Stories from Acton

Henry Barker's cider mill was a fixture in South Acton for many years but not much was written about his life.

Francis Skinner grew up in Acton but created a very different life in Boston for his descendants.

A letter led to information about Sarah (Faulkner) Skinner who went blind in her later years.

Clara (Hapgood) Nash, the first woman admitted to the bar in New England, was also an Acton teacher and poet.

D. Henry Scarlett, amateur astronomer and historian, saved and shared Acton memories.

The location of John Oliver's North Acton farm was specified in a map researched by Henry Scarlett.

John Oliver's Revolutionary War service is unusually well-documented. Ongoing research is trying to discover the rest of his story.

A Sons of the American Revolution Marker in Woodlawn Cemetery in Acton causes confusion about wartime service by Jonathan Hosmer.

Information about WW1 casualty Sidney J. Edwards and why Acton has a square named for him.

Photos in the Acton Historical Society may be from the family of the singing Turner Sisters.

Many sources have confused Acton's first minister Rev. John Swift with his son, Dr. John Swift.

Painter Annie (Hardy) Payson lived in Acton with her husband Arthur and sons Aurin, and Arthur Hardy from about 1904-1914. She not only painted but also taught painting in town.

Captain Joseph Brown served during the Revolutionary War and served the town of Acton for many years afterward.

Remembering William G. Rodway, an Acton resident who served in the Spanish American War and died in service but is not on the town's monument to its veterans.

Hanson Littlefield was involved in numerous West Acton business ventures between 1869 and 1903.

Research into the life of Captain Robert P. Boss, buried in Acton, Massachusetts.

Searching for an Acton photographer named Taylor yielded not only F. J. Taylor but Margaret as well.

A portrait unrelated to Acton led to the discovery of the singing Turner sisters who came from Georgia and lived for a time in Acton, Massachusetts.

A letter thought to be between business associates shows how much more formal even family correspondence was in 1850.

Research to identify the F. Taylor mentioned in an 1850 letter in the Acton Historical Society collection.