The history of Medway Massachusetts

The History of Medway, Massachusetts, 1713–1885, compiled by Ephraim Orcutt Jameson, presents a comprehensive account of more than two centuries of local development. The volume is the product of five years of coordinated research undertaken by the Committee of Publication, supported by nearly two additional years of editorial work. Its preparation drew on a wide range of sources, including town records, institutional documents, and contributions from residents and family representatives who supplied much of the genealogical information. The compiler notes that any omissions in these sections reflect the absence of returns rather than editorial choice.

The book covers the period from the early settlement of the region in the seventeenth century through the incorporation of the town of Millis in 1885. Its ten sections address Medway’s settlement, municipal affairs, churches, schools, industries, military record, cemeteries, biographies, and genealogies. Together they offer a structured presentation of the town’s civic, social, and economic history.

Attention was given to the physical quality of the volume. It includes twelve steel engravings and nearly one hundred wood engravings, many produced by Medway native George J. La Croix. The arrangement and illustration of the material were intended to enhance both its clarity and usefulness as a record of local history. The work is presented to the public as a consolidated reference on the development of Medway across its first two hundred and twenty-five years.

The history of Medway, Mass., 1713-1885

The Contents

1. The Region and its Settlement, 9-43
2. The Town and its Doings, 44-96
3. The Churches, 97-147
4. The Schools and other Institutions, 148-188
5. The Industries of the Town 189-210
6. The Record of the Military Service, 211-320
7. The Miscellaneous Items, 321-325
8. The Cemeteries, 326-332
9. The Biographies, 333-442
10. The Genealogies, 443-529

The Genealogies

Adams, Allen, Axtell, Babcock, Bannister, Barber, Batchelder, Bell, Bickford, Bigelow, Blaisdell, Blake, Bond, Boyd, Bucknam, Bullard, Bullen, Burr, Campsey, Cary, Clark, Clifford, Crane, Dain, Daniell, Daniels, Darling, Deans, Ellice, Ellis, Everett, Fairbanks, Fisher, Foster, Fuller, Gale, Gay, Grant, Harding, Harrington, Hidden, Hastings, Hill, Hixon, Holbrook, Hosley, Hosmer, Hunt, Hunting, Jameson, Jones, Kenny, La Croix, Lovell, Mann, Mason, McCollum, McIntosh, Metcalf, Millis, Monroe, Morse, New, Nourse, Partridge, Penniman, Philbrick, Phillips, Pond, Rice, Richardson, Roberts, Rockwood, Rockland, Sanford, Shumway, Smith, Snow, Spencer, Stevens, Swarman, Thayer, Thrasher, Tyler, Waite, Walker, Wheeler, Whiting, Wilson, and Young families.

The Biographies

• Dr. John S. Folsom, 378
• Rev. Calvin Richards Fitts, 379
• Asa Metcalf Blake Fuller, Esq., 380
• Elihu Sanford Fuller, Esq., 380
• Rev. Amory Gale, M. D., 380
• Rev. John Harper Garman, 382
• Rev. and Hon. Benjamin Greene, p. 382
• Clarence E. Griffin, Esq., 383
• Rev. Sewall Harding, 383
• Rev. John Wheeler Harding, 384
• Rev. Rufus Kendrick Harlow, 384
• Rev. Joel Hawes, D. D., 384
• Rev. Calvin Grout Hill, 387
• Don Gleason Hill, Esq., 387
• Rev. George Edwin Hill, 389
• William Francis Hill, Esq., 389
• Rev. Asa Hixon, 389
• William Hodges, Esq., 390
• Maj. George Holbrook, 391
• Col. George Handel Holbrook, 391
• Rev. Sanford Jabez Horton, D. D., 392
• Joel Hunt, Esq., 392
• Julius C. Hurd, Esq., 394
• Rev. Jacob Ide, D. D., 394
• Rev. and Hon. Jacob Ide, 398
• Rev. Alexis Wheaton Ide, 398
• Rev. Ephraim Orcutt Jameson, 399
• Arthur Orcutt Jameson, A. B., 399
• Nathan Jones, Esq., 400
• Orville R. Kelsey, M. D., 400
• Rev. Caleb Kimball, 401
• Rev. Stephen knowlton, 402
• William La Croix, Esq., 402
• Joel La Croix, Esq., 403
• Louis La Croix, Esq., 405
• George James La Croix, 405
• Hon. Warren Lovering, 406
• Hon. Amos Lovering, 408
• Horatio Mason, Esq., 408
• Rev. John Oliver Means, D. D., 408
• Michael Metcalf, Esq., 410
• Maj. Luther Metcalf, 411
• Luther Metcalf, 412
• Nathaniel Whiting Metcalf, A. M., 414
• Mrs. Caroline Cutler (Plympton) Metcalf, 414
• Lansing Mills, Esq., 414
• Alexander Le Baron Monroe, 416
• Rev. Abner Morse, A. M., 417
• Rev. John Morse, 417
• Rev. Elijah Adams Morse, 418
• Elijah Morse, Esq., 418
• Francis J. Morse, M. D., 418
• Vincent Moses, A. M., 419
• Rev. Ezra Newton, 419
• Rev. Varnum Noyes, 419
• Clark Partridge, 420
• Rev. Lyman Partridge, 422
• Rev. John Pierce, D. D., 422
• Alonzo Platts Phillips, 422
• Rev. Daniel Pond, 423
• Philip Chester Porter, M. D., 423
• Abijah Richardson, M. D., 423
• Hon. Joseph Lovell Richardson, 424
• George Lovell Richardson, A. M., 425
• Marcus Richardson, Esq., 425
• Dea. Silas Richrdson, 426
• Rev. Jacob Roberts, 426
• Rev. David Sanford (b. 1737), 426
• Rev. David Sanford (b. 1801), 427
• Milton Holbrook Sanford, Esq., 429
• James Hovey Sargent, Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A., 430
• Stephen Salisbury, M. D., 430
• Rev. Seth Willard Segur, 431
• Jabez Shumway, Esq., 432
• Rev. Ethan Smith, 433
• Dea. John Smith, 434
• Rev. Samuel Jones Spalding, D. D., 434
• Cephas Thayer, Esq., 435
• Addison Parsons Thayer, Esq., 435
• Addison Sanford Thayer, A. M., 435
• George Breed Thrasher, Esq., 435
• Rev. David Thurston, 436
• William Smith Tilden, Esq., 436
• Aldis L. Waite, Esq., 436
• Rev. Horace Dean Walker, 438
• Rev. Augustus Walker, 438
• Rev. George Frederic Walker, 438
• William Goodrich Ware, M. D., 439
• John S. White, Ph. D., 439
• Duncan Wright, Esq., 440
• Hon. Alexander Wright, 440
• Rev. Luther Wright

The Maps

1713 Map of Medway, Massachusetts when incorporated

1748 Map of the West Precinct of Medway, Massachusetts

1875 Map of Medway, Massachusetts

The Wood Engravings

• Almshouse, 1865-1885, The Town, 67
• Barber, The Portrait of George, 342
• Barber, The Portrait of Mrs. Lois (Whiting), 343
• Boggastow Pond, The, 9
• Bridge at the Neck, The Stone, 16
• Brook, The Trout, 21
• Burdon, The Portrait of William O., 350
• Church, The Christ, 147
• Clark, The Residence of Putnam R., 466
• Clark House, 1710, The Old, 57
• Collins, The Residence of Michael H., 354
• Collins’ Residence, The Southern View of M. H., 355
• Daniell, The Portrait of Dea. Paul, 359
• Daniell, The Residence of Dea. Paul, 360
• Daniels, The Residence of Dea. Anson, 363
• Daniels, The Portrait of Charles F., 365
• Daniels, The Residence of Charles F., 366
• Dinglehole, The Mysterious, 13
• Eaton, The Portrait of Edward, 368
• Eaton, The Residence of Edward, 369
• Emerson Arms, The Coat of, 370
• Engine-House, The Niagara, 184
• Engine-House, The Torrent, 183
• Factory Of Seavey Brothers, The Boot, 301
• Factory of D. D. Curtis, The Village Straw, 193
• Farm-House, The Oak Grove, 190
• Fisher, The Portrait of Dr. Theodore W., 274
• Folsom, The Residence of Dr. John S., 379
• Fort Sumter in 1861, The First Gun Fired on, 233
• Grove, The Pine, 14
• Hall, The Partridge, 181
• Hall, The Sanford, 172
• Hill, Esq., The Portrait of Don Gleason, 388
• Hodges, The Portrait of Willard, 390
• Hunt, The Portrait of Joel, 393
• La Croix, The Portrait of William, 402
• La Croix, The Portrait of James, 403
• La Croix, The Residence and Manufactory of James, 404
• La Croix, The Studio and Seal of George J., 405
• Le Favor, The Residence of Mrs. Edena Jane (Sanford), 439
• Main Street, 1850, The, East Medway, 97
• Main Street, 1885, The, West Medway, 122
• Maple Wood Farm, The, 478
• Medway, 1713, The Map of, 46
• Medway, 1875, The Map of, 89
• Meeting-House of the Church of Christ, The First, 100
• Meeting-House of the Church of Christ, The Second, 109
• Meeting-House of the Church of Christ, The Third, 113
• Meeting-House of the Church of Christ, The Fourth, 118
• Meeting-House of the Third Congregational Church, The, 137
• Meeting-House of the Village Church, The, 139
• Metcalf, The Portrait of the Hon. Luther, 413
• Metcalf, The Residence of the Hon. Luther, 413
• Mill, The Old Cotton, 195
• Millis, The Residence of Lansing 415
• Mills, The Sanford, 205
• Monroe, The Portrait of Dr. Alex. Le B., 416
• Oak Grove Farm, The, 190
• Oliver Optic, The Birthplace of, 333
• Parsonage of the First Parish, The, 130
• Partridge, The Portrait of the Hon. Clark, 420
• Partridge, The Residence of the Hon. Clark 431
• Retreat, The Lovers’, 12
• Richardson, The Portrait of the Hon. Joseph L., 424
• Saint Clement’s Church and School, 145
• Sanford, The Residence of the Rev. David, 438
• School-House, The High, 152
• School-House, The Old, 149
• Stone House, The Site of the Old 39
• Tinkham, The Portrait of Capt. Benjamin C., 312
• Tree, The Old Apple, 189
• Trees, The King Philip, 31
• Waite, The Portrait of Aldis L., 437
• Waite, The Residence of Aldis L., 437
• West Precinct in 1748, The Map of the 51

The Steel Engravings

• William T. Adams, Esq., 333
• Daniel D. Curtis, Esq., 358
• Leander S. Daniels, Esq., 364
• Oliver Dean, M. D., 367
• Hon. Milton M. Fisher, 375
• Rev. E. O. Jameson, 399
• Rev. John O. Means, D. D., 408
• Lansing Millis, Esq., 414
• Rev. Abner Morse, 417
• Hon. Elijah A. Morse, 418
• Rev. David Sanford, 427
• Milton H. Sanford, Esq., 429

Source

Jameson, Ephraim Orcut, The history of Medway, Mass., 1713-1885, Providence, R. I. : J. A. & R. A. Reid, printers, 1886.