PROCTOR
The Proctor family originally settled in Yorkshire, and was established at Shawdon at the beginning of the sixteenth century. William De Beauchamp, cousin of John, Earl of Pembroke, who died 1375, held the Manor of Tottenham by virtue of a grant from him; and Ephraim Beauchamp had lands in the same Manor which afterwards vested in George Beauchamp Proctor, Esq., of Thetford in Norfolk, by a bequest from his father, Sir William Beauchamp Proctor. The arms of the family were granted in 1436 as follows: Argent with two chevrons sable, between three martlets sable.
There is evidence that John, Richard, George and Robert Proctor settled in Massachusetts between 1635 and 1643. It is probable that some if not all of these four were descendants of William above mentioned, and they may have been brothers.
(I) Robert Proctor, immigrant ancestor, was born in England and settled first in Salem, where he was admitted a freeman, May 10, 1643. He removed to Concord, and married, Dec. 31, 1645, Jane Hildreth, eldest daughter of Richard Hildreth, of Concord and Chelmsford; he was the ancestor of many of the Hildreths in America. He was one of the twenty-five original settlers and founders of the town of Chelmsford, near Concord. He died April 28, 1697.
Children:
1. Sarah, Oct. 12, 1646.
2. Gershom, May 13, 1648, mentioned below.
3. Mary, April 20, 1650.
4. Peter, 1652.
5. Dorothy, 1654.
6. Elizabeth, Dec. 16, 1656.
7. James, Jan. 8, 1658.
8. Lydia, Feb. 19, 1660.
9. John, Aug. 17, 1663.
10. Samuel, Sept. 15, 1665.
11. Israel, April 29, 1668.
12. Thomas, April 30, 1671.
(II) Gershom, son of Robert Proctor, was born in Concord, May 13, 1648, died Nov. 8, 1714. He lived in Chelmsford. He married, July 4, 1690, Sarah Whitacre. In 1686 he bought of Major Henchman a strip of land on the Indian plantation west of the Concord river.
Children, born at Chelmsford:
1. Gershom, April 7, 1691.
2. Jonathan, July 8, 1693.
3. Sarah, Sept. 8, 1695.
4. Nathan, Oct. 1, 1698.
5. Hannah, Oct. 3, 1701.
6. Ebenezer, Jan. 16, 1704.
7. Jane, March 10, 1706.
8. Israel, Oct. 4, 1708, mentioned below.
9. Esther, Oct. 25, 1710.
(III) Israel, son of Gershom Proctor, was born in Chelmsford, Oct. 4, 1708, died June 15, 1755. He married, Sept. 18, 1735, Sarah Raymond, of Concord.
Children:
1. Sarah, Nov. 2, 1736.
2. Abigail, March 28, 1739.
3. Israel, March 2, 1742.
4. Hannah, Feb. 2, 1744.
5. Mary, April 20, 1746, died Jan. 2, 1751.
6. William, Feb. 20, 1748, mentioned below.
7. Nathan, April 20, 1751.
8. Mary, Feb. 15, 1753.
9. Lucy, baptized July 21, 1754; married Samuel Copeland.
(IV) William, son of Israel Proctor, was born Feb. 19, 1846. He removed with his sister Hannah and brother Nathan to Washington, New Hampshire, in 1775. He settled near Millen Pond, but as his title was defective, he removed to another farm, where he lived many years. He was one of the petitioners for the incorporation of the town in 1776, and in July, 1777, served in the revolution under Captain Brockway. In 1780 and 1781 he was selectman, and in 1786 on a committee to build the meeting house. He was known as Captain Proctor, and was greatly respected. He spent the last part of his life with his children in the east part of the town, where he died.
He married, May 11, 1769, Mary Proctor, born July 15, 1749, died Sept. 22, 1845, daughter of Oliver and Mary (Parker) Proctor.
Children:
1. Mary, April 6, 1770.
2. Sarah, Feb. 6, 1772.
3. Israel, Jan. 30, 1774, mentioned below.
4. Jesse, March 8, 1776, died young.
5. Raymond, Oct. 2, 1778.
6. Isaac, Oct. 2, 1780.
7. Lucy, Feb. 2, 1783.
8. Martha, March 19, 1785.
9. Abigail, June 3, 1787.
10. William, May 24, 1789.
(V) Israel (2) son of Captain William Proctor, was born Jan. 30, 1774, at Chelmsford, died at Washington, New Hampshire, March 13, 1839. He resided at Chelmsford, died at Washington, N.H., March 13, 1839. He resided there most of his life.
He married, March 7, 1798, Lydia Reed, of Acton, Mass., born Oct. 28, 1781, died March 30, 1864, daughter of William Reed. Her father was a captain in the revolution in a Massachusetts regiment from May to december, 1775, and a captain in the Twenty-third regiment Continental Infantry from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1776.
Children:
1. Israel, April 5, 1799, died March 6, 1802.
2. Roxanna, born at Windsor, Vermont, March 12, 1801.
3. Lydia, born at Washington, N.H. March 27, 1803, died June 4, 1803.
4. Martha, Aug. 14, 1804.
5. Moses D., Jan. 5, 1807.
6. Israel, March 25, 1809, mentioned below.
7. Isaac, May 18, 1811.
8. Lydia, Oct. 27, 1814.
9. Elizabeth, Aug. 17, 1816, died Aug. 19, 1851.
10. Lucy, June 27, 1819, died March 20, 1836.
(VI) Israel (3) son of Israel (2) Proctor, was born March 25, 1809, died April 10, 1888. He lived at East Washington, New Hampshire, and passed the last years of his life at the home of his son, William L., in Ogdensburg. He was a farmer.
He married, June 3, 1835, Mary, born April 13, 1813, died Jan. 17, 1878, daughter of Eber and Mary (Adams) Barnes, and granddaughter of Gideon Adams, of Heniker, N.H., and great-granddaughter of Captain Aaron Adams, who was in the revolution.
Children:
1. Daughter, born and died April 5, 1836.
2. William Lawrence, March 26, 1837, died Nov. 19, 1897.
3. Lucy, Feb. 25, 1838, died Sept. 16, 1840.
4. Emily C., Jan. 25, 1841, died June 29, 1860.
5. Alfred G., Dec. 1, 1842, died Nov. 6, 1874.
6. Mary E., April 8, 1845.
7. Henry Israel, April 6, 1847, mentioned below.
8. Lucelia, Nov. 5, 1848.
9. Lucy B., March 7, 1852, died July 30, 1863.
10. Charles D., Feb. 22, 1856.
(VII) Henry Israel, son of Israel (2) Proctor, ws born at East Wshington, N.H., April 6, 1847. He attended the public schools of his native town and Tubba Union Academy at Washington Center, N.H.
He went to Ogdensburg, N.Y., Jan. 21, 1863, and was employed for a time for C. and D. Whitney Jr. He then entered the employ of the Skillings, Whieney & Barnes Lumber Company and held the position of foreman for that conern until 1874, when he resigned to embark in busines on his own account. He manufactured doors, sahs blinds, builders' hardware, making a specialty of cabinet work of various kidns. His factory and mill was on River street. He built up a large and prosperous business in a few years. In 1895 his business was incorporated under the name of the Proctor Manufacturing Company, of which he is president, and his son Charles E. is secretary and treasurer. Mr. Proctor occupies a leading positon among the business men of the city, and has a large influence in financial and commercial affairs.
He is a prominent member and has for many years been a trustee of the Baptist church. Was for many years a member of the Ogdensburg Club.
He married, Feb. 16, 1870, Fannie E., born June 13, 1853, daughter of Captain Edward Nathan and Mary M. (Burditt) Persons, of Ogdensburg, granddaughter of David and Malinda (Kirk) Burditt. (See Persons VII).
Children, born at Ogdensburg:
1. Mary Fannie, Nov. 16, 1870; married Herbert Howard of Ogdensburg, superintendent of contracting department of the Proctor Manufacturing Company; children: (twins) George E. and Porter W. Howard.
2. Grace Emily, Dec. 25, 1872; married Dr. Franklin Daniels Earl, of Ogdensburg.
3. Charles Edward, March 1, 1875; secretary and treasurer of the Proctor Manufacturing Company; married Elizabeth P. Como; children: Elizabeth Como and Lois.
4. Henry Brownlow, March 2, 1887 superintendent of the lumber yard of the Proctor Manufacturing Company.
SECOND ENTRY
Ancestors of the New England Proctors were early arrivals in Boston, and participated in the original settlement of several important outlying districts. Descendants of the immigrants penetrated into remote regions, becoming original settlers in territories which afterward attained the dignity of statehood, and not a few of them went beyond the limits of New England into the great west, where their posterity are still to be found. The Proctors were partriotic during the revolutionary war and that of 1812-15; and in addition to their honorable military services they have acquired distinction in civil life. The family is of English origin, and the name is first met with in the records of Norfolk, where as early as the fourteenth century they were closely allied by intermarriage with the celebrated Beauchamps, which was the family name of the earls of Pembroke. Among the landholders mentioned in these records are Sir William Beauchamp Proctor and his son George, who in turn inherited an estate which had been originally granted by John, Earl of Pembroke, who died in 1378.
Early in the emigartion period, which began about 1629, four of the name of Proctor are known to have come to New England - John, Richard, George and Robert.
There is some evidence to show that they were descendants of William Proctor, of Nether-Bordley, Yorkshire, and his wife Isabel, daughter of John Lilburn, of Shawdon, and it is quite reasonable to infer that William was descended from Sir William Beauchamp Proctor of Norfolk.
(I) Robert Proctor first appears in the records of Massachusetts at Concord, where he was made a freeman in 1643. In 1653 he petitioned with twenty-eight others for a grant of land six miles square, which was granted and the territory was organized the next year as the town of Chelmsford, at which time Robert Proctor was a resident. He died there April 28, 1697, leaving lands to some of his children, and having previously given other lands to six sons.
He married, Dec. 31, 1645, Jane, eldest daughter of Richard Hildreth of Concord and Chelmsford, ancestor of the Hildreths of America, who died at Chelmsford, 1688. The first four or five of Robert Proctor's children were born in Concord, the others in Chelmsford, namely:
Sarah, Gershom, Mary, Peter, Dorothy, Elizabeth, James, Lydia, John, Samuel, Israel and Thomas.
(II) Gershom, eldest son of Robert and Jane (Hildreth) Proctor, was born May 13, 1648, in Concord, and died Nov. 8, 1714, in Chelmsford, leaving an estate valued at 1683 pounds, one shilling. His name appears in the list of men who in 1686 purchased of Major Henchman a strip of land on the west side of Concord river belonging to the Indian plantations.
He married, July 4, 1690, Sarah Whitacre, who may have been a second wife.
Children:
Gershom, Jonathan, Sarah, Nathan, Hannah, Ebenezer, Jane, Israel and Esther.
(III) Israel, youngest son of Gershom and Sarah (Whitacre) Proctor, was born Oct. 4, 1708, in Chelmsford, and died there June 15, 1755. He married, Sept. 18, 1735, Sarah Raymond, of that town.
Children:
Sarah, Abigail, Israel, Hannah, Mary (died young), William, Nathan, Mary and Lucy.
(IV) William, second son of Israel and Sarah (Raymond) Proctor, was born Feb. 20, 1745, in Chelmsford, and died Feb. 19, 1846, in Washington, New Hampshire. He removed to the latter town about 1775, accompanied by his younger brother and sister Hannah, wife of Daniel Danforth. The town had then been settled only seven years, and they participated in the experiences of pioneers in a wilderness. He settled first on Millen pond, but, finding the title to his land to be defective, he moved to another place. He was among the petitioners for the incorporation of the town in 1776, and was a member of the military company which marched from the town in defence of American liberty, under Captain Brockway, in 1777. He was selectman in 1780-81, and in 1786 a member of the committee charged with procuring materials for the meeting house. He was known by the title of captain, probably on account of militia service, and was highly respected.
He married, June 11, 1769, Mary, daughter of Oliver Proctor, whose lineage is as follows: (2) Peter, son of Robert Proctor, born 1652, in Chelmsford, married, Jan. 30, 1689, Mary, daughter of James and Rebecca (Stevenson) Patterson, born Aug. 22, 1760. (3) Peter (2), son of Peter (1) and Mary (Patterson) Proctor, was born Aug. 14, 1694, and married in 1720, Hannah Harwood. He settled in Littleton, Mass., and died in 1772. (4) Oliver, son of Peter (2), and Hannah (Harwood) Proctor, was born March 25, 1721, in Chelmsford, and died Nov. 5, 1793. He married, Oct. 10, 1744, Mary, daughter of Aaron and Abigail (Adams) Parker of Westwood, who died 1789. (5) Mary, oldest daughter of Oliver and Mary (Parker) Proctor, was born July 15, 1749, in Westwood, and died Sept. 22, 1845 in Washington, N.H.
After living together for over seventy-six years, William Proctor and wife were separated only five months in death.
Children:
Mary, Sarah, Israel, Jesse, Raymond, Isaac, Lucy, Martha, Abigail and William.
(V) Israel (2) eldest son of William and Mary (Proctor) Proctor, was born Jan. 30, 1774, in Chelmsford, and died March 13, 1839, in Washington, nearly seven years before his father.
He married, Marc 7, 1798, Lydia Reed of Acton, Mass., born Oct. 28, 1781, died March 30, 1864, daughter of William Reed, of Lexington, and Acton, who was a captain in Thomas' Massachusetts regiment of revolutionary soldiers in 1775, and also captain during the year 1776 in the Twenty-third regiment of the Continental army. Israel Proctor's chldren:
Israel (died young).
Rosanna.
Lydia (died young).
Martha.
Moses D.
Israel.
Isaac.
Lydia.
Elizabeth.
Lucy.
(VI) Israel (3) third son of Israel (2) Proctor and Lydia (Reed ) Proctor, was born March 25, 1809, in East Washington, and spent his last years at the home of his son in Ogdensburg, where he died April 10, 1888, and was buried in East Washington.
He married, June 3, 1835, Mary, daughter of Eeber Barnes of Hillsborough.
Children:
William L.
Lucy (died young).
Emily C.
Alfred G.
Mary E.
Henry Israel.
Lucelia.
Lucy B.
Charles D.
(VII) William Lawrence, eldest son of Israel (3) and Mary (Barnes) Proctor, was born March 26, 1837, in East Washington, and was educated in the local district school and Washington and New London academies, New Hampshire. In Sept. 1857, he went to Burlington, Vermont, to take employment with his uncle, Lawrence Barnes, who was engaged in the lumber business with others. In June, 1859, young Proctor was sent by the firm to conduct a branch establishment just opened, at Ogdensburg, and that place continued thereafter to be his home. Under his wise and enterprising management this became one of the largest lumber concerns in the world, and he remained at its head until failing health compelled his retirement two years before his death. By advice of his physicians he went to Lakewood, New Jersey, in putsuit of health, and died there Nov. 19, 1897, in his sixty-first year. Mr. Proctor early identified himself with the Baptist church of Ogdensburg, was for twenty years superintendent of its Sunday school, and for a longer time, until his death, one of its trustees. He was a member of the Ogdensburg Club, and held many public offices, but none to which a salary was attached. For two years he was village trustee, three years as alderman of the city, seven years mayor, a member of the board of education, and one of the commissioners to build the town hall. For fifteen years he was president of the superintendents of the poor, and was a trustee of the City Hospital and president of the Cemetery Association. Except for a short eime he was president of the board of managers of the St. Lawrence State Hospital for the Insane, from its organization until his death. He was for fifteen years a member of the state committee of the Republican party, was a member of its national conventions in 1884 and 1896, and presidential elector in 1888, when he cast his vote for Benjamin Harrison. Mr. Proctor was identified with many of the leading business interests of Ogdensburg, other than the lumber business. He was one of the organizers of the George Hall Coal Company and the Marine Railway Company; was a director of the First National Bank and president of the Republican and Journal Company.
At his death his home city put on mourning and paid high tribute to his worth. At his funeral the flags of the city were place at half-mast, and business houses were closed. Thousands were in attendance, and loving tributes were offred by pastors and friends. Numerous letters and telegrams from absent ones testified to public esteem and grief at his death. Various bodies adopted resolutions of respect, and upon recommendation of the board of public works the city council and trustees of the State Hospital gave the name of Proctor Avenus to the magnificent boulevard running from the east end of Ford street through the hospital grounds, which had been constructed under his supervision and mainly through his influence.
He married, Feb. 12, 1861, Dolly Pauline, daughter of Rev. Joel Manning and Nancy (Cronkite) Howard, born Dec. 16, 1842.
Children:
Lawrence Manning.
Mary Isabel.
Nancy Grace.
Mabel Jane.
The last named, born July 6, 1872, married, July 17, 1895, Smith Lee Dawley, of Ogdensburg (see Dawley IV).