Waltham's Family Tree

Two weeks ago,  and his Puritan cronies traipsing through Eden Vale – a large section of what eventually became Waltham. Before taking our name from Waltham Abbey in England, we did time as a section of Watertown. (Weston was within our borders too, but I’ll save that for another time.)

When we abandoned Winthrop’s crew last week it was June of 1631 and the weather was agreeable. I’m sure the sun was shining, the greenery was lush, and they were comfortable enough. It’s no surprise they dubbed the land Eden Vale; but I’m betting by the next January they called it something far different.

Those first English, Scotch and Welsh folk made up Waltham’s first immigrants – and since then people have never stopped coming to Waltham and calling it home.

During the Industrial Revolution and the Waltham Watch hay day, it made sense. Waltham had many jobs and our census numbers through the centuries show that people came by the thousands to take those positions.

Even before and after those days, Waltham still showed an influx of immigrants – including mine, and probably yours too. New sections of the world found their way here – and stayed.

“The ongoing sweep of immigration marked Waltham as a ‘melting pot’ in the American tradition,” Kristen Petersen and Thomas Murphy  wrote in Waltham Rediscovered. 

 “Waltham is a small town at its core, a town where families for generations have lived worked worshiped and played, sharing the determination and pride of their immigrant heritage.”

Look at the variety of last names in City Hall. carries an immigrant’s moniker – and  by the way, she’s the first woman to serve as the city’s mayor.sure isn’t Irish.

Those names and Waltham’s City Councilors' clearly validate that “melting pot.”  Italian, Irish, French, English and a few other nationalities sit in chambers every week and debate and discuss Waltham’s future.

Sarafina "Sally" Collura, David H. Marcou Jr., Diane P. LeBlanc, Paul J. Brasco, Kathleen B. McMenimen, Thomas Stanley, Daniel P. Romard, George A. Darcy III, Stephen F. Rourke, Thomas J. Curtin, , Robert J. Waddick, , Edmund P. Tarallo and Joseph M. Giordano, Jr. (Admittedly, there are a few old English names in there. Remember, they were immigrants too – the first ones, but immigrants nonetheless.)

“For 250 years, one thing has remained constant in Waltham’s history; the ability of resident to confront change …Waltham has been a community of continual modernization and a birthplace and testing ground for technological experimentation … new people have brought new ideas and their presence in turn has sparked changes in government and society.”

How true. David Stanley a former detective with the Waltham Police Department, who now lives warmly in Florida, is a perfect example. (Couldn’t take the cold, could ya Dave?)

The limbs on his father’s tree lead to Elijah C. Stanley, who was born in Derby, England in the early 1800s. His children moved to New England. You’d find some of their headstones at Mt. Feake cemetery. 

They produced a fantastic police detective, a mayor (William Stanley) and a city councilor and state representative (Thomas Stanley). (I hear the rest of the Stanleys are wonderful too – especially MaryBeth!)

David’s mother came from Tebbetts and Richardson’s stock, names directly connected to our industrial revolution.

Henry Richardson, born in Concord, Vermont, moved with his family to Waltham. There he worked as a machinist for the American Watch Tool Company.

Historian Edmund Sanderson in Waltham Industries, tells us Richardson needed a specialized tool. Like any industrious young lad he went into his mother’s kitchen and began to experiment. As his devoted mother surely gnashed her teeth, he spread shellac and emery on a baking sheet and put it in the oven.

He made a grinding wheel — the grinding wheel. Sanderson tells us it was an excellent product and the “wheels were used with great success to finish the small parts of the machines and dies which were made by his employer, his first customer.”

This wise young man decided to devote all his time to making these wheels and bought a place on Felton Street. I’m betting his mother banning him from the kitchen prompted his move. OK, I’m making that up. He needed more room.

Henry first named his venture Richardson Emery Wheel Company, but changed it to Waltham Emery Wheel Company and made Charles Tebbetts his treasurer.

These wheels became so popular Henry eventually bought land on Bacon Street and moved the company there. In time, the wheel became the Waltham Grinding Wheel and the company sold its product around the world.

Yes, the company went out of business a few decades ago and the plant now serves as a storage company. The history and innovation of that grinding wheel kept Waltham in the forefront of technology. 

That legacy and those names remain in Waltham -- and Florida.