Representative women of New England/Adelaide F. Chase

by Mary H. Graves

ADELAIDE F. CHASE

ADELAIDE FLORENCE CHASE, editor and publisher of the Club Calendar, is a native of Fitchburg, Mass. She comes of long lines of ancestry dating back to the early settlement of the Bay Colony.

The daughter of Arrington and Sarah (Brown) Gibson, she is of the .seventh generation of the family founded by John Gibson, to whom land was granted in Cambridge (then called Newtowne), August 4, 1634. The line of descent is: John¹; John, Jr.,² born about 1641; Timothy,³ born about 1679; Reuben,⁴ born in Sudtbury, 1725; Israel,⁵ born in Fitchburg, 1765; Arrington," born in Ashby in 1813; Adelaide Florence, born May 5, 1862.

John GiKson, Jr.,² fourth child of John¹ and his wife Rebecca, served in King Philip's War. He married in 16(>S Rebecca Errington, daughter of Abraham¹ and Rebecca (Cutler) Errington, of Cambridge, and grand-daughter of Deacon Robert¹ Cutler, of Charlestown.

Deacon Timothy² Gibson died in Stow, Mass., in 1757. His first wife, Rebecca, the mother of his twelve children, died in 1754. She was a daughter of Stephen^ and Sarah (Woodward) Gates. Stephen² Gates, her grandfather, came over in the "Diligent" in 1638.

Reuben⁴ Gibson was one of the four Gibson brothers who settled in that part of the old town of Lunenburg which in 1764 became Fitchburg. Reuben's farm of one hundred acres, on Pearl Hill, was deeded to him by his father in 1744. He was Sergeant in Captain Ebenezer Wood's company, which marched from Fitchburg on the Lexington alarm of April 19, 1775. In 1776 lie was chairman of the Committee on Safety and Correspondence. From the records he appears to have been a Captain of militia. He and his brothers, it is said, wen; "all good fighting men, famous for great strength and courage." The house of his brother Isaac was a garrison house, the "Fort Gibson" of 1748, the time of the Indian raid on the town. Captain Reuben Gibson married at Sudbury in 1746 Lois Smith, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Smith and granddaughter of John and Sarah (Hunt) Smith, of Sudbury.

Israel⁵ Gibson was the seventh of a family of eight children. He died in Fitchburg in 1818. His wife, Lucinda Whiting, a native of Hanover, Mass., died July 15, 1870, in the ninety-fourth year of her age. They hail nine children.

Arrington⁶ Gibson, the "Arrington Gibson, 3d," of the Fitchburg records, married April 14, 1834, Sarah Brown. She was born in Fitchburg, February 16, 1815, daughter of Amos and Sally (Mclntire) Brown.

Amos Brown, Mrs. Chase's maternal grandfather, was a son of Zachariah Brown, of Concord, Mass., who married November 27, 1766, Martha Brown, of Watertown (or Waltham), daughter of Daniel Brown.

Mr. and Mrs. Arrington⁶ Gibson reared eleven children, three sons and eight daughters, Adelaide Florence being the youngest-born. She was graduated from the Fitchburg High School in 1880. After teaching school in that city for a few months she entered the office of the Fitchhurg Daily Sentinel, and improved her opportuiiity to leani the newspaper business from its beginning through all its branches.

On December 8, 1883, she was married to Herbert Leon Chase, a native of New Hampton, N.H. For some years, or until May 1, 1898, Mr. and Mrs. Chase resided in Fitchburg. Their home is now in Waltham, Mass. Mr. Chase is an optician, his place of business being in Boston. Some of his ancestors served in the Revolution. Mrs. Chase was one of the charter members of the Fitchnurg Woman's Club, organized in 18(K). Realizing that a periodical devoted exclusively to the interests of the women's ciubs in New England would be a useful publication, she established in 1900 the Club Calendar, with offices in Tremont Temple Building, Boston, and at Waltham, Mass. As a reporter, city editor on daily newspapers, and contributor to magazines, Mrs. Chase had acquired the practical knowledge necessary for the success of her enterprise. As its editor, she has been un-usually honored as the guest of leading women's clubs. She has often spoken by invitation under their auspices upon subjects pertaining to the plans and work of women's clubs.

The Fitchburg Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, was organized at her suggestion, and she was appointed" its first regent. This office she resigned when moving from Fitchburg to Boston, but she retained her membership in the chapter.