Nathaniel Newcomb (1797-?)
The following biography is (slightly revised) from John Bearse Newcomb’s 1874 Genealogical Memoir of the Newcomb Family.
Mr. Newcomb was for many years engaged largely in the manufacture of cotton thread, batting and wadding. He has accumulated a fortune by that business, and is the oldest cotton manufacturer now living in the U.S., now retired from business.
On 17 April 1873, Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb celebrated their golden wedding. There were guests and relatives from Milford, Canton, Easton, Taunton, North Bridgewater, Attleboro, Mansfield, Sharon, Northfiled and New York. In the evening, the granddaughter of the aged couple, Harriet R. Hayward, wore her grandmother’s wedding dress. The dress, made of white satin, with crape over-dress trimmed with satin ribbons, was a handsome piece of work; the waist was three inches long, the skirt two yards around. She also wore her silk stockings, kid slippers and shell comb, all of which were in a good state of perservation. The occasion was doubly interesting, as it was the 29th anniversary of the marriage of their eldest daughter.
The accompanying portrait is from a photograph taken in 1873.