History of Groton, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts United States of America

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Biographies:

Samuel Lawrence, soldier, was born in Groton, Mass., April 24, 1759; son of Capt. Amos and Abigail (Abbott) Lawrence. He was a corporal in a company of minute men, and on April 19, 1775, Colonel Prescott, a neighbor, came rapidly toward the house, and cried out, "Samuel, notify your men, the British are coming!" Corporal Lawrence at once mounted the colonel's horse and aroused the minute men of his circuit of seven miles. In three hours the company was ready to march, and on April 20th reached Cambridge. Lawrence was promoted to the rank of major, and participated in the battle of Bunker Hill and in many other important battles of the Revolutionary war. He served for two years near Boston and New York, and in 1777 he obtained a leave of absence and was married, July 22, 1777, to Susanna, daughter of Dr. William and Susanna (Adams) Parker of Groton. While the ceremony was in progress, the tolling of the village bell called the minute men to their posts, and within the hour Major Lawrence left his bride and joined his regiment at Cambridge. He retired from the army in the autumn of 1778, and settled in the homestead at Groton. He was a justice of the peace, and one of the originators and founders of Groton academy. His five sons, Amos, Abbott, Luther, William, and Samuel, rose to positions of responsibility in business, so that a manufacturing town on the banks of the Merrimac, below Lowell, was given the name of Lawrence. He died in Groton, Mass., Nov. 8, 1827.

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

Joshua Huntington, clergyman, was born in Norwich, Conn., Jan. 31, 1786; son of Gen. Jedidiah and Ann (Moore) Huntington and grandson of Gert. Jabez and Elizabeth (Backus) Huntington. He was graduated from Yale, A.B., 1804, A.M., 1807; and studied theology under Dr. Dwight, the Rev. Asahel Hooker, of Goshen, Conn., and Dr. Morse, of Charlestown, Mass. He was licensed to preach in September, 1806; and preached in various pulpits until he was ordained as colleague pastor of the Old South church, Boston, May 18, 1808, with the Rev. Dr. Joseph Eckley. Dr. Eckley died, April 30, 1811, and Mr. Huntington became sole pastor. He was recording secretary of the Society for the Suppression of Intemperance, 1814; helped to found the Society for Educating Pious Youth for the Gospel Ministry, 1815, which society became known as the American Educational society; declined an election as resident member of the Massachusetts Historical society in 1816; was first president of the Society for the Moral and Religious Instruction of the Poor, founded in 1816; and was elected secretary of the Boston Foreign Mission society in 1819. He suffered greatly from ill-health during the last years of his ministry. He was mar-tied on May 18, 1809, the first anniversary of his ordination, to Susan, daughter of the Rev. Achilles Mansfield, of Killingworth, Conn., and a descendant on her mother's side from John Eliot, the apostle to the Indians. She wrote "Little Lucy, or the Careless Child Reformed" (1820); and her memoirs, published after her death, and containing extracts from her journal and letters, were prepared by the Rev. Benjamin B. Wisher, passed through four American editions and were republished in England and Scotland. Mr. Huntington received the honorary degree of M.A. from Harvard in 1808. He published: Memoirs of the Life of Mrs. Abigail Waters (1817). He died at Groton, Mass., Sept. 11, 1819.

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

William Prescott, soldier, was born in Groton, Mass., Feb. 20, 1726; son of Judge Benjamin Prescott; and great-grandson of John and Mary (Platts) Prescott of Lincolnshire, England, who immigrated at an early date to Lancaster, Mass. William Prescott removed to an unsettled tract of country not far from his native town, and there established a settlement, which he subsequently caused to be made into a township, and which he named in honor of Sir William Peppertell, continuing to hold his estate under the original Indian title. He served as a lieutenant in the colonial army, under Gen. John Winslow, in the expedition against Cape Breton, 1754, and against Acadia, 1755, and was promoted captain. In recognition of his gallantry he was offered a commission in the regular army, but declined, returned to Pepperroll, and was married to Abigail Hale. Their son, William Prescott (1762-1844), Harvard, 1783, was a member of the governors' council for many years, judge of the court of common pleas, Suffolk county, 1818-20, a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1820, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the father of William Hickling Prescott, the historian. In August, 1774, Captain Prescott was active in stimulating the resistance of his townsmen to royal authority, and soon after was appointed colonel of a regiment of minute men, his commission being signed by Gen. Joseph Warren. He proceeded to Lexington, April 19, 1775, but General Pitcairn having retreated before his arrival, he continued Ida march to Cambridge, where he joined the provincial army, the larger part of his regiment volunteering to serve with him. On June 16, 1775, in command of three regiments he was ordered to construct entrenchments on Bunker Hill, but instead selected Breed's Hill, in the immediate vicinity. In the attack by Gen. William Howe, June 17, according to Bancroft, Colonel Prescott appeared to have the entire command, displaying great skill and bravery, and was among the last to submit to the enforced retreat. In 1777 he resigned his commisson in the army, returning to Pepperroll, but later in the same year enlisted as a volunteer in the northern army under General Gates, in the campaign against Burgoyne. He was a representative in the Massachusetts legislature for several years. He is the author of: A Letter from a Veteran to the Officers of the Army Encamped at Boston (1774). A statue was erected to his memory on Bunker Hill in 1881. He died in Pepperroll, Mass., Oct. 13, 1795.

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

Amos Lawrence, merchant and philanthropist, was born in Groton, Mass., April 22, 1786; son of Samuel and Susanna (Parker) Lawrence; grandson of Captain Amos and Abigail (Abbott) Lawrence and of William and Sarah Parker, of Groton; great grandson of John and Anna (Tarbell) Lawrence and of Deacon Nehemiah Abbott, of Lexington; great2 grandson of Nathaniel and Sarah (Morse) Lawrence; great3 grandson of John and Elizabeth Lawrence, the emigrants, and of John and Hanna Morse, of Dedham, and a lineal descendant of Sir Robert Lawrence, of Ashton Hall, Lancashire, England. Amos attended Groton academy, and in 1799 obtained employment in a country store at Dunstable, Mass., and later in Groton. He removed to Boston in 1807, where he was employed as a clerk in a dry-goods house, and upon the failure of his employers he was appointed by the creditors to settle the affairs of the concern. On Dec. 17, 1807, he opened a dry-goods store on Cornhill, Boston, with his brother Abbott, as an apprentice. In 1814 the brothers became partners under the firm name of A. & A. Lawrence, and during the war of 1812 they erected mills for the manufacture of cotton and woollen goods in New England. They established the first cotton factory in Lowell, Mass, and later engaged in the sale of foreign cotton and woollen goods on commission. Amos retired from active participation in business affairs in 1831, and devoted himself to philanthropic works. His gifts include about $40,000 to Williams college. He founded a library at the Groton academy, donated a valuable telescope, and at the time of his death he was engaged in raising the sum of $50,000 for the academy. On account of his gifts, the name of Groton acadelny was changed to Lawrence academy in 1846. He also gave liberally to Kenyon college, to Wabash college, and to the Bangor Theological seminary. He established the children's infirmary at Boston; donated a building for the Boston Society of Natural History, and contributed $10,000 toward the completion of Bunker Hill monument. He presented many books to libraries and to individuals, and his private benefactions were large. His name was one of the six in "Class B, Business Men," submitted for a place in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, New York university, in October, 1900, and received twenty votes, Cornelius Vanderbilt with twenty-nine votes only exceeding and none in the class gaining a place. He was twice married?first on June 6, 1811, to Sarah, daughter of Giles and Sarah (Adams) Richards, of Dedham; and secondly, on April 1l, 1821, to Nancy (Means) Ellis, a daughter of Robert Means, of Amherst, N.H., and widow of Judge Ellis, of Claremont, N.H. He died in Boston, Mass., Dec. 31, 1852.

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