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 17
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Mehitable, born December 7, 1687, married, Decem- ber 8, 1714, John Jones, of Weston. They had nine children. Samuel, born September 3, 1690. Mary, born October 2, 1695.
(III) Lieutenant Thomas Garfield, son of Cap- tain Benjamin Garfield (2), was born in Watertown, December 12, 1680, and died in Weston, February 4, 1752. He was an ancestor of President James A. Garfield, through Thomas Garfield, his 2, eldest son. He January married, 1707, Mercy Bigelow, who was born 1686, and died Feb- ruary 28, 1745. He died February 4, 1752. He was a farmer in that part of Weston, which was set off in 1654 and incorporated as the town of Lincoln. His wife Mercy was a daughter of Sam- uel and Mary ( Flagg) Bigelow. Samuel Bigelow, born October 28, 1653, died February 1, 1732, was son of Jolin Bigelow, the emigrant ancestor of the Bigelows in America, and Mary (Warren) his wife. The latter was the daughter of John Warren ( 1585- 1667), who came from England in 1630 and settled in Watertown. The marriage of John Bigelow and Mary Warren is the first on record in Watertown. Mary (Flagg) Bigelow, wife of Samuel Bigelow, was a daughter of Thomas Flagg, who died in Watertown, February 6, 1698. She, Mary ( Flagg) Bigelow, died September 7, 1720. The children of Thomas and Mercy ( Bigelow) Garfield were : Eliza- beth, born August 10, 1708, died January 31, 1782; married, September 1, 1738, Samuel Brooks, of Con- cord, Massachusetts. Eunice, born August 23, 1710, died October 4, 1777; married Ebenezer Hobbs, of Weston, and had eleven children. He died Octo- ber 19, 1702. Thomas, baptized April 5. 1713, aged five weeks, died in Lincoln, January 3, 1774; mar- ried, 1742, Rebecca Jolinson, daughter of Samuel Johnson, of Lunenburg. They had five children, of whom the eldest, Solomon, was ancestor of Presi- dent Garfield. Thankful, born February 15, 1715, married, November 28, 1751, John Walker, of Wes- ton (his second wife) ; two children. Isaac, born February 19, 1717. He removed to western Massa- chusetts in 1739 and commenced the settlement of Tyringham, Berkshire county, in which section there are numerous descendants. John, born December 3, 1718, died May, 1767; married, 1745, Thankful Stowell, born 1722, two children. Samuel, born April 11, 1720, settled in Spencer, Massachusetts, in 1748. Mercy, born June 17, 1722, married, 1756, Ebenezer Hammond, of Weston, second wife. Anna born June 1, 1724, married, 1749, Josiah Livermore, of Leicester. Lucy, born October 5, 1725. Elisha, born November II, 1728, married, November 15, 1753, Susanna Bemis, had eleven children; resided in Lincoln. Enoch, born January 23, 1730, died June 19, 1758.
(IV) Samuel Garfield, son of Lieutenant Thomas Garfield (3), was born in Weston (that part now Lincoln, Massachusetts), April II, 1720, and died in Spencer, June 12, 1792. He was an officer in the Indian war of 1744, and fought under General Abercrombie in the attack on Ticonderoga in 1758. He had three sons in the revolutionary war, and aided the patriot cause by contributions of money to encourage enlistments. He settled in the northerly part of what is now Spencer (formerly Leicester, Massachusetts), in 1748, on the farm where some years ago his grandson, Joseph Garfield, lived, and where his descendants of the third and fourth gen- eration still reside. Draper's History of Spencer refers to him as "a large athletic man, formerly
well recollected for his sallies of wit, feats of strength and cheerful disposition." The following anecdote may serve as a specimen of his great strength. Mr. Garfield being at the store of Colonel Chandler in Worcester, was inquiring the price of a grindstone that he wished to purchase. Mr. Garfield thought the price too high for so small a stone, and banteringly said he could carry it home on his back. "Well," says Colonel Chandler, "the stone weighs two hundred pounds; if you will carry it to Spencer without taking it from your shoulder you shall have it free." The challenge was ac- cepted, the stone placed upon his shoulder and he literally complied with the bargain, carrying the stone to Spencer without removing it from his shoulders. He was one of the selectmen in 1745, when Leicester and Spencer were one town.
Samuel Garfield was twice married; (first), April 17, 1751, to Hannah Garfield, of Waltham, by whom he had one daughter, Hannah, born July IS. 1755, and (second), May 27, 1756, to Abigail Peirce, of Holden, by whom he had eleven children. His second wife, Abigail Peirce, born September 22, 1733, was a descendant in the fifth generation from Thomas Peirce, an early settler of Woburn, who married Elizabeth Cole; through Samuel Peirce, who married Lydia Bacon; Samuel Peirce, Jr., who married Abigail Johnson; and Samuel Peirce, third, who married Abigail -. Lydia Bacon, who mar- ried Samuel Peirce, was daughter of Daniel and Mary (Reed) Bacon, of Newton. Abigail Johnson, who married Samuel Peirce, Jr., was a daughter of Major William Johnson, of Woburn, and grand- daughter of Captain Edward Johnson, author of the curious history entitled "Wonder Working Providence of Sion's Saviour in New England," published in London in 1654. Major William John- son married Esther Wiswall, born 1635, died 1707. daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Wiswall, of Newton, Massachusetts.
Samuel Garfield had twelve children, all born in Spencer. Hannah, by first wife, born July 18, 1755. married, 1794. Daniel Spear, had two children. His children by second wife Abigail Peirce were: Sam- uel, born March 5, 1757, married, 1783, Sally Harris, died in Langdon, New Hampshire, November 10, IS42; they had twelve children. Joseph, born Sep- tember 19, 1758, married, 1790, Elizabeth Myrick, of Princeton; died in Spencer, June 10, 1836. He had six children. Daniel, born September 29, 1760. married, 1788, Dorothy Myrick, of Princeton ; died in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, August 18, 1790. They had one child. These three sons, Samuel, Jo- seph and Daniel, were revolutionary soldiers. Sam- uel as one of the Spencer minute men, marched on the alarm from Lexington, April 19, 1775, and en- listed into the service. Joseph and Daniel were at the capture of Burgoyne's army 1777, and Jo- sephi was at West Point at time of Arnold's treason. Josiah, born October 12, 1762, married Polly Ball, had five children; died in Charlestown, New Hamp- shire, May 15, 1851. He was a tanner. Abi-
gail, born August 28. 1764. married, 1789. Phillips Bailey, and died October 13, 1798, at Readsboro, Vermont, had one child . Enoch, born September 28, 1766, married, 1796, Martha Powers, resided in Rockingham, Vermont; had eight children; died April 30, 1844. Elisha, born April 25, 1769, was twice married, had fourteen chil- dren, and died in Langdon, New Hampshire, Janu- ary 6, 1856. John, born July 26, 1771, married, 1800.
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Susan Rogers, had eight children; died in Charles- town, New Hampshire, July 5, 1842. Elizabeth, born September 15, 1773, married, 1799, Isaac O:good, had six children ; died in Littleton, New Hampshire. Silas, born January 19, 1776, was thrice married ; had three children, and died April 22, 1829, in Spencer. William, born February 18, 1778, died April 23, same year.
(V) Elisha Garfield, son of Samuel Garfield (4), was born in Spencer, April 25, 1769, died in Langdon, New Hampshire, January 6, 1856. He was a selectman of Langdon in 1818 and 1819, and held other minor offices. He married (first) Polly, daughter of John and Jane D. Vance, by whom he had ten children, only four of whom lived to years of maturity. He married ( second), December 20, 1820, Bathsheba ( Egerton) Stearns, widow of Cap- tain Benjamin Stearns, of Langdon, and daughter of James and Bathsheba ( Walker) Egerton. James Egerton was a son of John and Abigail ( Snow ) Egerton, and grandson of Dennis and Experience ( Bearce ) Egerton, of East Bridgewater, Massachu- setts. Experience Bearce was a daughter of James and Experience (Hamlin )
Bearce, and grand- daughter of Austin Bearce. Bathsheba ( Walker ) Egerton was a descendant in the sixth generation from Captain Richard Walker, of Lynn (who came from England in 1630), through Samuel of Reading, Juseph of Billerica ( who married Sarah Wyman ), Seth of Groton ( who married Eleanor Chandler ), and Samuel of Shirley ( who married Mary Strat- ton). Sarah Wyman was a daughter of John and Saralı (Nutt) Wyman, of Woburn. Eleanor Chand- ler, who married Seth Walker, was a daughter of William and Eleanor ( Phelps) Chandler, and grand- daughter of Thomas Chandler, a first settler, inn- keeper and proprietor of iron works in Andover, Massachusetts. Abigail Snow, who married John Egerton, was a daughter of James and Ruth ( Shaw ) Snow, granddaughter of Joseph and Ilopestill (-) Snow, of East Bridgewater, and great-grand- daughter of William and Rebecca ( Barker) Snow, of West Bridgewater, emigrants. Rebecca Barker was a daughter of Robert Barker, a settler of Dux- bury, Massachusetts. Ruth Shaw, who married James Snow, was daughter of Joseph and Judith ( Whitmash ) Shaw, of Weymouth, granddaughter of John and Alice (-) Shaw, and great-grand- daughter of Abraham Shaw, of Dedham, who in 1037 had a grant by the general court of "one-half of the coal and iron to be found in the common lands ;"-which grant ( says Savage), would "more stimulate his curiosity than increase his wealth, had he not died the next year." Mary Stratton, who married Samuel Walker, was a daughter of Eben- ezer and Lydia ( Fuller) Stratton, of Watertown. granddaughter of John and Elizabeth (Traine) Stratton, and great-granddaughter of Samuel Strat- ton, who died in Watertown in 1672. Elizabeth Traine was daughter of John and Margaret (Dix ) Traine, who came from England in 1635 and set- tled in that part of Watertown now Weston, where he died in 1681, aged seventy years. Lydia Fuller, who married Ebenezer Stratton, was daughter of Joseph and Lydia (Jackson) Fuller, of Newton, granddaughter of John Fuller, one of the first set- tlers of Cambridge village ( Newton). Lydia Jack- son was a daughter of Edward and Elizabeth (New- gate) Jackson. Edward Jackson and John Fuller were early settlers and large land owners of Cam- bridge village, Fuller owning upwards of a thousand
acres, including what is now Newtonville, and Jack- son, at time of his death in 1681, upwards of six- teen hundred acres. Elizabeth Newgate, wife of Edward Jackson, was daughter of John Newgate and widow of Rev. John Oliver, first minister of Rumney Marsh, now Chelsea.
The children of Elisha Garfield by first wife, Polly Vance ( who lived to adult age), were: Elisha, born January 1, 1802, married, June 8, 1826, Harriet Walker, of Langdon. He died October 25, 1873; she died August 14, 1896; six children. Mary, born April 14, 1804, married, November 30, 1830, Ezra Walker Reed, of Langdon; died in Fitchburg, Oc- tober 14, 1832; he died in Fitchburg, January 9, 1841. No children. Betsey, born September 5, 1810, mar- ried, November 30, 1830, Thomas Redington Prentiss, of Langdon; died in Alstead, New Hamp- shire, April 27, 1839. He died September 27, 1879; four children. John, born April 10, 1815, married, May 9, 1850, Mary Jane King, of Acworth, New Hampshire. He died in Fitchburg, August 19, 1885; she died April 16, 1890; two children. The children of Benjamin and Bathsheba ( Egerton) Stearns were: John Walker, born September 12, 18oo, died in Chicago, March 19, 1890, married, July 12, 1837. Betsey Maria Eaton, of Peru, New York. They had six children. Willard Egerton, born May 29, 1808, died unmarried in Fitchburg, May 10, 1901. Abigail, born March 16, 1810, married, April 3, 1832, Luke Putnam, of Acworth, New Hampshire. He died in Danvers, Massachusetts, February 5, 1890. She died there February 7, 1890. Two children. Nancy Maria, born April IS, 1815, married, Deceni- ber 26, 1839, William Miller Morrison, of Langden. She died in Danvers, May 20, 1891 ; he died there May 24, 1891; no children. Sarah Alexander, born December 6, 1817, mar- ried, June 29, 1842, Samuel Willard Prouty. of Langdon. He died at Alstead, New Hampshire, September 19, 1876; she died there September 12, ISS9; one child. The children of Elisha and Bath- sheba ( Egerton ) Stearns Garfield were-Esther Jane. born March 8, 1822, married, October 18, 1849, Jo- seph Garfield, of Spencer, Massachusetts. He died June 5. 1876; she died January 20, 1902. They had three children. Benjamin Stearns, born June 19, 1823, married, December 11, 1850, Catherine Palmer Davis. of Langdon. He died December 17, 1853; two children. Edmund Holden, born February 6, 1825. married, October 19, 1859, Eliza Strong Smith, of Vergennes, Vermont. He died in Keeseville, New York, September 24, 1875. She died Angust 20, 1902. Four children. James Freeman Dalla, born August 14, 1828, married, December 1, 1853, Emily Charlotte Newton, of Fitchburg. She died in Fitchburg, January 27, 1903. They had five chil- dren, all born in Fitchburg.
PITTS FAMILY. Peter Pitts (1), of Taunton, Massachusetts, who came from England and set- tled there before 1643, was the pioneer ancestor of the well known family of this surname, of whom three generations have been distinguished as manli- facturers in Fitchburg. Leominster and Lancaster. Peter Pitts married Mary Hodges, widow of Will- iam Hodges, and daughter of Henry Andrews, about 1651. He died in 1692. His will was made at Bristol, Rhode Island, where he died, and it was proved January 12, 1692-3. His children, named in his will, were: Samuel, of whom later; Peter, Ebenezer, Alice, Mary, Sarah.
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(II) Samuel Pitts, son of Peter Pitts (I), was born about 1660, married. March 25. 1680, Sarah Bobbett. daughter of Edward Bobbett. The chil- dren of Samuel and Sarah Pitts were: Sarah, born March 10, 1681; Mary, born March 10. 1685; Henry, born July 13, 1687; Abigail, born February 3. 1689: Peter, born August 8, 1692; Ebenezer. born November 27. 1694, of whom later.
(III) Ebenezer Pitts, son of Samuel Pitts (2), was born November 27. 1694. He was a well-known manufacturer of clocks in his day. His home was in Taunton, Massachusetts. Among his children was Abner Pitts, of whom later.
(IV) Abner Pitts, son of Ebenezer Pitts (3), was born in Taunton. Massachusetts, about 1730. He settled in Taunton and lived there all his life. He owned and conducted a grist mill.
(\) James Pitts, son of Abner Pitts (4), was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, about 1780. He removed to East Bridgewater about 1812 and manti- factured machinery for the Russell cotton mills. In 1815 he removed with his family to that part of Lancaster, now comprising the town of Clinton. He purchased the mill privilege now owned by the Lancaster mills, then a wild and uncultivated terri- tory, mostly woodland. He built there a grist and saw mill and a small cotton factory, conducting various business enterprises until his death in I835.
He married, at Norton, Massachusetts, a daugh- ter of Major Zebulon White. Prudence White. Her father owned a foundry there and had helped the American cause immeasurably during the revolu- tion by casting cannon. The children of James and Prudence Pitts were: James, Jr., William, Hiram W., of whom later; Seth G.
(V1) Hiram W. Pitts, son of James Pitts (5), was born in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, De- cember 2. 1814. When he was about a year old the family moved to Lancaster, where his father built the first mills on the present site of the great Lancaster mills at Clinton. He began at the age of eight years to learn the business of cotton manu- facturing. He worked also in his father's grist mill. During this period from eight until he was eighteen he attended all the schools available-ten weeks in summer and eight in winter. He had inherited a liking for mechanics from his clock-mak- ing ancestor, and during his youth developed a con- siderable business in repairing clocks and putting in knife-blades. He spent his savings largely for books and clothing. His father died in 1835 and the sons continued the business. Hiram was associated with his brothers until 1842, manufacturing satinet warp in the cotton mill at Clinton. The brothers sold the entire property, including buildings, mill privilege and about one hundred acres of land for $10.000 to E. B. Bigelow, the founder of the carpet mills, the present Lancaster Mills Corporation being formed and taking over the property of the Pitts mills at once.
After six months spent in Worcester running a woolen mill, which was not successful, Mr. Pitts removed to West Fitchburg under contract with Colonel Ivers Phillips to take charge of a mill there as superintendent, a position he held for two years. He then spent one year in the mill that he owned at the time of his death and with which his name is associated. He entered into partnership with Edwin F. Wheeler and they conducted a mill at Sauquoit, New York. The owners of this mill had another at Cooperstown, New York, about thirty
miles distant, and wished Pitts & Wheeler to take that mill also on the same terms. The offer was accepted, Mr. Pitts taking charge of the Coopers- town concern, removed to that town and remained there most of the time until he began business with Benjamin Marshall, of Troy, New York. He was for a short time in 1848 in Greenwich, New York, where he conducted a mill for Thomas Truesdell, of New York city.
Benjamin Marshall, with whom Mr. Pitts was connected in business for many years after 1849, was an Englishman by birth. He came to New York in 1803 and entered largely and very successfully into mercantile operations in New York. He was at the head of the firm of B. & J. Marshall, founders of the celebrated hunc of Black Ball packet ships between New York and Liverpool. In 1825 Mr. Marshall withdrew from commerce and engaged in manufacturing. In that year he built the mills at Utica, New York, and in 1826 the Hudson Print Works and the Ida Cotton Mills at Troy, New York. Later he came into possession of a cotton mill at Middlebury, Vermont, in connection with which he entered a partnership with Mr. Pitts, whereby Mr. Marshall furnished the mill and the capital and Mr. Pitts managed the business, buying the stock, manufacturing the goods and selling them. Two years later, when Mr. Marshall desired to be re- lieved from care in business. Mr. Pitts assumed the entire business, Mr. Marshall owning only the real estate. He continued to manufacture sheetings and cotton warps. For one year he had a partner, Fred- erick W. Harris, who established the St. Lawrence cotton mills at Montreal. Canada.
In 1854 Mr. Pitts bought the adjoining mill privilege, a fourth interest of which he sold to Harmon A. Sheldon. They entered into partner- ship in the ownership and operation of a grist mill adjoining the cotton mill and conducted the busi- ness successfully until 1866. In 1858 Mr. Marshall died, but Mr. Pitts continued to operate the mill at Middlebury, the ownership of which passed by will to Charles Carville, of New York city. In 1864 he purchased the mill of Levi Sherwin at Fitch- burg, but he did not begin to manufacture there until 1867. He removed with his family in 1866 from Middlebury, Vermont, to Leominster, Massa- chusetts, the town adjoining Fitchburg, and re- mained a citizen of Leominster the remainder of his life, although his chief business interests were at Fitchburg. For a time afterward he also oper- ated the grist inill at Middlebury. In 1865 he had sold for Mrs. Carville the cotton mill at Mid- dlebury to Charles Francis, of Boston, and George H. Francis. of New York. The new ownership was not successful. Mr. Pitts ran it again in 1867, after Mr. Francis gave it up, manufacturing carpet warps there successfully.
Immediately after the lease of the Fitchburg mill expired and Mr. Pitts took possession he trebled its former capacity, increasing the number of spindles from a thousand to three thousand five hundred, enlarging the buildings accordingly to accommodate the new machinery. At first he manufactured cotton sheetings only, but after a year or so he devoted the entire mill to the manufacture of carpet warps. In 1876 Mr. Pitts built a new mill in Fitchburg, the main building of which was forty-eight by one hundred and one feet, three stories high, with a boiler house twenty-five by sixty-six feet having a one hundred horse-power engine.
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Mr. Pitts was a careful and successful man of business, a good citizen, honored and respected in the communities where he lived. He devoted most of his time and energy to his business affairs, the nature of which demanded all that any man could give, yet he found time to serve the town of Mid- dlebury in various public offices from 1862 to 1866. He was a director of the Safety Fund National Bank of Fitchburg from its organization until his death, December 22, 1881.
Mr. Pitts married (first) Betsey Burdett, of Leominster, in 1842. She died a year later. He married (second), 1846. Mary A. Merriam, of Fitch- burg, sister of the late David H. Merriam. (See sketch of Merriam family.) The children of Hiram W. and Mary A. Pitts were: B. Marshall, of whom later: Abbie E., resides at the homestead, Leon- inster; Etta L., resides at the homestead, 78 Grove avenue, Leominster.
(VII) B. Marshall Pitts, only son of Hiram W. Pitts (6), was born in Middlebury, Vermont, Sep- tember 10, 1851. He attended the public schools there and at Leominster, whither the family w.nt in 1867. He attended Comer's Commercial College in Boston also. From his carliest youth he was familiar with the operation of his father's mills and he learned the business thoroughly. He entered the mill at Fitchburg, where his father manufac- tured cotton warp, and in 1872 he became the super- intendent. After the death of his father he became the sole proprietor, and in 1884 removed to Fitch- burg to live. He was very successful in business, following the example of his father, who was one of the industrial pioncers of New England.
The Sentinel said of Mr. Pitts: "Mr. Pitts thor- oughly understood his business and had a high repu- tation as a kind and considerate employer of labor. He frequently received the most gratifying evidences of their high regard for him, especially during his last illness. He won high esteem and sincere friend- ship among all classes by his reliability, high sense of honor and uniform courtesy. There are few men whose death would be so generally regretted in Fitchburg and Leominster as Mr. Pitts'.' He dicd August 17, 1905.
Mr. Pitts was a man of unusual public spirit and strong influence among his fellowmen. In poli- tics he was a Republican. He represented ward three in the common council of Fitchburg in 1892 and 1893, and was in the board of aldermen in 1896 and 1897. He was a member of the committee on highway and fire department and was chair- man of the latter. He took a lively interest in the fire department and was himself a fireman when liv- ing in Leominster. In 1882 he succeeded his father as director of the Safety Fund National Bank, a position he held until he sold his stock in 1888. He was a member of Wilder Lodge of Free Masons; of Thomas Royal Arch Chapter ; of Jerusalem Com- mandery, Knights Templar, of Fitchburg; of Hiram Council of Worcester; of Aleppo Temple, Mystic Shrine, of Boston; of Apollo Lodge of Odd Fel- lows: of King David Encampment: of the Grand Canton of Hebron, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows; of the Park Club; the Home Market Club of Boston.
He married, July 3, 1877, Mary Etta Phelps, daughter of B. S. Phelps, of Leominster. Their children were: Hiram W., and Earl P .. of whom later.
(VIII) Earl P. Pitts, son of B. Marshall Pitts
(7), was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, Octo- ber 11, 1879, and was educated in the public schools at Fitchburg and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of Boston, from which he was grad- uated in 1902. He began in business as a con- tractor, but on the death of his father in 1905 he returned to Fitchburg and took charge of the mill. Mr. Pitts is a Republican in politics.
He married, June 22, 1904, Mabelle T. Slipp, of Dorchester, Massachusetts, daughter of Joseph B. and Sarah (Thompson) Slipp. They have one child, Earl P. Pitts, Jr., born January 24, 1906.
HENRY AUGUSTUS WILLIS. George Willis (1) was the emigrant ancestor of Henry Augustus Willis, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He was born in England in 1602 and came to New England in 1626, when he settled in Cambridge. He was a mason by trade and engaged in Cambridge in the manufacture of brick. He was a proprietor of Cam- bridge in 1636 and was admitted a freeman there May 2, 1638. He petitioned to be excused from training in 1662, when he was sixty-one years old. He was probably a brother of Michael Willis, cut- ler, of Dorchester. There were at least seventeen emigrants in Massachusetts and Plymouth, hcads of families, before 1650, bearing the surname Willis and it is of course impossible to trace the connec- tion between them, if any existed. George Willis acquired considerable land in Cambridge, Brookline, Billerica and vicinity. He resided on the west side of the common in Cambridge. He was representa- tive in the general court in 1638.
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