Jared was born in Westampton, MA around 1834 to Elihu B. and Cynthia W. (Chapin) Hunt. His father had been married previously and was almost 20 years older than his mother, which was not at all unusual for the time. Jared was raised with siblings from his father's first marriage. By 1840 the family had moved to Springfield, MA and Elihu was one of the town butchers. Jared had finished school and was working as a laborer and sometimes clerk by the 1850 US Census. His unmar

In memory of DEACON JOSIAH HAYNES who died in Freedom's Cause ye 19th of April, 1775 in the 79th Year of his Age.

Orlando was born on December 8, 1843 in Douglas, MA to shoemaker and trader Comfort and Mary J. (Simmons) Carpenter. He had an older brother named Merrill Edwin who was born about a year before him who died young, so Orlando was his parents' oldest surviving child. His siblings included Julia Ann, Edwin Cook, Mary A., Herbert Irving, and Alice Jane. He enlisted as a Private into Company B of the 25th Massachusetts Infantry on September 30, 1861 a few months before his 18th b

The Robert Smith House taken by Harriette Merrifield Forbes in 1927 Robert was born in Worcester, MA on January 8, 1730/1 to John and Rebeckah (Batty) Smith. He was the second child and oldest son of their six children. The Smiths were some of the early settlers of Worcester, coming with the other "Scotch-Irish" families in the 1720s. There was a large anti-Presbyterian movement in Worcester in the 1740s and many families left. I believe John and Rebeckah were among them

L-R: Miss Pike, Mr. Newel, Mrs. Newel, Mr. Stacy , Miss Goodenough Edward Waldo was born in Harvard, MA on April 9, 1842 as the oldest child of Nathaniel and Lucy W. (Adams) Stacy. He had a younger sister named Mary who was born on January 16, 1844. Nathaniel was a paper manufacturer, and was almost 16 years older than his wife. As a young man Edward Waldo attended the local public school. His sister did as well. Alice Adams, their maternal grandmother, lived with the fam

According to the Salem Death Records, William H. Bell is the son of William Bell and Mary E. Monarch, and was born around 1845. Some time before the 1855 MA Census he came to live with Benjamin and Maria Jewell, relatives on his mother’s side. Before the Civil War he worked as a laborer. He joined Company B of the 7th Massachusetts on July 1, 1862. I was unable to find him in the regiment’s muster rolls available through the National Archives, but it is very possible that tho

Jacob was baptized on November 29, 1719 in Ipswich, MA. He was the eldest son of Deacon Jacob and Rebecca (Lull) Caldwell. He married Anna Hastings on September 28, 1742. They were married by Joseph Mason, Justice of the Peace. Both were "of Watertown", so Jacob must have moved there at some point before his marriage and long enough to establish residency. Jacob and Anna had nine children. John in 1743, Rebecca in 1744, Anna in 1746, Jacob in 1748, Sarah in 1750, and Enoch

The gravestone of Mr. Daniel Baird Daniel was born in Leicester, MA on November 13, 1742 to Thomas and Elizabeth Beard--spelling during the Colonial Era was not standardized, so "Baird" also appears as "Beard". He was the third of their five children. The Beards came to Leicester from Mendon around 1735, and remained there until 1745 when they moved to the southern part of Worcester in what is now Auburn. On December 2, 1767 he published his intentions to marry Jane Smith of

Charles was born in 1843 to James and Jane S. Johnson in Winsted, CT. He had at least one sibling, a younger brother named James Jr. James the younger died around age 10 in 1854. Jane's parents were named Prince and Rebecca Morris. James' parents were Robert and Phila Johnson. Both were born in Warren, MA, and were likely members of the free black community. They were married in 1842. James Sr. died in 1852 when Charles was around 11, and he lived with family members after h

Charles was born on April 21, 1821 in Chesterfield, MA to Oliver and Sally Burr. He married Lucinda Goddard in Providence, RI on January 21, 1844. Both gave their residence as Grafton, MA. They were members of the United Methodist Church. In 1850 the family was living in Sutton, MA. Charles and Lucinda had eight children ranging in age from 15 to 1 on the 1860 US Census. Charles and his oldest son Oliver are listed as shoemakers, and they were living in Millbury, MA. In Febru

Captain Clouston was born on the Orkney Island and baptized there on October 2, 1743. By the 1770s he was living in New England. He served as a Privateer Seaman on the Dalton, which was based in Newburyport, MA. Thomas was captured during battle and imprisoned in England, but escaped and returned to North America. In 1781 he commanded the brigantine Antelope out of New York. After the War he returned to Newburyport. According to the 1790 US Census there were three women and t

Abel was born in Middleton, MA on April 4, 1743 to John and Elizabeth Nichols. He was their second child and only son. His other sibling was a sister named Mary who was born two years earlier in 1741. On December 5/6, 1766 he published his intentions to marry Elisabeth Preston. Both of them were residents of Danvers, MA. I can’t find any record of them having children. During the American Revolution Abel served as a Sergeant in Captain Samuel Flint’s Company of Minutemen and

Corporal Chandler was born on January 13, 1846 to Isaac Washington Chandler, a shoemaker and mariner, and Catherine C. Benson. He was their first and only child. The birth was recorded in Salem, MA, though in his enlistment papers he stated he was born in Norwich, CT. Sadly, his father would drown in 1847 when he was struck by the boom of a ship during a thunderstorm off Cape Ann. He was only 24. His mother married stone mason Thomas Heard the following year. Before the War

250 years ago Gen. Benedict Arnold led an expedition north from Massachusetts to Quebec in an attampt to capture the town. They left at the end of September 1775 and arrived in Canada in December. The battle, which took place in the middle of a snowstorm on December 31, was a disaster for Arnold's forces; every member either was either killed, taken prisoner, or deserted. Worcester lost three men: Captain Jonas Hubbard, Sergeant Silas Wesson, and Private Timothy Rice.

Capt. John Williams, Patriot, Mason, and charter member of the Order of the Cincinnati.

Errol was born in Ware, MA to Dwight Foster and Clara Norma (Ayers) Marsh on July 19, 1889. He had an older brother named Ernest who had been born eleven years earlier in 1878. His father was a lumber merchant and manufacturer. Between the 1900 and 1910 US Census the family moved to Westborough, MA where Dwight had found work as a book keeper at a box shop. Coming from a more affluent family, Errol was educated at Worcester Academy. After graduation he went into business wit

Josef was born in Russian-occupied Tajno, Poland in 1873 to Jacob and Catherine Misczkowski. He immigrated to the United States in August of 1913 aboard the Friedrich Der Grosse. He was married at the time of his immigration, and married again soon after in September 1913–his marriage record in Northampton, MA lists it as his second marriage, but the woman might be the same. Her name is Josephine Szener. A description of Josef is also in his immigration paperwork: 5 feet 4 in

All hale and healthy men in New England between the ages of 16 and 60 were required to be in the local militia company. There was no standing army in the colonial era, and men were expected to be ready to defend their community from any threat. The leader of the militia was chosen by the men themselves, and he was usually part of a prominent family.

Jonathan was born in Waltham, MA to Jonathan and Mary (Harrington) Bond on April 22, 1736. His family moved to Westborough, MA around 1740. In 1759 he married Ruth Tyler, and the family moved to the Brookfield/Sturbridge area. The couple had seven children including twin girls Sarah and Ruth. Jonathan served as a Lieutenant during the Revolutionary War in one of the Worcester County regiments. After the War he was a town Selectman, and a Deacon in the Second Parish Church of

Cuff Trot was born into slavery around 1746, probably in/around Dorchester, MA. He was brought to Burlington, MA in 1751 when his enslaver, Abigail Wiswell, married Rev. Thomas Jones and moved there. Cuff was a veteran of the American Revolution, and likely the Seven Years War as well. It is recorded that he helped John Hancock and Samuel Adams evade the King’s soldiers on April 19, 1775. He was freed in the early 1780s, but chose to stay with Mrs. Jones for the rest of his l