The Massachusetts Tax Valuation List of 1771
The Massachusetts Tax Valuation List of 1771 contains the names and descriptions of taxable property of nearly 38,000 individuals who resided in 152 Massachusetts towns in 1771
Newburyport Massachusetts
Biography of Enoch Chase
Enoch Chase was one of the founders of the City of Topeka. He was actively identified with the free state movement in territorial times, and for years was a man of prominence in the state capital. While these reasons make his career a part of Kansas history, it is also noteworthy that his daughter became
Holman Family of Attleboro Massachusetts
For something more than two centuries the Holman family of which the Attleboro Holmans are a branch has been identified with the history of this Commonwealth, and for half of that period the Holmans have been people of distinction in the town just named, closely identified with its social, religious, educational and business life. The progenitor of this Massachusetts Holman family, Solomon Holman, with his brother John, is said to have come from the Bermuda Islands to Newburyport, the family tradition being that the Holman family came from Wales to the Bermuda Islands some time between 1670 and 1690; that the two named were seized by a press-gang and brought to this country and escaped from a British ship at Newburyport; that John, the youngest, went to North Carolina and Solomon settled in Newbury. Coffin’s Newbury says Solomon Holman and wife came there about 1693 or 1694.
Descendants of Abraham Tappan of Newbury, MA
The Tappan family of Attleboro, while not an old one in this section of the State, has, nevertheless, been resident for half a century in Attleboro, where Ephraim H. Tappan makes his home, and where his sons, Charles H. and William C, the latter now deceased, have been identified with the manufacturing interests of that section, by their great energy, enterprise and progressive spirit making for themselves a name ranking them among the foremost jewelry manufacturers of the State. The Tappan family was planted in America by:
Abraham Toppan (or Tappan), son of William Topham, of Calbridge, in the parish of Coverham, and fourth in descent from Robert Topham, of Linton, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England; he was baptized April 10, 1606. He lived for some time in Yarmouth, County of Norfolk. His wife, whose maiden name was Taylor, was born in 1607, daughter of Elizabeth, who married (second) John Goodale, whom she outlived and from whom she inherited considerable property. Mr. Toppan with his wife, two children and maidservant, in 1637, took passage in the “Mary and Ann” to New England, and there came in the same vessel with them Mrs. Goodale, his mother-in-law. He settled in Newbury, being admitted Oct. 16, 1637, and at different times in the year following several lots were granted to him. He made a number of voyages to Barbadoes, one or more of which were profitable. He died Nov. 5, 1672, aged sixty-six, in the house on “Toppan’s Lane” which he had built about 1670 for his son Jacob. His widow died March 20, 1689, aged eighty-two years. The children of Abraham and Susanna (Taylor) Toppan were:
Biography of Henry Martyn Chase
HENRY MARTYN CHASE. – This gentleman was born March 28, 1831, in Philadelphia, from whence he moved to Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1844. He is a descendant of Aquila Chase, one of the early settlers of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and also directly descended from the famous Hannah Dustin, who killed her Indian captors in the Indian war
Free Massachusetts Vital Records
This is a collection of 197 free vital records books, otherwise known as “Tan Books” for Massachusetts towns. Generally these records go up to 1849/1850 at which, the genealogist can use the census records to assist in identifying the family connections further. Included with this article is an account of why and how these manuscripts were published along with links to all 197 books which can be freely read or downloaded.
Biography of Alfred Woodman
Alfred Woodman, a successful farmer of Plainfield, Sullivan County, N.H., and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in Newburyport, Mass., March 9, 1834, son of Daniel and Sarah (Hall) Woodman. His grandfather, Joseph Woodman, was a native of Newbury, Mass., and a cabinet-maker by trade. He was twice married; and his second wife
Biography of Capt. John H. Couch
CAPT. JOHN H. COUCH. – A native of Newburyport, Massachusetts, he was one of the handful of hardy, brave, adventurous settlers who made the wilderness their home, and devoted the best portions of their lives in opening the way and preparing the land for the immigration and occupation of their brothers across the mountains. He
Atkinson Family Genealogy of Saco Valley
The Atkinsons were English, and the ancestors of the New England families came from Bury, in County Lancaster, in 1634. Theodore Atkinson, the emigrant, settled in Boston and was owner of a good estate there. Atkinson street, where he had land, was named for him, and Berry street, for the place of his nativity. Hon.