USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Historic homes and places and genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume IV > Part 7
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He married first, in 1857, Hannah Eliza- beth Sumner, who died in 1881. He married second, January 29, 1884, Annie Biathrow, born January 25, 1861, in Melrose, Massa- chusetts, daughter of Stillman A. Biathrow, who was born May 6, 1828, at Strafford, New Hampshire, and died at Malden, January 25, 1891. Her mother, Mary S. (Jackson) Bia- throw, was born in West Paris, Maine, daugh- ter of Jacob Jackson, an early settler of Paris, Maine; a farmer and blacksmith in early life, town clerk many years, and honored with other positions of trust and honor; married Nancy Besse. Stillman A. Biathrow was of French ancestry; he lived in Reading, Mas- sachusetts, in early life, then in Melrose, and finally in Malden, after 1861; was a cabinet-
maker by trade; was a Baptist in religion; chil- dren: i. Charles Biathrow; ii. Mary F. Bia- throw; iii. Emma Biathrow, died young; iv. Annie Biathrow, mentioned above; v. Alice Isabelle Biathrow; vi. Hattie Bryant Bia- throw; vii. Alice Martha Biathrow, married Vernon Davis, and resides in Maplewood, Massachusetts, and has one daughter, Olive Bryant Davis.
Children of Sylvester W. and Hannah E. Gould : I. Hattie Elizabeth, married Herman A. Morse, and lives in Malden. 2. Charles Watson, married Nellie Hall, and lives in Windham, New Hampshire. 3. Everett Sum- ner, deceased. 4. Emma Ida Rebecca, mar- ried, first, Irvin Abbott, of Lawrence; and second, Frederick Chesley, and lives in Som- erville, Massachusetts. 5. Everett Sumner (2d), married Emma Clark, and lives in Mal- den. 6. Florence Bertha, married Perley Rich, and lives in Malden. 7. Albert Wes- ton. 8. Carrie Bell, resides in Malden. 9. Herman Sylvester, lives in Malden. IO. Maude Gertrude, resides in New York. II. Blanche May, lives with her sister, Mrs. Morse, in Malden. Children of Sylvester W. and Annie Gould: I. Marion Wayne, born October 25, 1884 ; married, June 26, 1906, Carroll R. Read, principal of school in Marlboro. 2. Harry Vernon, born June 21, 1886; at home.
(VIII) Alfred Monroe Gould, son of Na- thaniel B. Gould (7), was born in Malden, Massachusetts, October 19, 1851. He was educated there in the public and high schools, and then became associated with his father and brothers in the herb business, entering the firm when he came of age in 1872, and continuing to the present time. The three brothers con- tinued the business that the father estab- lished, and have extended it greatly. Their place of business is on Main street, Malden. The firm has just purchased S. A. Fowle's Arlington Mills, where they have removed part of it. In politics Mr. Gould is independ- ent but has a great admiration for William J. Bryan. In religion he is a Methodist. He is a member of no clubs or societies, and devotes his attention mainly to his own business and home.
He married,'in November, 1871, Mary Ben- son, of Temple House, county Sligo, Ireland, daughter of Michael Benson, of Medford, a native of England, and his wife, who was a native of county Londonderry, Ireland. Chil- dren : I. Alfred M. Jr., born April 2, 1873 ; is working for his father's firm. 2. Watson Ben- son, born March 9, 1876 ; also with the firm.
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Albert Weston Gould was born
GOULD in Malden, March 2, 1855, son of Nathaniel B. and Rebecca
Pratt Gould. (N. B. For an account of his parents and ancestors see preceding Gould sketches in this work, particularly those of his brothers, S. W. and A. M. Gould.) After con- cluding his attendance at the Malden public schools he entered the botanical drug busi- ness in Malden, and has ever since continued in that line of trade, with which he and his brothers, S. W. and A. M. Gould, are now prominently identified. He has always resided in Malden, and that portion of his time which is not absorbed by his business interests he de- votes to his home and family. In politics he is a Republican. In 1889 Mr. Gould was married, in Malden, to Miss Louisa Merrill, who was born in New Gloucester, Maine, March 13, 1859, daughter of William Henry and Elizabeth (Emery) Merrill, both of whom were born in Maine. Children of Albert Weston and Lou- isa (Merrill) Gould: I. Edith Alberta, born July 16, 1891, died January 7, 1893. 2. Al- bert Nathaniel, born December 8, 1892. 3. Edith Alberta, born March 26, 1894. 4. Amy Bell, born July 16, 1896.
Mrs. Gould's paternal grandfather was Hiram Merrill, a native of New Gloucester, Maine, and a cooper by trade. This family is probably the posterity of Nathaniel Mer- rill, who came from England in 1633, settling in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and later in New- bury. John Merrill, a descendent of Nathan- iel, was born in Arundel (now Kennebunk- port), Maine, January 20, 1734. He was em- ployed as a surveyor by Sir William Pep- perell, and in 1758 settled in Topsham, Maine. His death occurred in 1828. He married Susan Haley, of Kittery; their children were Susannah, Mary, John, Joseph and Abel. The New Gloucester Merrills undoubtedly be- long to this branch of the family. Hiram Merrill married Rachel Campbell, of Poland, Maine, and had four sons: Gilman Henry, who died at the age of three years ; Lyrd ( ?) Granville, Amos Gilman and William Henry.
Mrs. Gould is also descended on the patern- al side from the Webber and Bunker families of Maine. William Henry Merrill, youngest son of Hiram and Rachel (Campbell) Merrill, was born in New Gloucester, March 28, 1831. Learning the cooper's trade, he followed it for many years, and is now residing with his sons in Pownal. Elizabeth (Emery) Merrill, his wife, who was born in Poland, August 17, 1835, daughter of John and Betsey (John- son) Emery, is a lineal descendant in the
eighth generation of Anthony Emery, the em- igrant ancestor of the Emery family in south- western Maine.
Anthony and John Emery, sons of John and Agnes Emery, of Rumney, Hants, England, embarked at Southampton, April 3, 1635, in the ship "James" of London, William Cooper, master, and arrived in Boston on June 3 of that year. They were probably accompanied by their wives and families. Anthony went first to Ipswich, Massachusetts, whence he moved to Newbury, and about the year 1640 he removed to Dover, New Hampshire, set- tling on the "neck." October 22 of the latter year he signed the "Dover Combination," and continued to reside there until 1649, when he cast his lot with the colonists at Kittery, Maine. There he served as selectman, jury- man and constable, and in 1652 was one of the forty-one residents who acknowledged themselves subject to the Massachusetts Bay government. In 1656 he was sentenced to pay a fine of five pounds for having questioned the authority of the Kittery court, and four years later, for entertaining Quakers, he was again fined, and also deprived of his privilege as a freeman. Having lost his civil liberties in Kittery, he went to Portsmouth in 1660, and being received and accepted as a worthy, up- right man, was subsequently chosen juryman, constable, and deputy to the general court. The date of his death does not appear in the record at hand. The Christian name of his wife was Frances, and in addition to his son James, who was an immigrant, he had another son, name not given, and a daughter, Rebecca.
James Emery, eldest child of Anthony and Frances Emery, was born in England, about the year 1630. He resided in Kittery, and died there prior to 1714. He was twice married, and the Christian name of his first wife was Elizabeth. His second wife, whom he mar- ried December 28, 1695, was Mrs. Elizabeth Pidge (nee Newcomb), widow of John Pidge, of Dedham. His children were : James, Zachariah, Noah, Daniel, J-, Elizabeth and Sarah.
Daniel Emery, fourth son of James by his first marriage, was born in Kittery, Septem- ber 13, 1667. In 1706 he was chosen sur- veyor in Kittery, in which capacity he con- tinued for a number of years, and he also served several terms as a selectman. He evi- dently resided in what is now Berwick. In 1703 he became a deacon of the Congrega- tional church at Berwick, was chosen elder in 1720, and was probably one of its founders. His death occurred October 15, 1722. He was
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married, March 17, 1695, to Margaret Gowen (record says alias Smith) born November 15, 1678, and died November 21, 1751. The ten children of this union were: Daniel, Noah, Simon, Zachariah, Margaret, Caleb, Ann, Jerusha, Tirzah and Holden.
Zachariah Emery, fourth son and child of Daniel and Margaret (Gowen) Emery, was born in Berwick, March 12, 1704-5. He re- sided in Kittery, and died there prior to April 30, 1789, on which date the administration of his estate was begun. The maiden name of his first wife was Ann Hodgdon, and that of his second wife was Hannah Johnson. The children of his first union were: Ann, James and Zachariah, those of his second marriage were: Peletiah, Huldah, Sarah, Betsey and Simeon.
James Emery, second child and eldest son of Zachariah and Ann (Hodgdon) Emery, was baptized in Kittery, November 1, 1730. He was first married, July 4, 1752, to Mary Fogg, and she died in 1759. His second wife was Me- hitable Emery, daughter of Joseph and Mehit- able (Stacey) Emery, and on January 27, 1782, he married for his third wife, Mrs. Catherine Jenkins (nee Frye), widow of Jo- seph Jenkins. His first wife bore him two children-James and Abigail. Those of his second wife were: Daniel, William, Mark, Josiah, Mary (or Molly), Mehitable, Betsey and Eunice. His third wife became the moth- er of two children-Catherine and Simeon.
William Emery, second son and child of James and Mehitable (Emery) Emery, was born May 10, 1767. In 1875 he married Sarah Maguire, of New Gloucester, Maine, and settled in Poland, same state, where he died March 19, 1862, at the advanced age of nearly ninety-five years. He was the father of fourteen children: Betsey, William, Sally, Polly, Eunice, Rachel, Mehitable, Thankful, John, Celia, Eliphalet, Esther, Rebecca, and Jane.
John Emery, second son and ninth child of William and Sarah (Maguire) Emery, was born in Poland, July 18, - -, and his death occurred in 1889. He was the father of nine children : Jeremy, born February 26, 1826; Henry, born May 7, 1827; Edwin, born De- cember 31, 1829; Greenleaf, born July 20, 1831 ; Salome, born August 20, 1833, became the wife of Charles J. Peirce, of Poland; Elizabeth, the date of whose birth has already been given ; Ellen, born July 13, 1838, became the wife of H. R. Lewis, of Malden, Massa- chusetts ; William, born July 27, 1840, mar- ried first, Elizabeth James, and second, Mary
James, a sister of first wife; and third, Mary Murtrie ; Martha.
Elizabeth Emery, second daughter and sixth child of John and Betsey (Johnson) Emery, married William Henry Merrill, as previous- ly stated, and is still living. In her younger days she was a Baptist. She is the mother of seven children-Louisa, now the wife of Albert W. Gould, of Malden; Herbert, Fred- erick Twombly, Lillian, Ina, Ellen and Edith.
William Thrall, the immi- THRALL grant ancestor, was born in England in 1605. In March, 1630, a Congregational church was formed at Plymouth, England, the minister being Rev. John Wareham, the minister and his people sailed for New England in the ship "Mary and John," March 20, 1630, and landed at Nantasket Point, May 30. They settled in Dorchester and soon afterward went to Windsor, Connecticut. Among those who went to Connecticut was William Thrall. He lived in what was known as Hoytes Meadow, Windsor, and some of his descendants still live on the property. He was a soldier in the Pequod war. He died August 3, 1679.
(II) Timothy Thrall, son of William Thrall (I), born July 25, 1641, married, No- vember 10, 1659, Deborah Gunn, and they had eleven children.
(III) Sergeant John Thrall, son of Timo- thy Thrall (2), born June 5, 1671, married, January 6, 1697, Mindwell Moses.
(IV) Moses Thrall, second son of Ser- geant Thrall (3), was born April 20, 1702. He settled at North Bolton, adjoining Windsor. He married February 4, 1730, Elizabeth Filer.
(V) Lemuel Thrall, son of Moses Thrall (4), was born February 5, 1748-9. He mar- ried first Lydia King; second, Lydia Skin- ner, who died April 13, 1813. He was a sol- dier in the Revolution as follows: "This certi- fies that Lemuel Thrall of Bolton, Connecti- cut, served in the war of the Revolution, and the following is his service as shown by the records in this office. Corporal in Lieutenant Ezekiel Olcutt's company, marched for the relief of Boston in the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775; term of service eight days. The number of men who are reported to have marched in the Lexington Alarm was about four thousand; the duty was necessarily tem- porary and brief; some of the companies re- turned home before reaching Boston as their presence was not needed. Corporal in Cap- tain Jonathan Well's company (Hartford),
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Colonel Erastus Wolcott's regiment. During the re-organization of the Continental force before Boston, December, 1775, February, 1776, when the soldiers were coming and go- ing Washington called for regiments from the New England States to guard the line at various points until the new army had been
well established.
Connecticut sent
three
regiments under Colonel James Wadsworth, Erastus Wolcott and John Douglass. They reached Boston toward the end of January, and remained about six weeks. It formed a part of the detachment from the army that occupied Boston after the enemy evacuated the town."
Child of first wife: I. Percy. Children of second wife: 2. Fyler, born August 12, 1785; died March 21, 1797. 3. Amy, born May 21, 1791; died October 4, 1791. 4. Samuel South- mayd, mentioned below.
(VI) Samuel S. Thrall, son of Lemuel Thrall (5), born November 27, 1793, died at Milford, Pennsylvania, February 12, 1862. He resided on the bluff at Milford, Pennsylvania, and on the Thrall farm a mile below the village. He married June 11, 1817, Cynthia, daughter of Thomas and Cornelia (Randle) Newman. They had fifteen children, among whom are the following: I. Lydia Cornelia, born June 25, 1818, married December 15, 1841, Amos Van Etten (see Van Etten fam- ily). 2. Sally Ann, born August 13, 1820; married Rev. William Burroughs. 3. Dor- leska Elizabeth, born December 24, 1826; married Egbert Jansen. 4. John, born Octo- ber 4, 1828; married S. Marietta Babcock. 5. Charles Fyler, born January 23, 1832; mar- ried Caroline E. Warner. 6. Frances, born September 21, 1837; married Alexander Hen- derson. 7. Radph B., born January 19, 1840; married Emily Bowhanan. 8. Samuel S., Jr., born February II, 1841; married Martha C. Biddis.
The founder of the Van VAN ETTEN Etten family in America was Jacob Jansen, who came to this country from Etten, North Bra- brant, Holland. He married Annatje Adrianse, of Amsterdam, December 28, 1664, at Kingston, New York. Children: I. Jan, baptized January 3, 1666; mentioned below. 2. Sytie, baptized at Kingston, March 25, 1668; married (intentions published April 23, 1685) Jan Evertsen, born at Vienna, both residing at Marbletown. 3. Adriaen or Arie, baptized June 26, 1670; married Cartharina Crom. 4.
Petronella, born at Marbletown about 1675; married Albert, son of Arien Roosa, born at Hurley; both residing at Hurley. 5. Pieter, married Eva de Hooges, October 12, 1696; both born and resided at Hurley; he settled in Dutchess county, New York, about 1720. 6. Heiltje, born at Marbletown, baptized April 21, 1679; married November 12, 1699, while living at Hurley, William Van Vreden- burg, born in New York and living at King- ston. 7. Emanuel, born at Marbletown; bap- tized December 29, 1681; married Antje, daughter of Johannes de Hooges, born at Hurley. 8. Tietje, baptized February 24, 1684; married May io, 1702, Evert Roosa, born in Hurley; resided at Hurley. 9. Jacob- us (James) baptized May 2, 1686; married, 17II, Rebekka Roosa; settled in Dutchess county, New York, about 1720. 10. Geesje, born at Hurley, baptized December 25, 1688; married, 1704, Jacob, son of Jacob Decker, born at Marbletown.
(II) Jan Van Etten, son of Jacob Jansen Van Etten (I), baptized January 3, 1666; married, about 1692, Jannatje, daughter of Arien Roosa, granddaughter of Albert Hey- manse Roosa and Wyntje Allard. He resided until his death in Hurley and Rochester, Ul- ster county, New York. Children: I. Arien, baptized August 15, 1693. 2. Aeltje, born at Hurley, baptized November 11, 1694; mar- ried April 30, 1714, Anthony Westbrock, born at Kingston, son of Johannes Westbrock and Magdalena Decker. 3. Jacob, baptized De- cember 25, 1696; mentioned below. 4. Marytje, born at Hurley, baptized January 8, 1699; married Cornelius Ennis, born at Mar- bletown, son of William Ennis and Cornelia Viervant. 5. Annetje, born at Nysviel (Knightsfield) baptized September 21, 1701; married November 20, 1724, Broer Dekker. The patent of Knightsfield is in the present town of Warwarsing, Ulster county, New York. 6. Ariaantje, baptized November 7, 1703; married Aard, son of the immigrant Joris Middag. 7. Rebecca, born at Nysviel, baptized March 17, 1706; married November 6, 1733, Hendrik Bont. 8. Rachel, born at Nysviel, baptized June 20, 1708; married De- cember 23, 1724, Ritsert (Richard) Kittel. 9. Lea, baptized April 29, 1711; married, April 20, 1729, Thomas Keeter. 10. Catrina, bap- tized August 28, 1715; married probably Franz Kool.
(III) Jacob Van Etten, son of Jan Van Et- ten (2), born at Hurley, baptized December 25, 1696; married, April 22, 1719, Antjen Westbroek, born at Kingston. They resided
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at Rochester. Children: I. Jan, born at Nyts- field; baptized April 17, 1720; married April 13, 1738, Maritje Westfael; settled near East- on, Pennsylvania, about 1760. 2. Helena or Magdalena, baptized December 24, 1721; married July 23, 1742, Rev. Johannes Caspar- us Fryenmuth, first pastor of the four Menis- sinck Valley churches. 3. Cornelis, baptized January 19, 1724; married March 26, 1746, Heyltje, daughter of Johannes Westbroek and Antje Roosa. 4. Anthony, born at Na- panoch, Ulster county, baptized June 12, 1726; married August 3, 1750, Annatje (Han- nah) Decker. 5. Jannetjen, baptized April 20, 1729; married at Namanoch, New Jersey, March 23, 1750, Emanuel Gonsales, second wife; resided near Bushkill, Pennsylvania. 6.
Johannes, born about 1730; mentioned below. 7. Sarah, born 1736. 8. Dirk, (Richard) bap- tized May 29, 1739; married Rusje Westfael.
(IV) Johannes Van Etten, son of Jacob Van Etten (3), born at Namanoch about 1730; married first, about 1750, Maria Gon- sales; married second, Rachel Williams, widow of Daniel Decker. He was a captain in the Pennsylvania militia in the revolution, and in a fight between his company and the Indians near Raymondskill, Pike county, Pennsylvania, in 1780, his son-in-law, Ben- jamin Ennis, was killed. About 1760 Johan- nes Van Etten settled in the present town of Delaware, Pike county, Pennsylvania, and died February 15, 1814, aged eighty-two years.
(V) Cornelius Van Etten, second son of Johannes Van Etten (4), born in Delaware township, Pike county, Pennsylvania, De- cember 8, 1782; married, about 1803, Anna Smith.
(VI) Amos Van Etten, son of Cornelius Van Etten (5), born September 25, 1808, died in Port Jervis, New York, October 15, 1889. He married Lydia Cornelia Thrall, born June 15, 1818, in Milford, Pennsylvania, daughter of Samuel S. and Cynthia (Newman) Thrall. (See Thrall family). Until her marriage she lived in her native town. They removed in 1861 to Port Jervis from Hainesville, New Jersey, and in 1861 she became a member of the Reformed Dutch Church of Deerpark, Port Jervis. "She was one who ennobled all who came in contact with her, and made people who knew her, welcome advancing years, if they would bring a life like hers." She died at her home in Port Jervis, Decem- ber II, 1898. Children: I. Edgar, born April 15, 1843; mentioned below. 2. John, born July 1, 1846; merchant at Port Jervis, New
York. 3. Samuel Southmayd, born June 10, 1848, at Hainesville, Sussex county, New York; was educated in the public schools of Port Jervis, graduating from the high school, and in a private school for two years after- ward; removed with the family to Port Jervis in 1861, and in 1868, at the age of twenty, be- gan railroading at Beardstown, Illinois, as clerk in construction work for the division engineer, on what is now part of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad; after two years returned to Port Jervis to enter the employ of the Erie railroad at Hancock, New York; after two years and a half as clerk there he was appointed ticket agent at Port Jervis and remained there until 1874, when he be- came superintendent of Hoyt Brothers' tan- nery until 1884, when he was transferred to Hoytville, Pennsylvania, in a similar position; in 1890 he returned to Port Jervis and en- tered the firm of Swinton, Van Etten & Company, hardware and foundry, from which he retired in 1901 ;; from July, 1902, to June, 1906, he was city ticket agent for the Boston & Albany railroad at Worcester, Massachu- setts; from that time to December, 1907, freight agent of that city and, since then, the agent at Pittsfield, Massachusetts; Mr. Van Etten was a Republican until the election of Cleveland, since then an independent; was postmaster at Hoytville, 1884 to 1890; mem- ber of board of village trustees of Port Jervis, 1896-97-98-99; village clerk, 1902; past noble grand in the Odd Fellows Order. 4. Anna C., born May 5, 1850, died April 11, 1873. 5- Amos, born August 31, 1852; a prominent lawyer, residing at Kingston, New York. 6. Emma, married Charles F. Van Inwegen of Port Jervis.
(VII) Captain Edgar Van Etten, son of Amos Van Etten (6), was born April 15, 1843, at Milford, Pennsylvania. He was educated in the public schools and at the Stillwater Academy, New Jersey, where he was gradu- ated in 1858. He enlisted in the civil war as a private in the Second New Jersey Infantry in 1861, and rose to the rank of captain. He was in the service three years. He began in the railroad business at the foot of the ladder as a freight brakeman, and won his promotion from grade to grade by hard work an' dem- onstrated value to his employers. In 1893 he became a general superintendent of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company, and when that road leased the Boston & Albany road he was made vice- president of the New York Central, in charge. of this leased road, serving in that important
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office from 1901 to 1907. Since January, 1908, he has been president of the Cuba Eastern Railroad Company, a line of great and grow- ing importance. His home is in South Fram- ingham, Massachusetts. He is a member of the Holland Society of New York; the Bea- con Society of Boston; the Sons of the American Revolution; the Grand Army of the Republic; and the Loyal Legion. He is a director of the Bagdad Chase Gold-mining Company; the Beacon Trust Company; the Harvard Gas and Electric Company; the Ludlow and Southern Railroad Company; the Skanateales Railroad Company and trus- tee of the Massachusetts Lighting Corpora- tion. He belongs to the following clubs: The Railroad and Transportation Clubs of New York; Fort Orange Club of Albany; Com- inercial, Merchants, and New Algonquin of Boston.
He married first, Emma Laurance, and by whom were two daughters. Married second, Lilian Frances Cramblett.
BLISS The Bliss family seems to be de- scended from the Norman family of Blois, gradually modified to Bloys, Blyse, Blysse, Blisse, and in America finally to Bliss, dating back to the time of the Norman Conquest. The name is not com- mon in England. The coat-of-arms borne by the Bliss and Bloys families is the same: Sable, a bend vaire, between two fleurs de lis or. The crest is a hand holding a bundle of arrows. The motto: "Semper Sursum." The ancient traditions of the Bliss family repre- sent them as living in the south of England, and belonging to that staunch class known as English yeomanry, or farmers, though at various times some of the family were knights or gentry. They owned the houses and lands they occupied, were freeholders, and entitled to vote for members of parliament. In the early days they were faithful Roman Catho- lics, but later, after England had become Pro- testant, they became Puritans, and became involved in the contentions between Charles I and Parliament.
(I) Thomas Bliss, the progenitor, lived in Belstone parish, Devonshire, England. Very little is known of him except that he was a wealthy landowner, that he belonged to the class who were stigmatized as Puritans on ac- count of the purity and simplicity of their forms of worship, that he was persecuted by the civil and religious authorities under the direction of Archbishop Laud, and that he iv-10
was maltreated, impoverished and imprisoned and finally ruined in health (as well as finan- cially) by the many indignities and hardships forced upon him by the intolerant church party in power. He is supposed to have been born about 1550 or 1560. The date of his death was about 1635. When the Parliament of 1628 assembled, Puritans, or Roundheads, as the Cavaliers called them, accompanied the members to London. Two of the sons of Thomas Bliss, Jonathan and Thomas, rode from Devonshire on their iron grey horses and remained for some time in the city, long enough at least for the king's officers and spies to learn their names and condition, and whence they came; and from that time forth they with others who had gone to London on the same errand were marked for destruc- tion. They were fined a thousand pounds for nonconformity, and thrown into prison, where they lay many weeks. Even old Mr. Thomas Bliss, their father, was dragged through the streets with the greatest indignity. On an- other occasion the officers of the high. com- mission seized all their horses and sheep ex- cept one poor ewe that in its fright ran into the house and took refuge under a bed. At another time the three brothers, with twelve other Puritans, were led through the market- place in Okehampton with ropes around their necks, and fined heavily, and Jonathan and his father were thrown into prison, where the sufferings of the son eventually caused his death. At another time the king's officers seized the cattle of the Bliss family and most of their household goods, some of the articles of furniture being highly valued for their beauty and age, having been in the family for centuries. In fact, the family was so reduced in circumstances that it was unable to secure the release of both Jonathan and his father, so the younger man had to remain in prison, and at Exeter he suffered thirty-five lashes with a three-corded whip which tore his back in a cruel manner. Before Jonathan was re- leased the estate itself had to be sold. The father and mother went to live with their daughter, who had married a man of the Established Church, Sir John Calcliffe. The remnant of the estate was divided among the three sons, who were advised to go to Am- erica where they might escape persecution. Thomas and George feared to wait for Jona- than, who was still very ill, and they left Eng- land in the fall of 1635 with their families. Thomas, son of Jonathan and grandson of Thomas (1), remained with his father, who finally died, and the son then came to join his
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