Amherst Massachusetts

Biography of Melvil Dewey

MELVIL DEWEY AMONG the noted librarians of our country who have shown great efficiency, untiring devotion and unusual progressiveness in their calling, stands in the front rank Melvil Dewey, director of the state library and secretary of the University of the State of New York. Born December 10, 1851, in the rural village of Adams Center, Jefferson county, New York, he is the youngest son of Joel and Eliza Green Dewey. His love of books – a love which has never forsaken him – began as soon as he was able to read. His greatest delight was to be among … Read more

Descendants of John Sanford of Taunton, MA

The town of Taunton, which included within its original boundaries the neighboring village of Berkley, has been the home of a branch of the Sanford family for about two hundred years. This Berkley-Taunton branch of the family, in the line of Capt. Joseph Sanford, an active patriot of the Revolution, has been more or less eminent in professional life. Four of the sons of Capt. Joseph Sanford were college graduates and ministers of the gospel; and several of their posterity have followed the learned professions. One of the grandsons of Capt. Joseph was the late Hon. John Elliott Sanford, of Taunton, lawyer, legislator, railroad commissioner, etc., who at the time of his death was characterized by the local paper as Taunton’s “first citizen.”

Biography of Josiah Edwards Dwight

Josiah Edwards Dwight, a member of the noted old New England family to which President Timothy Dwight of Yale College belonged, is one of the leading Concord, N.H. Born in Belchertown, Mass., May 17, 1839, son of Harrison D. and Sophia (Cook) Dwight, he traces his lineage through his mother, also, back to the early days of the New England colonies. On the paternal side his first ancestor to settle in this country was John Dwight, who came from Dedham, England, in 1634, and located in the part of Massachusetts afterward named Dedham. He was the second man of wealth … Read more

Biography of Albion Brainard Allen

For more than three decades a resident of Amherst, Hampshire County, and one of this town’s most active and substantial business men, Mr. Allen’s operations as a builder have contributed very materially not only to the development of his own community, but to that of numerous other New England towns. On his father’s side he is a member of an old family whose name is very frequently met throughout the United States, where it is represented by many distinct and separate families. Its use arises from the Christian name Allen or Alan, which is very ancient and has many variations … Read more

Biography of Judge John W. McElhinney

For the fourth term Judge John W. McElhinney has been called to the bench of the thirteenth circuit court of Missouri having entered upon the duties of this position in 1901. His course has at all times reflected credit and honor upon tile state that has honored him and he is today numbered among the ablest of Missouri’s jurists, for film decisions have at all times been strictly fair and impartial, and moreover have been the expression of a comprehensive knowledge of tile principles of jurisprudence, combined with ability to apply accurately his principles to tile points in litigation. Judge … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Frederick C. Herrick

Herrick, Frederick C.; physician; born, Cleveland, Oct. 31, 1872; son of Henry J. and Mary Brooks Herrick; educated, Amherst College (A. B., 1894), Medical Dept., Western Reserve University, (M. D., 1897), University of Goettingen, Germany, 1898-1900; London General Hospital. 1895-1896; married, Paris, France, July 20, 1898, Annie Bayard Crowell; issue, Henry C. and Frederick C., Jr.; capt. and surgeon, 0. N. G., ten years, on duty with Troop A.; F. A. C. S.; associate in surgery, medical Dept. Western Reserve University; associate in surgery, Charity Hospital; surgeon-in-charge, Charity Hospital Surgical Dispensary; member American Urological Ass’n Cleveland Academy of Medicine and … Read more

David Todd of Charlemont MA

David Todd6, (Titus5, Titus4, Benjamin3, Michael2, Christopher1) born March 17, 1807, died in 1880, married Dec. 1, 1831, Clarissa Bradford of Williamsburg, Mass., who was born Sept. 15, 1808, died in 1884. She was in the sixth generation in direct line from Governor Bradford of the Mayflower and Plymouth Colony. He was a Methodist Clergyman and as to his pastorates, his son, Stephen Olin Todd says: “soon after he began preaching he was located at Winchendon, Mass.; thence to Haddam or Haddam Neck, Conn., about 1834, he went next to Hebron, Conn., in 1836, later he was at Londenderry and … Read more

Stockbridge School of Agriculture Yearbooks 1921-2002

Stockbridge School of Agriculture Shorthorn Yearbook Cover for 1921

The Stockbridge School of Agriculture was founded as part of the Massachusetts Agricultural College (now University of Massachusetts Amherst) in 1918. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst digitized 73 of the yearbooks covering the years of 1921-2002. The yearbook during this period was known as the “Shorthorn” and “Stosag”. Yearbooks provide a window into student life. From sports teams to clubs, fashions to hairstyles, these volumes document the changing attitudes and culture of college students year by year.

Biographical Sketch of James Humphrey Hoyt

Hoyt, James Humphrey; lawyer; born, Cleveland, Nov. 10, 1852; son of James Madison and Mary Ella Bebee Hoyt; educated, public schools, Hudson Academy, one year Western Reserve University, two years Amherst College, graduated, Brown University in 1874, graduated, Harvard Law School, LL. B. 1877; married, June 17, 1884, Jessie P. Taintor; issue, one daughter, Katherine Boardman and one son Elton II.; formed law partnership with H. S. Sherman, firm name, Sherman & Hoyt; later Willey, Sherman & Hoyt, and then Sherman, Hoyt & Sherman, Hoyt & Dustin; now firm name is Hoyt, Dustin, Kelly, McKeehan & Andrews; gives attention to … Read more

Biography of M. Hayward Post, Jr., M. D.

Dr. M. Hayward Post, Jr., who is engaged in medical practice in St. Louis, is a representative of one of the oldest American families, his ancestors having come to the new world on the Mayflower. His grandfather was Rev. Truman Marcellus Post, who is mentioned by a former historian as one of the eminent Missouri preachers of his day. His father was M. Hayward Post, who was a well known physician and a prominent oculist of St. Louis. He served for twenty years as a member of the board of the Missouri School for the Blind and passed away in … Read more

Biography of Frederick Bridgman Shaw

FREDERICK BRIDGMAN SHAW, farmer, of South Amherst, Massachusetts, was born April 16, 1876. The family to which he belongs is one of the oldest and most noted in New England. (I) The immigrant ancestor was Abraham Shaw, who came from Yorkshire, England, in 1636. He was admitted as a freeman, March 9, 1636-37, and at the time was a proprietor of Watertown. When his house there was burned down in October, 1636, he moved to Dedham. He signed the famous compact, and was elected, September 6, 1638, a constable of Dedham. Abraham Shaw moved to Cambridge, where he became a … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Thomas P. Ballard

Ballard, Thomas P.; real estate; born, Canton, O., Apr. 27, 1854; son of Martin and Sophia Ball Ballard; educated, A. B. Amherst College, 1876 and A. M. 1879; married, Columbus, O., Jan. 20, 1886, Isabella Clerk (deceased) ; one son, Clifford B. Ballard; married, Cambridge, Mass., Aug. 29, 1907, Frances Anne Keay; one son, Hyde Whitcomb Ballard; 1877-79, supt. schools Navarre, O.; 1879-80, prin. Unadilla N. Y. Academy; 1880-90, agt. for Ginn & Co. of Boston at Columbus, O.; 1890, admitted as partner of Ginn & Co., 1892-99, Chicago office of Ginn & Co.; 1899-1906, social and settlement worker, Philadelphia; … Read more

David Peck Todd of Amherst MA

David Peck Todd7, (Sereno E.6, Josiah5, Abner4, Ithamar3, Michael2, Christopher1) born March 19, 1854, married March 5, 1880, Mabel, only child of Eben Jenks and Mary Alden (Wilder) Loomis, who was born Nov. 10, 1856, in Cambridge, Mass. He is a graduate of Amherst College and a descendant of the celebrated divine, Jonathan Edwards. After graduation he was appointed to a position at the Naval Observatory, Washington, D. C. He was afterwards appointed Prof. of Astronomy and Director of the Observatory at Amherst, Mass., and also Prof. of Astronomy and Higher Mathematies at Smith College, Northampton, Mass. He received the … Read more

Biography of Frank Lyman Gold

FRANK LYMAN GOLD-A man of wide and varied activities, each of which he has carried on successfully after he had gained full knowledge of the field of business into which he was entering, the story of Frank Lyman Gold is full of interest. (I) He belongs to a notable old New England family, whose founder was Joseph Gold, born in London, England, who came to America when he was nineteen years old. According to family records, he served for seven years in the Revolutionary War, lived for a time in Northbury, Connecticut, and died in Roxbury, Vermont, in 1829. He … Read more

Biography of Arthur Berkmere Richards

ARTHUR BERKMERE RICHARDS, inheritor of a vast meat trade, and in later years a dairy farmer at Amherst, Massachusetts, was born in Cummington, Connecticut, May 23, 1864. The name he bears is one of the names of Welsh origin widely known and prominent in the United States, which originated in making a surname from the possessive form of the father’s name. It signifies Richard’s son. At least seventeen different coats-of-arms belong to the different branches of the family. A manor at Caernwyck, Marioneth County, Wales, was inherited by Sir Richard Richards, president of the House of Lords, and Lord Chief … Read more

Holman Family of Attleboro, MA

David Emory Holman

For something more than two centuries the Holman family of which the Attleboro Holmans are a branch has been identified with the history of this Commonwealth, and for half of that period the Holmans have been people of distinction in the town just named, closely identified with its social, religious, educational and business life.

The progenitor of this Massachusetts Holman family, Solomon Holman, with his brother John, is said to have come from the Bermuda Islands to Newburyport, the family tradition being that the Holman family came from Wales to the Bermuda Islands some time between 1670 and 1690; that the two named were seized by a press-gang and brought to this country and escaped from a British ship at Newburyport; that John, the youngest, went to North Carolina and Solomon settled in Newbury. Coffin’s Newbury says Solomon Holman and wife came there about 1693 or 1694. Solomon Holman married Mary Barton and their twelve children were:

Biography of James E. Mack

James E. Mack, Public Administrator of San Bernardino County, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in November 1848, and resided there until twelve years of age. At the breaking out of the war in 1861 he enlisted in the Fourteenth Massachusetts Infantry, serving ninety days as drummer boy. On the expiration of his term he re-enlisted in the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts Infantry for three years, but his mother prevented him being mustered in. In the fervor of his youthful patriotism he determined to try again, and enlisted in the United States Naval Marine Corps, but was again prevented from entering the service … Read more

Biography of Albert Parsons

ALBERT PARSONS, expert in agriculture, cattle raiser, and dairy farmer of North Amherst, Massachusetts, was born June 1, 1883, in North Amherst, the son ‘ of Howard Albert Parsons. The family name of Parsons is derived from the Latin word persona, a mask. In early times actors wore a mask of wood to project their voices, a suggestion of the speaking-trumpet and telephone of later years. The actor came to be called after the mask he wore dramatis personae. The word had a two-fold meaning. In ecclesiastical language it was referable to a man of dignity, and bestowed upon one … Read more

Biography of Dwight Morris Billings

DWIGHT MORRIS BILLINGS, of Amherst, Massachusetts, treasurer of The Hills Manufacturing Company, producers of hats, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, February 17, 1866. (I) His ancestry in America probably goes back to Richard Billings, who received a grant of six acres of land in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1640. In 1659 he signed a contract with Governor Webster and others to remove to and settle at Hadley. The removal was made in 1661, and he lived in that part of the town which became Hatfield. He died March 3, 1679. He married Margery, surname unknown, who died December 5, 1679. (II) … Read more

Abbe-Abbey Genealogy

A genealogical dictionary of the first settlers of New England vol 1

The “Abbe-Abbey Genealogy” serves as a comprehensive and meticulously compiled homage to the heritage of the Abbe and Abbey families, tracing its roots back to John Abbe and his descendants. Initiated by the life-long passion of Professor Cleveland Abbe, this genealogical exploration began in his youth and expanded throughout his illustrious career, despite numerous challenges. It encapsulates the collaborative efforts of numerous family members and researchers, including significant contributions from individuals such as Charles E. Abbe, Norah D. Abbe, and many others, each bringing invaluable insights and data to enrich the family’s narrative.