Jabez Partridge (1748-c1842)

Jabez Partridge was born to Jonathan Partridge and Anne Phipps in Sherborn, Massachusetts, 11 Dec 1748. He married, 19 May 1772, Anna Twitchell, born in Sherborn, 24 May 1751, daughter of Jonathan and Deborah (Bullard) Twitchell. They resided at Sherborn until about 1780, when they removed to Gardner, Massachusetts, where they afterwards lived. Jabez was baptized as an adult on 19 Aug 1810 in Gardner. He resided in the south part of Gardner, where his grandson Seneca Partridge resided in 1860. He was one of the first inhabitants in the town. Jabez died about 1842 and Ann about 1834. No gravestone or burial record exists for either Jabez or Anna.

Children of Jabez Partridge and Anna Twitchell:

1. Adam Partridge, born 2 Jan 1773; died in infancy.
2. Deborah Partridge, born 25 Apr 1775; died 22 Oct 1846; married 12 Oct 1797, intention field in Gardner, 28 Aug 1797 ^[1]Vital records of Gardner, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, p. 95, Elisha Pierce, who died 1 Apr 1858; resided in Westminster, Massachusetts. Six children, five of which were named in the History of Gardner: Nancy, Louisa, Elisha, Amos, and Hannah.
3. Adam Partridge, born 11 Mar 1778; died 22 May 1855; married Mary Jackson, born 12 Nov 1781, died 22 Mar 1869, daughter of Oliver and Mary (Pierce) Jackson, of Westminster, Massachusetts; resided in Gardner, Massachusetts. 8 Children.
4. Hannah Partridge, born 7 Dec 1780; married John Bigelow; resided in Sherborn, Massachusetts. Children: Anna, Cynthia, and Miriam.
5. Anna Partridge, born 4 Nov 1783; died in Gardner, 24 Jun 1861; married (1) Rufus Whitcomb, of Gardner, intent filed 6 Feb 1808 in Gardner ^[2]Vital records of Gardner, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, p. 95; removed to Canada after marriage. No children. Married (3) Abel Richardson in Gardner, 22 May 1850, son of Jonas and Mary Richardson of Boylston, Massachusetts. This was recorded as her 3rd marriage, his second. Did she marry before Rufus?
6. Cynthia Partridge, born 1 Dec 1785 in Gardner ^[3]Vital records of Gardner, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, p. 48; died 1 Jul 1860; married 30 Jun 1806 in Gardner, Luke Whitney, born Winchester, Massachusetts, 21 May 1783, died Gardner, 1 Sep 1838; resided in Gardner. Eleven children: Orison, Thuseba (d.y.), Luke, Cynthia, Thuseba, William, Anna, Jerome, Mary, Eliza, and Asa.
7. Miriam Partridge, born 20 Aug 1786, in Gardner ^[4]Vital records of Gardner, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, p. 48, “as Merriam“; married 8 Jan 1809 in Gardner ^[5]Vital records of Gardner, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, p. 95, “as Meriam“, David Perley, born Gardner, 10 Apr 1786, son of Allen and Juda (Chase) Perley; resided in Gardner. Eleven children: Almira, Anna, Thuseba, Hannah Bigelow, David, Mary Ann, Adam and Hiram (twins died young), Asa, and Henry.
8. Henry Partridge, born 5 Jun 1791 in Gardner ^[6]Vital records of Gardner, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, p. 48, “as Hennery“; died 19 Apr 1859 in Medfield; married Anna Babcock; resided in Sherborn, and Medfield. Children:
   1. Anna Partridge married _______ Bigelow.
   2. Henry Partridge, Jr., married Electa Ann Lealand, their intent to marry was filed in Medfield on 1 May 1842. ^[7]Vital records of Medfield, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, p. 162
   3. Caroline Partridge married 4 Aug 1846, Daniel W. Stevens. ^[8]Vital records of Medfield, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, p. 162

Jabez Partridge House

Located in the rural southern section of Gardner, the Jabez Partridge Homestead occupies a slightly elevated site on the east side of Partridge Road. The house consists of a front two-story section, built in 1826, and a one-and-a-half-story rear ell, believed to have been built between 1772 and 1786 for Jabez Partridge.

Of vernacular Federalist design, the Partridge Homestead’s front section is of timber-frame construction, rectangular in plan with a central chimney. Resting on a hammered granite foundation, the house is covered with clapboards and enclosed by a pitched roof with end-wall gables. The house’s symmetrical façade has a center entry and four windows on the first story, five windows on the second story, and a boxed, molded cornice at the roofline. The entry is framed by a simple architrave and molded cap; above the door is a four-pane transom. Fenestration of the house’s end walls is symmetrical, consisting of two windows at each story and one window centered in each gable. The house’s south end also contains a secondary entry, located slightly east of the wall’s center, on the first story. This entry resembles that of the façade but lacks a cap. Sash in the house varies from 6/6 to some original 12/12.

Set at right angles to the front section of the house is a rear ell of timber-frame construction. The ell, now used partly as a shed, is rectangular in plan with a small central chimney. The ell’s exterior is covered with clapboard and enclosed by a pitched roof. Fenestration is asymmetrical, consisting of openings of varying sizes, some of which retain original 12/12 sash. Local tradition dates this wing of the house between 1772 and 1786, when Jabez Partridge is believed to have established a farm on this property.

In addition to the Partridge Homestead, this property contains a dairy shed and barn of undetermined ages. The house has been altered during its existence. One section, now a shed, is said to the original Partridge home. A second adjoining section is said to have been added by Adam (the 1st) at the time of his marriage. The present main house was constructed by Adam (the 2nd). It was altered in minor ways by Dr. and Mrs. Underwood (a porch added, floors reconstructed). Mr Anderson has removed the porch. All of the Partridge children were born in the back or earliest part of the present structure. (The original 4 seat outhouse is still intact and a part of this section of the house is now a shed for storage of old carriages and harness.)

The Jabez Partridge Homestead retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, and workmanship. Operated as a farm continuously since 1786, and perhaps as early as 1772, it possesses historical associations with the settlement and agricultural economy of South Gardner. In addition, the house’s vernacular Federalist architecture and the surrounding farmland of nearly 28 acres remain much as they did in 1826, preserving important elements of Gardner’s pre-industrial development.

Jabez Partridge, a farmer noted in various records, is credited with having established a farm as early as 1772. Ownership of the property remained unclear until 1786, when Partridge formally acquired it. During this time, Partridge also took part in civic affairs, appearing as a signer of the 1785 petition for Gardner’s incorporation as a town. Jabez Partridge retained ownership of the farm until 1811 when he sold the house. From 1811 to 1927, the property remained in the hands of Partridge’s descendants, passing to Seneca Partridge in 1832 and, subsequently, to Seneca Partridge’s daughter, Idell Partridge Underwood. In 1927, Idell Underwood sold the home to August P. Anderson who had rented it since 1917. It is presently owned (May 1976) by his son, Irving P. Anderson. Irving Anderson possesses two of the Partridge family’s record books of business transactions, with 1800 being the earliest readable date. These books indicate (among a great many other types of transactions) that Adam Partridge there engaged in the rental of horses to travelers ($2.50 to rent a horse to Boston) and plied the trade of bootmaker and” shoemaker in addition to working the land. Bartering was common and one entry records that a female customer labored for seven months at her loom in order to pay for a pair of shoes. The shoes cost 14.50 and her work was worth only 7 cents a yard.

Sources

• George Homer Partridge, Partridge genealogy : descendants of John Partridge of Medfield, Massachusetts, Boston: Press of David Clapp & Son, 1904, p. 21.
• Glazier, Lewis, History of Gardner, Massachusetts : from its earliest settlement to 1860, Worcester, [Mass.] : Printed by C. Hamilton, 1860, p. 45-46.
• “NRHP nomination for Jabez Partridge Homestead”. National Archive. Retrieved 2024-12-31.