Okey. Miles Corbet, and John Barkstead. three
of the judges who had condemned Charles the
First. There are rea.sons for supposing him to
have been the author of the policy developed
in the British Navigation .\ct. which was initi-
ated October 9. 1651, and advanced by another
act in 1660. This act made England the great
naval power of the world.

July I. 1663. Downing was created a baronet
by the title of -Sir (jeorge Downing of F.ast
Hatley, Cambridgeshire, knight, where his estate
was called the largest in the county. In 1667,
he was chosen secretary of the new commis-
sioners of the treasury. He labored indus-
triously to increase the revenue and enlarge the
resources of the country. In 1671 he went to
Holland, to take the place of Sir William
Temple. He returned from Holland, where he
was sent as ambas.sador, before his time, and
accordingly was sent to the Tower : but was
soon released and restored to royal favor. He
was one of the three commissioners of the cus-
toms in London, who, under date of July
9, 1678, prepared the rigid instructions for
"Edward Randoljih, Collector. Surveyor, and
Searcher, of his Majestie's Customs in New
England." He died in 1684.



Downing married in 1(154, i'rances Howard,
who was desceniled from the fourth Duke of
Norfolk, who was beheaded by Oueen Eliza-
beth for tenderness to Mary (Jueen of Scots.
She (lied July 10, 1(183. Their eldest son, Ceorge,
was teller in the Exchequer in 1680.

Downing Street. Whitehall, was named after
.Sir George Downing, secretary of the treasury,
when the office of K^rd treasurer was put in
commission ( May, i(i''i7 ), on tiie death of Lord
.'"Southampton.

Sir (icorge Downing was a member of the
class of 1642, the first class which was grad-
uated from Harvaril College, llis grandson,
who (lied in 1749, a little more than a hundred
years after this time. bei|ueathed a large estate,
first to relatives, and afterwards, if tliey died
without lawful issue, for the building of a col-
lege at Cambridge, .\fter a half century's
opposition and litigation, it was chartered Se])-
tember 22. 1800, and the magnificent Downing
College was erected with funds which were
said to amount to one hundred and fift\' thous-
and ])ountls.'-'

ELP.RIDGE GERRY.

Elbridge Gerry, who was governor of Mass-
achusetts from May 1810. to May, 1812. and
\ice-president of the United States from March
4. 1813, until N(.)vember 2},. 1814, when he
suddenly e.\]5ired, as he was aboiU to enter the
senate chamber at Washington for the ])erform-
ance of his (ifficial duties, was a native of
Marblehead, where his birth is recorded as
(iccurring on the 17th of July, 1744, son of
Thomas and Elizabeth. The son, Elbridge CJerry,
was graduated at Harvard College in I7()2.and
later was a signer of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence.

l-'or man}- _\ears he was a resident of the
town of Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he
was respected as one of the most eminent citi-
zens, in spite of differences of political opinion
between himself and the majority of his fellow
citizens. The embargo of i(So9. followed by an
open declaration of war against Great llritian
in June 1812. caused t^ambridge to sufl'er dur-
ing the next two or three years its full |)roi)or-
tion in the general stagnation of business; as a
new port it did not recover from the blight
which had fallen upon it — the name of Cam-
bridgeport (now anything but a port) coming
as a relic of this i)eriod. Hence grass grew in
the streets of the seaports, and shi|)s rotted at
the wharves. .A very decided majority of the



•The ahovp notice \» ahriilped from SUik'v'.s "H.-ir-
vari] CJraduates." vol. i. pp. 2S-.'>1.



.\l\iii.



MASSACllL" SETTS.



voters 1)1 Camliridj^e ( if not elsewhere in New
iingland i were i)olitic;iily ojjposed to the war
and smarted under the losses and inconven-
iences resnlting from it. but notwithstanding
the lack of enthn>iasm for its support, com-
panies when called into service for the defence
of the state responded punctually to ih^; call.
Thus, in the case of Mr. Gerry, it is said, that
neither their atifection for the man, nor their
regard for his high political position, could
overcome their detastation of the war, of which
he was an advocate and defender, nor induce
them to volunteer tlieir jiersons or their prop-
erty in its behalf. (See Paige's "History of
Cambri ge," pp. 192-193).

llis earliest revolutionary experience with
Cambridge appears to have been on the night
of the eighteenth of .April, 1775. when as a
member of the different committees of safety
and supjjlies in session at Wetherby's tavern,
in what was later West Cambridge or now is
.Arlington, he. with two others of the members,
Orne and Lee, remained to pass the night. As
the IJritish in perfect stillness, passed the tavern
where he was lodging, on their midnight march
to Concord, derry, Orne and Lee rose from
their beds to gaze on the unwonted spectacle;
the three were discovered by the British, and
when a party of the latter was detached to sur-
round the tavern, and make prisoners of the
distinguished inmates, the three members of
the committee of safety hastily escaped to an
adjoining field.

.â– \s early as 1775 Gerry was actively interest-
ed in fitting out a provincial naval armanient
and by November 13 a law was passe<l by the
assembly of Massachusetts — and draughted by
C.erry — which authorized the employment of
])rivateers and established a court for the trial
ami condemnation of |)rizes. J le was then a
resident of Marl)lehead. and was emphatically
at the bottom of this movement.

lie was a great jjolitical organizer. It was
he who after the .\ew England colonies had
borne the contest for several months, almost
alone, sought to reconcile the conflicting jeal-
ousies of the north and the south, and to aid
Washington to supplant local jealousy by a
union of s])irit. I lis letters show this. In one
of them he says (under date of October 9.
1775). "Let it be remenibered that the first
attack was made on this colony ; that we had to
keep a regular force without the advantage of
a regular government : that we had to support
in the field from 12.000 to 14,000 men. when
the whole forces vote<l by the other Xew Eng-
land governments amounted to 8.500 oidy."



In political ability Gerr\' was classed with
such men as Washington. Hamilton, I-'ranklin,
.Morris, and others, and he was a delegate
from Massachusetts, with others, in 1787, to
the convention at l'hiladel])hia on the adoption
of the I'ederal constitution. Uy the adoption
of the constitution of the United States, the
citizens of .Massachusetts, as well as of the rest
of the Union were divided into two parties,
known at that time as federalists and anti-
federalist. The former were the friends of the
new constitution, and ( lerry's symjiathies were
with tlie latter. The federalists were inclined
to the establishment of a (privileged order, while
the anti- federalists were more re])nblican in
their tendencies: or in other words, more dem-
ocratic, or nearer to the lower class of the
])eople.

lie was a commissioner to the court of
l"rance in 1797. He was appointed by Presi-
dent Adams, a federalist, contrary to the opin-
ion of a portion of his cabinet, because Gerry
was a gentleman distinguished throughout the
country lor his intellectual ability, even though
he was attached to the opposition, or, as it was
then called, the republican party. His as.sociates
on this mission were Charles Cotesworth Pinck-
ney, the head of the federal party, and John
Marshall, of Virginia, the later biogra])her of
Washington.

In May, 1800, he was the candidate of the
republican i)arty for governor of Massachu-
setts, and the people had confidence in his in-
tegrity, and gave him a large vote, but not
enough to elect him. In May, 1810, he was
elected, and the democratic party was tri-
umphant in the slate. It was considered a
critical period. In public ( lovernment Gerry
api)roved the course of the national adminis-
tration, which was republican or democratic,
and confined his favors to such as were its su])-
porlers. For this he received several threats
of assassination from anonymous correspond-
ents. He was reflected upon severely in the
federal press, and he made an attempt to de-
clare them libellous. In the midst of this ex-
citement a new election occurred and Caleb
.Strong was elected governor. Poth i)arties
were active, but his friends could not overcome
the prejudices against Gerry. It is saiil that
his conduct in districting the State for the elec-
tion of senators had some intluence in defeat-
ing him. From the ])eculiar manner in which
he did this, was acijuired the term "Gerry-
mandering :" a term now familiar to all who
have dealings with that particular way of
engineering elections to the advantage of the



MASSAC! I rsi:rrs.



xlix.



parly in [xiwcr. A deftnci' <it lii^ pulicx in
this respect was iniblished at the time, to tlie
effect that the constitution did not restrict to
county Hues in forming districts, ili^ last
districting was conformable to the rule of
taxes. Previous legislatures had districted the
State regardless of comities, as ( lerry had done,
etc. .\ convention was called at this time
which api)roved of the governors course. I'in-
ally, he was elected to the vice-jiresidency. as
the candidate of his ])arty.

.As an example of his style of wr.t.ng. the
following extract is given from nne of Mr.
(ierry's letters. The subject is the I'.ritish
evacuation of Boston in March, ij/*^)- lie
writes on .March 2C). "What an occurrence is
this to be known in Kurojie! How are parlia-
mentary pretensions to be reconciled ? lught
or ten thousand British troops, it has been said,
are sufficient to overun .America ; and yet that
number of their veterans, posted in Boston (a
penisula fortified by nature, defended by works
the i)roduct of two years" industry, surrounded
by navigable waters. sup|)orted by ships of
war. and commanded by their best generals).
are driven off by about one-thirtieth of the
I'ower of .America. Surely the invincible vet-
erans labored under some great disadvantage
from want of provisions or military .stores,
which the .Americans were am|)ly jjrovided with.
Directly the reverse. They had ])rovisions
enough : ammunition, muskets and accoutre-
ments, for every man. and a i)iece of ordnance
for every fifteen: while the .Americans were
almost destitute of all these, and after twelve
months' collection had only a sufficiency of
])owder to time their cannon for si.x or eight
<!ays. I am at a loss to know how (jreat Brit-
ian will recnncile all this to her military glory."

.\s thus ably predicted by this keen observer,
the news did excite great astonishment in ling-
land, and the reigning ministry were deeply
mf)rtificd.

.A.vcicsrkv. — CajJlain Thomas (ierrv ( 1 ), of
.\ewton Bushel, (ireat I'ritian, born at .\'ew-
ton .Abbot, Devonshire, England, March 15,
1702, died at Marblehead, Massachusetts, July
13. 1774. aged seventy-two years four months;
married first, December 16, 17.^4, I-'lizabelh
(Ireenleaf, born at Marblehead. June i. 171'^).
died there. .Se])teniber 2. 1771. aged fifty-five
years, daughter of F.noch and Rebecca ( Rus-
sell) Cireenleaf : married second. May 6, 1773,
Mrs. F.lizabeth Lenimon. presumably widow
of Dr. Jose])li Eemnion. of Marblehead. who
died in 1772. Thomas Gerry came to .America
in 17,^0 as caj)tain of a trading vessel from



Loudcin. Alter niaiiiage be relin(|ui^lied the
sea and became a merchant at .Marblehead. I lis
father was Daniel (ierry.of Newton .\l)bot, l)o-
\iiii>liire. I'Jigland, who married a wife named
1,\<1ki. In wlinni he had three children — Daniel
and |i hn wlio remained in I'.ngland. and the
alxivc riiiiina'-. who emigrated to .\merica.
Children: 1. Thomas, born .Se])tember \().
1735: married, Sei)tember 27. 175'^ Tabitha
.Skinner. 2. Samuel, born July 3. 17,^. died
August 26. 17.^8. 3. I'-lizabeth. born .\lay 24,
1740, died -September 3, 1740. 4. John, born
( ctober 8. 1741, buried Januarx 12, 178'): mar-
ried, Xovember S, }y(\7,. Sarali Wendell, who
m;irrieil ^icnncl, June iS, 1786, John h'isk, l{s(|..
of Salem. 5. Elliridge, born July 17, 1744: see
forward. (1. Samuel, born May 30, 174(^1, died



.May 14. 1730,



l*:iizal)eth,



.MaN



1748: married, .\]>r\\ 22. \yjS- Ihirrell Dev-
ereux, 8. .Samuel Russell, born July 27, 1750,
died February 1. or 22, 1807, aged fifty-six
years: married first, July 22, 1773, Hannah
("dover, who died .May 30, 1785; married sec-
ond, July 31, 1783, -Sarah Thompson, who died
his widow. July 22, 1830, aged seventy years.
9. Daniel, born l'"ebruary 4, 1754, died May 29,
1754. 10. Daniel. Imrn June 22, 1738, died
.M.ay 17. 1739.

(11) lion. Elbridge ( .erry, -on cif C ajitain
riiomas (ierry (T ). born at .Marbleheatl, Mass-
achusetts, July 17, 1744, died at Washington,
District of Columbia, Xovember 23. 1814 : mar-
ried .Ann Thompson, daughter of James Thomp-
son, of Xew \'ork, who died his widow, at
New Haven, Connecticut, .March 17, 1849, aged
eighty-five years. He was survived, besides
his widow, by three sons aiul six daughters,
(hie daughter, Catherine, married, October 2,
18011, James Trecolhick .Austin. Fs(|., of Cam-
bridge: her husband was a graduate of Har-
vard College, 1802, received the ilegree of LL.
I)., and was attorney-general of .Massachusetts.
The eldest son, Flbridge C.erry ( II. C, 1813)
died in .Xew "\'ork, .May 18, 1867: he was at
one period surveyor of the ])ort of I'.oston,
Thomas Russell derry, another son, (H, C,
1 814) born in Cambridge, December 8, 1794,
died at Xew Roclielle, Xew A^ork, October 6,
1843: midshi])nian in Cnited .States .Xavy, ap-
pointed December 6, 1814, and resigned .August
-/• ''^.^.^- Jauics T. Cierry, another son, was
a))()ointed midshipman, U. .S. N.. I^ecember 20,
1813: lieutenant, .April 28. 1826: commander,
.Ajiril 17, 1842, and was lost on the ".Albany,"
September 28, 1834.

The name of Rlbridge < Ierrv was obtained
from a relative in this w'ay. His great-grand-



1.



MASSAClll'SETTS.



niotlicr. I'",li/.al)i.-lli l'',lbriilgc. married Saimiel
Russell, wlio was bom in 1645. she being liorn
Iniic ig. i''>5,V This Rebecca Russell married
ImkicIi (Ircenleaf. and their daughter i'llizalieth
married Thomas (ierry. The l-llbridge family
belonged in I'-ristol. I'jigland. where an uncle.



liihn [•'.ihridge. a merchant of that place, died
and left them a large property, and in memory
of this family filbridge (ierry derived his name.
(See X. \'.. II. & (j. Register, vol. u. p. 112,
further I.





WHITNEY COAT-OF-ARMS.



MASSACHUSETTS.



Tlie surname Whitney was

W'PIITXEY originally a place name. The
parish from which the family
takes its name is located in county Hereford,
England, upon the extreme western border,
adjoining U'ales and is traversed by the lovely
Wye river. The name of the place doubtless
comes from the appearance of the river, mean-
ing in Sa.xon, white water, from Im'it, white,
and ey, water. The coat-of-arms of the Whit-
ney family of Whitney is : Azure, a cross
chequy or and gules. Crest : A bull's head
couped sable, armed argent, the points gules.
The English ancestry of John Whitney, the
immigrant who settled at \\atertown, Massa-
chusetts, has been established by Henry Mel-
ville and presented in an exquisitely printed
and illustrated volume. Very few American
families have their English genealogy in such
well authenticated and satisfactory form. An
abstract of the English ancestry is given below.

(I) Turstin, "the Fleming," otherwise
known as Turstin de Wigmore, probably also
as Turstin, son of Rolf, and Turstin "the
White," was a follower of William the Con-
queror. He was mentioned in the Domesday
book as an extensive land holder in Hereford-
shire and the Marches of Wales. He married
.Agnes, daughter of .-Mured de Merleberge, a
Norman baron of Ewias Castle, in the Marches
of Wales.

(H) Eustace, son of Turstin, was a bene-
factor of the monastery of St. Peter in Glou-
cester. He or one of his immediate descend-
ants took the surname De Whitney from
Whitney of the Wye, in the Marches of
Wales, where his principal castle was located.
The estate comprised over two thousand acres,
and remained in the family until 1893. when
it was sold, there being no member of the
family to hold it. The castle has entirely dis-
appeared, but it is believed to be in ruins under
the Wye, which has in the course of years
changed its path. The castle was probably
built on an artificial mound, surrounded by a
moat fed by the river, which gradually under-
mined the castle, which was at last disinte-
grated.

(HI) Sir Robert de Whitney, a direct de-



scendant of Eustace, was livng in 1242 and
was mentioned in the "Testa de Nevill."
Three or four intervening generations cannot
be stated with certainty.

(IV) Sir Eustace de Whitney, son of Sir
Robert, gave deed to the monastery of St.
Peter in 1280, referring to and confirming the
deed of his ancestors above mentioned. lie
was Lord of Pencombe, Little Co warn and
Whitney in 1 281 ; was granted free warren
by Edward I in 1284; summoned to wars
beyond the seas in 1297; tenant of part of the
manor of Huntington in 1299; in Scotch war
in 1 301. He was possibly grandson instead
of son of Sir Robert.

(V) Sir Eustace de WHiitney, son of Sir
Eustace, was knighted by Edward I in 1306,
and was a member of parliament for Here-
fordshire in 1313 and 1352.

(\T) Sir Robert de Whitney, son of Sir
Eustace, was one of two hundred gentle-
men who went to Milan in the retinue of the
Duke of Clarence on the occasion of the hit-
ter's marriage in 1368. He was a member of
parliament for Herefordshire in 1377, 1379
and 1380 and sheriff in 1377.

(VHj Sir Robert Whitney, son of Sir Rob-
ert, was sent abroad to negotiate treaty with
the Count of Flanders in 1388; member
of parliament for Herefordshire in 1391. He
was sent to France to deliver the castle and
town of Cherbourg to the King of Navarre
in 1393; was knight marshal in the court of
Richard H ; sent on King's business to Ire-
land in 1394. He was killed, together with his
brother and most of his relatives, at the battle
of Pillcth, 1402.

f\TH) .Sir Robert Whitney, son of Sir
Robert, was granted the castle of Clif-
ford and lordships of Clifford and Glas-
bury by Henry IV in 1404, on account
of the services of his father. He was
sheriff of Herefordshire in 1413-28-33-37;
member of parliament. 1416-22. He fought
in the French war under Henry V, and was
cajjtain of the castle and town of Vire in 1420.
He was named as one of the five knights in
Herefordshire in 1433, and died March 12,
1441.



(0



MASSACHUSETTS.



( IX j Sir Eustace dc Whitney, son of Sir
Robert, was born in 141 1. He was head
of a commission sent t(j Wales by Henry \T
in 1455 and was a member of parhament for
Herefordshire in 1468. He married Jenett
I^nssell: second. Jane Clifford.

( X ) Robert VVhitney. son of Sir Eustace
(9). was pnjbably a knight and was an active
I)articipant in the War of the Roses, and was
attainted as a Yorkist in 1459. He was prob-
ably at the battle of Mortimer's Cross in 1461.
He was the subject of a poem by Lewis Glyn
Cothi, on the occasion of his marriage to Alice,
the great-granddaughter of Sir David Gam.
He married first, .Mice, daughter of Thomas
\'aughan ; second, Constance Touchett, who
was the mother of his sons. She was descended
from William the Conc|ueror, th rough the
second wife of Edward I, King of England.

(XI) James Whitney, son of Robert, was
appointed receiver of Newport, part of the
estate of the Duke of Buckingham, con-
fiscated by Jlenry \TI in 1522. He married
Blanche, daughter and an heir of Simon Mil-
bourne.

(XH) Robert Whitney, .son of James
Whitney, was of Iconib, and in charge of
other confiscated estates. He was sherifif
of Gloucestershire, 1527-28-29-30. He was
nominated Knight of the Bath by Henry VHI
at the coronation of Anne Boleyn in 1531 ;
was granted jjart of income of monastery of
Brewern in 1535: furnished forty men to ]nit
down rebellion in 1536. He was named to
attend upon the king's person. He died in
1541, and his will was jjrovcd June 11. 1541.
He married Margaret Wye.

(XHI) Sir Robert Whitney, son of Robert,
was knighted the day after Queen Mary's
coronation in October, 1553. He was sum-
moned before the privy council in 1555 and
1559. He was member of jjarliament for
Herefordshire in 1559, and died .Vugust 5,
1567. He married Sybil Baskerville, a de-
scendant of W^illiam the Conqueror through
the first wife of Edward I.

(XIV) Robert Whitney, son of Sir Robert,
was mentioned in tlie will of his father,
and also in an inquisition taken after the lat-
ter's death. He married Elizabeth, daughter
of Morgan (Juillims, or Duglim.

(XV) Thomas W'hitney, son of Robert,
was of W^estminster, Gentleman. He was
buried at St. Margaret's, Ajiril 14. 1637.
He married Mary, daughter of John IBray, of
W'estminster ; she was buried at St. Margaret's,
September 25, 1629. Children: i. John, the



.\merican emigrant, settled at Watertown,
Massachusetts. 2. Xicholas. 3. William. 4.
Richard. 5. Margaret. 6. Anne.

(The Baskerville Line).

(I) William I, Duke of Xormandy, com-
monly called William the Conqueror, married
Matilda, daughter of Baldwin. Earl of 1-dand-
ers, and granddaughter of Robert, King of
France.

(II) Henry I, son of William the Con-
queror, was King of England 1100-1135.
He was born 1069, died 1135; married Ma-
tilda, daughter of Malcolm HI. King of Scot-
land, granddaughter of Edmund Ironside, the
last of the West Saxon Kings.

(III) GeofTrey Plantagenet, Earl of An-
jou. was son of Henry I. He married Ma-
tilda .

(TV) Henry II, son of Geoiifrey, was born
1 133, died 1 189. He was King of Eng-
land 1154-89; married Eleanor, daughter and
heir of William, Duke of Aquitaine. and
divorced wife of Louis \'1I, King of France.

(\') John, son of Henry II, w'as born
1167, died 1216; King of England, 1169-1216.
He married Isabella, daughter of Aymer,
Count of Angouleme.

(\T) Henry HI, son of John, was born
1207, died 1272; King of England 1216-
72 ; married Eleanor, daughter of the Count
of Provence.

f\II) Edward I, son of Henry HI, was
born 1239, died 1307; King of England
1272-1307; married first, Eleanor, daughter of
Ferdinand HI, King of Castile; second, Mar-
garet, daughter of Philip III, King of France.

(\TII) Elizabeth, daughter of Edward I,
and Eleanor, married Humphrey de Bohun.
Earl of Hereford and Essex, Lord High
Constable. He was killed at the battle of
Boroughbridge, March 16, 1321.

fIX) Agnes, daughter of Humphrey and
Elizabeth, married Robert de Ferrers, sec-
ond Baron Ferrers, of Chartley. He was
son of John, first Baron, and grandson of
Robert, eighth Earl of Derby. He was sum-
moned to parliament February 25, 1342, and
was at the battle of Crecy. 134^. He died

1347-

(X) John de Ferrers, son of Robert, was
third Baron of Chartley. He was in the
wars of Gascony in 1350, and died April 2,
1367. He married Elizabeth, daughter of
Rolf, first Earl of Stafford, who had a prin-
cipal command in the van at Crecy.

(XI) R<ibcrt de Ferrers, son of John,



MASSACHUSETTS.



3



was fourth Baron of Chartlcy. He died
March 13. 1413. He married Margaret,
daughter of Edward. Lord de Despenser.

(Xn ) Edmund de Ferrers, son of Rob-
ert, was fifth Baron of Chartlej'. and a
participant in most of the great victories of
Henry \'. He died 1436. He married
Eleanor, daughter and co-heir of Thomas,
Lord Roche.

(XHI) WiUiam de Ferrers, son of Edmund,
was sixth Baron of Chartlcy, died 1450.
He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Hamon
Belknap, Knight.

(XIV) Anne, daughter and only child of
William, married Sir Walter Devereaux.
Knight. He was Baron Ferrers in the right
of his wife, and was killed at Bosworth Field,
August 22, 1485.

(X\') Katherine, daughter of Walter, mar-
ried Sir James Baskerville. of Eardisley,
Knight. He was several times sheriff of Here-
fordshire. He was Knight lianncret on the
battlefield of Stoke. 1487. and Knight of the
Bath at the coronation of Henry \TL

(X\T) Sir Walter Baskerville, son of Sir
James, was of Eardisley, Knight. He was
sheriff of Herefordshire, and Knight of the
Bath in 1501. He married .Anne, daugh-
ter of Morgan ap Jenkyn ap Philipp of Pen-
coyd.

(XVH) Sir James Baskerville, son of Sir
Walter, was of Eardisley, Knight. He mar-
ried Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of John