Sophronia: The People

Louisa Holmes (m. Kingsbury, 1849-1933), daughter of Lemuel Holmes (1803-1889) and Eliza (Congdon, 1806-1877), and one of 7 children, including Frederick (1843-1922) and Francis (1845-1882), who Sophronia talks about. Louisa is another of Sophronia’s good friends and the Holmes family is very close to the Lumbards and Hoveys.
Louisa was born in Sturbridge and was 17 at the time the diary was written. At the age of 24, on June 11th, 1874, she married George Kingsbury in Sturbridge and they have one child- George Russell (1877-1909). When Russell is young, they live with George Sr.’s parents in North Brookfield, even after George Sr. dies in 1890. Russell married Mabel Louise (Bemis, 1877-1960) on October 26th, 1898 and in 1900, Louisa, Russell, Mabel, and George Sr.’s father, Joel are all living together. Mabel and Russell have three children- Mildred Louisa (1900-1985), George Bemis (1902-1925), and Helen Mabel (1908-1982). Russell works as a farmer.
Then, Russell dies in 1909 from pneumonia. After that, Mabel and Louisa never leave each other, as Louisa helps Mabel raise her three young grandchildren. They are together in the 1910 Census (Mabel is a Stitcher in an Overall Shop), and the 1930 Census in Spencer. In 1933, Louisa dies.
Francis Holmes (1845-1882)- son of Lemuel and Eliza, brother of Charles, Ann, Mary, Frederick, Harriet, and Louisa. He was born in Sturbridge and is 21 at the time of the diary. In 1871, at the age of 26, he married Amelia (Hutchinson, 1852-1927) and they had three children- Frank, Alice, and Grace. In 1882, at the age of 37, he dies of tuberculosis.
Lemuel Holmes (1803-1889) was born to Perley (1763-1839) and Zervia (Faulkner, 1770-1852) in 1803. I’ve seen that he was born in New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Vermont, so I’m not sure which is correct. He married Eliza (Congdon, 1806-1877) on April 7th, 1832, in Sturbridge and they had 7 children, although I can only find information on 6 of them- Charles (1834-?), Ann (1837-1921), Mary Sophia (1838-1916), Frederick (1843-1922), Francis (1845-1882), Harriet Eliza (1848-1926), and Louisa (1849-1933).
He was a farmer and lived in Sturbridge for the rest of his life. In each census year, more of his children move out, but in 1870, he, Eliza, and Louisa are together. In 1871, his friend Rufus Hovey died and he served as an appraiser in his will. In 1877, Eliza died of Dropsy. In 1880, Frederick, his wife, and Harriet have moved back in with Lemuel (Louisa married in 1874). He died in 1889 at the age of 86 from stomach cancer in Sturbridge.
Lilla Hovey (1850-bef.1882) is one of Sophronia’s best friends. She is the daughter of Rufus and Angeline (Wood, 1818-1853) and sister of Franklin (1843-1872) and Ellen (1847-1872).
Lilla was born in Spencer in November of 1850. Her mother dies when she is only 2 years old of Typhoid Fever in August of 1853. In October of the same year, Rufus married Zernah (Upham, 1816-1872). When the diary was written, she and her family were living in Sturbridge. On February 16th, 1869, she married Jason Wolcott Steele and they have a daughter, Lilla Sophia (1870-?) on July 29th, 1870. In 1870, they are living in Hampden, Mass, and Jason is listed as a Grocer. Then, in 1871, Lilla suffers a series of devastating losses- her father dies on November 29th, 1871 and then Zernah, Franklin, and Ellen all die in 1872. Frank and Zernah both die on January 16th, he from consumption and she from “insanity, melancholy.” Ellen dies on July 24th, also from consumption.
Lilla, Little Lilla, and Jason all survive this period and continue to live in Hampden in 1880. Then, I lose her. Jason remarries in 1882, so I’m inclined to think that Lilla died sometime between 1880 when I find her in the Census and 1882 when he remarries, but I can’t find any death records. Little Lilla is difficult to find after 1880 as well. She might have married and changed her name or a hundred other things. Jason stays living in Hampden with his new wife and children, but not with Lilla.
George Hovey (1850-aft 1920) was the son of Silas (1813-1870) and Mary (Moore, 1825-1891), and the cousin of Lilla. He was born in West Boylston, but was living in Sturbridge in 1865 with Silas and Mary. In 1870, Silas dies and George is still living with his mother. In September 28th, 1880, George married Ella (Walker 1858-1915) in Leicester, but is still shown in the Census as living with Mary alone- it must have been taken before he was married. Mary dies in 1891 and in 1900, George and Ella are living in Leicester; he is working as a grocery clerk. He and Ella are together in 1910 in Hampden and he can be found in the 1920 census still in Hampden at the age of 70, but is described as widowed and has a housekeeper and a boarder. I can’t find any death records for either of them.
Rufus (1818-1871) and Zernah (Upham, 1816-1872), son of Ezekiel (1775-1839 and Mary (Fitts, 1765-1854), brother to Henry, Silas (1813-1870, and George Hovey’s father), and Eliza, father to Franklin (1843-1872), Ellen (1847-1872), and Lilla (1850-bef.1882). Some of his history is described in Lilla’s bio.
He married Lilla’s mother, Angeline Wood (1818-1853) at the age of 23 on April 18th, 1839, and they had their three children. She died of Typhoid Fever in 1853. He was listed as having a few occupations including a shoe maker, painter, and farmer. He married Zernah soon after that, so it is Zernah that Sophronia’s would be referring to. He died in 1871 at the age of 54. Lilla (then Steele) is the administrator of his will and Lemuel Holmes served as one of the appraisers.
Zernah was born in Brookfield and that’s where she and Rufus married. They are both listed in Sturbridge in 1865. Tragically, she died in 1872 at the age of 55 from “insanity, melancholy” on the same day that Frank died of consumption. Could she have died of grief?
Albert Lamb (1856-1930) was the son of George Washington Lamb (1830-1887) and Julia Lamb (1830-1862). He had one full sibling- Arthur, and three half-siblings- Alice, Ada, and Fredric. His mother died not long after Arthur was born of pleurisy on April 1st, 1862. On November 26th of the same year, George married Sarah (Judd, 1842-1904). George was a Boot Maker in Sturbridge. They all lived in Mass until 1867 (just one year after the diary was written) and then move to Connecticut, where Alice, Ada, and Fredric are born.
In 1876, at the age of 20, Albert married Estella (Townsend, 1857-1933) and they have two children- George Washington Lamb (1877-1948) and Alice May (1878-1971). Albert mainly works as a farmer throughout his life. Sometime before 1880, they all move to New York. Estella was born in New York, but I’m not sure why they make the move. Albert died in 1930 at the age of 74.
Albert Lamb’s Grandfather: Washington Lamb (1805-1885) was also a Boot Maker and was listed on various Censuses as a Shoe Clicker, Show Maker, and a Boot and Shoe Maker. His son, George Washington Lamb, followed in these footsteps. The production of shoes was one of the largest employers in the area at the time, so there are many shoe or boot makers in town.
Aurea Lumbard (1805-1874) was born in Sturbridge to William (1774-1860) and Desire (Allen, 1773-1817), and was the fourth of nine children, with Admiral Nelson right after him. He married Fannie on May 17th, 1838, when he was 32 years old. When he was 37, Betsey was born, and when he was 46, Sophronia was born. While not everyone married and had children very young like our stereotype indicates, this is old to be having children. I think this is why Sophronia, being the only child on the farm after Betsey gets married, helped her father and brother-in-law on the farm so much. Indeed, they had horses, oxen, sheep, chickens, and crops such as hay and potatoes. Fannie dies when Aurea is 66 and he dies in 1874 when he is 68. From what I can find, Sophronia is still with him on the farm.
Fannie (Upham, 1815-1872) was the fifth of eleven children born to William Upham (1785-1872) and Dorothy (Winter, ?-1846). She was born in Brookfield, Mass, which is just down the road from Sturbridge. At 22, on May 17th, 1838, she married Aurea Lumbard and they would have two children- Betsey (1842-1880) and Sophronia (1852-1919). At the time of the diary, she is 51 and keeping house on the farm. Fannie dies in 1872 at the age of 56 of heart disease.
Betsey (1842-1880) is Sophronia’s only sibling. She is almost 10 years older than Sophronia, so at the time of the diary, she has already married and has her first child. In 1863, she married Nathaniel Upham (1832-1907), who is 10 years older than she is. A year and a half later, they have Enos (1865-1954), who is not quite a year old at the start of the diary. Nathaniel is a farmer in Sturbridge and they are often at Sophronia’s farm. Betsey’s second child, Erving, is born in 1867 (-1940), and sometime between then and 1870, the family moved to Brimfield. Then, their third and last child, Fannie Belle (1871-1951) is born. On March 27th, 1880, Betsey died at the age of 37 from heart disease, just like her mother. Her children are listed in Nathaniel’s family below.
Nelson Admiral Lumbard (1807-1896) was Aurea’s younger brother. He was born in Sturbridge and, on December 30th, 1832, at the age of 25, he married Eliza Plimpton there. They had 6 children- Josephine Matilda (1834-1920), George Nelson (1835-1876), Adelaide A (1838-1863), Emily F (1841-1889), Franklin P (1845-1925), and Albert (1848-1944).
Nelson was a farmer. In 1859, Eliza died and in 1860, Nelson, Josephine, Matilda, Franklin, and Albert are living together (George had married the year before, but was still living in Sturbridge with his wife, Elizabeth). In 1865, Nelson is now living with Josephine, Frank, Albert, and Annie Elizabeth Leach (1863-1946). Annie was Josephine’s daughter and Josephine had experienced her own tragedy the year before.
Josephine married Edwin Leach (1820-1864) on October 1st, 1862. They had their daughter Annie to next year, but Edwin would die of consumption on April 18th, 1864 in North Brookfield, Mass. She and Annie move back in with Nelson then, and are still there with him in 1870.
By 1880, Nelson is alone at the age of 76 still in Sturbridge. Nelson dies on July 28th, 1896 and is buried with Josephine, Peter, and Annie in Mount Hope Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the last surviving sibling, save for Matilda.
Delia Lumbard (1845-?) was born to David Anderson (1810-1865, cousin of Aurea) and Besheba (1813-1882) in Connecticut. She also had a brother named William (1838- bef. 1910). They moved to Sturbridge by the time Delia was 5 and she lived there her whole life. I don’t have any death records for her, but she appears in the town directory in 1912. I also don’t find any marriage records and she never changes her last name. She lives with her parents until they both die sometime after 1880. In 1900, she is living with her brother William and his daughter Anna (1865- aft 1922). William is a machinist in an auger shop and Anna is a teacher, just there is no occupation listed for Delia. She is probably keeping their house. William had been married to Sarah (Fay, 1842-1874), but had died young. In 1910, it seems that William has died and Delia and Anna are still together. Anna is still teaching and is listed in many town directories as a teacher for many years up until at least 1922. In 1930, Anna is alone, living with a cook named Sarah Nolan from Ireland. I don’t have any death records for her. This might be the only time that I see two woman- Delia and Anna- not marrying.
“Grandmother:” By 1866, both Aurea’s and Fannie’s mothers were dead- Desire Lumbard (Allen, 1773-1817) and Dorothy Upham (Winter, ?-1846). Fannie’s father, William, remarried about 9 months after Dolly died. This must by Fannie’s step-mother, Mira (Howard, 1790-?). I can’t find a date of death for Mira, but I do find her in the 1870 Census at 80 years old, in Brookfield, Mass, living with William.
“Annie Lumbard:” As extensively as I have looked into Sophronia’s family, I’m not sure who this is. There is an Annie Elizabeth Leach (1863-1946), daughter of Josephine Matilda (Lumbard, 1834-1920) and Edwin (1820-1864), and granddaughter of Uncle Nelson. Edwin had died in 1864, so Josephine and Annie, along with Franklin Lumbard, were living with Nelson. Perhaps Sophronia didn’t know her last name. Annie was born in about 1864, so she as 2 at the time and Sophronia’s family was very close to Nelson. Nelson's son George Nelson also had a little girl named Anna Lumbard and still lived in Sturbridge, although on thier own home. She would have been 4 years old at the time.
Josephine was born in Sturbridge and married Edwin in 1862, just a year and a half before he died of consumption. After his death, Annie and Josephine lived in or around Sturbridge with Nelson until at least 1870. In 1875, they turn up in New York with Josephine’s new husband, Peter Roe (1833-1891). He had been born in New York, and I wonder how he and Josephine met with her living in Sturbridge. In 1880, the whole family is in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1885, Josephine and Peter appear on the State Census alone. Peter dies in 1891, and then, in the 1900 Federal Census, Josephine and Annie are living together again and Annie is listed as a school teacher. Annie and Josephine are together in the 1910 and 1920 Census, and Josephine dies that year. Annie lives in Nebraska, earning her own living, until her death in 1946 at the age of 83. Annie, Josephine, and Peter are all buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Omaha, along with Uncle Nelson.
“Solon:” There is only one instance of this name. Sophronia did have a cousin, Solan Benson (1844-1848), who was the son of William Benson (1819-1871) and Lydia (Upham, 1817-1848). He died of dysentery at the age of 4. Lydia was Fannie’s sister and died of liver disease, also in 1848. It seems unlikely that Sophronia would have had a picture of Solan, since he died many years before.
Oh, the Shumway family! So large and so confusing! There are two Shumway Families that Sophronia might mean when she only says, “Mr. Shumway” or Mrs. Shumway”
1. Samuel Addison Shumway (1830-1913) was married to Lucinda Jeanette (Stoddard, 1839-1869) and they had 7 children- Flora (1858-1891), Dwight (1860-1860), Lottie May (1861-1884), Ella (1862-1862, Harry (1864-1864), Charles (1866-1945), and Walter (1869-1870. He lived in Sturbridge and the surrounding towns his whole life and they did live in Sturbridge in 1865. He was a farmer. In 1869, Jeanette died from complications of child birth ("infection of the stomach") on the same day that Walter was born. Walter would only live a little over a year and die from cholera. Samuel then married Anna Holmes (Anna was Louisa's sister, 1836-1921) in Sturbridge in 1870 and they had 4 children- Lizzie Ann (1871-1961), Herbert Alpheus (1874-1961), Walter Lemuel (1877-1937), and Rufus Wilber (1879-1905). Samuel died in 1913 and Anna followed in 1921.
2. Abijah (1784-1869) was married to Ruth (Mawer, 1792-1886) and also lived in Sturbridge his whole life. They had three living children- Mary Caroline (1825-1925), George Washington (1827-1909), and William Henry (1835-1913). In 1855, he was in Sturbridge with Ruth, Mary, and William, and in 1865, he was with Ruth, Caroline, and William, and is on the same census page as Lemuel and Eliza Holmes and thier family, the Plimptons, the Allens, the Bemis', and other families that I know lived near the Lumbards. He left his farm to his son William in his will and, on the 1870 map of the town that I have, "W.H. Shumway" is just down the road from the Lumbards. I can't find that William ever married and he didn't inherit the farm until 1869. George Washington started to make his way out west after his father died in 1869 and is listed as working in mining in 1870, showing up first in Oregon and then in California. It looks like Wiliam left the farm and joined his brother there before they both died. William and Goerge were living together in 1900 after George was widowed. George died in 1909 in Chico, CA and William died in 1913 in Oroville, CA.
These are confusing because they both lived in Sturbridge, were both farmers, and had ties to the surrounding families- one marrying into the Holmes family and perhaps being referred to by Sophronia as "Addison", and the other owning the farm down the street. If I'm doing the family math correctly, Samuel and Abijah were first cousins-once-removed (Abijah's cousin, Alpheua, was Samuel's father), So, this Mrs. Shumway was either Jeanette (aged 27) or Ruth (aged 74- probably not). Honestly, there are SO MANY Shumways in the town at the time that there is no way for me to be sure.
Note: Lewis, described below, is related also, but I can't do the math. Abijah's grandfather, Liutenent Samuel (1711-1800), is Lewis' grandfather, David's (1705-1796), brother, so they are some level of cousin. Samuel Addison is Liutenent Samuel's great grandson, so you do the math for Lewis. Anyway, it is all the same family.
Lewis Shumway (1789-1868) was born in Sturbridge to Elijah (1753-1818) and Beulah (Dunton, 1764-1803). There isn't much about his life until he married Eliza (Webber, 1810-1883) in January of 1832, except that he was a farmer and had four other siblings. He was 42 when he married and Eliza was only 21. They immediately started to have children and they would end up with 5 living children- Mary Elizabeth (1833-1924), George Washington (1834-1916), Jeanette Towne (1835-1921), Lucy Ann (1838-1910), and Edmond Lewis (1847-1904). In May of 1868, just a year and a half after the diary ended, he died of "old age" and is buried in Sturbridge next to Eliza and his sos, Edmond
Nathaniel Upham (1832-1907) was born in Brimfield, Mass to Washington (1801-1876) and Lydia (Charles, 1806-1890), and was the third of 10 children. It seems that Nathaniel and his brother, Charles, were close throughout their lives.
He was a farmer. He married Betsey Lumbard on New Years Eve, December 31st, 1863 in Sturbridge. They continued to live in Sturbridge, on or near the Lumbard Farm, after their marriage, until sometime between the birth of Erving in 1867 and the census in 1870. Then, they are in Brimfield and he is listed as a Laborer, and not a farmer (meaning, I think, that he might work on a farm, but not own the farm). As stated, he and Betsey have three children. She died in 1880. Between her death and the census in 1900, I don’t have any information on him. In 1900, he is in Hampden, and is a boarder in the home of Almira Peace. He is listed as a Farm Laborer again. He died in 1907.
Enos Nathaniel Upham (1865-1954) was born in Sturbridge, but his family moved to Brimfield when he was 2-5 years old. When he was 15, his mother died, and in that same year, he is in the home of Luke and Sarah Parkhurst and his occupation is listed as “assists on small farm,” in Hampden. Luke was an Overseer in a Woolen Card Room, and he, his wife, and their three children are also listed in the house. In 1886, at the age of 21, he married Adeline "Addie" Beckwith (1867-1943) and they had their daughter, Gladys (1891-1950) five years later. In 1900, they are in Amhurst and he is working as a Hat Shop Bleacher. He stays in this business until at least 1920, and in 1930 and 1940, he is listed as a Janitor in a library in Amhurst (still at the age of 75). In 1943, Addie dies and then, Gladys dies in 1950. He followed them in 1954 at the age of 89. He and Addie are both buried in Wildwood Cemetery in Amhurst.
Erving William Upham (1867-1940) was born in Sturbridge one year after Sophronia’s diary ends. He was 12 when Betsey died and in that year, he can be found in Hampden in the home of Charles and Julia Grout. Under occupation, Charles was listed as “Farm Laborer” and Erving is listed as “Chores.” Charles and Julia also had two small children. In 1897, Erving married Lelia Griffin (1875-1966). In that same year, he appears in the Greenfield, Mass town directory as an Engineer. Their son Erdix Morrison (1900-1934) in 1900 and Erving is listed as a Fireman in that year’s census. Their daughter Beulah Gladys (1902-1961) is born and then, in 1910, he is also listed as a Fireman. Then, their last child, Ona Pearl (1914-1997) is born in Greenfield. Now, in 1920, he and the whole family have moved to Winchester, New Hampshire, and he is listed as a Farmer at a Saw Mill. What could have inspired him to move to New Hampshire between the years o 1914 and 1920? In 1930, he is also listed as a Farmer, still living with Lelia and Ona, at the age of 61. He died in 1940 at the age of 72. Lelia survives him and lives to see both Erdix and Beulah die as well. She died in 1966 at the age of 91.
Fannie Belle Upham (1871-1951) was born in Brimfield and was only 8 years old when Betsey died. Unlike her brothers, I’m not sure what happened to her when her mother died. The next time she shows up, she has a son in 1900… a son? I can’t find any marriage records before this date and Fannie is not listed with Nathaniel in 1900.
(The boy is first just named “Cobb” and is listed as the child of Luther C Cobb and Fannie B Cobb Upham. OK, great… well, I still can’t find a marriage certificate for Luther and Fannie and, without that link, it is hard to know who Luther is. There are a few candidates from the time, but none of them are listed as marrying Fannie either. Then, however, Everett's name is listed as Upham on the 1910 census and he and Fannie are living in Hampden among boarders. On his WWI draft card, his name is Everett Luther Upham, after Fannie marries, he is called Everett Kehlar in the 1920 census, but then goes back to Upham in the 1940 census. Further, Fannie keeps the name Kehlar (she is living with Everett in 1940), and Everett's wife, Doris, and daughter Joellyn use the name Upham, but, on Everett's marriage license, his father is also listed as Luther C Cobb.)
Anyway, Fannie does get married in 1910 the age of 38 to Adolph Kehler (1867-1910), but he dies just a year later from a gastric ulcer. In 1910, Fannie is living with Everett, as well as 4 other children and is listed as a Landlady, Boarding Children. In 1920, she and Everett are still together in Greenfield and he is an Electritian Helper. In 1930, the two of them have moved to Rockford, Ill, and Everett is now a Foreman in the telephone industry. In 1934, Everett's daughter Joellyn Elvira Upham is born. Who is the mother? As far as I can tell, Everett doesn't get married until 1938 to Doris (Eager, 1911-1984). Ok, well, Fannie, Everett, Doris, and Joellyn are all together in the 1940 census in Rockford and he is a Switchboard Repair Man. Fannie dies in 1951 and Everett died just 5 years later in 1956 at the age of 55.
Julia (Blodgett, 1832-1890) and Charles Upham (1835-1893) were Sophronia’s brother-in-law’s brother and sister-in-law. Charles and Nathaniel had 8 sisters and were the only boys of their siblings. They remained close into adulthood.
Charles was born in Brimfield, Mass, and married Julia at the age of 28 on July 1st, 1863. He worked as a farmer. As far as I can tell, they never had children. At the age of 27, on August 20th, 1862, Charles enlisted to fight in the Civil War and mustered out on October 15th, 1862, as part of the 46th Infantry. He was discharged on September 20th, 1863.
By 1865, his residence is listed at Brookfield and he and Julia lived in the area until their deaths. He worked as a farmer. Julia died in 1890 from Bright’s disease (now understood to be acute or chronic nephritis). In her will, she refers to Charles as “my beloved husband.” Charles died at the age of 58 in 1893. In his will, in the section where he was dividing his estate, he wrote, “First, I give and bequeath to the town of Warren, one hundred dollars, in income to be used to keep in repair the lot in the cemetery where my wife is buried.” He also left sums of money to Nathaniel and his living sisters.
Fannie’s sister, Sophia Richards (Upham, 1828-1895). She was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts, and is the youngest of Fannie’s siblings. She married Jefferson Richards (1829-1890) in 1854 and they have two sons- Arthur (1855-1904) and Bion (1859-1922). Jefferson had fought for Massachusetts in the Civil War. He died in 1890, leaving Sophia and Bion living together in North Brookfield. She died and is buried there in 1895. There isn’t much else available about her life; she seemingly led a quiet one. The diary provides some color to it, with her and her sons visiting the Lumbards.
Arthur Richards (1854-1904) was born in Sturbridge. He married Emeline (Royes, 1856-1928) in 1879 and they had one child- Lena (1880-1880), but she only lived to be 2 months old. He had a few jobs, including being a farm laborer, working in a shoe factory, and driving for a fire department in Springfield, Massachusetts. Tragically, he died from a leg fracture and the resulting sepsis in 1904 at the age of 49. I’m not sure if this was related to his profession or not, but he was employed as a driver for the fire department at the time.
Bion Eugene Richards (1858-1922) married Dita (Brown, 1862-1889) in 1885 in North Brookfield. Dita died just 4 years later from “Phthisis and lead poisoning.” Phthisis is an archaic name for tuberculosis.
Lewis Upham (1826-1892) was Fannie’s brother and lived in Sturbridge in 1865. His wife’s name was Persis (Holmes, 1839-1868). Lewis and Persis had a daughter, Clara (1864-1866). Lewis married Persis on March 24th, 1861 and they lived in Sturbridge. He was a farmer. Three years after they were married, Clara was born on September 18th, 1864. She died on February 6th, 1866 (See next day in diary) of Whooping cough. Persis died just over a year later on May 29th, 1867. Lewis then married Lucy (Carpenter) on September 17th, 1867. Lewis died on July 4th, 1892 at the age of 66 of heart disease and he is buried in Sturbridge.
Hiram Walker (1816-1891) was Sophronia’s (Upham, 1824-1890) husband. Sophronia was Fannie’s sister. They lived in nearby Brookfield in 1865.
Sophronia mentions Mrs. Webber, Allis, Sumner, and Samuel Webber directly. Mary Edna (Smith, 1816-?) had been married to Jefferson (1815-1861), but he had died of fever about 5 years before the diary. That left her with their children- Sumner (1845-?), Samuel (1847-1873), Freeman (1850-?), Frank (1851-1916), Allis (1853-?), and Alvin (1857-?). Honestly, this family was difficult to research, not sure why. There just wasn’t much information available about them.
Mary lived in Holland, Mass, with her children. Allis was Sophronia’s age, so it makes sense that she would reference her. Allis would go on to marry Daniel Dodge (1852-1894) and they had 5 children of their own. Freeman married Phoebe Harridon in Holland in 1890, but again, there isn’t much about him.
Newton Wallace (1841-1923) was born in Holland, Mass. He was trained in his father’s grist and saw mill as a Miller. On October 15th, 1861, he enlisted for the Civil War, in the 91st Infantry, and mustered out on June 21st, 1862. He was wounded on May 6th, 1864 in the Battle of Port Walthall Junction, in Virginia. The Union was successful in that battle, allowing them to cut a railroad. He stayed in the war, though, and fought in Newbern, North Carolina in October 1864. He left the war as a Corporal.
After the war, he returned to Mass and was a sawyer. He then moved to Connecticut and married Adelle Elvira (Harris, 1850-1933) on Thanksgiving Day- November 18th, 1869. They had three children- Edith Augusta (m. Fletcher, 1876-1902), Lizzie (1879-1975), and William Newton (1885-1971). They returned to Mass shortly after Lizzie was born. He continued to work as a sawyer and then as a Superintendent at a Heating and Light Plant. He died in 1923 at the age of 82 and is buried in Amhurst, in Wildwood Cemetary, along with Adelle.
Mr. Winthrop: I’ve looked for Mr. Winthrop, but no one in the historical record that I can find fits… men are either too young, or their occupations are wrong, or there isn’t enough about them to make a decision. There was a Charles Wild Winthrop in Sturbridge, born August 19th 1807, son of Caleb and Phoebe Eliza. There is nothing else about him that I can find. Winthrop was the surname of some of the founders of the town, so they have a long history there.
Frederick Kingsley Bemis (This is a guess!), born about 1854, son of Frederick Freeland (1821-1880) and Mary Ann (Underwood, 1823-1897) lived in Sturbridge in 1865. He was born there, married Carrie Estella (Lamb, 1859-?), had a son Alfred Hall (1883-1956), and died in Brimfield in 1884. He’s buried in Sturbridge.
Harriet Abbie Chickering (1846-1904) was born and educated in Sturbridge. Her parents were William (1812-1876) and Harriet (Adams, 1815-1892) and she had four siblings- Laura (1838-1868), Julia (1843-1903), William (1850-1872), and Tamar (1852-1931).
William was a farmer. Hattie was educated at Leicester Academy and is listed among its students in 1865. She must have just graduated and then become a teacher in nearby Holland.
Sometime between 1866 and 1868 when her sister Laura died, the family moved to Lucas County, Iowa, seemingly to farm. This included her mother and father, Laura and her husband Chester Plimpton (1832-1914), Julia (never married), William (never married, died at 21), and Tamar. Tamar would marry George Blake (1852-?) in 1887 in Chariton, Iowa.
Hattie is listed in the 1870 census in Liberty Iowa as a school teacher. In 1875, she married Councilman Clark McIntire (1846-1902). He was a lawyer. They had two living children, Jessie May (1877-1957) and Delbert Paul (1878-1942). She survived her husband, who died in 1902, and she died in 1904 at the age of 57 in Chariton, Iowa.
George Nelson Stone (1839-1929) lived just down the road from the Lumbards and the Hoveys. He was born in Connecticut but is in Sturbridge by the time he is 16. He was a farmer and married to Lottie (Roper, 1842-1884); she was from Sturbridge. Tragically, she and their still born daughter died in January of 1884, she from complications of child birth. In 1910, he married Margaret (Brown O’Keefe, 1867-1926) in Sturbridge and they had a daughter, Margaret. His wife, Margaret, died in 1926 and he followed in 1929 at the age of 89.
The Knapps: Edward (1802-1858) and Nancy (Spencer, 1802-1893). They had a farm that was very close to the Holmes, Aurea Lumbard, Nelson Lumbard, the Shumways, etc. They were married in Sturbridge in 1927 and had 4 children (that I can find)- John, Mary, Upham, and Julia. Edward died in 1858 and left a will that he wrote in August of that year. Aurea Lumbard and Washington Lamb were witnesses. From Sophronia’s diary, it seems that he died by suicide, hanging. On May 30th, she wrote, “I played ball with Bion and Arther and Albert in the afternoon. And then we went over to Mrs. Knaps house, and then we went where he hung himself.” This is speculation and hearsay, of course. Although there isn’t much about her in the record, it seems that Nancy lived a long life after that. I think she died in 1893 at the age of 91 in Connecticut, but as I say, there isn’t much data to confirm this.