of his time. He had many land grants in
Weymouth, and was a large purchaser of lands
in ancient Bridgewater from 1686 to 1699. He
built in 1693 the first sawmill at Little Comfort,
in what became South Abington. He and his
wife sold Grape island in Weymouth in 1705.
Sergeant Porter was a useful, honored citizen,
holding all the various offices at different times.
He married, Feb. 9, 1660, Deliverance, daugh-
ter of Nicholas and Martha (Shaw) Byram,
and they died, he Aug. 7, 1717, and she Sept.
30, 1720. Their children, all born in Wey-
mouth, were : Mary, born Oct. 12, 1663 ; Su-
sanna, born June 2, 1665; John, born July 2,
1667; Samuel; Nicholas; Euth, born Sept. 18,
1676; Thomas; Ebenezer, and Sarah.
(III) Samuel Porter, son of Sergt. John,
married about 1698 Mary, daughter of Jacob
and Abigail (Dyer) Nash, of Weymouth. He
was town officer of Weymouth in 1707, and
about that. iime removed to Abington; was a
, .shoemaker and schoolmaster. He bought the
Daniel Axtel farm in Abington in 1712; was
assessor of the town in 1716 ; selectman in 1714
and for three years thereafter. In 1724 he was
employed by the selectmen to teach school. He
was one of the original members of the church
in Abington, where he died, Aug. 31, 1725.
His children were: Samuel, born May 14,
1699; Mary, Oct. 5, 1701: David, 1702; Jacob,
Aug. 10, 1704 (all in Weymouth) ; Hannah,
Dec. 16, 1712 ; John, Feb. 2, 1716 ; and Abigail,
June 23, 1719 (all in Abington).
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
629
(IV) Samuel PorteT (2), born May 14,
1699, in Weymouth, Mass., married (first)
July 2, 1722, Sarah, daughter of Joseph and
Sarah (Ford) Josselyn, of Abington, and (sec-
ond) May 31, 1764, in Bridgewater, Ruth Reed.
Mr. Porter probably moved to Bridgewater
soon after Dec. 1, 1742, at which time he and
his wife deeded house and land to his brother
Jacob. His children were : Sarah, born Aug.
26, 1723; Mary, Feb. 9, 1725; Samuel, Oct.
12, 1727; Joseph, Feb. 27, 1730; Ebenezer,
Sept. 15, 1731 ; Mary, Aug. 3, 1733 ; Adam, Feb.
24, 1735; Hannah, Feb. 18, 1736; Betterus,
Sept. 23, 1737; Noah, May 13, 1740; Jonathan,
Aug. 27, 1741 ; Deliverance, July 9, 1742 ; Abi-
gail, July 7, 1743 ; Tabitha, in 1744 ; and Sarah.
(V) Lieut. Joseph Porter, born Feb. 27,
1730, in Abington, Mass., married Jan. 25,
1753, Elizabeth, bom July 4, 1733, daughter
of Samuel and Content (Whitcomb) Burrell,
of Weymouth. She went to Abington to teach
school, and was there married. She was a
woman of remarkable personal beauty, as were
all her daughters. Mr. Porter was a resident
of Bridgewater and Stoughton, Mass. Both he
and his wife were admitted to the Bridgewater
Church in 1780. He was a lieutenant in the
militia at the time of the Revolution. He died
Jan. 15, 1803, in the seventy-fifth year of his
age. His 'widow died March 26, 1822, aged
eighty-nine years. His children, of whom the
first seven were recorded in Bridgewater, were :
Elizabeth, born Nov. 8, 1753; Joseph, June
10, 1754; Hannah, July 21, 1758; Robert,
March 30, 1762; Isaac, Feb. 23, 1765; Content,
Feb. 5, 1767; Mehetabel, April 15, 1769; Lib-
beus, April 22, 1771; and Cyrus, 1774.
(VI) Col. Cyrus Porter, son of Lieut. Jos-
eph, born in 1774, married (first) in 1800 Re-
'becca, daughter of Capt. William and Mary
(Perkins) French, and (second) Sept. 8, 1835,
Mrs. Martha, widow of Calvin Alden and
daughter of Ebenezer Hayden, of Stoughton.
Mr. Porter was a resident of the town of
Stoughton, Mass., a farmer, occupied much in
public affairs and of high respectability. He
lived to the advanced age of eighty years, and
died May 29, 1855. His children, all born to
the first marriage, were: Olive, bom Oct. 16,
1800, married Caleb Copeland; Ahira was bom
Nov. 9, 1801; Rebecca, bom Nov. 11, 1803,
died May 25, 1804; Rebecca (2), bom in
1805, married Marcus Copeland; Cyrus, bom
June 12,- 1807, married Eliza J. Dunbar; Me-
hetabel, bora Dec. 3, 1808, married Ezra
Churchill, of Stoughton ; Luther, bom Dec. 18,
1814, married Lucy Talbot; William French,
born Jan. 23, 1823, married Harriet Sears;
Eliza Ann, born April 5, 1829, married Wil-
liam Hall, of North Bridgewater.
(VII) Ahira Porter, son of Col. Cyrus, born
Nov. 9, 1801, in Stoughton, Mass., was a shoe-
treer by trade, which vocation he followed
during the active years of his life. He lived
in East Stoughton, Mass., where he died Dec.
6, 1863. In 1826 he married Rachel D. Swan,
who died Nov. 19, 1861. Their children were:
Ahira Swan, born Jan. 20, 1827, is mentioned
below; Rachel D., born Dec. 27, 1828, married
and resided in Worcester, Mass., where she died;
William, born Aug. 30, 1831, died in Randolph,
Mass.; Samuel, bom June 27, 1833, died in
Worcester, Mass. ; James, born Oct. 4, 1835,
resides at Brant Rock, Mass.; and George W.,
born Jan. 30, 1843, resides in Avon, Massa-
chusetts.
(VIII) Ahira Swan Porter, son of Ahira,
was bom Jan. 20, 1827, in Stoughton, Mass.,
and married April 22, 1849, Louisa Packard,
bora Nov. 29, 1829, daughter of Josiah and
Betsey D. (Bolton) Packard, of North Bridge-
water, Mass., and a direct descendant of Samuel
Packard, who with his wife and child came from
Windham, near Hingham, England, in the ship
"Diligence," of Ipswich, in 1638, and settled
first in Hingham, thence removing to West
Bridgewater, where he was a tavern-keeper and
served as constable; from whom her descent is
through Zaccheus and Sarah (Howard) Pack-
ard; Israel and Hannah Packard; Seth and
Mercy (Bryant) Packard; Jonathan and Su-
sanna (Alger) Packard; Israel and Susanna
(Edson) Packard, and Josiah and Betsey D.
(Bolton) Packard. To Mr. and Mrs. Porter
were born two sons, as follows: Henry Swan,
born May 27, 1852, and Frank Forest, bom
Dec. 14, 1856. The latter married Rachel A.
Porter, daughter of Lewis Porter, of North
Bridgewater, and they had one son, Ahira L.
Porter, who resides in Brockton, where he is
superintendent of the Packard & Field shoe
factory.
Ahira Swan Porter passed his boyhood in his
native town, and in early life followed the trade
of shoemaking as a shoe-treer there until about
the year 1853, when he removed to the town
of North Bridgewater (now Brockton). There
he embarked in the hay and grain business,
opening a store in that part of the town known
as "Factory Village," which he conducted for
about three years, at the end of which time he
disposed of the same and entered the business
in which he continued successfully until his
death. On May 13, 1857, he commenced to run
a stage line to Boston, making three trips a
week, and in the following month, because of
630
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
increasing patronage, began to make daily trips.
He continued to run the line for several years,
until the advent of the railroad. This was
actually the nucleus of his livery and carriage
business, for during this time he established the
livery and sale stable at the head of which he
continued as senior member of the firm — A. S.
Porter & Sons — organized in the course of
time until his death. This business grew
under his direction to one of the largest
of its kind in southeastern Massachusetts, and
the firm was one of the most widely known in
its line of trade in the State. As his sons
grew to manhood Mr. Porter took them into
partnership, the firm thereafter being known as
A. S. Porter & Sons, continuing as such until
the death of the father. This enterprising
firm acted as agent for several of the leading
carriage manufacturers, and its repository in
Brockton was one of the largest in the State.
Mr. Porter was intensely interested in mu-
sical affairs, and had one of the first orchestras
in the town, which was established in 1848,
and for fully twenty years was leader of a
local orchestra bearing his name, and which
was known far and near, he being exceedingly
popular as a prompter. On various occasions
his orchestra was called upon to substitute for
the well-known Germania Orchestra of Bos-
ton. For a number of years he was agent for
Martland's Band, one of the best known musical
organizations in southeastern Massachusetts.
In October, 1876, Mr. Porter was appointed
deputy sheriff by the sheriff, Major Bates, and
continued to serve in that capacity until his
death, during which time he did the greater
part of the criminal work, and was perhaps
the best known deputy sheriff in tlie county.
At one time he was coroner for this section.
In early life he was an old-line Whig, and upon
the formation of the Republican party, in
1856, he allied himself with the latter party,
and continued loyal to the principles of that
party until his death.
Mr. Porter was a member of Paul Revere
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Brockton, a member
of the Stoughton Grenadiers, and a fine member
of the Cunningham Rifles.
Mr. Porter died in Brock-ton Nov. 12, 1886,
in the sixtieth year of his age, and at his
funeral, held at the New Jerusalem Church,
Nov. 17th, there were many evidences of the re-
spect and esteem in which he was held in the
community where he had resided for so many
years; it was largely attended by the citizens
in general, and there were delegations from the
various organizations with which he was con-
nected, the following being represented: Paul
Revere Lodge ; Company I, Cunningham Rifles ;
M. V. M.; Stoughton Grenadier Association;
Martland's Band; city board of engineers; and
deputy sheriffs -of the county.
(IX) Henry Swan Porter, son of the late
Ahira S. and Louisa (Packard) Porter, was
born May 27, 1852, in North Bridgewater (now
Brockton), Mass., and in the common schools
and the high school of his native town acquired
his early educational training. At the age of
twelve years he entered the employ of Brett
Brothers, well-known merchants of North
Bridgewater, as a clerk, and for a period of six
years continued in their service and with their
successors, during the hours not spent in the
schoolroom. After leaving school, at the age
of eighteen years, he entered the employ of
his father, and in 1883 was made a partner in
the business, the firm then becoming A. S. Por-
ter & Sons. For a number of years Mr. Porter
had charge of the selling end of the business,
and traveled extensively over various sections
of the State, selling carriages. After the death
of his father Mr. Porter and his brother con-
tinued the business until 1894, when Mr. Por-
ter disposed of his interests in the business to
his brother, Frank F. Porter.
In political faith Mr. Porter is a stalwart
adherent of the principles of the Republican
party, and for a number of years has been active
in the political affairs of Plymouth county. He
has acted in the public service of the county
since 1875, on March 9th of which year he was
appointed constable and police officer by the se-
lectmen of his native town, continuing in that
capacity until 1882, when the town became
the city of Brockton. On Aug. 16, 1879, he was
appointed deputy sheriff of Plymouth county
under Sheriff A. B. Harmon, and continued
to hold that commission until he was elected
high sheriff of Plymouth county. In 1883 he
was appointed court officer of the county, which
office he still retains. In 1883, 1884 and 1885
he represented Ward Two as a member of the
common council, and in 1886 was a member of
the board of aldermen of his native city; notice
of Alderman H. S. Porter's refusal to continue
in public office appeared in the Enterprise of
Nov. 20, 1886. In 1901 Mr. Porter was elected
high sheriff of Plymouth county, receiving a
very large majority vote, carrying every ward
in his native town, and twenty-three of the
twenty-seven towns in the county, and at each
subsequent election has been elected to the same
office by large majorities, having filled the
office with honor to himself and to the satis-
faction of his constituents.
Fraternally Sheriff Porter is a prominent
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
631
member of the Masonic organization, holding
membership in Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & A.
M., Satucket Chapter, R. A. M., and Bay State
Commandery, Knights Templar, of Brockton,
being a life member of the two former bodies.
He was also a charter member of Banner Lodge,
No. 81, New England Order of Protection, of
Brockton, and is a member of Brockton Lodge,
No. 218, Knights of Honor, of Brockton. While
a resident of his native city he was also an
active member of the Commercial Club, which
numbers among its membership the leading
business and professional men of the communi-
ty. Upon becoming high sheriS of the county
Mr. Porter took up his residence at Plymouth,
where he and Mrs. Porter are prominent in
tlie social affairs of the town as they were in
Brockton, being well and favorably known in
both places.
On Nov. 19, 1873, Sheriff Porter was united
in marriage to Laura Jane Hall, daughter of
David S. and Mary (Partridge) Hall, of Dux-
bury, who is also a descendant of early New
England ancestry, being a direct descendant
in the seventh generation from Miles Standish.
This union has been blessed with one daughter,
Laura Louise, who is the wife of Earl P. Blake,
of Brockton, one of the deputy sheriffs of Ply-
mouth county.
COPELAND. The family bearing this
name is a time-honored one in this Common-
wealth, and has had numbered among its mem-
bers worthy representatives in the business
world as well as in good citizenship. This arti-
cle is to particularly treat of that branch of the
family through which descended the late Fran-
cis Copeland, and his sons, Ira Copeland, Davis
Copeland and the late Heman Copeland, all of
whom have been honored and respected citizens
of the communities in which their lives and en-
ergies have been spent. The history of this
branch of the Copeland family, given in chron-
ological order, beginning with the first Ameri-
can ancestor, follows.
(I) Lawrence Copeland came to America
and settled at Braintree, Mass. It is supposed
that he was a sailor. He married 12th day,
10th month, 1651, Lydia Townsend, the Rev.
Mr. Hibbins, of Boston, performing the cere-
mony. To this union were born children as
follows: Thomas, bom in 1652 (who died in
infancy); Thomas (2), 1654; William, 1656;
John, 1658; Lydia, 1661; Ephraim, 1665;
Hannah, 1668 ; Richard, 1672 (died same day) ;
and Abigail, 1674.
(II) William Copeland, son of Lawrence,
was born 15th day, 9th month, 1656, in Brain-
tree, Mass., and there died Oct. 30, 1716. In
his wdll he called himself "husbandman." On
April 13, 1694, he married Mary Bass, widow
of Christopher Webb, Jr., and daughter of
John and Ruth (Alden) Bass. Their children
were: William, born March 7, 1695; Ephraim,
Feb. 1, 1697; Ebenezer, Feb. 16, 1698; Jona-
than, Aug. 31, 1701; David, April 15, 1704;
Joseph, May 18, 1706; Benjamin, Oct. 5, 1708;
Moses, May 28, 1710; and Mary, May 28, 1713.
(III) Jonathan Copeland, son of William,
was born Aug. 31, 1701, in Braintree, Mass.,
and settled in Bridgewater, where he died Sept.
11, 1790. He was a farmer and tanner and
currier, and tradition says his tannery was in
West Bridgewater. On Jan. 14, 1723, he mar-
ried Betty Snell, daughter of Thomas Snell, Jr.,
of Bridgewater, and their children were: Abi-
gail, born Dec. 9, 1724; Betty, April 17, 1726
(died June 14, 1750) ; Jonathan, Jr., Aug. 9,
1728; Mary, March 26, 1731; Joseph, April
28, 1734; Hannah, May 13, 1737; Elijah, June
3, 1739 ; Daniel, Sept. 13, 1741 ; Sarah, Feb. 13,
1744-45; Ebenezer, July 27, 1746; and Betty
(2), Sept. 23, 1750.
(IV) Jonathan Copeland, Jr., son of Jona-
than, was bom Aug. 9, 1728, in Bridgewater,
and died Nov. 16, 1820, in the ninety-third
year of his age, in West Bridgewater. He was
a farmer, and also a tanner and currier, con-
tinuing the latter business as founded by his
father. On May 22, 1754, he married Mehit-
able Dunbar, daughter of Samuel and-Melatiah
(Hayward) Dunbar, of Bridgewater. She died
Oct. 4, 1827, in the ninety-second year of her
age. To this union were born children as
follows: Jonathan, born April 30, 1755; Me-
hitable, Aug. 19, 1757; Sarah. Dec. 18, 1759;
Asa, Aug. 4, 1762; Caleb, Aug. 6, 1764; Eph-
raim, June 8, 1767 ; Betty, Feb. 27, 1770 (died
in infancy) ; and Mary (or Polly) and Martha,
twins, Aug. 7, 1772, the former dying in in-
fancy, and Martha dying Oct. 8, 1853.
(V) Asa Copeland, son of Jonathan, Jr.,
was born Aug. 4, 1762, in West Bridgewater,
where he died March 26, 1852, in the ninetieth
year of his age. He was engaged in farming
during his active life, and kept house over sixty
years in the same house where now lives his
grandson, Davis Copeland. On Feb. 8, 1792,
he married Persia Howard, who was born Feb.
9, 1772, the daughter of James and Elizabeth
Howard, and died Jan. 21, 1851. Their chil-
dren were: Albert, bom Jan. 28, 1793, a farm-
er and wheelwright, died in West Bridgewater ;
Azel Howard, born Oct. 30, 1795, a farmer and
carpenter, died in West Bridgewater; Asa, Jr.,
born May 20, 1799, a farmer and blacksmith,
died in Bridgewater; Francis was born Dec.
31, 1803,
632
SOUTHEASTEKN MASSACHUSETTS
(VI) Francis Copeland, youngest son of Asa
and Persia (Howard), born Dec. 31, 1803, in
West Bridgewater, in the same house where
now lives his sou, Davis, followed the occupa-
tion of his ancestors, and during his life was
engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was an
industrious man, and as a citizen commanded
the respect of the community in which his long
life was spent. In his political faith he was
a Democrat of the old school, and took an ac-
tive interest in the affairs of his native town,
holding some minor offices. Both he and his
wife were active members of the Church of
the New Jerusalem at Brockton, he having
been one of the early members of the same
society in West Bridgewater. Mr. Copeland
died Dec. 17, 1882, aged nearly seventy-nine
years, in West Bridgewater, where he is buried
in the Pine Hill cemetery. On Nov. 8, 1830,
he married Judith Washburn Kingman, born
Nov. 15, 1809, daughter of Seth and Judith
(Washburn) Kingman, of North Bridgewater,
and a direct descendant of Henry Kingman,
who came from Wales in 1632 to this country,
settling at Weymouth, Mass., where he became
an early and prominent resident of that town,
her line of descent being through (II) John
and Elizabeth Kingman; (III) Henry and
Bethiah (Howard) Kingman; (IV) Henry and
Mary (Allen) Kingman; and (V) Seth and
Judith (Washburn) Kingman. Seth Kingman,
her father, was a soldier in the Kevolutionary
war, being a member of Capt. Nathan Pack-
ard's company. Col. Eliphalet Cary's regiment,
which marched on account of the alarm of
Rhode Island July 22, 1780, by order of the
council of North Bridgewater; he married Ju-
dith Washburn, born in 1771, daughter of
Jabez Washburn. Mrs. Copeland died in West
Bridgewater Feb. 1, 1876, in the sixty-seventh
year of her age, and is buried at the side of
her husband in Pine Hill cemetery. To Fran-
cis and Judith Washburn (Kingman) Cope-
land were born the following children: Ira,
born Nov. 14, i83J, married Caroline F. Eeed,
of Abington, Mass.; Davis, born March 16,
1835, married Sarah S. Wade; Lucy, bom
April 27, 1839, died unmarried in 1899; and
Heman, born Dec. 30, 1843, who died July
26, 1909, in Chula Vista, Cal., married Caro-
line A. Parker, of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts.
(VII) Ira Copeland, inventor and real es-
tate dealer, formerly of Brockton, Plymouth
county, now residing at Newton Highlands,
Mass., was born Nov. 14, 1831, in West Bridge-
water (now a part of the city of Brockton),
eldest son of Francis and Judith Washburn
(Kingman) Copeland. Mr. Copeland was edu-
cated in the schools of his native town and in
the State normal school at Bridgewater, which
in his day was under the principalship of
Nicholas Tillinghast; he graduated from that
institution in the year 1850. For several years
following Mr. Copeland was engaged in teach-
ing, principally at East Bridgewater, West
Bridgewater, Foxboro, Abington and Fall
River, teaching the grammar school at the lat-
ter place, eventually retiring from that profes-
sion on account of ill health. Returning to the
homestead in West Bridgewater, he engaged in
farming for a time, in 1857 engaging in the
grocery business in the town of North Bridge-
water (now the city of Brockton), which then
boasted a population of but 3,000, his place
of business being located on the East side of
the town. He was in business there for a per-
iod of forty years, with continuous success,
during which time he saw the little town ex-
pand and develop until its population exceeded
50,000. Meantime he_also engaged for a num-
ber of years in the cultivation of fruit, in
which he found both pleasure and profit. By
strict attention to the demands of his trade
he prospered, and as he accumulated means
acquired real estate interests in the city, which
he still holds. Closing out his grocery busi-
ness, Mr. Copeland in 1897 moved his family
to Newton Highlands, Middlesex Co., Mass.,
where he resides in a beautiful home on an
elevation which commands a fine view of the
surrounding country.
Though an adtive business man for so many
years Mr. Copeland found time to follow his
inventive inclinations and develop his faculties
along that line, with gratifying results. In
about 1866 he perfected a system of cipher cor-
respondence which is still a secret, and which
though simple was one impossible to translate
without the key by which it was produced. On
Jan. 14, 1868, he invented and had patented
a fruit box and packer, and in 1870 he invented
a horse hoe which he also patented. In 1878
he invented and patented a wringer, upon
which he made an improvement the following
year. In 1887 he patented the improved wire
nail. In 1903 he devised a method of fasten-
ing rails, and in 1904 invented a railroad
spike, which he had patented, also receiving a
patent known as a method of spiking. In
1887 he patented a cement coated vrire nail,
which he had patented and which proved the
most successful of all his inventions and of
which millions of dollars' worth are now sold
annually; in 1900 he invented an apparatus
for cement coating and packing nails, which he
U^a. /t5'^V^^^5^^'H^l^
^^^'^
^
ayj^ci
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
633
also patented.- A number of other useful arti-
cles are included in the list of the contrivances
he has produced, several of which have proved
particularly beneficial to those who employ
them.
Wliile a resident of Brockton Mr. Copeland
was quite active in the administration of mu-
nicipal affairs. He is a Democrat, but inde-
pendent in action and a firm supporter of the
doctrines of Henry George, believing ardently
in the single tax tenets. Particularly inter-
ested in the cause of public education in his
home community, he served six years on the
school board. He was a member of the board
of assessors of Brockton in 1881 and 1882.
He takes great pride in the present city of
Brockton, now numbering nearly sixty thou-
sand inhabitants, and it was he who suggested
the name Brockton when the renaming of
North Bridgewater was being discussed, after
the town of Brockton, in Ontario. The name
was adopted after due consideration by the
Board of Trade, of which he was secretary at
that time. Mr. Copeland was also one of the
organizers of the old Board of Trade of the
town of North Bridgewater and served as its
secretary during its existence. He was a mem-
ber of the North Bridgewater Agricultural So-
ciety and served as its first secretary, contin-
uing in that capacity for a period of twenty-
five years, until he removed to Newton High-
lands, and being succeeded in that position by
the late Baalis Sanford. In 1886 he was the
prime mover in obtaining a franchise for the
East Side Electric Railway of Brockton, which
had a trackage of about four and a half miles.
Of this corporation he was vice president, and
acting president, until capitalistic influences
obtained a controlling interest in its capital
stock. This was the first electric railway fran-
chise granted in Massachusetts and, he believes,
in New England. It was the initial step in
making Brockton a great electric railway cen-
ter. Although it is not generally known, Mr.
Copeland was also the prime mover in causing
the Old Colony Railroad Corporation to elim-
inate its grade crossings throughout the city,
which was done at an estimated cost of
$1,800,000.
On Dec. 1, 1853, Mr. Copeland was married,
in Abington, Mass., to Caroline F. Reed, a na-
tive of Abington, daughter of Noah and Mary
Reed, and a descendant of one of the oldest and