History of the town of Milford, Worcester county, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1881, Part 116

Author: Ballou, Adin, 1803-1890
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Boston : Rand, Avery, & co.
Number of Pages: 1328

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Milford > History of the town of Milford, Worcester county, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1881 > Part 116

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WILLIAM FRANCIS, b. Franklin, Oct. 24, 1821; untraced.

JASON NEWELL, b. Medway, June 19, 1823; m. Catherine Childs, April 29, 1846.

JOSEPH, Jun., b. Medway, April 6, 1827; untraced.

ERASTUS M., b. Poughkeepsie, N. Y., March 12, 1832; untraced.

JAMES, b. Medway, Aug. 8, 1833; untraced.

SILAS O., b. Medway, July 6, 1836; untraced.

SARAH ELIZABETHI, b. Mil., Oct. 12, 1840; untraced.

989

READ, READING, REYNOLDS.

EMMA JANE, b. Mil., Dec. 11, 1846; untraced.

The hus. and fr. d. in Mil., Oct. 30, 1875. Mrs. Susannah, his wid., d. March 10, 1877.

READ, GEORGE LAFAYETTE & (Jason Newell,2 Joseph 1), b. in Medway, Sept. 13, 1847; mr.'s maiden name Catherine Childs; hat-blocker; m. Mary Ann Watkins, dr. of Moses and Mary Ann (Smith) Watkins, b. in Mil., March 6, 1848; cer. in (Waterford) Blackstone, Oct. 31, 1864, by Rev. E. W. Porter. Issue : -

MAUD ESTELLE, h. Mil., July 28, 1874.

Mr. Read is an industrious mechanic, and well-disposed citizen. He res. in So. Mil., in what was formerly the schoolhouse, near Plain St.

READ, CLEMENT ORVILLE, and wf., Lydia ( Buffum) Read, from Attleboro', became dwellers with the Community at Hopedale in 1844, and res. there several yrs. They were intelligent and worthy members. Mr. R. had chn. by a former mge., several of whom res. more or less at Hopedale. He had also chn. by Lydia (Buffum). Of the chn. that res., older and younger, at Hopedale, were, -

HERBERT GODDARD, b. March 5, 1836; his grave is in our cemetery.

MIRANDA A,, b. not given; m. and res. in the Western country. LUCY, b. not given; d. in infancy here.

The parents removed to Eaglewood, N.J., and had 1 or more chn. b. after- wards. The fr. d. at Eaglewood, 1879. Mrs. Lydia, with the remnant of a death-thinned family, still survives.

READ, ESTHER, maiden sister of Clement O., b. in Attleboro', Sept. 4, 1804, was for some time matron of the Hopedale Home School, then bought her bro. Clement's place, and dwelt there till she d., Nov. 11, 1878, a. 74 yrs. Her mr., Mrs. Nancy Read, wid. of Dea. Levi of Attleboro', who received the filial care of Esther for some yrs., d. in her house, Jan. 16, 1864, in her 87th yr. All these Reads were justly respected for their moral worth.

READING, SCHUYLER, pedigree, place of nativity, etc., untraced; m. Betsey Thayer, dr. of Seth and Sarah (Holbrook) Thayer, b. Mil., Jan. 8, 1799; cer. March 31, 1822, by Rev. D. Long. I have not found on the town records any chn. credited to them. Their connubial life was brief. Mrs. Betsey d. Jan. 21, 1823. Her hus. followed her Aug. 22, 1825.

REYNOLDS, SAMUEL EDWIN 3 (Arnold,2 Henry 1), b. in Wickford, R.I., June 27, 1814; mr.'s maiden name Mary Whitford; m. Lydia Ann Sholes, dr of George and Ruby (Knight) Sholes, b. E. Haddam, Ct., Nov. 14, 1816; cer. in Warwick, R.I., Oct. 4, 1835, by Rev. Moses Fifield. Their chn. : -

WILLIAM FRANCIS, b. Smithfield, R.I., May 31, 1837; m. Mary E. (Gardner) Billings, Oct. 21, 1864.

HENRY ARNOLD, b. Cumberland, R.I., Oct. 4, 1839; twice m .; to whom not given. Res. Concord, N.H.

LYDIA ANN, b. Cumberland, R.I., July 16, 1841; d. April 23, 1848.

SAMUEL EDWIN, Jun., b. Smithfield, R.I., Feb. 27, 1843; m. Addie Tinkham, N. Scituate, R.I., 1863.

ORVILLE MANN, b. Smithfield, R.I., Dec. 12, 1845; m. Bethiah Poulson, Burrillville, R.I.

ADELAIDE, b. Smithfield, R.I., Jan 16, 1846; d. Nov. 10, 1846.

JOHN QUINCY, b. Smithfield, R.I., Aug. 23, 1849; m. Laura Ann Leland, June 30, 1870.

WALTER LINDSEY, b. Smithfield, R.I., Sept. 14, 1850; m. Ella F. Wallace, Oct. 4, 1871.

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BIOGRAPHICO-GENEALOGICAL REGISTER.

CHARLES AUGUSTUS, b. Smithfield, R.I., June 20, 1851; d. Mil., May 15, 1856.

ISABELLA, b. Mil., Aug. 22, 1853; d. Oct. 16, 1854.

SUSAN, b. Mil., Sept. 13, 1855; d. a. 4 days.

JENNIE, b. Mil., March 7, 1858; d. a. 2 days.

Five of the above-named sons served their country, for longer or shorter terms, in the war of the Rebellion; to wit, William F., 19 mos. in the 3d Rhode Island Battery; Henry A., during the war in the 3d New Hampshire Regt .; Samuel E., jun., during the war in the 2d New Hampshire Regt .; Orville M., during tlie war, 1st in the Reg. Army, 2d in the 2d Mass. Heavy Artillery; and John Q., 8 mos. in an unattached co. at Fort Warren. Henry A. is a railroad engineer; res. Concord, N.H., and, though twice m., has no living chn. Samuel E., jun., is a jeweller; res. Pawtucket, R.I., and has 5 living chn. Orville M. is a woollen-factory operative; res. in Pascoag, R.I., and has 6 living chn. John Q. is a machinist; res. in Whitinsville, and has 1 child. Walter L. is a boot-finisher; res. in Mil., and is yet without chn. See William F. below.

Mr. Reynolds, the hus. and fr., d. in Mil., May 15, 1872; Mrs. Lydia Ann, the wid., has survived her many afflictions, is a very energetic, useful, and worthy woman as a nurse and straw-worker, and has earned herself a little home on Walnut St., where she is making the best of her declining life.

REYNOLDS, WILLIAM FRANCIS4 (Samuel Edwin,3 Arnold,2 Henry1), b. in Smithfield, R.I., near the adjacent village of Mannville, on Blackstone River, May 31, 1837; carpenter, picture-frame maker, and ornamental joinery worker; m. Mary E. (Gardner) Billings, wid. of George Billings, and dr. of Joshua and Dr. Susan (Boynton) Gardner, b. in Newton Upper Falls, June 10, 1832; cer. at Hopedale, Oct. 21, 1864, by the writer. Issue :- IDA, b. Mil., Aug. 6, 1870.

By her 1st hus., Mrs. Mary E. (Gardner) Billings, now Mrs. Reynolds, had 2 chn. : viz., Susie M. Billings, b. West Newton, Sept. 29, 1852; and Lottie M., b. Newton Upper Falls, Feb. 26, 1858. These survive. Their fr. d. at St. Catharine, Mo., June 26, 1861.

The enterprise, ingenuity, and social standing of Mr. Reynolds and wf. are too well understood in town to require special characterization.

RICE. We have had few of this name within our municipal limits.

RICE, PARLEY, from Brookfield, m. Lydia Parkhurst, dr. of Ebenezer and Mercy (Hill) Parkhurst, b. Mil., April 6, 1787; cer. Aug. 9, 1812, by Rev. D. Long. Issue recorded here :-

ALONZO P. VARNUM, b. Aug. 19, 1813; m. Mary Ann Bates at Boston, Jan. 25, 1843. No further traced.

RICE, DEXTER B., pedigree untraced, whose wf. was a Curtis, came into town from Mendon, many years ago, and res. in what, for a time, was called Danielsville, on the plain. He was a stone workman and a hard toiler. He d., by his own hands, Jan. 6, 1862, a. 60 years. His only son, Byron Rice, d. in Mil., suddenly, Nov. 22, 1878, a. 42 yrs. The widowed mr. had, I think, preceded him, but not long.

RICE, J. ALLEN, apothecary, 116 Main St., appeared first in our Directory for 1872, and has remained here continuously ever since. He ought to have furnished me his family record.

RICE, MELVIN EUGENE7 (Alphonzo,6 Stephen,5 Zebulon,4 Elisha,8 Thomas,2 Edmond 1), b. Brookfield, Vt., May 22, 1847; merchant; mr.'s maiden name Mary Cardell; m. Adell M. Jackson, dr. of Isaac S. and Caroline E. (Neff)

991

RICH AND RICHARDS.

Jackson, b. in Scott, Cortland Co., N.Y., Dec. 8, 1849; cer. Skaneateles, N.Y., Sept. 3, 1872, by Rev. William C. Bowen. Reports no issue. He is one of the gentlemanly proprietors of the dry-goods firm M. E. Rice & Co., 154 Main Street., which was established 6 or 8 yrs. ago. Business and social standing eminently good. He has recently removed his family res. from town to the vicinity of Boston. His immigrant ancestor, Edmond Rice, came from Buckhamstead, Eng., where he was b. 1594. He set. in Sudbury, Mass., about 1638.

RICH, SAMUEL, ancestry, birth-date, and place of nativity untraced; one of our oldest settlers, though continuing such not more than about 12 yrs. I am unable to locate his home-site, but have an impression that it was some- where in the No. Purchase. His wf's. name was Hannah, and the following named chn. are credited to them on Mendon records :-

HANNAH, b. July 17, 1708.

SARAH, b. April 3, 1710.

SAMUEL, b. July 10, 1712.

EUNICE, b. March 22, 1716.

ELISHA, b. Feb. 23, 1718.

Whence Samuel Rich came or went I find no intimation. Mrs. Hannah d., according to record, March 30, 1716. This must be an error, or the date of Elisha's birth is; or else, possibly, the hus. m. a 2d wife, who was the mother of Elisha. I cannot stop to ascertain.

RICH, WILLIAM, ancestry, etc., unknown, came from Lynn to Hopedale in 1844, under peculiar circumstances; m. a worthy member of the Community, of whom he was unworthy, and who had, at length, to be released from him by divorce; went finally to California, and there died. He had with him here, for a time, two sons, Richard and James. Richard m. a dr. of Nathan Harris, left town for the seaboard, soon lost his wife by death, and is no further traced. Nor is his bro. James.

RICH, THOMAS G., THOMAS W., and REUBEN B., the former two bootmakers, and the latter an engineer, ought to have been asked for their family records, but have been passed over, along with many others whom I have been obliged to leave unconsulted. Their names appeared in our directories from 1869 downward; though perhaps Thomas G's. only in that of 1869. Their pedigree is, of course, unknown to me.

RICHARDS. An uncommon name among us. One family only on our records.

RICHARDS, JOSEPH8 (Joseph,7 William,6 Joseph,5 Crispus,4 John,8 Edward, 2 Richard 1 of Lynn, the ancestral immigrant, 1633), b. Sept. 29, 1782; mr.'s maiden name Rhoda Howe of Hop .; m. Nancy Cody of Dudley; cer. Nov. 27, 1806. Issue :-

ISAAC, b. Dec. 2, 1807; d. in infancy, Jan. 20, 1808.

LEANDER, b. July 23, 1809; m. Elizabeth Newton, May 5, 1830.

ELIZABETH, b. Oct. 23, 1812; m. Samuel Kinsman, March 28, 1837.

EBENEZER D., b. Nov. 9, 1814; m. Laura A. Wright.

NANCY C., b. Nov. 29, 1817; m. William C. Daniels, Nov., 1839.

MARY, b. July 22, 1820; in. Watson L. Wood, Dec. 9, 1839.

RHODA H., b. Nov. 3, 1821; m. Samuel G. Howe, July 4, 1847.

MIRIAM D., b. Feb. 26, 1823; d. Sept. 19, 1825.

WILLARD E., b. Sept. 10, 1824; m. Catherine Laforrest.

JOSEPH L., b. June 20, 1829; m. Ann Jane Nye, Dec. 31, 1851.

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BIOGRAPHICO-GENEALOGICAL REGISTER.

After transcribing all these names, I find, by Rev. Abner Morse's genealogy of the Richards families, that none of them were b. here. He does not say where the eldest was b. The 2d is credited to Holl., and all the rest to Hop. Yet all but the youngest stand on our records as if b. here. Hc does not appear on our tax-lists till 1842, and before 1856 had removed to Westboro', where I understand he d. I have not ascertained just how long he res. here, nor in what part of the town. He is said to have been a farmer; but whether this was his vocation here, I am not informed. In 1860 his wid. res. in Dublin, N.H. I confess myself much mystified concerning this family.

RICHARDS, Miss E. A., is named in our Directory for 1880 as engaged in millinery at Blunt's Block; untraced.

RICHARDSON, Rev. MERRILL, D.D., ninth pastor of Mil. Congregational Church; b. Holden, Oct. 4, 1811; grad. Middlebury Col., 1835; stud. theology at Yale; m., 1st, Emily Allen, Middlebury, Vt., Aug. 21, 1838; cer. by Rev. Dr. Merrill. She d. June 12, 1844. He m., 2d, Eunice Terry of Terryville, Ct., Jan. 1, 1845; cer. by Rev. Dr. Ketchell. He was installed at Mil., June 12, 1872, and d. here Dec. 12, 1876. One dr. by his 1st wf., and three sons by the 2d, with thelr mother, survive him. His respected widow has furnished me the following biographical memorial, from the pen of Rev. A. P. Marvin, an intimate and appreciative friend of the deceased, which I have concluded to insert verbatim, without abridgment :-

REV. MERRILL RICHARDSON, D.D.

"Though the residence of Mr. Richardson in Milford was confined to the few closing years of his life, yet his eminence as a clergyman, and his devotion to his work while here, demand that a succinct outline of his labors and charac- ter should find a place in these pages. He was born in Holden, Oct. 4, 1811, and was the son of Heman and Mary (Parker) Richardson. His father was of the ancient stock of Richardsons who settled in Woburn in the early days of the colony. As a farmer and tanner he occupied a respectable position in his adopted town, where he took up his abode about the close of the Revolution. Young Merrill was brought up on his father's farm, and enjoyed the usual privileges afforded by the schools of that time. He felt the influence of a faith- ful pastor in his childhood, in the life and preaching of Rev. Dr. Bardwell, and was inspired by him to study for the ministry. His preparation for college was made at Leicester Academy and at Addison Co. [Vt.] Grammar School. He entered Middlebury College in 1831, and graduated in due course in 1835. When in the maturity of his powers he worthily received the degree of D.D. from his Alma Mater.

" After graduating, he was principal of the Addison-County Grammar School two years, boarding with Rev. Dr. Merrill, a strong, clear-minded theologian, from whom he received valuable instruction. He then spent two years in Yale Theological Seminary in the class of 1839, and was a receptive pupil of that profound dialectician and Christian philosopher, Dr. Nathaniel W. Taylor. His first settlement was at Terryville, Conn., where he was ordained, and installed as pastor of the Congregational Church, Oct. 27, 1841. After five years of successful service he resigned, to become the agent of the Connecticut Board of Education, editing the paper published by the Board, and doing an Immense amount of work, beside supplying the First Congregational Church in Durham. After two years he received an urgent and unaminous call to return to his former charge in Terryville, which he accepted, remaining until Jan.,

993

REV. MERRILL RICHARDSON, D.D.

1858, when he was settled as the pastor of the Salem St. Church, Worcester. His labors here were abundant and fruitful, but exhaustive; and the state of his health, in the summer of 1870, required rest. In Sept. he was dismissed at his own request. Later in the season he entered on the forlorn hope of estab- lishing the New England Church in New York on a permanent basis. In this enterprise he labored with zeal and energy. Large audiences listened to his ministrations; but the church was without a house of worship, and the obsta- cles in the way of obtaining one were such that he retired from the field in the spring of 1872. Soon after he was called to the church in Milford, over which he was installed June 12. As when he was settled in Worcester, so now, it was thought that he was eminently fitted for the place. By his temperament, his sound common sense, his lucid method of preaching the doctrines of the gospel, and his devotion to his work as a minister, he exerted a great influence for good in his large parish and throughout the town.

"Four busy, useful, happy years soon passed away, when his friends, who looked for another decade of active labor, were surprised, in the summer of 1876, by hearing that his stalwart frame was yielding to the attacks of an incur- able malady. The advances were slow but sure, and his departure came on the twelfth December. The funeral services were held in his home and in the sanctuary on the fifteenth, when a large assembly met in sorrowing sympathy with the immediate relatives, to whom he was much endeared, and with whom his memory is very precious. These facts show when and where he was born, and in what fields he sowed and reaped, as ever in 'his great Taskmaster's eye.'

" A few lines must be allowed to set forth the striking traits of his character. Mr. Richardson was a strong man. He was athletic in body, vigorous in mind, and firm of purpose. He was always doing, and what he did was done with all his might. Raised on a farm, he was familiar with manual labor; but, after entering the ministry, his labor of this kind was mainly for recreation. His work was in his study, his parish, and his pulpit. To the former he gave his morn- ings and evenings. As a student he was diligent, receptive, and self-reliant. Though he had not time for high attainment in general scholarship, yet he kept Informed of all results in science and art. The Bible was studied in the origi- nal tongues. In mental philosophy and systematic divinity he souglit stimulus and guidance from master minds, but he accepted nothing which had not been the subject of his own deep and continuous thought. On one occasion he was subjected to a prolonged, critical, and perhaps suspicious examination by an ecclesiastical council; but he bore himself with such modesty, readiness, and entire mastery of the subject presented, as to command respect and confidence. His afternoons were given up to parochial work to a great extent, and few pastors have been so active and impartial in this line of labor. His sympathies with the young, the struggling, and the sorrowing were lively and heartfelt. Vacations, though accorded by his people, were rarely taken. During several years there were weeks when he was the only orthodox minister in the city to attend funerals; and he freely answered all calls of this kind, not as a form, but with Christian kindness. Once he took a journey for his health. He went to Saratoga, drank a glass of water, and left by the first train, saying he was well. On the sabbath, during all his ministry, with perhaps brief intervals, he preached twice, and attended a third meeting. Preaching with him was no elegant or pious pastime. It was a service he delighted in, to be sure, but one which enlisted his whole energy of body, mind, and heart. What he had prepared with care was delivered with force and fervor. Good attention cheered him, and good results were his reward.

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BIOGRAPHICO-GENEALOGICAL REGISTER.

"Besides his labors in the closet, in the parish, and the pulpit, Mr. Richard- son accomplished much in other directions. Several years were given mainly to the cause of education, though he supplied a parish in the mean time. As a friend of temperance he was always ready to speak, and his voice was often heard in lectures and addresses. He was one of the early friends of the slave, and encountered much obloquy in those years when to be an abolitionist entailed enmity and contempt. But this only stimulated him to speak oftener for the enslaved. In addition, he was in the 'lecture-field' every season, and in that way did as much as many professional lecturers who had no other occupation. In all these labors, he did not neglect his friends, to whom his house was always open and his attentions always ready. Nor did he neglect his family, like some busy men, but gave them his joyous and instructive companionship.

" As a preacher he was bold, earnest, and suggestive. He preached on a wide variety of topics, but always in a way to make known the gospel of Christ, or vindicate the ways of God to man. In every thing he was manly, straightfor- ward, honorable. Shams, deceits, disguises, were his abhorrence. He aimed to carry every point by conviction. Above all, he was a minister of the gospel. Strangers, hearing of his multifarious labors, or conversing with him on all the exciting topics of the day, might receive a false impression in this regard; but in fact, he was, 'in his heart of hearts,' a minister. All other work was 'by the by,' while this work filled the full measure of his days; and his love for the work of a minister seemed to grow upon him to the last. No years of his pub- lic life were happier, busier, or more fruitful than those of his last pastorate. He loved his work and calling with an increasing love to the last, and desired to continue in it. But when the will of the Master was clearly evident that he must lay down the work, he yielded cheerfully, as became a faithful servant." ROBBINS, ALVAN, pedigree untraced, m., 1st, Mary Sumner Ball, dr. of Zenas

and Betsey (Tilton) Ball, b. Nov. 4, 1813; cer. March 22, 1835, by Rev. D. Long. Issue :-

GEORGE W., b. Aug. 28, 1836.

CAROLINE M., b. July 16, 1839; d. Dec. 10, 1840.

MARY JANE, b. July 25, 1841.

Mrs. Mary d., date not at command; and the hus. m. Harriet Beal, dr. of David and Sarah (McArthur) Beal, b. Birmingham, Pa., March 2, 1817; cer. April 16, 1848, where and by whom not given. As to issue, I am not informed. They res. in Holl. I see that Mr. R.'s name is not given uniformly. It is Alvan in one place, Alvin in another, and Alvin C. in another. The reader will understand accordingly.

ROBBINS, CHANDLER, and wf. Frances M., pedigrees, etc., untraced, are credited on our records with 1 birth : -

CHANDLER, Jun., b. Aug. 6, 1843. They are mentioned no more.

ROBINSON, ICHABOD& (William,2 William1), ancestry no further traced. William 1 was first of Concord, where his eldest child was b. in 1671. He was prob. b. as early as 1650, but where is not told. Very likely his father was the ancestral immigrant from Eng., or possibly his gd. fr. He rmvd. to that part of Cambridge afterwards Newton, before 1673; and there Wil- liam 2 was b This William 2 was wealthy, and bought considerable tracts of land in different parts of Mendon, - several within our territory. Among his sons was our Ichabod,8 b. in Newton, Sept. 2, 1713. In early manhood, between 1734 and 1739, he came into these parts, and soon located himself in our Centre, prob. on land sold, given, or rented to him by his

995

ROBINSON FAMILIES.

father. He m., 1st, Ruth Merriam, dr., I presume, of Ebenezer Merriam, then an innholder in Mendon town-seat; cer. June 20, 1739. When the Easterly Precinct wanted the site for their first meeting-house, William Robinson seems to have owned the land. But it presently passed into the possession of his son Ichabod, who finally donated the desired site of half an acre to the Precinct, as I have elsewhere told. I infer that he then owned a considerable estate, partly west of now Main St., but mostly east, covering, not only the Parish Common, but much that was afterwards known as the Godfrey place. It must have extended on the street from near where the steam fire-engine house stands as far northward, perhaps, as Central St., then eastward well nigh to the river. I do not pretend to be accurate, as this would require a careful examination of several old deeds in Worcester Registry. Just where his habitation stood, I am not certain, but some- where along the line from the engine-house to opposite the Mansion House. Whether he kept a sort of unlicensed inn before 1746, I am in doubt; but he was licensed that year as a regular innholder, and continued in that capacity till his death in 1756. His chn. by his 1st wife, Ruth (Merriam), were, -

EBENEZER, bap. Dec. 26, 1742; the parents being that day recd. to ch.

ICHABOD, bap. Dec. 26, 1742; b. Oct. 20, preceding.

RUTH, bap. Sept. 30, 1744.

ELIZABETH, bap. June 8, 1746; b. June 1, 8 ds. preceding.

What became of Ebenezer and Ruth, I get no trace. Ichabod m. Abigall Smith of Weston, Oct. 6, 1768; cer. by Rev. A. Frost. No more ascertained of him. Elizabeth m. Aaron Merrifield. See their family record in its place.

Mrs. Ruth d., date not ascertained. The hus. m., 2d, Sarah Mirick, dr. of Samuel and Mary (Stratton) Mirick, b. in Newton, Dec. 19, 1722; cer. Newton, Feb., 1747. Their chn. : -

SAMUEL, b. June 26, 1748; supposed to have set., lived, and d. Watertown. JOHN, b. April 12, 1750; m. Mary Jones, March 11, 1773.

SARAH, b. May 1, 1752; m. Elijah Thayer, Oct. 6, 1768.

JONATHAN, b. July 12, 1754; no further traced; but prob. set. Newfane, Vt.

Lieut. Ichabod Robinson d. May 29, 1756. His wid., Mrs. Sarah, continued to keep the licensed inn some little time, and was m. to Ensign Samuel Thayer, Aug. 30, 1759; cer. by Rev. A. Frost. See the Thayer families.

ROBINSON, JOHN 4 (Ichabod,3 William,2 William 1), b. April 12, 1750; mr.'s maiden name Sarah Mirick; m. Mary Jones, supposed by me to be a dr. of John Jones, jun., by his 3d wife, bap. by Rev. Mr. Frost, May 6, 1753; cer. March 11, 1773, by Rev. A. Frost. 1 child only on record, Mendon and Mil. :-

LYDIA, b. Dec. 30, 1773; m. Rev. Elisha Fisk, Wrentham, Aug. 19, 1800.

There seems to be some confusion respecting the birth of this dr. Lydia. Mendon records make her the dr. of John and Mary; Mil. records make her the dr. of John and Susanna. From other testimony it would seem that the name of the wife who survived him was Susanna. Did bis 1st wf. d .? and did he m. a 2d ? Probably. Yet I found no record of Mary's death, nor of his marriage to this Susanna. But, after much research, a pair of olden gravestones were discovered, from whose inscriptions I ascertained that John Robinson d. Nov. 19, 1792, a. about 43 yrs .; and that Susanna, his wf., d. April 29, 1795, in her 53d yr. Probably they d. in another locality, and their remains were brought here for burial. So it is certain that he had a wf. Susanna. Had they any

996

BIOGRAPHICO-GENEALOGICAL REGISTER.

more chn .? Our records are silent, and I will not look farther. In 1783 or 4, John Robinson bought of Jonathan Jones the old tavern-stand, first established by Ichabod, his father, in 1746, obtained license as innholder, and made his mark in that calling. At the same time he was a considerable land-owner outside of the Centre. As one of these estates, I may mention the Eli Chapin (now Inman) place, which he sold to Benjamin Godfrey in 1785. Whether Robinson continued his inn till he d. in 1792, I have no certain information, but deem it highly improbable. The innholding premises soon passed into the hands of Col. Benjamin Godfrey, and he became conspicuous as "Landlord." Thence- forth the Robinsons disappear from among our population. Jonathan, the youngest son, is no otherwise traceable than by a deed of his rights in a meet- ing-house pew to his bro .- in-law, Elijah Thayer. That deed bears date 1792, and makes him to have been a res. of Newfane, Vt. So I conclude that he must have set. there.

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History of the town of Milford, Worcester county, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1881, Part 116

Author: Ballou, Adin, 1803-1890 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Boston : Rand, Avery, & co. Number of Pages: 1328

Author: Ballou, Adin, 1803-1890
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Boston : Rand, Avery, & co.
Number of Pages: 1328