History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 155

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1818

USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 155

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ease, he having acquired a competency by his years of industry ; but having been actively engaged in business for so long a time, that after a short period ease grew to be so monotonous that he began the erection of another mill on some property a short distance from the old one, which was not disposed of at the sale of the first mill. Mr. Leonard having been engaged so long in the business was enabled to build the new mill on a much improved plan, and in about three years he started his new mill for the purpose of not only making nails, but also a very superior qual- ity of tack and shovel-plate. Mr. Leonard still acts as treasurer of the concern, and he is ably assisted by his son, Mr. H. B. Leonard, who is the agent of the company. The two mills employ about five hundred men, and have a capacity of about four thousand casks of nails per week, besides a large quantity of plate, which is used for the purpose of making tacks and small nails, and also for shovels and spades.

" Another industry was begun in this place about 1854, known as the Boston Stove Foundry, for the manufacture of stoves and hollow-ware. This was not a success financially at the commencement, and was run at a loss to the owners until about the year 1867, when a company was formed called the Somerset Co-operative Foundry Company. This was composed mostly of workmen, who at once began operations, and although it was a severe struggle at first, yet by perseverance and energy it has grown to be a large concern, and now gives employment to about fifty men, most of whom are stockholders, and manage the business among themselves.

This company was organized and its first officers chosen as follows: President, Wm. M. Bartlett; treasurer, Wm. B. Marble; Clerk, E. A. Davis ; fore- man, R. C. Woodward ; Directors, H. D. Skinner, George W. Nye, J. C. Babbitt, I. A. Marble, and Wm. P. Hood. The capital stock was fifteen thousand dollars. The first year's business amounted to twenty- five thousand dollars. The capital stock was after- wards increased to thirty thousand dollars, which, with the accumulated, makes a working capital at present of about fifty-five thousand dollars. Last year's sales amounted to seventy-five thousand dol- lars, being limited only by the capacity for produc- tion. The company has not been able during the past four years to fill its orders, and its business is con- stantly increasing. It has the reputation of producing the best goods in the market. All goods manufac- tured by the company are made from patterns de- signed and constructed under its supervision. The present officers of the company are : President, Wm. P. Marble; Treasurer, E. A. Davis; foreman, Geo. H. Sherman ; Directors, James Cundall, C. Fuller, J. Woodward, E. P. Hathaway, David B. Hood, J. L. Shurtleff, and George L. Davis.

" At the time of the disposal of their works by the Mount Hope Iron Company, it was the purpose of " Previous to the extension of the Old Colony Rail- road by the way of Taunton, Somerset was completely Mr. J. M. Leonard, who had been its manager from their starting, to retire from business and enjoy his isolated from the outside world by rail communica-

Jonathan Plade

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tion, and all her productions had either to be shipped by water or else carted to Fall River or Taunton for shipment by rail. But with the completion of the railroad through to Boston, it now enjoys complete rail connections.

" In addition to the industries already mentioned is another which should not be ignored, and that is the landing of coal and other products for shipment by rail to various points. This business has grown until the quantity now landed amounts to hundreds of thousands of tous yearly, and gives employment to many men. With all the industries running there is disbursed about twenty thousand dollars monthly, so that any one may readily see that this place occu- pies no mean position with the outside world, and with her water and rail accommodations is destined in the future to grow to be a very populous and busy community."

Military Record .- The following enlisted from this town during the war of the Rebellion : George Allen, Joseph Allen, John Briggs, James O. Bryen, P. Beekton, G. O. Bourne, Daniel Briggs, James Cranage, James W. Chace, E. D. Connors, Edw. Cleveland, John W. Conroy, B. R. Chace, J. Chace, Thomas Conerty, Charles Caswell, William H. Clark, N. H. Clark, George F. Chace, M. P. Chace, George A. Chace, J. B. Carmichael, M. Car- roll, Benjamin F. Chace, Charles H. Colwell, S. R. Davis, E. J. Dyer, Eugene Dwight, W. Deckinton, N. S. Davis, Hiram Eldridge, Ira Emery, Warren Ellis, George A. Edson, F. P. Evans, W. T. Fields, George Forrester, A. W. French, Robert Gregory, S. W. Gibbs, Jos. Gibbs, A. T. Sommers, W. H. H. Hood, C. Hagerty, Frank Hatton, M. B. Henry, Daniel B. Hood, John Hardy, George W. Hathaway, John R. Holton, M. Holton, N. H. Hall, E. Hancock, George N. Hood, John G. Kendrick, M. Kendrick, John Hane, William Herr, George E. Leonard, J. S. Luther, A. C. Luther, Richard Larry, R. Lahus, J. R. Lampson, James Murphy, J. H. Mantier, M. Marks, Benjamin Marble, George W. Marble, A. H. Marble, E. F. Mosher, Daniel Maines, J. M. Moore, George O'Neil, James O'Neil, Charles Nightingale, O. W. Phillips, F. A. Percy, W. C. Peirce, S. M. Padleford, S. C. Purinton, C. B. Peckham, Charles Rice, William Regan, P. Swift, H. M. Slade, George Swift, P. Swift, Jr., S. A. Sisson, L. H. Sherman, A. Stefanski, B. D. Simmons, William Scott, John Shaw, John Shay, Jr., A. Smith, J. A. Scoyles, Peleg Swift, J. Sullivan, Ira M. Sherman, O. Simmons, J. Shipman, Frederick W. Shaw, P. Sullivan, W. Thompson, W. H. Talmon, Charles Tompkins, S. Tryan, B. Terry, John W. Wood, Andrew Wilmarth, Thomas Wrightington, C. M. Wheaton, J. W. Walsh, J. M. Whitman, John Wilson.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

JONATHAN SLADE.

Jonathan Slade, son of William and Phebe (Law- ton) Slade, was born in the town of Somerset, Mass., Sept. 23, 1815. His father was a son of Jonathan and Mary (Chace) Slade, and was born in Somerset (then Swansea) in July, 1780. (See biography of William L. and John P. Slade.) He married Phebe Lawton, and had seven children, viz., Abigail L., Lydia A., Amanda, Jonathan, William L., David, and Mary, all born in Somerset on the ancestral farm now in the possession of the subject of this sketch. William was a farmer by occupation, and in connec- tion therewith owned and operated the ferry known as Slade's Ferry until the bridge was built in Jan- uary, 1876. This ferry has been in the family since 1680,-more than two hundred years,-and has been handed down from father to son during that long period.

The Slades are of Welsh origin, being descended from Edward and William, his son, who were both born in Wales, and came to Rhode Island prior to 1659, at which date the record's show that William was admitted a freeman of the colony. Jonathan was a son of Edward, of the third generation, the one who inherited the ferry from his uncle, Capt. Jonathan Slade, and was grandfather of our subject. He had seven children, of whom William Slade was one. (See sketch of William L. Slade.)

Jonathan Slade, the immediate subject of this notice, received a common school education, and in addition thereto spent a few months at the Friends' Academy in Providence, R. I. He was reared a farmer, and has always followed that honorable call- ing. His father died Sept. 7, 1852, and his mother March 18, 1874, aged nearly ninety-three years. They were members of the Society of Friends, as had been their parents before them.

Mr. Slade owned and managed the Slade Ferry after the death of his father, until it was superseded by the erection of the bridge in 1876. He owns an interest in several mills in Fall River, and is one of the directors of the Slade Mills, of which his brother, William L. Slade, is president, also one of the direc- tors of the Davol Mills, and of the Metacomet Bank of Fall River.

In politics he is a Republican. He has been select- man of his town, and has held various other local offices, and served as a member of county and other conventions. In 1849 and 1850 he was a member of the State Legislature, and served his constituents with acceptance and honor.

He has been twice married,-first, to Caroline B., daughter of Dr. John Winslow, of Swansea, in July, 1841, by whom he has one son, William W., a farmer, residing in Swansea. She died Feb. 1, 1845, aged thirty-three years. Second, to Emaline Hooper,

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daughter of Salmon and Rebecca Hooper, of Wal- pole, N. H., May 29, 1851. She was born in Wal- pole, N. H., Feb. 23, 1820. Of this union there is one son, David F. Slade, born Nov. 5, 1855. He graduated from Brown University in the class of 1880, and from the Boston Law School in June, 1883.

WILLIAM L. SLADE.

The first ancestor of the Slade family in America was Edward, who was born in Wales, Great Britain. Little is known of him except that he lost his life on a voyage between this country and England.

He had a son William, born also in Wales, who set- tled first on the island of Rhode Island, where he was admitted a freeman in 1659, and in 1680 he removed to Slade's Ferry, in Swansea, now Somerset, Bristol Co., Mass. He was a large land-owner in that vicinity, and portions of his original estate are now owned by his descendants, Jonathan and William L. Slade. William Slade, the ancestor, was the first white man to own and keep the ferry known as Slade's Ferry, which tradition says had been previously run by the Indians. He married Sarah, daughter of Rev. Oba- diah Holmes, of Rehoboth, and had ten children, three sons and seven daughters. William Slade died in 1729; his wife Sarah died several years later, and at the time of her death had five hundred and thirty- five descendants.

The sons of William and Sarah (Holmes) Slade were Jonathan, Edward, and William. The descent of William L. Slade is through Edward, the second son of William ; then Samuel, son of Edward ; then Jonathan, son of Samuel ; then William, son of Jona- than ; then William L.

Edward, the ancestor of our subject in the third generation, was a member of the Society of Friends ; he was twice married, but his first wife was the mother of all his children, and she was a Chace.

Samuel Slade was a native of Somerset. He mar- ried Mercy Buffum, of Salem, Mass., and had nine sons, of whom the eldest was Jonathan, born about 1743. Samuel received the ferry and homestead by bequest of his uncle, Capt. Jonathan Slade, who died without issue, and besides conducting the ferry car- ried on farming and blacksmithing.

Jonathan Slade married Mary Chase, and had nine children, whose names are as follows : Jonathan, Wil- liam, Nathan, Mercy, Mary, Patience, Lydia, Annie, and Phebe. He died in 1811, aged sixty-eight. His wife Mary died.

William, son of Jonathan Slade, was born in July, 1780 ; he married Phebe, daughter of William Law- ton, and had seven children, viz. : Abigail L., Lydia A., Amanda, Jonathan, William, David, and Mary, all born in Somerset.

William Slade was one of the original proprietors of the Pocassett Manufacturing Company of Fall

River, and also of the Watuppa Manufacturing Com- pany. He was a highly-esteemed and influential man, and held several offices of trust in his town. In 1826 he began to run a horse-boat on the ferry, and in 1846 put on a steamboat.

William Lawton Slade, the immediate subject of this notice, was born Sept. 6, 1817, on the farm in Somerset. Here he was brought up, working as a farmer and ferryman, and received his education at the Friends' school in Providence. In 1871 he pur- chased the ferry property on the East Side, which he still owns. He is the owner of several fine farms, and has followed mainly the pursuit of an agricultu- rist.

In 1860 he was elected a director in the Fall River National Bank. He is the originator of the Slade Mills, of which company he is president; also a di- rector in the Stafford Mills, and president and director in the Montaup Mills, besides owning stock in various other manufacturing interests.

In his political principles he is a Republican, and although not an office-seeker he has several times been elected to discharge important public duties. For many years he has served his town as selectman ; was a representative to the Legislature in 1859, a member of the Senate in 1863, and again elected to the House in 1874. While in the House the first term he served on the Committee on Agriculture ; also served on the same committee in the Senate, and in the House the second time he served on the Commit- tee on Public Charitable Institutions, and was one of the committee of arrangements for the burial of Hon. Charles Sumner. In the settlement of estates Mr. Slade has had considerable experience, and he is at present a commissioner for dividing estates.

He married Mary Sherman, daughter of Asa and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Sherman, Oct. 5, 1842. She was born in Portsmouth, R. I., Sept. 16, 1815. They have had five children, viz .: Caroline E., married Heze- kiah A. Brayton, and lives in Fall River; Abigail L. (deceased), married James T. Milne, of Fall River ; Mary (deceased), married Velona W. Haughwout, and left three children ; Sarah, died at two years of age, and Anna, in infancy.

DANIEL WILBUR.

Daniel Wilbur is a lineal descendant in the seventh generation from Samuel Wildbore, of Boston, the name being differently spelled as Wildbore, Wilbore, Wilbour, Wilbor, Wilber, Wilbar, and Wilbur, the latter being now the most common orthography. The original American ancestor is believed to have settled in Boston in 1633, as the records of the First Church contain the following entry : "Samuel Wild- bore, with his wife Ann, was admitted to this church Dec. 1, 1633."

The line of descent to Daniel Wilbur, whose name

Man Lawton Much

Daniel Willow

Avery P Steeds

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SOMERSET.

stands at the head of this sketch, is as follows : Samuel1, William2, Daniel3, Daniel4, Daniel5, Daniel6, Daniel™.

William Wilbor (supposed third), son of Samuel, of Boston, settled in Portsmouth, R. I., on lands of his father. It is uncertain whom he married, but of his nine children, Daniel, born in Portsmouth, R. I., in 1666, was the first settler of the name in Somer- set, on lands purchased by his father in 1680. He was then fourteen years of age, and inherited the property upon his father's death in 1710. His wife's name was Mary Barney. They had several children, among whom was Daniel+, born March 31, 1697. He was a prominent man, and held various town offices. He married Ann Mason, and had two children,- Daniel and Elizabeth. His death occurred in June, 1759. Daniela was born in Somerset, April 26, 1749. He married Mary Barnaby, of Freetown, and had children, viz .: Daniel, James, Ambrose, Elizabeth, Barnaby, Mary, William, Hanan, and Anna. All except Ambrose and Anna, who died in infancy, lived to be aged. Daniel5 died March 2, 1821. His wife died Dec. 21, 1826, aged eighty-four. Daniel6 was born Jan. 28, 1773, and died Feb. 24, 1844. He married Sarah, daughter of Zephaniah Sherman, of Somerset. She was born January, 1779, and died Feb. 11, 1860. They had children as follows: Am- brose B., Elizabeth (Mrs. Oliver Mason, of Bristol, R. I.), Daniel, Jr. (died at eight years of age), Mary B. (residing with her brother Daniel), Daniel7, and Sarah (deceased), all born in Somerset, Mass.

Daniel Wilbur, son of Daniel and Sarah (Sherman) Wilbur, was born Nov. 14, 1818. His advantages for an early education were such as the common schools of his neighborhood afforded. He was reared a farmer, and remained with his parents till their death. Upon the decease of his father in 1844 he came into pos- session of the ancestral home, which had been in the family since 1680. As a farmer he ranks among the best of his town.

He is a Republican in politics, though liberal or independent. In 1843 he was a member of the State Legislature, and was returned to the same body in 1879, and served on the House Committee on Prisons. While in the Senate, in 1854, he served on the Com- mittee on Engrossed Bills, and as chairman of the Committee on Capital Punishment. In local affairs he has had much experience, having been selectman, delegate to county conventions, and chairman of town- meetings and public gatherings.

Mr. Wilbur has been twice married. First he mar- ried Nancy O., daughter of John and Rachel ( Horton) Slade, Feb. 3, 1845. They had four children, viz., Daniel (residing in Somerset), Angelina (deceased), William B. (a resident of Wisconsin), Roswell E. (deceased). The last named died in 1876, while a student at college. We append the following beauti- ful tribute to his memory by a committee of the Alpha Delta Phi Society, of which he was a member :

IN MEMORIAM.

" With sorrow do we record the death of our brother, Roswell E. Wil- bur, who died at his home in Somerset, Mass., on the 20th of September, 1876.

" Ile entered college in the Class of 1876, and continued as a member until the beginning of his Senior year, when the disease which finally terminated his life compelled him to relinquish the studies he had se ardently pursned. In his college course he distinguished himself by the breadth and accuracy of his scholarship. He had a clear, well-bal- anced mind, which hespoke for him a brilliant career.

" But, above all, do we feel compelled to speak of those graces of char- acter which shone so clearly during his entire college course. Pure, unselfish, kind, and considerate, he made friends of all who came in contact with him.

"' None knew him but love him, None loved him but to praise.'

" We, the members of this society, whe have been called to mourn the loss of his cherished classmates, Lincoln and Greene, deeply feel our great bereavement.

" To his family, bowed down with grief, we bear our warmest sympa- thies. May He who brightened your home so many years with so kind a brother and dutiful a son, grant you consolation in your hour of trial.

" CHARLES V. CHAPIN, " BENJ. W. STEELE, " CHARLES T. ALDRICH, " Committee for the Chapter."

Mrs. Wilbur was born in September, 1822, and died March 22, 1860.

Mr. Wilbur married his second wife, Sarah E., daughter of John Mason, of Swansea, Oct. 31, 1861. She was born in Warren, R. I., in 1833. They have two children, Henry E., of Providence, R. I., and Sarah S., living at home.

AVERY PARKER SLADE.

Avery Parker Slade is a lineal descendant from Edward Slade, the emigrant, and from William Slade, the first of the name in Somerset in 1680. (See biog- raphy of William L. Slade, of Somerset.) His great- grandfather was Edward Slade, who had a son Baker, who was a farmer in Somerset. Baker married Han- nah Pierce, and had nine children, one of whom was Edward, born in Somerset, Jan. 8, 1787, married Mary A., daughter of Capt. Benjamin A. Davis, of Som- erset, Mass. They had four children,-(1) Mary A. (Mrs. Edward Edmonds) ; (2) Avery P .; (3) Eliza D. (deceased), wife of Rev. Micah J. Talbot ; (4) George D., died unmarried, January, 1863. Edward Slade was a ship-builder for more than forty years of his earlier life, but subsequently was a farmer. Politi- cally he was a Democrat of the old school, till the Republican party was formed, in 1856, when he be- came one of its stanch defenders. He held various offices of trust in his native town during the war of 1812 to 1815, and subsequently till the close of life. He represented Somerset in the General Court from 1819 to 1830, a period of eleven years, during which time he served on important committees. Both Mr. and Mrs. Slade were active members of the Methodist Church. She died in September, 1868, and he died February 14, 1878.

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HISTORY OF BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Avery Parker Slade, named for Hon. John Avery Parker, of New Bedford, was born in Somerset, Mass., June 13, 1818. He received a common-school and aca- demic education. He began teaching at the age of six- teen at Bristol, R. I., and his first school numbered more than seventy pupils. He continued teaching until he was married. He was taught the trade of his father, that of ship-building, and followed the same till he was some twenty-three years of age. He married, April 4, 1844, Rebecca W., daughter of Cassina and Clarissa (Walker) Shaw, and has had four children,- (1) Edward (deceased) ; (2) Edward second (de- ceased) ; (3) Nathan D., engaged in the manufacture of iron ; (4) Cassina D., a book-keeper in the First National Bank, Fall River.

April 5, 1844, Mr. Slade settled on his present farm, which has since been his home. It contains about fifty acres, which are in a fine state of cultivation. He has excellent buildings, erected by himself. He is quite extensively engaged in the growing of small fruits, and has been uniformly successful. He is one of the best and most progressive farmers in Somerset. In politics he is a Republican. In 1847 he, with Joseph Marble and Henry B. Parcels, held the first anti-slavery caucus in Somerset, and they nominated as their representative to the General Court Jonathan Slade, Esq., who was at home sick and unable to at- tend. Mr. Slade has been justice of the peace for many years, and has held various other town offices. In 1866 he was elected a member of the State Board of Agriculture, and has continued to serve acceptably till the present time, except one term, when Judge Bennett, of Taunton, took his place. He conducts " Farmers' Institutes," and lectures in all the adjoin- ing counties on farming, and is often called to distant counties. His views on farming and horticulture are considered authority, and his services are always in demand for institute work. He is methodical in his work, and aims to carry out his theories. He is con- servative in his views on all the questions of the day, and is respected both at home and abroad.

During the great civil war he was enrolling officer for Somerset, and though exempt from military duty, yet he put into the field a substitute and paid for the same himself.

Mr. and Mrs. Slade are Unitarians in religious be- lief, though not members of any society. Mr. Slade possesses sound judgment and keen foresight. He is very cautious, and thinks twice before he acts. He seems to enjoy life well, and is surrounded with the comforts of a pleasant, happy home.

CAPT. NATHAN DAVIS (2d).

Capt. Nathan Davis (2d) was born in Freetown, Mass., Jan. 17, 1803. He is a lineal descendant in the fifth generation from William Davis, one of the early settlers of Freetown, Mass. At what date this ! of the most profitable sloops that ever sailed. William Davis settled in Freetown, or when he came .

to America, is not known to the writer of this sketch, but from data contributed to the "Historical and Genealogical Register" by Gen. Ebenezer W. Peirce, of Freetown, we learn that William Davis (1st) was a grand juryman in 1697 ; that he married, March 1, 1686, Mary, daughter of William and Ann (Johnson) Makepeace, of Freetown, Mass. Ann Johnson was the granddaughter of Thomas Makepeace, of Boston.

William Davis had twelve children, the fourth of whom was Jonathan2, who married Sarah Terry, and had five children, the second of whom was Jonathan3, born May 26, 1736; was twice married, first to Mar- garet Baggs, of Freetown, March 20, 1757; second, to Sarah Treadwell, of Freetown, Jan. 16, 1772. He died Jan. 1, 1808. He had by his first wife, Margaret Baggs, a daughter, Margaret, who died young, and a son, Jonathan4, born Jan. 7, 1770.

Jonathan+ married Chloe Simmons, daughter of Zephaniah and Abigail (Parker) Simmons. She was born June 29, 1779, died.

Their children were Jonathan5, Nancy5, Abby5, Zephaniah S.5, Eliphatel5, Nathan5, Louisa5, Chloe5, Bradley5, Sarah5, Harret5, Russel5, Sarah5 (2d), Sybil P.5, and Phebe A.5 Jonathan+ died.

Nathan5 Davis, whose portrait accompanies this sketch, has spent the larger portion of his life on the water. His father was engaged in the coasting busi- ness, and young Nathan was early made acquainted with that business. At the early age of ten years he commenced going on the Taunton River, and after a service of seven years, in which he had become so familiar with the coasting business that he became master of the sloop " Mary" at seventeen years of age, he commanded her some five or six years. Soon after he built the sloop " Ranger," in company with Capt. Joseph Simmons, and ran her between Fall River and Taunton. After a few years he built another sloop, which he named "Temperance." A little in- ; cident in connection with the dedication of this sloop is worthy of a place here, as it rears to his memory a monument more worthy and more enduring than granite or marble. It was customary in those days when a sloop, bark, or vessel of any kind was being dedicated to the purpose for which she was built to break a bottle of rum over her bow, but Capt. Davis departed from this time-honored custom and ventured the experiment of breaking a bottle of pure water over the bow of his sloop. He would have the entire service in harmony with the name she bore. This was probably the first sloop or vessel of any kind built in this country and dedicated to commerce in the name of temperance. Capt. Davis was one of the pioneer temperance men of this section, and has ever been a consistent advocate of that cause. It is a remarkable fact well worthy of mention that Capt. Davis and his five sons have each commanded the sloop "Temperance," and she has proven to be one

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History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 155

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1818

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1818