Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume II, Part 85

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 85

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"Some Reasons Why Commercial Reciprocity is Impracticable," also "Objections to Reci- procity on Constitutional and Practical Grounds," also "The Tariff Revisionist, an Example of the Natures of his Demand" (1906), and "What are the Protected Indus- tries ?" (1908).

Mr. Whitman is a life member of the Amer- ican Academy of Political and Social Science, Boston Young Men's Christian Union, Massa- chusetts Horticultural Society, and the Na- tional Geographic Society; a member of the Arkwright Club, Bostonian Society, Bunker Hill Monument Association, Chamber of Com- merce, Commercial Club, Country Club, East- ern Yacht Club, Home Market Club, Middlesex Club, Massachusetts Club, Manufacturers Club ( Philadelphia ), New England Historic Genealogical Society, Republican Club of Mass- achusetts, Union Club, and the Brookline His- torical Society. It may be said, however, that Mr. Whitman's tastes are wholly domestic and his chief comfort and greatest happiness is found within his family circle at home. He is an honored and influential man in the com- munity at large, stands for the highest moral and business principles, and his own life is one of the best examples of both of them.

On January 19, 1865, William Whitman married Jane Dole Hallett, who was born in Boston, a descendant of distinguished loyalist families that left New York in 1783 at the close of the revolution and settled at St. John. New Brunswick. Children: 1. Mary Arnold, born Cambridge, November 7, 1865. 2. Re- becca Cutler, born Cambridge, November 6, 1867 ; died February 20, 1871. 3. Mabel Shives, born Cambridge, September 7, 1869. 4. Jane Hallett, born Andover, January 12, 1872. 5. William, Jr., born Andover, June 28, 1874. 6. Malcolm Douglass, born Andover, March 5, 1877. 7. Eben Esmond, born Andover, Oc- tober 28, 1880. 8. Hendricks Hallett, born Brookline, February 27, 1884.

BROOKS Considerable celebrity attaches to this name, both in England and in America. Joshua Brookes, born in England, 1761, was a cele- brated anatomist and surgeon; Charles S. Brooks, born 1816, was an English drama- tist of repute; Rev. Charles Brooks, born in Medford, Massachusetts, 1795, was a promi- nent Unitarian divine; Charles T. Brooks, born in Salem, Massachusetts, 1813, was a Unitarian minister and a poet ; Edward Brooks, D. D. born in New York, in 1831,

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Samuel L. Brooks,

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was an educator ; Phillips Brooks, D. D., born in 1835, was a celebrated clergyman, and Bishop of Massachusetts; Peter C. Brooks, of Boston, born in Medford, 1767, was a promi- nent merchant : David Brooks, electrician, born in Brookside, Connecticut, 1820, built the first commercial telegraph. Brook, or Brooke, as a surname, is taken from residence near a stream. Its mediaeval forms are Ate-Broc, Atte-Broc, Attenbroke, and so on, afterwards softened to A-Broke, and pluralized to Brooks and . Brookes. Brooker and Brookman are simple variations of the same name.

(I) Henry Brooks, says tradition, came from Cheshire, England, and settled in Wall- ingford, Connecticut, about 1660. From 1685 down to 1704, John and Henry Brooks, from whom the present town of Cheshire, Connecti- cut, received its name, were on the list of pro- prietors of Wallingford. In 1713 Henry Brooks's name continued on the list, but John's had disappeared, and it is supposed that he and his family removed to Fairfield county. Henry Brooks married Hannah Blackley, or Blakely. The town record contains the entry : "Henry Brooks and Hannah Blakely were married by me, Wm. Jones, Justice of the Peace, 21st Dec. 1676." Of this union were born Thomas, and other children.

(II) Thomas, eldest son of Henry and Hannah (Blakely) Brooks, was born in Cheshire, then a part of Wallingford, March 27, 1679. "Thomas Brooks and Martha Hotchkiss, married by John Alling, 25 Mar. 1702." Children : Stephen, Mary, Thomas, Enos, Cornelius, Martha, Mehitable, Benja- min. Henry, and Thankful.

(III) Thomas (2), second son of Thomas (I) and Martha (Hotchkiss) Brooks, was born in Cheshire, February 14, 1706. He married, July 6, 1727, Desire Bristol, died No- vember I3, 1748. Children : Deborah, Thomas, Joshua, David, Samuel, Desire, Jonathan, Isaac, Gideon.

(IV) Samuel, fourth son of Thomas (2) and Desire (Bristol) Brooks, was born in Cheshire, April 4, 1738, and married, January IO. 1760, Ruth Doolittle. Children : Reuben, Merub and Samuel.

(V) Reuben, son of Samuel and Ruth ( Doolittle ) Brooks, was born in Cheshire, Connecticut, October 19, 1763, and died in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, October 21, 1843, aged eighty years. He enlisted five times in the revolutionary army, serving in all thirty- four months. He first enlisted in September, 1778, a month before he was fifteen years old,

from Bristol, Connecticut, serving six months. Again in July, 1779, he enlisted, and served three months; March, 1781, eleven months ; April, 1782, eight months. He was engaged in one battle only, a skirmish at Morris's Point, Connecticut. He was but two months past twenty when the war and his last term of service ended. He also served in the war of 1812. He applied for a pension in 1832. which was granted April 6, 1833, with arrears from March 4, 1831. He was coroner and justice of the peace in Pittsfield for many years, and was one of the incorporators of the old "First Church." He married, at Pitts- field, Massachusetts, November 18, 1784. Rocksa Pritchard, who died in 1808, and in 1809 Esther Clark, who died in 1843. He was the father of twenty-three children: John, Polly, Rebekah, Rocksa, Reuben, Lyman, Lydia, Asahel, Manna, Lydia, Calvin, Otis, Henry, James L., Sophia, Sam- uel Doolittle, Horatio, Thomas, Sarah A., Reuben, Chauncey, and two sons who died in early infancy.

(VI) Dr. Samuel Doolittle Brooks, third son of Reuben and Esther (Clark) Brooks, was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, March 4. 1816, and died in Springfield, February 26, 1906, aged ninety years. He passed his boy- hood in Pittsfield, was educated at Wilton Academy, Wilton, Connecticut, and after- wards taught three years in a Pittsfield board- ing school. He studied medicine with Dr. H. N. Childs, and Dr. Lee, of Pittsfield, and then entered the Berkshire Medical College at Pittsfield, a leading medical school of that day, from which he was graduated in 1841. Soon afterward he went to Norwich, New York, and after a short time to Norwich, Massachusetts, now in the town of Hunting- ton, to take the practice of Dr. Caleb H. Stick- ney, who had recently died. He remained in that town until 1848, and in the meantime married Eliza Jane Stickney, the daughter of the doctor whose practice he had taken. From Norwich, Dr. Brooks went to South Hadley, where he practiced five years, both among the general public and the students of Mt. Holy- oke Seminary. While there he was the phy- sician of Mary Lyon, the founder of Mount Holyoke, and attended her during her last ill- ness. Governor Briggs appointed him justice of the peace, and in 1853 he was appointed by Governor Clifford, superintendent of the state almshouse at Monson a position which he held until 1858. This contained, when he started some four hundred inmates, about half of

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whom were children under fifteen. The work developed greatly under Dr. Brooks. At times it held over six hundred children. During the hard times of 1857 about four hun- dred men who were out of employment were shipped to the institution, swelling the total number there to twelve hundred. Dr. Brooks brought in an entirely new method, endeavor- ing to teach the inmates, especially the chil- dren, self respect and good conduct by kind- ness rather than force. He also believed in separating the children from vicious adults. He had not fully developed his work when in 1858 he was superseded by a new man ap- pointed by Governor Banks. In September of that year Dr. Brooks, whose work for children at Monson had aroused wide atten- tion, was called to become head of the great Juvenile Asylum in New York City. It was there that he gained his special reputation as an educator and executive. He remained there till 1871. The institution was badly run down when he took it, and the boys who were from the roughest classes in New York, were not under good discipline. He soon gained their confidence, however, and put the institution in most efficient operation. The equipment of the place was improved in every way, and one of the changes which was espe- cially effective was the installation of a gym- nasium -- the first in any public institution in the country after Amherst College. An agent was located in Illinois to secure homes for the boys on western farms. This plan proved very successful. In 1871 the health of Mrs. Brooks failed, and Dr. Brooks decided to re- tire from the Juvenile Asylum. For two years afterward he was at the head of the New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, being both superintendent and physician. At the end of this service of two years he retired and came back to Springfield. While in New York, aside from his regular work, Dr. Brooks had an experience for a short time as a sur- geon in the civil war, going down on an urgent call to Manassas Junction, and later to Nor- folk, Virginia. He had another exciting ex- perience during the draft riots in New York, when on one occasion he was compelled to join the rioters in order to escape assault him- self, as the class of people in the riot had a grudge against the Asylum because it har- bored colored children.

On returning to Springfield in 1873, Dr. Brooks again took up the general practice of medicine. In 1884, the year following the loss of his wife, he went to live with his son, with

whom he afterward made his home. He had a severe illness in 1891, after which he re- tired from active practice, but maintained a warm interest in all things, together with a remarkable degree of physical vigor and ac- tivity up to the time of his death, six days be- fore his ninetieth birthday. Dr. Brooks was a pioneer in the development of modern ideas as to the institutional care of children, and his work has been far reaching and of inestimable value.

Dr. Samuel D. Brooks married, in Norwich, Massachusetts, July 13, 1843, Eliza Jane, daughter of Dr. Caleb Howard and Sally (Graves) Stickney, who was born in Nor- wich, November 24, 1825, and died in Spring- field May 18, 1883. Children: Moses Law- ton, born July 1, 1845, died April 18, 1846; Lawton Stickney, mentioned below; Jane Eliza, born March 21, 1853, died February 25, 1855.

(VII) Dr. Lawton Stickney Brooks, sec- ond son of Dr. Samuel D. and Eliza J. (Stickney) Brooks, was born in Norwich, Massachusetts, August 20, 1847. He re- ceived his literary education at Mt. Washing- ton Collegiate Institute, New York, from which he was graduated June 30, 1865. He then entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons (Columbia), New York, from which he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1869, and soon after became assistant phy- sician in the New York Juvenile Asylum, `where he passed the following two years. Going to Europe in 1871, he spent six months in travel and professional research, and in No- vember of the same year engaged in the gen- eral practice of medicine at Holyoke, Massa- chusetts. In April, 1873, Dr. Brooks removed to Springfield to engage in practice with his father, the two being associated until 1891, when Dr. Samuel D. Brooks retired. Dr. Lawton S. Brooks is now one of the oldest practitioners in Springfield, where he has fol- lowed his profession for forty years. He is president of the medical staff of the Spring- field Hospital, where he is senior visiting sur- geon ; member of the American Medical As- sociation, the Massachusetts Medical Society, and the Springfield Academy of Medicine. He is a member of Christ Church, of which he was for some years a vestryman. Dr. Lawton S. Brooks married, in Providence, Rhode Island, May 22, 1878, Annie Laurie, born in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, August 23, 1857, daughter of Rev. Thomas and Ellen A. (Ellis) Laurie. (See Laurie. III). They

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have one child, Edith Laurie, born April 24, 1789. She graduated from Vassar College in 1901, and married, October 21, 1903, Har- court Wesson Bull, of Springfield, son of George J. and Sarah J. Wesson Bull. (See Wesson. )

LAURIE From the Latin word Lauren- tius we derive the name Laer- ence, from which are the fol- lowing diminutives and derivatives : Laurie, Lawrie, Larry, Larkin, Larking, Larkins, Lawes, Lawson, and Lawkin. Laurie and Lawrie are the forms found in North Britain. (I) Thomas Laurie was born in Scotland about 1760, and died July 21, 1825 He mar- ried Jean Inglis, who died February 2, 1825. (II) John, son of Thomas and Jean ( In- glis) Laurie, was born at Culter, Scotland, June 26, 1787. He resided later at Craigleith, Edinburgh, where several of his children were born. In 1830 he came to America and settled at Jacksonville, Illinois, where he purchased a large tract of land and engaged in farming. He died there October 21, 1863, aged seventy-six. He married, December 31, 1818, Jemima Kirk, born at Haddington, Scotland, March 16, 1794, died at Jacksonville, Illinois, January 2, 1864, aged seventy years, daughter of John Kirk, who was born in Scotland, and died at North Berwick, where he was town clerk for many years, December 21, 1833. He married, Oc- tober 5, 1780, Ann Anderson, of Scotland, who died December 3, 1809. Children of John and Jemima: Thomas, John Inglis, David, George, James Anderson and Ann J. (III) Rev. Dr. Thomas (2), son of John and Jemima (Kirk) Laurie, was born in Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland, May 19, 1821, and died of paralysis, at Providence, Rhode Island, October 10, 1897, in the sev- enty-seventh year of his age. He came to this country at the age of nine years with his parents, who settled at Jacksonville, Illinois. At the age of fourteen he entered Illinois Col- lege and was graduated there in 1838. He then went to Andover Theological Seminary, where he was graduated in 1841. He was or- dained as a foreign missionary by the Presby- tery of Illinois, at Jacksonville, Illinois, March 6. 1842, and after supplying a few months the Eliot Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts, entered the service of the American Board, laboring among the Mountain Nestorians until the death of Dr. Grant and the discontinu- ance of that mission in 1844, afterward in the Syrian Mission until 1846. Returning to the

United States on account of impaired health he supplied the Winthrop Church, Charles- town, Massachusetts, 1874; was pastor at South Hadley, Massachusetts, 1848-51, and at West Roxbury, Massachusetts, 1851-67. In 1867 he took a much needed rest, spending six months in Europe, and on his return supplied the church in Arlington, Massachusetts (dur- ing the absence of the pastor, Rev. D. R. Cady ), 1867-68, residing at Chelsea ; supplied the High Street Church, Providence, Rhode Island, 1868-69; was first pastor of the Pil- grim Church, Providence, 1869-85, and after- wards pastor emeritus until his death. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Williams College in 1865. He was cor- porate member of the American Board from 1875, and stated secretary of the Rhode Island Conference for twenty years from 1876. His published books, mostly relating to the mis- sionary cause, are works of permanent value : "Dr. Grant and the Mountain Nestorians," 1853, reprinted in Edinburgh; "Woman and Her Savior in Persia," 1863, reprinted in London under the title of "Morning on the Mountains :" "Glimpses of Christ in Holy Scripture," 1868; "Ely Volume, or Missions and Science," 1881; "Assyrian Echoes of the Word," 1894. In addition to these he pub- lished several memorial and historical dis- courses, and contributed many articles to the Missionary Herald, the Bibliotheca Sacra, and other standard reviews. Rev. James G. Vose, D. D., of Providence, in "A Fraternal Tribute to the Memory of Dr. Laurie," delivered in the Beneficent and Pilgrim Churches, thus speaks of him : "As a preacher he was solemn and de- vout. His doctrines were of the older the- ology, making much of the divine government, and extolling the blessedness and the necessity of hearty submission to God. His great cen- tral doctrine was the sovereignty of God, and it has sometimes been said of him that what- ever text he set out from, his discourse always gravitated toward this. His demeanor in the pulpit was always the same grave and solemn, as in the presence of eternal realities. It was the habit of the early times and the Scottish people among whom he had his birth. Life had always been to him a serious thing, and entering the ministry before he was twenty- one, he had less of the playtime of youth than young men of our day. In fact, he was a marked example, we might almost say, of a different age. *

* * Yet in the gravity of Dr. Laurie's demeanor there was nothing forced or presuming. His prayers were sol-

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emn and impressive, enriched by phrases from the Scriptures, breathing the spirit of com- munion with God and loving submission to His will. His great kindness of heart was manifest wherever he could be of service. * * But though so warmly devoted to the teachings of his youth, he never was in- tolerant to those of different opinions. If it could not be said that he was disposed to wel- come the advanced theories of the times, or to believe in improvements in theology, he kept a warm and affectionate heart for his brethren, and a cheerful hope in the future. His face was toward the future, and he had grand anticipations for the progress of Christ's kingdom. *

* * Blessed is that union in the kingdom of heaven of those ten- derly loved on earth, and of the great com- pany, who in this and other lands, enjoyed his friendship and listened to his preaching and received help from him in the Christian life." The Congregationalist said of him: "All Rhode Island shared something of his min- istry, for after retiring from the active pas- torate he went up and down among us strengthening the churches. No one was so regular as he in attendance upon councils and conferences. In the leisure of his latter years, until confined by illness, he enjoyed the de- lightful variety of frequent preaching excur- sions and profound studies at home. How thorough a scholar he was in Oriental lan- guages and in Bible study has high testimony from those best competent to judge. To the cause of missions he did great service by that elaborate compend, the Ely volume, which re- cords the indebtedness of science to missions. His love for the American Board was never cooled by partisan feeling, and though he deeply regretted the controversy, which he lived to see happily settled and almost for- gotten, he never withdrew his sympathy, nor his contributions to the Missionary Herald, nor his gifts to the work. A large part of his valuable library was sent by him to the mis- sionary rooms, during his illness, for reference or distribution to workers in foreign fields. Holding his own views of doctrine with firm- ness not likely to waver, he recognized an agreement that is above mere opinion. The fellowship of kindred minds was far dearer to him than forms of doctrine. His conserva- tism was that of natural disposition, and he sometimes spoke of it with a touch of humor. But below the appearance of inflexible stern- ness which some attributed to him there was the glow of genuine love to Christ which dif-

fused itself like precious ointment. He loved the company of his brethren, and those who were admitted to his sick chamber witnessed a beautiful exhibition of greatful affection toward his own household and of unfading interest in every church and pastor and the fellowship of all the people of God."

Dr. Laurie was married (first) July 21, 1842, to Martha Fletcher Osgood, of Chelsea, Massachusetts, daughter of John and Patty (Fletcher) Osgood, of Westford, Massachu- setts, a graduate of Ipswich Seminary, under Miss' Grant and Miss Lyon. She died in Mosul, Turkey, December 16, 1843. He married (second) May 25, 1848, Ellen Amanda Ellis, of Chelsea, Massachusetts, born in Marlow, New Hampshire, December 30, 1824, died in Providence, Rhode Island, March 2, 1896. Her parents were Francis Dana Ellis, born in Medfield, Massachusetts, September 3, 1795, and died in the same town, April 26, 1882; and Sally Fiske, daughter of Major Jonathan and Sally (Flagg) Fiske ( see Fiske, XV), born in Medfield, January 13, 1800, and died there August 23, 1878. They were married December 24, 1818. Her pa- ternal grandparents were Abner Ellis and Caroline Clark, the latter born in Medfield, April 29, 1770. They were married August 14, 1792. The children of Thomas and Ellen A. ( Ellis) Laurie are : Martha E., born in South Hadley, Massachusetts, August 12, 1850, wife of James O. Yatman, of Providence, Rhode Island; and Annie, born in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, August 23, 1857, who married in Providence, Rhode Island, May 22, 1878, Dr. Lawton S. Brooks, of Springfield, Massa- chusetts (see Brooks, VII).

The Fiskes in America are de-

FISKE scended from an ancient family of that name which for centuries and until a recent period had its seat and manorial lands in Laxfield, county of Suffolk, England. Members of the family in America for centuries have been prominent in private and public life as clergymen, lawyers, physi- cians, financiers, soldiers, merchants, teachers and professors in colleges, farmers, Philan- thropists and patriots. Rev. Perrin B. Fiske. of Lyndon, Vermont, has written of them :

"Ffische, Fisc, Fiske, Fisk (spell it either way)

Meant true knighthood, freedom, faith, good quali- ties that stay.

Brethren, let the ancient name mean just the same for aye.

'Forward every youth! to seek the highest good to- day!' "

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(I) Lord Symond Fiske, grandson of Dan- iel, was Lord of the Manor of Stadhaugh, parish of Laxfield, county of Suffolk, Eng- land, lived in the reign of Henry IV and VI ( 1399-1422). He married Susannah Smyth, and after her death he married Katherine Simon Fiske, of Laxfield, will dated December 22, 1463, proved at Norwich, Feb- ruary 26. 1463-64, died in February, 1464. He was survived by five children : William, Jaf- frey, John, Edmund and Margaret.

(II) William, eldest son of Simon Fiske, born at Stadhaugh, county of Suffolk, Eng- land, married Joann -, of Norfolk. He was of Stadhaugh and lived during the reign of Henry VI, Edward IV. Richard III and Henry VII. He died about 1504, was sur- vived by his wife, who died in 1505, and left seven children: William, Augustine, Simon, Robert, John. Margery and Margaret.

(III) Simon (1), fourth son of William and Joann (Lyme) Fiske, was in Laxfield, date unknown. He married Elizabeth

who died in Halesworth, June, 1558. In his will made July 10, 1536, he desired to be buried at the chancel of the Church of All Saints, in Laxfield. He died in that town in June. 1538, leaving (living or dead) ten children: Simon, William, Robert, Joan, Jef- frey. Gelyne, Agnes, Thomas, Elizabeth and John.

(IV) Simon (2), child of Simon (1) and Elizabeth Fiske, was born in Laxfield. The name of his wife and date of his marriage are not known. He died in 1505. His children were: Robert, John, George, Nicholas, Jeffrey, Jeremy, William, Richard, Joan, Gelyne and Agnes.

(V) Robert. eldest child of Simon (2) Fiske, was born in Stadhaugh, about 1525. He married Mrs. Sybil ( Gould ) Barber. For some time he was of the parish of St. James, South Elmham, England. Sybil, his wife, was in great danger in the time of the re- ligious persecution. 1553-58, as was her sister Isabelle, originally Gould, who was confined in the castle of Norwich, and escaped death only by the power of her brothers, who were men of great influence in the county. Robert Fiske fled from religious persecution in the days of Queen Mary to Geneva, but returned later and died in St. James in 1600. His sons were: William, Jeffrey, Thomas and Eleazer. The latter had no issue, but the progeny of the other three sons, in whole or in part, settled in New England. Besides these sons there was a daughter Elizabeth, who married Rob-

ert Bernard; their daughter married a Mr. Locke, and was the mother of the celebrated John Locke, the English philosopher.

(VI) William (2), eldest child of Robert and Sybil (Gould) Fiske, was born at Lax- field, in 1566. He married Ann Austye, daughter of Walter, of Fibbenham, Long Row, in Norfolk. After her death he married Alice He is described as of St. James in South Elmham, and it is said of him that he fled with his father from religious persecution. He died in 1623. Of the first wife Anna there were children: John, Nathan- iel, Eleazer, Eunice, Hannah and Esther (sometimes called Hester). The youngest child, Mary, seems to have been of the second wife, Alice.

(VII) Nathaniel, second son of William (2) and Anna (Anstye) Fiske, was born in South Elmham, and resided in Weybred, Eng- land. He is named in the wills of his father, uncle Eleazer, and cousin Eleazer. He mar- ried Alice (Henel) Leman, and they had Na- thaniel and Sarah.

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Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume II, Part 85

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