbury by Rev. John Eliot, March 13, 1659. He did not remove to Woodstock until after the death of his father; but soon after his settlement in the town he seems to have taken his father's place in public affairs. He was chosen selectman, November, 1691, and appears to have held that office most of the time thereafter until 1722, having been chosen twenty-four times. In 1707 he and Benjamin Griggs were appointed on behalf of the town of Woodstock to act with the sur- veyor in surveying and dividing into lots the north half of the town of Woodstock which until then had not been surveyed. After the completion of the survey that part of the town owned by Roxbury was divided into ranges and lots, and the lots offered for sale. Ed- ward Morris was appointed by Roxbury to receive the money paid for the sale of the lots, and he was a purchaser of some of them. In 1691 the town appointed Edward Morris, Jonathan Peake, John Levens and John Chand- ler Jr. a committee to superintend the build- ing of a meeting house. Subsequently (1705) he was appointed fourth deacon of the church. He had joined the Roxbury church, May I, 1691, about the time of his removal to Wood- stock. In 1723 Deacon Morris was appointed "to look after the meeting house, to see that it be swept, and to keep the key, and take care of the cushing for twenty shillings a year." He was probably chosen for this pur- pose for the reason that his home was nearest the meeting house, being a few rods south of

it. These duties were in those days held in no little esteem or importance. Deacon Morris died August 29, 1727, aged sixty-nine. A year before his death he settled his estate by deed and gift, with the exception of some of his lands. He married, May 24, 1683, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Johnson) Bowen, of Roxbury, a descendant of Griffith Bowen or Ap Owen, who came to Boston from Llanganydd in Glamorganshire, Wales, and who was made a freeman in 1638. He lived some years in Roxbury, but returned to England and was living in London in 1670. Elizabeth Johnson was daughter of Captain Isaac Johnson, of Roxbury, who came with his father to this country in 1630, and was killed by the Indians at the head of his com- pany while storming their. stronghold in the great Narragansett fight. December 19, 1675, Captain John Johnson, father of Isaac, came over with Winthrop in July, 1630, with his wife Margery. He was a man of estate and distinction. He was a representative from Roxbury to the first general court in 1634, was a member of the Artillery Company in 1638, and surveyor general of arms and ammunition. He died September 27, 1659. Elizabeth Bowen was born in Roxbury, Janu- ary 26, 1661, and baptized the next day. She joined the church October 28, 1688. She sur- vived her husband sixteen years, and died No- vember 20, 1743, aged eighty-three. Their children were: Elizabeth (died young), Eliz- abeth, Edward, Grace, Abigail, Susanna and Prudence.

(III) Lieutenant Edward (3), only son of Deacon Edward (2) and Elizabeth (Bowen) Morris, was born at Roxbury, November 9, 1688, and baptized by Rev. Nehemiah Walter. He died in West Woodstock, Connecticut, Au- gust 12, 1769. He was chosen surveyor of Woodstock in 1718, constable in 1721, and assessor for the years 1738 and 1739. In the latter year he was chosen selectman, and annually thereafter until 1748. He lived with his father until the death of the latter in 1727, and continued to occupy the old homestead until February 22, 1732, when he sold the place to Joseph Wright for the sum of £1 300. The homestead was the spot where his grand- father settled in the beginning of the settle- ment in 1686, and was originally of thirty acres. It had now become one hundred acres through additions made by his grandfather, his father, and himself. Immediately after his purchase Mr. Wright conveyed the prop- erty to John Chandler, but continued to occupy

163

MASSACHUSETTS.

it. The mansion house was burned a few years afterward-March 16, 1737, at night- with the furniture and provisions which it contained, and Mrs. Wright, her son, and a negro servant perished in it. The same day on which Edward Morris sold the homestead he bought for £1,100 a mansion house and forty-nine acres of land adjoining on the east. Here he lived until February 1, 1748, when he sold the place with several other parcels of land containing in all about one hundred acres, and removed to West Woodstock, and settled about one and one half miles west of the village between Bungee brook and Still river, where he had long been in possession of land-some two hundred acres-half of which had once been his father's. West Woodstock had been made a distinct parish in 1743, under the name of New Roxbury. After his re- moval there he became active in its affairs. April 21, 1745, it was "voted, that Edward Morris with his wife and family sit in the pew which was his fathers." In November, 1739, he was appointed by the town on a com- mittee of three to act as agents for and in behalf of the town to attend and wait upon the commissioners appointed by the general court of the province of Massachusetts Bay and the colony of Connecticut to settle the bounds of Woodstock. September 12, 1749, the town voted to secede from Massachusetts and to go under the jurisdiction of Connec- ticut. The freeman's oath was administered to seventy-four persons, among whom was Edward Morris. He died and was buried in the cemetery on the west side of Bungee hill in West Woodstock. His will dated May 26, 1669, was probated at Pomfret, May 1, 1770. His son Jonathan was executor. Edward Morris was married by John Chandler Esq., January 12, 1715, to Bethiah Peake, daughter of Jonathan Peake Jr., and Hannah (Leavens) Peake, and great-granddaughter of Christo- pher Peake, who was made freeman at Rox- bury, March 4, 1635. She was born in Wood- stock, February 20, 1698. Her father was one of the early settlers of Woodstock under the grant of 1683. Hannah Leavens was daugh- ter of John and Hannah (Woods) Leavens, of Roxbury. She was born October 17, 1666, and died at Woodstock, October 10, 1756. John Leavens was son of John and Elizabeth Leavens, who came from England in 1632 in the "William and Francis," and settled at Roxbury. His wife died and was buried Octo- ber 10, 1638. He married (second) Rachel Wright, "a goodly maid," says the church

record. He died November 15, 1646. John Leavens Jr. was born April 27, 1640. He married Hannah, daughter of John and Mary Woods, of Sudbury, who probably came from England in the "Hopewell" in 1635. Edward Morris's wife survived him, but how long, or when or where she died is not known. Their fourteen children were: Elizabeth, Hannah (died young), Edward, Grace, Bethiah, Isaac, Asa, Eunice, Martha, Mary, Jonathan, Pris- cilla, Dorothy and Hannah.

(IV) Isaac, second son of Lieutenant Ed- ward (3) and Bethiah (Peake) Morris, was born on Woodstock hill, March 26, 1725, died January 10, 1778. He was a farmer, and at the time of his marriage he lived at New Rox- bury, afterwards West Woodstock, to which parish his father had removed early in the year 1748. March 8 of that year his father gave him a deed to one hundred acres of land in that parish, being a part of what was then his homestead. The consideration was £400 old tenor, and was to be accounted as part of his portion of his father's estate. He had other land also. The one hundred acres sub- sequently appear as part of his father's estate. and was deeded to his brother Jonathan. He probably reconveyed it to his father on his removal from Woodstock, Massachusetts, 1761. While in Woodstock, Isaac Morris took considerable interest in public affairs and held several parish offices. The locality to which he removed was an unorganized district not belonging to any town, and known as "Wales," which after the organization of Wilbraham was annexed to that town. The spot where he settled was in the extreme southeastern part of "Wales." The probable cause of his settlement was that his wife might be near her mother, then a widow, who with her husband, Joseph Chaffee, had removed to this section about 1754. Joseph Chaffee died in 1760. Two deeds from Widow Hannah Chaffee and Joseph Chaffee, administrators of the estate of Joseph Chaffee, deceased, dated August 18, 1761, convey to Isaac Morris ninety-two acres of land. He subsequently bought other land. The spot where he settled was a romantic one at the base of Rattlesnake and Sheep moun- tains, overlooking the Scantic valley to Pine Ball and South mountains on the west, at the foot of which lay the farm of his father-in- law. Isaac Morris was married in 1748, his intention of marriage with Sarah Chaffee, of Woodstock, being published October 18. of that year. She was the only daughter of Joseph and Hannah ( May) Chaffee, formerly

164

MASSACHUSETTS.

of Barrington, Massachusetts, and was born there January 18, 1729. Joseph Chaffee was born in Swansea, Massachusetts, January 17, 1705. He was a son of John and Sarah (Hills) Chaffee, and grandson of Joseph and Anne (Martin) Chaffee ; Joseph Chaffee being the son of Thomas Chaffee, who settled in Hingham in 1637, and who removed to Swansea in 1660. He was living in 1680. Joseph Chaffee married Hannah May, daughter of Ephraim May, of Rehoboth, son of John May, of Roxbury, and grandson of John May, of Mayfield, county of Essex, England; born in 1590, and came to New England in 1640, and settled at Roxbury. In 1729 Joseph Chaffee removed from Barrington to Woodstock, and settled in the West Parish. While living there he filled several parish offices. He was an extensive landholder. He died of small pox, March 15, 1760. To him were born ten children. His widow married (second) Ensign Joseph Sex- ton, and died May 26, 1784, in her eightieth year. Sarah ( Chaffee) Morris after a widow- hood of twenty-six years married (second) September 10, 1804, Hon. John Bliss, whom she survived, and died April 27, 1818, aged eighty-nine. She was a tall, fine looking woman, of dark complexion, hair and eyes, probably the features of the Chaffee, and perhaps of the May family. The descendants of Isaac Morris of this complexion derive it from her. She joined the West Woodstock church, April 30, 1750. The children of Isaac and Sarah were : Hannah, Darius, Isaac, Joseph, Edward, Elizabeth (died young), Sarah, Eunice, Chester, Ebenezer, Elizabeth and Ephraim.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume I, Part 40

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