Photo from the Cushman Family Collection Duxbury Historical Society

Image The family of Capt. David Cushman and his wife widow, Mary (Alden) Sampson. Mary was a direct descendant of John and Priscilla Alden. She was born in the Alden House.

Cushman Family Collection (1838-1986) Drew Archival Library DAL.MSS.035

There are series for other members of the Cushman/Hall family, including Lucie (Hall) Cushman’s brothers, Samuel J. Hall, George P. Hall and Parker J. Hall.

BIOGRAPHICS SKETCHES

Lucie (Hall) Cushman (1865-1946) was the daughter of George Harvey Hall and Ardelia (Ripley) Hall. Her father was the keeper of the Gurnet Lighthouse. Lucie was born in Marshfield Hill, MA and raised in Duxbury. She married her cousin, Walter Fosdick Cushman, the son of Capt. David Cushman, Jr. and Mary (Alden) Cushman, in 1893. The couple had one child, Lura Oakes Cushman. Lucie had an extensive knowledge of the maritime history of Duxbury and transcribed the customs records of Plymouth which are part of the Collection. Her husband, Walter F. Cushman (1852-1915), was born in Duxbury and was a first cousin to Lucie’s mother, Ardelia Ripley. He was employed as a mechanic and boat builder. He lived his entire life in at the Cushman estate on Anchorage Lane.

Lura Oakes Cushman (1894-1988) was the daughter of Walter F. Cushman and Lucie Hall. A direct descendant of John Alden, Lura O. Cushman was born in Duxbury in 1894. She attended public schools in and graduated from Partridge Academy, Duxbury’s High School. During the 300th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims (Pilgrim Tercentenary) she was part of the Pageant in Plymouth in 1921. From 1921-1922 she studied for her teaching degree at Framingham Teacher’s College and began a career in teaching home economics and cooking, including at Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery in Boston, MA, Framingham State College and Simmons College. In 1948 she studied Child Psychology at Boston University and subsequently went to work for the Household Nursing Association. During her retirement years, Lura Cushman traveled extensively around the world, her goal was to visit all the ports that her grandfather, Capt. David Cushman, Jr. had been. She was also active in the First Parish Church, the Alden Kindred and the Duxbury Rural & Historical Society. Lura Cushman inherited and lived in her family’s home until her death in 1988 at the age of 94. Her estate was donated to the Wildlands Trust, a land conservation organization. She is buried in Mayflower Cemetery.

Captain David Cushman, Jr. (1807-1878) was the son of David Cushman, Sr. (1775-1857) and Betsy Thomas. He was born in Duxbury, MA where his father was a blacksmith on St. George St. As a young man he went away to sea and became a successful captain for Ezra Weston and others. His voyages took him across the Atlantic and also in Asia. In he married the widow, Mary (Alden) Sampson. Mary was a direct descendant of John and Priscilla Alden. She was born in the Alden House. Her first husband, Capt. Daniel Sampson, died at sea. When Capt. Cushman married Mary (Alden) Sampson, he also took in her son, Daniel Sampson, Jr. (1835-1893). Capt. David Cushman and his wife had five children, only two of whom survived to adulthood – Walter F. Cushman and Mary Cushman. Walter F. married Lucie Hall; Mary married Horace Sampson.

Link to Archives Cushman Family