USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Genealogical history of the town of Reading, Mass., including the present towns of Wakefield, Reading, and North Reading, with chronological and historical sketches, from 1639 to 1874 > Part 33
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Capt. Gould was of tall and majestic personal appearance, of intelli- gence, judgment, and integrity ; moderate and considerate in thinking and in acting ; but what he lacked in energy he made up in persever- ance and tenacity. He was slow to begin, and just as slow to leave off ; late to commence a day's work, but disposed to work on into the even- ing ; a frequent speaker in municipal meetings, and as such was earnest and argumentative ; and when he had a special object to accomplish he was pertinacious and unyielding ; so that the town, in such cases, like the girl with a resolute lover, was often "obliged to take him to get rid of him." In one sense, at least, he was wicked, for " when he borrowed he returned not"; and his apology was "that it was trouble enough to go after a borrowed article without that of carrying it back." His chil- dren were : James, b. 1790, and m. Miss Healy, and settled in Nash- ville, Tenn., where he recently died ; Frederick, b. 1792, resided in Cambridge, was president of the Blackstone National Bank of Boston,
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was also one of the aldermen of Boston, etc. ; Samuel, b. 1796 ; was a trader in Boston, and a selectman in South Reading, and d. 1866; Caroline, who m. John Stow, and is now dead ; Emily, who was the wife of Jonas Cowdrey, Esq., of Wakefield, and d. in 1868; Harriet, who m. the late Eben Avery, Esq., was mother of Loriette Avery, and is now dead ; and other children who d. young.
ELEAZER BAKER lived in the house recently occupied by John White, Senior, and more recently removed to Prospect Hill. Mr. Baker was a carpenter, lived there but a short time, and then removed from town. John White, Senior, soon after bought it, and occupied it until his death. In 1795, it was owned by the heirs of John Nichols, who re- moved to Salem. It was formerly the homestead of Dr. Thomas Stimpson, and subsequently of John Pratt. John Brown, a noted dealer in horses, called "Jockey John," preceded Mr. Baker. This John Brown was grandfather of Caleb D. Brown, of Reading, who was drowned while bathing in the lake a few years since.
CHARLES NICHOLS then occupied the small house since owned by Mrs. Henry Gray. His chil. were : Charles, Alpheus, Charity, and perhaps others. Thomas, perhaps a brother of Charles, lived here, and was insane. They long since removed to Salem, and elsewhere. The house was formerly a part of the estate of John Nichols afore- said.
THOMAS CLEMENT lived in the mansion and on the farm now owned and occupied by Lucius Beebe, Esq. He had long been a sea-faring man and naval commander. Capt. Clement was at this time "home- ward bound" on the voyage of life, and was nearing port. He was, however, a hale, cheerful, social, and active old gentleman. His sons were sailors. He greatly improved the establishment, erecting new buildings and raising the culture of the land. He sold out the place and removed to Boston. After the removal of Capt. Clement, and before its purchase by its present owner, it passed through several hands. For several years it was the country-seat of John Derby, Esq., a wealthy merchant of Salem. Thomas Haley Forrester, from Salem, an intelligent, well-educated, rich, but most dissipated man (a bache- lor), lived on it several years, and died in 1840, "as the fool dieth." John Clapp, Esq., from Leicester, a retired merchant, a man of unusual energy and ability, occupied it a number of years. Mrs. Deborah Roundy, from Marblehead, a " poor widow" with considerable property, and her son Benjamin and family, succeeded Mr. Clapp. Dr. Wm. W. Cutler, late of Brookfield, followed, and was succeeded by John Brew- ster, Esq., now an exchange broker in Boston. The present owner
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Lucius Beebe, Esq., has been in possession since 1852. This place is noted as having long been the home of Gen. Benjamin Brown, one of the most eminent and influential citizens of the town for many years. He was born in 1728 ; was son of Dea. Benja. Brown, who was his pred- ecessor on this farm, and a descendant of Nicholas Brown, a first settler, and the common ancestor of the Reading Browns. (See Early Settlers.) Gen. Brown was by trade a tanner ; was a soldier in the Revolution ; rose to the rank of colonel in the Continental army, and was afterwards a general in the militia ; was town clerk, selectman, representative, delegate to the First Provincial Congress, justice of the peace, and at last deacon, the highest office of all, as it was esteemed in former days. His first wife was Hannah Swain, a descendant of Maj. Jeremiah Swain, a famous fighter in the old Indian wars; she died in 1771. Children, by his first wife : Nathaniel (" Uncle Nattie "), who lived and died on the spot where Wid. Lucy P. Jennings recently lived ; William, who settled in Royalston, where his posterity remain ; and children who d. young. His second wife was Elizabeth, widow of Ebenezer Wiley, and dau. of Elias Bryant, of Stoneham, and grand- mother of Benjamin Brown Wiley, Esq., of Wakefield, and of Capt. Peter Brown Wiley, formerly of Charlestown. A son by his second wife, Farewell, married a dau. of James Bancroft, Esq., and soon after his marriage separated from his wife, went South, and there died a few years since at an advanced age.
Gen. Brown sold out his farm, not long before his death, and removed to the house now owned by Mrs. Fred. B. Eaton, where he d. in 1801, aged 73 years. His grave-stone says of him : -
" Justice and benevolence sat governing upon his brow ; while his generous soul was an alleviating source to the distressed. Judgment and information completed every sentence in his conversation ; conjugal affection and parental care added a laurel to his magnanimity. And in every station of life he was a rich blessing to society, a friend to the community, a prudent and pious counsellor, and a humble member of that religion which now completes his eternal peace."
A small house, standing near the mansion above referred to, a short distance north of it, and belonging to the farm, was occupied in 1812 by a family by the name of Godsheck. In 1795, James Smith occupied it, and in 1765, Joseph Brown, a younger son of the General, lived in it. It has since been taken down.
JOSEPH CORDIS lived in a large house, since removed, that stood on the corner of Main and Cordis Streets, on the north side of what is now Cordis Street, - with which house were connected the lands now lying on both sides of Cordis Street, and the street itself. The place was
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early owned by Capt. John Batchelder, who lived there in 1765, and afterwards removed to Royalston, Mass. In 1795 it was occupied by Jona. Nutting, who came from Salem, and married in 1763, Susanna, dau. of John Batchelder above named.
Mr. Cordis, or Esquire Cordis, as he was always called, had been a sea-captain in his younger days.
" His march was on the mountain wave, His home upon the deep."
Retiring from the sea, he became a merchant, and resided in Charles- town. He was unfortunate in trade, and lost a considerable part of his property. He then removed to Reading, and purchased the place in question. His first wife (Mary, or Rebecca) who came with him to Reading, is said to have been a very amiable and agreeable woman· She died soon after their removal hither, Feb. 19, 1800. He m., 2d. 1803, Wid. Elizabeth Spear, formerly of Charlestown, but then residing in Reading. She had several adult children : Henry, a sea-captain ; and Joseph, a somewhat pompous, but not very profound young man, who became a trader in New York. Mrs. Spear had several daughters : Betsey, Mary, etc. Esquire Cordis had children by his first wife, who settled elsewhere, and were of the highest respectability.
The Squire, as we remember him, was a smart, portly-looking man, some sixty years old at that time; he wore a three-cornered hat, breeches, and large knee and shoe buckles, and was a very dignified appearing individual. He possessed intelligence and judg- ment, was well educated and informed, of generous impulses, of honorable feelings, and very high-spirited. He forgot not his friends ; being sued on a certain occasion, and Capt. David Smith and Capt. Tho. Emerson, Sen., becoming his sureties, after relieving them from all liability, he gave to each a valuable silver memento, in token of his gratitude, - gifts that still remain in the families of these friends. He was frequently called to the Moderator's chair at town- meetings, although an earnest Republican, while a majority of his fellow- townsmen were Federalists, as he had excellent talent as a presiding officer ; and it is related of him, that he once decided a question of order, on a very exciting matter, in favor of his opponents, where he had the power to favor his own party materially, choosing to do what he thought was right at the risk of offending his party friends, who strenuously besought him to do otherwise. He was justice of the peace, conveyancer, a splendid penman, justice of the Court of Sessions, etc.
The farm was greatly improved, its buildings enlarged, and its culti-
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vation increased, under his administration, until it could show the most spacious and convenient farm buildings, the greatest amount of stone fence, and the best general arrangement, of any farm in the town. He did not live very happily with his second wife ; it is understood that she became the owner, in her own right, of the farm, and that she held the purse-strings, the Squire having lost and expended his own means. They removed to Charlestown, and he, old and poor, became broken- spirited and tired of life. He soon after committed suicide by jumping from Charlestown Bridge into Charles River, with his feet tied, and thus drowning himself at about seventy years of age. The farm was then let out for several years, and subsequently purchased and occupied by Benjamin Eaton, from Charlestown, a native of Reading, a son of Edmund and Sarah (Brown) Eaton, and born 1769. Mr. Eaton, after a residence of a few years, returned to Charlestown, and was suc- ceeded by Moses Sweetser, Jr., son of Moses, grandson of Samuel, and great-grandson of Michael, the first settler in town by the name of Sweetser. Mr. Sweetser purchased the farm about 1825 with funds drawn in a lottery.
The circumstances connected with Mr. Sweetser's lottery prize were. somewhat peculiar. A brother-in-law of his, Warren Burditt, a man of feeble intellect, was charged with setting on fire a barn belonging to Capt. James Gould, on what is now Dr. Francis P. Hurd's place, and had been arrested. Mr. Sweetser desired to defend his brother, but was poor and short of the necessary funds. He had a small time-draft on a house in a neighboring city, received in payment of a small lot of shoes that he had manufactured, and he applied to several brokers in Boston to get it cashed, but without success for a time ; at length, he was told by one broker, who was also a lottery-ticket vender, that if he would take a considerable portion of the draft in tickets, he would discount it. Mr. Sweetser was no gambler, and except for his sharp necessity would not have invested any part of his hard earnings in a game of chance. He felt obliged, however, to comply with the pro- posal, and took his money and tickets. One of these tickets drew a prize of $10,000, and Mr. Sweetser became at once a rich man. He soon after bought this Cordis farm, and occupied it several years ; but finding it unprofitable, in 1835, he laid it out in house lots, opened to the public what are now Cordis, School, Sweetser, and several other streets thereon, sold the lots, disposed of the dwelling-house and out- buildings, which were removed from the old spot and made into some half dozen dwellings, shops, and stables elsewhere, and he himself re- tired to a reserved part of the farm, where he still resides.
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WILLIAM STIMPSON lived in the house now owned and occupied by Mrs. Eliza, wid. of Fred'k Ballard Eaton. He was son of Dr. William and Elizabeth (Nichols) Stimpson, b. 1768 ; m., Ist, Miss Danforth, of Lynnfield ; m., 2d, Miss Boynton, from Dunstable ; m., 3d, Wid. Tep- rell, from Boston. He was married young; has been heard to say " that he was a father at twenty, a grandfather at forty, a great-grand- father at sixty, and that he hoped to be a great-great-grandfather at eighty "; and we believe he was such, for he lived to be eighty-six and a half years old. He d. 1855.
Of his children, George W. still lives in Wakefield, and so also does Jane, his youngest daughter, who is the wife of Joseph Warren Vinton. Boynton, named for his mother, born about 1802, was accidentally killed a few years since, at a theatre in Boston, by a heavy weight fall- ing upon his head while he was adjusting the scenery.
Of the Teprell children, who came with their mother to South Read- ing upon her marriage to Mr. Stimpson, Matthew became a printer, and lives mostly at Boston ; and Mary, who was the widow of the late Wm. Rutter, lived in South Reading. Mr. Stimpson was a bricklayer by trade, a peaceable, industrious, and honest man. He afterwards pur- chased and occupied the farm at the "head of the pond," now or lately known as the " Stimpson Farm."
DR. WILLIAM STIMPSON, the father of the foregoing, born in 1732, and died 1812, aged 80. He was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Bryant) Stimpson, and grandson of Dr. Thomas and Mary (Taylor) Stimpson, and great-grandson of Dr. James and Mary (Leffingwell) Stimpson, an early physician of the town. Dr. William was living, at the time of his death, with his son William aforesaid, where he had retired in his old age ; but, until his old age, he had lived some time at the old Stimpson homestead (which was the place recently owned by John White, Sen.), and some time at the corner of Main and Salem Streets, where the Eaton mansion now is. His wife was Catharine, dau. of Ebenezer Nichols, Esq., and granddaughter of James and Mary (Poole) Nichols, who were probably the first occupants of this old homestead. She, Catharine, died in 1831, aged 97.
Dr. William is said to have been of respectable but not brilliant talents as a physician ; he was of a somewhat lymphatic temperament, although his portrait, now in the possession of the family, indicates in- telligence, firmness, and decision. It is said of him that, when charged with laziness by some one, he replied, " I am not lazy, in the sense of being slothful and dronish ; true, I like to be calm and quiet, but that s constitutional; a man is not to be blamed for what is constitutional."
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He certainly was a bold man, for he would ride his horse down the pond, where the ice, newly formed, was so thin that the calks of the horse's shoes would cut through at every step, making the water spout up around him. He had several children besides William aforesaid, who settled in Boston and elsewhere.
THOMAS EVANS, Sen., lived in the mansion now known as "John White, Jr.'s, old house," and owned and improved the farm connected therewith. This farm was formerly the homestead of John Batchelder, who also owned the Cordis farm, and was the proprietor of them in 1765. Before that it was owned by Timothy Nichols. In the time of the Revolution it was owned by Nathan Appleton and Oliver Wendall, of Boston, men of wealth, who purchased it, it is said, as a place of refuge and resort in case Boston should be destroyed by the British. These gentlemen bought the farm, in i777, of Rev. Samuel Batchelder, of Haverhill, and sold it, in 1784, to Thomas Evans for £400.
There was formerly a " drift-way " through this farm from Main Street, near the present house of the late Capt. Benj. Freeman, or perhaps a little farther northeasterly, to Vernon Street, which was the principally travelled way from the South Parish to Salem, Fitch's Lane being very narrow, and Fitch's Hill very steep.
Thomas Evans, b. 1749, was son of Jonathan and Eunice (Green) Evans (see Early Settlers) ; married Rebecca, dau. of Ebenezer and Hepzibeth (Damon) Smith. He was a farmer, prosperous and fore- handed ; used also to manufacture vinegar and peddle it in Salem, in connection with sweet apples ; the apples he distributed gratis, the vinegar he sold ; possessed great energy, shrewdness, and resolution. " Up in the morning when riseth the lark," he took time by the fore- lock, and held on successfully. He died in 1814, aged 65.
His wife, who survived him many years, was a pattern woman, - pru- dent, notable, and pious. A memoir of her life has been published, and therefore we need not enlarge upon it. We will refer, however, to one trait in her character that was quite largely developed -this was a strong credulity in relation to ghosts, forerunners, and supernatural manifestations, dreams, and visions. She used often to relate to her trembling grandchildren ghost stories that she believed to be true ; ac- counts of haunted houses, wonderful dreams, and spirit communica- tions, the parties and circumstances connected with which she was well acquainted with, that made life-long impressions upon her youthful auditors. She said there came to her house, one day, old Thankful Walton, a fortune-teller. This Thankful Walton came from the then far-off Aroostook Country ; married Abiel Brown, of Reading ; was the
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mother of Rhoda, wife of Nathaniel Brown ("Uncle Nattie ") ; buried her first husband, and then married Jacob Walton, son of Capt. John and Mary, and was now again a widow, and quite aged. During her visit, she foretold the fortunes of the several members of the family ; this she did by examining the lines in the palms of their hands, and by noticing the omens of the tea-dregs. Among various other prophecies, she told Mrs. Evans that she would soon receive a present from distant friends. Her predictions were not very much heeded, although there was great superstition among the people in those days. But, sure enough, in the course of a few weeks, Mrs. Evans did receive from a distant town a present of a beautiful napkin, of fine linen, woven in colored plaids, and a very nice article. This cloth was long preserved in the family as a keepsake, and subsequently presented to the Baptist Church in South Reading, with which to enwrap the sacred vessels, in which consecrated service, it is presumed, it may still be found. Mrs. Evans d. 1835, aged 77. The children of Thomas and Rebecca Evans were : Rebecca, b. 1776, and m. 1799, Isaac Kimball, of Easton, and died there in 1813, where her posterity remain ; Thomas, b. 1778 ; Eunice, b. 1780, and m. 1797; Lilley Eaton ; Ebenezer, b. 1782, and d. unm., at the age of 37 : George, b. 1784 ; became a Baptist cler- gyman ; was noted as a revival preacher ; travelled extensively in the Northern and Western States ; was pastor of several different churches in New Hampshire ; m. Chloe Pettee, of Foxboro'; and d. 1848, in Manchester, N. H., leaving one daughter, Mary Chloe. He was of limited education, but of good general information, of much energy, promptness, and faithfulness. His widow and daughter reside in Wake- field. Amos, b. 1787 ; Jonas, b. 1790, and d. young ; Jonas, b. 1793 ; m. Mary W. Jefferds, of Charlestown, and has one dau. Mary Ellen ; was several years clerk and salesman for Lilley Eaton ; became a pub- lic lecturer on geographical and astronomical science ; is a licentiate preacher ; has received the honorary degree of M. A. from Brown Uni- versity ; has been school committee and representative ; he lives in Wakefield. Elias, b. 1798 ; m. 1837, Mary Pierce, of Concord, N. H. ; has several children ; lives in Concord, N H .*
REV. EBENEZER NELSON lived on the place long owned and occu- pied by Hon Thomas Emerson.
Mr. Nelson came to this town from Middleboro', where he was born in 1753, and was settled as the first pastor of the Baptist Church in South Reading in 1804. He was then about fifty years old, and, as we
* This old place is now owned by the heirs of the late John White, Jr.
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remember him, was rather below the middle stature, wore a wig and cue ; dressed in small-clothes, with knee buckles and shoe buckles. He was not classically educated, but was well informed and well read, and a fair, off-hand, plain, extemporaneous speaker; was a warm Re- publican and patriot, and a zealous advocate of religious freedom ; he was of a very social and genial disposition ; fond of humor, and could himself tell a pleasant story. We remember one that we heard him relate after he had removed to Malden : -
" His reverend brother, the late Aaron Green, was then the Unitarian clergyman at Malden. Mr. Green was an earnest Federalist, and was always careful to vote a clean party ticket for State officers.
" On the occasion of a certain warmly-contested gubernatorial election, when every vote was important, Mr. Green, on the Saturday preceding the election, prepared, with great care, a Federal vote to use on the ensuing Monday, not choosing to trust to the printed votes, and placed the same in his vest-pocket. The next day being the Sabbath, he wore his better vest to church, and there received a note, asking prayers for some poor sick person, which he read publicly, offered the desired petitions, and put the note in his vest-pocket. The next day Parson Green again wore his better vest (and forgetting to exchange the con- tents of his vest), went to town-meeting and deposited, as he supposed, his Simon pure vote. At the counting up of the votes at the close of the polls, among the ballots was found a note asking prayers for the sick ; it was Parson Green's Federal vote!" "I told Bro. Green, the next day," said Parson Nelson, with a chuckle, "that I thought his party needed prayers bad enough, but was afraid his petitions would not save it."
Mr. Nelson brought with him to South Reading his second wife, who was Mrs. Betsey Shaw, of Middleboro', and who was one of the most amiable and agreeable of ladies, and as good as she was agreeable. He brought also two sons and several daughters ; one or more of his children had settled elsewhere before. His son, Ebenezer, became an apprentice and clerk in the store of Lilley Eaton; afterwards went into trade in Providence, R. I., in company with Tho. Emerson, Jr. (late Hon. Tho. Emerson), married in Providence ; buried his wife soon, and not long after this became a Baptist clergyman, settled at Lynn, married a Miss Childs, of Lynn, and died there. Ebenezer was an active, accomplished, and honest man. As a clerk and salesman he had few equals for grace, expertness, and accuracy. As a preacher, he was intelligent, earnest, fluent, and acceptable.
The other son, James Manning, was a bright, generous hearted
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youth, a quick scholar, was fitted for college, entered Brown University, became irregular and fast in his habits, and was expelled from the col- lege. He returned to his father, received his patrimony, and started for the South ; his father telling him, at his "departure, "not to stop until he had reached a respectable distance, and every time he changed his residence, to go farther from home." James became a successful teacher in the South, became regular and temperate in his habits, and after many years of absence returned to visit his family and was warmly welcomed. He again went South, and there died unmarried.
One of the daughters married Capt. John Holman, of Salem, a naval commander. Another married and removed to Vermont. The young- est daughter, Abigail, who was the only child of her mother (Mr. Nel- son's second wife), was, in 1812, a young lady of beauty and grace, in- telligent, social, and sprightly, b. about 1798. She married Rev. Geo. Leonard, a Baptist clergyman, who was settled first at Salem, and after- wards at Portland, where he d., a young man ; his wid. is now dead.
Mr. Nelson, Senior, resigned his pastoral charge in South Reading in 1815, and soon after settled in Malden ; was a member of the Mass. Constitutional Convention of 1820, and died at Malden in 1825, aged about 72.
The house in South Reading that was occupied by Mr. Nelson has been greatly enlarged and improved since its purchase by its late owner (T. Emerson, Esq.). This place was the early homestead of the Dix family, and afterwards of Joseph Emerson, a son of Ebenezer and Mary (Boutwell) Emerson, and a grandson of Rev. Joseph Emerson, of Mendon.
This Joseph Emerson, the predecessor of Mr. Nelson, m. Phebe Upton, and was a brother of Thomas, who was the grandfather of the late owner ; he was the father of Joseph, of Royalston.
Elias, b. 1759, of Lancaster, whose wife was a Howard, of Melrose, and whose sons, Elias, Abraham, Joseph, and Charles, formerly lived in South Reading, and who now, except Abraham, who is d., live in Charlestown ; Charles, b. 1769 ; the original inventor and manufac- turer of "Emerson's Patent Elastic Razor Straps," of which " there are still a few more left"; a man of great moderation, a trait of character for which the Emerson family have been somewhat renowned ; Ephraim, b. 1767 ; was a deacon, and settled in Ohio ; Naomi, b. 1755, wife of Benj. Badger, Senior ; and several other daughters ..
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