Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. III, Part 73

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 772


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. III > Part 73


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(VIII) George Manderville Gery, son of George Gerry (7), was born in Northbridge, Massa- chusetts, August 9, 1837. He was educated in the public schools of Millbury, North Oxford and Athol. He served an apprenticeship at the machinist's trade in his father's shop at Athol, became associ- ated with his father and in 1873 succeeded to the business. He has enjoyed a prosperous business career. His sons have become associated in busi- ness with him in recent years. Mr. Gery is a mem- ber of Star Lodge, F. and A. M .; Union Chapter, R. A. M., and Athol Commandery, K. T. He has taken an especially active interest in the fire depart- ment of Athol and served with efficiency for more than thirty years as engineer.


Mr. Gery married Phebe H. Swan, a native of Phillipston, Massachusetts, daughter of Sumner Swan, and a descendant of the immigrant. Dr. Thomas Swan, a Scotchman, educated in England. Dr. Swan's mother was a Stuart and he was also descended from the McDonalds of Scotland. . Dr. Swan's house in Charlestown was set on fire by a negro slave, Maria, who was condemned to be burned at the stake, and it is said that the sen- tence was carried out September 22, 1681. Chil- dren of George M. and Phebe H. Gery were : Reno Manderville, born July 16, 1862; Fred George, January 25, 1876; Harry Anson, born December 21, 1885-


CLARENCE SAMUEL BARTLETT, M. D. Richard Bartlett (I). the immigrant ancestor of Dr. Clarence Samuel Bartlett, of Gardner, Massachu- setts, was born in Wiltshire, England, 1575. He was a shoemaker by trade. He was one of the earliest settlers of the old town of Newbury, Massachu- setts. The family name in England is ancient and distinguished ; it was formerly spelt variously Bart- let, Bartlit, Bartlot and Bartholet. Richard Bart- lett was living in Newbury before 1637 and he died there May 25, 1647. His family Bible-one of the famous Breeches Bibles so-called from the transla- tion of the word for the original garment worn by Adam and Eve, is now owned by William Bart- lett, of Lowell; he received it from his father, Rev. Samuel C. Bartlett, late president of Dart- mouth College. The records of his children's births are given and the ' statement "Richard Bartlett bought this book Anno Domyni 1612."


Richard Bartlett was the progenitor of Hon. Josiah Bartlett, of New Hampshire, signer of the Declaration of Independence; foremost citizen of that state. He died at Newbury. His oral will was proved September 29, 1647; it stated that John had already received his share; bequcathed to Chris- topher, Joane and her four daughters. to Richard and John who received the "Great Bible." The children: Joane, born January 29. 1610. married Willam Titcomb; John, born November 9, 1615;


Thomas, born January 22, 1615; Richard, see for- ward; Christopher, born February 25, 1623; Anne, born February 26, 1625.


(Il) Richard Bartlett, son of Richard Bartlett (I), was born in England, October 31, 1621. He was called a shoemaker and yeoman in various records. He resided first in Oldtown, Newbury, Massachusetts, removing finally to Bartlett's Cor- ners, near Deer Island, in the Merrimac river. He was reputed to be a facetious, genial and intelligent man. He represented the town in the general court. He married Abigail -, who died March 8, 1686-87. He died 1698. His will was dated April 19, 1665, and proved July 18, 1698. Their children: Samuel, see forward; Richard, born February 21, 1648-49; Thomas, born September 7, 1650; Abigail, born March 14, 1653, married, May 27, 1700, John Emery, died 1723; John, born June 22, 1655; Hannah, born December 18, 1657, unmarried; Rebecca, born May 23, 1661, married, September 5, 1700, Isaac Bagley; she died 1723.


(III) Samuel Bartlett, son of Richard Bart- lett (2), was born at Newbury, Massachusetts, Feb- ruary 20. 1645-46. He was like his father and grandfather a cordwainer (shoemaker) by trade. He settled in Newbury and was a zealous opposer of the royal governor, Andros, and at the crisis in the English rebellion rode to Boston in order to help put Sir Edmund Andros in prison.


He married, May 23, 1671, Elizabeth Titcomb, who died August 26, 1690; he died May 15, 1732, aged eighty-six years. Their children: Elizabeth, born May 13, 1672, married Joshua Brown; Abi- gail, born April 14, 1674, married Abraham Merrill, Jr .; Samuel, born March 28. 1676; Sarah, born July 7, 1678, unmarried; Richard, born February 23, 1679-80; Thomas, see forward; Tirzah, born Janu- ary 20, 1683-84, married, January 22, 1687, Joseph Sawyer; Lydia, born November 5, 1687, married Matthias Plant, of Newbury, December 27, 1722; died October 8, 1753.


(IV) Thomas Bartlett,. son of Samuel Bartlett (3), was born in Newbury, Massachusetts, August 13, 16SI. He learned the tanner's trade and set- tled in Newbury. He married, February 14, 1710-11, Sarah Webster, of Salisbury, who died January 17, 1726-27. He died May 4, 1744, leaving an estate valued at four thousand eight hundred and thirty pounds. He owned land at Falmouth (now Port- land) and Narragansett No. I (now Buxton, Maine) and Kingston. New Hampshire. The signer of the Declaration of Independence resided at Kingston. He owned also Deer Island in the Merrimac river, bought in 1727. His children: I. Israel, see for- ward; Tabitha, born November, 1713, at Newbury, died unmarried 1779; Enoch, born April 5, 1715; Dorothy, born February 23, 1717, married Cutting Moody, December, 1737; died September 1, 1741 ; Nehemiah, born February 21, 1719, died August 24, 1741; James, born April 30, 1721, died August 24. 1741 ; Thomas, born September 16, 1723; Sarah, born June 13, 1725, married John Cogswell, Jr., trader, March 19. 1752, at Haverhill; she died September 12. 1799.


(V) Israel Bartlett, son of Thomas Bartlett (4), was born in Newbury, Massachusetts, April 30, 1712. He followed the family vocation of tan- ner, and resided in his native town except between the years 1738 and 1746 when he resided in Not- tingham, New Hampshire. His farm there is still known as the Bartlett place; it is on the north side of the common. He was a magistrate and was widely known as Squire Bartlett. He married, May 7. 1738, Love Hall. He died May 17, 1754, at the early age of forty-two. He had a pew in


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Queen Anne's Chapel, and his estate shows that he owned a negro man and girl. His widow married (second) Joshua Lunt. Children of Israel and Love Bartlett: I. Joseph Hall, born March 7, 1739, in Nottingham. 2. Sarah, born November 25. 1741, in Nottingham, married Colonel Windborn Adams, who was killed at Saratoga; married (second) Colonel Hobart, of Exeter, where she died 1823. 3. Thomas, born October 22, 1745, in Nottingham, married Sarah Cilley, daughter of General Joseph Cilley, August 19, 1773; Cilley was lieutenant- colonel at Burgoyne's surrender; speaker of the house of representatives; judge of the court of common pleas; had twelve children; died June 30, 1805. 4. Israel, born May 8, 1748, in Newbury. 5. Mary, born in Newbury. August 17, 1751. 6. Josiah, born March 13, 1753.


(VI) Josiah Bartlett, son of Captain Israel Bart- lett (5), was born in Newbury, Massachusetts, March 13, 1753. He was a clothier by trade and re- sided at Lee and Pittsfield, New Hampshire. He died April, 1818, aged sixty-five years. One record gives his middle initial as "D"; the revolutionary records has Josiah Hall Bartlett, sergeant in Cap- tain James Hill's company at Pierce's Island, 1775, and also in Captain Joseph Parson's company later in 1775. He was captain of militia; selectman in 1795-96-97 : assessor in 1782-92; town clerk in 1797. He married, December 14, 1774. Ruth Whitcher, of Whittier (by Rev. Benjamin Parker, of Haver- hill). She was born in Haverhill. Their children : I. Josiah, see forward. 2. Nathaniel, born August 15. 1777. 3. Daniel, born October 24, 1779. 4. Will- iam, born August 15, 1782. 5. Joseph, born March 10, 1784. 6. James, born September 1. 1786. 7. Thomas, born December 1, 1788. 8. Ruth, born July 12, 1791, died July 31, 1791. 9. Ruth, born August 31, 1792. 10. Elizabeth, born September 21, 1794. II. Richard, born 1796. 12. Jeremiah, born 1798. 13. Sarah, born 1800.


(VII) Josiah Bartlett, son of Josiah Bartlett (6), was born October 10, 1775. He lived in Not- tingham. Northwood, Newington and Lee, New Hampshire. He married Abigail Johnson, born October 4. 1778, daughter of Colonel Samuel John- son, of Northwood, New Hampshire, one of the early settlers there and one of the most prominent and respected men of that town. The history of Northwood contains an interesting biography of him. Josiah died in Lee, December 16. 1840. The children: 1. Henry Augustus, born May 22, 1803, died April 4, 1872. 2. Lydia, born January 3, 1809, married Whittier. 3. Daniel, born September IO, ISII, died 189 -. 4. Joseph Cridley, born 1815, .died January 7, 1873. 5. Josiah, see forward.


(VIII) Josiah Bartlett, son of Josiah Bartlett (7), was horn at Pittsfield, New Hampshire. He was a farmer at Pittsfield. He married and among his .children was Jonathan, see forward.


(IX) Jonathan Bartlett, son of Josiah Bartlett (8)), was born in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, June 28. 1842. He is a cousin of the late William H. Bartlett, principal in the public schools of Wor- cester, whose father was Henry A. Bartlett, of Northwood, New Hampshire. Jonathan Bartlett followed farming during his active life at Pitts- field. New Hampshire. He went west in 1884 and bought a farm at South Bend. Indiana. He is a successful farmer, having a large and well-con- ducted dairy farm. He married Sarah F. Emer- son, who is living at present with relatives in Man- chester. New Hampshire. Their child: Clarence Samuel. see forward.


(X) Dr. Clarence Samuel Bartlett. son of Jona- than Bartlett (9), was born in Pittsfield, New


Hampshire, July 14, 1868. He received his educa- tion in the public and high schools of his native town, in Pittsfield Academy, and in the Dartmouth Medical School, where he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1892. He taught school for a number of terms during his school and college days. During his senior year he was demonstrator in bacteriology and histology in the medical school. He recived an appointment on the staff of the Mas- sachusetts State Almshouse at Tewksbury, Massa- chusetts and was engaged in hospital work there two years. He was then appointed on the staff of the State Insane Hospital at Concord, New Hamp- shire. While residing in Concord he was appointed examiner for the Concord Life Insurance Company. In 1895 he opened an office in Gardner, Massachu- setts, for general practice, where he has become well established in the confidence of his numerous pa- tients. He is a member of the New Hampshire Medical Society, Massachusetts Medical Society, American Medical Association, and the Worcester North District Medical Society, to which he has contributed various papers of medical and surgical interest. Dr. Bartlett is a Republican in politics and a Congregationalist in religion. He belongs to the Order of Red Men and Knights of Malta. He married, October 22, 1896, Caroline F. Powell, daughter of William and Eliza C. (Bailey) Powell, of Loudon, New Hampshire.


RUGGLES FAMILY. Among the original pro- prietors and settlers of Hardwick, was Samuel Rng- gles, a grandson of Thomas Ruggles, who, with his younger brother, John, founded the family in Amer- ica. The family is of ancient lineage in England and its principal seat or place of abode was at Sud- bury in the county of Suffolk. Information obtained by the writer relative to its early history discloses the fact that the two immigrants just mentioned were the sons of Nicholas, and the grandsons of Thomas Ruggles, whose will was dated June 21, 1747154 That they had served the crown and were the recipients of royal favor is attested by their coat of arms, which is still preserved and may be briefly described as follows: An inverted chevron on a light blue shield, three red lozenges, one in each corner, beneath which is the family motto con- sisting of the single word-Struggle.


John Ruggles, the first of that name in Amer- ica, immigrated in 1635 and was followed ten years later by his brother Thomas. Frederick Elbridge Ruggles, of this sketch, is a descendant in the ninth generation of Thomas, and the line of descent is through Thomas (2), Samuel (3), Benjamin (4), Benjamin (5), Lemuel (6), Lemuel (7), and Elbridge (8).


Thomas Ruggles (1) married Mary Curtis, of the parish of Nazing in the county of Essex, No- vember 9, 1620, and she accompanied him to Amer- ica. She was a sister of the first William Curtis, one of the original settlers of Roxbury, and Thomas Ruggles settled in that town, where he died Novem- ber 16. 1644-45. His widow subsequently married Root. She died February 14, 1674-75, aged eighty-six years. The children of Thomas and Mary Ruggles were: John, Thomas, Sarah and Samnel. Three of these, John, Sarah and Samuel came with their parents to New England.


Samuel Ruggles, son of Thomas and Mary (Curtis) Ruggles, kept a tavern in Roxbury, and was an active participant in the early public affairs of that town, serving as a selectman and as an as- sessor for a period of fourteen years, and was representative to the general court during the four critical years succeeding the civic disturbance of


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1689. For several years he was a captain in the militia, and while General Andros and his associ- ates were held as prisoners he was chosen the cus- todian of Joseph Dudley (afterward governor), who was allowed his liberty under certain restraints. He married for his first wife Hannah, daughter of George Fowle, of Charlestown, who died October 24, 1669. The children of this union were: Hannah, Mary, Samuel, Joseph, Hannah 2d., Sarah, Mary 2d .. Sarah 2d., and another child who died in in- fancy. On May 26, 1670, he married for his second wife Anna, daughter of Henry Bright, of Water- town. She became the mother of six children, namely : Thomas, Anna, Nathaniel, Elizabeth, Henry and Huldah. The mother of these children died September 5, 1711, aged sixty-seven years.


Samuel Ruggles, son of Samuel and Hannah (Fowle) Ruggles, was born in Roxbury, June I, 1658. He served as selectman and assessor in Rox- bury, as representative to the general court, and was captain in the militia. He was one of eight asso- ciates who purchased, for twenty pounds, of John Magnus and Lawrence Nassawonno, Sachems of the Nipmuck Indians, the territory which in 1737 became incorporated as the town of Hardwick. Al- though the original deed was signed December 27, 1686, it was not recorded until March 7, 1723. He was also interested with Captain James Fitch and others, of Norwich, Connecticut, in the purchase of a large tract of land in that state, which is now the town of Pomfret. He died in February, 1715- 16. On July 8, 1680, he married Martha, daughter of Rev. John Woodbridge, of Newbury, and grand- daughter of Governor Thomas Dudley. She died in 1738. Their children were: Samuel, Lucy, Rev. Timothy, Hannah, Patience, Martha, Sarah, Joseph, Mary and Benjamin. Rev. Timothy Ruggles, who was graduated from Harvard College in 1702, and ordained pastor of the church at Rochester, Novem- ber 22, 1710, was the father of General Timothy Ruggles (known as the brigadier), a noted military officer in the services of the crown. He was a loyal- ist and his property in Hardwick having been con- fiscated during the revolutionary war he went to WVilmot, Nova Scotia. (A more extended account of General Timothy Ruggles will be found in a sketch of J. R. Robinson, which appears elsewhere in this work.)


Rev. Benjamin Ruggles, son of Samuel and Martha ( Woodbridge ) Ruggles, was born in Rox-


bury, July 14, 1700. He was graduated from Yale College in 1721 and received the degree of Master of Arts from both Yale and Harvard in 1724. He- was ordained pastor of the Second Church in Middleboro in October, 1724,


but afterward took charge of the first church organized in New Braintree, and resided in Hardwick. He died suddenly May 12, 1782. On December 30, 1725, he married Dorcas, daughter of Samuel Whiting, and granddaughter of Rev. Samuel Whiting, of Billerica. His children were: Benjamin, Whiting, Mary, Dorcas, Lucy, Betsey and Nancy. The mother died September 5, 1778, aged seventy-five years.


Benjamin Ruggles, son of Rev. Benjamin and Dorcas ( Whiting) Ruggles, was born December 18, 1726. Immediately after his first marriage he re- moved from Middleboro, settling on the farm in Hardwick which is still the homestead of the fam- ily, and located in the vicinity of Furnace village. On account of his bushy hair, and to distinguish him from others of the same name, he was known as "Bush Ben." He died October 22, 1795. He married for his first wife, in 1750, Sarah Hunt, of Dartmouth. She died May 20, 1772, and he mar- ried for his second wife, in February of the follow- ing year, Jerusha, widow of John Aiken. Jerusha died October 28, 1787, and in July, 1789, he mar- ried for his third wife Hannah Hamblin, of New Braintree. His children were: Samuel, Benjamin, Lemuel, Ephraim, Sarah, Rebecca, Hannah and Benjamin 2d. His widow became the wife of John Jones, of Barre, May 29, 1796, and resided near Furnace village in a house which she purchased. She survived her husband many years and died April 22, 1816.


Lemuel Ruggles, son of Benjamin and Sarah (Hunt) Ruggles, was born in Hardwick, February 26, 1755. He was a prosperous farmer, and spent his entire life on the homestead on Moose Brook road, where he died October 22, 1806. He mar- ried Lydia -, who died May 2, 1807, aged fifty years. The children of this union were : Lemuel, Lydia, Brigham and Sally.


Lemuel Ruggles, son of Lemuel and Lydia Rug- gles, was born in Hardwick about the year 1780. He succeeded to the possession of the homestead farm and carried it on successfully until his death, which occurred February 14, 1840. He married Hannah Hooker, of Enfield (marriage intentions published March 30, 1718), and was the father of Elbridge, Sally, Emory, Maria and Jonas.


Elbridge Rugles, son of Lemuel and Hannalı ( Hooker) Ruggles, and father of Frederick E. Ruggles, was horn at the homestead in Hardwick, June 3, 1819. The active period of his life was spent in general farm- ing upon the homestead, which he inherited in turn. In December. 1850, he married Mary Aiken, of Prescott, Hampshire county. She became the mother of eight chil- dren, namely: Mary Theodoia, Au- gust 20, 1852; Abbie, June 21, 1854; Frederick Elbridge, of whom later ; Amory A., May 26, 1859; Ella Frances, August 1863; Louis Hooker, November 17, 1866; Ger- trude MI., February 1, 1869; and Nelson Paul, August 29, 1871.


Frederick Elbridge Ruggles was born near Hardwick, September 23, 1856. His preliminary studies in' the Hardwick public schools were


THE RUGGLES HOMESTEAD


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supplemented with a course in the higher branches at the Hitchcock Academy, Brimfield, Massachusetts, upon the completion of which he engaged in farming at the homestead and has ever since resided there. He makes a specialty of dairy products, for which pur- pose the Ruggles farm is admirably adapted and has acquired excellent financial results in that par- ticular branch of agriculture. For a number of years he has served with ability upon the board of assessors, and has several times been chosen a dele- gate to Republican conventions. He is a member of the local grange, Patrons of Husbandry, of which he has been secretary for many years, and his church affiliations are with the Congregationalists.


On April 27, 1881, Mr. Ruggles was united in marriage with Miss Catherine E. Wesson, daughter of William Cutler Wesson, of Hardwick. Mr. and Mrs. Ruggles have four daughter, namely: Eliza J., a book-keeper; Mary A., a stenographer ; Edith Christabel, who is studying at an art school in Bos- ton with a view of becoming an instructor in draw- ing; and Madalene, who is now a student at Mount Holyoke College, preparatory to engaging in edu- cational pursuits.


WILLIAM LANCASTER. The life of the late William Lancaster, for many years general agent of the State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, Massachusetts, affords a conspicuous ex- ample of an honorable and useful career self- wrought. Beginning life humbly, without capital, and unaided by influential friends he attained a position of prominence among the business men of Worcester solely through his own ability and the exercise of energy and unconquerable determination. Throughout his career his labors and responsibili- ties were discharged with the greatest efficiency, testifying to his splendid capabilities as a man of affairs.


John and Catherine (Haworth) Lancaster, par- ents of William Lancaster, were of English birth, the former having died in England in 1861, and the latter in Worcester, Massachusetts, in November, 1874, aged sixty-one years, and her remains were interred in Hope cemetery, Worcester. In 1864, three years after the death of her husband, Mrs. Lancaster and six of her children came to the United States, settling in Dodgeville, Massachu- setts, where they remained till 1866, when they moved to Lonsdale, Rhode Island, from whence they removed to Worcester, Massachusetts, 1870. The children of John and Catherine (Haworth) Lancaster were as follows: James ; Ellen, deceased ; William A., died in early life: Susanna, deceased ; William. see forward; Daniel, deceased; Nancy, whose death occurred in England; George Y., a resident of Worcester, at the present time (1905) conducting a ticket agency in the State Mutual building; and Sarah.


William Lancaster, born in Lancashire county, England, July 11, 1845, received but limited edu- cational advantages in his boyhood, attending the common schools in the neighborhood of his home half a day from the age of eight to eleven, work- ing the other half day in a carding room, and subsequently learned all the branches of weaving. becoming a thorough and expert workman. At the age of nine years he lost one of his fingers at his work. When eleven years of age he commenced working full time. and thereafter for a number of years attended night school, thereby supplementing the knowledge gained during his earlier years. He accompanied his mother to this country, and upon their location in Worcester, Massachusetts, as above stated, secured employment at the Worcester Bleach


and Dye Works located in South Worcester, re- maining for eighteen months. In 1870 he became an employe of the firm of C. Foster & Company, dealers in hardware and builders supplies, successors of the Duncan & Goodell Company, and for four- teen years served in the capacity of bookkeeper. In 1884 he engaged in the life insurance business, in which line he was engaged at the time of his death, and during the intervening time gained for himself a reputation and was generally recognized as one of the most successful men in this line. He was the general agent of the State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester. Mr. Lancaster was well known in the Masonic fraternity of Mas- sachusetts, and was popular in the social circles of Worcester. He was a member of Athelstan Lodge; Hiram Council; Worcester Lodge of Per- fection; a life member of Worcester Chapter, of which he was formerly secretary. and was a four- teenth degree Mason. From 1898 to 1904 he was secretary of the Worcester Lodge of Elks, No. 243. He was also a member of the Gesang Verein Frohsinn, or the Frohsinns, as it is familiarly called, the Lakeside Boat Club, and the Hancock Club, and was a former member of the Commonwealth Club and of the Worcester County Mechanics' As- sociation. Mr. Lancaster was the first treasurer of St. Mathias Episcopal Church. of Worcester, and his family are members of St. John's Episcopal Church, of Worcester.


Mr. Lancaster married, in 1883, Catherine A. Christopher, daughter of Henry Christopher, and the children born to them are: Edith Clare, born December 12 ,1883, graduated from Adam Square Classical high school in Worcester, and from Vassar College. June, 1905: she married, December 1, 1905, Edward William Kinsley, of the firm of Kins- ley & Adams, successors to Kinnicutt & Dewitt, bankers. Richard Christopher, born in Worcester, May 9, 1887, a student in the English high school. Olive Haworth, born in Worcester, January 5, 1891, a student in the Classical high school. Mr. Lan- caster died very suddenly, Sunday, October 21, 1906, of apoplexy.


THE CHARLTON PUBLIC LIBRARY was first organized under a constitution and by-laws May 23, 1861, and was then called the Charlton Agricultural Library Association. Its first officers were: President, Dr. Charles M. Fay; vice-presi- dent, Levi Hammond; secretary, Henry Blake; librarian and treasurer, A. E. Fiske. On Saturday, September 30, 1882, the Library was transferred to the town of Charlton and became the Charlton Free Public Library. At that time it contained five hundred and twenty-three volumes. Since then it has been the established rule for the town to appropriate annually the sum of two hundred dol- lars for the purchase of books. In February, 1904, a new library room was provided for the books in the new Dexter Memorial Hall, given by William H. Dexter, of Worcester, where it is now installed with new bookstacks, tables, chairs, attractive pictures and engravings adorning its walls.




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