USA > Massachusetts > Genealogy and history of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts > Part 78
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Clay, a Revolutionary soldier, of Putney, Vt. They had a family of six sons and six daugh- ters, Henry Oscar, the eleventh child, being the latest survivor. Stella, the eldest, m. David Scott.
Henry Oscar Houghton at the age of thir- teen, having obtained his early education in the district schools and at the Bradford, Vt., Acad- emy, began his apprenticeship in the office of the Free Press, Burlington, Vt., remaining there till he had mastered the craft of printing. His parents in the mean time had removed to Nunda, N. Y., whence they went to Portage, near Wyoming, N. Y., and in 1839 and 1840 he attended an academy in that vicinity. En- tering the University of Vermont in 1842, he pursued the full college course of study in four years, earning by his labors at type-setting money that went a long way toward paying his expenses, his brother-in-law, David Scott, lending generous aid. As remembered by his classmates in after years, he was a "well-bal- anced, all-around, good average student," everywhere conscientiously doing his work, and developing a "steady, reliable, and manly character. " He was interested in reading the
works of Bacon and the prose writings of Mil- ton, and his own written productions gave evi- dence of careful thought and good, sound sense. He received his bachelor's degree in 1846. Had he been free to choose a profession forth- with, it seems likely that he would have chosen law. But he was three hundred dollars in debt, and had his own way to make in the world, whether or not he advanced further in any special branch of learning. At first he thought of teaching, and there was some pros- pect of his taking a school in Dana, Mass., where his parents were then living. That hope failing, he came to Boston, and, as he wrote home in October, was shortly engaged for a month as reporter for the Traveller.
In October, 1847, he was employed as proof- reader in Dickinson's Type Foundry, and in August, 1848, he advertised himself as a proof- reader in the office of G. C. Rand & Co., Corn- hill. A few months later he bought an inter- est in the firm of Freeman & Bolles, and in January, 1849, embarked in business as a printer at Cambridge. Printing for Little
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Brown & Co., of Boston, and others, he won a reputation for first-class work. In 1852 the firm of H. O. Houghton & Co., the "Co." being a silent partner, established on the banks of the Charles River The Riverside Press, which became the headquarters of a rapidly increasing business, the name a synonym for superior workmanship in book-making. Mr. Houghton's career as a publisher began in March, 1864, in partnership with Melancthon M. Hurd. The firm name of Hurd & Hough- ton was continued till 1878, when Mr. Hurd retired, as did also Mr. Houghton's brother, Albert G. Houghton, who had become a mem- ber in 1866. Horace E. Scudder, who with George H. Mifflin was admitted to partnership in 1872, retired three years later, still retain- ing an editorial connection in the business. James R. Osgood joining the firm in 1878, it then became Houghton, Osgood & Co., in 1880 changed to Houghton, Mifflin & Co., the removal to 4 Park Street taking place that year. The present members of the firm (1901) are : George H. Mifflin; Henry O. Houghton, second; James M. Kay; and Oscar R. and Albert F. Houghton (sons of the late Albert G. Houghton), living in New York.
Mr. Houghton was a natural leader and organizer, though making but few rules for his employees. Alert and vigilant, somewhat severe in his requirements, not inclined lightly to pass over blunders and failures, he yet took a kindly personal interest in his work people, and would keep them busy in dull times at small profit to himself. Studying the works of Aldus, Baskerville, and other masters of the art of book-making, he cultivated his taste and acquainted himself with the general principles useful in determining the size of paper, the character of type, and other details. At an early day he gave employment at type-setting and proof-reading to young women who recom- mended themselves by good education and good manners. On the labor question Carroll D. Wright, whom he consulted in the matter of a projected first-class weekly paper for wage- earners, said he was far ahead of his time.
A Methodist in religion, he was catholic in sympathy, being at once, it has been said, "too large a man to be narrowly sectarian or
to be religiously indifferent." His piety was practical rather than emotional, laying stress on "integrity, justice, frugality, self-respect, and charity to the suffering and needy." For a number of years he attended the Bromfield Street Methodist Episcopal Church, Boston, even after taking up his residence in Cam- bridge, where at two different periods he was connected with the Harvard Street Church, holding the office of trustee and serving as Sunday-school superintendent from September, 1864, throughout his remaining years. Polit- ically he was a Republican. He was one of the foremost of New England publishers in advocating the international copyright law. He was Mayor of the city of Cambridge in 1872. He was the first president of the Ver- mont Association in Boston. For a quarter of a century he was one of the trustees of Boston University, and as chairman of the Standing Committee on the School of Law rendered valuable service. His claim to membership in the Massachusetts Society of Colonial Wars was derived from the military services of John2 Houghton, Jr., Major Simon Willard, Ensign Jacob Houghton, and other ancestors, the printed list showing eighteen names.
Mr. Houghton was married at Cambridge, September 12, 1854, to Nanna W. Manning, daughter of William Manning by his second wife, Lydia Wyer, widow of Timothy Keith. Mrs. Houghton's grandfather Manning was a Chaplain in the Revolution. The Houghton home in Cambridge for a few years was on Ellery Street, afterward in a house that he built on Main Street, now Massachusetts Ave- nue. The family life was very pleasant. There were four children : Henry Oscar, sec- ond, born at Cambridge, February 18, 1856; Elizabeth Harris, born March 6, 1858; Al- berta Manning, born December 23, 1860; and Justine Frances, born November 10, 1862. Mrs. Nanna W. Manning Houghton died April 13, 1891. The Hon. Henry Oscar Houghton died August 25, 1895. ("Henry Oscar Houghton, a Biographical Outline" is the title of a memorial volume by the late Mr. Horace E. Scudder, to which we are indebted for much of the foregoing. )
Henry Oscar Houghton, second, member of
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the firm of Houghton, Mifflin & Co., as above noted, was married in Cambridge in December, 1884, to Rose Rysse, daughter of Arthur Gil- man of that city, the well-known teacher and author. Their children : Henry Oscar, third, born and died May 25, 1888; Rosamond, born in Cambridge, August 23, 1894; and Vir- ginia, born at Swampscott, July 29, 1898. Justine Frances Houghton was married in Swampscott, September 23, 1901, to Francis Stewart Kershaw.
OSEPH HERBERT BOWEN, of Lynn, son of Joseph Hooper and Lydia Maria (Brown) Bowen, is a grandson of Thomas Martin Bowen, and great- grandson of Nathan Bowen, both of Marble- head; also great-grandson of Captain John Rhodes Russell, a Revolutionary soldier of Marblehead. Through his mother Mr. Bowen is a descendant in all probability of Nicholas Brown, who arrived at Salem with Governor Winthrop in 1630, settling in Lynn.
Thomas Martin Bowen (b. in 1789, d. in 1857) m. daughter of Captain Rhodes and Lois (Hooper) Russell. Captain John R. Russell (b. in 1754, d. November 22, 1817) served as a private in Colonel Glover's regiment during the War for Independence, assisting in rowing the American troops over East River in the re- treat from Greenwood, and over the Delaware preceding the battle of Trenton, and served under General Arnold at Saratoga. After the close of the war he became a Captain in the merchant marine service. His gravestone is still standing upon the family lot in the Unita- rian churchyard at Marblehead. The children of Thomas M. and Miriam Bowen were : Thomas, Joseph H., Benjamin, Elizabeth, Lois, and Miriam. Benjamin is still living, and resides in Dorchester; and Miriam, who m. John Bessom, is a resident of Marblehead. Members of the Russell family and its de- scendants have an organized association, which meets annually in September at Marblehead.
Joseph Hooper Bowen (b. May 7, 1821, d. July 15, 1895) was in his younger days a shoe- maker, and later in life was employed as a private watchman. He m. Lydia Maria Brown
(b. June 19, 1823, d. October 18, 1888), daughter of Marshall and Abigail (Brown) Brown. Her father, Marshall Brown, was, it is thought, a descendant in the seventh genera- tion of Nicholas' Brown, of Lynn and Read- ing (now Wakefield), through his son Joseph2 (b. 1647), who m. Elizabeth Bancroft, of Reading. There is some difficulty in identify- ing the representative of the third generation (supposed to have been Joseph3), but the fourth was represented by John4 (great-grand- father of Marshall Brown), who was b. about 1684, and who m. Mary Paul. The line of descent was continued through Captain Eph- raim5 Brown and wife Ann, who were the par- ents of Ezra6 (b. 1750, d. 1828). Ezra6 was twice m., first to Jane Stocker, and second to Mary Mansfield. His son Marshall m. Abi- gail Brown, as above noted.
Joseph H. and Lydia M. (Brown) Bowen were the parents of five children - Abbie M., Joseph H., Lucy Ann, and two others who did not live to maturity. Abbie M. is now superintendent of the Woman's Union for Christian Work. Lucy Ann is the wife of James Jeffrey, of Lynn, manufacturer of shoe- dressings.
Joseph Herbert Bowen (born in Lynn, July 19, 1848) was brought up and educated in that city. His business training was acquired in the employ of E. J. Medbury, a shoe manufact- urer, with whom he remained as salesman and book-keeper for six years, at the expiration of which time he became associated with Mr. L. R. Lothrop in the leather business under the firm name of Lothrop & Bowen. That copartnership continued for sixteen years, or until the death of his associate. After that event Mr. Bowen assumed entire charge of the business, and has ever since successfully con- ducted it in his own name. He handles large quantities of leather annually, making a spe- cialty of children's and infants' cut soles, spring heels, and top lifts.
In July, 1876, Mr. Bowen married Caroline Rea Brown, daughter of William and Hannah (Burrill) Brown, of Peabody. Mr. and Mrs. Bowen have four children living : Alfred Pres- ton (born April 21, 1877), a graduate of the Harvard Medical School, now practising his
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profession in Lynn; Charles Walter (born April 3, 1879), now in business with his father; Herbert Ashley (born May 23, 1881), now a law student in the office of Southwick & Parsons, Lynn; and Mildred Rea Bowen (born April 12, 1891). A daughter, Helen Louise, born June 3, 1883, died October 28, 1899.
It is a singular coincident that Joseph Her- bert Bowen married a Miss Brown, as did his father and grandfather, and not one of the Misses Brown was related to either of the others.
ATHAN WILLIS EDSON, senior member of the firm of N. W. Edson & Co., Lynn, was born in Andover, Mass., April 27, 1830, son of Eli- jah and Persis (Frye) Edson. He is a de- scendant in the seventh generation of Deacon Samuel Edson, who was b. in England in 1612, and was an early settler in Bridgewater, Mass. From Deacon Samuel Edson and his wife Susanna Orcutt the line of descent is through Samuel, 2-3-4 Noah, 5 and Elijah6 Edson. Samuel2 Edson, son of Deacon Edson, m. Susanna, daughter of Nicholas Byram, of Weymouth, Mass: Their son Samuel3 was b. in Bridgewater in 1690. Samuel4 (b. in Bridgewater in 1714), son of Samuel3 and his wife Mary, m. in 1738 Martha, daughter of Nathan Perkins. Noah5 Edson (b. in Bridge- water in 1756) m. for his second wife in 1787 Mary, daughter of Ebenezer Willis, of Middle- boro, Mass. Mary5 Willis was a descendant of John1 Willis through Nathaniel, 2 Ebenezer3-4. John Willis, who was an early arrival at Dux- bury, Mass., afterward became one of the orig- inal proprietors and first settlers of Bridge- water. He was the first Deacon of the church in that town, and was Representative to the Old Colony Court for twenty-five years. His will was proved in 1693. Nathaniel2 Willis, son of Deacon John' and his wife Elizabeth, succeeded to the ownership of the homestead in Bridgewater. His son, Ebenezer3 Willis, m. Lydia Hinks (Mitchell says "m. a
Hinds"), and was the father of Ebenezer, 4 who removed to Middleboro, and thence to
Hardwick, Mass. Ebenezer4 Willis m. Mary Jackson in 1753, and their daughter Mary m. Noah Edson, as above mentioned.
Elijah6 Edson, b. in Bridgewater July 5, 1794, d. in South Reading, Mass., January 26, 1841. He was for some years a cabinet-maker in Barnstable, Mass., learning his trade under an elder brother. In 1822 he went to Andover, Mass., where he was employed by the Smith Brothers for twelve years in the manufacture of cotton machinery. In 1835 he removed to South Reading (now Wakefield), Mass., and there continued the manufacture of furniture till his death. He was made a Free Mason in Fellowship Lodge, Bridgewater, April 12, 1824. On May 13, 1818, while living in Plymouth, he m. for his first wife Nancy D. Clark of that place. She d. April 24, 1828, leaving three children : Elijah Clark, b. March 16, 1819; Samuel, b. April 1, 1823, who d. February 11, 1825; and Nancy Haley, b. Oc- tober 14, 1825, who m. Joshua Whitmarsh, and d. a widow in Middleboro, October 23, 1901. Elijah6 Edson m. for his second wife June 30, 1829, Persis, daughter of Timothy and Persis (Frye) Frye, of Andover. Of this marriage there were children as follows: Na- than Willis, born April 27, 1830, a sketch of whose life is given below; Edward Brainard, b. January 17, 1834; John Francis, b. April 16, 1835, who d. in Somerville November 30, 1863; Sarah Jane, b. March 14, 1837, who d. in Salem January 18, 1853; and Charles Frye, b. May 12, 1839, who d. in Lynn March 17, 1893.
Edward Brainard Edson m. Mary S. Hurd, of Somerville, July 13, 1867, and had one child - Mabel, b. June 20, 1872, who d. Janu- ary 15, 1874. Charles Frye Edson m. Eliza- beth T. Pierce, of Middleton, February 22, 1864. He had two children: Edith F., b. January 17, 1865 ; and Nellie W., b. May 26, 1867, who m. Wilbur L. Woodbury, of Lynn, June 10, 1891. Charles Frye Edson served in the Civil War, enlisting at Middleboro as Sec- ond Lieutenant of Company D, Eighteenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and sub- sequently becoming Captain of Company I. Mrs. Persis Frye Edson d. in Somerville, Mass., March 8, 1867, aged sixty-seven years.
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Nathan Willis Edson was educated in the public schools of South Reading and at Phil- lips Andover Academy. In 1847, after leav- ing school, he became clerk in the general store of John Derby in Andover, with whom he remained for about a year and a half. He then went to West Danvers (now Peabody) in the employ of John P. Derby to work in a gen- eral store connected with Mr. Derby's woollen mill there. On reaching the age of twenty- one he entered into business for himself in Salem, opening a newspaper and periodical store, and also engaging in the manufacture of door-plates. In 1853 he sold out his Salem store and removed to Somerville, where for a number of years he continued in that branch of manufacture. From 1858 to 1871 he was proprietor of a grocery store in Somerville. Removing to Lynn in December of the latter year, he engaged in shoe manufacturing as a member of the firm of Edson & Tucker. That copartnership continued some two or three years. In May, 1872, he re-entered the gro- cery business on Union Street in company with his brother, Charles F. Edson, under the firm name of C. F. Edson & Co., and in 1878 they opened another store on Franklin Street under the firm name of N. W. Edson & Co. Mr. Edson is a member of the Masonic frater- nity, affiliating with the John Abbott Lodge, F. & A. M., of Somerville. He is a Deacon of the Washington Street Baptist Church. On November 24, 1857, Mr. Edson married Ellen Melinda Orr, of East Bridgewater. She was born in Canton, Mass., January 6, 1836, daughter of Hugh3 and Hannah Shaw (Keen) Orr. Mr. Orr d. in Canton July 19, 1839. Mrs. Orr was a daughter of Josiah and Hannah S. (Whitman) Keen. She d. March 19, 1878.
Hugh3 Orr (b. in 1798) was a son of Hugh2 and Silvia (Mitchell) Orr, the latter a daugh- ter of Jacob Mitchell and his wife Rebecca, daughter of Captain John Loring. Hugh2 Orr was a son of Hugh' Orr, of Loch Winioch, Renfrewshire, Scotland, who emigrated in 1740, settling in East Bridgewater, and he was a son of Robert Orr. In 1742 Hugh' Orr m. Mary, daughter of Captain Jonathan4 Bass (Samuel, 3 John,2 and Samuel' Bass, Roxbury, 1630). John2 Bass (b. in 1632), who settled
in Braintree, m. Ruth Alden, daughter of John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden. Jacob Mitch- ell, father of Silvia, was a son of Seth4 Mitch- ell, b. 1715, and his wife, Ann Latham. Seth4 was a son of Thomas3 and his wife Eliza- beth, daughter of John2 Kingman (Henry'). Thomas3 was a son of Jacob2 and Susanna (Pope) Mitchell, and grandson of Experience" Mitchell, who came over in the "Ann" in 1623, and m. Jane, daughter of Francis Cooke, one of the "Mayflower " Pilgrims.
Nathan W. and Ellen M. Edson have four children now living, namely : Sarah Rogers, born November 20, 1860; Emma Willis, born August 1, 1862; John Francis, born May 26, 1865; and Linda Norris, born November 24, 1869, all natives of Somerville. Their eldest child, Charles R., born October 30, 1859, died September 10, 1860. Sarah Rogers mar- ried June 18, 1884, W. H. P. Faunce, now president of Brown University, and has one son - Perry Edson Faunce, born November 25, 1898. Emma Willis married January 12, 1887, G. A. Bodwell, of the firm of G. A. Bodwell & Co., Lynn, and has two daughters: Lucile E., born April 1, 1890; and Persis E., born August 5, 1891. John Frances Edson was married January 1, 1889, to Mary Wood- bury Hay, daughter of Joseph Hay, of Lynn, and has three children: Elsie Persis, born September 20, 1889; Eleanor Frances, born August 8, 1891 ; and Nathan Willis, born No- vember 23, 1897. Linda Norris married April 22, 1896, William Howard McConnell, of Lynn, who is associated in business with Mr. G. A. Bodwell, above mentioned.
OHN GREGORY BISHOP ADAMS, late Sergeant-at-Arms of the Common- wealth, was born in Groveland, Mass., October 6, 1841, and died suddenly at the State House, Boston, October 19, 1900. He was directly descended from Robert Adams, one of the earlier settlers of Newbury, Mass., the line being : Robert,' Sergeant Abraham,2 Isaac, 3 Samuel,4 Colonel Samuel, 5 Samuel, Jr.,6 Isaac,7 and John Gregory Bishop8.
Robert' Adams, the founder of the Adams family in America, came to New England in
WILLIAM H. GRAY.
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1635, accompanied by his wife Eleanor and two children. He lived first in Ipswich, then in Salem, removing to Newbury in 1640. He was a tailor, and doubtless worked at his trade, but was also engaged in farming, having a large tract of land. He had nine children. Sergeant Abraham2 Adams, b. at Salem, Mass., in 1639, m. in 1670 Mary, daughter of Rich- ard and Joanna (Ingersoll) Pettengill. Isaac3 Adams, b. February, 1678-9, was the third in a family of ten children. He removed from Newbury, his native town, to Boxford, where his death occurred September 3, 1775, in the ninety-seventh year of his age. He m. Han- nah, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Burpee) Spofford, of Rowley, and grand-daughter of John' and Elizabeth (Scott) Spofford, of Ipswich, Mass., 1634.
Samuel4 Adams, one of a family of five chil- dren, was b. at Rowley, February, 1700-I. In 1732 he m. Mary (or Sarah) Burbank, who bore him two children - Sarah and Samuel, both of whom were baptized in Byfield Parish. Colonel Samuels Adams settled in 1760 on land that he purchased in East Bradford, now Groveland. He m. in 1764 Mary, daughter of Samuel and Meribah (Tenney) Stickney, and a descendant in the sixth generation of William Stickney, who was one of the origi- nal settlers of Rowley, Mass. Samuel6 Adams, Jr., b. at East Bradford, 1768, m., first, in 1793, Margaret Harriman, of Rowley, by whom he had six children, all b. in East Bradford. By his second wife, Mary Savery, he had a son Moses.
Isaac7 Adams, the eldest child of Samuel, Jr., m. in July, 1817, Margaret Bishop, who was b. at Salem, Mass., in 1798, and d. at Groveland, Mass., in October, 1874. He d. November 8, 1862. Of his eleven children the following is a brief record : Harriet New- hall, b. at Salem in 1818, m. Healey Morse, and is still living. Charles H., b. in Grove- land in 1820, m. Mary Lank (both deceased). Mary K., the twin sister of Charles H., became the wife of Charles Chubb, and d. in 1865. Enoch, who was b. in 1824, and d. in Ipswich in 1852, m. Caroline A. Perkins. Asa F., b. in 1827, m. Mary J. Kimball, and d. at Plym- outh in 1877. Andrew J. d. in 1844, aged
fifteen years. Isaac Newcomb, b. in Newbury- port in 1832, enlisted in Company A, First Battalion, Massachusetts Rifles, afterward Nineteenth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, d. September, 1862, of wounds received at the battle of Antietam, and was buried at the National Cemetery in Antietam. Martha L., b. in 1835, is the widow of Henry H. Heath, who d. at Haverhill, July 5, 1898. Emily A., b. in 1837, m. Samuel T. Perry (both de- ceased). Eliza J. d. in infancy. John Greg- ory Bishop, the special subject of this sketch, is further mentioned below.
John Gregory Bishop8 Adams was reared and educated in Groveland, Mass. In 1861 he joined Major Ben Perley Poore's Rifle Battalion, which was afterward the Nineteenth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry .. Re-enlist- ing in the same regiment at the expiration of his term of enlistment, he actively participated in many of the more important battles of the Civil War, and was promoted through different grades until attaining the rank of Captain. In June, 1864, he was captured at Petersburg, and in the different Southern prisons in which he was confined for nine months endured untold sufferings and privations. At the close of the war he settled in Lynn. In 1865-66 he was Deputy Superintendent of the Concord Reformatory. He was Postmaster of the city from 1877 until 1885, when he was elected Sergeant-at-Arms of the Commonwealth, an office that he held through the remainder of his life. He was a charter member of the General Lander Post, G. A. R., of Lynn, and very in- fluential in its management, serving as Com- mander of the post three terms, as Commander of the Department of Massachusetts in 1879, and Commander-in-Chief in 1893 and 1894.
Mr. Adams married April 5, 1865, Mary E. Dodge, of Beverly. Mrs. Adams is a daughter of Benjamin and Almira (Bickford) Dodge, and a grand-daughter of Samuel Bickford, of Topsfield.
ILLIAM HENRY GRAY, superin- tendent of public buildings in Cam- bridge, was born in Concord, N. H., March 3, 1849, son of Solomon Henry and
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Louisa (Brown) Gray. His mother, who d. in 1893, was b. at Deering, N. H., in 1821, and was a daughter of Joshua and Sarah Brown. The records show that Joshua Brown served in the Revolutionary War as a soldier from Deering.
Mr. Gray's paternal grandfather, Bathalen Gray, a native of New Hampshire, b. in Roch- ester, perhaps in that part of the town known as Gonic, was a seafaring man. In this call- ing it is known that he became an officer, and that he made many foreign voyages on merchant vessels. He m., and became the father of seven children. Of these the only survivor is Joseph Gray, of Concord, N. H.
Solomon H. Gray, the father of the subject of this sketch, was b. at Gonic in 1821. He also followed the sea for some time before attaining the age of thirty years. Afterward he engaged in the business of quarrying. The later years of his life were spent in Concord, N. H., occupied in farming. He d. August 25, 1867. Of his five children, two -- Will- iam Henry and Georgiana - are living. Geor- giana is the wife of James E. Ranlett, of Con- cord, N. H., and the mother of two children - Clarence E. and Jennie M.
William Henry Gray, the first born of his parents' children, obtained his education in the public schools of Concord, finishing with a course in the high school. Subsequently, having learned the carpenter's trade, he worked at it for three years in Wakefield (formerly South Reading), Mass., and later he engaged in the business of contractor and builder on his own account. He had spent seven years in this occupation when he became an instructor in the industrial department of the House of Cor- rection at Cambridge, Mass. Having served in this capacity for six years, he was appointed to the office of deputy master in the same institution, and subsequently discharged the duties thereof efficiently for eight years under John M. Fisk. Beginning in the fall of 1894, he was assistant inspector of buildings in Cam- bridge for three months. At the end of that period he was promoted to the post of superin- tendent of public buildings, which he has since filled acceptably.
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