75 



ment, writing sonnets when the mood seized him, but taking no part 

 in public life. 



The family is traced back to Bridget Very,^ who came from England 

 with her two sons aud a daughter, and who was a member of the 

 First Church in Salem in 1648. She and her son Samuel ^ lived on the 

 north side of Cedar Pond, near the Danvers almshouse, where they 

 owned a large tract of land, and where her descendants resided for a 

 century or more. Many of them removed to Salem and became ship- 

 masters. 



In the first volume of the Historical Collections of the Institute, 

 is an interesting account of a genealogical ramble by the subject of 

 this notice. lie says : " that it [the land] bore the name of the Very 

 lot. I was shown by an aged man, the cellar where the first house 

 stood. No house had been there since his recollection, but the stones 

 were still there overrun with blackberry vines. There too was the 

 well, covered now by a stone. A few old moss-covered apple trees 

 in the midst of a new growth of oaks and pines showed where, two 

 centuries ago, the strong hands and brave hearts of the early settlers 

 had cleared the land and made them a home." 



Samuel Very,^ born in England about 1619, married Alice, dau. of 

 John Woodis, Woodhouse or Woodice, had : 



Benjamin Very,^ married Jemima, dau. of Joseph Newhall, of 

 Lynn ; had : 



Isaac Very,'^ born July 30, 1715; married Elizabeth Giles in 1736; 

 a corporal under Col. Ichabod Plaisted in 1756; died at Sandy Hook 

 in the army, 1778; had sons Isaac and Samuel. 



Samuel Very,^ born in Salem, Dec. 10, 1755; married in 1776, Han- 

 nah Putney. She died Feb. 4, 1799. He was a master and owner of 

 a vessel, but kept a store many years in Salem at the corner of Essex 

 and Boston streets ; died in 1824, aged 69 ; had : Lydia, born June 14> 

 1792 ; married her cousin Jones Very, aud was the mother of the 

 subject of this notice. 



Isaac Very,^ born in Salem 1745 ; married for his 3d wife, Rachel 

 Jones, of Charlton. He resided some years in Charlton and Spencer, 

 the latter part of his life in Salem; was master of a vessel and au 

 officer of the Customs, Salem. He died in 1831, aged 86; had : 



Jones Very,^ born in Spencer, Mass., Nov. 17, 1790, and followed 

 the seas from early life. As a shipmaster he sailed in the employ of 

 the Hon. William Gray from 1817 to 1821 in the Brig Concord; from 

 1821 to September, 1824 in the barque Aurelia. He married Feb. 13, 

 1813, his cousin Lydia Very, above mentioned. He resided at the 

 corner of Essex and Boston streets, in Salem. He died Dec. 22, 1824. 



[Ed. 



