Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. I, Part 37

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 37

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).

(VIII) Alonzo Williams Cole, only child of Alonzo Cole (7), was born in Orleans, Massachu- setts. March 13. 1844. He attended the common schools at Orleans until seventeen when he went to East Somerville, Massachusetts, and lived with his aunt while attending the Somerville high school. He returned to Orleans, but after a short time re- moved to Worcester where he lived with another aunt. Mrs. A. E. Peck, for about three years, and worked in the art store of his uncle, at first. Then he decided to learn the trade of machinist and en- tered the Loom works of George Crompton for that purpose. After a year and a half he went to work for L. W. Pond as a machinist. He was working there during the war. He left the shop to enlist July 12, 1864, in Company E, Forty-second Massa- chusetts Infantry. The company was on guard duty in the city of Washington and vicinity. They were stationed at Great Falls, Maryland. He was mus- tered out November 11, 1864.

Upon his return home. he went to work again for L. W. Pond and became a journeyman machinist in about a year and a half. He accepted a position :Lt Piedmont, West Virginia, as mechanic for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. but after a year there his health obliged him to give up the work. He became foreman for Richardson & Merriam, and later for MeIver Bros., who succeeded the former firm. He remained in a responsible relation to this firm for twenty-five years. He worked for Marcus Nason & Co., makers of plantation machinery, and the Stowe Shoe Machinery Company for three years. He has been for several years tool-maker for the A. Burlingame Company, manufacturers of engines. He ranks well among the expert mechanics and skilled machinists of a city that has few rivals in this respect. Mr. Cole is a man of retiring dis- position, greatly attached to his home and busi- ness interests. He is highly respected in the church and community that knows him. He is an active member and one of the trustees of the Trobridge Memorial Methodist Church. In politics he is a Republican.

He married Ellen Lucretia Berry. August 6, 1867. at Worcester, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Zebina and Lucretia H. (Culver) Berry, of Worcester. They have one child : Arthur Williams Cole, born in Worcester, February 17, 1875, married January 23. 1903, Emma Louise Taylor, daughter of Robert C. Taylor, formerly of Webster, Massachusetts. He was educated in the Worcester schools; graduate of the high school, also the Wor- cester Polytechnic Institute; is at present professor in the State University of Maine. near Bangor.

CYRENUS ALDRICH. George Aldrich (1) was the emigrant ancestor of Cyrenus Aldrich, of Worcester. Massachusetts. He came in 1631 from Derbyshire, England, to America, and settled first in Dorchester in New England. In 1640 he was in Braintree, and in 1663 he was among the first seven to arrive in the town of Mendon. He mar- ried in England. September 3, 1629, Katherine Seald. She was born in 1610 according to a deposition made in 1670. He died March 1, 1683. His will was dated at Mendon, November 2. 1682, and was proved April 26, 1683. The children of George and Kath- erine Aldrich were: Abel, Joseph, Mary, Miriam, Experience. John, Sarah, married a Mr. Bartlett ; Peter. Mercy, married a Mr. Randall: Jacob, see forward; Martha, married a Mr. Dunbar.

(II) Jacob Aldrich, son of George Aldrich (I), was born February 28, 1652. He married, Novem- ber 3. 1675. Huldah Thayer. He died February 22, 1695. Their children were: Jacob, Abel, Seth, Hul- dalı, Rachel, Sarah, David. see forward; Peter, John. Moses, Mercy, and Rachel.

(III) David Aldrich, seventh child of Jacob Aldrich (2), was born in Mendon. Massachusetts. May 3. 1685. He married (first) Hannah Capron, who died February 20. 1732. He married (second) Mehitable - The children of David and Hannah (Capron) Aldrich were: David. Edward. Elizabeth. Jonathan. Peter, Jonathan. Margaret. Abner, Levi, see forward; and Ichabod. David Aldrich died March 15. 1771.

(IV) Levi Aldrich, ninth child of David Aldrich (3). was born in Mendon. Massachusetts. December 10. 1729. He married. February 7. 1745, Abigail Hunt. He died December 22. 1795. Their chil- dren were: Rufus, Nathan. Levi, Nathaniel, Amasa, see forward: Chloe. Phineas, Abigail, Luther, Cal- vin, and David.

(V) Amasa Aldrich, fifth child of Levi Aldrich (4). was born in Mendon, Massachusetts, June 13,

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1760. He married, November 1, 1780, Urana Paine. She was born September 17, 1763, and died February II, 1843. He died December 2, 1813. His widow mar- ried (second) Gen. Philemon Whitcomb, of Swan- zey, New Hampshire. Amasa Aldrich went from Mendon to Swanzey after the revolution. The chil- dren of Amasa and Urana (Paine) Aldrich were : Marmaduke, born August 13, 1781; Mary, May 27, 1783; Urana, March 3, 1785; Phineas, May 20, 1787; Amasa, March 18, 1789; Paine, see forward; Rufus, January 20, 1793, died 1798; Otis, July 6, 1795, died 1798; David, September 6, 1797; Anna, August 31, 1799; Paul Fisher, December 26, 1801 ; Jacob, March 3. 1804, died 1804; John Langdon, March 27, 1805; Jethro, May 14, 1807, died 1807; William, Octo- ber 20, 1808.

(VI) Paine Aldrich, sixth child of Amasa Aldrich (5), was born in Swanzey, New Hampshire, January 4, 1791. He married (first), February 18, 1813, Sarah ( Sally) Hammond, daughter of Joseph Ilammond. She was born June 17, 1793. Paine Aldrich was brought up in his native town and attended the schools there. After his marriage he removed to Richmond, New Hampshire, where he bought the Cook Mills at North Richmond and repaired and built them over. While there he invented the turntable for railroads, and in 1830 he came to Worcester to manufacture turntables. During the early period of railroad building in the United States and in fact from the thirties until the time of his death Mr. Aldrich had a large demand for his contrivance for turning around locomotives, cheaply and quickly. He built his shop first where the Aldrich House stands near Aldrich Place. He associated with him in the business his son Cyrenus Aldrich. He invested largely in Worcester real estate. He bought pasture land in the vicinity of Pleasant street and on both sides of High street between Pleasant and Chatham streets. He built brick houses on the street opposite his works. For a time he lived in a house on the site of the present Hotel Newton. Later he built a fine house on the present site of Hotel Adams. He owned large tracts of land on Chatham, Clinton and Irving streets, and in that section of the city which be- came very valuable as the period of rapid growth which made the town a city came in the forties, and they became in time some of the most valuable resi- dential property in the city. He died August, 1871, and the business ceased to exist soon afterward. Another patent iron turntable took the place of the Aldrich design, but at that time there was practically no railroad in the country that did not have the Aldrich turntable in use. They were built in Wor- cester and shipped in sections to all parts of the country and exported to foreign lands. Mr. Aldrich acquired large wealth for his day and invested it wisely.

Mr. Aldrich was modest and retiring in dispo- sition, notwithstanding his material successes and his position in the business world, and was highly esteemed and respected in the community. During his last years he was in feeble health and was con- fined to his bed for a year before he died. He attended the First Universalist Church and later the Salem Square Congregational Church while Rev. Mr. Richardson was pastor. In politics he was a Whig, later a Republican, but never active in party affairs and never sought office. He was a member of no secret societies. He was a member of the Worcester County Mechanics Association. He mar- ried (second) Sophia Capron, widow, who survived him. The children of Paine and Sarah (Hammond) Aldrich were: Harriet, see forward; Cyrenus, see forward.

(VII) Harriet Aldrich, daughter of Paine Aldrich (6), was born in Swanzey, New Hampshire. She married Erastus Metcalf, of Rindge, New Hampshire, and they afterwards lived in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, where she died June 2, 1865. The children of Erastus and Harriet ( Aldrich) Met- calf were: I. Elizabeth, born November 13, 1835, married Benoni Fullam, son of Judge Fullam, of Ludlow, Vermont. 2. Sarah Jane, born February 9, 1838, married James F. Kettell, of Worcester, and had four children: Jennie Maria, born October 2, 1863, married George F. Hutchins, of Worcester, and had one child, Richard, born April 28, 1881 ; Henry James Kettell, born April 19, 1869, married Mary Good- win, of Worcester, and had two children: James, born August 23, 1898, and Katherine Kettell, born July 25, 1905. John Frederick Kettell, born No- vember 29, 1865, deceased; Frank Kettell, born January 26, 1873, married Maud Barnes; no chil- dren. 3. Melissa Metcalf, born February 8, 1840, married George W. Davis, of Hudson, Massachu- setts, and had two children: George Fred Davis, unmarried ; Fannie Melissa Davis, married Ralph Joslyn, of Hudson, Massachusetts, and has three children : Ralph Davis Joslyn; Mary Joslyn, and James Metcalf Joslyn. 4. Hammond Cyrenus Met- calf, born January 9, 1842, unmarried. 5. Helen Sophia Metcalf. born February 21, 1846, married Henry F. Smith, of Woburn, Massachusetts, and had three children : Henry, Caroline and Ralph.

( VII) Cyrenus Aldrich, only son of Paine Aldrich (6), was born in Swanzey, New Hamp- shire, September 24, 1815. He attended the schools of that town. He was raised on the old farm in the same town with "Joshua Whitcomb," and worked with his father on the homestead, in the mill and in the turntable business. The firm of Paine Aldrich & Son was formed when Cyrenus was still a young man. The junior member of the firm superintended the construction of the turntables and set them up for the railroads. They were made in Worcester and shipped in sections. As his father's health be- gan to fail in the sixties he gradually assumed charge of the entire business. At the close of the civil war his father retired from business on ac- count of his health and he also discontinued the business. The last three turntables were made and set up in New Brunswick, for European and North American Railroad.

Mr. Aldrich retired from active business and gave his time to his investments, and property. He at- tended the old Pleasant Street Baptist Church which stood where the present Lothrop's Opera House stands. He was a quiet and unassuming, amiable and democratic in his disposition. He devoted all his time to his business and his home. He was a Republican after the party was organized. He was a member of the Worcester County Mechanics' Association and of the old Worcester Light In- fantry, and later of the Veteran Association. He married, February 25, 1845, Sarah Patch, daughter of William W. and Sarah (Willard) Patch, of Worcester. William Patch was a prosperous farmer. He was the son of Joseph and Hannah ( Flagg) Patch, of Worcester, and was born January 1, 1794. (See sketch of Hartshorn Family for his ancestry. ) Both Willard and Patch families date from the early settlement of New England.

The children of Cyrenus and Saralı ( Patch) Aldrich were : I. Eldora Metella, born September 16. 18446; is living at the homestead, 22 High street, Worcester, unmarried; 2. William Paine, born De- cember 18, 18448. married Charlotte Gibb, of New York city, October 16, 1876, and had four chil- dren: Grace Eldora Aldrich, born November 9.

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1877, married William Sumner Radway, of Rich- mond, Virginia, and they have two children, Albert Beverly Radway, born July 12, 1902, and Charles Aldrich Radway, born December 4, 1903. William Paine Aldrich, Jr., born July 26, 1879, unmarried ; Sarah Alice Aldrich, born September 26, 1881, died April, 1883; Edith Marion Aldrich, born July 24. 1885, unmarried. William Paine is the proprietor of a large cloth printing business, plant located at Passaic, New Jersey, and an office in New York city; also a bleaching and dyeing plant at Dela- wanna, New Jersey. 3. Frank Edgar, born May 20, 1854: was associated with his brother in the cloth printing business in New York city; died December 2, 1903; married Louise M. Love, of Providence, Rhode Island, and had one child, Roger Cyrenus Aldrich, born February 13, 1879, who mar- ried May Locke, of Brooklyn, but now living at Reading, Pennsylvania. They have two children : Roger Williams, born October 12, 1902, and Harold Locke, born November 12, 1905. Cyrenus Aldrich died January 12, 1889.

GEORGE FARNUM HEWETT. William Hewett (I), great-grandfather of George F. Hewett, of Worcester, is believed to be a descendant of Thomas Hewett, who was a proprietor of Hing- ham, Massachusetts, 1647, settled in Uxbridge among the pioneers of that town, bought land in Sutton, February 25, 1779, and other parcels later, and resided in Sutton the latter part of his life. He bought land in Ward (now Auburn) in 1803 of Eliphalet and Tamar Holman, and his sons Daniel and William Hewett lived there several years. He married Patience Their children were: I. William, Jr., see forward. 2. Daniel. 3. Phinehas. 4. Alanson. 5. Henry. 6. A daughter, married a Cummings, and had Sabrina and Abel Cummings. 7. Hammond Jewett. 8. Patience, married

Blackman. 9. Rhoda, married Hammond. 10. Eli, residuary legatee.

(II) William Hewett, son of William Hewett (I). born in Sutton, now Northbridge, Massachu- setts. August 1, 1778, died at Grafton, Vermont, 1850: married, in Uxbridge, January 14, 1802, Lurany Leonard Paine, born in Uxbridge, January I, 1777, died at Northbridge, February 29, 1806. He married ( second) Nabby (or Abigail), dangh- ter of Francis and Sally Holman, of Millbury, be- fore December 15, 1808. He had one son, Elbridge, by the first marriage; see forward. His other chil- dren were: Lurania, born in Sutton, March 13. 1809, recorded in Auburn: Sally, born in North- bridge (recorded in Auburn), June 11, 1811; Fran- cis Holman, born in Auburn, May 29, 1814.

( III) Elbridge Hewett, son of William Hewett, Jr. (2), born in Sutton, now Northbridge. Massa- chusetts, Angust II, 1804, died in Worcester, March 17, 1877: married in Grafton, February 20. 1827, Nancy Wadsworth. He resided in Grafton, where he owned a farm. About the time of his marriage he removed to Worcester and opened a store at the corner of Central and Summer streets. He kept a general store including West India goods, and later added a lumber yard on Central street, near the Blackstone eanal, which was then in full opera- tion. He dealt extensively in lumber and wood in the adjoining towns. He owned the last canal boat which ran on the Blackstone canal. His son, George F. Hewett, has an interesting oil painting showing the location of the store and vicinity sev- enty-five years ago, before the railroads had begun to alter the map of Worcester. The great industries of Worcester started in the very neighborhood of this store, and many of them have outgrown the

locality. The brick factories and mills in this neigh- borhood are among the oldest landmarks of the city. Mr. Hewett had the contract with merchants to water the streets of Worcester when conditions warranted it. He had a farm at Northville, in Worcester. About 1860 he removed his store from Central street to the corner of Glue and Hanover streets, where later his son erected a brick block. Children of Elbridge and Nancy (Wadsworth) Hewett: I. Andrew Fuller, died unmarried. 2. Mary L., married John Wheeler, resided in Graf- ton, where she now lives, a widow; he was a shoe manufacturer. 3. Caroline, died in Grafton, un- married. 4. George Farnum, see forward.

.(IV) George Farnum Hewett, son of Elbridge Hewett (3), was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, July 5, 1836. He was educated in Worcester in the public schools, the high school and Worcester Acad- emy, where he studied several terms. He worked for a time in his father's store, but in 1854 decided to follow the advice of Horace Greeley; went west and found employment on the Cleveland & Toledo Railroad, now the Michigan Southern, beginning as a brakeman, and was promoted to various posi- tions during the six years he remained with the company. About 1857, when serving as station agent at a new railroad junction first ealled Clay Junction, he had the privilege of naming the town that sprang up there. He culled it Millbury, and it has since grown into a thriving town of considerable importance. It is about eight miles from Toledo, Ohio. Mr. Hewett built a saw mill there. In the fall of 1859 Mr. Hewett left the railroad business and returned to Worcester. He was associated with his father for a time, but in 1860 started in business for himself, laying the foundation for the extensive interests of which he has since been the head. He began with a shop on Front street, in the rear of a store in the Front Street Theatre building. Three years later he took the store now occupied by Hall & Lyon, druggists, and extended his busi- ness to the wholesale and retail liquor trade. He removed a few years later to a large store on the corner of Foster and Waldo streets, near the pres- ent location. In 1899 the business was removed to the present location at 41, 43 and 45 Waldo street, to a building especially erected for Mr. Hewett by the heirs of Dwight Foster. It has a frontage of one hundred feet on Waldo street and a depth of one hundred and twenty-five feet extending through to Commercial street, having a height of four stories in front and five at the rear. The building and plant was constructed from plans designed specially to handle the business to the best advantage. The product of the George F. Hewett Company bottling works is the largest of any in New England, and the plant and equipment is the largest and best. The George F. Hewett Company deals in ales, lager and porter, bottled at the shop, also in the leading brands of bourbon and rye whiskies, imported wines and cordials, and Continental gin. The business of bottling gives employment to a hundred men. Al- ready the spacious quarters are overtaxed, and an addition is being built. The business was incor- porated in 1891 as the George F. Hewett Company, with a capital of $50,000, George F. Hewett presi- dent and treasurer.

Mr. Hewett has not allowed business to engross his time completely. He is one of the best known Free Masons of Worcester, having taken all the degrees in the Scottish Rite, and having held the chairs in all the degrees. He is a member of Quinsigamond Lodge. Hiram Council. St. Andrews Chapter, the Boston Commandery. Knights Temp- lar, and was at the head of the Worcester Lodge of

PUBLIC LIBRARY

George Of Acwelt

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Perfection for five years. He holds the rank of captain in the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, and having been over twenty- five years a member is on the veteran list. He was one of the charter members of the Worcester Continentals. He is a member of the Worcester kiks. the Royal Arcanum and the Red Men. In politics he has always been a Democrat, except from 1896 to 1900 when he voted against Bryanism and free silver. He was in the board of aldermen one year and the common council for eight years. lle represented Ward 3 in the council and Ward 7 in the board of aldermen, served on the finance committee, and was deeply interested in the City Hospital, of which he was a trustee. Mr. Hewett married, 1858, at Painesville, Ohio, Maria L. Knox, whose mother married ( second) Elbridge Hewett, at Stafford Springs, Connecticut. They have had one child : Mabel E., born September, 1860, married Charles F. Bigelow, of Worcester, lately deceased, and had one daughter, Helen Bigelow, now living in Worcester with her mother at her home, 69 Cedar street. Mr. Hewett resides at the Standish Hotel, 767 Main street. Worcester.

WADSWORTH FAMILY. Christopher Wads- worth (I), one of the early settlers of Cambridge, Massachusetts, was an emigrant ancestor of George Farnum Hewett, of Worcester, through his mother's line. Christopher Wadsworth is believed to have been the son of Thomas Wadsworth, from the records in a Bible he brought with him and which is now owned by the Cowles family in Hartford, Connecticut. He was born in England, and is be- lieved to have come in the same ship with William Wadsworth, who may have been his brother. Will- iam came in the ship "Lion," which sailed Sunday, September 16, 1632, with one hundred and twenty- three passengers, of which fifty were children. After a twelve weeks voyage the ship touched at Cape Ann, and five days later landed in Boston. William settled in Cambridge, and in 1636 removed to Hart- ford. Christopher lived and died at Duxbury. He was a prominent citizen in a town where such prominent men as Miles Standish, Elder Brewster and John Alden lived. He married Grace Cole. He was the first constable, then an office of more importance relatively than the sheriff is now; was deputy to general court, selectman and highway surveyor at various times. The first record men- tioning his name at Duxbury is under date of 1633. In 1638 he drew land in Holly Swamp, and the site of his house is west of Captain's Hill, near the new road to Kingston; his lands ran clear to the bay, on what was formerly known as Morton's Hole. The homestead remained in the family until 1855 when it was sold. The will of Christopher, dated July 31, 1677. was filed September, 1678. Of his four children, Joseph and John lived and died in Duxbury : Captain Samnel removed to Milton, and was killed by the Indians in the fight at Sudbury, 1676. The children were: I. Mary. married - Andrews. 2. John, born 1638, died 1700, married Abigail Andrews, 1667; she died 1723; he lived on the old homestead of Christopher; was deacon of the church at Duxbury many years; had eleven children. 3. Joseph, born 1636, died 1689, married Abigail Wait. 1655: second wife was Mary; six children. 4. Samuel. probably the eldest son.

(II) Captain Samuel Wadsworth, son of Christo- pher Wadsworth (1), probably born 1630, lived at Bridgewater, then Duxbury plantation. where he was a taxpayer in 1655 to 1665. About 1655 he married Abigail Lundall, of Duxbury. He occupied the land at Bridgewater owned by his father, and had a

sixty-fourth interest in the township. His son

Timothy succeeded his grandfather as owner in 1686. Captain Samuel and his brother Joseph Wads- worth owned land at Bridgewater longer than any others of the early settlers after they moved away from the town. Captain Samuel bought a beautiful tract of land in Dorchester in what is now Milton, about 1660. The farm was between the Blue Hills, Milton, and Boston. Some of this property is now or was recently owned by descendants, having been in the family ever since the first settlement. Cap- tain Samuel was a man of means and influence, active in church and state. His descendants of the name of Wadsworth are more numerous than those of any of his brothers. He had six sons. He was a soldier in King Philip's war, in command of the Milton company. In April, 1676, he was ordered to Marlboro with fifty men to strengthen the garrison in that town. On the way thither his command passed through Sudbury, where the Indians were in hiding. After Captain Wadsworth reached Marl- boro he learned that the Indians had attacked the settlement at Sudbury and burned the houses on east side of the Sudbury river. The Watertown soldiers under Captain Hugh Mason checked the enemy, but Wadsworth hurried to his relief without waiting for his men to rest, though they had

marched all day and all night before. Captain Brocklebank went with the company and some of the Marlboro garrison. Captain Wadsworth and his men were ambushed by about five hundred Indians, with the usual war-whoops and savage attack. After a desperate struggle for five hours Wadsworth had lost five men; the Indians had lost more than a hundred. But as night approached the Indians set fire to the dry grass, the smoke blinding the colonists, and they were obliged to abandon their sheltered position and were literally cut to pieces. Captain Wadsworth, covered with wounds, it is said, was one of the last to fall. Thirty men, in- cluding Captain Brocklebank, Captain Wadsworth and two other officers were slain, and were buried in one grave. The twenty who escaped found refuge in a mill that had been fortified, and were rescued by Captain Prentice and Captain Crowell. Five or six were taken prisoners and tortured to death by fire. The date of this fight was April, 1676, some authorities giving the 18th, others the 21st. Captain Wadsworth is described as "that resolute, stout- hearted soldier, one worthy to live in our history under the name of a good man." The first monu- ment to him and his comrades in arms buried on the battle field at Sudbury was erected by his son, President Wadsworth, of Harvard College. On No- vember 27. 1852, a monument built by the joint action of the commonwealth of Massachusetts and the town of Sudbury was dedicated. At that time the twenty-nine bodies were all found, the marks of the wounds showing in some cases after a lapse of nearly two hundred years. Children of Captain Samuel Wadsworth: I. Christopher, born 1661, died 1687 (his grave is marked by the oldest stone in the graveyard at Milton). 2. Ebenezer, see forward. 3. Timothy, born 1662. 4 .. Joseph, born 1667. 5. Benjamin, born 1670. 6. Abigail, born 1672, mar- ried A. Boardman. 7. John, born 1674, died 1734.

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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 37

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