Those who built Chelsea – S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z

Benjamin Shurtleff

 Medora J. Simpson

Medora Jennett Simpson was the first librarian of the Public Library
of the City of Chelsea. She began her position in 1869 prior to the
library being opened to the public on January 1, 1870 in Green’s
Block at the corner of Broadway and Second Street. In 1874 the
Library was moved to the Campbell’s building and remained here until
1885. On December 22, 1885 a new library was dedicated on Broadway
between Marlboro and Mathews Streets. The library was renamed the
Fitz Public Library in honor of the donor Mayor Eustace C. Fitz.
Medora continued as librarian being responsible for over 77,000
volumes of books, periodicals and manuscripts. She retired in 1921.

Henry Slade

David Slade

Levi Slade

Henry Slade was the son of Joseph and Hannah Slade and was born in
1791. In 1827 he bought a share in the grist mill on the marsh which
is present day Revere Beach Parkway. Under his management, the mill
began to grind snuff as well as corn. He purchased the William’s
Farm, one of the four farms that was then the town of Chelsea. Here
he erected the first church, the first bank the first city hall. In
1837, two of Henry’s sons, David and Charles, conceived the idea of
grinding spice at the mill. The spice was quickly sold and a new
business of grinding spice began. After a short time Charles withdrew
from the business and Levi Slade took his place. The business was
renamed the D & L Slade Company. While many changes have
occurred, the spice mill still stands in the same spot on the edge of
the marshes under the shadow of Powder Horn Hill. (Link
to story of SLADES MILL)

John Soley

John Soley was a building mover and a longtime resident of Chelsea.
He lived on Maple Street with his equipment yards located nearby. He
was one of the largest building movers in the state at the time. His
skill as a building mover and contractor made his services and his
large corp. of men in steady demand. Besides moving large buildings
safely, he made contracts to move boilers and other heavy machinery.
His business was an extensive one with offices in Boston at 17 Otis
Street and 166 Devonshire Street, 102 Central Avenue in Lynn and 37
Webster Street in Hyde Park. He served as alderman in Chelsea and was
highly popular in the community.

Samuel Sprague

Born: September 27, 1712

Died: April 15, 1783

Captain Samuel Sprague was the son of Phineas and Elizabeth Sprague
of Malden. He was born in Malden on September 27, 1712. On January
11,1737 he married Martha Hills. She died on September 13, 1750. He
later married Rachel Floyd, the daughter of John Floyd of Chelsea, on
October 9, 1752. She died on June 23, 1786 at age 75. His children
were Martha, born October 23, 1737, Elizabeth, born January 31, 1739,
Mary, birth date unknown, Sarah, born in 1743, Samuel, born in 1745
and died on September 4, 1768 at age 23, Lydia, born May 23, 1748,
Lois, born July 13, 1750 and by his second wife, Rachel Floyd, he had
Rachel, born September 19, 1756. He was town moderator in March 14, 1774.
Captain Samuel Sprague was influential in the town and especially
prominent in the American Revolution. He was one of the first to take
up arms for his country and the defense of Boston and surrounding
areas. Samuel was captain of the Chelsea Company, one of three
companies assigned to Colonel Gerish’s regiment, protecting Chelsea.
Captain Sprague’s company performed duty from April 19, 1775 to the
evacuation of Boston on March 17, 1776. There is some evidence that
Captain Sprague and his Chelsea Company were at the battle of Bunker
Hill on June 17th with Gerrish’s regiment. Sprague was incapacitated
either before or during the battle and his company was led on the
hill by his lieutenant Joseph Cheever. The company was at Valley
Forge and in service during the campaigns around New York and New
Jersey. At this time Captain Sprague was 63 years old and hardly
capable of rapid marching or severe field service. The returns of the
company engagements are signed by Lietenant Cheever and not Captain
Sprague which leads to the belief that Lieutenant Cheever was in
actual command of Sprague’s company. On November 21, 1775 Sergeant
Nathaniel Hills wrote to Lieutenant Colonel Baldwin complaining of
Captain Sprague’s constant neglect of duty. This complaint was
ignored since Captain Sprague’s patriotism, courage and fidelity were
too conspicuous to be called into question by his subordinate.
At the time of his death on April 15, 1783 at age 70, he was a
tennant of the Cary Farm and also owned two farms in Rumney Marsh, (Revere).

Edward Stickney

Born: December 28, 1830

Died: February 1922

Joseph W. Thayer

Joseph Warren Thayer was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 31,
1844. He was educated in the Boston and Cambridge public schools.
When the Civil War broke out he enlisted on April 19, 1861 in Company
H of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry which was the first company
to leave Chelsea. He was removed from the enlistment rolls when his
father intervened stating that he was only seventeen years old. A few
weeks later, young Thayer ran away from home and was sworn in as a
member of the company. His father again tried to stop him, but was
persuaded not to after learning that his son had sworn he was
eighteen years of age. He was assigned to the 12th Massachusetts
Volunteers, known as the Webster Regiment, and was wounded at the
Battle of Fredericksburg. On December 13, 1862, he was confined to
the hospital for four months. On July 1, 1863, he was again wounded
at Gettysburg, where he was taken prisoner

and remained captive for four days. He remained in the hospital for
twelve months and was discharged on June 27, 1864. He returned to
Chelsea on his twentieth birthday and became a member of the Chelsea
Police Department, but was forced to quit on account of his leg which
was seriously injured in the war. He immediately entered the service
of the United States, first as night inspector of customs, later as
captain of night inspectors and then day inspector of customs for the
Port of Boston. He served many positions in the Theodore Winthrop
Post 35 of Chelsea. Chairman of the Soldiers lots of Chelsea. He was
a member of many fraternaties, lodges and social organizations in the
city. He was responsible for starting the Charitable Society of the
Chelsea Fire Department. He was also the Commander of the
Massachusetts G. A. R.

Samuel Watts

Born: 1698

Died: March 5, 1770

Samuel Watts was the owner of one third of the city of Chelsea. He
was the owner of the ferry, inn-holder, merchant, ruling elder of the
church, justice of the peace and was the most conspicuous citizen of
Chelsea in his day. He was born in 1698 in London, England. He was
the second son of Edward and Rebecca Watts, who came to Winnisimmet
from England in 1710. Edward died on June 5, 1714 at age 47 and
Rebecca died on March 25, 1715 at age 47. Samuel married Elizabeth
Shute on March 8, 1715. She was the daughter of Richard and Lydia
Shute of Malden and was born on February 20, 1698/99 and died on
March 16, 1731 at age 32. They had six children. He married his
second wife, Hannah Foye Hough, widow of Ebenezer Hough of Boston, on
November 18, 1731. Hannah had five children by her first husband and
six more children with Samuel. His third marraige was to Sarah Oxnard
of Boston on March 10, 1756.
She died on September 3, 1773. He was chosen fence-viewer in 1718 and
1722. In 1723 he was chosen to assist the selectmen as surveyor of
the highways of the district and was sent to neighboring church
councils as a representative of the church. In 1733 he joined the
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company and became a captain in the
Chelsea Militia. In 1734, at age thirty-six, he became justice of the
peace. In March of 1734/35 he was one of the “Principal
Subscribers” to the petition for the separation from Boston and
the incorporation of the Rumney Marsh district. He represented
Chelsea in the General Court from 1739 to 1742. In 1741 he was
elected speaker of the house, but was denied by Governor Belcher.
From 1742 to 1763 he was Councillor and then Judge of the Court of
Common Pleas from April 6, 1748 to his death in 1770. In 1746 he was
commissioned muster-master of the force raised for an expedition
against Canada. Samuel Watts died on March 5, 1770 at age 72.

Dr. William G. Wheeler

William G. Wheeler was born on August 3, 1821 at Columbus, New York.
He was educated at Foster’s Private School and Senton Academy in
Little Falls, New York. He began his study of medicine at the office
of his uncle Dr. James Wheeler. In 1840 he attended Geneva Medical
College and graduated in 1845. He began practicing medicine in Little
Falls, New York where he remained for three years before moving to
Chelsea. He served as both town and city physician and as a member of
the school committee. During the Civil War he was one of the
examining physicians associated with Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. He
was a member of the Episcopal Church, The American Medical
Association, Massachusetts Medical Society, Boston Society for
Medical Improvement, and was president of the Boston Gynecological
Society from 1875 to 1876. From 1888 until his death, he was an
honorary member of the Lynn Hospital and from 1890 was

consulting physician at the Soldier’s Home. He was married three
times, first to Mary C. Williams of Utica, New York in 1850, she died
in 1860. Second to Jennie C. Jones of Rochester, New York in 1862,
she died in December of 1885. He married his third wife Mary A.
Crowell of Chelsea on May 10, 1887.

John H. Wilkinson

John H. Wilkinson was born in North Berwick, Maine in December of
1819. The town at the time was a part of Massachusetts. At the age of
ten he left home to strike out on his own. He was first employed on
the farm of a Mr. Brown where he worked for seven years. He later
moved to Dover, New Hampshire and worked as an apprentice in the
carpenter’s trade where he was paid thirty dollars a year. In 1843 he
moved to Boston to better himself an immediately found work. Two
years later he began his own business. He moved to Chelsea in 1845.
At the time that Fort Hill in Boston was being leveled, the city
began selling many of the estates. Mr. Wilkinson bought some of them.
In 1868 he purchased the Sears building one of the most prominent
buildings in Boston at the time. He then moved this building from the
corner of Washington and Court Streets in Boston to Chelsea at the
corner of Broadway and Fourth Street.

Mr. Wilkinson became one of Chelsea’s largest property holders and
resident tax payer. He did more to build up the city than any other
man in its history. He served in both branches of the city government
and was renowned for his strict, impartial and conservative judgement.

William J.
Williams

William J. Williams was a native of Toronto, Canada and was born on
September 23, 1863. His parents came to Chelsea when he was a child.
Later the family moved to Boston where Mr. Williams graduated from
the Philips Grammar School. He entered Philips-Exeter Academy and
later the Harvard Law School, graduating in 1889. At an early age he
became interested in military affairs joining Company L, 6th
Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia and gradually worked his
way up to Captain. During the Spanish War he went south with his
company where he was taken ill with Typhoid Fever and for a time his
life was despaired of. He recovered, however, and resumed his law
practice. In 1900 he was elected to the Board of Alderman serving two
years from Ward 4 and several years as Alderman-at-Large. He was a
close student of municipal affairs and was well versed in the
workings of municipal government.

 Alert, able and efficient, he made a record for himself and was
held in high regard by the citizens in general. He resided at 44
Carmel Street with his family. He continued in the active practice of
law up to the time he became ill. He died on October 11, 1924. He had
two sons, James Williams of Chicago and Robert Williams of Chelsea
and a daughter Mrs. Oliver Lewis of Chelsea, also a brother Richard
Williams who was a member of the Chelsea Fire Department, and a
sister Miss Edith M. L. Williams of Chelsea