Justus, The Forgotten Fletcher

 

A Genealogical Essay

 

By

 

Edward Earle Fletcher

 

 

     Cousin J. Irving Fletcher presented my father, Albert B. Fletcher with a copy of a genealogical work that he had researched and prepared.  It covered the descendants of Robert Fletcher of Concord, Massachusetts through all the branches (30), including branch (XVIII) headed by a Samuel Fletcher of Westford, Massachusetts.  Within this branch he has listed a Justus Fletcher from whom our families are descended.

 

     When I started gaining an interest in my genealogy I used cousin Irving’s work as a starting point.  I started with what I had at hand and then compared it to the “Fletcher Genealogy: An Account of the Descendants of Robert Fletcher of Concord, Mass. (1630-1871)”, the noted work of Edward Hatch Fletcher (E.H. Fletcher’s branches totaled 31 and Samuel was the head of branch XIX).  Needless to say, I was quite disappointed to find out that E. H. Fletcher’s work, although containing a magnificent Fletcher genealogy; it failed to mention Justus, my third great grandfather.  I learned that Justus was born in Westford, Massachusetts.

 

     I made a visit to Westford and visited the J. V. Fletcher Library, located in the center of town.  In the library, I found two books that were helpful.  First, the “History of the Town of Westford in the County of Middlesex, Massachusetts 1659-1883”, by Rev. Edwin R. Hodgman, A. M.  On page 449 I found an entry:  37.  Samson, son of Samuel, m. Olive Spaulding.  Child: Justus, b. 1785.  Second, I located the “Vital Records of Westford, Mass. to 1850”.  On page 38, under births, it lists Justies, s. Sampson and Olive Spaulding, Apr. 8, 1785.  I placed a message on the message board at Genealogy.com. asking for any information I could get in reference to Justus.  I received a query from an individual in Connecticut asking, “where did you come up with this Justus?”  I responded with the above information and never heard from the person again.  I constantly ran into roadblocks in my quest for information on Justus, other than the brief genealogical information contained in cousin Irving’s document.  I should mention here that in the Vital Records of Westford, I did find on page 166, that Justice and Sally Glynn of Tyngsborough were married,  Sept.----1806.  Also, in the Vital Records of Tyngsborough,  Mass. on page 55, Justus of Westford and Sally Glynn filed an intention to marry, Aug. 2, 1806.

 

     In October of 2000, a gentleman who was involved in the revision of Winifred Lovering Holman’s, “Robert Fletcher of Concord, Massachusetts” contacted me and advised that he had read information on a Justus Fletcher in Holman’s book.  He referred to a footnote contained on the page, which began the listing of Samson and Dolly (Dorothy) Fletcher’s children.  He was kind enough to share the footnote with me and I present it here:

 

     “Westford V.R., p. 36, cite, among Fletcher births: ‘Justies, s. Sampson and Olive Spaulding. April 8, 1785.’ That this was indeed a ‘love child,’ we gain from this recd:

     6 November 1799, Justus Fletcher, ‘a child of the world,’ a minor over 14, and ‘a son of Olive Spaulding late of Westford Deceased,’ chose Mr. James Keyes as his gdn., the latter was bonded, with David Fletcher and Asa Bowker, the former of Westford and the latter of Winchendon, as his sureties, 12 November 1799, all 3 sign the bond which Mr. Keyes became gdn. to ‘Justus Fletcher at his own election being a minor above fourteen years of age & son of Olive Spaulding singlewoman.’  (Middlesex Probate, 7883.)  Justus always used the name of Fletcher, his deeds have not been covered.  For the benefit of those who descend from him the following very brief notes are given:  some of the data about his issue has been furnished by H.E. Sutherland, Esq., of Quincy, and the compiler has further information.

     Hence, JUSTUS FLETCHER, the illeg. son of Sampson Fletcher, b. 8 April 1785, Westford, d. 24 November 1844, Chester, Vt., aged 59, bur. Brookside Cem; m. (1) 2 September 1806, Westford (int. 2 August 1806, Tyngsboro), SALLY GLYNN, b.  1788, bapt. 28 August 1791, Tyngsboro, d. 12 August 1818, aged 30, Springfield, Vt., bur. Sumner Hill Cem. (a dau. of Isaac Glynn?), he m. (2) about 1819, THANKFUL-SHERMAN LELAND, b. 28 March 1794, d. 28 January 1867, aged 73 yrs. 8 mos., Chester, dau. of Joshua and Thankful (Sherman) Leland.  Justus is listed as of Springfield in 1820 and 1830, and of Chester, in 1840, then aged between 50 and 60; his widow, Thankful was of Chester, in 1850 aged 57, b. Vt., with ‘Justice,’ aged 29, Christina, aged 13, and Mercy, aged 15, in her family.  16 December 1844, William Mason, of Chester, was app. Adm. the estate of Justice Fletcher, late of Chester, decd.: estate was assigned to the widow, Thankful, for her support and that of the children.  (Ludlow, Vt., Probate Recds., 18:389.)  Children (Fletcher), prob. all b. Vt., by Sally Glynn:  (1) Olive Fletcher, b. 22 June 1808 [?];  (2) Justus Fletcher, b. 11 October 1809, d. 31 October 1810, aged 1 yr. 20 days, Springfield [b. 1815, d. 1816?], bur., Sumner Hill Cem.;  (3) Salathiel-Adams Fletcher, b. 18 August 1812;  (4) Joash-K. Fletcher, b. 28 August 1815;  (5) Sarah Fletcher, b. 12 August 1818;  by Thankful-Sherman Leland: (6) Justice Fletcher, b. 1820, d. 2 November 1872, aged 53-8-15, as Justus, Springfield;  (7) Joshua-L[eland?] Fletcher, b. 1823;  (8) Thankful-S[herman?] Fletcher, b. 1 January 1824;  (9) Ephraim-Sherman Fletcher (Rev.), or Sherman-E. Fletcher, b. 13 October 1826;  (10) Delia-S. Fletcher, b. 1827;  (11) Otis-F. Fletcher, b. 1829, d. unm.;  (12) James-M. Fletcher, b. 1831;  (13) Mercy-B. Fletcher, b. 1833;  (14) Christiana Fletcher, b. 1837.”

  

     In December 2001, I learned of a “Fletcher Family Bible” that had been located in Albion, New York, at a barn sale.  It contained the names of my ancestors, Justus and his family.  The bible was found by a Mr. Scott Sabo and after communicating with each other, he gave the bible to me.  The pages of the bible can be viewed on my web page, under the genealogy link, at: http://www.oocities.org/edmitsfletcher/.  Following the above events, I have decided to share my information about Justus Fletcher and his family in hopes it will bring responses that will allow me to broaden the information available.

 

      Justus Fletcher was born April 8, 1785, at Westford, MA., the son of Sam(p)son Fletcher and Olive Spaulding.  This birth came one month after Samson’s marriage to Dorothy (Dolly) Fletcher, the daughter of Peletiah and Dorothy (Hildreth) Fletcher.  Justus resided with his mother, Olive, until her death around 1799.  There is no indication that Justus and his mother had any meaningful ties with either the Fletcher or Spaulding families during his youth.  Obviously, there is a lot of room for speculation but I will try to stay as close to the facts as I know them.  Justus always kept his surname, Fletcher and when fourteen years of age, after the death of his mother, upon his election, he was awarded a guardian, Mr. James Keyes.  The next thing we know about his life is that, when 21 years old, in 1806 he married Sally Glynn of Tyngsborough, MA.  Justus and Sally relocated to Springfield, VT and there raised their family.  Their first child was Justus Fletcher, b. October 11, 1809.  This son must have been quite ill most of his life as he died on October 31, 1810 and on his gravestone in Sumner Hill Cemetery, Springfield, VT is the following epitaph:  “I caused my parents grief for nothing that I had done.”

 

     The second child of Justus and Sally was Salathiel, b. August 24, 1812.  He died April 1, 1882 in Quincy, MA. Salathiel upon reaching maturity relocated to Quincy, MA.  There he married Mercy Bacon, born in Barnstable, MA., the daughter of  Nathaniel and Sally Bacon.  Previously mentioned, J. Irving Fletcher is in this line and we have available, an extensive genealogical report on this family through to the present day.   Many of this family were connected with the stone quarries of Quincy in regards to their occupations.  J. Irving Fletcher was in the ministry for many years until being forced to resign due to ill health.

 

     The third child of Justus and Sally was Olive L. Fletcher, born June 22, 1814, died December 1, 1879.  She married Stephen Pond of Chester Vt. Stephen was the son of Jotham and Nancy (Fuller) Pond of Chester, VT. and they relocated to Acworth, NH. where they had three children, Susan O., Hannibal S. and Emerson.  Emerson died at six months old.

 

     The fourth child of Justus and Sally was Joash K. Fletcher.  He was born August 28, 1815 and died in Chester, VT on May 17, 1884 as the result of a buggy accident (for details go to my web page and see:  “A Tragedy in Vermont” in the genealogy section).  Joash was a farmer with considerable land and he was married to Nancy Pond, sister of Stephen Pond, mentioned in the previous paragraph.  Joash and Nancy had five children: Martin J., Harry A., Charles F., Mary Jane, and Julia M.  Martin died at 10 months old and Harry died at age 17.  After the death of Joash, Nancy relocated to Claremont, NH. and her son, Charles later became a State Representative from Claremont.

 

     The fifth and final child of Justus and Sally (before Sally’s death) was Sarah R. Fletcher.  Sarah was born December 6, 1817 and died February 5, 1885.  She had relocated to Claremont, NH where she married an H. Matteson.  Little more is known of Sarah other than in the “Fletcher Family Bible” was found a card that had her signature written in pencil, on the back.

 

     Following Sally (Glynn) Fletcher’s death, August 13, 1818 in Springfield, VT, Justus married, as his second wife, around 1819, Thankful Sherman Leland, daughter of Joshua and Thankful (Sherman) Leland of Chester, VT.  In the “Leland Magazine or a Genealogical Record of Henry Leland and his Descendants” written by Sherman Leland and printed by Wier and White of Boston in 1850, on page 146, it lists Thankful’s marriage to Justice Fletcher and mentioned that she became the wife of a farmer.  Justus and Thankful had nine children, all being born in Chester, VT.  The first child of Justice and Thankful was Justus Fletcher who was born February 7, 1820 and he died unmarried in November 2, 1872.  In 1860 his occupation was listed as a farmer and he was living with his widowed mother, brother Otis and sister Delia.  In the 1870 census he was listed as living in Springfield, VT with his sister, Mercy B. Morse and is listed as being cripple.

 

     The second child of Justus and Thankful was Joshua L., born July 29, 1822.  He died before 1880 in Wilton, ME.  Joshua relocated to Braintree, MA. where his occupation was listed as a “stone cutter” and where he married his wife, Susan B. Green of Wilton, ME.  Joshua and Susan had two children: Henry L. and Charles F.  Joshua and Susan relocated to Wilton, ME. before the birth of their son Charles and Joshua’s occupation there was listed as a farmer.

 

     The third child of Justus and Thankful was Thankful S. Fletcher, born January 1, 1824.  She died in Springfield, VT. November 6, 1886.  In the 1850 census, Thankful is listed as a single woman, and a box is checked, indicating that she may have had some type of disability.  Thankful married in 1856, as his second wife, Miles Smith of Unity, NH.  Miles and Thankful had two children:  Angie L. and Jennie May.  They lived in Springfield, VT.

 

     The fourth child of Justus and Thankful was Ephraim S. Fletcher, born October 13, 1826.  He died at Plymouth, MA. on May 18, 1897.  Ephraim relocated to Bath, NY where his occupation was a “wheelright” or carriage maker.  He married Margaret M. Winants of Penn Yan, NY.  Ephraim was my 2nd great grandfather and I will not go into his children here, as it is included on my web page under “Time Line of Ephraim S. Fletcher” in the genealogy section.  Ephraim was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church for about thirty years.

 

     The fifth child of Justus and Thankful was Delia S. Fletcher, born November 13, 1828.  She died April 7, 1897 in Springfield, VT.  She had lived for a while with her half sister, Sarah R. Fletcher in Claremont, NH.  Delia married David Lockwood and they lived in Springfield, VT where they had one child: Willis.  There is some question if this marriage was the first or second for either Delia or David.

 

     The sixth child of Justus and Thankful was Otis F. Fletcher, born July 29, 1830.  He died, unmarried, April 26, 1898.  Otis fought in the Civil War with Company D, 9th Vermont Volunteers from 1862 to 1865.  His name appears on a monument with fellow soldiers, located right in front of the Brookside Cemetery in Chester, VT.

 

     The seventh child of Justus and Thankful was James M. Fletcher, born November 13, 1832.  He died in South Lima, NY on November 1, 1904.  In the 1850 U.S. census, it lists James as living with his older brother, Ephraim S. Fletcher in Bath, NY.  James married first, Hattie Emerson (see family bible on my web page).  I have not been able to find out much about Hattie, although when he was living in Bath, NY, a next door family had the name of Emerson and their was a daughter, Harriet L., who was one year younger than James at that time.  Could this be a coincidence?   At any rate, it is unknown if Hattie died or they were divorced.  There were no children by this marriage.  James married his 2nd wife, Sophia (Grover) Parshall, her second marriage, having had a daughter by her first marriage: Julia Estella Parshall.  They lived in South Lima where their three children were born: Herbert M., Grant, and Jesse.  I believe the “Fletcher Family Bible” that was found belonged to some one in this family due to the second page of births being devoted solely to this family, and this being the only family remaining in New York at locations not far from where the bible was found.  It is also noted that although the children of James and Sophia are listed, the grandchildren are not.  I should mention here that Grant Fletcher was a veteran of the Spanish American War and a son of Herbert M., Herbert A. was in World War I.  There is further information on this family in my files.

 

     The eighth child of Justus and Thankful was Mercy B. Fletcher, born November 29, 1834.  I do not have her date of death.  In 1855 she married Ellis W. Morse of Canton, MA.  They lived in Springfield, VT. and had three children:  Clarence E., Charles Fred, and George.  According to the “Families of Cavendish” printed by the Cavendish (VT) Historical Society, they were married over fifty years (p. 244).

 

     The ninth and final child of Justus and Thankful was Christiana Fletcher, born September 3, 1837.  It is unknown when she died, but believed to be in Unity, NH where she lived with her husband, George Hammond Jennings.  George and Christiana had three children:  Walter E., George A., and Clara M.  I have not been able to find out much more about this family as of yet.

 

     Justus and his second wife, Thankful are buried next to Thankful’s parents in the Brookside Cemetery in Chester, VT.  Justus had a total of fourteen children and the line continues on.  It would be appreciated if anyone can assist me by adding to the information contained in this essay.  I would welcome any comments through my e-mail, eefletcher8@hotmail.com .