active in public affairs. From 1868 until 1880
he served as an efficient selectman of Wareham,
and for that same period as assessor and over-
seer of the poor. He was for a time town
treasurer and collector, filling out an unexpired
term. He was representative from the Ware-
ham district in the General Court of Massa-
chusetts in 1871 and 1872. For fifteen and
more years he was a member of the board of
directors of the National Bank of Wareham,
and for a period he was a vice president and
trustee, and one of the investment committee,
of the Wareham Savings Bank.
On Dec. 26, 1852, Captain Besse was mar-
ried to Mrs. Betsey S. (Jenney) Besse, and
the marriage was blessed with children : Frank
Alden and Isaac H., the latter now deceased.
Captain Besse died June 27, 1903, and both
he and his wife, who also died in Wareham, rest
in the Wareham cemetery.
(IX) Frank Alden Besse, son of Capt.
Alden, was born in Wareham Sept. 30, 1858,
and was educated in the schools of his native
town. After leaving school he made a trip
to Europe in one of his father's vessels, and on
his return became a clerk in a store, where he
remained for four years. He then started on
a voyage around the world in a vessel belong-
ing to his father, visiting China, Japan, and
many European countries, and spending two
years on the trip, part of this time being passed
in Paris, where he pursued a course of study.
Returning home, he in 1882 became clerk in
the National Bank of Wareham, and there he
continued until 1904, when he was appointed
treasurer of the Wareham Savings Bank, a
position of trust and responsibility he has since
filled with great credit. He is a trustee of the
Savings Bank, and a director of the National
Bank, and has been identified with the bank-
ing interests in Wareham for nearly thirty-
years. Mr. Besse is very public-spirited, and
takes a deep interest in the old town of Ware-
ham and its institutions. He is a stanch Re-
publican, and has been a member of the board
of water commissioners. He is, however, no
seeker after public honors. He attends the
Episcopal Church, of which his wife is a mem-
ber.
On Oct. 23, 1890, Mr. Besse married Mary
Bryant Gammons, born in Wareham, daughter
of Edward A. Gammons, a well-known banker
of Wareham, and five children have blessed
this union, namely : Edward A., a student at
school ; Gerard C. ; Harry W. ; and Gertrude
Gammons and Alden Bourne, who both died
young.
WILLIAM MURDOCK THOMPSON, of
Brockton, senior member of the firm of W. M.
Thompson & Co., general insurance agents of
that city, and one of the best known men in
his line in Plymouth county, died at his home.
No. 284 Main street, March 25, 1910. He had
been successfully engaged in business in Brock-
ton for a period covering over thirty-five
years. Mr. Thompson was descended from one
of the earliest settled families of this Com-
monwealth, as will be noted in the genealogy
of the Thompson family which follows, the
generations being given in chronological order.
(I) John Thomson or Thompson is of rec-
ord at Plymouth in 1643, in which year he is
given as among those able to bear arms. It
seems uncertain when he came to this country.
It has been set forth that he was born in 1616
in the northern part of Wales; that he came
to New England with one of the early em-
barkations and landed at Plymouth ; that with
Richard Church he built the first framed
meetinghouse at Plymouth, in 1637. He
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
957
â– served against the Narragansetts for seven-
ieen days from Aug. 15, 1645. He was a
town officer and juryman at various times.
In 1645 he bought a house and garden in Ply-
mouth, and in that same year, Dec. 26th, he
married Mary Cooke, born in 1626, daughter
of Francis Cooke, who came to this country in
the "Mayflower" in 1620. Mr. Thomson
finally bought much land some thirteen miles
west of the village of Plymouth on the confines
of Bridgewater, Middleboro and what was then
called Plymouth (now Halifax), building his
house in Middleboro, and in it lived until it
•was burned by the Indians. He was an active
participant in King Philip's war, in which he
held the commission of lieutenant command-
ant, and after the war built a frame house
near the site of the old log one referred to
as having been burned, and in it he lived
through the remainder of his life; and four
generations of his posterity occupied it. He
died June 16, 1696, in the eightieth year of
his age, and his wife, Mary, died March 21,
1714, in the eighty-eighth year of her age.
iTieir cliildren were: Adam, who died young;
John, born in 1648; Mary, born _ in 1650;
Esther, born in 1652; Elizabeth, born in 16S4;
Sarah, born in 1657; Lydia, born in 1659;
Jacob, born in 1662; Thomas, born in 1664;
Peter; and Mercv, born in 1671.
(II) Jacob Thomson, born April 24, 1662,
married Abigail Wadsworth. Mr. Thomson
was for a number of years a justice of the
peace. He died Sept. 1, 1726, in his sixty-fifth
year, and his wife died Sept. 15, 1714, in her
seventy-fifth year. Their children were :
Jacob, born in 1695; Abigail, born in 1697;
Mercy, born , in 1699; John, born in 1701;
Lydia, born in 1703; Barnabas, born in 1705;
Esther, born in 1707; Hannah, born in 1709;
Mary, born in 1711; and Caleb, born in 1712.
(III) Jacob Thomson (2), born April 17,
1695, married Mrs. Elizabeth (Tilson)
Holmes, widow of John Holmes. He
was a surveyor and scrivener, and was
generally known as Clerk Jacob. He
died March 10, 1789, •'in his 'ninety-fourth
year. His wife died Aug. 8, 1773, in her
seventy-fourth year. Their children were:
Abigail, bom in 1735; Jacob, born in 1738;
and Elizabeth, born in 1741.
(IV) Jacob Thomson (3), born March 28,
1738, married Oct. 27, 1761, Freelove Phin-
ney, daughter of Pelatiah and Mercy (Wash-
burn) Phinney. He was chosen captain of a
military company, and was distinguished from
others of the same name by the title of his rank.
He died in November, 1806. His widow died
Nov. 7, 1826, in the eighty-sixth year of her
age. Their children were : Solomon, born in
1762; Benjamin, born in 1764; Mercy and
Elizabeth, twins, born in 1766; Ruth, born in
1768; Jacob, born in 1771; and Freelove, born
in 1780.
(V) Solomon Thompson, born Jan. 7, 1762,
married Lydia Murdock, who was born Dec.
8, 1766. He was a Baptist deacon for a num-
ber of years. Their children were: Lucy, born
in 1787, married Charles Shaw; Lydia, born
in 1789, married Timotliy Drew; Solomon,
born in 1791. married Harriet Thompson and
(second) Widow Mary Simmons; Mercy, born
in 1794, married George Atwood; Calvin, born
in 1796, married Margaret Richardson; and
Jacob, born in 1801, married (first) Nancy
Tinkham and (second) Joann Benson.
(VI) Calvin Thompson, born Oct. 29, 1796,
married April 22, 18.21, Margaret Richardson,
daughter of Robert Richardson, of Boston.
Calvin Thompson was a carpenter by trade.
He moved from Middleboro to North Bridge-
water about 1844. He died June 8, 1853, and
his widow died in June, 1867. Their children
were : Calvin Murdock, born May 5, 1823, is
mentioned below; Edward, born Oct. 15, 1825,
married Sarah S. Savery; Henry, born Dec. 4,
1827, married Anne Withingtop Thayer; Mar-
garet Smith, born June 14, 1830, married
(first) Noah Ford and (second) Charles A.
Tyler; George Richardson, born March 4,
1833, married Mary Alice Johnson; and Rob-
ert Richardson, born Jan. 10, 1838, died Nov.
6, 1849.
(VII) Calvin Murdock Thompson, born
May 5, 1823, in Middleboro, Mass., was a shoe
salesman by occupation. He lived in Dorches-
ter and Hyde Park, and his death occurred at
the latter place in September, 1874. In his
political views he was a Democrat of the old
school. He held membership in various Ma-
sonic bodies, including the commandery. Mr.
Thompson married (first) in June, 1847, Mary
B. Sharp, of -Dorchester, Mass., where she died
in November, 1856, and (second) Helen Bad-
lam, of Hyde Park, Mass., where she now
resides. His children by the first marriage
were as follows : William Murdock, born Oct.
10, 1848, is mentioned below; Clifton Sharp,
born Jan. 2, 1852, married Nellie (Putnam)
Thompson, widow of his brother George, and
resides in Denver, Colo., where he is a bridge
engineer with the Denver & Rio Grande Rail-
road Company; George Badlam, born in 1855,
married Nellie Putnam, of Neponset, Mass.,
and died in Dorchester at the age of twenty-
two years, his widow later becoming the wife
958
SOUTHEASTEEN MASSACHUSETTS
of his brother Clifton. To Mr. Thompson's
second marriage was born one son, Charles
Badlam, who is a civil engineer by profession,
and resides in Hyde Park, Massachusetts.
(VIII) William Murdock Thompson, son of
the late Calvin M. and Mary B. (Sharp)
Thompson, was born Oct. 10,^ 1848, in Dor-
chester, Mass., where his schooling was begun.
At the age of ten years he came to make his
home with his grandmotlier, Mrs. Thompson,
in North Bridgewater, wliere he continued his
studies in the common schools, after which he
furthered his education in Hunt's Academy,
which was conducted by Prof. Sereno D. Hunt.
Upon completing his schooling he entered the
dry goods store of the late Henry W. Eobin-
son, where he remained as a clerk for about
nine years, the training here received greatly
aiding in his development. On Feb. 1, 1873.
Mr. Thompson entered the insurance office of
the late Sumner A. Hayward, the leading in-
surance man of the city, and after spending
about six months in his office was made a part-
ner in the business, which was then con-
ducted under the name of Sumner A. Hay-
ward & Co. The partnership continued until
April 1, 1893, when Mr. Thompson purchased
the interests of Mr. Hayward in the business,
and carried it on alone until 1904, in which
year his son, Edgar Hayward Thompson, be-
came his partner, the latter soon taking full
charge of the firm's affairs. The business has
been conducted under the name of W. M.
Thompson & Co., and includes both real estate
and insurance. It is the oldest established in-
surance concern in the city, having been estab-
lished in 1853 by Sumner A. Hayward, and
has since enjoyed an extensive patronage. A
number of the leading old-line insurance com-
panies in this country and England are repre-
sented, embracing the various lines of insur-
ance, including fidelity insurance. Mr. Thomp-
son's health began to fail some years before his
death, but in spite of his physical ills his men-
tal vigor was unimpaired.
Mr. Thompson was prominently identified
with the Masonic fraternity, holding member-
ship in Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ;
Satucket Chapter, R. A. M. ; Brockton Coun-
cil, R. & S. M. ; and Bay State Commandery,
K. T., of Brockton. He also belonged to Ban-
ner Lodge, N. E. 0. P. Socially he was a mem-
ber of the Commercial Club, in the formation
of which he had been a leading spirit, and had
also been a member of the building committee
having charge of the erection of the present
club house ; and at its organization he joined
the Country Club, of Brockton, and continued
his membership until a short time before his
decease. He was also identified with the finan-
cial institutions of the city, as a director of
the Home National Bank (which office he held
for a number of years, being at the time of
his death one of its oldest directors), trustee
of the Brockton Savings Bank, director and
vice president of the Abington Mutual Fire
Insurance Company, of Abington, Mass., and
a member of the Brockton Board of Fire In-
surance Underwriters. He was also interested
in the Board of Trade. In political faith Mr.
Thompson was a firm believer in the principles
of the Republican party, but never cared for
public office. Although not a member Mr.
Thompson attended the Porter Congregational
Church regularly, and was liberal in its sup-
port.
On April 23, 1873, by the Rev. S. L. Rori-
paugh, pastor of the First Universalist Church,
Mr. Thompson was united in marriage with
Julia B. Hayward, daughter of Sumner A. and
Cynthia B. (Washburn) Hayward, grand-
daughter of Ira and Sarah (Edson) Hayward,
and a lineal descendant of Thomas Hayward,
who came from England and settled at Dux-
bury, Mass., in 1638. Mrs. Thompson passed
away at her home in Brockton June 11, 1908,
beloved by all who knew her. She was a mem-
ber of the Society of Mayflower Descendants
of Boston, her family genealogy being traced
back on both sides to the coming of the "May-
flower" to Plymouth, in 1620, different fami-
lies to which she was related being the Stand-
ishes, Cookes, Aldens and Fullers.
Mr. and Mrs. Thompson had one son, Edgar
Hayward Thompson, born June 10, 1879, who
was graduated from the Brockton High School
in 1898, after which he attended Brown Uni-
versity, and who is now the only survivor of
the firm of W. M. Thompson & Co., and one
of the prominent young men of the city. He
is a member of Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. &
A. M. ; of the Commercial Club, and of the
Thorny T^ea Golf Club. He is an incorporator
of the Brockton Savings Bank, and at the fifty-
fifth annual meeting of the Abington Mutual
Fire Insurance Company, in 1911, he was
elected a director of the same to succeed his
fatlier. He married Mary Parmenter, of
Brockton.
In spite of his years of feeble health William
M. Thompson was at his office less than a
week before his death. The news that he had
passed away caused universal regret, and many
spoke appreciatively of his long useful life.
Of magnetic personality, with keen business
judgment and sound common sense, he was a
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
959
dominant force in the business world. Hie
support — moral and material — -for all measures
for Brockton's advancement was freely given,
and he enjoyed the respect and esteem of the
entire community. His remains were interred
in the family lot in Melrose cemetery.
NATHANIEL PEANCIS SHURTLEPF,
of Middlebdro, now retired from active busi-
ness after a long life devoted to lumbering and
milling, and one of the best known citizens of
this town, comes of a family whose early home
was in Yorkshire, England.
(I) William Shurtleff, from Ecclesfield,
England, some twenty miles from Scrooby—
the latter being the point at which assembled
the Pilgrims before their going to Leyden,
Holland, in his youth came early to Plymouth,
where he was among those able to bear arms
in 1643. He was apprenticed at Plymouth,
says Savage, to Thomas Clark, a carpenter, but
was not probably brought by him. It is said
that at Scrooby, at a seat called Whitley Hall,
resided the only family of the name that has
been found before its appearance in this coun-
try. William Shurtleff appears in the Ply-
mouth records as surveyor of highways and
constable. On Oct. 18, 1655, he married
Elizabeth Lettice, who was born in England,
daughter of Thomas and Ann Lettice. He
was killed by a stroke of lightning at Marsh-
field June 23, 1666. She survived him, and
died Oct. 31, 1693, in Swansea, Mass. Their
children were : William, Thomas and Abiel.
(II) Abiel Shurtleff, son of William, and
of Plymouth, married there Jan. 14, 1696,
Lydia, daughter of Jonathan Barnes, of Ply-
mouth. Their children were: James, born
Nov. 16, 1696; Elizabeth, born Dec. 6, 1698;
Lydia, born Peb. 28, 1701 ; David, born June
1, 1703; Hannah, born July 31, 1705; John,
born Nov. 8, 1707; Benjamin, bom April 11,
1711; William, born Sept. 8, 1713; Joseph,
born Jan. 22, 1716; and Abiel, born Oct. 23,
1717. This family resided in that part of the
town which became Plympton. The mother
died there Sept. 10, 1727, and the father Oct.
28, 1732.
(III) Benjamin Shurtleff, of Plympton, son
of Abiel, born April 11, 1711, married (first)
Hannah Diman, and (second) in 1745 Su-
sanna, daughter of Josiah Cushman. His chil-
dren were: Hannah, who married an Ellis;
Benjamin, born in 1748; Susanna, born in
1751; and Ruth, born in 1753.
(IV) Benjamin Shurtleff (2), born Oct. 14,
1748, died July 8, 1821, in Carver, Mass. On
June 7, 1773, he married Abigail Atwood, of
Carver, who was born Oct. 7, 1755, and died
Nov. 29, 1826. Their children were: Benja-
min, born Nov. 7, 1774; Nathaniel, April 18,
1776; Stephen, Dec. 28, 1777; Barzilla, Dec.
23, 1780; Abigail, April 5, 1782; Flavel, Aug.
29, 1784; Ruth, Aug. 24, 1787; Lot, March 7,
1789; Charles, Oct. 20, 1790; Samuel Atwood,
July 7, 1792; Hannah, Sept. 17, 1794; and
Milton, July 28, 1796.
(V) N^athaniel Shurtleff, son of Benjamin
(2), born April 18, 1776, died in Middieboro
Nov. 4, 1858. He married Elizabeth Bumpus,
who was born Dec. 25, 1778, and died Feb. 1,
1838, and their children were: Elizabeth, born
May 2, 1804, died in infancy; Sarah, born
Jime 13, 1805, died unmarried Feb. 20, 1831;
Salem, born July 14, 1807, died in 1830;
Elizabeth, born Dec. 28, 1808, died March 5,
1855, married Matthew Gushing, of Middie-
boro, and had children, Matthew H., Nathaniel
S. and Gamaliel ; Nathaniel was born Sept. 15,
1811; a son was born Dec. 21, 1813; Joann
born March 14, 1818, married Israel Smith,
of Middieboro, and had children, Joann and
Augusta; Jerome, born Oct. 30, 1821, died
May 17, 1824; and Harrison, born Feb. 2,
1825, married Adeline Ward, of Carver.
(VI) Nathaniel Shurtleff (2), son of Na-
thaniel, born Sept. 15, 1811, died Nov. 13,
1903, married Jan. 24, 1841, Susanna, daugh-
ter of Silas and Polly (Shurtleff) Thomas.
She was born June 17, 1811, and died Aug.
4, 1868. Their two children were,: Elizabeth
Bumpus, born Dec. 28, 1841, who married
Elbridge Cushman, of Middieboro; and Na-
thaniel Francis.
Nathaniel Shurtleff (2) received his educa-
tion in the district schools of Middieboro, after
which he took up farming with his father.
Subsequently he went into the sawmill, making
shingles, box boards, and later cutting long
lumber. He was very active in public matters,
and held a number of offices, among them that
of selectman, always giving conscientious ser-
vice to the town. He was keenly interested in
a number of ventures that broadened the busi-
ness relations of the community. In religious
faith he was a Methodist, and in political
principle a Republican.
(VII) Nathaniel Francis Shurtleff was born
in Middieboro Aug. 15, 1844, and educated
in the district schools of that town and in
Peirce Academy and the Perez Cushing board-
ing school. His school days ended he became
associated with his father in farming, lum-
bering and milling. The sawmill was first run
by water power, but later steam was installed.
He continued to run and manage this up to
960
SOUTHEASTEKiSl'> MASSACHUSETTS
the time of his father's death, after which he
took full charge, and with his two sons en-
gaged in business with him has met with great
success. He now owns several hundred acres
of timberland, and about forty acres of culti-
vated land besides that devoted to the culti-
vation of cranberries Ijy his sons. For a few
years he has been practically rehired from ac-
tive work, though still in touch with the man-
agerial end of the business. His sons are
proving worthy sons of their father and are
now conducting the business with undimin-
ished success.
On Dec. 23, 1866, Mr. Shurtleff married
Cynthia Emma Smith, bom Dec. 4, 1844,
daughter of Perez and Joana (Swift) Smith,
of Eochester, Mass. She died May 10, 1910,
in Carver, Mass., the mother of three chil-
dren: Nathaniel Allerton, born Oct. 13, 1867,
is associated with his father in the lumber
business and in farming (he is unmarried) ;
Susanna Thomas, born Dec. 22, 1868, died
Nov. 19, 1888; and Harrison Francis, born
April 4, 1881, also associated with his father,
married Alice Ethel Gerald, of Benton, Maine,
daughter of Alvin M. and Caroline L. (Mar-
con) Gerald, and has had children, Nathaniel
(born Sept. 19, 1903) and Susanna Cynthia
(bom Jan. 5, 1909, died March 7, 1909).
Mr. Shurtleff attends the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, of South Middleboro. In his
political faith he is a stanch upholder of Re-
publican principles.
WILLIAM B. ATWOOD, one of the enter-
prising and successful business men of Brock-
ton, where he is engaged as a dealer in leather
remnants, is a descendant of one of the earliest
settled families of Massachusetts. He was born
April 9, 1864, in Rochester, Mass., son of Bart-
lett S. and Lois Swift (Smith) Atwood. The
ancestry of this branch of the family is given
in chronological order.
(I) The late William T. Davis, the historian
of Plymouth, TVIass., in his "Ancient Land-
marks of Plymouth," says : "The various
branches of the Atwood family of that town de-
scend from John Wood, of Plymouth, 1643 ;
and there was a John Atwood in Plymouth in
1636, who died without children." Pope, an-
other authority, has John Wood, or Atwood,
bora in 1609, who came from London in the
ship "Hopewell," in 1635, and settled in Ply-
mouth, where he was a proprietor in 1636,
juryman in 1638, able to bear arms in 1643,
and married to Sarah Masterson. John Wood,
or Atwood, whom Davis quotes as of Plymouth
in 1643, married Sarah Masterson, daughter
of Richard Masterson — hence these two au-
thorities refer to the same John Wood or At-
wood. John and Sarah (Masterson) Wood
(Atwood) had children as follows: John, born
March 4, 1649; Nathaniel, born Feb. 25, 1651-
52; Isaac, born Feb. 27, 1653; Mary, who
married Rev. John Holmes, of Duxbury, and
(second) Maj. William Bradforu; Sarah, who
married John Fallowell ; Abigail, 'married to
Samuel Leonard ; Mercy ; Elizabeth ; and Han-
nah, married to Richard Cooper.
(II) Deacon Nathaniel Atwood, son of John,
born Feb. 25, 1651-52, in Plymouth, Mass.,
married in 1683 Mary Morey, born in Ply-
mouth in 1660, daughter of Jonathan Morey,
and their children were: John, born in 1684;
Elizabeth, in 1687; Joanna, in 1689; Mary,
in 1691; Nathaniel, in 1693; Isaac, in 1695;
Barnabas, in 1697-98, and Joanna (2), in
1700.
(III) Lieut. Nathaniel Atwood, son of Na-
thaniel, bom Oct. 3, 1693, in Carver, Mass.,
married in about 1722 Mary Adams, daughter
of Francis Adams, and (second) Mrs. Abigail
(Lucas), and lived in Plympton, Mass. His
children were: Mary, born in 1723; Nathaniel,
born in 1725; Francis, born in 1728 (all by
the first marriage) ; Sarah; Mercy; Ebenezer;
Keziah ; William ; Joseph, and Ichabod.
(IV) William Atwood, son of Lieut. Na-
thaniel, was born April 5, 1740, in Carver,
Mass., where he died April 30, 1814. He
married Dec. 4, 1766, Lydia Tilson, who was
born Feb. 14, 1749, in Carver, Massachusetts.
(V) Asaph Atwood, son of William, was
born Sept. 5, 1777, in Carver, Mass., where
he died Julv 26, 1870. On Nov. 19, 1805, he
married Elizabeth Shaw, who was bom in
Carver Nov. 19, 1787, daughter of Maj. John
and Abigail (Perkins) Shaw. Their children
were: Hannah, Almira, Elizabeth, Tilson,
Oren and Asaph.
(VI) Oren Atwood, son of Asaph, was bora
Oct. 6, 1806, in I'arver,- where he was engaged
in fanning and lumbering during his life,
and where he died Feb. 7, 1887. He mar-
ried March 28, 1833, Sibilla Ward, born
in Carver Nov. 7, 1808, daughter of Benja-
min, Jr., and Hannah Ward. Their children
were: Bartlett Shaw, born March 28, 1835, is
mentioned below; and Arabella Sprague, bom
Aug. 26, 1840, married Samuel Shaw, of Car-
ver, where she died.
(VII) Bartlett Shaw Atwood, son of Oren
and' Sibilla (Ward), was born March 28,
1835, in Middleboro, Mass., where his school-
ing was obtained in the district schools near
his home. He later went to Carver, where he
^^^L^^/^ (2^,^
SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
961
followed farming and lumbering for a number
of years, and in connection with the latter in-
dustry had a saw and shingle mill, which he
ran until within a few years of his death. He
was of a genial and kindly nature, and was
devoted to his home and family. In political
faith he was a Democrat of the old school. He
and his family attended the Carver Union
Church, to which he gave liberal support. On
Sept. 28, 1861, in Middleboro, Mass., Mr. At-
wood married. Lois Swift Smith, who was born
Jan. 26, 1840, in Eochester, Mass., daughter
of Perez and Joan (Swift) Smith, grand-
daughter of Wdlliam and Hannah (Cobb)
Smith, and great-granddaughter of Perez
Smith, all of Eochester, Mass. Mr. Atwood
died Aug. 21, 1893, in Carver, and is survived
by his wife, who now resides in Brockton, sur-
rounded by her children and grandchildren.
To Mr. and Mrs. Atwood were born the follow-
ing children : William B., born April 9, 1864,
is mentioned below; Edward Kelton, born
March 4, 1866, in Carver, a shoeworker by