Charles Josiah Searles

The Searles Family Grave Marker

Charles Josiah Searles was born in Townsend, MA on November 27, 1836 to Joseph and Priscilla R. Searles. His wife, Martha Marie Bicknell, was born on April 22, 1841 to Ira and Patty (Dadmun) Bicknell in Westford, MA.

The couple married in Westford on August 21, 1864. The family moved to Lowell after the Civil War and found work in the mills. Charles worked as a watchman.

Charles served during the US Civil War in Company C of the 16th Massachusetts Infantry. He was on leave at the time of his marriage, and his occupation on the marriage record is given as “soldier”.

Charles and Martha had ten children, though only four of them would survive their parents. They lost three children in 1875 and three in 1887. Two of the children lost in 1875 were twin sons, Fred and Frank, who died shortly after their birth. The other, Erastus, was run over by cars (probably a carriage or trolley). The children who passed in 1887 died of typhoid fever, most likely picked up in the mill they were all working at in Lowell, MA.

Charles died at his home in Lowell of malaria and chronic diarrhea on April 20, 1901. Martha passed on February 2, 1930. Her pallbearers were three of her surviving sons and a grandson.

Their grave marker is made of white bronze, which was made by the Monumental Bronze Company out of Bridgeport, CT. Zinkies, as these types of grave markers are called, were an affordable and customizable alternative to marble.