USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Lakeville > History of the town of Lakeville, Massachusetts, 1852-1952; one hundredth anniversary of the town of Lakeville > Part 3
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SECT. 6. That portion of the fire district hereto- fore established by the inhabitants of the village or district of "Middleborough Four Corners," which is within the limits of said town of Lakeville, is hereby taken from said fire district, and the remaining por- tion of said fire district shall be and remain a fire dis- trict, with all the powers and privileges of such districts, and all taxes heretofore assessed on any of the inhabitants of the original district, shall be col- lected and applied to the purposes for which they were assessed, in the same manner as if this act had not been passed.
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SECT. 7. Said town of Lakeville shall continue to be a part of the town of Middleborough, for the purpose of electing State officers, senators, and representatives to the general court, representatives to congress, and electors of president and vice-president of the United States, until the next decennial census shall be taken, in pursuance of the thirteenth article of the amend- ment of the constitution; and meetings for the choice of said officers shall be called by the selectmen of
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10 Middleborough, and shall be holden in the town of
11 Middleborough; and the selectmen of Lakeville shall
12 make a true list of all persons within their town, 13 qualified to vote at every such election, and shall post 14 up the same in said town of Lakeville, and shall cor- 15 rect the same as required by law, and shall deliver a
16 true copy of the same to the selectmen of Middle-
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LAKEVILLE
17 borough, seven days at least before the day of every 18 such meeting or election, to be used thereat.
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I SECT. 8. Any justice of the peace for the county of Plymouth may issue his warrant, directed to any principal inhabitant of said town of Lakeville, re- quiring him to notify and warn the inhabitants thereof qualified to vote in town affairs, to meet at the time and place therein appointed, for the purpose of choos- ing all such town officers as towns are by law author- ized and required to choose at their annual meetings, and said warrant shall be served by posting up copies
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9 thereof, attested by the person to whom the same is directed, in four public places at least, in said town, and fourteen days at least before the time of meeting. The selectmen of Middleborough shall, before said meeting, prepare a list of voters in said town of Lake- ville qualified to vote at said meeting, and shall de-
16 liver the same to the person presiding at said meeting,
17 before the choice of moderator thereof.
1 SECT. 9. This act shall take effect from and after
2 its passage.
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The first town meeting in Lakeville for the choice of town officers was held in the Washburn School House, on Saturday the 28th of May, 1853. The following named gentlemen were elected: Harrison Staples, moderator; Reuben Hafford, Esq., Ezra McCully and Nathaniel Sampson, selectmen and assessors; Isaac Sampson, town clerk; Eleazer Richmond, Job Peirce and Lieut .- Col. Ebenezer W. Peirce, overseers of the poor; Calvin Kingman, Harrison Staples and William T. Jenney, school com- mittee. Earl S. Ashley and Abner C. Barrows were elected constables.
The first annual financial and school report of the Town of Lakeville for the year 1853, together with a schedule of the property, was as follows:
FINANCIAL REPORT
The finance committee, in compliance with a vote of the town, present the following statement of Receipts and Expenditures (etc.) and with the settlement with the treasurer, which they believe to be correct:
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
ISAAC SAMPSON, Treasurer and Collector of Lakeville
Dr. To the amount of State, County and Town tax bills for the year 1853 including overlay $2,859.34 To the amount received from Commonwealth, it being the town's proportion of School Fund 70.95
$2,930.29
ISAAC SAMPSON, Treasurer and Collector of Lakeville
Cr. By amount of taxes remitted $13.50
By amount of uncollected taxes 116.28
By amount allowed for prompt payment of taxes 219.21
$985.64
DIVISION OF TOWN
By E. P. Hathway's order for services in full for 1851-52-53 and part payment for 54 $350.00
By other orders 13.66
363.66
ROADS AND BRIDGES
By orders for Repairs of County Road $54.14
By orders for Repairs of Long Point Road 29.18
By orders for building bridge near Levi Reed's 10.00
By orders for Repairs of other Roads and Railings 3.50
96.82
SCHOOLS
By school orders drawn
1,026.50
SUPPORT OF POOR
By Southworth Jackson's board at M. Alms House in part $2.25
By Expenses of J. Shaws' family in Foxboro in part 48.71
By Expenses of Harriet Elmes at W. Hospital 58.49
By Expenses of Abagail Parris's board in New Bedford
3.28
By Wood furnished Mrs. R. Sharp
5.39
By Wood furnished Isaac Parris 9.00
By supplies furnished Mrs. Grafton
4.00
Amount carried forward $131.12
By Funeral Expenses of L. B. Sampson in part 1.25
By Board of Lois Reed at Levi Reed's 35.00
By supplies to family of J. C. Bly, New Bedford 9.00
176.37
TOWN OFFICERS AND INCIDENTAL EXPENSES
By paid Assessors $40.50
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LAKEVILLE
By paid School Committee:
H. Staples
$6.50
C. D. Kingman
6.00
W. T. Jenney
6.50
19.00
By paid Selectmen
3.00
By paid Committee on Roads and Bridges
4.50
By paid Overseers of Poor:
E. Richmond $4.00
E. W. Peirce
8.75
J. Peirce
7.78
20.53
By paid Incidental Expenses, including books of
Record, Blanks and recording, etc. 22.91
110.44
$2,759.40
Balance of cash in the Treasury April 29th, 1854 170.89
$2,930.29
THE FOLLOWING ARE UNPAID BILLS AGAINST THE TREASURY
Balances in favor of school districts
$43.00
Overseers bills to March 20th, as by report
163.60
Treasurer's Salary
Sundry bills on account of Division and opposing the petition of T. Doggett and others.
The Town of Lakeville has advanced between three and four hundred dollars to pay bills jointly due by Lakeville and Middleboro.
Nearly the entire amount of joint bills are now paid - the money to pay the above was principally derived from right in fisheries, railroad stock and income of farm; none of the money passed through the Treasury of Lakeville.
A. T. HERVEY
T. LEONARD
N. SAMPSON E. RICHMOND
Lakeville, May 1st, 1854
SCHEDULE OF PROPERTY OF LAKEVILLE
From sales of town lands and alms house sales of personal property and etc., four hundred sixty-nine dollars and eighteen cents have been received, which in absence of special instructions has been invested, for the present s follows:
One note against J. P. Nelson $100.00
One note against Sidney Tucker 100.00
One note against H. Staples 100.00
One note against William Harlow 150.00
Balance in hands of N. Sampson 19.18
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
Three lots of woodland situated in Middleboro containing about 28 acres valued at about ... 400.00 Twenty-nine shares of F.R.R.R. stock at $100.00 . 2,900.00
Two shares of C.C.R.R. stock worth now about $50.00 100.00
$3,869.18
In addition, Lakeville has her right in herring fisheries: Her proportion in monies collected from Tax Bills:
In hands of J. B. Shaw In hands of E. Robinson In hands of G. Pickens for 1851 $176.93
In hands of G. Pickens for 1852 330.04
A share in the Town House.
About $12 in School Books in hands of A. G. Alden.
And some bills of small amount to be collected by Middleboro.
H. STAPLES, Clerk of Com. of Settlement
The Town of Lakeville has been served well since 1853 by the following town officers:
TOWN CLERKS
Isaac Sampson, May 28, 1853, to March 25, 1854 Deacon Horatio Nelson, March 28, 1854, to April 2, 1855 Isaac Sampson, April 2, 1855, to March 3, 1856 William T. Jenney, March 3, 1856, to March 7, 1859 James M. Sampson, March 7, 1859, to Sept. 22, 1862 Lieut. Churchill T. Westgate, Sept. 22, 1862, to March 1883 Lieut. James M. Sampson, April, 1883, to March 1884 Jones Godfrey, March 24, 1884, to 1885 Orin E. Haskins, 1886 to 1899
Ernest C. Harvey, 1900 to 1922
Frank B. Williams, Assistant Town Clerk, 1922 to 1923 John G. Paun, 1923 to present time
SELECTMEN AND ASSESSORS
Reuben Hafford Esq., 1853 - 1872 Ezra McCully, 1853 Nathaniel Sampson, 1853 Earl Sears, 1854
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LAKEVILLE
John Sampson, 1854 - 1855 Job T. Tobey, 1854 - 1859, then 1861 - 1862 and 1866 Nathan S. Williams, 1855 John Montgomery, 1856 - 1857 and 1868 Isaac Sampson, 1856 Cephas Haskins, 1857 - 1858, 1862 - 1865 Zattu Pickens, 1858 - 1859
Thomas Doggett Esq., 1859 and 1860 Elisha H. Williams, 1860
Asa T. Winslow Esq., 1860 Eleazer Richmond, 1861
Charles H. Sampson, 1861 - 1862 and 1864 Job Peirce Esq., 1863 - 1865 Capt. Elisha G. Cudworth, 1863 Silas D. Pickens, 1865
Myrick Haskins, 1866 Leander Winslow, 1866 - 1867 Warren H. Southworth, 1867 Josiah B. Bump, 1867
Benjamin H. Reed, 1868 - 1870, 1874 - 1877 and 1879 Edward W. Hackett, 1868
James P. Peirce, 1869 - 1870, 1873 - 1875 and 1881 Horatio Tinkham, 1869 Henry L. Williams Esq., 1870
Sidney T. Nelson, 1871 - 1873, 1879 and 1881
Leonard Washburn Esq., 1871 - 1874 John Shaw, 1876 - 1879, 1881 - 1882, 1884 - 1885 Leonard Richmond, 1876 - 1877
Jones Godfrey, 1878 Josiah F. Tinkham, 1878 Gustavus G. Andrews, 1883 - 1885 (from January to March 18) John H. Paun, 1883 - 1893 George S. Haskins, 1885, 1887 - 1895 Thomas F. Hafford, 1886, 1888, 1890 - 1893
Zebulon L. Canedy, 1894, 1901 - 1907 and 1915 (Jan. to Mar.) Orin E. Haskins, 1894 - 1901 (Jan. to Mar.) Fred A. Shockley, 1895, for 44 consecutive years, resigned in 1939 Nathaniel G. Staples, 1896 - 1901 (Jan. to Mar.)
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
Ernest C. Harvey, 1904 - 1916 (Jan. to Mar.)
Frank B. Williams, 1915, to Dec. 2, 1939
Alton T. Hoard, 1916 - 1921 Howard S. Reynolds, 1939 - 1940 Chester Ashley, 1922 - 1951 (resigned)
Henry L. Pember, 1940 - 1950 (resigned April 1) Wallace C. Wilkie, 1941 to present time Ralph W. Baker, elected June 19, 1950, to present time Harry G. Norris, elected 1951, to present time
In 1875 there was one vacancy as the person chosen declined.
In 1884, C. T. Westgate was assessor and Gustavus G. An- drews was selectman. Mr. Andrews served as selectman until March 18, 1885 at which time George S. Haskins was elected to fill both offices for the remainder of the year. We find that Orin E. Haskins was selectman and assessor as well as town clerk for several years. Ernest C. Harvey was selectman and assessor for 12 years and part of that time he was also town clerk. Chester Ashley continues at the present time to serve as clerk of the board of assessors and as assistant assessor.
INSPECTOR OF ANIMALS AND INSPECTOR OF SLAUGHTERING
From available records William Nelson, who landed in Plymouth in 1633, was appointed Cow Keeper, as previously mentioned, a position of trust.
Records reveal the following inspectors through the years: Inspector of Animals -
Isaac Sampson, 1896 John Cudworth, 1915 Edward P. Harvey, 1920 - 1923 Edgar C. Peck, 1924 to the present time
Inspector of Slaughtering - Alton T. Hoard, 1915 Edward P. Harvey, 1915, 1920 - 1921 Edgar C. Peck, 1922 to the present time
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LAKEVILLE
SEALER OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
A Sealer of Weights and Measures was appointed in 1870, 1871, 1872 and 1874, but nearly fifty years elapsed before the position is again recorded:
Cyrus Washburn, 1870 - 1872, 1874
Sylvanus T. LeBaron, 1920 - 1921
Louis C. Littlejohn, 1922
John Kelly, 1923 - 1946
Frank T. Orrall, 1947 to the present time
FOREST WARDENS
Lakeville's first Forest Warden was Nathan F. Washburn in 1914. The first year there were eleven fires, which were extin- guished at a cost of $76.61. Forest Wardens through the years have been:
Nathan F. Washburn, 1914 - 1925
Maurice Washburn, 1925 - 1926
William Day, 1926 - 1930
Sampson McFarlin, 1930 - 1933
Frank T. Orrall, 1933 - 1946
Sampson McFarlin, 1946 - 1947
Charles L. Weston, 1947 - 1950
Edmund S. Knysinski, 1950 to the present time
BOARD OF FIRE ENGINEERS
In 1949 the first Board of Fire Engineers was appointed and the same board has served for 1950, 1951 and 1952:
Walter A. D. Clark, Chairman
Edward DeMello, Clerk
Joseph Gladu Harold Hemmingson
Edmund S. Knysinski, Fire Chief
Frank T. Orrall
Charles L. Weston, Deputy Chief
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
TREE WARDENS
Records show the following Tree Wardens:
Nathan F. Washburn, 1920 - 1925
Leavitt C. Caswell, 1925 - 1931 Howard S. Maher, 1931 to the present time
MOTH SUPERINTENDENTS
Moth control has been under the superintendency of five men since 1920:
Leavitt C. Caswell, 1920 - 1934
Antone P. Santos, 1934 - 1935
Everett E. Charron, 1936 - 1945
Charles C. Charron, 1945 - 1952
Howard S. Maher, at the present time
FINANCE COMMITTEES
Clifton W. Nelson, Chairman, 1938 - 1941
N. Merrill Sampson, 1938 - 1940
Joseph C. Turner, 1938 - 1940
Leroy G. Wilkie, 1938 - 1941
Maurice W. Washburn, 1938 - 1941
Ray E. Arnaud, 1940
Perley M. Sleeper, 1941 - 1943
Paul V. Hotz, 1941, Chairman, 1942 - 1947
William J. Begley, 1942 - 1948 Harry Norris, 1942 - 1947 and Chairman in 1948
Clarence W. Staples, 1942 - 1946
Russell L. Haskins, 1945 - 1947
Leslie H. Norton, 1947 - 1948 Edmund S. Knysinski, 1948 Harold L. Griffith, 1948 - 1949 Frank J. Dow, 1949 - 1950 Albert H. Heineck, Chairman, 1949 - 1950
Maurice L. Vinal, 1949
John Giberti, 1949 - 1950
Arsene Berube, 1950 to the present time
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LAKEVILLE
Ray C. Delano, 1951 to the present time
Bertram A. Manton, 1950 - 1951
William Smith, 1950 to the present time
Alfred Nelson, 1952
Leroy Washburn, 1952
AUDITORS
Auditors of the Town of Lakeville since its incorporation in 1853, have been:
Uriah Sampson, .1870 - 1875
Eli W. Williams, 1882 - 1886
Sprague S. Stetson, 1887
H. L. Williams, 1889 - 1890 Elton L. Pratt, 1902
Jones Godfrey, 1896 - 1899
Elbridge Cushman, 1899 (from March to August)
John G. Paun, 1903 - 1923 (twenty years)
Clarence M. Gurney, 1924 - 1953 (twenty-nine years)
FISH WARDENS
As far back as 1865 John Dean was Pickerel Agent for the Town of Lakeville. The same year Mr. Dean was also Fish Warden, and he held that office from 1869 to 1874 and again in 1880.
In 1874, one hundred and fifty black bass were put into Elder's Pond, at the cost of one dollar each. In 1880, twenty thousand salmon fry were put into Assawompsett Pond.
Fish Wardens, serving in those early years in addition to Mr. Dean were:
H. B. Coombs, 1869
John B. Coombs, 1870 - 1873
John Cudworth, 1869 - 1875, 1877 - 1880 D. F. Williams
William A. Coombs, 1880 Philander P. Peirce, 1880 Davis Pickens, 1880
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
Beginning in 1880, there is a lapse of many years before the Fish Wardens are again recorded. From 1943 to 1952 the fol- lowing are listed:
Nelson W. Sherman, 1943
Henry L. Pember, 1943 - 1948
Merle C. Washburn, 1949
C. Leonard Reed, 1943 to the present time
John E. Reed, 1944 to the present time
Charles L. Weston, 1951 to the present time
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR
At the first Town Meeting held May 28, 1853, Eleazer Rich- mond, Job Peirce and Lieut .- Col. Ebenezer W. Peirce were elected as Overseers of the Poor.
The cost of the welfare is and always has been next to the cost of running the schools.
In the first annual report for the support of the poor the cost was $176.37, the recommended budget for 1952 being $53,100.
John Shaw first registered as a pauper in Lakeville in 1853 and.he was boarded at Jirah Winslow's, on Peirce Avenue, at $1.25 per week in the summer and $1.50 in winter.
Abigail Parris first registered in 1853 and was boarded at Andrew McGee's on what is now Pickens Street, at $1.50 per weck.
In 1853, John London, the oldest inhabitant, supposed to be 103 years old, was aided to a limited extent.
It was in 1927 that the Overseers of the Poor became the Board of Public Welfare with Alton R. Rogers, John G. Paun and Nathaniel G. Staples as its members.
In 1932 there appeared a report of the Board of Public Wel- fare and one for the Bureau of Old Age Assistance. The mem- bers for both being John G. Paun, Alton R. Rogers and Bethiah M. Williams.
In 1940 the Board of Public Welfare, Old Age Assistance and Aid to Dependent Children were combined and one Board of members served all three. In 1952 another category was added: that of Disability Assistance.
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LAKEVILLE
It might be of interest to note the number of tramps, who, in some reports, are listed as travelers. In 1872, there were 67 tramps fed at a cost of $50.25. In 1874, 162 travelers were cared for at the cost of $114.25; while the next year, 1875, the same number, 162 tramps, were fed for only $86.25. 1876 seemed to be a big year for tramps, because 410 were cared for. In 1900, Len Canedy fed 77 tramps at a cost of $19.25, making the cost of each $.25, while in 1872, the 67 tramps cost an average of $.72 each.
In 1948, the three groups were under the supervision of the Selectmen and Warren C. Gurney was hired as the agent. Mr. Gurney has served as such since that time.
Here is a complete list of the members and the dates:
J. S. Hersey, 1859
J. T. Tobey, 1859
C. H. Sampson, 1861
Jirah Winslow, 1862 - 1865, 1868 - 1869
Job Peirce, 1862 - 1863, 1865 - 1868, 1872 - 1873, 1878 - 1879 Tisdale Leonard, 1862
Eleazer Richmond, 1864 - 1865, 1869, 1871 - 1874
M. Haskins, 1866 - 1867
C. E. Jenney, 1867 - 1868
James P. Peirce, 1867 - 1868, 1871 - 1873, 1875, 1879 - 1883
Frederick Leonard, 1867 - 1869
Zattu Pickens, 1872 - 1873
J. M. Godfrey, 1874
C. Haskins, 1874, 1883 - 1888, 1890, 1892 - 1893, 1896 Dennis Tinkham, 1875 - 1876
Sylvanus Sampson, 1875 - 1876
Leonard Richmond, 1876 - 1877
William Canedy, 1877 - 1878
Job M. Staples, 1877 - 1878 Eli W. Williams, 1878 Silas D. Pickens, 1879 - 1883
Leonard Washburn, 1880 - 1883
John Shaw, 1883 - 1910, a period of 27 years Davis Pickens, 1883 - 1888
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
T. W. Canedy, 1886 - 1887
Sidney T. Nelson, 1890
Joseph DeMaranville, 1890 - 1922, a period of 32 years Zebulon L. Canedy, 1892 - 1920, a period of 28 years T. F. Hafford, 1892 - 1893
George S. Haskins, 1895
Alton R. Rogers, 1911 - 1938, a period of 27 years Ernest C. Harvey, 1920 - 1922
John G. Paun, 1923 - 1948, a period of 25 years Nathaniel G. Staples, 1924, 1926 - 1929
Bethiah Williams, 1931 - 1947, a period of 16 years
John E. Reed, 1939 - 1947, a period of 18 years Wallace C. Wilkie, 1948 to the present time Chester Ashley, 1948 - 1951 (resigned)
Henry L. Pember, 1948 - 1950 (resigned April 1)
Ralph W. Baker, 1950 to the present time
Harry G. Norris, 1952 to the present time
CONSTABLES
At the first Town Meeting held May 28, 1853, Earl S. Ashley and Abner C. Barrows were elected constables.
Constables serving the Town of Lakeville down through the years have been:
Churchill T. Westgate, 1859, 1863 - 1864
Thomas T. Spooner, Jr., 1859, 1863 - 1865
H. B. Coombs, 1872 - 1874, 1892
John Cudworth, 1865 - 1880 (15 years)
John Dean, 1869, 1871 - 1875
C. E. Jenney, 1863 - 1864
J. H. Shaw, 1866 Davis Pickens, 1877 - 1880, 1882, 1884 - 1885, 1887 - 1888, 1890 William B. Aldrich, 1888 Sidney McCully, 1881
Fred A. Shaw, 1890 - 1892, 1894
Zebulon L. Canedy, 1890 - 1893
William H. Elwell, 1891
Joseph DeMaranville, 1893 - 1922 (29 years)
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LAKEVILLE
L. C. Caswell, 1896
Alton R. Rogers, 1915 - 1938 (23 years)
W. Clarence Washburn, 1915 - 1919
Alton T. Hoard, 1920 - 1923
H. Elmer Brown, 1923 - 1929 John E. Reed, 1924 to the present time
John Kelly, 1930 - 1948 (18 years)
George Mills, 1939 - 1944
Charles L. Weston, 1945 to the present time
C. Leonard Reed, 1948 to the present time
It was in 1949 that John S. Erwin was appointed Acting Chief of Police and he has served since that time.
Ralph W. Baker
BOARD OF SELECTMEN, 1952 Harry G. Norris
Wallace C. Wilkie
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DID YOU KNOW -
In the fall of 1949 the ponds and lakes were very low and many wells went dry. Remember the water boy? He had large cans of lake water which he delivered each night for a small fee.
The private school for girls, called Hay-Hall, was not con- ducted at the Jewett Place on the old Turnpike. The Jewett Place was moved from its foundation - but "Hay-Hall was eventually burned down," according to a statement found in Caroline Leonard Goodenough's book, "Legends, Loves and Loyalties of Old New England." Just a little south of the cellar of the Jewett Place is another cellar, where once stood the home of the Haskells. Mrs. Goodenough mentions Hay-Hall and the Haskell family many times. Elder Mark Haskell, who died in 1785 at the age of seventy-six, was the first to be buried in the Haskell Cemetery, a short distance beyond the Jewett Place toward Rochester.
Lydia Squin, an Indian at Betty's Neck, came to the Nelson's and requested Stephen Nelson, who was a minister, to come down to the sick Indians and preach.
Job P. Nelson conducted a stage line from Wareham to Lake- ville where it connected with the stagecoach running from New Bedford to Boston.
CHAPTER III
THE NELSON FAMILY -HOUSE AND FARM
HE NELSON FAMILY was among the first to arrive .. on Massachusetts soil. A direct descendant of the first Nelson who settled in Lakeville, then Middleboro, though seven generations removed, was Sidney Tucker Nelson, who occupied the Nelson homestead. The house is located on Bedford street, about one and one-half miles south of the Town House. This property was in control of the family for over two centuries.
The records of the Nelson family have been carefully com- piled under the title "Ancestral Echoes." William Nelson of Scrooby, England, came to Plymouth in 1633. From the first, this Nelson was prominent among the Pilgrims, and their con- fidence in him was demonstrated by his appointment as cow- keeper, then considered a position of trust. He married Martha Ford. Their son was William Nelson the second. His grave, the location of which was unknown for many years, was dis- covered about fifty years ago at the Green Cemetery in Middle- boro close to the First Congregational Church.
The first record of the Nelson family in Lakeville was in 1714, Lakeville being at that time still a part of Middleboro, when Thomas Nelson and his wife, Hope Higgins, came here to live. They bartered with the Indians and secured a tract of about 150 acres of land from John Sassamon, Jr., a son of John Sassamon, an Indian missionary who was murdered in 1675 .. On this tract of land secured from Sassamon, the first of the Nelsons settled and built a log cabin close beside the site of the present homestead. Here Thomas and his wife, Hope, passed their days; she living to the age of 105, burning to death acci- dentally as she fell into the kitchen fireplace of the house.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
After the first log cabin, a portion of the present house was built, and from time to time additions were made to this house till in 1793 it attained its present proportions.
For ten years the first family of Nelsons lived in comparative comfort. In 1724, death removed Amos Nelson, the first of the family to die. He was also the first white person to die in Lake- ville, then Middleboro, and he was the first to be buried in the Nelson burying ground.
From the Nelson records we find that Thomas Nelson (3), son of William (2), was born May 17, 1675, in the first Precinct, Middleboro, which in 1853 became Lakeville. He married Hope Higgins sometime around 1698, and died March 28, 1755. Mrs Hope Nelson died on December 7, 1782, in her 106th year. Hannah (4) was born April 10, 1699, and married a clergyman, Jabez Wood, on January 20, 1719.
Hope (4) was born December 23, 1700.
Lois (4) was born August 19, 1704. She married Jedediah Thomas of East Middleboro on March 12, 1724.
Amos (4) dicd in January, 1724, at the age of five years.
John (4) died July 6, 1732, in the 30th year of his age.
Eben (4) dicd in April, 1745, at the age of 25.
Foxel (4) died May 13, 1745, aged 28 years.
Lieut. Thomas (4) was born April 12, 1710, and died March 7, 1768, at the age of 57 years. His widow, Mrs. Judith Peirce, dicd January 21, 1792, at the age of 82 years.
William (4), son of Thomas Nelson, it is believed, owned the farm south of the Nelson Homestead which, in 1895, was the Cudworth Farm. He married Elizabeth Howland, who died in her 91st year, on April 20, 1805.
Deacon Amos (5), son of William (4), was born in 1743, and died November 11, 1795. He married Eunice Pierce, May 25, 1769, who died when she was 39 years old, May 27, 1783.
Rev. William (5), another son of William (4), was born July 18, 1741; ordained at Norton, November 12, 1772; dicd April
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THE NELSON FAMILY - HOUSE AND FARM
11, 1806. Hannah, his wife, was born in 1752 and died Novem- ber 24, 1829.
Rev. Eben (5) was born October 26, 1752, and was ordained at Norton on November 10, 1790.
Rev. Ebenezer (5), son of William (4), preached at Malden, South Reading, Norton, and Middleboro. He is buried in Malden. His wife, Chloe, was born in 1757 and died March 20, 1795.
Rev. Samuel (5) was born April 6, 1748, and died September 9, 1822. His wife, Charity, was born in 1751 and died 1787. He preached at the Rock and also in Raynham where he is buried.
Samuel (6), son of Rev. William (5), was born in 1779 and died September 9, 1831. His wife, Sally, was born in 1783 and died January 30, 1835. They had eleven children. Sally was the sister of General Ephraim Ward of West Middleboro, which is now Lakeville. Very large, beautiful Italian marble stones mark the graves of Samuel and Sally.
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