USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > New Bedford > History of New Bedford, Volume III > Part 22
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
486
NEW BEDFORD
descended the slope, passed into the ranks of those who walk long amid lengthened shadows, and finally reached nonagenarian honors, retaining his powers of mind and body to a surprising degree. He was of the sixth generation of the family founded in New England. Lieutenant Thomas Terry, who settled at Braintree, Massachusetts, later moved to Block Island, Massachusetts, where he was made a freeman in 1664. a deputy in 1665, and in 1672 was instrumental in obtaining a town charter for Block Island. Later he moved to Freetown, Massachusetts (Fall River), and on June 16, 1683, bought land of John Bryant, of Taunton, at Bryant's Neck. Lieutenant Terry was a member of the first Freetown board of selectmen, elected June 2, 1685, was reelected in 1686, serving until 1690. He was commissioned lieutenant June 4, 1686, was deputy to the Gen- eral Court in 1689, and was then rated one of the largest taxpayers in Freetown. By his wife Ann he had sons: Thomas, John, and Benjamin.
The line of descent from Lieutenant Terry to Isaiah Franklin Terry was through the founder's third son, Benjamin; his son, Benjamin (2) Terry, born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, married Joanna Pope; their son, Benjamin (3) Terry, born in the town of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, married Mary Eldredge; their son, Elias Terry, a sea captain, married Elizabeth Stevens, of Fairhaven; their son, Isaiah Franklin Terry, to whose memory this review of a useful honorable life is offered.
Isaiah Franklin Terry was the second son of his parents, born in the town of Fairhaven, December 15, 1805, died at the Terry homestead on Middle street, Fairhaven, December 20, 1896, the immediate cause of his death, pneumonia. Educated in the public schools and Hawes Acad- emy ; the death of his father while he was yet a minor threw the burden of his own support upon his youthful shoulders, and in New York City he spent several years in the employ of the shipping firm of Hicks, Jen- kins & Company. He returned to Fairhaven a man of well developed business abilities, thoroughly experienced, and capable of conducting the large business enterprises in which he later became engaged. In Fair- haven he entered the employ of Ezekiel R. Sawin, who was engaged in the ship chandlery business, operated a saw mill and dealt in coal, his place of business, Union Wharf, Fairhaven. After several years spent with Mr. Sawin, he engaged in business for himself as ship agent and fire insurance adjuster, a business he conducted successfully for several years. Later he entered into a partnership with his brother-in-law, Francis H. Stoddard, and as Terry & Stoddard extensively engaged in the oil business and for many years they were successfully identified with that industry, one with which Fairhaven and New Bedford were long famous, the capture and marketing of products of whales. The buildings used by Terry & Stoddard in their business were later bought by the New Bedford & Fairhaven Street Railway Company, and used for storing cars. During the gold excitement, Mr. Terry fitted out one of his ships, loaded it with freight and dispatched it "around the Horn," a large passenger list also on board. Finally the weight of years became
487
NEW BEDFORD
too heavy to be longer carried, and, to lesson his burdens, Mr. Terry retired from active participation in commercial affairs. Henceforth he gave himself to the enjoyments of the home he loved, and to the offices he still retained in the banking institutions of Fairhaven.
Mr. Terry was one of the incorporators of the Fairhaven National Bank, was elected a member of the first board of directors, and held that position for eighteen years. He held the same relation to the Fairhaven Savings Bank in 1832, and from incorporation in that year until 1879, he was a member of the bank board of trustees, and to his devoted inter- est during those forty-seven years much of the prosperity of the bank is due. He was a member of the first board of directors of the Fairhaven Branch Railroad Company, and until the road was sold retained his place upon the board. These were his principal interests, but there were few enterprises started in Fairhaven during his active years there in which he did not have a part, either advisory or official. He was a good citi- zen, a loyal friend and neighbor, deeply devoted to his family. All men respected him, and, when the years became very heavy, the interest dis- played in him and his welfare was remarkable.
Mr. Terry married, in Fairhaven, May 29, 1832, Caroline Coleman Jenney, born May 25, 1812, died February 6, 1851, and is buried with her husband in Riverside Cemetery, Fairhaven. Mr. Terry married (second) March 31, 1853, Phebe Hussey Bryant, daughter of Gamaliel and Mary (Potter) Bryant, who is also buried in Riverside Cemetery. Caroline Coleman Jenney was a daughter of Levi and Susannah (Proctor ) Jenney, of Fairhaven, and a descendant of John Jenney, of Norwich, England, who early went to Holland, there married Sarah Carey, an English girl, and moved to Rotterdam. John and Sarah Jenney came with their three children to New England in 1623 in the ship "James," a small vessel of forty-four tons, John Jenney becoming an important man in the Plym- outh Colony. The line of descent from John and Sarah (Carey) Jenney, was through their son Samuel, who married Ann Lettice ; their son, Let- tice Jenney, whose wife Desire lived to be ninety-five years old ; their son, Cornelius Jenney ; his son, Cornelius (2) Jenney ; his son, Levi Jen- ney, a sea captain and a soldier of the Revolution; his son, Levi (2) Jenney, of Fairhaven, who died in Fairhaven, February 16, 1849, a promi- nent man of his day. Levi (2) Jenney married, October 12, 1800, Susan- nah Proctor, born December 23, 1781, died September 15, 1865, a descend- ant of John and Priscilla Alden, of the "Mayflower," and of Samuel Proc- tor, a soldier of the Revolution. Isaiah Franklin and Caroline Coleman (Jenney) Terry were the parents of sons and daughters: I. Loretta Hitchcock Terry, born November 13, 1833, died young. 2. Franklin Terry, born November 6, 1835, and resides in Washington, D. C. 3. Atkins Adams Terry, born March 12, 1838, died young. 4. Susan Burt Terry, born July 31, 1840, married, November 21, 1867, Augustus Frank- lin Perry, only son of Franklin and Caroline (Bryant) Perry and grand- son of Dr. Samuel Perry, of New Bedford. Augustus F. Perry was for
488
NEW BEDFORD
many years connected with the firm of O. G. Kimball, of Boston. Mr. and Mrs. Perry usually spent their winters in Florida and in California, and were in San Francisco at the time of the great earthquake and fire in 1906. He died in Hartland, Vermont, while there on a visit, Septem- ber 12, 1910, and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, New Bedford. Mrs. Susan Burt (Terry) Perry survives her husband without children and continues her residence at the Terry homestead on Middle street, Fair- haven. 5. Joseph Tripp Terry, born January 24, 1843 ; now a resident of San Francisco. 6. Bernard Jenney Terry, born March 25, 1847, lost at sea, March 12, 1862. 7. Horatio Proctor Terry, born September 5, 1847, died October, 1911. 8. John Coleman Terry, born February 17, 1850, died in San Francisco, February 11, 1908.
CAPTAIN HENRY HUTTLESTON, JR.
Huttleston avenue, Fairhaven, Massachusetts, is a reminder of a family long identified with the town, Captain Henry Huttleston being a son of Henry, a merchant, and a grandson of Peleg and Tabitha (Crowell) Huttleston. Peleg Huttleston was a man of good circum- stances and a large landowner of Fairhaven. When Henry H. Rogers made his bountiful gifts to his native Fairhaven, he named one of the streets which he built Huttleston street, in honor of Peleg Huttleston, and the beautiful Tabitha Inn takes its name from Tabitha, his wife. The Rogers and Huttleston families were closely related by marriage of Mary Huttleston and Roland Rogers, their son Henry Huttleston Rogers, the famous Standard Oil magnate, whose magnificent gifts to Fairhaven place it in the very van of rural communities.
Henry Huttleston, son of Peleg and Tabitha (Crowell) Huttleston, was born in Fairhaven, became a merchant, and there died. He married Rhoda Merrihew, of Fairhaven. They were the parents of children : Henry, of further mention ; Mary, married Roland Rogers, they the par- ents of Henry H. Rogers ; Jane W., died at age of seventeen ; Betsey, married Captain Charles Stoddard, of New York; Killey, deceased, of Fairhaven.
Henry Huttleston, eldest son of Henry and Rhoda (Merrihew) Huttleston, was born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, September 17, 1798, died on the Island of Java, an island of the Malay Archipelago, the prin- cipal seat of the Dutch power in the East, May 17. 1849. After leaving school he went to sea, and until his death was engaged in the merchant service, carrying his country's flag to the furthermost parts of the world, one of those hardy companies of men who made the Yankee flag, the Yankee ship, and the Yankee tar respected wherever met. He sailed under the house flag of that noted New York firm, Grinnell, Minturn & Company, of New York City, and at the time of his death was in com- mand of the ship "Ashburton," having risen from before the mast to his own quarterdeck. He died while at a port of the Island of Java, and
I. Hattles kow
48g
NEW BEDFORD
was there buried. He was a good navigator and a fearless commander ; a Whig in political faith, and a Unitarian.
Captain Henry Huttleston married, in August, 1827, Sarah Taber, daughter of John and Mary (Hathaway) Taber, of Fairhaven. On the morning of their wedding day he sailed with his bride on a voyage across the Atlantic on his own ship, that being their honeymoon. Captain and Mrs. Huttleston were the parents of five sons and four daughters: I. John T., a merchant in China, died in Hong-Kong. 2. Jane W., married Clement Nye, a merchant in China, whom she survives. 3. Mary T., married John Lauchlon MacLean, and died in London, England, in 1889. 4. Henry H., died in infancy. 5. Sarah T., who is yet a resident of Fair- haven (1918). 6. Henry Lamson, died in Hong-Kong, China, in 1870. 7. Adeline G., married John McDouall, and died in Bruges, Belgium, in 1887 ; her son Robert is Brigadier-General Robert McDouall, M. G. and D. S. O., of the famous Buffs of the English army ; and the second son, Louchlon McDouall, is now engaged in ranching on a large scale in South Africa. 8. Franklin D., died in Germantown, Pennsylvania. 9. George Killey, lost at sea.
ROLAND FISH.
As one of the olden-time contractors and builders, coal and lumber merchants and shipping agents, Roland Fish, of Fairhaven and New Bedford, Massachusetts, lived a long, useful and contented life, almost reaching nonagenarian honors. He bore well his part in the scheme of life, and left many monuments which endure, the most lasting being shaded Centre street, Fairhaven, every tree on that street, between the town hall and Tabitha Inn, having been originally planted by him at an early day. He was the son of James Fish, of Falmouth, Massachu- setts, of ancient and honorable family.
Roland Fish was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts, February I, 1805, and died in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, August 1, 1894. He attended the small district school of that early day, and remained at home with his parents until reaching the age of twenty-one, there beginning his Fair- haven career, which was destined to cover almost the entire remaining years of the nineteenth century. He had previously learned the carpen- ter's trade, and in 1826 formed a partnership with Weston G. Robinson and began business in Fairhaven as contractors and builders. They became well known builders of Fairhaven and vicinity, continuing as partners until the death of Mr. Robinson dissolved the bond, their busi- ness a large and profitable one. After the death of his partner, Mr. Fish engaged in the coal and lumber business, and in connection therewith conducted a shipping agency. being agent for several vessel owners with ships engaged in whaling. Both lines of business were successfully con- ducted for several years, then he retired from the shipping business and confined himself to his coal and lumber yard, continuing active in its
490
NEW BEDFORD
management until almost the time of his death. He was a good business man, honorable and upright in all his dealings, and very highly esteemed. He was a man of clear brain and sound judgment, safe and sane in his decisions, much sought for by those needing a capable adviser. He was a long-time member of the Congregational church, but later embraced the Unitarian faith and attended that church.
Roland Fish married, September 21, 1832, Lucy Barstow Pope, of Fairhaven, who survived her husband but a few weeks, dying in Sep- tember, 1894. She was a daughter of Captain Nathaniel Pope, of Revo- lutionary memory, who with Captain Daniel Egery performed deeds of valor on the sea which place them among the naval heroes of the War for Independence. One of his deeds was the capture of a British ship on the night of May 13, 1776, twenty-four days after the battle at Lexington. He was in command of the twenty-five men who at 9:00 p. m. sailed from Fairhaven wharf in the vessel "Success," quickly captured a British prize which was brought into the harbor, and gave chase to another British vessel discovered in the offing. The second vessel was also brought in as a prize, Captain Pope being in full command of the "Success" through- out the entire affair. Later he was captured by the British and con- fined on board the prison ship, "Belvidere," in New York harbor. He was not long held a prisoner, being one of the fortunates selected for exchange.
Roland and Lucy Barstow (Pope) Fish were the parents of a son, Nathaniel Pope Fish, deceased, and a daughter, Mary Alice Fish, a resi- dent of Fairhaven, Massachusetts.
HUMPHREY W. SEABURY.
The golden era in whaling for New Bedford was practically the period during which Captain Humphrey W. Seabury was connected therewith, although he retired at a time when whale fishing had attained the most profitable and successful prosecution. He was the son of a master mariner, Captain William Seabury, of Little Compton, Rhode Island, and New Bedford, Massachusetts, and the ambition to follow in his father's footsteps came to him early. But after the removal to New Bedford, when in his sixteenth year, the glamor of whale fishing, which was the life of that town, decided him to go into the whaling instead of the merchant service in which his father was engaged. He began at the bottom of the ladder, sailing on his first voyage "before the mast," going "a whaling" when nineteen years of age, rising to chief command on his third voyage, compiling a most successful record and retiring from sea service at the age of forty-three years. One of his voyages stands out in whaling annals as one of the most notable, the value of the catch total- ing $126,000, the voyage having covered a period of less than four years. After retirement he served the city of New Bedford faithfully and abundantly, winning from the New Bedford "Mercury" this eulogy:
Humphrey De Seabury
491
NEW BEDFORD
He was a faithful, conscientious, public-spirited servant, positive in his opinions and plain in his expressions of them. His honesty was of the rugged and uncompromising type, as sterling in matters of principle as in those which involved money. He was an active and an ardent Re- publican, holding to the extreme temperance wing of that party, and as such for many years, conspicuous in the primary meetings, where he led many a fight with the so-called liberal faction. He was a good citizen whose influence and example were always exerted fearlessly in the way he believed to be right.
Captain Seabury was a lineal descendant of John Seabury, of Boston, who died before 1662. By his wife Grace, John Seabury had two sons, John and Samuel, descent being traced through the last named. This Samuel Seabury, born December 10, 1640, died August 5, 1681 ; married (first) Patience Kemp; (second) April 4, 1677, Martha Peabody, daugh- ter of William and Elizabeth (Alden) Peabody, and granddaughter of John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden, of the "Mayflower." Samuel Sea- bury became a physician, and located in Duxbury, Massachusetts, and there died. The line of descent is through Joseph Seabury, eldest son of Samuel Seabury and his second wife, Martha (Peabody) Seabury. Joseph Seabury moved to Little Compton, Rhode Island, and there mar- ried Phoebe Smith. He was succeeded by their son, Benjamin Seabury, born January 20, 1708, died in 1773; married, in 1733, Rebecca South- worth. Constant Seabury, son of Benjamin and Rebecca (Southworth) Seabury, was born June 19, 1749, and died in January, 1807; married, in 1775, Susanna Gray. Their third son, William Seabury, born May 23, 1780, died July 30, 1852, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He followed the sea, was a captain in the merchant service, sailing to foreign lands. He resided in Tiverton and Little Compton, Rhode Island, and after 1833 in New Bedford. Captain William Seabury married (first) April 12, 1807, Rhoda Woodman, born December 11, 1786, who died January 2, 1833. He married (second) February 16, 1834, Sally Woodman, sister of his first wife. They were daughters of Edward and Priscilla (Negus) Woodman; Edward, the son of John and Patience (Grinnell) Wood- man ; John, the son of Robert and Deborah (Paddock) Woodman ; Rob- ert, the son of John and Hannah (Timberlake) Woodman, the founders of the family in New England. Captain William Seabury and his first wife, Rhoda (Woodman) Seabury, were the parents of: Otis, Edward W., Louisa, married Benjamin Cushman ; William H., Julia Ann, died unmarried; Humphrey W., to whose memory this review is dedicated ; Charles P., a famous master mariner, both whaling and merchant, who died in New Bedford, December 21, 1890; Jason, lost while on a whaling voyage to the Arctic Ocean in 1853; and Andrew Jackson, who died young.
Humphrey W. Seabury, of the seventh American generation, son of Captain William and Rhoda (Woodman) Seabury, was born June 28, 1817, in Tiverton, Rhode Island, and died in New Bedford, Massachu- setts, on his birthday in 1891. His boyhood was spent principally in
492
NEW BEDFORD
Little Compton, Rhode Island, where he was educated, the family mov- ing to New Bedford in 1833. He chose the sea as his element, and soon after coming to New Bedford made his first voyage, going on a coasting vessel to New York. His first "deep sea" voyage was as a foremast hand, sailing with his father on the barque "Hope," commanded by his father, Captain William Seabury. That voyage carried him across the ocean to Holland, and upon his return he decided to make his next trip on a whaler. He was in his nineteenth year when he sailed from New Bed- ford. December 8, 1835, on the "Corinthian," Captain Leonard Crowell, and on his return from the first whaling voyage, February 19, 1839, was a seasoned, experienced whaler rated as a third mate, having advanced from common seaman to boat steerer and to third mate.
He sailed on his second whaling voyage, June 16, 1839, as first mate of the "Coral," that voyage consuming almost exactly three years, the arrival home, dating June 11, 1842. That was a most adventurous as well as a profitable voyage, and brought out into clear relief those courageous, manly traits which were ever characteristic of Captain Seabury as boy and man. The "Coral" cruised in the Pacific off the coast of Peru and off the Galapagos Island, sighting whales eighty-nine times, and capturing one or more whales fifty-eight times, the whole number taken totaling one hundred and two, a catch exceeded in few instances by any vessel. On June 15, 1841, the boats were sent out after a one-hundred-barrel sperm whale sighted just south of the Galapagos Island. He proved a "bad whale," rushed the boats and crushed two of them in his powerful jaws. One sailor was drown, and another, Jethros S. Studley, was saved from a similar fate by the action of First Mate Seabury, who dived for him and caught him by the hair as he was sinking for the last time. Captain Seabury in relating this experience late in life said this was the only "jaw fighting" whale he ever encountered in his experience which included the taking of twelve thousand barrels of sperm oil.
These two voyages brought the young man not only great pecuniary reward, but to the goal of his ambition, his own quarterdeck. When he sailed on his third voyage, November 16, 1842, it was as captain of the "Coral," the same ship in which he sailed the previous voyage as first officer. He returned to New Bedford, March 9, 1846, having captured thirty-nine sperm and ten right whales. He sailed on his fourth voyage, November 17, 1846, again as captain of the "Coral," took her around Cape Horn, cruised the Pacific, captured one hundred whales and re- turned to New Bedford, June 11, 1851, with three thousand three hun- dred and fifty barrels of sperm oil, which was sold at the then current price of $1.19 per gallon, the value of the catch being above $126,000. In all the history of New Bedford, few such notable voyages as this are recorded.
Captain Seabury now spent a few years on the shore, acting as "out- side agent" with his elder brother, Otis Seabury. In 1853 he commanded the vessel, "Mechanics Own," carrying supplies to the Sandwich Islands
493
NEW BEDFORD
for the New Bedford whaling fleet, and bringing home a full cargo of oil and whale bone. In 1856 he made a merchant voyage in the ship, "Commerce," to Rio Janeiro, visited Paris in 1858, Havana in 1870, and Chili in 1871. His last whaling voyage was a short one, taking in the "Scotland" to the North Atlantic, the voyage beginning in May, 1860, and ending December I, of the same year, the catch, one hundred barrels of sperm oil.
At the very height of his career as a master mariner, Captain Sea- bury retired, and until 1872 was engaged in business on shore. He be- came interested in many of the enterprises which have greatly added to the material prosperity of the city. He was a director of the First Na- tional Bank, and when he had passed from their midst the members of the board testified in memorial resolution their appreciation of his integ- rity, faithfulness and ability. He served his city as alderman from the Fifth Ward in 1870, was also councilman and school committeeman, fill- ing these positions with a devoted faithfulness creditable to himself and valuable to the city. He was a member of the Indian Association from its organization, member of the board of managers of the Port Society, and associate member of the Young Men's Christian Association ; he was associated with the Society of Friends, constant in his attendance, and a generous supporter of its philanthropies. His charities were quietly be- stowed, yet few men more thoroughly considered the needs of the unfor- tunate or were more concerned in the welfare of their fellowmen.
Captain Seabury married (first) October 14, 1850, Mary B. Wilcox, who died March 10, 1852, their only child, Charles Albert, dying aged four years. He married (second) August 12, 1855, Susan M. Gifford, who died March 6, 1899, daughter of Nathaniel and Mercy (Macomber) Gifford, her father an early day worker in the cause of peace, a strong Abolitionist, and member of the Society of Friends. Captain Humphrey W. and Susan M. (Gifford) Seabury were the parents of two daughters, Mary B. and Helen H. Seabury, who are both honored residents of their native city, deeply interested in all good works, and identified with the Society of Friends. While they have long been ardent supporters of the Gospel of Peace, their present efforts are to relieve the sufferings of those whom war has scourged. The peace congresses which have been in the past promoted by the Friends who managed the summer resort, Lake Mohonk, just above Poughkeepsie, New York, and held at that resort, attracted the Misses Seabury, and they have attended many of them with serious intent. They have also been present as delegates to the peace congresses held in New York, Baltimore and Boston, in this country, and the International Peace Congress held in London in 1908.
JOHN HENRY CLIFFORD.
Since 1830 Clifford has been a name to conjure with in New Bed- ford legal circles, and the name John Henry Clifford during the years
494
NEW BEDFORD
1836-1876 was one widely known in the State of Massachusetts and honorably borne. That was John H. Clifford, an eminent lawyer, Attor- ney-General of the State of Massachusetts, Governor, inaugurated Janu- ary 14, 1853, president of the Boston & Providence Railway Company, in 1867, and president of the board of overseers of Harvard College, although he was a graduate of Brown. Such was the founder of the family in New Bedford, he coming from Providence, Rhode Island. He was the father of Charles Warren Clifford and Walter Clifford, both of whom were eminent in the legal profession, both members of that law firm famous in New Bedford under same style and title since the first coming of J. H. Clifford in 1830, the first form being Coffin & Clifford (1830) and now (1917) is the well known Crapo, Clifford & Prescott. During these eighty-seven years the Clifford influence has never been absent no matter what the firm name might be, and since 1858 the Crapo name has been potent. A John H. Clifford founded the firm, his sons continued its successful career in association with eminent partners, and the Clifford now sustaining the family prestige is another John H. Clif- ford, a grandson of the original John H. Clifford, Governor and Attorney- General of Massachusetts, and a son of Walter Clifford and nephew of Charles Warren Clifford. Admitted to the bar in 1904, admitted a part- ner of Crapo, Clifford & Prescott in 1909, the son of the tenth generation of his family in America and its twentieth century representative is now (July, 1917) at the officers' training camp at Plattsburg, New York, being trained for that strenuous warfare upon which the United States has entered to make the world safe for democracy.
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.