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Below is a family biography included in the Biographical Review Volume of Biographical Sketches of The Leading Citizens of Hampshire County, Massachusetts published by Biographical Review Publishing Company in 1896.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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JASON WILLCUTT, whose portrait is here given, a prosperous farmer of Cummington, Mass., was born in the adjoining town of Goshen, December 5, 1822, son of William and Betsey (Daniels) Willcutt. Mr. Willcutt’s grandparents were Zebulon and Mercy (Litchfield) Willcutt, who moved to Goshen from Cohasset, on the south shore of Massachusetts Bay. Zebulon Willcutt acquired a tract of two hundred acres of wild land, and cleared and improved a good farm, erecting substantial buildings. The estate is now owned by Emily Willcutt. He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and long survived to enjoy the freedom he had helped to win, attaining the advanced age of ninety-three years. In politics he was a Democrat and in religion a Baptist. His wife, Mercy Litchfield, became the mother of the following children: John, Jesse, Joseph, Minerva, Noah, William, Francis, Serviah, and Louis.

William Willcutt, Mr. Willcutt’s father, was born in Goshen, and resided with his parents until 1832. He learned the trade of a wagon-maker, and followed that as an occupation, but was also a Methodist minister, and did a great deal of Christian work. William Willcutt died at the age of seventy-one. He married Betsey Daniels; and they had eight children: Jackson, Jason, Elvira, Hester, Harriet, Eliza, William, and Lorenzo. The mother died at the age of seventy-nine.

Jason Willcutt, having grown to manhood, purchased the D. Richards farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres, situated on the line between Goshen and Cummington, remodelled the house, built a new barn, and otherwise improved the property. He is a painstaking and progressive farmer, as is shown by the neat and orderly appearance of his premises and the general air of thrift and good management, his farm being one of the best in this locality. He is engaged in general husbandry and dairying, keeping twelve cows and some valuable young cattle. He is a Republican in politics, and has served as Selectman.

Mr. Willcutt and Elvira Shaw, daughter of Ebenezer Shaw, were united in marriage on April 16, 1840. They journeyed together through life’s sunshine and its storms more than fifty years. Of the five children who came to brighten their home two, Sylvanus and Guilford, were soon taken away. Those remaining are: Brackley H., who was born March 30, 1848, and now assists his father in managing the farm; Clarinda E., born April 30, 1852, residing at home; Flora P., born March 24, 1859, who married William H. Merritt, a prosperous farmer of Goshen. The mother, too, was called to the home above on March 19, 1892, in her seventieth year. Mr. Willcutt is a Spiritualist in his religious belief, holding in the firm grasp of faith “The truth, to flesh and sense unknown, That Life is ever Lord of Death, And Love can never lose its own.”

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This family biography is one of the numerous biographies included in the Biographical Review Volume of Biographical Sketches of The Leading Citizens of Hampshire County, Massachusetts published in 1896. 

View additional Hampshire County, Massachusetts family biographies here: Hampshire County, Massachusetts Biographies

View a map of 1901 Hampshire County, Massachusetts here: Hampshire County Massachusetts Map

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