Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. II, Part 124

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 732

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. II > Part 124

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(IV) John Smith, son of Nehemiah Smith (3), was born at the Smith homestead in Groton, June 14, 1704. He married, May 10, 1727, (by Rev. Eben- ezer Rosseter) Temperance Holmes, of Stonington, daughter of Joshua and Fear (Sturges) Holmes, and great-granddaughter of Robert Holmes, of Stoning- ton. He resided in Groton, where his first five children were born. He removed to Colchester in 1736 and had seven more. He joined the Colchester church November 19, 1738. He was captain of the Trainband in 1749. He was a well-to-do farmer. He died December 22, 1758, and was buried in the old Poquonoc graveyard. His estate inventoried at over three thousand one hundred pounds. His widow married James Treadway, of Colchester, December 10, 1761. The children of John and Temperance Smith were: John, born March 26, 1728, died Au- gust 17, 1752; Joshua, born January 31, 1729, mar- ried Elizabeth Pomeroy, January 11, 1750; Shubael, born September 27, 1731, died May 19, 1736; Nehe- miah, born October 30, 1733; David, born December 10, 1735, died young; Shubael, born December 7, 1732, married Hannah Waterman; Caleb, born Jan- uary 4, 1739, died December 22, 1740; Roswell, born February 19, 1741-42, see forward; David, born July 20, 1744: Temperance, born December 7, 1746; Charles, born March 9, 1749; Olive, born February 12, 1753, married James Tredway, Jr.

(V) Roswell Smith, son of John Smith (4). was born in Colchester, Connecticut, February 19, 1741-42, married Abigail Holmes, of Stonington, March II, 1762. She was born October 18, 1741, daughter of Joshua and Mary (Richardson) Holmes, and niece of Temperance Holmes, mother of Roswell Smith. They resided at Stonington or Groton. Only one child is known, Roswell, born November 24, 1778, see forward.

(VI) Roswell Smith, Jr., son of Roswell Smith (5), was born at Stonington, Connecticut, November 24, 1778. He had a son Osmuss, see forward.

(VII) Osmuss (or Orsmus) Smith, son of Ros- well Smith (6), was born probably at Stonington, perhaps Groton, about 1800. He was a blacksmith by trade. He married Clarissa Davis.

(1) John Davis, immigrant ancestor of Clarissa (Davis) Smith, was born in England in 1612, set- tled in Easthampton, Long Island, where his wife died December 17, 1696, and he died December 22, 1705, aged ninety-three years. Four children came

over with them : John, born 1677, married Susannah Osborn ; (second) Sarah Reeves, widow of Abra- ham; Hannah, born about 1680, married, January 6, 1701, Jonathan Baker; Thomas, see forward; Maryette, baptized, an adult, 1704.

(II) Thomas Davis, son of John Davis (1), was born in 1686, married, January II, 1722, and had John, see forward; Abigail, born at Easthamp- ton, April 26, 1725, married Daniel Conklin, of East- hampton, December, 1746.

(III) John Davis, son of Thomas Davis (2), was born at Easthampton, March 4, 1723, was a tan- ner and shoe maker, in 1765 removed to Stonington on the east bank of the Powcatuck, near Osbrook, and bought a farm, the old mansion of which is still standing, with its spacious fireplace in the dining room, its solid mahogany staircase with hand carving, and still owned by his descendants. John Davis returned to Easthampton in April, 1784, to have his children educated at Clinton Academy. He was a cordwainer by trade. He married (first) De- cember 31, 1744, Catharine Talmage, who died April II, 1759. He married (second) Mary Conklin, of Easthampton. After he died, December 15, 1798, she returned to live (at Preston, Connecticut) with his son John Davis, whose wife, Mary Conklin, was hier niece. She died January 18, 1814, in her eight- ieth year. The children of the first marriage: Cath- arine, born at Easthampton, March 13, 1746; John, born January 20, 1748, married Abigail Baker ; Benjamin, born January 4, 1750, died young ; Thomas, born November 27, 1751, married Mary Conklin, mentioned below; Benjamin, born May 15, 1754, died young; Enos, born October 14, 1755, mar- ried Phebe Mulford and Mrs. Lois Perkins; Cath- erine, born April 5, 1758, married Captain Amos Pendleton, Jr .; Abigail, born April 5, 1758, died young. The children of John and Mary: Mary, born April 27, 1763, died unmarried April 6, 1852; Dr. Samuel, born October 7, 1765, married Mrs. Mary Dunham; Abigail, born January 15, 1767, mar- ried John Stratton; Rev. Henry, born September 15, 1771, married Hannah Treadwell ; Benjamin, born February 6, 1774, married Abigail Foster.

(IV) Thomas Davis, son of John Davis (3), was born at Easthampton, Long Island, November 27, 1751, married, December 25, 1780, Mary Conk- lin. They resided in Stonington until the spring of 1802, when, with his brother Enos, he bought the Jonathan Brewster farm on the left bank of the Thames river, two iniles below Chelsea Landing, now Norwich City. Thomas had the north half of the farm. He made leather and shoes besides his farming. He died January 23, 1831, aged nearly eighty years. Their children, born at Stonington, were: Thomas, born September 21, 1781, married Mary Shaw; Mary, born July 12, 1784; Henry, born August 26, 1788; Dudley, born March 18, 1795; Julia, born August 26, 1797; Clarissa, born March 29, 1803, married Orsmus Smith, mentioned above. The child of Orsmus and Clarissa (Davis) Smith : Roswell A., see forward.

(VIII) Roswell A. Smith, son of Orsmus Smith (7), was born in Stonington, Connecticut, February, 1828. He received a common school edu- cation, going to work when a young boy, first at farming, like most boys of his day, then leaving home, he was employed in a livery stable for a few years at Providence, Rhode Island. After that he was employed by John White, livery stable proprie- tor of Grafton, Massachusetts. From 1859 to 1861 he drove the stage from Farnumsville to North Grafton railroad station. Then he bought the stage line from Grafton to the railroad station at North Grafton, in 1861, and conducted it with profit until

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the "dummy" railroad was built. He gave up the stage line and in 1872 bought out the ice business of Austin Whitney at Grafton and has carried it on to the present time with uniform success. In addition to the ice business he has conducted his farm in Grafton. He is one of the best known and oldest business men of the vicinity, and one of the most highily esteemed. For thirty years he sang in the choir of the Unitarian Church of which he is a member. In politics he is a life-long Republican.

He married, February 16, 1863, at Grafton, Har- riet Adelia Wood, daugliter of Lyman and Sarah (Nicholls) Wood, of New Hampshire. Her father was a native of Dudley, Massachusetts, a shoe- maker by trade. Their children: Carrie Estella, born April 9, 1864, died June 19, 1881; Walter Everett, born August 6, 1865, resides in Grafton, shipping clerk for Ross Brothers, seedsmen, Wor- cester, graduate of the high school at Grafton ; mar- ried Charlotte Garfield, of Shrewsbury, and has one son, Leon, born August 14, 1896. Atwood Brayton, born July 28, 1871, associated with his father in the ice business and resides in one-half the homestead, Grafton; married Carrie Estabrook, daughter of Edward Estabrook, Grafton; children-Raymond, born September 9, 1894; Clayton, born November 6, 1896; Marion, born May 29, 1900; Ruth, born April 10, 1905. Avery, born September 14, 1886, graduate of Grafton high school, 1904, class of 1908, Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

WILLIAM C. BREWER. Thomas Brewer, father of William C. Brewer, of Grafton, Massachusetts, was born about 1801, in Lancashire, England. He received a good education, and having learned the trade of shoemaker became a manu- facturer according to the simple methods in vogue in his day, when shoes were made entirely by hand work. In 1848 he removed to America with his wife and children. They settled in Grafton, where for thirty years he carried on the manufacture of shoes. He died in Northbridge, the town adjoining Grafton, July 19, 1878. He married, in England, Martha Kerfoot. Their children were: Mary E. Loynd, Joshua, who settled in Taunton, Massachu- setts; Thomas H., who resides in Grafton; Edward, of Grafton ; Alice, married"- -- Flanigan; William C., see forward.

William C. Brewer, son of Thomas Brewer, was born in Lancashire, England, July 28, 1831. He was educated there and learned the shoemaker's trade under his father. He came to this country in 1848 with his parents and worked with his father in the manufacture of shoes until the death of the latter. He left the shoe manufacturing to engage in farming. He bought a farm on the outskirts of Grafton Centre and has one of the most productive and profitable farms in that section. Under what are regarded as difficult conditions he has been successful in farming in old Massachusetts. politics he is a Republican, and in religion a Con- gregationalist. He is a Free Mason, a member of Grafton Lodge.

He married, 1856, Sarah Hirst, daughter of David Hirst. She was born in England and came to this country when eleven years old. The family settled in Whitinsville, where she was living at the time of her marriage. Children of William C. and Saralı Brewer were: Infant, deceased ; Harriet, deceased.

MELVIN G. OVERLOCK, M. D., is descended from an old state of Maine family living in Knox county. He was born in Appleton, Maine, August 24, 1864. He received an excellent preparatory edu-

cation in the public schools of his native townl. After taking the complete course at the high school at Union, Maine, where he graduated with honors- in the class of 1887, he entered the State Normal school at Castine, Maine, where he studied for three years, at the same time teaching mathematics in the public schools in order to pay his expenses while at- tending the Normal school. In 1890 he determined to study medicine. He began privately under the- instruction of Dr. J. B. Rich, late ot Worcester. While pursuing this course he supported himself by his own labor, studying at night. In 1892 his studies were so far advanced that he entered the medical department of Dartmouth College. In 1893 he at- tended the Baltimore, Maryland, Medical College, from which excellent institution he received his de- gree of M. D. in 1896. He immediately came to Worcester and began to practice his profession. In teaching and working at a trade for the purpose of securing an education, Dr. Overlock illustrates what the American boy with some ambition, energy and a good physique can accomplish. He began in an office at 143 Chandler street. In 1898 lie removed to larger quarters at 106 Chandler street and a few years ago bought the house at 91 Chandler street, in which he now resides and in which his office is located. In his profession Dr. Overlock was un- usually successful for a young doctor and his prac- tice has grown rapidly.

Dr. Overlook is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society and of the American Academy of Medicine; Also of the Phi Chi, a medical fratern- ity connected with the Baltimore Medical College. He is a member of Ridgely Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Quinsigamond Tribe of Red. Men; Worcester Knights of Pythias, No. 112; Quin- sigamond Court, Foresters of America, and Wor- cester Conclave, Foresters; Worcester Grange, Pa- trons of Husbandry. Dr. Overlock is medical ex- aminer for the Prudential Life Insurance Company, the Commercial Travelers' Association of America, the Pilgrim Fathers' Insurance Company and the- Foresters. In these positions he has pleased both. policy holders and insurance companies by his tact and courtesy. Dr. Overlock was one of the origi- nators of the Independent Pharmaceutical Company of Worcester. He is a stanch Republican and has not allowed his profession to extinguish a strong. interest in public affairs. Since 1891 he has repre- sented ward seven on the Worcester school board .. He has taken a position of leadership in that body and has been the means of instituting a number of improvements in the school system of the city. In all his committee work he has demonstrated a real and constant interest in the schools. In 1902 he was elected a trustee of the Worcester City Hospital, a position that he has since held. In 1905 Dr. Overlock was a candidate for mayor. Dr. Over- lock was married, September 20, 1889. and has one child, Blanche, born September 14. 1891.

H. MORTIMER TAFT. Robert Taft (1), the immigrant ancestor of H. Mortimer Taft, of Graf- ton, Massachusetts. was progenitor of one of the largest and most distinguished families in Worces- ter county. Except for a small number descended from Matthew Taft, a relative of Robert Taft, wlio. came later to Mendon, the Taft families are descended from Robert. Sketches of a large number of the descendants of Robert Faft through his numerous sons, all of whom had large families, are given in this work. The secretary of war is among them. A sketch of the Taft family in the old country is. given elsewhere and a more complete sketch of the first settler. Robert Taft settled first in Braintree,

PUBLIC

LIBRA

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(VII) George H. Taft, son of Joel Taft (6), was born in Grafton, on the homestead on George Hill. March 26, 1844. He was educated in the public schools of his native town. He worked with his father on the farm during his youth, and be- ing the only son remained at home. When his father became too old to run the farm he assumed the management and after his father's death the prop- erty came to him. In addition to farming he manu- factured wax for many years. He was a member of Unitarian Church. In politics he was Repub- lican. He married Jennie B. Robbins; their chil- dren: H. Mortimer, see forward : Mabel L .; George H., Jr., died 1906; Arthur O.

(VIII) H. Mortimer Taft, son of George H. Taft (7), was born at the old homestead on George Hill, Grafton, Massachusetts, May 16, 1870. He was educated in the public schools, and when a young man engaged in the business of wool pulling on the old farm. He was a dealer in wool and wool waste and made a specialty of pulling wool from sheep- skin scraps. He has recently given up this busi- ness and has torn down the buildings. He formerly lived on Worcester street, near the town hall, but at present spends his summers on Fishers Island, New York, and his winters at the George Hill homestead. He is an honored and influential citi- zen of his native town. Republican in politics. He married. June 1I, 1894, Alice E. Cobb, daughter of Lloyd Cobb, Norwich, Connecticut. Their child : Grace C., was born January 25, 1898.

MINER S. ALLEN, a prosperous general and dairy farmer of Sterling, Worcester county, Massa- chusetts, owner of one of the finest farms in that section of the country, is a descendant of one of the pioneer families of New England.

Nathan Allen, grandfather of Miner S. Allen, was among the early settlers of Pittsfield, Rutland county, Vermont, having been taken there by, his parents when he was very young. He was edu- cated in the common schools of the district and then commenced to assist in the work on the farm. He was a chair manufacturer. He adopted this as his occupation throughout the active years of his life. He was a man of extensive and varied reading, was prominent in the public affairs of the community, and was often called upon to speak in public on the important questions of the day. He married and among his children was a son, John.

John Allen, son of Nathan Allen, was born in Pittsfield. Rutland county, Vermont, and was edu- cated in the public schools of his native town. Like his father was a tiller of the soil, and also like him, was prominent and influential in the public affairs of the town. He was a stanch Republican in politics and filled, with credit to himself and benefit to the community, many of the minor town offices. Was a member of the Congregational Church. He married Elizabeth Parker, who is still living. and had children: Charles, Hattie, Frank, Archibald, John. Alice and Miner S., of whom see forward.

Miner S. Allen, son of John and Elizabeth ( Parker) Allen, was born on the old homestead in Pittsfield, Rutland county, Vermont, August 6, 1873. Part of his education was received in the public schools of his native town, but at the age of twelve years he removed with his parents to Sterling, Worcester county, Massachusetts, and his education was completed in the public schools of that town. Upon its completion he also took up farming under the guidance of his father, under whose teachings he gained a thorough and practical knowledge of all the details of agricultural work. He has fol-

lowed this occupation all his life, and is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres in Sterling township, which he cultivates as a general farm and also for dairy products in a very profitable manner. He is an excellent manager, keeps well abreast of the times as far as all improvements in farin implements and improvements are concerned, and is always ready to give any new invention a fair and honest trial, and to adopt it if fully con- vinced of its utility. The consequence is that his farm is considered a model one of its size in that vicinity, and is in a very flourishing condition. Mr. Allen is a member of the Congregational Church, and is a strong Republican in politics, holding the office of overseer of poor. He takes an active and intelligent interest in all that tends to the welfare or improvement of the community. He married, 1898. Abbie Burditt, of Pittsfield, Vermont, and they have one child, Clifford, who is a very bright and promising young lad.

LEWIS H. MURDOCK, a retired manufacturer of Uxbridge, who by his progressive tendencies, business ability and unsullied integrity attained a position in the foremost rank among his contempo- raries, is a representative on both the paternal and inaternal sides of families who were identified with the early history of Worcester county and who are descended from Scotch Covenanters.

Fuller Murdock, his grandfather, was a lifelong resident of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, where he was born, reared and educated, and came to be one of the prosperous farmers of his day. He was a Whig in politics, and held various town offices. He mar- ried Esther Taft, daughter of James Taft, of Ux- bridge, and their children were: George, Charles, Harriet. John. Chapin. Moses T., Pauline, Mary Ann and Caleb.

Moses T. Murdock, son of Fuller Murdock, was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, ISIo. He was educated in the common schools of his native town. He devoted the active period of his life to agri- culture, and displayed in that useful calling those sterling qualities which characterized his Puritan ancestors, including untiring industry, indomitable perseverance and exemplary citizenship. These com- mendable qualifications, together with a firm adher- ence to righteousness in all matters-personal and otherwise-elicted the esteem and confidence of his fellow townsmen. His earnest interest in polit- ical affairs was frequently the cause of promoting beneficial results; he was frequently called to im- portant local offices, and in his latter years was actively concerned in forwarding the welfare of the Republican party. He lived to be seventy-three years old, and his death, which occurred in 1883, was the cause of general regret. His wife, Dorinda (Grout) Murdock, who died in Uxbridge, 1888, was the mother of six children: Cyrus G., Sarah, Lewis H., Walter, S. Justin, Lyman.

Lewis H. Murdock was born at the family home- stead in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, March 16, 1835. The public schools of his native town afforded an ample opportunity for acquiring a practical edu- cation, and after the conclusion of his studies he turned his attention to the activities of life. Select- ing the trade of bootmaking, he served an appren- ticeship and followed it until reaching the age of twenty years, when he entered mercantile business as a clerk, in which capacity he continued for two years. Resuming his trade he labored industriously and with good result for the succeeding six years, at the expiration of which time he removed to Mill- bury as clerk in the grocery business, and about the year 1868 opened a similar establishment in the

Gdyar. 'M. Hurderli

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Helkler Village, Uxbridge, transacting a profitable business and gaining, in addition to the respect and good will of all with whom he came in contact, a large amount of valuable business experience, the results of which he subsequently used to good ad- vantage. He engaged in the manufacture of shoddy in Douglas, this county. Bringing to the manage- ment of this enterprise the full force of his untir- ing energy and natural business ability. the suc- cess promised at its inauguration was speedly rea- lized and constantly maintained during the entire period of his administration, which was characterized by a most liberal policy in every particular, and therefore yielded excellent financial returns. After ten years of arduous exertion in the industrial field, he found himself in a position to withdraw permanently from active business pursuits, and re- turned to his home in Uxbridge. Politically he is a Republican.

In 1862 Mr. Murdock married Sarah W. Taft, daughter of Moses and Sylvia (Wheelock) Taft, of Uxbridge. She belongs to a branch of the Taft family which was founded in America by Robert Taft, about the year 1680, and a number of his de- scendants are represented in this work. Moses Taft was a pioneer woolen manufacturer in the Blackstone Valley, and at the time of his death was the senior member of the firm of Murdock, Taft & Company, of Caryville. Mr. and Mrs. Murdock had two sons: Herbert T., the eldest, born Sep- tember II, 1865, is a successful manufacturer, re- siding in Vermont; he married Cora D. Gould, and has two daughters: Marjorie and Helen. Edgar Wheelock, see forward.

Edgar Wheelock Murdock second. son of Lewis H. and Sarah W. (Taft) Murdock, was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, February 1, 1869. Was educated in the public schools and was a graduate of the high school with the class of 1886. He began the activities of life with the firm determination to meet and master every available opportunity for advancement. His business training, which was begun in the employ of H. D. Spencer, a lumber merchant of Uxbridge, was continued with Messrs. McIntosh, Green & Co., commission merchants in New York. On his return to Uxbridge in 1889, he accepted a position in the office of Taft & McKeen, woolen manufacturers of Caryville, and subse- quently acquired an interest in that concern, which became known as Taft, Murdock & Co., and from that time forward he devoted his energies to the welfare and expansion of that enterprsie, develop- ing rapidly his inherent business ability, and pur- suing a policy of liberality and progression, which secured for the firm a high reputation at home and abroad. He was also one of the organizers of the Charles River Woolen Co., of Bellingham. The opportunity which he had sought had been met and practically mastered, but a pulmonary affection, which in its incipient stage was not considered seri- ous. at length compelled him to seek a more rari- fied atmosphere with a view of allaying its prog- ress, and he accordingly went to Colorado. The dread disease, however, had become too firmly set- tled, and although he visited Arizona in another brave attempt to conquer it, he was obliged to re- turn, and with great fortitude he passed away sur- rounded by his loving parents and devoted friends, June 13, 1904. His untimely death removed from this earth one who by his own efforts had succeeded in making for himself a mark in the world. He was possessed of many excellent traits of character, which endeared him to a host of friends. His temperament was even, his disposition lovable, his

generosity and his charity was unbounded and it could be truly said that no appeal was ever made to him in vain.

BRIDGES FAMILY. Edmund Bridges (1), the immigrant ancestor of George C. Bridges, of Warren, Massachusetts, was born in England in 1612. He sailed from London in the ship "James" January 13, 1635, then aged twenty-three years, and settled at Lynn, Massachusetts. He was a black- smith by trade. He was admitted a freeman Sep- tember 7, 1639, and was a proprietor of the town. Ile removed to the adjacent town of Rowley and was also a proprietor in that town. He had a suit in court at Ipswich in 1641. A curous incident is related of him. The general court of Massachu- setts. May 26, 1647, ordered him to answer at the Essex court for neglect to further public service by delaying to shoe Mr. Symond's horse when he was about to come to court. Evidently nothing serious resulted because Symonds was delayed and history fails to tell us what the punishment for such an of- fense was. It may be said here that the court records of those days were merely made up of such nonsensical charges as this one. Bridges deposed in 1658 that he was about forty-six years old. He removed to Ipswich and later to Topsfield, adjacent towns. He died January 13, 1684. His will men- tions wife Mary and children John, Josiah, Faith, Black, Bethia and Mary. He married (first) Alice He married (second) Elizabeth who died December, 1664, at Ipswich. He married (third), April 6. 1665, Mary Littlehale, probably widow of John Littlehale. His children were: Ed- ward or Edmund, born 1637: John, Mehitable, born March 26, 1641, at Rowley; Bethia, married Joseph Peabody, October 26, 1669; Obadiah, born 1646; Faith, Hackaliah, who was lost at sea 1671; Josialı, Mary.

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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. II, Part 124

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 732

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 732