William Rodway was not in the United States for very long, and because William was a common English Rodway name, it took some effort to make sure that we matched the correct William to records overseas. Fortunately, his death record and obituaries, coupled with census, vital, and immigration records for his mother and siblings, allowed us to piece together some of his life story.
William G. Rodway was born in Castle Hanley, Worcestershire, England, between January and March 1873. He was born to parents also from Worcestershire, William Rodway, born in Welland, and Sarah Booker, born in Leigh. William G. was baptized on March 23, 1873 in Malvern Wells. He was recorded in the Welland 1881 Census (at age 8) with his parents and siblings Charles (age 11), Harry (10), James (6), Roslina (usually known as Rose, 4), and Alice (2). His father was an agricultural laborer. We have not yet established what happened to the family between 1881 and 1889. According to British death indices, a William Rodway died in 1883 in the registration district that contains Welland; he was probably the father of the family, though that fact has not been confirmed. We did find that William G’s older brothers Charles and Harry emigrated from Liverpool to Boston in May, 1888. The next year, William Rodway (age 14) travelled on the ship Cephalonia with his mother Sarah (45) and siblings James (11), Rose (9), George (7), and Helen (5), arriving in Boston on April 8. They probably headed to Acton because they had relatives there. Apparently, Sarah had a brother George Booker who had emigrated previously with his family and settled in Acton. William Rodway was, from what we can tell, an active young man. Thanks to the Concord Enterprise, we know that by November 10, 1892, he was in a militia company in Concord with his brother Harry, both of them having obtained marksman qualifications. We already knew that he played football; he was enough of a leader to be the captain of the team, and his athleticism earned praise. The November 12, 1896 Concord Enterprise called him a "great all around player." The previous week, it had been reported that he had scored all of the touchdowns in a game against Maynard. (See team photographs here.) For some time prior to his enlistment, William Rodway worked for the West End Railway in Boston. Whether he enlisted with acquaintances from his workplace, we do not know, but instead of joining the “Concord company” (Massachusetts Sixth Regiment, Company I) with others from Acton, he signed on with Company C of the Ninth Massachusetts Volunteers. He was made a corporal. According to the Adjutant General’s Report published by the Secretary of the Commonwealth (1898 Annual Reports, Volume X), the Ninth trained for a few weeks at Camp Dewey in South Framingham (May 1898) before being sent to Camp Alger in Virginia for more drilling and endurance training (June 1898). They set sail for Cuba on the USS Harvard on June 26, arriving on the afternoon of July 1. That night, they were ordered to do an overnight march to the front where they took their places in the trenches. (Letters published in the Boston Post of July 18th reported that they spent little time actually shooting. They lacked smokeless powder and their Springfield rifles created too much smoke, so they were sent to stay in the trenches as backups.) Unfortunately, the original orders to march had specified that the men leave their blanket rolls behind, leaving them little protection from the elements. After the city of Santiago surrendered on July 17th, the regiment participated in the ceremony, and on the 18th, the regiment was moved from the trenches and “was sent back some four miles to bivouac in a swamp; and here disease in an alarming degree broke out among our troops. The officers and men, all of whom had borne up in a remarkable manner until now, seemed to succumb at once, and the sick roll increased tremendously.” (page 187) During the next few weeks, the regiment “was practically struggling for its existence against the inroads of disease and the inclemency of the weather. In details those men who were able to stand upon their feet were ordered to the hospital to assist the sick; and it was this work, so admirably and unselfishly done, that completed the work of devastation, and sent home to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the tottering remnants of as physically strong a regiment as this State ever possessed.” (page 188) Local newspapers reported on deplorable conditions, widespread sickness, and losses endured by the regiment. (The Boston Post, in particular, published letters, reports, and disputes over blame.) Pressure built to get the regiment out of Cuba. It was sent to Montauk Point, Long Island on September 1. On September 15, 1898, the Concord Enterprise’s West Acton news stated that Harry Rodway was visiting his brother William who was in critical condition at Camp Wikoff, Montauk Point, New York. It added, “Harry returned home Friday, but started back again Tuesday, the family feeling so anxious for the sick one.” The September 20, 1898 Boston Post reported that William G. Rodway was very sick in the hospital in the camp at Montauk awaiting the opportunity to be sent home. A doctor from Boston City Hospital was travelling back and forth, trying to accompany the sick to Boston. The October 6th Enterprise reported that William was improved and expected home soon. Sadly, William Rodway died of dysentery on October 18, 1898 in St. Peter’s Hospital, Brooklyn, New York. According to an obituary in the Boston Daily Globe (Oct 20, page 7), his brother brought him home. Family and friends must have been shocked when they realized what happened to him; according to his Concord Enterprise obituary (Oct. 27, page 8), “He was a young man of fine personal appearance and splendid physique, but had become so emaciated by disease none would have recognized him.” His funeral was attended by, among others, members of his company and the Acton G.A.R. post who attended as a group. All flags were at half-mast and businesses closed in the afternoon “in honor of the brave young life given at the country’s call.” After the funeral, he was buried with military honors (provided by members of the Ninth Regiment) at Mount Hope Cemetery. William G. Rodway was not in the United States long enough to be found on a surviving census. As far as we know, he never became a citizen. Yet when volunteers were called for, he signed up to help the cause of his adopted country. It only seems right that the people of Acton should remember him as one of their men who served. 6/9/2016 John Sherman Hoar, Vise InventorA visitor to our Facebook page recently sent us pictures of a vise marked with (filling in a few blanks for worn letters) MAN_. BY NEW - ENG. VISE CO. WEST-ACTON, MASS and HOAR'S PATENT JUNE 19, 1866. Getting ready for the "Made in Acton" exhibit at the Hosmer House museum, we were excited to receive pictures of an Acton-made product that we had never seen before. We wanted to learn about the New England Vise Company of West Acton. Searching the internet led us to the June 19, 1866 patent of John S. Hoar of West Acton (No. 55,656) for an improved rotary bench vise. Online searching of local newspapers and the 1870 Census's manufacturing schedules for information about the vise company was fruitless. (Middlesex County’s manufacturing schedules were not available online, and local online newspaper coverage is sparse in the early years.) Fortunately, we found some useful information in the Society's library. According to an undated newspaper article in a scrapbook in the Society's collection, "The present Pail Factory in West Acton was built in 1867 to manufacture vises. These were the patent of J. Sherman Hoar, of West Acton, and was the first vise ever patented in any country with an off-shot jaw (so called). It could be used on an entire rotary base or on a one-half rotary base. The market for these vises is world-wide. " John Sherman Hoar, born in Boxborough in 1829, was a carpenter who served in the Civil War, joining the 6th Massachusetts, Company E in 1862 with many others from Acton and nearby towns. He came home on disability, having lost his thumb in a gun accident. (This was mentioned in a November 1862 Henry Hapgood letter held by the Society.) Despite his injury, he carried on as a carpenter according to census records. In addition, he turned his attention to inventing a better vise. His patent says that his design gave the vise greater stability and versatility than others in use at the time. According to Phalen's History of the Town of Acton, Hoar's vise made it possible for a workman to hold a long piece of pipe or a wooden rod in a vertical position. In 1867, John Sherman Hoar assigned patent rights to himself, C. Hastings, and N. C. Cutter. Phalen’s History says that he wanted to sell his patent to an interested party, but his partners did not want to sell out. (His partners apparently were Charles Hastings and Nathaniel Cutter. Charles Hastings is listed in Acton's 1870 census as working in a machine shop. N. C. Cutter is harder to find. Bill Klauer's Acton book from the Images of America series contains a photo of the store of Charles Hastings and Nathaniel Cutler; perhaps the Patent Commissioner's 1867 report misspelled N. C.'s surname.) Online versions of published public documents of Massachusetts show that the New England Vise Company of West Acton was organized on January 25, 1868. Improbably enough, searching online, we found a mention in the Galveston (Texas) Daily News of November 15, 1868 that the New England Vise Company of West Acton, Mass. had twenty employees working in their vise manufacturing business. The West Acton vise manufacturing venture was short-lived. According to Phalen, the business was sold to a firm in Fitchburg in 1870. Massachusetts's 1877 Tax Commission's report shows the company still in Fitchburg. Hoar's patent expired around 1884, and the New England Vise Company seems to have been dissolved either in 1892 or by that year, as it was listed as one of the dissolved companies in an 1892 Massachusetts act of law.
John Sherman Hoar only lived for two years after the sale of the company. He died at age 43 of typhoid fever, leaving his wife Lydia (Whitney) and a large family. According to Phalen, one of the prized possessions of John Sherman Hoar's descendants was a model of his vise that he had created from what appeared to be cherry wood. We have no idea how many vises were created in the West Acton factory during its short time in operation. We are very grateful to our Facebook visitor for sharing his vise with us! 5/10/2016 Searching for Captain Robert
The answer came from the 1855 Massachusetts State Census. It showed that Robert Prier Boss (age 50, born in Rhode Island) was a sea captain living in Acton with Hannah, William Henry, and George Washington Boss, (ages 40, 12, and 3 respectively), and others, including members of his wife's family. Acton was not a likely home for a mariner, but Robert’s occupation in the census solved the mystery (temporarily) – the title of captain on the stone had nothing to do with the Civil War. Additional research showed that Robert Prior Boss was born in Newport, Rhode Island on February 21, 1804. He was the son of William Boss and Edith Dickinson Prior, one of 14 children. Captain Robert lived in Boston in 1839 when he married Hannah Sampson, born in Charlestown to Daniel and Hannah (Dingley) Sampson. The couple first lived in Charlestown and had at least two children there; Robert P. Boss Jr. and William Henry Boss. Information about Captain Robert’s early career is not easily obtainable, but in 1849, Captain Robert seems to have become involved in the California Gold Rush. In May, 1849, Captain Robert P. Boss of Charlestown sailed out of Boston on the ship New Jersey, carrying over 175 passengers (reports vary about the exact number). The ship was owned by the Suffolk and California Mutual Trading and Mining Association; transcriptions of the passenger list show that Captain Robert was a member. They arrived on October 12, 1849, and, as described in the Boston Evening Transcript [Feb 24, 1890 reminiscence], "as soon as the port of San Francisco was reached, little heed was paid to contracts or agreements, and all made a rush for the gold diggings." Discovering whether or not their venture was a financial success would require more research, but soon afterwards, Captain Robert changed careers. An 1851 birth record of George W. Boss, born to Robert and Hannah, shows that the family was living in Acton by then. (Charlestown was written as their residence and crossed out.) Robert was listed as a farmer. As far as we can tell, Captain Robert spent the rest of his life in Acton. The 1860 census listed him there with Hannah and their two youngest sons. His Acton death record listed him as a retired sea captain. The Perils and Benefits of Online Genealogical Indexing Online indexing can yield wonderful discoveries about the lives of individuals. It can also lead researchers astray. Following up on Acton’s Robert P. Boss led to a link from his genealogical information to a listing of Massachusetts officers in the United States Navy. A Robert P. Boss, born in Rhode Island and living in Massachusetts, was listed as having been appointed to an officer’s position on January 4, 1862. With no further investigation, we might have assumed that Acton’s Robert P. Boss, born in Rhode Island and a sailor, was a Civil War naval officer. However, we were saved from that assumption by two other internet resources. A listing of “Enlisted Men in the United States Navy,” also linked to Acton’s Robert P. Boss, showed that the Robert P. Boss in question was age 21 and a printer when he enlisted in the Navy on September 24, 1861. He became an officer in 1862. Clearly that person was not Acton’s Robert. Fortunately, the 1902 book An inquiry concerning the Boss family and the name Boss has been made available online. From that source, we found that Acton’s Captain Robert had a nephew Robert P. Boss, born in Rhode Island in 1840. Research indicates that he was a likely match for the printer who signed up for the Navy in 1861. What happened to the Boss children?
In the spring of 1864, William’s unit was shipped to Washington, DC, causing an outcry about broken recruiting promises. Perhaps as a consequence, William transferred to the Navy on June 29, 1864 and served on the U.S.S. Tunxis and Glaucus. He was discharged on March 6, 1865. William married Mary E. “Lizzie” Welts in 1869 in Chelsea, MA where they both resided. He was listed as a clerk at the time. He later lived in Lynn, Mass. and worked as a freight agent and station master. His wife died sometime in the 1880s. William married Ida Emma Morrisey in Lynn on May 28, 1889. According to his pension record filed by Ida after his death, he was quite well off until late in life when he lost all of his money on a mining venture. William died on March 22, 1907 in Swampscott, MA where he had been living and was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in Lynn.
George Washington Boss was born in Acton on November 17, 1851. He was still a minor when Captain Robert died in 1863, and his mother became his guardian. Captain Robert’s will was very clear about his confidence in his wife Hannah’s abilities and the fact that she would look after her son’s interests. Hannah and George moved to Malden by 1865. Unfortunately, Hannah died in 1867, necessitating another guardian for young George, Charles W. Irving. (Their exact relationship is unclear, but Charles and George lived in the same household in 1865.) George Boss was living in Boston and working as a laborer when he married Clara A. Skillings (daughter of Cyrus and Margaret) on February 6, 1872. On April 21, 1879, he married Melissa Edgars (daughter of Robert and Mary). George was working as a brakeman and residing in Boston at the time. In between George’s marriages, he apparently joined the Cavalry, though his time in that role was abbreviated at best. He appeared in court records in October 1877, seeking an accounting of his parents’ funds from his guardian. Eventually, the accounting was made; there is no indication that the funds were misused. After a possible listing in an 1880 Lowell, Mass. directory, no other information has been found about George W. Boss or either of his wives. The family's time in Acton seems to have been fairly short. However, researching Captain Robert reminded us that with all genealogical projects, it is important to question assumptions, to watch out for people of the same name, and to keep searching even after finding “the answer.” For those who want to learn more in non-digitized sources, Captain Robert's logbook from his 1849 voyage to California is in the archives of the Peabody Essex Museum, and passenger Charles Stumcke's recollections of the voyage around the Horn are held at the University of California, Berkeley. 3/20/2016 Prisoners of War in ActonJames Fletcher’s 1890 Acton in History (page 57) lists James Shurland as one of the “Men of Acton in the War of the Revolution.” Taken alone, that would seem to imply that he fought on the side of the colonists. It is possible that he did at some point. However, researching the collections of the Society to find out more about him unearthed a document showing that in 1776, James Sherland and William Haywood were actually taken as prisoners of war. The document, a copy of an order from the Council Chamber, State of Massachusetts Bay, states that from their capture until Feb. 10, 1780, the two men had been residing in Acton. Joseph Robbins, other selectmen, and the Committee of Correspondence for Acton vouched for their "Orderly Behavior,” so they were given permission to live in the town and to practice their occupations until further notice.
Evidently, in the early part of the war, it was not unusual for British prisoners of war to be sent to outlying areas. A letter from George Washington to Lieutenant-General Howe on September 23, 1776 states that British privates were “greatly dispersed through New England Governments, in order to their better accommodation.” (See Jared Sparks’s The Writings of George Washington, Volume IV, New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1847, p 106.) So far, efforts to discover the stories of James Sherland and William Haywood during the Revolutionary War period have been not turned up anything. We do not know where they were captured, whether they were colonial Loyalists or from a British regiment, and why, where and under what circumstances they were held in Acton. (We would welcome new information; please contact us if you can help.) Attempting to trace the later lives of the two prisoners presented opposite research problems. In Acton and its environs, Haywood/Hayward was a common name. Despite that, no trace of William could be found. Aside from the copy of the order held by the Historical Society, he seems to have left no mark on the town of Acton. There are some William Haywoods who appear in records outside of Acton in the post-Revolutionary period, but without further information, it is impossible to know whether it is the same person. Sherland, however, is an unusual name, with many variations. Acton vital records revealed that James Sharland and wife Anna had ten sons in Acton: George (1779), Stephen Randal (1781), James Jr (1784), William (1786), Henery (1786, apparently William’s twin), Edmond (1790), Joseph (1792), Winthrop (1795), Benjamin Hill (1797), and Joseph (1799). All of the births were recorded together, probably well after the fact. In 1790, James “Shareline” was listed in the Acton Census with a household of 1 male aged 16 and above, 6 males under age 16, and 1 female. The family must have been in Cambridge at some point. Probate records and Acton town reports indicate that James had legal involvement with the town of Cambridge in the first decade of the 1800s, but no details of his time actually living in Cambridge have yet emerged. The 1810 Acton Census shows James Sharland as head of a household consisting of 1 male aged 45 or more, 1 male between 10 and 15, and 1 female aged 45 or more. That probably was James and Anna and one of their youngest sons. (Acton records show that James Jr. “of Watertown” married Maria Moore “of Cambridge” and had a son William Henry in 1806. They would have been too young for the 1810 Census listing.) James Senior’s death was recorded in Acton on April 27, 1818. Benjamin Sherland is listed in the 1820 Census in Acton with a female over 45 (possibly his mother Anna). We could find no further mention of Anna in any record. There is no cemetery record or gravestone in Acton for any member of the family. A fascinating research project would be to trace the descendants of the sons of James and Anna Sharland who all seem to have left Acton by 1830. Stephen Randal became a cooper in New Hampshire and died young and unmarried. Winthrop went to Maine. James Jr. went to western New York and later to Indiana. It appears that George and Benjamin also headed west. There were many descendants, although sorting them all out would be a challenge. By the mid-1800s, Sharlands, Sherlands, Shirlands and Shorlands appear in numerous records, including many records of military service. Without documents such as the Council Chamber order in the Society’s collections, there would be no way to know that one's immigrant ancestor was once a P.O.W. in a small Massachusetts town. 11/9/2015 Henry Hapgood, an Acton Veteran
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