MARIA
(JOY) THORNDIKE
1804-1845
Maria (Joy) Thorndike was born in Durham April 25, 1804, the daughter of James and Sarah (Pickering) Joy. Her father was one of the founders of Pittsfield, moving to the community in 1820 and purchasing the John Cram Farm. He manufactured scythes and in 1826 founded the Cotton Mill at the bottom of Factory Hill. Maria had seven brothers and four sisters.
Nothing is known of her early life. Presumably she was educated in local schools and in the home as was the tradition of the period. On November 28, 1828 she married prominent Pittsfield businessman John Larkin Thorndike in Durham. Likely she was important in local social circles given the stature of her husband and in the church to which her husband had been admitted in 1819. Maria was admitted in 1832.
The couple lived in one of the earliest houses erected on Main Street, the building between the Carpenter Memorial Library and the building presently owned by Dr. Cedric Dustin, III. In this house, some, if not all, of their children were born.
Maria Thorndike
John
L. Thorndike, Maria's husband, was born in Concord April 23, 1796 and
moved to Pittsfield during 1816. He was one of the original
stockholders in the Cotton Mill.
In 1840 he built the brick building on the corner of Chestnut and Main
Streets, later owned
by Governor Tuttle. It was located on what is now the corner of Main and
Chestnut Streets where the Union Block sits today. He assisted in
organizing the Pittsfield Bank in
1851 and was its first president.
Mr.
Thorndike was an integral part of the church for most of his life. When
the Sabbath
School of the church was organized about 1818 he became its first superintendent,
serving for 16 years. He was one of the original incorporators of the church
in 1819. He was clerk for many years and was elected deacon in 1844. For
some unknown reason he resigned in 1857 and after extended discussions
with church leaders, asked
to be dismissed to the Free Will Baptist Church. However, he had
returned to the church
by 1864 when he was chosen to serve on a committee to select a new
minister. Subsequently he served on
the Examining Committee for several years.
On
December 18, 1836 he and nine others joined together, purchased land at
the top of Factory Hill and erected a new wooden church at a cost of
$1940.00. It was completed
the following year and was used continuously until the great
conflagration on St.
Valentine's Day in 1876. That year he gave $1000 toward the erection of
the new brick church, which still stands today. Mr. Thomdike was chosen
Deacon in 1844 and served in that
capacity for 12 years.
When
he passed away on January 23, 1884 Mr. Thorndike left $250.00, a
considerable amount of money at the time, to each of three humanitarian
groups to be used for
charitable purposes: the American Home Missionary Society in New York
City, the American Missionary Association of New York City, and the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
Maria Thorndike had to overcome several tragedies in her lifetime. On August 28, 1825 she gave birth to a son, John L., but he lived only 10 days. Three other children passed away very young: an unnamed child in 1832, Henry, born in 1829 and passing away in 1834, and Charles, born in 1827 and passing away in 1835. Nonetheless, she overcame these devastations and was blessed with seven children who lived to adulthood.
Four of her children migrated to Illinois: James Joy, John L., Jr., Mary Y. and Abiel Walker. Another child, Maria married John Sanborn and moved to Laconia.
Son
Thomas Henry remained in Pittsfield and became a stalwart of the
community. He attended Pittsfield Academy and graduated from Dartmouth
College in the class of 1857. He studied law with Pittsfield notable,
Judge Lewis W. Clark, who at that time had an office in Pittsfield. He
was admitted to the bar in 1860 but was forced into
early retirement in 1874 because of ill health.
Between
1868 and 1872 Thomas was Treasurer of the Pittsfield Savings Bank and Chairperson
of its board of Directors. He was also one of the incorporators of the
Farmers Savings
Bank. He passed away at the age of 52 of cerebral apoplexy. He was a
member of the Congregational
Society but not a member of the church.
Mrs. Thorndike passed away at the early age of 41 on September 20, 1845 predeceasing her husband by 39 years. She is buried next to him in Floral Park Cemetery along with sons John J., Charles and Henry who passed away early in life. Also on the lot are Thomas Henry who passed away in 1888 and his wife Sarah who passed away in 1854.
|
SOURCES |
Biographical research and written profile by Larry Berkson, Historian, Pittsfield Historical Society |
"A
History of A Century of Banking," Suncook Valley Times, August
18, 1950.
"Thomas
Henry Thorndike Dead," Analecta, June 15, 1888.
"Death
of John L. Thorndike," Analecta, January 31, 1884.
Joy,
James Richard. Thomas Joy and His Descendants (New York: Privately
Printed, 1890), pp. 41-42, 47.
Manual
of the Congregational Church of Pittsfield, New Hampshire, May 1,
1899, no place, no publisher, pp. 13 & 53.
Merrimack
County Registry of Probate, Concord, New Hampshire, John L. Thorndike,
911568.
Perkins,
Jonathan. Jonathan Perkins His Book Started in 1769, a copy in the
possession of Larry Berkson, pp. 8 & 10.
Records
of the Congregational Society of Pittsfield, New Hampshire. Book beginning
April 19, 1860, in the possession of the Congregational Church.
Records of the First Congregational Church of Pittsfield, New Hampshire. Book beginning November 17, 1789, Book beginning January 1, 1855 and Book beginning January 1, 1875, in the possession of the Congregational Church.
Steward,
Scott C. and John Bradley Arthaud. A Thorndike Family Ancestry (Boston:
Newbury Street Press, 2000), pp. 143, 199-200.
The
Pittsfield Tribune, August 20, 1883.
"Thomas
Henry Thorndike Dead," Analecta, June 15, 1888.
Young,
E. Harold. History of Pittsfield New Hampshire (Concord: New
Hampshire Bindery, 1953), pp. 99-102.
Weekly Star, September 27, 1873.