Thomas S. "Sid" Mann, III (1942-2019)

Sid's roots ran about as deep as they get in Massachusetts and American History. His ancestor, English born Richard Man (1611-1655), was an early settler of Plymouth Colony. Richard's grandson Ensign settled in Petersham, MA. Ensign II attended Harvard and was the leader of the Petersham branch of the Sons of Liberty, the organization responsible for the Boston Tea Party protest.

Another notable ancestor of Sid Mann, was his 4th great grandfather, Lieutenant Luther Holland of Petersham, who was an American Revolution Patriot. Sid was proudly accepted as an SRA (Sons of the American Revolution) member in 2017.

On a personal note, I am deeply saddened by his passing. We had fun researching our roots. I found we were related on 2 branches--one even closer than the Mann branch! I didn't know him long and only met him once, but I'm so glad I found him during my ancestral journey. You couldn't help but love Sid. He was a great, funny bloke. ;-) I'll miss him greatly.

***

OBITUARY

March 9, 2019

Thomas S. "Sid" Mann III

JANUARY 1, 1942 ~ MARCH 6, 2019 (AGE 77)

SARASOTA, FL – Thomas S. “Sid” Mann III, formerly of Athol, Massachusetts, took his last Whistle-Stop Tour on Wednesday, March 6th, 2019 while passing away peacefully with his loving wife Sandra by his side.

Sid was educated in Orange, Massachusetts, schools and graduated from New Salem Academy. He then went on to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Miami, where he trained as an Airframe & Power Plant Tech. After obtaining his FAA license, he eventually returned to the family business in Athol.

Following his father’s passing in 1976, 9th generation lumberman Sid owned and operated the well-respected T.S. Mann Lumber Company that was vital to the community. In 2002, his son Tom Mann took over as President when Sid moved to Sarasota, Florida, where he worked as a building supervisor. He also drove a CDL Priority Mail truck until his retirement in 2015. Since Sid let no grass grow under his feet, he kept busy volunteering at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron, and also at the Florida Railroad Museum in Parrish, FL, where he married Sandra in 2015 while standing on one of the famous locomotives. He and best man, Ed Conkey, both wore coveralls and railroad engineer caps.

Sid was always a pillar of the community. He was the youngest Athol Selectman on record, and served for decades on numerous town committees—even running for State Senate. When a local community service organization asked for something, Sid gave it his all. He was a past president and a longstanding member of Camp Cheneo, and he was VP of the New Salem Academy Board of Trustees, and a trustee for 20+ years.

Sid will be well remembered for his love of trains—he had enough railroad memorabilia to fill a museum. He was once owner of the Athol Depot, as well as owner of a full size locomotive and caboose. He often based summer family vacations on where a certain steam locomotive would be—traveling by Amtrak around the country. He was also known for his love of Corvettes; teaching his first wife Janet how to drive a standard in his ‘63 Split Window Coupe. Also, it was anecdotally known that one of his best friends, Peter Gerry, started his tire business after seeing Sid burn-out tires in his ‘Vettes.

Sid was proud of his recent induction into the society of the Sons of the American Revolution. His family roots ran about as deep as they get in Massachusetts and American History. His ancestor, English born Richard Man (1611-1655), was an early settler of Plymouth Colony. Richard's grandson Ensign settled in Petersham, MA. Ensign II attended Harvard and was the leader of the Petersham branch of the Sons of Liberty, the organization responsible for the Boston Tea Party protest. Sid’s 4th great grandfather, Lieutenant Luther Holland of Petersham, marched to Lexington, and was actually within earshot of the Shot Heard ‘Round the World.

Sid leaves his loving wife, Sandra Mann, and her son Jonathan and daughter Stephanie and her husband Moses. He leaves three sons, Tom and his wife Theresa of Athol, Eric of Orlando, FL, and Casey of West Palm Beach, FL; also, his first wife Janet, of Athol and sister, Elizabeth Fountain of Orange, MA. 

He was pre-deceased by his parents Thomas S. Mann Jr, & Alice Williams. Additionally, he leaves two granddaughters Mackenzie and Jessica, as well as many cousins, nieces, & nephews. Many folks simply referred to him as “Uncle Sid.”

Education of our youth was important to Sid. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Athol High School Scholarship Association, P.O. Box 338, Athol MA 01331, or the Orange High School Alumni Scholarship Fund, c/o Orange Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 298 Orange, MA 01364.

Calling hours will be held Thursday March 14th, 2019 from 4-7 p.m. at Witty’s Funeral Home, 158 South Main Street, Orange.

The funeral service will be conducted at Witty’s Funeral Home on Friday, March 15th at 11 a.m.

You may offer sympathy and remembrances online at www.wittyfuneralhome.com, or on his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sid.mann.94.

Mystery Photos

These two photos came from a Lamb/Mann relation. These ladies probably lived in Athol or Orange, MA. If anyone knows their identity, please contact me at newfiescott@gmail.com.



Lamb Family of Athol

ADDENDUM: Updated Info/findings

Lineage

1. Samuel Lamb: Birth 10 March 1721 in Framingham, MA Death 25 March 1793. Married Sarah Atwood.
2. Joshua Lamb: Birth abt 1748 Death 14 Nov 1830 in Phillipston, MA. Married Martha Kendall
3. James Lamb: Birth 6 Jan 1809 in Phillipston, Worcester, MA. Death 28 Mar 1871 in Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts. Married Sarah Hubbard

Children: Charles S. Lamb (1834-1921); Abby Maria Lamb (1838-1859); Sarah Elizabeth Lamb (1840-1900); Martha Elvira Lamb (1842-1890)

Charles S Lamb

Sarah E. Lamb

Martha E.Lamb

No photo found of Abby. As far as I can tell, there are no descendants of Charles and Abby. I descend from Martha.

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A few months ago I got a "genealogist's high" when I made a profound discovery. It's a long story, but I found a Mann relative in Athol a couple of years ago who had a very strong resemblence (one photo in particular) to my grandmother. What baffled me is that they seemed too distantly related to share such similar features. This got me highly interested in DNA and solidified my passion for family research. Anyway, what I accidentally discovered was that although they shared the last name of Mann, they were more closely related by another family--the Lamb family of Athol! Ba-da-Bing! There you have it--2 bloodlines.*

Now I have a great interest in James & Elizabeth (Hubbard) Lamb and their descendents. James (1809-1871) and "Eliza" are buried in Highland Cemetery. I can find very little documentation on their son Charles S. Lamb who married Abbie Fay. He was born in 1834, but I have no death info. I would VERY much like to see photos of these people**, including their daughters Abby Maria Lamb who married John Howard Lee, and Martha Elvira Lamb who married Horace Mann. This is a photo of daughter Sarah Elizabeth Lamb and her husband Joseph B. Cardany. They lived in Athol and Orange, MA.

1870 Athol Properties



*I think this must be very common in earlier centuries when there wasn't as much choice in mates as we have today, and people didn't do a lot of moving. They settled in one area and stayed--generation after generation. I think there are a lot of branch crossovers in my Mann chart--currently at 15 pages of descendents.

** Email me at newfiescott@gmail.com

Source: Athol, Past and Present, Caswell, 1899





Famous Educator Horace Mann VS. Horace Mann of Athol/Petersham

I keep forgetting there is confusion in the identity of my 2nd great grandfather Horace Mann and the "great educator." First, shame on their parents for not giving them middle names! These two men came from Massachusetts, but were NOT related. My 2nd great grandfather, also an educator among other things, was young enough to be the famous one's son. In the 1960s, a school was built on the land my 2nd great grandfather donated to the church, but those poor people thought it was the famous Horace Mann--as was written in a church publication. I hate to burst bubbles. For the first time, I spoke to relatives today in California, and I believe they also were under the impression that they were related to Horace Mann, the famous educator. Sorry!



Richard Man of Scituate, Massachusetts

I am a descendant of Richard Man(n) who arrived in Scituate in 1636 from England. Scituate was settled by a group of people from Plymouth about 1627 (see Plymouth Colony.) Several generations of the Mann family lived at the Mann Farmhouse at the corner of Stockbridge Road and Greenfield Lane, which is now a museum: http://scituatehistoricalsociety.org/mann-house

Family history has been preserved in a book by family genealogist George S. Mann (my 2nd great grand uncle): Mann memorial. A record of the Mann family in America. Genealogy of the descendants of Richard Mann, of Scituate, Mass. Preceded by English family records, and an account of the Wrentham, Rehoboth, Boston, Lexington, Virginia, and other branches of the Manns who settled in this country.

Richard and his wife Rebecca had 4 sons. Thomas, the second son, begat 8 children. The 8th child, Ensign Mann, Sr. (born around 1699), wed and died in Petersham, MA. Ensign Sr. begat another Ensign Mann in 1740. Ensign #2 went to Harvard, was the leader of the Sons of Liberty and begat Ensign Mann Jr. in 1778. Ensign Jr. begat William, William begat Horace, Horace begat James Lamb Mann, and this is where my line in Athol/Petersham ended. James' daughter Vera (my grandmother) married a preacher and lived all over the U.S.

The Start

A year ago I started researching my ancestry and have been loving every minute of it. I found out a little about my grandmother's family, but spent most of my time on my grandfather's Newfoundland roots. But last evening I started back researching my Massachusetts roots--specifically the Mann family. My grandmother was Vera Ida Mann and she was born in Athol, Mass. in 1914.

Since I left off last year, a lot of people have jumped on the research wagon and I was able to trace back to 1577 England! (I still have to verify the paper trail.) The Richard Man family arrived in Scituate, Plymouth, Mass. in 1636, and the settlement is still there, along with a museum! http://www.scituatehistoricalsociety.org/sites_mann.html

Before I go further on this blog, I must state that I have had a fascination with Massachussetts that started with the death of JFK Jr., and in 1999 my husband and I traveled there every fall for about five years. We love Boston, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. OH, HOW I LONG TO GO BACK!