USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Milton > The history of Milton, Mass., 1640 to 1877 > Part 56
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His children are : -
Sarah Davenport, b. July 21, 1824; m. James Breck Nov. 5, 1846. George, b. Feb. 28, 1827; m. Eiiza T. Bent Jan. 1, 1863.
Harriet, b. Feb. 18, 1829 ; m. Samuel T. Bent, Jr., Dec. 10, 1863.
Lydia Ann, b. July 11, 1834; m. Dr. W. S. Everett Oct. 4, 1865, and d. July 16, 1869.
Jason, b. Sept. 8, 1844.
The Houghton family has been a prominent family in Milton
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for nearly two centuries. The men have been among the lead- ing men of the town.
The first Ralph was selectman for three years, 1682-84. Deacon Nathaniel Houghton was selectman ten years, between 1743 and 1761. Joseph Houghton filled the office in 1771; Ralph for seven years, 1775-81; Deacon Jason, for sixteen years, between 1795 and 1825; and Jason W. Houghton, for five years, 1844-48.
Ralph Houghton was town-clerk in 1683. Deacon Jason was collector for eight years, between 1826 and 1837. Deacon Nathaniel was moderator of town meetings for four years ; Ralph, for four years ; and Deacon Jason, for eleven years.
Deacon Jason was a member of the School Committee in 1839, and representative of the town at the General Court in 1815 and 1816, and for a second term in 1834 and 1835; and Jason Houghton, the youngest child of Jason W. Houghton, was on the board of the School Committee for four years, 1874- 1877.
FORBES FAMILY.
John Murray Forbes, Esq.
He was the son of Rev. John Forbes, a Scotch clergyman, rector of St. Augustine, Florida. Rev. Mr. Forbes married Dorothy Murray, at Brush Hill, Milton, Feb. 2, 1767. He died in England Sept. 17, 1793; his widow died in Milton June 11, 1811.
Their eldest son, Col. James Grant Forbes, born Nov. 22, 1769, served as colonel under General Jackson. He was once commander at Staten Island; and was the first marshal or governor of St. Augustine when Florida was ceded to the United States.
J. Murray Forbes was born at St. Augustine Aug. 13, 1771. He came with his mother to Milton in 1773; was fitted for college by Dr. Samuel Kendall, of Weston, and graduated at Harvard in 1787. He studied law with John Sprague, of Lan- caster, and Pliny Merrick, of Brookfield, and entered on his profession at Brookfield in 1791. He then removed to Boston, and, associated with C. P. Phelps, practised his profession through 1794 and 1795. After 1796 he lived mostly abroad.
In 1801 he received the appointment of consul-general to the North of Europe, residing at Hamburg and Copenhagen. In 1820 he went to Buenos Ayres as secretary of legation to Mr. Casar Rodney, who was minister of the Argentine Republic ; Mr. Rodney died at Buenos Ayres, and Mr. Forbes was made chargé
4
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d'affaires, and died at Buenos Ayres in 1831. He was never married. He was troubled with gout; his crest was composed of a gouty foot couchant, crossed by two crutches rampant, and the motto was " Toujours souffrant jamais triste."
Ralph Bennet Forbes.
He was the youngest son of Rev. John and Dorothy (Mur- ray) Forbes. He was born at Brush Hill, Milton, June 11, 1773, where his mother resided until she removed to Cambridge ten years later, in 1783. When he was eight years old he was sent to school at Dr. Parker's, Hingham. He spent his child- hood at Brush Hill, Hingham, and Cambridge. At the age of fourteen he was bound as an apprentice to John B. Murray, in Alexandria, Va., and remained there until his nineteenth year, December, 1791, when he accepted an invitation from his brother, James Grant Forbes, to join him at Port-au-Prince, St. Domingo. He remained in St. Domingo until 1794, and then returned home. In the winter of 1795 he arrived at Charleston from Portland, Me., in the ship "Rising States," owned by John McLean, William Stephenson, and Loring & Curtis. He sailed for Bordeaux in March, where he arrived with a cargo of rice and tobacco in April, and from thence proceeded to Ham- burg with a cargo of brandy, and arrived there in August. He left the ship at Dover, and reached London in September, where he met Col. Perkins, and was again at Bordeaux in December. He married Margaret Perkins, of New York, Oct. 13, 1799, and died in Milton Oct. 5, 1824.
. He was the father of our honored citizens R. B. Forbes and John M. Forbes, and of Thomas T. Forbes, who perished in China, 1829.
Robert Bennet Forbes.
We are indebted partly to the "Christian Register" for the following sketch of Robert Bennet Forbes : -
He was born at Jamaica Plain on the 18th of September, 1804. On the 17th of January, 1811, his mother, his brother Thomas T., and himself embarked at Boston on board the schooner "Midas," bound for Marseilles, to join his father. Off the port the schooner was captured by a British frigate, which sent her to Port Mahon. After considerable delay Mrs. Forbes and her boys reached France. Here the boys were sent to school. The master was as ignorant of English as they were of French ; yet, by the use of a French and English dictionary, the boys soon acquired a sufficient knowledge of French to pursue their studies. On the 13th of May, 1813, Mr. and Mrs. Forbes and their boys embarked at Bordeaux on board the American schooner " Orders in Council," bound for New York. Shortly
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after leaving port she was attacked by a British cutter, which she beat off after an hour and a half's fight, but was captured soon afterward by a frigate and sent to Corunna. They embarked in another vessel, and were again captured and carried to Lisbon, but finally reached Newport, R.I., in the ship " Leda."
At the age of thirteen Robert B. Forbes went to sea before the mast in the ship "Canton Packet," bound for China. When sixteen he was third mate ; before twenty he was captain ; at twenty-six he owned a ship and commanded her; at twenty-eight he left the sea; and at thirty-six was at the head of the largest American house in China. His brother, Thomas T., was drowned near Macao. He provided liberally for his mother and his younger brother, now Hon. John M. Forbes. R. B. Forbes went several times to China, and at one time was the American vice-consul to Canton. During his seafaring career he traded between China, the United States, Europe, California, and South America, and was eminently successful on all his voyages.
In 1847 he commanded the United States sloop of war " Jamestown," laden with provisions for the starving poor in Ireland, and made the voyage from Boston to Cork and back in forty-nine days; and then helped to load the frigate " Macedonian " on the same mission of mercy. During the war of the rebellion he was employed by the government to inspect the building of nine gunboats, and built for himself and others the " Meteor," of fifteen hundred tons, built to cruise in search of the vessels which were preying upon our commerce. In all, he built about seventy sail, and took a great interest in everything connected with seamen, so much so that he is called the " Howard of the sea." He lias done much and written much about the best means of saving life in case of disaster. In 1882 he pub- lished his " Personal Reminiscences," a 12mo of 412 pages, which is a model of condensed writing, and contains much interesting information.
At the age of thirty he was married to Miss Rose Green Smith, who died on the eighty-first anniversary of his birth. He had by her two sons, Robert B. and John Murray, and a daughter, now Mrs. Charles Eliot Per- kins, and another daughter, who died young.
Several benevolent institutions for seamen and soldiers have had in him a liberal supporter. In his long and varied life his feet have ever been on the straight and narrow path of virtue, the only path that leads to last- ing honor. It may be truly said of him that he never lost a friend, or had an enemy that he did not try to conciliate. He is almost worshipped by the boys of Milton ; for he has made for them, with his own hands, over one hundred models of sail and row boats. It is pleasing to add, notwith- standing his advanced age, that he enjoys fair health, that his mind con- tinues clear and vigorous, and that his heart is as warm as ever for all who are in trouble.
Hon. John Murray Forbes.
He was born at Bordeaux Feb. 23, 1813, and married Sarah Swain Hathaway, of New Bedford. Mr. Forbes has lived in Milton for more than half a century. He has taken a lively and intelligent interest in all the affairs of the town, and has proved himself a faithful citizen.
He is ranked also among the most honest and able asserters of loyal and democratic principles not only in our town, but in the commonwealth and in the nation. He has twice been
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presidential elector. He was a member of the "Peace Con- gress," so called, in 1861. He was delegate at large to the Cin- cinnati Republican Convention in 1876, and member for Massachusetts of the Republican Convention in 1884. He has also taken an active part on many State committees where great principles were considered and great interests were at stake.
The following handwriting on the wall appeared in a New York print a year ago, giving a just delineation of our hon- ored citizen's life as it touches the commonwealth and the nation : -
We believe there is no man in Massachusetts who stands higher in pub- lic regard and confidence than John M. Forbes. During the last thirty years nobody has been readier to serve with purse and person all good causes. To no one man in Massachusetts, except Governor Andrew, was the government more indebted during the trying days of the war. From nobody has the republican party in the State and nation received more constant and loyal service in money and counsel. There is no way in which he has not proved his devotion to it except by holding salaried offices. Moreover, there is probably no wiser or shrewder business head than his. He is a man of great wealth, but nobody would suspect it, if it were not for the number and amount of his contributions to public interests, to charity, to art, to literature, and to science, and what is of more im- portance, he stands in Massachusetts as the very type and embodiment of commercial integrity. He has been until recently a member of the repub- lican national committee. Well, this veteran republican, so wise, so hon- ored, so practical, who gave the very flower of his years to the party, is now going to vote against it, and gives his reasons.
William Hathaway Forbes, eldest son of John M. Forbes, was lieutenant-colonel of the 2d Massachusetts Cavalry during the civil war. Henry Sturges Russell, son-in-law of Mr. Forbes, was colonel of the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry, and brigadier- general by brevet in the late war.
HOW FAMILY.
Abraham How, of England, was made freeman of Dorchester May 2, 1638. He had leave granted him "to live in the house he built, although more than half a mile from the meeting- house."
He seems to have sons, Israel, Isaac, and Abraham. Isaac How, son of Abraham, came to Milton before 1750; probably when his son Isaac married Sarah Tucker, of Milton, April 20, 1744. He built the gambrel-roof house now standing on the corner of Centre street and Randolph avenue. His widow, Sarah, who, after his decease, married Lazarus Baker, died in Milton Sept. 11, 1755.
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Isaac How, the son of Isaac, was a leading man in Milton. He built the house known as the William Vose house, on Churchill's lane, and was living there at the time of his sudden death. He often acted as moderator of the town meetings. He was selectman for several years. In the midst of a life of use- fulness he was drowned in the river Sept. 7, 1769.
Thursday last a melancholy accident happened in Milton. Mr. Isaac How, being at work at the Salt Meadows, went into the water to cool him- self. It being discovered by two persons who were in sight that he did not swim, and his head was under water though a good swimmer, they im- mediately went to his assistance, and got him out before he sunk to the bottom. There was sonie appearance of life in him, and several niethods were taken to bring him to, but without effect. It was thought that the sudden chill of the water, he being hot, was the cause of his death. He was one of the selectmen of Milton, well-esteemed as a kind neighbor, a generous friend to the poor and suffering; he has left a sorrowing widow, and is a public loss to the town. - Boston Evening Post, Sept. 13, 1769.
Josiah How, brother of Isaac, and son of Isaac, of Dorchester, was born in Dorchester 1719; he married Sarah Preston, of Dorchester, in 1743, and soon after came to Milton with his father and his brother Isaac. At the decease of his father he came into possession of the house on Centre street and Ran- dolph avenue.
His children were : -
Sarah, who married Joseph Vose, of Milton, Dec. 27, 1761.
Lemuel, b. in Milton, Aug. 5, 1744 ; m. Joanna Richards, of Boston, Oct. 18, 1766.
At the time of the marriage of Lemuel, his father built for him the house on Centre street, opposite the cemetery, now known as the "Hunt house," which was afterwards sold by Josiah and Lemuel to Ziba Blake, and by him conveyed to Jeremiah Crane. Lemuel had five children in Milton, and subsequently removed to Templeton, Mass.
Josiah, Isaac, and John, children of Josiah, b. in 1746, '49, '52; died in early childhood.
Mary, b. Dec. 25, 1755; m. Willianı Vose, of Milton, Dec. 19, 1772. Elizabeth, b. Nov. 23, 1757 ; m. Rufus Pierce Feb. 18, 1775.
Margaret How, known as " Peggy How," was b. Sept. 26, 1760; at the decease of her father she came into possession of the How house, and for many years kept school there.
Josiah How was deacon of the Milton Church for many years. For fourteen years he was selectman of the town. He was town treasurer for six years. He was often chosen
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
moderator of the town meetings. He represented the town at the General Court in 1772-3. He was a shoemaker by trade, and carried on an extensive business for the times. He pos- sessed great strength of character, and was looked up to and respected by all who knew him. During the Revolution affairs presented a gloomy aspect to his mind, and he became despond- ent and faint-hearted. His sympathies seemed to be on the side of the Royalists ; we find his name joined with those of James Smith and Stephen Miller in the " address to Governor Hutchinson." He died in Milton Oct. 3, 1792, aged seventy- three years.
PIERCE FAMILY.
William Pierce, 4th, was a leading man of his day. He was prominent and active in seeking for and in carrying out the best interests of his native town. With many of our citizens he took part in the fortification of Dorchester Heights. His house stood nearly opposite the East Milton railroad station, a little east of the stone-house; it was changed into a store in 1835, and removed some years later.
The estate of his father, William, 3d, who married, 1719, Deliverance Woodard, of Milton, was on the south side of Pleasant street, running towards the Braintree line, and is now included partly in the estate of Edward Cunningham ; the old cellar and well were near the Cunningham house. William Pierce, 4th, married Eunice Bent, only sister of the four brothers, - Joseph, Lemuel, William, and Rufus Bent, of Mil- ton. His children were Rufus, Deliverance, Abigail, William, and four others. William, 5th, married Lydia Swift, of Milton. He had five sons and four daughters. Oliver, his fifth son, born Jan. 12, 1802, married Susan Babcock, of Milton, May 22, 1825; and, second, Jan. 15, 1843, Mary Gardner, of Arlington, who is now living on Granite avenue, Milton, with her daugh- ter, Alma G. Pierce, the teacher of the Pleasant-street school.
William L., son of Oliver, born July 13, 1842, married Emma P. Hicks, of Milton, Sept. 15, 1870.
Capt. Rufus Pierce, the first son of William, 4th, married Elizabeth How, of Milton. He built the cottage on Adams street, just west of East Milton railroad station. He began the cellar in 1775, but after the Lexington fight the work was abandoned, and he occupied the mansion of Madam Foye, on Milton Hill, which was afterwards the home of his daughter, Sarah Pierce Littlefield. Madam Foye, fearing to be so near Boston in war times, removed to Randolph; after the war she returned to Milton, and Rufus Pierce finished his house, which,
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for many years, he kept as a tavern. In this house he lived through all his remaining life, and here died in 1812.
The children of Rufus and Elizabeth How Pierce were :
Elizabeth, b. Oct. 19, 1775; m., Nov. 30, 1817, William Briggs, of Scituate.
Lemuel, b. Feb. 9, 1778.
Sarah, b. July 16, 1780; m., March 10, 1803, Samuel Littlefield, of Braintree.
Margaret, b. April 29, 1783 ; m. Jeremiah T. Fenno.
Eunice, b. Feb. 24, 1787 ; m. Daniel Lord, of Ipswich.
Nancy, b. July 13, 1790 ; m. Gideon F. Thayer, the eminent teacher and founder of Chauncy Hall School.
Mary, b. Dec. 5, 1795 ; m. Zypheon Thayer.
Rufus, b. March 31, 1798.
Martha, b. July 16, 1801 ; m. Abel Wyman, of Wayland.
The grandchildren of Rufus and Elizabeth How Pierce, now resident in Milton, with their families, are : -
Margaret Fenno Babcock, Mary Fenno Sheldon, Mary Little- field Dudley, John Littlefield.
Numerous other descendants are scattered over the State and country.
REED FAMILY.
This family may be traced back to a very early ancestry. Briames De Rede was living in 1139 in the north of England. He had three sons: 1st, Robert, of Rede; 2d, William, of Chichester ; 3d, Thomas, of Redydale.
William Reade, son of William and Lucy (Henage) Reed, was born in 1605, and sailed from Gravesend, County of Kent, in the "Assurance," 1635. He settled in Wassagusset (now Weymouth, Mass.). In 1636 he bought a house of Zachary Bichnall for £7 13s. 4d., which was an average price for home- steads at that early day. He was representative for Weymouth to the General Court in 1636 and 1638. He had by his wife Ivis seven children. Thomas Reed, son of William and Ivis, married Sarah. He held offices, both civil and military, and died Nov. 14, 1719.
John, son of Thomas and Sarah, born Dec. 30, 1679; also married Sarah. His will was dated 1757.
John, son of John and Sarah, married Mary Bates Dec. 26, 1746. He was father of twelve children.
Noah Reed, son of John and Mary, was born at Weymouth Nov. 18, 1759 ; he married Mehetable Wild, of Milton, July 6, 1788, whose father kept tavern in the house once owned and occupied by C. L. Copeland, and now moved to Randolph avenue, near Pleasant street.
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
Mr. Reed was a shoemaker by trade, but, on account of feeble health, he came to Milton and bought of Daniel Vose, July 13, 1795, the homestead formerly owned by Capt. Samuel Wads- worth. The spot where the old house stood is opposite George K. Gannett's residence, between Randolph avenue and Highland street. The original house was burned in 1669. The second house built by Captain Wadsworth, and purchased by Noah Reed, was taken down about 1803. Its walls were packed with seaweed, - a common custom in early times. About 1801 Noah Reed bought of Joel Pratt the house built by John Gibbons on the corner of Highland and Reed streets, where Mrs. Charlotte (Reed) Wadsworth and Miss Rachel Reed now reside.
Noah Reed's children were : -
Betsey, b. in Weymouth, 1789; m. Deacon Jesse Tucker. Warren, b. in Weymouth, 1793; m. Mary Howe Wadsworth. Avis, b. 1795.
Charlotte, b. in the old Wadsworth homestead, Milton, 1799; m. Jason Wadsworth.
Rachel, b .; 1803, in the Gibbons house, now remodelled and owned by her.
Noah Reed died in Milton Sept. 20, 1836. Warren Reed, who married Mary H. Wadsworth, was a farmer. He lived several years in the house now occupied by Rachel Reed, and then, in 1851, built the house now occupied by his sons John H. and William R. Reed, on land descending from the Wads- worth estate.
Another Branch of the Reed Family.
William Reed, springing from the same ancestry, was born in Abington Sept. 20, 1725, and married Silence Nash, 1750. His second son, William, was born June 8, 1755, and married Olive Poole, of Bridgewater, May, 1784; he was a clergyman, and died in Easton Nov. 16, 1809. His third son, Jason Reed, born in Easton Oct. 14, 1794, married Mary Elizabeth Coats, of Mil- ton, May 19, 1824. He graduated at Harvard College 1816, and pursued the study of law. He removed to Milton, and purchased the estate of Ezra Coats, the father of his wife. He held the office of town-clerk of Milton for thirty years, also that of town-treasurer from 1857 till his decease, July 13, 1873. His estate in Milton was named Redesdale, in memory of the old home in England, and a street built in 1884 through this estate bears the name of Redesdale road. His daughter, Eliza- beth T. L. Reed, is the only living representative of his family.
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James Read.
James Read, of Boston, purchased a tract of land in Milton, lying on Highland street and Canton avenue, and moved here about 1765. He built a house, which stood where the Whitwell mansion now stands. His third son, Benjamin, was born in Milton May 20, 1767, and married Lydia Vose, of Milton, March 18, 1787. He was a pump-maker, following the trade of his father.
Thomas Read, the fourth son of James, was born in Milton March 1, 1770. He was a hatter, and carried on the business on the corner of Highland street and Canton avenue, where he also resided. The building disappeared about fifty years ago.
Benjamin Read built the house now standing on Canton avenue, directly opposite the Pound, in 1805. His son, Joseph Elijah Read, born in Milton May 16, 1802, married Lydia Vose Shepherd, of Milton, July 21, 1833. His daughter, Lydia Vose Read, born in Milton Jan. 30, 1806, married Stephen Wales, of Dorchester, June 5, 1833.
The house built by Benjamin Read is now owned and occu- pied by his granddaughters, Mrs. Mary C. R. Sanford and Frances Abbie Read.
JOHN RUGGLES FAMILY.
Thomas Ruggles
Came from England to Roxbury with his wife, Mary, in 1637. Their son, John Ruggles, born in England, probably in 1625, came over with his uncle John two years before his parents ; married Abigail Crafts, Jan. 24, 1651, and died in Rox- bury Sept. 15, 1658. He had five children, the oldest, named John, died in infancy ; the second son, John, baptized Jan. 22, 1654, had a son John, born in Roxbury March 16, 1680, who married Sarah Tilden May 24, 1704; his son, Capt. John Rug- gles, was born in Roxbury Feb. 28, 1705, and married Katherine Williams Jan. 20, 1741-2. He was commander, as supposed, of a company at the siege of Louisburg, and died of fever very soon after his return. He was a man of decided character and of great physical strength, reputed to be the strongest man that ever lived in Roxbury. As an instance of his great strength, it is said he could raise a barrel of cider from the ground and lift it over the raves of a cart. He had two children, a daughter, Catherine, and Capt. John Ruggles, born in Roxbury Dec. 13, 1742. He married Mary Wadsworth, of Milton, May, 1772,
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having removed, when a child, to this town, where he died, Feb. 25, 1821.
. In 1784 he was on the board of selectmen. He was elected to the office of town treasurer in 1785, and held the office, by annual election, for thirty-six years, until his death. He was chosen town-clerk in 1786, and retained the position for twenty-one years. His wife, Mary, died in 1773, leaving an only child.
Hon. John Ruggles.
He was born Feb. 10, 1773, and married Betsy Wadsworth, second daughter of Rev. Dr. Benjamin Wadsworth, of Danvers, Mass. He followed in the footsteps of his father, and was early honored with offices of trust by his native town. He was chosen selectman in 1805, remaining in the office for twenty-one consecutive years ; he was reëlected in 1830, and served for a period of five years ; of this twenty-six years of service he was chairman twenty years. He was on the board of assessors for twenty-five years, and chairman for nineteen. He was chosen town-clerk in 1814, and held the office till 1835, when he de- clined further service. He was the representative of Milton to the General Court for seven years; and State senator from 1820 to 1825. He died here, Dec. 19, 1846, beloved, respected, and honored. His children were, Mary Wadsworth, who died in infancy ; Betsy, born Aug. 31, 1808, married Francis W. Davenport, of Milton, Jan. 24, 1837 ; and John Ruggles, born May 28, 1816, and graduated at Harvard in 1836. He was, for a time, a teacher, afterwards, a bank officer, being for many years connected with the National City Bank on State street, Boston. He married Mary L. Gardner, of Bolton, Nov. 30, 1842, and now resides in Brookline. His son John, who died Dec. 4, 1866, was the eighth John Ruggles in lineal suc- cession. In this family there have been five successive gen- erations of only sons, all bearing the name of John Ruggles.
Capt. John Ruggles and his son Hon. John held important town offices for fifty years continuously. They were men of stable character and sterling integrity, and were gifted with a large share of common-sense. They proved themselves emi- nently worthy of the confidence reposed in them, faithfully and successfully meeting all those important trusts. Mr. Rug- gles, of Brookline, has kindly contributed to the citizens of Milton the portrait of his father, the Hon. John Ruggles, who was so closely connected with the affairs of this town through his whole life.
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