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 74
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(IV) Joseph Greenwood, eldest son of Deacon Thomas Greenwood (3), of Newton, was born there January 9, 1723. He was a sergeant in the military company of Captain John Bigelow, Colonel John Chandler, Jr., in the French war of 1758, and went to the relief of Fort William Henry. He settled about the time of his marriage in Holden, 1747. He was town clerk there in 1753 and selectman in 1753-57. He married, August 13, 1747, Sarah Stone. Their children, all on the birth records of Holden, were: Abijalı, see forward; Sarah, born November 10, 1750, married James Winch, Octo- ber 10, 1769; Moses, born July 1, 1752; Aaron, born April 20, 1756; Levi, born April 27, 1758; Asa, born January 12, 1762; Betty, born March 28, 1766.
(V) Abijah Greenwood, eldest child of Joseph Greenwood (4), was born September 24, 1748, at Holden. He and his two brothers Moses and Levi settled in Hubbardston. He went there in 1770 and bought a farm in the eastern part of the town. He was town treasurer from 1800 to 1803 and again in 1809; selectman in 1780-83-87-92-94. He revolutionary soldier, a corporal in Captain William Marean's company, Colonel Doolittle's regiment, and marched to Lexington on the alarm April 19, 1775. He married, July 14, 1774, Rhoda Pond, who died July 16, 1782. He married (second) Eliza- beth Marean, October 3, 1783, who died February 15, 1814, aged sixty-five years. He died January 9, 1814. Children of Abijah and Rhoda Greenwood were : Ethan, born January 8, 1775, died October 2, 1777; Ethan, born January 26, 1780; Otis, born December 4, 1781. Children of Abijah and Eliza- beth were: Rhoda, born June 20, 1785; Silas, see forward; Mary, born March 24, 1789; Hannalı, born May 29, 1791.
(VI) Silas Greenwood, fifth child of Abijah Greenwood (5), was born November 19, 1786. He learned the millwright's trade and followed it for a time. Eventually, however, he returned to the homestead for the purpose of caring for his parents in their declining years. He remained a farmer during the remainder of his active life. He re- moved in 1837 to the farm in Hubbardston now owned by his son. He was prominent in town af- fairs; selectman for thirteen years and representa- tive to the general court in 1835. He was a Whig. He was a Unitarian in religious belief. He died at Hubbardston, March 12, 1857; his widow died January 9, 1864, aged seventy-one years.
He married, December 8, 1811, Julia Daniels, who was a native of Hopkinton. Their children were: I. Joseph Emerson, born March 14, 1813, married Nancy Clark, December 8, 1840; he died August 31, 1872. 2. Abijah Harrison, born Decem- ber 28, 1814, died January 3, 1864. 3. Silas Mer- rill, born October 21, 1817, married Calista Heald, December 8, 1811 ; married (second) Susan Brown- ing, June 2, 1846; resides in Hubbardston. 4. Har- riet, born August 12, 1819. 5. Julia, born October 27, 1820, married Joseph Cheney Murdock ( see sketch). 6. Abigail D., born June 12, 1823, married John Browning, resided in Hubbardston. 7. Har- riet, born April 15, 1825, married William J. Eve- leth. 8. Ilannah, born August 2, 1827, married John G. Allen, resided in Hubbardston, but in 1901 removed to Princeton. 9. Alson J., see forward.
(VII) Alson J. Greenwood, youngest child of Silas Greenwood (6), was born in Hubbardston, September 27, 1829. He attended school and as- sisted on the farm during his youth. He learned the shoemaker's trade and followed it for about five
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years. Ile preferred farming, however, and returned to the homestead. After his father's death he pur- chased the interests of the other heirs, and has since conducted it. The farm contains one hundred and eight acres of improved land. He and his son, Arthur D. Greenwood, also own other real estate amounting to about two hundred acres. They are also interested in the lumber business. The farm is noted for its fine stock and general productive- ness. In politics Mr. Greenwood is a Democrat. He was assessor of the town in 1875-78-81 and has been continuously since then. For the greater part of the period between 1872 and 1896 he was a se- lectman and for three years chairman of the board of selectmen. He has also been overseer of the poor and collector of taxes. He is a member of Hubbardston Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, and has been master and overseer. He is one of the leading farmers of the section, and encourages co- operation for agricultural interests wherever possi- ble. He is a member of the Unitarian Society.
He married, March 16, 1853, Martha G. Moul- ton, born July 9. 1833, daughter of Sewell and Polly (Hunting) Moulton, of Hubbardston. Their children: I. Dr. Sewell Elliott, born September 15, 1853, Harvard M. D., 1877, resides in Templeton, Massachusetts; married Charlotte Smith, of Graf- ton, and has three children : Lucius, Arthur, Dorothy. 2. Silas A., see forward. 3. Arthur D., born May 23, 1858, married Susie E. Kelton, of Hub- bardston, where they now reside, and has two sons : Ashton H., and Elliott. 4. Grace, born February 3. 1862, married Ernest A. Woodward, of Hubbard- ston, where they now reside; they have six chil- dren : Harold, Sherman, Helen, Lyman, Alson, Ern- est A., Woodward, Jr. 5. Harrison, born August 31, 1863, married Alice E. Priest, of Gardner, Mas- sachusetts ; they have two children : Howard P., and Grace.
( VHI ) Silas A. Greenwood, second child of Alson J. Greenwood (7), was born in Hubbardston. He was educated in the common schools there and in Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Massachu- setts. Afterward he was employed for five suminer seasons in the Prospect Hotel at Princeton; for a year in the grocery store of Charles Davis in Hub- bardston and for two years in a dry goods store in East Boston. In 1876 he entered the fire insurance business as a solicitor in Hubbardston, and in the following year removed to Winchendon where he has since resided. He established a fire insurance agency there and it has steadily grown until it is among the largest in that section in volume of busi- ness done. He and his brother Harrison also have a branch agency at Gardner. Mr. Greenwood is a director of the Westminster National Bank of Gardner, and since the organization of the Winch- endon Co-operative Bank, in 1891, has been treas- urer. He is a member and for five years served on the executive board and was chairman of the parish committee of the Unitarian Church. He is a Republican, but has never been active in politics. He is a member of Manomonack Lodge, No. 121, Odd Fellows, and was its noble grand for two terms. Is president of the Past Grands Club of WVinchendon. Is a member of King David Encamp- ment, No. 42, and of Grand Canton Hebron, of Fitchburg. He belongs to Watatic Tribe of Red Men, and Winchendon Grange, Patrons of Hus- bandry. He is a member of Worcester North Board of Fire Underwriters.
He married, November 25, 1879, Sibyl H. Brown-
ing, born March 9, 1857, daughter of James and Ann W. ( Whittemore ) Browning, of Hubbardston. Her father was a mechanic. The only child of Silas A. and Sibyl H. Greenwood is-Robert Browning, born at Winchendon, May 23, 1884. He is a gradu- ate of the first class given diplomas at Clark Col- lege, Worcester, in 1904, when President Roosevelt presented the diplomas. He is a clerk in the hard- ware store of Leland & Brooks in Winchendon.
RUSSELL FAMILY. William Russell (1), im- migrant ancestor of Dr. F. W. Russell, of Winchen- don, Massachusetts, was born in England. He came to this country and settled in Cambridge, Massa- chusetts, about 1636, and became a proprietor in 1645. He was a carpenter by trade, also a yeoman. He and his wife Martha belonged to the Cambridge Church in 1645. He died February 14, 1662. His widow married, March 24, 1665, Humphrey Brad- shaw. She married (third), 1683, Thomas Hall. She signed the Billerica deed in behalf of her former husband, William Russell. She died in 1694. Chil- dren of William and Martha Russell : 1. Joseph, born in England, 1636, married, June 23, 1662, Mary Belcher. 2. Benjamin, born in England, married Rebecca - -. 3. Phebe, died July 8, 1642. 4. John, born September 11, 1645, at Cambridge. 5. Martha. 6. Philip, see forward. 7. William, Jr., born April 28, 1655, married Abigail Winship. S. Jason, born November 14, 1658, married, June 27, 1684, Mary Hubbard. 9. Joyce, born March 31, 1660, married, October 13, 1680, Edmund Rice, of Sudbury ( see Rice Family).
(II) Philip Russell, son of William Russell (1), was born in Cambridge, 1650. He lived in Cam- bridge and in that section of Cambridge that be- came Lexington. He was selectman of Cambridge 1700-01, although living in Cambridge Farms at the time. He was a subscriber to the building fund of the meeting house at Cambridge Farms in 1692, and later was on the committee to seat the meeting house. He married, April 19, 1680, Joanna Cutler, daughter of James and Phebe ( Page) Cutler. Jo- anna died November 26, 1703, aged forty-three years. Mr. Russell married (second). October 18, 1705, Sarah Brooks, of Medfield. He died February 7. 1730. The children of Philip and Joanna Russell : I. Joanna, born December 30, 1684, married, 1716, William Munroe. 2. Philip, Jr., born September 18, 1688, died March 3, 1773, aged eighty-five years. 3. Samuel, born January 12, 1691. 4. Jemima, born 1692, married William Locke. 5. James, married Mary - 6. William, see forward. 7. Sarah, married, April 26, 1739, Joseph Russell. 8. Abigail, born October 27, 1700, married - Sprague. 9. Susanna, born October 27, 1706.
( HI) Captain William Russell, son of Philip Russell (2), was born in Lexington, Massachusetts, about 1695. He became captain of the military com- pany. In 1722-23 he was constable of Lexington. Children of Captain William and Elizabeth Russell, all born in Lexington, were : I. Nathaniel, see for- ward. 2. Lydia, baptized June 3, 171I. ديـ Suh- mit, baptized December 28, 1712. 4. Joel, baptized August 2, 1716, setttled at Rindge, New Hampshire.
(IV) Nathaniel Russell, son of Captain Will- iam Russell (3), was baptized at Lexington, Mas- sachusetts, February 23, 1707. He removed to
Littleton about 1728. He studied law and practiced his profession in Littleton, became a leading citizen, acquired considerable property. He was a justice of the peace and performed
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many of the marriages in his time. He filled the important town offices in succession. September 20, 1754, he gave the town a new record book. He died 1763 and his widow removed to Rindge, New Hampshire, to live with her son, Nathaniel Russell, Jr. Their children : Na- thaniel, see forward. 2. Abigail, born March 10, 1728. 3. Isaac, born August 26, 1729, married Mary , and had son Jeremiah.
(V) Nathaniel Russell, son of Nathaniel Rus- sell (4), was born in Littleton, Massachusetts, De- cember 27, 1733, married, November 13, 1755, Abi- gail Goldsmith, and with three children removed from Littleton, Massachusetts, to Rindge, New IJampshire, in 1762. He settled on the farm now or late of William E. Robbins, where he continued to reside until his death. Few men appear to have been more useful or to have exerted an equal influ- ence in public affairs. Among the proprietors pre- vious to incorporation in 1768, he took an active part in founding the town and was elected on the first board of selectmen, of which he was chairman, and was re-elected in 1769-70-75. IJe was also the first town elerk and transcribed the records for the years 1768-69-70; he was constable in 1776. Ile was often called upon to settle the estates of deceased persons. Ile was active in procuring the establish- ment of the public school and himself served as the first teacher. He was a soldier in the revolution, a private in Captain Hale's company in 1775 and was on the Rindge committee of safety and correspond- ence in 1775-76-79.
His wife Abigail died in September, 1769, and was buried on the twenty-ninth. He married ( sec- ond), March 26, 1770, Anna (Worcester ) Thayer. born in Littleton, August 16, 1736, widow of Eha- kim Thayer and daughter of Joseph and Ann Wor- cester. He died of spotted fever, January 1, 1812; his widow died September 23, 1825, aged eighty-nine years. Their children: I. Abigail, born November 30, 1756, married Samuel Russell. 2. Mara, born April 5, 1758, married David Hale. 3. Nathaniel, born December 29, 1759, died 1762. 7. Nathaniel, born July 30, 1762, married December 16, 1790, Betty Towne, of Rindge, removed to Jamaica, Vermont. 5. Hannah, born October 19, 1764, married Jonathan Towne, removed to Walpole, New Hampshire. 6. Son, and 7. Daughter, born and died May 23, 1766. 8. Thomas, born July 15, 1767, died unmarried July 14, 1825. 9. Daughter, born and died September II, 1769. Children of Nathaniel and Anna Russell : 10. Eliakim, see forward. 11. Anna. born May 9, 1772, died young. 12. Simeon, born October 30, 1774. 13. Anna, born September 19, 1776, married, March, 1806, Daniel Giles; resided in Ipswich, where she died 1816. 14. Mary, born June 16, 1778, died un- married, July 11, 1853.
(VI) Eliakim Russell, son of Nathaniel Rus- sell (5), was born in Rindge, New Hampshire, March 1, 1771, married, November 17, 1796, Saralı Converse, born at Rindge, March 15, 1776, daughter of Zebulon and Sarah ( Merriam) Converse. Her father was born March 21, 1744, son of Joshua Con- verse, the pioncer at Rindge, who was born at Wo- burn, June 3, 1704. His father was John Converse, born August 22, 1673, the son of the immigrant, En- sign James Converse, and grandson of Deacon Ed- ward Converse. (See sketch of the Converse fam- ily). Eliakim Russell made his home in Rindge until shortly before his death, when he removed to Ashburnham, Massachusetts, with his wife to live with his daughter, Mrs. Brooks. He died November
4, 1859, aged nearly eighty-nine years; his wife died June 21, 1863, aged eighty-seven years and three months.
Their children: I. Eusebia, born September 14, 1797, married, October 23, 1823, Alvan Ward, son of Samuel and Ruth (Townsend) Ward; resided in Ashburnham and had eight children. 2. William, born Marel 3, 1799, married Mary Bradish, of Win- chendon. 3. Sarah, born June 30, 1800, married Samuel Forrister, of Framingham; resided in Natiek. 4. Nathaniel Converse, born May 13, 1803, married, January 31, 1833, Mary A. Gibson, daughter of Abel and Achsah ( Puffer) Gibson, of Sudbury ; had six children: resided in Rindge. 5. Lueinda, born May 9, 1805, died August 7, 1808. 6. Levi, born April 23, 1807, married. April 5, 1838, Eliza Hale, daughter of Nathan. 7. Rufus, born April 4, 18og, married, April 23, 1838, Abby H. Forrister, of Framingham; resided in Marlborough and Fram- ingham; had four children. 8. Lucinda, born Feb- ruary 16, 1811, died December 23, 1815. 9. Lucy, born July 18, 1812, married William Brooks, of Ash- burnham, and ( second) Rev. Isaac Peaslee, of Sut- ton, New Hampshire. 10. Jra, see forward. 1I. Anna Worcester. born August 19, 1817, married, September 8, 1852, Caleb Howard, son of Benjamin Howard, of Ashby. 12. Eliakim Thayer, born April 14, 1820, married, October 21, 1862, Lydia A. Eveluth, of Jaffrey, New Hampshire ; resided in Natick, Mas- sachusetts, where his sister, Mrs. Forrister, settled ; children-Alice L., born September 2, 1864; Stella L., born September 7, 1867; Theodore F., born August 10, 1872.
(VII) Dr. Ira Russell, son of Eliakim Russell (6). was born in Rindge, New Hampshire, Novem- ber 9. 1814, died at Winehendon, Massachusetts, De- cember 19, 1888. Very early in boyhood he was ob- liged to make his own way in the world and with great self-denial and perseverance sought for and won an education. He graduated from Dartmouth
College in 1841 and began the study of medicine under Dr. Drix Crosby, of Hanover, New Hamp- shire, Dr. Abell, of Rindge, and Dr. Alvah Codding, of Winchendon, Massachusetts. He attended med- ical lectures in New York City and was graduated from the medical school of the University of the City of New York in 1844. He was appointed dis- triet physician in the New York Hospital. where he had the opportunity for a large and varied profes- sional experience. ]Je was among the first to study and make use of the stethoscope. Indeed all his life Dr. Russell was in the van of medical progress, adopting improved instruments and modern methods. He spent several months in New York, when he was nearly sixty years old, studying the use of microscope in medicine and surgery. He entered private prac- tice in Winchendon, Massachusetts, where he was associated with Dr. Codding and later alone. In 1853, after nine years of successful practice, he was invited by a committee of citizens to locate at Natick, Massachusetts, and he accepted the oppor- tunity and took a leading position and had an ex- tensive practice.
In 1861 he entered the Union Army as surgeon of the Eleventh Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, Colonel Blaisdell-a body that won an enviable repu- tation in the command of "Fighting Jo" Hooker. Soon after the battles about Yorktown he was pro- moted to the post of surgeon of the United States Volunteers and assigned to Hooker's division. His executive ability attracted attention, and he was next ordered to Baltimore to organize the Stuart Mansion
Ira Russell
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Hospital, of which he remained in charge until No- vember, 1862. He was then ordered to St. Louis to equip the Lawson Hospital. In December follow- ing he was appointed medical director of Northwest Arkansas, and while there had charge of the wounded men after the battle of Prairie Grove. His report forwarded to Washington after this battle is said to have been the most complete of any of the kind during the war. In February, 1863. he was placed in charge of the general and post hospitals at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, which, under his administration, became one of the largest hospi- tals of the war. While on duty at St. Louis he was a prominent figure in the benevolent and official life of the city and made many friends. He was trans- ferred to the staff of General Thomas in December. 1864, and he organized the Wilson General Hospital for colored troops at Nashville, Tennessee. Here he did much scientific investigation and research, and his papers written then have had a permanent place in medical literature.
At the close of the war he was breveted lieuten- ant-colonel for long and meritorious service. He spent the next year with the United States Sanitary Commission in extensive travel and research. In 1867 he returned to Winchendon, where he again en- tered private practice. In 1875 he began the most important work of his eventful life-his long cher- ished idea of a home for patients suffering from mental disorders, the opium and alcohol habits. He established his sanitarium in a spacious mansion in Winchendon, with cottages annexed, in the midst of ample grounds, on an eminence overlooking the town and the valley of Miller's river. From the windows a superb range of hills and mountains can be seen, reaching from Mount Wachusett in the southeast to Mount Monadnock in the northwest. All the conveniences of a modern home are added to the freedom and advantages of a farm life. The Iliglilands, as it is called, is conducted like a home as nearly as possible, rather than like an institution or hotel. In some cases companions are provided for the patients, who have the greatest possible liberty and are free from every suggestion of sickness as far as possible. The Highland proved a successful institution. Dr. Russell remained at the head of the Highlands to the time of his death. He was a man of sturdy and powerful frame. of great vigor of mind and almost unique devotion to his profession and his patients.
He married, April 23. 1844, Rowena Greenwood, daughter of Henry and Sarah ( Woodbury) Green- wood, of Winchendon. She died in 1875 and he married (second), in 1876, Josephine A. Lees, who survived him. Children of Dr. Ira and Rowena Russell were: I. Frederick William, see forward. 2. Sarah Jennie, born January II, 1846, married Erwin H. Walcott, son of Jonathan and Henrietta (Mills) Walcott, of Natick ; he is a prominent news- paper writer and editor and has resided at Natick, Massachusetts; St. Johnsbury, Vermont; Boston, Massachusetts, and now at Wellesley, Massachusetts. secretary of the Boston Merchants' Association and connected with the legal department of the Boston Elevated Railroad. 3. Frances Elizabeth, born Feb- ruary 18, 1848, died April 14, 1849.
(VIII) Frederick William Russell, M. D., son of Dr. Ira Russell (7), was born in Winchendon, January 27, 1845. He was educated at the public schools of Natick, Massachusetts, and at Harvard University, where he graduated in 1869. During the civil war he served in the Hospital Corps. In 1870
he received his degree of Medical Doctor from the Medical School of the University of the City of New York, and supplemented his professional training by studies in Vienna schools and hospitals. lle was associated with his father in practice at Winchendon and in the establishment of the Highlands, to which he has devoted most of his attention. After the deatlı of his father he became the proprietor of the Ilighilands and has developed it along the original idea, achieving success both in a professional and business way. He is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society and the Boston Society of Psychiatry and Neurology ; the Red men ; Boston Society of Na- tural History; Cambridge Entomological Club; chairman of the Board of Health of Winchendon and chairman of the Water Commissioners. He has taken a very active part in all the important im- provements of the town during the past twenty-five years, including sidewalks and water works, electric lights, co-operative bank, etc.
He married, June 11, 1872. Caroline E. Marvin, daughter of Rev. A. P. Marvin, the historian and genealogist, and his wife Caroline (Holbrook) Mar- vin. Their children are: I. Rowena Mary, born February 6, 1881, attended private school in Boston and Mount Holyoke Seminary ; married, August 28, 1901, Franklin Jerome Hall, M. D., of Dallas, Texas ; they have two children-William Russell Hall, born August II, 1903; and Franklin Marvin Hall, born May 27. 1905. 2. Dorothea Marvin, born June 9, 1884, died December 9, 1889. 3. Walter Marvin, born April 12, 1887, graduated from the Concord, Massa- chusetts, high school and is now studying chemistry in Boston.
HERBERT SAWYER WILDER, a prominent public official of Sterling, is a son of Fanson and Mary (Beaman) Wilder, grandson of Jonathan and Betsey (Roper) Wilder, and a lineal descendant of Thomas Wilder, who settled there in 1659. His brothers, Moses H. and Frederick E. Wilder, are represented in this work and reference to the early history of this family will be found in the sketches of each of these well-known Sterling residents.
Jonathan Wilder served as overseer of the poor of Sterling for a period of twenty-seven years, and held other town offices, acted as peace-maker or arbiter between his neighbors, and also settled their estates. As the matter of obtaining justice in the courts was a difficult one in those days, owing to the long distance to travel and the expense attending litigation, it was customary for the people of Sterling to submit their differences to the judgment of Jon- athan Wilder, who, in the exercise of his good offices in their behalf, invariably displayed such wisdom . and impartiality as to cause his decisions to be ac- cepted by the litigant as both satisfactory and final, and he was therefore a useful as well as a prominent man in the community.
Fanson Wilder, father of Herbert S. Wilder, was born in Sterling, September, 1824, and, with the ex- ception of a short time spent in some of the western states during his early manhood, his life was for the most part devoted to agriculture in his native town. His wife, Mary ( Beaman ) Wilder, who is now re- siding with her son Moses HI., belonged to a well- known family of Sterling, which was established there in 1720 by Gamaliel Beaman, the first white settler. The Beamans intermarried with the his- toric White family, the descendants of William and Susanna ( Fuller ) White, the Mayflower Pilgrims. through their son Peregrine, whose birth in the cabin
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of the Mayflower on November 20, 1620, is regarded with more than ordinary interest, as he was the first Christian child born in New England. Fanson and Mary ( Beaman ) Wilder had a family of six children, namely : Frederick Ellery, Moses Henry. . Harriet. Sarah Jane, Josephine B. and Herbert Sawyer, see forward.
Born in Sterling, April 11, 1865, Herbert Sawyer Wilder was educated in the public schools, and at an early age he adopted agriculture as a means of live- lihood. After working as a farmer's assistant for some time, he accepted the superintendency of the Pratt stock-farm, which he retained for more than ten years, and since relinquishing that position has been engaged at intervals in butchering and also at the carpenter's trade in the employ of his brother, Frederick E. Wilder, the well-known builder. Through his own efforts he has established a com- fortable home for his family, and he supports it by an industry which, in a man of his energy and perseverance, invariably continues unabated as long as physical endurance will permit. His genuine frankness and sincerity of purpose have won the esteem and confidence of his fellow-townsmen, and he is now serving with ability in the position held for so many years by his sturdy grandfather, that of overseer of the poor. Although cordially in sym- pathy with the principles of the Republican party, his liberal views enables him to recognize and appre- ciate the commendable features in the doctrine of other political factions, and he accordingly uses his elective privileges independently when, in his estima- tion the interests of the town, state or nation would be benefitted by so doing. His fraternal affiliations are with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a member of the Unitarian Church.
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