USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Historic homes and places and genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 81
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chusetts, and have: Edward James (Tracey), born August 3, 1895; Leonard Francis (Tracey), born December 10, 1896; Elizabeth (Tracey), born February 5, 1899; Joseph (Tracey), born July 5, 1901 ; Walter Clinton (Tracey), born May II, 1905. 6. Emily Ag- nes, born June 12, 1876; married, November 28, 1894, Charles Kendrick, and has: Eunice Holbrook (Kendrick), born January 31, 1896; Earle Willey (Kendrick), born October 16, 1897; Charles Fay (Kendrick), born March II, 1901. 7. James Alfred, born March 9, 1878; married, September 6, 1900, Susan Abbie Taylor, daughter of Charles and Susan (Parker) Taylor, of Woburn, and have : Ethel Florence, born January 14, 1901; Gladys Hazel, born September 24, 1903; Dorothy Edna, born October II, 1905, died May 17, 1906. 8. Esther Amanda, born June 7, 1880. 9. Annie Mabel, born September 19, 1881. IO. George Washington, born February 22, 1883. II. William Andrew, born May 2, 1884. 12. Robert Alexander, September 11, 1886.
The surname Bement is a
BEMENT shortened spelling of Beau- mont, a French place name and surname, though the family has been in Eng- land for many centuries. In the early records we find the name spelled Beman, Bemont, Be- mond, Bemen, and Beaman, and the variations have continued to some extent to the present time. There were three pioneers of this name among the early settlers in New England, be- sides a family at Lancaster, Massachusetts. Symon Bement settled at Springfield, Massa- chusetts; John and William Bement came in the same ship, and were doubtless brothers.
(I) William Bement, immigrant ancestor of this family, was born in England in 1612, and came in the ship "Elizabeth," in 1635, giving his age as twenty-three. His brother John came in the same ship. William settled first at Salem, where he was located in 1640. In 1643 he was at Scituate, but settled finally in Saybrook, Connecticut, and in the adjacent town of Lyme, where he' sold land in 1673 to John Tillotson. He was admitted a freeman of Connecticut in 1652. His wife was the only female among the eight grantees of the town of Saybrook in the will of Joshua, son of Uncas, the Indian sachem. He died February 4, 1698-9. He married December 9, 1643, Lydia Danforth, daughter of Nicholas Dan- forth. His wife died August, 1686. Chil- dren : I. Lydia, born March 9, 1644; married, February 3, 1668, Samuel Boys ; second, Wil-
liam Pygan. 2. Mary, born November 12, 1647 ; married, January 3, 1672, John Tuly. 3. John, mentioned below. 4. Elizabeth, born March, 1649-50; married, March 26, 1677, Captain John Chapman. 5. Deborah, born November 2, 1652; married, September 27, 1681, Thomas Gilbert. 6. Abigail, born Feb- ruary 20, 1655; died September 29, 1683. 7. Samuel, born February 28, 1657. 8. Rebecca, born September 7, 1659.
(II) John Bement, son of William, accord- ing to all evidence at hand was born about 1640, and died December 27, 1684. He set- tled on the homestead at Enfield, Connecticut, in 1682, and died there two years later, De- cember 27, 1684. The original homestead has remained in the possession and occupation of a lineal descendant to the present day. His inventory, dated January 25, 1684, was filed - by his widow Martha. Children : I. John, born about 1670; mentioned below. 2. Will- iam, born about 1685 ; married Hannah Terry, daughter of Captain Samuel Terry, 1707; re- sided in the east part of Enfield and had four sons. 3. Edmund, married, 1700, Prudence Morgan, born 1675; second, Priscilla Warner. (III) John Bement, son of John Bement (2), was born about 1670, and removed in 1682 with his father to Enfield, Connecticut. He was a farmer in Enfield, where he died September 1, 1703, in the prime of life. His widow Abigail was appointed administratrix September 4, 1704. Children: I. Mindwell, born February 22, 1696-97; died March 3, 1697-98. 2. Benjamin, born September 14, 1698 ; married, 1723, Elizabeth Abbe, and set- tled in Simsbury, Connecticut. 3. Abigail, born May 13, 1700. 4. John, born March 23, 1701-02; mentioned below.
(IV) John Bement, son of John Bement (3), was born in Enfield, Connecticut, March 23, 1701-02. He settled in Northfield, Massa- chusetts. He was a soldier from Northfield in Ralle's war in 1725, and in the French and Indian wars later. He was captured by the Indians at Cold Spring, a little below Fort Bridgman, June 24, 1746, in the French war, by a party of Indians, and carried to Canada. He was with a party of men at work in a meadow. The Indians at that time killed William Robbins and James Barker of Spring- field; wounded Michael Gilson and Patrick Ray, and beside Bement took into captivity Daniel How, Jr. The Northfield history tells us that Bement killed one Indian before he was taken (page 245). He married Rachel Wright, who died January 19, 1731-32, aged twenty-four years; married second, Mary
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His first wife was a daughter of Benjamin Wright, Jr., of Northfield, Massa- chusetts. Children : I. Abigail, born October 31, 1726. 2. Mary, born September 7, 1728; died September 17, 1728. 3. Mary, born October 24, 1729. 4. John, born May 3, 1734; mentioned below. 5. Jerusha, born September 10, 1735 ; died November 23, 1735. 6. Phineas, born March 6, 1737. 7. Jona- than, born April 26, 1739. 8. Jesse.
(V) John Bement, son of John Bement (4), was born May 3, 1734, at Northfield, Massachusetts. He was a soldier in Captain John Burke's company, in Lord Loudon's campaign of 1777, according to the Northfield history, then of Hatfield, Massachusetts. He removed to Ashfield in 1777, however, and his son John served from that town in Captain Benjamin Phillips's company, Colonel Elisha Porter's regiment, from Hampshire county, Massachusetts ; he was also a soldier in the northern department of the Continental army ; was according to the roll five feet seven inches in height, of light complexion, residing in Ashfield, and in 1780 was nineteen years old, under Captain Isaac Pope. The "History of Northfield" is authority for the statement that when young, according to tradition, he was captured by the Indians and taken towards Canada, but one night while staked down on his back in a ditch, he managed to free him- self, and at length to reach home in safety. He was perhaps taken at the same time as his father. He died March 22, 1806. He married Mary, daughter of Nathan Wait, of Whately, born June 5, 1740, died March 8, 1822. The children were born at Northfield or Hatfield, except the three youngest, who were born in Ashfield. Children: I. Phineas, born July 17, 1739; died October 31, 1833. 2. John, born March I, 1761; deacon and prominent citizen of Ashfield; died November 12, 1836. 3. Mary, born April 1, 1763; died May, 1845. 4. Reuben, born January 4, 1762 ; died Sep- tember 27, 1845. 5. Samuel, born May, 1769; mentioned below. 6. Hannah, born August 31, 1771; died May 6, 1836. 7. Daniel, born September 4, 1773; died December 7, 1774. 8. Sarah, born May 22, 1775 ; died March 22, 1806. 9. Lucinda, born June 9, 1777; died 1855. IO. Prinda, born September 11, 1779; died April 8, 1844. II. Daniel, born Novem- ber 22, 1784 ; died September II, 1872.
(VI) Samuel Bement, son of John Bement (5), was born in Hatfield or Northfield, Mas- sachusetts, May 17, 1769, and died in 1859 at Ashfield, whither he went to live with his
father in childhood. He married and had children : I. Jasper, born about 1790; men- tioned below ; and others probably.
(VII) Jasper Bement, son of Samuel Bement (6), was born in Ashfield, Massachu- setts, about 1790. He settled in Ashfield, his native town, and was a farmer and merchant, and deputy to general court. He married Electa Chamberlain. Children : Samuel, mentioned below; Joseph, Lewis, Marietta, Benjamin, and child died in infancy.
(VIII) Samuel Bement, son of Jasper Bement (7), was born at Ashfield, Massachu- setts, March 17, 1820. He attended the public schools of his native town and was an apt pupil, entering Wilbraham Academy at the age of thirteen, later graduated from Middle- town University (Connecticut), in 1840. After leaving college he began a long and distin- guished career as a teacher in the public schools. All but four years of the remainder of his life he spent in Lowell. He taught in Ohio two years, and in Dracut, Massachusetts, two years. He also taught for a time in a private school in Lowell. The school board of Lowell, at the time of Mr. Bement's death, placed on its records the following :
"Mr. Samuel Bement, with a single excep- tion the oldest teacher in the city in the point of service, died January 3d, after an illness of about a week, and an absence from school of only five days. Mr. Bement was born in 1820, graduated at Middletown (Connecticut) Col- lege in 1840, and came to Lowell in 1842 to teach in the Dracut Academy, and afterwards for a short time in the Lowell high school. In 185I he was elected teacher of the Adams school, one of the two schools then held in what is now the Bartlett school building, and when in 1856 the two were united to form the Bartlett school, he was promoted to the mastership of the new school, and continued in service at the same place until the time of his death. He was an able and successful teacher, and a true and loyal friend, and very few men in our city would have been missed more or more regretted.
"The best test of the work and life of any teacher is the mirrored judgment of those who have been his pupils, and the loyalty of the graduates of his school is his highest glory. Judging from this supreme test, Lowell has had few teachers who have stood higher than Mr. Bement. His pupils respected and loved him well under his care, and there are hun- dreds of men and women in our city to-day who cannot think of Mr. Bement without a
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thrill of gratitude and affection. May similar benedictions follow those of us who remain when we too are mustered out."
Mr. Bement taught many of Lowell's well- known citizens, and also taught three genera- tions in some families. To the many thou- sands who passed years under his care the knowledge of his death brought great regret. He was universally beloved. He married, in 1846, Sarah Kent, of Lowell. Children: I. Son, died in infancy. 2. May Maria. 3. Charles Jasper, deceased. 4. Gerard; edu- cated in Lowell grammar and high schools; graduated from Harvard College in 1880; and from Harvard Law School in 1882; resides in Boston ; married Katherine Paff ; no issue.
CUNNINGHAM Henry J. Cunningham, who may be justly numbered among the
most public-spirited citizens of Cambridge, Massachusetts, prominent in any direction which may tend to the advancement of the city, is a member of the well known firm of real estate and insurance brokers, doing busi- ness under the firm name of Cunningham Brothers, at No. 671 Massachusetts avenue. The genealogy of his family is one of histori- cal interest.
The family of Cunningham is of Scotch ori- gin, the home of the clan bearing this name being in Ayrshire, where they were estab- lished and prominent as early as 1200. They possess the earldom of Carrick and Glencairn and the lordship of Cuninghame. From Ayr- shire are descended all known branches of the family in England, Scotland and Ireland. Ac- cording to family tradition the first settlers in Ireland were two of six brothers who won dis- tinction under King James of Scotland, who later became James I of England. The rec- ords show that among the first grantees of King James, in Ireland, were several of this name. In the precinct of Portlough, county of Donegal, John Cunningham of Crawfield, Ayrshire, Scotland, received a grant of one thousand acres in 1610. At the same time James Cunningham, Laird of Glangarnocke, Ayrshire, received two grants, one of one thousand acres and the other of two thousand acres, in the same precinct, and Cuthbert Cun- ningham, of Glangarnocke, received one thou- sand acres. Alexander Coningham, of Pow- ton, Gentleman, of Sorbie, Wigtonshire, Scot -. land, had a grant of one thousand acres in the precinct of Boylagh, county of Donegal. There is reason to believe that Glangarnocke,
Ayrshire, was the original home of the family, and that one of these settlers was the progeni- tor of the branch whose line is here traced. History relates that Sir James Cunningham took possession of his grant of two thousand acres but returned to Scotland. His agent, Robert Young built one Irish barn of coples ; "he hath forty-four head of cattle, one plow of garrons, and some tillage at last harvest. Three families of British resident on his proportion, preparing to build; as yet no es- tate passed to them." "John Cunningham of Crawfield," the Carew Manuscript just quoted says, "one thousand acres; resident with one family of British; is building a bawn, and preparing materials; hath a plow of garrons, and thirty head of cattle. Cuthbert Cunning- ham, one thousand acres; resident with two families of British; built an Irish house of Coples, and prepared materials to re-edify the castle of Coole McEctrean; hath a plow of garrons, and eighty head of cattle in stock." This document is dated July 29, 1611, and refers to the land granted above. As Sir James returned to Scotland we may assume that these two other Cunninghams, whose grants were evidently together, as all three are mentioned together in the records, were the two brothers traced in the tradition as the settlers from Scotland. Another Cunning- ham, Alexander, of Ponton Elder, had not appeared, and perhaps never did ; and another, James Cunningham, of Horomilne, returned to Scotland in the fall of 1611, leaving his herd of six cows and six servants, but had made no preparations for a permanent stay. The next official report of the settlement, under the date of 1619, shows progress in the settlements of Sir James Cunningham, John Cunningham and Cuthbert Cunningham.
(I) John Cunningham, a descendant of one of these three brothers, was a resident of Dub- lin. His branch of the family had been Roman Catholic in their religious affiliations; after leaving the county of Donegal where the old Covenanters lived, he came to America and settled in Boston, Massachusetts. He married Catherine Tumilty, a descendant of an old Irish family, and among their children was a son, John.
(II) John Cunningham, son of John and Catherine (Tumilty) Cunningham, was born in Dublin, Ireland, July 4, 1814, and died in Prince Edward Island, 1898. He was very young when he came to this country with his parents, who settled in Boston, Massachusetts, and always considered himself as a Bostonian, in which city he acquired his education in the
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public schools. The family home was in the famous old North End of the city. He went on a visit to Prince Edward Island in 1848, in- tending to return to Boston in the course of a few weeks, but unforseen circumstances caused him to prolong his stay in that place, where he ultimately engaged in business and resided for a number of years. He was a blacksmith by occupation, and expert as a carriage builder, in addition to which he cultivated a farm and was extensively engaged in the lumber trade. His beautiful residence in Miscouche, Prince Edward Island, was for many years admired by the public, and was a haven of hospitality for all classes of travelers. Soon after his settlement in this place he married Mary Murphy, a native of the town, and they were the parents of thirteen children, eleven of whom attained maturity: I. Thomas E., who is one of the prominent physicians of Cam- bridge, Massachusetts. He was graduated from St. Dunstan's College, and from Har- vard Medical School in the class of 1876. He was one of the founders of the Hospital Aid Society of the Holy Ghost Hospital, and for a period of five years was the sole house phy- sician of this institution, all his services being gratuitous. He is now one of a staff of six engaged in this admirable work. 2. Mary J., chose nursing as her life work, for which she was eminently qualified, and became one of the most distinguished obstetrical nurses in the profession, her services being call i into play in Europe as well as this country. She died of pneumonia, April 21, 1900. 3. Agatha, was also a nurse of distinguished reputation, but was obliged by impaired health to abandon her arduous labors. 4. Elizabeth, resides with her brother, Dr. Joseph H. Cun- ningham. 5. Clara, married W. J. O'Donnell, of Cambridge. 6. John, came to Cambridge in 1892, to engage in the real estate business with his brother Henry J. He is an energetic business man, and in addition to his regular business occupation spends his evenings as assistant manager of the A. Cunningham Drug Company, of which concern he is part owner. 7. Henry J., see forward. 8. Augus- tus, began the study of pharmacy in 1882 in Somerville, and was so ambitious and apt a pupil that he secured his diploma and started a drug business of his own before he had at- tained the age of twenty-one years. He has been established at Inman Square since 1889, and is doing a large business under the name of the A. Cunningham Drug Company (Inc.) with branch stores in Somerville and Malden. 9. Joseph Henry, was graduated from St.
Dunstan's College in 1887, and from Harvard Medical School in 1892, later taking a post- graduate course in Vienna, as did also his brother, Dr. Thomas E. Dr. Joseph H. estab- lished himself in the practice of his profession in Cambridge, and has a large and lucrative practice. 10. Wilfred Bernard, left St. Dun- stan's College in 1896 and entered Boston College. where he spent two years. He was graduated from the Harvard Medical School in 1903, and is now (1907) a practicing physi- cian in Somerville.
(III) Henry J. Cunningham, third son of John and Mary (Murphy) Cunningham, was born in Prince Edward Island, Canada, July 29, 1862, and was educated in Miscouche, his native village. He left his home to enter the Prince of Wales College at Charlottetown, where he prepared himself for the profession of teaching. This he followed in a country school for a period of four years, and then en- tered St. Dunstan's College, in Charlottetown, in order to take up the study of law. His ex- ceptional ability as an instructor and disci- plinarian attracted immediate attention, and the rector of the college offered him the posi- tion of instructor in English and French and prefect in charge of the discipline. This ap- pointment was accepted, and so acceptable was the performance of the duties which fell to his charge that he was encouraged to study for the church. He took the course in philosophy while attending to his other duties, and was graduated with honors in 1887. In the fol- lowing autumn he went to Rome and matricu- lated at the famous Urban University, more generally known as the Propaganda College. Before the expiration of one year he was selected to render services in maintaining order and discipline among the students. He won a medal in a public competition in which students from twenty colleges took part, but owing to failing health he was compelled to interrupt his studies for a time. He spent this interval in making a tour of the Continent and Great Britain, adding materially to his knowl- edge of the world and cultivating his natural aptitude for character study and military dis- cipline, and keeping in close touch with the police and military systems of the countries through which he traveled, but finally aban- doned his studies and returned to his home. He had, however, acquired the mastery over several languages, and has always retained his love for the classics and the church. Upon the advice of his brother. Dr. Thomas E., who had been devoted to him during the period of his ill health, he turned his attention to busi-
ii-3
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ness life, as being the most fitting occupation for him, and engaged in a business partner- ship with his brother John, under the firm name of Cunningham Brothers. From small beginnings this firm has built up one of the largest real estate and brokerage agencies in the city of Cambridge, and have extended their field of activity in the line of insurance brokerage. They are also greatly in demand as trustees, administrators and executors of estates, and loaners of money on real property. It is a matter of public comment that those persons who have had extensive dealings with this firm invariably select them to take charge of their estates in the event of death.
Mr. Cunningham is a man of remarkable versatility, and has taken a prominent part in the political affairs of the community in which he resides, greatly to its advantage. He is chairman of the Democratic ward committee in the ward in which he lives, chairman of the Democratic city committee and was for some years chief of police, an office he filled with signal ability. He is a public speaker of talent, and particularly graceful and witty as a toastmaster at public banquets. His views are liberal, his sympathies broad, and he has been closely identified with various charitable and social organizations in Cambridge. He was one of the founders and leading spirits of the Hospital Aid Society, and an officer of the Holy Ghost Hospital, to which he has contributed liberally of his time and money since its foundation in 1894. He is one of the original members of the Catholic Union of Cambridge, served several years as a member of its board of directors and was its president for one year, relinquishing the office by reason of the pressure of business duties. When the Cambridge Lodge of Elks was organized in 1902, he became a charter member, and from the first has been chairman of the board of trustees. He is also a member of Cam- bridge Council, No. 74, Knights of Columbus ; Division No. 21, Ancient Order of Hiber- nians ; Cambridge Canadian Club ; and one of the directors of the Intercolonial Club.
BURKE Walter Burke, born in 1825, came with his wife Catherine (Reilley) Burke (born in 1824), and their son, John C. Burke, who was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, August 5, 1854, to America in 1855, landing in New York City, where Walter Burke became a book- keeper and timekeeper for Henry P. Bonnell & Company, importers and manufacturers of tropical woods. The civil war of 1861 re-
sulted in the destruction of the ships laden with mahogany and other valuable woods loaded in South America and destined for the port of New York for the house of Henry P. Bonnell & Company, and this loss resulted in the failure of the firm and the consequent dis- charge of Walter Burke.
Mr. Burke, with his wife and three children, thereupon migrated to Vermont and settled in Albany, Orleans county, where he purchased and cultivated a farm, and where John C. at- tended school until he was thirteen years of age, when he taught school one winter term. It was the plan of Walter Burke to educate his son to be a civil engineer, a friend of his in New York City promising him a position in his office as soon as he left school. The con- struction of the Portland & Ogdensburg rail- road was in operation near his farm in 1868, and the young lad, now fourteen years of age, prevailed upon his father to allow him to enter the employ of the contractor working on that section. He first was employed driving his father's team, carting the earth to level the road-bed. From this he became bookkeeper, and finally overseer of a section. He returned to school for one winter, and resumed work on the railroad in 1869, being in charge of the construction of a section at the Vermont end of the line at two hundred and fifty dollars per month and his expenses, and he continued this work for two years. He then returned to his studies at school for six months, and in 1872, when only eighteen years old, he was given full charge of three thousand men and the salary of a full grown and experienced rail- road man. He found time, however, to con- tinue his studies at the Craftsbury Academy and at the University of Vermont, fully deter- mined to take up the practice of law. On graduating from Craftsbury Academy he en- tered the law office of W. W. Mills, of Crafts- bury, Vermont, and was admitted to the bar in. 1879. He practiced in Albany, Vermont, the home of his parents, up to September, 1885, when he removed to Newport, Vermont.
He was married December 22, 1882, to Gertrude, daughter of John C. and Azubah (Hayden) Dow, of Albany, Vermont, and granddaughter of William H. and Azubah Hayden. Her ancestors on both paternal and maternal sides were soldiers in the American revolution, coming to New England from Wales and Scotland early in the eighteenth century. Their children were: George W. Burke, born August 25, 1889, at Newport, Vermont, and Julia Lillian Burke, born at Lowell, Massachusetts, August 25, 1893.
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Mr. Burke practiced at Newport, Vermont, as a trial lawyer, which required his presence to attend court in all the counties of the state, and he thus became acquainted with the people. He was an effective stump speaker in political campaigns, and in 1884 he made a canvass of the state of Vermont for Cleveland, and during the campaign made one hundred and ten speeches in as many cities, towns and hamlets, and he did this at no expense to the state committee. He was a representative from his town in the Vermont legislature of 1882 to 1884, and was chairman of the Ver- mont delegation to the Democratic national convention that met in Chicago in 1884, that nominated Grover Cleveland for president.
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