Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. I, Part 152

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 824

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. I > Part 152

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(V) Eli Jones, son of Nathaniel Jones Jr., (4), was born in Charlton, Massachusetts, June 5, 1759. He was a private in Captain Abijah Lamb's Charl- ton company, Colonel Jonathan Holman's regiment, in 1776 and 1777. He settled at Charlton; married there, April 21, 1786, Lydia Lamb, and died there February 13, 1812. Lydia (Lamb) Jones died May 27, 1848. Their children: Dr. Asa, of whom later ; Eli, born April 16 (1789; Susannah, January 20, 1792; Ebenezer, May 15, 1794: Lydia, May 21, 1796; Erastus, March 31, 1800; Hannah, June 24, 1806.

(VI) Dr. Asa Jones, eldest son of Eli Jones (5), was born in Charlton, Massachusetts, February 20, 1787. He studied medicine for a number of years and settled in Spencer, where he practiced his pro- fession during all the active years of his life. He was only forty-four years old when he died, October 22, 1831. He married, December 22, 1814, Lucy Dunbar, the daughter of Thomas and Lucretia (Smith) Dunbar, of Leicester; she died at Spencer,

July 27, 1844, aged fifty-four years. Their children : Mary White, born September 9, 1817, at Spencer, married Rev. Gideon Jolinson, of Haverhill; Eliza, born May 7, 1819, married Warren H. Dunton, May 9, 1844; Asa Thomas, born August 17, 1820, founder of the shoe factory in Spencer; Erastus, of whom later ; Lucy Dunbar, born August 2, 1828.

(VII) Erastus Jones, fourth child of Dr. Asa Jones (6), was born in Spencer, Massachusetts, September 11, 1825. He was educated in the public schools of Spencer, completing his course of study at the high school. He spent several years in the employ of his brother, Asa Thomas Jones, who was a shoe manufacturer in Spencer. Asa T. Jones be- gan to make boots and shoes in 1841 in the old Liver- more house at the corner of Main and North streets. When Erastus was of age he was admitted to part- nership by his brother and the firm name became A. T. & E. Jones. This partnership continued until 1862, when the senior member of the firm retired and Hezekiah P. Starr was admitted. The style of the firm then became E. Jones & Co., a name that has been familiar to the shoe trade of the country as well as to all the people of the vicinity for forty years or more. The present Jones factory was built in 1860, but has been enlarged to several times its original capacity, and the firm has almost constantly given employmet to several hundred hands. The factory is a five-story structure, eighty feet long, with two ells of like dimensions, and has a capacity of more than twenty-five hundred pairs of shoes a day. The firm has been very successful. While all the latest machinery has been adopted and advanced ideas in production sought for, the man- agement has avoided speculation and risks of all kinds.

Mr. Jones has been president of the Spencer Na- tional Bank since its organization in 1875, and for about twenty-five years was the president, trustee and member of the board of investment of the Spen- cer Savings Bank. He was town treasurer of Spencer for a number of years and also town clerk. In 1874 he was representative to the general court, and in 1896-97 was state senator from the fourth Worcester senatorial district. During his first term in the senate he was on the committee on banks and banking, and chairman of the joint standing com- mittee on liquor laws. During his second year he was chairman of the committee on banks and bank- ing, also a member of the committee on taxation and on printing. He is an earnest and consistent Repub- lican in politics.

Mr. Jones and his wife are members of the Con- gregational church of Spencer. The Spencer Sun said of Mr. Jones not long ago: "Mr. Jones is a man of marked characteristics, in both his business and private life, and his generous disposition through long years of intercourse has endeared him to his business associates and numerous employees. They have found him a man of few words, but yet enough to convey an unmistakable meaning. He is quiet to a fault, if that be possible; nevertheless there is an energy in his quietness which has made his busi- ness life a success. *

* * His life from the be- ginning of his business career has been one of un- tiring industry." Mr. Jones has been a generous contributor to various charities and public objects.

He married, June 5. 1850, Mary I. Starr, daugh- ter of John B. H. Starr, of Thomaston, Maine. They have four children: Lucy I., born July 3, 1852, mar- ried Charles L. Kingsbury, of Boston, Massachu- setts ; Julia F., born January 5, 1856; Mary P., born July 31, 1866, married, June 4, 1891, Albert Sauveur, of Boston, a member of Harvard College faculty; Everett Starr, of whom later.

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(VIII) Everett Starr Jones, youngest child of Erastus Jones (7), was born in Spencer, Massachu- setts, November 28, 1864. He was graduated at Harvard University in the class of 1890. He was employed actively for several years in the factory of his father's firm and became the general superin- tendent of the factory. For about two years he was with the American Ballot Company, engaged in the manufacture of election apparatus. In the spring of 1897 he left this company and in the fall sailed for Germany, spending a year and a half at the universities of Leipsic and Berlin. Upon his return he accepted a position as teacher of German in the Providence Classical high school. In the fall of 1899 he was appointed an instructor in the depart- ment of modern languages at Tome Institute, Port Deposit, Maryland, where he has ever since been engaged.

He married, July 8, 1897, Anna Arnold Hunt, of Boston. They have three children: David Everett, born in Charlottenburg, Germany, November 12, 1898; Sheldon Starr Jones, born at Fort Deposit, Maryland, June 2, 1900; Erastus, born 1905.

LONGLEY FAMILY. John Longley (1), father of the immigrant ancestor of the Longley family of Shirley, Massachusetts, and of Charles I. Longley, of Boylston, was a resident of Frisby, Lincoln coun- ty, England. He was a clerk. Shortly after his son and heir William went to America, John Long- ley died, and August 8, 1638, William, his son, made a letter of attorney (power of attorney) to Thomas Meeke, of Wynflete, St. Mary, Lincoln county, to sell and rent lands, goods and legacies descended to him from his father. Owing to an error in the rec- ords at Lynn in the name of William when his land was granted to him, Savage and others were led to believe that Richard Longley was the father of William. It is doubtful if any Richard Longley ever lived in Lynn in the early days. If so, Will- iam knew him not. William seems to be the only son who emigrated to America.

(II) William Longley, son of John Longley (1), was born in Frisbie, Lincoln county, England, in 1614. He came to Lynn as early as 1638, and was admitted a freeman March 4, 1639. He resided in Lynn twenty-two years, and was a prominent citizen and office holder there. He removed to Groton about 1659. His name appears first on the Groton records in 1663, and in 1065 he was elected select- man. William Longley had to go to the courts to correct the title to his lands at Lynn which he drew in 1638, and on which he had lived over twenty years. It seems that through a clerical error Will- iam's name was entered as Richard Longley on the proprietors' book, and the court records give ample proof that no Richard Longley existed, so the title was cured and doubtless William was able to deed his land to the purchaser when he went to Groton to live. He had to leave Groton, of course, in 1675, on account of King Philip's war, and he went to Charlestown to live during the hostilities. He served at one time as clerk of writs, indicating that he was well educated. Ile died November 29, 1680. His will, made November 3, 1680, was recorded April 10, 1681; bequeathing to wife Joanna, sons John and William, daughters, Mary Lemmond, Han- nah Tarbell, Lydia Nutting, and Sarah Rand, and their children specified.

He married, in England, Joanna Goffe, sister of Thomas Goffe, who was deputy governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company that received a grant from the Crown, March 19, 1628. Goffe was a mem- ber of both Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay com- panies; was a merchant of London; lost money on

the business of chartering ships for the colonists of Governor Winthrop and others. His widow mar- ried (second), Benjamin Crispe, and she died in 1698. The children of William and Joanna (Goffe) Longley were: 1. John. 2. Mary, married, 1666, Samuel M. Lemont. 3. Sarah, born October 15, 1660; married June 17, 1679, Thomas Rand, father of Robert Rand, to whom a grant of a thousand acres of land was given by the general court in what is now New Hampshire, on account of the losses suffered by Governor Goffe, his great-uncle. 4. Lydia, married James Nutting. 5. William, Jr., mentioned below. 6. Hannah, married Thomas Tarbell, Jr. 7. Ann. 8. Elizabeth, married James Blood.

( 111) William Longley, Jr., son of William Longley (2), was born about 1640, at Lynn, Massa- chusetts, and removed with his father to Groton in 1661, or earlier. He was well educated, and stood well among his townsmen. He was town clerk from 1666 to the time of his death in 1694, when he and his family were victims of an Indian raid. All were slain except three of the children, who were carried into captivity. The house was rifled and burned. Near where it stood the mutilated bodies were buried by the neighbors and the spot marked by a small stone. A few years ago a more suitable monu- ment was erected to mark the site of the massacre and locate the graves of the victims. It is said in Butler's History that the daughter Jemima, who had been tomahawked and scalped with the others, was found alive sitting upon a rock, that she recovered, married and raised a family. Those who were captured were: Betty, Lydia and John. Betty died of starvation. Lydia was sold to the French in Canada, became a Catholic, entered a convent and became very zealous and bigoted. She wrote letters to her brother John, expressing her sorrow that he should remain under the influence of a heretical faith through which none could attain salvation. John, who was about twelve years old when he was captured, told the Indians that his father's sheep were shut up in a barn and would starve unless they would permit him to go back and let them out. He promised to return if they would let him go back; they consented and he kept his word and ap- parently won their admiration and confidence at the same time. He made the best of his predicament and often said in after years that he liked the wild life he led among them and hoped he should never have to return to civilization. And when the gov- ernment finally ransomed him after five years, he had to be taken with force. But soon after his re- turn to Groton he entered upon his duties as a citizen with interest and zeal. He was well edu- cated and a inan of uncommon ability.

William Longley, Jr., married Lydia - He married (second), May 15, 1672, Deliverance Pease. His children: Betty, died in captivity; Jemima, scalped, but lived; Lydia, the nun; William, born February 17, 1675: John, mentioned above and also below: Joseph, born January 6, 1687.

(IV) Jolin Longley, son of William Longley, Jr., (3), was born in 1683, at Groton, Massachu- setts. He was captured by the Indians, July 27, 1694, and lived with them until ransomed in 1699. After he was brought back by force and educated, he became a leading citizen. He was town clerk six years, deacon of the church from 1722 to the time of his death, 1750; town treasurer and parish treasurer and deputy to the general court, for three terms. He was called a good man and an exemplary Christian. He died May 25, 1750, aged sixty-seven years. He married (first) Sarah Prescott, of Gro- ton, who died March 8, 1718. He married (second)

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about 1720, Deborah Houghton, who died November 7, 1763. His first wife was a sister of Hon. Ben- jamin Prescott, father of Colonel William Prescott, of Bunker Hill fame, of Colonel James and of Dr. . Oliver Prescott, of Groton. The children of John and Sarah were: Sarah, born March 28, 1706; William, February 13, 1708; John, January 6, 1710; Jonas, January 22, 1712; Lydia, June 26, 1716, mar- ried Amos Farnsworth. Among the children of Jolin and Deborah Longley were: Zachary, born August 30, 1721; Joseph, September 12, 1724, died of wounds in the revolutionary army at Greenbush, New York, 1758; Jonathan, November 18, 1726; Zachariah, June 7, 1729; Nathaniel, September 6. 1731; Robert, March II, 1733-4.

(V) William Longley, son of John Longley (4), was born in Groton, Massachusetts, February 7, 1708. He settled in what is now the South Vil- lage of Groton, and his house was on the north side of the Catacunemaug on the side of the hill about half way between the river and the present location of the Fitchburg Railroad. He and Samuel Hazen built the first grist mill in Shirley, and later added a saw mill. The mills tood on the north side of the river. His brothers Jonas and William also settled in what is now the town of Shirley, then Groton, in 1751, thirty years after the first settlement there, and two years before it was incorporated as a dis- trict of Groton. The Shirley history contains an interesting account of the removal of the three Long- ley families through the wilderness to their new homes in Shirley. The trip took three days, though only about ten miles as the crow flies. William Longley died at Shirley, May 15, 1788. He married, January 4, 1734, Mary Parker, of Groton. Their children were: 1. William, born at Groton, died young. 2. Mary, born at Groton, October 13, 1730, died in 1749. 3. William, born at Groton, May 23, 1738; was a miller; left numerous de- scendants in Shirley. 4. Sarah,, born at Groton, February 18, 1740; married (first) James Willard, ( second) a Mr. Hall, of Swansea. 5. Anna, born at Groton, March 10, 1742; married Samuel Bartlett. 6. Lydia, born at Groton, December 31, 1743; mar- ried Thomas Bennett, of Lancaster. 7. Israel, born at Groton, October 12, 1745, progenitor through his son Israel, of a large family of the name in Nova Scotia and vicinity. 8. Nehemiah, born at Groton, September 4, 1747; married Miriam Sawtell, of Shirley. 9. Mary, born at Groton, November 4, 1749; married John Priest, of Lancaster. 10. Joshua, born at Groton, July 23, 1751; married Bridget Mel- vin, of Concord. II. James, mentioned below. 12. Abigail, born at Shirley, December 1, 1755; died October, 1758.

(VI) James Longley, son of William Longley (5), was born at Shirley, Massachusetts, November 4, 1753. He married Molly Bartlett, of Northbor- ough, who died August 27, 1831. He resided in Boylston during his active life, and died there Jan- uary 14, 1837. He had to begin early in life to earn his own living. He was bound out to Samuel Gamble, of Northborough, a carpenter by trade, and received rather shabby treatment that would not be allowed under modern conditions. The boy was not properly fed nor clothed, and received no schooling. He completed his apprenticeship accord- ing to the terms of his father's agreement. As soon as he became of age he obtained work in a hotel at Northboro and arranged with a private teacher to assist him in acquiring a knowledge of the alphabet and the first principles of education. He learned rapidly and soon mastered all that was taught in his day in the public schools. He was a student all his life. He became captain of the military company.

Ile was for nearly half a century a justice of the peace, an office that formerly possessed the import- ance of local magistrate. For many years he was assessor and selectman and deputy to the general court. He was a soldier in the revoluion. First he served as mariner under Commodore Moody, and made several successful cruises. He afterward joined the land forces, and was with the army under General Sullivan in the famous retreat after the Battle of Long Island. He was in the campaign that ended with the surrender of General Burgoyne. He settled in Boylston, Massachusetts, shortly before the end of the war. During his declining years he enjoyed a pension. He was loyal to the new govern- ment at the time of Shay's Rebellion, and held a com- mission for its suppression. He was in that night march from Hadley to Petersham through a blinding storm of snow.

The children of James and Molly Longley were : I. Otis, born December 8, 1784, married Lydia Patch, of Worcester; had six children, all born in Boylston. 2. Mary, born in Boylston, February 18, 1786; married, February 18, 1808, Deacon Abijah Flagg, who died December 22, 1850; they had seven children. 3. Jonas, born November 11, 1787; married, December 22, 1812, Susan Smith, of Northboro; he died at Westborough, January 31, 1866; they had four children. 4. Jonathan, born June 21, 1789; graduate of Harvard, a preacher of distinction ; never married; died January 26, 1850. 5. James, born June 22, 1791, died June 10, 1793. 6. Israel, born November 21, 1792, died June 6, 1793. 7. James, born September 3, 1794; married Sally Eus- tice, of Boston, July 3, 1838; he was an alderman of Boston. 8. Israel, born November 8, 1795, died November 30, 1812. 9. Betsey, born May 28, 1799; married Daniel Barnes, of Berlin; they had ten children, all born in Boylston. IO. Parker, men- tioned below. II. Lois, born May 26, 1805; inar- ried, April 29, 1829, Joseph Dudley.

(VII) Parker Longley, son of James Longley (6), was born in Shirley, November 22, 1800. He married, April 3, 1832, Lydia D. Green, of Northi- boro. He was never possessed of firm health, and was obliged to go abroad in his youth, following the sea for a number of years and visiting Nova Scotia, where he had relatives, and various other places. He was a man of kindly and generous na- ture, and was highly esteemed by all who knew him. He followed farming through life. In politics he was a Whig, and in his last years a Republican. He attended the Congregational church. His wife. Lydia Davis, the daughter cf Aaron and Lydia (Goddard) Green, of Northboro, died at Boylston, October 9, 1877. Their children were: I. Edwin, born October 3, 1833, died October 17, 1833. 2. Ed- win Franklin, born August 29, 1834; married Emily Stephenson, of Northboro, January 19, 1856. They have three children: Nellie Anna, born September 4, 1857; Edwin Franklin, born November 19, 1858, died February 17, 1859; Charles Herbert, born De- cember 28, 1860. 3. Charles Israel, mentioned be- low. 4. Asahel Parker, born November 11, 1840, resided at Marlborough.

(VIII) Charles Israel Longley, son of Parker Longley (7), was born in Boylston, Massachusetts, April 12, 1837, and was educated there in the public schools. He went to work first for his brother, Ed- win F. Longley, Marlboro, who was a large manu- facturer of boots and shoes, later of shoe hoxes. After four years in this business, he returned to Boylston, purchased the interests of his brothers in the homestead, and conducted it the rest of his life. Ile took a lively interest in public affairs. He was a Republican in politics, and active in the party or-

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ganization, serving frequently as delegate to sen- atorial and other conventions. He was for seven years on the board of assessors, and for two years collector of taxes. He was one of the trustees and clerk of the Boylston Social Library for nearly twenty years, and was among those who helped or- ganized and promote the Boylston Public Library which was the successor of the Social Library, and he was on the first board of trustees. In his early days he was a member of the militia company. He was an active member o. the Congregational church, and served on the Parish Committee. He was in- terested in music and had a well trained voice. For many years he was the leader of the church choir. Few men in Boylston had a larger sphere of influ- ence in his day, and none was more highly respected and loved than Mr. Longley. He died September 5, 1900, having been an invalid for eighteen years pre- vious to his death.

Mr. Longley married, June 4, 1864, Olive Esther Stratton, daughter of Jonathan and Laura (Wick- wire) Stratton, born October 12, 1840. Her father was a farmer and wheelwright. Their children, all born in Boylston, were: 1. George Henry, born February 5, 1867; married Lena Walker, of Boyls- ton, and has one child-Harriet Walker, born Sep- tember 7, 1903. 2. Walter Stratton, born September 29, 1870; married Jennie B. Lancourt, of Worcester, and has one child, Henry Wright, born September 2, 1900. 3. Levi Parker, born January 5, 1873; mar- ried Sallie N. Miller, of Hagerstown, Maryland, and has one child, Bertha Miller, born September 9, 1902. 4. Charles Frederick, born February 12, 1876. 5. James Edwin, born February 22, 1880.

WALTER EVERETT MYRICK, of Spencer, Massachusetts, was born March 26, 1872, the son of Charles Willis and Catherine (Woodhead) My- rick, and grandson of Nathaniel Myrick, who was born in East Dennis, but lived in Spencer the greater part of his life, engaged in the wire manu- facturing business, one of the leading industries of Spencer, of which he was one of the founders in con- junction with Richard Sugden. W. E. Myrick's father, Charles Willis Myrick, was a boot and shoe manufacturer of Spencer. Massachusetts, with Ed- ward Kent, under the firm name of Kent & Myrick, and his wife, Catherine Woodhead, was a native of England.

Walter E. Myrick received his early education in the common schools of his native place, and later attended high school, thus acquiring a good, general English education. After leaving school he first engaged in the cranberry business for four years, and later for about eighteen months he was en- gaged in boot and shoe manufacturing business, as stockholder of the Tyler Moulton Shoe Company of Brookfield. He subsequently returned to the cranberry business, in which he is at present en- gaged, conducting a profitable and extensive busi- ness, and is the owner of bogs in Wareham and Carver in the cape. He holds the offices of presi- dent and manager of the Chandler Bog Company and the Myrick Bog Company, both of Plymouth county. Mr. Myrick's political sympathies lie with the Republican party, and he is a member of Spencer Lodge, F. and A. M., Worcester Chapter, R. A. M., and I. O. O. F. In religious affairs he accords with the Universalist faith.

Mr. Myrick married Fanny Chandler Packard, of Wareham, Massachusetts, the daughter of Free- man G. Packard, a wheelwright, and Sarah Abby Packard. Nathaniel W., a younger son of the late Charles Willis Myrick, married Helen Fairchild, of

Los Angeles, California, where Mr. Myrick is treas- urer of Consolidated Iron and Pipe Company.

FRANK ADAMS DRURY, a member of the banking firm of Drury & Bonney, of Worcester, and also actively interested and identified with other financial enterprises, was born in Spencer, Worces- ter county, Massachusetts, July 12, 1868, a son of Franklin and Caroline H. (Bemis) Drury, grand- son of Drury, of Spencer, a prosperous. farmer, and great-grandson of - Drury, who located in Spencer from Boston early in the eight- eenth century. Franklin Drury (father) was a boot manufacturer of Spencer, and he and his wife were the parents of four children: Angenette, wife of Ed- ward G. Desoe, of Springfield, Massachusetts, and mother of two children : Roland and Harold; Carrie, wife of Abner C. Clark, of Spencer, and mother of three children: Edith, Mabel, and Earle; Sadie, wife of A. G. Lamb, of Worceser, and mother of two children : Miriam and Gladys; and Frank Adams Drury.

In 1884, after completing a common and high school education, Frank

Drury became con- nected with the Spencer National Bank, assumed the position of cashier in 1889 and held the same until his resignation in 1901. He then came to Worcester and engaged in the banking business under the name of Drury & Bonney, which has continued to the present time (1906). He was largely instru- mental in the organization of the Merchants' Na- tional Bank of Worcester, and is a director and vice-president of the Spencer National Bank. He holds membership in the Worcester, Commonwealth and Congregational Clubs. He gives his political support to the candidates of the Republican party, the principles of which he firmly believes to be for the best form of government.

Mr. Drury married, June 4, 1891, Ellen S. Prouty, daughter of Lewis Prouty, a boot manufacturer, who was a son of Isaac Prouty, of Spencer. ( See Prouty family). They are the parents of one child: Percival Prouty Drury, born August 9, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Drury are members of Plymouth Con- gregational Church of Worcester.

ARTHUR NEWTON BOOTH. Edward Booth (1), the great-grandfather of Arthur Newton Booth, of Worcester, was born in England, about 1775. He came to America when a young man and settled in Otter Creek, Wallingford, Vermont. He married Hill. He was a farmer. He met his death accidentally about 1812 from the overturning of a wagon in which he was riding. After his death his widow and family removed to Potsdam, New York, and later to Parishville, New York. His children, all born in Wallingford, Vermont, were: Ludwick, who was a shoemaker by trade; Norman, who was a tanner; Edward Skinner, see forward; Lavina, married Ira Sayles, a farmer.

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Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. I, Part 152

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 824

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 824