History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 210

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 210

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It was said by one who knew him well : " He walked among men one of earth's noblemen, whose integrity was so stauneh and whose honor so true that there was none to point the finger of scorn at him or to im- peach his honesty."

In 1869 he married Mrs. Lucy M. Houghton, young- est daughter of John Goldsmith, of Littleton. He died October 14, 1884, aged sixty-six years.

DEACON JAMES KIMBALL.

In presenting a sketch of the life of Deaeon James Kimball, it seems suitable to prefix some aecount of his father, Deacon Daniel Kimball, the progenitor of the Kimball family in Littleton :

Daniel Kimball was born in Haverhill, Massaeliu- setts, July 14, 1751. Soon after his removal to Lit- tleton the Revolutionary War broke out. He entered

William Kimball

James Kimball

John Goldsmith

Otis Manning.

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the army, in which he soon obtained the rank of lieutenant.

In 1779 he married Lucy Dutton, of Littleton. Of their twelve children, three died in infancy ; the re- mainder all married and settled in Littleton. The following are their names :

Daniel, James, Benjamin, Jesse, Lucy (Kimball) Mead, John, Sophia (Kimball) Harwood, Sebia (Kimball) Goldsmith and Rebecca (Kimball) Fletcher.

At the present time (1890) more than sixty worthy descendants of Deacon Daniel Kimball reside in Lit- tleton, and more than 125 are scattered through the States from Vermont to California. He died in 1813, aged sixty-two years.

In the archives of the town library may be found a funeral sermon preached by Rev. Edmund Foster, in which his character is delineated.

Deacon James Kimball, second son of Deacon Dan- iel Kimball, was born in Littleton in 1783.

He married, in 1807, Rachel Hartwell, of Littleton. Of their ten children, two-Sophia (Kimball) Hurter, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Elizabeth (Kimball) Stevens, for many years a resident of Lowell-are still living.

James Kimball was, while quite a young man, prom- inent in town and other public interests. He was one of the pioneers of the anti-slavery and temperance movements. From 1838 to 1851 he was town clerk.

He was an interested and active member of the Ly- ceum from its beginning : a society which for more than half a century has had an important educational influence in the town.

He was for many years chosen as one of the Board of Selectmen, and for a considerable period repre- sented the town in the State Legislature. He was deacon of the Orthodox Congregational Church from its organization (which occurred in his own house), in 1840, to his death. He had previously held the office of deacon in the Unitarian Church.

His second wife was Mrs. Mary B. Harris.

He died in 1869, aged eighty-six years. His life fully warranted the estimate of his character shown by his father in the advice given his children upon his death-bed : " My children, take James for an ex- ample."

JOHN GOLDSMITH.

John Goldsmith was a native of Acton, Mass. He was a son of John and Maria (Houghton) Goldsmith, -the former being a native of Littleton and the lat- ter of Harvard. It is supposed he was a lineal de- scendant of the Goldsmith family that was of the early settlers of the country, and which tradition states was of Irish descent. On the town records of Wenham is the statement that in 1659 Richard Gold- smith was taxed for the salary of the minister cne pound, fifteen shillings. In 1731 Richard Goldsmith married Hannah Dodge, of Wenham, and in the old burying-ground at Littleton some ancient grave-

stones mark the spot where their ashes repose. Mr. Goldsmith was also a lineal descendant of Rev. Ben- jamin Shattuck, first minister of Littleton. The Goldsmith family moved from Littleton to Harvard, and John, the subject of this sketch, having been de- prived of his father, through accident, in early life, was put in charge of his grandfather, who brought him up. In 1818 he was married at Littleton to Sebia Kimball, a daughter of Deacon Daniel and Lucy (Dutton) Kimball, both of Littleton. In early manhood he engaged in farming, and owned and oc- cupied for sixty years the homestead where he died. His estate is situated about a half-mile easterly of Littleton Common. It is beautifully located, and the buildings and grounds indicate the thrift of their former proprietor. Mr. Goldsmith was a fine type of a New England farmer. He was industrious, economi- cal and attended strictly to the interests of his farm. He made a business of farming, by which, together with safe investments, he acquired a large property. As a citizen he was public-spirited and had the con- fidence of his fellow-townsmen, who many times elected him to positions of honor and trust. He was a prominent member of the Unitarian Church, a con- stant attendant on its services and a regular contrib- utor to its support. At his decease he left a sum of money for the benefit of the Littleton public schools, and the appreciation of the gift by the town is set forth by the following resolutions :

" WHEREAS, Our lamented townsman, the late John Goldsmith, be- queathed to the town of Littleton the ' Sum of Fifteen Hundred dollars,' to be holden and invested by the Selectmen and their successors, as trustees, the income of which he desired should be expended annually for education in the Common Schools of said Littleton-

"Voted, That the citizens of the town hereby express and record their grateful recognition of the value of Mr. Goldsmith's long life among them as that of an upright and honored citizen, of diligent industry, of sound integrity, and strict fidelity to every trust; of great wisdom in council, and excellence of heart, whose memory we cherish with just pride and whose sterling character and example we commend as worthy of personal emulation."

Mr. Goldsmith died at Littleton February 14, 1883, at the age of eighty·seven. His family, beside his wife, consisted of two sons, John and Daniel, both of whom died unmarried, and three daughters, Sophia, Julia and Lucy Maria, the latter being the only child now living. Sophia married Francis Conant; Lucy Maria, the youngest daughter, married Daniel P. Houghton, of Harvard, and later William Kimball, son of Deacon James Kimball, of Littleton, and now resides at her father's late residence.

OTIS MANNING.

Otis Manning was born at Littleton, Massachu- setts, October 31, 1805, and was a son of Jona- than and Lydia (Howard) Manning, both natives of Chelmsford. His education was obtained at the district school, with the exception of one term spent at the Westford Academy. In early life he learned the wheelwright's trade, and for more than

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

half a century he followed this vocation, working inost of the time in a shop that is still standing near his present residence, which is a little northerly of Littleton Conmon. December 10, 1833, he was mar- ried at Westford to Miss Ann Crosby Carter, daughter of Ezra and Anna (Jaquith) Carter. He has one child, Ann Maria Manning.

Mr. Manning is a Republican, but has never ac- tively participated in political affairs, except to per- form the ordinary duties of citizenship. In matters of reform he has always been on the right side-being an Abolitionist in the days of slavery, and an advo- cate of temperance in the early days of that reform.

When almost everybody was accustomed to use some alcoholic liquor, he was a total abstainer, and this practice he has followed through life. In his church relations he is a staunch Congregationalist. In early life he joined the church in Westford, and for some years was superintendent of its Sunday- school. He was one of the original members of the Orthodox Church in Littleton, which was organized May 14, 1840. Since the formation of this church he has held the office of deacon, and for years served as clerk and Sabbath-school superintendent. As a church officer he has been faithful and efficient, and as a Christian his life has been exceptionally com- mendable through these many long years of service for the Master. He has but rarely been absent from his place at church on the Sabbath, or at the weekly church meeting; and has been a ready and willing contributor for the maintenance of the institutions of his faith. Not only has he been devoted to the spreading of the Gospel at home and in his own land, but he has been much interested in the propagation of it in other lands. He has been a firm and substan- tial friend of the great missionary societies, and dur- ing a long life he has spent but few nights away from his native town except to attend religious conferences and conventions.

Few lives have perhaps been more exemplary than his; and in the quiet retirement of old age he still retains a lively interest in the causes that he has long helped maintain. He resides with his daughter, and, with the exception of the infirmities incident to ad- vanced age, he is still in the enjoyment of robust health.

BARNABAS DODGE.

Barnabas Dodge, an old and respected citizen of Littleton, was of English stock, the ancestor of the American branch of the family, William Dodge, be- ing among the company that landed at Salem in 1629, under the leadership of John Endicott.

His father, John Dodge, served in the War of the Revolution, under his father, Captain John Dodge. His maternal grandfather, Barnabas Dodge, was a captain in Colonel Gerrish's regiment, which was in service at the battle of Bunker Hill.

Mr. Dodge was born in Wenham, Massachusetts, in 1795. His father was a farmer, but in his youth had made several voyages to foreign countries, as was common with the young men in the coast towns at that time.' The family came to Littleton in 1818, hav- ing bought the estate known as the Captain Cogswell farm, in the north part of the town. In his youth Mr. Dodge taught a district school. While in this em- ployment he met, as his pupil, Miss Sarah Corning, of Beverly, who in 1820 became his wife. Mr. Dodge cultivated and greatly improved his farm, never seek- ing public life or honors. It has been said of the Dodge family, that they do not seek public office, but when it is conferred upon them, that they perform its duties with ability and fidelity. This was true of the subject of this sketch. He he d various town offices, school committee, selectman, &c. He was the father of ten children, who lived to adult age. The eldest daughter became a teacher. After several terms in the district schools of Littleton, she became succes- sively principal of the Townsend Female Seminary, whence she had graduated ; Oread Institute, Wor- cester ; Codman Hill Young Ladies' School, Dorches- ter ; Ladies' Department Kalamazoo College, Michi- gan, and of Colby Academy, New London, New Hampshire. She was superintendent of schools in Littleton four years after her return to her native town in 1877. Another daughter was for several years teacher in the Winchester High School. She married Rev. E. B. Eddy, of Calais, Maine, and died in 1879. Two of the sons are in business iu Cam- bridge; two remain in Littleton. Three of the daughters and four sons are still (1890) living.

Mr. Dodge was a man of more than ordinary intel- ligence, was a diligent reader, and assisted in forming two small town libraries, which, unfortunately, sur- vived but a few years. His older children remember the interest which all felt when the father brought home a new book from the library, and their enjoyment of the winter evenings when he would read aloud from these, or the family newspaper, as they worked around the cheerful fire-place, filled high with glowing logs, over the ruddy heaps of living coals beneath. Mr. Dodge was an honest man. No one could ever bring against him charges of cheating or meauness in trade. He was truthful, sympathetic and a faithful friend. He was interested in the affairs of the town and of the state and the nation, never seeking to control them, but always on the side of what he believed to be the right. He died in 1873. His wife survived him fif- teen years, dying at the old homestead, still in posses- sion of the family, to which she had come as a youth- ful bride almost seventy years before.

GARDNER PROUTY.

Gardner Prouty was born at Spencer, Worcester County, Massachusetts, September 4, 1817, and was the son of Gardner and Ruth (How) Prouty, both of

B. Dodge

Engraven, Jones "B ... . . Pala.

Mariner- Proute

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LITTLETON.

Spencer. He attended the common schools of his native town till about seventeen years of age, when he went to Westminster, where he spent one term at the Academy. After leaving school he learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked about six years. In 1847 he went to Boston, and for a time engaged in the ice shipping business. Afterwards he was in the business of wharfinger, in which he continued till January 1, 1889. In 1864 he went to Littleton and purchased the place where he still resides. His house is pleasantly situated on the main street at Littleton Common; and connected with it is a farm of sixty- four acres, the care of which has afforded him ample opportunity for exercise since his retirement from his former business. June 3, 1851, Mr. Prouty was mar-

ried at Boston, by Rev. Thomas Starr King, to Clara D. Wheelock, of Calais, Vermont. Miss Wheelock was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Welcome Wheelock, formerly of Charlton, Worcester County, Massachu- setts. He has one child, Gardner W., who is married and lives in Littleton. Mr. Prouty is a Democrat, and was a delegate to the Presidential Convention held in New York in 1868. He has taken an active part in the public affairs of Littleton, having been selectman and assessor seven years, and overseer of the poor six years, and five years chairman of these boards. For several years he was also a member of the School Committee, and was moderator of the annual town-meeting of Littleton twenty years. His paternal ancestor came to Spencer from Scituate.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 210

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1226

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226