Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume IV, Part 8

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 886

USA > Massachusetts > Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume IV > Part 8

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).

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expedition to Fort William, Fort Henry and Crown Point, and in 1760 served eight months in the expedition to Canada. He married, February 14, 1728, (by Rev. Peter Raindals), Abigail, daughter of Henry and Lydia Chandler, of Enfield, who died in 1777. Children: 1. John, born August 16, 1728; died January 19, 1809. 2. Abigail, March I, 1730, died February, 1787. 3. Martha, Oc- tober 14, 1731. 4. Nehemiah, September 5, 1733; see forward. 5. Sarah, June 6, 1735, died December II, 1805. 6. Lydia, February 18, 1737. 7. Mehitable, April 6, 1739, died November 11, 1809. 8. Hannah, March 19, 1741, died 1809. 9-10. Simeon and Henry, born July 3, 1743. II. Ebenezer, July 16, 1745, died December 17, 1801.

(III) Nehemiah, second son of John and Abigail (Chandler) Rumrill, was born in En- field, as above, and died January 14, 1805, at Longmeadow, Massachusetts. He served in the revolutionary war in Captain David Burke's company, General Phineas Lyman's regiment, in the expedition against Fort Ti- conderoga in 1758; also seventeen days in Captain Jonathan Pettibone's company, in the taking of Fort Edward ; also in the reduc- tion of Fort Louis, at Oswego, and the cap- ture of Montreal in 1759. He married Alice, daughter of Nathaniel and Alice Parsons of Enfield. Alice Rumrill died November 18, 1804. Children : I. Penelope, born August 13, 1759. 2. Alice, November 27, 1761, died July 28, 1767. 3. Levi, born June 29, 1768. 4. Susannah, January 14, 1771, died Febru- ary 27, 1786. 5. Alexander, born August 18, 1773. 6. Lucy, February 13, 1776. 7. Ruth, December 21, 1778. 8. Margaret, April II, 1781.

(IV) Alexander, eighth child of Nehemiah and Alice ( Parsons) Rumrill, was born in Longmeadow, August 18, 1773. He was a farmer, and served in the war of 1812. He married. September 29, 1798, Margaret, daughter of Gad and Abiah Bliss of Spring- field. Children: Alexander and James Bliss (mentioned below ).

(V) James Bliss, second son of Alexander and Margaret ( Bliss) Rumrill, was born in Springfield, May 1, 1812, and died in New York city, April 7. 1885. Mr. Rumrill left Springfield in his youth to make his own way in the world, first at Providence, and then at New York, where his older brother Alexander was already established in business. Soon af- ter his settlement in New York he became as- sociated with Alfred G. Peckham in the man11-

facture of gold chains, and the firm of Peck- ham & Rumrill was widely known as the larg- est then engaged in this business in the coun- try. When Mr. Peckham retired the firm be- came and remained until Mr. Rumrill's own retirement, Arthur Rumrill & Co., the senior partner being William C. Arthur, a brother of T. S. Arthur, the well-known writer. They had factories both in New York and Spring- field, the one in the latter place being located for many years on Maple street, opposite Mr. Rumrill's house, and run by water from a pond that lay behind it. About 1870 the pond was filled up and a new factory was built on Morris street, which is now occupied by the Medlicott woolen company. In 1848 Mr. Rum- rill moved from New York to Springfield, and bought the old Dr. Peabody homestead on Ma- ple street, where he lived barring an occasional winter spent in New York. He was a director in the Pynchon, Chicopee and John Hancock national banks. He travelled extensively in Europe collecting art treasures and rare books. He was a great lover of art, and in his fre- quent trips abroad gathered a considerable col- lcction of art treasures. He was also a con- stant reader and fond of good books, and took much pride in his library. To Shakespeare he was particularly devoted, and for years always carried a copy of the great bard's works with him on his travels. He was a man of broad mind and Catholic tastes, and had a singularly genial and sunny nature, and a generous heart that could never cherish animosity or resent- ment of any kind. He had a passionate love for little folks, and of recent years has found unfailing delight in his grandchildren. He married, in 1834. Rebecca Pierce, of Provi- dence. Rhode Island, who died April 2, 1890. Mrs. Rumrill was prized as a kind hearted and generous woman, a leader in the Unitarian church, and a most agreeable member of socie- ty in every way. Their children were: James .A., (mentioned below) : Grace, married, by Rev. A. D. Mayo, September 17, 1874, to Charles P. Miller, of the New York bar. Both Mr. and Mrs. Miller died of typhoid pneumon- ia at Waterford, Connecticut, within a few hours of each other, Mr. Miller going first, and a double funeral was held at Springfield. He was forty-one and she thirty-eight.

Mr. Miller was born at Bay Ridge, Long Is- land. His father, who died when he was a young child. was an engineer of reputation and built one of the first experimental rail- ways in this country, at Charlestown, South Carolina. The son attended the Polytechnic

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Institute at Brooklyn, and would probably have followed in the footsteps of his father in the choice of a profession, but the breaking out of the war kindled his patriotism and he abandoned the pursuit he had partly entered upon, and at the age of seventeen obtained a commission as second lieutenant in the New York Volunteers. The life of a soldier in ac- tive service suited his energetic disposition so well that he endeavored to obtain a commis- sion in the regular army. He was met by the difficulty that to obtain it he must either aban- don the field and pursue the West Point course or enlist in the regular army as a private and take the chances of promotion. Most men, brought up as he had been, would have de- clined to subject themselves to the roughness and hardships of a common soldier's life. But throughout his career he never allowed feel- ings of personal pride or false shame to stand in the way of any laudable object he sought to attain. He resigned his commission and en- listed as a private in the United States regular army. His pluck and patriotism were re- warded in a few months by a commission as second lieutenant in the Seventh Infantry, where he remained in active service until the close of the war, when he was promoted to first lieutenant. In 1868 he was placed on the retired list. He subsequently returned to New York, and in 1870 commenced to study law in the office of A. P. Whitehead, and afterward with Martin & Smith. The following year he entered Columbia College Law School, at the same time acting as clerk to John M. Scrib- ner. He graduated in 1871 and was admitted to the bar. He was then about twenty-five years old, and excepting as mentioned, his ca- reer from the time he left school to enlist had not tended to prepare him for legal work.

In 1875 he was appointed an assistant to the corporation counsel by E. Delafield Smith, and remained in that office under Mr. Smith and his successor, William C. Whitney, until 1880, when he resigned and went into private prac- tice. From that time until his death his pro- gress was very rapid. He was in private prac- tice but seven years. Each year saw a steady progress and an increased clientage. Three years before his death he found his practice greater than he could cope with alone, and took into partnership Wallace MacFarlane. Before he died his practice was on as firm a basis as that of many a firm of high standing built up by the faithful efforts of generations of capable men. Only those intimately ac- quainted with Mr. Miller and who closely

watched his career, know the actual facts, and" can fully realize the extent of the practical success attained during this brief period, as- measured by the important and varied inter- ests intrusted to his charge. Those few years were those of greatest mental development. The scope of his mind seemed to expand in full proportion to the increased responsibilities thrust upon him. He was engaged during this period in many weighty private litigations to which the attention of the public was not es- pecially directed. He was also quite often be- fore the public. He rendered conspicuous ser- vices as counsel to the Roosevelt investigating committee and subsequently as counsel to the Gibbs committee. For the former he received due credit. For the latter his efforts were never appreciated. He first fell upon the trail of the Broadway railroad aldermanic scandal. The results of his exhaustive investigations were never made public as connected with him. The Gibbs committee would not proceed as he desired, and he therefore retired as counsel, but the senate committee of the following year and the district attorney's office were both in- debted to him for information of great value which did much to bring about the convictions which followed in the notorious bribery cases. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Miller were: Philip L., a graduate of Harvard; James R., who studied in Switzerland; is vice-president of the Chapin National Bank of Springfield ; Rebecca ; Mary and Grace Rumrill (twins), the latter of whom was drowned at Quogue, Long Island.

(VI) Colonel James A., only son of James Bliss and Rebecca (Pierce) Rumrill, was born in New York City. At twelve years of age he removed with his parents to Springfield. Mr. Rumrill fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, graduated from Harvard in 1859, and entered the law office of Chap- man & Chamberlain in Springfield, being a fellow-student with Messrs. Gideon Welles and T. M. Brown. After spending one year in the office and one year at the Cambridge Law School, he was admitted to the bar on examination early in 1861. Mr. Rumrill made corporation law a specialty and was first attorney of the old Western road, and then upon its consolidation with the Boston and Worcester in 1867, became solicitor of the Boston and Albany road. When Vice President Lincoln died, Mr. Rumrill was elected to fill the vacancy, and continued in that position until 1891, when on account of his health he was obliged to retire. At the

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time, one of the local papers said: "The re- tirement of Mr. Rumrill removes from the field of actual railroad work a man who for more than a quarter of a century has been connected with railroad affairs, and who has become a recognized leader therein. Gifted with good common sense, supplemented by a fine education and a thorough legal training, he was well equipped for the position he so ably filled." During the period of his con- nection with the railroad, Mr. Rumrill saw many changes and improvements, none of which interested him more deeply than the successful completion of the Main street arch and the new passenger station. It is well known that he had much to do with these great betterments, and it has been to him an especial pride as being essentially the work of his most intimate friend and classmate, the late H. H. Richardson. Colonel Rumrill was one of the negotiators in the effort to turn over the Connecticut River road to the Con- solidated, but the Boston & Maine finally cut the melon.

Until recently Mr. Rumrill was in the di- rectory of the Union Pacific, and was for- merly a director and general manager of the old Ware River road and the Pittsfield & North Adams. He was a director in the Chapin and Agawam national banks, the New Haven Steamboat Company and the Springfield Gas Light Company. He was also a trustee of the Church of the Unity, of the City Hospital, and vice-president of the City Library. He has always taken a great interest in this institution and has done much to increase its efficiency. In politics Mr. Rumrill was an old line Democrat of the stamp of Governor Gaston and President Cleveland, both of whom he greatly admired and whose friendship he enjoyed. Colonel Rumrill defined his own views when he de- clined the Democratic nomination for Con- gress in the Springfield district : "My family cares have increased unexpectedly", he said, "and my duty is plain ; I cannot think of en- tering political life for several years yet. It would be unjust to my family, myself and my constituents. I believe an office should be considered as exacting as any business trust, and if chosen, a man ought to be ready to spend his time in Washington. Politically," added Mr. Rumrill, "I call myself a Demo- crat, for I have voted with that party. I am in certain senses an independent, however, for I voted for Lincoln when he was renom- inated, and I refused to vote for Butler-I

should not vote for him if he was running for office again. I am heartily in sympathy with the administration, and am convinced that the Democrats are fighting for a real princi- ple. You may be assured that my decision not to be a candidate this year is positive and final." He served on Governor Gaston's staff as aide de camp with rank of colonel, and re- ceived the appointment from General W. B. Franklin as one of the judges at the Paris exposition. He was one of the original founders of the Springfield Club, a member of the Somerset and St. Botolph clubs of Boston; the University, Metropolitan and Harvard clubs of New York; a life member of the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts.

He was married, by Rev. Francis Tiffany, May 22, 1861, to Anna, daughter of Chester W. and Dorcas (Chapin) Chapin. Mrs. Dor- cas Chapin was a daughter of Colonel Abel Chapin, of Chicopee, and was from Japhet Chapin on her mother's side, and from Henry Chapin on the father's side-both sons of the original Deacon Samuel Chapin, so that she is a Chapin of the Chapins. Her husband was from Henry Chapin. Children of James A. and Anna Rumrill : 1. Rebecca, married Pro- fessor Louis H. Dow, of the faculty of Dart- mouth College. 2. Anna, married Edward C. Hammond; two children : Mary I. and James Rumrill. 3. Chester Chapin, born in Spring- field, February 29, 1876; graduated from Har- vard A. B., class of 1897, and was with Lee, Higginson & Co., of Boston, until his return to Springfield on account of his father's health.

DEVENS Philip Devens, immigrant an- cestor, settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he was in business as a shipwright. He married Abiel Children : 1. Philip, Jr., baptized in Christ Church, Charlestown, March 19, 1738- 9. others.

2. Richard, mentioned below. Perhaps

(II) Richard, son of Philip Devens, was born in 1721, probably not in this country, and it is not known where his parents lived before coming to Charlestown. He was a cooper by trade, and as early as 1743 was in business in Charlestown as cooper, gauger and packer. To use his own language, "out of extreme pover- ty" he "progressed through a mechanical avo- cation to the opulence of a highly prosperous merchant." He was one of the most influen- tial and wealthy merchants of his day, and was interested in many public enterprises of

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moment. He was a prominent stockholder in the Middlesex Canal Company. the Boston Bank, the South Boston Bridge, the Charles River Bridge, the Union Insurance Company. He died September 20, 1807, aged eighty-six years. His will was dated November 16, 1802; proved September 29. 1807. He owned a large amount of real estate, and his inventory amounted to $119,237, a sum relatively equiva- lent to a million at the present time. He owned half a pew in the old South Church and a pew in the Baptist Church. He made some interesting public bequests when such legacies were rare indeed. He gave eight shares of the United States Bank stock to the Baptist Church; ten shares each of the insur- ance company stock to the Baptist Educational Society, the Connecticut Mission Society, the Society for Propagating the Gospel, Dr. Em- mons' Missionary Society, and the Hampshire Missionary Society. He bequeathed his house and the income of four shares of the Charles River bridge stock and a hundred shares of the Union Bank stock to his wife; half of his Cornhill house to his daughter Mary Harris, and also four sixty-fourths of the Central Wharf Corporation : to his daughter Elizabeth his house on Newbury street, Boston, also two shares of bank stock and land in Trainingfield land, formerly her grandfather Townsend's ; to the children of his daughter Rachel Green two houses on Middle street, Boston, and a house near the Green Dragoon Tavern; to the heirs of his son David half the Cornhill house, etc .; to his son Richard, house he bought of Mr. Sweetser, and six shares of United States bank stock : to Deacon Miller a share of bridge stock and ten of insurance stock : to grandson D. Devens one-fourth of Long Wharf in Charlestown: to his grand- children the residue of his estate. His por- trait by Sargent is in the public library of Charlestown. Mr. Devens was an ensign in Captain Brigden's company in the French and Indian war in 1757: commissary-general of Massachusetts during the revolution, and member of the committee of safety and cor- respondence in Charlestown. He was living in Boston during the war.

He married (first) Mary Townsend, in Oc- tober, 1745 : she died December 27, 1778, aged fifty years and her gravestone is standing in the Granary burying ground, Boston. He married second (intention dated March 20, 1782) Elizabeth Harris April 14, 1782. She died August 5, 1807, aged eighty years. Chil- dren of first wife: I. Mary, born October 3,

1746: died October 23, 1749. 2. David, born December 29, 1747; mentioned below. 3. Richard, October 23, 1749. 4. Samuel, April 6, 1751. 5. Philip, born April 10, 1753; died November 19, 1753. 6. Philip, born Septem- ber 4, 1754 ; died September 23, 1755. 7. Mary, born April 18, 1756; married, 1776, Jonathan Harris. 8. Elizabeth, baptized January 15, 1758, buried March 6, 1759. 9. Elizabeth, baptized May 27, 1759. 10. Abigail, baptized March 8, 1761 ; married Jonathan Chapman. II. Rachel, baptized January 9, 1763 ; married James Green.

(III) David, son of Richard Devens, was born in Charlestown, December 29, 1747. He was a successful merchant. He married (intention dated January 13, 1772) Eliza- beth Goodwin; and she married (second) in 1796, Deacon Thomas Miller. He died of fever February 21, 1792, aged forty-five. Chil- dren, born at Charlestown : I. Elizabeth, May 2, 1773 ; died December 15, 1818. 2. Polly. born February 1, 1775. 3. David, January IO, 1777. 4. Samuel, March 24, 1779. 5. Mary, April 20, 1781. 6. Richard, September 2, 1784. 7. Nancy (twin), born October 15, 1786. 8. Mary, twin with Nancy ; died May 29, 1858. 9. Timothy, born October 4, 1788. 10. Charles, mentioned below.

(IV) Charles, son of David Devens, was born in Charlestown, March 7, 1791. He was educated there in the public schools. He was a prominent citizen, town clerk for a number of years, and of large and wholesome influ- ence in the community. He was a prosperous hardware merchant. He married, April 12, 1819, at Augusta, Maine, Mary, daughter of Arthur and Martha Lithgow. She was born at Winslow. Maine, December 5, 1797, and died at Greenfield, Massachusetts, October 5, 1848. He died at Roxbury, November 24, 1876. Children born in Charlestown: I. Gen- eral Charles, April 4, 1820 ; mentioned below. 2. Arthur Lithgow, April 26, 1821 ; mentioned below. 3. Mary, August 23, 1823. 4. Horace, May 5, 1826; died 1826.

(IV) General Charles Devens, son of Charles Devens, was born in Charlestown, April 4, 1820. He was a member of the Bos- ton Latin School, and graduated at Harvard College in 1838, having among his classmates James Russell Lowell and William W. Story. the noted sculptor. He studied at the Harvard Law School, receiving the degree of LL.B. in 1840. He continued the study of law in the office of Hubbard & Watts, Boston, and was admitted to the bar in 1844. He prac-

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ticed for some time at Northfield and later at Greenfield, and in 1848-9 was state senator from Franklin county. In 1849 President Taylor appointed him United States marshal of the District of Massachusetts, which office he held for four years. It was during this time that the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, and it became the duty of Devens to return to slavery one Sims, who had escaped from Georgia. He believed it was his duty to carry out the law, even if by so doing he was acting against his private views and feelings. Gen- eral Devens, however, made a great effort to secure the freedom of Sims, and raised money for his purchase but was unable to carry out his plan. Later he furnished the whole sum necessary to free Sims, but the condition of the country at the time rendered this aid un- necessary. General Devens removed to Wor- cester in 1854, and soon afterwards formed a partnership with George F. Hoar and J. Henry Hill, and did an extensive law busi- ness. In 1856 he was made city solicitor of Worcester, holding the office three years.

In April, 1861, when the call came for troops for the civil war, General Devens was trying a case in court. He at once asked for another lawyer to take charge of it, and of- fered his services in defence of the govern- ment. The Third Battalion of Rifles, com- posed mostly of Worcester men, chose Der- ens as major, and in a few days went to Fort McHenry, Maryland, where it was stationed for a short time. July 24, 1861, he was ap- pointed by Governor Andrew to the com- mand of the Fifteenth Regiment Massachu- setts Volunteers, and with it went into camp at Poolesville, Maryland, as a part of the Army of the Potomac. His regiment took part in the fight at Ball's Bluff, where he was distinguished for his courage and coolness under fire, and although wounded he con- ducted himself in such a manner as to receive high praise from General McClellan. Shortly after, Devens was made brigadier-general of volunteers, his brigade being part of the Fourth Army Corps under General Couch. With his command he was in the desperate fight near the Chickahominy Bridge, where he was again wounded. General Couch, in his report of the engagement, said of Der- ens: "He held his own firmly se- verely wounded he remained bravely on the field until the last gun was fired." In July, 1862, his division was assigned to the Sixth Corps, under General Franklin, and later 111- der General John Newton. In the movement

against Fredericksburg, in December, Dev- ens's command was in the advance, and also covered the retreat. The commanding offi- cer, in making his report, said: "My obliga- tions are due especially to Brigadier-General Charles Devens, who commanded the ad- vance and rear guard in crossing and re- crossing of the river." General Devens was later appointed to the command of a division in the Eleventh Corps, under General Han- cock, and took part in the disastrous battle of Chancellorsville, where he was severely wounded. At the battle of Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, he was disabled by rheumatism, but remained on duty during the fight, being car- ried about on a stretcher, but was obliged to leave his command the next day on account of illness. He was able, however, to return to take part in the great campaign of General Grant against Richmond. He was in com- mand of the Third Division of the Twenty- fourth Corps, and had the great honor of leading the first Federal troops into the capi- tal of the Confederacy, and was placed in command of the city after the surrender. Later he was for some time in command in South Carolina. He was mustered out of service in 1866.

Returning to Boston to resume the practice of his profession, he was soon after appointed by Governor Alexander H. Bullock to the bench of the superior court of Massachusetts, serv- ing in that capacity for about six years, when he was promoted to the bench of the supreme judicial court by Governor Washburn. For four years he remained on the bench; to the great satisfaction of the bar and of the com- munity generally. In 1877 he was offered a position in the cabinet of President Hayes, as attorney-general, which he was at first dis- posed to decline, but finally accepted, and re- tained the office till the close of the adminis- tration of Hayes. In 1877 Judge Devens re- ceived the degree of LL. D. from Harvard College, and at the same time honorary de- grees were confirmed upon President Hayes and Phillips Brooks. At the close of Presi- dent Haye's administration, Devens returned to Massachusetts, and was soon after re-ap- pointed to the bench of the supreme court of the state.

Eminent as General Devens had been in military life, he was still more so in civil life, and attained a high rank as a judge and a member of the bar. As an orator, too, he achieved distinction, standing in the front rank of the public speakers of his day. His

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oration on General Meade, before the Society of the Army of the Potomac, at New Haven, in 1873, and that at the dedication of the Sol- diers' Monument at Worcester, in 1874, were most eloquent and scholarly, and show that he was a man of genuine patriotic impulses. His brilliant address, June 17, 1875, on the occa- sion of the centennial anniversary of the bat- tle of Bunker Hill, will long be remembered by those privileged to have heard it, as marked by strong and felicitous language, most suitable for the occasion. Other orations worthy of mention were those on General Grant, at Worcester, in August, 1885, and, as president of Harvard College Alumni, on the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the college, both of them being unsurpassed in sentiment and in their courtly and polished delivery. Mention should also be made of the very graphic and appropriate ad- dress made to his comrades on the battlefield at Gettysburg in June, 1886, on the occasion of the dedication of the monument to the Fifteenth Massachusetts Regiment. Judge Devens was always a gentleman, treating all with whom he came in contact with courtesy and in such a manner as to command their re- spect. He was especially considerate of the men under his command, and while in the field was often sending not only words of friend- ship but material aid to comrades in arms whom he thought in need. To his intimate friends he was always most cordial, kind and thoughtful, and they felt sure that the friend- ship they so much prized was steadfast and sincere.

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Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume IV, Part 8

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848- Publication date: 1910 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 886

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 886