Bassett Family Association Database

John Bassett

Male 1812 - 1891  (79 years)


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  • Name John Bassett 
    Born 14 Jan 1812  New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    _UID 698D79E2443C8349B5062DE7CBCD1D092A97 
    Died 23 Apr 1891 
    Notes 
    • 1850 Territorial Census for St. Croix, Washington County, Minnesota (6 Sep 1850)
      John Basset - 37 - M - New Hampshire - Farmer
      Emilia - 22 - F - Canada
      Silas W. - 1 - M - Minnesota

      1860 Federal Census of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota (12 Jul 1860)
      John A. Bassett - 48 - M - New Hampshire - Farmer 5300 500
      Amelia - 31 - F - Ireland
      Frank - 8 - M - Minnesota
      Mary - 5 - F - Minnesota
      John - 3 - M - Minnesota

      1870 Federal Census of Hartford, Todd County, Minnesota
      John Basset - 58 - M - New Hampshire - Farmer 3000 20
      Amelia - 42 - F - Canada - Keeping House
      James F. - 18 - M - Minnesota - At home
      Mary - 15 - F - Minnesota - At home
      John F. - 13 - M - Minnesota - At home
      Thomas E. - 11 - M - Minnesota - At home
      Herbert - 9 - M - Minnesota - At home
      Abbie E. - 5 - F - Minnesota - At home
      Jethro ??? - 30 - M - Pennsylvania - Farmer 700 300

      1880 Federal Census of Hartford, Todd County, Minnesota
      John Bassett - 68 - M - NH-MA-NH - Head - Farmer
      Amelia - 50 - F - CN-IR-EN - Wife - Keeping House
      John Thaddeous - 22 - M - MN-NH-CN - Son - Works on the Farm
      Thomas E. - 20 - M - MN-NH-CN - Son - Works on the Farm
      Herbert - 17 - M - MN-NH-CN - Son - Works on the Farm
      Abbey L. - 14 - F - MN-NH-CN - Daughter - At Home

      Todd County Histories, Thursday, January 31, 1935
      Township History - Hartford, pages 82 and 83
      In the early settlement of the town of Hartford, the figure of John Bassett occupies the center of the stage: and here the story of Hartford merges into the realm of general history. The Bassett Family is of ancient French descent. It was identified with the Hugeonot movement in France and the Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve, left but one of the family living. The settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony offered an asylum to the persecuted, and we find the remnant of the Bassett family living at Lynn, Massachusetts, as early as 1640, and possibly earlier than that. From that time the annals of New England have much to tell of various members of the family.
      John Bassett was born at Wolfborough, New Hampshire, on January 3, 1812, and attended the schools of that state until he arrived at the age of twenty years, when he went to work on the parental farm. After two years he went to Illinois, first to Peoria and then to the Mines at Galena. For a time he was engaged in lumbering operations in Wisconsin, but soon returned to Galena, where he worked as a stage driver, following this occupation for six years, when he went to Minnesota in 1848, the year before it was made even a Territory. Near St. Paul and Minneapolis for some years he followed successfully farming and stock raising. He finally concluded that it was necessary for him to find a less crowded location to get the best results from stock raising. So far as we know his group of settlers was the largest to come to the county at one time.
      In April 1865, he assembled his outfit to find a more favorable place in Northern Minnesota. His outfit made such an impressive appearance in that day, as it consisted of five wagons with teams and men, the family in one wagon. There was also 75 cows and 125 other cattle. The oldest boy,, then living, James F., was a youth of 13 years, and rode a pony with others to keep the cattle moving on the road.
      On April 15, 1865, as the caravan was preparing to move out of Minneapolis, the message came that President Lincoln had been assassinated the night preceding at Washington.
      Traveling slowly, the party arrived at Sauk Centre in June. Originally it had been Mr. Bassett's intention to settle in the region about Ottertail lake, but on the way he became interested in accounts of the long meadows along the river north of Long Prairie and he determined to investigate before passing by.
      To rest the stock, he had the caravan encamp for several days while he, on horseback, scouted the country for miles beyond Long Prairie. The result of his observations were such that on his return to Sauk Centre he set his train in motion for the Long Prairie Country. He was not without wise counsel in this connection. Well meaning residents of Sauk Centre felt deeply concerned over the grave mistake he was making, and warned him that the country above Long Prairie was so sandy that white beans could not grow in the soil. However he was not to be dissuaded from his purpose. He told the gratiutious advisers that he had a good farm in Washington County that would raise all the beans he needed, and what he wanted was grass and hay, that he had seen growing along the Long Prairie river. Passing the site of the former Indian Agency, they could observe nothing but old cellars, wells and furroughs that showed where these had been cultivated fields.
      Halting the caravan on the east side of the Long Prairie river, opposite the junction with the Eagle Creek, he made the first settlement in Hartford, June 28, 1865. That summer the family slept under the wagons and cooked under the shelter of a few boards. In September a log cabin had been erected and the family moved in. This was the first house in town. It was just twelve feet square, and at the present day would seem to be something less than commodious for a good sized family, but there was no complaint over such trifles in Hartford seventy years ago.
      Mr. Bassett addressed himself to the needs of his neighbors as well as his own. The assistance and the employment he gave to his neighbors those first years helped them over many occasions of emergency and distress. Soon after arrival, he saw before the others the need of many things. Most of the settlers had children and he saw the need of schools, but there was no county government, no township government and no public schools. Mr. Bassett solved the school problem in his vicinity by establishing a private school at his own expense for all the children. He employed a teacher, Miss Hickman from Sauk Centre, as teacher and maintained the school for two years until the county was organized and public schools provided.
      About the same time he secured the establishment of the first post office at Hartford, taking care of it himself for a time. Edward Elmer, another settler, carrying the mail from Sauk Centre.
      With the gradual opening of fields, the settlers found that they could not consume all of their produce and began to feel the need of a market where they might convert their surplus into cash that would procure for them other things they needed. To meet this need, Mr. Bassett built a large flat boat, on which they were able to float their produce down the river to the Northern Pacific railroad, which had arrived at Motley in 1871. Later he sold this boat to John Wait who used it in conjunction with a steamboat which he built to ply between Long Prairie and Motley.
      He held the confidence of all his neighbors to an unusual degree, and any office of position or honor that he would accept was freely accorded him. He served as officer in town, school and county offices. He was the first elected county commissioner for the Hartford district.
      In the middle of the seventies, wishing to retire from active farm work, he built a flatboat and went from Minneapolis to St. Louis. Then in association with his son, James F., he built a river steamboat of 100 tons burden and then engaged in freighting on the Mississippi, going as far south as Vicksburg, Mississippi. For a time they were engaged in transporting cotton down th Yazoo river. The enterprise was not found to be profitable, and they returned with the steamer to St. Paul, where James F. took over the entire freighting business and John Bassett returned to his farming interests in Hartford. For two years James F. used the steamer to tow barges laden with brick from Chaska to St. Paul when he sold out and returned to Hartford.
      In 1845 Mr. Bassett married Miss Amelia McCormick, a native of Canada, and to them were born the following named children: first two boys, who died in infancy; James Franklin, Mary, John Thaddeus, Thomas Elwood, Herbert Joel and Abbie L. Of these children, two died in infancy, and Mary, John Thaddeus, and Abbie L. died unmarried.
      James F. Bassett, or Frank as he is better known, was born at St. Anthony, Minnesota, now southeast Minneapolis, on May 10, 1853, and as a youth of thirteen years rode a pony to keep the cattle on the move in the journey to Hartford in June, 1865. His education was received in the schools of Minnesota, and he has been a man of affairs since he arrived at the age of eighteen. He has served in every position of trust and honor at the disposal of his fellow citizens in Hartford and Browerville, which speaks for the esteem in which he is held by those who knew him. For many years he has been the magistrate before whom a large number of criminal cases are heard, and Judge Bassett court has the confidence of the bar.
      On November 12, 1877 he married Miss Isabella Neil, the daughter of a pioneer who emigrated from Scotland, and settled in Hartford in the sixties. To them were born three children, Thomas W., now dead, Robert H., now of Salt Lake City; and Mabel G., of Browersville.
      Herbert Joel Bassett, son of John, was born at Cottage Grove, Minnesota, in 1863. He never married and now makes his home in Rapid City, S.D. He was a very small child at the time of the removal to Hartford.
      Thomas Ellsworth Bassett was born at Cottage Grove, Minnesota, shortly before the removal of the Bassett family to Hartford, and he grew up in the county. He married Miss Rose Schneider, the daughter of a German settler, and to them were born the following named children: Ethel, now Mrs. Clem Bentz; Luella, now Mrs. Wilbur Sleeper; Rudolph, who married Miss Anna Hynnek; Alice, who is unmarried; Eileen, now Mrs. Earle Larsen; and a child who died in infancy.

      History of Dakota County and the City of Hastings (1881)
      Page 273. - The assessor was another official of the precinct and John Bassett and early settler of Nininger, was the first whose name appears in the records. The taxable property of the precinct reported July 10th, 1854, was $23,292.
      Page 439. - In 1858, Mr. Bassett removed to Long Prairie, Todd county, where he now lives.
      Page 443. - John Bassett was born in New Hampshire, and came to Nininger in 1852. Now lives at Long Prairie, Todd county.

      History Along the Long Prairie River
      Hartford, on the banks of the river, opposite the mouth of Eagle Creek was settled in 1865 by John Bassett who was attracted to the area by the open grasslands north of the river.

      Minnesota: a state guide by Minnesota Federal Writers' Project - Browerville
      In 1874 John Bassett built a large boat and began floating wheat from his farm one-half mile east of Browerville down the Long Prairie River to Motley. His success led the firm of Chandler, Fisher & Wait to build a steamboat for transporting freight on this river.

      History of Wolfeborough, New Hampshire
      Parker (1901)
      John Bassett came from Lynn, Mass., in 1790, and settled on a lot of land which has ever since been known as the Bassett farm. The buildings were erected at a considerable distance from the main road, the location where they stood being now approached by Mill Street, which has been somewhat recently opened. During the management of affairs by his grandson, Daniel Bassett Jr., the two-story part of the house was removed to North Main Street, and is now, with a portion of the farm, owned and occupied by the heirs of the late Abel Haley. The one-story part still remains with another portion of the farm where the buildings were first erected. Mr. Bassett's children were: Daniel, married Abigail Bean; John, married Ruth Wiggin; Lydia, married Samuel Newell; Hannah, married Joseph Varney; Sally; married Jonathan Buffum; Rebecca, married William Lyons.
      Daniel, the eldest son, succeeded his father in the management of the farm, becoming a successful farmer. He spent most of his active life in Wolfeborough, but in old age accompanied his son, Daniel Bassett, Jr., to Minnesota, whither some of his children had previously emigrated. Following is a list of his children: John, went west when a young man; Hannah, married Amos Jones, of Gilmanton; Joel, went to Minneapolis and accumulated a large property; Daniel, married Jane Campney; Philip, went west; Ursula, married Joseph Canney, of Dover.
      Daniel Bassett Jr.'s children were Abbie Susan, born Feb. 14, 1846, and Maria Jane, born Sept. 22, 1849. Mr. Bassett remained in Wolfeborough until middle age, and was thrifty; he then went to Minneapolis, and became wealthy. He was quite active in his adopted home politically and financially. His decease occurred in 1899.
      John Bassett, second son of John the settler, was a farmer and school-teacher. For twenty-eight successive years he had charge of winter district schools, and during that period taught a few terms in the summer. He became the owner of a farm on the borders of Wolfeborough and Tuftonborough, the dividing line between the two towns passing through his house. Here he resided a number of years, but afterwards purchased the Thomas-Townsend-Fox-Tuttle farm, now occupied by his son George W. Bassett. His son John Newell Bassett then took possession of the Wolfeborough-Tuftonborough farm, where he reared a family consisting of one son, Charles S., who now lives on the farm, and two daughters. Mr. Bassett married Ruth Wiggin, a daughter of James Wiggin, and had children as follows: Daniel W., born Feb. 5, 1812, died young; John N., born March 2, 1815, married Lydia Langley; Charles D., born May 13, 1816, went west; Ruth, born May 7, 1820, married Isaac Lovering, of Freedom; Gulielma, born Jan. 28, 1822, married Jacob K. Purington, of Dover; James, born Sept. 23, 1825, west to Boston; George W., born March 28, 1829, married Roxanna Fullerton. George W. Bassett has three children, James A., Emma, and Clara.
    Person ID I637  4B William Bassett of Lynn, Massachusetts
    Last Modified 27 Jun 2012 

    Father Daniel Bassett,   b. 31 Mar 1773, Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 27 May 1861  (Age 88 years) 
    Mother Abigail Bean,   b. 18 Aug 1785,   d. 1 Mar or 8 Nov 1838  (Age 53 years) 
    Married 29 Dec 1808  Gilmanton, New Hampshire Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Family ID F210  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Amelia McCormick,   b. 1 Sep 1829,   d. 21 May 1894  (Age 64 years) 
    Children 
     1. Bassett
     2. Silas W. Bassett,   b. Abt 1849, Minnesota Find all individuals with events at this location
    +3. James Franklin (Frank) Bassett,   b. 10 May 1852, Hennepin County, Minnesota Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 13 Oct 1938, Long Prairie, Todd County, Minnesota Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 86 years)
     4. Mary Bassett,   b. 16 May 1855, Hennepin County, Minnesota Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Nov 1907  (Age 52 years)
     5. John Thadeus Bassett,   b. 21 Jan 1857, Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 6 Mar 1881  (Age 24 years)
    +6. Thomas Elwood Bassett,   b. 22 Aug 1860, Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 22 Apr 1938  (Age 77 years)
     7. Herbert Joel Bassett,   b. 5 Jun 1863, Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 17 Aug 1944  (Age 81 years)
     8. Abbie L. Bassett,   b. 26 Nov 1864,   d. 18 Feb 1900  (Age 35 years)
    Family ID F224  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Sources 
    1. [S4] DMM - Friends Records - Dover, New Hampshire Monthly Meeting.