Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume II, Part 116

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 1008

USA > Massachusetts > Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume II > Part 116

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taking part in all the skirmishes, battles and campaigns and rendering faithful, efficient and meritorious service on all occasions. He was finally discharged at the close of the war at Boston, July 25, 1865. Like many other officers he accepted an appointment in the Freedmen's Bureau and was on duty at New- bern until the fall of 1867. He was appointed clerk in the custom house, Boston, in 1871, night inspector in 1872 and served until 1874. He was again clerk from 1878 to 1884. For three years he was a store keeper at the state almshouse at Tewksbury. In 1885 he took the civil service examinations, being at the head of a class of fourteen. Captain Doble was appoint- ed on the park police force and soon after- ward transferred to the regular force in Bos- ton. He retired from the police department in 1904 and is now living at 31 Monument Square, Charlestown. In 1907 he was curator of the Massachusetts building at the James- town Exposition. He attends the Charlestown Baptist Church. In politics he is a Republi- can and has always been active in his party. He was chairman of the Republican committee of ward eight in 1884-85, and an influential factor for many years in municipal politics. He is a member of Benjamin Stone, Jr. Post, No. 18, Grand Army of the Republic, and was a charter member of Post, No. 138, of Boston, of which he was adjutant for a time. He is a member of Hooker Command, No. 9, Union Veterans Union, and the Sons of the American Revolution. He married, at Newbern, North Carolina, May 1, 1866, Mattie A. Williams, born May 1, 1845, died March 4, 1889, daugh- ter of Benjamin and Nancy ( Whitford) Will- iams, of Newbern. Her father was a farmer. Children : I. Ida Clara, born January 14, 1867, married George W. Brooks, of Elizabeth, New Jersey. 2. Lilly Josephine, September, 1868. died in 1875-76. 3. Mattie Marion, 1880.

The Conant family appears to CONANT be primarily of Celtic descent. for the name Conan or Conon is found at a very early period among the various races of Celtic origin, including the Britons, Welsh, Irish, Gaels and Bretons. The name of Conant in very nearly its present form has existed in England for more than six hun- dred years, and no less than thirty-two forms of spelling the surname have been found in the records. It is derived from the Celtic Conan, meaning chief or leader.

(I) John Conant, with whom the authentic genealogy of this family begins, lived in the

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parish of East Budleigh, Devonshire, England, but was probably born about 1520 at Gittis- ham, an adjoining town. He was a taxpayer at East Budleigh in 1571. In 1577 he was warden of the church there. He was buried March 30, 1596. He was probably son of John Conant, who died at Gittisham in Sep- tember, 1559.

(II) Richard, son of John Conant, was born in the parish of East Budleigh about 1548. In. 1588 he was assessed for lands there and he was church warden in 1606-16. He married, February 4, 1578, Agnes Clarke, daughter of John Clarke, Sr., of Collyton. Her father married, June 9, 1544, Anne Macy, daughter of William Macy, of Collyton. Richard and wife Agnes were buried on the same day, Sep- tember 22, 1630. Both are spoken of in the Life of John Conant as "persons of exemplary piety." His will was proved at Exeter, Octo- ber 13, 1631. Children : I. John, baptized January 20, 1579-80, married - --- Richards. 2. Richard, baptized February 21, 1581-82. 3. Robert. 4. Jane, baptized May 9, 1584, mar- ried, September 18, 1609, Thomas Knowles. 5. John, baptized March 18, 1585-86. 6. Thomas, baptized April 30, 1587. 7. Christo- pher, baptized June 13, 1588, grocer in Lon- don ; married, September 14, 1619, Anne Wil- ton; came to Plymouth in New England in 1623 in the ship "Anne ;" no records after 1630. 8. Roger, baptized April 9, 1592, mentioned below.

(III) Roger, son of Richard Conant, was baptized April 9, 1592, in All Saints Church in the parish of East Budleigh, Devonshire, England. He was the immigrant ancestor. One of his brothers was educated at Oxford and Roger received a good education. On January 20, 1619-20, Christopher Conant, gro- cer, and Roger Conant, salter, both of the parish of St. Lawrence, Jewry, London, sign- ed the composition bond of their brother John for the "first fruits" of the rectory of Lyming- ton. He married, November, 1618, and had probably been seven years in London to have served an apprenticeship as salter, and prob- ably lived in London until he went to America in 1623. He was first at Plymouth but, owing to differences in religious belief, he followed Rev. John Lyford and others to Nantasket (Hull). It was probably while at Nantasket that he made use of Governor's Island, which for some time was called Conant's Island. In 1632 it was granted to Governor John Win- throp, however. In 1624-25 Conant was chosen by the Dorchester Company to govern their

colony at Cape Ann, and Lyford was chosen minister at the same time. After a year at the cape, he removed with those colonists who did not return to England, and settled at Naumkeag, later called Salem. Conant's house was the first built in Salem. It was removed from Cape Ann and became the parsonage, then an inn, and the frame, which is said to have been brought from England originally, is still in use, forming part of a stable on the north side of Church, near Washington street. The exact site of Conant's house, which was first built in Salem, cannot be ascertained. After the patent for the territory had been received John Endicott, one of the patentees, was sent over with fifty colonists and supersed- ed Conant as governor, after he had held the office for three years. Although he is not universally recognized as the first governor of Massachusetts, Roger Conant is fairly en- titled to that honor, for the colony of which he was the head, was the first permanent settlement in the Massachusetts Bay territory. After some friction, Conant and the old settlers made their peace with Endicott and the newcomers. Conant was admitted a freeman, May 18, 1631, having previously supported the Established Church under Lyford. He was frequently called to offices of honor and trust. He was justice of the quarterly court at Salem for three years ; was selectman 1637 to 1641 and 1651 to 1654 inclusive, also 1657 and 1658. In 1667 he was one of the original members of the Beverly church. He had large grants of land and ' bought and sold extensively in Salem, Beverly, and vicinity. He died November 19, 1679. His will is dated March 1, 1677, and proved November 25, 1679. He married, November II, 1618, in the parish of Blackfriars, London, Sarah Horton. Children: 1. Sarah, baptized September 19, 1619, buried in London, Octo- ber 30, 1620. 2. Caleb, baptized May 27, 1620, came to Massachusetts, but returned to Eng- land. 3. Lot, born about 1624, mentioned below. 4. Roger, 1626, first white child born in Salem. 5. Sarah, about 1628. 6. Joshua. 7. Mary. 8. Elizabeth. 9. Exercise, baptized December 24, 1637.

(IV) Lot, son of Roger Conant, was born about 1624 in Nantasket or at Cape Ann, and settled as early as 1657 at Marblehead. He was selectman in 1662 and a householder in 1674. His father gave him a farm and home- stead at Beverly, November 20, 1666, and about this time he moved to Beverly and built a house near his father's. He was one of those

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dismissed from the first church of Salem to form the Beverly church, July 4, 1667. Many of his deeds are on record. He died Septem- ber 29, 1674. His will was dated September 24 of the same year. He married Elizabeth Walton, daughter of Rev. William Walton, who took degrees at Emanual College, Cam- bridge, in 1621 and 1625, and was settled over the parish of Seton, Devonshire, where his daughter was baptized October 27, 1629. He was pastor at Marblehead in 1639 and until his death in 1668. Elizabeth, widow of Lot Conant, married (second) January 10, 1681- 82, as his third wife, Andrew Mansfield, son of Robert and Elizabeth Mansfield, of Lynn. Children: I. Nathaniel, born July 28, 1650. 2. John, December 15, 1652, mentioned below. 3. Lot, February 16, 1657-58. 4. Elizabeth, May 13, 1660. 5. Mary, July 14, 1662. 6. Martha, August 15, 1664. 7. Sarah (twin), February 19, 1666-67. 8. William, (twin), February 19, 1666-67. 9. Roger, March IO, 1668-69. 10. Rebecca, January 31, 1670-71.

(V) John (2), son of Lot Conant, was born December 15, 1652, at Beverly, and settled there on the sixty acres of upland lying near Richard Dodge's farm, given to his father by his grandfather in 1666. He built a house on the north side of the road called Dodge street, a third of a mile from the present Beverly railroad station on the Eastern railroad, now Boston and Maine, and this house stood until 1830. He was a weaver as well as a farmer. He served in King Philip's war in Captain Samuel Appleton's company in 1675. He was admitted to the church at Beverly, August 23, 1691. He died September 30, 1724, disposing of all his estate by will dated September 21, 1724. He married, May 7, 1678, Bethia Mans- field, daughter of Andrew Mansfield. She was born April 7, 1658, died July 27, 1720. Children : 1. Lot, baptized June 1, 1679, mar- ried, May 15, 1698, Martha Cleaves ; (second) Susanna Clark ; (third) Mary - -; died May 15, 1767. 2. Elizabeth, January 14, 1681-82. 3. Bethia, 1684. 4. John, July 7, 1686. 5. Deborah, February 20, 1687-88. 6. Mary, October 20, 1689. 7. Daniel, Novem- ber 19, 1694; mentioned below. 8. Rebecca, March 29, 1696. 9. Benjamin, October 22, 1698. 10. Jemima, November 9, 170I.

(VI) Daniel, son of John (2) Conant, was born in Beverly, November 19, 1694. He was a farmer and mason and lived in Beverly on Dodge street. At the time of his father's death he and his brother seem to have occupied a house together, near their father's. He

bought land in Beverly at various times, and owned a grist mill on Alewive brook, one third of which he sold to his son Daniel in 1750. He was deputy to the general court two years. He died intestate in 1751 and his sons Daniel and Nathaniel were appointed May 13, 1751, administrators of his estate. Among his real estate was land in Coxhall, Maine. He mar- ried (intentions dated December 16, 1716) Lucy Dodge, of Ipswich, January 23, 1716-17. She was daughter of Richard and Martha Dodge, and granddaughter of Richard and Edith Dodge, the immigrants. Children: I. Lucy, born April 2, 1718. 2. Daniel, July 19, 1720. 3. Mary, April 15, 1722, married, 1745, Jonathan Baker Jr. 4. Margaret, June 15, 1724. 5. Nathaniel, July 23, 1726, mentioned below. 6. Hepzibah, October 16, 1729. 7. Josiah, November 5, 1732. 8. Elizabeth, April 13, 1735, married, December 30, 1787, Nathan- iel Cressey. 9. Martha, September 27, 1739.

(VII) Nathaniel, son of Daniel Conant, was born in Beverly, July 23, and baptized July 31, 1726. He served in the French and Indian war and was stationed at Lake George, November 22, 1755. He was a tanner by trade. His name appears often in real estate transac- tions. He lived in Beverly and owned a share in a grist and saw mill. He sold out his prop- erty in Beverly and removed to Maine soon after 1768, and settled in the north parish of Sanford, York county, now Alfred, Maine. He was one of the earliest settlers there and soon became the largest land owner of the town. He lived in a wooden house near the mill, which he bought of one Ellenwood. It stood opposite the brick house built by his son Andrew. To this one story house he added a two-story house, which was later moved a half a mile north, and was afterwards the resi- dence successively of Rev. Mr. Douglass, Charles Paul and Israel Chadbourn. The mill was situated on the stream running from Shaker pond on the road leading from Alfred to Kennebunk. Mr. Conant was the first trader of Alfred. The first meeting of the north parish or Alfred church was held at the home of Nathaniel Conant, August 27, 1782, and he, with eight others, signed the first cove- nant. He then gave an acre of land to set the meeting house and school house on. This land is the site of the present Congregational church and graveyard. He died January 6, 1808, was buried in the churchyard at Alfred, and his gravestone is still standing. He mar- ried, December 16, 1756, Abigail Dodge, born in Beverly, July 3, 1732, died in Alfred, Sep-

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tember 30, 1813, daughter of Joshua and Han- nah (Raymond) Dodge. Children: 1. Lucy, born September 11, 1757. 2. Hepzibah, Febru- ary 3, 1760. 3. Nathaniel. March 27, 1762, died August 12, 1764. 4. Joshua, April 7, 1764, mentioned below. 5. Nathaniel, June 30, 1766. 6. Daniel, April, 1768. 7. John, September 10, 1771. 8. Andrew, September, 1773.

(VIII) Joshua, son of Nathaniel Conant, was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, April 7, 1764, died October 4, 1842. He removed to Alfred, Maine, with his parents, and received his education there. He settled on a farm there near Shaker pond but later removed to Shapleigh, Maine. Here he had a farm of some two hundred acres on the road from Shapleigh Corner to Alfred Gore. About 1840 he gave the farm into the charge of his son Daniel, and spent his declining years in the home of his daughter in Lyman, Maine, where he died. He married Adelia Gile, who died September 30, 1842, daughter of Deacon Gile, of Alfred. Children: I. Ruth, born October 8, 1787. 2. Nathaniel, December 15, 1789, mentioned below. 3. Hepzibah, November 15, 1791, married (first) Benjamin Dunnell; (second) William Dunnell; (third) Luther Emerson. 4. Theodate, September 18, 1793. 5. Joshua, August 1, 1796. 6. Daniel, May 7, 1798. 7. Abigail, March 20, 1800, married John Roberts, of Lynn. 8. William Green, December 25, 1806. 9. Thomas Gile, Decem- ber 15, 1815.

(IX) Nathaniel (2), son of Joshua Conant, was born December 15, 1789, at Alfred, Maine, died at Shapleigh, April 6, 1834. He was a progressive and well-to-do farmer. He and his brother Daniel owned adjoining farms two miles from Shapleigh Corner, which had been owned by their father. He was a member of the Baptist church and a highly respected man. In politics he was a Whig. He married, in Bridgton, Maine, December 29, 1817, Rachel Dodge, born in Beverly, Massachusetts, May 29, 1790, died September 29, 1867, daughter of Nathan and Mary Dodge. Children : I. Amanda, born October 5, 1818. 2. Charles, April 1, 1821, married, July 21, 1844, Drusilla Russell. 3. Nathan Dodge, April 1, 1825, mentioned below. 4. Mary A., June 24, 1828.

(X) Nathan Dodge, son of Nathaniel (2) Conant, was born at Shapleigh, Maine, April 1, 1825, died May 5, 1873. He was brought up on his father's farm, and had a common school education. When he came of age he went to Alfred, Maine, and the year following came

to Boston, where he found employment at Dor- chester as driver of a market wagon for a Mr. Rand. In 1848 he worked for Nahum Ward. This concern was a pioneer in the man- ufacture of fertilizers. His wages at first were eight dollars a month. He soon began to collect material for the firm on commission and hired assistance, and incidentally acquired such a thorough knowledge of the business that he was admitted to partnership, having a third interest in the business. In 1868 the company having owned Spectacle Island, located its rendering plant there, manufactur- ing fertilizers, neats-foot oil and other by-products. The partners were Francis J. and Sylvester L. Ward and Nathan D. Conant. The Boston office was at 104 Fulton street. Mr. Conant's home was at 775 Parker street, Roxbury, and he owned property in the vicin- ity. He was an upright, enterprising and capable business man, a typical self-made man, a useful citizen. He was a member of the Universalist church of Roxbury and served on various committees. In politics he was a Democrat and after the annexation of Rox- bury was a member of the common council of Boston from ward 15, in 1869. He married, October 7, 1849, Elizabeth Campbell Simpson, born September 8, 1824, died March 30, 1880, daughter of Lewis and Mary (Campbell) Simpson. Her father was a farmer at Bruns- wick, Maine. Children: I. Lewis Simpson, born July 11, 1851, mentioned below. 2. Emma A. (twin), March 17, 1853. 3. Ella E. (twin), March 17, 1853, married James H. Hurst, of Fall River, Massachusetts. 4. Helen A., November, 1855, died June 20, 1894. 5. Mary F., October 30, 1856, died April 6, 1871.

(XI) Lewis Simpson, son of Nathan Dodge Conant, was born in Roxbury, July 11, 1851. He attended the public schools and the Bryant & Stratton Business College, Boston. He entered the employ of his father's firm, N. Ward & Company, in 1869, and in 1873 was admitted to partnership, after the death of his father. The other partners were Francis J. and Sylvester L. Ward. In 1881 the business was incorporated under the laws of Massa- chusetts with Francis J. Ward, president, Andrew J. Ward, treasurer, and Sylvester L. Ward and Lewis S. Conant, directors. In 1882 Sylvester L. Ward became president and Andrew J. Ward treasurer. In 1894 Mr. Conant retired from the business. He resides on Park street, Brookline. Mr. Conant has always taken a keen interest in history and

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genealogy and has one of the finest private collections of genealogies, town and county histories in the state. In politics he is a Repub- lican. He has been a member of Lodge of Elusis, Free Masons, Boston, since 1877. He was exalted in St. Andrew's Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Boston, and is a member of St. Bernard Commandery, Knights Templar, of Boston, and of the Massachusetts Consis- tory, thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite Masonry, Boston. He is a member of the society of Governors and Council of Massa- chusetts Bay, and was formerly a director of the National Rockland Bank of Roxbury. He married, September 25, 1894, Mrs. Carrie Josephine (Heath) Van Zandt, widow of Irving Van Zandt, and daughter of William and Mary Hayes (Conant ) Heath. They have no children.

WHEELER The early ancestral history of of this old and well known New England family is in doubt, and we only know that Zaccheus Wheeler was an enterprising and successful merchant in New York City during the last half of the eighteenth century ; but whence he came and the period of his life are things which the several chroniclers of Wheeler genealogy give us no reliable information. It is within reasonable probability, however, that Zaccheus Wheeler, the New York merchant, was a grandson or perhaps great-grandson of John Wheeler, of New London, Connecticut, whose first born son was named Zaccheus, but who died in 1703, without issue, and besides whom there were two other sons, Joshua, aged eleven, and William, aged eight, at the time of the death of their father, December 16, 1691. The "History of New London" informs us that both of these sons "lived to old age and left descendants," but gives no account of them. John Wheeler, progenitor of the family referred to, appears first in New London in 1667, when he became part owner of the vessel called the "Zebulon," and according to the history of that town, "he entered largely into mercantile con- cerns, traded with the West Indies. and had a vessel built under his own superintendence, which at the period of his death had just returned from an English voyage." However, in the absence of definite knowledge of the possible relationship suggested in this para- graph, our present narrative must begin with Zaccheus Wheeler.

(I) Zaccheus Wheeler is known to have been a successful merchant in New York City,

and according to genealogical calculation he was born somewhere about 1735 to 1745.

(II) Zaccheus (2), son of Zaccheus (1) Wheeler, was born probably about 1770, and in 1823 went to Orange, Massachusetts, with his son Wilson, the latter then a young man nineteen years old.

(III) Wilson, son of Zaccheus (2) Wheeler, was born about 1804, went to Orange with his father in 1823, and afterward lived in that town, although for a short time he made his home in East Winchendon, Massachusetts, for his occupation was that of carpenter and builder and he went wherever his work called him. His principal residence, however, was in Orange, where in connection with business pursuits he filled various town offices, and was constable, collector of taxes and for fifteen years was deputy sheriff of Franklin county. He was a man of much strength and great physical endurance, and although short of stature he was firmly built; and besides, he was a man of excellent character and was much respected in the community in which he lived. Mr. Wheeler married, May 26, 1830, Catherine H. Warden, of Worcester, Massachusetts, and by her had nine children.

(IV) John Wilson, son of Wilson and Catherine H. (Warden) Wheeler, president of the New Home Sewing Machine Company, was born in Orange, November 20, 1832, and takes from his father many of the physical characteristics of the latter, while in personal appearance and manners he more closely resembles his mother. His early educational opportunities were limited to attendance at the district school of his native town and a brief studentship at a select school kept by Beriah W. Fay. During his boyhood days the terms at the district schools were comparatively short, hence much of his time was spent in work on his father's farm rather than in attend- ing school, but such opportunities as he had were faithfully improved. More than this, his parents were in moderate circumstances and it became necessary that lie earn a part of the money for his own support. Although neither occupation was congenial to his tastes and inclinations in a business sense, he worked on the farm and at the bench in his father's shop for a year after attaining his majority ; but all this time the commercial instinct of his great- grandfather showed itself clearly in his char- acter and when it offered he gladly accepted an opportunity to enter mercantile life. His first experience in this direction was in a grocery store in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, kept by

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Residence of Hon. John W. Wheeler Grange, Mass.

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Joseph Baldwin, where he was employed at a salary of $125 per year and board, and at the end of his first year there his employer as an appreciation of faithful service on the part of his young clerk voluntarily increased his pay to $150 per year. This year and a part of the preceding year constituted the longest periods that young Wheeler had remained away from his father's home to that time.

Returning to Orange in 1856, Mr. Wheeler found employment in the large general store of which Daniel Pomeroy was proprietor, worked there in the capacity of clerk for the next three years, then succeeded his former employer and conducted the business for himself for the next three years ; and at the end of that period, when he had settled up the results it was discovered that he had gained but little beyond his living expenses, but at the same time he had estab- lished a reputation as a young man of business ability and unquestioned integrity. Then followed a year's clerkship in a claim agency, and such was the confidence in his honesty that at the end of that time Mr. Cheney, R. C. Car- penter and A. J. Clark loaned him $2,000 on his own credit with which to purchase the grocery store and business of Mr. Clark. This venture proved most gratifyingly successful, and was only given up in 1867 that Mr. Wheeler might enter the firm of A. F. Johnson & Company, who then had recently started the manufacture of sewing machines in Orange on a very limited scale.

When Mr. Wheeler began what was to prove the great work of his life he was thirty-five years old, in the prime of vigorous manhood, and there was need for all of his resources; for at that particular time the sewing machine as a needful household commodity was in an experimental stage. The firm of Johnson & Company employed only about fifty men and the output was quite limited. Troubles followed regarding patents, and the name and styles of machines necessarily changed several times. In 1869 the firm incorporated under the name and style of the Gold Medal Sewing Machine Com- pany, with Mr. Wheeler in the capacity of secretary and treasurer, and in January, 1882, the name of the corporation again changed and became the New Home Sewing Machine Com- pany, as now and since known throughout the world. Mr. Wheeler is president, a director, and treasurer of the manufacturing company and also a member of the executive committee of the board of directors; and from the very beginning of the corporate existence of the company, under whatever name, he always has

been its financial manager and principal officer ; and he has seen the business grow from its limited start with a few employees to the splendid manufacturing enterprise with the names of about eight hundred and fifty employees on its payroll and a daily output of about six hundred sewing machines every full working day. For a long time he alone did the work of several men in the office, but for many years past he has had a well organized office force to whom has been entrusted the detail of management, and thus he has been enabled to take an interest in other enterprises which have contributed to the growth and prosperity of his native town. For many years he has been president of the Orange National Bank, and was for several years president of the Orange Savings Bank, until the passage of an act of the general court which forbade the president of a national bank being at the same time presi- dent of a state savings bank ; but he still is one of the trustees of the Orange Savings Bank. He also was president of the Orange Power Company, a corporation created for the object of establishing a large shoe manufacturing industry in the town; and also at one time he was president of the Orange Board of Trade. He himself erected and furnished with steam power the large building near the railroad track, which is occupied by the New England Box Company. This company is highly pros- perous, giving employment to a large force of workmen and is located in the pleasant suburban village of Wheeler, so named in allusion to its founder.

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Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume II, Part 116

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848- Publication date: 1910 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 1008

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 1008