History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 202

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 202

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

He was a highway surveyor in 1752, and held sev- eral other town offices. The date of his death is not known.

Fourth Generation .- John French 4, born March 1, 1719; married Mary -, and had issue:

1. William, born July 13, 1752, was a shoemaker by trade, and lived and died at the old homestead at the base of Nutting's Hill. He was at the battle of Bunker Hill, and was at one time during the action stationed at the rail fence, where he loaded his gun and with deliberate aim discharged it sixteen times in succession at the enemy. He became a member of Captain Oliver Cumming's company in 1776, and was at thebattle of Trenton and in several other engage- ments. In his latter days he received a pension. He was never married.

2. Mary5, born March 21, 1754, and married Isaac Pike October 30, 1772.

3. John, born October 25, 1775.

4. JONAS5, born August 17, 1757, was baptized by the Rev. Josiah Goodhue the same year. ( Church Records.)

John French ' held a lieutenant's commission as early as 1752. On the 26th of October, of the same

year, he was appointed, with John Woodward and Adford Jaquith, as a committee " to purchase a suit- able quantity of land to set the Meeting House for the town of Dunstable." The meeting house, after long contention, was finally erected on a rocky emi- nence now covered a growth of pine, about one mile easterly from Dunstable Centre. Lieutenant John French, Jr., as he was designated, served the town as constable in 1754 and 1755. He was a farmer, and occupied a good substantial two-story house front- ing the south, and having on the east a beautiful meadow, through which flows How's Weld Brook, with the pine-wooded eminence on the west called Nutting's Hill. He died March 15, 1761, aged forty- two years. (Town Records.)

Fifth Generation .- Jonas French5, born August 17, 1757; married first Betty Marshall ; and had issue :

1. Mary6, born March 14, 1781.

2. Jonas6, Jr., born August 12, 1782.

3. William, born June 5, 1789.

4. John Marshall, born March 9, 1795.

Betty [Marshall] French died October 8, 1799. Jonas French then married Mrs. Anna Mitchell, a lady of much personal worth and beauty, who was then a member of Deacon Zebedee Kendall's family, in Dunstable. She was the widow of a Mr. Mitchell, by whom she had two children, Nancy and Bela ; the former of whom died of typhoid fever in Dunstable; the latter settled in Athol, Mass.

A sister of Mrs. Anna Mitchell married Mr. Tim- othy Thompson, of Charlestown, Mass. Mr. Jonas French died in 1840, at the advanced age of eighty- three years. He was well educated, and took an active part in the public affairs of the town. At the early age of seventeen he, with his brother William, shouldered their muskets and joined the Continental Army and saw much active service.

On crossing the neck after the battle of Bunker Hill, they found an officer badly wounded, and though exposed to the galling fire from the " Glas- gow," a man-of-war, they tendered to him their ser- vices. He declined their aid, thinking himself past recovery, and at the same time urged them to flee from the imminent peril to which they were exposed. The humane brothers raised, however, the wounded officer tenderly and bore him through the carnage to a place of safety. The wounded officer proved to be Captain Henry Farwell, of Groton.

A musket-ball was extracted from his spine, and he survived the operation many years [See Butler's " History of Groton," p. 268]. Jonas and William served through the war, rendering efficient aid to the country and leaving an honored name to their pos- terity. Jonas French was sometimes employed by the town of Dunstable as a teacher; and this entry appears upon the records: " Allowed out of the town treasury in 1778 £3 4s. to Jonas French for keeping school." He bought, Ang. 30, 1792, for £12 18s. pew No. 12 in the mecting-house recently removed to the

1 The line between New Hampshire and Massachusetts was run Feb. ruary, 1714.

James In, Swallow

767

DUNSTABLE.

centre. He was town clerk in 1796. The present buildings of the old French homestead, on the east side of Nutting's Hill and a little south of the New Hampshire line, were erected by his hands. Two twin oaks in front of the house are noble representatives of the solid sterling qualities of himself and brother.

Sixth Generation-Children of Jonas and Betty [Marshall] French :

1. Mary, born March 14, 1781, lived and died July 3, 1846, in Dunstable. She was never married.

2. Jonas, Jr.6, born August 12, 1782, and married first, Martha Jewett, of Hollis, N. H., April 3, 1809, by whom he had several children. Martha [Jewett] French died July 25, 1821, aged thirty-nine, and was buried in the Central Cemetery in Dunstable. Jonas French, Jr.6, then married, second, Mary Pike, Nov. 20, 1824, by whom he also had several children. He died August 13, 1860, aged seventy-eight.

3. William French6, born June 5, 1789, lived with his father in Dunstable until the age of twenty- one, when he came to Boston aud commenced busi- ness as a distiller in Distil House Square. He married Sarah, daughter of Reuben and Sarah [Farmer] Bald- win, of Billerica.

Issue :

1. William Edward, born in Boston, April 24, 1820.

2. Sarah, born in Boston, Jan. 28, 1822.

3. Harriet, born in Boston, Jan. 9, 1824.

4. Emeline, born May 5, 1826, in Boston.

5. JONAS HARROD FRENCH, born in Boston, Nov. 4, 1829.

William French6 died of consumption July 1, 1846, and his widow, Sarah [Baldwin] French, died Oct. 24, 1866. They are buried side by side in Linden Avenue, Forest Hills Cemetery.

John Marshall French, youngest son of Jonas5. and Betty [Marshall] French, born March 9, 1795.

From the above genealogical record it appears that Col. Jonas Harrod French is of the seventh genera- tion from the original settler of his family in America. His mother, Sarah French, née Baldwin, born August 6, 1790, was a lineal descendant, on the paternal side, from John Baldwin, who had a grant of land in Bil- lerica in 1657, and on the maternal side from John Farmer, who emigrated to this country from Ancely, Warwickshire County, England, prior to 1673. He was a man of distinction and a large land-holder in Billerica. He died 1723.

The motto upon the coat of arms of the French family is : "Malo mori quam foedari "-" I would rather die than be debased."

JONAS HARROD FRENCH, son of William and Sarah Baldwin French, was born in Boston, Novem- ber 4, 1829. He was educated in the Boston public schools, graduating from the English High School in 1845. He began his business career as a grocer. He afterwards became largely interested in distilling; to an otherwise varied and extensive business he has

added the granite industry, managing a large interest as president of the Cape Ann Granite Company.

Mr. French was married in Boston, in 1857, to Fanny E., daughter of Newall A. and Susan (Wyman) Thompson. Of this union are two children-Fanny T. and Henry G. French. In 1883 he married Nella J., daughter of William and Lucinda Pearson, of Boston. Mr. French, in 1869, organized the Cape Ann Granite Company, the quarries of which are located in Gloucester. He has furnished the granite for nu- merous public buildings and monuments-notably the Boston post-office and sub-treasury building, Balti- more post-office, the bases of the Scott monument, Washington, D. C., the spandrel-walls of the great Brooklyn Bridge and the new court-house in Boston. He was scarcely of age when he enrolled himself in the City. Guards, the favorite Boston company of those days:' He was elected captain of the company, holding the position three years. He served two years on the staff of Governor Gardner. In 1861 he was commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artil- lery of Boston, and is to-day one of the oldest living commanders of that time-honored corps. In 1853, 1855 and 1856 he was a member of the Common Council of the city of Boston. In November, 1861, at Camp Chase, Lowell, he raised the regiment known as "the Eastern Bay State," afterwards designated as the Thirtieth Massachusetts. In January following he sailed in command of that regiment for Ship Isl- and, attached to General Benj. F. Butler's expedition against New Orleans. He was provost-marshal-gen- eral of Louisiana and subsequently served under General N. P. Banks.

Colonel French was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention at Cincinnati in 1880, and at St. Louis in 1888, and was a member of the State Senate 1879 and '80, doing brilliant work on leading committees, and was chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee for three years.

He was three years president of the Louisville, Evansville and St. Louis Railroad and ten years a director in the New York and New England Rail- road. He has been a director in the West End Land Company since 1887, and has been since 1873 a director of the Maverick National Bank, Boston. He is a prominent Mason and one of the founders of St. Bernard Encampment and Revere Lodge.

JAMES M. SWALLOW is a native of Dunstable ; was born April 14, 1821, and is the only son of James and Sibbel (Parkhurst) Swallow. James Swallow was for several years a director of the Worchester & Nashua Railroad, was a man of benevo- lence and left by his will a legacy of $1000 to the Congregational Church of which he was a member.

Mr. James M. Swallow was married, in 1844, to Lucinda Chapman, youngest daughter of Davis and Rhoda Chapman. A surviving sister of Mr. Swallow Mrs. Dr. O. A. Woodbury, resides in Nashua, N. H.

Mr. Swallow is one of the oldest living members of

768

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

the Congregational Church in Dunstable, and has held different offices in connection therewith. As a townsman he holds an influential place. He was elected when a young man to membership in the Board of Assessors, which at that time was separate from the board of remaining officers. During the first two years of the late Civil War he was connected with the board of town officers. At different times, when serving the town as selectman, he has given satisfaction by faithful and prudent management of affairs. In the fall of 1889 Mr. Swallow was elected to the General Court from the Thirty-first District of Middlesex County.

By occupation Mr. Swallow is a farmer. He in- herited a portion of his farm, and has made additions thereto during his life. He is also one of the trustees of the City Savings Bank, of Nashua, N. H.

At the bi-centennial celebration of the town of Dunstable, a very interesting occasion which occurred in 1873, Mr. Swallow was one of the committee of arrangements. He has been a member of the Re- publican party since its organization, and fills a useful place in the Legislature, where he is a mem- 'ber of the Committee on " Fisheries 'and Game."

JONAS KENDALL is the third of a family of eight children. He is the son'of Jonas and Olive (Butter- field) Kendall, and was born February, 1804, at the homestead of the Kendalls ;- the English name being Kentdale-in Dunstable, Mass.'

At an early age he evinced a decided taste for me- chanics, and was not content with a farmer's life. With his parent's consent, he left school and went to Lowell, Mass., where he learned.the trade of a black- smith. From his parents he inherited the qualities of integrity, energy and perseverance. During these years of service manly traits of character were'devel- oped. The filial spirit was shown by occasional visits to his parents, and the feeling of attachment to home grew with his years.

When Mr. Kendall's time of service was over he went to Saco, Me., where che remained a short time. He there became acquainted with Miss Caroline Partridge, of Paris, Me., to whom he was afterward married. In 1855 she died, leaving him with two daughters,-Cynthia A. and Elmira C. The former is unmarried; the latter married Edmund E. Stiles; now living in Newtonville, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Stiles have two sons, named Herbert Kendall and Percy Goldthwait. The first is now in . Amherst College, and the second is a member of the High School in Newtonville. -

In 1857 Mr. Kendall married Miss Lucy Fletcher, of Amherst, N. H., who died in 1875, leaving no children. Reference has already been made to the fact that Mr. Kendall was one of a family of eight children. His only brother, Chiles, resided in Dun- stable, was a deacon of the Congregational Church, and lived to an advanced age. One of his sisters, Olive C. B., married Dr. John Spaulding, who was

secretary of the American Seamen's Society in New York City.

Jonas Kendall's business education was acquired by the study of mechanical works, this study being often protracted into the hours of night. He was aided by a keen observation and contact with me- chanical artists. All his efforts were characterized by patient application.

Early in Mr. Kendall's business career he had an urgent invitation to become superintendent of the shops belonging to the Ames Manufacturing Company at Chicopee Falls. That company then manufactured breech-loading carbines, together with various other articles. This position he successfully held until the winter of 1847-48. He was then called to Holyoke by the South Hadley Falls Company to superintend the arranging and building of the large machine- shop of that company, and to fill the same with tools suitable for building cotton machinery. This posi- tion he retained till the close of the affairs of the company and the final sale of the property. Imme- diately he was invited to the superintendency of the Ames Company's shops in Chicopee; accepting, he remained until April, 1862. Then, from excessive labor, his health became so impaired that he was compelled to relinquish business and seek rest. In July of the same year he purchased an estate in South Framingham, to which he at once moved, and where he continues to reside.

At a later period, by relaxation from all care and business, with good medical advice, he so far regained his strength as to act in the capacity of advising en- gineer in converting the large machine-shop in Hol- yoke to the well-known Hadley Thread-Mill. Since that time he has been largely engaged in arranging and superintending the building of various dams and mills, in the performance of which he has traveled nearly 60,000 miles.

While at Holyoke he was strongly urged by promi- neut citizens of that place to accept the position of representative, but felt compelled, much against their wishes, to decline, as business demanded his time.

A few statements from ex-Lieutenant-Governor Weston, of Dalton, Mass., give a good general impres- sion of Mr. Kendall's character and efficiency : "Since a boy I have heard the name of Jonas Ken- dall used in connection with the names of other wise men, great mechanical and hydraulic engineers, such as John Clase, of Chicopee, and Horatio Tower, of Dalton. He was the man people relied upon to build safe dams and to examine them. To him was left the settlement of disputed questions. He was appointed arbitrator and his decision was law. No one ap- pealed from Jonas Kendall's opinion or judgment. At times he was seemingly cold and stern, but away trom business was very entertaining and agreeable. He was a man of temperate habits and wonderful physical endurance. Honesty was a distinguishing trait, and his loyalty to truth was a well-known char-

Jonas Hondall

y ful Îng har-

769

DUNSTABLE.

acteristic. For many years Jonas Kendall was con- sulted by county commissioners and town and city officials."

The following reminiscences are from Mr. C. W. Ranlet, president of the Hadley Falls National Bank of Holyoke, Mass. These words are well suited to help young men by showing that faithfulness and in- tegrity are foundation stones in successful character building.

" I first became acquainted with Mr. Kendall some time in 1848. He came to Holyoke from the Ames Company. at that time of Chicopee Falls, as assistant in chief of General Agent Jobn Chase-' Uncle John,' as he was generally called, who was the founder and builder of factories and canals in Holyoke. Mr. Kendall occupied the position of master mechanic and superintendent of the machine-shops. The heavy and complicated machinery of the guard-gates, locks and reservoir pumps was designed and huilt under his oversight and from plans of his own drawing. The water connections from the canals to the several mills were all constructed under his own eye. All these stand complete to-day without a break or serious accident. Mr. Kendall was a man of few words, but when he did speak, those who heard him knew pre- cisely what he meant. No one ever suspected him of receiving a bribe in the too prevalent form of a 'com- mission ' or percentage in purchases or sales, and no one acquainted with him would risk a good trade by such a proposition. If any stranger ever approached

Mr. Kendall with an offer of this kind he never did it a second time. For integrity, fair dealing and every quality that constitutes a good citizen, no one in Holyoke stood higher than Jonas Kendall, and no one ever went away with more hearty good wishes from a wide circle of friends and acquaintances."

After making South Framingham his place of resi- dence he was often recalled to Holyoke by the va- rious corporations and mill-owners for consultation, advice and supervision of matters pertaining to hy- draulic engineering. A few years after his retire- ment the great dam showed signs of weakness, and a serious depression appeared near the middle of the dam. Mr. Kendall was summoned by the new Water Power Co. for examination and advice. No satisfactory examination could be made without a thorough inspection of the dam itself; and with eighteen inches of water pouring over the crest this was no easy job. But Mr. Kendall was equal to the emergency, and with that determination so charac- teristic of the man, lie proposed to go through the dam behind the falling sheet of water. In order to do this, one must crawl the whole length of the dam through open spaces between the timbers, 12 by 24 inches for 1013 feet. The timbers were wet and slimy, the rock-bottom was uneven and slippery, and the confined air both damp and murky. The under- taking was therefore a perilous one for a man of Mr. Kendall's years. Friends tried to dissuade him, and

pointed out the dangers to be encountered, advising the employment of some younger and more robust man. But he could rely upon the reports of no one not familiar with this kind of work. Having provided himself with a rubber suit and a strong staff Mr. Kendall started one morning to go under the dam through an opening in the abutment. Three strong men were employed to follow and render aid in case of accident. Mr. Kendall being rather spare in flesh, but wiry in muscle, went through the open spaces without much difficulty, and soon distanced his fol- lowers. He waited, but they did not come up. He called aloud, but no response came. The thirty feet of falling water in front drowned the strongest voice. So Mr. Kendall pushed forward alone, probing the timbers as he went along, to see if they were sound. In the mean time the " helpers," who had penetrated about ninety feet, returned much fatigued and badly scared. They reported the entire impracticability of going through the dam, and the great dangers attend- ing such an undertaking. People gathered on the river-banks and bulkheads watching for any sign of the explorer. Some scrutinized the rapids to see if any dead body appeared. Along in the afternoon efforts were made to organize an exploring force for the discovery and rescue of the lost engineer; but after the dire accounts of those who returned no one could be found willing to take the risk. About three n'clock in the afternoon Mr. Kendall himself emerged from the opposite abutment amid the shouts of the assembled people. As he ascended the ladder he appeared somewhat fatigued, and, covered as he was with mud and slime, he was not an attract- ive object to look upon. After a short rest in the sunshine and fresh air he revived, and seemed as "good as new," and jocosely remarked to a friend: "' I guess I have broken the record for walking on al- fours under trying circumstances." Mr. Kendall made a full report of his investigation to the Water Power Co., and this led to the needed reconstruction of the dam.

In the building of several works there have been those who supposed that Mr. Kendall bestowed too much care and expense. Those works have, how- ever, proved to be of permanent value.

Mr. Kendall has always given freely for the sup- port of the Gospel, has been ever ready to help the needy and has been a generous contributor to benev- olent, charitable and all other objects having in view the good of society.

Mr. Kendall, as one of the prominent citizens of South Framingham, was elected to the Legislature in 1872. He has been connected with banks and other places of trust. Several offices tendered to him have been declined. He has not been one to seek office, but office has sought him. Unassuming in manner, and averse to notoriety, Mr. Kendall has always pos- sessed the entire confidence of the different commu- ties in which he has resided.

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 9999 04853 162 6

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 202

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1034