served his fellow townsmen as a selectman, and for twenty successive years he was clerk of the town. In every official calling he proved himself an honest and faithful incumbent,-one who sought not his own good exclusively, but also the good of those he served. He was faithful in life and submissive at death, and all who knew him were ready to say, "Requiescat in pace." He had five children : 1. LYDIA E., b. at Shirley, March 1, 1826, d. in the lunatic hospital at Worcester, Mass., July 3, 1875, unm. 2. ESTHER, b. June 21, 1827, r. Ayer, Mass., unm. (1882.) 3. CAROLINE L., b. at Shirley, Sept. 22, 1829, m. Moses Woods of Shirley, March 1, 1849. She adopted a daughter whom she called Clara Frances, who was b. Dec. 5, 1859. She has had three children: (1.) George Warren, b. at Ayer, Aug. 23, 1862, d. at Ayer, Aug. 30, 1864. (2.) Helen Augusta, b. at Ayer, June 14, 1865. (3.) Charles Warren, b. at Ayer, Oct. 20, 1870, d. at Ayer, March 8, 1872. 4. CHARLES, b. at Shirley, Sept. 7, 1835. He was twice married. He m. (first) Lucinda L. Bennett of Lunenburg, May 1, 1860; she d. at Shirley, Aug. 4, 1865; m. (second) Mrs. Sarah Frances King of Ayer, Oct. 27, 1869. Few young men have been started in the career of business life under more favorable auspices than the subject of this notice. He had physical health, kind friends abroad, and a home circle entirely devoted to his interests and comfort. But in his business transactions he did not succeed according to his own expectations, nor were the hopes of his friends realized. Still, under all his changes he sustained an unbending integrity, and was largely trusted as a public functionary and as a private citizen. In his native town, he was early called to the honorable position of one of the school-committee, and was for two years the town-clerk. His services were sought for similar duties in Ayer. He carried to the grave the characteristics of a true man and Christian, and left behind interested friends to mourn his early departure. Mr. Brown d. at Ayer, Jan. 6, 1881. He had two children: (1.) Lilla May, b. at Shirley, June 6, 1861, d. in early infancy. (2.) Lillian Esther, b. at Ayer, Feb. 4, 1872. X. RHODA, b. Sept. 19, 1796, d. at Ayer, Jan. 8, 1873, unm. She was born and lived in that seclusion that would have caused her name to be soon forgotten, and her passage to the grave to pass without special notice, were it not for the celestial fact that she was a practical Christian, proving it in all her movements, in her domestic relations, and in her social intercourse. The poor and the rejected, the sick and afflicted ever found in her a helper and comforter. She lived respected and died regretted. BURT. Burt, Phinehas, became a settler of that section of Groton now known as Shirley, as early as 1734, and was one of the petitioners for an act of incorporation in 1747. He m. Sarah Bush, Jan. 2, 1735, and had seven children : I. SARAH, b. at Groton, Aug. 1, 1737, m. John Coolidge, Aug. 10, 1800. II. PHINEHAS, b. at Groton, Jan. 30, 1738. III. JOHN, b. at Groton, Feb. 20, 1740. V. MARY, b. at Groton, June 20, 1746. William Burt, an illegitimate son of Abigail Biglow, b. Oct. 23, BUTTERFIELD. Butterfield, John, with Martha, his wife, became residents of Shirley previous to the year 1764, and left upon its records the following names and birth-dates of their children : I. BENJAMIN, b. at Westford, Mass., March 29, 1751. II. JOHN, b. at Westford, July 28, 1753. III. ABEL, b. at Naraganset No. 6, Feb. 5, 1756. He had his right arm torn from his body by a cider mill, in 1771. IV. HENRY, b. at Groton, March 14, 1759. V. KEZIAH, b. at Harvard, Aug. 28, 1761. VI. MARTHA, b. at Shirley, April 14, 1764. CAMPBELL. Campbell, James, lived in the south part of Shirley, on the farm now owned by the heirs of the late David Parker. He was of. foreign birth, and had three children, all of whom were born before he became an inhabitant of Shirley. I. JAMES, m. Sophia Fletcher of Lancaster, Mass., pub. June 16, 1793. II. JOHN, m. Martha Ivory of Shirley, Nov. 27, 1788. The Campbells left the town in a body, and located in some new settlement outside the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. CHANDLER. Chandler, Henry, was born at Westford, Mass., March 4, 1768. He was a son of Isaac and Betty (Proctor) Chandler. He married Polly Proctor of Westford, April 13, 1796. In a few years he removed to Shirley, and became proprietor of the estate vacated by Campbell, and continued in its ownership until early in the present century, when it passed into the possession of Capt. James Parker, and from him to his brother, David Parker, its late owner. Mr. Chandler was a cooper by trade, as well as a farmer, and left town in 1810, (though his real estate had previously passed into other hands,) and went to Reading, Vt., where, according to the records of that town, he was forbidden citizenship by the selectmen. He was also put under guardianship, his estate appraised and an inventory made, which amounted to $172.43. In a few years he removed to Brandon, Vt., and, as is supposed, shook off his legal disabilities, as it is recorded that he mortgaged his property to secure each of his children $50. He lived in a village of Brandon on the west side of the Otter creek, near where the "frozen well" has since been dug. This well has been described, by one who has seen it and tested its qualities, on this wise: "It was dug in loose gravel, about forty feet deep. The last few feet of it, when dug, was through frozen earth; and soon after it was stoned up a rim of ice formed on the stones just above the water, which is said to have remained ever since. When this well was visited in September, 1861, it had been dug some ten years. As a lighted candle was let down by a boy-who came out from the nearest house-through this rim of ice, about thirty feet from the top of the well the ice was plainly seen. It was about fifteen inches thick, leaving an opening for the bucket of about fifteen inches, to the water, which, on being drawn up, tasted as cold as iced water, yet far more sparkling. The water in the well has stood about five feet deep." Mr. Chandler had three children, all of whom were born at Shirley, and he died at Brandon, Dec. 16, 1835. I. SOPHIA, b. Sept. 30, 1802. II. ORSON, b. March 19, 1805. III. MARY, born April, 1808. CHAPLIN. Chaplin, Jeremiah, was born at Rowley, Mass., and married Sarah Hazen of that town. He was a brother of Rev. Daniel Chaplin, D. D., of Groton, and they were sons of Jonathan and Mary (Boynton) Chaplin. They were grandsons of Hugh Chaplin, who came over from England eight years after the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, a young man, and settled in Rowley. Jeremiah Chaplin removed to Ipswich, Mass., at the time of or soon after his marriage, where all of his children-nine in number— were born. In 1781 he came to Shirley and purchased a tract of land in a westerly section of the town, upon which he erected buildings, and which remained his home for life. This estate descended to his heirs, and has ever borne the name of the "Chaplin farm." He maintained, in his social relations, the character of an honest man and a thriving farmer. His wife died Oct. 12, 1810, while he remained until Oct. 6, 1819. His children and descendants were I. ASA, b. at Ipswich, d. young. II. III. POLLY, b. at Ipswich, d. in infancy. JEREMIAH, b. 1765, m. Lydia Ames of Groton, Mass. Had four children : 1. LYDIA, b. Oct. 26, 1797, d. Feb. 4, 1848, unm. 2. Lucy, b. June 14, 1798, m. S. B. Richards of Charlestown, Mass., 1819. She had four children : (1.) Henry Augustus, b. June, 1820, d. Oct. 3, 1840. (2.) Moses Ames, b. June 29, 1822, drowned July 31, 1829. Lucy Chaplin, b. 1824, d. 1825. (4.) Sylvanus Bedlow, b. Dec., 1826, d. 1835. 3. ELIZABETH, b. March 23, 1800, m. William Beck of Boston, Aug. 23, 1821. She had eight children: (1.) George William, b. June 2, 1822, d. Sept. 15, 1839. (3.) Lucy Maria, b. Feb. 8, 1826. (4) Lydia Amelia, b. Oct. 26, 1835, d. March 6, 1838. (5.) Samuel John, b. Oct. 20, 1836, d. March 15, 1838. (6.) Lydia Amelia, b. July 6, 1839. (7.) Susan C., b. Oct. 3, 1841, m. J. E. S. Coney, Sept. 16, 1868. (8.) Harriet Chaplin, b. Sept. 12, 1843. 4. MARY, b. Feb. 19, 1802, m. Nathaniel Lamson of Charlestown, Dec. 8, 1825, d. Sept. 14, 1849. She had three children : (1.) Mary S., b. July 2, 1830, d. June 2, 1843. (2.) Nathaniel, b. Nov. 12, 1833. (3.) Josephine, b. March 3, 1838, m. Horace Dudley, Sept. 12, 1862. IV. MOSES, b. April 21, 1769, m. Lucy Page of Shirley, April 7, 1801, d. Dec. 13, 1847. He commenced his married life with a very feeble pecuniary inheritance, and was solely dependent, for present sustenance for himself and numerous family, on the fruits of agricultural labor; and all future progress must be a result of the same means. And yet, he was enabled comfortably to secure the great ends of living, in fair abundance, and to leave a well cultivated farm for the benefit of his posterity. Unwearied industry and a consistent frugality were the qualities that effected this successful and brilliant life-work. He had eleven children: 1. MOSES, b. at Shirley, Oct. 30, 1801, m. Betsy Smith of Lunenburg, Nov. 21, 1827, d. July 15, 1854. His wife d. May 7, 1853. He had four children: (1.) Adolphus, b. at Shirley, Sept. 18, 1828, m. Adaliza Jewett of Pepperell, Mass., July 29, 1851, d. at Leominster, May 23, 1853. (2.) Miranda, b. at Shirley, Sept. 10, 1830, m. John Bently. (3) Charles Albert, b. at Shirley, July 24, 1832, has been twice m., (first) to Lydia Hutchinson of Shirley, May 31, 1862; she d. April 6, 1866; m. (second) Sarah A. Anderson, June 22, 1867, r. Shirley (1882). (4.) Lucy Ann, b. at Shirley, Sept. 10, 1834, d. Dec. 26, 1837. 2. Asa, b. at Shirley, Feb. 18, 1803, r. Lunenburg, unm. (1882.) 3. Lucy, b. at Shirley, June 13, 1804, d. in infancy. 4. JAMES, b. at Shirley, Nov. 8, 1805, d. at Shirley, July 28, 1834, unm. 5. MARIA, b. at Shirley, Aug. 11, 1807, r. Shirley, unm. (1882.) 6. HANNAH, b. at Shirley, Nov. 11, 1808, m. Charles Farwell of Fitchburg, Sept. 22, 1835, d. May 3, 1860. She had four children: (1.) Charles, b. at Fitchburg, April 6, 1837, d. July 9, 1837. (2.) Jane, b. at Fitchburg, April 13, 1839. (3.) Ann Eliza, b. at Fitchburg, Oct. 11, 1840. (4.) Hannah Elvira, b. at Fitchburg, Jan. 7, 1844. 7. WILLIAM, b. at Shirley, March 27, 1811, m. Sophia Lawrence of Boxborough, Mass., Dec., 1836. He was killed by a railroad accident, Feb. 15, 1867. He had nine children : (1.) James, b. July 23, 1837. (2.) Norman, b. Aug. 8, 1838, m. Linnie L. Bride, March, 1864. (3-) William, b. April 18, 1840, m. Sarah Frances Simpson, Aug. 28, 1862. (4.) Mary, b. March 2, 1842, m. Hiram Haynes, June 11, 1863. (5.) Sophia L., b. Jan. 1, 1844, m. Warren Ball, Nov. 20, 1864. (6.) Waldo, b. Aug. 28, 1846, m. Hattie Ward of Winchester, March, 1870. (7.) Herman, b. April 16, 1848. (8.) Lucy, b. Aug. 9, 1850. (9.) Rodney, b. June 9, 1854. 8. JEREMIAH, b. March 17, 1813, d. at Shirley, Oct. 6, 1814. 9. Lucy, b. at Shirley, March 31, 1815, m. James P. Longley, Dec. 15, 1835, d. May 15, 1882. 10. MARY ANN, b. at Shirley, Dec. 27, 1817, m. Marshall Ney |