Silas Lamson

• Reference: Full text https://archive.org/details/descendantsofwil00lams/page/153 "Descendants of William Lamson of Ipswich, Mass 1634-1917" by Dr. William Judson Lamson, M.D. p 153-154

377 Silas /6 Lamson (Nathaniel /5, Thomas /4, Thomas /3, John /2, William /1), was born at Boylston, Mass., in 1778, and died at Shelburne, Mass., July 29, 1855. He married Susan Goodnow, daughter of Edward and Lois (Rice) Goodnow of Princeton, Mass., July 30, 1804, at Princeton, Mass. ; she was born at Princeton, June 13, 1784, and died at Shelburne, Mass., June 15, 1873.

Silas Lamson lived at various times in Sterling, Cummington and Shelburne Falls, Mass. He was the inventor of the crooked scythe snath, and manufactured them at Sterling and Cummington. He is described as a religiousman,somewhat eccentric, with ideas resembling those of Tolstoi. He was also a man of great gentleness and strong affection.

Children of Silas /6 and Susan (Goodnow) Lamson, born Sterling, Mass. :

+754 Nathaniel /7, b. July 14, 1805; d. Shelburne Falls, Mass., Dec. 14, 1866; m. (i) Sarah Howe, 1825; m. (2) Melinda Prouty.

755 Thomas Aldrich /7, b. Oct. 14, 1806; d. y.

756 Sukey /7 , b. Jan. 22, 1808; d. y.

+757 Silas /7, b. Aug. 24, 1809; d. Burlington, Iowa, Sept. 28, 1838; m. Roxanna Hyde.

+758 Jeremiah /7, b. Jan. 9, 1812; d. Oregon, 1879; m. Helen Maria Hawks, March 14, 1837. Resided Oregon.

+759 Ebenezer Goodnow /7, b. Dec. 7, 1814; d. Cottage City,
Mass., Jan. 2, 1891 ; m. Polly Eger, Sept. 15, 1836. Resided Shelburne Falls, Mass.

760 Jonas, b. April 20, 1819; d. y.

+761 Ward Nichols /7, b. Boston, Sept. 7 ,1820; d. April 7, 1904; m. (i) Elizabeth Dills, 1844; m. (2) Elizabeth Smith, 1847; m. (3) Sarah Potter, 1851 ; m. (4) Maria Danielson.

762 Dorinda /7, b. Sept. 26, 1822; m. (i) Rev. Cyrus Smith, Oct. 7, 1841, at Nashville, Tenn. ; he d. Shelburne Falls, Mass., Sept. 16, 1844. Their children were: (i) Cyrus Lamson, b. March 18, 1843; d. Aug. 16, 1866. (2) Susan Maria, b. Nov. 10, 1844; d. Aug. 23, 1846. She m. (2) Theodore Smith; he was b. Sept., 1848. They resided in the state of Washington. Their children were: (i) Sarah M., b. Sept. 4, 1849; d. Sept. 4, 1851. (2) Ward T., b. July 7. 1852; m. Helen L. Craig, Nov. 25, 1871. (3) Ada L., b. June 26, 1854; d. Dec. 17, 1873. (4) Roswell J., b. Oct. 3, 1858.

763 David Alonzo /7, b. Feb. 23, 1825; m. Dinah Wallace, Sept. 22, 1863 ; he was b. in England. They resided at Shelburne Falls, Mass. He studied medicine and surgery, but never practiced.

Silas Lamson and Susan Goodnow had 11 children. Ward Lamson, the patriarch of Fairfield Iowa was the 8th child. After Silas lost 4 children to diptheria he became passionate to communicate his "firmness of purpose to unveil and ridicule all that he deemed ridiculous in law, custom and religion", preaching his beliefs wherever he could. Had he lived fifty years earlier his orthodox forefathers would have hung or burned him at the stake. Silas did not approve of government oversight and as such he was routinely placed in jail for failing to pay his tithes, and finally, due to his constant preaching, was condemned to the Worchester and Brattleboro asylums "to be treated for insanity and uncustomary methods of dispensing his sentiments" for a period of six years.

The asylum superintendants, who beieved that Silas was a fanatic liberal, frequently would let Silas out, and when questioned Silas would reply "The angels let him out".

Finally, when the supporters of church and state orthodoxy made their last effort to return him to the asylum, liberal thinking men headed by Ralph Waldo Emerson, made up a purse for his defense. The resulting lawsuit ended in a court decision that proclaimed his incarceration as a lunatic was illegal.

• Reference: http://clarkancestors.blogspot.com/2010/03/silas-lamson-1778-1855-l...

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• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Apr 7 2019, 22:04:28 UTC

Papers,||Lamson family.; Silas Lamson; Ebenezer Goodnow Lamson; Ward Lamson; Jeremiah Lamson; Allan G Lamson|1850-1950|English Archival Material 290 items.||Correspondence, business papers, biographies, newspaper clippings, and other papers, of Silas Lamson (1778-1855), of Sterling and Shelburne Falls, Mass., his sons, Jeremiah (1812-1879), Ebenezer Goodnow (1814-1891), and Ward (1820-1904) Lansom, grandson, Allan G. Lamson (1859-1932), and other family members. Includes information concerning Silas's invention and manufacture of the crooked handle of the scythe, known as a "sneath"; Lamson Goodnow Manufacturing Co....| Get This Item|# Availability: Check the catalogs in your library. Libraries worldwide that own item: 1| Find Related|More Like This: Search for versions with same title and author | Advanced options ...|Find Items About: Lamson family. (31); Lamson, Ward, (max: 1)|Title: Papers, 1850-1950.|Author(s): Lamson family. ; Lamson, Silas,; 1778-1855. ; Lamson, Ebenezer Goodnow,; 1814-1891. ; Lamson, Ward,; 1820-1904. ; Lamson, Jeremiah,; 1812-1879. ; Lamson, Allan G.,; 1859-1932.|Year: 1850-1950|Description: 290 items.|Language: English|Standard No: LCCN: 91-799136|Abstract: Correspondence, business papers, biographies, newspaper clippings, and other papers, of Silas Lamson (1778-1855), of Sterling and Shelburne Falls, Mass., his sons, Jeremiah (1812-1879), Ebenezer Goodnow (1814-1891), and Ward (1820-1904) Lansom, grandson, Allan G. Lamson (1859-1932), and other family members. Includes information concerning Silas's invention and manufacture of the crooked handle of the scythe, known as a "sneath"; Lamson Goodnow Manufacturing Co., Ebenezer's cutlery and metal products business in Shelburne Falls; Ward's business and civic activities in Burlington and Fairfield, Iowa; and Allan G.'s (son of Ebenezer) pursuits as engineer and inventor.| SUBJECT(S)|Descriptor: Scythes

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Sep 7 2020, 21:24:08 UTC