Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume IV, Part 83

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 83

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 Shattuck Line).

(II) John, eldest son and third child of William (q. v.) and Susanna Shattuck, was born in Watertown, February II, 1647, and iv-49

according to the records of that town "was drowned as he was passing over Charlestown ferry, September 14, 1675," aged twenty-eight years. He had lands granted to him in Groton in 1664, but it does not appear that he was an inhabitant of that town for any length of time, if at all. He was a carpenter, and resided principally in the Middle District-the present village of Watertown-where he was em- ployed by the town in 1669 and subsequently to keep the town mill, then situated near the present bridge leading to Newton Corner. In 1675, the year of the outbreak of King Philip's war, John Shattuck was appointed sergeant in Captain Richard Beer's company, which pro- ceeded to Hadley. Hearing that Squawk- eague, now Northfield, had been attacked, they marched to its relief September 4, 1675, and while on their route were ambushed by a large force of Indians and twenty of the thirty- six men of the company were killed. Ser- geant Shattuck was one of the sixteen who escaped, and was immediately dispatched as a messenger to the governor of the colony to announce the result of the expedition. Sep- tember 14, ten days after the battle, he was drowned as above stated. He married, June 20, 1664, Ruth Whitney, born in Watertown, April 15, 1645, daughter of John Whitney. She married (second), March 6, 1677, Enoch Lawrence, and in 1678 they removed to Groton with several of his relatives at the resettlement of that town, taking with them the four chil- dren by her first husband, and probably occu- pied the land granted to John Shattuck, in 1664. From this family the Shattucks in Gro- ton and Pepperell originated. Mr. Lawrence died September 28, 1744, aged nearly ninety- five years. The date of his wife's death is not known. Children of John and Ruth Shat- tuck : John, Ruth, William and Samuel.

(III) William (2), third child and second son of John and Ruth (Whitney) Shattuck, was born in Watertown, September 11, 1670, and died in Groton in 1744, in his seventy- fourth year. He lived in Groton with his mother and stepfather from 1678 until 1688, when he returned to Watertown, where he re- sided the principal part of the following four- teen years. In 1691 he was impressed into the public military service of the colony. After his return from the campaign of that year, as a consideration for his services, the selectmen voted to give him a lot of land for a dwelling house, near "Patch Meadow," and to allow him to cut timber owned by the town for his house. In 1702 he bought lands and

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removed to Groton, where he died. He mar- ried (first) in Watertown, March 19, 1688, Hannah Underwood, of that town. She died in 1717, and he married (second) in Groton, March 24, 1719, Deliverance Pease, who sur- vived him. His wives were members of the church, and his children were baptized. Chil- dren of William and Hannah ( Underwood) Shattuck : William, Hannah, Daniel, Ruth and John.

(IV) John (2), youngest child of William (2) and Hannah ( Underwood) Shattuck, was born in 1696, in Watertown, and was a mason by trade, but engaged chiefly in agriculture. He settled first in Shrewsbury, but exchanged farms in 1723 with John Bigelow, of Marl- boro, and removed to the latter town. His place was called "The Farms," and there he died in 1759. He was a highly intelligent citi- zen, and was administrator of his father's es- tate in Groton. He married (first) December 24, 1716, Silence Allen of Marlboro, who died about 1753; (second) October 23, 1754, Mary Newton, widow, of Southboro. She died June 4, 1760, and bequeathed her property to the ten children of her first husband. Children of John (2) Shattuck by his first wife: Allen, Abigail, John, Thomas, Samuel, Experience and Silas.

(V) Silas, youngest child of John (2) and Silence ( Allen) Shattuck, was born August 21, 1738, in Marlboro, and was a farmer, re- siding in Templeton, Massachusetts. He was in that town in 1763, and is of record in Peter- sham in 1767, and about 1783 removed to Hartland, Vermont, where he died March 3, 1825. He married Sarah Jackson, born Janu- ary 5, 1739, died September 24, 1804, in Hart- land. Children: Susan, Ezekiel, Silas, Reu- ben, Ephraim, Sarah, John and William.

(VI) Ezekiel, eldest son of Silas and Sarah (Jackson) Shattuck, was born March 15, 1762, in Templeton, and settled in Barre, Massachu- setts, where he died August 4, 1825, and was probably a farmer by occupation. He was a soldier of the revolution, enlisting October 4, 1779, as a private in Captain Joshua Leland's company of guards, to serve in the forts at and about Boston. He was stationed in Bos- ton under Major Nathaniel Heath, and served until November 10, 1779. He married Saralı Bullard, born 1764, died in Barre, June 23, 1846, aged eighty-two years. Children : Sally, Mary and Asa.

(VII) Asa, only son of Ezekiel and Saralı ( Bullard) Shattuck, was born March 26, 1789, in Barre, in which town he resided. He mar-

ried, October 31, 1810, Abigail Conant; chil- dren : Sarah, Abigail, Lucy, George, Mary, Eliza, Dolly, Henry J., and Lazelle.

(VII) Lucy, third daughter of Asa and . Abigail (Conant) Shattuck, was born March I, 1816, in Barre, and was married April 5, 1836, in that town, to Lewis Allen, and resided in Oakham. (See Allen, VII.)

Theodore Atkinson was in ATKINSON Boston as early as 1634, coming from Bury, Lan- cashire, England, in the employ of John New- gate, as a feltmaker. He joined the church in Boston, January 1I, 1635, and was made free- man May 18, 1642. On August 31, 1640, he was granted "a great lot at Muddy River for two heads, if it be there to be had after others are served that had their grants before him." It is probable that the land was found, for he was an inhabitant of the town January 25, 1661, when he was made a member of a com- mittee of six "chosen for perambulation be- tween muddy river & Cambridg & between muddy river & Roxbury." His first wife, Abigail, was mother of John, Theodore, Na- thaniel, Abigail (died young), Thomas, Abi- gail (died young). He married (second) in October, 1667, Mary, widow of Edward Lyde, and daughter of the Rev. John Wheelwright and his wife, Mary Hutchinson, daughter of Edward Hutchinson, of Alford, England. Children (according to Savage) : John and Abigail.

(II) John Atkinson is said by some au- thorities to have been a son of Thomas Atkin- son, a brother of Theodore. Recent re- searches as given in the "Essex Antiquarian" make him the son of Theodore, born about 1639. He settled at Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1662, and carried on the business of felt- maker and hatter, which was continued by many of his descendants. He married (first) April 27, 1664, Sarah Mirick, who was the mother of his children and was living in 1686. He married (second) June 3, 1700, Widow Hannah Cheney, who died January 5, 1705. After that he resided with his son John until his death, between June 26, 1713, and Septem- ber 29, 1715. Children : Sarah, John, Thomas, Theodore, Abigail, Samuel, Nathaniel, Eliza- beth, Joseph and Rebecca. The youngest son was killed by Indians in Maine, in 1706.

(III) Jolin (2), eldest child of Jolın (1) and Sarah ( Mirick) Atkinson, was born in Newbury. He was a feltmaker, residing in his native town. His father's will acknowledged

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dutiful care on his part and bequeathed to him a house, barn and land in Newbury. He died between June 30 and September 27, 1744. He married, about 1693, Sarah, daughter of Jona- than and Hannah (Hilton) Woodman, of Newbury, born October 19, 1670. Children : Thomas, John, Theodore, Sarah, Hannah, Abi- gail. Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth and Ichabod.

(IV) Ichabod, youngest child of John (2) and Sarah (Woodman) Atkinson, was born August 13, 1714, in Newbury, and resided in that town, where he is described as "yeoman" and feltmaker. He married (intention pub- lished October 7, 1733) Priscilla, daughter of John and Sarah (Butler ) Bailey, born August 29, 1712, died February 9, 1793. That he was a prudent and thoughtful man is indicated by the fact that he made his will May 29, 1797, nearly seven years before his death, which oc- curred January 3, 1804. Children : Moses, Matthias, Miriam, Abigail, Hannah, Anna, Sarah, Amos and Eunice.

(V) Amos, third son of Ichabod and Pris- cilla (Bailey) Atkinson, was born March 20, 1754, in Newbury, where he resided, following the occupation of hatter. He was among the immortal minute-men of the revolution, and served as lieutenant in the regiment com- manded by Colonel Moses Little in that strug- gle. He married (first) published October 17, 1778, Anna Bayley, of Amesbury, young- est child of Captain William and Anna (Low- ell) Bayley, descendant of John Bayley, the immigrant, of Salisbury, Massachusetts, and had one child, William. He married ( second) 1784, Anna Knowlton, and had children : Nancy, Charles, George, Amos and Anna.

(VI) Amos (2), third son of Amos (I) and Anna (Knowlton) Atkinson, was born May II, 1792, in Newbury. He went to Bos- ton at an early age and became one of the leading merchants of that city. The firm of Atkinson & Rollins of which he was the head, was one of the longest continued of any in the city. He was among the pioneers among Bos- ton business men in locating his home at Brookline, then a country village, and was wont to go to and from business in a chaise in the summer season. He often boarded, with his family, in the city during the winter to give them the advantages thus afforded. In those early days there was no public con- veyance between Brookline and Boston. He moved from Boston to Brookline in 1822, and a year or two later built a house on New Lane, now Cypress street. This he sold in 1836 and moved to Boston on account of his

growing family, and the following year pur- chased a house on Mt. Vernon street. Dur- ing the year 1836-37 he lived on Bulfinch street, which was then one of the aristocratic localities of Beacon Hill. He made frequent trips to Europe to purchase goods. After his children were educated he returned to Brook- line, and there died June 26, 1864, at the age of seventy-two years. With six others he un- dertook the establishment of the Brookline Classical School, and was one of the two who completed the construction of the building after others had withdrawn on account of business reverses. In addition to the school building a gymnasium was constructed, one of the first of its kind in this country. He mar- ried, April 29, 1818, Anna Greenleaf, daugh- ter of Enoch and Judith (Greenleaf) Sawyer, of Newbury, born October 27, 1795, died Sep- tember 29, 1871. Children: 1. William Par- sons, born August 20, 1820, in Harvard street, Boston. He was a graduate of Harvard Col- lege, class of 1838, and among his classmates were Rev. Rufus Ellis and James Russell Lowell. He was a teacher in private schools until he became a professor in the Massachu- setts Institute of Technology, on its organi- zation, which position he held for about twenty-five years. He was a parishioner and neighbor of Theodore Parker, and a strong supporter of the Abolition movement in the early days. He married Sarah Cabot Park- man, daughter of Rev. Francis Parkman, D. D .; children : i. Charles Follen, unmarried ; ii. Emily Cabot, married George Holdredge, died 1873: iii. Francis Parkman, died 1874; iv. Susan Parkman. William Parsons Atkinson died March II, 1890. 2. George, born May 19, 1882; married, May 19, 1852, Elizabeth Staigg ; children: i. Mary, born February, 1853, died March, 1856; ii. George, born March, 1854, died March, 1856; iii. Richard Staigg, born July, 1855; iv. Elizabeth, born December, 1856, married George O. G. Coale : v. Marian, born September, 1858, died August, 1874; vi. James, born December, 1860, died December, 1883; vii. Henry Mor- rell, born November, 1862, married May Peters ; viii. George, born May, 1866. 3. Eliz- abeth Parsons, born April 21, 1824, died March 1, 1903, unmarried. 4. Edward, men- tioned below. 5. Henry, died in infancy. 6. Annie, born April 16, 1837 ; married, June 26, 1872, Richard M. Staigg, of Boston; no chil- dren.

(VII) Edward, third son of Amos (2) and Anna Greenleaf (Sawyer) Atkinson, was born

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February 10, 1827, in Brookline, in which town he died December 11, 1905. He was educated in private schools and gained a knowledge of French, Latin and Greek. He attended the first series of lectures given by Louis Agassiz on the glacial theory, and often listened to the teachings of Theodore Parker. At a very early age he sought to enter upon a mercantile career, and took a place August 12, 1842, in the store of Read & Chadwick, where his brother already was employed, and had op- portunity to become familiar with every de- tail of business as then conducted. It was before the day of janitors, and he assisted in sweeping out lofts, packing goods and other duties often performed by proprietors them- selves. He remained five years with this firm. but soon found that selling was not to his taste. He had, however, a talent for figures and became a confidential clerk and account- ant. On attaining his majority he became identified with manufacturing corporations, among them the Continental Mills, the Lewis- ton Water Power Company and the Franklin Company. Later he was appointed treasurer of the Indian Orchard Mills at Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, which position he held for many years, and when he resigned his office in 1877 the mills were in the highest state of efficiency. He then became the president of the Boston Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Company, which he had helped establish. This position he held until his death. No business man of Boston was better or more favorably known, and his fame as an ac- countant, economist and publicist spread not only over his native land, but was observed in Europe. Among his friends were ex-Presi- dent Cleveland, Carl Schurz, Henry George, Carroll D. Wright, Andrew Carnegie, and in England he was popular with William Glad- stone, Sir Lyon Playfair and many others. In 1887 he was appointed by President Cleve- land a commissioner to report on the status of bimetalism in Europe, and acquitted him- self in a manner to please his countrymen and the world at large. He was among the found- ers of the New England Emigrant Aid So- ciety, and also of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, of which he was a director for many years. At the age of forty-seven he was made an honorary member of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity of Harvard Univer- sity, a rare honor. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science ; member and corre-

sponding secretary of the American Statis- tical Association; of the International Statis- tical Institute; of the Cobden Club of Great Britain and the Unitarian Club of Boston.

Mr. Atkinson was a prolific writer upon economic topics and a recognized authority at home and abroad. He was firmly convinced that the course of trade should receive as little interference from governments as is consist- ent with the creation of sufficient revenue to sustain themselves. His membership in the Cobden Club well shows his position in this respect. He was an ardent advocate of a cur- rency based upon bullion of full value, dollar for dollar, and often quoted Daniel Webster's idea that we could not afford to perform many kinds of labor as long as cheap labor of Europe was available. He believed that the highest priced labor was the cheapest, because most effective. In recognition of his distinguished public service, the University of South Caro- lina conferred upon him the degree of LL. D., and Dartmouth College that of Ph. D.

Mr. Atkinson was the author of the follow- ing books and pamphlets: "Cheap Cotton by Free Labor" (1861) ; "The Collection of Rev. enue" (Boston, 1861) : "Argument for the Conditional Reform of the Legal Tender Act" (1874); "Our National Domain" (1879) ; "Labor and Capital-Allies, Not Ene-

mies" ( New York, 1880) ; "The Fire Engin- eer, the Architect and the Underwriter" ( Bos- ton, 1880) ; "The Railroads of the United States" (1880); "Cotton Manufacturers of the United States" (1880) ; "Address at At- lanta, Georgia, on the International Expo- sition" (New York, 1881); "What Is a Bank?" (1881) ; "Right Method of Prevent- ing Fires in Mills" ( Boston, 1881) ; "The Rail- way and the Farmer" ( New York, 1881 ) ; "The Influence of Boston Capital upon Manufactur- ers"; "Memorial History of Boston" (1882) ; "The Distribution of Products" (New York, 1885). In 1886 Mr. Atkinson began the prep- aration of a series of monographs on economic questions of periodical publication : "The Com- mercial Control of the World"; "The Cause and Remedy of Business Depression"; "What does 16 to I mean?"; "What does Free Sil- ver mean?"; "The Fallacy of Free Coinage"; "What Makes the Rate of Wages?" "The Cost of an Anglo-Saxon War"; "Jingoism; or War upon the Dominant Industry"; "High Wages from Low Cost of Labor"; "Is Cotton King?"; "Food and Wages"; "What Is a Bank?"; "Coal Is King"; "Fireproof Build- ings": "What is the Growing Capacity of the

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· United States?". His address on cotton man- u facturing at Atlanta was the direct impulse to the holding of the Atlanta Cotton Exposition of 1881.

Mr. Atkinson married, October 4, 1855, Mary Caroline, daughter of Charles and Caro- line (Penniman) Heath, born June 1, 1830, a descendant of General William Heath, a warm and intimate friend of General Washington, upon whose staff he served in the revolution. She died December 12, 1907. Children: I. Caroline Heath, born July, 1856, died May, 1857. 2. Anna Greenleaf, born February 25, 1858; married, June 8, 1882, Ernest Winsor, of Brookline. 3. Edward Williams, born Oc- tober 13, 1859; married, November 15, 1894, Ellen F. Russell. 4. Charles Heath, born July

2, 1862. 5. Lincoln, born April 19, 1865, died August, 1865. 6. William, born July 7, 1866, married, May 30, 1900, Mittie Harmon Jack- son. 7. Robert Whitman, born December 14, 1868; married, March 5, 1904, Elizabeth Bisp- ham Page of Philadelphia. 8. Caroline Penni- man, born July 5. 1871. 9. Mary Heath, born November 16, 1878; married, June 25, 1901, Richard G. Wadsworth, M. D.

The following is from the Brooklyn Eagle, December 12, 1905: "By the death of Edward Atkinson Boston loses a venerable citizen, Massachusetts an aggressive reformer, the United States a business magnate of integrity and wisdom, and the world a statistician and moralist who deserved the confidence which he inspired and the attention which he com- manded. The Eagle totally differed from Mr. Atkinson in his views touching expansion, but his objection to that policy was absolutely sin- cere and his statements against it were the most difficult to meet of any that were ad- vanced from any quarter. Aside from all that and far more than all that, this wise, learned. earnest and intellectually tol- erant American stood for the best type of thought and action which has honored Massachusetts in the past and which honors Massachusetts in the present. There was no gathering of great Bostonians complete with- out him. Every such gathering was richer while he lived and for a long time will be poorer because he is dead. There was no service to any worthy cause that he could render which he withheld. There was no ap- peal to his judgment or to his knowledge which he did not gratefully answer. There was no kindness and there was no courtesy which he did not more than require. He was among the

chief delights of one of the most delightful cities and state in the world."

This name had numerous

TOMPKINS representatives at a very early date in New England,

among whom was John Tompkins, who was at Salem, Massachusetts, as early as 1637, and was made a freeman there in 1642. Another John Tompkins was in Concord, Massachusetts, as early as 1642, and had sons John and Nathan- iel. John Tompkins, of Salem, was early in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, but did not long remain. Among the descendants of John of Concord the name Nathaniel repeatedly oc- curs, but none can be found who can be identi- fied with the Nathaniel who was early in Rhode Island. John Tompkins, of Concord, removed to Fairfield, Connecticut, where he was proposed for freeman in 1669, and sold land in 1673. He subsequently resided at East Chester, New York. A son Nathaniel had a son Nathaniel, who resided and died in East Chester, according to best authorities.

(I) Nathaniel Tompkins, born in 1650, ac- cording to the records of Little Compton, Rhode Island, was in Newport as early as 1675, and was taxed seven shillings there in 1680. He was a merchant at Boston in 1681. but later resided in Newport, where his will was made May 30, 1719, and proved May 19, 1724. The inventory of his estate amounted to eighty-seven pounds ten shillings six pence. He died in 1724, possibly at little Compton. Austin's "Rhode Island Dictionary" states that he married Elizabeth Allen, born in July, 1651, daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Bacon) Allen. The vital records of Little Compton show that he married about 1674, Elizabeth Waters, born 1655, died in Little Compton, March 24, 1714. Children: Elizabeth, born 1675: Nathaniel, December 3, 1676; Mary, September 16, 1677: Priscilla, May 24, 1679; Samuel, mentioned below ; Rebecca, 1685; Hannah. 1689; Austin also gives Mary and Sarah as among their children.

( II) Samuel, eldest son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth ( Waters) Tompkins, was born May 24, 1681, at Newport, and died in May, 1760, in Little Compton. His will, proved June 3, that year, disposed of an estate amounting to 1837 pounds ten shillings. The items indicate that he was a man of much property and con- siderable intelligence. Among them are one hundred and fifty pounds for wearing ap- parel and ten pounds in books. This would

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indicate a considerable library for that time. He married, in Little Compton, January 24, 1712, Sarah, daughter of John and Sarah (Peabody) Coe, born there in 1690, died Jan- uary 2, 1741. Children: Joseph, mentioned below ; John, born September 14, 1714; Eliza- beth and Christopher (twins), December 8, 1715; Abigail, January 28, 1717; Nathaniel, November 19, 1719; Gideon, November 19, 1720; Micah, January 20, 1722; Benjamin, January 26, 1723; Augustine, March 19, 1725; Priscilla, June 16, 1726; William, October 17, 1730.

(III) Joseph, eldest child of Samuel and Sarah (Coe) Tompkins, was born October 26. 1712, in Little Compton, where he passed his life, and was probably engaged in agriculture. He married (intentions February 28) March 20, 1741, Martha, daughter of James and Martha ( Wilbor ) Pearce, born August 14, 1717. Perhaps both died elsewhere, as no record of their deaths appears in Little Comp- ton. Children : Priscilla, born August 8, 1743 ; Elijah, April 7, 1746; Nathaniel, mentioned below ; Olive, May 11, 1749 ; Gilbert and Gam- aliel (twins died young) ; Gilbert, May 24, 1753; James, January 22, 1757; Phebe, June 8. 1759; Gideon, December 25, 1761.

(IV) Nathaniel (2), second son of Joseph and Martha (Pearce) Tompkins, was born February 25, 1748, in Little Compton, where he died March 22, 1775. He married, January 16, 1774, Phebe Pearce, born March 21, 1752, probably daughter of James and Sarah (Sim- mons) Pearce.

(V) Nathaniel (3), only child of Nathaniel (2) and Phoebe (Pearse) Tompkins, was born May 25, 1775, in Little Compton, two months after the death of his father, and resided on a farm at the village in that town. His wife bore the baptismal name of Betsy; children : Orlando, Elizabeth and John. The last passed his life on the paternal homestead.

(VI) Orlando, elder son of Nathaniel (3) and Betsy Tompkins, was born January 19, 1819, in Little Compton, and died in Boston, Massachusetts, November 29, 1684. He was reared upon the farm, and when about sixteen years old came to Boston and took employment in the drug store of William Brown, a native of the same town, who had established himself in business at Boston. Young Tompkins was attentive and industrious and became thor- oughly familiar with the drug business. Be- fore he attained his majority an opportunity arose for entering the business on his own account, which he promptly embraced, and for

many years conducted an apothecary shop which was one of the landmarks of the city. It was located at the corner of Washington and Winter streets, and here he continued until he retired from the business. Having become interested in some theatrical ventures as a means of helping others, he was gradually drawn into that line of business and became one of the owners of the Boston Theatre, which has become widely noted in the his- trionic annals of the country. His store be- came a rendezvous for actors, newspaper men, and artists until he disposed of it. He was a man of remarkable business ability and made a success of whatever he undertook. An as- sociation with the theatrical business was the farthest thing from his plans, but having be- come involved in it through his interest in others, he pursued it with characteristic en- ergy and shrewdness, and made it a financial success. He married Frances Viles, a native of Boston, daughter of Nathaniel and Nancy P. (Reed) Viles, natives respectively of Lex- ington and Roxbury. They were the parents of two sons, Arthur and Eugene. The first died unmarried.

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Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume IV, Part 83

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