Archive:Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Volume IV, Part 2
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Ellery Bicknell Crane, Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts: With a History of Worcester Society of Antiquity (The Lewis Publishing Company, 1907). Volume IV.
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(IV) Josiah Davis, son of Ebenezer Davis (3), was born in Concord, Massachusetts, September 20, 1726. He settled in Harvard, Massachusetts, with several brothers. About 1760 he removed to Washington, New Hampshire, where many of his descend-
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ants have lived and are living at present. In 1749 he and other young men were given permission to build themselves a pew over the men's gallery stairs in the Harvard Church. He served in the French and Indian war in 1755 in a squad of twenty Harvard men under Colonel Josiah Brown, of Sudbury, and in the company of Captain Salmon Whitney, of Stow, Colonel John Bagley, in 1758.
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The children of Colonel Ross and Sarah [(-----)(Haggett)] Wyman were: 7. Olive, born about 1762, married, 1782, John L. Whitney. . . . . [Note: This was John Lake Whiting, not Whitney, born 22 Jul 1754, Concord, MA, who m. 27 Aug 1782, Rutland or Shrewsbury, MA, Olive Wyman; she d. 14 Apr 1842, Shrewsbury, MA.--RLW]
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(III) Phinehas Wetherbee, son of David Wetherbee (2), was born in Stow, October 6, 1716. He settled in Stow. Among his children were: 1. Phineas, Jr., born about 1640 [sic: should be 1740.--RLW]; removed to Ashburnham about 1765; married, June 7, 1767, Hannah Whitney, of Stow, and had: Betty, Catherine, Dolly and Hannah at Ashburnham. 2. Israel, born July 18, 1756, mentioned below.
(IV) Israel Wetherbee, son of Phinehas Wetherbee (3), was born in Stow, July 18, 1756. He settled at Ashby, not far from his birth-place. His children: 1. Israel, Jr., born November 19, 1781, at Ashby; died December 28, 1848; married, May 4, 1809, at Fitchburg, Hepsibah, who died July 25, 1829, leaving eight children, born in Fitchburg. 2. Joseph, born August 13, 1783; died October 23, 1858, father of Deacon Joseph Wetherbee, of Ashburnham and Rindge. 3. Silas, born March 14, 1790; died April, 1860. 4. Zacheus, born June 18, 1795, mentioned below.
(V) Zacheus H. Wetherbee, son of Israel Wetherbee (4). was born in Ashby, June 18, 1795. He bought a five acre lot in Lancaster on the road to Lunenburg, April 3, 1817, from Daniel Hayden. He was a housewright by trade. He married, June 3, 1817, Rachel F. Rand, at Harvard, Massachusetts. He married (second) Sarah D. Raymore, born February 28, 1798, in Sterling. He died December 25, 1875. She died May 12, 1875. The children of Zacheus and Rachel F. Wetherbee: 1. Julia Ann. 2. Rachel S., died at Framingham, September 18, 1838. 3. Jonathan Zacheus, mentioned below. Children of Zacheus H. and Sarah D. Wetherbee. 4. Sarah Ellen.
(VI) Jonathan Zacheus Wetherbee, son of Zacheus H. Wetherbee (5), was born in Concord, Massachusetts, about 1823. He married, at Leominster, Massachusetts, November 7, 1844, Sarah Johnson, of Leominster. He bought land of Caleb Dana in Princeton, in 1846; of Nahum Wilder in 1862, and other land there later. He was living in Princeton in 1846, on the road to Hubbardston. He died July 2, 1886; his wife died January 12, 1904. The children of Jonathan Z. and Sarah Wetherbee: 1. George Francis, mentioned below. 2. Albert B., born in Princeton. 3. Charles Edwin, born July 20, 1849; resides in Worcester.
(VII) George Francis Wetherbee, son of Jonathan Zacheus Wetherbee (6), born at Princeton, Massachusetts, April 27, 1847, died at Gardner, Massachusetts, June 24, 1903. He received a common school education in the public schools of Princeton, and worked on his father's farm during his youth. His first business venture was in his native town, in the grain and feed business. He was at the same time station agent for the Boston & Maine Railroad there. In 1886 he removed to Gardner, where he carried on an extensive business in feed, grain, flour, etc., until his death. He was an able and successful man of affairs, popular among his fellow-townsmen, and respected by all who knew him. He was a stanch Republican, and active in party councils, but never cared for public office. He was a member of the order of United Workmen, and was a Methodist in religion. He married first, Sylvia A. Roper, of the Princeton branch of the Roper family. (See Roper family.) She died in 1887, leaving a daughter, Adeline Louise, now deceased, who married, May 21, 1901, C. E. Atwood, of Gardner. Mr. Wetherbee married (second) October 13, 1888, Sarah F. Smith, daughter of Charles and Mary Smith of Princeton. Their children: George F., Jr., born October 6, 1889; Charles E., born August 3, 1891.
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(VI) Captain David Cushing . . . married . . . Hannah Cushing . . . . The first seven children were born in Hingham, the youngest only in Ashburnham. They were: . . . ; Hannah, June 9, 1783, married Silas Whitney; . . . ; Laban, April 29, 1791; . . . .
(VII) Laban Cushing, son of Captain David Cushing (6), was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, April 29, 1791. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. In 1817 he removed to Brooklyn, Pennsylvania, and returned to Ashburnham in 1830. He married, April 23, 1811, Nancy Whitney, daughter of Silas Whitney. Laban Cushing died in Ashburnham, October 17, 1847; his wife died in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, January 27, 1871. Their children were: Nancy Whitney, born June 20, 1813, married John Munroe; Sarah, May 18, 1815, married Samuel Ellis, of Ashburnham; Joseph, October 6, 1817; Laban, born in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1820, resided in Fitchburg; Rebecca A., September 12, 1822, married Isaac D. Ward, who has been selectman, a man of prominence; Susan A., November 13, 1824, married Jonas Corey, a chair manufacturer, resided in Fitchburg many years; Mary Jane, February 27, 1826, married, May 21, 1844, Gardner P. Hawkins, of Fitchburg; she died December 5, 1874; Charles G., February 16, 1829, married, October 23, 1856, Jane E. Willard, daughter of John Willard; they resided in Fitchburg and Lunenburg; Harriet Maria, August 22, 1831, married Porter E. Barton; George Russell, September 8, 1835, married Jujia Thompson; David M., October 11, 1839, married, October 6, 1860, Ellen A. Foster; Hannah Elizabeth, July 29, 1841, married, December 14, 1859, George S. Doe, of Great Falls, New Hampshire.
(VIII) Joseph Cushing, son of Laban Cushing (7), was born in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania, October 6, 1817. He was a very successful business man in Fitchburg. Early in life he began business on a small scale without capital in the livery business. His stable keeping proved successful and he engaged in the lumber business with David F. McIntire until 1858, when he started in the flour and grain trade in a store under the American House, Fitchburg. Here he laid the foundations of a very extensive trade, and became one of the leading merchants of the town and city of Fitchburg. He bought the stone mill and from time to time enlarged his business until it amounted to about a million dollars annually. His shipments of grain and flour from the west were sold in Fitchburg and in branch stores that he established in Waltham, Massachusetts, Winchendon, Massachusetts, Keene, New Hampshire, and Bellows Falls, Vermont. The first freight through the Hoosac tunnel was a train of twenty-two cars laden with grain consigned to Mr. Cushing.
He married, July 22, 1841, Elmira Marble, daughter of Stephen Marble. She was born June 26, 1820, and died 1845. He married (second), February 13, 1847, Mary Ann Arnold, who died August 23, 1866. He married (third), 1868, Betsey Cushing, daughter of Moses Cushing. She died September 23, 1875. He died July 3, 1894. The issue of Joseph and Elmira (Marble) Cushing was: Milton M., born September 4, 1844, of whom later. The children of Joseph and Mary Ann (Arnold) Cushing were: Joseph, died young; Susan E., married Charles P. Dickinson, of Fitchburg, now sole owner of E. M. Dickinson & Co., shoe manufacturing business; they have five children: Anna Lois, Arnold Cushing, Hilda Whitney, Edward Marsh, Porter Stevens.
(VIII) Laban Cushing, son of Laban Cushing (7), was born in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, March 22, 1820. He settled in Fitchburg. Massachusetts. He married, May 31, 1847, Adaline Keyes, daughter of Silas and Julia (Brooks) Keyes, of Princeton, Massachusetts. Their children were: Addie Auretta, born December 5, 1848, married, July 22, 1874, Herbert N. Rugg, son of Captain William S. and Clarissa (Sawtelle) Rugg, of Rindge, New Hampshire, a wholesale and retail dealer in confectionery in Fitchburg; Eva Josephine, October 1, 1852, married, May 24, 1881, Granville Nutting, of Waltham; Emma Julia, September 10, 1855, married January 27, 1881, Robert M. Jones, son of Henry E. and Lydia H. Jones.
(IX) Milton M. Cushing, son of Joseph Cushing (8), was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, September 4, 1844. He attended the public schools of his native place, and later became associated with his father in business. He died at the early age of thirty-four years, May 9, 1879. His father lived until 1894. Since then the business has been conducted by his estate, under the old firm name of J. Cushing & Co. He married Ellen Maria Leland, daughter of Henry B. Leland. Their children were: Joseph (twin), 1867, died young; Ethel (twin), 1867, died at the age of eight years: Milton Leland, January 13, 1871; Nellie Maria, January 4, 1873, graduate of Wellesley College; Joseph, September
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4, 1875, died by drowning accident September, 1897, was graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1897; Anna Whitney, November, 1877; Matthew M., February, 1878.
(X) Milton Leland Cushing, son of Milton M. Cushing (9), was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, January 13, 1871. He was educated, in the public schools of Fitchburg and in Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York. He entered the business of his grandfather in 1889. Since the death of Joseph Cushing in 1894 he has managed the business for the estate under the old name of J. Cushing & Co. The Cushing grain and flour business continues to be the leading house in this line in Fitchburg and this section of Massachusetts. Mr. Cushing has won for himself a position of prominence among the business men of the city. He is a director of the Safety Fund National Bank. He served the city as member of the common council in 1905. In politics Mr. Cushing is an independent Democrat. His father and grandfather were both stanch Democrats of the old school. He is a member of the Park Club.
He married, June 19, 1895, Gertrude Carolyn Brown, daughter of James Brown, of Fitchburg. She was educated at the Northfield Seminary. Their children are: Barbara, born April 23, 1897; Milton Whitney, March 16, 1899; Joseph, November 7, 1901; Carolyn, July 4, 1905.
CHARLES G. CUSHING, son of Laban Cushing (7), was born in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, February 16, 1829. He was brought up in Ashburnham and attended school there. He followed the example of his forefathers and became a farmer. He bought the farm he now lives on and has been carrying it on since 1874. He has had the assistance and cooperation of his son for a number of years. They have made it one of the best farms of the community. He lived for a time at Lunenburg; also, Mr. Cushing is an earnest Democrat of the old school in politics, but has always refused to become a candidate for office. He is a member of the Masonic order.
He married, October 23, 1856, Jane Elmira Willard, daughter of John Willard. Their children were: Martha W., born at Fitchburg, October 13, 1862, died January 22, 1863; John W., April 12, 1864, died August 1, 1864; Charles Willard, Fitchburg, September 4, 1866.
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(VII) John Willard . . . married . . . Polly Corey . . . . Their children were: . . . ; David E., September 28, 1839, married, June 12, 1876, Francena J. Whitney, daughter of Merrick Willard [sic: should be Merrick Whitney.--RLW]; had livery stable in Fitchburg.
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[Bernard Duane] worked [in Ashburnham, Massachusetts] two years, then for A. White & Company four years, and for Orange Whitney four years. In 1883, in partnership with L. R. Hoggman, he went into business, manufacturing towel racks and chairs at Ashburnham under the firm name of Hodgman & Duane. Orange Whitney also had an interest in the firm. After two years Mr. Duane bought out Mr. Hodgman and conducted the business alone for two years. He then leased part of the Orange Whitney factory and continued three years with Mr. Whitney for a partner. In 1893 he bought the A. White factory at South Ashburnham, and in partnership with Orange Whitney made chairs there until 1897, when the factory was destroyed by fire and the firm dissolved. He built his present large factory in 1898. It has about thirteen thousand square feet of floor space, besides store houses and drying rooms. He devotes his attention exclusively at present to the making of wooden-seat chairs, and finds a market for his goods all over the United States.
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Children of Joseph and Mary [Monk] Mason: . . . ; Lydia, born November 6, 1727, married, November 4, 1747, Michah or Uriah Whitney, of Natick; . . . .
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CHARLES HENRY GENTLE, son of Charles and Mary (Dunn) Gentle, was born at Westminster, Massachusetts, September 30, 1857. He attended the district school on Beech Hill until he was twelve years old, when he came to South Ashburnham with John B. Platts, by whom he was brought up. Here he continued in the common schools, also working on the farm for Mr. Platts. He was first employed regularly by Edwin Heywood, for whom he worked two years, subsequently working for A. H. Whitney, chair manufacturer, and later for the Derby Chair concern at Gardner for a year. He then entered the chair shop of W. F. Whitney, where he remained six months, then he worked again for A. H. Whitney remaining in his employ until 1897. He bought the Barrell farm in Westminster of John Carr, owning and conducting it for about seven years, selling it to Madison Bradley and buying the Platts farm and the Newton farm, which together amount to three hundred acres of land. Mr. Gentle has been engaged in the coal and grain business since 1897, and has a saw mill where he manufactures lumber on the Platts farm.
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ANDREW J. WHITNEY. Samuel Whitney, father of Andrew J. Whitney, of Charlton, Massachusetts, settled in the little town of Nassau, near Troy, New York. He was born May 10, 1814. He had a common school education. He was doubtless descended from the New England Whitneys, sketches of many of whom appear in this work. He was a Republican after the formation of that party. He spent his last years in the town of Charlton, Massachusetts, with his son Andrew and died there in 1890. He married (first) Chloe M. Whitin and (second) Jane J. Washburn. He had by his first wife eight children, who are widely scattered.
Andrew J. Whitney, son of Samuel Whitney, was born in Nassau, New York, November 28, 1836. He was educated there in the common schools. He went to work in a cotton mill in Troy, where he learned the trade of weaver and worked at his trade in various places until 1861, when he went to Chicopee, Massachusetts. During the civil war he was twice refused as a soldier on account of his health. He left Chicopee and worked for a few years as boss carder in a cotton mill there. He returned to Chicopee and worked on harness for Japanese cotton mills, became expert packer for foreign shipments, and was employed in that capacity until 1876, when he bought his farm at Charlton. He was a successful farmer, industrious, energetic and shrewd in trading. He bought other real estate in Charlton City and for many years conducted a livery stable there. He had the contract for carrying the mails before the electric railroad was built. Mr. Whitney is a typical American farmer of the old school, well posted, prosperous, hard working until increasing years obliged him to take life more easily. He is a Republican in politics but never sought public honors. He is respected by all the townspeople for his democratic ways, his sterling character and his up-hill but winning fight under many adverse conditions.
He married, 1857, Cornelia Van Housen, daughter of John Van Housen, of one of the oldest Dutch families of old Albany, New York. Their children: Charles E., married Maud Alberty and has Charles A., and Stella, resides in Worcester. Edgar, died young.
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Nathan Brigham Newton . . . married Mary Stewart. His will was made in 1837 and allowed at Worcester, May 23, 1844. He mentions his wife Mary and the children given below, viz: Elmer, of whom later; Sophia, married John Fay; Lucy, married Barnet Bullock; Lucinda, married Myrick, of Princeton, had children: George D., Harriet Mary, Ardelia Myrick; their mother died before her father; Mary, married Colonel John Whitney, of Princeton, and had children: William, Miriam, Mary Whitney; Hezekiah, married Eliza Lewis of Danvers: he died 1853; Willard.
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The possessions of Crocker, Burbank & Company at the time of Alvah Crocker's death are thus described by Eben Bailey in his sketch of Fitchburg in 1879:
"The Snow Mill or Upper Mill was built in 1830 by Samuel S. Crocker. Benjamin Snow, Jr., bought it in 1847 and he and his partner, Samuel Whitney, sold it in 1862 to Crocker, Burbank & Co. The Cascade Mill was built about 1847. It was owned in that year by Samuel A. Wheeler, George Brown and Joel Davis. It was afterwards bought by Franklin Wyman, E. B. Tileston and Jonathan Ware, who sold it to Crocker, Burbank & Co. in 1863. The Upton Mill on the road to William Woodbury's was built in 1851 by Edwin Upton and Alvah Crocker and came into the possession of Crocker, Burbank & Co. in 1859. The Lyon Mill was built in 1853 by M. G. & B. F. Lyon and bought of Moses G. Lyon in 1869 by Crocker, Burbank & Co. The Whitney Mill in Rockville was built by Whitney & Bogart in 1847. It was afterward owned by Crocker, Burbank & Co., then by Samuel Whitney and later by William Baldwin, Jr., who sold it in 1868 to Crocker, Burbank & Co. . . . ."
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[William Hagar married] Mary Bemis . . . . Their children were: 1. Mary, born December 25, 1645, died young. 2. Ruhamah, born November 20, 1647, married Joseph Wait. 3. Samuel (twin), born November 20, 1647, see forward. 4. Hannah, born November 21, 1649, married Priest. 5. Sarah, born September 3, 1651, died March 7, 1746; married Nathaniel Whitney. 6. Susanna, married, 1680, Joseph Grout. 7. William, born February 12, 1658-59, died May 8, 1731. 8. Rebecca, born October 28, 1661, married Nathaniel Healy. 9. Abigail, married, March 30, 1687, Benjamin Whitney. 10. Mehitable, married, June 20, 1687, Nathaniel Norcross.
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RALPH TRESCOTT LARCHAR is not only a prominent business man of Webster, but is also closely identified with the religious, social and fraternal interests, and is regarded as one of the most progressive young men of that town. His father, the late William James Larchar, who was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, was a jeweler by trade. He learned his vocation in Taunton, Massachusetts, subsequently establishing himself in business in South Framingham, Massachusetts, where he remained until the building in which his store was located was destroyed by fire, and in 1870 he located in Webster. For more than twenty years he conducted a jewelry store in that town with gratifying success and was highly esteemed both for his enterprise and integrity. His death occurred in Webster, April 3, 1893. He was made a Mason in South Framingham and also joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in that town. In his religious belief he was a Congregationalist and in addition to being an active member of that church, he served upon its various committees, was in other ways interested in the moral and religious welfare of the community. He married Catherine Susanna Bur-
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gess, born in East Wareham, Massachusetts, 1850. She became the mother of four children, namely: Arthur Burgess, a graduate of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, married Jessie Whitney, of Wareham, and has two children: Arthur Whitney and Elizabeth Larchar. Elsie Frisdale, Ralph T., see forward; and Forest Metcalf.
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Children of Lieutenant James and Mary [(Gashit)] Bowman were: 1. Benjamin, born at Westborough, June 20, 1761, married, November 15, 1786, Abigail Wheelock, who died April 20, 1801; he married (second), March 2, 1806, Lucy Whitney.
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(III) Jonathan Rice, son of Henry Rice (2),
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was born at Sudbury, Massachusetts, July 3, 1654. He settled in the eastern part of Sudbury but later removed to Rice's End, Framingham. He kept the tavern there. He was selectman, deputy to the general court. He bought, June 16, 1707, of Benjamin Nurse, 38 acres of land on Salem End and sold it in 1725 to his son Abraham. He died in Framingham, April 12, 1725. His will was proved May 21. He married (first), March 23, 1674-75, Martha Eames, who died in Sudbury, February 2, 1675-76. He married (second) Rebecca Watson, of Cambridge, November 1, 1677. She died December 22, 1689, at Sudbury. He married (third), February 12, 1690-91. Child of Jonathan and Martha Rice was: Martha, born January 27, 1675-76, died young. Children of Jonathan and Rebecca were: Jonathan, born September 17, 1678, married Lydia Pratt; David, born March 4, 1676, married Elizabeth Cutler; Anna, born August 6, 1683, married William Cutler; Henry, born December 6, 1685, married Elizabeth Moore. Children of Jonathan and Elizabeth: Martha, born 1691, married James Whiting [sic: Should be James Whitney.--RLW]; Hezekiah, born 1694, married Mary Haynes; Abiah, born 1697, married Patience Eames; Ezekiel, born October 14, 1700, see forward; Elizabeth, born February 28, 1702-03, married Daniel Pratt; Phineas, born June 24, 1705, married Mary Eames; Sarah, born September 24, 1707, died unmarried; Richard, born January 31, 1710, married Hannah Bent; Abigail, born March 23, 1713-14, married Gershom Pratt.
(IV) Ezekiel Rice, son of Jonathan [and Elizabeth (-----)] Rice (3), was born at Sudbury, October 14, 1700. He settled in Sudbury and was a farmer there. He was admitted to the church, March 4, 1750. He married (first), January 23, 1722-23, Hannah Whitney, sister of James Whitney, who married Martha Rice. Rice married (second), May 10, 1753, Prudence Bigelow, widow of Daniel Bigelow. She was born September 22, 1698, daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Provender) Pratt. Her first husband was Ebenezer Stone (1688-1752). Rice married (third) Margaret Bond, widow of Isaac Bond, published November 25, 1767. He married (fourth), at Sherborn, January 8, 1772, Ruth Chapin. Children were all by the first wife, viz: Ezekiel, born October 29, 1723, see forward; John, born April 9, 1725; James, born July 13, 1726, married Mary Stearns; Hannah, born October 5, 1727, married Thomas Kendall, 2d; Daniel, born August 10, 1729, unmarried; Richard, born October 20, 1730, married Sarah Drury; Martha, born August 8, 1732; Uriah, Moses, married, 1766, Mary Sparhawk, of Natick.
(V) Ezekiel Rice, son of Ezekiel Rice (4), was born at Framingham, Massachusetts, October 29, 1723. He was admitted to the church with his wife May 3, 1752. He was a soldier in the revolution in Captain Micajah Gleason's company, April, 1775, and in Captain Thomas Drury's company, Colonel John Nixon's regiment, 1775, and perhaps later. He resided on what has in later years been called the Widow Sanger place. He died May 12, 1806.
He married, September 10, 1751, Hannah Edmands, daughter of David and Hannah Edmands, of Marlboro. Children of Ezekiel and Hannah Rice were: Ezekiel, born June 20, 1752, see forward; Hannah, born March 26, 1754, married Thomas Stone; Daniel, born November 24, 1755, married Lois Winchester; Abigail, born December 29, 1757, married Benjamin Lamb; Anne, born October 8, 1759, married Jacob Belcher; Elizabeth, born October 13, 1761; Mary, born September 20, 1763; Sarah, born December 19, 1765, died young; Aaron, born November 16, 1767; Persis, born June, 1770; Sarah, born October 4, 1772.
(VI) Ezekiel Rice, son of Ezekiel Rice (5), was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, June 20, 1752. He was a soldier in the revolution, in Captain Jesse Eames' company, Colonel Samuel Bullard's regiment (Fifth), also in 1780 in Captain Nathan Drury's company, Colonel Abncr Perry's regiment, in the Rhode Island campaign. He resided on the Puffer place, Framingham, afterwards Amasa Kendall's. He married, May 17, 1782, Lydia Bullard, daughter of Ebenezer Bullard, born 1737, died 1792. She died April 25, 1793. Their children were: Lowell, born June 29, 1783, married ----- Partridge; Jesse, born August 31, 1785, see forward; Wilder, born February 14, 1788, married, July 13, 1813, Amasa Goodman, resided in Natick; John, born April 21, 1790, died March 19, 1817; Betsey, born July, 1792, married John Morse, of Natick.
(VII) Jesse Rice, son of Ezekiel Rice (6), was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, August 31, 1785. He settled in Westborough, Massachusetts, lived and died there October 9, 1832, aged forty-seven years. He married, August 9, 1807, Sophia Newton, born July 28, 1787, daughter of Barnabas and Eunice (Bond) Newton. Barnabas was born 1733, married, 1761, died 1812, was the son of Deacon Josiah and Rubamah Newton. Deacon Josiah was born 16S8, died 1755, son of Moses and Joanna (Larkin) Newton, and grandson of Richard Newton, of Sandwich and Marlboro. Children of Jesse and Sophia Rice, born at Westboro, were: Harriet Gregory, born October 13, 1807, married Charles C. Forbush, of Westboro, October 13, 1830; died 1849; he died 1847; Charles Parkman, see forward; Mary S., born October 11, 1811, married, April 20, 1834, William R. Long, of Westboro; Amory A., born October 8, 1813, married Catherine Wilkins; Maria A., born September 28, 1815; George, born June 29, 1817.
(VIII) Charles Parkman Rice, second child of Jesse Rice (7), was born in Westborough, Massachusetts, October 16, 1809. His boyhood and youth were spent in attending school and assisting his father in carrying on the homestead farm, and he remained under the parental roof until he was of age. He then went to Boston, where he was employed for two years in a meat and provision store. Then his father died and he returned to Westborough for the purpose of settling the estate, and it was found advisable to sell the Rice homestead. He lived on the Parkham homestead for a years and managed that farm, but be preferred a mercantile career, and at the first opportunity entered the employ of Lyman Belknap, who was a wholesale dealer in provisions with headquarters in Westboro, whence he despatched market wagons in various directions, buying country produce and selling meats, etc., largely on an exchange basis. Mr. Rice was in charge of the men in Mr. Belknap's employ and also managed the produce department/ One of his duties was to ship the produce, eggs, butter, cheese, lard, etc., bought of the farmers, to the Boston market. The great market waeons were loaded with this produce and returned laden with groceries, flour, oil, molasses, etc. That was before the day of railroads, and the building of the Boston & Albany Railroad soon put an end to business of dealing in this way. Mr. Rice became partner
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of Mr. Belknap, and in 1836 they opened a market in the Arcade building—-formerly the church. The enterprise proved successful and was for a time the only meat market between Framingham and Worcester. About 1838 Mr. Rice bought out the interests of Mr. Belknap, who devoted his attention to his business of commission merchant in Boston. Mr. Rice built up an extensive trade, and for a period of forty years conducted his meat market in Westboro with uniform success. He became one of the leaders of business and finance in the town.
In politics Mr. Rice was originally a Whig, and later a Democrat. From 1845 to 1878 he was almost constantly serving the town in some position of trust and honor. He was overseer and selectman most of the time, and often held both offices together. He was chairman of the board of selectmen several terms and officiated as such at the dedication of the soldiers' monument in 1869. He delivered an appropriate speech of acceptance in behalf of the town. In 1855 he was a representative to the general court from his district. He served for a number of years as trustee of the Westboro Savings Bank and was on its board of finance; he was president and treasurer of the Westboro Agricultural Society. Mr. Rice died after a short illness of typhoid pneumonia, February 11, 1879.
He married, October 15, 1838, Jane Nourse, daughtcr of Theophilus and Louisa (Brigham) Nourse, of Northboro. Mrs. Rice is living at their old home in Westboro. Their children were: Charles Amory, born April 26, 1840, see forward; Jane Maria (twin), born June 28, 1847, now deceased, was in the employ of the Western Union Telegraph Company as operator fourteen years; Louisa Sophia (twin), born June 28, 1847, married, November 28, 1878, James A. Kelley, of Boston.
(IX) Charles Amory Rice, son of Charles Parkman Rice (8), was born at Westborough, Massachusetts, April 26, 1840. He was educated in the public schools there and assisted his father. He enlisted in the civil war in the Forty-third Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, known as the "Tiger Regiment" and served with credit in Virginia and the Carolinas. He entered the employ of the Boston & Albany Railroad Company after the war, and was advanced to a responsible position in the baggage department, a position he holds at ihe present time.
He married (first), April 6, 1866, Lizzie B. Wakefield, of Lyndon, Vermont. He married (second) September, 1876, Ella J. Cleveland, of Guilford, Vermont. His son by the first wife is Charles Pliny, born January 1, 1870. His son by the second wife is Arthur Parkman.
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Children of Collins and Margaret [(Chapin)]Brown were: . . . ; Patty, married Ichabod Whitney and had three children; . . . . [sic: This should be Ichabod Whitman, not Whitney. They were married 11 Oct 1827, Masonville, Delaware Co., NY.--RLW]
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[Daniel Harris] married, January 1, 1783, at Northborough, Massachusetts (by Rev. Peter Whitney), Abigail Reed.
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