Elisha Southwick was a tanner and shoe manufacturer born in Quaker City in the town of

Uxbridge, Massachusetts Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts first colonized in 1662 and incorporated in 1727. It was originally part of the town of Mendon, MA, Mendon, and named for the Marquess of Anglesey, Earl of Uxbridge. The town is located south ...

on April 4, 1809 to Phebe and Royal Southwick. He married Delia Purinton on January 13, 1835, and they had five children: Turner, Selvin, Annie, Marianna, and Freeman. Elisha Southwick died in Sturbridge, Massachusetts on February 6, 1875.

Family

Elisha Southwick was a direct descendant of Lawrence Southwick and Cassandra Southwick who, because of their Quaker beliefs, were banished from

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

by the

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

in 1659. Elisha Southwick's father, Royal, was a tanner and a preacher of the Society of Friends or Quakers. His brother Royal Southwick was a successful businessman in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, and a prominent member of the Whig Party. His brother Jonathan F. ran a tanning and currying business in

Ironstone, Massachusetts Ironstone is an historic village, (today known mainly as South Uxbridge), in the township of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, United States. It derived its name from plentiful bog iron found here which helped Uxbridge to become a center for three iron f ...

(South Uxbridge). His brother James was a wool puller. Elisha's other siblings were Farnum, Lydia, Phebe, and Urana.

Elisha Southwick's home

The Elisha Southwick House is located in Chocolog Village (also known as

or South Uxbridge) at 255 Chocolog Road. This wooden clapboard house was built between 1820 and 1830 and was occupied by Elisha Southwick by 1855. Elisha and his brother Jonathan had rebuilt the Ironstone Mill after it burnt to the ground the first time. They produced the cloth to produce Kentucky jeans. During this time, Elisha was also producing a wagon each month and handling some smaller side jobs like carts, too. The brothers also ran a tannery and Jonathan operated a brick yard, too, off River Road in the Ironstone Village. By the 1870s, David L. Southwick was living in the home . He was a farmer and a blacksmith. He produced Conestoga Wagon wheels, which the pioneers used to travel westward in during the late 1800s. The family burial ground, which might be the oldest in Uxbridge, lies between this home and George Southwick's home. The Elisha Southwick House is on the US

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The town of Uxbridge has 60 buildings which are on the national register of historic places. The town has more than 250 buildings which are listed on the Massachusetts state registry of historic places.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southwick, Elisha 1809 births 1875 deaths People from Uxbridge, Massachusetts