Descendants of William Brett of Bridgewater, MA

Ellis Brett

Ellis Brett, president of the Plymouth County Trust Company, of Brockton, and one of that city’s honored and respected citizens, is a worthy representative of historic New England ancestry, the Brett family having resided in this community since the first settlement of the mother town of Bridgewater, from which the town of North Bridgewater (now Brockton) was set off. Mr. Brett was born in the latter town Oct. 23, 1840, only son of Ephraim and Ruth (Copeland) Brett. The early history of the Brett family in America begins with William Brett, who came to Duxbury, Mass., in 1645, from Kent, England, and later became one of the fifty-four original proprietors and first settlers of the town of ancient Bridgewater, settling in the West parish of the town. He was an elder in the church, and often when the Rev. James Keith, the first ordained pastor of the church there, was ill, Mr. Brett preached to the people. He was a leading man in both church and town affairs, and was deputy to the General Court from the date of the in-corporation of ancient Bridgewater in 1656 to 1661. That he was well educated and intelligent is manifest from a letter to Governor Winslow, still extant, and he was much esteemed by his brethren and often employed in their secular affairs. He died Dec. 17, 1681, aged sixty-three years

Genealogy of Emery Moore Low of Tewksbury and Brockton Massachusetts

Emery Moore Low, former mayor of Brockton, and one of that city’s most influential and highly honored citizens, is a native of Massachusetts, born at Roxbury March 29, 1849, son of the late Nathaniel and Abigail E. H. (Clouston) Low. Emery is descended from William Low and his wife Mary, of Chelsea, Mass. They arrived in Chelsea, before 1761, on June 17th of which year he purchased of David Jenkins a “dwelling house, barn and buildings” and eighteen acres of land, which was originally a part of the Hasey farm. He bought other property in 1763, 1774 and 1778.

Biographical Sketch of William M. Keith

The subject of this brief biographic sketch is a native of Dundee, Scotland, a son of Alexander and Helen (Roberts) Keith, and dates his birth September 17, 1841. He received a parish school education, including the classics; came to Canada West in 1859; taught public schools a short time in the counties of Bruce and Grenville; learned the printer’s trade at Prescott; started the Smith’s Falls Review, a Reform paper, afterwards called the News, in 1863, and conducted it until March, 1878, when he sold out. The year after starting the paper, he opened a book and fancy goods store, … Read more

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.

Corthell Genealogy of Hingham to South Abington, Massachusetts

Elmer Lawrence Corthell

Of the first generation of the Corthell family in America there are records somewhat contradictory. Robert Corthell appears at Hingham, Mass., at the commencement of the eighteenth century. Nothing earlier of him seems to be known. He married Oct. 13, 1708, Deborah, daughter of Benjamin and Deborah Tower, his wife being born in Hingham in February, 1685. Robert Corthell died March 5, 1737-38, aged fifty-two years.

Descendants of Richard Kimball of Ipswich MA

KIMBALL. Richard Kimball, of the parish of Rattlesden, County of Suffolk, England, with his family, came to New England in the ship “Elizabeth” in 1634, arriving at Boston, and thence went to Watertown, Mass. He soon became a prominent and active man in the new settlement, was proclaimed a freeman in 1635, and was proprietor in 1636-37. Soon thereafter he removed to Ipswich, where he passed the remainder of his life. His services as a wheelwright were very much appreciated. Mr. Kimball married Ursula, daughter of Henry Scott, of Rattlesden, and (second) Oct. 25, 1661, Mrs. Margaret Dow, of Hampton, … Read more

History of Kossuth, Hancock, and Winnebago Counties, Iowa

History of Kossuth, Hancock, and Winnebago counties, Iowa

History of Kossuth, Hancock, and Winnebago Counties, Iowa together with sketches of their cities, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and 641 biographies of representative citizens. Also included is a history of Iowa embracing accounts of the pre-historic races, and a brief review of its civil and military history.

Howard Genealogy of Bridgewater and New Bedford Mass.

Frances E. Howard

The ancient town of Bridgewater, the first interior settlement of the Old Colony, has been the birthplace and the home of many who have made the history of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts rich in stories of good lives devoted to the development and uplift of the community, and not the least among these may be mentioned the late Capt. Benjamin Beal Howard, philanthropist, whose name is perpetuated in Howard Seminary, which he founded, and his son, the late Francis Edward Howard, philanthropist, statesman and upright, patriotic and useful citizen.

Descendants of James Keith of Taunton, MA

Edwin Keith

The family bearing the name of Keith at Taunton, whose head was the late Edwin Keith, Esq., who for some sixty years was engaged in business there and was one of the highly esteemed and respected citizens of the place, for upward of twenty-five years connected with the Taunton Gas Company, long its superintendent and treasurer, and who in various capacities served his adopted town and city officially, is a branch of the ancient Bridgewater Keith family, the progenitor of which was Rev. James Keith, formerly of Scotland, who came to New England and soon thereafter became pastor of the church at Bridgewater, which he . served for fifty and more years.

Leach Genealogy of Bridgewater, Massachusetts

James Cushing Leach

This page treats the Leach Genealogy of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, starting with Lawrence Leach, the immigrant ancestor, and descending to the James Cushing Leach family of Bridgewater, Mass.

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.

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

Descendants of John Washburn of Duxbury, MA

nathan washburn

The Washburn name in this country is a distinguished one. Perhaps it is as yet only a tradition that John Washburn, the ancestor of the Washburns here considered, was he who first served as secretary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Several governors of our States have borne the Washburn name and at one and the same time four of the name occupied seats in the United States Congress. And the branch of the Massachusetts Washburns seated in Middleboro and vicinity have borne no small part in the annals of the Old Colony and later Commonwealth. Capt. Amos Washburn was in command of a company in the American Revolution; one of his sons, a graduate of Harvard, was a talented lawyer at Middleboro; Edward Washburn, brother of Capt. Amos, was another patriot in the Continental army; and his son, Gen. Abiel Washburn, was one of the leading men of his time in Middleboro, the acknowledged leader of the Federal party, and for thirty-six years held commissions through the different grades of office in the State militia; while Luther, Cyrus and the late Bradford Sumner Washburn, in turn, were substantial citizens of the town, and the latter’s son, Judge Nathan Washburn, lawyer and present Justice of the Courts of Plymouth county, is giving a good account of himself.

Ancestry of the Embert Howard Family of Brockton Massachusetts

Embert Howard

EMBERT HOWARD, long one of the most successful business men of Brockton, of which city he is also one of the foremost citizens, is a worthy representative of a family which has historic identity with the earliest settling of New England. For two hundred and sixty and more years the family bearing this name has dwelt in the Bridgewaters and in the region of country thereabouts, the posterity of John Haward, who was one of the early settlers of Duxbury, Mass. The genealogy following traces the line in chronological order from this immigrant ancestor.

Biography of Aberdeen Keith

Among the representative men of Riverside who have been prominently connected with its horticultural and other industries, is the subject of this sketch. His long residence in Riverside, and association with the financial interests of the city, as well as San Bernardino County, are well known, and render such facts as are given regarding his life of interest in the annals of Riverside. Mr. Keith is a native of Massachusetts, dating his birth in Middletown, March 19, 1821. His father, Isaac Keith, was of Scotch descent, and inherited, as well as transmitted to his children, many of the well-known and … Read more

Gurney Family of Brockton, MA

Gurney Brothers Advertisement

Lysander Franklin Gurney, late of Brockton, Plymouth Co., Mass., was a descendant of some of the earliest settlers of this section. Going back to the mother country, we find the following general information in “The Gurneys of Earlham” (two volumes, Hart, Mich., March 16, 1906).

Descendants of Rev. James Keith of Bridgewater, MA

Edward H Keith

The name Keith has been a conspicuous one in the history of this Commonwealth since the first interior settlement was made, and the descendants of this time-honored family have been prominently identified with the development and growth of this community from the time of the ordination of the first minister of the settlement – Rev. James Keith, in 1664 – down to the present time, covering a period of nearly 250 years. This article is to treat particularly of the branch of descendants of Rev. James Keith to which belonged the late Simeon Cary Keith, who was an honored citizen of West Bridgewater, and his three sons, Warren R. Keith, who is president of the Independent Oil Company, of Brockton; Edward H. Keith, who is ex-mayor of the city of Brockton, and general inspector of the George E. Keith Company’s shoe factories; and S. Elliott Keith, who was a foreman in the extensive shoe manufacturing plant of the George E. Keith Company for a number of years and is now secretary of the Independent Oil Company. The ancestry of this branch of the family follows in chronological order.

Lewis Howard Wirth – Obituary

Lewis Howard Wirth, 81, a former Baker City resident, died July 29, 2009, at Orem, Utah. His funeral was Monday at the Walker Sanderson Funeral Home in North Orem, Utah. Interment was at the Orem City Cemetery. Lewis was born on July 10, 1928, to Joseph and Inez Wirth at Burns Lake, British Columbia, where he lived until the age of 8. His family then moved to Medical Springs where they farmed and ranched. He graduated from Baker High School, where he met and married Arlene Johnson. They were married on April 9, 1950, at Baker City. Together they raised … Read more

Washburn Genealogy of Bridgewater Massachusetts

Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts

John Washburn, first of the name here, was an early settler in New England, and was a resident of Duxbury, Mass., before 1632, in which year he had an action in court against Edward Doten. He was named in the assessment of taxes in 1633, and in 1634 bought a place from Edward Bonparse known as “Eagle’s Nest.” He and his two sons, John and Philip, were included with those able to bear arms in 1643. He and his son John were original proprietors of Bridgewater, and they with the son Philip settled in the town as early as 1665. He died in Bridgewater before 1670.

Copeland Family of Easton, MA

copeland

COPELAND (Whitman family). The family bearing this name is one of long and honorable standing in southeastern Massachusetts. Early at Braintree, then at Bridgewater, and for generations in the town of Easton, this Easton-Whitman branch of the earlier Braintree stock has for several generations been one of Easton’s leading families, and more recently – a later generation – in the new town of Whitman, formerly South Abington. Reference is made to the forefathers of the present George Copeland and Horatio Franklin Copeland, M. D., brothers. The latter though of Easton birth has been for nearly half a century active and … Read more