USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Rehoboth > History of Rehoboth, Massachusetts; its history for 275 years, 1643-1918, in which is incorporated the vital parts of the original history of the town > Part 35
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result of the Republican tidal wave which swept Rhode Island in that year, he was defeated. He is a member of the state commis- sion having in charge the armory for mounted commands of the state militia. He is greatly interested in historical and genealogi- cal matters, and is a member of the Rhode Island Society of May- flower Descendants, and served as governor of that society in 1911, 1912 and 1913. In 1912 he was elected deputy governor-general of the National Society of Mayflower Descendants, and still holds that office. He is also a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, Sons of the American Revolution, and of the Rhode Island His- torical Society.
Addison P. Munroe married, Dec. 22, 1885, Annie Burnside Hopkins, daughter of Nelson and Emily Greene (Bateman) Hop- kins; she is descended from a line of distinguished colonial an- cestors, and is a member of the Colonial Dames of America, and of Gaspee Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. She was born in Cranston, R.I., Aug. 12, 1861. The children of Ad- dison P. and Annie (Hopkins Munroe are:
Chester Pierce, born in Providence, Sept. 1, 1889; married (1) June 24, 1912, Gladys Avis Rich; (2) June 3, 1917, Mary Doris Davenport. He is chief clerk at the Grove Park Inn, Asheville, N.C.
Harold Bateman, born in Providence, Sept. 11, 1891; married Esther Louise Whipple, June 4, 1913. He is a deputy sheriff of Providence County, State of Rhode Island.
MUNROE, BENJAMIN F., is the fifth generation in direct line from John Munroe: John,1 Benjamin,2 Benjamin,3 John,4 Benjamin.5 He was the son of John N. and Lousina J. (Knapp) Munroe, and was born in Rehoboth, March 20, 1866. Married, Jan. 30, 1895, Grace Marian Appleby of Providence, R.I. Seven children have been born to them:
Marion F., born Jan. 7, 1896.
Clarence C., born Sept. 1, 1897.
Benjamin C., born Oct. 25, 1899.
Hope A., born Feb. 7, 1902.
Chester M., born March 31, 1904.
Clara F., born Feb. 12, 1908.
Ralph G., born Sept. 24, 1915.
Mr. Munroe purchased the ancestral homestead in 1908, where he now resides. He is prominent in the affairs of his native town, having been chosen selectman and one of the board of assessors. continuously since 1911. He is also the town Forest Warden.
MUNROE, CLARENCE M., born in Rehoboth, Mass., Feb. 19, 1855; son of John N. and Lousina J. Munroe. Left home at the age of eighteen; two years later located in Providence, and in 1881 engaged in the hay and grain business which is still con-
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HON. ADDISON P. MUNROE
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tinued under the name of C. M. Munroe & Son, 8 to 18 Bath Street. On May 3, 1882, he married Honora Isabelle Kase, daughter of Joseph H. and Matilda Kase of Rushtown, North- umberland County, Pa. One son, John K. Munroe, born June 15, 1883; he married Zanna M. Miner of East Providence, R.I., June 15, 1909.
MUNROE, PHILIP ALLEN, son of Burden and Lydia (Baker) Munroe, was born in Swansea, Mass., Nov. 27, 1821. He was descended from a long line of illustrious ancestors, the Munroe family being of Scotch descent, traced back to the eleventh cen- tury. Through the marriage of his great-grandfather, John Munro, to Hannah Rosbotham, he was descended from Richard Warren who came to America in the Mayflower in 1620, his line of descent from the Mayflower being: Richard Warren,1 Elizabeth Warren,2 Col. Benjamin Church,3 Elizabeth Church, 4 Hannah Rosbotham,5 who married John Munro, Stephen Munro,6 Burden Munroe,7 Philip Allen Munroe.8 Although he never became a member, he was eligible to membership in the Society of Mayflower Descend- ants and the Society of Colonial Wars. When he was five years of age his parents removed to Warren, R.I., where they resided for two or three years, after which his father purchased a farm in Rehoboth, where the family permanently settled. Philip ob- tained his education, which was limited, in the little old school- house near his father's farm, the course of study being restricted to the "three Rs." With this meager schooling he commenced a career of wide usefulness and substantial success, starting empty- handed and by indomitable perseverance and industry acquired a handsome competence. He was in every respect a self-made man, of unimpeachable integrity, and became one of the most prominent business men of the City of Providence. After leaving school he learned the mason's trade which he followed for about a year in Pawtucket, R.I. He then became a clerk in the grocery store of his brother-in-law, Lyman Pierce, on Canal Street in Providence, which was the beginning of his successful business career. After about a year he became a partner in the business, and so little capital did he have that he was obliged to give his note in payment for his interest, which note he paid in a little over a year. This partnership continued for sixteen years, Mr. Pierce retiring from the firm at the end of that period. Mr. Mun- roe continued in business at the old stand, and later took his brother Burden into partnership; the business, which had now grown to immense proportions, being conducted under the firm name of P. A. Munroe & Co., and was continued until 1876, when the firm was dissolved and both partners retired from active busi- ness. Mr. Munroe had been connected with the business for about thirty years and his retirement was well earned. He had previously settled in East Providence, where he had built a fine
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residence, and after his retirement he devoted his attention to looking after his large real estate interests; in addition to which he served as executor and trustee for several estates. He spent several winters in Florida, and his life, after retirement from busi- ness, was one of ease and comfort. He remained loyal to Reho- both, the scene of his boyhood days, and always spoke of the town in the highest terms. While never holding any public office, he generally voted for the men and measures of the Democratic party. In religion he was a lifelong Universalist, being quite prom- inent in that denomination. He died in East Providence, Sept. 18, 1908, in the eighty-seventh year of his age.
On Dec. 29, 1844, Mr. Munroe married Delana Pierce, who was also descended from a long line of illustrious ancestors. She was a descendant of Capt. Michael Pierce, the famous Indian fighter; an original Daughter of the American Revolution, her father hav- ing fought in the Continental Army, and she was a member of Gaspee Chapter, D.A.R., of Providence. Delana Pierce was born in Rehoboth, July 13, 1823, daughter of Isaac and Polly (Bowen) Pierce, and died in Barrington, R.I., June 19, 1909, in the eighty- sixth year of her age. She contributed much toward the success of her husband, by her thoughtful co-operation and valuable as- sistance. As a young woman she was a regular attendant at the old Hornbine Meeting-House in Rehoboth, and she always showed a loving loyalty to the town of her birth, to the old church of her girlhood days, and to her kindred. The children of Philip A. and Delana Munroe were:
Sophronia Jane, born in Providence, Jan. 5, 1847, married Thomas W. Richmond, Nov. 21, 1866; died April 29, 1869.
Lyman Francis, born in Providence, June 14, 1848; married (1) Camilla C. Munroe, Dec. 25, 1873; (2) Jannie McDearmid, April 3, 1882.
Delana Jenoe, born in Providence, Jan. 9, 1850; died March 20, 1856.
Lena Augusta, born in Providence, Dec. 30, 1850; died Aug. 28, 1851.
Philip Allen, Jr., born in Providence, June 26, 1852; married Henrietta Packard, Jan. 2, 1877.
Josephine, born in Providence, April 9, 1854; died Nov. 30, 1854. Oliver Buchanan, born in Providence, May 22, 1856; married (1)
Mrs. Annie S. Jeffery, Dec. 11, 1883; (2) Ethel B. Crosse, March 6, 1889.
Addison Pierce, born in Providence, Jan. 2, 1862; married Annie B. Hopkins, Dec. 22, 1885.
Nellie Frances, born in Rehoboth, May 4, 1868; married Clarence A. Brouwer, Dec. 15, 1892.
NICHOLS, DANFORTH BLISS, D.D., son of James and Lydia (Bliss) Nichols, was born Oct. 8, 1816, in a house owned by Samuel
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Baker at Oak Swamp, Rehoboth. At the age of ten he was sent to the Sunday-school at the "Old Yellow Meeting-House" on the hill. Dea. Asahel Bliss was superintendent, and Samuel I. Rem- ington taught the class of boys who recited the verses of Scripture they had learned through the week. In a letter written many years later he speaks of "The old meeting-house with the high- perched pulpit, the sounding-board above it, the fourscore pews, the high gallery with a higher gallery in the two corners in the rear of the singers' seats - the highest pews of all, where the colored men and women had their sittings in God's house."
Mr. Nichols graduated at Oberlin College in 1839, and after- wards took the degree of M.D., but preferring the ministry, he was ordained at Bentonsport, Ia., Jan. 29, 1850. He was superin- tendent of the Chicago Reform School from 1856 to 1860, and during the Civil War was superintendent of contrabands at Wash- ington, D.C., and for several years was connected with Howard University. He afterwards did missionary work in several states, Iowa, Michigan, Florida, Ohio, and Dakota. Through his efforts the Congregational Church at Bon Homme, Dak., was built in 1885, and later the church at La Grange.
Mr. Nichols was twice married: (1) to Sarah A. Chesman of Cincinnati, O., Feb. 27, 1840; (2) to Elizabeth Booth of Madison, Ia., Dec. 14, 1843. He died at Whilson, Or., Dec. 8, 1906, at the age of ninety years.
PECK, BENJAMIN, was born in Swansea, Mass., June 3, 1790. His father, Peleg Peck, who was born in 1736, was a leading man in town in his day. Being in the prime of life on the opening of the Revolution, he early took an interest in military affairs. He received a commission from the Colonial Government in 1772, and held a captain's commission in a Swansea company. He married for his first wife, Phebe Mason of Swansea, by whom he had fourteen children. His wife dying in 1778, he subsequently married Mary Thornton, a widow with three children. There were five children by this marriage, of whom Benjamin was the youngest, therefore he had twenty-one brothers or half-brothers and sisters.
His early life was passed upon the farm, and at a proper age he was apprenticed to Caleb Easterbrooks of Swansea to learn the trade of a wheelwright. After completing his trade, he in 1813 built the waterwheels for the old "White" and "Troy" Mills in Fall River, the first to operate cotton machinery in that city.
In 1815 he married Mary Luther, daughter of Martin Luther of Warren, R.I. In 1816 he was at Waltham, where he saw the first power-loom in operation. In 1819 he entered the service of the old Phenix Foundry Co. in Providence as a pattern-maker, and in 1821 became superintendent for Philip Allen at his mill in Smithfield, R.I. His wife died in 1825, leaving him with two small children, one other having died very young.
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HISTORY OF REHOBOTH
In 1826 he came to Rehoboth and became associated with the Wilkinsons of Pawtucket at the Orleans Mill. The Wilkinsons failing in 1829, a new company was formed and he continued to own a half-interest with different partners until 1865, when he re- tired from business.
In 1820, while residing in Providence, he made a profession of religion and united with the First Baptist Church, then under the pastorate of Dr. Stephen Gano. On coming to Rehoboth he for a few years worshipped with the Congregational Church at the Vil- lage. Subsequently he became a member and a deacon in the First Baptist Church of North Swansea, where his grandfather was deacon one hundred years before. Here he was very influential, giving liberally of his time and money for the welfare of the church. He was fond of music, and for years either sang in the choir or played the bass-viol. He was accustomed to say that he did not receive in his youth an amount of schooling equal to one year; but he was well informed on all subjects, an excellent mathematician, and understood surveying, trigonometry, man- ufacturing and civil engineering. He died at Rehoboth Oct. 29, 1882, in his 93d year, retaining his faculties until within a few hours of his death.
Mr. Peck was a man of large capacity, combining rare mechan- ical skill with remarkable executive ability. For forty years his mind was the dominent force in the Orleans Manufacturing Co.
His daughter, Mary Luther Peck, married William A. King, Feb. 21, 1847. They had four children. (See sketch under "King, Wm. A.")
PEIRCE, SAMUEL LUTHER, born in Rehoboth, April 13, 1828, was the son of Samuel and Jane (Case) Peirce of Rehoboth. He was descended from Capt. Michael Peirce of Indian War fame, as follows: Capt. Michael,1 Ephraim,2 Azrikam,3 Samuel,4 Azri- kam,5 Squier,6 Samuel,7 Samuel Luther.8
His father died when he was eleven years old. During his early life he was a carpenter, and later he was engaged in the wholesale meat business with Nathan Earle of Rehoboth. Retiring from that, he conducted a wholesale milk business, along with general farming, and for eight years carried the U. S. mail to Providence, R.I., being the first mail-carrier from the South Rehoboth post- office, with a record at the central office in Providence unsur- passed for promptness and efficiency.
Mr. Peirce was a "self-made" man who by the conditions of his boyhood had learned self-reliance and industry. Whatever he did was well done. He carried with him an air of thrift and neatness which appeared in his buildings, lands, teams and all his equip- ments. He was thoroughly trustworthy in every relation in life. For several years he was with his family a regular attendant a
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the Congregational Church in the Village. Of him it can be truthfully said, "He was an honest and faithful citizen."
He married, Aug. 10, 1851, Ann Eliza Carpenter Horton, daughter of James and Sophia (Wheaton) Horton of Rehoboth, and at the time of his death, Aug. 31, 1911, they had lived to- gether over 60 years. She died Oct. 5, 1911. A daughter (their only child), Nellie Luther Holden, wife of George W. Holden, and one grandson, Warren Luther Holden, survive him.
PERRY, ARTHUR REED, M.D., son of Ira and Emily (Reed) Perry and brother of Dr. Edgar, was born in Rehoboth, June 16, 1866; prepared for college at Phillips Exeter Academy; graduated from Harvard College in the class of 1892, and received the degree of M.D. from the Harvard Medical School in 1896. He married Margaret Elizabeth Cahill, daughter of William and Margaret Cahill, at Magnolia, Mass., Oct. 5, 1904.
Dr. Perry has rendered a large service to humanity and won distinction in his profession by his special investigations in tuber- culosis. He prepared himself for his national work by ten years of diligent practice in his profession in Boston and earlier in Som- erville, where he was city physician, bacteriologist and member of the board of health. He concerned himself particularly in the causes of death among women and children employed in the cotton mills of New England. Through his initiative the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics started to investigate this important subject and appointed Dr. Perry to take charge of the service. Relin- quishing a successful practice, he spent five years intensively study- ing the prevalency and causes of early death in the New England and Southern cotton manufacturing cities of Fall River, Man- chester and Pawtucket; Atlanta, Augusta and Raleigh. Edito- rially the Boston Medical Journal commended this report as "ep- ochal." It shows that to tuberculosis is due nearly one-half of all deaths among women in the cotton mills between the ages of fifteen and forty-five. The result of this study was published as Vol. XIV of the nineteen-volume Government report on the "Con- ditions of Women and Child Wage-Earners in the United States in 1912."
Dr. Perry has now ready for publication a second and supple- mentary report relating to the debilitating influences commonly precedent to fatal tuberculosis. Advanced sheets startlingly show as prominent death-factors the habitually excessive use of alco- holic beverages among young men, and child-bearing and overwork among young women.
PERRY, CHARLES. Anthony Perry, the Rehoboth ancestor, was born in England in 1615. He came to this country in 1640 and was one of the early settlers of Rehoboth. He was one of the contributors to the support of King Philip's war and a representa-
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tive to the General Court in Boston. He had six children, and died March 12, 1683, leaving by will recorded at Plymouth a large landed property and a considerable personal estate. From Anthony is descended Charles, the subject of this sketch.
Anthony Perry.1
Samuel,2 born Dec. 10, 1648; married Mary Millard, Dec. 12, 1678. Seven children.
Jasiel,3 born in Rehoboth, May 6, 1682; married Rebecca Wil- marth, Jan. 3, 1706. Eight children.
Daniel,4 born in Rehoboth, May 9, 1710; married Mary Walker, March 9, 1737. They lived in North Rehoboth. Eight children. Ezra,5 born in Rehoboth, May 22, 1741; married Jemima Titus in 1762. Ten children.
Ezra, Jr.,6 born in Rehoboth, Jan. 15, 1767; married Betsey Bliss, Dec. 10, 1786. Eleven children.
Daniel,7 born in Rehoboth, Dec. 17, 1802; married Lydia Ann Carpenter of Rehoboth in 1830. He lived at Perryville. Five children: Daniel, died in infancy, William Carpenter, Susan Carpenter, Charles, and Elizabeth.
Charles,8 was born in Perryville, May 31, 1840. He was educated in the public schools and at the Village High School taught by T. W. Bicknell.
At the age of nineteen Charles Perry entered the wood-turning factory of James Henry Perry & Co., learning the business and joining the firm in 1865. In 1871 he became sole owner of the busi- ness, and the next year took as his partner Edwin Perry of Paw- tucket. They conducted a thriving business in wood-turning and carving until 1890, when Charles Perry retired.
Mr. Perry inherits the best qualities of his Puritan ancestry - a man honored for his integrity, a friend of the needy, highly re- spected in the town where he has held positions of trust. In 1889 he served as representative in the Massachusetts Legislature, and has been a member of the Rehoboth school board for many years. He is a staunch Republican, firm in his convictions, and ever loyal to the course he believes to be right. In 1867, he became a member of the Annawan Baptist Church, gave generously for its support, and was for many years its treasurer. The choir had the benefit of his unusually fine voice, a consecrated gift which all enjoyed.
On Nov. 26, 1868, he married Anna Powell Pierce, daughter of Noah and Elizabeth Martin Pierce of Rehoboth. They had five children, as follows:
Edward Everett, born Jan. 17, 1870; married Mabel Foster Briggs of Attleborough, Sept. 26, 1900. Died Aug. 10, 1912. One son, Ralph Foster.
Clara Louise, born July 18, 1874; married Edwin Foster Cary of Providence, R.I., Sept. 14, 1898. Two children: Eleanor Foster and Hope Shepherdson.
GEORGE PIERCE BAKER, M. D.
EDGAR PERRY, M. D.
ARTHUR REED PERRY, M. D.
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Marion Carpenter, born Sept. 11, 1882; married Jerome Earle Farnum of Providence, R.I., April 30, 1906. Two children: Perry Earle and Muriel Pierce.
Edna Frances, born Nov. 8, 1884.
Edith Aurelia, born Nov. 8, 1884; died Feb. 19, 1885.
PERRY, DR. EDGAR, was the son of Ira and Emily (Reed) Perry and was born at the ancestral home in Rehoboth, Oct. 19, 1855. He attended the public schools and was graduated from Phillips-Exeter Academy, New Hampshire, in the class of 1877. From there he went to Brown University and graduated in the class of 1880 with the degree of A.B., and three years later was given the Master of Arts degree. He was an honor man with Phi Beta Kappa rank. Immediatley after leaving college he went to Attleborough, Mass., where he took a position with the Attle- borough Chronicle as reporter. Evidencing marked ability as a newspaper writer, he soon became editor and proprietor and was connected with the paper for seven years. In 1888 he went West and joined the staff of the Cleveland Leader, but in 1891 returned East and joined the staff of the Boston Herald, with which he worked until about 1893, when he became the correspondent at Boston of the New York Herald. While on the Herald staff he was for several years editor and manager of the Somerville Citizen.
He found time to study medicine and in 1898 graduated from the Harvard Medical School with a cum laude and at once set up practice at 1120 Boylston Street, Boston, where he soon established the Gordon Perry Hospital. He was a member of the Massachu- setts Medical Society and of the Boston Medical Society.
His love for Rehoboth was very strong and he always returned to his native town with delight. He was one of the main movers in the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the town, and an efficient member of the committee of arrange- ments.
Dr. Perry married: (1) Emma White, March 15, 1887. She died Jan. 15, 1894. Children: Harold White, Esther Reed, Edgar Adams. (2) Emma Gordon, Sept. 7, 1898. Dr. Perry died April 7, 1903. His tomb-stone in the Briggs Corner Cemetery bears the following inscription: ----
"Edgar Perry, October 15, 1855- April 7, 1903, Journalist, Physician Tireless in industry, alert of mind, Lofty of purpose."
PERRY, MARSDEN JASIEL. Among the earliest towns planted in New England was Rehoboth, in the Plymouth Colony. In 1641 the land was bought from Massassoit by John Brown and Edward Winslow. The town was planted in 1643, and Anthony Perry was among the early settlers.
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On the 4th day of March, 1629, the Colony of Massachusetts Bay was given a charter, and twenty-six men were named as grantees. The fourteenth was Richard Perry, and the twenty- first was John Brown. The descendants of these two Englishmen were among the original planters of the town of Rehoboth, and they intermarried. From these lines there came many descendants. To one of them, Horatio Perry, a son was born in 1850, in a small house on Agricultural Avenue, standing upon the land which his great-grandfather had divided among his eight children, leaving a farm to each. The child was given a name brought to New Eng- land by the very earliest of these men, two centuries and more be- fore his birth, Marsden Jasiel Perry. When this child was three years of age his father died, and soon after his mother was married to her second husband. The child went to live with his paternal grandmother, Lucy Perry. This grandmother, a teacher in the schools, gave the boy the advantage of her many years of training. The home contained a good library in which the boy was given a free range. At a very early age he developed an appetite for read- ing and conned many of the English classics, and in one case a Greek classic in English, "The Republic of Plato." This wonderful book the boy read before his thirteenth year, and Plato's ideal state is still fixed in his mind.
In the young Marsden the sense of observation became strongly developed. Besides his natural gift of concentration, his isolated life led him to turn his mind inward in reflection. He thought more deeply than the average boy with many playmates, and his sagacity has been a prominent trait in his life. An old farmer near by once told Marsden of certain plans he had made for the follow- ing winter; in the autumn the old man died and his cherished plans were never carried out. From this incident he learned the lesson of promptness: if a thing was to be done it had better be done quickly. As he trudged back and forth from school he learned many things from his own observation, - the songs of birds, the loveliness of the wild-flowers, the gracefulness of the elm-tree, the poetry of the wild. At the age of twelve he began to realize that he must soon go forth among men and do his part in the world's work. Near the close of the War of the Rebellion he enlisted in a Massachusetts company and was sent to Boston. He was de- tailed to a position in the office of the Provost Marshal attached to the office of Governor Andrew. The 3d of July, 1863, was a day of importance in his life, as it was in the life of the Governor. The latter had promised to pass the Fourth with friends in Salem, but learning the night before that he was expected to make a speech the next morning at the dedication of the statue of Horace Mann, he passed most of the night in preparation. As he must have books of reference from the state library, who should be asked to bring them but the bright boy from Rehoboth? Thus his discovery of the state library marked a red-letter day in his
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life. In 1871, Mr. Perry went to Providence, R.I., himself his only friend, his head and hands his only capital; and there he has dwelt ever since.
In 1881 he organized his first corporation, became its president and controlled it for eight years. In this same year he became a director in the Bank of America. This, then a small bank, had assets of $287,000. It is now the Union Trust Company, whose home is a magnificent twelve-story block on Westminster and Dorrance Streets in Providence, and its assets are more than twelve millions of dollars.
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