USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Needham > History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911 : including West Needham, now the town of Wellesley, to its separation from Needham in 1881, with some reference to its affairs to 1911 > Part 3
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Wellesley > History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911 : including West Needham, now the town of Wellesley, to its separation from Needham in 1881, with some reference to its affairs to 1911 > Part 3
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58
32
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
GAY
Jonathan Gay, who bought the "Dedham School Farm", also purchased of Andrew Dewing in 1702 four acres on the road from his house to Natick, and in 1710 they exchanged some land. Gay is an ancient name in the history of Need- ham, as John Gay owned land, toward Natick, as early as 1653, and had in 1670 a meadow near Wolf Pit Hill. In 1683 Samuel Gay bought eight acres near "South Plain", and near his own land, of Capt. Daniel Fisher for forty shillings and seven and one half acres of land. In 1759 the estate of Hezekiah Gay of Dedham was divided, and the dower included, besides the home lot, twelve acres in two lots in Needham. The eldest son, Hezekiah of Needham, was to have seven acres in Needham, with a barn thereon, near other land formerly deeded to him, son Aaron sixteen acres, also near Hezekiah's in Needham. The other heirs were Samuel, John, Nathaniel and their sister, Mary Richards. Jonathan Gay was appointed at different dates before 1700 to perambulate the town lines for Dedham, and was a surveyor of highways in 1708, 'II, and a fence viewer in 1710, 'II.
GILL
John Gill was a field driver in Dedham in 1698. In 1701 he bought of John Eaton eight acres near Maugus Hill, with land of Samuel Ware on the west, Gill's own land on the east, and "Wast" land on the north. John Gill died January 26, 1755.
GOODENOW
In 1724 and 1730 John Goodenow lived, according to the old maps, on Bacon Street, where did the late Edmund M. Wood, probably in the same house. Mr. Goodenow is said to have built this house in 1718, and his children another house to the south of it about 1738; the latter, which is on Marion Street, is, or was recently, the residence of H.
Brac book John his 1732 Chur bapti and (Lam the la late F John Need Dewin John
Tho viewer and I Thom with t The Le some d On De Natick house i Halls is of Baco a succes many y Mary A baptized of the W farm, az Bacon, 3
33
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
Bradford Colburn. Robert Jennison recorded in his note book that he raised Isaac Goodenow's house in 1738. Capt. John Goodenow was a member of the Natick Church, and his wife, Ruth, was admitted to full communion there in 1732. Isaac and other Goodenows were members of this Church later, and children of Captain John and of Isaac were baptized. Mrs. John Goodenow was a daughter of Isaac and Sybilla Rice, granddaughter of Matthew and Martha (Lamson) Rice, and great-granddaughter of Edmund Rice, the latter an early and prominent settler in Sudbury. The late Horace Mann said that he found evidence that Capt. John Goodenow acquired two hundred and fifty acres in Needham Leg, that had belonged to a Rice. Lieut. Andrew Dewing, the first of that name, married Lydia, daughter of John Goodenow of Sudbury.
HALL
Thomas Hall was a constable in Dedham in 1702, fence viewer in 1704, '05, '09, surveyor of highways in 1706, '09, and was taxed in Needham in 1712. Many years later Thomas and David Hall, who are said to have been identical with two sons of John Hall of Newton, came to reside in The Leg at the base of the hill, on the west side of the road, some distance south of where the Waban Conservatories are. On December 17, 1761, David Hall was admitted to the Natick Church. In 1762 Robert Jennison "finished" a house for Thomas Hall. One, or more, of this family of Halls is said to have had a blacksmith's shop at the corner of Bacon and Walnut Streets. Dorothy ("Dolly") Hall was a successful teacher in the West End, and elsewhere, for many years. In November, 1761, "29 Dorothy Ætat. 5 & Mary Atat. 2 Children of David & Dorothy Hall" were baptized (Natick Church records). The brick school-house of the West End was a short distance southwest of the Hall farm, and in the easterly corner of what is now the John Bacon, 3d, estate.
er on H.
1
34
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
HAWES
Edward Hawes, who kept the boys in order in the Dedham Meeting-house, and who was by trade a lather and "daber" (painter), had several grants of land in what is now Needham in 1659- , including some near the Watertown line. Weston was then a part of Watertown. After the incorporation of Needham, the Hawes family had a mill on Hawes Brook, which is south of Blossom Street, in a territory once known as Hawes Hundred. Many years later the mill was in the possession of the Lokers. John Loker was of a Sudbury family, and was taxed in Needham in 1712. Horace Mann stated that the old road leading to the mill, and the cellar of the Hawes house were visible, and that the Lokers early owned two hundred and fifty acres of land in Needham. Edward Hawes had land at "Burch plaine" in 1680, which land appears to be identical with the Hawes Hundred. Joseph "Haws" was a field driver in Dedham in 1704, 'IO, and died in Needham March 8, 1756, aged ninety-two years; his wife, Deborah, died July 25, 1752, in her eighty-fourth year. The will of Joseph Hawes was dated October 8, 1745, and named wife Deborah, daughter Deborah, sons Joseph, Josiah, Jeremiah and David, which latter died before his father. This will also mentioned a grandson, Jonathan Hawes, and other children of son Jonathan, who was then deceased, besides granddaughters Sarah, Anna and Eliza- beth. Son Josiah was to be the executor and to have the homestead after the death of his mother. Land at Oak Hill was part of the estate.
The inventory of son Joseph of Needham was dated in 1728, and amounted to £264, 16s., 6d. The will of son David, also of Needham, was made March 16, 1744/5, and gave £20 to Deborah Pratt, and the residue of the estate to Jere- miah Hawes, his brother. In 1742 the estate of son Jonathan had been appraised at £159, 16s. Robert Jennison "fin- ished" a house for Jeremiah Hawes in 1745, and one for
m
H
t H P
F
in
35
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
Joseph Hawes in 1771. The latter year "J." Hawes lived west of Blossom Street, and not far from the Weston line.
Formerly a road began west of the house of the late William Lyon, near a pine tree on Wellesley Avenue, and ran southwesterly over the hill, about a rod east of the exist- ing wall, and came into the other road (Great Plain Avenue), west of the house of Edward Granville Fuller. An old culvert remains over the brook on the west slope of the hill, and formerly a large oak and a chestnut tree stood on the top of the hill, and probably indicated the site of the house of Joseph Hawes, which was there in 1714. A short distance from these trees, on the west side of the hill, a cellar hole was visible a few years ago, but has since been obliterated. The large field southwest of the Lyon homestead is still known as "Hawes Field ", and the land to the west of the wall as "Hawes Pasture". It is said that a road from Robert Fuller's house once crossed this road on the west slope of the hill, and connected with another road in Hawes Pasture. Hawes Field and Hawes Pasture are noted for the great profusion of violets, which annually attract the students at Wellesley College, and others.
1151706
HUNTTING - HUNTING
Elder John Huntting owned land on the "Great Playne" in 1643, and near the "herd yard", in what is now Wellesley, in 1681. The inventory of Stephen Huntting, "Husband- man", was made in 1740, and amounted to £1579, 15s., 3d. His homestead and fifty acres on the south side of the road were appraised at £1000, land on the north side at £200; shoemaker's and tanner's tools were included, besides curried leather, and some books. Samuel Huntting was the ad- ministrator, and Robert Cook, Thomas Metcalf and Jona- than Smith were the appraisers. On April 5, 1742, Captain Cook was appointed guardian of the daughter, Abigail Huntting, aged eighteen years. The will of Jonathan
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
Huntting, dated June 16, 1768, is a good sample of the more elaborate wills of that period. He gave his wife the west end of the house, the cellar under the east end, and two cows were to be summered and wintered for her use. She was also to have annually fire-wood, eight bushels of Indian corn, four bushels of rye, two of malt, a barrel of cider, thirty weight of beef, a "Spring Pigg or Shout fatted in the winter", "a Sufficiency of Sauce", also "£I=14=8" yearly, and "provision to attend the public worship of God Conveniently and decent burial after death". Ruth Smith had one half of the lot "in Hundreds North of Sher- born Road", also £io, one half of the personal property after the decease of the widow, and some books. Daughter Esther Ware had like bequests, with the exception of the books. Ebenezer Huntting was the executor and residuary legatee. Land in Pine Swamp was part of the residuary. In 1771 one, or more, families of Hunttings lived on the west side of what is now Washington Street, Wellesley, and southwest of Forest Street.
KINGSBERY - KINGSBURY
The Kingsberys who early settled in Needham were all grandsons of Joseph Kingsbery of Dedham. The name was sometimes written Kingsberry, but the Rev. Mr. Townsend usually spelled it in the Church records Kingsbury. Capt. Jonathan Gay was the first town clerk to adopt the modern spelling, recording in 1809 the name of Dea. Asa Kingsbury. It is said that the branch of the family descended from Josiah, to which Deacon Asa belonged, had occasionally used that spelling a generation or two before the Deacon's time. The race of Josiah is now represented in Needham by George Lyman Kingsbury, and by Frederick Stillman Kingsbury, a grandson of the late Isaac Martin Kingsbury. The modern spelling has been in use in Needham for about a century, and in all branches of the family, as is shown by autographs, although the voting list of 1811 gives the old spelling,
e
I
h
a
S
t
a
fl d t
J J a
th to
37
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
Kingsbery, and there were members of the race that used that form even later. There seems to be no doubt that Kingsbury is historically correct. Josiah Kingsbery, eldest son of Sergeant Eleazer of Dedham, was elected constable in Dedham in 1710, but declined. In 1704/5 Eleazer Kings- bery deeded to his son Josiah about seventy-six acres, with the buildings, adjoining the hill called "Maugost Hill", and three acres of meadow, and in 1703 the son had bought of Isaac Parker, for £9, nine acres at Maugus Hill. In 1709 Josiah paid to Joseph Commins of Dedham, carpenter, £12 for fourteen acres at Maugus Hill, and during several generations his family owned the farm now used by the Wellesley Country Club. In 1712 Josiah was given sixteen acres east of his house-lot by his father, Eleazer. In 1729 John Smith sold for £40 to Josiah Kingsbery seven and one half acres, on what is now Forest Street. Josiah's will is an elaborate document, dated April 14, 1739, and proved May 18. He gave to his wife the southeast end of his dwelling- house "With half the Stack of Chimneys & the Cellar," and various parcels of land. He gave land in Oxford to his sons Josiah and Theodore, and mentioned his daughter Jemima and granddaughter Rachel Green. To his sons Jesse and Eliphalet he left his land in "The Hundreds", and to the former fifteen acres near "ye heard yard", with a house and barn thereon,1 two parcels of land in Strife Meadow, fifteen acres that he bought of Joseph Boyden, and two hun- dred acres in "Lambs Town Number 35". He also gave to Jesse his interest in the swamp near Jonathan Dewing's, which he owned in common with Jonathan Huntting. Jesse and Eliphalet were each to pay to their sister Jemima £50 when she was eighteen years old, and Josiah and Theodore were jointly to pay her £Io, Ios. Eliphalet
1 The fifteen acres with the buildings, which Josiah Kingsbery devised to his son Jesse, was the home of the latter, and the old house, still standing (1911) at the corner of Washington and Kingsbury Streets, Wellesley, if not the one referred to in the will, is probably on the same site as the house that was there in 1739. The house has been modernized, particularly at the rear.
38
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
was given a tract of land near "Maugriat Hill", with dwell- ing house and orchard, land on "Rosemary Brook", two hundred acres in "Lamstown", number II, one half of the meadow at Powell's Island, and the balance of the testator's portion of Strife Meadow; the latter meadow jointly with Jesse. Caleb and Elijah had the homestead, except what was set off as their mother's dower, and also various parcels of land. Caleb had the remaining half of the land at Powell's Island, and the personal property, but was to pay his brother James £200. Elijah was to have lot number 3 in "Lambs- town", now Hardwick. Jesse and Caleb were the executors. Josiah, the younger, was then living in Oxford, Massachusetts, but came to Needham to look after his interests. Capt. Caleb Kingsbery lived on the paternal homestead, and was father of Colonel Jonathan. The foregoing abstract of the will of Josiah Kingsbery is from the probate records, but the following interesting items were copied verbatim from the original will itself: "Item I giue & bequeath unto my Two Sons Josiah Kingsbury & Thodor Kingsbury & Thier ayres & afignes foreu Eaqualy to Each of them an Eaqual right all my wright - Title And intrest which I haue to amefsauge of Land Tenement of Land orchargs gardens meadows comons of pasture with thier & Euery of rights members hereditiments Situate in ye county of york within the Relme of England Caled & known by ye Names of ye Lee croft Leesouth Field Lee cloice Lee covedroid Ect Lee crofing Dales or by what other names It may be caled or known which is to be ye full share of my tow sons before named out of my Estate They being Indowed by my giueing them Deeds of Lands in oxford". Josiah Kingsbery died April 20, 1739, in his sixty-second year. His name is spelled Kingsbary on his gravestone, that of his son, Captain Caleb, who died in 1796, aged seventy-eight years, is given as Kingfbery on his stone, and that of his grandson, Colonel Jonathan, who died in 1806, aged fifty- five years, Kingsbury. All of the autographs of Josiah
0
t 1
CO H
r
39
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
appear to be Kingsbery, and the spelling by scribes in deeds and wills is hardly worthy of consideration as con- trary evidence.
Deacon Eleazer Kingsbery, brother of Josiah, lived north of the present Cedar Street, toward the Upper Falls. In 1771 Capt. Eleazer Kingsbery, son of Deacon Eleazer, lived about half a mile, a little west of north, from Silas Alden, whose home was where William Emery Hurd's is now. Dea. Eleazer Kingsbery died January 27, 1767, aged eighty-four years, and Captain Eleazer died November 25, 1785, aged sixty-two; both are buried in the old graveyard. The fol- lowing abstract of the will of Eleazer Kingsbery of Needham, dated December 6, 1763, and proved February 20, 1767, is from the probate records. As was customary it begins with a lengthy declaration of faith, and hope of an immortal life, which may indicate that in his old age he did not fear dire results from his Anabaptist heresy. By his will he gave his son Eleazer sundry articles of personal property, including "one Chest that I keep my Writings in", with contents; daughters Esther Fuller and Lydia Newell were to have all of the remainder of his "indoor Moveables", except "my Books of Divinity & all other of my Books", which they were to share with their brother Eleazer. The said daughters were to have the meadow "Near the Bridge commonly called Kindricks Bridge", and woodland west of the meadow. Eleazer was also to pay them £I, IOs. each, lawful money, within a year. The two daughters had each one third of the livestock, and Eleazer, who was the residuary legatee, had the other third. Mr. Kingsbery refers to an ante-nuptial contract with his wife, who pre- sumably was living in 1763. There is no inventory on file.
James Kingsbery, son of Nathaniel of Dedham, owned considerable land in Needham, including some of North Hill. He was the ancestor of Dea. Thomas Kingsbury and of Dea.
40
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
Lauren Kingsbury. James was a field driver in Dedham in 17II. In 1744 James Kingsbery deeded to his son John sixteen acres in the River Park, Home Park and Rosemary Meadow localities. The settlement of his estate does not appear in the probate records. James Kingsbery's grand- son, Jonathan Kingsbery, who was born in 1744, is said to have built the house still standing, although greatly changed, at the corner of Webster and Rosemary Streets. For many years it was the home of William Alden Kingsbury, a descendant of Josiah, first of that name in Needham.
Timothy Kingsbery, a younger brother of James, lived a short distance southwest of the house of John J. Morgan, which was built about 1843 by Edgar K. Whitaker, who took down the old Kingsbery house, and used some of the timbers and other material in the western portion of the new dwelling. The house taken down was ancient, but probably not so old as the time of Deacon Kingsbery, who owned a farm extend- ing from the present Noyes Street to the Baptist Church, and on both sides of Great Plain Avenue. A small portion of this land is still possessed by his descendants. In 1727 Timothy bought of John Gay of Dedham five acres at Broad Meadow for £40, Ios., and in 1730 he paid £3 to Eleazer May of Dedham for six acres at the Great Plain, with "Great Plain Ditch" on the north. Timothy was called a "Cordwainer" in the first deed. The will of Deacon Timothy Kingsbery was dated March 3, 1757, and proved October 31, 1760. He made an elaborate provision for the comfort of his wife, Hannah, giving her, in addition to food and fuel supplies, £3 per year, a bond of £60, and another bond, the latter signed by William Alderig. Son Timothy was to have fi, besides what he had already given him, daughter Mehetabel Kingsbery was given "all her House- hold Stuff & two Cows" and £40 in lawful money, and also "House room while she remains single & liberty of ye fire". Daughter Ruth Alding was to have land in "ye Rocks",
to
P t
b
K
K
G
41
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
north of the present Charles River Street, and east of Central Avenue; she was also to receive £26, 13s., 4d. Granddaughter Abia "Doged" was devised five acres in "Rosemer Meadow", granddaughter Alding £20, grandson Nathaniel Kingsbery and granddaughter Hannah Kingsbery £I each. "As to my Books I give them to my three Children all that I have not given away already with liberty for my beloved Wife to have any of them for to read in while She remains my Widow".
His "Cloths" he gave to his grandsons Timothy and Moses Kingsbery, and the latter also had "my Shop tools Lasts & Leather". He gave to Moses Kingsbery, his son, his house and land, and "a little Yard Room with liberty to fetch Water & to Water Cattle on said side". Moses also had the land east of what is now Noyes Street, and "that Bond I received of my Son Timothy Kingsbury for my old place & part of my whom place & part of my House & Barn I give to my Grandson Moses Kingsbury".1 Moses, his grandson, was to pay the legacies, and was named executor together with Robert Fuller. The foregoing abstract is from the probate record, and not from the original will, which appears to be the only paper connected with the settlement of Dea. Timothy Kingsbery's estate that is recorded. The grave- stone of this deacon, who died October 5, 1760, is in the old burying-ground. The inventory, dated 1747, of Hezekiah Kingsbery, son of Dea. Timothy, amounted to £1200, old tenor, and included a wood lot in "The Rocks", and books valued at £3. The appraisers were Robert Cook, Eleazer Kingsbery and Ebenezer Skinner.
1 By "my old place" he probably meant the farm on South Street, where he had lived, and where his grandson Ensign Timothy Kingsbery resided in 1771. The In- gols house now occupies the site of the old Kingsbery homestead, or is very near. Cornet Timothy Kingsbery, father of the Ensign, is supposed to have lived on the place now owned and occupied by John J. Morgan. Nehoiden Street, as it is now called, formerly ran southerly through what is now the Morgan estate, instead of making a junction at right angles with Great Plain Avenue. The house at the corner of Great Plain Avenue and Noyes Street was built in 1801 by Daniel Kingsbury, son of Moses.
42
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
LYON
Ebenezer Lyon, Jr., and Abigail, his wife, were living in Needham in 1735, when their son Ebenezer was born. Some twenty years later Nathaniel Lyon came to Needham, per- haps from Roxbury, where his daughter, Hannah, was born in 1755, although her birth is recorded in Needham. Na- thaniel had a wife Mary, but there is nothing further in our records as to children of either of these families.
Josiah Lyon and Sarah, his wife, were in Needham in 1753, and he and his son, Josiah, who was born in 1755, served in the Revolution. Josiah and Sarah had six children, whose births were recorded in Needham, but none of their three sons appear to have established families here, and the more prominent Lyon family that came to town after the War of the American Revolution, although probably of the same lineage, can hardly claim to have been early settlers in this locality.
Jacob and Jerusha (Tucker) Lyon came from Milton to Needham with eight sons, and were the ancestors of the Lyons prominent in the latter town in the nineteenth cen- tury. Jacob is remembered as an aged blind man. His grandson, Lemuel Lyon, the younger, died in Japan while United States consul there, and Dr. Israel Whitney Lyon, who died a few years since, resided in Washington, D. C., but was a benefactor of the First Church and Parish in Needham. The two Lyon houses on Walnut Street were built about 1800 by Mr. Bowditch, and were both on a single acre of land. Edward Lyon of Wellesley was born in the one next to the river, and his father, William, in the other house, which had belonged to Lemuel Lyon, father of William, and which was removed in 1901 by order of the Metropolitan Park Commissioners. Peter Lyon, Esq., lived back of the North school-house, and gave for life to his brother, Seth, a lot of land adjoining on the east, and moved there a building from the Eleazer Kingsbery place, which
m se to
P a
bi
h
-
43
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
was again moved, and not many years since was standing near the school-house. Amos Lyon dwelt in the house, built about 1800, which was recently removed from opposite St. John's Church, where it stood by some ancient willows. It is now some distance to the eastward, and has been turned half-way round and remodelled.
MACKINTOSH - MCINTOSH
Col. William Mackintosh, or MeIntosh, was born in Ded- ham, June 22, 1722, and came to Needham from Roxbury on May 23, 1764, having purchased the estate still owned by his descendants. The house he lived in was described as "venerable" by the Rev. Mr. Kimball in 1842, and was taken down by the Colonel's great-grandson, Curtis McIntosh, subsequent to 1887; the family have a photograph of it. Lieutenant Mackintash, or MeIntash, as the town clerks called him, soon became a prominent citizen of Needham, and as a colonel in the American Revolution was known as a brave and able officer. Before he came to Needham, he had served with credit as an officer in the French and Indian War. Colonel McIntosh, as he wrote his name in his latter years, had two sons who were soldiers of the Revolution, and another son, Dr. Nathan McIntosh, was one of the pioneers of the Marietta colony in Ohio, and his descendants are well known. During the Revolutionary War Colonel Mackintosh, or Mackintash, abandoned the spelling used by his ancestors, and by the Scotch clan, which is Clan Mackintosh, and wrote his name MeIntosh, which form the majority of his descendants still use. In the Revolution were several rather prominent Southern officers named MeIn- tosh, and it is possible that the colonel from Massachusetts was influenced by them.
McINTIRE
John McIntire was living in Needham in 17II, and the McIntires, Macentires, Mackintyres, McEntires, or Mack-
44
THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
intires, as their surname is variously spelled by our town clerks, owned much land in the south part of the town, particularly on Charles River Street. They should not be confused with the McIntoshes, or Mackintoshes, as they are a totally distinct family.
METCALF
Thomas Metcalf, son of Michael Metcalf of Dedham, was an early inhabitant of Needham, and lived where is now the Convalescent Home of the Children's Hospital. In the house which he built dwelt his son Michael, the mathematical prodigy, who was the donor in 1769 of the land on which the Brick School was placed. This Thomas Metcalf, later Lieut. Thomas, had been a fence viewer in Dedham in 1702. In 1727 he bought four acres of land near his own house and "Lying in the place Called Chestnut trees" from his neighbor, Robert Fuller. Lieutenant Metcalf died August 4, 1743, aged sixty-four years, and was buried in the old graveyard. His daughter, Esther, married John Harris of Brookline on April 16, 1747, and consequently Ensign Michael Harris and Capt. Michael Harris, son and grandson of John and Esther, lived on the Metcalf farm. About 1844 Otis Sawyer, then owner, took down the old house, which was in fair condition, but small.
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.