USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Historic homes and places and genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume III > Part 44
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married Samuel Jennison. 9. Abigail, born April 16, 1680, married Benoni Garfield. 10. Joseph, born December II, 1682, died Febru- ary 4, 1683.
(III) John Stearns, born 1677, married Abigail Fiske, daughter of John and Abigail (Parks) Fiske. He resided on the homestead of his father, died in 1729. The inventory of his estate, 1735, was £952 3s Iod. Children : I. John, born November 18, 1702, married Anna Coolidge. 2. Josiah, born October 14, 1704, died April II, 1756, married Susannah Ball; a farmer and blacksmith. 3. Joseph, born July, 1706, died April 11, 1756; insane. 4. Abigail, born June 3, 1708, married Colo- nel Benjamin Bellows, the founder of Wal- pole, New Hampshire. 5. Rev. David, born December 24, 1709, graduate Harvard 1728, minister in Lunenberg, married Ruth Hub- bard. 6. Thomas, born October 8, 1711, mar- ried Hannah Clarke; settled in Westminister, died 1785. 7. James, born and died in 1712. 8. Hannah, born December 20, 1713, died 1779, married Deacon Samuel Johnson. 9. Benjamin, married Anna Taylor, died 1761, settled in Lunenberg. 10. Deacon William, born March II, 1717-18, married Elizabeth Johnson, lived in Lunenberg. II. Lydia, born October 7, 1719, married Joshua Goodrich, of Lunenberg. 12. James, born July 9, 1721. 13. Lois, born January 18, 1723, married Jones White. 14. Colonel Abijah, born De- cember 19, 1724, married Sarah Heywood, of Lunenberg.
(IV) John Stearns, born 1702, married Anna Coolidge, daughter of Deacon John and Margaret (Bond) Coolidge, of Watertown, February 15, 1725. They resided in Water- town, until about 1741, when they removed to Westminster, where he died in 1775. Chil- dren: I. Moses, born May 29, 1728, married Ruth Houghton, June 13, 1754. 2. Jerusha, born November 5, 1730, married Darius Houghton, of Lunenberg, and removed to Windsor, Vermont. 3. Anna, baptized March 3, 1736. 4. Abigail, baptized October 13, 1739, married Roger Wellington, March IO, 1757. 3. Hepzibah, baptized November 12, 174I, married Benjamin Stratton, February 2, 1764. 6. Aaron, born February 2, 1746, mar- ried Esther Glazier. 7. Elias, born September 30, 1753, married Sarah Keyes, December 12, 1776.
(V) Moses, born May 29, 1728, married Ruth Houghton, lived in Westminister until 1763, when they removed to Walpole, New Hampshire, where he died September 24,
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1808. Children : 1. Ephraim, born April 6, 1755, married Molly Gilman. 2. Esther, born April II, 1757, married James Eastman, and settled in Newfane, Vermont. 3. Reuben, born September 4, 1759, was a farmer at Wal- pole, New Hampshire, where he died 1791, unmarried. 4. Relief, born March 8, 1762, married Simon Farrar, and settled in Herki- mer, New York. 5. Elizabeth, born Septem- ber 4, 1764, married John Adams. 6. Lois, born August 7, 1766, married James Knapp. 7. Benjamin, born October II, 1768, married Mehitable Symonds ; physician, settled first in Hillsboro, New Hampshire, afterwards in Pic- tou, Nova Scotia. 8. Lucy, born January 14, 1771, died November 29, 1796, unmarried. 9. Abigail, born February 27, 1775, married Isaac Gibson, of Grafton, Vermont.
(VI) Deacon. Ephraim Stearns, born 1755, married Molly Gilman, December 13, 1781, died October, 1843, a farmer, and lived in Walpole, New Hampshire. He served in the Revolutionary war in 1776. Children : I. Simon, born February 26, 1783, married Sarah Ellis Noyes. 2. Calvin, born June 24, 1784, married Deborah Allen, died in 1840. 3. Ste- phen, born April 27, 1786, married Harriet Hosmer, March II, 1819. 4. Molly, born June 2, 1788. 5. Ephraim, born June 2, 1788, died July 4, 1806. 6. Mary, born August 16, 1790, married Zephaniah Kidder, August 16, 1790. 7. Lyman, born August 16, 1792, died March 27, 1803. 8. Curtis, born June 23, 1794, married Rebecca D. Barron. 9. Wil- lard, born June 6, 1796, married Harriet Pet- tingill. 10. Wilder, born June 6, 1796. II. Elijah, born July 27, 1798, married Sarah Blanchard. He was a merchant and lived in Boston, died 1861. 12. Harvey, born June 3, 1800, married Rebecca Brown, lived in Wal- pole. 13. Dr. George, born May 10, 1802, M. D. Harvard, 1827, lived in Groton.
(VII) Simon Stearns, born in 1783, mar- ried Sarah Ellis Noyes, daughter of Joseph Noyes, of Boston, May 26, 1811. Mr. Stearns was a merchant in Boston, with residence in Watertown. He died August 12, 1858. She died November 24, 1880. Children: I. Wil- liam Henry, born March 21, 1812, died young. 2. George A., born October 24, 1813, a mer- chant in Boston, continuing his father's bus- iness with residence at Watertown, died Jan- uary 12, 1900. 3. William Edward, born Aug- ust 23, 1819, died young. 4. Sarah Noyes, born July 21, 1827, in Boston, married Luther F. Richardson, of Boston, July 13, 1854. They resided in Boston and later in West Medford.
Children : 1. Emma Stearns, born January 27, 1861, in Boston. 2. Helen Francis, born July 15, 1869, in Boston, married Wilton B. Fay, and lives in West Medford.
John Gove (Gobe, or Goffe), im- GOVE migrant ancestor, was born in 1604, in England; settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he was ad- mitted a freeman May 22, 1638. He was ad- mitted to the church May 3, 1647. He was a dealer and worker in brass. His will, dated January 22, 1647, bequeathed to wife, sons John and Edward; daughter Mary, to be adopted with wife's full consent by Ralph Mousall and his wife, and to the latter he be- queathed a silver porringer and five pounds in money; the legacies to be paid out of the brass in the house, or that which was to come from England. The widow Sarah, born 1601, married second, John Mansfield, who joined her in paying the legacies to her sons Decem- ber 5, 1655. Gove bought his house and land in Charlestown, September 29, 1647. Chil- dren : I. John, has many descendants in - Watertown, Cambridge and vicinity. 2. Ed- ward, mentioned below.
(II). Edward Gove, son of John Gove (I), was born in Charlestown, in 1639, according to his deposition made in 1667. He settled in Hampton, New Hampshire, and became a very prominent citizen. He headed a movement to overthrow Governor Cranfield of New Hamp- shire, but the conspiracy failed, and he and ten others, including his son John, were arrested and tried for treason. He was found guilty and sentenced to death and his estate seized for the crown. The others were pardoned after conviction, but he was sent to London and kept for three years in the Tower of Lon- don. At length he also was pardoned and his estates restored to him. He is the ancestor of all the Gove families of New Hampshire and Maine. Children, born at Hampton : 1. John, born September 19, 1661. 2. William, born October 21, 1662; died March 1, 1663. 3. Hannah, born March, 1664; married Abialı Clements. 4. Mary, born April 14, 1666 ; mar- ried Joseph Sanborn. 5. Abiel, born July 23, 1667 ; died at Haverhill, Massachusetts, Aug- ust 28. 1667. 6. Penuel, born July 10, 1668; married Philemon Dalton, Benjamin Sanborn and James Prescott. 7. Ebenezer, born June 23, 1671. 8. Edward, born May 13, 1673; died November 12, 1675. 9. Jeremiah, born October, 1674; died September, 1692. 10.
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Rachel, born January 26, 1676, died young. II. Ann, born January 9, 1677 ; married Jere- miah Conner. 12. Sarah, born November 5, 1678; married Samuel Dearborn.
(III) John Gove, son of Edward Gove (2), born in Hampton, September 19, 1661 ; mar- ried Sarah - -; resided in Seabrook, New Hampshire. Children : I. Mary, born Octo- ber 29, 1687; married Nehemiah Heath; she died April, 1715. 2. John, born May 29, 1689 ; married March 24, 1720, Ruth Johnson, daughter of Edmund. 3. Hannah, born April I, 1691. 4. Jonathan, born May 2, 1695 ; men- tioned below. 5. Sarah. 6. Abigail, married January 6, 1721, Joseph Norton.
(IV) Jonathan Gove, son of John Gove (3), was born in Seabrook, May 2, 1695; mar- ried first, July 21, 1720, Mary Lancaster, daughter of Thomas. He married second, March 23, 1730, Hannah Worthen. Gove died August 6, 1760, and the widow Hannah married second, Abner Philbrick, son of Thomas. Children, born at Hampton: I. Ly- dia, born 1720. 2. John, born 1722; mention- ed below. 3. Mary, born 1724. 4. Hannah, 1732. 5. Nathan, 1734. 6. Dille, born 1736; married, March 28, 1754, John Bean. 7. Hannah, born 1738. 8. Sarah, 1740. 9. Jo- nathan, born 1742, settled at Nottingham. IO. Michael, born 1744. II. Samuel, 1746. 12. Richard, born 1749, settled in Seabrook, New Hampshire. 13. Elijah, born 1751, resided in Weare, New Hampshire. 13. Amy, 1754.
(V) John Gove, son of Jonathan Gove (4), was born in 1722, in Seabrook, Hampton, or vicinity. He probably settled in Deerfield, and also lived in Hampton Falls. Children : I. Jeremiah; mentioned below. 2. John.
(IV) John Gove, son of John Gove (3), was born at Hampton, May 29, 1689; married March 24, 1720, Ruth Johnson, daughter of Edmund. He died March 23, 1759. Children : I. Edward. 2. Daniel. 3. Obadiah. 4. Ruth. 5. Jonathan, settled in Enfield, New Hamp- shire, or vicinity. 6. David, went with broth- er Jonathan to Enfield. 7. Patience.
(VI) Jeremiah Gove, son of John Gove (5), was of Deerfield. According to the cen- sus of 1790 he had a son over sixteen, another under sixteen living at home. John, the only other man of the name in that town, was doubtless his son; had three sons under six- teen and four females in his family. He was in Captain Thomas Currier's company, Colo- nel Davis's regiment, from Salisbury, New Hampshire, in 1814. He is presumed to be son of Jeremiah (6) who was in the French
war in Captain Samuel Leavitt's company, Colonel Weare's regiment, 1759. Gove mar- ried the daughter of Philip Pevear and lived at Hampton Falls, where after his death his wife kept a store.
(VII) John Gove, son or near relative of Jeremiah Gove (6), was born at Hampton Falls, or vicinity ; married Eastman. He was related to the Weare family, of Gove, many of whom settled in Salisbury, New Hampshire, where he made his home. Chil- dren: John, mentioned below.
(VIII) John Gove, son of John Gove (7), was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, and married April 3, 1827, Betsey White, in New- port, New Hampshire. He was a prominent citizen of Grantham, New Hampshire, where he located; was justice of the peace, highway surveyor, representative to the state legisla- ture. He was a prominent Free Mason. Chil- dren, born in Grantham: I. Mary, married Nathaniel Leavitt, of Grantham; no children ; both deceased. 2. Sarah, married Philip Gree- ley ; children : i. Florence Greeley ; married Haney Clapp, master of Roxbury high school (their son, Philip Clapp, is a student in Har- vard College) ; ii. Kitty Ann Greeley, married Benjamin James, of Boston; an insurance agent. 3. Betsey Ann, died aged eighteen years. 4. Charles Scott, born July 30, 1830; see forward. 5. Susan, married Joseph L. Day, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, no children.
(IX) Charles Scott Gove, son of John Gove (8), was born in Grantham, New Hampshire, July 30, 1830, and was educated in the public schools of his native town. He was brought up on a farm. Leaving his home in New Hampshire when he was eighteen, he came to Boston in the spring of 1848 and found employment as driver of a soda water wagon. With his first savings he embarked in the same line of business in partnership with Hiram M. Comstock, under the firm name of Comstock & Gove, with place of bus- iness on North Canal street, Boston. The firm took a prominent position among the manu- facturers of soda and dealers in mineral water. Mr. Comstock died in 1883, and later Mr .. Gove admitted to partnership A. P. Kelly, who remained in the firm until 1900, when both he and Mr. Gove sold their interests and retired. Mr. Gove has lived, since his retire- ment, in his home at 28 Warland street, Cam- bridge, Massachusetts. He is a member of Salome Lodge of Odd Fellows of Boston; Gate of the Temple Lodge of Free Masons of
Thanks J. Love
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Boston; of Cambridge Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and Boston Commandery, Knights Templar; of Cambridge Knights of Pythias; of Tribe of Red Men of Boston. In religion he is a Universalist, in politics he is a Repub- lican.
Mr. Gove married, March 8, 1866, Carrie Comstock, born November 14, 1840, at Straf- ford, Vermont, daughter of Israel and Weal- thy (McIntire) Comstock, and sister of Hiram M. Comstock, his first partner in business. Children: 1. Carrie Belle, born March IO, 1867 ; married Dr. A. M. Follette, of Somer- ville ; no children. 2. Gertrude May, born February 21, 1869; educated in the public and high schools of Cambridge; now a teacher in the Wellington School, of Cambridge (kinder- garten). Mrs. Gove is a granddaughter of Israel Comstock, and a great-granddaughter of Samuel Comstock, who died in Dudley, Massachusetts, and removed to Connecticut, where many of his descendants are numbered among the leading families of the state. He was a revolutionary soldier.
Michael Raftery was born RAFTERY August 22, 1822, in the par- ish of Achrom, county Gal- way, Ireland. He attended the schools of his native parish. During the first of the flood of emigration caused by famine in Ireland, he determined to make his home in America. He came in 1846 and went to live in Milford, Massachusetts. After working here for a short time he went to Hopkinton, an adjoining town, in 1846. At that time almost every farm had its shoe shop and almost every man followed the trade of shoemaker, at least for a part of each year. Raftery learned the trades of crimping and bottoming in the little shops of Hopkinton, and at length began to manufacture shoes in his own shop. He made a success of this venture, and for twenty-five years was a successful shoe manufacturer. Then came the day of machinery and the concentration of the business in large factories where by the use of steam power and the new- ly invented machines the old hand-made shoes were driven out of the field, and all the little shops finally closed. The small manufactur- ers had to choose between the factory and the farm; they no longer went together. Mr. Raftery preferred the farm to working for some larger manufacturer or to undertaking the manufacture of shoes under the new and somewhat
problematical conditions. He
bought a farm in Hopkinton, and from a small beginning increased his holdings until he had three hundred acres of land. His industry, frugality and thrift, aided by that of his good wife, made farming profitable even among the rocky hills of Hopkinton. To have come to America penniless in his young manhood, to have acquired such a property and to have raised a large family, are achievements of no small account. Mr. Raftery was a man of great force of character, firm determination and unquestioned integrity. He was probably the oldest of the Irish settlers of Hopkinton. He had seen his town grow from a humble lit- tle hamlet to a leading position among the shoe towns of the state, though in later years its industries have fallen off and some of the large factories have been closed. Mr. Raftery was a firm and faithful follower of the faith of his fathers, and a pioneer of the Roman Catholic religion in Hopkinton. He remem- bered well when he and others of his faith had to walk many miles to attend mass. He and his wife were the prime movers for the establishment of a church in Hopkinton, and it can be said truly that Mrs. Raftery caused the first step to be taken by enlisting the sym- pathy and assistance of many not Catholics. One prominent citizen, John Wilson, became interested in the effort to establish a church, and in 1857 through his aid a meeting was called and funds raised to establish the church. From that feeble beginning this church has grown until the Hopkinton parish has the finest place of worship in the Boston arch- diocese, and it is a fitting memorial to those devoted few who kept alive the fire of their faith and by their self-sacrifice supported the church in the difficult early years. Mr. Raf- tery died January 31, 1908.
He married at Milford, May 16, 1848, Catherine Supple, daughter of Michael and Mary Supple, of Milford, Massachusetts. She died September, 1892, at Hopkinton. Children: I. Mary, born February 28, 1849; married Albert Hickok. 2. Honora, born August 15, 1851; married, August 18, 1870, Thomas Healy; children: i. Mary Healy, born November 22, 1871 ; ii. John Healy, born April 2, 1873 ; iii. Margaret Healy, born April 26, 1874; married, August 28, 1899, Thomas Gorman, and they have a son, Joseph Gor- man; iv. Michael E. Healy, born January 19, 1875; v. Martin Healy, born August 9, 1878; vi. Catherine Healy, born September 6, 1880 ; married, 1906, Thomas J. Rich, of Bos- ton. 3. Edward, born April 1, 1855. 4. Mi-
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chael, born May, 1857, died young. 5. Pat- rick, born January 15, 1859; died 1887. 6. Michael, born 1861. 7. Thomas, born June 17, 1863; died 1885.
Humphrey Orr and two brothers,
ORR John and another, were Scotch Presbyterians who came from the north of Ireland, Humphrey and John settled at Plumstead, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in 1730. John Orr was a graduate of Dublin University, and married Roxanna Cameron, and their son William married Isabella Er- win and lived in Chester, District South Car- olina, where their son John Orr (1820-1883) was born. He was president of Stewart Col- lege, which became in 1875 the Southwestern Presbyterian University, 1851-53 ; an educator in Green county, Ohio; and clerk of the coun- ty court 1864-82. Humphrey Orr's son, John Orr, married Jane B. Checkscale, of South Carolina, and their son Christopher married Martha McCann, also a Scotch Presbyterian, and was the father of the Hon. James Law- rence Orr, governor of South Carolina, who was born in Craytonville, Anderson county, South Carolina, May 12, 1822, was graduated at the University of Virginia, 1842, a repre- sentative in Congress 1849-59, and speaker of the house 1857-59. He was in command of a regiment of South Carolina rifles 1861-62; Confederate States senator 1862-65; governor of South Carolina 1865-68; judge of Eighth South Carolina Circuit 1870-73 ; United States minister to Russia 1872-73; and died in St. Petersburg, Russia, May 5, 1873. The third brother, Orr, settled in New York state, and among his descendants is Benjamin Orr, the grandfather of Henry Wheden Orr.
Benjamin Orr lived in Washington county, New York, in the neighborhood of Fort Ann and Lake George, the greater part of his life. He was a farmer, and married Eunice or Sus- an Folger, a native of Nantucket, Massachu- setts, and a descendant from John and his son Peter Folger, the immigrant ancestors of all of that name in America, including Abiah Folger, daughter of Peter, and the mother of Benjamin Franklin. John Folger and his son Peter came from Norwich, Eng- land, to Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Col- ony, in 1680, and removed to Martha's Vine- yard in 1641, and to Nantucket Island in 1663. Charles James Folger (1818-84), New York state senator 1861-69; judge of New York court of appeals 1871-81 ; secretary of United
States treasury in the cabinet of President Ar- thur, 1881-84, and unsuccessful candidate against Grover Cleveland for governor of New York in 1881, was of this family, and the Frelinghuysens of New Jersey were of the same family by marriage.
John Andrew Orr, son of Benjamin and Eunice or Susan (Folger) Orr, was born in Schaghticoke, near Troy, Rensselaer county, New York, September 9, 1835. He married Lucinda, daughter of David and Lucinda (Allen) Whedon, of West Pawlet, Vermont, who was born in that town April 8, 1839. The Whedons were farmers and original set- tlers of the town of Hebron, New York. John Andrew Orr was a farmer in Schaghticoke, New York, and in West Pawlet, Rutland county, Vermont.
Horace Whedon Orr, son of John Andrew and Susan (Folger) Orr, was born at West Pawlet, Vermont, March 27, 1865. He was graduated at Friends' Academy, Granville, New York; at Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York; and from the Col- lege of Law connected with the University of Nebraska, and he took a post-graduate course in the American Institute of Technology, Chi- cago, and at Lake Chautauqua, New York. He removed to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1885, where he engaged in business as a hardware merchant and dealer in plumber's supplies. While resident there he was elected in 1887 a member of the city council, and as he was at the time only twenty-two years of age he was the youngest man ever elected to that office in the state. He was closely associated with William J. Bryan, twice presidential can- didate; Charles E. Magoon, governor of the canal zone, and United States minister to Panama ; Elmer Jacob Burkett, United States senator from Nebraska, who was a classmate of Mr. Orr ; Daniel N. Wing, president of the First National Bank of Boston; and Charles Gates Dawes, the financier at that time prac- ticing law in Lincoln. He was associated with Dawes, Burkett and others in the formation of the Republican Club of Lincoln, the first club in the United States to nominate William McKinley, Jr., for president.
Of Mr. Orr's ancestors, his father was a supporter of the government during the civil war, and spent both money and time in fitting out troops, including a company of infantry, in response to the call of President Lincoln in 1861, and his father's brothers all volun- teered in the Union service, George S. Orr being a major, and Horace J. Orr and Moses
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Edgar Orr serving in the ranks of the Federal army.
Horace Whedon Orr removed to New- tonville, Massachusetts, in 1895, where he en- gaged in the hardware and plumbing business, and he organized the H. W. Orr Company, of which he was made president, and the com- pany erected on Washington street, Newton- ville, a large two-story building built of brick, and made so as to accommodate his large stock of hardware and plumbing furnishings and supply rooms for manufacturing supplies incident to his business.
He married, July 20, 1893, at South Gran- ville, New York, Ellen Jane, third child of Jefferson and Louise Margaret (White) Tompson, and granddaughter of Squire White, of North Hebron, New York, and through the paternal side of Campbells who came from Scotland and settled in the Berk- shire county, Massachusetts, and one of them married the father of Jefferson Tompson who removed from Massachusetts to South Granville, New York. Horace Whedon and Ellen Jane (Tompson) Orr had no children. They were members of the Congregational church at Newtonville, and Mr. Orr was a member of the Universalist Club and the Cen- tral Club of Newtonville, and affiliated with the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, in which fraternal organization he was an ac- tive member and officer.
LANE Daniel Lane, a descendant of the
Lane family of Gloucester, prom- inent in that town from the ear- liest settlement, and also of the Waterman family of Gloucester, lived in Corinna and Dexter, Maine, and Chelmsford and Tewks- bury, Massachusetts. He was a farmer and was much respected by all who knew him. He was a Whig in politics during the exis- tence of that party. He died in Tewksbury. He married Laura Stanchfield, of Maine. Children: I. Daniel Waterman, mentioned below. 2. Daughter, married Fish and resided in Dexter and Bangor, Maine.
(II) Daniel Waterman Lane, son of Dan- iel Lane (I), was born at Corinna, Maine. He was educated in the common schools. He lived in Corinna and Dexter, Maine, and later in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and was war- den in Tewksbury and Billerica and was at one time warden of the town farm of Chelms- ford for several years. He married, at Dex- ter, Maine, Mary Dickey, of a prominent
Scotch-Irish family. He was a staunch Re- publican, and was road commissioner of Tewksbury, Billerica and Chelmsford, serving for many years. In his later years he lived in Lowell, retired from active labor, though he still owned a farm in the adjoining town of Chelmsford. Children : I. Charles. 2. Lyman, born during the Civil war, followed the sea. 3. Frank A., born August 10, 1858, mentioned below.
III) Frank A. Lane, son of Daniel Water- man Lane (2), was born in Lowell, Massachu- setts, August 10, 1853, and was educated in the public schools. He took up farming for an occupation and followed it for a time, but is now a commission merchant in Chelmsford. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Baptist church. He married, Decem- ber 13, 1875, Effie W. Watson, born at Lowell, daughter of Benjamin and Mary A. (Ladd) Watson, of Lowell. Mrs. Lane traces her an- cestry to the Puritan settlers in the Fox, Rob- inson, Sanborn, Gile, Tuttle, Kennard, Cilley, Clarke, and Ames families of New Hamp- shire and Massachusetts, as well as to the prominent Scotch family of Watson. Chil- dren, born in North Tewksbury: I. Ella Char- lotte, born July 13, 1881. 2. Abbie Adelaide, December 13, 1883. 3. Edward Watson, September 1I, 1886.
The Conant family appears to CONANT be of Celtic descent, for the name Conan, or Conon, is found at a very early period among the var- ious races of Celtic origin, including the Bri- tons, Welsh, Irish, Gaels and Bretons. The name Conant in very nearly its present form has existed in England for more than six hun- dred years, and thirty-two forms of spelling the surname have been found on the records. It is derived from the Celtic Conan, meaning a chief, or leader.
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