History of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 63

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1706

USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > History of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 63

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Stephen Drew, the son of James, was engaged in the business after 1785. That year he bought of Elisha Brewster " half of a landing and wharf," and he sold the same to Joseph Holmes the first part of this century. In Francis Drew's diary it is recorded that during the year 1806 a ship, brig, schooner, and sloop were launched at the landing by the different builders, and in 1807 three brigs and a schooner were in process of construction. Mr. Holmes lived to an advanced age, dying April 8, 1863. Throughout his long business life there was hardly a year but that vessels of some kind were being built by him, making on an average more than one each year for more than sixty years. A short time before his death a list of the different vessels that he had built, with their names, tonnage, etc., was published, and by that we ascertain that thirteen ships, nine barks, seventeen brigs, thirty-four schooners, and two sloops were con- structed, making, in the aggregate, thirteen thousand four hundred and eleven tons.

Numbers of vessels were also built by Benjamin Delano, John and James N. Sever, and Alexander Holmes, and many of them were constructed by Lysander Bartlett, Sr. and Jr. The fishing business

was at one period carried on quite extensively, as some ycars twenty-three vessels sailed for the Grand Banks. Capt. Philip Washburn was engaged in the business for many years in succession, and it has been stated that he passed successively more than fifty of our national anniversarics on the fishing-banks. It is many years since this business began to decline, and sta therefore it is not of any importance at the present time.

Iron Manufactories .- The art of casting iron ves- sels in sand, the first work of the kind in the colony, was introduced in this town by Jeremy Floro, an Englishman, about 1735. Previously moulds were Co made in elay, which made a superior casting, but the process was slow. Mr. Floro died in Plympton about je 1755, aged nearly ninety ycars. 20

Forges .- In 1751 a forge, or iron-mill, was stand- ing in the northwestern part of the town, near the tu " mouth of Jones River Pond," and in later years similar works have existed in the same neighborhood. na During the second war with England, in 1814, an- A chors were there made for the ship " Independence" by Hyde, Holmes & Co. (see " Annals" of that date). Farther down the river, in the village of Triphammer, the well-known anchor-forge has been in operation on for many years under the management of Jedediah an Holmes, then of George Holmes, Stafford Sturtevant, and Alexander Holmes, and in latter years of Frank co H. Holmes.

Iron-Works at Stony Brook .- In 1753 a grist- mill was standing on the site now occupied by the rivet-factory built by Caleb Bates a few years since. A Before that date a saw-mill had been erected there. fr and it must have been one of the earliest of the kind w in the colony. During the first part of the present or century Seth Washburn had water-works on the same privilege, where he manufactured iron-work forthe vessels. At a later period Deacon Seth Drew had In similar works there, and he was succeeded by his son, pas Job W. Drew, who continued a ship-smith until his wl death, Oct. 17, 1869.

Screw-Augers .- It has been claimed that John po Washburn, of this town, who died in 1801, invente the screw-auger the latter part of the last century Thomas Cushman & Sons engaged in the manufac- Ri ture of augers for several years at their works on Smelt Brook, the place now occupied by Cobb & his Drew. Nahum Bailcy and C. P. Drew & Co. carried tus on the business for many years at their respective es works on Stony Brook, and augers are still manufae. Da tured at the last-named establishment.

Tacks, Rivets, Etc .- John Washburn invented of also cut nails and tacks, but the blanks were cut in gi

285

HISTORY OF KINGSTON.

one machine, and they were then picked up one by one and put in the places where they were to be headed. It was reserved for Jesse Reed, then of Kingston, to put an improvement upon this first in- vention, so that the cutting and heading of the nail was one operation, and that made it a commercial success. His machines were patented 1809-10-11. Since then the manufacture of tacks has been one of the active industries of the town. During the last forty years the Reeds at the northwest part of the town, Henry Soule and J. A. Fuller in the Indian Pond District, Thomas Russell, Thomas Bicknell, Cobb & Drew. and Kimball W. Stetson at Second Brook, have engaged in the business. For a few years past Cobb & Drew have manufactured tacks and rivets at Smelt Brook. and the Old Colony Rivet Company at Stony Brook are at present manufac- turing rivets.

In the early part of this century there was a fur- nace or iron foundry in the Indian Pond District, of which John Faunce was the original proprietor. After 1840 the old Baptist meeting-house was con- verted into a foundry, and it was in operation several years. At a later period a foundry was established on Smelt Brook, where the works of Cobb & Drew are now situated.

Cotton-Factories .- Jedediah Holmes, Jr., built a cotton-factory at Triphammer in 1813. It was in operation until August, 1824, when it was struck by lightning and entirely consumed.

Johnson, Hyde & Co. erected a cotton-factory near Adams' mill about 1818. This was destroyed by fire in March, 1845. Soon after another building was erected, which was known for twenty-five years or more as Newcomb's Factory.

Burial-Grounds .- There had been a tradition that the lot where the Patuxct House now stands was an Indian burial-place, and from time to time, for the past seventy years or more, remains have been found while excavations were being made, all tending to show that such was the fact, yet no one had ever sup- posed, until 1881, that instead of its being a burial- place for the Indian it might have been the resting- place of the early colonists who settled about Jones River.

At that time, while Mr. L. H. Keith was grading his grounds between his dwelling-house and the Pa- tuxet House, twenty-five or thirty skeletons were exhumed, and in some of the graves wrought-iron nails were found in a good state of preservation, and also a substance that showed plainly it was some kind of woven cloth. Some of the bones were examined by scientific persons, who expressed their opinion that

they were Indian remains. If such was the fact, the interments must have been made at a period when the natives had adopted the English mode of burial. It is well known that on the westerly side of Ridge Hill, near where the railroad passes, there was a burial-place of the natives, and Deacon James Foster at one time opened some of the graves and found therein implements such as was customary to be placed with the body at the time of burial. Had such articles been discovered in the first-named burial-ground there would have been no question raised upon the subject, but when one considers that what was found there with the human remains was of English manufacture, it is difficult not to be- lieve that many of the early settlers were there buried. As Jones River was a central point between Plymouth and Duxbury, and a union of the two towns at that place was actually suggested at one time, it is very easy to suppose that that spot might have been a common burial-place for the inhabitants of quite an extensive territory, and this was the place the writer had in his mind when the statement was made on page 247 that Elder Brewster might have been buried in Plymouth, even if not on the hill in the town proper. A return to the house of Governor Bradford, to which reference is also there made, would have been less than half a mile in dis- tance. But it is a matter of conjecture where many of the early Pilgrims were buried, and it is hardly probable that any light will ever be thrown upon the subject whereby we shall ever know anything more of their last resting-places.

The lines of Dr. O. W. Holmes come vividly to mind :

" The weary pilgrim slumbers, His resting-place unknown ; His hands were crossed, his lids were closed, The dust was o'er him strown. The drifting soil, the mouldering leaf, Along the sod were blown ; His mound has melted into earth, His memory lives alone."

The Churchyard .- After the formation of Jones River parish, Maj. John Bradford gave a lot of land for the meeting-house and burial-ground, and that was the only one used until the year 1840, when it was enlarged on the northerly side. In 1854 the beau- tiful Evergreen Cemetery adjoining this latter portion of the old ground was laid out by proprietors, and this part, with the rest of the old churchyard, is in one inclosure. Within the limits of the old yard nine hundred and thirty-six names are inscribed on the gravestones that were erccted there previously to the year 1860. The oldest stone is to the memory

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HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY.

of a child of Mr. Charles Little, and bears the date Feb. 14, 1717/18. Of the number of persons who are buried there, and whose names are given, one died in the one hundred and eighth year of his age, four- teen between ninety and one hundred years, ninety- nine between eighty and ninety years, and one hun- dred and twenty-two between seventy and eighty years, thus showing a good degree of longevity for the inhabitants of the town.

A few inscriptions from some of the older grave- stones will be given here :

" Depositum hic jacet JOSEPHI STACY Corpus nuper Ecclesia Regiopolitanæ Pastoris Reverendi qui Obit Augusti vigessimo quinto Die Anno 1741. Atatis Suæ quadra gessimo Septimo."

"In memory of the Rev'd Mr WILLIAM RAND. Died March ye 14, 1779, Aged 79 years wanting 7 days. Here one who long had ran the Christian Race, Kindly relieved, reclines his hoary head, And sweetly slumbering in this dark Emhrace, Listens the welcome Sound, Arise, ye Dead."

"In memory of Mr. EBENEZER COBB, who died Dec. 8, 1801, aged 107 years, 8 months, & 6 days. When age, all patient & without regret, Lies down in peace and pays the general deht, 'Tis weakness most unmanly to deplore The death of those who relish life no more."

" Miss LUCY LITTLE, Deceased Sepr 29th, 1756, Aged 37 years, 5 months. Reader ! Beneath this Mournful Pile is laid What Once was Beauty and a Spotless Maid. Here was each Virtuc and each Grace comhined, Fair was her Form, but fairer was her Mind. So hright in Her The Sex's Virtues shone, They Seemed all centered in this Maid Alone. The Harmony of Life thus kept Intire, She Joined at Death the Fair Angelic Quire; The Fair Angelic Quire with Joy Confest They Ne'er had welcom'd a more Charming Gnest. Led by the Admiring Throng, She takes Her seat, And Half an Angel HERE now Shines ABOVE compleat."

" Hero lics deposited what was mortal of ANN WARREN SEVER, daughter to the Hon. William Sevor, Esq., & Sarah his wife, who died Jany ye 19, 1788, Anno Etatis 25. How oft I gazed prophotically sad,

How oft I saw her dead while yet in smilos ! In smilos sho sunk her grief to lesson mine ; Sho spoko me eomfort & increased my pain."

" Erected to the Memory of JOHN THOMAS,

Major-General, Commander-in- Chief of the Army in Canada in the Revolutionary War, who died at Chamblee, Juno 2, 1776, ÆE. 52."

" Here lyes ye Body of MAYJEAR JOHN BRADFORD, who died Dec. 8th, 1736, In ye 84th year of. his age.

He lived near 62 years with his wife."

" Here lies huried the Body of NICHOLAS SEVER, Esq., who deceased the seventh day of April, Anno Dom. one Thousand seven hundred & Sixty-four, Aged Eighty- four years. He was many years first Justice of the Inferior Court for the County of Plimouth, which office he resigned some years before his death."

" Here lies Buried the body of Mrs. SARAH SEVER, wife of Nicholas Sever, of Kingston, Esq., who died August the 25th, Anno Dom. 1756, In the Sixty-fifth year of her age."

"Here lyes ye Body of Mrs. PRISCILLA WISWALL, widow of Rev. Ichabod Wiswall, late of Duxhury. Oht. June 3, A.D. 1724, ÆT. 71. In glory Christ unites the Just, Tho' distant graves divide the dust."

The principal officers of the town of Kingston from 1726 to 1885 have been as follows :

MODERATORS AT THE ANNUAL MARCH MEETINGS. 1727. Thomas Croad.

1780. Ebenezer Washhurn.

1728-29. Joshua Cushing. 1781. John Gray.

1730. Nicholas Sever. 1782-84. Joseph Sampson.

1731. Gershom Bradford. 1785-86. John Gray.

1732. Nicholas Sever.

1733. Judah Hall. 1734-35. Gershom Bradford. 1736. Nicholas Sever.

1737-38. Gershom Bradford.

1739-40. Nicholas Sever.

1741-43. Gershom Bradford.

1744-54. Nicholas Sover. 1755-58. Robert Bradford. 1759. William Sever. 1760-62. Robert Bradford. 1763. John Thomas. 1764-72. Robort Bradford. 1773-75. Jolın Thomas. 1776-77. John Gray. 1778. Ebonozor Washburn. 1779. Jamos Drow.

1787. Ebenezor Washburn. 1788. John Gray. 1789-91. Jedediah Holmes. 1792. John Gray.

1793-98. Jedediah Holmes. 1799. Joseph Sampson.

1800-1. Jedediah Holmes. 1802. John Gray. 1803. John Thomas. 1804-6. Seth Drew. 1807-10. Joseph Holmes, Jr. 1811. James Sever. 1812. John Thomas.

1813. James Sovor.

1814. Joseph Holmes, Jr.

1815. Silas Tobey.

1816. Joseph Holmos, Jr.

1 1 1

287

HISTORY OF KINGSTON.

1817-18. John Thomas.

1842. John Gray. Jr.

1$19. Joseph Holmes, Jr.

1843-46. Alexander Holmes.

1520. George Russell.

1847-49. Joseph Stetson.

1821-30. Eli Cook.

1850. Thomas Russell.

1831. Alexander Holmes.

1851-54. Alden S. Bradford.

1832-35. Eli Cook.

1855. John Gray.

1836. Thomas Cushman.

1856. Alden S. Bradford.

1537. Josiah Holmes.

1857. Samuel E. Cushman.

1538-39. James N. Sever.

1858. John Gray.

1840. Alexander Holmes.

1859-75. Alden S. Bradford.

1841. James N. Sever.

1876-85. Walter H. Faunce.

TOWN CLERKS.

1.26-44. Joseph Mitchell.

1816. George Thomas.

1.45-46. Francis Adams.

1817-20. Spencer Bradford.

1747-54. Joseph Mitchell.1

1821-22. George Russell.2

1755-57. William Sever.

1823. Spencer Bradford.

1758-63. John Faunce.

1824-28. Peleg Bradford.

1.64-66. John Thomas.

1829-37. Joseph Sampson. 183S. Charles C. Faunce.

1769-73. John Gray.

1839. Joseph Sampson.

1774-76. William Drew.

1840-50. Charles C. Faunce.

1.77-1803. John Fannce.

1851-78. Nathan Brooks.

1$04-6. Bildad Washburn.

1879-80. Herbert Soule.

1507-S. George Russell.

1SS1-82. Joseph S. Robbins.

1509-15. John Gray.

1883-85. Daniel Prince.

TOWN TREASURERS.

1726-50. Deacon Wrestling 1829-35. Eli Cook.

Brewster. 1836-39. Joseph Sampson.

1751-63. John Faunce.

1840-42. David Beal.

1764-65. Cornelins Sampson.

1843-44. Joseph Sampson.4

1769-1503. John Gray.

1845-57. Thomas Russell.

1804-5. Crocker Sampson.

1858-78. Nathan Brooks.

1806-S. Jndah Washburn. 1879-80. Herbert Soule.

1509-26. Samnel Stetson.3 1SS1-82. Joseph S. Robbins.

1927-25. Spencer Bradford. 1883-85. Daniel Prince.

SELECTMEN OF KINGSTON, 1726 TO 1885.

1726 .- Benjamin Eaton, Thomas Croade, Jacob Mitchell. 1727-28 .- Benjamin Eaton, Thomas Croade, Gershom Bradford. 1729-31 .- Gershom Bradford, Francis Adams, Robert Cooke. 1732 .- Gershom Bradford, Samuel Foster, Joseph Mitchell. 1733-36 .- Francis Adams, Gershom Bradford, Joseph Mitchell. 1737-40 .- Gershom Bradford, Samuel Foster, Joseph Mitchell. 1741 .- Gershom Bradford, Samuel Ring, Joseph Mitchell. 1742 .- Gershom Bradford, Samuel Foster, Robert Bradford. 1743 .- Gershom Bradford, Jndah Hall, Robert Bradford. 1744-47 .- Nicholas Sever, Judah Hall, Robert Bradford. 1745 .- Nicholas Sever, Robert Bradford, William Ripley. 1749-51 .- Robert Bradford, Joseph Holmes, Joseph Mitchell. 1752 .- Robert Bradford, Samnel Foster, Joseph Mitchell. 1753 .- Benjamin Sampson, Robert Bradford, Joseph Mitchell. 1754 .- Nicholas Sever, Robert Bradford, Joseph Mitchell.5 1755 .- Benjamin Lothrop, Samnel Ring, Cornelius Sampson. 1758-57 .- Robert Bradford, Benjamin Lothrop, Samuel Ring.

1758 .- John Faunce, John Fuller, John Gray.6 1759-62 .- Robert Bradford, John Gray, John Fuller. 1763 .- Robert Bradford, John Fuller, Samuel Foster.7 1764-69 .- Robert Bradford, John Gray, John Thomas. 1770-74 .- John Thomas, John Gray, Benjamin Cook. 1775 .- John Thomas, John Gray, Ebenezer Washburn.8 1776 .- John Gray, Ebenezer Washburn, Benjamin Cook. 1777 .- Benjamin Cook, Ebenezer Washburn, Ebenezer Cobb, Jr.

| 1778 .- Ebenezer Washburn, Jedediah Holmes, James Drew. 1779 .- Peter West, Ebenezer Cobb, Jr., John Faunee. 1780 .- John Gray, Benjamin Cook, John Faunce. 1781-84 .- John Faunce, Jedediah Holmes, Joseph Sampson. 1785-86 .- John Gray, Joseph Sampson, John Faunec. 1787-88 .- John Gray, John Faunee, Jedediah Holmes. 1789 .- John Gray, John Faunce, Ebenezer Washburn. 1790-91 .- John Gray, Jedediah Holmes, John Faunee. 1792-93 .- John Gray, John Faunce, Josiah Cook. 1794 .- John Faunec, Josiah Cook, Jedediah Holmes. 1795 .- Josiah Cook, John Gray, Ebenezer Washburn. 1796 .- Ebenezer Washburn, Josiah Cook, Jedediah Holmes. 1797-98 .- Ebenezer Washburn, Josiah Cook, Joseph Sampson. 1799-1802 .- John Gray, Jedediah Holmes, John Faunce. 1803 .- John Faunce, Charles Holmes, Nathaniel Thomas. 1804-6 .- Seth Drew, Josiah Cook, Joshua Delano. 1807-S .- John Faunce, Joshua Delano, Nathaniel Thomas. 1809-12 .- John Faunce, Nathaniel Thomas, Elisha Hall. 1813-14 .- John Faunee, Nathaniel Thomas, Robert MeLaugh- lin, Jr.

1815 :- Nathaniel Thomas, Robert MeLaughlin, Jr., John Gray. 1816-20 .- John Gray, Robert MeLaughlin, Jr., Robert Cook, Jr.

1821-22 .- John Gray, Robert Cook, Jr., Spencer Bradford. 1823-24 .- John Gray, Robert MeLaughlin, Jr., Spencer Brad- ford.

1825 .- John Gray, Eli Cook, Josiah Cook, Jr. 1826 .- Josiah Cook, Jr., Eli Cook, Nathaniel Holmes. 1827 .- Samuel Ring, Nathaniel Faunce, George Adams. 1828 .- John Gray, Robert MeLaughlin, Nathaniel Faunce. 1829 .- Nathaniel Chandler, Josiah Holmes, Zebulon Bisbec. 1830-33 .- Zebulon Bisbce, Josiah Holmes, Samuel Adams. 1834 .- Zebulon Bisbee, Josiah Holmes, Nathaniel Faunee. 1835-37 .- Nathaniel Faunec, Thomas C. Holmes, Asaph

Holmes.

1838-39 .- Josiah Holmes, John Gray, Jr., James Foster. 1840-41 .- Josiah Holmes, John Gray, Jr., Elkanah Cushman. 1842 .- Nathaniel Faunce, Zebulon Bisbee, Samuel Adams. 1843-44 .- Nathaniel Faunee, Samuel Adams, Thomas C. MIolmes.

1845-52 .- Samuel Adams, Nathaniel Faunce, Alden S. Brad- ford.

1853 .- Alden S. Bradford, Thomas Cushman, Stephen Holmes (2d). 1854 .- Alden S. Bradford, Stephen Holmes (2d), John Gray.9 1855 .- Alden S. Bradford, James Foster, Nathaniel Faunce.

1 This year Mr. Mitchell died, and William Sever was chosen, November 22th, to fill the vacancy.

2 Mr. Russell died, and George B. Holmes was chosen clerk pro tem.

3 Mr. Stetson resigned June 5, 1826.

4 Mr. Sampson died December 6th, and Samuel Adams was chosen treasurer. Mr. Adams resigned, and Nathaniel Faunce was chosen.

5 Mr. Mitchell died this year and John Brewster was chosen.

6 An order fromn General Court declared the March meeting illegal, and another inceting was held June 7th, at which Robert Bradford and Benjamin Lothrop were chosen in place of Messrs. Faunce and Fuller.

7 Another meeting is recorded, at which John Thomas and John Gray were chosen in place of Messrs. Fuller and Foster. 8 Benjamin Cook was chosen in the place of John Thomas when the latter left town to join the army.

9 Mr. Gray afterwards declined, and Samuel E. Cushman was chosen.

1767-68. John Fannce.

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HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY.

1856 .- Alden S. Bradford, James Foster, Samuel Adams. 1857 .- Edward Gray, Samuel Adams, Martin L. Tupper. 1858 .- John Gray, Samuel E. Cushman, Walter H. Faunce. 1859 .- Edward Gray, Samuel E. Cushman, Walter H. Faunce. 1860-62 .- Edward Gray, Samuel E. Cushman, Charles Everson. 1863 .- Edward Gray, Alden S. Bradford, Cornelius A. Bartlett.1 1864-65. Edward Gray, Alden S. Bradford, Charles Everson. 1866-77 .- Alden S. Bradford, Edward Gray, John F. Holmes.2 1878 .- Alden S. Bradford, John F. Holmes, William S. Adams. 1879 .- Alden S. Bradford, John F. Holmes, Walter HI. Faunee. 1880-84 .- Walter H. Faunce, John F. Holmes, Philander Cobb.

1877. George Bradford, of | 1881. Peleg McFarlin, of Car- Duxbury. ver.

1878. Philander Cobb.

1879. William Savery.7

1880. Walter HJ. Faunce.

1882. Benjamin W. Robbins. 1883-84. Frederick M. Harrub, of Plympton.

STATISTICS. .

Population in 1880 1524

Valuation of real estate, 1879. $738,255 Valuation of personal estate, 1879. 712,687

Rate of taxation, $7.20 per $1000

Number of dwelling-houses taxed in 1879 ... 344

Number of acres of land

... 10,483

REPRESENTATIVES TO THE GENERAL COURT. 1740-41. Capt. Gershom Brad- | 1841. Zebulon Bisbee. ford.

1751. Joseph Mitchell.

1843. Uriah Bartlett.

1753. Benjamin Sampson.

1845. Uriah Bartlett.

1754. William Sever.

1846. Joseph S. Beal.

1848. Elkanah Cashman.

1850. Francis Johnson.5

1851. Nathaniel Faunce.

1852. Stephen Holmes (2d).

1855. Nathan Brooks.

1856. Edward Gray.

1857. Henry Hunt.

1858. William Ellison.6

1859. Job W. Drew.

1860. George Bradford, of Duxbury.

1861. Frederick C. Adams.

1862. Henry B. Mclaughlin, of Duxbury.

1863. Alden S. Bradford. .

1864. Augustus Weston, Duxbury

1865. Cephas Washburn.

1866. Jabez Keep, of Duxbury.

1867. Noah Prinee.

of 1819. John Thomas.

1868. Eden Wadsworth, Duxbury.

1869. Joseph A. Stranger.

1870-71. Hambleton E. Smith, of Duxbury.

1872. Josiah Peterson, of Dux- bury.

1873. Nahum Bailey, Jr.

1835. Deacon Seth Drew. 1836. Joseph Holmes.

1837. Deacon Seth Drew.

1838. Joseph Holmes.

1839. James M. Sever.

1840. Josiah Holmes.

1876. E. Everett Waterman.

1 Mr. Bartlett afterwards declined, and Samuel E. Cushman was ehosen.

2 Mr. Gray deceased 1877, and William S. Adams chosen April 30th.

3 After Mr. Gray was elected, the town refused to send a representative to his Majesty's court, but William Sever was eleeted a delegate to the Provincial Congress at Watertown.

4 This year the election for representative took place in November, so the representative, Spencer Bradford, chosen at that time served in the session of 1833.

5 Mr. Johnson died Feb. 9, 1850, and Nathaniel Faunce was elected to fill the vacancy.

6 Duxbury and Kingston formed one representative district, and William Ellison, of Duxbury, was elected.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

SAMUEL ADAMS.

1766-69. William Sever.

1770. Capt. Robert Bradford.

1773. John Gray.

1775. John Gray.3

1776. William Sever and Dea- eon Eben'r Washburn.

1777. Capt. Eben'r Washburn. 1778. Isaac Brewster.

1780. William Drew.

1781-93. Eben'r Washburn.

1794-95. Maj. Seth Drew. 1796. Eben'r Washburn. 1797. Maj. Seth Drew.

1800-2. Jedediah Holmes.

1803-4. Maj. Seth Drew.

1805-8. John Faunee.

1809-16. Col. John Thomas.

1822-23. Capt. John Gray. 1827-28. Thomas P. Beal. 1829-30. Rev. Z. Willis. 1831. Spencer Bradford. 1832. Speneer Bradford.4 1834. George Russell.

1874. Samuel Loring, of Dux- bury. 1875. Stephen M. Allen, of Duxbury.

This person, who was so well known by many of the present generation, and whose familiar features are so faithfully represented in this work, was the son of Francis and Mercy Adams, and was born June 23, 1790. He could well be called a representative of the Adams family, as his parents were cousins, both being grandchildren of the first Francis Adams, who settled in Kingston about 1727, and from whom, through the Holmes, Cook, and Stetson families, in this town, so many of the prominent and wealthy citi- zens also have descended. His father was a farmer, and lived in the northerly part of the town near Duxbury, where he died March 26, 1823, aged seventy-three. The mother lived to an advanced age, dying Nov. 25, 1843, aged ninety. The late Dr. E. Holmes, of Winthrop, Me., writes of her as " a very humble and unpretending person, yet a very remark- able woman. I have never met with a person of more tenacious memory, nor one who, with so few advantages of early education, had it so well stored with so many facts and traditions. She was upright, honest, industrious, frugal, kind, and affectionate in all the walks of life. She was a mother indecd not only to her own family, but to all within the circle of her acquaintance, ever ready to listen to the calls for aid or counsel, and, where there was sickness or grief, spreading comfort, hope, and encouragement wherever she went." After receiving what little education the common schools of that day afforded he learned the trade of a carpenter, and after reaching his majority was for a while engaged in that occupation. At one time, after he had finished some work in a neighboring

7 Duxbury, Kingston, Plympton, and Carver formed one representative distriet, and William Savery, of Carver, was elected.

1755-58. John Brewster.

1759-62. Capt. Robert Brad- ford.

1842. Deaeon Seth Drew.

Samuel Adams

289

HISTORY OF KINGSTON.

village, he returned home at the close of the day and found his father reaping alone in his field. Wishing to render him some assistance, he joined in the work and labored until late in the evening. By overexer- tion, the weather being very warm, he was soon pros- trated with a rheumatic fever, and after partially re- covering therefrom suffered from a relapse, and the effects of that severe sickness were visible throughout his entire life. It rendered him incapable of return- ing to his former vocation, and he soon turned his attention to a manufacturing business.

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History of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 63

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & co. Number of Pages: 1706

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1706