Barnstable County, Massachusetts - Biographical sketches (11 of 12 so headed), 1890

Biographical sketches

Freeman Atwood, born in 1827, is one of eleven children of Barnabas, and grandson of Captain Barnabas Atwood. He married Cordelia T., daughter of Francis Cahoon. They have four children: Freeman D., Annie C, Myra L. and Eunice F.

Elisha Bangs, born in 1804, was a son of Elkanah and Sally Bangs. He followed the sea from 1818 until 1849, twenty-seven years as master mariner. From 1849 until his death in 1886 he lived retired at.

Town Of Brewster

his home in Brewster, where his widow and daughter now reside. Mr. Bangs married Sarah H., daughter of Freeman and Mehitabel (Low) Foster. They had five children, three of whom are living: Elisha D., Herbert H. and Loella F.

Rev. Cyrus A. Bradley, born at Dracut, Mass., in 1822, is a son of Amos and Nancy (Varnum) Bradley. He entered the ministry in 1845. Rev. Bradley married Lucretia, daughter of Freeman and Mehitabel (Low) Foster, granddaughter of David, who was a son of Isaac, and grandson of Chillingsworth Foster, who built a residence in Brewster in 1699, which was rebuilt by David Foster about 1793. This homestead was owned by the Foster family until recently purchased by Rev. Bradley. He has one son, Asa M.

Anthony F. Brier, son of John F. Brier, was born in 1849, at the island of St. George, one of the Azores, came to America in 1861, and from that time until 1885, followed the sea. He was master of a fisherman eight years. Mr. Brier has kept the Brier House since 1883. He married Elizabeth J., daughter of Emanuel and Elizabeth R. (Ellis) Dugan. Their children are: Annie C, John E. and Clarence E.

Reuben and Joseph C. Chapman are sons of Eben and Harriet (Knowles) Chapman, and grandsons of Reuben Chapman. Reuben was born May 1, 1853, and married Lizzie B., daughter of Theophilus Harding. They have three children: Joseph O., Lucy H. and William.

John H. Clark, the selectman, born in 1850, is the only living child of Strabo and Adaline (Dunbar) Clark, and grandson of Isaac Clark. He is engaged in cranberry culture and farming. He married Celia A., daughter of Charles H. Parker.

Elijah Cobb, born in 1799, in Brewster, was the oldest son of Captain Elijah Cobb. He went to Boston at the age of sixteen, where after a few years he became a member of the firm of Cobb & Winslow, wholesale grocgrs. The last few years of his life were spent at the old house in Brewster, where he died in 1861. He married Caroline, daughter of Captain Sylvanus Snow. Their two sons - Elijah W. and Alfred S. - are deceased. Five daughters are living: Caroline O., Helen. Mary L., Annette T. (now the widow of Freeman Cobb) and Emily C. Helen married James A. Dugan, who was a Harvard graduate and a teacher of private schools. He died in 1860, aged thirty-three years, leaving four children: Caroline A., James W., Stephen I. and Theodore F. Dugan.

1878. He built a fine residence in Brewster in 1859, where his widow and son, Walter Freeman, now reside. Mr. W. F. Cobb married Edith, daughter of Edward B. Grant. They have one daughter, Edith M. Mr. Cobb has one sister, Emily (Mrs. Henry E. Allen, of Canada).

Elisha Crocker, born in 1814, is the eldest son of Elisha and Sarah (Snow) Crocker, and a grandson of Joseph Crocker. Mr. Crocker was formerly a boot and shoe maker, but for a number of years an undertaker and paper hanger in Brewster. He is a deacon of the Baptist church. He led the singing and was Sunday school superintendent for many years. He was first married to Martha Foster, who died, leaving two children - Martha F. and Thomas C. His second marriage was to Mary Elizabeth Morse. Their children are: Elisha W., Mamie, Louis A., Sadie, Winthrop N. and Grace E. Mr. Crocker has been a member of the New England Undertaker's Association since its organization.

The Crosby Family. - The reader of this chapter understands that the Crosby name became early a part of the history of Brewster, and so remarkable has been the success of the later generation that it must be regarded here as among the most prominent families of the town.

Among the descendants of Tully Crosby who came from England, was Josiah Crosby, of Brewster, whose son, Nathan, lived and died in the northeastern part of the town. His wife was Anna Pinkham, and of their children, three sons who survived the latest - Nathan, jr., Roland and Isaac - are well remembered by the present residents of the town.

Nathan Crosby, jr., whose portrait appears, was born here November 11, 1793, and when a young man he went to Chatham as an apprentice to Mr. Berry, a tanner, and in 1819, with his younger brother, Roland, became proprietor of the establishment in which he had learned his trade. Subsequently they built^ larger plant in the same locality, between Old Harbor and the town hall, between the present street and the shore, and carried on a successful business until 1832, when Nathan bought a farm and was engaged in agriculture and salt making. Three years later, selling all his interests in Chatham, he returned to his native town and erected, near the place of his birth on the shore of Cape Cod bay, the house in which the last years of his life were passed. In June, 1819, he married at Chatham, Ensign Nickerson's daughter, Catherine, who died in 1885. Their children were: Ann P., Albert, Emeline, Catherine A. N. and Nathan A. - the youngest, dying when a young man. Mr. Crosby, after his return from Chatham, entered largely into the fishing business, owning many vessels at different times, and from 1851 to 1854 was in

His oldest son, Albert, went to Chicago in May, 1848, becoming there the pioneer of that large and ever increasing Cape Cod element which has made indellible marks on the commercial and financial history of that western metropolis which now counts among its solid financiers the Nickersons, of Brewster and Chatham; the Lombards, of Truro; the Swifts, of Bourne; and the Underwoods, of Harwich.

His personal credit in the east as a Crosby and a Cape Codder enabled him with practically no capital to begin a business in Chicago with $10,000 worth of Boston goods, and establish a wholesale tea and liquor business. In 1851 he established there the largest manufactory of alcohol in the west, and into this business came two uncles, Roland and Isaac, and his father, Nathan, as above stated. Albert continued the business until the 1871 fire, at which time he owned the Crosby Opera House, which was built by his cousin, Uranus H. Crosby - another Cape Cod man and son of Roland. His fire losses, including the opera house, were fully one and a half million dollars - the heaviest individual loss sustained - but before the fires were out he was drawing water from the river to cool the bricks, and in thirty days had finished and resumed business in a brick block two stories high and three hundred feet long.

Albert Crosby was prominently connected with corporate enterprises in Chicago, was president of the Chicago City Railway Company, and was ten years president of a large brewing company there.

Later, after ten years spent in travel, he again, in 1884, took active management of his interests in the brewing company as its vice president and superintendent until 1887, when he retired from all active business in Chicago. Returning then to Brewster he began, in 1888, the erection of " Tawasentha," which was completed according to his own plans in 1889, as shown in the accompanying plate. He employed Cape people almost entirely in the construction, having John Hinckley & Son, of Yarmouth, in charge of the carpentry. It is on the site of the boyhood home of Mr. Crosby, who, with filial care, has incorporated into a wing of the structure a portion of his father's house. The building, exceedingly elegant and roomy, is of the Romanesque style of architecture, with elaborate though tasteful ornamentation, surmounted by a tower sixty feet high, commanding a fine view of the bay. Here Mr. and Mrs. Crosby have brought all that taste and wealth can suggest to adorn the mansion which is now their home. Adjacent to the house is a brick, fire-proof art gallery, seventy-five by fifty feet, in which they have deposited a rare collec-

Isaac, youngest child of Nathan and Annie (Pinkham) Crosby, was born May 6, 1809, and married Mrs. Eunice Ryder of Chatham. They had three children, two of whona survive. He received the usual New England district school education, and worked while young on his father's farm. Later he engaged extensively in fishing and salt making, displaying the same faithfulness and energy he ever showed in all his business affairs.

In 1848, his health failing, he decided to go to Chicago - then a small city in the far West - where he entered into business with his nephew, Albert Crosby. Subsequently his two brothers, Nathan and Roland, joined them, and for many years their interests were intimately connected with the growth and prosperity of the city.

In 1855 he returned to Brewster, but, finding its quietness irksome, he engaged in business in Chicago with his son-in-law, S. M. Nickerson, residing a portion of the time in Brewster, and becoming identified from its commencement with The First National Bank of Hyannis - being director at the time of his death, May 20, 1883.

friefid and the bank a faithful and efiScient oflBcer - one of its earliest and best friends, one whose life was upright and noble, an energetic and successful business man, who unostentatiously did many kind acts in his daily life."

James E. Crosby, son of Freeman and Rebecca Crosby, was born in 1838. He began to follow the sea at the age of sixteen, and four years later attained to master. Since that time he has been in foreign trade. He married Modena F., daughter of Rev. Manard Parker. They have four children: Freeman M., Edwin H., James Harold and Mabel.

William P. Doane, born in 1842, is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Rogers) Doane, grandson of Joseph, and great-grandson of Hezekiah Doane. Mr. Doane followed the sea from 1853 to 1879, and since that time he has been engaged in cranberry culture and farming. He married Helen A., daughter of Samuel and Thankful (Sears) Hall, and granddaughter of Edmund Hall. They have two children: Earnest W. and Helen S.

Emanuel Dugan was born in 1833, at St. George, Azore islands. His father, John Dugan, was born in 1809, at the same place. Emanuel came to Cape Cod in 1848, and from that time until 1876 was engaged in fishing. Since the latter year he has been a farmer and cranberry grocer. He married Elizabeth R., daughter of Thaddeus Ellis. She

Benjamin F. Fessenden, born in 1847, is a son of Benjamin and Clarissa (Berry) Fessenden, grandson of Isaac and great-grandson of Dr. William Fessenden. Mr. Fessenden followed the sea in early life. Since 1873 he has done a stage and express business in Brewster, and also keeps a livery stable. He married Annie Y., daughter of Richard and Emily (Eldridge) Hopkins. Their son is Oliver H.

Josiah Foster, born in 1823, is the youngest son of John and Catharine (Mayo) Foster and grandson of John Foster. Mr. Foster was engaged in fishing for thirty years, and since 1875 has been a farmer. He married Caroline, daughter of Eli Small, and has two children - Josiah F. and Carrie S. - one daughter, Emily C, died.

Nathan Foster, born in 1807, is a son of Nathan and Polly (Dillingham) Foster and grandson of John Foster. Mr. Foster was for about forty years a resident of Harwich, during which time he was a merchant there. He now owns and occupies the homestead of his father in Brewster. He married Lydia, daughter of Judah and Sally (Hale) Sears. She died in 1888, leaving six children: Lydia S., Martha S., Polly D., Nathan, Judah E. and Persis S.

Charles Freeman, born in 1822, is the second son of William, grandson of Solomon and great-grandson of Solomon Freeman. His mother was Martha, daughter of Daniel Simonds of Lexington, who served under Washington as private, was promoted to captain and served at Trenton and Bennington. Mr. Freeman followed the sea from 1832 until 1859, sixteen years in whale fishing and eight years as master of a whaling ship. He was six years in Chicago in the pork packing business, and has since resided in Brewster. He married Mehitabel C, daughter of Zenas Ryder of Chatham, Mass. They have one adopted daughter - Sadie T. Freeman.

John Freeman, born in 1835, is the oldest and only surviving child of John and Ruth (Sears) Freeman and grandson of John and Bethiah (Crowell) Freeman. He began going to sea at the age of fifteen years, and from 1859 until he retired in 1888 he was a master mariner. He is now engaged in cranberry culture. He married Jane, daughter of Israel Nickerson of South Dennis. They have one daughter, Roberta J., and one adopted son, John H. Freeman.

William Freeman, born in 1820, is the eldest son of William and Martha (Simonds) Freeman. He followed the sea in the merchant service forty-three years, thirty-six years as master. His first wife, Phebe H. Hurd, died leaving two children - William K. and Clara D. His present wife was Hannah R. Gould.

mund Hall. Mr. Hall is a carpenter by trade. He is now engaged in cranberry culture and the manufacture of cranberry barrels. He married Julia W., daughter of Timothy Jarvis. They have three children - George F., Arthur S. and Emma J.

Samuel S. Hall, son of Edmund and Sukey (Snow) Hall, was born in 1824 and died in 1878. He followed the sea in early life and later was engaged in agricultural pursuits. He married Thankful S., daughter of Constant and Deborah C. (Hopkins) Sears, and granddaughter of Elisha Sears. They have eight children: Helen A., Thomas S., Samuel C, Charles E., Fred, Susie D., Elisha S. and James C.

Godfrey Hopkins, eldest son of Godfrey and Reliance (Mayo) Hopkins, grandson of Edmund and great-grandson of Jonathan Hopkins, was born in 1832. He followed the sea from 1846 until 1872, being seventeen years master of vessels in the foreign trade, and he is now chairman of the board of selectmen, and a member of the republican town committee. He is a trustee in the Cape Cod Five Cent Savings Bank. He married Charlotte A., daughter of Bangs and Julia A. Pepper. They have one daughter - Emma J.

Richard F. Hopkins, born in 1852, is a son of Richard H. and Emily (Eldridge) Hopkins, grandson of Freeman, and great-grandson of Nathan Hopkins. He married Celia L., daughter of George E> Thacher. Their children are Eva M. and Emily.

Elijah E. Knowles, born in 1829, is one of six sons of Elijah and Abigail (Freeman) Knowles, and grandson of Henry Knowles, whose father, Elijah, was a son of Edward. Mr. Knowles followed the sea from 1844 until 1882, as master mariner twenty-seven years. He is a director of the Cape Cod National Bank. He married Mary F., daughter of Nathaniel Winslow.

Henry Knowles, brother of Elijah E., was born in 1834, in Brewster. Mr. Knowles began going to sea in 1848, attaining to master four years later, which position he continued to fill until 1870, when he retired from the merchant service and went to Rockford, 111., where he was a successful business man until 1889. Mr. Knowles married Lizzie D., daughter of Seth and Anna (Knowles) Collins. Their children are: Grace P., Herbert E., Abbie F., Royal E. and Eddie W. They lost two children - John C. and Effie M.

William W. Knowles, born in 1830, in Eastham, is a son of William F. and Betsey A. (Doane) Knowles, and grandson of William Knowles. He married Temperance P. Matthews, and has two children - William M. and Hannah H.

Edgar Lincoln, youngest son of Isaac and Desire (Foster) Lincoln and grandson of Isaac Lincoln, was born in 1829. He has followed the sea since 1844, and has been master of vessels in the foreign trade since 1854. He was first married to Sarah Lizzie Atkins, who died, and he married for his second wife Augusta F. Snow. They have one daughter, Edna A.

Joseph Mayo, born in 1822, is a son of Elnathan and Susan (Paine) Mayo and grandson of Thomas Mayo. He went to New Hampshire in 1840, where he was a carriage maker until 1862, then entered the army in Company D, Fourteenth New Hampshire Volunteers. In November, 1864, at the Battle of Cedar Creek, he lost his right arm. He was discharged in 1865. He was warden of the New Hampshire state prison from 1865 to 1870. He returned to Brewster in 1886, where he now lives. He was married to Maria L. Huntington, who died, leaving two children: Herbert A. and Ann Maria. He was married again to Caroline, daughter of William Freeman. He and his wife became members of the Baptist church in New Hampshire in 1842, and in 1886 he and his present wife joined the Baptist church in Brewster.

Captain Frederic Nickerson was born at West Brewster, December 15, 1808, and, although he died at his city residence in South Boston, January 12, 1879, he claimed his native town as his home, and there he had passed the last eighteen summers of his life. He was left an orphan in early youth, and, with his brother Thomas, had a home with an uncle at Chatham. He was young when he went to sea, and by his diligence attained to the command of a vessel before he was twenty years old. After a term of years as shipmaster he embarked in commercial lines of business in Boston with his brother David, under the firm name of David Nickerson & Co.; later, after his brother's death, it was changed to F. Nickerson & Co.

His integrity and intelligent management of business interests called him to fill many offices of trust and responsibility in monied and social enterprises, and it has been said of him that wherever he touched business it was dignified and made better by his influence. He was, for seven years from its organization, president of the South Boston Savings Bank, but on account of failing health resigned the position three years before his death, although continuing in the relation of trustee. He was for forty years a director in the Mechanics Bank, which trust he held until his decease. He was officially connected with the Union Pacific Railway Company, the Boston Marine Society, the New England Insurance Company, and the Boston Board of Trade. He was a member of the Commercial Club, and had large interests in several railroad enterprises in the West. In his business relations Captain Nickerson, as a type of the substantial, genial, old merchants of Boston, won the esteem of his associates, who rewarded him with honor, while his life's work was crowned with a broad financial success.

cabin he received his preparatory course, and the i:ounting room was his Alma Mater, yet we find him making a place for himself among the business men of a great city, and occupying and adorning a high plane in the commercial and social relations of life. He was universally beloved for his excellent traits of character, and the business world lost a master by his decease, the Unitarian church an important factor, and his family an indulgent and devoted husband and father. Captain Nickerson was a son of David Nickerson of Brewster, and a descendant from William Nickerson, the first settler of Chatham, in his father's line, and from Governor Hinckley in his mother's. David Nickerson was twice married; first to Priscilla Snow, and their children were: David, Joseph, Jonathan S., Frederic, Thomas and Priscilla S. He married Eunice Freeman for his second wife.

Captain Frederic Nickerson was the fourth son, and married Adaline T. Beck of Portsmouth, N. H., on the 23d of June, 1833. Their children were: Frederick W., Alfred A., Priscilla S., Adaline, and two others who died in infancy. The mother "survived the captain several years, departing this life at Brewster in July, 1887. Of the four surviving children three reside in Boston, and one, Alfred A., is now in California. At the death of Captain Nickerson the several societies of which he was an honored member passed memorials of regret, and in his native town he was greatly lamented.

Eben W. Paine, jr., only son of Eben W. and Betsey (Snow) Paine, grandson of Eben and Thankful (White) Paine, and great-grandson of Ebenezer Paine, was born in 1837. He followed the sea in the merchant service from 1855 until 1886, and was master twenty-one years. Since 1886 he has been engaged in cranberry culture. His first wife was Laura A. Clark, who died leaving one daughter, Laura Isabel. His second wife was Mary F. Clark. His present wife is Mary Gorham. They have one son, Allen T.

Hiram D. Rowe, son of Moses and Sarah (Brown) Rowe, and grandson of Jonathan Rowe, was born in 1828 in New Hampshire. He studied dentistry in Boston, where he practiced for three years, and since 1856 he has practiced in Brewster. He married Emily B., daughter of Barnabas and Sabia Paine, and granddaughter of Sylvanus and Susan Paine. Their children are: William E., S. Walter, Emily, and Grace, who died in infancy. Sylvanus Walter Rowe married Clara Elizabeth, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Bird, of Foxboro, Mass., March 23, 1887.

J. Henry Sears, born June 8, 1831, is a son of Joseph H. and Olive (Bangs) Sears and grandson of Joseph, who was a direct descendant of Richard Sears. Mr. Sears was married in 1858 to Emily, daughter of Daniel Nickerson of Boston. Their children are: Alice May, Emily N. and Joseph H. Mr. Sears, ship master and ship owner in early life, is now commission merchant.

Thomas D. Sears, son of Thomas and Elizabeth F. Sears, and grandson of Reuben Sears, was born in 1845. He has been a tinsmith since 1863, and since 1876 he has owned and operated a hardware store at Brewster. He was married to Asenath, daughter of Augustas Paine. They have one daughter, Alice F.

Zoeth Snow, born in 1825, is the only son of Zoeth and Sarah (Crosby) Snow, and grandson of Zoeth Snow. He is a blacksmith and wheelwright. He served nine months in the late war in Company E, Fifth Massachusetts Volunteers. He was two years in the legislature. His first wife was Lucretia Crosby. His present wife was Rebecca A. Mayo. They have two children: Irene P. and Warren F.

Bartlett B. Winslow' (Benjamin', Deacon Josiah", Nathan', Kenelm', Kenelm', Kenelm', Kenelm Winslow',) was born in 1829. He was thirty years engaged in mercantile trade in Brewster, and since 1884 has been engaged in cranberry culture. His first wife was Clarissa B. Fessenden, who died leaving to children: George B. (deceased) and Francis B. His second wife was LydiaE. Harwood, who died leaving one daughter, Lucy H. His present wife is Annie M., daughter of Dea. Barnard Freeman.