Hilliard-Pratt family.

The Hilliard and the Pratt families were both pioneers of New England. The first Hilliard arrived in 1635 and settled in New Hampshire. The Pratt family traces its ancestry back to Thomas Pratt, who, though taking the oath of fidelity in Watertown, Mass., in 1652, could possibly have been there as early as 1647. The impetus for this collection was the marriage of Sarah McKean Hilliard (1840-1897) and Frederick Sumner Pratt (1845-1924).

The collection begins a generation earlier with Francis Hilliard (1806-1878) and Catherine Dexter (Haven) Hilliard (1802-1888). Francis, the son of William Hilliard (1779-1836) and Sarah (Lovering) Hilliard (1783-1848), was a lawyer, judge, and legal writer. He married, on 26 July 1831, Catherine Dexter, the daughter of Samuel Haven (1771-1847) and Elizabeth Craigie (Foster) Haven (1770-1851), and the sister of Samuel Foster Haven (1806-1881). They had five children: Francis William; Elizabeth Craigie Haven; Catherine Lydia; Samuel Haven; and Sarah McKean.

Francis William Hilliard (1832-1910) graduated from Harvard in 1852. He removed to North Carolina where he eventually became an Episcopal minister. He remained in the south throughout the Civil War and thereafter. He married, on 12 May 1857, Maria Nash Johnston (1836-1907), daughter of Samuel Iredell Johnston (1806-1865) and Margaret Ann (Burgwin) Johnston (1811-1886). They had seven children.

Elizabeth Craigie Haven Hilliard (1833-1879) never married but often helped to care for the families of friends and relatives.

Catherine Lydia Hilliard (1836-1917) married, on 29 April 1859, Frederick Gordon Burnham (1831-1918). They settled in Morristown, N.J., and adopted one child.

Samuel Haven Hilliard (1838-1918) graduated from Harvard in 1859 and the General Theological Seminary (N.Y.) in 1863, and became an Episcopal minister. He married, in 1870, Alice A. Johnstone ( - ) of England. They had four children.

The Pratt family correspondence begins with Sumner Pratt (1809-1887) and Serena (Chase) Pratt (1815-1848). Sumner, the son of Elias Pratt (1773-1854) and Sally (Conant) Pratt (1777-1852), was a successful and respected entrepreneur in Worcester, Mass., engaging in various aspects of the textile industry. He married, on 19 May 1836, Serena, daughter of Caleb Chase (1786-1848) and Fanny (Harris) Chase (1786-1839). They had two children: Frederick Sumner and Emma Amanda.

Emma Amanda Pratt (1848-1922) never married. According to family lore she owned the first electric car in Worcester.

After Serena's death, Sumner married, on 5 August 1850, Abby Curtis Read (1818-1896), daughter of Ebenezer Read (1779-1837) and Sarah (Curtis) Read (1786-1834). They had one child: Edward Read (1851-1880).

Frederick Sumner Pratt was born in Worcester, Mass. He attended public schools and graduated from Worcester High School in 1862. He worked for the Worcester National Bank for four years, then became associated in business with his father and remained a member of the firm Sumner, Pratt & Company, until 1896, when he retired. He was a Republican in politics, a warden of All Saints' Church, a trustee of the Worcester County Institution for Savings, and an officer of the Worcester Art Society and the Worcester Art Museum. With his retirement in 1896, he was able to pursue his interest in portrait and landscape painting, an interest he had for many years, but was renewed after a visit from John Singer Sargent in 1890.

Frederick Sumner married, on 19 January 1871, Sarah McKean Hilliard in Worcester. They had five children: Francis Hilliard (1871-1871); Frederick Haven; Katharine Chase; Robert Gage; and Elisabeth Hilliard.

Frederick Haven Pratt (1873-1958) graduated from Harvard in 1896 and received his doctor's degree from Harvard Medical School in 1906. He also studied at the University of Gottingen. He was a devoted researcher in the field of physiology and a teacher of physiology at Wellesley College, the University of Buffalo, Clark University, and Harvard. He married, on 12 June 1912, Margery Willard Davis (1887-1964). They had five children.

Katharine Chase Pratt (1875-1942) married, on 2 June 1896, Dr. Alfred Lindsay Shapleigh (1869-1905). They went to China as missionaries in 1896 and then again in 1904, where in 1905 Dr. Shapleigh and their two remaining children died from small pox. Another child had died previously in Worcester. Katharine continued their work in China and returned to the United States around 1907.

Robert Gage Pratt (1877-1962) entered Harvard in the class of 1900, but left after three years to engage in the textile business in Worcester. He married, on 9 July 1906, Edith McCord Coleman (1880-1960). They had three children.

Elisabeth Hilliard Pratt (1882-1963) married, on 23 June 1906, Dr. William Irving Clark (1879-1958). They settled in Worcester and had two children.

From the description of Papers, 1834-1909. (American Antiquarian Society). WorldCat record id: 191259422