Genealogy and history of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, Part 80

Author: Hurd, Charles Edwin, 1833-1910
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Boston, New England historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 850


USA > Massachusetts > Genealogy and history of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts > Part 80


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he resided until his death, April 18, 1774. He followed the trade of a carpenter and joiner. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Mun- roe, was b. in Lincoln, Mass., being a daugh- ter of Benjamin and Mary (Merriam) Munroe. Her father was a son of Benjamin, Sr.,2 and grandson of William Munroe, of Lexington, a native of Scotland.


Josiah6 Parker (b. November 25, 1751, d. January 20, 1830) served in the Revolutionary War, belonging to the military company of Woburn that marched to Lexington and Con- cord on April 19, 1775, and being in Captain Wyman's company at the battle of Bunker Hill. He was with Lieutenant Johnson at Cambridge in 1777, and with Captain Wyman in the campaign of 1778. He m. Hannah Gardner, b. in Charlestown, February 3, 1754. She was a daughter of Henry Gardner, Jr., grand-daughter of Henry, Sr., and Elizabeth (Lane) Gardner, and great-grand-daughter of Richard and Anna (Blanchard) Gardner. Her father, Henry Gardner, Jr., m. Lucy Fowle, a daughter of Captain John and Elizabeth (Pres- cott) Fowle, and grand-daughter of James and Mary (Richardson) Fowle.


Frederick7 Parker, who spent his entire life in Woburn, was b. July 20, 1798, and d. June 24, 1853. His wife, Nabby Thompson, a daughter of Major Abijah and his wife Lydia Thompson, d. March 31, 1879.


Frederick Chandler Parker was the second in a family of seven children. He assisted his father in the work of the home farm until 1850, when he began learning the currier's trade, serving an apprenticeship of two years. He subsequently entered into business on his own account with A. B. Johnson, under the firm name of Johnson & Parker, later becom- ing junior member of the firm of Horace Conn & Co., remaining in partnership with Mr. Conn until 1874. Erecting then his present shop on the Arlington road, he established the busi- ness which he has since conducted successfully.


Mr. Parker married June 30, 1857, Martha A. Hanson, who was born in South Danvers, now Peabody, January 26, 1833, and died October 17, 1893. Her father, Isaac Hanson, son of Tobias Hanson, was b. in Wakefield, N. H. He m. Eliza Batchelder, who was b.


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in July, 1810, a daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (Wilson) Batchelder. She d. Novem- ber 19, 1901, at the age of ninety-one years and four months. Mr. and Mrs. Parker reared three children, namely : Lydia Thompson ; William Chandler, a biographical sketch of whom appears in this work; and Mary Well- ington.


INSLOW TRUE PERKINS, of Malden, Mass., holds the respon- sible position of superintendent of the Eastern Division of the Boston & Maine Railway. He was born at Tamworth Iron Works, N. H., January 4, 1837, son of True and Mary Ann (Chapman) Perkins. On the paternal side he is a direct descendant of Isaac1 Perkins, an early settler of Hampton, N. H., and on the maternal side is descended from Edward Chapman.


Isaac' Perkins was living in Hampton, N. H., a few months after its settlement in 1638. A house lot of five acres was assigned him by the town. In 1652 he bought a "farm lying next the Salisbury line (in Seabrook)," and removed thither. On May 18, 1642, he took the freeman's oath. He d. November 13, 1685. His children by his wife, Susannah Wise, were: Lydia, who m. October 17, 1659, Eliakim Wardwell; Isaac, b. December, 1639, drowned in 1661; Jacob, b. May 24, 1640, m. 1669 Mary Philbrick; Rebecca, m. 1659 John Huzzey; Daniel, d. 1662; Caleb, b. 1648; Benjamin, b. 1650; Susan, b. 1652, m. May 12, 1673, Isaac Buzwell, of Salisbury ; m., second, January 22, 1680, William Fuller, Jr., of Hampton; Hannah, b. 1656, d. May 23, 1739, m. 1674 James Philbrick; Mary, b. 1658, m. Isaac Chase, of Hampton; Ebenezer, b. 1659, wife Mary; Joseph, b. 1661, wife Martha.


Caleb2 Perkins m. April 24, 1677, Bethiah, daughter of Thomas2 Philbrick and his first wife, Ann Knapp. Three children were b. of their union, Benjamin, 3 b. May 11, 1680, being the only son. He m. March 1, 1711, Lydia McCrease, and lived at Hampton Falls. Children : Joseph, b. May 5, 1712, d. June 17, 1761, m. October 31, 1734, Elizabeth


Dow; Lydia, b. November 1, 1714, m. No- vember 12, 1735, Gideon Dow; Daniel, b. July 9, 1718, m. May 28, 1741, Susanna Carr, and d. while in the army in 1755; Mary, b. April 19, 1721, m. July 25, 1751, Benja- min Robinson; Jonathan, b. October 30, 1723, m. December II, 1752, Miriam True; and Abigail, b. July 31, 1728, d. at Epping, N. H., in 1825, aged ninety-seven years, m. October 26, 1749, David Lowell. Jonathan4 Perkins and his wife Miriam had five children, the eldest, a son, True, 5 b. October 26, 1753, being the next in this line.


Miriam True, mother of True5 Perkins, was a descendant of Henry True (or Trew), who was in Salem, Mass., in 1644, and later re- moved to Salisbury. He m. about 1644 "Israel Pike," daughter of John Pike, and a sister of Major Robert Pike, of Salisbury. Captain Henry2 True, b. 1645, son of Henry, 1 d. September 18, 1735. It is supposed that he commanded the first company ever raised in Salisbury for the defence of the town. He served as Selectman in 1719, 1720, 1728, and 1730. In 1668 he m. at Hampton Jane Brad- bury (b. May II, 1645, daughter of Captain Thomas and Mary (Perkins) Bradbury) .- She d. January 24, 1729. Their son, Captain Will- iam3 True (b. 1670, d. March 18, 1733), m. in 1690 Eleanor Stevens (b. January 2, 1675), daughter of Benjamin and Hannah (Barnard) Stevens. She d. April 29, 1768. Henry4 True (b. December 26, 1707, son of William3 and Eleanor, d. May, 1778) m. September 19, 1727, Ann Allen, who d. August 18, 1756. They were the parents of Miriam5 True, the wife of Jonathan4 Perkins.


Trues Perkins m. Sarah Hunt. Their son, True,6 b. February 8, 1779, d. January 15, 1842. His wife, whose maiden name was Sally Hunt, d. July 5, 1839. True7 Perkins, third of the name in direct line (b. May 17, 1806, d. July 3, 1878), was a lifelong farmer of Tamworth, N. H. He was a member of the Free Baptist church, and for forty years a Justice of the Peace. On September 12, 1831, he m. Mary Ann Chapman, a teacher (b. Feb- ruary 16, 1810, and d. October, 1867). She was a daughter of Andrew McClary Chapman, and a descendant of Edward Chapman, a


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grantee of Ipswich, Mass., in 1644, the line being : Edward,' Samuel,2 Samuel, 3 Samuel, 4 Samuel, 5 Andrew McClary, 6 Mary Ann7.


Edward1 Chapman is said to have come from the north-east of England, not far from Hull, in Yorkshire, and to have landed in Boston about 1639. In 1644 he was a grantee of Ipswich, was a farmer and miller, and d. April 18, 1678. In March, 1642, he m. in Rowley Mary Sy- monds, daughter of Mark Symonds (b. England, 1584, d. April 23, 1659). She d. June 10, 1658. He m. for his second wife Dorothy, daughter of Richard Swain, and widow of Thomas Abbot, of Rowley. Samuel2 Chapman was b. in 1654, and d. January 26, 1722. A wheelwright and farmer by occupation, he lived in Ipswich in his earlier life, and then removed to Hampton, where he located on Brumble Hill, now in North Hampton. In 1673 he joined the church. He m. first in Ipswich, May 20, 1678, Ruth, daughter of Samuel In- galls. She d. June 22, 1700. He had a second wife, Phebe. Samuel3 Chapman, b. February 12, 1679, d. April 21, 1742. A


cordwainer, he settled first in Hampton, but later removed to Greenland, N.H. On March II, 1702, he m. Mrs. Phebe Balch (b. Pennel), of Manchester, Mass. She d. April 11, 1738. They had ten children. Samuel+ Chapman, b. December 7, 1706, at Newmarket, N. H., re- moved to Stratham, where he was a prom- inent citizen, active in town affairs, and d. in Danville, Vt., about 1795. He m., first, a Miss York, who bore him twelve children, seven sons and five daughters. The line of descent was continued through his son Samuels Chapman (b. March 9, 1734, d. at Newmarket, April 9, 1809), who m. Mary Barber (b. Feb- ruary 4, 1729, d. December 30, 1816). An- drew McClary6 Chapman, a teacher and farmer, was b. August 22, 1773, and d. April 14, 1850, at Wakefield, N.H. He m. Eleanor Jones, of Epping. She d. May 24, 1868, aged ninety-one years, four months, and fifteen days. They had six children.


To True7 Perkins and his wife, Mary Ann7 Chapman, five children were b., as follows : Edwin Ruthven, who m. Hattie R. Pelton, of Batavia, N. Y., and has four children - Mary, Hattie (deceased), True, and Edwin Ruthven;


Mary Ann (deceased), who was three times m., her first husband having been Henry B. Nealley, her second John A. Cooper, and her third Gil- man Stevens; Winslow True, the subject of this sketch; George Woodbury, who m. Mi- nerva R. Berry; and Andrew McClary, who d. in childhood.


Winslow True8 Perkins completed his edu- cation at the New Hampton Institution. Soon after leaving school he went to Minneapolis, Minn., where he was engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1862. Returned East in that year. He continued his mercantile operations until November 22, 1874, when he entered the railroad service, becoming agent for the East- ern Railroad Company, stationed first at Dover, N. H., and later at Portsmouth. He was also general agent of the Portsmouth and Dover branch of the Eastern and Boston & Maine Railroad. On July 1, 1890, he was promoted to the position of superintendent of the Eastern Division of the Boston & Maine Railroad. While living in Dover he served in 1865 as a member of the city government, and the following two years was a Representative to the State Legislature, serving on Committee on Elections the first term, and the second as Chairman of Committee on Towns and Parishes. Since January, 1892, Mr. Perkins has been a resident of Malden, Mass. He is prominently identified with the local Masonic organizations of that city, belonging to Mount Vernon Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; to Tabernacle Chapter, R. A. M. ; and to Beauseant Commandery, K. T. He is also an Odd Fellow, a member of Wecohamet Lodge, No. 3, of Dover, N. H. and of the lo- cal Encampment. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party, and for several years was a member of the Republican State Central Committee of New Hampshire, and a Justice of the Peace for twenty-five years.


Mr. Perkins married, first, at Minneapolis, Minn., July 7, 1857, Anna Maria Savory, of that city. She died October 9, 1861, leaving one child - Augustus True9 Perkins, who was born in Minneapolis, July 14, 1858, and died at Dover, N. H., September 3, 1888. Mr. Perkins married, second, July 14, 1869, Mrs. Carrie Swett Durant, a daughter of Simon L. and Hannah H. Gray, of Dover, N. H. Mr.


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and Mrs. Perkins have two children : George Winslow9 Perkins, born in Dover, N. H., May 6, 1872; and Edwin Chapman9 Perkins, born June 19, 1875. Both sons are engaged in business in Boston, George W. being on the Boston Daily Advertiser, and Edwin C., an inspector in the Freight Traffic Bureau, which includes all the railroads in Boston.


T HOMAS BENJAMIN DOOLITTLE, a Boston business man residing in Bran- ford, Conn., is a representative of one of the older New England families, being a direct descendant of Abraham1 Doolittle, who came to this country in the early part of the seventeenth century. Investigation into the early history of the family name discloses a Norman origin, it being recorded that Ru- dolph de Dolieta, a Norman noble, accom- panied William the Conqueror to England and he appears to have been the original pro- genitor of the family in that country. Various modifications of the name appear in the old English records of succeeding centuries.


William, son of Alan Dolatel or Dolitel, is mentioned m8d. Patent 7, Edward I. (year 1279). Robert Dolittel for some offence was granted a royal pardon "by reason of his ser- vices in Scotland"; Guilford, January 20, Calender of Patent Rolls 31, Edward I. (year 1303). We find also a Thomas Dolitell, of Kederminster, Worcestershire, will adminis- trator 1579; Humphrey Dolitle, at Stone, Wor- cestershire, will administrator 1582; George Doelittell, Middlesex, 1600; John Doolittle, licensed to alianat, 15 James I., 1618; Will- iam Doolittle and wife Jane at Kidderminster, 1630; and others. A prominent member of the family was the Rev. Thomas Doolittle, M. A., a Nonconformist, tutor, and divine, a protégé of Richard Baxter, by whom he was sent to Cambridge. He suffered persecution, and his person was often in danger; but he always escaped, and was never imprisoned. It is said of him, "He was a very worthy and diligent divine, and won considerable renown as the author of books on practical divinity." At the present time the name of Doolittle is not common in England. In this country a


few bearing it are said to be descended from one Perea Du Chatell, who came from France in Montcalm's army. He was so pleased with America that at the close of the war he brought his family and settled in St. Antoine, Canada, where he changed his name to Peter Doolittle.


Abraham1 Doolittle, the stanch old Puritan, was the progenitor of most of the American Doolittles. His signature shows that he spelled his family name "Dowlittell." He was b. in the latter part of 1619, or early in 1620, but in what part of England is not known; and search thus far has not disclosed his parentage. There is, however, strong evi- dence pointing to a close, if not direct, rela- tionship to the branch of the family already mentioned as residing in various parts of Wor- cestershire. In early manhood he m. Joane Allen (or Alling, as spelled in the colonial records), daughter of James Allen, of Kemp- ston, county of Bedford, England. At the age of twenty-one, shortly after their marriage, he came with his bride to seek a home in the New. World, where they might enjoy civil and religious liberty. He located first at New Haven, Conn., where, prior to 1642, he owned a fortified house which was the refuge of the settlers against the Indians. He was a Ser- geant in the militia; was admitted a freeman in 1644, and. in the same year was made Sheriff of the county. In 1669 he was one of the first settlers of Wallingford, Conn., which was incorporated as a town in 1670. He served several terms as Deputy to the General Court from New Haven, and later from Wal- lingford. His first wife, Joane, d. after some twenty years of m. life, and after a decent interval he m. July 2, 1663, Abigail Moss, b. April 10, 1642, daughter of John Moss, of New Haven. Her father, afterward one of Abraham's colleagues in founding Walling- ford, d. in 1707, at the remarkable age of one hundred and three years. Abraham' Doolittle d. August 11, 1690, at the age of seventy. His tombstone is still standing in Walling- ford, bearing his initials, age, and date of death. In his will he mentions his wife Abi- gail, seven sons, and three daughters. A John Doolittle, said to have been a brother of Abra- ham,' although they differed slightly in spell-


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ing the name, came from England to Boston as early as 1640, or possibly earlier. They may have emigrated together. However, John went to Lynn about 1643, but later removed to Boston, and finally settled at Rumney Marsh (now Revere). He was a man of education, and skilled as a surveyor. He left no de- scendants.


John2 Doolittle, son of Abraham and Joane (Allen) Doolittle, was b. at New Haven, June 14, 1655. His mother d. when he was in early childhood, and a few years later, his father having m. again, the family removed to Wallingford. He m., first, Mary, daughter of John and Mary (Moss) Peck of Wallingford, February 13, 1682. She was b. at New Haven, March 4, 1666, and was a grand- daughter of William Peck, a merchant from London who early settled there. Her mother, Mary Moss, was daughter of John Moss of New Haven, and sister of Abigail, the second wife of Abraham Doolittle. John2 Doolittle was a farmer and settled at Wallingford. His wife Mary d. September 1, 1710, and he m., second, January 29, 1717, Grace Blakesley, the widow of John (son of Samuel) Blakesley. John2 Doolittle is named as one of the original pro- prietors of Wallingford. His property was listed as £45 in 1701. The date of his death is unknown. He had eight children - four sons and four daughters.


Samuel3 Doolittle, son of John and Mary Peck Doolittle, was b. February 4, 1685. He resided at or near Wallingford. The given name of his first wife was Mahettable and that of his second, Mary. After his death the latter was appointed guardian of Samuel, Abel, Mahattable and Benjamin - her own children. On November 10, 1749, the homestead of Samuel Doolittle was sold for £106 :4:6. By his first wife he had three children - Mary, Mindwell and Phineas. The line of descent is continued through Benjamin4, b. January 17, 1730, son of Samuel3 by his second wife, Mary. He was the father of Benjamin, 5 whose birth took place in 1753. Benjamin6 Doolittle, b. in 1797, was a chair manufacturer for many years in Litchfield, Conn., and afterward removed to Woodbury, where he was engaged in the express business until his death in February,


1867. He m. Betsey Collier More, daughter of David and Mary (Collier) More who came from Norwich, Conn., to Litchfield. They had eleven children, two of whom d. in infancy. The survivors were : William Hobart, Miranda, Frances Elizabeth, Mary Jane, John Henry, Harriet Preston, George, Thomas Benjamin, whose name begins this sketch, and Merrit Evelyn.


In spite of patient investigation extending over several months, the ancestral line of David More has not been traced. The Mores were numerous in Connecticut, the family name being variously spelled More, Moor, and Moore. On page 656 of the records of Con- necticut "Men in the War of the Revolution " may be read, "David More, pensioner, 1832, residing in New London County." Nothing has yet been found, however, to connect this David More with the one mentioned above. Other records show, in April, 1775, Warham More (elsewhere spelled Moore) on the Lex- ington alarm list; May to December, 1775, James More, private in the Ninth Company, Sixth Connecticut Regiment, Continental army, the officers of which company were from Say- brook, Conn. The records of Norwich, Conn., throw no light on the birth or parentage of the David More who m. Mary Collier, and other expected sources of information have likewise failed to do so. A Richard More came on the "Mayflower " in 1620, being then a boy. He settled at Duxbury, afterward removed to Salem, m., and had children, but descent from him has not been traced (see " 'Mayflower' Descendants," Vol. I.).


Mary Collier, wife of David More, was a daughter of Richard and Mary (Green) Collier. Her father was the Richard Collier of Boston described as a "brazier," who settled in Nor- wich, Conn., in the latter part of the eight- eenth century. This Richard Collier was m. in King's Chapel, Boston, by the Rev. Henry Caner, January 6, 1759, to Mary Green. A complete line of ancestry has not yet been traced for him, but it has been carried back with reasonable certainty for several genera- tions. He was undoubtedly son of the Rich- ard Collier of Boston who m. March 10, 1736, Eleanor Penniman, of Braintree (see Braintree


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printed records) ; and the latter Richard, son of Richard who was m. in Boston to Mary Jarvis, by "Mr. Cotton Mather," January 25, 1699 (records of Boston). Back of the Richard Collier last named all is conjecture. Some of the descendants of Richard and Mary (Green) Collier have a tradition that they are de- scended from the Joseph Collier of Newbury (see Savage) referred to in Hinman's "Puri- tans of Connecticut " as the first of the name in that State, and probably from Salem or Hingham about 1660; but this hardly seems likely, as, for chronological reasons, Joseph, the natal dates of whose children are known, cannot be connected in direct line with the Richard Collier who m. Mary Jarvis. This Richard was more probably son of one of the Colliers who resided at an early date in the vi- cinity of Boston, there being one at Hull and one at Sudbury, of whom but scant mention is made in early records. Thomas Collier, a son of Richard and Mary (Green) Collier, and publisher at one time of the Litchfield Monitor, on the occasion of the death of his sister, Mrs. More, inserted in his paper the following obituary : -


"Died in this town on the 30th inst. Mrs. Mary More, widow of the late Mr. David More, in the eightieth year of her age. Mrs. More was born in Boston in 1764, and was a descendant of the Hon. William Collier, who for many years was one of the magistrates of Plymouth jurisdiction, and one of the two Representatives of the Congress of the United Colonies of New England. He came over to Plymouth in 1638, resided in Duxbury, and died about 1670."


Richard and Mary (Green) Collier had three children - Mary (who m. David More, as al- ready mentioned), Thomas, and Margaret. Thomas settled in Litchfield, where he printed the Litchfield Monitor. He m., and reared a large family. His death occurred in Litch- field about 1884. Two of his sons - John Allen and Hamilton - went to Binghamton, N. Y. John (b. 1787, d. 1873) was a graduate of Yale College. He was admitted to the bar at Troy, N. Y., in 1809, and settled the same year in Binghamton, where he became a lead-


ing lawyer and a prominent and highly honored citizen, representing his district in Congress. The third Richard Collier had a sister Mar- garet, who m. Richard Draper, publisher of the Boston News Letter. This paper had been es- tablished, or was published, by Bartholomew Green in 1722, and after his death in 1732 had been carried on by his son-in-law, John Draper. On the death of John it passed into the hands of his son Richard, above mentioned, who not long after his marriage d. of consumption. Richard's widow Margaret then conducted it for two years as an ultra-Tory paper, this being during the British occupation of Boston. Upon the evacuation of Boston by the British troops she went to England, taking with her her niece Margaret, whom she educated, and who subse- quently m. James Hamilton, a nobleman. This younger Margaret lived and d. in Lon- don, leaving a large property, it is said, to her American relatives, which, however, was never claimed.


Thomas Benjamin7 Doolittle, the direct sub- ject of this sketch, was born in Woodbury, Litchfield County, Conn., June 30, 1839, and was educated at the Woodbury Academy. At the age of seventeen years he was apprenticed to the trade of machinist, serving over two years, and later working as a journeyman for a year or more at various points. In 1861 he entered the employment of the Colts Arms Manufacturing Company at Hartford, where he had charge of a portion of the revolver depart- ment for nearly two years. At the end of that time he became a contractor for the manufact- ure of Springfield rifles with the same com- pany, in which pursuit he continued until the close of the Civil War. Mr. Doolittle then spent a short time in Ansonia, from there re- moving to Bridgeport, where for several years he was connected with the Bridgeport Brass Company, having charge of one of their de- partments. In 1870 he embarked in the manufacturing business in Bridgeport as presi- dent of a corporation which was engaged in the manufacture of metallic goods, carriage trimmings being among the chief articles. This corporation was the pioneer in the manu- facture of barbed wire for fencing. In 1877 Mr. Doolittle became interested in the tele-


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phone, and engaged in the telephone business, having been granted a license for Western Connecticut and Western Massachusetts under the Bell patents. It was at this time that he took out the first letters patent that was ever issued showing a complete telephone exchange. This patent was dated October 22, 1878. The first complete telephone switchboard ever made in any manufacturing establishment was planned by Mr. Doolittle, and was built by Charles Williams, Jr., of Boston, Mass. Sev- eral patents were taken out by Mr. Doolittle covering the essential features of telephone ex- change apparatus. He soon became directly connected with the American Bell Telephone Company, of Boston, and engaged in the gen- eral development of the telephone business throughout the United States and Canada.


Mr. Doolittle was the first to see the adapta- bility and peculiar advantages of hard drawn copper wire for telephonic purposes, and car- ried on a series of experiments to determine the proper method of manufacture to make it commercially available, for which the Frank- lin Institute of Philadelphia awarded him the "Longstreth Medal of Merit." This wire, while retaining those properties of electrical conductivity inherent in copper, has the addi- tional quality of great tensile strength; and it is stated by those qualified to judge that with- out this discovery long distance telephony and the electrical transmission of energy over long distances would be impossible. In a word, the importance of this process, and its exten- sive application, is sufficiently evident from the fact that the annual consumption of hard drawn copper wire in the United States alone, from an experimental quantity of five hundred pounds manufactured in 1877, now exceeds eighty million pounds a year. Mr. Doolittle conducted the experiments on telephone lines built of hard drawn copper wire, which led up to the organization of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, and he became its first president.




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