USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Royalston > Reflections on Royalston, Worcester County, Massachusetts, U.S.A > Part 32
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(5.) Mary Ellen Frye, born Dec. 8, 1875, died Feb. 13, 1896.
4. Mary Jane Frye, born June 29, 1843; became a public school teacher; and died Aug. 28, 1862.
5. Martha Anne Elizabeth Frye, born March 26, 1846; married James Lewis Brigham, of Templeton, Jan. 10, 1878; died Dec. 20, 1892. They had 2 children: (1.) George L. Brigham, born Jan. 6, 1879, married Katherine Condy, and they had a daughter, Jeanne Winnefred Brigham, born March 22, 1909.
(2.) Emma W. Brigham, born Sept. 14, 1881.
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6. William Watson Frye, born Nov. 30, 1848. The absence of his brothers in the war and the death of his father in 1861, left him to care for his mother and the old home plece, and he fulfilled that obligation, aided by his sisters, (two of whom died the same year that he died,) until his death, Feb. 2, 1892.
7. Frank Barton Frye, born April 13, 1856; married Elsie Willetta Merrill, of Beverly, Nov. 17, 1886. He has been a merchant and manufacturer; was Tax Col- lector in Fitzwilliam in 1884, and Selectman and Assessor in 1885 and 1886. Has resided in Waltham for many years, with a summer home in Royalston, at the old Benjamin Leathe place, on the road from the Center to Fitzwilliam. They had 4 children:
(1.) Royal Merrill Frye, born May 27, 1890; graduated from Boston Univer- sity, and has been in charge of the department of Physics in that institution. Married.
(2.) Merton Benjamin Frye, born March 4, 1893. Church organist and choir master.
(3.) William Bixby Frye, born Nov. 15, 1895.
(4.) Elsie Frances Frye, born March 28, 1901; died Jan. 2, 1919.
The Frank Barton Frye family is quite proficient in music, and during its sum- merings in Royalston for many years its members have contributed much to the enjoyment of the people by the exercise of their talents in church services and public entertainments.
John Frye, the 6th child of Ebenezer and Mary (Waite) Frye, was born in 1796. Apparently the old Frye homestead on the hill was divided between John Frye and his brother Benjamin, Benjamin retaining the buildings on the original site and John erecting new ones a little lower and nearer the Common. This John Frye, the 3rd of that name in the family in Royalston, married Lucinda Kendall, of Phillipston origin, in 1823; he died in Somerville in 1866, and she died in Cambridge in 1871. They had 3 children:
1. Ardelia Betsey Frye, born Nov. 16, 1823; married Ezra Adams Cheney, of Barre, May 7, 1846; died Jan. 7, 1862. They had 4 children:
(1.) Ellen Ardelia Cheney, born Sept. 17, 1848; she was a teacher in Cambridge public schools for 37 years.
(2.) Edward Francis Cheney, born Oct. 28, 1850; died March 11, 1855.
(3.) Henrietta Frye Cheney, born Feb. 14, 1852; married George .C. Allen, of Barre, Oct. 19, 1876; died Feb. 6, 1881.
(4.) Emma Elizabeth Cheney, born Feb. 17, 1856; married Howard A. Allison, of Boston, in 1885.
2. Emeline Clarissa Frye, born May 8, 1826; never married; died in Cam- bridge, Sept. 20, 1908.
3. John Kendall Frye, born Sept. 29, 1831. He was employed in the furniture factory, and was for a time one of its proprietors; he went to Boston, and became a member of the firm of Barnum, Frye & Co., and later of Holman, Frye & Co., manufacturers of desks and showcases, bank, store and office furnishings. He died Oct. 15, 1908.
Betsey Frye, the 1st child of Ebenezer and Mary (Waite) Frye, was born April 28, 1784; she married William Blood, of Fitzwilllam, in 1807; they had 6 children.
Mary Blood, 1st child of William and Betsey (Frye) Blood, was born in 1808; she married Horace Pierce, of Royalston, in 1828; they had 9 children, 5 of whom died young; 3 sons died at the ages of 63, 46 and 25. The other child, Emma Louise (Pierce) Stowe, was born in Royalston, March 5, 1848; was a school teacher, and served on the Royalston School Committee 6 years; married Marshall V. Stowe, of Granville, Mass., Sept. 6, 1888, and resided in that town, but after the death of Mr. Stowe she returned to Royalston and occupied her old home on the Common.
Asa Frye, 2nd child of Ebenezer and Mary (Waite) Frye, was born in 1786; married Rebecca Willman in 1820; they had 5 children, and removed to the state of New York.
Polly Frye, the 4th child of Ebenezer and Mary (Waite) Frye, was born July 21, 1791; she served as housekeeper at the old homestead after the death of her mother and the marriage of her older sister, Betsey, and died Jan. 15, 1836.
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THE ESTABROOK FAMILY.
Joseph Estabrook, who was born in Holden, in 1770, was not one of the first settlers of Royalston, but probably came into the town near the beginning of the 19th century. While it has been supposed that the residence of the Estabrooks in Royalston began on the Common, Miss Ida I. Beals, of Winchendon, whose father, Luke Beals, was an early "post rider" and the first man to own a stage line on the route between Royalston and Worcester, furnishes the information that "over on the road from the Center to the South village, not far from Highview farm, off to the right, are the remains of an old cellar hole of one of the early set- tlers, the Estabrooks."
Joseph Estabrook began to hold town offices in Royalston in 1803, and served as Selectman for 7 years, Town Clerk 5 years, Representative to the General Court 8 years, and Senator 1 year, and died before his term in the last office was completed. He was appointed postmaster when the postoffice was established in Royalston, in 1812, and no doubt his store on the Common had been in operation several years
ESTABROOK-CLARK RESIDENCE, 1873.
before that time. He built up an extensive and profitable business in the store, which he sold to Franklin Gregory about 1823 (see page 90), and turned his atten- tion to raising and dealing in cattle, in which he achieved great success. He died March 7, 1829.
Joseph Estabrook married Polly Holman, of Sterling, May 3, 1801, and they had 1 child; he married, 2nd, Mrs. Ruth (Woodbury) Greenwood, June 17, 1810; they had 2 children, and she died Sept. 16, 1814; he married, 3rd, Mrs. Hannah Reed, Oct. 28, 1818.
Mary H. Estabrook, daughter of Joseph and Polly (Holman) Estabrook, was born in 1807. She married Isaac Davis, of Worcester, in 1829; he became a dis- tinguished lawyer, was Mayor of Worcester 3 years, State Senator 2 terms, and served on the Governor's Council. They had 10 children; a son, Edward Livingston Davis, was Mayor of Worcester in 1874. Mrs. Davis died in 1875, and Hon. Isaac Davis in 1883.
Joseph Estabrook, son of Joseph and Ruth (Woodbury-Greenwood) Estabrook, was born April 16, 1811. He was Town Treasurer 1 year, Assessor 2 years, and Representative to the General Court 1 year. Following the death of Franklin
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Gregory, in 1836, Mr. Estabrook became proprietor of the store established by his father, and was also postmaster. Joseph Raymond was his partner in the store for 5 years; and Charles H. Newton, who had been a clerk, was taken into partnership about 1852; the palmleaf hat business, which was begun, probably, by Gregory, was continued; about 1856 Mr. Estabrook turned over his interest in the business to Charles H. and Phinehas S. Newton. (See pages 82, 91.)
This Joseph Estabrook married Harriet Maria Mirick, daughter of Ephraim and Lucinda (Newton) Mirick, of Princeton, Feb. 24, 1840; Joseph Estabrook died June 2, 1882, and Harriet Maria (Mirick) Estabrook died March 23, 1885; they had 5 children :
1. Harriet M. Estabrook, born in 1842, died Sept. 8, 1860.
2. Joseph P. Estabrook, born in 1846, married Harriet E. Heywood, in 1880, and resided in Arlington, Mass., and died there, May 29, 1925. He had superior musical talent, and was a church organist; and had been a commission merchant in Boston.
3. George M. Estabrook, born in 1848, died Sept. 29, 1849.
4. Maria C. Estabrook, born in 1848, and died July 3, 1861. The Caswell book gives the latter date as 1863, and the gravestone has it 1862, but 1861 is the correct date. (See page 225.)
5. Elizabeth C. Estabrook, born in 1867, married Frank Hubbard, and lived at Arlington.
Maria Estabrook, daughter of Joseph and Ruth (Woodbury-Greenwood) Esta- brook, was born in 1813; married Edwin Conant, of Worcester, in 1833; they had 2 daughters.
There was considerable intermarriage between the Estabrook, Bullock and Newton families. Adaline Estabrook, who was probably a sister of the first Joseph Estabrook here mentioned, became the wife of Elmer Newton. Lucinda Newton, a sister of Elmer Newton, became the wife of Ephraim Mirick, and was the mother of the wife of the second Joseph Estabrook, and of Mrs. D. P. Clark and Mrs. George W. Holman. Harriet Newton, another sister of Elmer Newton, became the wife of Calvin Bullock, a brother of Rufus and Barnet Bullock; and Lucy Newton, another sister of Elmer Newton, became the wife of Barnet Bullock. While these 3 eminent families for many years held a dominating position in the affairs of Royalston, there is not now, in 1925, a member or descendant of either family residing in the town; but 3 members of the younger generations still hold some of the ancestral homes, and make pilgrimages to them occasionally.
MRS. D. P. CLARK.
Mary Sophia Mirick, a sister of the wife of Joseph Estabrook, and daughter of Ephraim and Lucinda (Newton) Mirick, married Daniel Parkhurst Clark, Dec. 11, 1844; he had been a clerk in Royalston stores, and went to New York, where he achieved success and property in business. After his death, his wife, Mrs. Clark, made her home with the Estabrooks in Royalston. She took a lively and wholesome interest in the affairs of the community, served on the School Committee, and was one of the largest contributors for the support of the church and other public affairs, while her property tax was for many years the largest one paid in Royals- ton, with the exception of that on the woo'en mill property. In 1870, through her co-operation, the old post-office store building and dwelling on the Common was moved to the rear, and transformed into a stable, and the handsome mansion pic- tured on the previous page was erected in its place. Mrs. Clark died about 1884.
THE BLANDINS.
Mrs. Daniel Parkhurst Clark, mentioned above, had horses and carriages, and George W. Blandin was her coachman. He had been a stage-coach driver in the White Mountains region in New Hampshire, and was an expert horseman. He and his wife were very pleasant people, mixing well into Royalston's social activities.
After the death of Mrs. Clark, Mr. Blandin kept the post-office store and was postmaster for several years. He was Town Clerk for 9 years, from 1890 to 1898, inclusive. He died in 1900, aged 74 years, and his wife, Chastina Blandin, died in 1899, aged 71 years.
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THE NEWTON FAMILY.
Nathan Brigham Newton, while possibly not the first one of the name to settle in Royalston, was probably the first one of whom there is any reliable record. The venerable genealogist, Ellery Bicknell Crane, in one place in one of his publications, referred to on page 226, stated that Nathan Brigham Newton was the son of Simon Newton, who "bought land in Royalston, Sept. 5, 1765, of William Pierce, of Roy- alston, and he sold land there, March 9, 1772, to Joseph Lee, of Concord, Mass .; " and he also stated that Simon Newton had several children born and baptized in Royalston. In another part of the same work, Mr. Crane stated that Nathan Brig- ham Newton was the son of Hezekiah Newton.
According to the accepted records and reports, Nathan Brigham Newton was born in Rutland, Mass., in 1760, bought a farm in Royalston in 1786, and probably settled there a little later; the Memorial stated that he first settled on the west bank of the Lawrence, near the site of the Holman-Partridge-Newton & Davis mill, and that he removed to the place at the top of the hill on the opposite side of the river, which has ever since been retained by his descendants. He married Mary Stewart, and they had 12 children, several of whom died in early life, while others removed from Royalston, and their records were not well known there.
Willard Newton, 2nd child of Nathan Brigham and Mary (Stewart) Newton, was born in 1783. He occupied a farm adjoining that of his father; was prominent in military affairs in the Royalston Grenadiers, and served as Colonel of the 5th regiment of Massachusetts infantry. He married Phebe Emerson in 1811, and they had 5 children.
Horatio Danforth Newton, 1st child of Willard and Phebe (Emerson) Newton, was born in 1812, and lived the greater part of his life on the old home farm; he had excellent musical talent, and was choristor at the First Congregational Church for several years. He married Annette Greenleaf Perkins, and the story of their family will be found under the heading of the Perkins family, on page 203.
Lucy Newton, daughter of Willard and Phebe (Emerson) Newton, married Wheeler Poland, of Winchendon.
Hezekiah Newton, 4th child of Nathan Brigham and Mary (Stewart) Newton, was born in 1787; went to Boston in his early manhood, where he was engaged in business until about 1832, when he returned to Royalston and settled on the place at the north part of the town previously occupied by Major John Norton and then by Isaac Metcalf, which was his home until his death in 1852. He married Eliza Lewis, in Boston, in 1817, and they had 9 children, 4 of whom died in infancy and childhood, while 3 daughters died unmarried at the ages of 42, 74 and 78, 1 daugh- ter died married at the age of 35, and 1 son, George Brigham Newton, born in 1823, served as clerk in Royalston stores for several years, was in similar business in Boston, and later engaged in shoe manufacturing in Marblehead, where he mar- ried in 1852, and died there in 1897.
Harriet Newton, 5th child of Nathan Brigham and Mary (Stewart) Newton, born in 1789, married Calvin Bullock, of Royalston origin, but then of Princeton, where he was a merchant, in 1813; they had several children.
Elmer Newton, 7th child of Nathan Brigham and Mary (Stewart) Newton, was born in Royalston in 1793. He remained on the old home place, settled by his father, all of his life, and died there, in 1880. Like his older brother, Willard Newton, he was active in military affairs, and as a member of the Royalston Grena- diers, was also honored with the title of Colonel of the 5th regiment of Massachu- setts infantry. He married Adaline Estabrook, of Holden, in 1822; she was proba- bly a sister of the Joseph Estabrook who settled in Royalston. They had 6 children:
1. Sophia Fay Newton, born in 1824, and remained on the old home place, un- married, all of her life.
2. Charles Homer Newton, born in 1828. In early life he became a clerk in the Estabrook store on the Common, and later a partner with Estabrook, and after- wards with his brother, Phinehas S. Newton, in the store and palmleaf business, extended mention of which is made on pages 82-86 and 91. He was postmaster from 1856 to 1870, Town Clerk from 1855 to 1865, and Town Treasurer in 1865. In 1870 the store was sold to Obadiah Walker, and Charles H. Newton removed to Fitch-
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burg, where he was first a member of the Fitchburg Flour Co., and afterwards bookkeeper and then treasurer at the Beoli Woolen Mills. He died March 12, 1905. Charles Homer Newton married, 1st, Harriet Meade, of Worcester, and they had 3 children, all born in Royalston:
(1.) Charles Meade Newton, born in 1856, married Ella Brown, and they had 5 children, He was a clothing merchant, and lived in the south for a time. He died at the home of a daughter in a suburb of Boston, Nov. 3, 1924.
(2.) Homer E, Newton, born in 1860, died in 1876.
(3.) Llewellyn Newton, born in 1865, died in 1871.
Charles H, Newton married, 2nd, Adella Estabrook, of Ashby, and they had 3 children, all born in Fitchburg:
(1,) Ruth E. Newton, married Philip Burbank, of Winchester, Mass,, April 16, 1921,
(2,) Doris Newton, married Macolm Macdonald, of Washington, D. C.
(3,) Phinehas Stewart Newton, Jr., married Ethelyn Leone Slayton, of New York City, April 28, 1921. He served as Lieutenant in the Aviation Corps and was in France about a year, during the World War.
These 3 children of Charles Homer and Adella (Estabrook) Newton presented to the Rollstone Congregational Church, of Fitchburg, beautiful memorial windows in memory of their parents, who were prominent members of that church. The windows were dedicated Sunday, Oct. 12, 1919, and cost $3,500.
3. Phinehas Stewart Newton, born in 1833. He was never married, and kept his home at the old homestead, carrying on the work of the farm after all of the other members of his family had passed away; he died there, April 8, 1917.
His business career began about 1855, when he and his brother, Charles Homer Newton, formed a copartnership and took over the Estabrook store and palmleaf business, the story of which is told on pages 82-86 and 91, Phinehas' part in the business was mainly in connection with the palmleaf work, and for something like half a century he drove a pair of horses attached to a good looking wagon, or "cart," as it was usually designated, around through vicinity towns in Massachu- setts and the southern part of New Hampshire, putting out the palmleaf to be braided into hats, and taking in the braided hats, paying for the work generally in merchandise which he carried in his "cart." When the store was sold to Obadiah Walker, in 1870, and Charles H. Newton removed to Fitchburg, Phinehas retained the palmleaf business, and continued in it for several years, He served the Town as Selectman and as Assessor for several years, and was Representative to the General Court in 1899. He was a generous and public-spirited man, and contrib- uted liberally for the support of the church and other worthy objects, his largest benefaction being the gift to the Town of the beautiful library building which bears his name, the story of which is told at page 130.
4, Martha Jones Newton, born in 1836, died in childhood,
5. Edward Elmer Newton, born in 1841, remained on the old home farm all of his life, married Martha Cole, of Westmoreland, N. H., and died in 1887.
6. George Mirick Newton, born in 1843, died in childhood,
Lucinda Newton, 9th child of Nathan Brigham and Mary (Stewart) Newton, was born in 1797, married Ephraim Mirick, of Princeton, in 1819. He died as the result of an accident in 1828, and she died by suicide in 1832. They had 6 children:
1.
George Dillingham Newton Mirick, born in 1820, died in Royalston in 1843.
2. Delia Mirick; the official History of Princeton leaves the time of her birth blank, but the proximity of the dates indicates that she must have been the twin of either her brother George D. N. or her sister Harriet M. She married George W. Holman, and details of her family will be found in the story of the Holmans.
3. Harriet Maria Mirick, born in 1821, married Joseph Estabrook, and details of her family will be found in the story of the Estabrook family, on page 232.
4, Mary Sophia Mirick, born in 1823, married Daniel Parkhurst Clark; her story is told on page 232.
5. John Quincy Adams Mirick, born in 1825, died in 1826.
6. Abigail Whitney Mirick, born in 1826, died in 1827.
Lucy Newton, 12th child of Nathan Brigham and Mary (Stewart) Newton, was born in 1804, and married Barnet Bullock, and details of her family will appear in the story of the Bullock family.
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Reflections on Royalston
THE RAYMOND FAMILY.
In Caswell's History of Royalston it is stated that the immigrant ancestor of the Raymond families of Royalston was one William Raymond, who came to New England about 1652, from England, died in 1709, and who had a son William, born in 1666, who died in 1701, by the fall of a tree. This story may be true, as far as it goes, but it leaves a long vacancy in the line of ancestry, from 1709 down to the parentage of Joseph Raymond, who was born in 1801.
From the Memorial we get this information: "Ebenezer Elliot settled north of the original Common. His house stood hard by the old town pump; died 1794. This place, together with other lands north, was bought by Capt. William Raymond, from Athol, who built the house now owned and occupied by Ashbel Goddard, and gave the Town the land by which the Common was extended to his residence. He was the immediate ancestor of the Raymonds at the south part of the town. His father, Edward Raymond, lived and died with him. Edward was son of Solomon Raymond, who came from England, settled in Bedford, and was a Revolutionary soldier. A canceled treasury note of $450, received by the said Solomon for his services, is now in the hands of our townsman, Joseph Raymond, Esq., a souvenir of his great-grandfather."
An effort was made to show the approximate location of that Ebenezer Elliot house and the old well on the Common on our map of Royalston Center village on page 52, and a picture of the house said to have been built by William Raymond at the foot of the extended Common is shown on page 58, and it also appears in the view of the Common on page 59.
There appears to have been about the required lapse of time for the Solomon Raymond mentioned in the Memorial to have been the son of the last William Ray- mond mentioned in the Caswell record,-although the Memorial story states that Solomon came from England, while the Caswell story makes the William Raymond, who appears to have been the grandfather of Solomon, 'the "immigrant ancestor of the Raymond families of Royalston." Edward Raymond, the reputed son of Solo- mon, according to the printed Vital Records of Royalston, died in 1798, at the age of 70, so he must have been born in 1728.
William Raymond, son of Edward Raymond, who bought Ebenezer Elliot's place and extended Royalston Common, was born in 1758, and apparently was twice married, and had 11 or 12 children, 1 by his 1st wife, and 10 or 11 by his 2nd wife, whose name before her marriage was Sophia Ward, and she was born in Petersham.
Lydia Raymond, 2nd child of William and Sophia (Ward) Raymond, was born in 1786, and married Stephen Richardson, in 1807.
Sullivan Raymond, a son of William and Sophia (Ward) Raymond, married Anna Wheeler, of Athol, in 1825. He and his sons manufactured pails and tubs at a factory on the Lawrence, on the Athol road, near the site of the first sawmill and gristmill. Sullivan Raymond and his wife had 3 children:
1. George Sullivan Raymond, born in 1827.
2. Samuel Stillman Raymond, born in 1828. He was engaged in manufactur- ing with his father, and later became a peddler; afterwards he was boarded at the Worcester hospital for the insane at the expense of the Town.
3. Zacheus Wheeler Raymond, born in 1832. He was engaged with his father and brother in manufacturing, and afterwards removed to Fitchburg, where he was employed as a carpenter. He married and had several children.
Artemas Raymond, another child of William and Sophia (Ward) Raymond, was born in 1801. He married Abigail Chase, daughter of David and Sarah (Ray- mond) Chase; her mother, Sarah Raymond, was sister to her husband's father, William Raymond, which was unfortunate for their children, several if not all of whom had physical defects supposed to have been the results of the violation of the laws of consanguinity. They had 8 children:
1. William Cornelius Raymond, born in 1835, married Julia Blank in 1863, and resided in Winchendon.
2. Franklin S. Raymond, born in 1837, died in 1838.
3. Franklin Henry Raymond, born in 1839, was twice married, shoemaker in Athol, postmaster at Athol Center postoffice for about 412 years, in latter part of life resided in Boston.
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4. George Artemas Raymond, born in 1841, served in the Civil War, where he lost his life in 1864.
5. Mary Sophia Raymond, born in 1843; she married George W. Cheney, of Winchendon, and they had 3 children.
6. Luther R. Raymond, born in 1845, died in 1849.
7. Sarah A. Raymond, born in 1849, died in 1851.
8. Edward W. Raymond, born in 1852, married, and resided in Boston.
Stephen Raymond, another son of Edward Raymond, and brother of William Raymond, the donator of the extension to the Common, was born in 1769, and mar- ried Rhoda Estabrook, of Holden, who was without doubt a sister of the Joseph Estabrook who settled in Royalston. They were married in 1794; she died in 1807, and he died in 1825; they had 5 children:
1. Hannah Raymond, born in 1796, died in 1798.
2. Betsey Raymond, born in 1797, married Jonathan S. Pierce in 1820, and died in 1822. They had 1 child, Rhoda Pierce, born in 1822, and died in 1825. Jona- than S. Pierce died in 1829.
3. James Raymond, 3rd child of Stephen and Rhoda (Estabrook) Raymond, was born in 1799, and married Elvira Kendall, of Barre, in 1823; she died in 1844, and James Raymond died in 1871. They had 5 children:
(1.) Mary Elizabeth Raymond, born in 1824.
(2.) Samuel Kendall Raymond, born in 1825, died in 1907.
(3.) Caroline Augusta Raymond, born in 1828, died in 1872.
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