Saco Valley settlements and families. Historical, biographical, genealogical, traditional, and legendary, Part 128

Author: Ridlon, Gideon Tibbetts, 1841- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Portland, Me., The author
Number of Pages: 1424

USA > Maine > Saco Valley settlements and families. Historical, biographical, genealogical, traditional, and legendary > Part 128
USA > New Hampshire > Saco Valley settlements and families. Historical, biographical, genealogical, traditional, and legendary > Part 128

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

While at work in his field on the "Vaughan lot" he was approached by a man who was employed in burning lampblack; of course a very smutty-faced man. "Good mornin', Mr. Tibbetts; think we shall have showers today ?" Leaning on his hoe the farmer scanned the clouds and replied: "I shouldn't wonder; it looks pretty dark in the west. The reader will appreciate this answer when we state that the man's name was William West.

He once owned an old, yellow mare that had a phenomenally long neck and an obstinate temper. When in harness, if she was inclined to turn into some cross-road or wood-lane, no power from behind could prevent her; for pull hard or gently away she would go, her head and bending neck followed by her body, and "finally, my brethring," by the wagon and passengers. It was of this beast that Uncle Daniel Decker said : "It's no use to build any fence while the old Tibbetts' mare runs in the road, for her neck's so long she can stand outside and reach everything on a ten-acre lot."

He sold his property at Shadagee and purchased of Elliot G. Vaughan a large tract of land in Hollis, near Moderation Mills, and a house lot in the village. On this hill-side elevation he erected a good sized and well finished house, barn, and workshop. This dwelling has been remodeled, a story added, and is now known as the " Tracy house." He was a good farmer and gathered from his new, warm land abundant harvests for many years. Being a mill- wright and wheelwright he found employment with his tools. He was a very precise mechanic and joints that could not be inspected were made with the same care as those exposed to view. He built some of the best saw-mills in the state.

Temperate in his habits, cleanly of person, always an early riser, and used to vigorous exercise, Mr. Tibbetts lived to the great age of ninety-one. He was a broad-shouldered, compactly built, heavy man of fair complexion. Chil- dren as follows :

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TIBBETTS FAMILY.

I. LORANNA,8 b. Nov. 28, 1807; m. Joseph Smith, son of Joseph, of the " Smith neighborhood," in Hollis, and had six children.

2. EUNICE,8 b. Oct. 11, 1809 ; d. unmarried.

3. GIDEON W.,8 b, Nov. 5, 1811 ; d. Oct. 15, 1815.

4. ABIGAIL,8 b. Sept. 16, 1813; m. Elder Alvan Crockett and had five children ; lived near her father in Hollis; d. early.

5. GIDEON W.,8 b. April 4, 1816. He went to Georgia with several other young men of his town, where he was employed as a wheelwright. He soon d. at Burnfort, St. Mary's, in 1840-1, and the author of this book was named for him.

6. HANNAH,8 b. August 19, 1818; m. Samuel Ridlon, of Hollis, and had four children. She was a women of amiability, eminently intelligent, who exemplified the spirit of the Christian religion in life, and whose death was gloriously triumphant.

7. NANCY,8 b. Feb. 22, 1821; m. Hiram Cook, son of Ephraim, of Casco, Me., and had three children; a woman of great excellence; now the only surviving daughter; many years a widow.

8. EPHRAIM,8 b. Sept. 18, 1825 ; m. Abby, dau. of John Foster, of Parsons- field, and "stood up" in a sailor's costume. Four children. He fol- lowed the sea in early life and was as wild and jolly a jack-a-tar as ever went to the mast-head. He sustained an injury from a fall upon the vessel's deck, returned home and has since worked at his trade of mill- wright and machinist ; is one of the finest mechanics in the state, who, like his father, takes great pride in accurate workmanship. He elimi- nated "about right" from his mechanical vocabulary many years ago, and adopted for his motto "just right." He is a man of great physical strength and undaunted courage, and woe to the man who was so reck- less of his safety as to insult him. In his many encounters with formid- able athletes he has always been the victor. He is possessed of as tender and generous a heart as ever beat in human breast; is genial, companionable, conversational, neighborly; has married, for second wife, Berthena, dan. of Charles Dunn; now living in Sanford village, where he has charge of the water works and wheels of the Goodale Manufact- uring Company.

9. ELIJAH W.,8 b. June 4, 1827 ; m. Susan Chick, of Lebanon, and had two daughters Nellie9 and Carrie9; mill-wright by trade; served as corporal in the Civil war ; lost his right hand by premature discharge of a cannon while celebrating on the Fourth of July, after return from the army; re- sided at East Rochester, N. H., where he was station agent for the Portland and Rochester R. R. for many years; a very handsome man. He and wife and eldest daughter have deceased.

IO. JOHN C.,8 b. Dec. 29, 1829; m. Mary E. Swett, and settled at Hollis with his parents. He received a good common school and academic education, and by painstaking self-culture he is an efficient and suc- cessful teacher; much of his life has been spent in the school-room. As a grammarian and mathematician he found few equals, and for dis- cipline, system, and thoroughness he has no superior as an educator. Children's names : Eunice,9 Ida Florence,9 Nelson,9 Charles Sydney,? and Luther.9

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TOWNSEND FAMILY.

GEORGE TIBBETTS,7 son of Ephraim and his second wife, Lovie, settled in Corinna, Me., as farmer. His three sons, James,8 John,8 and Isaiah,8 were all . well educated clergymen.

JACOB TIBBETTS," another son of Ephraim and Lovie, lived in Rochester, N. H., and had a family.

Townsend Family.

The Townshends and Townsends of England and America are of Saxon and Norman extraction. The earliest mentioned ancestor of this family was Ladovic de Townsend, a Norman nobleman, who flourished soon after the Conquest. He m. Elizabeth, dau. of Thomas de Haville, whose family, of Norman nativity, had received a grant of extensive lands in County Norfolk, England, and this estate, through the alliance just mentioned, came to the Townshends. The residence, called the manor of Raynham, became the prin- cipal seat of the family, and so continues at the present time. A branch was early planted in Ireland and built Castle Townsend there; from junior slips broken from this stem the Townsends in America, claiming an Irish ancestry, have descended.

From ancient documents we learn that one William de Townsend held considerable land in County Norfolk, A. D. 1200. Thomas Townsend, of West Herling, was living in 1217 A. D., and a William Townsend, in A. D. 1290. John, son of Thomas Townsend, died leaving a son William, who married in 1306. Richard Townsend conveyed land in Norfolk, A. D. 1319, and the gravestone of Thomas Townsend, supposed to have been one of his descend- ants, in the church of St. Martyn's, had a brass plate fixed to it upon which there was a long inscription in Latin. Peter Townsend was presented with the living of Great Winchingdon by the king in 1371. Thomas, son of Wil- liam Townsend, settled his estate by deed upon his son John in 1377, which John was living in 1396, and settled at Raynham. From these cadets of the Townsends, through a long line of somewhat illustrious ancestors, whose names we have no space for, the present Marquis Townshend is descended. Members of the same family have intermarried with some of the most distin- guished and wealthy of the aristocracy of Great Britain, establishing many junior branches in various parts of England of high standing.

We shall now give our attention to some pioneer heads of the American branches, who settled in New England in the seventeenth century. Richard Townsend was of James City, Virginia, in 1620; William Townsend, of Boston, Mass., 1634; Martyn Townsend, of Watertown, Mass., 1644; Joseph, Henry, and Richard, brothers, of New England and New York in 1640. A Joseph Townsend was in Philadelphia in 1682. The degree of relationship existing between these early settlers in the new world we have not ascertained, but they became, several of them, heads of the numerous Townsend families now so widely disseminated over this country.

The immediate progenitor of the Saco valley families, which more particu- larly concerns our present inquiry, was THOMAS TOWNSEND,1 son of Henry Townsend and wife, Margaret Forthe, born at Bracon-Ash, in England, June

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TOWNSEND FAMILY.

8, 1594-5. He was cousin of John Winthrop, governor of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, and came from London to Lynn, Mass., as early as 1635. `He married Mary, daughter of John Newgate, a merchant of Boston. He received a grant of land at Lynn, in 1638, and was owner of other lands at Rumney Marsh, now Chelsea; was admitted freeman in 1639; seems to have been a citizen of prominence and ability. He died at Lynn, Dec. 22, 1677, aged 83. His wife died Feb. 28, 1692.

Samuel Townsend,2 born about 1638; m. Abigail, a daughter of Samuel Davis, and had a numerous family of sons, of whom one, as will presently ap- pear, became the direct progenitor of our Saco valley families so early settled in Biddeford. Samuel lived at Rumney Marsh, where he held important offices. He d. at Chelsea, where his gravestone, bearing date Dec. 21, 1704, may be seen. His wife d. Jan. 7, 1728, aged 87 years.

Abraham Townsend,3 twin son of Samuel and Abigail, and twin brother of ISAAC, who became the head of the Townsend family in Connecticut, was b. May 20, 1682, probably at Chelsea, Mass., and m., for his first wife, Mary Eustice, by whom he had issue. She d. June 28, 1718, and he m., second, Dec. 8, 1720, Judith, dau. of Robert and Rachel (Gibbins) Edgecomb, by whom also issue. He d. May 20, 1746. He was a man of public spirit and executive ability and took a leading position among the early settlers of Bidde- ford, to which he removed; was selectman for several years. From the records of York county, we epitomize the following concerning him: "Abraham Townsend of Boston, in consideration of one hundred and fifty pounds cur- rent money of New England, received by conveyance from John Hobbs, of Boston, all that tract of land that was bought of Maj. William Phillips, and Bridget his wife, by Christopher Hobbs, grandfather of the said John, being and lying in the town of Saco, bounded on ye north west with the brook com- monly called Davises Brook, and on ye north east by ye river Saco, and on ye south west by land formerly Mr. John Smiths and afterwards in ye posses- sion of Nicholas Bully, Gent., and by all that bridth southwest until three hundred acres be fully completed and ended, togather with eight acres in ye great Meadow, and called ye Wood Meadow." This deed was dated April- 25, 1724. "Abraham Townsend, of Biddeford, yeoman," Aug. 13, 1724, con- veyed to John Center one-half of the tract of land before-mentioned, the deed being signed by Abraham and wife Judith. In 1728 Abraham Townsend and wife Judith, "late of Biddeford," conveyed the remaining half of the tract, purchased of Hobbs, to John Cleaver, of Boston, cordwainer. In 1728 he purchased land in Saco, known as "James Gibbins' first Division," and the same year, other lands of John, Joseph, and Gibbins Mace, of Gossport, N. H., which was deeded to Abraham and his father-in-law, Robert Edgecomb. I have no means of knowing how many children Abraham had by his first wife, but from the records of Saco and Biddeford, it is evident that three or more sons settled in those towns. Widow Judith d. suddenly Dec. 2, 1773, aged 83.

Nathaniel Townsend,+ "of Lynn, blacksmith," eldest son of Abraham and Mary Eustice, settled in Biddeford. He made his will Sept. 29, 1778, in which he mentions "wife Margaret," " Bethesda, wife of Jeremy Ridlon," and "Lucretia, wife of Thomas Deering"; will witnessed by Josiah Fairfield, M. D., and Samuel Edgecomb. £ I have not found records of children of Nathaniel, but have names and records of families of Saco and Biddeford,

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TOWNSEND FAMILY.

probably descended from him. He d. Oct. 21, 1778 ; Margaret d. Mar. 25, 1798, aged 87.

Joseph Townsend,4 m. Alice Gordon, in Biddeford, in 1728, and was probably son of Abraham, Ist, and Mary. I have no other references.

Isaac Townsend, 4 son of Abraham 3 and Mary Eustice, m. Mary - and had children, born in Biddeford, named :

1. ELIZABETH,6 b. May 4, 1731.

2. ANNA,5 b. Feb. 9, 1734.

Abraham Townsend, + son of Abraham,3 Ist, and Mary, settled in Bidde- ford and had sons and daughters. He m. Elizabeth Libby, of Biddeford, Nov. 17, 1743. She may have been a second wife. Tradition makes this man remove to the plantation of Little Falls, now Hollis, where he is said to have died. I have no documentary proof of this. He must have been a very aged man when his son settled in that township.

Thomas Townsend,+ son of Abraham3 and Judith, b. Oct. 29, 1722; m. Miriam Poak, Sept. 29, 1765; these "owned the covenant " in the Congrega- tional church of Saco, Nov. 30, 1766, and had children b. in that town named as follows :

1. ELIZABETH,5 b. Feb. 10, 1766; m. Jere Simpson, May 21, 1785.

2. WILLIAM,5 b. Jan. 5, 1768.

3. ANNA,5 b. Jan. 8, 1770; m. Capt. Wm. Freeman, June 1, 1791.

4. JOHN,5 b. Dec. 24, 1772 ; m. Polly - and had :

I. NATHANIEL,6 b. Sept. 23, 1796.

II. ELIZABETH, 6 b. July 19, 1799.

III. JOHN, 6 b. April 16, 1802.

5. THOMAS,5 b. Nov. 9, 1775.

6. HANNAH,5 b. Apr. 7. 1778.

7. SARAH,5 b. Apr. 4, 1780.

Samuel Townsend,4 second son of Abraham 3 and Judith, b. Feb. 14, 1725. James Townsend, 4 third son of Abraham 3 and Judith, b. July 31, 1730.

Daniel Townsend and wife Mary, of Saco, had names of six children recorded there; wife b. Sept. 24, 1782 ; do not know his connections. Issue :

I. JULIA A., b. Aug. 22, 1811.

2. DANIEL H., b. Aug. 31, 1813.

3. LYDIA H., b. Jan. 1, 1816.

4. MARY J., b. Mar. 25, 1818; d. young.

5. WILLIAM H., b. Oct. 8, 1820.

6. MARY H., b. Jan. 6, 1824.

Capt. Daniel Townsend, called "Capt., jr.," married Mary Sawyer, Dec. 4, 1816. He was b. Dec. 24, 1786; his wife was b. May 11, 1786. I do not make connections and cannot say whose son he was. Their son, JAMES S., b. in Saco, Nov. 28, 1817.

JAMES F. TOWNSEND.

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TOWNSEND FAMILY.

Mary Townsend was m. to James Carlisle (intention), June 25, 1806. Dodarah Townsend was m. to Jones McNelly, in Saco, July 12, 1812. Peggy Townsend was m. to Nathaniel Hill, of Saco, Aug. 28, 1800. Lucretia Townsend was m. to Thomas Deering, of Saco, Oct. 21, 1773.

Abraham Townsend,5 son of Abraham of Biddeford, m. Molly Edgecomb, of Little Falls, Mar. 11, 1777. He removed to the "Western Reserve," now Ohio, in 1798, and settled on an elevation not far from the present city of Cincinnati, which has since been called "Townsend's hill," where his sons afterwards lived.

Isaac Townsend,5 brother of preceding, m. Nancy Jacobs; settled in the plantation of Little Falls, now Hollis, on the high land above the Saco river. His homestead has since been owned by Hon. James Morton. Upon the beautiful eminence he built his house and here spent his days. He was buried in the Ridlon and Townsend ground not far below his farm. His children and descendants as follows:

I. JACOB,6 b. Dec. 9, 1782 : m., 1804, Abigail Elden and had eleven chil- dren. He settled on a farm in Buxton, on an air line between the "Old Corner" and "Coolbroth's Corner." He was a kind-hearted man of peaceable habits, who worked hard and planned well. His wife d. Oct. 15, 1863. He d. Aug. 3, 1863. Issue :

I. JAMES F.,7 b. Feb. 20, 1808; m. Susan, sister of Capt. Moses Davis of Buxton, Mar. 11, 1827, by whom four children. She d. Oct. 31, 1870. He m., second, Rose Savage, by whom nine children. He d. Apr. 4, 1886. He united with the Mormon church in 1833; left the state of Maine in the fall of 1838 for Mossury, but was taken sick in Louisville, Md., and remained there five years; then went to Nawvoo, Ill., where he established a home. When the Mormons left there for St. Joseph, Mo., he went with them, traveling from the Mississippi to the Missouri river with oxen. After building him a fine house, in which he lived for five years, he sold out and went to Utah, in 1852, traveling across the plains two thousand miles with ox- teams to Salt Lake City. Here he built the first hotel in Utah, named the "Salt Lake House," which he sold in 1864 for $25,000. After an extended mission to England, he returned in 1866, and built the fine large hotel known as the "Townsend House," for which, at one time, he was offered $100,000. A few years before his death he came back to his native town and visited his relatives, going from town to town and from house to house to look once more upon those with whom he had associated in childhood and early manhood. It was something touching to see this venerable, white-bearded man visiting the graves of his aged parents and the old homestead after so many long years of absence. It was one of the last wishes he gratified and he did not long survive. Children by first wife:

(1). Mary J.,8 b. Aug. 23, 1828.

(2). James F.,8 b. Aug. 26, 1830.

(3). Susan M.,8 b. June 10, 1834; d. Apr. 26, 1879.

Second family : Elisaman,8 Jacob,8 James,8 Charles,8 Abbie,8 David,8 Dorcas,8 Walter,8 and Alvah.8

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TOWNSEND FAMILY.

II. CHARLES,7 b. Jan. 10, 1810; m. Hannah and lived on the home- stead in Buxton. His children were :

(1). Adaline,8 b. Nov. 24, 1834.

(2). Jacob F.,8 b. Nov. 15, 1836.

(3). James A.,8 b. Jan. 29, 1839.

(4). Georgeanna,8 b. Jan. 26, 1841 ; m. -

Watson; d. May 20, 1870.

(5). John,8 b. Sept. 8, 1843.

(6). Orran E., b. Feb. 17, 1848. (7). Samuel H.,8 b. Feb. 18, 1852.

III. ISAAC,7 b. Aug. 12, 1812; d. Dec. 11, 1812.

IV. JOHN,7 b. Oct. 30, 1813.

v. MARY,7 b. Aug. 10, 1816.

VI. NANCY,7 b. Oct. 9, 1818.

VII. JANE,7 b. Aug. 22, 1820.

VIII. ABIGAIL,7 b. Oct. 4, 1823.

IX. JACOB,7 b. in 1825.

x. DORCAS,7 b. Nov. 6, 1833.

One of these daughters married Cyrenus Foss, of Hollis, and another, James Locke, of Buxton.

2. LYDIA,6 b. Mar. 24, 1785 ; m., Dec. 25, 1800, Robert Sawyer, and was the mother of seventeen children. (See Sawyer Family.)

3. POLLY,6 b. Aug. '29, 1787 ; m., Sept. 9, 1811, Joseph Hobson, of Bux- ton, known as "Deacon Joseph," and had a numerous family. (See Hobson Family.)

4. DEBORAH, 6 b. May 19, 1790.

5. MARGARET,6 b. Oct. 25, 1793.

6. MARY,6 b. June 8, 1795; m., Nov. 30, 1817, John Wiggin.

7. ANNA," b. Feb. 4, 1798; m. William Hobson, known as "Major," of Hollis, and d. Feb. 5, 1894, at the age of 96. The family claimed that she was ninety-seven, but the foregoing dates are from the town records, and 1 present them for what they are worth. She was able to be about her room and retained her faculties up to the time of her death.

8. ISSAC,6 b. May 13, 1800; m. Polly, dau. of Magnus and Hannah (Rid- lon) Ridlon, of Hollis, and lived in a small house on a part of his father's homestead. He was rather below the medium height, inclined to corpulency, and very round shouldered. " Uncle Isaac" was of cun- ning, humorous proclivity, and when exhilarated with a couple of glasses of the "O-be-joyful," as he called it -something he took kindly to - his tongue became nimble, and the quaint speeches he made will not soon be forgotten. The old people who knew him best used to say: "Uncle Ike is marster crank," or "He's awful chipper." It used to be told that he once came home of an evening and found a young man, who belonged to a family he was prejudiced against, feeding his daugh- ters on "sugar-plums." This was decidedly disagreeable to Uncle Isaac, and he quickly put an end to the pleasures of the young folks by saying: "Now, Daniel, you'd better take your candy and run right

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TOWNSEND FAMILY.

home; we don't want any Clarks and Maddoxes here." Exit young man. He owned a large black dog, which he named Pero. As the old gent came home one day and went to his wood-shed he saw his dog, minus his tail. Looking about he discovered the severed member lying sus- piciously near the chopping-block. Calling one of his sons, he asked : "Jacob, do you know who cut Pero's tail off?" "Well, father," replied the boy, " there's the tail, there's Pero, and there's the axe; that's all I can say about it." Poor Pero! we remember him well as he followed the white-haired old man when going to the pasture for the cows; and he always wagged what tail he had with the same good-will and vigor as before it had been cur-tailed. "Aunt Polly" was one of the best of good women, kind, patient, neighborly. Children :

1. JOHN,7 had one daughter. He early settled in Saco or Biddeford, and engaged in milling and lumber business; acquired a competency be- fore middle life, retired from business, and has been a man at ease for many years; has a taste for hunting and fishing, and spends much time in his hunting camps every autumn; owns a small steamboat, with which he visits the islands at the mouth of Saco river, where there is good duck shooting. John is a whole-souled fellow and seems to take as much comfort as is compatible with this disjointed world.

Il. JACOB,7 m. Mary Jane, dau. of Noah Randall, of Limington, and set- tled in his native town; has been a millman and farmer. Three chil- dren: Willie,8 Loring,8 and May.8

III. HANNAH,7 m. Alanson Dunn.

IV. MARY,7 m. Jehial Smith.

V. JOSEPH.7

VI. EMILY.7

VII. Lucy,7 m., first, Charles Foster ; second, Porter Hall.

9. ALVAH,6 b. May 21, 1815; m. Elizabeth Lang; lived in Waterborough.

Nathaniel Townsend,5 son of Abraham 4 and Elizabeth Libby, m. Nov. 29, 1787, Judith, dau. of Matthias and Rachel (Edgecomb) Ridlon, then of Saco. These settled in the plantation of Little Falls, now Hollis, near Saco river, where he carried on a farm. Children :

I. DANIEL,6 b. Dec. 28, 1789; m. Harriet Townsend (?), a relative, and lived on the homestead. His widow became the wife of Robert Carll, who lived many years on her farm. Children of Daniel as follows :

I. LYDIA,7 m. Watson Libby, blacksmith.

11. NATHANIEL,7 drowned in Saco river.

III. SUSAN,7 lived at home, unmarried.

2. RACHEL,6 b. Aug. 6, 1791 ; m. Dec. 1, 1814, to Thomas Wentworth, of Buxton.

3. NATHANIEL,6 b. Aug. 13, 1793; m. Ruth - - and settled in Buxton, on the high land half a mile back from the Saco river and near the old Boulter homestead. Here he d. Mar. 7, 1847; wife d. Mar. 11, 1847. Children :

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TOMPSON FAMILY.

I. JOHN P.,7 b. Nov. 11, 1821; m. Mary -, who d. May 23, 1838, and her infant, Mary,8 the 6th. He m., second, a dau. of Miles Stewart, of Hollis, by whom several children. He lived on the homestead; a large man, genuine Townsend in build, features, and temperament. Issue : William,8 Miles,8 James,8 and others.

II. DANIEL,7 b. Sept., 1823; m. Sarah Jane, dau. of Nathaniel Norton, of Limington, and lives at West Buxton; many years a river-driver ; subsequently in live-stock trade and kept a meat market. "Dan" is a good-hearted fellow. Two sons.

111. MARTHA,7 b. April 20, 1826; d. May 9, 1849.

IV. WILLIAM,7 b. June 1, 1828 : d. Feb. 23, 1847.

V. SARAH E.,7 b. April 15, 1837.

V1. NATHANIEL,7 b. Aug. 15, 1839 ; coach-driver in Boston.

4. ELEANOR,6 b. April 7, 1795.

5. SARAH,6 b. April 7, 1797.

6. WILLIAM, 6 b. April 12, 1803.

Compson Family.

Rev. William Tompson was born at Lancashire, England, in 1598 ; grad- uated at Oxford, and commenced preaching in the north of his native land. He came to New England in 1637 or 1638, and became pastor of Congrega- tional church of Braintree, Mass., where he was ordained Nov. 19, 1639. He was one of the ministers subsequently sent to Virginia as a missionary, and was the instrument of the conversion of Gen. Daniel Gookin, who, in 1644, removed to Cambridge ; a distinguished military officer and author. Mather says :

"Gookin was one of these; by Tompson's pains Christ and New England a dear Gookin gains."

He was constitutionally melancholy and his usefulness impaired in conse- quence; was twice married. His first wife died while he was absent, leaving a family of small children; second wife, Anne, widow of Simon Crosbie, of Cambridge. Mr. Tompson d. Dec. 10, 1666, aged 68. On his tombstone are the lines :

"He was a learned, solid, sound divine, Whose name and fame in both Englands did shine."

His children were as follows:

I. WILLIAM, b. in England, 1629 ; graduated at Harvard, 1653, and set- tled in Springfield.

2. SAMUEL, b. in England, 1631 ; ordained deacon for the First church of Braintree, Nov. 2, 1679; represented that town fourteen years. He d. Jan. 18, 1695.

NOTE .- Nathaniel Townsend and Grace Boulter were published Inne 18, 1801; Nathaniel Townsend and Mary Watts, of Buxton, May 24, 1816; Nathaniel Townsend and Hannah Har- mon, of Buxton, Sept. 20, 1817; Lydia Townsend to Sylvanus Hamblen, of Lynn, Nov. 1, 1804.

1175

TOMPSON FAMILY.

3. JOSEPH, b. in Braintree, May 1, 1640 ; represented the town of Billerica several years ; d. Oct. 13, 1732.

4. BENJAMIN, b. in Braintree, July 14, 1642; graduated at Harvard in 1662.

5. ANNE, by second wife, b. in Braintree.

Rev. Edward Tompson, son of Samuel, preceding, b. in Braintree, April 20, 1665; graduated at Harvard in 1684; settled at Marshfield, Oct. 14, 1696. He preached his own ordination sermon from Isaiah vi, 9 and 10. This sermon was in the hands of Capt. John S. Tompson, of York, Me., in 1844. He died suddenly at Marshfield, Mar. 16, 1705, aged 40 years. He was buried in the old cemetery, where, on the gravestone that marks the spot, is inscribed :

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Saco Valley settlements and families. Historical, biographical, genealogical, traditional, and legendary, Part 128

Author: Ridlon, Gideon Tibbetts, 1841- [from old catalog] Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Portland, Me., The author Number of Pages: 1424

Author: Ridlon, Gideon Tibbetts, 1841- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Portland, Me., The author
Number of Pages: 1424