NAHUM PIKE &  JERUSHA NUTT SPRAGUE

 

 

Nahum Pike was born 29 October 1785, Westboro, Worcester, MA.  His Mother was Sarah Pike according to IGI records found on the LDS search site.  I was recently contacted by a fellow genealogist and descendant of Roxalana Sprague Pike who was kind enough to share his Family Tree Maker file and fill in some of my blanks. As well as discovering that Nahum and Jerusha had even more children than I previously thought, he was able to tell me that Nahum's father was Moses Pike, born abt. 1760  and that his mother was Sarah Bigelow, born 5 Oct 1760 in Westboro and died after 1795. She married Moses Pike 15 May 1785, Westboro, MA.  

Please click here to read about the Bigelow history and how he has traced them all the way back to the  9th century Danish Knight, Rollo. (Warning: this page may take awhile to load as it is 20 pages in Word)

According to Joshua his father Nahum was a good mechanic and himself left home at an early age to join the army and fight in the War of 1812.  As my own Mother pointed out they did not have cars in 1812 therefore he was most likely a ship mechanic.   Joshua  said that Nahum fought in the Battle of New Orleans and had occasion to witness firsthand the conduct of General Jackson.
Jerusha Nutt Sprague was born 5 December 1798 in Stratton, Windham County, Vermont.  Her parents were Hasey Floyd Sprague and Mary Newhall.
Joshua was so young when his Mother died that he barely remembered her but retained the idea of her being a very good Mother.
When I began to search for Nahum and Jerusha I was very fortunate in discovering that the Spragues of New England are very well documented as founding fathers.  Ralph Sprague (1st generation) was born in 1599 in Upwey, County Dorset, England and came to America in 1628.  He was one of the founders of Charlestown, MA.   Jerusha Nutt Sprague was a seventh generation Sprague. To read a synopsis of Jerusha Nutt Sprague's family origins click here.

Nahum Pike married Rachel Thurston in 1812.  Rachel died in 1813.  They had the following child.

i.  Clementina Maria Pike (born 18 Nov 1812, Westboro,
    Worcester, MA)  She married Joseph Stillman Hancock in
    1833.  She died in 1885.
 

Nahum Pike married Jerusha Nutt Sprague on 21 August, 1814 in Stratton, Windham County, Vermont and they had the following children:

i.  Nathan Thurston Pike  (born 6 January 1816, Westboro, Worcester, MA) 

 

ii. Mary Newhall Pike (born 2 Aug 1817, Westboro, Worcester,
      MA, died 1847)  She married Levi Gassett 31 Oct, 1839, Westboro, MA

 

iii.    Roxalana Sprague Pike (born 3 Nov 1818, Westboro,
      Worcester, MA, died 9 Sept 1883, North Adams, MA)
  She married  Reuben  Nathan  Harrington  11 Aug 1839 in Stamford, VT, son of Reuben  Harrington and Rosannah Wright.  He was born 2 Dec 1805 in Adams, MA and died 3 April  1848 in Adams, MA. 
Roxalana Sprague Pike was married several times, each time widowing her spouse.
She was married to a man named Sheldon, Reuben Nathan Harrington, and finally a man named Prouty.
She is buried in the Prouty plot in Hillside Cemetery in North Adams.
Her death certificate lists her as Rosalance Pike Prouty.
Her death certificate says she died of Erysipelas.
Reuben Harrington was killed in the Hoosac Tunnel.    World Book Encyclopedia says:
The Hoosac Tunnel is a 25,081 tunnel through the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts.  It is on the main line of the Boston and Maine Railroad.  The tunnel was begun in 1851 and completed in 1875, at a cost of 136 lives and about $14 million. The difficulty of the task forced private companies to give up the project.
 The state of Massachusetts completed the Hoosac tunnel. It marked the first American use of the power drill and of nitroglycerin for blasting.  The state sold the tunnel to the railroad in 1884. The tunnel was enlarged in 1927.

  Children of Roxalana Pike and Reuben Harrington are:

                i.    Reuben Nathan Harrington, JR., b. June 26, 1848, Adams, MA, d. August 1, 1927, 
       Los Angeles, CA
ii.       Jennie Harrington, b. of Winsted, CN. OR Canaan, CN. m. Streeter
iii.       Jane Harrington
 iv.       Nathan H. Harrington, b. Nov 3, 1840
  v.       Hiram Alonzo Harrington, b. August 17, 1842
  vi.       Marshall D. Harrington, b. April 16, 1844.
  vii.       Mary Harrington, b. June 17, 1846.

Children of Roxalana PikeE and Sheldon are:

  viii.       Laura Sheldon.
   ix.       Margaret Sheldon.
  x.       Merell Sheldon, b. June 20, 1838, Westborough, MA, d. July 30, 1838, Westborough, MA.

 

 
 iv.  Nahum R. Pike (born 21 Dec 1820, Westboro,
       Worcester, MA, died 25 Jan 1821, Westboro, MA)

 
 

v..   Sarah "Sally" Bigelow Pike (born 11 Dec 1821, Westboro, Worcester,
       MA, died 1853) She married Squire B. Bosworth of Upton, MA, 30 Nov 1843.

 

vi.   Jerusha Nutt Pike (born 21 Feb 1824, Westboro,
     Worcester, MA, died. 27 Dec, 1824)

 
vii.    Nahum Munroe Pike (born 4 Dec 1825, Westboro,
      Worcester, MA)  He married Sally S. Collins
      25 Nov 1847, Southboro, MA.


 
viii.  Moses C. Pike  (born 17 May 1827, died 19 May 1827, Westboro, Worcester, MA)


 

ix.   Hiram Seaver Pike  (born 15 Apr 1828, Westboro,
       Worcester, MA)  He married Maria H. Gassett, February 14, 1849, Westboro, MA


 
x.   Jerusha Nutt Pike  (born 17 Sept 1830, Westboro,
        Worcester, MA) In the 1850 Worcester, Ma census
         Jerusha is shown as age 19 & living next door to her
         parents with the Joseph and Nancy Richards family.

 
xi.    Joshua Augustine Pike  (born 19 Feb 1832, Westboro,
       Worcester, MA, died 1922 in Kansas)

 

xii.   Lucianne Pike (born 30 July 1835, Westboro, Worcester, MA)


 
xiii.  Juliaett Amanda Pike   (born 3 May 1838, Westboro,
     Worcester, MA)    On 23 Nov 1858, she married Henry
     Augustus Fairbanks.  Henry (born 13 May 1838, died
     after 1897, North Adams, MA)  He was a  Railroad
     Switchman and his parents were Henry Bailey
     Fairbanks (born 9 Aug 1812 Berlin, MA, died
     24 Apr 1864 Grafton, MA) and MaryAnn Boyden
     (died 24 May 1845 Grafton, MA).  Henry Augustus
      and Juliette A. were parents of Clara Jerusha
     (b. 22 Dec 1859, d. 9 Oct 1864);
     Anna Frances (b. 3 Jul 1861, d. 14 Nov 1861);
     Willie Henry (b. 24 May 1864, d. 8 Oct 1864);
     Arthur Hiram (7 Aug 1867, d. 1 Sep 1868);
     Burton Healey (b. 10 Jul 1870);
     Herbert Augustine (b. 12 Nov 1873);
     and Carrie Ellen (b. 4 Jun 1877). 

 
xiv.  Charles B. Pike (twin of Stillman, born 2 Feb 1844, Westboro, Worcester, MA)

 
 xv.  Stillman B. Pike (twin of Charles, born 3 Feb 1844, Westboro, Worcester, MA)   

 

1840 and 1850 Census Information

The 1840 census does not list names, only head of household and ages of members.  I read it as Nahum and Jerusha living with 6 children. They were Julia, age 2; Lucy, age 5; Joshua, age 8; Jerusha the 2nd, age 10; Hiram, age 12; and Nahum Munroe who would have been 15. 

The 1850 census lists Nahum, age 64; Jerusha, age 51; Lucy, age 15; Julia, age 12 and Charles B., age 6.  From this I can deduce that Stillman, the twin of Charles, did not live.  Also this census has Jerusha the 2nd, age 19, living next door to her
         parents with the Joseph and Nancy Richards family.

 

Below is a photo of the Nahum Pike home today.