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THE LIBRARIES
Bequest of
Frederic Bancroft
1860-1945
J
A Genealogical History of
the French and Allied Families
Re\. Atchis(ix Queal
Father ot tlie Author
Ll'cv 1-ri;ncii (Jueal
Mother of tlie Author
A Genealogical History of
the French and Allied Families
BY
MARY QUEAL BEYER
S>
^>y
PRIVATELY PRINTED AT CEDAR RAPIDS IOWA
BY THE TORCH PRESS FOR MARY QUEAL BEYER
1912
Of this de luxe edition of the Genealogical History
of the French and Allied Families there were
two hundred copies printed, this copy being
number
-/
9^ -r^ 'h
C- '"?
COPYRIGHT, 191 2, BY
MARY QUEAL BEYER
' "K 'fL '^'
THE TORCH PRES
CEDAR RAPIDS
IOWA
DEDICATED TO THE LOVING MEMORY OF MY
FATHER AND MOTHER, REVEREND ATCHI-
SON QUEAL AND LUCY FRENCH QUEAL, BY
THE AUTHOR
Those who do not treasure up the memory
of their ancestors, do not deserve to be
remembered by posterity
Edmund Burke
FOREWORD
The study of genealogy has been for some years on the increase.
Many causes have contributed to this. Among them are the patriotic
societies whose membership in part at least depends on descent from
revolutionary stock. The increasing tendency to reach for baubles in
American society causes many a quest for proof of kinship with those
in England who have the right to use insignia by heraldic authority.
Not a few engage in the search of family history believing that some-
where in the East or in Europe is a fortune lying unclaimed awaiting
its rightful heir. And then there are those whose traits of mind and
special tastes lead to this kind of writing for the mere love of the semi-
mysterious, ever elusive information, lying just beyond reach, the
attainment of which is the goal of an aspiration smaller, though no less
sincere, than is that of him who explores uncharted seas and sciences.
This beautiful book is due neither to a need for proof of patriot or
Pilgrim lineage, to a desire of display, nor to the hope of fame or
fortune.
Mary Queal Beyer has deeply loved her immediate ancestry. She
has even deeper love for her living kin by blood and marriage. She
has put her thought in printed fact rather than adulation. In the form
of a book she has recited a family record, and challenged her descend-
ants to measure up to a standard high and firm and fi.xed in the afifairs
of home and country.
It is my pleasure as the chief administrative ofBcer of the State His-
torical Department of Iowa at Des Moines, to have witnessed the
faithful labors of Mrs. Beyer amongst the books and references in our
collections. I have observed the really wonderful collection of fam-
12 FOREWORD
ily data she has gathered into her hands, and I may say into her mind,
and the fidelity, patience, and industry she has given to the prepara-
tion of these for publication.
The family and friends of Mrs. Beyer may assure themselves she
has prepared for them a work no one else could have done. They are
the beneficiaries of a lavish hand and loving heart. 7"hey have had
made for them a lasting memorial such as is not within the power of
painter or of sculptor to conceive, and thus she has classed herself with
genius.
This beautiful book will be held and prized generations after its
author has laid it down forever. Its spirit speaks of her in eloquence
she has devoted in words to others alone. This word of her I feel is
due.
Edgar R. Harlan,
Curator State Historical Department of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
When I began this work, my only thought was to leave to my chil-
dren the results of my research. Family records preserved in letters
or in the pages of diaries kept by those who have long since been
crowned, have yielded much of interest to the people of the present
day, and have created a desire to put these records in some tangible
form for the use of future generations.
Much time has been spent in research with the hope of adding to
the stock of information already possessed, and while the energy
thus expended has been rewarded beyond all expectation, yet the
work is far from complete, and many errors have doubtless crept into
these pages.
It is to be hoped that the future generations of these families will
make as enviable a record as have those who silently follow each
other through these pages. While none have climbed to dizzy
heights of fame, yet none have brought shame or disgrace for a heri-
tage to the generations unborn, so this history will stand as the life
record of plain, honest common people.
I wish at this time to make acknowledgement to Mrs. Lucy French
Stoner of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. S. H. French of Amster-
dam, New York, and Seward H. French of Binghamton, New
York, for the very efficient help rendered in verifying statements and
copying court records; to Mrs. Nellie Pendell of Binghamton, New
York, for the loan of the account book kept by Samson French; and
to Mrs. Jennie McElyea Beyer of Ames, Iowa, who has been my in-
valuable assistant in the compilation of this history.
I wish to make special mention of the Iowa Historical and Geneal-
14 AUTHOR'S PREFACE
ogical Library which I consider one of the best that any seeker of
information along these lines of research can visit; and lastly of my
husband, Jackson Beyer, who has rendered the publication of this
volume possible.
Mary Queal Beyer
CONTENTS
The French Family
The Ingalls Family
Seaward Genealogy
The Queal Family
The Beyer Family
The Cooper and Engelbeck Families
The Armitage and Beard Families
Index . • • •
21
229
249
274
343
363
368
371
ILLUSTRATIONS
Rev. Atchison Queal and Lucy French Queal . frontispiece
Site of Meeting House in Cambridge . . . . 31
Site of Home of Lt. William French, Cambridge, Massachusetts 31
Faneuil Hall ........ 36
Tablet on Billerica Common, where First Meeting House stood 42
House now standing on Farm owned by Lt. William French . 49
Old South Burying Ground, Billerica, Massachusetts . . 49
Division of Estate of Lt. William French (fac-simile of Original
Document) ........ 57
John and Sarah Estabrook French and Son, Benjamin . . 63
House built by John French, 1720 ..... 70
Bullet Molds used in Revolution ..... 70
Gun, Bullet Molds, and Camp Kettle used by Ebenezer French 70
State Historical Building of Iowa ..... 90
Burying Ground at Southwick, Massachusetts . . . loi
Dr. S. H. French ....... 107
Home of Dr. S. H. French ...... 107
Dr. Lucius French and His Home . . . . . m
Catalogue of Descendants of Samson and Lusannah French . 118
Photograph made from Account Book kept by Samson French . 121
Portion given to Thomas by His Father, Samson French . . 128
Family Record kept by Samson French .... 137-141
Polly Temple, Wife of Thomas French, Jr. . . . 145
Thomas French and Three of His Children . . . 146
Rear View of Old Mill House (built in 1810) . . . 149
Home of Thomas French ...... 149
Old Grist Mill on Castle Creek ..... 149
Mary French Smith . . . . . . . 160
Samson French's House at Decatur . . . . . 160
Samson French House, built in 1857, Morrow County, Ohio . 165
Demit from Masonic Lodge given Samson French in 1833 . . 166
Lottery Ticket held by Samson French . . . . 169
Thomas, John, Oscar, Martin, Alva, and Calvin French . 170
Sampler MADE BY Elizabeth Seaward . . . . . 173
i8
ILLUSTRATIONS
Needle Book made by Elizabeth Seaward
Lucy French Stoner ....
Certificate of Service given O. L. R. French
Pass given to Alva French
Discharge given Alva French from Squirrel Hunters
Certificate of Service given Squirrel Hunters
Seward H. French ....
Calvin D. French at Time of Enlistment
After Escape from Andersonville
Thomas, John, and Oscar French
Martin M., Alva C, and Calvin D. French
Section of Lucy Ingalls's Wedding Veil
Eliza Ballou Garfield ....
Children of Stephen and Lucy Ingalls Seaward
Direct Descendants of Henry and Sybil Ingalls
Asa Palmerlee and Lucy Seaward Palmerlee
Smith B. Queal .....
Cottage of Geo. W. Queal, Long Beach, California
William N. Queal
Anna Queal Starkweather
Trunk brought by Robert Queal from Ireland in 1797
Worcester, New York, showing South Hill
William C. Queal ....
House built by William C. Queal in 1847 at Worcester, New York
House where Atchison Queal died in 1859 .
Fac-simile of Letters Patent issued to Atchison Queal
Discharge from Service given to Hedding H. Queal
Hedding Queal ......
John H. Queal ......
Five Children of William C. and Mary Graves Queal
Old French School House at Decatur, New York, wh
erends Atchinon Queal, William G. Queal, and LukeC
each preached His First Sermon
Lot in Maple Grove Cemetery where
ILY are buried .
Captain Paul A. Queal
Adam Beyer
Jacob Beyer Homestead
Jackson Beyer
Mary Queal Beyer
Home of Author at Des Moines, Iowa
ERE Rev-
Queal
Sixteen of the Queal Fam
174
186
191
191
196
199
200
210
210
217
218
226
233
243
244
257
267
267
271
272
275
276
280
288
288
295
301
302
305
3"
312
317
324
338
338
342
343
344
ILLUSTRATIONS
19
Parsonage at Fly Creek, New York
Church at Fly Creek, New York
Mrs. Jennie McElyea Beyer
John Hedding Beyer
Harmon Engelbeck
Caroline Engelbeck
347
347
348
351
355
356
THE FRENCH FAMILY
THE name French is supposed to have originated in France, ap-
pearing first in England soon after the Norman Conquest, being
noted in the list of those who fought with William the Conqueror at
the battle of Hastings. Records in Yorkshire, England, show the
name as early as i lOO, and later on it appears in the west and north,
being found in North England and Scotland. During this time the
name was variously spelled Franceis, de Frenssh, le fifrensh, Frenssh,
Frensche, Frensce, Franche, Freynch, the earliest notice of the sur-
name French, as it is used today, appearing in 1252.'
The first generation of this branch of the French family of which
there is any authentic record, dates from the death of Thomas French,
which occurred at Weathersfield, County Essex, England, in 1599.
First Generation
Thomas ' French the elder, of Weathersfield, County Essex, Eng-
land, died 1599. In his will he mentions wife Bridget, three children
and grandson John, son of Thomas, and gives to the poor of Halstead,
Essex; of West Wratting, Cambridge, Snetisham, Norfolk; Little
Birdfield and Arkesden, Essex.
I. Thomas, married Anne.
II. Mary, married John Collin.
III. Elizabeth, married John Meade.
Second Generation
Thomas' French (Thomas'), of Halstead, County Essex, Eng-
land, died January 27, 1613, leaving wife Anne, six sons, and several
daughters.
I. Thomas, married a Miss Wood.
II. John.
1 County Records of the surnames of French in England by A. D. Weld French.
22 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
III. Edward.
IV. Robert.
V. William.
VI. Francis.
Also several daughters.
Third Generation
Thomas' French (Thomas,' Thomas'), of Halstead, County
Essex, England, married a daughter of Wood.
I. William, born March 15, 1603; married Elizabeth .
II. Francis, baptized June 29, 1606.
III. Jerrymya, baptized November 21, 1607.
Fourth Generation
Lieutenant William * French (Thomas,' Thomas,' Thomas ') ,
born March 15, 1603; married Elizabeth, surname not known, about
1623. To them were born:
I. Francis, born in England, 1624; came with parents in ship
"Defence"; removed to Milford, Connecticut, about 1650,
and four years later was one of the settlers in Derby, Con-
necticut. He married April 10, 1661, Lydia Bonnnell of
Milford. To them were born nine children. Francis
French died February 14, 1681. Lydia Bonnell French
died April i, 1708.
II. Elizabeth, born in England, 1629; married Robert Eliot of
Dedham.
III. Mary, born in England, 1633; baptized when between two
and three years of age at her father's "joyning"; married
Jonathan Hyde, and died May 27, 1672, at the birth of her
son Joseph, who was her twelfth or fourteenth child.
IV. John, born in England, 1635 ; married June 21, 1659, Abigail
Coggan, daughter of Henry of Barnstable. She died April
5, 1662. John married (second) July 3, 1663, Hannah,
daughter of John Burrage of Charlestown. To them were
born two children:
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 23
1. Hannah, bom in Billerica January 20, 1664; married
August 3, 1685, Dr. John Kittredge. To them were
born five children, they being the progenitors of a long
line of medical men, through their sons John and Jacob.
Simeon, the grandson of John, was the father of eight
sons, all of whom were physicians.
2. Abigail, born in Billerica December 6, 1665; married
Benjamin Parker. To them were born one son and three
daughters.
Abigail died March 13, 1728.
Hannah, second wife of John French, died July 7, 1667.
John French married (third) January 14, 1668, Mary,
daughter of John Rogers. To them was born one child:
3. Mary, born in Billerica March 4, 1670; married Nathan,
son of Daniel Shed. To them were born nine children.
Nathan Shed died June 18, 1736. Mary Shed died Au-
gust 21, 1740.
Mary, third wife of John French, died June 16, 1677.
John French married (fourth) January 16, 1677 (or 1678),
Mary, daughter of Francis Littlefield of Woburn, and
widow of John Kittredge of Billerica. To them were born
six children:
4. John, born in Billerica May 15, 1679.
5. Elizabeth, born in Billerica July 24, 1681 ; married
Thomas Abbott.
6. William, born in Billerica November 26, 1683; died
April 21, 1685.
7. Sarah, born in Billerica September 15, 1685; married
Flint, of Charlcstown. After his death Sarah mar-
ried April 5, 1710, Joseph Frost. To them were born
three sons and one daughter.
8. William, born in Billerica August 8, 1687; married Me-
hitable Patten. To them were born eight children:
a. William, born January 25, 1713; married Tabitha
. To them were born eleven children, by name :
24 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Jonathan, William, Joseph, Tabitha, Benjamin, Ne-
hemiah, Mehitable, Ephraim, Mehitable (second),
Stephen, Betsey.
b. Elizabeth, born in Billerica April 3, 1716; married
Ephraim Kidder. To them were born nine children.
Elizabeth died November 30, 1755.
c. Mehitable, born in Billerica August 29, 1718; mar
ried John White.
d. Nathaniel, born in Billerica February 2, 1721 ; mar-
ried Elizabeth Frost. To them were born eleven
children, the names of three being known to the au-
thor — Nathaniel, Joel, and William, the last named
being born March 27, 17 (53, and claimed by his de-
scendants as the first martyr to the cause of Ameri-
can independence.
e. Jonathan, born in Billerica May 28, 1724; died June
20, 1725.
f. David, born in Billerica May 28, 1724.
h. John, born in Billerica May 27, 1730; married
Mary, daughter of Jacob French; he married (sec-
ond) Priscilla Mace. John was the father of eleven
children.
9. Hannah, born in Billerica February 18, 1693; married
Jonathan Richardson. To them were born one daughter
and three sons. Jonathan died August 13, 1720. Han-
nah married (second) February 15, 1726, Benjamin
Frost. To them was born one daughter. Hannah died
September 12, 1769.
Mary, fourth wife of John French, died in 1719.
John French w^as a colonel in the militia, and was often in
the town's service. He was wounded by the Indians in an as-
sault on Quaboag in 1675. He died in October, 1712.
V. Sarah, born in Cambridge in March, 1638 ; married Jonathan
Peake.
VI. Jacob, born in Cambridge March 16, 1640; lived in Billerica
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 25
on the "east road" near the home of his brother John. His
house was one of the garrisons of 1675, and was probably the
same building which according to Hazen's History of Bil-
lerica, was occupied by James Fletcher in that year. He was
a sergeant in the militia. He married September 20, 1665,
Mary, daughter of Richard Champney, ruling elder of Cam-
bridge church. To them were born ten children : '
1. Jacob, born in Billerica February 20, 1667; died 1700.
2. William, born in Billerica July 18, 1668; married Sarah
Danforth May 22, 1695. To them were born twelve
children:
a. Jacob, born in Billerica May 16, 1696; married May
29, 1722, Elizabeth Davis. To them were born
eight children. Elizabeth died February 3, 1738.
Jacob married (second) May 19, 1741, Sarah Brown.
To them were born four children. Sarah died Au-
gust 16, 1765. Jacob married (third) November 19,
1766, Mrs. Mary Curtis, who died September 19,
1769.
Jacob French died March 7, 1775.
b. Joseph, born in Billerica January 26, 1698; died
February 13, 1698.
c. Sarah, born in Billerica December 29, 1698; mar-
ried Nathaniel Whittemore. Sarah died August 15,
1734-
d. William, born in Billerica January 25, 1701; mar-
ried January 22, 1727, Joanna Hill, who died Janu-
ary 17, 1769. William married (second) November
27, 1770, Mrs. Mehitable Mooar. William was the
father of eleven children. He died April 9, 1776.
e. Jonathan, born in Billerica January 25, 1703; died
March 9, 1728.
f. Elizabeth, born in Billerica April 3, 1705; married
February 3, 1730, Josiah Crosby. Elizabeth died
1 From chart prepared by Rev. H. Martin Kellogg — a descendant of Jacob French.
26 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
November 27, 1739. The husband's death occurred
a few years later.
g. Ebenezer, born in Billerica August 5, 1707; married
August 27, 1729, Elizabeth Hill. To them were
born nine children. Elizabeth died March 26, 1786.
Ebenezer died December 31, 1791.
h. Mary, born in Billerica October 7, 1709; married
January 16, 1730, Benjamin Manning. To them
were born eleven children.
i. Nicholas, born in Billerica September 5, 171 1 ; mar-
ried June 5, 1744, Priscilla Mooar (born June 12,
1724). To them were born nine children, by name:
Timothy, Priscilla, Nicholas, Isaac, Lucy, Sarah,
Jonathan, Sarah (second), David.
Priscilla Mooar French died February 18, 1784.
Nicholas French died August 20, 1796.
j. Lydia, born in Billerica April 29, 1714; died August
2, 1731-
k. Esther, born in Billerica May 16, 1716; died July
7, 1736.
1. Samuel, born in Billerica May 21, 1718; married
Elizabeth Barron. To them were born ten children,
by name: Mary, Isaac, Elizabeth, Esther, Sarah,
Samuel, Lucy, Oliver, Samuel (second), Silas.
3. Mary, born in Billerica, October 6, 1669; died Novem-
ber 12, 1669.
4. John, born in Billerica October 6, 1670; died December
3, 1670.
5. Joseph, born in Billerica May 5, 1673; died September
25, 1676.
6. Jabez, born in Billerica September 16, 1674; died at
birth.
7. Mary (second), born in Billerica March 5, 1676; mar-
ried December 13, 1695, Jonathan Baldwin. To them
were born three sons and two daughters.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 27
8. Hannah, born in Billerica October 23, 1677; died at
birth.
9. Elizabeth, born in Billerica June 8, 1679; married Wil-
liam Manning. To them were born nine children.
10. Sarah, born in Billerica March 7, 168 1 ; married Thomas
Baldwin. To them were born seven sons and one daugh-
ter. Sarah died June 16, 1761.
Mary Champney, wife of Jacob French, died April 11, 1681.
Jacob French married (second) Mary Convers of Woburn.
To them was born:
11. Abigail, born in Billerica April 20, 1686; died March
29, 1687.
Mary Convers French died June 18, 1686.
Jacob French married (third) Mary , who was drowned
June 9, 1709.
Jacob French married (fourth) Ruth , who died No-
vember 6, 1730.
Jacob French was the father of eleven children. He died
May 20, 1713.
VII. Hannah, born April 12, 1641 ; died June 20, 1642.
VIII. Hannah (second), born February 16, 1644; married John
Brackett September 6, 1661. To them were born nine chil-
dren.
Hannah French died May 9, 1674.
IX. Samuel, born December 3, 1645; died July 15, 1646.
X. Samuel (second), born about 1647 or 1648; married Sarah
Cummings (born January 27, 1661), the marriage taking
place December 28, 1682.
Samuel French died November 4, 1727. A complete genea-
logical record of Samuel (second) French, from whom the
author is descended, will be found in this volume, following
the history of his father. Lieutenant William French.
Elizabeth, wife of Lieutenant William French, and mother
of the before mentioned ten children, died March 31, 1668.
On May 6, 1669, Lieutenant William French married (sec-
28 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
ond) Mary, daughter of Thomas Lathrop and widow of John
Stearns of Billerica. To them were born four children.
XI. Mary (second), born April 3, 1670; married Nathaniel
Dunklin. To them were born twelve children.
XII. Sarah (second), born October 29, 1671; married Joseph
Crosby of Billerica May 6, 1691.
XIII. Abigail, born April 14, 1673; died April 13, 1674.
XIV. Hannah (third), born January 25, 1676; married John
Childs of Watertown October 5, 1693.
From one of these fourteen children of Lieutenant William French,
Alice French (Octave Thanet), the author, of Davenport, Iowa, is
descended.
Lieutenant William French died November 20, 1681, aged sev-
enty-eight years.
In the winter of 1634, the Defence sailed from Hartwick,' for the
New World, but the ship being driven back on account of bad
weather, the journey for the time being was abandoned, and it was not
until August 10, 1635, that this vessel finally embarked upon the voy-
age that was to land her passengers on the shores of the then almost
unknown continent. The Defence, being old and unseaworthy,
sprung a leak in the first storm encountered, which exposed those on
board to such great danger that they were about to return to port.
However, they finally succeeded in repairing the damage and contin-
ued their journey, encountering many storms during their thirty-four
days upon the sea, came in sight of land October 2d, and the following
day, October 3, 1635, landed at Boston. Thomas Bostacke of London
was master of the ship. Among the passengers is found the name of
William French, his wife Elizabeth, and four children, they being
the first of this family to set foot on American soil.
William French was born in Halstead, County Essex, England,
March 15, 1603, and married Elizabeth, surname not known, about
1623, her age being given as thirty or thirty-two in the record in the
customs house, London, England.
On reaching Boston, William French purchased property and set-
1 This seaport was at the mouth of the Stover in Essex, having a spacious and safe harbor.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 29
tied in the Newe Towne, called New Town or Newtown until May 2,
1638, when the General Court "Ordered That Newtowne shall hence-
forward be called Cambridge," ' and no other act of incorporation is
found on record. His home was on the westerly side of Dunster
street, about midway between Harvard Square and Mount Auburn
street, the site now being occupied by a bank. He bought this prop-
erty in 1639 and sold it to William Barrett June 10, 1656, after his
removal to Billerica.
The following deed was given at that time, the original being on
file in the East Cambridge court house:
WILLIAM FFRENCH DEED TO WM BARRETT
To all people to whome this present writeing shall come to be seen or
Read, Know ye that I Wm ffrench of Cambridge in the county of Middle-
sex in New England Taylor, ffor and in consideration of fifty pounds
sterling to me the said William ffrench before the ensealing & delivery of
these presents, well and truly payd by William Barret of the same place
Taylor, the receite whereof I the said William ffrench do by these presents
acknowledge, and therewith to be fully sattisfied and payd, and thereof of
every part and parcell thereof do clearly and absolutely acquitte, exonerate,
and discharge the said William Barrett, his Heyres, Executours, Admin-
istratours, and every of them for ever by these presents have granted, bar-
gained, aliened, enfeoffed and confirmed, and by these presents do fully,
cleerely, and absolutely grant, bargaine, and sell, Alien, enfeoffe, and con-
firme, unto the said William Barrett, his Heyres and Assignes for ever,
my now Mansion house scittuated in Cambridge before named with about
halfe a rood of land adjoyneing to the same and planted with fruite trees,
and bounded with Water Street east, Daniel Kempster South, Abraham
Morrill West, Steeven Day North, Also a Barne and out house standing
on the east side the Highway with about Halfe a rood of land adjoyneing
thereto, and bounded with the aforesaid street West, William Bordman
north, and the Swamp east and South, with all the Towne rights and priv-
iledges, for wood, timber, commonage or otherwise to the said house apper-
teyning or in any wise belonging. To Have & to Hould the said Messuage
and Tenement, and other the premises, and every part and parcell thereof,
with all & singular their appurtenances, unto the said William Barrett his
Heyres and Assignes forever, to his and their only propper use and behooffe.
And I the said William ffrench do covenant, promise, and grant for me,
1 Paige's History of Cambridge.
30 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
my Heires, Executors, Administrators, Assignes by these presents, that I
the said William ffrench have good right, full power, and lawful Author-
ity to grant bargaine, & sell the said Dwelling house, and barne and yards,
and orchard thereto apperteyneing, with all other the appurtenances and
priviledges thereof, And that the said William Barrett his Heyres & As-
signes shall and may at all times, and from time to time for ever hereafter,
peaceably and quietly, Have Hold, occupy, posscsse & enjoy the said Bar-
gained premises, and every part, and parcell thereof, with their and every
of their appurtenances, without any lawfull lett, trouble, Eviction, Expul-
sion, suite, molestation, Disturbance, contradiction, or Deniall of me the
said William ffrench, or of Elizabeth my Loveing wife, or either of us or
by any other manner of wayes or meanes whatsoever haveing any lawful
right or interest therein. In witness whereof I the said William ffrench,
as also Elizabeth my wife, have here unto put our hands and scales, this
tenth day of June. In the year of our Lord God One thousand six hun-
dred fifty and six.
Signed, sealed, and Delivered William ffrench
in the presence off and a scale
John Steedman Elizabeth ffrench
Thomas Danforth her X marke
& a scale annexed
This deed of sale was acknowledged by William ffrench and Elizabeth
his wife, this Xth of 4th mo 1656.
^ Entered and Recorded, January 3th, 1656.
By Thomas Danforth Recorder
On the west side of Dunster street at the north corner of Mount Au-
burn street the first meeting house was built, and the following in-
scription may be seen today on the granite corner stone of the building
now standing on the lot:
Site of the First Meeting House in Cambridge Erected A. D. 1632.
This meeting house was a plain simple structure built probably of
logs and had a thatched roof, the congregation presumably being
called to worship by the beating of a drum.
Acknowledgment is hereby made to Mr. Perrin, treasurer of First
Church, Cambridge, for the privilege of looking through the church
records and copying such portions as were desired. Here was found
the following entry:
' The first month of the calendar year at that time was March.
Site of Home of Lt. William Frf.xch, Cambridge, Massachusetts
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 33
William French and Elizabeth his wife, both members in full com-
munion. Their children — Elizabeth now Eliot and now joyned at Ded-
ham. Mary baptized in England between two and three years old at her
father's joyning. John baptized by Mr. Hooker in Cambridge. Sarah,
Jacob, Hannah, born and baptized in this church.
This church, originally Congregational in doctrine, but since 1829
Unitarian, subscribed to the following covenant:
We whose names are underwritten do solemnly acknowledge Jesus
Christ to be the Son of God and the Savior of the world, as he is repre-
sented in the New Testament; and as his disciples we do now express our
earnest desire and intention to live a holy, religious and useful life, after
the example and in the spirit of our Lord. We do also purpose to walk
with the church while we have opportunity in a regular attendance on
Christian ordinances in the promotion of Christian truth and charity, and
in the exercise of those acts of Christian fellowship and affection, which the
relation in which we stand seems to us to demand. It is usual for those
who become members of the church to sign their names to this covenant
or to signify their assent to it to the pastor, or in case of his absence, to the
deacons. If any individual should decline from conscientious scruples to
sign or assent to the covenant, the pastor has in such a case a discretionary
power to dispense with the observance of this form.
Some of the authority vested in the church at that time may be
gleaned from the following extracts taken also from the records of
First Church:
In 1639, "John Stone and his wife were admonished to make biger
bread and to take heede of ofifending by making too little bread here-
after." It seems that they were brought before the church to answer
to the charge of cheating.
Alexander McKenzie of this church wrote "an epitaph upon the
deplored death of that supereminent minister of the gospel," Mr.
Jonathan Mitchell:
Here lyes the darling of his time
Mitchell expired in his prime
Who four years shorte of forty seven
Was found full ripe and plucked for heaven
Was full of prudent zeal and love.
Faith, Patience, Wisdom from above;
New England's stay, next age's Glory.
34 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Angels may speak him ; Ah ! not I
(Whose worth's above hyperbole)
But for our loss, wert in my power
I'd weep an everlasting shower.
Governor Belcher says of Thomas Dudley, who was deputy gov-
ernor and later governor of Massachusetts in Winthrop's time:
Here lies Thomas Dudley that trusty old stud.
A bargain's a bargain and must be made good.
' Under date of April 4, 1636, a record is made of the men who
were "purchasers and have proprieties in the fresh pond meadow
and their quantitie of acers; with an agreemente made by jointe con-
sente att those Lotts Drawinge." Among the names appears that of
William French, who drew five acres.
Again, under date of September 21, 1639, "John Sill: Bought of
William ffrench one house with garden and back side in the towne to
ye creeke west Captaine Cooke, South Robart sst east Mrs. Glouer
north." Under the same date, "Edmond Ffrost Bought of Thomas
Bloggett one house garden Backside in Water Street William ffrench
North east, Edmond Auger South, Nathaniel Sparrowhawk North-
west Water street southeast."
"William French Impr. in the towne one dwelling house with
about half a rood of ground. Nathaniel Sparrowhawk west, Katha-
rine Hadden South waterstreet east. William French six acr. & halfe
more or lesse, William Man east Christopher Cane west Charles-
towne lyne north, comon south."
August 15, 1646, "Andrew Stevenson bought of William Ffrench
four acr. of land more or lesse in the new west field Gregory Stone
Southeast, Roger Bancroft northeast, highway southwest and north-
west."
December 10, 1646, "Itm. Bought of William ffrench in the lotts
beyond Menotomy six acres & halfe."
In the year 1537 King Henry VIII granted a charter to the Honor-
able Artillery Company of London. A century later some members
1 From Proprietor's Records of the Toiun of Cambridge. Printed by order of the city council,
under the direction of the city clerk, Cambridge, 1896.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 37
of that company who had settled in Boston, wishing to organize a
military company similar to the one in England, presented a petition
to Governor Winthrop asking for a charter. The request was at first
denied, the council considering it "dangerous to erect a standing au-
thority of military men," but finally a charter was granted March 13,
1638. This company was to be called "The military company of the
Massachusetts." The company was organized on the first Monday m
June, 1638, and elected Robert Keayne, who came in the Defence
with William French in 1635, to be captain. Fifty-seven new mem-
bers were recruited during that year, each one of whom was vouched
for by two members, and we find William French as one of the fifty-
seven, he being vouched for by Colonel George Cooke and Joseph
Cooke. The name of the company was later changed, not by any
action of its own, but by reason of its age and honor. Captain Keayne
called it the "Artillery Company" and the "Great Artillery Com-
pany." Since organization it has been the custom to have sermons
preached annually to its members, and from 1708 to 1738 the sermons
were delivered before the "Honorable Artillery Company." The
sermon of 1738 was preached before the "Ancient & Honorable Ar-
tillery Company" and from that year until the present time all ser-
mons have been preached to them under this title.
The first headquarters of the company was in a building that stood
on the site of the old state house, at the head of State street, Boston.
This building was destroyed by fire in 171 1, but a new building was
at once erected which stood until 1747, when it was also destroyed by
fire. However, the company had moved to Faneuil Hall in 1746,
where they still have their headquarters.
The Boston Herald of October 15, 1910, contained the following:
ANCIENTS OFF TO SEE KING
FOUR MEMBERS LEAVE TO NOTIFY GEORGE V OF HIS ELECTION
A number of members of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery company
assembled at the South station at i P. M. yesterday, to witness the depart-
ure for London of Capt. John D. Nichols, Lieut. Francis H. Appleton,
38 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
officers of the company, and Col. Sidney M. Hedges, its former com-
mander.
The committee goes to present to King George a certificate of honorary
membership in the organization. They sail from New York today on the
Armenia.
William French was made junior sergeant of the Ancient and
Honorable Artillery Company in 1643, first sergeant in 1646, and
ensign in 1650. The ranks of this historic organization are recruited
from all parts of the United States in much the same manner today
as at these earlier dates, their membership being limited to one thou-
sand, the present list numbering five hundred fifty. At the time of his
death ( 1681 ) William French was holding the office of captain in an
artillery company in Billerica.
According to Records of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, Vol-
ume II, page 186, General Courte of Election held March 26, 1647,
John Winthrop was chosen governor. Under date of May 26th, in
the records of the court is the following entry:
In answer to the request of ye towne of Cambridge the corte doth allow
and confirm Willi. French Heft of that company and Edmond Winship
ensign.
Volume III, page 109, May 26, 1647:
In answer to ye petition of ye towne of Cambridge for ye courts accepta-
tion and confirmation of Wm French as ye Heft of ye military company
there. Ye petition was granted and ye pson approved of and confirmed
in ye place of both.
It appears from the records that William French was recommend-
ed by petition to the General Court for lieutenant October, 1645, but
another man received the appointment.
It is interesting to note that November 15, 1637, was the date of the
order establishing the college at Nevi'etowne, just a few months before
the order came changing the name from Newetowne to Cambridge,
March 13, 1638 (or 1639) • The college was to be called "Harvard,"
in honor of the Rev. John Harvard, who endowed the institution with
half of his estate, variously estimated from eight hundred to sixteen
hundred pounds, together with his entire library. Towns also con-
tributed various sums to this college, record being made of Ports-
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 39
mouth, New Hampshire, contributing sixty pounds annually for
seven years; Dover, thirty-two pounds yearly; Exeter, ten pounds
yearly. It is an historical fact that the first commencement exercises
of Harvard College were held in the First Meeting House on Dunster
street, Cambridge.
About this time a printing house was established in Cambridge,
and the first blank, printed was the freeman's oath. William French
was made a freeman March 3, 1636; that is, he became possessed of
civil rights; in fact, became a citizen.
That property owners were amenable to certain laws with respect
to their live stock is shown by the following excerpt:
FROM CAMBRIDGE RECORDS
(In list of fines)
Brother fiFrench for 2 hogs at one time & one at another, and 2 at an-
other without a keeper is fined i£.
Cambridge is also distinguished as the place "where the first Pro-
testant mission to the heathen began; the first sermon in a heathen
tongue was preached there, and the first translation of the Bible by
an Englishman into a heathen tongue was made at this place; and
lastly, the first Protestant tract in a heathen language was printed
there." The heathen referred to in this extract were the Indians,
who were numerous in this locality at that time, and were receiv-
ing religious instruction from John Eliot.
As the colony of Massachusetts grew, one town after another was
taken away from the Cambridge territory, and Billerica is noted in
1655 as a colony by itself, the first appearance of the name being in
1653. This settlement was first known as Shawshine, which in the
Indian vocabulary is said to mean smooth — glassy. The pioneers
however preferred the more familiar name of Billerica, in memory of
the old town in Essex, England, from whence many of them are sup-
posed to have come; for in 1650 reference was made by residents of
Woburn to lands "on the east side of Billerica," and a petition from
the inhabitants to the General Court in 1654, asking for a further
grant of land, especially requested that the settlement might have the
name "Billericay." In 1655 the inhabitants again petitioned the Gen-
40 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
eral Court, requesting "immunities and freedom from all publick
rates and charges of Cambridge," and that the land might belong en-
tirely to them for "ye better encouragement and carrying on publick
charges that will necessarily fall out." An agreement was accord-
ingly made between the town of Cambridge and the progressive in-
habitants of this young settlement, and on the 29th of May, 1655, the
court confirmed the arrangement and granted the petitioners' request.
The names of those who signed the proposition on the part of the new
town were: "Ralph Hill Sen'r, John Sterns, Willm pattin, George
f^arley, Ralph Hill Jun', John Croe, James Parker, John Parker,
Jonathan Danforth, Henry Jeifts, Willm Chamberlin, and Robert
Parker," who were the "present Inhabitants." These men and wom-
en who laid the foundations of Billerica were a community that
sought and held to such elements as could be well molded together —
a sturdy, loyal, honest, God fearing people.
Imagine if you will, one of those beautiful Indian summer days
when the foliage on the trees has not lost its brilliant autumnal color-
ing; a gently rolling country traversed by streams, the landscape di-
vided into small fields, each surrounded by stone fences or rather walls
as they are called, their somber gray color a fitting background for
the green of the pines and the brilliant hues of the foliage; well con-
structed roads winding along under the shade of apple trees bearing
their burden of luscious fruit; comfortable, spacious, and beautiful
homes on either side of the one main street with the town hall and
church standing near the center, and you have a glimpse of the Bil-
lerica of October, 19 10, the place to which William French removed
after leaving Cambridge in 1653, to make a home for his dear ones.
At that time roads were only paths in the woods, no fences were
built, and only about twenty-five families were living in the town.
The families had increased to forty by the year 1660, a number of
these having come from Cambridge.
In matters pertaining to education, little is noted after the first set-
tlement of the country as receiving the immediate attention of the
French family. In 1642 the selectmen were enjoined to "have a vigi-
lant eye over their brethren and neighbors to see first that none of them
Tablet ox Hii.i itrica Commcx
Where first Meeting House stood, erected 1663
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 43
shall suffer so much barbarism in any of their families as not to en-
deavor to teach by themselves or others, their children and apprentices
so much learning as may enable them perfectly to read the English
tongue." The penalty was twenty shillings for each neglect. The
same act required parents to "give religious instruction to their chil-
dren and apprentices and bring them up in some honest lawful call-
ing, labor or employment, either in husbandry or some other trade
profitable for themselves and the commonwealth, if they will not or
cannot train them up in learning to fit them for higher employment."
Billerica could not at once meet this requirement, but "i March 5, 61,
The Townsmen doe agree yt Lief tenant Will French and Ralph Hill
senior doe take care and examine the several families in or Towne
whether there children and servants are Taught in the precepts of
Religione in reding and Lerninge there Catechism."
In 1658 the Rev. Samuel Whiting was chosen minister and he re-
mained with his people for fifty-six years. During the first few
months of his ministry it is supposed that the preaching services were
held in private homes, but in 1659 the inhabitants agreed "that there
shall be a meeting house built: this winter foUinge: thirty foote
longe: and twenty and four foot wide: and twelve foot high: and the
studs to be twelve foot asunder: the sids and eands shall be covered
with bords: and the Roof with thatch."
The meeting house was erected according to these plans in the win-
ter of 1660, and a suitable allotment of land for the benefit of the
church was reserved. It was built under the direction of John Par-
ker, one of the most honored of citizens, and among the items of
expense we find where fifteen shillings were paid "to henry Jefts for
briks 300 for ye ministers chimley." The building of a house for the
minister and the raising of his salary, brought a heavy common ex-
pense on the community, and under date of July 15, 1659, is found
where "Lieut. Wm. French was chosen comitioner for making the
cuntry rate and caring in a duplicate to ye shire meeting and George
Farley and Jonathan Danforth is joyned with him for this work."
The church was regularly organized April 27, 1663, "when ye
44 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
counsel of elders and messengers from other churches" were present,
but not until November nth of the same year was the ceremony of
ordination performed, and the young Harvard graduate solemnly
installed after the simple but impressive manner of the Puritan faith.
The Reverend Mr. Whiting had a large parish, for it extended
from Concord and Acton to the Merrimack and Andover. His peo-
ple heard two sermons each Sabbath, and they were not short ones
either. The modern sermon would have been as much of a surprise
to these people as the railroad, telegraph, or daily newspaper. It
was at church that the people received not only spiritual food, but
much of the intellectual and social stimulus needed was here given.
The young pastor satisfied this demand with honor and credit to him-
self. He baptized the children and buried the dead; but probably
did not often perform the marriage ceremony, for the early fathers
thought it smacked too much of popery for the minister to marry
them, so they went to the magistrate instead, for the performance of
the marriage vow. People came for miles to hear the gospel
preached, and in consequence some suitable arrangement was neces-
sary for the care of their horses. The following extract from Hazen's
History of Billerica will show how shelter was provided:
The towne doe give leave that Ralph Hill Sen'r, George Farley, Will
Ffrench, Ralph Hill Jun'r and John Parker, and such other persons as
make use of their horses to Ride to ye meeting: shall have liberty to make
sum housing or housings to sett up for horses from time to time without
molestatione ; and to sette up ye saide houseing below the Hill between the
meeting house and Goldinge More's barn, or in some other place convenient
for them.
In 1661 the problem of seating the people in the church was settled,
and it was agreed that "ye towne doe apoynte Lieut. Wm French,
John Parker, Ralph Hill Sen'r and Will Tay to sett in the Deacon's
seat; and also the towne do appoint & impower these four men joyned
with Mr. Whitinge to appoint the rest of the inhabitants and proprie-
tors belonging to the town there several places where they shall sitt
in the meeting house according to their best discretion." The method
far into the next century was to seat according to age and the amount
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 45
of rates paid, giving to age the preference. Deacons were seated in
front of the pulpit and their wives with the widows. The list of those
who were to have "pues" was governed by the amount of real and
personal tax they were to pay. Among the twenty-two tax payers
thus entitled to a sitting, we find the name of William French. Rank,
wealth, and social standing too were factors determining where people
should sit, and there was ample room for jealousy on this subject.
The question of providing financially for the pastor was arranged
in the following manner:
At a town meeting i6 da 6 mo 1658: We do agree to give to Mr.
Samuel Whiting Jun'r (our minister) that house which is now upon ye
township comfortably finished for him and his heirs if he continues amongst
us durng his h'fe. But if he shall remove from amongst us, then the said
house with all the accommodations of the same shall return again to the
towne to be at their dispose ; or if Mr Whiting shall dye with us, then the
towne shall have the refuseing of the said house and all other accommoda-
tions aforesaid belonging to the same if Mrs. Whitinge do sell ye same.
2 We promise to give to him ye sume of fourty pounds per year for his
maintenance for the first two years of his settling with us, and for the
third year fifty pounds, and for the fourth year sixty pounds, and for after-
wards we do promise to ingage to better his maintenance as the Lord shall
better our estates.
3 We do Joyntly p'mlse to cary at or owne charge from year to year so
much of the pay (as doth amounte to twenty pounds) as shall be brought
in to him in wheat or other graine or porke ; to deliver the same either at
Mistick Mill or at Charlestowne, which Mr Whiting shall apointe and to
deliver the same at such prizes as such pay shall or doth at such times pass
fro man to man unless Mr Whiting and the Towne shall make any other
agreement concerning the same.
4 We do promise to p'vide his firewood & to bring it home to his house
from year to year at our own charges.
5 We do promise to fence him in a paster for to kcape his horse in as
convenient as we may.
Ult. for his acomodations, we do promise to laey to ye said house a ten
acre lot, for his house lot and t^velve acres of meadow, with other accom-
odations convenient to the same, i. e. to grant to him all other divitions of
lands and meadows with other lots of ye like quantity.
The persons subscribing to the premises, who were then the in-
habitants, were:
/
46 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Ralph Hill Sen'r John Parker
Willm French James Parker
John Rogers Sen'r Willm Tay
George Farley Willm Chamberlin
Wm Pattin John Trull
Sam'l Chamm James Patterson
John Sternes John Marshall
Jonath. Danforth John Shildon
Ralph Hill Jun'r Henery Jeiffs
John Baldwin
It speaks well for the courage and faith of nineteen men that they
were ready to assume the responsibility of such action, by signing this
document, and also for the minister that he was willing to make his
home in this little wilderness.
In 1679-80 the roof of the meeting house was shingled and a gal-
lery put in, and this building continued to be used for church services
until 1692 when it was replaced by a new structure. The old church
was sold to the contractor for forty pounds to be used as a town hall
and school house after it had served the community as a place of wor-
ship for fifty years.
The first record of tithing men appears October 8, 1677, when the
town was divided into five parts, the groups being in neighborhoods.
George flfarley, tithing man, had seven families in his care, one of
whom was Lt. Wm fifrench.
From the original book containing the first records of the church,
which book is still preserved in the vault of the Town Hall at Bil-
lerica,' was gleaned the following:
A Church book belonging to chh of Christ in Billerica given to said chh
by ye persons hereafter named who gave the sums affixed to each of their
names to pay for it.
Deac'n Joshua Abbott £ o " 5 " o
Deac'n Wm Stickney o " 5 " O
Deac'n Sam'l Whiting o " 5 " o
Capt'n Thos Kidder o '^ 5 ^^ o
Lieut Jacob Danforth O " 5 " O
Lieut Daniel Stickney 040
iProm records kept in Town Hall, Billerica, copied by the author October 14, 1910.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 47
Wm French o " 4 " o
Christ'er Osgood o " 5 " o
Benj Lewis 030
John TarboU o " i " O
2 "10 " o
Lawful money
175 o " 6 " o
The following record of births, marriages, and deaths is given in
the book referred to as having taken place in William French's fam-
ily while residents of Billerica. The record is incomplete as it gives
to the daughter Sarah the dates belonging to Abigail whose name is
not mentioned.
Elizabeth wife of william ffrench dyed 31 -01 - 68
lieut Wm ffrench and Mary sterns widdow
joyned in marriage befor Captain Gookin 06 - 03 - 69
Mary Daughter of Lt Wm & Mary ffrench borne 03 - 02 - 70
Sarah Daughter of Lt Wm & Mary ffrench borne 14-02-73
and departed this life 13-02-74
Hannah Daught'r of Lt Wm & Mary ffrench was borne 25-11-76
lieut Wm ffrench dyed (being in his year 78) 20 - 09 - 81
In 1667 an act was passed to prevent "the profaneness" of turn-
ing the back upon the public worship before it is finished and the
blessing pronounced. Towns were directed to erect a "cage" near the
meeting house and in this, all offenders against the sanctity of the Sab-
bath were confined.
That William French must have been one whose judgment was
respected, and whose authority was recognized in church affairs, is
evidenced by the fact of his appointment to discipline people. He
was also given authority under date of October 18, 1659, to marry
persons in the "towns of Billiriky and Chelmsford"; was appointed
to sit in the deacon's seat in 1661, and in 1662-63, record is made of
his having contributed to the support of the minister to the amount of
one pound ten shillings, the salary for the year amounting to seventy-
one pounds one shilling eight pence.
Dec 23, 1662, The Towne did agree ye Lieut Wm French and George
48 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
ffarley as a committee in the Towns behalf, shall treat with Ralph Hill
sen'r about a piece of land half an acre for a buring place.
The result was that about a year later Ralph Hill Sr. gave to the
town about half an acre of land for the burying place, on condition
that "the town shall fence all against it next unto his own land from
which this half acre shall be taken."
This was the origin of the Old South burying ground, and it is a
matter of record that Ralph Hill died within a week after giving this
land for a "burying place," his own body doubtless the first to be laid
in this cemetery, since which it has been enlarged at two different
times. The oldest stone (1686) to be found bears the name of John
Rogers, but more than thirty who bore the name of French rest here,
and this is undoubtedly the last resting place of Lieutenant William
French and his wife Elizabeth, although there are no stones to mark
their graves, nor the grave of Ralph Hill.
The women of that day must have been after Paul's own heart, for
no record is made of any part taken by them in church affairs, which
is probably accounted for, by the fact that Shepherd in his Autobi-
ography says: "A man may speak and prophecy but not women; a
company of men may make a church, and so receive in and cast out
of the church, but not women, though professing saints."
Not alone in respect to affairs of church did William French devote
his time and energy, but in matters pertaining to the welfare of the
general public did he show his interest, for record is made of his being
chosen deputy "for this town for the next general court and no
longer," December 17, 1660, and two days later he was in his seat at
Boston, the first deputy from Billerica to the General Court. He was
also the first representative from Billerica in 1663-64.
The first record made of the appointment of selectmen or "Towns-
men" as they were frequently called, was in 1660 when John Parker,
Lieutenant Wm. French, Ralph Hill Sr., Thomas Foster, and Jona-
than Danforth were chosen selectmen for "ye yere inseiunge," and on
January 28, 1661, Lieutenant Wm. French was chosen by the freemen
of the town to carry the votes for nomination of magistrates and county
treasurer.
House now standing on Farm owned bv Lieutenant William French
AT HlLLERlCA
Old SoL'iH HuR'iiNG Ground
Billerica, Massachusetts
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 51
A careful survey of the ancient records of land grants in Billerica,
shows that the present villages of Bedford, Carlisle, Tewksbury and
North Tewksbury, Dunstable, Merrimac, and Litchfield are all lo-
cated on land which belonged originally to this town. Large grants
of land were made to the governors of the colony and to the church,
so that only about two-fifths of the whole town was free and common
land open to the occupancy of settlers. The land for settlement was
divided into what they called "ten acre lots" as shares. Each "ten
acre lot" consisted of one hundred thirteen acres of upland and twelve
acres of meadow, and carried with it the right to all "town privileges"
after additions and divisions of town and meadow. It is interesting to
note that Lieutenant William French held two of these shares,
amounting to two hundred fifty acres. Another instance is recorded
where he drew at the first division seventeen shares; at the second, six-
teen, and at the third, twenty-two shares.
Under date of August, 1661, Lieutenant William French signed an
agreement that Jonathan Danforth should have one thousand acres of
land; and again record is made of ten acre rights to the heirs of Lieut.
Wm. French, when they received ninety-three acres as the result of
such division. Still another record is found where they received
forty-five acres from the fourth range west of the first and second
ranges.
The farm where William French had his home was what was
known in that locality as part of the Dudley farm east of the farm of
Ralph Hill Sr., toward Indian Hill, as the hill north of Nutting's
pond was called.
In December, 1660, "At a meeting at Liifteut French's the major
part of ye Townsmen did agrei yt Will Browne should wait sum time
for the disposing of his acomidations yt was granted him by the
Towne in reference to the getting of his charges yt he had himself, or
by such other person as the Towne shall approve on, by his procuring
or otherwise procured by the Towne; it was also yielded to the saidc
Will Browne that it sholde be propounded to the towne and move to
another vote whither Simon Crosby shall injoy the Bargaine solde to
him by the saide Will Browne, whether the saide Simon shall injoy
52 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
the same notwithstanding the vote yt is paste by the towne already, or
whether he shall not injoy it." The result was in favor of Simon
Crosby for in the future he appears as a citizen.
A glimpse of the pioneer side of life is shown under date of July 9,
1661, when "It is ordered that what person soever shall kill a wolfe
or wolves shall have for every wolfe killed and brought to the con-
stable accordinge to law, he shall have for every wolfe Twenty Shil-
lings, which shall be payd by the constable then being in the towns
behalf — provided that either English or Indian shall make proof
to the constable or selectmen that it was killed within the boundes of
our Towne."
At a county court held at Charlestown December 21, 1680:
This court being informed that Lt Wm French of Billerica is by Gods
hand thorow impotency & weakness unfitt to governe his Domestick con-
crnes. At the request of his friends Deacon Thompson & his sonne Jacob
ffrench, are impowred to assist his wife, in the ordering Si disposeing of his
estate, so as may best conduce for the supply of his family.
ffreeman Sworne.
Mr Thomas Sheppard The. Prentice sen'r
Thomas Prentice Jr Jno ffuUer sen'r
Jonathan iiuller Joshua ffuUer
Jacob Hurd Ebenezer Wiswall
Samuel BaUard Jno Prentice
Jno. Chadwick Hen Greene
Mr Thos. Cheavers Pelatiah Smith
That the close of a life so full of activities and good deeds for his
country and fellow men should be saddened by the clouding of his
mental faculties during these later years, seems full of pathos. Only
eleven months elapsed between the decree of the court providing
proper guardianship, and the death of Lieutenant William French,
which occurred November 20, 1681. The following is an exact copy
of his will still on file in the probate court at East Cambridge, Massa-
chusetts:
The last Will and Testam' of
Wm ffrench of Billerica
aged about seaventy & six years
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 53
I William ffrench being weak in body yet of a disposing mind do make
my last Will and Testament as followeth.
And in the first place 1 do comniitt my soul into the hands of God my
Creator and gracious redeemer ; and ray body to ye Earth to a decent buriall
in the hope of a glorious resurrection to eiernall life.
And in reference to ye good things of this life yt the Lord hath gracious-
ly lent me, I do thus dispose of them; and in the first place I do will that
all my just debts be discharged with the charge of the funerall as speedily
as conveniently may be, and whereas I have already given to all my chil-
dren that have been already married their portions I only add to them as
followeth. To the Eldest son of John French ; to Wm the son of Jacob
French; to Elizabeth ye daughter of Richard Ellis; to Jonathan ye son of
Jonathan Hides; to ye eldest daughter of Jonathan Peake; to Marah ye
daughter of Jno Brackett, which are all my grandchildren, to each p''son
afors"' twenty shillings, to be pd to each of them as followith, to those two
yt are already married, within one year after my decease and to ye othr
within one month after yr marriage. And for ye remainder of my whole
estate that I shall dy seized with I do give unto my beloved wife and to
those children born to me by her; to be divided to each at the discretion
of or bond Counti,' Court after my deceas. {finally I do nominate and
and empowr my beloveed wife & my son Jacob ffrench to be my executors
of this my Will, as witnesseth my hand and seale hereunto this fift day of
June in the year of o'' Lord God one thousand six hundred seaventy and
nine, & in ye thirty first year of o'' Souveraign Lord King Charles ye second.
Wm Ffrench and seale
Signed & Sealed
in p r sence of
Sam 11 Whiting Jun''
Jonath. Danforth, Sen.
20-iO-8i. Jonathan Danforth sen"" m'' oath in Court to the abovs'' will.
J. R. C.
Allowed
20. 10. 81
To ye dratching of ye children 006-13-04
To ye widdow ^ ye remaind''
To ye widdow ye remaind'' § equally
To be set out by Lt. Jonath. Danforth, Joseph Thompson & Josiah Con-
verse to each his p' & y* widdow to have y" benefitt of y* childrens portions
for y" bringing up & education until they come of age to choose y* Guardians.
T. D. R.
54
GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
An Inventory of the Estate of Lt. Wm. ffrench of Billerica who deced
20. Nov'', 1681, being his 78 year of his age.
Imp r. In the parlor, one feath r
w'" its furniture 005-OO-OO
Warming pans 3s. Smoothing Iron:
1 2d. old chairs & cushions 5s.
old Chest, box trench'''' 7s. 4d. 000-16-04
Trammels, Tongs, ffireshovel, slice
fire fork i is. gd. Looking glass
2S. In pewter il. 6s. 001-17-09
In the Parlour Chamb
Two flock beds with their fur-
nitures. His wearing apparel
oil. 1 6s.. Table cloth napkins
IIS. pillow beers 6s. chest box 7s. OO3-OO-OO
In yarne il. 4s. wool 9s. 2 hat
brushes i8d. Scales & weights
i2d. sconces lad. 001-16-06
In the Sellers
in Syder & wooden wares 3I.
14s. many old tubs 4s. 003-18-0
In the Leantoe Chambs
old Cobirons, 3s. frying pan, 3s.
old Iron 5s. hay spades i8d.
Gridirons 3s. 000-15-6
In brass 2I. lOs. Iron potts I2s.
2 spits 3s. old Muskett & Gun
barrell I2s. brass mortar 3s. 004-00-00
Ax & wedges 7s. 6d. 2 chains lOs.
horse harnes I OS. Hoops & boxes
los. 001-17-6
In come 9I. 8s. Cartshod
wheels span shackle pan, rope
plow, old shares yoke 01 4- 1 8-0
fflax seed, 5s. grindstone 5s.
Scythes 6s. how 2s. harrow-tines
2s. 6d. Sickles i8d. 001-2 -o
old adds. I2d. Skillet frame I2d.
Hows 2s. Hooks 1 6s. hay hooks
& hay spades 2s. old augres I2d.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES
55
short saw 3s.
Saddle, bridle lOS. hamer 1 2d.
measures I2d. gooses, Pinsers
marrow hoU. 2S. bd.
6 swines 61. one mare 2I. neat
cattle w'*" provision lay"* in
for them 25I.
In John Sterns Homstead
remaining due
House & barne homstead
Meadows & outlands
More the Estate is credito"'
By Nathaniel Taye
By Deacon Josiah Convarse
By Samuel Sternes
By Isaack Sternes
The Estate is Debto''
To ye Revd Sam 1 Whiting 4I. 19s.
To Zach. Shed 13s.
To Nath. Tay mony 5s. 6d.
To Joseph Walker 9s. gd. mony
To Tho ffoster sen 12s. 8d. To Simon
Crosby mony 3s. 6d.
To John Rogers sen. 4s. 6d. To Pris-
cilla Rogers mony 3s.
To Mr Davise of Charlestown 8s. 6d.
to Widd Cutlar 13s.
To Nath Hancock To
Golden More
To the constable for ye last
years Rates
To Nath. Hill money 22s. To Tho.
Pattin 5s.
To Jacob firench upon book il.
5s. gyid. to him on bond 15s. 8d.
To Sam 11 Sterns for wages 61.
more he demands 3I.
OO-II-O
CXX)-i4-6
33-00-0
20-10-0
104-00-0
200-15-1
000-12-0
017-00-0
008-05-9
005-00-0
231-12-10
005-12-00
000-15-03
000-16-02
000-07-06
001-01-06
001-07-00
002-01-05J/2
009-00-00
56 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
To It. Randall Nicolls 30 sh. To
Capt. Hamonds lady los. 002-00-00
To old Mr Parker his estate
of Boston 8s.
to ffr More of Camb. 6s. 00(^14^x3
To John Lewistone 5s. 1 o Tho. Dut-
ton jun r 4s. 3d. 000^9-03
To Sain 11 Sterns 3I. 10. To Tho.
Sterns 14s. 6d. both on ye acct
of their father John Sterns deced 004-04-06
Billerica 6. 10. 81. apprised by vs.
Jonathan Dan forth sen r
Patrick Hill
8. 10. 81. Mary fifrench executrix
to ye estate of Lt French her
deced Husband appeared in
Court & m" oath to ye abovs*
Inventory.
J. R. C.
A division of the estate was made "according to the order of ye
Hon'd County Court at Cambridge Dec 20, 1681 by Jonathan Dan-
forth Sen'r, Joseph Thompson, Josiah Converse," which record was
filed January 6, 1687. "The inventory of sd estate given in said court
did amount to with debts 023i£, 12s., lod."
"The debts due from said estate entered in ye inventor)' with ye legacy
given by said will and the charge of ye division and of courts for confirma-
tion did arise to 53l.-08s.-00d.
The estate to be divided was 182l.-04s.-0 id.
the order of ye court being that ye estate shall be divided to ye widdow one
third part of ye whole estate, and to ye three children ye remainder two
thirds equally.
The division of ye estate according to ye first inventory given into court
was as followeth.
To the widdow one third part which was 60l.-14s.-6d.
To Mary ffrench now Mary Sharp 40l.-10s.-00d.
To Sarah fJrench 40l.-10s.-00d.
To Hannah ffrench 40l.-i0s.-00d.
l82l.-04s.-10d.
„< ,.C-f/ '>--^ *^7' **"• ' ^ , ! /-/t^j.
-^ , . . . v^v, .>■. -i,. • ' •.../ ■ ' '■■,-■
., , , ....,;•.«.<.-■-'-!''•••—;'(•••::*'•■"? ' "i. ■"',','■
7 .■///.... .»/i».. -^ .'"•"*'"•■ ^ ?'*-•''-> <^ ^:/., . • ,
\ ■ ; ■ :^ .; -- ^-^» . -w.. . ^ ^.5 -V ,^ , ,
-v*^, ,,.../:, -4^ C'/' ■,<;„.■, ,< ^..-^ t., , . , . ■...'.■
jli.-*.. .-/.>•■• »,.■•/!, (.j' /.•^„,^.,. A. '.
^«^ (^^ /-,» ..-^ ,^ j.^. ^<[, ^, j;_^^,_^ ^ ^,^,. ^_ , ,
./W# ,1^"' «'«-i 5/- (»''.'-.i...« {!',■/■ „> ' _^ "
■IP. , . .^t— '""■'> ^'^'■^- '■•■•'■•_ jUU<'
/,' <*«
A Division- of the Estate of Lt. Wm. Frixch
Fac-simile of Original Dcjcument
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 59
The division of ye estate is as foUoweth
To Mary ye eldest daughter, of the homestead twenty acres of upland, low-
land and swampland, with four acres of meadow land partly lying within it
and joyning to it with half ye dwelling house and half ye barne, (the east
end of both) it is bounded Northward by Wm Chamberlin Sen'r fence &
by ye division of Sarah ffrench eastward by Henery Tuffs southward by ye
highway and Hannah ffrench westward ye north line & about one hundred
& five pole long, and forty seven pole wide at east end. (There is contained
within it 3 or 4 (4) acres of meadow land, that pertains to Wm Chamber-
laine Sen'r according to ye bounds of it formerly set out to him) this con-
taines about one half of ye orchard, and half liberty of passage upon all
needful occations this part of ye other division to his meadow and of use of
ye highway that lyeth betu'een this and ye west division, and is to allow like
liberty upon this land on ye north side of it for Sarah ffrench her heires or
assignes to go (cart ox or horses) to the east division of this lot, all of which
upland and meadow, orchard and housing, was accounted at 30 and 4 pounds
34I. -00-00
She has received more of the estate in
moveables 61.-ios.^o
To Sarah ffrench ye 2d daughter 40 acres in
ye old common field at 06I.-00-OO
To 4 acres in mill swamp according to ye
records of it at i2l.-oo-<x3
To 3 acres division in mill swamp granted
to ye estate in 1685 04I.-OO-00
To one acre in prospect meadow according
to ye record of it at oil.-oo-oo
To 14 acres of ye homestead at ye east end
with liberty to pass upon Mary's land to it,
^(. 1 4I -00-00
To so much due from Daniel Champney Cambridge 03I.-10-00
40I.-10-00
To Hannah ffrench ye west end of ye homestead, bounded by pond meadow
west, by Henery Jeifts on ye south, by Wm Chamberlaine north, with halfe
ye orchard, ye orchard is bounded on ye east end by meadow according to an
old maple tree marked in ye line of division of ye farm lots and so runs north-
ward in a direct line to ye S. W. corner post of Wm Chamberlaine's
meadow. The N of orchard runs according to a heap of stones laid in ye
highway (being about 28 pole wide at sd Highway) and so run eastward to
6o GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
ye meadow thro ye orchard by a dwelling house and half ye barn, ye west end
of both; and as for land about ye house it runs southward from ye midle of
ye house to ye dividing line of ye orchard and 1 6 foot northward of the
centre of sd house to ye highway & for ye barne half ye yard before it as now
it stands to divide against ye midle of ye barn and 1 6 foot northward of ye
centre of ye barn and so to ye highway on each side of ye barn, apprised at
22I. oos.-ood.
also five acres of pond meadow by it at 15I. oos.-ood.
and in part of Daniel Champneys debt 03I. lOs.— ood.
40I. los.-ood.
Billerica 6 lO m 1687
Apprised and divided by us
The widdows part was set out in goods & chattels & debts & twenty pounds
that was due and set out to her from ye estate of her first husband John
Stearns deceased of witness that we consent to this division. We have set
to our hands and seals.
her
Mary X Dunklin
mark
her her
Hannah X child Sarah X Crosby
mark mark
The only literary production extant from the pen of William
French is the following tract, written by him to a friend in England,
and may be found in Volumes III, IV, Third Series of the Collec-
tions of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
STRENGTH OUT OF WEAKNESS
The best news I can write you from New England is, the Lord is indeed
converting the Indians, and for the refreshing of your heart, and the hearts
of all the godly with you; I have sent you the Relation of one Indian of
two yeares profession, that I took from his owne mouth by an Interpreter,
because he cannot speak or understand one word of English.
The first Question was:
Q How did you come first to any sight of sinne
A His answer was, Before the Lord did ever bring any English to us, my
Conscience was exceedingly troubled for sin, but after Mr Mayhew
came to preach, and had been here some time, one chiefe Sagamon did
embrace the gospel, and I hearing of him, I went to him, and prayed to
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 6i
him to speak something to me concerning God, and the more I did see
of God, the more I did see my sinne, and I went away rejoj'cing, that I
knew anything of God, and also that I saw my sinne.
Q I pray what hurt doe you see in sinne?
A Sin, sayeth he, is a continuall sicknesse in my heart.
Q What further evill doe you see in sinne?
A I see it to be a breach of all Gods commandments.
Q Doe you see any punishment due to man for sinne?
A Yea sayth he, I see a righteous punishment from God due to man for
sinne which shall be by the Devills in a place like unto fire, not that
I speak of materiall fire (saith he) where man shall be for ever dying
and never dye.
Q Have you any hope to escape this punishment?
A While I went on in the way of Indianisme I had no hope, but did
verily believe I should goe to that place, but now I have a little hope,
and hope I shall have more.
Q By what means doe you look for any hope?
A Sayth he by the satisfaction of Christ. I prayed the Interpreter to tell
him from mee that I would have him thinke much of the satisfaction of
Christ, (and so he told him) I prayed him to returne mee his Answer.
A I thanke him kindly for his good counsell, it doth my heart good,
sayd he, to heare any man speake of Christ.
Q What would you think if the Lord should save you from misery?
A If the Lord, said he, would save me from all the sinne that is in my
heart, and from that misery, I should exceedingly love God, and saith
he, I should love a man that should doe me any good, much more the
Lord, if he should doe this for me.
Q Doe you think that God will doe you any good for any good that is
in you?
A Though I believe that God loves man that leaves his sinne, yet I believe
it Is for Christ's sake.
Q Doe you see that at any time God doth answer your praj-ers?
A Yea sayeth he, I take everything as an Answer of prayer.
Q But what special answer have you notice of?
A Once my wife being three days and three nights In labour, I was re-
solved never to leave praying till she had deliverance, and at last God
did It, and gave her a sonne, and I called his name Returning, because
all the while I went on in Indianisme, I was going from God but now
the Lord hath brought mee to him back agalne.
By this time the Captalne Gooklnge came to us, and he asked him this
question —
62
GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Q What he would think if he should finde more affliction and trouble in
Gods wayes than he did in the ways of Indianisme.
A His answer was, w hen the Lord did first turne me to himselfe and his
wayes, he stripped me as bare as my skinne, and if the Ix)rd should
strip mee as bare as my skin again, and so big Saggamore should come
to mee, and say, I will give you so big Wampom, so big Beaver, and
leave this way, and turne to us againe: I would say, take your riches to
yourself, I would never forsake God and his wayes again.
This is a relation taken by myself.
William French.
Fifth Generation
Samuel" French (William," Thomas/ Thomas/ Thomas/) the
tenth child of William and Elizabeth French, was born in Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts, about the year 1648; removed with his parents
to Billerica in 1653, ^nd later went to Dunstable. He married Sarah,
daughter of John Cummings Sr., December 24, 1682. She was born
January 27, 1661. To them were born eight children:
I. Sarah, born in Dunstable February 7, 1684.
II. Samuel, born in Dunstable September 10, 1685; died No-
vember, 1757.
III. Joseph, born in Dunstable March 10, 1687; died September,
1735-
IV. John, fourth child of Samuel and Sarah Cummings French,
was born in Dunstable May 6, 1691. The name of his wife
and date of his marriage is not known. To them were born :
1. John, born March i, 1719.
2. William, born October 18, 1721.
3. Hannah, born April 29, 1724.
4. Eleazer, born October 12, 1726.
5. Elizabeth, born April 29, 1729.
6. Ebenezer, born May 31, 1 73 1 ; married Sarah Proctor of
Acton; married (second) Susannah Hamblet of Not-
tingham, N. H. To them were born:
a. Charlotte, born August 13, 1774; married Isaac
Woods.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 65
b. John, born March 17, 1778; married Sarah Esta-
brook. To them were born :
aa. Susan, born ; married Moses Crockett.
She died November 12, 1846.
bb. Jefferson, born ; married Elizabeth Spaul-
ding. To them were born:
Sarah Elizabeth, born ; married John
Russell.
Charles Jeft'erson, born ; married Rosella
Pike. To them were born two children.
John William, born ; married Mary Jane
Venner. To them was born one son.
Edward Beecher, born ; married Emily
Underwood; married (second) Mrs. Luthera
Jackman.
Henry S., born ; married Annie Thomp-
son. To them was born one son.
George M., born ; married Eliza Pierce.
To them was born one daughter.
Francis Lyman, born ; died in infancy.
Lewis Morton, born ; married Mrs. Susan
Hosmer.
c. Sarah, born -; married David Barnard. To
them were born:
aa. Sarah F., born ; married A. Hamilton
Leppere. To them were born three children,
bb. Louisa M.
Sarah Barnard died January 21, 1866.
d. Rhoda, born ; married Jefferson Caldwell. To
them were born :
aa. Harriett N.
bb. Myra A.
Rhoda Caldwell died December 2, 1837.
e. Ebenezer, born ; married Sarah R. French. To
them were born:
66 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
aa. Sarah R., born ; married Samuel Hall.
bb. Susan C, born ; married Wallace Pea-
body.
cc. Mary E., born . Mary sailed in 1874 for
India as a missionary. Her health failed and
she returned after two years.
Ebenezer died March 3, 1857.
f. John H., born ; died April 3, 1831.
g. Mary D., born ; died February 13, 1817.
h. Mary D. (second), born -; married Joseph
Barnard. To them were born:
aa. Joseph Morton, married Nettie Bisemore. Jo-
seph died in 1879.
bb. Charles Frank, lost at sea.
cc. Chandler, died in infancy,
dd. Henry.
ee. Eudora, died in 1856.
ff. Howell.
gg. Adelgitha, died in 1858.
hh. Naamah.
i. Benjamin, born ; married Sarah E. Holmes. To
them was born:
aa. William L., married Addie Cummings. To
them were born three sons and one daughter.
j. William, born ; married Eliza Wright. To
them were born:
aa. Anna E., married Anderson. To them
was born one son, Kenneth French,
bb. Ellen W., married Andrew Bates. To them
were born two sons. Author of poem, "Eleaz-
er French's Arm," which appears at close of
this generation,
cc. Mary G., married W. Luzerne Lovejoy. To
them was born one son.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 67
k. James M., born ; married Jane A. Fowler. To
them were born :
aa. Walter H. M.
bb. Estella J.
cc. Cordelia J.
1. Samuel A., born ; married Mary E. Parks. To
them was born:
aa. Sadie, born .
7. Sarah, born October 6, 1733.
John, fourth child of Samuel and Sarah Cummings French,
bought land of his father in 1714; of Henry Farwell in
1721, and a part of the Brattle farm in 1732. Date of his
death is not of record.
V. Ebenezer, born in Dunstable April 7, 1693; ^^^e of mar-
riage not known; was the father of one son, Ebenezer, born
October 27, 1723. Ebenezer (senior) was killed by the In-
dians September 5, 1724, at Naticook Brook, New Hamp-
shire.
VI. Richard, born in Dunstable April 8, 1695.
VII. Alice, born in Dunstable November 20, 1699; married sub-
sequent to 1719 Nathaniel Woods (born in Groton October
19, 1694), son of Nathaniel Woods. He was a sergeant in
Lovewell's third expedition and on the day of battle was in
command of the fort. Their home was in Groton.
VIII. Jonathan, born in Dunstable February i, 1703 or 1704; mar-
ried Jane, surname not known, and died November 17, 1757.
In his will there is no mention of children. He left his
property to Oliver Woods, a son of his sister Alice.
Dunstable was granted by Massachusetts and was a part of that
province until 1741, when a revision of the province line transferred
the greater part of the original grant to the jurisdiction of New
Hampshire. Just what time Dunstable was settled is not known.
Grants of land were made in 1659 and farms are of record there
before the year 1673, the township originally embracing more than
two hundred square miles. In 1673 a grant of one thousand acres
68 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
was made to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Bos-
ton, and upon this land today stands the most densely populated part
of Nashua, New Hampshire. This was known as Artillery Farm.
Dunstable received its name as a compliment to Mrs. Mary Tyng,
who came from Dunstable, England, the name coming from "Dun"
a hilly place and "staple" a mart or place of public traffic.
It is not known in what year Samuel French came to this commun-
ity, but among the first settlers are found the names of Rev. Thomas
Weld, Joseph Wheeler, John Blanchard, Jonathan Tyng, Cornelius
Waldo, Samuel Warner, Obadiah Perry, Samuel French, Robert
Parris, Thomas Cummings, Isaac Cummings, Joseph Hassell, Chris-
topher Temple, John Goold, Samuel Gould, John Lollendine, Chris-
topher Reed, Thomas Lund, Daniel Waldo, William Beale, Samuel
Beale, John Cummings, Robert Usher, Henry Farwell, Robert Proc-
tor, Joseph Lovewell, and John Lovewell, Jr.
The search for the history of Samuel French has been somewhat
puzzling. Even the date of his birth is uncertain, but it was prob-
ably in 1648 as has been stated, when his mother was about forty-five
years of age. He married Sarah Cummings December 24, 1682,
being at that time about thirty-four years old. Men as a rule in
those days married young, and it is supposed that an earlier marriage
must have taken place, for the will of his father made in 1679 states:
"And whereas I have already given to all my children that have been
already married their portion, I only add as follows:" and the docu-
ment makes no mention of son Samuel. The theory is that Samuel
married in his younger days and may never have had children, or
they may have died.
Dr. S. H. French of Amsterdam, New York, who has rendered
invaluable service in the compilation of this history, writes in regard
to this matter:
For many years I have thought that Sarah Cummings was a second wife,
and that Samuel French had been married before. I once wrote to Dr. John
M. French of Milford suggesting this, and in his reply he said it was a new
idea to him, but he rejected it for the reason that there was no record of the
marriage and death of such a person. Now I am willing to admit without
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 71
question all the records, but am not willing to believe that no births,
deaths, or marriages failed of being recorded through neglect or accident.
Take the case of the second Sampson. His father told him he was born in
Dunstable and gave him the date. I believe the first Sampson knew when
and where his son was born, and that he told the truth, and yet there is no
record of such a birth in Dunstable.
Fox gives Samuel French as one of the early settlers of Dunstable, but
his name is not on the petition to have the town incorporated in 1674, and
probably not one-half of the petitioners lived in Dunstable at that time.
The same year that he married there were thirty-f^ve proprietors or
persons who owned land in Dunstable. Of these only fourteen lived there,
the others residing in Boston, Salem, Cambridge, and other places. Two
years later he helped to found a church in Dunstable of seven male mem-
bers, each land owner pledging himself to pay the minister fifteen shillings
a year for every thirty acre "house lot" he owned. When Samuel French
married Miss Cummings he was evidently living in Dunstable and his father-
in-law, John Cummings, was registered as a land owner.
About four years before Samuel married Miss Cummings his father,
William French, made his will. Some time before this date Samuel had
received his portion.
That he was a land owner is known, for he gave to his son John a
deed to a part of his farm in 17 14, under the reign of Queen Anne.
The house that John French built on this land is still standing, being
used (in the fall of 1910) as a storehouse for apples. This house
contained about five rooms, but only the frame of the original struc-
ture remains, it having been re-roofed and patched up with old
boards. A visit to this farm in October, 1910, reveals the fact that it
is still kept in the French family, William L. French being owner
and proprietor.
He has in his possession the old camp kettle, bullet molds and
musket which his ancestor, Ebenezer French, son of John French,
used in the Revolutionary War. He relates the story of how his
great-grandfather, Ebenezer French of Dunstable, being on guard
one evening with this musket in his hand, thought he saw a pine tree
moving. Determined to take no chances in the matter, he fired and
an Indian fell. The iron dish in the picture is one in which the
grandfather of William L. French baked his bread, fried his meat,
and cooked his potatoes.
72 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
When the great-grandfather of William L. French was discharged
from the Revolutionary army at Sacketts Harbor, he was paid in
Continental money and while walking home stopped to get his break-
fast, which consisted of one potato, a small piece of ham, and some
corn bread, for which he paid forty dollars ($40.00) in Continental
currency. The chair in the picture was used in the home by the
great-grandmother.
From the History of Dunstable (Fox) we learn that Deacon
Samuel French, who came from Billerica to Dunstable and built the
house still standing close to the state line (the one just described), was
probably the first innkeeper of the town, for at the town meeting held
^lay 23, 1732, amongother bills the following appears, and by vote of
the meeting was allowed and ordered paid to the heirs :
The town of Dunstable Dr to Samuel French (Dec'd)
1725 to dining the Selectmen & Meals oL- 8s.-od.
Ditto in ye year 1726 6 meals 0-6-0
for Rhum & Cyder had at Mr Wm Lunds (for the Selectmen) 0-12 -6
Going abt to take the Invoice 4 days O -ifa -o
Total 226
On August 15, 1726, Samuel French deeded to his son, Samuel
French Jr., a tract of land consisting of thirty acres more or less, for
sixty pounds.
DEED
SAMUEL FRENCH TO SAMUEL FRENCH JR.
To All Christian People to whom this present Deed of Sale Shall Come
Samuel French of Dunstable in the county of Middlesex in New England
Husbandmen Sends Greeting Know ye that I the Said Samuel French for
and in Consideration of the sum of Sixty Pounds money to me in hand before
the executing & delivery of these Present well and truly paid by Samuel
French Jr of said Town and County Yeoman The Receipt whereof I do
hereby acknowledge and thereof and of every part thereof for myself my
heirs Exeucs and Admins do acquit and discharge him the Said Samuel
French Jr. his heirs and assigns forever by these Presents Have given
granted bargained Sold aliened conveyed and confirmed and by these Pres-
ents do freely fully and absolutely give grant bargain sell alien Convey and
confirm unto him the sd Samuel French Jur his heirs and assigns forever a
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 73
Distinct parcel of upland situate lying and being in the township of Dun-
stable on the west side of Merrimack River bounded as follows viz : be-
ginning at the north East Corner it being a pine Tree on merrimack. River
Bank from thence bounded by william Lund up to the highway or common
road of passing to a great Rock from thence Southerly by the Common Road
of passing to the Said Samuel French Junrs own land and on all other points
bounded by the Said Samuel French Jurs own Land it being by Estimation
Thirty acres be the same so much more or less as also all the Divisions in the
Common or undivided Land in Dunstable aforesaid belonging to this Thirty
acre Right which is to be laid out after the Date of these Presents together
with all the Rights Libertys Profits Priviledges & appurtenances thereunto
belonging and all the Estate Right Tittle Inheritance Possession Claim &
demand of me the said Samuel French of in and to the same and every part
thereof. To Have And To Hold all and singular the above granted Prem-
ises with all the appurtenances thereof unto the Said Samuel French Junr
his heirs and assigns to Heir and their own Sole proper use Benefit and
Behoofe forever and I the Said Samuel French for my self my heirs execus
and admins do covenant Promise and Grant to and with the Said Samuel
French Junr his heirs and assigns that at the time of the Execution and De-
livery of these Presents I the said Samuel French am the true Sole and only
lawfull owner of all the aforegranted and bargained premises having in
myself full power good right and lawfull authority to Sell and dispose of the
same in manner as aforesaid and that the said Samuel French Junr his heirs
and assigns shall and may from Time to Time and at all Time forever
hereafter have hold use occupy possess and Enjoy all the above granted
premisses to the said Samuel French Junr his heirs and assigns against the
lawful claim and Demand of all and every person and persons whomsoever
In Witness whereof the said Samuel French hath hereunto sett his hand &
seal this Second day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand seven
hundred & twenty six and in the Twelfth year of King George's reign.
Samuel French & Seal
Signed sealed and delivered in presence of us Abraham Taylor John Med
at Dunstable August 15th 1726 The above named Samuel French personally
appearing acknowledged the above written Instrument to be his voluntary
act and Deed forever. Eleazr Tyng Jur pd.
Midsx Gt Camb January 8th 1729
Read & Entered by Ira Foxcroft.
Reg.
The ecclesiastical affairs of the town are somewhat shrouded in
mystery. The people seem to have had no settled minister during
74 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
their many wars, but a meeting house was completed in 1678, built
probably of logs. Mr. Thomas Weld was employed at as early a
date as May i, 1679, as minister, and a "thirty acre right," consisting
of about six hundred acres was granted for a "ministerial lot" to en-
courage the ministry. In December, 1682, the town "let out to
Goodman Akers to cut ten cords of wood for two shillings a cord,
country paye, and Sargt Cummings is to cart the same for two shill-
ings a cord same paye." This was probably for Mr. Weld, who had
been married a short time previous. In 1683 a second meeting house
of larger size and better finish was built at a cost of approximately
three hundred or four hundred dollars. This church was organized
the year following, and consisted of six male members — John
Blanchard, John Cummings Sr., Samuel French, Obadiah Perry,
Jonathan Tyng, and Cornelius Waldo. Mr. Thomas Weld was or-
dained minister on December 16, 1685.
The following is the covenant of this church:
We covenant with our Lord and with one another, and we do bind our-
selves in the presence of God, to walk together in all his ways according as
he is pleased to reveal himself unto us, in his blessed word of truth, and do
explicitly profess to walk as folioweth through the power and grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
We avouch the Lord to be our God and ourselves to be his people in the
truth and simplicity of our spirits.
We give ourselves to the Lord Jesus and the word of his grace, for
teaching, ruling and sanctifying of us in matters of worship and conversa-
tion, resolving to cleave unto him alone for life and glory, and to reject all
contrary ways, canons, and constitutions of men in his worship.
We promise to walk with our brethren with all watchfulness and tender-
ness, avoiding jealousies, suspicions, backhitings, censurings, provocations,
secret risings of spirit against them ; but in all cases to follow the rule of our
Lord Jesus Christ, to bear and forbear, to give and forgive as he has taught
us.
In public or in private, we will willingly do nothing to the offence of
the church ; but will be willing to take advice for ourselves and ours as
occasion may be presented.
We will not in the congregation be forward either to show our own gifts
or parts in speaking, or scrupling or there discover the weakness and fail-
ings of our brethren, but attend an orderly call thereto, knowing how much
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 75
the Lord may be dishonored and his Gospel and the profession of it sh'ghted
by our distempers and weakness in public.
We bind ourselves to study the advancement of the Gospel, in all truth
and peace both in regard to those that are within and without; no ways
slighting our sister churches, but using their counsels as need shall be ; not
laying a stumbling block any, no, not the Indians whose good we desire to
promote ; and so to converse that we may avoid the very appearance of evil.
We do hereby promise to carry ourselves in all lawful obedience to those
that are over us in church or commonwealth knowing how well pleasing it
will be to the Lord that they should have encouragement in their places, by
our not grieving their spirits through our irregularities.
We resolve to approve ourselves to the Lord in our particular callings,
shunning idleness as the bane of any state, nor will we deal hardly or op-
pressively with any, wherein we are the Lord's stewards. Promising also
unto our best ability to teach our children the knowledge of God, and of his
holy will, that they may serve him also; and all this not by any strength of
our own, but by the Lord Jesus Christ whose blood we desire may sprinkle
this our covenant made in his name.
On October 4, 1797, every inhabitant was ordered to "bring half a
cord of wood to Mr. Weld by the first of November or forfeit five
shillings for each neglect." This contribution was in addition to his
salary as minister, the price of the wood then being about one dollar
per cord, making an extra tax on the membership of fifty cents each.
In 1699 this wood rate was increased and assessment made according
to the financial ability of the inhabitants, who were required to furn-
ish the minister nineteen cords. The "minister rate" assessed upon all
the inhabitants was about fifty dollars, this probably being the amount
of his salary. The population at this time possibly did not exceed
one hundred twenty-five, twenty heads of families contributing to
the "wood rate" — one of whom was Samuel French.
In 1700 it was voted to "glaze" the meeting house, which was done
at a cost of one pound, one shilling, and six pence, these being the
first window lights in their church.
The manners and customs of that time were very dififerent from
those of the present day, as may be gathered from the following ex-
pense account of the funeral of James Blanchard, who died in 1704,
he being a farmer in fair circumstances:
76 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
£ s. d.
Paid for winding sheet 0-18-0
Paid for coffin o-io-o
Paid for digging grave O- 7-6
Paid for the use of the pall o- 5-o
Paid for gloves (to distribute at the funeral) i- i-o
Paid for wine, segars and spice (at the funeral) i- 5-9
Paid to the Doctor O-14-9
Paid for attendance, expenses etc. 1-17-5
6-19-5
The minister received the title of "Mr." not "Rev." for this was
considered an "innovation of vanity" upon Puritan simplicity. In
1699 the term "Mr." was not yet applied to common people, the ap-
pellation betAveen neighbors being Goodman and Goodwife or
Goody. Adams's Annals of Portsmouth gives some of the curious
customs and Puritan laws of the age.
For example: It was voted under date of September 25, 1662,
that a cage be made or some other means invented by the selectmen
to punish such as sleep or take tobacco on the Lord's day out of the
meeting in the time of the public exercise. Ten years later it was
voted that if any shall smoke tobacco in the meeting house at any pub-
lic meeting he shall pay a fine of five shillings for the use of the
town.
1642. By a law of Massachusetts no freeman was allowed to vote
in town meeting nor sit as a deputy in the General Court unless he
were a church member. On September 8, 1642, this law was dis-
pensed with as to the towns in New Hampshire.
1648. Delusion respecting withchcraft appeared; Margaret
Jones of Charlestown being the first to be convicted and executed.
1649. Wearing of long hair was condemned as sinful. Dancing
at weddings was forbidden.
In 1666 William Walker was imprisoned a month "for courting a
maid without the leave of her parents."
In 1675 "there is manifest pride appearing in our streets" and also
"superstitious ribbands used to tie up and decorate the hair." These
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 77
things were forbidden under severe penalties, the men being forbid-
den to "keep Christmas" because it was a "Popish custom."
May 21, 1688, Samuel Goold is chosen dog whipper for the meet-
ing house. Fox says: "What were the duties of this functionary we
are not informed so far as is implied in the name. It stands alone,
without precedent or imitation. The choice is recorded with all
gravity among other dignitaries of the town, and the office was doubt-
less in those days a serious and real one and no sinecure, unless we
suspect our grave forefathers of a practical joke." The office might
have been created for the purpose of giving a shiftless man something
to do, and it might not have made him a living, as, leaving Dunstable,
he moved to Chelmsford, where we find in the history of that village
that Samuel Goold and his wife were the only paupers, that town con-
tributing eight shillings a week to their support. This was in 1720.
So strict were these people in the observance of the Sabbath that
"John Atherton was fined 40 shillings for wetting a piece of an old
hat to put into shoes where they had chafed his feet when marching."
Those who neglected to attend church for three months were pub-
licly whipped. In Harvard College students were whipped for
grave offenses in presence of students and professors in chapel, and
prayer was offered before and after the infliction of the punish-
ment.
Prayer at funerals in New England formed no part of the service
previous to 1685, and no sermon was preached — the burial being
silent.
Before 1689 no person could vote or be elected to office until he had
been made a freeman of the commonwealth. This might be done by
the General Assembly or the county court, but only upon evidence of
his being a member in good standing of some congregational church
— not congregational as understood today; rather some public wor-
shiping body of Christian people.
Samuel French must have been a poten.t factor in the Indian hos-
tilities which almost constantly engaged the attention of the settlers,
for record is found of his having been credited with military service
at the garrison at Marlborough, October 19, 1675, three pounds; and
78 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
again another record is made of service at Chelmsford, July 24, 1675,
three pounds, eight shillings, and six pence.
During King William's War, which began in 1689, an attack, on
Dunstable was planned but averted, owing to information given by
two friendly Indians, and companies were sent in defense of the
town. On the evening of September 2, 1691, the Indians suddenly
appeared and murdered five of the inhabitants, and on the 28th two
more became the victims of their atrocities.
This locality was also associated with another tragic event in his-
tory: In April, 1697, Mrs. Hannah Dustin, on her way to Boston in
company with Mary Nefif and a boy, passed through Dunstable in a
canoe, they having been taken captive by Indians at Haverhill,
Massachusetts, and carried to the mouth of the Contocook River in
New Hampshire, where they succeeded in escaping by killing their
captors, who were in a drunken stupor. This is regarded as one of
the most remarkable and heroic deeds on record, with Hannah Dus-
tin as the celebrated heroine of colonial days.
In point of population, Dunstable was at this time the smallest
township in the province, and but for the indomitable perseverance
and courage of five men — Major Jonathan Tyng, Lieutenant Sam-
uel French, John Lovewell, Samuel Whiting, and the Rev. Mr.
Weld — must have been abandoned. The Indians still continuing
their hostilities, another garrison was established for the defence of
the little settlement, which was manned December 25, 1702, by a com-
pany of soldiers, one of whom was Samuel French.
On the night of July 3, 1706, a party of two hundred seventy Mo-
hawk Indians suddenly assaulted a garrison house in which Captain
Pearson of Rowley and twenty of his troopers, who had been ranging
the woods, were posted. The door having been left open and no
watch appointed, the soldiers were surprised. John and Elizabeth
Cummings, who had gone out to milk the cows, were fired upon, the
latter being killed, while the former, with a gunshot wound in his
arm, escaped to the woods, where he remained in concealment during
the night. After a bloody fight the Indians were routed. It was here
that Samuel French and his family were garrisoned at this time.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 79
These garrison houses were surrounded with palisades — a wall of
stone or timber — rising to the roof. In the wall there was a gate of
heavy plank, secured with iron bolts ; port-holes were made in various
places and the underbrush was cleared away from the vicinity in
order that the approach of the enemy might be seen. To these garri-
son houses the inhabitants would remove when the alarm was sound-
ed throughout the settlement that the Indians were lurking near.
Such occasions as these were undoubtedly the inspiration for the
poem, "Grandmother's Aprons," written by Eleanor French Bates,
and published in the Patriotic Review.
great-grandmother's aprons
Safe in the heart of a meadow, away from a woodland nook
Which else might shelter a warrior, and near to a favoring brook
They built the stout old blockhouse, to guard from a painted foe,
And there dwelt great-grandmother, two hundred years ago.
The Indian tribes were rising, and fast through the woodpaths came
Many a maid and matron of slender but dauntless frame;
And grandmother ran to welcome, and offered them of her best,
But first she tied on an apron she took from an oaken chest.
With faltering feet came a mother, her baby but ten days old,
And grandmother went to meet them and brought them into her fold.
She comforted little children — she tied on an apron first —
And gave them porridge for hunger and a piggin of milk for thirst.
She cooked the pork and potatoes which made up the homely fare.
And hospitality entreated the gathering neighbors to share ;
She spread sweet straw and cornhusks for the refugees to rest,
Nor did she forget an apron, all fresh from her oaken chest.
She went with the boys to the meadow to help drive up the kine ;
She took her turn at watching for an Indian scout or sign ;
And, absently donning an apron (for thus doth the legend go),
She cleaned and loaded the muskets — dames of her day did so.
But when came the sunny morning, each heart was warm with cheer,
For safe were the hardy settlers — no red men had come anear —
And when she untied four aprons, one from above another.
No one was more astonished than dear, brave, great-grandmother!
8o GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Conditions of peace did not prevail until the treaty of Utrecht,
April 1 1, 1713, which continued for a period of eleven years, or until
1724, when hostilities were again renewed, during which time Lieu-
tenant Ebenezer French, son of Samuel French, was killed by the
Indians on September 5, 1724. Of the men who lost their lives at
this time, eight were buried in one grave in the old burying ground
at Little's Station. Their gravestone, which still stands, is marked:
"Memento Mori. Here lies the body of Mr. Thomas Lund who de-
parted this life Sep. 5, 1724, in the 42d year of his age. This man
with seven more that lies in this grave was slue all in a day by the In-
dians."
From Soldiers in King Philip's War we find that the towns as-
sumed the payment of the wages of their own soldiers to their fam-
ilies at home — they thus receiving sure and immediate aid, and the
towns being credited to that amount upon their colonial rates or
taxes. In this manner the families were supported.
During these terrible years when one war followed so closely on
another, and the rumors of threatened invasions by the Indians proved
only too true, is it any wonder that, owing to the exposed situation of
the settlers, by the year 1696 fully two-thirds of them had abandoned
their homes and the state had been obliged to remit fifty pounds in
taxes to the town for those who had deserted it? That this period of
depression continued for some years is shown from the fact that in
1 701 the General Court gave twelve pounds toward the maintenance
of the minister in Dunstable, after it had been shown to them how
the settlers had been obliged to leave their homes as the result of the
devastation due to the Indian wars. It certainly is hard for us in
these days of peace and prosperity, to realize the terrible scenes
through which our ancestors were compelled to pass. It is a matter
of history that no colony suffered as did this one from Indian wars.
Belknap says: "Every man who was forty years of age had seen
twenty years of war. Such continued dangers and hardships, al-
though afifording no good school for cultivation and refinement, fur-
nished a race of hardy soldiers and sterling patriots for the times that
tried men's souls." They lived constantly in dread of the lurking
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 8i
foe — much of the time shut up in garrisons, living on the most fru-
gal fare, loaded muskets in their hands whether they ventured forth
in the field to work or to attend divine worship. Surely these pio-
neers were of the stuff of which heroes are made, and they laid a good
foundation for this wonderful republic.
That Samuel French was wounded in some of the numerous en-
gagements occurring in his lifetime is known, owing to a statement
found in Vol. IV, of the Provincial Papers of New Hampshire.
From Journal of the House, under date of April 28, 1726:
Voted : That Samuell French be allowed and paid out of the publick Trea-
sury eight pounds, Sixteen Shillings, in full of all Demands on his Accompt
for Doctor Halls curing him of a Shot wound & Diet & Lodging the said
Sum being in full for all Demands.
James Jeffrey
Clr Assembly.
Under same date:
Allowed Sam'l French out of the Treasury eight pounds sixteen shillings
to discharge his acct. for cure of a gunshott.
Jam Jeffrey assem.
' The date of the death of his wife is not known, but that of Samuel
French is given as having occurred in November, 1727.
There were many traditions among the early settlers of Massa-
chusetts, among others, that there had been gold coin buried in differ-
ent places throughout the land. Every family owned a "divining
rod" and there was much seeking and digging, with little or no suc-
cess. There was said to be a "spell" upon the gold, so that if a person
should speak when searching, the pot of gold would disappear for-
ever. It is related that one midnight the "divining rod" of John,
son of Samuel French, and some others who had assembled with him,
leaned toward a certain spot; so they dug in silence and the spade at
last hit against an iron pot. Ebenezer, son of John, then but a lad
eight years of age, had followed them unseen, and when he heard the
ring of the metal gave a shout of victory. Alas! the pot of gold dis-
appeared forever from the land of the French families.
' Steam's Thirty Dunstable Families.
82 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Ei.EAZER French's arm
(Eleazer French lost an arm at the battle of Bunker Hill, and picking
it up, bore it as a trophy from the bloody field.)
When dwelling on the heroes of field, redoubt and trench.
Shall we not tell the story of young Eleazer French?
With fowling piece and powder horn
Under the clear June starlight borne.
They labored till the early morn
On Bunker's honored height;
Long hours the pick and shovel plied.
And each who, weary, stepped aside.
Found eagerly his place supplied
Throughout the summer night.
No stouter hearts of stronger frame
Were there, with patriot fire aflame,
Than those from Dunstable that came
To battle for the right.
And when th' invading force was met.
With powder grime and bloody sweat,
The farmers' flintlocks paid the debt
They owed to Howe's great guns.
Muskets of old-time minute men!
Ye told the story once again,
How tyrants doubt and falter when
Assemble Freedom's sons.
Full soon they heard the bugle call
And saw the young Eleazer fall,
Where sped the British cannon ball
Upon its path of harm.
"Fall back ! keep safe from further ill !"
They shouted ; he, unconquered still.
Quoth stoutly, and with steadfast will,
"No ! not without my arm !"
The severed limb all bleeding lay.
But he who fought that glorious day.
Took it upon his anguished way
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 83
And left no trophy there;
Racked with fierce pains and bitter qualms,
Fainting, and stunned with war's alarms,
Bravely he bore off both his arms
To show what soldiers dare.
O ye who sing our heroes of parapet and trench,
Fail not to tell the story of brave Eleazer French !
Eleanor W. F. Bates
Mary's sampler
The silks are dim and faded that once were bright and gay.
The blue has turned to creamy white, the pink has changed to gray;
Long time the web has hid within the attic's farthest nook.
Wrought more than ninety years ago by Mary Estabrook.
Upon the old stone door-step, when summer days \\cre long.
She sat and marked her letters, peradventure sometimes wrong.
And if she took some stitches out to put them in again, —
Dear little Mary, did you long to drop your needle then?
Or if the days were sultry, she look her pretty work.
And sat beneath the butternuts where cooling shadows lurk;
Twin trees were they, of ample girth, and Mary loved them well ;
Perchance a tribute leaf or nut upon her sampler fell.
In Mary's quaint old garden, sweet-williams, pinks and phlox
Grew side by side with balsams, prince's feather, four-o-clocks ;
Tall tiger lilies stood alone, stiff poised on stately stem.
Near where the poppies spread their bloom, each one a glowing gem.
The beauty of the blossoms slipped into Mary's soul,
And in the centre of her web she stitched a curious scroll,
A twisting vine of varied green, with here and there a rose,
Or else it is a strawberry — perhaps — but no one knows.
Cross stitch and over and over, the sampler grew apace ;
Three times she marked the alphabet upon its homespun face.
And when the letters were too few to finish out the line.
She made a row of tiny trees, with foliage thick and fine.
84 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
If any little maidens now live in that fair town,
One wonders if they ever take a square of linen brown,
And patiently work day by day, design upon design,
As once did "Mary Estabrook, of Sudbury, aged nine!"
Eleanor W. F. Bates ^
Sixth Generation
Joseph "^ French (Samuel,' William,* Thomas,' Thomas,'
Thomas'), third child of Samuel and Sarah (Cummings) French,
was born in Dunstable March lo, 1687. He married Elizabeth,
daughter of John Cummings Jr., and Elizabeth Kinsley Cummings,
about 171 1, she dying April 30, 1751. To them were born :
I. Joseph, son of Joseph and Elizabeth Cummings French, was
born July 28, 1713; married Bridget . To them were
born:
1. Isaac, born May 26, 1734; died August 4, 1753.
Bridget French died October 29, 1735.
Joseph married (second) Elizabeth . To them were
born:
2. Joseph, born November i, 1739; married March 3, 1768,
Sybil Richardson. To them were born four children.
Josiah, born June 27, 1741 ; died in infancy.
Josiah (second), born June 17, 1743.
Thomas, born May 4, 1745.
Elizabeth, born March 6, 1746 or 1747.
J Bridget, born August 30, 1749.
iMollie, bor
3
4
5
6
7-
8. IMollie, born August 30, 1749.
Elizabeth French died January 20, 1753.
Joseph French married (third) Rebecca . To them
were born:
9. Susannah, born October 16, 1757.
10. Theodore, born June 6, 1759; married Rhoda Danforth
(born April 22, 1769) October 4, 1781. To them were
born five children.
Theodore married (second) Caty (Honey) Lovewell
' Published some years ago in T/ie Youth's Companion.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 85
(born in Dunstable March 2, 1759) February 3, 1791.
To them were born three children.
Rebecca French died March 21, 1776.
(Captain) Joseph French died April 21, 1776.
II. Elizabeth, second child of Joseph and Elizabeth (Cum-
mings) French was born , 1715; married Captain John
Cummings (born January 14, 1698) in 1736. To them
were born:
1. Olive, born May 15, 1738; married Captain Leonard
Butterfield (born in Dunstable November 17, 1740).
To them were born five children:
a. Leonard, born February 28, 1772.
b. Olive, born April 19, 1773.
c. John, born December i, 1776.
d. Sarah, born May 5, 1779.
e. Catherine, born January 18, 1781.
2. Rebecca, born August 4, 1740; married Asahel Wyman
May 28, 1761.
3. Elizabeth (Betty), born May 28, 1744, in Dunstable;
married November 27, 1766, Jacob Jewett (born in
1745) of Hollis, New Hampshire. To them were born
eight children:
a. James, born August 22, 1767.
b. John, born July 2, 1769.
c. Jacob, born June 14, 1770.
d. David, born August 16, 1773.
e. Elizabeth (Betty), born October 15, 1775.
f. Lucy, born August 9, 1777.
g. Ralph Winslow, born December 8, 1779.
h. Leonard, born October 2, 1787.
4. Easter, born August 21, 1745; married January 11,
1767, Jonas Butterfield (born September 12, 1742). To
them were born:
a. Rebecca, born in Dunstable October i, 1768.
b. Jonas, born in Dunstable May 24, 1773.
86 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
c. Esther, born in Dunstable April 12, 1778.
d. John, born in Dunstable April 16, 1780.
5. Molly, born August i, 1747; married Joseph Fletcher
(born June 18, 1752). To them were born:
a. Molly Cummings, born September 15, 1773.
b. Isaac, born November 23, 1784.
c. Elizabeth Underwood, born February 24, 1790.
d. Catherine, born May 6, 1792.
e. Lucinda, born November 26, 1795.
6. Lucy, born June 6, 1748; married April 30, 1772, Abijah
Wright.
7. John Jr., born January 13, 1753.
8. Katy, born October 21, 1755.
Captain John Cummings, husband of Elizabeth, died Au-
gust 15, 1770.
Elizabeth died July 2, 1793.
III. Sampson, born July 28, 1717; died July 19, 1785.
IV. Josiah, born February 24, 1723; died January 28, 1742.
V. Thomas, born June 29, 1724.
VI. Benjamin, sixth child of Joseph and Elizabeth (Cum-
mings) French, was born July 6, 1726; married January 8,
1 75 1, Molly Lovewell (born May 26, 1732). To them were
born:
1. Benjamin, born December 11, 1752; died October 29,
1776.
2. Esther, born January 7, 1754; married Dr. Allin Tooth-
aker; married (second) Timothy Taylor.
3. Mollie, born October 18, 1756.
4. Katherine, born August 19, 1758.
5. Augustus, born June 16, 1760.
6. Betsey, born January 16, 1762.
7. Charlotte, born September 21, 1763; married July 12,
1779) James Cummings (born in Dunstable July 12,
I7i;7). To them were born four children. James died
September 6, 1840. Charlotte died September 27, 1787.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 87
8. Frederick, born September 26, 1766; married December
30, 1790, Grace Blanchard. To them were born five
children. Grace died February 6, 1845. Frederick
died March 28, 1824.
9. Thomas, born August 7, 1768; married Elizabeth Blan-
chard January 7, 1796. She died May 4, 1843. Thomas
died May 3, 1846.
10. Lucy, born November 7, 1769.
11. Bridget, born January 14, 1772.
Molly Lovewell French died December 17, 1774.
Benjamin French married (second) Mary Cummings Feb-
ruary I, 1776.
He died December 15, 1779.
VII. Samuel, born July 14, 1728; died January 11, 1730.
VIII. Samuel (second), born August 10, 1730.
Tradition speaks of two other sons of Joseph and Elizabeth French,
David and Ebenezer by name, the latter of whom kept a tavern in
the valley of the Merrimac. The incident relates that while trading
with the Indians for furs, on refusing to give them more rum when
they had already drank freely, he was murdered by them in a spirit
of revenge.
It is a matter of history that in 1706, when Joseph French was
about nineteen years of age, he with his father, mother, brothers, and
sisters, took refuge in the garrison house of his uncle, John Cum-
mings. John and Elizabeth Cummings were the parents of four sons
and four daughters. Joseph's cousin Elizabeth (born January 5,
1687) being about the same age as himself, their close association
and companionship ripened into something deeper and more tender,
and about 171 1 they were married and established a home of their
own. It was Elizabeth's mother, known as Goody Cummings, who
was killed by the Indians, and her father wounded by them, when
the garrison was surprised on the night of July 3, 1706. These were
certainly cruel days, and it is hard for us to realize what must have
been the suffering of these people, surrounded as they were by danger
and death. Not until 1713 were the doors of the garrison thrown
88 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
open and peace assured, and it was during this year that the first child
of Joseph and Elizabeth was born.
That the colony of Dunstable was in almost continual warfare dur-
ing the life of Joseph French, is shown by the following petition ad-
dressed to the Governor and Council of Massachusetts, under date of
May 20, 1725: '
The petition of the Selectmen of Dunstable Humbly Sheweth: That
whereas your Honors hath found it necessary to order Col. Tyng and his
men into the woods on the sad occasion of Capt. Lovewell's defeat, we are
extremely exjwsed and weak by reason of so many of our fighting men being
cut off last summer, and so many killed now in the Province's service. We
would beg leave to represent to your honors our case as very sad and dis-
tressing having so many soldiers drawn out, and our inhabitants reduced to so
small a number by the war. Several families have removed, and more are
under such discouragement, not daring to carry on their planting or any other
business that they fully design it. We hope your Honors will take our de-
plorable circumstances into your compassionate consideration, and order
such measures to be taken for our defence & support until our men return
as you in your wisdom shall think fit. And your Petitioners, as in duty
bound will ever pray. (Signed)
Samuel French 1
Joseph Sncw ISelectmen
Joseph French j
John Lovewell
John French
John Cummings
John Cummings Jr.
Nath'l Cummings
Jonathan Cummings
Jonathan Combs
John Lovewell also sent in a petition at the same time for help to
defend his garrison, stating that unless assistance came he must leave
it to the enemy. These petitions were granted and a guard of twenty-
five soldiers was posted in the town.
Joseph French was chosen on March 31, 1719, to make coffins
"where there be need for the year ensueing." Friendly Indians lived
in this community and it is probable that this vote referred to them,
1 Fox.
Q
y.
CO
O
X
X
o
o
5
H
H
CO
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 91
as there was a charge made by him not long after "for Jacob Indians
coffin 7s."
The selectmen and other persons in the employ of the town at this
period charged five shillings per day for their services.
January 16, 1717, it was voted in Dunstable that "Henry Farwell
and Seargt. Cummings are to endeavor to get a minister as soon as
they can, and see after Mr. Weld's place (the old parsonage) to buy
it if it be to be had. Also Joseph French was to entertain the min-
ister."
The amount of taxes raised from 1726 to 1733 for the general ex-
penses of the town, including the support of the minister, varied from
two hundred fifty to four hundred dollars per year. So scattered
were the inhabitants that no school was kept in the town until 1730.
In 1749,' the town voted to have a school for eight months of each
year. One teacher was employed and the school was kept in four
places in the town, alternately. Soon after, the French war began
and no other record of school is found until 1761. When a settlement
contained fifty families, they established a school; when one hundred
families, they established a grammar school.
Joseph French was a man of influence in the community, a select-
man, and an extensive land owner. The house where he lived was
eight rods north of the state line after the change in boundary, he
owning about five hundred acres of land in this locality. He died
intestate in 1735, leaving a large estate to his wife and children.
JOSEPH French's inventory
An inventory of all Singular the Estate Real & Personal of Mr
Joseph French Late of Dunstable Dec'd
His Apparel
£
Impr : to a coat and Laccoat 6- o-o
To another coat and Laccoat i- o-o
To a Great coat 3- o-o
To a Laccoat coat i6 / one pr Breeches i6 / 1-12-0
2 pr Stockins (q> 12 / one pr hose @ 10 / I- 2-0
I hat @ 15 / one shirt @ i£ / I-15-0
92
GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Household stuff
&
Utensils
7 pr sheats ((i £7 6 Table cloths @ i" 2"
6 Towels @ 9 / one bed and furniture i. 7" 10"
To one bed more & Furniture @ 5" 10"
One Brass Kettle & Skillet @ 5" 10" 12 plates @ 17
Six platters @ £2-0 one bason & 2 porringers 10 /
wing glass
To one Quart pot 7 / one niugg 2 /
peper box 1/6
To two glass Bottles 2/ andirons & frying pan £1-12
Tongs and fire pail 12/ Box iron & heaters 5/ pothook 2/
a Gridiron 2/ to a Tramel 6/ fifteen chairs £2 /
A Chest 7/2 Tables @ £1 — chest of drawers £1
Lining wheel @ 1 1 / woUen wheel @ 4
Iron pott @ 17 / Brass Spurrs @ 3/
Husbandry
Tools &c.
to Saddles @ £1" 16/ one Gunn @ £1" 10 /
one axe @ 12/
two Scyethes (a) £1-4 / Broad ax £1- Grindstone /
a Broad hoe (S' 6 / cart & rigging @ £2-12-0
Two Draught chains @ £1-16 horse traic @ 10/
One Yoake Staple and ring @ 6/ one Slead @ 10 /
To Carpenters Tooles @ 1 2 / coopers tooles @ 1 8
Joyners Tools @ 10 / Iron crow @ £1-10
to Old Casks £1- Looking Glass 5 /
one plow @ £1- Breaking up plow @ £ 2
Stock &c
To One pr Oxon @ £18 pr Stears coming 3 year old £6-5
To one red cow @ £6-10 / Brown cow @ £5-10
To two Brindle cows @ £12 one horse® £12
one mare @ £10- two calves @ £3
26 Sheep @ £15-10- to 8 Swine @ £13
2 Steares four years Old @ £10 — one red heifer @ 5-10
to a Brown heifer Coming four years Old @
To three heifers @
To one Red and White cow @
8- 2-0
7-19-0
5-10-0
6-10-0
2-I0-O
0- 9-6
1-14-0
0-19-0
2- 8-0
2- 7-0
0-15-0
1- 0-0
3-18^
2-14-0
2-18-0
2- 6-0
0-16-0
I-IO-O
2-00-0
1-05-0
3-00-0
24- 5-0
12-00-0
24-00-0
13-00-0
28-10-0
I5-IO-0
4-15-0
6-00-0
6-00-0
Brought over
208-16-0
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 93
In Dunstable
Real Estate
To the Homestead Buildings &c. @ 920-00-0
To a piece of Swamp Called Half moon @ 50-00-0
To a farm at Nisitisseth of 400 acres 190-00-0
In Nottingham 200 acres @ 240-00-0
The sixth part of a farm called Davenport 60-00-0
In Groton to about one hundred acres meadow upland 70-00-0
Total £1738- 6-0
The above inventory was made and apprized for the subscribers ye 29th
of Sepr 1735. Zaccheus Lovewell
John French
Henry Farwell Jr
The administratrix makes mention of common rights and undi-
vided lands, also a piece of meadow lying in Nottingham, about six
acres, and another piece in said town, about three acres.
Elizabeth French, administratrix, exhibited an inventory on oath
before Jon Remington, J. P. Records in court house in East Cam-
bridge, October 17, 1910.
February 16, 1736. Widow gave bond as guardian to Sampson,
Benjamin, and Samuel, who only are under age. Widow content
with her third and with the whole distribution. So is the eldest son.
ELIZABETH FRENCH'S BOND
Know all men by these Presents.
That we Elizabeth French widow of Joseph French Husbandman — both
of Dunstable in the County of Middlesex in the Province of the Massachu-
setts Bay in New England, are holden and stand firmly Bound and Obliged
unto Jonathan Remington Esq his Successor or Assigns in the full Sum of
one thousand Pounds: To be paid unto the said Jona Remington his Suc-
cessors or Assigns in the Ofifice of Judge of the Probate of Wills and for
Granting Letters of Administration on the Estate of Persons Deceased in the
said county of Middlesex. To the true Payment whereof, We jointly and
severally bind our Selves and our several respective Heirs Executors and
Administrators, firmly by these Presents. Sealed with our Seals ; Dated the
Sixteenth Day of February Anno Domini 1736.
The accounts of debts and credits of the estate of the late Joseph French
of Dunstable Deceased which the administrator viz Joseph French son of the
94 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
deceased, and Elizabeth French widow of the Deceased have cliarged them-
selves withall viz Debts Due to the Deceased at his death which they find
Received.
£ s d
From Timothy Adams two Pounds 2- o-o
From John Richardson two Pounds 2- o-o
From Samuel Searls one Pound i- o-o
John Tayler one Pound ten shillings i-io-O
More Fifteen pounds eighteen shillings 1 5-18-0
From Peter Powers five Pounds 5-00-0
More five shillings o- 5-0
236- 3-6
and desireth allowance for debts paid which was due from the deceased at
his death which the sd administrator have since Paid and discharged to the
several creditors.
£ s d
to Colonel Eleazer Tyng o- 5-0
to Mr Nathaniel Prentice (nine pounds & three shillings) g- 3-0
to Mr Prentice Six Pounds sixteen shillings & three 6-16-3
to James Parham Sixteen pounds five shillings 16- 5-0
to Thomas Harwood Two pounds eight and nine Pence 2- 8-9
to Capt Blanchard three Pounds 3- 0-0
more
to Capt Blanchard '9- 0-0
to Sam" Huston Three Pounds five Shillings 3- 5-o
to Jonth Barron one pound one shill & sixpence i- 1-6
to hugh Nawhan ten shillings o-io-o
to John Blanchard fourteen shillings 0-14-0
to Tyler & Hancock three pounds, three shillings 3- 3-0
to Benj. Gould one pound four & sixpence I- 4-6
to Jon'a Cummlngs ten shillings o-io-o
to Thomas Chamberlain six pounds seven shillings and three pence 6- 7-3
to Saml Robe sixteen shillings 0-16-0
to Capt Parker Twelve pounds ten Shillings 1 2-1 0-0
to Jona Snow ten shillings o-io-o
to Thomas Pollard one pound four shillings i- 4-o
to the widow Curtis Twenty five Pounds 25- 0-0
to Mr Walton O- 5-0
to " Jabez Davis 00- 6-0
to " James Dutton 00- 3-0
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 95
to " Jacob Pierse oo- 2-10
to Capt Blanchard OO- 2-6
to the three men prizing the Estate 2- 5-0
to Entertaining the Prizors three days i- 4-0
entertaining the first apprizors i- O-O
to Thomas Chamberlain i- 6-0
X Thos. Barrett 6-10-0
X Mary Waters (for funerals) 35- 7-7
X Benjn Alford for 6 Gallons of Rum 2-14-O
X Mr Lemmion for Funerals 27- 6-5
X Thomas Barrett 6- 0-0
For the apparel used in the Family (all save one suit apprized
at 611) 8- 9-0
P'd for adminr 7/6 Inventory
To the adminr for their troubles & journeys 8- 0-0
Framing this acct in part 3/ examining & allowing 5 0/ 8-0
Recording to copy O-12-O
Capt Jno Hall of Medford by grandson 11-12-0
& fees supposed to be 28/ i- 8-0
The acct of Eliz. French & Josf French late of Dunstable in the county
of Middlesex Dec'd Intestate
The said accountants charge themselves with the estate of the said
Dec'd specified in an Inventory thereof by them exhibited into the Probate
office for sd county on the Day of
amounting to
viz: Real Estate Personal £208-16-6
and they now add — (ex on the other side)
and the said amounts to over allowance in their discharge as follows — viz.
38 Gravestone about 6— 15-oJ^
pd Daniel Dickey 10
copy of Inventory 4
Amt
247- 3-1
To the widow for her Privilege 30II 279- 3-1
not to be recorded till it be known
whether the Fees for sending the execution
be 2£ more or less.
Middlesex October 18, 1739.
Eliz. & Jos French presented the foregoing & made oath that the same con-
taining a full and true acct of their adminr on the said Dec'd Estate to pay
96 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
as they have proceeded therein — the same having been examined & vouchers
produced for the most of the articles therein contained.
I allow thereof
JoNN Remington Jpro
Seventh Generation
Sampson ' French (Joseph/ Samuel,' William,* Thomas,'
Thomas," Thomas') was born in Dunstable, New Hampshire, July
28, 1717. But little is known regarding his early history, not even the
name of the first wife having been found, due no doubt to the fact
that the records of Dunstable from 1733 to 1746 were lost; but he
must have married during this time, as his son Sampson was born Sep-
tember 15, 1742, the following record being found in an old account
book kept by his son Samson Jr., and now owned by one of his de-
scendants— Mrs. Nellie Pendell of Binghamton, New York. The
same account book speaks of other children — David, Aaron, and
Jonathan. For his second wife he married Sarah Clement, March 7,
1748 (or 1749), the record of this marriage being found in Vital
Records of Haverhill. His father died in 1735 when he was but
nineteen years of age, and in the probate court of East Cambridge,
Massachusetts, is found the following bond filed under date of Febru-
ary 16, 1736, by his mother, Elizabeth Cummings French:
BOND
The condition of this obligation is such That if the above bounden Eliza-
beth French, nominated and allowed to be guardian unto her child Samp-
son French a Minor in the 19th year of his age, son of Joseph French — late
of Dunstable in the county of Middlesex, Dec'd, and do well and truly
Perform & Discharge the Trust and office of Guardian unto the said Minor
and that in and by all things according to Law; And shall render a plain
and true Acompt of her Said Guardianship upon oath and all and Singular
Such Estate as Shall come to her hands and possession by virtue thereof, and
of the Profits and Improvements of the Same so far as the law shall charge
her therewith (when she shall be thereunto Lawfully required) and shall
pay and Deliver what and so much of the said estate as shall be found re-
maining upon her Acompt (the same being first examined and Allowed of
by the Judge or Judges for the time being, of the Probate of Wills &c.
within the county of Middlesex foresaid) unto the Said Minor when he
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 97
shall arrive at full Age or otherwise as the Said judge by his or their de-
cree or Sentence pursuant to Law Shall Limit and Appoint; Then this
obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full force.
Signed Sealed & Delivered in Presence of us
Sam'l Danforth her
Joseph Bean Elizabeth X French
mark
Joseph French
This record was made on the back of the bond:
Sampson French
Guard n Bond
Fees pd for 3 Bonds
18/
to Judge pd
February 16 1736
The miners election of his Guardian wanting
Judge pd
Sampson to signifye under his Hand this
choice of his Mother —
From records in East Cambridge probate court house, in the di-
vision of the property of Joseph French is found the following real
estate, set ofT to Sampson:
We have also divided and set off to Sampson French the second son of ye
said dec'd a tract of land containing about one hundred and thirty acres in
ye township of Nottingham, bounded the westerly by Merrimack river
southerly by land of Joseph Snow Easterly by part of ye sd Dec'd land, the
dividing line beginning at an heap of stones lying in the northerly line of
Joseph Snows land — from thence running northerly to a white oak marked,
so on the same course to an heap of stones lying in ye southerly line of
Oliver Colburn land, also one twelfth part of a farm called Davenports
farm lying in sd Nottingham @ £223-10-0 ye whole.
That Sampson French had inherited some of the business sagacity
of his father in accumulating property to add to that which had been
given him, is shown by a careful perusal of the Town Papers of New
Hampshire.
In the list of the proprietors of the township called South Monadnock
No. One, and of the lotts by them Respectively drawn (as sett against
each persons names) in said Township — Wm Downe
Prop'" clerk.
98 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Sampson French drew No. 9, range i ; No. 10, range i ; No. 9,
range 5. Under the charter of Peterborough Slip, 1750, at a meeting
held at Portsmouth, June 16, 1749; and also under date of 1752 Samp-
son French drew land, the acreage not being given. In 1751 he
owned two shares in land sold to John Hutchinson in meeting held at
Portsmouth.
The township of Richmond was granted on February 28, 1752, to
Joseph Blanchard and others in 71 shares. The plan describes a
tract of land of the contents of six miles square, and Sampson French
was one of the proprietors. Under date of January i, 1753, we find
him one of the grantees of the Duplex charter, and on December 27,
1753, one of the grantees of Brattleborough. In 1772 a petition of
the proprietors of Walpole for equivalent grant — a township of six
miles square on the east side and adjoining the Connecticut River,
with the names of seventy-five grantees attached, the list including
the name of Sampson French, his name also appearing among the
ninety who signed the petition to have the Province divided into two
counties.
It is noted in these records where, on account of trouble with the
Indians, the grantees of Richmond had been unable to comply with
the conditions of the grant and asked an extension, that said request
was granted by the governor and council June 11, 1760, and among
the proprietors of the above named grant is given the name of Samp-
son French. Further record is made of his having been connected
with land grants in Dupplin and Boyle, New Hampshire, and also,
under date of June 16, 1749, that he purchased land from John
Mason soon after his marriage to Sarah Clement .
August 31, 1747, the Reverend Samuel Bird received a call to
settle in Dunstable, and soon after was ordained as pastor. He was
to be paid "100 ounces of silver coin Troy weight, sterling alloy, or
the full value thereof in bills of public credit," which amounted to
about one hundred dollars yearly, provided "that he preach a lecture
once in three months at least in this town" and "visit and catechise
the people" — and it was finally so decided in 1748.
At a meeting held in Dunstable March 2, 1746, the name of Samp-
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 99
son French appears as one of the qualified voters in the papers relat-
ing to the settlement of this man as minister in their church. For
some reason not given, his ministry was not acceptable to all the peo-
ple of the town, for on August 31, 1747, at a meeting held for that
purpose, the following vote was proposed :
Whereas the Church of Christ in this town of Dunstable in the Province
of New Hampshire on the 6th day of July last, made choice of the Rev.
Samuel Bird for their Pastor and Teacher, and having presented their vote
to this town with a desire that this Town would concur with them in their
choice, and make choice of said Mr. Samuel Bird for the settled minister
of this Town. Now therefore be it voted and agreed that the said church's
choice be concurred with, and that the said Mr Samuel Bird be chosen for
the settled minister of this town.
Voted in the affirmative by thirty-two men — one of whom was
Sampson French. The negative motion was:
We the subscribers Inhabitants and Free holders of the town of Dun-
stable hereby Desire and Impovver Joseph Blanchard Capt. Joseph French
(an older brother of Sampson) and Mr Jn Butterfield or either of them in
our names and behalf to Represent to the Gen'l Assembly of this Province
the unreasonableness and illegal proceeding of Sundry of the inhabitants of
Dunstable in their town meetings the Summer past, and particularly the
town meeting July sixth 1747, and the votes at the adjournment of that
meeting, and all votes Relating to the choice or Settlement of Samuel Bird
as the minister of this town, and pray that they be made void or Otherwise
Relieve us in the premises.
There were nineteen men who voted this negative petition.
Finally, a petition was presented to Governor Benning Wentworth,
and to the representatives in General Assembly, signed by twenty-nine
men, stating that the choice of Samuel Bird as pastor and the settle-
ment of his salary was not legal, and asking that the vote taken at that
meeting be declared null and void, or to grant the petitioners "Such
other Relief as you shall see meet and reasonable." In the House of
Representatives May 13, 1748, the following record was made:
Voted that the prayer of ye annexed petition be granted & that ye meet-
ings mentioned in s'd Petition be & hereby are declared illegal null and void.
D. Pierce chr.
loo GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
In Council May 14, 1748.
The above vote of the House read & concurred
Theodore Atkinson Secy.
In Council May 17, 1748 Consented to
B. Wentworth.
This church fight took, on party shape, laying the foundation for
political differences. It is interesting to note that in estimating the
strength of the two factions and their consequent right to vote either
for or against the settlement of the pastor, they took an inventory of
their yearly income as freeholders. The invoice of the property of
the people opposed to Mr. Bird amounted to five hundred eighty-
three pounds, while that of his friends only reached the sum of one
hundred ninety-three pounds. The revenue accruing from the real
estate owned by Sampson French at this time was ten pounds, and the
record shows him to have been on the losing side. Mr. Bird was a
"New Light," ' afterward called Methodist, and it is probable that
the differences of opinion among the people can be ascribed to this
fact.
While things seemed quiet on the surface, yet for many years they
had two meeting houses and no minister in Dunstable; but finally one
meeting house was purchased and converted into a dwelling house.
In 1 76 1 a town meeting was called to see what doctrine they would
support and it was decided to take the doctrines contained in the New
England confession of faith, and accordingly a minister was invited
to settle with them, providing he would fulfil the duties of a pastor
according to the doctrines set out, which again caused the old
party differences to arise, and the invited pastor refused to accept the
call. For nearly twenty years these differences continued to exist,
until finally the town ceased to have anything to say in church affairs.
A meeting was held at the home of Jonathan Lovewell in Dun-
stable in the "province of New Hampshire," March 30, 1748, of the
inhabitants qualified to vote in the choice of town officers. The town
officers consisted of five selectmen, who were to be assessors, one con-
stable, two tithing men, two surveyors of highway, two field drivers,
1 Fox.
Burying Grouxd at Southwick, Massachusetts, where
Sampson French is buried
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 103
two fence "vewers" (one of whom was Sampson French), and three
hog constables. Twenty men were present at this meeting, seventeen
of whom elected themselves to office.
This settlement was so harassed by the Indians that the majority
of the settlers deserted their homes, and those who were left were
too poor to maintain public officials, so that from 1692 to 1768 they
had no representatives at the General Court.
The old French War broke out in 1755 and from the muster rolls
of 1758 is gleaned:
Return of the Men enlisted for his Majesty's Service within the Pro-
vince of the Massachusetts Bay in the regiment whereof John Osgood Jun.
Esq. is Colonel to be put under the immediate command of His Excellency
Jeffry Amherst, Esqr: General and Commander in Chief of His Majesty's
Forces in North America for the Invation of Canada.
Following this, twenty-eight names were listed, including that of
Sampson French, under date of March 28, 1757 (former expedition
1757) ) resident of Haverhill and age forty. In the same list is found
the name of Sampson French Jr., enlisted under date of April 6th
from Haverhill, age seventeen, and like his father, had been in a
former expedition to Lake George in 1757. Rather an unusual thing
for a father and son to be in the same company in the same war.
That the father continued in service is evidenced from finding his
name on the muster roll of Captain Joseph Smith of Rowley from
April 8 to December 12, 1760; also on the muster roll of Captain
Edmund Mooers Company, "entered Nov. 2, 1759, to Jan. 5, 1761."
The date of the second marriage of Sampson French has been re-
corded in these pages, and some time after 1761 he removed to Hamp-
den county, Massachusetts, where he died at Southwick, Tuesday,
July 19, 1785, aged sixty-eight years.
Fox says : A picture of Dunstable as it was before the Revolution,
and of the manners and customs, opinions and feelings, doings and
sayings of the inhabitants, would be highly interesting. To sketch
such a picture would require the hand of a master, as well as materials
which can now hardly be obtained. A few facts and anecdotes must
serve instead.
I04 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Slavery was then considered neither illegal nor immoral. Several
slaves were owned in this town; one by Paul Clogston. She was mar-
ried to a free black named Castor Dickinson, and had several chil-
dren born here, but before the Revolution he purchased the freedom
of his wife and children. Slavery in New Hampshire was abolished
by the Revolution.
In those days it was customary to drink at all meetings, whether of
joy or of sorrow. The idea which was long after in vogue — "to
keep the spirits up by pouring spirits down" — seems then to have
been universally prevalent. Even at funerals it was observed and in
the eyes of many it was quite as important as the prayer. The mourn-
ers and friends formed themselves in a line, and an attendant with a
jug and glass passed around and dealt out to each his or her portion of
the spirit, and the due observance of this ceremony was very rarely
omitted. It has been said that sometimes "one more thirsty than the
rest," after having received one "portion," would slily fall back
from the line under some pretext or other and reappear at a lower
place in season to receive a second portion." '
Expense of raising a meeting house — about 1740:
Also allowed to Sundry Persons for Provisions & Drink at the raising
the meeting house the sums following.
<£ s d
To Joseph Blanchard for Rum & Provisions 2-15-3
To The Rev Mr Thomas Parker 2- 0-0
To Sam'l Colburn I- 1-6
To Jonathan Chamberlain for a salmon O- 4-6
To Archebald Stark for a Salmon o- 9-0
To William Tarble o- 6-0
To Peter Russell O-13-6
To Henry Farwell & Joshua Converse O-15-6
To Benjamin Thompson Esq. I- i-o
To Captain Thomas Tarble i- 6- 11
To Capt. William Lawrence 1-16-3
To Captain Jona Bowers 0-18-6
To Capt. Josiah Richardson I-17-0
To the Rev. Willard Hall 1- 0-0
' This is stated on the authority of Mrs. Kidder, wife of the Rev. Mr. Kidder, an eye witness.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 105
Stephen Peirce O- 6-0
Had of William McClinto for Raiseing
6 glls of Rhum at i8s p GU 5- 8-0
In 1702 selectmen agreed with Widow Noble "to beate ye Drom
and sweepe ye Meetting house for one year for which they will re-
ceive two pounds and five shillings."
In 1703 it was voted "to build pewes in ye meeting house where ye
plank seats now stand."
It was voted that persons should be seated in the meeting house
according to their age and estate, and that "so much as any man's
estate is increased by his negroes that shall be left out."
If a man lived on a hired farm, or had obtained his property by
marriage with a widow, such property was reckoned at only one-third
the value it would have possessed had the man obtained it by his own
industry.
Eighth Generation
'Samson** French Jr. (Sampson,' Joseph," Samuel," William,'
Thomas,^ Thomas," Thomas') was born in Dunstable, New Hamp-
shire (now Massachusetts), September 15, 1742. He married Lusan-
nah Root (born September 20, 1752) at Southwick, Massachusetts.
To them were born :
I. Josiah, born December 22, 1768; married Lucinda Parker.
II. Sarah, born November 15, 1770; married Nathaniel Lee.
To them were born a numerous family of sons and daughters.
They lived for many years at Chenango (now Glen Castle),
Broome county. New York. Sarah Lee died in Illinois,
aged over eighty years.
III. Thomas, born February 13, 1773; married Polly Hiscock
about 1793.
IV. Rebecca, born December 23, 1774; died May 19, 1776.
V. Ira, born February 24, 1777; died December 11, 1778.
VI. Submit, born December 14, 1778; married Festus Morgan
February 20, 1800, who died September 23, 1800; eight days
after his death a son was born to them at the home of Submit's
1 The spelling of the name Sampson was changed in this generation by Samson Jr.
io6 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
father. She married (second) Phineas Merchant, by whom
she had sons and daughters. The family lived many years
in Otsego county, New York; afterwards at Glen Castle,
where Submit (French) Merchant died.
VII. A daughter, born June 3, 1780; died June 12, 1780.
VIII. Lucy, born June 2, 1781 ; married Michael Tattle. To them
were born:
1. Lois, born ; died when fourteen years of age.
2. A son.
Michael Tuttle was drowned August 21, 1816, while bath-
ing in the Connecticut River.
IX. Clement, born September i, 1783; married Elizabeth
Hawks (born in 1786) in 1803. To them were born:
1. Franklin, born January 29, 1804, at Deerfield, Massa-
chusetts; married Sally Johnson, in 1827; married (sec-
ond) Olive Pope February 25, 1830. To them were
born two children — a. son and daughter. He married
(third) Phebe LaMoree, March 20, 1834. To them
were born five sons, one of whom died in infancy.
2. Ira, born September 19, 1805, at Rodman, New York,
married May 28, 1829, Hepsibah Lyon. To them were
born three children:
a. Aaron, born March 29, 1831.
b.]
J, pTwins, who lived but a few hours.
Ira French married (second) Sally Harrington May
21, 1834. To them were born two children:
d. Dwight, born May 13, 1835. He has a son, W. K.
French, a pharmacist in Worcester, New York.
e. Salphronius H., born July 16, 1837.
Salphronius H. French, physician, surgeon, and banker, was born
at Castle Creek, New York, July 16, 1837, a son of Ira and Sally
(Harrington) French; was educated at the Binghamton (New
York) Academy, and commenced the study of medicine with his
uncle, Dr. S. H. French, at Lisle, New York, in 1857. He attended
Dr. S. H. French
'^JB
«*_.-.-
HoAiE OF Dr. S. H. FrI'XCH at Amsterdam,
New York, built nearly forty years ago
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 109
the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City for one
year, and was graduated from the Albany Medical College in 1859.
He began the practice of medicine at Slaterville, New York, in Feb-
ruary, i860, but in December, 1861, entered into partnership with his
uncle in Lisle, continuing until July, 1862, when he joined the One
Hundred and Ninth New York Volunteers as assistant surgeon, with
the rank of first lieutenant. Discharged from the service in 1864 be-
cause of ill health, he returned to Lisle, remaining until 1871, when
he removed to Amsterdam, New York, where he has since resided.
Dr. S. H. French was one of the founders of the Amsterdam Savings
Bank and has been its president since it was opened for business in
1887. He has for many years been president of the Amsterdam Free
Library, and a trustee of the First Methodist Church. He was for
several years health officer of Amsterdam, and is a consulting physi-
cian of the Amsterdam Hospital. On October 28, 1868, he married
Mary A. Hurd of Colesville, Broome county, New York. Their
only child, Charles E. French, was graduated from Princeton Uni-
versity in 1894, and is treasurer of the Amsterdam Savings Bank.
Doctor French's address is 40 Church street, Amsterdam, New York.
Sally Harrington French died in July, 1837.
Ira French married (third) Delia Brooks July 12, 1838.
To them were born six children:
f. Francis, born June 12, 1839.
g. Mary, born December 9, 1840.
h. Ellen, born December 2, 1842.
i. Lucy, born April 24, 1845.
j. Jane, born June 2, 1847.
k. Emma, born March 23, 1851.
3. Root, born February 27, 1807; married Amanda Spen-
cer May 16, 1830. To them were born three children —
two sons and one daughter — the eldest son dying at
seventeen years of age.
Root French was a man of uncommon energy and industry, but few
men being his equal in physical endurance. In all his business trans-
actions he was strictly honest; was generous to the needy, and ready
no GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
to extend the hand of kindness to those in affliction. He united with
the Baptist church in early life, remaining a consistent member until
his death, which occurred September 5, 1866.
4. Ebenezer Smead, born at Zoar (now Charlemont),
Massachusetts, April 8, 1810; married Anna Seward.
To them were born:
a. Lucius, born February 2, 1832. Graduated in medi-
cine at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in December, 1853;
located in Hyde Park, Pennsylvania, February 15,
1854; moved to Lisle, Broome county. New York,
in 1858; went west in 1861, locating in Anamosa,
Iowa. In September, 1862, was appointed first as-
sistant surgeon of the Thirty-first regiment, Iowa
Volunteers, which position he resigned June 9, 1863,
on account of illness. Married Ellen Cook Decem-
ber 29, 1864, and removed to Davenport in March,
1865. To them was born one daughter — Nellie,
born December 10, 1865; married John H. Whit-
aker September 4, 1901, at Davenport, Iowa. Ellen
Cook French died December 11, 1865. April 25,
1867, Dr. Lucius French married (second) Agnes
Norval.
Dr. French was prominent in his profession, being
a member of a number of medical associations. He
died September 10, 1910, at his home in Davenport,
Iowa.
b. Hepzibeth, born September 16, 1833; died April
19, 1885.
c. Olive, born November 20, 1835; married Chas.
Wood September 23, 1859; died in Binghamton
April 22, 1900. One daughter, Rose, born July 2,
1864, married Allen Spencer.
d. Betsey, born February 9, 1838; married Henry
Martin Stanford March 22, 1857. One daughter.
Dr. Lucius P'rexch and His Hume ix D.wexport, low.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 113
Rosa Olivia, born October 25, 1859, died March 25,
1862.
e. Mary, born August 4, 1841 ; married Isaac How-
land June 20, 1866. To them were born:
aa. William, born March 6, 1871; died April 10,
1873-
bb. Frank, born April 17, 1874.
cc. Nellie, born May 29, 1877; married Frank.
Pendell. She is the fortunate owner of the
account book kept by Samson French to which
reference has been frequently made in these
pages.
f. Orin, born September 23, 1844; died October 23,
1844.
g. Carson, born August 21, 1853; married Mina
Keeler January i, 1876; graduated in medicine at
Bellevue, New York City, March 14, 1887. Prac-
ticed medicine at Lisle, Broome county, New York.
Is now living at Chenango Bridge, New York.
At an early age Ebenezer French manifested a strong mechanical
taste, occupying much of his time in constructing pop guns, bows,
arrows, and handsleds. As he grew older his mechanical genius
was directed to experimenting with the construction of shot guns and
rifles, and although never given any educational advantages along
mechanical lines, yet it was said of him that he could shoe a horse,
make a butcher knife, or construct a wagon.
After his marriage, he entered into an agreement with his father
to remain at home and manage the afifairs of the farm, which arrange-
ment proved so satisfactory that no change was made during the life
time of his parents. Ebenezer French and his wife were both mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, he being for many years
superintendent of the Sunday school at Glen Castle, New York.
5. Salphronius Henry, born at Zoar August 26, 181 1 ; mar-
ried October 6, 1834, Cynthia Harrington. They adopt-
ed a daughter, Augusta E., who married James Squire.
114 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Dr. S. H. French, of Amsterdam, New York, writes the following
sketch of his uncle, Dr. S. H. French, of Lisle, New York:
Salphronius Henry, fifth and youngest son of Clement and Eliza-
beth French, was born at Zoar, now Charlemont, Massachusetts,
August 26, 181 1, and in 1814 went with his parents to Chenango,
Broome county, New York. During his early life he was much
afflicted with rheumatism, which condition of health led his father to
give him an opportunity to attend school, where sufficient taste for
books and thirst for knowledge was developed to lay the foundation for
his future professional career. When fifteen years of age he entered a
select school in Binghamton, New York, where he pursued his studies
with great industry for four summers, paying his expenses by working
in gardens, etc., and teaching school in the winter season. In October,
1830, when nineteen years of age, he began the study of medicine, and
the following spring an opportunity was afforded to further pursue
his work in the office of his uncle, Doctor Hawks of North Adams,
Massachusetts, which offer was gladly accepted, as his resources were
limited to his own exertions. In 1832, he attended a course of lec-
tures in the Berkshire medical institution of Massachusetts, from
which school he graduated in December, 1833. After receiving his
diploma he found he had not sufficient funds to carry him home, so
sold a book and trunk to raise the necessary amount for the journey.
The severe struggle with poverty and adverse circumstances, the les-
sons of economy, and the self-reliance gained during that struggle,
were of priceless value in after life.
Shortly after reaching home he formed a partnership with Dr.
P. B. Brooks of Lisle, Broome county. New York, which continued
for two years. Doctor Brooks removed to Binghamton and Doctor
French (who had been away for a few months) received so urgent a
request from the citizens of Lisle, that he returned and resumed his
practice, continuing in this place until incapacitated by disease.
Doctor French joined the County Medical Society in 1834, of
which organization he was president during the years of 1842, 1850,
and 1852. He was elected a delegate to the State Medical Society
in 1846, and in 1850 was made a permanent member of the organiza-
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 115
tion; was also a member of the American Medical Association. He
enjoyed a large practice, and while keeping fully abreast with his pro-
fession in the reading of medical books and journals, yet found time
to become a proficient student in botany and geology, which studies
he pursued as a form of recreation. About twenty young men re-
ceived their elementary medical education in his office, some of whom
have risen to distinction in the profession.
In political belief Doctor French was a Whig, and was elected to
the legislature by that party in 1846. He was possessed of strong con-
victions along temperance lines, and never sacrificed his opinions in
behalf of any candidate for office.
In early life, Salphronius French became convinced of the truths
of the Christian religion, and was for years a faithful, consistent
member of the Methodist church.
Captain Frank Landers, to whom the following certificate was
given, is now a resident of Webster City, Iowa, and Dwight French,
justice of the peace who acknowledged the document, was the older
brother of Dr. S. H. French of Amsterdam, New York.
I do hereby certify that I am still treating Frank E. Landers of the
Sixteenth New York Battery for various ailments; and that he is unable
to travel or perform any military duty.
Lisle January I2th 1864 S. H. French M. D.
Sworn and Subscribed before me this 12th day of January, 1864.
Dwight French
Justice of the Peace.
About two years after his marriage, Clement French ' started with
his family for the wilderness country of Sandy Creek, New York.
After a tedious journey they arrived in the month of March at Har-
rison (now Rodman), New York, where he purchased fifty acres of
land and erected a log cabin, which was the birthplace of his sons,
Ira and Root. In the meantime his father, who had removed to
Zoar (now Charlemont), Massachusetts, wrote to Clement urging
his return, which request he complied with, and here his sons Eben-
1 From Outlines of the Genea!of;y of tlie Frrnch Family, written in 1875, by Dr. S. H.
French (fifth son of Clement and Elizabeth French) of Lisle, N. Y.
ii6 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
ezer and Salphronius were born. About this time a company — com-
posed largely of Boston people — had purchased a large tract of land
lying west of the Chenango River and north of the Susquehanna.
This tract — still known as the "Boston Purchase of Ten Town-
ships"— was being rapidly settled, and the glowing descriptions to
which Clement listened, together with an enterprising spirit, caused
him to again seek, a home in the forests of New York. He soon had
an opportunity to purchase fifty acres of land on Castle Creek, six
miles north of Chenango Point (now Binghamton), where he and
his family, after a journey of two hundred miles, arrived on June i,
1814. The location was a lonely one, but one wagon passing his
dwelling during the first year of his residence in that place. The
years of 1815 and 1816 are memorable in history as cold seasons, se-
vere and repeated frosts occurring every month in the year, and as a
result no corn was raised during this time and but few potatoes, so
that the food was necessarily scanty and plain. The nearest school
was two and a half miles distant; thus the smaller children were en-
tirely debarred from its benefits. The third summer of their resi-
dence in this place a school district was organized, and Clement
French's wife was employed to teach the school, their stable having
been prepared for that use.
In 18 1 8 Clement sold his farm to his father, Samson French, and
purchased for six dollars per acre a tract lying one and one-half
miles distant, on which land he built a cabin in the spring of 1819.
With the help of his sons he succeeded in paying for this farm and
purchased more land adjoining. Although by occupation a farmer,
he devoted rainy weather and evenings to cooper work and the mak-
ing of shoes, the story being related of his having made a pair of shoes
on his eightieth birthday.
In religious faith Clement French was a Methodist; he was a firm
supporter of the temperance cause and of the various benevolent and
charitable institutions of his day.
Clement French died in October, 1865; his wife Elizabeth died
November i, 1864.
X. Clara, born September 7, 1785; died March 6, 1786.
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Catalogue of the Descendants of Samson and Lusannah French
\^'rirtell liv Ezra Williams
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 119
XI. Clara (second), born February 22, 1788; married Harry
Tuttle, brother of Michael Tuttle. Clara died February
28, 1839.
XII. Julia, born August 25, 1792; died May 29, 1793.
XIII. Charlotte, born January 10, 1795; married Ezra Williams
September 12, 18 14, at Northampton, Massachusetts. To
them were born six children, the names of three being
known.
1. Daniel, born November 14, 1 81 5 ; died May 26, 1816.
2. David.
3. Arthur.
Charlotte French Williams died in Washington, D. C, in
1853, and some of her descendants now live in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Ezra Williams (husband of Charlotte) was
born May 31,1 790. He moved with his family to Westf ord,
Otsego county, New York, where they resided for seven
years, going from thence to Detroit, Michigan, from which
place they removed to Washington, D. C, in 1845. He was
a man of good business ability and was engaged in many
pursuits in his earlier life. Was made a judge and sat on the
bench while in Detroit. He was an extraordinary penman,
being employed for many years as a clerk in the office of the
secretary of war at Washington, D. C, which position he
held at the time of his death, which occurred during Lin-
coln's administration. He wrote "A Catalogue of the De-
scendants of Sampson and Lusannah French," a photograph
of which appears in this volume.
The "Account Book" of Samson French Jr. contains the
following reference to this family: "My daughter today —
Williams — with her two sons, David and Arthur, and they
arrived here on Saturday Sep. 29, 1832, about 10 of the
clock, and left here on Monday at 8 of the clock and I parted
with them for last time & I never expect to see them any-
more so farewell."
Samson French Jr. was born in Dunstable, New Hampshire,
I20 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
September 15, 1742. He married at Southwick, Massachusetts, in
1768 Lusannah Root who was born September 20, 1752. The date
of his mother's death is not known, but his father remarried when he
was six or seven years of age. Samson French Jr. enlisted when six-
teen as a soldier in the army during the "Old French War." He
served during two campaigns, a portion of the time being under Gen-
eral Amherst, helping to reduce the walls of Louisburg. The rest of
the time he was engaged in batteauxing (boating) on the Mohawk
River, carrying supplies to the soldiers at Fort Stanwix (now Rome).
Dr. S. H. French says: "There is a tradition that the second
Samson went to war on account of friction between him and his
step-mother. Whether this be true or not, it is certain that his father
went to war at the same time, and she must have been a mighty un-
comfortable woman if they preferred the war up near Newfoundland
to the war at home."
When about twenty years of age Samson Jr. returned to Dunstable
and soon after with his father removed to Hampshire county, Massa-
chusetts, where he married Lusannah Root in 1768.
From a letter written to Dr. S. H. French, at Amsterdam, New
York, by J. M. French, of Milford, Massachusetts, is made the fol-
lowing extract:
Regarding the age of Sampson [Samson] Jr., I find upon looking up the
matter a second time that this list was taken from the muster rolls of 1758
and that the date of enlistment was April 6th of that year, while tiie "1757"
referred to the date of a former expedition in whicii he was also engaged;
at least so I understand it. That would make him sixteen, as you said you
had before supposed. As to his lying, while I agree with you that it is "a
thing no French ought to do," yet when we consider that as I now think he
only lied one year ; and further the he lied in a good cause — namely that
he might be accepted as a soldier to fight the enemies of his country (there
was no cowardly sneaking out of the fight — I couldn't have borne that)
I am inclined not indeed to justify but surely to excuse him.
An extract is here given from a letter received by the author from
Dr. S. H. French of Amsterdam, New York, to whom an appeal had
been made for information concerning the early history of Samson
French Jr.:
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 123
You ask about the military history of our early ancestor, born 1742. In
1776 he was about thirtj'-four years old, his son Thomas about three years
old, and his son Clement not yet born. Sampson was the only one who
could have taken part in the Revolution, and he did not, for the reason that
he was at heart a Tory. He did not take up either side actively, but said
he thought the war was a mistake and King George's government good
enough. My father told me he was drafted twice and each time furnished a
substitute, which he could have done as he had considerable property. Some
one ought to have punched this particular Sampson in those days, but he
was si.x feet tall and had a red hot temper, so he escaped. But there is
something to be said for our Sampson. As we look at it now, a man to be
patriotic in 1776 must be willing to help destroy the regular government.
In 1 86 1 it was considered patriotic to support and defend the regular gov-
ernment. My own experience leads me to think that serving in the army
as a soldier intensifies and renders more permanent attachment to and respect
for a regular government. Now our Sampson enlisted in the British army
under General Amherst and served in the war between England and France
before the Revolution. Perhaps this experience helped color his later
opinions.
The census of 1790 gave Southwick a population of eight hundred
forty-one, and the name of Samson French appears first in a list of
five chosen for selectmen in 1792, he also being numbered among the
earliest settlers of that town. The village contained one hundred
twenty-three houses, which sheltered one hundred forty-eight fam-
ilies. Philadelphia was the capital, and George Washington presi-
dent of the United States. Eight days were consumed in making the
journey from New York to Washington, so a little idea can be gained
of the condition of the country at this time. This census gives Sam-
son French as having two males over sixteen years in his family.
These must have been Josiah and Thomas, one under sixteen, which
was Clement, and five females — his wife and four daughters then
living making this number. It is quite gratifying to note that the
number given in the census corresponds exactly with the family rec-
ord, for the people of that day objected to the taking of the census,
for they imagined that it was a scheme for increasing their taxes, so
were cautious in giving data to census enumerators. They also ob-
jected on religious grounds — a count of the inhabitants being con-
sidered a mark of divine displeasure. However, the census was
124 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
probably taken to find out the military strength of the country, and
was given with considerable accuracy, due no doubt to the lact that if
any inhabitant failed to give a true account he would forfeit twenty
dollars — one-half of which went to the assessor, the other half to the
LTnited States government.
The census of 1790 forms a unique inheritance for the nation, for
each of the states concerned thus has a complete list of the heads of
families in the United States at the time of the adoption of the Con-
stitution. The first census act was passed at the second session of first
Congress, and was signed by President Washington March i, 1790.
Nine months were allowed to complete the enumeration; seventeen
marshals had charge of this census; number of assistants estimated at
six hundred fifty; total population at that time as turned in by the
enumerators, 3,929,214; entire cost of the census, $44,377. The
Union at this time consisted of twelve states. There were no roads;
bridges were unknown.'
The records in the court house at Springfield, Massachusetts, con-
tain a number of transfers of property between the years 1771 and
1798, bearing the signature of Samson French Jr. and Lusannah
French. Perhaps the one contained in Vol. 37 is the most unusual,
owing to the signatures of the daughters being aflixed as witnesses to
the document:
Samson French of Northampton in county of Hampshire for £480,
deeded tract to Warham Edwards of Southwick, containing about eighty
(80) acres with house and barn.
Dated Oct-30-1798. Signed sealed and delivered in presence of us War-
ham Parks — Julia Parks — Lucy French. Signed sealed and delivered in
presence of Submit French Polly French
Samson French
Lusannah Frfnch
During all the years of his married life Samson French Jr. kept an
account book, mentioned in the history of his father, Sampson French,
as being the property of Mrs. Nellie Pendell of Binghamton, New
York. This account book is of much value historically, as it contains
the "Portion" given to each of his children at the time of their mar-
1 From census report of 1790.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES
125
riage, the records of births and deaths, as well as many items of in-
terest to the succeeding generations.
From the "Account Book" kept by Samson French Jr. is copied
the "Portion" given to Josiah, at the time of his marriage to Lucinda
Parker:
I79I
£
November
By one cow
4-00-00
1792
By one horse
8-00-00
1799
By one yoke of Steers
3-00-00
November
To seed wheat & Genl Parkis Order
By one horse that he let his Uncle
2-10-00
Aaron French have
10-00-00
By a 2 yr old heifer at Mr Waitdells
Strongs with calf
2- 8-00
29-18-00
12- 8-00
1805
February 26
1799
March 6
1794
1795
April
May
cash
By paying Mr Smith and others to the
amount of five pounds thirteen
shillings
By paying his note at Mr Hastings
dated January 24-1801
Then sold the mill pond & Josiah re-
ceived ten pounds at Mr Hastings
By a watch one pound ten shillings
By paying Doctor Ashley
By 71 pounds of Beef at 2 pence
half penny pr pound
By cash Lent two Dolers
By one bushel & half ry
By cash paid for fish 9/0 shillings &
Salt 2 shillings paid for us both
£42-
6-00
6-
0-00
4-
13-04
7-
2-07
II-IO-OO
18-08
12-08-08
14-10
0-12-00
o- 9-00
O-II-OO
126 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Josiah swapped his steers the first
week in March with Allen
1796 by one peck salt I -00
By cash 3 shillings to get Shad o- 3-00
By five days work to get his hay at the
mill pond the beginning of august 15-00
By time to get a load of hay in my
stable from for 2-00
By two days to get coopers shop with
Perkins
By paying Sam Fowler
By two days with the team to sow his
rye at the mill pond
By one pair of shoes of Capt Ives
1797 and one day to go with Tom
May By other two Dollars to get fish
1798 By cash to pay on Execution in favor
Thomas Eten 15 dollars
October By cash lent — 3 shillings
November Turnips 3/2 and Staves one
1803 hundred and 20
April 2 Then took his mare to keep 12- 6-04
By the first date given in this record it would seem that the mar-
riage of Josiah occurred about 1791 and that his father continued to
contribute to his support, is shown by the items under later dates.
The exact date of Sarah's marriage to Nathaniel Lee is not of rec-
ord, but from this same "Account Book" is gleaned the following, as
the portion given to her at the time of her marriage:
1792
Sept. 19 SARAH
Sundry goods £1-13-00
Some Tin & earthen ware o- 4-00
Slise & tongs & tramel 0-18-00
Sundrj' small things o- 3-08
One set tea cups & pepper castor o- 3-00
Iron hollow ware I pot & dish
Kittle & I tea kittle & I spider 0-18- 2
I brass kittle which Nathaniel
6-00
2-
3-00
0-
6-00
7-00
3-00
0-12-00
4-
10-00
0-
3-00
0-
6-00
/ ' '■
f / 'f"^
JlMjJl
'^U{/1
m- ''■ ' •.
/: /
Ar
A.
/»
r ,1 .:
'■•'• *'irf/t>
/
? ''
■,.-/,
'^ /6'
! ■ . :
.h^^3 r
/r^^
' 't^-tJK.f/j7h^!yrL0.'^~<^
Portion given to Thomas, hv His Father — Samson French
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES
129
paid 2 dollars toward it & I paid the
remainder that was
0-12-00
By bailing the said kittle
(Above)
0- 7-00
6 chairs at 3 shillings per
chair
0-18-00
I old chest of drawers
0-15-00
I Table
I- 0-00
24 yds linen for sheets &
piler
bers
2- 8-00
I Bed bolsters and tickens
1-14-00
I Bed stead & rope
0- 6-00
9 yards Table linen
0-18-00
2 Rugs
1-16-00
I — I cow
4- 0-00
I Pair and irons
i>- 6-00
I Great wheel
0- 7-00
1803
July 20
I colt 2 years old
5- 0-00
25- 3-10
The first record of any gift to "my son Thomas" is under date of
November, 1794:
By cash to go to the Neversink
1795
Mar.
In May 1795
1797
Feb. 1 3 —
-May-1797
1798
January
By cash for expenses to move to
Cambridge
By cash paid Capt Gillet for going to
Cambridge with his sleigh eight dollars
By a j'oke of oxen twenty pounds
contrary credit at the same time five
pounds £5-0-0
6 By part of one summers work
after he was married £5
By a part of a crop of grain when he
came from Cambridge
By cash one dollar
By one barrel of cider to pay Turner
& one bushel & half of oats
for moving him from Cambridge
By cash lent to pay Jared Hiscock
eleven dollars
£ 0-18-00
4-12-02
2- 8- o
20- 0-0
5-0-0
0-18- o
0-6-0
3-6-
I30 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
1799 By one cow & calf 4-15- O
By one two year old Steer past 4-0-0
By my roan mare at twelve pounds 12-0-0
Credit by a chest of drawers at
five dollars toward the mare £4?- 3- o
LUCY
Oct 1799
3 green dining chairs
1 looking glass
I new Rug
Table linen
1804
September By a horse at 45 Dollars 13-10- O
60-13-
£2-18-11
Sundries
1 pot 6/1 Kettle 4/6 I tea kettle 6/ 1-0-3
3- 9
2-0-3
I spider
1/2 gross furniture
I whcle 0-1-5
I shalloon quilt ^ 3-4-1
39 yds old linen at 1 shilling per yard 1-19- o
1 bed 3- 8- o
I poor bed 1-15- o
I pair dog irons O- 3- o
I- I- o
0-6-0
1-18- o
o-ii- 6
Slise & tongs 0-9-0
I pillion ("pilon") 0-15- o
I pr flats 0-3-0
21-19- 3
SUBMIT
1800
Jany 29 I chest of Drawers £1-10- O
1 fall leaf table 1-4-0
3 Green chairs '- '- °
1/2 gross furniture 2- o- 3
2 half Tubs 4- o
I Stand table 0-6-0
I Looking glass— 12 earthen plates 0-12- o
1 A shalloon quilt was one pieced from woolen cloth.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES
I Bed and bedding
Another bed not so good
Some things taken out of the house
Hollow ware & sundries
Table linen
Apr-1804- One iron kettle 1 1/4
Trimming to chest of drawers
Set of knives & forks & 2 glasses
I Slise cSc tongs — The slise
good and the tongs poor
3 chairs at 5 shillings per chair
I small brass kettle
131
6- 9- o
4-14- o
o- 5- 5
3-8- 5
0-12- o
o-ii- 4
0-6-9
0-6-4
0-13- o
0-15- o
0-9-0
1804 By cash to go to Sandy Creek £1-4-0
By cash paid for a gun at Hastings (.rS ^
1805 By cash ^^_ °
By pork
Tj J 11 0-14- o
ay ten dollars worth of goods at
Smith's store
Febry 26 The day he set out for Sandy Creek — 3- o- o
then let him have in cash fifty dol-
lars and one shilling
rsy a pair of steers
Febry 1808 By cash delivered to his Father Hawks "^ "
seventeen dollars
Paid Mr Butler for pasturing his steers
3 dollars & quarter
By paying his note to Nathan Smith
Dated Feb 21-1805 of
1806
April By a horse
by ten dollars in cash
0-19- 6
I- o
13-10- o
3-0-0
37-13- o
Dec
CL 1, 1 1805
I bhalloon bed quilt p,
<^3— I— I
FOR DAUGHTER CLARY
132
GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
17 pounds "gees" feathers & bed tick
bolsters & pillars
Slise & tongs new & good
48 yards of linen for sheets
India cotton for Table cloth
6/g pint glasses
2 bed quilts — not so good
2 yards table linen
Goods at Ely & Stevens
One poor bed
I Dish Kittle & pot & tea kettle
Dog irons 6/ — spider 5/6
Chest of drawers
3 chairs
I Table
I Little wheel
I great wheel
In addition to the amounts given his children at the time of their
marriage, there were various items of interest in this "Account Book,"
some of which follow and will serve as illustrations:
5- 0-
3
16-
0
3- 6
16-
4
2- 5-
0
4-
0
4-12-
0
I- 0-
0
c^i5-
0
O-II-
6
0-18-
0
0-15-
0
1-04-
0
0-18-
0
0- 5-
0
1797
November 9th day
1801
October
1802
25 October
Deerfield
Feb. 9, 1805
Jan. 14. 181 3.
1816
June 15-
21 pounds of gees fethers at his hous but by my
Stilards they waid but only 20 pounds.
3 bushels winter apples at one peck of ryer per bushel.
David Graves Dr
by dying blue yarn 2 pounds & 10 ounces 0-6-2
Then reconed and found due to me six days work in
dressing flax to be done in 30 days.
Joseph Wise Jr.
Account balanced Apr. 24, 1805.
Let Joshua Hawks have one hog drest to carry to
Boston weighed 336 pounds.
Winchel & Chapen by one bushel ry bye a mistake we
got wiske and they charged the wisk & we did not
charge the rye o-i-oo
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 133
1817
Feb- 15th- Set out from Northampton for Decatur — arrived
there the 19th
1817
Sept - by one horse to Sheffield in the Bay State charged to
Jonathan French
15 pounds venison 36
5 quarts whiskey 47
I pint whiskey y^ pt. rum 14
Set out from Thomas at Decatur Mar. 9th and ar-
rived at chenango 12th of March 18 19.
1823
Feb - Dr Brainerd Dr
To a part of a bottle of Harlem oil and my mare to
ride 8 or 10 miles
June 12 — To mare to ride one day I know not where
Aug 2ist- Paid him six pounds of sheeps wool 3 dollars and
made a lumpen reckoning. I took his receipt in full.
1823 - Mr. Bishop dr by my wagon to the pint mill & back to
his hous at 3 sence pr mild 25 sence by my wagon to the
twice to the pint 42 sence
1824
Feb 3rd To 3 pounds of cheese at 8 cents per pound
1824
September 20 paid to Mr Abraham Bever for carding of wool by the
hand of phines Marchant one shiling in ful for the
cardine of about two pounds of wool
1825 by my black mare & wagon Somwhere beyond the pint
twice & cared his wife & staid over Saberdy gon 2 or
3 days 1.25 sence
1828
Dec 25 - To a brass kitel two dollars
Began to board with Thomas Nov. 17- 1832-
Left Thomas June 1st 1833 and went to live with
Submit & Phineas and that day left him & paid him
$10 & 3 crockery milk bowles.
The year before his death, the following was recorded:
1833
January 22 - that day I went to Parley Lee & found him at his
fathers lees hous & I held a smal noat against him &
134 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
I told him I was in great Want of it & if he wod not
settel it soon I would cal for it in a nothe way & he
flue in a grat pashen & said he would pay the i dollar
& 37 senc if I would produs it & that should be the
last money he should pay for he could or he wold put
the morged horses where I col not find them. I mit
git my money if I could for he dtclar never woul pay
me."
The Story is told of Samson French being asked for the loan of
some money, security for the same to be given on a span of horses.
The old gentleman insisted on being shown the animals, and after a
somewhat lengthy tramp through the woods to the place where they
were supposed to be found, nothing but a pair of wooden saw horses
was to be seen. It is needless to add that the money was not forth-
coming.
From the old "Account Book" the following record is taken:
Samson French removed his family from Massachusetts to Decatur,
Otsego count)-, New York, reaching the last mentioned place February 19,
1817.
The deed to the property he sold on leaving the Bay state follows:
SAMPSON FRENCH. DEED. — TO CLEMMON FRENCH
To all people to ivhom these presents shall come: Greeting. Knoiv ye, that
I Sampson French of a place called Zoar, in the county of Berkshire and
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Yeomen, — For and in consideration of the
sum of one Hundred dollars in part payment to me in hand paid before the
ensealing hereof by my son Clemon French of Zoar afore said. Yeomen, and
in consideration of the love and good will I bear to my son Clemns as afore-
said do give him one Hundred Dollars of my free will as full payment for the
Residue of the premises hereafter mentioned in this deed the receipt whereof
I do hereby acknowledge and am fully satisfied, contented, and paid, have
given, granted, bargained, sold, aliend, released conveyed and confirmed, and
by these presents do freely, clearly and absolutely give, grant, bargain, sell,
alien, release, convey and confirm unto him the said Clemon French, his
heirs and assigns forever a certain piece of land on the northerly part of the
farm conveyed to me by Elder Francis Wheeler, and is bounded as follows:
beginning at the northwesterly corner of said farm at the foot of Hoosack
mountain thence north, sixty seven Degrees East thirty six Rods to the bank
of Deerfield river; thece south thirty one degrees east forty two rods; thence
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 135
south twenty one degrees East Eighteen Rods to a birch tree; thence south
Eighty two degrees west Eighty Eight rods; thence northerly on the west
line of my Land to the first mentioned bounds, containing Twenty acres.
To have and to hold, the before granted premises, with the appur-tenances
and privileges thereto belonging to him the said Clemon his heirs and as-
signs ; to his and their own proper use and benefit and behoof forever, and I
the said Samson French and my heirs and administrators, do covenant prom-
ise and grant unto and with the said Clemon his heirs and assignes forever.
That before and until the ensealing hereof I am the true, sole, proper
and lawful owner and possessor of the before granted premises, with the
appurtenances. And have in myself good right, full power and lawful au-
thority to give, grant, bargain, sell, alien, release, convey and confirm the
aforesaid ; and that free and clear, and freely and clearly executed, acquitted
and discharged of and from all former and other gifts, grants, bargains, sales,
mortgages, wills, intails, jointures, dowries, thirds, executions, and incum-
brances whatsoever. And furthermore, I the said Samson for myself, my
heirs, executors, administrators, do hereby covenant promise and engage the
before granted premises, with the appurtenances, unto him the said Clemon
his heirs and assigns forever, to warrant, secure and defend, against the law-
ful claims and demands of any person or persons whatsoever.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this twenty fourth
day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
twelve.
Signed, sealed and delivered
in presence of
Samuel Pettibone. Samson French.
David Tuttle.
From Decatur the family removed to Broome county in 18 19 and
settled on a farm in Chenango, now known as Glen Castle, situated
about six miles north of Binghamton, which farm was a part of the
tract known as the "Boston Purchase of Ten Townships." Bingham-
ton was incorporated as a village April 2, 1813, and it was here that
Samson French and his family got their mail and went to "meeting."
The first saw-mill in Broome county was built in 1788 on Castle
Creek by one Henry French, and the first grist-mill was built on
Fitch's Creek, in Kirkwood, in 1790.
In the office of the clerk of Broome county may be found the fol-
lowing, under date of April 14, 1819:
Deed from Clement French and Clara, his wife. Roland Lee and Polly
136 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
his wife to Samson French — consideration $250. Lot No. 43 Town of
Chenango — Boston Purchase containing 50 acres.
Samson French purchased the farm owned by his son Clement, on
which he erected a comfortable dwelling house and out-buildings,
but beginning to feel the weight of years, he gave to his daughters —
Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Merchant — all of his land lying west of the
highway and retired from business. The health of his wife was
gradually failing, and she died September 11, 1829, being seventy-
seven years of age. After her death, he spent most of his time visiting
among his children, having two sons and two daughters living within
a radius of two miles.
On page 36, Vol. 13, Broome county. New York, Records, an in-
denture made December 18, 1824, between Samson French of Che-
nango, Broome county. New York, and Sarah Lee, wife of Nathaniel
Lee of the same town, for the sum of $70, a piece of land properly de-
scribed, containing eight acres more or less — signed by Samson
French. Witness — Clement French.
In the same volume, on page 416, an indenture made May 24, 1813,
between Samson French of the town of Chenango, Broome county,
and Parley Lee of the same place — consideration $400.
A parcel of land lying in this count}', containing 30 acres more or less,
which was subject to a mortgage executed by him to Martin Hawley &
Julius Page. Signed Samson French.
Some idea of the conditions surrounding these people may be
gained, when it is recalled that at this time there were no steam
engines, locomotives, gas, or electric lights; no talking machines,
steamships, power cranes, blast furnaces, rolling mills, or dynamos.
Neither were they harassed by the fear of any Indian foe who might
be lurking near, as were the people of the former generation. Their
lives in most respects were quiet and uneventful — just the plain
simple record of honest everyday people.
Soon after his ninety-second birthday, Samson French suffered a
severe stroke of paralysis which destroyed his ability to walk or carry
on conversation. In January, 1834, five years after the death of his
wife, he died at the home of his son Clement. Although in comfort-
/.".... ■
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FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 143
able circumstances through life, he gave of his property to those of
his children who were most in need, so that when all the funeral ex-
penses were paid, only fourteen dollars of his estate remained.
Samson and Lusannah French were buried on the farm where they
had lived, but when it was sold their bodies were removed to the Wil-
cox burying ground near Castle Creek, Broome county. New York,
where they now rest.
Ninth Generation
Thomas " French (Samson Jr.," Sampson,' Joseph,* Samuel,' Wil-
liam,* Thomas,^ Thomas," Thomas') second son of Samson Jr. and
Lusannah French, was born in Southwick, Massachusetts, February
3, 1773. He married Polly Hiscock (born in Southwick 1774) in
1793. To them were born eight children :
I. Marietta, born in Southwick 1794; married David Stever at
Chenango, Broome county. New York, in 1830. To them
were born seven children:
1. Marietta, born in Chenango 1832; married Van
Alstine, and resided at Pike Creek, Broome county.
2. William, born in 1834 or 1835. In 1861 he was living
at Norwich, New York.
3. Jane, born in 1834; married Samuel Bishop.
4. Dolly, born in 1840; married Johnson.
Three more children were born of this union, but their names
are not of record.
II. Samson, born January 19, 1796, in Cambridge, Massachu-
setts; married at Decatur, Otsego county. New York, March
3, 1818, Elizabeth Seaward (born February 7, 1798). To
them were born thirteen children.
III. Nancy, born in Southwick 1798; married Philo Ferris. To
them were born nine children:
1. Wesley.
2. Lucy Jane.
3. Hannah Eliza.
4. George.
144 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
5. Polly Lodema.
6. Mariah.
7. Watson.
8. Philo.
9. Phoebe.
The four last named children were minors at the time of the
death of their grandfather, Thomas French.
IV. Polly, born in Southwick. about 1801 ; married Marcena Mc-
Intyre. Have record of only four children born to them:
1. Ebenezer.
2. Franklin.
3. Chauncey.
4. Thomas.
V. Hiram, born in Southwick, Massachusetts, about 1804; mar-
ried Amanda Waterman, at Chenango, Broome county. New
York, about 1826. To them were born five children:
1. Thelismar, born 1828; married Anna Wright.
2. Jared A., born 1831; never married; died about thirty-
one years of age.
3. Julia, born 1833; married Levi Phillips.
4. Aha, born 1 835 ; died when about nine years of age.
5. Amanda, born 1837; married J. G. Sanders.
The children of Hiram and Amanda French were all born
in Chenango, with the exception of Amanda, who was born
in Michigan, where the family had removed about 1836 or
1837-
Amanda (Waterman) French died when her daughter
Amanda was a babe; later, Hiram French married Rhoda
. They had no children and were not living together at
the time of his death.
VI. Thomas, born in Southwick, Massachusetts, about 1806 or
1807; married in 1830, Polly Temple of Chenango, Broome
county, New York, daughter of James and Alenda Temple,
who moved from Buckland, Massachusetts, to Chenango.
To them were born eight children:
'fiLi.'i- 'I'lMPLE, WiFi' (IF Thomas
Frfnch Jr.
Samsnn French
Tliomas French
Cbauncey French
Harriet French Lee
1'homas Frhnch AM) Turkic of His Children
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 147
1. Nancy M., born January 20, 1833; died December 29,
1836.
2. Mary A., born November 7, 1833; died May 18, 1853,
Burlington, Michigan.
3. Rebecca J., born in Chenango December 2, 1835; mar-
ried J. S. Hudson ; died at Ganges, Allgum county, June,
1877.
4. James Marshall, born in Chenango December 29, 1837;
married Catherine C. Osborne.
5. Sydney J., born in Chenango July 30, 1840; died in Bur-
lington, Calhoun county, Michigan, June 5, 1849.
6. Martin V., born in Chenango, July 17, 1842; married
Bell Cole.
7. Dallas A., born in Burlington, Michigan, January 5,
1845; married Ida Loomis.
8. Nancy Alenda, born in Burlington, Michigan, October
20, 1847; married William Cowles.
The five oldest children were born in the old mill house,
at Glen Castle, New York.
VII. Chauncey, born at Tyringham, Massachusetts, September 20,
1812; married September 11, 1833, Catherine Bishop (born
April 6, 181 1 ) of Castle Creek, Broome county. New York.
To them were born four children, two dying in infancy:
1. Marcena, born October 29, 1834, Decatur, New York;
now living in Denver, Colorado.
2. Helen Melissa, born Glen Castle, April 5, 1837; married
Judson Alderman (born August 2, 1836, Castle Creek)
at Castle Creek, Broome county. New York; both now
living in Anamosa, Iowa. They have two children,
Newell and Etta.
VIII. Harriett, born in Decatur, Ostego county, New York, in 1816;
married Edwin Lee, at Glen Castle, New York, about 1839;
she died June 22, 1861. To them were born three children:
I. Alamanson, born Glen Castle, New York, about 1842.
148 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
2. Polly Jane, born Glen Castle, New York, June 11,
1844; died at Glen Castle, September 20, 1864.
3. Morris, born about 1847.
After the marriage of Thomas French and Polly Hiscock, they
moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, as an item taken from his "Por-
tion" in the "Account Book" of Samson French shows:
Mar. 1795 By cash for expenses to move to Cambridge 4-12-2
That his residence in this place was but a brief one, is shown from
another entry made in the same account book, under date of January,
1798, where he enters a charge for moving Thomas from Cambridge
back to Southwick. From this place he removed to Tyringham, as
there is record of his buying on the 13th day of March, 181 2, from
Stephen Seaward of Decatur, Otsego county. New York, a piece of
land for which he paid fifty dollars, his residence in the transaction
being given as Tyringham. About that time (181 2) he removed
with his family from Tyringham to Decatur, the deed for the land
not being recorded until 1827. Although Thomas French was by
occupation a farmer he had learned the business of cloth dressing,
which he pursued many years in this place, removing in 1826 to Glen
Castle, Broome county, where he purchased a farm of nearly two
hundred acres quite well covered with timber. Here he reconstructed
a grist and saw-mill, situated on Castle Creek, which ran through the
farm, and added cloth dressing and dyeing to the establishment.
When Thomas first moved to Glen Castle he lived in what is known
as the "old mill house," which was built in 1810 and is still standing,
being now occupied by Mr. George Johnson. In 1830 he built south
of the mill house, and when completed moved to this new home which
faced the west. This structure has suffered some changes during the
passing years, but the general outline still remains the same.
Thomas French was successful in business and acquired quite a
fortune for those days. He possessed one tract of land which was
covered with a fine growth of timber, and the story is told of some
parties who wished to gain his consent to hold a camp meeting in this
grove, but feared his refusal, for it was well known that he did not
believe in these meetings. Upon gaining courage to ask, they were
Rear View of Old Mill House (built ix i8io)
Home of Thomas Frexch The Old Grist Mill ox Castle Crf.ek:
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 151
surprised to receive from him a ready assent, providing the living
trees should not be harmed. He afterwards gave the site on which
was built the Methodist church in Glen Castle, and attended its
services.
Polly, wife of Thomas French, died in 1839 after an illness of six
years, and in 1843 he married (second) Elizabeth, widow of Reed
Brockway of Lisle, New York, with whom he lived until his death,
which occurred August 21, 1861. He was buried by the side of Folly,
his first wife, in Glen Castle cemetery, where many of the French
family have been laid to rest.
WILL OF THOMAS FRENCH, ON FILE IN THE COUNTY CLERK's OFFICE, IN
BINGHAMTON, BROOME COUNTY, NEW YORK
In the name of God — Amen, I Thomas French of the town of Chenan-
go, CO of Broome and state of N. Y. aged 87 j'ears, and being of sound mind
and memory do make, publish and declare, this my last will and testament
in manner following — that is to say —
First — • I give and bequeath unto my wife to whom I have been married
about seventeen years, a good and comfortable maintenance and support dur-
ing her natural life, or until she shall again marry, which I hereby make
chargable upon my real estate. And I give and bequeath to her, one cow
which she is at liberty to select from my cows — and my one horse wagon. I
also give and bequeath all the household furniture, bed, bedding and clothing
which belonged to her when I married her and which she brought with her
to me, and also one half of the bedding and linen made and belonging to me
since said marriage, also all comfortables that have been made by my said
wife and her daughter. All of which provision for her I intend to be in
lieu of dower.
Second. I give and bequeath unto my son Samson French now residing in
the state of Ohio, the sum of Three hundred dollars to be paid out of my
real and personal estate.
Third. I give and bequeath unto the heirs of my deceased son Hiram
French the sum of Four Hundred dollars to be paid as aforesaid.
Fourth. I give and bequeath unto the heirs of my deceased son Thomas
French the sum of Four hundred dollars to be paid as aforesaid.
Fifth. I give and bequeath to my son Chauncey French the sum of Three
hundred dollars to be paid as aforesaid.
Sixth. I give and bequeath unto the heirs of my deceased daughter Nancy
Ferris the sum of One hundred and twenty five dollars to be pnid as afore-
said.
152 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Seventh. I give and bequeath unto my daughter Harriet Lee the sum of
thirty dollars.
Eighth. I give and bequeath unto my children living and to the heirs of
those deceased all the remaining and residue of my estate not herein other-
wise disposed of, to be divided equally among the living and an equal share
to the heirs of each deceased child.
Ninth. I give and bequeath unto my daughter Harriet Lee and to the
daughter of my deceased daughter Marietta Stever, all the remaining and
residue of my household furniture beds and bedding and clothing and linen
not hereinbefore disposed of to be divided the one half to Harriet Lee and
the other half to my said granddaughter.
Tenth. I give to my sons living at my decease my wearing apparel, and it
is my will and I direct that the aforesaid legacies be paid within three years
after my decease, and that the distribution of my estate as above specified
be made within the same time.
Lastly. I hereby appoint my son Chauncey French and B. N. Loomis of
Binghamton N. Y. executors of this my last Will and Testatment with full
power and authority to sell and convey my real estate, to carry out the pro-
visions of this will, hereby revoking all former wills by me made. In wit-
ness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 24th day of April
i860. Signed Thomas French. (L. S.)
The above instrument, consisting of one sheet, was at the date thereof
signed, sealed, published, and declared by the said Thomas French as and
for his last Will and Testament in presence of us who at his request and in
his presence and in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as
witnesses thereunto.
Signed Frank Loomis of Binghamton, Broome Co., New York.
E. G. Crafts " " " " "
INVENTORY OF PROPERTY OF THOMAS FRENCH DECEASED
Property set off to the widow under the Revised Statutes:
I cooking stove and furniture.
1 Parlor stove.
2 Spinning wheels — I swifts.
I family bible • — family library consisting of 20 Vols.
I cow — 2 swine.
Wearing apparel of widow.
1 bedstead — i bed.
2 cotton sheets — i coverlid — i pillow & case.
1 table — six Windsor chairs — 6 knives and forks.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 153
6 tea cups & saucers.
6 plates, one sugar bowl.
1 tea pot — I milk cup.
Property set off to widow under the law of 1842:
I Bay mare $85 .
I church ^"^ I clock ^'-^'^ 1 top buggy *■'" i chain ^oo 60.50
6 flag bottom chairs *^ i looking glass *^-^'' 4-75
Property inventoried as assets —
I note against Henry Siver, dated July 13, 1859, for $80 En-
dorsed 18 Sept. / 60, $50. Mch 16/61 $5.00
I note agt Silvester Booth date 29 — April / 59 5 -05
I note agt P & P Brooks date 4 april 56 for $80 Endorsed $70
I note agt T. Lorm & H. Shear date 4 Feby - i860 15.87
I note against Ezra Johnson date April 1861 55 -OO
226. 17
Money in hand 3.00
I yoke of oxen ^^^"^ i brindle cow ^^^ pied cow ^^ 133.00
I old cow brace on horns *I2
lopped horn cow *I2 24.00
I old red cow *i^ i young red cow ^^^ 31 -OO
I hog *^ 28 bush corn in ear ^-^^ 1 1 . 60
358^ lbs butter 60.99
Twin calves *^"" i heifer calf ^^
1 bush, turnips $2.38 10.38
40 bush, potatoes ^^ i - 2 horse wagon *' cart & rigging *' 20.00
A one horse wagon ^^^ 1 plough ^^-^o ,(, i^q
2 ploughs 50 cts Harrow $2.75 — i harrow ^^ 4-25
I cutter '^^ I log chain *i i do 50 cts — 2 chains'*^ 8.13
1 dung fork .75c — 3 pitch forks 75c.
59 milk pans ^7.38 8.88
89 bush, oats ^24.92 • — -48 bush buckwheat *i^°° 43-42
2 crow bars */-^^ i sett whiffle trees ''^ .88
I lot of old ham ''^ i buffalo robe ■'''^ 2.75
Small lot of lumber 2.75
I neckyoke .25c 3 ox yokes *"-5" 2.75
a quantity of old iron ^'' i horse fetters .13 6.13
1 ox sled $1.50 — I bob sled .25c — fanning mill ^--^^ 4-25
2 rakes 13c — -2 flasks .13c — -i cutting box .50c .76
barril and dry casks $1.25
154 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
I tar sack .25c 1 . 50
638.34
1/2 bbl vinegar $1 — cask & boiled cider .13c 1. 13
pork in barrel*" I rose coverlid ^^^ 3 ■ 50
I plad coverlid ■''5c i bed & bedding *"<'° 14-75
I black cow^is j table ■'^Sc 18.75
I quilt** 2 pillows ■^■'<^ I cotton sheet ■-^" 1.62
I quilt "5'^ I candle stand ** 1.25
I bed & bedding in kitchen ^^^
I server -so^ $12.50
5 cotton sheets *i i linen sheet ''5' 1.75
4 pair pillow cases ■5""' 2 table cloths •5°'' 1. 00
I tureen "5" 6 german silver teaspoons ^^" .63
I desk & drawers 3 • 50
1 work stand .25
2 looking glasses -50
I chest of drawers & 3 chests $1
3 milk pails ,63c 1 .63
I basket .25c — i wood saw .25c
I hand saw .25c -75
4^ augurs •''^'^ 1 chisel "5'' i square ^^"^ i-i3
I plane & mallet I adze I axe '^'"'^ .25
I drawing knife 13c — i cattle leader 3c .16
3 bush hooks "5" 2 pr stillyards *^
I wedge -sc 1 . 50
I steel trap ■*"'■''' I pr sheep shears'"'''^ I strainer pail ""^ .25
I market basket ^'^ i iron kettle ** 1 potash kettle ■^^'^ i . 56
Trunk -38^ I brass kettle -500 .88
707.58
I rock chair -"^^"^ I bedstead ''^ 1 . 50
16 yds carpet 1 "5 i table spread ^^ 1.63
12 milk pans 1.50 — I strainer pail 50c — -i wooden pail ^"^ 2.06
5 table spoons •^^'^ I cullender ^'^ quart cup ^"^ .25
wash bowl *^ mortar & pestle "^^ .38
I pr brass candle sticks '^'^ I fluid lamp ^^c .31
I iron cricket '"'' wire strainer ^^ 50 pieces crockery ^^-^^ 1.44
I pan 13" I jar -^^ 2 jugs "^ i oil can -'^ .81
I sugar box ^' 2 wash tubs ^""^ i -25
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 155
14 tons hay 77.00
I bedstead 1.25 1 .25
794-84
Dated this nth day of November AD 1861
Walter Cary I .
VAppraisers
Daniel D. Lee)
This list of names is a copy of the original record in the court house,
Binghamton, New York:
The heirs of Thomas French were :
Chauncey French, a son, at Binghamton, N. Y.
Marietta Van Alstine, residing at Pike Creek,
Wm Stever, residing at Norwich, Chenango Co., N. Y.
Jane Bishop and Dolly Johnson residing at Chenango, Broome Co., N. Y-
heirs of Marietta Stever, a daughter deceased,
Thomas French, residing at Westford, Otsego Co., N. Y.,
Lucy Queal, at Whetstone P. O., Morrow Co., Ohio,
John French, Polly Smith (whose place of residence after diligent search
cannot be located),
Oscar French, IVLirtin French, Alva French, severally residing at Whet-
stone, Morrow Co., Ohio, heirs of Samson French deceased,
Thelismar French, Amanda Sanders and Julia Phillips, severally residing
at Burlington, Calhoun Co. Mich, heirs of Hiram French — a son —
deceased,
Ebenezer Mclntyre, Franklin Mclntyre and Chauncey Mclntyre, severally
residing at Maine, Broome Co., N. Y. and
Thomas Mclntyre, whose place of residence after diligent inquiry cannot
be ascertained, heirs of Polly Mclntyre, deceased.
Rebecca Hudson and Martin French, severally residing at Burlington, Cal-
houn Co., Mich.,
Marshall French, whose place of residence cannot be ascertained,
Aaron D. French and Nancy Alenda French, severally residing at Burling-
ton, Mich., heirs of Thomas French — -a son — deceased,
Polly Jane Lee, Charles I_yee, and Morris Lee, severally residing at Bing-
hamton, Broome Co., N. Y., heirs of Harriet Lee, a daughter of
Thomas French, deceased,
Wesley Ferris, whose place of residence after diligent inquiry cannot be
ascertained, Lucy Jane Ferris, whose place of residence after diligent
inquiry cannot be ascertained, Hannah Eliza Ferris, Enoch George
156 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Ferris, Polly Lodema Ferris, Maria Ferris, Watson Ferris, whose
places of residence after diligent search cannot be ascertained — heirs
of Nancy Ferris, daughter deceased.
The above named Aaron U. French, Nancy Alenda French, Polly
Jane Lee, Morris Lee, Philo Ferris, Phebe Ferris, Maria Ferris and
Watson Ferris are minors.
That the said deceased left him a widow surviving named Elizabeth French,
residing in the town of Chenango, Broome Co., N. Y. Petition
therefore prays that the said last will and testament may be proved —
Aug 29-1861
The following deed is on file in the court house at Binghamton,
New York:
This Indenture made the twenty-ninth day of June in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred & twenty nine Between Joseph C. Yates
of the city & county of Schenectady of the first part & Thomas French of the
town of Chenango in the county of Broome of the second part
Witnesseth that the said party of the first part for & in consideration of
the sum of seven hundred dollars Lawful money of the United States to him
in hand paid by the said party of the second part the receipt whereof is
hereby confessed & acknowledged hath granted bargained sold remised re-
Leased aliened & confirmed & by these presents doth grant bargain sell
remise release alien and confirm unto the said party of the second part & to
his heirs assigns forever all that certain piece or parcel of land situate lying
& being in the town of Decatur in the county of Otsego in the fifth allot-
ment of Skinners Patent being the northern one hundred acres of lot num-
ber thirty six in the subdivision of said allotment —
In witness whereof the said party of the first part hath hereunto set his hand
and seal the day and year first above written —
Sealed and delivered in presence of
Edward Yates Joseph C. Yates "L S"
The following transactions in real estate are given to show the
fluctuations in land values during a period of forty years, in the region
in New York where the French family resided :
In 1829 Joseph C. Yates of Scheneectady deeded to Thomas French
of Glen Castle, New York, for seven hundred dollars, a farm in the
town of Decatur, Otsego county, New York. In 1836 Thomas
French deeded this farm to Samson French, his son, for the sum of
nine hundred dollars. Samson French sold this property in 1847 to
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 157
John Shelland of Westford, New York, for nineteen hundred dollars,
and Shelland sold it to Edwin C. Cheseboro May 20, 1847, for the
same amount as he paid for it. On March i, 1851, the latter deeded
this land to Charles Devanpeck for twenty-five hundred dollars. Ten
years later, Devanpeck sold to Samuel Russ for thirty-six hundred
fifty dollars, who in turn transferred to Giles Goodenough in 1868
for five thousand dollars. April i, 1873, Giles Goodenough sold the
farm to Ichabod Bulson for fifty-five hundred dollars, who trans-
ferred it to David Cipperly for forty-five hundred dollars, and he in
turn to Mrs. Hallock for four thousand dollars; Mrs. Hallock to
Fred Winnie — the present owner — for twenty-seven hundred dol-
lars, which last named party has refused an oflfer of four thousand
dollars, considering its value to be at least five thousand dollars in the
year 191 2. Mrs. Hallock had taken the farm to satisfy a mortgage
of four thousand dollars which she held against it. What a history
is interwoven with these transfers!
Tenth Generation
Samson " French (Thomas," Samson Jr.,' Sampson,' Joseph,"
Samuel,' William,* Thomas,^ Thomas,' Thomas') second child of
Thomas and Polly (Hiscock) French, was born in Cambridge, Mass-
achusetts, January 19, 1796; married Elizabeth Seaward (born Feb-
ruary 7, 1798) at Decatur, New York, March 3, 1818. To them
were born thirteen children:
I. James Thomas, born January 29, 1819, at Cherry Valley;
married Calphurnia Treat, in Decatur, Otsego county, New
York, in 1844; died April 19, 1867, at Warnerville, New
York.
II. Lucy Oletha, born February 16, 1821, at Decatur, New
York; married Rev. Atchison Queal, of Worcester, New
York, April 9, 1845; died March 15, 1885, at Des Moines,
Iowa. A complete history of Lucy French will be found
with that of her husband, Atchison Queal.
III. Stephen Henry, born December 30, 1822, in Chenango, New
York; died April 18, 1823.
158 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
IV. A son, born March 5, 1824, in Chenango, New York; died
April 13, 1824.
V. Dewitt Clinton, born April 21, 1825, in Chenango, New
York; died October 18, 1825.
VI. John Seward, born October 29, 1826, in Chenango, New
York; married Susan Barfoot (born October 15, 1837) at
Kickapoo, Illinois, November 28, 1857. John Seward
French died December 24, 1904, at Wayne, Nebraska.
VII. Mary, born December 6, 1829, at Decatur, New York; mar-
ried Dr. Nathan M. Smith. Mary died June 28, 1908, at
Kingston, Missouri.
VIII. Orestus, born May 7, 1832; died March 10, 1837.
IX. Oscar L. R., born October 18, 1834, in Decatur, New York;
married Mary Clevenger of Morrow county, Ohio, Novem-
ber 15, 1855, who died February 17, 1856. Oscar married
(second) December 24, 1857, Cidney Ellen Keech of West-
chester, Pennnsylvania. Oscar French died in Johnsville,
Ohio, March 26, 1896.
X.) Martin and Marvin, born January 29, 1837; Marvin died
XI. ^ August 16, 1839. Martin married Belle Chamberlain of
Ames, Iowa, in 1877. One child was born of this union —
Clare Vernon, who died in infancy. Martin French died
in Ames, Iowa, August i, 1900.
XII. Alva C, born April 15, 1839, at Decatur, New York; mar-
ried Lydia Elder.
XIII. Calvin D., born May 4, 1842, at Decatur, New York; mar-
ried Libbie Jones of Clarksville, New York.
When fourteen years of age, Samson French removed with his
parents from Tyringham, Massachusetts, to Decatur, Otsego county.
New York, where he worked on the farm with his father and also
learned the business of dyeing and fulling cloth. After his marriage
to Elizabeth Seaward, they began housekeeping in Cherry Valley,
New York (where the Indian massacre occurred in April, 1780) , and
lived there for two years. They then moved to Decatur, at which
place they remained for three years, at the expiration of which time
Mary Frexch Smith
Taken in 1857
Samsox French's House at Decatur, where Lucy
French was married rn Atchison Queal
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES i6i
they took up their residence in Glen Castle, Broome county, where
they lived until 1827, when they returned to Decatur, purchasing the
farm owned by Samson's father, Thomas French, who moved to Glen
Castle. The house is still standing where Samson French lived, and
where a number of his children were born. No changes have been
made in this building, but new siding and a slate roof have replaced
those originally used. In this house Lucy French, mother of the
author, was married April 9, 1845.
As the sons of Samson and Elizabeth (Seaward) French grew to
manhood they acquired habits of industry and frugality, working on
the farm during the summer and in the winter attending school in the
"French" school house, which is still used for that purpose and is of
much historic interest. Their son, James Thomas French went to
Ohio in the spring of 1842, where he spent the summer, returning to
Decatur in August of the same year, and it was not long until the Ohio
"bee was buzzing" in his father's bonnet.
Some years before, Daniel Flint, who married Mchitable Seaward,
sister of the wife of Samson French, had moved to Marietta, Ohio.
In 1846 they returned to Decatur, New York, for a visit, and while at
the home of Samson French, told such wonderful stories about the
"Ohio country" that he returned home with them. Daniel Flint
owned forty acres of land near Iberia, Morrow county, Ohio, and
together they looked that part of the country over, seeking a suitable
home for the French family. They found what is now known as the
Flint farm, it then being owned by a Mr. Dana, who had bought
a large amount of land in Morrow (then Marion) county. Flint
was to buy the land and make the first payment in the name of Sam-
son French, as the latter had not sold his farm in the east at that time.
Returning to his home in New York, Samson sold his farm the fol-
lowing January, and in March they removed with all their children
except Thomas and Lucy (they having married previous to this time)
to Ohio, going to Fort Plain, New York, where they took a canal
boat for Sandusky, Ohio, from which place they went in covered
wagons (which had carried grain to that city from the southern part
of the state) to the farm which Samson French supposed he had
i62 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
bought on the state road near Iberia. Imagine his surprise on arriv-
ing, to find that Flint had bought the place for himself, and was living
in a log cabin near the south line of the farm. There being another
log cabin about one-half mile distant, Samson moved his family into
this house and began search for a home. He finally located in Wash-
ington township, about one mile north of Smith's Mills, buying
eighty acres of land from Joseph R. Baldwin, who lived in Pennsyl-
vania. Here he built a log cabin with one room and a "lean-to"
across the back, which was used for a kitchen in the summer and
woodshed in the winter. The cabin also contained a "loft" with a
window in each end, which was reached by very steep stairs. The
following extract is taken from a book kept by Samson French:
"Moved on to my farm Oct 19- 1847 and commenced anew to clear
my land."
This land was heavily timbered with maple, beech, oak, and hick-
ory — forty acres of which had been "deadened" and was ready to be
cleared when he purchased it. In addition to this, he hired a man
to "slash" ten acres, who felled the trees in windrows, picked up and
burned the brush and smaller logs, for which he received five dollars
per acre. The logs that could not be burned were "logged" by Sam-
son and his sons. When done with the help of the neighbors, they
called it a "logging." The remainder of the land was cleared with-
out hiring help. The ashes from the burning of the logs was scraped
up in piles and sold to a man who lived in Iberia for one or two cents
a bushel, to be used in making potash.
This eighty acres of land had a road running along its north and
east side, and in addition to this was fenced into seven fields. Some
idea of the number of rails that Samson and his sons were obliged to
split in order to make the necessary amount of fencing for the farm
may be gained when it is known that the fence was seven rails in
height and required fourteen rails to each rod.
A year or so later he purchased forty acres across the road north
of his farm from Mr. Dana. This land contained what was known
as the "little meadow," which consisted of about three acres surround-
ed by timber. In this little opening, "Johnny Appleseed" had some
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 163
time before planted an orchard, but the seeds had been placed so close
together that the orchard was just a big clump of trees, the fruit it
bore being of a very inferior quality. This man — known as "Johnny
Appleseed" — whose real name was Jonathan Chapman, was born
in Boston in 1775. Being somewhat eccentric in his nature, he con-
ceived the idea of traveling over the country planting apple seeds,
which he gathered from the cider mills in Pennsylvania. IMiese
seeds he carried in leather bags, and whenever he came to an open
place on the loamy lands that bordered the creeks, or rich secluded
spots hemmed in by giant trees, he would plant some of these seeds,
so that at the time of his death his labors had borne fruit over a
hundred thousand square miles of territory. He also believed that
the offensively odored weed known as dog fennel, possessed valuable
anti-malarial virtues; so he procured some of these seeds and sowed
them in the vicinity of every house in the region of his travels. In
consequence, the weed spread over the whole county and caused al-
most as much trouble as it was intended to avert, and to this day the
dog fennel introduced by Johnny Appleseed is one of the worst griev-
ances of the Ohio farmer.
In 1849 an orchard was set out on the south side of the home of
Samson French, the trees for which were bought at Cardington from
a Quaker named Morris. The hens used to "steal" their nests in the
grass in this orchard, and the quails would lay their eggs in the hens'
nests. The diary kept by Elizabeth, wife of Samson French, records
under date of October 25, i860: "Our folks have gone for the first
time to make cider from our trees."
In 1854 Samson French planned to build a frame house, but after
getting the logs to the mill and having the lumber ready, he found
that forty acres of land adjoining the forty he had bought two years
previous, could be purchased, so he sold his lumber and secured the
land for about six hundred dollars; two years later selling the same
to his son-in-law, Atchison Queal, for one thousand dollars. The
house which he planned was not built until 1857 and the following
is the article of agreement made with the "carpenter and joiner":
An Article of Agreement between Samson French of Morrow Co.,
i64 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
State of Ohio, and Adam Sell of Morrow Co., State of Ohio, for the
building of a house by said Sell for said French, made this 27th day of Feb.
1857. Samson French agrees to furnish all the building material, shingles,
a foundation ready to lay the timbers upon, to board the workmen while
laboring in construction of said house, also furnish all panel doors and the
window sash. Adam Sell agrees to do the carpenter and joiner work of the
house, to be 34 feet long and 24 feet wide double sealed, partitioned below
as follows : A sitting room in the northeast corner, a bedroom in the south-
west corner, a recess for a bed at the southwest side of the sitting room, a
clothes press directly south of bed recess accessible from the southwest corner
bedroom. A kitchen in the northwest corner and south of the kitchen a
bedroom, buttery and stairway The cellar accessible from the buttery also
by a door near the southwest corner of the house from the outside, the cellar
doors to be batten doors. The upper part or chamber to be partitioned unto
four rooms. The doors above are to be batten doors. There is to be one
east, one west, and one north outside door. There is to be four north, four
east, (two above and two below) two or three south and three west (two
above and one below) windows. Said Sell is to hang all the doors, fit all the
window sash, make all the batten doors inside stairways, case the bed recess,
fire place, put on the mop boards, chair railings, etc. In short to finish the
carpenter and joiner work of the house in a substantial workmanlike manner
by the tenth day of Oct., 1857. For which Samson French agrees to pay
Adam Sell $135.00, one-half to be paid when the work is done, the other
half in two months from that time. We hereby bind ourselves to fulfill our
parts of the above agreement respectively by the signature of our names.
Samson French
Dated Feb. 27, 1857. Adam S. Sell ^
The interior arrangement of the house was somewhat changed in
the construction, but the general plan of the building remained the
same.
In the fall of 1857 the family moved from the log cabin into their
new home. One side of the sitting room contained a large fireplace,
which would hold a log four feet in length. In the winter a "back-
log" about two and one-half feet in circumference was first put in the
fireplace; then two smaller ones of graduated size, were placed on
the larger log; then with the "andirons" in front and a "forestick"
upon them, the wood was piled on this foundation, and in a few mo-
ments a roaring fire would cause the circle about the hearth to widen.
1 Adam S. Sell enlisted in the Civil War and died in Liliby Prison.
Samson Frunch Hduse, built in 1857
Morrow County, Ohio
X
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FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 167
There was always plenty of apples and nuts with which to while
away the evening hours, and after the "chores" were done, Samson
would pull ofif his boots with the old fashioned "boot-jack," put on
his "slips" and sitting in his old arm chair (now the property of the
author), would read his paper, eat his scraped apple, and doze by the
fire. He never used tobacco in any form and was a great advocate
of temperance, drinking nothing stronger than sweet cider.
Samson French was a lover of good horses, and has been known to
say, "The grass never grows under my horses' feet, for I drive fast
in winter to get out of the cold, and in the summer to make a breeze."
He was for a number of years justice of the peace, being known
throughout the country as "Squire French"; in politics, a stanch Re-
publican, his last vote being cast November 6, i860, for Abraham
Lincoln. When quite a young man, very much against his wife's
wishes, he joined the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and became
a member of Charity Lodge, in Worcester, New York, which later
surrendered its charter, probably in the year 1833, as the demit which
was given to Samson French bears date "seventeenth day of Septem-
ber in the year of Masonry A. L. 5833," meaning the year of Light,
and is fixed by adding four thousand years to the Christian era, which
would make the date correspond with that given.
After the removal of Samson French to Ohio he affiliated with the
lodge at Mt. Gilead, where he continued a faitliful member during
the remainder of his life. Much as his wife disliked Masonry, she
consented to have him buried with Masonic honors. His sons all
belonged to the Masonic fraternity, as do most of his grandsons, as
well as some of the next generation.
In the spring of 1825, Samson French was induced to buy a ticket
in the Union Canal Lottery of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
He may have had visions of vast wealth when he made this purchase,
but if so they faded, as no record is made of their realization. All
there is to show that he was ever interested in this scheme is the ticket
itself, which was preserved by his wife and may have been kept to
remind him of his folly. The French family, so far as is known, have
never made a living except by hard work.
i68 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
In June, i860, all of the children of this family were at home to-
gether, with the exception of the daughter Mary. Their son John
had been out in the world for seven years, and Thomas had never
visited his parents' home since their removal to Ohio, thirteen years
previous. In view of these facts and the advancing age of their par-
ents, it was decided to have their "likeness" taken together, which was
accordingly done. On that visit they presented their father with a
gold headed cane which at his death was to go to the eldest son and
so on down the generations, it now being in the possession of Leslie
R. French, of Schenevus, New York.
Samson and Elizabeth French performed a similar service for pos-
terity the same summer, as the diary of the latter bears the following
entry: "Friday Sept - 14 - Not well this morning. Went to Mt.
Gilead today — ^ had our likeness taken to leave for the children —
we have performed a good office."
Samson French was a member of the Methodist church, he having
been brought into the faith during a series of meetings held in the
"French" school house at Decatur, New York. That he was a faith-
ful consistent Christian may be known from the following resolution
written by himself, under date of January 4, 1842:
Samson French Resolve made with the assistance of God to Serve him
with all my might mind and strength January 4th, 1842
February 22 still continue of the same mind and have been Blessed to a
wonderfull rate when faithfull.
December 17-1852 still striving to pursue the christian course
On April 11, 1861, occurred the death of Samson French, and on
August 24th following, that of his wife Elizabeth. Of their immedi-
ate family but two remain — Alva C. French, living at Gallon, Ohio,
and Calvin D. French of Binghamton, New York.
At a special meeting of Mt. Gilead Lodge No. 206 of Free and
Accepted Masons called by the worshipful master on the account of
the death of Samson French, the following resolutions were adopted
unanimously:
Whereas, in the dispensations of an all wise Providence, our worthy
Brother, Samson French, has been removed from this Terrestrial Lodge to
r
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H
1
o
Thomas Frf.n'ch John Fri:nch ( )scar Frexch
Martin French Alva French Calvin French
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 171
the Celestial on high, "that spiritual building not made with hands, that
house eternal in the heavens" where the Supreme Architect of the universe
presides, therefore
Resolved — that we have heard with deep regret of the death of our
esteemed Brother, who was one of the true and tried Masons during the
Morgan excitement that withstood firmly the storms of persecution which
swept over the land and for a time covered with obloquy the known and
recognized Members of our Fraternity whenever found, and who clung with
an enlightened zeal to the tenets of our order, "Brotherly Love Relief and
Truth";
That in his death this Lodge has sustained the loss of a valuable and
cherished Member, the craft a devoted and consistent workman, his family
a kind husband and affectionate father ; and the community an upright and
exemplary citizen ;
That we sincerely and heartily sympathize with his afflicted famdy m
their irreparable berevement, and tender them the consolations found in the
promise of Him who "tempers the wind to the shorn lamb" that He will be
a husband to the widow and a father to the fatherless;
That at the request of our deceased Brother, and in token of our high
regard for him as a Mason, this Lodge will attend his funeral and give him
a Masonic burial, and wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days;
That the Secretary present a copy of these resolutions, under the seal of
the Lodge, to the family of the deceased.
Wm. S. ClemhntsI
Wm. H. Burns ICommittee
Jno. C. Baxter J
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my naine and affixed
SEAL the seal of said Lodge this 1 8th day of April A. D. i8bi.
Silas Holt, Sec'y of
Mt Gilead Lodge No. 206 of F. A. M.
Elizabeth, second daughter of Stephen and Lucy (Ingalls) Sea-
ward, was born February 7, 1798; she married Samson French (born
January 29, 1776) at Decatur, New York, March 3, 1818. To them
were born thirteen children. In those days the name Elizabeth was
nicknamed Betsey, and by this latter name she was always spoken of
in her family. She was a sensitive, retiring child, thinking no evil
of any, and wronging no one by word, act, or thought. Elizabeth
early took upon herself a large share of the burdens of the family,
assisting her mother in the duties and responsibilities of the home.
172 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Before her marriage she spun the flax for her linen, and the wool
which made her blankets and "coverlids." Such accom.plishments as
these all girls were expected to acquire before they were deemed
competent to marry. At the early age of ten she made a "sampler,"
thus learning the cross-stitch, later making a "needle book" in the
same stitch. In after years, the family records of her grandfather
Seaward and of her father's family were kept in this book; also a
record of her own birth and marriage, as well as the births of her
children.
Elizabeth was given a common school education and gained much
additional information by the reading of books and in study at home.
She taught school for two summer terms in an adjoining district, liv-
ing with her parents. She early united with the Methodist Episcopal
churchandwas a faithful conscientiousChristianduringher entire life.
Elizabeth was small in stature, but endowed with ability and en-
ergy; she met life's problems bravely on all occasions, finding time
from her manifold household duties to teach her older children the
catechism, they in turn helping to teach the younger members of the
family. She was a careful, prudent mother, with puritanical ideas
as to the raising of her family, ever being loved, respected, and obeyed
by her children.
The Seaward family were closely bound together by the ties of
affection and took great pleasure in visiting and keeping in touch with
each other. In 1 860 — the year before Elizabeth's death — she kept
a diary. Her health was much impaired and she was gradually
failing, but each day found something for which to be thankful. On
Saturday the 24th of March, she wrote in her diary: "My dear
cousin, Eliza Garfield, has come to visit us; how glad I am to see her,
as we have not seen each other in forty-five years. Sister Mary Flint
came too."
In September of the same year, Elizabeth, in company with her
sister, Mrs. Flint, went to visit her cousins, Eliza Garfield and Alpha
Boynton, living near Cleveland, Ohio. On Sunday, the 24th, her
diary reads : "Went to Solon ; heard cousin James Garfield preach."
On the 3 ist of December she wrote : "I am now about to close my
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FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 175
diary. Little did I think at the commencement of the year I should
live to see its close. Omnipotent power has ruled. I am thankful
to Him for all mercies."
In the following February (1861), seventh day, she wrote: "My
birthday has again arrived. I wonder and am astonished that my
Heavenly Father has seen fit to still keep me alive. No doubt it is
for the best. Oh that I may have patience and wisdom to direct me
aright, that I may not murmur or complain against His chastening
rod, but in the hours of grief and pain may lean upon my God."
The last entry in this diary follows: "My beloved companion,
Samson French, departed this life after four weeks painful suffering
with fever, the eleventh day of April, 1861. I was sixty-three years
old the 7th of February; my companion was sixty-five the 19th of
January."
Elizabeth (Seaward) French died August 24, 1861, and was buried
by the side of her husband in the Ebenezer church-yard, about five
miles northeast of their home. The stones which marked their graves
having been broken, were replaced by their grandchildren with one
granite stone in the summer of 1911, a matter of regret to the family
being an error in the spelling of the name, which was cut in the stone
as Seward, the original and true spelling being Seaward.
The following very curious and ancient prediction, entitled, by
popular tradition, "Mother Shipton's Prophecy," was published about
1576, and was found among the papers belonging to Elizabeth
French:
Carriages without horses shall go
And accidents fill the world with woe.
Around the earth thought shall fly
In the twinkling of an eye.
The world upside down shall be
And gold be found at the root of a tree.
Through hills men shall ride
And no horses be at their side.
Under water men shall walk,
Shall ride, shall sleep, shall talk.
In the air men shall be seen
176 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
In black, in white, in green.
Iron in the water shall float
As easy as a wooden boat.
Gold shall be found, and shall be shown
In a land that's not now known,
And no man living under the sun
Shall know when the end of the world will come.
Eleventh Generation
James Thomas French was born in Cherry Valley, Ostego coun-
ty, New York, January 29, 1819; married Calphurna Treat in De-
catur, New York, January 2, 1843. To them was born one child:
I. Leslie Russell, born September 18, 1847; married Ann Grofif
February 2, 1868. To them were born two children:
1. Mary F., born July 14, 1869; married Theodore Knapp ;
live at Elk Creek, Otsego county, New York; two children.
2. Harry G., born November 24, 1873; married Grace Witt
in October, 1895. To them have been born two children.
Reside at Schenevus, New York.
Soon after the birth of James Thomas French, his parents moved
to Decatur, where he grew to manhood. He obtained a common
school education in the "old French school house," attending school
in winter and working on the farm during the summer months. In
addition to the work on the farm, he assisted in the dyeing and fulling
of cloth in the mill and continued in this work for his father for a
year after attaining his majority. His health becoming somewhat
impaired and hoping a change might prove beneficial, he went in the
spring of 1841 to Franklinville, Cattaraugus county, New York,
where he attended school. The following winter he taught near
Franklinville, receiving fourteen dollars per month for his services.
In the spring of 1842, his health being much improved, he started for
the west, trusting to find lucrative employment. He went to Buffalo,
New York, from there to Cleveland, Ohio, by boat, and down the
Ohio Canal, visiting Cincinnati and many other points on the Ohio
River; but finding no employment to his taste, he turned his face
homeward, reaching Decatur August 11, 1842. The following Jan-
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 177
uary he was married and later moved to Westford, Otsego county,
New York, where he took up the study of medicine and was given a
diploma by the "Thompsonian Botanic Medical Society," of Otsego
county. New York. After practicing his profession for a few years,
his failing health required him to give up his country patients and
confine his attention to office practice alone.
In politics James Thomas French was a Democrat and held the
office of postmaster from June 16, 1853, until the year 1861, when his
successor was appointed by President Lincoln. He was made a
Mason April 11, 1865. In November, 1862, he purchased what was
known as the "SpafTord farm," where he lived until April, 1866, mov-
ing to Warnerville, Schoharie county, New York, where he died
April 19, 1867. After his death, his wife Calphurna lived with her
son, who moved to Elk Creek, where he owned a saw-mill and was
engaged in the lumber business for a number of years. She died in
1900. Leslie R., son of James Thomas and Calphurna French, is
now living (191 2) at Schenevus, Otsego county. New York.
John Seward French, born in Chenango, Broome county. New
York, October 19, 1826; married Susan, daughter of Adam and
Elizabeth Barfoot (born at Kickapoo, Illinois, October 15, 1837) at
Kickapoo, Illinois, November 28, 1857. To them were born:
I. Harry Seward, born April 30, 1 858 ; married Anna Thomas.
They live at St. Louis, Missouri. No children.
II. Flora, died in infancy.
III. Nellie, born September 5, 1861 ; married William A. Ivory
February 22, 1888; died at Wayne, Nebraska, October i,
1891. One child was born of this union; mother and babe
resting in cemetery at Peoria, Illinois. Nellie was a mem-
ber of the Methodist church in Wayne at the time of her
death. The husband remarried and resides in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
IV. Gilbert Edward, born April 30, 1873; unmarried; lives at
178 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Winside, Nebraska, where he is engaged in the banking
business.
V. |. Fred, born September 12, 1875; married Ina M. Orcutt,
daughter of Seldon D. and Mary Orcutt, born October 17,
1875, at Independence, Iowa; married at Atkinson, Nebras-
ka, August II, 1904. To them have been born:
1. Gilbert Orcutt, born August 23, 1906; died January 28,
1907.
2. Seldon Orcutt, born December 28, 1907; died Septem-
tember 25, 1908.
3. Mary Suzanne, born at Olathe, Colorado, May 30, 1909.
4. Harriet Gilberta, born at Olathe, Colorado, August i,
1911.
J. Fred French lives in Olathe, Colorado. He is engaged
in the business of real estate, loans, and insurance.
The children of John and Susan French were born in Peoria, Illi-
nois. John French went with his parents from Otsego county, New
York, to Morrow county, Ohio, in 1847. In October of that year he
attained his majority and the following winter he taught school in
what was afterwards known as the "Flint school house.'' During this
term of school five of his cousins — Stephen Flint and his sister Shar-
ille, Stephen Tripp and two sisters, Lucy and Mary — were among
his pupils. In the spring of 1851 Henry Tripp, a cousin of John
French, began work for Henry Miller of Columbus, Ohio, as a book
solicitor, his territory embracing the state of Illinois. Two years
later he returned to Ohio, where he formed a partnership with John
French for the sale of books, they afterward joining forces with G.
and S. H. Burnett, of Peoria, Illinois, but he continued to travel until
the Burnetts sold out to Henry Nolte. Henry Tripp remained in
the employ of Nolte as head clerk, and John French engaged in busi-
ness with a Mr. Mawhyrter, making clothing for men, and keeping
a general supply of men's furnishings.
That John French had loaned money to his father, is shown by the
following extract taken from a letter written by his mother to his
sister, in 1854: "Received a letter from John, dated February 25th;
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 179
was doing well; thinks $100 laid out in land in that country would
in a year or two, be worth $500. He would be glad to have us get
the land with the money he loaned us; says he will not push us, for he
owes us a great deal for his bringing up and the little education he has,
and a great deal more for a good character."
From 1882 to 1886, after having gone out of the merchant tailor-
ing business, he was in the employ of the government as storekeeper
in the revenue service connected with the distilleries at Peoria, Illi-
nois. In 1886 he removed with his family to Wayne, Nebraska,
where he engaged in the real estate and banking business, being
actively interested in this work until a short time previous to his
death. In politics he was a Republican, and was for years a member
of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. For several years prior
to his death he spent the winters in San Diego, California, where his
widow, Susan French, now resides. His death occurred at Waj^jie,
Nebraska, December 24, 1904, and his body rests beside that of his
daughter at Peoria, Illinois. John French was successful in business,
honest and upright in all his dealings, and he made it a strong point
with his sons to keep their promises and to treat others as they them-
selves would wish to be treated. . . ..... , .
Mary French, sixth child of Samson and Elizabeth French, was
born in Decatur, Otsego county, New York, December 6, 1829. The
early years of her life were spent with her parents on the farm, where
as a child she developed a great love for nature, which dominated
her whole life. An incident of her early childhood shows that what
she undertook to do she accomplished.
When about eight years of age, a heavy rainfall caused the streams
to overflow. After the sky cleared and the spring sunshine had come
out in all its glory, Mary, with a sunbonnet tied under her chin,
and an injunction from her mother not to take it ofif, started for the
woods to gather wild flowers. Decatur Creek — a small stream
which ran through her father's farm — was out of its banks, and as
i8o GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
she came near she saw a great number of fish which had found their
way into the stream from the river near by, which had backed its
waters over the low lands. One of these fish — a large one — was so
near the shore that Mary thought she could easily reach it. Being
barefooted and not realizing the depth of the stream, she waded in
and caught the fish but went under the water. Still clinging to her
prize, she laid the slippery creature on the grass long enough to get
her breath, then bearing it home, entered the kitchen exclaiming:
"Oh mother, I caught it but lost my bonnet!"
When about sixteen years of age, she became dissatisfied at home,
and much against her mother's wishes, went to Troy, New York,
where she was employed in a cotton factory, "clearing nineteen shill-
ings a week." Six weeks sufficed to satisfy all aspirations in this di-
rection and Mary returned to her home, happy to again be a member
of the family circle. Her education was gained in the country school
maintained near her father's home and later on, in a seminary in
Worcester, New York.
She went with her parents to Morrow county, Ohio, in 1847, and
a short time after, the following incident occurred:
Two and one-half miles from their home was a store and one or
two houses, which comprised the little village of Westpoint. Mary
was sent to this place with a basket of eggs which she was to exchange
for sugar. She went on horseback, her father giving her explicit
directions to follow, as this was a heavily timbered country through
which she must pass on this — her first visit to the store. After
riding a long distance and not seeing the town, she overtook a man
walking, and asked him if he could tell her how much farther she must
go to reach Westpoint. Imagine her surprise when she found she
had passed through the village and had not recognized it as the
"town."
While engaged in teaching school during the summer of 1848, she
met Dr. Nathan M. Smith, a young physician located at Kirkersville,
Ohio, and they were married at Mt. Gilead February 22, 1849.
Seven children were born of this union, six of whom grew to ma-
turity.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES i8i
I. Viola, born at Mt. Gilead October 22, 1850; died at Sibley,
Missouri, August 2, 1854.
II. Lafayette F., born October 6, 1853 ; died January 26, 1854.
III. William Shakespeare, born July 5, 1855; married Emma
Baker, Quincy, Illinois, 1883. To them were born: Junius,
Louis, George, Jessie, Helen, Pet.
IV. Ada S., born March 14, 1858; married T. Jefferson Davis
(deceased) in 1877. To them were born four sons and one
daughter.
V. Stella, born November 22, 1861 ; married John E. Johnson.
Stella died in 1895. Her husband and three children living.
VI. Louis N., born October 12, 1868; is married; resides in
Kansas City, Missouri.
VII. Mary, born May 28, 1872 ; married J. Mason Price in 1895.
To them have been born three sons and two daughters; re-
side in Kansas City, Missouri.
Dr. Nathan M. Smith (husband of Mary French) was born near
Wheeling, West Virginia, April 17, 1821;; was of Scotch descent, and
a man of brilliant mind. He received the degree of doctor of med-
icine at Newport, and first practiced his profession at Wheeling.
In 1852 Dr. Smith and his brother William started for the gold
fields of California, leaving Mary and her baby with her parents.
The difficulties of travel, Indian skirmishes, and the possibility of
never again seeing the loved ones left behind, caused them to con-
clude their journey at what is now known as Kansas City; and at
Sibley, a town forty miles north of this place, situated on a high bluff
overlooking the Missouri River, Dr. Smith finally decided to locate.
Here he built the first brick house in that part of the country, and a
flourishing little city grew up around him. He sent for his wife and
baby daughter, and as passengers on the "Isabella" they left Cincin-
nati November 2, 1852, changed boats at St. Louis, coming via the
Missouri River to Kansas City, finally arriving at Sibley after a some-
what eventful journey.
The residents of Sibley and vicinity were people of refinement and
culture, and the kindness and courtesy shown to Dr. Smith and his
i82 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
wife won their hearts and made them feel at home among their new-
found friends. This was a slave owning community, distinctly
southern in its sympathies, and they — like their neighbors — soon
became owners of slaves.
In the spring or early summer of 1861 Mary paid a visit to her
Ohio home, for her father had died in April, and her mother, who
had been in delicate health for a number of years, was failing rapidly.
Her convictions as to the right of the southern cause were as intense
and radical as were the northern principles of her brothers in Ohio.
A bitter quarrel followed their many heated discussions and a family
breach ensued which was never healed. She returned to her husband
and southern friends, and her sojourn among these people she declared
to be the happiest of her entire life.
The Civil War, beginning in 1861, bearing havoc and sorrow in its
train, brought about a condition of extreme bitterness in this part of
the country and the people of the community became widely scattered.
Dr. Smith was pursued by the bushwhackers numberless times dur-
ing the days of their activity, there being a price upon his head. At
one time he hid behind a clump of bushes and listened while some of
these guerrillas laid plans to take his life. The last experience which
drove him from Jackson county, was a thrilling episode. A week or
so previous a raid had been made upon his property and his live stock
stolen, he being obliged to borrow a horse for his daily calls, as his
riding horse had been taken with the others. One day he went to
Independence, about fifteen miles distant, to draw some money from
the bank with which to purchase a horse. It grew late before he
started on the return journey, and when a short distance from home,
a man on horseback suddenly emerged from the side of the road and
ordered him to halt. It was dark and instead of doing as command-
ed, he put spurs to his horse, a bullet grazing his cheek as he sped on-
ward in the darkness. His pursuer followed only a short distance, and
then returned to his companions — members of Quantrill's band.
The doctor reached home in safety, and having five hundred dol-
lars in his belt, handed it to his wife. Hearing the tramp of horses'
feet, Mary blew out the light, flung all the money (with the exception
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 183
of eighty dollars in greenbacks which she secreted in her sleeve)
under the bed, and helped her husband out of the back window, for
she knew it was death if they found him. He escaped to the woods
just beyond his home. By this time the door was forced from its
hinges and six men entered the house. She lighted the lamp and with
perfect calmness, asked what they wanted, to which they replied:
"We want Doc Smith and we'll fix him; we know he has money;
where is he?" Mary told them he was not at home, but that they were
at perfect liberty to search the house. They demanded her money,
threatening to shoot the baby sleeping in the cradle if she did not ac-
cede to their demands. She drew the bills from her sleeve, giving
them fifty dollars, but they were not satisfied until all of the eighty
dollars she had secreted there, was in their possession. Not seeing
the doctor's horse, which had wandered away into the timber, they
thought he had not yet reached home, so guarded the house all night
awaiting his return.
For three weeks Mary heard nothing from her husband, and when
she finally despaired of ever seeing him again, a message came telling
her to come to Kingston, and with it, directions for the journey. Her
husband met her before she reached her destination, and when she
saw him, she fainted ; his hair — black when they parted — was now
white as snow.
After this terrible experience. Dr. Smith and his family moved to
Kingston, county seat of Caldwell county. He enlisted in the Thirty-
third Missouri regiment as surgeon, and at the close of the war
bought one hundred acres of land near that city, and there made a
home where he and his wife spent the remainder of their days. Mean-
time he had returned to the spot where the great tragedy of their
life was so narrowly averted, and secured the silver and other valu-
ables which Mary had buried in anticipation of the visit described.
Dr. Smith took great pleasure in beautifying his home; planted
fruit trees of every variety that would grow in that climate, and culti-
vated flowers, all of which combined in making what for many years
was known as one of the "show places" of Caldwell county. Mary
was a great botanist, and had collected flowers from all over the
i84 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
country; she embroidered in colored silks, using the living flowers as
studies. She was a woman of strong character and indomitable will,
possessed of tact, wit, and a personal charm all her own.
Dr. Smith was an active member of the Grand Army of the Repub-
lic, and when his death occurred, June 21, 1893, this organization took
charge of the funeral services. Mary French Smith died June 28,
1908, and their bodies now rest in the cemetery at Kingston, Missouri.
Oscar Lumas Russell French, ninth child of Samson and Eliza-
beth French, was born in Decatur, Otsego county, New York, October
18, 1834; married Mary Clevenger, of Morrow county, Ohio, No-
vember 15, 1855. She died February 17, 1856. He married (second)
Cidney Ellen Keech (born April 5, 1836, West Bradford township,
Chester county, Pennsylvania) December 24, 1857, ^^v- Atchison
Queal performing the ceremony. To them were born eight children :
I. Mary Clevenger 1, , ., n t- <• ^. •
II. Laura Alfaretta f °''" ^^''^ ^5' '^^9, Ed.son, Ohio.
Mary Clevenger married George Hellinger in January,
1882. To them was born one child:
I. Bessie, born November 7, 1882; died 1884.
Laura Alfaretta married Dr. Frank Rule March 6, 1886, in
Johnsville, Ohio. To them was born one child :
1. Harry Hamilton, born March 6, 1886, in Johnsville,
Ohio; unmarried; linotype operator at Bucyrus, Ohio.
Dr. Rule died March 1 1, 1891, at Huron, Kansas.
Laura married (second) Carmi Kelly in 1893. To them
was born:
2. Lucy May, May 29, 1898, in Caledonia, Ohio.
III. Bayard Taylor, born Pulaskiville, Morrow county, Ohio,
August 2, i860; married Lue Lincoln Walters January 30,
1884, at Johnsville, Ohio. Bayard Taylor French came to
Iowa in the spring of 1880 and began work for the firm of
J. H. Queal & Co., lumber dealers; he later became a mem-
Lucv Frknch SrcixiiR
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 187
ber of the firm, and is now vice president of the corporation;
lives at Hawarden, Iowa. Lue Lincoln Walters was born
November 3, 1862, in Morrow county, Ohio. To them were
born:
1. Leslie Ray, born in Hawarden, Sioux county, Iowa, De-
cember 20, 1885; married Carrie Waiters April 16, 191 1.
To them has been born one child:
a. Elizabeth.
2. Clarence Walters, born December 7, 1887, Hawarden,
Iowa.
3. Helen Beatrice, born April 12, 1890; died June i, 1891.
4. Sherman Queal, born April 28, 1892, Hawarden, Iowa.
IV. Garfield, born April 28, 1866, Westpoint, Ohio; was
drowned May 29, 1869.
V. Samson Babb, born April 28, 1866, Westpoint, Ohio; mar-
ried Georgianna Almy at Yankton, South Dakota, February
15, 1893. To them have been born:
1. Howard Almy, born September 10, 1894.
2. Cidney Evelyn, born October 31, 1895.
3. Wendell Phillips, born August 28, 1898.
4. Gordon Russell, born November 26, 1900.
5. Netha, born September 19, 1902.
6. Harriett, ) , x
TT u V^ h born June 30, 1907.
7. Herbert George, ) -^ o > ^ /
VI. Malinda Keech, born March 9, 1868, Johnsville, Ohio; mar-
ried Edward Snyder June i, 1889, Johnsville, Ohio. To
them have been born:
1. Edna, born September 19, 1890; married Elroy Smith
March 8, 191 1 ; one child.
2. Helen, born February 21, 1892.
Edward Snyder died April 9, 1904.
VII. Lucy May, born May 2, 1870, Johnsville, Ohio; married
August 16, 1900, Clarence Birch Stoner. To them have
been born.
I. Lowell French, born August i, 1901.
i88 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
2. Helen Constance, born September 27, 1902.
Clarence Birch Stoner's work the past year ( 191 1) has been:
Statistician for the bureau of business research of the Har-
vard Graduate School of Business Administration; also as-
sistant in the course in economics, "Principles of Account-
ing." He received the degree of master of business admin-
istration from Harvard College June, 191 1. His special line
of work is accounting; has been auditor for a firm in Boston
for about two years and has spent considerable time in estab-
lishing a system of accounts in various hospitals. Removed
in 191 2 to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he is connected
with the Carnegie Institute of that city.
VIII. Belle, born March 6, 1876; married Albert C. Rummel July
31, 1902. To them has been born one child:
I. Robert French, born July 12, 1907.
Albert C. Rummel is superintendent of schools at St. Clairs-
ville, Ohio.
Oscar Lumas Russell French was but thirteen years of age when he
went with his parents to Ohio, where he worked on the farm with his
father and brothers. In the spring of 1848 he helped his father plant
an orchard, the growth of which was watched by the members of the
family with great interest until the first fruits were gathered some
years later. Being of a studious mind he improved every opportunity
within his reach to gain an education; was a student for one year at
Delaware, Ohio, but with this exception, his mental training was ob-
tained in the common school of the community where he resided. His
first term of school was taught on the state road near the Flint home;
the second, at Hell's Half Acre, northeast of Westpoint. The winter
of 1857 was spent teaching in what was known as the "eight square"
school house, which is still standing, being used at the present time
for a tool house and work shop.
In 1858 he went west and on his return in September moved to
Edison, where he taught three terms of school and where the twins
were born. One year later he engaged to teach in Pulaskiville, Mor-
row county, and his parents persuaded him to bring his wife and
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 189
babies to their home, where they remained during the winter, joining
him in the spring of i860.
These were warm political times and the shadow of war hung
heavily over the country. Oscar French had early taken an interest
in political affairs, being a staunch Republican for some time before
he was old enough to vote. The New York Tribune, to which his
father had been a subscriber before leaving the state of New York,
was carefully read, and helped in a great measure to form his political
beliefs. His vote, cast November 6, i860, was one of the 1,866,352
which elected Abraham Lincoln president of the United States.
When the War of the Rebellion broke out, he was ready to answer his
country's call, so moved his family to Westpoint where his wife's par-
ents resided, and joined the Twenty-sixth regiment, Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, June 6, 1861, serving under Rosecrans in Kanawha Valley.
He was taken ill with typhoid fever on October 10, 1861, at Mt. Cove,
West Virginia, and was moved about three weeks later to the Third
Street Military Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio. This illness rendered
him unfit for military duty, and he was discharged in the spring of
1862. In September of the same year, when Governor Tod called
for minute men to go to the "Southern border" to repel Morgan's
band of invaders, Oscar French organized a company for this service.
These men are known in history as "Squirrel Hunters." He also
assisted in organizing the National Guards of Morrow County in
1863, ^^'^ this body enlisted in the spring of 1864, in response to a call
for volunteers for one hundred days of service. Smith Irwin being
colonel of the regiment. Later he helped to organize a company for
one year's service, being assigned to Company C, One Hundred
Eightieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was sent to Tennessee to
do garrison duty. Early in 1S65 they were ordered to join their corps
at Washington. From this place they were sent to Charlotte, North
Carolina, where they again did garrison duty, and were at Raleigh,
North Carolina, when Johnston surrendered his army.
Oscar was fond of good living, and the following extract from a
letter written to his wife while at Deckard Station, Tennessee, No-
vember 13, 1864, illustrates the fact that sauer kraut and pickles were
I90 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
favorite articles of food: "Cidney, I will have to excuse you on the
kraut, but if you can send me the pickles, without too much trouble,
you may do so, but it is not very particular, as it will cost five or six
dollars to get them here, which will make them pretty dear for us."
In this same letter he says: "Please send me the Tribunes along as
you read them; I would give more for the Tribune than any paper I
ever read."
The following letter received by his wife while he was still in the
service contains much of interest:
Raleigh, Sunday April i6th, 1865.
I thought I would write you today, although it may be some
days before I can send it as the railroad is not finished, but will probably
be done in a day or two. As I sit in the office of the provost marshal, there
are two officers (Confederate) who have come through from Grant. They
are Lee's officers, and are on their way to their homes with passes from
General Grant to pass through our lines and on government railroads
and on board transports, &c, &c. One brigadier general came in this
morning who lived in this town. He reported here first, and then said he
must go home and see his wife. I expect it was a joyful meeting. The re-
port was rife in town yesterday that Joe Johnston was surrendering. I
suppose they are making the terms. General Hardee (rebel) was in town
yesterday. Johnston wanted an armistice to send word to Grant, but
Sherman sent word to him that he would take him in on the same terms that
Grant did Lee — that is — all men to be paroled, officers to retain their side
arms, private property and horses. General Sherman came into the office
and is talking to these two Confederate officers. There is a great crowd of
soldiers outside trying to get a glimpse of him. He is a very sensible old
man ; is not quite as good looking as John Sherman. I think he is older,
perhaps. Major General and Brigadier General Moore are both in here ;
they are brothers-in-law of Colonel Warner. . . . We have just
learned that General Sheridan is in Johnston's rear, so he is soon bound to
surrender Mondaay afternoon . . . but my dear
wife, I am sad, oh so sad. We have received official news (as we suppose)
that President Lincoln has been assassinated. My God, is it possible that the
best man this nation ever knew has been taken away from us! God forbid]
I do hope it may prove false. It seems as though it cannot be possible
that the man who has carried us so safely through a civil war of four years,
and now on the eve of peace, should be ruthlessly murdered in cold blood.
The army #as to have moved this morning, but it did not. General Sher-
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FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 193
man started out to see Johnston to have him surrender or to take him in.
I have not heard what the result has been. General Stiles asked me yester-
day how soon I thought I would see the twins. I told him I thought by
the 4th of July. "Well," says he, "I think so too." I begin to feel more
anxious than ever now to get home, as I think the war is over. The paroled
rebels are passing through here today, en route for their homes. They have
been, since Lee surrendered a week ago, coming through. General Sherman
told Colonel Warner yesterday to give them any papers and transportation
that they might want to carry them through to their homes. . . .
(Signed) O. L. R. French '
Lt & A. P. M. 1st Brig, ist Uiv 23 A. C.
Oscar French returned home from the war July 25, 1865, and short-
ly after moved with his family to Johnsville, Morrow county,
Ohio, where for some years he was principal of the school. He was
elected county surveyor October 18, 1869, in which capacity he
served one term; afterwards engaging in the lumber business at Lex-
ington, Ohio, which occupation he diligently pursued until Novem-
ber 17, 1890, when he was again elected county surveyor, serving his
third term at the time of his death, which occurred March 25, 1896.
The friends of Oscar French were numbered by his acquaintances,
for he was a genial man, and no one more enjoyed a good joke, even
though it were on himself. He was upright in character, honest in
all his dealings — a good citizen. He was a member of the Masonic
fraternity in Mt. Gilead, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
at Johnsville, of Justus Paxton Post of the Grand Army of the Repub-
lic, the Rebekahs, and the Grange.
Few men leave a more interesting history or a better record than
Oscar French, who, in war as well as in peace, served his country and
his fellow-men faithfully and well. He was a resident of Johnsville
about thirty years, where he was known as a kind, affectionate husband
and father, and a faithful friend. His widow still lives in the old
home at Johnsville, Ohio.
1 Oscar French: Lieutenant and assistant paymaster. First brigade, First division. Twenty-
third Army Corps.
194 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Martin and Marvin French, born in Decatur, Otsego county,
New York, January 29, 1837. Martin French married Belle Cham-
berlain of Ames, Iowa, May 16, 1879. One son, Clare Vernon, was
born of this union, who died when about one year of age.
Marvin died August 16, 1839.
Martin French was reared on the farm and obtained a common
school education. He moved in 1847 with his parents to Ohio, where
he helped his father and brothers to clear the land and put in the crops,
attending school during the winter months. After reaching his major-
ity he continued to work for his father, receiving wages for his labor.
In August, i860, he went to New York state, thinking he might like to
locate there, but after a visit with the friends and relatives returned
to his father's home in Ohio, having been gone but twenty-three days.
On September i8th of the same year he started for the West, going
from Mt. Gilead to Columbus, Ohio, where he remained but a short
time, journeying on to Peoria, Illinois, and from that place to Sibley,
Missouri, where he resided until the following May, when with his
sister, Mary Smith, and her two children he returned to Ohio. In
September, 1861, after the death of his parents, at a public sale of
their personal property, Martin and his sister Lucy bought in partner-
ship a team of horses, some cows, and part of the farm implements,
rented the farm for one hundred fifty dollars per year, and for two
years continued to work together. In the spring of 1863, having dis-
posed of his interests to his sister, he again started westward, with the
hope of working his way to fame and fortune in the gold mining dis-
tricts of California and Nevada. For si.x years his business ability
brought him a measure of success, but the reverses consequent upon
the years of depression that followed the Civil War were experienced
by him, and in 1872 he returned to Missouri, where for four years he
engaged in the drug business in Ray county, going from that state to
Deadwood, South Dakota, in 1876. In 1878 he went to Salida, Colo-
rado, the distributing point for Gunnison county, at which place he
again engaged in business as a druggist, which occupation proved
quite remunerative.
While visiting his sister at Ames, Iowa, in 1876, he met Miss Belle
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FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 197
Chamberlain, who in the spring of 1879 went to Salida, where they
were united in marriage May i6th. In 1898 he sold his business in
this place and moved to Ames, Iowa, where he was employed in a
drug store when able to work. He was a member of the Masonic
fraternity, having received the degree of Knight Templar in that
order. His first presidential vote was cast for a Democrat and he
never changed his politics. His early political and religious views
were dominated by those of an uncle, Daniel Flint (in whose family
he often visited during his boyhood years) , who believed in universal
salvation, and that the slave question was one with which people
should not interfere.
Martin French died of Bright's disease at Ames, Iowa, August i,
1900, leaving a widow, who still resides in that place.
Alva C. French, twelfth child of Samson and Elizabeth French,
was born in Decatur, Otsego county. New York, April 15, 1839;
married Lydia A. Elder (born March 19, 1847, Morrow county,
Ohio) in Galion, Ohio, August 9, 1862. To them were born six
children :
I. Kirby C, born July 1 2, 1 863 ; died September 8, 1 864.
II. Abbie, born June 2, 1865; married Ferd Nichols May 10,
1880. To them were born six children, four of whom are
living.
III. Ellsworth, born September 9, 1869, at Kingston, Caldwell
county, Missouri; died September 28, 1877.
IV. Charles, born February 12, 1873; died December 22, 1894.
V. Chauncey, born October 9, 1876; married Ada Sipes Sep-
tember 25, 1901. To them have been born three children.
VI. Carrie, born October 18, 1874; married Karah Mountz
October 22, 1903. To them have been born two children.
Alva C. French was but six years of age when his parents moved
to Ohio. He grew to manhood on the farm of his father, and industry
was one of the lessons learned early in life. About 1850 the Cleve-
198 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
land, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad was built, the track running
within two miles of his parents' home. He listened with delight to
the whistle of the engines and determined to engage in the railroad
business when he grew to manhood. In accord with this resolution,
after reaching his majority he went into the railroad shops at Galion,
Ohio, to learn the business, but two years later, owing to impaired
health, was obliged to give up this particular occupation, taking in-
stead a position as conductor on a through freight, running from
Galion, Ohio, to Union City, Indiana.
In September, 1864, when an urgent call came for troops, Alva
enlisted with his brother Oscar in Company C, One Hundred Eigh-
tieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which company he was color bearer,
and went to Tennessee, where the troops did garrison duty until 1865.
As winter approached, they were busily engaged in the woods about
a mile from camp, cutting and loading logs for their new winter
quarters. The order pictured on page 191 shows that Alva French
was detailed to assist in this work.
In the early spring of 1865 the regiment was ordered to Charlotte,
North Carolina, where they again did garrison duty, and later on to
Raleigh, at which place they were located when Johnston surrendered
to General Sherman.
After the close of the war he returned home and again entered the
employ of the railroad company as conductor. While on his regular
run from Galion to Union City he met with a serious accident at a
point named Quincy Curve, which place has since been called "Dead
Man's Curve," owing to the number of accidents which have occurred
there. This injury so impaired his health that he left the employ of
the railroad company, and in 1868 removed with his family to Kings-
ton, Caldwell county, Missouri, near which place thev resided for
five years, returning at the expiration of that time to Galion, Ohio,
where he entered the employ of the Atlantic & Great Western Rail-
road, continuing in the service of this company until he removed to
his farm in Morrow county. Here he lived for thirty-five years,
leaving in 191 2 to again take up his residence in Galion, where with
his wife he expects to spend the remainder of his days.
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Cl:RTIFICATIi OF SfRVILH ClVf-.X SoL IRRHi. HuNTtU
Seward H. Frexch
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 201
Alva C. French joined the Masonic fraternity when a young man,
and is a member of the order in Galion, Ohio.
The original demit from Charity Lodge of Worcester, New York,
granted to his father, Samson French, in 1833; also the resolutions of
respect from the Masonic lodge in Mt. Gilead, Ohio, passed at the
time of his father's death in 1861, are valued possessions of Alva C.
French and will be found in another part of this volume.
Calvin Day French, born at Decatur, Otsego county, New York,
May 8, 1842; married Elizabeth Jane Jones (born June i, 1850, at
Clarksville, Albany county. New York) November 21, 1869, at Del-
mar, Albany county. New York. To them were born four children :
I. Orva Martin, born at Albany, New York, November 17,
1871; married in 1898 Jessie Carmer of Athens, Pennsyl-
vania. Now living at Chandler, Arizona. No children.
II. Chauncey, born Delmar, New York, September 21;, 1876;
married June i, 1898, Grace Miller (born North Fenton,
Broome county. New York, 1877) at Binghamton, New
York. Is a member of the firm of Woodward, Wight & Co.,
general supply house, New Orleans, Louisiana, in which city
he and his family now reside. Two children have been born
of this union:
1. Lewis M., born Binghamton, New York, August 8, 1900.
2. Richard Calvin, born New Orleans, Louisiana, January
30, 1909.
III. Seward Haight, born Delmar, New York, December 27,
1877; married Lena Pearle Woodrufif (born October 13,
1877, Binghamton, New York) December 25, 1900, who died
September 10, 1901; married (second) at St. Louis, Mis-
souri, November 26, 1906, Mary Littell Halley (born April
II, 1885, Cincinnati, Ohio). Is cashier Binghamton, New
York, postoffice, and local secretary United States Civil Ser-
vice Commission. Two children have been born of the sec-
ond marriage:
202 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
1. Seward H. Jr., born November 5, 1907, Binghamton,
New York.
2. Alice Gertrude, born June 4, 191 1.
IV. Katherine May, born Binghamton, New York, May 4, 1881 ;
married Frank Kresinger (born Des Moines, Iowa, January
I, 1875) August 25, 1908, at Binghamton, New York. Live
at Des Moines, Iowa, where Frank Kresinger is employed
with the J. H. Queal Lumber Co. No children.
Calvin Day French, the youngest of thirteen children, was but five
years of age when his parents moved to Morrow county, Ohio, from
Otsego county, New York, journeying by Erie Canal to Buffalo,
thence by the lake to Sandusky, and by covered wagon the balance of
the journey. He was at that time and for some years after, his
mother's constant companion, helping her with the work and learning
many useful lessons in the art of housekeeping, which required some
skill, with only a living room and "loft" in the log cabin, especially
when it is remembered that there were seven members of the family
who lived there at that time. From a letter written by Calvin's
mother to his sister Lucy in March, 1854, is copied the following:
You would be pleased to see how good a boy Calvin is to help me; he has
done the three last washings, only I suds and rinse the clothes. He makes
me think of his oldest sister, he is so willing to favour me. I often think
that promise is being verified to me that I received the first night after his
birth — "This same shall comfort you." I firmly believe it. In how many
ways he may sooth and comfort my declining days, I know not, but I have
no fears.
Calvin was a generous boy, always kind and gentle, but was in no
way efliminate; loving out of door sports and always ready to join in
them, he grew up a favorite with both the boys and girls of the neigh-
borhood. As he grew older he worked with his father and brothers
on the farm, attending school during the winter months. It was not
always easy to get help in the house in those days and he always gave
of his time and strength cheerfully to aid his mother. Being re-
ligiously inclined he at an early age united with the church and is at
present a member of the Chenango Street Methodist Episcopal
church at Binghamton, New York.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 203
After the death of his father, in the spring of 1861, Calvin hired
out to work on a farm, and after his mother's death, which occurred
in August of the same year, he enlisted at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, in Com-
pany B, Forty-third regiment, Ohio Volunteers, September 14, 1861,
for service in the Civil War. From Mt. Vernon the company went
into camp at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio. From this place the
troops went down the Ohio and up the Mississippi River to New
Madrid and under General Pope's command participated in the Mis-
souri campaign. He was present at the capture of Island No. 10.
This fort had been in the possession of the rebel forces and was the
key to the upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. His brigade was
later assigned to the Army of the Tennessee, the most important battles
of that campaign being luka and Corinth. He was taken prisoner
before Atlanta, Georgia, and sent to Andersonville prison, where he
was confined for several weeks. While being transferred to a prison
further south, he and a comrade jumped from the train and escaped,
returning after much hardship to the Union lines in time to go with
Sherman to the sea. A story of his capture and escape, as written by
him, will follow this sketch. He served throughout the war and at
its close returned to Ohio and lived with his brothers, Alva and Os-
car, and was employed as a trainman on the Bellefontaine & Indian-
apolis Railroad, now a part of the New York Central lines. He soon
after decided to go west and take a position with the Union Pacific
Railroad, then building to the Pacific Coast, and was about to leave
when he received a letter from his brother Thomas, asking him to
come to Warnerville, Schoharie county, New York, to take care of
him, as he was feeble in health. So Calvin went east instead of west
and nursed his brother Thomas through the illness which proved to be
his last, as in a few weeks he died. Calvin then went to Cobleskill to
see about a position on the Delaware & Hudson Railroad, and was re-
ferred to the superintendent at Albany, who gave him a position.
This was in 1867. His run took him from Albany to Sidney, about
one hundred and three miles, the latter place then being the terminus
of the road. One day as the train was running through a little country
village called Adamsville (now Delmar), New York, his attention
204 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
was attracted to a rosy cheeked country lass who lived near the tracks.
A flirtation began. He threw off a note from his train; the answer
was favorable, and he called on the young lady. Two years later they
were married and spent a few years beside the tracks where the ro-
mance began. Calvin was employed as trainman, then conductor for
a term of seven years. He was in charge of the first train that ran
to Sharon Springs, Schoharie county, New York. In 1874 he began
working for the National Express Company and remained in their
employ for thirty-three years, principally as messenger. On Novem-
ber 10, 1907, he was retired by the express company on a pension.
He moved in 1880 to Binghamton, New York, where he and his wife
still reside.
CAPTURE, IMPRISONMENT IN ANDERSONVILLE, AND ESCAPE OF CALVIN D.
FRENCH
COMPANY B, FORTY-THIRD OHIO VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
AUGUST 4 TO SEPTEMBER 21, 1 864
AUT0BI0GR.4PHY
On the morning of the 4th of August, 1864, our regiment with others
was ordered to advance the Union lines in front of Atlanta, Georgia. We
had come here a few days before, driving the rebels all the way from Chatta-
nooga. Our regiment was put on the skirmish line, after piling all of our
knapsacks together, each company's by itself.
We started from a deployed line about nine in the morning, and went
over fences and ditches into a dense underbrush. The rebel infantry was
firing into this brush, and the batteries in the rebel forts were covering them
with the big guns as fast as they could be loaded and discharged. The
bullets were coming thick and fast, and I stepped behind a tree, which was
so small I had to stand sidewise to get under cover. I continued to fire
my gun as rapidly as possible in the direction of the enemy, who were con-
cealed in the thick underbrush directly ahead. Suddenly a rebel appeared at
my left, closely followed by others. I had become separated from the rest
of the company in the rush which followed our advance, and only Barney
Keyes and one other member of my company were in sight. They turned
and ran, but Keyes stubbed his toe and fell. I thought he had been shot.
Realizing that I was surrounded, my first impulse was to break my gun
against the tree, and as I raised it to do so, a reb ordered me to halt at the
point of his gun, and I was compelled to hand my Enfield over to him.
"Come on, you Yank," he said, and I was marched back through the rebel
s
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 205
forts to Atlanta, which was just east of their lines. As I remember it, At-
lanta was a very small place, not much over a thousand population.
The guard took me with a few others they had captured, into an old
barn, where we were kept under guard for the night. The next morning we
were marched about si.x miles south, to a station called Eastport, and in the
evening were put on a train and started for Andersonville, where we arrived
about ten o'clock the following morning. As we got ofif the train we could
see the prison, which was not far from the station. It was a stockade,
built of pine logs set on end in the ground, each log touching the other. It
was about fifteen feet high. This ran all the way on four sides, enclosing
about thirty acres of ground. The rebel guards were stationed on top of thi:
stockade, at intervals of about fifty feet, where a small guardhouse was
built, reached by stairs from the outside.
It did not take us long to reach the pen, into which we were driven like
cattle. There were three from my company — John H. Rogers, James B.
Bowen, and myself — all of us young, stout and healthy. The first night
we went to the north side of the prison and with my blouse for a blanket
and my shoes for a pillow, began my service in Andersonville, the stars for
consolation and the rebel guards for protection. When I shook my blouse
in the morning, a multitude of maggots dropped to the ground, which
awakened me to the real conditions under which we were placed.
The site of Andersonville was a solid pine forest before the war, and when
the first prisoners were brought there they had built some small shanties or
huts with some of the trees which were left after the stockade and other
rebel buildings had been constructed. These shanties were all occupied
by prisoners, and some others had dug-outs in the ground covered with split
timbers; but those who came in the summer of 1864 had the sky only for
their covering.
There was a low piece of ground toward the south end of the en-
closure where the water from the rebel soldiers' camp came down through
the prison. This stream was bridged with a plank covering at one place,
to convey prisoners from one side of the prison to the other. This stream
was filled with filth which came from the rebel camp above, but it was the
only source of water supply for the new recruits. The older prisoners had
dug wells, but they were insufficient to supply more than their own needs,
and the spirit of the prison was "every man for himself in the desperate
struggle for existence." There was a market street where Union soldiers
had dried roots to sell ; also biscuits, which they had made from flour pur-
chased from the rebels. They got the roots by rolling up their breeches
and sleeves and digging in the swale filled with the refuse of the prison.
Once a day the rebs would send a wagon through the prison with corn
2o6 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
bread or baked beans which was distributed to the prisoners. When we got
bread we got no beans, and when we got beans we got no bread. Food !
food ! was the great cry of the prison, and the only thing talked about was
something to eat. I have seen stout, robust men look over the situation
when they arrived as prisoners of war, lie down in the hot sand and in a day
or two were so weak they could not stand up. They would simply root
their heads in the sand and in a short period of time, die. It was such a
common occurrence that no one paid any attention to such a thing. To live
through such an ordeal required steel courage and not a thought of despair.
While it looked hopeless, some of us had a ray of hope that Sherman would
make it so warm for the rebels that they would be compelled to transfer us
to a safer place.
While I was there, the Providence spring broke out. During the night
a very heavy thunder storm came down on the camp, and it rained torrents.
Some of the stockade was washed down. In the morning there was a
spring with running water — nice and cool — between the dead line and the
stockade. They run this water over the dead line so we could get it.
Each man t(X)k his turn to drink or take a canteen of water away with
him, and there was a continuous line of men from daybreak in the morning
until dark. This was the best water I ever drank, and the spring was
rightly named "Providence."
The dead line was constructed of a narrow piece of board nailed on
stakes about fifteen feet from the stockade all around the prison. If a
prisoner touched or fell on the line — even though from weakness — -the
guards killed him. Commencing at dark and lasting until daylight, on the
hour the guards would pass along the call, "Eight o'clock and all's well,"
"Nine o'clock and all's well," and so on through the dismal night.
Well time passed on, even though it did seem to stop sometimes, and we
learned that Sherman had captured Atlanta. Rumors came that we were
to be moved to Charleston, South Carolina, and at last the tidings came
true and the start was made. September nth it came my turn to march
• to the depot, and about eight o'clock in the morning we were put in box
cars and started for Charleston. At Macon we changed engines and were
allowed to be around some, under guard. After leaving Macon one pris-
oner said to me that he would have gotten away there if someone had gone
with him. I told him that I would have done so, and then told him of a
plan which had come to me during our journey to Macon. We agreed
that we would work over near the door of the car, and when the train was
running slowly I would get off, and he would follow as soon as possible.
We were then to walk toward each other, and make for the Union lines
together. Soon the train began to slacken its speed, and he took hold of my
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 207
hand and let me down until my feet touched the ground, and let go. I
rolled over and over to a ditch beside the track, and lay quiet until the train
had passed. The guards in the cars and on top failed to see me, and I was a
free man again for the moment at least. In getting me down from the car
my left leg struck against a tie, and when I got up after a few minutes
found that I was quite badly hurt, although I could walk. I then started
in the direction the train was moving to meet my comrade. I went some
little way and saw a cabin by the side of the track. A negro was living
there and he got me some cold water with which to bathe my leg, and I also
bartered my blouse for his gray coat. He gave me some corn bread and I
went on down the track.
After going a little further I heard some one whistle, which was cur pre-
arranged signal, and my comrade in the escape, who I later learned was
George H. Wagerley of Chillicothe, Ohio, came up the bank and we shook
hands. I tell you we were glad to see each other. We went back the way
we had come and stopped at the negro shanty. The darky told us to go
back the railroad track about three miles, until we came to a road crossing,
then to turn to the right and follow the road. We were now in the en-
emy's territory and had to use every precaution in our movements. When
we reached the road crossing we saw a fire and found it was a rebel picket
with three men around the fire. We went back a hundred paces or more
and removed our shoes and then slowly and quietly got by them.
We deemed it wise not to go in the road but to keep in the woods and
oj)en fields. We turned into a path in the underbrush and followed it
until daylight, when we camped near an open field in some low bushes. We
slept some during the day. Some negroes passed close by, but we lay low
waiting for night to come. Then we went to the nearest plantation and
made friends with a negro, who got some johnny-cake for us which we rel-
ished very much. We then struck out, taking the moon and stars for a
guide, traveling through corn fields, swamps, wet grass, sometimes eating
sweet corn, and now and then some raw sweet potatoes. We kept clear of
the road although progress was very slow otherwise. We got wet through
and before morning were hardly able to walk, but our only thought was of
escape and return to the Union lines. At the break of day we would find
some low bushes and camp for the day. This we kept up for seven or
eight days and nights, depending upon the negroes at the plantations for
most of our food.
The eighth night, when we got our corn bread from the darkey at a plan-
tation, he said: "Massa, there is no rebs in these parts; why doan you all
take the road." So that night we took the road and went as directed, but
about nine o'clock here came a man on horseback at full gallop right toward
2o8 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
us, before we could get out of sight. We were pretty well scared thinking
he was a reb, but he asked where some doctor lived, and we quickly told
him there was one three miles straight ahead. He whipped up his horse
and away he went while we drew a long breath of relief.
Toward morning we came to an outpost of rebels. We went around
them and soon came to a railroad that had been torn up by Sherman's
army before he took Atlanta. A burned bridge impeded our progress, and
we had considerable difficulty getting over the river. That day was Sun-
day and we camped in the woods. We did not think anyone would be walk-
ing there, but about three o'clock saw some women and children coming
toward us. We went over the hill on a jump and into a big swamp, where
we remained until darkness came. We could hear the bark of bloodhounds
in the far distance and thought they might be on our trail, but the sounds
gradually died out. It would have meant the end of our hopes had the
hounds been on our trail, for we had no means of defense and our strength
was on the wane.
Progress in the swamp was very difficult. Every step we would go down
in the mud and water, then get up again only to fall headlong the next
step. When we finally did get to dry ground again we were a dilapidated
. " ■ looking sight. We moved at a slow pace but were not disheartened. In
a little while we began to smell the camp fires, and soon after midnight we
could see our pickets a short distance ahead. It was necessary at this
point to use great precaution in advancing for fear we would be mistaken
■ for rebels. At four in the morning we were halted by our guards and we
told them we were escaped prisoners. We were escorted to the picket post
and every one greeted us with open arms. It was the happiest time of my
life. Once more back to real freedom! When our thoughts reverted to
the prison pen, where thirty-two thousand were huddled together in about
thirty acres, and where they died at the rate of ninety a day during our
confinement there, it made us thankful beyond expression for our deliver-
ance.
After being fed and given some clothing, we were taken by wagon to
Atlanta, Georgia, four miles south. Brother Oscar came to see me before
we started. For him, it was almost like the dead coming to life, for they
had all believed that I was killed instead of being captured. At Atlanta
we were taken to the Soldiers' Home, where we had plenty to eat. It was
at this place that my comrade in the escape, George H. Wagerley of ChiUi-
cothe, Ohio, and I became separated, and I have never seen him since. It
has only been recently that I have been able to get into communication with
him, as the correspondence in the following pages indicates.
I found some of the boys from my company, and went with them to
CO
<
U
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 211
where our regiment was camped. They gave me a great reception. Barney
Keyes was one of the first boys I met. In a few days I was granted a fur-
lough and went home. When my furlough of thirty days had expired I
went back to Atlanta and arrived just in time to go with Sherman on his
march to the sea.
• ■ ■ ■■ ' '■ ■ ■ ■■ REMINISCENCES
One night during the escape we lay by a picket garden fence waiting to
see some negro, when a lady in the house began playing on the piano some
beautiful melodies. It was the first piano music I had heard in years and it
brought the tears to my eyes. After a while we found a negro in a shed
feeding mules. We went up to him and touched him on the shoulder. He
was so scared he jumped at least fifteen feet away and it was some time
before we could get him to come near us. After telling him who we were
and assuring him of our friendliness, he said he would send us something
to eat. Soon an old negro came out with a pail on his arm filled with food.
He directed us to a spring near by and there we ate our lunch. There was
plenty of the inevitable hoe cake, but we were very thankful for even that.
On the march with Sherman to the sea, we passed by this same plantation,
but this time we did not hear any Southern melodies. The occupants had
deserted the place and gone within the Confederate lines.
I have often seen General Wirz ride around the prison between the
stockade and dead line, with his orderly behind him, and it was difficult
to realize that a man of the same blood as we were could look at such a
terrible condition and let it pass without an eiTort to improve it He was
hung after the war, but that was sweet punishment compared with what he
caused the thousands of prisoners placed in his charge at Andersonville, to
endure.
We never lived so well as during the march to the sea. We were
dependent upon the country for ail of our provisions and we necessarily cut
a wide swath. Waste and ruin were left behind us, but it was one of the
emergencies and necessities of war. From Savannah we took transports to
Beaufort, South Carolina, and there disembarked and marched to Charles-
ton, South Carolina. Then we marched to Raleigh. Just beyond Raleigh
we learned that Richmond had been taken, and soon after, peace v\ as declared.
After peace was declared we slackened pace and strode leisurely north,
for we were a very tired and tattered army. We passed through Rich-
mond and by the famous Libby Prison. On the march we walked two
212 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
abreast. We arrived in Washington and joined with the Army of the
Potomac in the Grand Review. At this time we marched four abreast.
The Army of the Potomac, which had a direct line of communication with
the North during the siege of Richmond, presented a handsome appearance
at the Review, but Sherman's army, in direct contrast, showed the stains
of months of hardship and lack of commissary replenishment as a result of
the detachment from the lines of supply. The march of Sherman to the
sea has gone down in history as one of the greatest military accomplishments
ever known, and it will undoubtedly be recognized with greater renown as
time passes on.
Copy
Binghamton, N. Y., June 30, 1909.
War Department,
Washington, D. C.
Sir: I have been endeavoring for several years to locate a Union soldier by
the name of George H. Wagerley, who joined me in a successful escape
while being transferred from Andersonville to another rebel prison.
He belonged to an Ohio regiment, but further than that fact and his name
I have no knowledge, as we were separated when we reached the Union
lines and I have never been able to locate him since.
Any information your department can furnish me will be greatly ap-
preciated.
Very respectfully,
(Signed) Calvin D. French.
Copy
Department of War,
Washington, D. C, July 2, igog.
Mr. C. D. French,
13 Robinson St., Binghamton, N. Y.
Sir: Replying to your inquiry of the 30th ultimo, the records show that
one George H. Wagerley was a Sergeant in Company I, 26th Ohio Infan-
try, and that he escaped from Confederate prison September 20, 1864. If
he is living, his address can probably be obtained from the Commissioner
of Pensions, Washington, D. C.
Very respectfully,
(Signed) J. M. Dickinson
Secretary of War
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 213
Copy
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions
Washington, D. C, July 24, 1909.
Western Division,
Cert. No. 938,319.
George H. Wagerley,
Co. I, 26 Ohio Inf.
Mr. C. D. French,
Binghamton, N. Y.
Sir: In response to your request, received the 19th instant, you are in-
formed that the last known postoffice address of the above named soldier is
Bucyrus, Crawford County, Ohio.
Very respectfully,
(Signed) J. L. Davenport,
Acting Commissioner.
Copy
G. H. Wagerley
Board Soldiers' Relief Commission
Crawford County
Bucyrus, Ohio, July 30, '09.
Mr. C. D. French,
Binghamton, N. Y.
Dear Comrade : I received your welcome letter a few days ago, and am
glad that you are still among the living. I see by your letter that you
think that I was with you on the night of September 10, '64, which I think
was Saturday, and about fifteen miles east of Macon, Georgia. I think it
was between eight and nine o'clock that night. I think I jumped of? first.
I thought that one of the guards shot at you. Then we took the back track.
We went about a mile and we came to some negro shanties, and we made a
noise and one negro came to us and we told the negro who we were — that
we were Yankees and that we wanted him to tell us the direction to Atlanta
from there. He gave us the direction, and then we asked if he could give us
some corn bread, and he said he would go and get it. He came back with
four loaves of corn bread and four large onions. I think it was the best
corn bread I ever ate. He told us to go up the track about a mile, then
cross the railroad crossing and take to the right, and that would take us to
Atlanta. We got to the road and went along about a hundred yards when
we came to a house, and as we were going by the man in the house hollered
to us that w-e needn't try to slip by, as he heard us. I then thought we were
caught, but we made fast time till we came to a river and bridge. We saw
a light on the other side and some persons at the fire, and so we took a sneak
214 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
in the brush till they left, and then we crossed the bridge and went on our
march. The next day I think was Sunday, and as we lay in the brush
trembling, we could hear the bloodhounds bellow. I thought that the long-
est Sunday of my life. How does this correspond with your recollections?
If you told me your name I had forgotten it.
I will close for this time, hoping to hear from you by return mail.
Yours truly,
(Signed) G. H. Wagerley.^
P. S. My company was Company I, 26th O. V. I.
From the Morrow County Sentinel, published at Mt. Gilead, Ohio,
under date of May 18, 191 1, is taken the following:
Calvin D. French, of Binghamton, N. Y., and George H. Wagerley, of
Bucyrus, met on Saturday for the first time in forty-five years. Mr. French
is a former Morrow County man, and served as a member of Company B,
Forty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, enlisting when nineteen years of age
and serving until the close of the war. He is a brother of Alva C. French,
of near Iberia, and of former County Surveyor Oscar L. R. French, de-
ceased. Mr. French and Mr. Wagerley were prisoners in AndersonviUe
during the war, and made their escape together.
Extracts from diary of Calvin French kept during the Civil War:
Forty-third Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
Camped at Bethel, Tenn.
Monday, May 11, 1863.
We were ordered to report at 6 a. m. at the station, ready to move. 5
p. m. We have not gone yet, but expect to leave in the morning at 7 o'clock.
The cars are here ready to load the rest of our baggage, and I am detailed
to help load them. We bid good bye to the noble Seventh of Iowa, which
came here when we did. May 13th, we arrived at Memphis, Tenn., where
we are camped.
Tuesday, May 26, 1863.
Good news from Vicksburg, if true. P. M. News from Vicksburg still
good tonight.
Friday, May 29.
We are just ordered to go with Company A, of our regiment, to the
river, with three days' rations to guard prisoners. We get to the landing
about 4 p. m. ; get aboard a boat and go out, and change guards with the
boys that came from Vicksburg. There are about five thousand rebs. We
are soon detailed for guard.
' George H. Wagerley died in May, 1912.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 215
Saturday, May 30th.
We are still anchored at Memphis. 3 p. m., we have just started up the
river. The lines run smooth. We are on the packet Omaha.
Sunday, May 51st.
We are still moving up the river. We passed Ft. Pillow last right.
Passed Point Pleasant a little before dark, and New Madrid at 7 p. m.
Got to Island No. 10 about 10 o'clock.
Monday, June ist.
We pass Columbus, Ky., at daylight; arrive at Cairo 9 a. m., and anchor
about the middle of the river.
Tuesday, June ad.
Got off the boat this morning and get aboard the cars, and at 7 a. m. we
start, over the Illinois Central. When we reach Indianapolis are relieved
of the prisoners, and march to the Soldiers' Home; stack arms, and are
furnished a good dinner.
Friday, June 5th.
The Thirty-ninth regiment go with the prisoners to Sandusky tonight,
and will meet us at Crestline tomorrow night. We leave at 4 p. m.
When we got to Union City, I met my brothers, Alva and Oscar.
Monday, June 8th.
We get to Pittsburg at 4 p. m., and have to change cars here. We pass
through the tunnel of the Alleghany Mountains. I am to be on guard to-
night. Get to Harrisburg at 10 a. m. ; run our train on wharf, and com-
menced unloading. I ate supper at the Soldiers' Home. Everything is nice.
Wednesday, June nth.
We are at Fort Delaware; the prisoners are getting off the boat now.
We get ofif the boat, and march up to the fort, and at 12 m. get dinner.
Got tents for our company, and I have one to sleep in.
Friday, June 12th.
We leave the Island at 7 a. m. ; get to Philadelphia; take the train for
Pittsburg. Go to Columbus; get a furlough from there and go to Gallon;
visit my brother Oscar and family, and sister Lucy, and Alva's family.
Saturday, June 20th.
Leave on the night express from Galion; go to Columbus; visit friends
here.
Monday, June 22d.
Leave for Cincinnati. The next day I leave for Memphis, and again
take up my work as a soldier.
2i6 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
They camped at Memphis, Tennessee, from Tuesday, May 12,
1 863, until October 1 8, 1 863, this being the longest time they remained
in one place during the war. Again we quote from the diary :
October 13, 1863.
We are not relieved until afternoon, on account of the election. The
sixty-third was to vote before coming out. We got to camp about 2 p. m. ;
find the election is going off very quietly. All of our Company go for
Brough, and the regiment give but fifty votes for Vallandingham, and three
hundred thirty-five votes for Brough.
Wednesday, Oct. 14th.
We learn that Vallandingham got but ninety-two votes in our brigade,
consisting of the Fort>'-third, Sixty-third, Thirty-ninth and Twenty-seventh
regiments.
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THE INGALLS FAMILY
THE Ingalls family ^ was one of the earliest in this country, com-
ing only eight years after the landing of the Pilgrims at Ply-
mouth, and have as a whole maintained an honorable place in history,
the majority of them being tillers of the soil.
The name is supposed to be Scandinavian, and derived from In-
gialld. During the ninth century the Scandinavian pirates often de-
scended upon the east coast of Great Britain, and in after years many
of this nationality made settlements in Lincolnshire. These people
were a hardy seafaring race, owing to the nature of their country, but
under changed conditions of environment settled down to tilling the
soil. The name of Ingalls is still common in England, its etymology
being "By the power of Thor."
The earliest document on record, is the will of Henry Ingalls, made
in 1555, he probably having been born about 1480.
First Generation
Will of Henry Ingalls of Skirbeck found in the Probate Court
attached to Lincoln Cathedral, June i, 1555: Gives to his wife Jo-
han: He wills that his youngest children shall have every one £10
which was left to them. If any should die before coming of lawful
age that share to be divided amongst the rest; gives to the mainte-
nance of the high alter lad; the balance of his effects to be divided
amongst his six children, Johan, wife, executrix; names a sonne James
and broinlaw Thos. Wytton.
Second Generation
The next record is that of ROBERT, descendant of Henry Ingalls,
the will which follows, being the only document on file:
'■ Up to the seventh generation taken largely from the Genealogy and History of the In-
galls Family in America, by Charles Burleigh, M. D., of Maiden, Massachusetts.
220 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
WILL OF ROBERT INGALLS OF SKIRBECK, JULY 12, 1617
In ye name of God Amen. Robert Ingalls of Skirbeck quarter of Skir-
beck in the Co. of Lincoln, yeomen, being sick in body but of good & perfect
memorie &c I give Elizabeth my wife during her natural life. After her
decease to Edmund my eldest Sonne who was lawfully begotten and for
want of issue after Edmunds death to ffrancis my youngest Sonne and fail-
ing issue to the natural heirs of me Robert Ingalls forever; Gives Robert
Ingalls £20 Gives fifrancis £30 both one year after his decease. Gives his
maid servant Anne Cleasbie £5 & to all of Henry Cleasbies children one ewe
lamb, Gives his brother Henry a black fleeced cow, Gives to the poor of
Skirbeck los ^4 at once. Wife and Edmund Executors, Wm Shinfold &
Robert Harrison supervisors of the will. Gives them 2s 6d for their pains.
The will is signed with his mark.
Third Generation
Edmund ' Ingalls (Robert,' Henry ') was born in Skirbeck, Lin-
colnshire, England, about 1598; came to Salem, Massachusetts, in
Governor Endicott's company in 1628. With his brother Francis
and four others he commenced the settlement of Lynn in 1629. He
was a man of good character, even though the following court record
is found, in 1646: "Edmund Ingalls was fined for bringing home
sticks in both his arms on the Sabbath day from Mr. Holyoke's
rails — Witnesses Joseph fflood, Obadya fflood, Jane fflood." These
were probably jealous neighbors, and it shows the strict observance of
the Sabbath in those days. His name is often found in the town rec-
ords, showing him to have been one of the prominent citizens. In
March, 1648, while traveling to Boston on horseback, owing to a de-
fective bridge he was drowned in the Saugus River. His heirs
recovered damages from the town. His will was probated September
16, 1648.
WILL OF EDMUND INGALLS
I, Edmund Ingalls of Lynn, being of perfect memory commit my soul
unto God, my body to the grave and dispose of my earthly goods in this
wise.
Firstly, I make my wife Ann Ingalls, sole executor, leaving my house and
houselot, togather with my stock of cattle and corn, to her. Likewise I leave
Katherine Shipper with my wife.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 221
Item, I bequeath to Robert my sonne & heir four pound to be payd in two
years time by my wife, either in cattle or corn. Likewise I bequeath to him
or to his heirs, my house & houselot after the decease of my wife.
Likewise I bequeath to Elizabeth my daughter, twenty shillings to be
payd by my wife in a Heifer calf in two years time after my decease.
Likewise to my daughter Faith, wife to Andrew Allen, I bequeath two
yearling calves, and inform my wife to pay him forty shillings debt in a years
time after my decease.
Likewise to my sonne John, I bequeath the house & groimd that was
Jeremy fitts, lying by the meeting house, only out of it the sd John is to pay
within four years, four pounds to my sonne Samuel, and the ground to be
his security, further I leave with said John, that three Acres of land he had
in England fully to possess and enjoy.
Likewise, I give to Sarah my daughter, wife of William Bitnar my two
ewes.
Likewise, to Henry my sonne, I give the House that I bought of Good-
man West, and six Acres of ground, lying by it, and three Acres of Marsh
ground lying at Rumley March, and this the sd Henry shall possess in
t\vo years after my decease. Only out of this the sd Henry shall pay to my
Sonne Samuel, four pounds within two years after he enters upon it.
Likewise I bequeath to Samuel my sonne, eight pounds to be discharged
as above, in the premises.
Lastly, I leave with Mary the Heifer calf that she enjoyed and leave her
to my wife for future dowry.
Finally, I appoint Francis Ingalls, my brother & Francis Dane, my sonne
in law, overseers of my will, and order that those things that have no par-
ticular exemption in the will mentioned, to be taken away after my decease
and entreat my overseers to be helpful to my wife in ordering her matters.
His
Edmund X Ingalls
Mark
Children:
Robert, born about 162 1 ; married Sarah Harker.
Elizabeth, born 1622; married Rev. Francis Dane; died June 9,
1676.
Faith, born 1623; married Andrew Allen.
John, born 1625; married Elizabeth Barrett.
Sarah, born 1626; married William Bitnar.
Henry, born 1627; married Mary Osgood; married (second)
Sarah Farnum.
222 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Samuel, born 1634; married Ruth Eaton.
Mary, born ; married John Eaton.
Joseph ; died young.
Fourth Generation
John' Ingalls (Edmund,' Robert,' Henry') son of Edmund and
Ann Ingalls, was born in Skirbeck, England, in 1625; married
Elizabeth Barrett of Salem May 26, 1667. He settled at Rehoboth,
Massachusetts, and it is recorded: "Old John Ingalls died Dec. 31,
1721."
JOHN INGALLS HIS WILL
In the name of God Amen, the sixteenth day of April) on thousand seven
hundred and eighteen, I, John Ingols of the town of Rehoboth in the County
of Bristoll in the Province of the Masachusets Bay in New England, yeo-
man, being weak of body but of sound and perfect memory praised be the
Almighty God for the same; I calling to mind the onsertaine and transitory
estate of this life, that all flesh must dy and yeild to death when it shall
please God to call, doe make and ordaine, constitute and declare this to be
my last will and testament in manor and forme following (that is to say)
revoaking and annulling and by these presents, all and every testament and
testaments and will and wills heartofore by me made and declared either by
word or writing; and this is to be taken for my last will & testament and
non other. And first of all I give and recomend my soule in to the hands of
God that gave it, and as for my body I commend it to the earth to be
buried in a Christian like and decent maner at the discretion of my executor;
nothing doubting but at the general resurection I shall receive the same
againe by the mighty power of God, and as touching such worldly estate as
the Lord hath lent me, my will and meaning is in maner and forme follow-
ing:
Impr. I will that all my just and lawfull debts which T justly owe to
any person or persons whomesoever be well and truly paid in convenient
time after my decease.
Itim. I give to my son John Ingols twenty shillings and the reason why
I give him no more is because he hath bene a disobedent and ondutyfull
son to me.
Itiun. I give to my two daughters Elizabeth Crabtrc the wife of Benja-
min Crabtre and Sarah Hayward wife of William Hayward all my movable
estate within dores that is to say, my uttensels, household stuff in what maner
or kind they mav be found and that my two daughters shall devide between
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 223
them theire mothers cloathes; and if my two daughters cannot agree in the
deviding of the movables that then they chuse two indifferent men to mak
an equall devition between them.
Itim. I doe make, constitute and ordaine my well beloved son Edmund
Ingols to be my only and sole executor of this my last will and testament,
ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament.'
In witness whearof I have hereunto sett to my hand and scale the day
and yeare first above written &c. &c. &c.
Signum ["' ' '"I
1 Seal I
John X Ingols [. .1
Signed, sealed, published and pronounced by the sd John Ingols to be his
last will and testament, in presence of us the subscribers.
John West
Approved Feb. 5, 1721/22 Henry West
Fifth Generation
Edmund = Ingalls (John,^ Edmund,^ Robert^ Henry ^) son of
John and Elizabeth Ingalls, was probably born at Bristol or Cumber-
land, Rhode Island; married Eunice Luddin of Braintree November
29, 1705. He moved to Rehoboth, Massachusetts, where he died.
Sixth Generation
Ebenezer" Ingalls (Edmund,^ John,^ Edmund,^ Robert,^ Hen-
ry') son of Edmund and Eunice (Luddin) Ingalls, was born luly
14, 171 1 ; married Elizabeth Wheeler June 5, 1735. To them were
born ten children:
I. Elizabeth, born May 5, 1736.
II. Henry, born October 12, 1738; married Sybil Carpenter.
III. Frederick, born December 7, 1740.
IV. Alithea, born November 18, 1741 ; married Samuel Fuller
Jr. December 3, 1762.
V. Ebenezer, born June 30, 1744; married Rachel Wheeler.
VI. Mehitable, born January 3, 1746 or 1747.
VII. Lois, born February 16, 1750; married James Kelton (born
February 16, 1750) June 13, 1773. To them were born
seven children.
224
GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
; married John Turner December 23,
; married James Campbell No-
VIII. Hannah, born -
1773-
IX. Benjamin, born .
X. Sabia (or Sabina), born-
vember 25, 1778.
Seventh Generation
Henry ' Ingalls (Ebenezer," Edmund," John,* Edmund,^ Robert,"
Henry') son of Ebenezer and Elizabeth Ingalls, was born at Cum-
berland, Rhode Island, October 12, 1739; married Sybil Carpenter
(born February 26, 1739) at Rehoboth, Massachusetts, November
21, 1761. To them were born ten children:
I. Elizabeth, born 1762; married James Cook.
II. Mehitable, second child of Henry and Sybil (Carpenter)
Ingalls, was born , 1764; married James Ballou Jr.
at Richmond, New Hampshire, the ceremony being per-
formed by the bride's father, who was justice of the peace.
For a complete history of Mehitable Ingalls Ballou and her
descendants see close of the Ingalls genealogy.
III. Ruth, third child of Henry and Sybil Ingalls, was born in
1767; married Benjamin Ellis.
IV. Rufus, fourth child of Henry and Sibyl Ingalls, was born
in 1769; married Mary Cole.
V. Ebenezer, fifth child of Henry and Sybil Ingalls, was born in
1771 ; married Mary Mann. To them were born:
I. Abram; married Mehitable Ballou (born March 15,
1799) in Perry, Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1815.
Rufus.
Hiram.
Isaac; married Portia Howard March ar, 1851.
Ebenezer.
Candace.
Olive.
Roxie.
Mary.
5
a
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 227
10. Eliza.
VI. Sybil, sixth child of Henry and Sybil Ingalls, was born in
1774; married — — - Skinner.
VII. Lucy, seventh child of Henry and Sybil Ingalls, was born
June 24, 1777; married Stephen Seaward (born June
13, 1772) February 19, 1795, at Decatur, Otsego county,
New York. To them were born nine children. (See Sea-
ward genealogy.)
Lucy lived with her parents on "Ingalls Hill" until her
marriage, and was early taught the art of housewifery, es-
■.-••■._ pecially as pertaining to the needlework done in that day,
and before her marriage she netted her wedding veil out of
white silk thread, a portion of which is in possession of the
author.
VIII. Alpha Ingalls, eighth child of Henry and Sybil Ingalls, was
born in 1780; married James Stone.
IX. Henry, ninth child of Henry and Sybil Ingalls, was born in
1783 ; died at the age of fourteen years.
X. Sebra, tenth child of Henry and Sybil Ingalls, was born in
1785; married Alva Clark. To them were born:
1. Eunice; married — -Bliss. To them were born :
a. Luna; married Lucas.
b. Jesse Chandler.
c. Edwin Ruthwin.
d. Eliza Prudence; married Holcomb.
e. Sarah Louisa; married Thomas Needles, who was
auditor of state (Illinois) for two terms; afterwards
state senator.
2. Stephen, son of Sebra and Alva Clark. His children
were:
a. James Stone ; last known address, Yarn Hill, Oregon.
b. Alva; married Caroline Gregory; lived at one time
at Osage Mission, Neosha county, Kansas.
c. Harvey Cunning.
d. Eliza Cram.
228 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
e. Angeline.
f. Elizabeth.
3. Eliza, daughter of Sebra and Alva Clark, was born in
Otsego county. New York, December 28, 1806; married
Joseph Crane (born January 12, 1802, White Creek,
Pennsylvania) March 9, 1826. To them was born.
a. Evan Joseph Crane, born April 26, 1827; married
Casander Gier, in Muskingum county, Ohio. In
April, 1864, they moved to Iberia, Morrow county,
where Evan kept a general store, and was for many
years postmaster. To them were born :
aa. Marion.
bb. Rosetta.
cc. Florence,
dd. George,
ee. Delia.
Evan Joseph Crane and his wife died at Iberia, Ohio.
Eliza, wife of Joseph Crane, died January i, 1830.
4. Alva.
5. James Stone.
Henry Ingalls moved from Rehoboth, Massachusetts, to Rich-
mond, New Hampshire, and his record as a soldier is found in the
Revolutionary Rolls of Massachusetts and New Hampshire^ from
which the following is taken:
Henry Ingalls — Richmond — Captain Oliver Capron's Co. Col. Eph-
raim Doolittle's (24th) Regiment — Receipt for advanced pay signed by
said Ingalls and others. Detail camp at Cambridge June 24th 1775. Also
Sergeant in same Co. and Reg. Muster roll dated Aug. 11, 1775- Enlisted
May 5, 1775, service three months four days. Also company returned
(probably Oct. 1775).
Also order for bounty coat or its equivalent in money.
Henry Ingalls Sergeant — Richmond — Capt Oliver Caprons Com-
pany Col. Ephraim Doolittle's Regiment at Winter Hill Oct. 6, 1775.
Lieutenant, Capt. Oliver Capron's Co. Col. Samuel Ashley's Regiment;
marched to relief of Ticonderoga, June 1 8th to Sep 27th 1777.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 229
In Vol. 13, p. 315, of the State Papers of New Hampshire, is found
the following record:
A Return of A Leagal Town meeting Held in Richmond in the Colony
of New Hampshire on the 15th Day of July Last — firstly Chose A
moderator to govern said meeting then Voted and made Choice of Lieut
Henry Ingalls for a justice of the peace
Attest Henry Ingalls Town Clerk
August ye 2nd A D 1776
Daniel Read) _ ,
^ ^ > Selectmen
JOHN Daulyj
State of New Hampshire
To the Honnarable Councel and house of Representatives Convened at
Exeter in said state the prayer of your Humble petitioners sheweth that at
our Last annual march meeting the town of Richmond voted pettion your
Honors would take it unto your wise Consideration and grant us the privi-
ledge to Hold our anual meeting on the first munday of march annually as
the Last Wednesday in march is the season of the year that wee make shuger
as your Humble petitioners in Duty Bound shall Ever pray in Behalf of
the town.
Richmond October ye 20th 1779
Henry Ingalls Town Clerk
On page 318:
(Petition for Henry Ingalls 1785)
The Petition of the Inhabitants of Richmond in the County of Cheshire,
Humbly Sheweth, that when the Late Constitution took Place Henrey
Ingalls Esqr was not Reappointed we your Petitioners humbly Pray that the
Said Henrey Ingalls may be Reappointed and duely ortherrised to act as A
Justice of the Peace for the County aforSaid, for that wee your Petitioners
Humbly conseive that he is a man agreably Qualified for that Important
Service and Lives near the Senter of Publick Bisness for the town, and also
Sutes the maners and Costumes of the People, and your Petitioners Humbly
Submits this Petition to your Excelancies Grace Beleving your Excelancey in
your Grate wisdom will do the thing that is Right as wee in duty Bound
will ever Pray —
Richmond October loth A D: 1785:
Daniel Read John Bools
Abraham Man Levi Morey Cadis Boyce
Moses Read Darius Taft Allen Grant
David Barney Silas Taft Jonathan Sweet
230 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
WiHiam Barney Edmund Ingalls John Boyce
John Garnsey Paul Boyce Nathan Boyce
Henry Ingalls moved with his family and a company of neighbors
to Otsego county, New York, in an early day, and settled on what was
called "Ingalls Hill," near Worcester. He lived highly respected by
all who knew him, and died in June, 1813, at the age of seventy-five
years.
The date of the death of Sybil (Carpenter) Ingalls, wife of Henry
Ingalls, is not known, but she died on Ingalls Hill, at Decatur, New
York.
James Ballou Jr., husband of Mehitable Ingalls, when a young man
was a teacher and for years was successful in that vocation. Astrology
being a favorite study, he became noted the country around as a
diviner of future events. One of his descendants relates the following
story in the Ballou genealogy.
"One day," said he, "a queer looking maiden rode into our open door-
yard on a little dapple mare. On dismounting, she delivered her pony for
stable care. She told me she had come forty miles to consult the great for-
tune teller on an important matter, but that her story must be short, and she
must return as soon as possible. She therefore wished an immediate private
consultation. I inferred from the urgency of her manner that some murder,
robbery, or theft had been committed at her home, or that some valuable
articles of property had been lost. On seating her in my reception room, she
looked furtively around, and inquired if that was my most private apartment.
I took her into one more retired and less exposed to intrusion or overhear-
ing, and now came out, in an anxious, half suppressed tone, her momentous
errand — 'Shall I ever be married?' I concealed my astonishment, glanced
inoffensively at her uncouth physiognomy, and felt that it was a hard case,
for nature had knocked her forehead one way, her chin the other, set her
blear eyes askew, t^visted her sharp nose badly, and given her lank face a skin
as brown as a dried shad. Well, what was to be done? I went through my
customary formula and ciphered out her destiny as quickly as possible. I
gave her as hopeful a forecast as the nature of the case permitted, and sent
her off with the most comfortable assurance my ingenuity could deduce. I
never heard of the fair maiden again." This was told with such sarcastic
gravity, such lurking twinkles of fun, and such ineffable airs of drollery, that
all present were convulsed with laughter.
James Ballou Jr. later formed a mercantile partnership with his
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 231
cousin, under the firm name of Cook & Ballou, near Richmond Cen-
ter, New Hampshire. Trade was not in the line of his mission, for
they failed in business about the year 1804. He did his utmost to
settle honorably with his creditors, but could not overcome the entail
of embarrassments. He died April 30, 1808, and his widow, who
settled his estate, was able to pay only about twenty per cent of the
indebtedness against the same. No one breathed a word of reproach,
however, or had aught but respect for his memory and sympathy for
his family.
In 1 8 10 Stephen Seaward, the brother-in-law of Mehitable Ballou,
went from Decatur, New York, to Richmond, New Hampshire, and
moved the Ballou family (mother and five children) to a farm owned
by him in Decatur, where she lived until after the death of her father,
when she removed to "Ingalls Hill." In the autumn of 18 14 she loaded
her family and household effects into heavy carts and with others in
the party started to find a new home in the west. After a journey of
six weeks, they finally located at Perry, Muskingum county, Ohio.
Only seven years of life were her portion in this new home, for she
died December 4, 1821. Mehitable (Ingalls) Ballou was a woman
of strong personality, bearing without a murmur the cares and re-
sponsibilities incident to the life of one left to fight its battles single-
handed and alone.
To James Ballou Jr. and Mehitable (Ingalls) Ballou were born
six children:
1. James, son of James and Mehitable Ballou, was born October
15, 1794. After his father's death he moved to New York
state with his mother and when the War of 1812 broke out,
enlisted, serving until its close. Shortly after his return he
moved with his mother to Ohio, where he married Rebecca
Ellis in October, 1815.
2. Henry, second son of James and Mehitable Ballou, was born
September 6, 1796; married Phebe Tanner of Perry, Mus-
kingum county, Ohio, March 20, 1823. She was the daughter
of Jacob and Lydia (Passmore) Tanner, formerly of Chester
county, Pennsylvania, and was born November 25, 1803. They
232 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
settled on a farm one mile west of Muskingum and fourteen
miles below Zanesville. Henry Ballou was a man of ability,
and filled to public satisfaction, several township and county
offices. He died in 1857. His wife, Phebe (Tanner) Ballou,
lived for many years, and was beloved by every one who knew
her. She was gifted as a letter writer, which is evidenced by
the many interesting epistles received by the author, some of
them written after her eightieth birthday. To Henry and
Phebe Ballou were born three children:
a. Jacob T., born March 4, 1824; married Emily Evans
December 25, 1845.
b. Ellis, born July 9, 1828; married Laura Clark.
c. Orrin, born September 21, 1831; married Matilda J.
Price. Orrin died April, 1895.
The above mentioned children were born and married near
Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio. The mother, Phebe
(Tanner) Ballou, survived her son Orrin but a few months,
dying in September, 1895, at the home of her granddaughter,
Mrs. Rufus Dutro, at Canalsville, Ohio, aged ninety-two years.
She was laid to rest beside her husband, in Virginia Ridge cem-
etery, Muskingum county, Ohio.
3. Mehitable, daughter of James and Mehitable Ballou, was born
April 15, 1798; married Abram Ingalls in 1815. To them
were born four children. After the death of Mehitable, which
occurred near Cincinnati, Ohio (date not obtained), Abram
Ingalls married (second) . To them were born two
children — a son and daughter.
4. Rufus, born in 1799; died at the age of one month.
5. Eliza, daughter of James and Mehitable Ballou, was born Sep-
tember 21, 1 801, at Richmond, New Hampshire; married
Abram Garfield (born in Worcester, Otsego county. New York,
1799) February 3, 1820. To them were born :
a. Mehitable, born January 28, 1821 ; married Stephen Trow-
bridge.
b. Thomas, born October 16, 1822; married Jane Harper.
■;xm
Eliza Ballou Garfield
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 235
c. Mary, born October 19, 1824; married Marenas G. Lara-
bee.
d. James Ballou, born , 1827; died 1829.
e. James Abram, born November 19, 183 1 ; married Lucretia
Rudolph.
The above named children were born in Newburg, Cuyahoga
county, with the exception of James Abram, born in Orange
(same county), Ohio.
When two years of age, Abram Garfield lost his father, who
died with small-pox, and the boy was left in charge of his uncle,
James Stone. When Eliza Ballou went west with her mother,
she carried with her the heart of young Garfield, and it was not
long until he followed where his heart prompted, for in the
autumn of 1819 he journeyed westward to claim his bride.
They were married in Perry township, Muskingum county,
Ohio, February 3, 1820. Before the birth of their son James
Abram, they moved to Orange, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, buy-
ing fifty acres of land in what was practically a wilderness,
there being but one house within seven miles of their log cabin.
He managed the farm, clearing an acre or two each year, while
his wife attended to the affairs of the home. In the summer
of 1833, while fighting a forest fire which threatened his fields
of wheat ripening for the harvest, Abram Garfield caught a
severe cold from the effects of which he died after a two days'
illness, leaving his wife, four children, and many friends to
mourn his loss.
Alpha, sixth child of James and Mehitable Ballou, was born
May 19, 1806, at Richmond, New Hampshire; married Amos
Boynton, near Cleveland, Ohio, in 1826. To them were born:
a. William, born ; died, aged twenty-nine years.
b. Henry Ballou; married Susanna Smith.
c. Harriet; married Daniel Clark.
d. Phebe; married John Clapp.
e. Silas; married Ann Thorne. He was a doctor of consid-
erable note; they lived in Cleveland, Ohio.
236 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Alpha Ballou Boynton died at Hiram, Ohio, April 22, 1882.
There is so much of historic interest connected with the later years
of Eliza (daughter of James and Mehitable Ballou), wife of Abram
Garfield and mother of the martyred president, James Abram Gar-
field, that a more extended mention of her life seems fitting in this
place. The sorrows, trials, and hardships she endured, the brave
struggle that she made to properly care for and rear her little family,
can only be fully understood by those who have had the experience
incident to such a life; but that the results were commensurate with
the cfYort made, can be realized from a study of the life of the young-
est of the four children left to her care — James Abram Garfield.
The mother was spared for many years to enjoy the fruits of her labor,
being the honored member of the family circle during their residence
in the capital city, and later on, in the executive mansion. She sur-
vived her illustrious son for seven years, dying January 21, 1888, at
the age of eighty-seven.
The following is a copy of a letter written by Eliza Garfield to her
cousin, Mary Flint, at Peoria, Illinois:
Mentor, Ohio, Sep. 17th, 1880. .
My dear Cousin : With much pleasure I received your very welcome let-
ter; having got your letter I resolved to answer it without delay. In the
first place we are all well, for which I am truly thankful. I hardly know
where to begin. It will be seventeen years in December since James first
went to Congress. He has been there ever since, winters, I mean. I have
been in Washington thirteen winters. We always come to Ohio summers.
Four years ago James bought a farm near Mentor, in Lake co\mty, of one
hundred and fifty-six acres. It is a splendid farm. We have horses and
cows and sheep and hogs and turkeys and hens. We enjoy living on the
farm very much ; it is only sixteen miles from Orange, where James was
born. My children are living near me, all but my oldest son ; he lives in
Michigan, is a farmer, has two children, a son and a daughter, both mar-
ried. The girls both live where they did when you were here. James has
five children, four sons and one daughter. The two oldest boys are in
school at Concord, New Hampshire. They have been there one year and are
going another year. Henry will be seventeen next month and James will
be fifteen. How I wish I could see you, and what a good time we would
have, but my sands of life are nearly run out; I shall be sevend,'-nine next
Tuesday, but my health has been good for four or five years. The last few
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 237
weeks I have not felt well ; we have had such a rush of company since the
nomination that I get real tired. I expect to be, till after the election. If
James is elected, as I hope he will be, I pray he may have judgment and
wisdom and strength to steer the ship of State to safe moorings. If I do
say it, he is a very smart man. Our friends are dropping to the right and to
the left; it will soon be our turn. Let us be prepared for the change that
when we are done with earth we may meet in heaven. Give my kind re-
gards to all your children, and with much love I remain, Your Cousin,
Eliza Garfield.
Another letter, written just after the inauguration of President Gar-
field, follows:
White House, March 7th, 1881.
My dear Cousin : — I received your good letter and your picture also, and
would have answered sooner, but waited to get my picture. I have some
and will send you one, though they are not good. I am happy to tell you
that we are all pretty well, but a good deal tired out. We have passed
through the greatest rush of people for the last six months that I ever saw.
Since the inauguration it is one steady stream of old friends calling. It takes
pretty much all the time to entertain them ; they want to see the President's
mother. I am the first mother that occupied the White House and her son
President, but I feel very thankful for such a son. I don't like the word
proud, but if I must use it, I think in this case it is quite appropriate. How
many times my mind goes back to our girlhood school days, but changes take
place. I have seen sorrowful days and have seen happy days. "I was once
young but now am old but I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his
seed begging his bread." I have a very pleasant room, nicely furnished, and
am waited on in the very best manner possible. Now I want you to write to
me. Our folks all send love to you. With very much love I remain your
aged Cousin, Eliza Garfield — to Mary Flint.
The following is copied from a Washington special to the Cincin-
nati Commercial, under date of March 5, 1881 :
The aged mother of the President was taken directly to the White
House by Mr. Webb Hayes, and installed at once in the apartment pre-
viously arranged for her. It is a large square room on the south side of the
mansion, about midway in the wide hall that serves as a sort of sitting
and reception room for the President's family. The room is a sunny one,
made more cheerful by a bright axminster carpet and window drapings to
correspond, and a wood fire in a wide old fashioned grate with .glittering
brass andirons and fenders. To have her home in the White House, the most
238 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
honored figure within its walls is certainly a great change froin other days
within her remembrance when, left a widow in straightened circumstances,
she washed, and cooked, and toiled, and saved, that her children might be
educated. Her stalwart son who, over thirty years ago, grew so tall that
she could walk under his outstretched arm without stooping, still defers to
her slightest wish with the same obedience that he rendered when a boy.
Hers has always been a post of honor at the General's table, and no matter
what distinguished guests are present, she is invariably served first.
A sweeter picture has seldom been seen than this little white haired
matron made, whose head barely reaches her son's elbow, when she came
proudly forward with tears in her eyes, to be the first to receive him as he
entered the Executive Mansion, President of the United States, escorted
thither by the grandest civil and military display that Washington has ever
witnessed.
President Garfield died as Wasliington died, mourned by a nation
of freemen, loved by his countrymen for all the qualities that con-
stitute a great man, even among the great men of the earth. He died
as Lincoln died, the grief of his countrymen intensified by the horri-
ble circumstances of his murder. His whole public record was a
succession of intellectual convictions of right and a courage to assert
them. At the very moment he was stricken to the earth, he was con-
spicuous as the most acceptable of all the rulers of nations. He died
September 19, 1881, at Long Branch, surrounded by his loved ones.
SEAWARD GENEALOGY
THE Seawards are of Scotch-English descent, a tradition in the
family giving the name originally as Ward. Some of the family
living near the sea were designated as Sea Wards, and thus they final-
ly came to be known as Seaward or Seward.
First Generation
William ' Seaward, born in England, 1627; married Grace Nor-
ton of Guilford, Connecticut, April 2, 1651. To them were born:
I. Mary, born February 28, 165 1 or 1652, at New Haven; mar-
ried March 12, 1673, John Scranton Jr. of Guilford. He
died September 2, 1703. She died in 1688.
II. John, born February 14, 1653 or 1654; <^i^^ December 6,
- 1748.
III. Joseph, born ; died February 14, 1731-2.
IV. Samuel, born August 20, 1659; died young.
V. Caleb, born March 14, 1662 or 1663; died August 2, 1728.
VI. Stephen, born August 6, 1664; never married.
VII. Samuel, born February 8, 1666 or 1667; died April 8, 1689.
VIII. Hannah, born February 8, 1669 or 1670; married Joseph
Hand ; married (second) John Tustin, by whom she had one
son — John Jr.
IX. Ebenezer, born December 13, 1672; died October 19, 1701.
William Seaward was born in England in 1627. He came from
Bristol to New England and is said to have been in Taunton, Massa-
chusetts, in 1643. He settled in New Haven shortly after arriving
in America, and while residing there married Grace Norton of Guil-
ford, to which place he removed shortly after. He took the oath of
fidelity there. May 4, 1654.
240 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
He was a tanner, a man of considerable property and eminence in
the town, and was for a long time commander of the train band. He
frequently represented the town in the General Assembly. He died
March 29, 1689. His will was dated the day of his death, and was
proved June 7, 1689. He left his wife the use of one-half the dwell-
ing house for her life, and an annuity of forty shillings per annum
from each of her six sons. One-half of the moveable estate, except
the stock of the tan house, was left to her absolutely. His son Stephen
seems not to have been capable of caring for himself and a life estate
in the dwelling and thirty acres were given him under the trusteeship
of John, who was to inherit the property absolutely after Stephen's
death. Samuel, Caleb, and Ebenezer are confirmed in the possession
of lands already given to them. Each of the children of his daughter
Mary was given a cow, and the other half of the moveable estate was
given to his daughter Hannah. The tan-yard and meadow land were
directed to be equally divided among the sons.
Second Generation
Caleb ^ Seaward (William ') born March 14, 1662 or 1663 ; mar-
ried July 14, 1686, Lydia Bushnell of Saybrook, Massachusetts. She
died August 24, 1753. To them were born:
I. Daniel, born in Guilford, Connecticut, October 16, 1687;
died April 28, 1688.
II. Lydia, born in Guilford, May 22, 1689 ; married John Howe
Aprils, 1714.
III. Caleb, born in Guilford, January 12, 1692.
IV. Thomas, born in Guilford, December 19, 1694.
v. Noadiah, born in Guilford, August 22, 1697; "^i^^ '" ^744-
VI. Ephraim, born in Durham August 6, 1700, first white child
born in the town; died 1780.
VII. Ebenezer, born in Durham June 7, 1703, second white child
born in the town.
Caleb Seaward was a tanner, and the first settler of Durham, Con-
necticut, whither he removed May 4, 1699. He died August 2, 1728.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 241
Third Generation ^
Ebenezer' Seaward (Caleb,' William '), seventh child of Caleb
and Lydia Bushnell Seaward, was born in Durham, June 7, 1703;
married Sarah Wells October 19, 1730. To them was born one child,
Chloe, born November 20, 1731. She married January i, 1753, Jo-
seph Talmage. Sarah Wells Seaward died December 22, 173 1.
Ebenezer Seaward married (second) Dorothy Rose November 22,
1732. To them were born:
II. Joel, born November 25, 1733 ; married Laurana Seaward, a
cousin.
III. Sarah, born ; married Coe.
IV. Ebenezer, baptized March 18, 1738 or 1739; died young.
V. Damaris, baptized July 20, 1740.
VI. Noadiah, born February 14, 1742.
VII. Ebenezer, baptized September 23, 1744.
Dr. Ebenezer Seaward removed from Durham to New Bedford,
Massachusetts, in 1737.
Fourth Generation
Noadiah' Seward (Ebenezer,' Caleb,' William'), born Febru-
ary 14, 1742; married October 30, 1765, Sarah Swain (born October
13, 1746, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), at Granville, Massachusetts.
To them were born twelve children :
I. Noadiah Jr., born October 11, 1766; married at Granville,
Massachusetts (name of wife not known). To them were
born two children:
1. ; married Fenner.
2. ; married Morey.
II. John, born April 10, 1768; married Betsey Flint, To them
was born :
1. Porter; married Martha Barney.
2. John; died September 29, 1796.
III. Eliphalet, born April 7, 1770; married . Two
children:
iThe first three generations are taken from Ne<w England Historical and Genealogical
Register, Vol. 52.
242
GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
IV.
V.
VI.
VIL
VIII.
IX.
■; married Pomeroy Wright.
2. Orpha; married Nathaniel Brown.
Stephen, born June 13, 1772; married Lucy Tngalls.
Sarah, born September 9, 1774; died September 24, 1777.
Swain, born March 9, 1777; married Sarah . To them
were born seven children:
Laura; married Fowler.
Dolly; married Thomas W. Treat.
Sarah; married Loren Benton.
Sabina; married Hezekiah Bell.
Rachel ; married Tedman.
John; married Rhoda Kelley.
7. Seneca; married Caroline Parmalee.
Sarah, wife of Swain Seaward, died January 16, 1848.
Dorothy, born October 9, 1779; married Jacob Flint. Dor-
othy died October 10, 1836.
William, born February 23, 1782.
Jesse, born April 26, 1784; married Sophia Peake.
The aforenamed nine children of Noadiah and Sarah Sea-
ward were born at Granville, Massachusetts.
To Jesse and Sophia Peake Seaward were born six children:
I. Calvin ; married Vanduzen.
Olive; married Washburn.
Stephen.
Charles; married Julia Moon.
Robert.
Emmeline; married Cyrus Lewis.
Jesse Seaward moved to Kankakee, Illinois, where he died.
His wife, Sophia Peake Seaward, died December 26, 1847.
X. Calvin, born October 5, 1786, at Chester, Maryland; died
April 29, 1796.
XI. Catherine, born December 26, 1788, at Chester, Maryland;
married Solomon Hoag. To them were born two children.
XII. Sarah, born February 12, 1793, at Cherry Valley, Otsego
county. New York; married March 16, 1834, Calvin Day.
Alpha Seaward Arnold Mary Si:\\vard Flint
James Seaward
SiBBEL Seaward McNall Delilah Seaward Paul
C'liililren of Stephen and Liic\- Ingalls Seaward
-Lucy Fri;nch Qukal ■ M ar^ (Jl kal Be^er
' F'j.IZABKTH SkA\\\RI) FrI-NCH
* Lucy ]Jeyer Kncelbeck "' Km/abhth Lngelbeck
Direct Desceiulants of Henry anil Sybil Ingalls
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 245
Noadiah Seaward died March 29, 1825, at the home of his son,
Stephen Seaward, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. Sarah Swain,
wife of Noadiah Seaward, died July 29, 1820, at Decatur, New York,
aged seventy-six years.
Fifth Generation
Stephen' Seaward (Noadiah,' Ebenezer," Caleb,' William'),
born June 13, 1772, at Durham, Massachusetts; married Lucy In-
galls (born June 24, 1777, at Rohoboth, Massachusetts) at Decatur,
New York, February 19, 1795. To them were born:
I. Alpha, born February 18, 1796; married David Arnold.
II. Elizabeth, born February 7, 1798; married Samson French.
See tenth generation of French family for history of Eliza-
beth.
III. Mary, born December 26, 1799; married Nathan Tripp.
IV. James, born January 19, 1802; married Clarissa Barnes.
V. Stephen, born January 28, 1804; died November 7, 1824.
VI. Lucy, born January 28, 1806; married Asa Palmerlee.
VII. Mehitable, born July 27, 1808; married Daniel Flint.
VIII. Sibbel,' born April 15, 181 1; married William McNall.
IX. Babe, born May I, 1 813 ; died when a few hours old.
Lucy Ingalls Seaward died May i, 1813, at the birth of her ninth
child. She was possessed of a sweet disposition, quick to see a need
and ready to relieve distress whenever found. She was a faithful
consistent member of the Methodist church, and died beloved by all
who knew her. She was laid to rest in the cemetery at Decatur,
Otsego county. New York. Her father, Henry Ingalls, attended
the funeral services of his daughter, and died seven weeks later.
Stephen Seaward married (second) Sally Parker August 16, 1814,
at Decatur, New York. To them were born:
X. John, born August 8, 1818.
XI. David, \, . , n
^rxT T^ ,-, (born August 21, 1821.
XII. Dehlah,) ^ '
David married Lucinda . To them were born seven
1 Name is always spelled "Sibbel" in this family.
246 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
children — five girls and two boys. In 1861 this family re-
moved from Cattaraugus county, New York, to Columbus,
Ohio. On August 24, 1862, while riding on a load of lum-
ber, an accident occurred in which David and his son Or-
lando were both killed, and two weeks later, his baby daugh-
ter died. Hettie, the oldest daughter of David Seaward,
married Frank Gilmore of Iberia, and later moved to Col-
umbus, Ohio, where they still reside.
Delilah (twin sister of David) married David Paul at
Franklinville, Cattaraugus county, New York. They lived
later at Williamsville, a suburb of Bufifalo, New York.
XIII. Emily, born July 25, 1823.
XIV. Electa, born December 31, 1825.
Stephen Seaward went when but a lad with his parents from Massa-
chusetts to Decatur, Otsego county, New York, where he grew to
manhood on the farm owned by his father. Before his marriage he
bought a farm in Decatur, on one corner of which he built a small
mill, where he carded wool, making it into rolls ready for spinning.
The farmers' wives and daughters in the neighborhood spun the yarn,
and it was woven into cloth. Home spun and home cut garments
were in vogue in those days, and "linsey woolsey," a mixture of flax
and wool, was used for dresses in winter. The family linen was
made of flax raised on the farm, and each girl had her "stent"; that
is, she must spin so much flax on a "little wheel" each day. The
value of a girl's services was often rated by the number of knots of
flax or wool she could spin in a given length of time. Stephen Sea-
ward's older daughters assisted in the carding mill during the busy
season, when they could be spared from household duties.
In the spring of 181 2 Stephen sold the piece of land upon which
the mill stood, to Thomas French, by whom the mill was enlarged,
and dyeing, fulling, and dressing of cloth were added to the establish-
ment. The sum paid for this piece of land was fifty dollars.
Stephen Seaward lived on the direct road to Albany, and as there
were no railroads in those days and travel was entirely by team or
on horse-back, taverns were to be found every few miles along
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 247
the main roads, one of which was kept by him and well patronized
by the traveling public. Operating his mill until 181 2, looking after
his farm and this public house, were his occupations during the years
he lived in Decatur.
The following incident has been handed down by the descendants
of Stephen Seaward, who was at one time the owner of a valuable
iron gray horse of which he was very proud. One night it was stolen
from his stable, and while he made diligent search throughout that
part of the country, no trace of the missing animal could be found.
A year or so afterward, a neighbor who had been to Albany, told him
of having seen in a stable in that city a horse which he believed to
be the one he had lost. Stephen immediately went to that city, where
he explained the situation to the man who had the horse in his pos-
session, to which explanation the man replied: "If you can prove
your statement, the horse is yours." "I will prove it by the horse him-
self," returned Stephen Seaward. He stepped into the barn and the
horse neighed, as had been his habit upon the approach of his master.
He then went up to the horse and patting him, said: "Prince, ad-
dress yourself!" and he immediately stretched himself upon his hind
legs, and then on his fore legs. Then his owner said: "Take my
hat," which the horse immediately did; then he requested him to
make a bow, which the animal proceeded to do. "The horse is
yours," said the man, and Stephen returned home, happy to again be
the possessor of this much prized animal.
In 1828 he moved with his son James and the younger members
of his family, to what was then known as the far west — ■ Cattaraugus
county. New York. There his children who were in the home, mar-
ried and settled around him. For a number of years before his death
he and his wife occupied a part of the home of his daughter, Sibbel
McNall, where he died January 22, 1852, aged eighty years. His
wife, who survived him some years, spent her last days at the home of
her daughter, Delilah Paul.
Sixth Generation
Alpha ° Seaward, daughter of Stephen and Lucy (Ingalls) Sea-
248 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
ward, born February 18, 1776, Decatur, Otsego count}', New York;
married David Arnold of Herivimer county, New York, September
15, 1815. To them were born nine children, the names of only seven
being known to the author:
I. Lucy, born 1816; married Parker; was living in Oma-
ha, Nebraska, in 1909, aged ninety-three years.
II. Lovina; married Comstock.
III. Samuel.
IV. Mary.
V. David.
VI. Edward.
VII. Stephen, born April 25, 1830, New Concord, Muskingum
county, Ohio; married August 24, 1854, Elizabeth Gill, at
New Concord. To them were born four children :
1. Mrs. Alice Russell, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
2. Rose Shannon, Chicago, Illinois.
3. Minnie Crocker, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
4. Harry Arnold, Pecos, New Mexico.
Stephen finished his college education, and after his mar-
riage, went with his bride to Galesburg, Illinois, where he
engaged in the milling business. Soon after, he heard the
call of his country and in 1861 enlisted in Company G,
Fortieth regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served
during the entire war. In 188 1 he moved to Chariton, Iowa,
where he died January 27, 1909.
Alpha Seaward was born in her father's tavern, and in her girl-
hood days was accustomed to meet people from different parts of the
world, as her father's house was a favorite stopping place. As she
grew older, she was fearless and strong, which served her well in her
undertakings in future life. When quite a young girl, a peddler who
was stopping for the night at her father's house, heard some of the
other guests laughing at Alpha because of some feat she had per-
formed, and asked her what she could do, to which she answered that
she could do anything she undertook. Lying out in the back yard
was a good sized log, which he bantered her to chop in two. Reply-
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 249
ing that she thought she could, he told her that if she completed the
task before breakfast the next morning, he would present her with
a pair of slippers. About sunrise the ring of an axe was heard, and
before breakfast Alpha had finished her task. She received the slip-
pers amid shouts of laughter, and that night she danced in them until
their soles were worn off, feeling that she had not been overpaid for
the work of the morning.
She and her husband moved to Ohio two years after their marriage,
living there until 1855, when they removed to Lucas county, Iowa.
At that time Ohio was a wilderness, while Iowa comprised part of
that vast region known as the great Northwest.
Alpha (Seaward) Arnold was of that splendid Puritan ancestry
who were pioneers, not only in the early settlement of the country,
but the advance guard in that n^ighty column of civilization which
has converted the then unknown West into a magnificent galaxy of
free states. Her life embraced nearly the entire history of the re-
public. She witnessed the most wonderful and rapid development of
wealth, science, art, and mechanical invention. ' She lived to see the
greatest war of modern times, and sent her sons forth to battle in the
mighty conflict for freedom. Through all the vicissitudes of the
passing years, she lived a quiet, exemplary life. After the death of
her husband in 1880 she made her home with her two sons — Ed-
ward, who lived on a farm, and Stephen, who resided in Chariton,
Iowa, where she died October 5, 1891, being in the ninety-fifth year
of her age. She retained her mental faculties until the end, and
greatly enjoyed living over with her friends, the events of a long and
useful life.
Mary' Seaward (commonly called Polly), third child of Stephen
and Lucy (Ingalls) Seaward, was born at Decatur, New York, De-
cember 26, 1799; married Nathan Tripp (born May 22, 1776) Janu-
ary 26, 1826. To them were born five children:
I. Robert Edwin, born January 27, 1827; married Almaretta
Adams (born 1830). To them were born six children:
250
GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
1. Mary.
2. Emma.
3. Ella.
4. Stephen.
5. Edwin.
6. Minnie.
Almaretta Adams Tripp died March 6, 1869.
II. David Henry, second child of Mary and Nathan Tripp, was
born November 24, 1828; married Mary B. Tripp, Sep-
tember 29, 1853, at Peoria, Illinois. To them were born six
children:
1. Stephen H., born September 19, 1854; married Callie
Minor; two children. Lives at Peoria, Illinois.
2. Mary E., born May 12, 1857; died in childhood.
3. Delia C, born September 18, 1859; married Otis M.
Easton; two children. Resides at Peoria, Illinois.
4. Jennie V., born April 28, 1862; married George H.
Gibbs; two children. Living at Peoria, Illinois.
5. Charles H., born March 17, 1865; married Jennie ;
one child. Lives in Fresno, California.
6. Sidney C, born January 12, 1869; married ;
no children.
David Henry Tripp removed from Ohio in 1857, and settled
in Peoria, Illinois, where he opened a book store, which he
owned at the time of his death, the store now being con-
ducted by his son, Stephen H. Tripp. Mary B. Tripp died
August, 1912.
III. Lucy Helen, third child of Mary and Nathan Tripp, was
born February 11, 1832 ; married John Kirk, at Iberia, Ohio,
in June, 1852. To them were born three children:
I. Stephen Efner, born at Iberia, Ohio. At two years of
age he removed with his parents to Fort Madison, Iowa,
where they made their home until 1866, moving thence
to Havana, Illinois. In 1877 Stephen was married to
Miss Ella Covington. He was then commercial agent
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 251
for the Cincinnati Railroad Company, at Muslcegon,
Michigan. After some years he was transferred to De-
troit, Michigan, where he died October 13, 1909.
2. Mary Edna, second child of John and Lucy (Tripp)
Kirk, was born at Fort Madison, Iowa, and married B.
F. Yates. They are living (191 2) in Beaumont, Texas.
3. John, third child of John and Lucy (Tripp) Kirk, died
in infancy.
IV. Stephen Seward, fourth child of Mary and Nathan Tripp,
was born November 14, 1835, at Decatur, Otsego county,
New York; married Amelia Snyder October 27, 1868, at
Havana, Illinois. To them were born seven children:
1. William Kirk, born July 14, 1869.
2. Anna Pearl, born February 10, 1871 ; married October
21, 1891, Guy T. Mowat. To them were born twin
daughters, June 28, 1894. They are living in New Or-
leans, Louisiana.
3. 1 Ida.
4. ^ Maud. Triplets — born January 19, 1874; died March
5. J Minnie. 24, 1874, of spinal meningitis, and were
buried in one casket.
6. Jennie May, born April 20, 1875; "^i^d August, 1875.
7. Virginia Mabel, born December 25, 1876; married June
4, 1902, Dee Robinson, l^hey reside (191 2) at 422
Si.xth avenue, Peoria, Illinois.
Stephen Seward Tripp, father of these children, when seven-
teen years of age, went to Peoria, Illinois, where lived his
brother, David Henry Tripp, and later became a partner in
the firm of D. H. Tripp & Company, in the book and sta-
tionery business. About 1900 he disposed of his interest in
the store, and devoted his time to an experimental farm in
Peoria county, Illinois, where he raised pure blooded Jersey
stock. In the early days of the Civil War Stephen enlisted
in the Eleventh Illinois Cavalry and gained recognition for
his bravery and skill as an officer. A matter of pride to
252 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Captain Tripp was the fact that his was the only company
of cavalry for which a memorial was erected in the cemetery
at Vicksburg. He also claimed the distinction of having led
his company by the side of General Sherman on his march
to the sea, and was personal escort to General Blair during
that famous march. Stephen Seward Tripp died suddenly
at his home, 422 Sixth street, Peoria, Illinois, May 4, 1912.
V. Mary Elida, youngest child of Mary (Seaward) and Na-
than Tripp, was born April 2, 1838; married at Peoria, Illi-
nois, to William O. Hoover, of Fort Madison, Iowa, No-
vember 13, 1872. To them were born:
1. William Henry, born September 16, 1873.
2. Stephen Delbert, born September 25, 1875.
Mary and William Hoover reside in Fort Madison, Iowa;
their sons are living at Prescott, Arizona.
Mary (Seaward) Tripp early imbibed habits of industry and
cheerfully performed her part in the home duties, attending school
in a building near where now stands the old "French" schoolhouse.
Even with the Hmited advantages of those days she obtained a good
education, which enabled her to teach, and this occupation she pur-
sued for seven summers. She had been taught to sew and spin, and
when a little girl assisted her father in the carding mill, as well as
running errands, her bright, happy face carrying sunshine wherever
she went. She was a delicate, refined girl, and a general favorite with
all who knew her.
Mary was married to Nathan Tripp, son of David and Mary
(Dickinson) Tripp, who was born and reared in Rhode Island, and
who, in early manhood, moved to Otsego county, New York, being the
first supervisor of Decatur township ; also being twice sent to the New
York Assembly. Nathan Tripp owned a small farm about three
miles from the home of Mary s father. On this farm was a living
spring, soft and cool, a short distance from the house, which supplied
all the water for family needs. There was a fine orchard; also a
"sugar bush" where they made their own sugar and syrup each spring
for the year's supply. He was a turner by trade and with his lathe
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 253
made wooden bowls and many other needful articles for home use.
Wool from the sheep which they raised was made into garments for
the family, they selling what was not needed for their own supply.
In those days the wool was "picked" by hand; that is, pulled apart,
and burrs or other foreign substance removed, after which it was sent
to the mill, carded and made into rolls. Mary spun the yarn and Na-
than's sister Polly wove the cloth, which was then taken to French's
fulling mill, where it was dyed, fulled and pressed, after which
Hannah Tripp, another sister, came each fall and made up the goods
into clothing for the family. After the death of her husband in 1841,
Mary Tripp carried on the work of the farm with the assistance of
her children. As showing the advantage taken at this time of unto-
ward conditions, there was a ravine back of their home, and one
winter the snow blew into this gully until it was filled level with the
ground, and as many crusts had formed while it was filling, it became
at length almost as solid as the earth itself. The son, Robert Edwin,
dug out a room in this snow-filled ravine, about eight feet wide, ten
feet long, and seven feet high; placed poles across, securing them in
the drifts until they were solid, then fixed a door in front, and there
they hung their supply of meat, making a smoke under it. The meat
is said to have had a fine flavor, after having been smoked in a snow-
bank.
In the spring of 1847 Mary Tripp rented her farm and taking her
children (with the exception of Robert Edwin, the oldest son, who
was living with an uncle, in order that he might learn the blacksmith
trade — which occupation he followed as long as he lived — and who
preferred to remain where he was, because of the business) , went with
her brother-in-law, Samson French, and family to Ohio. The year
following, her farm in New York state was sold. Upon their arrival
at the new location they moved into a log cabin with Daniel Flint,
whose wife Mehitable was Mary Tripp's sister. During the summer
Daniel Flint built a frame house, into which he moved with his fam-
ily in September, Mary Tripp and her children going with them, as
her sister was ill and needed her care. Soon after moving into the
new home, Mrs. Flint died, leaving four children, the youngest but
254 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
two years of age, and thus the care of the two families fell upon
Mary's shoulders. In November, 1848, she was married to Daniel
Flint, who in the spring of 1850 went to California, where he spent
three years seeking his fortune in the gold fields, leaving his wife to
manage the farm and look after the family, which duties she bravely
performed. In 1 855 their home was burned, but was replaced the fol-
lowing year by a brick house, which is still standing on the "Flint
farm" in Morrow county, Ohio.
The railroad was but a short distance from the Flint home, and
during the early days of the Civil War trains loaded with soldiers
were almost daily to be seen on their way to the South, and quite fre-
quently carried the prisoners northward en route to Johnson's Island,
where they were to be kept in confinement, all of which added interest
to those stirring times of war.
In the spring of 1862 Mary Flint visited her children in Peoria,
Illinois, also her daughter, Mrs. Kirk, whose home was in Fort
Madison, Iowa. The following is taken from her diary, under date
of Monday, June i6th: "Between sundown and dark a cry of fire
was heard. The penitentiary was on fire. The shops on the north
side were all burned down. Loss said to be $20,000." Her son-in-
law, John Kirk, was a guard at the penitentiary. On Monday, the
23d, she writes: "We went up to the prison to see what havoc the
fire has made with the work shop. The governor is expected soon,
and then they will decide what will be done." Thursday, June 26th :
"He came and another man with him, to see what will be done. They
have not determined yet. The governor's name is Kirkwood; he was
formerly from Mansfield, Ohio."
In 1867 Daniel Flint died after a brief illness and was laid to rest
in the Ebenezer burying ground by the side of his first wife, Mehit-
able (Seaward) Flint. After her husband's death, Mary went to
Peoria, Illinois, where for twenty years she made her home with her
son, Stephen Tripp, often spending months with her daughter, Mrs.
Hoover, in Fort Madison, Iowa. In December, 1889, she wrote in
her diary, as follows: "My boys have presented me with another
diary. I am too old to write very good, but it helps to pass the time.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 255
I make a good many mistakes, but I write without glasses, and am
eighty-nine years old." At ninety-two she pieced a silk quilt for one
of her grandchildren, which is a much prized possession.
The seven closing years of Mary (Seaward) Flint's life were spent
with her daughter, Mrs. Hoover, at whose home she died in 1895,
one month before her ninety-si.vth birthday. The body was taken to
Peoria, Illinois, for burial.
James" Seaward (Stephen,' Noadiah,* Ebenezer,' Caleb,= Wil-
liam ') , oldest son of Stephen and Lucy (Ingalls) Seaward, born De-
catur, New York, January 19, 1802; married Clarissa Barnes, in
1825, at Decatur. To them were born five children:
I. Lucy.
II. Mariah.
III. Lucy (second).
IV. Stephen.
V. Delia.
In 1828 this family removed from Otsego county to Franklinville,
Cattaraugus county, New York, and settled on a farm. In an early
day this section of the country was a vast wilderness. With true pio-
neer spirit that knew no defeat nor yielded to any discouragement,
James succeeded in clearing a large farm and in later years enjoyed
the fruit of his labors. In 1832 he with his companion united with
the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he remained a member for
many years until the church troubles in western New York, when he
identified himself with the Free Methodists. In 1876 he took an
active part in the erection of the new church at Franklinville, and by
untiring zeal and liberal contributions on his part, the church was
completed. With the exxeption of a short time he was steward in the
Methodist church for forty-six years.
In February, 1875, he and his wife celebrated their golden wed-
ding and shortly after this event occurred the death of the wife. But
not long was he left to journey alone, for just three years from the
time of her going, he followed, his death taking place March 10, 1 878.
256 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
He was an active man, never having yielded to the infirmities of old
age until a few days before his death.
Stephen* Seaward Jr. (Stephen/ Noadiah,* Ebenezer,' Caleb/
William '), fifth child of Stephen and Lucy (Ingalls) Seaward, born
January 24, 1804; died November 7, 1824. He was never rugged,
his frail condition of health rendering him unable to cope with the
sterner realities of life. He loved books and spent much of his time
in the fields and woods studying nature. When about eighteen years
of age he went to work for Ezra Williams, a brother-in-law of Sam-
son French, but was unable to continue in his employment, as con-
sumption had fastened itself upon him, and in a few months he was
obliged to give up his position and return home. He wrote in his
diary:
July 28, 1823. This day attended the funeral of Mrs. Everton, her son
and daughter, and Miss Betsey Childs, who were killed on the 27th instant,
by the wind blowing down the house which contained them. The Rev. Mr.
Campbell delivered the funeral sermon from the following words: "And
behold there came a great wind from the wilderness and smote the four
corners of the house and it fell upon the young men and they are dead,
and I only am escaped alone to tell thee." Job I, 19th verse.
About a month before his death he made the last entry in his diary.
A short time before his going, he composed an acrostic, which his
friend, Lester Houghton, printed, a copy of which was given to each
of his sisters.
How much he was beloved by his family can be judged from the
fact, that each of his brothers and sisters named a son Stephen Sea-
ward, in memory of this young brother, whose death occurred No-
vember 7, 1824, and who was laid to rest in the Decatur burying
ground by the side of the mother whom he loved so well.
Lucy" Seaward, daughter of Stephen and Lucy (Ingalls) Sea-
ward, born January 24, 1806, at Decatur, New York; married Asa
Asa Palmerlee
Lucy Seaward Palmerlee
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES
259
Falmerlee (born Litchfield, Connecticut, 1803) in 1824 at Decatur,
New York. To them were born eleven children.
I. Elizabeth ; married Going. To them were born three
daughters:
1. Mary; married Gray.
2. Villa; married Samuel Snover. Lives at Metamora,
Michigan.
3. Sarah; married Arthur Chapman.
All living in Lapeer county, Michigan.
II. Henry; went to Minnesota, where he married Helen Kos-
sulman. To them were born five children :
1. Franklin D., now of Spangle, Spokane county, Wash-
ington.
2. Lucy Lillian; married Elmer E. Abbott, of Dodge Cen-
ter, Minnesota.
3. Efner; died in 1906.
4. Mary Lodema; married Gillies, a Methodist min-
ister, in Minnesota.
5. Seward. Lives in Dodge Center, Minnesota.
III. Mary Jane; married Willis Collins Thrall. To them were
born nine children:
I. Hiram Elvin; one child.
Lua Elizabeth; two children.
Lucy Mehitable; two children.
Mina Olive; no children.
William Ernest; four children.
Lois; died when an infant.
Henry Porteus; died aged fifteen.
Stephen Asa; three children.
Mary Effie; two children.
Four of the above named children of Mary Jane and Willis
Collins Thrall are living:
Lua Elizabeth Evarts, Mantorville, Minnesota.
Mina Olive Linderman, Hinsdale, New York.
William Ernest Thrall, Dodge Center, Minnesota.
26o
GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
Mary Effie Alsworth, Arcade, New York.
Heman; three children:
1. Charles; lives in northern Michigan.
2. Mark; Detroit, Michigan. Is mail clerk on railroad be-
tween Saginaw and Detroit.
3. Mary.
Hoel; lived in Michigan. Two sons:
1. Efner; address. Hunters' Creek, Michigan.
2. Fred; address, Hunters' Creek, Michigan.
Stephen; went to Minnesota; married Eunice Kossulman.
They were the parents of two children :
1. Myrtle.
2. Joseph.
Roseltha; married Ralph W. Gamsby, in Minnesota; died
at Dodge Center, Minnesota. To them were born five chil-
dren:
[• Twin boys, who died when young.
2. )
3. Caroline; lives with her father.
4-
Marion; married David L. Printup; lives at Britton,
South Dakota.
5. Lucy; teacher at Clermont, Minnesota.
Clymena; married Robert Hutton. To them were born si.x
children:
I. Lucy; married Heminway.
Nannie.
George.
Leah; married Kirk White, Lapeer, Michigan.
Mary.
Millie.
Albert, born Dodge Center, Minnesota; married —
To them were born four children:
1. Earl.
2. Herbert.
3. James.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 261
4. Helen.
X. Lois Permelia; married Kingsbury; one son, who died
in infancy.
The first five children were born at Decatur, the others at Ichsua,
Cattaraugus county. New York. Asa Palmerlee and wife, Lucy
(Seaward) Palmerlee, moved to Michigan in i860. Here the hus-
band suffered a stroke of paralysis and died November 7, 1869, the
wife living until 1885.
Mehitable ° Seaward, seventh child of Stephen and Lucy Ingalls
Seaward, born Decatur, New York, July 27, 1808; married Daniel
Flint January 13, 1825. To them were born four children:
I. Lucy Sharille; married Carp Smith at Iberia, Ohio, in 1848.
To them was born one son, Edgar, living in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Sharille Flint Smith died in February, 1861.
II. Stephen S.; married Mary J. Brownlee at Iberia, Ohio, in
1858.
III. Henry; married Jennie . Lives in Minneapolis, Min-
nesota.
IV. Sibbel E.; married Allan Coe at Mt. Gilead, Ohio. To them
were born four children. Sibbel died about 1902.
In the spring of 1827 Daniel and Mehitable Seaward Flint moved
from Otsego county, New York, to Bloomfield, Washington county,
Ohio, where they lived until in the spring of the year 1847, when they
moved to Iberia, Ohio, where Mehitable died in October, 1847.
Sibbel^ Sew.ard, eighth child of Stephen and Lucy Ingalls Sea-
ward, born at Decatur, Otsego county, New York, April 15, 181 1;
married William McNall, March 17, 1829, at Franklinville, Catta-
raugus county. New York. To them were born:
I. Lucy, born February 2, 1831; married Aaron Skinner Oc-
tober 28, 1849. Two children : Delia and Nillie.
262 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
II. Almira, born September 12, 1832 ; married Benjamin Hotch-
kiss January 8, 1854. She was married three times and was
the mother of five children: Vista, Lettie, William, Nellie,
and Efner. Almira died in Wisconsin in 1873.
III. Nathan, born June 16, 1834; died March 5, 1857.
IV. Stephen, born February 12, 1836; married Clara Riggs Oc-
tober 12, 1859. To them were born:
1. Elmer Ellsworth; two children.
2. Effie Mae; four children.
3. Luella Eliza; married C. W. Hogue; lives at Franklin-
ville, New York. To them have been born six chil-
dren — four boys and two girls.
V. Mary, born September 8, 1839; married James Swift De-
cember 25, 1 861. She was the mother of two children who
died in infancy; now living with an adopted daughter at
Franklinville, New York.
VI. S. Efner, born February 7, 1841 ; killed in the Civil War in
1863.
VII. Lois, born February 8, 1844; married Merritt Porter July
4. 1866. To them were born Efner, Ethel, Mabel, Effie,
Elmer.
VIII. Charles, born March 22, 1847; died February 23, 1848.
IX. William, born January 19, 1852; died March 15, 1854.
William and Sibbel McNall lived on a farm near Franklinville,
New York. Stephen Seaward, father of Sibbel, lived in part of the
house until the time of his death. The old farm is still in the McNall
family, being the home of Stephen McNall, after the death of his
father William, which occurred March 20, 1870, and now being in
the possession of William McNall. In 1881 Sibbel McNall visited
her sister, Lucy Palmerlee, in Michigan, who at that time was seventy-
five years of age; spent some time in the home of the author at Shel-
dahl, Iowa, going from this place to Chariton, Iowa, where she vis-
ited another sister. Alpha Seaward Arnold, who was eighty-six years
of age. Turning her face homeward, she stopped at Peoria, Illinois,
where Mary Seaward Flint, eighty-one years old, resided. She
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 263
reached her home at Franklinville April 15, 1882, it being her sev-
enty-first birthday. Elmer McNall, a grandson, met her at the train
and took her to the old home where her whole family (nventy-four in
number) had gathered in honor of the occasion.
She continued to live in the old home for some years, dying April
2, 1 89 1 , when eighty years of age.
THE QUEAL FAMILY
First Generation
William ' Queal of Wales married Margaret Atchison of Ire-
land. To them were born seven children — four sons and three
daughters, the names of three of the sons being known to the author:
I. Michael.
II. John.
III. Robert.
Second Generation
Michael = Queal (William'), son of William and Margaret
(Atchison) Queal, emigrated to America some time before 1776 and
settled with his family in Oswego county, near Rome, New York.
He was a Methodist minister, his license to preach having been
^ signed by Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley, the founder of
Methodism.
There is a tradition in the family that he was a chaplain in the
Revolutionary War, but owing to the fact that the chaplains were non-
commissioned, there is no record of his service.
A resolution of Congress July 5, 1776, provided for the appoint-
ment of a chaplain to each regiment in the Continental army, and an
order (published in American State Papers, Volume I, page 226),
dated at New York, July 9, 1776, directed that the commanding of-
ficer of each regiment should procure a chaplain accordingly. A
resolution of Congress of May 27, 1777, provided for the appoint-
ment thereafter of one chaplain only to each brigade, and that such
chaplains be appointed by Congress after having been recommended
by the brigade commander and nominated. Nothing has been found
of record to show whether or not commissions were issued to any of
the chaplains so appointed.
Michael Queal was by occupation a miller, owning a mill near
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES
^65
II.
III.
Rome, New York. Of his immediate family but little is known to
the author. He had one son, Michael.
Third Generation
Michael ' Queal (Michael,^ William ') , born in Oswego county.
New York, in 1800. Married Louisa Moore (born in 1803) in 1822.
To them were born seven children :
I. Araminta; married Otho Williams. To them were born
two children:
1. Ida.
2. Willard.
William Henry; married Mary Moore. To them was born
one daughter:
I. Araminta; married Samuel Baker; tAvo children.
Albert Franklin; married Martha Barber. To them were
born eight children:
r. William; died young.
Michael; died young.
Frank; died young.
Louisa; married Lewis Tudor, Boulder, Colorado.
Philip G.; married Fanny Mickrals, Cincinnati, Ohio;
no children; living at Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. He is
with Gibson & Perin Company, stationers, printers, ac-
count book makers, Cincinnati, Ohio.
6. Selina ; married William Magee ; living at Terrace Park,
Ohio.
7. E. Barber; never married; is a physician in Boulder,
Colorado, and a member of the faculty of the State Uni-
versity.
Anna, born at Boulder, Colorado.
Martha Barber Queal, mother of the above named children,
is still living; her home is at Boulder, Colorado.
IV. John Oscar; married Jennie Buckingham, at Cincinnati,
Ohio. To them were born two sons :
I. Smith B.; married Emma Coddington (musician) at
8.
266 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Cincinnati, Oliio. He is with the Woman's Home Com-
panion Publishing Company.
2. William ; married Davis, Camp Denison, Ohio.
V. Jane; married Dr. Malon Connett. To them were born
three children:
1. Albert.
2. Nellie.
3. Ida.
VI. George W. ; married Flora Mounts. To them was born one
son. George married (second) Katie Jones. They reside
at Long Beach, California.
VII. Maria; married Albert Connett. To them were born five
children. Their home is at Long Beach, California.
Michael Queal Jr., when eighteen years of age made the journey
from Utica, New York, to Cincinnati, Ohio, on horseback. That he
was a trustworthy youth is evidenced by the fact that h? carried in his
saddle bags a large sum of money to friends who had settled in
Ohio previous to his coming. He located near Milford, six miles
outside the corporation of Cincinnati, where he followed the business
of a distiller for many years. In 1840 his distillery was destroyed by
fire, and about a year later he removed from Milford to a tract of land
which he had purchased in Hamilton county, sixteen miles east of
Cincinnati, Ohio, of which tract his son John is the present owner.
When Michael Queal Jr. married, his wife (Louisa Moore) was
the possessor of a number of slaves, who remained with her as long as
they lived. He (Michael) was a member of the Methodist church
when he removed to Ohio and held in his possession for many years
a letter of membership, but never united with any church organiza-
tion in his western home. He was for years a member of the Masonic
fraternity. His sons have been successful in business, honorable and
upright in their transactions.
Michael Queal Jr. died in 1877, his wife surviving him for more
than ten years.
Smith B. Queal
Nephew of Geo. W. Queal
Cottage of Gko. \V. Queal
Long Beach, California
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 269
Second Generation
John ' Queal (William ') , son of William and Margaret Atchi-
son Queal, married McLean. The names of three of their
children are known to the author:
I. Catherine.
II. Mary; married Gilbert Albert of Worcester, New York.
III. William M., born about 1788; came to America with an
aunt when about nine years of age and lived with her on
South Hill in the town of Worcester. Three years later
the parents of William M., John, and McLean Queal,
emigrated to America and located on a farm on South Hill,
where the children were reared.
Third Generation
William M.' Queal {John,= William'), married Abbie Smith.
To them were born four children :
I. William S.
II. Catherine; died young.
III. Jane.
IV. Alexander.
William M. Queal and his wife lived on South Hill, owning a
large farm on which they spent their married life. He died March
21, 1857, his wife surviving him for some years.
Fourth Generation
William S.' Queal (William,^' John,' William '), son of William
M. and Abbie Smith Queal, born July 28, 1821 ; married Sally Es-
ther Waterman (born December 23, 1824) April, 1844. To them
were born seven children:
I. Mary Estelle, born February 24, 1846; married Charles
Cooley of Worcester, Otsego county, New York, January i,
1865. To them was born one son, James B., born June 18,
1868; died October 28, 1883. Charles Cooley died in 1877
and his widow married (second) David Shelland of Wor-
270 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
cester in 1879, who died in 1909. Mrs. Shelland died in
Worcester July 6, 191 2.
II. John, born April 14, 1848; married Emma Rhodes, who
died a few years later. He married a second time and has
one daughter, Lena. Lives near Schenevus, New York.
III. Alexander, born at Worcester, New York, in 1850; married
Rose DeMars (born in Oswego July 16, 1854) February 9,
1875, in Oswego, New York. They moved to Merced, Cali-
fornia, soon after their marriage. To them were born three
children:
1. Alexander, born November 9, 1875; married and lives
in Alexandria Bay, New York; five children, two boys
and three girls.
2. Rose Ella, born August 13, i88t;; married T. C. Russell
in 1910. They have one son, and live in Syracuse, New
York.
3. William N., born August 9, 1 887, in Merced, California.
His mother died when he was but two years of age, leav-
ing him to the care of her sister, Mrs. C. E. Fields, now
living at Alexandria Bay, New York. In 1902 William
N. left California and went to Beloit, Wisconsin, where
he lived for three years, at the expiration of which time
he went to Alexandria Bay.
William N. Queal is an athlete and noted as one of the world's
greatest runners. In 1908 he went into a race to fill out a card and
won, which good fortune continued to be his for two years, then losing
two — through accidents. In 191 1 he won a fifteen mile champion-
ship race, but the next year lost two fifteen mile races, the distance
being too great; but for a distance of five, ten, or twelve miles, has not
lost a match race in the four years he has been running. He holds
the world's record with Swanberg for fifteen and twenty mile outdoor
relay race; twenty and twenty-six mile, 384 yards, indoor relay race
(with Holmes) v^'orld's record; also one hour running, defeating the
best men; as Meadows, Simpson, Longboat, Shrubb, A. Wood, Ted
Woods, Swanberg, Hayes, and St. Ives. June 22, 19 12, he defeated
Woods and Longboat (the Indian) in a five mile race, making a new
William N. Queal
AxxA QuEAi. Stark\vr\thi:r
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 273
professional world's record — 24 minutes, 39 2/3 seconds. He makes
his home in New York. City. During the indoor season he is coach of
the Eighth regiment, and in the spring and fall meets, trainer for
Fordham University.
IV. Dudley, fourth child of William S. and Sally (Waterman)
Queal, born in January, 1852; married Alice Waterman
August 12, 1877. To them were born three children —
George, Fred, and John. Dudley Queal died October, T904.
His widow and children are living in Beaudette, IVIinnesota.
V. Henry, born 1854; died 1863.
VI. William McLean, born 1856; unmarried.
VII. Sarah Anna, born November 6, 1861 ; married Asher Stark-
weather (born at Worcester, New York, June 20, 1838)
April 21, 1 88 1. He graduated from the Madison Univer-
sity (now Colgate) in the class of '62. Taught for many
years, and for over twenty years has been school attendance
officer in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. To them were born
three children:
1. Essa, born August 17, 1886. After graduating from high
school attended Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York,
where she graduated in 1907. She taught normal art
and manual training in the schools of Roselle Park, New
Jersey, for one year. Married the Rev. James Bruce
Oilman July 21, 1908. They reside at Nashua, New
Hampshire, where he is pastor of the First Baptist
Church.
2. Morrell A., born July i, 1888; married Ruth Esmay in
April, 1910. To them has been born one child, Helen
E., born May 18, 191 1. Morrell Starkweather is in the
employ of the Oeneral Electric Company of Pittsfield,
Massachusetts, as die maker.
3. Davis Viney, born June 17, 1900.
S. Anna Starkweather is prominent in the Daughters of the
American Revolution, her great-grandfather, John Water-
man Sr., having served in the Revolutionary War. She is
also identified with the work of the Relief Corps, being wife
274 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
as well as daughter of a veteran. She was president of Berk-
shire W. R. C. in 1904 and has been its chaplain for many-
years. In November, 191 1, she was made chaplain of the
Department of Massachusetts, W. R. C, auxiliary to the
Grand Army of the Republic, with headquarters at Boston.
William S. Queal enlisted in the Civil War and served his country
faithfully. His wife, Sally Waterman Queal, died May 6, 1868. He
died in April, 1890, at Worcester, New York.
Jane ' Queal, third child of William M. and Abbie Smith Queal,
married James Wade at Worcester, New York. To them were born
three children:
I. Warren; married and has children.
II. Willis; married Abbie Hanor; two children.
III. Ardelia; married Orville Gaylord; one daughter.
The descendants of James and Jane (Queal) Wade are still living
in Worcester, New York.
Alexander * Queal, son of William M. and Abbie Smith) Queal,
married Betsey Fox. To them were born one daughter, Celicia, who
married Stanley Lewis of Richmondville. They have three sons —
Burdette, Herbert, and Dr. A. Lewis of Albany, New York.
Alevander Queal died at Richmondville. His wife survived him
many years, dying in March, 191 2, aged eighty years.
Second Generation
Robert ' Queal (William ') was born in Ireland in 1758 and mar-
ried Elizabeth Conroy in 1777, she having been born in Ireland in
1753. She was the daughter of Luke Conroy, born in Ireland, and
Mary Richison, born in England. To Robert and Elizabeth Queal
were born six children, two of whom died in infancy.
I. George C, born in Ireland in 1786.
II. William C, born August 14, 1788.
III. Mary, born in 1793.
IV. Margaret, born in 1795; died in New York (^ity in 1798.
X
f-
o
o
c
X
z
o
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 277
The home of Robert and Elizabeth Queal in Ireland was near the
village of Drumsnoh, parish of Anadufif and county of Latrim, from
which place they emigrated to America in 1797, sailing from Port
Sligo. In Ireland the name was pronounced as though spelled
"Quail," to which pronunciation the descendants of Michael still ad-
here, although the spelling of the name has not been changed from
the original — Queal.
Robert Queal and his little family landed in New York City, after
their journey of six weeks across the water, and there they resided for
two or three years, attending John Street Methodist Episcopal Church
and Sunday school. Margaret, their youngest child, died in that city
and was buried in the yard of the old John Street Church. From New
York City Robert Queal and family moved to Otsego county. New
York, and settled on a farm on what is known as South Hill, in Wor-
cester township, located about three miles south of Worcester. The
land on which they located was part of a patent granted to Alexander
McKee and others, but it is not known how many acres were in the
tract, nor the price paid per acre. The first record found is where
Robert and Elizabeth Conroy Queal conveyed under date of August
17, 1 8 19, to their son-in-law, Artemas Babcock, and his wife, Mary
Queal Babcock, for a certain sum, land on South Hill. On April 20,
1 82 1, Robert Queal and William C. Queal — his son — bought of
James Shelland of Decatur, Otsego county. New York, seventy-six
and one-half acres of land, for six hundred forty dollars, "money ac-
count of the United States," and Robert Queal moved from South
Hill to this farm.
On January 16, 1840, he entered into an agreement with his son-
in-law, Artemas Babcock of Davenport, Delaware county. New York,
by which
The said Artemas Babcock shall and may have the use, occupation and
enjoyment of the farm now owned and occupied by the said Robert Queal,
situate in the town of Worcester, during the natural lives of the said Robert
Queal and Elizabeth his wife — on the following conditions: that is to say,
that the said Artemas Babcock shall move on the said farm and occupy and
cultivate the same in a farmer-like manner and provide for, support and
maintain, the said Robert and Elizabeth his wife during their natural lives,
and during the life of the longest liver of them, and to furnish and provide
278 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
for them from time to time all such necessaries as shall be suitable and
proper, both in sickness and in health, for their convenience and comfort.
The said Robert Queal also reserves the right to keep on said farm seven
ewes and their increase, which increase however is not to be kept on said
farm only while they are lambs. The said Artemas Babcock agrees to move
onto said farm at a suitable time next spring, to commence the spring's work
thereon, and he also agrees to make necessary repairs to the dwelling house
on said farm, as soon as the same can conveniently be done, in such manner
as shall make said house convenient and comfortable for a dwelling house
for himself and family, and for the said Robert Queal and his wife. And
the said Robert Queal on his part agrees, when said repairs are made to said
dwelling house, to give his promisory note to said Artemas Babcock, for the
amount of such repairs, which note Is not to be paid during the life of said
Robert Queal, but it is to be a debt against his estate after his death, and
shall not be considered on interest; and whereas, the said Robert Queal has
this day made his last will and testament, and thereby devised to his daugh-
ter, Mary Babcock and her heirs, the sum of five hundred dollars as and
for her portion of the estate of said Robert Queal ; now therefore. In order
to secure that sum to the said Mary Babcock and her heirs, the said Robert
Queal promises and agrees to and with the said Artemas Babcock that if he,
the said Robert Queal, shall at any time hereafter revoke, destroy or alter
his said last will and testament so as to deprive said Mary Babcock and her
heirs of the said sum of five hundred dollars specified in said will, that then
and in that case he, the said Robert Queal, hereby agrees to pay the said
Mary Babcock, her heirs, executors and administrators the said sum of five
hundred dollars, and to be a charge upon his estate In lieu of said sum
maintained in said last will and testament aforesaid. In witness whereof we
have hereunto set our hands and seals the day and year written.
("Artemas Babcock
[Robert Queal
Sealed and delivered in
presence of Schuyler Crippen.
The following shows that everything was satisfactorily settled:
Received of Wm C. Queal six hundred dollars in full of all demands
against the estate of Robert Queal deceased, being the amount of five hun-
dred dollars secured to my wife Mary Babcock, by will, and all the de-
mands I hold against the estate of said Robert Queal deceased of every name
and nature. (Signed) Artemas Babcock
Worcester, March 2d, 1846.
Robert Queal and his wife Elizabeth died in 1840. They were
Signedj ^
\VlLLIAM C. Qur.AL
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 281
buried in the Presbyterian churchyard in Worcester, and years after-
ward were removed to the Queal lot in the Maple Grove cemetery,
where repose the bodies of sixteen of the Queal family.
George C. Queal, oldest son of Robert and Elizabeth Queal, was
born in Ireland in 1786, and came with his parents to America in
1797 ; he never married. He was a quiet man, possessed of a wonder-
ful memory, it having been said of him that he could repeat chapter
after chapter of the New Testament, and, upon hearing a passage of
scripture quoted, could tell in what part of the Bible it would be
found. He was an alien until 1840, at which time he became very
much interested in politics, and as he could not vote for the man he
greatly wished to see elected, went to Cooperstown, New York, and
took out naturalization papers, from that time going regularly to the
polls, voting with the Whig party. After the death of his father he
entered into an agreement with his brother, William C. Queal, in
which he assigned to him all his right, title, and interest in and to the
real and personal estate of their father, Robert Queal, deceased, in
consideration of which his brother was to support and maintain him
during the remaining years of his life. The date of his death, which
occurred after months of helplessness and suffering, is unknown.
Third Generation
William C Queal (Robert,' William '), second child of Robert
and Elizabeth Queal, was born in Drumsnoh, Ireland; married
Mary Graves February 3, 1814, she having been born in Windham
county, Vermont, February 3, 1794, thus becoming a bride on her
twentieth birthday. To them were born nine sons and two daughters :
I. Richison, born February 27, 1815; married Harriet Mallory
November 3, 1846.
II. Atchison, born April 6, 1817; married Lucy Oletha French
April 9, 1845.
III. John, born November 22, 1818; died April 24, 1822.
IV. Martha, born August 28, 1820; married Horatio Flint Feb-
ruary 19, 1845.
282 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
V. William G., born December 14, 1822; married Lorinda
Booth July 3, 1850.
VI. Robert F., born July i, 1825; married Sarah A. Houghton
in March, 1853; married (second) Kate E. Gillespie Decem-
ber 29, 1870.
VII. Luke C, born April 2, 1827; married Catherine Klock Sep-
tember 19, 1849; died May 3, 1857. Luke married (second)
Sara M. Dean April, 1858; died October 18, 1863; Luke
married (third) Sarah J. Hall, June 30, 1864; died Febru-
ary 25, 1910.
VIII. James, born November 21, 1828; died June 13, 1853.
IX. Mary, born August 21, 1830; died June 22, 1850.
X. Paul A., born February 4, 1833; died September 19, 1864.
XI. Orin H., born April 6, 1837; married Elma A. Gillespie
September 28, 1875.
Reuben Graves, father of Mary Graves Queal, was born in Con-
necticut in 1776. He was the son of Samuel and Mary (Wolsey)
Graves, the family consisting of three children — two sons and a
daughter. Reuben Graves married Catherine Nourse (born in
1767) in Connecticut, her parents being Nourse and Sarah
Walker, of New England. She had five brothers and four sisters, her
father dying in Illinois in 1839. To the union of Reuben and Cather-
ine (Nourse) Graves were born seventeen children, six of whom died
in infancy:
1. Sally Graves, born in 1784 in Vermont; married Charles
Bennett in 1806.
2. Reuben, born in 1786 in Vermont; married Lucy Nourse
in 1813.
3. Samuel, born in 1788 in Vermont; married Sally Larra-
bee in 181 2; died 18 18 in Connecticut.
4. Amos, born in 1791 ; married Mary Taggart in 1813.
5. Martha, born in 1793 ; married Daniel Babcock in 1812 ;
died 1831 in New York.
6. Mary, born in 1794; married William C. Queal in 1814.
7. William, born in 1797; married Laura in 1821.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 283
8. Jesse, born in 1799; married, 1819, Mary Taylor, who
died in 1835. Jesse married (second) in 1840.
9. Phineas, born in 1801 ; married Ann Rendal in 1822.
10. Orin, born in 1803 ; married Achsa Farley.
1 1. Daniel, born in 1804; married Electa Babcock in 1827.
This is all the genealogy of the Graves family known to the
author.
William C. Queal came to America with his parents when but a
lad. His life was devoted to the farm, first in helping clear his
father's land, and subsequently in the tillage of the soil for his own
remuneration. He married when about twenty-six years of age.
While almost destitute of early educational advantages, he made the
most of his opportunities and was always well informed in regard to
passing events. He was a thoroughly upright, honest man, never
practicing deceit or prevarication ; in his community he was respected
and honored; for some he was a counselor, for others a peace maker,
and always a helper to the destitute and distressed.
William Queal lived on a farm on South Hill where all his chil-
dren were born, their early education being obtained in the old log
school house which was years ago replaced by a new and modern
structure. When about twenty-eight years of age he became a citizen
of the United States and thus entitled to all the rights and privileges
of such citizenship. A copy of the certificate of naturalization which
he received at that time follows:
CERTIFICATE OF NATURALIZATION OF WILLIAM C. QUEAL
The people of the State of New York by the Grace of God free and inde-
pendent: To all to whom these presents may come or in any wise concern —
greeting:
Whereas William C. Queal of the town of Worcester in the County of
Otsego on this twent^'-third day of February, in the term of February, in the
year of our Lord one thousand ci^ht hundred and sixteen, in our court of
common pleas, in and for our County of Otsego, before the Judges and
assistant Justices of the same court, at the court house in Cooperstown, in
conformity to the requisitions of the several acts of the Congress of the
United States regulating Naturalization, was in due form of law admitted
a citizen of the United States of America, and therefore took and sub-
284 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
scribed in open court the oath by law prescribed ; Now know ye therefore that
the said William C. Queal is and of right ought to be entitled to all the
immunities, powers and privileges of a citizen of the United States of Amer-
ica. In faith whereof we have caused the seal of said court of rommon pleas
to be hereunto affixed.
Witness Joseph White Esquire, first Judge of our said court at Coopers-
town, the twenty-third day of February in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and sixteen and in the fortieth year of our inde-
pendence. Per Curiam
S. W. MoRELL Clic of Otsego.
William C. Queal was a man of business affairs. As one of the
school trustees for years, it was his duty to examine applicants for the
position of teacher, and if found to have the requisite qualifications
they were given a certificate. That Betsey Bentley taught school in
District No. 12, is shown by a receipt given to Ephraim Dunham,
William C. Queal, and Levi Chase, trustees, for "fifteen dollars in
full against all demands of said district." And on February 24, 1827,
Laura Bentley received of William Queal and John Essex, trustees
for School District No. 12, "nine dollars in full for my wages for
keeping summer school in 1826." The following bond was given at
Worcester January 17, 1827:
We, John Essex and William C. Queal, do agree to pay Jacob Stever or
bearer the sum of twenty dollars on the twentieth day of June next, in money
or grain or both, on condition that Moses Pette, our school te;icher,
teaches our school till the first of March next, we being trustees of said
school in School District No. 12; otherwise this bond is null and void, to be
delivered at the house of William C. Queal.
Witness our hands. . .
On March 24, 1831, Stephen Jones received of William C. Queal
fourteen dollars and eighty-five cents toward his wages for teaching
school.
There was made out a rate bill for persons liable for teachers' wages
in the town of Worcester for the school term ending in February,
1834; tax voted to be raised on real and personal estate. The number
of days William C. Queal had sent children to school was three hun-
dred eighty-nine ; he was assessed four dollars and twenty cents. Only
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 285
one man in the district — Barnabas Fuller — paid more, as his chil-
dren had attended school three hundred ninety-five days, he being
assessed four dollars and twenty-seven cents. David Stevers' family
only attending three days, the sum assessed against him vs'as three
cents. The entire amount realized from the tax list was twenty-three
dollars and fifty-nine cents. In addition to his work as school trustee,
he transacted the business incident to the oflice of town supervisor,
during the years 1835 to 1837 inclusive.
William C. Queal was a member of the Twelfth regiment of Artil-
lery (New York), Third brigade, of which Nicholas Chesbro was
captain and John Woodbury, colonel. On March 25, 1820, he was
appointed first sergeant of said company, of which he remained an
active member for fifteen years, at the expiration of which time he re-
ceived an honorable discharge:
This may certify that William C. Queal has been attached to the Com-
pany of Artillery which is now under my command for fifteen years past,
and that he has ben in uniform and equiped according to the law and is
honorably Discharged from the same. Orva Ferris
Capt loth R Artillery
Dated at Worcester ist of Sept. 1828
William C. Queal was a member of the Whig party, and a great
admirer of Horace Greeley; was a subscriber to the New York Tri-
bune from the days of its earliest publication, and every copy which
reached his home, was diligently read by his sons and himself. This,
and the Northern Christian Advocate were the papers which helped
to shape the lives of his family.
New York-17-Mch 1845
Mr. W. C. Queal
To Greeley & McElrath Dr
For I subscription to Weekly Tribune from No 182 to 233 inclusive
(Terms $2.00 a year in advance. Your subscription expires with No 233.
All papers discontinued at the expiration of the time paid for unless pre-
viously renewed) . ....... $2
Received payment
Greeley & McElrath
per J. S. Sinclair Jr.
286 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
The following letter is given as an indication of his prominence as
a politician in the community where he lived:
Cooperstown, Oct. .^o, 1846.
Mr. Wm C. Queal —
Dr Sir: Again are we called upon as Whigs to exert ourselves in the
coming campaign. Our state and Congress ticket can be elected with proper
exertions, and if the Whig strength can be rallied we feel sure of electing
Shafard and the rest of the Bogey ticket. By all means call out our whole
Whig strength. Good faith should prompt us to sustain Shafard and the
remainder of the Bogey ticket. The convention yesterday done much for our
cause in making the Bogey men more energetic. We request you therefore
to take upon yourself the duty of getting our Whig friends out that we may
secure to ourselves a glorious victory.
Respectfully yours, &c.
Wm Nichols
G. W. Ernst
A. M. Barber
Isaac K. Williams
Jno. L. McNamer
Central Co. Committee.
The postal regulations were very different in those days from the
present time, as the following receipted bill shows:
Wm C. Queal for postage at P. O. at Worcester.
Wm C. Queal to H. P. Waterman Dr for postage on letters and
papers.
I letter Sep 8, 1849 •°5
I letter for James Nov 13, 1849 -05
I " " Paul Jan. 2, 1850 -OS
I pamphlet for Paul March 26, 1850 -023/^
I letter for Luke Oct 9, 1850 -05
I " " Paul " 9, 1850 -05
1 letter for Luke's wife Oct. 13 -05
2 " " Paul Nov 22, -lo
I letter Nov 24, 1850 -05
'Northern Christian Advocate
from June 20, 1 849 to Dec 3 1 , 1 849 — 28 papers • 28
The same from Jan. i, 1850 to Jan I, 1 851, 52 papers -52
5
S
' '^ - Rm!i ^wHBH^BHnMnBwl
House built bv William C. Queal ix 1847 -^t Worcester, New "\'ork
Showing Rose Bush planted by Mary
House where Atchison Queal died ix 1859
Morrow Coiintv, Ohio
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 289
New York Tribune from June 20, 1849,
to Dec 22, 1849, 26 papers .26
for papers i .06
letters ■■ijy.
$1-53/2
Reed payment
H. P. Waterman P. M.
Jan 7, 1851
Postmasters were surely not rushed with business in those days,
when they could keep track of all letters mailed, and to whom they
were sent.
During this period shoemakers were in the habit of going from
house to house, in manner similar to the seamstresses of the present
day, carrying their tools, and remaining in each home until the fam-
ily needs in their line were supplied. The bill which is here given
was evidently on account of such services rendered :
October, 1839.
To making five pairs of shoes at 36 cts per pair $1 .80
to making one pair of shoes at .43
making a total of 2.23
In March 1846, Dr to making one pair of women's shoes .63
Shoemaking was surely not a very lucrative business.
In 1839 William C. Queal sold his land on South Hill and bought
a farm one and one-half miles north of the village of Worcester. This
land was hilly and full of stones, not being easy to cultivate, but by
perseverance he was able to make a comfortable living. One of the
staple products of that country was hops, but William Queal having
strong convictions along temperance lines, would not allow the land
to be used for this purpose.
Educational advantages were somewhat limited in this early day in
New York state, yet he gave his children all the opportunities the
country afforded, and during the winter evenings his boys would
choose sides and debate the different questions of the hour, while he
290 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
acted as judge. Thus they learned to give expression to their thoughts
and ideas, while they criticised each other without stint, and although
these debates became heated at times, they always ended with every
one in good humor.
That he was a man of strong religious principles is shown from the
following extract from a letter written to his son, Atchison Queal,
under date of October 4, 1836:
We received your letter of July 29th, which gave us great satisfaction to
hear that you were still well, and also created a feeling wliich none but
parents can feel in the absence of a child, when you state your want of a
mother's care and assistance. But we hope the time is drawing near when
we shall be once more blessed with your company, the absence of which has
caused a blank in the family. . . Your grandfather Queal's folks are
as well as usual. Old Mr. Babcock was buried last week. Your grand-
father and grandmother Graves have gone to the state of Illinois. They
went by land and sent their goods by water, which were all lost or damaged
so much that what they received was not worth the cost of transportation.
My dear son, let my advice to you at this time, as I know not but it may
be the last I shall ever give you, sink with deep weight upon your mind, for
was I possessed of riches, and able to bestow thousands upon you, my ex-
perience in life has taught me that my advice to you at this time, if you will
be wise and take it, will be worth more to you than all the riches I could
bestow without it. I hope that my prayer to the Almighty to enable you to
receive it, may be answered. Be wise and virtuous, and remember your
Creator in the days of your youth. Be not discouraged in your situation,
for God, who is able to make all things work together for good to them
that love and keep his commandments, will spread his mantle of love over
you. . . . Are your clothes comfortable for the cold weather which is
approaching? We are making cloth for you sufficient for a greatcoat and
pantaloons. . . .
Your affectionate father
Wm. C. Queal.
In early life William C. Queal and his wife united with the Meth-
odist Episcopal church on the Charlotteville circuit, in the New York
conference, and among the preachers of those days who from time to
time were entertained at his home, are the names of John Bangs,
Elbert Osborne, Porter Hedstrom, Mathew Van Dusen, A. C. Fuller,
and others. William C. and Mary Queal trained their children for
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 291
God and Methodism, and so well did they succeed, that of the eleven
children who came to adult years, nine were members of the Metho-
dist church, and of the nine, four were ministers of the gospel.
Mary Queal died October 10, 1855, after an illness covering many
months.
On the 2ist of October, 1856, William Queal married Mary Ann
Judd, who died January 6, 1869. After her death, he went to live
with his son William, and died at Milford, Otsego county, New York,
March 29, 1872.
Mary Queal, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Queal, married
Artemas Babcock in Otsego county, New York, in 1818. To them
were born five children:
I. Elizabeth ; married Adkins. One of their sons became
a physician and was possessed of considerable literary ability,
publishing, among other things, a volume of poems.
II. Polly; never married. She was the helper and home-keeper
of the family.
III. Ellinor; never married. She was a helpful woman and pos-
sessed of great executive ability. During the epidemic of
yellow fever which visited the South in 1883, she was untir-
ing in her efforts to relieve the distress consequent upon this
visitation, and when her friends, anxious for her safety, be-
sought her to go north, she replied that she would do so when
those under her care were convalescent. Before this time
arrived, she too became a victim of the disease and died at
Pensacola, Florida.
IV. Robert; married and had one daughter.
V. Electa; married and lives at Utica, New York.
Fourth Generation
RiCHlSON * QUE.^L (William,' Robert,' William ') , was born Feb-
ruary 27, 1815, at Worcester, Otsego county. New York; married
292 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Harriet Mallory November 3, 1846, at Windham, Greene county,
New York. To them were born six children :
I. Rosalie, born , 1847; died in infancy.
II. Mary F., born May 22, 1848; married Charles Newton Sep-
tember 28, 1868. Mary died June 26, 1869.
III. Isabel, born December 4, 1849; married Allen Keltner, at
Ames, Iowa, April 25, 1874. To them were born four chil-
dren; are living at Ames, Iowa.
IV. Charles P., born March 27, 1851 ; married Charlotte L.
Davy October 15, 1870, who died September 3, 1904. To
them were born seven children, two dying in infancy.
Charles P. Queal and family reside in Ames, Iowa.
V. William N., born February 8, 1853 ; died February 1 1, 1884.
VI. Ellen M., born March 23, 1856; died June 2, 1864.
Richison Queal worked with his father on the farm until he was
seventeen years of age, when, becoming discontented with his work
and home restraint, he started out for himself, trying various occu-
pations. For some years he drove stage from Prattsville to Catskill,
New York. In 1848 he went with his wife and baby daughter to
Windham, Greene county, New York, where he worked for a com-
pany engaged in the manufacture of paper, remaining in their em-
ploy for five years. During their residence in Windham he and his
wife united with the Methodist Episcopal church, which fact was a
great comfort to his father and mother. Finally, his health failing,
he moved his family to Worcester, occupying part of his father's
house on the old farm. After some months of suffering he died Au-
gust 3, 1856.
Atchison ' Queal (William,' Robert,' William '), born Worces-
ter, Otsego county. New York, April 6, 1817; married Lucy Oletha
French at Decatur, New York, March 9, 1845. To them were born
three children:
I. Hedding H., born January 6, 1847.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 293
II. Mary Elizabeth, born January 22, 1849.
III. John Henry, born August 24, 1851.
Atchison Queal's early life was spent in agricultural pursuits.
When nineteen years of age he went to Harlem, New York, to teach
his first term of school, and after that time spent several years attend-
ing school and teaching, in order to have satisfactory equipment for
his life work.
On July 4, 1835, he received the following certificate:
This may certify that Mr. Atchison Queal has this day enrolled himself
in a company of Artillery which is now under my command, belonging to
the Twelfth Regiment, Third Brigade, Second Division, of New York
State Artillery, according to law. Joshua Champion Capt.
Dated Worcester, July 4, 1835.
This was the year before he went to Harlem to teach and it is not
known how long he remained a member of this artillery company.
In 1840 Atchison Queal taught in Worcester, receiving ten dollars
per month for his services, and attended school at Homer, New^ York,
in the summer. In September of that year he went to Waterloo, New
York, where he taught four months, receiving sixteen dollars per
month. Not being in the best of health, he thought the western cli-
mate might prove beneficial, and accordingly, in August, 1843, went
to St. Charles, Illinois, where he taught a three months' term of
school, at the conclusion of which he returned to Mt. Vernon, In-
diana, where he taught a select school. At this place, on March 4,
1844, he was given license by the Methodist church to exhort. He
wrote to his intended wife, telling her that he felt the Lord of the
harvest was calling him to labor for souls, and asking if she thought
she could become the wife of a minister. She replied, as follows:
This is not as I had made my calculations, but it has occupied the most
of my thoughts since hearing from you and has been to me a subject of some
prayers and some tears. I feel that it is a hard life, but if you think it is your
duty to be a minister of the Gospel, do it in the fear of God, and you shall
have my prayers for your success. I would say to you, act as you feel it your
duty to, and I will try and do my part. Be faithful, and let your example
be as becometh a minister of Christ.
Atchison Queal returned home in May of that year, giving up the
294 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
idea of settling in the West, as had been his expectation when going to
Illinois. The same fall he went back to Waterloo, New York, and
taught four months of school at eighteen dollars per month. In the
spring of 1845 he returned to Worcester and on April 9th married
Lucy Oletha French, at the home of her father, in Decatur, New
York. At the following session of the Oneida conference, he was re-
ceived into its ranks. Methodist ministers at that time never remained
longer than two years on a charge, and often were moved every year.
He preached at Bainbridge, Otsego county, one year; Mt. Upton,
Chenango county, one year; Fly Creek, two years; Exeter, two years;
Westford, one year; Otego, two years, and Plymouth, one year. It
was in the last mentioned place that his health failed, and he was
obliged to give up his work in the ministry. In 1853, the first year he
preached at Otego, he received three hundred fifty dollars as salary,
and sixty dollars for house rent. The same year, the missionary col-
lection on this charge was thirty-two dollars and four cents, three dol-
lars and fifty cents of this amount being given by Atchison Queal and
family.
From his father he inherited some inventive genius, and while in
Plymouth completed a waterwheel on which he obtained a patent.
In the spring of 1856 Atchison Queal removed with his family to
Morrow courtty, Ohio, where he left them in the care of his wife's
father and went to Kansas to seek a home. The border ruffians were
the terror of that country at the time, and as he felt unwilling to
have his family surrounded by such conditions, returned to Ohio,
where he moved them into a one-room log cabin, on a farm which he
purchased, where they lived for more than two years.
In the winter of 1856-57 he taught school about one mile from his
home, and two of his children — Hedding and Mary — were among
his pupils. Until about one year before his death, he hoped that he
might again take up his chosen work — the ministry — but such was
not God's plan. He died July 6, 1859, leaving a wife and three chil-
dren. He was buried in the Ebenezer burying ground, in Morrow
county, Ohio, but some years later his remains were removed to Des
Moines, Iowa, where they now rest in Woodland cemetery.
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FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 297
Lucy Oletha French, wife of Atchison Queal, was born at Decatur,
New York, February 16, 1821, at which place she grew to woman-
hood. She was educated in the common branches of learning, as
taught in the district schools of that day, and was trained in habits of
industry and economy in household affairs, receiving the discipline
in early years that enabled her to do her life work well. Being the
second child and eldest daughter in a family of thirteen children,
many of the duties and responsibilities of the home fell upon her
shoulders, and consequently but little opportunity was given for play.
At one time in her young girlhood she became the proud possessor of
a rag doll, which a girl in the neighborhood made for her, painting
the cheeks red and making the hair and eyes with ink. However, she
was not long permitted to enjoy the only doll she ever owned, for her
brother Thomas in a spirit of mischief placed it in the watering
trough, and pumping water over it destroyed all the beauty it ever
possessed.
Every girl in those days was taught to knit, and later on to spin the
yarn from which the stockings and mittens were made for family use.
As Lucy grew older, she became an expert in the knitting of these
articles, and every fall would have a number of pairs to sell. These
her father took with him when he went to Albany (to which place he
journeyed about twice each year) and exchanged them for something
she wished to possess. One time he brought her a pair of the glass
candlesticks then in fashion, one of which is in her daughter's posses-
sion at the present time.
Some time after her engagement to Atchison Queal and when
thinking of her "setting out," her father told her that a cabinet maker
in the neighborhood was owing him, and if she wished she might
have some furniture made for the new home she was planning. She
immediately embraced the opportunity, and had made a number of
pieces of furniture — among them a chest of drawers or bureau.
In the meantime some busybody in the community wrote to Atchison
Queal, who at this time was away attending school, that Lucy was
preparing to marry a young man in the neighborhood, was having
her furniture made, and was very busy getting her linen ready for
298 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
housekeeping. For some time after the receipt of this news the young
man failed to write as had been his custom, and when he did so, she
could read between the lines that something was wrong. Upon in-
sisting that an explanation was her due, and must be made, the cause
of the long silence and its following coldness was revealed, and a
happy termination of the afifair was reached. The bureau — which
was an innocent party to the misunderstanding — is now in the posses-
sion of her grandson, John H. Beyer, and is a highly prized article of
furniture in his home.
Lucy French was known among the members of her own family
and in the community as well, as a peacemaker, and all the children
in the neighborhood counted her as their friend. She was never too
weary to do an act of kindness or lend a sympathizing ear in times of
misfortune. In her early girlhood she united with the Methodist
church, of which her mother was then a member, and amid these
surroundings the sweet spirited girl grew to be a gentle, lovely wo-
man, slow to take ofifense; not given to disparagement in speaking of
others, often saying, "If you can say no good of people, say nothing."
About one year before their marriage, Atchison Queal felt that he
was called to work in the Master's vineyard. Lucy had some doubts
as to her ability to fulfil the duties and responsibilities incident to life
in a parsonage home, but as in every other undertaking so in this, she
determined by God's help to do her best and decided to keep her
promise and become the wife and helpmeet of the young Methodist
minister. She was married to the Rev. Atchison Queal April 9,
1845, at her father's home in Decatur, New York, and took up the
duties which fall to the lot of a preacher's wife. After eleven years
of faithful service, the health of the husband failed and he was
obliged to give up the ministry and seek a permanent home. Hoping
that he might be benefited by the change, they moved to Morrow
county, Ohio, in the spring of 1856, whither the French family had
gone in 1 847. Atchison Queal went farther west, but finding no more
favorable location, decided to remain in Ohio, where he bought
forty acres of land from his father-in-law, Sampson French, giving
in payment five hundred dollars in cash, and securing the remaining
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 299
five hundred dollars by mortgage on the place. The first two years
they lived in a log cabin which was on the farm, but in the summer of
1858 Atchison Queal built a house, doing much of the work himself,
and in November of that year they moved into what seemed to them a
palatial residence as compared with the one-roomed cabin which
they vacated.
It is a matter of record that, on the 5th of June, 1859, there came a
killing frost which did widespread damage throughout the whole
country. The children in this home were sent into the garden to
cover the beans so that they might be kept from freezing, and on com-
pleting this task went into the house, their fingers stinging with pain,
the mother finding it necessary to put their hands in cold water to
relieve their sufli'ering.
On July 6, 1859, Atchison Queal died, after two weeks of great
sufifering, leaving a widow and three children: Hedding H., aged
twelve, Mary E., aged ten, and John H., aged eight. The widow
was advised by some to find homes for her children, and to give up
the place, but her answer was a demonstration of her firm, steadfast
character: "Not until I have tried to keep a home for them, ful-
filling my duty as a mother, and failed, shall I separate my children
from me, and with God's help that time will never come."
She took up the work of the farm where her husband left it, and
after the death of her father, in 1861, was able to pay oflf the mort-
gage, selling the forty acres two years later for fourteen hundred
dollars. Purchasing a farm of ninety-six acres, near Iberia, for three
thousand dollars, the payment of the difference became her great
ambition. On this farm was a large number of oak trees, which she
had sawed into wood, selling the bark to a man who owned a tanyard.
Accumulating stock as rapidly as possible, she was able, with the
assistance of hired help and what her boys could do, to not only make
a living but meet the payments on the farm as they became due.
In 1871 Lucy French Queal sold this property and removed to
Ames, Iowa, near which place she bought a farm of one hundred
twenty acres.
In the spring of 1864 her oldest son enlisted in the War of the Re-
300 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
bellion, with the "one hundred day" men, and the mother heart was
sorely tried as this new experience came to her. Many of these men
never returned, but her boy, although broken in health, was spared
to the family circle.
In 1879 a great sorrow came to this home, in the death of Hedding
— the first born, and shortly after, the family removed to Sheldahl,
Iowa, then to Ames, and finally in the spring of 1884 to Des Moines,
where after more than a year's illness, Lucy French Queal died at the
home of her daughter, Mary Queal Beyer, March 15, 1885. To her
children she gave the best of her thought and strength, and none ever
had a more careful, loving mother. She was a loyal sister, a devoted
wife, an afifectionate mother, and all the relations of life she well ful-
filled.
Fifth Generation
Hedding H.' Queal (Atchison,' William,' Robert,' William'),
oldest son of Atchison and Lucy French Queal, was born January 6,
1847, at Mt. Upton, Chenango county. New York, and went with
his parents to Ohio in the spring of 1856. His father was a great
admirer of Bishop Hedding of the Methodist church, and it was in
his honor that his first born son was named. School privileges were
constantly being improved, and Hedding made the most of the op-
portunities offered, never failing to come to his classes with lessons
perfectly prepared. After the death of his father he worked on the
farm, often performing tasks which he was physically unfitted to do,
that his mother might be spared the necessity of hiring help she could
illy afford.
In September, 1862, when David Tod, governor of Ohio, called on
the minute men of the state, and the "Squirrel Hunters" — as they
were designated — enlisted by thousands in response to the summons,
Hedding went with the company which his uncle, Oscar French, or-
ganized. After his return home he constantly wished he were old
enough to go to the war as a regularly enlisted soldier; when seven-
teen years of age and the call was made for one-hundred day men,
he enlisted at Iberia in the One Hundred Thirty-sixth regiment, Ohio
Hedding Queal
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FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 303
Volunteer Infantry, James McPeak, captain. They were sent to
Alexandria, Virginia, and stationed at Fort Lyon, at which place
Hedding contracted malarial fever so that his health was impaired
for some time after his return to his home. The following year he at-
tended Iberia College, two miles distant, and boarded at home. Dur-
ing vacation he worked on his mother's farm, but not finding this
occupation congenial, he went to Chicago in 1866, where he entered
the employ of his uncle, Robert F. Queal, a lumber merchant of that
city. He continued in this position until 1870, when his health fail-
ing, he went to Minnesota, spending the winter at St. Cloud, where
he taught a three months' term of school.
Hedding united with the Trinity Methodist Church of Chicago in
1875, under the pastorate of the Rev. W. F. Crafts, and died in its
fellowship.
In the spring of 1871 Hedding's mother removed to Ames, Iowa,
where she had purchased a farm about two miles from the village
and for two summers the son worked for her at this new home, teach-
ing school during the winter months. In 1873 his health being some-
what improved, he went to Chicago, took the examination, and be-
came a mail carrier. In 1875 he was given a clerkship in the post-
office and at the time of his death was in charge of the dead letter
department. One very cold night in February, 1879, the Chicago
postoffice building was destroyed by fire and while working in frozen
clothing, Hedding Queal contracted a cold from which he never re-
covered. He married Nettie Ross April 9, 1879, and on May ist
was given leave of absence from the office. He went to his mother's
home at Ames, where he remained for three weeks, returning to
Chicago at the expiration of that time, but after two weeks again re-
turned to his mother's home with a six months' leave of absence. In
August of that year he started for Colorado overland, accompanied
by his wife, sister, and her husband. For a few days he seemed to
improve, but soon grew steadily worse. When they reached Wacon-
da Springs, near Cawker City, Kansas, they pitched their tents and
decided to remain in this place until some change should occur in his
condition. His brother, John H. Queal, came to assist in his care,
304 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
and nothing that willing hands could do or loving thought suggest,
was lacking to make the last days and hours as comfortable as possible,
but the end came September 6, 1879, and the burial took place at
Cawker City, Kansas. Years afterward his remains were removed to
Des Moines, Iowa, and buried in the family lot in Woodland ceme-
tery. In 1884 his widow married Frank Kegley, and they removed
to Princeton, Illinois, at which place she died some years later.
John Henry' Queal (Atchison,' William,' Robert,' William ')
was born at Exeter, Otsego county. New York, August 24, 1851. He
moved with his mother to a farm near Ames, Iowa, in April, 1871,
remaining there until 1873, when he went to Chicago, where he was
employed by his uncle, Robert F. Queal, a lumber merchant of that
city, of the firm of R. F. Queal & Co., which firm later sold their lum-
ber business in Chicago and removed to Pensacola, Florida. John
H. Queal remained in Chicago and was employed by Mcndsen &
Winter and the T. Wilce Company of that city as traveling salesman,
and later traveled for C. Lamb & Sons of Clinton, Iowa. He was
married to Jennie Nelson in 1875. She died in February, 1906, and
he married (second) April 23, 1907, Alice Henshaw Nigh of Hunt-
ington, West Virginia.
In 1879 John H. Queal, with his brother-in-law, Jackson Beyer,
bought a small lumber yard at Sheldahl, Iowa, where the foundation
of the business was laid, the firm name being J. H. Queal & Co. They
later opened yards at Cambridge and Madrid, Iowa, and bought a
lumber yard from C. Lamb & Sons located at Ames, Iowa. About
this time he gave up traveling and devoted his energies to the business
of J. H. Queal & Co.
In 1883 John H. Queal moved to Des Moines and started a yard at
East Fourth and Locust streets, now located at East Second street and
Grand avenue. The lumber merchants at Des Moines, not wanting
more lumber yards than were already there, tried various methods
to keep the company from establishing their business, finally having
John H. Queai.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 307
them arrested for maintaining a lumber yard within the fire limits;
but as all the other yards in the city were maintained under the same
condition, the suits were of no avail and the business was established.
He moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1889, and the main office
of the company was located in that city. The firm of J. H. Queal &
Co. own a line of yards in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota, and
are also interested in timber lands in Oregon and California.
For the past seven years John H. Queal has divided his time be-
tween McCloud, California, and Minneapolis. At the present time
he is president of the McCloud River Railroad Company and the
McCloud National Bank, and quite heavily interested in the corpor-
ations mentioned, besides being a director in other national banks and
timber companies. His residence is at Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Fourth Generation
Martha Queal, daughter of William C. and Mary (Graves)
Queal, born August 28, 1820; married Horatio Flint February 19,
1845. Being the oldest daughter in the family and for ten years the
only one, she early acquired habits of industry, thus being of great as-
sastance to her mother in the care of the younger children. As soon as
old enough she was taught to spin, thus relieving her mother of this
important labor for the household. She spun the wool from which
the clothing for her father and brothers was made; she was also
taught how to make butter and cheese. In those days there was not
much time for play, either for boys or girls, as every child was given
some definite task to do. During the winter evenings two candles
were lighted and some member of the family w^ould read aloud while
the mother patched or darned, as the necessity demanded, while
Martha, with her knitting, listened and learned. She united in early
life with the Methodist Episcopal church. On May 19, 1844, she
wrote to her brother William, who was attending school at Cazenovia,
New York, and among other items of interest, said:
There is quite an excitement prevailing in Decatur and vicinity in the
Methodist church concerning Mr. Turble using his bass viol in the church,
to assist in singing. Some of the members are very much in favor of it, and
some are decidedly opposed to the "big fiddle" as they term it. It is uncertain
3o8 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
how it will terminate, but I fear for the result. As for my own part I can
see no inconsistency in using the viol, as there are very few bass singers, and
I believe that if the heart is right in the sight of God, that he will not be
displeased with the viol or the use of it. Tliey will destroy much of the
good feeling which has existed among them, if it does not amount to a
division of the society, as both parties are verj' strenuous in their opinions
concerning it.
Quite a general dissatisfaction resulted from the use of the bass
viol and it was years before harmony was restored in the church.
Horatio Flint bought fifty acres of William Queal's farm, upon
which he built a house for his bride, only a short distance from the
home of her mother, and on their wedding day took, possession of
their new residence which they were not permitted to long enjoy, as
the wife became ill with that dread disease, consumption, and died
February 13, 1847.
William Gmves' Queal (William,' Robert,' William'), was
born in Worcester, Otsego county, New York, December 14, 1822;
he married Lorinda L. Booth (born March 6, 1831) July 3, 1850,
at Oxford, New York. To them were born three children:
I. Martha Amelia, born July 14, 1851.
II. Alice, born September 23, 1856; married George Benedict;
died August 23, 1905.
III. William Booth, born January 26, 1864; died of diphtheria
in Salem, Pennsylvania, December 20, 1875.
William Graves Queal, like his brothers, was reared on a farm.
As a child he was conscientious and studious; he remained in the
family home during his boyhood days, attending school when he
could be spared from work and studying at home as opportunity of-
fered. In this way he gained an education sufficient to enable him to
pass an examination, and before he was seventeen years of age he
commenced teaching during the winter months and attending school
in the summer. At nineteen he entered Cazenovia Seminary, which
he attended two or three terms. While there he wrote to his brother,
Atchison Queal, as follows: "I met a Mr. Moore a few days since.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 309
and he told me that he once had an introduction to you, although he
concluded we were not brothers, as your name was Queal. He pro-
nounced my name Quail."
William united with the Methodist Episcopal church, and early
felt the call to preach the gospel. In 1846 he was received into the
Oneida conference. He remained in the ministry for thirty-eight
years, when he retired from active service and lived at Norwich,
New York, where he purchased a home, afterwards moving to Beth-
lehem, Pennsylvania. His gentle, sympathetic nature endeared him
to all his friends. He was noted for his simplicity and for his sin-
cerity. In business afifairs he was honest and true — a man whose
word was as good as his bond. Though of decided ability, he never
pushed himself to the front to the crowding out of others. Ever
ready to give place, he never shrank from duty, nor did he lack the
courage of his convictions. He was possessed of excellent judgment,
hence his counsel was often sought. His strength of purpose, purity
of life, kind, sympathic heart, and maturity of judgment distinguished
him as a rare man, out of, as well as in the church. He was honored
by being twice elected delegate to the General Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and once as reserve delegate. His ser-
mons, essays, and other writings showed much thought and study;
the books he wrote display scholarship and ability.
In January, 1888, he went to visit his brother Orin, who was living
in Kansas City, Missouri, and from that city went to San Diego,
California, accompanied by his nephew, Irving Queal of Kansas City,
and Jackson Beyer of Des Moines, Iowa. The trip was in the inter-
est of business as well as pleasure. On the return journey he was
taken very ill, and upon reaching Pueblo, Colorado, was removed
from the train to a hotel, in the evening, and died at 7 o'clock the
following morning. His wife, on receipt of the telegram that he
was seriously ill, took the first train to reach his bedside. Another
message arrived the following morning, telling of his death. Every
efifort possible was made to reach her, but all proved futile until just
before she arrived at a junction near Kansas City, Missouri. Here
a telegram was delivered to her with instructions to leave the train
3IO GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
at the next station, where she was met by friends returning with the
body of her husband, and the sad and weary journey was made back
to the home in Norwich, New York.
William Graves Queal died in Pueblo, Colorado, February 26,
1888. After his death, his widow resided with her daughter Martha,
in whose home in Oneonta, New York, she died November 6, 1908.
Martha Amelia Queal, daughter of William and Lorinda
(Booth) Queal, married Bradley Meaker August 17, 1881. To them
was born one child, Robert Queal Meaker, December 2, 1884,
who died January 20, 1902. Bradley Meaker was a teacher in
the Lehigh University, at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. On the 6th of
November, 1885, while in the university gymnasium, where he had
gone to take exercise, he suddenly fell to the floor and expired before
assistance reached him. Following this sad event, Martha Meaker
and her son went to reside with her parents at Norwich, New York,
remaining with them until after the death of her father, William
Graves Queal, when, accompanied by her mother, she and her son
removed to Carbondale, Pennsylvania, where she became a kinder-
gartner, teaching in this capacity for some years. After her son's
graduation from high school at the age of sixteen, she moved to
Syracuse, New York, where he entered the university the following
year. At the age of eighteen he returned to Carbondale to visit an
uncle and attend the commencement exercises of the high school.
His mother and grandmother were soon to follow. He and a com-
panion were sprinting close beside a switch track of the railroad,
when an engine was seen backing toward him. The boy who was with
him, noting his imminent danger, tried to warn him. Robert, hear-
ing the call, sprang aside, but unfortunately, the wrong way, and the
engine passed over his body. His mother received a telegram that
Robert was badly injured, but before the departure of the first train
for Carbondale, the papers at Syracuse were being sold on the streets
telling of Robert Meaker's death. This was a terrible blow to his
mother, from which she never fully recovered.
Robert F. Queal
Capt. Paul A. Queal
Five Children of William C. and Mary Graves Queal
Mary Queal
Rev. James Queal
Orin H. Queal
Rev. Atchison Queal
Rev. William G. Queal
Rev. Luke C. Queal
Old "French School House" at Decatur, New \ork, where Reverend
Atchison Queal, Reverend William G. Queal, and Reverend
Luke C. Queal each preached His First Sermon
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 313
On April 9, 1908, Martha Meaker married Nathan M. Briggs of
Oneonta, New Yorlc, and at this home her mother died the following
November. In October, 1909, while in Norwich, where she had
gone to settle some business afifairs in connection with her mother's
estate, she received a telegram, stating that her husband was danger-
ously ill. Taking the first train, she arrived at her home shortly after
his death, which was caused from hemorrhage of the brain. Martha
was again a widow.
In January, 1912, Martha married Frank Ives, an old time friend,
whose home was in Los Angeles, California. At the beginning of
their journey to that city, she was suddenly stricken with paralysis,
and was removed from the train at Binghamton, New York, a few
days later being taken to her home in Oneonta, where she still lives,
though a sufferer from the stroke.
Alice, daughter of William Graves and Lorinda (Booth) Queal,
was born September 23, 1856; married the Rev. George Benedict of
Plymouth, New York, August 17, 188 1. To them were born three
children:
1. Mabel ; married Wendel Morgan, July, 1910, at Oneonta, New
York; one child, born in May, 191 1.
2. Fannie H.; a teacher in Porto Rico.
3. George Barnard; lives with his father in Porto Rico.
George and Alice Benedict in 1892 went as missionaries to South
America, where they remained six years, at the expiration of which
time they returned to the United States. In 1900 they were sent to
the mission field in Porto Rico. Owing to ill health, Alice returned
on July 9, 1905, and five weeks later died very suddenly while visiting
in the home of her husband's brother at South Plymouth, New York.
George Benedict married a second time, and died in September, 191 2,
while a missionary in Porto Rico.
Robert F.^ Queal (William,^ Robert,^ William ') , was born July
I, 1825, in Worcester, Otsego county. New York; married Sarah
314 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Cook. Houghton in March, 1853. To them was born one son, Irving
Queal. Sarah Houghton Queal died in 1856. Robert F. Queal
married (second) Kate Gillespie, of Schenectady, New York, De-
cember 29, 1870. Kate Gillespie Queal died in 1889.
Robert F. Queal received his education in the common schools,
supplemented by a course of reading in a law office. In his youth he
was teacher, clerk, and merchant. Though disliking the first named
occupation, he nevertheless taught a number of terms of school. When
nineteen years of age, while clerking in a store in Worcester, he wrote
to his brother who was attending school in Cazenovia, as follows :
My time has been uninterruptedly given to the concerns of profit making
for my employers, which I think is not exactly adapted to the development
of man's moral and intellectual nature, but one after all that furnishes a
diversified field fit for a Shakesperean; and let me say, as the result of my
observations, I believe although men may be cold and selfish and their ex-
terior frigid as the chain which girds the ice-bound pole, yet within the
human heart worlds of feeling live, and far beneath the reach of human ken,
in human souls exist principles which prove man's author a living God,
stamping him a living candidate for immortality.
The world I find very different from what my boyish imaginings had
fancied it. In my leisure I have studied politics, and have had many sharp
conflicts with the opposition, together with some squibbings in the papers, but
I find there is little confidence to be placed in political leaders ; still there are
great questions which involve the destiny of our Republic, to be decided
upon in the coming election, prominent among which are the tariff, and an-
nexation of Texas. My motto is, Annexation never. And I am sorry to
find that I fear Mr. Clay (trembling lest he should lose votes in the South)
has abandoned the ground for the party, in a recent letter published in
Alabama, and come out for ultimate annexation, slavery and all, when the
consent of Mexico and the several United States is obtained. Still, the war
must go on, for on one side is arrayed those who say, "Texas immediately,"
on the other, those who mainly say, "Texas never," whose candidate says,
"Texas when certain things are secured," which I believe never can be. . .
You refer in your letter to Abolition movements. I think their efforts
should be more rational, if they would oppose the extension of slavery in an
available way instead of wasting their influence and votes on a condition
morally certain of defeat.
In the spring of 1857 Robert Queal went to Chicago where he built
up an extensive lumber business. He was a representative man in
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 315
the Methodism of that city. To him the marvelous reconstruction of
that church's institutions after the great fire gave large opportunity
for relaying its foundations. He was fitted to the demands of the
hour, and by his liberal contributions and wise counsels did a great
work. With suggestions that commanded the approval of the wisest
men, he could easily secure the concurrence of the young men in the
churches by his strong sympathies with them. His own large con-
tributions to the relief fund at the very start gave it the weight of his
convictions, and secured success for it in the end.
Robert Queal was for years a trustee of the First Methodist Church
of Chicago and of the Northwestern University, where his influence
was much felt. He was a member of the board of education for the
city, and one of the first trustees of the Chicago Public Library, in all
of these places being preeminently a working member. His church
also selected him as an honored member of the General Conference
of 1876.
Robert Queal had rare literary taste and marked ability. He read
with delight the best authors and kept abreast of the literary world.
He was familiar w^th the atmosphere and traditions of the worthy
authors, both at home and abroad, and was especially fond of the
writings of Robert Burns. In spite of his heavy burdens in business
life, he was the author of some sweet and stirring poems; was also a
good critic, giving his literary instincts the mastery over his personal
friendships. He was a liberal man and bore the burdens of many,
caring for and giving a loving Christian home to two children, whose
mother gave up her life in the work of the Woman's Foreign Mis-
sionary Society. He was commanding in his presence, judicial in
his mind, wise in his arguments, happy in his language, faithful in
his friendships, and unimpeachable in his motives.
After disposing of his business interests in Chicago, Robert Queal
went to Pensacola, Florida, and there started an extensive business
in lumber and milling. In 1883 he contracted a malarial disease in
the South, although the more serious symptoms did not present them-
selves until he neared his home in Evanston, Illinois, at which place
he died three days later, November 2, 1883, in the fifty-eighth year
3i6 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
of his age. His body was taken to the home of his boyhood, and rests
in Maple Grove cemetery at Worcester, Otsego county, New York.
The following verse is from a poem written by Robert Queal, and
read at the service for the consecration of this burial ground on June
7,1865:
And why repine? This tangled skein
Of hope and joy and grief and pain
That we call life, — • this unknown state
Of death, that we call human fate,
Shall be made plain in God's own time,
Parts of a plan, complete, sublime;
And through these realms a trumpet call
Shall reach these people, great and small —
Death's power shall yield, his fetters break,
And earth's long tenants shall awake.
I. Irving, son of Robert F. and Sarah (Houghton) Queal, born
September 23, 1855, Worcester, New York; married Novem-
ber 25, 1880, Lucy Bannister (born Cazenovia, New York,
January 15, 1855) ^t Evanston, Illinois. To them were born
four children :
1. Robert F., born July 14, 1882, Story City, Iowa; died
March 29, 1889.
2. Harry B., born November 10, 1 883, Kansas City, Missouri ;
married Nellie Wheeler, Beresford, South Dakota, March,
1905; two children; lives at Kewanee, Illinois.
3. Ralph W., born August 25, 1886, Kansas City, Missouri,
where he still resides.
4. Lucy Mary, born July 10, 1889, Kansas City, Missouri.
After the death of his mother, Irving Queal lived with an aunt,
Louise Albert, in Worcester, New York; later he v\'ent to Chicago,
spending part of his time with his father, attending school in Evans-
ton, Illinois. For some years he was in the employ of J. H. Queal
& Co. at Story City, Story county, Iowa, from which place he removed
to Kansas City, Missouri, where he found employment in the office
of his uncle, Orin H. Queal. His health becoming impaired, he
went to South Dakota, taking up a quarter section of land, where he
r
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Uj
O
m
n
n
JO
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 319
still resides. The daughter, Lucy Mary, graduated from the high
school at Kansas City, in home economics, and taught for two years
in that city, then entered Columbia University, New York City, where
she is taking the regular course in her chosen work. After her grad-
uation she expects to take a government position in the Philippine
Islands.
Luke C Queal ( William,' Robert,' William ') , was born at Wor-
cester, Otsego county, New York, April 2, 1827; married September
19, 1849, Catherine Klock (born November 30, 1825), at Seward,
Schoharie county. New York. To them were born two children:
I. Mary Matilda, born May 28, 1852, at Worcester, New York.
Mary has never married; lives in Elmira, New York. For
years she has devoted herself to the work of the Woman's For-
eign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal church ;
has been conference secretary of Central New York conference
for thirteen years; for four years was also field secretary for
the states of New York and New Jersey ; has been twice a dele-
gate to the general executive meeting, and was a delegate to the
world's missionary conference in Edinburgh, in June, 1910.
The cause of missions has received much inspiration from this
gifted woman, who has gone up and down this great land of
ours, urging upon the people, with voice and pen, the needs of
those of our less favored sisters whose lives are spent in spirit-
ual darkness.
II. Alice, born October 27, 1855; died March 8, 1857.
Luke C. Queal married (second) Sara M. Dean of Milford, Otse-
go county, New York, April 22, 1858. Two children were born of
this union:
III. Arthur Dean, born August 23, i86r, in West Eaton, Madison
county. New York; married Alice Hubbel, of Troy, New
York, November 10, 1885. To them was born one child:
I. Katharine M., born December 21, 1886, Kansas City, Mis-
320 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
souri; married August i, 1912, Dr. John Gould of the
Eleventh Cavalry, U. S. A.
Arthur Dean Queal died in London, England, in April, 1890.
His widow married August 2, 1894, and is living in Des
Moines, Iowa.
IV. Kittie Sara, born November 6, 1862; died October 31, 1863.
Luke C. Queal married (third) Sarah J. Hall, at Cazenovia, New
York, June 30, 1864. To them were born two sons:
V. James Hall, born July 27, 1865, Norwich, New York; mar-
ried Susie Gififord of Scipioville, New York, in July, 1895.
He has been for some years engaged in newspaper work; is
now living in New York City.
VI. Herbert Paul, born at Cazenovia, New York, May 17, 1867;
married Minnie E. Davis in August, 1902, at Buffalo, New
York. He is a very successful lawyer, handling large estates.
Office, No. 42 Broadway; residence, 929 West End avenue.
New York.
Luke C. Queal's boyhood life differed but little from that of his
brothers. He worked on the farm, attended school and taught school
— at one time teaching for some months for eleven dollars and fifty
cents per month. He was coached for his first teacher's certificate
by his brother Robert, who, becoming discouraged at his slow pro-
gress, wrote to his brother William: "Luke, while bright in other
ways, seems dull when it comes to book learning." He studied med-
icine and practiced a short time before commencing to preach. He
did not have a college education, but because of his natural ability,
his eloquence, his force of character, and his strength as a debater,
Hamilton College in 1870 conferred upon him the degree of doctor
of divinity. When he was twenty-seven years of age he entered the
Oneida conference and when the conferences were divided became a
member of the Central New York conference, while membership in
Wyoming conference fell to the lot of his brother William. As a
pastor Luke C. Queal served the largest city churches of his confer-
ence, and was prominent in connection with Syracuse University, be-
ing a member of the board of trustees for many years. For seventeen
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 321
years Doctor Queal performed the duties of presiding elder, and at
the time of his death was one of the trustees of the Central New York
conference. He was seven times elected to the general conference,
and elected to two ecumenical conferences, one held in Baltimore,
Maryland, the other in Washington, D. C.
The physical characteristics of Doctor Queal well expressed his
moral attributes. He was a man of large make in every particular,
and his fighting qualities won for him no less his bodily, than his
mental and spiritual triumphs. Doctor Queal did not fight for him-
self alone, but for everyone who needed his strong championship in a
righteous cause. But the spirit of the warrior was not the only spirit
that animated the noble heart of Luke C. Queal. He knew all the
depths of devotion of which a man is capable. The sorrows of the
poor, and the trials of man's lot appealed to him strongly, while the
ties of blood were strong as steel. He feared no foe and would sacri-
fice himself before he would desert a friend. As a speaker he had
few equals. To him was given what few people are blessed with —
power to think faster than he could speak. He was counted one of
the strongest debaters on the floor of the general conference; a wise
parliamentarian possessed of a keen legal mind. He was a fearless
preacher and a plain-spoken man, in as well as out of the pulpit.
Without egotism but with authority, he declared his own convictions,
which beliefs he also taught to others.
After a lingering illness, he died at Moravia, New York, on Janu-
ary 2, 1898, and was buried in Maple Grove cemetery, Worcester,
New York. His widow, Sarah Hall Queal, died at Binghamton,
New York, February 26, 1910.
James* Queal (William,^ Robert,' William'), son of William
and Mary (Graves) Queal, was born November 21, 1828, at Wor-
cester, Otsego county. New York. Being one of the younger children
of the family, James missed some of the hardships which naturally
fell to his older brothers. He was educated in the common schools,
and later taught school to earn the money with which to pay for a
322 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
better education. At the age of thirteen he united with the Metho-
dist Episcopal church, and when little more than a boy he felt the
call to work in the Master's vineyard, fully deciding this to be his
life work when about twenty-two years of age. He joined the Troy
conference, but was not long permitted to engage in his chosen work.
Although delicate in health, he continued to perform the arduous
duties assigned him with acceptability until December, 1 852, at which
time it became evident that he was sufifering from tubercular trouble.
Very reluctantly he gave up his labors and returned to his former
home, where he hoped to regain strength to enable him to resume
his pastoral duties. All efiforts made toward the restoration of his
health were unavailing, and on June 13, 1853, he died, at Worcester,
Otsego county. New York, and was buried in Maple Grove cemetery.
Mary, daughter of William and Mary Graves Queal, was born
August 21, 1830, at Worcester, Otsego county, New York, where she
grew to young womanhood much beloved by a large circle of friends
as well as the immediate family. During her childhood, being of
delicate health, she was an object of solicitude to her parents, and the
constant companion of her mother.
In the spring of 1848, while visiting her brother Atchison at Fly
Creek, New York, Mary engaged to teach a three months' term of
school, for which she received fourteen dollars per month. She re-
turned to her home in the fall and was ill for the greater part of the
following year. In the spring of 1849 she set out a rose bush in the
front yard of her home, watching and nourishing its growth during
that summer, and the next spring was delighted to see that it lived
and grew rapidly, and when the first bud burst into bloom, rejoiced
that she had been permitted to pick a blossom from her own bush.
She died June 13, 1850, in her twentieth year. As long as the family
lived on the farm, "Mary's rose bush" was carefully covered in win-
ter and nourished during the summer. When the property was sold
to a friend of the family, the story of the bush was repeated to the
purchaser, and now, after more than sixty years, the rose bush still
Captain Pall A. QrnAL
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 325
lives and blooms. It has been trimmed back and carefully looked
after during this time, and many members of the Queal family who
were not born at the time of Mary's death, have gathered roses from
this historic bush.
Paul A.' Queal (William,' Robert,' William '), son of William
and Mary Graves Queal, was born February 4, 1833, at Worcester,
Otsego county, New York. His childhood and youth were spent on
his father's farm, his academic education being received at Carlisle
and the New York Conference Seminaries. When eighteen years
of age he engaged in the manufacture of paper at Windham Center,
New York. Evidently the business proved unsatisfactory, for after
a few months it was discontinued and he entered the seminary at
Charlotteville, New York. In July of that year he wrote his brother
as follows:
I have passed through one of the ordeals of improvement in public speak-
ing, having had the honor of representing in connection with two other
speakers, the Wesleyan Association. One of the speakers delivered an ora-
tion, and another with myself debated a question. I spoke for about half
an hour before nearly one thousand persons and was fortunate enough to
gain the question. If you were ever in the same situation, you can imagine
about where my pulse was when I came on the stage.
Being forceful in argument, Paul Queal concluded to become a
lawyer, and commenced his professional reading for the law in the
office of General Burnside, in Worcester, New York. Before its
completion in 1857 he removed to the west, taking up his residence
at Toledo, Tama county, Iowa, where he remained one year. Having
been admitted to the bar, he located at Nevada, the county seat of
Story county, Iowa, where he speedily acquired a good practice and
a high reputation politically and professionally. A history of Story
county states: "Paul A. Queal was a brilliant young lawyer, and
bade fair to take a leading place at the bar."
The legislature of Iowa decided in March, 1858, that there should
be established a State Agricultural College within its borders; Paul
Queal with others, convinced that Story county would be a suitable
326 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
place to locate such an institution, worked toward that result. The
first meeting of the board of trustees, consisting of eleven members,
took place in Des Moines, January lo, 1859. Proposals for the sale
of lands for the college farm were issued at this meeting and circu-
lated over the state, to be acted upon at the meeting of the board the
following June. At that time, propositions were received from the
counties of Hardin, Polk, Marshall, Tama, Jefiferson, and Story;
committees were appointed to visit the various sites ofifered, and a
spirited but good natured contest ensued. The record shows that at
one time Hardin county had seven votes and Polk county four; it is
said that a speech made by Paul A. Queal decided the question and
the location was awarded to Story county. On the 20th of June, 1859,
the board located the farm in the western part of Story county, buy-
ing a tract of six hundred forty-seven and one-half acres of unim-
proved land in one body for five thousand three hundred eighty
dollars. On July 4, i8t;9, the citizens of Boone county turned out en
masse to visit the college grounds, while the people of Story county
gladly extended the hand of welcome to their guests on this auspicious
occasion. The Declaration of Independence was read by Paul A.
Queal, and later, while at dinner, he responded to the toast — "The
Heroes of the American Revolution."
Paul A. Queal was a delegate to the Republican state convention
which met in Des Moines January 18, i860, and selected the dele-
gates to the Chicago convention which nominated Abraham Lincoln
for the presidency. In the summer of 1861 he assisted in raising a
company of volunteers for the Second Iowa Cavalry, of which or-
ganization he was appointed the original first lieutenant, on July 30th.
The regiment was organized with Major Elliott of the regular army
as colonel, and mustered into the service at Davenport, Iowa, August
31, 1861. The regiment after leaving Davenport was first ordered to
St. Louis, and was subsequently sent to the field under General Pope,
sharing in the service of the army which captured New Madrid and
Island Number Ten.
After these victories, the regiment was ordered to join the army in
west Tennessee. Apart from the usual duties of scouting and skirm-
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 327
ishing, the first desperate field service to which it was called was in
the battle of Farmington, Mississippi. Here they were ordered to
charge a consecutive line of batteries, heavily supported by infantry.
In the teeth of an appalling fire (ninety horses being shot in their
regiment) they charged to the muzzles of the guns, striking down and
driving the gunners from their positions at the point of the saber.
Correspondents of the press and early historians of the war describe
it as equal in daring to the most famous military exploits of modern
times. Lieutenant Queal received open mention in the report of this
battle, for his coolness and bravery, as will be shown by the follow-
ing: "The daring of Lieutenant Queal, commanding Company B,
was conspicuous, cheering his men to the very muzzle of the enemy's
guns."
On April 15, 1862, Lieutenant Queal was promoted to captain.
The Second Iowa Cavalry, under the command of Colonel Elliott,
together with the Second Michigan cavalry, left Farmington and
marched rapidly by a circuitous route for the purpose of deceiving
the enemy as to the object of the expedition. The second morning
they appeared before Boonville, the forces of the enemy which had
been left to guard the town falling back with but little resistance.
The railroad depot was filled with commissary stores, ammunition,
etc. Upon entering the town the telegraph wires were cut. thus pre-
venting speedy communication with the enemy. Shortly after, Colo-
nel Elliott was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
On the morning of July i, 1862, the enemy was discovered in strong
force approaching the camp of the Second Iowa, whose pickets re-
ported a number of rebels in sight. Colonel Hatch (who succeeded
Colonel Elliott) by a strategic movement overcame the superior
force by which he was opposed. The entire strength of his command
was less than eight hundred men. From this small force he detached
four companies, two from each regiment, with orders to move rapidly
and gain the rear of the approaching foe. He then posted his re-
maining force in a strong position and awaited the attack of the
enemy, whose number was estimated to be not less than four thousand.
The two cavalry regiments were splendidly armed and mounted, and
328 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
had absolute confidence in their leaders, which confidence was not
misplaced, as the result proved. The attack of the enemy was met by
such a heavy fire that they fell back in disorder, only to be charged
upon by the detachment which had been sent to attack them in the
rear, resulting in their being driven from the field with heavy loss.
In his official report, written the following day. Colonel Sheridan
describes in detail the different movements of his command and those
of the enemy during the engagement. He makes special mention of
the gallantry and good conduct of Colonel Hatch, Majors Coon and
Hepburn, and Captains Gillett and Queal.
On November 12th the army began its march southward, the
cavalry brigade commanded by Colonel Hatch taking the advance,
the scouts keeping well out in front and on the flanks. The enemy's
cavalry was alert and watchful, and skirmishing occurred frequently.
At Cofifeeville, after a hard fought engagement, the Union cavalry
found themselves greatly outnumbered and were compelled to retreat.
The loss of the Second Iowa in this encounter was twenty-two men
killed and wounded. As our forces were gradually being driven
back, Captain Queal's horse was shot under him, he being slightly
scratched by a shell.
Again, the Second Iowa Cavalry participated in the expedition
under Grierson in his great raid, but was withdrawn after two days
to make a diversion of the enemy's forces. On February 21, 1863
(the engagement in which the Second Iowa was most conspicuous),
among those who distinguished themselves for coolness and bravery,
stands prominent the name of Paul A. Queal, captain commanding
the second battalion. Major Coon was detailed to take the Second
Cavalry and a battalion of the Sixth Illinois, and hold the enemy in
check until the large transportation train could get safely under way.
Instead of falling back. Major Coon requested the brigade com-
mander. Lieutenant Colonel Hepburn, to let him make a standing
fight. Hepburn's reply was that the orders of General Smith must
be obeyed. There was nothing left but for the rear guard to con-
tinue to slowly retire, protecting both its front and flanks as best it
could against the persistent attacks of the enemy. The battalions,
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 329
under Captains Queal and Horton, dismounted and fought from be-
hind trees with their Colt's revolving rifles, inflicting heavy loss upon
the enemy.
In the summer of 1863 Captain Queal was with his regiment ex-
cept for a few weeks while reorganizing and in command of an Iowa
regiment of cavalry. During that summer while separated from his
command he was taken prisoner, but was soon after exchanged. These
are some of the leading features of his service in the field, but they
imperfectly represent the fatiguing marches, privations, exposures,
and wearing service to which the cavalry in west Tennessee and north-
ern Mississippi were subjected during the war, on a field and over a
region which was the theater of continuous raids and many battles.
In the fall of 1863 Captain Queal was appointed judge advocate on
the stafif of General Veitch, commanding the district of Memphis,
Tennessee, where he remained for several months, discharging with
ability the important and responsible duties of the position. General
Veitch being ordered to the field, Captain Queal rejoined his regi-
ment, participating in the expedition under General Smith, early in
the spring of 1864, to Tallahatchie. The march was laborious, and
the fighting hard, but for bravery and gallantry he received the warm
commendation of General Smith in person, and special honorable
mention in his report. This was his last field service. He, with his
regiment came north in the month of April on furlough, spent three
happy weeks in Iowa with his friends, visited his brothers in Chicago,
and returned in May to Tennessee. Soon after he was detached to
perform judge advocate duties in Memphis, in which service he was
engaged until his death. On Friday, September 16, 1864, he was
occupied all day in court, conducting the defence of a friend on trial
for disobedience of orders. During the night following he was taken
violently ill, grew rapidly worse, and in spite of the best medical
skill of both army surgeons and eminent physicians of the city, after
two days of intense suffering, he died in the arms of Lieutenant Strat-
ton, sending his last messages to his regiment and his friends. His
term of enlistment was about to expire, and after three years of service
in the army he was anticipating a speedy return to civil life. He was
330 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
to have been married in a few weeks, and it was his intention to en-
gage anew in his profession.
Paul A. Queal was possessed of those excellencies and attractions
of character which brought to him many friends, who had predicted
for him a brilliant career. His death occurred September 19, 1864;
his remains were taken by his brothers back to the old home in Wor-
cester, Otsego county. New York, and laid to rest in Maple Grove
cemetery.
Orin H.' Queal (William,' Robert,' William*), youngest child
of William C. and Mary Graves Queal, was born at Worcester,
Otsego county. New York, April 6, 1837. He married Elma Gil-
lespie September 28, 1875. To them were born:
I. Sheldon Gillespie, born August 28, 1877.
II. Irving Wyatt, born October 4, 1878; married Francis Grad-
wohl December 12, 1907, at Kansas City, Missouri. To
them has been born one child:
I. Josephine Elma, born February, 1909.
Irving enlisted in April, 1898, in the Spanish-American
War, being a member of the Third Missouri regiment; was
in the service but five months when the regiment was mus-
tered out. The family are living at Fort Worth, Texas,
where he is engaged in the lumber business.
The boyhood of Orin, like that of his brother, was spent on the
farm. At the age of sixteen he taught a three months' term of school
and the following year attended school at the academy at Richmond-
ville. New York, for four months, teaching the following winter. At
the age of nineteen he went to Ohio and taught in what is known as
the Flint district, making his home with his brother, the Rev. Atchi-
son Queal. In 1857 he went first to Galesburg, Illinois, and in the
fall to Young America (now Kirkwood), Warren county, Illinois,
working on a farm during the summer and teaching during the win-
ter months, receiving for his services thirty dollars per month. Two
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 331
years later he taught the same school, engaging to teach ten months
for thirty dollars per month. In a letter to his brother, he says:
A good many of the settlers here are from the South, and they are pretty
good examples of southern life and character. There are large girls attend-
ing my school, of this stock, and they read and write with difficulty. There
are many Eastern people here too, who are intelligent and enterprising. It is
this class that makes this part of the world move.
Orin only taught five months of his school year, as he was seized
with the Pike's Peak fever, and the first of April, i860, in company
with ten others, started on a journey to the gold regions of Colorado.
They crossed Iowa, stopping at Nebraska City, where they purchased
their provisions, and the izd of April started on the journey across
the plains. They were outfitted with ox teams and one pony team,
and about five weeks later reached Denver, Colorado. On the night
of May 7th while on the plains they experienced a very severe storm,
ten inches of snow falling before morning; it became exceedingly
cold, and a cloth tent proved a very insufficient shelter. Some cattle,
belonging to parties camping near, strayed away. Their owners
started out in the morning in search of them, and four men were frozen
to death within a mile of camp. They were buried without coffins,
and men unused to weeping, stood around their graves in tears.
Orin Queal and his companions reached their destination about
the first of June. They stopped near the head waters of the Platte
River and went to prospecting, spending six weeks in traveling about
on the Blue, Arkansas and Platte rivers, searching for gold but with-
out success. In a letter written home, he says:
Before leaving civilization, I was dreaming of gold — gold — gold.
With prophetic vision I then looked into the future and saw myself the
possessor of houses and lands, of horses and carriages, of dogs and guns, etc.,
etc. But alas for my prophecy, these things have not come to pass.
In July Orin and his companions turned their faces homeward, just
as the rainy season was beginning. It rained every day; the bolts of
lightning fell thick and fast about them, and the road across the
plains was lined with the graves of men who had met death in this
violent manner. They returned to Illinois about the first of Septem-
ber, and soon afterward Orin went to Iowa and later to Wisconsin,
332 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
transacting business for his brother, Robert F. Queal. Returning to
Chicago, he attended the "Seward meeting," where, as he remarked
afterward, "I heard Republicanism explained and justified."
During the following year Orin Queal was employed by his brother
Robert in the lumber business in Chicago. In 1862 he enlisted in the
Chicago Mercantile battery. Volunteer Light Artillery, which left
that city about the 6th of November, their destination being Mem-
phis, Tennessee. Leaving the latter city thirty thousand strong, they
started south to cooperate with General Grant in "clearing out" Gen-
eral Price. But the old general burned his army stores and left with
most of his army for Grenada before the northern forces arrived.
The enemy destroyed the ferry at Wyatt, so the Union army was
obliged to construct a bridge before it could proceed.
In August, 1863, Orin Queal was taken ill while in camp in Vicks-
burg, and was sent to St. Louis where he was in the hospital for some
time; he was later transferred to Chicago and remained several weeks
in the hospital in that city. He was unable to reenter the service and
for years was much impaired in health. The battery to which he be-
longed was not engaged in the siege of Vicksburg, although it was on
the field and in line of battle for five days.
In later years Orin Queal became prominently engaged in lumber
interests, first in Chicago and later in Pensacola, Florida. In 1885
he removed with his family to Kansas City, Missouri, and engaged
in the real estate business. In 1895 he was elected county recorder of
Jackson county, Missouri, which position he held for four years,
being the first Republican ever elected to that office in the county.
His health failed and for two years he was unable to attend to the af-
fairs of a business life. About two months before his death, longing
to be near his old home, and hoping for beneficial effects from the
pure spring water to be found there, Orin returned with his wife and
son Sheldon, to Worcester, New York, at which place he died on
December 7, 1906 — the last of the family of eleven children born
to William C. and Mary (Graves) Queal. He was laid to rest in the
family lot in Maple Grove cemetery, where lie the other members of
a family known at home and abroad for real worth, and who lived for
what is worth while.
THE BEYER FAMILY
THE Schwenkfelders — so called — received their name from
Caspar Schvvenkfeld, a Silesian nobleman, born in 1490. He
was educated at Cologne, but spent several years at other univer-
sities, where theology attracted his attention, and the writings of
the church fathers were his favorite study. Despite the fact of his
inclination to study along these lines, he carried out his original inten-
tion and fitted himself for knighthood. While a young man, he en-
tered the service of the Hussite king of Bohemia, and the doctrines as
received in that court made a deep and lasting impression upon his
mind, and no doubt gave direction to his future life and labor. He
met many theologians who were drifting in the way of reformation.
Luther had now withdrawn from the Church of Rome, and his
preaching engaged the attention of Schwenkfeld and inspired him
with a more intense zeal for the service of the divine Master. He
renounced the Roman Catholic Church to become an evangelist, and
for thirty-six years with voice and pen, exhorted men to repentance
and godliness. His followers were called Schwenkfelders in derision
(a name which they accepted) , and were stigmatized by almost every
appellation that was supposed to convey a reproach.
The persecution continued until it became unbearable and the
Schwenkfelders resolved to escape from the country at all hazards.
The exodus began in February, 1726, when they went to Holland,
where they lived for eight years in a state of uncertainty as to their
future. About this time they found that application had been made
to the proper authorities for their enforced return to Silesia, they
being permitted to remain in Holland until spring. Two families,
however, determined to seek a new home in a new land, and accord-
ingly emigrated to America, arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
September 18, 1733. Their report of the country was so favorable
that about forty families determined to follow them, one hundred
334 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
eighty-four persons settling in Pennsylvania in 1734. Many others
came in 1736, among them Abraham Beyer and wife, Rosina Yeakcl,
who with their children, Abraham, Andrew, Anna Rosina, and Anna
Maria, arrived on October 19, 1736 (old style), and settled in Wor-
cester, Montgomery (then Philadelphia) county.
First Generation
AbmhaM ' Beyer was born in Silesia, Germany, July 28, 1690;
married Rosina Yeakel (born June 1 1, 1699). To them were born:
I. Abraham, born October 4, 1721 ; married November 8,
1750; died March 6, 1796.
II. Andrew, born in 1733 ; married Philipina Weyand.
III. Anna Rosina; married David Schultz October 29, 1745.
IV. Anna Maria; married Abraham Yeakel October 19, 1748.
V. George, born July 13, 1739; died September 19, 1744.
VI. Susanna; married Durk Casselberger November i, 1762.
Abraham Beyer lived in Worcester, Montgomery (then Phila-
delphia) county, Pennsylvania, where in March, 1737, he bought
ninety-four acres of land near the present Worcester meeting house.
He died October 30, 1754, aged sixty- four years, two months and two
days. His widow, Rosina, died July 31, 1770, aged seventy- one years,
one month and twenty days.
Anna Rosina, third child of Abraham and Rosina (Yeakel) Beyer,
was born in Germany, coming with her parents to this country in
1736. She married David Schultz October 29, 1745, and they estab-
lished their home in Goshenhoppen, Upper Hanover. While away
from home performing the duties of his office as surveyor, he left his
wife with a German servant whom he employed to carry on the work
of the farm. This servant was a "Redemptioner" ; that is, one who
had to reimburse the shipping company or private individual (as the
case might be) who had paid his passage from the old country. This
servant had been brought over by Abraham Beyer, father of Anna
Rosina, and given to his daughter for whom he was to work out his
obligation. On June 13, 1750, while David Schultz was absent from
home on a surveying expedition, his wife was murdered b}- this "Re-
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 335
demptioner," who was apprehended, convicted for the crime on Oc-
tober 22, 1750, and hung the 14th of the following November — the
first murderer to be sentenced and hung in this community.
Second Generation
A.mm\Y ^ Beyer (Abraham ^) , second son of Abraham and Rosina
(Yeakel) ) Beyer, was born in 1733 ; married Philipina Wevand No-
vember 7, 1758. To them were born.
I. Susanna, born August 2, 1759; died June 4, 1764.
11. Abraham, born October 8, 1760; married Catherine Rick-
erd; died Augusts, 1832.
III. Jacob, born February 14, 1762; married Rachel Metz (born
July 26. 1763). Jacob Beyer died August 23, 1846; Rachel
Beyer died July 5, 1855.
IV. Wendel, born December 9, 1763; died December 17, 1779.
V. Daniel, born November 6, 1765; married Rebekah .
VI. Rosanna, born April 27, 1769.
VII. Andrew.
VIII. David.
IX. Anna Maria.
Andrew Beyer died April 19, 1773, aged nearly forty years.
Third Generation
Jacob ' Beyer (Andrew,^ Abraham ^), third child of Andrew and
Philipma Beyer, was born February 14, 1762; married Rachel Metz
(born July 26, 1763). To them were born:
I. Catharine, born September 14, 1783 ; married Jacob Bean.
11. Andrew, born July 24, 1785; married Catharine Bean.
III. Christiana, born October 20, 1787; married Michael Van
Fossen.
IV. Joseph, born November 17, 1789; married Hannah Bean.
V. Margaret, born April 13, 1794; married Samuel Kline in
February, 1813.
VL Rachel, born February 12, 1796; married Daniel Ritten-
house September 10, 1820.
336
GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
VII. Jacob, born April 19, 1798; married Magdalena Boorse in
1822.
VIII. Mary, born July 4, 1800; married Joseph Metz September
1 1, 1821.
IX. Elizabeth, born January 5, 1806; married John Metz Janu-
ary 6, 1828.
Jacob Beyer died August 23, 1846; Rachel, wife, died July 5, 1855.
Fourth Generation
Jacob' Beyer (Jacob,' Andrew,-' Abraham'), seventh child of
Jacob and Rachel (Metz) Beyer, was born April 19, 1798; married
Magdalena Boorse in 1822. To them were born:
I. Samuel, born February 13, 1823; married Hannah Brunner
in 1844. To them were born:
1. Mary Ann, born January I, 1846; married Geo. Pennick.
2. Martha Jane, born June i, 1847.
3. Emily, born January 18, 1849; married John Baker.
4. Elizabeth, born September 15, 1850; died November 13,
1851.
5. Franklin, born March 23, 1852.
6. Cyrus, born April 7, 1855; married Susan Miller in
1875-
7. Lydia, born January 29, 1857.
8. Amanda, born December 10, 1862.
9. Eva, born April 7, 1866.
Samuel Beyer died March 29, 1867.
II. John, born April 8, 1824; married Sarah Schwenk in 1850.
To them were born :
1. Theodore, born April 14, 1852; died June 22, 1852.
2. Margaret Schwenk, born October 20, t8(;3.
3. Sarah Jane, born December 31, 1854; married Edwin
Bean November 24, 1878.
4. Sophia H., born June 9, i8i;6.
q. Elizabeth, born October 16, i860.
John Beyer died August 22, 1898.
Adam Ui-'ilr
Jacob Beyer Homestead
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 339
III. Jesse, born September 13, 1825; married Hannah Dettra in
1 85 1. To them were born:
1. Louise Ann, born November 19, 1853.
2. Mary Magdalene, born May 20, 1855.
3. William, born June 4, 1858.
IV. Adam, born August 24, 1827; died November 18, 191 1.
V. Elizabeth, born October 31, 1828; married David Kook Sep-
tember 10, 1853. To them were born:
1. Franklin, born June 3, 1854.
2. Angeline, born August 31, 1857.
3. Jacob, born November 24, 1859.
4. Sarah Elizabeth, born July 15, 1863.
5. Catherine Ann, born May 15, 1867.
VI. Daniel, born June 27, 1830; married Catharine Oberholtzer
in 1853. To them were born :
1. Ellen J., born December 21, 1856.
2. Elizabeth, born March 4, i860; died February 20, 1861.
3. William N., born December 20, 1862; married Mary
Huber.
4. Emma K., born July 8, 1868.
5. Alvin D., born November 8, 1872; married Mary Yost.
Daniel Beyer died December 26, 1883.
VII. Albert, born January 8, 1832; died January 5, 1851.
VIII. Jacob, born June 21, 1834; married Carolina Haas in 1855.
To them were born :
1. Amelia, born October 8, 1856; died July 23, 1859.
2. Abraham, born November 5, 1858; died in 1904.
3. John, born July 26, i860; died March 1 1, 1878.
4. Elizabeth, born September 23, 1862; married John
Pfleiger.
5. Mary Ann, born July 15, 1865 ; died December 28, 1865.
Jacob Beyer died in July, 1910.
IX. Benjamin, born March 4, 1836; died April 23, 1849.
X. James, born October 29, 1838; married Elizabeth Dettra in
1864. To them were born.
340 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
1. James Irwin, born November 28, 1869.
2. May Ella, born January 3, 1872.
3. Vernon, born July 29, 1874.
James Beyer died May 8, 1906.
XI. Franklin, born June 28, 1840; died April 16, 1852.
XII. Charles, born April 30, 1842; died January 18, 1848.
XIII. Sarah, born April 13, 1844; married James U. Bean Janu-
ary 28, 1865. To them were born :
1. Ida Jane, born November 26, 1865 ; married John Groff.
2. James Wilson, born October 16, 1867.
3. Mary Catharine, born April 24, 1870; married John
Wagner.
4. Sarah Elizabeth, born September 14, 1872; married
Henry Brunner.
James Bean died July 14, 1912.
Magdalena, wife of Jacob Beyer, died March 30, 1848. He mar-
ried (second) Elizabeth Oberholtzer in 1855.
Jacob Beyer died in 1886.
Fifth Generation
Adam " Beyer (Jacob,* Jacob,^ Andrew,' Abraham '), fourth child
of Jacob and Magdalena (Boorse) Beyer, was born in Montgomery
county, Pennsylvania, August 24, 1827. He married Mary, daughter
of Frederick and Lydia (Umstead) Brunner (born September 25,
1828) in 1852. To them were born five children:
I. Amelia, born in 1852; died August 10, 1853.
II. Jackson, born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, De-
cember 28, 1853; married Mary Elizabeth Queal, at Ames,
Iowa, November 30, 1876.
III. JefTerson, born in Montgomery count}^ Pennsylvania, Au-
gust 2, 1855; married Ida H. Detwiler (born July 17, 1859)
January 23, 1883.
IV. Wesley B., born April 4, i8i;7, in Montgomery county,
Pennsylvania; married Addie Thomas (born September 1 1,
i8i;5) at Norristown, Pennsylvania, April 6, 1881.
Jackson Beyer
jVIar'i' Qlieal BiaER
'jri
O
H
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 345
V. Harry Brunner, born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania,
August 27, 1858; married Jennie Elizabeth McElyea (born
in Lee county, Illinois, November 5, 1861) April 19, 1882,
at Ames, Iowa.
Mary (Brunner) Beyer died December 19, 1866.
Adam Beyer married (second) Elizabeth, daughter of
Charles Hendricks, in 1870. To them was born one son:
VI. Irwin, born February 20, 1871. He was a soldier during the
Spanish-American War; is living (1912) in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
Adam Beyer was a carpenter by trade, and lived in Norristown,
Pennsylvania, for many years. He was one of the charter members
of the Reformed Church in that city, of which church he remained a
communicant during his life. After the death of his second wife, he
made his home with his son, Jefferson Beyer, where he died Novem-
ber 18, 1910.
Sixth Generation
Jackson' Beyer (Adam,' Jacob," Jacob,' Andrew,' Abraham'),
second child of Adam and Mary (Brunner) Beyer, was born in Mont-
gomery county, Pennsylvania, December 28, 1853; married Mary
Elizabeth Queal November 30, 1876. To them were born t\vo chil-
dren:
I. Lucy J., born in Ames, Iowa, April 1 1, 1878 ; married Ellis
R. Engelbeck September 8, 1898.
II. John Hedding, born in Sheldahl, Iowa, March 18, 1883;
married Lila Elizabeth Beard December 24, 1906.
After the death of his mother in 1866 Jackson Beyer lived on a
farm with his grandfather, Frederick Brunner, for three years, at
the expiration of which time he went west, arriving at Nevada, Story
county, Iowa, August 7, 1869, where he remained until the following
spring, going from that place to Ames, Iowa, where he worked on a
farm. In 1876 he rented the Queal farm, which he worked for three
years; then entered into partnership with his brother-in-law, John H.
Queal, in the lumber business at Sheldahl, Iowa. In the spring of
1884 he moved with his family to Des Moines, Iowa, where J. H.
346 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
Queal & Company had opened a lumber yard. Jackson Beyer is a
member of the Masonic fraternity, being a thirty-second degree Ma-
son ; he is also a member of the order of Knights of Pythias. He has
now been a resident of Des Moines for more than twenty-eight years,
where he is still looking after the business affairs of J. H. Queal & Co.
Mary Elizabeth, second child of Atchison and Lucy Oletha Queal,
was born at Fly Creek, Otsego county, New York, January 22, 1849;
married Jackson Beyer at Ames, Iowa, November 30, 1876.
Fly Creek, the birthplace of Mary Queal Beyer, is a beautiful vil-
lage, four miles from Cooperstown, New York. Here is standing to-
day the parsonage home in which she was born, the only change being
in the addition of a porch across the front and a kitchen in the rear of
the building. The house was sold some years since, and is now occu-
pied by a Mr. Simons and his family. A new parsonage has been
built by the side of the church, but the church stands today as it was in
1849, with the exception of new windows which have replaced the old
ones, and the removal of the gallery.
Mary went with her parents to Morrow count}'^, Ohio, in 1856. Her
education was gained in the district school of the neighbrohood, with
the exception of one year, which was spent in attending the school at
Iberia. Three terms of school were taught by her before removing
with her mother to Ames, Iowa, in 1871. Here she taught five con-
secutive terms in the same school, living at home.
After the marriage of Mary Queal and Jackson Beyer, they re-
mained on the farm for three years, removing in the fall of 1879 to
Sheldahl, Iowa, where her brother, John H. Queal, and Jackson
Beyer entered into a partnership in the lumber business, which is
known as J. H. Queal & Company. In the spring of 1883 the family
went to Ames, where they remained one year, removing to Des
Moines, Iowa, in 1884, in which city they still reside, at 1027 Des
Moines street, in the home built by them in 1893.
Jefferson" Beyer (Adam,' Jacob,' Jacob,' Andrew,' Abraham '),
third child of Adam and Mary (Brunner) Beyer, was born in Mont-
Parson. ACE xv V\a Crukk, New \Drk, whkrr Author was born-
Church AT Fi.v Creek, Ostego County, New ^'ork, where
Atchison Queal preached, 1848-50
Mrs. Jennie McElyea Beyer
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 349
gomery county, Pennsylvania, August 2, 1855; married Ida Det-
wiler (born July 17, 1859) January 23, 1883. To them was born :
I. Hiram Weldon, born November 22, 1884; married Anna
Haas December 26, 1905. To them has been born one child :
I. Lester Haas, born October 4, 1908.
Jefferson Beyer was for many years a farmer, then moved to Nor-
ristovvn, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the grocery business, the
son, Hiram Weldon, remaining with his father until 1910, when he
engaged in the same line of business for himself.
Wesley B.' Beyer (Adam,' Jacob,' Jacob,' Andrew,^ Abraham '),
fourth child of Adam and Mary (Brunner) Beyer, was born in
Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1857; married Addie
Thomas July 6, 1881. To them were born two children:
I. Charles, born June 11, 1884; is a civil engineer at Norris-
town, Pennsylvania.
II. Etelka, born December 14, 1889; living with her parents in
Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Wesley B. Beyer has been for years and is at the present time secre-
tary for the corporation of R. S. Newbold & Son Company, founders,
machinists, and boilermakers, at Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Harry Brunner " Beyer (Adam,' Jacob,' Jacob,' Andrew,' Abra-
ham'), fifth child of Adam and Mary (Brunner) Beyer, was born
August 27, 1858; married Jennie Elizabeth McElyea April 19, 1882,
at Ames, Iowa. To them were born three children :
I. Harriet Newell, born March 28, 1886, at Rock Valley,
Iowa ; married Dr. Charles H. Stange, dean of the veterinary
division, Iowa State College, at Ames, Iowa, October 20,
1909.
II. Genevieve Brunner, born November 10, 1887, ^f Rock Val-
ley, Iowa; died October 21;, 1902.
350 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
III. Winifred Belle, born September 12, 1890, at Rock Valley,
Iowa; died June 10, 1908.
Harry Brunner Beyer removed to Iowa from Pennsylvania in
1877, and worked for his brother Jackson on the farm. He was later
employed by the firm of J. H. Queal & Co. and went to Rock Valley
in December, 1885, where he died February 28, 1892. His widow,
Jennie McElyea Beyer, resides in Ames, Iowa.
Seventh Generation
John Hedding' Beyer (Jackson," Adam,' Jacob,' Jacob,' An-
drew,' Abraham'), second child of Jackson and Mary (Queal)
Beyer, was born at Sheldahl, Story county, Iowa, March 18, 1883;
married Lila Elizabeth Beard, daughter of Joseph and Alice (Briar)
Beard, December 24, 1906. To them have been born:
I. Jean, born October 16, 1909.
II. Jack, born September 8, 191 2.
John Hedding Beyer holds a responsible position in the office of
J. H. Queal & Co., at East Second street and Grand avenue, Des
Moines, Iowa.
JoHX Hkdding Beyer
THE COOPER AND ENGELBECK FAMILIES
WILLIAM and SARAH Cooper lived in Boughton, Kent, Eng-
land. Here Sarah Cooper died, and in 1841 her husband emi-
grated with his family of four sons and two daughters to America,
finding a home in Monroeville, Ohio, where the last years of his life
were spent in the home of his daughter, Maria Day, where he died at
the age of eighty-four years.
Caleb, son of William and Sarah Cooper, was born in England
August 17, 1820, and came with his father to America, also locating
in Monroeville. At the breaking out of the Mexican War he enlisted
as a soldier, serving his country with credit, and at its close located at
Plaster Bed, Ohio, on the north shore of Sandusky Bay. Here he
followed the cooper's trade.
At Banff, Scotland, on January 15, 1829, Jeannette McDonald first
saw the light of day, and when but four years of age this little Scotch
lassie came to America with her parents, where she grew to woman-
hood, met and married Caleb Cooper November 17, 1849. Of this
union were born four children:
I. Sarah Elizabeth, born October 13, 1851 ; married George P.
Engelbeck January 4, 1870.
II. William A., born June 22, 1853; married Eliza Howard.
To them were born four children. William A. Cooper and
wife live in Riverside, California, where they own a fine
orange grove.
III. Ranald, born July 10, 1857; married Addie LaBour; two
sons. They are living in Salina, Kansas.
IV. Margaret M., born January 10, 1859; married John Light-
ner; lives in Danbury, Ohio.
354 GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
In the early part of the year 1851 Caleb Cooper bought a farm
near Gypsum, Ohio, to which they removed when their first child was
but six months old, and where the wife, Jeannette (McDonald)
Cooper, died March 16, 1888, the husband surviving his wife nine
years — dying January 14, 1897.
Harmon Engelbeck was born in Ompt, Saven, Germany, king-
dom of Hanover, June 15, 1801. He married Caroline Fitchther
(born Pathen Bone, Middle States, Prussia, January 15, 1811). To
them were born nine children:
I. William, born August 12, 1835.
II. Hermon W., born December 23, 1837; married Nancy Wor-
nell of Gypsum, Ohio.
III. John R., born September 9, 1839.
IV. Henry J., born October 10, 1841.
V. Kathlyn C, born August 10, 1843; married William Slack-
ford of Gypsum, Ohio.
VI. Joseph W., born July 10, 1845.
VII. George P., born February 20, 1849.
VIII. ) Antoinetta, born February 20, 1850; died September 11, 185 1.
IX. ) Margaret, born February 20, 1850; died September 18, 1851.
Harmon Engelbeck came with his wife to America from Germany,
arriving in this country March 10, 1833, and making his home in
New York until November, 1835, when they removed to Ohio and
located on a farm in Ottawa county, near Port Clinton, when that
section of the country was new and the land unimproved. Here they
spent the remainder of their days, Caroline the wife, dying January
29, 1874, her husband surviving her less than three months, his death
occurring April 26, 1874.
George P., seventh child of Harmon and Caroline Engelbeck, was
born February 20, 1849; married Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of Caleb
Harm(in Exgei.beck, RdRx 1801
Cariu.im; Ent.i:i.bhck, horn i8ii
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 357
and Jeannette (McDonald) Cooper, at Gypsum, Ohio, January 4,
1870. To them were born four sons:
I. George, born April 7, 1872; died October 18, 1873.
II. Ellis Ranald, born April 5, 1874; married Lucy J. Beyer, at
Des Moines, Iowa, September 8, 1898. To them have been
born two children:
1. Elizabeth, born October 3, 1899.
2. Ranald Beyer, born August 6, 1904.
Ellis R. Engelbeck is employed by J. H. Queal & Co. as
manager of one of the lumber yards owned by the firm in
the city of Des Moines, Iowa.
III. Arthur C, born July 18, 1876; married Bessie Thomas in
1895. To them has been born one child:
I. Ruth, born February 4, 1898.
IV. Claude E., born September 20, 1 878 ; married Clara Hahnen
September 20, 1907. To them has been born one child:
I. Katherine, born February, 1909.
The older sons of Harmon and Caroline Engelbeck served as sol-
diers in the War of the Rebellion, but because of his youth George P.
Engelbeck was obliged to remain at home, where he assisted his father
in carrying on the work of the farm. After his marriage in 1870, he
removed to Victor, Iowa, where the family resided until 1889, when
they made their home in Des Moines. George P. Engelbeck died
September 5, 1910; his widow resides in Des Moines, Iowa.
THE ARMITAGE AND BEARD FAMILIES
JOHN ARMITAGE, bom July 24, 1798; married Elizabeth Har-
rold, daughter of Christopher Harrold and Martha Cable (born
March 2, 1802) January 21, 1819. To them were born eleven chil-
dren:
I. John Harrold, born December 21, 1819; died March 16,
1872.
II. Washington, born April 2, 1821 ; died October 21, 1833.
III. Elizabeth, born November 23, 1822; died March 30, 1898.
IV. Christopher, born August 14, 1825 ; died January 25, 1855.
V. Theodore, born October 29, 1827.
VI. Hiram, born February 6, 1830; died 1907.
VII. Evans, born January 31, 1832; died November 2, 1892.
VIII. Henry, born January 25, 1834.
IX. Susannah, born January 26, 1836; died June 12, 1888.
X. Harrison, born July 9, 1840; died during Warof Rebellion.
XI. Joseph, born January 31, 1842; died October 18, 1849.
Elizabeth, third child of John and Elizabeth Armitage,
married Edward Barnett Beard (born September 10, 1819)
March 26, 1845, near Athens, Ohio. To them were born:
1. Mary Elizabeth, born at Athens, Ohio, January 19,
1846; died April 20, 1900.
2. Emily Jane, born October 4, 1848, Athens, Ohio.
3. Christopher Armitage, born October 15, 1854, at El-
wood, Iowa.
4. Joseph Harrold, born October 15, 1854, at Elwood,
Iowa.
5. David Moore, born October 7, 1858, at Elwood, Iowa.
6. Abraham Lincoln, born January 21, 1861, at Elwood,
Iowa.
FRENCH AND ALLIED FAMILIES 359
Schuyler Colfax, born April i, 1867, at Elwood, Iowa.
Joseph Harrold Beard, born October 15, 1854, married
Alma Mae Briar, daughter of John and Elizabeth
Eicher Briar (born March 28, 1857) March 28, 1882,
at Sigourney, Iowa. To them were born :
1. Lila Elizabeth, born April 26, 1883.
2. Clarke Briar, born November 29, 1884.
Ind^
ex
INDEX
Abbott, Elmer E., 259
Abbott, Joshua, 46
Abbott, Lucy Lillian, 259
Abbott, Thomas, 23
Adams, Almaretta, 249
Adkins, Elizabeth, 291
Albert, Gilbert, 269
Albert, Louise, 316
Albert, Mary, 269
Alderman, Etta, 147
Alderman, Helen French, 147
Alderman, Judson, 147
Alderman, Newell, 147
Allen, Andrew, 221
Almy, Georgianna, 187
Alsworth, Mary Effie, 260
Amherst, Jeffry, 103
Anderson, Anna, 66
Anderson, Kenneth French, 66
Appleseed, Johnny, 102, 163
Appleton, Lieut. Francis H., 37
Armitage, Christopher, 358
Arraitage, Elizabeth, 358
Armitage, Evans, 358
Armitage, Harrison, 358
Armitage, Henry, 358
Arraitage, Hiram, 358
Armitage, John, 358
Armitage, John Harrold, 354
Armitage, Joseph, 358
Armitage, Susanna, 358
Armitage, Washington, 358
Arnold, Alpha, 245, 249, 262
Arnold, David, 245, 248
Arnold, Edward, 249
Arnold, Harn,-, 248
Arnold, Mari,', 249
Arnold, Samuel, 248
Arnold, Stephen, 248, 249
Ashley, Samuel, 228
Atchison, Margaret, 264
Atherton, John, 77
Atkinson, Theodore, 100
Auger, Edmund, 34
Babcock, Artemas, 277, 278, 291
Babcock, Daniel, 282
Babcock, Eleanor, 291
Babcock, Electa, 29, 283
Babcock, Mary, 277, 278
Babcock, Polly, 291
Babcock, Robert, 291
Baker, Araminta, 265
Baker, Emma, 181
Baker, John, 336
Baker, Samuel, 265
Baldwin, John, 46
Baldwin, Jonathan, 26
Baldwin, Thomas, 27
Ballard, Samuel, 52
Ballou, Alpha, 235
Ballou, Eliza, 232, 235
Ballou, Ellis, 232
Ballou, Henry, 232
Ballou, Jacob T., 232
Ballou, James, 224, 230, 231, 236
Ballou, Mehitable, 231
Ballou, Orrin, 232
Ballou, Phoebe Tanner, 232
Ballou, Thomas, 230
Bancroft, Roger, 84
Bangs, John, 290
Bannister, Lucy, 316
Barber, A. M., 286
Barber, Martha, 265
Barfoot, Susan, 157, 177
Barnard, David, 65
Barnard, Joseph, 66
Barnard, Louisa M., 65
Barnard, Sarah F., 65
Barney, Martha, 241
Barnes, Clarissa, 245
Barrett, Elizabeth, 221, 222
Barrett, William, 29, 30
Barron, Elizabeth, 26
Bates, Andrew, 66
Bates, Eleanor French, 79, 83, 84
Beale, Samuel, 68
Beale, William, 68
Bean, Catharine, 335
Bean, Edwin, 336
Bean, Hannah, 335
Bean, Jacob, 335
Bean, James U., 340
Bean, Joseph, 97
Bean, Mary Catharine, 340
Bean, Sarah, 340
Bean, Sarah Elizabeth, 340
Beard, Abraham Lincoln, 358
Beard, Christopher, Armitage, 358
Beard, Clarke Briar, 359
Beard, David Moore, 358
Beard, Edward Barnett, 358
Beard, Emily Jane, 358
Beard, Joseph Harrold, 358
Beard, Lila Elizabeth, 345, 350,
359
Belcher, Gov., 34
Bell, Hezekiah, 242
Bell, Sabina, 242
Benedict, Fannie H., 313
Benedict, George, 308, 313
Benedict, George Barnard, 313
Benedict, Mabel, 313
Bennett, Charles, 282
Bentley, Betsey, 284
Bentley, Laura, 284
Benton, Loren, 242
Benton, Sarah, 242
Bird, Rev. Samuel, 98, 99, 100
3^4
INDEX
Bisemore, Nettie, 66
Bishop, Catherine, 147
Bishop, Jane, 143, 155
Bishop, Samuel, 143
Bitnar, William, 221
Blanchard, Elizabeth, 87
Blanchard, Grace, 87
Blanchard, James, 75
Blanchard, John, 68, 74
Blanchard, Joseph, 98, 99
Bloggeft, Thomas, 34
Bonnell, Lydia, 22
Boorse, Magdalena, 336
Booth, Lorinda, 282, 308
Bordman, William, 29
Bostacke, Thomas, 28
Bowen, James B., 205
Boynton, Alpha, 172, 236
Boynton, Amos, 235
Boynton, Harriet, 235
Boynton, Henry Ballou, 235
Boynton, Phoebe, 235
Boynton, Silas, 235
Brackett, John, 27, 53
Brackett, Mary, 53
Briar, Alma Mae, 359
Briar, John, 359
Briggs, Nathan, 313
Brockway, Reed, 157
Brooks, Delia, 109
Brooks, Dr. P. B., 114
Brown, Nathaniel, 242
Brown, Orpha, 242
Brown, Sarah, 25
Browne, Will, 51
Brownlee, Mary J., 261
Brunner, Frederick, 340, 345
Brunner, Hannah, 336
Brunner, Henry, 340
Brunner, Lydia Umstead, 340
Brunner, Sarah E., 340
Buckingham, Jennie, 265
Bulson, Ichabod, 157
Burrage, Hannah, 22
Burrage, John, 22
Bushnell, I.ydia, 240, 241
Butterfield, Catherine, 85
Butterfield, Esther, 86
Butterfield, John, 85, 86, 89
Butterfield, Jonas, 85, 86
Butterfield, Leonard, 85
Butterfield, Olive, 85
Butterfield, Rebecca, 86
Butterfield, Sarah, 85
Beyer, Abraham, 334, 335, 339
Adam, 339, 340, 345, 349
Albert, 339
Alvin D., 339
Amanda, 336
Amelia, 339, 340
Anna Maria, 335
Anna Rosina, 334
Andrew, 334, 335
Benjamin, 339
Charles, 340
Cyrus, 336
Daniel, 335, 339
David, 335
Elizabeth, 336, 339
Ellen, 339
Emma K, 339
Emily, 336
Etelka, 340
Eva, 336
Franklin, 336, 340
Genevieve Brunner, 349
Harriet Newell, 349
Harry Brunner, 345, 349,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beye r
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
350
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
346,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer
350
Beyer
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
350
Beyer,
Beyer,
Beyer,
Hiram Weldon, 349
Irwin, 345
Jack, 350
Jackson, 304, 309, 340, 345,
350
Jacob, 335, 336, 339, 340
James, 339, 340
James Irwin, 340
James Wilson, 340
Jefferson, 340, 346, 349,
Jennie McElyea, 350
Jesse, 339
John, 336, 339
John Hedding, 298, 345,
Joseph, 335
Lester Haas, 349
Lila Elizabeth, 350
Beyer, Louise Ann, 339
Beyer, Lucy J., 345, 357
Beyer, Lydia, 336
Beyer, Margaret Schwenk, 336
Beyer, Martha Jane, 336
Beyer, Mary, 349
Beyer, Mary Ann, 336, 339
Beyer, Mary Brunner, 345
Beyer, Mary Magdalene, 339
Beyer, Mary Queal, 300, 340,
346, 350
Beyer, May Ella, 340
Beyer, Rachel, 335, 336
Beyer, Rosanna, 335
Beyer, Samuel, 336
Beyer, Sarah Jane, 336
Beyer, Sophie H., 339
Beyer, Susanna, 335
Beyer, Theodore, 336
Beyer, Vernon, 340
Beyer, Wesley B., 340, 349
Beyer, William, 339
Beyer, William N., 339
Beyer, Winifred Belle, 350
Burnside, Gen., 325
C.\LDWEI,L, Harriet N., 65
Caldwell, Jefferson, 65
Caldwell, Myra A., 65
Campbell, James, 224
Cane, Christopher, 34
Capron, Capt. Oliver, 228
Carmer, Jessie, 20
Carpenter, Sybil, 223, 224
Cary, Walter, 155
Casselburger, Durk, 334
Casselburger, Susanna, 334
Chawick, John, 52
Chamberlain, Belle, 158, 197
Chamberlain, Wm., 40, 46, 59
Chamm, Sam'l, 46
Champion, Joshua, 293
Champney, Daniel, 59, 60
Champney, Mary, 25, 27
Champney, Richard, 25
Chapman, Arthur, 259
Chapman, Jonathan, 163
Chapman, Sarah, 259
Chase, Levi, 284
INDEX
365
Cheavers, Thomas, 52
Cheseboro, Edwin, 157
Chesbro, Nicholas, 285
Childs, John, 28
Childs, Hannah, 60
Cipperly, David, 157
Clapp, John, 235
Clark, Alva, 227, 228
Clark, Angeline, 228
Clark, Daniel, 235
Clark, Edwin, 227
Clark, Eliza, 228
Clark, Eliza Cram, 227
Clark, Elizabeth, 228
Clark, Eunice, 228
Clark, Harvey Cunning, 227
Clark, James Stone, 227, 228
Clark, Jesse, 227
Clark, Laura, 232
Clark, Luna, 227
Clark, Sarah Louisa, 227
Clark, Sebra, 227
Clark, Stephen, 227
Clement, Sarah, 96, 98
Clevenger, Mary, 158, 184
Clogston, Paul, 104
Coddington, Emma, 265
Coggan, Abigail, 22
Coe, Allan, 261
Coe, Sibbel, 261
Cole, Bell, 147
Cole, Mary, 224
Collin, John, 21
Combs, Jonathan, 88
Comstock, Lovina, 248
Connett, Albert, 268
Connett, Edward, 268
Connett, Ida, 268
Connett, Malon, 268
Connett, Maria, 268
Conroy, Elizabeth, 274
Conroy, Luke, 274
Convers, Mary, 27
Converse, Josiah, 53, 55, 56
Covington, Ella, 250
Cook, Ellen, no
Cook, James, 224
Cooke, Captaine, 34
Cooke, Colonel Geo., 37
Cooke, Joseph, 37
Cooley, Charles, 269
Cooley, James B., 269
Cooley, Mary Estelle, 269
Cooper, Caleb, 353
Cooper, Eliza, 353
Cooper, Sarah, 353
Cooper, Sarah E., 354
Cooper, William, 353
Covvles, William, 147
Crafts, E. G., 152
Crafts, Rev. W. F., 303
Crane, Delia, 228
Crane, Eliza, 228
Crane, Evan Joseph, 228
Crane, Florence, 228
Crane, George, 228
Crane, Marion, 228
Crane, Rosetta, 228
Crocker, Minnie, 248
Crockett, Moses, 65
Croe, John, 41
Crosby, Joseph, 28
Crosby, Josiah, 25
Crosby, Sarah, 60
Crosby, Simon, 51, 52, 55
Cummings, Addie, 66
Cummings, Easter, 85
Cummings, Elizabeth, 78, 84, 87
Cummings, Elizabeth French, 85
Cummings, Isaac, 68
Cummings, James, 86
Cummings, John, 62, 68, 71, 74,
78, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88
Cummings, Jonathan, 88
Cummings, Katy, 86
Cummings, Lucy, 86
Cummings, Molly, 86
Cummings, Nathaniel, 88
Cummings, Olive, 85
Cummings, Rebecca, 85
Cummings, Sarah, 27, 62, 68
Cummings, Thomas, 68
Curtis, Mrs. Mary, 25
Dane, Francis, 221
Danforth, Jacob, 46
Danforth, Jonathan, 40, 43, 46,
48, 5i> 53, 56
Danforth, Rhoda, 84
Danforth, Sarah, 25
Danforth, Samuel, 97
Danforth, Thomas, 30
Davis, Elizabeth, 85
Davis, Jefferson T., 181
Davis, Minnie, 320
Davy, Charlotte, 292
Day, Calvin, 242
Day, Maria, 353
Day, Sarah, 242
Day, Steeven, 29
Dean, Sarah M., 2S2, 319
De Mars, Rose, 270
Deltra, Elizabeth, 339
Deltra, Hannah, 339
Detwiler, Ida H., 340, 349
Devanpeck, Charles, 157
Dickinson, Castor, 104
Doolittle, Col. Ephriam, 228
Dovvne, William, 97
Dudley, Thomas, 34
Dunham, Ephriam, 284
Dunklin, Mary, 60
Dunklin, Nathaniel, 28
Dustin, Hannah, 78
Dutro, Mrs. Rufus, 232
Easton, Delia C, 250
Easton, Otis M., 250
Eaton, John, 222
Eaton, Ruth, 222
Eicher, Elizabeth, 359
Elder, Lydia, 158, 197
Eliot, John, 39
Eliot, Robert, 22
Elliott, Major, 327, 328
Ellis, Benjamin, 224
Ellis, Elizabeth, 53
Ellis, Rebecca, 231
Ellis, Richard, 53
Engelbeck, Antoinnetta, 354
Eiigelbeck, Arthur C, 357
Engelbeck, Bessie Thomas, 357
Engelbeck, Caroline, 357
Engelbeck, Claude E., 357
Engelbeck, Elizabeth, 357
Engelbeck, Ellis R., 357
Engelbeck, George, 354
366
INDEX
Engelbeck, George P., 353, 354,
357
Engelbeck, Harmon, 354, 357
Engelbeck, Henrj- J., 354
Engelbeck, Hermon, 354
Engelbeck, John R., 354
Engelbeck, Joseph W., 354
Engelbeck, Katharine, 357
Engelbeck, Margaret, 354
Engelbeck, Ranald, 353, 357
Engelbeck, Ruth, 357
Engelbeck, Sarah Elizabeth, 353
Engelbeck, William, 354
Ernst, G. VV., 286
Esmay, Ruth, 273
Essex, John, 284
Estabrook, Mary, 83, 84
Estabrook, Sarah, 65
Evans, Emily, 232
Evarts, Lua Elizabeth, 259
Farley, Achsa, 283
Farley, George, 40, 43, 44, 46, 48
Farnum, Sarah, 221
Farwell, Henry, 67, 68, 91
Ferris, Eliza, 143
Ferris, George, 143, 155
Ferris, Hannah, 143, 155
Ferris, Lucy Jane, 143, 155
Ferris, Marah, 144, 156
Ferris, Nancy, 143, 151, 156
Ferris, Orva, 285
Ferris, Philo, 144, 156
Ferris, Phoebe, 144, 156
Ferris, Polly Lodema, 144, 156
Ferris, Watson, 144, 156
Ferris, Wesley, 143, 155
Fitchther, Caroline, 354
Fields, Mrs. C. E., 270
Fletcher, Catherine, 86
Fletcher, Elizabeth, 86
Fletcher, Isaac, 86
Fletcher, James, 25
Fletcher, Joseph, 86
Fletcher, Lucinda, 86
Fletcher, Molly, 86
Flint, Betsey, 241
Flint, Daniel, 161, 197, 245, 253,
254, 261
Flint, Henry, 261
Flint, Horatio, 281, 307, 308
Flint, Jacob, 242
Flint, Mary, 236, 237, 255, 262
Flint, Mehitable, 245, 253
Flint, Sharilie, 178
Flint, Stephen S., 178, 161
Foster, Thomas, 48, 55
Fowler, Jane A., 67
Fowler, Laura, 242
Fox, Betsey, 279
Foxcroft, Ira, 73
French, Aaron, 96, 106, 125, 155,
156
French, Abbie, 197
French, Abigail, 23, 27, 28
French, Alice (Octave Thanet),
28, 67
French, Alice Gertrude, 202
French, Alta, 144
French, Alva, 155, 158, 168, 197,
198, 201, 203, 214
French, Amanda, 144
French, Anna E., 66
French, Augusta E., 113
French, Augustus, 86
French, Bayard Taylor, 184
French, Benjamin, 24, 66, 86 93
French, Belle, i88
French, Betsey, 24, 86, no
French, Bridget, 84, 87
French, Calvin D., 158, 168, 201,
202, 203, 204, 216
French, Carson, 113
French, Charles E., 109
French, Charles Jefferson, 65
French, Charlotte, 62, 86, 119
French, Chauncey, 147, 151, 152,
155, 201
French, Cidney E., 187
French, Clara, n6, 119, 131, 135
French, Clare Vernon, 158
French, Clarence Walters, 187
French, Clement, 106, 114, 115,
116, 123, 131, 134, 135, 136
French, Cordelia J., 67
French, Dallas A., 147
French, David, 24, 26, 87, 96
French, Dewitt Clinton,
French, Dwight, io6, 115
French, Ebenezer, 25, 62, 65, 67,
71, 80, 81, 87
French, Ebenezer Smead, no,
113, 116
French, Edward, 22
French, Edward Beecher, 65
French, Eleazer, 62, 82
French, Elizabeth, 21, 22, 23, 24,
25. 27, 30, 33, 47, 62, 84, 85, 93,
94. 96. 97. "6. 156. 168, 175,
179, 184, 187, 245
French, Ellen, 109
French, Ellen W., 66
French, Emma, 109
French, Ephraim, 24
French, Estella J., 67
French, Esther, 26, 86
French, Francis, 22, 109
French, Franklin, 106
French, Frederick, 87
French, Garfield, 187
French, George M., 65
French, Gilbert, 178
French, Gilbert Edward, 177
French, Gordon R., 187
French, Hannah, 23, 24, 27, 28,
33. 47. 56, 59. 62
French, Harriet, 147, 187
French, Harry G., 176
French, Harriet Gilberta, 178
French, Harry Seward, 177
French, Hebzibeth, no
French, Helen Beatrice, 187
French, Helen Melissa, 147
French, Henry, 135
French, Henry S., 65
French, Herbert George, 187
French, Hiram, 144, 151, 155
French, Howard A., 187
French, Ira, 105, 106, 109, 115
French, Jabez, 26
French, Jacob, 24, 25, 27, 33, 52,
53
French, James M., 67, 147
French, James Thomas, 157, 158,
168, 176, 177
French, Jane, 109
INDEX
367
French, Jared A., 144
French, Jefferson, 65
French, J. Fred, 178
French, Jerrymya, 22
French, Joel, 24
French, John, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26,
33t 53i 62, 65, 66, 67, 71, 81, 88,
155, 168, 178
French, John M., Dr., 68
French, Jonathan, 24, 25, 26, 67,
96. 133
French, John Seward, 157, 177
French, John William, 65
French, Joseph, 22, 24, 25, 26, 62,
84, 85, 87, 88, 91, 93, 96, 97, 99
French, Josiah, 84, 86, 105, 123,
125, 126
French, Julia, 119, 144
French, Katherine, 86
French, Katherine May, 202
French, Laura Alfaretta, 184
French, Leslie Ray, 187
French, Leslie Russell, i68, 176,
177
French, Lewis M., 201
French, Lucius, 110
French, Lucy, 26, 87, 106, 109, 130
French, Lucy May, 187
French, Lucy Olettra, 157, 161,
293, 294, 297, 298
French, Lusannah, 119, 124, 143
French, Lydia, 26
French, Malinda Keech, 187
French, Marcena, 147
French, Marietta, 143
French, Marshall, 155
French, Martin M., 194, 197
French, Martin V., 147, 155
French, Marvin, 158, 194
French, Mary, 21, 22, 26, 28, 33,
47, 56, 66, 109, 113, 147, 153,
176, 179, 180
French, Mary Clevenger, 184
French, Mary Suzanne, 178
French, Mehitable, 24
French, Molly, 84
French, Nancy Almeda, 147, 155,
156
French, Nancy M., 147
French, Nathaniel, 24
French, Neheraiah, 24
French, Nellie, no, 177
French, Nettra, 187
French, Nicholas, 26
French, Olive, no
French, Oliver, 26
French, Orin, 113
French, Orva Martin, 201
French, Oscar L. R., 155, 158, 184,
188, 189, 193, 203, 214, 300
French, Polly, 157
French, Priscilla, 26
French, Rebecca, 85, 105, 147
French, Rhoda, 65
French, Richard, 67
French, Richard Calvin, 20i
French, Root, 109, 115
French, Rose, no
French, Sadie, 67
French, Salphronius, 68, 106, 113,
114, 115, Ii6, 120
French, Sampson, 86, 93, 96, 97,
98, 99, 100, 103, 119
French, Samson, 105, 113, 116,
119, 120, 123, 124, 125, 128, 134,
135. 136, 143. 151, 155. 156. 157.
158, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166,
167, 168, 171, 175, 179, 184, 201,
245. 253, 298
French, Samson Babb, 187
French, Samuel, 26, 27, 62, 67, 68,
71, 72, 73. 74. 75. 77, 7^. 80, 81,
84, 87, 88, 93
French Sarah, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28,
33. 47. 56. 59. 62, 65, 66, 67, 84,
105, 126
French, Sarah Elizabeth, 65
French, Seldon, 178
French, Seward H., 201, 202
French, Sherman Queal, 187
French, Silas, 26
French, Stephen, 24
French, Stephen Henry, 157
French, Submit, 105, 106, 130
French, Susan, 65, 66, 178, 179
French, Susannah, 84
French, Sydney J., 147
French, Tabitha, 24
French, Thelismar, 144, 155
French, Theodore, 84
French, Thomas, 21, 22, 84, 86,
87, 105, 123, 128, 129, 133, 143,
144, 146, 148, 151, 152, 155, 156,
157, 161, 246
French, Timothy, 26
French, Walter H. M., 67
French, Wendell P^, 187
French, William, 22, 23, 24, 25,
29, 30, 53, 66, 71, 72
French, Lieut. William, 22, 27,
28, 32, 34. 37. 38. 39, 40. 43. 44.
45, 46. 47. 48. 51, 52, 60, 62, 7J
Frost, Benjamin, 2i
Frost, Edmond, 34
Frost, Elizabeth, 24
Frost, Joseph, 23
Fuller, A. C, 290
Fuller, Barnabus, 285
Fuller, John, 52
Fuller, Jonathan, 62
Fuller, Joshua, 52
Fuller, Samuel, 223
Gainsby, Caroline, 260
Gainsby, Ralph W., 260
Gainsby, Roseltha, 260
Cjarfield, Abram, 232, 235
Garfield, Eliza, 172, 232, 236, 237
Garfield, James, 172
Garfield, James Abram, 235, 236,
237. 238
Garfield, Mary, 235
Garfield, Mehitable, 232
Garfield, Thomas, 232
Gaylord, Orville, 274
Gibbs, George H., 250
Gibbs, Jennie V., 250
Gier, Casander, 228
Gifford, Susie, 320
Gill, Elizabeth, 248
Gillespie, Edna A., 282, 330
Gillespie, Kate E., 282
Gillies, Mary Lodema, 259
Gilman, James Bruce, 273
Gilmore, Frank, 246
Gloner, Mrs., 34
Going, Elizabeth, 259
368
INDEX
Goodenough, Giles, 157
Gookinge, Capt., 47, 61
Goold, John, 68
Goold, Samuel, 68, 78
Gould, John, Dr., 320
Graves, Amos, 282
Graves, Catherine, 282
Graves, Daniel, 283
Graves, Jesse, 283
Graves, Martha, 282
Graves, Marj', 281, 282
Graves, Orin, 283
Graves, Phineas, 283
Graves, Reuben, 282
Graves, Sally, 282
Graves, Samuel, 282
Graves, William, 282
Gray, Mary, 259
Green, Hen., 52
Gregory, Caroline, 227
Groff, Ann, 176
Groff, Ida Jane, 340
GrofJ, John, 340
Haas, Anna, 349
Haas, Caroline, 339
Hadden, Katherine, 34
Hahnen, Clara, 357
Hall, Samuel, 366
Hall, Sarah J., 282, 320
Halley, Mary Littell, 201
Hallock, Mrs., 157
Hamblet, Susanna, 62
Hand, Joseph, 239
Hanor, Abbie, 274
Harper, Jane, 232
Harrington, Cynthia, 113
Harrington, Sally, io6, 109
Harvard, Rev. John, 38
Hassell, Joseph, 68
Hatch, Col., 327, 338
Hawks, Dr., 114
Hawks, Elizabeth, 106
Hawley, Martin, 136
Hedges, Col. Sidney M., 338
Hedstrom, Porter, 290
Hellinger, George, 184
Heminway, George, 260
Heminway, Lucy, 260
Heminway, Mar\', 260
Heminway, Millie, 260
Heminway, Nannie, 260
Hill, Elizabeth, 25
Hill, Joanna, 25
Hill, Ralph, Jr., 40, 44, 46
Hill, Ralph, Sr., 40, 43, 46, 48,
5'
Hill, Patrick, 56
Hendricks, Charles, 345
Hendricks, Elizabeth, 345
Hepburn, Major, 328
Hiscock, Polly, 105, 143, 148
Hoag, Solomon, 242
Hogue, C. W., 262
Hogue, Luella Eliza, 262
Holmes, Sarah E., 66
Hooker, Rev., 33
Hoover, Mary Elida, 252, 254,
255
Hoover, Stephen Delbert, 250
Hoover, William H., 252
Hoover, William O., 252
Hosmer, Susan, 65
Hotchkiss, Almira, 262
Hotchkiss, Benjamin, 262
Houghton, Sarah, 282, 314
Howard, Portia, 224
Howe, John, 240
Howland, Frank, 113
Howland, Isaac, 113
Howland, Nellie, 113
Howland, William, 113
Huber, Mary, 339
Hudson, J. S., 147
Hudson, Rebecca, 155
Hutton, Clymena, 260
Hutton, Robert, 260
Hurd, Jacob, 52
Hurd, Mary A., 109
Hutchinson, John, 98
Hyde, Jonathan, 22, 53
Ingalls, Abram, 224, 232
Ingalls, Alithea, 223
Ingalls, Alpha, 227
Ingalls, Ann, 220, 222
Ingalls, Candace, 224
Ingalls, Ebenezer, 223, 224
Ingalls, Edmund, 220, 223
Ingalls, Eliza, 227
Ingalls, Elizabeth, 221, 223, 224
Ingalls, Faith, 221
Ingalls, Francis, 220
Ingalls, Frederick, 223
Ingalls, Hannah, 224
Ingalls, Henry, 219, 221, 223,
224, 228, 229, 230, 245
Ingalls, Hiram, 224
Ingalls, Isaac, 224
Ingalls, James, 232
Ingalls, John, 221, 222
Ingalls, Lois, 223
Ingalls, Lucy, 227, 242, 245
Ingalls, Mark', 222, 224
Ingalls, Mehitable, 223, 224, 230,
233
Ingalls, Olive, 224
Ingalls, Robert, 219, 221
Ingalls, Roxey, 224
Ingalls, Rufus, 224
Ingalls, Ruth, 224
Ingalls, Sabia, 224
Ingalls, Samuel, 222
Ingalls, Sarah, 221
Ingalls, Sebra, 227
Ingalls, Sybil, 227, 230
Ives, Frank, 313
Ivory, William A., 177
Jackman, Luthera, 65
Jeffrey, James, 81
Jeifts, Henry, 40, 46, 59
Jewett, David, 85
Jewett, Elizabeth, 85
JeweH, Jacob, 85
Jewett, James, 85
Jewett, John, 85
Jewett, Leonard, 85
Jewett, Lucy, 85
Jewett, Ralph Winslow, 85
Johnson, Dolly French, 143, 155
Johnson, George, 148
Johnson, Sally, 106
Jones, Katie, 268
Jones, Libbie, 158, 201
Jones, Margaret, 76
Judd, Mary Ann, 291
INDEX
369
Keayne, Robert, 37
Keech, Cidney Ellen, 158, 184
Keeler, Mina, 113
Kegley, Frank, 304
Kelley, Carmi, 184
Kelley, Lucy May, 184
Kelley, Rhoda, 242
Keltuer, Allen, 292
Keltner, Isabelle, 292
Kelton, James, 223
Kelton, Daniel, 29
Keyes, Barney, 204
Kidder, Epiiraim, 24
Kidder, Thomas, 46
Kingsbury, Lois Permelia, 260
Kirk, John, 250, 251, 254
Kirk, Lucy Helen, 250, 251
Kirk, Stephen Efner, 250
Kittredge, Dr. John, 23
Kline, Margaret, 335
Kline, Samuel, 335
Klock, Catherine, 282, 319
Knapp, Theodore, 176
Kook, Angeline, 339
Kook, Catherine Ann, 339
Kook, David, 339
Kook, Franklin, 339
Kook, Jacob, 339
Kook, Sarah Elizabeth, 339
Kossulman, Helen, 259
Kresinger, Frank, 202
La Bour, Addie, 353
La Moree, Phoebe, 106
Landers, Capt. Frank, 115
Larrabee, Marenas, 235
Larrabee, Sarah, 282
Lathrop, Thomas, 28
Lee, Alamanson, 147
Lee, Charles, 155
Lee, Daniel, 155
Lee, Edwin, 147
Lee, Harriet, 152, 155
Lee, Morris, 150, 155, 156
Lee, Nathaniel, 105, 126
Lee, Parley, 133, 136
Lee, Polly, 135, 136, 155, 156
Lee, Polly Jane, 148
Lee, Roland, 135
Lee, Sarah, 136
Leppere, A. Hamilton, 65
Lewis, Benj., 47
Lewis, Cyrus, 342
Lewis, Dr. A., 274
Lewis, Burdette, 274
Lewis, Herbert, 274
Lightner, John, 353
Lightner, Margaret, 35
Linderman, Mina Olive, 259
Littlefield, Francis, 23
Littlefield, Mary, 23
Lolendine, John, 68
Loomis, B. N., 152
Loomis, Frank, 152
Loomis, Ida, 147
Lovejoy, W. Luzerne, 66
Lovewell, Caty (Honey), 84
Lovewell, John, Jr., 68, 78, 88
Lovewell, Jonathan, 100
Lovewell, Joseph, 68
Lovewell, Mollie, 86
Luddin, Eunice, 223
Lund, Thomas, 68, 80
Lyon, Hepsibah, 106
McDonald, Jeannette, 353, 354,
357
McElyea, Jennie Elizabeth, 345
349
McKenzie, Alexander, 33
Mclntyre, Chauncey, 144, 155
Mclntyre, Ebenezer, 144, 155
Mclntyre, Franklin, 144, 155
Mclntyre, Marcena, 144
Mclntyre, Polly, 144, 155
Mclntyre, Thomas, 144, 155
McNall, Charles, 262
McNall, Effie Mae, 262
McNall, Elmer, 262
McNall, Elmer E., 263
McNall, Nathan, 262
McNall, S. Efner, 262
McNall, Sibbel, 245, 262
McNall, Stephen, 262
McNall, William, 245, 261, 262
McNamer, John L., 286
McPeak, Henry, 303
Mace, Priscilla, 24
Magee, Selina, 265
Magee, William, 265
Mallory, Harriet, 281, 292
Man, William, 34
Mann, Mary, 224
Manning, Benjamin, 26
Manning, William, 27
Marshall, John, 46
Mason, John, 98
Meade, John, 21
Meaker, Bradley, 310
Meaker, Martha (Queal), 310,
313
Meaker, Robert Queal, 310
Merchant, Phineas, 106
Merchant, Submit (Mrs.), 136
Metz, Elizabeth, 336
Metz, John, 336
Metz, Joseph, 336
Metz, Mary, 336
Metz, Rachel, 335
Mickrals, Fannie, 265
Miller, Grace, 201
Miller, Susan, 336
Minor, Callie, 250
Mitchell, Jonathan, 33
Mooar, Mrs. Mehitable, 25
Mooar, Priscilla, 26
Mooers, Edmund, 103
Moon, Julia, 242
Moore, Louisa, 265, 268
Moore, Mary, 265
Morgan, Festus, 105
Morgan, Wendel, 313
Morrell, S. W., 284
Morrill, Abraham, 29
Morton, Adelgetha, 66
Morton, Chandler, 66
Morton, Charles Frank, 66
Morton, Eudora, 66
Morton, Henry, 66
Morton, Howell, 66
Morton, Naamah, 66
Mounts, Flora, 268
Mounts, Karah, 197
Mowat, Anna, 251
370
Mowat, Guy, 251
Needles, Thomas, 227
Neff, Mary, 78
Nelson, Jennie, 304
Newton, Charles, 292
Newton, Mary, 292
Nichols, Ferd, 197
Nichols, John D., 37
Nichols, William, 286
Nigh, Alice Henshaw, 304
Norton, Grace, 239
Norval, Agnes, no
Nourse, Catherine, 282
Nourse, Lucy, 282
Oberhoi.tzer, Catherine, 339
Oberholtzer, Elizabeth, 340
Orcutt, Ina M., 178
Osborne, Elbert, 290
Osgood, Christopher, 47
Osgood, John, Jr., 103
Osgood, Mary, 221
Page, Julius, 136
Palmerlee, Albert, 260
Palmerlee, Asa, 245, 259, 260
Palmerlee, Charles, 260
Palmerlee, Earl, 260
Palmerlee, Efner, 259, 260
Palmerlee, Franklin D., 259
Palmerlee, Fred, 260
Palmerlee, Helen, 260
Palmerlee, Heman, 260
Palmerlee, Henry, 259
Palmerlee, Herbert, 260
Palmerlee, Hoel, 260
Palmerlee, James, 260
Palmerlee, Joseph, 260
Palmerlee, Lucy, 245, 260, 262
Palmerlee, Mark, 260
Palmerlee, Mary, 260
Palmerlee, Myrtle, 260
Palmerlee, Seward, 259
Palmerlee, Stephen, 260
Parker, Benjamin, 23
Parker, James, 40, 46
Parker, John, 40, 43, 44, 46, 48
INDEX
Parker, Lucinda, 105
Queal,
Parker, Lucy, 248
Queal,
Parker, Robert, 40
Queal,
Parker, Sally, 245
281,
Parks, Mary E., 67
298,
Parmalee, Caroline, 242
Queal,
Parris, Robert, 68
Queal,
Passmore, Jacob, 231
Queal,
Passmore, Lydia, 231
Queal,
Patterson, James, 46
Queal,
Patten, Mehitable, 23
Queal,
Pattin, William, 40, 46
Queal,
Paul, David, 246
Queal,
Paul, Delilah, 247
Queal,
Peabody, Wallace, 66
Queal,
Peake, Jonathan, 24, 53
Queal,
Peake, Sophia, 242
Queal,
Pfleiger, John, 339
Queal,
Pendell, Frank, 113
Queal,
Pendell, Nellie, 96 124
Queal,
Pennick, George, 336
Queal,
Perrin, 30
Queal,
Perry, Obadiah, 68, 74
Queal,
Pette, Moses, 282
Queal,
Phillips, Julia, 155
Queal,
Phillips, Levi, 144
Queal,
Pierce, D., 99
Queal,
Pierce, Eliza, 65
303,
Pike, Rosella, 65
Queal,
Pope, General, 326
Queal,
Pope, Olive, 106
Queal,
Porter, Lois, 262
Queal,
Porter, Merritt, 262
Queal,
Prentice, Jno., 52
Queal,
Prentice, Thomas, Jr., 62
Queal,
Prentice, Thomas, Sr., 52
292,
Price, Matilda J., 232
Queal,
Printup, David, 260
Queal,
Printup, Lucy, 260
Queal,
Printup, Marion, 260
Queal,
Proctor, Robert, 68
Queal,
Proctor, Sarah, 62
Queal,
Queal,
QuEAL, Abbie Smith, 269, 274
Queal,
Queal, Albert F., 265
294,
Queal, Alice, 308, 313, 319
Queal,
Queal, Alice Hubbel, 319
346
Anna, 265
Arthur, 319
Atchison, 157, 162, 184,
290, 292, 293, 294, 297,
299, 300, 308, 330, 346
Catherine, 269
Charles P., 292
Dudley, 273
E. Barber, 265
Elizabeth, 274, 281
Ellen M., 292
Frank, 265
Frances Gradwohl, 330
Fred, 273
George, 273
George C, 274, 281
George W., 268
Harry B., 316, 320
Hedding H., 292, 294
Herbert Paul, 320
Iri'ing, 309, 314, 316
Irving Wyatt, 330
James, 282, 321
James Hall, 320
Jane, 268, 269, 274
John, 264, 269, 270, 273
John Henry, 293, 299,
304. 307, 3i«, 345
John Oscar, 265
Josephine Elma, 330
Kate Gillespie, 314
Katherine M., 319
Kittle Sara, 320
Lena, 270
Lucy French, 155, 281,
299, 300, 346
Lucy Mary, 316, 319
Luke C, 282, 319, 320, 321
Margaret, 274, 275
Margaret Atchison, 269
Martha, 281, 307
Martha Amelia, 308, 310
Martha Barber, 265
Mary, 274, 281, 290, 291,
298, 321, 322, 323, 332
Mary Elizabeth, 293, 345,
Queal, Alexander, 269, 270, 274 Queal, Mary Graves, 281, 308
Queal, Mary Matilda, 319
Queal, Michael, 264, 265, 268
Queal, McLean, 269
Queal, Orin H., 282, 309, 316,
330. 331. 332
Queal, Paul A., 282, 320, 325,
326, 327, 329, 330
Queal, Philip G., 265
Queal, Ralph W., 316
Queal, Richison, 281, 291
Queal, Robert, 264, 27+, 277, 278,
281
Queal, Robert F., 282, 303, 304,
313. 314. 315. 316. 332
Queal, Sally Waterman, 274
Queal, Sarah Anna, 273
Queal, Sarah Hall, 321
Queal, Sarah Houghton, 314
Queal, Sheldon Gillespie, 330
Queal, Smith B., 265
Queal, William, 264, 265, 268,
269
Queal, William Booth, 308
Queal, William S., 269, 274
Queal, William G., 282, 307,
308, 309, 310, 320
Queal, William Henry, 265
Queal, William McLean, 269, 273
Queal, William N., 270, 274, 292
Queal, William C, 269, 274, 277,
278, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285,
286, 289, 290, 291, 307, 308,
321, 322, 323, 332
Reed, Christopher, 68
Remington, Jonathan, 93, 96
Rendall, Ann, 283
Riggs, Clara, 262
Richardson, Jonathan, 24
Richardson, Sibil, 84
Richison, Mary, 274
Rickerd, Catherine, 335
Rittenhouse, Daniel, 335
Rittenhouse, Rachel, 335
Rhodes, Emma, 270
Robinson, Dee, 251
Robinson, Virginia, 251
Rogers, John, 23
Rogers, John H., 205
INDEX
Rogers, John, Sr., 46, 48, 55
Rogers, Mary, 23
Rogers, Priscilla, 55
Root, Lusannah, 105, 120, 255
Rose, Dorothy, 241
Ross, Nettie, 303
Rudolph, Lucretia, 235
Rule, Frank, 184
Rule, Harry Hamilton, 1S4
Rummel, Albert C, 188
Rummel, Robert French, 188
Russ, Samuel, 157
Russell, Alice, 248
Russell, John, 65
Russell, Rose Ella, 270
Russell, T. C, 270
Sanders, Amanda, 155
Schwenk, Sarah, 336
Schwenkfeld, Casper, 333
Schultz, David, 334
Scranton, John, 239
Seaward, Alpha, 247, 248
Seaward, Caleb, 239, 240
Seaward, Catherine, 242
Seaward, Daraaris, 241
Seaward, Daniel, 240
Seaward, David, 245, 246
Seaward, Delia, 255
Seaward, Delilah, 245, 246
Seaward, Ebenezer, 239, 240, 241
Seaward, Electa, 246
Seaward, Eliphalet, 241
Seaward, Elizabeth, 143, 157, 158,
'71, 175
Seaward, Emily, 246
Seaward, Ephraim, 240
Seaward, Hannah, 239
Seaward, James, 255
Seaward, Joel, 241
Seaward, John, 239, 241, 242
Seaward, Joseph, 239
Seaward, Lucy, 245, 249, 255, 256
Seaward, Lucy Ingalls, 261
Seaward, Lydia, 240
Seaward, Mariah, 255
Seaward, Mary, 249
Seaward, Mehitable, 161, 261
Seaward, Noadiah, 240, 241, 245
Seaward, Porter, 241
Seaward, Samuel, 239
Seaward, Sarah, 241, 242
Seaward, Sarah Swain, 241, 245
Seaward, Sibbel, 261
Seaward, Stephen, 148, 227, 231,
239, 242, 245, 246, 247, 249,
255, 256, 261, 262
Seaward, Swain, 242
Seaward, Thomas, 240
Seaward, William, 239
Sell, Adam, 164
Seward, Anna, no
Shannon, Rose, 248
Sharp, Mary, 56
Shed, Daniel, 23
Shed, Nathan, 23
Shed, Zachariah, 55
Shelland, David, 269
Shelland, James, 277
Shelland, John, 157
Sheppard, Thomas, 52
Shildon, John, 46
Skinner, Aaron, 261
Skinner, Delia, 261
Skinner, Lucy, 261
Skiimer, Nillie, 261
Slackford, Kathlyn, 354
Slackford, William, 354
Smith, Abbie, 269
Smith, Ada S., iSi
Smith, Carp., 261
Smith, Edgar Frank, 261
Smith, Elroy, 187
Smith, Joseph (Capt.), 103
Smith, Lafayette, i8i
Smith, Louis N., 181
Smith, Lucy Sharille, 261
Smith, Man,-, 168, 181, 182, 183,
184, 197
Smith, Nathan (Dr.), 158, 180,
181, 182, 183, 1S4
Smith, Pelatiah, 52
Smith, Polly, 155
Smith, Stella, 181
Smith, Susanna, 235
Smith, Viola, iSi
Smith, William L., i8i
Snover, Samuel, 259
372
INDEX
Snover, Villa, 259
Snow, Joseph, 97
Snyder, Amelia, 251
Snyder, Edna, 187
Snyder, Edward, 187
Snyder, Helen, 187
Stanford, Henry Martin, no
Stanford, Rosa Olivia, 113
Stange, Charles Henry, 349
Stange, Harriet Beyer, 349
Starkweather, Asher, 273
Starkweather, Davis Viney, 273
Starkweather, Essa, 273
Starkweather, Morrell, 273
Starkweather, Sarah Anna, 273
Stearns, Mary, 28, 47
Steedman, John, 30
Sternes, John, 40, 46
Sternes, Isaac, 55
Sternes, Samuel, 55
Stevenson, Andrew, 34
Stever, Calvin, 242
Stever, Charles, 242
Stever, David, 143, 285
Stever, Dorothy, 242
Stever, Emmeline, 242
Stever, Jacob, 284, 285
Stever, Jesse, 242
Stever, Marietta, 143, 152, 155
Stever, Olive, 242
Stever, Robert, 242
Stever, Seneca, 242
Stever, William, 143, 155, 242
Sparrowhawk, Nathaniel, 34
Spaulding, Elizabeth, 65
Spencer, Allen, no
Spencer, Amanda, 109
Squire, James, 113
Stickney, Daniel, 46
Stickney, William, 46
Stone, Gregory, 34
Stone, James, 227, 235
Stone, John, 33
Stoner, Clarence Birch, 187, 18S
Stoner, Helen Constance, 188
Stoner, Lowell French, 187
Stoner, Lucy (French), 187
Swain, Sarah, 241
Swift, James, 262
Swift, Mary, 262
Taggart, Mary, 282
Talmage, Chloe, 241
Talmage, Joseph, 241
Tanner, Phoebe, 231
Tarboll, John, 47
Tay, Will, 44, 46
Taye, Nathaniel, 55
Taylor, Mary, 283
Tedman, Rachel, 242
Temple, Alenda, 144
Temple, Christopher, 68
Temple, James, 144
Temple, Polly, 144
Thomas, Addie, 340, 349
Thomas, Anna, 177
Thomas, Bessie, 357
Thompson, Annie, 65
Thompson, Deacon, 62
Thompson, Joseph, 53, 56
Thorne, Ann, 235
Thrall, Henry Portens, 259
Thrall, Hiram Elvin, 259
Thrall, Lois, 259
Thrall, Lucy Mehitable, 259
Thrall, Stephen Asa, 259
Thrall, Willis Collins, 259
Thrall, William Ernest, 259
Tod, David, 300
Treat, Calphurna, 157, 176, 177
Treat, Dolly, 242
Treat, Thomas W., 242
Tripp, Almaretta Adams, 250
Tripp, Amelia, 259
Tripp, Charles, 250
Tripp, David Henry, 250, 251
Tripp, Edwin, 250
Tripp, Ella, 250
Tripp, Emma, 250
Tripp, Hannah, 253
Tripp, Henry, 178
Tripp, Jennie, 251
Tripp, Lucy, 253
Tripp, Mary, 252, 253
Tripp, Mary B., 250
Tripp, Minnie, 250
Tripp, Nathan, 245, 249, 250, 252
Tripp, Polly, 253
Tripp, Robert Edwin, 249, 253
Tripp, Sidney, 25c
Tripp, Stephen H., 250, 254
Tripp, Stephen Seaward, 251, 252
Tripp, William K., 257
Trowbridge, Stephen, 232
Trull, John, 46
Tudor, Lewis, 265
Tudor, Louisa, 265
Tuffs, Heniy, 59
Turner, John, 224
Tustin, John, 239
Tuttle, Harry, 119
Tuttle, Michael, 106, 119
Tyng, Eleazer, 73
Tyng, Jonathan, 68, 74, 78
Tyng, Mary, 68
Underwood, Emily, 65
Usher, Robert, 68
Van Alstine, Marietta, 155
Van Dusen, Matthew, 290
Van Fossen, Christianna, 335
Van Fossen, Michael, 335
Venner, Mary Jane, 65
Wade, Ardelia, 274
Wade, James, 274
Wade, Jane, 274
Wade, Warren, 274
Wade, Willis, 274
Wagerley, George H., 207, 214
Wagner, John, 340
Wagner, Mary C, 340
Waldo, Cornelius, 68, 74
Waldo, Daniel, 68
Walker, Joseph, 55
Walker, Sarah, 282
Walker, William, 76
Walters, Lue Lincoln, 184 187
Warner, Samuel, 68
Washburn, Olive, 242
Waterman, Alice, 273
Waterman, Amanda, 144
Waterman, H. P., 286, 289
Waterman, John, Sr., 273
Waterman, Sally Esther, 269
Watters, Carrie, 187
INDEX
373
Weld, Thomas, 68, 74, 75, 78, 91
Wells, Sarah, 241
Wentworth, Gov. Benning, 99,
100
Weyand, Philipina, 334, 335
Wheeler, Elizabeth, 223
Wheeler, Joseph, 68
Wheeler, Nellie, 316
Wheeler, Rachel, 223
Whitaker, John H., no
White, John, 24
White, Joseph, 84
White, Kirk, 260
White, Leah, 260
Whiting, Rev. Samuel, 43, 44, 45,
46- 53, 55. 78
Whittemore, Nathaniel, 25
Williams, Araminta, 265
Williams, Arthur, 119
Williams, Charlotte French,
Williams, Daniel, 119
Williams, David, 119
Williams, Ezra, 115, 256
Williams, Ida, 265
Williams, Isaac, 286
Williams, Otho, 265
Williams, Willard, 265
Winnie, Fred, 157
Winship, Edward, 38
Winthrop, Gov., 37, 38
Wiswall, Ebenezer, 52
Wolsey, Mary, 282
Woodbury, John, 285
Woodruff, Lena, 201
Wood, Carrie, 197
Wood, Charles, no, 197
Wood, Chauncey, 197
119 Wood, Ellsworth, 197
Woods, Isaac, 62
Woods, Nathaniel, 67
Woods, Oliver, 67
Wornell, Nancy, 354
Wright, Abijah, 86
Wright, Asahel, 85
Wright, Eliza, 66
Wright, Pomeroy, 242
Yates, B. F., 251
Yates, Edward, 156
Yates, Joseph C, 156
Yates, Mary Edna, 251
Yeakel, Abraham, 334
Yeakel, Rosina, 334
Yost, Mar\-, 339
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
0061922927
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