History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 161

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 161

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Mr. William Pearse, though residing three miles from the village, and perhaps more naturally con-

1 By Rev. Olis O. Wright.

672

HISTORY OF BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

nected with St. Mark's, Warren, always made it a point of honor to support and attend with his family this less flourishing church ; and this high principle of devotion, characteristic of that old church family, has continued to be exemplified in Mr. William H. Pearse and family, who came in time to take the place of his uncle.

Mr. John A. Wood, though never a communicant, was devotedly attached to the services of the church, and for many years voluntarily assumed the care of the Lord's house without compensation, and was always particular that it should be comfortable and in order. And after his decease his son, Henry O. Wood, immediately succeeded him as a vestryman, and has long since served the parish as warden, treas- urer, and clerk with a faithfulness worthy of his father's example.

Benjamin H. Chase, the only survivor, when about forty years of age, prepared for the ministry and work of the church, to which he was ordained by Bishop Eastburn in 1854, and at this present time (1883), after a term of nearly thirty years of active and suc- cessful labors, is the highly-esteemed rector of St. Paul's Church, Portsmouth, R. I., which he is serving for the fifteenth successive year. Mr. and Mrs. Chase did much toward establishing Christ Church, and are still, as they ever have been, deeply interested for its present and future usefulness.

The loss of those first supporters has never been fully repaired by any new accessions to the parish.

Christ Church, Swansea, was duly organized as a parish under the statute of this commonwealth on the 7th of January, 1846. The first vestry was com- posed as follows : William Pearse and John Mason, Esq., wardens; John A. Wood, Joseph D. Nichols, Preserved S. Gardner, Benjamin H. Chase, and John E. Gray, vestrymen.

The building committee were John E. Gray, John A. Wood, and William Pearse.

The services of the church were held at first in the Union meeting-house.

The church edifice was built largely by subscrip- tions outside of the community, and was consecrated the 2d day of December, 1847, at ten o'clock A.M., by the Rt. Rev. Manton Eastburn, of Massachusetts.

There were present of the clergy the Rev. T. W. Snow, of Taunton ; James Henry Eames and John B. Richmond, of Providence; James Mulcahy, of Portsmouth; Benjamin Watson, of Newport; and George W. Hathaway, of Warren.

The building is a neat wooden structure, of simple Romanesque architecture, finished to the roof inside, has about two hundred sittings, and cost about two thousand dollars.

The bell cost one hundred and sixty-three dollars, and the handsome pipe-organ, which .was built to order in 1867, cost one thousand dollars. These were both obtained by contributions solicited at home and abroad.

The font, of " Pictou stone," was presented by the ladies of St. Michael's Church, Bristol, R. I.

"Five infants and two adults received baptism, and five persons were confirmed during the time Mr. McCoy officiated in this parish."

The first rector was the Rev. John B. Richmond, of Providence, R. I., who served from Jan. 1, 1848, till the 1st of January, 1852.

He was succeeded by the Rev. Benjamin Austin, who, at his request, was released from his engage- ment after the 1st of November of the same year.

About the beginning of the year 1853 the Rev. William Withington, of Boston, took charge of the parish, and remained until the 1st of January, 1856.

He was succeeded by the Rev. William B. Colburn, of whose term of service the records are not clear.

The Rev. N. Watson Munroe was duly elected rec- tor March, 1859, and closed his official relations to the parish February, 1864.

The church was then served by the Rev. A. F. Wylie, rector of the Church of the Ascension, Fall River, and by his assistant, the Rev. A. E. Tortat, until April, 1868, when the Rev. George Heaton, M.A., of Cambridge, England, became the resident minister, and remained until August, 1869, when he resigned.

In June, 1871, the Rev. N. Watson Munroe re- sumed the care of the parish and remained rector until Easter Monday, 1877, when he resigned.

The Rev. William T. Fitch, rector of the Ascen- sion, Fall River, soon assumed the charge and offici- ated most of the time until about the 1st of July, 1881, when the present rector, the Rev. Otis O. Wright, of Providence, R. I., began his labors.

The valuation of the parish property, including fifteen hundred dollars' investments, is four thousand five hundred dollars.

The membership of the church, which has always been small, at present numbers but fourteen, and the Sunday-school has twenty-six scholars.

The population of the community, which would naturally be considered as the parish, is only about two hundred, nearly one-fourth of whom are con- nected with other Christian bodies, though most of them take more or less interest in the services of this church.

As in most of the agricultural towns, many of the young people leave the parish for vocations in other places, where they often become active and influential churchmen because of their early home training, so that, though the permanent growth of Christ Church has been both slow and small, the work of the parish has been vitally important both to the community and to the church at large.

This parish has always received financial aid from the Diocesan Board of Missions, and for many years its various interests have been largely sustained by the liberality of Mr. Frank S. Stevens, well known as the principal business man of the place.

Alun Sleeve

SWANSEA.

673

The church wardens at present are William H. Pearse and Henry O. Wood, and the vestrymen are F. S. Stevens, Dr. J. L. Wellington, T. C. Chace, Jonas Altham, and Jeremiah Gray.

The Universalist Society of Swansea and Re- hoboth .- More than twenty years ago Mr. A. M. Rhodes began to preach on alternate Sundays in the former school-house known as Liberty Hall, at Swan- sea Factory. Subsequently Union Chapel was erected, in which Mr. Rhodes still officiates once in two weeks. The late James Eddy, Esq., a well-known and highly esteemed citizen of this town, was accustomed to con- tribute liberally for the support of this society, of which he was a steadfast member from its origin.

Military Record, 1861-65 .- The following en- listed to fill the quota of this town during the war of the Rebellion :

Allen, Charles C.

Kingsley, Amos N.

Allen, Theodore H.

King, Wm. T.

Ashton, Henry H. Alden, Joseph.

Lawton, A. J.

Lansing, John.

Libby, Nelsou.

Lyon, J. A. Lepo, Andrew.

Ludwig, Charles.

Barney, Charles.

Lufe, Francis.

Buffington, S. L.

Locke, C. W.

Butlington, G. O.

Miller, M. L.

Blanding, Frank.

Maker, William H.

Brown, Wm.

Beanboucher, Victor.

Case, D. II.

Martin, A. F.

Chase, Reuben (2d). Chase, Reuben (3d). Clase, Christopher.

Miller, William H.

Murray, Edward. Magrath, Lawrence.

Chase, F. R.

Chase, C. D.

Chase, Wm. P.

Collins, Stephen.

Nolan, Matthew.

Calillian, Dennis.

O'Chaloner, Henry.

Corthell, James H.

O'Donovan, Michael. O'Connor, Michael.

Cassell, Alexander. David, Joseph J. Dempsey, Joseph. Dilson, John. Eddy, C. II.

Pierce, George R.

Pierce, James M.

Pierce, Ezra V. B.

Peck, Joseplı T.

Eagan, John.

Peck, A. S.

Peck, George E.

Follet, Wm. H.

French, Wm. H.

Petra, James.

Piper, Joseph.

Powers, J. P.

Ray, D. S. Ray, T. S.

Graham, Henry.

Reekton, Thomas.

Green, Wm. Il. Gibbs, Horatio. Godsoe, George.

Romeo, John.

Reynolds, John.

Hamlin, Wm.

Ragan, James.

Heath, Charles.

Shove, Geo. A.

Snow, C. H.

Smith, Solomon.

Ilandy, W. D.

Smith, John.

Holmes, W. H.

Smith, Andrew.

Smith, Newton.

Hart, F. B. Hatch, Grafton.

Slade, Alfred L.

Hopkins, William.

Sherman, Edwin. Stevens, Peter.

Hodgdon, Charles. Hanley, Daniel.

Knight, B.

Tompkins, Daniel.

Whittemore, George W.

Tompkins, James.

Wheaton, Joseph II.

Thurber, Jonathan.

Wheeler, Joseph.

Tripp, John E.

Wood, Adoniram.

Thurber, James F.

Wheldon, Silas Il.

Tower, Lorenzo.

Wallow, Oliver R.

Taylor, George A.

Whitney, Franklin T.

Taylor, James.

Welsh, Maurice.

Thompson, William.

Weldon, Henry.

Ueber, William.

Woodman, Edmund E.

West, Edward G.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

ABNER SLADE.

Abner Slade, son of Benjamin and grandson of Joseph Slade, was born in Swansea Oct. 2, 1792, on the homestead of his father, within a short distance of which his long life of usefulness was passed. He was in the fifth generation from the first of the family who settled in Swansea, and the line of descent is (1) William, (2) Edward, (3) Joseph, (+) Benjamin, (5) Abner. (For ancestral history of the Slade family, see biography of William Slade, Somerset.) Mr. Slade was reared a farmer and tanner, and succeeded his father in business, and made tanning and currying his principal avocation during life. When he first began it, the custom was for the tanner to travel through the country on horseback and purchase hides, which, when tanned into leather, were sold, largely on credit, to the farmers and traveling shoe- makers of the period. From this primitive condition of the trade Mr. Slade built up a business of large proportions, which became very remunerative. He was one of the most industrious, systematic, and per- severing of men, and looked sharply after the minute details of every transaction. He was very successful, and this success may be attributed to his sterling in- tegrity, his good judgment, and his earnest and steady persistency. He retired, with a handsome competency as the reward of his application and energy, from active business about 1856, and the subsequent years of his life were devoted, in a business way, only to looking after his various investments. He never ac- cepted nor wished for office in town, nor had political aspirations. He was a director of Fall River National Bank many years, and was interested in the Old Colony Railroad, and to some extent in the Providence and Worcester Railroad. He was also stockholder in various corporations and manufactures in Fall River. He married, Sept. 30, 1829, Sarah, daughter of Asa and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Sherman, who was born Feb. 20, 1810. (Asa, son of Samson and Ruth Sher- man, of Portsmouth, R. I., was born Dec. 22, 1779, and died in Fall River, Mass., Dec. 29, 1863, aged eighty-four years. He was a lineal descendant of Philip Sherman, who in 1636, with seventeen others, purchased from the Indians the islands of Rhode Island,-Patience, Hope, and Conanicut. Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of Richard and Joanna Mitchell,

Follet, John J.

Perkins, L. T.

Foulds, Robert. Franke, Joseph. Fitzpatrick, John. Graham, Isaac.

Ramsey, Michael.

Ilunter, George. Horton, Horace.

Sweeney, Michael. Seymour, James A.

Kelley, James.

Bosworth, Otis, Bosworth, Joseph F. Briggs, Edward. Boyıl, Win. A. Barney, W. T.

McNeil, James. Mason, Wm. P.

Munsher, E. Mowry, C. M. Moise, A. D.

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HISTORY OF BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

of Middletown, R. I., was born Oct. 17, 1782, and died in Fall River April 22, 1858, in his seventy-sixth year. They had ten children, of whom Mrs. Slade was third.)

Mr. and Mrs. Slade began housekeeping in a house standing on the site of the present residence of Mrs. Slade, and for over half a century enjoyed as perfect felicity as can come from marriage of congenial spirits. Nothing ever cast a cloud over their home, and it was at the home circle where Mr. Slade sought rest and comfort after the toils of the day were over. They had no children, but they adopted a little girl of about two years, Sarah Bowers by name, to whom they gave the care of parents until her death in her twentieth year. They afterwards adopted Adeline F. Cole, when a girl of seven, and reared and edu- cated her. She has lovingly repaid the care and at- tention given her. She was born March 29, 1849, married Charles A. Chace, son of Obadiah and Esther (Freeman) Chace, of Warren, R. I. They have three children, Benjamin S., Arthur F., and Warren O. They reside with Mrs. Sladc. Mr. Slade passed through the years of life to a hale old age, in which the powers of thought and consolations of religion held sway until the last, and died Dec. 2, 1879.

At a special meeting of the board of directors of Fall River National Bank, held Dec. 4, 1879, the fol- lowing preamble and resolution was passed :

" WHEREAS, It has pleased our lleavenly Father to remove by death our highly-respected associate, Abner Slade, at the ripe age of eighty- seven years, who has been identified with this bank as director for more than thirty-three years, giving to it his counsel and judgment. A man honored for his sterling integrity and Christian character; therefore,

" Resolved, It is not as a mere formality that this board recognize the loss they have sustained, and in token of respect to his memory, and to manifest our sympathy with his family, this board will attend his funeral in a body."

Mr. Slade was an earnest and unassuming member of the Society of Friends, and was held in the highest esteem by his brethren. The Friends' Review gave this just and well-deserved notice of him: " Abner Slade, an elder of Swansea Monthly Meeting of Friends, deceased, twelfth month, second, 1879, aged eighty-seven. He was truly a father in Israel. While we deeply feel our loss, and miss his sweet words of counsel, we can but rejoice when we think of his triumphal death, and remember how his coun- tenance beamed with joy when he told us he was going to his home in heaven."

FRANK SHAW STEVENS.

Frank Shaw Stevens was born in Rutland, Vt., Aug. 6, 1827. His father, Chauncey, married Lu- cinda Weeks and had four children, of whom Frank S. is the second.

Chauncey Stevens was a stage-man, and the pro- prietor of a hotel, stages, and livery in Westfield, N. Y. He finally settled in Willoughby, Ohio, where

he died in 1858, his wife having dicd in 1832, when they resided at Whitehall, N. Y.

Frank S. received a common school education. After the death of his mother, when he was in his fifth year, he lived with his uncle and aunt, Nathan Cushman and wife, with whom he resided for two or three years, and then went with his father to Ogdens- burgh and Oswego, N. Y., remaining three or four years, then spending the balance of the time till he was thirteen with his uncle and aunt at Cleveland and Willoughby, Ohio. At the age of fifteen he en- tered the store of George T. Camp & Co., at West- field, N. Y., as clerk, and was engaged in that ca- pacity about four years.

This ended his youthful experience in these pur- suits, for about this time the fame of the gold discov- eries in California had reached him, and he resolved to try his fortune in a new field. To one of his tem- perament the adventures of an overland journey to California presented unusual attractions. It was in the spring of 1849, when the waste of mountain, plain, and wilderness lying between the Mississippi and the Pacific Coast had been almost wholly unexplored, except by such bold hunters as Carson and Fremont. A few of the "Argonauts of '49," had sailed for the newly-discovered El Dorado via Cape Horn ; a shorter cut had been explored across the Isthmus of Panama, and a few had gone that way ; a few caravans, per- haps, had been fitted out to cross the "Great Ameri- can Desert" and the Rocky Mountains, but scarcely had a path been opened in the latter direction when Mr. Stevens and his company set out in the spring of 1849.

Their destination was Sacramento, Cal., via the plains, going by water to Chicago, and by canal and river to St. Louis. They purchased their outfit in the latter city, and packing their goods in boats ascended the Missouri River to Omaha ; thence by teams they passed over the plains and the Rocky Mountains, ar- riving at Sacramento the last of August, 1849, having left Omaha early in May.

Mr. Stevens worked a short time at mining, but did not like the business. He returned to Sacramento, and there he met one Durfee, who was induced to join him in purchasing four yoke of oxen and an outfit for the purpose of hauling goods and provi- sions to the mountains to supply travelers and miners. Their team and equipments cost them one thousand and fifty dollars. Yet it was a profitable investment ; the enterprise was a success from the first, but after making three or four trips high water came on, and they were compelled to give it up. Then he em- barked in the restaurant business, and was successful. He owned and ran stages from Sacramento to Placer- ville and Jackson until 1854, at which time the Cali- fornia Stage Company was organized with a capital of one million dollars, composed of all the stage lines in the State. He was its first vice-president, and had charge of certain divisions of the road until 1866. In

7. I. Stevens

Ovattion the Word

675

SWANSEA.

the fall of 1858 he came to Washington, D. C., to look after his interests of the company, and from that time till 1866 he made several trips back and forward. He continued in the livery business till 1858, and both in that and in "staging" he was quite successful. In 1858 he came to Swansea, and since 1866 has made it his principal home.

In 1862 he became engaged with Sherman Paris and Marshall J. Allan, under the firm-name of Paris & Allan (now Paris, Allan & Co.), wholesale liquor dealers, 51 Broadway, New York. Since 1869 he has been connected with the firm of W. A. Gaines & Co., in the distilling business in Kentucky.

Mr. Stevens is a director of the Mechanics', Granite, Stafford, Davol, Osborn, Slade, Laurel Lake, Bourne, and Globe Yarn-Mills, is president and director of the Merino Mills, and has been since the organiza- tion, also president of the Davol Mills, and was treas- urer for three years. He is a director of the Meta- comet Bank of Fall River.

In politics, his affiliations were with the Demo- cratic party till the commencement of the war of the Rebellion, since which he has been a Republican, but he has never been an aspirant for political honors.

He has been twice married. First he married, in July, 1858, Julia A. B., widow of James E. Birch, and daughter of David Chace, of Swansea. She died in February, 1871; and he married for his second wife, in April, 1872, Elizabeth R., daughter of Joseph and Eliza Case, of Swansea.

Mr. Stevens is an attendant and supporter of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

His farm in Swansea is one of the finest in the vicinity of Fall River, and is well stocked with fine horses and cattle.

NATHAN MONTGOMERY WOOD.

The first of the Wood family who came to America of whom there is any authentic record was William1 Wood, who came from England, and after spending some time in the new colonies returned to England, and in 1634 published in London a book entitled "New England's Prospects." Very meagre records were kept in those days, and it is not positive how many children this William Wood had, or what their names were, but after consulting all available authori- ties relative to early genealogieal data, we feel justi- fied in stating as most probable that he had at least one son, John2, who came to Plymouth Colony in the early days of that settlement, married and had two sons, John and Thomas3, who were great hunters, and possessed of that hardy adventurous spirit so charac- teristic of our early pioneers. In search of a country where game was plenty, they first came to Seaconnet or thereabouts, and soon after went to Swansea, where Thomas settled. John, so tradition says, went still farther west into Connecticut, which was then a wil-

derness. Thomas Wood3 was evidently a man of considerable consequence in his town. He was a surveyor, and divided and surveyed much land. He held in Swansea a large landed estate containing sev- eral hundred acres. Records indicate that he had two sons, Thomas and John4.

This John had two sons, Noah and John. By his will he bequeathed the mill-place to his son John5, and to Noah he gave the landed property west of the mill-farm, consisting of three farms, one of which, the homestead, is still in possession of the family. Noah had four sons,-Nathaniel, Aaron, Levi, and Jona- than. He bequeathed the homestead farm and the one adjoining to his son Aaron, and to the others he gave farms in the immediate vicinity.

Aaron, son of Noah, had children,-Nathan, Isaac, Levi, Aaron, Noah, Mason, Freelove, Sarah, Eliza- beth, Innocent, Mary, and Polly. In the distribution of his property he bequeathed the homestead to his son Aaron. This Aaron had seven sons, -Levi, John, Nathan, Benjamin, Ira, Hiram, and Pardon, and two daughters, Polly and Sarah. Upon his decease the homestead went to all the sons, and to his wife, Polly, the use of it during her life. She died March 12, 1883, in her ninety-ninth year. The homestead farm is now in possession of Nathan Wood, son of Aaron, and Benjamin N. Wood, grandson of Aaron Wood, and nephew of Nathan M. Wood.

John5 Wood, who inherited the mill place from his father John+, had four sons,-John, Isaac, Nathan, and Seth, and two daughters,-Bethiah and Penelope. Seth6, upon his father's decease, inherited the mill farm. He was a man of consequence in his day ; took much interest in public affairs, and during the war of the Revolution was commissioned directly from the State authorities as collector of taxes. He had three sons,-John, Seth, and Haile, the latter by a second wife. Col. Haile inherited the ancestral acres. He was one of the leading men of Swansea, holding va- rious town offices and positions of trust and honor. He was an enterprising man, and one of the original founders of the Taunton Britannia Works, now known as Reed & Barton's Works. He resided in Taunton four years. He was colonel of militia, and took much pride and interest in military affairs. He was said to be the best horseman in the county. He was a man of fine physique, stood over six feet high, and weighed over two hundred pounds. He was a Whig and Re- publican in politics, and an ardent prohibitionist. He married Mary, daughter of Ebenezer Howard, of 'Woodstock, Conn., and had eleven children, -Haile N. (married Marian L. Chace, they have one son), Mary A. (deceased ; married E. Brayman, had six children, all of whom are dead), William (deceased; married Harriet Burbank, of Taunton, had three children), Seth (married Mary Carver, of Taunton, had four children), Elizabeth (married Nathan Wood, of Swan- sea, had two children), Adeline (deceased ; married Benjamin B. Wood, of Swansea, had five children),

676

. HISTORY OF BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Walter H. (married Amanda Gardner, has two chil- dren), Augusta (second wife of Benjamin Wood, they have one son), Laura (deceased ; died unmarried), { Nathan M., and Angeline (died in infancy). Col. Haile was born November, 1788, and died May 6, 1860. His wife was born March, 1785, and died Octo- ber, 1872.

NATHAN M. WOOD was born in Swansea, Mass., Jan. 16, 1825. His education was obtained at the common schools of his native town. His father was a farmer and miller, and Nathan was brought up to the same business, and, with the exception of abont one year passed in Maine, he has always resided at his home in Swansea, which has been in the family so many generations. Nov. 7, 1848, he married Abby M. Kingsley, second child and eldest daughter of Elisha and Mary (Mason) Kingsley, of Swansea. She was born April 10, 1828, and is descended on the maternal side from Samson Mason, who was an Eng- lishman, and an officer in the army of Oliver Crom- well until the latter was made lord protector of Eng- land. About 1650 he came to America, and was admitted an inhabitant of Rehoboth Dec. 9, 1657. His children were Samson, Noah, John, Samuel, Bethiah (who became the wife of John Wood), Sarah, Mary, James, Joseph, Isaac, Peletiah, Benjamin, and Thankful. Peletiah had three sons, all of whom were ministers. Job, Russell, and John, all of them re- sided within a mile of each other. They were black- smiths by occupation, and it is said used to " preach with their leather aprons on." They preached at a church occupying the site of the present Christian Church near Luther's Corners.

Job Mason had a son Job, who occupied the ances- tral home, and who had a son named Gardner, who was a seaman, and was drowned at Providence, R. I., while his vessel lay at that port. His wife's maiden name was Susanna Vinnicum. He left a daughter, Mary G., who was the mother of Mrs. Nathan M. Wood.

Nathan M. Wood is a Republican in politics, but liberal in his ideas in political as in all other matters. He has held varions official positions, in- cluding nearly all the principal town offices, and some of them for more than twenty years. He was repre- sentative to the Legislature in 1875. He is a mem- ber of the Christian Church, and is also a member of Washington Lodge, No. 3, F. and A. M., and Webb Council, Warren, R. I .; Royal Arch Chapter, Fall River ; and Cavalry Commandery, Knights Templar, Providence, R. I.

He has five children,-Nathan Howard, born Feb. 15, 1851, died in infancy ; Abby Isabel, born Nov. 16, 1854 (married Hiram E. Thurston, has one child, Louise, resides in Providence, R. I.) ; Mary R. P., born May 28, 1857 (married Nathan Slade, has one child, Mary A., resides in Somerset) ; Angeline H., born June 30, 1859 (married Franklin G. Arnold, and resides with her parents) ; and Eloise K., born Aug.

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History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 161

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