In a history of the early church of Sudbury, Massachusetts, appears the following record: "March 1, 1640, Robert Carill buried his servant Edward Vines." Of the first settlers of Sudbury many remained only a short time. Jane Cumming, of Salem, Massachusetts, in her will dated July 10, 1644, names among her creditors a "Mr. Carol." It is to be presumed that at this early date there was not more than one family of this name in Massachusetts, and that these two Carrols were the same, and that he was the father of Anthony and Nathaniel Caroll, of Topsfield and Boxford, and that he came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1638-40, settled first at Sudbury, then went to Salem, where the family remained for the next hundred years. It is believed that the three Nathaniels (I, II, III) lived successively on the same farm, lying along the Ipswich river, located about eight miles from the centre of the present village of Salem. The deeds for the Carroll farms back to 1704 indicate that the Carrolls and Putnams were adjoining neighbors, and it was very natural that when General Israel Putnam moved to Connecticut, the Carrolls should follow and settle in the same town of Killingly, but in the part that has since become Thompson, Connecticut. Francis, Nathaniel and Amos, three brothers, settled in Connecticut about 1749. Francis was a cordwainer, and had a family. Nathaniel was a tailor, and unmarried. It is with the third brother, Amos, that this record deals. The Carrolls are undoubtedly of Irish descent. The New England Carrolls were members of the Danvers church, which taken in connection with the strictly Bible names would indicate that they were of the rigid Puritan stock, whatever their foreign connections were.
(I) Robert Carroll was of Sudbury, Massachusetts, 1640, and of Salem, 1644. He had sons: Anthony, born 1635, married Katherine ————; lived at Topsfield, Massachusetts, Nathaniel, see forward.
(II) Nathaniel, son of Robert Carroll, was born 1638. He married, 1659, Mary, daughter of Richard and Mary Haines, of Beverly, Massachusetts, and lived at Boxford, Massachusetts. Children:
- Mary, born 1661, died 1682; married, 1678, Samuel Fraye, and lived at Salem, Massachusetts.
- Nathaniel (2), see forward.
- Samuel, born 1666, died 1701; "a soldier of Sir Edmund Andros' army in 1688."
- Benjamin, born 1670; married Mary ————; "soldier from Beverly, Massachusetts."
- Joseph, born 1674; married (first) 1695, Priscilla Preble; married (second) 1720, Rebecca Chapman.
- Hannah, born 1677; married, 1699, Nicholas Orchow, of Salem, Massachusetts.
- Edward, born 1680; married, 1700, Elizabeth Booth, and lived in Salem.
(III) Nathaniel (2), son of Nathaniel (1) and Mary (Haines) Carroll, was born 1663, died 1724. He married, 1683, Priscilla Downing, and lived at Boxford and Salem, Massachusetts. Children:
- Mary, born 1687, died 1710; married John Bullock, of Salem.
- Hannah, born 1690, lived at Middleton, Massachusetts.
- Nathaniel (3), see forward.
- Samuel, born 1693; married (first) 1719, Rebecca Elliot, married (second) Aby Greencastle, of Sutton.
- Elizabeth, born 1695; married, 1715, Samuel Woodwell.
- Joanna, born 1697.
- John, born 1701; married, 1723, Lydia Bayley.
- Daniel, born 1703; married, 1727, Mary French, and resided in Sutton, Massachusetts.
(IV) Nathaniel (3), son of Nathaniel (2) and Priscilla (Downing) Carroll, was born 1691. He was a leather dresser and tanner. He married Hannah ———— in 1715, and resided at Middleton, Massachusetts. He also owned and cultivated a farm, as had his father and grandfather before him, probably the same, as these towns were successively, Salem, then Boxford was cut off, and afterward Middleton. The same farm could have been located in all three. Children:
- Francis, born 1717; married, 1742, Sarah Lambert.
- Nathaniel (4), born 1718; died unmarried at Thompson, Connecticut.
- Hannah, born 1721.
- Abigail; born 1725.
- Amos (see forward).
- Mary, born 1731, married William Martin, of Salem.
(V) Lieutenant Amos, son of Nathaniel (3) and Hannah Carroll, was born in 1728, died 1792. He settled in Connecticut, at the town of Killingly, in the part now known as Thompson. He was a farmer, and after cultivating for short periods two other farms, settled permanently in the Brandy Hill district on the farm known as the Fort Hill farm, and suggesting the name was an old Indian fort. He responded to the "alarm" with General Israel Putnam and his neighbors, and appears on the records as having served with the "Lexington Alarm Men." October 31, 1778, he was commissioned lieutenant of the Seventh company of the Alarm List in the Eleventh Regiment of Connecticut, by Governor Jonathan Trumbull, of Connecticut. Amos Carroll married (first) at Middleton, Massachusetts, Mary Smith. Children:
- Mary, born 1749, died 1816; she married Daniel Hemmingway, of Barre, Massachusetts.
- John, born January 5, 1754 (see forward).
- Dr. Ephraim, born 1757, died 1812; married Lucy Clark; he was a practicing physician of Woodstock, Connecticut. Amos Carroll married (second) Mrs. Lucy Hosmer Barrett, at Thompson, Connecticut. Children: [not given in book].
- Abigail, born 1762, died 1840; she married Joseph Tourtellot, of Thompson.
- Wyman, born 1765, died 1827; he married, 1795, Sarah Crosby, and lived at Thompson.
- Hannah, born 1768, died 1839; she married Joshua Tourtellot, of Thompson.
- Elijah, born 1771, died 1848; married, 1795, Pasha Smith, and removed to Dairnard, Vermont.
- Rachel, born 1774, died 1819; married, 1795, Ebenezer Burrill, of Burrillville, Rhode Island.
(VI) John, son of Lieutenant Amos and Mary (Smith) Carroll, was born in Thompson, Connecticut, January 5, 1754, died 1823; he spent his boyhood days on the Fort Hill farm. He married, in Thompson, 1779, Hannah Thayer, and later settled in New York state, at Springfield, Otsego county, where he died. Children:
- Polly, born November 4, 1780, died 1836; she married Phineas Albert, of Springfield, New York.
- Nancy, born 1781, died 1852; married Nathaniel Hemmingway, of Amber, New York.
- Ezra, born 1783, died 1844; married Rebecca Mullet, and lived in Springfield.
- Davis, born February 25, 1786 (see forward).
- Kiron, born 1790, died 1813, buried at Thompson, Connecticut.
- John, born 1792, died 1845; he married Susan Wheaton, and lived at Springfield.
- Waty, born 1795, died 1884; married Francis Sammons, of Springfield.
- Seneca, born 1798, died 1800, at Thompson.
- Lucinda, born 1801, died 1868; she married Rev. N. G. Chase, and lived at Smyrna, Michigan.
(VII) Davis, son of John and Hannah (Thayer) Carroll, was born in Thompson, Connecticut, February 25, 1786, died August 13, 1853. He removed to Otsego county, New York, in 1817. He was a classmate and a lifelong friend of Governor William L. Marcy, of New York, and a veteran of the war of 1812. He was a prominent well-to-do farmer of Springfield. He married, May 17, 1811, in Thompson, Connecticut, Phoebe Tourtellot, born March 25, 1791, died August 14, 1870. Children:
- Linus Anson, born July 31, 1812, died October 11, 1839; he married Rebecca L. Prine, February 2, 1836, and lived at Lee, Massachusetts.
- Davis Loton, born January 9, 1814, died January 27, 1877; he married Mary A. Ayers, July, 1842, and lived at Amsterdam, New York.
- Hannah Tourtellot, born August 30, 1815, died June 4, 1890; she married, January 1, 1855, Robert Yule, of Canandaigua, New York.
- Phebe Calista, born February 15, 1819, died January 25, 1871; married, February 2, 1842, Stephen V. Thayer, of Broadalbin, New York.
- Amy Janet, born February 6, 1821, died March 23, 1892; married, February 11, 1846; William Harvey Buell, of Springfield.
- John Michael, born April 27, 1823 (see forward).
- Lucy Etta, born February 18, 1825; married January 10, 1849, Solomon J. Northrup, of Binghamton, New York.
- Harriet Lucinda, born April 6, 1828, died December 11, 1891; she married Samuel Hollister, February 2, 1859, and removed to Atchison, Kansas.
- Seneca, born January 26, 1831, died August 17, 1893; lived at Rome, New York.
- Fidelia, born May 21, 1833, died February 18, 1906; lived at Amsterdam and Johnstown, New York.
(VIII) John Michael, son of Davis and Phoebe (Tourtellot) Carroll, was born in Springfield, Otsego county, New York, April 27, 1823. He prepared for college at Cherry Valley and Fairfield academies, and entered Union College in the junior class, where he was graduated with first honors, class of 1846. He took a special course in civil engineering, and was one of the three who received a special diploma and degree of C. E., in addition to the degree of A.B. he received in course. He was elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa society on graduation, and was a member of the Kappa Alpha college fraternity. He, however, decided upon the law as his profession, and pursued legal studies with Judge Hammond, of Cherry Valley, and with Judge Cushney, of Fonda, New York. He was admitted to the bar of the state of New York in 1848, and, after being in the west a short time, began practice at Broadalbin, Fulton county, New York, in 1850, where he continued until 1862, when he made permanent settlement in Johnstown, New York. In 1859 he was elected district attorney of Fulton county, and in 1869 he was elected to the forty-second congress, where he served with marked ability on the committee of post-offices and post roads, and was instrumental in framing and having passed important laws relating to the postal service, one of them abolishing the franking privilege as it then existed and another establishing the system of postal cards. In the tariff revision of 1872 he succeeded in having the tariff on raw hides and skins abolished, and that on manufactured gloves continued. This was greatly to the advantage of the dominant industry of Fulton county, and may be said to have been the original cause of its present great proportions and prosperity. He declined renomination and positively retired from public office, devoting himself thereafter to the practice of his profession. He was an able lawyer, and a citizen of the highest standing. He was a lifelong Democrat, and a leader of the party in his district, as well as sitting in state councils where he was honored and referred to on important matters affecting party interests. He was eminent in his profession, and commanded the respect of both bench and bar. He married, December 16, 1862, Augusta Marian, born April 29, 1837, daughter of Dr. Freeman Tourtellot, of Saratoga county, New York, who survives him, and is a resident of Johnstown, New York. She is a descendant of the Huguenot, Abraham Tourtellot, of Bordeaux, France; Roxbury, Massachusetts, and Newport, Rhode Island, a merchant and a mariner, who married Mary Hernon, and had three children: Gabriel, Esther and Abraham. He was lost at sea with his eldest son, Gabriel. The descent is traced to the present generation thus:
(I) Abraham Tourtellot, of Bordeaux, France, married Mary Hernon.
(II) Abraham (2).
(III) Abraham (3), married Phoebe ————.
(IV) Esek, born 1763, died May 4, 1850, married Rebecca Swain, 1803.
(V) Dr. Freeman, born August 4, 1806, died December 14, 1868; married, April 6, 1831, Fanny Richardson, born January 13, 1805, died June 25, 1889.
(VI) Augusta Marian, married John Michael Carroll.
(VII) Frederick Linus, married Eleanor Pierson Miller.
Children of John M. and Augusta M. Carroll:
- Edward Tourtellot, born June 22, 1867; graduated from Union College, class of 1889, with degree of A.B., and in 1892 received the degree of A.M., in course. On graduation he was elected to membership in the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity. He was a member of the Union Chapter of Alpha Delta Phi. He prepared for the ministry at the Episcopal Theological School at Cambridge, Massachusetts, graduating in 1893. He took holy orders and is now rector of St. Ann's Protestant Episcopal Church in Amsterdam, New York. In June, 1909, his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He is a member of the Masonic order, and affiliated with St. Patrick's Lodge No. 4, F. and A. M., of Johnstown, New York. He married, September 28, 1898, Helle Huntley of Amsterdam.
- Frederick Linus, of further mention.
- John Davis, born September 16, 1874, died July 3, 1902; was a member of the class of 1896, Union College, and of the Union Chapter of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. He embraced the profession of law, and was admitted to the New York State bar in 1899.
(IX) Frederick Linus, son of John Michael and Augusta Marian (Tourtellot) Carroll, was born at Johnstown, New York, October 7, 1869. Prepared at Trinity Military Institute, Tivoli, New York, whence he was graduated in 1886; entered Union College, being graduated A.B. in 1890, and in 1893 received the degree of A.M. in course. He prepared for the profession of law in his father's office and was admitted to the bar of the state of New York, September 15, 1892, and subsequently was admitted to practice in the United States district, circuit and supreme courts. He began practice at once, in association with his father at Johnstown, New York, and has since continuously been devoted to the active practice of his profession. He is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. His college fraternity is Alpha Delta Phi. He is prominently identified with the Masonic order, belonging to lodge, council, chapter, commandery, the Scottish Rite bodies, and the Mystic Shrine, and being a past master and trustee of St. Patrick's Lodge No. 4, F. and A. M., a past high priest of Johnstown Chapter No. 78, R. A. M., a past thrice illustrious master of Johnstown Council, No. 72, R. and S. M., and a past grand lodge and grand chapter officer. He married, October 30, 1894, Eleanor Pierson, daughter of Jacob P. and Eleanor Margaret (Argersinger) Miller, of Johnstown. Children:
- John Miller, born June 12, 1902, and
- Edward Linus, born December 2, 1906.
(The Miller Line)
The founder of this branch of the Miller family came to America from Germany and settled in Westchester county, New York. He bore the German name Jacobus (English equivalent James), which was often shortened in "Cobus," and by that name was perhaps best known. He served in the American Revolution in the Second Regiment of Westchester county militia under Colonel Thomas Thomas. His son James (2) also served in the same regiment. James (1) married Mithilda Collier. a descendant of Jochem and Magdalena Collier (Callier, Caljer) of New Amsterdam, whose descendants settled in the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys. Children: Peter, James, Jacob and Henry.
(II) Henry, son of James and Mithilda (Collier) Miller, married Nancy Gillespie, daughter of Michael and Eleanor (Doherty) Gillespie, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. They settled in Lansingburg, New York, later removed to Currytown, New York. Children: James, Peter, Ellen, Harriet, Gillespie, William, Jacob P., of further mention, Mary and Mercy.
(III) Jacob P., born May 21, 1829, in Montgomery county, died in Johnstown, New York, February 6, 1900. He married (first) Isabella Miller, who died October 14, 1863; married (second), February 7, 1866, Eleanor Margaret, born November 21, 1840, daughter of Philip and Eleanor Pierson Argersinger. (See Argersinger sketch for Pierson genealogy.) Children by first marriage:
- Margaret Isabella, married George S. Fraser;
- Jennie M., married James H. Cross.
Children by second marriage:
- Catherine, born January 1, 1867, died October 20, 1867;
- Charles Argersinger, born February 11, 1868, married Sarah R. Humphrey, and has a daughter, Eleanor Margaret, born October 3, 1898.
(IV) Eleanor Pierson, daughter of Jacob P. and his second wife, Eleanor Margaret (Argersinger) Miller, born October 30, 1870, married Frederick Linus Carroll.