Ancestry of Elmer C. Packard of Brockton Massachusetts

For nearly two hundred and seventy-five years the Packard family has been one prominent and influential in New England, and it has become a most numerous family, too, many of whose members both at home and abroad have given a good account of themselves. Samuel Packard, the immigrant ancestor of this family, became one of the early settlers of the ancient town of Bridgewater, and all of the name who have gone from the Bridgewaters were probably descendants of his; in fact, nearly all of the name in this country can be traced to that place.

The genealogical records following treat particularly of that branch of the family through which have descended the late Ellis Packard, who was one of Brockton’s leading and substantial business men, and his son, the late Elmer C. Parkard, who followed in his father’s footsteps as his successor in the business founded by his father.

Samuel Packard (the name has been variously spelled Pecker, Packer, Peckard and Packard) came from Windham, near Hingham, England, with his wife and child, in the ship “Diligence” of Ipswich, and settled first in Hingham, Mass., where he was a proprietor in 1638. He later removed to West Bridgewater, where he was constable in 1664 and licensed to keep an ordinary, or tavern, in 1670. His will was probated March 3, 1684-85, from which it appears that the Christian name of his wife was Elizabeth. His children were:

1. Elizabeth Packard
2. Samuel Packard
3. Zaccheus Packard
4. Thomas Packard
5. John Packard
6. Nathaniel Packard
7. Mary Packard
8. Hannah Packard
9. Israel Packard
10. Jael Packard
11. Deborah Packard
12. Deliverance Packard

Zaccheus Packard, son of Samuel, married Sarah Howard, daughter of John Howard and Martha (Hayward), the latter the daughter of Thomas Hayward, who came from England, and settled in Duxbury, Mass., previous to 1638. Their children were:

1. Israel Packard
2. Sarah Packard
3. Jonathan Packard
4. David Packard
5. Solomon Packard
6. James Packard
7. Zaccheus Packard
8. John Packard
9. Abiel Packard, these last six sons settling in the North parish of Bridgewater.

The father died Aug. 3, 1723.

David Packard, son of Zaccheus, was born Feb. 11, 1687. He married Dec. 17, 1712, Hannah Ames, who died Jan. 10, 1767, daughter of John and .Sarah (Willis) Ames, the latter the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Hodgkins) Willis. John Ames was the son of William and Hannah Ames and grandson of Richard Ames, of Bruton, Somersetshire, England. Mr. and Mrs. Packard had children:

1. David Packard
2. William Packard
3. Hannah Packard
4. Isaac Packard
5. Mary Packard
6. Ebenezer Packard
7. Abiah Packard
8. Mehitable Packard
9. Jane Packard

The father died Nov. 3, 1755, aged sixty-eight years, and the mother died Jan. 10, 1767.

William Packard, son of David, was born Nov. 14, 1715, and married Sept. 16, 1740, Sarah Richards, who was born in 1720 and died Jan. 4, 1806, daughter of Benjamin Richards, who married in 1711 Mehitable Alden, daughter of Isaac and Mehitable (Allen) Alden, granddaughter of Joseph and Mary (Simmons) Alden and great-granddaughter of Hon. John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden, of the “Mayflower,” 1620. Isaac Alden’s wife, Mehitable Allen, was born in 1665, and married Dec. 2, 1685; she was the daughter of Samuel Allen, who was born in 1632, and married Sarah Partridge, who was born in 1639, daughter of George Partridge, who married Sarah, daughter of Stephen Tracy, of Plymouth. To William and Sarah (Richards) Packard were born children as follows:

1. Amy Packard
2. Hannah Packard
3. William Packard
4. Lemuel Packard
5. Sarah Packard
6. Silvanus Packard
7. Keziah Packard
8. Matilda Packard

The father died Oct. 28, 1805, aged ninety years, and the mother died Jan. 4, 1806, aged eighty-six years.

Lemuel Packard, son of William, was born June 9, 1747, and married Aug. 10, 1774-75, Sarah Hunt, who was born Feb. 23, 1753, daughter of Micah Hunt, of Abington, Mass., born May 29, 1722, died March 30, 1795, who married Sept. 29, 1747, Sarah Kingman, born in 1727, died July 24, 1809; granddaughter of Ebenezer Hunt, born April 6, 1694, and married Oct. 30, 1718, Mary Lovell, who died Sept. 20, 1736; great-granddaughter of (III) Ephraim Hunt, born in 1650, died in 1713, who married Joanna Alcock, born in 1659, died March 20, 1746, daughter of Dr. John Alcock, who was of Roxbury, his mother being a daughter of Dr. Richard Palgrave, of Charlestown, Mass.; great-great-granddaughter of (II) Ephraim Hunt, born in 1610 in England, died Feb. 22, 1686-87, who married Annie Richards, daughter of Thomas and Welthean Richards; and great-great-great-granddaughter of (I) Enoch Hunt, who was of Weymouth, where he was one of the first settlers, he and his son coming from Titlendon, parish of Lee, two miles distant from Wendover. Enoch Hunt was a blacksmith, and returned to England, where he died. To Lemuel and Sarah (Hunt) Packard were born children as follows:

1. Lemuel Packard
2. Sally Packard
3. Micah Packard
4. John Packard
5. Arza Packard
6. David Packard
7. Sylvanus Packard
8. Martin Packard
9. Orren Packard
10. Ozen Packard
11. Isaac Packard

The father was a captain of militia, and was also a justice of the peace. He died Nov. 7, 1822, aged seventy-five years, and the mother died March 11, 1825.

Micah Packard, son of Lemuel, was born Jan. 29, 1780, in North Bridgewater, where he died Jan. 8, 1854, in his seventy-fourth year. He resided in that part of the town known as Brockton Heights, where he owned considerable real estate and where he was engaged in farming, and was also a carpenter by occupation, and in that capacity helped to build the old Second meetinghouse (Congregational) in North Bridgewater. He was commissioned a justice of the peace of North Bridgewater, Aug. 20, 1823, and continued to serve in that capacity until his death. He married in 1807 Lucinda Hartshorn, who died in North Bridgewater, Dec. 2, 1851, daughter of John and Catherine (Alden) Hartshorn, of Walpole, Mass., and their children were:

1. Charles A. Packard, born March 28, 1808, died Dec. 9, 1809
2. Charles A. Packard, 2d, born Oct. 30, 1810, died Aug. 17, 1813
3. Sarah Ann Packard, born May 11, 1811, married George Clark
4. Adeline Packard, born March 26, 1813, married C. J. F. Packard
5. Catherine Packard, born Feb. 9, 1815, married (first) B. F. Lawton and (second) Elijah Tolman
6. Harriet Packard, born Nov. 2, 1816, married Isaac H. Hartwell
7. Martha Packard, born in September, 1818, married Samuel S. Webster
8. Ellis Packard, born July 30, 1820, is mentioned below
9. James Freeman Packard, born Nov. 5, 1823, a locomotive engineer, married Susan C. Reynolds, and died in Brockton (he was a soldier in the Civil war, a member of Company F, 12th Massachusetts Regiment).

Ellis Packard, son of Micah and Lucinda (Hartshorn) Packard, was born July 30, 1820, in North Bridgewater (now Brockton), and there, in the highlands long known as the West Shares, spent his early life. He grew up as most farmers’ sons, learning agriculture as naturally as he took to the other phases of the life around him, and as the home farm was one of the best in town he had proper training in thrift and industry. He commenced his education in the common schools, and at the age of sixteen entered Bristol Academy, in Taunton, which at that time was under the administration of Frederick Crafts. After two years of study at that institution he was under the tuition, for a short time, of Rev. John Goldsbury, a former pastor of the Unitarian Church at North Bridgewater. When about twenty years of age he began the business career which proved to be his life work. He went out to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was engaged in a shoe store for a couple of years, but he preferred the East and returned to Massachusetts, a few months later beginning business on his own account. He bought shoes in Boston and sold them in Baltimore, and before long he realized that there was more profit in the manufacturing line, wherefore he started a shop at the West Shares. But he soon gave up the venture, particularly as his father, who was then advanced in years, wished him to devote himself to the care of the home farm, and for twelve years he devoted himself to that work, with the success which came to be characteristic of all his undertakings. But agriculture was not to his liking, and in 1862 he turned the farm over to others and returned to commercial life.

On April 1, 1862, Mr. Packard purchased the grain and coal business formerly conducted by Lewis Keith, together with the buildings, land, water power, etc., the buildings being the nucleus of the present mill property. There was no other coal yard in the town at the time, but both the coal and grain business had been allowed to run down, and Mr. Packard had a problem ahead of him to make the property pay. Snell & Atherton occupied a room in the west building, and in the lower story was a gristmill of limited capacity, the power be-ing supplied by two waterwheels and an engine and boiler which Mr. Keith had put in shortly before his death, amounting in all to about thirty horse power. For several years the accommodations were ample, but by 1868 Mr. Packard had so far improved conditions and enlarged the business that additions were necessary, and he put in two waterwheels of the best make, a new seventy-five-horse power engine and boiler, additional facilities for grinding, and, for his coal business, a new line of sheds, to which he subsequently added, to meet the demands of trade, until he had sheds 40 feet wide by 230 feet long. The coal business grew so steadily that he was warranted in putting in the most up-to-date facilities for handling it, having a side track constructed with equipment for dumping the coal directly into the bins beneath, and in connection with this track he also had a grain conveyor, opening directly into an elevator leading to the grain bins in the upper story of the mill, these bins having a capacity of 20,000 bushels.

Mr. Packard not only provided for the needs of his own business, but also furnished accommodations and power for several tenants, though his sawing and planing plant occupied considerable space. G. M. Copeland had one apartment, doing a large business in ornamental sawing, turning, etc., which he subsequently sold to A. C. Thompson, who, however, soon outgrew the limits of this place. In 1870 M. Linfield moved his last manufacturing business hither from Stoughton, Mr. Packard erecting a new building for him and furnishing the power. E. L. Thatcher commenced the manufacture of packing boxes in the east building, being succeeded later by E. E. Vittum; for several years James A. Smith manufactured leather shoestrings in a building erected especially for that business near the mill, but in 1875 that business was sold to parties in Holbrook and removed hither; about 1876 machinery for the manufacture of shoe tacks and nails was installed in the east building by F. S. Reed & Co., who did quite a large business; and Snell & Atherton meantime enlarged their business, the manufacture of shoe tools, to such an extent that they occupied half of the west mill and the third story of the east mill. Mr. Packard continued to build up the mill property and conduct it on his own account until 1882, when he retired with a competency, being succeeded in the business by his sons.

Mr. Packard was not only a progressive business man, keeping pace with every demand of his day, and himself initiating many movements which tended to advance the town or the standing of his business, but he also found time for public affairs, and the general confidence he enjoyed was shown in the trusts for which his fellow citizens chose him. He was first elected selectman at the age of thirty-five, and was repeatedly reelected to that office, in which he gave most efficient service; and from 1870 to 1875 was a member of the school committee. He was a director of the Home National Bank from the time of its organization until his death, and in 1857 was appointed a member of the public library committee. He owned considerable real estate in the town, including the old “People’s Theatre,” on East Elm street. Like his father, Mr. Packard served as a justice of the peace, having been appointed March 24, 1857, by Gov. Henry J. Gardner.

In fraternal affiliation Mr. Packard was an Odd Fellow, having been a charter member of Massasoit Lodge, No. 69, organized in March, 1845. He was a Universalist in religious faith, and was an original member of the First Universalist Church, which he served as deacon for a number of years. In political faith he was originally a Whig, later becoming a Republican, and as noted in his earlier and more active life served for years in public capacities, and ever with that fidelity to duty and singleness of purpose that were characteristic of the man.

Mr. Packard possessed a musical ear, which he developed by study, and he was at one time the leader of a brass band at Brockton Heights, and for a time was also leader of Martland’s band of Brockton, his favorite instrument being the cornet, which he played with skill.

On Jan. 12, 1844, Mr. Packard married Nancy G. Reeves, daughter of Henry Reeves, of Wayland, Mass., and she passed away July 10, 1845. On June 15, 1847, he married (second) Abby Heard, daughter of Newell and Jerusha (Grout) Heard, of Wayland, Mass., and to this union were born children as follows:

1. Clara Gray Packard, born Sept. 28, 1849, married Charles W. Sumner, and died Feb. 13, 1875
2. Warren Newell Packard, born April 8, 1852, died Oct. 11, 1861
3. Elmer C. Packard, born March 8, 1854, is mentioned below
4. Marion Heard Packard, born July 9, 1855, died Nov. 7, 1879
5. Allen Ellis Packard, born March 5, 1859, married Etta M. Cobb, and died July 9, 1894
6. Horace Newell Packard, born Dec. 12, 1862, married Bertha H. Ramsdell, and died at Saratoga, N. Y.
7. Isabel Abby Packard, born Jan. 3, 1868, resides at Saratoga, N. Y.

Mr. Packard passed away Oct. 25, 1887, and his widow passed away April 12, 1894.

Elmer C. Packard, son of the late Ellis and Abby (Heard) Packard, was born March 8, 1854, in North Bridgewater (now Brockton), and in the common and high schools of his native town acquired his early educational training, which was supplemented by attendance at the Bridgewater Academy. He then took a special business course at Bryant & Stratton’s business college in Boston. After the close of his school life, in 1872, Mr. Packard entered the employ of his father, with whom he continued until in 1882, in which year he and his late brother, Allen E., purchased the business, which they continued under the firm name of Packard & Brother for a period of about one and a half years, when Elmer C. Packard purchased the interests of his brother. He thereafter successfully conducted the business under his own name, being extensively engaged in dealing in grain, hay and coal, as well as conducting the mill property, which he developed steadily.

Socially Mr. Packard was a member of the Commercial Club and the Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ Club of Brockton. He was also a member of Banner Lodge, No. 81, New England Order of Protection. In political faith he was a Republican, with independent tendencies.

On Dec. 27, 1880, Mr. Packard was united in marriage to Hattie L. Tucker, who was born Oct. 19, 1857, daughter of Nathan and Almira L. (Brett) Tucker, of East Stoughton, now Avon, Mass., and to this union have been born two sons, as follows:

1. Nathan Ellis Packard, born June 27, 1882, who was educated in the schools of his native town and resides at home
2. Emerson Heard Packard, born Oct. 25, 1884, who was graduated from the Brockton high school and the Institute of Technology of Boston, and is now a chemical engineer at Ayer, Mass. (he married Frances Owens)

Mr. Packard died Jan. 8, 1912, at his home at Belmont street.

Mrs. Hattie L. (Tucker) Packard is descended from historic old New England ancestry through several lines, as follows:

Tucker. The Tucker family is ancient in New England, and has arms of record for 1079 and 1080. George Tucker, of Milton-next-Gravesend, England, was a man of note in that ancient place. Queen Elizabeth conveyed the manor to him in 1572. Of the twelve principal inhabitants of Gravesend and Milton in 1572 George Tucker is mentioned as third. Henry Tucker was mayor of Gravesend and Milton in 1637. Soon after this the Tucker family disappears and no further trace of it is found in the records of Gravesend and Milton, confirming the generally accepted tradition that about this time the younger members of the family immigrated to America.

Robert Tucker, born in 1602, is supposed to have come to this country with a company from Weymouth, England, with Rev. Dr. Hull, to Weymouth, Mass., where he was in 1675. He later removed to Gloucester, where he was recorder, and where it is probable that some of his children were born. He returned to Weymouth and held several important offices there. About the time the town of Milton was incorporated, 1662, he removed thither and purchased several adjoining lots on Brush Hill, embracing in all about one hundred and seventeen acres, and bordering on lands that his son James had purchased some time previously. He was town clerk for several years and deputy to the General Court. He was active in the church. He married Elizabeth Allen. He died March 11, 1682-83.

James Tucker, son of Robert, born in 1640, married Rebecca, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Tolman, of Dorchester. He died March 13, 1717-18.

James Tucker (2) was born April 10, 1680, in Milton, and married March 1, 1707, Sarah Baker, of Dedham. He died Dec. 22, 1750, and she died Sept. 15, 1756.

Deacon Ebenezer Tucker, born April 27, 1723, in Milton, died Dec. 14, 1797. In 1747 he married Mary Sumner, of Milton, who died Dec. 26, 1783.

Amariah Tucker, born March 18, 1748, in Milton, died Feb. 4, 1825, in Milton. He married in 1772 Elizabeth Babcock, who was born in 1748, and died Dec. 24, 1807.

Nathan Tucker, born March 6, 1790, died Feb. 5, 1869. He married July 8, 1813, Catherine Tucker, who was born Aug. 16, 1790, and died March 30, 1871, daughter of

Isaac Tucker, who was born Oct. 7, 1756, and died Dec. 27, 1837, and his wife, Nellie (McKendry), whom he married in 1780, she born in 1759 and died Feb. 10, 1840; granddaughter of

Jeremiah Tucker, who was born in 1713, and died in 1775, in Milton, who married in 1738 Mary Wadsworth; great-granddaughter of (III) James Tucker (2), born April 10, 1680, and died in 1750, who married in 1707 Sarah Baker, of Dedham; great-great-granddaughter of (II) James Tucker, of Weymouth, born in 1640, died in 1718, who married Rebecca Tolman, of Dorchester; and great-great-great-granddaughter of (I) Robert Tucker, born in 1602 in Weymouth, Dorsetshire, England, and died in 1682-83.

Nathan Tucker (2), a native of Milton, born April 2, 1820, is still living in Avon, Mass., where he was engaged in shoe manufacturing and later in the coal business, and where he has been prominent in town affairs. He married Dec. 27, 1853, Almira L. Brett, who was born March 20. 1825, in Rochester, Mass., and died in Avon, Dec. 25, 1891.

Hattie L. Tucker married Elmer C. Packard.

Brett.

William Brett, who came from England in 1645, settled at Duxbury, and died in 1681. His wife’s name was Margaret.

Deacon Nathaniel Brett, who died Nov. 19, 1740, married in 1683 Sarah Hayward, born in 1663, who died July 11, 1737, daughter of John Hayward, who married Sarah Mitchell, and granddaughter of Thomas Hayward, who died in 1681; Sarah Mitchell was the daughter of Experience Mitchell.

Seth Brett, born Feb. 24, 1688, died Jan. 11, 1722, married in 1712 Sarah Alden, born in 1688, daughter of Isaac Alden and his wife Mehitable (Allen), she the daughter of Samuel Allen and Sarah (Partridge), and granddaughter of Samuel Allen, of Braintree, whose will was probated in 1669, his wife, Ann, dying in 1641.

Simeon Brett, barn Jan. 8, 1720, died in 1792. He married Jan. 31, 1748, Mehitable Packard, daughter of David Packard.

Rufus Brett, born Aug. 2, 1751, married Sept. 28, 1775, Susanna Cary, who was born in 1755, daughter of Zachariah Cary, who was born in 1713 and died in 1788. Zachariah Cary married in 1742 Susanna Bass, who was born in 1722, daughter of Jonathan Bass (born in 1697, died in 1750), who married Oct. 18, 1717, Susanna Byram (born in 1695, died in 1783), daughter of Nicholas Byram (died in 1727) and his wife Mary Edson (married in 1676, died in 1727), daughter of Samuel Edson (born in 1612, died in 1692) and Susanna (Orcutt) (born in 1618, died in 1699).

Rev. Pliny Brett, born Dec. 15, 1786, died May 10, 1871, in Rochester. He married Fannie Bishop, born July 25, 1789, died Oct. 17, 1859, daughter of John Bishop, who was born Sept. 29, 1750, and his wife Betsey (Fuller), who was born May 17, 1752, and. granddaughter of Edward Bishop, who married Abigail Twitchell.

Almira L. Brett married Nathan Tucker (2).

Hattie L. Tucker married Elmer C. Packard.

Bass.

Samuel Bass, born in 1600, died in 1694. He settled in Roxbury in about 1630. His wife, Anne, died in 1693.

John Bass, born in 1632, died in 1716. He married Ruth Alden, daughter of John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden.

Samuel Bass, born in 1660, died in 1750-51. In 1696 he married Mary Adams, daughter of Joseph and Abigail (Baxter) Adams, the latter daughter of George Baxter.

Jonathan Bass, born in 1697, married in 1717 Susanna Byram.

Susanna Bass married Zachariah Cary.

Susanna Cary married Rufus Brett.

Rev. Pliny Brett married Fannie Bishop.

Almira L. Brett married Nathan Tucker (2).

Hattie L. Tucker married Elmer C. Packard.

Byram. Susanna Byram, who married (IV) Jonathan Bass, was the daughter of Nicholas Byram and granddaughter of Nicholas Byram, who died in 1688 and whose wife, Susanna (Shaw), who died about 1698, was the daughter of Abraham Shaw, of Dedham, Massachusetts.

Cary. Susanna Cary, who married (V) Rufus Brett, was the daughter of (IV) Zachariah Cary and granddaughter of (III) Ephraim Cary (died in 1765), who married in 1709 Hannah Waldo (born in 1687, died in 1777), daughter of Daniel and Susanna (Adams) Waldo. (II) Francis Cary, born in 1647, married Hannah Brett, daughter of William Brett, who died in 1681. (I) John Cary, who died in 1681, came from Somersetshire, England. He married Elizabeth Godfrey (died in 1680), daughter of Francis Godfrey.

Mrs. Abby (Heard) Packard, mother of Elmer C. Packard, was also descended from historic old New England ancestry, as follows:

Heard.

Zachariah Heard, born in 1675, died Dec. 27, 1761, married about 1707 Silence Brown, daughter of Thomas Brown.

Richard Heard, born April 2, 1720, died May 16, 1792. He married April 9, 1746, Sarah Fisk (died Aug. 6, 1796).

Zachariah Heard (2), born Dec. 28, 1751, died Sept. 3, 1823, married June 24, 1784, Abigail Damon, who died Dec. 11, 1835, daughter of David Damon.

Newell Heard, of Wayland, was born Dec. 15, 1788, and died June 14, 1865. He married April 30, 1822, Jerusha Grout, who was born Feb. 26, 1795, and died Sept. 15, 1867, in North Bridgewater.

Abby Heard married Ellis Packard.

Grout.

John Grout, born in 1616 in England, died in 1697. His wife’s name was Mary.

John Grout (2), born Aug. 8, 1641, died in 1707. He married April 15, 1657, Rebecca Toll, daughter of John and Catherine Toll, of Sudbury.

John Grout (3) was born March 15, 1685-86.

John Grout (4), born April 6. 1720, died March 7, 1796. In 1752 he married Sarah Mason.

Silas Grout, born March 31, 1755, died April 26, 1820. He married Aug. 21, 1788, Susanna Clapp, born March 16, 1760, died March 8, 1842, daughter of Joseph Clapp.

Jerusha Grout married Newell Heard.

Abby Heard married Ellis Packard.

Mason.

Robert Mason appears at Roxbury, where his wife died in April, 1687. He removed to Dedham and there died Oct. 15, 1667. His sons John, Robert and Thomas, who may all have been born in England, had the administration of his estate.

Thomas Mason, son of Robert, of Dedham, is said to have come over with his father from England. He removed to Medfield about 1652. He married in 1653 Margery Partridge. At the burning of the town by the Indians Thomas Mason’s house was destroyed, and he, with two of his sons, was killed, it is said near the spring in the meadow opposite the house.

Ebenezer Mason, son of Thomas, born in 1669, was the only male member of the family remaining after the Indian war. He married in 1691 Hannah, born in 1666, daughter of Benjamin and Dorcas (Morse) Clark.

Ebenezer Mason (2), son of Ebenezer, born in 1701, married in 1725 Dorothy Morse, of Sherborn. He became a member of the Second Baptist Church in Boston in 1751, and was among the constituent members of the church in Medfield. He died in 1787.

Sarah Mason, daughter of Ebenezer Mason (2), born in 1729, married in 175

John Grout. She died in 1765.

Clapp.

Edward Clapp (a brother of Roger Clapp, who was a native of Salcombe Regis, Devonshire, England, and came to Nantasket, in New England, in the spring of 1630) came from England to Dorchester about 1633. He was a man much esteemed in the town, holding many responsible offices; was selectman, deacon of the church, etc.

Ezra Clapp, son of Deacon Edward and Prudence, born May 22, 1640, married May 22, 1684, Experience Houghton.

Nehemiah Clapp, son of Ezra and Experience, married Aug. 16, 1716, Lydia Tucker, of Milton, and was a man of prominence in that town, where he was a deacon in the church.

Joseph Clapp, son of Nehemiah and Lydia (Tucker), was born June 7, 1726, and married Rachel. He, too, was a deacon in the church at Milton. He later removed to Sterling.

Susanna Clapp, daughter of Joseph and Rachel, was born March 16, 1760, and married Silas Grout, of Sudbury, and she died March 8, 1842, aged eighty-two years.