Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume III, Part 38

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 986

USA > Massachusetts > Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume III > Part 38

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).

"The baptismal name Philip,

PHELPS like other scripture designa- tions, was introduced at the Norman conquest of England. In succeeding centuries it became the parent of several others such as Philips, Phillips, Phillipps,

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Philipson. Philp, Philps, Phelp, Phelps, Phipp, Phipps, Phipson, Phippen, Phillot, Philpott, Philpotts, Philcox, Phillippo, Phillopoon, Fil- kin, Philippe, etc. It is probable, however, that some of these forms, though derived from Philip, originally have come to us in later times from continental nations," says Lower. In America the name of Phelps is one of dis- tinction. Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps, born in Connecticut, in 1793, was a noted teacher and educational writer. Austin Phelps, D. D., born 1821, attained distinction as a writer and teacher. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, born in Massachusetts, 1815, was a writer of promi- nence. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, daughter of the foregoing, born in 1844, has written for the English-speaking people of all countries. John S. Phelps, born in Massachusetts in 1814, was a congressman from Missouri, and gov- ernor of Arkansas. John W. Phelps, born in Vermont, in 1813, was a general in the civil war, Walter W. Phelps, born 1839, was a well- known congressman.

(I) Jeremiah Phelps was born in New Jer- sey, but the precise time and locality of his birth are not known to his descendants. He enlisted in Washington's army, when it was retreating through New Jersey, in the darkest period of the revolution, and was assigned to General Putnam's division, and served through the remainder of the war. He was of a cour- ageous and daring nature and had a great admiration for "Old Put," as he affectionately called General Putnam, and some time after the war was over he made a trip on horseback through what was then almost a wilderness to see his old commander, who was living in what is now Pomfret, Connecticut. Pleased to be near the general and liking the country, he settled there and became a farmer. In the early part of the last century, he had a con- tract to build a turnpike from Worcester, Massachusetts, to Boston. Worcester was then a small village. He had gangs of men a few miles apart at work all along the line. One day he set out to pay off his men. In those days the means of locomotion were not what they are now, and riding on horseback was the best and quickest way of getting about. He went to Worcester and paid off the men there, and started towards Boston for the next gang ; but he never reached it, and disappeared completely from the sight and knowledge of all who knew him, and has never been seen or heard of from that day to this. He was in no financial trouble that was known to anyone. His payment of a large part of his money iii -- 30

before disappearing negatives the idea of his having absconded with the remainder. Many believed that he was murdered for his money, as it was known that he had a large sum about him. Shortly after his disappearance, his wife, by the death of her brother, came into posses- sion of about $5.000, which enabled her to bring up her family of four children. Jere- miah Phelps married Mehitable Holt, of Hampton, Connecticut, and they had three sons and a daughter. One of the sons, Ziba, the eldest, died at the age of eigthy- four. Josiah became a doctor and settled in Rochester, Vermont, where he practiced medicine over forty years, when on account of his wife's health, he removed to Manhat- tan, then on the extreme frontier of Kansas. There he died at the age of eighty-six. John, the youngest son, is next mentioned.

(II) John, youngest child of Jeremiah and Mehitable (Holt) Phelps, was born in Pom- fret, Connecticut. Dr. Josiah Phelps settled in the almost unbroken wilderness of Vermont and thither John Phelps followed him with the intention of clearing a farm and making a home for his family. Trees had to be felled and land broken up, and he had to do most of the work himself. He was not as robust as either of his brothers, the task he had under- taken was too much for his strength, his health gave way, his wife became consumptive, and after some years of hard struggle, he had to give up the attempt to live in the new country, and returned to Connecticut. He opened a country store in the village of Willington, which he conducted until his death. His health would not permit him to do laborious work. but that kind of work was not required in his business, and he made a good living as a merchant. After the death of John Phelps, his family broke up. The wife and daughter went to live with some relatives in Hartford. The two older sons married and settled in Willington. John Phelps had by his first wife (name not known) three sons: Lucerne, Josiah and William. After her death he married (second) Amoretta Andrews, by whom he had one child, Mary J.

(III) William, son of John Phelps, was born in Tolland, Connecticut, September 4, 1831, and was educated in the public schools. He was engaged in various kinds of business at different times. At the time of his marriage he was the proprietor of a shoe store at Green- point, Long Island. Later he was in the grocery business in Hartford, Connecticut, two or three years, and then engaged in dec-

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orative painting in Springfield, Massachusetts, continuing up to 1872. He enlisted, August 30, 1862, at Hartford, and became a member of Company E, Twenty-second Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and served a nine months term, being discharged on account of expira- tion of time for which enlistment was made September 19, 1862; he was appointed a cor- poral. His military service was rendered in the vicinity of Washington where his regi- ment was one of the force guarding that city. He was married June 21, 1854, by Rev. Hervey Smith, to Ellen Tuttle Bangs (see Bangs VIII), born in Springfield, Massachusetts, March 26, 1828. Three children were born of this marriage: I. Willis B., born in Bos- ton, July 24, 1858, died February 20, 1882. 2. John B., mentioned below. 3. Genevieve B., September 27, 1866, at Hanover (now Meri- den), Connecticut, attended the Springfield public school, then attended the New England Conservatory of Music three years and studied music in Berlin, Germany, two years.

(IV) John Bangs, second son of William and Ellen T. (Bangs) Phelps, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, March 15, 1861. He attended the public schools at Greenfield, Massachusetts, and then studied at the academy at West Brattleboro, Vermont, three years. In 1877 he went to Springfield, Massa- chusetts, where he was a clerk in a clothing store. From that employ he went to the Chapin Paper and Pulp Company and was employed there two or three years. At the age of twenty-one he went into the service of the Agawam National Bank. He next entered the employ of the Hampden Savings Bank, where he was made teller February 17, 1884; assistant treasurer February 13, 1903; and treasurer August 14, 1906, and has since filled the last named position. He is a director in the Chapin National Bank. In politics he is a Republican; he attends the Unitarian church. He is a member of the Savings Bank, Treasurer's Club, the Economic and the Win- throp clubs. Mr. Phelps is a man whose judgment is much respected in banking circles. He has a handsome home on Maplewood Ter- racc, where he resides with his mother and sister.

(The Bangs Line).

The origin of the name Bangs is doubtful, one authority claiming that it is a corruption of Banks, and that that name is from Banc, near Honfleur, in France. Another suggests that it is from bains, the French for bath. Captain Jonathan, the son of the immigrant,

used in 1680 the same crest as that used by Sir John Banks, of London, in the time of the Stuarts, viz: A boor's head, full faced, couped at the shoulders proper, on the head a cap of maintenance gules turned up ermine adorned with a crescent, issuant therefrom a fleur-de- lis or. History states that many Norman- English families settled in the Isle of Man when it came under English dominion at the beginning of the fourteenth century. The tra- dition has been preserved in more than one of the branches of the Bangs family in America that the immigrant ancestor of them all came from the Isle of Man.

(I) Edward Bangs, immigrant, was born in England in 1592, and died in Eastham, Massachusetts, in 1678, aged eighty-six years. Tradition in the Bangs family has it that he was a native or inhabitant of Chichester, a city in the county of Sussex, England; but there are those in the family that contend that he was either born in the Isle of Man or his immediate family was located there. He came to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in the "Anne," which arrived there in July, 1623. From the "History and Genealogy of the Bangs Family in America" by Dean Dudley, we obtain much that follows. Edward Bangs had four acres of land for a garden plot on the other side of Eel river in 1623. In the year 1627, in the division of the cows and goats, he drew the big line-back cow brought over in the "Anne." The same year he received a second allotment of land consisting of twenty acres. He was one of the surveyors appointed to lay out the lots, and in this business he was associated with William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Howland, Francis Cook and Joshua Pratt. He was made freeman in 1633 and his taxes that year were twelve shillings. In 1634-35-36, he was one of the assessors. Octo- ber, 1636, he was one of the jury to try "actions and abuses." In 1637 he was one of the grand inquest or grand jury, sworn to inquire of all the abuses of the colony. In 1637 he was appointed with the governor and assistants and Mr. Stephen Hopkins, as a committec to divide the meadow lands. In 1638 he was again a member of the grand inquest, as he was in 1641 and 1646. In 1639 he was appointed by the court as an arbitrator between Samuel Gorton and Thomas Clark. He was sometimes overseer of the guard against the Indians. In 1641-42 he contributed one-sixteenth part of the money to build a bark of forty or fifty tons burden, to cost two hundred pounds ; and in consideration he was

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granted by the Plymouth court eighty acres of land. He was a shipwright by trade and is said to have had charge of the construction of the vessel. In 1645 he was a "Freeman of Mawsett," or Eastham, the oldest town on Cape Cod. His name is on the list of those able to bear arms in 1643. About 1650 he was deputy to the Old Colony court. In 1652 he was one of the jurors to lay out a con- venient way from Sandwich into Plymouth, and the same year was one of the deputies of Eastham for Plymouth Colony court. He was the town treasurer of Eastham from 1646 to 1665, and a selectman two years, about 1665. In 1657 he was licensed as a merchant at Eastham, and was for many years quite ex- tensively engaged in trade. In 1659, the mili- tary being required to arm and equip for ser- vice, and three "troop horse" being the pro- portion of Eastham, Governor Thomas Prence and Edward Bangs each agreed to furnish a man and horse, at his own expense, for two years. His son Jonathan, then nineteen years of age,, was ensign of the foot company. Edward Bangs married Lydia, a daughter of Robert Hicks, of Southwark, who with his wife and children came over in the "Anne." Lydia Hicks must have died before 1651. He married ( second) Rebecca, surname unknown. By the first wife he had one child, John. The children of the second wife were: Joshua, Rebecca, Sarah, Jonathan, Lydia, Hannah, Bethia, Apphia and Mercy.

(II) Captain Jonathan, second son of Edward and Rebecca Bangs, was born at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1640, and died at Harwich, now Brewster, November 9, 1728. In dividing his lands by will, Edward Bangs gave Captain Jonathan his portion principally in Satucket, now the town of Brewster, and there he settled probably about 1694. He was a selectman of Eastham three years, and in 1674-76-82-83-87-88 he was deputy to the Old Colony court and in 1692 was representative tc the general court at Boston. He was also sometimes town treasurer of Eastham. He was a military man and captain in the militia. He was always called "Captain," while a ship master was not often so designated. For him many other appellations were preferred to that of captain, such as "Mr." or "Deacon" or "Squire". In 1680, in an agreement between Mr. John Freeman Sr., of the one part and various others of the other part, about bound- aries of their lands lying at "Sautuckett" and places adjacent, and the titles to those lands, there are the signatures and seals of all the

parties. Jonathan Bangs used the same seal described at the beginning of this article. He married (first) July 16, 1664, Mary Mayo, daughter of Captain Samuel and Thomasine (Lumpkin) Mayo. Captain Mayo, mariner, was born about 1625, and settled in Boston about 1658, and died in 1663-64. His wife Thomasine was born 1626, died June 16, 1709. Captain Samuel Mayo was a son of Rev. John, of Boston and Barnstable, and at last of Yar- mouth. Mary Mayo was born at Barnstable, February 3, 1650, died January 26, 1711, at Brewster. Jonathan Bangs married (second) Sarah , who died June, 1719, aged sev- enty-eight ; (third) 1720, Mrs. Ruth Young, of Eastham, daughter of Daniel Cole, of East- ham. The twelve children of Jonathan Bangs, all by wife Mary Mayo, were: Edward, Re- becca, Jonathan (died young) ; Jonathan, Mary, Hannah, Tamson or Thomasine, Samuel, Mercie, Elizabeth, Sarah and Lydia.

(III) Captain Edward (2), eldest son of Captain Jonathan and Mary (Mayo) Bangs, was born at Eastham, September 30, 1665, died at Eastham, May 22, 1746. He was a resident of Satucket until after 1739, when he removed to Eastham, where he spent the remainder of his life. He inherited a double portion of his father's estate-a common thing for the eldest son in those days-and lived on the homestead in Brewster. He was an active business man, was a merchant, innholder and a tanner. His will was dated April 14, 1746, and the inventory of his estate amounted to ninety-seven pounds, ten shillings, and his debts to six pounds, ten shillings, six pence. He married (first) Ruth Allen, who died June 22, 1738, aged sixty-eight years. He married (second) January 16, 1739, Mrs. Ruth Mayo, of Eastham, who died August 17, 1747. The children, all by wife Ruth Allen were : Joshua, Mary, Edward, Ruth, Jonathan, Ebenezer and Rebecca.

(IV) Dr. Jonathan (2), third son of Cap- tain Edward (2) and Ruth ( Allen) Bangs, was baptized May 23, 1707, died December 7, 1745. His inventory dated March 7, 1745, mentions the amount of his estate as five hun- dred and thirty-six pounds, fifteen shillings, seven pence: debts forty pounds. His doc- tor's bill was five pounds, ten shillings ; funeral charges eight pounds, six shillings. His widow was administratrix of his estate, and Samuel Howes, of Yarmouth, guardian of his only child. His gravestone is yet preserved at Brewster with its inscription. Dr. Bangs married, January 4, 1733, Phebe, daughter of

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Stephen Hopkins, and widow of Samuel Bangs Jr. Her father, Stephen, was a son of Stephen, a grandson of Giles, and a great- grandson of Deacon Stephen Hopkins, a "Mayflower" Pilgrim. The only child of Dr. Jonathan and Phebe was a son Allen, next mentioned.

(V) Alien, son of Dr. Jonathan (2) and Phebe (Hopkins) (Bangs.) Bangs, was born at Satucket, now Brewster, March 23, 1734. He appears to have been the only child of his father. He was a farmer and was drowned while boating hay from Brewster Marshes, September 14, 1793. His homestead at South Dennis is still occupied by his descendants. He was a private in Captain Jonathan Crowell's company at the Lexington alarm of the revolution. He was also in Captain John Nickerson's company, Colonel Nathaniel Freeman's regiment, and marched on an alarm to Dartmouth and Falmouth, Septem- ber, 1778, and did other service. Allen Bangs married Rebecca Howes, of Yarmouth, born there April 17, 1732, died at South Dennis, Sep- tember 9, 1793. Both husband and wife seem to have been buried near their homestead the same month and year. She was the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth ( Paddock) Howes. Joseph Howes was a son of Samuel, son of Jeremiah and Sarah ( Preuce ) Howes the lat- ter a daughter of Governor Thomas Preuce. Jeremiah was a son of the Pilgrim, Thomas Howes. The children of Allen and Rebecca were: Jonathan (died young), Joseph, Phoebe, Jonathan, Zenas, Allen ( died young). and Allen.

(VI) Deacon Joseph, second son of Allen and Rebecca ( Howes) Bangs, was born at Yarmouth, July 5, 1757, died at Hawley, June 30, 1809. He was a private in Captain Jona- than Crowell's company from Yarmouth, inarching at the Lexington alarm, April 19, 1775. He was also on the roll of Captain Joshua Gray's company, July 8, 1775, three months, twenty-three days; also two months and five days, to December 31, 1775, are credited to him. He married, at Yarmouth, December 17, 1778, Desire Sears, born there Angust 24, 1760. Her Sears ancestors were : Captain Nathaniel ( father ), Samuel, Josiah, Silas, and Richard (the immigrant). She drew a pension on account of the service of her husband, Joseph Bangs, in the revolution- arv war. Children: Phebe, Rebecca, Joseph, Desire, Sarah, Mary, Jonathan, Sabra, Olive, Washington and Freeman.

(VII) Joseph (2), eldest son of Joseph

(I) and Desire (Sears) Bangs, was born at J lawley, December 10, 1783, died at Spring- field, September 27, 1839. "He was sent to Springfield when a boy of sixteen, full of energy, which helps to make a successful business man. He remembered the struggle at the home of his youth, among the rough hills where his father's large family of chil- dren were reared. The day he became twenty- one years of age, he cleared his father's farm from incumbrance and carried the deed to his father, and prepared a way for his three brothers to go to Springfield and engage in a good business. His energy and uprightness in various kinds of mercantile affairs gave him, for those days, a handsome estate, although his heart and hand were ever open to the poor and needy. He was a perfectly hon- est man, of noble sentiments and warm feel- ings and deserved much gratitude and praise." He married ( first) March 23, 1809, Mary Warner, of Springfield, born January II, 1786, died May 24, 1819: (second) September 13, 1820, julia Tuttle, born May 2, 1797, died August 17, 1884, at Springfield. She was a daughter of Caleb Tuttle, of Hartford, Con- necticut. Children by wife Mary Warner : Josiah Dennis, George, Joseph, Mary and Frederick ; by wife Julia Tuttle: Julia How- ard. Ella Louise, Ellen Tuttle, Maria Sears, Hannah Lincoln and Amelia Dillingham.

(VIII) Ellen Tuttle, third daughter of Joseph (2) and Julia (Tuttle) Bangs, was born in Springfield, March 26, 1828, and mar- ried. at Chicopee, June 21, 1854, William Phelps, of Tolland, Connecticut ( see Phelps III), and resides in Springfield.

DAVIS Joseph Davis, born in London- derry, Ireland, about 1760, came of respectable Scotch ances-

try. The Davis family came to the north of Ireland with the early Scotch and English Protestants early in the seventeenth century and took part in the defense of Londonderry during the siege in 1689. The name has been well known in Londonderry from that time to the present. He married Betty McCauley, who died at an advanced age in Londonderry ; he died there at the age of sixty-eight years.

( 11) William, son of Joseph Davis, was born in Londonderry, Ireland, in 1800. He learned his father's trade, blacksmith. In 1826 he married Jenny Mallory, born in London- derry in 1804, of Scotch ancestry like her husband. Her ancestors also came to the north of Ireland early in the seventeenth cen-

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tury. They were good old Covenanters. In 1836 William Davis with his wife and chil- dren left his native land and took passage for America on a sailing vessel. After a tedious voyage, lasting many weeks, he settled in Mid- dle Simonds, Carleton county, New Bruns- wick, and followed his trade for many years in that town, becoming a well known and pros- perous citizen. He and his wife were brought up in the Presbyterian church, but upon mov- ing to New Brunswick, they joined the Advent church, then the prevailing religion of that section, and they continued loyal members of the Advent church to the end of their lives. He died in 1887. His wife, Jenny, was born in Ireland, September 27, 1804, and died in Middle Simonds in March, 1892. Children : r. William, born July 1, 1827. 2. Mary, 1830, died of cholera during the epidemic of 1851. 3. Betsey, December 24, 1833. 4. Joseph, July 27, 1835. 5. Jane, born in Middle Simonds, 1837. married Stephen G. Shaw, a descendent of Wendell Phillips; they reside on a farm in Carleton county, New Bruns- wick. 6. Hannah, July 4, 1839, married David Trecartin. a carpenter, residing in Melrose, Massachusetts. 7. George H., May 4, 1841, mentioned below. 8. Emily, November 4, 1843. married James Christian, of Carleton county. of Welsh ancestry ; they are living on a farm in this section of the province. 9. Nancy, March, 1845. married Alvah Dobel, a soldier in the Union army during the civil war, settled in Carleton county after the war and his wife died there. 10. Stuart, March, 1847, married and now a resident of East Cambridge.

( III) George H., son of William Davis, was bern in Middle Simonds, May 4, 1841. Hc attended school in his native place, and worked on his father's farm during his youth. He also learned the trade of carpenter. He was skillful with tools of all kinds, however, and though he came to Boston to follow his trade, he soon afterward entered the employ of the Whittier Machine Company, of Boston. He held a responsible position with this concern for fifteen years, then he engaged in business on his own account, manufacturing auto- matic gates for passenger elevators in a factory at 100 Utica street, Boston. His business was prosperous and he con- tinued it until the time of his death with much success. He died at his home in Roslindale, West Roxbury, May 21, 1899. He was a thoroughly capable business man as well as an exceptionally skillful craftsman. He

was an active and devout member of the Ad- vent church. He was kindly and charitable to the extent of his means. He married Anna (Campbell) Woodburn, widow of William Woodburn. She comes of an ancient and dis- tinguished Scotch family. When she was a very young child, her father went toAustralia on business and was never heard from. Her mother, Elizabeth (Limerick ) Campbell, went to live with her parents in Londonderry, Ire- land, and in 184I came to America, making her home in Middle Simonds on the river St. Johns. She married (first) in Christ Church, Salem street, Boston, December 8, 1854, Will- iam Woodburn, who was born in Londonderry county. Ireland, came with his parents to Carleton county, New Brunswick, learned the trade of baker, removed to Boston, Massa- chusetts, after his marriage, and followed the business of teamster until his death, August 15, 1859. Mrs. Davis resides at Roslindale and has preserved her health and faculties to a wonderful degree. Children of William and Anna (Campbell) Woodburn : I. Robert John Woodburn, died October 6, 1859, aged two years. 2. Mary Elizabeth Woodburn, born February 25, 1859, married John L. S. Roberts, a successful patent attorney of Bos- ton. Children of George H. and Anna ( Camp- bell) ( Woodburn) Davis: I. Isabella Stuart, born in Boston, September 19, 1865, married J. Hollister Currie, who after the death of his father-in-law, George H. Davis, succeeded to the management of the business at 100 Utica street, Boston, and has conducted it very suc- cessfully ; they reside in Roslindale and have one child, Inez May Currie, born February 2, 1892. student in the Boston Latin school. 2. William Wallace, mentioned below. 3. George H., December 30, 1869, an employee in Met- ropolitan Coal Company ; married Ann Isabel Johnson ; child, Elizabeth Johnson; resides in Roslindale. 4. Anna Florence, died in in- fancy. 5. Charles Joseph, June 29. 1873, die 1 January 24, 1909; he was a successful news- dealer in Dedham, Massachusetts: married Margaret L. Swords.

(IV) William Wallace, son of George H. Davis, was born May 17, 1867. He was edu- cated in the public schools, and is a successful and prosperous dealer in stationery, magazines, newspapers, etc., at Roslindale. He is active, energetic and prosperous. In politics he is a Republican. He married, February 22, 1898, Evelyn Davis, born in Middle Simonds, Feb- ruary 24, 1866, daughter of Joseph Davis (3) and granddaughter of William Davis (2).

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( See below). Children: 1. Virginia Kath- erine, born December 20, 1904. 2. Richard Wallace, September 27, 1908.

Joseph Davis, son of William Davis (2), and father of Mrs. W. W. Davis, was born in Londonderry, Ireland, July 25, 1835. He came to New Brunswick, Canada, with his parents in 1836 and settled in Carleton county. He married there in 1858 Lucy Crouse, born at St. Mary's New Brunswick, July, 1838, died at Middle Simonds in 1875. He died at Middle Simonds, December 9, 1906. He and his wife were faithful members of the Advent church for many years. Children: 1. Mary, born September 9, 1858, married Rainsford Gray, a farmer, residing in Carleton county. 2. Elizabeth (twin), March 19, 1861, married Albert Robertson, now of Grand Falls, New Brunswick. 3. Ann (twin), March 19, 1861, lives at Arlington, Massachusetts. 4. Emma, 1864, died aged nine years. 5. Child, died in infancy. 6. Evelyn, February 24, 1866, mar- ried William Wallace (4), mentioned above. 7. Melinda, December 28, 1868, married James C. Gerow, a restaurant-keeper at Houlton, Maine. 8. Orin Beecher, April 25, 1872, mar- ried Eliza Frazer ; resides at Grand Falls, New Brunswick; he is a lumber dealer and manu- facturer of that place.

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Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume III, Part 38

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848- Publication date: 1910 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 986

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 986