Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. IV, Part 12

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 710

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. IV > Part 12

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(IV) Thomas Coggeshall, son of Joshua Cogge- shall (3), was born in Newport, Rhode Island, June 24, 1688, died there January 26, 1771. He married, March II, 1708, Mercy Freeborn, daughter of Gideon Freeborn, of Newport. She was born 1691 and died May 26. 1776. They resided at Middle- ton, Rhode Island, on the old place. He was a farmer. Both are interred in the family burying ground on the Coggeshall place at Middletown. Their children were: Elizabeth, born August 30, 1710, died September 20, 1797; married, July, 1731, Peleg Peckham ; Comfort, September 17, 1712, died December, 1778: married Daniel Peckham, son of Joshua Peckham, November 29, 1734; Mercy, born June 30, 1714, died young : Sarah, August 20, 1715, married, November 1, 1759, Thomas Weaver ; Wait, January 4. 1717, married (first) James Easton ; Mary, May 27, 1720, married Samuel Allen, of Mid- dletown, January 16, 1745: Joshua, see forward ; Mercy, February 23, 1724, married (first) Joseph Dennis; (second) Samuel Allen, widower of her sister Mary: Gideon, April 20, 1726, died October 27. ISO1 ; married, October 5, 1749, Hannah Law-

ton, daughter of Jeremiah; she died July 17, 1780, aged fifty-four : Thomas, August 26, died January 17, 1803; married, July 4. 1750, Hannah Cornell ; Hannah, May 20, 1731, died March 22, 18II; mar- ried Joseph Dennis, son of Robert Dennis.

(V) Joshua Coggeshall, seventh child of Thomas Coggeshall (4), was born in Middletown, Rhode Island, March II, 1722, died there September 24, 1786, and is buried on the Coggeshall farm. He mar- ried (first), Jannary 12, 1743, Sarah Bailey. She died November 4, 1750. He married (second) Ann Dennis. daughter of Joseph Dennis, January 2, 1752. The children of Joshua and Sarah ( Bailey) ) Cogge- shall were: Thomas, horn at Middletown, August 30, 1744, died 1829; married Esther Kenyon, of Newport, November 27, 1766: Ruth, June 26, 1747. died November 14, 1747: Gideon, December 13, 1748, died November, 1750. The children of Joshua and Ann (Dennis) Coggeshall were : Sarah, Septem- her 25. 1752, died March 1, 1788: married John Cornell, son of Thomas and Hannah Cornell; Jo- seph, August 16, 1754, died October 7. 1830; mar- ried Elizabeth Horswell, September 29. 1774, and she died October 1, 1840: Elizabeth, October 1.4, 1756. died September 3, 1828; married, November 9, 1786. Gideon Authons; George, March, 1750. died November 16. 1762: Mary. July 14, 1761, died Feb- ruary 15. 1837: Mercy, September 14. 1762, died March, 1844: married, April 2, 1786, Thomas Man- chester: Ann. June 1, 1764, died December 21. 1842; George, June 8, 1767, died August 14, 1843; married Cynthia, daughter of Richard Sherman.

(VI) Thomas Coggeshall eldest child of Joshua Coggeshall (5), was born in Middletown. Rhode Island, August 30, 1744, died there 1829. He was

a farmer at Middletown. He married Esther Ken- yon, November 27, 1766. Their children, all born in Middletown, were: Samuel, born 1770, died in Middletown, August 31, 1852; William, December, 1771, died September 22, 1775; John Bailey, see for- ward; Asa, March 4, 1783, married, February 21, 1802, Sarah Barker, daughter of Mathew Barker; Elsie or Alice, born 1787, died February 17, 1872; married James Taggart: William, married Ruth Chase ; Sarah, married, February 18, 1790, Rescom Sanford; George; Ruth, married David or Nathaniel Wyatt.

(VII) John Bailey Coggeshall, third child of Thomas Coggeshall (6), was born in Middletown, Rhode Island, January 29, 1774. He married (first) Mary Sanford, daughter of Peleg Sanford, of Tiver- ton, Rhode Island, October 16, 1794. He married (second) Betsey Parsons, widow of - Jennings, in 1829. He was a farmer. In middle life he left Middletown or Newport and settled in Mansfield, Connecticut. He was member of the Baptist Church in its early days. The children of John Bailey and Mary (Sanford) Coggeshall were: Peleg Sanford, see forward; Thomas, born January 22, 1798, mar- ried Elizabeth Hovey; Esther. 1799, married C. S. Hovey; Rescom, 1801, married Susan Branch ; Sarah, December 9, 1803, married Job Eddy ; Nancy, December 29, 1805, married Lemuel Barrows; she died June, 1896; Jolin A., born February 28, 1830, married Mary S. Cardwell.

(VIII) Peleg Sanford Coggeshall, eldest child of John Bailey Coggeshall (7), was born in New- port, Rhode Island, August 31, 1795, He received the usual common school education in his native town. He went with his parents to Mansfield. Con- necticut. He was first a farmer, but for many years was engaged in the manufacture of combs in Mans- field, where for many years many comb factories and silk mills have been operated. In his later years he manufactured shoes. He was an active member and deacon of the Baptist Church.

He married (first) Nancy Read, who died April, 1817, leaving no children. He married (second), in 1817, Evelina (Dimmock) Jenney, widow, daugh- ter of Jonathan Dimmock. He died in 1868, aged seventy-three years. The children of Peleg San- ford and Evelina (Dimmock) Coggeshall, all born in Mansfield, were: 1. Philecta Sanford, born Feb- ruary 23, 1820, died May 26, 1851. 2. William San- ford, February 24. 1820, married Matilda A. Carey; he died September, 1806; his children were: Dr. William Coggeshall, born December 26, IS50, died September 7, 1885, at Richmond, Virginia, leaving a son Louis I., born October 19, 1875: Florence N., born May 16, 1858, at Berckman, married Thomas McDonough Brooks, June 21, 1899. and resides at Wilmette, Illinois. 3. Henry Fayette, of whom later. 4. Newell Judson, December 28, 1830, married Alsina -, Angust 6, 1854; he died November 14, 1893. Their daughter. Emma A., born August 22, 1857, married Walter J. Smith, January 1. 1879, and they have Nellela .A. Smith, born April 6. 1881.

(IX) Henry Fayette Coggshall, third child of Peleg Sanford Coggeshall (8), was born in Mans- field. Connecticut, December 26, 1823. He and his immediate family have not used the "E" in the surname. He attended the common schools of his native town when a boy. At the age of fifteen he went to work as a clerk in the general store in Man field and remained there three years. Through the kindness of one of the mill proprietors near his

WORCESTER COUNTY

home he was instructed in the art of keeping books. His first position as bookkeeper was for the Stone- ville Manufacturing Company at Auburn, Massa- chiusetts, five miles from Worcester, for the munificent salary of $100 for the first year, in addition to his board and lodging. That was the tisual salary for a new clerk or bookkeeper at that time. Mr. Coggshall gained the confidence of his employer at the start by his capable handling of their accounts. At the outset he worked day and night until he had taken a trial balance and put the books in good order. He managed to save half his salary the first year. In three years, before he was of age, he had paid a mortgage of $350 on his fatlier's home.

In July, 1845, Mr. Ackley of the Stoneville Com- pany leased the cotton mill at Fitchburg known as the Stone mill and placed Mr. Coggshall in charge until his brother came to Fitchburg to run the mill, when Mr. Coggshall returned to Auburn. He was attracted by the growing town and had invested his saving in a lot of land on Main street. This lot was the site of the house and store of Lawren Pratt with whom Mr. Coggshall boarded during the three months in which he lived in Fitchburg. Nichols & Frost's store now stands on this lot. Mr. Coggshall paid down all his savings, $300, and paid the balance in instalments. He had confidence in Fitchburg. Later he bought three acres of land on the other side of the river and built a double house. Then he laid out the land in building lots and sold it. Fitchburg had already felt the effects of the railroad connection with Boston and manu- facturing was growing. The little town was pros- perous and attracted Mr. Coggshall as it attracted other ambitious young men.

He was with the Stoneville Company as book- keeper and cashier for seven years. In 1850 hc bought an interest in the store of Lawren Pratt and moved to Fitchburg, but he was not satisfied with his experience as a merchant and in six months sold out his interests. He kept books for a year, during 1850 and 1851, for the Putnam Machine Company. In 1851 he commenced his long and honorable career as a railroad official, first with the Fitchburg & Worcester Railroad Company and also after 1864 with the Boston, Clinton & Fitchburg Railroad Company. He was general ticket agent, freight and passenger agent, respectively. He was treasurer of these companies from 1863 until he resigned in 1871. He was one of the best known railroad men of Massachusetts during the two dec- ades from 1851 to 1871.

Mr. Coggshall has been equally prominent as manager and treasurer of the Fitchburg Gas Com- pany. He has been connected with the gas business in Fitchburg from the time the contract was let for the plant. In 1853 Mr. Coggshall was engaged by Levi Benedict, who had the contract for the con- struction of the Fitchburg gas works, to take charge of the work, as he had at the same time the con- tract for the gas works at Jamaica Plain, Massa- chusetts. In December of that year. when the gas works were ready for use. Mr. Coggshall was elected manager and he has been closely connected with the affairs of the gas company ever since. He has been the treasurer since 1866. The capital stock is $60.000. In 1888 the Fitchburg Gas Company bought a majority of the stock of the Wachusett Electric Light Company, and the united capital be- came $385.000. Herbert I. Wallace succeeded his

father. Hon. Rodney Wallace, as president. The company has paid handsome dividends.

In a paper which Mr. Coggshall read at the twenty-seventh annual meeting of the New England Association of Gas Light Engineers at Boston in 1897, lie told of the trials and difficulties of the early days of the gas business. The progress then made during his connection with the business is indicated by an extract from this paper: "Now, what do we find has been the progress in these forty-three years of gas manufacturing? In 1853 three iron retorts to a bench, burning off 450 pounds of coal in about five hours with one man on a shift, producing 1,100 feet to a charge. In 1897 six re- torts to a bench, charged with 1,800 pounds of coal and producing 9,000 feet in four hours with two men to a shift."

And in the past few years the Fitchburg Com- pany has been extending its field and improving its plant like all up-to-date companies. The ad- vances in gas lighting through new methods of production ; the improvement and cheapening of gas light with the discovery of the incandescent mantle and the coming into general use of gas for cooking and power, have kept Mr. Coggshall's company growing and expanding rapidly. Mr. Coggshall is perhaps the best known man in the gas business in the state. He has a record of fifty-three years as manager and treasurer of the company. It is be- lieved that his record is the longest of any of- ficial in the business. Yet it should be said here that many men twenty years younger than Mr. Cogg- shall are older physically and mentally than he is. In recent years he seems to have been at his best.

He has been trustec of the Fitchburg Savings Bank since 1866 and a director of the Fitchburg National Bank since 1870. He is a director of the Simonds Manufacturing Company, a large and pros- perous concern in Fitchburg, and was for many years the treasurer also. He was formerly director and treasurer of the Rollstone Machine Company. He is a trustee of the Old Ladies' Home in Fitch- burg. In politics he was first a Whig, and since the Republican party has existed he has affiliated with it. He served the city as representative to the general court in 1876. For the past ten years he has been chairman of the park commission. He For is a member of the Park Club of Fitchburg. nearly forty years he has been an active member of the Calvinistic Congregational Church. He has been prominent for many years in the Masonic Fraternity. He was a charter member and junior warden of the Charles W. Moore Lodge, A. F. and A. M. He belongs to Thomas Royal Arch Chapter of Fitchburg. and to Hiram Council of Worcester. He was a charter member and captain general of Jerusalem Commandery, Knights Templar, of Fitch- burg.

Mr. Coggshall has given generously of his large fortune to many charities and public objects. He has been particularly interested in the park system of the city and in anticipating the future needs of Fitchburg in this respect. In 1894 he gave to the city Coggshall Park, which is in line with the memorial gifts, such as the Wallace Library and the Burbank Hospital, given to Fitchburg by men who made their fortunes in the city and at the same time helped to build up the city. Coggshall Park includes his handsome summer home at Mt. Elam, the use of which he retains during his life. The original size of the estate was cighty-six acres. He

WORCESTER COUNTY

bought seventy-four acres adjoining to form the original park, and in 1896 he bought and gave to the city fifty-two acres more, making in all two hundred and twelve acres in this beautiful subur- ban park. It is an ideal location for a park, the grounds are picturesque and attractive, and it is a favorite resort, especially on Sunday, for those who can appreciate a park. Hundreds of people may be seen in the park every good day during the season. The park is about two miles from the centre of the city and is between South street and Mt. Elam.

Mr. Coggshall married (first), December 10, 1846. Sylvania L. Carpenter, daughter of Stephen Carpenter, of Brattleboro, Vermont. She died May 3. 1004. He married (second). December 6, 1904, Carolina T. Wilbur. He has no children.

STEPHEN CHAPIN KENDALL. Francis Kendall (D), the immigrant ancestor of Stephen Chapin Kendall, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, was born in England. The records give him an alias Miles, and some of his descendants believe that the name was assumed when he left England to avoid the religious examination imposed on emi- grants at that time. His original name was cer- tainly Kendall and he bore his own name from the first after reaching this country. He settled in Wo- burn. He was a miller by trade. He was one of the most prominent and influential men of his day. Hle was in Woburn before 1640 and was admitted a freeman there May 26, 1647. His brother, Thomas Kendall, settled at Reading, not far away, and the children of Thomas Kendall are mentioned in the will of Francis. They were all daughters, so that the various Kendall families trace their ancestry to Francis in every case. Francis was selectman for eighteen years between 1659 and 1688. He was on the committee to lay out land to the proprietors in 1667. He was not always in accord with the Puritan Church, for he was presented by the grand jury in 1671 for refusing to take communion with the Woburn Church. He is also on record as be- ing fined for tardiness at a selectman's meeting in 1674. He served as tithingman in 1676. He was born in England between 1615 and 1620. He died in 1708. His will dated May 9, 1706, mentions wife and children given below.

He married, December 24. 1644, Mary Tidd, daughter of John Tidd, of Woburn. She died 1705. Their children were: John, born May 2, 1646. died 1732, soldier in King Philip's war, 1675; had eleven children, of whom John settled in Dunstable about 1730; married Deborah Richardson, March 25, 1718, and Francis's son John settled in Leominster. Thomas, born January 10, 1648-9, died May 26, 1730. aged eighty-one years. Mary. born January 20, 1650-1, married Israel Reed. Elizabeth, born January 15, 1652-3. died October 16, 1715; married James Peirce. Hannah, born January 26. 1654-5, married William Green. Rebecca, born March 21, 1657-8. married Joshua Eaton. Samuel, born March 8. 1659-60, died 1749. Jacob. born January 25, 1660-1. of whom later. Abigail, born April 6, 1666, married, May 24. 1686. William Reed.

(II) Jacob Kendall, eighth child of Francis Ken- dall (1), was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, Jan- uary 26, 1660-1. He settled in Woburn where all his children except the youngest were born. He removed in 1716 to Billerica. where he lived for a short time. He married twice (first). January 2,

1683-4, Persis Haywood, who died October 19, 1694; (second) Alice Temple, January 10, 1694-5.

The children of Jacob and Persis Kendall were: Persis, born August 24, 1685; Jacob (twin), born January 12, 1687, died January 20, 1686-7: Jacob (twin), born January 13, 1686-7, named in the will of his grandfather, Francis Kendall. in 1706, died before April 22. 1714; Joseph, born December 17, 1688, died October 3. 1743; Jonathan, born Novem- ber 2. 1690. died November 1I, 1690: Daniel, born October 23, 1691, of whom later. The children of Jacob and Alice Kendall were: Ebenezer, born No- vember 9. 1695; John, born January 9, 1696-7, died October 17. 1697; Sarah, born July 18, 1698, mar- ried Benjamin Whittemore, of Boston: Esther, born November 20, 1699: Hezekiah, born May 26, 1701; Nathan, born December 12, 1702, of whom later ; Susanna, born October 27. 1704; Phebe, born De- cember 19. 1706; David, born September 28. 1708; Ebenezer, born April 5, 1710; Alice, born January 31. 1711-12: Abraham. born April 26, 1712; Jacob, born April 22. 1714, died June I. 1714: Persis. born August 23, 1715; Jacob, born at Billerica, July I, 1717.

(1H) Nathan Kendall, twelfth child of Jacob Kendall (2), was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, December 12, 1702. He was one of the pioneers at Litchfield, New Hampshire, and was for many years a leading citizen. He represented the town in 1744 in a petition to the legislature for a change in boundary lines and other matters. (See page 473, Vol. IX. N. H. Documents.)

Among his children were: Nathan, Jr., born 1726, died November 10. 1791 ; removed to Amherst, New Hampshire, between 1747 and 1754; married Rebecca Coburn, 1753, who died in Antrim 1818, aged eighty-eight years; they had eight children. Amos, signed petitions in Litchfield in 1746. Daniel, born about 1725, of whom later.

(IV) Daniel Kendall, son of Nathan Kendall (3). was born in Litchfield, New Hampshire, about 1725. or was brought there soon afterward, prob- ably from Woburn, Massachusetts. He was in Cap- tain Goffe's company in the Indian war in 1745. He was on the committee to adjust the claims of revo- lutionary soldiers against the town for unpaid wages or stipend in 1781. Among his children was Jacob, of whom later.

(V) Deacon Jacob Kendall, son of Daniel Ken- dall (4), was born in Litchfield, New Hampshire, in 1758. He was a revolutionary soldier, enlisting at Litchfield in 1777 in Ensign David McQuig's company, and again he served in Colonel Went- worth's regiment at Portsmouth in 1779. He was at the battle of Ticonderoga probably. In 1784 he signed a petition for a ferry on the Merrimac river. He settled in Amherst, an adjacent town to his na- tive place, directly after the revolution in 1783. He became a leading citizen of the town and was select- man in 1794-95-96-07-98-99-1800-03. The town of Mount Vernon including the Kendall farm within its bounds was incorporated in 1804. He died in Mount Vernon. June 3, 1823.

He married, June 25. 1782, Sarah Jamson, of Amherst. She was born March 20, 1761, and died August 10, 18447. Their children were: Amos, born 1782, dicd at New Boston, January 12, 1859. Sarah, born January 17. 1784. died September 14, 1861 ; married (first) Simeon Flint, August 20, 1804; (sec- ond) Aaron Wilkins, September 16, 1724. Jacob,

WORCESTER COUNTY

born April 15, 1785. Elizabeth, born August II, 1788. Jonathan, born August 11, 1791, married Plebe Flint, 1815, died October 24, 1859. Josiah, of whom later.

(VI) Josiah Kendall, youngest child of Deacon Jacob Kendall (5), was born at Mount Vernon, then Amherst, New Hampshire, January 21, 1797. He was a farmer at Mount Vernon during all his active life. He lived for a few years at Antrim, New Hampshire, in the Simon Story house which was built for him. Several of his children lived there also. The children of Josiah and Mary (Lovett) Kendall were: 1. John L., married Chris- tiana Lovejoy in 1851 and resided in the Cummings house at Antrim, New Hampshire; he was lost over- board on the Potomac while in the service in the civil war; ' their children died young. 2. Stephen C., of whom later. 3. Adoniram J., settled in An- trim, removed to Nashua in 1851; lost an arm while using a circular saw in a mill; married Amanda Abbott, and they had three children: Frank E., born in Antrim, 1851, died young, left a daughter, Maud; George Henry, unmarried; William, unmarried. 4. Elizabeth, died 1852.

(VII) Stephen Chapin Kendall, son of Josialı

Kendall (6),

was in

born 27, He Mount Vernon, New Hampshire, August 1825. re- ceived a common school education in his na- tive town and learned the trade of carpenter at Nashua. New Hampshire, where he worked for sev- eral years. He removed to Antrim, New Hamp- shire, in 1849, and followed his trade there. He was engaged in the manufacture of doors, sash and blinds in the shop now occupied by A. F. True in company with his brother, Jolin L. Kendall, and afterward with Charles E. Jackson. He built part of the shop now standing there. He built for his residence there the house now or lately owned by Lewis Bass.

In 1859 he left Antrim to go to Southbridge, Massachusetts, where he assisted in the crection of a cotton mill, and he remained there in the cotton manufacturing business four years. He followed his trade as carpenter and builder at Tamworth, New Hampshire for six years. He went to Fitch- burg, November 18, 1870, and from 1872 to 1898, a period of nearly seventeen years, he was master mechanic for the Parkhill Manufacturing Company, a position of great responsibility requiring extensive knowledge of mechanics and much skill and ability.

He was a constant attendant of the Rollstone Congregational Church, and an active member of the Young Men's Christian Association. He was a worthy and highly esteemed citizen. faithful in all life's various duties and relations. In politics he was a Republican and held the position of road com- missioner several years. He died at the age of seventy-three, ten months and twenty-one days, July 17, 1899.

Stephen Chapin Kendal married, June 7, 1848, Alfreda C. Jackson, daughter of Charles A. Jack- son, of Tamworth, New Hampshire. They had no children, but they lived happily and celebrated their golden wedding, June 7, 1898. They adopted a son, Charles H. Kendall, who married Mary Elizabeth Merriam, daughter of Reuben and Elizabeth Mer- riam. and they have a son and two daughters : Charles M., not married ; Mrs. C. D. Wilder. whose children are: Jones Warren, Marie, Margaret, Stan- ley Kendall, and Lois Wilder ; Mrs. B. F. Wilder,

of New York city, whose children are: Robert, Dorothy and Nellie Wilder.

Noah Jackson, Sr., son of Joseph Jackson, Jr., brother of Charles A. Jackson, was born October 9, 1795, died December 15, 1868, aged seventy-three years. He married. September 5, 1822, Alfreda Cobb, born September 18, 1799, died November 27, 1877, aged seventy-eight. Children: Elizabeth M. R., born October 1I, 1823, died March 28, 1832. Alfreda N., born January 23, 1826, died March 25, 1887, aged sixty-one years. Sophia W., born May 13, 1828, died August 29, 1890, aged sixty-two years ; she married W. A. Chamberlain, who died in May, 1890, aged seventy; they were the parents of eleven children, all deceased but the two youngest, a son and daughter. Harriet A .. born February 17, 1830, died September 22, 1894, aged sixty-four years. She married Archy A. MacDonald, who died in 1876. They had four children, two of whom are living, a son, a lawyer, and a daughter. Elizabeth, born April 9, 1832, living at the present time (1906), aged seventy-four years; she married John O'Brien, by whom she had nine children, all of whom are living with the exception of the eldest son; two sons are ministers and three sons are farmers. Joseph C., born August 9, 1833, now living (1906), aged seventy-three years ; married Mary O'Brien. who bore him seven children, three sons of whom are deceased and the other two are farmers in Can- ada. Charles A., born March 5, 1836, died April, 1841. Noah W., born June 30, 1838, now living (1906). married Pauline Adams, to whom were born seven sons and one daughter; of the seven sons four were doctors, the eldest being now de- ceased, ouc a civil engineer, one in government em- ploy and one died young. Pauline (Adams) Jack- son died April 22, 1876, and Noah W. Jackson mar- ried (second) Alice Worrell, to whom were born seven children. Charles H., born April 26. 1841, now living (1906), married Ellen Hoskins, who died in 1869; he married (second) Elizabeth M. Quigley.

GEORGE S. PIERCE. John Pierce or Pers (1), who is the immigrant ancestor of many of the families of Pierce and Peirce in Worcester county, was the progenitor of George S. Pierce, of Fitch- burg. Massachusetts.

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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. IV, Part 12

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 710

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 710