Hingham Massachusetts Genealogy

Descendants of William Brett of Bridgewater, MA

Ellis Brett, president of the Plymouth County Trust Company, of Brockton, and one of that city’s honored and respected citizens, is a worthy representative of historic New England ancestry, the Brett family having resided in this community since the first settlement of the mother town of Bridgewater, from which the town of North Bridgewater (now Brockton) was set off. Mr. Brett was born in the latter town Oct. 23, 1840, only son of Ephraim and Ruth (Copeland) Brett. The early history of the Brett family in America begins with William Brett, who came to Duxbury, Mass., in 1645, from Kent, England, and later became one of the fifty-four original proprietors and first settlers of the town of ancient Bridgewater, settling in the West parish of the town. He was an elder in the church, and often when the Rev. James Keith, the first ordained pastor of the church there, was ill, Mr. Brett preached to the people. He was a leading man in both church and town affairs, and was deputy to the General Court from the date of the in-corporation of ancient Bridgewater in 1656 to 1661. That he was well educated and intelligent is manifest from a letter to Governor Winslow, still extant, and he was much esteemed by his brethren and often employed in their secular affairs. He died Dec. 17, 1681, aged sixty-three years

Ancestry of Joshua Bates of Bridgewater Massachusetts

Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts

Joshua Bates, son of Samuel Ward Bates, was born Jan. 7, 1842, in Bridgewater, and was educated in the local schools, in Bridgewater Academy, and in a private school under the tutorship of the Hon. John A. Shaw, of Bridgewater. Although engaged in the commission business in Boston, he made his home in Bridgewater, where he died Aug. 17, 1886.

Fall River Branch of the Lincoln Family

From its earliest history Taunton has been an important manufacturing center, from the building of the first dam on Mill river, near what became Cohasset street, and the first mill. Thomas Lincoln from Hingham became the owner of this mill in 1649, and soon after removed his family hither. As stated elsewhere he came from old England to New England in 1635, locating at Hingham. He continued proprietor of the mill about thirty-three years, when at his death his sons John and Samuel Lincoln came into possession of it. Caleb Lincoln, the farmer and miller of Westville village, was of the sixth generation in descent from Thomas Lincoln the “miller,” and it has been through his family and his descendants that the manufacturing proclivities of the earlier, family have been kept alive, and, too, in a conspicuous manner, as several of his sons and grandsons have long together and in turn been largely and successfully identified with some of the extensive manufacturing enterprises of that city of great industries – Fall River – and as well been among the substantial men and prominent citizens of that place; notably the late Jonathan Thayer Lincoln, long recognized as a man of superior business ability – to whose mechanical ingenuity and business sagacity was largely due the successful building up of the firm of Kilburn, Lincoln & Co., of which he was long a member, and of which concern later, on its incorporation, he became the executive head; and the latter’s sons Henry C. Edward and Leontine Lincoln, all of whom were reared and trained under the direction of the father in the concern, Henry C. Lincoln succeeding his father on the latter’s death to the presidency of it; while Leontine Lincoln has been for nearly forty years treasurer, and has been long identified with other extensive enterprises of Fall River.

Beal Genealogy – Beals Genealogy

This manuscript provides a look into some of the descendants of John Beal of Hingham, Massachusetts. John Beal, immigrant ancestor, came from the parish of Hingham, County Norfolk, England, to Hingham, Massachusetts, with his wife and five sons, three daughters and two servants. This fact is stated in many words on the town clerk’s record by Daniel Cushing, fourth town clerk of Hingham. He was born in Hingham, England, or vicinity. John Beal John Beal, immigrant ancestor, came from the parish of Hingham, County Norfolk, England, to Hingham, Massachusetts, with his wife and five sons, three daughters and two servants. … Read more

History of Hingham Massachusetts

An historical sketch about Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts as abstracted from the Plymouth County Directory and Historical Register of 1867. Includes a list of the men from Hingham who gave their life during the Revolutionary War.

Descendants of Davis Snow Packard of Bridgewater, Massachusetts

In the death of Davis Snow Packard, which occurred in Brockton, Mass., July 31, 1900, the city lost one of its foremost citizens as well as one of its most successful manufacturers. Mr. Packard was a native of the town of North Bridgewater, now the city of Brockton, born June 24, 1826, son of Apollos and Betsey (Packard) Packard, and a descendant of one of the oldest and most prominent families of the old Bay State. (I) Samuel Packard, the founder of the family in America, was a native of England, his home being at Windham, near Hingham. In 1638 … Read more

Ancestry of George Otis Jenkins of Whitman, Massachusetts

George Otis Jenkins, one of Whitman’s best known manufacturers and most progressive citizens, was born in Dorchester, Mass., Nov. 22, 1846, son of James and Susan (Holbrook) Jenkins, and a descendant of Edward Jenkins, of Scituate. Also includes a brief genealogy of the Bates Family of Hingham Massachusetts from which George’s wife, Abby Bates descended.

Biographical Sketch of Moses Rowley

Moses, son of Henry Rowley, was born about 1630, died in 1705, at East Haddam, Connecticut. He married, April it, 1652, at Barnstable, Elizabeth, daughter of Captain Matthew Fuller, soldier and surgeon-general of the colony. She died at East Haddam, or Colchester, Connecticut, after 1714. Moses is mentioned in the will of William Palmer as legatee, as “Moses whom I love.” The grandfather, Palmer, gives evidence of some unfriendliness towards the father and wishes young Rowley placed with Mr. Partridge, that “he might be brought up in the feare of God & to that end if his father suffer it, … Read more

Ancestors of Everett Clinton Hall of Brockton, MA

EVERETT CLINTON HALL, wholesale grocer at Brockton, is one of that thriving city’s enterprising and progressive young business men, one who by his own efforts has risen to a position of affluence through his energy and ability to take the initiative combined with natural-born business acumen. Mr. Hall is a descendant of several of the earliest settled families of this Commonwealth, numbering among his ancestors several of the country’s most noted Pilgrims, among these being John Alden and Priscilla Mullins. The Hall family ancestry following is given in chronological order.

Ancestry of Jared Shaw of East Abington, Massachusetts

The Shaw family with which the Beal and Reed families are allied by marriage, was founded in this country by Abraham Shaw, who came to America before 1636.

Ancestry of William H. Nelson of Plymouth, Massachusetts

Nelson Genealogy William Nelson, an early comer to Plymouth, before 1636, had land granted him Aug. 3, 1640, and was among those able to bear arms in 1643. He was juryman in 1648. He was probably among the first settlers of Middleboro, although it is impossible to state when he went from Plymouth to Middleboro, or how long he lived there. He married Oct. 27, 1640, Martha Ford, daughter of Widow Ford, who came to Plymouth in the ship “Fortune” in 1621. Mr. Nelson was admitted a freeman in Plymouth in 1658 and took the oath of fidelity the next … Read more

Descendants of Nicholas Snow of Eastham, MA

Nicholas Snow, a native of England, came to this country in 1623 in the ship “Ann,” locating in Plymouth, where he had a share in the division of land in 1624. In 1634 he removed to Eastham, where he became a prominent citizen. His home was on the road from Plymouth to Eel river, on the Westerly side. He was admitted a freeman in 1633, and was elected town clerk at the first meeting of the town of Eastham, holding that office sixteen years. He was deputy to the General Court from 1648, three years; selectman from 1663, seven years. He and his son Mark signed the call to Rev. John Mayo to settle as their minister in 1655. He was one of Gov. Thomas Prence’s associates. He married at Plymouth, Constance, daughter of Stephen Hopkins, who came over in the “Mayflower.” Constance herself came in the “Mayflower.” She died in October, 1677. Mr. Snow died Nov. 15, 1676, in Eastham, Mass.

Biography of Rev. John G. Pratt

Rev. John G. Pratt, one of the most widely known Protestant missionaries of Kansas and the West, was born in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1814 and graduated from Andover Seminary in the fall of 1836. He was immediately licensed to preach and the Baptist Suciety sent him to the Indian country to labor among the Shawnees. He continued that work for seven years, and in the fall of 1844 located four miles south of Fort Leavenworth to take charge of a contemplated mission of Green Bay Indians, lately arrived from Wisconsin. But they did not receive the promised allotment of land, … Read more

Corthell Genealogy of Hingham to South Abington, Massachusetts

Of the first generation of the Corthell family in America there are records somewhat contradictory. Robert Corthell appears at Hingham, Mass., at the commencement of the eighteenth century. Nothing earlier of him seems to be known. He married Oct. 13, 1708, Deborah, daughter of Benjamin and Deborah Tower, his wife being born in Hingham in February, 1685. Robert Corthell died March 5, 1737-38, aged fifty-two years.

Ancestry of Moses Adams Packard of Brockton, Massachusetts

Moses Adams Packard, of Brockton, where he has been so long and so successfully engaged in the manufacture of shoes, is as well one of that city’s highly honored and respected citizens. Mr. Packard began life with little capital save boundless energy and a resolute purpose, and has pushed his way upward against almost every kind of obstacle until he now holds a foremost position among the leading manufacturers in this Commonwealth, vindicating the old saying, “Labor is king.” He was born Feb. 28, 1843, in New London, N. H., which was the home of his mother, while his father was a native of North Bridgewater, and a descendant of one of the old and historical families of Massachusetts.

Since its coming to this Bridgewater settlement, which was the first interior settlement of the Old Colony, as early as 1664, to the present time, for nearly two hundred and fifty years, the Packard family has been one prominent and influential in this community, and has become a most numerous family, many, too, of its members both at home and abroad having given a good account of themselves.

Descendants of Frederick Packard of Brockton, MA

FREDERICK PACKARD, late of Brockton, was not only one of the best known men in the line of shoe manufacturing in that city but also one of its most honorable and respected citizens. He ranked among the city’s most successful business men, one whose start in life was obtained by his energy and push, and these traits, combined with excellent business acumen, had long secured for him a position of affluence, and caused the firm of which he had so long been the head to become one of the best known in its line in the country. Mr. Packard was … Read more

Beal Genealogy of Abington Massachusetts

The Beal family of Abington, the head of which was the late George A. Beal, Esq., who for years was one of the leading men of the town, prominent in business and public affairs and useful and substantial in citizenship, is one of long and honorable standing in this section of the Commonwealth and is a branch of the earlier Weymouth family, where early appeared the immigrant settler. By the marriage of the late Mr. Beal into the Reed family, his posterity is doubly descended from the Puritan stock of the early Colonial period of Massachusetts. There follows in chronological order from the immigrant settler, John Beal, the genealogy of the particular Abington family of Beals alluded to.

Lincoln Family of Hingham and Taunton, Massachusetts

From the pioneer days at the settlement at Hingham and Taunton the Lincoln family has been a continuous one in that region of Massachusetts; one of prominence in the start, it has maintained itself both here and in the country at large and in both has long since become numerous. It has been claimed by the late Hon. Solomon Lincoln that all the Lincolns in Massachusetts are descendants of the Lincolns who settled in Hingham in 1636 and 1638. He says: “We have evidence of authentic records that the early settlers of Hingham of the name of Lincoln were four, bearing the name of Thomas, distinguished from each other by their occupations, as miller, weaver, cooper and husbandman; Stephen (brother of the husbandman); Daniel, and Samuel (brother of the weaver).” He adds “our claim is that the early settlers of Hingham above enumerated were the progenitors of all the Lincolns of the country. From Hingham the Lincolns trace their early home to Norfolk County, England.”

Huet Genealogy of Brockton, Massachusetts

Reference is here made to the branch of this family to which belonged the late Joseph Hewett, who for a period of thirty years was an honored resident of Brockton, and his posterity, numbered among whom have been men prominently identified with the business interests of the city for many years. Thomas Huet, born in 1609, was an early inhabitant of Hingham and a landholder. Probably Huet’s Cove in that vicinity took its name from him. He married (first) Elizabeth, daughter of William Chapman, who died in 1639, leaving most of his property to his daughter just named. She died May 22, 1649,” in Hingham. He married (second) Mrs. Mary Cutler, widow of John Cutler. Mr. Huet was a tailor and resided in West Hingham. He was made a freeman May 26, 1647. He died May 24, 1670, in Hingham, aged about sixty-one. His wife outlived him and removed to Charlestown.

Dwelly Family of Fall River, MA

DWELLY (Fall River family). The name Dwelly is an uncommon one and the family not numerous in New England annals. The Fall River Dwelly family is a branch of the Rhode Island family and it of the Scituate (Mass.) family, the immediate Fall River family here considered being that of Dr. Jerome Dwelly, who for some threescore or more years has administered to the ailments of humanity in and about Fall River, where he has most surely been to this people the “beloved physician” and one of the city’s substantial men. In the succeeding generation, one of his sons – … Read more