Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. II, Part 23

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 23


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 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126


(II) John Porter, son of Richard Porter (I), born probably at Weymouth, Massachusetts, married Deliverance Byrum, daughter of Nicholas and Mar- tha ( Shaw) Byrum, of Bridgewater. He was a sergeant in the militia and was one of the soldiers in King Philip's war. He was one of the most enter- prising. useful and honored citizens of the colony. He drew land 1686-87-94-96-99. He built the saw mill at South Abington in 1693. He held at various times all the town offices. He died at Weymouth, August 7, 1717; his widow died September 3, 1720. Their children were: Mary, born October 12, 1663, married William Pittee ; Susanna, June 2, 1665, mar- ried Matthew Pratt; John, July 2, 1667, married Mary ; Samuel, married Mary Nash ; Nicholas, married Bathsheba Reed; Ruth, September 18, 1676, married Nathaniel Willis, of Bridgewater ; Thomas, married Susanna Pratt; Ebenezer, married Sarah Humphrey; Sarah, married John Dingley, of Marshfield.


(III) Thomas Porter, son of Sergeant John Porter (2), was born at Weymouth. He married Susanna Pratt, daughter of Matthew and Sarah (Hunt) Pratt, in 1706. She was born in 1684. Their children were: Nathaniel, born November 23, 1707, died April 2, 1724; Thomas, April 27, 1713, married Mercy Bates, January 24, 1740; Jonathan, March 6, 1715, died young; Jonathan, January 22, 1718; Josiah, March 6, 1720, died young; Ezra, April 6, 1722, died young : Matthew, September 8, 1725, mar- ried Sarah Pratt, 1750; Ezra, September 8, 1725, married Hannah Lovell, 1751; Susannah, July 12, 1728.


(IV) Ezra Porter, son of Thomas Porter (3), was born at Weymouth, Massachusetts, Septem- ber 8, 1725. He married, 1751, Hannah Lovell, daughter of Joseph and Ruth (Richards) Lovell. She was born December 17, 1723. After her death he married (second) Patience Hathaway, daughter of Solomon and Temperance Hathaway, who was born October 21, 1741. They resided at Weymouth. Their children were : Josiah, baptized December 22, 1751; Molly, born January 26. 1753, married Samuel Pratt, 1770: Lucy, baptized October, 1769; Ezra, born August 23, 1763.


(V) Asa I'orter, son of Ezra Porter (4), was born at Weymouth, Massachusetts, November 3, 1756. He married Eunice Williams, for whom Levi Williams Porter is named. She was born at Gro- ton, July 23, 1760. He was distinguished by his service in the American revolution. He was in seven of the most famous battles. He removed from Weymouth and settled at Marlborough, New Hampshire, about 1780, and resided for a short time in a place known as The Tomb, a sort of dug- out in the side hill at the corner roads near what is now called the Alger place. He bought a tract of wild land and cleared it. He died in Marlboro, December 1, 1852, the oldest man who had lived in the town. His wife died December 18. 1821. Their children were: Asa. born May 3, 1779, died October 14, 1780; Lydia, March 17, 1781, married Israel Flood; Polly, November 24, 1782, died young ; Eunice, July 27, 1784, married Nathan E. Wild; Daniel, September 5, 1786, died March 6, 1790;


Asa, July 5, 1788; Abel, March 8, 1791; Mary, June 8, 1793, married Calvin Starkey, of Troy, New Hampshire, moved to Townsend, Vermont; Levi, March 21, 1795; Reuben, June 8, 1797, married Pru- dence Hills, removed to Chesterfield, New Hamp- shire; Permilla, June 15, 1799, married Levi Gates ; Lovell, February 20, 1801, died November 28, 1824, unmarried ; Elvira, March 12, 1805, lived at Marl- boro, unmarried; Adaline, January I, 1807, married Fuller Clark.


(VI) Levi Porter, son of Asa Porter (5), was born at Marlboro, New Hampshire, March 21, 1795. He married Sally Sawyer, daughter of Moses Saw- yer, of Sharon, New Hampshire. They settled on a farın in Marlboro inherited by their son, George A. Porter. Levi died April 6, 1867. His wife died August 19, 1866. Their children were: Moses Saw- yer, born August 23, 1824, married, May 4, 1870, Emily Gates, daughter of Elijah and Amorite (Wild) Gates, removed to Leominster, Massachu- setts; Levi Williams, April 5, 1826, married, June I, 1853, Caroline Philista Gilbert, daughter of Charles and Emily (Frost) Gilbert, at Leominster, Massa- chusetts; George Augustus, January 9, 1828, mar- ried, October 24, 1861, Lucy A. Smith, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, resided on the homestead at Marl- boro, New Hampshire.


(VII) Levi Williams Porter, son of Levi Porter (6), was born on the old homestead at Marlboro, New Hampshire, April 5. 1826. He attended the common schools of his native town and then took up the trade of carpenter which he followed for ten years. In 1853 he moved from Marlboro to his present home at Leominster, Massachusetts. He was employed in a piano case factory as foreman and has been engaged in some department of that business for forty-five years. For a dozen years the firm of S. & L. W. Porter was well known to the trade and that firm was succeeded by F. G. Smith in 1900. Mr. Porter is an active Republican, but has de- clined to accept public office. He attends the Lco- ininster Congregational church.


He married, June 1, 1853, Caroline Philista Gil- bert, daughter of Charles and Emily (Frost) Gil- bert, of Marlboro, New Hampshire. She died in 1890. They had three children, two of whom died in infancy. Mary, their only surviving child, mar- ried F. J. Whitney, of Leominster.


LEVI WHITNEY. John Whitney (1), the emi- grant ancestor of Levi Whitney, of Upton, was born in England, 1589. He was the son of Thomas Whitney, and the grandson of Robert Whitney, of England. For further particulars of John Whit- ney and his ancestry see Whitney family elsewhere in this work. He settled in Watertown, Massachu- setts, June, 1635. He married in England, Elinor ,who was born there in 1599 and died in Watertown, May 11, 1659. John Whitney married (second), in Watertown, September 29, 1639, Judith Clement. He died June 1, 1673. Children of John and Elinor Whitney are given elsewhere in the Whitney family sketch.


(II) John Whitney, son of John Whitney (1), was born in England, 1620. He settled in Water- town. He married Ruth Reynolds, daughter of Robert Reynolds. (For further particulars see sketch of Whitney family elsewhere in this work. ) (III) Nathaniel Whitney, son of John Whitney (2), was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, Feb- ruary I, 1646. He married, March 12. 1673, Sarah Hagar. She was born September 3, 1651, and died May 7, 1746, in Weston. He settled in Weston, about a mile and a half from the village, on the road to Lexington. Dr. Bradbury, who now or


n


.


Ellery B. Crane Granic


81


WORCESTER COUNTY


lately owned the place, has built on the original site of the first house an attractive modern house. Nathaniel died in Weston, January 7, 1732. Chil- dren of Nathaniel and Sarah ( Ilagar) Whitney were: Nathaniel, born March 5, 1675; Sarah, Feb- ruary 12, 1678; William, May 6, 1683; Samuel, bap- tized July 17, 1687; Hannah, born in Weston, bap- tized March, 1688; Elizabeth, born December 15, 1692; Grace, born 1700; Mercy.


(1V) Nathaniel Whitney, son of Nathaniel Whitney (3), was born in Weston, Massachusetts, March 5, 1675. He married, November 7, 1695, Mercy Robinson, born September 6, 1676, died De- cember 31, 1740. They resided in Watertown, Massa- chusetts, where he died September 23, 1730. Chil- dren of Nathaniel and Mercy (Robinson) Whitney were: Nathaniel; Sarah, born March 3, 1698; Amos, April 19, 1701; Elizabeth, July 23, 1702, mar- ried Daniel Bigelow; they were the parents of Colonel Timothy Bigelow, from whom the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolu- tion is named; Jonas, December, 1703; James, born about 1710; Susanna, baptized June 17, 1711; Solo- mon, (twin), baptized June 17, 1711; Samuel, (twin), baptized June 17, 1711; Ebenezer, baptized April 25, 1714, was a doctor, resided in Worcester county, died January 23, 1743; Joshua, born March 25, 1714; David, born in 1716.


(V) Nathaniel Whitney, son of Nathaniel Whitney (4), was born in Weston, Massachusetts, January 23, 1696. He married, June 22, 1721, Mary Childs, born 1699 and died December 3, 1776. They settled in Westboro, Massachusetts, where he and his wife were admitted to the church, January 21, 1728. He had owned the covenant in Concord, Massa- chusetts, October 15, 1727. Children of Nathaniel and Mary (Childs) Whitney were: Ephraim, born in Groton, July, 1722; Oliver, born December 1, 1724; David, baptized November 8, 1726; Mary, born . possesses a modest competence largely through his habits of industry and good management of his property. In 1894 he built an attractive home on Maple avenue West Upton, where he has since re- sided. He is a steadfast Republican in politics. He is an active member of the Upton Methodist church.


February 15, 1727; Nathaniel, born July 22, 1728; Anna, born March 8, 1730, married, May 4, 1749, David Forbush, son of one of the earliest and most prominent citizens of Westboro, Massachusetts (an- cestor of Judge Forbes of Worcester) ; Amos, born March 17, 1732; Lucy, born April 26, 1734; Love, born September 13, 1736; Lois, born February 9, 1738; Eli, baptized May 3, 1740. The inventor of the cotton gin, Eli Whitney, was of this Westboro family.


(VI) Ephraim Whitney, son of Nathaniel Whit- ney (5), was born in Groton, Massachusetts, July, 1722. He married, December 6, 1749, Thankful Harrington, born in 1729, died July 16, 1795. He moved with his parents from Groton to Weston and thence later to Westboro, Massachusetts. After his marriage he purchased a large farm in Upton, Massachusetts, on which he resided the remainder of his life. At his death the farm was divided equally between his two sons. He died at Upton, July 21, 1797. Children of Ephraim and Thankful ( Harrington) Whitney were: Thankful, born No- vember II, 1750, married Jonathan Batchelor, and resided in Upton (See Batchelor sketch) ; Beulah, born January 23, 1753, married, May 7, 1772, Sam- uel Forbush, grandson of Daniel Forbes, the enii- grant from Scotland; Ephraim, born May 13, 1766, married Jemima Whipple and Joanna Sadler ; Amos, born June 29, 1759.


(VII) Amos Whitney, son of Ephraim Whitney (6), was born in Upton, Massachusetts, June 29, 1759. He married Eunice Taft, February 7, 1782. He always lived in Upton. At his father's death he inherited part of his farm, on which he lived the remainder of his life. He died September 22, 1841. Eli Whitney, the inventor, was a cousin. Eli's


father was Eli. Amos' father, Ephraim, was a brother of Eli Whitney, Sr., father of the inventor, whose pedigree back of liis father is the same as that here given. Children of Amos and Eunice (Taft) Whitney were: Esther, born October 26, 1783, married Deacon Morse; Ilannah, born No- vember 26, 1785, died unmarried; Levi, born March 26, 1788; Elijah, born March 5, 1791, married Sarah Reed; Amos, born May 8, 1793, married Nancy Warren; Polly, born November 21, 1790, died un- married; Daniel, born July 1, 1799; Sally, born Au- gust II, 1801, married, April, 1827, Eron Fiske; Joel, born April 19, 1804, married Mary J. Whit- ney.


(VIII) Elijah Whitney, son of Amos Whitney (7), was born in Upton, Massachusetts, March 5, 1791. He married in Stow, Massachusetts, April 12, 1822, Sarah Reed. They lived in Upton and Harvard, Massachusetts. Children of Elijah and Sarah (Reed) Whitney were: Levi, born May 22, 1827; Harriet, born September 7, 1832, married Emory Whitney King, born March 31, 1826, and lived in Upton; he was a farmer and highway sur- veyor of Upton for many years; he was a son of Samuel and Sabra King, of Upton; their children are: Arthur Elijah, married Isabel McBride, of Northbridge; Etta Sarah, Myrtice Samantha.


(1X) Levi Whitney, son of Elijah Whitney (8), was born in Upton, Massachusetts, May 22, 1827. When he was a young boy his parents removed to Harvard, Massachusetts, and he attended the dis- trict schools there. His father returned to Upton to help his grandfather with the farm. Levi Whit- ney worked on his father's farm in Upton until he was twenty-seven. He worked in the straw shop of William Knowlton & Sons in the winter, and after he left the farin worked at the carpenter's trade during the summer months. Mr. Whitney


He married, November 13, 1859, Violetta J. Gil- man, daughter of Stephen and Jane (Creddiford) Gilman. She was born in Wells, Maine, January 15, 1834. Her father was a native of Monmouth, Maine. They were married at Upton. Children of Levi and Violetta J. (Gilman) Whitney are: Clara Belle, born September 10, 1860, died unmarried July 22, 1903; Charles Oscar, born December 13, 1861, married Sarah Ryder, of Middleboro; he was edui- cated in the Upton district and high schools; is en- ployed in the straw shop of William Knowlton & Sons; their son George Gilman, born September I, 1884, is in the class of 1906, Worcester Polytechnic Institute ; Dora May, born September 6, 1863, is bookkeeper for William Knowlton & Sons; gradu- ate of Upton high school, 1881; Ella Maria, born September 16, 1865, married Allen W. Risteen, of Hartford, Connecticut, editor of the trade paper Locomotive published by the Hartford Steam Boiler Insurance Company; she was a graduate of the Upton high school, 1883, and of the State Normal school in Worcester, in 1885; Nellie Frances, born September 18, 1869, graduate of the Upton high school, 1887, and of Becker's Commercial School in 1888; works in the Knowlton shop; lives with her parents in West Upton.


ELLERY BICKNELL CRANE, of Worcester, is a descendant of Henry Crane (I), who, as early as 1655, settled with his brother, Benjamin, in Wethersfield, Connecticut. They were tanners and


ii- 6


82


WORCESTER COUNTY


curriers of leather. After conducting business in company for some years, Henry removed to Guil- ford, previous to 1660, and a few years later be- came one of the first planters of "Hammonassett," the name having been changed in 1667 to Kenilworth, or Killingworth, that portion now being known as Clinton. About the year 1663 he married Concur- rence, daughter of John Meigs, and became one of the leading spirits in this new settlement; was the schoolmaster, and captain of the Train-band; ap- pointed one of the commissioners for the town; besides serving on various important committees, locating boundary lines and settling estates. On the death of his brother Benjamin, of Wethersfield, in 1093, he was appointed one of the distributors of his estate. His wife Concurrence died October 9, 1708, and he married (second) Deborah Cham- pion, widow of Henry Champion, of Lyme, De- ceniber 20, 1709. He died April 22, 1711, and his widow married Richard Towner. Of his ten chil- dren, three died young. John, Concurrence, Mary, Phebe, Theophilus, Henry, and Mercy grew to mature years and had families.


(II) Henry Crane, Jr., son of Henry and Con- currence Crane, was born October 25, 1677. He married Abigail, daughter of Robert Flood, of Wethersfield, January 27, 1703-04, and settled in that part of Killingworth afterward set off to Durham. He was one of the original proprietors of Durham, one of the deacons of the Congrega- tional church, and for twenty-eight sessions ( 1718 to 1740), represented the town in the state legisla- ture. He was also a military man, and advanced from the ranks through the various stages to cap- tain of the Durham Train-band. In 1734 the general assembly of Connecticut appointed Captain Crane and James Wadsworth, Esq., a committee to return the thanks of the assembly to Rev. Mr. Nathaniel Chauncey for the sermon he preached before that body, May 9, that year, and solicit a copy of the same for publication. In October, 1738, he, with Mr. Wadsworth, both of Durham, were again ap- pointed by the assembly, with Captain Samuel Hall, to locate a site for a meeting-house in the parish of Amity, New Haven county, the place now known as Woodbridge. He died April 11, 1741. His widow died August 31, 1754. They had children : Silas, born January 25, 1705; Concurrence, 1708; Henry, 1710; Abigail, 1712, died 1724.


(III) Silas Crane, eldest son of Henry, Jr., and Abigail (Flood) Crane, was called Sergeant Silas, for service rendered during the French and Indian wars. He was also prominent in matters relating to the affairs of both church and state. He resided on a part of the farm of seven hundred and fifty acres left by his father, and here, for more than twenty years, the two brothers resided with but a partition deed dividing their estates in about equal parts. He died January 15, 1763. He married Mercy, daughter of Samuel Griswold; she died August 29. 1782. Of their eleven children, three died young. Abigail, Jesse, Silas, Robert G., Eli. Hulda, Ruth, and Frederick, lived to mature age. (IV) Robert Griswold Crane, fourth child and third son of .Silas and Mercy (Griswold) Crane. was born February 18, 1739. He married, October 31, 1765, Mary Camp, daughter of Eleazer Camp, of Durham. She died April 30, 1790. In February, 1791, he married (second) Sybilla Judson, who died January 12, .1808. April 7, 1769, Mr. Crane, with his family, removed from Durham to the town of Bethlehem, where he died March 6, 1820. at the age of eighty years, having had eight children : Mary, Robert, Molly, Achsah, Ekazer; Jesse, died young: Phineas and Sarah.


(V) Eleazer Crane, second son of Robert G. and Mary (Camp) Crane, was born December 28, 1773. He married, December 9, 1798, Anna (aft- erwards called Nancy), daughter of Fletcher Prud- den, and his wife, Sarah Treat, who was daughter of Edmund, and granddaughter of Governor Robert Treat. Mr. Crane first settled on a farm in the town of Woodbury, where his two eldest children were born, but during the summer of 1802 removed to Colebrook, New Hampshire, where he purchased wild land and began to improve a farm. He also built a saw mill on the stream called Mohawk creek, where he manufactured lumber until 1807, when owing to the frequent depredations, including theft and murder, on account of the controversy regarding the boundary line between the United States and Canada, he abandoned all his property, home, mill, and lumber manufactured, and with his family returned to Connecticut, locating in Bethlehem. In 1823 he returned to Colebrook, to find that the mill, buildings and lumber had been burned, only the old irons remaining. He rebuilt the farm buildings, cleared up a portion of the land for agricultural products, and there made his home until the year 1836, when the family removed to Wisconsin, and as members of the New England Emigrating Company, helped to settle the town (now city) of Beloit, where he died June 14, 1839. His widow died April 3, 1859. They had five children : Emeline E., Orlando F., Sarah Treat, Robert Prud- den ; and Nathan F., who died in infancy.


(VI) Robert Prudden Crane, fourth child and second son of Eleazer and Nancy ( Prudden) Crane, was born in Colebrook, New Hampshire, April 17, 1807. Sixteen years of his early life were passed in Bethlehem, Connecticut, where he attended school during the winter terms, and worked on the farm in the summer seasons. After returning with his father's family to Colebrook, in 1823, his time was given to assisting in re-establishing a new home near his birthplace, which, in the absence of the family, had been practically obliterated. Thirsting after rather more than a common district school educa- tion, he went several winter seasons to the acad- emy at Lancaster, where he was graduated in 1831. For a few years he taught school in the neigli- boring towns about Colebrook during the winter terms. In the fall of 1836 he joined the New Eng- land Emigrating Company, which comprised a dozen or more families from in and about Colebrook, organized for the purpose of migrating to the ter- ritory then known as "The Far West." In the winter of 1836-37, Mr. Crane, with one other mem- ber of this company, started on their westward journey, reaching the locality now known as Beloit, Wisconsin, in the early spring of the latter year. Here they "set their stakes," and were soon fol- lowed by the remainder of the emigrating company. Mr. Crane had previously married (February 25, 1836) Almira P .. daughter of Captain John W. Bicknell and Keziah Paine, his wife. Mr. Crane was active and prominent in the early settlement of Beloit, making his home there until 1881, when, to avoid the cold winters, he removed to Micanopy, Florida, where he died, November 3. 1882. His wife, Almira, died in Beloit, January 6, 1854, leaving one child. Ellery Bicknell Crane.


(VII) Ellery Bicknell Crane, only child of Robert Prudden and Almira (Bicknell) Crane, was born in Colebrook, Coos county, New Hampshire, Novem- ber 12, 1836. He was a babe when he and his mother rejoined the husband and father in what is now Beloit. Wisconsin, on August 7, 1837. Here the son grew to manhood, receiving his education in private and public schools, Beloit Academy, and


83


WORCESTER COUNTY


the preparatory department of Beloit College. After taking a full course of instruction in single and double entry bookkeeping, he was employed as an accountant in the office of a lumber and grain mer- chant in his native town. The financial stress of 1857 and 1858 proved so discouraging to the credit systeni of trade, that his employer decided to con- duct a cash trade only, during the year 1860, and Mr. Crane joined a party of gentlemen bound for California via the overland route. They started on this journey May 4, 1860, and Sacramento was reached October 12, after an interesting and ex- citing trip on account of the warlike attitude as- sumed by the Indians against the whites during that season. Mr. Crane remained on the Pacific coast, passing the time in the states of California and Oregon, until the winter of 1862. In December, that year, he left San Francisco, to return via the Isthmus of Panama, to the east. Reaching New York city, he decided to locate in New England, among relations, and, proceeding to Boston, se- cured a position as bookkeeper and salesman for a wholesale anl retail lumber dealer, where he re- mained four years, and until his employer sold out his business and the accounts were all 'settled through the hands of Mr. Crane.


Mr. Crane located in Worcester, Massachusetts. in 1867, and started in business for himself in the lumber trade, establishing a yard and office on Mad- ison street, near Southbridge street, with Jonathan C. French as a partner. Within three months he purchased the interest of Mr. French, and for the greater portion of the succeeding thirty-four years, conducted the business alone. On Sunday afternoon, July 8, 1900, a fire was started in some mysterous way from an adjoining building, and his stock and building went up in smoke. As a change in the build- ing laws prohibited the erection of wooden store- houses on the site he had occupied, the business was given up, and Mr. Crane retired from mercan- tile pursuits, and has since devoted his time to historical and genealogical work. For nearly thirty years he has been a member of the Worcester So- ciety of Antiquity, and for many years was its president. On the resignation of the librarian, who had served the society in that capacity for seven- teen years or more, Mr. Crane was elected to suc- ceed him, and accepted the task on account of his fondness for the work attending the office. During the last two years he has accomplished the large task of re-arranging the large library of the society, and has also prepared a large amount of literary work along historical and genealogical lines, and numerous of his written papers have been published with the records of Worcester Society of Antiquity. He had previously compiled and published "The Rawson Family Memorial," a volume containing the genealogical records of the descendants of Ed- ward Rawson, secretary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; and "Crane Family Genealogy," in two volumes. Many of the careful and exhaustive fam+ ily records contained in the present work (Genea- logical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester Coun- ty) are also from his pen. and the publishers, through the chief of their editorial staff, take this opportunity of justifying their high appreciation of labors at once diligent and conscientious.


During Mr. Crane's residence in Worcester, he lias been active in public matters, and as a Repub- lican in politics has endeavored to do what he could to promote the public weal, as he viewed it from his standpoint. Although he cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, and has since voted the Republican ticket in the main, he is not a rank partisan, for he believes in principles first, and in


party second. As a proof of the confidence reposed in him, we have but to call attention to the honors he has received at the hands of his fellow towns- men. He has occupied a seat in both branches of the city council for the city of Worcester, and also been a representative in the general court, and as senator and re-elected in each instance, thus re- ceiving the complimentary vote from his constitu- ents. While a member of the Massachusetts legisla- ture, in the house he was a member of the commit- tees on constitutional amendments, and election laws. When in the senate, on election laws, roads and bridges, street railways and taxation, serving as chairman of the latter, and also as chairman of committee on parishes and religious societies.




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.