months, twenty days. Mr. Durfee died Dec.
8, 1901.
The children of Walter C. and Jane F. Dur-
fee were as follows : Frances Eudora, born Dec.
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
837
28, 1841, died Jan. 14, 1844; Eliza Chaloner
was bom Jan. 31, 1845; Walter Sherwood,,
born Aug. 4, 1847, died Aug. 20, 1848; Mary
Hannah, born Jan. 17, 1849, died Sept. 16,
1853; Caroline Clinton, born July 22, 1852,
married Edward 0. Stanley, of New York;
Jane Farquar, born April 13, 1855, died in
February, 1871; Winthrop Carver was born
April 23, 1858; Annie Marvel, Jjorn June 6,
1860, married David F. Slade ; Harriet Alden
was born April 4, 1863; Randall Nelson was
born Oct. 13, 1867; Margaret Russell, born '
Nov. 3, 1871, married Rev. J. E. Johnson, of'"
Nahant, Mass., now deceased, and they had
three children, Frances, Lawrence and Mar-
garet.
We quote in part from an article in the Fall
River News announcing the death of Walter
C. Durfee: "His education was very good
and he found his first business situation as
assistant in Mr. Ainsworth's private commer-
cial school. Later he entered the counting
house of Mr. Charles Potter, a Providence
commission merchant by Vhose influence and
connection with the Globe Print Works of
Fall River he secured, at the age of nineteen,
the position of bookkeeper in that concern, and
has since then resided continuously in this
city. During the winter of 1836 he opened
and conducted a private evening school. Four
years later he became manager of the Globe
Print Works, having served as its bookkeeper
until that time with the exception of a few
months in the office of the Fall River Iron
Works. At the end of three years this con-
nection was severed, owing to poor business
conditions. After a year of office work with
N. B. Borden & Co., wholesale grocers, he
entered into copartnership with Daniel Brown,
as wholesale dealers in provisions and ship
stores, which lasted xmtil 1859.
"In Augxist, 1862, he became collector of
internal revenue for the First district of
Massachusetts by appointment of President
Lincoln, and held this office until 1866. From
.this time he was engaged in business pursuits
until 1871, when he became treasurer of the
Wampanoag Mills, serving twenty-one years,
and finally retiring from active life in 1892.
He was a trustee of the Border City Manu-
facturing Co., in 1879 and 1880, president
and director of the Metacomet National Bank,
president and trustee of the Fall River Five
Cents Savings bank, director of the Wam-
panoag Mills, and in the Fall River Mutual
Insurance Co. He was deeply interested in
all that concerned the public welfare, and had
a keen sense of the duty which every citizen
owes to the community and country in which
he lives. In his early manhood he was ap-
pointed lieutenant in a volunteer company,
10th Regiment, Rhode Island militia, being on
active duty in the Dorr rebellion, and ordered
to Newport to protect persons and property.
Twice he was representative to the Rhode
Island Legislature, and, as such, chairman of
the committee on Convict Petitions, and mem-
ber of the committee which drafted the pro-
test against the action of South Carolina in
"imprisoning negro sailors while in port. He
served as alderman of Fall River four years;
as assessor in the years 1870-71, and was at
one time fire ward. He was interested in
all charities
"In 1862 he received a commission as jus-
tice of the peace, from the first war governor
of Massachusetts, John A. Andrew. He held
this office continuously and the commission in
effect at his death was signed by the latest
war governor, Roger Wolcott.
"His earliest religious associations, through
his mother, were with the Friends, and he
kept them ever in warm regard. But he was
attracted, while still in his youth, to the Epis-
copal Church, and as a member of the parish
of the Church of the Ascension his name may
be found in the list of 115 active members of
the year 1841, when he was elected a vestry-
man. For nearly sixty years he was delegate
to the Diocesan convention. For a long period
he was superintendent of the Sunday school.
He was forty-five years treasurer of the parish,
and senior warden until his death.
"In personal intercourse he had a ready wit
and a sunny humor which freshened the life
of others and gave a charm to companionship.
With the increase of years he clearly recog-
nized the uncertainty of life and its duration
as necessarily brief. He fully realized his hu-
man imperfections, but he was conscious of
integrity and committed himself to One whose
grace and mercy had been his support for
many years. His end was peace, and his mem-
ory blessed."
(VI) Winthrop Carver Durfee, son of Wal-
ter Chaloner, was born in Fall River April 23,
1858, and educated in the public and high
schools of his birthplace. He was graduated
from Brown University in 1878 with the de-
gree of Ph. B. In 1883 he took up the pro-
fession of chemistry, locating in Boston, where
for the past twenty-eight years he has been a
maniifacturing chemist. He is also_ an im-
porter of chemicals, and is a consulting chem-
ist for the textile industry.
Mr. Durfee is interested in literature and
838
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
has excellent taste and talent in that direction.
He has written historical sketches, and several
articles on the subject of Masonry, to which
he has given deep study. He is a thirty-
second degree Mason and very prominent in
that circle. He is a member of Eliot Lodge,
A. F. & A. M., of Boston, St. And^e^r's Chap-
ter, Boston Council, and St. Bernard Com-
nuandery, of K(nights Templar; member of
Lafayette Lodge of Perfection; of Giles Fonda
Yates Council, Princes of Jerusalem; Mount
Olivet Chapter, Rose Croix; and Massachusetts
Consistory. Mr. Durfee is a member of the
Society of Chemical Industry and member of
the American Chemical Society. He has been
much interested in family history and gen-
ealogy, and wrote the history of the French
branch of the Durfee family.
On Oct. 18. 1881, Mr. Durfee married
Sylvie Whitney, born in Pawtucket, R. I.,
daughter of James 0. and Elizabeth (Slack)
Whitney. Their children are: (1) Walter
Chaloner 2d, born Jan. 29, 1883, was gradu-
ated from Harvard University in the class of
1904, with the degree of A. B., cum laude,
and took his degree of A. M. in 1905. He
became engaged as a mechanical engineer and
is now associated with his father in the chemi-
cal business. He was married Aug. 17, 1911,
to Elizabeth ^Y. Davidson, of Beaver county.
Pa. He is a member of the Boston Society
of Civil Engineers, member of the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers, of the Na-
tional Geographical Society, and of the Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science. (2)
Pauline Elizabeth, born Feb. 11, 1885, gradu-
ated from Wellesley College in 1908 with the
degree of A. B. (3) Philip Sherwood, born
June 11, 1891, received the degree of A. B.
in June, 1911, at Harvard, as a member of the
class of 1912. He is now a graduate student
in geology for the degree of M. A.
(VI) Rand.\ll Nelson Durfee, son of
Walter Chaloner 1st, was born Oct. 13, 1867,
in Fall River, Mass. He was graduated from
high school in 1884, from Phillips Academy
at Exeter in 1885, and from Harvard Uni-
versity in 1889, receiving the degree of A. B.
from the last. He was a law student at the
Han'ard Law School in 1888-89. He was em-
ployed in the office of the Wampanoag Mills in
1889-93, in 1893 and 1894 being bookkeeper.
He resigned the latter position to enter the
cotton business and was employed in the office
of Messrs. Andrews & Horton until June,
1895, since which time he has been engaged in
the cotton brokerage business on his own ac-
count.
Mr. Durfee is a director of the Sagamore
Manufacturing Company, and a trustee of the
Fall River Five Cents Savings Bank. He was
a member of the Fall River common council
in 1892, 1893 and 1894, serving as president
of that body in the last named year. He was
a member of the board of aldermen in 1895;
is a trustee of the Fall River Public Library,
serving since 1908, his term not to expire until
1914. His political affiliations are with the
Republican party, and he is in religious faith
an Episcopalian. He is a member of the Fall
River Golf Club, of the Country Club of Rhode
Island, and of the Episcopalian Club of Mas-
sachusetts.
On June 12, 1895, Mr. Durfee was married
to Abby Slade Brayton, born Nov. 10, 1870,
in Fall River, daughter of the late Hezekiah
A. and Caroline E. (Slade) Brayton, and their
children are : Randall Nelson, born March 13,
1897; Bradford Chaloner, born Aug. 12, 1900;
Caroline, born March 12, 1904; and Mary
Brayton, born March 4, 1909.
JUDGE LEMUEL LeBARON HOLMES,
son of Jonathan H. and Hannah (Fish)
Holmes, was born July 26, 1852, in that part
of Rochester now Mattapoisett. His early edu-
cation was obtained in the public schools of
the village, and later he attended the Warren
school at Charlestown. He furthered his stud-
ies at the Peirce Academy, at Middleboro, and
eventually entered the State Agricultural Col-
lege at Amherst, graduating in the class of
1872. But agriculture was the least of his
natural bents and he speedily concluded that
the law was his field. He entered the law office
of Stetson & Greene, of New Bedford, reading
law, and in 1875 was admitted to practice in
the courts.
As a lawyer he speedily developed peculiar
force as a jury pleader, besides having marked
power in the soundness of his conception of
the law. Not only was he one of the most
prominent court practitioners, but his office
was one of the most active in Bristol county.
Many eminent cases claimed his attention first
and last, notably the ferry suits, the Hoxie and
Burgess murder causes, the famous license fights
of some years before his death in New Bedford,
and more recently the Jane Toppan case, which
came to him as district attorney. It was Mr.
Holmes who raised the famous legal techni-
cality known as the "semicolon" law and revo-
lutionized the liquor license practice of the
whole State. Mr. Holmes always tried a case
for all there was in it and jury pleading lost
a prominent and potent factor in his advance-
L^te^^r^- /j (^^T^^*^
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
839
ment to the bench. His legal abilities were
€arly recognized. He was city solicitor in
1888 and continued in office seven years. In
1889 he was nominated for the district attor-
neyship after one of the bitterest contests of
recent years, and was elected by a large ma-
jority. In 1896 he was reelected. His service
in office was marked by a large proportion of
convictions in all cases he tried. He resigned
this office to accept an appointment as Superior
court justice.
Judge Holmes was long regarded as one of
the leading members of the New Bedford bar,
both in his activities and in his legal abilities.
Further, in public life he was a prominent
figure, and over and once again was a veritable
rock in the maelstrom of local politics. Per-
haps his greatest personal achievement, and
which gave him his greatest popularity, was
in the famous fight with the New York, New
Haven & Hartford Railroad Company for the
restoration of the Fairhaven ferry after its dis-
continuance for over a score of years. This
fight, waged alike in the courts and the Legis-
lature, resulted after a bitter contest in a com-
plete victory for the people and the utter rout
of the railroad. He was not so busy but that he
•could take an active part in local politics, both
on the stump and as an official. He served
New Bedford as a member of the common
council, and several years as a trustee of the
free public library. He was president of the
Dartmouth Club for several years in the period
of its greatest development. He was a promi-
nent Mason and a member of Sutton Com-
mandery, Knights Templars. He was one of
the promoters and incorporators of the Board
of Trade and an officer in the old New Bedford
Lyceum, also a director of the Merchants' Na-
tional Bank, and one of the corporators of the
New Bedford Safe Deposit & Trust Company.
He had traveled extensively in Europe, was a
man of brilliant wit, and a charming com-
panion. He was a great reader, and delighted
in historical associations, being especially well
informed as to the local history and traditions
of his native town.
On March 25, ISfS, he married Eliza War-
ren, daughter of Abner and Syhda (Freeman)
Harlow, who was born in Mattapoisett in 1849,
and who died March 25, 1906. They had no
children, but an adopted daughter, Lizzie Har-
low Holmes. Judge Holmes for some years
resided on Elm street in New Bedford, but
after his appointment to the bench he spent
much time at his home in Mattapoisett, on
Main street, where he died on the morning of
Aug. 4, 1907.
ELLIOT LINCOLN BONNEY, of Brock-
ton, where he is extensively engaged in the
manufacture of wooden boxes, is one of that
city's progressive and successful business men.
Mr. Bonney is a native of Plymouth county,
this Commonwealth, born March 4, 1856, in
Pl}Tnpton, son of James S. and Sophia E.
(Curtis) Bonney. He is descended, as will
be observed in this article, from several of the
Pilgrim Fathers — from George Soule, Capt.
Miles Standish, and John Alden and his wife
Priscilla Mullens,- and Gov. William Bradford,
all of the "Mayflower," 1620.
Says one of the English Bonneys, "the Bon-
neys came over with the Huguenots and are
descended from the Bourbono." And Prof.
Thomas G. Bonney, of Cambridge College, and
secretary of the British Association, has said
in substance that the family of de Bonnay in
France took its name from an estate situated
in Berry on the border of Bourbonnais; and
that its antiquity, which goes back to the days
of chivalry, is established by charters of the
date of 1111, during which period lived John
Bonney.
The American branch of the Bonney family
is supposed to be of Huguenot origin. Thomas
Bonney, the first American ancestor, the name
being generally spelled on the early records
Boney, and Mr. Bonney being also called Good-
man Bonney, came to New England in the
"Hercules" in March, 1634. He was from
Sandwich, England, and brought with him a
certificate from Thomas Warren, rector of St.
Peter's Church, bearing date of March 14th of
the year named. He settled at Charlestown,
where he was a proprietor, 1635. He sold his
house and lands in 1637. He was proposed for
freemanship at Duxbury, Mafch 5, 1638-39;
was a proprietor Aug. 31, 1640; among those
able to bear arms, 1643 ; town officer in court,
1645. His will was probated May 1, 1693,
and in it he bequeathed to wife Mary and son
Thomas the estate to be divided among the
children after the death of their mother. He
had land located northwest of North Hill in
Duxbury, and thirty acres at Namasakesset.
He was one of the proprietors of Bridgewater,
1645, but lived in Duxbury. He married —
(first) according to Winsor in his "History of
Duxbury" — Dorcas Sampson, and his second
wife's name was Mary. According to a grand-
son who wrote in 1758 Mr. Bonney married
(first) Mary Terry, who died, and he then
married Mary Hunt, the grandson stating that
Mr. Bonney bame from Dover, England, and
giving his children as Thomas, married to Dor-
840
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
cas Sampson; Sarah, married to Nathan Cole;
Hannah; John, married to Elizabeth Bishop;
William, married to Ann May; Joseph, mar-
ried to Margaret Phillips; and James, married
to Abigail Bishop.
Stephen Bonney, grandfather of Elliot Lin-
coln Bonney, was born in Plympton, where his
life was spent in agriciiltural pursuits, and
where he died. On Nov. 17, 1832, he married
Panny (or Frances) Churchill, born Aug. 28,
1797, daughter of Oliver Churchill, of Plymp-
ton, and his wife Saba (Soule), and their chil-
dren were : A son who died in infancy ; James
S., mentioned below; Thomas Edward, who
died at the age of sixty years; and Frances
Williams, who married Eichard H. Fuller.
James Stephen Bonney, son of Stephen, was
bom in October, 1823, in Plympton, where he
in early life for several years engaged in the
manufacture of wooden boxes, later locating
with his family in South Abington (now Whit-
man), where he conducted the same business
for a number of years, for a time being in part-
nership with Atwood Brothers. After the dis-
solution of this partnership Mr. Bonney was
similarly engaged for several years in Acush-
net, Mass. Some years prior to his death he
established himself in the same line in Brock-
ton, where he continued until his death, which
occurred June 12, 1895, at the age of seventy-
one years, eight months. Mr. Bonney mar-
ried Sophia E. Curtis, who was born in Provi-
dence, R. I., daughter of John and Orpha
(Ijoring) Curtis, both natives of Plympton,
and to this union were born the following chil-
dren : William L., who was engaged in the
manufacture of picture frames, and died at
New Bedford, Mass. ; Emily Sophia, who mar-
ried George H. Briggs, both now deceased ;
Sarah Alice, who died aged thirteen years ; Ar-
villa, who married Albert T. Bryant (deceased)
and resides at Winthrop, Mass. ; Eliza Cur-
tis, who married Orlando Packard, of Whit-
man, Mass., and has a daughter, Fannie G. E.
(married to Allston D. Gurney) ; Elliot Lin-
coln, who is mentioned below: and James
Henry, a retired clothing manufacturer, now
residing in Dorchester, Mass. The mother of
these children passed away in Plympton, in
1880, and is buried there.
Elliot Lincoln Bonney acquired his educa-
tional training in the district schools of his
native town. Leaving school when about four-
teen years of age, he spent two years in the
employ of his father in the latter's sawmill.
When he was sixteen his fathct became en-
gaged in the box manufacturing business at
South Abington, in company with Atwood
Brothers, and here the son was employed until
the dissolution of the partnership. He ac-
companied his father to Acushnet, Mass., and
was employed by him there about one and a
half years, at the end of which time he re-
turned to South Abington, where for the next
two years he was employed by Atwood Broth-
ers. He then returned to his native town,
where he established himself in the business of
manufacturing wooden boxes, remaining thus
engaged for about three years. In 1881 Mr.
Bonney removed to Brockton, where he estab-
lished himself in a similar line, and where he
has since been successfully engaged. In 1895
he built his present factory on Sprague avenue,
where all kinds of wooden boxes are manufac-
tured, particularly cases used for the shipment
of shoes, about twenty-five hands being given
employment. Besides owning woodland in
Plymouth county, Mr. Bonney controls exten-
sive woodlands in Maine and New Hampshire,
from which the lumber used in his plant is
obtained.
Fraternally Mr. Bonney is an active and
prominent member of the Masonic organiza-
tion, holding membership in Paul Revere
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Satucket Chapter, R. A.
M., and Bay State Commandery, K. T., of
Brockton; and Aleppo Temple, A. A. 0. N. M.
S., of Boston. He is an influential member
of the Commercial Club of Brockton, and
served as captain of the bowling club of the
same for several years. He is also an associate
member of the Brockton Country Club. In
political faith he is a supporter of Republican
principles, and has served the city as a mem-
ber of the common council for two years from
Ward Five, one of the strong Democratic
wards of the city. He possesses a generous
and affable nature, which has won for him
many stanch friendships.
On Feb. 19, 1881, Mr. Bonney was married
to Annie W. White, daughter of Darius E. and
Sophia (Perkins) White, of Plympton, Mass.
Mrs. Bonney passed away March 12, 1895, in
Brockton, the mother of one son, Arthur Mor-
ris, now superintendent of his father's box
manufacturing plant, and married to Kath-
erine White (daughter of William H. White,
of West Hanover, Mass.), by whom he has one
daughter, Annie Louise.
Churchill. The Churchill family to which
Mr. Bonney belongs through his grandmother,
Fanny or Frances (Churchill) Bonney, is de-
scended from (I) John Churchill, bom in
Plngland, who came to this country, and ap-
pears first of record at Plymouth in 1643,
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
841
where he was among those able to bear arms—
those between sixteen and sixty years of age.
On Dec. 18, 1644, he married Hannah Pontus,
daughter of William Pontus, of Plymouth in
1633. He was admitted a freeman June 5,
1651. On Aug. 18, 1645, he bought a farm,
and in 1652 more land ; in the deed he is styled
"planter."
(II) William Churchill, born in 1656, in
Plymouth, married there Jan. 17, 1683, Lydia
Bryant. He inherited lands in what became
Plympton and was among the first settlers
there. He and his wife were members of the
church in Plymouth.
(III) William Churchill (2), born Aug. 2,
1685, in Plympton, married Jan. 4, 1704,
Ruth, daughter of John Bryant. They lived
at "Rocky Gutter" in Plympton; both were
members of the church there.
(IV) David Churchill, born Nov. 4, 1709,
in Plympton, married in 1729 Mary Magoon,
and they lived in Plympton. Both died in
1785, he Sept. 27th, aud she May 18th.
(V) Capt. James Churchill, born May 29,
1746, married (first) Oct. 31, 1765, Priscilla
Soule, daughter of Benjamin Soule (2), and
granddaughter of Benjamin Soule and his wife
Sarah (Standish), he a direct descendant of
George Soule, of the "Mayflower," 1620,
through George's son John Soule and his wife
Hester (De La Noye or Delano) ; and she a
direct descendant of Capt. Miles Standish, of
the "Mayflower," 1620, through Capt. Stand-
ish's son Alexander, who married Sarah Alden,
daughter of John Alden and his wife Pris-
cilla Mullens, of the "Mayflower," 1620.
(VI) Oliver Churchill, born April 21. 1766,
in Plympton, married Saba Soule, born Jan.
16, 1773, a direct descendant of George Soule,
of the "Mayflower," 1620. They lived in
Plympton, Mass., where he died Nov. 24, 1851,
and she Jan. 31, 1839.
(VII) Frances or Fanny Churchill, born
Aue. 28, 1797, married Nov. 17, 1822, Ste-
phen Bonney, grandfather of E. L. Bonney.
FREDERICK D. BARTLETT, treasurer
of the Bradford Joint Company, president of
the Cooperative Bank of Plymouth and chair-
man of the board of selectmen of that town,
is properly classed among the most progressive
citizens of the day and his activities are of
the most practical kind. He is a native of
the Old Colony, born June 22, 1862, and is a
descendant in the ninth generation from Rob-
ert Bartlett, the founder of the family in this
country. We give herewith some account of
the family from its begirming in America.
(I) Robert Bartlett, of Plymouth, came over
in the ship "Ann" in 1623. He was made a
freeman iu 1633, served as juryman, town ofl5-
cer, etc. He married Mary, daughter of
Richard Warren, of the "Mayflower," 1620,
and a descendant of William the Conqueror,
as shown in the Wari'en genealogy. Robert
Bartlett died in 1676. His will, which was
probated Oct. 29th of the year named, be-
queathed the whole estate to his wife. His
children were: Benjamin, born in 1638;
Joseph, born in 1639; Lydia, bom June 8,
1647; Mercy, born March 10, 1650 (married
John Ivey, of Boston) ; Rebecca (married Wil-
liam Harlow, of Plymouth) ; Sarah (married
Samuel Rider, of Plymouth) ; Mary (married
Richard Foster, of Plymouth) ; Elizabeth
(married Anthony Sprague, of Plymouth).
(II) Benjamin Bartlett, son of Robert, born
in 1638, married in 1656 Sarah, daughter of
Love Brewster and granddaughter of Elder
William Brewster, of the "Mayflower." Their
cliildren were: Benjamin, Samuel, Ichabod,
Ebenezer, Rebecca and Sarah.
(III) Samuel Bartlett, son of Benjamin,
married in 1683 Hannah, daughter of William
Peabodie, and their children were: Benjamin,
born in 1684; Joseph, born in 1686; Samuel,
born in 1688; Ichabod; Lydia (married Jo-
seph Holmes) ; Sarah (married Nathan
Thomas and Jedediah Bourne) ; Elizabeth
(married Ephraim Bradford).
(IV) Samuel Bartlett (2), son of Samuel,
married in 1725 Hannah Churchill, and their
children were : Samuel, William, John and
Judah.
(V) Samuel Bartlett (3), son of Samuel
(2), married (first) in North Carolina Betsey
Moore, and their children were: Mary (mar-
ried Ephraim Finney), Betty (married Ama-
ziah Churchill), William, John, and Joseph
(born in 1762). The father married (sec-
ond) in 1766 Elizabeth Jackson, and their
children were: Samuel, born in 1767; Nath-