Asa Waters II (November 2, 1769, in
Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location
* S ...
– December 24, 1841, in
Millbury) was an American
gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...
and industrialist.
He learned gunsmithing from his father, and earned a patent for turning a gun barrel in a lathe.
In 1808, with his brother Elijah, he founded an armory, which contracted with the government. In 1825 he founded Millbury Bank. In 1823, he was elected to the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...
.
He married Susan Holman Waters, on May 19, 1802; they had eight children:
* Susan Holman (Waters) Torrey born 1803, died February 3, 1866, married Samuel Davenport Torrey (1789–1877), They had 5 children including Louisa Maria (Torrey) Taft (1827–1907) mother of President
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...
;
* Sarafina;
*
Asa Holman Waters, born February 8, 1808, died January 17, 1887, married Mary Elizabeth (Hovey) Waters (1829–1892), maternal grandfather of
Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor
Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor ( ; October 28, 1875 – February 4, 1966) was an American magazine editor who was the first full-time editor of the ''National Geographic'' magazine from 1899 to 1954, and is credited with having consolidated the nascent ...
, editor of
National Geographic Magazine
''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
, This Asa H. Waters wrote: Biographical Sketch of
Thomas Blanchard and his inventions, Printed by L.P. Goddard in 1878 in Worcester, Mass.;
* Fanny Jane;
* Anna Jane;
* Harriet Newell (Waters) Dutton born August 18, 1814, died July 3, 1864, m Samuel William Southmayd Dutton (1814–1866);
* Adelia Augusta (Waters) Tarbox born January 18, 1820, died October 7, 1883, married Increase Niles Tarbox (1815–1888), 2 children;
* Caroline S. (Waters) Forbush born January 17, 1826, died August 7, 1886, married Jonathan Forbush (1802–1882), 2 children.
He built the
Asa Waters Mansion from 1824 to 1829.
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References
1769 births
1841 deaths
American industrialists
Gunsmiths
Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
People from Sutton, Massachusetts
People from Millbury, Massachusetts
19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court
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