COLONEL
ELISHA A. EDWARDS, a well-known, public-spirited, and
influential citizen of Hampshire County, was born in
Southampton, Mass., March 25, 1824. He is of Welsh
origin, the emigrant ancestor having been Alexander
Edwards, who left Wales in 1640, and after his arrival
in this State settled in Springfield. On April 28, 1642, he
married Sarah Searl, and in 1655 moved to Northampton,
where he died September 4, 1690. Of his eight children,
Samuel, born March 7, 1643, was the next in the line now
being considered. He married Sarah Boykin, daughter of
James Boykin, of New Haven, Conn. ; and they reared six
children, their eldest son being Samuel Edwards, Jr.,
who was born March 26, 1676, and died March 8, 1749. His
first wife, Mercy Pomeroy, whom he married in 1708, died
in 1712 ; and he subsequently married Sarah Pomeroy, of
Colchester, Conn. He reared nine children, including
Samuel, the third, born September 12, 1716, and Noah,
born June 6, 1722.
Noah Edwards was married June
28, 1749, to Jerusha Alvord, who died in 1798. In
his old age,
September 11, 1799, he married
widow Elizabeth Wright, with whom he lived until his
death, September 3, 1805. Justin, the second of his
eight children, was born in 1752. He
married Elizabeth Clark in 1778, and afterward removed
to Westhampton, where she died December 6, 1792. On
January 1, 1795, he married Mary Bartlett, a niece of
Phoebe Bartlett, whose early history is given in
President Edwards's work on "Revivals." Justin Edwards
died October 6, 1816. By his first wife he had four
children: Dotia, Jesse, Justin (the Rev. Dr. Edwards),
and Elizabeth. His second wife bore him three children:
Sarah, who died in infancy; Mary; and
William.
Samuel Edwards,
born in
1716, was the grandfather of the late Professor
Bela B. Edwards and also of Elisha Edwards, father of
Colonel Elisha A. He
served in the Revolutionary War. The
elder Elisha Edwards was married in 1792. His
son Elisha, who was born April 22, 1793, and died April
26, 1868, married Julia King, who was born in October,
1798, and died in 1838. They
were the parents of eight children; namely, Horace,
Elisha A., Julia A., Charles L., Elizabeth, Caroline,
Eunice M., and George K. The
father, Elisha, Jr., was a soldier in the War of
1812.
Horace, born November 22, 1822, died December 23,
1846.
Julia, born September 29, 1826, became the wife
of the Rev. Cornelius H.
Taylor, D.D.,
a
Presbyterian minister; and he died in Cincinnati,
Ohio, February 25, 1875, leaving
four
children:
Edwards C, Frank L., Julia K., and Kirke H. Charles
L., born October 19, 1828, now a coal dealer and
insurance agent at Lawrence, Kan., married Susan Powers,
of North Hadley; and of the three children born to them
one is now living, Virginia S.
Elizabeth, born December 10, 1830, married
Martin L.
Gaylord (graduate of Amherst College), a farmer in
Easthampton, and they have three children: Lucy P.,
Edith E.,
and Winfred
M.
Caroline,
born February 23, 1833, is a resident of
Southampton.
Eunice M., born May 6, 1835, and now living in
Colorado, is the widow of the late George L. Gaylord,
and has two children, Lewis and Edwards K. George K.,
the youngest son, born April 28, 1838, grew to manhood
in Southampton, and there lived until his enlistment in
Company B, Thirty-first Massachusetts Volunteer
Infantry,
in
October, 1861.
Going South with his regiment, he was engaged in
the battles of the forts before New Orleans, which the
Union army took possession of in April 1862. On July
7, 1862, he
was discharged for disability. On
January 1, 1863, he re-enlisted, was
commissioned First
Lieutenant, and mustered into service March 2, in
Company A, Second District of Columbia Volunteer
Infantry, being at first stationed
at Washington Heights, and going thence to
Alexandria, and from there to different places in the
South.
He
displayed
great bravery in several engagements. On
September 12, 1865, he was discharged, and came home in
poor health and suffering from injuries he had received
by falling from the upper deck of a steamboat, a
distance of twenty feet, and striking on a
barrel.
On December 15, 1864, George
K. Edwards was
united in
marriage with Martha L.
Lyman, who was born December 8,
1838, in Chester, Mass., daughter of Stephen and
Julia (Searl) Lyman. The only
child horn of their union died in infancy. They have since
adopted a little girl, Ethel May, born May 1, 1887.
Mr. Lyman was born
December 24, 1811, married Julia Searl, April 28, 1830,
and died April 11, 1889. Mrs.
Julia S. Lyman is still living in Southampton, quite
advanced in years, her
birth having
occurred June 21, 1815. She bore
her husband five children, of whom but two now
survive. One
daughter, Harriet Eliza (deceased), married
the Rev. William R.
Stocking, of
Williamstown, Mass., and went to Persia as a missionary.
Stephen Lyman was the eldest son of Samuel Lyman,
who was born at Chester,
May 2, 1789, and who served in the War of 1812,
in Colonel Enos Foot's regiment. He was a
Deacon of the
Congregational church of
Chester for over twenty years. On October 26, 1809, he
married Marian S. Tinker; and they reared ten
children.
Elisha A. Edwards, the second child
born to Elisha and Julia (King) Edwards, was reared to man's
estate in his native town.
Early in life he chose farming as his principal
vocation, and engaged in tilling the soil during the
summer months and in teaching school in the winters for
several years. At the age of sixteen he joined the
militia, and, being promoted from time to time, became
Colonel of the regiment, resigning his position after
eight years' service. On October 1, 1861, inspired by
patriotic ardor, Colonel Edwards enlisted in defense of
his country, raising a company of over one hundred men,
they going into camp as Company B, Thirty-first
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, in Pittsfield,
removing thence to Lowell, Mass., and afterward to
Boston. From there the regiment went South, marching
into New Orleans May I, 1862. The Colonel was taken sick
while in that city, and after lying there for weeks
received his discharge, September 5, 1862.
After his return to Southampton Colonel Edwards
was for a long time unable to engage in business; but
since recovering his health he has taken an active part
in the management of local public affairs, being an
earnest supporter of the Republican party. He has served
as Moderator at the annual town meetings for more than a
score of years, as Town Clerk thirteen years, as
Selectman and Assessor three years, as Justice of the
Peace for forty-four years, and is now serving his
twenty-eighth year as a member of the Board of County
Commissioners, twenty-four years of which he has been
its chairman. He has also served as Postmaster of
Southampton. Colonel Edwards has
always been deeply interested in Masonry, and belongs to
Jerusalem Lodge of Northampton. He is likewise a member
of the William L. Baker Post, No.
86, Grand Army of the Republic. He and his family
are members of the Congregational church and useful
workers in that denomination. In financial circles the
Colonel is favorably known throughout this part of
Massachusetts, having been one of the incorporators of
the Hampshire Savings Bank of Northampton, of which he
has been one of the Trustees ever since the bank was
started. He is a Trustee of the Sheldon Academy
Corporation, and has also been Secretary and Treasurer
for nearly thirty years. He is likewise President and
Trustee of the Southampton Library Association. In 1857
Colonel Edwards visited Kansas with a view of locating
there, and for a few months was book-keeper for the
National Kansas Aid Society of Lawrence.
On the 12th of May, 1846, Colonel
Elisha A. Edwards
was united in marriage
with Henrietta L. Sheldon,
who was born July 3, 1825, in Southampton. Mrs.
Edwards is adaughter of the late Captain Silas
and Anna (King) Sheldon, the latter of whom died in
1892. Captain
Sheldon and his wife were the parents of seven
children; namely, Emily,
Silas B., Henrietta L., Lovisa S., Flavel K., Anna K.,
and Julia E., three of whom are yet living. Four
children have been born of the union of Colonel and Mrs.
Edwards, the following being a brief record: Alice
Julia, born in September, 1848, was first married to
George Boyd, and after his death became the wife of W.
H. Lyman, by whom she has one child, George W., born
March 1, 1889; Mr. Lyman is a traveling
salesman, and resides in Springfield.
Emma H., born December 10, 1854, died July 11,
1890; she was the wife of
the late Deacon L. R. Bartlett, of Westfield, Mass. Isabella
G., born May 25, 1856, is a resident of Springfield,
Mass., and the widow of the late D. H. Bronson, who
passed to the higher life July 6, 1891 ; Mr.
and Mrs. Bronson became the parents of two
children: Eugene, deceased, and Frederick E., born in
January, 1881. Anna K., the youngest child, born March
18, 1861, is the wife of William C. Sheldon, of
Southampton.
REV. HENRY
LUTHER EDWARDS, of Northampton, Mass., is a native of
Hampshire County. He was born January
24, 1822, in Southampton, where his progenitors had
dwelt for several generations.
The name of Edwards has long been one of the most
widely known and honored in Western Massachusetts. The
family, including the Jonathan Edwards branch,
originated in Wales, Alexander Edwards, the emigrant
ancestor of the branch under consideration, coming
thence in 1640 to Springfield, Mass., where he remained
till 1655, a cultivator of the soil, like most
others.
He then removed to Northampton,
being attracted by the fertility of the bottom lands
of the
Connecticut River known
as "The Meadows," and here, too, engaged in
farming until his decease,
September 4, 1690. He married the
widow of John Searle, Mrs. Sarah Baldwin Searle. She had a
son, John Searle, Jr., who came with his step-father,
Alexander Edwards, to Northampton, and became a
well-to-do farmer. A
half-century later John
Searle, third, was killed by Indians with nineteen
others at the foot of Mount Tom; and twenty years after
that, in 1724, Nathaniel
Edwards met his death in like manner. Nathaniel Searle,
grandson of John, second, was one of the more prosperous
and influential of the pioneer
settlers of Southampton. He
seems to have been the principal man in ecclesiastical
affairs, securing and entertaining the ministers on
every occasion, Jonathan Edwards among
others.
Samuel Edwards, a son of Alexander
and Sarah B. S. Edwards, was born March 7, 1643, in
Springfield, and died April 13,
1712, in Northampton. His son
Samuel, the next in line of descent, was born March 26,
1676, and died March 8, 1749. He was
twice married, his wives, whose names were Pomeroy,
having been sisters; and among his descendants that
became noted were the Rev. Dr. Justin Edwards and
Professor Bela B. Edwards, men of exalted character and
ability, and among the more
renowned divines in New
England. Samuel Edwards, the
third of that name, was born in Northampton, September
12, 1716, removed to
Southampton in 1753, and died there
in 1790. His wife,
Catherine Clark, was a woman of superior character and
intelligence. She was a
daughter of Deacon John Clark, of Northampton, and
lineally descended from Lieutenant William Clark, who
emigrated from England soon after the departure of the
Pilgrims, and was known in Northampton as "the Most
Worshipful William Clark."
In Southampton, Samuel Edwards,
third, became very prominent in local affairs, having
been long Town Clerk and Town Treasurer and a Deacon in
the church. For upward of forty years he was engaged in
teaching in Northampton and Southampton during the
winter seasons; and the old arm chair used by him in the
school-room is now finely cushioned and highly prized,
being owned by Caroline Edwards, of Southampton, a
descendant, and a cousin of the gentleman to whom this
sketch is due. This Samuel Edwards had four daughters
and three sons-Samuel, Luther, and Elisha. The first
settled in Westhampton, the others in Southampton, all
being leading citizens.
Luther was born in 1756
and died in 1834. He was known as Ensign, and served
briefly in the war of the Revolution, as did also his
brother Elisha. He inherited some three hundred acres of
his father's one thousand. He was a thoughtful man,
thrifty in his business and highly esteemed,"
representing his town in a Constitutional Convention,
and being a member repeatedly of the General Court. He
was twice married. His first wife, Sarah Sheldon, died
in middle life, leaving five children: Asenath, Ralph,
Sarah, Luther, and Atossa.
His second wife was Clarissa Judd, the mother of
Clarissa and Electa Edwards, and the daughter of the
Rev. Jonathan Judd, who was the first minister settled
in Southampton, a pastor of the Congregational church
there for forty years.
Luther Edwards, second, was born in
Southampton, December 16, 1792, and died there September
12, 1863. He was loyal to his town, giving hundreds of
dollars to the academy and the canal, and bequeathing a
town clock in his will. He was one of the substantial
agriculturists of his native place, inheriting a farm of
some two hundred acres, one hundred or more of woodland,
also a distillery which was very profitable, but was
early abandoned for example's sake. He was active and of
quick discernment, well-read and intelligent, and served
acceptably in town and county offices, in the
legislature, as Selectman, County Commissioner, etc. He
was a student of the Bible, especially fond of. history,
had a fine memory, and began a classical course, which
was interrupted by ill health. He was united in marriage
with Rachel Searle, of Chester, Mass., daughter of Zenas
and Rachel (Bates) Searle. Luther and Rachel (Searle)
Edwards lost two daughters in infancy, and two in young
and very promising maidenhood -Catherine Louisa dying in
1845, aged twenty-three years; and Sarah Marietta in
1843, aged seventeen years. Another
daughter, Susan Sophia, has just deceased, April
10, 1895, aged sixty-two. She was active, but modest and
unassuming, known for her kind and sympathetic nature
and her deeds of love and beneficence. More than a tenth
of her means she left to various charities, four hundred
dollars to the Congregational church in Southampton. She
occupied the old home during her life, and made a happy
meeting place for the relatives. Rachel Corinthia, one
of the six daughters, survives. She is the widow of
Isaac Parsons, who was the son of Theodore and the
grandson of the first Isaac, who married her
grandmother. Mrs. Rachel S. Edwards survived her husband
twenty - seven years, dying January 28, 1890, at the
venerable age of ninety-six years, having retained to a
remarkable degree her mental and physical vigor, and
receiving to the last the tireless care of her daughter
Susan.
Henry Luther Edwards was reared on
the old farm until eighteen. He fitted
for college at Sheldon Academy and Williston Seminary,
and was graduated at
Amherst College in 1847, standing second in his
class. Previous to entering college Mr. Edwards had
taught town schools in Southampton two winters, and
while a student he taught for two winters in the Sheldon
Academy. After his
graduation he was an instructor for a term in the new
Williston Seminary. He was
urged to continue there, but he had the study of
theology in view and repaired to Andover Theological
Seminary. He
left Andover, however, in
1849, to accept a tutorship in Amherst College, where he
taught the classics three years.
While a student at Amherst he was leader of the
college choir. Afterward
at Easthampton and Andover he had classes in vocal
music. In 1853 and 1854 he was an
instructor in Northampton Classical Institute. While
here he was offered the principal ship of the New Conway
Academy, then contemplated, a position having before
been tendered him in Pittsfield Ladies'
Institute.
But having been licensed in 1850,
and having while teaching supplied pulpits in many
churches, he accepted instead a call from Abington,
Mass., now Whitman, where he ministered to a large and
growing church for twelve years. His health becoming
much impaired, he spent nearly a year in rest and
travel, including a winter in Washington He had had
cordial overtures from Leicester, Middleboro, Pair
Haven, Conn., and Manchester, N. H., but in 1868
accepted a much smaller parish in North Middleboro,
where he had an interesting pastorate for some six
years. Still suffering from
too much sedentary work, and having a call to the
superintendence of schools in Northampton, his old home
and that of his kindred, he closed his engagement with
that people, June 30, 1873, and began here the next day.
His services continued until 1876, three years having
been the ordinary term in those days of unsettled
opinions as to this office. His faithful administration
and helpful labors are remembered and often mentioned by
the many teachers who taught in that period.
Not caring to resume a pastorate,
and his family preferring to remain in town, he was led
to establish in 1877 the first Western Loan and Trust
Company agency in this locality, it being incorporated
as The New England Loan and Trust Company of Des Moines,
la. He has since carried
on a fairly profitable business, his systematic, honest,
and upright methods of transaction winning the
confidence and meeting the approval of all
concerned. Some eight or ten
rival agencies have sprung up and passed away, the New
England Agency, as at first, so now, the only one here
extant. Mr. Edwards has
written much for the local press, and among his
published works are a "History of the Searle Family" and
an address on "The Death of Abraham Lincoln."
On October
16, 1867,
Mr. Edwards was
united in marriage with Mrs.
Mary Blankinship Dyer, widow of Elisha Dyer, of
Abington, and a daughter of William N. Thomas, of
Rochester, Mass. This
estimable lady died January 6,
1884, aged fifty-one. Two children
were the fruit of this union : Harry Dearborn, born July
25, 1868, died October
16, 1868; the other, Halley Winslow,
born in Middleboro, August 13,
1870, was graduated from Amherst College in 1891,
and though hindered by imperfect vision has done much
advanced work in the Latin and Greek courses.
Mrs. Edwards had two daughters by her first
marriage; namely, Adelaide Frances and Elizabeth Cummings. The
former, a lady of much
taste and culture in art study, having been at Smith
College in its first year, married F. N. Kneeland,
Cashier of the First National Bank of Northampton. They
have two children living. Elizabeth C, unmarried, who
makes herself welcome and widely useful, is a graduate
of the Northampton High School.
It may be added of Mr. Edwards that, though
having never been abroad, he has traveled very
extensively in this country and Canada, from Maine to
Florida, to California, and Victoria in British America,
having traversed all the routes to the Pacific and seen
all our grand divisions but Arkansas, Indian Territory,
and Oklahoma.
THEOPHILUS EDWARDS, a prominent
and well known agriculturist of Westhampton, was born
November 9, 1826, in the house where he now lives, and
which was also the dwelling of his father, Samuel
Edwards, during his entire life.
The annals of Hampshire County show
that the Edwards family were among its earliest
settlers. Samuel Edwards, Sr., the paternal grandfather
of Theophilus Edwards, was born and reared in
Southampton. After his marriage he located in
Westhampton, buying the homestead property on
which his children
were born, and on which he and his wife, formerly
Silence Judd, spent their remaining days. She passed
away in 1840, and his death occurred two years
later.
Samuel Edwards, father of
Theophilus, succeeded to the ownership of the home farm,
which he managed successfully, placing much of the land
under cultivation. He was a
man of good mental attainments, and had much practical
sagacity, duly appreciated by his
neighbors. He
represented the district in the State legislature
during the year
1854-55. He married
Betsey Ludden, a native of
Williamsburg, Mass., and brought her to the home of his
boyhood; there they reared their family and spent their
declining years. His wife died in 1857, and he died in
1869. The record of the ten children born to them is as
follows: Mrs. Maria Thayer died in Amherst in July, 1895
; Asa C. resides in Springfield; Samuel F. died at the
age of twenty-one years; Betsey lives in East Amherst;
Eli Ludden died at the age of seventy-four years; F.
Worster died in 1860; Almeron is a resident of West
Springfield; Theophilus is the subject of this article;
Sarah, wife of Joel Burch, resides in Sunderland; and
Henry B. is a well-known merchant of Amherst.
Theophilus Edwards acquired a good
education in his youthful days. Having
completed his studies he began working with his father
in tilling the soil. Finding
the occupation congenial to his tastes Mr. Edwards has
continued in it to the present day, and, with the
exception of eighteen months in his early manhood, has
constantly lived on the family homestead. He has
added one hundred and sixteen acres to the original
farm, so that now it contains two hundred and sixty
acres, making one of the most valuable estates in the
vicinity. He is a
skilful and practical farmer, being thorough and
systematic in his methods.
Firm in his convictions of justice and honest in
all of his dealings, he is held in high respect. He is a
stanch adherent of the Republican party, and served his
fellow-townsmen as Selectman in 1869 and 1870, holding
at the same time the office of Assessor.
On March 16, 1853, Mr. Edwards was
united in marriage with Sarah A.
Dole, a native of Shelburne, Mass., and a
daughter of Levi and Emily (Rudd) Dole, neither of whom
is now living. Mr. Dole
was a prosperous farmer; while Mrs. Dole, who survived
him, passed the twilight years of her life with her
daughter, Mrs. Edwards. Of the
union of Mr. and Mrs. Edwards six children were born,
namely: Sarah Alice, born in 1854, who died January
12, 1878; Emily
Amelia, wife of Clark F.
Thayer, who is engaged in the dry-goods business
in Chicago; Ella
A., deceased, who married H. J. Chapman; Clara
E., also deceased, who was the second wife of H. J.
Chapman; Levi W., now a resident of Galesburg, ILL., who
married Frances Pierce, of
Monmouth, ILL., October 4, 1892; and
Arthur T., who lives at home.
Mr. Edwards and his wife
are active workers in the cause of religion, and
belong to the Congregational Church of
Westhampton. He is now
one of the standing committee of that society, and has
been superintendent of its Sunday
school.
JOHN B. EWING, who is living
retired from the active pursuits of life on his snug
little farm in Southampton, is a self-made man, having
risen by his own efforts from a condition of comparative
poverty to one of affluence. He was born in County
Donegal, Ireland, September 24, 1828, son of Samuel and
Sarah (O'Donnell) Ewing, both also natives of Ireland.
The father was a blacksmith by trade, and with his wife
and two of his children emigrated to America in
1852. Landing in New York
he stayed there but one night before he started for
Easthampton, where he lived several years, and where his
wife died in 1857. She bore him four children, as
follows: Mary, born in Ireland, December 18, 1824, who
there married William Ewing, came with him to this
country, located in Easthampton, where they carried on
general farming, and reared a family of eleven children;
John B., the subject of this review; William A., born
January 21, 1831,.married to Margaret Thompson, father
of seven children, who subsequently emigrated with his
.family to Massachusetts, and is at present living on a
farm in Indiana; and Samuel, the youngest child, born in
1834, who is now living in Chicago, ILL. The wife of the
latter, formerly Mary J. Crawford, died leaving him with
six children.
John B. Ewing spent the first years
after his arrival in this country in Easthampton. He
came to Southampton in 1857 to enter the employment of
Mr. O. N. Clark, carriage manufacturer, working for
him five years.
Mr. Ewing, having by that time become a skilled
workman, bought the shop, and thence forward carried on
a successful business in the manufacture of wagons,
sleighs, and buggies until June 1, 1895. At that time he
leased the shop and practically retired from business,
although he pays some attention to his farming
interests. The many years he has spent in exhausting
toil, as well as the easy circumstances he now enjoys,
ample justify him in spending the remainder of his life
in repose. In politics Mr. Ewing
is a zealous advocate of Republican principles. He has
served his fellow townsmen as Constable and on the Grand
Jury in Boston.
On January 20, 1852, Mr.
Ewing was united in marriage with Miss Flora Butler, a
native of Ireland, born in 1834. Her father, who was a
farmer in Ireland, married Margaret Cary, and emigrated
to the United States, settling in Easthampton, where he
found employment in a factory. Mr. and
Mrs. Ewing had six children,
as follows: Anna
Jane, born April 24, 1858, who is the wife of
Charles O. Lyon, of this town,
and who has borne her husband three children, of whom
Helena B. and Marion C. are
still living; Sarah M., born in June,
1859, married to Henry B. Norton, overseer
on a
farm in Southampton,
and mother of one child, Hiram; Flora B., born October
4, 1860, wife of Arthur H. Searle, a farmer, and mother
of three children - Flora Helen, Frank Arthur, and Hazel; Frank
Samuel, born January 1, 1863, married to Estalla Clapp,
of Southampton, where he is employed as a clerk in the
general store of A. G. Judd; Elizabeth R., born in 1864,
married to Ralph M. Fowler (proprietor of a meat market
at Northampton), and mother of two children Maynard and
Helen; and Elizabeth R., who died in infancy. Mrs. Ewing, the
devoted wife and tender mother, passed away in 1888,
leaving the home desolate. She was a woman of high
Christian character, and, with her husband, was a
conscientious member of the Congregational church. The
remarkable success that has followed Mr. Ewing
throughout his business career is entirely due to his
own efforts. No doubt the stability of purpose, straight
forwardness of disposition, and good business habits for
which he is known have been influential agents in
bringing about the result.
WILLIAM EWING, of Southampton,
Mass., whose birth occurred April 18, 1820, in County
Donegal, Ireland, is a splendid type of those foreign
born citizens who have come to our country in a state of
comparative poverty, and with laudable energy and
ambition have toiled and saved until they have acquired
a competency. His father, a
prominent man of County Donegal, where he followed his
trade of weaving and also engaged in farming, lived and
died on the green sod of his native isle, his death
occurring in 1842. He married Flora Butler, and they
reared three children: William; Alexander, a farmer,
residing in Northampton; and John, now living in
Springfield, retired from active business. The mother
came to this country with her son William, and here
spent her remaining years, dying in July,
1861.
William Ewing was reared and
educated in the place of his nativity, and there learned
the weaver's trade. Having friends in America, he
determined to join them here, being attracted by the
superior advantages afforded to the laborer in this
country; and on March 10, 1850, accompanied by his
mother and his bride, to whom he had been united four
days before, and one cousin, he embarked for New York.
His wife, formerly Mary Ewing, was a native of County
Donegal, born December 18, 1826, a daughter of Samuel
and Sarah (O'Donnell) Ewing. Her parents afterward
emigrated to Massachusetts, locating in Easthampton,
where they spent their remaining days. Mr. and Mrs.
Ewing landed in New York, April 21, 1850, after a six
weeks' voyage, and came directly to Easthampton, where
his two brothers were then living. For seven years
thereafter he worked at the weaver's trade; and, having
by dint of close economy and wise management saved
enough money to warrant him in the purchase of a farm,
he then bought sixty acres of land, which are now
included in his present homestead. Toiling with
unwearied interest to clear and improve his land, he has
since added to the original acreage, and while advancing
his own welfare has been an important factor in
developing the agricultural resources of this section of
the county. He carries on general farming and dairying,
raising milk cows, and selling his milk to the local
creamery.
The home circle of Mr. and Mrs
Ewing has been enlarged by the birth of fourteen
children, namely: Sarah, wife of John Daley, of Waltham,
Mass.; John, living in Northampton; Samuel, of
Haydenville; Flora; Margaret Ann, wife of Franklin
Howard, of Westhampton; William, who resides with his
parents; Maria J., wife of George Brown, of Chicago;
Robert, now living at home; Elizabeth, wife of Lyman
Clapp, now Selectman at Northampton; Alexander, a
resident of Florence, Mass.; Emma, wife of George Hames,
of Chelsea, Mass. Margaret Ann and two infants are
deceased. Besides these fourteen children Mr. and Mrs.
Ewing have an adopted daughter, Margaret N., whom they
are rearing with the same care that they bestowed on
their own children. Mr. Ewing takes a lively interest in
the political affairs of the town, county, and nation,
and, having the courage of his convictions, votes for
the men and measures he deems the best, being bound by
no party ties, although his sympathies are strongly with
the Prohibitionists.
WILLIAM A. FALES, a prosperous
farmer and a successful stone-cutter of Pelham, was born
in that town July 5, 1828, son of Abijah and Mary
(Woods) Fales. Mr. Fales's grandparents were Sewell and
Lois Fales, the former of whom was a native of Holden,
Mass. He settled in Pelham in 1803, and owned a farm in
the northwest part of the town, which contained a great
deal of valuable timber. He followed agriculture with
satisfactory results until his death, which occurred at
a good old age. He raised a family of ten children, all
of whom grew to maturity, but are now deceased. His
wife, who was a member of the Methodist church, died at
an advanced age.
Abijah Fales, father of
Mr. Fales, followed agriculture as his principal
occupation. He settled upon the Wood farm, where his son
now resides, and conducted it successfully.
He also engaged in quarrying stone, which, as it
developed into a profitable business, he continued until
his death. He married Mary Woods, daughter of William
Woods, who was a native of Hardwick, Mass., and became
an early settler in Pelham, where he cleared and
improved a good farm. Both he and his wife died in
Pelham at an advanced age. Abijah Fales died at the age
of eighty-one years. He was a Whig in politics and a
Congregationalist in his religious belief. His eight
children were as follows: Henry J., who died while
serving as a soldier in the Civil War; William A., the
subject of this sketch; Lois, wife of Samuel Wesson, of
Worcester, Mass. ; Lyman G., a resident of Easthampton;
James M. ; Anthea H., who lives at the old homestead;
Caroline A., who also resides there; and John T., who
resides in Newport, R.l. The mother died at the
homestead in Pelham.
William A. Fales was educated in
the public schools of his native town, and resided at
home until his majority. He then went to Amherst, where
he was engaged in farming and in the stone business. In
1864 he moved to his present farm, consisting of
sixty-five acres of fertile land. His house is a
land-mark of the town, over one hundred years old.
In addition to farming he has conducted an
extensive and profitable business in quarrying
stone.
On April 15, 1856, Mr.
Fales was united in marriage to Emma A. Ballou, born in
Rhode Island, daughter of Silas Ballou. Mr. and Mrs.
Fales had eight children, as follows: Anna, who died at
the age of sixteen; Mary L., wife of Frank Roberts, of
Adams, Mass. ; Charles D., of Springfield, Mass. ; Clara
W., who resides at home; Jane E., wife of Leonard Ball,
of Northampton; Emma A., wife of Edward Still, of
Pelham; Kate B. and Sarah, who reside at home. Mr. Fales
is a Republican in politics.
NATHANIEL W. FARRAR, druggist
in the employ of C. J. Smith at Easthampton, Mass., was
born in Steubenville, Jefferson County, Ohio, on July
26, 1839, son of Oscar Chandler and Elsie Ann
(Patterson) Farrar.
John Farrar, his great-grandfather,
was a patriot soldier of the Revolutionary War.
His son Nathaniel removed in 1828 from the East
to Ohio, where the last years of his life were passed.
He died in Madison, eighty-three years of age, leaving
one son and three daughters. His son, Oscar
Chandler Farrar, father of Mr. Farrar, was born in
Shelburne, Mass., December 25, 1817, and now resides at
Erie, Pa. Oscar's wife was born in Gainesville, Wyoming
County, N.Y., and had by him five children, as follows:
Nathaniel William; Chester Hinsdale, deceased; Orrell
D., a machinist, residing in Columbus, Ohio; Myra, the
wife of John Scott, of Harbor Creek, Erie County, Pa.;
and Alma, married to John Stephenson, and now living in
Toledo, Ohio.
Mr. Farrar received his education
in Ohio and at the schools of Beloit, Rock County, Wis.
In 1858 he engaged in teaching, but forsook it after a
short time. On August 24, 1861, he enlisted in the ranks
of Company G of the Thirteenth Wisconsin Regiment, and
served in the Civil War for four years and five months,
after which he was honorably discharged. For the larger
part of that time he was detailed to the hospital
service.
On the 12th of May,
1869, he was united in marriage with Miss Lucinda S.
Midlam, of Albany, N.Y. They
have a daughter, Olive Louise, who is a teacher, and
lives at home. He came to Easthampton in May, 1873, and
since that time has been engaged in his present
position, giving satisfaction not alone to his employer,
but to their numerous patrons.
The Republican party counts Mr. Farrar as one of
its most faithful adherents. He is a member of Lake Erie
Lodge, No. 347, of Girard, Pa., A. F. & A. M., and
is also a member of Post No. 166, Grand Army of the
Republic, in nearly all of the offices of which he has
served.
CHARLES
W. FELTON,
a stirring and enterprising
farmer of Enfield, was born in the town of Ware,
September 9, 1859, son of Daniel B. and Arvilla (Grover)
Felton.
The first representative of the
Felton family in this country came from England in the
person of Nathaniel Felton. He was
born about the year 1615, and settled in Salem, Mass.,
when only sixteen or seventeen years of age. In the
course of time he became a prominent citizen of that
place, winning the esteem of his fellowmen as a man of
good judgment and integrity. He
married Miss Mary Skelton, a daughter of the Rev. Samuel
Skelton, who was the first minister of Salem. Mr.
Felton died on July 30, 1705,
at the advanced age of ninety years; and his wife
died on May 8, 1701, aged seventy-five years. Ebenezer
Felton, son of Nathaniel Felton, born in Salem in 1685,
was a carpenter by trade. He was one of
the first settlers of New Salem, Mass., to which place
he went with his five sons in I740 when fifty-five years
of age. In November, 1742, he and his wife were
transferred from Salem church to the church in New
Salem. He was the first Deacon of the church, and was
the first Town Clerk in New Salem. He was one of the
Selectmen in 1753, the year the
town was incorporated. He died in 1776, aged
ninety years. His wife, it is believed, lived several
years after her husband's death.
Amos Felton, grandson of Ebenezer,
and grandfather of Charles W. Felton, was born in
Shutesbury, Mass., December 5, 1779. He followed the
calling of a farmer throughout his life, residing in the
town of New Salem, which was formerly a part of
Shutesbury. He died in New Salem on April 24, 1850. For
his first wife he married Miss Lydia King, who was born
January 27, 1779, and was a daughter of Samuel King, of
New Salem. Nine children of this union were reared, but
all have since died. Their mother's death occurred July
31, 1839. Mr. Felton's second union was with Mrs. Eunice
Thomas. She died in 1874, leaving no children.
Daniel B. Felton, who was a native
of what is now called New Salem, Mass., was born August
31, 1814. Soon after leaving his parental home to start
in life for himself, he settled in Abington, Mass., and
remained there until about the year 1857, when he
removed to Ware. Here, in
company with others, he engaged in a large lumber
business, and operated a sawmill. He died
in Ware, August 24, 1861. He was an
attendant of the Universalist church, and was a
Republican in politics. He was twice married. His first
union was with Miss Lydia Felton. She died
on February 18, 1847,
leaving five children. After her death he married
Miss Arvilla Grover, who was born in Denmark, Me., in
1835, daughter of Lemuel and Hannah (Long) Grover, of
Denmark, Me. Six
children were born of the latter union. Of all
Daniel B. Felton's children seven are now living, as
follows: Mary L., who married William Wheeler,
residing in Worcester, Mass. ; Hattie A., the
wife of Arthur Hunt, of Brockton, Mass. ; Daniel T.,
residing in Worcester; Lydia A. R., who married Lyman
Hathaway, of Ware; John W., residing in Hinsdale;
Webster, who lives in Greenwich; and Charles W., the
subject of this article. The deceased were: Henry C,
Joanna B., Ida E., and Frank B. After her husband's
death Mrs. Arvilla Felton was joined in marriage with
Sidney Richards, of Enfield, where he resided, on the
farm now owned by her son, Charles W. Felton. This farm
had been in the Richards family since about 1800, having
been first occupied by James Richards and his wife,
formerly Sarah Rich. They were succeeded at their death
by their son Sidney, who was born on September 7, 1797.
He died January 9, 1881. His union with Mrs. Felton was
blessed by the birth of a daughter, Susan A., now the
wife of Edgar O. Cogswell, and residing in Allston, near
Boston, Mass. Mrs. Richards died February 23, 1895.
Charles W. Felton was five years
old at the time his mother settled in Enfield. He
acquired a good practical education in the common
schools of Enfield and at New Salem Academy, after which
he turned his attention to farming, and has continued in
that occupation since. He now has a choice farm of two
hundred acres, where he successfully carries on mixed
farming and dairying. He keeps fifty head of cattle. The
farm buildings have been remodeled and improved since he
purchased the place. Everywhere can be seen evidences of
the proprietor's enterprise and good judgment.
In January, 1880, he was united in
marriage with Miss Angenette I. Cogswell, who was born
in New Salem, June 22, 1861, a daughter of Henry and
Lura (Underwood) Cogswell. Her father is successfully
engaged in farming and lumbering in New Salem.
Her mother died on July 23, 1873. Mr.
Cogswell entered into
a second marriage with
Miss Faustina A. Stone,
on June 2, 1874. Mr. and
Mrs. Felton have no children.
Mr. Felton casts his vote with the Republican
party, and for several years he has been chairman of the
Republican Town Committee. He takes much interest in the
welfare of his town, and for several years has served
faithfully as Assessor. He
has also filled the office of Road Commissioner
since it was created. He is a member of Bethel Lodge, A.
F. & A. M. Mrs. Felton is a
communicant of the Congregational church at
Enfield.
LEMUEL BATES FIELD, who has
been superintendent of lumber and construction for the
Nonotuck Silk Company of Leeds for the past thirty
years, is recognized as a man of unusual business acumen
and a most worthy and valued citizen.
He is a native of Franklin County, having been
born July 28, 1832, in the town of Whately, in the same
house, on the old Field homestead, where his father,
John Field, was born, October 10, 1792.
Zenas Field, the father of John
Field, was born August 10, 1753, and on March 12, 1778,
married Sarah Burroughs. She died September 10, 1810;
and the following year he was again married, but of this
union there were no children. The children borne to
Zenas Field by his first wife were as follows: Lydia;
Orange; John; Lydia, second; Orange, second; John,
second; Sarah; Zenas; and Esther B., the wife of John
Bridgman, who was an uncle of Sydney Bridgman.
John Field was a lifelong farmer, working hard on
his hilly land, and improving a good property. He
married Abigail Warner, a daughter of Paul Warner, of
Williamsburg; and they became the parents of eight
children. The following grew to
mature years: Ciymenia, who was the wife of Cornelius
Pomeroy, of Southampton; Paul W., who is still living on
the old homestead; Lemuel Bates; and John Wright Field,
who was a volunteer soldier in the Union army, belonging
to Company F, Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteer
Infantry, and lost his life at the battle of the
Wilderness, May 6, 1864, being Sergeant of his company,
and dying with the regiment's colors in his hands. He
left a wife and one daughter, the latter being now the
wife of Clifford Haynes, of Springfield.
Mrs. Pomeroy, the eldest daughter, departed this
life in 1854, aged thirty-six years, and leaving two
children.
Lemuel B. Field attended school
regularly until nine years of age, his schooling the
next eight years being limited to three months during
the winter season. Not being
satisfied to earn his living by delving in the rocky
soil, he decided upon a mechanical trade, and
accordingly entered the employment of a Mr. Graves in
Whately, serving as an apprentice until attaining his
majority, and then remaining with him six months
more. By the terms of
the apprenticeship he was to receive forty dollars per
year, and after that the agreement was for one dollar
per day; but this sum was withheld, the dishonest
employer leaving the town without paying his debts. Mr. Field
next worked for
four years with Harvey
Moore, a millwright in Whately, going
thence to Allegan, Mich., where he was engaged in
carpentering when the panic of 1857 occurred, putting an
end to all building operations. From that-time
until 1863 he was engaged, in company with the
Densmores, as a carpenter and millwright in Hatfield,
Mass.
In 1864 Mr. Field came to Leeds,
locating herein the month of March; and since that time
he has been the faithful and trusted employee of the
Nonotuck Silk Company. He has been very industrious and
thrifty, investing his surplus money judiciously, and
has accumulated a goodly estate, being the owner of four
tenement-houses here besides his residence property,
containing three acres of land, which he purchased in
1879, and on which he has since erected his present fine
dwelling. Mr. Field was first
married on June 14, 1855 to Harriet Lilly, a daughter of
Chipman Lilly, of Ashfield. She died in
Leeds, September 20, 1868, leaving one child, Mrs.
Lilly Isabelle Clark, who has one son, Daniel L.
Clark, a student in the high school. On September 2,
1869, Mr. Field was united in wedlock with Augusta Jane
Robbins, a daughter of the late T. M. Robbins, of
Guilford, Me. Mrs. Field is
one of four children born to her parents, her only
sister being a resident of Guilford, and Leroy T.
Robbins, her surviving brother, being a resident of
Leeds. A brother George was killed at the close of the
war. Mrs. Augusta J.
Field was engaged in teaching school before her
marriage, and since then has done efficient service in
this place as a member of the Board of
Education.
In politics Mr. Field is a stanch
adherent of the Republican party, and in the
administration of local affairs he is a conspicuous
figure. Though never an office-seeker, he is now serving
his third term as Alderman, having been elected in 1892
by eight votes, and the following term by sixteen, and
at the last election by a majority of seventy-two votes,
being now President of the Board, and, in the absence of
the Mayor, chairman of the Committee on Highways and of
the fire department. Mr.
Field belongs to the Knights Templars, being Past
Eminent Commander, and having passed all the chairs of
the Northampton Royal Arch Chapter and Jerusalem Lodge,
A. F. 8c A. M. He is a leader
in the social life of Northampton, and, whenever he
absents himself
from the club,
is greatly missed. Business
associates and friends who know his worth hold him in
high esteem, and strangers are attracted
toward him by his pleasing
personality and cordial
manners.
REV. GEORGE E. FISHER,
of North Amherst, pastor of the Congregational
church in Leverett, Mass., was born in
Harvard, Worcester County, Mass., January 22,
1823, son of the Rev. George and Mary
(Fisk) Fisher.
Mr. Fisher's
grandfather, Luther Fisher, was a prosperous farmer of
Wrentham, Mass. His
son George was born in
Wrentham, November 7, 1796, and
graduated from Brown University,
Providence, R.I.,
being a classmate of Horace
Mann. He was a
ripe scholar and became a prominent Congregational
minister, preaching in Harvard. The Rev.
George Fisher died in September, 1853, at the age of
fifty-six years and ten months. His wife,
Mary Fisk, who was a daughter of
the Rev. Flisha Fisk,
was born in Wrentham, November 9,
1801. They were married
December 12, 1821, and she became
the mother of six children, as follows: Elizabeth
S., deceased; Harriet F., who
married William A. Parker, of Harvard,
and is now dead; Charles Luther, who died in infancy;
Mary R., widow of Andrew. Farwell, of Harvard; Henry M.,
a resident of Milford, Mass. ; and George E., the
subject of this sketch. Mrs. Mary F. Fisher died April
29, 1852.
George E. Fisher
commenced his education in his native town, and fitted
for college at the Lawrence Academy in Groton, Mass. He
entered Amherst College in 1842, was graduated with the
class of 1846, and immediately began his theological
course at Andover Seminary. He was
graduated from that institution in 1849, and was
ordained a minister on February 27, 1850. Since his
ordination Mr. Fisher has been pastor
of the following
churches: the Congregational church in Rutland, Mass.,
which was his first charge, and where he remained for
three years; at North Amherst
six years;
Greenville, N.H., for three
years; Ashburnham, Mass., five years; South Hadley Falls
from 1867 to 1879; East Amherst from 1879 to 1885, at
which time he moved to North Amherst, where he now
resides. Since 1886 Mr.
Fisher has been pastor of the Congregational
church in
Leverett. He is a Republican in
politics, and takes a deep interest in all important
issues of the day. In 1867
he ably served as a Representative to the legislature
from the district which includes Ashburnham and
Winchendon.
The Rev. Mr. Fisher's first wife,
whom he married May I, 1850, and who died August 8,
1858, was Harriet B. Holt, of Amherst. On September 7,
1859, Mr. Fisher wedded for his second wife Ellen E.
Kellogg. She was born in North Amherst, September 25,
1833, daughter of Lyman and Mary A. (Porter) Kellogg.
Lyman Kellogg was a native of Amherst, and was a
successful farmer. He died in North Amherst, October 19,
1885, just thirty-one days after the death of his
wife. Mrs. Kellogg was born
in Bolton, Conn., on the 18th of September. She and her
husband were members of the Congregational church.
Mr. and Mrs. Fisher have had four children,
namely: Hattie H., who was born in Greenville, N.H., May
22, 1861, and died July 29 of the same year; Alice
Belle, born in Ashburnham, Mass., February 25, 1864, and
died September 14, 1865; George
Lyman, born in South Hadley Falls, June 18, 1869, and
died July 27, 1870; and Nellie Kellogg, born in South
Hadley Falls, January J4, 1874, and died December 25,
1886.
Deeply imbued with the
spirit of his sacred calling, for which he has an
inherent love and capacity, the Rev. George E. Fisher
has preached and faithfully devoted himself to his other
pastoral duties continuously since 1850, exerting a
moral and spiritual influence which has been widely
felt. Mr. Fisher and his wife occupy a very pleasant
home in North Amherst, and are highly esteemed members
of the community, Mrs. Fisher also being actively
interested in the work of the church.
REV. GEORGE
M. FITZGERALD, Pastor of St. Mary's Roman
Catholic Church of Haydenville, was
born in Westminster, Mass., October 28, 1857, son of
Michael and Ann S. (Cohen) Fitzgerald.
Michael Fitzgerald was born in County Cork,
Ireland, in November, 1829, and acquired the trade of a
blacksmith in his native land. At the age of seventeen
he emigrated to the United States, first coming to
Boston, where he remained but a short time, and from
which city he went to Westminster, Mass., where he found
steady employment at his trade. He became well known as
a competent and reliable workman; and, being a man of
intelligence and good character, possessing naturally a
high-minded disposition, he not only realized success in
a business way, but enjoyed the respect and hearty good
will of his large circle of acquaintances. After a long
and prosperous business career he retired from active
labor, and now resides in Worcester, Mass. Michael
Fitzgerald has reached a degree of affluence through his
energy and ability; and, being determined that his
children should be properly prepared for their life
work, he has given them a liberal education. His wife,
Ann S. Cohen before marriage, was born in Youghal,
County Cork, Ireland, June 24, 1835. When young, she
came to America, and resided in Montreal, where she was
employed as a seamstress. She later moved to
Fitchburg, Mass., where she met and married Michael
Fitzgerald, the ceremony having been performed by the
Rev. Father Gibson. She
has been the mother of seven children, as follows:
Maria, who died at the age of three years; George M.,
the subject of this sketch; Mary, who is now a teacher;
Ella, who resides at home; Sarah, who died aged two
years; Edward, who is now assistant rector of Holy Name
Church in Chicopee, Mass.; and Charles, who is a student
at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York
City.
George M. Fitzgerald commenced his
education in the public schools of Worcester.
He pursued his classical studies at St. Michael's
College in Toronto, Canada, from which he graduated in
1879, and was ordained a priest in Montreal in 1882. His
first appointment was as assistant pastor of St.
Patrick's Church in Hinsdale, Mass., where he
remained for two years. He then officiated in a similar
capacity at St. Jerome's Church in Holyoke for four
years, and on August 15, 1889, was appointed by Bishop
O'Riley, of Springfield, to succeed the Rev. William
L. Long as pastor of St.
Mary's Church in Haydenville. This church was erected in
1868, and the Rev. Father Callahan was the first to
celebrate mass in Haydenville. The church was founded by
Messrs. P. Larkin, W. Hickey, M. Ryan, P.
Hamilton, T. Ryan, and E. Grace. The first pastor was
the Rev. Father P. V. Moyce,
of Northampton. Since taking charge of St. Mary's
Parish, Father Fitzgerald has built an addition to the
vestry of the church, enlarged the gallery, put in a
large pipe organ and steam-heating apparatus. He has
also purchased land adjoining
the church, upon which he has built a handsome,
three-story parochial residence; and the grounds
have been graded into lawns and
otherwise beautified. The cemetery
has been fitted up under his direction, and these
improvements have
necessarily made Father
Fitzgerald a very busy man since his arrival in
Haydenville. St.
Mary's Parish numbers about twelve hundred souls, and
the Sunday-school has a membership of two hundred and
fifty. Connected with the
church are the Catholic Benevolent
Legion, the Ancient
Order of Hibernians, the Sacred Heart Sodality, and the
St. Mary's Rosary Society.
Father Fitzgerald is a public-spirited man and
actively interested in all progressive movements which
may be beneficial to the general community. He is very
popular in Haydenville, as he formerly was in Holyoke;
and he is looked upon by all classes with the highest
respect and esteem.
JOSIAH W. FLINT, a prominent
lumber manufacturer of Enfield, Mass., was born in
Athol, Worcester County, November 4, 1839, son of Josiah
and Elizabeth (Hill) Flint. Mr. Flint's paternal
grand-father, Willard Flint, was a prosperous farmer of
Royalston, another town in the county of Worcester,
where he resided for a greater part of his life, and
died at an advanced age.
Josiah Flint, son of Willard, was
born in Sterling, Mass. He was an industrious farmer and
a useful citizen. His wife, Elizabeth Hill, who was a
native of Athol, became the mother of eight children,
all of whom lived to reach maturity, and five are now
living, namely: Eliza A., who is now Mrs.
Lord, and resides in Athol; Abbie H., now Mrs.
Harvey, of Athol; Rebecca S., Mrs.
Ellenwood, of Newton, Mass.; Jane A., who is now
Mrs. Rickey, and resides in Athol; and Josiah W., who
lives in Enfield, as above mentioned. A sister, Mrs.
Mary G. Barlow, died in Athol; one brother, Cyrus F.,
died in Brooklyn, N.Y.; and another, George I., died in
Athol.
Josiah W. Flint is the youngest of
the family. He
received his education in the schools of Athol and
Hardwick; and at the age of sixteen he left home, and
went to reside with his sister in Hardwick, where he was
engaged in farming and butchering for fourteen
years. In April, 1874,
he came to Enfield, and bought his first real estate, a
farm of sixty acres, which he cultivated successfully
for ten years. He also engaged
in the lumber business in company with D. B.
Gillett, with whom he is still associated; and
they owned at one time a wooded tract of five hundred
acres. They are
extensive manufacturers of all kinds of native lumber,
and have conducted for some years a very profitable
business. Mr. Flint now
owns, individually, about one hundred and fifty acres of
land; and he occupies a handsome modern residence, which
he erected in 1894. He is prominent
in public affairs, and has been a member of the Board of
Selectmen for the past six years.
He has also served as Road Commissioner and
Constable, and is at the present time Deputy
Sheriff. He is a member
of Bethel Lodge, A. F. & A. M.
Mr. Flint has been twice married,
but has no children. His first wife,
Emma E. Taft, whom he wedded in 1864, died in
1891; and his second wife, Kitty Shoals, a native of
Easthampton, who became Mrs. Flint
in 1893, died in 1894. Mr. Flint
is one of the most enterprising business men in Enfield,
and his undertakings have been productive of the most
gratifying results.
THOMAS FORD, a well known
farmer and market gardener of Hadley, was born in
Chewmagna, England, December 25,
1840, son of Thomas and Charlotte (Godfrey)
Ford. The
father of Mr. Ford was a native of Chewmagna, where he
followed the trade of a blacksmith and practiced as
veterinary surgeon. He died
in his native town in 1847. His wife, who
was born in Long Ashton, England, became the mother of
four sons, as follows: Thomas, the subject of this
sketch; William, who resides in Chewmagna; Charles, also
in England; and James,
who died in 1851. She died
June 1, 1887.
Thomas Ford resided with his
mother, and after the death of his father assisted in
her support. He worked as a farm laborer until 1870,
when, on April 14 of that year, he, in company with his
wife and child, emigrated to America, and settled in
Hadley. After working here for twenty months as a farm
laborer he moved to North Hadley, where he continued in
the same occupation until 1884, and then purchased his
present farm. The property contains fifty acres and is
receiving constant improvement. Mr. Ford
makes a specialty of raising vegetables for the markets
of Hadley and Northampton. He is very prosperous and
highly respected, and entitled to the credit of having
earned for himself both the property and reputation he
at present enjoys.
Mr. Ford was married June 10, 1867,
to Sarah Tovey, of Manchester, England, who was born
June 2, 1838, daughter of Moses and Mary (Keating)
Tovey. Her father was of English and her mother of Irish
ancestry, and both died in England. Mrs. Ford has been
the mother of four children, namely: Edgar Joseph, who
died September 24, 1883; Charles W., who resides in
Springfield; Robert John; and Alexander Thomas. Mr. Ford
is a Republican in politics.
JAMES FORSYTH, a
highly respected citizen of Williamsburg and a veteran
of the Civil War, was born in Chester County,
England, August 4, 1828, son Andrew
and Anna
(Hackett) Forsyth. Mr. Forsyth's father
was a native of Paisley, Scotland. He learned the trade
of a silk weaver in Chester County, England, and
followed that occupation through life. In 1857 he came
to live with his son James in the United States, but in
1858 returned to England on a visit, and died there,
aged seventy-five. Andrew Forsyth was the father of
thirteen children, three of whom died young, and ten
reached maturity; namely, John, James, William, Andrew,
Thomas, Joseph, Mary, Hattie, Eliza, and Martha. Their
mother died in this country in 1873.
At an early age James Forsyth
entered the silk-mills in England, where he acquired the
trade of a silk weaver, and became an expert workman.
When he was twenty years old, he came to the United
States, and obtained his first employment in this
country at Lyman's wagon factory in Manchester, Conn.,
where he worked one winter. He then secured a position
as overseer and inspector in Thompsonville, Conn., from
which place he came to Williamsburg, Mass., and was
employed in the button factory of Thayer Brothers for
one year, going thence to Northampton for the purpose of
learning the trade of a wood turner. The skill acquired
in this useful craft he was not long, it may be
believed, in turning to good account. After spending a
year in manufacturing bedsteads in Chester, Mass., he
returned to Williamsburg, where he was engaged for five
years in Thayer's cabinet shops, and then went to Hadley
to work for J. Adams in turning hubs.
In 1862 he enlisted as a private in Company H,
Fifty-second Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, for nine
months' service in the Civil War, and faithfully
discharged his duties in the ranks until overcome by
illness at Baton Rouge, from which place he was sent to
the Marine Hospital in New Orleans. After having
served eleven months, he received his discharge from the
army, and, recovering his health, returned to the employ
of W. E. Thayer in
Williamsburg, where he has since remained, being one of
the most skilful workmen in his trade. He purchased a
house in the village, but later sold that property, and
moved to the vicinity of Skinnersville, and while
residing there had the misfortune to lose his entire
possessions in the flood of 1874, his family barely
escaping with their lives. Being a man of energy and
perseverance, he recovered from his losses, and now owns
one of the most pleasant residences in the village.
On March 18, 1854, Mr. Forsyth was
married to Margaret A. Stewart, who was born in Dublin,
Ireland. Her father, Alexander Stewart, who was a
prosperous farmer, of Scotch ancestry, is now dead. Mr.
and Mrs. Forsyth have had four children, as follows:
Anna, who married W. W. Nash, a farmer of Williamsburg,
and has three children - Grace, Gertrude, and Ethel;
Ellen I., who married W. E. Smith, a progressive farmer
of North Chester, and has one daughter - Mabel; James
A., who married Florence J.
Merriam, and died at the age of twenty-five,
having one son - Richard J.; and William A., a twin
brother to James A., who married Margaret Joice, and
resides in Paterson, N.J., having four children. Mr. and
Mrs. Forsyth are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Mr. Forsyth is a Republican in politics and a
comrade of Post 86, Grand Army of the
Republic.
ADOLPH FRANZ, M.D., a well
known physician of South Hadley Falls, son of Adolph and
Eliza (Birnie) Franz, was born in Washington, D.C., July
26, 1862. Dr. Franz's father was a native of
Mecklenburg, Germany, and emigrated to the United States
in 1849. He was for a short time after his arrival
engaged as a grocer's clerk in New York City. In 1850 he
enlisted in the regular army, joining Company B, Third
United States Infantry, which was stationed in New
Mexico, and was engaged in Indian warfare until the
commencement of the Civil War. The regiment was then
ordered to Washington, and from there to the front,
arriving in time to participate in the second battle of
Bull Run. In 1862 Adolph Franz, Sr., was assigned to
duty in the War Department in Washington, where he
remained until 1869, when he received the appointment of
Orderly Sergeant, and was once more sent to New Mexico.
After remaining there for a time, he was transferred to
Fort Jackson, La., then to Fort Jackson, Ga., and
finally to Fort Constitution, N.H. Here he continued to
serve until December 12, 1890, at which time he was
retired, with an honorable record of forty years of
continuous service in the United States Army. He now
resides in Brooklyn, N.Y. His wife, whom he wedded on
June 21, 1861, is of Irish ancestry. She is the mother
of two sons, namely: Adolph, Jr., the subject of this
sketch; and Frederick H., who is now engaged in the
jewelry business in Attleboro, Mass.
Adolph Franz pursued a collegiate
course at Dartmouth College. At its completion he
entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New
York City, where he graduated in 1887. Then he
supplemented his medical studies with a period of
practical observation in the hospitals of the
metropolis. In December, 1887, Dr. Franz located in
South Hadley Falls, where he has since established a
lucrative practice. By his skilful handling of cases he
has acquired a high reputation both in Hadley and South
Hadley Falls. He is also esteemed socially for his many
and admirable character traits. On June 11, 1890, he was
united in marriage to Louise M. Norton, of Portsmouth,
N.H. They have three children: Dorothy, Louise, and
Frederick. Both attend the Roman Catholic church. He is
independent in politics.
JOHN FULLER, an enterprising
fanner, stock-grower, and cattle dealer, residing in the
town of Granby, Mass., is a native of Hampden County,
born November 14, 1854, at Chicopee Falls. His father,
John A. Fuller, was born and reared in Spencer,
Worcester County. He married a Miss Carver, of Chicopee,
and located in Ludlow, Hampden County, where he was
engaged for some time in farming, also carrying on an
extensive trade in cattle, going thence to Chicopee
Falls, where he was similarly engaged.
He subsequently spent a short time in Ludlow,
coming from there to Hampshire County, and settling at
first near the village of Granby, but afterward
purchasing the farm now owned and occupied by his son,
above named. Here he continued as a tiller of the soil
until his death, June 6, 1891. His wife having died in
1854, leaving but one child, John, he had lived a
widower for two score years.
John Fuller has spent the larger
part of his life in Granby, where he acquired his
education in the district schools. He began his life
work by assisting on the farm, in addition to which
labors he also made much money by buying and selling
cattle. On the death of his father Mr. Fuller succeeded
to the ownership of the estate, and he has since
conducted general farming with excellent pecuniary
results. He also continues dealing in stock, and makes a
business of butchering cattle and selling dressed beef
to the markets, a most lucrative industry. In politics
Mr. Fuller is a firm supporter of the principles
promulgated by the Republican party, and uniformly casts
his vote for their nominees.
Mr. Fuller's first wife, formerly
Emily Bartlett, to whom he was united June 11, 1877,
died on the 27th of the following November. On December
25, 1879, he married Miss Ella Clark, of South Hadley
Falls, who died on Christmas Day, 1883, leaving him one
child, George Albert. On December 25, 1884, Mr. Fuller
was again married, Mrs. Charlotte Keith, a native of
Northampton, a daughter of Esquire Zebina Squires and
the widow of the late Henry Keith, becoming his third
wife. Of this union six children have been born, namely:
Henry Russell, born August 29, 1886; John Robert, born
in 1889; Percy Worthington, born in 1891 ; Roy Dowling,
born in 1892; Charles Milton, born in December, 1893;
and Raymond Lee, born in 1895.
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