Bascom, Ruth Henshaw, 1772-1848

Ruth Henshaw Bascom (1772-1848) was born in Leicester, Mass., the daughter of William (1735-1820) and Phebe Swan Henshaw (1753-1808). Her father was an influential Leicester resident, and Ruth Henshaw grew up as a member of a large and very active family. In 1804 she married Dr. Asa Miles (1762-1805), a physician who had graduated from Dartmouth College. They lived in Westminster, Mass., until his death, after which she returned to her family in Leicester. In 1806 she married the Rev. Ezekiel Lysander Bascom (1779-1841). They had no children, but Ruth Bascom raised his only child by his second marriage, Priscilla Elvira Bascom Philbrick (1803- ), as well as the son of the Rev. Bascom's sister, Eunice Loveland ( -1810), after she committed suicide. The child took the name Lysander Bascom (1803- ), and eventually married Lucretia Tholman ( -1839) of Concord, Mass.

The Rev. Bascom served as minister of the Congregational Church in Phillipston, Mass., for 21 years. In 1820 he was dismissed by his congreation and the Bascoms moved to Ashby, Mass., where he served a church for 14 years. In the latter part of his career he became a Unitarian. After his retirement, Bascom spent winters in Savannah, Georgia, with his daughter, but Ruth Bascom stayed in New England visiting with friends and relatives. Around 1839 they moved to Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, where the Rev. Bascom seems to have served a church on a semi-retired basis. He died there in 1841. His wife spent her remaining years boarding in Ashby and traveling throughout Massachusetts and Maine.

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