Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

of Somers, whose parentage is not dis-
ci ised by the reci »rds i
>!•' ENCYCLOPEDIA ( P.H >GK \PIIY
>f thai t( ro n,
(V) Captain George (2) Cooley, son
of George (i) Cooley, was born February
9, 1743. in Somers, Massachusetts, and
died there, January 3,
1S1 4. lie married
Abigail Jones, and they were the parents
of Noah, of whom further.
in [679 was a member of the Ancient and
Honorable Artillery Company of Do-ton.
He owned valuable lands in that city, in-
cluding a residence and storehouse on the
waterfront, which he built in [668, and
was also a large land-owner in Spring-
field, lladley and Northampton. In [671
he was one of four persons who pur-
(VI) Noah Cooley, son of Captain chased from the Indians 10,000 acres of
George (2) Cooley, was born April 2, 17V-.
in Somers, Massachusetts, and engaged in
mercantile business in Granville, Massachusetts.
There he married in Septem-
ber i
intentions recorded August 16, 1819)
Sophronia Parsons, daughter of Joel and
Phoebe (Robinson) Parsons, born Octo-
ber 20, 1795, a descendant of Cornet Joseph
Parsons. He was a distinguished
pioneer settler of Springfield, Massachu-
setts, born about 1618, at or near Great
Torrington, Devonshire, England, and
came to America before attaining his ma-
jority, lie was a witness to the deed con-
veying to William Pynchon, from the
Indians, the site of the present city of
Springfield, July 15, 1636. Joseph Parsons
received an excellent education, and
was elected surveyor of Springfield in
1646, and in 165 1 was one of the selectmen
of that town. In 1655 a number of indi-
viduals purchased from the Indians the
territory now embraced in Northampton,
Massachusetts, and Joseph Parsons was
one of the number. For several years
after its settlement, with the exception of
the second year, he served continuously
as selectman of the town. It was agreed
in town meeting in February, 1666, "that
Joseph Parsons shall be freed from any
office in the town of Northampton for one
year." About 1655, by contract with Wil-
liam Pynchon, he secured a monopoly of
the Connecticut river fur trade upon the
payment of £12 per year. From 1672 to
167S he was cornet of the Hampshire
Troop, under Captain John Pynchon, and
403
land at what is now Northfield, Massa-
chusetts. I [e was active in the defence of
the Colony from attacks, and served in
King Philip's and the French and Indian
wars. He is described by historians as
"the most enterprising man in the Con-
necticut Valley for a quarter of a cen-
tury," and perhaps with one exception,
"he was the most prosperous and suc-
cessful of any of the settlers in that section."
The last years of his life were
spent in Springfield, where he died October
9, 1683. He married Mary Bliss, born
in England in 1620, a daughter of Thomas
Bliss, of Hartford, Connecticut, who was
a son of Thomas Bliss, of Belstone Parish,
Devonshire, England. The latter was
a wealthy landowner in the village of
Belstone, and suffered many persecutions
on account of his adherence to the Puri-
tans. His son, Thomas Bliss, was born
about 1580-85 in Belstone Parish, and embarked
at Plymouth in the autumn of
1635, landing at Boston, Massachusetts.
He settled across the Bay, south of the
city in what is now Braintree, where land
was allotted to him upon the mount. He
soon became known as "Thomas of the
Mount." That section is now in the town
of Quincy, which was afterwards Brain-
tree. He settled in Hartford some time in
1636-37, and there died in 1640. He married
in England, as early as 1615, Mar-
garet, whose maiden name is believed to
have been Lawrence, born about 1594.
She was a woman of handsome appear-
ance, of great capacity and force of char-