Genealogical record of the Hodges family of New England ending December 31, 1894

mums209 Charles W. & Joseph F. Hodges Account Books Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Ken Fones-Wolf. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries 2003

Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Eric Cartier. 2003-05-08 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 mu77 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Charles W. and Joseph F. Hodges Charles W. & Joseph F. Hodges Account Books 1862-1865 MS 209 2 volumes, 1 box Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries Brothers Charles W. and Joseph F. Hodges moved from Norton, Mass., to Foxboro, and established a successful retail grocery business just prior to the Civil War that became the basis for other mercantile enterprises.These two account books appear to be customer ledgers of the grocery firm Hodges and Messinger, which was to become the Union Store of Charles W. and Joseph F. Hodges. English.

Brothers Charles Williams Hodges and Joseph Francis Hodges were are among ten children born to Williams and Avis (Whitmarsh) Hodges of Norton, Mass. Charles, the eldest child, was born on Sept. 12, 1823, and worked as a clerk before establishing himself as a merchant by the mid-1850s. A community minded man, he served on the Norton School Committee in 1848-1850 and was elected to represent his town in the state legislature in 1853.

Relocating to Foxboro in 1857, Charles developed a grocery partnership with a man named Messinger (probably Allen H. Messinger), but achieved wealth as a real estate and insurance agent. Hodges' prowess with money is suggested by his service as town treasurer and a stint as President of the Foxboro Savings Bank beginning in 1880. He continuing in public service, as well, working on the school committee, as town assessor, selectman, and overseer of the poor.

Four years younger than his brother, Joseph was born on Dec. 1, 1827, and worked as a carpenter and builder before joining Charles in the grocery trade, later expanding with him into furniture and carpets. Like his brother, Joseph also achieved a degree of local notice in Foxboro, serving as town treasurer and postmaster before retiring from business affairs and moving to Hyde Park.

Charles died on Mar. 20, 1900, survived by his wife Mary Eliza Nichols (1827-1910) and seven children, with Joseph following in 1901.

Brothers Charles W. and Joseph F. Hodges moved from Norton, Mass., to Foxboro, and established a successful retail grocery business just prior to the Civil War that became the basis for other mercantile enterprises.These two account books appear to be customer ledgers of the grocery firm Hodges and Messinger, which was to become the Union Store of Charles W. and Joseph F. Hodges.

The collection is open for research.

Cite as: Charles W. & Joseph F. Hodges Account Books (MS 209). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Acquired from Charles Apfelbaum, 1987.

Processed by Ken Fones-Wolf, Sept. 1988.

Almon D. Hodges, Genealogical record of the Hodges family of New England ending December 31, 1894. Boston : Frank H. Hodges, 1896.

Massachusetts (East) Mercantile Hodges, Charles W., 1823-1900 Hodges, Joseph F. (Joseph Francis), 1827-1901 Grocery trade--Massachusetts--Foxboro--19th century Consumers--Massachusetts--Foxboro--19th century Foxboro (Mass.)--Economic conditions--19th century Account books