History of Ashfield, (Franklin County) Massachusetts United States of America

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Biographies:

Granville Stanley Hall, educator and author, was born at Ashfield, Mass., Feb. 1, 1846; son of Granville Bascom and Abigail (Beals) Hall; grandson of Thomas and Rechel (Howes) Hall and of Robert and Abby (Vining) Beals; and a descendant of John Hall, who emigrated from Coventry, England, to Charlestown, Mass., in 1630, also of John Alden, William Brewster and five other Mayflower immigrants. He prepared for college at Sanderson academy, Ashfield, and Williston seminary, and was graduated from Williams A.B., 1867, A.M., 1870. He attended Union theological seminary, 1857-68, studied in Europe, 1869-70, and was graduated at Union theological seminary in 1871. He was professor of philosophy at Antioch college, 1872-76; instructor in English at Harvard, 1876-77, and received from Harvard the degree of Ph.D. in 1878; again studied in Europe, 1878-80; was lecturer at Hat yard, 1880-83; lecturer on the history of philosophy at Williams, 1881-84; prufessor of psychology and pedagogy, Johns Hopkins, 1881-88; visited Europe again, and became president of Clark university and professor of psychology, Worcester, Mass., in 1889. He founded and became editor of the American Journal of Psychology in 1887, and the Pedagogical Seminary, in 1893. He was married first, in 1880, to Cornelia M. Fisher of Cincinnati, who died in 1890; and secondly, in 1899, to Florence E. Smith of Newton, Mass. His son, Robert Granville, was born in 1881. Dr. Hall was elected a member of the American academy of arts and sciences, of the American historical society, of the American antiquarian society, and first president of the American psychological association, organized at his house. He received the degree of LL.D. from the University of Michigan in 1887 and from Williams in 1888. He is the author of: Rosenkranz's Hegel as the National Philosopher of Germany (translated, 1874); Aspects of German Culture (1881); Methods of Teaching History (1883); Hints toward a Select and Descriptive Bibliography of Education (with John M. Mansfield, 1886); How to Teach Reading and What to Read (1890); The Psychology of Adolescence (1903) ;and many pamphlets, addresses and contributions to periodical literature.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Robert Emmet Clary, soldier, was born at Ashfield, Mass., March 21, 1805. He was graduated from the U.S. military academy, West Point, in 1828, and served on frontier duty in Missouri and Michigan, 1829-31; in the exploration of Indian territory in Wisconsin, 1831; in the Black Hawk expedition, 1832, and at Fort Howard, Wis., 1833-38. He was promoted first lieutenant, April 1, 1836, and captain on staff of the assistant quartermaster, July 7, 1838. He served in the Florida war, 1841, and was promoted captain, 5th infantry, April 3, 1839. In 1860-61 he served as chief quartermaster of the department of Utah, and was made major on staff and quartermaster, May 17, 1861. He was chief quartermaster of the department of Western Virginia from November, 1861, to July, 1862, and held the same position in the army of the Shenandoah from July to October, 1862, and in the department of the northwest, 1862-63. On July 5, 1862, he was made colonel on staff and additional aide-de-camp, and was promoted lieutenant-colonel on staff and deputy quartermaster-general, April 15, 1864. He was brevetted colonel and brigadier-general on March 13, 1865, for services during the war, and in 1866 was made colonel on staff and assistant quartermaster-general. From March 1, 1867, to April 30, 1869, he served as depot quartermaster at Boston, Mass., and was retired Feb. 22, 1869. He died in Washington, D. C., Jan. 19, 1890.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Henry Clay Payne, postmaster-general, was born in Ashfield, Mass., Nov. 23, 1843; son of Orion P. (1820-1886) and Eliza (Ames) (1826-1886) Payne, who settled in Stockton, N.Y., after 1843; grandson of Samuel and Laura (Elmer) Payne; great-grandson of Joseph and Anna (Billings) Paine, who removed from Ashfield, Mass., to Allegany county, N.Y.; great2-grandson of Joseph Ruggles (1735-1822), and Mehitable (Gittings) Paine, who removed from Braintree to Ash field in 1767; great3-grandson of Samuel Paine, born 1689; great4-grandson of Stephen Paine, born 1652; and great5-grandson of Stephen Paine, who came to Massachusetts with his father, Moses Paine, and lived in Braintree after 1628. Joseph Ruggles Paine was a soldier in the American Revolution. Henry Clay Payne attended Franklin academy, Shelburne Falls, Mass.; was clerk in the post office there, and removed in 1863 to Milwaukee, Wis., where he was cashier in a dry goods store, 1863-67. He was married, Oct. 15, 1867, to Lydia W., daughter of Richard Van Dyke, Jr., of New York city, whose ancestor, Franz Claessen Van Dyck settled on Manhattan Island about the middle of the 17th century. They had no children. He was chairman of the Young Men's Republican club; secretary and chairman of the Republican county commission; secretary and chairman of the Republican state central committee; a member of the Republican national committee from 1880, and a delegate to the Republican national conventions of 1888 and 1892. He was postmaster of Milwaukee, 1876-86; was elected president of the Milwaukee electric railway and light company in 1889; was president of the American Street railway association, 1893-94, and receiver of Northern Pacific railway, 1893-95. He was appointed U.S. postmaster-general by President Roosevelt, Jan. 15, 1902, to succeed Charles Emory Smith, resigned.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Samuel Parker, missionary explorer, was born in Ashfield, Mass., April 23, 1779; son of Elisha and Thankful (Marchant) Parker, and a descendant of Robert Parker, the immigrant, who settled in Barnstable, Mass. Elisha Parker, a native of Yarmouth, Mass, was a member of the coast guard at the beginning of the Revolution, and afterward a soldier in the engagements from Bennington to Saratoga, 1775-77. Samuel Parker was graduated at Williams college, A.B., 1806, A.M., 1809; was principal of the academy at Brattleboro, Vt., and was graduated at Andover Theological seminary in 1810, going as a missionary to Steuben and Allegany counties. N.Y. He was ordained, Dec. 24, 1812, and was pastor of the Congregational church at Danby, N.Y., 1812-27. He was agent for the Auburn Theological seminary; was pastor at Fabius, N.Y., 1827-32; at Middlefield, Mass., 1832-33; conducted a young women's school at Ithaca, N.Y., 1833-35, and was sent to Oregon by the First Presbyterian church, Ithaca, under the auspices of the A.B.C.F.M., 1835, to explore and locate missions, returning by the way of the Sandwich Islands in 1837. He lectured in the eastern states on the character of Oregon Territory, enlisted Dr. Marcus Whitman and other missionaries to work there, and did much to set forth the value of that territory, then in strenuous dispute. He was the first missionary of the A.B.C.F.M. beyond the Rocky Mountains, and the discoverer of an easy grade for a railroad through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. He was married first to a Miss Sears of Ashfield, Mass., and secondly, in 1815, to Jerusha Lord (1790-1857) of Salisbury, Conn., a niece of Noah Webster. He is the author of Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains (1838), which was republished several times, and of which a London edition was issued. He died in Ithaca, N.Y., March 24, 1866, and in 1901 a tablet to his memory was placed in the First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor