One of my many 6th paternal grandparents were Abraham and Hannah Jaquith. Abraham was born in December 1701, in Woburn, Massachusetts and died in January 1790 in Billerica, Massachusetts having lived 88 years. Abraham married Hannah Farley on January 1736 and together they had five children.
The Jaquith’s (originally Jacques) were French Huguenots who first fled France sometime before 1628, stayed in Cornwall, England, and are believed to have returned temporarily to France before departing for British America in 1643.
The house that Abraham and Hannah Jaquith lived in, also known as the Farley Garrison house, in Billerica, Massachusetts was originally built in about 1724 and is one of the oldest surviving colonial era houses America. The home remained in the Farley/Jaquith family’s possession for 12 generations!
In 2000, the house was dismantled piece by piece, stored, and moved to Gilmanton, N.H. where it was masterfully rebuilt. While it is often noted (+ often repeated) that the home was built in 1665, architectural analysis determined it was constructed about 1724. However, it is likely that the home contains elements of the original Farley home that served as a “garrison house” during King Philip’s War of 1676. (Note: in 2013, the house and other buildings on the 12 acre property were listed for sale at $ 14.95 million.)
Below are several stories and videos about the relocation of the home to New Hampshire, where it is still standing after over 297 years! Remarkable!
(p. 61) Jesse French came from Billerica in 1763, and owned and occupied the estate on Pearl Street, above referred to as the “Upton place.” He was born April 6, 1739. Little is known of him. His name does not appear on the Lunenburg or the Fitchburg records as occupying any official position. He married, April 14, 1761, Abigail Jaquith. The births of eight children are recorded as follows:
Jesse, born at Billerica, October 11, 1762. Samuel, born at Fitchburg, March 14, 1763. Thomas, born at Fitchburg, May 8, 1765. Luther, born at Fitchburg, September 25, 1767. Abraham, born at Fitchburg, January 22, 1770. Ebenezer, born at Fitchburg, June 19, 1772. Abigail, born at Fitchburg, September 11, 1774. (died 1776) Abigail, born at Fitchburg, June 6, 1777.
Some of his descendants lived here as late as
the middle of this century. Edmund, a grandson, (son of Thomas), now holds a
position in the office of the Pullman Palace Car Works, Pullman, 111.; and his
brother, Joseph C, is a retired druggist, at Indianapolis, Ind. A grandson of Jesse French, —Josiah B., —settled in Lowell, where he
was a prominent citizen, was president of a bank, manufacturer, railroad
manager, and in 1849 and 1850 mayor of the city.
(Page 38.) The roads across the territory were few in number and are indicated on the map. The principal and oldest ones were—the road entering the town from Lunenburg near Jonathan Holt’s place, and by Pearl and Blossom streets, turning west at a point now the corner of Main and Blossom streets, running over about the same location of the present Main and Prospect streets, over Flat Rock and Dean hill to Ashburnham; another entered the town near Ephraim Whitney’s place, running westerly and passing the garrisons of Joseph Spafford and Isaac Gibson, continuing over Pearl hill and northwesterly to the garrison of John Fitch. Another road started from a point near Jesse French’s place, on the first named road, running westerly to Jonathan Woods’ near the river, thence on about the location of the present Intervale Road, Bemis road, Wanoosnoc road and Turnpike road, near the garrison of Samuel Poole, and on to Westminster line.
The following provides brief biographical sketches of Josiah and Amos French, the brothers of my 3rd great paternal grandfather Abram French (Photo left). I have to admit a little familial pride, these French boys were an amazing, enterprising lot! I have written several posts about Abram: Leading Citizen – Abram French, Priceless – Abram French, and Which Abram Are You.
Mr. Amos French belonged to the class of men who made their way into the world unaided, and without encouragement of any kind. He was in every respect a self-made man and the success which he secured in his years later was the fruit of his own persevering effort and stern self-denial.
(Edited excerpt from the History of Lowell) Mr. Amos B. French was born in Billerica, July 3, 1812, and died in Lowell, March 23, 1890. Mr. French was descended from a family whose members were among the early colonial settlers. His common ancestor in this country was Lieutenant William French, who arrived here in 1635, and was elected the first Representative of the town of Billerica in 1663-64. Amos received his early education in the country schools of his native place, and came to Lowell at the age of 11 years to engage in business. At different times he was employed by the manufacturing companies of Lowell, and in 1835 was the keeper of a restaurant. He afterwards engaged in the crockery business with Mr. Puffer, under the firm name of French & Puffer, in which business he continued for twenty-seven years.
Amos served the city as member of the Board of Aldermen in 1870-71. At the time of his death he was a Director of the First National Bank, a Director of the Lowell Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and a Trustee of the Lowell Institution for Savings.
The Winnipesaukee Water War and the 1859 Fight for NH Property Rights (Article posted by the New England Historical Society) Great article about this long running New England water war – “On Sept 28, 1859, James Worster led 50 angry farmers, mill operators, loggers and laborers in a vain effort to destroy a 250-foot dam that controlled the outflow of Lake Winnipesaukee. The dam regulated how much water flowed into the Merrimack River and powered the cotton cards, the spinning frames and the power looms of the enormous textile mills in Lowell and Lawrence, Mass. It was just one battle in the Winnipesaukee water war that had gone on for years.”
…. “When the men showed up, the sheriff arrived and sent them away. Undeterred, they came back in the afternoon and began removing the planking. The Lake Company’s agent, Josiah French, and his assistant tried to stop them. In the course of the struggle, French’s assistant struck one of the men on the hand with an iron bar. Some of them tried to push French off the dam. The dam attackers left again, only to return around nightfall with a larger crowd. Worster arrived with the 50 men wielding axes and iron bars. They came from as far away as Concord. And they brought with them a law enforcement officer who arrested French and his assistant for assault and battery.” …. “French was then sued for assault because he’d clubbed a rioter’s hand with an iron bar. A jury acquitted him.”
(Story from History of Lowell, Mass., content edited)
Among the men who were prominently identified with the early history of Lowell, few are more entitled to be held in respectful remembrance than Mr. Abram French. Mr. French was the fifth in a family of eleven children. He was born in Billerica, Mass., Dec. 13, 1803, and died at Lowell, April 11, 1879.
Abram was descended from Lieut. William French, who was born in England in 1604. He married in England, came to New England aboard the “Defense” in 1635, and died Nov. 20, 1681. From this ancestor the line of descent runs as follows:
Jacob French was born January 16, 1639-40, married Mary Champney, Sept. 20, 1665, and died May 20, 1713.
William French was born July, 1668, married Sarah Danforth, May 22, 1695, and died Sept. 30, 1723.
Ebenezer French was born August 5, 1707, married Elizabeth Hill, Aug. 27, 1729, and died Dec. 31, 1791.
Jesse French was born April 6, 1739, and married Abigail Jaquith, April 14, 1761.
Luther French was born in Fitchburg, MA on September 25, 1767, married Sarah Bowers, Aug. 28, 1796, and died in Lowell, March 15, 1846.
Mr. (Abram) French received his education in the public schools of his native town, and went out of school assisted his father in the work of the farm. At the age of 17, he went to Lexington, Mass., where he was employed in a general country store for a few years, after which he went into the dry goods business in East Lexington for himself. In 1835, he came to Lowell and was identified with business interests here for the greater part of his life.
Mr. French, in early manhood was a stanch Democrat, became a member of the Free Soil Party during the struggle between the north and south, and attended the Free Soil Convention at Buffalo in 1848. On the formation of the Republican Party he joined that party and remained a Republican till his death.
During the anti-slavery agitation he was active in the movement in Lowell, and was strongly in favor of abolition, and so deep was the impression of those trying times that his sympathy for the colored race remained always true and steadfast. Though taking an active interest in public affairs, he never sought office. He was a member of the Common Council in 1852 and 1853, and afterward of the School Board for a number of years. He early joined the Free Masons, and was a member of Pilgrim Commandery of Knights Templar. He filled various positions of trust and was a Trustee of the City Institution for Savings, and a Director of the Lowell Mutual Fire Insurance Company for many years.
In religious belief he was a Unitarian from boyhood, and was a constant attendant at the Church of the First Unitarian Society of Lowell. Mr. French was twice married; first, on July 21, 1831, to Elizabeth Simonds, of Lexington, Mass., and second, on Nov. 20, 1855, to Alice Dean of Providence, R.I. By his first wife he had: Charles A., born April 18, 1832; who married Elizabeth M. Holbrook, of Boston; Elizabeth, born July 7, 1834, who married Charles Darrow, of Boston; James O., born Jan. 5, 1838, who died in childhood; George W., born March 8, 1840, who married Jennie S. Hall, of Boston; and Horace E., born Feb. 24, 1843, who married Laura M. Foster, of Medford. By his second wife he had: Alice, born Sept. 3, 1856, who married Frederic P. Spalding, of Lowell; Gertrude, born Nov. 29, 1857; and Anna, born Sept. 20, 1859, both of whom died in childhood.
For many years he was a merchant tailor, occupying a building on Central Street, which he purchased from the Middlesex Mills Company in 1841. During his ownership the Appleton Bank was one of his tenants, several prominent professional men occupied offices in the building, and Mr. French’s store was a rendezvous for many men who afterwards rose to distinction in the Democratic Party. In 1849, he sold the building to the Appleton Bank, intending to remain as a tenant, but a long delay in rebuilding caused him to change his plans, and later he went into the retail clothing business, under the American House Hotel, from which he retired in 1868.
The following story is about Jonathan Danforth, my 8th great paternal grandfather. Jonathan was born on February 28, 1627 in Framlingham, England and died at the age of 85 on September 7, 1712 in Billerica, Massachusetts. By all historical accounts, he was a respected community leader and a gifted surveyor. In the inventory of his estate, he is referred to as “Captain Jonathan, Gentleman.”
Part two touches on Jonathan’s involvement and response to conflicts between Native Americans and colonists. Part three provides a brief story about Jonathan’s brother, Thomas Danforth, who played a role in the Salem witch trials.
Part One – Early New England Colonist, Gifted Surveyor, Community Leader
When
Jonathan was five years old, he came to America with his father,
Nicholas Danforth, brothers Thomas and Samuel and his three sisters,
Anna, Lydia, and Elizabeth. Jonathan’s mother had died a week before he
was a year old.
The Danforth family sailed on the Griffin, departing England on August 1,1634 arriving in Boston on September 18. The Griffin weighed 300 tons and carried about one hundred passengers and cattle for the colonies plantations. It is believed that he spent his youth in New-Towne (later Cambridge) living with his father until his death in 1638 and then lived with an elder, married sister. At the age of twenty, he left Cambridge and was a founding father of Billerica, Massachusetts. He married Elizabeth Poulter in Boston on November 22, 1654 and together they had eleven children. Elizabeth died on October 7, 1689. Their daughter, Sarah (1676-1747), married William French (my 7th great-grandfather).
Jonathan was a noted land surveyor and his descriptions of this service fill some 200 pages in the first volume of Land Grants. He held many public offices: deputy for the town, town clerk, selectman and he also represented the town at the General Court in 1684/5.
“He rode the circuit, chain’d great towns and farm, To good behavior, and by well marked stations, He fixed their bounds for many generations. His art ne’er failed him, though the loadstone faile. When oft by mines and streams it was assailed. All this is charming, but there’s something higher. Gave him the lustre which we most admire.” Poem by his nephew, the Rev. John Danforth of Dorchester.
Part Two – King Philip’s War and the Fate of Indian Children
It
was also an especially bloody war—the bloodiest, in terms of the
percentage of the population killed, in American history. The figures
are inexact, but out of a total New England population of 80,000,
counting both Indians and English colonists, some 9,000 were killed—more
than 10 percent. Two-thirds of the dead were Indians, many of whom died
of starvation. Indians attacked 52 of New England’s 90 towns, pillaging
25 of those and burning 17 to the ground. The English sold thousands of
captured Indians into slavery in the West Indies. New England’s tribes
would never fully recover.Blood and Betrayal: King Philip’s War
Starting
in 1646, colonists began to establish “praying towns” in an effort to
convert New England tribes to Christianity. By the year 1675, there
were an estimated 1,100 Praying Indians in Massachusetts located in fourteen Praying Towns.
These towns were situated so as to serve as an outlying wall of defense
for the colony. Wamesit, a praying town, was located within five miles
of Billerica.
Jonathan Danforth served during King Philip’s War under Major Daniel Gookin. The town of Billerica had twelve garrison houses, each was providing a defensive space for four to seven families. The homes of Jonathan Danforth and Jacob French’s (8 great grandfather) house both served in this capacity. During the war, Daniel Gookin, Jonathan and Thomas Danforth were protective of their neighbors, the Praying Indians, resulting in threats on their lives for interceding….
Following
the war, some Indian children where placed into servitude in the homes
of local residents where they “were to be provided religious education
and taught to read the english tounge.” According to published
accounts, “a boy of twelve, son to Papa Meck, alias Dauid, late of
Warwick or Cowesit, Rhode Island, was apportioned or bound out to
Jonathan Danforth.” The boy, later known as John Warrick died on January
15, 1686 at Billerica.
The following extract from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1854 (Indian Children Put to Service) provides a listing of the children, the names and status of their parents and to whom they were been placed.
Part III – Thomas Danforth – Judge not lest ye be judged
Jonathan’s brother Thomas Danforth (portrait) was the first treasurer for Harvard College and elected president of the province of Maine, then independent of the colony of Massachusetts. One published account observed, “Perhaps the most intriguing characteristic of Thomas Danforth was his willingness to stand up for his convictions despite opposition.” Considered a progressive advocate for colonists’ rights, he also was persecuted for his decent treatment of the Praying Indians during King Philip’s War.
Deputy
Governor Thomas Danforth traveled to Salem in the early months of 1692
as part of a preliminary inquiry into the matter of witchcraft being
practiced. He was not appointed to serve as one of nine judges name to
the Court of Oyer and Terminer (hear and determine) established for the Salem witch trials
and was vocal in his distaste for the manner the witchcraft proceedings
were conducted. As a demonstration of his sympathy for those swept up
in the hysteria, he provided sanctuary on his own property (Danforth
Plantation) for Salem families seeking asylum, including Sarah Cloyes
and her husband and children. (Check out this great post – Witch Caves & Salem End Road)
In 1641,
Massachusetts was the first colony to legalize slavery and was a center for the
slave trade throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The 1754 slave census listed more
than 2,720 slaves in Massachusetts.
1754 –
Billerica reported eight slaves (three males and five females).
1771 – Four families in Billerica were recorded as “servants for life” on actual valuation lists.
1783 –
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court declared, “the idea of slavery is
inconsistent with our own conduct and [the Commonwealth’s] Constitution.” Quock Walker Case
My 6th great paternal grandparents, Jonathan Bowers (1674-1744) and Hannah Barret Bowers (1679-1765), lived in Billerica, Massachusetts. Jonathan was a representative to the General Court, a captain in the militia, large landowner, postmaster, and noted as an influential citizen. Jonathan and Hannah were also slave owners. The first documentation that I found mentioning that they owned slaves references the birth of Nelly York in 1752 to Lydia York, a slave of Hannah Bowers.
Records show
that Lydia York had two other daughters. Lydia who was baptized in 1754 and
listed as a “servant girl to old Mrs. Bowers” and Anne who was baptized in
1756. Lydia’s parents Pompy and Dillo, brother Samson and sister Eunice
all resided in Billerica, I found no record of their status.
In 1761, Hannah sold a boy named Salem to Mr. Lot Colby of New Hampshire. Remarkably, Salem Colby served during the American Revolution as a soldier in the New Hampshire Brigade, enlisting in 1780 and receiving a pension for his service.
In researching Hannah and Jonathan’s son, Josiah Bowers (my 5 g-grandfather), I discovered a record of Josiah selling a slave girl to Amos Fortune. That girl was none other than Lydia (b.1754) the daughter of Lydia York. The story of Amos is very interesting and has been told in a book entitled, Amos Fortune – Free Man (Yates – 1950). Below is an excerpt from the The Amos Fortune Forum regarding Amos.
Amos Fortune,
an exemplary citizen of colonial New England, was born in the early 1700s in
Africa and came to this country as a slave. A tanner by profession, Fortune
bought his freedom and that of his two wives. Unfortunately, nothing is known
of Amos Fortune’s early life. The first historical record is an unsigned
“freedom paper,” dated December 30, 1763, in which Ichabod Richardson
“agreed to and with my Negroe man, Amos, that at the end of four years next
issuing this date the said Amos shall be Discharged, Freed, and Set at Liberty
from my service power & Command for ever….”
Richardson died unexpectedly in 1768, and his will contained no provisions for the slave’s promised freedom. Amos Fortune negotiated with the heirs to pay off his bond and made the last payment in 1770, becoming a free man at age 60. During the next few years Amos Fortune lived and worked in Woburn, buying land and building a house. His first wife, Lydia Somerset – whom he had purchased for fifty pounds from Josiah Bowers of Billerica – died shortly after their marriage in 1778.
Note: Pounds Sterling to Dollars/ £50 in 1780 = $9,347 in 2019
Image: First Slaves Arrive in Massachusetts. massmoments
A Must Read Story of New England History “The Lost History of Slaves and Slave Owners in Billerica” by Christopher M. Spraker, Historical Journal of Massachusetts Volume 42, No. 1 (Winter 2014). Published by: Institute for Massachusetts Studies and Westfield State University
Between 1803
and 1815, three sets of parents named three babies Abram French. They
were born within 25 miles of each other in the Boston region of Massachusetts
and lived most of their lives in close proximity. One became a crockery
merchant in Boston, another the owner of a leather making factory in Framingham
and the third was a clothing merchant in Lowell. All were very successful
businessmen in the early-mid 1800’s.
While doing
genealogical research, a common name or geographic location can often create a
roadblock or confusion. In this case, I have a clear genealogical record
of Abram French, my 3rd great-grand father. However, I kept coming across
the other Abram’s and wondered if they might be related and/or did they know
each other? It is also fun to imagine that they might have been in
the same place at the same time together. Below is a brief snippet about
each Abram.
(My) Abram French – Born in 1803 in Billerica, Massachusetts the son of Luther French and Sarah Bowers. Married Elizabeth Simonds. He died at Lowell, Massachusetts in April 11, 1879.
I have written about Abram previously, you can read a post on his life and also a separate story about his brother Walter who died in a train crash in Connecticut.
Abram French – Born in
1815 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts to Ephraim French and Rebecca Abrams.
Abram married Sophia Cobb and had 8 children. He died in May 1884 in Jamaica
Plain, Massachusetts. Abram was a very successful crockery, glassware and
china dealer in Boston. This Abram is related to my Abram through their
common 4th great grandfather William French (1603-1681)!
Boston and Bostonians – Abram French & Co. – “One of the finest and
undoubtedly one of the most extensive establishments in this line of trade on
the American continent is the old established. Leading Manufactures and
Merchants of the City of Boston, 1885.”
Abram
Stickney French – Born in 1809 in Boston,
Massachusetts to Abram French and Elizabeth Kidder. Abram
married Lois Page Richardson and had 4 children. He died in March 1896 in
Townsend, Massachusetts.
At this time,
I can find no genealogical connection between this Abram S. and my French
family line. However, his wife was from Billerica where another Kidder, a
generation prior, had married someone in my family line. For now, I will
leave Abram S. in the possible column!
Abram S. made one or two voyages to the West Indies as a cabin-boy, but not being pleased with a maritime life he was sent to New Ipswich Academy, where he acquired a good education. He preferred a business life rather than to pursue a course of studies with the view to enter upon one of the learned professions.
In 1833, he
built a morocco factory on the brook running northeasterly from Bayberry Hill
(Framingham), near its confluence with the river, and near where James Giles
built his sawmill. This establishment was in successful operation for twenty
years, employing constantly ten or twelve workmen; and considering the length
of time the business was prosecuted, it must have been a source of wealth to
the proprietor.
Morocco
leather is made from goatskin, it is tougher than sheep or cow skin, and its
denser texture makes it more suitable for being worked into a variety of
products. To produce the distinctive red Morocco color, the untanned but cured
leather is soaked in a dye made from dried insects.
In 1853, he
went to Lockport, NY. and stocked a tannery, where he carried on business
successfully with a partner, to whom he sold his interest in the business in
1858, and removed to Wellsville, N. Y., and built an extensive tannery, and
pursued that branch of industry for several years, doing a large and profitable
business. Partially losing his health, and seeing a good chance to sell out, he
disposed of this factory and its stock in trade and retired from business in
1864.
Mr. French
has always been fond of books, which, during the days of bad health, have been
a source of pleasure to him. He has a retentive memory is well posted on
historical matters and possesses a large amount of miscellaneous information.
He gives liberally to the poor, and enjoys life at his advanced age in a
remarkable manner. He is a member of the Republican Party, and in 1861-62 he
represented the Twenty-seventh District (Ashby and Townsend) in the General
Court.
