Archive:Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Volume IV, Part 1
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Ellery Bicknell Crane, Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts: With a History of Worcester Society of Antiquity (The Lewis Publishing Company, 1907). Volume IV.
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Children of Silas and Almira (Corey) Rice were: 1. Elizabeth C., born March 21, 1827, died in Fitchburg, May 3, 1874; she married Jonas Whitney, of Fitchburg, April 4, 1850, who was associated with his father, Prescott Whitney, in manufacturing of organs and melodeons. Only one child was born to them, Frank O. Whitney, who graduated with the first class that was graduated from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute; he has been in the civil engineering department of Boston ever since his graduation. He married Annie Snow, of Boston, and they have one son, Franklin Snow, who is now a senior in Harvard College.
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THE SHATTUCK FAMILY. (I) William Shattuck was the immigrant ancestor of Luther J. Brown, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, through his mother's family. He was the progenitor of all the families of the surname in America. He was born in England in 1622 and died in Watertown, Massachusetts, where he was an early settler, August 14, 1672, at the age of fifty years. He was a proprietor of Watertown in 1642 and his homestall was adjoining those of John Clough and William Perry. He was a weaver as well as a planter and gave evidence of being a man of property and good social position. His grave in the Watertown cemetery was marked in 1853 by the genealogist, Lemuel Shattuck, also the grave of his son John, of whom later. William Shattuck's will was dated August 3, 1672.
He married, 1642, Susanna -----, who married (second) Richard Norcross. She died December 11, 1686. The children of William and Susanna Shattuck were: Susanna, born 1643, married J. Morse and J. Fay; Mary, born August 25, 1645, married Jonathan Brown; John, born February 11, 1646-7, married Ruth Whitney; Philip, born 1648, married D. Brastow Chamberlain; Joanna, born about 1650, died April 4, 1673, unmarried; William, born 1653, married Susanna Randall; Rebecca, born 1655, married Samuel Church; Abigail, born 1657, married J. Morse and J. Parker; Benjamin, born February 28, 1666, married Abigail.
(II) John Shattuck, son of William Shattuck (1), was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, February i1, 1647. He owned land at Groton, but it is not known that he ever lived there. He was a carpenter by trade and lived in the middle district of Watertown, now the center village of Watertown. In 1669 he ran the mill on Charles river located near where the road from Watertown to Newton Centre now crosses the river.
He gave his life for his country in King Philip's war. He was a sergeant in Captain Richard Beers' company of Watertown. They marched to the relief of Hadley in western Massachusetts, but were diverted by a report that the Indians had attacked Northfield. On their way thither they were attacked by a large force of Indians and narrowly escaped annihilation. Out of thirty-six only sixteen escaped with their lives. Captain Beers was among the slain. Shattuck was chosen to make the lonesome and perilous journey to Boston to inform the governor of the state of affairs and of the result of the skirmish. In ten days he arrived safely at Charlestown, but while crossing the ferry, the boat, overloaded with horses and other freight, was upset by the waves and foundered. Shattuck was the only man drowned in the accident.
He married, June 20, 1664, in his eighteenth year, Ruth Whitney, daughter of John and Elinor Whitney (See sketch). She was born in Watertown, April 5, 1645. She married (second), March 6, 1677, Enoch Lawrence, son of John Lawrence, and in 1678 with the Shattuck children they removed to Groton and occupied John Shattuck's land there. Lawrence died in Groton, September 28, 1744, aged ninety-five years, six months, twenty-three days. The children of Sergeant John and Ruth Shattuck
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were: John, born June 4, 1666, married Mary Blood; Ruth, born June 24, 1668, married Jonathan Farnsworth; William, born September 11, 1670, married Hannah Underwood; Samuel, of whom later. The children of Ruth (Whitney)(Shattuck) Lawrence were: Nathaniel, Daniel, Zachery and Jane Lawrence.
(III) Samuel Shattuck, son of Sergeant John Shattuck (2), was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1673, and died in Groton, July 22, 1758, aged eighty-five years. His eldest son, Samuel, was administrator. He married Elizabeth Blood, who was born April 27, 1675, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Longley) Blood. She died October 20, 1759, aged eighty-four years, five months, and twenty-five days. She joined the church in 1705, he in 1709. Their children: Samuel, born April 7, 1696; James, born February 9, 1700; Jeremiah, of whom later; Elizabeth, born July 2. 1705; Joseph, born 1707; Ruth, born February 6, 1709; John, born January 21, 1711; David, born August 4, 1713; Sarah, born December 11, 1717; Rachel, born June 9, 1719.
(IV) Jeremiah Shattuck, son of Samuel Shattuck (3), was born in Groton, Massachusetts, June 11, 1703. He was a blacksmith by trade and lived in that section of the town now Pepperell. He was very prominent in the town, selectman many years, captain of the militia company and holding other positions of honor and trust. He died August 2, 1798, aged ninety-five years, one month and twenty-one days.
He married, July 2, 1723, Sarah Parker, who was born April 12, 1705, the daughter of Nathaniel and Lydia Parker, granddaughter of Joseph and great-granddaughter of Joseph Parker. She died June 8, 1789. The inscription on her gravestone commends her "industry, prudence and sobriety." He married (second), February 8, 1792, Ruth Bixby, when he was aged ninety years and she was seventy- five. The children of Captain Jeremiah and Sarah Shattuck were: Nathaniel, born August 12, 1724; Jeremiah, of whom later; Elizabeth, born May 17, 1728; Oliver, born August 15, 1730; Sarah, born December 8, 1732; David, born February 19, 1735; Solomon, born June 9, 1737; Nehemiah, born February 21, 1740; Sybil, born 1743; Parker.
(V) Jeremiah Shattuck, son of Captain Jeremiah Shattuck (4), was born in Groton. Massachusetts, April 11, 1726. He was a farmer in Oak Hill, Pepperell, where he died March 26, 1815, aged eighty-eight years, eleven months, fifteen days.
He married, August 10, 1749, his cousin, Lydia Lakin, daughter of John and Lydia (Parker) Lakin, granddaughter of Nathaniel and Lydia Parker. She was born January 8, 1734, and died February 19, 1767. He married (second), November 25, 1767, his third cousin, Keziah Shattuck, who was born February 4, 1745, daughter of Jonathan Shattuck. She married (second), 1821, Moses Blood, whose first wife was Abigail Shattuck, daughter of James. She died suddenly September 8, 1832. The children of Jeremiah and Lydia Shattuck were: Lydia, born March 19, 1750; Phebe, born June 20, 1752; Jeremiah, born June 24, 1754, killed at the battle of Bunker Hill; Ebenezer, born September 8, 1756; Abraham, born October 12, 1750; Eunice, born October 18, 1761; Sarah, born July 18, 1764; a child, born February 17, 1767. The children of Jeremiah and Keziah were: Levi, born August 8, 1768; Keziah, born August 31, 1770; Moody, of whom later; Amaziah, born May 17, 1774; Jeremiah, born August, 1776; Daniel born October 26, 1778, died August 14, 1800; Keziah, born March 1, 1781; Rhoda, born March 17, 1784; Leah, born June 10, 1786.
(VI) Moody Shattuck, son of Jeremiah Shattuck (5), was born in Pepperell, Massachusetts, April 28, 1772. He was a farmer. He went to Athens, Windham county, Vermont, to live in 1796. In 1804 he removed to Belvidere, Lamoille county, Vermont, where he died April 7, 1851, aged seventy-eight years.
He married, 1795, Eunice Tarbell, who was born June 6, 1767, the daughter of David and Bathsheba Tarbell, who died in Belvidere, April 16, 1850, aged eighty-two years. The children of Moody and Eunice Shattuck were: Moody, Eunice, Bathsheba, of whom later; Keziah, Daniel T., Jeremiah, Randall, born April 4, 1811.
(VII) Bathsheba Shattuck, daughter of Moody Shattuck (6), was born in 1802; married Luther Heaton Brown, mentioned above, the father of Luther J. Brown.
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(V) Thomas Merriam, son of Thomas [and Mary (Howard)] Merriam (4), was born in Lexington, Massachusetts, and baptized April 21, 1700. He died at Westminster, Massachusetts, June 4, 1752. He settled in Westminster. He was admitted to the Lexington Church, August 2, 1721. His wife died June 22, 1760, and he died June 4, 1752. Their children: Samuel, born December 2, 1723, see forward; Nathan, born April 7, 1725, married, May 26, 1755, Mary Hosmer; Mary, born June 25, 1727, married David Whitney; Hannah, born August 7, 1729, died February 14, 1730; Thomas, born August 24, 1731, married Sarah Wilder; Tabitha, born May to, 1733, married Nathan Whitney, of Waltham; Lydia, born October 28, 1734, married, March 27, 1755, Josiah Cutting, of Westminster; Hepsibah, born February 24, 1737, died August 10, 1740; Elizabeth, born July 27, 1738, married, November 5, 1755, Moses Sawtelle; Hannah, died young; Eunice, born June 30, 1740, died April 27, 1741; David, married Patty Conant, ancestor of Rev. G. W. Phillips.
(VI) Samuel Merriam, son of Thomas Merriam (5), was born in Lexington, Massachusetts, December 21, 1723. He settled in Westminster, Massachusetts, in 1769. He married, June 4, 1752, Anna Whitney, daughter of David and Rebecca Whitney, of Waltham. They were dismissed from the Lexington Church to the Westminster Church in 1772. He bought Deacon Joseph Miller's house March 10, 1772, on lot No. 61, on the east side of Graves hill, where he, his son and his grandson, all of the same name, lived in succession. The buildings have disappeared and only a cellar hole marks the dwelling place of the Merriam family in Westminster. The children, born in Lexington, were: Anna, born October 10, 1753, married Samuel Warren; resided in Westminster and Ashburnham; died September 15, 1790. Eunice, born June 22, 1755, married John Fessendon; died May 9, 1840. Samuel, born March 25, 1757, married Elizabeth Fessendon; either he or his father was a soldier in the revolution in Captain Manasseh Sawyer's company. Ruth, baptized February 25, 1759, married Richard Graves, Jr.; resided at Westminster and Princeton. Tabitha, baptized December 28, 1760, married Thomas Johnson; died July 12, 1836. Martha, born April 29, 1764, married Abigail Holden; resided at Gardner and Westminster. Jonathan, born February 22, 1766, see forward.
(VII) Jonathan Merriam, son of Samuel Merriam (6), was born at Lexington, Massachusetts, February 16, 1767. He removed to Westminster with the family when only three years old. He settled on a farm just over the Westminster line in Gardner. He was a farmer. He married, February 13, 1798, Betsey Harris, born September 25, 1772, died May 30, 1865. He died January 13, 1825. Their children, born in Gardner, Massachusetts were: Jacob Harris, born January 22, 1799, see forward; Nathan, born August 7, 1800, died September 19, 1805, in Gardner; Betsey M., born August 7, 1802, died September 16, 1805, at Gardner; Sally Harris, born October 18, 1804, died August 17, 1838, in Fitchburg; Samuel Harris, born May 16, 1808, died December 2, 1824, in Gardner; Milton, born June 20, 1810, died January 19, 1825, at Gardner; Betsey, born November 17, 1813, married, June 10, 1841, John Milton Harris.
(VIII) Jacob Harris Merriam, son of Jonathan Merriam (7), was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, January 22, 1799, and died April 3, 1888, in Fitchburg. He was a Congregational minister of pronounced "orthodox" views. He preached about three years, but his health gave way and he left the pulpit for the farm. He bought in 1833 the house and farm where his son Lyman now lives and sold half to his brother-in-law. The old colonial mansion was built by E. J. Garfield in 1781 and was for many years the finest dwelling house in the town. He married Abigail Lowe Wheeler, who died October 9, 1890. Their children: Mary Elizabeth, born January 4, 1838, died November 18, 1891; Sarah Abbie, born September 24, 1839, died November 26, 1855, unmarried; Ellen Augusta, born September 21, 1840, died December 12, 1871, in Pittsfield, New Hampshire; married Charles Prescott, of Pittsfield; left one son, George Prescott, who learned his trade in the Fitchburg Machine Works at Fitchburg and has an important position there; Lyman Wheeler, see forward.
(IX) Lyman Wheeler Merriam, son of Jacob Harris Merriam (8), was born in Fitchburg in the homestead where he now lives, March 31, 1844. He was educated in the old day street public school and the Fitcliburg high school. He was naturally inclined to mechanical problems. His inventive ability was demonstrated early in life, and he has followed the career of a professional inventor all his life with credit to himself, having procured valuable patents besides devising many useful machines for making patented and other articles for which he applied for no patents.
Mr. Merriam does not confine all his interests to his lathe and tools. He is well known as a worker and thinker in the temperance movement. He himself is a total abstainer, not only from all alcoholic drinks, but from tobacco, tea, coffee and meats. He has been a strict vegetarian for many years and certainly has demonstrated in his own case that a man needs no fish, oysters or meat of any sort to enjoy robust health and great mental energy.
He married, July 16, 1868, Ellen Maria Lowe, daughter of John Lowe. She was born April 30, 1847. (See sketch of the Lowe family of Fitchburg for her lineage). Their children: 1. Sarah Abbie, born August 9, 1869, married September 11, 1890, James Lewis Harrington, of Lunenburg, farmer. Their children: Lewis Lowe, born January 14, 1892; Ruth Louise, born May 23, 1893; Carl Rogers, born March 2, 1896; Harold Leon, born June 13, 1898. 2. Frederick Lowe, born August 2, 1871, died aged nine months, April 23, 1872. 3. Louisa Adeline, born at Holden, August 21, 1872, died of typhoid fever, September 22, 1890, in Fitchburg. 4. Alice Edna, born November 25, 1874, graduate of Fitchburg high school, 1895, married
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April 20, 1904, Charles Allen Nutting; resides in Ashby; he is a farmer. Their children—-John Lyman, born June 1, 1905; Charles Edward Nutting, born August 16, 1906. 5. John Lowe, born July 9, 1876, at Jaffrey, New Hampshire, died April 13, 1898; graduated from Fitchburg high school in 1895. 6. Edith Augusta, born March 5, 1878, at Jaffrey, New Hampshire, graduate of the Fitchburg high school, 1896. 7. Lizzie Maria, born September 27, 1880, in Winchendon, graduate of the Fitchburg high school, 1898; married, July 7, 1905, Rosser Adams Malone, Jr., of Albany, Georgia, clerk in the transportation department of the United States Canal Work at Panama; son born at Albany, October 6, 1906. 8. Clifton Harris, born December 30, 1883, at Winchendon, graduate of the Fitchburg high school, 1902; employed in the office of the Fitchburg Machine Works. 9. Henry Mead, born September 11, 1885, at Fitchburg, died August 5, 1887.
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(VI) Tarrant Cutler, seventh child of Jonathan [and Elizabeth (Holman)] Cutler (5), was born in Royalston, September 10, 1771. He settled there and was a farmer. He married Lydia, daughter of Levi Whitney, of Harvard, Massachusetts, in 1796. He died 1842, at Royalston, aged seventy-one years. The children of Tarrant and Lydia (Whitney) Cutler were: 1. Sarah, April 19, 1798, married Benjamin Heywood; she died August 14, 1860. Their children were: Benjamin, died young; Lucy M., died young; John C., removed to Eden, Maine; Silas N., removed to Minneapolis; Joseph L., killed by bank burglars at Northfield, Minnesota; Sarah, married John Brooks, resided in Minneapolis; Charles T., died in civil war. 2. Melinda, born March 16, 1800, married Abijah Richardson, who died June 26, 1869; she married (second) Benoni Peck; their children were: Abijah J. Richardson, died unmarried; George O. Richardson, resided at Jaffrey, New Hampshire; Leander Richardson, resided at Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. 3. John, born October 13, 1802, died February 9, 1861. 4. Lysander (general), born February 16, 1807, died July 30, 1866. 5. Lydia, born March 27, 1809, died September 6, 1842, unmarried. 6. Levi, August 7, 1811, died August 13, 1881. 7. Tarrant, see forward. 8. George, July 20, 1815, resided at Bangor, Maine; died May 19, 1906. 9. Otis, October 17, 1817, died May 27, 1868.
(VII) Tarrant Cutler, seventh child of Tarrant Cutler (6), was born September 8, 1813, at Royalston, Massachusetts, died June 11, 1898. He was educated and brought up in his native town. During most of his life he was a farmer. He held many town offices and represented the town in the state legislature in 1855. In 1869 he removed to Fitchburg and entered the grocery business with his son under firm name of G. H. & T. Cutler. Their store was at 235 Main street, and Mr. Cutler lived at 57 Laurel street. He married (first) Harriet Fairbanks, daughter of Jonathan and Asenath Fairbanks, of Athol, Massachusetts, March 25, 1839. He married (second) Mary P. Gale, daughter of Jonathan and Martha P. Gale, of Royalston, June 25, 1849. Children of Tarrant and Harriet (Fairbanks) Cutler were: Jane L., born September 26, 1840, died August 22, 1869; she was a teacher in the public schools. George, see forward. Children of Tarrant and Mary P. (Gale) Cutler were: Charles E., born April 26, 1850, died August 23, 1852; Mary E., born July 20, 1861.
(VIII) George H. Cutler, second child of Tarrant Cutler (7), was born in Royalston, Massachusetts, April 2, 1845, on the old homestead. He attended the district schools of his native town. When a young man he went to Fitchburg and started in the fish business. After a few years Mr. Cutler's father also came to Fitchburg and they became partners in the grocery business under the name of G. H. & T. Cutler at 235 Main street. The firm has been at the present location since 1869. Since the death of his father, Mr. Cutler has carried on the business alone. He never married. He is a Republican in politics. He is a trustee of the Fitchburg Savings Bank. He is a director in the Orswell Mills, Nockege Mills, Ponikin Mills, and the Brown Bay Machine Company. He attends the Congregational Church. He is a member of the Order of Knights of Pythias.
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(III) Nathaniel Whiting . . . married (first), Hannah Lyon. . . . . David Weld was the administrator of his estate, appointed February 8, 1790, as also of the estate of his first wife, the division of which names the children—-heirs of Isaiah, deceased; heirs of Benajah, deceased; Paul Whiting, the only son of Nathaniel, deceased; widow Mary Richards; heirs of Hannah Williams, deceased; Rachel Whitney; Keziah Vose; widow Sarah Draper and heirs of Lucy Everett, deceased. Their children, all recorded as born at Roxbury: . . . . 4. Rachel born April 19, 1737, married, at Roxbury, November 15, 1759, Jacob Whitney.
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Albert Brainard Lawrence . . . [in 1871] bought the hardware business of Jacob H. Fairbanks, in Fitchburg. It was an old house established about fifty years before, and from the outset Mr. Lawrence had a good business. His place of business was formerly opposite the American House, where the Fitchburg Trust Company building now stands. He was located there for twenty years. When that property was sold for its present use he removed up street under the Whitney Opera House, and was there five years. In 1895 he removed to his present location on Main street in the Freeman Block.
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(VI) William Hudson, son of William Hudson (5), was born in Newport, Canada, April 6, 1807, and died at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, August 6, 1884, aged seventy-seven years, four months, at 116 Myrtle avenue, and is buried in that city. He resided in Canada, but settled early in life in Lowell, Massachusetts. He was a mechanic. His last years were spent in Fitchburg where his son Gardner and grandson, Gardner K. Hudson, reside.
He married Campbell in Canada. Children: William, deceased; Thomas, deceased; Josephine, deceased; Gardner; John, died in infancy: Sarah (Cochrane), living in Springfield; Jennie (Libby), of Standish, Maine, living; Harriet (Wilson), of Lowell, deceased; Eliza (Adams), of Springfield, deceased; Didama (Whitney), of Fitchburg. deceased.
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CHARLES B. SMITH. The father of Charles B. Smith, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, was Charles W. Smith, a farmer in Paxton and later a mechanic in Worcester, Massachusetts. He married (first) Abigail Crocker, and (second) Marietta Whitney, of Worcester, who survives him, and resides at 31 Clinton street, the family home for many years. The children of Charles W. and Abigail (Crocker) Smith were: Sarah, died at tht age of eighteen years; Adeline, married Albert Lackey, of Worcester; Mary, married Herbert Rice, of Worcester; she is the proprietor of the Bellmar Hotel and a very successful and competent business woman of Worcester; Mattie, married Edward M. Rockwell, of Leominster, and they have one daughter, Mrs. William Holman, of Leominster, whose husband is of the F. A. Whitney Carriage Company; Charles B., of whom later. Charles Bradley Smith, son of Charles W. Smith, was born at Paxton, Massachusetts, March 9, 1857. When he was six years old he removed with his father to Worcester, where he received his education in the public schools and at the Classical high school. At the age of seventeen he passed the entrance examinations for Harvard, but he did not enter. In October, 1874, he went to Fitchburg to work in the textile plant of Rockwell & Phillips, where he remained two years. He then went with Mr. Rockwell to Leominster, where a similar business had been established, Mr. Rockwell withdrawing from the Fitchburg firm. Mr. Smith remained with the new concern two years. He went into business for himself in partnership with Mr. Converse under the firm name of Smith & Converse with a mill at North Weare, New Hampshire, in 1879, and continued for three years. The firm was dissolved and Mr. Smith returned to Fitchburg and entered the employ of James Phillips, Jr., formerly of the firm of Rockwell & Phillips, where he worked for eleven years as a designer. The companv was called the Fitchburg Worsted Company. In January, 1804, he and Charles T. Crocker formed the Star Worsted Company and Mr. Smith became treasurer of the corporation, a position he has occupied to the present time. He is a director of the Safety Fund National Bank of Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
Mr. Smith resides in apartments in the Johnsonia Hotel, Fitchburg. He is a member of Christ's Church (Episcopal) and since 1894 has been treasurer of the parish. He is a Republican in politics. He has been on the Fitchburg school board sincr 1896; was an alderman of the city of Fitchburg in
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1902 and was a representative to the general court in 1905. He is active in the field of state politics as well as at home, and is a member of the Massachusetts Republican Club of Boston and of the Home Market Club. He belongs to Mt. Roulstone Lodge of Odd Fellows, No. 98, of Fitchburg, and to the Park Club, of which he was president for two years.
He married, December 26, 1882, Mary I. Tilton, born September 4, 1857, daughter of Emery and Ruth (Ingraham) Tilton, of Leominster. Her father was a hotel keeper and superintendent of Leominster water department. Their children are: Florence May, born at Leominster, October 4, 1883; Katharine, born at Leominster, March 1, 1892.
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The children of Jesse and Sophia (Wetherbee) Baker were: . . . . 4. Mary L., died about 1865, married F. A. Whitney, of Leominster.
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ALFRED H. WHITNEY. John Whitney (1), the immigrant ancestor of Alfred H. Whitney, was born in England, 1589. Fuller details of his life will be found elsewhere in this work. He settled
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in Watertown in June, 1635; had married in England, Elinor -----, born 1599, died May 11, 1659; married (second) in Watertown, September 29, 1659, Judith Clement, who died before he did. He died June 1, 1673. They had eleven children, mentioned in other sketches of the Whitney family.
(II) John Whitney, son of John Whitney (1), was born in England, 1620. He was a proprietor and freeman of Watertown, a soldier in King Philip's war. A full sketch with his family is given elsewhere in this work.
(III) Nathaniel Whitney, son of John Whitney (2), was born in Watertown, February 1, 1646, married, March 12, 1673, Sarah Hagar, born September 3, 1651, died May 7, 1746, in Weston. Further details with their family of eight children will be found in the sketch of Elisha M. Whitney, of Winchendon.
(IV) William Whitney, son of Nathaniel Whitney (3), was born May 6, 1683, married, May, 17, 1706, Martha Pierce born December 24, 1681. He died January 24, 1720. He resided at Weston, Massachusetts. He was also the ancestor of the other Whitney families of Winchendon. Children: 1. William, grandfather of Amasa Whitney, of Winchendon, father of Elisha M. Whitney, born January 11, 1707, married Hannah Harrington, Mrs. Mary Pierce, Margaret Spring and Mrs. Sarah Davis. 2. Judith, born November 15, 1708. 3. Amity, born October 6, 1712. 4. Martha, born April 4, 1716, married in Sudbury, February 26, 1734, Timothy Mossman; settled in Ashburnham. 5. Samuel, see forward.
(V) Lieutenant Samuel Whitney, son of William Whitney (4), was born in Weston, Massachusetts, May 23, 1719. He married, October 20, 1741, Abigail Fletcher. He was a leading man in the settlement of the town of Westminster, Massachusetts, and was frequently elected to office. He went there from his native town of Weston probably soon after his marriage, about 1742. The old Whitney homestead there was owned lately by the Hartwell family, only the cellar hole remaining to mark the site of the old house, on Lot 51 near the north common. He was prominent, capable and much esteemed, one of the executive committee of the proprietors and a selectman three years after incorporation. He was a lieutenant in the revolution. He was a man of wealth as well as influence in Winchendon, and gave each of his sons a farm. He died January 1, 1782. The children of Samuel and Abigail Whitney: 1. Abigail, born August 27, 1742, probably died young. 2. Mary, born May 29, 1744, married Elijah Gibson and Edward Scott, of Westminster. 3. Samuel, born February 11, 1746, married Thankful Wilder. 4. Abner, see forward. 5. Achsah, born September 30, 1750, died May 14, 1772. 6. Silas, born October 20, 1752, married Sarah Withington. 7. Martha, born November 26, 1755, died young. 8. Elisha, born July 2, 1757, married Eunice Seaver. 9. Alpheus, born February 25, 1759, married Esther Hartwell. 10. Phinehas, born January 16, 1761, married Elizabeth Rand. 11. Hananiah, born December 18, 1762, married Azubah Keyes. 12. Martha, born September 18, 1764, married (first) Benjamin Seaver and (second) Isaac Seaver. 13. Susanna, born February 9, 1767, died young.
(VI) Abner Whitney, son of Lieutenant Samuel Whitney (5), was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, May 18, 1748. He married, May 14, 1770, Elizabeth Glazier, of Shrewsbury, who died April 3, 1778. He married (second), April 22, 1779, Lavina (Glazier) Ward, born May 9, 1752, died July 23, 1838. He died September, 1811, in Westminster. He lived in Ashburnham and Westminster, Massachusetts. Children of Abner and Elizabeth Whitney: 1. Oliver, born December 8, 1770, died June 24, 1794. 2. John, born July 28, 1772, married Susanna Smith. 3. Levi, born January 1, 1777, married Phebe Warren. Children of Abner and Lavina: 4. Jonas W., born April 22. 1780, married Phebe Rand. 5. Joseph G., see forward. 6. Elizabeth, born August 2, 1785, married Lorey Barnes. 7. Dolly, born October 26, 1791, married Vinal Dunn. 8. Abel, born May 14, 1793, died unmarried April 28, 1852.
(VII) Joseph Glazier Whitney, son of Abner Whitney (6), was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, June 22, 1783, married, September 14, 1805, Levina Dunn, born in 1789, died June 24, 1875. He was a farmer and lived in Ashburnham. He died July 31, 1868. He lived in Ashburnham and Westminster. The children: 1. John, see forward. 2. Abner, born April 1, 1808, married Levina G. Whittemore. 3. Levina G., born July 29, 1809, married, April 13, 1834, Rev. Stephen Cushing, resided in Dorchester, Ashburnham and elsewhere; Methodist clergyman twenty-four years; known as a historian. 4. Mary Puffer, born July 19, 1812, married, November 28, 1833, Perley Howe, farmer of Gardner and Ashburnham; assessor and selectman. 5. Belinda, born May 20, 1815, married, May 30, 1838, Benjamin Cushing. 6. Lucy, born July 21, 1826, married, February 19, 1847, Edward Chase, resided in Chelsea, civil engineer, later in life in insurance business. 7. Stephen P., born January 10, 1821, married Abigail Stone.
(VIII) John Whitney, son of Joseph Glazier Whitney (7), was born in Peru, Vermont, September 12, 1806, married there, May 9, 1832, Eliza Cushing, born April 18, 1815, died September 1, 1882. He resided at Westminster for some years and in Ashburnham, where he was a pioneer in the manufacture of chairs. He died May 4, 1873. Children: 1. Stephen C., born July 4, 1833, married, April 14, 1861, Achsah I. May, born July 5, 1839, enlisted in Fifty-third Massachusetts Regiment in civil war, died at New Orleans, February 20, 1863; she resides in Templeton, Massachusetts. 2. Eliza C., born July 25, 1835, died July 13, 1837. 3. Joseph, born June 15, 1838, died November 26, 1838. 4. Wilbur Fisk, see forward. 5. John Edwin, born, October 28, 1841, died November 21, 1856. 6. Timothy Merritt, born December 2, 1844, died November 22, 1856. 7. George Edward, born April 20, 1847, died unmarried October 30, 1880. 8. Orange, see forward. 9. Sarah A., born October 4, 1850, married, February 20, 1878, George H. Clapp; resides at Greenfield, Massachusetts. 10. Arthur M., born October 4, 1853, resides at Grand Rapids, Michigan. 11. Alfred H., see forward.
(IX) Wilbur Fisk Whitney, son of John Whitney (8), was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, December 9. 1839. He was educated there in the public schools and learned the business of chair making. For the past thirty years he has been one of the leading chair manufacturers of the town. He has been active in town affairs and politics. In 1875 he represented his district in the general court. In 1878 he was nominated for congress by the Greenback and Independent parties and polled about 7,000 votes. He was renominated in 1882-84. He was
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nominated for state treasurer in 1876-77, and in several instances his candidacy was endorsed by the Prohibition party. He is a student of political economy and sociology; of firm opinions and prefers to maintain his ideas of political righteousness with a hopeless minority to sacrificing principles for party success. He is a director of the Ashburnham National Bank and of the Nashua Reservoir Company. He served on the school committee for many years. His residence is in South Ashburnham. He married, July 17, 1866, Emeline S. Jewell, born December 27, 1839. Their children: 1. Oscar Jewell, born January 22, 1871, died January 2, 1886. 2. Celena Mower, born June 24, 1873. 3. Luella Cushing, born May 4, 1881. 4. Ethel Eloise, born June 2, 1881. 5. Edith Lillian, born January 1, 1883.
(IX) Orange Whitney, son of John Whitney (8), was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, March 16, 1849. He was educated there in the public schools and followed the chair making business, being successor to his father, who was engaged in the manufacture of chairs. He was at one time located in Ashburnham, in the« Burgess Mill. He is at present in partnership with his brother Alfred under the firm name of Alfred H. Whitney. He has held many positions of trust and honor in Winchendon. He married, January 5, 1875, Laura M. Collester, who died January 28, 1885.
(IX) Alfred Herbert Whitney, son of John Whitney (8), was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, June 14, 1856. He was educated there in the public schools and has always been associated with his brother Orange in the business of chair manufacturing. He was for a number of years a member of the firm of Orange Whitney & Company, chair manufacturers, South Ashburnham. He resides, at Ashburnham. In politics he is a Republican. He married, June 3, 1884, Susie W. Davis, daughter of Phineas Parker [and Sarah Cummings (Rice)] Davis. (See sketch.) Their child: Pauline, born May 7, 1885, married, June 14, 1906, Robert W. Adams, of Royalston, Massachusetts.
Copyright © 2009, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group
