Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume II, Part 66

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 66

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).

(I) Ralph Farnum, immigrant ancestor of all the Farnum families of southern Worcester county, was born in England, probably in Lei- cestershire, in 1603, died January 8, 1692-93, and the inventory of his estate is dated March 29, 1693. He came from London in the brig "James," which sailed from Southampton, April 6, 1635, and reached Boston, June 3, 1635. He gave his age at sailing as thirty-two, his wife, Alice's, as twenty-eight, and they had with them three young children, Mary, Thomas and Ralph. He was a yeoman after coming to America. He settled at Ipswich, of which he was a proprietor in 1639. He removed to An- dover, Massachusetts. Children : I. Mary, born 1628; married Daniel Poor, of Andover, Massachusetts, in Boston, October 20, 1650; resided at Andover ; she died February 3, 1714, aged eighty-five years. 2. Thomas, born 1631 ; married, July 8, 1660, Elizabeth Gibbins, who died August 26, 1683; he died January II, 1685. 3. Ralph, Jr., born 1633 ; married Eliza- beth Hall, in Andover, October 2, 1658; she died October 14, 1710, aged seventy-eight years ; he died January 8, 1691-92. 4. Sarah,

born at Andover ; married George Abbot, April 16, 1658. 5. John, see forward.

(II) John, son of Ralph Farnum, was born at Andover, Massachusetts, about 1640, and died there June 17, 1723, in his eighty-third year. He married, November 12, 1667, Re- becca Kent, daughter of Stephen Kent, of Newbury, Massachusetts. She died February 8, 1728-29, aged seventy-eight years. Their children, born in Andover, were: I. John, January 20, 1670; died February 14, 1670. 2. John, see forward. 3. Stephen, October 19, 1674; died young. 4. Anne, December II, 1677; married Thomas Russ, April 17, 1701. 5. David, October, 1681 ; died November 30, 1687. 6. Jonathan, April 27, 1684; died May 24, 1761 ; married (first) 1708, Elizabeth Parker, who died June 18, 1732; (second) May 31, 1733, Mehitable Poor, who died Jan- uary 19, 1763, aged seventy years. 7. Thomas, August II, 1687; probably died young. 8. David, April 4, 1690; married Dorothy Duncan.

(III) John (2), son of John (1) Farnum, was born in Andover, Massachusetts, April 13, 1672, died in Mendon, September 9, 1749, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. He re- moved to Mendon, Massachusetts, about 1700. On the early records there his name is spelled usually Ffarnum. This double "F" was com- mon on the colonial records as well as English for many names beginning with this letter. His name is third on the list of proprietors who drew at the sixth division, February 4, 1707. From time to time he bought more land and drew with the other proprietors from the com- mon land until he was a large owner of real estate. He married, June 30, 1693, Mary Tyler, and (second) November, 1733, Abigail Marsh, of Bellingham. She died February 21, 1759. The children of John and Mary (Tyler) Farnum: 1. Mary, born at Andover, March 16, 1694; married Nathan Penniman, of Mendon, December 5, 1716. 2. Anna, Jan- uary 18, 1696, at Andover; died April 20, 1696. 3. John, Jr., Andover, December 26, 1697 ;, married Mary Wood, of Mendon, No- vember 8, 1722. 4. Ann, June 3, 1701 ; mar- ried Penniman, at Mendon. 5. Moses, see forward.

(IV) Moses, son of John (2) Farnum, was born at Mendon, September 8, 1705, died at Uxbridge, Massachusetts, September 8, 1770. The part of Mendon in which he was born was set off in 1727 as the town of Uxbridge. He was a farmer and lived in Uxbridge on the farm afterwards known as the Daniel Farnum place and later as the Martin Brown place, east about

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three-quarters of a mile from what is now called Happy Hollow. He and his wife were Presbyterians in religion until late in life, when they became Friends. He had one acre of land granted by the proprietors, March 21, 1745-46, adjoining David Aldrich's. His father conveyed to him April 25, 1743. two hundred acres in Uxbridge. He bought a farm of fifty- three acres in Douglas, November 27, 1738, but seemed to prefer Uxbridge as a home. The aggregate of his land purchased was over six hundred acres. His will is dated May 25, 1768, and was allowed November 12, 1770. He married, November 10, 1726, Abigail San- ford, who died October 2, 1773. Children : I. John, born 1727-28: married (first) May 3, 1750. Elizabeth Gaskill, daughter of Samuel; married (second) July 19, 1756, Martha Com- stock ; children: Joseph Noah, Stephen, Mary and Rachel. 2. Moses, October 25, 1730 ; see forward. 3. Mary (twin), September 2, 1732; married Silas Taft ; children : Ephraim, Moses, Darius, Peleg, Levi, Rachel and Preserved Taft. 4. Anna (twin). September, 2, 1732; married Benjamin Buffum. 5. Hannah, Sep- tember II, 1737 ; married John Reed, of Smith- field, and had ten children. 6. Stephen, Sep- tember 19, 1739; died April 27, 1761. 7. Abi- gail, August 19, 1741 ; married David Harris, of Smithfield. 1761. 8. Rachel, January 13, 1743; married Daniel Reed, of Smithfield. 9. Jonathan (twin). June 28, 1745; married Uranah Harris, September 29, 1765, at Smith- field. 10. David (twin), June 28, 1745 ; died before his father.

(V) Moses (2), son of Moses ( I) Farnum, was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, Octo- ber 25, 1730, died there May 9. 1780. A part of the memorial written by Moses Brown is given here: "After he married and had a family of several children around him, he be- came obedient to the teachings of truth in the Friends society, and being favored to improve the talent received, the Lord was pleased to commit unto him a gift in the ministry. In entering upon which service he was deeply baptized under an humbling sense of the weight of such a work. He was a man of good natural understanding and capable argument. He was useful and instrumental in obtaining the free- dom of enslaved Africans and became deeply concerned to unbind the heavy burden and let the oppressed go free, that for several years before his death he declined the use of such goods as he knew to be the product of the labor of slaves. He had borne his testimony against war and bloodshed by refusing to pay

the tax for the support of it and near his end he expressed his satisfaction that he had so done." Moses Farnum mar ied Sarah Com- stock, who died March 1, 1776, and ( second) Elizabeth Southwick, who died May 2, 1777. His real estate was divided May 21, 1782. The children of Moses and Sarah Farnum: I. David, born at Uxbridge, September 29, 1753; see sketch. 2. Daniel, June 14, 1755; died October 14, 1772. 3. Ann, January 19, 1758; died June 4. 1833; married Seth Gifford, of New Bedford ; settled in Uxbridge. 4. George, June 12, 1760; died March 15, 1837; married (first ) 1787, Sarah Pitts; ( second) her sister Deborah Pitts, in 1790. 5. Royal, January 7, 1763 ; married, 1792, widow Aldrich, who died April 12, 1852. 6. Peter, May 22, 1765; re- moved to Grafton, where he died May 6, 1832 ; married Susannah Wadsworth, March 9, 1788, and died September, 1865. 7. Abigail, July 20, 1767; died May, 1794; married (first) James Buggum ; (second) 1791, Seth Sumner, of Taunton. 8. Moses, see forward. 9. Sarah, April 7, 1780; died September 10, 1853; mar- ried May 3, 1797, James Harkness; he died April 27, 1806; (second ) August 5, 1807, Caleb A. Wall, of Worcester, well known antiquar- ian and editor, and had several children.

(VI) Moses (3), son of Moses (2) Farnum, was born in Uxbridge, near the Friends' meet- ing house in the southern part of the town, April 10, 1770, died in Waterford, Massachu- setts, August 31, 1855. He was buried in the family plot in the Friends' burying ground in Uxbridge. He grew up on the old homestead, later bought out the interest of the other heirs and became the sole owner of the farm of one hundred and fifty acres. The greater part of his life was spent on this farm where all his children were born and reared to maturity. He was well educated for the period of time in which he lived and taught in both private and public schools in addition to cultivating his farm. About 1817, in association with Daniel Jenckes, Dr. Comstock, William Arnold, Joseph Pitts and William Buffum, he put all the saving he had thus far accumulated into a woolen mill at Ironstone. The plan was to start his sons, Welcome ( who already had some experience in carding, spinning and weav- ing ) and Darius in the business, and ultimately place it under their management, but the enter- prise proved an entire failure, every dollar he had invested being lost and he was reduced to straitened circumstances and sorely disheart- ened. His wife, however, was not discouraged and her spirit and energy under the trying con-

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ditions helped them to rise above the misfor- tune, and by the practice of the most rigid econ- omy in the household they were enabled to work on. Affairs soon began to look more hopeful ; the sons, after a few years, were successful in business and when the business they had start- ed in Waterford was well under way the family removed to that town in 1828, where Moses Farnum, Sr., conducted a variety store. He built a substantial and convenient house into which he moved with his family in the spring of 1834, and managed his business per- sonally until old age and failing health com- pelled him to retire from active work. He was a life-long member of the Society of Friends and a conscientious and truly devout man. He was of a tender and compassionate nature and his hand was ever open to help those in less fortunate circumstances than him- self. In his opinion it was wrong to speculate in the prime necessaries of life, such as flour, meal, meats, etc., and he practiced what he preached, twelve and one-half cents (nine- pence ) being all the profit he would take on a barrel of flour at his store. It follows without saying that he was deeply impressed with a sense of the sinfulness of American slavery, and the thoughts of the wrongs perpetrated upon the unfortunate race under that unholy system roused his righteous indignation and enlisted his sympathies and efforts in their be- half, and throughout his life he was an earnest worker in the interests of the Anti-slavery party and for many years a member of the American Anti-slavery Society. He was a sober-minded man, a constant reader of the Bible, and being much given to study and con- templation, was naturally better fitted for gentler employments or pursuits than for life's rougher work. In person he was slight, of medium height and of rather delicate constitu- tion ; his face was finely molded, habitually grave, forehead high, hair light and thin. His face and head would indicate an intellectual cast of mind rather than great force or will power. He married (first) December 5, 1792, Rachel, daughter of Darius and Ruth (Aldrich) Daniels. She was born December 25, 1767, died at Waterford, Massachusetts, August II, 1846, and was of hardy New Eng- land stock, being strong and healthy and pos- sessed of a sound mind in a sound body. She was capable, energetic, not easily discouraged, a true woman, and transmitted to her chil- dren her noble characteristics. Their chil- dren were: I. A son, who was born and died October 5, 1793. 2. Lucy, born February

10, 1795; died unmarried, October 18, 1890. 3. Welcome, December 18, 1796; mar- ried Lydia Harris, of Smithfield. 4. Darius Daniels, see forward. 5. Ruth Daniels, Sep- tember 29, 1800; died August 6, 1818. 6. Moses, February 2, 1802; died in Worcester, February 15, 1860. 7. Jonathan, March 27, 1804; married Minerva Buxton, of Smithfield. 8. Sarah, September 4, 1805 ; married Samuel Harris. 9. Mary Arnold, August 14, 1808; died November 29, 1836. 10. Rachel, March 15, 18II ; married Edward Harris, of Woon- socket. Moses Farnum married (second) De- cember 30, 1847, Mrs. Mary (Barker ) Allen, the gifted Friends' minister, who was born at Pownalborough, Maine, May 30, 1773, died at Nantucket, Massachusetts, January 31, 1861, daughter of Robert and Sarah (Folger) Barker, and sister of the well known Jacob Barker. Her first husband was Walter Allen, of Smithfield, Rhode Island. She was also a woman of superior ability of mind, a minister of the Society, and spoke to the .great edifica- tion and satisfaction of the Friends. As long as she preached at the Smithfield meetings she was favored with a large congregation. When she was left a widow she removed to Nan- tucket, whereby the Smithfield meetings sus- tained an irreparable loss and a strong effort was made to induce her to return which, how- ever, proved unavailing.

(VII) Darius Daniels, fourth child of Moses (3) and Rachel (Daniels) Farnum, was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, October 19, 1798, died of yellow fever, in Havana, Cuba, November 23, 1840, where he was buried. During the minority of Mr. Farnum he attend- ed the district school and worked on the farm. He determined to follow the trade of shoemak- ing and had a shop in the house of his father, near the Friends' meetinghouse. His elder brother, Welcome, having acquired some ex- perience in manufacturing lines, induced him to leave the shoemaker's bench, and the two brothers started hand-weaving at Woonsocket about 1819. Assisted by their father they had a number of sets of cards in operation, worked by hand and power looms, probably a larger number than any other woolen mill in that section at the time. They worked at the hand looms in every spare moment and in 1822 hired power with the new cotton mill of Dex- ter Ballou, where they started two sets of cards and looms to correspond, running by power. Here for two years they manufactured satinets with such success that they cleared sixteen thousand dollars.

Seeking a larger

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field for their operations they purchased an estate in 1824, in the town of Mendon (now Blackstone), to which they gave the name of Waterford. There the firm first commenced operation under the name of W. & D. D. Far- num, which later became so justly celebrated for the manufacture of fine satinets, splendid broadcloth and fancy cassimeres. In 1832 the brothers began the erection of a large brick mill and introduced the most improved machin- ery for the manufacture of broadcloth, fine doeskins, oxford mixtures and cassimeres. This mill, which was not completed until 1837, was at the time the most extensive of its kind in America, and had numerous dwellings in connection with it for the accommodation of the workers in it. It was called Mill No. I, consumed a million pounds of wool annually, and the broadcloths made there were sold by David S. Brown, of Philadelphia, and Fearing & Hall, of New York City, for ten dollars per yard. At all industrial fairs and expositions W. & D. D .. Farnum, without an exception, were awarded the highest medals. The hard times of 1837 were felt by this firm severely, but their excellent credit carried them safely through. The financial management of affairs was chiefly under the management of Darius Daniels, and it was due to his untiring efforts that from 1837 to 1841 the firm was scarcely insolvent. During the latter part of his life he was a great sufferer from nervous head- aches, and it was owing to his failing health that he was induced to try the effects of a sojourn in the West Indies, where his death occurred. The following obituary was written by his attending physician, and published in the Woonsocket Patriot : "In the death of Mr. Farnum society is called to lament the loss of one of its most useful and meritorious mem- bers. As a manufacturer he justly ranked among the first. In early life he, in connec- tion with his brother, commenced business un- patronized and unaided. The industry and energy which insured his distinguished success furnished an encouraging example of what may be effected by untiring perseverance com- bined with strict integrity. In his intercourse with the world he was decorous, spirited and gentlemanly. In the march of public improve- ment and moral reform he was ever among the foremost. In all the relations of domestic life he was truly exemplary. He was always a firm friend and a supporter of religious insti- tutions, and in the latter part of his life his views on the subject of religion were such as to afford great consolation to those who felt

the deepest interest in his welfare. In his last illness especially he found in the pages of re- vealed Truth, in the animating precepts and promises of the Redeemer, his only sufficient support and solace. For nearly two years before his death his health was so much im- paired as to render him unable to attend to business, during which period he suffered much but was never heard to murmur or despond, resigning himself cheer fully to the dispensa- tion of divine Providence. Every effort for his recovery proving unavailing he repaired to the Island of Cuba, with the vain hope of relief, at which place he died eight days after his arrival." Darius D. Farnum was rather slight of body, hardly of medium height, and did not weigh over one hundred and twenty pounds ; he had an intellectual face. In his religious affiliations he was a Friend, and his political support was given to the Whig party. He married, 1823, Dency, daughter of Jotham and Bathsheba Thayer. Mrs. Farnum was born in Milford, Massachusetts, May 24, 1805, died at Millville, Massachusetts, March 4, 1867. She married (second) about 1842, Estus Lamb, born in 1809, died in Providence, Rhode Island, March 9, 1887. They had one son, Augustus F., born May 5, 1843, died April 18, 1898; he married Freelove Baker, of Black- stone. The children of Darius D. and Dency (Thayer) Farnum were: I. Emily, born No- vember 20, 1823; died in Providence, Rhode Island, July 31, 1883 ; married, September 12, 1844, Henry Stephen Mansfield, and had chil- dren : i. Henry Farnum, born June 13, 1845, married Delia Haywood ; ii. Emily, born Janu-

ary 18, 1847, married, October 27, 1870, Isaac C. Bates, killed in an accident in September, 1904; iii. Albert Thayer, born May 31, 1848, married, May, 1879, Mary C. Warren ; iv. Ed-

ward Alexander, born June 16, 1859, married

Ada V. Scott. 2. Moses, see forward. 3. Alexander, born July 18, 1830; died May II, 1884 ; he was a graduate of Brown University, 1852: was a cotton broker at Providence, Rhode Island, up to 1864, then treasurer of

the Nicholson File Company, of Providence,

Rhode Island, until about 1871, then in the insurance business until 1873, then made re- ceiver of Cranston Savings Bank, continuing two years, then vice-president of the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Company, about 1876,

and later made president, holding that office until his death; he was in the legislature for two or more terms, speaker one year, treasurer twenty-five years, and built up public library ; treasurer and vice-president of Providence

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Athenaeum and passed on all the books pur- chased by this institution for many years ; he was a great reader, a very intelligent man, and owned one of the largest libraries in Provi- dence; connected with Unitarian church, as was his wife. He married, July 26, 1853, Char- lotte B. Ormsbee, and had children: i. Jessie, born May 10, 1854, died September 13, 1855; ii. Harry Ormsbee, born January 2, 1857, died May 30, 1905, married, June 30, 1890, Ellen T. Wilson, she died 1891, children: Joseph Hollister and Frank Alexander; iii. Frank Alexander, born June 6, 1858, graduate of Brown University, 1879, Boston Law school, 1883, engaged in private practice until 1891, since then attorney for New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad; married, December 10, 1901, Annie Henderson ; children: Barbara, Frank Henderson, Ralph Alexander ; Frank Alexander spells his name Farnham; iv. Mar- garet Barbara, born June 29, 1860, married, February 23, 1886, Charles Warren Lippitt, ex-governor of Rhode Island, where they re- side; children: Charles Warren, Alexander Farnham and Gerton Thayer; v. Ormsbee Thayer, born January 31, 1865, died October II, 1908 ; married, June 7, 1890, Anna Joseph- ine Hollister.

(VIII) Moses (4), eldest son and second child of Darius Daniels and Dency ( Thayer) Farnum, was born in Blackstone, Massachu- setts, January 21, 1826, died in Franklin, in the same state, June 8, 1897. His early edu- cational training was received in the district school in Blackstone, and this was supple- mented by a course in the Uxbridge Academy. He was a clerk in the store of his paternal grandfather in Waterford, in 1842-43, later holding a similar position in a store in Taun- ton, Massachusetts, and subsequently went to New York City and acted in the same capacity in the store of his uncle, Samuel Harris, for a period of two years. He then spent two years in travel and two winters in Washington, D. C. In 1859 he became interested in the Worcester Spy, owned and edited by John Milton Earle, who had established this paper in 1845 and whose daughter Moses Farnum had married in 1852. He moved to Worcester, purchasing an interest in this paper, and in company with Mr. Earle and S. S. Foss, of the Woonsocket Patriot, published the Daily and Weekly Spy, the combination being known as Foss & Farnum. The paper was published in the Foster Block. Later the firm disposed of its publication to J. D. Baldwin & Company, and Mr. Farnum returned to Blackstone, where

he became closely identified with the financial affairs of the town of Blackstone and held the office of treasurer, in 1854-55-58 to 1861 in- clusive, 1863 to 1865 inclusive, and 1866 to 1871 inclusive. He served two terms in the legislature. He commenced his career in bank- ing circles during 1851 and served in various positions in the old Worcester County Bank, then a state bank at Blackstone, which had been founded by his uncle, Welcome Farnum. When this institution was made a national bank in 1865, Moses Farnum was appointed to the office of cashier. In 1873, through the influence of J. P., J. G. and E. K. Ray, of Franklin, Massachusetts, this bank was re- moved to Franklin, Mr. Farnum retaining the position of cashier and the management of the finances and investments of the bank. In this management he showed his executive abil- ity by his energetic and progressive methods, and his strict attention to its business affairs in every detail gained the esteem and confi- dence, not only of the officers of the institution, but of the entire community. Prior to his con- nection with the bank in Franklin he had been connected with the firm of Ray Brothers in that town. His thorough unselfishness, so charmingly manifested in the home circle, was also a leading characteristic of his business and social life, and drew to him a large circle of devoted friends, and his amiable manner and gentlemanly bearing were always mani- fest to those with whom he came in contact. The prime factor in his character was his broad common sense, and his keen foresight enabled him easily to detect the right or wrong side of a question. In 1890 he was one of the unfor- tunate victims of the ill-fated Wollaston rail- road disaster, caused by the placing of a track jack on the rails before the approaching train. The deaths by this accident were many, and Mr. Farnum being the occupant of the coach in which many of the passengers were severely injured, received injuries to his hand and arm from which he never recovered and which caused his death seven years later. He resign- ed his official position with the bank shortly after the accident, and none were more thoroughly missed in business circles than he. He bore his sufferings with fortitude, never complaining, and passed away among those who loved him best. He was of the Unitarian faith, and supported the Republican party. He was a member of Blackstone River Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Blackstone. Mr. Farnum married (first) August 11, 1852, Katherine, born January 24, 1828, died Febru-

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ary 12, 1874, daughter of John Milton and Sarah ( Hussey ) Earle, of Worcester, and they had children: I. Emily, born in Blackstone, September 12, 1853; married, February 17, 1876, James Frank D'Orsey, son of James D'Orsey, and had children : i. Katherine Earle, born January 4, 1877 ; married, May 3, 1908, Herbert Clifford Wise, of Germantown, Penn- sylvania ; ii. Farnum, born July 16, 1878; iii. Arthur Hobart, born January 12, 1880, mar- ried, January 12, 1909, Genevieve G. Driscoll ; iv. Ralph Earle, born February 24, 1882. 2. Walter Earle, born December 31, 1855; died July 19, 1863. 3. John Milton Earle, born June 23, 1857 ; died May 18, 1874. 4. Samuel May, see forward. 5. Frederick Lamb, see forward. Moses Farnum married ( second) February 29, 1876, Rebecca Macy, born October 20, 183I, a daughter of William and Mary ( Macy) Watson, of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Will- iam Watson was engaged in the shipping busi- ness, served in the legislature and held a num- ber of town offices. Her mother's ancestors were well known in Quakerdom in that region for many generations. By this second mar- riage there was one child: Mary, born August 25. 1879.

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Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume II, Part 66

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