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| Photo of George C W Colby gift of Patti Clasen |
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| Isaac Newton Colby gift of Patti Clasen |
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| Hannah Taylor Colby gift of Patti Clasen |
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| Capt. Isaac N. Colby with Mary Amelia Haskell Colby (dressed in white) |
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| H. G. Johnson |
William J. Colby’s sister, Elizabeth Cushing Colby born aboard ship in the China Sea in 1872, married Craven Langstroth Betts, a noted poet of some renown in 1906. I found Elizabeth’s grandmother was Fanny Matilda Betts who had married Caleb Haskell and was the daughter of Dr. Azor Betts of revolutionary war notoriety, a founding father of St. John, New Brunswick, and the grandfather to Craven. It seems that Craven and Elizabeth had the same great grandparents in Dr. Azor Betts and Glorianna Purdy Betts. Puzzle was solved but more thought was produced upon this relationship.
Capt. Isaac N. Colby with his wife Mary Amelia Haskell Colby dressed in white, and guests.
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| Mary Amelia Haskell Colby |
Craven Langstroth Betts 1853-1941, husband to Elizabeth Cushing Colby m.1906
Harriet Taylor Colby, daughter of George Curwin Ward Colby and Harriet Kitching. Harriet T. Colby was one of seven children from the marriage of George and Harriet. Harriet and George’s marriage in 1832 produced Mary Elizabeth Colby in 1833, death unknown but living with her parents in Newburyport with her three children from a marriage to Henry P. Griffith on New Year’s Day in 1857; George William Colby born 1836 and died in the China Sea in 1863. Interesting that George’s brother Isaac Newton Colby born in 1838 had a daughter, Elizabeth Cushing Colby, born in 1872 on the China Sea (food for thought on this coincidence);
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| Thomas Foulds Ellsworth |
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| Early 1900's on Orange Grove Street, Pasadena, CA Thomas Foulds Ellsworth ad his wife Harriet Taylor Colby |
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| Benjamin Noyes Ellsworth Ipswich lighthouse keeper father of Thomas F Ellsworth |
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| William Merrill Ellsworth (1845-1897) son of Benjamin Noyes Ellsworth and Laura Ann Titus. Husband of Jennie A Lord. |
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| Susan Treadwell Ellsworth (below photo |
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| Alfred Hartwell Ellsworth (1868-1932) son of Thomas Ellsworth and Harriet Taylor Colby |
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| Harriet Taylor Colby Ellsworth and her son Elmer Foulds Ellsworth (1862-1915) |
George C. W. Colby had been married before to a Dorothy B. Philbrick in 1825. Dorothy and George had three children, two of which were called Hannah, after George’s mother Hannah Taylor, and another daughter by the name of Caroline. They did not survive but for a year or two and in fact, Caroline only a few months in 1831. Dorothy died a few months after Caroline probably due to childbirth complications but the facts remain hidden.
And so, I sit here in my warm home along the mid-coast of Maine on this cold and blustery day on November 18 in 2014 and don’t daydream about the past so much but ponder some questions that come to mind. How does a man like George Curwin Ward Colby manage the mental stress and discomfort of loosing a wife and three young children as well as other family members not surviving a full life? Faith perhaps. What are the implications to such close blood relations within the Bett’s family? Nothing perhaps, just interesting fodder. Between 1864 and 1872 how do you connect the birth of a daughter in the China Sea to the death of a brother eight years earlier in such a remote part of the world? What’s the significance? Fate perhaps as I cannot see how these events could be planned in those days. Life and death is usually not planned even in these modern times but modern technology could make the coincidence of the place on earth for these events to happen more possible. Lastly, for now, the habit, insistence, and/or the common practice of naming an offspring after family members interests me and although sometimes confusing it often gives further insight into relationships. Obviously, George’s naming three daughters after his mother, Hannah (Taylor) Colby demonstrated a strong, I believe positive, feeling for her. Below is George's daughter Hannah Taylor Colby
Thomas Foulds Ellsworth and Harriet Taylor Children:
Elmer Foulds Ellsworth Born October 10th 1862 Massachusetts, Died November 28th 1915 in Pasadena, California.
Herbert Lee. Born in Newburyport , Mass. October 19th 1866, Died Pasadena March 31st 1963 married Mary Elizabeth Geyer
Alfred Hartwell. Born February 2nd 1868 Ipswich, Mass. Died December 27th 1932 in Pasadena, California.
Edward Kinsley., b May 20, 1871
Susie Taylor, b. June 15, 1874. Death April 1881 in (Scarlet Fever)
Info from "History of Sanbornton, New Hampshire, Volume 2" By Moses Thurston Runnels. See Photos below
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| Young William Johnson Colby |
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| William Johnson Colby in the Colby Cottage on David’s Island. Courtesy of Mark Colby |
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| Craven Langstroth Betts 1853-1941, husband to Elizabeth Cushing Colby m.1906 |
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sketch of WJC done in 1892 aboard Capt. Isaac N. Colby's bark H. G. Johnson by William's sister and Capt. Colby's daughter Elizabeth Cushing Colby Betts   Laura Titus was formerly married to Timothy Jewett Ellsworth of Salem, Massachusetts. More family photos end of post Benjamin N Ellsworth son of William Ellsworth and Esther Noyes. Pictures of Benjamin Noyes Ellsworth and Laura Ann Titus below from Short family and Ipswich History   |
Thomas Foulds Ellsworth was wounded in the ankle at Gettysburg July 3, 1863, but not considered disabled so he reenlisted. He was discharged January 19, 1864 on receiving commission of of second lieutenant in the 55th Massachusetts October 4, 1863. He became first lieutenant June 20, 1864 for his bravery and promoted to Captain December 1, 1864. He was awarded one of our country’s top honors for saving the life of his commanding officer in the battle of Honey Hill in 1864. Under heavy fire, and at great risk to his own life, he carried his wounded commanding officer from the field of battle. Ellsworth had joined the Union Army’s Second Massachusetts Volunteers as a private while still in his early twenties and went on to see action in numerous battles including Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He was promoted to an officer due to his reputation for bravery under fire. Ellsworth faced a major challenge when he was selected to serve as an officer of a company in one of the first regiments made up of “colored soldiers” in the Union Army, the Massachusetts 55. This regiment struggled to get the respect and support that they deserved, but went on to gain distinction for their valiant actions in battle in South Carolina. After the war, Ellsworth worked for many years as an officer of the Boston Custom House. In the 1890s, he moved to burgeoning city of Pasadena where he and his son ran a successful contracting business. He also organized Post 100 of the Grand Army of the Republic Friday July 16, 1869 in Ipswich.
Medal of Honor Valor Awards Earned The Medal of Honor During the Civil War For heroism November 30, 1864 at Honey Hill, South Carolina. Under a Heavy Fire Pasadena Museum of History Thomas F Ellsworth on exhibit
Augstine Heard Peatfield SR and Josephine Poulison. Husband of Lucy Mary Ellsworth.
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