Enoch Bacon

Birth: 3 Sep 1769, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• Sturbridge, MA, Vital Records to 1850.

Death: 7 Jun 1845, Lincoln, Middlesex Co, MA

• Vital Records of Lincoln, Massachusetts, to 1850
• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 August 2018), gravestone photo for Enoch Bacon (d. 7 Jun 1845, aged 75), Find A Grave Memorial no. 53901790, Morse Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA.

Burial: Morse Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 August 2018), gravestone photo for Enoch Bacon (d. 7 Jun 1845, aged 75), Find A Grave Memorial no. 53901790, Morse Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA.

Father: Ephraim Bacon
Mother: Hannah Chamberlain

Spouse: Lydia Dresser
Marriage: 18 Aug 1793, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Spouse: Sally Walker
Intention: 13 Sep 1806, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• Sturbridge, MA, Vital Records to 1850; Sally Walker "of Woodstock.".

Abigail Dresser

Birth: 17 Aug 1775, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Commemorative Biographical Record of Hartford County, Connecticut, 4 Volumes (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1901), Vol. 1, p. 304; online at Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/commemorativebio15jhbe/page/304/mode/2up : retrieved Nov 2022).

Death: 7 Apr 1816

• Commemorative Biographical Record of Hartford County, Connecticut, 4 Volumes (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1901), Vol. 1, p. 304; online at Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/commemorativebio15jhbe/page/304/mode/2up : retrieved Nov 2022).

Father: Asa Dresser
Mother: Abigail Wheelock

Spouse: Daniel Phillips
Marriage: 27 Dec 1807, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Notes:

Abigail Phillips was a legatee in the 1815 will of her father, Asa Dresser.¹

Moses Dresser Phillips, son of Abigail and Daniel engaged in the publishing business in Worcester and Brookline, MA. This business ultimately became the Atlantic Monthly.²

The Rev. Lewis Hicks, author of the widely read paper Mr. Ralph Wheelock, Puritan, was a grandson of Abigail and Daniel.³

Sources:

1. Worcester County Probate Records, Asa Dresser, case number 17496, Charlton.
2. Moses Dresser Phillips, biography at Wikipedia.com (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Dresser_Phillips : 11 Nov 2022).
3. Commemorative Biographical Record of Hartford County, Connecticut, 4 Volumes (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1901), Vol. 1, p. 304-5; online at Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/commemorativebio15jhbe/page/304/mode/2up : retrieved Nov 2022).

Asa Dresser

Birth: about 1785, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• "Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1841-1910", Vol 167, Pg 276, online at www.americanancestors.org, retrieved Sep 2018. Asa Dresser, Widower, age 78, residence Southbridge at death, born Charlton, son of Asa Dresser, also born in Charlton.

Death: 31 Jan 1863, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• "Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1841-1910", Vol 167, Pg 276, online at www.americanancestors.org, retrieved Sep 2018. Asa Dresser, Widower, age 78, residence Southbridge at death, born Charlton, son of Asa Dresser, also born in Charlton.

Father: Asa Dresser
Mother: Abigail Wheelock

Spouse: Elizabeth McKinstry
Marriage: 30 Apr 1809, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• Sturbridge, MA, Vital Records to 1850.

Notes:

Asa Dresser, Jr and Elizabeth McKinstry of Sturbridge filed their intentions in Charlton on 14 Mar 1809.

Hannah Dresser

Birth: about 1771

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 August 2018), gravestone photo for Hannah Oaks (d. 3 Jan 1813, aged 42), Find A Grave Memorial no. 96811143, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA.

Death: 3 Jan 1813

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 August 2018), gravestone photo for Hannah Oaks (d. 3 Jan 1813, aged 42), Find A Grave Memorial no. 96811143, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA.

Burial: Oak Ridge Cemetery, Southbridge, MA

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 August 2018), gravestone photo for Hannah Oaks (d. 3 Jan 1813, aged 42), Find A Grave Memorial no. 96811143, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA.

Father: Asa Dresser
Mother: Abigail Wheelock

Spouse: Amos Oakes
Marriage: 4 Apr 1793, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Notes:

Hannah was called "my late daughter Hannah Oakes" in her father's 1815 Worcester County will.¹

Buried with her husband, Amos Oakes in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Southbridge, MA. Her headstone reads: "Amos Oakes died Jan 1 1851, aged 82 years Hannah his wife died Jan 3, 1813 aged 42 years"

Sources:

1. Worcester County Probate Records, Asa Dresser, case number 17496, Charlton.

Lydia Dresser

Birth: about 1773

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 August 2018), gravestone photo for Lydia Bacon (d. 3 Apr 1806, in 34th year), Find A Grave Memorial no. 53901729, Morse Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA; Age 34 at death, per headstone.

Death: 3 Apr 1806, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• Sturbridge, MA, Vital Records to 1850.
• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 August 2018), gravestone photo for Lydia Bacon (d. 3 Apr 1806, in 34th year), Find A Grave Memorial no. 53901729, Morse Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA.

Burial: Morse Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 August 2018), gravestone photo for Lydia Bacon (d. 3 Apr 1806, in 34th year), Find A Grave Memorial no. 53901729, Morse Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA.

Father: Asa Dresser
Mother: Abigail Wheelock

Spouse: Enoch Bacon
Marriage: 18 Aug 1793, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Notes:

She was called "my late daughter Lydia Bacon" in her father's 1815 will.¹

Sources:

1. Worcester County, probate, case 17496, Asa Dresser.

Mirriam Dresser

Birth: estimated 1783

Death: 28 Oct 1816, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Father: Asa Dresser
Mother: Abigail Wheelock

Spouse: Dana Smith
Marriage: 15 Nov 1803, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Notes:

Mirriam Smith was a legatee in the 1815 will of her father, Asa Dresser.¹

Sources:

1. Worcester County Probate Records, Asa Dresser, case number 17496, Charlton.

Moses Dresser

Birth: calculated 1788

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 12 October 2018), memorial page for Moses Dresser (1788–Oct 1831), Find A Grave Memorial no. 134889417, citing Smith Cemetery, Penfield, Monroe County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Frederick Porter (contributor 48254596); Inscribed on headstone: Died Oct 1831 Aged 32 years.

Death: Oct 1831

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 12 October 2018), memorial page for Moses Dresser (1788–Oct 1831), Find A Grave Memorial no. 134889417, citing Smith Cemetery, Penfield, Monroe County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Frederick Porter (contributor 48254596).

Burial: Smith Cemetery, Penfield, Monroe County, NY

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 12 October 2018), memorial page for Moses Dresser (1788–Oct 1831), Find A Grave Memorial no. 134889417, citing Smith Cemetery, Penfield, Monroe County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Frederick Porter (contributor 48254596).

Father: Asa Dresser
Mother: Abigail Wheelock

Spouse: Relief Harrington
Intention: 3 May 1818, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Notes:

Moses married Relief Harrington (of Shrewsbury) sometime shortly after 3 May 1818, when they filed their intention in Charlton.

Two children are recorded in Charlton - Albert, born 23 Aug 1818, and Emily, born 14 Nov 1823¹. Moses and Relief sold land holdings in Charlton and Shrewsbury in 1822 and 1823. Probably some time around then they moved to New York. A 21 Apr 1824 deed from Daniel Penfield to Moses Dresser is recorded in Penfield, Monroe Co, NY, probably marking the arrival of Moses and his family in Penfield, NY.² They are buried in Smith Cemetery, Penfield, Monroe Co, NY³.

Research Notes

The following three records for Moses Dresser in Charlton were analyzed to determine whether they refered to this Moses.

(1) A Moses Dresser filed intention to marry Dolly Makepeace of Western, 21 Mar 1813 in Charlton. In 1815, Dolly [d. Gershom and Lydia (Knight) Makepeace of Western] married Capt. Azor Phelps, 4 Dec 1815 (recorded in Charlton), implying Moses had died prior to that date. But Moses Dresser (son of Asa) was alive when he signed his father's probate papers in May 1817.

(2) A Moses Dresser is buried in Dresser Cemetery, Charlton. He died 17 Jan 1820, age 33, implying a birth date that fits neatly into the family of Asa Dresser and Abigail Wheelock. However, the probate papers (adm) of Moses Dresser, Worcester County Probate Records, case 17530, filed 31 Jan 1820 in Charlton, by wife Susanna Dresser, widow, signed by Leonard Town (among others) suggests that the Moses who is buried in Dresser Cemetery, d 17 Jan 1820 is the Moses, Jr. who married Susannah Towne. He was the son of Moses Dresser and Abigail Blood.

(3) A Moses filed intention to marry Relief Harrington, 3 May 1818, in Charlton. Children were born to Moses and Relief in 1818, and 1820; none recorded in Charlton thereafter. Two Worcester County deeds confirm that this is the son of Asa and Abigail. An 1822 deed, vol 228, pg 444, Moses Dresser to Asa Dresser, conveys lands owned by Moses' deceased father, identified as Asa Dresser, to Asa Dresser for $1775. Relief Dresser is identified as the wife of Moses, and the two together sign the deed dated 22 May 1822. Also, an 1823 deed, vol 235, pg 37, Moses and Relief Dresser to Daniel Harrington 2nd, conveys property located in Shrewsbury, the same lands "which descended to the said Relief by her Hon Father Danl Harrington, late of said Shrewsbury", for $76(?). Both Moses and Relief signed the deed, dated 2 Oct 1823.

Sources:

1. Vital Records to 1850
2. "New York Land Records, 1630-1975", Penfield, Monroe Co., NY, vol. 15, page 471; online image 487 at www.FamilySearch.org, accessed 22 Oct 2018.
3. Find A Grave memorial 134889417, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134889417/moses-dresser : retrieved 12 Oct 2018

Oliver Dresser

Death: 5 Sep 1795

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 August 2018), memorial page for Oliver Dresser (unknown–5 Sep 1795), Find A Grave Memorial no. 58454025, citing Dresser Cemetery, Charlton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Fred Saar (contributor 46511066).

Burial: Dresser Cemetery, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 August 2018), memorial page for Oliver Dresser (unknown–5 Sep 1795), Find A Grave Memorial no. 58454025, citing Dresser Cemetery, Charlton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Fred Saar (contributor 46511066).

Father: Asa Dresser
Mother: Abigail Wheelock

Notes:

His headstone in Dresser Cemetery, Charlton states that he is the "son of Asa and Abagail".

Amos Oakes

Birth: about 1769, MA

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/96811141/amos-oakes: accessed 08 November 2022), gravestone photo for Amos Oakes (d. 1 Jan 1851, aged 82), Find a Grave Memorial ID 96811141, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA.
• 1850 U.S. census, Southbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts, household of Amos and Lucinda Oakes

Death: 1 Jan 1851, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• "Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1841-1910," database with image, AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/search/databasesearch/191/massachusetts-vital-records-1841-1910 : accessed 29 Oct 2022), Amos Oakes, Southbridge deaths, vol. 59, p. 183; from Massachusetts State Archives, Boston.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/96811141/amos-oakes: accessed 08 November 2022), gravestone photo for Amos Oakes (d. 1 Jan 1851, aged 82), Find a Grave Memorial ID 96811141, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA.

Burial: Oak Ridge Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/96811141/amos-oakes: accessed 08 November 2022), gravestone photo for Amos Oakes (d. 1 Jan 1851, aged 82), Find a Grave Memorial ID 96811141, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Southbridge, Worcester Co, MA.

Spouse: Hannah Dresser
Marriage: 4 Apr 1793, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Spouse: Lucinda Marcy
Marriage: 22 Feb 1815, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• Sturbridge, MA, Vital Records to 1850.

Notes:

Amos Oakes was a farmer and a shoemaker. He was probably born in Charlton, living in the southern part of town which later became part of Southbridge. He died in Southbridge in 1851.

His parentage is unknown, but there is circumstantial evidence that he is the daughter of John Oakes and his wife Eunice who lived in Charlton. The first record of interest is Worcester County probate case 44120 for the estate of John Oakes, dated 6 May 1782, in which letters of administration were granted to Eunice Oakes, widow, and Jacob Oakes (relationship not specified, but possibly son). Next there is Worcester County deed 257:519, dated 14 April 1817, in which Eunice Oakes, spinster, of Southbridge sold to Amos Oakes of Southbridge, land in the southern part of Charlton formerly belonging to John Oakes. Eunice would likely be a daughter of John Oakes who died in 1782, and the brother of Jacob Oakes. Presumably she inherited land from her father John, then sold it to another brother, Amos Oakes. Finally there is Worcester County deed 88:243 signed 4 Mar 1783, in which John Oaks of New Salem, Hampshire County conveyed to Jacob Oakes of Charlton a parcel in Charlton that was the property of "my Hon'd father John Oakes of said Charlton deceased." This was likely the same Jacob Oakes who was co-administrator of John Oakes estate.

There was possibly another John Oakes in Charlton at roughly the same time. John Oakes married Phebe Clemens 14 July 1769, per Charlton vital records. Amos, was born about 1769 and could theoretically be the son of John and Phebe. But trees on FamilySearch.org do not show Amos in this family, and there is no room in the birth sequence for Amos to fit, unless he were a twin. And the trees preclude a second marriage for John, either to Eunice, or anyone else.¹

The John who married Eunice and died circa 1782 in Charlton could possibly be the John Oaks that married Eunice Marsh in Salem, Massachusetts, intention 15 June 1751. There are trees on Ancestry.com that show a child of John and Eunice named Stephen, born in Charlton, 24 April 1761. Indeed, Stephen Oakes was living in Charlton in 1790, per census, and later moved to Stephenstown, Rensselaer County, New York, finally ending up in Cherry Valley, Otsego County, New York, where he died 12 Nov 1835. No sources were attached to the trees to support Stephen's birth in Charlton, but if true it provides evidence that John and Eunice (Marsh) Oakes of Salem relocated to Charlton before 24 April 1761, when Stephen was born. Amos would have been born a few years after Stephen.

Abijah Oakes, who married in Charlton, and died in Sturbridge, was possibly another child of John and Eunice.

Sources:

1. John Oakes family group sheet, various authors, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LDKM-GVZ : accessed 11 Nov 2022).

Daniel Phillips

Birth: 1 Mar 1776, Auburn, Worcester Co, MA

• Vital Records of Auburn, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1850
• Commemorative Biographical Record of Hartford County, Connecticut, 4 Volumes (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1901), Vol. 1, p. 304; online at Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/commemorativebio15jhbe/page/304/mode/2up : retrieved Nov 2022).

Death: 27 Mar 1848, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Burial: Bay Path Cemetery, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21048028/daniel-phillips: accessed 11 November 2022), memorial page for Daniel Phillips (d. 27 Mar 1848, aged 72), Find a Grave Memorial ID 21048028, Bay Path Cemetery, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA, maintained by Fred Saar (contributor 46511066).

Father: Israel Phillips
Mother: Huldah Towne

Spouse: Hannah Small
Marriage: 22 Mar 1798, Sutton, Worcester Co, MA

• Vital Records of Auburn, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1850

Spouse: Jemima Dennis
Marriage: 28 Aug 1800, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Spouse: Abigail Dresser
Marriage: 27 Dec 1807, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Spouse: Lucy Harwood
Marriage: 19 Dec 1816, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Dana Smith

Birth: 12 Apr 1778, Shrewsbury, Worcester Co, MA

• Shrewsbury Vital Records to 1850
• Andrew H. Ward, History of the town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, From its Settlement in 1717 to 1829 (Boston: Samuel G. Drake, 1847), p. 435; Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/historytownshre00wardgoog/page/434/mode/2up : accessed 13 Nov 2022).
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20498532/dana-smith: accessed 13 November 2022, aged 81), gravestone photo for Dana Smith (d. 14 Mar 1859), Find a Grave Memorial ID 20498532, Bay Path Cemetery, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA, maintained by Fred Saar (contributor 46511066).

Death: 14 Mar 1859

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20498532/dana-smith: accessed 13 November 2022, aged 81), gravestone photo for Dana Smith (d. 14 Mar 1859), Find a Grave Memorial ID 20498532, Bay Path Cemetery, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA, maintained by Fred Saar (contributor 46511066).

Burial: Bay Path Cemetery, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20498532/dana-smith: accessed 13 November 2022, aged 81), gravestone photo for Dana Smith (d. 14 Mar 1859), Find a Grave Memorial ID 20498532, Bay Path Cemetery, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA, maintained by Fred Saar (contributor 46511066).

Father: Samuel Smith
Mother: Nabby Pratt

Spouse: Mirriam Dresser
Marriage: 15 Nov 1803, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Spouse: Eunice Fails
Marriage: 1 Apr 1818, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Spouse: Susannah Clemons
Marriage: 2 Apr 1821, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Notes:

On 5 February 1822, Dana Smith was appointed guardian to his children Stilman Smith and Silas Smith, both over fourteen years of age, and to Estes Smith, Franklin Smith, and Frederick Smith, all three under fourteen years of age; all were grandchildren of Abigail Dresser; signed by Dana Smith, Asa Dresser, and Daniel Phillips.¹

Dana Smith of Charlton made his will 20 March 1855; it was allowed 3 May 1859. In it, he left bequests to the children of his son, Stillman Smith, deceased; to his sons Silas Smith, Estes Smith, Franklin Smith, and Samuel Davidson Smith; and to his daughter Eunice Fales Bracket. He appointed his son, Samuel D. Smith sole executor. The will was witnessed by Curtis Phillips, Harvey Forbush, and Edwin Phillips.²

Sources:

1. Worcester County, Massachusetts, probate case 54757.
2. Worcester County, Massachusetts, probate case 54094.