Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume II, Part 82

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 82

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).

Samuel R. Newell married, in 1849. Augusta Hine, of Naugatuck, who survives him. She was born November 24, 1827, daughter of Richard and Jerusha Hine. They had five daughters : Isabel Prescott ; Caroline Hopson ; Alice Elizabeth; Mary De Forrest, married C. E. Stickney (see Stickney, VII), and Hener- etta Curtis, died at the age of three years.

RAY Ra or Rae is a very ancient personal name, perhaps derived originally from rae, the Scotch form of roe, a deer. In Anglo Saxon times Ra, Rae, and Ray were used as baptismal or Christian names, and the Gaelic form MacRae ( McRae, etc. ) came into use and the family became very numerous. Ray is the most common spelling, but Rae and Rea are still found in use.

The estate of Gill, in the parish of Brom- field, county Cumberland, belonged to the fam- ily of Reay or Ray from the time of William the Lion, King of Scotland, who died in 1214. Tradition says that the original Ray was a faithful adherent of the Scottish monarch, by whom he was greatly esteemed for his extra- ordinary swiftness of foot in pursuing the deer (which, like that of the Homeric hero, ex- ceeded that of most horsemen and dogs) and gave him the estate. The tenure was a pep- percorn rent, with the stipulation that the name of William should be perpetuated in the fam- ily. This was strictly observed from genera -* tion to generation, until the latter half of the eighteenth century, when the William Ray or Reay in possession gave to the "hope of the house" the name of John.

From these Reays have sprung most, if not all, the Rays, Wreys and Rays in England,

and also the Rays, Wrays, Reas and Raes, it is believed in the United States. There were several Le Rays in the Hundred Rolls. In England the family of Ray is prominent in Berwick, Lincoln, Suffolk, Derby, Gloucester. The oldest Ray coat-of-arms seems to be : Quarterly or and azure on a bend gules, three fleur-de-lis or. The Rea or Ree family, prom- inent in London and Worcestershire, bear :

Azure a bezant four crescents argent. Crest : Out of a mural coronet argent a dragon's head azure. The Rae family has seats at Esk Grove, Mid-Lothian, Scotland. The only Scotch coat-of-arms of the Rae family is given by Burke. Vert three stags courant argent. Crest: A stag at gaze proper. Supporters : Dexter, a stag; sinister, a lion; both proper. Motto: "In omnia promptus." A branch of the Rae family in England bears: Per cross argent and azure on a bend gules three fleur- de-lis of the first. Crest: A mountain cat courant guard proper.

Several pioneers came to New England be- fore 1650. Simon Ray settled at Braintree, where he died September 30, 1641 ; his son Simon settled at New Shoreham, Rhode Island, and is the progenitor of a numerous family of Block Island and vicinity. Caleb Ray settled in Boston and died there, leaving a son Caleb; was a member of the Second Church of Boston. A David Ray, baptized at Forfarshire, Scotand, owned the covenant at Charlestown, September 26, 1696; his son Samuel, born August 29, 1697, married Octo- ber 24, 1723, in Boston, Mary Fullerton.

(I) Daniel Ray, immigrant ancestor of this family, was doubtless brother of Caleb Ray, of Boston, and probably also of Simon Ray, of Braintree Tradition has it that he was Scotch, but few came to the colonies at the time he came, except from England. The family was prominent in Galloway, Caithness and Ayrshire, Scotland, for many centuries, and since 1612 in the Scotch counties of Ire- land. There are reasons for believing that Daniel Ray came from Suffolkshire, England, though he may have been of Scotch ancestry. He settled in Plymouth colony in 1630, or earlier, and bought land of Anthony Annable, but soon afterward removed to Massachusetts Bay Colony, settling at Salem before Febru- ary 6, 1631-2, according to a letter from Gov- ernor Bradford to Governor Winthrop of that date. The descendants of Daniel in Essex county have followed the spelling Rea, but those who left that section in most cases have adopted Ray, which is nearly universal in the

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families descended from Caleb and Simon, the other immigrants.

Daniel Ray became a prominent citizen of Salem; was admitted a freeman May 14, 1634; was a proprietor of the town in 1636, and held various town offices; removed to .Salem Village, now Danvers, in 1662. He married Bethia - , who survived him. He died before completing his will, but an agreement of his heirs, dated June 26, 1662, is in accord- ance with the provisions he made therein, signed by his son Joshua and his son (Josh- ua's) Daniel; the daughters Rebecca and Sarah Rea and Bethia Lothrop. Children: I. Joshua, mentioned below. 2. Rebecca. 3. Sarah. 4. Bethia, died December 6, 1686; married (first) Captain Thomas Lothrop, who was killed September 18, 1675, at Bloody Brook, in King Philip's war ; married (second ) Joseph Grafton, (third) William Goodhue.

(II) Joshua, son of Daniel Ray or Rea, was born in England probably, and died at Salem Village, now Danvers, in 1710. Ac- cording to various depositions he stated his age incorrectly, making his birth year in one case 1628, in another 1631, and another in 1637. He was admitted to the First Church of Salem in 1668; freeman May 3, 1665. He married, February 26, 1651, Sarah Waters, who died May 19, 1700, aged seventy years. He and his wife were among the original mem- bers of the church at Salem Village. In 1693 he was keeping a tavern. Children, born at Salem and Salem Village: I. Samuel (not re- corded, but found with the family at Dan- vers), mentioned below. 2. Daniel, born March 30, 1654; died March 5, 1714-15. 3. Rebecca, born September 4, 1656; married Samuel Stevens, who was killed September 18, 1675, at Bloody Brook; married (second) Simon Horne. 4. Sarah, born November 10, 1659-60. 5. Sarah, born June 4, 1661 ; mar- ried Thomas Haynes; settled in Salem, West Jersey. 6. Bethia, born January 3, 1662 ; mar- ried Joseph Gould. 7. Joshua, born August 6, 1664; maried Elizabeth Leach. 8. John, born May 23, 1666. 9. Hannah, born August, 1667.

(III) Samuel, son of Joshua Ray, first ap- pears on the public records at Salem Village, now the north parish of Danvers. His wife Mary was baptized in that church with her six children, June 14, 1702. His brother John was a member of the same church. The name is spelled Rae and Ray in both these families. Children: 1. Samuel mentioned below. 2. Robert. 3. Jonathan. 4. William, died Au-

gust 21, 1693, aged two years and a half, at Danvers. 5. Benjamin. 6. Abel. The fore- going were baptized June 14, 1702. 7. Eliza- beth, baptized at Salem Village, September 19, 1703.

(IV) Samuel (2), son of Samuel (I) Ray, was born about 1685-8, at Salem, Massachu- setts, or vicinity, and was baptized in the church there with other children of his par- ents in the right of his mother, June 14, 1702. He settled at Wrentham, and December 22, 1729, had two acres of land laid out to him in the eighth acre division, lying on the west side of his house lot, a part of the right of Tim- othy Metcalf, which Ray had bought in 1726. Later he had other lands in the twelve acre division from the rights of Josiah Whitney, John Blake and Joseph Cowel, on Bungee Hill. He married, August 10, 1709-10, Meriam Smith, who died August 2, 1746. Children : 1. Mary, born August 22, 1710. 2. Meriam, April 9, 1712. 3. Samuel, July 9, 1716; died April 8, 1783; married Elizabeth -, born 1717, died May 26, 1777; chil- dren : i. Elizabeth, born June 2, 1744; ii. Je- rusha, May 14, 1746; iii. Elizabeth, March 18, 1748; married, July 16, 1766, Abijah Metcalf ; iv. Ebenezer, born April 13, 1750, died April 26, 1750: v. Meriam, born May 13, 1751, mar- ried, July 4, 1771, Silas Metcalf ; vi. Melatiah, born April 1, 1754; vii. Jemima, January 8, 1756, married, January 26, 1776, Thomas Met- calf; viii. Joanna, born March 9, 1758, mar- ried, December 7, 1783, Levi Weatherhead ; ix. Hepsibah, born December 30, 1759, died March 18, 1783; x. Rachel, born August 7, 1762, married, August 17, 1783, Noah Butter- worth. 4. Robert, born October 3, 1718; died June 2, 1784 ; married Mary, daughter of Sam- uel and Sarah Richardson ; children: i. Sarah, born May 27. 1746; ii. Abiah, October IO, 1748, married December 7, 1769, Timothy Ware; iii. Esther, born March 26, 1752; iv. Robert, February 15, 1756, married, October 25, 1781, Chloe Guild; v. Enos, born July I, 1764, married, October 23, 1796, Olive Peck, 5. Abigail, born April 16, 1721. 6. Joseph, born April 30, 1723: mentioned below. 7. Benjamin, born October 17, 1725; married (first) June 24, 1751, Abigail Hawes, died De- cember 28, 1758; (second) April 17, 1759, Sarah Bragg ; children : i. Susanna, born April 23, 1752, died February 20, 1754; ii. Molly, born March 26, 1754, married January 19, 1778, Abijah Pond ; iii. Jabez, born December 3, 1755. died same day: iv. Abigail, born No- vember 18, 1756; v. Tilly, December 3, 1758,

JAMES P. RAY

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died January 3, 1759; vi. William, born Janu- ary 4, 1760, married, March 27, 1781, Joanna Pond: vii. Gilbert, born August 18, 1764; viii. Zelotes. December 16, 1769. 8. Henry, February II, 1728-9. 9. William, February 21, 1730-I.

(V) Joseph Ray, son of Samuel (2) Ray. was born in Wrentham, April 30, 1723, and died there April 6, 1798. He was a farmer, and owned a farm and saw mill at West Wren- tham. He was also a carpenter by trade. He married. June 12, 1751, Sarah Grant, born 1737, died February 21, 1797. Children, born at Cumberland, Rhode Island: 1. Asa, May 16, 1752; died May 13, 1780; lived in Cum- berland. 2. Hannah, born June 4, 1754. 3. Joseph, October 2, 1757, mentioned below. 4. Oliver, June 10, 1760. 5. Sarah, September 23. 1763. 6. James, November 28, 1766. 7. Margaret, September 23, 1771.

(VI) Joseph (2), son of Joseph (1) Ray, was born in Cumberland, Rhode Island, Oc- tober 2, 1757, and died at West Wrentham, April 4, 1797. He was a farmer, and occu- pied a farm in West Wrentham, on the road from Providence near the West Wrentham cemetery He removed to Cumberland, Rhode Island, in 1795, sold land in Wrentham to Asa Aldrich and Enos Ray. He and his wife are buried in the West Wrentham cemetery. He married, February 8, 1781, Molly Bliss, born 1758, died January 4, 1815. Children, born at Cumberland : 1. Patience, February 17, 1782 ; died March 16, 1782. 2. Hepzibah, born September II, 1783. 3. Levi, June 22, 1785. 4. Samuel, June 6, 1787. 5. Child, born and died August 1, 1789. 6. Joseph, born July 24. 1791 ; mentioned below. 7. Benjamin, born September 25, 1793.

(VII) Joseph (3). son of Joseph (2) Ray, was born at Cumberland, July 24, 1791, and died at Franklin Massachusetts, December 8, 1847. He attended the district school and as- sisted his father on the farm. He learned the trade of stone mason. In 1813 he settled in South Mendon, now East Blackstone, Massa- chusetts, where he followed his trade. For some years he was engaged in building mills in the Blackstone valley, and established a rep- utation for thoroughly good work. In 1821 he formed a partnership with James Payne, his father-in-law, under the firm name of Payne & Ray. The firm was engaged in the manufacture of machinery for cotton and woolen mills, and supplied the Harris, Whitin and Farnum mills. which were the principal mills in the vicinity and others of importance

farther down the valley. He became an im- portant man in the town and served as select- man in 1824-25-26-27-28-29, and was on the committee to determine the school districts. He was a colonel in the state militia. He spent his last days at Unionville, Franklin, where he died. He married, in September, 1814, Lydia Payne, born at Smithfield, Rhode Island, July 25, 1796, died at Franklin, June 19, 1864, daughter of James and Lydia (Aldrich) Payne, of Smithfield Children, born at Men- don: I. Mary Bloss, June 30, 1816; died Sep- tember 13, 1819. 2. Lucius, February 8, 1819; died February 13, 1819. 3. James Paine, August 1, 1820, mentioned below. 4. Francis Baylies, May 15, 1823 ; see sketch. 5. Marion, September 26, 1828; died November 14, 1828. 6. Joseph Gordon, born October 4, 1831 : see sketch.

(VIII) James Paine, son of Joseph (3) Ray was born in South Mendon, August I, 1820, died August 17, 1894. He was educated in the public schools of Bellingham and Ux- bridge, Massachusetts, and at the Manual Labor school in Worcester. At the age of fifteen he taught the district school at North- bridge, to the complete satisfaction of the school committee, and not long afterward be- came clerk in a store, first in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and then in Upton, Massachu- setts. In 1836 he entered a cotton factory at South Mendon, remaining a year as a card- stripper. In 1837, with a capital of seven dol- lars, he hired two carding machines in the city mills, now in the town of Norfolk, with power to run them, and buying two hundred pounds of cotton waste, began the manufact- ure of cotton batting. He peddled out the product of his enterprise, and by the strictest economy and attention to business and a firm determination to succeed he was able after a year's experience to buy six carding ma- chines and increase his profits. In 1838 he bought a spinning mule, and during the winter manufactured cotton wicking. The panic of 1837, however, brought a reversal, which only the greatest perseverance and energy averted. He soon hired a new mill at Unionville, a part of Franklin, Massachusetts, owned by Joseph Whiting, and moved there in May, 1839, for the purpose of engaging more extensively in the manufacture of batting wicking and also of cotton twine. In 1844 he had accumulated about two thousand dollars, but the failure of the commission house in Boston through which sales were made caused a temporary embarrass- ment, which through the leniency of his cred-

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itors he was able to overcome. He liquidated the last of his liabilities in 1847. His lack of adequate capital only served to spur him to further efforts. In 1844 his brother, Frank Bailis Ray, became his partner, under the firm name of J. P. and F. B. Ray, and the new firm bought Makepeace Mill in Unionville, and car- ried on their business, with the addition of making bagging, until 1851, when the firm, after the admission of his brother, Joseph G. Ray, became Ray Brothers. In 1860 Frank B. Ray retired from the firm, which continued business under the name of J. P. & J. G. Ray. The firm of J. P. &. J. G. Ray bought in 1865 the mill in North Bellingham, which their father built, and manufactured satinets. They built also a mill in Franklin in 1870, to manu- facture shoddy. In 1872 they associated themselves with others and built a mill in Franklin for the manufacture of feltings. In 1874 J. P. and J. G. Ray bought an interest in the Franklin Felting Company and reorgan- ized it as the Franklin Woolen Company. In 1877 they built another mill in Franklin for the manufacture of fancy cassimeres, and the year previous they bought of the Putnam Man- u facturing Company of Putnam, Connecticut, a mill originally built by Hosea Ballou, of Woonsocket, and also bought the City Mills in what is now Norfolk, but was then Franklin. During the long and prosperous career of the firm, which included the Ray brothers in its membership, they have successfully manufact- ured batting, twine, wicking, bagging, and fin- ished cloths in cottons, satinets and fancy cassimeres in woolens.

Mr. Ray moved in 1871 to Franklin, having lived seven years or more in Woonsocket, dur- ing which time he served two years in the Rhode Island legislature. During his resi- ence in Franklin he was state senator two years ( 1880-81), and representative one year ( 1877-78), and for some years was chairman of the board of selectmen. In the latter capacity he served during the civil war, and was both efficient in his loyal service to the town and liberal towards the soldiers and those of their families needing aid. He was an active mem- ber of the Republican party and a trusted serv- ant of the Universalist church, to which he belonged. He was president of the Franklin National Bank, the removal of which to Franklin from Blackstone, with a change of name, he was instrumental in effecting. He was an incorporator and director in the Frank- lin Rubber Company ; president of the Putnam Manufacturing Company ; president of several

organizations of Woonsocket; and president of the Milford, Franklin & Providence rail- road, the construction of which was due to his efforts. He was also the projector and efficient promoter of the construction of the Rhode Island and Massachusetts railroad, and the Woonsocket & Pascag railroad. He was a member of Morning Star Lodge No. 13, F. and A. M .; Union Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M .; and Woonsocket Commandery, No. 24, K. T.

Mr. Ray was a good man, a loving husband, a wise father and a firm friend. Besides his numerous beneficiaries, only his best and most intimate friends knew of his large heart, his warm impulses and his cool, clear judgment. Like all strong natures fighting for a foothold in our earlier New England days, he had his marked peculiarities. As a result of the cir- cumstances of his youth, the habit of economy became a trait in his character, but no one ever appealed to him for help without receiv- ing careful attention and a just consideration, and help was often given. He shrank from ostentation, and many a barrel of flour, ton of coal, or the cancelling of a year's rent was given to a deserving family without a spoken word, only the warm shake of the hand accom- panying the gift. His own family scarcely knew of his many generous deeds. His ad- vice was sought by all classes for all had faith in his calm, clear judgment. To the last week of his life he was full of life, energy and am- bition. His birthdays at the old Hubbard Farm will long be remembered as days when he played games with the children, danced with the young people and entertained young and old with stories of his youth. He was fond of telling the story to illustrate his poverty at the time of his marriage that his bride made for him a white shirt with her own hands. He always felt that much of his success was due to the prudence of his wife, to her fore- sight and management of the household purse, and to her practical suggestions in the business perplexities, which he always talked over with her. They lived to celebrate their golden wedding, May 31, 1893, on which occasion an unbroken family circle of children and grand- children and hosts of friends greeted them with tokens of love and respect. He died in Franklin, August 17, 1894, and was buried on the twentieth. He married, May 31, 1843. Susan Knapp, born September, 1819, died 1896, daughter of Captain Alfred and Eleanor ( Hawes) Knapp. Children : 1. Edgar Knapp, mentioned below. 2. James Francis, see sketch. 3. Alfred, died an infant.

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(IX) Edgar Knapp, son of James Paine and Susan (Knapp) Ray, was born in Frank- lin, Massachusetts, July 17, 1844, and died May 30, 1905. He attended the public schools, supplemented by a course in the academy at South Woodstock, Vermont, and prepared for college. The breaking out of the civil war diverted him from a college course, and only the critical illness of his mother prevented his going to the front with the company that he had been instrumental in raising. Therefore he went back to his studies and took a com- mercial course in Boston, and at the age of nineteen entered the office of J. P. & J. G. Ray. He determined to learn the business from the foundation, and by 1870 he was admitted to the firm. He was treasurer of the Putnam Company, and vice-president and active man- ager of the mills in Woonsocket, and upon his shoulders the labor and responsibility of his father fell chiefly. He discharged his duties with sagacity, prudence and skill, and was never discouraged. The various mills which were the control of the Rays at one time were the Lyman, Bartlett and Ballou mills, manu- facturing sheetings at Woonsocket; the City Mills, in Norfolk, manufacturing feltings : the Franklin Mill, for cassimeres ; the North Bell- ingham Mill, for satinets ; the Unionville Mill, for twine, bagging, towelling, etc .; the Med- way Mill, manufacturing wadding, batting and buckram: and the mill of the Putnam Manu- facturing Company. In the course of time his interests were concentrated on other matters of business. He became early interested in railroads, and in co-operation with his father and uncle he built three roads that gave to Franklin, and in a large degree to Woonsocket, connecting south and west, great and increas- ing advantage. These roads were an introduc- tion to what proved to be the principal work of his life. The system of street railways radiating from Woonsocket have full scope for his ability from their small beginning to their practical completion at the close of his life. He began with the organization of the Woonsocket Street Railway Company, which he pushed in the face of public opposition. From the outset it was to be an electric road. and early in the autumn of 1886 what he be- lieved to be the first electric car in New Eng- land was run on the road. A trial trip had been made August Ist, his father's sixty-sixth birthday. He organized other companies until more than seventy miles were in operation under his general management. Long before the completion of his plans the electric motor

had been universally accepted, in spite of the general opposition at first. During these years his various enterprises received their share of attention, until in the last four or five years the condition of his health became serious. He suffered from a complication of diseases, in- duced chiefly from over work, until early in 1903 an injury to the right foot induced blood- poisoning, by which he was brought to the point of death. When told that the only hope of life was the amputation of the limb and that the chances were but one in a thousand of his surviving the operation, he simply said he would take the chance. The operation was successful, and his strong vitality restored him as resolute as ever to do such work as his crippled condition permitted. Warned by his physician that he could live but two or three years at the most, unless he spared himself, he deliberately chose the active life, and entered into all the details of his railroad construction, the greatest of his roads which he built. True to the prediction of the physician, he died at his home, Elm Farm, May 30, 1906. At the time of his death he was general manager and also president or treasurer of the four street railways comprising the Ray system ; a director and the heaviest individual stockholder in the Woonsocket Electric Machine and Power Company ; treasurer of the Putnam Manu- facturing Company, of Putnam, Connecticut ; president of the Franklin National Bank and the Citizens' National Bank, of Woonsocket, and president of the Elm Farm Milk Company, of Boston. He was a member of Morning Star Lodge, No. 13, of Free Masons, joining in 1866. December 17, 1866, he became a member of Union Chapter, No. 5. and May 28. 1867. of Woonsocket Commandery. No. 24. He was also a member of the Hope and Squan- tum clubs, of Providence. He served for four years as selectman of Franklin, but declined to accept the salary which went with the office. He was never selfseeking, and his strict hon- esty was a matter of comment. He even in- variably paid his fare like any other passenger, when riding on his own railroad lines. Al- though he had never known poverty, his tastes were not extravagant, and he was not afraid of work. His life was simple and genuine, and his friendships were strong and lasting. He made his home at Elm Farm, which was the Knapp homestead in Franklin, and his chief pleasure was the care and improvement of that fine estate. His hospitality was lavish, and he often said that his last year of life was the pleasantest, surrounded by his family on

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the beautiful farm. He was buried in the family lot at Franklin, and his headstone bears the appropriate inscription : "A man, with the courage of a lion and the faith of a child."

He married, December 23, 1874, Margaret Lydia Smith, of Fitchburg, daughter of Artemus R. and Ardelia (Fairbanks) Smith, of Ashburnham, and a descendant in the eighth generation from Jonathan and Grace Fair- banks who built the famous Fairbanks home in Dedham. Children: I. Eleanor Knapp, born August 22, 1877 ; graduate of Vassar College, '99 ; married, June 18, 1900, Edward C. Broen- niman, of New York, is a broker on the Pro- duce Exchange, New York City, and they have one child, Edgar Ray Broenniman, born July 4, 1901. 2. Joseph Gordon, mentioned below. Mrs. Ray is a prominent club woman, having been president for four years of the Woman's Club, in Franklin ; is secretary of Bunker Hill Chapter, D. A. R .; secretary of Boston Busi- ness Woman's League ; secretary of Fairbanks Family Association, in American, and secre- tary of Fairbanks Ladies' Auxiliary.

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Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume II, Part 82

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