Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. II, Part 31

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 31

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He married . Mary She married (second) Michael Bacon, said to have come from Ireland, one of the original inhabitants of Woburn in 1641. She died May 19, 1670. The children of Thomas and Mary Richardson were: Mary. baptized No- vember 17. 1638, married, May 15. 1655, John Bald- win, of Billerica; Sarah, baptized November 22, 1640, married, March 22, 1660. Michael Bacon, Jr .; Isaac, born May 14, 1643, married Deborah Fuller ; Thomas, of whom later; Ruth, born April 14, 1647; Phebe, born January 24, 1048-9; Nathaniel, born January 2, 1650-1.

(Il) Thomas Richardson, son of Thomas Rich- ardson (1), was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, October 4, 1645. He settled in Billerica, then called Shawshine, in Massachusetts, 1667, and settled in the eastern part of that town on the ninety-nine acre tract called the Cambridge school farm (IIar- vard College), west of the Shawshine river and north of the present Boston road. He sold out in 1690 to Captain Samuel Gallup. Ile was a deputy to the general court in 1704 from Billerica. He gave his oldest son Thomas a farm near the Boston road, now Washington street, and October 4, 1705, he gave his son Andrew a farm north of Thomas's and later one to Nathaniel north of Andrew's. He died at Billerica, February 25, 1720-1, in his seventy- sixth year. His widow Sarah died November 20, 1734. His will was dated April 10, 1719, and proved March 20, 1720-1. Children of Thomas and Sarah Richardson were : Mary, born and died February 8. 1670-1; Mary, born and died January 31, 1671-2; Mary, born February 17, 1672-3, married Edward Farmer. Jr .: Thomas, born December 3. 1675; Andrew, born June 16. 1678, married Hannah Jefts; Nathaniel, of whom later; Jonathan. born Febru- ary 14, 1682-3. married Hannah French ; Ruth, born December 4, 1685, married John French; Elnathan, born and died February 7, 1686-7.

(III) Nathaniel Richardson. son of Thomas Richardson (2). was born in Billerica, Massachu- setts, January 25, 1670-80. He married Mary Pea- cock, May 7, 1703. His father gave him a farm in Billerica next his brother Andrew's. After his father died in 1721, he received also thirty-two acres of upland on Content Plain and eight acres of the Mill Swamp at a place called Black Hole. He died intestate April 4, 1753, aged seventy-three years, and his widow died October 18, 1756. Their children, all born at Billerica, were: Mary, March 31, 1704, married Jonathan Goss, of Townsend; Na- thaniel, January 8, 1706-7; Samuel. December 23, 1708, married Hannah Walker; Sarah, March 8, 1710-II, died .April 18, 1712: William, of whom later ; Hezekiah, May 8, 1715, married Elizabeth Walker; Ebenezer. born September 24, 1717, died young;

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Rebecca, May 17, 1720, married Benjamin Richard- son ; Joseph, May 20, 1722, died at Northfield where he was killed by Indians in ambush June 16, 1747, while he was marching to relieve Fort Dummer with a squad of soldiers; Ebenezer, October 2, 1724, married (first) Elizabeth Shed; (second) Mary Crosby; (third) Lydia Danforth; (fourth ) Catherine Wyman; (fifth) Elizabeth Bacon.

(IV) William Richardson, son of Nathaniel Richardson (3), was born in Billerica, May 5, 1713. He married, December 9, 1742, Mary Hobart, of Groton, and settled in Townsend. His will was dated April 19, 1773, and he died at Billerica, April 30, 1773. Ilis widow Mary died September 2, 1763. Their children were: Mary, born July 3, 1743, died February 26, 1804; William, May 10, 1745, married Hannah Stevens Crosby; Israel, May 14, 1749, sol- dier in the revolution, died August 29, 1776; Abel, of whom later; Josiah, August 10, 1753, married (first) Abigail Dix; (second) Susannah Wallis ; Emma, January 12, 1758, married Brooks and settled in Brooklinc, New Hampshire; Andrew, August 25, 1760, married Hannah Grant ; Ruth, August 21. 1763, lived at Brookline, New Hampshire.

(V) Abel Richardson, son of William Richard- son (4), was born at Townsend, April 22, 1751; married, March 6, 1783, Tabitha Bennett, born 1756 in Hollis, New Hampshire. They settled in Ashby, Massachusetts, after their marriage and he died there December 7, 1843; his wife died there March 14, 1839. Their children were: Mary, born January 23, 1784, died April 6, 1794; Abel, Jr., March 5, 1786, married Martha Lawrence; Rhoda, July 9, 1788. married Philip Piper, died at Ashby, 1858; she died at Winchester, September 14. 1874, aged eighty-six years ; William, June 27, 1791, married Rebecca Lawrence; Israel, of whom later; Mary. October 7. 1797, died unmarried June 14, 1821, at Ashby ; Eunice. August 24, 1800, married Jacob Wilkes, of Ashburnham; he died November 17, 1862, aged sixty-four years ( sic). Abel Richardson was a soldier in the revolution in Captain James Hosley's company of minnte-men, Colonel William Prescott's regiment, April 19. 1775; also Captain Henry Far- well's company, Colonel William Prescott's regi- ment (Tenth). He was six months in the Conti- mental army in 1778 under Captain Robb, Colonel Reed; was corporal in Captain Hosley's company, 1777, and in the Continental army 1780 under Cap- tain Daniel Shays. He was described as five feet, seven inches tall; light complexion; twenty-eight years old, residence Ashby.

(VI) Israel Richardson, son of Abel Richard- son, (5), was born at Ashby, Massachusetts, Sep- tember 14, 1793. He married Sarah Haynes, of Gardner, Massachusetts, and died at Chelsea, No- vember 18, 1873. She died in Fitchburg about 1852. Their children were: George W. H., born Novem- ber 18, 1815, married, 1840, Nancy S. Cornell; Jo- siah Carter, of whom later; Edwin, February 10, 1821; Sarah, March 22, 1823, died October, 1841 ; Lucy Ann, June 20, 1825, married Nathan Otis Pres- cott, of Nashua, January 17, 1850; Amanda Melvin, July 5, 1853, married A. J. Fuller, of Harrison, Maine, May 9, 1855.

(VII) Josiah Carter Richardson, son of Israel Richardson (6), was born in Ashby, April 18, 1817. He learned the trade of comb maker, but later turned his attention to photography and followed this business during most of his active life, living in Boston and many other places. He married Sally Tyler, April 6, 1837. She was of a Leo- minster family. Their children were: Charles Franklin, born September 21, 1838, married Mar- garet Isabel K-, December 21, 1859, and they

had five children : Lucius Augustus, of whom later; Edward Payson, June 22. 1843, a photographer by occupation, married, April 17, 1822, Louisa Willard ; William Gray, June 11, 1850, died May 21, 1854; William, May 3, 1857, died February 22, 1805; Caro- line Maria, July 29, 1858; Herbert Carter, July 10, 1861, died April 16, 1802.

(VIII) Lucius Augustus Richardson, son of Jo- siah Carter Richardson (7), was born at Leomin- ster, Massachusetts, October 17, 1840. He received a common school education and then learned the printer's trade. He worked for four years at this trade on the Fall River Newes, the Fitchburg Re- veille, and the Pawtucket Gasette and Chronicle. He learned the art of photography of his father at Pawtucket and left the printing business to work for him. In 1857 Mr. Richardson started out for himself with a traveling car. That was the method of doing business in the early days of the business. He traveled over new England. He was in Boston three years and in Ashland three years. In 1873 lie located in Leominster and has been in business there ever since. Until 1900 he was at 10 Mechanic street and few photographers in the county are bet- ter known. Five years ago he built a studio in the rear of his residence, 125 Walnut street, where he continues his business amidst very pleasant natural surroundings. His daughters assist him with the work of the studio, each having acquired the art under his instruction. Mr. Richardson is a mem- ber of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Ta- hanto Lodge of Leominster. In politics he is a Republican. He is an active member of the Ortho- dox Congregational church, of which he was deacon for twenty years. Ile was superintendent of the Sunday school several years and for a long period has been a teacher. He has been a member of the Congregational church since he was a young man.

He married, April 5, 1860, Louisa Fitch, daughter of Henry Fitch. She was born at Topsfield, Maine. Their children are: Lucius Leslie, of whom later ; Lillian Janette, born at Saxonville, Massachusetts, graduate of the Leominster high school, assists her father retouching photographic plates and printing photographs; resides at home with parents; Everett Briggs, of whom later; Clara Louisa Sargent, born at Everett, Massachusetts, graduate of the Leo- minster high school, assists father in his photo- graphic studio and lives with parents.

(IN) Everett Briggs Richardson, son of Lucius Augustus Richardson (8), was born at East Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, October 14, 1864. He was educated in the public schools of Leominster and graduated from Comer's Commercial School of Boston. He learned the business of piano case man- ufacturing of C. J. Cobleigh, Leominster. In 1892

he and his brother, Lucius Leslie Richardson, or- ganized the Richardson Piano Case Company and he became the president and manager, a position he has since filled. The company purchased the buisi- ness of Mr. Cobleigh. The factory is located in Leominster, and the concern employs about a hun- dred and twenty-five hands. The company has en- joyed the greatest prosperity from the first. Mr. Richardson is a member of the Leominster Council, Royal Arcanum. He is a prominent Free Mason, having been through the chairs of Wilder Lodge of Leominster and is a member of th higher bodies of Masonry including the Jerusalem Commandery. Knights Templar. of Fitchburg. Ile is a director of the Leominster National Bank. Ile is a member of the Orthodox Congregational church.

He married Ada Conant,-of Catawba. Kentucky, June 26, 1889. Their children are : Bernice, Jud- son Cromwell, Everett Gordon.

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(IX) Lucius Leslie Richardson, son of Lucins Augustus Richardson (S), was born at South Bos- ton, Massachusetts, July 5, 1861. He received his early education in the public and high schools of Leominster. He learned the trade of piano case maker at Smith's Piano Case factory in Leominster. He had experience in every department of the busi- ness. With his brother, Everett Briggs, he formed the Richardson Piano Case Company in 1892 and has been director and vice-president since the business was established. He is a member of the Orthodox Congregational church. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum. In politics he is an active Re- publican and was on the board of selectmen of Leominster in 1900.

He married, October 7, 1890, Annie Wilder, daughter of Frank L. Wilder, of Sterling, Massa- chusetts. Both are well known in musical circles. Mrs. Richardson is organist of the Congregational church at Sterling and Mr. Richardson is a member of the choir there. They have two children: Mary Louise, Clara Leslie.

ALFORD W. COLBURN. Edward Colburn (I), was the emigrant ancestor of Alford W. Col- burn, of Leominster, Massachusetts, and his connec- tions. The family line is quite distinct from the descendants of Nathaniel Colburn, of Dedham, Massachusetts. The Dedham family seems to have been much more numerous. Edward Colburn was only seventeen years old when he came to New England. His brother Robert, aged twenty-eight, and he came in the "Defence" in 1635. Both broth- ers settled at Ipswich. Savage calls him Edward "of Chelmsford" and it is presumed that he was one of the pioneers of the town which was set off from Concord in 1652 and settled about that time. Robert Colburn, brother of Edward, settled in Ips- wich, and had among his children a son, Robert Colburn. Both Robert and his wife deposed in 1668 that they were sixty years old. Robert died at Ips- wich, May 2. 1685. He had a son Robert and proba- bly other children.

(II) Robert Colburn, son of Edward Colburn (I), was born probably about 1645 and probably at Ipswich. He was raised at Chelmsford or Concord, Massachusetts, where his father settled when he was a young lad. He married Mary Bishop, perhaps the daughter of Edward Bishop, who settled in Salem, Massachusetts, 1640, or earlier. Mary Bishop was baptized at Salem, October 12, 1651. Robert Col- burn died at Concord, Massachusetts, June 7, 1701. Among other children he had Nathaniel, who set- tled in Concord, the ancestor of the Leominster branch, mentioned below. William, married Mar- garet French, February 29, 1715-6, and the records show that they had these children: Robert, born January 16, 1716-7; Keziah, October 27, 1721; Je- mima, June 15, 1724; William, December 5, 1726, and perhaps others elsewhere.

(III) Nathaniel Colburn, son of Robert Col- burn (2), was born at Chelmsford or Concord about 1700. The frequency of this name Nathaniel in both Dedham and Concord lines suggests that the pro- genitors may have been of the same family in Eng- land. Nathaniel Colburn married about 1720, Dor- cas Jones, of Concord, Massachusetts, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary Jones, of Concord, where she was born January 17, 1703-4. They lived at Con- cord and had twelve children, ten of whom they took with them to Leominster when they removed and settled there. The homestead was in the south part of the town. Nathaniel deeded half of it to his son John, March 15. 1765. Four of his sons were soldiers in the revolution. John was sergeant-

at-arms in the Leominster company on the Lexing- ton alarm April 19, 1775, sergeant of a company raised to re-enforce General Gates at Saratoga in October. 1777; Ebenezer is mentioned below; Nathan and Jonathan were soldiers in the Leominster companies.

The children of Nathaniel and Dorcas Colburn were: Nathaniel, born January 19, 1722-3, married Tabitha Headley ; Ebenezer, November 10, 1724, died June 7. 1828: Dorcas, September 1, 1726; Mary, April 12, 1729, died November 6, 1740; Ebenezer, September 17, 1731, of whom later; Sarah, May 8, 1834; Mary, born April 12, 1729, died November 6, 1740; Sarah, May 8, 1734; John (twin), born July 10, 1736, died August 4, 1736; Jonathan (twin), born July 10, 1736, married Sarah Harvey; John, Angust 3, 1738, married Anna Darby, of Harvard, Massachusetts; Mary, October 4, 1742; Nathan, November 18, 1744; Hannah, July 20, 1747.

(IV) Ebenezer Colburn, son of Nathaniel Col- burn (5), was born in Concord, Massachusetts, September 17. 1731. He removed to Leominster with his father and settled in the south part of the town. He was a tavern keeper there in his later years. He was a soldier in the revolution, a private in the company of Captain Nathaniel Carter in the regi- ment of Colonel Abijah Stearns in 1777. He was first lieutenant in the company of Captain Jabez Keep, Colonel Jonathan Smith's regiment. He was first lieutenant also in Captain Nathaniel Carter's company ( the first Leominster company in the Eighth Worcester Regiment) in 1776 and 1777. Ebenezer Colburn bought out his brother John's rights to the farm of forty-five acres thirty rods on the road leading from the house of John Kendall to that of John Colburn.

He married (first) Prudence Carter, of Leo- minster, and (second) Dorothy Brewer, widow, of Sterling and Waltham, Massachusetts. They had four sons and four daughters, all but two of whom married and left Leominster. These two were Elijah and Elisha Colburn, who were prominent citizens. Elisha Colburn married Deborah Hunt and died in 1833, leaving two sons-Major Senaca Colburn, and Charles H., who was postmaster at Leominster forty-five years, father of William Henry and Ellen Priscilla. Elijah Colburn, the other son, of whom later.

(V) Elijah Colburn, son of Ebenezer Colburn (4), was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, 1771. He removed from Leominster to the adjacent town of Lancaster and was town sexton and undertaker there for a period of forty years. He was a skillful cabinet maker and for the most part made his caskets and coffins. He married, June 19, 1796, Sally Hosley, who died February 9. 1831, aged fif- ty-three years. He married (second) Nancy - He died September 27, 1849. aged seventy-eight years, at Lancaster. The children of Elijah and Sally were: Charles, born December 13, 1796; Jonas, of whom later: Lucy Hosley. March 27, 1800; David Hosley, February 28, 1802, died May 10. 1865, leaving a wife Orresy P. and two daughters, Eliza- beth and Sarah E., wife of M. J. Chapin; Nancy Wilder, May 3, 1804.

(VI) Jonas Colburn, son of Elijah Colburn (5), was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, June 21, 1798, on the old homestead. He settled in Leom- inster and established the comb manufactory, where his son succeeded him and where his grandson, Alford W. Colburn, is now located. He carried on this business for fifty years. Though he never sought or held public office, he was a man of in- fluence and highly respected in the community. At the time of the Washingtonian movement he be-

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came a total abstainer or teetotaler, as it was then called, and he was ever afterward a consistent and active advocate of temperance. He was also a strong anti-slavery man.

He married, December 25, 1823, Matilda Parker. His death, September 18, 1873, was due to injuries received in an accident in his factory. His son, George F. Colburn, who was associated with him in business, carried on the business after his father died and was succeeded in turn by his son, Alford W. Colburn, of whom later. The children of Jonas and Matilda ( Parker ) Colburn were: Caroline M., born October 20, 1824, died February 24, 1825; An- drew J., March 20, 1826, died September 1, 1902; Francis H., December 25, 1827, died August .2, 1895; George F., January 21, 1830, died January 4, 1895, of whom later; Caroline M., March 1, 1832; James S., January 6, 1834, died February 3, 1834; Cornelia L., March 19, 1835; Crosby W., October 31, 1837, died March 23, 1842.

(VII) George F. Colburn, son of Jonas Colburn (6), was born at Leominster, Massachusetts, Janu- ary 21, 1830. He was educated in the public schools of his native town and when a young man went into his father's factory and learned the business of comb manufacturing. He was taken into partnership with his father and for a number of years father and son were in business together. When his father died in 1873 Mr. Colburn became the sole proprietor and continued in business alone until he took his own son into partnership in 1888. He was prominent in public affairs as well as in busi- ness. He was elected to many positions of honor and trust by his townsmen. He was at various times assessor, overseer of the poor and selectman, and represented his district in the general court two years. He was an active and earnest member of the Unitarian church.

George F. Colburn married, January 21, 1830, Catherine E. Newton, of Southboro, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Lowell Appleton and Han- nah Perry (Johnson) Newton, and was born No- vember .23, 1834, at Southboro. Mr. Colburn died January 4, 1895. The children of George F. and Catherine E. Colburn were: Jennie Fay, born Janu- ary 21, 1857, married Lysander E. Piper ; Alford Warren, January 11, 1861, of whom later; Harry, March 25, 1866, died September 19, 1898.

(VIII) Alford W. Colburn, son of George F. Colburn (7), was born in Leominster, Massachu- setts. January 11, 1861. He was educated in the public schools of his native town and then entered a commercial college in Boston where he received an education to fit him for the position in the business world that he has since so well filled. His father and grandfather had been manufacturers of combs in Leominster, and though he later suc- ceeded to this business he first started in for him- self at Northboro. Massachusetts, in the manu- facture of musical instruments. In 1888, after his grandfather died. he removed to Leominster and became associated with his father in the manu- facture of horn goods. Both in Northboro and Leominster Mr. Colburn has had a successful career in business. At the present time he employs sev- enty-five hands regularly. The site of the present shop has been occupied by him and his ancestors as a place of business since 1824. The first shop was a few rods east of the present structure. The old Colburn homestead at South Leominster, which was occupied consecutively by five generations of the family, beginning with Nathaniel Colburn (III) who came there in 1750 and. being a carpenter, built his own house, is his home. Mr. Colburn is well known among the Masons of the county,

having taken all the degrees of the Scottish Rite. He is a Republican but has always refused to be a candidate for public office. He is a member of the Leominster Country Club. He has an at- tractive summer residence where he and his fam- ily live in the summer. He is a lover of nature and out-door sports.

He married in 1883, Ida A. Brooks, daughter of Halen and Sarah J. Brooks, of Leominster, Massachusetts. Their children are: Margery, Edith, Helen.

JAMES HENRY WHITTLE, of Worcester, a prominent manufacturer, was born in Pawtucket, Providence county, Rhode Island, May 15, 1857, son of James and Ann ( Thornley) Whittle. Both his parents were born in Bolton, Lancashire, Eng- land, and came to the United States in 1837, shortly after their marriage. The father learned his trade as a bleacher in his native country, and was one of the most experienced and successful workmen of his day in that line, and made high repute for the large and well known cloth bleach- ing firm of W. F. and F. C. Sayles, at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in which he was employed during almost his entire lifetime in this country. With his wife he was a communicant of St. George's (Protestant Episcopal) Church, and he was a Mason of high rank, having attained the thirty-second de- gree of the Scottish Rite. Ile died January 25, 1895, and his wife survived him little more than a year, dying in Lincoln, Rhode Island, April 19, 1896. They were the parents of nine children, all of whom were born in the United States: Peter, Richard. Mary A., Elizabeth A., Ellen. Emma J., James H., Clara L. and William E. Whittle. James Whittle, grandfather of James H. Whittle, came to America after the death of his wife, and died at the home of his sons; he was a man of considerable means for that day.

James H. Whittle, son of James and Ann Whittle, was educated in the public schools of Paw- tucket, Rhode Island, and entered upon an active career as a sheet-metal worker, having become a skillful mechanic. September 27, 1881, he located in Putnam, Connecticut, where he engaged in furnishing mills with sheet-metal supplies. Octo- ber 8th of the following year, at the solicitation of the late Silas W. Goddard, of the Cleveland Ma- chine Works, he removed to Worcester, Massachu- setts, and there laid the foundation for a most useful and successful husiness in a factory of his own. which he established at No. 84 Southbridge street. in the old Dewey building. His business developed rapidly, and he was soon obliged to seek more room in order to enable him to enlarge his manufacturing facilities, and he removed to No. 33 Southbridge street, the site of the present post- office building. In 188; another enlargement became imperative, and he made another removal, this time to No. 150 Union street. and similar reasons led to a change to No. 150 Harlow street in 1803. In 1808 he purchased the Cleveland Machine Works, and in 1902 removed the plant to the Harlow street factory grounds, upon which he had erected build- ings specially designed for his purposes. The main building is sixty by two hundred and fifty-five feet in area and three stories in height, is equipped with the most modern and improved machinery for the manufacture of all kinds of sheet-metal ma- chinery for mills, and all kinds of machinery needed in woolen and cotton mills. The product of the Whittle factory is known throughout the country, and forms the equipment of many of the mnost famous woolen and cotton working establishments

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in America, and in various manufacturing places abroad. The local value of the Whittle works is discernible in the fact that it affords constant em- ployment to one hundred and thirty-five operatives, the majority of whom are men of family. The great dimensions to which MIr. Whittle has brought his establishment, its large usefulness as a factor in the industrial growth of Worcester. and the means and repute which it has brought to himself, is at once an eloquent proclamation of the possibilities of this country, and a monument to his own ability. Entering upon life absolutely without means, he carved out his own fortune, solely through his own industry, perseverance and business ability, and in no way as the beneficiary of a fortunate accident. Taking a laudable and entirely justifiable pride in what he has accomplished, Mr. Whittle affects none of the assumptions of superiority which often dis- figure the character of selfmade men, but rather seems to rest in the conviction that his success is such as should naturally crown the effort of him who cares for his business and plans for its de- velopment wisely and laboriously.

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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 31

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