Pawtucket Rhode Island Genealogy

Staples Family of Taunton, MA

STAPLES (Taunton family). The Staples name is one of long and honorable standing in New England and the country. The family has been a continuous one in the Bay State for two hundred and seventy and more years, and at Taunton, in this Commonwealth, have lived generation after generation of the name down to the present – a worthy race, one representative of the best type of citizenship. Such men in more recent generations as the two Sylvanus Staples, father and son, and the latter’s son Sylvanus Nelson Staples, and the two Ebenezer Staples and Abiel B. Staples – all … Read more

Biography of James Pike

John Pike, the common ancestor of the branch of the Pike family residing in Connecticut, settled in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1664. He was the progenitor of Jonas Pike, of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, who married a descendant of Peregrine White, the first white child born in New England. Their four sons were: David, Ephraim, Jonas and Jesse. There was also one daughter, Amy. David married Elizabeth Pitman, of Newport, Rhode Island. Their children were two sons, William and James Pitman; and two daughters, Lucy, wife of David Bayless, and Nancy, who married Abijah Prouty. William Pike left Sturbridge in 1810 and settled … Read more

Descendants of William Eddy in New Bedford, Massachusetts

p. 102 of the 1877-8 Greenough's Directory of the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts

Descendants of William Eddy. William Eddye, A. M., vicar of the Church of St. Dunstan in the town of Cranbrook, County of Kent, England, is the English ancestor of the Eddy family here treated. He was a native of Bristol, educated in Trinity College, Cambridge, England, and was vicar of Cranbrook from 1589 to 1616. He married (first) Nov. 20, 1587, Mary Fosten, who died in July, 1611, and he married (second), in 1614, Elizabeth Taylor, a widow. He died Nov. 23, 1616.

Ancestors of the Rufus W. Bassett Family of Fall River, Massachusetts

The family bearing this name in Fall River, to which belonged the late Hon. Rufus W. Bassett, long prominent in business and public affairs, for years a member of the board of police and much of the time its chairman, is a branch of the earlier Taunton family, it of the still earlier Rochester branch of the distinguished Bassetts of the Cape Cod towns of the Old Colony.

Stetson Family of Bridgewater, MA

The Stetson family of Bridgewater is one of the oldest and most prominent in that section of the State, and it has for upward of two centuries been identified with the manufacturing interests of the town, its representatives being the founders of the iron industry of Bridgewater. Especial reference is made to Capt. Abisha Stetson, who was one of the first to engage in the iron business; his son, Nahum Stetson, whose name was a household word in his native town, and who by his great foresight, enterprise and progressive ideas built up the great Bridgewater Iron Works; and the latter’s sons and grandsons, all men of substance and good citizenship.

Biography of William Edward Jeffway

WILLIAM EDWARD JEFFWAY. To the prosperous activities of the electrical business at Easthampton, in which William Edward Jeffway is engaged in company with his brother, Harry Joseph Jeffway, he has brought the results of a varied and practical experience in the employ of a number of concerns engaged both in general manufacturing and in horticulture and orcharding, as well as in electrical matters. A veteran of the World War, he served in the Ordnance Department overseas, and shared with his comrades in a number of important engagements on battlefields in France. He is prominent in the community and social life … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Samuel Cropper

Samuel Cropper was born near Manchester, England, May 12, 1831. His parents were Benjamin and Mary Cropper, also natives of England. He received his education and grew to manhood in his native country, and emigrated to the United States in May, 1853, locating in Rhode Island, where he learned the art of photographing. He has since spent some time in various States of the Union, engaged at his trade. He located in Jamesport in 1875 and has since erected a commodious gallery and built up a good patronage. Mr. Cropper was married in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, October 5, 1853, to … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Edwin L. Thurston

Thurston, Edwin L.; patent lawyer; born, Pawtucket, R. I., Oct. 3, 1857; son of Thomas E. and Anne W. Falconer Thurston; educated, Brown University, class of 1881, B. P. H.; began the practice of his profession in, Chicago; came to Cleveland, October, 1887; has been a member successively of the following firms, Watson & Thurston, Wing & Thurston, Thurston & Babis, Thurston & Woodward, Thurston & Kwis; pres. The Maxwell Filing Systems Co., Chi Phi College Fraternity; member Union, Mayfield, Country, and Automobile Clubs. Recreation: Golf.

Ancestors of John Richardson Bronson of Attleboro, MA

JOHN RICHARDSON BRONSON, M. D., who for over half a century was one of the best known practitioners of medicine in southern Massachusetts and part of Rhode Island, and who for upward of fifty years was a resident of Attleboro, was a native of Connecticut, born in the town of Middlebury, New Haven county, June 5, 1829, son of Garry and Maria (Richardson) Bronson.

The Bronson family was early planted in the New World. John Bronson (early of record as Brownson and Brunson) was early at Hartford. He is believed, though not certainly known, to have been one of the company who came in 1636 with Mr. Hooker, of whose church he was a member. He was a soldier in the Pequot battle of 1637. He is not named among the proprietors of Hartford in the land division of 1639; but is mentioned in the same year in the list of settlers, who by the “towne’s courtesie” had liberty “to fetch woods and keepe swine or cowes on the common.” His house lot was in the “soldiers’ field,” so called, in the north part of the old village of Hartford, on the “Neck Road” (supposed to have been given for service in the Pequot war), where he lived in 1640. He moved, about 1641 to Tunxis (Farmington) He was deputy from Farmington in May, 1651, and at several subsequent sessions, and the “constable of Farmington” in 1652. He was one of the seven pillars at the organization of the Farmington Church in 1652. His name is on the list of freemen of Farmington in 1669. He died Nov. 28, 1680.

Biography of Harry Joseph Jeffway

Few men engaged in the electrical construction and contracting business in this part of the State have been trained in so practical and, indeed, in so high grade a school of experience in electrical work as Harry Joseph Jeffway, who not only has an established repute for unrivalled excellence in his Easthampton business, but who throughout the World War was on duty at submarine bases of the greatest responsibility as an electrician, afterwards also continuing in related lines for the United States Government in the shipyards. Mr. Jeffway is an expert in all matters electrical; he has built up an … Read more

Ancestry of Alfred Pierce of Attleboro Massachusetts

Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts

Alfred Pierce is a native of Bristol county, Mass., born in the old historic town of Rehoboth Jan. 1, 1822, son of Jeremiah and Candice (Wheeler) Pierce. This branch of the Pierce family in America is one of long standing and among the first settlers of New England. The name has been variously spelled, but the change to Pierce has been made in the last three-quarters of a century. In the Old World the members of this family have been quite prominent, and the name can be traced through a loner and distinguished line back to the days of the Norman Conquest.

Ancestry of Walter Ballou of North Attleboro MA

Walter Ballou, one of the representative citizens and well-known jewelry manufacturers of North Attleboro, where for upward of a half century he has been a member of the jewelry manufacturing firm of R. Blackinton & Co., is a native of the State of Rhode Island, born in the town of Cumberland Feb. 20, 1835, son of Preston and Harriet M. (Brown) Ballou. The Ballou family is among the oldest and most distinguished of Rhode Island. Of Norman-French origin, it is descended from Gunebored Ballou, who was probably a marshal in the army of William the Conqueror and took part in the memorable battle of Hastings, 1066.

Lindsey Family of Fall River, MA

The Fall River family of Lindseys here considered is a branch of the earlier Bristol, R. I., family. Beyond the marriage at that point of John Lindsey, the first of the name of record there, 1694, nothing definite seems known. It is a tradition in the Bristol family, however, that their ancestor came from Scotland long prior to the American Revolution. Reference is made here to the genealogy and family history of the Fall River branch of the Bristol family, the head of which was the late William Lindsey, who was through a long life a prominent business man and substantial citizen, followed by his son, the late Hon. Crawford Easterbrooks Lindsey, for many years prominently identified with the manufacturing interests of Fall River and of Pawtucket, R. I., a member of both branches of the city government of Fall River and twice its chief executive officer.

Biography of Dr. Charles Crawford Carter

No vocation in life offers opportunity for greater genuine service to mankind than that of doctor of medicine, and the physician who fully appreciates his responsibilities and conscientiously responds to every call made upon him is a public benefactor in the highest sense of the term. There can be no question as to the reward that will be his in the after life. Such a man was Charles Crawford Carter, one of the best known and most generally beloved medical practitioners who ever ministered to the ills of the people of Rock Island County. Purity of mind, lofty ideals, and … Read more

Some Descendants of Lawrence Wilkinson of Providence, RI

Lawrence Wilkinson, the first of the race here in New England, was born in Lanchester, County of Durham, England, a son of William Wilkinson by his wife Mary, sister of Sir John Conyers, Bart., and the grandson of Lawrence Wilkinson, of Harpley House, Durham. He was a loyalist, and at the surrender of Newcastle, 1644, was taken prisoner by the Parliamentary and Scotch troops. At this time he held a lieutenant’s commission. He was deprived of his property, and his estates sequestered by order of Parliament. After having obtained special permission from Lord Fairfax, chief commander of the Parliamentary army, he embarked with his wife and child for New England, leaving, according to Somerby, in 1652. Arriving at Providence he signed the civil compact and received a gift of twenty-five acres of land and commenced his pioneer life. He was admitted as one of the original “Proprietors of Providence.” He soon acquired a large real estate, and held a prominent position among his fellow citizens. He was frequently chosen to fill offices of trust in the infant colony; was elected a member of the Legislature in 1659 and subsequently. He was an active business man. He participated in the Indian wars. He lived in his adopted country nearly half a century. His death occurred in 1692.

Some Descendants of Thomas Rowley of Windsor, Connecticut

Some descendants of Thomas Rowley of Windsor. Thomas Rowley. Thomas Rowley (Rowell) a cordwainer, was in Windsor Connecticut as early as 1662, and Simsbury Connecticut by 1670. He died 1 May, 1705/8, estate inventory dated 1 May 1708. Married at Windsor, 5 May, 1669 by Rev. Wolcott, Mary Denslow, daughter of Henry, Windsor, born 10 Aug. 1651, died at Windsor 14 June, 1739, ae 91. Mary was admitted to Windsor Church in 1686. Thomas served in the Colonial Wars. On the list of those who gave to the poor. Contents: Book Notes: