founded by Roerer Wellington, one of the early
proprietors of Watertown, Massachusetts.
(I) Roger Wellington, a planter, born about
1609-10, emigrated from Wales, and became
an early settler of Watertown, Mass., his name
appearing on the earliest list of proprietors ex-
tant. He joined church at the age of eighty
years, and was admitted a freeman in April,
1690, it being necessary to be a member of
church in order to be a freeman. He was
selectman in 1678-79-81-82-83-84-91. He was
the owner of a large estate, extending nearly
to the present Mount Auburn limit. He died
March 11, 1697-98. His wife was Mary, eld-
est daughter of Dr. Richard Palgrave, of
Charlestown, Mass.. one of the first doctors in
that place. Their children were : John, Mary,
Joseph, Benjamin, Oliver and Palgrave.
(II) Joseph Wellington, son of Roger, was
born Oct. 9, 1643. His first wife, Sarah, died!
^ct^>
r^MJ
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
857
Feb. 5, 1683. He married (second) June 6,
1684, Elizabeth Straight, who bore him four
children, Elizabeth, Thomas, Mary and Su-
sanna.
(III) Thomas Wellington, son of Joseph,
born Nov. 10, 1686, married Rebecca Whitte-
raore for his first wife, and a Chary for his
second. In his will he styles himself "of Cam-
bridge." His children were: Rebecca, Joseph,
Thomas, Susanna and Elizabeth.
(IV) Thomas Wellington (2), son of Thom-
as, born Aug. 6, 1714, was an innholder at
Watertown in 1770-71. He is given as of
Waltham. He died Nov. 4, 1783. His wife,
Marg-aret Stone, died at Lexington. Their
children were : Thomas, Elizabeth, John, Su-
sanna, Jonathan, Samuel, Josiah, William,
George, Rebecca, Susanna, Thaddeus, Sarah
and Joel.
(V) William Wellington, son of Thomas
(2), born July 28, 1746, was selectman in
1780-1803. He married Mary Whitney, born
Dec. 22, 1751, and they reared a large family
of children, namely: William, born Dec. 11,
1769; David, born Nov. 1, 1771, who died
March 10, 1860; Abraham, born March 22,
1774; Polly, born April 16, 1776, who married
Phineas Lawrence, of Lexington, and died June
9, 1850; Isaac, born in 1778, who was a senior
at Harvard University when drowned in Fresh
Pond in November, 1798 ; Charles, born Feb.
20, 1780; Alice, born Oct.' 31, 1781, who mar-
ried Jonas Clarke, of Walthaiii; Betsey, born
Feb. 4, 1784, who married Isaac Childs, and
died at Lexington Oct. 10, 1850; Seth, born
Nov. 18, 1785; Sybil, born Sept. 24, 1787, who
married Loring Pierce ; Marshall, born Sept.
26, 1789; Darius, born Jan. 14, 1794; and
Almira, born Aug. 1, 1795, who married Hon.
Francis Bowman, and died Aug. 31, 1872.
(VI) Charles Wellington, son of William,
born Feb. 20, 1780, at Waltham, Mass., gradu-
ated from Harvard University in 1802 with
the degree of A. B. Choosing the ministry
as his calling he pursued his divinity course
at Harvard, and received the desree of D. D.
from that institution. In 1804 he was made
pastor of the church at Templeton, over which
he remained fifty years. He died Aug. 3, 1861.
His wife, Anna Smith, whom he married June
29, 1807, was born Aug. 29, 1783, at Halifax,
N. S., daughter of Henry Smith, of Boston
(born Aug. 7. 1735, died April 8, 1811), and
his wife Elizabeth Draven. The pioneer pro-
genitor of the Smith family in America was
William Smith, born Nov. 6, 1675, in Newton,
near Hingham ferries, Northampton, England ;
he married Martha Turnstall, of Putney. Mrs.
Anna (Smith) Wellington died April 24, 1830.
Mr. Wellington married (second) July 27,
1831, Adelaide Russell, of Templeton. His
children were : Elizabeth Smith, born July 12,
1808, married Leander Leland, of Templeton,
and died Sept. 23, 1882; Mary Whitney, born
Dec. 30, 1810, married Jacob Batchelder, of
Lynn, and died Dec. 31, 1889; Rebecca Smith,
born April 5, 1812, married June 19, 1834,
Artemas Z. Brown, M. D., of Phillipston, and
died June 16, 1867; William Henry, born Jan.
16, 1814, married Susan Gilpatrick, and died
at St. Louis Oct. 12, 1843; Anna, born June 9,^
1816, married Joseph C. Batchelder, M. D.,
and died Sept. 2, 1905; James Lloyd was born
Jan. 27, 1818; Almira, born Dec. 28, 1819,
married Joseph C. Baldwin, and died at Phil-
lipston in January, 1872; Margaret Coffin,
born Dec. 10, 1821, married Leonard Stone,
and died in February, 1893; Charles Wood-
ward Wilder, born May 17, 1825, married
Eunice Allen Starr, of Deerfield, and died at
Hyde Park, Aug. 3, 1880; Adelaide, born June
30, 1832, died Feb. 26, 1855.
(VII) James Lloyd Wellington, Swansea's
faithful physician and honored citizen, obtained
his education at New Salem Academy, Temple-
ton high school, and Harvard University, re-
ceiving his degree of A. B. from the latter in-
stitution in 1838. He bears the distinction of
being the second oldest surviving graduate of
that university. His was the class noted for
the number of men who afterward became fa-
mous, including James Russell Lowell, Wil-
liam Wetmore Story, Dr. George B. Loring
and Gen. Charles Devens (at one time secre-
tary of state). He was in college at the same
time as the late Rev. Dr. Edward Everett
Hale, and was a classmate of his brother,
Nathan Hale. His freshman year in college he
occupied a Yard room on the first floor of Hol-
lis Hall, on the left-hand side of the front
entrance; his sophomore year the southwest
corner room of the same dormitory ; in his
junior year the northwest corner of the same
floor. His senior year found him living on
the third floor, west side of the east entrance
of Holworthy Hall, in which in those days
only seniors were allowed to room. During
his college course the Doctor was elected a
member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society for
his rank in bis studies. For diligence in hi&
studies he was given a "detur," two volumes
of Burns's poems. At one of the annual class
exhibitions he read an original Latin oration,
and at another a Latin translation, and he took
a prominent part in the commencement exer-
cises of his class. While he was a junior he
858
SOUTHEASTEEN MASSACHUSETTS
was present the first time "Fair Harvard" was
BUDg. This was at the celebration of the two
hundredth anniversary of the founding of the
college, in 1836. He was also present at the
two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, in 1886,
and has attended commencement whenever he
could, being present when his grandson was
in college in 1900.
In 1842 Dr. Wellington graduated from the
Harvard Medical School, where he was a stu-
dent under Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. In
the summer school of that institution his in-
structors were Drs. Holmes, Bigelow, Eeynolds
and Storer. During his course in the medical
school he was a member for two years of the
Boston Cadets.
Preferring not to settle in his native town.
Dr. Wellington came to Swansea in 1842, and
was associated with Dr. Artemas Z. Brown,
whose wife was Dr. Wellington's sister. At
that time there were only six doctors in Fall
River, where now more than a hundred suc-
cessful physicians are located. In the sum-
mer of 1846 Dr. Wellington took the place of
a physician in Templeton while the latter en-
joyed a short vacation, and the people there
were so pleased with his work that they wanted
him to stay, but he still did not wish to prac-
tice in the tovra where his childhood had been
passed, and thus interfere with his friend the
Templeton physician, so he returned to Swan-
sea, where for sixty-nine years he has made
his home. During the first year he rode horse-
back, carrying the traditional leather saddle-
bags with his stock of medicines ; later he used
a chaise, and still later a buggy. On the re-
moval of Dr. Brown to Cambridge Dr. Wel-
lington succeeded to a practice which extended
for miles around into the towns of Fall River,
Somerset, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Dighton, Mass.,
and Warren and Barrington, R. I., and in all
those towns he was the familiar friend and wise
counselor, a true representative of that fast
disappearing but beloved and useful type, the
family physician.
On Aug. 7, 1845, Dr. Wellington married
Charlotte Sisson, a native of Warren, R. I.,
bom Aug. 19, 1825, who died June 30, 1881.
Their children were : Arthur Wellesley, born
Nov. 4, 1846; Helen Lloyd, Oct. 31, 1847;
Julia Russell, Jan. 4, 1849 ; William Henry,
April 9, 1861; and Charles, Aug. 27, 1864
(died May 20, 1866). Of these Arthur Wel-
lesley married Jan. 17, 1877, Ellen Read Ma-
son, and has a son, Charles Frederic, born Dec.
4, 1877, who graduated from Harvard 1900;
and William Henry married, Oct. 12, 1887,
Ethelyn Rounseville Allen, and has had five
children: Charlotte Sisson (born May 26, 1888,
died Aug. 26, 1888), Lloyd Allen, (born Oct. 3,
1890, died Sept. 11, 1891), Roger (bom June
16, 1894, died Dec. 3, 1900), Rosamond B.
(born Oct. 18, 1901), and Reginald G. (born
Jan. 8, 1905). From 1840 to 1842 Dr. Welling-
ton was assistant surgeon to the 7th Massachu-
setts Infantry, and during the Civil war was
examining surgeon for recruits. He belongs to
the Massachusetts Medical Society and the
Bristol County Medical Society. In politics
he is a Republican. He is an honored mem-
ber of the Harvard Club of Fall River. Among
his treasured relics is his christening cap, em-
broidered by his mother.
EBENEZER BACON, deceased, who during
his life was one of the best known and most
liighly respected citizens of Attleboro, where
for many years he was actively engaged in
the jewelry manufacturing business as a mem-
ber of the firm of A. Busbee & Co., was born
Oct. 29, 1815, at Attleboro, son of George and
Avis (Fales) Bacon.
Ebenezer Bacon attended the schools of his
neighborhood and the Wrentham high school,
walking each day to school from his home at
Attleboro Falls. As a boy he worked in the
button factory at the Falls, and on reaching
young manhood embarked in the jewelry
manufacturing business, in which he spent the
most of his active life. In January, 1868, he
formed a partnership with Albert A. Busbee
of Attleboro, for the manufacture of jewelry,
and in 1870 Charles H. Busbee was admitted
to the firm, this partnership continuing until
December, 1886, under the name of A. Busbee
& Co. At this time Mr. Bacon retired from
the business, the remainder of his life being
spent in retirement. He built a fine home on
Peck street, one of the handsomest in that sec-
tion of the city, and here his death occurred
April 20, 1900, his burial taking place at
Woodlawn cemetery. He was a man noted for
his quiet manner, his devotion to his home
and family, his kind and neighborly acts and
his honest and upright life. He was a Re-
publican in politics, but never sought oflBce,
being simple in his tastes.
On Feb. 3, 1841, Mr. Bacon was married to
Lucretia M. Hamilin, born March 10, 1820,
near Chatham, N. Y., daughter of Perry and
Susan (Gott) Hamilin, and granddaughter of
Story Gott, who was a drummer boy during
the Revolutionary war. Mr. and Mrs. Bacon
spent a married life of nearly sixty years to-
gether, one of happiness and contentment. She
is a lady of refined tastes, and in spite of her
SOUTHEASTEKN MASSACHUSETTS
859
advanced years, and the shock she sustained in
the deaths of her husband and daughter, she
is active of mind and body, and cheerful in
disposition. Mrs. Bacon attends the Second
Congregational Church. Two children were
born to Mr. and Mrs. Bacon : George Marcellus
and lolene Lucinda.
George Marcellus Bacon was born Aug. 12,
1843, and for many years was in partnership
in the jewelry manufacturing business with
Joseph M. Bates, under the firm name of Bates
& Bacon. On account of ill health he was
compelled to retire from active business pur-
suits, and now makes his home a part of the
time in New York.
lolene Lucinda Bacon was born Eeb. 28,
1853, and was educated in the public schools
of Attleboro, and the high school, of which
she was one of the first members, as well as
a member of the Alumni Association. She
took up painting as a profession, studied un-
der the well-kBown artist Leavitt of Provi-
dence, E. I., and became one of the best known
artists in New England. Her landscape draw-
ings and oil paintings commanded the highest
praise and specimens of her art are to be found
in the best homes in the New England States.
For many years she was e Sunday school
teacher in the Second Congregational Church,
where she was known and beloved by all. Miss
Bacon is still remembered as one of Attle-
boro's most gifted and noble women. Her
death occurred Aug. 12, 1902, and she was
buried beside her father in Woodlawn ceme-
tery.
REED. The family of Reed, spelled vari-
ously Reade, Rede, Reid, Read and Reed, traces
its lineage back to the time of the Norman
Conquest. Among the names found on the
muster roll of William the Conqueror in 1050
â – was John Rede or John of Rede.
(I) William Reade, supposed to be the son
of William Reade and Lucy Henage, was born
in 1605, and sailed from Gravesend, in the
County of Kent, in the "Assurance de Lo"
(Isaac Broomwell and George Persey, mas-
ters), in 1635. He settled in Weymouth,
Mass., and was made freeman Sept. 2, ,1635.
He bought a house and land of the heirs of
Zachary Bicknell March 9, 1636-37, for seven
pounds, thirteen shillings, four pence. Mr.
Reade was among the early settlers of Wey-
mouth, it having been made a plantation May
8, 1635, when Rev. Mr. Hall and twenty-one
families settled there. He was representative
from that town in 1636 and 1638. The name
â– of his wife, it is supposed, was Avise Deacon.
Their children were: William, Thomas, John,
Mary, Margaret, Hannah, Ruth and James.
(II) John Reade, son of William, of Wey-
mouth, was born in 1649, and was the ances-
tor of the Taunton Reeds. He married Be-
thiah, daughter of George Frye, and removed
to Taunton in 1680. Their children were:
John, William, Thomas, George, Mary, Ruth
and Hannah. Mr. Reade was a farmer and
house carpenter and appears to have been a
man of considerable property and an extensive
dealer in land. The records describe many
pieces of land bought by him in Taunton and
several parcels sold by him. He was also quite
a business man in Taunton. He removed
thence to the South Purchase, now Dighton,
about 1697, and there died Oct. 20, 1730. He
and his wife were buried in Dighton, on Bur-
ial Hill, between Upper and Lower Four Cor-
ners.
(III) William Reade, son of John, was of
Taunton, and married Mary, daughter of John
Richmond, June 8, 1721. Their children
were: John, William, Mary and Abigail. H&
was a man of good reputation, highly esteemed,
and died in 1734. The land of the homestead
is owned and occupied by one of his descend-
ants at the present time. On Nov. 6, 1738,
his widow married Stephen Andrews, a man
of learning, probity and piety, known by his
neighbors as St. Stephen. He lived to be
nearly one hundred years old.
(IV) John Reed, son of William, was born
in 1722, and died in December, 1788. He
was a farmer and blacksmith and a man of
considerable business importance; was one of
the Committee of Inspection and Correspond-
ence during the Revolution, and was known as
a religious man. He was above the middle
stature, and rather stern in his manners. On
Dec. 30, 1746, he marxied Dorothy Pinneo,
by whom he had children : Ruth, Lois, John,
Mary, Dorothy, Hannah, Zilpah, Enos and
Lydia. On Jan. 9, 1771, he married (second)
Mrs. Hannah Austin, and their children were:
Nathan, Phebe, David and Jonathan. Mr.
Reed's first wife, Dorothy, was the daughter of
James Pinneo, a French Huguenot who had
escaped from France during the persecutions
of his sect, and after being secreted in dens
and caves in France finally made his way to
America and settled in Connecticut. Rev.
Bezaliel Pinneo, of Milford, Conn., was his
grandson.
(V) John Reed, son of John, was born
March 29, 1752, and died Feb. 24, 1841. He
was above the medium stature, athletic, un-
commonly regular in his habits, and was dis-
860
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
tinguished for his good common sense and
sound judgment, being often chosen as arbi-
trator between his neighbors. He was known
as "Squire" Reed, was prominent in local pub-
lic affairs, having served as selectman and
representative for several years, and filled an
important place in his social circle. On Nov.
21, 1775, he married Mary, daughter of Brig.
Gen. George Godfrey. Mrs. Reed was a
woman of superior sense and practical piety.
She survived her husband, dying Oct. 12,
1843. Their children were: John, born Aug.
II, 1776; William, Oct. 6, 1778; Polly, Aug.
31, 1782; Dolly, May 31, 1785; Marshal, Jan.
17, 1788; Hodges, June 3, 1790; Sophia, Sept.
2, 1792; Zilpah, Dec. 22, 1796. John Reed
served as a minute-man a short time in
the Revolution in Capt. Robert Grossman's
company. Col. George Williams' regiment.
(VI) John Reed, son of John, was born
Aug. 11, 1776, and died Nov. 9, 1864. He was
well known in Taunton, where he was en-
gaged as a merchant for over fifty years. On
May 31, 1804, he married Rebecca Gooding, of
Dighton, who was born Sept. 28, 1782, and
died Jan. 31, 1872. Their children were born
as follows: Mary Ann, May 20, 1805 (mar-
ried Rev. Martyn Cushman) ; John. June 17,
1808; Henry Gooding, July 23, 1810; Re-
becca, April 12, 1813 (married James H.
Cushman); William Andrew, Sept. 2, 1816;
Sophia Jane, Nov. 9, 1818; Elizabeth Good-
ing, Sept. 4, 1823 (married Samuel G.
Tucker) .
(VII) Henry Gooding Reed, son of John,
was bom July 23, 1810, and grew up in Taun-
ton, attending the public schools and after-
ward the academy in Taunton. During school
vacations he helped his father in the store.
In his early life he made a collection of wood-
working tools and he spent much of his leisure
working with them, making useful articles for
the family and neighbors, as well as miniature
vessels and other toys for his mates. He
worked at organ building with Zephaniah
Leonard, as his first trade. When he was
eighteen years of age he entered the shop of
Babbitt & Grossman, as an apprentice, con-
tinuing with that firm and its successors until
he attained his majority, in 1831. During his
apprenticeship he became a master of his trade,
and remaining in the employ of the Taunton
Britannia Manufacturing Company as a jour-
neyman, working first at the lathe and after-
ward in various departments, he was in time in-
trusted with the oversight of others' work, be-
coming eventually time-keeper and superin-
tendent. These relations he was sustaining
when, in 1835, the firm was obliged to suspend
operations, and the managing agent contracted
with him and Mr. Barton to continue the busi-
ness. He began the manufacture of britannia
ware on School street, in connection with
Charles E. Barton and Gustavus Leonard in
1837, employing twelve hands. The business con-
sisted of the manufacture of britannia ware, later
of electro-plated and still later of solid silver
ware, and in times of ordinary prosperity eight
hundred people were employed in the factories.
There was no ware in their line of goods that
had a better reputation. The company was
known not only in this country, but in all
other lands with which America trades.
Mr. Reed was a director in the Taunton Na-
tional Bank for more than forty years from
1851, trustee in the Taunton Savings Bank
from its organization (twenty-four years), a
director in the City Mission and Associated
Charities of the city from their beginning, an
interested and liberal , member of the Old Col-
ony Historical Society, and president of the
Reed Association in Taunton for twenty years.
He was a member of the old Beethoven Soci-
ety, and was fond of music. He was a very
conscientious man, of generous sympathies, and
a valuable, highly prized citizen. He died
March 1, 1901.
Mr. Reed married for his first wife Clara,
daughter of Isaac White, of Mansfield. She died
Sept. 27, 1847. His second wife, Frances Lee,
daughter of Jared Williams, of Dighton, died
May 9, 1857. On Oct. 27, 1858, he married De-
light Carpenter, of Rehoboth. His children
were : Clara Isabel, wife of Dr. Charles T.
Hubbard, of Taunton; Henry Arthur, de-
ceased ; Ida Frances, deceased ; Fannie Lee,
wife of William Bradford Homer Dowse, Esq.,
of West Newton, Mass.; and Henry Francis,
who died in 1890.
GOODING. The founder of the Gooding
family in America was (I) George Gooding,
third son of Matthew and Johanna Gooding,
of Huntworthy, parish of North Petherton,
Somersetshire, England. He was born in 1633
and came to this country in 1673, settling in
Taunton, Mass., where he died June 1, 1712.
His descendants are scattered over the United
States and form a family entirely distinct and
separate from the Goodwins, Goddings, etc., al-
though members have often been classed with
them.
Little is known of the personal character
and worldly estate of this early settler except
what is furnished by the town records at Taun-
ton. From them we learn that he was an en-
SOUTHEASTEKN MASSACHUSETTS
861
ergetic "Church of England" man, contribut-
ing money and influence toward building the
first Episcopal church in that part of Bristol
county, that he was an able musician, and was
fined for "singing in an unseemly manner in
the Lord's House"; that he was of a quick,
irascible temper, in consequence of indulging,
for which he was several times brought before
a magistrate; and, finally, that he was a large
property owner and was received in the best
fiociety of the town. This last fact is estab-
lished by his marriage, in February, 1686, with
Deborah Walker, daughter of James Walker,
who was for many years the wealthiest and
most influential citizen of Taunton. George
Oooding acquired a large tract of land in the
"Taunton South Purchase," afterward called
"Dighton," from the maiden name of Frances,
wife of Eichard Williams, another of Taun-
ton's most distinguished early settlers. This
tract (said to be two miles in length) was
partly his own purchase and, doubtless, in part,
the dower of his wife. A note at the foot of
a very old deed in the possession of Mr. Alan-
son Gooding, of New Bedford, reads: "This is
to declare that my father-in-law, James
Walker, gave me money that bought the land
mentioned in this deed, for which I humbly
thank him. [Signed] George Gooding."
But, better than money or lands, to be trans-
mitted to their offspring, were the sterling
qualities of mind his wife, Deborah, inherited
from her father, to whom the following tribute
is paid by the compiler of the Walker Geneal-
ogy: "From the records given we conceive of
him" (James Walker) "as a man of more than
ordinary intelligence, judicious in counsel, en-
ergetic in action, steadfast in integrity, public-
spirited, benevolent, and alive to the secular
and religious prosperity of the Colony. Sur-
passed by none in the town for his contribu-
tions for the ministry, and in the number and
continuance of civil trusts, he needed no her-
aldic distinctions and he transmitted none.
Worthy of remembrance and honor by those of
his own name and lineage, he is an honor to
them only as they strive to emulate his useful-
ness, and reproduce his virtues and his piety."
"Yours to serve" is the unique form with which
he concludes a letter to Governor Prince.
No record is found of the will of George
Gooding, who died at Taunton June 1, 1718.
The will of Mrs. Deborah Gooding was pro-
bated at Taunton May 16, 1726, and mentions
son Matthew, born June 12, 1695, and daugh-
ters Johanna, born March 13, 1687, who mar-
ried John Godfrey; Mary, born Aug. 18,' 1689,
who married Josiah Walker: and Sarah, born
Aug. 21, 1699, who married Josiah Talbot.
(II) Matthew Gooding, son of George, waa
born at Dighton, Mass., June 12, 1695, passed
his entire life in the old town, and died there,
a large land owner and respected citizen,
March 15, 1756. He was a constable and
magistrate many years. In 1723 he married
Abigail, daughter of Lieut. Joseph Eichmond,
of Middleboro, and his wife Abigail (Eogers).
The latter was a daughter of John Eogers, of
Duxbury, who was the son of Thomas Eogers,
the Pilgrim. Matthew Gooding and his wife
Abigail had two daughters — Deborah, who
married Jacob Packard, and Mary, who mar-
ried William Nicholls — and five sons, four of
whom enlisted as minute-men in the Eevolu-
tionary war. A note from the "Secretary of
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," dated
March 27, 1903, says: "The original pay-roll
of the services of the four Gooding brothers of
Dighton" (Joseph, Matthew, William and
Job) "is preserved here." Thus all the de-