USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Leyden > History of Leyden, Massachusetts, 1676-1959 > Part 18
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Snow, Arthur, to Leyden 1932 (d. July 1957). Dairy farmer. Married Helen Franklin of Guilford. Ch: Allen; Georgiana (Kennedy); Evelyn (Beaudoin); Louise (Bailey); Charlotte (Howes). As an avocation, Mr. Snow raised many kinds of flowers. Mrs. Snow makes intricate, embroidered chair backs.
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Snow, Allen R., to Leyden 1932. Dairy Farmer. Active member of Leyden Fire Department. Married Edith Patch of Conway. Ch: Ruth (Teller) of Chesterfield, N. H .; Peter; Annette.
Snow, Edward W., native of Leyden. Dendritian. Married Helen Dorothy Horrocks who is interested in handicrafts. Their son, Edward Joseph, was born in 1957.
Stebbins, William S., to Leyden, July 1910 from Canada. Farmer. Married Cora Barton, sister of Gilbert Barton of Ley- den. Their son, Milton Stebbins, is employed in Greenfield. Mrs. Stebbins makes interesting hooked rugs.
Studer, Arnold, to Leyden 1956 from Northfield. Veteran of World War I. Married Mabel Wilcox of Greenfield. Mrs. Studer is interested in New England handicrafts.
Thayer, LeRoy R., to Leyden 1919. Retired. Married Annie Myra Grover of Leverett, Mass. During one season, Mr. Thayer preserved over 400 jars of Leyden's abundant fruits and vegetables!
Weaver, Quentin, to Leyden 1954. Veteran, World War II. Married Eva Wheeler of Colrain. Children: David, Nancy and Renee.
Wells, John, to Leyden 1948. Teamster. Married Doris Robertson who was born in Leyden, 1915. Mr. Wells is building a new home on the site of the old Robert Riddell place in West Leyden. Mrs. Wells embroiders old-fashioned samplers.
Whitney, Bert E., born Guilford, Vt. (d. 1958). Son of Frances E. Whitney and Eunice Carey. A life-long resident of Leyden, was much interested in the Leyden History. Known as "The Sage of Gore Hollow." Married Mary E. Moulton. Their daughter, Clara, was a member of the Leyden Church.
Wilder, Harold O., to Leyden 1936. Dairy farmer. Fence viewer; road supervisor. Veteran World War I. Married Eu- dora Delarye, a trained governess from Michigan. Ch: Doris (Glabach); Harry O .; Dorothy (Smith); Jack Edward; June Elizabeth.
Wilder, Jack E., b. Putney, Vt., to Leyden 1936. Dairyman. Married Lucy May Franklin of Guilford. Ch: Marsha June; Linda Marie; Joyce Mary. Mrs. Wilder is a direct descendant of John Howland, 1620 Mayflower passenger.
Wiles, Norman V., from Nova Scotia to Leyden, 1948. Fore- man, Mohawk Orchards. Married Frieda Coburn of Colrain. Ch: Barry David; Gregory George; Norman Vincent; Richard
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Colin; Sharon Jane. Mrs. Wiles is interested in wild birds and paints landscapes as an avocation.
Williams, Walter, to Leyden, 1957. Technician. Veteran World War II. Married Mildred Supprise of Colrain. Ch: Betty Ann; Walter Frederick; Heidi Lee. The Williams family lives on the Peter Gates homestead where the mother of the scientist, John Riddell, was born.
Zimmerman, Casper P., to Leyden 1937. Selectman 11 years. Member of Building Committee for Central School. Married Marion Miner of Griswoldville, daughter of Leyden's Homer Miner. Mrs. Zimmerman was medical secretary to Dr. H. M. Kemp of Shelburne. She is a member of the Leyden School Committee and a leader in Extension Service projects. Children: Elaine (Kimball); Philip H .; and Paul, a native of Leyden. Mrs. Zimmerman braids and hooks rugs.
Zimmerman, Philip H., native of Leyden. Dairy farmer. Married Ann Paulin of Montague City, Mass. Children: Teresa Ann and Bruce Philip.
Zimmerman, William A., to Leyden, 1953. Engineer. Veteran World War II. Lives on old "Ethan Allen Highway." Plays piano as an avocation.
Those now living within, or owning property within the old Leyden Hessian settlement include the following: Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Arnold; Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Gadd; Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Hutchinson and family; LeRoy and Edna (Carpenter) Tyler; Mr. and Mrs. Edwin W. F. Dyer, Jr., with their sons, Edwin, 3rd, and Peter.
Leyden Summer Residents: While many New England hill towns have been taken over by Summer residents, Leyden is an exception. Those few who do own Summer homes, however, are "Leyden lovers" and include: Edward G. Armstrong, execu- tive of the Union & New Haven Trust Co., who came to Leyden in 1907; Louise Johnson, art director in Watertown, Conn. public schools; Mr. and Mrs. Howard Parker of Greenfield who helped organize the Leyden Easter sunrise service; Mrs. Betty Lee Potter of Arlington, Va., daughter of the late Richard D. Lee of Greenfield; Mr. and Mrs. Harry Garr of Stamford, Conn .; Basil P. Smith, professional square dance prompter; Henry S. Labbee, local promoter of horseback riding; Richard H. Campbell, dis- trict manager of Western Mass. Electric Co .; Andrew Canedy, local businessman and descendant of the Strange and Carson
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Leyden families; Dr. Horace Perry, headmaster of the Long Island Woodmear School; Donald Swain, a vice-president of Millers Falls Tool Co. Other Leyden Summer residents include: Angelo Bruno, Eugene Singley, Charles Springer, Alfred Gass, Howard Gooley, Edgar Collis, Maynard Squires, Leon W. Fiske, Jr., Arthur A. Miller, John Schmidt, William Webb, Everett Freyen- hagen and Charles W. Erhardt. Just over the northern Leyden border is the Summer home of Rudolf Serkin, famed American pianist.
NOTES ON PIONEER LEYDEN FAMILIES
ALEXANDER, Solomon came to Leyden from Conn, His son, Elisha B. Alexander, was a pioneer veterinarian and Cap- tain in the State Militia. His children married into the Gates and Babcock families. William settled on the old farm at the head of Alexander Road. Elisha D. Alexander was a carriage- maker. Draper Alexander, a descendant of Elisha D., ran a saw mill in West Leyden. He was a veterinarian, Deacon of the West Leyden Church, and delivered babies!
BRIGGS, Owen was one of the guard which helped precipi- tate the downfall of Benedict Arnold. A great-grandfather, John Briggs of Portsmouth, R. I., swore allegiance to King Charles in 1639. He was Inspector of Arms, builder of stocks, ran an "Ordinary" and was witness at a witch trial. Enoch, a great- grandson, was Quartermaster of a Newport cavalry regiment from 1765 to 1766. He came to Leyden with his wife, Judith Wilbur, riding pillion in the Spring of 1777 at which time he bought of Deerfield's Jonathan Ashley, 104 acres Leyden land for 250 lbs. He built one of Leyden's earliest frame houses on the County Road. His house, the present List place, still stands close to the Leyden stones which mark his grave. His son, Owen, served with Conn. troops during the Revolution. It is said he set out from Leyden on the famous "dark day." Owen's grandson, Alden Bradford Briggs, married Sarah Elizabeth Arms. Their son, Henry Kirk Briggs, born 1867, undoubtedly was named for Leyden's sculptor, Henry Kirke Brown. The name of "Kirk" has been carried down through eight generations of the Briggs family to Hazel Kirk Briggs Mills of Deerfield. The Brad- ford and Alden names also tie in with this family. Hence, it is connected not only with Mayflower pioneers, but with Leyden's outstanding citizen, Henry Kirke Brown.
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A mysterious Zadoc Briggs, listed as a Revolutionary soldier in 1777, first appears on Leyden records as a Fence Viewer, April 7, 1788. After signing the Jason Parmenter petition (in 1787) we find him living near Wm. Dorril in 1790. In 1795, however, he faded out of the Leyden picture when he purchased Bernardston lands from Parmenter and others.
BARDWELL, Robert, of London, a soldier in R. I., 1675. Was a sergeant under Capt. Turner in the Falls Fight, 1676. After the war, he settled in Hatfield where he was proficient in making wool hats. His great-grandson, Consider, settled in Leyden ca. 1791 at which time he married Anna Benjamin. Of his eight children born in Leyden, two became bankers: Jarvis, President of the Shelburne Falls Bank; Samuel, a banker in Iowa. Fanny, b. June 27, 1799, married Peter Bliss of Leyden. In the 1798 Leyden property evaluation list, the homes of Consider Bardwell and Peter Bliss are listed.
BROWN, Charles, of Suffolk, England, first Brown in Amer- ica of the sculptor Brown line. In 1863, the sculptor's brother, Samuel C. Brown married Sarah McCloud of Rowe, Massa- chusetts. Their daughter, Ellen L. Brown, now in her 96th year was born on the old homestead in Leyden. Reverting to the "doctoring" strain in her grandparent's family, Miss Brown went early into the nursing profession, after working in the Leyden store to save money for her training. She soon became a registered nurse and when the first hospital was organized in Greenfield, she became head nurse under Dr. Willard H. Pierce, leading physician of the area. In later life, Miss Brown helped compile a voluminous manuscript biography about her illustri- ous uncle, Henry Kirke Brown, and today has in her possession the Brown portraits of her grandfather and grandmother, along with attractive pictures of the old Brown homestead in Leyden. Some time ago, Miss Brown designed and framed a unique floral piece made from her father's hair.
BUDINGTON, Jonathan, born in Groton, Conn., Oct. 1, 1732, was a sea Captain and visited England, the West Indies and China. His son, Jonathan, by his first wife, Priscilla Hyde, was captured during the Revolution while privateering on the high seas and died on a British prison ship. Jonathan, Sr. also was captured, but was released.
When 60 years of age, Jonathan Budington took up land in Leyden in exchange for a debt owed him by a Deerfield "mer- chant." Budington built a log cabin "in thickly wooded wilder-
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ness" (on the site of the present Cobb farm), but soon after erected his capacious dwelling house said to have been the best in the county north of Greenfield.
Upon the death of his first wife in 1798, he married Hannah Buckland, a pioneer Leyden schoolteacher from Hartford, Conn. Capt. Budington was an Esquire and was much in demand to settle disputes and make deeds.
According to Henry A. Budington's history of the family, Jonathan Budington "owned the best two-horse coach in Ley- den - so heavy it was about all the horses could do to pull it up to Meetinghouse Hill." At one time he imported a piano from London for his daughter, Priscilla.
He is reported as a jolly old gentleman, yet keen and shrewd in a bargain. It is said he lost several thousands as a result of the Revolutionary War when Continental paper money was repudiated by the U. S. government. Henry Budington writes: "I saw in my boyhood, a Chinese tea chest nearly full of this Continental money standing on a chamber floor of the old Leyden homestead. There were bills from one dollar to one hundred dollars denomination." This tea chest full of money may have been the foundation for the speculative story that Captain Jonathan Budington had, in his day, been a member of the "Jolly Roger" sea rovers.
CAMPBELL, James, ancestor of the present-day Leyden Campbell family, born on the high seas, arrived in this country during the third quarter of the 19th Century. He settled on the Glen Road (near the Agrippa Wells homestead) with his chil- dren, William and Alice. William A. Campbell, a town officer for many years, married Gratia Severance, a descendant, not only of the prominent Severance clan, but of Dr. Thomas Vining, leading Leyden physician. Mrs. Campbell was an early pro- moter for a Leyden History. Her son, Harold V. Campbell, is a member of the Leyden History Advisory Committee; her daugh- ter, Florence, was a child prodigy who died young.
CARPENTER - The Leyden Carpenters are traced back to Dilwyne Parish in Herefordshire, England, and descend from John and William who came to this country in 1638 on the "Bevis." These Carpenters have been traced back to 1303 and are direct descendants of Isabella Plantagenet. Alice Carpenter, a cousin of William, married Governor William Bradford, Aug. 14, 1623. The first Carpenter in the Leyden area was Nathaniel who moved from Guilford into Leyden to avoid "Yorker" disputes.
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His sons David and Abel (with their father's guidance) ran the Carpenter Tavern at the old center for many years. Frank Berton Carpenter, a descendant of David, after graduating from college, became one of Virginia's leading chemists, and was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. During World War I he was a member of the U. S. Naval Consulting Board. Through Jotham O. Carpenter and Miles Sheridan Carpenter, Bernice Carpenter Shaw, genealogist of the Carpenter family, is a direct descendant in the William Carpenter line. The well-known Bernardston physician and the present-day Carpenters of that town, also are descended from the royal Plantagenets.
CHAPIN, Samuel, of Dartmouth, England, to America in 1635. In 1643, was an early settler in Springfield, Massachusetts and soon became a leading figure in the government of that town. His descendants, through Japhet, Caleb, Selah, Daniel and Oliver were pioneer settlers of Fall Town and Leyden. Hester C. McKeage, librarian of Greenfield is a direct descend- ant of Samuel Chapin, as is the writer's family. A monument to Mr. Chapin was erected in Springfield's public square.
CORSE - See "The Years 1846-1858" for the Corse con- nection with "Milwaukee Harriet" and Samuel Chapin of Springfield.
DARLING, Moses of Guilford, Vt., was the ancestor of the Leyden Darlings. Of this clan, Uriah T. stood out, in that he produced 12 little Darlings! The eldest son, Uriah T., Jr. was a storekeeper in Leyden for 17 years and taught school besides. His son, Fred Darling, through his wife, bequeathed a fine microscope to the children of Leyden.
DAVENPORT - Charles Milton Davenport - graduate of Harvard Law School, philanthropist, Trustee of Williams College, husband of Ellen Emerson, was one of the outstanding sons of Leyden. His great-grandfather, Oliver D. Davenport, settled in Little Compton, R. I. It was his son, Oliver, Jr., who first came to Leyden, and as a professional carpenter built many early Leyden homes. He also was a cattle dealer, and marketed his herds in Boston - a trip which took from Monday morning, sun up, to Friday evening.
Calvin Davenport, son of Oliver, born 1805, married Lucy White of Rowe, Mass. Their son, Charles, attended Brattleboro schools and later became a prominent lawyer. His brother, William, father of Charles M. Davenport, was born with ex-
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tremely poor vision, but despite this handicap, became one of the largest stock dealers in the Leyden area. His eldest son, Stephen, carried on the Leyden farm till he removed to Green- field to live with his sister, Mary Davenport Wentworth. Sarah B. Davenport, sister of Charles M. Davenport, compiled a book- let covering the life of her well-known brother.
This booklet describes the friendship of Charles for Robert Allyn Budington, a Leyden native, and graduate of Williams College. It tells of Mr. Davenport's deep concern for the develop- ment of the Williams Library and Art Gallery to which he contributed his Sir Joshua Reynolds paintings. The booklet adds that "in the 1900 generation, no one ever did more for Williams College than Charles Davenport." We also learn that Mr. Davenport was a Member of the Mass. Historical Society, wrote a paper on Shays' Rebellion and raised prize-winning Guernseys at his Ladderlook Farm in Leyden. The tragedy of his life was the untimely death of his wife, Ellen Emerson, granddaughter of Concord's great essayist and poet. The Ellen Emerson House at Smith College was named in memory of Mr. Davenport's young bride.
DENISON - The first Denison in America, William, was born in 1586. He arrived in Roxbury about 1631. His son, George, was known as the "Miles Standish of Roxbury." David, a great-grandson, settled in New London, Conn. He was an officer in the Revolution. When Benedict Arnold burned New London, Captain David lost all his property and soon moved to Guilford, Vt. In 1785, he settled on the Alexander Road in Leyden where he lived until his death in 1808. David's son, George, married into the prominent Leyden Babcock family. Other descendants of David served as Leyden schoolteachers for many years. Arad Denison, a miller, was the inventor of a patented mouse trap! Avery J. Denison and Carroll Denison of West Leyden were millwrights - a trade carried on today in East Colrain by descendants of David Denison.
Henry Denison, the Guilford elegist-poet, was the son of the Honorable Gilbert Denison, and grandson of Captain David of Leyden. Upon the death of his friend, Royall Tyler, Jr., Henry wrote a beautiful elegy. Shortly after this, however, his own health failed, and he, too, passed from the scene. His verse is preserved in the archives of the Royall Tyler family and stands out as a definite literary achievement by the son of a dis- tinguished Leyden man.
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FOSTER - This name was originally Forester when early members of the family served as foresters to the British kings. The first of this name in Leyden was the revolutionary soldier, Ezekiel - the man who broke up the Dorrilite clan. A son, Ezra, born in Bernardston, became captain of Militia. Ransom Foster who settled on the old Foster homestead (now Dobias) in Beaver Meadow, married Clarissa Frizzell, a descendant of the pioneer, Reuben. Ransom's brother, Ezra, Jr., married (1) Sarah Wilbur and (2) Susan Mowry. Frank R. Foster who settled on the old homestead where Ezekiel built in 1782, was the forebear of the Foster families in Bernardston and neighboring towns today ..
FRANKLIN - Though the Franklins settled in Guilford, Vt., just north of the Leyden line on Ethan Allen Highway, de- scendants of the early pioneers, whose ancestry has been traced back to Pilgrim John Howland of the Mayflower, now reside in Leyden. According to Clara Franklin Fay, the Leyden branch of the Franklin family also ties in with the family of our late President, Calvin Coolidge. Marsha (Franklin) Wilder, born in Leyden 1957, is a 12th generation Mayflower descendant. Though no definite tie has been established with the famed Benjamin Franklin, it is believed that Leyden's Franklins are collateral descendants of the great American. Philip, the founder of the Franklin family of Guilford and Leyden, is said to have been a man of steel. In 1777, he served actively in the Vermont Militia at the age of 70! Aside from Franklin descendants now living in Leyden, Forest Franklin of Guilford, Ray Franklin of Bernardston and the Franklin Thorn family of Deerfield, trace their ancestry back to Philip, the Franklin pioneer of this area.
FRIZZELL - William des Fraseau, the first of this line, was knighted by William the Conqueror in Normandy. When descendants removed to Scotland, the name became Frazier. Here, they fought under King Charles II against Oliver Cromwell, but after the defeat of Charles in 1651, the name was changed to Frizzell. It was in this form the name was first found in this country, when James Frizzell appeared in Boston about 1652. Later, the family became quite prominent: One descendant of James presented a bell to the Old North Church; another be- queathed money to Harvard College. The ancestors of the Leyden Frizzells, beginning with James, come down through his son, Samuel, Samuel, Jr., Reuben, Reuben, Jr., Rufus and Her- bert. Allen and Edward Frizzell, both natives of Leyden, though they do not live in town today, return each year to lay flowers
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on the graves of their ancestors in Beaver Meadow and Frizzell Hill cemeteries.
GATES - Coming to Leyden about 1780 with his bride, Mary Allen of Groton, Conn., Peter Gates soon erected a sturdy Cape Cod home on the River Road close to the homestead and mill of Henry Thorn. This house was, according to West Leyden historian, Clifford Carey, exactly like the Newcomb homestead on Leyden's East Hill. Nearby, David Gates, Peter's brother, built a home and put up a mill on Green River. Gates Hill, east of the River Road was named for these brothers.
On November 22, 1787, a daughter, Lephe, was born to Peter and Mary Gates. This girl later became the mother of the pioneer space theorist, John L. Riddell. A son, Ephraim, born in 1783, carried on the farm, as did his son, Ephraim Allen Gates. "Allen Gates," as he was known, married Eunice Franklin of Mayflower stock. Allen's daughter, Hannah, married James Baldwin Miner - thus uniting two of Leyden's pioneer families.
MARCY - Frank P. Marcy, killed in action at the Battle of Shiloh, April 7, 1862, was the only Leyden man to lose his life while on active duty during the Civil War. The early Leyden Marcy's were millwrights, the first in town being Thomas from Connecticut. His grandson married into the Darling family. Charles A. Marcy, Leyden born, moved to Charlemont and there became a tin peddler. Ichabod, who lived at the foot of Frizzell Hill-East as a youth, prepared for college in Shelburne Falls and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1839. After his marriage to Sarah Hawes of Maine he took up ministerial duties in the Leyden area.
MINER - First of this name in the area was Cyrus Miner who came to Leyden about 1800 with his bride, Fanna Clark, of Hopkinton, R. I. Two hundred and fifteen years before this, William Miner, the "first" of the clan, is found in Chew Magna, England. A grandson, Thomas Miner, born April 23, 1608, is on record as a lieutenant in the Indian colonial wars. He came to this country aboard the "Arabella" with John Winthrop. Thomas and his wife, Grace Palmer, were among early settlers of Stonington, Conn. President Ulysses S. Grant was a lineal descendant from this marriage.
Cyrus Miner of Leyden was a great-grandson of Thomas Ist. Cyrus had 12 children, seven of whom were born here. Cyrus, Jr. was a pioneer fruit-grower in West Leyden and lived with his wife, the former Freelove Packard, on the Peleg Babcock place.
West Leyden Pastoral Scene
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Cyrus' son, Charles, served three years in the Civil War and took part in the Battle of Shiloh. Other Leyden Miners engaged in carriage-making, milling and bookkeeping. Anson D. Miner, a descendant of Cyrus, was superintendent of schools in North Adams, Mass. for 28 years. Mrs. Annie Miner Newcomb, of Leyden is the granddaughter of Cyrus C. Miner. Milo T. Miner of Greenfield and Wilfred B. Miner of Orange are descendants of Cyrus Miner through the Gates and Franklin families.
Maude Miner Hadden, founder of the well-known Students' International Union and Institute of World Affairs, is an out- standing member of the Miner family of Leyden. The daughter of James Rathbone and Mary Elizabeth (Newcomb) Miner, she is not only a Leyden native, but through the Newcomb family has direct descent from William Bradford of the Mayflower.
Mrs. Hadden received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College, her Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Columbia University, and an honorary degree from Russell Sage College. Early in her career she was ap- pointed to an important post in the Magistrate's Court of New York City. Later, she was founder and president of the Girls' Service League in Manhattan.
In 1924, she founded, with her husband, the Students' Inter- national Union in Geneva, Switzerland. Shortly after the out- break of World War II, this institution was transferred to Twin Lakes, Salisbury, Connecticut. On one occasion, Mrs. Hadden was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the Institute of World Affairs.
In 1933, she founded the Palm Beach Round Table which is attended in winter by leading lecturers on world problems. Mrs. Hadden is the author of numerous books on social prob- lems; and has written several books of verse. She is a member of the Poetry Society of America and of the Academy of Ameri- can Poets. She is vice-president of the Phi Beta Kappa Associates.
MOWRY - John Mowry, one of Rhode Island's pioneer settlers, was the grandfather of Leyden's pioneer, George Mow- ry. George, a clothier by trade, came to Leyden about 1798 with his wife Polly (Brown) from Woodstock, Conn. In 1801, after the death of his first wife, he married Polly Avery of Leyden and settled on "Mowry Mountain" near the present Cobb and Fisher homesteads. In 1802, he became involved in the William Dorril controversy, according to the Mowry genealogy, and with
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other sympathizers built a machine to do away with the man who broke up the Dorrilites. But something went wrong and the machine did not work!
Later, George Mowry was chosen representative to the State Legislature for six terms, was chairman of the Leyden selectmen and justice of the peace for 20 years. His son, David, carried on the Mowry farm after his father's death in 1851. After attending Luther B. Lincoln's academy in Deerfield, David taught school for many years. David R. Mowry and George Mowry of Ashfield are direct descendants of pioneer George.
NEWCOMB - The origin of this foremost Leyden name has been traced back to Hugh Newcome of Saltfleetby County, England. The name, first found on record in 1189 A.D. signifies "strangers newly arrived." Captain Andrew Newcomb was first of the name to America. After settling near Kittery, Maine, at Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard and in Lebanon, Conn., the Newcombs appeared in western Massachusetts. Hezekiah New- comb's marriage to Jerusha Bradford in 1716 introduced the Mayflower Pilgrim strain into the line. Descendants of this union settled in Leyden. Hezekiah Newcomb, Jr. who built a home on the Couch Brook Road was a most colorful character. As state representative, he drove his ox team to Boston and sold market produce en route, proceeds from which he deposited in a huge leather wallet. This story comes from John Hamilton Newcomb, last of the Newcomb line in Leyden where his family resided for over 215 years. John Bearse Newcomb, a descendant of Heze- kiah, compiled the Newcomb genealogy.
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