On the Brigham Trail

From Dave Brigham:

I've known for quite a few years that some of my ancestors spent significant time in Marlborough, Mass. My seventh great-grandfather, Thomas Brigham, was the first to come to America, from Jolly Old England. He died in Cambridge, Mass., in 1653. His widow, Mercy Hurd, remarried and moved to Sudbury, bringing my sixth great-grandfather, Samuel, and his siblings along. Mercy was widowed again and married anew and moved to Marlborough. Samuel died in Marlborough in 1713.

One of Samuel's brothers, Thomas, also went to Sudbury and then Marlborough when their mother remarried. Upon turning 18 (I think) he began buying farmland near Williams Pond. Located in the southwest part of town, the pond (now called Williams Lake) was the site of the Williams Tavern, the first version of which was erected in 1665. It was destroyed by Indians 11 years later, rebuilt and managed by the Williams family until 1829, per the sign in the photo below. The sign also tells us, "Here the circuit courts convened, stage coaches changed horses and historic personages tarried." I'm guessing a few Brighams bent their elbows at this place.

The tavern was torn down in 1947.

Thomas Brigham the younger was also one of the purchasers of the old plantation known as Ockoocangansett, which had been reserved for the Indians out of the ancient boundaries of Marlborough, and "which many contended they forfeited by their perfidy during Philip's War," per the web site for the Ramage Family history. "Certain leading men of Marlboro (sic), including the Brighams of the day, obtained, without the consent of the General Court, title to this plantation of 5800 acres and formed a company. The amount paid never can be known, because of the subsequent disappearance of the deed, but the sum doubtless was nominal," the Ramage web site continues.

Unfortunately, that's just the way the colonists did things back then. I suppose things haven't changed much in the ensuing 350 years.

Prior to dying in Marlborough, Samuel Brigham fought against Native American tribes in Queen Anne's War and represented Marlborough in the Massachusetts General Court. He also is considered the father of the city's tanning and shoe making businesses, according to The History of the Brigham Family by W.I. Tyler Brigham. "The first tannery in the town was erected by Samuel about 1700, near his dwelling house on present East Main Street, one-quarter of a mile east of the old Village Academy," per the Brigham book. "This tannery...[was] said to have been the first west of Charlestown [now part of Boston - ed.]," and was in business until the early 1850's.

"Tanning is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather," per Wikipedia. "Before tanning, the skins are unhaired, degreased, desalted and soaked in water over a period of 6 hours to 2 days. Historically this process was considered a noxious or 'odoriferous trade' and relegated to the outskirts of town."

While Samuel Brigham is given credit for also founding the shoe making business in the town, the first shoe manufacturing business was opened by Samuel Boyd in 1836, according to Wikipedia. I'm assuming this was a larger scale operation than whatever Samuel Brigham was doing. Marlborough eventually became known for its shoe-making, "producing boots for Union soldiers, as well as footwear for the civilian population," per Wikipedia. "Marlborough became so well known for its shoes that its official seal was decorated with a factory, a shoe box, and a pair of boots when it was incorporated as a city in 1890."

Tanning hides and making shoes are not glamorous businesses. But there's something to be said for being first to market in any endeavor, and the Brigham clan gets the credit for founding one, and perhaps both, of these in Marlborough. One of Samuel's sons, my direct ancestor, Jedediah, took over the business. Jedediah's son, Stephen, another of my direct ancestors, however, did not follow in those footsteps. Rather, he moved 25 miles northeast to Princeton, where he was "one of the earlier planters," per the Brigham history book. From there, other generations moved north to New Hampshire and Vermont. So after three generations, my branch of the Brigham clan moved out of Marlborough.

But the family name lives on in many ways and places in the small city. On three occasions this past fall and spring, I explored several Brigham-related sites, which I detail here, as well as many other locations of interest, which will be featured in a second post about Marlborough in the near future.

In the Old Common Cemetery, located directly behind the city's human services office on Main Street (the former high school), are buried at least two of my direct ancestors: the above-mentioned Samuel Brigham and his son, Jedediah. Let's take a look.

Here is Samuel's grave. In The History of the Brigham Family, author W.I. Tyler Brigham indicates that Samuel, the youngest of Thomas Brigham's children, is the "only one of the second generation of Brighams whose grave is marked." He says the headstone is "rather ornate," but I'm guessing perhaps he referred to an older stone that was replaced by the one in the photo above, which is fairly standard for the graveyard. The author indicates that Samuel's brother, Thomas, and mother, Mercy Hurd Brigham, are likely buried here as well, but the exact places are unknown.

Above is the gravestone for Lt. Jedediah Brigham, second oldest son of Samuel. He fought in Queen Anne's War, the second in a series of French and Indian wars that lasted from 1702 to 1713. In addition to inheriting his father's tannery business, Ol' Jed served as a selectman in Marlborough, as well as a petit juryman in the Concord Court. In addition to Marlborough, Jedediah owned land in Bolton, Lancaster and Princeton.

Jedediah married Bethiah Howe, and his father, Samuel, married Elizabeth Howe. Above are gravestones for that family. I'm not sure if those folks are direct ancestors of mine.

(Some random Brigham graves.)

(Headstone for Thankfull Brigham, who isn't directly related to me. I just love Colonial-era names like this.)

On a World War I monument in front of the former high school, facing Main Street, I found the name of one Brigham.

About a mile away, at the Rocklawn Cemetery on Steven Street, are buried a whole bunch of Brighams, none of whom, as far as I know, are directly related to me.

(Grave of Ashley and Mary Brigham.)

(Grave of Cyrus, Cynthia, Irvin, Edith and William Brigham.)

There are probably members of the Brigham clan buried in every Marlborough boneyard. But there is only one Brigham Cemetery. Located off West Main Street, near Crescent Street, the graveyard recorded its first burials in 1793: William and Lydia Brigham, victims of smallpox. The cemetery remained in the Brigham family until 1808, when it was given to the Unitarian Society, per Wikipedia. The last burial was in 1934. The first picture in this post is of the gate that leads to the cemetery.

(A whole bunch of expired Brighams at the former family cemetery.)

Again, I didn't find any graves of people I know are direct ancestors of mine, but obviously I have distant cousins, aunts and uncles in here somewhere.

(Abner Brigham's broken gravestone in Brigham Cemetery.)

(Alden and Laura Brigham's gravestone.)

(Gravemarker for Austin and Dorothy Brigham.)

In downtown Marlborough, in a small, triangular park at the intersection of Mechanic and Main streets, sits an eagle-topped, four-sided obelisk that memorializes the city's residents who fought and died in the Civil War. Some of my direct ancestors fought in both the Civil War and the Revolutionary War; the names from the Brigham clan on these memorials aren't familiar to me, but again, there are surely some distant relations here.

(Memorial to those who died in the Battle of Appomattox Court House, including Aaron Brigham and Capt. William F. Brigham. There are soldiers with the last names Howe and Keyes, which are names that appear in my genealogy.)

(Memorial to those who died in the Battle of Gettysburg, including W. Frank Brigham.)

(Just a short distance down Main Street from the war memorials is the Rice Building. I have no connection to this building, but my 7th great-grandmother, Mercy Hurd Brigham, married Edmund Rice, who was a founder of Sudbury, Mass., and who eventually moved to Marlborough.)

(The Temple Building, circa 1880. The hotel on the upper floors was converted to apartments. Ronald Brigham, not a direct ancestor of mine but surely somehow related, once ran a bookstore at the right side of the building.)

OK, I'm getting down to the dregs of this post.

The Brigham Business Park is, unfortunately, not where Brigham's Ice Cream is made. Founded in my adopted hometown of Newton, Mass., the ice cream company was based in Arlington, Mass., for decades before selling out to Hood LLC (see March 23, 2016, "I Seek Newton, Part III: Highlands," for current photos of and background on the original Brigham's location in Newton.) The Brigham Business Park is located along Brigham Street, which runs between Mill Street and Clover Hill Street.

Brigham Street passes by the Jericho Hill Recreation Area, a former ski hill that I explored and which will be among many things featured in the second installment of my Marlborough mini-series.