Untitled - citizen hylbom blog

- (IV) Lieut. Ephraim Bliss, son of Jonathan
(2), born Aug. 15, 1699, married Dec. 5, 1723,
Eachel Carpenter, and was of Rehoboth, Mass.
Their children were: Ephraim, born Jan. 2,
1725; Ephraim (2), June 3, 1726; Noah
(twin), June 3, 1726; Rachel, March 6, 1728;
Abiah, Jan. 26, 1730; Jonathan, Sept. 8, 1731;
Lydia, July 3, 1733; Keziah, Feb. 7, 1735;
Hannah, Feb. 16, 1737; Jonathan, in January,
1739; Abadial, Dec. 15, 1740; and Benjamin,
Dec. 24, 1743.
son of Lieut.
(VI) Jonathan Bliss, born April 3, 1767,
married March 19, 1792, Hannah Kent, born
in August, 1769. They resided in Mass. After the
Rehoboth,
death of Mr. Bliss, which
occurred March 19, 1799, his widow married
Otis Capron, of Attleboro, Mass., and she
died May 27, 1836. The children born to
Jonathan and Hannah were: Jonathan, born
Feb.
born
15, 1793, died
Oct. 24, 1794,
Sept.
died
2, 1872; Martin,
March 29, 1864;
Zeba, born Aug. 20, 1796, died July 29, 1858;
George, born Feb. 3, 1799, died March 3, 1851.
(VII) Zeba Bliss, born Aug. 20, 1796, in
Rehoboth, Mass., married April 6, 1820, Lepha
Peck, born Dec. 13, 1797, in Rehoboth, Mass.,
dren, all born in Attleboro, Mass., were : Lucy
Jane, born June 28, 1822; Zeba F., April 2,
1824; Zenas F. (twin), April 2, 1824 (died
April 25, 1868); Lepha C. July 8, 1826;
Mary E., Aug. 24, 1828 (died May 18, 1829) ;
Charles Everett, Sept. 7, 1831 (died Sept. 25,
1836) ; Mary E. (twin to Charles E.) (died
Oct. 5, 1836); Charles Edwin, Feb. 8, 1837;
and Everett Bradford, Oct. 31, 1839.
Zeba Bliss was engaged in his earlier years
in the manufacture of cotton thread in Attle-
toro, importing machinery from England for
that purpose. Through the carelessness of one
of his employees the factory was burned, and
as in those days there was no insurance Mr.
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SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS 977
Bliss lost his all. Later he moved with his
family to Lewiston, Maine, where he built the
Lincoln Cotton Mills for Boston parties. He
finally engaged in farming in Auburn, Andros-
(V) Capt. Jonathan Bliss,
Ephraim, born in January, 1739, married
Dec. 27, 1759, Lydia Wheeler, born Oct. 17,
1737, who died April 11, 1803. Captain Bliss
died Jan. 24, 1800. They were residents of
Rehoboth, Mass. Their children were : Keziah,
born Oct. 10, 1760; James, Jan. 18, 1762;
Jonathan, Dec. 6, 1763; Chloe, March 4, 1765;
Jonathan, April 3, 1767; Lucy, June 23, 1769;
Asahel, Sept. 6, 1771; Shubael, Oct. 30, 1773;
Lydia, Dec. coggin Co., Maine, and there he and his wife
spent the remainder of their lives. In later
years
29, 1776; Zenas, Nov. 12, 1779;
and Nancy, May 15, 1784.
their bodies were removed by their son
Charles E. to the cemetery in Attleboro.
(VIII) Charles Edwin Bliss, son of Zeba
and Lepha (Peck) Bliss, was born in the town
of Attleboro, Mass., Feb. 8, 1837. He was
still quite young when the family moved to the
State of Maine, and there in the public schools
of Lewiston he received his education. In
1856 he returned to Attleboro, and within two
years both- his parents had died. At the age of
nineteen he entered the jewelry factory of
Hayward & Briegs, and there mastered the
trade. He spent sixteen years with this one
firm, twelve and a half years of that time being
foreman of the factory. On Jan. 1, 1873,
in company with his brother Everett Bradford
Bliss, he started into the jewelry business with
R. L. F. Everett as a third partner, under the
firm name of Bliss Brothers & Everett. This
was continued until 1883, when Mr. Everett
sold out his interest to the other partners, and
the name of the firm became Bliss Brothers.
Success had attended the business from its in-
ception and the brothers continued to prosper
together until 1895, when Everett Bradford
Bliss sold out to Charles Edwin Bliss, who un-
til 1901 carried on the work alone, without,
however, altering the name of Bliss Brothers.
In the last named year he retired, and his sons,
Herbert C. and Ernest M., who had previously
learned the business, assumed control. The
ninth child of Oliver and Hannah (Bliss)
Peck, of Rehoboth. They removed to Taunton,
Mass., in 1842, and thence to Lewiston in
1847. Mrs. Bliss died Nov. 26, 1857, and Mr.
company
Bliss passed away July 29, 1858. Their chil-
was then incorporated under the
name of Bliss Brothers Company, with Ernest
Mason Bliss as president, and Herbert Charles
Bliss as treasurer. Offices were opened in New
York and San Francisco, and the business increased
accordingly.
By his keen foresight and ability, combined
with his thorough knowledge of his trade, Mr.
Charles E. Bliss built up a most successful
business, and his honesty and integrity won
him a firm hold in the commercial world. But
not alone did he devote his energies to his
business and to the accumulation of wealth.
He was broad-minded and liberal, and he took
a keen interest in everything that nffccted the
welfare of the community. For twelve years
he served as a member of the school committee,
and was its chairman. He was treasurer of
the Richardson school fund, and of the Congregational
Church, of which he had also for
a quarter of a century served as deacon. He