Biography of Hon. Edward Blake, Q.C.

Edward Blake was born in the township of Adelaide, county of Middlesex Ontario, E in 1833. He is the eldest son of the late Hon. Wm. Hume Blake, himself a man of marked ability, and grandson of the late Rev. Dominick Blake, rector of Killegan and Lough Richland, Ireland; his mother was the daughter of Wm. Hume, of Humewood. The subject of this sketch was educated in his earlier years, by Messrs. Wedd and Brown, and later at the Upper Canada College. In his youth, Edward Blake showed signs of possessing in the bud the talents of elocution and a … Read more

Olcott Family of Norwich Vermont

Hon. Peter Olcott was born at Bolton, Connecticut, April 25, 1733; married Sarah, daughter of Peletiah Mills, Esq., of Windsor, Conn., October 11, 1759, and removed to that place in 1772. That year or the following one he came to Norwich, Vermont. He was the oldest of his parents’ four children (two sons and two daughters), and the only one of them to come to Norwich to reside. Mr. Olcott‘s name first appears in the town records of Norwich in 1773, when he was chosen one of the overseers of the poor, at the annual March meeting. He early took … Read more

Biography of Francis W. Blake

Francis W. Blake, one of Pittsfield’s successful farmers, was born in Hampton Falls, N.H., September 3, 1837, son of Enoch and Lydia (Smith) Blake. The family is of English origin. Its founder, Jasper Blake, who came from England in 1640 and settled at Hampton, N.H., was a relative of Robert Blake, the famous British admiral of that period. The great-grandfather of Francis W. was Jeremiah Blake, son of Joshua. He was a native of Hampton Falls, and a farmer by occupation. He was the father of five children, of whom Enoch (first), the grandfather, was the eldest. Enoch Blake (first) … Read more

Biography of Lucius S. Blake

Upon the pioneer history of Racine is written the name of Lucius S. Blake, a name that is closely associated with its annals and one that was ever synonymous with progress and improvement. He was descended from New England ancestry, the line being traced back through successive generations to Bradbury Blake, a native of New Hampshire, who married Sarah Hilton and removed to Vermont where their son, Captain Levi Blake, was born and reared. He removed to Erie County, New York, then the far west, and in that locality wedded Mary Sanford, a native of the Empire state. At the … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Samuel C. Blake

Blake, Samuel C. (See Downing, Gore)— Samuel Coke Blake, born at Cane Hill, Wash­ington, Washington Co. Ark. April 10, 1862, educated in that county. Married at Wagon­er, June 10, 1888, Georgia Anna Pharris, born Oct. 5, 1867 at Petaluma, Calif. They are the parents of: Jennie Agnes, born August 23, 1889, married Charles E. Stamps; Nita Emory, born February 11, 1892, mar­ried Charles Alonzo Spencer and has two children, Myrtle Caroline, horn February 5, 191 1 and Alonzo Blake Spencer, born March 24, 1919; John Fenlon, born September 4, 1894; Albert Watts, horn May 17, 1897; Georgia Kezzie, born April … Read more

Ancestry of Walter Lyman French

Walter L. French

Most of the Frenches of the Bridgewaters and vicinity descend from John French, of Braintree. This John French was born about 1612, in England. Before coming to Braintree, of which point he was an inhabitant in 1640, and a freeman in 1644, he had been a short time at Dorchester. He died Aug. 16, 1692, aged about eighty. His wife Grace died Feb. 28, 1680-81, aged fifty-nine years. Walter Lyman French, the gentleman whose name introduces this article was one of Brockton’s enterprising business men, one who had achieved marked success in various branches of industry and trade. He was born in Brockton Mass. (then North Bridgewater) May 4, 1843, son of the late Francis M. and. Nancy L. (Blake) French. Walter is a direct descendant of John and Grace French of Braintree Mass.

Slave Narrative of Henry Blake

Interviewer: Samuel S. Taylor Person Interviewed: Henry Blake Age: 80, or more Location: Rear of 1500 Scott Street, Little Rock, Arkansas Occupation: Farming and junk, when able [HW: Drove a “Horsepower Gin Wagon”] “I was born March 16, 1863, they tell me. I was born in Arkansas right down here on Tenth and Spring Streets in Little Rock. That was all woods then. We children had to go in at night. You could hear the wolves and the bears and things. We had to make a big fire at night to keep the wolves and varmints away. “My father was … Read more

1899 Directory for Middleboro and Lakeville Massachusetts

1899 Middleboro and Lakeville Massachusetts Directory Cover

Resident and business directory of Middleboro’ and Lakeville, Massachusetts, for 1899. Containing a complete resident, street and business directory, town officers, schools, societies, churches, post offices, notable events in American history, etc. Compiled and published by A. E. Foss & Co., Needham, Massachusetts. The following is an example of what you will find within the images of the directory: Sheedy John, laborer, bds. J. G. Norris’, 35 West Sheehan John B., grocery and variety store, 38 West, h. do. Sheehan Lizzie O., bds. T. B. Sheehan’s, 16 East Main Sheehan Lucy G. B., bds. T. B. Sheehan’s, 16 East Main … Read more

Seth Hastings Family of Clinton New York

Family Record of Dr Seth Hastings of Clinton, Oneida County, New York

The “Family Record of Dr. Seth Hastings, Senior” by Francis H. Hastings is a genealogical account that documents the ancestry and descendants of Dr. Seth Hastings, Sr., born in Hatfield, Massachusetts, in 1745. This work briefly traces his lineage back to Deacon Thomas Hastings, who emigrated from Ipswich, England, to New England on the ship Elizabeth in 1634. Deacon Thomas Hastings became a freeman in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635. The book then advances to a brief overview of the family of Dr. Seth Hastings, Sr., before delving into detailed records of his descendants. The genealogy extends to various families allied to the Hastings through marriage, incorporating a wide array of surnames.

Governor Houston’s Life Among the Indians

Detail from Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto

The year following his failure to secure the contract, Houston spent writing letters defending his acts and denouncing the officials who had been discharged. In addition to the Indian officials, he poured his wrath and denunciation on Colonel Hugh Love, a trader on the Verdigris whom Houston accused of being in league with the Indian Agent to rob the Creeks; Love replied to Houston with some spirited charges against the latter. Stung by the contents of an article appearing in a Nashville paper, in a burst of passion Houston gave to the press of Nashville a most intemperate letter, July 13, 1831, beginning:

Biographical Sketch of Hiram Blake

Hiram Blake was born in Rindge, February 9, 1838, was educated at New Ipswich academy, graduated at Albany Law school, in 1862, and practiced in New York city two years. From that time Mr. Blake traveled extensively in the West, being located six years in Nebraska, and settled in Keene in 1873.

Governor Houston at His Trading Post on the Verdigris

Surrender of Santa Anna

In February, 1828, the vanguard of Creek immigrants arrived at the Creek Agency on the Verdigris, in charge of Colonel Brearley, and they and the following members of the McIntosh party were located on a section of land that the Government promised in the treaty of 1826 to purchase for them. By the treaty of May 6, 1828, the Government assigned the Cherokee a great tract of land, to which they at once began to remove from their homes in Arkansas. The movement had been under way for some months when there appeared among the Indians the remarkable figure of Samuel Houston. The biographers of Houston have told the world next to nothing of his sojourn of three or four years in the Indian country, an interesting period when he was changing the entire course of his life and preparing for the part he was to play in the drama of Texas.

Curtis E. Blake

Water Ten. (Navy), 1st Div.; of New Orleans, La.; son of W. H. and Mrs. Eliza Blake. Entered service March 24, 1912, at Frisco, Cal.; re-enlisted March 3, 1917, at Norfolk, Va. Wounded at Chateau Thierry by machine gun. Sent to U. S. Mercy Hospital Ship. Served on Paulding, foreign duty as guard, also U. S. S. Virginian, U. S. S. Idaho, made several convoy trips, made five transport trips. Was fired on by submarine twice on board Paulding. Served in Honolulu four months guard duty; was in battle of Chateau Thierry and Bellicourt, served on Mexican border from March … Read more

Genealogical and Family History of Vermont

Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont vol 1

Hiram Charlton took on the publication of the Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont for Lewis Publishing. In it, he enlisted the assistance of living residents of the state in providing biographical and genealogical details about their family, and then he published all 1104 family histories in two distinct volumes.

Muster Roll of Captain James Clark’s Company

Title page to the Aroostook War

Muster Roll of Captain James Clark’s Company of Light Infantry in the Detachment of drafted Militia of Maine, called into actual service “by the State, for the protection of its Northeastern Frontier, from the twentieth day of February, 1839, the time of its rendezvous at Bangor, Maine, to the eleventh day of May, 1839, when discharged or mustered.

Biographical Sketch of John F. Blake

Blake, John F.—John Fenlon Blake, born September 4, 1894, educated at Pryor. Enlisted in the World War at Camp Travis, Texas, September 22, 1917. Assigned to the 90th Division, 344th Machine Gun Battery, was in the St. Mihieh and Argonne Forest offensives and after the Armistice was in the Army of Occupation. He was discharged at Camp Pike, June 23, 1919. He married at Pryor August 30, 1917, Badgie, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Coppinger, born June 27, 1894. They are the parents of: Mozelle Edna, born May 27, 1918 and Coke J. Born June 3, 1920. Mr. Blake is … Read more

Biographies of the Cherokee Indians

1830 Map of Cherokee Territory in Georgia

Whatever may be their origins in antiquity, the Cherokees are generally thought to be a Southeastern tribe, with roots in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, among other states, though many Cherokees are identified today with Oklahoma, to which they had been forcibly removed by treaty in the 1830s, or with the lands of the Eastern Band of Cherokees in western North Carolina. The largest of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes, which also included Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles, the Cherokees were the first tribe to have a written language, and by 1820 they had even adopted a form of government … Read more

Descendants of William Sturdy of Attleboro MA and Slatersville RI

John F. Sturdy

William Sturdy, as he was thenceforth known, then shipped on an American schooner lying at Leghorn, and bound for the United States. He finally landed at Beverly, Mass., June 9, 1809. From the port of Beverly he made several voyages as mate of American schooners, but finally abandoned the seas. He married in Beverly Clarissa Whittemore, who was born in that town Jan. 28, 1794. After their marriage they settled in Attleboro, Bristol county, where Mr. Sturdy bought land lying on the west shore of the Falls pond and engaged in farming until 1827. Here ten of his fourteen children were born. About that time, 1827, “the initial efforts in cotton manufacturing on the Blackstone had opened the way for the employment of minors,” and Mr. Sturdy availed himself of this opportunity because it had become impossible for him to procure a proper subsistence for his large family from his farm. In that year he sold out and removed to the Blackstone Valley, locating at Slatersville, town of North Smithfield, R. I., where he and his children found employment in the cotton mills. He later settled in Blackstone, Mass., where he died Oct. 16, 1834. He was a hardworking man, honest and upright in his dealings, and his large family of fourteen children reflected great credit on their home training. The wife and mother died Feb. 13, 1856.

Stetson Family of Bridgewater, MA

The Stetson family of Bridgewater is one of the oldest and most prominent in that section of the State, and it has for upward of two centuries been identified with the manufacturing interests of the town, its representatives being the founders of the iron industry of Bridgewater. Especial reference is made to Capt. Abisha Stetson, who was one of the first to engage in the iron business; his son, Nahum Stetson, whose name was a household word in his native town, and who by his great foresight, enterprise and progressive ideas built up the great Bridgewater Iron Works; and the latter’s sons and grandsons, all men of substance and good citizenship.