USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > History of shipbuilding on North river, Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with genealogies of the shipbuilders, and accounts of the industries upon its tributaries, 1640 to 1872 > Part 25
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The partnership of Laban Souther and Elijah Cudworth was particularly pleasant, and was only terminated by the death of Mr. Souther in 1840. Mr. Cudworth then took his four sons into the firm. They were all practical shipbuilders, having previously learned their trade at this yard. The firm procured timber from the vicinity at first, the forests then yielding plentifully white and black oak and other timber suitable for
* See Wanton Yard.
254
VESSELS BUILT BY SOUTIIER & CUDWORTH.
shipbuilding. In after years it was procured from the forests of Bridgewater and Abington, at a much greater cost, part of which was for transportation. About 1859, the business becoming less profitable the firm dissolved. Mr. Cudworth, together with his eldest son, changed their occupation to that of farming. The younger members of the firm continued the art of shipbuilding at Briggs' Yard in So. Boston, and in many of the yards at East Boston and Medford. Elijah Cudworth, died Sept. 20, 1878, aged 90 years, 20 days, and is buried in the First Parish Cemetery at Norwell. He left four sons : 1. Elijah, died a few years ago ; 2. Laban, who resides in Marsh- field ; 3. Joseph, mar. Sarah Jane, dau. of Joshua Stetson, no children ; 4. John, mar. Mary Hersey ; they have one dau., Mary Frances, b. July 17, 1859, who mar. Edwin Beal of Norwell and has two children: Edwin and Charles. Elijah Cudworth had four daughters, two of whom are now living. Joseph and John Cudworth live in Hanover near the Four Corners.
built at the Chittenden Yard, in 1818, the sch. " PHARAMOND," 84
Laban Souther 8 Lat Endwon tons, of Boston ; owners, Elijah Curtis, Laban Souther, Samuel Tolman and William James, Scituate, and Lemuel Brackett, Quincy. This vessel was begun April 10, 1817, and launched March 19, 1818. It cost $175 to rig her, and $96 for duck for the sails. It appears that this vessel was fully rigged at the yard, was owned by a Scituate Company, and engaged in mackerel fishing for some years, making large returns to her owners. The last account of her was when she was sold to Boston merchants about 1821, and sailed on May 22nd of that year from there. In Mr. Cudworth's settlement with the owners, he paid Samuel Tolman, Jr., $150, it being his part of the first payment. Mr. Cudworth received $600. Mr. Souther $225, and he says, "Laban Souther and myself paid $124.50 each for the outfits of the sch. "Pharamond,' and likewise received alike for the fish." They built here the next year, 1819, the sch. "SEVENTH SON," 87 tons, of Boston. The following copy of a charge from an old account book will show the rate of wages paid at this time. "Jan. 1, paid Thomas Ruggles $20.50 for twenty and one half days 'worck don,' on the sch. 'Seventh Son.'" The "Seventh Son" was in
255
FRUITFUL SYLVESTER - SOUTHER & CUDWORTH.
the Atlantic whaling from Provincetown under Capt. Cook in 1822. Rum was freely charged from time to time to the differ- ent vessels in all the yards as will be seen by the following copies of some of the entries: "Eighty cents for one gallon of rum for the sch. Sixty cents for one gallon of rum for the 'Sisters.' Paid for one gallon of rum for the 'Old Sch.,' 48 cents," etc. The old sch. was probably the " Pharamond." This firm built the sch. "THREE SISTERS," in 1820. In Nov., 1820, Ensign Otis paid Elijah Cudworth $189 on account of the earnings of the sch. "Three Sisters."
One of the characters of the time was Fruitful Sylvester. He was a negro born of a slave in the service of a Mr. Sylvester who lived on the Chittenden place during the Revolution. He died about fifty years ago and will be remembered only by the older people. He worked for the Fosters in 1820, and to show what wages were at that time he was paid for "Killing, cutting up and salting a cow, 62 cents." " For shearing six sheep, 36 cents." "Cutting two cords of hard wood at Grey's Hill, $1.00," and other labor equally cheap. He was known the country round.
ยท In 1822 the firm built a vessel which they named after Mr. Souther. 1822, sch. "LABAN," 87 tons, of Boston. Owners, in Scituate, Samuel Tolman, Jr., Elijah Cudworth, and Laban Souther. The same year, Samuel Tolman, Jr., bought of Souther & Cudworth 1-16 of the hull of the sch. "Laban," for $135.93. William James had an interest in her and ou her first fishing voyage received "$360 on account of the first fare of the sch. "Laban.'" In 1823 Souther & Cudworth built the sch. "WILLIAM ;" also in 1823 the sch. "FREEDOM," 54 tons, of Boston. She was rebuilt in 1857, and owned in 1859 by Crocker of Marchias Port; Capt. J. L. Crocker. Warren Briggs of Norwell, (a descendant of Walter of 1640, ) now 80 years old, worked in this yard about 1823, and has given me many interesting anecdotes. Souther & Cudworth built in 1824 the brig "RICE PLANT," 122 tons, of Boston ; owned in Boston, and by Elijah Cudworth and Laban Souther. Also the same year, 1824, the brig " MARION," 98 tons, of Boston ; owned in Boston, and by the builders, Laban Souther and Elijah Cudworth. Daniel Hall worked for S. Toiman, Jr., joinering on the "Marion." On Dec. 12, 1824, Ichabod Sylvester was paid 25 cents for going down river as one of the crew of the brig "Marion." In 1825 sch. "CLARINDA," 54
256
VESSELS BUILT BY SOUTHER & CUDWORTII.
tons, was built in Scituate by Souther & Cudworth, and was owned in 1837 at Boston by Cyrus Wakefield. Among the many facts gleaned from the few old account books of the firm now in existence is the following : " On Jan. 5, 1826, Thompson & Wiley paid to the firm $500.55, the last payment of fourteen from the earnings of this schooner, ("Clarinda"). Mr. Souther received $100 of this and Mr. Cudworth the balance." Samuel Tolman, Jr., and Joseph C. worked joinering on the brigs " Marion" and "Rice Plant," and sch. "Clarienda." In 1826 the ship "LEONI- DAS," 231 tons, of Boston, was built at. Scituate by Souther & Cudworth ; she was sunk off Charleston, S. C., in 1861. The " Leonidas " was sold to Captain Ellis, of Boston, for $6201.10 " after deducting for carving for the head and stern." When the firmn were building the " Leonidas," people used to ask Mr. Souther, who was somewhat of a stutterer, what the name of his vessel was going to be, to hear him say " Le-Le-Leonidas." Charles W. Sylvester, born in 1807, and his brother, Harvey Sylvester born in 1810, both worked in 1827 for Souther & Cudworth, and later for the Fosters. In those days the men were in the ship-yard from sunrise to sunset. The Sylvester brothers now live together, nearly opposite the old Torrey place, south of " No Pork " Hill on the road to Hanover. The firm built during the next six years the following vessels : 1827, the brig " MALAGA," 150 tons, of Duxbury ; 1828, the sch. "LOUISA," 60 tons, of Beverly ; 1829, the brig " HEBE," 171 tons, of Boston; 1830, the sch. " MARLA," 64 tons, of Cohasset ; 1831, the sch. "REBECCA," 62 tons, of Cohasset. She was owned and sailed in 1861, by Capt. Silver, of Well- flect. In 1831 they built the bark "FLORA," 293 tons, of Boston ; 1832, the sch. "AMERICA," 81 tons, of Boston ; 1833, the brig "JJOSEPHINE," 232 tons, owned by Osborne Howes and others at Boston. The "Josephine" got ashore about half way between the mouth of North River and Huma- rock, and came near being wrecked. Luke Hall piloted her. She was got off safely. Souther & Cudworth built in 1833 the bark "NASHUA," 301 tons, of Boston. This was quite a large vessel for this yard. In 1834 they built the sch. "LOUISA," 97 tons, for Capt. Cook, of Provincetown. The sch. "PRESIDENT WASHINGTON," 49 tons, built in Scit- uate in 1834, owned in Augusta, Me., in 1884, was probably built in this yard. In 1836 the sch. "TARQUIN," 101 tons, of Provincetown, was built at Scituate by Elijah Cudworth, master carpenter. She was built for a lumber carrier, and had a
THE LAST LAUNCHING ON NORTH RIVER. Sch. "Helen M. Foster," 1871, at the Chittenden Yard. Also Joseph Merritt, her builder.
257
ELIJAH CUDWORTH & SON - HENRY MERRITT.
low deck ; built of mixed wood, iron fastened ; owned in 1863 by E. W. Wood, Surry, Me. ; used as a fishing schooner in 1875, and owned by Charles Keith, Provincetown, Capt. Brown. Souther & Cudworth built in 1836 the sch. "REBECCA," 63 tons, oak, iron fastened; owned in 1859 by Capt. Dill of Wellfleet. They also built about this time the sch. " ALMIRA," and the brig "SEA MOSS." They built in 1839 the sch. " SUSAN BAKER," 99 tons, of Boston. There is some dispute whether the " Souther" was built here or at Taylor's Yard, but as Laban Souther died the year she was built, this " Souther" was probably built here and named for him, and the " Souther" built at Taylor's Yard, was doubtless another vessel. The Her. brig " SOUTHER" was 198 tons, oak, iron and copper fastened. "Built in Scituate in 1840 by Souther." Owned in 1859 by C. Sawyer, Gloucester, Capt. Tucker, and in 1865 she hailed from a British port.
As was stated, after Laban Souther's death, Elijah Cudworth took his sons into the firm, but business was not very flourish- ing, on account of the scarcity of timber; he was the master carpenter of the firm. In 1846 they built the sch. "JOSHUA BATES," 65 tons, of Plymouth ; and in 1848, the sch. " CO- NANCHET," for Mr. Lawrence of Cohasset; also, in 1852, the sch. " SURPRISE," 70 tons, of Plymouth. She was built for a fisherman, of oak and yellow pine, copper and iron fastened. Owned in 1865 by W. L. Phinney, Plymouth, Mass., Capt. Bearse, and in 1884 owned in Lubec, Me. The Cudworths may have built a few vessels between 1852 and 1860, but we have been unable to ascertain the names of any, and the yard was probably little used until the Merritts built here.
Henry Merritt built here in 1851, the sch. "SARAH JANE," 67 tons. She was owned in 1876 by S. W. Lewis & Co., N. Y. In 1862, the sch. "FOREST BELL," built of oak, 44 tons, of South Scituate ; was owned and built by Joseph Merritt, who is now living on " No Pork Hill," Norwell. Also in 1862, the sch. "FOREST OAK," 62 tons, was built here by Joseph Mer- ritt ; Israel Merritt, Capt. ; and in 1864, a schooner of 80 tons, Capt. Abel Vinal ; Ephraim Vinal owned one-half of her. In 1871 was built, at the Chittenden Yard, the last vessel built on North River. This was the sch. "HELEN M. FOSTER," 90 tons, built of oak by Joseph Merritt, draft 10 feet. She was iron and copper fastened, single bottom, and owned in 1875 by E. Snow and others, South Scituate and Cohasset,
258 LAST VESSEL BUILT ON NORTH RIVER -JOS. MERRITT.
Capt. Foster. The launching of this vessel was quite an event, and those who witnessed it probably saw the last launching of a vessel of any size from the banks of North River. Below is given an incomplete genealogy of this branch of the Merritt family, as they have many descendants in Scituate. Consider Merritt (brother of Elisha) mar. Betsey Stetson, and had chil- dren : 1. ELIZA, mar. John Corthell, Sr., and had children : John, Joseph, and Eliza. 2. SARAH, mar. William Cushing of Hingham, and has numerous children. 3. Joseph, the ship- builder, b. in South Scituate, Dec. 6, 1821; mar., 1st, Debo- rah, dau. of Anson Hatch ; and 2nd, Helen M., dau. of Daniel Foster, by whom he has had one son, Joseph F. 4. WILLIAM, mar. Elizabeth, dan. of Benjamin Turner, and had children : Sarah Elizabeth, Walter, Louisa, Hannah (now dead), and Malley. 5. JOANNA, mar. William O. Merritt of Scituate, and has numerous children. 6. MARTHA, d. aged 7 years.
When about eighteen, Joseph went to Quincy, where he was apprenticed to his father, who was doing the iron work of ves- sels there. Later he went to Hanover, where he worked for Warren Wright, and while in his employ did iron work on the "St. Paul " and other vessels, for Waterman & Barstow. From Hanover he went to South Boston, where he worked for E. & H. O. Briggs four years. He then returned to Scituate, and later built the "Forest Belle " on his own account.
Before leaving the Chittenden Yard we will speak of two characters, both negroes, well known in the yards of " ye olden time." One was Uncle Peter Litchfield, who used to drive one ox, and when he wanted to train a new steer, he put it on ahead of the old ox. People used to ask him how he liked his new steer to hear him say, "Does pretty well for a flying jib." The other was Hezekiah Williams, or " Black Bill," as he was familiarly called. No man was so well known in Scituate as he, and no one was so welcome at all of the yards. Black Bill was supposed to be a runaway slave. Where he came from, how he came, or when, no one seems to remember. He lived in the woods, in little huts built by himself, at one time, over fifty years ago, in front of the Dana place. His hobby was the building of ships in the woods, some half dozen at a time ; building a fleet, he called it, with which he hoped to sail South and free the slaves. He never finished a single vessel, but would build them in a strange manner, as, for instance, putting the mast in the ground, and building around it, putting up
259
"BLACK BILL."
frames that resembled anything from a ship to a hen-coop. He built at one time in the woods near George Moore's Swamp, and also at Hobart's Landing. He would work on his vessels until without money or food, then he would leave them to work for the farmers when he had earned enough to buy a little Indian meal, when he would go back to his vessels. While at work for the farmers, he would eat as much as two or three men, but would live very sparingly when in the woods at work building. Black Bill built some of his vessels on the Collamore place. His last residence was on Scrabble Lane, east of Cummings Litchfield's, in South Scituate. From here he went to the Bridgewater Almshouse, where he died.
CHAPTER XV.
BLOCK-HOUSE YARD .- 1701-1834-48.
WILLIAM JAMES, WILLIAM JAMES, JR., DANIEL HATCH, JAMES TORREY, JOTHAM TILDEN, LUTHER TILDEN, GEORGE TORREY, DAVID TORREY.
TI `HIS yard was located in the bend of the river, on the Scit- uate side, just above the site of the old Block House. It was here that the Indian stood who shot Elisha James, ( ?) who was on the Marshfield side, standing where the marshland curves out into the river. The old house that stood near the site of the yard was used as a block-house or garrison during King Phillip's War. It was attacked in May, 1676, when the Indians made a raid into Scituate, but was not carried. John James, whose house (now occupied by John Henderson) was near the block-house, was mortally wounded, and died after lingering about six weeks. The Block-house Yard was first occupied early in 1700, by the Jameses and Tildens.
Records state that the following named vessels were built in Scituate, though they offer no actual proof of the said vessels having been built at this yard. This list is here given as a matter of convenience : 1701. Bark " AMITY," 65 tons, Capt. Richard Lillie ; owner, Samuel Lillie. 1701. Sloop " MAY- FLOWER," 30 tons; owner, John Frizell. 1702. Brig't'n "JOHN & DOROTHY," 40 tons, Capt. William Smith ; owner, John Frizell, Boston. 1705. Sloop "ELIZABETH," 20 tons ; owners, Joseph Lewis of Hingham, and Eleazer Darbey of Boston. 1705. Brig't'n "ROSE," 60 tons; owner, Samuel Lillie of Boston. 1706. Brig't'n "LUKE," 60 tons ; owners, Samuel Lillie and John Horton of Boston. 1707. Sloop
261
VESSELS BUILT IN SCITUATE IN EARLY TIMES.
" HART," 40 tons ; owners, Edward Martyn of Boston, mer- chant, and Thomas Palmer and James Aynsworth of Barbadoes, merchants. 1707. Brig't'n " ABIGAIL & ELIZABETII," 80 tons ; owners, Richard Smith of London, merchant, and Capt. Michael Gill, mariner, and William Smith of Charlestown. 1708. Ship "DOROTHY," 50 tons ; owner, John Frizell, Bos- ton. 1708. Sloop "SWAN," 20 tons ; owners, Samuel Dog- gett, Jr., John Rogers, Samuel Tilden, and Joanna Butler of Marshfield. 1708. Sloop "RUTH," 30 tons ; Timothy Cun- ningham, of Boston, owner. 1709. Brig't'n "CHARLES," 40 tons ; John Frizell, of Boston, owner. 1709. Ship "LYON," 70 tons ; William Blair and Andrew Belcher, of Boston, own- ers. 1710. Ship "DOROTHY," 60 tons; John Frizell, of Boston, owner. 1710. Sloop "DOLPHIN," 30 tons ; John Foster and Daniel Wair, of Boston, owners. 1710. Brig't'n " SUCCESS," 60 tons ; John Coleman, of Boston, owner. 1711. Sloop "EAGLE," 30 tons ; owners, John, Thomas, Macy, and Abigail Howes, and Silvanus Hussey of Nantucket. 1712. Brig't'n "MARTHA," 50 tons ; owners, Nathaniel James and Peter Oliver, merchants, and Brattle Oliver of Boston. 1712. Brig't'n "FRIENDSHIP," 60 tons ; James Pitts, Gyles Dyer, Jr., merchants, and Edward Martyn, of Boston, owners. 1713. Ship "THOMAS," 70 tons ; owners, Jona. Belcher and Andrew Belcher of Boston. 1784. Sch. "SPHYNX,"43 tons, of Boston. 1784. Sch. "BECKEY," also written " Becca," 54 tons, of Boston ; owned by David Tilden of Boston, John Sutton of Cohasset, and Howard Pierce of Scituate. 1784. Sch. "POLLY," 69 tons, of Scituate ; owned by George Mor- ten, Joshua Otis, Nathaniel Wade, and Seth Turner of Scituate. 1785. Sch. "SUKEY," 49 tons, of Provincetown. In 1810, this vessel was sold for the payment of seamen's wages. The first shipbuilder on this yard, whose records are preserved, was William James, son of Dea. John, Jr., who was son of Dea. John, who came into Scituate in 1668, probably from Dedham, and purchased the Ephraim Kempton estate, near the Block- house. William was born 1746, and mar., in 1780, Mary, dan. of Capt. Benjamin Randall. They had children : 1. Lydia, (who mar. Capt. Bass of Quincy). 2. Betsey, (who mar. Rev. William Torrey). 3. William, Jr. 4. Hannah, (who mar., 1st, Briggs Alden of Duxbury ; 2d, Josiah Leavitt of N. Y.)
William James, Jr., was born in So. Scituate, March 1, 1789, and d. Jan. 14, 1854, aged 64 years, being buried in the
262
JAMES GENEALOGY.
First Parish Cemetery, Norwell. He succeeded his father at the shipyard, and mar. Mar. 7, 1816, Welthea Alden, who was b. Aug. 13, 1792. They had children : 1. WILLIAM ALDEN, b. March 7, 1818 ; d. June 13, 1819. 2. MARY RAN- DALL, b. Jan. 12, 1820, mar. Sept. 26, 1843, Edward H. Delano, of New York, Naval Constructor ; she died Sept. 10, 1854. They had two children : William Edward, b. in Vir- ginia in Sept. 1853 ; d. the same month, and Edward Franklin, b. in Dorchester, Mass., Aug. 21, 1854. 3 and 4. ANN APPLETON and twin sister, b. Jan. 2, 1822. She d. Mar.
14, 1887 ; her twin sister d. Jan. 3, 1822. 5. HENRY PACK-
ARD, b. Aug. 4, 1823; d. July 26, 1825. 6. WILLIAM HENRY, b. Apr. 19, 1825. He went to the Pensacola Navy Yard as clerk for Edward H. Delano, Naval Constructor, and there mar. Laura Ingraham, of that place, Dec., 1858. They had seven children : Harry Ingraham, b. in North Carolina, Minnie, Daisy, George, Welthea Alden, Laura I. and William Henry ; of these George and Welthea Alden only are living. 7. ALBERT, b. Feb. 7, 1827, mar, June, 1863, Helen Hopkins of New York. They had one son, Josiah Leavitt, b. in 1864. 8. WELTHEA ALDEN, b. July 6, 1830, mar., Sept. 16, 1850, Benjamin Merritt, Jr., of Watertown, Mass. They had four children : Helen James, b. Jan. 9, 1852, (who mar., July 19, 1876, Abraham Hun Berry of Boston). Louisa Phillips, b. March 6, 1857. Benjamin Frederick, b. March 14, 1865, and John Alden, b, Aug. 23, 1875. 9. FREDERICK AUGUSTUS, b. Nov. 27, 1832, mar. Ellen Foster, of So. Scituate, May, 1855. They had two children : Mary Delano, b. Oct. 7, 1856, and Ellen Foster, b. Nov. 14, 1857. Mary Delano d. Oct., 1863, and Ellen Foster mar., March, 1886, James Gurney, Jr., of East Boston, and d. Aug., 1888. They had one child, Fred J., b. Oct., 1887 ; d. Aug., 1888. Frederick Augustus James d., Sept. 8, 1865, in the Union Army. 10. HANNAH PACKARD, b. Sept. 5, 1835, recently living in Newton.
Willem James , , Sr., built, in 1795, the ship "MARY," for Mr. Joseph Tilden, of Boston, and in his certificate he swore that she was "full built," that she had "2 decks and 3 masts," that her length was "90 feet, 6 inches, her breadth, 27 feet, 1 inch, her depth, 13 feet, 6 inches, and that she was of 286 tons burthen." She was
263
DANIEL HATCH, SHIPBUILDER.
lost probably on the coast of North Carolina in 1829. William James built at this yard, in 1799, the ship " MARY ANN," 242 tons of Boston, and in 1804, the sch. "MARY," 99 tons, of Boston. Owners, Charles Ellis, Cushing Otis, of Scituate, and others.
Daniel Hatch built in Scituate, and probably at this yard, in 1802, the sch. "SAUCY JACK," 90 tons. Owners, William Vinal, Jr., John Tilden, David, Jr., and Cushing Otis of Scituate.
William James became a partner of Jotham Tilden's with whom he built until too old for active business life. Ship- wrecks of vessels, belonging to Scituate and elsewhere were frequent during the early days. Scituate's Second Church records mention the death of
" Capt. Seth Gardner, aged 32, Perkins Clapp, aged 21, Caleb Nichols, aged 28, Henry Nichols, aged 19, Reuben Nichols, aged 17, James Brown, aged 27, Thomas Jenkins, aged 26, Prince (colored), aged 18, who were lost in the shipwreck of the 'Cyrus' at Cape Cod, about 1830 or earlier. One lad, George Fuller, aged 16, escaped."
The bodies of three, Gardner, Clapp and C. Nichols were subsequently found and buried at the Cape .* As they were all Scituate men it was very likely a Scituate vessel. From a newspaper of carlier date the following is taken :
" We hear from Scituate, that last Monday (Mon., Nov. 9, 1761) in a snow storm two sloops were drove ashore and lost, but the people's lives were saved : one of the sloops belongs to Salem, having her mainsail lower'd to two racks, a spring of wind like a whirlwind, run up the mainsail to the head of the mast, blew it from the racks into the water over the stern, which they dragged some hours, when another spring of wind blew it out of the sea on board again. They came out in company with five sail from the Eastward, two arrived safe, and one is yet missing, which, it's feared, is founder'd."-The Boston Gazette and Country Journal.
The first American citizens who were engaged in whaling and sealing around Cape Horn, after the peace of 1783, were Nantucket men, and many vessels were built on North River for Nantucket firms.
James Torrey built here in 1806 and earlier. He built in 1806 the sch. "PHOEBE," 117 tons, of Boston. Owners, James Torrey, Elijah Curtis, Thatcher Tilden, of Scituate, and
* See Briggs Yard.
264
TILDEN GENEALOGY.
others. James Torrey b. 1755; was son of Capt. Caleb, and an unele of George and David, who built at this yard later .* The Tildens built many vessels here between 1700 and 1800, and in 1801 they built the ship "FLORA," 306 tons, of Boston ; built by Jotham Tilden. The poor of Scituate and the surrounding towns were carried each year to the town- houses of the several towns and sold out to service for the follow- ing year. In Scituate yearly could be seen the families packed in old farm and ox-carts, being carried to and from the sales. Charles Turner, father of Hon. Samuel Adams Turner, used to put a clause in each town warrant to see "If the town would support an Alms-house." Old David Torrey used to say, after reading the warrant, "See, there is Charles again, always want- ing to spend the town's money in erecting an Alms-house." But finally Charles carried the day, the appropriation for an Alms-house was voted for and it was erected. Uncle Ells was an odd character of the day ; he used to drink freely, and had a habit of lying about in dark places. Many persons, still living, well remember the start they may have experienced by coming suddenly upon him in some dark corner. No descen- dants or relatives were left to mourn his loss.
and his brother Luther built here. They were sons of Dea. Samuel, of Marshfield, who died May 29, 1834, aged 95. Jotham was b. Jan. 10, 1767 ; d. Dec. 18, 1843, and was buried in the "Two Mile" grave yard in Marshfield. He mar. Betsey Turner, for his first wife, Jan. 13, 1794; she died in 1817, and he mar., 2d, Betsey, sister of Elijah Brooks, in 1819. Jotham had children only by his first wife, viz. : 1. JOTHAM, b. Nov. 10, 1794, mar. and d., leaving a widow, Mary, who afterward mar. Christopher Oakman, and children : 1. Frederick, never
mar. 2. Allen Crocker, who mar. a dan. of Tilden Ames, and left one son. 3. William Henry, never mar. 2. GEORGE, b. Dec. 16, 1796 ; he mar. Mercy L. Clift. t
3. BETSEY, b. Oct. 2, 1799 ; mar. David Harding, and had children : 1. Sarah ; mar. Dr. Oliphant of St. Louis. 2. Henry C. ; mar., 1st, a dau. of Rev. Calvin Lincoln ; and 2nd, No children. 4. MARIA, b. April 21, 1802; mar.
* See, Chittenden Yard.
+ See Brooks & Tilden Yard, Marshfield, for account of this family.
265
TILDEN GENEALOGY.
Elijah Brooks .* 5. WILLIAM HENRY, b. Aug. 18, 1804 ; mar. Sarah Rainsford, dau. of Dea. Rainsford of Boston, and had children : 1. Augusta ; mar. James Bates of Weymouth, and they have children there. 2. Josiah ; mar. Widow Snow. No children. 3. Charles : mar. a Connecticut girl ; had no chil- dren. 4. Harriet F. ; mar. Edward F. Tilden of Chelsea, a ship-builder, son of Hatch Tilden ; no children. 5. Louisa ; - never mar. 6. Mercy, and one or two others, d. young. 6. HORATIO NELSON, 1. March 8, 1808; mar. Mercy Ford of Marshfield, and had children : 1. Mercy ; mar. William F. Damon of Marshfield. Have several children. 2. Horatio A. ; mar. Lucinda Damon, sister of William F. They have children : Carleton and Cora. 3. Helen ; mar. Dea. George Beal of Cohasset ; no children. 4. Lizzie, and one or two un- married.
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