Ruben Lovell & Mary Hall

Quaker Meeting House

Reuben E. Lovell, my 5th great grandfather and father of Mary Ann Lovell, was born in 1803 in Sandwich Massachusetts. 

Sandwich is the oldest town on Cape Cod established in 1637.  It was part of the Plymouth Colony.  Pictured is the Quaker Meeting House, built in 1658.

He married Mary Hall Sept 24th 1729 in Sandwich.  Mary was born Sept 5th, 1813 in Dorchester, Mass.

Ruben engaged in farming in Sandwich for the entirety of both their lives.   They appear on the 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses.

Their children were Emma, Mary Ann, Lydia, Reuben P., Sarah, Eunice, Dorothy, and Henry.

Reuben died March 25th 1879 of "Paralysis" (probably had a stroke) at 76 years of age.

Mary died of Paralysis as well on Aug 23rd 1877.

Reuben E. Lovell and William Henry Lovell were brothers, both the sons of William Lovell and Dorotha Eldredge.  On the 1830 census are listed Dorothea Lovell (in her 70's), William Lovell (in his 40's) and Reuben Lovell (in his 30's).  in 1840 Dorothea has passed away and is no longer listed, Gorham (William's son appears) and Reuben is still listed.  1830 and 1840 only list head of household and the approximate ages of the residents.  In 1850 and beyond, all family members are listed William's son Gorham now appears, William is gone and Reuben is still there.  Additionally the death record for Reuben lists his birth year as 1803 and his parents as William and Dorothia.  This close proximity of these people, the death records, along with the correct ages convince me that they are all related as described.

William Lovell & Mercy Robinson

Sandwich Glass factory

William Henry Lovell, father of Gorham Lovell, and my 4th great grandfather was born about 1790 in Sandwich, Mass.   Sandwich is the oldest town on Cape Cod, and one of the oldest towns in America. Until 1825 Sandwich was a small close-knit community of farmers and fishermen. At that time it underwent it's most dramatic change when Boston businessman Deming Jarves built a glass factory by the site of the current Boardwalk. The factory grew rapidly into one of the largest producers of glassware in the country. Over 500 workers produced over five million pieces of glass annually by the 1850s. Many of the skilled workers were imported, some from Ireland, creating the Cape’s first Catholic population and establishing its first Catholic Church.

William married Mercy Robinson from nearby Harwich on March 22, 1823.  Mercy was born about 1800.  They had at least three children, Gorham who moved to Taunton, Henry who continued to reside in Sandwich, and Eunice who stayed in Sandwich until at least 1850.  They may also have had an eldest daughter named Mary.

William appears on the US census of 1790-1840 but not afterwards, and although I have not definitively found his date of death, it is likely between 1840 and 1850.  Mercy likewise does not appear after 1840, although it is possible she remarried.

Gorham Lovell & Mehitable Cahoon

Gorham Lovell, my 3rd Great Grandfather, and father of Herbert H. Lovell was born in Sandwich, Mass. in January of 1825.  Sandwich is the oldest town on Cape Cod, settled in 1637 with permission from the Plymouth Colony.  The above etching depicts Sandwich in 1836.  Gorham and brother Harry were sailors in 1850 but eventually settled down to farming.  Gorham was married twice; first to a woman with the last name Chase (her first name may have been Mary).  They had two children, Gorham F. and William.  His second wife was Mehitable Cahoon who was 20 years younger than Gorham.   She was born in 1836 in Massachusetts and was living in Sandwich in 1850.

Gorham and Mehitable had 8 children, Ensign, Ida, Franklin, Eveline, Herbert, Warren, Benjamin, and Irving.  Sometime between 1870 and 1880 the family moved to Taunton, Mass. and had a residence on East Water Street.

Benjamin died of diphtheria at the age of 4 but the other children lived into the 1900's and raised families in Mass.

Gorham died May 25, 1896 in Taunton.  I have not found Mehitable after 1890.