Worcester County MA Genealogy

Adams Genealogy – Leicester MA

ADAMS, EBENEZER, m. Alice Frink of Rutland, and had Amelia, b. June 2, 1796; m. Rev. Mr. Murdock, and d. in Portland, ME. Adeline A., b. Jan. 17, 1798; d. unmarried. John F., b. Nov. 3, 1799; m. Elizabeth, dau. of Hon. Lovell Walker; now lives in Washington, D.C., and is noticed in this work. Charles A., b. Oct. 2, 1801; d. in early life in Portland. Harriet R., b. Sept. 14, 1804; m. Hon. John Aiken, now of Andover; d. in Columbia, S.C., where she had gone for health, leaving two children, one a professor in Dartmouth College. Mrs. … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Francis Wilcox Treadway

Treadway, Francis Wilcox; lawyer; born, New Haven, Conn., Jan. 7, 1869; son of Augustine Russell and Mary L. Mansfield Treadway; educated, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, B. S., 1890; Yale University, LL. B., 1892; married, Cleveland, Jan. 5, 1907, Esther L. Frisbie; Frances Sessions and Augustine Russell Treadway, children; law firm, Treadway and Marlatt, since 1893; treas. Cleveland Bar Ass’n, 1907 to 1912; United States Commissioner, 1902-1903; member Ohio House of Representatives, 1904-1905; nominated vice mayor of Cleveland, 1907; pres. Tippecanoe Club, 1906-1907; director Chamber of Commerce, 1911-1913; lieut. gov. of Ohio, 1909-1910; director Guardian Savings & Trust Co., Peck, Stow & … Read more

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

Biographical Sketch of Ames, Frank M.

Ames, Frank M., son of Oakes and Eveline (Gilmore) Ames, was born in North Easton, Bristol County, August 14, 1833. He was educated at Leicester and Andover academies. Upon leaving school he entered into the employ of the well-known firm of Oliver Ames & Sons, where he remained several years, and became practically acquainted not only with the mechanical part of manufacturing shovels, but also with the details of an extensive business. In 1858 he removed to Canton to take control of the business of the Kinsley Iron & Machine Company. At the present time he is one of the … Read more

Captivity of John Fitch – Indian Captivities

Particulars Relating to the Captivity of John Fitch, of Ashby, Mass. Related by Mr. Enos Jones, of Ashburnham. The town of Lunenburg, in Massachusetts, was incorporated August 1, 1728, and received its name in compliment to George II., who, the preceding year, came to the British throne, and was styled Duke of Lunenburg, having in his German dominions a town of that name. On the 3d of February, 1764, a part of Lunenburg was detached and incorporated as a distinct town by the name of Fitchburg. In 1767, a part of Fitchburg was dis-annexed to aid in forming the town … Read more

Biographical Sketch of George Aldrich

(I) George Aldrich was born in Derbyshire, England, about 1605. He married, in England, November 3, 1629, Katherine Seald, and came to New England in 1631 with his wife. She was born about 1610, according to her deposition made June 18, 1670, when she was sixty years old. He was a tailor by trade. He settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and belonged to the church there about 1636. He was admitted a freeman, December 7, 1636. In 1663 he was one of, the first seven persons to arrive in the township of Mendon, Massachusetts. He sold his land in Braintree to … Read more

Bolton Massachusetts Warnings 1737-1788

In the following information all the names, dates and other essential particulars which appear in the returns to the Court in the County of Worcester during the entire period – a full half-century, from 1737 to 1788 – in which these entries were made, are given. The returns from each place have been brought together and arranged under the name of the town or district, in this case Bolton Massachusetts.

Biography of Hon. Ezra Scollay Stearns

Hon. Ezra Scollay Stearns, Secretary of the State of New Hampshire since 1891, came to that office superabundantly qualified to meet its most exacting requirements. He was born in Rindge, N.H., September 1, 1838, son of Samuel and Mary Fitch (Moore) Stearns, his father being a native of Brattleboro, Vt., and his mother of Sharon, N.H. Through his mother he is connected with the Fitch family, several members of which were men of distinction during the Colonial period. The family was of Scotch-Irish origin; and the city of Fitchburg, Mass., was named in honor of John Fitch, a descendant in … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Dwight Goddard

Goddard, Dwight; mechanical engineer; born, Worcester, Mass., Dec. 27, 1861; son of Dorrance S. and Mary H. Williams Goddard; graduate Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 1881, Harvard Theological Seminary, 1894; married, Nov. 27, 1895, Frances E. Nicberg, M. D.; issue, Dorrance, Theodore; treas. Goddard Machine Co.; asst. master mechanic American Steel & Wire Co.; missionary to China under the A. B. C. F. M.; mngr. Weyman & Gordon Co.; treas. The Park Drop Forge Co.; also director the same company; member American Society Mechanical Engineers; member Housing committee, Cleveland Chamber of Commerce.

Biography of Rev. Arthur Buckminster Fuller

REV. ARTHUR BUCKMINSTER FULLER, the third son of Hon. Timothy Fuller, was born August 10, 1822. He was early instructed by his father and his sister, Margaret Fuller. At the age of twelve, he spent one year at Leicester Academy; and, subsequently, studied with Mrs. Ripley, the wife of Rev. Samuel Ripley, of Waltham. In August, 1839, he entered Harvard College, at the age of seventeen, and graduated in 1843. During his college course he united with the church connected with the University. Immediately on graduation he purchased Belvidere Academy, in Belvidere, Boone Co., Illinois, Which, assisted by a competent … Read more

Biography of Melvin Harvey Walker, Jr., M.D.

MELVIN HARVEY WALKER, JR., M. D, has been a medical practitioner in Pittsfield for nearly a decade. He is a native of Westboro, born October 21, 1886, son of Melvin H. and Ann (Moses) Walker; his father being a manufacturer in Westboro; and the mother now deceased. The son Melvin took the usual courses in the grammar grades and was prepared for college in the Westboro High School and Phillips Academy, Andover. He was graduated from Yale University in the class of 1909 with the degree of B. A.; graduated from Harvard Medical School in the class of 1915 with … Read more

Biography of John Brown

John Brown (nephew of Capt. Brown), born February 10, 1774, at Leicester, Massachusetts, married Miss Polly Green, of ,Spencer, Massachusetts, in 1797, and set out for the Ohio Company’s purchase in the autumn of 1801. He brought his young family and few effects over the mountains, with one horse, in a little wagon, and, when descending difficult places in the road, attached a small tree to the rear end of his wagon, to act as a break, or lock. When he reached Wheeling, on the Ohio river, after a most toilsome journey, he “swapped” his wagon for a canoe and … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Abel C. Wilder

Abel C. Wilder, prominent in the free-soil movements of Kansas Territory, in the establishment of the republican party within its limits and the founding of the commonwealth, was born at Mendon, Massachusetts, March 18, 1828. With little book learning, he early became identified with business at Rochester, New York, and did much to found its public library. While still a resident of the East, the Kansas question enlisted his deep interest and sympathy, and he came to the territory at his first opportunity in March, 1857. Engaging in the land business at Leavenworth, he at once became prominent in that … Read more

Biography of Stephen Jose Vanderlick

STEPHEN JOSE VANDERLICK – Of the younger group of Northampton attorneys, who through energetic effort and by abilities well proven in training and in natural gifts have won deserved popularity, Mr. Vanderlick has established his offices as a general practitioner, and entered upon his professional career under excellent auspices. He is a descendant of an industrious Polish ancestry, who for generations were natives of Lipno, in Russian Poland. There his great-grandfather, Michael Vanderlick, was born March 25, 1800, and died in March, 1860; his wife’s name was Kathirim, and their children were: Josephine; Joseph, of whom further; Henry; and Anthony. … Read more

Biography of Reverend Samuel Goddard

Mr. Samuel Goddard was born at Sutton, Massachusetts, July 6, 1772. We have no information concerning his early life. His opportunities for education are said to have been scanty. After coming to manhood he was for several years in trade with a brother in Royalston, Mass. Here he married his first wife (Abigail Goddard of Athol, a town adjoining Royalston), and here his older children were born.

Biographical Sketch of Samuel C. Pomeroy

Samuel C. Pomeroy, one of the leaders of Kansas in the times of her free-state travail whose political ambition overleaped his sense of honor, was born in Southampton, Massachusetts, January 3, 1816. When a young man be became strongly imbued with antislavery sentiments. He happened to be present when President Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and is said to have remarked to the nation’s chief executive: “Your victory is but an adjournment of the question from the halls of legislation at Washington to the open prairies of the Freedom-loving West, and there, sir, we shall beat you.” So earnest was … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Jacob Walker

Jacob Walker, from Brookfield, Mass., located on road 38 at an early date. Mr. Walker, more popularly known as Dea. Jacob Walker, was for many years the county surveyor. He married Philippa Story, by whom he reared a family of nine children, two of whom, Zebiah Burke, aged eighty-three years, and Cynthia Stevens, aged seventy-eight years, are living. For his second wife Mr. Walker married Johanna Fitch, by whom he reared four children. Jacob was born in 1765, and died in 1843, aged seventy-seven years. His son, Cordilla F., now resides in Morrisville.

Biographical Sketch of Lieutenant Joshua Locke

(IV) Lieutenant Joshua Locke, son of Joshua Locke, was born at Woburn. July 22. 1733, and married Abigail Maynard, probably of Westboro. He lived first in Westboro, where most of his children were born. Later he removed to Sudbury, where his son Fortunatus was born. May, 1795, he was an ensign in the army under General Winslow, at Nova Scotia, and was doubtless the Lieutenant Locke who was in the army with General Braddock and was wounded at the time of Braddock’s Defeat. He was also with Colonel Rogers, the famous ranger in New York, and was at one period … Read more

Biography of Edward J. Curtis

Among the eminent men of the northwest whose life records form an integral part of the history of Idaho was numbered Hon. Edward J. Curtis. In his death the state lost one of its most distinguished lawyers, gifted statesmen and loyal citizens. As the day, with its morning of hope and promise, its noontide of activity, its evening of completed and successful efforts, ending in the grateful rest and quiet of the night, so was the life of this honored man. His career was a long, busy and useful one, marked by the utmost fidelity to the duties of public … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Jacob Aldrich

(II) Jacob, son of George Aldrich, was born in Braintree, February 28, 1653. He settled in Mendon, and was a farmer there on the homestead all his life. He died October 22, 1695. He married, November 3, 1675, Huldah Thayer. Children, born at Mendon: Jacob, May 28, 1676, mentioned elsewhere; Abel, January 27, 1677; Seth, July 6, 1699; Huldah, 1680; Rachel, 1682, died young; Sarah, 1683; David, May 23, 1685; Peter, October 17, 1686; John, November 17, 1688; Moses, April 1, 1691 ; Mercy, February 17, 1692, died same year; Rachel, December 27, 1694.