USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Historic homes and places and genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume II > Part 52
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He married (first) Martha Howard, of Stoneham, who died November 19, 1839. He married (second) in Stoneham, April 2, 1840, Clarissa Howard, widow of John Howard. She died November 17, 1846. He married (third) at Ipswich, in January, 1848, Lavinia S. Fellows, of Ipswich. There were four chil- dren by the first marriage, two by the second and two by the third. Children: I. Martha J. 2. George L. 3. John Howard, captain of Company C, Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, famous for its march through Baltimore in April, 1861; was shot through the thigh dur- ing that memorable march.
(VII) Lyman Dike, son of Jesse Dike (6), was born in Stoneham, August 21, 1821, and died there July 9, 1898. He was educated in the public and private schools of his native
town, and like the other youths of the town learned to make shoes. He worked for five years as clerk in the general store of his eld- er brother, George W. Dike. In 1843 he formed a co-partnership with Alfred J. Rhoades and began to manufacture shoes. At first they made shoes alone, but as fast as they gained the necessary capital and business they em- ployed help and from a small beginning they soon had an extensive trade. They made a high grade of shoes and virtually introduced a new class of goods, which in time revolu- tionized the business in Stoneham. Previous to their venture, only two kinds of sewed shoes and one kind of pegged shoes were made, principally a cheap class of goat and kid shoes for children. Rhoades & Dike man- ufactured light kid and goat, light bottom, pegged shoes, and at length the orders came faster than they could fill them, thus bringing the other manufacturers to make the same class of goods. The firm of Rhoades & Dike was dissolved in 1848 and succeeded by the firm of Lyman Dike & Company, the partners were Lyman and George W. Dike and they continued together until 1855, manufacturing about half a million dollars worth of goods annually, chiefly for the western and southern trade.
After 1855 Lyman Dike continued in busi- ness alone until 1885, when he retired. From that time he devoted his attention to Mar- ble Ridge Farm, of which he was the owner. This farm consisted of one hundred and fifty acres in the southwestern part of the town of Stoneham. Much of the land is what is called Bear Hill meadow, and was redeemed by Colonel Dike from the most unproductive land into choice arable soil. Through this meadow runs the brook which supplies the Winchester reservoir with water. At one time Colonel Dike had about seventy cows and had a fine dairy. His homestead was on Franklin street, corner of Pine, built in 1858.
Colonel Dike took a great interest in the militia and was largely instrumental in rais- ing and forming Company C of the Seventh Regiment in 1851, and was unanimously elected its captain. Two years later he was appointed major of his regiment and served until 1855, when the organization was dis- banded by Governor Gardner, but was im- mediately re-organized and he was unani- mously elected major. In 1856 he was ap- pointed lieutenant-colonel and in 1858 colo- nel of his regiment, receiving every vote at both elections. In Camp Banks, in 1859, at Concord, Massachusetts, when all the militia
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of the state was gathered together for the only time in its history, he was the senior col- onel and for two days was in command of the Fourth Brigade. In 1861 he was detailed by Governor Andrew to command a camp of in- struction at Lynnfield, where four regiments were formed and sent to the front, the sev-
enteenth, nineteenth, twenty-second
and
twenty-third. Early in the Civil war, Colonel Dike offered to form a regiment composed exclusively of colored troops, but the propo- sition was not accepted by President Lin- coln. On the second call for men for service in the militia, Colonel Dike's regiment was the first to report at headquarters in Boston, outside of the regular Boston troops.
In 1858 Dr. William H. Heath proposed to Colonel Dike that if possible all the pri- vate libraries in Stoneham be formed into a public library. They went to work to bring about this result and succeeded in getting more than fourteen hundred volumes from private libraries for their purpose and the public library began business in 1859. For thirteen years Colonel Dike was chairman of the board of trustees and the purchasing com- mittee. This was one of the first public li- braries in the state, and was instituted before towns were allowed to support libraries from public taxation.
Colonel Dike was for many years one of the leading citizens in public affairs. He was se- lectman in 1853-81-82-86; assessor several years; member of the school committee for eight years, of the water committee four years when the water system was built, member of the committee on appropriations, and chair- man several years. He was special county commissioner for about quarter of a century. He represented his district in the general court in 1860.
Colonel Dike was one of the seven men who built the Stoneham street railroad, and was a director of the company from 1860 to the date of its transfer to the East Middlesex Company in 1888, being superintendent sev- en years and treasurer twenty-six years. He was appointed justice of the peace in 1851 and held that office the remainder of his life; he was notary public from 1885 to the time of his death. He was a trustee many years and for a time vice-president of the Middlesex Ag- ricultural Society; also a trustee of the Bay State Agricultural Society. He was active in the fire department and was foreman one year and treasurer two years of the General Worth Fire Engine Company. He was a
member of Columbian Lodge of Odd Fel- lows, the oldest member in town at the time of his death, having joined Crystal Fount Lodge in Woburn in 1843. He went through the chairs of Columbian Lodge several times, and was a member of the Grand Lodge. He also belonged to Columbian Encampment, of Odd Fellows; was a charter member of King Cyrus Lodge of Free Masons; charter mem- ber of Waverly Royal Arch Chapter of Mel- rose, and was at one time its senior warden. He was also charter member of Council of Royal and Select Masters of Melrose, and charter member and captain general of Hugh de Payens Commandery, Knights Templar, of Melrose. He belonged to the various higher bodies of Masonry to the thirty-second de- gree.
Colonel Dike was one of the original mem- bers of the Stoneham Board of Trade, and one of the organizers of the Unitarian church, on the standing committee of which he served during its separate existence as a society. He was the first president of the Stoneham Co- operative Bank, of which he was one of the founders, for three years, and was one of the trustees of the Stoneham Five Cents Savings Bank almost from its organization to his death, was on the investing board twelve years and president eight years. For several years during the civil war he was a director of the Monu- mental Bank of Charlestown. He died July 9, 1898.
He married, December 15, 1845, a daughter of Captain William and Sarah (Gerry) Willey, Elizabeth Gerry Willey, who died October 29, 1902, aged eighty-one years. Children: I. Sarah J., born April 21, 1848, married Daniel S. Davis, of Acton, Massachusetts; children: i. Ethel B. Davis, born October I, + 1876; ii. Elsie Cora Davis, born December II, 1878, married, July 15, 1903, Francis S. Smith, of Boston, and had Lyman Bradford Smith, born in 1904, and Marion Jane Smith, born October 24, 1906. 2. Cora Elizabeth, born January 9, 1854, resides in the Dike homestead, Franklin street, Stoneham.
(VII) Charles Carroll Dike, son of Jesse Dike (6), was born in Stoneham, October 7, 1827, and was educated there in the public schools. He helped his father at home on the farm, and in early youth used to assist his father in his duties as keeper of the toll gate at Medford on the Andover and Medford Pike. This toll was abolished in 1834. He began to work in the general store of his brother George W., mentioned above, when
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he was twenty years old. When his brothers were in partnership in manufacturing shoes he had charge of the sole leather room.
In 1869 he began to manufacture shoes in Haverhill on his own account. After a few years he sold out and removed to Boston, where he was in business until the Great Fire of 1872, in which his place of business was destroyed, and he lost all his property. He was appointed to a responsible position as as- sistant inspector for two years, after which in- spector in the Boston Custom House, where he continued until 1886, when he retired from active labor. He has made his home for many years in his native town.
During the Civil war he was active in the enrollment of recruits for the service ; he was captain of a company of militia, but the com- pany was not called into service at the front. In politics he is an active and loyal Republican of the old school. He has been superintendent of streets in Stoneham, member of the board of highway surveyors, and for twenty years a member of the Lidenwood cemetery committee. He is an active member of the Stoneham Uni- tarian church, of which he was on the parish committee eight years, treasurer two years.
In the Masonic fraternity for fifty years he has been a prominent figure. He has been a member and worshipful master of Wyoming Lodge, high priest of Waverly Chapter, and is one of the oldest Masons of the town. He has held all the offices in his lodge and is one of the oldest past grand patrons of Eastern Star Lodge, member of Signet Chapter of Cambridge, Order of the Eastern Star. He is also a member of the local lodge of Odd Fel- lows, and was for many years prominent in the Legion of Honor. At the age of eighty years, Mr. Dike enjoys the best of health. He is uni- versally respected and beloved by his towns- men, an admirable representative of one of the leading families of the town. He is an upright, . just and straightforward man, striving to do all the good within his power. He is member of Lincoln Farm Association.
He married (first), September 24, 1850, Harriet Robinson Woodward, who was born October 9, 1832, and died July 19, 1854, daughter of Samuel Woodward, of Melrose. He married (second), November 28, 1855, Susan Foss Nason. Children of Charles C. and Harriet R. Dike : I. Ida A., born April 27, 1851, died August 7, 1852. 2. Hattie R., born December 3, 1853, died May 3, 1854. Child of Charles C. and Susan F. Dike : 3. Jessie E., born October 25, 1858, married, April 25, 1895, Joseph W. Yeaton ; no children.
Ralph Shepard, the immi- SHEPARD grant ancestor, was born in England and came to this country in July, 1635, on the ship "Abigail," giving his age as twenty-nine. His gravestone states that he died September 1I, 1693, at the age of ninety. His birth year was probably be- tween 1603 and 1606. With him came his wife Thanks, aged twenty-three, and daughter Sarah, aged two years. He was a tailor by trade and settled in Charlestown. He was one of the pioneers at Dedham in 1636; removed to Weymouth, where he was a town officer in 1645; removed to Concord and finally to Mal- den. He bought lots of R. Palgrave in 1650- 51 at Malden. His gravestone is in the old Malden graveyard. About 1644 he was for a short time in Rehoboth. Children : I. Sarah, born in England in 1633. 2. Thomas, men- tioned below. 3. Isaac, born at Weymouth, June 20, 1639. 4. Trial, born December 19, 1641, married Walter Power. 5. Abraham. 6. Thanks, born at Malden, February 10, 1651- 52, married at Chelmsford, December 13, 1669, Peter Dill. 7. Jacob, born June, 1653.
(II) Thomas Shepard, son of Ralph Shep- ard (I), was born about 1635. He resided at Malden and Milton, Massachusetts; was ad- mitted to the church, September 2, 1677, at Charlestown, and dismissed to Malden, Jan- uary 31, 1689-90. He married at Charles- town, November 19, 1658, Hannah En- sign, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth En- sign, of Scituate. She died March 14, 1697- 98, aged fifty-nine. He married (second) Joanna Children : 1. Thomas, men- tioned in the will of his grandfather Ensign ; removed to Bristol and New Haven, Connecti -. cut ; married, December 7, 1682, Hannah Blanchard. 2. Hannah, married Joseph Blanchard, May, 1681. 3. John, born at Mal- den, married, March 26, 1690, Persis Peirce; (second) William Rand. 4. Ralph, born Jan- uary, 1666-67, mentioned below. 5. Jacob, married Mercy Chickering, November 22, 1699. 6. Isaac, born May, 1682, resided at Concord and Norton, Massachusetts. Thom- as Shepard (2) died at Milton, September 29,. 1719. His will was dated at Milton, April 10, 1719, and proved December 22, 1719. His wife died August 5, 1709, at Milton. He owned many lots. in Charlestown. He be- queathed to son Ralph, to John, Jacob and David, children of Hannah.
(III) Ralph Shepard, son of Thomas Shepard (2), was born at Malden, Massachu- setts, January, 1666-67. He lived in Brook- line and Milton; and died in Milton, January
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26, 1722. He married Marah His children lived in Milton and Canton: I. Ralph, married, April 28, 1726, Sarah Spur. 2. John, married, May 18, 1721, Rebecca Fennoo, at Milton. 3. Mary, married, February 6, 1718, Jason Williams, at Milton. 4. Han- nah, married, November 29, 1716, Manasseh Tucker. 5. Nathaniel, born 1705, died May 15, 1753. 6. Sarah, married, March 30, 1727, John Ireland, at Milton. 7. Thomas, men- tioned below.
(IV) Thomas Shepard, son of Ralph Shep- ard (3), was born about 1710, at Milton or Brookline (Muddy River). He married (inten- tions dated November 29, 1735,) Amity Morse, daughter of Rev. Joseph Morse, of Stoughton, granddaughter of Joseph and Priscilla (Col- burn) Morse, great-granddaughter of John and Annie Morse, of Dedham; John was the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Morse, the immi- grants. She died March 7, 1747-48, in her thirty-eighth year. He deeded the lot for the burying ground to the town of Canton. The consideration was five pounds and the lot was deeded to John Puffer and Benjamin Blackman as trustees. It was on the west side of Shepard's farm some six or seven rods from the highway to the southward; it had been used as a burial place thirty years. Thomas Shepard, Ezekiel Fisher and Stephen Badlam were allowed to build the porch on the east end of the church about 1750, at their own expense. Children: I. Samuel, born at Canton, March 1, 1736-37. 2. Joseph, died November 11, 1743, aged five years. 3. Jacob, born April 17, 1739. 4. Amity, born March 31, 1741. 5. Unity, born April 5, 1745. 6. William Ensign, born January 9, 1746-47, mentioned below.
(V) William Ensign Shepard, son of Thomas Shepard (4), was born in Canton, Massachusetts, January 9, 1746-47, and died there July 7, 1826. He was a soldier in the Revolution in Captain James Endicott's com- pany, Colonel Lemuel Robinson's regiment, on the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775, and again his name appears on a pay roll or list of wages for service in the war previous to November 19, 1783. He married Elizabeth Tolman, of Stoughton, (intentions dated Sep- tember 2, 1769,) January 9, 1770. She died September 9, 1832, aged seventy-two years. Children: Jesse, born at Canton, December 12, 1772, mentioned below. John. Amity, born 1775, died September 11, 1829, aged fif- ty-four years.
(VI) Jesse Shepard, son of William En- sign Shepard (5), was born in Canton, Mas-
sachusetts, December 12, 1772, and died there January 14, 1806, in the prime of life. He was a farmer. He married Sally Swift Tucker, June 29, 1794, at Canton. She was born at Canton June 3, 1773, and died October 23, 1842. Children: I. William, born July 29, 1795, died March 26, 1819, buried at Canton. 2. Rebecca Swift, born May 16, 1797, died June 1, 1868. 3. Phally, born July 26, 1797, died January 28, 1861. 4. Elizabeth, born June 1, 1803, died in Clinton, 1881. 5. Jesse, born February 20, 1805, mentioned below.
(VII) Jesse Shepard, son of Jesse Shepard (6), was born at Canton, February 20, 1805, and died there September 12, 1828, a young man like his father at the time of death. His death was caused by a well-sweep falling up- on his head. At the time he was engaged in the express business between Canton and. Boston. He married Harriet Brown, who was born at Salisbury, Massachusetts, March 20, 1807, and died November 20, 1890, at the residence of her son in Lowell, Massachu- setts. Children: I. William, born in Salis- bury, February 23, 1826. 2. Jesse, Jr., born in Canton, May 26, 1828, died September 10, 1830.
(VIII) William Shepard, son of Jesse Shep- ard (7), was born in Salisbury, February 23, 1826. He attended the district schools of Canton and Amesbury, Massachusetts, and also the Providence Conference Academy at East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and the acad- emy at Amesbury until about sixteen years of age. He then learned the trade of carriage making. In 1846, when he was twenty years of age, he removed to Lowell with his em- ployer, J. B. Eaton, carriage manufacturer, formerly of Haverhill. He was first a car- riage trimmer, doing the leather and cloth work on carriages. Later he bought a part of his employer's business and became a man- ufacturer of carriages and harness on his own account, and he continued with fair success until 1861. He made a study of financial mat- ters, invested his savings wisely and, when the conditions of business became unfavorable in his line on account of the Civil war, he be- came a broker. He opened an office first on Merrimac street, Lowell, and later for more than twenty-five years had his office over the Prescott National Bank on Central street. He obtained his start in this business as a commission broker, handling chiefly govern- ment bonds. He afterward engaged in a gen- eral brokerage business, dealing in railroad, industrial and other securities, especially in the stocks and bonds of the manufacturing
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companies of Lowell. For many years he furnished the quotations for the industrial corporation securities of Lowell, published in the Lowell Courier, Lowell Mail and the New York Journal of Commerce. He in- vested largely in these companies on his own account and was vitally interested in their prosperity. He was a vital factor in the de- velopment of the great industrial city into which Lowell grew after he became a citizen. He was also a director of the Washington Mills Company of Lawrence, and was for many years a director of the Merchants' Na- tional Bank of Lowell. He died at Hampton, New Hampshire, July 29, 1905, while tempo- rarily there for a summer outing.
Mr. Shepard was another instance of the success of an American mechanic in the world of business and finance. He was a self-made man, and his years in the carriage shop were doubtless the essential training for large things in his life. His father's early death compelled him to become self-supporting at an early age. He was self-reliant, energetic and industrious. He was a man of upright character, careful but far-sighted, and his opinions were taken by many business men who had absolute faith in his knowledge and judgment. In politics he was an active and earnest Republican. In 1872 he was a member of the common council, but his efforts were mainly directed to secure the nomination and election of suitable men of his party and he never sought political honors for himself. Practically to the end of life he retained his faculties and attended to his business, al- though after he was seventy-five years old he gave up regular office duties. He at- tended the Worthen Street Baptist Church, for fifty years or more, and always exerted his influence in promoting the interests of the church and had held every office, except that of treasurer, to which laymen are eligible, in both church and society.
He married, March 27, 1849, Abbie Little Hoyt, of Hampstead, New Hampshire, who survives him. She was born April 23, 1827. Children: I. Arvilla, B., born September 30, 1852, died February 25, 1879. She married Thomas H. Elliott, of Lowell, March 18, 1874, and left one child, Robert H. Elliott, born September 8, 1878, and now living. 2. Jesse H., born September II, 1854; mentioned be- low. 3. William, born November 26, 1857, died May 29, 1858. 4. Charles S., born July 9, 1859, proprietor of the Middlesex Machine Company of Lowell. 5. William, born June 27, 1865, died May 9, 1866.
(IX) Jesse Hazen Shepard, son of William Shepard (8), was born in Lowell, September II, 1854. He was educated in Lowell pub- lic schools and Warren Academy at Woburn, Massachusetts, March 6, 1879, he married Fannie A. Long, at Hoosick Falls, New York, daughter of David W. Long. Had one child, William Long Shepard, born April 6, 1880, died January 28, 1896. In 1876 he or- ganized the firm of Shepard, Russell and Ful- ler, and engaged in the real estate business; this firm for thirty years has been active in buying, selling and building in all sections of the city and especially in the Highlands, where they owned many acres of land, laid out build- ing lots, built streets, erected houses and were largely instrumental in the successful growth of that section. In 1888 they secured the annexation of a portion of Tewksbury in- to Lowell and laid out a section of nearly two hundred acres into building lots, naming it the Oaklands. Streets and avenues were laid out and graded, many houses were erected and in three years the assessed valuation of the section increased more than half a mil- lion dollars. He has been an active member of the board of trade from its organization, has been annually re-elected as a member of the board of directors and was for two years its president. In 1892 he helped organize the Middlesex Co-operative Bank and has been its president since that time. He was formerly a director of the First National Bank, and is now a director of the Appleton National Bank. He attends Eliot, Congregational Church, and is active in its business affairs. Republican in politics, member of Lowell city council in 1887 and 1888. Is a Free Mason a member of several masonic bodies, and a member of the Country Club.
Thomas Williams, immi- WILLIAMS grant ancestor of the Groton family of this name, may have been a son or closely related to one of the earlier pioneers of this surname. He was probably born in England, however, as early as 1640, and is first heard of in Groton, Mas- sachusetts, when he married, July II, 1666, Mary Holden. He died August 5, 1704. He was active in town affairs and one of the lead- ing citizens. In 1676 he and the town clerk, James Blanchard, represented Groton in a conference concerning the building and main- tenance of the Billerica bridge, besides Billerica and Groton, Dunstable also was represented. The children of Thomas and Mary Williams
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were: I. Thomas, born at Groton, March 17, 1666-67, mentioned below. 2. John, born No- vember 3, 1668. 3. Mary, born February 3, 1672. 4. Hannah, born February I, 1674-75. (II) Thomas Williams, son of Thomas (I) and Mary (Holden) Williams, was born at Groton, Massachusetts, March 17, 1666-67. He settled there, probably on his father's homestead, and married Elizabeth Their children, all born there, were: I. Sarah, born June 8, 1692. 2. Elizabeth, born Febru- ary 21, 1694. 3. Jason, born about 1696, men- tioned below. 4. Isaac, born June, 1699. 5. Anna, born April 1, 1702, married Samuel Shattuck. 6. Abigail, born July 5, 1704.
(III) Jason Williams, son of Thomas (2) and Elizabeth Williams, was born in Groton, 1696, and settled in that place. He was a sub- scriber to the fund for building a school house July 10, 1739. Children : I. Jason, born De- cember 25, 1721, mentioned below. 2. Josiah, born August 9, 1725. 3. Mary. 4. Isaiah, born May II, 1734. 4. Josiah, born April 4, 1735.
(IV) Jason Williams, Jr., son of Jason Wil- liams (3), was born at Groton, Massachusetts, December 25, 1721. His gravestone at Groton shows that he died December 8, 1774, in his fifty-third year. He married, April 5, 1749, Jemima Nutting, daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Green) Nutting. She was born Sep- tember 19, 1720. Her father was one of the prominent citizens of the town. Jason was one of the founders of the Presbyterian church at Groton. Children: I. Jemima, born Oc- tober 10, 1749. 2. Elizabeth, born March 14, 1751. 3. Jason, born October 5, 1752. 4. Daniel, born February 17, 1754. 5. Simeon, born June 10, 1758. 6. Eunice, born July 23, 1760. 7. Levi, born January 26, 1762. 8. Jacob, born August 28, 1765, mentioned below. (V) Jacob Williams, son of Jason and Jemima (Nutting) Williams, was born at Gro- ton, August 28, 1765, died there May 2, 1829. He married Hannah Shepley, who was born August 26, 1761, and died November 25, 1826, a sister of John Shepley, Sr. He was a soldier in the Revolution in the second com- pany of Colonel Read's regiment in 1776. This company was called the North End Company of Groton. Children: I. Josiah Sawtell, men- tioned below. 2. Dr. Jacob, born July 16, 1789; married (first) Irene Locke, who died March 11, 1831; (second), Betsey Wakefield, of Biddeford, Maine. 3. Mary, died March 27, 1872, unmarried. 4. Samuel, died May 2, 1879. 5. Asa, died June 21, 1874, aged eighty-two, unmarried. 6. James, died August 1, 1852, aged sixty-three, unmarried. 7. Hannah,
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