USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Vol II > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37
He was born January 21, 1876, at Hinsdale, a son of the late Thomas K. Plunkett, whose father, Charles Henry Plunkett, was of the family of Patrick Plunkett, founder of the family fortunes in America, and an early settler in Berkshire county. Charles Henry Plunkett, Jr., or Harry Plunkett, as he was familiarly known in his native place, attended the schools of Hinsdale, the high school in Pitts- field, and Riverview Military Academy at Poughkeepsie, New York. from which last named institution he was graduated with the class of '83. The following year he was established in the employ of the Sprague Elevator Company, near Newark, New Jersey. Entering that company's shops, and being a mechanical genius of superabundant en- ergy and industry. he speedily acquired a thorough knowledge of elec- trical elevator construction. This was put to the test one year later, when he was sent to San Francisco to superintend the construction of an elevator equipment for one of the greatest structures on the Pacific coast, involving the building of eighteen passenger and freight elevators. So youthful was his appearance that he was received at San Francisco with a dubiety as to his probable qualifications for the important duties with which he was entrusted that would have daunted a less capable and determined young man. "I sent for a man," was the remark that greeted him. His prompt and characteristic response was, in effect, that should he be weighed in the balance and found wanting, a man should be forthcoming, and that he would of necessity come from the
117
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
east. The work in question, however, was most satisfactorily accom- plished, and his services were brought into requisition similarly in the fulfillment of the contracts of the company and its successor, the Otis Elevator Company. in numerous of the great centers of population throughout the United States.
So unsparingly did he tax his physique while yet a mere boy, through his ardent devotion to his labors. that he was compelled to rest therefrom for more than a year in an endeavor to regain normal strength. Before this had been well accomplished he was again in the full tide of active business life, this time associated with the Marine Engine and Machine Company of New York city. One of the last and most noteworthy of the contracts of this company with which young Plunkett was connected was the installation under his superintendence of the great electric elevator in the Washington Monument at Wash- ington City. Concerning this Mr. M. F. Moore, president of the com- pany, in a congratulatory letter to the young engineer, took occasion to inform him that "Colonel Bingham has been very profuse in his expressions of approval." referring to elevator construction in the Mon- ument and the White House, under Mr. Plunkett. Shortly after the completion of these contracts he was again compelled to desist from his labors. He vainly sought relief for his pulmonary affection in the piney atmosphere of Asheville. North Carolina, but the overtaxation of his system had been too complete for recuperation, and he died at his home in Hinsdale, June 12. 1904. He was a young man of most exemplary habits, and upon whose name there was no stain of dishonor.
GEORGE T. PLUNKETT.
Of the worthy descendants of Patrick Plunkett, the gentleman whose name introduces this brief narrative has long been recognized as one of Hinsdale's leading citizens.
118
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
He is a son of the late Charles H. Plunkett, and, with his brother Thomas K. Plunkett, succeeded to the pioneer woolen industry estab- lished by the father at Hinsdale, and operated by the sons and others as the Plunkett Woolen Company.
Mr. Plunkett has been active in advancing the general interests of Hinsdale and has efficiently served his community in many public and private capacities.
He married a daughter of Zenas Marshall Crane, deceased. (See Crane Family.)
HON. JULIUS ROCKWELL.
The Rockwell family are of genuine English stock. Judge Rock- well is the descendant in direct line from Deacon William Rockwell, who came from England in the ship "Mary and John " in 1630, and settled in Dorchester. Massachusetts. Deacon Rockwell was born in 1595, and married Susannah Calıpin, born April 5, 1602. He was one of the deacons of the Dorchester church, the first that came into the country already organized. In the spring of 1637 he moved to East Windsor. Connecticut. where he died May 15, 1640, aged forty-five. His widow was married to Matthew Grant, May 29, 1645, and died November 14, 1666. Of the seven children of Deacon and Susannah Rockwell the three eldest were born in England.
Samuel Rockwell, fourth child of Deacon William and Susannah Rockwell, was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, March 28, 1631; married April 7, 1660, Mary, daughter of Thomas and Grace (Wells) Norton, of Guilford, Connecticut, and died in 1711. Samuel Rockwell and his wife had seven children.
Joseph Rockwell, fourth child of Samuel and Mary ( Norton) Rock- well, was born May 22, 1670. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Job
119
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
and Elizabeth (Alvord) Drake, and died June 26, 1733. He had six children.
Joseph Rockwell, eldest child of Joseph and Elizabeth (Drake) Rockwell, was born November 23, 1695. He married Hannah, daugh- ter of John and Abigail ( Lathrop) Huntington, both of whom were great-grandchildren of Deacon William Rockwell. Joseph Rockwell died October 16, 1746. He had several children.
Samuel Rockwell, seventh child of Joseph and Hannah ( Hunting- ton) Rockwell, was born January 19, 1728. He married. 1757. Hep- zibah, daughter of Jonathan and Mary ( Benton) Pratt. Samuel Rock- well died September 7. 1794, and his wife died in 1816. He moved to Colebrook, Connecticut, in 1767, and was one of its earliest settlers. He and his wife had nine children.
Reuben Rockwell, fifth child of Samuel and Hepzibah ( Pratt) Rock- weli, was born at East Windsor, Connecticut, October 1, 1765. He married Rebecca, daughter of Colonel Bezaleel Beebe, of Litchfield, Con- necticut. a gallant officer of the revolution. Reuben Rockwell died in June. 1840, and his wife in 1853. They were the parents of five children.
Judge Julius Rockwell, eldest child of Reuben and Rebecca ( Beebe) Rockwell, was born in Colebrook, Connecticut, AApril 26, 1805. His early studies were prosecuted at first in Lenox Academy, then under the guidance of the Rev. Ralph Emerson, of Norfolk, Connecticut, and afterward under that of the Rev. Timothy M. Cooley, at Granville, Mass- achusetts. Entering Yale University in October, 1822, he was graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1826, and subsequently received the degree of Mas- ter of Arts. Having selected the profession of the law he began the study of its principles and practice in the Law School at New Haven, where he spent the greater part of two years. Leaving there he entered
120
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
the office of Swan & Sedgwick at Sharon, Connecticut, and remained with them about one year. Being thus thoroughly prepared by ample and varied studies, Mr. Rockwell was admitted to the bar in Litchfield county, Connecticut, in 1829. In 1830 he removed to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and there began the practice of his profession, pursuing it independently for nearly twelve years. In 1842 he formed a copartnership in legal business with Mr. James D. Colt, and continued in that connection until 1859, when both were appointed justices of the superior court. Mr. Rockwell accepted the appointment, Mr. Colt declined it, and some years afterward was appointed one of the justices of the supreme judicial court. Although his elevation to judicial dignity involved the discontinuance of local practice, Judge Rockwell still continued to reside in Pittsfield, and clid not remove thence until 1865, when he removed to Lenox, having pur- chased the old Walker homestead in that village and the birthplace of Mrs. Rockwell, and resided there until his death.
Judge Rockwell's political career began with early maturity. In 1834 he was elected to the legislature from Pittsfield by the national Re- publican party, and held the position as representative for four successive years. Native talent and disciplined ability commanded speedy and flat- tering recognition. In the years 1835-36-37 he was honored with the position of speaker of the house. About two years after the conclusion of his first term of legislative service he was appointed one of the bank commissioners for the state of Massachusetts, receiving his commission from Governor Everett in 1839. The board of bank commissioners con- sisted of three members and was appointed for three years, during two of which Mr. Rockwell acted as chairman. It was the first board of the kind in the state. In 1844 he was elected from the seventh congres- sional district to the house of representatives, the district then compris- ing Berkshire county and the western parts of Hampden, Hampshire, and
121
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
Franklin counties. Three times after that the honor was repeated con- secutively. He represented his district from 1844 to 1852. During his service in congress he formed an integral and influential part of the committee on territories, of which the Hon. Stephen .A. Douglas was the chairman. The objective point in both parties was the territories. Their social character, when constitutionally determined. would solve the ques- tion of sectional supremacy in the Union, and consequent domination of plantation or free labor ideas. True to the traditions and to the in- eradicable political principles of his grand old commonwealth, Mr. Rock- well took an active part in the parliamentary strife. The speech made by him upon the joint resolution offered by Mr. Douglas for the admis- sion of Texas as a state of the Union, was one of the most powerful delivered on that occasion. A few of his closing sentences, which we quote, will give some idea of its character :
"As one called to represent in part the people of his ancient com- monwealth, he must enter his . solemn protest' against the extension of slavery, as an evil directed against the truest interests of his country, as inilitating against her prosperity and freedom, and darkening that national character which she sought to hold up to all nations and ages of the world: as being in opposition to the constitution which had pre- served us hitherto in concord: as against the principles of the fathers of the republic, who lived themselves in slave-holding states ; who would have saved us, if they could, from so great an evil, and who openly con- fessed that they trembled for their country when they remembered that ' God is just.' "
Elevation to the senate of the United States followed his excellent advocacy of natural rights and constitutional law in the house of rep- resentatives. In 1854 he was appointed by Governor Washburn to fill the vacancy in the United States senate occasioned by the resignation of the Hon. Edward Everett. He worthily sustained the dignity and re- sponsibility of United States senator until the election of the Hon. Henry Wilson to that position by the legislature in 1855. At the time of Mr.
122
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
Rockweil's election to the lower house he was a Whig, and while in the house was a decidedly anti-slavery Whig. In 1855, when the Republican party was first organized in Massachusetts, he received the nomination at the first Republican convention, held at Worcester, for the guberna- torial chair, and at the ensuing election received the gratifying number of thirty-seven thousand votes. The first Republican nomination for the governor, indeed, failed of immediate success, but prepared the way for a long succession of Republican triumphs. In 1858 the ex-senator was again elected to the legislature of the state, and was also made speaker of the house, paralleling in this instance the action of another of Massachusetts' most distinguished sons, John Quincy Adams, who, having been president of all the states, did not hesitate afterward to rep- resent his native state in the popular branch of the national legislature. On the organization of the present superior court of Massachusetts in 1859, Mr. Rockwell was appointed by Governor Banks to the position he held for many years. He was one of the original appointees and was the oldest incumbent of the judicial bench.
The mental and moral traits of Judge Rockwell were in perfect harmony with his public addresses, whether delivered in congress, in the state legislature. or elsewhere. Historically accurate, accustomed to pierce through the surface and lay hold of the spirit of things, ju- dicially discriminate, clear in exposition, forcible in argument, and able in the use of persuasive rhetoric, he carried hs audiences to his own con- clusions. The address delivered by him at the centennial celebration in Lenox, July 4, 1876. was eminently characteristic of the man and will not soon pass from the memory of those fortunate enough to be present.
Judge Rockwell married in 1836, Miss Lucy F. Walker, of Lenox. daughter of Judge W. P. Walker. They had three sons and one daugh- ter: I. William Walker Rockwell, died in the service of his country (the
123
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
W. W. Rockwell Post No. 125, Grand Army of the Republic, of Pitts- field, is named in his honor) ; 2. Hon. Frank W. Rockwell, lawyer, mem- ber of the Massachusetts house of representatives in 1879. of the state sen- ate in 1881 and 1882, elected to congress to fill an unexpired term of Gov- ernor Robinson, January 17, 1884, and re-elected November, 1884, mar- ried Mary, daughter of Deacon Henry Gilbert and Mary Bullard (Dowse) Davis, natives of Oxford, Massachusetts, and has five children: Will- iam Walker, Heury Davis, Samuel Forbes, Julius, and Lawrence Dowse; 3. Robert C. Rockwell, resident of Pittsfield, Massachusetts; 4. Cornelia, wife of Charles P. Bowditch, of Boston, and has four children.
THE PAUL FAMILY.
The founder of the Paul family in America was William Paul, who was born in Scotland in 1624, and came to this country in 1643, settling in Taunton, Massachusetts, where he followed the occupation of weaver. He received a good education in the schools of his native land, and was brought up in the Presbyterian faith. He was a large landowner, one of the proprietors of " Taunton South Purchase," which comprised the town of Dighton, which was incorporated in 1712. This was purchased of the Indian " King Philip " in 1672, and William Paul was one of the company who purchased it, he receiving from that purchase lots Nos. 3, 28, 45. 85. In February, 1688, he gave five acres of this in payment for the Rev. Mr. Danforth, the Taunton minister. He was in the list of those subject to military duty in 1645, and surveyed lands and made line divisions. He died November 9, 1704. His wife, Mary ( Richmond ) Paul, a most benevolent woman, who " willed property at death for sup- port of the minister." was born in 1639, died October 3. 1715. daughter of John Richmond, of Taunton, who, according to Savage, came from
124
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
Ashton Keynes, a parish of Wiltshire, England, four and a half miles west from Crichlede, where he was baptized in 1597. William and Mary (Richmond) Paul were the parents of five sons and three daughters.
James Paul, eldest son of William and Mary ( Richmond) Paul, was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, April, 1657. There are records where he testified to some important town matters in 1717. He was " made choice of to see upon what ground Swansey men held a mile of land out of our Grand Deed, and to make returns before next May." At a meeting. March 25, 1717, of twenty-six proprietors he was present, owning three shares. He married Mary Winthop, and they were the parents of three children.
John James Paul, eldest son of James and Mary Paul, born in Taunton, Massachusetts, May 20. 1725, married Abigail Kiles, and re- moved to Wells, Vermont, being one of the first settlers of that town. He was a farmer by occupation. He served in the revolutionary war with the rank of lieutenant. He died May 10, 1805. Ten children were the issue of his marriage.
James Paul, second son of John James and Abigail (Kiles) Paul, was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, 1750. In 1781 he came to North Adams from Dighton. His farm was one of the largest in the vicinity ; its western boundary was then the town line between AAdams and Will- iamstown, the early road running along at the foot of the mountain, and the farm extended from the top of Prospect Mountain to Hoosic river. At the time of settlement the valley was infected with fever and ague, and the log houses were built on the hill part of the farm. The property was divided by James Paul, leaving the hill part to his eldest son Joseph, who was a farmer. Joseph Paul had two sons; the eldest, George, lived upon the farm until his death, and the second son, James, also occupied a part as a nursery and for fruit growing. A son of George Paul, Everett
125
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
Paul, a milkman and farmer, still occupies the land. James Paul, who settled here in 1781, moved from the hill part to the valley farm in 1803, after the meadows had been drained, and chose his third son, Truman Paul, to remain with his parents. Together they built a square brick house in 1813, which is now occupied by William Gove, on State road. The father died in 1831, and Truman remained upon the farm until 1862, when he sold it and retired to North Adams, where he died at the age of eighty-six years. James Paul served as a private in the revolutionary war at Dorchester Heights and Lexington. He and his wife united with the Congregational church at Williamstown, at that time there being no organized churches in North Adams. He married Zerual Short, of Thompson, Connecticut, and eight children were born to then1.
Truman Paul, third son of James and Zeruah (Short) Paul, was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, March 2, 1789. died February 4. 1875. He was educated in the public schools, was a farmer and cattle dealer, successful in both occupations, a member of the Congregational church, and a Whig and Republican in politics. During the early years of his life he trained with the town militia. He filled an honorable place in the church and community, and like his father was honest and God- fearing and very hospitable. Almost every summer some worn out teacher, in'nister or homeless missionary found a welcome place to rest in his family, and in this he was ably seconded by his wife (second). who used every effort in making their home a refined and cordial resting place. Mr. Paul was married twice. His first wife, whose maiden name was Lavinia Wells, of Williamstown, died young, leaving two children : Sylvia, who was Mrs. Auten of Wisconsin, and Henry Wells, who was born in 1834, educated at Williamstown College, served in the civil war, and died in California, July, 1879. He was survived by one son, Choteau
126
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
Paul, a resident of California. The second wife of Truman Paul was Sara (Thayer) Paul, of Buckland, Massachusetts, who was a teacher of young ladies for many years, educated under Mary Lyon, a well known instructor, and she was a daughter of Elijah Thayer, a revolutionary war soldier. One child was the issue of this union, Jennie Lavinia Paul.
Jennie Lavinia Paul was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, July 19, 1843, and was united in marriage to John C. Goodrich, September 23, 1869. She was educated in the schools of her native town, and fitted in Drury Academy for Claverack College, from which institution she was graduated in 1861. She has taken a deep interest in preserving the his- tory of her church and town, and was the means of organizing the Fort Massachusetts Historical Society, formed to secure the Fort site, and establish historical rooms in our public library. She is a member of the First Congregational church at North Adams, a Sunday school teacher for over forty years, and has held most of the offices which are filled by the women of the church, who are in health and desire the work of the Lord to prosper. She is a member of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation Auxiliary ; for many years president of the H. M. Society ; an in- corporator of North Adams Hospital; registrar of the Fort Massachusetts Historical Society, and Fort Massachusetts Chapter of Daughters of American Revolution, in which she has held a mimiber of offices. She was chosen secretary of her class in Claverack College, and has filled the post with fidelity for forty-three years.
John C. and Jennie Lavinia (Paul) Goodrich are the parents of three sons, all born in North Adams: 1. Paul Myron, born November 27. 1871, graduated from Williams College in :894, is a lieutenant in the regular army, and after serving five years in the Philippines and China was appointed adjutant in the Ninth Regiment. United States In- fantry, stationed at Fort Niagara, New York. On October 8, 1903, he
127
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
was married to Anna Coyle. 2. Clinton Burr, born January 13. 1875. graduated from Williams College in 1897. and is now a practicing lawyer in North Adams. 3. Lyman Calvin, born October 15, 1882, a student at Harvard University.
JOHN FRED WHITING.
The Whiting family, represented in the present generation by John Fred Whiting. of Great Barrington, was founded in this country by Will- iam Whiting. Gent., who came from Boxford, Sussex county, England. landing in Boston, Massachusetts, about 1630. Shortly afterward he removed to Hartford, Connecticut, of which he was one of the original proprietors and principal founders. He was prominent in the coloniza- tion of Connecticut, and served as its first treasurer. Trumbull, in his history, describes him as one of the civil and religious fathers of the state. He was secretary of the colony till May 8. 1648, member of the first general court of deputies, magistrate in 1642, treasurer in 1643. and also held the office of high sheriff. He was always known as " Gen- tleman," and in the local militia bore the title of major. He was er gaged in the shipping industry, and was associated with Lord Save and Seal and Lord Brook in various patents of land. At the time of his decease. July, 1647, it is claimed that he was the richest man in the colony. Va- rious letters of his now in the state archives of Connecticut bear the following armor: azure, a leopard's head erased or, between two flaunches ermine, in chief three plates, crest, a demi-eagle. displayed. two faces proper, which arms are a variation of those of the Whitings of Lincolnshire, England, to which family he belonged. The name of the wife of William Whiting. Gent .. was Susanna, and she died July 8. 1673.
128
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
Rev. John Whiting, son of William and Susanna Whiting, born 1635, died 1689, graduated from Harvard College, 1653, was ordained, 1660, and is reported to have been a fellow of the college, but this is not certain. He married Sybil Collins.
Rev. Samuel Whiting, son of Rev. John and Sybil (Collins) Whit- ing, born April 22, 1670, died September 27, 1725, was the first minister of Windham, Connecticut. He married, September 14, 1696, Elizabeth Adams. daughter of the Rev. William and Alice ( Bradford) Adams, the latter having been a daughter of Lieutenant Governor William Bradford, who was a son of Governor Bradford, who came over in the "May- flower."
Colonel William Whiting, son of Rev. Samuel and Elizabeth (Adams) Whiting, born January 22, 1704, was a lieutenant-colonel in the colonial army and gained great distinction in the siege of Louisburg and at Lake George, under Sir William Johnson, of Connecticut. He married Anna Reynolds, 1724.
Dr. William Whiting, born 1730, died December 8, 1792, removed from Connecticut to Great Barrington, Massachusetts, 1766, where he practiced medicine till his death. He was a noted patriot. He held a commission as justice of the peace under the Crown, and, when such commissions were revoked, refused to relinquish his, but continued to exercise his old privileges and duties. He was a member of the Massa- chusetts revolutionary law-enacting bodies, representing his town. He made a valuable discovery as to a cheaper method of manufacturing gun- powder, and was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by the Massachusetts assembly to impart his discovery to the colonial authorities, his formula. which he had previously sent, having been captured by the British at New York. The decree of the colonial legislature sending him and ap- propriating money for his trip is very quaint. His letters to Robert Trent
129
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
Paine are preserved in the state archives. He married Anna Warner, 1759.
Dr. Abraham K. Whiting, son of Dr. William and Anna ( Warner) Whiting, born January 9, 1769, married, 1793, Currence Wheeler, made a fair fortune by the practice of liis profession ; he died in 1848.
Theodore W. Whiting, son of Dr. Abraham K. and Currence (Wheeler ) Whiting, born April 8, 1799, died January 8, 1856, seems to have had no profession, and probably lived on his father's money. He married, 1820, Amelia Ann Robbins.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.