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��Hon. Aretas Blood.
��revolutionize human destiny. It au- uihilated distance ; it brought the products of mill and farm to points of distribution ; it put the vast inte- rior of our country in connection with our sea-board ; it united the North and the South, the East and the West, in an imperishable union ; it made possible the rapid growth of our great cities. It vastly increased human wants and necessities, and opened up a thousand channels for the energy and work of mankind. After the railroad came electricity, commerce and manufacturing on a gigantic scale, mines, banking, insur- ance, and the complicated business of a great nation, in which large for- tunes could be accumulated. From farm and college hall the brightest minds and keenest intellects have been drawn to the counting-house, the machine-shop, and the railroad office.
The highest elevations in rank, in honor, and in emolument have been gained by self-made men. By their skill and ability great enterprises have been started and successfully carried on, and their labors have been appreciated and rewarded. A self- made man, honored, respected, and successful, is the subject of this sketch, — Hon. Aretas Blood, of Man- chester, — a man whose name will ever be inseparably connected with the de- velopment of the massive locomotive in use to-day, and with the inception and growth of the railroad system of the United States.
ANCESTRY.
The Blood family is one of the old- est in New England. The original pioneer, the ancestor of most of the
��name in this country, was James Blood, said to have been a brother of Col. John Blood, known in English history for his designs on Charles II. James Blood and his wife Ellen came from Paddington, Nottingham coun- ty, England, and settled in Concord, Mass., as early as 1639. He had a great estate, and died November 17, 1683. His wife Ellen died in 1674.
2. Richard Blood, son of James and Ellen Blood, was one of the first settlers and largest proprietors of Groton. He was town-clerk in 1668. His wife's name was Isabel.
3. James Blood, son of Richard and Isabel Blood, lived in Groton. He married (1) Elizabeth Longley, September 7, 1669 ; (2) Abigail. He was killed by the Indians September 13 (or October 13), 1692.
4. John Blood, son of James and Abigail Blood, was born in Groton, March 16, 1689; married July 13, 1712, Joanna Nutting, of Groton; settled in his native town, and died August 23, 1758, in the 70th year of his age.
5. Moses Blood, son of John and Joanna (Nutting) Blood, was born in Groton, November 25, 1724; set- tled in Pepperell ; married Elizabeth vStone, June, 27 1745 ; and died in Pepperell.
6. Sewall Blood, sou of Moses and Elizabeth (Stone) Blood, was born in Pepperell, May 24, 1756 ; married Molly Kendall, of Shirley, April 9, 1786 ; and was a soldier of the Revo- lution. He died in Windsor, Vt., in 1813; his widow in 1814.
7. Nathaniel Blood, son of'Sewall and Mary (Kendall) Blood, was born in Shirley, August 17, 1788; mar- ried Roxellana Proctor, a daughter
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