Raynham Town (part 1 of 3)

Raynham Town

Job Lawton, his son, was born Nov. 12, 17G4. He married Hannah, daughter of Weston and Hannah (White) Kirby. She was born in Westport about 1769. They had three children, - Silas, Obadiah, and George. He had the educational advantages generally given their children by the New England farmers of that day, and combined the avocations of farming and shoemaking. He settled about a mile above the " Head of Westport," buying a farm of about forty acres. He resided there for several years, then selling this he purchased another of one hundred acres farther toward Central village, whither he moved in 1815 or 1816. He was always a great sufferer from asthma. He was a quiet person, not giving to notoriety or office-seeking. He died, of cancer, March 5, 1843. The George Lawton whose portrait accompanies this sketch lived with his father, having slight school privileges. After he was twelve he attended the school at Central village a few weeks each winter for a limited period. He married, Nov. 26, 1826, Ruth, daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth (Wood) Potter. She was born within a mile of the Rhode Island line, in AVestport. Her family was an old one in the town. Her father was a farmer, who lived to be very old. He had fourteen children, of whom eleven attained mature years. She was youngest girl, and was born April 25, 1809. Her grandfather was Abner Potter, whose wife, Patience, was a most splendid specimen of true womanhood, bringing cheer and happiness to all within her sphere of action. Mr. and Mrs. Lawton had nine children, - Eli Potter, born Sept. 20, 1827, married Mary E., daughter of Jeremiah and Barbara Devol, has two children, and lives in Westport ; Uriah W., born April 27, 1831, married Augusta King, of Taunton, has three children. He graduated at Brown University, and is now superintendent of schools in Jackson, Mich. Mary E., born July 2, 1834. She married George J. Allen, had two children, Jacob and Ella, both of whom are married. Jacob lives in Providence, R. I. ; has four children, - Ella, married Thomas Nye, has one child, and lives in West Somerville, Mass. ; Hannah A., born Sept. 30, 1837, married William J. Chadwick, of New Bedford, has four children; Ann M. (died young) ; George F., born Nov. 11, 1844, lives with his parents; Ruth A., born July 3, 1846, married William P. Kirby, lives in Jersey City, N. J., and has one son ; William O., born March 16, 1850, married Rachel Wing, lives in New Bedford, and has one child ; Amanda 31., born June 21, 1854, married T. A. Tripp, of New Haven, and has one child.

Mr. Lawton lived with his father for several years after marriage, then purchased a small farm near Hicks' Bridge, for which he agreed to pay fourteen hundred dollars. His capital at this time was only eight hundred dollars. After a stay of two years he sold out, removed to Westport Point, purchased a farm of sixty acres, and resided there from 1839 to 1881. The four youngest children were born here. Mr. Lawton and his wife practiced the cardinal virtues of diligence and industry, and by long years of toil, in which there was perfect harmony between them, they built up a handsome competency. Although economical and prudent, they were not niggardly. All laudable charities met a hearty response from them, and all along life's pathway has the same generous feelings been exhibited. In 1847, Mr. Lawton erected a grist-mill on his farm, and attended to that personally for the many years he resided on the farm. He sold it, however, in March, 1881, and removed to the Head of Westport, where he now resides. His has been a life of honest labor. Every dollar he possesses has been paid for by its full equivalent in hard work. He has been Whig and Republican in politics, and, as such, has been overseer of the poor three years, and selectman during three years of the civil war. He and his wife belong to the Society of Friends. Mr. Lawton has the honor of being the second resident of Westport to graduate a child at college. After fifty-seven years of connubial felicity, Mr. and Mrs. Lawton are passing down the declivity of life with the esteem of a large circle of friends, and enjoy in their latter years the results of their industry, and leave lives that their numerous descendants may worthily emulate.

Chapter Lvii

Geographical - Early History - The First Iron-Works in America - The Leonards - Indian History - Pioneer Families - The Old Leonard House - The Revolutionary War - Votes of the Town - Names of Soldiers - Seth Dean - Ecclesiastical History - The Congregational Church - The Baptist Church - The Unitarian Church - Educational - Early Schoolmasters - Their Salary - School Money in 1777 - List of College Graduates - Militia Officers - Early Merchants - Physicians - Longevity - Justices of the Peace - High Sheriffs - Villages - Incorporation of the Town - First Town-Meeting - Officers Elected - Selectmen - Representatives and Town Clerks from 1731 to 1SS4 - Early Votes - Military Record.

The town of Raynham lies in the northeastern part of the county, and is bounded as follows : On the north by Easton, on the east by Bridgewater and Middleborough in Plymouth County, and on the south and west by Taunton.

Much of the early history of Raynham will be found in the history of Taunton, of which it originally formed a part, being known as the east precinct of Taunton.

Although Taunton was settled in 1638, no settlement was made in Raynham until 1652, when James Leonard, Henry Leonard, and Ralph Russel, from Wales, located here for the purpose of setting up a " bloomary work." For a full description of the pioneer iron-works, the reader is referred to the history of Taunton, where the matter is fully treated by that indefatigable worker in historical lore, Capt. J. W. D. Hall.

Oct. 21, 1652, the following entry appears in the records of Taunton : " It was agreed and granted by the town to the said James and Henry Leonard and Ralph Russel, free consent to come hither and join with certain of our inhabitants to set up a bloomary work on the Two-Mile River." Then no stranger could become an inhabitant without permission. " It was agreed and granted, by a free vote of the town, that such particular inhabitants as shall concur with said persons in their design shall have free liberty from the town to do so, to build and set up this work, and that they shall have the woods on the other side of the Two-Mile River, wheresoever it is common on that side of the river to cut for their cord-wood to make coals, and also to dig and take mine or ore at Two-mile meadows, or in any of the commons appertaining to the town where it is not proprietary."

" In accordance with this vote and the permission granted, the above-mentioned individuals erected works for the extraction of iron from the native ore, being the first iron manufactory established on the continent. These works continued in the possession of the Leonards and their descendants a hundred years, were enlarged by additional furnaces, and subsequently converted into an anchor forge.

" The original projectors, Henry and James Leonard, attracted by more abundant ores in New Jersey, removed there and established the first foundry in that province." - SanforcPs History of Raynham.

"During the Indian war of 1675, which desolated many of the towns of Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies, the inhabitants of Taunton were exempt from attack. Philip, the chief instigator of that war, had a summer hunting-seat near the Fowling pond. The Leonards had supplied him with beef, repaired his muskets, and furnished him with such simple tools as the Indians could use. These acts of friendship were remembered, and when other towns suffered from savage incursions, Raynham and Taunton escaped. Philip's influence and friendship protected them. The people, however, were on their guard, and constructed fortified houses capable of resisting an Indian siege. A house belonging to Samuel Leonard, which stood a few rods east of the forge, was surrounded by palisades and provisioned. A fort also was built. The towns of Barnstable, Yarmouth, and Eastham, on account of their position, were secure from Indian depredations. The inhabitants of these Cape towns invited the people of Taunton, Rehoboth, Raynham, and Bridgewater to leave their settlements and live with them for greater safety. Taunton replied thus: 'We bless God that he hath given us much room in your hearts, that you so freely tender to us a part with you in your houses, fields, and provisions at such a time when the Lord is threatening us with the bereavement of our own. It much comforteth us in this day of darkness and distress. We shall want no succor you are able to afford us. We therefore return you all serious thanks for your sincere and abundant love, beseeching the Lord to continue and increase your ability, peace, and promptness to relieve distress in this evil day. Nevertheless, upon our serious and mature deliberation upon, and consideration of, your great offer, we cannot at present comply with a motion to remove and quit our places and leave our habitations to be a desolation, and that because we fear, in so doing, we should be wanting to the name of God and interests of Christ in this place, and betray much difficulty and cowardice, and give the adversary occasion to triumph over us to the reproach of that great and fearful name of God which is called upon us.' "

First Settlers. - Prominent among the early settlers and a leading family in the town were the Leonards. The Washburne familes were also prominent. Israel Washburne, the third of that name, removed to Maine, and had three sons who became members of Congress from three different States. One was Governor of Maine, and one, Elihu P. Washburne, was Secretary of State, etc. Among other prominent families, the following are mentioned : The Kings, the Deans, Shaws, Halls, Gushees, Williamses, Gilmores, Andrews, Hathaways, Whites, Tracys, Knapps, etc. Hon. Josiah Dean was a member of Congress, elected in about 1808. He was a leading man of the town and county.

Dr. Fobes, in his " History of Raynham," published in 1793, in referring to this house, says, " In the cellar was deposited, for a considerable time, the head of King Philip ; for it seems that even Philip shared the fate of kings ; he was decollated, and his head carried about, and shown by one Alderman, the Indian who shot him.

"There is yet in being an ancient case of drawers which stood in the house, upon which the deep scars and mangled impressions of Indian hatchets are now visible. Under the door-steps of the same house lie buried the bones of two young women, who, in their flight here, were shot by the Indians ; but more fortunate was the flight of Uriah Leonard, who, as he was riding from Taunton, was fired upon by the Indians. But he swung his hat around, which started his horse in full canter ; he reached the dam without a Avound, but bullets passed through the hat and the neck of the horse he rode. While Deacon Nathaniel Williams was at work with some others in the fields on the south side of the road, about half a mile from the forge, one of the number discovered a motion in the bushes at a little distance; he immediately presented his gun and fired, upon which the Indians were heard to cry, ' Cocoosh /' and ran off; but soon after one of the Indians was found dead near the Fowling pond."

"November 20th. Voted £20 to Lieut. Benjamin King for services as delegate to Provincial Congress. Zephaniah Leonard, Joseph Shaw, and Seth Jones were chosen as committee to manufacture saltpetre.

"Voted that every person from sixteen and upwards, except those whom the committee shall see fit to exempt, contribute £10 each for a fund from which to pay soldiers.

"July 25, 1779. Voted to raise £111 to pay. for soldiers' shirts, shoes, and stockings. Josiah Dean was chosen delegate to convention at Concord.

"September 27th. Voted to buy 11,523 pounds of i beef at £3 lis. per hundred in new emission currency, or in old currency, at equitable exchange.

" Voted to assess the town $80 in hard money to pay for beef called for by the General Court. Also, one hundred and eighty-five hard dollars to pay three soldiers, enlisted for five months, to serve in Rhode Island, and fifteen dollars a month for the three men enlisted to serve in New York."

The following-named citizens of the town served in person : Capt. Abraham Hathaway, Elijah Gushee, Gaius King, Job Hall, Benjamin Cane, Seth Dean, Joseph Shaw, George King, Solomon Leonard, Stephen Williams, Chaplain Perez Fobes, Noah Hall, and Samuel Hall.

" Mr. Seth Dean volunteered as a soldier at the age of seventeen, when the British force occupied Boston. Mr. Joseph Shaw and other young men of this town were enrolled with him in a company, of which John King was captain and Noah Hall lieutenant. Seth Dean was thus in the first campaign of the war, and went into the army then assembled around Boston, under command of Washington, whose headquarters were in Cambridge. He then served during a term of eight months.

" He was on Boston Neck when Bunker Hill battle was fought, June 17, 1775, and saw the burning of Charlestown. During that battle, and on several successive days, cannon-balls were flying over the Neck, where he was stationed.

"Returning home in January, he enjoyed repose but a few weeks, for in the inclement month of February, 1776, he returned again to the army and served two months at Cambridge, Winter Hill, and Dorchester Heights.

" Mr. Dean was with the troops when the British evacuated Boston. The cannonading commenced in the town at twelve o'clock at night, and created much alarm among the people. At daylight he saw the British go on board their ships and leave the harbor. This was a day of rejoicing. Then Washington marched in his forces and took possession of the town.

" Afterwards, Mr. Dean was in the army on Rhode Island when the French fleet, under Count de Grasse, had come to our assistance and taken possession of the island.

" Subsequently he enlisted on board the privateer ship ' Hazard,' of sixteen guns, and was on a cruise four months. The ' Hazard' came into action with a British vessel of the same number of guns and men on the 16th of March, when, after a severe and bloody struggle, the British vessel struck her colors. The British captain, in coming on board, said, ' You have killed half of my men.' The captain of the ' Hazard' replied, ' You should have struck sooner.'

" In that sea-fight Mr. Dean said he felt death near him, when, as he was loading a cannon, his companion, Gaius King, brother of Asa King, was shot through the head and fell dead at his side.

"Finishing this voyage, in which he gained but little except a knowledge of the ravages of war, he returned to his home in the southeasterly part of this town, and was married to a daughter of Joseph Shaw in 1780.

" Mr. Seth Dean had two military commissions offered him, that of ensign and lieutenant, and afterwards was chosen captain of militia, but in his modesty declined them all.

" Though in his early youth his courage led him to face danger in the field, no one was fonder of home or more calculated to make home pleasant. A man of a milder spirit, and at the same time more resolute against disorder or indecorum, cannot easily be found." Educational. - Not only were the early settlers of Raynham interested in the religious welfare of the town, but the educational interest also early received their attention, and in 1742 we find a Mr. Fisher was schoolmaster.

In 1752 we find that the good people voted not to hire a teacher. In 1753, however, sixteen pounds thirteen shillings and four pence and board at four shillings a week was voted for teaching six months. In 1777 three hundred and thirty-three dollars and thirty-three cents were appropriated for schools.

The first settlers were intelligent and virtuous, and having made great sacrifices in coming to the wilderness, determined to give their children opportunities for instruction. Until after the Revolution the schoolmaster instructed the children in reading, writing, arithmetic, and morals for ten pounds a year. His school was occasionally removed from one section of the town to another for the convenience of his pupils. Some of the intelligent boys studied surveying, and all recited weekly from the Assembly's Catechism.

An account of the educational and intellectual features of Raynham would be imperfect without an allusion to the Lyceum, or debating society, existing thirty years ago. Its organization embraced most of the intelligent residents at the Centre, and the active minds of the time participated in its deliberations. During the winter for many seasons there were debates upon the topics of the day and objects of literary interest, and once a fortnight a lecture was expected either from gentlemen at home or from abroad. Hon. Francis Baylies, of Taunton, sometimes read an address, or the audience listened to an essay from William P. Daggett, the talented son of Rev. Simeon Daggett.

Mr. Eli K. Washburn, distinguished for sound sense and a clear understanding, frequently spoke. Once or more Joseph Dixon, chemist and necromancer, then of Taunton, lectured before the Lyceum, and the neighboring clergy were nearly all heard.

In 1810 there were two companies of uniformed militia in the town. The south company was commanded by Capt. Barzillai King, and the north company by Capt. Simeon Wilbur. Their uniforms were caps plumed with horse-hair and coats faced with red.

All these field-officers held their military positions in the Third Regiment, in Second Brigade, Fifth Division, except Eliab B. Dean, who was major of a battalion of cavalry.

Early Merchants. - Nehemiah Jones kept a variety store for many years at the centre. He was also postmaster. Abisha Lincoln traded at the north end, Sylvanus Makepeace at Prattville, Hanscome and Samuel Robinson at Gilmoreville, and Theodore King and Edward Wilbur at the centre. Richard Leonard, postmaster, was associated with King &

Physicians. - Early in the century Dr. Seth Washburn practiced to some extent. Dr. Walker came here in 1815 and acquired an extensive business, which he was obliged before long to abandon on account of ill health. In 1820, Elisha Hayward, of Easton, a graduate of Brown University in the class of 1817, commenced practice. He studied medicine at New Haven, under the famous Dr. Smith, and acquired an excellent medical education.

He soon had a good practice, extending into the neighboring towns. His personal characteristics were strict integrity, kindness of heart, and devotion to the interests of his patients. He was unselfish in the discharge of his duties, thinking more of the wellbeing of others than of his own advantage. With an individuality peculiarly his own, with no ambition beyond his business, farm, and home, he was nevertheless a faithful practitioner, respected for his steadiness of purpose, and regarded by a large circle of patients as their firm friend and reliable adviser. He died in 1868, at the age of seventy-four, and Eev. Mr. Sanford pronounced his eulogy.

Gaius Dean, M.D., resided in this town for several years towards the close of his life, which had been principally spent in Virginia, where he had a lucrative practice. He was a native of Taunton, son of Deacon Ebenezer Dean, and a graduate of Brown University in the class of 1795. As his health became infirm, he removed to this town with his children, and resided near his sister, Mrs. Gushee. His motto was " Miser miseris succurrere disco" (" Infirm myself, I learn to succor the miserable.")

Longevity. - Two persons have lived beyond a hundred years, - Mrs. Abigail Leonard, wife of Col. Zephaniah Leonard, and Mrs. Lydia Snow, whose home was with Miss Hannah Jones, near the forge.

Justices of the Peace. - Jonathan Shaw, at the north end, was an acting justice for many years. He was a firm supporter of law and order, and criminals received their deserts at his hands. Capt. Samuel Wilbur was a justice and deputy sheriff, and once a member of the Legislature.

High Sheriffs. - Col. Zephaniah Leonard was high sheriff of the county about thirty years. His son, Horatio Leonard, succeeded him, and held the office thirty-five years.

At Squawbetty, which lies on both sides of the Taunton River, partly in Taunton and partly in Raynham, are the Old Colony Iron-Works. These are extensive works, and employ a large number of men.

Benjamin Shaw had a saw-mill in 1700 on the Fowling Pond stream, which runs into Two-Mile River a mile above the old iron-works. He was a shareholder in the works, and was the ancestor of the Shaws of Taunton (Raynham in 1731). He died in 1723.

In 1770, James Presbo had a grist-mill near above location, on the same dam and stream, at the head of Two-Mile River. His son, Zadoc Presbo, who was a moulder, was associated with Capt. Israel Washburn in carrying on a furnace at the same dam for manufacturing hollow-ware for many years. It was the oldest hollow-ware furnace in this section, except "King's Furnace." They mined all their ore for years on the banks of the river, in the " Mine meadows and bogs" in that vicinity.

Capt. Washburn also purchased the grist-mill of James Presbo in 1784. He died in 1796, leaving the furnace and mill to his son, Dr. Seth Washburn, who continued the hollow-ware business with Mr. Presbo many years, the latter having charge of the furnace, in which Carmi Andrews and others were moulders. In 1810, Mr. Presbo sold his share of the furnace and privilege to Dr. Washburn and removed to Vermont, the latter continuing the business a few years. He died in 1837, leaving the furnace and mill to his son, Franklin Washburn, who sold the privilege and property a few years later to George W. King, who for many years manufactured shovels, forks, and nails.

Pending the noted Shay's rebellion in October, 1786, a demonstration was made in this county by about a hundred of the adherents of Shay, under one Col. Valentine, of Freetown, to frighten Gen. Cobb, then presiding as judge of the Court of Sessions in Taunton, to deliver the papers of the court and break up the session in Bristol County. The followers of Shay had succeeded in two counties. Orders had been previously issued by Gen. Cobb (then in command as well as judge) for the militia to appear at the court-house to protect the court, but only two companies had responded that morning, both from Raynham, one commanded by Capt. Noah Hall, the other Capt. Israel Washburn's company, but being absent Lieut. Reuben Hall was in command. The companies performed their duty, and their prompt response has gone into history. Capt. Noah Hall had served in the war of the Revolution, closed but a few years before, and was the friend of Gen. Cobb, accompanying him to Goldsborough, Me., where he died May 6, 1835, in his ninety-fourth year. Capt. Israel Washburn was the grand-ancestor of the Congressmen Washburn brothers. He served as one of the commissioners of the commonwealth for the disposal of " confiscated property" of the " Tories" after the war, residing in Bristol County. A number of farms were thus disposed of, as records show.

The Congregational Church.1 - Anticipating the duty of supporting public worship, the people had erected and partially finished a meeting-house two years before the town was incorporated. The first town-meeting for choice of officers was held April 22, 1731. On the 10th of May following the town voted to pay all the expenses which individuals had incurred in building the meeting-house, and a tax was levied for that purpose. At the same meeting Mr. John Wales, who had been preaching there one year and a half, was chosen minister.

His salary was fixed at one hundred pounds per annum in bills of credit, and two hundred pounds settlement. His income was subsequently increased to four hundred pounds, equal to £53 6s. 8cL, lawful money, or about two hundred and sixty-six dollars. It was also voted to finish the church by plastering it, constructing pews and a gallery floor.

The records of the town show the following vote, Sept. 20, 1731 : " Agreed to set apart the 20th of October next for the ordination of Mr. John Wales, our present minister, as pastor and gospel minister of Christ over a Church of Christ in this town, the town having heretofore chosen and elected him thereto." Fifteen pounds were appropriated to pay Zephaniah Leonard for entertaining the council.

The church, which was organized the day before the ordination, consisted of fourteen men and seventeen women, who were transferred from the First Church in Taunton.

The following record from the church books of the First Congregational Church in Taunton, by Rev. Thomas Clapp, pastor, shows the names of the persons constituting the new church :

"The request of Abraham Jones, John Staples, John Leonard, Samuel Hacket, Senior, Joseph Jones, Samuel Leonard, Seth Leonard, Samuel White, Ebenezer Campbell, John While, Gabriel Crossman, Jonathan Hall, Thomas Baker, and Samuel Hacket (2d), as also the request of Hannah White, Mary Hacket, Katherine Leonard, Hannah Campbell, Susannah White, Hannah Staples, Mehitable White, Ruth Crane, Elizabeth Shaw, Mary Jones, Joanna Leonard, Abigail Hall, Lydia Britton, Patience Hacket, Sarah Hall, Rebecca Leonard, and Abigail Baker, all brethren and sisters in full communion with this church, living in the town of Raynham, for a dismission, was read to the church, in order to their being incorporated into a church state by themselves, and have the ordinances of the gospel administered among them.

" The church taking the matter into consideration, and approving their desires to be regular, voted that they be dismissed accordingly, commending them to God and the word of His grace, which is able to build them up, and to give them an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

" At the same time the request of several persons who had only renewed their baptismal covenant for a dismission was read, upon which the church voted, That, if any of them did desire to embody in a church state with the aforesaid brothers and sisters, they might do it without any offence to this church."

He died Feb. 23, 1765, in his sixty-sixth year. His son Samuel, baptized March 6, 1747, graduated at Yale College, received the degree of D.D., and became Professor of Divinity in that institution. His son John was a member of the United States Senate from Delaware. Catherine, who was baptized Nov. 25, 1750, married Samuel Montgomery, a graduate of Yale, a surgeon in the Revolutionary army. Her daughter Catherine married Job Godfrey, Esq., of Taunton. Mr. Wales' daughter Prudence became the wife of Rev. Dr. Fobes, her father's successor.

This town was organized in the belief and practice of evangelical doctrines. The people were true sons of the Puritans, respecting whom Hume, though not their friend, declared that they were the first people in England who possessed the true principles of liberty.

July 29, 1776, about two years after the death of Mr. Wales, Perez Fobes, of Bridgewater, was chosen pastor. The town concurred in the choice, and voted him a salary of seventy-eight pounds per annum, equal to about three hundred and ninety dollars.

Mr. Fobes graduated at Cambridge in 1762. During the Revolution, notwithstanding his frail health, he served as a chaplain in the army. In 1786 he acted as president of Brown University while President Manning was absent, and was subsequently chosen Professor of Experimental Philosophy in the college. In the deficiency of adequate illustrative apparatus, he constructed an orrery designed to exhibit the mechanism of the solar system, and by his energy and application rendered important service upon the faculty of the institution. In 1787 he was chosen a fellow of the college, and in 1792 received the degree of Doctor of Laws.

The advancement of education occupied much of his time. It has been said " that the schools of Raynham, under his patronage and inspection, were for many years an example for the country, and bore an honorable testimony to the public of the importance of a learned clergy to the country." But Dr. Fobes excelled as a preacher. By his own bearing he illustrated the assertion of Euripides, that the dignity of a speaker adds force to his words. He had a marked talent for extemporaneous speaking, and could thrill an audience with spontaneous eloquence.

During Dr. Fobes' ministry of forty-five years one hundred and thirty-six persons were admitted to the church, three hundred and four infants and adults baptized, and about two hundred and twenty marriages solemnized. His house stood one-fourth of a mile east of the church, on the road to Tearall. His farm was of considerable extent, and was acquired through his wife, the daughter of Mr. Wales. The house was two stories in front and one in the rear, after the mode of that day. He accumulated property and often lent money, to the convenience of the public, in

After the death of Dr. Fobes the church was without a pastor seven months. Rev. Stephen Hull was installed Sept. 2, 1812. Mr. Hull was a fluent speaker, and peculiarly attractive in conversation. In May, 1823, he was dismissed at his own request. He died at sixty, and was buried beside his first wife in the Central Cemetery of this town.

The first meeting-house stood a fourth of a mile east of the forge, on the north side of the road leading to Squawbetty. It was a very plain structure, without blinds, steeple, bell, or stoves. It cost fourteen hundred dollars, and was conveniently placed for the early inhabitants. Mr. Wales preached in it thirty-four years, and Dr. Fobes eight years.

The second house was built in 1773, by Mr. Israel Washburn, by whom the pews were sold to purchasers. It stood at the centre of the town, and as originally constructed had no steeple. The land upon which it was erected belonged to Mr. Amariah Hall, from whom it was purchased. It continues in the possession of the parish, and upon it the present church stands.

The pews were square and high, the railing around them of turned balusters. The galleries extended on three sides ; there were no blinds ; the pulpit with its sounding-board stood on the east side. The front door opened into the broad aisle, but there were end doors with entries. A steeple and bell were added to the house some years after its erection. It had no apparatus for warming until 1830, when Gen. Shepard Leach, of Easton, gave a box-stove, which was placed near the deacons' seat before the pulpit. A very correct picture of this house is in the possession of the writer. It is the only one in existence, and time increases its value.

There was opposition to the proposals of Mr. Washburn for the erection of this house. Thirty-four voted to adopt the plan and twenty-seven opposed it. The objectors lived in the southerly part of the town, and undertook to repair the old house and continue worship there. A council ensued to heal the secession. This, the first church built in Raynham, standing on the Squawbetty road, was taken down about 1780.

The disposition made of its venerable pulpit will be seen from the following interesting letter by Dr. Fobes, written in choice ecclesiastical English, recently discovered by Mr. Eliot Sandford, of New York, among the forgotten records of Dr. Hopkins' church at Newport, R. I. The gift of a pulpit from Raynham to Newport is unique. It can scarcely have been very elaborate in structure. The entire cost of the church from which it was taken reached but fourteen hundred dollars, and a pulpit built upon the same scale of expenditure probably was not of rosewood or mahogany. It had been seasoned, however, in the glow of sound doctrines, and suffered no declension in the occupancy of Dr. Hopkins.

The deacons have been : 1731, John Staples and Samuel Leonard; 1741, Jonathan Shaw; 1750, Jonathan Hall and Edmund Williams; 1761, Elijah Leonard and Israel Washburn ; 1780, Jonathan Shaw; 1797, Abiel Williams and Oliver Washburn; 1819, Lloyd Shaw; 1824, Horatio Leonard; 1828, Eliab B. Deane and Elijah Gushee; 1850, Samuel Jones.1

The Baptist Church. - Dr. Fobes stated, in 1793, that there were one thousand inhabitants in Raynham, one-sixth of whom were Baptists. When there was no distinction between town and parish all the inhabitants were required by law to pay the assessments laid for ministerial support. In 1783 the town voted not to compel those who professed to be Baptists to pay the clerical tax for the support of a minister whose preaching they could not conscientiously attend, alleging that " to compel them to pay it would endanger that peace and harmony which should subsist in a town society."

The Baptist Church was organized in 1839, and a house of worship built a few years after. Rev. Ebenezer Briggs became the first pastor, and under his ministrations the church largely increased. He formerly lived on the shores of Long Pond, in Middleborough, where, upon his own farm, he maintained a generous hospitality. His preaching was earnest, faithful, and effective, and his correct life reflected the sincerity of his heart.

Rev. Ephraim Ward, of Middleborough, a graduate of Brown University, succeeded Mr. Briggs, and preached acceptably three years, when he resigned and removed to Illinois. In 1846, Rev. Silas Hall became minister, and has since been followed by a number of preachers, who remained but a short term each.

The deacons of this church are Godfrey Robinson, Esq., and Capt. William King. The chief benefactor and patron of the society was Mr. Asa King, whose life is included in the published "Genealogy of the King Family."

Unitarian Church.2 - For several years Mr. Sanford maintained pulpit exchanges with the neighboring clergy indiscriminately, but when the distinction between orthodoxy and Unitarianism became more accurately defined, he deemed it inconsistent with his duty to continue exchanges with ministers of the latter denomination. This refusal raised opposition from a portion of the church and society, which presently took a definite form and expression. While Mr. Sanford was absent at the anniversaries in Boston, the dissatisfied members prepared a remonstrance requesting him not to discontinue such exchanges, stating therein that his settlement was on the expec-

On his return another memorial was presented, desiring him to regulate the matter of exchanges according to his own judgment and discretion, declaring that his settlement was not on the expectation that he should exchange with Unitarians. This pay>er was signed by about two-thirds of the voting members of the church and society. Prior to this time the line of separation had never been so clearly drawn. There were articles of faith adopted and formerly used by the church in admitting members. This creed and covenant was similar to that of other evangelical churches, but had been lost or suppressed during Mr. Hull's ministry.

These discords resulted in the formation of a Unitarian Society in 1828, comprising twenty-five of the church and a portion of the society. The new organization, styled the Second Congregational Society, included some of the most respected and influential families in the town. They first worshiped in Capt. Reuben Hall's public hall, and at length built a church a little north of the first church, on land presented by Ellis Hall, Esq., and engaged Rev. Simeon Doggett, of Mendon, for their minister, who continued to preach while the organization was maintained.

The new society received few accessions, and at the end of a dozen years services were discontinued, and a portion of the congregation and their pastor atteuded public worship at the old church.

Before the separation was accomplished various circumstances occurred tending to a division. Some wished to introduce the Unitarian hymn-book. The leader of the choir, Mr. Otis Washburn, conferred with Mr. Sanford upon the expediency of the change, who advised to leave the decision to the church. New books were, however, distributed among the choir without further consultation. On the following Sunday, when the hymn was announced from Watts as usual, the choir remained silent. In the afternoon Mr. Wheeler Wilbur volunteered to lead the tune, and the choir followed in the accustomed hymn. Soon after, at a meeting of the church and society, a majority determined to make no change in the hymnbook.

Subsequently, difficulties arose concerning the funds of the first society, the trustees of which were Horatio Leonard, Maj. John Gilmore, and others, who were all among the seceders. They refused to pay over the income of the investment. Suit was brought, and the case conducted by Z. Eddy, of Middleborough, carried before the Supreme Court, where the decision was in favor of the first society, on the ground that the funds were originally given to it, and those who withdrew from the society could not lawfully carry any portion of the funds with them. The income then was ahout two hundred dollars, formerly it had been more. Not long after Capt. Edward Leonard left to the society by his will a legacy of one thousand dollars and land worth eight hundred dollars. He also gave one thousand dollars to the Unitarian Society in behalf of his brother Samuel, who intended to make the bequest had he executed a will.

Rev. Simeon Doggett, pastor of the Unitarian Church, came from Mendon to Raynham soon after the formation of the church in 1828, and died in 1852. He was the first preceptor of Bristol Academy, a scholarly man of dignified habits, and highly respected for his worth. He married a daughter of Dr. Fobes, and lived at the Centre, in the house now occupied by E. B. Dean. His will, on record at the probate office, commences thus: "Impressed with the words of the prophet Isaiah, who said to Hezekiah, ' Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live.' " His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Charles Brigham, of Taunton.

The Union Church at North Raynham1 was organized in 1875, the following being the original members : Willard M. Copeland, Mrs. W. M. Copeland, Lafayette Dean, Mrs. Cassander Gilmore, Barnum Hall, Edwin B. Hall, Mrs. Hiram E. Hall, Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Hall, Mrs. Harriet E. Howard, Mrs. Julia A. Kelly, Mrs. James S. Leach, Mrs. S. Russell Lincoln, Rev. and Mrs. C. A. G. Thurston, Mrs. John D. Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. Ebenezer B. Towne, Mrs. Charles E. Wetherell, Mrs. Sarah E. Wilbur, Barnum Hall and E. B. Towne, deacons, "Willard M. Copeland, clerk and treasurer.

This society was established in accordance with a liberal bequest of Martin Luther Hall, of Brookline, a native of North Raynham, son of the late Seth and Selina Hall. He was a Boston merchant, and died Feb. 19, 1875, at the age of seventy-three years, leaving in his will a bequest of fifteen thousand dollars to purchase the land and build a church for the " North Raynham Religious Society for Christian worship forever," the trustees being his brothers, Barnum Hall, John G. Hall (of Boston), and Cassander Gilmore, of North Raynham. A handsome and tasteful church edifice was erected in 1876, in compliance with bequest, by the trustees co-operating with Deacon E. B. Towne, and was dedicated in November of that centennial year. The two latter trustees have deceased since the church was completed. Rev. C. A. G. Thurston was called as first pastor. He subsequently resigned, and since that time the society has had no settled minister, but regular services are held, and the Sunday-school with scholars is in a prosperous condition. Edwin B. Hall was the first superintendent.

Baptist Church.1 - The Baptist Society in Raynham was organized in 1811. Meetings were held at the house of Asa King, and preaching services conducted by Rev. James Barnaby, Rev. Silas Hall, and others. In May, 1815, Rev. Ebenezer Briggs, pastor of the Fourth Baptist Church in Middleborough, commenced preaching for the Raynham Society onefourth of the time, and thus continued his labors for fifteen years. From 1830 until 1843 he preached onehalf of the time. Previous to 1831 he baptized five or six of the Raynham people. These joined the Fourth Baptist Church in Middleborough. In 1831 he baptized twenty-two in Raynham. From this date until 1839 the Raynham people were known as a branch of the Fourth Baptist Church in Middleborough.

In 1832 the church edifice was erected at an expense of about two thousand five hundred dollars. Asa King, Nathan Williams, Godfrey Robinson, Dormenio Hall, Turner E. King, and Job Robinson were the largest contributors to this object. After the completion of the edifice the pews were sold and the money put on interest for the benefit of the society. Additions were afterwards made to this fund by Joseph Hall, Alvin Dean, and Bathsheba Caswell. The society now owns twenty-seven shares in the Bristol County Bank, and has three hundred dollars in the Taunton Saviugs-Bank. The income is annually appropriated for the support of preaching.

D. M. Crane, a student of Pierce Academy, preached evenings and alternate Sundays for a year or more. In the summer of that year Elder Briggs baptized forty-seven persons in Raynham. From this date until 1843, Professor Briggs or students from Pierce Academy frequently occupied the pulpit on the alternate Sundays.

The church was legally organized April 6, 1837. The following are the names of the constituent members, all of them being dismissed from the Fourth Baptist Church in Middleborough : Nathan Williams, Lucy Williams, Turner E. King, Charity Washburn, Rebecca King, Thankful King, Philip King, William P. King, Lucinda King, Samuel Shaw, Jr., Rachel Shaw, Mary Leonard, Serena T. Leonard, Hannah Robinson, Lucy Hall, Polly Allen, Mary Allen, William King, Ardelia King, Job Robinson, Abiather Leonard, Alice Leonard, Morrill Robinson, Mary S. Robinson, Hannah Hall, Achsah Reed, Elvia Ann White, Philo Leonard, Serena K. Leonard, Soranus

Dec. 7, 1839, Godfrey Robinson was chosen clerk of the church, and filled that office nearly thirty-five years. At the same date William King was chosen for one of the deacons, and Sept. 12, 1840, Godfrey Robinson was chosen for the other. These two performed the duties of this office for many years, the former most of the time until Jan. 31, 1880, when the present deacons were chosen. Enoch King has served as deacon for several years.

Elder Briggs baptized eleven in 1840. In 1842, Rev. A. W. Carr, a student from Pierce Academy, aided the pastor in an extensive revival. Fourteen were baptized in July of that year.

Feb. 22, 1843, Rev. Ephraim Ward was ordained pastor of the church, and continued as such about three years. He was followed by Rev. Silas Hall for one year. ' From 1847 to 1855 the church had no pastor. Rev. Abijah S. Lion, Rev. Charles Randall, Rev. Richard Lentell, Rev. Ebenezer Briggs, Rev. Silas Hall, and others supplied the pulpit.

In January, 1855, Rev. James Andem became pastor. During his pastorate five were baptized and the church was reorganized. Only those who signed the covenant anew, thus pledging themselves to attend the meetings of the church, were afterwards considered as members.

In 1855 the present parsonage was erected, costing sixteen hundred dollars. This expense was borne by individual proprietors. It is now owned in part by proprietors and in part by the Baptist Society.

In May, 1857, Rev. William Reed entered upon his duties as pastor. He baptized fifteen in 1858, and continued his pastoral labors until January, 1860. Rev. Thomas Atwood was the next pastor. Twentyfour were baptized by him in 1860. Rev. John Blain supplied the church with preaching for nearly a year, closing his labors in the spring of 1863. In the July following Rev. Lumin Kinney was chosen pastor, and remained as such over two years. In 1866, Rev. Asa Bronson occupied the pulpit from April until November. Rev. Ambler Edson was pastor from March, 1867, until January, 1870. He baptized fifteen.

During the summer of 1870 the meeting-house was thoroughly remodeled inside and provided with a furnace, at an expense of about two thousand dollars.

Rev. Albert Colburn served the church as pastor from November, 1870, until May, 1873, and Rev. J. W. Lathrop from November, 1873, until November, 1875, baptizing six in 1874. In December, 1875, Rev. T. C. Tingley was unanimously chosen pastor. He baptized eleven in 1877. The church then numbered one hundred and four.

In 1863, Amos Robinson was licensed by the church to preach the gospel, and in 1877, William K. Miller received from the church a similar license. Both have been preaching in Iowa.

In 1840 the Raynham Church was received into the Old Colony Baptist Association, and remained connected with that Association until 1860, then it united with the Taunton Baptist Association.

Incorporation of the Town. - Raynham was set off from Taunton and incorporated as a separate town April 1, 1731. Among other things the act of incorporation provided " that the inhabitants of said town do, within the space of three years from the publication of this act, procure and settle a learned and orthodox minister of good conversation, and make provision for his comfortable and honorable support, and likewise provide a schoolmaster to instruct their children to read and write."

The council ordered Ebenezer Robinson, one of the principal inhabitants, to warn a meeting of the citizens to choose town officers. The warrant was issued under the authority and in the fourth year of the reign of His Majesty George II.

Town Clerks

Representatives to the General Court. - " By reason of the smallness of the town" no representative was chosen for the first thirty years of its existence. Then each town paid its own representative. In 1759, Zephaniah Leonard was chosen but declined to serve. The next year the town was fined for not choosing a representative, and Josiah Dean was delegated to petition the General Court to remit the fine. In 1768 and 1769, Zephaniah Leonard was chosen to represent the town, and received £7 7s. 6d. for the two years' service. This sum he gave to the public for the purpose of purchasing a lot for the proposed new meeting-house.

Benjamin King was chosen in 1774, and also to act as delegate to the Provincial Congress which met at Salem in October of that year. In 1775 he was again chosen, and in

;' In the north part of the town are a number of intelligent and thrifty families of African descent. Their ancestor was Tobey Gilmore, a servant of John Gilmore the 5th. He served in the Revolutionary army, was servant to Gen. Washington, his particular duty being the care of the general's tents. He saved his bounty, bought land, and founded a family. He died April 19, 1812 ; lies in the North Cemetery, under a blue headstone, and numerous descendants have preserved his name. One Boland, who became a Tory in the Revolution, formerly occupied the land confiscated and sold to Tobey. It subsequently appeared that Boland held only a life interest in the land, and the State repaid his heirs twenty thousand dollars about the year 1845, to indemnify them for the sale.

" Cuff Leonard, a colored citizen of this town, who died in 1825, was eight years in the Revolutionary army, a part of the time in the ranks, and a part of the time as servant of Governor Brooks. Cuff was brought up in the family of Capt. Joshua Leonard, from whom he derived his surname. Tradition says he captured six Hessians-one night, when on picket guard, and brought them into camp. He was at the battle of Saratoga and surrender of Burgoyne. He received a pension, lived comfortably near the house of Mr. Macy Williams, and left a son Charles, famed for his amiability, intelligence, and debonair manners."

For many years after the organization of the town few debts were incurred. Money was scant, and strenuous efforts were made to avoid liabilities. In 1754 the town voted " that their treasurer receive the bariron due to the town on their half-share on the old iron-works, and that he dispose of a part of it to buy a funeral pall for the use of the town, and keep the remainder till further ordered."

" It was put to vote to determine if the town would add three hundred pounds, old tenor, to Rev. Mr. Wales' salary, in order to raise it to four hundred pounds, one-third to be paid in bar-iron at nine pounds per hundredweight, the other two-thirds in provisions, - Indian corn at twenty shillings per bushel, rye thirty shillings, beef eighteen pence per pound, which sum, reduced to sterling money, is fiftythree pounds, six shillings, eight pence," and was voted in the affirmative.

Biographical Sketches Charles Robinson

As the orthography indicates, the Robinson family originated in the Highlands of Scotland, where for many years they bore a prominent part in the stirring events of that country's history. Later they emigrated to the north of Ireland, and became leading Protestants and earnest opposers of the Papal power.

Gain Robinson, the first American ancestor, brought to this country with him recommendations from the leading Protestant churches and churchmen in Ireland. He landed at Plymouth, lived a while at both Braintree and Pembroke, but finally settled in East Bridgewater. His wife was Margaret Watson, by whom he had several children, one of whom was a sergeant in the French war, under Gen. Winslow, and died in Nova Scotia. Gain1 died in East Bridgewater in 1763, aged eighty-one. His wife died in 1777, aged seventy-seven.

Dyer was by occupation a forgeman in iron-works, and his sons were brought up to the same business. Charles and Enoch early became practical iron-workers, and Charles, when a young man, was employed in the office of Lazell Perkins & Co. (now Bridgewater Iron Company). He was also at one time engaged, with an uncle of his, at Marshfield, Mass., trading, and when about twenty years old spent one winter in North Carolina on a trading expedition. About 1828 he came to East Taunton as agent for Horatio Leonard & Co., the then owners of what is now Old Colony Iron-Works. The position he filled was equivalent to general manager or supervisor of the entire works, which consisted in nail and tack manufacturing and rolling iron, together with a store for furnishing supplies to the operatives. Some years later the style of the firm was changed to Taunton Iron Company. In the stock of this company both Charles and Enoch Robinson became shareholders, and Charles still retained the general management. In 1842 the works suspended, or rather an assignment was made to trustees, in order to have the affairs of the concern looked into and settled up. This investigation resulted in finding the business solvent and capable of paying all indebtedness. In 1843 the works were sold at auction, and bought in by a syndicate, of which Charles and Enoch Robinson were members. In 1844 it was reorganized and incorporated as Old Colony Iron Company, and was officered as follows: Samuel L. Crocker, president; Charles Robinson, as agent and secretary ; George A. Crocker, as treasurer ; and Enoch Robinson, as superintendent. About 1856, Charles was chosen treasurer. He held the position of secretary till 1866, when his son, Charles T., was chosen in his stead. He continued, however, as treasurer of the company to the time of his death. Upon the reorganization of the company in 1844 they greatly enlarged the sphere of their operations, and from that time to the present they have year by year added to their facilities and increased their production. In August, 1881, they met with a very considerable loss in the destruction by fire of their nail-factory and steam tack-plate mill. Instead of rebuilding the nail-factory, they purchased what was known as the Somerset Iron Company's works, located at Somerset, Mass. This mill is now a part of and conducted under the charter of the Old Colony Iron Company. The tack-plate mill was rebuilt, and that department pf the business is continued at East Taunton, as before. Prior to the fire they manufactured more nails than any other one concern in New England, their production having reached as high as one hundred and thirty thousand kegs in one year. They now make a specialty of shovels, and also do a large business in rolling all kinds of iron plates for the manufacture of tacks and for various other purposes.

Mr. Robinson was at different periods stockholder and director in the Bridgewater Iron Company, Parker Mills, Weymouth Iron Company, Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company, and Taunton Oil Cloth Company. He was a very successful business man, and continued in business up to the time of his death. He was a Whig and Republican in politics ; was selectman in town many years, and was a member of the Unitarian Church at Taunton. He married Ann M. Keith, Nov. 24, 1825 ; she was the daughter of Zenith and Jane H. (Carey) Keith, of East Bridgewater. They had five children, - Charles T., Lucy Ann, Albert Jenks, Theodore (deceased), and Edgar. Mr. Robinson died Feb. 8, 1882, in the eighty-second year of his age, he having been born Oct. 15, 1800.

Enoch Robinson was born July 31, 1808. He had even less opportunities for education than had most boys of that period, as he only attended school one three-months' session, but by applying himself diligently to study at home during his leisure hours he managed to obtain a very fair English education.

At the age .of seventeen he went to East Bridgewater and worked eighteen months for his brother Jacob ; then to South Bridgewater, where he finished his trade, making forgings of all kinds for Lazell Perkins & Co. ; then in 1829 came to East Taunton.

Like his brother Charles, he learned his trade as iron forger, making anchors, etc., as soon as old enough, and in 1829 he came to East Taunton and began work in the mills of which he is now superintendent. The development of this industry from its small beginning to its present large proportions has been largely due to the efficient management and superintendence of the Robinson brothers, and it stands to-day a monument to their skill, enterprise, and ability. Mr. Robinson has devoted himself strictly to his business, and has sedulously avoided, so far as in his power, all offices. He has, however, been one of the selectmen of his town since 1848, and was a member of the State Legislature in 1860. He has been ever since its organization one of the directors of the Old Colony

Iron Company, and is also director of the Bridgewater Iron- Works, the Weymouth Iron- Works, Parker Mills, the Taunton Locomotive- Works, and a shareholder in all of them ; also in the Taunton Oil Cloth Company. He is a Republican in politics. In 1834 he married Sophia V. Saunders, daughter of William Saunders, of Raynham, by whom he had six children, - Enoch (deceased), Amanda L., Henry H., Nahum S. (deceased), Caroline E., and Nahum S.2 Mr. Robinson married", second, Nancy T. Jewett; no issue. His third and present wife is Julia (King), daughter of Daniel Hall, of Marion. They have one child, - Marie Dyer.

Of the children above named, Nahum S. is located at Somerset, and is one of the proprietors of that branch of the business. Henry is with his father in Raynham, and is assistant superintendent of the works. Amanda is now Mrs. Charles L. Haskins, of East Raynham. Caroline E. is now residing with her father.

Towne Family

TOWNE FAMILY. The name of Towne, Town, or Townes, as it is sometimes spelt, is one of not frequent occurrence. It may be found here and there, generally in communities of Anglo-Saxon derivation, and though surnames began to be used in England about the time of the Norman Conquest, and from time to time for three or four centuries continued to be adopted till they came into general use, this does not seem to be one that met with much favor. The earliest existence of it known to the writer was a.d. 1274, when William de la Towne, of Abvely, a village in the county of Shropshire, England, about twenty miles southeast of Shrewsbury, the capital of the county, was at that time in the prosecution of a suit at law against one of the officers of the parish, and the following year was on a jury at Astley, in the same county. The next we hear from it is one hundred and thirty or forty years later, in the reign of Henry IV., when upon the windows of the church in Kennington, Kent County, impaled with that of Ellis, of the same place, were the arms of a family by this name, being argent on a chevron, sable, three cross crossletts, ermine. Thomas at Towne, who at this time possessed much land about Cheving, and who bore the same coat of arms, married Benedicta, only daughter of John Brampton, alias Ditling, of Ditling Court, and thereby inherited a manor in Throwley, where he remained and erected a seat about one-fourth of a mile from the church, and named it Towne Place, soon after which he died, leaving his possessions to three daughters, coheiresses, of whom Eleanor married Richard Lewknor, of Chullock. Bennet, or Benedicta, married William Wattin, of Addington, and Elizabeth married William Sernes, of the same parish. His estate was divided about a.d.

1446, when Throwley was allotted to Eleanor, the wife of Richard Lewknor. From the manner of the division it is quite evident that he died without leaving descendants to transmit his name to posterity. The next reference to this name known to the writer is in the county of Lincoln, where it has existed for more than four centuries. In a.d. 1459, William Towne, D.D., was collated (became the clergyman of the parish) at Stow in Lindsey, in this county. In a.d. 1470 he was appointed almoner to King Henry VI. In old age he accepted an income from the parish, and died A.D. 149G. In 1470, John Towne, Professor of Divinity, succeeded Alexander Prowett, of Lincoln, as precentor (leader of the choir in the Cathedral), which place he resigned in 1473 for the prebend of Dunholme.

John Towne, of Irby, county of Lincoln, made his will Nov. 18, 1540. To be buried in the church of St. Andrews, at Irby. Legacies to Anne, Thomas, and George Towne, his brother William, of Irby, being principal heir and executor. His will was proved June 1, 1541. John Towne, of Ludborough, county of Lincoln, executed his will under date of Jan. 24, 1637. Sons, Leonard, John, and William, and brother Richard Towne.

Richard Towne, of Braceby, in the same county, married Ann, and had children as follows : Richard, who died 1617, leaving wife Alice, son Leonard, and daughter Helen, not twenty-one years of age ; Edward, who had children in 1630; Elizabeth, who married Phillips ; Helen, who married Oxman ;

1599; Mary, baptized April 15, 1601; William, baptized May 21, 1603, and Margery. The earliest we find the name in this country is in 1635, when William Towne was an inhabitant of Cambridge. On the 18th of the month of April, 1637, he appeared before the General Court and took the oath required to become a freeman or voter. He was town clerk in 1639 ; purchased land in Cambridge of David Stone and Thomas Danforth in 1653, and in 1655 of Edmund Goffee ; was tythingman in 1680, and died April 30, 1685. aged eighty years. His wife Martha died January, 1674. His children were Mary and Peter.

We come now to William Towne, the Anglo-American progenitor of descendants who have settled in a majority of the States in the American Union. Of his birthplace or parentage we know nothing positive, though he may have come from the county of Lincoln, in England, and may have been the son of Richard and Ann Towne, of Braceby. The earliest positive information we have relative to him is at Yarmouth, Norfolk County, a city of considerable maritime importance, situated on the east coast of England, one hundred and eight miles in a direct line, and one hundred and twenty miles by railroad northeast from London.

1620, and had their first six children baptized there. The next we hear of the family is at Salem, Essex Co., Mass. William Towne's residence was in that part of Salem known as the North Fields. He remained here till 1651, the year following the incorporation of the town of Topsfield, where he purchased a tract of land in the latter place of William Paine, of Ipswich, containing about forty acres. In 1652 he sold his property in Salem to Henry Bullock ; in 1656 purchased additional land in Topsfield, and in 1663, "in consideration of mutual affection and contemplated marriage of their son, Joseph Towne, with Phebe, the daughter of Thomas Perkins," he and his wife conveyed to their son Joseph two-thirds of their home wherein they did then dwell, with barn, outbuildings, yard, gardens, and orchards, lying, situated, and being in Topsfield, together with one-third of all his real estate. All these conveyances being made with the desire that this said son should have the first refusal of the remaining third when the same should be sold. He died about 1672. The six children baptized in Yarmouth, England, were Rebecca, John, Susanna, Edmund, Jacob, and Mary; Sarah and Joseph were born and baptized in Salem.

Joseph Towne, youngest son of William and Joanna Towne, was born in 1639, and married Phebe, daughter of Deacon Thomas Perkins, of Topsfield. He accompanied his father in his removal from Salem to Topsfield, was made a freeman March 22, 1690, was a member of the church at the latter place, and died 1713, aged seventy-four years. Their children were Phebe, Joanna, Mary, Susanna, Joseph, Sarah, John, and Martha.

Joseph Towne, son of Joseph and Phebe Perkins Towne, was born in Topsfield, March 22, 1673, and Nov. 9, 1699, married Margaret Case, of Salem. They were admitted to the church in 1709. He gave his estate to his son David in 1749. Children, Margaret, Joseph, Archilaus, Israel, Elisha, Bartholomew, Mary, David, Abigale, Phebe, Hannah, Martha, Sarah, and Joanna.

[SRAEL Towne, son of Joseph, and third descendant of William, who came from England, was born in Topsfield, Mass., March 24, 1705, and May 23, 1729, married Grace Gardner, of Middleton, Mass. He was one of the early settlers of Narragansett, No. 3 (Amherst, N. H.), probably 1734. Capt. Israel Towne died in Amherst in the year. 1803, aged ninetysix years. Their children were Thomas, Archilaus, Israel, Moses, Gardner, Elisabeth, Susanna, Mary.

Israel Towne, son of Israel Towne, and fourth descendant of William the first settler, was born in Topsfield, Mass., Nov. 16, 1736, and when very young came with his father to Amherst, N. H., where he remained till about 1782, when he went to Stoddard, N. H. He was an enterprising, active man, filled various town offices, being selectman in 1769 and 1773, and married Lydia Hopkins, of Milford, July 31, 1760. She was born April 27, 1737. Israel Towne, 4<i

Esq., died in Stoddard, April 28, 1813, aged seventyseven years. Their children were Israel, William, Gardener, Benjamin, Andrew , Lydia, Daniel, Hannah, Lemuel.

Gardner Towne, son of Israel and Lydia Hopkins Towne, and fifth descendant of William the first settler, was born in Amherst, May 1, 1765, and Jan. 27, 1795, married Lucy Bancroft, of Tyngsborough, Mass., daughter of Col. Ebenezer Bancroft. She was born June 7, 1773. In 1782 he went with his father from Amherst to Stoddard. At an early age he began merchandising and the keeping of a public-house, in both of which he continued business successfully until his death. He held many offices in town and county affairs, was justice of the peace, and a member of the Masonic order in high standing. His official docket was larger than any other justice in the county of Cheshire at that time. Col. Ebenezer Bancroft, the father of Lucy Bancroft Towne, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He was last but one to leave the intrenchments of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, and in making his escape leaped the ranks of the British, and left his long Indian gun on their shoulders and ran. In his flight he received thirteen bullet-holes in his clothes and lost one forefinger. He claimed to have shot the cannon-ball that struck the Brattle Street Church, Boston, which remained there until the church was taken down a few years since. The British soldiers were encamped in the church at that time. He based his claim to this honor upon the fact that he fired every ball that was thrown into Boston from Cambridge that day.

Gardner Towne died in Stoddard, N. H., Dec. 16, 1815. His wife died in the same place April 14, 1849. Their children were Christiana, Rebecca, Bancroft, Susanna, Oka, Cleon G., Orr Noble, Ebenezer Bancroft, Lucy Bancroft, Solon, Mary.

Ebenezer Bancroft Towne, son of Gardner and Lucy Bancroft Towne, and sixth descendant of William the first settler, was born in Stoddard, N. H., Dec.

J 14, 1809. After the death of his father, he lived with his mother until her marriage with Levi Warren, of Alstead, N. H., and was afterwards with the Rev. Isaac Robinson, of Stoddard, N. H., about two years, and with Deacon John Farwell and his son, John, Jr., of Tyngsborough, Mass., six years, and was offered an heirship if he would remain with the latter until twenty-one. He began his apprenticeship with Sam- i a year and board, and finished it with his brother, Orr N., in Boston, at two thousand a year. He was a partner with his brothers Orr Noble (in Boston) and j Cleon Gardner (in Stoddard) until Orr Noble's retirement from business. He then associated himself with William W. Kendrick, under the style of Towne & Kendrick, and four years afterwards George W. Skinner, another of the salesmen, was admitted as partner. This firm carried on an extensive business in hats, caps, buffalo robes, furs, and straw goods, in

Boston, until Mr. Towne, compelled by ill health, retired from the firm. His business career, in city and country, covered a period of more than fifty years, during which time he met every financial obligation at maturity, and never had a bill but what was paid at the first presentation, when just. He has had six partners in business, - three in his Boston business, two in a country store, and one in tanning hides into leather, - and never had the least trouble with either of them, neither did they at any time show him the disrespect to use a profane word in his presence. Since residing in Bristol County he was county commissioner six years (two terms), and got the nomination for a third term, but declined the honor. He has been connected with the Bristol County Agricultural Society, as treasurer and in other responsible positions, about ten years. He at the present time (1883) is engaged in no business.

Mr. Towne married for his first wife Almeda Wilson, daughter of Joel and Polly Wilson, of Stoddard, N. H. She left no children. She died in Amherst, N. H., Oct. 21, 1845 ; and for his second, Mrs. Chlora Adaline Gilmore, widow of the late H. T. Gilmore, of Raynham, Mass., and daughter of Sylvanus and Polly Braman, of Norton, Mass., who is still living, and by whom he has had three children, - Almeda Wilson (who died at two years old), Edward Bancroft (who is designated E. B. Towne, Jr., because there is another in a brother's family having the same initials), and Etta Buffington.

Xathax W. Shaav

Benjamin Shaw, the ancestor, was one of the early settlers of Taunton ; was a shareholder in the Taunton Iron-Works in 16 - , and had a saw-mill on the stream above the works now Raynham ; he died in 1723 ; wife Hannah and son.

Col. Jonathan Shaw, born Feb. 14, 1732; died Nov. 27, 1797 ; married only daughter of Nehemiah and Bethiah (Williams) Hall,1 born 1735; died 1781: son.

1 Nehemiah Hall3, son of Joseph3, George1, married Bethiah Williams3 from Richard Williams. Both ancestors were among the chief founders of Taunton in 1639.

Cassini was a farmer, a quiet unobtrusive man who shrank from any kind of publicity or official position. A useful, meritorious, and much respected citizen. He was so rigidly strict in his temperance principles that when it was the custom of the county to have intoxicating drinks at all public gatherings, he was the first man to raise a building without furnishing his neighbors who helped him liquor to drink. Another fact which illustrates the consistency and persistency of the man is the fact that, from the time he was twenty-one years of age to the day of his death, he never failed to cast his vote at every election with the Whig and Republican party, whose opinions he espoused. He was a great reader, and especially in his declining years he spent most of his time perusing his favorite authors, and seemed to derive great comfort and pleasure from his books. In religious belief he was a Unitarian, and was a regular attendant at service. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. He married Clarissa, daughter of John Walker, of Dighton, Nov. 2, 1817. They had two children, Rebecca W. (now Mrs. A. P. Slade, of Somerset, - see Slade biography), and Nathan W., born Oct. 11, 1823. Mrs. Shaw died March 27, 1863, and Mr. Shaw died Dec. 27, 1881.

Nathan W. Shaw had what educational facilities were afforded by the common schools of his district, and an attendance at Bristol Academy and Bridgewater Normal School. He was brought up on the farm, and when twenty-one years of age began teaching school. This he continued during the winter months fourteen years. He has always been much interested in and given much attention to educational matters. He has been a member of the school committee of Raynham twenty-eight years, and is now superintendent of public schools. He has been assessor fifteen years, and has been justice of the peace more than twenty years. He has been several years trustee of Bristol Academy.

He married, June 19, 1856, Sarah J., daughter of Jahaziah S. and Jane (Sampson) King, oi' Raynham. She was born Sept. 7, 1832. They have but one son, Alexander W., born Sept. 14, 1868.

Mrs. Shaw is descended from one of the oldest and most respectable families of Raynham. Concerning her father, we clip the following notice of his death from a Taunton paper :

" Mr. Jaliaziah S. King died at his residence in Raynham, Wednesday morning last, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. Mr. King was of a retiring disposition, a kind-hearted and liberal man. He had always lived in Raynham, being born on the same farm on which he died. At one time he was largely engaged in manufacturing, and in the early days of the California gold discovery he had a large trade in shovels, picks, and forks. Mr. King was a man of an inventive turn. He made the first scoop-shovel in this country, and also invented a machine for rolling down the straps on shovels, before which all were hammered down by hand. He afterwards invented a machine for making sharp-pointed clinchnails."

Martin G. Williams

Martin G. Williams, third son and child of Francis and Louisa (Gilmore) Williams, was born Dec. 11, 1807, on the old home of the Williams family in Taunton, and is a descendant in the seventh generation from Richard Williams, who settled in Taunton in 1638. (For ancestral history, see history of Taunton, heading, " The Williams Family.") He labored in early life at the various avocations of farming, brick-making, and lumbering, and had advantages of the schools of his native town. He remained at his father's home until he attained his majority. He then passed a few months at Ellsworth, Me., and then for six years he was at work for his father. In 1834 he came to Raynham, and settled on a farm of forty acres given to him by his father. He assiduously applied himself to agriculture, and has been very successful. He married Tempe, daughter of Joseph and Zervia (Dillingham) Hamlen, of Barnstable, Mass., Feb. 16, 1842. They had two children, - Emma Bathsheba and Melvin Gilmore. Emma was born Aug. 8, 1844, and was married to Bradford B. King, of Raynham, Nov. 18, 1880. They reside with Mr. Williams, whose wife died March 23, 1877. Melvin G., born Nov. 23, 1846, married Mrs. Susan W. Greenough, daughter of William O. Snow, of Raynham, Sept. 27, 1882. He resides near his father.

In 1842, Mr. Williams purchased the saw- and grist-mills of John and Salmon Washburn, and has kept them in operation until the present time. His son and son-in-law are the active workers of the business now, for of late years Mr. Williams has been confined most of the time to his house. For about twenty years of his life he was engaged in the manufacture of boat-nails, which business at one time assumed quite large proportions. Mr. Williams inherits the caution, prudence, and financial skill so largely developed in his father, and is fond of safe investments, never being dazzled by brilliant speculations. He is stockholder in various corporations and railroads, is a man of good, practical common sense, and sound judgment. Raynham has probably never had a better citizen, or one who more highly respected the majesty of the law. He is Unitarian in church belief, and Whig and Republican in politics, ever, however, preferring the ease and freedom of his quiet home to the cares and turmoil of official station.

Joseph W. White

There are many conflicting accounts in the biographical and genealogical records of most of the early settlers in New England, owing to the meagre data which, in the colonial days, was placed on record, and the White family is no exception in this particular. We find it impossible, from the authorities at hand, to trace with positive certainty the ancestral history of that branch of the White family now residing in Raynham. The first one of whom we can obtain reliable information was John White, who in 1731 was a landholder and resident of that part of Taunton now Raynham. That he was a man of consequence and prominence is shown by the frequent mention he receives in the early records of that town.

He had a son named Samuel, born in Raynham, who had by his wife Susan a son also named Samuel. His will, dated May 20, 1755, is still in existence and in the possession of his descendant, Joseph W. White, the present town clerk of Raynham. This Samuel, Jr., married Hannah Andrews, of Raynham, about 1760. They had six children, the oldest of whom was Perez, born Feb. 1, 1762. Samuel was by occupation a miller, and died April 26, 1808. Perez followed the same avocation as his father, and succeeded to his father's possessions. He married Deborah Leach, of Bridgewater, Jan. 1, 1788. Their children were Sybil, Sidney, Sybil2, Daniel L., Isaac K., Samuel D., and Deborah L. Perez was an influential and much-respected citizen of Raynham, and was sexton of the old Congregational Church of that town many years. In 1818 he moved to Westmoreland, N. H., where he engaged in farming, and there spent the remainder of his days. He died June 13, 1850, in his eighty-ninth year.

Isaac K. was born Aug. 29, 1801, in Raynham, Mass., grew up to manhood there, and when a young man was captain of militia. He removed to Westmoreland, N. H., and married Penelope Knight, of that town, Jan. 1, 1825. They had ten children, - Joseph W., born Oct. 1, 1825; Eunice K. (deceased) ; Eunice K.- (deceased) ; Lucy A., born Aug. 31, 1830 (now Mrs. William Patton, of Westmoreland, N. H.) ; Fanny M. (deceased), born Aug. 20, 1832; Henry K, born Oct. 16, 1834 (now a farmer in his native town) ; Damon D., born Nov. 28, 1836; John V. (deceased), born May 2, 1839 ; Frances M., born June 20, 1842 (now the widow of Rev. Trueman A. Jackson, who died in Andersonville prison, October, 1864. She is now a practitioner of medicine, and resides in Emporia, Kan. She is a graduate of Medical Department of Boston University) ; Susan E., born Jan. 13, 1845. .

In politics Isaac K. was formerly a Whig, but upon the dissolution of that party he became a Democrat, and was twice elected to the New Hampshire State Legislature on that ticket. He was a deacon of the Universalist Church, and a man of strict morality,

-sterling integrity, and of broad and liberal views. He died in Raynham, Mass., while on a visit to his son, Damon D., July 9, 1881. Mrs. White had preceded him only a few years; she died Sept. 10, 1874.

Joseph W. White was born in Westmoreland, N. H. When a young man, in 18-49, he came to Raynham, Mass., and engaged with George W. King as an employe in his tack-works. In 1858 he changed his occupation and took up shoe manufacturing, which has been his pursuit to the present time, he now being engaged in the shoe manufacturing establishment of his brother.

He is one of the most respected and esteemed citizens of the town. In 1872 he was chosen deacon of the Congregational Church of Raynham. In 1873 he was chosen town clerk and treasurer, and has held that position to the present time. In 1876 he was elected to the State Legislature. He has been for many years and is now justice of the peace. All the various trusts reposed in him by his fellow-townsmen have been conscientiously discharged, and the duties of officer, Christian, and citizen faithfully performed. He married, June 16, 1853, Rowena Hayward, daughter of Dr. Elisha Hayward, of Raynham They have two living children, - Clarence H., born Oct. 8, 1863 (graduated at Bristol Academy June, 1882, and now, 1883, a student at Amherst College), and Harry T., born Nov. 2, 1868.

Damon D. White was born in Westmoreland, N. H., Nov. 28, 1836. He was brought up on the farm and in the blacksmith-shop with his father until twenty years of age. In 1857 he came to Northern Massachusetts, and worked one year in a chair-factory. His start in life was not very encouraging, as his employer failed and he lost the most of his year's wages. In the autumn of 1858 he came to Raynham, and soon after ccynmenced work, running a pegging-machine in the shoe-factory which he now owns, and which was then owned by Martin White, and run as a " bottoming-shop" by A. & A. B. Keith. This factory was first established in March, 1859, and Mr. White was one of the first operators. He continued in this establishment until the spring of 1868. Having accumulated some money, he determined to start in business for himself. In pursuance of this idea he spent some months traveling through the West, looking for a location. Not finding a satisfactory site he returned to Massachusetts, and engaged with Orr & Sears, of North Bridgewater, as a shoe-bottomer, where he worked one year. He then started a manufactory of his own in that town, which he conducted about a year and a half, when he closed out and returned to Raynham. Here he rented a factory of William Snow, began manufacturing shoes, and continued in this place till 1873, when he rented of Martin White the factory in which fourteen vears before he had learned his trade. One year later, upon the decease of Martin White, he purchased the factory, and is now the owner and proprietor. The business has assumed considerable proportions. Mr. White manufactures from ten to fifteen cases per day, and employs about forty-five hands. His goods are chiefly placed in the New England market, and his trade is largely to Boston jobbers. He married April 15, 1862, Huldah A., daughter of Zenis and Harriet Britton, of Westmoreland, N. H. They have one child, Hattie M., born Jan. 13, 1876.

George W. King

GEORGE W. KING. Philip King, the first American ancestor of George Washington King, of Raynham, emigrated from England in company with a brother, Cyrus, and settled at Braintree some time prior to 1680. He came to Raynham, then Taunton, bought land, built a house, and became a permanent settler. The deed of sale to him of this land bears date 1680. He married Judith, daughter of Rev. William Whitman, of Milton. He was a man of high character, courage, and decision, and was well adapted to be a leader in the pioneer days. He was a man of sterling honesty, and won the love of the Indians by his just dealings, and, during all the troublous times of Indian warfare, was never molested by them, nor his property injured. He was captain, and, probably, a deputy to Plymouth. A large number attended his funeral, which was conducted with military honors. He had seven children, of whom John was youngest and only son. He was born about 1681, and died in 1741. He married, in 1700, Alice Dean, who died in 1746. He was, like his father, a very devout and conscientious man. Rev. Mr. Sanford says of him, " The contract to build the second meeting-house in Taunton was taken by John King. He drew logs and timber on the ice of Taunton River, and landed them at Barney Hill, a little this side of the village. The house was three stories high, containing, like the old South Church, Boston, two tiers of galleries on three sides. It was built in 1729. The expense of the house much exceeded his expectations, and to make up his loss the town made him a present of the "Great Neck," so called, in Raynham. John, like his father, felt a great interest in the welfare of the Indians. He educated two men at his own expense to become missionaries to their native brethren. Their names were Campbell and Occum. He had, according to Rev. Mr. Sanford, six sons and two daughters, - Philip, John, Josiah, David, Jonathan, Benjamin, Hannah, and Abigail.

Benjamin King (third generation), son of John and Alice (Dean) King, was born in 1720, and owned a large amount of land, much of which is now held by his descendants. He was three times married, (1) to Abiah, daughter of Deacon Samuel Leonard, by whom he had six children ; (2) to Deliverance, daughter of Joseph Eddy, of Taunton, by whom he had six children ; (3) to a Mrs. Cobb (no offspring). He was called upon to do much public business, laying out roads, setting off farms, establishing and building meeting-houses, etc. He contributed forty pounds toward the erection of the Taunton meeting-house, and was a man of substance and respectability. We quote again from Eev. Mr. Sanford : " Raynham for many years did not send a representative to the General Court, as each town then had to pay its own representatives. In 1774 Benjamin King represented the town when the storm of the Revolution was gathering and the General Court at Boston was harassed by the Governor. He was afterwards a delegate to the Provincial Congress, held in May of the same year, and was also, in 1776, one of the Committee of Safety in the State." He died in 1803, at the advanced age of eighty-three years.

Stephen King (fourth generation), oldest child of Benjamin and Deliverance (Eddy) King, was distinguished for enterprise and energy of character. He owned a large farm near King's Bridge, on Taunton River, and, in spite of great opposition from the people, who contended that the herring fishery would be ruined and thousands of acres of meadow land flooded, he obtained authority from the Legislature to construct a dam across the river, and in a few years it gave power to iron-works, giving employment to hundreds of persons, and bringing a large population to the village, which, in consequence of this action of one man of far-seeing sagacity, sprung up like magic. This village was called " Squawbetty," continuing the name previously applied to the locality from an Indian squaw named Betty, who formerly lived there. He married Hannah, daughter of Mason Shaw, Esq. They had seven children, of whom George W. was fourth son. Stephen King was a firm supporter of religion and a man of superior ability, and much reverenced in the community.

George W. King (fifth generation) was born in Raynham, Mass., Jan. 24, 1800. Like most boys of that period he had but very meagre educational advantages. There was a school taught about three months each year, and labors at home frequently detained the young scholar from its instruction. Being the son of a farmer and brickmaker (which he carried on besides other branches of industry) he was early taught to labor, and thus, although debarred from a liberal scholastic education, obtained a very valuable practical one, which he has through a long and busy life used to advantage and made the foundation of his success. The priucipal branches of this education were labor and economy. These brought to him a hardy and robust constitution which has enabled him to retain great vigor at his eighty-third year. Upon arriving at his majority he entered the employ of H. Leonard & Co., as forgeman. In this capacity he remained two winters. He then engaged to do their teaming, which he did for seven years. He was then employed in their shovel-factory in " handleing" shovels, and for several years remained at this work. In 1837 he began, in a small way, the manufacture of shovels on his own premises in Squawbetty. His business increased, and he added to his productions year by year until he had one of the representative manufactories of this section. In 1841 he bought the privilege formerly used by Raynham Furnace, moved his business thither, and changed his residence to that place in December, 1844. In the spring of 1842 the dam and buildings of his manufactory were carried away by the floods, but rebuilt immediately. In December, 1845, the works were entirely burned, - no insurance.

At the time of the breaking out of the great Rebellion of 1861, he was making shovels, nails, tacks, etc., and employing thirty people. About this time he discontinued making shovels, owing to heavy losses caused by the failure of large New York houses with whom he was dealing. He struggled along, however, continuing the manufacture of nails. This he gradually built up into a successful business, in which he was engaged until the autumn of 1882, when he retired.

In connection with his manufacturing, Mr. King has always been a farmer on a small scale. When a young man he made a trip to South Carolina with two of his brothers, and passed some months in getting out hogshead staves.

Mr. King married Susan Young, daughter of Asa and Susannah (Randall) Howard, of Easton, Mass. She was born in 1813, and died March 1., 1879. They had two children, - Susan Howard, born May 6, 1836, and Eliza A., born Dec. 20, 1838. Susan married, Jan. 30, 1861, George William Andros, of Taunton, now cashier in Taunton National Bank. They have five children, - Susan A., born Dec. 25, 1861 ; Annie H., born Feb. 4, 1863 ; Frederick W., born March 19, 1865 ; Charles H., born Nov. 29, 1869 ; and William N., born Jan. 10, 1879. (We trace the Howard family as follows : John Howard with his brother James came from England to Duxbury, and was registered as one able to bear arms there in 1643. In 1651 he was one of the original proprietors and settlers of West Bridgewater. He was young when he came over, and it is said lived in Capt. Miles Standish's family. He was one of the first military officers in Bridgewater, and a man of much consideration. He took the oath of fidelity there in 1657. He always wrote his name Haward, and so did all his descendants until 1700, and it is thus spelled in the early town records, but since that date it has been written invariably Howard. It is remarkable that the names of Hayward and Howard, which have been called distinct names, were originally pronounced alike, Howard. They were the same originally, and both Hayward; but in writing John omitted the " y." This John died about 1700, leaving children, one of whom was Jonathan, who married Sarah Dean, and was a major. He had nine children. His estate was settled in 1739. His sixth child, Ablet, born 1704, graduated at Harvard University 1729, became a physician, married Silence, daughter of Nehemiah Washburn, and had several children. He died Jan. 10, 1777; his wife died Aug. 17, 1775. Nehemiah, son of Dr. Abiel Howard, born in 1740, married Hannah, daughter of Dr. Dean, of Easton, born 1745. They had six children, and resided in Easton, adjoining the Bridgewater line. Nehemiah died Sept. 30, 1825, and his wife died Nov. 2, 1820. Asa, son of Nehemiah, born 1775, died Jan. 1,1838; married Susannah Randall, and had seven children, of whom # Susan Young, who married George W. King, was fourth child and eldest daughter.)

Samuel Jones

Of the numerous branches of the Jones family, both in England and the United States, that to which Samuel Jones belongs has been among the most prominent. The famous Lieutenant-Governor, William Jones, of New Haven Colony, was a descendant originally of this same family. The first American ancestor, however, of Samuel Jones, was one Thomas Jones, of Hingham, England, who in 1638 emigrated to America in the ship " Confidence," was made a freeman in 1646, was by occupation a tailor. His wife was named Ann. They had four, children, of whom Joseph was one. The following data concerning the ancestry from that time to the present has been contributed by Mr. Jones himself.

First generation : Joseph Jones, who settled in that part of Taunton now Raynham. By Probate Records, book 5, pages 324 and 325, it appears that he died in 1726. He must have lived to a great age, as his son Abraham was then sixty-seven years old. Joseph Jones' (his son) will, proved Dec. 18, 1740, (vol. x. p. 6), shows his children were Benjamin, Nathan, Elnathan, Submit (married Partridge), Sarah, Lidia (married Bosworth), Rebeccah (married Dyer), and Mary Jones. Their posterity have scattered over the country we know not where.

Second generation : Abraham Jones, son of Joseph Jones (1), died March 18, 1735, aged seventy-six years. He was one of the thirty-two persons dismissed from the parent church in Taunton to organize the First Church in Raynham, Oct. 19, 1731. His residence was a few rods southwest of the late anchor forge, on the site of the first bloomery in the country. His children were Timothy, Isaac, Jacob, Israel, Hatherly, Ruth (married Dean), Sarah (married Pratt).

Third generation : Timothy, son of Abraham, died Sept. 16, 1781, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. His wife was Sarah Shaw, of Raynham, and died 1774. Their children were Timothy, born 1727; Abraham, born 1730 ; Hannah, born 1733 ; Samuel

Jones, born Nov. 15, 1738. His residence was on Pleasant Street, half a mile northeast of the First Congregational Church, and it is now standing and has been the birthplace of his children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren in our line. His grandson, Samuel, then about eight years old, at the dark day, May 19, 1780, remembered how calm and composed he was when the people thought the last day had come.

Fourth generation : Samuel Jones, son of Timothy and Sarah Jones, died Sept. 15, 1808. His first wife was Mercy Gushee, daughter of Abraham and Hannah Gushee. Their son, Samuel Jones, was born July 13, 1772. He often remarked, when speaking of his youth, that he was four years a subject of King George.

Fifth generation : Samuel Jones, son of Samuel and Mercy, died Dec. 26, 1854, aged eighty-two years. His wife was Mary, daughter of John and Silence Williams. She died July 11, 1847, aged sixty-six years. Their children were Samuel Jones, born Sept. 13, 1807; Mary, born July 30, 1809 (married Henry H. Crane), died 1863; Mercy Jane, born Aug. 28, 1811 (married Seabury Thayer, of Taunton) ; John W. Jones, born Feb. 11, 1814, died September, 1842; Martha, born Dec. 30, 1816 (married George B. Crane, of Norton) ; Caroline E., born Dec. 6, 1819 (married James T. Bassett, of Taunton).

Sixth generation : Samuel Jones, son of Samuel and Mary, married Martha W. Bliss, daughter of Asahel and Deborah Bliss, of Rehoboth, April 3, 1838. Their children were Mary A. Jones, born Jan. 10, 1839, died Dec. 5, 1866 ; Abraham Jones, born March 13, 1841, died Aug. 14, 1843 ; Caroline E. Jones, born Oct. 18, 1843, married George F. Bloom, of Remington, Ind. ; Abraham Bliss Jones, born March 14, 1846 ; Samuel Gushee Jones, born Oct. 31, 1848 ; Julia E. Jones, born Oct. 1, 1851, died July 26, 1853; Emma E. Jones, horn Oct. 16, 1854.

Seventh generation : Abraham Bliss Jones married O. Jane Foster, of Kansas, February, 1874. Their children are Jesse Samuel Jones, born Dec. 8, 1874 ; Frederic Clarance Jones, born Jan. 26, 1879. Their residence is at White Cloud, Kan.

In looking at the names which the Pilgrims gave to their children we see how strong was their faith that the Lord had said unto them, as to Abraham, " Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee ; and I will make thee a great nation." And may we not say of them, - " These all died in the faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were Strangers and Pilgrims on the earth."