Samuel Winch Genealogy

Elizabeth¹ Winch, spinster, of Great Alhallows, London, in her will, made 1659, proved 1661, calls herself “bound for Virginia” and names her brothers Richard and John. It is thought that John may have been the father of Samuel of Framingham, Mass. Virginia was often used to mean America.

I. Samuel² Winch was in Sudbury, Mass., as early as 1670. A few years later he settled in Framingham and was an original member of the Framingham church. He was buried, Aug. 3, 1718; m. (1), Feb. 11, 1673, Hannah, dau. of Matthew Gibbs and had seven ch. by her. He m. (2), Jan. 11, 1699, Sarah, widow of Benjamin Barnard, by whom he had two ch.

II. Thomas³ Winch, son of Samuel², I, and the youngest ch. of the first wife, b. abt. 1694; d. Framingham, Sept. 22, 1761; m. Oct. 23, 1718, Deborah Gleason, b. Apr. 27, 1703, dau. of Isaac and Deborah (Leland) Gleason. They had seven ch. b. Framingham, Mass.

III. Thomas⁴ Winch, son of Thomas³, II, b. Framingham, June 25, 1723; m. Dec. 20, 1743, Elizabeth Drury, b. July 30, 1721; dau. of Caleb and Elizabeth (Eames) Drury of Framingham. They had eleven ch. b. Framingham.

IV. Caleb⁵ Winch, the eldest ch. of Thomas⁴, III, b. Framingham, Sept. 26, 1744; d. 1826; m. (1), Mehetabel Maynard, b. Framingham, May 28, 1747; d. Fitzwilliam, May 6, 1806; dau. of Joseph and Abigail (Jennings) Maynard. He m. (2), Aug. 26, 1807, Mrs. Esther (Mack) Rowe of Sullivan, widow of James Rowe, and dau. of Josiah Mack of Gilead, Conn., and was b. abt. 1744; d. Sullivan, July 4, 1833.

John⁶ Winch, son of Caleb and Mehetabel, b. Fitzwilliam, Mar. 10, 1778. The residence of Caleb Winch was in that part of Fitzwilliam which is now a part of Troy. He served three months in the Revolution, and was in the battle of Lexington. (The recent History of Troy does not find sufficient evidence to place Caleb Winch’s name among the soldiers of the Revolution). He probably d. in Troy. It was his second wife, formerly Mrs. Rowe, who gave the town farm to Sullivan The first Mrs. Winch, who d. ac. to the Sentinel, May 7, 1806, “Came to Fitzwilliam 57 years before, when it was a howling wilderness and made the 9th female in town.” John was a farmer and lived in Sullivan on what is now the town farm, No. 70; he d. Sept. 13, 1851; m. May 8, 1804, Lucy Gerry, b. Leominster, Mass., May 3, 1778; d. Langdon, June 10, 1873; dau. of Thomas and Priscilla (Jewett) Gerry. Their third ch. was b. Fitzwilliam; the others in Sullivan:

1. Jeremiah Bumstead⁷, b. Feb. 23, 1805; was in the U. S. army. Went west, where he acquired considerable property. He was known to have started for home, but never arrived, and his family thought it possible that he was murdered for his money.
2. Lucy⁷, b. Dec. 5, 1806, m. Dec. 23, 1828, Stillman French of Keene, b. Dublin, Nov. 5, 1803; d. Westminster, Vt., Apr. 25, 1873, son of Whitcomb and Sally (Patrick) French of Dublin. Res. Dublin, Keene and Westminster, Vt., Lucy d. Keene, Dec. 27, 1856, and he m. (2), in Westminster, Mrs. Eliza Dickinson. Ch.
   1. Mary Elizabeth⁸ French, b. Keene, Aug. 24, 1832; m. June 19, 1862, Henry Jackson Watkins, b. Walpole, Feb. 10, 1815, son of Ruggles and Sarah Ann (Nichols) Watkins. Her father was then living in Westminster, Vt. She d. in Peterborough, July 11, 1904. He d. in Walpole, Apr. 30, 1895. No children.
   2. Horace Orren⁸French, b. Keene, Mar. 10, 1834; m. in Surry, Mar. 19, 1855, Mary Smith Stone, dau. of Philander and Rebecca Stone of Surry. Ch.:
      1. Grace Ella⁹ French, b. Keene, Apr. 2, 1856; d. Apr. 9, 1859.
      2. Kate Mabel⁹ French, b. Nov. 1859; d. Keene, Sept. 28, 1864.
      3. Lula⁹ French, b. Keene; Res. Washington, D. C.; m. (???) Catlin, who d. in Kansas. No children.
      4. Bessie⁹ French, b. Keene; m. Harry Hamilton, and res. Washington, D. C., and had a dau., Gertrude10 Hamilton.
   3. Emma Caroline8 French, b. Keene, Sept. 25, 1846; m. Feb. 3, 1870, Nathan Ashton Bailey, b. Unity, July 18, 1847; son of Robert and Martha Ann (Gray) Bailey. Res. Rutland, Vt. Ch.:
      1. Alfred Henry⁹ Bailey, b. Essex Junction. Vt., June 14, 1871; d. Rutland, Vt., Feb. 14, 1897.
   4. George Edward⁸ French, b. Keene, Oct. 10, 1852; res. in Boston, where he d. Feb. 12, 1874.
3. John⁷, b. Sept. 9, 1808, was a comb maker; res. Northborough, Mass., Carroll, N. H. and Leominster, Mass.; d. in Leominster, Jan. 18, 1893; m. (1), Oct. 5, 1837, Betsey Aurilla Proctor, b. Mt. Holly, Vt., Aug. 7, 1811; d. Leominster, Mass., Mar. 23, 1865; dau. of Thomas and Betsey (Foster) Proctor. He m. (2), July 5, 1866, Polly Colburn of Leominster, b. there, July 11, 1809; d. there Nov. 18, 1885; dau. of Joseph and Relief (Gibson) Colburn. No children.
4. Susan Bumstead⁷, b. July 21, 1810; d. upm. at Westford, Mass., Aug. 23, 1870.
5. Caleb⁷, b. Apr. 19, 1812, was a farmer and lived in Sullivan at No. 70, Keene, Elkhorn, Neb., and Grand Rapids, Mich. He acquired a competency, and spent his last days in ease and quiet. He was a good nurse and was thought to have some natural healing gifts. He was a good and honest man. The writer recalls with gratitude his tender care of him, while ill of typhoid fever in 1865. Mr. Winch lived first on the Keith place in Sullivan No. 138; then at Keene where Nahum Wright later lived; then in Keene village on Union St. In 1854, he moved to Nebraska, and was very successful on a farm in Elkhorn. He returned to Keene in 1865. After his first wife’s death he moved to Grand Rapids, Mich. He d. in Leominster, Mass., Sept. 10, 1905. He m. (1), Mar. 9, 1847, Caroline Keith, b. Sullivan, June 18, 1820; d. Keene, Oct. 16, 1871; dau. of Hammond and Lucinda (Seward) Keith. He m. (2), Apr. 26, 1883, Mrs. Elizabeth Jane (Niblo) Kromer, b. Lancaster, Pa., Apr. 4, 1825; d. Grand Rapids, Mich., Oct. 8, 1904; dau. of David and Rebecca (Hearst) Niblo. She had formerly been the wife of John Kromer. Ch. b. Keene:
   1. Frank Hammond⁸, b. Mar. 10, 1848; unm. res. Langdon.
   2. Newell Eaton⁸, b. Sept. 27, 1850; d. Oct. 17, 1856 at Elkhorn, Neb.
6. Thomas⁷, b. Mar. 2, 1814, was a farmer, and res. Sullivan, No. 107, Langdon and Marlow; d. Marlow, Aug. 8, 1896; m. Feb. 28, 1844, Clarissa Towne of Sullivan, b. Stoddard, Oct. 28, 1818; d. Marlow, May 11, 1906; dau. of Archelaus and Ruth (Kenney) Towne. Ch.:
   1. Charles⁸, b. Sullivan, Nov. 13, 1845, was a farmer in Langdon, and one of the most substantial and influential men of that town. The writer of this volume remembers him as one of the most delightful of his early playmates. He m. Dec. 8, 1875, Abbie Lavina Hubbard, b. Sullivan, Dec. 8, 1846, dau. of George Frost and Betsey (Wardwell) Hubbard. Ch. b. Langdon:
      1. Elton Wesley⁹, b. Jan. 7, 1877, m. 9, Feb. 25, 1903, Grace Alden, b. Providence, R. I., Dec. 4, 1880.
      2. Walter Thomas⁹, b. June 27, 1879; m. Anna Keese Duell, Sept. 2, 1902; and had b. Concord, N. H.,
         1. Beatrice¹⁰, b. July 26, 1904.
      3. Clara Abbie⁹, b. Feb. 14, 1881; m. Proctor Edson Melvin, Nov. 2, 1902; and had
         1. Grace Elizabeth¹⁰ Melvin, b. Concord, N. H., Aug. 23, 1904.
         2. Winslow Edson¹⁰ Melvin, b. Northampton, Mass., Sept. 1, 1907.
         3. Ruth Frances¹⁰ Melvin, b. New Boston, N. H., May 13, 1910.
      4. Bessie Ella⁹, b. May 24, 1883.
      5. Helen Lucy⁹, b. Apr. 4, 1892.

      Charles8 Winch is now (1920) living in West Keene.

   2. Thomas Daniel8, b. Sullivan, Oct. 10, 1847.
   3. Ella Maria8, b. Sullivan, Aug. 28, 1849, m. Nov. 19, 1871, George Cheney Friend, b. Washington, N. H., Apr. 4, 1842; d. Marlow, July 4, 1899; son of Nathaniel and Sarah (Severance) Friend. He was a farmer, and lived in Stoddard, Washington and Marlow. She d. Marlow, Jan. 10, 1894. One ch. b. at Marlow:
      1. Blanche Ina⁹ Friend, b. July 20, 1885.
   4. George8, b. Langdon, July 11, 1857, 11. George8 Winch, son of Thomas7, 5, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1883, and was a school teacher in Manchester, N. H. He m. Aug. 24, 1887, Corinne Holden, b. Langdon, Oct. 6, 1863; dau. of Charles A. and Emily (King) Holden. They had a dau.,
      1. Emily⁹, b. Nov. 30, 1892. He d. in Manchester, Mar. 28, 1919.
7. Esther⁷, b. Jan. 19, 1816; d. Sept. 21, 1818. (According to Esther’s gravestone she was b. in 1816 and d. Sept. 21. the church and town records disagree with this and are probably wrong).
8. Betsey Gerry⁷, b. Mar. 31, 1818, m. Aug. 12, 1841, Augustus Thomas Wilder, b. Keene, Aug. 13, 1818; d. there, Nov. 29, 1892; son of Abel and Lydia (Jefts) Wilder. Mrs. Wilder d. Keene, Apr. 16, 1890. Mr. Wilder had, at one time, a stable on Washington St. in Keene. He was the jailer for several years; then lived on the north corner of Mechanic and Court St. for a number of years. Here Mrs. Wilder took boarders and the excellence of her catering had a wide reputation. She was often asked to furnish cake and cream for parties, and many a bride sought her services in making the wedding loaf. They finally moved to 47 Taylor St., where they died. Ch. b. Keene:
   1. 1. Susan Maria⁸ Wilder, b. Apr. 8, 1845; d. Concord, N. H., Dec. 9, 1914.
   2. 2. Sarah Rockwell⁸ Wilder, b. Oct. 19, 1860; d. Sept. 25, 1877, Keene.
9. Nancy Locke⁷, b. Oct. 25, 1820, m. Nov. 12, 1853, in Keene, by Rev. Z. S. Barstow, William Edwards of Boston, Mass. She d. in Watertown, Mass., May 13, 1887, and he d. same place, Nov. 29, 1897. One son,
   1. William Hadley⁸Edwards, b. Boston, Oct. 18, 1856; m. May 24, 1892, Florence Adelaide Whiton of Newton, Mass. He is a dentist in Watertown, Mass., and has two ch.:
      1. Josephine⁹ and
      2. Rachel Winch⁹ Edwards.
10. Abby Ann Muzzey⁷, b. Sept. 2, 1822, m. Apr. 7, 1857, George Thomas b. abt. 1833 at Milton, England, son of James and Grace (Dunn) Thomas. Res. Leominster, Mass., where he d. Oct. 29, 1902, and she d. Apr. 14, 1910. Ch.:
    1. 1. Susan Warren⁸Thomas, b. Hopkinton, Mass., Mar. 4, 1858; m. Mar. 12, 1887, Henry Alfred Gilchrest of Lunenburg, Mass., b. there, Jan. 1, 1857; son of John Alfred and Mary Jane (Glover) Gilchrest. Res. Leominster, Mass., where was b.
       1. Frank Albert⁹ Gilchrest, b. May 4, 1884,
       2. and a dau. Alice Edith⁹Gilchrest, b. Cambridge, Mass., Sept. 18, 1890; m. Nov. 18, 1908, Benjamin Marcus Vinton, b. East Woodstock, Conn., Apr. 8, 1887, son of Charles M. and Jennie Elizabeth (Dillaber) Vinton. Ch.
          1. Arline Elizabeth¹⁰ Vinton, b. Leominster, June 19, 1909; d. Nov. 1, 1912.
          2. Ruth Louise¹⁰ Vinton, b. Leominster, Sept. 7, 1910.
          3. Russell Warren¹⁰ Vinton, b. Leominster, Mar. 11, 1913.
          4. Earl Alfred¹⁰ Vinton, b. Worcester, Mass., Nov. 5, 1917. There was also an adopted dau., Ednah May Black, b. Gardner, Mass., May 26, 1908.

       Mrs. Susan Thomas Gilchrest was divorced, and m. (2), Sept. 12, 1899, John Joseph Stewart, b. Manayunk, Pa., Nov. 22, 1843, son of William and Elizabeth Stewart.

    2. George Augustus⁸ Thomas, b. Brookline, Mass., Nov. 11, 1862; m. Ella England. No. children. Lives in Leominster, Mass.