307. Prudence⁶ Skillings (Capt John⁵, John⁴, John³, John², Thomas¹) (#75678) was born in Boston, Suffolk, MA by 28 Oct 1770.⁽¹⁶²¹⁾ Prudence died 7 May 1834 in Boston, Suffolk, MA, at 63 years of age.⁽¹⁶²²⁾

She married Edmund Winchester Sr in Boston, Suffolk, MA, 16 Oct 1796.⁽¹⁶²³⁾ by Rev. Samuel Stillman (first pub of marr was 22 Sep 1796) (Edmund Winchester Sr is #75681.)

Edmund was born 24 Mar 1772 in Newton, Middlesex, MA.⁽¹⁶²⁴⁾ Edmund was the son of Stephen Winchester Jr and Hannah Hastings. Edmund died 1839 in Boston, Suffolk, MA, at 67 years of age.⁽¹⁶²⁵⁾ From Winchester Notes, p 73: (Gen. V) EDMUND WINCHESTER5 (John1, John2, Stephen3, Stephen4), born March 24, 1772; died May 7, 1839; married PRUDENCE SKILLINGS, Oct. 16, 1796. She was born 1770; died in 1834.

pp 80-81: His father, a rich farmer of Newton, Mass., died in 1798, leaving the bulk of his property to his two youngest sons, Edmund and Amasa, but the larger portion to the latter, to whom he bequeathed the homestead in Newton, on condition that he should take care of his mother and pay all legacies. Edmund moved to Boston, probably towards the close of the eighteenth century, as among the Boston records we find that his marriage to Prudence Skillings of Boston took place Oct. 16, 1796.

Founder and senior partner of the firm of E. A. and W. Winchester of Boston, wholesale provision merchants and soap manufacturers, contractors for the supplies of the United States Navy for thirty years or more, giving the government credit in 1812, when such credit was most difficult to obtain. They also exported large quantities of their goods to foreign countries and this firm was probably the only house of its kind in New England early in the 19th century. At its dissolution in 1866, it was one of the oldest and heaviest firms in Boston.

Mr. Winchester became a very rich and successful business man. He handled large and important business transactions with the utmost ease. Keen penetration, sound judgment, broad views, combined with absolute integrity and a high sense of honor, won for him the esteem and confidence of his fellowmen. But while amassing wealth, he never seemed actuated by the love of money, but spent his large fortune for the welfare and happiness of others, and the city of his adoption ever found him a most generous and public-spirited citizen. He never sought public life, his preference being for active business, but he was elected a Representative of the Massachusetts State Legislature in 1820, 1821 and 1822. He was also a director of the Merchants Bank of Boston, from 1833 to 1837. (From Franklin Haven, President of Merchants National Bank of Boston in 1900.)

The following anecdote is told of Mr. Winchester: On his arrival in Boston he said he would select for his pastor, his lawyer and his physician, the three most eminent men in their professions in that city. His pastor was the Rev. Thomas Baldwin, D.D., a noted Baptist divine; his lawyer, the Hon. Theophilus Parsons, afterwards Chief Justice of Massachusetts; and Dr. John M. Warren, his son, Dr. John C. Warren, and later Dr. T. Mason Warren were the only physicians that ever entered Mr. Winchester's home.

Oct. 16, 1796, Edmund Winchester was married by the Rev. Samuel Stillman, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Boston, to Prudence Skillings, daughter of John and Prudence (Clark) Skillings. They were published Sept. 22, 1796. She was born in 1770 and died May 7, 1834. Her husband survived her only a few years, passing away in 1839.

On the records of the Second Baptist Church of Boston, of which Rev. Thomas Baldwin was pastor, is a notice of the death of Prudence Winchester in 1833-4.

Prudence Skillings was admitted as a member of the First Baptist Church of Boston on Aug. 7, 1791, Rev. Dr. Stillman, pastor.

(Gen. VI) CHILDREN OF EDMUND AND PRUDENCE (SKILLINGS) WINCHESTER.

1. NANCY WINCHESTER, born July 28, 1798; married Samuel Dana, March 10, 1818; died at Stamford, Conn., Aug. 1, 1862. 2. EDMUND WINCHESTER, died young. 3. STEPHEN WINCHESTER, died young. 4. WILLIAM PARSONS WINCHESTER, born in Boston, Mass., Nov. 9, 1801; married in Boston, Oct. 17, 1822, Eliza Gill Bradlee; died in Watertown, Mass., Aug. 6, 1850. (Took the middle name of "Parsons" by act of Legislature.) 5. STEPHEN WINCHESTER, born in Boston, Mass., Aug. 13, 1805; married Lucinda Stearns; died in Boston, Sept. 10, 1847. Lucinda Stearns was born at Newcastle, Me., May 6, 1807; died in Brookline, Mass., Dec. 4, 1893. 6. JOSEPH CLAY WINCHESTER, born in Boston in 1808; died at Valparaiso, South America, April 30, 1834; unmarried. 7. EDMUND WINCHESTER, born in Boston, Feb. 16, 1811; married in Boston, Nov. 12, 1833, to Harriette H‚nchman Mears, by the Rev. Baron Stow; died in Boston, Nov. 15, 1845. Harriette Mears was the daughter of Elijah and Catherine Marshall (Raymond) Mears. i

She was baptized in Boston, Suffolk, MA, 28 Oct 1770.⁽¹⁶²⁶⁾ Prudence was listed as a member of a church in Boston, Suffolk, MA, 7 Aug 1791.⁽¹⁶²⁷⁾

Prudence Skillings and Edmund Winchester Sr had the following children:

+ 687 i. Nancy⁷ Winchester was born 28 Jul 1798.

688 ii. Edmund Winchester (#75745) was born in Boston, Suffolk, MA c1800.⁽¹⁶²⁸⁾ Edmund died bef 16 Feb 1811 in Boston, Suffolk, MA, at approximately 10 years of age.⁽¹⁶²⁹⁾

689 iii. Col William Parsons Winchester (#75747) was born in Boston, Suffolk, MA 9 Nov 1801.⁽¹⁶³⁰⁾ Took the middle name of "Parsons" by act of Legislature William died 6 Aug 1850 in Watertown, Middlesex, MA, at 48 years of age.⁽¹⁶³¹⁾ He married Eliza Gill Bradlee in Boston, Suffolk, MA, 17 Oct 1822.⁽¹⁶³²⁾ by Rev N.L. Frothingham (Eliza Gill Bradlee is #75748.)

Eliza was born 24 Dec 1802 in Boston, Suffolk, MA.⁽¹⁶³³⁾ Eliza was the daughter of Thomas Downs Bradlee and Mary Perry. Eliza died 26 Sep 1890 in Boston, Suffolk, MA, at 87 years of age.⁽¹⁶³⁴⁾ Abstract from Winchester Notes by Fannie Winchester Hotchkiss, p 111:

CHAPTER VII - FAMILY OF COL. WILLIAM P. WINCHESTER.

(Gen. VI) WILLIAM P. WINCHESTER6 (John1, John2, Stephen3, Stephen4, Edmund5), eldest son of Edmund and Prudence (Skillings) Winchester, born Nov. 9, 1801; married, Oct. 17, 1822, by the Rev. N. L. Frothingham to ELIZA GILL BRADLEE, daughter of Thomas Downs and Mary (Perry) Bradlee. She was born in Boston, Dec. 24, 1802; died there Sept. 26, 1890. He died at Watertown, Mass., Aug. 6, 1850, of typhoid fever.

He took the middle name of Parsons by act of Legislature, as there was another William Winchester in Boston at that time. Act of Massachusetts Legislature, Feb. 8, 1823: "That William Winchester, son of Edmund Winchester, may take the name of William Parsons Winchester," all of Boston, etc.

Col. William P. Winchester was a prominent merchant, well known in Boston for his business ability and public spirit, also for his excellent judgment and great foresight in mercantile affairs. His untiring industry, firmness and self-reliance enabled him for many years to carry on with great success a large and important business, and at his death in 1850 he was one of the wealthiest men in Boston, his estate being valued at upwards of half a million dollars, a large fortune for that period. He possessed more than a common share of natural shrewdness, and had he desired, might have sought an official or political career, but Mr. Winchester's mind was thoroughly well balanced; he probably did not consider himself fitted for public life and had no inclination and too much integrity to employ his wealth for the purchase of political favor. Whatever honors were bestowed upon him, came to him entirely unsought. He was an accomplished scholar in French, Spanish and Italian,

690 iv. Stephen Winchester (#75746) was born in Boston, Suffolk, MA c1803.⁽¹⁶³⁵⁾ Stephen died by 13 Aug 1805 in Boston, Suffolk, MA, at 2 years of age.⁽¹⁶³⁶⁾

+ 691 v. Stephen Winchester was born 13 Aug 1805.

692 vi. Joseph Clay Winchester (#75751) was born in Boston, Suffolk, MA 1808.⁽¹⁶³⁷⁾ unmarried Joseph died 30 Apr 1834 in Valparaiso, South America, at 25 years of age.⁽¹⁶³⁸⁾

693 vii. Edmund Winchester Jr (#75752) was born in Boston, Suffolk, MA 16 Feb 1811.⁽¹⁶³⁹⁾ Edmund died 15 Nov 1845 at 34 years of age.⁽¹⁶⁴⁰⁾ He married Harriet Henchman Mears in Boston, Suffolk, MA, 12 Nov 1833.⁽¹⁶⁴¹⁾ by Rev Baron Stow (Harriet Henchman Mears is #75753.)

Harriet was the daughter of Elijah Mears and Catherine Marshall Raymond.

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