Location: Pittsfield Massachusetts

Soule Family of New Bedford Massachusetts

SOULE (New Bedford family). The family bearing this name at New Bedford, Mass., is a branch of the Old Plymouth family, descending from George Soule, one of the “Mayflower” Pilgrims and a signer of the compact in 1620. The present head of the family is the Hon. Rufus Albertson Soule, citizen soldier, now collector of the port of New Bedford, who for many years has been a conspicuous figure in the business and political life of that place, a public servant of high and honorable service, one who as man, citizen and neighbor enjoys that popularity that comes to but few.

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.

Grinnell Family of New Bedford, MA

Since the early settlement of Newport and Portsmouth, R. I., shortly after 1638, the Grinnells have been identified with Rhode Island and Massachusetts history, the earlier generations living largely in the towns of Newport county, R. I., and for the past hundred and more years branches of this southern Rhode Island family have been representative of the best citizenship in the old Massachusetts town of New Bedford. At New Bedford lived Capt. Cornelius Grinnell, a patriot of the Revolution, and long engaged in the merchant service, who married into the old historic Howland family, and one of whose sons, Joseph Grinnell, for almost a decade represented the New Bedford district in the United States Congress, and was long prominent as a merchant and manufacturer and banker of the town; and there lived the late Lawrence Grinnell, father of the late Frederick Grinnell, who so long was at the head of the Providence Steam and Gas Pipe Company and the General Eire Extinguisher Company, a man of genius in mechanical lines, whose inventions gave him distinction, and one of whose sons, Russell Grinnell, is at this time vice president of the General Fire Extinguisher Company. It is with this New Bedford branch of the Grinnell family this article deals.

Biography of Henry Harrison Edwards

Henry Harrison Edwards, a watchmaker of acknowledged ability, who is now residing in Allenstown, was born in Laconia, N.H., July 28, 1840, son of Nathaniel and Rachel (Ranlett) Edwards. His grandfather, Ebenezer Edwards, who in his earlier years followed the sea, subsequently learned the hatter’s trade, and followed it in Laconia for many years. Another source of income to him was the Martha Watson, a native of Dover, N.H., who also died at the age of sixty-eight. Of their eleven children David, William, Charles, Eben, Mary, and Pierpont are living. Nathaniel Edwards, father of Henry H., was born in Plymouth,

Biographical Sketch of Dr. Edward Horatio Foster

Dr. Edward Horatio Foster, formerly a well-known medical practitioner of Concord, was born October 13, 1839, in Canterbury, N.H., son of David M. and Sarah (Bradley) Foster. He is a direct descendant of Reginald Foster, who settled in Ipswich, Mass., in 1635. His grandfather, Asa Foster, served in the French and Indian War, and under General Pepperell was at the capture of Louisburg. During the Revolutionary War Asa was one of General Arnold’s body-guard at the time of the General’s desertion. When he died in Canterbury in 1862, he was ninety-six years old. His son, David M. Foster, a native

Biography of Jacob Newton Butler, M.D.

Jacob Newton Butler, M.D., of Lempster, N.H., one of the best known physicians in this part of Sullivan County, was born in Lyndeboro, Hillsborough County, this State, February 6, 1821, son of Jacob and Sarah (Blanchard) Butler. His great-grandfather, William Butler, came, it is said, from England, and settled in Essex County, Massachusetts. He married, so we are informed, Sarah Perkins, and had seven children, three sons and four daughters. The three sons enlisted in the War for Independence, and one never came back. One was taken prisoner and carried to Halifax, N.S., where he died of small-pox. The other

Biographical Sketch of P. H. Monahan

P. H. Monahan, the father of the broom corn interests of Arcola and a highly esteemed citizen of that place, was born in County Galway, Ireland, February 19, 1837. His parents were John and Mary (Shiel) Monahan, natives of the same County. At the age of thirteen years young Monahan emigrated from his native land to America and settled in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Later he came west and located in Arcola, which at that time was a mere hamlet. Here Mr. Monahan was married to Hannah Quirk, who was a native of Douglas County and a sister of the late John

Biographical Sketch of Allen, Thomas

Allen, Thomas, son of Thomas and Anne C. (Russell ) Allen, was born October 19, 1849, at St. Louis, Mo. He was educated at the high school, Pittsfield, Mass., at the Williston Seminary, Easthampton, and then entered the Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., after which he studied art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, at Dilsseldorf, Germany, where he graduated from the master class in 1878, and afterward studied three years in France. He first exhibited his work in New York, at the National Academy of Design, in 1877, and has been represented in the National Academy at almost

Biography of Frank Levi Root

Frank Levi Root has lived in the vicinity of Oketo for thirty years. he had prospered in a degree sufficient to meet his sanguine expectations, and not only owned and controls a large body of rich farming land in Marshall County but is also actively identified with Oketo’s business affairs and its civic and community life. Mr. Root was born in Cedar County, Iowa, May 21, 1865. His father, Levi Root, born in Ohio July 9, 1832, grew up in his native state and when a young man moved to Iowa. He was married in Cedar County and had a

Biographical Sketch of William Erastus Cushing

Cushing, William Erastus; lawyer, born, Cleveland, Sept. 23, 1853; son of Henry Kirke and Betsy Maria Williams Cushing; educated Western Reserve College, A. B., 1875; Harvard Law School, LL. B., 1878; married, Pittsfield, Mass., June 4, 1884, Carolyn J. Kellogg; served a number of years as member of Ohio State Board of Commissioners on Uniform Laws, member law firm Cushing Siddall & Lamb; trustee University School, Adelbert College, First Presbyterian Church.

Biographical Sketch of Frank Ray Walker

Walker, Frank Ray; architect; born, Pittsfield, Mass., Sept. 29, 1877; son of Frank and Helen Theresa Rauous Walker; educated, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; post graduate work in design; pursued study of architecture in France and Italy, 1903-1904; Walker & Weeks, architects; member Cleveland Engineering Society, Chamber of Commerce, Cleveland Chapter, American Institute, M. I. T., Alumni Ass ‘n, Northern Ohio; member Hermit, Athletic, M. I. T. Clubs, New York City; East End Tennis Club, Cleveland Y. M. C. A.

Electa Todd Carley of Pittsfield MA

CARLEY, Electa Todd7, (Justus6, Asa5, Gershom4, Gershom3, Michael2, Christopher1) born Nov. 9, 1812, married about 1833, Samuel Carley. They lived many years in and near Pittsfield, Mass. Children: I. Samuel. II. Eugene.

Biography of Charles S. Ferry

CHARLES S. FERRY – The firm of Charles S. Ferry & Son, lumber dealers of Pittsfield, which has been conducting one of the largest concerns of its kind in Western Massachusetts, was established by the late Charles S. Ferry, in 1886. In the rapid growth of Pittsfield during the past years this firm played a most important part, because it supplied the lumber and the builders’ materials for much of the construction work that has been done in Pittsfield and the surrounding country. It is over three and a half decades since Charles S. Ferry took over the business from

Biography of William Edward Staples

WILLIAM EDWARD STAPLES – The same energetic characteristics that were the means of conquering all hardships that apparently stood in the path of Mr. Staples’ career during the earlier part of his life have proven the dominant feature of his activities, and have accompanied him throughout an interesting course both of service and of leadership in the business and the political world. He is conceded to be one of the Western Massachusetts captains of industry and of civic advancement, who, beginning life with but few advantages of a material kind, overcame all difficulties by sheer hard work, pluck, and native

Biography of Thomas Patrick Hennelly

THOMAS PATRICK HENNELLY, advancing in the forefront with his profession in Western Massachusetts, specializing in its surgical department, and allying his methods with those of up-to-date discovery and incentive, is a surgeon and physician of widely recognized talents and ability. Established in his practice at Pittsfield for a period of sixteen years, the repute of his skill is not confined to this section, and among honors that have come to him are those of association with some of the foremost medical fraternities of State and Nation. Thomas Patrick Hennelly was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, March 18, 1882, the son of

Biography of Alfred Chester Dale

ALFRED CHESTER DALE – Having come from South Dakota to Massachusetts a little more than twenty-five years ago, when he was thirteen years of age, Alfred Chester Dale, of Pittsfield, is today secretary of the Dale Brothers’ Laundry, Inc., whose branch in that city is only one of five which the corporation operates in this State. The remarkable expansion of the Dale Brothers’ business covers a wide range of territory in two States and in four counties, not to mention the overlapping of much of the contiguous area. Mr. Dale was born in Wilmot, South Dakota, April 17, 1882, and

Biography of George A. Prediger

GEORGE A. PREDIGER, a distinguished figure in the profession of law in Berkshire County, who has, largely by his own endeavors, risen to high rank in his chosen field of activity, has been engaged in practice in Pittsfield for thirty-six years, devoting his attention to general lines. He is a son of Henry and Margaret (Meusel) Prediger, his father a prominent shoe merchant of Pittsfield and esteemed by his contemporaries in every line of business endeavor. George A. Prediger was born in Pittsfield, July 5, 1865. Receiving his early education in the local public schools, he was graduated from the

Biography of James Wilson

JAMES WILSON – Representing one of the extensive woolen manufactories in the United States is James Wilson, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. As president of this organization which today is doing business under the title of James & E. H. Wilson, Inc., he is handling large responsibilities. The location of this factory is on the Housatonic River below Pontoosuc Lake, and in the early settlement of the town this same site was occupied by an iron forge. In 1856 this property was purchased by the Taconic Manufacturing Company, who built a mill and began the manufacture of union cassimeres. This business continued

Biography of Edward Heath Wilson

EDWARD HEATH WILSON, business man of exceptionally high qualities, passed out of this life November 23, 1923, thus breaking the partnership in the firm James & E. H. Wilson, Inc., which had existed since 1902. At the time of his death he was holding the office of vice-president, this position now having been taken over by his nephew, Charles H. Wilson, a biography of whom appears elsewhere. Mr. Wilson was born in Pittsfield, December 9, 1846, the son of Solomon and Mary Elizabeth (Dunham) Wilson. His father, Solomon Wilson, was superintendent of I- Pomeroys’ Sons Company, woolen manufacturers, also of

Biography of Joseph Raymond Hampson

JOSEPH RAYMOND HAMPSON – The work in which Joseph Raymond Hampson is engaged is eminently vital and important to the welfare of the people and the progress of the civic body. Mr. Hampson has had wide experience in this general field and has executed many large and important contracts, both for private individuals and for the United States Government. His outstanding success in these various achievements has given his name unusual recognition for a man still looking forward to many years of useful and progressive activity. He is a son of Louis and Viola (Lasher) Hampson, former residents of New