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Ettcyrinpebfa  of  massachusetts 


Biographical — Genealogical 


Compiled  with  Assistance  of  the  Following 
ADVISORY  COMMITTEE 


WILLIAM  RICHARD  CUTTER 

Former  Librarian  of  Woburn  Public  Library; 
Historian  of  New  England  Historic-Genea- 
logical Society;  Author  of  "History  of  Arling- 
ton," "Bibliography  of  Woburn,"  "History  of 
the   Cutter   Family,"   etc. 

EUGENE  C.  GARDNER 

Member  of  American  Institute  of  Architecture, 
etc.;  Author  of  "Homes  and  How  to  Make 
Them,"  and  other  popular  works;  Lecturer, 
and  frequent  contributor  to  leading  magazines 
and  newspapers. 

HARLAN  HOGE  BALLARD,  A.  M. 

Librarian  of  Berkshire  Athenaeum  and  Mu- 
seum; Secretary  of  Berkshire  Historical  Soci- 
ety; Author  of  "Three  Kingdoms;"  "World  of 
Matter;"  "Translation  into  English,  Hexameters 
of  Virgil's  Aeneid;"  Joint  Author  "American 
Plant  Book;"  "Barnes'  Readers;"  "One  Thou- 
-sand  Blunders  in  English." 

REV.  JOHN  H.  LOCKWOOD,  A.  M. 

Member  of  Connecticut  Valley  Historical  Soci- 
ety, and  Western  Hampden  Historical  Society; 
Author  of  "History  of  the  Town  of  Westfleld, 
Mass." 


HON.  ELLERY  BICKNELL  CRANE 

Charter  Member,  ex-President  and  for  fifteen 
years  Librarian  of  Worcester  Society  of  Antiq- 
uity, and  Editor  of  Its  Proceedings;  Author  of 
"Uawson  Family  Memorial,"  "The  Crane  Fam- 
ily," in  two  volumes,  "History  of  15th  Regi- 
ment In  the  Revolution,"  and  Compiler  of  a 
Number  of  Genealogies  of  the  Prominent  Fam- 
ilies of  Massachusetts.  Member  of  the  New 
England  Historic-Genealogical  and  other  His- 
torical  Societies. 

CHARLES  FRENCH  READ 

Clerk  and  Treasurer  of  Bostonian  Society; 
Director  of  Brookline  Historical  Society;  Sec- 
ond Vice-President  of  Mass.  Soc.  S.  A.  R.; 
Chairman  Membership  Com.  Mass.  Soc.  Colo- 
nial Wars;  Member  Board  of  Managers,  Mass. 
Soc,  War  of  1812;  Treasurer  of  Read  Soc.  for 
Genealogical    Research. 

ROBERT  SAMUEL  RANTOUL 

Ex-President  of  Essex  Institute;  Member  of 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society;  ex-Repre- 
sentative  and   ex-Mayor  of  Salem. 

E.  ALDEN  DYER,  M.  D. 

President  of  Old  Bridgewater  Historical  Soci- 
ety; President  of  Dyer  Family  Association. 


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Both  justice  and  decency  require  that  we  should  bestow  on  our  forefathers 
an  honorable  remembrance — Thucydides 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


SMITH,  C.  Fayette, 

Banker. 

Dean  of  the  banking  fraternity  of  Hol- 
yoke,  C.  Fayette  Smith  reviews  a  Hfe  of 
fifty  years  spent  in  the  banking  business. 
The  institution  of  which  he  is  the  honored 
head  and  in  which  he  began  as  cashier 
holds  a  commanding  position  among  West- 
ern Massachusetts  financial  concerns  and  is 
regarded  as  Holyoke's  leading  bank.  Its 
phenomenal  growth  since  his  connection 
began  may  be  justly  attributed  in  a  large  de- 
gree to  his  clear  vision,  modern  progressive 
management  and  to  his  personal  reputation 
as  one  of  the  foremost  financiers  of  his 
State.  With  the  exception  of  three  years 
passed  in  the  employ  of  the  George  W. 
Prentiss  Company,  wire  manufacturers,  he 
has  been  engaged  in  the  banking  business 
from  the  time  he  was  sixteen  until  the  pres- 
ent, beginning  as  clerk  in  the  Hadley  Falls 
Bank.  In  1897  he  had  reached  his  present 
position,  chief  executive  of  the  City  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Holyoke,  and  for  twenty 
years  has  ably  guided  the  destinies  of  that 
institution.  He  is  a  descendant  of  William 
Smith,  born  in  England,  who  with  four 
brothers  and  a  sister  settled  in  Connecticut, 
William  settling  later  in  Wethersfield  in 
that  State,  where  he  died  in  January,  1670, 
leaving  nine  children  by  his  wife,  Elizabeth 
(Starling)  Smith,  whom  he  married  in 
1644. 

The  line  of  descent  from  William  Smith, 
the  founder,  is  through  his  son,  Benjamin 
Smith,  born  in  Farmington,  Connecticut,  in 
1658,  a  farmer  and  saw  mill  owner  of  West 
Springfield,  Massachusetts.  He  died  in 
1738,  at  the  good  old  age  of  eighty,  leaving 
sons    and    daughters    by    his    wife,    Ruth 


(Loomis)  Smith.  The  line  continued 
through  Jonathan  Smith,  son  of  Benjamin 
and  Ruth  (Loomis)  Smith,  who  was  born 
at  West  Springfield,  and  there  lived  a  strict 
and  pious  Hfe  until  his  death,  February  9, 
1772.  He  married  Margaret,  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  Ball,  who  bore  him  sons  and  daugh- 
ters, including  a  son,  Jonathan  (2)  Smith, 
born  about  1725.  He  inherited  the  Ball 
homestead  at  West  Springfield,  through  his 
mother,  and  there  resided  until  death,  leav- 
ing among  his  seven  children  a  son,  Jona- 
than (3)  Smith,  who  also  resided  at  West 
Springfield,  married  and  left  a  son,  Jon- 
athan (4)  Smith,  grandfather  of  C.  Fayette 
Smith,  of  Holyoke. 

This  Jonathan  (4)  Smith  was  born  at 
West  Springfield,  August  27,  1790,  and  re- 
sided in  that  part  of  the  town  now  Holyoke. 
There  he  followed  his  trade  of  cooper  until 
his  death,  February  27,  1845.  He  married, 
February  27,  1816,  Martha,  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph Ely,  of  West  Springfield,  a  descendant 
of  Nathaniel  Ely,  through  his  son,  Samuel 
Ely ;  his  son.  Deacon  Joseph  Ely ;  his  son, 
Joseph  (2)   Ely;    his  son.  Captain  Joseph 

(3)  Ely,  an  officer  of  the  French  and  In- 
dian War;  his  son,  Joseph  (4)  Ely,  a  sol- 
dier of  the  Revolution,  who  married  Mar- 
tha Smith,  and  they  were  the  parents  of 
Martha,  born  May  29,  1793,  died  March  24, 
1867,  married,  February  27,  1816,  Jonathan 

(4)  Smith. 

Jonathan  Moseley  Smith,  eldest  son  of 
Jonathan  (4)  and  Martha  (Ely)  Smith,  was 
born  at  South  Hadley,  Massachusetts, 
March  20,  1817,  died  March  13,  1867.  In 
early  life  he  was  a  farmer,  but  later  and  for 
many  years  he  operated  the  swing  ferry. 
He  married,  March  30,  1843,  '"  "^^est 
Springfield,  Lucinda  Warren,  born  Novem- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ber  3,  1823,  died  in  Holyoke,  November 
13,  1908,  daughter  of  Oliver  and  Esther 
(Dickinson)  Warren,  of  Amherst,  Massa- 
chusetts. They  were  the  parents  of  four 
children :  Emily  M.,  deceased,  was  the  wife 
of  F.  L.  Seaver;  Ellen  S. ;  Charles  Fay- 
ette, of  further  mention;   Herbert  M. 

Charles  Fayette  Smith,  elder  son  of  Jon- 
athan Moseley  and  Lucinda  (Warren) 
Smith,  was  born  at  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, August  24,  1 85 1.  Until  sixteen  years 
of  age  he  attended  the  public  schools,  and 
at  that  age  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  Hadley 
Falls  Bank,  a  connection  which  existed  for 
fourteen  years,  the  boy  becoming  a  man  of 
banking  experience  and  teller  of  the  bank 
for  a  number  of  years.  At  the  age  of  thirty 
he  resigned  his  banking  position  to  enter  the 
employ  of  the  George  W.  Prentiss  Com- 
pany, but  three  years  later  returned  to  his 
first  love,  the  banking  business,  as  cashier 
of  the  City  National  Bank  of  Holyoke,  serv- 
ing in  that  position  from  his  election  in 
1884  until  1897,  when  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  bank,  a  position  he  now  holds. 
In  1900  he  was  appointed  receiver  for  the 
Glasgow  Manufacturing  Company,  and  af- 
ter closing  up  all  the  affairs  of  the  old  com- 
pany he  organized  a  new  corporation,  the 
Hadley  Mills,  of  which  he  was  chosen  treas- 
urer, serving  ten  years.  The  mills  of  the 
old  company  after  being  closed  four  years 
were  reopened  by  the  new  company  and 
have  since  been  in  successful  operation.  He 
was  also  president  of  the  Holyoke  Ice  Com- 
pany, and  is  deeply  interested  in  all  that 
tends  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  city.  In 
political  faith  he  is  a  Republican,  his  clubs 
the  Bay  State,  Holyoke  Canoe,  Holyoke  and 
Mt.  Tom  Golf. 


TOWNE,  James  Weld, 

Printer  and  Business  Man. 

Of  the  ninth  American  generation  of  his 
family,  Mr.  Towne,  although  born  in  Cali- 


fornia, has  spent  the  years  of  his  life  since 
1 881  in  Massachusetts,  the  State  in  which 
his  American  ancestor  lived  from  the  date 
of  his  coming  from  England,  about  1635, 
until  his  death.  The  surname  Towne  is  an 
ancient  English  surname,  but  not  of  fre- 
quent occurrence.  It  is  found  as  early  as 
1227,  and  again  in  the  reign  of  Henry  IV. ; 
the  coat-of-arms  of  the  Towne  family  and 
the  family  name  are  found  on  a  memorial 
window  in  a  church  at  Kensington,  County 
Kent.  The  arms  are  thus  described:  "Ar- 
gent on  a  chevron  sable,  three  crosses  cross- 
let,  ermine." 

(I)  William  Towne,  the  founder  of  the 
family  in  America,  was  born  in  England  in 
1600,  and  baptized  May  21,  1603.  He  mar- 
ried, at  Yarmouth,  Norfolkshire,  England, 
March  25,  1620,  in  the  Church  of  St.  Nich- 
olas, Joanna  Blessing,  and  there  six  of  his 
children  were  baptized.  He  came  to  New 
England  about  1630,  settled  first  at  Salem, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  had  a  grant  of 
land  in  1640,  residing  in  that  part  of  the 
town  called  Northfields  until  1651.  In  1652 
he  sold  his  Salem  property  and  bought  land 
in  Topsfield  where  he  died  about  1672.  His 
widow  died  in  1682.  They  were  the  parents 
of  ten  children,  two  of  whom  were  put  to 
death  during  the  infernal  "witchcraft  de- 
lusion," which  left  so  black  a  spot  on  the 
history  of  Massachusetts.  Children :  Re- 
becca, baptized  February  21,  1621,  executed 
for  witchcraft  in  Salem,  July  19,  1692,  wife 
of  Francis  Nourse ;  John,  baptized  Febru- 
ary 16,  1624;  Susannah,  baptized  October 
20,  1625;  Edmund,  baptized  June  28,  1628; 
Jacob,  baptized  March  11,  1632;  Mary,  bap- 
tized August  24,  1634,  executed  for  witch- 
craft at  Salem,  September  22,  1692,  wife  of 
Isaac  Estey ;  Sarah,  baptized  September 
3,  1648;  Joseph,  of  further  mention. 

(II)  Joseph  Towne,  son  of  William  and 
Joanna  (Blessing)  Towne,  was  born  about 
1639,  baptized  September  3,  1649,  resided  in 
Salem  until  March  22,  1690,  then  moved  to 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Topsfield,  where  he  was  a  member  of  the 
church,  and  died  in  1713.  He  married  Phebe 
Perkins,  daughter  of  Thomas  Perkins,  of 
Topsfield.  Children:  Phebe,  born  May 
4,  1666,  died  young;   Joanna,  born  January 

22,  1668,  married  Thomas  Nichols,  Decem- 
ber 15,  1694,  lived  in  Sutton;  Mary,  born 
March  27,  1670;  Susannah,  born  December 
24,  1 67 1,  married  John  Cummings,  January 

23,  1688,  died  September  13,  1776;  Joseph, 
of  further  mention ;  Sarah,  born  December 
30,  1675,  died  November  i,  1760;  John, 
born  February  20,  1678;  Martha,  born  May 
19,  1680,  married  Isaac  Leach  ;  Phebe,  born 
July  23,  1685,  married  Mr.  Newhall,  he 
died  June  10,  1736. 

(III)  Joseph  (2)  Towne,  son  of  Joseph 
(i)  and  Phebe  (Perkins)  Towne,  was  born 
at  Topsfield,  Massachusetts,  March  22, 
1673,  died  May  28,  1757.  He  married  (first) 
Margaret  Case,  of  Salem,  November  9, 
1699;  married  (second)  Abigail  Curtis, 
November  5,  1707;  married  (third)  Mary 
Mower,  February  21,  1730.  Children  of 
first  wife:  Margaret,  born  August  6,  1700, 
died  January  5,  1757,  married  Samuel  Per- 
kins, August  22,  1723;  Joseph,  born  De- 
cember 26,  1701  ;  Archelaus,  August  31, 
1703;  Israel,  of  further  mention.  By  his 
second  wife  Joseph  Towne  had  ten  children 
and  by  his  third  wife  one  child. 

(IV)  Israel  Towne,  son  of  Joseph  (2) 
Towne  and  his  first  wife,  Margaret  (Case) 
Towne,  was  born  at  Topsfield,  Massachu- 
setts, March  24,  1705,  died  at  Amherst, 
New  Hampshire,  in  1791.  He  was  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Narragansett,  after- 
ward named  Souhegan,  and  incorporated 
as  Amherst  in  1760.  The  first  settlement 
was  made  there  in  1734,  and  September  22, 
1 741,  when  the  church  was  organized,  the 
name  of  Captain  Israel  Towne  appeared. 
He  married.  May  23,  1729,  Grace  Gardner, 
of  Middletown,  who  died  in  1803.  Chil- 
dren: Thomas,  born  1732;  Archelaus, 
1734;    Israel,  of  further  mention;    Moses, 


born  May  6,  1739;  Gardner,  born  June  6, 
1 741,  married  Abigail  Hopkins,  no  issue; 
Elizabeth,  born  May  28,  1745,  died  July  16, 
1794;  Susannah,  born  May  28,  1748,  mar- 
ried Timothy  Nichols,  October  2,  1779; 
Mary,  born  April  20,  1751,  died  August  29, 
1781. 

(V)  Israel  (2)  Towne,  son  of  Israel  (i) 
and  Grace  (Gardner)  Towne,  was  born  at 
Topsfield,  Massachusetts,  November  16, 
1736,  died  at  Stoddard,  New  Hampshire, 
April  28,  181 3.  He  went  with  his  parents 
to  Amherst,  New  Hampshire,  and  there 
married,  July  31,  1760,  Lydia,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Hopkins.  Children :  Israel,  of 
further  mention;  William,  born  July  21, 
1763;  Gardner,  May  i,  1765;  Benjamin, 
March  23,  1767;  Andrew,  July  11,  1769; 
Lydia,  April  11,  1772,  died  August  28,  1777; 
Daniel,  born  August  20,  1774;  Hannah, 
August  28,  1776,  died  October,  1872,  aged 
ninety-six,  married  Ebenezer  Bancroft,  of 
Dunstable. 

(VI)  Israel  (3)  Towne,  son  of  Israel  (2) 
and  Lydia  (Hopkins)  Towne,  was  born  at 
Stoddard,  New  Hampshire,  June  14,  1761, 
and  died  May  2,  1848.  He  married  Han- 
nah Abbott,  of  Stoddard,  who  died  March 
9,  1847.  Children:  Lydia,  born  Septem- 
ber II,  1 78 1,  died  June  28,  1878,  married 
Oliver  Hodgman ;  Archelaus,  born  No- 
vember 29,  1782;  Israel,  of  fvirther  men- 
tion; Hannah,  born  October  9,  1786,  died 
July  28,  1864,  married  Asa  Copeland,  April 
2,  1809;  Esther,  born  June  24,  1788,  died 
August  23,  1871,  married  Isaac  Howe,  of 
Milford,  New  Hampshire,  October  15, 
1809;  Grace,  born  March  24,  1790,  killed 
by  a  falling  tree ;  Gardner,  born  February 
16,  1792;  Ebenezer,  August  3,  1795;  Lucy, 
born  August  16,  1797,  died  February  11, 
1888. 

(VII)  Israel  (4)  Towne,  son  of  Israel 
(3)  and  Hannah  (Abbott)  Towne,  was 
born  at  Stoddard,  New  Hampshire,  Novem- 
ber 22,  1784,  or  85,  died  at  Amherst,  New 


EXCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Hampshire,  October  25,  185S.  He  married 
(first)  June  14,  181 2,  Clarissa  Weld,  of 
Boston,  bom  December  3,  1795.  died  Jan- 
uary 13.  1815;  married  (^second)  July  2^, 
181 5,  Sarah  L.  Brazier,  bom  June  11,  1796, 
died  May  22,  1874.  Children  by  first  wife : 
Sarah,  bom  Februar)-  8,  181 3.  died  April 
15,  1813;  Clarissa  Weld,  bom  October  9, 
1814.  married  Elijah  Bagnall,  of  Chelsea. 
Children  by  second  wife :  Maria  B.,  bom 
August  7.  1817;  Pamelia  C.  bom  May  i, 
1822.  died  1887.  married  Zephaniah  Bas- 
seit ;  Hannah  C.  bom  April  5,  1825,  died 
1887.  married  W.  Weston  Wilson,  July  2, 
1856;  Betsey  Elizabeth  B..  bom  March  29, 
1827,  married  William  J.  Weston.  February 
14.  1850;  James  Weld,  of  further  men- 
tion; Emily  R.,  born  June  14.  1832;  Wil- 
liam Henn»',  May  2j,  1835 :  Charles  G.. 
July  12,   1838. 

(VIII)  Janies  Weld  Towne,  son  of  Is- 
rael (4)  Towne  and  his  second  wife,  Sarah 
L.  (Brazier)  To\\'ne,  was  bom  at  .Amherst, 
New  Hampshire,  May  29,  1829.  His  boy- 
hood was  spent  in  Amherst  and  Milford, 
New  Hampshire,  and  he  learned  the  print- 
er's trade  in  the  office  of  the  "Farmers  Cab- 
inet," of  Amherst.  For  a  short  time  he  was 
a  journeyman  printer  in  Boston,  but  in  1852 
he  journeyed  to  San  Francisco  and  engaged 
in  the  printing  business  very  successfully, 
being  a  member  of  the  pioneer  printing  firm, 
\\'hiton,  Towne  &  Company,  later  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm,  Towne  &  Bacon.  In  1868 
his  health  failed  and  he  returned  East,  lo- 
cating at  East  Orange,  New  Jersey,  acting 
as  New  York  resident  partner  of  the  San 
Francisco  paper  house  of  Blake,  Moffitt  & 
To\s"ne. 

He  married  (first)  May  29,  1855.  C\-n- 
thia  Go  wing,  who  died  July  8,  1875,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  Gowing.  of  Amherst,  Mr. 
Towne  coming  from  California  to  claim  his 
bride  and  taking  her  back  with  him.  He 
married  (second)  October  3.  1877,  Rebec- 
ca Fames,  of  Wilmington,   Massachusetts. 


Children,  all  by  his  first  wife:  i.  Arthur 
G.,  bom  May  12,  1856;  married.  May  14, 
1885,  Alice  Wolcott  Nichols  and  has  James 
Wolcott  and  Arthur  Wolcott  Towne ;  re- 
sides in  San  Francisco.  2.  Emma,  bom  Au- 
gust 18,  1858:  married  Hugo  Richards  and 
moved  to  Prescott,  Arizona.  3.  Carrie, 
bom  December  18,  1861  ;  married  Frank 
W.  Wilson,  of  East  Orange,  New  Jersey.  4. 
Frank  Beckwith,  bom  Januan.-  7,  1865 ; 
married,  at  Lock  Haven.  Pennsylvania, 
June  21.  1894,  Harriet  A.  Peale,  daughter 
of  S.  Richard  and  Harriet  ^^ Alter)  Peale; 
child,  Richard  Peale,  bom  in  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, October  5,  1899.  an  adopted 
daughter,  Barbara  Boynton,  bora  August  5, 
1904.  5.  Edward  S.,  bom  April  18,  1866; 
married  at  Richmond,  Indiana,  September 
14.  1893,  Joanna  Maude  Hogan.  daughter 
of  John  D.  and  Mar}-  E.  (Sands)  Hogan; 
they  reside  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  and 
have  a  son,  Herbert  Sands  Towne,  bom  Oc- 
tober 9.  1899.  at  Holyoke.  6.  Charles,  bom 
in  1868,  died  in  infancy.  7.  William,  bom 
1870,  died  in  infancy.  8.  Bessie,  bom  De- 
cember 8,  1871,  died  1886.  9.  Joseph  M., 
bom  July  7.  1875. 


MOORE.  Philander, 

Retired  Business   Man. 

Philander  Moore,  a  well-known  and  high- 
ly respected  citizen  of  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, comes  of  a  family  whose  name  ap- 
pears in  national  history,  both  in  the  annals 
of  peace  and  war. 

Major  John  Moore,  great-grandfather  of 
Philander  Moore,  fought  in  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  and  a  handsome  monument 
erected  to  his  honor  is  to  be  seen  at  Nor- 
ridgewock,  Maine,  the  place  of  his  birth. 

Goii  Moore,  son  of  Major  John  Moore, 
was  bom  in  Maine  about  the  year  1761, 
and  there  spent  most  of  his  life  of  ninety- 
one  years,  his  death  taking  place  there  in 
185 1.    He  was  a  patriot  like  his  father  and 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


served  his  country  during  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  at  the  termination  of  which  he 
returned  to  his  home  at  Norridgewock, 
Maine,  and  there  followed  agricultural  pur- 
suits and  hunting.  He  was  twice  married, 
and  was  the  father  of  the  following  chil- 
dren by  his  first  marriage :  Samuel,  John, 
GofT,  Jr. ;  of  second  marriage :  Moses, 
Daniel,  Robert. 

GofT  (2)  Moore,  son  of  GoflF  (i)  Moore, 
by  his  first  marriage,  and  father  of  Phi- 
lander Moore,  was  born  at  Norridgewock, 
Maine,  February  23,  1791.  He  rose  to  dis- 
tinction in  the  State,  both  in  military  and 
civic  activities.  He  was  the  proprietor  of  a 
saddlery  and  harness  business  of  substantial 
importance  in  the  town  of  North  Anson 
and  later  in  Madison,  Maine,  where  his 
personality  brought  him  much  power  and 
prestige.  He  had  inherited  the  martial  spir- 
it, and  entered  enthusiastically  into  the  op- 
erations of  the  State  militia,  eventually  ris- 
ing to  the  rank  of  colonel.  He  also  partici- 
pated energetically  and  forcefully  in  local 
and  State  politics,  and  at  one  time  held  the 
postmastership  at  Madison,  Maine.  To 
church  afifairs  he  gave  much  of  his  time 
and  substance,  his  hospitable  entertainment 
of  the  dignitaries  of  the  church  being  note- 
worthy. Twice  he  married,  his  first  wife 
having  been  Alice  Patten,  and  his  second 
Mrs.  Mary  Spaulding,  nee  Mary  McLaugh- 
lin, of  Stark,  Maine.  To  the  first  marriage 
were  born  eight  children :  Albert,  James, 
Philander,  Jane  P.,  Goff  A.,  Maria  E., 
Alice  P.,  and  Olive  S. ;  and  to  the  second 
marriage  two  children:  Philander,  who  is 
the  subject  of  main  reference  herein,  and 
James.  Philander  Moore  is  the  only  one 
living  of  the  entire  family  at  the  present 
time. 

Philander  Moore,  son  of  GofT  (2)  and 
Mary  (McLaughlin-Spaulding)  Moore, 
was  born  in  Madison,  Somerset  county. 
State  of  Maine,  July  19,  1844.  In  due 
course  he  passed  through  the  public  schools 


of  his  native  town,  and  received  further  ed- 
ucation at  North  Anson  Academy,  after 
which  he  became  associated  in  business  with 
his  brother,  who  was  a  printer  in  North  An 
son,  Maine,  remaining  with  him  for  four 
years.  During  the  next  two  years  he  filled 
the  capacity  of  clerk  in  a  store  at  Anson, 
Maine,  and  then,  coming  to  Chicopee,  Mas- 
sachusetts, was  for  six  months  employed  in 
the  store  of  the  well-known  grocery  firm 
of  Carter  &  Spaulding.  His  next  commer- 
cial activity  was  in  the  city  of  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  E.  B.  Haskell  &  Sons,  grocers, 
serving  that  company  until  October  i,  1865, 
then  came  to  Holyoke,  which  city  has  since 
been  his  home.  For  a  year  or  so  he  was  a 
clerk  for  W.  C.  Carter,  and  then  pur- 
chased an  interest  in  the  business  of  Mr. 
Tuttle,  the  firm  becoming  known  as  Tut- 
tle  &  Moore.  Mr.  Moore  continued  in  the 
partnership  for  three  years,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  which  time  he  acquired  Mr.  Tuttle's 
interest.  Some  time  later  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  Mr.  Glover,  the  firm  name 
then  changing  to  Moore  &  Glover.  His 
place  of  business  was  situated  at  the  corner 
of  High  and  Dwight  streets,  where  the 
Holyoke  National  Bank  now  stands,  and 
which  corner  Mr.  Moore  owned  at  that 
time.  Three  years  later  he  purchased  Mr. 
Glover's  interest  and  again  became  sole  pro- 
prietor of  the  business,  which  he  continued 
to  operate  successfully  until  1891  when  he 
decided  to  retire.  That  was  many  years 
ago,  while  Mr.  Moore  was  still  able 
to  appreciate  and  find  pleasure  in  things 
other  than  business,  consequently  he  has 
been  able  to  spend  the  intervening  time 
profitably  in  pleasure,  chiefly  in  travel.  He 
has  been  once  around  the  world ;  has 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  Europe  a  number  of 
times,  and  has  traveled  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  United  States  upon  different 
trips. 

Although  now   retired,  Mr.   Moore  still 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


takes  an  interest  in  the  affairs  of  institu- 
tions with  which  he  is  associated.  He  has 
been  a  director  of  the  Hadley  Falls  Na- 
tional Bank  for  thirty-five  years ;  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Mount  Tom  Lodge,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  of  Holyoke,  in  which  he 
has  taken  an  interest,  and  for  several  years 
w^as  treasurer  of  the  lodge.  He  has  attended 
the  Second  Congregational  Church  of  Hol- 
yoke for  fifty  years.  Mr.  Moore  has  seen 
Holyoke  grow  from  a  little  rural  commu- 
nity of  four  thousand  to  a  thriving  city  of 
seventy  thousand  population  in  the  years  he 
has  resided  in  it. 

In  1872  he  married  (first)  Ida  A.  Gro- 
ver,  who  was  born  at  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire,  but  at  the  age  of  two  years  was 
brought  by  her  parents  to  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  her  father,  William  Grover, 
had  been  appointed  agent  for  the  Hadley 
Mills.  Her  mother  was  Anna  P.  (Bailey) 
Grover.  Two  children  were  born  to  Phi- 
lander andjda  A.  (Grover)  Moore:  Emily 
S.,  who  died  at  seventeen,  and  Helen  P., 
who  is  married  to  Aaron  C.  Bagg,  of  Hol- 
yoke, son  of  E.  P.  Bagg.  Mr.  Moore's  one 
grandchild  was  christened  Aaron  Moore 
Bagg.  Mrs.  Ida  A.  (Grover)  Moore  died 
in  1901,  and  in  191 1  Mr.  Moore  married 
(second)  Lydia  M.  Hardy,  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont. 


LYMAN,  Charles  Perry, 

Business  Man,  Public  Official. 

Back  into  the  centuries,  Charles  Perry 
Lyman,  of  Holyoke,  traces  his  ancestry 
through  eight  American  generations  to 
Richard  Lyman,  the  patriarch  of  all  the  Ly- 
mans  of  America  of  English  descent,  and 
through  ten  generations  of  English  ances- 
tors to  Thomas  Leman,  who  held  land  in 
County  Wilts  during  the  reign  of  King 
Henry  HI.  of  England.  The  name  con- 
tinued as  Leman  until  early  in  the 
eighteenth    century,    when    it   became    Ly- 


man, its  present  form.  The  Lymans  were 
of  the  landed  gentry,  owned  large  estates, 
bore  the  title  of  "gentleman"  and  intermar- 
ried with  leading  families  of  their  section  of 
England.  They  bore  arms  distinguished  by 
a  ring  within  a  triangle  quartered  with  the 
Lambert  armorials.  Although  the  name 
Leman  occurs  in  the  Book  of  Domesday 
and  is  traced  in  male  and  female  line  to 
xA-lfred  the  Great,  the  authentic  male  line 
begins  two  centuries  later  with  Thomas 
Leman,  of  County  Wilts,  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  III.  in  the  last  half  of  the  thirteenth 
century. 

Richard  Lyman,  the  American  ancestor, 
sold  his  lands  in  the  parish  of  Ongar,  Es- 
sex county,  England,  in  August,  1631,  and 
sailed  for  America  with  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren on  the  ship  "Lion."  Among  the  pas- 
sengers on  the  ship  was  the  wife  of  Gov- 
ernor Winthrop,  and  John  Eliot,  afterward 
known  as  the  apostle  to  the  Indians.  Ten 
weeks  later,  on  November  2,  the  ship  ar- 
rived in  Boston,  Richard  Lyman  settling  at 
Charlestown.  Later  he  joined  Rev.  Hook- 
er's party  and  went  to  Connecticut,  where 
his  name  appears  on  a  list  of  the  original 
founders  of  Hartford,  1636.  He  married, 
in  England,  Sarah  Osborne. 

Lieutenant  John  Lyman,  son  of  Richard 
Lyman,  the  founder,  settled  in  Northamp- 
ton, Massachusetts,  where  he  died  August 
20,  1690,  aged  sixty-seven  years.  He  was 
in  command  of  Northampton  troops  at  the 
famous  Falls  fight  above  Deerfield,  May 
18,  1676.     He  married  Dorcas  Plumb. 

Moses  Lyman,  son  of  Lieutenant  John 
Lyman,  was  born  in  Northampton,  ]\Iassa- 
chusetts,  and  there  died  February  25,  1701, 
aged  thirty-eight  years,  his  wife,  Ann,  sur- 
viving him. 

Captain  Moses  (2)  Lyman,  son  of  Mos- 
es ( i )  Lyman,  was  born  in  Northampton, 
^Massachusetts,  February  27,  1689,  died 
March  24,  1762.  He  married  M indwell 
Sheldon. 


8 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Deacon  EHas  Lyman,  son  of  Captain 
Moses  (2)  Lyman,  was  born  in  Northamp- 
ton, Massachusetts,  September  30,  1715) 
died  in  Southampton,  February  18,  1803. 
He  was  a  deacon  of  the  church,  member  of 
the  Provincial  Congress,  1768,  1775,  deputy 
to  the  General  Court,  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety,  and  a  soldier  of  the  col- 
onies, 1745.     He  married  Anne  Phelps. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  son.  Deacon 
Stephen  Lyman,  born  in  Chester,  Massa- 
chusetts, September  8,  1742,  died  December 
8,  181 1.  He  married  (first)  Anna  Blair; 
married  (second)  Mrs.  Anna  Clark. 

His  son.  Deacon  Samuel  Lyman,  born  in 
Chester,  Massachusetts,  May  2,  1787,  died 
in  1876.  He  was  a  colonel  of  state  militia 
and  served  in  the  War  of  1812.  He  was  a 
farmer  of  Southampton,  where  he  died.  He 
married  (first)  October  20,  1809,  Miriam 
Tinker,  born  August  8,  1790,  died  Janu- 
ary 14,  1847.  He  married  (second)  JuHa 
A.  Marble,  and  had  issue. 

Samuel  Tinker  Lyman,  son  of  Deacon 
and  Colonel  Samuel  Lyman  and  his  first 
wife,  Miriam  (Tinker)  Lyman,  was  born 
at  Charlestown,  IMassachusetts,  August  5, 
1824,  died  October  3,  1901,  at  Holyoke. 
He  was  educated  in  public  schools  and 
Chesterfield  Normal  School,  and  for  a  short 
time  was  in  business  in  Boston.  Later  he 
taught  school  at  Agawam  and  had  a  store  in 
Huntington.  In  1861  he  was  appointed 
postmaster  at  Huntington,  an  office  he  held 
until  removing  to  Holyoke  in  1872.  There 
in  connection  with  his  son,  Charles  P.  Ly- 
man, he  founded  the  mercantile  business  of 
S.  T.  Lyman  &  Son,  continuing  in  success- 
ful business  operation  until  1886,  when  he 
retired.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the 
First  Congregational  Church,  a  man  of  high 
character  and  purity  of  life.  He  married, 
in  1849,  Augusta,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Kirkland.  They  were  the  parents  of  Eu- 
gene K. ;  Charles  Perry,  of  further  men- 
tion; Cassius  S.,  superintendent  of  schools. 


Hudson,  Massachusetts  ;  Robert  H.,  journ- 
alist, and  editor  of  the  "New  York  World." 

Charles  Perry  Lyman,  son  of  Samuel 
Tinker  and  Augusta  (Kirkland)  Lyman, 
was  born  inAgawam, Massachusetts,  Decem- 
ber 25,  1850.  He  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Huntington,  at  Ripon  Col- 
lege (Wisconsin)  and  Wesleyan  Academy 
at  Wilbraham,  Massachusetts.  In  1872  he 
joined  with  his  honored  father  in  the  hard- 
ware business  at  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
under  the  firm  name  of  S.  T.  Lyman  &  Son. 
In  1886  Samuel  T.  Lyman  retired,  Charles 
P.  Lyman  continuing  the  business  most  suc- 
cessfully until  the  present  time  (1916).  He 
has  built  up  a  large  business,  dealing  in  fur- 
niture, stoves  and  hardware,  also  conduct- 
ing a  plumbing  department.  He  is  a  man 
of  strong  business  ability,  progressive,  hon- 
orable and  upright,  worthy  of  the  honored 
name  he  bears.  For  two  years  Mr.  Lyman 
represented  his  ward  in  the  Holyoke  City 
Council  and  takes  a  deep  interest  in  all  that 
pertains  to  the  welfare  of  his  city.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Second  Congregational 
Church,  and  affiliated  with  Connecticut  Val- 
ley Lodge,  No.  25,  Knights  of  Pythias,  of 
Holyoke. 

Mr.  Lyman  married,  July  16,  1878,  Jen- 
nie E.,  daughter  of  Samuel  A.  and  Clarissa 
Louise  (Smith)  Judd,  of  Grand  Rapids, 
Michigan,  her  father  a  captain  in  the  Union 
army,  killed  at  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  (see 
Judd  family). 


V/HITE,  Hon.  John  J., 

Mayor  of  Holyoke. 

Among  those  whose  rise  in  station  is  due 
solely  to  their  own  unaided  efforts  is  the 
Hon.  John  J.  White,  the  present  mayor 
(1917)  of  Holyoke,  who  is  regarded  by  his 
fellow  townsmen  as  one  who  in  his  life 
exemplifies  the  spirit  of  highest  citizenship, 
of  honor  in  public  life  and  of  fidelity  to  pub- 
lic duty. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Hon.  John  J.  White  was  born  in  Lee, 
Massachusetts,  January  13,  1866,  son  of 
Martin  and  Winifred  (Keyes)  White,  na- 
tives of  Ireland,  the  former  named  coming 
to  this  country  in  young  manhood,  the  lat- 
ter named  in  childhood.  Martin  White  lo- 
cated first  in  Lee,  Massachusetts,  where  he 
resided  until  1869,  then  removed  to  Hol- 
yoke,  same  State,  where  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days,  his  death  occurring  in 
1896  at  the  age  of  fifty- five  years.  He  was 
a  papermaker  by  trade  and  followed  that 
line  of  work  during  his  active  years,  there- 
by earning  a  good  livelihood  for  his  family. 
He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  nine 
children,  three  of  whom  were  living  in 
1916:  Maria  L.,  who  makes  her  home  with 
her  brother,  John  J. ;  John  J.,  whose  name 
heads  this  sketch ;  George  J.,  superintendent 
of  the  White  Paper  Box  Company.  The 
mother  of  these  children  died  in  1901. 

John  J.  White  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  Holyoke,  completing  his  studies 
at  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  when  he  ac- 
cepted a  position  as  bellboy  in  the  Windsor 
Hotel,  later  in  the  old  Holyoke  House,  a 
well  known  hostelry  in  those  days,  and  for 
a  number  of  years  he  gave  his  entire  time 
and  attention  to  the  hotel  business,  advanc- 
ing from  his  first  humble  position  to  that 
of  clerk,  the  result  of  ability  and  efficiency, 
and  served  in  that  capacity  in  various  ho- 
tels in  Holyoke,  Greenfield  and  other  places, 
finally  removing  to  Amherst  where  he  be- 
came clerk  of  the  Amherst  House,  which 
position  he  filled  for  one  year  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  proprietor  and  patrons.  His 
next  position  was  as  traveling  salesman,  his 
route  covering  the  New  England  States, 
and  in  this  he  was  also  successful,  but  his 
ambition  was  to  conduct  a  business  on  his 
own  account,  and  accordingly,  in  1885,  he 
inaugurated  the  White  Paper  Box  Com- 
pany, in  which  he  has  since,  a  period  of 
more  than  three  decades,  been  successfully 
engaged,  and  is  now  serving  in  the  capaci- 


ties of  president  and  treasurer.  The  con- 
cern does  a  large  business  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  a  fine  line  of  stationery  boxes,  about 
thirty  hands  being  employed  in  the  factory, 
which  is  thoroughly  equipped  with  the  latest 
improved  machinery  and  everything  needful 
for  the  comfort  and  safety  of  the  em- 
ployees. He  has  directed  his  business  in- 
terests in  a  careful  and  conservative  man- 
ner, his  success  being  the  outcome  of  his 
well  directed  labors  and  energy.  His  ca- 
reer demonstrates  what  may  be  accom- 
plished through  the  possession  of  these 
qualities,  qualities  which  may  be  cultivated 
by  all. 

Mayor  White  entered  the  political  arena 
in  1903,  when  he  was  elected  an  alderman 
to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term  of  J.  J.  Far- 
rell,  and  was  again  elected  in  1904-08-09-10, 
serving  in  all  five  years  as  alderman  from 
the  Fifth  Ward.  His  conscientious  and 
faithful  performance  of  every  duty  that  de- 
volved upon  him,  and  the  interest  he  dis- 
played in  serving  his  fellow  townsmen  to 
the  best  of  his  ability,  led  to  his  nomina- 
tion as  mayor  of  Holyoke,  to  which  high 
office  he  was  elected  in  191 1- 12-13,  and 
again  in  the  fall  of  191 5  to  serve  during  the 
year  1916.  During  his  mayoralty,  in  addi- 
tion to  a  vast  amount  of  improvements 
along  all  lines,  a  large  number  of  public 
buildings  have  been  erected,  notable  among 
which  are  the  High  School  Gymnasium  of 
the  Metcalf  School  and  the  Central  En- 
gine House,  one  of  the  best  in  the  country, 
and  an  addition  to  Police  Headquarters.  His 
political  career  has  been  such  as  to  warrant 
the  trust  and  confidence  of  his  constituents, 
and  his  devotion  to  the  public  good  has  been 
unquestioned.  Such  was  his  record  and  the 
satisfaction  that  he  gave  that  in  191 6  he 
was  again  elected  to  serve  his  fifth  term, 
1917. 

Mayor  White  is  equally  popular  in  fra- 
ternal and  social  circles,  holding  member- 
ship in  numerous  organizations  and  socie- 


10 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ties,  including  the  Royal  Arcanum,  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Order 
of  Eagles,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men, 
Knights  of  Columbus,  Ancient  Order  of 
Hibernians,  Holyoke  Club,  Holyoke  Golf 
Club,  Holyoke  Country  Club  and  a  number 
of  others.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum  for  two  decades,  and  for 
the  greater  part  of  that  period  he  gave  free- 
ly of  his  time  to  promote  the  interests  of  the 
organization,  in  which  he  has  held  all  the 
offices.  He  represented  Nonotuck  Council 
of  Holyoke  at  many  Grand  Councils,  and  he 
has  also  officiated  as  district  deputy  of  this 
district. 

Mr.  White  married,  in  1894,  Rose  A. 
Charest,  a  native  of  Canada.  They  are 
the  parents  of  three  children :  Gertrude, 
Muriel,  John  J.,  Jr. 


KNIGHT,  Homer  Lincoln, 

Business  Man. 

The  ability  of  a  man  to  rise  above  the 
ranks  and  attain  a  position  of  prominence 
in  the  business  world  presupposes  a 
strength  above  the  average,  a  stability  of 
character  that  will  endure  all  discourage- 
ment and  disappointments  and  in  the  end 
triumph  over  every  impediment  that  ob- 
structs the  pathway  to  success.  Mr.  Knight 
is  among  this  class,  the  success  he  has  at- 
tained being  the  reward  of  personal  merit, 
integrity  of  character  and  a  strict  adherence 
to  the  highest  standard  of  principles. 

Horace  B.  Knight,  grandfather  of  Hom- 
er Lincoln  Knight,  was  one  of  the  pioneers 
in  Mayville,  Chautauqua  county.  New 
York,  and  there  spent  the  greater  part  of 
his  days,  prominent  in  community  affairs. 

He  married  Susan  ,  who  bore  him 

four  children,  as  follows :  Horace  West, 
mentioned  below ;  Joseph,  for  many  years 
a  resident  of  Troy,  New  York;  John  F., 
a  resident  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri;  Freder- 
ick L.,  a  resident  of  Akron,  Colorado. 


Horace  West  Knight,  father  of  Homer 
Lincoln  Knight,  was  born  at  Mayville, 
Chautauqua  county.  New  York,  1839,  and 
died  in  December,  191 5.  After  completing 
his  studies  in  the  schools  adjacent  to  his 
home,  he  turned  his  attention  to  business 
pursuits,  and  in  due  course  of  time  became 
a  manufacturer  of  metallic  letters  and  fig- 
ures in  Seneca  Falls,  New  York,  in  which 
town  he  resided  during  the  greater  part  of 
his  active  life.  He  took  a  keen  interest  in 
all  that  pertained  to  the  welfare  of  his 
adopted  town,  contributing  liberally  of  his 
time  and  means  to  worthy  enterprises,  was 
a  charter  member  of  the  Congregational 
church,  and  a  staunch  Republican  in  poli- 
tics. He  married  Sophia  Elizabeth  Taylor, 
born  in  1839,  died  in  1902,  aged  sixty-three 
years,  daughter  of  Samuel  Taylor.  They 
were  the  parents  of  five  children,  as  fol- 
lows :  Charles  H.,  deceased ;  Horace  D. ; 
Willis  Grant ;  Homer  Lincoln,  mentioned 
below ;  Robert,  a  physician,  practicing  at 
Seneca  Falls,  New  York,  now  city  phy- 
sician and  county  coroner. 

Homer  Lincoln  Knight  was  born  at 
Seneca  Falls,  Seneca  county.  New  York, 
March  15,  1876.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  town  and  of  Ithaca, 
New  York,  this  course  of  study  thoroughly 
equipping  him  for  the  duties  of  an  active 
career.  He  learned  the  art  of  photo-en- 
graving, at  which  he  became  highly  pro- 
ficient, and  followed  his  trade  for  one  year 
in  the  city  of  Bufifalo,  New  York,  from 
whence  he  removed  to  the  city  of  Roches- 
ter, same  State,  where  he  followed  the  same 
line  of  work  for  a  period  of  three  years.  He 
then  entered  the  employ  of  the  United 
States  government  and  in  the  year  1902  was 
sent  to  the  Philippines  by  the  bureau  of 
public  printing  to  teach  photo-engraving  to 
the  natives,  he  being  well  qualified  to  serve 
in  that  capacity.  At  the  expiration  of  three 
years,  having  faithfully  fulfilled  his  mis- 
sion, he  returned  to  the  United  States  by 


II 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


way  of  Europe,  completing  a  trip  around 
the  world  and  visiting  in  his  journey  the 
principal  points  of  interest,  from  which 
he  derived  both  pleasure  and  profit.  Upon 
his  return  to  his  native  land  he  secured  em- 
ployment in  New  York  City,  and  subse- 
quently was  employed  at  his  trade  in  Illi- 
nois ;  at  Toronto,  Canada  ;  at  Akron,  Ohio, 
and  at  Grand  Rapids,  ^Michigan,  his  work 
meriting  the  approval  of  his  superiors,  he 
giving  to  it  the  best  of  his  skill  and  effort. 
In  the  year  191 5  he  established  at  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  the  Holyoke  Electrotype  and 
Photo-Engraving  Company,  of  which  he 
was  made  president,  and  he  continued  his 
connection  with  that  concern  until  }vlarch, 
1916,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interest  there- 
in and  established  the  Knight  Engraving 
Company  of  Holyoke,  of  which  he  is  the 
sole  owner,  and  which  is  one  of  the  many 
successful  enterprises  of  that  thrifty  and 
energetic  city,  his  close  application  to  busi- 
ness and  his  earnest  purpose  securing  him  a 
Hberal  patronage  which  promises  to  in- 
crease in  large  measure  in  the  near  future. 
He  is  not  lacking  in  that  honorable  ambi- 
tion which  is  so  powerful  and  useful  as  an 
incentive  to  activity  in  public  afiFairs  and  he 
regards  the  pursuits  of  private  life  as  be- 
ing in  themselves  abundantly  worthy  of  his 
best  efforts. 

]Mr.  Knight  married,  August  19,  191 1, 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Dymond,  nee  Elizabeth 
Cain,  of  Piqua,  Ohio.  She  had  one  daugh- 
ter by  her  former  marriage,  Ruth  Dy- 
mond, born  July  31,  1907. 


WEBSTER,  WilHam  Elroy, 

Representati've  Business  Man. 

William  Elroy  Webster,  well-known 
throughout  New  England  as  a  general  ad- 
vertising agent,  has  been  since  a  young  man 
a  resident  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  In 
a  profession  requiring  special  gifts  and  in- 
dividual training  he  has  met  with  a  high  de- 


gree of  success.  Not  only  in  his  present 
business,  but  as  a  merchant,  he  has  demon- 
strated his  ability  to  meet  the  requirements 
and  difficulties  and  solve  the  problems  of 
the  present  day.  He  belongs  to  the  class 
of  selfmade  men,  like  the  majority  of  the 
substantial  merchants,  manufacturers  and 
other  men  of  affairs  of  Holyoke.  His  fath- 
er was  an  officer  of  distinction  in  the  Civil 
War,  and  he  gave  his  life  to  his  country, 
leaving  his  widow  and  son  of  three  years 
without  an  income.  During  the  years  that 
followed  Mr.  W'ebster  owed  everything  to 
the  ministering  care  and  love  of  his  mother. 

The  Websters  are  of  English  stock.  Mr. 
Webster's  ancestry  is  traced  to  Colonial 
days  in  the  same  family  as  that  from  which 
the  famous  Daniel  ^^'ebster  was  descended. 
As  a  family  it  has  no  superior  in  point  of 
character,  in  the  number  of  great  men  bear- 
ing the  name,  in  all  the  substantial  virtues 
that  have  been  cultivated  for  ten  genera- 
tions in  New  England. 

John  Webster,  the  immigrant  ancestor 
of  William  Elroy  Webster,  was  born  in 
England.  As  early  as  1634,  however,  he 
had  made  his  home  among  the  early  set- 
tlers and  proprietors  of  Ipswich,  Massachu- 
setts. He  died  soon.  He  married  Mary 
Shatswell,  sister  of  John  Shatswell,  who 
made  her  a  legatee  in  his  will.  After  the 
death  of  John  \\'ebster,  his  widow  married, 
October  29,  1650,  John  Emery,  Sr.,  of  New- 
bury, and  removed  with  him  and  her  chil- 
dren to  Haverhill.  Her  husband  and  his 
son,  John  Emery,  were  appointed  guardians 
of  her  children,  Israel  Webster,  aged 
eighteen  years,  and  Nathan  Webster,  aged 
sixteen,  at  their  request,  November  26, 
1662.  The  estate  of  John  Webster  was  di- 
vided among  his  children,  who  were  as  fol- 
lows :  John,  born  1632;  Hannah,  married 
Michael  Emerson,  and  their  daughter,  Han- 
nah, who  married  Thomas  Dustin,  was  the 
famous  woman  who  slew  her  Indian  cap- 
tors   and    became  an    immortal  figure    in 


12 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


American  history;  Israel,  born  1634;  Na- 
than mentioned  below  ;  Stephen,  born  1637  ; 
Elizabeth,  married  Samuel  Simonds ;  Abi- 
gail, married  Abraham  Morrill. 

(II)  Nathan  Webster,  son  of  John  Web- 
ster, was  born  in  1636,  and  died  in  1694. 
He  married  IMary  Haseltine,  born  Septem- 
ber 10,  1648,  died  March  27,  1735.  Chil- 
dren, all  born  in  Haverhill :  Nathan,  born 
March  i,  1678-79;  Joanna,  August  26, 
1682;  Abigail,  March  3,  1684-85;  Israel, 
August  9,  1687;  Samuel,  mentioned  below; 
John,  October  5,  1694;   Mary. 

(III)  Samuel  Webster,  son  of  Nathan 
Webster,  was  born  at  Haverhill,  Massa- 
chusetts, September  25,  1688,  and  died  in 
1769.  He  was  an  early  settler  at  Chester, 
New  Hampshire.  He  married,  August  13, 
17 1 3,  Mary  Kimball,  who  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1694,  at  Hampstead,  New  Hamp- 
shire, a  descendant  of  Richard  Kimball,  the 
pioneer  of  the  Kimball  family  in  this  coun- 
try and  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  New  Eng- 
land. Children,  born  at  Haverhill :  John, 
mentioned  below ;  Mary,  born  September 
9,  1716;  Rev.  Samuel,  August  16,  1718; 
Jonathan,  August  31,  1720;  Ebenezer, 
March  6,  1724;  Thomas,  December  2,  1726; 
Ephraim,  May  13,  1730;  Nathan,  May  i, 
1732;  Sarah,  March  27,  1734;  Asa,  May 
31,  1736,  at  Chester. 

(IV)  Colonel  John  (2)  Webster,  son  of 
Samuel  Webster,  was  born  at  Haverhill, 
Massachusetts,  August  9,  1714,  and  died  at 
Chester,  September  16,  1784.  In  1735  he 
removed  to  Chester  and  settled  on  Lot  No. 
76,  soon  afterward  opening  the  first  general 
store  in  the  town.  Afterward  he  bought 
land  on  the  present  site  of  Bachelor's  Hotel, 
building  a  house  and  store  there.  It  is  said 
that  he  also  kept  a  tavern.  He  was  survey- 
or of  highways  in  1743,  selectman  in  1744, 
and  for  several  years  represented  the  town 
of  Chester  in  the  State  Legislature.  Dur- 
ing the  Revolution  he  was  an  active  and  ar- 
dent patriot,  serving  as  muster  master  and 


often  advancing  money  to  the  government 
for  the  pay  of  recruits.  He  married  (first) 
November  29,  1739,  Hannah  Hobbs,  who 
died  November  20,  1760.  He  married  (sec- 
ond) November  17,  1762,  Sarah  Smith,  of 
Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  a  widow.  She 
had  by  her  first  marriage  two  daughters: 
Hannah  and  Sarah  Smith.  She  died  April 
30,  1795.  Children  of  Colonel  John  Web- 
ster by  his  first  wife :  Mary,  born  June  2, 
1741  ;  Hannah,  1743;  Sarah,  November  14, 
1745;  Anna,  February  4,  1749;  Elizabeth, 
1752;  John,  March  13,  1754;  Samuel,  men- 
tioned below.  By  second  wife :  Toppan, 
July  22,  1765;  Mary,  May  6,  1768;  Eliza- 
beth, 1771  ;  Edmund,  1773,  succeeded  to 
the  homestead  of  his  father. 

(V)  Samuel  (2)  Webster,  son  of  Colonel 
John  (2)  Webster,  was  born  in  Chester, 
New  Hampshire,  January  15,  1757.  Early 
in  life  he  removed  to  Goffstown,  New 
Hampshire,  and  thence  in  1795  to  Newport 
in  the  same  State,  locating  in  the  westerly 
part  of  the  town  on  what  was  later  known 
as  the  Samuel  Crowell  place.  He  was  a 
lieutenant  in  the  service  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  and  served  with  distinction. 
He  married  Anna  Roby,  born  October, 
1757,  died  March  26,  1814,  a  daughter  of 
John  Roby,  of  Chester.  Their  children 
were:  John,  born  March  23,  1774,  died 
November,  1775;  Harriet  (or  Hannah  as 
given  in  the  Newport  history),  born  June 
23,  1776;  Samuel,  December  i,  1778,  died 
in  1853;  John,  mentioned  below;  Anna, 
born  September  25,  1783;  Ebenezer,  May 
30,  1786;  Jesse,  June  26,  1788,  died  Feb- 
ruary, 181 1  ;  Thomas,  born  October  31, 
1790;  Sally,  May  12,  1793;  Wingate,  July 
23,  1796;  Anna  (given  Asa  in  the  Newport 
history),  March  20,  1799;  Betsey,  April 
26,  1 801. 

(VI)  John  (3)  Webster,  son  of  Samuel 
(2)  Webster,  was  born  in  Goffstown,  New 
Hampshire,  April  14,  1781,  and  died  in 
Newport,  New  Hampshire,  October  i,  1839. 


13 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


He  went  to  Newport  with  his  father  and 
later  followed  farming  in  the  northwest 
part  of  the  town.  The  town  history  makes 
mention  of  his  relationship  to  the  famous 
Daniel  Webster.  He  married,  July  26, 
1807,  Deborah  Dow  (another  record  gives 
the  name  as  Robie).  She  died  February  25, 
1833,  aged  fifty  years.  Family  records  give 
her  birth  as  January  2,  1783.  Children,  born 
at  Newport:  i.  Elizabeth  Ann,  born  May 
2,  1808,  married,  in  1826,  Captain  Obed 
Stannard,  and  they  lived  on  the  A.  Hall 
farm.  She  was  the  mother  of  Edward  O. 
Stannard,  of  St.  Louis,  of  flour  fame,  later 
Governor  of  Missouri.  2.  Samuel  C,  born 
September  11,  1809,  died  in  1841  ;  married 
Elizabeth  Tilton.  3.  Jesse,  born  June  7, 
181 1,  a  tailor  at  Henniker,  New  Hamp- 
shire; married,  July,  1834,  Susan  C.  New- 
ell; their  son,  Newell  Webster,  was  the 
third  American  to  settle  in  Helena,  Mon- 
tana. 4.  Sally  Marietta,  born  December  13, 
1813;  married  Sherburne  Lakeman,  of 
Goshen,  New  Hampshire ;  their  son,  Dan- 
iel,   resides    in    Nashua,    New    Hampshire. 

5.  Almeda,  born  November  8,  181 5.  6.  Me- 
lissa, born  May  21,  1817,  died  in  1848.  7. 
Emeline  P.,  born  February  25,  1819.  8. 
John  Robie,  mentioned  below.  9.  Eluthera 
D.,  born  July  29,  1825  ;  married  Rufus  Un- 
derbill, of  Nashua,  New  Hampshire ;  lived 
at  Billerica,  Massachusetts.  10.  Zerviah 
K.,  married  Professor  I.  S.  Whitney  and 
lived  at  Manchester,  New  Hampshire ;  died 
at  Riverdale,  New  Hampshire.  11.  Al- 
phonso,  born  March  i,   1827,  died  August 

6,  1827.  12.  Clarissa,  born  October  2, 
1828. 

(VII)  Corporal  John  Robie  Webster,  son 
of  John  (3)  Webster,  was  born  February 
17,  1822,  in  Newport,  New  Hampshire.  He 
received  his  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  town.  He  learned  the  trade  of 
beltmaking.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil 
War  he  was  living  in  Hartford,  Connecti- 
cut, and  from  that  city  he  enlisted  in  the 


Fourteenth  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Vol- 
unteers, Company  K.  He  entered  the  ser- 
vice with  the  rank  of  corporal,  and  for 
bravery  and  distinguished  service  at  the 
battle  of  South  Mountain  he  was  to  be  pro- 
moted, but  in  the  battle  of  Antietam,  the 
next  day,  September  i,  1862,  he  was  mor- 
tally wounded.  He  was  removed  to  the  mil- 
itary hospital  at  Frederick,  Maryland, 
where  he  died  October  10,  1862.  He  mar- 
ried, in  1850,  Ann  Margaret  Houston,  who 
was  born  in  Bedford,  New  Hampshire, 
1826,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Sarah 
(Kimball)  Houston.  She  died  in  August, 
1895.  (For  her  ancestry,  see  the  sketch  of 
the  Houston  family  of  Holyoke  in  this 
work).  Children:  Elroy  Houston,  de- 
ceased ;  William  Elroy,  mentioned  below. 

(VIII)  William  Elroy  Webster,  son  of 
Corporal  John  Robie  Webster,  was  born  at 
Northampton,  Massachusetts,  where  his 
parents  were  then  living,  January  30,  1859. 
After  his  father  was  slain  in  the  Civil  War, 
his  mother  made  her  home  in  Northampton 
and  he  was  educated  there  in  the  public 
schools.  He  entered  the  employ  of  the  gov- 
ernment as  a  letter  carrier  in  Holyoke  and 
held  the  position  for  a  period  of  eighteen 
years.  The  thorough  knowledge  of  the  city 
and  the  people  of  Holyoke  acquired  while 
handling  the  mail  became  highly  useful  to 
him  afterward.  He  resigned  from  the  post- 
al service  to  engage  in  business  on  his  own 
account.  He  conducted  a  retail  grocery 
business  in  Holyoke  during  the  next  seven 
years,  originating  and  developing  during 
that  time  many  of  the  ideas  that  have 
proved  valuable  in  the  general  advertising 
business  to  which  he  has  devoted  his  atten- 
tion exclusively  for  the  past  twelve  years. 
He  has  studied  the  subject  of  publicity  in  a 
practical  school  and  has  applied  his  knowl- 
edge most  successfully  in  conducting  his 
advertising  business.  His  offices  are  at  No. 
236  Maple  street,  Holyoke,  Massachusetts. 
In  politics  Mr.  Webster  is  a  Republican.  He 


14 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


is  a  member  of  Camp  No.  60,  Sons  of  Vet- 
erans, and  of  the  Congregational  church. 

Mr.  Webster  married,  in  1884,  Minnie 
E.  Thorpe,  who  was  born  in  Northampton, 
an  adopted  daughter  of  her  uncle,  Lyman 
L.  and  Eliza  M.  (Barnard)  Thorpe.  Mr, 
and  Mrs.  Webster  have  no  children. 


SMITH,  Josiah  R., 

Head   of   Mercantile   House. 

As  executive  head  of  the  J.  R.  Smith 
Company  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  Mr. 
Smith  manages  one  of  the  largest  retail 
grocery  businesses  in  Western  Massachu- 
setts, a  business  for  which  he  is  mainly  re- 
sponsible. Thirty-two  years  ago  he  laid 
aside  his  duties  as  clerk  to  be  a  partner  with 
R.  W.  Sanderson  and  the  business  they  be- 
gan in  a  small  store  at  No.  405  Main 
street  is  now  established  on  the  first  floor 
of  the  eight-story  building,  Nos.  274  and 
276  High  street,  erected  by  Mr.  Smith  in 
1906,  he  having  been  sole  proprietor  since 
1886,  and  since  December,  1908,  when  the 
J.  R.  Smith  Company  was  incorporated,  has 
been  its  president  and  treasurer.  The  high 
standing  he  has  attained  in  the  business 
world  has  been  fairly  won  through  energy 
and  unusual  ability,  there  never  having  been 
a  time  when  he  was  not  familiar  with  every 
necessary  detail  of  the  business  and  its 
propelling  force.  Now  in  the  full  prime  of 
life  and  in  a  position  allowing  him  the 
greatest  freedom,  he  keeps  his  hand  on  the 
helm  and  displays  the  same  devoted  interest 
in  the  corporation  as  he  did  when  it  was  his 
own  private  business.  He  is  one  of  the 
world's  workers,  and  has  ever  pursued  a 
definite  course  of  action  and  compelled  suc- 
cess by  deserving  it.  He  is  a  son  of  Tim- 
othy P.  and  Louisa  (Caswell)  Smith. 

Timothy  P.  Smith  was  born  in  1828  in 
Vermont,  and  after  a  life  of  activity  in 
many  localities  died  in  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, October  25,  191 5.    He  learned  the 


trade  of  pattern  maker  and  in  early  man- 
hood accompanied  Zenas  Field,  a  contrac- 
tor, to  Northampton,  Massachusetts.  Later 
he  moved  to  Sedalia,  Missouri,  thence  to 
the  State  of  Kansas,  where  he  built  a  resi- 
dence, but  only  remained  a  few  months.  On 
his  return  to  Massachusetts  he  lived  in  Wil- 
limansett  and  later  at  South  Hadley  Falls, 
following  his  trade  of  pattern  maker  with 
the  Hadley  Thread  Mill  Company  for  about 
ten  years.  He  then  purchased  a  farm  in 
Ashfield,  which  he  managed  until  1914, 
then  removed  to  Holyoke,  where  he  died. 
He  married  Louisa  Caswell,  daughter  of 
Doctor  Caswell,  who  moved  from  the 
United  States  to  Canada,  settling  in  the 
Province  of  Quebec,  where  he  was  the  mov- 
ing spirit  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  town  of 
Caswellton,  named  in  his  honor.  Timothy 
P.  and  Louisa  (Caswell)  Smith  were  the 
parents  of  six  children :  Carrie  L.,  wife  of 
Ellsworth  Keach,  of  Hartford,  Connecti- 
cut ;  Josiah  R.,  of  further  mention ;  Al- 
bert Burton,  a  merchant  of  Haverhill,  Mas- 
sachusetts ;  James  A.,  an  advertising  spe- 
cialist of  Beverly,  Massachusetts ;  W.  R., 
of  the  J.  R.  Smith  Company,  of  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts;  and  James  A.  The  moth- 
er of  these  children  died  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-five. Both  she  and  her  husband  were 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

Josiah  R.  Smith  was  born  at  Stanslead, 
Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  August  19, 
1857.  He  there  began  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  and  later  he  attended  the  Bay 
State  and  Holly  grammar  schools  in  North- 
ampton, Massachusetts,  but  at  quite  an 
early  age  became  a  wage  earner  employed 
in  the  Bay  State  Cutlery  Works  at  North- 
ampton. He  spent  three  years  with  that 
concern,  then  went  with  his  father  to  Mis- 
souri, where  he  was  employed  at  farming. 
He  later  returned  to  Massachusetts  and  for 
a  time  was  employed  in  the  Hadley  Thread 
Mills.      Then    entered   the   employ   of    the 


15 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


wholesale  and  retail  grocery  firm  of  Rich- 
ards &  Thayer  in  Holyoke,  with  whom  he 
remained  in  a  clerical  capacity  for  ten  years. 
His  connection  with  that  house  was  of  the 
utmost  value  to  the  young  man  and  was  the 
turning  point  in  his  hitherto  undecided  ca- 
reer.    Richards  &  Thayer  conducted  a  very 
large  business,  both   wholesale  and   retail, 
and  operated  that  business  along  the  best 
modern  lines  and  in  accordance  with  the 
highest  code  of  business  ethics.     In  such  a 
school  Mr.  Smith  developed  his  latent  busi- 
ness talent  and  became  thoroughly  impreg- 
nated with  the  spirit  of  progressiveness  and 
fair  dealing  which  permeated  the  establish- 
ment.     In    1884   he   had   reached   a   point 
where  he  felt  his  best  interests  called  for  in- 
dependent action,  and  in   association  with 
R.  W.   Sanderson  he  started  in  the  retail 
grocery  business  at  No.  405   Main  street, 
Holyoke.     In  1886  he  purchased  his  part- 
ner's interest  and  assumed  the  entire  bur- 
den of  ownership  and  management.    He  ap- 
plied  to   the   business   all   his   energy   and 
adopted  as  his  the  law  of  square  dealing 
upon   which   alone   a   real   success   can  be 
founded.     To  those   principles   he   strictly 
adhered  and  in  a  short  time  had  secured  a 
fine  trade  of  satisfied  customers.     In  1892 
the  volume   of  business  had   so   increased 
that  he  sought  enlarged  quarters,  locating 
on  High  street,  where  he  continued  his  suc- 
cessful career.     He  erected  a  large  eight- 
story  building  of  reinforced  concrete  and 
steel,  trimmed  with  Ohio  sandstone,  next 
the   City   Hall   on   High   street,   fitting   up 
the  basement  and  first  floor  for  his  own  bus- 
iness purposes.     The  building  is  one  of  the 
largest    in   Holyoke    and   the   seven   upper 
stories  are  used  for  office  purposes,  the  en- 
tire   eighth    floor    being  occupied    by    the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  Board  of 
Trade.     It  is  fifty  by  one  hundred  feet  in 
size  and  modern  in  its  every  appointment. 
In  1906  Mr.  Smith  moved  to  his  new  quar- 
ters, the  business  fully  justifying  the   su- 


perior accommodations  the  building  aflFord- 
ed.  He  continued  sole  owner  until  Decem- 
ber, 1908,  when  the  J.  R.  Smith  Company 
was  incorporated,  Josiah  R.  Smith  as  presi- 
dent and  treasurer.  While  a  corporation 
provides  a  means  of  a  greater  division  of 
labor  and  responsibility,  Mr.  Smith  keeps 
in  closest  touch  with  every  important  de- 
tail of  his  large  business,  no  department  be- 
ing overlooked.  The  high  quality  of  all 
goods  handled  is  maintained  as  always,  and 
the  superior  class  of  trade  to  which  the 
store  caters  is  drawn  not  only  from  Hol- 
yoke's  best  families,  but  from  the  surround- 
ing towns.  Thirty-five  clerks  are  employed, 
all  being  keyed  to  the  highest  point  of  ef- 
ficiency. Mr.  Smith  has  won  the  proud 
title  of  "successful  merchant,"  and  there  is 
none  to  dispute  the  fact  that  it  is  justly 
borne.  His  only  important  interest  beyond 
his  business  is  his  real  estate  holdings,  con- 
sisting of  about  one  thousand  acres,  consti- 
tuting four  farms,  one  of  them  the  one 
formerly  owned  by  his  father  in  Ashfield, 
known  as  the  F.  G.  Howe  farm,  and  the 
Otis  Bassett  farm,  in  Ashfield,  and  the  Ty- 
ler F.  Clark  farm  in  Hawley.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the 
Holyoke  Club. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  in  December,  1913, 
Mrs.  Lu  H.  Parker,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Brown,  of  Orange,  New  Jersey,  who  for 
several  years  was  a  resident  of  Holyoke, 
engaged  in  the  wire  weaving  business.  Mrs. 
Smith  by  her  former  husband  (Mr.  Park- 
er) had  two  children  who  make  their  home 
with  her:     Sybil  H.  and  J.  Lloyd. 


SNELL,  Samuel, 

Inventor,  Mannfactnrer. 

For  a  decade  more  than  half  a  century 
an  active  participator  in  the  development 
of  the  wonderful  manufacturing  city  of 
Holyoke,  the  death  of  Mr.  Snell,  which 
occurred  IMay  31,  191 1,  in  that  city,  caused 


16 


^a^^yy^.yy^^      (3^^^^<^^X^_ 


l^nTiH  YORK 
'G  LIBRARY! 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


wide-spread  mourning  and  regret.  Mr. 
Snell  was  of  English  birth  and  Hneage. 
His  grandfather,  John  Snell,  lived  on  what 
was  known  as  the  West  North  Farm,  in 
Doubwalls,  near  Liskeard,  England.  Two 
of  his  brothers,  Samuel  and  Edward,  came 
to  America  about  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  are  supposed  to  have  settled  some- 
where in  New  England.  John  Snell's  first 
wife,  Mary  (Stevens)  Snell,  was  the  moth- 
er of  his  son,  John  Snell,  born  at  the  home- 
ntead  in  Doubwalls,  England.  He  was  nine- 
teen years  old  at  the  time  of  his  father's 
death.  About  1830-31  he  removed  to  the 
United  States,  and  made  his  home  near 
Honesdale,  Wayne  county,  Pennsylvania. 
He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Jona- 
than and  Alma  Werry,  baptized  December 
I,  1794.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight 
children,  the  first  five  born  in  England. 

Samuel  Snell,  the  fourth  of  these,  and  the 
fourth  son,  was  born  May  4,  1828,  in  Eng- 
land, and  was  a  small  child  when  he  came 
with  his  parents  to  this  country.  His  edu- 
cation was  supplied  by  the  common  schools 
in  Wayne  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  years  he  began  working  out 
on  farms.  At  nineteen  years  of  age  he 
commenced  an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade 
of  carpenter,  working  wnth  Nettleton,  Bart- 
lett  &  Ferry  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
in  which  city  he  lived  about  two  and  one- 
half  years.  About  this  time  an  effort  was 
being  made  to  develop  the  wonderful  wa- 
ter power  in  the  Connecticut  river  at  what 
is  now  the  city  of  Holyoke,  and  Mr.  Snell 
was  attracted  thither.  While  working  there 
as  a  journeyman  carpenter  he  assisted  in 
the  erection  of  the  Lyman  Mills  and  other 
large  structures  built  by  the  Holyoke  W^a- 
ter  Power  Company.  In  time  he  came  to  be 
a  foreman  and  was  employed  as  such  by 
Wigginson  &  Flagg,  a  building  firm  of  Hol- 
yoke. Soon  after  1870  he  engaged  in  busi- 
ness for  himself  with  a  partner,  under  the 
style  of  Samuel  Snell  &  Company,  manu- 
MASS.— 7— 2. 


facturers  of  cement  pipe.  Later,  in  asso- 
ciation with  John  Jarrish,  he  engaged  in  the 
manufacturer  of  drain  and  sewer  pipe,  until 
the  partnership  was  dissolved.  During  this 
time  he  was  engaged  in  perfecting  an  in- 
vention of  his  own,  a  drainer  bottom  to  be 
used  for  paper  mills,  and  about  1878  he  be- 
gan their  manufacture.  As  soon  as  the  in- 
vention became  fairly  introduced,  the  de- 
mand increased  very  rapidly,  and  the  busi- 
ness, begun  in  a  small  way,  grew  to  great 
dimensions.  Mr.  Snell  continued  at  the 
head  of  this  industry  until  he  retired  and 
sold  out  his  interest  to  James  J.  Delaney. 
He  was  an  enterprising  and  industrious 
man,  and  early  in  his  residence  in  Holyoke 
became  interested  in  various  enterprises.  In 
1862  he  was  one  of  the  owners  and  oper- 
ators of  the"  Holyoke  Swing  Ferry.  He 
was  the  first  man  to  build  a  tar  walk  in  Hol- 
yoke, and  for  some  time  was  the  owner  of 
the  business  of  constructing  these  walks.  As 
a  boy,  before  his  removal  to  Springfield,  he 
spent  some  time  in  New  York  City,  and 
aided  in  the  construction  of  the  First  Quak- 
er Church  in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  He  was 
a  most  exemplary  citizen,  and  endeavored 
to  promote  the  cause  of  good  government, 
and  to  further  every  movement  to  improve 
the  condition  of  his  fellow  men.  During  his 
long  residence  in  Holyoke  he  was  active  in 
public  affairs,  and  served  in  various  capaci- 
ties in  the  city  government,  being  in  the  fire 
department  for  four  years,  and  a  member 
of  the  board  of  engineers  about  the  same 
length  of  time.  He  was  a  communicant  in 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  and  in  pol- 
itics was  a  Republican.  While  in  New  York 
City  he  became  a  member  of  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  after  his 
removal  to  Holyoke  transferred  his  mem- 
bership to  the  lodge  there,  in  which  he  was 
very  active.  For  twenty-five  years  he  served 
as  treasurer  of  the  lodge,  and  at  the  time 
of  his  retirement  held  the  record  for  con- 
tinuous service  in  that  office  in  the  order 


17 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  State.  He  was  also  affiliated  with  the 
great  Masonic  fraternity,  being  made  a  Ma- 
son in  New  York  City  at  the  same  time  he 
joined  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. He  was  one  of  the  most  earnest  sup- 
porters of  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church  in 
its  early  days,  when  influence  and  help  were 
needed  to  establish  the  now  prosperous  par- 
ish. A  memorial  window  to  commemorate 
the  devotion  of  Mr.  Snell  was  presented  to 
St.  Paul's  Church  by  his  widow,  and  un- 
veiled on  Sunday,  October  21,  191 5.  This 
memorial  is  a  most  fitting  one,  as  he  was 
vefv  deeply  interested  in  the  construction 
of  t:  :  present  church  building.  It  is  Goth- 
ic in  form,  is  of  antique  glass,  and  rich  in 
colors,  the  work  of  the  D'Ascenzo  studios 
of  Philadelphia.  It  is  situated  over  the 
main  entrance  to  the  church,  is  about  nine 
by  twelve  feet  in  dimension,  and  represents 
the  Apostle  Paul  preaching  to  the  Atheni- 
ans on  Mars  Hill.  Mr.  Snell  possessed 
English  traits  of  common  sense,  stability  of 
character,  and  was  an  honest  and  practical 
citizen,  always  willing  to  help  where  help 
w-as  needed.  He  was  broad  and  generous  in 
his  charities,  devoted  to  his  home,  and  the 
city  of  Holyoke  was  richer  and  better  for 
his  having  lived  in  it.  A  further  indication 
of  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Snell  is  found  in  the 
fact  .hat  in  order  that  his  sister  and  her  son 
might  be  more  comfortable  he  built  them  a 
beautiful  house  in  Honesdale,  Pennsylvania, 
where  they  resided  up  to  the  sister's  death, 
since  which  time  the  nephew  has  resided 
there. 

Mr.  Snell  was  married,  October  15,  1866, 
to  Phebe  Ann  Streeter,  born  February  5, 
1836,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Arnold  and 
Mary  (Green)  Streeter,  of  Vernon,  Ver- 
mont. In  February,  191 6,  the  members  of 
St.  Martha's  Guild  of  St.  Paul's  Church, 
of  which  Mrs.  Snell  is  a  member,  celebrated 
her  eightieth  birthday.  The  whole  affair 
was  arranged  as  a  surprise  to  Mrs.  Snell, 
and  when  she  was  escorted  to  the  dining 


room  she  beheld  a  huge  birthday  cake,  elab- 
orately frosted,  with  the  year  1836  inscribed 
across  the  top  in  fancy  icing,  and  lighted 
with  eighty  candles  in  dilTerent  colors.  The 
table  was  beautifully  adorned  with  flowers 
and  other  decorations,  and  a  delicious 
spread  was  served.  All  joined  in  extending 
congratulations  to  Mrs.  Snell,  who  is  one 
of  the  most  popular  members  of  the  guild. 
She  has  been  a  member  of  St.  Paul's  Church 
during  all  her  residence  in  Holyoke,  having 
joined  when  it  was  first  founded,  and  is  a 
member  of  Robert  Morris  Chapter,  Order 
of  the  Eastern  Star,  in  which  she  has  for 
many  years  taken  an  active  part  and  filled 
all  the  chairs,  including  that  of  worthy 
matron. 

Mrs.  Snell  is  descended  from  one  of  the 
oldest  New  England  families,  which  was 
founded  by  Stephen  Streeter,  born  in 
Gourdhurst,  Kent,  England,  about  the  year 
1600,  and  was  living  there  until  the  time  of 
his  departure  for  America  in  1639-40.  He 
first  appears  in  the  old  town  of  Gloucester, 
on  Cape  Ann,  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony, 
where  he  took  the  freeman's  oath.  May  20, 
1644.  He  and  his  wife  Ursula  united  with 
the  church  there  on  March  21,  1652.  He 
died  soon  after  the  date  last  mentioned.  As 
shown  by  his  will  he  was  a  cordwainer,  or 
shoemaker,  by  trade.  Stephen  Streeter, 
son  of  Stephen  Streeter,  lived  in  Charles- 
town,  Watertown,  Muddy  River  ( Brook- 
line  j  and  Cambridge.  He  inherited  from 
his  father  one-half  of  his  homestead  in 
Charlestown,  which  he  and  his  wife  Debo- 
rah, then  living  at  Muddy  River,  sold  in 
1679.  In  1 681  they  also  sold  lands  in 
Charlestown,  formerly  the  property  of  his 
father,  to  Richmond  Russell.  He  died  in 
Cambridge  in  1689,  and  his  widow  w^as  ad- 
mitted to  church  communion  there  in  1701. 
John  Streeter,  son  of  Stephen  and  Deborah 
Streeter,  was  born  in  Brookline,  and  after- 
ward lived  at  Cambridge,  from  whence  he 
removed  about  1706  to  Attleboro  and  set- 


18 


j>^l/<.    Cl  Ji^t^^M, 


^  #£-• 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tied  in  that  part  of  the  town  now  known 
as  Cumberland,  where  he  died  April  5, 
1729.  The  record  shows  that  he  bought 
lands  there  in  1705  and  at  various  times  af- 
terward. He  owned  the  covenant  in  Cam- 
bridge in  1700,  and  evidently  was  a  man  of 
piety  and  industry.  He  married  Mary 
Whitcomb,  and  their  son,  James  Streeter, 
was  born  March  26,  1707,  in  Attleboro.  He 
died  in  Cumberland,  before  1760,  for  his 
son  Jonathan,  who  made  his  will  on  May 
23  of  that  year,  mentions  his  mother,  broth- 
ers and  sisters,  but  not  his  father.  He  mar- 
ried, at  Rehoboth,  August  8,  1734,  Jemima 
Staples,  who  survived  him.  James  Streeter, 
son  of  James  and  Jemima  (Staples)  Street- 
er, was  born  January  16,  1741,  in  Cumber- 
land. He  was  a  grantee  of  lands  in  Cum- 
berland in  1 77 1,  but  later  removed  to  Ver- 
non, Vermont,  where,  February  14,  1804, 
he  and  his  wife  Hannah  deeded  to  their  son 
James  lands  in  Hillsdale,  New  Hampshire, 
and  he  takes  in  return  to  himself  a  lease 
to  improve  the  same  during  the  lifetime  of 
himself  and  his  wife  Hannah.  He  married, 
October  21,  1764,  Hannah  Tower.  Their 
son,  Paul  Streeter,  was  born  November  9, 
1778,  in  Cumberland,  and  died  in  Vernon, 
Vermont,  November  6,  1857.  He  was  a 
farmer  (yeoman),  and  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  in  Vermont.  He  married, 
January  i,  1800,  Anna  Dresser.  Their  son, 
Benjamin  Arnold  Streeter,  born  July  14, 
1810,  died  July  10,  1864,  married  Mary 
Green,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  Phebe 
Ann,  who  married  Samuel  Snell,  as  above 
related.  The  portraits  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Snell  found  in  these  pages  will  it  is  felt  be 
a  source  of  pleasure  to  their  many  friends. 


WHITE,  Edward  Nelson, 

Manufacturer  of  Paper. 

As  the  treasurer  of  the  White  &  Wyc- 
koff  Manufacturing  Company  of  Holyoke, 
manufacturing  the  finest  of  paper  and  sta- 


tionery, Edward  Nelson  White  is  well 
known  throughout  the  country  as  well  as 
in  the  community  in  which  he  lives.  Not 
only  as  a  paper  manufacturer  but  as  a  man 
of  business,  interested  in  municipal  govern- 
ment and  civic  welfare,  director  of  a  steam- 
ship line,  and  of  the  Cowan  Truck  Com- 
pany, and  as  a  banker,  he  takes  rank  as 
one  of  the  most  progressive  and  influential 
citizens  of  Holyoke.  His  ancestry  has  been 
traced  to  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Taun- 
ton, Nicholas  White,  one  of  the  first  man- 
ufacturers of  iron  in  America. 

(I)  Nicholas  White,  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, located  first  at  Dorchester,  Massachu- 
setts, before  1643,  when  he  was  admitted  a 
freeman.  About  the  same  time  he  married 
Susanna  Humphrey,  daughter  of  Jonas  and 
Frances  Humphrey,  of  Dorchester.  He  was 
then  about  twenty-five  years  old.  In  1647 
he  bought  of  Henry  Wolcott  a  tract  of  land 
in  Uncaty,  now  Milton,  Massachusetts, 
cleared  part  of  it  and  built  his  house,  but 
the  title  to  his  land  proved  defective.  Hutch- 
inson, the  prior  claimant,  proved  his  claim 
and  White  was  ousted.  White  sued  Wol- 
cott and  obtained  judgment,  but  whether 
White  ever  collected  his  claim  against  Wol- 
cott, we  are  left  in  doubt.  (See  State 
Archives,  Nicholas  White  Genealogy,  pp. 
6-7).  While  this  litigation  was  pending, 
Nicholas  White  moved  to  Taunton,  Massa- 
chusetts, some  time  between  1652  and  1655, 
and  became  one  of  the  owners  of  the  Taun- 
ton Iron  Works,  in  the  operation  of  which 
he  was  prominent  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  also  owned  a  quarter  share  in  a  saw  mill 
on  Mill  river.  In  1661  he  was  one  of  six- 
teen purchasers  of  Block  Island,  but  he 
soon  sold  his  interests.  In  1668  he  and  his 
son  Nicholas  and  son-in-law,  Samuel  Hall, 
were  of  a  company  that  bought  a  tract  north 
of  Taunton,  called  Taunton  North  Pur- 
chase and  including  the  present  towns  of 
Easton,  parts  of  Mansfield  and  Norton,  and 
in  1672  they  were  of  the  company  that  ac- 


19 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


quired  what  was  afterward  known  as  Taun- 
ton South  Purchase,  comprising  Dighton 
and  part  of  Berkley. 

"Nicholas  White  was  not  a  prominent 
figure  in  church  nor  in  public  affairs,  but 
an  industrious  and  enterprising  citizen,  who 
in  a  quiet  way  did  his  full  share  in  convert- 
ing the  forests  and  wild  lands  into  fertile 
fields  and  laying  the  foundations  of  a  city 
in  the  wilderness.  He  was  an  active  partic- 
ipant in  promoting  the  prosperity  of  Taun- 
ton and  a  large  owner  in  its  industries.  By 
energy,  industry  and  frugality  he  acquired 
a  large  property  amounting  to  about  three 
hundred  pounds  cash  value,  as  appears 
from  the  inventory  of  his  estate,  taken  at  a 
time  when  money  was  scarce  and  property 
held  at  a  low  valuation."  He  died  in  1697 
and  his  estate  was  divided  the  following 
year  among  his  children,  Nicholas,  John, 
Joseph,  and  Elizabeth.  Children :  Eliza- 
beth; Nicholas;  John,  born  1649;  Joseph, 
mentioned  below  ;   child,  died  young. 

(II)  Joseph  White,  son  of  Nicholas 
White,  resided  in  Taunton  on  the  westerly 
side  of  Scaddings  pond.  He  was  a  soldier 
in  King  Philip's  war,  and  was  wounded  in 
the  Swamp  Fight.  He  is  mentioned  in  the 
Plymouth  colony  records  as  one  of  those 
who  received  bounties  for  killing  wolves. 
His  wife  Mary  died  in  1724.  His  eldest 
son,  Joseph,  was  appointed  administrator 
of  his  estate,  November  16,  1724.  Children, 
all  born  in  Taunton:  Lydia,  born  August 
17,  1682,  married  Samuel  Fisher;  Joseph, 
February  13,  1683-84;  Edward,  March  2"], 
1686;  Mary,  July  19,  1688;  Susanna,  Au- 
gust 8,  1690,  probably  died  young;  Wil- 
liam, October  28,  1692;  Nathaniel,  April 
25,  1695,  died  young;  Ebenezer,  September 
13,  1697;  Ephraim,  mentioned  below;  Eliz- 
abeth, married  Thomas  Story. 

(III)  Ephraim  White,  son  of  Joseph 
White,  resided  in  the  north  precinct  of 
Norton,  now  Mansfield,  April  26,  1753, 
when  he  sold  a  part  of  the  homestead  to 


his  son  John.  He  deeded  another  part  to 
his  son  David,  April  4,  1763,  and  to  his 
two  daughters,  Ruth  and  Mary,  one-half  of 
his  dwelling  house  at  Mansfield,  June  18, 
1788,  and  on  the  same  day  the  other  half 
to  his  son  Eliab.  He  died  before  1791,  as 
his  estate  was  divided  April  22  in  that  year 
among  his  heirs,  Eliab,  heirs  of  Ruth  White, 
Mary  White.  He  married  Ruth  Grover,  of 
Norton,  who  died  November  22,  1772,  in 
her  seventy-second  year.  Children,  born  at 
Norton:  Ephraim,  born  February  25,  1729; 
John,  mentioned  below ;  Ruth,  April  27, 
1732;  Mary,  June  2,  1734;  David,  June  26, 
1736;  Eliab,  January  29,  1738-39;  Lydia, 
July  17,  1741  ;  Abiel,  August  26,  1745,  died 
January  i,  1750-51. 

(IV)  John  White,  son  of  Ephraim 
White,  was  born  at  Norton,  August  i,  1730. 
He  resided  in  Norton,  North  Precinct, 
where  he  had  part  of  the  old  homestead. 
He  was  a  cooper  by  trade.  He  moved 
late  in  life,  perhaps  to  New  Hampshire, 
where  some  of  his  children  settled.  He  mar- 
ried, September  5,  1751,  Mary  Grover,  of 
Norton.  Children:  John,  born  May  13, 
1752,  died  December  6,  1752;  Mary,  Octo- 
ber 17,  1753;  Susanna,  August  11,  1755; 
John,  mentioned  below ;  Abiel,  August  18, 
1759,  soldier  in  the  Revolution;  Rachel,  Ju- 
ly 18,  1 761  ;  Azubah,  May  23,  1763,  mar- 
ried William  Greenwood,  of  Dublin,  New 
Hampshire;  Lemira,  July  11,  1765;  Asa, 
September  25,  1767,  probably  died  young; 
Lucy,  February  3,  1770;  Otis,  May  6, 
1772;  Calvin,  February  9,  1775,  died  April 
26,  1782. 

(V)  John  (2)  White,  son  of  John  (i) 
White,  was  born  in  Mansfield,  formerly 
North  Precinct  of  Norton,  September  18, 
1757,  and  died  in  Nelson,  formerly  Packers- 
field,  New  Hampshire,  December  21,  1846, 
aged  eighty-nine  years  (town  record).  He 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution  from  Mans- 
field. The  Revolutionary  records  show  that 
of  the  three  men  named  John  White,  then  in 


20 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Mansfield  of  proper  age  to  serve  in  the  war, 
all  probably  took  part,  but  it  is  impossible 
to  distinguish  the  records  one  from  another. 
In  1 781  John  White  left  Mansfield  and  lo- 
cated in  Nelson. 

(VI)  John  (3)  White,  son  of  John  (2) 
White,  was  born  at  Nelson,  October  24, 
1782,  and  died  September  26,  1856,  aged 
seventy-four  years.  He  was  a  farmer  in 
Claremont,  New  Hampshire,  and  was  buried 
in  that  town.  He  married,  September  3, 
1805,  Esther  Wheeler,  born  January  15, 
1 781,  died  August  29,  1865,  daughter  of 
Jacob  Wheeler.  Children :  Abial,  Lyman, 
Relief,  Elmira,  Leafy,  Lurie  (?),  Jonas, 
mentioned  below. 

(VII)  Jonas  White,  son  of  John  (3) 
White,  was  born  at  Nelson,  November  11, 
1822,  and  died  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts, 
in  1901.  During  most  of  his  life  he  was  a 
merchant.  He  was  prominent  in  public 
afifairs  and  was  sheriff  of  Sullivan  county. 
He  removed  to  Worcester  in  1868  and  was 
active  in  mercantile  life  there  until  he  re- 
tired in  the  eighties.  He  was  a  dealer  in 
fancy  goods,  toys  and  notions,  with  a  store 
at  214  Main  street.  In  1871  his  house  was 
at  5  Quincy  street,  Worcester.  He  was  a 
man  of  exemplary  character,  pious,  earnest 
in  purpose,  and  active  in  religious  work.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  Plymouth  Con- 
gregational Church,  Worcester.  He  took 
a  prominent  part  in  municipal  affairs  and 
served  the  city  as  a  member  of  the  board 
of  health  until  he  was  past  eighty  years 
of  age.  He  was  a  charter  member  of  the 
Worcester  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation. He  married,  June  17,  1851,  Cla- 
rissa Maria  Prentiss,  who  was  born  in 
Claremont,  New  Hampshire,  in  1826,  a 
daughter  of  Deacon  Samuel  and  Clarissa 
(Whiting)  Prentiss.  Children:  i.  George 
Francis,  born  1854;  resides  in  Worcester; 
married  Belle  Perry;  children:  Mildred 
and  Belle.    2.  Nellie  M.     3.  Charles  S.    4. 


Edward  Nelson,  mentioned  below.    5.  Mary 
Jane,  resides  in  Worcester. 

(VIII)  Edward  Nelson  White,  son  of 
Jonas  White,  was  born  at  Claremont,  New 
Hampshire,  July  6,  1863.  Coming  to  Wor- 
cester when  he  was  but  five  years  old  he 
entered  the  public  schools  of  that  city  and 
attended  the  high  school  there  for  one  and  a 
half  years.  He  began  his  business  career  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  in  the  offices  of  the 
Prentiss  Wire  Mill  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts. From  time  to  time  he  was  advanced 
to  positions  of  larger  responsibility.  In 
1889  he  started  in  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count as  the  junior  partner  of  the  new  firm 
of  Smith  &  White,  in  the  manufacture  of 
stationery.  The  firm  began  on  a  small  scale, 
limited  in  capital,  making  ruling  and  bind- 
ing paper,  but  in  a  short  time  the  business 
grew  to  a  place  of  importance  among  the 
paper  industries  of  Holyoke.  In  1891  Mr. 
White,  with  J.  L.  Wyckoff,  acquired  the 
interests  of  Mr.  Smith  and  organized  the 
White  &  Wyckoff  Manufacturing  Company 
to  continue  the  business,  making  a  specialty 
of  high-grade  stationery  and  correspon- 
dence paper.  The  business  has  scored  a 
phenomenal  success.  The  product  of  Mr. 
White's  company  has  a  world-wide  reputa- 
tion for  style,  finish  and  beauty,  and  is  in 
demand  in  all  the  stationery  stores  of  this 
country  and  many  foreign  countries.  From 
time  to  time  the  plant  has  been  enlarged 
and  the  output  has  been  increased  from 
year  to  year.  Mr.  White  has  been  treasurer 
of  the  corporation  from  the  beginning.  The 
company  has  established  a  reputation  not 
only  for  the  quality  of  its  goods,  but  for  its 
progressive  methods,  its  model  plant  and 
excellent  relations  with  its  employees.  It 
is  one  of  the  great  industries  of  which  the 
city  of  Holyoke  is  proud,  one  of  the  pillars 
of  the  city's  growth  and  prosperity.  Mr. 
White  has  not  confined  his  attention  to  the 
manufacture  of  paper.  He  is  an  owner  and 
director  in  various  other  industries  and  cor- 


21 


ENXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


porations.  For  many  years  he  has  been  a 
director  of  the  Palmer  Navigation  Com- 
pany, which  operates  a  fleet  of  coasting  ves- 
sels, having  offices  at  Portland.  Maine.  He 
is  also  treasurer  of  the  Cowan  Truck  Com- 
pany of  Holyoke.  He  is  a  director  also  of 
the  City  National  Bank  of  Holyoke  and  of 
the  Morris  Plan  Bank,  of  that  cit>%  re- 
cently established  for  the  benefit  of  small 
borrowers,  and  is  highly  respected  in  bank- 
ing circles.  His  interest  in  civic  affairs  is 
keen  and  his  influence  and  support  have 
been  given  to  every  project  designed  to  im- 
prove the  city  and  the  welfare  of  its  peo- 
ple. He  has  been  active  in  the  work  of 
the  Holyoke  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  is 
at  present  its  vice-president  and  one  of  its 
board  of  directors.  As  a  member  of  the 
school  committee  of  the  city  he  has  de- 
voted much  time  to  the  cause  of  public  ed- 
ucation. He  was  also  at  one  time  a  member 
of  the  city  council  of  Holyoke.  As  a  mem- 
ber of  the  new  cir\-  planning  board  of  Hol- 
yoke, he  has  given  his  time  freely  to  study- 
ing the  future  needs  of  the  municipality 
and  its  people.  Perhaps  no  city  office  re- 
quires men  of  greater  foresight,  keener  ob- 
servation, common  sense  and  loyalt}''  than 
membership  in  the  planning  board.  Through- 
out the  country  these  boards  are  at  work 
on  the  problems  of  various  American  cities 
and  the  future  will  undoubtedly  show  the 
wisdom  and  value  of  their  labors. 

From  early  life  Mr.  White  has  been  ac- 
tive in  the  church.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Second  Congregational  Church  of  Holyoke, 
and  has  served  for  a  ntmiber  of  years  on 
its  parish  committee  and  in  other  offices  of 
the  parish  and  church.  He  is  a  director  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and 
a  generous  supporter  of  the  various  chari- 
ties of  the  city. 

Popular  in  social  life,  respected  and  hon- 
ored in  business  and  public  life,  Mr.  White 
has  been  primarily  a  useful  citizen.  The 
same  qualities  of  character  that  have  made 


him  of  great  value  to  the  community  have 
wrought  for  him  the  rewards  of  a  success- 
ful and  growing  business.  He  possesses 
a  wide  circle  of  friends  not  only  in  the  city 
of  his  home,  but  throughout  the  country. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Holyoke  Club,  the 
Mount  Tom  Golf  Club  and  the  Holyoke 
Canoe  Club.  His  chief  recreations  are 
golf,  canoeing  and  other  outdoor  sports. 

He  married  (first)  1889,  Alice  L.  Web- 
ber, bom  1866,  died  1890,  daughter  of  Joel 
I.  and  Maria  ( Beebe)  Webber,  of  Holyoke. 
He  married  (second)  1906,  Letitia  J. 
Smyth.  Child  by  first  marriage,  Dorothy 
Alice.  By  his  second  marriage  two  chil- 
dren :  Constance,  bom  1908,  and  Edward 
P..  bom  1909. 


WHITING,  Hon.  William. 

Paper    Mannfactnrer,    Public    Official. 

Among  the  many  families  that  can  boast 
of  a  long  and  noteworthy  connection  with 
the  history  of  New  England,  none  is  more 
conspicuous  than  the  Whiting  family,  mem- 
bers of  which  have  been  associated  with 
both  public  and  private  affairs  of  import- 
ance for  more  than  three  centuries.  The 
line  of  ancestr}-  is  traced  back  to  James 
\\'hiting,  who  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Hingham,  Massachusetts.  He  came 
thither  from  an  English  town  of  the  same 
name,  and  was  doubtless  a  son  of  Thomas 
Whiting  (W}^on,  or  Whiton)  a  yeoman  of 
Hooke  Norton,  Oxfordshire.  One  of  his 
children  was  Joseph,  bom  at  Hingham  in 
1686.  Joseph  Whiting  married  Martha 
Tower,  in  171 3,  and  their  oldest  son,  Elijah 
Whiting,  was  bom  at  Hingham  the  follow- 
ing year.  This  son  became  the  father  of 
Whitfield  Whiting,  bom  about  1750,  and 
the  latter  was  the  father  of  Daniel  Whiting, 
who  was  bom  at  Abington,  Coimecticut,  in 
1778.  Daniel  Whiting  married  Elizabeth 
Potter,  and  among  their  children  was  Wil- 
liam B.  Whiting,  born  at  Willington,  Con- 


22 


^y?^^-    "y^^^^ 


r^^^'^C   LlBRARYi 


h^^-^:^^:^^!^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


necticut,  in  1817.  William  B.  Whiting's 
oldest  son  was  Hon.  William  Whiting,  of 
this  sketch. 

Hon.  William  Whiting  was  born  at  Dud- 
ley, Massachusetts,  May  24,  1841.  While 
he  was  still  a  young  boy  his  parents  moved 
to  Holyoke,  and  then  he  attended  the  public 
schools.  His  father's  religion  was  hard 
work.  When  young  William  was  between 
eight  and  nine  years  of  age  his  father  in- 
formed him  at  the  supper  table  one  night 
that  he  had  been  thinking  the  matter  over 
and  concluded  the  boy  ought  to  begin  to 
earn  his  living.  He  had  been  talking  to  a 
farmer  who  offered  to  give  the  lad  his  board 
and  clothes  if  he  would  work  for  him  even- 
ings and  vacations.  On  the  following  day, 
after  school,  young  Whiting  as  he  went 
home  joined  a  group  of  boys  playing  at  the 
junction  of  High  and  Dwight  streets.  One 
of  the  boys  informed  him  that  he  had  giv- 
en up  his  job  of  peddling  papers  for  Mr. 
Baker,  the  newsdealer,  and  that  his  em- 
ployer was  looking  for  a  boy  to  take  his 
place.  Accordingly  William  called  on  the 
newsdealer,  who  offered  to  pay  him  a  dollar 
and  a  half  a  week.  This  appealed  to  the 
boy  more  than  the  farmer's  offer,  and  he 
accepted  the  position.  This  did  not  prevent 
his  keeping  on  with  his  school  work,  and  at 
length  he  entered  the  High  School.  It  was 
his  intention  to  continue  his  education  at 
Amherst  College,  but  circumstances  altered 
his  plans.  He  was  very  quick  with  his  pen 
and  expert  at  figures.  This  led  to  his  be- 
ing frequently  employed  in  offices  to  help 
in  bookkeeping.  On  one  occasion  he  was 
called  in  to  straighten  out  the  books  of  a 
paper  company,  and  in  that  way  he  entered 
the  paper  business.  From  his  early  youth 
he  was  a  person  of  keen  intuitions,  and  the 
combined  promptness  and  wisdom  of  his 
decisions  at  critical  times  had  much  to  do 
with  the  success  he  achieved.  While  hold- 
ing the  position  of  bookkeeper  and  agent  for 
the  Hampden  Paper  Company  he  had  a  dif- 


ference with  the  head  of  the  concern  anu 
at  once  withdrew  from  its  employ,  bought 
a  mill,  and  began  the  manufacture  of  paper. 
He  had  been  receiving  a  salary  of  about 
five  thousand  dollars  a  year,  the  greater 
part  of  which  he  had  saved,  and  this  enabled 
him  to  finance  the  venture.  The  mill  he 
purchased  was  one  that  had  been  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  wire.  This  has  beeii 
known  as  the  Whiting  No.  i  Mill  since 
1865.  Mr.  Whiting  remodeled  the  structure 
and  installed  a  paper-making  plant  which 
had  a  daily  capacity  of  six  tons  of  fine  writ- 
ing paper.  From  a  small  beginning  his 
trade  increased  until  greater  manufacturing 
facilities  were  needed.  Then  he  purchased 
land  on  Dwight  street,  and  erected  on  it  the 
large  mill  known  as  Whiting  No.  2,  which 
had  a  writing  paper  capacity  of  fifteen  tons 
a  day.  The  business  was  incorporated  in 
1865,  as  the  Whiting  Paper  Company,  with 
a  capital  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
From  time  to  time  the  capital  has  been  in- 
creased, and  now  is  thrice  the  original 
amount,  but  the  investment  in  the  plant  and 
business  represents  a  much  larger  sum.  The 
writmg  paper  and  stationery  of  the  Whit- 
ing mills  are  known  all  over  the  country. 
No  finer  paper  is  made,  and  no  paper  com- 
pany has  maintained  a  better  reputation  for 
quality.  Mr.  Whiting  was  president  and 
general  manager  of  the  company  from  its 
organization  nearly  all  his  life,  as  long 
as  he  took  an  active  part  in  business.  He 
employed  between  six  and  seven  hundred 
hands  with  a  monthly  payroll  of  about 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  His  business 
activities  were  not  confined  to  the  company 
that  bore  his  name.  He  was  president  and 
manager  of  the  Collins  Manufacturing 
Company  with  a  large  paper  mill  at  North 
Wilbraham.  The  management  of  this  busi- 
ness was  assumed  by  him  when  the  affairs 
of  the  company  were  in  a  critical  condition, 
and  from  a  losing  venture  it  became  under 
his  care  very  profitable,  a  dividend  being 


23 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


paid  to  the  stockholders  the  first  year.  Mr. 
Whiting  was  president  also  of  the  Whit- 
more  Manufacturing  Company,  of  Hol- 
yoke,  manufacturing  Hthographic  paper,  and 
of  the  National  Blank  Book  Company,  also 
of  Holyoke,  the  annual  product  of  which 
amounted  to  half  a  million  dollars  in  value. 

Mr.  Whiting  was  a  leading  figure  in  the 
financial  affairs  of  this  section  of  the  State 
for  many  years.  In  1872  he  organized  the 
Holyoke  National  Bank,  and  was  its  presi- 
dent until  1891,  when  he  resigned.  He  was 
president  of  the  Holyoke  Savings  Bank  and 
a  member  of  its  finance  committee  ;  director 
in  the  Chapin  National  Bank  of  Spring- 
field ;  trustee  of  the  Washington  Trust 
Company  of  New  York ;  director  of  the 
Holyoke  Warp  Company ;  president  of  the 
Connecticut  River  Railroad  ;  vice-president 
of  the  Holyoke  &  Westfield  Railroad ;  di- 
rector of  the  Boston  &  Maine  Railroad 
Company. 

During  his  boyhood  he  often  heard  the 
idea  of  a  public  library  for  Holyoke  dis- 
cussed, but  no  active  measures  were  adopt- 
ed to  start  it  until  1866,  when  a  meeting 
was  called  which  all  the  prominent  men  of 
the  town  attended.  After  considerable  dis- 
cussion, Mr.  Whiting  was  called  on  to 
speak,  although  he  was  only  twenty-five 
years  of  age.  He  told  his  hearers  that  if 
they  meant  business  they  should  draw  up 
a  paper  and  subscribe  to  it  then  and  there, 
and  if  they  did  not  mean  business  to  drop 
the  matter  once  for  all.  This  brought  im- 
mediate action.  A  paper  was  made  out  and 
passed  to  him  and  he  subscribed  five  hun- 
dred dollars,  an  amount  that  no  later  signer 
equalled.  From  that  start  has  grown  the 
Holyoke  Library  of  today.  For  many  years 
Mr.  Whiting  was  president  of  its  board  of 
trustees,  and  his  life-size  painting  occupies 
a  conspicuous  place  in  the  beautiful  edifice 
that  houses  the  collection  of  books. 

In  public  life  Mr.  Whiting  won  the  high- 
est distinctions.     He  was  always  a  Repub- 


lican, influential  in  the  councils  of  his 
party,  and  earnestly  supporting  its  policies 
and  candidates.  In  1873  ^^  ^^s  elected  to 
the  State  Senate,  and  was  appointed  to  im- 
portant committees  in  that  body.  He  was 
city  treasurer  of  Holyoke  in  1876  and  1877, 
elected  by  large  majorities,  though  the  city 
was  normally  strongly  Democratic.  He  was 
mayor  of  the  city  in  1878  and  1879,  with 
the  almost  unanimous  support  of  both  par- 
ties at  the  polls.  His  administration  was 
highly  creditable  and  satisfactory.  He  was 
a  delegate  to  the  Republican  National  Con- 
vention at  Cincinnati  in  1876  when  Ruth- 
erford B.  Hayes  was  nominated  for 
President.  From  1883  to  1889  ^^  was 
representative  of  his  district  in  Con- 
gress, and  was  a  prominent  member  of 
the  House  in  the  forty-eighth,  forty- 
ninth  and  fiftieth  congresses.  At  that 
time  his  party  was  in  the  minority,  how- 
ever, and  his  opportunities  for  service  were 
limited  on  that  account.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  committee  on  banking  and  currency. 
In  his  first  term  he  served  on  the  commit- 
tee on  pensions,  bounties  and  back  pay,  and 
at  that  period  the  work  of  the  committee 
was  onerous,  to  say  the  least.  He  was  also 
a  member  of  the  committee  on  education 
and  took  part  in  framing  the  legislature 
affecting  the  education  of  the  negroes.  He 
spoke  on  the  tariff  and  silver  questions  with 
convincing  logic  and  common  sense.  At  the 
close  of  his  third  term  he  declined  re-elec- 
tion. The  "Holyoke  Transcript"  said  at  the 
time :  "Congressman  Whiting  authorizes 
the  statement  that  he  will  not  be  a  candidate 
for  re-election  to  congress.  He  does  it  thus 
early  so  that  his  constituents  may  have  am- 
ple time  to  discuss  the  matter  and  settle 
upon  his  successor.  Mr.  Whiting's  with- 
drawal is  perhaps  not  surprising,  for  the 
position  is  one  not  always  pleasant  and 
agreeable,  but  his  retirement  will  be  at- 
tended with  regret.  Our  congressman  has 
been    faithful    to  his    public    duties,    and 


24 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


though  he  has  not  cut  a  large  figure  as  a 
debater,  he  has  won  his  way  to  a  position 
of  great  influence  among  his  associates  of 
the  house.  It  is  his  business-Hke  way  that 
has  made  him  conspicuous  in  the  minds  of 
so  many  as  a  candidate  for  gubernatorial 
honor,  and  to  that  exalted  station  we  hope 
to  see  him  elevated.  Many  of  our  gover- 
nors have  taken  the  congressional  course 
of  training  before  being  called  to  take  the 
chair  of  state,  and  that  training  has  fur- 
nished a  good  equipment.  Mr.  Whiting's 
would  prove  no  exception." 

The  "Springfield  Republican"  said :  "Mr. 
Whiting's  withdrawal  will  be  a  serious  loss 
to  the  Republican  delegation  from  Massa- 
chusetts. He  has  not  during  his  three 
terms  taken  a  conspicuous  part  in  debate, 
but  his  views  have  been  received  with  great 
respect  in  committee,  where  his  penetration 
and  sound  judgment  have  been  appreciated 
by  his  fellow-members." 

While  in  Washington  Mr.  Whiting  be- 
came a  close  friend  of  William  McKinley. 
He  was  a  delegate  to  the  St.  Louis  Repub- 
lican Convention  and  assisted  in  the  nomi- 
nation of  Mr.  McKinley  for  President.  Pres- 
ident McKinley  had  a  niece  at  Mount  Hol- 
yoke  College,  and  while  on  a  visit  to  her 
was  a  guest  of  Mr.  Whiting  for  four  days. 
Mr.  Whiting  also  entertained  James  A.  Gar- 
field before  he  was  elected  to  the  presidency, 
also  Thomas  B.  Reed,  United  States  Sen- 
ator Lodge,  of  Massachusetts,  and  others. 
His  public  services  earned  for  him  in  a 
greater  degree  than  ever  the  confidence  of 
his  fellow  citizens. 

No  citizen  in  Holyoke  took  a  keener  in- 
terest in  the  welfare  and  progress  of  the 
city  than  Mr.  Whiting.  He  co-operated  in 
every  movement  and  assisted  every  project 
designed  for  its  benefit.  He  did  his  utmost 
as  a  manufacturer,  public  officer,  and  citizen 
to  build  up  the  city  and  make  it  better  as 
a  place  of  residence  and  business.  The  "Pa- 
per World"  said  of  him  in  1896:     "His  in- 


terest in  the  city  of  Holyoke  has  been  broad 
and  generous ;  none  of  her  citizens  has 
given  more  liberally  of  their  best  thought 
and  effort  for  the  upbuilding  and  credit  of 
the  municipality.  During  all  the  years  of 
the  city's  existence  he  served  in  whatever 
capacity  his  fellow  citizens  might  direct, 
and  his  fertile  mind  was  active  in  devising 
measures  for  the  advancement  of  the  in- 
terests of  the  people,  industrially,  ment- 
ally, and  morally." 

He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Hol- 
yoke Board  of  Trade,  and  was  its  president 
until  1892  when  he  declined  a  re-election. 
Through  his  warm  personal  friendship  for 
President  Seelye,  Mr.  Whiting  came  to  take 
an  active  interest  in  Amherst  College,  and 
in  1877  he  was  given  an  honorary  degree  of 
A.  B.  at  commencement.  He  was  keenly 
interested  in  public  education,  and  earnestly 
advocated  the  best  possible  school  system. 
He  was  one  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
Mount  Holyoke  College.  The  first  sub- 
scription for  the  Holyoke  Hospital  was 
made  in  his  house,  and  he  w^as  later  its  pres- 
ident. In  1877  he  erected  on  his  Dwight 
street  property  a  fine  opera  house,  and  a 
large  hotel  known  as  the  W'indsor  House, 
both  of  brick  and  stone.  He  was  a  member 
of  William  W'hiting  Lodge,  Free  Masons. 

The  career  of  Mr.  Whiting  amply  dem- 
onstrates how  a  poor  boy,  unaided  by  in- 
fluential friends  or  capital,  but  with  a  de- 
termination to  succeed,  and  possessing  the 
characteristics  of  diligence,  economy  and 
thrift,  can  make  for  himself  a  name  and 
gain  a  position  of  which  anyone  might  well 
be  proud. 

Mr.  Whiting  married,  June  19,  1862,  An- 
na Maria  Fairfield,  of  Holyoke,  a  native  of 
that  place,  daughter  of  Luther  M.  Fair- 
field, a  farmer.  Mrs.  Whiting  died  July  26, 
1914.  Their  children  were:  William  Fair- 
field and  Samuel  Raynor. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Whiting  attended 
the  Congregational  church  and  gave  gener- 


25 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ously  to  its  benevolent  work  and  many  char- 
ities. His  residence  was  at  the  corner  of 
Elm  and  Appleton  streets.  One  of  the  most 
attractive  features  was  a  library,  an  exten- 
sion of  the  dwelling,  oval  in  shape,  with  a 
glass  roofed  dome  to  let  in  the  light.  The 
beautiful  room  v/as  filled  with  choice 
volumes.  Mr.  Whiting  was  very  fond  of 
books  of  history,  a  liking  that  dated  back 
to  his  early  boyhood,  when  he  was  pre- 
sented with  Macauley's  History.  When  Mr. 
Whiting  died  January  9,  191 1,  the  entire 
city  mourned  the  loss  of  its  benefactor  and 
leading  citizen. 

William  Fairfield  Whiting,  eldest  son  of 
Hon.  William  and  Anna  Maria  (Fairfield) 
Whiting,  was  born  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, July  20,  1864.  He  graduated  from 
Williston  Seminary  and  Amherst  College. 
He  was  for  years  associated  with  his  father 
in  many  varied  business  interests,  and  is 
now  president  of  the  Whiting  Paper  Com- 
pany. He  married  Anne  Chapin,  and  their 
children  are :  William,  Edward  Chapin, 
Fairfield,  Ruth. 

Samuel  Raynor  Whiting,  second  son  of 
Hon.  William  and  Anna  Maria  (Fairfield) 
Whiting,  was  born  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, January  20,  1867.  He  was  educated  at 
Williston  Seminary,  later  held  important 
positions  in  his  father's  mills,  and  is  now 
president  of  the  Collins  Manufacturing 
Company.  He  married  Gertrude  L.  Greel- 
ey, and  their  children  are :  Anna  Fairfield, 
Margaret,  Samuel  Raynor,  Jr.,  James 
Greeley. 


SMITH,  George  Rumrill, 

Representative  Citizen. 

The  career  of  George  Rumrill  Smith,  of 
Holyoke,  who  is  now  retired  from  active 
business  pursuits,  enjoying  to  the  full  the 
reward  of  years  of  earnest  and  faithful  ef- 
fort, illustrates  in  no  uncertain  manner 
what  it  is  possible  to  accomplish  when  per- 


severance and  determination  form  the  key- 
note to  a  man's  life.  Depending  upon  his 
own  resources,  looking  for  no  outside  aid 
or  support,  he  was  able  to  provide  a  com- 
fortable home  for  his  family  and  to  amass  a 
competence  for  his  declining  years. 

The  first  ancestor  of  George  Rumrill 
Smith,  of  whom  we  have  definite  informa- 
tion, was  Philip  Smith,  a  resident  of  South 
Hadley,  Massachusetts,  a  man  of  energy 
and  enterprise,  who  gained  the  confidence 
and  good  will  of  all  with  whom  he  had  been 
associated,  either  in  public  or  private  life. 
He  married  and  among  their  children  was 
a  son,  Philip,  of  whom  further. 

Philip  (2)  Smith,  son  of  Philip  (i) 
Smith,  was  also  a  resident  of  South  Hadley, 
Massachusetts,  and  was  engaged  in  the  till- 
ing of  the  soil,  from  which  occupation  he 
derived  a  comfortable  livelihood  and  an  in- 
dependence not  gained  in  any  other  line  of 
work.  He  was  interested  in  community  af- 
fairs,   and   performed   well   all   the   duties 

which  fell  to  his  lot.     He  married , 

who  bore  him  three  children,  namely :  Phil- 
ip, Luther,  of  whom  further,  and  Statira. 

Luther  Smith,  second  son  of  Philip  (2) 
Smith,  was  born  in  South  Hadley,  Massa- 
chusetts, about  the  year  1793,  and  died  in 
Willimansett,  Massachusetts,  in  the  year 
1858,  aged  sixty-five  years.  He  gained  a 
practical  education  by  attendance  at  the 
common  school  in  the  neighborhood  of  his 
home,  after  which  he  assisted  with  the 
work  of  the  home  farm,  and  throughout 
his  active  years  devoted  his  attention  to  ag- 
ricultural pursuits,  having  been  the  owner 
of  a  small  farm  in  Willimansett,  whereon 
he  resided  until  his  death,  and  which  he  had 
brought  up  to  a  high  state  of  perfection.  He 
was  quiet  and  reserv^ed  in  manner,  deriving 
his  greatest  pleasure  from  the  family  circle, 
doing  all  in  his  power  to  contribute  to  the 
happiness  and  welfare  of  those  dependent 
upon  him.  He  was  not  unmindful  of  the 
interests   of   the   community,   and   was   al- 


26 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ways  ready  and  willing  to  respond  to  any 
call  for  assistance  to  the  extent  of  his  abil- 
ity. He  married  Susan  Rumrill,  a  native  of 
South  Hadley,  Massachusetts,  born  in  1800, 
died  in  1875,  daughter  of  Asa  and  Rhoda 
Rumrill.  Among  their  children  was  George 
Rumrill,  of  whom  further. 

George  Rumrill  Smith,  son  of  Luther  and 
Susan  (Rumrill)  Smith,  was  born  in  Wil- 
limansett,  Massachusetts,  December  5,  1835. 
He  attended  the  schools  of  his  native  town, 
thereby  securing  an  education  which  pre- 
pared him  for  the  activities  of  life.  During 
his  boyhood  he  assisted  with  the  work  of 
the  farm  and  in  this  manner  built  up  a  ro- 
bust constitution,  the  greater  part  of  his 
time  being  spent  in  the  open  air,  a  plan 
highly  essential  to  good  health.  Later  he 
served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade  of 
brick  mason,  with  a  concern  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  but  during  the  panic  of  1857 
he  went  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  and 
there  secured  employment  in  the  lumber 
regions,  his  employer  being  his  cousin.  In 
the  following  year,  1858,  the  times  having 
once  more  become  normal,  Mr.  Smith  re- 
turned to  Holyoke  and  once  more  engaged 
in  the  work  for  which  he  had  prepared 
himself,  and  for  the  long  period  of  forty 
years  and  three  months  worked  continuous- 
ly at  his  trade  in  that  city,  never  being  ab- 
sent from  his  post  during  that  long  stretch 
of  years  but  for  two  days,  that  being  the  oc- 
casion of  his  daughter's  marriage,  a  most 
remarkable  record,  one  deserving  of  espe- 
cial mention.  He  had  charge  of  the  con- 
struction of  the  Linden  Mills,  the  plant  of 
the  Merrick  Thread  Company,  the  Flat  Iron 
Block,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  depot,  and  the 
erection  of  many  tenement  blocks,  always 
having  a  large  force  of  men  under  his  con- 
trol and  supervision.  He  was  energetic  and 
progressive  in  his  ideas,  active  and  industri- 
ous, and  well  merited  the  success  which  at- 
tended his  efforts.  Throughout  his  manhood 
years  he  has  been  thoroughly  alive  to  all 


that  pertains  to  good  citizenship,  and,  al- 
though entirely  devoid  of  all  political  as- 
pirations, is  interested  in  whatever  has  a 
tendency  to  permanently  benefit  his  local- 
ity. Since  1877  he  has  held  membership  in 
Holyoke  Lodge,  No.  134,  Independent  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows,  has  passed  through  all 
the  chairs,  served  as  noble  grand  for  two 
different  terms,  was  treasurer  and  trustee 
for  about  eighteen  years,  and  held  office 
continuously  for  thirty-two  years  in  the  or- 
der. He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Encamp- 
ment and  of  the  Daughters  of  Rebekah 
Lodge.  He  is  a  man  of  many  sterling  char- 
acteristics, with  high  standard  of  citizen- 
ship, and  with  social  qualities  which  render 
him  popular  with  his  circle  of  friends. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  September  12,  i860, 
Eunice  A.  Day,  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
born  September  12,  1839,  daughter  of  New- 
ton and  Laura  (Morgan)  Day.  They  are 
the  parents  of  one  daughter,  Louise,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Homer  J.  Stratton,  Oc- 
tober, 191 1  ;  he  was  a  traveling  salesman 
for  the  Regal  Paper  Company,  of  New  Jer- 
sey, but  died  October  31,  191 1. 


DWIGHT,  William  George, 

'Well    Knovrn    Journalist. 

Among  the  men  who  have  carved  out  for 
themselves  an  enviable  place  in  the  newspa- 
per world  should  be  mentioned  William  G. 
Dwight,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  "Hol- 
yoke Transcript,"  a  man  who  stands  high 
in  public  esteem.  Self  reliance,  conscien- 
tiousness, energy  and  honesty  being  the 
traits  of  character  that  have  insured  him 
the  highest  emoluments  and  greatest  suc- 
cess. The  family  name  was  Monk,  but  this 
patronymic  was  changed  by  the  father  of 
William  G.  Dwight  to  Dwight,  the  form 
now  in  use,  that  being  his  middle  name. 

William  George  Dwight  comes  of  a  very 
old  English  family,  its  name  having  first 
been  Monk,  or  Monck,  a  name  conspicuous 


27 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


even  prior  to  the  seventeenth  century,  but 
it  was  during  the  time  of  Cromwell  and 
Charles  II.  that  it  was  most  distinguished. 
George  Monk,  the  first  Duke  of  Albemarle 
and  second  son  of  Sir  Thomas  Monk,  had 
a  brilliant  military  career,  serving  his  king 
under  many  and  varied  circumstances.  As 
a  mark  of  appreciation  for  his  service  he 
was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey  and  a 
contemporary  report  in  speaking  of  his 
death  says:  "He  died  like  a  Roman  gen- 
eral with  his  officers  about  him."  In  this  re- 
mark there  is  contained  a  worthy  tribute. 
Although  his  dukedom  expired  at  the  death 
of  his  son,  the  Monk  family  did  not  be- 
come extinct  and  their  name  is  a  common 
one  in  England. 

George  Monk  was  born  in  England,  in 
1759,  and  came  to  America  in  his  youth. 
Records  do  not  give  any  account  of  his 
activities  immediately  after  his  arrival,  and 
the  first  that  is  known  of  him  is  his  active 
participation  in  the  Revolutionary  War  as 
a  member  of  the  Continental  army.  It  is 
quite  probable  that  he  enlisted  in  Massachu- 
setts. His  regiment  was  an  important  one 
as  he  served  with  Mad  Anthony  Wayne  at 
Stony  Point,  New  York,  near  Ticonderoga, 
and  under  General  von  Steuben  at  Valley 
Forge.  He  was  also  present  at  the  surren- 
der of  General  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown,  at 
which  time  he  held  the  commission  of  cap- 
tain. His  career  can  be  traced  quite  ac- 
curately on  account  of  these  few  definite 
and  prominent  points.  To  such  men,  dar- 
ing and  reliable  in  encounter  and  loyal  to 
commanders,  the  credit  must  be  given  for 
the  spirit  and  courage  shown  in  this  war. 
After  hostilities  ceased  and  the  discharged 
armies  returned  to  take  up  business  pur- 
suits again,  Mr.  Monk  located  in  Massachu- 
setts. At  that  time,  before  the  day  of  rapid 
traveling  railroads,  the  stage  coaches  mate- 
rially aided  the  hotel  business  and  Mr. 
Monk  undertook  to  conduct  a  hotel  at 
Windsor,  Massachusetts,  which  was  one  of 


the  over-night  stops  of  a  popular  stage 
route,  and  this  delightful  place  is  now  the 
property  of  Mr.  Murray  Crane.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  convenience  of  the  location,  the 
charm  and  hospitality  of  the  hotel  was  an 
important  factor  in  its  success.  Mr.  Monk 
married  Amy  Ball,  who  bore  him  two  sons : 
George,  who  died  in  Fulton,  New  York,  and 
William  Dwight,  of  whom  further. 

William  Dwight  Alonk,  later  known  as 
William  Dwight,  was  born  in  Windsor, 
Massachusetts,  in  1822,  died  at  North  Am- 
herst, Massachusetts,  in  1892.  After  attend- 
ing the  elementary  schools  of  the  town  until 
he  had  completed  the  courses  offered  by 
their  curriculum  he  entered  college  to  takeup 
the  study  of  medicine  and  matriculated  at 
the  Berkshire  Medical  College  at  Pittsfield. 
This  institution  has  not  been  in  existence  for 
many  years,  but  was  one  of  the  foremost 
medical  schools  of  the  East  a  century  ago. 
Prior  to  receiving  his  medical  degree  he  de- 
cided to  change  his  name  from  Monk  to 
Dwight,  his  middle  name.  Chester  Vil- 
lage, now  Huntington,  was  the  scene  of  his 
first  professional  work,  but  as  his  confidence 
increased  he  decided  to  move  to  a  larger 
field  and  soon  established  his  office  in  Ber- 
nardston,  and  this  town  was  his  home  for 
twenty  years,  during  which  time  he  became 
a  popular  and  highly  esteemed  citizen.  His 
interest  in  politics  and  education  was  made 
quite  evident  by  the  fact  that  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  office  of  postmaster  and  also 
one  of  the  original  trustees  of  the  Cushman 
Library,  the  former  a  position  gained  only 
through  personal  popularity  and  as  a  recog- 
nition of  party  service,  and  the  latter  a  posi- 
tion of  honor  given  to  those  who  have 
worked  for  educational  advantages  for  a 
community.  In  the  Franklin  County  Me- 
dical Association  he  was  a  prominent  mem- 
ber, and  he  also  held  membership  in  the  Uni- 
tarian church.  The  last  twenty  years  of 
his  professional  life  were  spent  at  North 
Amherst.    He  received  an  honorary  degree 


28 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


from  Amherst  College.  He  married  Helen 
Clark,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Eber  L.  and 
Mary  (Starkweather)  Clark,  the  former  a 
graduate  of  Williams  College,  class  of  1811. 
Helen  Clark  attended  Mount  Holyoke  Sem- 
inary in  the  class  of  1841,  coming  under  the 
direct  personal  training  of  Mary  Lyon.  She 
taught  later  in  the  Maplevvood  Institute  in 
Pittsfield,  one  of  the  very  famous  schools 
of  the  day.  She  was  a  most  remarkable  wo- 
man, a  leader  in  the  community  life  in  the 
several  towns  in  which  she  made  her  home. 
She  died  in  Holyoke,  in  1910,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-three.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Dwight  were 
the  parents  of  five  children:  Mary  E., 
who  became  the  wife  of  Edward  H.  Per- 
kins, of  Hartford,  and  they  have  two  sons : 
Professor  Henry  A.  Perkins,  acting  presi- 
dent of  Trinity  College,  and  Edward  C. 
Perkins,  a  graduate  of  Yale  and  Columbia 
University,  and  now  engaged  in  hospital 
work  in  China ;  three  who  died  in  child- 
hood ;  William  George,  of  whom  further. 
William  George  Dwight  was  born  at  Ber- 
nardston,  Massachusetts,  September  21, 
1859.  In  boyhood  he  attended  the  public 
school  in  his  preparation  to  enter  Powers 
Institute,  also  at  Bernardston.  After  his 
graduation  from  that  institution  he  became 
a  student  at  Amherst  College,  in  1877,  and 
received  the  degree  of  B.  H.  in  1881.  De- 
sirous of  starting  upon  an  active  career  at 
once,  he  located  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
in  the  September  following  his  graduation 
from  college  and  immediately  took  uo  news- 
paper work,  a  profession  in  which  he  has 
gained  considerable  success.  For  a  short 
time  he  acted  as  correspondent  for  the  vari- 
ous Springfield  papers,  but  in  1882  he  form- 
ed a  partnership  with  W.  S.  Loomis,  who 
owned  the  "Holyoke  Transcript,"  then  a 
weekly  paper.  Under  the  new  partnership 
it  was  immediately  brought  out  as  a  daily 
paper,  and  during  the  six  years  of  this  con- 
nection the  standing  of  the  paper  greatly  in- 
creased.    In    1888   Mr.    Loomis    felt   com- 


pelled to  discontinue  his  connection  with 
the  paper  on  account  of  the  urgent  demands 
made  upon  his  time  by  his  extensive  street 
railway  holdings,  and  from  that  time  Mr. 
Dwight  has  been  sole  owner  and  manager 
of  the  paper.  It  is  gratifying  to  have  a 
paper  in  the  control  of  a  man  who  is  fully 
aware  of  the  responsibilities  of  the  press. 
There  is  no  more  potent  influence  in  our 
civilization  today  and  it  is  now,  as  ever,  the 
prime  mover  in  progress  and  improvement. 
The  value  of  the  local  press  is  always  con- 
ceded and  it  is  usually  expected  that  supe- 
rior towns  have  good  papers,  but  the  fact 
is  frequently  overlooked  that  perhaps  the 
good  paper  is  in  a  large  degree  responsible 
for  the  favorable  growth  of  the  town.  Hol- 
yoke knows  that  in  the  "Daily  Transcript" 
it  has  a  paper  which  not  only  reports  the  af- 
fairs and  interests  of  the  community,  but  al- 
so plans  for  future  civic,  state  and  national 
development.  Mr.  Dwight  is  a  member  of 
the  Canoe  Club,  Mt.  Tom  Golf  Club  and 
Piquot  Club.  In  politics  he  gave  his  sup- 
port to  the  Republican  party  for  many 
years,  but  became  identified  with  the  Pro- 
gressive wing  of  that  party  in  191 2. 

Mr.  Dwight  married  (first)  Anna,  daugh- 
ter of  David  Bush,  of  Burke,  New  York, 
and  to  them  one  child  was  born,  Henry, 
January  16,  1891.  Mrs.  Dwight's  death  oc- 
curred in  the  same  year.  Mr.  Dwight  mar- 
ried (second)  in  1896,  Minnie  A.  Ryan, 
daughter  of  Patrick  and  Catherine  (Riley) 
Ryan,  of  North  Hadley,  Massachusetts, 
and  granddaughter  of  James  and  Ellen 
(Powers)  Ryan,  of  whom  further.  They 
are  the  parents  of  three  children :  Helen 
M.,  born  1897,  a  student  of  Wellesley  Col- 
lege ;  Laura  S.,  born  1899,  ^  student  at  Vas- 
sar;    William,  born  1903. 

James  Ryan,  grandfather  of  Minnie  A. 
(Ryan)  Dwight,  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  a 
representative  of  one  of  the  old  and  hon- 
ored families  of  Ireland,  entitled  to  bear  a 
coat-of-arms.  He  came  to  the  United  States 


29 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  year  1851,  and  located  in  Whately, 
Massachusetts,  from  whence  he  removed 
to  North  Hadley,  Massachusetts,  where  his 
death  occurred  at  the  advanced  age  of  nine- 
ty-six years.  His  wife.  Ellen  (Powers) 
Ryan,  bore  him  thirteen  children,  all  but 
t^vo,  who  died  in  infancy,  lived  to  be  over 
seventy  years  of  age. 

Patrick  Ryan,  son  of  James  and  Ellen 
(Powers)  Ryan,  and  father  of  Minnie  A. 
(Ryan)  D wight,  was  born  in  County  Wa- 
terford,  Ireland,  July  15,  1839,  and  at  the 
present  time  (1917)  is  residing  in  North 
Hadley,  Massachusetts,  aged  seventy-eight 
years.  He  received  his  preliminary  educa- 
tion in  the  schools  of  his  native  town,  and 
when  twelve  years  of  age  accompanied  his 
parents  to  this  country.  He  resided  with  an 
old  New  England  family  in  Whately,  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  during  this  time  attended 
public  and  select  schools,  being  for  a  time 
a  pupil  under  James  H.  Newton,  now  a 
banker  of  Holyoke.  Later  he  devoted  his 
attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  is 
now  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  one  hundred 
acres  or  more  in  North  Hadley.  one  of  the 
most  productive  farms  in  that  section  of  the 
State,  one  of  the  show  places  of  the  region, 
which  he  has  occupied  since  his  marriage  in 
1869.  His  product  consists  principally  of 
tobacco  and  onions  at  the  present  time,  but 
in  the  past  he  conducted  extensive  dairying 
operations,  also  raised  com,  hay  and  pigs. 
Mr.  Ryan  is  a  great  reader  and  student, 
particularly  on  political  topics,  and  is  the 
possessor  of  a  wonderful  memory'.  He  is  a 
Democrat  in  politics,  and  has  served  as  reg- 
ister of  voters  and  as  a  member  of  the  va- 
rious town  committees.  He  has  always  been 
an  earnest  advocate  of  Home  Rule  for  Ire- 
land. 

Mr.  Ryan  married.  May  5,  1869,  Cather- 
ine Riley,  bom  in  County  Tipperary,  Ire- 
land, daughter  of  Patrick  Riley,  who  lived 
to  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-eight  years. 
Children :     Ellen,  became  the  wife  of  John 


Dwyer ;  Minnie  A.,  aforementioned  as  the 
wife  of  William  G.  Dwight ;  Bridget  Ag- 
nes, an  educator ;  James,  deceased ;  Wil- 
liam ;  Henry ;  Arthur,  city  editor  of  the 
Holyoke  "Daily  Transcript,"  married  Bes- 
sie O'Connell,  and  has  children :  James 
Arthur,  Elizabeth  and  Catherine. 


JUDGE,  Martin  Joseph, 

Paper     ManufactareT. 

Martin  Joseph  Judge,  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative business  men  of  Holyoke,  is  a 
descendant  of  a  fine  old  Irish  family,  the 
members  of  which  have  always  occupied 
positions  of  honor  and  regard  in  the  com- 
munities where  they  have  made  their  homes, 
being  industrious  and  enterprising,  willing 
to  sacrifice  their  own  interests,  if  needs  be, 
in  order  to  promote  the  welfare  and  de- 
velopment of  their  respective  places  of  res- 
idence. 

John  Judge,  grandfather  of  Martin  J. 
Judge,  was  born,  lived  and  died  in  Ireland, 
his  death  occurring  in  the  late  seventies,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four  years.  He 
married  Ellen  Dunbar  and  among  their 
children  was  Anthony,  of  whom  further. 

Anthony  Judge,  father  of  Martin  J. 
Judge,  was  born  in  County  Mayo,  Ireland, 
about  the  year  1803,  and  died  at  South 
Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts,  in  1903,  al- 
most a  centenarian.  He  followed  the  occu- 
pation of  farming,  as  his  forebears  had 
done  for  centuries,  but  the  times  were  very- 
hard  in  Ireland,  owing  to  the  excessive  op- 
pressions wrought  upon  the  people  by  the 
British  government,  and  Mr.  Judge,  like  so 
many  of  his  fellow  countrj'men,  had  a  dif- 
ficult time  in  making  a  livelihood.  He  was 
of  an  extremely  independent  character, 
however,  and  could  ill  brook  the  injustices 
to  which  he  was  necessarily  subject  there, 
and  eventually,  rebelling  altogether  against 
them,  he  joined  the  great  body  of  Irishmen 
who  sought  a  haven  in  the  Republic  of  the 


30 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Western  Hemisphere  and  set  sail  for  the 
United  States  in  the  year  i860.  Arriving 
in  this  country,  he  located  in  South  Hadley 
Falls,  Massachusetts,  where  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  days.  Before  coming  to 
this  country  he  married  Barbara  Loftus,  a 
native  of  County  Mayo,  Ireland,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Patrick  and  Mary  (Gallagher)  Loft- 
us. Ten  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Judge,  as  follows :  John,  Thomas, 
Patrick,  Michael,  Anthony,  Martin  Joseph, 
John,  James,  Mary,  and  Edward  Loftus,  a 
priest  in  the  Catholic  church  at  North 
Brookfield,  Massachusetts,  who  died  Octo- 
ber 4,  1 91 6.  Of  the  others  only  Thomas, 
Patrick,  Martin  Joseph  and  Mary  are  liv- 
ing. 

Martin  Joseph  Judge  was  born  at  South 
Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts,  October  14, 
1865.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  town  and  proved  him- 
self an  apt  and  diligent  student.  His  first 
employment  was  in  the  Glasgow  Mills  at 
South  Hadley  Falls,  with  which  concern  he 
was  identified  for  a  considerable  period  of 
time,  becoming  thoroughly  proficient  in  the 
details  of  the  cotton  business.  Later  he  was 
employed  as  a  bookkeeper  in  the  great  Al- 
bion Mills  conducted  by  E.  C.  Foft  and 
while  there  mastered  the  details  of  the  pa- 
per business,  and  by  the  time  he  had  at- 
tained his  majority  he  was  an  expert  in  pa- 
per manufacturing.  It  had  been  his  ambi- 
tion to  engage  in  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count, and  accordingly  he  severed  his  con- 
nection with  the  Albion  Mills  and  entered 
the  wholesale  and  retail  paper  business, 
opening  his  establishment  at  No.  149  Main 
street,  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  For  twen- 
ty-eight years  Mr.  Judge  remained  at  that 
location,  his  business  increasing  steadily  in 
volume  and  importance  and  finally,  in  1914, 
fairly  outgrowing  its  original  quarters.  He 
then  moved  his  establishment  to  No.  137 
and  139  Main  street,  where  he  is  located  at 


the  present  time  (1918)  his  quarters  being 
commodious  enough  for  the  great  expan- 
sion of  his  business,  which  is  continuing 
to  grow  at  an  even  accelerated  rate.  Mr. 
Judge  has  become  one  of  the  influential 
figures  in  the  paper  trade  in  that  city,  and 
in  addition  to  this  interest  is  actively  identi- 
fied with  the  Eureka  Blank  Book  Company, 
which  is  a  large  consumer  of  paper  sup- 
plied through  Mr.  Judge's  original  concern, 
he  serving  in  the  capacity  of  treasurer 
therein.  He  was  one  of  the  incorporators 
of  the  Hadley  Falls  Trust  Company  in 
1916. 

Mr.  Judge  has  always  made  his  home  in 
his  native  town  of  South  Hadley  Falls  and 
has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  public  af- 
fairs of  that  community.  He  is  the  treas- 
urer of  the  fire  district;  has  served  on  the 
Board  of  Selectmen  five  years  in  all,  two  of 
which  he  held  the  office  of  chairman  of  the 
board ;  and  is  a  member  of  the  Prudential 
Committee  and  of  the  Board  of  Water 
Commissioners.  He  is  a  Roman  Catholic 
in  his  religious  belief  and  attends  St.  Pat- 
rick's Church  at  South  Hadley.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  and 
takes  a  prominent  part  in  the  social  and  club 
life  of  the  town. 

Mr.  Judge  married  on  Christmas  Day, 
1895,  Joanna  B.  Long,  of  Richmond,  Vir- 
ginia, daughter  of  Thomas  and  Joanna 
(Kennedy)  Long,  old  residents  of  that 
place.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judge  are  the  parents 
of  six  children,  all  of  whom  are  living, 
namely:  Elizabeth  Mary,  Gerald  Anthony, 
Martin  Loftus,  Lawrence  Clement,  Fred- 
erick Street,  and  Esther  Louise.  The  home 
life  of  Mr.  Judge  is  an  extremely  happy 
one.  He  finds  his  chief  pleasure  in  the  so- 
ciety of  his  family,  by  his  own  hearth,  and 
his  home  is  noted  throughout  the  neighbor- 
hood for  the  gracious  hospitality  which  it 
extends  to  all. 


31 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


SEARS,  Lemuel, 

Business    Man,    Financier. 

The  death  of  Lemuel  Sears,  which  occur- 
red at  his  late  home  in  Holyoke,  March  17, 
191 2,  removed  from  that  city  a  man  who 
from  the  time  he  began  his  business  career 
until  his  decease  constantly  manifested  abil- 
ity in  one  phase  or  another,  displaying  un- 
limited possibilities,  his  activities   showing 
his  belief  that  there  was  nothing  too  great 
to  grasp  and  master,  and  the  extensive  bus- 
iness he  built  up  and  with  which  he  was 
prominently  connected  owed  not  a  little  to 
his  masterful  power.     He  was  a  man  who 
believed    that     faithfulness    to    duty    and 
strict  adherence  to  a  fixed  purpose  in  life 
would  do  more  to  advance  a  man's  interests 
than  wealth  or  advantageous  circumstances. 
Lemuel  Sears  was  a  descendant  in  the 
eighth  generation  from  Richard  Sares,  as 
the  name  was  then  spelled,  the  immigrant 
ancestor,  who  appeared  in  the  records  of 
the  Plymouth  colony  tax  list  in  1633,  and  in 
the  Salem  tax  lists  of   1637-38.     The  line 
from  the  immigrant  to  Lemuel  Sears  was 
through   Captain   Paul   Sears,  whose  birth 
occurred    in    Marblehead.    Massachusetts, 
and  his  death  at  Yarmouth ;   his  son,  Paul 
Sears,  born  and  died  in  Yarmouth,  Massa- 
chusetts;    his  son,  Daniel  Sears,  also  born 
and  died  in  Yarmouth ;  his  son,  Enos  Sears, 
a   native   of   Yarmouth,   later   removed   to 
Ashfield,  Massachusetts;    his  son,  William 
Sears,  born  and  died  in  Ashfield,  Massachu- 
setts ;  and  his  son,  Nathan  Sears,  father  of 
Lemuel  Sears,  was  born  and  died  in  Ash- 
field.   He  was  a  successful  business  man,  an 
agriculturist   and   dealer    in   wool,   a   Con- 
gregationalist  in  religion,  and  an  old  line 
Whig  in  politics.    His  wife,  Abigail  (Bates) 
Sears,   bore   him   two   children:      Lemuel, 
see  next  paragraph ;   and  Eliza.    The  latter 
was  born  March  2,   1839,  died  March  23, 
1901  ;   she  was  the  wife  of  Duane  Lilly. 
Lemuel  Sears  was  born  in  Ashfield,  Mas- 


sachusetts, February  17,  1835,  on  his  fath- 
er's farm,  whereon  he  resided  until  he  was 
about  twenty  years  of  age,  the  early  years 
of  his  life  being  spent  in  attending  the  dis- 
trict school  and  in  assisting  with  the  varied 
labors  which  fall  to  the  lot  of  a  farmer's 
son.     His  tastes  and  inclinations  did  not  lie 
in   that   direction,   however,   he  possessing 
a  natural  genius   for  mechanics,   inherited 
doubtless  from  his  grandfather,  and  while 
he  was  still  in  his  "teens"  he  rebuilt  an  old 
mill  and  built  a  new  sugar  house,  laying  out 
the  frames  and  performing  the  work  with 
his  own  hands,  and  when  the  new  meeting 
house  in  Ashfield  was  completed  and  there 
yet  remained  the  horse  sheds  to  be  erected, 
he  laid  out  the  frames  for  men  far  older  in 
years    and    experience    than     himself,  and 
greatly  to  the  surprise  of  Captain  Chapin, 
who,  observing  the  young  fellow's  work,  ex- 
claimed '"Lemuel  can  do  it  as  well  as  I." 
Shortly  before   attaining  his  manhood,  he 
became  a  dealer   in  wool,  purchasing  and 
selling  quite  extensively,  traveling  over  the 
greater   part   of   the   surrounding   country, 
and  this  proved  a  profitable  means  of  live- 
lihood for  a  number  of  years.    Subsequent- 
ly,  about   the   year    1866,   he   changed   his 
place   of   residence   to   Holyoke   and  there 
purchased   a   small   grocery   and   provision 
store,  which  was  an  entirely  diflferent  line 
from  those  hitherto  followed  by  him,  and 
in  which  he  had  no  previous  experience,  but 
it  proved  a  successful  undertaking,  expand- 
ing to  mammoth  proportions  under  his  ca- 
pable management,  and  in  due  course  of 
time  was  conducted  as  a  wholesale  and  re- 
tail establishment,  being  classed  among  the 
most  extensive  and  highly  prosperous  places 
in    Holyoke,     furnishing    employment     to 
many  hands  and  this  he  carried  on  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death. 

Mr.  Sears  was  a  thoroughly  progressive 
business  man  and  deserved  great  credit  for 
the  success  which  he  achieved  in  life.  He 
was  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune  and 

32 


r  Tris  «s^'  York'    ^ 
•PUBLIC  LiBRi-RYj 


^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


builded  wisely  and  well,  gaining  a  comfort- 
able competence  through  diligence  and  en- 
terprise. He  took  an  active  interest  in  all 
projects  that  had  for  their  object  the  wel- 
fare of  the  community,  and  his  services 
were  sought  by  other  concerns  who  realized 
the  rare  judgment  displayed  in  the  manage- 
ment of  his  own  business,  namely,  the  City 
Bank  of  Holyoke,  of  which  he  was  one  of 
the  incorporators,  and  which  he  served  for 
two  decades  as  a  member  of  its  board  of  di- 
rectors, and  which  he  assisted  in  building 
up  to  a  very  prosperous  condition,  and  at 
the  time  its  present  new  building  was  erect- 
ed was  on  its  building  committee  and  took 
an  active  part  in  its  construction.  He  was 
also  actively  interested  in  the  Mechanics' 
Savings  Bank,  of  which  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  corporation  in  1873,  trustee 
in  1888,  auditor  in  1892 ;  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  its  investment  committee  in  1885 
and  served  until  1893;  in  1891  was  elect- 
ed vice-president,  and  in  1894  was  elected 
president,  which  position  he  held  for 
eighteen  years,  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 
During  all  his  residence  in  Holyoke,  nearly 
fifty  years,  he  took  a  great  interest  in  its 
affairs  and  did  all  in  his  power  to  advance 
those  interests.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century 
he  was  a  member  of  the  city  sinking  fund 
commission,  serving  in  this  capacity  longer 
than  any  of  his  predecessors.  He  was  fre- 
quently called  upon  to  fill  public  office  in 
the  city  of  Holyoke,  but  he  declined  the 
honor,  preferring  to  devote  his  entire  time 
and  attention  to  his  business  pursuits.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Bay  State  Club,  in 
which  he  took  considerable  interest,  and 
was  for  a  number  of  years  a  member  of  the 
Mercantile  Exchange  of  New  York  City. 

Mr.  Sears  married,  November  27,  i860, 
Martha  M.,  daughter  of  Deacon  Ephraim 
Ford,  of  Cummington,  Massachusetts,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  two  children:  i. 
Jennie  E,,  born  August  31,  1871,  now  the 
wife  of  Franklin  M.  Street,  of  Holyoke, 
MASS.-7-3.  33 


and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  daughter, 
Florence,  born  March  4,  1897.  2.  Arthur 
L.,  died  November  9,  1880. 

Mr.  Sears  was  highly  respected  by  his 
friends  and  business  associates,  and  his 
death  was  very  widely  mourned.  The  fol- 
lowing was  said  of  him  in  an  editorial 
in  the  Holyoke  "Transcript:"  "It  is 
with  a  keen  sense  of  loss  and  regret 
that  we  add  the  name  of  Lemuel  Sears,  mer- 
chant, banker  and  a  good  Holyoke  citizen, 
to  those  who  have  passed  to  the  Great  Be- 
yond. His  career  was  one  which  should 
serve  to  inspire  young  men  with  a  desire  to 
make  the  most  of  their  opportunities.  Start- 
ing at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder,  his  capital 
being  mainly  perseverance,  frugality  and  a 
determination  to  succeed,  he,  by  an  appli- 
cation of  these  characteristics,  reached  a 
commanding  place  in  the  commercial  and 
banking  circles  of  Holyoke,  and  his  exam- 
ple is  one  which  young  men  desiring  to  suc- 
ceed can  emulate  with  pleasure  and  profit ; 
the  work  which  he  performed  has  left  its 
impress  upon  the  community,  and  the  name, 
Lemuel  Sears,  will  be  revered,  respected 
and  remembered  for  many  generations. 


WHEELOCK,  William  Franklin, 

Merchant. 

When  a  young  man  of  eighteen,  William 
Franklin  Wheelock  located  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  and  until  his  death,  forty- 
seven  years  later,  was  an  honored  resident 
and  one  of  the  substantial  business  men  of 
the  city.  Perhaps  the  period  of  his  great- 
est success  and  prominence  in  the  business 
world  was  between  the  years  1873  and  1894 
as  a  member  of  Dean  &  Wheelock,  paints, 
oils,  wall  paper,  etc.,  although  later  he  con- 
tinued his  successes  as  head  of  the  W.  F. 
Wheelock  Company  in  similar  lines.  He 
was  a  man  sometimes  very  stern  in  manner, 
positive  in  his  convictions,  but  possessed  a 
kind  and  tender  heart,  was  actuated  by  the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


purest  of  motives  and  in  his  home  was  the 
ideal  husband  and  father.  He  was  highly 
regarded  by  his  associates  for  his  upright, 
manly  life,  the  close  attention  he  paid  to  his 
business  and  for  his  force  of  character  as 
manifested  in  his  business  and  private  life. 
He  was  very  popular  in  Grand  Army  circles 
and  all  through  life  he  retained  the  deepest 
interest  in  his  comrades  of  army  days. 

He  came  from  an  old  New  England  fam- 
ily, his  American  ancestor.  Rev.  Ralph 
Wheelock,  A.  M.,  a  graduate  of  Cambridge 
University,  who  came  from  England  in 
1637.  Of  him  it  was  written,  "It  is  highly 
probable  that  he  was  a  descendant  of  Hugh 
de  Wheelock,  who,  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
II.,  received  from  Roger  Maine  Warring 
a  title  to  all  the  latter's  claim  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Wheelock,  Cheshire,  England,  which 
he  had  previously  held."  His  great-grand- 
son, Rev.  Ebenezer  Wheelock,  was  the 
founder  of  Dartmouth  College,  and  through 
all  the  American  generations  there  has  run 
an  element  of  stability  and  firmness  of  char- 
acter, a  heritage  from  the  Puritan  ancestor. 
Rev.  Ralph  Wheelock,  who  sought  Ameri- 
can shores  as  a  refuge  from  religious  per- 
secution. William  Franklin  Wheelock  was 
of  the  seventh  American  generation,  son  of 
Moses  Wheelock,  born  at  Brimfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, May  20,  1803,  married,  July  3, 
1828,  Mary  Bliss,  born  July  29,  1802, 
daughter  of  Ithamar  and  Mary  (Mack) 
BHss. 

William  Franklin  Wheelock  was  born  in 
Florida,  Massachusetts,  May  i,  1842,  and 
died  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  October 
27,  1907.  His  early  life  was  passed  in  Flor- 
ida and  South  Hadley  Falls,  his  residence  in 
Holyoke  beginning  in  i860.  He  was  vari- 
ously employed  in  Holyoke  until  December 
7,  1863,  when  he  enlisted  in  Company  A, 
First  Regiment,  Massachusetts  Cavalry. 
He  served  with  credit  throughout  the  re- 
maining year  of  the  war,  saw  hard  service 
and  received  an  honorable  discharge,  June 


26,  1865.  After  the  war  he  returned  to 
Holyoke  and  was  there  employed  until  1873, 
when  he  began  his  career  as  a  merchant.  In 
that  year  he  formed  a  partnership  with  W. 
T.  Dean  and  as  Dean  &  Wheelock  they 
opened  a  paint  store.  They  dealt  in  all  that 
pertained  to  such  a  business,  operated  very 
successfully  for  twenty-one  years,  both 
partners  being  men  of  ability,  energy  and 
force.  In  1894  they  dissolved,  Mr.  Whee- 
lock then  becoming  senior  member  of  the 
W.  F.  Wheelock  Company,  the  new  firm 
continuing  the  same  line  of  business  at  No. 
147  Main  street,  Mr.  Wheelock  remaining 
its  active  head  until  his  death  in  1907. 

Although  essentially  a  business  man,  al- 
lowing nothing  to  detract  from  the  main 
purpose  of  his  life,  he  was  not  unmindful 
of  his  duties  as  a  citizen,  but  ever  mani- 
fested a  deep  interest  in  all  that  pertained 
to  the  welfare  of  his  city.  He  affiliated  with 
his  old  comrades  in  membership  in  Kilpat- 
rick  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
also  was  a  member  of  Mt.  Tom  Lodge, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  an  active 
member  of  the  First  Congregational  Church. 
In  political  faith  he  was  a  Republican.  He 
met  every  responsibility  of  life  squarely, 
evaded  no  issue  and  pursued  a  straightfor- 
ward, manly  course  through  life,  treating  all 
men  justly  and  when  he  passed  from  earthly 
scenes,  one  of  the  "Old  Guard"  among  Hol- 
yoke's  business  men,  he  left  to  posterity  an 
honored  name  and  the  record  of  an  up- 
right life. 

Mr.  Wheelock  married,  November  5, 
1883,  Cornelia  E.  Dean,  who  survives  him, 
daughter  of  George  B.  and  Caroline 
(Clark)  Dean,  of  Constableville,  Lewis 
county.  New  York.  Children:  i.  Bertha 
C,  born  February  16,  1885,  at  Holyoke, 
graduate  of  Holyoke  High  School ;  married 
Lucius  Bradford  Cousins,  and  has  a  son, 
Bradford  Wheelock  Cousins,  born  April  22, 
191 5.  2.  William  Earle,  whose  sketch  fol- 
lows 


34 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


WHEELOCK,  William  Earle, 

Business  Man. 

William  Earle  Wheelock,  a  representa- 
tive in  the  eighth  American  generation  of 
the  Wheelock  family,  which  traces  its  origin 
to  England,  is  one  of  the  enterprising  and 
successful  business  men  of  Holyoke,  who 
has  commanded  the  respect  of  all  by  his 
uniform  courtesy,  while  his  reputation  for 
fair  dealing  and  honorable  transactions  has 
gained  him  the  confidence,  good  will  and  re- 
spect of  business  men  throughout  the  sec- 
tion in  which  he  conducts  his  business  and 
wherever  he  is  known. 

William  Earle  Wheelock  was  born  in 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  June  12,  1887,  son 
of  William  Franklin  and  Cornelia  E. 
(Dean)  Wheelock.  He  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Holyoke,  including  the  High 
School,  from  which  he  graduated,  class  of 
1908.  He  began  his  business  career  im- 
mediately after  his  graduation,  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  W.  F.  Wheelock  Company,  of 
which  his  father  was  the  senior  member, 
the  concern  dealing  in  paints  and  everything 
pertaining  to  that  line  of  business.  Wil- 
liam E.  Wheelock  became  thoroughly  fa- 
miliar with  every  detail,  and  in  due  course 
of  time  was  a  valuable  adjunct,  relieving  his 
father  of  many  of  the  burdens  and  respon- 
sibilities, and  upon  the  death  of  his  father, 
in  1907,  succeeded  him  as  head  of  the  busi- 
ness and  has  so  continued  to  the  present 
time  (1917),  continuing  along  the  same  hon- 
orable lines  as  laid  down  by  his  honored 
father.  The  business  has  increased  with  each 
succeeding  year,  and  Mr.  Wheelock,  being 
one  of  the  younger  business  men  of  the  city, 
has  a  bright  future  in  prospect.  For  three 
years,  from  1908  to  191  o,  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Militia,  in  which  he  took 
a  keen  interest.  His  religious  affiliations  are 
with  the  Congregational  church,  and  in  poli- 


tics he  adheres  to  the  principles  of  the  Re- 
publican party. 

Mr.  Wheelock  married,  June  8,  1913, 
Maud  A.  Porter,  of  Clapham,  Province  of 
Quebec,  Canada,  daughter  of  William  and 
Charlotte  (Moore)  Porter.  Children:  Wil- 
liam Franklin,  born  March  21,  191 4,  and 
Lila  Jean,  born  July  13,  1916. 


BUCKLEY,   George  Chittington,  Jr., 
Valued   Citizen  of  Holyoke. 

The  family  of  Buckley,  other  forms  of  the 
name  being  Bulkeley,Bulkley,  Bulkly,  repre- 
sented in  the  present  generation,  the  twenty- 
first,  by  George  C.  Buckley,  a  well  known 
resident  of  Holyoke,  is  of  ancient  English 
origin  and  traces  back  to  the  twelfth  century 
to  the  time  of  King  John,  when  lived  Baron 
Robert  de  Bulkeley,  whose  son.  Baron  Wil- 
liam de  Bulkeley,  married  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  Butler.  Their  son.  Baron  Robert 
de  Bulkeley,  married  Jane,  daughter  of  Sir 
William  Butler.  Their  son.  Baron  William 
de  Bulkeley,  married,  1302,  Maud,  daughter 
of  Sir  John  Davenport.     Their  son.  Baron 

Robert  de  Bulkeley,  married  Agnes . 

Their  son,  Baron  Peter  de  Bulkeley,  mar- 
ried Nicola,  daughter  of  Thomas  Bird. 
Their  son.  Baron  John  de  Bulkeley,  a  resi- 
dent of  Houghton,  married  Arderne  Fitley. 
Their  son,  Baron  Hugh  de  Bulkeley,  mar- 
ried Helen,  daughter  of  Thomas  Wilbra- 
ham.  Their  son.  Baron  Humphrey  de 
Bulkeley,  married  Grisel  Moulton.  Their 
son.  Baron  William  de  Bulkeley,  a  resident 
of  Oakley,  married  Beatrice,  daughter  of 
William  Hill.  Their  son,  Baron  Thomas  de 
Bulkeley,  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Randelle  Grosvener.  Their  son,  the  Rev. 
Edward  de  Bulkeley,  was  a  native  of  Ware, 
Shropshire,  England,  and  his  death  occur- 
red at  Odell,  Hundred  of  Willey,  Bed- 
fordshire, England.     He  was  a  student  at 


35 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  admitted 
April  6,  1560,  pursuing  the  course  in  divin- 
ity. He  served  as  curate  of  St.  Mary's 
Church,  Shrewsbury,  appointed  in  1 565 ; 
prebend  of  Chester ;  prebend  of  Litchfield, 
about  1580;  and  rector  of  All  Saints 
Church,  Odell.  He  married  Almark  Irlby, 
or  Islby,  of  Lincolnshire,  and  among  their 
children  was  Peter,  of  whom  further. 

(XIII)  Rev.  Peter  Bulkeley,  son  of  the 
Rev.  Edward  de  Bulkeley,  was  born  at 
Odell,  Bedfordshire,  England,  January  31, 
1582-83.  He  attended  the  same  college  as 
his  father,  St.  John's,  at  Cambridge,  matric- 
ulating at  the  age  of  sixteen,  March  22, 
1604-05,  became  a  fellow,  1608,  with  degree 
of  Master  of  Arts,  and  "said  to  have  pro- 
ceeded Bachelor  of  Divinity."  He  suc- 
ceeded his  father  as  rector  of  All  Saints 
Church,  Odell.  He  was  known  to  be  a  non- 
comformist,  but  "the  Lord  Keeper  Wil- 
liams, formerly  his  diocesan,  and  his  per- 
sonal friend,  desired  to  deal  gently  with  his 
non-conformity"  and  connived  at  it,  as  he 
had  at  his  father's  for  twenty  years,  but 
when  Loud  became  primate  of  England  in 
1633,  Mr.  Bulkeley  was  silenced  and  with 
no  hope  of  reinstatement.  He  therefore 
sold  his  estate  and  emigrated  for  the  New 
World,  leaving  his  native  land  in  1635,  at 
the  age  of  fifty-two  years,  accompanied  by 
his  wife  and  children,  taking  passage  on  the 
ship,  "Susan  and  Ellen."  There  is  a  tradi- 
tion in  the  family  that  while  on  the  voyage, 
his  wife  apparently  died.  Unwilling  to  have 
her  body  buried  at  sea,  the  husband  pleaded 
with  the  captain  to  keep  it  until  they  reached 
port.  As  no  signs  of  decay  appeared,  he 
consented,  and  on  the  third  day  symptoms 
of  vitality  appeared,  and  before  land  was 
reached  animation  was  restored.  Though 
carried  from  the  ship  an  invalid,  she  re- 
covered and  lived  to  a  good  old  age.  Rev. 
Peter  Bulkeley  chose  Cambridge  as  his  first 
place  of  residence,  but  the  following  year, 
with  twelve  others,  began  the  settlement  of 

36 


Concord,  and  he  was  always  spoken  of  as 
the  first  minister  of  Concord.  He  was  teach- 
er of  the  church  of  Concord,  of  which  the 
Rev.  John  Jones  was  pastor,  and  was  in- 
stalled pastor,  April  6,  1637.  He  was  among 
the  first  to  instruct  the  Indians,   and  the 
supposition  is  that  the  Indians,  being  grate- 
ful to  him  for  his  efforts  in  their  behalf, 
spared  the  town  of  Concord  from  Indian 
depredation.    He  contributed  largely  of  his 
time  and  means  toward  the  upbuilding  of 
the  colony,  being  an  active  factor  in  every 
movement  toward  that  end.    He  was  a  well 
educated  man,  wrote  several  Latin  poems, 
and  in  1646  published  a  volume  in  London 
entitled  "The  Gospel  Covenant,"  made  up 
of  sermons  preached  at  Concord,  and  an 
elegy  on  his  friend,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hooker. 
Rev.     Peter     Bulkeley     married     (first) 
about  1 61 3,  Jane,  daughter  of  Thomas  Al- 
len, of  Goldington,  and  her  death  occurred 
at  Odell,  England,  in   1626.     He  married 
(second)    about    1634,    Grace    Chetwoode, 
born   1602,  died  at  New  London,  Connec- 
ticut,  at  the   home  of  her   son,  April  21, 
1669.     She  was  the  daughter  of  Sir  Rich- 
ard and  Dorothy   (Needham)   Chetwoode, 
of  Odell.    Children:    i.  Edward,  born  June 
17,   1 61 4,  came  to  New  England  with  his 
father,  died  January  2,  1696.   2.  Mary,  bap- 
tized August  24,  161 5,  died  young.  3.  Thom- 
as,   born   April    11,    161 7,    married    Sarah 
Jones,  settled  in  Fairfield,  Connecticut.    4. 
Nathaniel,  born   November  29,   1618,  died 
1627.  5.  Rev.  John,  born  February  11,  1620, 
graduated  at  Harvard  with  the  first  class.  6. 
Mary,  born  November  i,  1621,  died  1624. 
7.  George,  born  May  17,  1623.     8.  Daniel, 
born  August  28,  1625.    9.  Jabez,  born  De- 
cember 20,   1626,  died  young.    10.  Joseph, 
born  16 — .  I  I.William,  a  resident  of  Ipswich 
in    1648.      12.   Richard.      13.    Gershom,   of 
whom  further.     14.  Elizabeth,  born  prob- 
ably 1638,  became  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Jo- 
seph Emerson.     15.  Dorothy,  born  August 
2,  1640.     16.  Peter,  born  August  12,  1643. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


The  Rev.  Peter  Bulkeley  died  at  Concord, 
March  9,  1658-59,  and  a  large  tablet  to  his 
memory  was  erected  near  the^open  square 
at  Concord.  His  will,  dated  April  14,  1658, 
with  codicils  of  January  13  and  February 
26,  1659,  was  proved  June  20,  1659.  Prior 
to  his  death  he  gave  many  books  to  the 
library  of  Harvard  College. 

(XIV)  Rev.  Dr.  Gershom  Bulkeley,  son 
of  the  Rev.  Peter  and  Grace  (Chetwoode) 
Bulkeley,  was  born  at  Concord,  Massachu- 
setts, December  6,  1636.  He  pursued  a 
course  of  advanced  studies  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege, graduating  from  that  institution  in 
1655,  as  fellow.  Six  years  later,  in  1661, 
he  was  installed  as  minister  of  the  Second 
Church  at  New  London,  Connecticut,  and 
there  remained  until  1666-67,  when  he  was 
appointed  pastor  of  a  church  at  Wethers- 
field,  whither  he  removed,  and  served  in 
that  capacity  until  1676,  when  failing 
health  compelled  him  to  abandon  his  pas- 
toral duties.  The  year  prior  to  his  resigna- 
tion, 1675,  during  King  Philip's  War,  he 
was  appointed  surgeon  to  the  Connecticut 
troops,  and  placed  on  the  council  of  war. 
At  one  time  the  party  to  which  he  was  at- 
tached was  attacked  by  a  number  of  Indians 
in  the  vicinity  of  Wachusett  Hill,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  in  the  fight  he  received  a 
wound  in  the  thigh.  He  was  an  earnest  stu- 
dent of  medicine,  surgery,  chemistry  and 
philosophy,  actively  practicing  the  first  two 
branches  for  a  number  of  years  after  re- 
tirement from  the  ministry,  was  also  an  ex- 
pert surveyor,  and  a  linguist,  proficient  in 
several  languages.  Rev.  Dr.  Bulkeley  mar- 
ried, October  26,  1659,  Sarah  Chauncey, 
born  at  Ware,  England,  June  13,  1631, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Charles  Chauncey, 
president  of  Harvard  College.  Children : 
I.  Catherine,  born  about  1660,  became  the 
wife  of  Richard  Treat.  2.  Dorothy,  born 
about  1662,  died  1757;  she  married,  July 
5,  1693,  Lieutenant  Thomas  Treat.  3.  Dr. 
Charles,  born  about   1663.     4.  Peter,  mar- 


ried, March  21,  1700,  Rachel  Talcott;  he 
was  lost  at  sea.  5.  Edward,  born  1672.  6. 
John,  of  whom  further.  Rev.  Dr.  Gershom 
Bulkeley  died  at  Wethersfield,  Connecti- 
cut, December  2,  171 3.  His  will  was  dated 
May  28,  1 71 2,  and  proved  December  7, 
1713.  Inscribed  on  his  monument  in  the 
WethersfieldCemetery  is  the  following :"He 
was  honorable  in  his  descent,  of  rare  abili- 
ties, excellent  in  learning,  master  of  many 
languages,  exquisite  in  his  skill,  in  divinity, 
physic  and  law,  and  of  a  most  exemplary 
and  Christian  life."  He  survived  his  wife 
many  years,  her  death  occurring  June  3, 
1699. 

(XV)  Rev.  John  Bulkeley,  son  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Gershom  and  Sarah  (Chauncey) 
Bulkeley,  was  born  in  Wethersfield,  Connec- 
ticut, in  1679.  He  attended  the  same  col- 
lege as  his  father.  Harvard,  and  graduated 
from  its  School  of  Divinity  in  1699,  at  the 
age  of  twenty.  He  was  a  classmate  of  Jere- 
miah Dummer,  and  later  they  were  account- 
ed the  greatest  geniuses  of  their  day,  pref- 
erence being  given  to  Dummer  in  regard  to 
quickness,  brilliancy  and  wit,  to  Bulkeley  in 
regard  to  solidity  of  judgment  and  strength 
of  argument.  On  December  20,  1703,  he 
was  ordained  pastor  of  the  church  at  Col- 
chester, Connecticut,  served  in  that  capacity 
for  many  years,  and  attained  eminence 
among  the  brethren  of  his  profession.  Dr. 
Chauncey,  in  1768,  classing  him  among  the 
three  most  eminent  for  strength  of  genius 
and  powers  of  mind  which  New  England 
had  produced,  the  other  two  being  Jeremiah 
Dummer,  aforementioned,  and  Thomas 
Walter.  Rev.  John  Bulkeley  was  one  of 
the  largest  land  owners  in  Colchester, 
among  his  possessions  being  a  mill  and  the 
appurtenances,  a  large  amount  of  real  es- 
tate, a  negro  man,  Caesar,  and  a  library.  As 
he  died  intestate,  his  estate  was  divided 
July  17,  1733.  He  was  the  author  of  sev- 
eral volumes.  He  wrote  "A  Preface  to  R. 
Wolcott's    Meditations;"     an   election    ser- 


37 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tnon  in  1713,  entitled,  "The  Necessity  of 
Religion  in  Societies;"  in  1724  he  pubUshed 
an  "Inquiry  into  the  Right  of  the  Aborig- 
inal Natives  to  the  Land  in  America;"  in 
1729  he  published  "An  Impartial  Account 
of  the  Late  Debate  at  Lyme,  upon  the  fol- 
lowing points:  Whether  it  be  the  Will  of 
God  that  the  Infants  of  Visible  Believers 
should  be  baptized ;  Whether  Sprinkling  be 
Lawful  and  Sufficient;  and  Whether  the 
Present  Way  of  Maintaining  ]Ministers  by 
a  Public  Rate  or  Tax,  be  Lawful." 

Rev.  John  Bulkeley  married,  in  1701,  Pa- 
tience, daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  Pren- 
tice. Children:  i.  Sarah,  bom  April  8, 
1702,  married  (first)  Jonathan  Trumbull, 
(second)  John  Wells.  2.  Daughter,  born 
and  died  May  6,  1704.  3.  John,  born  April 
19,  1705,  married  (first)  October  29,  1738, 
Mary  Gardner,  (second)  April  16,  1751, 
Abigail  Hastings.  4.  Dorothy,  born  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1706.  5.  Gershom,  of  whom 
further.  6.  Charles,  born  December  26, 
1710.  7.  Peter,  born  November  21,  1712. 
8.  Patience,  born  May  21,  1715.  9.  Oliver, 
born  July  29,  171 7,  died  January  i,  1779. 
10.  Lucy,  born  June  29,  1720.  11.  Irene, 
born  February  10,  1722,  died  February  20, 
1722.  12.  Joseph,  twin  of  Irene,  died  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1722. 

(XVI)  Gershom  Bulkeley,  son  of  the 
Rev.  John  and  Patience  (Prentice)  Bulke- 
ley, was  born  in  Colchester,  Connecticut, 
February  4,  1709,  and  there  spent  his  entire 
lifetime.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  his  native  town,  and  upon  arriving  at 
manhood  years  was  chosen  by  his  fellow 
townsmen  to  fill  a  number  of  the  public 
offices,  the  duties  of  which  he  performed  to 
the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned.  He  mar- 
ried, November  28,  1733,  Abigail  Robbins. 
Children:  i.  Sarah,  born  January  10,  1735, 
married,  January  17,  1765,  Joseph  Isham. 
2.  John,  of  whom  further.  3.  Joshua,  born 
February  24,  1741,  married,  November  9, 
1761,  Lois  Day.     4.  Daniel,  born  May  13, 


1744,  married,  August  16,  1764,  Dorothy 
Olmsted.  5.  Eunice,  bom  May  14,  1747, 
married.  May  25,  1767,  Elisha  Lord.  6. 
David,  born  July  18,  1749,  married  Hannah 
Beckwith.  7.  Roger,  born  September  14, 
1 75 1,  married  Jerusha  Root.  8.  Ann,  born 
May  II,  1758. 

(XVII)  John  Bulkeley,  son  of  Gershom 
and  Abigail  (Robbins)  Bulkeley,  was  born 
in  Colchester,  Connecticut,  August  23,  1738. 
He  married,  January  11,  1759,  Judith 
Worthington.  Children:  i.  John,  born  Oc- 
tober 7,  1759,  married  Theodore  Foote.  2. 
William,  born  August  30,  1761,  married 
Mary  Champion.  3.  Gershom,  of  whom 
further.  4.  Elijah,  born  January-  29,  1766, 
married  Pamelia  Loomis.  5.  Nabby,  born 
December  30,  1769,  became  the  wife  of  Rog- 
er Taintor.  6.  Joshua  Robbins,  born  No- 
vember 2,  1771,  married  Sally  Taintor.  7. 
Mary,  born  February  2,  1774,  became  the 
wife  of  Aaron  Buckland.  8.  Judith,  born 
January  30,  1775,  married  Solomon  Taint- 
or. 9.  Gurdon,  born  March  15,  1777,  mar- 
ried (first)  Fanny  Wright,  (second)  Nan- 
cy Porter.  10.  Gad,  bom  February  20, 
1779,  married  Orra  Barstow.  11.  Lydia, 
born  April  25,  1781,  married  (first)  John 
Worthington,  (second)  Dr.  William  Ma- 
son. 12.  Dan,  born  March  20,  1784,  mar- 
ried Phebe  Burnet.  13.  Harriet,  born  Jan- 
uary 22,  1787,  became  the  wife  of  Samuel 
Moseley. 

(XVIII)  Gershom  Bulkeley,  son  of 
John  and  Judith  (Worthington)  Bulkeley, 
was  bom  in  Colchester,  Connecticut,  Octo- 
ber 3,  1763.  He  married  a  Mrs.  Noble,  a 
widow,  and  removed  to  Williamstown, 
Massachusetts.  Children:  i.  James,  of 
whom  further.  2.  George,  lawyer,  resided 
in  Kinderhook.  New  York.  3.  William, 
whose  death  occurred  in  New  York.  4. 
Gershom.  5.  Harriet,  died  unmarried.  6. 
Judith,  became  the  wife  of  Piatt  Talcott,  of 
Lanesborough.     7.  Mary,  died  unmarried. 

(XIX)  James  Bulkeley  (or  Buckley),  son 


38 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  Gershom  and 


(Noble)  Bulkeley, 


was  bom  at  Williamstown,  Massachusetts, 
about  1785-87,  and  died  at  Lee,  Massachu- 
setts. He  was  reared  and  educated  in  his 
native  town,  and  during  his  young  man- 
hood was  a  resident  of  Catskill,  Troy  and 
Kinderhook,  New  York,  returning  from 
that  State  to  Massachusetts  about  1821,  lo- 
cating in  Lee,  where  he  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  days.  He  learned  the  trade  of  paper 
making  and  followed  it  in  various  mills 
of  Western  Massachusetts  and  New  York. 
He  adopted  the  spelling  Buckley,  though 
others  of  the  family  for  a  generation  or 
two  also  used  it.  Probably  through  the 
town  clerk's  error,  the  name  is  spelled  Buck- 
land  in  the  birth  records  of  Lee,  but  is 
Buckley  in  the  marriage  records.  He 
had  the  births  of  all  his  children  re- 
corded at  Lee,  with  the  places  of  birth  in- 
dicated. He  married  Clarissa  Bell.  Chil- 
dren: I.  Hiram,  born  November  27,  1807, 
at  Catskill,  New  York.  2.  Jane  Anne,  born 
September  27,  1809,  at  Troy,  New  York.  3. 
Lucius  G.,  born  June  28,  181 1,  at  Kinder- 
hook,  New  York.  4.  William,  born  July 
2,  1813,  at  Kinderhook.  5.  Abigail,  born 
July  24,  181 5,  at  Kinderhook.  6.  John,  born 
November  20,  181 7,  at  Kinderhook.  7. 
George  Chittington,  of  whom  further.  8. 
Martha,  born  April  9,  1822,  married,  at 
Lee,  December  11,  1845,  Reuben  O.  Brown. 
9.  Ann,  born  about  1824,  married,  at  Lee, 
June  24,  1846,  Nathan  Allen. 

(XX)  George  Chittington  Buckley,  son 
of  James  and  Clarissa  (Bell)  Buckley,  was 
born  in  Kinderhook,  New  York,  April  27, 
1821,  and  died  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
October  31,  1888,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven. 
He  was  reared  in  the  town  of  Lee,  where 
his  parents  removed  during  his  infancy,  at- 
tended the  public  schools  thereof  and  upon 
arriving  at  a  suitable  age  served  an  appren- 
ticeship at  the  trade  of  hatter,  but  later 
served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  same 
trade    as    his    father,    paper    making,    be- 


coming a  skillful  workman  in  both. 
During  his  early  manhood  years,  he  re- 
turned to  his  native  State,  New  York, 
locating  in  Kingston,  where  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  he  followed  the  trade  of  a 
hatter,  at  which  he  achieved  a  well  merited 
success.  In  1849  he  returned  to  Lee,  taking 
up  his  permanent  residence  there,  and  once 
more  turned  his  attention  to  the  business 
of  making  paper,  continuing  along  that  line 
until  coming  to  Holyoke  in  1859,  where  he 
also  followed  his  trade,  continuing  until  his 
death  which  occurred  while  in  active  service 
in  a  most  tragic  manner.  It  was  his  custom 
at  noon  to  smoke  and  he  was  found  by  his 
fellow  workmen,  shortly  after  one  o'clock, 
sitting  upon  the  steps  of  this  building  dead, 
death  being  due  to  heart  disease,  a  most 
terrible  shock  to  his  family  and  friends.  He 
was  a  Whig  in  politics,  and  a  Liberal  in 
religion,  and  ranked  among  the  represen- 
tative citizens  of  the  various  communities  in 
which  he  resided.  Mr.  Buckley  married 
Julia,  daughter  of  Lawrence  Keefer  and 
Hannah  (Von  Steinberg)  Felter,  of  Kings- 
ton, New  York,  the  former  named  an  iron 
worker  by  trade.  Children,  born  at  Kings- 
ton, New  York:  i.  Icedor,  born  September 
I,  1846.  2.  James  Collier,  born  July  4,  1848, 
married,  July  4,  1870,  Roxana  M.  Dorman. 
3.  George  Chittington,  of  whom  further.  4. . 
Clara  H.,  born  February  2,  1856.  5.  Frank 
E.,  born  December  5,  1861.  6.  Fred  E., 
born  May  24,  1863. 

(XXI)  George  Chittington  Buckley,  Jr., 
son  of  George  Chittington  and  Julia  (Fel- 
ter) Buckley,  was  born  in  Lee,  Massachu- 
setts, May  20,  1852.  He  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  having  decided  to  follow  the 
same  line  of  work  as  his  father,  he  secured 
employment  in  the  Whiting  Paper  Mill,  in 
whose  employ  he  remained  fifteen  years, 
after  which  he  became  an  employee  of  the 
Union  Paper  Company's  Mill,  now  the  Riv- 
erside Mill,  No.  3,  his  term  of  service  ex- 


39 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tending  over  a  period  of  six  and  a  half 
years.  He  then  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Paper  Mill  in  Mittineague,  and  after  a  ser- 
vice of  twenty  years'  duration,  he  changed 
his  line  of  work,  becoming  connected  with 
the  Holyoke  Water  Power  Company,  hav- 
ing charge  of  the  No.  4  Overflow,  in  which 
capacity  he  is  serving  at  the  present  time 
(1917).  He  has  given  conscientious  and 
faithful  service  in  all  these  various  places, 
gaining  and  retaining  the  good  will  of  those 
higher  in  authority.  He  is  an  attendant  of 
the  Baptist  church,  and  a  member  of  the 
Pequot  Fishing  Club.  He  takes  an  active 
interest  in  all  projects  that  have  for  their 
object  the  improvement  and  welfare  of  his 
adopted  city,  and  displays  the  characteris- 
tics so  well  defined  in  the  lives  of  his  an- 
cestors. 

Mr.  Buckley  married,  October  4,  1874, 
Emma  Gaylord,  born  in  Westfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, daughter  of  Edwin  and  Prusba 
(Farr)  Gaylord.  Children:  i.  Frank  Eu- 
gene, born  March  11,  1876,  married  Matil- 
da Hayes,  and  they  have  one  daughter, 
Frances  Gaylord,  born  November  10,  1899. 
2.  William,  born  December  31,  1878,  mar- 
ried Anna  Hartling,  and  they  have  one  son, 
George. 


HITCHCOCK,  Dexter  B., 

State  Senator. 

The  changes  time  has  made  in  Holyoke 
localities  has  perhaps  driven  from  the  mem- 
ory of  many,  even  elderly  persons,  what 
was  known  as  "Ireland  Parish,"  now  that 
fine  residence  thoroughfare,  Northampton 
street.  In  that  section  the  father  of  Dex- 
ter B.  Hitchcock  owned  considerable  prop- 
erty, which  in  course  of  time  passed  to  his 
son,  Dexter  B.  Hitchcock,  who  here  spent 
most  of  his  life,  which  ended  in  1885.  The 
older  men  and  women  of  Holyoke  recall  with 
pleasure  the  quiet,  openhearted,  hospitable 
farmer,  whose  sterling  worth  so  impressed 


his  contemporaries  that  he  was  sent  to  legis- 
lative halls  as  State  Senator.  As  such  Mr. 
Hitchcock  served  his  term  with  honor.  He 
possessed  that  rare  power  of  inspiring  con- 
fidence and  men  implicitly  trusted  him. 
That  trust  was  never  misplaced  and  he  well 
merited  the  title  bestowed  upon  him  of  "an 
honest  man."  That  did  not  mean  honest  in 
money  affairs  alone,  but  honest  in  thought, 
deed,  action  and  speech.  He  was  true  to 
every  obligation  of  friendship  or  citizen- 
ship, and  held  his  personal  honor  inviolate. 

Dexter  B.  Hitchcock,  son  of  Warren  and 
Fidelia  M.  (Elder)  Hitchcock,  was  born 
on  the  home  farm  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, September,  1837,  and  died  there, 
June  II,  1885.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  and  at  the  Sufifield  Institute, 
Suffield,  Connecticut.  His  father  died  when 
he  was  about  fifteen,  and  his  mother  mar- 
ried Alexander  Day,  and  the  boy  spent  his 
life  on  this  farm  until  about  nineteen  years 
of  age  when  he  returned  to  the  homestead 
where  he  was  born,  which  had  been  be- 
queathed to  him  by  his  father,  and  he  con- 
tinued in  the  successful  conduct  of  this 
farm  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  took 
a  deep  interest  in  political  affairs  and  was 
ardent  in  his  support  of  Democratic  princi- 
ples. In  1883  he  was  the  choice  of  his 
party  for  State  Senator,  and  one  year  of  his 
life  was  spent  in  that  responsible  ofiice.  His 
death  in  the  very  prime  of  life  was  not  only 
a  deep  sorrow  to  his  legion  of  friends,  but 
a  distinct  loss  to  the  State,  as  he  possessed 
those  sterling  qualities  of  character  so 
needed  in  public  life  and  he  would  without 
doubt  have  been  long  retained  in  the  pub- 
lic service. 

Senator  Hitchcock  married,  in  1858, 
Frances  Ashley,  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Diadene  (Day)  Ashley,  of  West  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts.  Daniel  Ashley  was  a 
farmer  and  also  operated  a  ferry  between 
Chicopee  and  West  Springfield.      Diadene 


40 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Day  was  a  daughter  of  Edmund  Day,  of 
West  Springfield. 

There  was  a  peculiar  frankness  and  a  ge- 
nial spirit  possessed  by  Senator  Hitchcock, 
which  is  found  only  in  the  man  who  lives 
close  to  Nature's  heart  and  is  intimate  with 
the  soil,  the  woods  and  the  birds,  and  sees 
the  great  Creator  in  all  out-of-doors  life. 
This  spirit  rendered  him  beloved  of  all  who 
knew  him  and  inspired  that  confidence 
which  all  gave  him. 


IVERS,  Rev.  John  C, 

Priest. 

Of  the  third  American  generation,  but  he 
the  first  American-born  son  of  the  family. 
Rev.  John  C.  Ivers,  pastor  of  Holy  Cross 
Church  of  Holyoke,  is  held  by  association 
close  to  the  traditions  of  the  family  whose 
home  for  several  generations  was  in  Coun- 
ty Carlow,  an  agricultural  and  dairy  coun- 
ty in  Leinster,  Ireland.  Although  his  own 
life  has  been  spent  in  preparation  for  and 
in  service  as  a  priest  of  the  church,  he  is 
one  of  those  broad-minded  public-spirited 
men  who  look  on  life  from  a  practical  stand- 
point, and  labors  for  the  temporal  as  well 
as  the  spiritual  good  of  his  people.  He  is 
also  interested  in  all  that  pertains  to  the 
welfare  of  his  city  as  a  whole.  His  great- 
grandfather, Joseph  Ivers,  never  left  the 
"Old  Sod,"  but  his  son  John  did  and  spent 
the  last  twenty-seven  years  of  his  life  in 
Springfield,  Massachusetts. 

John  Ivers,  born  in  Tinreyland,  County 
Carlow,  Ireland,  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1870,  and  died  in  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, in  1897.  He  married,  in  Ireland, 
Bridget  Murphy,  also  born  in  Tinreyland, 
daughter  of  Richard  Murphy.  They  were 
the  parents  of  Richard,  of  further  mention ; 
John,  James,  Charles,  Mary,  Kate,  married 
(first)  a  Mr.  Foley,  (second)  George  Gil- 
more  ;  Bridget,  married  Francis  Foley ; 
the  foregoing  all  deceased.    The  first  of  the 


family  to  come  to  the  United  States  was 
Mary,  Richard  came  next,  then  Kate,  who 
was  followed  by  her  sister  Bridget,  after 
the  children  came  John  Ivers,  their  father. 

Richard  Ivers,  the  eldest  son  of  John 
and  Bridget  (Murphy)  Ivers,  was  born  at 
Tinreyland,  County  Carlow,  Ireland,  in 
1 83 1,  and  died  in  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, September  14,  1896.  He  was  twenty 
years  of  age  when  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  and  until  his  death  he  was  connect- 
ed with  the  livery  business  in  Springfield, 
first  as  an  employee,  then  a  partner  with 
James  O'Keefe,  then,  after  the  destruction 
of  their  place  by  fire,  as  sole  proprietor  of 
a  new  establishment  on  Stockbridge  street. 
His  forty-seven  years'  residence  in  Spring- 
field brought  him  a  wide  acquaintance  and 
in  the  entire  city  there  were  few  men  bet- 
ter known  or  more  highly  esteemed.  His 
friends  were  legion  and  he  never  forfeited 
the  esteem  of  the  public  he  served  for  so 
many  years.  He  married  Mary  Houlihan, 
born  in  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  who  died  in 
Springfield,  1898.  They  were  the  parents 
of  Rev.  John  C.  Ivers,  of  further  mention; 
James,  deceased,  married  Josephine  Bas- 
sett,  and  was  the  father  of  four  children, 
Annie,  Francis,  Mary  and  Dorothy;  Rich- 
ard, deceased ;    Maria ;    Catherine. 

Rev.  John  C.  Ivers  was  born  in  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts,  September  22,  1863. 
After  his  graduation  from  Springfield 
High  School  in  1881,  he  entered  the  Intern- 
al Revenue  Office  at  Springfield,  where  he 
remained  two  years.  He  entered,  in  1883, 
Ottawa  University,  Canada,  whence  he  was 
graduated  class  of  1886.  After  this  he  spent 
three  years  at  St.  Mary's  Theological  Sem- 
inary in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  on  Oc- 
tober 15,  1889,  he  was  ordained  a  priest  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  church.  He  attended 
the  Catholic  University  as  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  pioneer  class  to  receive  the  de- 
gree S.  F.  B.  He  served  as  assistant  at  St. 
Stephen's  Church,  Worcester;   St.  Francis' 


41 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Church,  North  Adams ;  and  St.  Jeromes' 
Church,  Holyoke.  He  was  appointed  pas- 
tor of  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Williamstown, 
where  he  remained  one  year.  From  thence 
he  returned  to  Holyoke  and  was  appointed 
pastor  of  Holy  Cross  Church,  1896,  where 
he  has  since  been  continuously  located.  Here 
he  has  built  a  new  church,  and  added  large- 
ly to  the  realty  of  the  parish  by  purchases 
from  the  Water  Power  Company,  from  Mr. 
Lynch  and  from  the  Casper  Ranger  Estate, 
the  present  parsonage  which  Father  Ivers 
occupies  being  the  old  Casper  Ranger  resi- 
dence. The  spiritual  growth  of  the  parish 
has  been  quickened  under  his  ministration 
and  he  possesses  not  only  the  love  of  his 
own  people  but  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  all  who  know  him  for  the  work  he  has 
performed. 


MAXFIELD,  George  Arthur,  D.  D.  S., 
Prominent  Dental  Practitioner. 

Since  his  graduation  from  the  dental  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1881,  Dr.  Maxfield  has  practiced 
his  profession  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
with  the  exception  of  two  years  spent  in 
Chester,  Pennsylvania.  He  is  one  of  the 
eminent  men  of  his  profession,  having  writ- 
ten many  papers  on  dental  subjects  which 
were  duly  published  in  the  dental  journals, 
and  he  has  received  the  highest  honors  in 
the  gift  of  his  profession.  He  was  elected 
as  the  thirty-first  president  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Dental  Society  in  1895,  and  as 
first  vice-president  he  was  one  of  three 
members  who  planned  the  reorganization  of 
that  society  into  seven  districts  and  the 
drafting  of  the  then  new  Constitution  and 
By-Laws.  For  eleven  years  he  was  secre- 
tary of  the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  So- 
ciety until  it  was  merged  with  the  New  Eng- 
land Dental  Society  (of  which  he  was  also 
a  member)  into  the  present  Northeastern 
Dental  Association  in  1895.    He  served  as 


first  vice-president  of  this  Association  for 
1913  and  1914,  and  as  president  in  1915. 

His  practice  in  Holyoke  is  large,  and  as 
a  citizen  he  is  held  in  high  esteem.  He  is 
a  son  of  Arthur  Livermore  Maxfield,  of 
New  Hampshire,  who  was  a  son  of  Sam- 
uel and  Betsy  (Huntoon)  Maxfield.  On  his 
mother's  side  he  was  a  direct  descendant  of 
Samuel  Winsley,  who  was  one  of  the 
twelve  who  obtained  the  grant  to  begin  a 
plantation  at  Merrimack,  Massachusetts,  in 
1638. 

Arthur  Livermore  Maxfield  was  born  in 
Gilmanton,  New  Hampshire,  August  31, 
1818,  died  in  Ashuelot,  New  Hampshire, 
August  24,  1890.  He  was  educated  in  Gil- 
manton, and  resided  there  until  he  was  sev- 
enteen years  of  age  when  he  left  the  farm 
and  began  working  in  the  cotton  mills  of 
Lowell,  Massachusetts.  His  first  employ- 
ment was  in  the  weaving  room  of  the  Boot 
Corporation.  By  his  ability  he  was  ad- 
vanced in  less  than  ten  years  to  the  post  of 
overseer.  While  he  was  in  this  position  he 
taught  the  first  Irish  girls  in  this  country 
the  art  of  weaving.  About  1845  ^^  became 
overseer  in  a  cotton  mill  in  Hallowell, 
Maine,  but  after  a  few  months  he  returned 
to  Massachusetts  to  accept  a  similar  po- 
sition in  the  mills  of  the  Chicopee  Manu- 
facturing Company  at  Chicopee  Falls.  Here 
he  remained  about  ten  years,  and  in  1854 
went  to  Holyoke  as  paymaster  at  the  Hamp- 
den Mills,  remaining  ten  years,  when  he  or- 
ganized the  Holyoke  Warp  Mill,  of  which 
he  was  agent  for  several  years.  Then  he 
became  superintendent  of  the  Stratton  Mills 
at  West  Swanzey,  New  Hampshire,  and 
while  there  introduced  the  manufacture  of 
cotton  warps.  His  last  business  connec- 
tion was  with  the  Ashuelot  Warp  Com- 
pany, w-hich  he  organized  and  of  which  he 
was  sole  proprietor  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  was  a  thorough,  able  and  efficient  cotton 
manufacturer,  and  was  held  in  high  esteem 
among  the  manufacturers  of  New  England. 


42 


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TH£  WSW  YORK     ; 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


He  married  Orissa  Anderson,  who  was 
born  April  8,  1821,  and  died  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  February  21,  1910.  Nine 
children  were  born  to  them,  two  of  whom 
died  young.  Two  of  their  sons,  Samuel  W. 
Maxfield  and  Fred  G.  Maxfield,  succeeded 
their  father  in  the  management  of  the  Ash- 
uelot  Warp  Mills. 

Their  oldest  son,  George  Arthur  Max- 
field, was  born  at  Chicopee  Falls,  Massa- 
chusetts, October  29,  1848.  His  early  edu- 
cation was  obtained  in  the  public  schools  of 
Holyoke,  and  on  leaving  school  he  went  into 
the  office  of  his  father  as  bookkeeper  and 
paymaster  at  the  Holyoke  Warp  Mill.  In 
1869  he  left  the  office  and  learned  the  ma- 
chinist's trade,  which  he  followed  for  sev- 
eral years  before  deciding  to  prepare  for 
the  practice  of  dentistry.  In  1878  he  en- 
tered the  dental  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania  at  Philadelphia,  there 
continuing  until  he  was  graduated  with  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery  in 
1881. 

He  spent  the  first  two  years  after  gradua- 
tion at  Chester,  Pennsylvania,  then  located 
in  Holyoke,  where  he  has  since  been  in  suc- 
cessful practice.  The  years  he  spent  in  the 
machine  shop  gave  him  a  decided  advantage 
in  the  mechanical  side  of  his  profession, 
and  he  soon  gained  an  enviable  reputation 
for  excellence  of  work.  He  has  invented 
many  dental  appliances  and  was  joint  in- 
ventor with  Dr.  Morgan,  of  Springfield,  of 
the  Morgan-Maxfield  Disk  Mandrel,  which 
for  its  simplicity  and  utility  has  become  one 
of  the  standard  dental  appliances. 

He  is  an  honorary  member  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Dental  Society,  Vermont  Dental 
Society  and  Connecticut  State  Dental  As- 
sociation, also  of  several  dental  societies 
outside  of  New  England.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  National  Dental  Association, 
a  corresponding  member  of  the  American 
Medical  Association,  and  for  many  years 
was  an  associate  member  of  the  New  York 


Institute  of  Stomatology.  He  was  appoint- 
ed a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of 
Registration  in  Dentistry  by  the  late  Gov- 
ernor Roger  Wolcott  in  1897,  and  had 
served  over  sixteen  years  on  said  board 
when  he  retired  in  June,  191 3.  Dr.  Max- 
field has  worked  industriously  and  intelli- 
gently to  elevate  the  standard  of  profes- 
sional life  by  hard  work  in  the  various 
dental  societies  of  which  he  is  a  member. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Second  Baptist 
Church  for  which  he  served  as  clerk  for 
several  years,  and  in  political  faith  is  a  Re- 
publican. 

Dr.  Maxfield  married  (first)  Elizabeth 
R.  Bennett,  of  Holyoke,  in  1871,  who  died 
in  1882.  He  married  (second)  in  1885, 
Martha  H.  Currier,  a  daughter  of  the  late 
Andrew  J.  Currier,  of  Norwich,  Connecti- 
cut, who  was  a  prominent  woolen  manufac- 
turer. Their  only  child,  Arthur  Currier, 
was  born  December  10,  1890,  and  died 
March  30,  1900. 


DILLON,  John  Aloysius,  M.  D., 

Physician. 

A  member  of  the  Hampden  county  bar 
since  191 5,  Mr.  Dillon  came  upon  the  scene 
of  action  nearly  half  a  century  after  his 
honored  father,  Thomas  Dillon,  located  in 
Holyoke,  one  of  the  men  who  made  the 
early  industrial  and  commercial  history  of 
Holyoke  a  record  of  courageous,  brainy  ef- 
fort reinforced  by  right  living.  Many  of 
the  young  men  of  half  a  century  ago  came 
from  Ireland  and  among  them  was  Thomas 
Dillon,  one  of  a  trio  with  Daniel  and  John 
O'Connell,  who  survived  all  others,  all  now 
passed  away.  Thomas  Dillon  was  a  man 
of  rigid  habits  and  tireless  energy,  possess- 
ing a  keen  business  mind  and  a  genius  for 
finance,  which  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the 
group.  In  his  passing,  Holyoke  lost  a  man 
who  for  half  a  century  had  been  a  leader 
in  its  civic  and  business  expansion.    A  man 


43 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  vision,  he  had  the  courage  to  undertake 
a  hard  task  and  men  willingly  followed  his 
leadership. 

Thomas  Dillon  was  born  in  Ballyduff, 
County  Kerry,  Ireland,  in  1835,  and  died 
at  his  home,  corner  of  Chestnut  and  Ap- 
pleton  streets,  in  Holyoke,  June  3,  1916. 
He  was  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Ellen  (Car- 
roll) Dillon.  He  spent  the  first  seventeen 
years  of  his  life  in  his  native  land,  com- 
ing to  the  United  States  in  1852.  His  first 
employment  was  in  the  United  States  Ar- 
mory at  Springfield,  Massachusetts.  At 
this  time  his  home  was  in  Chicopee,  and  in 
later  years  he  used  to  recall  with  pride  and 
pleasure  that  he  walked  daily  to  and  fro 
between  his  home  and  the  armory,  a  dis- 
tance of  over  five  miles.  He  was  variously 
employed  until  1868,  locating  in  Holyoke,  in 
that  year,  and  was  quickly  admitted  to  the 
group  of  leading  citizens  who  constituted 
the  commercial  backbone  of  the  town.  He 
entered  the  grocery  business  in  a  store  in 
the  Doody  block  at  Maple  and  Lyman 
streets,  and  here  he  quickly  evidenced  his 
marvelous  grasp  of  business  details,  a  fac- 
ulty which  was  soon  to  win  success  for  him. 
In  course  of  time  he  admitted  his  brother 
John,  and  as  Dillon  Brothers  they  long  op- 
erated. They  purchased  the  undertaking 
business  of  John  Dower,  and  also  operated 
the  grocery,  and  when  an  opportunity  of- 
fered to  become  manager  of  the  Hampden 
Brewery,  Thomas  Dillon  added  that  re- 
sponsibility to  his  other  interests.  In  1875, 
only  eleven  years  after  coming  to  Holyoke, 
he  built  the  Dillon  block  at  the  corner  of 
Maple  and  Lyman  streets,  Holyoke,  a  mam- 
moth structure  for  that  period,  and  even  to- 
day one  of  the  largest  resident  blocks  in 
Holyoke.  Later  he  took  advantage  of 
another  opportunity  when  he  founded  the 
Union  Coal  &  Wood  Company,  which  later 
he  sold  to  William  A.  Chase.  He  also  be- 
came a  director  of  the  Holyoke  Savings 
Bank,  and  continued  a  valued  member  of 


the  board  until  his  death.  He  became  one 
of  the  most  prominent  of  the  group  of  men 
then  known  as  leaders  in  the  city,  and,  be- 
cause of  his  wonderful  grasp  of  finances, 
became  head  of  the  group.  A  Democrat  in 
politics,  Mr.  Dillon  served  in  the  Common 
Council,  and  was  later  alderman  from  ward 
4  in  1 88 1,  1882  and  1883.  He  was  an  inti- 
mate friend  of  Governor  "Billy"  Russell, 
both  men  deriving  mutual  pleasure  from  the 
close  acquaintance.  Mr.  Dillon  was  emi- 
nently a  home  man,  a  devout  Catholic,  and 
a  regular  attendant  at  the  services  of  the 
church,  and  a  generous  supporter  of  all  its 
institutions.  He  was  also  generous  in  his 
donations  to  new  parishes,  and  St.  Jerome, 
Holy  Rosary,  Blessed  Sacrament  and  Mater 
Dolorosa  parishes  all  were  aided  in  their 
church  building  by  his  donation.  In  the 
Polish  church  he  placed  four  beautiful  win- 
dows as  well  as  giving  sums  of  money,  and 
in  referring  to  his  death,  Father  Civiklinski, 
pastor  of  Mater  Dolorosa  Church,  at  all  of 
the  three  Sunday  masses  spoke  of  Mr.  Dil- 
lon's death  as  a  "grievous  and  personal 
loss." 

Thomas  Dillon  married  (first)  a  Miss 
Dougherty,  of  Holyoke.  He  married  (sec- 
ond) Ann  Kennedy,  who  survives  him  with 
three  sons  and  two  daughters,  namely :  John 
A.,  of  further  mention;  Mary  M.,  married 
James  J.  O'Donnell,  of  Holyoke ;  Thomas 
A.  Dillon,  D.D.S.,  of  Holyoke;  Alice  A., 
married  Daniel  F.  Doherty,  of  Springfield; 
William  T.,  of  further  mention. 

Dr.  John  Aloysius  Dillon,  eldest  son  of 
Thomas  and  Ann  (Kennedy)  Dillon,  was 
born  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  Novem- 
ber 30,  1878.  After  preparation  in  public 
school  and  Holy  Cross  parochial  school,  he 
entered  Fordham  University,  New  York, 
whence  he  was  graduated  A.  B.  Deciding 
upon  the  profession  of  medicine,  he  entered 
the  medical  department  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania  at  Philadelphia,  there  re- 
ceiving his  M.  D.  with  the  class  of  1906.  He 


44 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


then  spent  eighteen  months  abroad  studying 
in  the  hospitals  of  London,  BerHn  and  Vi- 
enna, returning  to  the  United  States  in 
1908.  The  same  year  he  located  in  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts,  in  ear,  nose  and  throat 
practice,  and  there  continues  one  of  the 
honored  and  successful  physicians  of  the 
city.  Dr.  Dillon  is  a  member  of  many  pro- 
fessional and  social  organizations,  and  is 
highly   regarded   in   all. 


DILLON,  William  Thomas, 

Laxp^yer. 

William  Thomas  Dillon,  youngest  son  of 
Thomas  and  Ann  (Kennedy)  Dillon  (q.  v.), 
was  born  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  Janu- 
ary 17,  1891.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  Worcester  Academy,  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, (three  years)  and  Boston  University 
Law  School,  receiving  his  degree  LL.B., 
class  of  191 5.  He  at  once  began  practice  in 
Holyoke  as  junior  member  of  the  law  firm, 
O'Neil  &  Dillon,  and  the  same  year  he  was 
appointed  assistant  district  attorney  of 
Hampden  county,  an  office  he  yet  most  sat- 
isfactorily fills.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
bar  associations  of  the  district,  the  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Knights 
of  Columbus,  the  Holyoke  Club,  County 
Club,  and  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 


RIDER,  Claudius  W., 

Active    Factor    in    Community    Affairs. 

Beginning  business  life  in  a  modest  posi- 
tion with  the  Merrick  Thread  Company, 
and  coming  to  Holyoke  in  1867,  in  responsi- 
ble position  with  the  company  at  the  time  a 
change  of  location  was  made,  Mr.  Rider 
with  that  and  its  successor,  the  American 
Thread  Company,  spent  his  entire  busi- 
ness life,  forty-four  years.  Joseph  Rider, 
his  ancestor,  married  and  was  the  father  of 
Talmund   Rider,   who,   according  to  tradi- 


tion, was  a  resident  of  Mansfield,  Connecti- 
cut, where  he  followed  the  occupation  of 
farming.  He  married  Marcia  Dexter,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  six  children :  Jo- 
seph G.,  of  further  mention ;  Wallace,  re- 
sident of  Albany,  New  York;  Warham; 
Jane,  wife  of  R.  O.  Fenton ;  Eunice,  wife 
of  Alfred  Curtis;  Mariette,  wife  of  Soly- 
man  Taylor. 

Joseph  G.  Rider,  father  of  Claudius  W. 
Rider,  was  born  about  the  year  181 5,  in 
Connecticut,  and  died  in  the  year  1902  in 
Sandy  Creek,  New  York.  He  followed  the 
same  occupation  as  his  father,  farming,  con- 
ducting his  operations  both  in  Connecticut 
and  New  York,  and  in  addition  learned  the 
trade  of  shoemaker,  which  he  followed  dur- 
ing the  earlier  years  of  his  life,  the  latter 
years  of  his  life  being  confined  exclusively 
to  agricultural  pursuits.  He  held  member- 
ship in  the  Baptist  church,  and  was  a  Whig 
and  Republican  in  politics,  at  one  time  be- 
ing the  candidate  of  his  party  for  the  Leg- 
islature. *  He  married,  about  1837,  Lovina 
M.  Merrick,  and  they  were  the  parents  of 
two  children :  Claudius  W.,  of  further 
mention;  Jane  E.,  born  March  10,  1852,  in 
Orwell,  New  York,  married  J.  R.  Potter, 
of  Orwell,  they  the  parents  of  Claudius, 
Paul  M.  and  Madeline  Potter.  Lovina  M. 
(Merrick)  Rider  was  a  daughter  of  Colonel 
Joseph  Merrick,  and  a  sister  of  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Merrick  and  of  Timothy  Merrick,  the 
last  named  the  founder  of  the  Merrick 
Thread  Company,  an  eminent  man  of  af- 
fairs. She  was  a  descendant  of  Thomas 
Merrick,  born  in  1620,  (see  Merrick  sketch). 

Claudius  W.  Rider  was  born  in  Willing- 
ton,  Connecticut,  August  14,  1843.  He  ob- 
tained a  practical  education  in  the  public 
schools.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  his  coun- 
try's defense,  answering  President  Lincoln's 
call  for  volunteers  for  three  years'  service 
and  became  a  private  in  Company  C,  One 
Hundred  and  Tenth  Regiment,  New  York 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  in  the  De- 


45 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


partment  of  the  Gulf.  Upon  his  return  from 
war,  he  resumed  his  studies.  In  1866  he 
became  an  employee  of  the  Merrick  Thread 
Company,  their  plant  then  in  Mansfield, 
Connecticut,  being  moved  the  following 
year,  1867,  to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  At 
the  time  of  the  removal  of  the  business  he 
was  serving  as  bookkeeper  and  paymaster, 
later  as  secretary,  until  the  death  of  Mr. 
Merrick,  when  Mr.  Rider  was  appointed 
treasurer  and  general  manager  of  the  com- 
pany, positions  from  which  he  retired  in 
1910.  In  1899  the  Merrick  Thread  Com- 
pany was  absorbed  by  the  American  Thread 
Company,  one  of  the  largest  companies  of 
its  kind  in  that  section  of  the  country. 

Mr.  Rider  has  been  affiliated  with  the 
Republican  party  casting  his  first  presi- 
dential vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln  in  1864. 
He  was  chosen  clerk  of  the  Common  Coun- 
cil of  Holyoke  and  served  four  years.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  of  Hol- 
yoke, was  treasurer  of  the  church  twelve 
years  and  chairman  of  the  Society.  For  ten 
years  he  has  been  treasurer  of  the  City 
Library  and  member  of  the  library  commit- 
tee. He  has  long  been  affiliated  with  Kil- 
patrick  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

Mr.  Rider  married,  June  12,  1872,  Jose- 
phine A.  Lee,  daughter  of  Roswell  T.  Lee, 
of  Cape  Vincent,  Jefferson  county,  New 
York,  and  his  wife,  Delia  (Esselotyn)  Lee. 
Mrs.  Rider  died  in  Holyoke,  March  28, 
1914. 


MADDEN,  Rt.  Rev.  John  Thomas, 
Monsignor    and    Vicar    General. 

In  his  history  of  the  Springfield  diocese, 
Rev.  J.  H.  McCoy  said  of  Rev.  John  T. 
Madden,  then  and  for  seven  years  pastor  of 
the  Cathedral  congregation:  "Father  Mad- 
den is  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  re- 
spected priests  of  our  diocese.  He  is  ac- 
knowledged as  being  a  very  scholarly  man 
even  among  the  most  learned  of  our  priests. 


He  has  excellent  judgment,  is  gentle  and 
sympathetic."  The  years  that  have  since 
intervened  have  but  added  to  the  wisdom, 
piety  and  gentle  graces  of  Father  Madden 
and  the  honors  of  the  church  which  have 
been  bestowed  upon  him  find  an  answering 
echo  in  the  hearts  of  the  more  than  five 
thousand  members  of  St.  Jerome's  Par- 
ish, Holyoke,  of  which  he  is  pastor.  His 
churchly  titles,  Monsignor  and  Vicar  Gen- 
eral, give  him  authority  over  the  priests  of 
the  diocese  in  the  absence  of  the  bishop,  but 
it  is  his  gifts  of  mind  and  soul  which  en- 
dear him  to  both  clergy  and  laity.  The  his- 
tory of  St.  Jerome's  began  with  the  devoted 
labor  of  Rev.  Jeremiah  O'Callahan,  found- 
er, builder  and  pastor  of  the  church  he  built 
in  1856.  The  parish  then  numbered  less 
than  one  thousand  members  and  included 
all  of  Holyoke,  South  Hadley,  Granby,  and 
the  outlying  districts.  Today  Holyoke  alone 
has  six  English  speaking  congregations  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  three  French 
speaking  congregations  and  one  Polish.  St. 
Jerome's  Parish  has  a  membership  of  5491. 
The  history  of  St.  Jerome's  from  1866  until 
1908  is  the  history  of  the  devoted  and  em- 
inent priest,  Rt.  Rev.  Monsignor  P.  J.  Har- 
kins,  who  gave  his  life  to  the  service  of  the 
church  in  Holyoke,  his  record  of  forty- 
four  years'  rectorship  not  being  surpassed 
in  the  history  of  the  Springfield  diocese. 
Father  Harkins  died  December  4,  1910, 
revered  and  respected  by  all  classes,  and  it 
was  as  his  successor  as  rector  of  St.  Je- 
rome's Parish  that  Father  Madden  came  to 
Holyoke. 

Father  Madden  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and 
Julia  (McCormick)  Madden,  his  father 
born  in  Kildare,  Ireland,  in  1822.  About 
1843  Thomas  Madden  came  to  Canada, 
thence  to  the  United  States,  living  for  a 
time  in  Hinsdale  and  Leicester,  finally 
about  1858  locating  in  Worcester,  Massa- 
chusetts, his  home  until  his  death  in  1905. 
In    1845    Thomas    Madden    married    Julia 


46 


^ 


"H^"-^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


McCormick,  they  the  parents  of  two  sons, 
Michael  J.  and  John  Thomas,  the  latter  of 
further  mention,  and  daughters,  Mary  Eliz- 
abeth and  Catherine,  both  deceased. 

Rt.  Rev.  John  Thomas  Madden  was  born 
in  Leicester,  Massachusetts,  March  9,  1851, 
his  parents  moving  to  Worcester  about 
1859.  There  he  attended  the  graded  and 
high  schools,  completing  his  preparatory 
studies  with  graduation  from  high  school  in 
1869.  He  successfully  passed  the  entrance 
examinations  to  Harvard  University,  but 
remained  at  this  University  only  three 
months,  having  decided  to  prepare  for  the 
priesthood  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
He  then  entered  Holy  Cross  College,  Wor- 
cester, and  there  completed  the  academic 
course  in  1872.  He  began  his  studies  in 
theology  at  Grand  Seminary,  Montreal, 
Canada,  in  the  fall  of  1872,  a  classmate  be- 
ing the  present  bishop  of  the  Springfield 
diocese,  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  D.  Beaven.  In 
1873  his  seminal^  course  was  interrupted 
by  his  appointment  to  the  professorship  of 
French  and  mathematics  at  Holy  Cross  Col- 
lege, but  in  1874  he  went  abroad  and  re- 
sumed his  studies  in  theology  at  Aix,  a  city 
of  France,  and  there  at  the  University  of 
that  interesting  city  of  handsome  public 
buildings,  monuments,  Cathedral  of  St. 
Sauver,  and  the  old  church  of  St.  Jean,  with 
the  tombs  of  the  counts  of  Provence,  he 
spent  four  years.  He  was  ordained  to  the 
priesthood  in  1878  and  returned  to  the 
United  States. 

For  three  years,  1878-1881,  he  was  cu- 
rate at  Uxbridge,  Massachusetts,  then  was 
transferred  to  Turner's  Falls,  remaining 
there  three  years.  He  was  then  located  at 
Northampton  for  a  time  prior  to  his  ap- 
pointment to  the  parishes  of  Stockbridge 
and  West  Stockbridge  as  pastor.  He  re- 
mained in  Northampton  until  1892,  leaving 
the  parishes  which  he  found  heavily  encum- 
bered with  debt  in  a  most  prosperous,  finan- 
cial  and   spiritual   condition.      In    1892   he 


was  appointed  pastor  at  Warren  and  West 
Warren,  going  thence  in  1893  to  Webster, 
Massachusetts,  as  rector  of  St.  Louis  Par- 
ish succeeding  Father  Quan.  In  1903  Fath- 
er Madden  was  appointed  rector  in  charge 
of  the  Cathedral  Parish,  Springfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, there  remaining  until  appointed 
pastor  of  St.  Jerome  Parish,  Holyoke,  to 
succeed  the  Rt.  Rev.  P.  J.  Harkins,  deceas- 
ed, where,  as  noted  above,  he  has  one  of  the 
largest  parishes  in  Holyoke  of  over  five 
thousand  members,  in  addition  to  which  he 
has  a  large  school  for  girls,  presided  over 
by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  and  also  St. 
Jerome's  Institute  for  boys,  superintended 
by  priests,  assisted  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Jo- 
seph ;  also  a  large  convent  at  the  corner 
of  Hampden  and  Elm  streets,  the  church 
buildings  covering  almost  an  entire  square. 
While  in  charge  of  St.  Louis  parish  at 
Webster,  Father  Madden  was  appointed  in 
March,  1903,  Vicar  General,  and  in  1906 
was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  Monsignor, 
both  of  which  positions  he  still  re- 
tains. His  record  as  a  priest  is  one  of  ef- 
ficiency as  a  business  manager,  every  par- 
ish he  has  ever  served  having  been  left  in 
a  much  better  material  condition  than  he 
found  it.  As  a  minister  of  the  gospel  and 
as  a  pastor  he  is  devoted,  zealous  and  earn- 
est, a  quickened,  religious  life  following  his 
ministration  of  his  holy  office  in  every  par- 
ish. He  is  beloved  by  his  people,  ranks 
high  in  the  councils  of  the  church  in  his  dio- 
cese, and  holds  the  esteem  of  men  of  all 
classes  and  creeds. 


DESMARAIS,  Joseph  Albert, 

Druggist. 

Among  the  well  known  druggists  of  Hol- 
yoke should  be  mentioned  the  gentleman 
whose  name  heads  this  article,  the  treas- 
urer and  manager  of  the  Desmarais  Drug 
Company,  which  is  the  oldest  in  the  city, 
now  in  operation  under  one  name.    His  an- 


47 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


cestry  is  traced  back  to  Charles  Desmarais, 
his  great-great-grandfather,  who  came  from 
France  to  Canada  prior  to  1769. 

(II)  Charles  (2)  Desmarais,  son  of 
Charles  (i)  Desmarais,  was  born  in  1769, 
in  Canada,  and  all  his  life  followed  his  trade 

of  wood-carver.     He  married Vad- 

nais,  and  their  children  were :  Eupheme ; 
Agate ;  Henry,  mentioned  in  next  para- 
graph ;  Edward ;  Joseph ;  Essac,  killed  in 
the  Civil  War;  and  Peter,  died  young. 
Charles  Desmarais,  the  father,  died  in  1866, 
at  the  great  age  of  ninety-seven  years. 

(III)  Henry  Desmarais,  son  of  Charles 

(2)  and (Vadnais)  Desmarais,  was 

born  in  181 7,  at  St.  Jean  Baptiste,  and  as 
a  millwright,  lived  in  Chambley,  Province 
of  Quebec.  In  politics  he  was  a  Conserva- 
tive. He  married  Essail,  daughter  of 
Charles  and  Judie  (Lavoise)  Masse,  and 
the  following  children  were  born  to  them: 
Philomina,  married  Louis  Madelin,  of 
Montreal ;  Pierre,  mentioned  in  next  para- 
graph ;  Joseph,  a  physician  in  Bristol,  Con- 
necticut ;  Henry,  died  at  the  age  of  ten 
years;  and  one  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Desmarais  died  in  1895,  and  his  widow, 
who  was  born  in  1822,  died  in  1901. 

(IV)  Pierre  Desmarais,  son  of  Henry 
and  Essail  (Masse)  Desmarais,  was  born 
May  18,  1847,  at  St.  Matthias,  Rouville, 
Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  and  received 
his  education  in  various  schools  and  at  the 
College  of  Chambley,  Canada.  He  learned 
the  millwright's  trade  and  followed  it  for 
two  years  and  a  half.  In  1870  Mr.  Desma- 
rais came  to  the  United  States,  settling  in 
Burlington,  Vermont,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed in  the  house  furnishing  shop  of  Kil- 
burn  &  Gates.  In  1878  he  came  to  Hol- 
yoke,  where,  after  being  employed  for  a 
time  at  his  trade,  he  conducted  a  grocery 
business.  Eventually  he  learned  the  drug 
business  and  went  into  it  on  his  own  ac- 
count under  the  firm  name  of  Desmarais  & 
Company.    In  1909  the  business  was  incor- 


porated under  the  name  of  the  Desmarais 
Drug  Company  and  for  a  time  Mr.  Desma- 
rais served  as  president  and  treasurer  of 
the  organization.  In  1914  he  withdrew 
from  the  corporation  to  devote  himself  to 
his  real  estate  interests.  He  owns,  the  Des- 
marais Block  in  which  the  drug  store  is 
situated,  on  High  street,  and  is  also  the 
possessor  of  property  at  Chambley  Basin, 
Canada.  Mr.  Desmarais  married,  Septem- 
ber 2,  1867,  Arthemise,  born  in  St.  Mat- 
thias, Canada,  daughter  of  Francis  and 
Priscilla  (Lacomb)  Meunier,  and  they  be- 
came the  parents  of  the  following  children : 
Arthur;  Joseph  Albert,  mentioned  in  next 
paragraph;  Lora,  Sarah,  and  Mary.  Of 
these  all  are  deceased  with  the  exception  of 
Joseph  Albert. 

(V)  Joseph  Albert  Desmarais,  son  of 
Pierre  and  Arthemise  (Meunier)  Desma- 
rais, was  born  April  25,  1875,  in  Burlington, 
Vermont,  and  was  about  three  years  old 
when  his  parents  removed  to  Holyoke.  He 
was  educated  at  the  Chestnut  street  gram- 
mar school  and  St.  Cesaire  Commercial  Col- 
lege, Canada.  While  attending  the  gram- 
mar school  the  boy  was  employed  in  his 
father's  drug  store,  in  1888,  he  was  taken 
into  partnership,  and  since  then  the  father 
and  son  have  been  associated  together  in 
business.  When  the  Desmarais  Drug  Com- 
pany was  incorporated,  Joseph  Albert  Des- 
marais became  treasurer  and  manager  of 
the  concern,  positions  which  he  still  retains 
and  which  he  fills  in  the  most  competent 
and  satisfactory  manner.  His  early  and 
thorough  training  has  equipped  him  with  a 
complete  knowledge  of  the  business  in  all  its 
branches,  and  his  executive  ability  has  en- 
abled him  to  conduct  it  on  lines  which  have 
been  productive  of  the  best  results.  The 
success  which  Mr.  Desmarais  has  achieved 
is  the  fruit  of  complete  educational  training 
and  equipment,  combined  with  innate  abil- 
ity and  strict  adherence  to  the  methods  and 


48 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


principles   of   executive   wisdom   and   true 
business  integrity. 

Mr.  Desmarais  married  (first)  May  29, 
1895,  Laura,  daughter  of  Alphonse  Trem- 
bly, of  St.  Heloise,  Canada,  and  they  be- 
came the  parents  of  one  child,  Roswell  Jo- 
seph Henry,  born  May  29,  1896,  died  in  in- 
fancy. Mrs.  Desmarais  died  June  i,  1900. 
Mr.  Desmarais  married  (second)  December 
31,  1902,  Margaret  A.,  daughter  of  William 
and  Catherine  (Nolan)  Hurley,  of  Hat- 
field, Massachusetts. 


JUDD,  William  D., 

Manufacturer. 

The  surname  Judd  is  one  of  the  oldest  of 
English  surnames  and  is  identical  withjude, 
an  old  and  now  almost  obsolete  personal 
name,  from  which  the  surname  was  derived. 
Judson  and  Judkins  are  derived  from  the 
same  name.  Henry  Judde,  of  County 
Kent,  and  John  Judde,  of  Oxfordshire,  are 
mentioned  in  the  Hundred  Rolls  of  the 
year  1275,  and  the  family  has  been  prom- 
inent in  Kent  down  to  the  present  time.  Sir 
Andrew  Judd,  a  dealer  in  skins  and  furs, 
in  London,  a  son  of  John  Judd,  of  Turn- 
bridge,  County  Kent,  was  mayor  of  Lon- 
don in  1550,  a  man  of  wealth  and  influence. 
He  endowed  a  grammar  school  in  Turn- 
bridge.  It  is  likely  that  all  the  branches 
of  the  Judd  family  trace  their  origin  to  the 
old  family  in  Kent.  The  Judd  coat-of-arms 
is  described :  Gules  a  fesse  raguly  between 
three  bears'  heads  couped  argent.  The 
Judds,  of  Middlesex,  bear  a  similar  ar 
morial :  Gules  a  fesse  raguly  between  three 
boars'  heads  erased  argent.  Crest :  On  a 
ducal  coronet  or  a  cockatrice,  wings  dis- 
played proper.  The  family  has  also  been 
numerous  and  prominent  in  County  Es- 
sex. 

(I)  Deacon  Thomas  Judd,  immigrant  an- 
cestor, came  from  England  in  1633  or  1634, 
and  settled  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
MASS.— 7— 4.  49 


where  he  had  a  home  lot  granted  in  1635, 
and  was  admitted  a  freeman,  May  25,  1636. 
He  removed  to  Hartford,  Connecticut,  in 
1636,  and  had  two  acres  granted  for  a  home 
lot  near  the  famous  old  Charter  Oak.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  proprietors  and  early 
settlers  of  Farmington,  Connecticut,  whith- 
er he  moved  about  1644.  His  home  lot  was 
on  the  main  street  and  he  was  a  man  of  sub- 
stance and  influence.  He  served  the  town 
as  deputy  to  the  General  Assembly  several 
sessions  ;  was  charter  member  of  the  church 
and  its  second  deacon.  He  died  Novem- 
ber 12,  1688,  aged  about  eighty  years.  His 
first  wife  died  in  Farmington,  and  he  mar- 
ried (second)  December  2,  1679,  Clemence, 
widow  of  Thomas  Mason,  of  Northampton, 
where  he  spent  the  last  of  his  life.  He  was 
selectman  of  Northampton  in  1682.  Chil- 
dren :  Elizabeth ;  William ;  Thomas ; 
John  ;  Benjamin  ;  Mary  ;  Ruth,  baptized 
February  7,  1647;  Philip,  baptized  Sep- 
tember 2,  1649;  Samuel,  mentioned  below. 

(II)  Samuel  Judd,  son  of  Thomas  Judd, 
was  born  about  1651,  and  died  January  10, 
1 72 1.  He  was  admitted  a  freeman  in  Mas- 
sachusetts in  May,  1684.  After  the  death 
of  his  father  he  cared  for  his  mother  and 
she  deeded  her  property,  the  Mason  home- 
stead on  Pleasant  street,  Northampton,  to 
him.  He  also  owned  land  in  Farmington 
given  him  by  his  father.  He  married  Ma- 
riah  Strong,  who  died  May  18,  1751,  aged 
nearly  eighty-eight  years,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Mary  (Hewet)  Strong.  Chil- 
dren, born  at  Northampton :  Mary,  born 
October  12,  1682;  Samuel,  October  15, 
1685;  Clemence,  November  14,  1688; 
Thomas,  January  28,  1691  ;  Elizabeth,  July 
8,  1693;  Margaret,  February  16,  1697; 
Ruth,  March  27,  1700;  Eunice,  February, 
1702;  Rachel,  November  2,  1705;  William, 
mentioned  below. 

(HI)  William  Judd,  son  of  Samuel 
Judd,  was  born  at  Northampton,  in  1708, 
and  died  there  May  6,  1755.     He  married 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


(first)  February  i6,  1732,  Ann  Harmon,  of 
Suffield.  She  died  November  29,  1746,  and 
he  married  (second)  July  4,  1753,  Submit 
White,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  White,  of 
South  Hadley.  His  widow  Submit  married 
(second)  December  4,  1760,  Deacon  John 
Clark.  Children  by  first  wife :  William, 
mentioned  below ;  Ann  baptized  July  4, 
1736;  Sarah,  baptized  December  10,  1738; 
Eunice,  born  June  4,  1743.  By  second  wife: 
Eunice,  born  August  5,  1754;  Submit,  bap- 
tized November  2,  1755. 

(IV)  William  (2)  Judd,  son  of  William 
( I )  Judd,  was  born  at  Northampton,  May 
18,  1733,  and  died  there  November  3,  1807. 
He  resided  at  Horse  Mountain  or  North 
Farms  in  Northampton,  and  his  sons  lived 
there  also  until  the  two  youngest  removed 
to  Ohio.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, a  private  in  Captain  Hezekiah  Rus- 
sell's company  (Second)  of  Volunteers, 
Hampshire  county,  serving  against  the  in- 
surgents at  Hadley,  June  13,  1782,  and  at 
Northampton,  June  15  and  16,  1782,  three 
days,  by  order  of  Elisha  Porter,  sheriff  (see 
Soldiers  and  Sailors  of  Massachusetts,  Vol. 
VIII,  p.  1025).  He  married  (intention  dat- 
ed April  25,  1759)  Susanna  Gilson,  daugh- 
ter of  Michael  Gilson,  of  Westmin- 
ster, Vermont.  Children,  born  at  North- 
ampton :  Eunice,  baptized  March  23, 
1760;  Susanna,  baptized  August  i,  1762; 
Salome,  baptized  February  10,  1765;  Irene, 
baptized  July  12,  1767;  Warham,  born 
1769;  Mary,  baptized  February  9,  1772; 
Levi,  baptized  July  21,  1774;  Asenath,  bap- 
tized December  i,  1776;  William,  baptized 
April  21,  1779;  Eli,  mentioned  below; 
Nancy,  baptized  May  2,  1784. 

(V)  Eli  Judd,  son  of  William  (2)  Judd, 
was  born  at  Northampton,  in  1781,  baptized 
September  13,  1781.  He  was  a  prosperous 
farmer  in  his  native  town  and  conducted  a 
farm  of  two  hundred  acres  until  1837,  when 
he  and  his  brother  removed  to  Huntsbury, 
Ohio.      He   married    (first)    December   15, 


1810,  Lydia  Field,  of  Whately.  She  died 
December  23,  1825,  aged  thirty-seven  years. 
He  married  (second)  May  10,  1826,  Electa 
Tilton,  of  Goshen,  Massachusetts.  Chil- 
dren by  first  wife:  Almira,  born  June  15, 
1812 ;  Gilson,  mentioned  below  ;  Zenas,  Au- 
gust 12,  1816;  David,  November  9,  1818; 
Ansel,  July  26,  1821  ;  Eliza  L.,  March  16, 
1824.  By  second  wife :  Levi  West,  Sep- 
tember 27,  1827;  Frances,  January  4,  1830; 
Sylvester,  December  30,   1831. 

(VI)  Gilson  Judd,  son  of  Eli  Judd,  was 
born  at  Northampton,  May  24,  1814,  and 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  there. 
He  went  west  w-ith  his  father  and  remained 
in  Ohio  for  eight  years.  Returning  to 
Northampton  he  took  charge  of  a  farm  for 
Hon.  William  Clark,  resigning  in  1848  to 
become  superintendent  of  a  large  tract  of 
timber  land  owned  by  Mr.  Clark  on  Mt. 
Tom.  Afterward  he  resided  in  Westhamp- 
ton,  where  he  purchased  considerable  real 
estate,  which  he  sold  afterward  at  a  profit. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Republican  in  later  life. 
He  held  the  offices  of  selectman  and  asses- 
sor, and  was  a  man  of  prominence  in  the 
community.  He  married  (first)  October 
16,  1838,  Jerusha  W.  Clark,  daughter  of 
Hon.  William  Clark.  She  died  November 
21,  1842,  and  he  married  (second)  April 
25,  1848,  Mary  Ann  Jepson,  of  Goshen, 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Jepson.  She 
died  March  30,  1853,  aged  thirty  years.  He 
married  (third)  September  27,  1854,  Cli- 
mena  C.  Lyman,  of  Westhampton.  Chil- 
dren by  first  wife,  born  at  Huntsbury; 
Frederic  Arthur,  born  July  24,  1839,  died 
November,  1892;  D wight  Ogden,  mention- 
ed below ;  daughter,  born  and  died  at 
Northampton,  November  21,  1847.  Child 
by  second  wife:  Charles  C,  who  was  for 
many  years  general  agent  of  the  Traders  In- 
surance Company  of  Chicago  and  now  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Judd  &  Parsons,  fire 
insurance  agents  and  brokers,  of  Holyoke. 

(VII)  Dwight  Ogden  Judd,  son  of  Gil- 


50 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


son  Judd,  was  born  in  Huntsbury,  Ohio, 
December  15,  1843.  His  early  education 
was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  North- 
ampton, Westhampton  and  Holyoke,  and  in 
the  Boys  School  in  Long  Meadow.  He  was 
but  seventeen  years  old  when  he  enlisted,  in 
May,  1861,  in  Company  I,  Tenth  Massa- 
chusetts Infantry,  and  went  to  the  front  in 
the  Civil  War.  He  was  wounded  in  the  left 
breast  at  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  and  a 
thigh  bone  was  broken  by  a  Confederate 
bullet  at  the  battle  of  Salem  Heights.  He 
took  part  in  many  engagements,  and  not- 
withstanding his  youth  took  rank  among  the 
best  and  bravest  men  of  his  company.  He 
was  detailed,  September  4,  1863,  to  the  pro- 
vost guard  and  sent  to  Sandusky,  Ohio,  Sep- 
tember 25,  continuing  in  this  service  until 
January  3,  1864,  when  he  returned  to  the 
field  of  battle  in  Virginia.  He  was  again 
wounded  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness, 
May  5,  1864,  losing  a  finger  of  his  left  hand. 
He  was  mustered  out  July  i,  1864.  Three 
years  later  he  organized  Company  G,  Sec- 
ond Regiment,  Massachusetts  Volunteer 
Militia,  and  in  that  company  and  Company 
D  of  Holyoke  in  the  same  regiment,  he  was 
an  officer  until  he  resigned  in  1881,  being  at 
that  time  captain.  One  of  the  early  mem- 
bers of  Kilpatrick  Post,  No.  16,  Grand  Ar- 
my of  the  Republic,  of  which  he  was  com- 
mander, he  was  appointed  on  the  staff  of 
the  Department  Commander  of  the  Grand 
Army  in  1893  and  1894,  and  in  1904  was 
elected  Department  Commander  of  Massa- 
chusetts, being  well  known  and  highly  hon- 
ored throughout  the  State  and  wherever 
Grand  Army  men  were  gathered.  In  addition 
to  the  above,  he  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  Commandery  of  the  Military 
Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion.  For  twelve 
years  he  was  treasurer  of  the  Tenth  Regi- 
ment Association,  and  in  1900  was  its  pres- 
ident. Mr.  Judd  came  to  Holyoke  from 
Castleton,  New  York,  where  he  lived  for  a 
few  years  after  leaving  the  service.     From 


1876  to  1884  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
United  States  postal  department  in  charge 
of  the  postal  card  agency  at  Springfield  and 
New  York  City.  He  resigned  to  engage  in 
the  insurance  business  in  Holyoke,  where 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  continued  suc- 
cessfully. Mr.  Judd  was  one  of  the  incor- 
porators of  the  Holyoke  Co-operative  Bank, 
of  which  he  was  secretary  from  1880  to 
1883,  '^"d  treasurer  from  1883  until  his 
death.  He  discharged  the  duties  of  this  of- 
fice with  exceptional  ability  and  faithful- 
ness. As  a  citizen  of  Holyoke  he  performed 
his  part  with  zeal  and  honor,  being  active 
in  the  councils  of  the  Republican  party, 
which  he  joined  when  a  young  man.  In 
1881  he  served  in  the  City  Council  of  Hol- 
yoke, after  which  he  served  for  three  years 
as  assessor.  In  1887  he  was  representative 
to  the  General  Court  from  his  district,  and 
proved  an  able  and  conscientious  legislator, 
serving  on  various  important  committees  of 
the  house.  Mr.  Judd  was  well  known  in  Ma- 
sonic and  fraternal  circles.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Springfield  Lodge,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons ;  Morning  Star  Chapter, 
Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Springfield  Com- 
mandery, Knights  Templar ;  Ancient  and 
Accepted  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  and 
the  Massachusetts  Consistory.  He  was  al- 
so a  member  of  Holyoke  Lodge,  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Paper 
City  Lodge,  United  Workmen.  Mr.  Judd 
was  a  representative  citizen  of  the  best  type, 
a  man  of  integrity,  exemplary  in  his  home 
and  community  life,  a  useful  citizen,  a  pa- 
triot, loved  and  respected  by  his  fellow  men. 
He  married,  December  20,  1866,  Clara 
A.  Bartlett,  who  was  born  in  Chicopee, 
Massachusetts,  but  resided  until  the  time  of 
her  marriage  in  Granby,  Massachusetts. 
Children:  William  D.,  mentioned  below; 
Winifred, born  at  Springfield, married  Frank 
J.  Phelps,  who  is  now  the  proprietor  of  the 
Dwight  O.  Judd  Insurance  Company  of  Hol- 
yoke. 


51 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


(VIII)  William  D.  Judd,  son  of  Dwight 
Ogden  Judd,  was  born  in  Springfield,  July 
24,  1868.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Holyoke.  His  business  career 
began  in  the  employ  of  the  Wauregan  Pa- 
per Company,  where  he  learned  the  paper 
manufacturing  business  thoroughly.  In 
1897  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Carew 
Manufacturing  Company  and  rose  rapidly 
by  successive  promotions  to  places  of  re- 
sponsibility and  trust  in  the  paper  business. 
Since  1906  he  has  been  president  and  treas- 
urer of  the  Carew  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, and  treasurer  of  the  Hampshire  Pa- 
per Company  of  South  Hadley  Falls.  Mr. 
Judd,  as  executive  head  of  the  Hampshire 
Paper  Company  presided  at  a  dinner 
held  January,  1916,  in  the  Waldorf- 
Astoria  to  celebrate  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  company.  Forty  wholesale  paper 
merchants  from  all  parts  of  the  country  at- 
tended. Old  Hampshire  bond,  perhaps  the 
best  known  paper  in  the  market,  has  been 
made  famous  by  its  superior  qualities  and 
the  progressive  business  methods  of  the 
company.  He  is  a  member  of  Mt.  Tom 
Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  of 
the  Council,  Chapter,  Commandery,  and  all 
of  the  Scottish  Rite  bodies  up  to  and  in- 
cluding the  thirty-second  degree.  Member 
of  the  Holyoke  Canoe  Club,  Sans  Souci 
Club,  member  of  the  Mt.  Tom  Golf  Club, 
in  whose  afiFairs  he  takes  an  active  part  and 
interest,  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  one  of  the  trustees  of  the 
Holyoke  Savings  Bank. 

Mr.  Judd  married,  April  12,  1893,  Annie 
E.  Stevens,  born  in  Springfield,  daughter 
of  Dr.  Daniel  Stevens. 


CLARK,  Herbert  Sherman, 
Manager  of  the  Casper  Ranger  Company. 

Herbert  S.  Clark,  who  since  1889,  a  pe- 
riod of  nearly  thirty  years,  has  been  con- 
nected with  The  Casper  Ranger  Company 


of  Holyoke,  rising  from  the  position  of 
clerk  to  that  of  manager,  comes  of  an  old 
Massachusetts  family,  his  line  of  descent  be- 
ing through  William,  John,  John  and  Deacon 
John  Clark,  the  latter  being  the  first  settler 
in  what  was  formerly  the  town  of  Norwich, 
Massachusetts,  now  Huntington.  Norwich 
was  established  as  a  district  in  1773  and  as 
a  town  in  1775.  John  Clark  was  elected 
tithingman  of  Murrayfield,  March  1 1,  1766, 
and  surveyor.  May  3,  1768.  He  was  a  prom- 
inent citizen. 

His  son,  ^lartin  Clark,  who  removed  to 
Westhampton  about  1769,  and  there  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  life,  taking  an  active 
part  in  the  affairs  of  the  town,  where  he  fol- 
lowed agricultural  pursuits,  was  a  man  of 
great  usefulness  and  industry,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Committee  of  Inspection  of 
Northampton  in  1774.  He  was  a  soldier 
of  the  Revolution,  a  sergeant  in  Captain 
Jonathan  Wales'  company,  Colonel  Dickin- 
son's regiment,  Hampshire  county,  march- 
ing to  East  Hoosick,  August  17,  1777,  and 
thence  to  Pittsfield  and  guarded  Hessian 
prisoners  eight  days.  He  was  second  lieu- 
tenant in  Captain  Samuel  Fairfield's  com- 
pany (Twelfth),  Second  Hampshire  Coun- 
ty Regiment,  year  not  given.  He  was  a 
large  taxpayer,  and  served  as  a  deacon  of 
the  church.  Mr.  Clark  married  Hannah 
Clapp,  only  child  of  Noah  Clapp,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Roger  and  Elizabeth  (Bartlett) 
Clapp,  of  Northampton.  Roger  Clapp  was 
born  May  24,  1784,  son  of  Preserved  Clapp 
and  grandson  of  Roger  Clapp,  the  pioneer 
at  Dorchester,  Massachusetts.  Children  of 
Martin  and  Hannah  (Clapp)  Clark:  Noah, 
Dorcas,  Naomi,  Chester,  of  further  men- 
tion. 

Chester  Clark,  son  of  Martin  and  Han- 
nah (Clapp)  Clark,  was  born  in  Westhamp- 
ton, Massachusetts,  in  1778.  He  married 
Achsah  Lyman,  born  April  27,  1778,  died 
November  21,  1819,  daughter  of  Israel  and 
Rachel  (Beals)  Lyman,  and  they  were  the 


52 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


parents  of  seven  children:  Watson  Lyman, 
of  further  mention ;  Elvira,  Achsah,  Mar- 
garet, Theodore,  Chester,  Lyman.  Mrs. 
Clark  traced  her  descent  to  Richard  Ly- 
man, who  was  baptized  at  High  Ongar, 
England,  October  30,1580;  he  came  to  Mas- 
sachusetts in  1 63 1,  and  in  1636  was  one 
of  the  first  settlers  and  founders  of  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut.  He  died  in  1640.  He 
married  Sarah  Osborne,  daughter  of  Roger 
Osborne.  He  was  of  the  fourteenth  genera- 
tion from  Alfred  the  Great,  King  of  Eng- 
land, tracing  through  the  Lambert  and  Un- 
fraville  families,  and  among  his  ancestors 
were  many  other  noble  and  royal  person- 
ages. His  son.  Lieutenant  John  Lyman, 
was  baptized  at  High  Ongar,  England,  1623, 
and  died  August  20,  1690  (gravestone).  He 
had  command  of  the  Northampton  soldiers 
in  the  Falls  Fight  above  Deerfield,  May  18, 
1676,  in  King  Philip's  War.  He  married 
Dorcas  Plumb,  daughter  of  John  Plumb,  of 
Hartford,  Connecticut.  His  son,  John  Ly- 
man, was  born  at  Northampton,  and  died 
there  April  8,  1735,  aged  sixty-nine  years. 
He  married,  April  19,  1687,  Mind  well 
Pomeroy,  born  February  24,  1666,  daugh- 
ter of  Mary  (Woodford)  Sheldon,  and 
widow  of  John  Pomeroy,  to  whom  she  was 
married  April  30,  1684.  His  son,  Captain 
John  Lyman,  was  born  at  Northampton, 
October  12,  1693,  and  died  November  9, 
1797;  married  (first)  in  1718,  Abigail 
Moseley,  of  Westfield,  who  died  November 
9,  1750;  married  (second)  Mrs.  Theoda 
(Hunt)  Sheldon,  a  widow.  His  son,  Zad- 
ock  Lyman,  was  born  at  Hockanum,  1719, 
and  died  October  14,  1775;  married  Sarah 
Clark,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Clark,  and  af- 
ter his  death  she  married  (second)  John 
Wright,  of  Northampton.  His  son,  Israel 
Lyman,  father  of  Achsah  (Lyman)  Clark, 
was  born  at  Hockanum,  February  7,  1746, 
and  died  June  8,  1830.  He  married,  Jan- 
uary 4,  1770,  Rachel  Beals,  born  June  8, 
1747,  died  December  27,  1824. 


Watson  Lyman  Clark,  son  of  Chester  and 
Achsah  (Lyman)  Clark,  was  born  at  Hock- 
anum, Massachusetts,  December  21,  1802, 
and  died  at  Dalton,  Massachusetts,  August 
17,  1874.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  and  for  many  years  was  employed 
in  the  manufacture  of  paper  in  the  mills  at 
Dalton.  He  married,  in  1828,  at  Lebanon, 
New  York,  Sabrina  Lyman,  born  Decem- 
ber 27,  1805,  and  died  November  6,  1865. 
She  was  also  a  descendant  of  Richard  Ly- 
man, the  pioneer  of  all  the  Lymans  of  this 
section.  Children :  George  Watson,  born 
August  14,  1829,  died  November  16,  1829; 
Martin  Lyman,  born  May  24,  1831  ;  Noah 
Albert,  born  May  i,  1833,  died  October  18, 
1863,  killed  while  in  the  service  during  the 
Civil  War;  Seth  Waldo,  born  July  19,  1835, 
died  October  12,  1909;  Naomi  Maria,  born 
March  29,  1837,  died  March  30,  1892;  John 
Theodore,  of  further  mention  ;  Henry  Har- 
rison, born  February  27,  1840;  James  Wil- 
liam, born  June  9,  1843,  died  May  6,  1916; 
Achsah  Sabrina,  born  November  10,  1845; 
Charles  Benton,  born  November  11,  1847, 
died  in  infancy. 

John  Theodore  Clark,  son  of  Watson  Ly- 
man and  Sabrina  (Lyman)  Clark,  was  born 
at  Hinsdale,  Massachusetts,  July  i,  1838, 
and  died  January,  191 1.  He  was  also  a 
paper  maker  at  Hinsdale,  Dalton  and  Pitts- 
field.  He  married,  March  16,  1864,  Anna 
Lansing,  of  Saratoga  county.  New  York. 
She  died  April  11,  1881.  Children:  Her- 
bert Sherman,  of  further  mention  ;  Harriet 
L.,  who  became  the  wife  of  W.  S.  Loomis, 
of  Holyoke,  now  deceased. 

Herbert  Sherman  Clark,  son  of  John 
Theodore  and  Anna  (Lansing)  Clark,  was 
born  at  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts,  Jari^ary 
2,  1865.  He  attended  the  public  schools  at 
Cummington  and  later  in  Holyoke,  and 
when  thirteen  years  old  began  work  in  the 
mills  of  the  Hadley  Thread  Company,  and 
later  in  the  mills  of  the  Crocker  Manufac- 
turing Company  as  cutter  boy,  and  at  fif- 


53 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


teen  years  of  age  entered  the  office  of  the 
Holyoke  Machine  Company  and  continued 
with  that  concern  for  seven  years.  He 
then  spent  two  years  in  California,  and  on 
returning  to  the  East,  in  1889,  became  a 
clerk  in  the  office  of  The  Casper  Ranger 
Company,  lumber  dealers,  in  Holyoke,  and 
has  continued  with  that  concern  to  the  pres- 
ent time  (1917).  In  May,  191 1,  when  the 
business  was  incorporated  under  the  name 
of  The  Casper  Ranger  Company  (see  His- 
tory of  this  business  under  proper  head- 
ing) ^Ir.  Clark  became  a  director  and  man- 
ager. ^Ir.  Clark  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  has  served  one  term  on  the  Board  of 
Aldermen  of  the  city  of  Holyoke.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Second  Congregational 
Church. 

Mr.  Clark  married.  May  27,  1896,  Mabel 
Edith  Bardwell,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York, 
daughter  of  Carlos  and  Orra  (Frink)  Bard- 
well. One  child,  Herbert  Sherman,  Jr., 
born  at  Holyoke,  May  14,  1905.  Mrs.  Clark 
died  April  23,  1909. 


DIBBLE,  Frank  Howard, 

Contractor,    Bnilder. 

The  Dibbles  of  Massachusetts,  claiming 
early  Colonial  descent,  spring  from  Thom- 
as Dibble,  of  Windsor,  Connecticut,  whose 
son,  Ebenezer  Dibble,  born  September  20, 
1 641,  was  killed  in  King  Philip's  War. 
Ebenezer  Dibble  married  Mary  Wakefield. 
They  were  the  parents  of  two  sons,  Wake- 
field and  John,  from  whom  spring  all  of 
the  name  descending  from  Ebenezer  Dibble, 
the  soldier.  Mary  Wakefield  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  Wakefield,  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers  and  proprietors  of  New  Haven, 
Connecticut.  The  family,  one  of  the  old 
and  respected  ones  of  early  Connecticut 
times,  the  branch  of  which  Frank  Howard 
Dibble,  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  is  rep- 
resentative, was  long  seated  in  Granby, 
Connecticut,   where   his   great-grandfather, 


Abraham  Dibble,  was  bom.  Abraham  Dib- 
ble was  a  farmer  of  Granby,  but  his  son, 
Orlin  Dibble,  was  a  harnessmaker  by  trade, 
taught  the  same  craft  to  his  son,  Nelson  Or- 
lin Dibble,  but  Frank  H.  Dibble,  son  of  Nel- 
son Orlin  Dibble,  adopted  a  different  trade 
and  is  one  of  Holyoke's  leading  contractors 
and  builders. 

(T)  Abraham  Dibble,  born  February  14, 
1764,  died  October  19,  1833,  was  a  farmer 
of  Granby,  Connecticut.  He  married,  May 
12,  1789,  Theodosia  Griffin,  born  May  8, 
1768,  died  February  2"],  1844.  They  were 
the  parents  of  Abraham  (2);  Orlin,  of 
further  mention ;  Celina,  Pelina  and  Theo- 
dosia. 

(II)  Orlin  Dibble,  son  of  Abraham  (i) 
and  Theodosia  (Griffin)  Dibble,  was  bom 
in  Granby,  Connecticut,  December  14,  1807, 
died  September  13,  1874.  He  learned  the 
harnessmaker's  trade,  owned  a  small  farm, 
was  constable  and  collector  of  taxes  in 
Granby  for  twenty-one  years,  and  was  a 
man  highly  esteemed  in  the  community  in 
which  he  lived.  He  married,  December 
30,  1828,  Jane  Veits,  born  October  5,  1805, 
died  January  5,  1895.  She  was  a  daughter 
of  Simeon  Veits,  of  Suffield,  Connecticut. 
They  were  the  parents  of  Nelson  Orlin,  of 
further  mention,  and  an  adopted  daughter, 
Harriet,  who  married  Moses  Leonard,  of 
Easthampton,  Massachusetts,  their  only 
daughter  dying  young. 

(III)  Nelson  Orlin  Dibble,  only  son  of 
Orlin  and  Jane  (Veits)  Dibble,  was  born 
in  Granby,  Connecticut,  August  26,  1832, 
and  now  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years,  is 
living  retired  at  the  home  of  his  son.  He 
was  educated  in  one  of  the  ''little  red  school 
houses"  that  have  turned  out  so  many 
worthy  American  men  and  women,  and  on 
arriving  at  suitable  age  he  began  learning 
the  harnessmaker's  trade  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  his  father.  During  the  Civil  War 
the  shop  turned  out  a  great  deal  of  cavalry 
equipment  for  the  government,  and  he  con- 


54 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tinued  his  trade  for  several  years  in  Gran- 
by.  He  then  moved  to  Easthampton,  Mas- 
sachusetts, there  beginning  the  manufacture 
of  suspenders  and  shoulder  braces,  also 
making  a  line  of  rubber  goods.  He  was  the 
patentee  of  the  Dibble  Shoulder  Brace,  and 
for  tv^'enty-two  years  he  conducted  a  suc- 
cessful manufacturing  business  in  East- 
hampton, selling  his  goods  all  over  the 
United  States.  After  twenty-tvi^o  years  he 
turned  the  business  over  to  his  son,  Louis 
Nelson  Dibble,  who  conducted  the  business 
under  the  firm  name.  Dibble  &  Warner,  and 
moved  the  plant  to  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts. Nelson  O.  Dibble,  the  founder,  re- 
tained an  active  interest  in  the  business  un- 
til 191 5;  then  retired,  and  resides  with  his 
son,  Frank  H.  Dibble,  in  Holyoke.  He 
married,  November  11,  1856,  Emily  Wil- 
cox, born  1834,  died  May,  1907,  daughter 
of  Lyman  and  Ann  (Fuller)  Wilcox.  They 
were  the  parents  of  ten  sons  and  daughters : 
Louis  N.,  born  February  5,  1858  ;  Nellie  E., 
born  August  7,  1859,  married  Cassius  K. 
Brewer,  of  East  Hartford,  Connecticut; 
Frank  Howard,  of  further  mention ;  Ly- 
man Wilcox,  born  October  26,  1862;  Har- 
riet, born  December  13,  1865,  died  May  23, 
1892,  wife  of  John  Jackson;  Mary  Amelia, 
born  May  30,  1870;  Herbert  L.,  born  June 
6,  1872 ;  WilHam  A.,  born  October  29, 
1873;  Harry  P.,  born  June  13,  1878;  an 
infant,  born  May  24,  1875,  ^"^  ^^^^'^  soon 
thereafter. 

(IV)  Frank  Howard  Dibble,  second  son 
of  Nelson  Orlin  and  Emily  (Wilcox)  Dib- 
ble, was  born  in  Granby,  Connecticut,  De- 
cember 7,  i860.  He  was  quite  small  when 
his  parents  moved  to  Easthampton,  and 
there  he  attended  the  public  school  and  was 
employed  on  a  farm  until  he  reached  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years.  He  then  came  to 
Holyoke  and  learned  the  carpenter's  trade. 
For  several  years  he  worked  as  a  journey- 
man, then  began  contracting,  and  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  has  conducted  a  gen- 


eral contracting  and  building  business. 
Among  the  buildings  he  has  erected  are : 
The  Public  Library,  the  first  six  story  block 
in  the  city;  St.  Paul's  Church;  Mountain 
Park  Casino ;  Holyoke  Canoe  Clubhouse ; 
Holyoke  National  Bank  building ;  and  many 
private  residences  in  Holyoke,  Springfield, 
Longmeadow,  and  Brattleboro,  Vermont; 
the  Wallace,  an  eighteen  apartment  house 
on  the  corner  of  Pearl  and  Allen  streets, 
which  he  also  owns ;  the  Suffolk  building 
in  Holyoke  ;  the  Wesson  residences  in  Long- 
meadow.  In  1897  he  built  his  present  pri- 
vate residence,  also  the  two  on  either  side, 
and  at  Hampton  Ponds  owns  a  tract  of  fif- 
teen acres,  upon  which  he  has  erected  four 
cottages  and  camps.  Mr.  Dibble  has  also 
other  business  interests.  He  is  a  trustee 
of  the  Holyoke  Savings  Bank,  member  of 
the  Holyoke  Canoe  Club,  and  the  Congrega- 
tional church.  In  political  faith  he  is  an  In- 
dependent. 

Mr.  Dibble  married,  in  March,  1887,  Jen- 
nie E.  Clark,  of  Easthampton,  Massachu- 
setts, daughter  of  Laurens  and  Marcia 
(Ford)  Clark.  They  are  the  parents  of  two 
sons  and  three  daughters:  i.  Howard  Clark, 
married  Alice  Curran,  and  they  are  the  par- 
ents of  a  son,  Howard  Curran.  2.  Emily, 
was  associated  with  the  work  of  the  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association  in  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky.  3.  Marion,  a  teacher  in 
Wheeling,  West  Virginia.  4.  Marcia,  mar- 
ried Fred  J.  Brockett,  of  Suffield,  Connec- 
ticut.    5.  Wallace. 


DALY,  John  Belford, 

Priest. 

Father  Daly  is  rector  of  the  Holy  Fam- 
ily Parish  of  Brightside,  Holyoke,  which 
has  an  English-speaking  congregation,  or- 
ganized in  1903.  In  his  arduous  duties 
Father  Daly  has  well  acquitted  himself, 
earning  the  thanks  of  his  parishioners,  of 
his  superiors,  and  of  the  community.    Fath- 


55 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


er  Daly  is  a  native  of  the  State,  a  son  of 
Timothy  Daly,  who  was  born  in  County 
Cork,  Ireland,  in  1806,  and  died  February 
I,  1870,  in  Fitchburg,  Massachusetts.  When 
a  young  man  he  removed  to  America  and 
located  in  the  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada, 
whence  he  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1846.  He  was  employed  as  a  railroad  man, 
and  lived  in  various  sections  of  Massachu- 
setts along  the  Boston  &  Albany  Railroad. 
Subsequently  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Boston  &  Maine  Railroad,  and  was  located 
in  Fitchburg  as  division  superintendent  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  He  married  Mary 
Ann  Belford,  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  John  B.  and  Mary  Jane, 
the  latter  now  deceased.  By  a  second  mar- 
riage he  had  a  son,  Joseph,  who  is  also  de- 
ceased. 

Rev.  John  Belford  Daly  was  born  April 
19,  1848,  in  Needham,  Massachusetts,  and 
attended  public  schools  in  Fitchburg  and 
Pittsfield,  Massachusetts.  In  the  latter  city 
he  was  a  student  of  the  high  school,  and 
graduated  from  Holy  Cross  College  at  Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts,  in  1869.  Three  years 
were  then  consumed  in  study  at  St.  Joseph's 
Seminary,  Troy,  New  York,  where  he  grad- 
uated in  1872.  On  May  5  of  that  year  he 
was  ordained  to  the  priesthood,  and  served 
as  curate  in  Spencer,  Palmer  and  Chicopee, 
Massachusetts.  His  first  pastorate  was  in 
Hinsdale,  Massachusetts,  whence  he  was 
sent  to  Holyoke,  in  1903,  to  become  pastor 
of  the  Holy  Family  Church.  The  Bright- 
side  Home  for  Orphans  has  been  built  up 
under  his  chaplaincy,  and  he  has  shown  a 
most  efficient  and  helpful  spirit  throughout 
his  work.  The  parish  is  located  at  the  ex- 
treme south  end  of  Holyoke,  and  what  is 
known  as  Brightside  and  Ingleside  and  cov- 
ers a  large  section.  Here  also  are  located 
the  Orphans  Home  and  other  diocesan  in- 
stitutions, numbering  altogether  about  five 
hundred  people.  The  chapel  of  the  church 
accommodates  four  hundred  persons,  and 


masses  are  celebrated  there  and  at  the  alms- 
house each  Sunday.  Father  Daly  has  been 
the  only  pastor  since  its  organization,  and 
his  faithfulness  and  ability  have  gained  him 
the  lasting  gratitude  of  many  people. 


56 


HILL,  Lawrence  Guy, 

Business  Man. 

Lawrence  Guy  Hill,  the  well  known  ex- 
pressman of  Holyoke,  has  achieved  his  suc- 
cess by  his  straightforward,  honorable  bus- 
iness dealings  and  untiring  energy,  and  is 
among  the  highly  respected  men  of  that 
city. 

(I)  He  traces  his  ancestry  on  the  patern- 
al side  to  English  forbears,  his  grandfath- 
er, John  Hill,  having  been  a  native  of  Glou- 
cestershire, England,  where  he  was  reared, 
educated  and  married,  and  where  he  also 
learned  the  trade  of  stone  mason,  which  he 
followed  during  the  active  years  of  his  life. 
He  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1852, 
settled  in  Chateaugay,  Franklin  county, 
New  York,  and  there  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  days,  his  death  occurring  when  he 
was  in  the  prime  of  life.  He  married,  in 
England,  Jane  Spencer,  who  bore  him  nine 
children,  namely :  John,  Arthur,  George, 
Henry,  William,  Charles,  Alfred,  Edwin, 
Eliza,  who  became  the  wife  of  Sylvester 
Edwards. 

(II)  George  Hill,  son  of  John  and  Jane 
(Spencer)  Hill,  was  born  in  Chateaugay, 
New  York,  November  25,  1853,  and  he  is 
living  there  at  the  present  time  (1917).  He 
attended  the  schools  in  the  neighborhood  of 
his  home,  and  upon  arriving  at  a  suitable 
age  turned  his  attention  to  earning  a  liveli- 
hood, learning  the  trade  of  carpenter  and 
builder.  He  was  active  and  energetic,  pub- 
lic-spirited, aiding  to  the  best  of  his  ability 
in  the  upbuilding  of  his  native  town.  He 
married,  November  24,  1875,  Henrietta 
Elizabeth  Frazier,  born  in  Malone,  Frank- 
lin county.  New  York,  January  25,   1850, 


.-<r"\ 


<^S'. 


^■sA 


K^*^- 
i.-^" 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


daughter  of  Charles  W.  and  Jane  Eliza 
(Cornan)  Frazier.  Children:  i.  Mabel 
Myrtle,  born  January  7,  1877,  became  the 
wife  of  Fred  Gleason,  of  Holyoke,  see  else- 
where in  this  work.  2.  Lawrence  Guy,  men- 
tioned in  next  paragraph.  3.  Nellie  Maude, 
born  March  30,  1881,  became  the  wife  of 
Perley  A.  Baker,  of  Holyoke ;  one  son, 
Glenn.  4.  Carlton  Jay,  born  June  27,  1884, 
manager  of  Atlantic  &  Pacific  Tea  Com- 
pany of  Holyoke.  5.  Pearl  Elizabeth,  born 
August  22,  1886,  became  the  wife  of  Arthur 
Laplante,  of  Easthampton.  6.  Grace  Lau- 
retta, born  June  18,  1893,  became  the  wife 
of  Easton  Gillespie,  of  Springfield;  one  son, 
William  Lloyd. 

(Ill)  Lawrence  Guy  Hill,  son  of  George 
and  Henrietta  Elizabeth  (Frazier)  Hill, 
was  born  in  Chateaugay,  Franklin  county, 
New  York,  July  2,  1879.  He  attended  the 
schools  of  his  native  place.  At  an  early  age 
he  became  employed  as  a  teamster,  at  which 
he  continued  for  a  number  of  years.  He 
then  changed  his  place  of  residence  to  Leo- 
minster, Massachusetts,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed in  a  similar  position  by  the  city, 
continuing  for  a  period  of  one  year.  He 
then  returned  to  Chateaugay,  and  at  the  ex- 
piration of  one  year,  in  1904,  came 
to  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  this 
time  locating  in  Holyoke,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  For  the  following 
eight  years  he  was  employed  in  driving 
a  team  for  J.  Russell  &  Company,  the  well 
known  hardware  people  of  that  city,  his 
long  term  of  service  testifying  to  his  pro- 
ficiency and  capability.  In  March,  1912,  he 
engaged  in  the  express  business  on  his  own 
account  doing  all  kinds  of  heavy  trucking 
and  teaming.  This  he  has  followed  up  to 
the  present  time  (1917),  having  had  some 
of  the  best  horses  and  teams  in  this  section 
of  the  State.  In  addition  to  the  horses  used 
in  his  business,  he  has  purchased,  driven 
and  exhibited  a  number  of  very  beautiful 
driving    horses ;     single     and     in    matched 


pairs,  and  has  taken  many  prizes  at  the 
various  horse  shows  and  county  fairs 
throughout  this  section.  Being  a  great  lov- 
er of  horses  and  an  authority  on  horse  flesh, 
he  prided  himself  on  having  the  best  thor- 
oughbreds in  the  market  and  insisting  on 
them  having  the  best  of  care.  In  191 7,  he 
disposed  of  the  last  of  his  beautiful  driving 
horses.  In  the  latter  named  year  he  also 
disposed  of  his  draft  horses  afid  now  at- 
tends to  his  ever  increasing  business  with 
an  up-to-date  automobile  truck,  capable  of 
carrying  several  tons.  Not  only  does  he  con- 
duct a  business  in  Holyoke  but  conveys 
goods  to  remote  cities,  going  sometimes  two 
hundred  miles.  As  a  business  man  he  is  at 
all  times  reliable,  energetic  and  progressive, 
and  has  gained  the  confidence  and  good  will 
of  all  with  whom  he  associates.  Mr.  Hill  is 
a  member  of  William  Whiting  Lodge,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  and  of  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  both  of  Hol- 
yoke. 

Mr.  Hill  married,  October  3,  1906,  Laura 
Frances  Fuller,  of  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, daughter  of  William  B.  and  Mary  A. 
(Snow)  Fuller.  William  B.  Fuller  was  a 
painter  and  spent  his  life  in  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  died  in  1912,  and 
his  wife  in  1892.  They  were  the  parents  of 
twelve  children,  of  whom  seven  are  living: 
I.  Mary  A.,  married  Theodore  Bottum.  2. 
Edith,  married  Frank  E.  Duakin,  deceased. 
3.  Hulda,  married  Joseph  Hazzard.  4.  Louis 
E.  5.  Laura  F.,  married  Lawrence  G. 
Hill,  as  noted  above.  6.  Mrs.  William  E. 
Snow,  of  East  Longmeadow.  7.  Earle,  re- 
sides in  Indian  Orchard. 


SAWIN,  Wallace  Eugene, 

Representative  Citizen. 

The  Sawin  family,  of  which  Wallace  Eu- 
gene Sawin,  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  is 
a  present  day  representative,  was  founded 
in  New  England  by  John  Sawin,  son  of 


57 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGR.\PHY 


Robert  Sawin,  of  Boxford,  Suffolk,  Eng- 
land, where  the  latter  died  in  1651.  John 
Sawin,  bom  in  England,  was  admitted  a 
freeman  in  Boston  in  May,  1652,  but  was  in 
the  Colony  as  early  as  April,  1650,  as  he  tes- 
tified at  that  time  in  a  court  case  as  to  a 
conversation  he  heard  in  England  in  1648. 
and  his  name  is  mentioned  in  the  will  of 
Edward  Skinner  dated  Cambridge,  Mas- 
sachusetts, in  1 65 1.  He  was  a  cordwainer 
by  trade,  and  occupied  a  house  on  school 
street,  Watertown,  owned  by  his  father-in- 
law,  George  Munning.  In  1653  he  became 
the  owner  of  the  homestall  in  which  he  lived 
and  of  a  farm  at  what  is  now  Weston,  Mas- 
sachusetts, on  which  he  settled  in  1664.  He 
married,  in  April,  1652,  Abigail  Munning, 
who  came  with  her  parents  from  Ipswich, 
England,  in  April,  1634,  she  then  being  sev- 
enteen years  of  age.  John  and  Abigail 
Sawin  were  the  parents  of  three  children: 
John,  born  in  April,  1653 ;  Mimning,  April 
4,  1655 ;  and  Thomas,  of  further  mention. 

(Ill)  Thomas  Sawin,  son  of  John  Sawin, 
was  bom  in  Watertown,  Massachusetts, 
September  25,  1657.  He  learned  the  house 
carpenter's  trade,  and  resided  in  Water- 
town  until  1675,  when  he  went  with  the 
expedition  against  the  Xarragansett  In- 
dians, December  19,  1675.  He  was  of  Sher- 
born,  Massachusetts,  in  1679,  ^.nd  there 
erected  the  first  saw  mill.  Later  he  moved 
to  Xatick,  where  for  years  he  was  a  solitary 
"first  white  inhabitant,"  for  in  1721  there 
were  but  two  white  families  in  Xatick,  the 
second  probably  that  of  his  son  John.  He 
had  a  deed  from  the  Indians,  March  17, 
1685,  the  condition  being  that  he  should 
build  a  grist  mill  for  their  accommodation, 
the  mill  he  built  being  the  one  previously  re- 
ferred to  as  the  first  in  Xatick.  He  mar- 
ried, January  28,  1683,  Deborah  Rice,  bom 
February  14,  1659,  daughter  of  Matthew 
Rice,  of  Sudbur)-.  They  were  the  parents 
of  three  children:  Ruth,  bom  July  24,  1686, 
married  James  Morse,  of  Sherbom ;   John, 


58 


of   further  mention ;    Deborah,  bom  April 
4,  1696. 

(T\')  John  (2)  Sawin,  son  of  Thomas 
and  Deborah  (Rice)  Sawin,  was  born  June 
26,  1689,  and  succeeded  his  father  as  miller 
at  X'atick.  He  drew  land  in  Xew  Sherbom, 
now  Douglass,  in  171 5,  and  again  in  1730, 
and  was  one  of  the  845  men  who  met  June 
6.  1733-  on  Boston  Common  to  receive  the 
seven  townships  granted  to  the  heirs  of  the 
X'arragansett  heroes,  among  whom  his  fath- 
er was  numbered.  He  was  in  the  second  di- 
vision of  the  group,  and  later  drew  land  in 
Westminster,  Massachusetts,  holding  lot 
X'o.  68  in  the  survey  made  the  next  year. 
In  a  second  survey  he  drew  lot  X'o.  no 
and  north  lot  X'o.  70  of  the  Spec- 
tacle Meadow  at  Watertown.  He  married 
Joanna  Lyons,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Joanna  (Pay son)  Lyons.  Their  children, 
although  all  bom  in  Xatick  are  recorded  in 
Sherborn,  X'atick  not  then  having  been  in- 
corporated a  town.  Children :  Joanna,  bom 
August  28,  171 5;  Thomas.  October  12, 
1717,  a  Revolutionary'  soldier;  Deborah, 
bom  January  23,  1719,  married  George 
Fairbanks  ;  John,  of  further  mention  ;  Ab- 
igail, bom  January  24,  1724;  Ezekiel,  April 
3,  1728;  Man,-,  X'ovember  2,  1731. 

(V)  John  (3)  Sawin,  son  of  John  (2) 
and  Joanna  (Lyons)  Sawin,  was  born  in 
Xatick,  Massachusetts,  July  22,,  1722.  He 
married  Abigail  Babcock  and  had  children : 
Joel,  Ezekiel,  of  further  mention;  and 
John. 

(VI)  Ezekiel  Sawin,  son  of  John  (3) 
and  Abigail  (Babcock)  Sawin,  was  bom  in 
1752,  and  died  in  1816.  He  married  Mary 
Parker  and  had  children:  Timothy,  of 
further  mention;  Levi,  Abigail,  Joel,  Ebe- 
nezer,  Ezekiel,  Zenas,  Polly,  Bett>-,  Jacob 
and  Joan. 

(VII)  Timothy  Sawin,  eldest  son  of  Eze- 
kiel and  Mar\-  (Parker)  Sawin,  was  born  in 
Princeton,  Massachusetts,  in  1778,  and  died 
in  1856,  a  resident  of  Sterling,  Massachu- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


setts.  He  married  Levina  Hayden.  Chil- 
dren:  Truman,  Martin,  of  further  mention; 
Phoebe,  Charles,  Mary,  Edward,  William, 
Peter  and  George. 

(VIII)  Martin  Sawin,  son  of  Timothy 
and  Levina  (Hayden)  Sawin,  was  born  in 
Princeton,  Massachusetts,  and  died  in  Hol- 
yoke,  Massachusetts,  in  November,  i860. 
He  located  at  Holyoke  in  1852,  and  by  oc- 
cupation was  a  farmer  and  carpenter.  He 
married,  in  1828,  Eliza  Goss,  born  Novem- 
ber 25,  1807,  in  Harvard,  Massachusetts, 
and  died  June  16,  1873,  daughter  of  Asa 
and  Hepsibah  Goss. 

(IX)  Albert  Erastus  Sawin,  only  child 
of  Martin  and  Eliza  (Goss)  Sawin,  was 
born  at  West  Boylston,  Massachusetts,  Au- 
gust 25,  1835,  and  died  in  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, April  24,  1904.  He  attended  W'est 
Boylston  and  Princeton  schools,  and  in  1852 
accompanied  his  parents  to  Holyoke.  He 
learned  the  millwright  and  carpenter  trades, 
and  then  took  a  position  with  the  Hadley 
Falls  Company,  predecessors  of  the  Holyoke 
Water  Powder  Company.  He  then  became 
superintendent  for  Wiggins  &  Flagg,  now 
the  Merrick  Lumber  Company.  He  later 
established  a  planing  mill  business,  manu- 
facturing doors,  sashes  and  blinds,  in  com- 
pany wnth  Mr.  French,  firm  being  French 
&  Sawin,  and  this  continued  until  the  latter 
eighties  when  it  was  sold.  He  was  with 
Watson  Ely  for  a  time  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness, then  entered  the  employ  of  the  Hol- 
yoke Water  Power  Company,  continuing 
until  his  death.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Holyoke  Volunteer  Fire  Department  and 
took  a  deep  interest  in  his  company.  He 
was  a  man  of  quiet,  home  loving  disposi- 
tion, and  fond  of  roaming  in  the  fields  and 
in  the  woods,  enjoying  the  works  of  nature 
and  the  songs  of  the  birds. 

Mr.  Sawin  married,  February  17,  1864, 
Elizabeth  Young,  of  Huntington,  Massa- 
chusetts, born  October  25,  1839,  died  in 
Holyoke,  June  30,  1908,  daughter  of  James 


and  Agnes  (Allen)  Young,  who  were  both 
born  in  Scotland.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sawin 
were  the  parents  of  five  children:  i.  Ed- 
win Asa,  a  sketch  of  whom  follows.  2.  Wal- 
lace Eugene,  of  further  mention.  3.  Alice 
Edith,  a  graduate  of  the  New  York  School 
of  Applied  Design  for  Women,  now  a  de- 
signer and  decorator.  4.  Albert  Allen,  born 
December  6,  1873,  "o^  a  hydraulic  engineer 
of  the  Holyoke  Water  Power  Company  ;  he 
married  S.  Lillian  Randall;  child:  Ralph 
Waldo  Emerson,  born  October  5,  1883,  now 
a  civil  engineer  of  Waterbury,  Connecticut; 
married  Alice  May  Holmes,  one  son, 
Bruce. 

(X)  Wallace  Eugene  Saw^in,  of  Holyoke, 
son  of  Albert  Erastus  and  Elizabeth 
(Young)  Sawin,  was  born  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  December  29,  1866.  He  was 
educated  in  the  city  public  schools.  After 
leaving  school  he  entered  the  offices  of  D. 
H.  and  A.  B.  Tower,  Architects  and  Civil 
Engineers,  and  until  1887  continued  in  their 
employ,  most  of  that  period  being  devoted 
to  paper  mill  construction,  of  which  they 
made  a  specialty.  In  1887  he  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Holyoke  Water  Power  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  has  been  treasurer  since 
1913,  his  long  association  with  the  company 
covering  periods  of  service  as  draughtsman, 
engineer,  chief  engineer,  clerk  of  the  corpo- 
ration and  treasurer.  He  is  also  president 
of  the  Pequot  Coal  Company  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  has  other  and  varied  business  in- 
terests. He  is  a  member  of  the  Holyoke 
Canoe  and  the  Rotary  clubs. 

Mr.  Sawin  married,  October  18,  1893, 
Edith  May  Hoxie,  of  Holyoke,  but  born  in 
Norwich,  Connecticut,  March  4,  1875, 
daughter  of  James  Madison  and  Mary 
(Gibbs)  Hoxie.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sawin  are 
the  parents  of  three  children :  Beatrice 
Hoxie,  born  November  12,  1894,  studying 
at  the  Hartford  School  of  Music;  Verna 
Elizabeth,    born    April    18,    1896,    now    of 


59 


ENXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Wheaton  College  ;  Jean  Marie,  born  March 
lo,  1898,  now  in  the  Connecticut  College 
for  Women. 


SAWIN,  Edwin  Asa, 

Experienced  Trainman. 

Edwin  Asa  Sawin,  a  representative  in 
the  tenth  generation  of  his  family, 
a  son  of  Albert  Erastus  and  Eliza- 
beth (Young)  Sawin,  was  born  in 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  January  20, 
1865.  He  attended  the  schools  of  his  native 
city,  completing  his  studies  in  1881  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  years,  and  then  secured  em- 
ployment on  the  Old  Connecticut  River  Rail- 
road, now  the  Cormecticut  Division  of  the 
Boston  &  Maine  Railroad,  as  a  yard  clerk. 
He  later  became  a  brakeman  in  the  freight 
yard,  and  from  this  was  promoted  to  the 
position  of  conductor  of  a  freight  crew, 
and  later  was  promoted  a  conductor  on  a 
train  on  the  Main  Line,  in  which  capacity 
he  served  until  1891,  in  which  year  he  was 
appointed  yard  master  in  Springfield,  which 
position  he  filled  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
concerned  imtil  1901,  when  he  again  entered 
the  train  service  as  conductor  on  the  branch 
running  between  Springfield  and  Chicopee 
Falls,  and  since  then,  a  period  of  a  decade 
and  a  half,  has  been  in  charge  of  the  passen- 
ger and  freight  service  on  that  branch.  He 
keeps  in  touch  with  the  men  in  his  chosen 
vocation  by  membership  in  the  Order  of 
Railway  Conductors,  serving  for  fifteen 
years  as  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  or- 
ganization. 

Mr.  Sawin  married,  September  8,  1886, 
Sarah  Augusta  White,  of  Colchester,  Ver- 
mont, daughter  of  Calvin  and  Hannah  Me- 
lissa (Furman)  White.  Children:  i.  Carlton 
Chester,  bom  June  27,,  1887,  died  aged  t%vo 
years.  2.  Herbert  Asa,  bom  March  5,  1894, 
attended  the  schools  of  his  native  city,  af- 
ter which  he  took  up  the  profession  of  pho- 
tography, and  traveled  through  the  Cana- 


dian Northwest  and  down  the  Pacific  Coast, 
following  his  profession,  and  then  took  a 
position  as  the  official  photographer  for  the 
National  Reserve  of  the  Yosemite  Valley; 
he  is  now  (191 7)  engaged  in  naval  con- 
struction work  in  Philadelphia.  3.  Earl 
Clifton,  born  May  22,  1897;  he  is  a  stenog- 
rapher ;  he  was  for  some  years  vi^ith  the 
Fisk  Rubber  Company  of  Chicopee  Falls, 
and  now  (1917)  with  the  Lee  Rubber  Com- 
pany of  Conshohocken,  Pennsylvania.  4. 
Madeline  Alice,  born  December  21,  1900. 


ELY,  Willard, 

Master  Mariner. 

Wherever  the  Ely  family  is  known  it  has 
produced  men  of  honorable  attainments,  ex- 
emplary character  and  exceptional  ability 
from  the  pioneer  days  to  the  present,  and 
the  late  Willard  Ely,  of  Holyoke,  was  a 
t}-pical  representative  of  this  old  New  Eng- 
land family.  He  became  captain  of  his  own 
vessel,  and  comparatively  early  in  life 
amassed  a  competence  and  retired  to  enjoy 
the  comforts  of  his  home  in  Holyoke. 
Through  ever\'  line  of  his  ancestry  in  this 
country.  Captain  Ely  traces  back  to  the 
original  English  stock  that  founded  the 
colonies  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Plymouth 
and  Connecticut  before  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  many  of  the  early 
pioneers  in  Springfield  were  his  ancestors. 

(I)  Nathaniel  Ely,  the  immigrant  ances- 
tor, was  born  in  England,  at  Tenterden, 
County  York,  in  1606.  He  received  a  good 
education,  as  shown  by  the  records  he  left. 

He  married,   in  England,   ]Martha  , 

and  had  a  son  and  daughter  before  he  came 
to  this  country.  He  was  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Hartford,  and  probably  went 
there  with  Rev.  Thomas  Hooker  and  the 
other  founders  in  1636.  He  was  a  consta- 
ble in  1639  3-nd  owned  a  homestead  in  Hart- 
ford in  1640.  In  1649  he  was  a  selectman. 
His  name  appears  on  the  monimient  to  the 


60 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


founders  of  the  colony  at  Hartford.  He  af- 
terward moved  to  Norwalk,  Connecticut,  of 
which  he  was  also  one  of  the  founders,  and 
in  1659  located  in  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  w^as  selectman  in  1661,  1663,  1666, 
1668,  1 67 1  and  1673.  I"  1665  he  kept  a 
tavern  and  he  continued  in  that  business 
until  he  died,  December  26,  1675.  Martha, 
his  wife,  died  at  Springfield,  October  23, 
1688.  Children:  Samuel,  of  further  men- 
tion;  Ruth,  died  October  12,  1662. 

(II)  Samuel  Ely,  son  of  Nathaniel  Ely, 
was  born  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  about 
1636,  and  died  ]\Iarch  19,  1692.  He  re- 
moved to  Springfield  with  his  parents,  and 
married  there,  October  28,  1659,  Mary  Day, 
daughter  of  Robert  Day  (see  Day).  Sam- 
uel Ely  left  a  considerable  estate.  Ten  of 
his  sixteen  children  died  in  infancy  or  early 
youth.  His  widow  married  (second)  De- 
cember II,  1696,  Deacon  John  Coleman,  of 
Hatfield,  son  of  Thomas  and  Frances 
(Wells)  Coleman.  She  died  Octo- 
ber II,  1725,  aged  eighty-four  years. 
Children:  Child,  born  1660;  Samuel,  March 
I,  1662;  Joseph,  of  further  mention;  Sam- 
uel, November  4,  1664;  Mary,  March  29, 
1667;  Samuel,  May  9,  1668;  Nathaniel, 
January  18,  1670;  Jonathan,  July  i,  1672; 
Nathaniel,  August  25,  1674;  Jonathan,  Jan- 
uary 25,  1676. 

(III)  Deacon  Joseph  Ely,  son  of  Samuel 
and  Mary  (Day)  Ely,  was  born  in  Spring- 
field, August  20,  1663,  ^^^  di^d  i"  West 
Springfield,  April  29,  1755.  He  married 
Mary  Riley,  born  June  2,  1665,  died  May 
19,  1736,  daughter  of  John  Riley.  They 
lived  in  what  is  now  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts. Children,  born  at  Springfield:  Jo- 
seph, born  April  9,  1686;  Mary,  July  25, 
1689;  Martha,  July  16,  1691  ;  Nathaniel, 
of  further  mention;  Ruth,  October  20, 
1697;  Sarah,  January  8,  1703;  John,  June 
19,  1706. 

(IV)  Nathaniel  (2)  Ely,  son  of  Deacon 


Joseph  and  Mary  (Riley)  Ely,  was  born  at 
Springfield,  October  21,  1694,  died  Decem- 
ber 29,  1787.  He  married,  November  23, 
1 72 1,  Elizabeth  Dewey,  born  at  Westfield, 
May  13,  1699,  died  at  West  Springfield,  De- 
cember 21,  1786,  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Martha  (Cooley)  Dewey.  Children,  born 
at  West  Springfield :  Aaron,  of  further 
mention;  Elizabeth,  born  August  11,  1724; 
Sarah,  August  7,  1726;  Moses,  January  25, 
1731  ;  Nathaniel,  March  20,  1737. 

(V)  Aaron  Ely,  son  of  Nathaniel  (2) 
and  Elizabeth  (Dewey)  Ely,  was  born  at 
West  Springfield,  October  6,  1722,  and  died 
there,  February  7,  1803.  He  married 
(first)  June  6,  1744,  Lucy  Leonard,  who 
was  born  at  West  Springfield,  March  15, 
1724,  died  January  13,  1760,  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Sarah  Leonard.  He  married 
(second)  November  10,  1764,  Thankful 
Ashley,  daughter  of  David  and  Alary  (Dew- 
ey )  Ashley.  She  was  born  at  West  Springfield, 
December  3,  1733,  died  at  W^est  Springfield, 
September  25,  1814.  Children,  born  at  West 
Springfield:  Aaron,  born  August  2,  1746; 
Lucy,  March  21,  1748;  Moses,  born  April 
10,  1752,  died  young;  Phinehas,  December 
24,  1753;  John,  October  19,  1756.  By  sec- 
ond wife :  Moses,  of  further  mention ;  Hor- 
ace, May  2,  1770;  Thaddeus,  October  3, 
1773,  died  young;  Thaddeus,  June  2/,  1775. 

(VI)  ]\Ioses  Ely,  son  of  Aaron  and 
Thankful  (Ashley)  Ely,  w^as  born  in  West 
Springfield,  February  4,  1767,  and  died  Sep- 
tember 14,  1840.  He  married,  March  9, 
1786,  Chloe  Day,  born  at  West  Springfield, 
January  2"/,  1766,  died  January  2^,,  1836, 
daughter  of  John  and  Rhoda  (Chapin) 
Day.  Children,  born  at  West  Springfield: 
John  Day,  bom  June  27,  1787;  Thankful, 
September  4,  1788;  Moses,  June  4,  1790; 
Willard,  mentioned  below ;  Novatus,  May 
10,  1793;  Pelatiah,  October  24,  1794;  Chloe, 
May  2,  1796;  Daniel,  January,  1798;  son, 
February  i,  1799;  son,  February,  1800; 
Asenath,  January  25,  1801  ;   Elizabeth,  Jan- 


61 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


uary  28,  1803;  Louisa,  May  11,  1804; 
daughter,  September  10,  1805 ;  daughter, 
February,  1807;   Aaron,  May  21,  1808. 

(VII)  Willard  Ely,  son  of  Moses  and 
Chloe  (Day)  Ely,  was  born  at  West  Spring- 
field, October  25,  1791,  and  died  at  Hol- 
yoke,  October  16,  1878.  He  married  at 
Ludlow,  Massachusetts,  Lovica  Waid,  born 
May  24,  1797,  died  at  Holyoke,  May  20, 
1864,  daughter  of  Nathan  Lord  and  Isa- 
bella (Searles)  Waid.  He  was  a  farmer  in 
West  Springfield,  and  was  on  the  board 
of  selectmen  of  that  town  before  the  sec- 
tion where  he  lived  became  a  part  of  Holy- 
oke. Children,  born  at  West  Springfield: 
Novatus,  born  October  3,  1818;  James, 
June  29,  1820;  Edwin  Hurlburt,  July  2, 
1822  ;  Willard,  mentioned  below  ;  Lovica, 
February  20,  1826;  Sanford,  July  14,  1828, 
died  May  29,  1852;  Jane  Eliza,  March  21, 
1830,  died  August  26,  1863,  at  Holyoke, 
married  Dwight  Ely;  Eliza  Jane,  March  ii, 
1832;  Morris,  April  28,  1835  ;  Cordelia  Bal- 
sora,  June  14,  1843,  died  November  4, 
1856. 

(VIII)  Willard  (2)  Ely,  son  of  Willard 
(i)  and  Lovica  (Waid)  Ely,  was  born  in 
Holyoke,  June  20,  1824,  and  died  there,  No- 
vember 28,  1903.  He  was  born  on  the  old 
Ely  homestead,  now  known  as  the  Whiting 
farm.  There  he  lived  during  his  youth  and 
attended  the  public  schools.  Early  in  life  he 
learned  the  habits  of  industry  on  the  farm, 
acquired  muscle,  skill  in  the  use  of  his 
hands  and  a  sturdy  constitution.  He  left 
the  farm  when  a  young  man  and  found  em- 
ployment on  the  river  boats  plying  between 
Holyoke,  Windsor  Locks  and  Hartford, 
Connecticut.  He  learned  the  art  of  naviga- 
tion and  was  promoted  from  time  to  time 
to  positions  of  greater  responsibility  and 
difficulty,  and  in  the  course  of  time  became 
master  mariner  and  commanded  his  own 
vessels.  During  most  of  his  active  life  he 
kept  to  the  river  trade.  For  a  few  years 
he  was  captain  of  a  line  of  trading  steam- 


ers on  the  Moose  river  in  North  Carolina. 
In  his  business  ventures  he  was  successful 
and  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Hol- 
yoke while  yet  in  middle  life.  He  lived  with 
his  father  in  Holyoke  until  his  father  died. 
He  then  spent  two  years  on  the  farm,  af- 
ter which  he  sold  the  old  place  to  the 
Whitings  and  erected  for  himself  in  Hol- 
yoke on  a  sightly  lot  on  Northampton  street 
a  very  attractive  and  commodious  residence 
and  this  house  was  his  home  to  the  end  of 
his  life,  and  is  still  occupied  by  his  widow. 
From  the  old  farm  he  reserved  a  few  acres 
and  on  this  land  he  occupied  himself  for  a 
number  of  years,  with  his  garden,  but  he 
later  sold  that  and  lived  absolutely  retired. 
He  was  a  modest,  quiet  citizen,  not  ambi- 
tious for  public  honors,  though  he  per- 
formed his  duties  as  a  citizen  conscientious- 
ly. He  was  a  member  of  Mt.  Tom  Lodge, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Mutual  Aid  Association.  In  pol- 
itics he  was  a  Democrat.  To  his  home  and 
his  family  he  was  devoted  and  loving,  as  a 
son  and  as  a  husband.  Honorable,  upright, 
capable,  he  lived  a  useful  and  honored  life. 
Mr.  Ely  married,  November  23,  1865,  Lu- 
cinda  Ellen  Torrey,  bom  August  5,  1836, 
daughter  of  Orrin  and  Olive  (Ingram) 
Torrey,  of  Chesterfield,  Massachusetts,  and 
granddaughter  of  Joseph  and  Lucinda 
(Wright)  Torrey.  ]\Irs.  Ely  survives  her 
husband.  Throughout  her  life  she  has  been 
earnest,  kindly  and  well-beloved.  She  makes 
her  home  at  No.  2039  Northampton  street, 
where  she  has  lived  for  more  than  thirty- 
seven  years. 


TRIQUET,  Camille, 

Priest. 

As  rector  of  the  parish  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  in  Holyoke,  Father  Triquet  is 
performing  a  wonderful  work  for  his  peo- 
ple. His  ancestors  lived  in  France,  where 
his    grandfather,    Joseph    Triquet,    was    a 


62 


LuJJ^ju^  ^u^ .  /^oa/k^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


farmer,  and  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety-six 
years  and  six  months.  He  was  the  father 
of  nineteen  children,  nine  of  whom  are  still 
living  (1917),  five  of  whom  are  priests, 
one  in  India,  three  in  Brazil,  and  two  of 
the  daughters  are  nuns,  teachers  in  the  pa- 
rochial schools  of  Moscow,  Russia. 

Charles  Triquet,  one  of  the  sons,  was 
born  in  Moye,  France,  in  1829,  and  died 
there  at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  All  his 
life  he  was  a  farmer.  His  wife,  Ann  (Tru- 
fet)  Triquet,  born  1837,  died  in  1907,  at 
the  age  of  seventy  years.  Of  their  twelve 
children  nine  are  now  living.  Two  of  the 
sons  are  serving  in  the  French  army  in  the 
great  European  war.  Other  members  of 
this  family  represented  in  that  war  are  the 
husbands  of  three  of  Charles  Triquet's 
daughters,  and  six  of  his  nephews. 

Rev.  Camille  Triquet  was  born  July  18, 
1865,  in  Moye,  France,  and  in  the  excellent 
schools  of  his  native  town  received  primary 
instruction.  For  eight  years  he  was  a  stu- 
dent in  college  at  Zurich,  Switzerland.  For 
two  years  he  was  a  teacher  in  the  schools  of 
France,  and  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood 
in  his  native  land  in  1888.  Three  years  lat- 
er he  came  to  America,  arriving  in  March, 
1891,  and  for  two  years  was  a  teacher  in 
Hartford,  Connecticut.  For  eighteen  years 
he  was  identified  with  St.  Joseph's  Church, 
of  Fitchburg,  Massachusetts,  successively 
as  curate  and  rector.  On  July  i,  191 2,  he 
became  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Immac- 
ulate Conception  in  Holyoke,  where  he  has 
since  been  most  industriously  engaged  in 
building  up  his  congregation,  and  in  caring 
for  the  welfare  of  the  very  large  parish. 
Under  his  direction  a  very  large  school  has 
been  completed,  capable  of  caring  for  nine 
hundred  children,  and  this  was  dedicated, 
with  the  assistance  of  Bishop  Biarens,  of 
Springfield,  in  1917.  The  parish  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  was  formed  in 
Ward  One  in  Holyoke,  in  1903,  and  the 
construction  of  a  church  was  commenced  on 


land  bounded  by  Ely,  Mosher  and  Summer 
streets.  The  first  pastor,  Rev.  J.  B.  Cam- 
peau,  was  appointed  November  15,  1905, 
and  in  1907  he  purchased  from  the  city  a 
schoolhouse  which  had  been  for  some  time 
vacant  and  unused.  This  building  he  re- 
paired and  renovated  for  use  as  a  school 
for  the  children  of  the  parish.  This  build- 
ing was  destroyed  by  fire  on  January  8, 
191 5,  causing  a  severe  financial  loss  to  the 
parish.  After  the  fire  the  eight  hundred 
children,  then  in  charge  of  twelve  sisters  of 
the  Presentation  of  Mary,  had  a  vacation 
of  one  week,  at  the  end  of  which  time  school 
work  was  resumed  by  housing  the  lower 
grades  in  the  chapel  of  the  church,  and  the 
higher  grades  in  the  Perpetual  Help  Church, 
at  the  corner  of  Prospect  and  Maple  streets. 
The  construction  of  the  new  school  has 
made  much  better  provision  for  the  in- 
struction of  the  youth  of  the  parish.  The 
number  of  souls  in  the  parish  is  thirty-eight 
hundred,  and  the  pastor  is  assisted  by  two 
curates,  Rev.  John  Pilloix  and  Rev.  Z. 
Chouinard.  Six  masses  are  celebrated  on 
Sundays,  and  under  the  fostering  care  of 
the  pastor,  the  parish  is  prosperous  and  do- 
ing most  excellent  work  for  the  people.  The 
assessed  valuation  of  the  brick  church  and 
land  is  $27,480.  Rev.  Triquet  has  endeared 
himself  greatly  to  the  members  thereof, 
and  has  gained  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all 
the  people  of  the  city. 


DARBY,  Arthur  Ward, 

Representative  Citizen. 

Arthur  Ward  Darby,  the  well  known  su- 
perintendent of  the  Municipal  Lighting 
Plant  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  is  of  Eng- 
lish descent,  the  name  being  found  in  the 
early  records  of  England,  where  it  is 
spelled  Darby,  Derby  and  Daby.  The  fam- 
ily came  to  Vermont,  where  George  Darby, 
great-grandfather  of  Arthur  Ward  Darby, 
settled  in  Alburgh,  among  the  pioneers,  and 


63 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


followed  farming  there  during  the  active 
period  of  his  life. 

George  Darby,  grandfather  of  Arthur 
Ward  Darby,  was  born  in  Alburgh,  Ver- 
mont, and  died  there,  July  20,  1862.  He 
enlisted  at  Alburgh,  in  June,  1812,  and 
served  as  a  private  in  Captain  Lewis  Sowles 
or  Captain  John  D.  Reynolds'  company, 
Vermont  militia,  for  nine  months.  He  was 
a  carriage  maker  and  farmer,  an  enterpris- 
ing man,  and  highly  esteemed  in  the  com- 
munity. He  married,  at  Alburgh,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 181 2,  Rebecca  Steinbarge,  born  in 
1797,  and  was  living.  May  17,  1878.  They 
were  the  parents  of  six  children :  William ; 
Amerilla,  married  Wilson  Graves ;  Addi- 
son Stephen,  of  further  mention ;  Ransom, 
Perry,   and   Leonard. 

Addison  Stephen  Darby,  father  of  Arthur 
Ward  Darby,  was  born  in  Alburgh,  Ver- 
mont, February  19,  1828,  and  died  in  As- 
pen, Colorado,  November  2,  1884.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  after 
completing  the  years  allowed  him  for  study 
he  began  learning  the  carriage  building 
trade  with  his  father.  In  course  of  time  he 
became  a  manufacturer  of  carriages,  turn- 
ing out  the  finished  vehicle  in  his  own  shops. 
He  gained  high  reputation  as  a  builder  of 
fine  carriages,  no  firm  or  builder  in  the 
State  surpassing  him  in  excellence  of  fin- 
ished product.  In  1872  his  wife  died,  and 
he  later  closed  out  his  business  and  went 
West  in  the  days  of  the  Leadville  boom, 
later  locating  in  Aspen,  Colorado,  in  the 
mountain  region,  where  he  followed  mining, 
and  also  did  some  mine  construction  work 
at  Leadville,  Colorado,  remaining  in  that 
State  until  his  death.  He  married,  in  Au- 
gust, 185 1,  Phebe  Minerva  Honsinger,  born 
in  Alburgh,  Vermont,  April  21,  1831,  a 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Rebecca  Honsinger, 
both  of  Holland  Dutch  descent.  They  were 
the  parents  of  five  children:  Norman  A., 
born  June  12,  1852;  Mary  J.,  February  19, 
1855 ;    Cora  A.,  June  30,   1857,  deceased, 


was  the  wife  of  W.  P.  Greeley;  Effie  M., 
August  31,  1859,  became  the  wife  of  Eu- 
gene D.  Carl ;  Arthur  Ward,  of  further 
mention. 

Arthur  Ward  Darby  was  born  in  Al- 
burgh, Vermont,  September  9,  1867,  and 
until  thirteen  years  of  age,  attended  the  dis- 
trict schools  there.  The  death  of  his  moth- 
er in  1872,  and  the  departure  of  his  father 
to  Colorado  the  same  year,  deprived  him  of 
the  care  of  his  parents.  In  1880  he  came 
to  Chicopee,  Massachusetts,  there  attending 
school  until  completing  his  first  year  in 
high  school.  During  his  school  years  in 
Chicopee,  he  was  employed  as  an  assistant 
in  a  drug  store,  outside  of  schools  hours. 
After  completing  his  studies,  he  was  em- 
ployed for  a  time  by  the  Chicopee  Manufac- 
turing Company,  then  went  to  Springfield 
where  for  two  years  he  was  a  proof  reader 
on  the  Springfield  "Union ;"  the  following 
year  he  was  night  clerk  in  the  American 
Express  Company's  office  at  Springfield, 
and  at  the  expiration  of  this  time  he  located 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  which  city  has 
since  been  his  home.  His'  first  position  in 
Holyoke  was  with  the  Roland  T.  Oaks 
Company,  as  foreman  of  construction  along 
electrical  lines,  and  for  fourteen  years  he 
filled  that  position  to  the  great  satisfaction 
of  his  employers,  also  becoming  thoroughly 
familiar  with  electrical  construction,  equip- 
ment and  operation  of  plants.  From  this 
position  he  was,  in  1902,  appointed  super- 
intendent of  the  Holyoke  Municipal  Light- 
ing Plant,  which  furnishes  both  gas  and 
electricity  for  lighting  purposes,  and  for 
fifteen  years  he  has  most  acceptably  filled 
this  position.  During  that  time  he  has  en- 
tirely reconstructed  the  plant,  sixty  men  be- 
ing now  on  the  pay  roll  under  his  direction, 
Mr.  Darby  is  an  active  member  of  the  Bay 
State  Club  and  Holyoke  Canoe  Club,  in  each 
of  which  he  has  a  large  circle  of  friends. 
He  and  his  wife  are  attendants  of  the  Sec- 
ond Congregational  Church. 


64 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Mr.  Darby  married,  March,  1890,  Mabel 
E.  Morgan,  daughter  of  Thomas  R.  and 
Patty  (Wood)  Morgan.  They  are  the 
parents  of  a  son  and  daughter,  both  born  in 
Holyoke.  i.  Morgan  Arthur,  born  Au- 
gust 31,  1892;  he  is  a  graduate  of  Holyoke 
High  School,  later  attended  Williston 
Academy  of  Easthampton,  and  the  Rensse- 
laer Polytechnic  Institute  of  Troy,  New 
York,  after  which  he  entered  the  employ  of 
the  city  of  Holyoke  in  the  electrical  de- 
partment ;  he  married  Josephine  Fowler, 
of  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  two  daughters,  Nina  and  Ma- 
bel. 2.  Beulah  Mabel,  born  November  30, 
1894;  she  is  a  graduate  of  the  Holyoke 
High  School  and  Miss  Fairchild's  Kinder- 
garten Training  School,  and  is  now  (1917) 
a  teacher  in  the  Highlands  Grammar  School 
of  Holyoke. 


GLESMANN,  August  Frank, 

Druggist. 

It  is  now  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century 
since  Mr.  Glesmann  opened  a  drug  store  in 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  at  the  corner  of 
High  and  Dwight  streets,  but  since  1899 
his  place  of  business  has  been  at  the  corner 
of  High  and  Appleton  streets.  The  Gles- 
mann family  was  long  seated  in  Posen,  an 
agricultural  province  of  Prussia.  August 
F.  Glesmann  is  a  grandson  of  Frank  Gles- 
mann, who  died  in  Germany  leaving  sons, 
Frank  and  August,  the  latter  the  father  of 
August  Frank  Glesmann,  of  Holyoke. 

August  Glesmann  was  born  in  Posen, 
Prussia,  in  1833,  and  died  in  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, January  22,  191 5.  The  soil  of 
Posen  yields  bountiful  crops  of  cereals  and 
on  one  of  these  fertile  estates  he  was  em- 
ployed as  a  caretaker  until  coming  to  the 
United  States  in  1871.  On  first  coming  to 
this  country,  he  spent  two  years  in  Boston, 
Alassachusetts,  then  in  1873  he  permanently 
MASS.— 7—5- 


located  in  Holyoke,  obtaining  a  position 
with  the  Germania  Mills  in  charge  of  the 
indigo  vats  in  the  dye  house.  He  held  that 
position  for  more  than  twenty  years,  spend- 
ing the  last  decade  of  his  life  in  honorable 
retirement.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Reformed,  now  the  Lutheran,  church, 
and  was  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of  Pyth- 
ias. He  married  Wilhelmina  Frey,  born  in 
Posen  in  1835,  died  in  Holyoke,  December 
17,  1914.  They  were  the  parents  of  four 
children  born  in  Germany :  Amelia,  Anna, 
August  Frank,  of  further  mention,  and 
Frederick  R.,  deceased,  and  of  two  sons 
born  in  the  United  States :  John  C,  in  Bos- 
ton, Robert  Andrew,  in  Holyoke. 

August  Frank  Glesmann  was  born  in 
Argenau,  Posen,  Prussia,  December  19, 
1867,  and  in  1871  was  brought  to  the  United 
States  by  his  parents.  After  the  family  set- 
tlement in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  he  at- 
tended the  public  schools  until  sixteen  years 
of  age,  working  during  vacation  periods  in 
the  Skinner  Silk  Mill,  the  Beebe  &  Webber 
Mill  and  in  the  Germania  Mill.  At  the  age 
of  sixteen  he  entered  the  employ  of  B.  F. 
Arthur,  druggist,  remaining  with  him  nine 
years  and  becoming  an  efficient  clerk,  capa- 
ble of  performing  every  required  service. 
He  then  spent  two  years  as  manager  of  the 
Eddy  Pharmacy  at  Lenox,  Massachusetts, 
and  in  December,  1894,  he  opened  his  drug 
store  in  Holyoke  where,  with  the  one  change 
of  location  previously  noted,  he  has  con- 
ducted a  successful  drug  business  until  the 
present  time.  He  is  a  member  of  Mt.  Tom 
Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Mt. 
Holyoke  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons; 
Holyoke  Council,  Royal  and  Select  Masters ; 
Springfield  Commandery,  Knights  Templar ; 
Melha  Temple,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine; 
and  Holyoke  Lodge,  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks.  His  clubs  are  the 
Holyoke,  Holyoke  Country  and  the  Mt. 
Tom  Golf. 


65 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


GLESMANN,  Robert  Andrew, 

Druggist. 

Since  1903  Mr.  Glesmann  has  been  pro- 
prietor of  a  constantly  growing  drug  busi- 
ness in  South  Hadley  Centre,  Massachu- 
setts, his  previous  experience  in  this  hne 
having  been  with  his  elder  brother,  August 
Frank  Glesmann,  a  druggist  of  Holyoke, 
whose  sketch  precedes  this. 

Robert  Andrew  Glesmann  was  born  in 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  February  ii,  1876, 
son  of  August  and  Wilhelmina  (Frey) 
Glesmann.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered 
the  office  of  the  Whiting  Paper  Company, 
there  continuing  until  1896,  when  he  re- 
signed to  enter  the  employ  of  his  brother, 
August  F.  Glesmann,  the  druggist.  He  con- 
tinued with  him  for  seven  years,  learning 
the  drug  business  in  all  its  details,  and  in 
1903  opened  a  store  in  South  Hadley  Cen- 
tre where  he  is  well  established.  He  is  a 
member  of  Mt.  Holyoke  Lodge,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  and  the  George  E.  Fish- 
er Chapter,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star ; 
lona  Lodge,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows :  Mt.  Halliake  Lodge,  Daughters 
of  Rebekah ;  the  Holyoke  Club  and  of  the 
prudential  committee  of  the  South  Hadley 
Fire  District. 

Mr.  Glesmann  married,  August  19,  1902, 
Louise  G.  Wassing,  daughter  of  William 
and  Margaret  (Hayes)  Wassing.  William 
Wassing,  born  in  Germany,  came  to  the 
United  States  with  his  parents  when  a  lad, 
served  four  years  as  a  soldier  of  the  Union, 
1861-65,  and  is  now  (1917)  living  retired  in 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  aged  eighty-one. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Glesmann  are  the  parents  of 
two  sons:  Robert  Andrew  (2),  born  Octo- 
ber 6,  1907,  and  Edward  August,  August 
9,  1910. 


KENNEY,  Edward  James, 

Insurance    and   Real   Ustate   Broker. 

Edward  James  Kenney,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing insurance  and  real  estate  brokers  of  the 
city  of  Holyoke,  prominent  in  public  af- 
fairs, is  a  type  of  the  self-made  men  that 
have  made  that  city  progressive,  prosperous 
and  a  center  of  great  industries,  trade  and 
commerce.  Without  the  aid  of  capital  or 
inheritance,  and  having  only  the  ordinary 
education  and  advantages  of  the  American 
youth,  he  has  established  a  business  of  large 
proportions  and  won  a  high  place  in  the  es- 
teem and  confidence  of  the  community.  His 
success  is  a  tribute  to  his  enterprise,  energy, 
integrity  and  perseverance,  and  an  example 
of  the  possibilities  of  a  similar  career  for 
the  younger  men  starting  in  life  without 
other  resources  than  their  own  health,  at- 
tainments and  character. 

James  Kenney,  father  of  Edward 
James  Kenney,  was  born  in  County  Kerry, 
Ireland,  in  181 7.  In  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  when  famine  drove  so  many 
thousands  from  Ireland  to  North  America, 
he  followed  the  current  of  emigration  to 
St.  John,  New  Brunswick,  where  he  lived 
for  two  years.  Believing  that  the  opportu- 
nities for  himself  were  greater  in  the  United 
States  he  came  to  Boston,  and  later  to  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  in  1847,  ^"<i  found 
employment  at  his  trade.  He  was  a  skill- 
ful mason,  and  during  the  years  that  fol- 
lowed he  worked  with  his  trowel  on  many 
of  the  buildings  erected  in  Holyoke.  He 
was  a  man  of  strong,  sturdy  character,  up- 
right and  capable,  and  he  won  a  place  of  re- 
spect, esteem  and  honor  in  the  community 
through  a  long,  active  and  arduous  life.  He 
died  in  Holyoke,  in  1907,  over  ninety  years 
of  age.  He  was  a  useful  citizen,  a  faithful 
communicant  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  and  in  politics  was  always  a  staunch 
Democrat  of  the  old  school.  He  married, 
in  Holyoke,  Catherine  Carmody,  who  was 


66 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


also  a  native  of  County  Kerry,  Ireland.  One 
son  grew  to  manhood,  Edward  James,  of 
further  mention. 

Edward  James  Kenney  was  born  in  Hol- 
yoke,  Massachusetts,  January  19,  1867,  and 
has  lived  there  all  his  life,  receiving  his  ed- 
ucation in  the  public  schools  and  learning 
his  trade  there.  He  served  an  apprenticeship 
at  the  trade  of  brick  mason,  and  worked  as 
a  journeyman  and  contracting  mason  when 
a  young  man.  But  seeing  the  opportunity 
for  making  money  in  real  estate,  he  invested 
his  savings  wisely.  His  thrift  in  sav- 
ing and  his  economy  in  early  life  were 
well  rewarded,  for  his  investments  rose  rap- 
idly in  value  and  his  field  of  operations 
grew  larger  year  by  year.  His  knowledge 
of  building  and  land  values  was  gained  by 
practical  experience  in  the  building  trades, 
and  he  found  at  length  that  it  was  in  real  es- 
tate that  his  largest  interests  were  involved. 
He  opened  an  office  as  a  real  estate  agent  and 
broker  and  added  the  insurance  business  to 
his  activities.  Both  departments  of  his  of- 
fice have  grown  steadily,  and  Mr.  Kenney 
is  recognized  throughout  this  section  of  the 
State  as  an  authority  on  insurance  and  real 
estate  matters.  His  services  are  often  re- 
quired as  an  expert  in  making  valuations 
and  adjusting  differences  involving  real  es- 
tate transactions.  His  work  in  developing 
and  promoting  real  estate  in  the  city  of  Hol- 
yoke  has  been  important,  and  has  materially 
aided  in  the  growth  of  the  city.  The  right 
men  in  charge  have  it  in  their  power  to  stim- 
ulate this  growth,  to  attract  new  enterprises 
and  industries  to  locate,  and  induce  old  con- 
cerns to  enlarge  and  develop  business.  By 
his  own  example  in  investing  and  develop- 
ing, Mr.  Kenney  has  had  both  a  direct  and 
an  indirect  influence  upon  others,  and  in  the 
forward  movement  he  has  kept  well  to  the 
front.  His  love  and  confidence  in  his  na- 
tive city  have  been  constantly  in  evidence, 
and  to  every  project  for  improvement  and 
public  benefit  he  has  lent  his  aid.    Always 


feeling  a  keen  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
city,  he  has  given  to  the  municipality  his 
services  freely,  and  by  faithful,  unremit- 
ting, unselfish  and  non-partisan  work  in  the 
City  Council  he  has  contributed  as  few  oth- 
ers have  done  to  the  improvement  of  the 
city  government.  He  believes  in  modern 
methods  of  administration  in  city  affairs, 
and  has  always  exerted  his  influence  for 
progress  as  well  as  economy  in  spending  the 
public  funds  and  conducting  the  ordinary 
business  of  the  city.  In  1905  he  served 
with  distinction  in  the  General  Court  of 
the  State,  representing  his  district  with  in- 
telligence and  fidelity  and  showing  unusual 
aptitude  for  the  duties  of  legislation.  He 
served  on  the  committee  on  prisons  and 
became  greatly  interested  in  the  work  of 
prison  reforms  and  in  the  administration  of 
the  penal  institutions  of  the  State.  He  is 
an  Independent  in  politics,  active  and  influ- 
ential in  the  councils  of  his  party,  and  has 
often  served  as  delegate  to  nominating  con- 
ventions. Personally  Mr.  Kenney  is  popu- 
lar, making  friends  readily  and  never  losing 
them,  and  his  personality  has  been  no  incon- 
siderable factor  in  his  business  success.  He 
inspires  confidence  and  proves  trustworthy 
in  all  his  dealings.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Holyoke  Club  and  the  Park  Club. 

Edward  James  Kenney  married,  in  Hol- 
yoke, 1896,  Claudia  Dionne,  who  was  born 
in  Frazerville,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Dionne,  a 
descendant  of  the  French  who  were  pi- 
oneers in  Quebec.  They  have  one  child, 
James,  born  in  Holyoke,  December  5,  1904. 


67 


CREVIER,  Rev.  Charles, 

Priest. 

Rev.  Charles  Crevier,  the  beloved  and 
faithful  priest  of  the  parish  of  the  Church 
of  the  Precious  Blood,  located  on  Cabot, 
Park  and  South  East  streets,  Holyoke,  who 
recently  celebrated  the  fiftieth  anniversary 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  his  ordination  into  the  priesthood  at  this 
church,  at  which  there  were  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  priests  present,  is  a 
native  of  Montreal,  Canada,  born  IMay  19, 
1839,  hence  is  in  his  seventy-ninth  year. 
He  is  descendant  of  a  French  ancestry,  his 
great-grandfather,  a  native  of  France,  be- 
ing the  first  of  the  family  to  locate  in  Cana- 
da. His  grandfather,  Simon  Crevier,  was 
a  native  of  Canada,  a  farmer  by  occupation, 
and  his  death  occurred  in  his  native  land 
in  1846,  aged  eighty  years.  His  father, 
Louis  Crevier,  was  born  in  St.  Eustache, 
Canada,  and  died  in  ^Montreal,  at  eighty- 
three  years,  seven  months  of  age.  He  was  a 
man  of  powerful  physique,  a  natural  me- 
chanic, and  a  carpenter  and  boat  builder  by 
trade.  He  married  Euphroisine  Garcon, 
and  among  their  children  was  Charles,  of 
this  review. 

Rev.  Charles  Crevier  was  educated  in  the 
Jesuit  College,  and  was  ordained  a  priest  by 
Bishop  Bourget,  of  Montreal,  Canada,  July 
21, 1867,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years.  His 
first  appointment  was  as  curate  at  Chateau- 
gay,  Province  of  Quebec,  where  he  served 
for  ten  months.  The  following  two  years 
he  was  chaplain  of  the  Brothers  of  Charity 
of  ^lontreal,  in  which  capacity  he  rendered 
useful  and  efficient  service.  He  made  his 
first  visit  to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  No- 
vember 20,  1870,  when  he  spent  a  month  as 
the  guest  of  the  late  Rev.  A.  B.  Dufresne, 
who  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  Church  of 
the  Precious  Blood.  On  November  28,  1870, 
Rev.  Charles  Crevier  entered  the  Spring- 
field diocese  and  on  January  4,  1871,  was 
assigned  to  the  pastorate  of  the  French 
church  at  North  Adams,  Massachusetts,  as 
a  missionary  and  pastor  of  the  first  church 
there.  His  ability  for  organization  and  his 
spirit  of  leadership  was  noticeable,  and  dur- 
ing his  stay  in  that  town  he  organized  par- 
ishes, Williamstown  and  Adams,  also  mis- 
sions in  Pownal,  North  Pownal,  Readsboro, 
Vermont,   South   Williamstown   and   Han- 


cock sprang  up  under  his  careful  manage- 
ment. He  was  then  appointed  to  the  pas- 
torate of  Indian  Orchard,  where  he  re- 
mained four  years,  and  from  there  he  was 
transferred  to  his  present  pastorate  in  Hol- 
yoke, September  7,  1890,  which  parish  he 
has  served  faithfully  and  well  for  over 
twenty-seven  years,  his  twenty-fifth  anni- 
versary as  rector  being  celebrated  in  a  fit- 
ting manner. 

The  Parish  of  the  Church  of  the  Precious 
Blood,  a  French-speaking  congregation,  is 
the  oldest  congregation  of  French  Cana- 
dians in  Holyoke  or  in  the  Springfield  dio- 
cese. Prior  to  1858  there  were  not  many 
Canadian  families  in  Holyoke,  but  in  the 
year  i860  quite  a  number  of  Canadians  set- 
tled there,  among  whom  was  John  St.  Onge, 
who  afterwards  became  a  missionary  to  the 
Indians  in  the  West.  In  1869  the  Canadians 
of  Holyoke  were  numerous  enough  to  re- 
quire the  service  of  a  priest  of  their  own 
nationality,  hence  the  parish  of  the  Precious 
Blood  was  formed.  Its  first  pastor  was  the 
Rev.  A.  B.  Dufresne,  the  congregation  at 
that  time  consisting  of  about  five  hundred 
people.  A  frame  edifice  was  built  that  year 
on  Cabot  street,  and  on  a  Corpus  Christi 
evening  in  May,  1874,  during  vesper  ser- 
vices, a  lighted  candle  set  fire  to  the  altaJ 
decorations,  and  almost  immediately  the  en- 
tire interior  of  the  church  was  in  flames, 
and  seventy-two  people  lost  their  lives. 
Later  the  present  church  of  brick  and  stone, 
of  the  Gothic  style  of  architecture,  was 
erected,  being  dedicated  June  3,  1878.  This 
church  is  in  the  midst  of  a  large  tenement 
district,  near  some  industral  establishments. 
The  number  of  people  belonging  to  the  par- 
ish is  six  thousand  and  seventy-six,  and 
there  are  over  a  thousand  boys  and  girls  at- 
tending school,  in  charge  of  twenty-five  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Anne.  The  present  school  build- 
ing was  opened  on  September  18,  1894. 
Father  Crevier  also  was  the  active  factor  in 
the  building  of  the  rectory,  one  of  the  finest 


68 


f-9f-9h.^- 


''-y-xX'^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  diocese.  The  following  curates  assist 
Father  Crevier  in  his  work :  Rev.  J.  Hor- 
ace Gelineau,  Rev.  Hormisdas  Remy  and 
the  Rev.  W.  J.  Chojuctte.  On  May  14, 
1867,  Father  Dufresne,  the  first  pastor  of 
the  church,  who  built  the  convent,  died ;  he 
was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  H.  O.  Landry, 
who  was  instrumental  in  building  the  con- 
vent. He  died  in  1890,  and  in  that  year 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Charles  Crevier. 

Among  the  larger  works  for  which  the 
Rev.  Father  Crevier  has  received  much 
praise  was  the  establishment  in  the  diocese 
of  the  Assumption  College.  His  efforts  in 
bringing  the  fathers  of  the  French  Cana- 
dian College  here  being  incidental  to  the  lo- 
cating of  the  College  at  Worcester,  Massa- 
chusetts. His  vigorous  participation  in 
movements  for  the  advancement  of  the 
French-American  citizens  of  Holyoke  and 
the  interest  he  has  taken  in  civic  move- 
ments, aflfecting  not  only  his  parish,  but  the 
city-at-large,  has  won  for  him  great  com- 
mendation. In  addition  to  his  large  pastor- 
ate, which  he  faithfully  manages,  there  be- 
ing many  improvements  in  the  church,  rec- 
tory, convent  and  schools  during  his  incum- 
bency as  rector,  the  Rev.  Father  Crevier 
derives  considerable  pleasure  from  his  farm, 
which  he  personally  supervises.  At  the 
present  time  (1917),  despite  his  advanced 
age,  he  is  a  well  preserved  man,  sturdy  of 
body  and  keen  of  mind. 


WAGNER,  Frederick  William, 

Well  Knovrn  Resident  of  Holyoke. 

From  a  very  small  beginning  the  G.  Haar- 
mann  Company,  Incorporated,  of  Holyoke, 
has  grown  to  be  a  corporation  of  import- 
ance in  the  business  world  and  their  plant 
for  the  manufacture  of  structural  steel  a 
veritable  hive  of  industry.  Frederick  W. 
Wagner,  director,  vice-president  and  super- 
intendent, has  been  the  managing  head  of 
the  business  for  several  years  and  the  suc- 


cess of  the  company  is  an  indication  of  his 
managerial  ability.  He  is  a  son  of  Herman 
Wagner,  born  in  Zeitz,  Saxony,  Germany, 
in  1830,  died  in  Passaic,  New  Jersey,  Au- 
gust II,  1896. 

Herman  Wagner  was  proprietor  of  a 
brick  yard  when  the  Franco-Prussian  War 
of  1870  was  raging,  but  the  effects  of  that 
war  were  disastrous  to  his  business,  and 
also  cost  him  the  life  of  his  brother  who 
was  killed  in  battle.  In  1882  Herman  Wag- 
ner came  to  the  United  States,  locating  in 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  where  for  a  time 
he  was  employed  in  the  paper  mills.  Later 
he  moved  to  Passaic,  New  Jersey,  where 
until  his  death  he  was  an  employee  of  the 
cotton  and  woolen  mills.  He  married  Pau- 
line Harich,  born  in  Zeitz,  Saxony,  in  1830, 
died  in  Passaic,  New  Jersey,  in  1896.  They 
were  the  parents  of  four  children:  Robert; 
Frederick  W.,  of  further  mention;  Anna, 
married  Clemens  Mengel ;  Bertha,  married 
Herman  Lubold. 

Frederick  W.  Wagner  was  born  in  Gera, 
Germany,  April  19,  1865.  He  was  educated 
in  the  schools  of  Leipsic,  which  he  attended 
until  1883.  He  was  employed  in  a  piano 
factory  up  to  his  coming  to  the  United 
States  in  1882,  following  his  parents  six 
months  after  they  came  here.  He  joined 
the  family  in  Holyoke,  and  his  residence 
in  that  city  has  been  continuous  since  that 
time.  For  fifteen  years  after  his  arrival  he 
was  employed  in  the  Excelsior  Paper  Mills, 
then  for  seven  years  w^as  engaged  in  the 
painting  business.  In  1898  he  became  as- 
sociated with  Gustav  Haarmann  in  the  G. 
Haarmann  Company,  Incorporated,  a  cor- 
poration devoted  to  the  manufacture  of 
structural  steel.  See  sketch  of  G.  Haarmann 
elsewhere  in  this  work.  Mr.  Wagner  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  di- 
rectors, and  by  them  chosen  vice-president 
and  appointed  superintendent  of  the  com- 
pany. Since  accepting  that  trust  he  has  de- 
voted himself   entirely   to  the   interests   ot 


69 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  company,  and  has  seen  it  grow  most  sat- 
isfactorily under  his  management.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks  and  of  other  organizations, 
fraternal  and  social. 

Mr.  Wagner  married,  July  25,  1886, 
Anna  Frenzel,  of  Forste  Sicilia,  Germany, 
daughter  of  Emanuel  Frenzel.  They  are 
the  parents  of  two  children:  i.  Lena,  born 
March  18,  1887;  married  Adolph  MuUer, 
of  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  they  the 
parents  of  Dorothy  and  Winfred  MuUer. 
2.  Paul,  born  April  15,  1889,  a  structural 
steel  worker,  employed  with  his  father ; 
married,  in  191 3,  Sarah  Palmer,  of  South 
Brewer,  Maine. 


MAUER,  William  August, 

Representative  Citizen. 

Mannheim,  Germany,  the  ancestral  home 
of  the  Mauers,  was  at  the  time  of  the 
birth  of  William  A.  Mauer,  in  1857,  a  city 
of  35,000  population,  but  now  numbers 
200,000.  The  Mauers  spring  from  one 
of  the  best  families  of  Mannheim,  and 
many  of  the  name  have  held  distinguished 
positions.  William  A.  Mauer  was  the  first 
of  his  direct  line  to  come  to  the  United 
States,  he  landing  in  New  York,  in  April, 
1881,  coming  directly  to  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  has  since  been  continu- 
ously connected  with  the  Germania  Mills, 
beginning  as  clerk,  now  is  manager,  assist- 
ant treasurer  and  director.  He  is  a  son 
of  Johann  Peter  Mauer,  and  a  grandson 
of  Johann  Peter  Mauer,  born  in  Mannheim, 
Duchy  of  Baden,  Germany,  a  grain  and  pro- 
duce merchant,  who  died  in  his  native 
Mannheim  in  the  prime  of  his  life.  He 
married  Eva  Schmidt,  of  Mannheim,  and 
their  children  were:  Casper,  Johann  Pe- 
ter (2),  Maria,  Julia,  George,  Babette  and 
Caroline,  all  deceased. 

Johann  Peter  (2)  Mauer  was  born  in 
Mannheim,    Germany,    in    1820,    and    died 


there  in  1877.  He,  like  his  father,  was  a 
grain  and  produce  merchant.  He  was  a  sol- 
dier. He  married  Caroline  Josephine 
Boehm,  born  in  1826,  died  in  1900,  daugh- 
ter of  Franz  and  Josephine  (Brug)  Boehm, 
of  Lachen,  Rhenish  Bavaria.  They  were 
the  parents  of  three  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters: Franz,  deceased;  William  August, 
of  further  mention;  George,  deceased; 
Babette ;    Anna,  married  Max  Krazer. 

William  August  Mauer  was  born  in 
Mannheim,  Germany,  December  28,  1857, 
and  there  and  in  Offenburg  High  School 
was  educated.  Under  the  iron  clad  Ger- 
man rule  of  compulsory  military  service, 
he  was  drawn  at  the  age  of  twenty  and 
spent  two  years  in  continuous  service.  For 
four  years  after  coming  to  this  country  he 
was  employed  in  the  paper  mills,  beginning 
in  lowly  office  position  and  constantly  ad- 
vancing until  reaching  his  present  position 
of  trust  and  authority,  manager,  assistant 
treasurer  and  director.  Mr.  Mauer  mar- 
ried, December  11,  1889,  Martha  Slaight 
Clarke,  born  May  23,  1866,  daughter  of 
John  Stobbs  and  Emily  Butler  (Slaight) 
Clarke,  of  Staten  Island,  New  York.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Mauer  are  the  parents  of:  Dor- 
othy Alice  Kessler,  and  George  Mauer, 
born  September  22,  1892,  educated  in  Hol- 
yoke High  School,  Virginia  Military  Insti- 
tute, Stanton,  Virginia,  and  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  now  assistant  to  his  father  in 
the  Germania  Mills. 

Martha  Slaight  (Clarke)  Mauer,  wife  of 
William  A.  Mauer,  is  a  great-granddaugh- 
ter of  William  Clarke,  a  farmer  of  Scot- 
land, a  connection  of  the  McPherson  and 
Rutherford  clans.  William  Clarke,  mar- 
ried Margaret  Thompson,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  Rutherford  Clarke,  born  in  Jed- 
burg,  Scotland,  in  1808,  came  to  the  United 
States  about  1830,  after  the  death  of  his 
parents,  and  died  at  his  home  on  Staten 
Island,  New  York,  June  2,  1898,  a  farmer, 
later  an  undertaker.     He  married,  in  No- 


70 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


vember,  1828,  Isabella  Stobbs,  born  in  Kel- 
so, near  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  daughter  of 
William  and  Margaret  (Archer)  Stobbs. 
They  were  the  parents  of  Elizabeth,  born  in 
Scotland  ;  Margaret,  William,  Jane,  all  born 
at  Three  Rivers,  Canada;  Rutherford  (2), 
born  in  New  York,  December  27,  1837; 
John  Stobbs,  of  further  mention ;  Isabelle 
Thompson,  born  January  19,  1842. 

John  Stobbs  Clarke  was  born  at  Sailors 
Snug  Harbor,  a  beautiful  village  on  Staten 
Island,  New  York,  April  11,  1840,  died  May 
8,  1 91 7.  He  was  for  many  years  an  active 
business  man,  manager  of  a  dyeing  and  a 
printing  business  in  New  York,  manager  of 
a  cotton  mill  in  Kentucky,  and  of  a  similar 
mill  in  Chester,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  lo- 
cated in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and 
wherever  located  found  a  good  position 
awaiting  him.  He  married  Emily  Butler 
Slaight,  born  January  16,  1837,  at  Port 
Richmond,  Staten  Island,  died  in  1909, 
daughter  of  Cortland  Parker  Butler  Slaight, 
of  Perth  Amboy,  New  Jersey,  and  his  wife 
Martha  Biddle  (Johnson)  Slaight,  daughter 
of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Haughmont)  John- 
son. The  Slaights  are  of  ancient  Dutch 
family,  early  settlers  on  Staten  Island.  John 
Stobbs  and  Emily  Butler  (Slaight)  Clarke 
were  the  parents  of  four  sons  and  four 
daughters :  Isabelle  Leighton  Clarke,  born 
July  II,  1864;  Martha  Slaight  Clarke,  mar- 
ried William  A.  Mauer ;  William  Walton 
Clarke,  born  August  31,  1867;  Cortland 
Parker  Clarke,  born  December  30,  1869; 
John  Stobbs  (2)  Clarke,  born  November 
15,  1871  ;  Rutherford  Clarke,  born  De- 
cember 29,  1874;  Emily  Butler  Clarke,  born 
October  19,  1876;  Ann  Hermania  Clarke, 
born  October  20,   1879. 


GLEASON,  Patrick  Charles, 

Business  Man. 

Patrick  Charles  Gleason,  the  well  known 
proprietor  of  the  Gleason  Wet  Wash  Laun- 


dry in  Holyoke,  comes  from  Irish  stock. 
His  father,  Patrick  Gleason,  was  born  in 
Ireland,  in  1820,  and  in  1841,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  came  to  the  United 
States,  settled  in  Burlington,  Vermont, 
where  he  purchased  a  farm  and  devoted  his 
after  life  to  its  cultivation  and  manage- 
ment. He  married  Bridget  Kennedy,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  eleven  children,  all 
born  at  the  homestead  farm,  two  of  whom 
died  in  infancy,  and  the  other  children  were 
as  follows:  John,  deceased;  Michael; 
Katherine ;  Honora,  deceased;  Mary,  de- 
ceased ;  Thomas,  deceased ;  Patrick 
Charles,  of  further  mention ;  Elizabeth,  de- 
ceased ;  W' illiam.  Patrick  Gleason  died  in 
Burlington,  Vermont,  in  1904,  aged  eighty- 
four  years,  and  the  death  of  his  wife  also 
occurred  at  the  Burlington  farm  in  the  same 
year,  1904,  aged  seventy-two  years. 

Patrick  Charles  Gleason,  fourth  son  of 
Patrick  and  Bridget  (Kennedy)  Gleason, 
was  born  on  the  old  homestead  at  Burling- 
ton, Vermont,  June  3,  1856.  He  w^as  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  that  city.  He 
then  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  mould- 
er's trade  at  Winooski  Falls,  Vermont,  mas- 
tering that  trade  and  remaining  there  for 
seven  years.  After  being  employed  at  his 
trade  in  shops  in  Brightwood,  Massachu- 
setts, and  Hartford,  Connecticut,  he  came 
to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  in  1884,  this  be- 
ing the  city  of  his  subsequent  residence. 
The  following  eighteen  months  he  was  in 
the  employ  of  the  Holyoke  Machine  Com- 
pany. He  was  later  employed  at  the  Dean 
Steam  Pump  Works,  now  the  Worthington 
Pump  Works,  for  the  long  period  of  twen- 
ty-one years,  and  his  services  with  this  con- 
cern ended  his  connection  with  mill  and 
foundry  work.  He  decided  to  establish  in 
business  for  himself,  and  after  careful  in- 
vestigation determined  that  there  was  an 
opening  for  a  laundry  such  as  he  proposed 
to  operate.  The  result  finally  was  the 
Gleason  Wet  Wash  Laundry,  of  which  be 


71 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


has  been  the  capable  head  since  1910.  In 
191 1  the  present  buildings  were  erected  by 
Mr.  Gleason,  fitted  up  with  the  best  of  mod- 
ern laundry  machinery,  and  here  a  prosper- 
ous business  is  conducted,  the  proprietor  de- 
voting himself  entirely  to  this  enterprise,  of 
which  he  is  the  financial  head,  and  in  which 
he  is  ably  assisted  by  his  sons,  John  H., 
Frederick  J.,  William  P.  and  Edward  J. 
Gleason,  the  latter  named  being  the  manager 
of  the  laundry. 

Mr.  Gleason  married,  December  24,  1882, 
Margaret  Dolon,  born  at  Lee,  Massachu- 
setts, daughter  of  James  and  Margaret 
(Clougher)  Dolon.  James  Dolon  was  born 
in  Ireland,  about  1831,  and  died  at  Lee, 
Massachusetts,  in  1881.  He  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1844,  settled  in  Lee,  and 
when  war  broke  out  between  the  North  and 
South  he  enlisted  in  the  Twenty-seventh 
Regiment,  Massachusetts  Infantry,  and  gave 
three  years  and  four  months  honorable  ser- 
vice to  the  defense  of  his  adopted  flag.  His 
brother,  Hugh  Dolon,  was  also  a  Union  sol- 
dier and  at  one  time  was  confined  in  Lib- 
by  Prison  at  Richmond,  Virginia.  James 
Dolon  had  two  other  brothers,  Patrick  and 
John,  and  a  sister,  Susan.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
James  Dolon  were  the  parents  of  five  daugh- 
ters: Catherine,  deceased;  Margaret, afore- 
mentioned as  the  wife  of  Mr.  Gleason ; 
Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of  Lawrence 
Cavanaugh ;  Helen,  unmarried,  resides  in 
Holyoke;  Frances,  also  unmarried,  resides 
in  Holyoke.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gleason  are  the 
parents  of  four  sons  and  a  daughter :  John 
Henry,  born  July  13,  1884,  married  Julia 
Fountain ;  Frederick  Joseph,  born  Febru- 
ary 24,  1886;  William  Patrick,  born  Au- 
gust I,  1888,  married,  September  15,  1915, 
Jeannette  Mclntyre,  and  has  a  daughter, 
Gertrude,  born  September  23,  1916,  the 
fourth  generation  in  the  United  States ;  Ed- 
ward James,  born  September  14,  1890; 
Frances  May,  born  August  15,  1898. 


SOLIN,  Jacob, 

Merchant. 

The  success  which  has  attended  the  busi- 
ness life  of  Jacob  Solin,  of  Holyoke,  has 
come  through  the  exercise  of  those  old  prin- 
ciples, energy,  industry,  frugality  and  good 
judgment. 

Jacob  Solin  is  a  grandson  of  Meyer  So- 
lin, and  a  son  of  Abraham  Solin,  born  in 
Augustine,  Russian  Poland,  in  1839,  and 
there  died  in  1909.  He  was  a  miller,  do- 
ing custom  grinding  for  the  neighborhood, 
and  the  flour  made  for  himself  was  con- 
verted into  bread  and  pastry  in  his  own 
ovens,  for  he  was  a  baker  and  conducted 
both  his  lines  of  business  very  successfully 
until  his  death.  His  wife.  Tela  Ida  Solin, 
died  in  1914,  after  the  outbreak  of  the  Eu- 
ropean war  in  August,  the  first  shock  of 
that  cruel  happening  hastening  if  not  caus- 
ing her  death.  Children :  Meyer,  in  Europe ; 
Mina,  deceased;  Mary,  in  Europe;  Mark; 
Jacob,  of  further  mention;  William,  Mich- 
ael, Samuel,  Baley,  in  Europe. 

Jacob  Solin  was  born  in  Augustine,  Rus- 
sian Poland,  in  September,  1873.  He  ob- 
tained his  education  in  the  state  schools  of 
Augustine,  and  until  sixteen  years  of  age 
worked  in  his  father's  mill  and  bakery.  In 
1889  he  came  to  the  United  States,  but  after 
a  few  months  returned  to  his  home  and 
again  became  his  father's  assistant,  contin- 
uing as  such  until  1893.  In  that  year  he 
again  came  to  the  United  States,  located 
in  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts,  and  for 
one  year  was  there  employed  in  a  mill.  He 
was  next  in  Boston  for  a  few  years,  em- 
ployed by  Jacob  Rosen,  a  groceryman.  In 
1897,  he  located  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, there  opening  a  five  and  ten  cent  store 
with  his  brother,  Mark  Solin,  as  partner. 
For  one  year  they  conducted  a  store  at  No. 
385  Main  street,  Jacob  then  withdrawing, 
and  in  1898  he  opened  a  grocery  store  on 
Lyman  street.     That  business  he  has  de- 


72 


^■X      .^f^^Oj 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


veloped  and  continued  until  the  present,  op- 
erating it  most  successfully  and  profitably. 
He  is  a  director  of  the  Realty  Trust  Com- 
pany, and  as  his  profits  have  accrued  from 
his  business  they  have  been  invested  and  re- 
invested in  Holyoke  real  estate,  improved 
and  unimproved,  until  he  is  an  extensive 
owner  of  tenements  and  blocks.  He  is  a 
member  of  Connecticut  Valley  Lodge,  No. 
28,  Knights  of  Pythias ;  is  a  Republican  in 
his  political  belief,  and  a  member  of  Raid- 
phey  Sholem  Jewish  Synagogue,  Holyoke, 
and  also  a  member  of  the  Independent  Or- 
der of  B.'Fnai  Brith,  Holyoke  Lodge,  No. 

745- 

Mr.  Solin  married,  February,  1899,  Fan- 
nie Kronick,  born  in  Russia,  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Sarah  Kronick.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Solin  are  the  parents  of :  Morris,  born  Jan- 
uary II,  1904;  Lena,  December  15,  1905; 
Abner,  November  26,  1908;  Sarah,  1910; 
Nathan,  May  11,  1913;  Leo,  July,  1914; 
Tela  Ida,  September  4,  191 5. 


GRADY,  Frederick, 

Musician. 

Frederick  Grady,  of  Holyoke,  at  the 
present  time  (1917)  the  leader  of  the  Hol- 
yoke City  Band,  is  a  man  young  in  years, 
but  old  in  experience  and  training  along 
■musical  lines. 

James  Grady,  grandfather  of  Frederick 
'Grady,  was  born  in  County  Limerick,  Ire- 
land, and  on  attaining  manhood  emigrated 
to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  was  employed  by 
the  Holyoke  Manufacturing  Company. 
He  married,  in  Ireland,  Bridget  Quirk, 
also  a  native  of  County  Limerick, 
Ireland,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  two 
sons :  Henry,  and  Thomas,  mentioned  be- 
low. James  Grady  was  a  well  known  mu- 
sician, not  only  playing  the  flute  but  many 
"wind  instruments. 

Thomas  Grady,  son  of  James  and  Bridget 


Grady,  was  born  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts. He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  that  city,  and  later  learned  the  trade  of 
moulder,  which  he  followed  throughout  the 
active  years  of  his  life.  He  inherited  a  love 
for  music  from  his  father,  and  is  credited 
with  having  introduced  clog  dancing  into 
this  section.  He  was  a  man  of  very  genial 
disposition,  a  born  entertainer,  and  his  pres- 
ence was  always  heartily  welcomed  at  social 
gatherings.  Mr.  Grady  married  Ellen  Han- 
Ion,  born  in  St.  John,  New  Brunswick, 
daughter  of  John  Hanlon,  a  native  of  Ire- 
land, a  stone  mason  by  trade,  who  emigrat- 
ed to  New  Brunswick,  Canada,  from  whence 
he  removed  to  New  Hampshire,  and  about 
1859  took  up  his  residence  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts.  His  wife's  maiden  name 
was  Cathrine  Hanley.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grady 
were  the  parents  of  the  following  named 
children :  Henry  J.,  an  iron  worker  of  Ho- 
boken.  New  Jersey;  Frederick,  mentioned 
in  the  following  paragraph ;  Esther,  who 
became  the  wife  of  James  Cook,  of  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts ;  and  Florence,  died  in 
infancy.  It  is  sad  to  record  that  while 
still  a  young  man,  Thomas  Grady,  the  fath- 
er of  these  children,  came  to  his  death  by 
drowning,  due  to  the  upsetting  of  a  boat  on 
July  4,  1878,  and  that  his  widow  survived 
him  seven  years,  passing  away  in  1885,  in 
West  Springfield,  Massachusetts. 

Frederick  Grady,  son  of  Thomas  and  El- 
len (Hanlon)  Grady,  was  born  November 
10,  1875,  ""*  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  He 
attended  the  schools  of  West  Springfield, 
Springfield  and  Whitinsville,  also  studying 
under  private  instructors.  After  the  death 
of  his  mother  he  lived  for  a  time  with  an 
uncle  in  Springfield,  and  later  was  received 
into  the  family  of  an  uncle  in  Whitinsville. 
As  a  boy,  Mr.  Grady  developed  a  genius  for 
music,  studying  instrumental  music.  Pos- 
sessing a  musical  nature,  he  early  identified 
himself  with  things  musical,  blowing  the  or- 
gan  in   church,   singing  in  the   choir,   car- 


73 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


rying  the  drum  and  playing  the  cymbals  in 
the  band.  He  finally  decided  to  become  the 
master  of  the  slide  trombone,  and  devoted 
all  of  his  spare  time  to  become  thoroughly 
proficient  on  this  instrument.  While  at 
Whitinsville,  Mr.  Grady  played  in  the  band. 
In  July,  1895,  he  entered  upon  his  first  pro- 
fessional engagement,  becoming  a  member 
of  the  National  Soldiers'  Home  Band  of 
Togus,  Maine,  a  band  which  it  is  said  has 
been  one  of  the  greatest  schools  for  mu- 
sicians in  this  country.  There  were  twenty- 
five  pieces  in  this  band,  which  played  an  en- 
tire change  of  program  each  day  and  re- 
hearsed every  morning.  Mr.  Grady  has 
hundreds  of  these  programs  in  his  posses- 
sion. In  addition  to  these  concerts,  it  was 
customary  to  play  at  the  funerals  of  all  sol- 
diers, of  which  hundreds  occurred  while  Mr. 
Grady  was  associated  with  the  band  at  this 
home.  In  addition  to  these  this  band  played 
a  number  of  other  engagements,  among 
which  might  be  mentioned  the  Great 
Knights  Templar  parade  in  Boston,  and  al- 
so the  reception  given  to  the  Atlantic  or 
White  Squadron  at  the  Cumberland  Club 
at  Portland,  Maine. 

At  the  request  of  the  Cleveland  Wheel 
Band,  Mr.  Grady  next  went  to  Westfield, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  also  opened  a 
store  carrying  bicycles,  picture  frames  and 
art  goods,  and  in  addition  to  his  duties  as 
band  leader  and  instructor  of  the  Westfield 
Band,  he  led  two  other  bands  and  also 
played  in  various  orchestras  in  Springfield. 
After  some  years,  he  sold  out  his  business 
in  order  to  devote  his  time  exclusively  to 
his  profession.  His  fame  at  this  time  and 
his  proficiency  on  the  trombone  had  become 
established,  and  he  was  solicited  by  the 
leaders  of  the  various  bands  to  take  the 
position  of  trombone  soloist,  and  at  diflferent 
times,  for  some  years,  he  occupied  this  po- 
sition with  Liberati's  Band,  Short's  Ameri- 
can Band,  Second  Regiment  Massachusetts 
cester,  Carl  Edouarde's  well  known  band  of 


Fairman's  Boston  Concert  Band,  Gartland's 
Band  of  Albany,  Battery  B  Band  of  Wor- 
cester, Carl  Edouarde's  well  known  band  of 
New  York,  now  playing  at  the  Strand  The- 
atre in  New  York  City,  and  the  Governor's 
Foot  Guard  Band  of  Hartford,  Connecticut. 
While  playing  with  the  latter  named 
band,  they  attended  the  St.  Louis  Fair, 
accompanying  the  Governor  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  State  of  Connecti- 
cut, on  Connecticut  Day,  and  remained 
there  some  days.  Leaving  there  their 
next  engagement  was  at  Chattanooga, 
Tennessee,  where  they  furnished  the  mu- 
sic for  the  dedication  of  a  monument 
erected  to  the  Connecticut  Soldiers  on  Or- 
chard Knob.  He  was  also  a  member  for 
two  seasons  of  the  Auditorium  and  Grand 
Theatre  orchestras  at  Springfield,  a  mem- 
ber for  one  season  at  Morrison's  Theatre, 
Rockaway  Beach,  New  York,  a  member  for 
four  seasons  with  the  Colonial  Orchestra  of 
New  York,  and  played  for  four  summer 
seasons  at  Mountain  Park  Casino,  Holyoke. 
Mr.  Grady  has  also  played  at  a  large  num- 
ber of  special  engagements  with  numerous 
organizations  all  over  the  New  England  and 
the  Eastern  states.  Among  these  may  be 
mentioned  the  official  notification  and  recep- 
tion to  the  late  Vice-President  Sherman  at 
his  home  and  on  the  golf  links  at  Utica,. 
New  York,  and  at  the  exercises  attending, 
the  opening  of  the  Hudson  Tube,  New 
York  City,  at  which  Mr.  McAdoo,  the 
builder  of  these  tubes,  was  the  central  fig- 
ure. Mr.  Grady  was  a  member  of  the  band 
that  played  at  the  summer  home  at  Worth- 
ington,  Massachusetts,  of  the  Rev.  Russell 
Conwell,  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  the 
founder  of  the  Conwell  Academy  at  Worth- 
ington,  and  he  has  also  played  for  Ex-Pres- 
ident Roosevelt. 

In  1906,  Mr.  Grady  was  induced  by  Mr- 
Murray,  manager  of  the  Empire  Theatre,, 
to  locate  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  whicK 
city  has  since  been  his  home.    Here  his  in- 


74 


C^&^^^t-^fc-*'.'-— ^L>0^^^^-^^-e>^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


fluence  has  been  felt  in  musical  circles.  He 
is  the  leader  of  the  Holyoke  City  Band, 
which  ranks  among  the  best  in  Western 
Massachusetts,  if  not  in  the  State,  also  of 
Grady's  Orchestra,  and  was  for  a  time  the 
leader  of  the  Suffolk  Theatre  Orchestra, 
but  now  of  the  Bijou  Theater  Orchestra.  It 
is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  during  all 
these  years  Mr.  Grady  has  improved  every 
opportunity  to  increase  his  knowledge  of 
music  along  all  lines.  In  addition  to  his  oth- 
er duties,  he  is  an  instructor  in  the  art  of 
performing  on  brass  instruments,  a  teacher 
of  harmony,  and  also  a  writer  and  composer 
to  such  an  extent  as  his  limited  time  will  al- 
low. Mr.  Grady  has  taken  an  active  inter- 
est in  musical  organizations,  and  is  a  char- 
ter member  of  the  Westfield  Musical  Union, 
and  also  of  the  New  York  Musicians' 
Union.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Im- 
proved Order  of  Red  Men. 

Mr.  Grady  married,  June  ii,  1895,  Mary 
Curran,  born  in  Whitinsville,  Massachu- 
setts, daughter  of  James  and  Sarah  (Bless- 
ington)  Curran.  They  are  the  parents  of 
two  sons:  i.  Frederick  Blessington,  born 
March  6,  1896,  at  Togus  Springs,  town  of 
Chelsea,  Maine  ;  graduate  of  Holyoke  High 
School,  later  attended  Gushing  Academy, 
and  now  (1917)  in  his  senior  year  at  Tufts 
Dental  College.  2.  Henry  Harold,  born 
September  17,  1899,  i"  Westfield,  Massa- 
chusetts; attended  Holyoke  High  School, 
and  is  now  a  junior  in  the  Rosary  High 
School. 


BOSBACH,  Hermann, 

Business  Man. 

As  proprietor  of  the  Mt.  Tom  French 
Dry  Cleaning  Works  of  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, Mr.  Bosbach  is  known  all  over 
New  England,  his  model  establishment  at- 
tracting trade  from  far  and  near.  He  first 
came  to  Holyoke  in  1895,  but  did  not  long 
remain,  and  it  was  not  until  1906  that  he  be- 


came a  permanent  resident  and  not  until 
1909  that  he  established  his  present  busi- 
ness. He  is  a  son  of  Julius  Bosbach,  born 
in  Huekswagen,  Germany,  in  1839,  and 
there  died  in  1893,  a  finisher  of  woolen 
cloth.  He  married  Rosa  Winkhoff,  who  is 
yet  residing  in  Germany,  daughter  of  Dan- 
iel and  Christina  (Zeib)  Winkhoff.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bosbach  were  the  parents  of  five 
children :  Emma,  married  Nicholas  Koff- 
man,  has  three  children,  Joseph  E.,  Rosa, 
Gertrude,  and  resides  in  Germany ;  Her- 
mann, of  further  mention ;  Emil  Monk,  in 
Austria ;  Ernst,  deceased ;  Ewald,  living 
in  Germany. 

Hermann  Bosbach  was  born  in  Hueks- 
wagen, Germany,  December  27,  1868,  and 
there  was  educated  in  the  state  schools.  He 
learned  his  father's  trade,  cloth  finisher, 
and  worked  in  German  mills  until  1895, 
when  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  set- 
tled in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  He  found 
employment  as  a  finisher  in  the  Germania 
Mills,  continuing  in  their  employ  for  six  and 
a  half  years.  In  1902  he  went  to  the  Co- 
checo  Mill  at  East  Rochester,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  after  a  year  there  made  a  visit 
to  his  home  in  Germany,  and  on  his  return 
to  the  United  States  spent  a  short  time  in 
a  mill  at  Passaic,  New  Jersey.  From  Pas- 
saic he  journeyed  to  the  Pacific,  there  re- 
maining until  the  San  Francisco  earthquake 
and  fire,  working  at  his  trade  in  Santa  Rosa, 
also  San  Jose  and  San  Francisco.  The  dis- 
aster of  April,  1906,  wrecked  the  mill  in 
which  he  was  employed,  and  he  with  many 
many  others  returned  East,  Mr.  Bosbach 
again  locating  in  Holyoke,  May  30,  1906, 
and  securing  employment  with  his  old  em- 
ployers at  the  Germania  Mills,  continuing 
there  until  1909. 

In  1908  he  began  a  small  dry  cleaning 
business  in  connection  with  his  work  at  the 
mill,  and  so  popular  did  his  little  plant 
become  that  in  1909  he  gave  up  his  position 
at  the  mill  to  devote  his  entire  time  to  it. 


75 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


In  1910  he  built  his  first  plant  and  as  the 
Mt.  Tom  French  Dry  Cleaning  Works  made 
a  strong  bid  for  patronage.  The  public 
responded  liberally,  and  in  191 5  he  rebuilt 
and  enlarged  his  plant,  now  occupying  two 
stories  of  a  building  100x25  feet.  The 
works  being  fitted  up  with  every  modern 
improvement  in  the  dry  cleaning  processes, 
is  a  model  of  neatness  and  efficiency, 
attracting  business  from  all  over  the  New 
England  States.  Mr.  Bosbach  is  a  master 
of  his  business  and  has  won  the  confidence 
of  the  public  by  his  admirable  methods  and 
superior  work.  He  has  built  up  a  large 
business  and  uses  two  trucks  to  collect 
goods  all  over  the  section.  He  has  the  only 
French  dry  cleaning  establishment  in  the 
city.  The  specialties  of  the  works  are  Lace, 
Evening  and  Opera  Gowns,  also  all  kinds 
of  Ladies'  and  Gentlemen's  wearing  apparel. 
They  have  the  latest  improved  method  of 
dry  cold  air  storage  for  furs  and  garments ; 
they  insure  against  any  damage  for  the  sea- 
son, three  per  cent,  on  the  value  fixed  by  the 
customer.  Their  work  stands  for  quality. 
Mr.  Bosbach  is  a  member  of  the  National 
Association  of  Dyers  &  Cleaners  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  Massachusetts 
Association  of  Dyers  &  Cleaners,  the  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and 
of  the  Catholic  Order  of  Foresters. 

Mr.  Bosbach  married,  May  11,  1895,  Ber- 
tha Steapgeshofif,  born  in  Leunap,  Germany, 
daughter  of  Albert  and  Julia  (Balore) 
Steapgeshofif.  They  are  the  parents  of  three 
children,  the  first  two  born  in  Holyoke,  the 
youngest  in  Santa  Rosa,  California :  Rosa, 
born  May  13,  1896;  Albert,  January  30, 
1898,  Hermann  (2),  March  7,  1906. 


DESROSIERS,  Napoleon, 

Merchant. 

In  1902  Mr.  Desrosiers  purchased  from 
the  widow  of  his  former  partner,  Frank  Oc- 
to,  her  interest  in  the  business  which  her 


husband  and  Mr.  Desrosiers  had  conducted 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  in  1882,  under 
the  firm  name  Frank  Octo  &  Company,  Six- 
teen years  have  elapsed  since  the  senior 
partner  was  removed  from  the  firm  by  the 
hand  of  death,  but  the  firm  name  has  never 
changed  and  as  Frank  Octo  &  Company, 
Mr.  Desrosiers  continues  the  business  in 
which  he  joined  ]\Ir.  Octo  thirty-five  years 
ago,  and  together  conducted  harmoniously 
and  profitably  for  nineteen  years.  The  store 
is  one  of  Holyoke's  centres  of  trade,  and 
from  its  delivery  department,  house  fur- 
nishings of  every  description  flow  in  con- 
tinuous procession. 

IMr.  Desrosiers  is  a  son  of  Joseph  Desro- 
siers, and  a  grandson  of  Narcisse  Desro- 
siers, who  lived  and  died  in  Canada,  a  far- 
mer, who  had  sons,  Pierre,  John  Baptiste, 
Francis,  Joseph  and  Narcisse.  Joseph  Des- 
rosiers was  born  in  Joliet,  Province  of  Que- 
bec, Canada,  eighteen  miles  from  the  city 
of  Montreal,  and  died  in  1906,  aged  eighty- 
two  years.  He  spent  his  life  engaged  in 
agriculture  and  was  the  owner  of  a  good 
farm.  He  married  La  Rosa  Malo,  also  born 
in  Joliet,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  the 
following  sons  and  daughters :  Joseph,  a 
farmer,  in  Winifred,  Canada ;  Odilon ; 
Napoleon,  of  further  mention ;  Arsene, 
deceased ;  Noe,  deceased ;  Octave,  a  farmer 
of  St.  Paul,  Canada ;  Agnes,  married  Cyr 
Laune,  deceased ;  Celena,  married  Joseph 
Mandeville,  of  Holyoke,  IMassachusetts ; 
Philomen,  residing  in  Holyoke. 

Napoleon  Desrosiers  was  born  in  Joliet, 
Quebec,  Canada,  March  8,  1854,  and  there 
and  at  St.  Paul  obtained  his  education.  Af- 
ter completing  his  studies  he  learned  the 
tinsmith's  trade,  serving  a  three  years'  ap- 
prenticeship in  Montreal,  that  city  being 
eighteen  miles  distant  from  his  home  in  Jo- 
liet. At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  came  to 
the  United  States,  there  found  ready  em- 
ployment at  his  trade,  and  for  seven  years 
he     followed    tinsmithing    in    its    various 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


branches,  carefully  investing  his  savings 
and  awaiting  an  opportunity  to  enter  busi- 
ness life  for  himself.  His  opportunity  came 
in  1882,  when  he  was  offered  a  partnership 
with  Frank  Octo,  who  was  conducting  a 
furniture  store  devoted  to  the  sale  of  house 
furnishing  goods.  They  began  business  to- 
gether the  same  year  at  No.  71  High  street, 
Holyoke,  in  the  Octo  Building,  and  for  nine- 
teen years  the  partners,  trading  as  Frank 
Octo  &  Company,  did  a  profitable  busi- 
ness, dealt  fairly  with  all  and  were  highly 
esteemed  as  honorable,  upright  merchants. 
In  1901  the  firm  was  dissolved  by  the  death 
of  Mr.  Octo,  but  the  business  was  continued 
by  Mr.  Desrosiers,  he  purchasing  Mrs.  Oc- 
to's  equity.  The  business  located  at  No.  71 
High  street  is  still  the  prosperous  firm  of 
old,  and  under  Mr.  Desrosiers  the  same 
careful  attention  is  paid  to  every  customer, 
great  or  small,  integrity  is  the  keynote  of 
the  management,  and  every  department  re- 
flects the  spirit  and  high  purpose  of  the 
owner. 

Mr.  Desrosiers  married,  in  July,  1882, 
Eloide  LaMarche,  of  St.  John,  Quebec, 
Canada,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Julia  (For- 
est) LaMarche.  Mrs.  Desrosiers  died  in 
1895,  leaving  two  daughters:  Eva,  deceas- 
ed ;  and  Rosealba,  residing  with  her  father 
at  the  Holyoke  home. 


VOGEL,  Frank, 

Real    Estate    Operator. 

Frank  Vogel,  a  representative  citizen  of 
Holyoke,  is  numbered  among  those  who  by 
dint  of  perseverance  and  rigid  economy 
have  demonstrated  what  it  is  possible  to  ac- 
complish. He  is  the  seventh  generation  of 
Vogels  of  record  bearing  the  name  of 
"Frank."  His  great-grandfather  and  his 
grandfather  followed  the  occupation  of  nail 
makers  in  Alsace-Lorraine,  and  his  father, 
also  Frank  Vogel,  was  born  and  died  in 
Alsace-Lorraine.     He    was    a   gardener   by 


occupation,  w^as  the  owner  of  vineyards  and 
made  wine  of  excellent  quality.  He  became 
a  soldier  in  Napoleon's  army  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  years  and  served  for  twelve  years, 
participating  in  the  Crimean  war,  wounded 
at  the  battle  of  Sebastapool,  and  was  an  ac- 
tive participant  in  three  other  wars,  receiv- 
ing for  his  bravery  four  medals.  At  the 
time  of  his  honorable  discharge  he  was  serv- 
ing in  the  office  of  sergeant.  He  then  ac- 
cepted a  position  with  the  mounted  police  of 
Paris  and  so  continued  for  two  years,  after 
which  he  returned  to  his  accustomed  duties, 
gardening  and  taking  care  of  his  vineyards. 
He  married  Manama  Kleindinst,  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  six 
children  :  Frank,  Joseph,  Mary,  Francisca, 
Katherine,  and  Anna,  who  became  the  wife 
of  Peter  Grim ;  she  was  killed  by  the  ex- 
plosion of  a  shell  in  Alsace  in  the  year 
1914. 

Frank  Vogel,  of  this  review,  was  born 
in  Alsace-Lorraine,  July  20,  1866.  He  ob- 
tained a  practical  education  by  attending  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  place  until  he 
was  thirteen  years  of  age  and  the  high 
school  the  following  year,  and  became  thor- 
oughly proficient  in  the  French  and  Ger- 
man languages.  He  then  served  an  appren- 
ticeship of  three  years  to  the  trade  of  ma- 
chinist in  Alsace,  and  from  the  expiration 
of  that  time  until  he  attained  his  majority 
worked  as  a  journeyman  in  France  and 
Switzerland.  He  was  then  compelled,  by 
the  order  of  the  Emporer  of  Germany,  to 
serve  that  country  in  the  army  and  navy, 
and  fourteen  months  later,  when  off  duty  on 
a  furlough,  in  December,  1887,  he  escaped 
to  the  United  States  and  thus  ended  his 
term  of  service.  He  took  up  his  residence 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  in  January, 
1888,  and  has  since  resided  there,  gaining 
for  himself  a  reputation  as  a  man  of  indus- 
try, thrift  and  prudence.  His  first  employ- 
ment in  his  adopted  country  was  in  the  Hol- 
yoke Machine  Shop,  where  he  remained  for 


17 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


thirteen  years,  and  then  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  American  Thread  Company, 
where  he  remained  for  nine  years,  discharg- 
ing his  duties  in  both  places  in  a  manner 
satisfactory  to  his  employers.  In  1910  he 
entirely  changed  his  line  of  business,  devot- 
ing his  time  and  attention  to  real  estate 
transactions  and  erected  a  magnificent 
apartment  house  on  Main  street,  Holyoke, 
and  in  addition  to  this  he  is  the  owner 
of  several  tenements  and  cottages,  from 
which  he  derives  a  substantial  income  and 
to  the  care  of  which  he  devotes  his  time. 
He  is  punctual  in  his  attendance  at  the  ser- 
vices of  the  Sacred  Heart  Church,  and 
holds  membership  in  the  Alsace-Lorraine 
Association  and  in  several  German  societies 
including  the  Turn  Verein.  Mr.  Vogel  is 
genial  and  pleasant  in  manner  and  his  uni- 
form courtesy  and  reliability  have  made 
him  popular  among  all  with  whom  he  comes 
in  contact,  whether  in  business  or  social 
life. 

Mr.  Vogel  married  (first)  April  7,  1888, 
Fannie  Mann,  of  Alsace,  daughter  of  John 
Baptiste  and  Mary  (Hoch)  Mann.  Mrs. 
Vogel  died  May  7,  1906.  Mr.  Vogel  mar- 
ried (second)  September  20,  1906,  Oletta 
Vogt,  born  in  Alsace-Loraine,  daughter  of 
Frank  Anthony  and  Anna  Barbara  (Higy) 
Vogt.  Children  of  first  marriage :  Frank 
L.,  born  January  3,  1889,  the  eighth  genera- 
tion in  direct  line  bearing  the  name  Frank; 
Esther,  born  September  6,  1902,  and  Ralph, 
born  May  2,  1906.  Child  of  second  mar- 
riage:     Ruth,  born  March  12,  1912. 


GRIFFIN,  Rev.  John  Francis, 

Priest. 

Among  the  prominent  Roman  Catholic 
parishes  of  Holyoke  is  that  of  Our  Lady  of 
the  Rosary,  of  which  Rev.  John  Francis 
Griffin  is  pastor.  Father  Grififin  is  a  native 
of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  a  grandson 
of  Jeremiah  Griffin,  an  educated  man,  who 


78 


died  in  Ireland  at  an  early  age.  He  mar- 
ried Honora  Moriarity,  who  came  to  Amer- 
ica after  his  death  and  lived  in  Belcher- 
town,  Massachusetts,  where  she  died.  They 
had  children :  John,  Catherine,  Mary  and 
Michael. 

Michael  Griffin  was  born  1836,  in  County 
Kerry,  Ireland,  and  died  August  20,  1917, 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  Owing  to  the 
early  death  of  his  father  he  was  early  com- 
pelled to  earn  his  ow^n  living,  and  his  educa- 
tional opportunities  were  thereby  limited. 
He  attended  school  in  his  native  land  until 
twelve  years  of  age,  after  which  he  was 
employed  on  a  farm,  at  a  wage  of  one  dol- 
lar per  year  and  his  board.  In  1850,  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  years,  he  came  to  Amer- 
ica with  his  mother,  locating  at  Belcher- 
town,  Massachusetts,  where  he  soon  en- 
gaged in  farming,  and  there  reared  a  fam- 
ily of  eight  children,  all  of  whom  secured 
a  high  school  education,  and  three  of  whom 
pursued  college  courses.  In  1902  Mr.  Grif- 
fin took  up  his  residence  in  Holyoke,  and 
since  that  time  has  been  retired  from  active 
live,  a  typical  representative  of  a  class  well 
known  in  his  native  countr^,  high  minded, 
active,  energetic,  Irish  gentlemen.  He  mar- 
ried Margaret  Houlihan.  Her  father,  Pat- 
rick Houlihan,  removed  from  Ireland  to 
New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  in  an  early 
day,  later  settled  in  Chicopee,  where  he 
spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  but 
died  in  Belchertown  in  1888  at  ninety- 
five  years  of  age.  Children  of  Michael 
and  Margaret  Griffin:  i.  Michael  A.,  born 
October  15,  1863,  was  pastor  of  the  church 
of  Our  Lady  of  Hope  at  Springfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, at  the  time  of  his  death,  Febru- 
ary 4,  1910;  it  was  said  of  him:  "The 
dignity  of  his  nature,  the  value  of  his  life, 
and  the  importance  of  the  station  set  for 
him  in  the  ordinance  of  God,  were  ever  the 
motives  of  his  conduct,  the  animating  prin- 
ciple of  his  career  as  a  priest.  His  winning 
sweetness,   his   amiability   of   manner,   and 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the    unfailing    serenity    of    his    character,      an  English  speaking  parish  for  the  Catho- 


showed  that  around  his  soul  was  spread  a 
mantle  of  divine  peace.  He  was  sagacious 
in  counsel,  invaluable  in  friendship,  and  his 
heart  was  a  treasure  house  of  trust  and  con- 
fidence. His  charity  was  patterned  on  that 
of  Christ,  his  love  of  the  poor  was  intense." 
2.  Jeremiah.  3.  John  Francis.  4.  Mary,  a 
sister  of  charity.  5.  Patrick.  6.  James,  de- 
ceased. 7.  Johanna,  wife  of  Dr.  E.  T. 
Sullivan,  of  Holyoke. 

Rev.  John  Francis  Griffin  was  born 
March  27,  1869,  in  Belchertown,  and  in  boy- 
hood attended  the  public  schools  and  high 
school  of  that  town.  He  was  subsequently 
a  student  at  Brimfield  Academy  and  the 
University  at  Ottawa,  Canada.  After  five 
years  of  study  in  St.  John's  Seminary  at 
Brighton,  Massachusetts,  he  took  a  post- 
graduate course  of  two  years  in  the  Cath- 
olic University  in  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  in  Spring- 
held,  Massachusetts,  September  24,  1898. 
After  this  thorough  preparation,  Father 
Griffin  was  eminently  qualified  to  enter  upon 
the  labors  of  the  priesthood,  and  his  efforts 
have  been  successful  and  of  great  benefit 
to  the  church.  Since  1900  he  has  been  con- 
nected wath  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  of 
the  Rosary  in  Holyoke  and  following  the 
death  of  Father  Fitzgerald,  in  191 1,  has 
been  at  the  head  of  the  parish.  Its  great 
affairs  have  been  ably  managed  by  him, 
and  in  his  seventeen  years  of  labor  he  has 
become  greatly  endeared  to  those  people 
who  call  the  Church  of  the  Rosary  their 
spiritual  home.  In  connection  with  the 
church  is  maintained  a  school,  whose  up- 
building has  been  one  of  the  favorite  am- 
bitions of  the  pastor,  and  of  whose  w^ork 
he  may  very  justly  be  proud.  The  parish 
is  in  the  eastern  part  of  Holyoke,  in  Ward 
One,  and  was  formed  by  setting  ofif  a  part 
of  St.  Jerome's  parish  and  a  small  portion 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  parish.  In  March, 
1886,  it  was  deemed  desirable  to  establish 


lies   of   the   locality,   and   Rev.    Michael   J. 
Howard  was   placed   in  charge  by   Bishop 
O'Reilly,  March  26  of  that  year.     The  old 
Second  Baptist  Church  of  Holyoke,  which 
stood  just  south  of  the  present  Water  Pow- 
er Company's  office  at  the  junction  of  Main 
and     Race     streets,     was     first     employed 
as   a   house   of   worship   by   the   new   par- 
ish,   and    the    first    mass    was    celebrated 
there  on  Passion  Sunday,  April   11,   1886. 
In  the  following  year  a  lot  was  purchased, 
bounded  by  Mosher,  West  Ely  and  Centre 
streets,  and  the  erection  of  a  church  begun. 
The  basement  was  ready  for  occupancy  on 
August    26,    1888,    when    the    church    was 
dedicated.     Less  than  a  month  later  the  be- 
loved pastor,  Father  Howard,  passed  away, 
and  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  D. 
Beaven,    formerly   of    Spencer,   Massachu- 
setts.    After  four  years  of  service,  he  was 
appointed   Bishop   of    Springfield   by   Pope 
Leo  XIII.,  and  the  parish  was  placed  under 
a  new  rector.     Father  Howard's  body  was 
laid  to  rest  near  the  entrance  to  the  church 
he  built.    When  the  Rosary  parish  was  first 
organized,    it    included    eighteen    hundred 
souls,  and  now  it  ministers  to  approximately 
three  thousand.   The  church  auditorium  has 
a  seating  capacity  of  one  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty,  and  the  basement  about  the 
same  number.    The  school  serves  more  than 
eight  hundred  pupils,  and  is  in  charge  of 
twenty  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.     Four  masses 
are  celebrated  here  each  Sunday,  and  the 
pastor  is  assisted  by  Rev.  James  A.  Lahey 
and  Rev.  J.   D.   Sullivan  as  curates.     The 
parish  is  one  of  the  most  progressive  in  the 
State,  has  recently  purchased  a  moving  pic- 
ture machine,  and  provides  weekly  enter- 
tainments in  the  school  hall.     The  section 
served  by  this  church  is  almost  wholly  oc- 
cupied by   factories   and  tenement  houses. 
The  value  of  the  church,  which  is  of  brick, 
with  the  land  accompanying,  is  $52,640.  Its 
pastor  is  imbued  with  the  true  spirit  of  his 


79 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


calling,  is  energetic  and  industrious,  ever 
striving  to  benefit  those  in  his  charge,  and 
is  deservedly  popular,  both  in  his  own  con- 
gregation, in  the  church  at  large,  and  as  a 
citizen  of  Holyoke. 


HUNTER,  Roy  John, 

Business  Man. 

Two  generations  of  Hunters  have  con- 
ducted a  harness  and  saddlery  business  in 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  John  T.  Hunter 
the  founder,  who  learned  the  trade  with  his 
father,  Thomas  Hunter,  in  Canada,  and 
Roy  J.  Hunter,  son  of  John  T.  Hunter, 
who  succeeded  his  father  and  is  now  head 
of  the  business  known  as  Roy  J.  Hunter, 
long  known  under  the  firm  name  John  T. 
Hunter  &  Son. 

Thomas  Hunter  was  brought  from  his 
native  Tyrone  county,  Ireland,  by  his  par- 
ents when  a  child  of  three  years.  His 
parents  settled  in  Huntingdon,  Canada,  on 
coming  from  Ireland,  and  there  he  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  and  learned  the 
saddler's  trade.  After  becoming  an  expert 
workman  he  was  employed  for  some  time  in 
Malone  and  Bangor,  New  York,  then  re- 
turned to  Huntingdon,  Canada,  and  estab- 
lished a  harness  making  business  which  he 
successfully  conducted  until  his  death,  Au- 
gust 29,  1899,  at  sixty-five  years  of  age. 
He  was  a  man  highly  respected,  and  for 
many  years  was  prominent  in  St.  John's 
Episcopal  Church  which  he  served  as  war- 
den. He  was  one  of  the  old  time  residents 
of  Huntingdon,  and  when  finally  laid  at  rest 
in  the  churchyard  of  the  church  he  had 
served  so  long  a  large  number  came  to  pay 
their  last  tribute  of  respect.  He  married 
Martha  Fulton,  born  in  Belfast,  Ireland, 
died  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  in  Septem- 
ber, 191 3,  daughter  of  George  and  Mar- 
garet Fulton.  Thomas  and  Martha  Hunter 
were  the  parents  of  nine  sons  and  daugh- 
ters:    Mary,  born  January  3,   1852,  mar- 


ried Clinton  Smith;  John  T.,  of  further 
mention ;  Margaret,  born  June  3,  1856,  mar- 
ried Robert  Fortune ;  Fannie,  born  May 
23,  1858,  married  Daniel  E.  Sparks ;  George, 
born  November  27,  1859;  Thomas,  born 
March  13,  1862;  Charles,  born  March  15, 
1864;  William,  born  July  9,  1866;  Martha, 
born  July  3,  1869.  Martha  (Fulton)  Hunt- 
er married  (second)  Nathan  Spanow,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of :  John,  Jonathan, 
William,  Fannie,  Elizabeth  and  Charles 
Spanow. 

John  T.  Hunter,  son  of  Thomas  and 
Martha  (Fulton)  Hunter,  was  born  at 
Sand  Bank  Hollow,  New  York,  May  25, 
1854,  and  died  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
in  May,  1912.  He  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools,  and  was  taught  the  harness 
maker's  trade  by  his  father  and  was  in  his 
employ  in  Huntingdon,  Canada,  for  several 
years.  Later  he  came  to  the  United  States, 
located  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  and 
there  established  a  saddlery  and  harness 
making  business  which  he  successfully  con- 
ducted until  his  death.  He  married  Delia 
A.  Goddard,  and  they  were  the  parents  of 
four  children :  Charles  E.,  deceased ;  Wil- 
lis C. ;  Lelia  May,  married  William  Mc- 
Donald; and  Roy  John,  of  further  men- 
tion. 

Roy  John  Hunter,  youngest  child  of  John 
T.  and  Delia  A.  (Goddard)  Hunter,  was 
born  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  August  24, 
1885.  He  was  educated  in  the  graded  and 
high  schools  of  the  city,  and  until  1909  was 
employed  in  the  milk  business,  later  in  the 
grocery  trade,  continuing  in  the  latter  line 
four  years.  He  then  became  associated 
with  his  father  and  learned  the  saddlery 
business  under  his  capable  direction.  He 
was  admitted  as  a  partner,  the  firm  name 
then  being  changed  to  John  T.  Hunter  & 
Son.  When  John  T.  Hunter  died  in  191 2, 
the  son  succeeded  to  the  business,  and  the 
firm  name  became  Roy  J.  Hunter,  and  as 
such  he  has  since  conducted  it  alone.    He  is 


80 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


an  energetic,  progressive,  and  one  of  the 
successful  young  business  men  of  his  city. 
A  member  of  William  Whitney  Lodge,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons ;  Holyoke  Lodge, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  the 
Elmwood  Club,  and  in  religious  connection 
affiliates  with  the  First  Baptist  Church.  He 
is  interested  in  work  among  the  young  and 
serves  the  Sunday  school  of  the  church  as 
superintendent. 

Mr.  Hunter  married,  June  i8,  1913,  Ma- 
bel E.  Curtis,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Harriet  (Rick)  Curtis.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hunter  are  the  parents  of  a  daughter,  Dor- 
is Isabelle,  born  April  23,  1914,  and  a  son, 
Kenneth  Roy,  born  March  17,  1916. 


MORTON,  Arthur  Henry, 

Agriculturist. 

Arthur  Henry  Morton,  now  deceased, 
was  for  many  years  one  of  the  well  known 
•and  successful  agriculturists  of  Smith's  Fer- 
ry, carrying  on  the  old  Smith  Farm  of  near- 
ly two  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  located  on 
the  banks  of  the  Connecticut  river,  the  fer- 
ry at  this  point  having  been  operated  by  an 
ancestor  of  Mrs.  Morton,  who  before  her 
marriage  was  Miss  Smith. 

Arthur  Henry  Morton  was  of  Eng- 
lish ancestry,  his  grandfather,  William  Rob- 
inson Morton,  having  been  born  in  England 
in  1799,  where  he  resided  until  1840,  when 
believing  there  were  better  opportunities  in 
the    new    world,    he    came    to    the    United 

States.    He  married  Elizabeth ,  born 

in  1798,  in  England,  and  they  were  the  par- 
ents of  the  following  children,  all  of  whom, 
with  the  exception  of  the  youngest,  were 
born  in  England :  Sarah,  born  June  24, 
1821,  died  September  4,  1882;  William 
Winter,  born  November  19,  1824,  died  in 
1888;  Charles,  born  August  15,  1827,  died 
June  5,  i860;  Frank,  born  December  7, 
1830;  John,  born  November  8,  1832;  Hen- 
ry, of  further  mention ;  Ann,  born  May  4, 
MASS.— >-6.  81 


1838,  died  in  February,  i860;  and  Joseph, 
born  May  11,  1844.  The  father  of  the  fam- 
ily died  September  10,  1846,  in  Wethers- 
field,  Connecticut,  and  the  mother  passed. 
away  September  17,  1872. 

(II)  Henry  Morton,  son  of  William  Rob^ 
inson  and  Elizabeth  Morton,  was  born  June- 
7,  1835,  in  England,  and  was  about  five- 
years  old  when  brought  by  his  parents  tO' 
the  United  States.  He  became  a  landscape 
gardener,  carrying  on  his  business  in  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut.  Mr.  Morton  married, 
November  25,  1863,  Abbie  Daniels,  of  Hart- 
ford, born  in  1842,  and  their  children  were: 
Arthur  Henry,  of  further  mention ;  Joseph 
Hiram,  born  January  6,  1869  ;  and  Howard, 
born  April  21,  1871,  died  August  12,  1872. 
Mrs.  Morton  passed  away  November  20, 
1872,  at  thirty  years  of  age,  her  husband 
surviving  her  but  two  years,  his  death  oc- 
curring June  23,  1874,  at  thirty-nine  years 
of  age. 

(HI)  Arthur  Henry  Morton,  son  of  Hen- 
ry and  Abbie  (Daniels)  Morton,  was  born 
May  26,  1865,  in  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
was  left  an  orphan  at  nine  years  of  age, 
and  was  placed  in  a  home  for  children  in 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  later  was  re- 
ceived into  the  family  of  Mrs.  Mary  Wa- 
ters, of  Smith's  Ferry,  a  part  of  the  town 
of  Northampton,  Massachusetts.  There  he 
received  a  good  education,  attending  pub- 
lic school  and  later  taking  a  business  course 
in  Child's  Business  College,  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts. For  five  years  he  was  em- 
ployed on  the  electric  cars  in  Holyoke,  but 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life  Mr.  Mor- 
ton was  engaged  in  farming.  He  resided 
on  the  homestead  of  his  wife's  family  at 
Smith's  Ferry,  taking  full  charge  of  the 
farm  which  consisted  of  some  thirty-five 
acres  under  tillage  and  about  two  hundred 
acres  of  mountain  land.  This  farm,  Mr. 
Morton  conducted  in  a  highly  creditable 
manner,  and  he  was  regarded  as  one  of  the 
substantial  and  successful  agriculturists  of 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  community  where  he  was  well  and  fa- 
vorably known.  He  was  a  most  kind  and 
affectionate  husband  and  father. 

Mr.  Morton  married,  March  14,  1889, 
Luthera  J.  Smith,  whose  family  record  is 
appended  to  this  biography,  and  they  be- 
came the  parents  of  three  children:  Elsie 
May,  born  June  12,  1892,  married  Robert 
John  Mundell,  a  plumber  of  Brattleboro, 
Vermont;  Edith  Marion,  born  October  17, 
1896;  and  Wilber  Arthur,  born  December 
II,  1900,  died  July  26,  1901.  Mr.  Morton 
passed  away  on  June  7,  1907,  at  the  compa- 
ratively early  age  of  forty-two.  The  be- 
reavement to  his  family  and  those  many 
warmly  attached  friends  who  mourned  his 
loss  was  very  great.  Faithful  to  every  duty 
and  best  loved  by  those  who  knew  him  most 
intimately,  Arthur  Henry  Morton  left  the 
impress  upon  the  community  of  an  example 
which  might  well  be  emulated. 
(The  Smith  Line) 

Mrs.  Luthera  J.  (Smith)  Morton,  men- 
tioned previously  as  the  wife  of  Arthur 
Henry  Morton,  represents  one  of  the  first 
settlers  at  what  is  known  as  Smith's  Ferry. 
Her  great-grandfather,  Lewis  Smith,  was 
the  pioneer  of  the  family  who  settled  there, 
and  it  was  from  him  that  the  place  derived 
its  name.  His  patriotic  motives  were  shown 
by  his  service  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 
The  children  of  Lewis  Smith  were :  Milo  J., 
of  further  mention;  Charles,  Chester, 
Mary,  Aserath,  Eunice,  Henry,  Lewis, 
David. 

(II)  Milo  J.  Smith,  son  of  Lewis  Smith, 
was  born  in  1808,  at  Smith's  Ferry,  then  a 
part  of  Northampton,  Massachusetts.  He 
married  Sally  Street,  and  their  children 
were:  Milo  L.,  of  further  mention;  Sarah 
L.,  and  Josephine  A.  The  death  of  Mr. 
Smith  occurred  in  August,  1884. 

(III)  Milo  L.  Smith,  son  of  Milo  J.  and 
Sally  (Street)  Smith,  was  born  May  2, 
1832,  at  Smith's  Ferry,  in  the  town  of 
Northampton,  Massachusetts,  and  married 


Luthera  Meekins.  Their  children  were: 
Milo  Wilbur,  now  living  in  Chico,  Califor- 
nia ;  Herbert  T.,  deceased ;  one  who  died  in 
infancy;  and  Luthera  J.,  of  further  men- 
tion. 

(IV)  Luthera  J.  Smith,  daughter  of  Milo 
L.  and  Luthera  (Meekins)  Smith,  became 
the  wife  of  Arthur  Henry  Morton,  as  stat- 
ed above. 


WRIGHT,  James  Franklin, 

Respected  Citizen  of  Holyoke. 

There  is  no  class  of  her  citizens  to  whom 
our  country  is  more  deeply  indebted  than 
she  is  to  those  of  Scottish  birth  and  ances- 
try. The  State  of  Massachusetts  is  no  ex- 
ception to  this  rule  and  the  town  of  Hol- 
yoke at  present  possesses,  in  the  man  whose 
name  stands  at  the  head  of  this  article,  a 
representatives  Scottish-American.  James 
Franklin  Wright,  who  holds  the  position  of 
superintendent  for  the  Newton  Paper  Com- 
pany of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  which  po- 
sition he  has  held  for  twenty-seven  years, 
is  one  of  the  well  known  and  highly  respect- 
ed men  of  that  community. 

James  Wright,  father  of  James  Franklin 
Wright,  was  born  in  Scotland,  and  passed 
his  entire  life  in  his  native  country.  He  was 
master  of  an  Orange  Lodge  and  a  member 
of  the  Established  Church.  Mr.  Wright 
married  Ann  Franklin,  who  was  born  in 
Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  their  children  were : 
John ;  Robert,  deceased ;  James  Franklin, 
mentioned  in  next  paragraph ;  William, 
Annie,  Agnes,  and  Andrew.  All  those  now 
living,  with  the  exception  of  James  Frank- 
lin, are  still  in  Scotland.  James  Wright, 
the  father,  died  in  191 3,  at  the  age  of  six- 
ty-seven, and  in  191 5  his  widow  also  passed 
away  in  her  native  land. 

James  Franklin  Wright,  son  of  James 
and  Ann  (Franklin)  Wright,  was  born  Jan- 
uary 20,  1874,  in  Johnson,  Scotland.  He 
received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  his 


82 


'"■^'  '^B,^k' 


frj^ 


.^Jte^trif   .yt.   ^ucioj 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


native  town,  attending  a  half-day  session 
and  the  remainder  of  the  day  working  in  a 
paper  mill.  When  his  school  days  were 
over  he  worked  on  full  time.  In  1889  Mr. 
Wright  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  set- 
tling in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  accepting 
a  position  with  the  Newton  Paper  Company. 
With  this  concern  he  has  ever  since  re- 
mained, gradually  working  his  way  up 
through  successive  positions  of  increasing 
responsibility  to  his  present  position,  which 
for  the  last  six  years  he  has  filled  with  ex- 
ceptional ability,  that  of  superintendent  of 
the  mill.  While  never  neglectful  of  his  du- 
ties as  a  good  citizen,  Mr.  Wright  has  been 
entirely  too  busy  with  the  responsibilities 
of  his  position  to  take  active  part  in  poli- 
tics. He  affiliates  with  William  W'hiting 
Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  be- 
longs to  the  Caledonian  Benefit  Club,  In- 
corporated. In  religious  belief,  he  is  a 
Presbyterian  and  a  trustee  of  the  Presby- 
terian church. 

Mr.  Wright  married  Susan,  daughter  of 
W.  W^  and  Ann  (Robinson)  Halliday,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  the  following  chil- 
dren :  Annie  Elizabeth,  married  Henry  Es- 
cott ;  Ethel  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Robert  Hahn  ; 
James  Howard ;  Amy  Grace ;  and  Vera 
Alice.  Mrs.  Wright,  a  native  of  Connec- 
ticut, is  a  w^oman  of  intelligence,  excelling  in 
the  domestic  virtues,  and  her  husband  is  a 
man  with  whom  the  ties  and  obligations  of 
home  and  family  constitute  always  a  gov- 
erning motive.  James  Franklin  Wright  is  a 
true  Scotsman  and  a  loyal  American. 


DUCLOS,  Henry  Hormide, 

Representative  Citizen. 

Henry  Hormide  Duclos,  a  well  known 
and  highly  esteemed  resident  of  Holyoke,  in 
which  city  he  has  made  his  home  for  many 
years,  contributing  to  the  best  of  his  ability 
toward  its  welfare  and  development,  is  a 
native  of  Beloeil,  Canada,  born  August  8, 


1866,  son  of  Pierre  and  Elmira    (Missin) 
Duclos. 

Pierre  Duclos  was  born  in  the  Province 
of  Quebec,  near  Montreal,  Canada,  in  1854, 
on  the  farm  of  his  maternal  grandfather.  In 
1872,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  realizing 
that  the  opportunities  for  advancementwere 
greater  in  the  United  States  than  in  his  na- 
tive land,  he  came  thither  and  here  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  days.  He  located  in 
Webster,  Massachusetts,  and  after  a  resi- 
dence there  of  eight  or  nine  years  removed 
to  East  Brookfield,  where  he  resided  for 
the  following  two  years.  He  then  changed 
his  place  of  residence  to  Holyoke,  where  he 
was  employed  for  many  years  in  the  mills, 
during  which  time  he  managed  by  dint  of 
thrift  and  frugality  to  accumulate  sufficient 
capital  to  engage  in  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count. He  accordingly  purchased  the  stock 
and  good  will  of  a  store  in  South  Holyoke, 
in  the  management  of  which  he  was  highly 
successful,  and  later  engaged  in  the  same 
line  of  business  in  Elmwood,  in  which  town 
he  erected  a  house  for  the  use  of  himself 
and  family,  his  death  occurring  there,  Au- 
gust 14,  1908,  while  yet  in  the  prime  of 
manhood.  He  married  Elmira  Missin,  of 
Beloeil,  Canada,  and  they  were  the  parents 
of  seven  children :  Angelina,  Joseph,  Phyl- 
lis, Amelia,  Henry  Hormide,  Alexander  and 
Elmira. 

Henry  Hormide  Duclos  accompanied  his 
parents  to  the  United  States,  he  being  then 
but  six  years  of  age,  and  therefore  almost 
his  entire  life  has  been  spent  in  the  State 
of  Massachusetts.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  W^ebster,  Massachusetts,  and  at 
the  early  age  of  ten  years,  when  the  major- 
ity of  boys  are  devoting  their  entire  atten- 
tion to  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  and  pleas- 
ure, he  began  assisting  in  the  support  of  the 
family,  entering  one  of  the  mills  and  there 
learning  the  trade  of  weaving,  at  which  he 
became  highly  proficient.  Subsequently  he 
was  employed  in  mills  at  Grosvenordale  and 


83 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


East  Brookfield,  where  he  performed  his  la- 
bor in  a  capable  and  efficient  manner,  win- 
ning the  approbation  of  his  superiors,  and 
then  became  an  employee  of  the  Alpaca 
Mill  at  Holyoke,  his  service  there  extend- 
ing over  a  period  of  ten  years,  this  fact  elo- 
quently testifying  to  his  fitness  for  the  tasks 
allotted  him  and  to  his  faithfulness  in  the 
discharge  of  them.  The  following  five  years 
he  was  engaged  in  the  grocery  business,  and 
the  following  ten  years  was  employed  in  the 
Skinner  Silk  Mill.  In  191 3  he  retired  from 
active  business  pursuits,  after  many  years 
of  labor,  during  which  time  he  laid  aside 
from  his  earnings  sufficient  to  purchase  a 
block  on  Summer  street,  South  Holyoke,  of 
which  he  was  the  owner  until  191 3,  when  he 
decided  to  build  a  block  on  Sergeant  street, 
known  as  "The  Homer,"  which  was  perfect 
and  modern  in  every  detail,  and  which  cost 
about  $60,000,  and  to  the  care  of  this  he  has 
ever  since  given  his  entire  attention.  Mr. 
Duclos  holds  membership  in  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men,  and  was  formerly  a 
member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Foresters, 
in  both  of  these  organizations  having  proven 
himself  an  amiable  associate  and  won  and 
retained  the  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he 
associated. 

Mr.  Duclos  married,  June  8,  1885,  Oliv- 
ian  Lopoint,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Caro- 
line (Beschamt)  Lopoint,  of  Canada.  She 
died  July  i,  1916.  Their  children  are  as  fol- 
lows: I.  Eveline,  born  June  9,  1886;  be- 
came the  wife  of  Eustace  Belanger,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  two  children :  Leo 
and  Anita.  2.  Homer,  born  April,  1890; 
married  Eva  Dill  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  one  child,  Hervey.  3.  Eva  DuUin,  born 
August  13,  1891. 


DROUIN,  Wilfred  George,  M.  D., 
Physician. 

Dr.  Wilfred  George  Drouin,  of  Holyoke, 
is  a  native  of  Valicourt,  Province  of  Que- 


bec, Canada,  born  October  20,  1880,  son  of 
Francois  Xavier  and  Sophia  (Hamel) 
Drouin.  Francois  Xavier  Drouin  was  one  of 
seven  children,  all  deceased,  namely :  Regis ; 
Septarian,  killed  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg 
during  the  Civil  War ;  Joseph,  who  was  a 
lieutenant-colonel  in  the  Civil  War,  enlisted 
from  Minnesota  in  the  only  regiment  from 
that  section  of  the  North,  and  was  wounded 
at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  from  the  effects 
of  which  he  died  fifteen  days  later;  Fran- 
cois Xavier,  mentioned  below ;  Delima ; 
Catharine ;   Mary. 

Francois  Xavier  Drouin  was  born  in  St. 
Anne  des  Plains,  Province  of  Quebec,  Can- 
ada, March  20,  1825,  and  died  in  Valicourt, 
Canada,  June  8,  1897.  After  completing  his 
studies  in  the  schools  of  his  native  place, 
he  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits in  his  native  land,  owning  at  the  time 
of  his  death  some  seven  hundred  acres  of 
land,  the  greater  part  of  which  he  cleared, 
located  in  Valicourt,  he  being  among  the 
first  settlers  of  that  town.  He  was  a  man 
of  advanced  ideas,  progressive  in  his  meth- 
ods, ever  looking  toward  the  improvement 
and  welfare  of  the  community,  and  was 
widely  and  favorably  known  as  a  man  of 
enterprise  and  ability.  He  married  Sophia 
Hamel,  born  in  St.  Argyle,  Canada,  1834, 
residing  at  the  present  time  (1917)  in  Vali- 
court, Canada,  aged  eighty-three  years. 
Children :  Francois  Xavier,  Jr.,  a  physi- 
cian, practicing  his  profession  in  Chicopee, 
Massachusetts ;  Alphonsin,  married  Nar- 
cisse  Neider,  and  resides  in  Racine,  Que- 
bec, Canada ;  Joseph,  married  Emelie  Foun- 
tain, and  resides  in  Pawtucket,  Rhode 
Island ;  Regis,  an  architect,  married  Philo- 
min  Bombardier ;  Delima,  deceased,  became 
the  wife  of  Onezine  Bombardier,  also  de- 
ceased ;  Evelipa,  became  the  wife  of  Joseph 
Bombardier ;  Rosalie,  became  the  wife  of 
Pierre  Quintat;  Amidee,  a  grocer  in  Far- 
num,  Quebec ;  Josephine,  deceased,  was  the 
wife  of  Pierre  Goodin;    Mary,  became  the 


84 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


wife  of  Adolph  Patrin ;  Olymphia,  became 
the  wife  of  Edmond  Trudian ;  Frederick, 
resides  on  the  old  homestead ;  Evangeline, 
deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Joseph  Racicot ; 
Dr.  Wilfred  George,  mentioned  below. 

Dr.  Wilfred  George  Drouin  acquired  his 
preparatory  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  Valicourt,  and  this  was  supplemented  by 
a  course  of  study  in  Valicourt  Normal 
School,  and  at  St.  Marie  College,  Montreal, 
Canada,  from  which  he  was  graduated  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  the  class 
of  1898.  He  chose  the  profession  of  medi- 
cine as  the  one  best  suited  to  his  tastes  and 
inclinations,  and  in  order  to  prepare  himself 
matriculated  in  Lavalle  University,  Mon- 
treal, from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1903, 
at  only  twenty-two  years  of  age,  obtaining 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  For  the 
following  one  and  a  half  years,  he  acted 
as  interne  at  the  Montreal  General  Hospital. 
He  then  took  up  his  residence  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  there  engaged  in  a  general 
practice,  which  has  steadily  increased  with 
each  passing  year.  In  191 5  he  returned  to 
Montreal,  where  he  entered  the  Montreal 
General  Hospital,  taking  a  special  course  in 
surgery,  which  extended  over  a  period  of 
six  months.  He  then  spent  the  following 
six  months  in  the  Polyclinic  Hospital,  New 
York  City,  for  the  same  purpose.  In  1916 
he  went  abroad,  and  for  ten  months  was  en- 
gaged in  hospital  work  at  the  seat  of  war, 
five  and  a  half  months  of  which  he  was  sur- 
geon of  the  Edith  Carvelle  Hospital  in  Par- 
is, and  the  remaining  four  and  a  half 
months  he  was  in  charge  of  the  Military 
Hospital  at  La  Due,  having  six  hundred 
and  fifty  patients.  Since  his  return  to  Hol- 
yoke, he  has  devoted  considerable  time  to 
surgical  work.  Dr.  Drouin  erected  in  191 1 
the  Drouin  Block,  where  his  offices  are  lo- 
cated. He  is  a  member  of  the  Church  of 
the  Precious  Blood  (Catholic),  and  he  is 
also  affiliated  with  the  St.  Jean  Baptiste  So- 
ciety,   Foresters   of   America,    Knights   of 


Pythias, Order  of  Moose,  and  Fraternal  Or- 
der of  Eagles. 

Dr.  Drouin  married,  April  7,  1905,  Nel- 
lie Pellitier,  of  Holyoke,  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph A.  and  Delia  (Fortin)  Pellitier.  Chil- 
dren: Germaine,  born  August  13,  1909; 
Jacqueline,  March  8,  191 1  ;  Marcelle,  March 
14,  191 3,  all  born  in  Holyoke. 


HEBERT,  George  Joseph,  M.  D., 

Physician. 

In  1880,  after  an  active,  busy  life  in  their 
native  Canada,  the  parents  of  Dr.  Hebert 
came  to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  where  the 
father,  Wilfred  Hebert,  died  December  23, 
1885.  He  married,  in  Canada,  Alphonsie 
Bressetta,  who  died  in  August,  1906,  the 
mother  of  four  children,  the  first  three  born 
in  Canada  :  Theophile  ;  Georgianna,  mar- 
ried Albert  Bernoit,  of  Holyoke ;  George 
Joseph,  of  further  mention ;  Albert,  born  in 
Holyoke. 

Dr.  George  J.  Hebert  was  born  in  the 
Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  January  10, 
1875.  He  was  five  years  of  age  when  his 
parents  came  to  Holyoke,  and  here  he  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  and  under 
private  teachers  in  Canada.  After  complet- 
ing his  studies,  he  returned  to  Holyoke, 
where  he  was  employed  in  a  drug  store.  In 
pursuit  of  his  ambition  to  become  a  phy- 
sician he  next  entered  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  Laval  University  (Canada), 
whence  he  was  graduated  M.  D.,  class  of 
1899.  During  his  medical  studies  Dr.  He- 
bert was  an  interne  at  Notre  Dame  Hos- 
pital, Montreal.  In  1899,  he  located  in 
Three  Rivers,  town  of  Palmer,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  practiced  four  years,  1900- 
1904,  serving  also  as  town  physician  and  as 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Health.  In  1904 
he  located  permanently  in  Holyoke,  where 
he  is  well  established  in  public  favor  and 
highly  regarded  as  a  physician. 

In  addition  to  the  cares  of  a  large  private 


85 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


practice,  Dr.  Hebert  for  two  years  was  city 
physician,  was  school  inspector  in  1909- 
lo-ii,  and  with  his  wife  is  actively  identi- 
fied with  charitable  work,  particularly  in- 
terested in  the  welfare  of  the  children. 
While  in  Palmer  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Hampden  County  Medical  Society.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Board 
of  Health ;  Holyoke  Medical  Society ;  Mas- 
sachusetts State  Medical  Association ;  of 
St.  Jean  Baptiste  Society,  of  which  he  was 
one  of  the  founders,  and  of  the  Artisans 
of  Montreal. 

Dr.  Hebert  married,  June  19,  1899,  El- 
mire  Chevalier,  of  Port  Eaux  Trembles, 
Canada,  daughter  of  Dr.  Joseph  Chevalier, 
a  well  known  physician  of  Montreal.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Hebert  are  the  parents  of  a 
son,  Henry,  born  in  Holyoke,  March  19, 
1907. 


BAUMAN,  Julia  Lewandowska,  M.  D., 

Physician. 

Probably  the  best  known  woman  phy- 
sician among  the  Polish  race  of  Western 
Massachusetts  is  Dr.  Julia  (Lewandowska) 
Bauman,  of  Holyoke,  who  by  dint  of  self 
sacrifice  and  tremendous  efifort  managed  in 
191 1  to  gain  the  goal  of  her  ambition  and 
to  receive  the  title  of  M.  D. 

She  is  the  sixth  child  of  Andrew  and 
Rosalie  (Schmeltz)  Lewandowska,  of  Po- 
sen,  German  Poland,  whose  children  are : 
Eva,  Peter,  Vincent,  Marcianna,  Adam, 
Julia ;  Joseph,  of  Exeter,  New  Hampshire ; 
and  Stanislaus.  The  first  six  were  born 
in  Posen,  the  last  two  in  Chicopee,  Massa- 
chusetts. Julia  Lewandowska  was  born  in 
the  city  of  Posen,  November  27,  1882,  her 
parents  coming  to  the  United  States  in  the 
spring  of  1883,  settling  first  at  Exeter,  New 
Hampshire,  and  later  at  Chicopee,  Massa- 
chusetts. She  began  her  education  in  the 
parochial  school  at  Chicopee,  completing 
the  grammar  school  course  with  the  class 


of  1896.  She  now  determined  that  if  possi- 
ble she  would  obtain  sufficient  education  to 
become  a  physician,  and  with  this  end  in 
view  she  bent  every  energy  towards  acquir- 
ing the  necessary  knowledge,  and  during  the 
years  ending  with  1907  she  provided  for  her 
own  support,  tutored  others,  attended  even- 
ing school  for  two  years,  spent  one  year  in 
Springfield  High  School,  and  by  using  all 
her  time  and  effort  she  accumulated  a  fund 
sufficient  to  finance  a  college  education. 
That  diligent  study,  the  most  careful  econo- 
my and  untiring  industry  accompanied  the 
years  so  spent  need  not  be  said.  In  1907 
she  entered  Baltimore  Woman's  Medical 
College,  there  spent  three  years  of  hard 
college  work,  followed  by  a  year  of  study  at 
the  Pennsylvania  Woman's  College,  at  Phil- 
adelphia, Pennsylvania,  from  which  she  was 
graduated  with  the  degree  of  M.  D.  in  191 1. 
She  opened  offices  at  No.  97  High  street,. 
Holyoke,  in  191 1,  and  began  general  prac- 
tice. Her  fame  spread  rapidly  among  the 
Polish  people,  more  perhaps  at  first  be- 
cause she  could  understand  and  speak  to 
them  in  their  own  language,  and  she  now 
has  a  very  extensive  practice,  giving  espe- 
cial attention  to  obstetrical  cases  and  chil- 
dren's diseases.  Her  professional  calls  ex- 
tend to  Springfield,  up  and  down  the  Con- 
necticut Valley  and  throughout  the  entire 
Holyoke  section  of  the  State. 

Dr.  Bauman  has  used  her  influence 
among  the  people  of  her  race  for  better  san- 
itary conditions,  and  to  secure  better  hous- 
ing facilities.  Her  eflforts  have  been  attend- 
ed with  success  along  these  lines,  and  she 
everywhere  advocates  these  conditions  to 
aid  in  the  prevention  of  disease.  Along 
these  same  lines  she  has  taken  an  active  in- 
terest in  and  spent  much  time  in  the  study 
of  the  "Prevention  and  Cure  of  Tubercu- 
losis," and  is  well  known  to  the  various 
members  of  the  medical  profession,  who 
have  made  this  same  work  a  study,  and  is. 
one  of  the  highly  valued  members  of  the. 


86 


C<^:M>^  (^fc^^J^^^^;^2^^3>-J^-^  (c;^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


State  Tuberculosis  Association.  She  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Eastern  States  Polish  Med- 
ical Society,  the  Massachusetts  Medical  So- 
ciety, the  American  Medical  Association, 
Holyoke  Municipal  League,  and  the  Baby's 
Hygienic  Association.  Dr.  Bauman  enjoys 
the  distinction  of  being  the  only  Polish  wo- 
man physician  east  of  Chicago.  She  is  de- 
voted to  her  profession  and  is  doing  mis- 
sionary work  of  the  highest  order. 

Dr.  Julia  Lewandowska  became  Dr.  Julia 
(Lewandowska)  Bauman  through  her  mar- 
riage, July  8,  1914,  to  Lucian  Bauman,  born 
in  Warsaw,  Russian  Poland.  He  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1907,  studied  phar- 
macy, passed  the  required  examination  be- 
fore the  State  Board  in  191 2,  and  is  a  regis- 
tered pharmacist  in  business  for  himself  at 
No.  151  High  street,  Holyoke.  He  is  in 
complete  sympathy  with  his  wife  in  her  self 
sacrificing  work,  and  in  his  own  field  per- 
forms equally  valuable  service  in  the  uplift 
of  his  people. 


BAESLER,  Carl  Bernhardt, 

Business  Man. 

Since  his  coming  to  America  from  Ger- 
many, Carl  Bernhardt  Baesler  has  by  con- 
stant application  to  whatever  business  has 
occupied  him,  risen  to  a  place  where  he  is 
today  recognized  as  one  of  the  honored,  re- 
spected and  successful  real  estate  dealers  of 
Holyoke,   Massachusetts. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Baesler  were  Chris- 
tian Lobegot  Baesler,  born  in  Tholheim, 
Germany,  in  1820,  and  died  there  at  the 
age  of  thirty-nine  years,  a  manufacturer 
of  wooden  frames  used  in  the  knitting  of 
stockings,  and  Johanna  (Langer)  Baesler, 
of  the  same  town,  born  in  1826,  and  died 
in  1905.  The  other  children  of  the  family 
were :  Christian  L.,  of  Holyoke ;  Lobegot ; 
Bruno,  deceased  ;  Gustave,  deceased  ;  Oli- 
vena,  deceased ;    and  Amelia. 

Carl  Bernhardt  Baesler  was  born  August 


29,  1854,  in  Tholheim,  Germany,  where  he 
received  a  common  school  education.  When 
thirteen  years  of  age  he  learned  the  trade 
of  knitting  by  hand  and  later  learned  to 
do  the  same  kind  of  work  by  machine.  In 
1884  he  came  to  America,  settling  in  Ulster 
county.  State  of  New  York,  where  he 
farmed.  The  following  year  he  moved  to 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  where  he  became 
employed  in  the  hosiery  business,  in  the 
knitting  department  of  McCullum  &  Con- 
stable Company.  After  eight  years  in  this 
occupation,  realizing  that  to  continue  here 
meant  to  remain  at  a  standstill,  he  went  into 
business  for  himself.  He  bought  horses 
and  started  an  express  business,  at  the  same 
time  handling  wood  and  coal.  For  sixteen 
years  he  continued  in  this  line,  then  he  sold 
out  and  entered  the  real  estate  business.  His 
largest  dealings  in  the  latter  field  have  been 
in  the  purchase  and  disposition  of  apart- 
ment houses.  He  owned  at  one  time  the 
"Belvidere,"  a  building  consisting  of  twenty 
apartments,  which  he  sold.  He  then  bought 
the  apartment  house  at  No.  84  Hampshire 
street,  where  he  now  lives  and  which  he  has 
continued  to  maintain  in  care  and  upkeep 
for  the  past  eight  years.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Turn  Verein,  and  attends  the  Second 
Congregational  Church  of  Holyoke. 

Mr.  Baesler  married,  October  27,  1877, 
Marie  Blumstangel,  born  in  Lunestan,  Sax- 
ony, Germany.  They  have  two  children : 
Ella,  who  married  Max  Merkel,  of  the  Ger- 
mania  Mills  in  Holyoke,  and  is  the  mother 
of  one  child,  Arno  Bernhardt ;  and  Harry, 
a  graduate  of  Holyoke  High  School  in  191 2, 
of  Harvard  College  in  191 5,  and  who  is  » 
now  attendnig  Harvard  Law  School. 


HORRIGAN,  William  James,  D.  D.  S., 

Dental   Practitioner. 

When  Patrick  Horrigan  left  his  home  in 
Ireland  he  came  to  the  United  States,  set- 
tling first  in   Goshen,   Connecticut,  where 


87 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


William  John  Horrigan,  third  of  his  thir- 
teen children,  was  born.  From  Goshen  he 
moved  to  Great  Harrington,  thence,  in  1876, 
to  North  Adams,  Massachusetts,  where  he 
died.  There  the  son,  William  John  Horri- 
gan, grew  to  manhood,  and  later  removed  to 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  where  he  became  a 
very  successful  jeweler  and  merchant,  that 
city  being  the  birthplace  and  scene  of  the 
professional  success  of  his  son,  Dr.  Wil- 
liam James  Horrigan,  who  since  191 1  has 
been  a  dental  practitioner  of  the  city  in 
which  his  honored  father  won  his  business 
success  as  senior  member  of  the  jewelry 
firm,  Horrigan  Brothers. 

Patrick  Horrigan,  the  founder  of  the 
family  in  this  country,  married  Julia 
O'Brien,  who  died  in  1883,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  thirteen  children :  James  M., 
a  resident  of  North  Adams,  Massachusetts ; 
William  John,  of  further  mention ;  Thom- 
as, a  resident  of  North  Adams,  Massachu- 
setts ;  Rose,  became  the  wife  of  John  Cas- 
ey, of  North  Adams,  Massachusetts ; 
George,  a  resident  of  Beloit,  Wisconsin; 
Sidney  L.,  a  resident  of  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts ;  Marcella,  became  the  wife  of 
John  Tracy,  of  Denver,  Colorado,  and  re- 
sides there ;  Alice,  became  the  wife  of 
John  Reidy,  resides  in  Denver,  Colorado ; 
Anna,  became  the  wife  of  Patrick  Dougher- 
ty, of  Indian  Orchard ;  Julia,  became  the 
wife  of  George  Fitzgerald,  of  Springfield, 
Massachusetts. 

William  John  Horrigan  was  born  in 
Goshen,  Connecticut,  in  1850,  died  in  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  December  4,  1898.  He 
attended  public  schools,  but  early  in  life  be- 
came a  mill  worker  and  was  so  employed 
for  many  years  in  Massachusetts  mills.  He 
resided  in  North  Adams  until  1876,  then 
for  a  year  was  employed  in  the  Lyman 
Mills  at  Holyoke,  after  which  he  returned 
to  North  Adams.  A  year  later  he  again 
came  to  Holyoke,  and  until  1885  was  in 
charge  of  the  combing  department  of  the 


Merrick  Thread  Company.  In  that  year  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother,  Sid- 
ney L.  Horrigan,  and  at  No.  156  High 
street,  Holyoke,  established  a  jewelry  bus- 
iness, which  more  than  met  their  hopes,  and 
in  1892  they  succeeded  Chapman  Brothers 
in  the  store,  corner  of  High  and  Dwight 
streets,  a  much  better  location  and  a  more 
desirable  building.  Later  they  purchased 
the  property  at  the  corner  of  High  and 
Hampden  streets,  there  remaining  until 
moving  into  their  own  finely  equipped  and 
handsomely  stocked  store  at  No.  249  High 
street.  But  the  senior  partner,  William  J. 
Horrigan,  did  not  long  enjoy  the  beautiful 
surroundings,  his  death  in  1898  occurring 
soon  after  the  removal  to  the  new  store. 
The  brothers,  both  excellent  business  men, 
gave  close  attention  to  the  detail  and  man- 
agement of  the  business  and  made  prompt- 
ness a  cardinal  virtue.  For  years  William 
J.  Horrigan  was  an  untiring  worker  and 
was  the  active,  energetic  head  of  the  busi- 
ness. 

William  J.  Horrigan  married,  September 
7,  1887,  Katherine  Farrell,  of  Wells  River, 
Vermont,  daughter  of  James  and  Rosanna 
(Hart)  Farrell.  They  were  the  parents  of : 
Dr.  William  James,  of  further  mention ; 
Irene  Margaret,  born  February  i,  1890, 
a  teacher  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts ;  Ar- 
thur Joseph,  born  December  29,  1891,  a 
graduate  M.  D.  of  Jefferson  Medical  Col- 
lege, Philadelphia,  class  of  1916;  first  lieu- 
tenant in  the  army  now,  1917,  stationed  at 
Augusta,  Georgia;  Howard  Patrick,  born 
August  30,  1895,  now  a  student  at  Tuft's 
College ;  Olive  Catherine,  born  February 
16,  1898. 

Dr.  William  James  Horrigan,  D.  D.  S., 
was  born  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  July 
28,  1888.  In  the  graded  and  high  schools 
of  the  city  he  obtained  his  education  so  far 
as  their  limits  extended.  Deciding  upon  the 
profession  of  dentistry,  he  entered  the  dent- 
al department  of  the  University  of  Penn- 


88 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


sylvania  at  Philadelphia,  whence  he  was 
graduated  D.  D.  S.,  class  of  191 1.  After 
graduation  he  returned  to  Holyoke  and  at 
once  began  practice,  and  now  has  a  most 
satisfactory  clientele.  His  offices,  which  are 
at  No.  225  High  street,  are  modernly  equip- 
ped. He  is  a  member  of  the  Valley  Dis- 
trict Dental  Association,  Massachusetts 
Dental  Association,  the  American  Dental 
Association,  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  and 
Holyoke  Country  Club. 

Dr.  Horrigan  married,  November  26, 
1914,  Catherine  M.  Delaney,  daughter  of 
John  L.  and  Margaret  (Horan)  Delaney, 
of  Holyoke.  They  are  the  parents  of  a 
daughter,  Carol,  born  December  25,  191 5. 


RICHARDS,  Charles  H., 

Business  Man. 

From  1849,  when  his  parents  moved  to 
Holyoke,  until  his  death  in  1910,  Charles 
H.  Richards  was  a  resident  of  Holyoke 
and  at  his  death  was  the  oldest  grocer  in 
the  city,  having  been  continuously  in  bus- 
iness from  1867  until  his  retirement  in  1904. 
He  was  a  man  of  sterling  worth  and  char- 
acter, his  long  business  life  in  one  commu- 
nity thoroughly  proving  the  strength  of  his 
devotion  to  those  highest  and  truest  prin- 
ciples upon  which  permanent  success  can 
alone  be  built.  He  was  a  son  of  Ebenezer 
T.  Richards,  born  in  Hardwick,  Massachu- 
setts, in  1818,  died  in  Holyoke,  August 
26,  1882,  death  resulting  from  injuries  re- 
ceived by  being  thrown  from  his  buggy. 

Ebenezer  T.  Richards  married  Mary  Ann 
Smith,  born  in  Chicopee,  Massachusetts, 
and  in  1849  they  moved  to  Holyoke.  Mr. 
Richards  owned  and  operated  a  large  brick 
manufacturing  plant  at  South  Hadley  Falls, 
and  was  also  a  builder  and  contractor,  erect- 
ing the  Merrick  Mills  and  many  buildings 
in  Holyoke.  He  was  a  prominent  member 
and  a  deacon  of  the  Second  Baptist  Church, 
and  an  earnest  worker  for  the  cause  of  tem- 


perance and  prohibition.  He  was  a  man  of 
strong  vigorous  constitution,  being  decided 
in  his  opinions  and  not  to  be  turned  from 
the  performance  of  any  line  of  conduct  he 
felt  it  was  his  duty  to  pursue.  He  was  a 
member  of  Mt.  Tom  Lodge,  Free  and  As- 
cepted  Masons,  and  Wyoming  Lodge  of 
Good  Templars.  Ebenezer  T.  and  Mary 
Ann  (Smith)  Richards  were  the  parents  of 
three  sons :  Charles  H.,  of  further  men- 
tion ;  George  W.,  a  resident  of  Holyoke ; 
and  Frederick  T.,  deceased. 

Charles  H.  Richards  was  born  at  Chico- 
pee, Massachusetts,  December  2,  1845,  died 
at  Holyoke,  May  2,  1910.  He  was  but  four 
years  of  age  when  his  parents  moved  to 
Holyoke  and  there  his  after  life  was  passed. 
He  attended  the  grammar  and  high  schools 
of  the  city  until  seventeen  years  of  age, 
then  entered  the  employ  of  W.  C.  Carter,  a 
grocer  of  Holyoke.  He  continued  in  that 
employ  eleven  years,  then  formed  a  part- 
nership with  James  N.  Thayer  and  pur- 
chased the  business  of  Mr.  Chapin,  corner 
of  Sargeant  and  Main  streets.  Richards 
&  Thayer  continued  in  successful  business 
operation  for  thirty-four  years,  1867-1901, 
removing  from  the  old  store  on  Main  street 
in  1892  to  the  block  which  they  purchased 
corner  of  High  and  Essex  streets,  now 
owned  by  D.  M.  Foley.  In  1901  the  firm 
dissolved,  Mr.  Richards  continuing  the  bus- 
iness until  1904,  having  at  that  time  been 
continuously  in  the  grocery  business  forty- 
eight  years,  first  as  clerk,  later  as  partner, 
and  still  later  as  sole  proprietor,  1856-1904, 
the  oldest  in  the  city. 

He  was  wholly  devoted  to  his  business 
and  took  little  active  part  in  public  aft'airs, 
although  keenly  alive  to  his  responsibilities 
as  a  citizen.  He  served  as  clerk  of  the  cau- 
cus meetings  held  in  Ward  One  for  several 
years,  was  a  member  and  secretary  of  the 
South  Holyoke  Fire  Company  for  many 
years,  and  one  of  the  eighteen  charter  mem- 
bers of  Connecticut  Valley  Lodge,  No.  28, 


89 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGR.\PHY 


Knights  of  Pythias,  instituted  in  1870.  He 
took  perhaps  a  deeper  interest  in  that  lodge 
than  in  anything  else  outside  his  business 
and  his  home.  He  served  as  prelate  of  the 
lodge  1 900- 1 906,  was  elected  chancellor 
commander  in  January,  1907,  and  became 
past  chancellor  in  January,  1908.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Second  Congregational 
Church. 

Mr.  Richards  married.  May  6,  1869,  Ettie 
Harlow,  who  had  been  a  teacher  in  Holyoke 
public  schools ;  she  is  a  daughter  of  Lu- 
cius Harlow,  of  Springfield,  Vermont,  of 
an  old  and  prominent  early  Springfield  fam- 
ily. Miss  Harlow  was  a  student  at  Mt.  Hol- 
yoke College  three  years,  1863- 1864  to  June, 
1865,  leaving  to  accept  appointment  as  a 
teacher  in  the  Holyoke  public  schools.  She 
taught  in  Park  street  school  the  first  year 
the  building  was  opened  and  pursued  a 
very  successful  career  as  a  teacher  until  her 
marriage.  Two  children  were  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Richards :  Jennie,  married  James 
A.  Brierly  and  has  two  children,  Richard 
Harlow  and  Charles  William  Brierly;  Et- 
tie, born  in  1876,  died  in  1887. 


KING,  Samuel, 

Retired  Business   Man. 

When  Samuel  King  came  to  Holyoke  in 
i860  a  newly  naturalized  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  he  had  barely  attained  the 
age  of  twenty-nine  years  and  Holyoke  was 
equally  young,  having  then  a  population  of 
but  three  thousand.  During  the  more  than 
half  a  century  which  has  elapsed  both  have 
grown  to  full  stature,  Holyoke  as  a  city, 
Samuel  King  as  a  merchant.  Men  make 
cities  and  cities  furnish  opportunity.  As  a 
dry  goods  merchant  from  1862  to  191 2  Mr. 
King  must  be  counted  among  the  men  who 
have  made  Holyoke,  and  the  city  in  its  mar- 
velous growth  has  furnished  him  with  the 
opportunity  to  exercise  his  native  talent 
and   abundant   business   ability.      For   fifty 


years  the  business  sign  "Samuel  King  Dry 
Goods"  was  a  fixture  at  the  corner  of 
Hampden  and  High  streets  with  Samuel 
King  in  personal  charge,  and  when  he  fin- 
ally retired  in  1912,  he  was  the  oldest  mer- 
chant in  continuous  business  in  the  city,  and 
moreover,  during  that  half  a  century  which 
witnessed  financial  panics,  fires  and  busi- 
ness depression,  his  financial  standing  was 
never  questioned  nor  did  the  shadow  of 
failure,  fire  or  disaster  ever  fall  athwart  his 
door.  His  record  is  one  of  honorable  pros- 
perity and  fair  dealing,  he  carrying  into  re- 
tirement the  unqualified  respect  of  the  busi- 
ness world  and  the  esteem  of  the  public 
who  had  so  long  been  served  over  his  coun- 
ters. He  was  the  first  man  to  make  a 
deposit  in  the  newly  organized  First  Na- 
tional Bank  and  when  safety  deposit  vaults 
were  added  he  was  the  first  man  to  rent 
a  compartment. 

Samuel  King  was  born  in  Austria,  Eu- 
rope, July  8,  1831,  son  of  Moses  and  Caro- 
line King.  He  was  well  educated  in  his  na- 
tive land  and  there  spent  the  first  twenty 
years  of  his  life,  coming  to  the  United 
States  in  185 1,  locating  in  the  city  of  Brook- 
lyn, New  York.  He  applied  for  his  first 
naturalization  papers  in  1852,  and  as  soon 
as  the  law  permitted  consummated  his  in- 
tentions and  became  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States.  In  i860  he  located  in  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, then  but  a  town  of  inferior  pro- 
portions, and  for  two  years  he  drove  over 
the  roads  of  Berkshire  and  Hampden  coun- 
ties, from  Pittsfield  to  Holyoke,  selling  mer- 
chandise from  a  wagon.  He  then  invested 
his  small  capital  in  a  stock  of  goods  and 
opened  a  dry  goods  store  in  Holyoke  at 
the  corner  of  Hampden  and  High  streets, 
and  there  he  continued  in  successful  busi- 
ness for  fifty  years  until  retirement  in  191 2. 
He  purchased  the  building  which  he  entered 
as  a  tenant  and  as  time  progressed  made  all 
modern  improvements  and  kept  pace  with 
the  march  of  progress.    He  bore  a  hand  in 


90 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


movements  which  from  time  to  time  have      years.     Most  of  his  active  hfe  was  spent 


resulted  in  expansion  and  community  good, 
and  in  a  quiet,  yet  forceful,  way  has  borne 
his  share  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  city. 

In  1907  he  revisited  the  country  of  his 
birth  and  toured  Austria-Hungary,  the  vast 
empire  created  since  he  was  there  a  resi- 
dent. Independent  in  politics  he  has  had  a 
potent  voice  in  public  affairs,  and  is  a  pow- 
erful advocate  for  any  cause  he  espouses. 
He  numbers  his  friends  among  the  most 
eminent  in  the  city  and  State,  and  there  are 
few  men  whose  influence  is  more  potent 
than  his  if  he  chooses  to  exert  it.  During 
the  campaign  made  by  General  Benjamin 
F.  Butler  for  Governor  of  Massachusetts, 
he  exerted  his  influence  in  his  behalf  and 
was  a  factor  in  compassing  his  election.  He 
was  a  personal  and  political  friend  of  Sen- 
ator Crane,  and  on  President  McKinley's 
visit  to  Holyoke  Mr.  King  was  one  of  the 
city's  prominent  men  to  be  introduced. 

Mr.  King  married,  in  i860,  in  New  York 
City,  Celia  Front,  born  in  Hungary,  Europe, 
but  a  resident  of  the  United  States  since  the 
age  of  six  years.  They  are  the  parents  of 
three  sons:  i.  George,  now  connected  in 
responsible  position  with  a  strong  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  concern ;  married  and  has 
children,  Ruth  and  Jennie  King.  2.  Henry, 
deceased ;  left  a  daughter,  Dorothy  King. 
3.  Moses,  a  merchant  of  Westfield,  Massa- 
chusetts ;  married  and  has  a  daughter  Ce- 
lia. 


MAHONEY,  William  John, 

Mechanic,  Merchant. 

Mr.  Mahoney  is  descended  from  an  old 
and  honorable  f'amily  of  Ireland.  His  great- 
grandfather, John  Mahoney,  resided  in 
County  Waterford,  Ireland.  His  wife  was 
a  Aliss  Vail.  Their  son,  John  Mahoney,  was 
born  1789-90,  in  County  Water  ford,  Ireland, 
and  died  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  Janu- 
ary  16,   1 89 1,   aged  one   hundred  and  one 


in  the  service  of  Lord  Waterford,  and  he 
was  skillful  at  any  sort  of  farm  labor.  Hav- 
ing been  preceded  by  his  sons,  he  came  to 
America  in  1865,  accompanied  by  two 
daughters,  and  continued  to  live  with  his 
children  in  Holyoke,  through  a  green  old 
age.  His  wife,  Margaret  (White)  Mahon- 
ey, died  in  Ireland  in  i860,  at  the  age  of 
forty-eight  years.  They  had  children : 
Michael ;  William ;  Bridget,  who  married 
Michael  Whalen ;  Patrick;  Mary,  wife  of 
Frederick  Gunther ;  Margaret,  wife  of  Eu- 
gene Cronan ;    John. 

William  Mahoney,  second  son  of  John 
and  Margaret  (White)  Mahoney,  was  born 
in  1838,  in  County  Waterford,  Ireland, 
where  he  had  some  opportunity  for  educa- 
tion, and  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith. 
For  a  time  he  followed  this  occupation  in 
the  employ  of  Lord  Waterford,  and  later 
was  employed  in  a  cotton  mill.  In  1864  he 
removed  to  this  country  and  entered  the 
Holyoke  Machine  Shops,  where  he  con- 
tinued as  blacksmith  for  a  period  of  thirty- 
six  years,  retiring  in  1898,  twelve  years  pri- 
or to  his  death.  By  his  industry  and  good 
management  he  became  the  owner  of  con- 
siderable real  estate  and  other  property, 
whose  care  consumed  his  time  in  later  years. 
Not  many  have  the  record  of  constancy 
shown  by  Mr.  Mahoney's  long  period  of  em- 
ployment in  one  establishment,  testifying  to 
his  skill,  faithfulness  and  upright  character. 
Let  the  dawdling  youth  of  today,  who  com- 
plains that  the  present  century  offers  no 
opportunity,  consider  this  example.  Mr. 
Mahoney  was  a  quiet  citizen,  and  his  mem- 
ory will  ever  be  cherished  by  a  filial  family. 
He  married  Catherine  Kelly,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Kelly,  of  County  Waterford.  She 
died  in  1909,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years. 
Their  children  were  :  Edward  J. ;  William 
John ;  Dr.  Matthew,  born  September  18, 
1873,  and  Patrick  A. 

William  John   Mahoney,   second   son   of 


91 


ENXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


William  and  Catherine  (Kelly)  Mahoney, 
was  bom  January  ii,  1871,  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  and  was  educated  in  the 
cit>-  schools.  At  an  early  age  he  came  un- 
der the  training  of  his  father  and  acquired 
the  blacksmith's  trade,  which  he  followed 
ten  years  in  association  with  the  father,  at 
the  machine  shops.  He  was  later  engaged 
in  the  grocery  and  meat  business  in  Hol- 
yoke, and  in  1900  became  general  agent  of 
the  Feigenspan  Brewing  Company  of  New- 
ark, Xew  Jersey,  in  which  capacity  he  has 
continued  to  the  present  time.  For  some 
time  he  served  as  agent  for  the  Holyoke  & 
Westfield  Railroad.  He  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  politics  and  for  two  years  he  rep- 
resented his  ward  in  the  City  Council  of 
Holyoke.  His  only  social  organizatiuon  is 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  Mr.  Mahoney  married,  September, 
1898,  Sarah  V.  Linnehan,  of  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  who  died  in  191 3.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Thomas  Linnehan.  They 
had  children :  Agnes,  bom  1900 ;  Edward, 
1902;    Mary,   1903. 


YENLIN,  Sebastian, 

Business  Man. 

Forty-seven  years  ago  there  lived  in  the 
town  of  \\'hittlesdorf,  Alsace,  France,  one 
Sebastian  Yenlin,  a  boy  of  sixteen,  son  and 
grandson  of  men  of  like  name,  whose  rec- 
ords have  honorable  place  in  the  national 
annals  of  the  French  Republic. 

His  grandfather,  Sebastian  (i)  Yenlin, 
owned  land  in  the  district  of  Whittlesdorf 
to  extent  sufficient  for  his  maintenance, 
and  thereon  he  industriously  labored,  as 
did  also  the  boy's  father,  Sebastian  (2) 
Yenlin.  Both  were  bom,  lived,  and  died 
in  Alsace,  and  both  ralHed  to  the  '"Tri- 
colour" when  their  nation  in  time  of  stress 
asked  their  ser\-ices. 

Sebastian  (2)  Yenlin,  father  of  Sebastian 


(3)  Yenlin,  married  Gertrude  de  Lunth, 
and  their  children  were:  Sebastian  (3), 
of  whom  further;  Catherine,  deceased;  and 
Francisco,  deceased. 

Sebastian  (3)  Yenlin  was  born  at  Whit- 
tlesdorf, July  18,  1853.  He  was  afforded 
a  goodly  education,  for  his  time  and  station, 
at  the  grammar  school  of  the  town  of 
his  nativity,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years 
went  to  the  city  of  Alkirk,  there  to  enter 
apprenticeship  to  a  baker  of  that  place.  The 
impoverished  condition  of  his  own  country 
in  1872,  following  the  great  Franco-Prus- 
sian War,  may  have  been  a  factor  of  influ- 
ence in  his  decision  to  emigrate  to  America. 
He  landed  in  the  United  States  that  year, 
at  the  age  of  nineteen,  settling  at  Holyoke, 
^Massachusetts,  where  he  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  Thomas  Samson,  and  later  of  Peter 
Mount,  both  merchants  of  Holyoke.  The 
virility  of  youth,  steadfastness  of  honest  in- 
tent, and  that  composite  quality  of  initia- 
tive, ambition  and  self-reliance,  encouraged 
him,  in  1876,  to  venture  into  independent 
business,  with  the  result  that  he  became  es- 
tablished as  a  master  baker  at  Holyoke  in 
that  year,  since  which  time  his  enterprise, 
energ}-,  perseverance  and  stability  have 
combined  to  create  for  him  a  business  of 
substantial  proportions.  Steadily  advanc- 
ing, he  has  developed  into  the  possession 
of  busy  stores  on  Cabot  and  Ely  streets,  and 
of  an  extensive  outside  bakery  connection. 
In  addition,  he  has  acquired  farming  in- 
terests at  Smith's  Ferr)%  Holyoke  township, 
in  which  activity  he  now  finds  profit,  as  well 
as  diversion  and  relaxation,  from  the  pres- 
sure of  his  main  business  ties. 

While  Mr.  Yenlin  has  strenuously  ap- 
plied himself  to  business  for  more  than  four 
decades,  he  has  never  overlooked  the  duty 
due  his  church.  He  is  an  ardent  Catholic, 
earnest  in  his  observance  of  the  ordinances 
of  the  church,  and  a  liberal  contributor  to 
its  support.    He  has  likewise  recognized  his 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


interest  in  his  adopted  country  by  an  intel- 
ligent exercise  of  his  privileges  as  a  citi- 
zen, and  for  many  years  has  associated  his 
efforts  in  this  respect  with  the  Republican 
party.  At  the  same  time,  he  has  not  forgot- 
ten the  land  of  his  birth,  being  an  enthusias- 
tice  member  of  the  Alsace-Lorraine  Society, 
and  of  the  National  Society  of  France.  He 
is  a  member  of  Uncas  Tribe,  Improved  Or- 
der of  Red  Men,  being  a  charter  member 
of  that  organization  and  was  for  six  months 
keeper  of  wampum. 

Satisfaction  comes  of  honest  effort,  and 
Mr.  Yenlin's  has  been  a  long  period  of  in- 
creasing satisfaction.  Still,  his  industrious 
life  has  perhaps  found  its  most  gratifying 
expression  in  the  comfort  of  his  home  cir- 
cle. In  1875,  as  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
two,  he  married  Celina  la  Pointe,  descen- 
dant of  an  old  French-Canadian  family,  and 
to  them  have  been  born  the  following  chil- 
dren:  I.  Mary,  married  Alfred  la  Janos; 
children :  Romeo,  Rosina,  Leo,  Lena.  2. 
Ida,  married  Joseph  Chero ;  children :  Li- 
ma, Loretta.  3.  Rosella,  married  Adlard 
C.  Minard.  4.  Ora,  married  Calix  la  Plais ; 
children :  Lester,  Ernest,  Estelle.  5.  Se- 
bastian (4),  married  Zalpha  Bellefeuille ; 
children:  Irene,  Sebastian  (5),  Cecilia, 
Gertrude,  Jeannette.     6.  Viola. 

Forty-four  years  of  honorable  connection 
w'ith  the  city  of  Holyoke,  forty-four  years 
of  steady  progress,  have  brought  to  Sebas- 
tian (3)  Yenlin  a  measure  of  respect  as 
solid  as  is  the  city.  His  life-story,  in  its 
broadest  sense,  has  its  direct  utility  and 
satisfaction  in  the  encouragement  it  af- 
fords the  many  earnest  young  men  of  hon- 
orable intention  who,  like  Sebastian  Yenlin, 
come  from  other  lands,  hoping  to  win  a 
place  and  respect  in  the  activities  of  this 
great  nation  wherein  merit  is  the  one  and 
only  essential  to  advancement. 


KOHLER,  Edward  Charles, 

Business  Man. 

Edward  Charles  Kohler,  a  representative 
citizen  of  Holyoke,  is  a  man  of  skill  and  en- 
terprise, who  has  won  a  place  among  the 
business  men  of  his  adopted  city  by  his  abil- 
ity, fidelity  and  perseverance,  his  career  illus- 
trating in  no  uncertain  manner  what  it  is 
possible  to  accomplish  when  determination 
and  force  form  the  keynote  to  a  man's  life. 
In  social  life  he  is  courteous  and  kindly,  and 
is  ever  mindful  of  his  duties  as  a  citizen. 

Christian  Kohler,  father  of  Edward 
Charles  Kohler,  was  born  at  Saxony,  Ger- 
many, 1826,  and  died  at  Buffalo,  New 
York,  1 881.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  his  native  place,  and  there  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship at  the  trade  of  tailor,  in  which 
he  became  highly  proficient.  In  1848  he 
took  up  his  residence  in  Canada,  but  that 
country  not  proving  to  his  liking  he  re- 
mained but  a  short  period  of  time,  after 
which  he  removed  to  Buffalo,  New  York, 
where  he  worked  at  his  trade  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days.  One  of  his  brothers, 
Henry  Kohler,  also  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try. Mr.  Kohler  was  a  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church  and  of  several  Ger- 
man organizations  in  Buffalo.  He  married 
Wilhelmina  Ende,  a  native  of  Saxony, 
Germany,  born  in  1828,  and  died  in  Buffalo, 
New  York,  in  1896.  They  were  the  parents 
of  ten  children,  namely :  Emily,  Julius, 
Bertha,  Minnie,  Charles,  Louisa,  Howard, 
William,  Edward  Charles,  and  Ida. 

Edward  Charles  Kohler  was  born  in  Buf- 
falo, Erie  county,  New  York,  March  29, 
1867.  His  early  education,  which  was  ob- 
tained in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
city,  was  supplemented  by  a  course  in  a 
business  college,  which  proved  of  great  ad- 
vantage to  him  in  his  subsequent  career.  In 
his  youth  he  learned  the  art  of  electrotyp- 


93 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ing  and  has  given  his  entire  time  and  atten- 
tion to  that  vocation  ever  since,  meeting 
with  well  merited  success.  From  1895  to 
1903,  a  period  of  eight  years,  he  was  em- 
ployed in  the  electrotyping  plant  of  the 
United  States  Envelope  Company  at  Rock- 
ville,  Connecticut,  and  in  the  latter  named 
year  he  was  sent  to  the  Philippine  Islands 
by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Engraving 
and  Printing  to  teach  his  trade  in  the 
schools  there,  this  fact  testifying  eloquently 
to  his  efficiency  and  capability,  as  compara- 
tively few  persons  are  capable  of  working 
well  and  also  serving  in  the  capacity  of 
teacher.  He  was  assigned  to  Manila,  where 
he  remained  for  two  years,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  time  he  returned  to  Rockville, 
Connecticut,  but  shortly  afterward  took  up 
his  residence  in  Holyoke,  ^Massachusetts, 
where  he  has  resided  ever  since.  He  es- 
tablished the  Holyoke  Electrotype  Company, 
a  corporation  of  which  he  is  treasurer  and 
principal  owner,  and  the  business  includes 
the  designing,  engraving  and  manufacture 
of  color  plates  for  all  printing  purposes  and 
the  making  of  lead  molded  and  steel  faced 
electrotypes.  The  business  has  steadily  in- 
creased in  volume  and  importance,  and  a 
marked  degree  of  success  has  attended  his 
efforts,  it  proving  of  benefit  to  the  locality 
in  which  it  is  situated,  advancing  commer- 
cial activity  whereon  depends  the  prosperity 
of  every  community.  Mr.  Kohler  is  a  mem- 
ber of  William  Whiting  Lodge,  Free  and 
Accepted  ]Masons.  In  politics  he  is  an  In- 
dependent. He  is  thoroughly  alive  to  all 
that  pertains  to  good  citizenship,  and  al- 
though entirely  devoid  of  all  political  as- 
pirations, is  interested  in  whatever  has  a 
tendency  to  permanently  benefit  his  locality. 
Mr.  Kohler  married,  June  30,  1905,  Ed- 
na Thrall,  who  was  born  in  Rockville,  Con- 
necticut, in  1874,  daughter  of  Julius  S.  and 
Mary  (Holmes)  Thrall.  On  her  mother's 
side,  the  Holmes  family,  Mrs.  Kohler  traces 


her  ancestry  back  to  the  "Mayflower."  They 
have  one  child,  Eleanor,  who  was  born  at 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  April  16,  1906. 


WEIS,  Joseph  Brennemann, 

Inventor,    Manufacturer. 

Joseph  Brennemann  Weis,  inventor  and 
manufacturer  of  the  Padlock  Safety  Pa- 
per, president  of  the  Perfect  Safety  Pa- 
per Company  of  Holyoke,  former  president 
of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  former 
school  commissioner  of  that  city,  and 
(1916)  chairman  of  the  school  committee, 
is  a  distinguished  citizen  of  the  "Paper 
City,"  as  Holyoke  is  known  in  the  business 
world.  Educated  as  a  chemist,  he  discov- 
ered by  the  aid  of  his  inventive  ability  and 
knowledge  of  chemicals  a  process  in  the 
manufacture  of  paper;  and  in  manufactur- 
ing his  patented  product  and  placing  it  on 
the  market  he  became  in  the  natural  course 
of  events  a  man  of  business  and  abandoned 
the  laboratory  for  the  office  and  mill.  His 
biography  shows  that  not  all  inventors  fail 
to  grasp  the  fruits  of  their  work. 

Mr.  Weis  comes  of  good  old  German  an- 
cestry. His  father,  Joseph  Weis,  was  born 
in  1825  at  Hanau,  Germany,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  schools  of  his  native  land.  Dur- 
ing his  youth  he  followed  farming,  but 
he  became  convinced  that  America  offered 
a  better  field  and  larger  opportunities  for  a 
young  man,  and  in  1849,  "when  he  was  twen- 
ty-four years  old,  he  came  to  this  country. 
He  located  at  first  in  Ohio,  but  after  two 
years  decided  to  move  westward  to  what 
was  then  the  frontier,  and  finally  located  at 
Tonica,  Illinois.  He  cleared  his  land  and 
placed  many  acres  in  cultivation.  Year  by 
year  his  farm  became  more  productive  and 
valuable.  He  prospered  and  set  an  exam- 
ple of  success  in  farming  by  dint  of  great 
industry,  persistence  and  energy.  As  meth- 
ods improved,  he  adopted  them,  and  he  nev- 
er  failed  to  make   proper   use   of  modern 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  efficient  farm  machinery.  He  studied 
agriculture  and  other  subjects  and  possessed 
an  exceptionally  well-stored  mind  and  an 
excellent  judgment.  He  was  a  substantial 
and  useful  citizen,  highly  esteemed  in  the 
section  in  which  he  lived.  After  retiring 
on  account  of  age  he  lived  for  a  time  with 
his  daughter  in  Iowa,  where  he  died  June 
14,  1914.  Maria  (Brennemann)  Weis, 
mother  of  Joseph  Brennemann  Weis,  was 
a  native  of  Cassell,  Germany.  One  brother 
•of  Joseph  Brennemann,  Herman,  is  deceas- 
ed; another  brother,  Fritz,  resides  in  Illi- 
nois, and  a  sister,  Elise,  who  married 
Charles  Miller,  lives  in  the  town  of  Britt, 
Iowa. 

Joseph  Brennemann  Weis  was  born  at 
Tonica,  Illinois,  November  29,  1862.  He  fit- 
ted for  college  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  town  and  entered  the  University  of 
Illinois,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in 
1883  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Sci- 
-ence.  He  specialized  in  l^e  subject  of  chem- 
istry and  after  graduation  was  for  six  years 
assistant  to  a  Chicago  chemist.  He  re- 
:signed  his  position  in  1889  to  open  a  labo- 
ratory and  practice  his  profession  on  his 
own  account,  and  the  following  five  years 
he  continued  in  business  as  a  general  ana- 
lytical chemist  in  Chicago.  During  this 
time  he  invented  a  safety  paper  designed  to 
prevent  alterations  in  checks  and  other  legal 
documents.  As  soon  as  it  became  known 
that  the  use  of  this  paper  would  effectually 
prevent  the  raising  of  checks  and  certain 
other  kinds  of  forgery,  stationers  and  bank- 
ers became  interested  in  it  and  in  1894  Mr. 
Weis  began  to  manufacture  his  paper  at 
Franklin,  Ohio.  The  business  prospered 
and  from  time  to  time  during  the  next  four- 
teen years  he  was  obliged  to  enlarge  his 
plant  and  constantly  to  increase  the  output 
of  his  paper  mill.  Believing  it  would  be 
expedient  to  remove  to  the  center  of  the  pa- 
per industry  he  transferred  his  business  to 
Holyoke,  where  since  1908  he  has  conduct- 


ed it  under  the  corporate  name  of  the  Per- 
fect Safety  Paper  Company,  of  which  he  is 
president  and  treasurer.  The  Padlock 
Safety  Paper,  as  his  product  is  called,  is 
doubtless  the  best  of  all  safety  papers  now 
manufactured  for  check  purposes.  In  ap- 
pearance it  is  a  handsome  figured  check  pa- 
per and  to  the  casual  observer  does  not  re- 
veal the  special  sensitive  properties  incorpo- 
rated in  it.  Sized  moderately,  it  is  designed 
to  allow  ordinary  writing  ink  to  penetrate 
the  sheet,  thus  giving  protection  against 
ordinary  methods  of  erasure.  For  the  pur- 
pose of  preventing  the  successful  use  of 
acids  or  alkalies  in  making  erasures,  chem- 
icals are  introduced  in  the  paper  pulp  that 
will  cause  any  known  ink  eraser  to  produce 
a  telltale  muddy  stain  if  used  on  the  paper. 
In  addition  to  these  properties,  the  paper  is 
made  with  a  peculiar  and  distinctive  design 
in  attractive  tints  that  are  very  sensitive  to 
ink  bleaching  reagents,  but  will  not  blur  in 
the  process  of  printing  or  in  the  requisite 
handling  in  making  the  paper  into  check 
books  or  other  blanks.  The  design  is  on  the 
surface  only,  so  that  attempts  at  either 
chemical  or  mechanical  erasure  are  impos- 
sible to  conceal.  As  far  as  known,  none 
of  the  methods  used  by  check  raisers  and 
forgers  can  be  successfully  applied  on  this 
paper.  Water  will  not  remove  writing  from 
it ;  ink  bleaching  materials  make  an  indel- 
ible stain.  Since  locating  in  Holyoke  the 
business  has  grown  to  even  larger  propor- 
tions and  the  company  ranks  among  the 
most  flourishing  and  prosperous  of  the 
many  paper  companies  in  business  there. 

Mr.  Weis  has  taken  active  part  in  the 
public  affairs  of  the  city  and  has  lost  no 
opportunity  to  give  evidence  of  his  public 
spirit.  He  has  lent  his  aid  and  encourage- 
ment to  every  project  designed  to  promote 
the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  city.  He 
has  been  especially  active  and  useful  in  the 
work  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  of 
which  he  was  president  in  1914  and  1915. 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


He  has  served  the  city  as  school  commis- 
sioner-at-large  and  has  exerted  himself  at 
every  opportunity  to  keep  the  standard  of 
the  public  schools  at  the  highest  possible 
point.  He  is  a  firm  believer  in  giving  to 
every  boy  and  girl  the  opportunity  for  an 
education.  His  interest  in  municipal  affairs 
has  also  been  frequently  demonstrated. 

Mr.  Weis  married,  in  1889,  Isabel  G.  Mc- 
Millan, of  Montreal,  Canada,  a  daughter  of 
David  and  Maria  (Mann)  McMillan.  They 
have  three  children:  Herman  \V.,  born 
1891  ;   Marie,  born  1896;   Isabel,  born  1898. 


BRAY,  Thomas, 

Agriculturist. 

Among  the  well  known  agriculturists  of 
Holyoke  should  be  mentioned  the  name  of 
Thomas  Bray,  who  in  1879  came  to  his 
present  farm  on  Westfield  street,  known  as 
the  Bray  homestead.  He  was  then  a  young 
man  of  thirty-three.  Here  he  has  since  re- 
sided, following  the  vocations  of  farmer 
and  contractor,  and  now  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty we  find  him  hale,  hearty  and  well  con- 
tented that  his  lines  were  cast  in  such  pleas- 
ant places.  He  is  of  English  birth  and  par- 
entage, grandson  of  James  Bray,  who  lived 
and  died  in  England,  and  son  of  George  and 
Emma  (Francis)   Bray. 

George  Bray,  born  in  England,  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1853,  and  died  in  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  in  1904,  aged  eighty- 
seven  years.  He  was  a  moulder  and  for  a 
time  after  coming  to  the  United  States 
worked  at  his  trade,  but  his  health  failed 
and  he  became  a  farmer,  that  out-of-doors 
life  restoring  his  vigor.  His  farm  was  near 
Holyoke  and  there  he  passed  a  long  and  use- 
ful life.  He  was  a  supporter  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  and  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church.  He  married  in  England,  Emma 
Francis,  who  died  in  Holyoke  at  an  advanc- 
ed age,  the  mother  of  four  children : 
Thomas,  of  further  mention  ;  Ruth,  became 


96 


the  wife  of  John  Best,  of  Elmwood,  Massa- 
chusetts ;  Eliza,  became  the  wife  of  Frank 
Alden,  now  deceased,  of  East  Long  Mead- 
ow, Massachusetts ;  George  Samuel,  now 
living  at  South  Hadley,  Massachusetts. 

Thomas  Bray  was  born  in  Wiltshire, 
England,  January  24,  1846,  and  at  the  age 
of  seven  was  brought  to  the  United  States 
by  his  parents,  who  not  long  afterward  lo- 
cated on  the  farm  at  Holyoke.  There  he 
spent  his  youth  and  early  manhood,  obtain- 
ing a  public  school  education  and  assisting 
his  father  in  cultivating  the  farm.  They 
at  first  worked  a  small  tract,  but  later  se- 
cured a  larger  farm,  Thomas  remaining 
with  his  father  until  reaching  the  age  of 
twenty,  and  at  twenty-five  years  of  age  he 
began  farming  on  his  own  account  on  Chic- 
opee  street,  engaging  in  the  milk  business, 
conducting  it  for  five  years.  In  1879  he 
purchased  and  moved  to  his  present  farm 
on  Westfield  street,  which  consists  of  thirty- 
five  acres,  where  he  raises  hogs,  keeps  cows, 
and  sells  the  milk,  and  pursues  a  successful 
business  as  dairy  farmer  and  contractor 
For  a  number  of  years  he  confined  his  op- 
erations largely  to  dairy  farming  on  an  ex- 
tensive scale,  disposing  of  the  product  of  his 
herds  and  fields  in  Holyoke,  running  his 
own  wagons.  He  also  carried  on  general 
farming  operations,  and  added  to  his  activ- 
ities a  line  of  contract  work,  teaming,  ex- 
cavating and  grading.  One  of  his  largest 
contracts  was  the  grading  for  the  first  street 
railways  in  Holyoke,  most  of  that  work 
having  been  done  under  his  supervision.  He 
is  now  retired  from  the  heavier  burdens  of 
life  and  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  years 
of  honorable  toil.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church,  and  in  political  faith, 
is  a  Republican. 

Mr.  Bray  married,  December  9,  1868,, 
Temperance  Bray,  born  at  Catskill,  New 
York,  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Nancy 
Bray.  They  have  children :  Frank  G. ; 
Mary  Jane,  wife  of  William  Ross ;    Fred ; 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Lillian,  wife  of  Thomas  Slatterly  ;  Herbert, 
deceased ;  Thomas  A. ;  Grace,  wife  of  Roy 
W.Bates;  Alfred;   Ruth;   Dwight. 


PQTVIN,  Gilbert, 

Builder,    Contractor. 

In  1864  there  came  to  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, a  young  man  of  Canadian  birth 
and  French  parentage,  but  not  a  stranger 
in  Massachusetts,  having  spent  the  previous 
ten  years  in  that  State.  Holyoke  was  then 
a  town  of  but  three  thousand  population, 
and  offered  little  inducement  to  one  of  his 
trade,  but  to  the  eye  of  the  young  man  it  did 
offer  good  opportunities  for  an  energetic, 
wnde-awake  merchant,  and  soon  the  sign 
of  Gilbert  Potvin  adorned  a  small  but  well 
stocked  dry  goods  store  on  one  of  Holyoke's 
best  business  streets.  That  was  half  a  cen- 
tury ago  and  the  sign  Gilbert  Potvin,  Mer- 
chant, was  taken  down  so  long  ago  that 
heads  of  families  in  the  city  cannot  even 
remember  having  seen  it,  but  Gilbert  Pot- 
vin, contractor  and  builder,  is  a  well  known 
man  in  that  city  and  to  the  people  of  Hol- 
yoke. He  was  a  lad  of  sixteen  when  he  left 
his  Canadian  home  and  came  to  the  United 
States ;  a  young  man  of  twenty-six  when 
he  first  located  in  Holyoke ;  the  matured 
man  of  forty-one  when  he  forsook  mercan- 
tile life  and  began  contracting  buildings, 
and  now  is  the  veteran  of  seventy-eight. 
What  his  principal  life  work  has  meant  to 
Holyoke  and  its  development  may  be  best 
understood  by  the  statement  that  as  a  build- 
er he  has  erected  residences  and  business 
blocks  costing  nearly  $2,000,000.  He  is  one 
of  the  largest  taxpayers  in  the  city  and  the 
largest  payer  of  water  rent.  Take  the  build- 
ings in  Holyoke,  erected  by  Mr.  Potvin,  out 
of  the  city,  and  a  large  area  would  be  depop- 
ulated. 

His  grandfather,  John  Potvin,  came  from 
France,  settling  on  a  farm  near  Montreal, 
Canada.  That  farm  was  at  the  village  of 
MASS.— 7—7- 


Lalquevil,  and  there  he  lived  and  died,  and 
there  his  son,  John  (2)  Potvin,  resided,  a 
successful  farmer  until  1868.  John  (2) 
Potvin  married  Delaide  Patnode,  who  bore 
him  seven  children,  Gilbert  being  the  eldest. 
After  their  son  became  a  merchant  of  Hol- 
yoke, John  and  Delaide  Potvin  came,  in 
1868,  to  make  their  home  near  him,  and 
there  both  lived  until  the  death  of  John  Pot- 
vin in  1892,  his  widow  surviving  him  but 
two  years. 

Gilbert  Potvin  was  born  in  Lalquevil, 
near  Montreal,  Canada,  February  14,  1848. 
His  education  was  such  as  the  parish  schools 
afforded  and  of  these  he  made  good  use, 
but  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  in  1854,  he  came 
to  the  United  States  and  thenceforth  his  on- 
ly school  attendance  was  at  evening  schools. 
He  found  his  first  employment  at  Fitch- 
burg,  Massachusetts,  in  a  machine  shop,  and 
there  he  remained  three  years  completing 
an  apprenticeship  and  becoming  a  capable 
machinist.  During  that  period,  he  also  at- 
tended evening  schools.  He  was  next  em- 
ployed as  a  journeyman  machinist  at  Wor- 
cester, and  later  in  the  Boston  &  Albany 
Railroad  shops  at  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, constantly  working  at  his  trade  until 
1864,  when  he  located  in  Holyoke,  then  a 
small  town  of  perhaps  three  thousand  souls. 
He  had  been  frugal  in  his  expenditures,  and 
having  earned  good  wages  at  his  trade  he 
had  accumulated  sufficient  capital  to  enable 
him  to  take  advantage  of  an  opening  he 
quickly  saw  the  town  offered  for  a  dry 
goods  store.  He  rented  a  store  on  High 
street,  and  in  a  small  way  began  business. 
His  venture  proved  a  success  from  its  be- 
ginning and  for  eighteen  years  he  continued 
in  the  dry  goods  business,  prospering  abun- 
dantly. In  1880  he  withdrew  from  com- 
mercial life  to  engage  in  building  opera- 
tions. He  became  the  leading  contractor  of 
the  city,  his  record  of  nearly  $2,000,000 
worth  of  buildings  erected  being  equalled  by 
few  contractors  in  Western  Massachusetts, 


97 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  strictly  residence  and  business  blocks.  As 
time  passed  on,  he  acquired  a  large  amount 
of  land  in  Holyoke  upon  which  he  erected 
residences,  becoming,  as  stated,  the  largest 
payer  of  water  rates  in  the  city,  and  one 
of  the  heaviest  taxpayers.  While  he  is  now 
retired  it  is  said  that  nearly  every  building 
he  erected  had  been  largely  under  his  per- 
sonal supervision  and  his  pride  was  that  the 
contracts  entered  into  had  been  faithfully 
executed. 

In  religious  faith  Mr.  Potvin  is  a  Catho- 
lic, belonging  to  the  parish  of  the  Church 
of  Perpetual  Help.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Society  of  St.  Jean  Le  Baptiste  and 
the  French  Union. 

Mr.  Potvin  married  (first)  September  7, 
1859,  Odele  Masel,  also  born  in  Lalquevil, 
who  died  in  191 3,  the  mother  of  four  chil- 
dren :  Gilbert,  died  in  infancy ;  Jennie,  wife 
of  George  Oliver,  of  Holyoke ;  Cora,  wife 
of  Thomas  I.  Kenney,  of  New  Haven,  Con- 
necticut; Gilbert  (2),  married  Ella  Smith, 
of  Springfield,  now  residing  in  Holyoke. 
Mr.  Potvin  married  (second)  April  17, 
1916,  Lucy  Auchambault,  born  in  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  daughter  of  Charles  Auchambault, 
born  in  Canada,  a  millwright,  now  deceased. 
She  has  two  sisters,  Mrs.  Mike  Ellwell,  of 
Holyoke,  and  Mrs.  Peter  Peirson,  of  Hol- 
yoke. The  mother  of  these  children  died  in 
1 910.  For  some  ten  years  previous  to  her 
marriage  to  Mr.  Potvin,  Mrs.  Potvin  con- 
ducted a  successful  dressmaking  business  in 
Holyoke. 


TURGEON,  Louis  Abraham, 

Contractor,  Real  Estate  Holder. 

The  early  life  of  Louis  Abraham  Tur- 
geon  was  spent  on  the  sea  and  in  the  north 
woods  as  a  lumberman,  his  first  introduc- 
tion to  Holyoke  being  with  the  annual  spring 
drive  of  logs  brought  out  of  the  north.  Fin- 
ally, in  the  drive  of  1877,  he  decided  not  to 
go  back  north  but  to  remain  in  Holyoke. 


98 


He  did  so,  has  succeeded,  is  the  head  of  a 
very  prosperous  business,  and  is  well  known 
in  New  England.  He  is  a  son  of  Joseph 
Turgeon,  born  in  Canada,  in  1822,  and  there 
died,  January  12,  1904,  a  farmer.  He 
married  Margaret  Gongue,  born  in  1823, 
died  January  8,  1885.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of :  Adelina,  Albert,  Rabico,  Francis 
and  John,  all  deceased ;  Louis  Abraham, 
of  further  mention,  Pierre,  Francis  (2), 
Odile,  Aremine,  Alphonse  and  Edward. 

Louis  Abraham  Turgeon  was  born  near 
Quebec,  Canada,  March  18,  1852,  and  edu- 
cated in  public  school.  He  was  employed 
on  the  farm  in  boyhood,  then  went  to  sea 
for  two  years  in  merchant  vessels  trading 
with  Labrador.  In  1873  he  came  to  the 
United  States,  living  in  Oldtown  and  Ban- 
gor, Maine,  employed  in  the  lumber  camps 
during  the  winters,  driving  the  logs  down 
stream  in  the  spring,  and  in  the  saw  mills 
during  the  summer  months.  He  thus  spent 
two  years,  then  was  again  a  sailor  for  two 
years,  then  once  more  returned  to  the  lum- 
ber woods,  but  in  New  Hampshire  instead 
of  Maine.  He  worked  during  the  winters 
in  lumber  camps  at  Starkwater,  Groveton 
and  Island  Pond,  coming  with  the  log 
drives  down  the  river  every  spring,  then  re- 
turning north. 

In  1877  he  located  in  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  has  since  made  that  city  his 
home.  He  was  employed  in  the  woolen 
mills,  the  Prentiss  Wire  Works,  the  Farr 
Alpaca  Company,  the  Holyoke  Water  Pow- 
er Company  and  by  Caspar  Ranger  at  dif- 
ferent times  until  1884,  then  began  business 
for  himself  as  a  house  mover.  He  has  ever 
since  that  year  been  in  that  business,  but  its 
scope  has  greatly  widened  and  he  contracts 
for  heavy  moving  of  all  kinds  in  all  parts 
of  the  State  and  frequently  beyond  its  lim- 
its. He  uses  heavy  motor  trucks  in  his 
business,  and  keeps  a  large  force  of  men 
employed  the  year  round.  Recently  he  ad- 
mitted his  three  sons  to  a  partnership,  and 


'a:dif- 


.  l-if^ 


rinployed 


the    log 
lu.g,  then  re- 

Holyoke,  Massa- 


[ 


ENXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


upon  their  younger  shoulders  the  burden 
now  falls,  while  the  father  devotes  himself 
largely  to  his  real  estate  and  other  inter- 
ests. He  is  the  owner  of  the  Turgeon  block 
and  twenty-eight  tenement  houses  in  the 
city,  and  has  other  holdings  of  importance. 
He  is  a  director  and  vice-president  of  the 
Monument  Xationale  Association ;  director 
of  the  Landlord's  Protective  Association; 
member  of  the  St.  Jean  Baptiste  Society, 
the  Order  of  Foresters  and  the  Quoit  Club. 
^Ir.  Turgeon  married,  in  February,  1879, 
Mary  Marceline  Dory,  daughter  of  Louis 
and  Matilda  (Menard)  Dory.  ]\Ir.  and 
Mrs.  L.  A.  Turgeon  are  the  parents  of 
twelve  children:  i.  Louis,  born  October  27, 
1879,  a  carpenter  by  trade  ;  he  married,  De- 
cember 27,  1898,  Eva  Stone,  of  Holyoke, 
and  has  children :  Louis,  born  April  3, 
1899  :  Def  ora,  died  aged  five  years ;  Irene, 
born  September  24,  1904;  Telesphone,  died 
in  infancy;  Alfred  and  Wilfred,  twins,  born 
July  4,  191 1,  Wilfred  dying  in  infancy.  2. 
Joseph,  born  January  11,  1882,  deceased. 
3.  ]\Iarceline,  born  April  13.  1884;  married 
Andrew  Lawrence  and  died  leaving  a  son, 
Andrew  Joseph.  4.  Pierre,  born  January 
29,  1886,  a  partner  with  his  father  and 
brothers ;  he  married  Rhea  Ripest.  5.  Al- 
bert, born  October  6,  1887,  deceased.  6. 
Jennie,  born  June  17,  1889.  7.  Henry,  born 
September  6,  1891,  a  partner  with  his  fath- 
er and  brothers;  he  married  Lillian  Wells 
and  has  a  son,  Henry  Herman.  8.  Albina, 
born  November  2^,  1892;  married  Amos 
Beauchamp  and  has  three  children :  Amos, 
Anita  and  Pearl.  9.  William  J.,  born  March 
12,  1894,  deceased.  10.  John,  born  July  22, 
1895,  in  business  with  his  father  and  broth- 
ers; married  Edith  Lebeau.  11.  Ernest, 
born  April  30,  1897.  12.  Ida,  born  Febru- 
ary 15,  1899;  married  Everett  Redford. 


WRITTEN,  Nathan  H., 

Manufacturer. 

The  career  of  the  late  Nathan  H.  Whit- 
ten,  of  Holyoke,  was  ever  such  as  to  war- 
rant the  trust  and  confidence  of  the  busi- 
ness world  and  the  regard  of  all  with  whom 
he  was  brought  in  contact,  for  he  always 
conducted  all  transactions  on  the  strictest 
principles  of  honor  and  integrity.  His  de- 
votion to  the  public  good  was  unquestioned 
and  arose  from  sincere  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  his  fellowmen.  What  the  w^orld 
needs  is  such  men,  willing  to  bear  their 
full  share  of  service  and  capable  of  per- 
forming all  the  duties  which  fall  to  the  lot 
of  the  citizens  of  this  great  land. 

In  the  paternal  line  Mr.  Whitten  traced 
his  ancestry  to  the  pioneer  stock  of  New 
Hampshire  and  Maine.  In  the  earliest  rec- 
ords we  find  the  surname  Whitten  also 
spelled  Wheeten,  Whetten,  Wheeden,  Whit- 
on,  \\'hiting,  Whyton,  Whitton,  \\' yton,  and 
several  of  these  forms  have  been  continued 
in  use  to  the  present  time  by  various 
branches  of  the  family.  The  family  is  of 
old  English  stock,  and  three  brothers,  Sam- 
uel, Thomas  and  John  Whitten,  were  among 
the  early  settlers  of  New  Hampshire.  John 
and  Samuel  Whitten  were  living  in  Ports- 
mouth and  were  members  of  the  church 
there  as  early  as  1671,  when  Rev.  Mr. 
]\Ioody  was  pastor  and  they  contributed  to 
the  fund  to  maintain  him. 

(II)  Michael  Whitten,  a  son  of  John 
Whitten,  was  born  in  1670,  and  he  also 
lived  in  Portsmouth.  He  was  a  carpenter 
and  joiner,  a  man  of  prominence,  and 
his  name  appears  often  in  the  public  records 
in  the  settlement  of  the  estates  of  his  neigh- 
bors. His  will  made  in  171 3,  bequeathes 
to  wife  Mary  and  children,  John,  James, 
Jane  Edgerly,  Alice  Hains,  Abigail  White, 
Sarah  Hains,  Mary  Johnson,  Elizabeth,  and 


99 


364S77A 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  daughter  of  son  Samuel,  deceased. 
Michael  Whitten  married,  June  6,  1694, 
and  his  children,  baptized  June  3,  1709,  in 
the  Portsmouth  church  were :  Michael,  who 
was  in  Kittery  in  1730;  John,  mentioned 
below;  Samuel;  Abigail;  Elizabeth.  Mich- 
ael Whitten  was  a  member  of  the  church 
as  early  as  1699. 

(Ill)  John  (2)  Whitten,  son  of  Michael 
Whitten,  was  born  in  1700,  in  Portsmouth, 
New  Hampshire,  and  settled  in  the  adjacent 
town  of  Kingston,  near  the  Salisbury  line, 
and  the  history  of  Kennebunkport,  Maine, 
states  that  he  came  there  from  Salisbury, 
Massachusetts,  about  1724.  He  drew  a  lot 
in  Kennebunkport,  formerly  Arundel, 
Maine,  on  the  Saco  river,  in  1728,  and 
went  there  to  live,  and  in  1737  he  was  one 
of  the  proprietors  of  the  town.  He  mar- 
ried, at  Salisbury,  Ruth  Merrill,  who  was 
born  July  26,  171 1,  daughter  of  Deacon 
John  Merrill,  who  belonged  to  one  of  the 
leading  families.  Her  father,  born  in  1674, 
was  a  soldier  in  1710  in  the  Colonial  forces ; 
a  housewright  by  trade ;  married,  Septem- 
ber 2T„  1702,  Mary  Allen,  and  he  died  Jan- 
uary 7,  1756.  Sergeant  Daniel  Merrill, 
father  of  Deacon  John  Merrill,  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Newbury  and  Salisbury,  born  1642, 
married  (first)  May  14,  1667,  Sarah 
Clough,  who  died  March  18,  1705-06;  he 
married  (second)  May  29,  1708,  Sarah 
Morrill,  widow  of  Philip  Rowell  and  On- 
esiphorous  Page;  he  died  June  2"/,  171 7. 
Nathaniel  ^Merrill,  father  of  Sergeant  Dan- 
iel Merrill,  was  the  immigrant  ancestor ;  he 
died  March  16,  1654-55,  leaving  a  widow, 
Susannah.  Children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Whitten:  i.  John,  born  1734,  died  1802; 
served  in  the  Revolution,  married  Han- 
nah Walker,  of  Kennebunkport,  and  went 
to  Topsham,  Maine,  in  1764.  2.  Phineas, 
also  moved  eastward.  3.  Samuel,  born  about 
1735 ;  served  in  the  Revolution ;  married 
Hannah  Poindexter.  4.  Humphrey,  of 
further  mention.     5.  Israel,  married  Sarah 


Fairfield,  served  in  the  Revolution  in  the 
same  company  with  his  brothers,  Joseph 
and  Samuel.  6.  Joseph,  soldier  in  the  Revo- 
lution; died  at  Lyman,  Maine,  in  1797; 
married  Ann  Burnham.  7.  Mary,  married 
Samuel  Waterhouse.     8.  Hannah,  married 

Knight.     9.   Ruth,  married  

Gordon.  10.  Sarah,  married  Daniel  Da- 
vis. II.  Lydis,  married  Moses  W^adlin.  12. 
Anna,  married  (first)  Captain  English,  and 
(second)   John  Burbank. 

(IV)  Humphrey  Whitten,  son  of  John 
(2)  Whitten,  was  born  in  Kennebunkport, 
Maine,  and  lived  at  Cape  Porpoise,  near 
his  birthplace,  until  he  went  to  Alfred, 
Maine,  an  old  history  of  which  (1872) 
says  :  "Samuel  Whitten  who  married  a  Poin- 
dexter and  Humphrey  Whitten  who  married 
a  Lasel  came  from  Cape  Porpoise  and  set- 
tled in  Back  Street  and  were  succeeded  by 
numerous  children.  Their  father  came  from 
Salisbury,  Massachusetts."  He  was  living 
in  what  is  now  Alfred  in  1790,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  first  federal  census  Samuel  and 
James  Whitten  were  his  neighbors. 

(V)  Humphrey  (2)  W^hitten,  son  of 
Humphrey  ( i )  Whitten,  was  born  at  Cape 
Porpoise,  or  what  is  now  Alfred,  Maine,  in 
1773,  and  died  in  1839.  He  lived  at  Wa- 
terborough  and  Alfred,  Alaine.  In  1796 
he  married  Abigail  Hodgdon,  who  was  born 
at  Waterborough  in  October,  1777,  and  died 
January  28,  1869.  Children:  i.  Isabel,  born 
1798,  died  1825;  married  Samuel  Clark.  2. 
]\Iartha,  born  1800,  died  1852;  married 
Thomas  Clark.  3.  Nathan,  mentioned  be- 
low. 4.  Eliza,  born  1807,  died  1846.  5. 
Jefiferson,  born  1810,  died  1896;  married 
(first)  Harriet  Carter,  (second)  Florilla 
Richards.  6.  Abigail,  born  181 3,  died  185 1. 
7.  Joseph,  born  1816,  died  1839. 

(VI)  Nathan  Whitten,  son  of  Humphrey 
(2)  Whitten,  was  born  at  Waterborough, 
in  1802,  and  died  July  12,  1890.  He  mar- 
ried, December  3,  1824,  Ruth  Small,  a  na- 
tive of  Cape  Cod.     Children,  born  in  Car- 


ICX) 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


mel :  i.  Abigail  Ruth,  born  1825,  died  1839 
2.  Nathan  Holhs,  mentioned  below.  3 
Alexander  Huniphey,  born  1829,  died  1834 

4.  Elizabeth  Hannah,  born  1830,  died  1888 

5.  Martin  Luther,  born  1831,  died  1865.  6 
Isabel  Miller,  born  1833,  died  1864.  Ruth 
(Small)  Whitten  was  born  June  17,  1798, 
and  died  May  8,  1871.  She  had  a  brother 
Alexander  and  a  sister  Eliza.  They  were 
the  children  of  Alexander  Small,  born  at 
Provincetown,  Massachusetts,  1765,  died 
1846,  and  Ruth  (Dyer)  Small,  born  1766, 
at  Truro,  Cape  Cod,  died  in  1852.  Ruth  A. 
Whitten,  of  Bangor,  Maine,  from  whorn  the 
family  records  were  obtained,  was  born  in 
1862,  daughter  of  IMartin  Luther  and  Ma- 
tilda F.  (Saunders)  Whitten,  granddaugh- 
ter of  Nathan  Whitten. 

(VII)  Nathan  Hollis  Whitten,  son  of 
Nathan  Whitten,  was  born  at  Carmel, 
Maine,  May  30,  1827.  He  received  a  thor- 
ough preliminary  education  in  "the  little 
red  schoolhouse,"  and  this  was  supplement- 
ed in  later  years  by  judicious  reading  and 
a  keen  observation  of  men  and  events.  At 
an  early  age  he  left  home  and  learned  the 
trade  of  millwright,  being  one  of  the  men  of 
that  day  who  made  a  specialty  of  building 
water  wheels,  one  of  the  pioneer  industries 
in  the  days  before  the  general  application  of 
steam  for  motive  power,  a  large  number  of 
the  manufacturing  plants  being  operated  by 
means  of  water  power.  In  1852  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
and  there  secured  employment  in  the  orig- 
inal Hadley  Falls  Company,  with  which 
concern  he  was  connected  until  the  failure 
of  the  business.  Upon  the  formation  of  the 
Holyoke  Water  Power  Company,  he  en- 
tered its  employ,  and  being  naturally  a  good 
mechanic,  though  he  was  nominally  a  w^heel- 
wright,  he  also  filled  the  position  of  pattern 
maker,  a  trade  in  which  he  was  also  an  ex- 
pert, and  in  addition  he  was  the  draughts- 
man for  the  company.  He  remained  with 
this  concern  until  the  shop  was  disposed  of. 


He  then  became  associated  with  T.  C.  Page^ 
T.  B.  Flanders,  Richard  Patte  and  S.  S. 
Chase  in  establishing  the  Holyoke  Machine 
Company  for  the  manufacture  of  machin- 
ery. The  partners  were  all  men  of  good 
training,  having  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  business  and  of  sound  business  judg- 
ment, energetic  and  industrious,  and  the 
growth  and  success  of  the  concern  was  well 
merited.  Mr.  Whitten's  department  until 
1886  was  that  of  hydraulic  and  mechanical 
engineer,  and  from  that  time  to  the  date 
of  his  death  he  was  president  of  the  corpo- 
ration, administering  the  affairs  w^ith  ad- 
mirable skill  and  ability  for  a  period  of 
twenty  years.  In  addition  to  his  interest  in 
the  foregoing,  he  was  an  active  participant 
in  many  successful  business  enterprises  in 
Holyoke,  among  which  may  be  mentioned 
the  Ford  Bit  Company,  of  which  he  was  a 
member  of  the  board  of  directors,  and  also 
president,  which  office  was  held  by  his  son 
Sumner  H.  Whitten  until  the  dissolution  of 
the  company  in  1916.  He  was  always  en- 
thusiastic and  zealous  in  public  matters,  an 
active  factor  in  the  forming  and  carrying 
out  of  the  projects  for  the  development 
and  welfare  of  his  adopted  city,  and  it  was 
directly  through  his  personal  interest  that 
the  city  of  Holyoke  has  at  the  present  time 
its  splendid  municipal  building,  he  having 
been  a  member  of  its  building  committee. 
He  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  building 
committee  of  the  Holyoke  Library  and  the 
Second  Congregational  Church,  his  services 
being  greatly  beneficial  and  highly  appreci- 
ated. He  was  a  director  of  the  Holyoke 
Library  and  the  City  Hospital,  and  was 
active  and  helpful  in  the  support  of  the  va- 
rious benevolent  organizations  of  Holyoke. 
Mr.  Whitten  married,  June,  1856,  Ellen 
M.  Wood,  of  North  Brookfield,  who  died 
in  1887.  They  were  the  parents  of  six 
children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy, 
namely:  Sumner  H.,  of  whom  further; 
Mary  L.,  Helen  F.,  Eunice  E.,  Fannie,  and 


lOI 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Annie  L.  The  death  of  Mr.  Whitten  occur- 
red August  23,  1905,  and  thus  the  city  of 
Holyoke  lost  a  man  whose  entire  Hfe  had 
been  characterized  by  uprightness  of  char- 
acter, steadfastness  of  principle,  and  kindly 
acts  which  won  for  him  the  respect  and  con- 
fidence of  the  entire  community  in  which 
he  lived. 

(VIII)  Sumner  H.  Whitten,  son  of  Na- 
than Hollis  Whitten,  was  born  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  May  8,  1857,  in  which  city 
he  has  spent  all  of  his  active  life.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  and  high  schools  of 
his  native  city,  then  entered  Amherst  Col- 
lege, and  there  pursued  his  studies  for  three 
years.  Having  decided  upon  a  mechanical 
career,  he  entered  the  Holyoke  Machine 
Company  in  order  to  thoroughly  learn  the 
trade  of  machinist.  At  the  suggestion  of 
his  father  that  he  should  acquire  a  complete 
knowledge  of  the  different  methods  of  ap- 
plying his  trade,  he  obtained  positions  in 
various  shops,  remaining  in  each  of  them 
long  enough  to  obtain  the  desired  experi- 
ence. He  then  returned  to  the  Holyoke  Ma- 
chine Company,  with  which  concern  he  has 
since  been  associated,  occupying  the  posi- 
tion of  hydraulic  engineer,  or  acting  in  any 
capacity  to  advance  the  interests  of  the 
different  mechanical  departments,  in  all  of 
which  he  has  a  thorough  and  comprehensive 
knowledge.  Recently  he  was  granted  a  pat- 
ent on  a  pulp  grinding  machine.  j\Ir.  Whit- 
ten is  a  member  of  the  Delta  Upsilon  fra- 
ternity, of  which  his  two  sons  are  also  mem- 
bers, and  a  member  of  the  Holyoke  Canoe 
Club,  the  Sans  Souci  Club  and  Bay  State 
Club.  He  spends  his  leisure  time  in  the 
study  of  German,  French,  Italian,  and  other 
languages,  a  number  of  which  he  speaks  in 
a  fluent  manner.  His  uniform  courtesy  and 
genial  disposition  have  gained  the  friendly 
regard  of  all  with  vvhom  he  has  come  in 
contact,  and  in  a  work  of  this  character  he 
well  deserves  representation  as  an  exem- 
plary resident  of  his  native  city. 


Mr.  Whitten  married,  June  20,  1888, 
Laura  Antz,  of  Holyoke,  a  daughter  of 
Valentine  Antz,  a  farmer  of  this  section. 
Mrs.  Whitten  is  a  highly  educated  woman, 
and  has  written  many  pleasing  articles  for 
local  works  which  have  appeared  in  the  pub- 
lic press  at  various  times,  she  being  well 
and  favorably  known  along  these  lines.  But 
her  greatest  work  has  been  in  connection 
with  the  National  Congress  of  Alothers 
and  also  in  the  Infant  Hygiene  Association, 
of  which  she  was  the  organizer,  and  of 
which  she  has  always  been  president.  She 
has  also  delivered  many  addresses  upon  this 
and  other  kindred  subjects.  Their  family 
consists  of  four  children:  i.  Edmund  S.,  a 
graduate  of  Amherst  College,  obtained  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts  from  Harvard 
College,  after  which  he  taught  for  two  years 
in  St.  Stephen's  College,  was  later  Profes- 
sor of  Modern  Languages  at  Riverdale  In- 
stitute, New  York,  and  now  (1917)  has 
same  position  in  Newton  Day  School ;  he 
married  Dorothy  Von  Schartle ;  two  chil- 
dren :  Julia  and  Sumner  H.  2.  Philip  F., 
a  graduate  of  Amherst  College,  was  physic- 
al director  at  Brown's  School  in  Providence, 
now  holds  same  position  in  Medford  public 
schools;  married,  July  26,  1916,  Helen  M. 
Taylor,  of  Chicopee  Falls,  daughter  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Elmer  R.  Taylor ;  the  ceremony 
was  performed  by  the  Rev,  A.  D.  Smith, 
pastor  of  the  First  Evangelical  Congrega- 
tional Church,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  T.  Pace 
Haig,  pastor  of  the  Second  Congregational 
Church  of  Chicopee  Falls;  Mrs.  Whitten 
is  a  graduate  of  Mt.  Holyoke  College,  class 
of  191 5,  and  after  her  graduation  was  head 
of  the  French  department  at  the  West 
Springfield  High  School.  3.  Madeline.  4. 
Eleanor.  The  Whitten  family  is  one  of 
prominence  in  the  community  where  they 
reside,  their  home  being  noted  for  the  gra- 
cious hospitality  dispensed  there. 


102 


/^ 


//        /     v> 


vv/' 


I? 


-I 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  Adelia  M.  (Stedman)  Wetherell,  was 
born  February  2,  1855,  in  Southampton, 
Massachusetts.  He  attended  the  local  pub- 
lic schools  and  academy.  After  a  course  at 
W'illiston  Seminary,  finding  himself  out  of 
funds,  he  went  to  Boston  to  secure  employ- 
ment to  raise  the  necessary  money  to  com- 
plete his  college  course.  He  was  thus  en- 
abled by  industry  and  frugality  to  pursue  a 
medical  course  in  Harvard  University, 
graduating  in  1883.  The  following  two 
years  he  was  connected  with  hospitals  in 
Boston,  thus  gaining  a  wide  experience  and 
knowledge  supplemental  to  his  college 
course.  On  April  6,  1886,  he  located  at 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  and  for  over  thir- 
ty years  has  been  prominently  identified 
with  the  growth  of  medical  science  and  de- 
velopment of  his  home  city.  He  has  been 
eminently  successful  in  practice  and  has 
contributed  in  no'  small  degree  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  community.  He  was  actively 
instrumental  in  the  organization  of  the  City 
Hospital,  was  associated  with  Dr.  L.  M. 
Tuttle  in  selecting  its  location,  and  has  been 
a  member  of  the  hospital  board  to  the  pres- 
ent time  and  is  now  the  senior  physician  on 
its  staff.  He  is  universally  recognized,  not 
only  as  "The  good  physician,"  but  as  a  use- 
ful citizen.  Dr.  Wetherell  is  a  member  of 
the  Holyoke  Medical  Society,  Massachu- 
setts Medical  Society,  x\merican  Medical 
Association,  and  Harvard  Medical  Alumni. 
Like  his  father,  he  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic order,  being  afftliated  with  Mount 
Tom  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons; 
Mount  Holyoke  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Ma- 
sons ;  Holyoke  Council,  Royal  and 
Select  Masters ;  Springfield  Comman- 
dery,  Knights  Templar ;  and  the  An- 
cient Arabic  Order,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine.  He  is  a  member  of  Unity  Lodge, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  ;  Knights 
of  Pythias ;  Holyoke  Club ;  Mount  Tom 
Golf  Club ;  and  Canoe  Club  of  Holyoke. 
For  fifteen  years  he  has  been  a  member 


of  the  Holyoke  Board  of  Health,  con- 
tinuously serving  as  chairman,  and  for 
many  years  (fifteen)  was  a  member  of  the 
United  States  Pensions  Examining  Board. 
Dr.  Wetherell  married,  December  28, 
1887,  Erminie  Davis,  born  in  Taunton,  Mas- 
sachusetts, daughter  of  Benjamin  Davis, 
who  was  born  about  1830,  in  Somerset, 
Alassachusetts,  a  machinist,  who  through- 
out his  active  life  engaged  in  building  lo- 
comotive engines  in  Taunton  for  the  Ma- 
son Locomotive  Works.  Benjamin  Davis 
married  Maria  Robinson,  a  native  of 
Charlestown,  New  Hampshire,  daughter  of 
Lemuel  Robinson.  She  died  in  1868.  Of 
her  four  children,  Mrs.  Wetherell  is  the  only 
one  living.  Children  of  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Wetherell:  i.  Bryant,  born  November  19, 
1888;  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
High  School,  Davis  Allen  School  of  New- 
ton, Williams  College,  graduate  of  Harvard 
Medical  College,  and  is  now  an  interne  in 
the  Masachusetts  General  Hospital.  2.  Ma- 
rion, born  July  23,  1895  ;  educated  in  the 
common  schools,  High  School,  Walnut  Hill 
School,  and  Vassar  College,  class  of  191 7. 


PARIS,  Daniel  Eldon, 

Business  Man. 

Daniel  Eldon  Paris,  of  Holyoke,  has  filled 
his  present  position  as  advertising  manager 
of  the  Hampshire  Paper  Company  since 
1906.  He  is  a  descendant  of  Thomas  Par- 
ris,  who  came  from  England  in  1663.  He 
was  the  only  son  of  John  Parris,  and  grand- 
son of  Thomas  Parris,  of  London,  England. 

Thomas  Parris,  the  founder,  sailed  for 
America  from  Topsham,  England,  June  28, 
1663,  locating  on  Long  Island,  there  marry- 
ing Mary  Jerklin.  Later  they  removed  to 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  where  Mary,  his 
wife,  died,  leaving  two  daughters.  He 
shortly  after  moved  to  Pembroke,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  married  a  Miss  Rogers, 
and  they  were  the  parents  of  the  following 


105 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


children :  Samuel,  John,  Thomas,  of  furth- 
er mention ;  Moses,  Elizabeth,  married 
Ebenezer  Bonney ;  Anna,  married  Edward 
May.  The  line  of  descent  from  the 
founder  is  through  Thomas  (2)  Parris,  a 
son  of  Thomas  ( i )  and  his  second  wife ; 
Thomas  (2)  Parris  married  Hannah  Gar- 
net, of  Scituate,  Massachusetts,  who  died  in 
1770,  aged  sixty-eight.  They  were  the 
parents  of  Thomas  (3),  Elkanah,  of  furth- 
er mention;  Benjamin  and  Matthew  Par- 
ris. 

Elkanah  Parris  was  born  in  1728,  lived 
in  Pembroke  and  Williamstown,  finally,  in 
1797,  settled  in  Danby,  Vermont,  then  a  man 
of  sixty-nine  years.  He  married  Grace 
Mott,  of  Scituate,  Massachusetts,  and  soon 
afterward  moved  to  Williamstown,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  most  of  their  married  life 
was  spent.  In  the  spring  of  1797  they 
moved  to  the  then  comparatively  pioneer 
settlement  at  Danby,  Vermont,  and  there 
resided  until  his  death,  June  16,  181 3,  his 
widow  surviving  him  until  August  19,  1819, 
being  then  aged  eighty-one.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Society  of  Friends,  exemplary 
in  life  and  morals.  He  accumulated  con- 
siderable wealth,  being  one  of  the  substan- 
tial farmers  of  the  section,  a  worthy,  peace- 
able, influential  member  of  the  community. 
He  was  a  man  of  intelligence  and  ability, 
and  Danby  is  yet  the  home  of  many  of  his 
descendants,  and  there  and  in  other  places 
they  bear  the  same  traits  of  character  and 
disposition  as  did  their  ancestor,  Elkanah 
Parris.  Elkanah  and  Grace  (Mott)  Par- 
ris were  the  parents  of  Micah,  Daniel,  of 
further  mention  ;  Hannah,  Caleb,  Deborah, 
Phoebe,  Thankful,  Huldah  and  Chloe. 

Daniel  Parris  was  born  in  Williamstown, 
Massachusetts,  in  1763,  second  son  of  El- 
kanah and  Grace  (Mott)  Parris.  He  set- 
tled on  his  farm  at  Danby  about  1785,  and 
there  died  February  17,  1822,  respected  and 
regretted.  He  was  a  man  of  rugged,  pow- 
erful   physique,    capable    of    enduring    any 


hardship,  and  absolutely  fearless,  qualities 
which  well  became  the  pioneer  settler.  He 
was  a  young  man  of  about  twenty-two 
years,  when,  with  his  wife,  he  left  his  Mas- 
sachusetts home  to  seek  another  in  Danby, 
which  was  then  a  wilderness.  He  became 
a  wealthy  land  owner  and  prosperous 
farmer,  influential  in  his  community.  He 
was  constable  in  1793,  lister  for  five  years,, 
auditor  four  years,  and  held  other  offices. 
He  was  a  close  friend  of  Isaac  Tichenor, 
third  Governor  of  Vermont,  who  frequent- 
ly visited  at  the  Parris  home  in  Danby.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  ]Masonic  order,  a  man 
of  upright  life  and  generous  nature,  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  the  community  in  which 
he  lived,  and  a  prominent  factor  in  its  up- 
building. He  married  (first)  Eunice  Lamb, 
who  left  children :  Eunice  and  Daniel. 
He  married  (second)  Drusilla  Sherman, 
they  were  the  parents  of  Hannah,  Levi  S., 
Caleb,  Owen,  Walter,  Harvey,  Huldah,. 
Fanny,  Walter  Mott,  of  further  mention; 
Mary  and  Wesley  Parris. 

Walter  Mott  Parris,  next  to  the  young- 
est son  of  Daniel  Parris  and  his  second 
wife,  Drusilla  (Sherman)  Parris,  was  born 
in  Danby,  Vermont,  in  1810,  and  died  there 
in  1886.  He  obtained  a  good  education, 
and  some  knowledge  of  the  law,  although 
he  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  an  excellent 
workman.  But  he  possessed  a  talent  and 
ability  above  the  average  man,  and  was  fre- 
quently consulted  by  the  members  of  the 
neighborhood,  his  knowledge  of  law  and 
sound  judgment  leading  them  aright.  He 
was  the  only  one  of  his  family  to  learn 
a  trade,  they  all  becoming  farmers.  He 
married,  in  1834,  Nancy,  widow  of  his 
brother,  Levi  S.  Parris,  and  resided  in  both 
Danby  and  Pawlet.  She  died  in  1836,  leav- 
ing a  son,  Daniel  E.,  of  further  mention,  and 
a  daughter,  Nancy,  born  in  1836,  shortly  be- 
fore her  mother's  death.  He  married  (sec- 
ond) Mirandes,  daughter  of  Ishmael  Mat- 
terson,  who  died  in  1865,  leaving  children: 


106 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Mary,  Delia,  Malvina,  Merritt  and  Clark 
Parris. 

Daniel  E.  Paris  (he  dropping  the  extra 
"r"  from  the  name),  was  born  in  Danby, 
Connecticut,  in  1835,  and  died  in  Albany, 
New  York,  in  1895,  son  of  Walter  Mott 
Parris  and  his  first  wife.  He  was  a  well 
educated  man,  studying  both  for  the  minis- 
try and  law,  but  eventually  discarding  both, 
and  becoming  a  business  man.  In  Albany  he 
became  a  well  known  manufacturer  of 
stoves,  a  member  of  Potter,  Paris  and  Com- 
pany, and  later  of  Burdette,  Paris  &  Com- 
pany. At  one  time  in  his  career  he  went 
West,  and  in  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  erected  a 
stove  foundry,  the  largest  in  that  section  of 
the  West.  Able  and  progressive,  he  com- 
piled a  creditable  record  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death  at  the  age  of  sixty.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
politically  a  Republican.  Mr.  Paris  married 
Susan  E.  Bristol,  daughter  of  Lawrence 
Bristol,  of  Ballston  Spa,  New  York.  They 
were  the  parents  of :  Daniel  Eldon,  of  fur- 
ther mention  ;  Burt  J.,  married  Grace  May- 
nard,  and  has  a  son  Eldon ;   Sherman  B. 

Daniel  Eldon  Paris,  eldest  son  of  Daniel 
E.  and  Susan  E.  (Bristol)  Paris,  was  born 
in  Albany,  New  York,  April  3,  1881.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  Al- 
bany Academy,  beginning  business  at  Troy, 
New  York,  as  an  employe  of  George  P. 
Ide,  the  famous  collar  manufacturer.  He 
remained  in  the  Ide  factory  four  years,  and 
then  was  appointed  an  instructor  in  adver- 
tising in  the  International  Correspondence 
Schools  at  Scranton,  Pennsylvania.  He 
conducted  this  department  with  success  for 
two  and  a  half  years,  then  for  three  years 
was  associated  with  the  Lord  Advertising 
Agency  in  New  York  City.  In  1906  he  be- 
gan his  duties  as  advertising  manager  for 
the  Hampshire  Paper  Company,  taking  up 
his  residence  in  Holyoke  at  this  time.  On 
January  i,  1 918,  he  took  charge  of  the  ad- 
vertising of   Stone  &  Webster,   large  con- 


struction engineers  of  Boston.  He  took  up 
his  residence  in  Brookline  at  this  time.  Mr. 
Paris  is  a  member  of  the  National  Adver- 
tisers Association,  and  of  other  organiza- 
tions of  a  business  nature,  also  of  the  Hol- 
yoke Canoe,  the  Holyoke  and  Rotary  clubs. 
He  is  an  attendant  of  the  Congregational 
church,  and  in  politics  a  Republican. 

Mr.  Paris  married,  December  12,  1906, 
Harriet  Scott,  daughter  of  John  Scott,  of 
Omaha,  Nebraska,  an  ex-Governor  of  the 
State,  who  married  Harriet  Wolcott. 


PRICE,  Charles  A., 

Automobile  Agent. 

As  one  of  the  men  who  have  developed 
with  the  automobile  industry,  Mr.  Price, 
as  agent  for  the  Chevrolet  Car  in  Holyoke, 
is  putting  into  action  the  knowledge  gained 
during  the  years  of  his  connection  with  the 
business  in  other  cities.  He  came  to  his 
present  position  by  regular  graduations,  be- 
ginning in  the  shop,  and  finally  becoming  a 
valued  factor  in  the  success  of  the  Knox 
Automobile  Company  of  Springfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, serving  that  company  as  sales- 
man until  beginning  business  for  himself. 
An  expert  in  automobile  knowledge,  and 
rich  in  experience,  he  combines  these  with 
ability  and  industry,  and  is  winning  hon- 
orable position  among  the  successful  men  in 
his  line  of  business.  Mr.  Price  is  of  Eng- 
lish descent,  a  great-grandson  of  Lathrop 
Price,  of  New  York  State,  a  marble  cut- 
ter and  dealer  in  monumental  work,  who 
left  sons:    Darwin  and  Charles  Augustus. 

The  line  of  descent  to  Charles  Augustus 
(3)  Price,  of  Holyoke,  is  through  Charles 
Augustus  (i),  son  of  Lathrop  Price.  He 
was  born  in  New  York  State,  in  1832,  and 
there  resided  during  his  youth  and  early 
manhood,  dying  in  Ellington,  Connecticut, 
in  1865.  He  was  taught  the  marble  cut- 
ter's trade  by  his  father,  and  was  associated 
with  him  in  his  monumental  yard  until  lo- 


107 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


eating  for  himself  in  Ellington.  He  married 
Margaret  Ann  Donigan,  born  in  County 
Tipperary,  Ireland,  who  survived  her  hus- 
band thirty-seven  years,  married  (second) 
David  Halloway,  and  died  in  1902,  aged 
seventy-four  years.  Charles  A.  and  Mar- 
garet Ann  Price  were  the  parents  of  two 
daughters  and  two  sons :  Rosilla,  married 
Charles  Kneeland  ;  Margaret ;  George,  died 
young;  Charles  Augustus,  of  further  men- 
tion. 

Charles  Augustus  (2)  Price,  the  only 
son  of  Charles  Augustus  ( i )  and  Margaret 
Ann  (Donigan)  Price,  to  survive  child- 
hood, was  born  in  Ellington,  Connecticut, 
December  9,  1857,  and  is  now  living  there, 
a  retired  life.  He  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools,  and  after  arriving  at  an  age  to 
choose  his  own  career  became  a  farmer,  so 
continuing  all  his  active  years,  owning  his 
own  property  at  Ellington.  He  has  always 
been  interested  in  public  affairs,  has  served 
the  town  as  selectman,  and  for  many  years 
has  and  is  still  serving  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  assessors  (1917).  His  life  has 
been  quietly  but  usefully  spent,  and  he  holds 
the  highest  respect  of  the  community.  He 
attends  the  Congregational  church,  and  in 
political  preference  is  a  Republican.  He 
married  (first)  in  Port  Jervis,  New  York,  in 
September,  1883,  Nettie  Louise  Ward,  who 
died  January  29,  1888,  daughter  of  John 
and  Josephine  (Waldo)  W^ard.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Price  were  the  parents  of  two  daugh- 
ters and  two  sons :  Maude,  married  Ray- 
mond Steele;  Josephine,  married  Fred  M. 
Aborn;  Harry;  Charles  Augustus,  of 
further  mention.  Mr.  Price  married  (sec- 
ond) in  1 89 1,  Louise  Hancock,  born  in 
Wapping,  Connecticut,  daughter  of  James 
W.  and  Iva  Louise  (Davy)  Hancock. 

Charles  Augustus  (3)  Price,  youngest 
child  of  Charles  Augustus  (2)  and  Nettie 
Louise  (Ward)  Price,  was  born  in  Elling- 
ton,  Connecticut,   December   4,    1886,   and 


there  spent  his  youth  on  the  farm  and  in 
public  schools.  After  finishing  courses  in 
the  Ellington  grade  schools,  he  entered 
Rockville  high  school,  finishing  with  the 
graduating  class  of  1906.  His  desire  was 
to  get  into  the  business  world,  and  imme- 
diately after  graduation  he  secured  a  posi- 
tion at  Windsor  Locks,  Connecticut,  as 
clerk  in  a  wholesale  and  retail  hardware 
store,  continued  there  one  year,  then  came 
to  Massachusetts,  locating  in  the  city  of 
Springfield,  where  he  found  good  fortune 
awaiting  him  in  the  form  of  a  permanent 
business. 

His  first  position  in  Springfield  was  with 
the  Knox  Automobile  Company,  with  which 
concern  he  remained  seven  years,  years  of 
great  importance  to  the  young  man.  He 
began  in  the  mechanical  department,  and 
before  leaving  it  knew  every  bolt,  nut, 
screw,  or  part  of  the  cars  that  the  com- 
pany handled.  Later  he  was  advanced  to 
the  position  of  salesman,  and  there  he 
proved  his  ability  to  sell  cars.  With  tech- 
nical and  practical  mechanical  knowledge 
combined  with  ability  as  a  salesman,  noth- 
ing was  lacking  but  the  opportunity  to  dem- 
onstrate his  fitness  for  a  place  in  the  auto- 
mobile ranks  as  an  agent.  This  came  in 
191 5,  when  he  secured  an  agency  for  farm 
tractors  and  engines  which  he  successfully 
conducted  for  about  two  years.  This  agency 
paved  the  way  for  another,  and  in  Febru- 
ary, 19 1 7,  he  opened  salesrooms  in  Hol- 
yoke,  Massachusetts,  as  the  agent  for  the 
Chevrolet  Car.  To  this  he  is  devoting  his 
entire  time  and  energy,  and  is  building  up  a 
strong  agency.  Although  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Columbus,  he  is  essentially  a 
business  man,  devoting  little  time  to  outside 
interests. 

]\Ir.  Price  married,  November  27,  1913, 
Lillian  Margaret  Premo,  granddaughter  of 
Stephen  and  Mary  (Bradley)  Premo,  and 
daughter  of  Albert  and  Catherine  (Fergu- 


108 


A3Tl 
i-' 


^>^.^//,  'l^.^/^m 


prii  2>,  1915. 


.%RS,  William  George. 

Lttmber  Mex'ohant. 


A 


rejideiit  of   Holyoke, 
?rs, 


lusetts, 
the    successful 

V.  liok  ,..._.-.  has  won  his  way  to 

honor  rion  in  the  business  world. 

rs,  of  St.  Ours, 

Json  of  Pierre 

;;  descendant  of 

lie  (jJe  Geloze)  Angers 

.  -^  ^  ■)  of  Notre  Dame,  Bor- 

j  r  :  c     1   -cogne,  France,  whose  son,  Pierre 

"•-■     i       '  .  '"^,  sailed  from  Fr.  >e- 

•  .inb^i,  i^^2,  and  landed  on  A..    .  ^'' 

L  Pointe  Aux  Tremble,  January  ; 

family  in  Canada,  and  x; 


n.-r 


^81. 


urn    at    .si. 

Oy,  and  died  in 

He  was  a  man 

od,  but 


tio>i.  i'hilip,  Pn. 
died  young. 

William  Geci..^. 
George  and  Lucy 
born  at  St.  Cesaire. 

18,   1865.     He  attt 

saire,  and  was  his  father's  n' 
til  reaching  legal  age,  after 
he  came  to  the  United  Sta 
Holyoke.  Massachusetts,  an 
he  .nd  a  position  wi 

Br         •         •,riv.    vnillers  ar: 
F<  he  com 

compcui^  iit  i\i'c  saine  plant, 


r^    ru-^Ar 


M.'hi.-1i    l-.i'i- 


irade,  e 
ihe  country 
tities  to  mii ...  ...    ..0. . 

He  is  a  man  of  fine  bu 
upright   and   progress i\ 
years  he  has  been  conne 
business   interests   as 
chant,   and   in  that   pe; 


■".:>  at 
miller 


..;t 


IjC... 

k  ^- 

-vngers 

w 

ada. 

^earneci 

I,. 

me  a 

mi 

i^n  voun?  wr\s  h- 


'Ai,  Patriot 


e 


^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


suppression  of  disorder  and  violence  in  the 
community,  was  his  interest  in  the  punish- 
ment of  cruelty.  He  was  an  energetic  agent 
of  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cru- 
elty to  Animals,  and  his  efforts  in  this  di- 
rection, and  his  fearless  prosecution  of  of- 
fenders did  much  to  lessen  the  evils  com- 
mitted against  helpless  animals.  In  his  pub- 
lic career  Mr.  Ham  made  hosts  of  friends, 
and  his  liking  for  his  fellows  induced  him 
in  1886  to  purchase  the  American  House, 
in  Springfield.  This  he  conducted  for 
thirteen  years,  and  it  became  under  his  man- 
agement one  of  the  most  widely  known  and 
most  popular  houses  in  the  entire  region. 
As  a  host  he  was  inimitable,  and  his  guests 
came  from  far  and  wide,  and  all  were 
heartily  welcomed.  Mr.  Ham  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Ionic  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, of  Easthampton;  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Or- 
der of  Elks,  and  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  He  was  also  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Trade  of  Springfield.  He  was 
an  attendant  of  the  Second  Congregational 
Church  of  Holyoke. 

Mr.  Ham  married,  December  18,  1855, 
Lydia  A.  Avery,  daughter  of  Solomon  and 
Lavinia  (Morse)  Avery,  of  Mason,  New 
Hampshire.  Her  father  was  the  son  of 
Ephraim  Avery,  and  her  mother,  Lavinia 
(Morse)  Avery  was  the  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Lydia  (Senter)  Morse.  Jacob  IMorse 
w^as  the  son  of  Obadiah  Morse,  who  served 
in  the  Revolutionary  War  and  was  a  kins- 
man of  Samuel  Morse,  the  inventor  of  the 
telegraph.  The  children  of  William  Ger- 
rish  and  Lydia  A.  (Avery)  Ham  were: 
Ada  Bell,  who  married  Henry  Houston, 
of  Holyoke  (see  sketch  elsewhere)  ;  Wil- 
liam Albert  and  William  Perkins,  both  of 
whom  died  in  infancy.  The  engraving  of 
Mr.  Ham  found  in  connection  with  this 
sketch  has  been  placed  here  by  his  widow 
and  will,  it  is  felt,  be  a  source  of  pleasure 
to  his  many  friends. 


FREEMAN,  Peter  Francis, 

Retired   Business  Man. 

Peter  F.  Freeman,  of  Holyoke,  was  born 
in  Uxbridge,  Massachusetts,  and  brought  to 
Holyoke  in  1867,  by  his  parents,  Peter  and 
Hannah  (McAuliffe)  Freeman,  who  were 
both  born  in  Ireland.  Peter  Freeman,  Sr., 
had  brothers  and  sisters :  James,  Patrick, 
Ann,  Winifred  and  Bridget,  all  of  whom 
came  to  the  United  States  as  did  their  par- 
ents. Roscommon,  Ireland,  was  the  Free- 
man home,  and  there  Peter  Freeman  was 
born  February  2,  1831.  He  grew  to  youth- 
ful manhood  in  his  native  land,  obtained  an 
education,  and  developed  a  strong  mind  and 
body.  In  1850  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  finally  locating  in  Woonsocket, 
Rhode  Island,  and  there  became  a  woolen 
mill  employee.  For  a  number  of  years 
he  was  employed  in  the  woolen  mills  owned 
by  A.  T.  Stewart,  his  duty  being  the  grading 
and  sorting  of  wool.  After  Mr.  Stewart's 
death  the  mill  management  changed,  and 
Mr.  Freeman  left  that  employ,  going  to 
California,  where  for  two  years  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  same  line  of  business  in  San 
Francisco,  as  a  buyer,  grader  and  sorter 
of  wool. 

Upon  his  return  East  he  became  a  w^hole- 
sale  produce  dealer  with  headquarters  in 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  but  doing  busi- 
ness over  a  large  area  of  surrounding  coun- 
try. He  dealt  in  wholesale  quantities  and 
among  his  customers  were  the  public  and 
private  institutions  of  Worcester.  In  1867 
he  located  both  his  home  and  his  business 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  and  there  con- 
tinued actively  engaged  until  his  death,  De- 
cember 23,  1910,  aged  eighty-three  years. 
He  was  a  man  who  had  won  success  through 
his  own  ability,  courage  and  industry.  He 
gave  liberally  of  his  means  to  church  and 
charity,  particularly  remembering  St.  Vin- 
cent De  Paul  Society  and  Sacred  Heart 
Church,  as  well  as  many  of  the  older  peo- 


III 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


pie  of  his  acquaintance.  The  business  block 
at  No.  420-426  j\Iaple  street,  which  bears 
his  name,  was  erected  by  him,  as  was  the 
family  homestead  at  No.  126  Sargent 
street,  and  he  was  rated  one  of  his  city's 
substantial  men.  Peter  Freeman  married 
Hannah  McAulifTe,  born  in  Cork,  Ireland, 
November  25,  1832,  died  in  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, in  1892.  Air.  and  Mrs.  Free- 
man were  the  parents  of  ten  sons  and 
daughters :  James,  now  a  resident  of  San 
Francisco,  California;  Katherine,  of  Hol- 
yoke; Mary,  of  Holyoke;  Margaret,  mar- 
ried Thomas  McHugh ;  John  T.,  of  Hol- 
yoke ;  Peter  Francis,  of  further  mention ; 
Daniel,  deceased;  Winifred,  married  John 
Swords,  of  Springfield ;  Rev.  Robert,  de- 
ceased, a  priest  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church ;    Hannah,  deceased. 

Peter  Francis  Freeman,  third  son  of  Pe- 
ter and  Hannah  Freeman,  was  born  in  Ux- 
bridge,  Massachusetts,  July  24,  1863,  but 
in  1867  was  taken  to  Holyoke  by  his  par- 
ents and  there  has  always  resided.  He  ob- 
tained his  education  in  both  public  and  pa- 
rochial schools  of  the  city,  and  after  com- 
pleting his  studies  spent  about  two  and  a 
half  years  as  a  drug  clerk.  At  the  end  of 
that  period  he  became  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  wholesale  produce  business. 
Spending  several  years  as  his  assistant,  he 
he  was  admitted  to  a  partnership,  the  firm 
trading  as  Peter  Freeman  &  Son.  He  con- 
tinued in  business  carrying  the  heavier  bur- 
dens of  the  same  as  the  years  granted  the 
senior  member  exemption,  but  since  the 
death  of  Peter  Freeman  in  1910,  the  son 
retired  and  has  since  devoted  himself  en- 
tirely to  his  extensive  real  estate  and  pri- 
vate property  interests. 

Peter  Francis  Freeman  married,  October 
28,  1896,  Annie  Carroll,  of  Windsor  Locks, 
Connectciut. 

I 


CRAVEN,  John  Joseph, 

Business  Man. 

Among  the  esteemed  residents  of  Hol- 
yoke, and  one  whose  activities  have  extend- 
ed over  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  is 
John  Joseph  Craven.  An  Irishman  by  birth 
and  parentage,  he  inherited  those  qualities 
of  industry  and  perseverance  which  are 
characteristic  of  that  race,  and  which  make 
of  them  such  valuable  citizens. 

Patrick  Craven,  father  of  John  Joseph 
Craven,  a  native  of  County  Roscommon, 
Ireland,  was  born  in  181 8,  being  one  of  a 
family  of  six  children,  all  deceased,  the 
names  of  the  other  members  having  been  as 
follows:  John,  Michael,  Ellen,  Bridget  and 
Mary.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of 
that  day,  and  throughout  his  active  years 
devoted  his  entire  attention  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil,  owning  a  small  farm  where- 
on he  resided.  He  married  Mary  Doyle, 
born  in  County  Roscommon,  Ireland,  in 
1832,  now  (191 7)  living  in  Ireland,  aged 
eighty-five  years,  daughter  of  Larry  and 
Bridget  (Moran)  Doyle.  Children:  Mar- 
tin, deceased ;  Thomas,  a  resident  of  Phil- 
adelphia, Pennsylvania  ;  Bridget,  became  the 
wife  of  David  Maley,  of  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts; Maria,  became  the  wife  of  Fred 
Chamberlain,  of  Waterbury,  Connecticut; 
Patrick,  died  young;  Ellen,  became  the 
wife  of  Thomas  Smalley,  of  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts ;  John  Joseph,  of  whom  furth- 
er ;  and  Annie,  became  the  wife  of  William 
Finnegan,  resides  in  Ireland.  Patrick  Cra- 
ven, father  of  these  children,  died  at  his 
home  in  Ireland,  July,  1900,  aged  eighty- 
two  years. 

John  Joseph  Craven  was  born  in  Cooley- 
garry,  County  Roscommon,  Ireland,  June 
29,  1869.  He  attended  the  National  schools 
of  Ireland  in  his  native  town,  and  assisted 


12 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


his  father  with  the  work  of  the  farm  until 
he  attained  the  age  of  twenty  years,  when, 
having  decided  that  the  opportunities  for 
advancement  were  greater  in  America,  he 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1889,  and  lo- 
cated in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  which 
city  has  since  been  his  home.  His  first  em- 
ployment in  his  adopted  country  was  in  the 
paper  mills  of  Holyoke,  namely,  the  Gill 
Paper  Mill,  the  Parsons  Paper  Company, 
the  Holyoke  Paper  Company,  the  Frankhn 
Paper  Company  and  the  Albion  Mills,  con- 
tinuing thus  until  1907.  For  eleven  years 
he  has  also  been  engaged  in  the  milk  busi- 
ness, and  for  the  past  ten  years,  since  his 
retirement  from  work  in  the  mills,  has  de- 
voted his  entire  time  to  the  latter  occupa- 
tion, purchasing  that  product  from  the 
farmers  in  the  vicinity  and  disposing  of  it 
to  his  regular  customers,  handling  between 
five  and  six  hundred  quarts  daily.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  he  has  real  estate  interests,  to 
which  he  devotes  considerable  time.  He  is 
thrifty  and  has  a  determination  to  succeed, 
two  excellent  traits  of  character,  which,  if 
applied  properly,  are  sure  to  bring  success. 
Mr.  Craven  holds  membership  in  the  Order 
of  Foresters  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hi- 
bernians. 

Mr.  Craven  married,  November  12,  1895, 
Hannah  Bresnahan,  born  in  County  Kerry, 
Ireland,  May  14,  1869,  daughter  of  Tim- 
othy and  Ellen  (Harrigan)  Bresnahan.  She 
came  to  this  country  from  her  native  land 
in  1886,  locating  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts. Children  :  George  Francis,  born  Au- 
gust 9,  1896,  a  student  of  Holy  Cross  Col- 
lege, Worcester,  ^Massachusetts,  pursuing 
the  medical  course ;  Theresa,  born  Decem- 
ber 13,  1897,  died  October  25,  1898;  Chris- 
tina, born  December  11,  1898,  died  January 
II,  1899;  Charles  Henry,  born  March  7, 
1900,  died  July  26,  1900;  Mary  Veronica, 
born  April  13,  1901,  a  student  in  the  Holy 
Rosary  School ;  Hannah,  born  May  4,  1902, 
a  student  in  Holy  Rosary  School ;  Ellen 
MASS.— 7— 8.  I 


Cecelia,  born  April  12,  1 904;  Frances,  bom 
May  17,  1906;  Martha,-"  born  June  17, 
1908. 


JONES,  Leonard  Frederick, 

Builder,    Contractor. 

The  ancestors  of  Leonard  Frederick  Jones 
were  among  the  early  settlers  of  the  Con- 
necticut Valley,  their  names  being  found  on 
the  records  of  those  groups  that  gradually 
spread  out  in  widening  circles  from  the  par- 
ent colonies.  These  old  English  pioneers 
possessed  a  large  amount  of  good  business 
sagacity  as  well  as  the  intense  spirit  of 
religious  independence,  and  we  find  them 
gradually  moving  out  to  the  newer  arable 
lands  which  afforded  a  better  living,  and 
where  they  could  at  the  same  time  worship 
in  accordance  with  their  own  ideas  of  doc- 
trine and  discipline. 

Thomas  Jones,  of  New  London,  Connec- 
ticut, married  and  had  a  son,  Thomas  (2) 
Jones,  of  Colchester,  Connecticut,  who  mar- 
ried and  had  a  son,  Jabez  Jones,  of  Colches- 
ter, who  married  Anna  Ransom,  and  their 
children  were:  Thomas,  born  May  21, 
1732;  Jabez,  born  January  14,  1733  or 
1734 ;  Amos,  born  January  2,  1734  or  1735 ; 
Anna,  born  October  5,  1736;  Israel,  born 
January  7,  1738,  of  Deerfield,  1783;  Asa, 
born  June  9,  1739;  Hazel,  born  January  6, 
1742;  Jehiel,  of  whom  further;  Ariel, 
born  September  28,  1745  ;  Sarah,  born  Jan- 
uary 7,  1747 ;  Abijah,  born  July  5,  1750,  set- 
tled in  Shelborn ;   Benoni,  married,  in  1791, 

Catherine ;   David,  of  Shelborn  and 

Deerfield,  1775-84,  went  to  Blenheim,  New 
York;  Joshua,  of  Deerfield,  1775,  of  Shel- 
born, 1780;    Phineas. 

(IV)  Jehiel  Jones,  the  sixth  son  of  Jabez 
and  Anna  (Ransom)  Jones,  was  born  at  Col- 
chester, Connecticut,  September  20,  1743, 
and  died  June  5,  1835,  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
two.  He  removed  from  Colchester  to  Shel- 
born, and  was  in  Deerfield  prior  to  1783. 
13 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


In  1787  he  is  recorded  as  being  a  school- 
master. Later  he  settled  in  Wisdom  where 
he  died.  He  married,  September  20,  1765, 
Lucretia  Hamilton,  who  died  May  7,  1821, 
at  the  age  of  eighty.  Their  children  were : 
I.  Jehiel,  born  December  8,  1766.  2.  Loru- 
hamah,  born  March  3,  1768;  married  Cap- 
tain Caleb  Jones,  of  Somers ;  removed  to 
Blenheim ;  returned  to  Deerfield  and  died 
about  1840.  3.  Lovinah,  born  February  25, 
1770;  married  Dr.  ]\IcClallan,  of  New  York 
State.  4.  Lucretia,  born  July  22,  1772; 
married  (bans  published  August  15,  1798) 
Joseph  Robbins.  5.  Sally,  born  December 
25,  1774.^  6.  Russell,  born  October  27, 
^777-  7-  Jabez,  born  June  2"/,  1780.  8. 
Amos,  born  January  i,  1783.  9.  James,  born 
February  2"/,  1785,  died  ^lay  21,  1788.  10. 
Israel,  of  whom  further.  11.  Amasa,  born 
September  i,  1789,  died  December  22,  1810. 

{ V)  Israel  Jones,  son  of  Jehiel  and  Lu- 
cretia (Hamilton)  Jones,  was  born  March 
15,  1787,  and  died  April  6,  1861.  He  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  carpenter,  living  in  Wis- 
dom, a  section  of  Deerfield,  ^Massachusetts. 
He  married  (first)  December  i,  1808, 
Eleanor,  daughter  of  John  Broaderick.  She 
died  May  17,  1826,  and  he  married  (sec- 
ond) in  1828,  Cynthia,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Wise,  and  widow  of  Silas  Atwood.  She 
died  June  19,  1871.  The  children  of  Is- 
rael Jones  were:  i.  Dennis  Stearns,  born 
November  28,  1809;  married  (bans  pub- 
lished March  17,  1831),  Experience  F. 
Hutchins ;  died  August  31,  1872.  2.  Amasa, 
of  whom  further.  3.  Eliza,  born  November 
18,  181 5,  died  October  13,  1818.  4.  Louisa, 
born  February  18,  1818;  married  Asa  R. 
Hutchins.  5.  Charles,  born  July  27,  1820 ; 
married,  December  5,  1847,  Margaret, 
daughter  of  Robert  Tombs ;  selectman  for 
twelve  years,  chairman  of  the  board  for 
seven  years.  6.  Eleanor,  born  August  12, 
1830;  married,  December  25,  1845,  George 
W.  Jones. 

(VI)  Amasa  Jones,  the  second  son  of  Is- 


rael and  Eleanor  (Broaderick)  Jones,  was 
born  at  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  March  6, 
1 81 3,  and  died  September  7,  1877.  He  was 
a  farmer,  cultivating  a  place  in  West  Deer- 
field. He  married,  December  15,  1836, 
Nancy  B.,  daughter  of  Nathan  Robbins. 
Their  children  were:  i.  Julius  Wellington, 
of  whom  further.  2.  Amanda,  born  No- 
vember 2,  1839.  3.  Gilbert  E.,  born  October 
18,  1844;  carpenter;  settled  in  Greenfield 
and  married  Ella  Eastman.  4.  Almond  A., 
born  December  17,  1845;  settled  in  Hol- 
yoke ;  married  Agnes  Williamson.  5.  Ed- 
ward Jenner,  born  August  6,  1852.  6. 
Spencer,  born  November  10,  1854;  married 
Flora  Page,  of  Greenfield. 

(\TI)  Julius  Wellington  Jones,  the  eld- 
est son  of  Amasa  and  Nancy  B.  (Robbins) 
Jones,  was  born  in  Deerfield,  Massachu- 
setts, September  22,  1837,  and  died  in  Hol- 
yoke,  March  6,  191 5.  He  was  engaged  in 
farming  early  in  life,  but  while  still  a  young 
man  made  himself  master  of  the  carpenter's 
trade,  and  went  Extensively  into  building. 
For  forty  years  he  followed  this  profession, 
at  first  in  Deerfield,  and  after  i860 'in  Hol- 
yoke,  Massachusetts.  As  the  business  grew 
he  became  an  increasingly  large  employer  of 
labor.  The  possibilities  of  real  estate  at- 
tracted him  in  connection  with  his  building 
operations,  and  his  practice  of  buying  land, 
building  upon  it  and  then  selling  at  a  prof- 
it was  found  to  be  one  of  shrewd  business 
sense  and  eminently  successful.  For  a  time 
he  lived  at  South  Hadley  Falls.  He  married 
Anne,  daughter  of  John  Fiffe.  Their  chil- 
dren were :  i.  Leonard  Frederick,  of  whom 
further.  2.  Bertha,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
nine. 

(VIII)  Leonard  Frederick  Jones,  son  of 
Julius  Wellington  and  Anne  (FiflFe)  Jones, 
was  born  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  ]\Iassachu- 
setts,  September  18,  1866.  His  early  edu- 
cation was  received  at  the  city  schools  of 
Holyoke.  When  through  school  he  learned 
carpentry  with  his  father,  and  later  became 


114 


THE  'piEW    ■    , 

IPUSLIC  LIBkaj 


AST(yR.    LENOX    ^N^r^ 


^ 


::^V////-  (    r/^r 


fK^ii'li  V 


ier.    After  a  time  he  went 
.  ui  himself,  dWding  to  his  car- 
sive  operations  in  building  and 
Within  the  last  five  years  he 
wvalJy  withdrawn   from  tha*^  side 
ork,  finding  his  time  fully  occupied 
.an  his  real  estate  interests.     Mr,  Jones  is 
a  member  of  the  Mt.  Tom  Lodge,  Free  and 
Accented     Masons ;    the    commandery    of 
.r,  the   Boston   Consistory, 
emple.  Mystic  Shrine,  of 
.  thirty-second  degree. 
•:;.  ji  !..s  married,  September  25,  1892, 
le,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Cathe^ 
mion)  Brown,  of  Holyoke,  Mas^: 
wsetts,    ^nd    granddaughter    of    Richa: 
Brown,  of  England.     They  have  two  cb  ; 
dren :    Julius  Wellington,  born  October  i 
1893,  and  Ralph  Howard,  born  August  6, 


OCTO,  Frank, 

Bnsiness  Mau. 


now    deceased,    for   many 
a    in   the    furniture   business, 

-d  7-<s  one  of  tliC  leaciin'Z  Frerich 


effort-  :i.   :'.d  ■  . 
to  HoIa 
trade,  bu. 
chandising,    , 
nient  to  his  en 
large  Octo  Bloc' 
•  Lreet,  anrl  ifi  tl:,' 
Octo  & 

'^apoieon  Dc 


ed  the  business  under  th- 
■  -o  &  Co. 

f  Francis  Octo, 
ebec,  Canada,   1 
^lassachusett- , 
'cnted  in  th 
lud   after 


Frank 
born   in  St.    Ber. 
1847,  '^^^  <iJ^d  in  s . 
April  29,   1 90 1.     He 
schools   of    St.   Mari' 
learning  and  becoming  a,  r  the  car- 

penter's   trade,    he    cani'  Unitei 

States.  He  began  his  American  ine  in  Bo- 
ton,  there  following  his  trade,  and  laier  wa 
employed  in  Long  Meadow  and  Springfield 
He  also  followed  his  trade  for  a  tim 
'^^     ''    '     ■"'^     then    began    business    in 

dealing    principally    in    set. 
He    prospered    and    a 
ased    he    built    the    Oc 
street,  and  therein  openc- 
a  furniiure  and  house  furnishing  store  o:. 
a  large  scale.    He  conducted  his  In-- •  '  '■ 
ness  alone   until    1S82,   when  he 
Napoleon  Desrosiers,  a  young  fellow 
tryman,  who  had  won  his  favor.    Fro; 
partnership  dates  the  firm  name,  Fran  . 
to  &  Co.,  which  has  never  changed. 
Mr.  Octo  was  a  wise,  shrewd   ' 
man,  and  prosperity  att'ended  hi> 
rected   efforts.      He   possessed   \ 
oublic  spirit,  believed  in  Holyoke  an 
•  iture  greatness.     In  addition  to  the 
:k,  he  built  two  apartment  house 
:e  residence  on  Lincoln  street 
•antile  business  was  his  chie; 
iUgh  he  died  hard4y  more  than  m  hit  s 
le,  he   was  rated   one  of  '^^-  •  i*-h- 

of  the  city.     The  busine- 
developed  in  association 
^  ^^  one  of  large  r  :-       :  •  ..^  v.  uii<- 

•tion  and  lo  ung  hePf; 

nt  in  thf  many  y 

ipies   h"    '"  '""'    ■"^* 


.*cto   married,   r 


r 


iM 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


home  was  the  old  homestead  upon  which 
his  great-grandfather,  Benjamin  Ball,  set- 
tled in  1745,  and  where  stands  the  ''great 
elm  tree,"  an  estate  now  owned  by  his  son, 
James  Rowe  Ball. 

(I)  Francis  Ball,  the  founder  of  the  fam- 
ily, came  to  Massachusetts  from  England, 
and  in  1639  settled  in  Dorchester,  Massa- 
chusetts, near  Boston.  In  1640  he  moved 
to  the  Connecticut  River  Valley  at 
West  Springfield.  In  1644  he  married 
Abigail,  daughter  of  Henry  Burt,  an  Eng- 
lishman, and  an  early  settler  of  Roxbury, 
Massachusetts.  Francis  Ball  was  drowned 
near  where  the  North  End  bridge  spans  the 
Connecticut  river  at  what  was  then  West 
Springfield,  now  Holyoke,  in  October,  1648, 
at  forty  years  of  age.  He  left  two  sons, 
Jonathan  and  Samuel,  the  latter  born  in 
1647. 

(II)  Jonathan  Ball,  eldest  son  of  Fran- 
cis Ball,  was  born  in  1645.  His  father 
and  mother  both  died  before  he  was  three 
years  of  age,  and  he  grew  up  in '  West 
Springfield.  He  was  a  man  of  importance, 
captain  of  militia  and  active  in  town  af- 
fairs. He  was  twice  married  and  was  the 
father  of  twelve  children,  six,  however,  dy- 
ing in  early  life. 

(III)  The  history  of  the  family  in  Hol- 
yoke begins  with  the  settlement  there  of 
Benjamin  Ball,  son  of  Jonathan  Ball  and 
grandson  of  Francis  Ball.  Benjamin  Ball 
was  born  in  West  Springfield  in  1689,  and 
settled  in  the  north  parish,  now  Holyoke, 
where  now  is  the  corner  of  Northampton 
and  Westfield  streets,  in  1745,  there  secur- 
ing land  which  is  yet  owned  by  his  descen- 
dants. At  the  time  of  his  settlement  there 
were  but  few  families  in  the  parish  and 
they  "forted  together  at  night  for  fear  of 
the  Indians."  In  the  spring  of  1751  he 
planted  the  "great  elm  tree."  He  had  four 
sons,  Benjamin,  Charles,  Noah  and  Moses. 

(IV)  Lieutenant  Charles  Ball,  the  sec- 
ond  son   of    Benjamin    Ball,   was   born   in 


1725,  and  in  1757  married  Ruth  Miller.  In 
1777  he  was  one  of  the  selectmen  of  the 
town  and  took  an  active  part  in  its  affairs. 

(V)  Charles  (2)  Ball,  son  of  Charles  ( i) 
and  Ruth  (Miller)  Ball,  was  born  in  1760 
at  what  is  now  Holyoke,  nine  years  after 
the  planting  of  the  "great  tree"  by  his  grand- 
father. He  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution, 
ranking  as  sergeant,  but  was  known  as 
Lieutenant  Ball.  He  enlisted  April  26, 
1780,  was  discharged  December  27,  1780, 
after  eight  months  on  guard  duty  at  Spring- 
field. He  inherited  the  old  homestead  and 
after  his  return  from  the  war  became  prom- 
inent in  town  aflfairs,  serving  as  moderator 
in  1814,  also  was  a  representative  to  the 
State  Legislature  for  nine  terms.  He  died 
July  3,  1838,  his  wife  on  May  4,  1838. 

(VI)  Edwin  Heman  Ball,  known  as  Col- 
onel Ball,  youngest  child  of  Lieutenant 
Charles  Ball,  w^as  born  at  the  homestead 
in  Holyoke,  August  19,  1809,  and  died 
there  January  9,  1899.  He  spent  his  entire 
life  at  the  homestead,  which  he  inherited 
on  the  death  of  his  father  in  1838.  The  up- 
building of  Holyoke  and  his  connection 
therewith  brought  him  wealth  and  he  be- 
came prominent  in  public  life.  He  served 
as  selectman  and  representative  from  Hol- 
yoke to  the  State  Legislature  two  terms  and 
was  known  as  "Colonel  Ball  of  Holyoke." 
He  was  a  farmer,  and  in  politics  a  Democrat 
until  the  birth  of  the  Republican  party, 
thereafter  affiliating  with  that  party.  He 
took  a  great  interest  in  military  affairs  and 
was  especially  interested  in  the  cavalry.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  very 
hospitable  and  generous,  widely  known  and 
highly  respected.  Colonel  Ball  married 
(first)  January  i,  1830,  Phoebe  Fink,  born 
April  13,  1808,  died  March  30,  1842,  the 
mother  of  five  children:  i.  Helen  Sophia, 
married,  January  i,  1852,  James  F.  Allyn. 
2.  A  son,  born  and  died  in  1833.  3.  Edwin 
Heman  (2),  born  December  9,  1833;  S^3.d- 
uated  in  medicine  and  was  a  young  man  of 


117 


ENXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


great  promise,  but  his  health  failed  and  he 
sought  to  regain  it  in  another  climate,  but 
died  in  Texas,  March  30,  1856.  4.  James 
Rowe,  of  further  mention.  5.  Alice  Eva- 
line,  born  June  17,  1840;  married  Dr. 
Charles  Carpenter,  son  of  Rev.  Mark  Car- 
penter, born  in  August,  1838,  died  March  7. 
1902.  Dr.  Carpenter  stood  at  the  head  of 
his  profession  and  was  well  known.  All  of 
these  children  are  now  deceased  except 
James  Rowe.  Colonel  Ball,  left  a  widower 
with  young  children,  married  (.  second) 
Eurydice  Ely,  a  woman  of  great  worth. 
They  were  the  parents  of  hve  children:  i. 
Jube  Henry,  born  March  22,  1843,  married 
Missouri  Beck  and  resides  at  Vinton,  Iowa. 
2.  Francis  Way  land,  a  sketch  of  whom  fol- 
lows in  this  work.  3.  Lucy  ]\I.,  died  aged 
ten  years.  4.  Charles  Ely.  born  February 
21,  1852;  married  Elvira  F.  Whiting,  and 
is  now  deceased.  5.  Gillman  Kimball,  born 
April  29,  1854;  married  Emm.a  M.  Ken- 
nedy, and  is  also  deceased. 

I  MI  I  James  Rowe  Ball,  son  of  Colonel 
Edwin  Heman  Ball  and  his  first  wife, 
Phoebe  (  Fink )  Ball,  was  born  at  the  old 
Ball  homestead  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts. 
January  2S,  1836.  The  old  homestead  is  now 
his  property,  as  it  was  of  his  father,  his 
grandfather,  Charles  Ball,  his  great-grand- 
father, Charles  Ball,  and  his  great-great- 
grandfather, Benjamin  Ball,  its  first  owner. 
Three  of  these  generations  were  born  at  the 
old  home  and  it  is  alive  with  memories  of 
those  who  once  made  it  a  centre  of  gayety.  Af- 
ter his  school  years  in  Holyoke,  Worcester, 
Sufheld  and  Vermont  institutions  were  com- 
pleted, he  returned  to  the  farm  and  has  de- 
voted his  life  to  its  management.  The  es- 
tate now  comprises  about  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  acres,  is  one  of  the  most  attrac- 
tive city  farms  that  can  anywhere  be  found, 
and  one  to  which  its  owner  is  deeply  at- 
tached. Mr.  Ball,  now  an  octogenarian, 
has  never  known  another  home  nor  did  his 
father    nor    his    grandfather.        There    the 


■"Old  Elm  Tree"  has  spread  its  sheltering 
branches  for  nearly  a  century  and  there  his 
heart  has  ever  been.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  but  beyond  taking  part  in  school 
attairs  he  has  accepted  no  public  office.  He 
has  never  married. 


BALL,  Francis  Wayland, 

Successful  Business  Man. 

(\'II)  Francis  Wayland  Ball,  son  of 
Colonel  Edwin  Heman  Ball  and  his  sec- 
ond wife,  Eurydice  (Ely)  Ball,  was  born  at 
the  Ball  homestead  in  Holyoke  (then  West 
Springfield),  April  29,  1847.  He  attended 
the  schools  of  the  town  and  remained  at 
the  home  farm  until  twenty  years  of  age, 
then  became  a  carpenter  apprentice.  He  had 
a  love  for  mechanical  work  and  became  an 
expert  worker  in  wood.  He  worked  for  a 
time  as  a  journeyman  carpenter,  later  be- 
came a  contractor  and  conducted  a  large 
business  in  connection  with  extensive  real 
estate  dealings.  His  maternal  grandfather, 
Jube  Ely.  owned  a  tract  of  land  now  includ- 
ed within  Holyoke's  limits,  which  later  came 
under  the  ownership  of  Mr.  Ball.  He  laid 
it  out  in  streets  and  residence  lots,  erected' 
appropriate  residences  which  were  sold  as 
fast  as  built  and  now  the  section  is  one 
of  homes ;  two  streets,  Clark  and  Gillman, 
being  lined  on  both  sides  by  houses  built  by 
Mr.  Ball.  In  1907  he  met  with  a  serious 
accident,  which  so  impaired  his  physical 
activity  that  he  retired  from  contracting 
and  building,  since  devoting  himself  to  the 
care  of  his  real  estate  and  other  property 
interests.  He  is  a  man  of  sterling  character 
and  public  spirit,  worthily  bearing  a  name 
long  known  and  honored  in  his  city. 

Mr.  Ball  married,  February  24,  1867, 
Georgiana  Wilbur,  of  Hadley,  Massachu- 
setts, daughter  of  James  and  Susan  (White) 
Wilbur.  Mr.  and  ^Irs.  Ball  have  three  chil- 
dren:  I.  Francis  Wayland,  Jr.,  born  Jan- 
uarv  I,  1868,  now  a  real  estate  dealer  in  San 


118 


THE 


IPUBLIC 


/VEH' 


yOHK 


^^BRAH 


'Da 


■d^ 


}:c    oiwvjrn..nr"ii 


a ;     ma 
.  ;,i       -     ..-.--.  ....  Taylor,  ..^..,.    ,....., 
iS-q^  now  foreman  for  J.  &  W.  Jolly  Co; 
•  iny,  at  Holyoke;   married  .'  Fowl- 

er, and  has  a  daughter,  Maria..  ^  .  ^  Eury- 
dke  Ely,  born  November  2"^,  1871  ;  married 
Frederick  Leining,  chief  clerk  of  the  Judd 
Paper  Comp'^'"'^'  -''•'  ''•■^  -  .-Tsru-Vir.-i-  FLxUp 
Eurydice. 


GOYETTE,  btepnen  Joseph, 

Master   Mechanic. 

The  i^^K-iiition  which  Stephen  Joseph  Goy- 
ette  now  holds  as  a  master  mechanic  of  the 
Holyoke  Plush  Company  is  the  culmination 
of  years  of  diligent  application.  His  early 
interest  in  mechanics  soon  caused  him  to 
leave  the  iarm,  which  his  jfbrefathers  had 
prosperously  enjoyed,  and  start  out  with  an 
independence  of  spirit  and  energy  to  find  a 
place  for  himself  in  the  mechanical  world. 
That  er"'  ^  -  v.^<^-^  successfully  accom- 
plished 

The  parents  and  grandparents  of  Mr. 
Goyett'^-  ^^^  i---i  '■  •  •■'ada  for  many 
years.  :e   would   indi- 

cate, there  is  a  trace  01  the  Fi  its 

history,      '     •  ="    •    '":.--   -     ••    • 

Stephei 


\'\  of  wK 
Moses,  Jo 
further  r. 
Julianne. 

as    it    is   called    in 
"Tiambly,    Canada, 
':d  while  this  bo;. 
d  when  old  enough  h 
TT^cans  of  livelihood,  i.;; 
:e  two  hundred  acre? 
Here  he  specialized 
-s   in   conjunction    v 
^  politics  he  was  :\  ( 
'e  a  Liberal 


iordon,  born   1842,  in   S' 
~-he  was  the  daughter  i...  . 
ordon.    She  died  Decem! 
lyoo,  and  her  h 
They  were  the  p_ . . 
two  of  whom   wert 
follow  s :    Catherine,  bor: 
widow  of   Frederick  H.   _ 
born  July  12,  i860;   Patrick. 
1863;    Sarah,  born  May  20,  in- 
born Nbvember  18,  1867,  died 
1889;  Arthur,  born  August  11,  ; 
nie  L.,  bom  August  30,  1872,  died  Ji 
1902,  the  wi*^  •        ^'^hrian  La  Pic'-  - 
CIS  A  .  hfir  ber  2,  1873 

ich ;     Livas 
'-i  August 
le  M.,  t. 
june  ^  r  died 

1914;   ai.  J  ,  born  Julv   ., 

Stephen  j  -yette  was  bom  : 

ton,  Broome  county,  Province  of  Q 
Canada,  October  9,  1877,  ^^^  ^^- 
ble  and  Margaret  (Gordon)  G' 
attended  school  in  Sutton  and 
of  his  school  years  at  the  Aca? 
then  began   farming  with  his   " 
1897,  at  twenty  years  of  age,  he  k 
home  in  Canada  and  came  in  April  < 
year  to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.     K- 
ned  the  trade  of  a  machinist  an.' 
^ht,  and  was  employed  by  the  H 
-ter  Power  Company,  with  whom 
I, ned  for  eight  years.    In  1904 
\-nt  of  the  Holyoke  P'- 
t-r  mechanic,  and  ;• 

en  employed.    ^^: 
A.i lights  of  ''  - '     ^- 
Order   of    > 


Goyett- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


lying  not  far  from  Northfield.  He  married 
(first)  October  23,  1760,  Eunice  Graves,  of 
Sunderland,  Massachusetts,  born  January 
25,  1714,  died  October  i,  1801.  They  were 
the  parents  of :  Tertus,  Phineas,  Lucy, 
Eunice,  Seth  (2),  Samuel,  of  further  men- 
tion; Nancy  or  Naomi,  Aaron  Graves,  and 
Molly  or  Polly. 

(VI)  Samuel  Lyman,  fourth  son  of  Cap- 
tain Seth  Lyman  and  his  first  wife,  Eunice 
(Graves)  Lyman,  was  born  in  Northfield, 
Massachusetts,  March  28,  1775,  and  died 
there  November  6,  1823.  He  married  Sa- 
rah Smith,  born  in  Winchester,  New  Hamp- 
shire, October  3,  1778,  died  December  i, 
1803.  She  survived  him  and  married  (sec- 
ond) Samuel  Smith,  of  Granby,  Massachu- 
setts. Children :  Warren,  of  further  men- 
tion ;  Samuel  Jewell,  married  Sarah  L. 
Gray ;  Arad,  in  business  in  Columbus, 
Georgia,  for  a  time,  died  in  New  York 
City. 

(VII)  Warren  Lyman,  son  of  Samuel 
and  Sarah  (Smith)  Lyman,  was  born  in 
Northfield,  Massachusetts,  August  23,  1805, 
and  died  in  Texas,  November  18,  1837.  He 
was  a  surveyor,  and  in  1832  went  to  Texas, 
and  there  was  in  the  employ  of  the  govern- 
ment, surveying  lands.  He  married,  June 
22,  1826,  Eliza  Stebbins,  who  long  survived 
him,  a  resident  of  South  Hadley  Falls,  Mas- 
sachusetts. Children :  Sarah,  born  January 
27,  1827,  married  Simon  G.  Southworth ; 
Maria  Ellen,  born  October  3,  1828,  married 
Horace  Hatfield;  Henry  Clay,  died  young; 
George  Warren,  of  further  mention ;  Mary 
Henrietta,  born  July   18,   1837,  a  teacher. 

(VIII)  George  Warren  Lyman,  son  of 
Warren  and  Eliza  (Stebbins)  Lyman,  was 
born  March  15,  1833,  and  died  April  4, 
1880.  He  was  educated  at  Northfield  Sem- 
inary, and  in  youth  was  a  clerk  in  a  North- 
field  general  store.  Prior  to  the  war  be- 
tween the  North  and  South,  he  moved 
to  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  and  there  was 
engaged  as  a  ship  chandler,  doing  business 


under  the  firm  name,  "Lyman  &  Abbott." 
Twice  during  the  war  his  place  of  business 
was  burned,  and  finally  he  was  drafted  into 
the  Confederate  Army,  serving  as  paymas- 
ter of  the  Second  Alabama  Cavalry.  He 
safely  passed  the  perils  of  war  and  after- 
ward and  until  his  death  resided  in  New 
Orleans.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Mason- 
ic order  in  New  Orleans,  and  in  all  things 
was  a  man  of  honor  and  probity.  He  mar- 
ried, March  24,  1864,  Sarah  Flavilla  Ly- 
man, who  died  March  6,  191 1,  daughter  of 
Samuel  Jewett  and  Sarah  L.  (Gray)  Ly- 
man, also  a  descendant  of  Richard  Lyman 
through  Captain  Seth  Lyman.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  George  W.  Lyman  were  the  parents 
of:  I.  Eugene  Montgomery,  born  in  New 
Orleans,  May  19,  1865,  died  July  2,  1867.  2. 
Mary  Eliza,  born  in  Chicopee,  Massachu- 
setts, December  17,  1866,  died  May  10, 
1910;  married  Fred  H.  Taylor.  3.  Georgi- 
anna,  born  January  27,  1869,  died  October 
12,  1875.  4-  Warren  Montgomery,  of 
further  mention.  5.  Alabama  Hatfield,  born 
October  2,  1873,  died  November  20,  1892 ; 
married,  August  17,  1892,  Frank  H.  Allen. 
6.  Stewart  F.,  born  in  Magnolia,  Mississip- 
pi, June  I,  1876,  now  with  the  Cowburn 
Trolley  Track  Company,  married  Bertha 
E.  Clouston,  she  died  February  i,  191 7. 

(IX)  Warren  Montgomery  Lyman,  son 
of  George  Warren  and  Sarah  Flavilla  (Ly- 
man) Lyman,  was  born  in  New  Iberia, 
Louisiana,  August  18,  1872.  He  was  eight 
years  of  age  when  his  father  died,  and  he 
was  brought  North,  the  family  home  being 
at  South  Hadley  Falls,  where  he  attended 
school.  Later  he  was  a  pupil  in  East  Hart- 
ford and  Dalton  schools,  but  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  his  school  days  ended.  For  a  year 
thereafter  he  was  in  the  employ  of  New- 
ton Smith,  of  South  Hadley  Falls,  a  farm- 
er; then,  in  1888,  he  formed  an  associa- 
tion with  the  National  Blank  Book  Company 
of  Holyoke,  which  continued  for  about  two 
years.     He  was  next  with  the  George  W. 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Prentiss  Wire  Company,  then  and  for  about 
twelve  years  was  clerk  and  salesman  with 
the  J.  Russell  &  Company  Hardware.  At 
the  close  of  this  engagement,  he  went  to 
Windsor  Locks,  Connecticut,  with  the 
George  P.  Clark  Company,  manufacturers 
of  truck  castors,  etc.  He  began  as  sales- 
man, later  became  general  sales  manager  of 
the  New  York  City  office,  a  position  he 
filled  for  twelve  years.  In  the  fulfillment  of 
the  duties  of  his  office  he  traveled  in  nearly 
every  State  of  the  Union,  his  journeys  tak- 
en during  one  period  of  eight  months  cov- 
ering a  distance  of  eighty  thousand  miles. 
In  December,  191 6,  he  organized  the  Hol- 
yoke  Truck  Company,  a  corporation  to 
manufacture  trucks.  He  was  the  first  sec- 
retary-treasurer of  the  company,  of  which 
he  now  owns  a  controlling  interest,  and 
serves  as  president,  treasurer  and  general 
manager.  His  years  of  manufacturing  ex- 
perience richly  qualify  him  to  conduct  the 
business  in  which  he  is  engaged  from  the 
manufacturer's  standpoint,  while  his  ex- 
perience as  sales  manager  for  so  many 
years  gives  him  the  necessary  view  point 
of  the  salesman.  He  has  proven  his  execu- 
tive ability  also,  and  is  a  well  rounded  and 
balanced  twentieth  century  business  man. 
Mr.  Lyman  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and 
has  served  on  the  Holyoke  City  Commit- 
tee. He  is  a  member  of  Mt.  Tom  Lodge, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Bela  Grotto, 
Tall  Cedars  of  Lebanon,  of  Springfield, 
Massachusetts  ;  Connecticut  Valley  Lodge, 
No.  28,  Knights  of  Pythias;  the  United 
Commercial  Travelers  of  America ;  the  Old 
Colony  Club  of  New  York  City;  the  Sec- 
ond Baptist  Church  of  Holyoke;  and  of 
several   business   organizations. 

He  married,  June  27,  1894,  Cora  May 
Marrs,  of  Milton,  Vermont,  daughter  of 
Harlan  F.  and  Emmeline  A.  (Hine)  Marrs, 
and  granddaughter  of  William  Marrs,  of 
Scotch  birth  and  ancestry.     Mr.  and  Mrs. 


Lyman  are  the  parents  of  two  daughters: 
Alta  Mae,  born  January  16,  1901 ;  and  Eu- 
la  Emmeline,  May  6,  1910. 


DAVIS,  Herbert  Frank, 

Builder,    Contractor. 

The  business  of  F.  A.  Davis  &  Son,  In- 
corporated, of  which  Herbert  F.  Davis  is 
president,  was  founded  by  his  honored 
father  and  developed  by  father  and  son  to 
its  present  proportions.  Frank  A.  Davis 
founded  a  brick  and  cement  contracting 
business  in  1878,  and  until  his  death  in 
1915  was  its  head.  In  1904  he  admitted  his 
son,  Herbert  F.,  as  a  partner  under  the 
firm  name,  F.  A.  Davis  &  Son,  and  togeth- 
er they  labored  until  death  dissolved  the 
partnership,  eleven  years  later.  These  two 
generations  of  the  family  in  Holyoke  have 
played  an  important  part  in  the  upbuilding 
of  the  city. 

This  branch  of  the  Davis  family  is  traced 
to  John  Davis,  "The  Welshman,"  who  lo- 
cated in  the  town  of  Derby,  Connecticut,  in 
1690.  From  him  is  descended  Shorey  Da- 
vis, great-grandfather  of  Herbert  F.  Da- 
vis, who  was  a  tailor  by  trade,  and  a  well- 
to-do  citizen  of  Preston,  Connecticut.  He 
served  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  upon 
his  return  from  the  War  located  in  Preston, 
where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days, 
his  death  occurring  there  February  25, 
1841,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years,  and  he 
was  buried  in  North  Stonington,  Connecti- 
cut. He  married  Sarah  Carpenter,  born 
October  30,  1767,  in  South  Kingston, 
Rhode  Island,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  and 
Abigail  (Sheldon)  Carpenter.  Jeremiah 
Carpenter  was  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Re- 
newed (Smith)  Carpenter;  Daniel  Car- 
penter was  a  son  of  Solomon  Carpenter, 
born  in  1677,  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth 
(Tefft)  Carpenter;  Solomon  Carpenter 
was  a  son  of  Samuel  Carpenter,  who  lived 
in  Rehoboth ;   Samuel  Carpenter  was  a  son 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  William  Carpenter,  born  in  1605,  and  his 
wife,  Abigail  Carpenter ;  William  Carpen- 
ter was  a  son  of  William  Carpenter,  born  in 
England,  1576,  who  came  with  his  son  Wil- 
liam to  this  country  in  the  ship,  "Bevis," 
in  1638;  W'illiam  Carpenter  was  a  son  of 
William  Carpenter,  born  in  1540. 

Peter  Davis,  son  of  Shorey  and  Sarah 
(Carpenter)  Davis,  married  and  was  the 
father  of  Russell,  Elias,  Samuel  Avery,  of 
further  mention,  Albert  and  Sarah. 

Samuel  Avery  Davis  was  born  in  Pres- 
ton, Connecticut,  June  29,  1818,  and  died 
there  on  March  10,  1894.  He  was  a  car- 
penter by  trade,  a  Methodist  in  religious 
faith,  and  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  mar- 
ried Celesta  Kinney  Brown,  born  December 
21,  1818.  They  were  the  parents  of  Amos 
R.,  Helen  M.,  Frank  Avery,  of  further  men- 
tion, and  Herman  A.  Celesta  Kinney 
Brown  was  a  descendant  of  Edward  Brown, 
of  England,  founder  of  an  ancient  family 
of  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  and  Stonington, 
Connecticut.  The  line  of  descent  from  Ed- 
ward Brown  ;  his  son,  Thomas  Brown  ;  his 
son,  Thomas  (2)  Brown;  his  son,  Daniel 
Brown,  and  his  wife,  Mary  (Breed) 
Brown ;  their  youngest  son  and  fourteenth 
child,  Amos  Brown,  and  his  wife,  Eunice 
(Turner)  Brown;  their  son,  Breed  Brown 
(named  for  his  Grandmother  Breed),  born 
April  5,  1784,  died  September  3,  1875, 
aged  ninety  years.  Breed  Brown  married 
Ada  Kinney,  of  Griswold,  Connecticut,  and 
their  daughter,  Celesta  Kinney  Brown,  mar- 
ried Samuel  Avery  Davis. 

Frank  Avery  Davis,  son  of  Samuel  Avery 
and  Celesta  Kinney  (Brown)  Davis,  was 
born  in  Preston,  Connecticut,  March  24, 
1854,  and  died  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
October  26,  191 5.  He  attended  Preston 
public  schools  and  then  attended  school  in 
Norwich,  learning  later  the  bricklayers' 
trade,  under  George  Fellows,  of  Norwich, 
with  whom  he  worked  four  years.  He  then 
returned   to    Preston,    where    he    was    em- 


ployed at  his  trade  about  eighteen  months, 
removing  to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  in 
1878.  With  the  increasing  use  of  concrete 
and  cement  and  the  demand  along  these 
lines  increasing,  he  added  a  knowledge  of 
cement  and  concrete  work  to  his  bricklay- 
ing skill.  On  first  coming  to  Holyoke,  he 
was  employed  by  Deacon  Thomas  Rich- 
ards at  his  trade.  He  then  moved  to  South 
Hadley  Falls,  where  he  resided  for  eight 
years,  then  returned  to  Holyoke,  which  was 
ever  after  his  home.  Eventually  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  George  Richards  and  to- 
gether they  conducted  a  contractors'  busi- 
ness for  five  years.  From  that  time  until 
1904,  Mr.  Davis  conducted  business  alone, 
prosecuting  it  with  energy  and  ability.  The 
business  grew  as  any  business  must  when 
ably  and  energetically  managed,  and  he  was 
rated  one  of  the  reliable,  substantial  and 
successful  builders  of  the  city.  Many  build- 
ings were  erected  by  him,  including  the 
First  Congregational  Church,  First  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  McCaustand  and 
Wakelin  building,  and  the  Livermore  and 
Martin  building,  now  known  as  the  Par- 
fitt-Martin  building.  In  1904  he  admitted 
his  son,  Herbert  F.  Davis,  to  a  partnership, 
the  firm  becoming  F.  A.  Davis  &  Son.  In 
1907  they  withdrew  from  all  forms  of  con- 
struction, except  the  bidding  on  or  the  ac- 
cepting of  cement  or  concrete  work.  Mr. 
Davis  in  the  early  days,  before  a  permanent 
paid  fire  fighting  force  had  been  organized, 
was  a  second  assistant  engineer  in  the  old 
Volunteer  Fire  Department.  He  was  a 
member  of  Mount  Holyoke  Lodge,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  the  Veteran  Firemen's 
Association,  and  was  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics. He  was  a  man  of  quiet,  domestic 
tastes,  devoted  to  his  home  and  family. 

Mr.  Davis  married  at  Versailles,  Connec- 
ticut, December  20,  1876,  Frances  C.  Bab- 
cock,  born  in  Guilford,  Connecticut,  Janu- 
ary 26,  1852,  daughter  of  John  W.  and  Har- 


123 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


riet  (Shattuck)  Babcock.  They  were  the 
parents  of  :  May,  born  in  Preston,  Novem- 
ber 29,  1877,  died  in  Holyoke,  December 
30,  1899;    Edith,  born  in  Preston,  January 

5,  1879,  died  in  Holyoke,  December  21, 
1881  ;  Herbert  Frank,  of  further  mention; 
Grace,  born  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  Novem- 
ber 28,  1885,  a  teacher  in  Holyoke  public 
schools.  The  last  two,  with  their  mother, 
reside  in  Holyoke. 

Herbert  Frank  Davis,  only  son  of  Frank 
Avery  and  Frances  C.  (Babcock)  Davis, 
was  born  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachu- 
setts, July  I,  1882.  He  was  educated  in 
public  schools  and  at  Holyoke  Business  In- 
stitute, beginning  his  business  career  under 
the  able  direction  of  his  father.  In  1904 
he  was  admitted  a  partner  and  the  firm 
name  of  F.  A.  Davis  &  Son  was  adopted. 
Eleven  years  later,  in  191 5,  the  senior  part- 
ner and  founder  was  called  to  his  reward, 
and  the  son  continued  the  business  alone 
until  1 91 7,  when  he  incorporated  it  as  "F. 
A.  Davis  &  Son,  Incorporated."  Mr.  Da- 
vis is  president  of  the  corporation,  and  is  a 
successful  builder  and  man  of  business.  He 
owns  a  farm  near  the  city  which  with  its 
blooded  cattle  and  poultry  is  his  delight  and 
pride.  He  is  a  member  of  Oak  Lodge,  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  of 
the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
in  politics  is  a  Republican. 

]\Ir.  Davis  married,  October  22,  1903, 
Ella  \\'ebb,  daughter  of  William  A.  and 
Eliza  (Davey)  Webb.  They  are  the  parents 
of:  Eleanor  May,  born  October  30,  1904; 
Helen  Irene,  March  16,  1906;  Herbert 
Webb,  April  21,  1907;  Irving  Avery,  May 

6,  1909;  Frank  Adelbert,  July  23,  1912; 
Robert  Donald,  June  23,  191 3. 


SMITH,  George  Herbert, 

Representative  Citizen. 

The   family  of  Smith,  of  which  George 
Herbert  Smith  is  a  member  of  the  ninth 


recorded  generation,  traces  its  ancestry 
back  to  Nehemiah  Smith,  who  was  born  in 
England  in  1605,  came  to  America,  and  on 
March  6,  1637-38,  was  admitted  a  freeman 
of  Plymouth,  Massachusetts.  After  his  ar- 
rival here,  he  married  Anne  Bourne,  of 
Marshfield,  Massachusetts.  They  resided 
in  that  town  until  their  removal  to  Strat- 
ford, Connecticut,  where  as  a  raiser  of 
sheep  he  was  given  the  title  of  "Shepherd" 
Smith.  He  later  moved  to  New  Haven, 
Connecticut ;  then  to  Long  Island ;  and 
from  there  to  the  farm  at  Poquonoc,  bor- 
dering on  Smith  Lake,  in  the  town  of  Gro- 
ton,  now  within  the  city  limits  of  New  Lon- 
don, Connecticut.  He  resided  in  New  Lon- 
don while  his  sons  carried  on  the  work  of 
the  farm.  He  was  later  one  of  the  original 
proprietors  of  the  town  of  Norwich,  where 
he  owned  extensive  land,  and  he  is  record- 
ed as  one  of  the  lay  preachers  of  those  early 
days  and  supplied  various  pulpits  at  differ- 
ent times.  He  died  in  1686,  and  his  wife 
died  January  12,  1684.  The  estate  was  in- 
herited by  his  son,  Nehemiah,  who  is  men- 
tioned in  the  following  paragraph. 

Nehemiah  (2)  Smith,  son  of  Nehemiah 
(i)  and  Anne  (Bourne)  Smith,  was  born 
in  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  in  1646.  When 
ten  years  old  he  moved  with  his  parents  to 
the  Poquonoc  farm,  near  New  London, 
Connecticut,  and  seven  years  later  he  took 
complete  charge  of  his  father's  farm,  where 
he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  farm,  he  owned  considerable 
land  at  Niantic,  Connecticut.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  General  Assembly  at  Hart- 
ford for  several  years,  and  a  highly  respect- 
ed citizen.  He  married,  October  24,  1699, 
Lydia  W^inchester,  daughter  of  Alexander 
Winchester,  of  Roxbury,  Massachusetts. 

Nehemiah  (3)  Smith,  son  of  Nehemiah 
(2)  and  Lydia  (Winchester)  Smith,  was 
born  on  the  farm  near  Smith  Lake,  No- 
vember 14,  1673,  and  there  spent  his  entire 
life,  his  death  occurring  November  21,  1724. 


124 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


He  married,  April  22,  1696,  Dorothy 
Wheeler,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Martha 
(Park)  Wheeler.  They  were  the  parents 
of  twelve  children. 

Isaac  Smith,  son  of  Nehemiah  (3)  and 
Dorothy  (Wheeler)  Smith,  was  born  on  the 
farm  of  his  ancestors,  near  New  London, 
Connecticut,  December  29,  1707.  He  mar- 
ried, November  4,  1729,  Ethel  Denison, 
daughter  of  Deacon  Daniel  and  Mary 
(Stanton)  Denison.  They  were  members 
of  the  First  Church  of  New  London. 

Amos  Smith,  son  of  Isaac  and  Ethel 
(Denison)  Smith,  was  born  December  13, 
1732.  He  married  and  resided  in  Norwich, 
Connecticut. 

Nathan  Smith,  son  of  Amos  Smith,  was 
born  in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  April  2, 
1766.  He  later  resided  in  Sturbridge,  Con- 
necticut, and  then  in  Vermont.  He  mar- 
ried   . 

Thomas  Smith,  son  of  Nathan  Smith, 
was  born  in  Sturbridge,  Connecticut,  in 
1788.  He  married  Jane  Barron,  of  Kirby, 
Vermont.  In  1840  they  moved  to  Palmer, 
Massachusetts,  where  Mr.  Smith  died  in 
1866  and  his  w'ife  in  1869.  They  were  the 
parents  of  seven  children :  Roxanna,  died 
young;  Philura,  became  the  wife  of  Bart- 
lett  Page ;  Florilla  Eliza,  became  the  wife 
of  Lewis  ]\IcCrellis ;  Loren  Lorenzo,  mar- 
ried Hattie  Hungerford ;  Nathan  Leander, 
married  Roxanna  Francis;  Sarah  M.,  be- 
came the  wife  of  Nathan  Baker ;  and  Oren 
Barron,  mentioned  in  the  following  para- 
graph. 

Oren  Barron  Smith,  son  of  Thomas  and 
Jane  (Barron)  Smith,  was  born  December 
6,  1827,  in  Kirby,  Vermont,  in  a  log  cabin 
in  which  he  lived  until  he  was  five  years 
old.  In  1832  he  moved  with  his  parents  to 
Surrey,  New  Hampshire,  and  from  there  to 
Holden,  where  at  seven  years  of  age  he  be- 
came employed  in  the  spinning  room  of  the 
Brick  City  Cotton  Mill  as  "bobbin  boy," 
his  duty  being  to  change  full  bobbins  for 


empty  ones.  Here  he  worked  thirteen  hours 
a  day  at  a  wage  of  $1,50  per  week.  He  later 
secured  the  same  employment  at  another 
mill,  following  this  until  he  was  twelve 
years  old  at  a  maximum  wage  of  $3.00  per 
week.  Later  he  secured  employment  at  the 
Smithville  Cotton  Mills  at  Barre,  where 
he  was  promoted  to  be  a  "second-hand"  in 
a  Thorndyke  Mill  and  where  he  later 
learned  to  weave.  When  nineteen  years 
old  he  went  to  Ware,  then  to  Thorndyke, 
and  later  was  employed  at  the  Chicopee 
(No.  i)  Cabot  Mill,  where  he  remained 
two  years,  filling  the  position  of  "second- 
hand." Following  this  he  was  employed 
in  the  Mitteneague  and  Holyoke  (No.  2) 
Lyman  Mills.  In  i860  he  took  a  po- 
sition as  overseer  in  the  Boston  Duck 
Company's  Mill  at  Bondville,  where  he 
remained  until  1864.  He  later  became 
superintendent  in  the  Parks  &  Arnold 
Woolen  Mill  in  Brimfield,  Massachu- 
setts. Here  he  gave  such  satisfaction 
that  he  was  sent  to  the  South  Hadley  Mill 
by  Mr.  Arnold,  one  of  his  employers.  By 
this  time  (1865)  he  had  become  thoroughly 
proficient  with  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
goods  and  he  was  then  employed  by  the  E. 
B.  &  G.  Draper  Company,  the  well  known 
concern  of  Hopedale,  Massachusetts,  as 
their  traveling  representative,  and  he  filled 
this  position  with  satisfaction  to  his  em- 
ployers and  credit  to  himself  for  the  follow- 
ing five  years.  In  1870  he  became  agent 
of  the  Boston  Duck  Company  in  Bondville, 
with  which  concern  he  was  associated  for 
twenty  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he 
retired  from  the  manufacturing  business 
and  removed  to  Northampton.  There  he 
invested  largely  in  real  estate,  opening  up 
Massasoit  street.  In  1894  he  went  to  Ash- 
field  ;  thence  to  Somerville,  and  later  to  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Frank  A.  Packard,  in 
Springfield,  where  he  remained  until  his 
death.  During  his  long  and  honorable  bus- 
iness career,  Mr.  Smith  found  time  to  hold 


125 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


public  office,  serving  as  representative  from 
Palmer  in  1884,  and  as  selectman  for  two 
terms.  In  1858  he  was  made  a  member  of 
Jerusalem  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, of  Northampton,  Massachusetts.  Mr. 
Smith  married  (first)  October  3,  1848, 
Rosanna  Aloody,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Rhoda  IMoody,  of  Palmer.  She  was  born 
May  23,  1827,  and  died  October  15,  1857. 
Their  children  were :  Charles  Moody,  born 
August  28,  185 1,  and  Clara  E.,  born  June 
20,  1855,  became  the  wife  of  Frank  A. 
Packard.  He  married  (second)  December 
16,  1858,  Elmina  James,  born  September  12, 
1829,  died  April  3,  1868.  Their  children 
were:  Frank  O.,  born  June  20,  1861,  and 
George  Herbert,  of  further  mention.  He 
married  (third)  January  2,  1870,  Harriet 
Buckland,  born  June  20,  1836.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Gertrude,  born  April  26,  1871, 
became  the  wife  of  Dr.  William  Jackson,  of 
Atlanta,  Georgia;  and  Oren  Barron,  Jr., 
born  January,  1874;  two  other  children 
died  in  infancy. 

George  Herbert  Smith,  son  of  Oren  Bar- 
ron and  Elmina  (James)  Smith,  was  born 
in  the  town  of  Palmer,  Massachusetts, 
June  I,  1866.  Here  he  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools,  and  at  the  Wesleyan 
Academy  at  Wilbraham,  which  he  attended 
for  three  years.  Upon  leaving  school,  he 
went  into  the  woods  of  Northern  Michigan, 
where  he  was  in  the  employ  of  a  large  lum- 
ber company  as  scaler  from  his  seventeenth 
to  his  twenty-first  year,  when  he  returned 
to  Massachusetts,  to  the  town  of  Bondville, 
where  he  was  employed  in  the  mill  of  which 
his  father  had  charge,  remaining  there  five 
years.  In  1892,  when  twenty-six  years  of 
age,  Mr.  Smith  went  to  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  entered  the  office  of  the  Val- 
ley Paper  Company,  w^here  for  the  past 
twenty-five  years  he  has  been  in  active  ser- 
vice. He  is  also  identified  with  the  Lithia 
Spring  Water  Company.  He  is  a  member 
of  Mt.  Tom  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 


sons, of  Holyoke ;  Holyoke  Chapter,  Roy- 
al Arch  Masons ;  Holyoke  Council,  Royal 
and  Select  Masters ;  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks ;  the  Canoe  Club 
of  Holyoke,  and  the  Bay  State  Club. 
Through  his  ancestry  on  the  Barron  side, 
he  holds  membership  in  the  Sons  of  the 
American  Revolution.  He  attends  the  First 
Congregational  Church. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  September  5,  1889, 
Ethelyn  J.  Hamilton,  daughter  of  James 
O.  and  Mary  J.  (Pease)  Hamilton,  of  Pas- 
saic, New  Jersey.  They  are  the  parents  of 
two  children:  i.  Claude  Hamilton,  born 
December  4,  1894,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Holyoke  High  School ;  later  was  employed 
in  British  Columbia  by  his  uncle,  Oren  Bar- 
ron Smith,  Jr. ;  from  there,  after  returning 
home,  he  entered  the  Colorado  School  of 
Mines  at  Golden,  Colorado ;  and  later,  in 
June,  191 7,  enlisted  in  the  regular  army, 
Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Fifteenth 
Regiment  of  Engineers.  2.  Dorris  Ethelyn, 
born  February  12,  1898. 


SMITH,  Ernest  Fred, 

Representative  Citizen. 

Ernest  Fred  Smith,  son  of  Charles 
Moody  (q.  v.)  and  Mary  Frances  (Eaton) 
Smith,  was  born  in  Wakefield,  Massachu- 
setts, May  22,  1870.  His  parents,  after 
spending  many  years  in  Massachusetts, 
moved  to  Iowa,  and  their  son  accompanied 
them.  They  later  lived  in  Omaha,  Nebras- 
ka, where  he  worked  at  carpentry,  which 
trade  he  had  learned  in  earlier  years.  Fol- 
lowing this  he  again  moved  West,  this  time 
to  California,  where  he  continued  as  a  car- 
penter in  Chico,  Butte  county.  After  two 
years  he  came  East,  locating  on  a  farm  in 
Suffield,  Connecticut.  In  191 3,  Mr.  Smith 
settled  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  where 
he  has  been  working  ever  since.  In  pol- 
itics he  is  a  Republican. 

On  December  i,  1890,  Ernest  F.  Smith 


126 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


married  (first)  Pearl  Boyce,  daughter  of 
Charles  and  Anna  (Conway)  Boyce,  of 
Omaha,  Nebraska.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  one  son,  Raymond  Charles,  born 
February,  1895;  he  is  a  corporal  (1917) 
in  the  regular  army,  having  enlisted  Octo- 
ber 27,  1913;  he  did  service  on  the  Mex- 
ican border ;  he  has  been  located  at  Camp 
Jarvis  and  at  Fort  Slocomb,  Texas ;  now 
in  France,  Third  Cavalry  Machine  Gun 
Troop.  On  June  20,  1906,  Mr.  Smith  mar- 
ried (second)  Estelle  Maude  Childs,  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Mary  (Van  Zandt) 
Childs,  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  By 
this  marriage  were  born  seven  children,  as 
follows :  Edith  Mary,  born  September  24, 
1907;  Ernestine  Charlotte,  July  13,  1909; 
Estelle  Maude,  October  23,  191 1  ;  Catherine 
Eleanor,  December  11,  1912;  Ernest  Fred, 
Jr.,  October  24,  1914;  Oren  L.,  September 
6,  191 5,  died  August  14,  191 7;  and  Clara 
Hilma,  born  October  24,  1916. 


SMITH,  Leroy  Elmer, 

Building  Contractor. 

Charles  Moody  Smith,  son  of  Oren  Bar- 
ron Smith  (q.  v.)  and  his  first  wife,  Rosan- 
na  (Moody)  Smith,  was  born  in  Palmer, 
Massachusetts,  August  28,  185 1.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  school,  and  after 
leaving  school  he  learned  the  carpenters' 
trade  and  for  twenty-three  years  was  en- 
gaged as  a  contracting  builder.  He  then 
moved  to  the  states  of  Iowa  and  Nebraska ; 
later  he  returned  to  New  York  State,  where 
he  now  resides  upon  a  small  farm  which  he 
owns  at  Albany.  He  married  (first)  in 
1869,  Mary  Frances  Eaton,  who  died  in 
1892.  She  was  a  daughter  of  John  S.  and 
Mary  (Draper)  Eaton.  He  married  (sec- 
ond) Josephine  Ferris.  Children  of  first 
marriage :  Ernest  Fred,  whose  sketch  pre- 
cedes this ;  Leroy  Elmer,  of  further  men- 
tion ;  Clara  E.,  deceased,  married  Robert 
Wiley;    Oren  B.   (3)  ;    Charles,  died  in  in- 


fancy ;  Charlotte  L.,  married  James  Wolfen- 
den,  deceased,  of  Holyoke ;  Grace  Eaton, 
married  Joseph  Castine,  now  deceased ;  he 
was  an  architect  and  a  graduate  of  Boston 
Technical  School.  Children  of  second  mar- 
riage :     Ola,  Leah,  Edric  and  Cliff. 

Leroy  Elmer  Smith,  son  of  Charles 
Moody  Smith  and  his  first  wife,  Mary 
Frances  (Eaton)  Smith,  was  born  at  Three 
Rivers,  Massachsetts,  August  12,  1874.  He 
was  taken  West  by  his  parents,  when  young, 
and  in  the  school  of  Omaha,  Nebraska,  was 
educated.  He  learned  the  carpenters'  trade 
and  for  a  time  was  engaged  as  a  builder  in 
the  West ;  he  then  returned  East  and  for 
some  time  was  associated  with  his  father  in 
contracting  and  building  in  New  York 
State.  In  1897  he  located  in  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, where  he  has  since  resided.  For 
six  years  he  was  superintendent  for  F.  H. 
Dibble,  contractor  and  builder,  but  in  1905 
he  began  contracting  under  his  own  name 
and  has  built  many  residences  and  build- 
ings in  Holyoke  and  vicinity ;  among  these 
may  be  named  the  Union  Club  on  Commer- 
cial street  and  the  Van  Valkenburg  plant  at 
Willimansett.  He  is  a  member  of  Mt.  Tom 
Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Hol- 
yoke, and  also  belongs  to  Mt.  Holyoke 
Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  Holyoke 
Council,  Royal  and  Select  Masters. 

Mr.  Smith  married.  May  22,  1895,  Mar- 
garet A.  Spoore,  of  Savannah,  New  York, 
daughter  of  Joseph  J.  and  Margaret  A. 
(Olmstead)  Spoore,  and  granddaughter  of 
John  and  Margaret  (  Beebe)  Spoore.  They 
are  the  parents  of  a  daughter,  Frances  Mar- 
garet, born  March  2,  1897. 


HILL,  Carlton  J., 

Business  Man. 

Carlton  J.  Hill,  who  for  many  years  has 
been  associated  with  the  business  interests 
of  Holyoke  and  Springfield,  in  both  of 
which  cities  he  has  held  positions  of  respon- 


127 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGR.\PHY 


sibility,  is  now  one  of  the  successful  mer- 
chants with  a  well  stocked  grocery  store  in 
the  former  city.  The  success  he  has  at- 
tained has  come  to  him  as  the  result  of  his 
own  initiative  and  perseverance  and  is  well 
deserved. 

He  comes  of  an  English  family,  his  great- 
grandfather on  the  paternal  side,  John  Hill, 
was  born  in  Gloucester,  England,  where  he 
grew  up,  received  his  education,  married 
and  became  a  stone  mason.  In  1852  he 
came  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Cha- 
teaugay,  Franklin  county,  New  York, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death,  which  occur- 
red practically  in  the  prime  of  life.  His 
wife,  Jane  (Spencer)  Hill,  whom  he  mar- 
ried before  leaving  England,  was  the  mother 
of  his  nine  children :  John,  Arthur, 
George,  Henry,  William,  Charles,  Alfred, 
Edwin,  and  Eliza,  who  married  Sylvester 
Edwards. 

The  third  son  of  John  and  Jane  (Spen- 
cer) Hill,  George  Hill,  through  whom  fol- 
lows the  line  of  descent  of  that  family,  was 
born  November  25,  1853,  in  Chateaugay, 
New  York,  where  he  lives  at  the  present 
time.  He  received  his  education  at  a 
school  near  his  own  home.  At  an  early  age, 
however,  he  began  farming,  in  which  he 
has  become  successful.  He  has  always 
been  active  in  affairs  pertaining  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  community.  On  Novem- 
ber 24,  1875,  he  married  Henrietta  Eliza- 
beth Frazier,  born  in  Malone,  Franklin 
county,  New  York,  the  daughter  of  Charles 
W.  and  Jane  Eliza  (Cornanj  Frazier.  To 
them  were  born  these  children :  Mabel 
Myrtle,  born  January  7,  1877,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Fred  Gleason ;  Lawrence  Guy, 
born  July  2,  1879;  Nellie  Maude,  born 
March  30,  1881,  married  Perley  Baker,  to 
them  has  been  born  one  son ;  Carlton  Jay, 
mentioned  below ;  Pearl  Elizabeth,  born 
August  22,  1886,  now  the  wife  of  Arthur 
Laplante ;  and  Grace  Lauretta,  bom  June 
18,  1893,  became  the  wife  of  Easton  Gil- 


lespie, and  now  has  one  son,  William 
Lloyd. 

Carlton  Jay  Hill  was  born  June  2-],  1884, 
in  Chateaugay,  New  York,  where  he  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools.  When  six- 
teen years  of  age  he  went  to  Holyoke,  ]Mas- 
sachusetts,  where  he  worked  for  two  years 
in  a  meat  and  grocery  store.  The  two 
following  years  he  worked  under  the  em- 
ploy of  White  &  Wyckoff,  of  Holyoke. 
From  there  he  went  into  the  Holyoke  store 
of  the  Great  Atlantic  &  Pacific  Tea  Com- 
pany, with  which  firm  he  continued  for  six- 
teen years.  When  first  employed,  his  work 
consisted  of  taking  orders  and  various  oth- 
er duties.  For  two  years  he  drove  through 
the  country  with  a  team  for  this  firm.  In 
1906  he  took  charge  of  the  Holyoke  store, 
but  two  years  later,  owing  to  ill  health,  was 
forced  to  take  up  outside  work  once  more. 
A  few  years  after  this  he  was  made  man- 
ager of  the  store.  In  July,  1917,  he  was 
appointed  assistant  superintendent  of  thir- 
teen stores,  and  continued  up  to  Septem- 
ber of  that  year  when  he  resigned  to  go  in 
business  for  himself.  During  the  years  of 
activity  with  the  company,  Mr.  Hill  had 
the  credit  of  doing  more  business  than  any 
of  the  three  hundred  agents  of  the  company, 
and  while  in  charge  of  the  Holyoke  store 
received  the  high  mark  for  business  over  all 
the  other  stores.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Hol- 
yoke Lodge,  No.  134.  He  attends  the  Pres- 
byterian church. 

On  September  28,  1910,  Mr.  Hill  was  mar- 
ried to  Delia  E.Pellissier,  daughter  of  George 
and  Delia  (Garceau)  Pellissier,  of  Hadley, 
Massachusetts.  Her  great-grandfather  was 
a  Major  of  Militia,  having  come  from 
France  to  Canada.  Her  grandparents,  Ed- 
ward and  Angele  (Beauprec)  Pellissier, 
were  both  born  in  Canada.  Her  father, 
George  Pellissier,  when  nineteen  years  of 
age  went  from  his  home  in  Canada  to  Min- 
nesota and  later  to  Wisconsin,  about  1862. 


128 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


In  1872,  he  went  to  Hadley,  Massachu- 
setts, and  in  1903  removed  to  Holyoke.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hill  are  the  parents  of  one  son, 
Ronald  Louis,  born  in  Holyoke,  October  20, 

1913- 


BURKHARDT,  Herman  Gottlob, 
Post  Office  Carrier. 

The  ancient  home  of  the  Burkhardt  fam- 
ily as  far  back  as  the  year  1471  was  in  far 
away  Saxony,  a  state  of  the  German  Em- 
pire. At  about  that  time  the  kingdom  was 
divided  into  two  states,  electoral  Saxony 
and  ducal  Saxony,  Wittenberg  the  capital 
of  electoral  Saxony,  the  cradle  of  the  Ref- 
ormation. George  Burkhardt  to  whom  Her- 
man Gottlob  Burkhardt,  of  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, traces  his  ancestry,  lived  in  the 
days  of  the  Reformation  and  was  secretary 
to  Martin  Luther,  the  great  reformer.  He 
was  a  man  of  wide  education,  and  at  one 
time  was  tutor  of  the  elector  of  Saxony, 
that  state  not  becoming  a  kingdom  until 
1806. 

From  George  Burkhardt  descended 
Christian  John  Burkhardt,  born  about  the 
year  1800,  who  lived  and  died  in  Saxony, 
leaving  a  son,  Gottlob  Heinrich  Burkhardt, 
born  in  Saxony,  December  6,  1832,  died  in 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  December  3,  1899. 
He  was  a  manufacturer  of  woolens  and  a 
retail  merchant  in  his  native  land,  selling 
the  goods  he  manufactured.  In  1872  he 
came  to  the  United  States  and  located  in 
Huntington,  Massachusetts,  but  two  years 
later,  in  1874,  settled  in  Holyoke,  where  he 
established  a  grocery  business,  w'hich  he 
conducted  very  successfully  until  1898, 
when  he  sold  it  to  his  son,  Max  Burkhardt, 
and  retired.  He  married,  in  Saxony,  No- 
vember 10,  1861,  Friedicke  Augusta  Funke, 
born  March  30,  1840,  in  Crimmitzschau,  a 
manufacturing  town  of  Saxony  on  the 
Pleisse  river,  daughter  of  Carl  Frederic  and 
Caroline  (Seifert)  Funke.  Mrs.  Burkhardt 
MASS.— 7— 9.  I 


survives  her  husband  and  is  yet  (1917)  a 
resident  of  Holyoke.  I\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Burk- 
hardt were  the  parents  of  four  sons  and  two 
daughters:  i.  Max  George,  deceased;  was 
a  merchant  and  at  one  time  a  member  of 
the  Holyoke  Common  Council.  2.  Herman 
Gottlob,  of  further  mention.  3.  Robert 
Carl,  mentioned  elsewhere.  4.  Frederic 
Theodore.  5.  Clara  Charlotte,  married 
Douglas  H.  Hood.  6.  Emma  Elise,  married 
Alfred  Baush,  whom  with  a  daughter  Al- 
freda,  she  survives. 

Herman  Gottlob  Burkhardt,  son  of  Gott- 
lob Heinrich  Burkhardt,  was  born  in  Glau- 
chau  on  the  Mulde  river,  one  of  the  princi- 
pal manufacturing  towns  of  Saxony,  April 
30,  1864.  He  attended  school  there  until 
1872,  when  he  was  brought  to  the  United 
States  by  his  parents,  and  then  completed 
his  studies  in  the  public  schools  of  Hunt- 
ington and  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  His 
first  position  after  leaving  school,  which 
he  held  two  and  a  half  years,  was  as  clerk 
in  the  Holyoke  post  office.  In  1885  he  was 
appointed  carrier,  and  for  thirty-two  years 
has  filled  that  position  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  department  and  of  the  districts  he  has 
served.  He  is  still  (1917)  in  active  service, 
and  one  of  the  highly  regarded  men  of  the 
force.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Holyoke 
Turn  Verein  Club,  and  of  the  second  Con- 
gregational Church. 

Mr.  Burkhardt  married,  in  September, 
1890,  Lena  Becker,  of  Rockville,  Connecti- 
cut, daughter  of  Jacob  and  Regina  Becker. 
They  are  the  parents  of  two  sons  and  a 
daughter:  i.  Harold  Herman,  born  June 
26,  1891  ;  a  graduate  of  Gushing  Academy 
and  Massachusetts  School  of  Technology, 
with  the  degree  of  Civil  Engineer,  now  with 
the  Santa  Fe  Railroad,  and  who  is  located 
at  Topeka,  Kansas.  2.  Florence  Clara, 
born  December  24,  1892,  a  graduate  of  Hol- 
yoke High  School,  now  in  the  office  of  the 
American  Writing  Paper  Company ;  a  mem- 


29 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ber  of  the  choir  of  the  Second  Congrega- 
tional Church.  3.  Ralph  William,  born 
February  14,  1901  ;   a  high  school  student. 


BURKHARDT,  Frederic  Theodore, 
Traveling   Salesman. 

Fourth  of  the  sons  of  Gottlob  Heinrich 
Burkhardt,  but  the  first  of  American  birth, 
Frederic  T.  Burkhardt,  of  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, can  claim  full  right  to  the  title 
"native  son"  of  that  city.  A  full  account 
of  his  parentage  and  ancestry  is  found  in 
this  work. 

Frederic  T.  Burkhardt  was  born,  as  no- 
ted above,  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  No- 
vember 16,  1880,  his  parents  coming  from 
Saxony  in  1872.  He  was  educated  in  the 
graded  and  high  schools  of  the  city,  and  at 
the  close  of  his  school  years  his  business  life 
began  in  the  office  employ  of  the  Keating 
Wheel  Company.  He  remained  with  that 
corporation  until  the  removal  of  their  plant 
to  Middletown,  Connecticut,  some  two  years 
later,  when  he  entered  the  service  of  the 
Baush  Machine  Company.  He  was  next 
with  the  White  &  Wyckoff  Company,  as 
office  employee  for  about  six  years,  then 
for  two  years  was  with  his  brother,  Rob- 
ert Carl  Burkhardt,  (see  sketch  elsewhere) 
in  the  grocery  business,  in  Holyoke.  In 
1904  he  became  traveling  salesman  for  the 
Parsons  Paper  Company,  his  territory  cov- 
ering the  greater  part  of  the  United  States. 
For  the  past  fourteen  years,  he  has  been 
actively  engaged  in  this  position  and  is  well 
and  favorably  known  to  the  representatives 
of  the  paper  trade  throughout  the  entire 
section  in  which  he  travels.  He  also  rep- 
resents Millers  Falls  Paper  Company  in  the 
same  field.  The  products  of  these  corpora- 
tions are  of  the  highest  quality  possible 
and  to  Mr.  Burkhardt's  untiring  energy  in 
enhancing  the  interests  of  these  firms,  and 
in  creating  a  demand  for  a  high  grade 
product  no  small  share  of  praise  is  due  for 


this  perfection.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Holyoke  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Mt.  Tom 
Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the 
Baptist  church,  the  Bay  State,  Holyoke 
and  Holyoke  Canoe  clubs. 

Mr.  Burkhardt  married,  December  4, 
1905,  Grace  Ethelyn  Smith,  daughter  of 
Quartus  Judd  and  Irene  (Atkins)  Smith, 
granddaughter  of  Luther  and  Susan  (Rum- 
rill)  Smith,  great-granddaughter  of  Philip 
(2)  Smith,  and  great-great-granddaughter 
of  Philip  (i)  Smith,  of  South  Hadley,  Mas- 
sachusetts, that  also  being  the  residence  of 
the  son,  Philip  (2)  Smith.  Luther  Smith 
was  a  farmer  of  Willimansett,  Massach- 
setts,  his  wife,  Susan  (Rumrill)  Smith,  a 
native  of  South  Hadley.  Quartus  Judd 
Smith  was  a  native  of  Willimansett.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Burkhardt  are  the  parents  of  a 
son,  Frederic  Smith  Burkhardt,  born  De- 
cember I,  1908. 


PRESTON,  Ernest  Tilley, 
Business  Man. 

The  family  of  which  Ernest  T.  Preston, 
of  Holyoke,  is  a  twentieth  century  repre- 
sentative, is  an  ancient  one  in  England  and 
dates  from  an  early  period  in  New  Eng- 
land. Mr.  Preston  is  a  great-grandson  of 
Jonathan  Preston,  a  farmer  of  South  Had- 
ley and  Amherst,  whose  wife  Dorothy  at- 
tained the  great  age  of  ninety-one  years. 
Their  son,  William  Taylor  Preston,  born  in 
Amherst,  in  1816,  later  removed  to  South 
Hadley,  where  he  followed  his  trade  of 
painter,  and  where  he  died  at  the  early  age 
of  thirty-nine  years.  He  married  Melinda 
Winter,  daughter  of  Jonas  Winter.  Their 
eldest  son,  Edward  William  Preston,  was 
born  in  South  Hadley,  Massachusetts,  Sep- 
tember 20,  1845,  where  he  passed  his  years 
of  activity  and  is  now  (1917)  living  there 
retired.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  and  in  early  life  followed  farming 
for  a  time.     For  twelve  years  after  leaving 


130 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  farm  he  was  employed  in  a  sash  and 
blind  factory  at  South  Hadley,  after  which 
he  engaged  in  the  painting  and  paper  hang- 
ing business,  which  he  conducted  until  his 
retirement.  He  is  a  member  of  lona  Lodge, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  South  Had- 
ley, member  of  the  Congregational  church, 
and  in  politics  is  a  Republican.  He  mar- 
ried, January  8,  1874,  Eugenie  Tilley, 
daughter  of  George  and  Hannah  (Sheldon) 
Tilley.  They  were  the  parents  of  a  son  and 
a  daughter :  Ernest  Tilley,  of  further  men- 
tion; Ruth  Maria,  married  Harland  Brad- 
ford, of  Arlington,  New  Jersey,  and  has 
children,  Preston  Tilley,  Edward  Melvin, 
and  Kenneth  Bradford. 

Ernest  Tilley  Preston,  only  son  of  Ed- 
ward William  and  Eugenie   (Tilley)   Pres- 
ton,  was   born   in   Granby,    Massachusetts, 
September  16,  1878.     He  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  South  Hadley  Falls 
and  Worcester  Academy,  beginning  his  bus- 
iness career  with  the  New  England  Tele- 
phone Company,  and  later  was  with  The 
Long   Distance   Telephone   Company,   con- 
tinuing   with    these    corporations    for    six 
years.     He  then  came  to  Holyoke,  and  im- 
mediately   after    locating    in   that    city    en- 
gaged with  the  Roland  T.  Oaks  Company. 
In  1909  he  began  business  for  himself  as  an 
electrician  and  dealer  in  electrical  supplies, 
becoming  a  partner  with  Clifford  S.  Moore, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Preston  &  Moore. 
Seven  years  later, in  I9i6,this  firm  name  was 
changed  by  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Moore, 
who  was  succeeded  by  Ernest  W.  Bishop, 
to  Preston  &  Bishop,  the  new  firm's  first 
store  being  in  the  City  National  Bank  Build- 
ing.     Later   they   moved   to   the    McLean 
Block,   and   since   June,    1916,    Preston    & 
Moore  have  been  located  at  No.  237  Ma- 
ple street.    Mr.  Preston  is  a  member  of  the 
Holyoke    Canoe    Club,    the    Holyoke    Gun 
Club,   William  Whiting  Lodge,   Free   and 
Accepted  Masons,  and  in  politics  is  a  Re- 
publican. 


He  married,  October  11,  1905,  Ma« 
Wright,  daughter  of  John  S.  and  Caro- 
line (Grout)  Wright,  of  Holyoke.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Preston  have  a  son,  Sidney  Wright, 
born  in  Holyoke,  April  6,  1907. 


ALLEN,  Raymond  Philip, 

Paymaster  of  Farr  Alpaca  Company. 

As  paymaster  of  the  Farr  Alpaca  Com- 
pany. Mr.  Allen  fills  an  important  post 
with  Holyoke's  greatest  manufacturing 
corporation,  a  post  to  which  he  has  fairly 
won  his  way  by  energetic,  efficient  service 
in  each  position  assigned.  He  is  a  son  of 
Carl  A.  Allen,  M.  D.,  one  of  Holyoke's 
eminent  physicians,  whose  career  and  an- 
cestry are  written  at  length  in  this  work. 
The  American  ancestry  traces  to  James  Al- 
len, who  settled  in  Dedham,  Massachusetts, 
about  1637,  a  grandson  of  Reginald  Allen, 
of  Colby,  Norfolk,  England. 

Raymond  Philip  Allen,  third  son  of  Dr. 
Carl  A.  Allen,  and  his  first  wife,  Sophie  E. 
(Stearns)  Allen,  was  born  in  Ac  worth, 
New  Hampshire,  May  16,  1883.  He  at- 
tended public  school  in  Acworth  until  the 
removal  to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  in 
1891,  there  completed  his  studies  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  that  city,  finishing  with  high 
school.  He  began  his  business  career  as  a 
clerk  in  the  City  National  Bank,  there  con- 
tinuing for  two  years,  1903-04,  gaining 
needed  experience  in  banking  and  business 
methods  from  the  bankers'  standpoint.  In 
1904  he  resigned  from  the  bank  to  enter  the 
office  employ  of  the  Farr  Alpaca  Company, 
beginning  as  clerk.  As  he  became  more  fa- 
miliar with  his  duties  he  was  advanced  in 
rank,  until  January  i,  1917,  when  he  was 
promoted  to  his  present  position,  paymaster 
of  the  company,  a  post  of  importance,  as 
the  company  employs  two  thousand  eight 
hundred  operatives.  Mr.  Allen  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Holyoke  Canoe  Club;  Oak 
Lodge,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows ; 


131 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  First  Congregational  Church ;    and  in 
pontics  is  a  Republican. 

He  married,  April  5,  1905,  Ina  Squier, 
daughter  of  Edwin  L.  and  Nellie  (Dawley) 
Squier,  of  Holyoke.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allen 
are  the  parents  of  a  daughter,  Elizabeth 
Leonard,  born  January  14,  191  o,  and  of  a 
son,  Philip  Lewis,  born  May  6,  1914. 


YOERG,  William  Paul, 

Business  Man. 

William  Paul  Yoerg,  the  well  known 
dealer  in  automobile  supplies,  of  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  comes  of  a  family  whose 
name  was  originally  spelled  Yoergh,  and 
which  was  first  represented  in  America  by 
John  Michael  Yoerg,  who  was  born  in  Ba- 
varia, Germany,  in  1830.  He  was  a  wagon- 
maker  by  trade,  which  trade  he  learned  in 
his  native  country  from  his  father.  When 
the  former  came  to  America,  in  1852,  he 
landed  in  New  York  City,  going  almost 
immediately  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  where  he 
remained  a  comparatively  short  time.  He 
then  returned  to  the  East,  locating  in  East- 
hampton,  Massachusetts,  where  he  found 
employment  in  the  woolen  and  cotton  mills. 
From  there  he  proceeded  to  South  Hadley 
Falls,  Massachusetts,  where  for  some  time 
he  was  employed  as  a  loom-fixer  in  the  tex- 
tile mills.  Eventually,  however,  he  went  in- 
to the  hotel  business  and  located  in  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts.  For  a  number  of 
years  he  conducted  the  management  of  the 
Germania  Hotel,  Holyoke,  with  marked  suc- 
cess. Finally  he  sold  out  to  his  son-in-law, 
Onizim  Viens,  in  order  to  retire  from  ac- 
tive life.  John  Michael  Yoerg  married  in 
Germany,  Walberger  Brown,  who  was  born 
in  Bavaria,  Germany,  the  daughter  of  John 
and  Josephine  Brown.  John  M.  Yoerg  died 
June  30,  191 2,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two 
years.  His  wife  died  two  years  later,  in 
September,  1914,  aged  eighty-nine  years. 
They  were  the  parents  of  the  following  chil- 

I 


dren :  Walberger,  born  in  Columbus,  Ohio, 
married  Onizim  Viens  (deceased),  and  died 
January,  1917,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine; 
Michael  John,  of  whom  further;  Joseph, 
deceased ;  and  Kraig  Joseph,  born  July  23, 
1862. 

Michael  John  Yoerg,  son  of  John  Mich- 
ael and  Walberger  (Brown)  Yoerg,  was 
born  in  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts, 
December  25,  1854,  and  died  November  25, 
1892.  During  his  early  years  he  received 
an  education  at  the  common  schools  of 
South  Hadley  Falls,  and  upon  the  discon- 
tinuance of  his  studies  he  entered  the  Glas- 
gow Mills,  South  Hadley  Falls,  where  he 
was  employed  first  as  a  bobbin  boy.  Be- 
cause of  his  diligence  he  became  foreman 
in  the  weaving  department  there.  In  1890, 
however,  he  left  these  mills  because  of  cer- 
tain labor  troubles  which  arose,  and  became 
identified  with  his  brother,  Kraig  J.  Yoerg, 
in  the  bottling  business  at  Holyoke.  In  pol- 
itics he  was  an  ardent  Democrat.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Catholic  church.  His  death 
occurred  in  an  accident  which  resulted  from 
the  running  away  of  a  team  of  horses. 
Michael  John  Yoerg  married  Nellie  O'Brien, 
born  in  Westfield,  Massachusetts,  the 
daughter  of  Garret  and  Bridget  O'Brien. 
To  them  were  born  these  children :  Leon 
Michael,  born  October  10,  1881,  now  man- 
ager of  the  Carew  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, South  Hadley  Falls,  married,  Au- 
gust II,  1909,  Louise  Burke,  of  Holyoke, 
to  whom  have  been  born  two  children, 
Gretchen  Louise  and  Mary  Constance ;  Wil- 
liam Paul,  of  whom  further ;  and  Cather- 
ine. 

William  Paul  Yoerg,  son  of  Michael 
John  and  Nellie  (O'Brien)  Yoerg,  was  born 
in  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts,  Oc- 
tober 16,  1883.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  town.  Upon 
leaving  school  he  entered  the  employ  of 
the  Russell  Hardware  Company  of  Hol- 
yoke, where  he  remained  for  a  period  of 
32 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


five  years.  From  there  he  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Revere  Rubber  Company  of 
Holyoke  and  continued  for  a  period  of  five 
years.  Following  this  he  became  a  travel- 
ing salesman  for  the  Diamond  Rubber 
Company,  with  the  New  England  States  as 
his  territory,  and  he  continued  at  this  work 
for  about  one  year.  In  1909  he  entered 
business  independently,  establishing  in  Hol- 
yoke the  company  known  as  the  Yoerg  Tire 
&  Rubber  Company.  In  March,  1916,  his 
success  warranted  the  moving  of  this  com- 
pany into  its  present  commodious  quarters 
on  Chestnut  street,  where  a  large  new  gar- 
age had  just  been  completed  and  which  Mr. 
Yoerg  operates  in  connection  with  his  tire 
and  rubber  business.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  the  Holyoke  Club,  and  the  Rotary 
Club. 

He  married,  November  14,  1905,  Mary 
G.  Duggan,  born  in  Ware,  Massachusetts, 
the  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Fitzger- 
ald) Duggan.  They  have  one  daughter, 
Gertrude,  born  March  4,   191 1. 


SEYMOUR,  Frank  Solomon, 

Master    Mechanic. 

Frank  Solomon  Seymour,  master  me- 
chanic of  the  Newton  Paper  Company  of 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  traces  his  line  back 
to  his  great-grandfather.  Friend  Seymour, 
who  was  born  in  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
about  1770.  He  married  Sallie  Bray,  and 
they  had  three  sons,  Edward,  Friend,  and 
Solomon,   of   further   mention. 

(II)  Solomon  Seymour,  second  son  of 
Friend  and  Sallie  (Bray)  Seymour,  was 
born  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  181 3. 
He  was  a  blacksmith,  and  came  to  Ports- 
mouth, New  Hampshire,  where  he  lived  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1895.  He  mar- 
ried Martha  Blaisdell,  and  their  children 
were :     William ;    Cynthia,  who  married  a 


Mr.  Wells ;  Rachel,  who  married  a  Mr. 
Ford;    and  Ira  C,  of  further  mention. 

(III)  Ira  C.  Seymour,  son  of  Solomon 
and  Martha  (Blaisdell)  Seymour,  was  born 
in  1842,  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire, 
and  is  still  (1917)  living  there  at  the  age 
of  seventy-five  years.  He  was  a  youth  of 
vigorous  physique,  and  he  early  became  in- 
terested in  blacksmithing  and  learned  the 
trade  in  his  father's  shop.  For  fifty  years 
he  worked  for  himself  at  this  business  in 
Portsmouth.  He  then  retired  from  active 
life,  his  work  being  taken  up  by  younger 
men.  In  his  day  Ira  C.  Seymour  took  an 
active  part  in  the  aflfairs  of  the  community 
in  which  he  lived,  among  other  things  serv- 
ing on  the  first  Board  of  Police  Commis- 
sioners of  Portsmouth.  He  was  also  chief 
engineer  of  the  Fire  Department  of  the 
town.  He  served  also  as  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Aldermen  and  at  one  time  was  a 
candidate  for  mayor.  A  number  of  years  ago 
his  fellow-citizens  in  the  State  named  him  as 
candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate  on  the 
Labor  ticket.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  In  his  po- 
litical beliefs  Mr.  Seymour  is  a  Democrat, 
and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Adventist  church. 
He  married  Annie  Garland,  born  in  New- 
ington.  New  Hampshire,  daughter  of  Leon- 
ard and (Whitcomb)  Garland.  Their 

children  were :  Elma,  married  Rufus 
Wood,  of  Portsmouth;  Frank  Solomon,  of 
further  mention  ;  Mattie,  married  Ora  Ger- 
ry, of  Portsmouth ;  Louise,  married  Frank 
Marshall,  of  Portsmouth  ;  Caroline,  married 
George  Googins,  of  Portsmouth ;  and  two 
other  children  who  died  in  childhood. 

(IV)  Frank  Solomon  Seymour,  son  of 
Ira  C.  and  Annie  (Garland)  Seymour,  was 
born  in  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  April 
12,  1869.  He  received  his  early  education 
in  the  local  schools  of  Portsmouth,  after 
which  he  went  into  his  father's  shop  and 
learned  the  trade  of  blacksmithing.  Here 
he  remained  working  with  his  father  at  the 


133 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


blacksmith  business  until  1906.  He  then 
came  to  Holyoke,  Alassachusetts,  and  en- 
tered the  employ  of  the  Newton  Paper  Com- 
pany, having  obtained  the  position  of  mill- 
wright in  the  repair  shops  of  the  firm. 
Four  years  of  faithful  and  intelligent  work 
in  this  place  showed  his  employers  that 
here  was  a  man  who  could  be  put  in  com- 
mand of  others,  and  accordingly,  in  1910, 
he  was  appointed  chief  master  mechanic  of 
the  plant,  a  position  which  he  has  held  since 
that  time.  Mr.  Seymour  has  always  taken 
an  active  part  in  civic  affairs,  and  while  liv- 
ing in  Portsmouth  served  in  the  City  Coun- 
cil. He  is  a  member  of  the  William  Whit- 
ing Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of 
Holyoke,  and  of  the  chapter  of  the  Royal 
Arch  Masons,  and  council  of  the  Royal  and 
Select  Masters. 

Mr.  Seymour  married,  December  12, 
1893,  Olive  Buchanan,  of  St.  John,  New 
Brunswick,  a  daughter  of  James  and  Grace 
(Chisholm)  Buchanan.  Donald  Buchanan, 
grandfather  of  Airs.  Olive  (Buchanan) 
Seymour  came  to  Canada  from  Scotland. 


SHAW,  William  Henry, 

Stationary  Engineer. 

The  family  of  Shaw  is  one  which  was 
first  represented  in  this  country  by  the  gen- 
eration preceding  William  Henry  Shaw, 
with  whom  this  sketch  is  concerned. 

Charles  Senior  Shaw,  father  of  William 
H.  Shaw,  w^as  born  in  1840,  in  Sheffield, 
England,  where  he  was  reared  and  where 
he  learned  the  cutlery  business.  When  twen- 
ty-five years  of  age,  he  came  to  the  United 
States  and  located  in  Shelburne  Falls,  Mas- 
sachusetts, where  he  continued  the  work  he 
had  learned  in  England,  in  the  specialized 
line  of  table  cutlery.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  church,  and  a  charter  member 
of  the  Order  of  Foresters.  He  married 
Sarah  Grinold,  born  in  Sheffield,  England, 
in  1845,  died  in  1906.     Mr.  Shaw  died  in 


1899.  To  them  were  born  these  children: 
Charlotte,  married  (first)  Henry  Hening; 
(second)  Dr.  Dunbar,  of  Athol,  Massachu- 
setts, deceased ;  Emma,  married  W.  H. 
Duncan,  deceased ;  Lena,  who  married  H. 
G.  Littlejohn;  Charles;  Ada,  who  married 
Harry  Keach ;  George ;  William  Henry, 
of  further  mention ;    and  Frank. 

William  Henry  Shaw  was  born  in  Shel- 
burne Falls,  Massachusetts,  February  2, 
1875.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  that  town.  Upon  leaving  school  he  en- 
tered the  cutlery  business  there,  in  which  he 
continued  for  six  years.  In  1897  he  went 
to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  where  he  en- 
tered the  power  plant  of  the  Holyoke  Street 
Railway  Company,  as  oiler.  He  was  not 
long  in  the  employ  of  that  company  until 
he  had  worked  up  to  the  position  of  chief 
engineer.  In  1912  he  gave  up  this  position 
to  take  that  of  operating  engineer  with  the 
Holyoke  Electric  Light  &  Power  Company. 
After  two  years  there  he  was  made  chief  en- 
gineer with  twenty-eight  men  working  un- 
der his  direction,  which  position  he  holds  at 
the  present  time  (1917).  This  plant  fur- 
nishes all  the  street  lighting,  and  nearly  all 
of  the  lighting  of  the  private  homes  and 
great  industrial  plants  of  Holyoke,  and  in 
addition  to  this  supplies  the  power  for  the 
operation  of  a  large  number  of  manufactur- 
ing plants.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
position  which  Mr.  Shaw  holds  is  one  of 
great  importance  calling  for  a  vast  amount 
of  mechanical  skill.  He  is  a  member  of 
William  Whiting  Lodge,  Free  and  Accept- 
ed JMasons,  and  of  the  National  Association 
of  Stationary  Engineers.  He  and  his  wife 
attend  the  Baptist  church. 

On  May  i,  1898,  Mr.  Shaw  was  married 
to  Mary  St.  Lawrence,  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Margaret  (Prentice)  St.  Lawrence,  of 
St.  Albans,  Vermont.  To  them  have  been 
born  two  children :  Donald,  born  Octo- 
ber 9,  1900,  and  Norman,  born  June  25, 
1905. 
34 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


BIGGINS,  William  Edward, 
Business  'Man. 

It  was  not  until  he  had  acquired  the 
handicap  of  a  loss  of  a  leg  that  Mr.  Biggins 
turned  his  thoughts  to  mercantile  life,  his 
previous  activities  all  having  been  in  sal- 
aried positions.  When  the  accident  which 
cost  him  a  limb  occurred,  he  was  compelled 
to  revise  his  plan  of  life,  and  since  1900 
he  has  been  one  of  the  successful  grocers 
of  Holyoke.  "The  Rose,"  a  nine  family 
apartment  building,  was  erected  by  Mr.  Big- 
gins in  1909,  and  in  that  building  located 
on  Dwight  street  he  has  his  store  and  his 
own  apartment.  He  is  a  grandson  of  Tim- 
othy Biggins,  who  was  born  in  Ireland, 
moved  from  County  Mayo  to  England,  and 
there  died  in  1839.  He  married  Mary  Mil- 
lett,  their  children :  Patrick  J.,  of  further 
mention ;  Dennis,  Julia,  Mary,  and  Ed- 
ward. 

Patrick  J.  Biggins  was  born  in  County 
Mayo,  Province  of  Connaught,  Ireland, 
March  10,  1830,  and  died  in  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  September  10,  1914.  He 
began  school  attendance  in  Ireland,  but 
when  he  was  quite  young  his  parents  moved 
to  Hayward,  England,  where  his  father 
died  in  1839.  He  grew  to  manhood  in  png- 
land,  and  for  several  years  was  employed  as 
a  longshoreman  on  the  Liverpool  docks. 
Finally,  in  1859,  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  located  in  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, and  there  resided  until  his  death  in 
1914,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four.  Forty  of 
those  years  were  spent  in  the  employ  of  the 
Boston  &  Albany  Railroad  as  checker  in  the 
freight  department,  and  finally  he  was  re- 
tired on  a  pension  in  accordance  with  the 
company's  plan  of  rewarding  old  and  faith- 
ful employees.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  pol- 
itics, and  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  but  a  home  loving  man,  taking  little 
part  in  public  afifairs. 

Patrick  J.   Biggins  married   Bridget  Ri- 


ley, born  in  County  Galway,  Ireland,  and 
died  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  in  1904. 
They  were  the  parents  of :  Timothy, 
James,  Julia,  Mary,  Patrick  J.,  Jr.,  William 
Edward,  of  further  mention;  Michael, 
Mary,  Annie,  Thomas,  and  Margaret. 

William  Edward  Biggins,  son  of  Patrick 
J.  and  Bridget  (Riley)  Biggins,  was  born  in 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  March  22,  1870, 
and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
that  city.  His  first  employment  after  leav- 
ing school  was  with  the  Ball  Harness  Com- 
pany, his  term  covering  one  year.  He  was 
next  with  the  J.  H.  Baker  Shoe  Company 
of  Springfield,  remaining  here  until  the 
destruction  of  their  plant  by  fire,  then  go- 
ing with  them  when  they  again  resumed 
business  in  Beverly,  Massachusetts.  Later 
he  returned  to  Springfield,  and  for  a  short 
time  was  with  the  Morgan  Envelope  Com- 
pany. From  that  company  he  went  to  the 
Boston  &  Maine  Railroad,  first  as  night 
clerk  at  the  Springfield  Station,  there  re- 
maining seven  years.  From  the  office  he 
passed  to  the  operating  department,  begin- 
ning as  brakeman,  but  an  accident  which 
deprived  him  of  a  leg  ended  that  chapter  of 
his  life.  After  his  recovery,  in  October, 
19QO,  Mr.  Biggins  opened  a  grocery  in  Hol- 
yoke, and  has  since  been  its  successful  own- 
er and  manager.  He  moved  to  his  present 
location,  "The  Rose"  Apartment  block, 
which  he  owns,  in  1909.  He  also  claims  the 
ownership  of  other  tenement  property  in 
the  same  neighborhood.  He  has  always 
taken  an  active  interest  in  politics,  but  only 
as  a  citizen,  never  seeking  nor  accepting  an 
office  for  himself.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  Order  of  Foresters,  Fraternal  Order 
of  Eagles,  and  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Rail- 
road Trainmen,  all  of  Holyoke. 

Mr.  Biggins  married,  February  12,  1896, 
at  the  Church  of  Rosary,  Holyoke,  Rose 
Veronica  McCarthy,  born  in  Holyoke, 
daughter  of  Timothy  and  Margaret   (Fitz- 

35 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


gerald)  McCarthy,  her  father  born  in 
County  Kerry,  Ireland,  coming  to  the 
United  States  in  1843,  her  mother  born  in 
Nova  Scotia.  Margaret  (Fitzgerald)  Mc- 
Carthy was  a  daughter  of  Michael  and 
Bridget  (Curran)  Fitzgerald.  Timothy 
McCarthy  was  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Mar- 
garet (Callahan)  McCarthy.  Thomas  Mc- 
Carthy died  in  Ireland,  his  widow  coming  to 
this  country  with  her  children,  and  locating 
at  Chicopee,  Massachusetts.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Biggins  are  the  parents  of  six  sons  and  a 
daughter:  William,  born  November  8, 
1896,  died  at  the  age  of  three  months ;  John 
Edward,  born  December  9,  1897 ;  Wil- 
liam Edward  (2),  born  November  19,  1898; 
Thomas,  born  August  22,  1900;  Rose,  born 
December  8,  1902,  died  aged  six  months; 
Howard,  born  August  24,  1904;  Edward, 
born  August  23,  1906,  died  at  the  age  of 
nine  months. 


BOLDUC,  George, 

Representative  Citizen. 

Although  of  French  Canadian  parentage, 
Mr.  Bolduc  is  a  native  son  of  Massachu- 
setts, having  been  born  in  Hinsdale,  some 
thirteen  years  after  the  coming  of  his  par- 
ents from  Canada.  He  was  brought  to  Hol- 
yoke  when  very  young,  and  so  far  as  per- 
sonal recollection  goes,  never  had  another 
home.  From  youth  until  1914,  he  was  an 
active  mill  worker  in  Holyoke  and  Chico- 
pee Falls,  but  since  that  year  has  devoted 
his  time  to  the  care  of  the  "Andre,"  a  large 
apartment  house  for  the  occupancy  of  twen- 
ty-five tenants,  which  he  built  and  owns.  He 
is  a  son  of  Gilbert  Bolduc,  and  a  grandson 
of  Joseph  Bolduc,  both  of  Canadian  birth. 
Joseph  Bolduc,  born  in  1800,  died  in  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  in  1879,  ^  blacksmith 
and  wagon  builder.  Joseph  and  Cecelia 
Bolduc  were  the  parents  of :  Joseph,  who 
fought  in  the  Union  Army  during  the  War 
of  the  Rebellion,  died  at  the  United  States 


Soldiers'  Home  in  Togus,  Maine ;  and  Gil- 
bert, of  further  mention. 

Gilbert  Bolduc  was  born  in  St.  Cephas, 
Quebec,  Canada,  in  1836,  and  died  in  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  in  1905.  He  learned 
blacksmithing  and  wagon  making  under  his 
father's  instruction  in  Canada,  and  in  1858 
came  to  the  United  States  and  resided  in 
Hinsdale,  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts, 
until  after  1871,  then  moved  to  Holyoke, 
his  home  until  death.  In  Hinsdale  and  Hol- 
yoke, he  was  employed  as  a  stationary  en- 
gineer, a  trade  he  learned  after  coming  to 
Hinsdale.  In  Holyoke  he  was  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  City  Foundry  &  Machine  Com- 
pany as  engineer  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  American  Associa- 
tion of  Stationary  Engineers,  and  a  man 
highly  regarded  for  his  mechanical  ability. 
Gilbert  Bolduc  married  Cordelia  Roy, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Roy,  of  Canada.  Mrs. 
Bolduc  survives  and  is  now  (1917)  living 
in  Holyoke,  aged  seventy-seven.  They 
were  the  parents  of :  Eliza ;  Nelson,  de- 
ceased; George,  of  further  mention;  Na- 
poleon, deceased  ;  Albert ;   William. 

George  Bolduc,  second  son  of  Gilbert 
and  Cordelia  (Roy)  Bolduc,  was  born  in 
Hinsdale,  Massachusetts,  August  24,  1871, 
but  soon  afterward  was  brought  to  Holyoke 
by  his  parents.  There  he  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools,  and  when  school  days  were 
over  there  began  active  business  life.  For 
ten  years  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
Springfield  Blanket  Mills  at  Holyoke,  going 
thence  to  the  Stevens  Tool  Company,  of 
Chicopee  Falls,  there  continuing  seven 
years.  The  succeeding  four  years  were 
spent  in  the  employ  of  Spaulding  Com- 
pany of  Chicopee  Falls,  manufacturers  of 
sporting  goods,  that  ending  his  years  of  ser- 
vice for  others.  In  1914  he  built  the  "An- 
dre," the  large  apartment  house  in  Holyoke, 
previously  mentioned,  and  now  devotes  his 
entire  time  to  its  management.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Club  of  Ward 


136 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Two,  and  of  the  Catholic  Order  of  Forest- 
ers. 

Mr.  Bolduc  married,  September  i,  1898, 
Mathilde  Fayes,  born  in  France,  daughter 
of  Joseph  and  Delphine  F.( Bernard)  Fayes. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bolduc  are  the  parents  of 
five  children,  three  of  whom  died  at  birth, 
the  two  living  sons,  Andre,  born  September 
4,  1908;  and  Noel,  born  December  25, 
1916. 


FOLEY,  Daniel  Michael, 

Business  Man. 

This  branch  of  the  Foley  family  came  to 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  from  County  Ker- 
ry, Ireland,  where  they  had  long  been  seat- 
ed, although  authorities  state  that  originally 
the  family  came  from  Spain.  Daniel  M. 
Foley,  of  the  first  American  born  genera- 
tion of  the  family  and  a  prosperous  grocer 
and  provision  dealer  of  Holyoke,  is  a  son 
of  Michael  Foley,  and  a  grandson  of  Pat- 
rick Foley,  born  in  Dingle,  County  Kerry, 
Ireland.  He  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1874,  about  one  year  later  than  his  son 
Michael,  settled  with  him  in  Holyoke,  and 
was  employed  in  the  paper  mills  until  his 
death.  He  married  Mary  Burkett,  born  in 
Arfirth,  Ireland,  and  they  were  the  parents 
of:  Michael,  of  further  mention;  Mary,  a 
Sister  of  Mercy  in  a  convent  in  New  Ha- 
ven, Connecticut,  her  religious  name  Sister 
Adrian ;  Margaret,  deceased ;  James  E. ; 
Catherine ;    Patrick. 

Michael  Foley,  eldest  son  of  Patrick  and 
Mary  (Burkett)  Foley,  was  born  in  Ar- 
firth, County  Kerry,  Ireland,  in  1853,  died  in 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  February  16,  1913. 
He  attended  the  parish  school,  and  remained 
at  home,  his  father's  assistant,  until  1873, 
then  sailed  for  the  United  States,  locating 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  He  entered  the 
Parsons  Mill,  there  becoming  an  expert  pa- 
per maker,  going  thence  to  the  Albion  Pa- 
per Mill.     He  then  spent  several  years  en- 


gaged in  mercantile  employment,  in  the  fish 
market  with  his  brother,  James  E.  Foley,  at 
the  same  location  where  the  postoffice  build- 
ing now  stands ;  with  George  H.  Twaddle, 
at  the  corner  of  High  and  Hampden  streets ; 
with  Fenno  &  Cleary,  grocers,  on  Dwight 
street,  in  the  old  Windsor  Hotel  Building. 
Later,  and  for  ten  years,  he  was  parkkeep- 
er  for  the  city  of  Holyoke,  and  for  the  two 
years  prior  to  his  death  he  was  engaged  in 
the  store  owned  by  his  son,  Daniel  M.  Fo- 
ley. He  was  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Or- 
der of  Hibernians,  and  one  of  the  active 
prominent  men  of  the  order.  He  married, 
May  10,  1874,  Catherine  Flaherty,  born  in 
County  Galway,  Ireland,  in  1855,  daughter 
of  Frank  and  Isabelle  (Kilkelly)  Flaherty. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Foley  were  the  parents  of 
nine  children:  Daniel  M.,  of  further  men- 
tion; Mary;  Patrick;  Elizabeth,  married 
John  A.  Bowler,  of  Holyoke ;  Frank  A. ; 
Louise ;  Cassandra,  deceased ;  an  infant, 
died  young;    William. 

Daniel  M.  Foley,  eldest  son  of  Michael 
and  Catherine  (Flaherty)  Foley,  was  bom 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  June  20,  1875. 
He  was  educated  in  the  city  schools  and 
Childs  Business  College,  beginning  as  a 
wage  earner  in  the  employ  of  George  H. 
Twaddle  when  thirteen  years  of  age,  Mr. 
Twaddle  was  a  dealer  in  sea  food,  and  the 
boy  remained  in  his  employ  four  years.  On 
August  13,  1892,  being  then  but  seventeen 
years  of  age,  he  began  business  for  himself 
at  No.  58  Lyman  street,  dealing  in  meats  and 
operating  a  fish  market  in  connection  there- 
with. He  continued  in  that  location  and 
business  seven  years,  moving  in  1899  to 
Centre  and  Mosher  streets,  where  he  estab- 
lished a  grocery  business,  there  remaining 
another  seven  years,  until  1907.  In  1904 
he  purchased  the  block  at  the  corner  of 
High  and  Essex  streets,  remodeled  the 
building  to  suit  his  purpose,  and  in  1905  he 
began  business  in  a  new  store  at  that  loca- 
tion, conducting  a  grocery  and  general  pro- 


137 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


vision  business,  with  meat  and  lish  depart- 
ments, and  running  both  stores  until  1907, 
when  he  sold  the  one  at  the  corner  of  Cen- 
tre and  Mosher  streets.  His  store  is  ad- 
mirably arranged  and  finely  appointed,  its 
sanitary  conditions  perfect,  and  a  credit  to 
its  owner.  In  addition  to  his  large  mer- 
mantile  business,  Mr.  Foley  deals  exten- 
sively in  real  estate,  and  in  191 6  he  erected 
a  fine  private  residence  for  himself  on 
Northampton  street.  Holyoke.  He  is  a  di- 
rector in  the  ^Mechanics  Savings  Bank,  was 
a  member  of  the  School  Board  six  years, 
1904-10:  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  of  the 
Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians.  He  is  a  good 
business  man,  energetic  and  progressive, 
upright  and  honorable  in  all  his  dealings, 
and  a  good  friend,  neighbor  and  citizen. 

Mr.  Foley  married,  June  20,  1906,  Kath- 
arine Isabelle  Dalton,  of  Springfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, daughter  of  Michael  and  Julia 
Dalton.  They  are  the  parents  of  two  sons : 
Daniel  Foley,  born  in  Holyoke,  December 
10,  1907;   William,  died  in  infancy. 


WALSH,  WilHam  Joseph, 
Manufacturer. 

After  becoming  an  expert  in  boiler  and 
bridge  work  and  in  the  manufacture  of 
bridge  and  structural  steel  and  iron,  Mr. 
Walsh  located  in  Holyoke,  where  he  is  head 
of  the  boiler  manufacturing  firm,  Walsh  &: 
Heyv.ood,  operating  a  large  plant  with  a 
Canadian  branch  works.  Mr.  Walsh  is  a 
son  of  Thomas  Walsh,  born  in  County  Sli- 
go,  Ireland,  in  1826,  died  in  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, in  1912.  Thomas  Walsh  re- 
mained in  his  native  land  until  1854,  then 
came  to  the  United  States.  Although  he  was 
left  fatherless  when  but  three  years  of  age, 
he  acquired  sufficient  education  to  enable 
him  to  hold  a  salesman's  position.  On  com- 
ing to  the  United  States  he  settled  on  a  farm 
in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  continuing  an 


agriculturist  for  several  years.  He  then  lo- 
cated in  Hartford,  where  he  established  a 
commission  fruit  and  produce  business.  La- 
ter he  located  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
continuing  in  the  produce  business  until  his 
retirement.  He  removed  to  Holyoke  after 
retiring  from  business  and  there  resided 
until  his  death.  Thomas  Walsh  married 
Bridget  Gallagher,  born  in  County  Monag- 
han,  Ireland,  in  1828,  died  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  in  May,  1916.  They  were 
the  parents  of  fourteen  children :  Mat- 
thew Frances,  Michael,  Peter  A.,  Thomas  S., 
deceased,  a  boiler  manufacturer  of  Hol- 
yoke and  Springfield,  and  a  State  Senator ; 
William  J.,  of  further  mention;  John,  died 
in  infancy;  Mary  A.,  Ellen,  Xora  Jane, 
Clara  S.,  Theresa  P,  Anna  S.,  George,  died 
in  infancy ;   Bernard. 

William  Joseph  Walsh  was  born  in  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  September  8,  1861,  and 
there  his  parents  resided  until  1873,  when 
they  moved  to  Springfield,  Massachusetts. 
William  J.  attended  the  public  schools  in 
both  cities,  completing  his  studies  in  the 
Oak  Street  Grammar  School,  Springfield. 
After  leaving  school  he  at  once  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Boston  &  Albany  Boiler 
Works  and  while  in  their  service  was  en- 
gaged in  many  different  capacities  on  many 
different  operations.  As  a  boy  he  heated 
half  the  rivets  used  in  the  construction  of 
the  Forest  Park  and  South  End  bridges  in 
Springfield,  worked  on  the  famous  Eddy 
engine  boilers  and  became  an  expert  on  boil- 
er and  bridge  work.  From  Springfield  he 
went  to  New  York  City  with  R.  F.  Haw- 
kins, a  manufacturer  of  bridge  and  struc- 
tural steel  and  iron,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained four  years.  For  six  months  after 
leaving  New  York,  Mr.  Walsh  was  in  the 
employ  of  the  Coughlin  Boiler  Works  in 
Holyoke:  he  then  returned  to  Springfield, 
where  he  remained  for  one  year,  after 
vvhich  he  was  with  the  Thompson,  Houston 
Electric  Companv  at  New  Britain,  Connec- 
38 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ticut,  for  a  term  of  four  and  a  half  years. 
The  works  were  then  removed  to  Lynn, 
Massachusetts,  Mr.  Walsh  with  seventy  of 
the  New  Britain  employees  going  to  Lynn, 
where  Mr.  Walsh  remained  two  years. 
From  Lynn  he  went  to  the  Ponds  Ma- 
chine Tool  Company  at  Worcester,  Massa- 
chusetts, remaining  eighteen  months,  after 
which  for  six  years  he  was  with  the  Print- 
ers Brothers  Tool  Manufacturing  Company 
in  the  same  city. 

This  brought  him  to  March,  1894,  and 
the  age  of  thirty-three.  He  was  an  expert 
mechanic  and  thoroughly  experienced  in 
bridge  construction  and  boiler  manufacture, 
and  had  traveled  enough  to  make  him  will- 
ing to  settle  down  to  a  fixed  abode  and  an 
assured  business.  His  brother,  Thomas  S., 
was  engaged  in  boiler  manufacturing  at  that 
time  in  Holyoke  as  a  member  of  the  firm. 
Long  &  Walsh,  and  in  March,  1894,  Wil- 
liam J.  Walsh  purchased  that  business  and 
continued  as  the  Walsh  Boiler  Works.  This 
business  became  a  prosperous  and  profita- 
ble one  under  his  management,  and  in  time 
outgrew  the  ability  of  one  man  to  handle  it. 
He  then  admitted  Charles  D.  Heywood  as  a 
partner,  the  business  being  now  conducted 
under  the  firm  name  Walsh  &  Heywood. 
The  plant  at  Holyoke  is  a  large  and  well 
equipped  one,  a  branch  in  Canada  also  be- 
ing a  part  of  the  company's  equipment.  Mr. 
Walsh  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Knights  of 
Columbus,  and  the  Commercial  Travelers 
Association  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Walsh  married,  September  8,  1887, 
Ellen  Bowen,  daughter  of  Timothy  Bowen, 
of  Bellows  Falls,  Vermont.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Walsh  are  the  parents  of  three  daughters : 
Clara  L.,  married  Vincent  P.  Marran,  su- 
perintendent of  the  Walsh  &  Heywood  Boil- 
er Works,  and  has  a  son  Vincent  P.  Mar- 
ran,  Jr. ;   Hazel ;   Helen  B. 


O'CONNOR,  Thomas  Joseph, 

Attorney-at-LavF. 

As  a  member  of  the  Hampden  county 
bar,  Thomas  Joseph  O'Connor,  of  Holyoke, 
has  added  prestige  to  a  name  which  has 
long  been  an  honored  one  in  the  county, 
his  father,  Daniel  O'Connor,  one  of  that 
body  of  pioneers  of  Irish  birth  who  have 
added  much  to  the  welfare  and  wealth  of 
the  land  of  their  adoption. 

Daniel  O'Connor  was  born  in  Glenmore, 
County  Kerry,  Ireland,  youngest  of  the  sev- 
en children  of  Thomas  and  Catherine 
O'Connor.  Thomas  O'Connor  died  while 
his  son  was  but  a  child,  and  some  time  af- 
terward his  widow  came  to  the  United 
States,  accompanied  by  her  daughter  and 
son,  Daniel,  and  settled  at  Belchertown, 
Massachusetts,  where  other  members  of  the 
family  had  already  settled.  About  1867, 
Daniel  O'Connor  located  in  South  Hadley 
Falls,  which  was  his  home  for  the  half  cen- 
tury which  intervened  between  that  year 
and  his  death,  January  26,  191 7.  For  many 
years  he  was  one  of  the  most  faithful  and 
trusted  employees  of  the  Hadley  Thread 
Company.  He  was  one  of  the  devout  mem- 
bers of  St.  Patrick's  Church,  and  when  the 
first  church  in  that  parish  was  built  he  was 
one  of  the  men  who  gave  their  service  to 
dig  the  excavation  for  a  foundation,  and 
when  death  came  his  funeral  services  were 
held  in  that  church  with  the  impressive 
rites  of  the  solemn  high  mass  of  requiem, 
followed  by  his  interment  in  St.  Jerome 
Cemetery.  He  was  of  that  fine  type  of  man- 
hood who  are  an  honor  to  any  community, 
faithful  and  trustworthy  as  an  employee, 
consistent  in  his  church  relations,  and  in 
his  home  life  devoted,  loving  and  true, 
Daniel  O'Connor  married,  February  10, 
1867,  Mary  Sullivan,  the  ceremony  being 
performed  in  St.  Jerome's  Church,  Hol- 
yoke, by  the  then  rector.  Father  P.  J.  Har- 
kins,  South  Hadley  at  that  time  being  part 


139 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  St.  Jerome  parish.  There  was  no  bridge 
across  the  river  then,  the  bridal  party  cross- 
ing by  ferry.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  O'Connor  were 
the  parents  of  three  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters, namely:  Thomas  Joseph,  of  whom 
further;  John  J.,  a  priest  of  the  Order  of 
Jesuits  ;  Daniel  P.,  of  South  Hadley  Falls  ; 
Katherine  T.,  who  became  the  wife  of 
James  F.  Loftus,  and  resides  in  Thorndike, 
a  village  of  Palmer;  Minnie  Agnes,  who 
resides  with  her  mother  at  South  Hadley 
Falls.  Two  children,  Simon  and  Frances, 
died   in   early   childhood. 

Thomas  Joseph  O'Connor,  eldest  son  of 
Daniel  and  Mary  (Sullivan)  O'Connor, 
was  born  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massa- 
chusetts, September  22,  1874.  He  com- 
pleted with  graduation  the  courses  of  the 
graded  and  high  schools,  and  having  de- 
cided upon  the  profession  of  law  he  entered 
Boston  University  Law  School,  whence  he 
was  graduated  LL.B.,  class  of  1897.  He 
was  at  once  admitted  to  the  Hampden  coun- 
ty bar  and  located  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, and  since  then  has  been  in  continuous 
and  successful  general  practice  there.  He 
served  as  city  solicitor  in  191 3-14,  and  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  License 
Commissioners  since  1914.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  various  bar  associations,  and 
conducts  a  large  professional  business  in  all 
the  State  and  Federal  courts  of  the  district. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Colum- 
bus, the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,  the  Foresters  of  America,  the  An- 
cient Order  of  Hibernians,  the  Holyoke 
and  Pequot  clubs,  and  a  trustee  of  the  Elks 
Club. 

Mr.  O'Connor  married,  August  30,  1898, 
Ella  G.  Curran,  daughter  of  Terence  L. 
and  Mary  (Planning)  Curran,  of  Holyoke. 
They  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Charles 
Daniel,  born  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
September    11,    1899. 


BRODEUR,  Philias  Joseph, 

Representative  Citizen. 

From  Canada  have  come  many  of  the 
best  citizens  of  the  United  States,  men  who 
have  contributed  largely  to  the  upbuilding 
and  development  of  the  communities  in 
which  they  located,  men  who  have  been 
willing,  if  need  be,  to  sacrifice  their  lives 
in  the  defense  of  their  adopted  country, 
and  prominent  among  this  number  is  Phil- 
ias J.  Brodeur,  who  for  the  past  quarter  of 
a  centifry  has  been  a  respected  resident  of 
Holyoke. 

Honore  Brodeur,  grandfather  of  Philias 
J.  Brodeur,  was  a  native  of  Canada,  and 
there  spent  his  entire  lifetime,  his  active 
years  being  devoted  to  the  tilling  and  cul- 
tivation of  the  soil,  which  yielded  him  a 
bountiful  return  for  labor  expended.  He 
was  active  in  community  affairs,  and  won 
and  retained  the  respect  of  his  neighbors. 
His  wife,  Marie  (  Alexj  Brodeur,  bore  him 
four  children :  Honore,  Joseph,  Paul  and 
Troussaint,  who  were  reared  to  lead  lives 
of  usefulness  and  activity. 

Troussaint  Brodeur,  father  of  Philias  J. 
Brodeur,  was  born  in  St.  Bridget,  Province 
of  Quebec,  Canada,  1827,  and  died  there, 
March,  1888,  aged  sixty-one  years.  He 
attended  the  schools  in  the  neighborhood  of 
his  home,  assisted  his  father  in  the  duties  of 
the  home  farm,  and  upon  attaining  man- 
hood decided  to  follow  in  his  father's  foot- 
steps, purchasing  a  farm  of  some  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres  in  extent,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  general  farming  he  kept  a  herd  of 
well  selected  cows,  from  the  product  of 
which  he  made  excellent  butter  and  cheese, 
which  he  disposed  of  readily,  it  being  of 
good  quality.  He  was  a  Liberal  in  poli- 
tics and  served  as  a  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil in  his  town,  his  advice  on  many  sub- 
jects being  of  advantage  to  his  fellow 
councilmen.  He  was  public-spirited  and 
devoted  his  time  and  attention  to  the  var- 


140 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ious  projects  that  had  for  their  object  the 
welfare  of  the  community.  He  married 
Mary  Brodeur,  daughter  of  Francois  Ex- 
pernia  and  Victoria  (Carreau)  Brodeur. 
Children :  Joseph,  a  resident  of  Canada ; 
Francois,  a  resident  of  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chussetts ;  Paul,  also  a  resident  of  Hol- 
yoke ;  Timothy,  a  resident  of  Portland, 
Oregon ;  Melvira,  became  the  wife  of  Oc- 
tavia  Desroches ;  Azilda,  deceased ;  Mo- 
deste,  a  resident  of  Canada  ;  Philias  Joseph, 
of  whom  further. 

Philias  Joseph  Brodeur  was  born  in  St. 
Bridget,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  April 
6,  1867.  ^6  obtained  a  practical  educa- 
tion in  the  schools  of  his  native  town,  and 
for  the  two  years  following  the  completion 
of  his  studies  there  was  a  student  in  the 
college  at  St.  Cesaire,  his  studies  there  be- 
ing interrupted  by  the  death  of  his  father, 
in  1888,  he  having  to  return  home  and  as- 
sist in  the  management  of  the  home  farm, 
and  so  continued  until  the  year  1892,  w'hen 
he  w^as  twenty-five  years  of  age.  In  Oc- 
tober of  that  year  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  believing  that  there  was  a  wider 
field  for  activity  and  advancement  than  in 
his  native  land,  and  at  once  located  in  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  which  city  has  been 
his  home  ever  since.  He  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Hampden  Glazed  Paper  and 
Card  Company,  his  present  employers,  and 
by  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties  has 
advanced  to  the  position  of  foreman  of  the 
paste  department.  He  possesses  in  full 
measure  the  confidence  and  regard  of  the 
men  under  his  command,  being  fair  and  im- 
partial in  his  treatment  of  them,  and  he  has 
also  gained  the  good  will  of  the  men  higher 
than  he  in  authority,  the  result  of  con- 
scientious and  earnest  efifort.  Mr.  Brodeur 
purchased  the  "Belmont,"  one  of  the  finest 
apartment  houses  in  Holyoke,  the  property 
being  valued  at  $75,000,  and  he  disposed 
of  the  same  in  April,  1917,  at  an  advantage- 
ous   price,    this    transaction    denoting    not 


only  his  thrift  in  accumulating  capital  suf- 
ficient to  purchase  it,  but  shrewdness  and 
judgment  in  the  sale  of  it.  Mr.  Brodeur  is 
a  member,  with  his  family  of  the  Church  of 
Perpetual  Help  of  Holyoke,  a  member  of 
St.  Jean  Baptist  Society,  of  the  French 
Citizen  Society,  and  of  Ward  Two  Inde- 
pendent Club. 

Mr.  Brodeur  married,  October  6,  1890, 
Euphemie  Gingrass,  born  in  Farnham, 
Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  daughter  of 
Abraham  and  Anastasia  (Peltier)  Gin- 
grass.  Children:  Bertha,  born  August, 
1891,  deceased  ;  Blanche,  born  July  4,  1893  ; 
Albert,  born  October  5,  1894,  bookkeeper 
wath  the  Fisk  Rubber  Tire  Works  of  Chic- 
opee,  married  Maria  Therrien ;  Olive,  born 
February  18,  1896;  Antonio,  born  June 
10,  1900;    Harvey,  born  October  2.2,  1909. 


CHAREST,  Odilon  Zephirin  Elzear, 

Dealer  in  House   Fnrnisliiiigs. 

Odilon  Zephirin  Elzear  Charest  is  an  en- 
terprising furniture  dealer  of  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  who  has  displayed  much  ex- 
ecutive ability,  energy  and  public  spirit  in 
building  up  the  business  in  which  he  is 
now  occupied,  and  in  the  numerous  political 
activities  in  which  he  has  taken  part.  He 
has  gained  the  consideration  and  respect 
of  all  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact. 

His  father,  Elzear  Charest,  was  born  in 
the  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada.  He  was 
a  mechanic  and  millwright,  living  the  great- 
er part  of  his  life  in  Three  Rivers,  Canada. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Liberal.  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Arline  Suite,  who  was  better  known 
as  Arline  Vadeboncoeur.  Their  children 
were:  Odilon  Z.  E.,  of  this  sketch  ;  Alida; 
Emelie  ;  Helmina  ;  Marie  Louise,  deceased ; 
Arthur,  deceased ;   J.  Elzear. 

Odilon  Z.  E.  Charest  was  born  May  30, 
1857,  at  Three  Rivers,  Canada.  There  he 
attended  the  public  schools,  and  at  a  com- 
paratively early  age  began  work  as  a  ship- 


141 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ping  clerk,  in  which  occupation  he  remained 
for  three  years.  In  June,  1878,  he  came  to 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  where  he  became 
employed  by  Metcalf  &  Luther,  proprietors 
of  the  Holyoke  Furniture  Company,  and  he 
continued  in  their  employment  ten  years.  In 
September,  1888,  he  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  Didace  Sainte-Marie  and  opened 
a  furniture  business  in  Holyoke  under  the 
firm  name  of  Sainte-Marie  &  Charest.  Since 
that  time  this  firm,  dealing  extensively  in 
furniture  and  household  goods,  has  en- 
larged its  quarters  at  frequent  intervals  in 
order  to  maintain  the  proper  accommoda- 
tions for  its  ever  increasing  business.  Mr. 
Charest  was  actively  engaged  in  politics 
for  twenty  years,  of  which  fifteen  were 
spent  as  school  committeeman  and  two 
years  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  school 
board.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of 
Foresters,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  the  Heptasophs,  and  the 
Rochambeau    Club. 

On  November  26,  1886,  Mr.  Charest  was 
married  to  Mary  Jane  Robert,  of  Northern 
New  York.  These  children  have  been  born 
to  them :  Leonise,  wife  of  Joseph  Car- 
mel,  who  has  two  children,  Rita  and  Alice ; 
Antoinette  ;  Arthur,  who  works  in  the  Pren- 
tiss Wire  Mill;  George  W.,  who  is  with  his 
father  in  the  furniture  store ;  Romeo  P., 
who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Dental  Depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Maryland  at 
Baltimore,  class  of  1918. 


LASONDE,  Napoleon, 

Business  Man. 

In  1866,  Prospere  Lasonde  left  his  native 
Canada  and  settled  in  Fall  River,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  with  the  change  of  location 
changed  his  occupation  from  farming  to 
manufacturing.  He  was  born  in  Canada 
in  1842,  died  in  Fall  River  in  1908.  His 
wife,  Dorothy  (Vincent)  Lasonde,  born  in 
Canada  in  1846,  died  in  Fall  River  in  1910. 


They  were  the  parents  of  six  sons,  Eli, 
Jenno,  Napoleon,  of  further  mention ;  Al- 
bert, Edward,  and  Evares. 

Napoleon  Lasonde,  third  son  of  Prospere 
and  Dorothy  (Vincent)  Lasonde,  was 
born  in  St.  Jacent,  Province  of  Quebec, 
Canada,  July  12,  1861,  and  in  1866  was  tak- 
en by  his  parents  to  Fall  River,  Massachu- 
setts. He  left  school  when  quite  young, 
and  until  he  was  eighteen  his  work  had 
principally  been  driving  teams.  In  1879  ^e 
came  to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  and  being 
a  strong,  healthy  lad  of  eighteen  found  em- 
ployment in  the  brickyards,  continuing  in 
that  line  of  activity  for  a  number  of  years. 
In  1887  he  invested  his  savings  in  the  pur- 
chase of  horses  and  wagons  and  established 
a  general  express  and  trucking  business  un- 
der his  own  name.  In  that  line  of  business 
he  continues,  and  while  horses  are  yet  the 
main  reliance  as  a  motive  power,  and  they 
are  the  best  that  can  be  obtained,  he  also 
uses  in  addition  to  these  two  very  large 
automobile  trucks.  He  does  an  extensive 
business  in  heavy  trucking,  also  in  a  line 
of  lighter  express  work  and  employs  sev- 
eral men.  He  is  a  man  of  industry  and  in- 
tegrity, has  the  confidence  of  all  with  whom 
he  does  business  and  is  highly  esteemed  by 
his  many  friends. 

Mr.  Lasonde  married,  in  September, 
1881,  Anna  Demara,  born  in  Canada.  They 
are  the  parents  of  two  sons,  Henry  and  Ed- 
ward, both  associated  with  their  father  in 
the  trucking  business,  and  two  daughters. 
Flora  and  Dora,  the  last  named  being  the 
wife  of  Patrick  Hebert.  This  is  the  record 
of  a  life  of  industry  from  early  boyhood 
until  the  present.  For  thirty-eight  years  he 
has  resided  in  Holyoke,  where  by  industry 
and  perseverance  he  has  placed  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  prosperous  business  and  won 
an  honorable  name.  He  has  been  the  ar- 
chitect of  his  own  fortunes,  and  is  a  splen- 
did example  of  what  can  be  accomplished 
by  well  directed  eflfort  and  right  living. 


142 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


SPARROW,  William, 

Representative  Citizen. 

The  man  who  performs  his  duty  faith- 
fully and  conscientiously,  in  whatever  posi- 
tion he  is  placed,  is  the  man  who  makes 
the  best  citizen,  the  one  to  be  relied  upon 
in  times  of  peace  or  war,  and  among  this 
class  is  William  Sparrow,  of  Springfield. 

His  father,  Jonathan  Sparrow,  was  born 
in  Ireland,  1794,  and  died  in  Huntingdon, 
Canada,  1866,  aged  seventy-two  years.  He 
attended  the  schools  of  his  native  town,  af- 
ter  which   he   learned   the   trade   of   stone 
mason,    at   which    he    became    highly    pro- 
ficient.    In   1812,  when  eighteen  years  of 
age,   he   emigrated   to   Canada,   settling   in 
what  was  known  as  New  Ireland,  and  also 
by  some  as  the  Sparrow  Settlement.    It  was 
a  new  section  and  he  was  the  first  man  to 
cut  down  the  trees  there,  and  thus  witnessed 
its  growth   from  a  wilderness  to  a  settle- 
ment of  homes  and  well  tilled  fields.     In 
conjunction  with  his  trade  of  stone  mason, 
he  followed  agricultural  pursuits,  deriving 
a    comfortable    livelihood.       He     married 
(first)  Rebecca  Kalbach,  who  bore  him  two 
children,  Rebecca  and  James.     He  married 
(second)     Mary     (McLane)     Hunter,     a 
widow,  who  bore  him  six  children,  as  fol- 
lows:    John,    deceased;     Jonathan,   resid- 
ing in  Huntingdon,  Canada  ;  William,  men- 
tioned in  next  paragraph;    Fannie,  deceas- 
ed ;   Elizabeth,  became  the  wife  of  Willard 
J.    Tuttle,    resides    in    Charlestown,    New 
Hampshire;    Charles,  deceased.     Jonathan 
Sparrow   had   two   brothers,   Thomas   and 
James  Sparrow,  and  a  sister,  Frances  M., 
who  became  the  wife  of  a  Mr.  Cox. 

William  Sparrow  was  born  in  Hunting- 
don, Canada,  March  i,  1842.  He  obtained 
a  practical  education  in  the  schools  of  Hunt- 
ingdon, and  was  employed  on  the  home 
farm  until  seventeen  years  of  age,  when  he 
entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade 
of  carriage  maker,  and  followed  that  trade 


for  six  years.     He  learned  the  trade  in  all 
its  details,  beginning  with  the  cutting  down 
of  the  trees,  then  cutting  the  planks  from 
the  trees,  and  later  cutting  the  planks  by 
hand,  this  being  before  the  introduction  of 
the  machinery  for  manufacturing  purposes. 
In  1866  he  became  a  resident  of  the  United 
States,  locating  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
and   for  the   following  five  years  was  en- 
gaged at  carpenter  work,  in  which  line  he 
was   skillful   and   proficient.     He   then   re- 
turned to   Canada,  and   for  the   following 
twenty-two  years  was  engaged  in  the  con- 
tracting and  building  line,  in  which  he  was 
equally  successful.     In   1892  he  again  re- 
turned to  the  United  States,  this  time  locat- 
ing in  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  and  has 
resided  there  ever  since,  a  period  of  a  quar- 
ter  of   a  century.      For   a   short  time   he 
worked  in  the  Wasson  Car  Shops,  and  then 
secured  employment  in  the  Old  Connecticut 
River  Railroad  Company,  now  the  Boston 
&  Maine  Railroad,  and  has  worked  there 
continuously   ever    since,    engaged    at   car- 
pentry work,  looking  after  the  wood  work 
of  the  engines,  tenders,  windows,  etc.     His 
many  years  connection  with  this  company  is 
an  eloquent  testimonial  to  his  ability,  fidel- 
ity and  trustworthiness. 

Mr.  Sparrow  married,  February  20,  1866, 
Isabelle  McDonald,  born  in  Huntingdon, 
Canada,  October  24,  1846,  daughter  of  Phil- 
ip and  Ann  (Howe)  McDonald.  Children: 
Ida  Eva,  born  November  28,  1866,  died 
March  22,  1869 ;  Viola  May,  born  Novem- 
ber 6,  1868,  died  October  4,  1869;  Rosa 
Belle,  born  December  26,  1869,  became  the 
wife  of  Isaac  Barr ;  William  Allen,  whose 
sketch  follows  in  this  work ;  Frederick  El- 
den,  born  August  21,  1874,  married  Clara 
Drake  Fisher,  and  they  have  one  child, 
Raymond  Fisher ;  Bert  Philip,  born  Febru- 
ary 4,  1876,  married  May  CliflFord,  and  they 
have  children:  Bertram  William,  Viola 
May,  Charles  A.,  Joseph  Arthur;  Charles 
Alexander,    born    June    4,    1879,    married 


143 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Grace  June  Fellows ;  Arthur  Robert,  born 
November  15,  1883,  died  September  21, 
1917,  married  Sarah  N.  Staunton;  John 
Harford,  born  September  4,  1887;  Earl 
McDonald,  born  May  9,  1889,  married 
Margaret  B.  Phoenix;  Annie  May,  born 
March  31,  1891,  became  the  wife  of  Rus- 
sell Clinton  Sayre,  and  they  have  children : 
Barbara  Isabelle  and  Mazie  Emeline.  The 
first  two  above  named  children  were  bom 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  the  remainder 
in  Huntingdon,  Canada. 


SPARROW,  William  Allen, 
Business  Man. 

William  A.  Sparrow  is  one  of  the  enter- 
prising business  men  of  Holyoke,  and  his 
career  illustrates  most  forcibly  the  possibil- 
ities that  are  open  to  young  men  of  energy 
and  ability. 

William  A.  Sparrow,  son  of  William  and 
Isabelle  (McDonald)  Sparrow,  was  born  in 
Huntingdon,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada, 
March  14,  1872.  He  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  town,  and  later  learned 
the  trade  of  carpenter  in  his  native  land 
under  the  instruction  of  his  father.  In 
1890,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  he  came 
to  the  United  States  and  located  in  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  and  has  resided  there 
to  the  present  time  (191 7).  He  learned  the 
trade  of  plumber  with  Mr.  Phelps  and  Mr. 
C.  H.  Tower,  and  aftefr  becoming  pro- 
ficient in  all  its  details,  he  served  as  a  journ- 
eyman for  a  number  of  years,  thus  gaining 
valuable  experience.  In  1904,  in  company 
with  Mr.  McTigue,  he  established  a  plumb- 
ing business  under  the  firm  name  of  Spar- 
row &  McTigue,  and  this  connection  con- 
tinued until  1909,  in  which  year  he  be- 
came connected  with  the  McDonald  Plumb- 
ing Company,  retaining  this  connection  for 
a  short  period  of  time,  and  then  engaged 
in  the  same  line  on  his  own  account,  under 
his  own  name,  and  has  so  continued  to  the 


present  time.  His  natural  aptitude  for  the 
work  and  his  earnest  attention  to  the  work 
entrusted  to  him  has  won  him  many  friends 
and  secured  him  business  success.  He  is 
a  member  of  Mt.  Tom  Lodge,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  of  Holyoke ;  of  Con- 
necticut Valley  Lodge,  No.  28,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  of  which  he  is  a  master  of  finance 
at  the  present  time  (1917)  ;  has  passed 
through  all  the  chairs  in  the  order ;  was  past 
chancellor  in  1916,  and  for  six  years  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Cryptic  Club  of  the 
Masons. 

Mr.  Sparrow  married,  October  6,  1897, 
Rosa  La  Due,  born  in  Chesterfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, daughter  of  Oliver  and  Soulaunge 
(La  Due)  Da  Due.  Children:  Harold  Al- 
len, born  February  19,  1899;  Beatrice  Isa- 
belle, born  July  14,  1901  ;  WiUiam  Clement, 
born  April  21,  1907. 


COLLINS,  Patrick  J., 

Merchant. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  Patrick  J. 
Collins  left  his  native  Ireland  and  came  to 
the  United  States,  locating  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  his  present  home  and  the 
scene  of  his  successful  business  career.  He 
is  a  son  of  Patrick  J.  Collins,  born  in  Bar- 
lo,  County  Roscommon,  Ireland,  in  1850, 
died  in  1877,  the  victim  of  an  accident  in 
the  hay  field.  He  married  Honora  Flaher- 
ty, also  of  County  Roscommon,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  Patrick  J.  (2),  James 
J.,  and  Catherine  J.,  married  Michael  Con- 
nell. 

Patrick  J.  (2)  Collins  was  born  in  Bal- 
lenbaugh,  County  Roscommon,  Ireland, 
February  4,  1871.  He  was  but  six  years 
of  age  at  the  time  of  his  father's  accident- 
al death,  consequently  his  early  training 
was  under  the  gentle  influence  of  his  moth- 
er who  was  ambitious  for  her  boy  and  gave 
him   such  school  advantage   as  the  parish 


144 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


afforded.  In  1885  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  located  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
and  in  night  schools  and  Child's  Business 
College  completed  a  good  business  educa- 
tion. His  entrance  into  the  business  world 
was  as  clerk  in  the  furniture  store  of  James 
J.  Delaney,  and  there  he  remained  for  thir- 
teen years,  and  during  eight  years  of  that 
period  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the  city  of 
Holyoke,  being  call  man  in  the  fire  depart- 
ment and  under  Chief  Lynch,  the  city  pay- 
ing Mr.  Collins  $150  yearly  for  the  privi- 
lege of  calling  upon  him  for  service  at  fires. 
It  was  not  until  1897  that  Mr.  Collins 
established  in  business  for  himself  and 
when  he  did  it  was  in  the  business  he  had 
become  so  intimately  acquainted  with  dur- 
ing his  years  with  Mr.  Delaney.  He  joined 
a  partnership  with  William  Murray,  and  in 
1897  as  Collins  &  Murray  purchased  a  fur- 
niture store  at  No.  997  High  street,  Hol- 
yoke. The  firm  conducted  a  successful  gen- 
eral furniture  business  until  1913,  when 
they  incorporated  as  the  Collins  &  Murray 
Company,  Mr.  Collins,  treasurer,  Mr.  Mur- 
ray, president.  In  191 6  Mr.  Murray  died, 
and  on  February  i,  1917,  Mr.  Collins,  who 
acquired  the  Murray  interest  by  purchase, 
succeeded  to  the  presidency  of  the  com- 
pany, w'hich  he  now  serves  both  as  presi- 
dent and  treasurer.  The  history  of  this  now 
important  business  has  been  one  of  prog- 
ress and  prosperity  from  its  inception. 
When  originally  purchased  it  occupied  but 
one-half  its  present  floor  space,  the  adjoin- 
ing store  having  been  the  insistent  demand 
for  more  room.  Mr.  Collins'  entire  busi- 
ness life  has  been  spent  in  the  retailing  of 
furniture  and  associated  lines,  and  to  his 
ability,  energy  and  progressive  spirit  the 
success  of  Collins  &  Murray  is  due  in  a 
large  degree.  For  one  year  he  served  as  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  License  Commis- 
sioners. He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Knights  of 
Columbus,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men, 
MASS.— 7— 10.  I 


Catholic  Order  of  Foresters,  Mt.  Tom  Golf 
Club  and  the  Holyoke  Country  Club.  He 
is  fond  of  travel  and  has  four  times  crossed 
the  Atlantic,  each  time  visiting  his  native 
land. 

]\Ir.  Collins  married,  in  1900,  Catherine 
J.  Donohue,  born  at  County  Kerry,  Ire- 
land. They  are  the  parents  of  Mary  Agnes, 
Catherine  J.,  Helen  Gertrude,  Anna 
Theresa,  Patrick  J.  (3),  Margaret  and 
Gertrude. 


O'CONNELL,  Daniel, 

Contractor. 

Daniel  O'Connell,  one  of  the  pioneer  and 
best  known  building  contractors  of  New 
England,  died  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
November  23,  191 6.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
Irish  settlers  to  come  to  that  city,  and  during 
his  sixty-nine  years'  residence  saw  that  com- 
munity develop  into  a  thriving  municipality, 
and  in  that  growth  and  development  bore  a 
prominent  part.  He  was  the  founder  and 
long  at  the  head  of  the  contracting  firm, 
Daniel  O'Connell's  Sons,  and  was  closely 
identified  with  construction  work  in  many 
places.  As  each  of  his  six  sons  came  of 
age  they  were  admitted  to  the  business,  and 
when  the  years  bore  too  heavily  he  with- 
drew, leaving  the  burdens  of  management 
to  his  sons.  He  had  a  wonderful  memory 
and  was  an  authority  upon  local  history. 
For  forty-two  years  he  lived  in  the  house  in 
whicli  he  died,  and  when  he  was  borne  from 
it  for  the  last  time  it  was  upon  the  shoulders 
of  his  six  sons. 

Daniel  O'Connell  was  born  in  the  parish 
of  Ferriter,  County  Kerry,  Ireland,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1832.  He  was  a  son  of  Daniel 
O'Connell,  who  was  born  in  the  west  part 
of  Dingle,  County  Kerry,  Ireland,  in  the 
year  1799,  and  died  in  1849,  when  fifty 
years  of  age.  He  married  Catherine  Man- 
ning, a  daughter  of  Michael  Manning,  who 
afterwards  came  to  the  United  States  and 


45 


EN'CYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


settled  with  her  son  in  West  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, where  she  spent  the  remainder  of 
her  Hfe.  To  Daniel  and  Catherine  (Man- 
ning) O'Connell  the  following  children  were 
born :  James,  Michael,  Daniel,  who  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  Maurice,  John,  Jo- 
hanna, and  Mary,  the  latter  becoming  the 
wife  of  James  Sullivan. 

When  a  lad  of  fourteen  years,  Daniel 
O'Connell  left  Ireland,  and  after  a  voyage 
of  thirty-one  days  landed  in  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  April,  1847.  -'^  ^^w  months 
were  spent  at  Chicopee  Falls,  then  on  or 
about  his  fifteenth  birthday  he  came  to  Hol- 
yoke, which  was  ever  afterward  his  home. 
His  first  employment  was  as  water  boy  to 
the  large  force  of  men  employed  in  building 
the  first  dam  built  by  the  Hadley  Falls 
Company,  a  structure  which  was  washed 
away  before  completion,  the  dam  which 
still  stands  above  the  present  stone  dam 
not  being  finished  until  1849.  After  leav- 
ing this  the  lad  found  employment  with  a 
farmer  in  Baptist  Village  (now  Elmwood), 
then  again  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Hadley  Falls  Company,  becoming  barn  boss 
at  their  stable  in  Ward  i,  Holyoke.  In  1858 
he  bought  a  farm  in  Rock  Valley,  which  he 
cultivated  for  a  year,  then  in  i860  went  to 
Springfield,  where  he  was  employed  driving 
a  team  used  to  switch  freight  cars  in  the  old 
New  Haven  depot.  Later  he  was  in  the 
service  of  Mayor  Bemis.  of  Springfield, 
who  was  then  engaged  in  the  coal  busi- 
ness, and  still  later  managed  a  farm  in 
Longmeadow  for  John  Madden.  Returning 
to  Holyoke,  he  gained  a  knowledge  of  the 
building  business  with  Deacon  E.  T.  Rich- 
ards in  1862,  and  the  following  year  he 
went  into  business  for  himself  as  a  truck- 
man and  expressman.  In  1865  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  Deacon  Edwards  in  the 
general  jobbing  business,  continuing  until 
1868,  when  they  dissolved,  Mr.  O'Connell  at 


that  time  having  been  appointed  by  the  se- 
lectmen to  take  charge  of  the  town  roads. 
He  served  as  supervisor  of  highways  until 
1864,  then  was  appointed  superintendent  of 
city  streets,  holding  that  position  until  1870, 
when  he  resigned.  In  1880  he  began  con- 
tracting, his  first  important  mill  contract 
being  for  the  excavation  of  the  present  Non- 
otuck  INIill  of  the  American  Writing  Paper 
Company.  From  this  time  business  rap- 
idly increased,  his  sons  were  admitted  part- 
ners and  the  firm  of  Daniel  O'Connell's 
Sons  became  well  known  far  beyond  local 
limits.  Among  his  many  contracts.  Mr. 
O'Connell  made  the  excavations  and  laid 
the  foundations  for  the  Symms  &  Dudley 
Mill,  the  Winona  and  Parsons  mills,  the 
Farr  Alpaca  Company's  plant  in  Jackson 
street,  and  numerous  others,  mill  building 
becoming  their  specialty.  The  large  con- 
tracts executed  outside  of  Holyoke  were 
the  building  of  the  New  Bedford  Water 
Works ;  the  Electric  Railway  in  Conway ; 
the  six  miles  of  railroad  between  Great  Har- 
rington and  Stockbridge ;  the  Fomer  pipe 
line,  twelve  miles  long,  which  is  a  part  of 
the  city's  waterworks ;  the  dams  at  Bellows 
Falls,  \'ermont,  and  Pittsfield,  Massachu- 
setts, and  contracts  executed  for  the  State, 
and  when  the  founder  retired  the  sons  as- 
sumed the  management,  continuing  the  bus- 
iness. 

Mr.  O'Connell  married,  December  13, 
1858,  Johanna  Brassil,  who  died  in  October, 
191 1,  three  years  after  the  aged  couple  had 
celebrated  their  golden  wedding  day.  They 
were  the  parents  of  six  sons,  all  residing  in 
Holyoke,  and  constituting  the  firm,  Daniel 
O'Connell  Sons:  Daniel  James,  whose 
sketch  follows ;  William ;  Charles  Joseph, 
whose  sketch  follows ;  John,  Frank,  and 
George.  Mr.  O'Connell  was  a  member  of 
Holy  Cross  Roman  Catholic  Church. 


146 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


O'CONNELL,  Daniel  James, 

Contractor,    Manufacturer. 

Daniel  James  O'Connell,  son  of  Daniel 
and  Johanna  (Brassil)  O'Connell,  was  born 
August  1 8,  1864,  at  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, and  has  spent  his  entire  life  there.  He 
received  his  education  at  the  local  grammar 
and  high  schools,  and  upon  completing  his 
studies  there  became  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  latter's  great  business.  In 
the  year  1894  his  two  brothers,  Charles  Jo- 
seph and  John  O'Connell,  joined  him  in  the 
enterprise,  and  the  three  took  over  the 
whole  of  the  business  founded  by  the  fath- 
er under  the  name  of  Daniel  O'Connell's 
Sons.  They  conduct  business  in  all  parts 
of  New  England,  particularly  in  the  line  of 
heavy  contracting  work,  such  as  building 
roads,  bridges,  water  works,  dams,  mills 
and  manufacturing  plants,  and  in  addition 
to  the  construction  department,  they  also 
manufacture  brick.  Mr.  O'Connell  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat and  has  served  as  a  member  of  the 
City  Council.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Columbus,  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  Holyoke 
Country  Club. 

On  October  18,  1900,  Mr.  O'Connell  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Bessie  O'Donnell,  a 
native  of  County  Kerry,  Ireland,  and  a 
daughter  of  Patrick  O'Donnell,  of  that 
place.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  O'Connell  are  the 
parents  of  the  following  children :  Anna  ; 
Alice ;  Margaret  Mary,  born  in  1905  ;  and 
Daniel  Patrick,  born  March  17,  1907. 


O'CONNELL.    Charles  Joseph, 

Business  Man. 

Charles  Joseph  O'Connell,  one  of  the 
successful  business  men  of  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, was  born  in  that  city,  January 
29,  1868.  He  is  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Jo- 
hanna (Brassil)  O'Connell,  Charles  J. 
O'Connell's  education  was  received  in  the 


local  grammar  and  high  schools,  the  lat« 
ter  of  which  he  attended  for  three  years. 
Upon  completing  his  studies  at  these  insti- 
tutions, he  learned  the  trade  of  brick  ma- 
son, which  he  followed  as  an  apprentice  for 
some  three  years,  and  then  entered  into 
partnership  with  Mr.  Vallis  V.  Goddard  and 
they,  under  the  firm  name  of  O'Connell  & 
Goddard,  engaged  in  business  as  masons  and 
builders,  and  during  the  partnership,  which 
continued  for  a  number  of  years,  they  con- 
structed many  important  works  in  and  about 
Holyoke,  among  which  should  be  mentioned 
the  largest  sewer  ever  built  in  the  commu- 
nity, the  Highland  Grammar  School,  and 
many  of  the  best  apartment  houses  in  the 
city.  They  also  erected  a  number  of  bus- 
iness blocks,  and  came  to  be  well  known 
throughout  the  region.  This  association 
was,  however,  terminated  in  1899,  when 
Mr.  O'Connell,  in  company  with  his  broth- 
ers, Daniel  James  and  John,  took  over  the 
business  which  had  been  developed  by  their 
father,  Daniel  O'Connell,  and  under  the 
style  of  Daniel  O'Connell's  Sons  have  con- 
tinued to  carry  on  this  enterprise  ever  since. 
Daniel  O'Connell's  Sons,  as  a  firm,  is  well 
known  in  this  section  of  the  county.  Mr. 
O'Connell's  residence  is  situated  in  the 
Highland  district,  on  a  tract  which  was  pur- 
chased by  his  father  many  years  ago.  His 
house  was  the  first  one  erected  there,  and 
is  one  of  the  most  attractive  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. Mr.  O'Connell  is  a  member  of 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  and  the 
Holyoke  Club. 

Mr.  O'Connell  married  (first)  in  1888, 
Mary  Murphy,  a  native  of  Lawrence,  Mas- 
sachusetts. He  married  (second)  June  15, 
1897,  Eva  Marie  Doyle,  a  native  of  Hol- 
yoke, a  daughter  of  John  and  Bridget  (Bur- 
ley)  Doyle,  of  that  place.  Mr.  Doyle  was 
born  at  Chicopee,  Massachusetts,  in  1837, 
and  died  in  191 5.  He  was  a  son  of  William 
Doyle,  a  native  of  Limerick,  Ireland,  who 


147 


EXXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


came  to  America  in  1805  and  lived  for  a 
number  of  years  at  Chicopee,  although  he 
later  removed  to  Holyoke,  where  his  death 
occurred.  By  the  first  marriage  there  were 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  O'Connell  three  chil- 
dren. ]\Iargaret,  still  living,  Charles  and 
Louise  who  died  in  infancy.  Of  the  sec- 
ond marriage  the  following  children  have 
been  born :  Helen  Marie,  born  April  24, 
1898:  Daniel  Jerome,  born  May  5,  1900; 
]\Iary  Rose,  born  ]\Iay  19,  1901  ;  Charles, 
born  June  24.  1903;  Francis,  born  Octo- 
ber 5,  1904;  George  Edward,  born  Decem- 
ber 14,  1905 ;  John  Doyle,  born  March  27, 
1907;  James,  born  August  2,  1910:  Eva 
Louise,  born  August  8,  1912  :  and  a  child 
who  died  in  infancv. 


BAESSLER,  Lillian  Eleanor, 

Business  Woman. 

In  1883,  Christian  Lobegatt  Baessler 
came  to  the  United  States,  followed  in 
1884  by  his  son,  Oscar  Baessler,  of  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  this  city  finally  becom- 
ing their  place  of  habitude,  and  there  both 
Christian  L.,  his  son  Oscar,  and  his  grand- 
daughter, Lillian  Eleanor  Baessler,  now  re- 
side, she  the  capable  paying  teller  of  the 
savings  department  of  the  Holyoke  National 
Bank.  Christian  Lobegatt  Baessler,  of 
Thalheim,  Germany,  bom  in  1820,  died  at 
the  age  of  thirty-nine  years,  son  of  a  Thal- 
heim manufacturer  of  wood  knitting  frames. 
He  married  Johanna  Langer,  bom  in  Thal- 
heim, in  1826,  died  in  1905,  the  mother  of 
Christian  Lobegatt  (2),  of  further  men- 
tion ;  Bruno,  deceased ;  Carl  B.,  whose  ca- 
reer is  described  at  length  in  this  work; 
Gustave,  deceased  ;  Gottobene ;  Ilivena,  de- 
ceased ;    and  Amelia. 

Christian  Lobegatt  (2)  Baessler  was  born 
in  Thalheim,  Saxony,  Germany,  in  1845, 
and  is  now  (1917)  at  the  age  of  seventy-two 
living  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  He 
obtained   a    good   education   in   his   native 


Saxony,  served  his  time  in  the  German  Ar- 
my, and  was  a  soldier  of  the  Franco-Prus- 
sian War  of  1870.  He  was  a  man  of  im- 
portance in  his  native  town,  served  as  a 
member  of  the  school  board,  and  as  a  weav- 
er had  steady  employment  in  the  textile 
mills.  But  he  chafed  under  conditions  in  Ger- 
many, and  in  1883  sought  the  freer  air  of 
the  United  States,  believing  that  here  he 
could  attain  a  freedom  of  thought  and  lib- 
erty of  action,  and  rise  to  a  better,  higher 
life  than  was  possible  in  his  own  land.  All 
his  dreams  came  true,  and  since  his  coming 
to  Holyoke,  in  1884,  he  has  been  remuner- 
atively employed  in  the  hosiery  mills,  then 
for  fourteen  years  as  a  weaver  in  the  Ger- 
mania  ^lills,  and  is  yet  an  employe  of  that 
mill,  working  in  the  gig  room.  He  has  not 
only  found  a  home  and  employment,  but  has 
taken  an  active  part  in  public  affairs,  and 
in  all  things  has  been  a  good  citizen  of  the 
city  which  gave  him  opportunity.  He  mar- 
ried, in  Saxony,  Wilhelmena  Ruscher,  born 
in  that  kingdom.  Their  children  are : 
Anne,  married  Gustave  Geissler ;  Alma, 
married  Paul  Knie ;  Frieda,  married  Rich- 
ard Englehardt ;  Martha,  married  a  Mr. 
Clark  ;  Oscar,  of  further  mention ;  Max ; 
William  ;  Charles  ;  Gustave  ;  and  two  chil- 
dren who  died  in  childhood. 

Oscar  Baessler,  son  of  Christian  Lobe- 
gatt (2)  and  Wilhelmena  (Ruscher) 
Baessler,  was  born  in  Thalheim,  Sax- 
ony, Germany,  November  9,  1876,  and 
at  the  age  of  seven  and  a  half  years 
he  came  to  the  United  States  with  his 
uncle,  Carl  B.  Baessler,  and  joined  his 
father  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  he  hav- 
ing come  to  the  United  States  in  1883,  and 
to  Holyoke  in  1884.  The  boy  Oscar  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Holyoke, 
and  after  completing  his  school  years  began 
business  life  as  an  employee  of  the  Merrick 
Thread  Company.  He  soon  afterward  be- 
gan his  long  connection  with  the  Buchanan 
&  Bolt  Wire  ]\Iill  of  Holyoke,  and  for  twen- 


148 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ty-five  years  he  has  been  a  wire  worker  with 
that  corporation.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Holyoke  Turn  Verein ;  The  Sons  of  Her- 
man ;  the  German  Shooting  Ckib ;  Wire 
Workers  Union  ;  and  the  German  Lutheran 
Church;  a  man  highly  esteemed  by  all  who 
know  him. 

Mr.  Baessler  married,  October  14,  1896, 
Ernestine  Stalzman,  born  in  Posen,  Ger- 
many, daughter  of  Julius  and  Caroline 
(Fenska)  Stalzman.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baess- 
ler are  the  parents  of  a  daughter,  Lillian 
Eleanor,  born  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  Mas- 
sachusetts, educated  in  the  grade  and  high 
schools,  and  now  fills  the  responsible  posi- 
tion of  paying  teller  of  the  savings  depart- 
ment of  the  Holyoke  National  Bank. 


CWIKLINSKI,  Casimer  Francis, 

Clergyman. 

Under  the  charge  of  Father  Cwiklinski, 
the  properties  of  the  parish  of  Mater  Dolo 
Rosa  in  Holyoke  have  been  greatly  im- 
proved, and  the  work  of  the  church  thereby 
extended.  He  is  of  Polish  ancestry,  the 
son  of  Joseph  Cwiklinski,  a  native  of  Ger- 
man Poland,  now  (1917)  living  in  Tren- 
ton, New  Jersey,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six 
years.  In  his  younger  days  the  father  was 
employed  in  a  distillery  in  German  Poland, 
and  during  the  Franco-Prussian  War  served 
as  an  infantry  soldier,  participating  in  sev- 
enteen engagements.  In  the  operations  be- 
fore Paris  he  received  a  wound,  and  after 
recovering  was  later  employed  as  a  nurse  in 
the  Red  Cross  department.  In  1885  he  came 
to  America  on  the  ship,  "Elba,"  which  was 
sunk  on  its  return  voyage  to  Germany.  Lo- 
cating in  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  he  has  con- 
tinued to  make  that  his  home  to  the  present 
time.  For  some  years  he  was  employed  in 
rubber  mills,  but  has  been  long  in  enforced 
retirement  on  account  of  blindness  caused 
by  cataract  of  eyes.  Joseph  Cwiklinski  and 
his  wife  Anna  were  the  parents  of  the  fol- 


lowing children:  i.  Michael,  deceased.  2. 
Francis,  deceased.  3.  Joseph,  now  fore- 
man of  the  Imperial  Porcelain  Works  of 
Trenton,  New  Jersey;  the  father  of  three 
children  :  Edmund,  Agnes,  and  Alma.  4. 
Paul,  who  died  December  19,  191 5,  and  he 
had  children :  Raymond,  Francis,  Clara, 
Anna  and  Casimer.  5.  August,  deceased. 
6.  Casimer  Francis. 

Rev.  Casimer  Francis  Cwiklinski  was 
born  February  13,  1883,  in  Supkan,  German 
Poland,  and  was  about  two  years  of  age 
when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  America. 
He  devoted  many  years  to  preparation  for 
the  priesthood,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the 
Franciscan  order,  O.  M.  C.  He  attended 
private  schools  in  Trenton  and  also  the 
parochial  school  of  St.  Francis  Parish,  a 
German  parish  of  Trenton.  He  also  attend- 
ed St.  John's  School  of  that  city,  and  St. 
Stanislaus  Polish  School.  After  spending 
three  years  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  at  the 
Assumption  School  under  the  Franciscan 
Fathers,  he  returned  to  Trenton  and  attend- 
ed St.  Francis  College  for  two  years.  His 
entire  education  was  earned  by  his  own  la- 
bors, in  any  honorable  capacity  or  any 
humble  chore  that  came  his  way,  and  his 
college  expenses  were  paid  out  of  his  own 
earnings.  Going  to  Europe,  he  was  three  years 
a  student  at  a  seminary  conducted  by  the 
Franciscan  Fathers  in  Krakow,  Polish  Aus- 
tria, and  there  he  was  ordained  to  the  priest- 
hood, July  II,  1905.  Returning  to  America, 
he  became  for  a  short  time  assistant  priest 
at  the  Corpus  Christi  Church  at  Buffalo, 
New  York,  and  then  went  to  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  where  for  a  period  of  three  years 
he  was  first  assistant  priest  in  St.  Stanislaus 
Church.  His  next  location  was  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  acted  as  supply  for 
a  short  time  at  the  Mater  Dolo  Rosa 
Church,  and  then  went  to  Elmhurst,  Long 
Island,  as  pastor  of  Saint  Adalbert  Church, 
this  being  his  first  pastorate,  and  there  he 
continued  two  years.    In  191 1  he  again  went 


[49 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


to  Holyoke,  and  has  ever  since  been  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Mater  Dolo  Rosa.  This  par- 
ish has  an  active  membership  of  some  six 
thousand  souls,  and  maintains  a  school  with 
something  like  eight  hundred  pupils.  Father 
Cwiklinski  has  two  assistants,  and  has  made 
many  improvements  in  the  church  property, 
particularly  in  the  interior  decorations  of 
the  church,  and  in  grading  and  planting 
the  grounds.  It  is  all  under  the  charge 
of  the  Franciscan  Order  in  the  Diocese  of 
Springfield,  and  one  of  the  largest  church 
properties  in  the  city.  He  is  an  ardent 
worker  for  the  church,  a  friend  of  the 
poor,  an  advocate  of  progress,  one  of  the 
most  patriotic  citizens,  and  a  great  power 
for  good  in  the  community. 


DIETZ,  Richard  Hermann, 

Business   Man,   Public    Official. 

It  has  been  through  sturdy  industry  and 
attention  to  details  that  Richard  Hermann 
Dietz  has  developed  from  humble  begin- 
nings one  of  the  large  baking  industries  of 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut.  His  par- 
ents, Hermann  and  Christliebe  Dietz,  were 
natives  respectively  of  Bohemia,  Austria, 
and  Saxony,  Germany,  and  came  to  America 
in  1882,  settling  in  Holyoke,  December  12th 
of  that  year.  Hermann  Dietz  was  a  weaver 
by  trade  and  continued  in  that  occupation  for 
some  years  following  his  emigration  to  this 
country.  In  1885,  only  three  years  after 
their  arrival,  his  wife  died,  Mr.  Hermann 
Dietz  surviving  her  until  1909.  Besides  the 
son  whose  name  heads  this  article,  they  had 
a  daughter,  Minnie,  now  the  wife  of  Charles 
Bluemer,  of  West  Holyoke,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  four  children. 

Richard  Hermann  Dietz  was  born  June 
16,  1863,  in  Kimmitschau,  Saxony,  Ger- 
many, and  came  to  Holyoke  on  December 
12,  1881,  having  preceded  his  parents'  ar- 
rival by  one  year.  Educated  as  he  was  in 
the  excellent   public   schools   of   his  native 


land,  he  experienced  little  difficulty,  despite 
the  hard  times  then  existing,  in  finding  em- 
ployment in  the  land  of  his  adoption.     His 
first  position  was  in  the  Germania  Mills  of 
Holyoke.     Later  he  was  employed   in  the 
Skinner   Silk   Mill,   continuing  until    1883, 
when  he  embarked  in  business  for  himself 
as  a  baker.    For  the  first  eight  months  his 
bakery  was  located  on  Park  street.    In  No- 
vember, 1884,  he  moved  to  a  new  location 
on   Adams   street.     In    1889  he   erected   a 
building  of  his  own  on  Park  street,  which 
he  occupied  as  bakery  and  office  until  1905. 
It  was  in  these  years  that  the  solid  foun- 
dation of  his  later  business  growth  was  laid. 
In  1905  his  steadily  growing  business  neces- 
sitated   removing    again    to    a    still    larger 
building  of  his  own  on  High  street,  No.  440. 
In    1909   he   established   a  very   successful 
retail  branch  in  Springfield,  devoted  espe- 
cially to  the  sale  of  fancy  baked  products, 
frozen   delicacies    and   confectionery.        In 
1912,   continued   business   expansion    occa- 
sioned  the   construction   of   a  commodious 
factory    on    Commercial    street,    Holyoke, 
where  all  his  baking  is  carried  on,  and  where 
also   is   installed  a  thoroughly   modern   ice 
cream  and  refrigerating  plant,  and  here  al- 
so, he  has  a  fine  store,  thus  operating  two 
stores.       For   the   conduct   of   his   present 
wholesale    and    retail    trade    nine    delivery 
wagons  and  five  automobiles  are  required 
in  addition  to  daily  railroad  shipments  to 
scores  of  surrounding  towns. 

On  December  i,  1917,  an  organization, 
known  as  the  Massachusetts  Baking  Com- 
pany, was  formed,  and  of  this  Mr.  Dietz 
was  one  of  the  organizers.  In  addition  to 
his  large  interests  in  Holyoke,  this  concern 
has  purchased  a  large  number  of  bakeries 
throughout  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut. 
Mr.  Dietz  is  vice-president  and  one  of  the 
directors  of  this  organization,  the  largest 
of  its  kind  in  New  England. 

As  will  be  seen  by  the  above  Mr.  Dietz's 
success  has  not  come  to  him  as  the  result 


150 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  accident  or  lucky  circumstance,  but 
through  the  conquering  of  obstacles  that 
many  others  less  determined  and  indus- 
trious would  have  deemed  insurmountable. 
Although  a  very  busy  man,  he  nevertheless 
finds  time,  like  every  other  worthy  citizen, 
to  give  intelligent  attention  to  civic  affairs. 
Having  prospered  under  American  insti- 
tutions, he  desires  to  see  them  perpetuated 
under  honest  government  and  just  princi- 
ples of  progress.  In  1896  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Alderman  and  has  served 
as  park  commissioner.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  which  was 
formerly  the  Business  Men's  Association, 
and  served  at  one  time  on  the  Board  of  Di- 
rectors. Among  other  social  and  benevo- 
lent organizations  with  which  he  is  affiliated 
are  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  the  German  Order  of  Harugari,  the 
Turn  Verein,  the  Holyoke  Club,  and  the 
Canoe  Club.  He  is  likewise  a  member  of 
the  German  Lutheran  church. 

Mr.  Dietz  married,  July  6,  1887,  Bertha 
Domki,  a  native  of  Posen,  Prussia,  Ger- 
many, daughter  of  Wilhelm  and  Christina 
(Shultz)  Domki.  Mr.  Domki  died  when 
Bertha  was  a  child.  The  mother  married 
(second)  Frank  Glesmann,  and  the  child. 
Bertha,  took  the  name  of  her  step-father. 

Mr,  and  Mrs.  Dietz  reside  on  the  beau- 
tifully situated  estate,  "Rus  In  Urbe,"  on 
Easthampton  road  overlooking  Holyoke. 
Their  three  eldest  sons,  Walter  H., 
Hermann  R.,  and  Edwin  O.,  are  associated 
with  the  father  in  the  bakery  business,  the 
former  as  manager  of  the  Springfield  store. 
The  other  children  are :  Rudolph  A. ;  Rich- 
ard ;  Erna,  a  music  teacher,  married  Emil 
Atmus;  and  Helen,  the  wife  of  William 
Muenter,  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
and  they  have  a  son,  Rolf  Muenter,  born 
November  29,  1916. 


DIETZ,  Walter  Herman, 

Business  Man. 

As  manager  of  the  Springfield  branch  of 
the  Dietz  Baking  Company,  Mr.  Dietz  is  but 
continuing  his  connection  with  a  business 
with  which  he  has  been  associated  ever 
since  his  graduation  from  college. 

Walter  Herman  Dietz,  son  of  Richard 
Hermann  and  Bertha  (Glesmann)  Dietz, was 
born  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  June  11, 
1888.  After  preparation  in  the  city  graded 
and  high  schools  terminating  with  gradua- 
tion, he  entered  Yale  University,  whence  he 
was  graduated  in  the  class  of  19 10,  with 
the  degree  of  A.  B.  After  leaving  college 
he  became  associated  with  his  father  in  the 
Dietz  Baking  Company  of  Holyoke,  and 
upon  the  opening  of  a  branch  of  that  busi- 
ness in  Springfield  he  was  appointed  its. 
manager,  a  position  he  capably  fills.  This 
establishment  is  located  at  No.  335  Main 
street,  and  is  devoted  to  the  sale  of  fancy 
baked  products,  frozen  delicacies,  confec- 
tionery and  ice  cream,  and  does  a  large  bus- 
iness catering  to  a  very  choice  trade.  In 
connection  with  their  beautiful  store,  one 
of  the  finest  in  the  city  adapted  to  this  pur- 
pose, they  have  a  very  fine  ice  cream  parlor, 
where  customers  are  served  with  the 
choicest  productions  along  these  lines. 

Mr.  Dietz  married,  November  8,  1916, 
Ann  Mildred  Brooks,  daughter  of  Archi- 
bald Alexander  and  Dora  (Edmunds) 
Brooks,  of  Holyoke,  her  father  a  native  of 
Glasgow,  Scotland.  Since  their  marriage 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dietz  have  resided  in  Spring- 
field. He  is  a  member  of  the  Publicity  Club 
and  of  the  United  Commercial  Travellers. 


FRIEDRICH,  Ernest  Hugo, 

Business  Man,  Public  Official. 

Ernest  Hugo   Friedrich,   Park  Commis- 
sioner of  the  City  of  Holyoke,  Massachu- 


151 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


setts,  and  one  of  the  prominent  manufac- 
turers of  that  city,  represents  the  finest  type 
of  American  citizenship.  Though  of  foreign 
birth  and  handicapped  in  his  youth  by  his 
lack  of  knowledge  of  the  English  language 
and  the  advantages  of  most  boys  of  the 
present  generation  in  this  country,  he  over- 
came all  obstacles  and  won  his  way  to  the 
front  rank  in  business. 

His  father,  August  Friedrich,was  a  native 
of  Saxony,  and  until  he  came  to  this  coun- 
try in  middle  life  he  was  a  manufacturer  of 
woolens  near  his  birthplace  in  Germany. 
Soon  after  he  came  to  America,  in  1869,  he 
made  his  home  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  was  employed  in  the  mills  during 
the  remainder  of  his  active  life.  He  was 
an  earnest  and  faithful  communicant  of  the 
German  Lutheran  church.  A  member  of 
the  various  German  lodges  and  other  so- 
cial organizations  of  Holyoke,  he  was  well 
known  and  highly  respected  not  only  by  his 
fellow-citizens  of  German  birth  but  by  all 
who  knew  him.  His  sturdy,  straightfor- 
ward principles,  his  kind  heart  and  persist- 
ent energy  won  him  a  place  in  the  esteem 
of  the  community.  He  died  in  Holyoke  in 
1896,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years.  He 
married,  in  Germany,  Wilhelmina  Hiberer, 
who  was  also  a  native  of  Saxony,  and  they 
had  four  children :  Louis  ;  Ernest  Hugo, 
who  is  mentioned  below ;  Oswald  and  Er- 
nestine. 

Ernest  Hugo  Friedrich  was  born  in  Sax- 
ony, November  20,  1857,  and  his  early  edu- 
cation was  received  in  the  schools  of  his 
native  place.  When  his  parents  came  to 
this  country  with  their  children,  he  was 
eleven  years  old.  Entering  the  public  schools 
he  rapidly  acquired  the  rudiments  of  Eng- 
lish and  laid  the  substantial  foundations  of 
a  liberal  education.  Though  he  left  school 
comparatively  early  in  life,  he  has  never 
ceased  to  be  a  student  of  books.  For  three 
years  when  a  boy  he  worked  in  the  Ger- 
mania  Mills  in  Holyoke,  then  he  decided  to 


learn  a  trade  and  he  served  an  apprentice- 
ship in  the  shop  of  a  tinsmith,  working  for 
six  years  afterward  in  the  manufacture  of 
woven-wire  mattresses.  But  he  was  am- 
bitious to  engage  in  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count and  for  that  purpose  saved  from  his 
earnings  and  accumulated  a  modest  capital. 
In  1893  he  ventured  in  a  small  way  in  bus- 
iness under  his  own  name  as  a  tinsmith 
and  ironv.orker.  From  the  beginning  he 
exercised  the  same  industry  and  energy  that 
had  characterized  him  as  a  journeyman  and 
mill-hand,  and  literally  commanded  success. 
From  time  to  time  he  enlarged  the  scope  of 
his  business  activities  and  secured  more  im- 
portant contracts  from  builders.  He  includ- 
ed eventually  every  kind  of  work  in  tin, 
iron  and  other  sheet  metal,  manufacturing 
cornices,  sky-lights  and  other  metal  work 
used  in  modern  buildings,  and  also  made  a 
specialty  of  tinning  and  roofing  with  metals. 
Later  he  added  a  plumbing  department  that 
has  also  grown  to  large  importance.  In 
1912  his  business  was  incorporated  under 
the  name  of  the  E.  H.  Friedrich  Company, 
of  which  he  is  the  sole  owner,  also  presi- 
dent and  treasurer.  The  growth  and  ex- 
pansion of  his  business  has  been  uninter- 
rupted from  the  beginning,  and  today  it  is 
among  the  most  extensive  in  Western  Mas- 
sachusetts. His  success  has  been  the  re- 
sult of  prudence,  patience,  untiring  labor, 
as  well  as  exceptional  business  ability.  Nat- 
urally a  good  mechanic,  Mr.  Friedrich  pos- 
sesses the  progressive  spirit  and  keeps  well 
to  the  front  in  adopting  new  methods  and 
machinery  and  in  securing  the  utmost  ef- 
ficiency in  the  mechanical  departments  of 
his  business.  He  believes  in  thorough 
workmanship  and  maintains  the  old  tradi- 
tions of  honor  in  his  craft,  making  his 
work  speak  for  itself. 

Outside  of  his  own  business,  which  has 
engrossed  his  time  and  energies  for  so  many 
years,  he  has  recently  found  opportunity  to 
gratify  his  taste  for  agriculture.     He  has 


152 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


an  orange  plantation  in  Florida  and  a  large 
part  of  the  two  hundred  acres  that  he  owns 
has  already  been  set  with  orange  and  other 
citrus  fruits.  In  late  years  he  has  devoted 
his  time  in  winter  to  his  Florida  estate.  It 
was  his  love  of  nature,  as  shown  by  his 
keen  interest  in  his  plantation,  and  his  taste 
in  landscape  gardening  that  led  to  his  ap- 
pointment as  park  commissioner.  During 
the  five  years  that  he  served  on  the  Park 
Board  of  Holyoke  he  has  given  his  time 
unsparingly  to  the  beautifying  of  the  parks 
and  public  places  of  the  city  and  worked 
to  increase  the  number  and  value  of  these 
breathing  spots  for  the  public.  More  than 
ever  the  people  of  this  country  are  taking 
interest  and  pride  in  the  public  parks,  and 
in  this  community  Mr.  Friedrich  has  been 
a  leader  in  creating  and  promoting  this  fine 
public  spirit.  His  work  in  the  park  depart- 
ment will  be  a  lasting  memorial. 

In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  he  has 
avoided  all  opportunities  for  public  service, 
except  in  the  park  department,  on  account 
of  the  demands  of  his  business.  Among 
the  Free  Masons  of  this  section  he  is  par- 
ticularly well  known  and  popular,  having 
attained  the  thirty-second  degree.  He  is  a 
member  of  Mt.  Tom  Lodge,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  of  Holyoke ;  of  the  Chap- 
ter, Royal  Arch  Masons ;  of  the  Council, 
Royal  and  Select  Masters;  of  the  Com- 
mandery.  Knights  Templar,  and  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Consistory.  Among  the  other 
social  organizations  of  the  city  of  which  he 
is  a  member  are  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks  and  the  various  Ger- 
man lodges.  He  is  a  communicant  of  the 
German  Lutheran  church  and  a  generous 
supporter  of  its  charitable  organizations. 

Mr.  Friedrich  married,  December  23, 
1882,  Bertha  Leining,  a  daughter  of  Adam 
and  Clara  (Stoehr)  Leining,  of  Rockville, 
Connecticut.  Her  father  was  a  native  of 
Hesse,  Germany,  and  her  mother  was  born 
in  Saxony.     Her  parents  came  with  their 


family  to  America  in  1854  and  made  their 
home  in  Rockville.  Her  father  was  a  skilled 
mechanic.  Children  of  Ernest  Hugo  and 
Bertha  Friedrich:  i.  Edmund  H.,  born 
April  28,  1884.  2.  Bertha,  born  December 
9,  1889;  married  William  Wakelin  and  has 
two  children :  Frederick  and  Edmund 
Wakelin.  3.  Emma  L.,  born  June  28,  1891. 
4.  Hugo  Ernest,  September  14,  1894. 


LEKSTON,  Roman,  M.  D., 

Physician. 

Dr.  Roman  Lekston,  a  well  known  Polish 
physician  of  Holyoke,  is  building  up  a  ca- 
reer far  from  the  scenes  of  his  childhood. 
He  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Agnes  (Ber- 
kowska)  Lekston,  of  Buckawanna,  Russian 
Poland,  who  were  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren :  Rev.  Joseph  Lekston,  a  priest  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church,  now  pastor  of 
churches  in  South  Deerfield  and  Hatfield, 
Massachusetts ;  John,  married  Josephine 
Saumska ;  Roman,  of  further  mention; 
Landislaus,  a  lawyer,  who  is  now  held  a 
prisoner  in  Germany,  a  victim  of  war ; 
Mary,  died  young ;  Josephine,  married  John 
Mazur. 

Dr.  Roman  Lekston  was  born  in  Bucka- 
w^anna,  Russian  Poland,  of  well-to-do  and 
honorable  family,  June  18,  1886.  Until  the 
age  of  eleven  years  he  attended  public 
schools,  then  in  1897  was  sent  to  Lombrias- 
so,  Italy,  there  entering  the  College  of 
Language  and  History,  completing  the 
course  with  graduation.  He  then  complet- 
ed a  course  at  the  Lyceum  at  Torino,  Italy, 
receiving  a  diploma  doubly  valuable  from 
the  fact  that  it  admitted  the  holder  to  any 
European  University.  After  graduation 
from  Torino  Lyceum  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  going  first  to  Monongah,  West  Vir- 
ginia, later  entering  Marion  College  of 
Commerce,  Fairmount,  West  Virginia, 
where  he  finished  the  course  in  two  years. 
Being   an    accomplished    linguist,    speaking 


153 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Italian,  German,  Swedish  and  English  in 
addition  to  his  native  tongue,  he  was  con- 
sidered a  desirable  addition  to  the  staff  of 
the  Fairmount  National  Bank,  and  for  two 
years  he  was  in  charge  of  the  foreign  de- 
partment of  that  bank,  a  responsible  posi- 
tion, as  the  foreign  business  was  very  large. 
At  the  end  of  his  engagement  he  began  the 
study  of  medicine  at  the  University  of  West 
Virginia,  remaining  one  year  before  going 
to  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  there  enter- 
ing Medico-Chirurgical  College,  whence  he 
was  graduated  M.  D.,  class  of  191 5.  He 
spent  the  following  seven  months  in  hospital 
work  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  and  Hol- 
yoke,  Massachusetts,  then  opened  offices  at 
No.  40  High  street,  Holyoke,  and  began 
private  practice,  being  one  of  the  few 
Polish  physicians  of  Western  Massachu- 
sett.  He  has  been  very  successful  in  his 
profession  and  is  one  of  the  forces  for  good 
in  his  community.  He  is  a  member  of  Hol- 
yoke Medical  Society,  the  Polish  Catholic 
Union  and  the  Polish  Catholic  Alliance, 
both  having  headquarters  in  Chicago,  Illi- 
nois, with  branches  in  different  parts  of 
the  United  States.  While  a  student  in 
Italy  he  developed  his  musical  talent,  study- 
ing under  Professor  Dogliani,  and  is  pro- 
ficient in  both  vocal  and  instrumental  mu- 
sic. While  in  Monongah  he  was  organist  of 
Saint  Stanislaus  Church. 

Dr.  Lekston  married  at  Monongah,  West 
Virginia,  Josephine  Smuzenska,  born  in 
Russian  Poland,  but  educated  in  this  coun- 
try in  the  high  school  at  Elizabeth,  New 
Jersey.  They  have  two  children:  Roman 
(2),  born  June  26,  1903;  Josephine,  Au- 
gust 6,  1905. 


LIPPMAN,  Richard  Bernard, 
Manufacturer. 

Although  born  in  far-away  Saxony,  the 
Lippman  family  reunited  upon  American 
soil  and  for  the  past  thirty-seven  years  res- 


ident in  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts,, 
where  Richard  B.  Lippman  has  passed  all 
but  the  first  two  years  of  his  life,  and  there 
his  aged  parents,  Henry  and  Henrietta 
Lippman,  yet  reside  in  honored  retirement, 
the  father  an  octogenarian  in  years,  died  in 
February,  1917.  Henry  Lippman  was  a 
manufacturer  of  cloth  goods  in  Saxony, 
Germany,  operated  several  looms  and  not 
only  made  but  personally  sold  the.  cloth  he 
wove.  He  had  brothers,  Herman,  Wilhelm 
and  Ernest,  the  latter  deceased,  Herman 
now  also  residing  in  South  Hadley  Falls. 
In  1880  Henry  Lippman  came  to  the  United 
States,  located  in  Hadley  Falls,  worked  at 
the  weaver's  trade  in  the  Glasgow  Mills, 
but  for  several  years  has  been  retired  from 
business.  He  married  Henrietta  Boch,  al- 
so born  in  Saxony,  and  now  living  in  South 
Hadley  Falls.  They  are  the  parents  of 
eight  children:  Henry  (2),  married  and 
has  sons,  Alfred  and  Raymond ;  Oscar,  mar- 
ried Lizzie  Beyer,  two  children,  Harry  and 
Rosa ;  Fannie,  married  Herman  Engle- 
hart,  and  has  a  daughter  Lillian ;  Clara,  mar- 
ried John  Dietel ;  Anna  Rosa,  married  Wil- 
liam Sligo  and  has  a  daughter  Ruth ;  Rich- 
ard Bernard,  of  further  mention. 

Richard  Bernard  Lippman  was  born  in 
Saxony,  Germany,  March  2,  1878,  and  in 
1880  was  brought  to  the  United  States  by 
his  parents.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
of  South  Hadley  Falls,  but  when  yet  a  boy 
began  life  as  a  wage  earner,  being  employed 
in  the  mills  at  South  Hadley  Falls  until 
1896.  In  the  latter  year  he  entered  the  ser- 
vice of  the  National  Blank  Book  Company 
of  Holyoke,  there  continuing  until  1906.  In 
1898  he  began  employing  his  evenings, 
making  pasteboard  boxes  for  druggists' 
use,  and  for  eight  years  he  continued  such 
operations  but  necessarily  in  a  small  way. 
He,  however,  built  up  a  good  line  of  cus- 
tomers who  were  pleased  with  his  goods 
and  his  efforts  to  please  them,  a  fact  which 
encouraged  him  to  make  box  manufacturing 


154 


Metiifh 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


llaliaii,    '  • 

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addition 

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manufacturer  of 
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wove.    He  had  brothers,  Herman,  V 
and  Ernest,   the   latter  deceased,   Heiju.-i. 
now  also  residing  in   S-i'.ith  Hadley  Falls. 
' )  Henry  Lipi  le  to  the  United 

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LIPPM. 


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ought  to  the  United  States  by 
'1      '.tended  the  public  schools 
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as  a  wage  earner,  bein: 
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in  the  latter  ye?>r  he  enter 
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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


his  sole  business.  In  1906  he  severed  his  con- 
nection with  the  National  Blank  Book  Com- 
pany and  began  manufacturing  in  South 
Hadley  Falls  as  the  Arona  Box  Company, 
beginning  as  sole  owner.  He  continued  in 
successful  business  operation  for  ten  years, 
then  in  July,  191 6,  in  association  with  A. 
W.  Hoffman,  also  a  manufacturer,  he  or- 
ganized the  United  Box  &  Paper  Company, 
Lippman  &  Hoffman,  proprietors,  that 
company  taking  over  the  Arona  Box  Com- 
pany, the  A.  W.  Hoffman  business  and  the 
Tait  &  Marsh  Company  which  they  pur- 
chased. The  company,  situated  in  the 
Whiting  street  building  and  at  No.  ^2  Main 
street,  Holyoke,  are  manufacturers  of  pa- 
per boxes  and  paper  dealers.  The  business 
is  well  managed  and  prosperous,  the  prac- 
tical knowledge  and  business  ability  of  the 
partners  being  bent  to  the  production  of 
goods  of  merit,  while  a  spirit  of  honorable, 
upright  dealing  with  customers  and  em- 
ployees prevails  in  every  department.  Mr. 
Lippman  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  Holyoke,  and  of  several  beneficial 
societies,  is  an  energetic  business  man,  has 
many  friends  and  reviews  a  life  of  success- 
ful effort.  He  is  unmarried,  residing  with 
his  aged  mother  at  South  Hadley  Falls. 


THE  ALDERMAN  FAMILY. 

Seventy-five  years  was  the  span  of  life 
allotted  Eugene  Clydon  Alderman,  and  for 
thirty-six  years  of  that  period  he  resided 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  For  thirty- 
one  years  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the  Hol- 
yoke Water  Power  Company,  retiring  five 
years  prior  to  his  decease.  He  was  a  vet- 
eran of  the  Civil  War,  and  was  wounded  in 
the  head  by  a  bullet,  but  surviving  all  perils, 
returned  to  his  home  with  an  honorable  dis- 
charge. To  the  community  in  which  he  lived 
so  long,  he  left  sons  and  daughters  whose 
lives  are  herein  recorded. 

ThexA.lderman  family  originally  came  from 


Germany, but  it  is  not  a  numerous  one  in  that 
country.  The  surname  is  derived  from  the 
title  held  by  an  ancestor  and  belongs  in  the 
same  class  of  surnames  as  Sheriff,  Con- 
stable, Beadle,  Warden,  etc.  The  first  men- 
tion of  the  American  ancester,  William 
Alderman,  is  of  his  settlement  in  Windsor, 
Connecticut,  about  1672.  From  Windsor  he 
moved  to  Simsbury,  Connecticut,  where  he 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  and  died 
about  1697.  There  are  descendants  of  his 
residing  in  that  town  at  the  present  time 
(1917).  He  married  Mary,  widow  of  John 
Case,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren:  Mary,  born  September  22,  1680; 
Thomas,  born  January  11,  1682;  William, 
see  following  paragraph ;  Sarah,  born  in 
1692,  became  the  wife  of  Thomas  Moses; 
John,  born  in  1695,  married,  October  28, 
1719,  Mary  Case;  Joseph,  born  in  1697, 
married,  June  30,  1720,  Mindwell  Case. 

William  (2)  Alderman,  son  of  William 
(i)  and  Mary  (Case)  Alderman,  was  born 
in  Simsbury,  Connecticut,  October  20,  1686. 
He  there  followed  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  took  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs  of 
the  town,  residing  there  all  his  life.  He  mar- 
ried, March  28,  1716,  Rebecca  Osban  (Os- 
borne), of  Windsor.  Their  children  were: 
Jerusha,  born  June  5,  171 7,  William,  Jo- 
seph John,  born  August  i,  1722;  Elijah, 
see  following  paragraph. 

Elijah  Alderman,  son  of  William  (2) 
and  Rebecca  (Osban  or  Osborne)  Aider- 
man,  settled  in  that  part  of  Simsbury,  Con- 
necticut, now  known  as  East  Granby.  He, 
like  his  forbears,  was  a  farmer  and  spent 
his  entire  life  in  the  town  of  his  birth,  and 
his  death  occurred  January  11,  1779.  His 
wife,  Deborah  Alderman,  bore  him  two 
sons:  Elijah,  see  following  paragraph,  and 
Gad,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  who  en- 
listed   from   Connecticut. 

Elijah  (2)  Alderman,  son  of  Elijah  (i) 
and  Deborah  Alderman,  was  born  about 
1750,   lived   at    East   Granby,   Connecticut, 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  there  followed  agricultural  pursuits 
throughout  the  active  years  of  his  life.  He 
married  and  among  their  children  was  Oli- 
ver, see  following  paragraph. 

Oliver  Alderman,  son  of  Elijah  (2)  Al- 
derman, was  born  in  East  Granby,  Connec- 
ticut, in  1782,  and  died  January  21,  1858, 
aged  seventy-six.  He  became  one  of  the 
prominent  business  men  of  the  town,  was  a 
general  contractor,  owned  a  distillery  and 
several  farms,  held  a  commission  as  justice 
of  the  peace  for  many  years,  was  a  wise, 
just,  honorable  magistrate  and  stood  high 
in  the  community.  He  was  the  only  one 
in  the  community  that  would  make  the 
drawings  and  carve  out  to  make  a  perfect 
fit  the  large  wooden  cider  press  screws  used 
in  those  early  days.  This  was  a  source  of 
considerable  income.  He  finally  taught  his 
son  Charles  to  do  this  work. 

He  married  Patty  (Martha)  Alderman, 
a  cousin,  who  died  October  2,  1853,  aged 
sixty-six  years.  Their  children,  all  born  in 
East  Granby,  were :  Clydon,  see  following 
paragraph ;  Erving,  born  in  1813,  died  Sep- 
tember 28,  1838;  Charles,  born  in  1820, 
died  April  15,  1862,  aged  forty-two;  Har- 
ry, born  in  1823,  died  October  11,  1849; 
Isabella,  born  in  1826,  died  February  5, 
1846.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alderman  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Episcopal  church  of  North 
Bloomfield,  known  as  Scotland,  and  are 
buried  in  the  cemetery  opposite  the  church. 

Clydon  Alderman,  son  of  Oliver  and  Pat- 
ty (Alderman)  Alderman,  was  born  in 
East  Granby,  Connecticut,  181 2,  and  died 
there  April  17,  1848,  aged  thirty-seven.  He 
learned  the  trade  of  v^heelwright  and  later 
established  a  combined  blacksmith  and 
wheelwright  shop.  He  was  a  man  of  fine 
mechanical  ability,  very  industrious,  a  use- 
ful citizen,  whose  life  ended  in  its  prime. 
He  was  an  Episcopalian  in  religion,  and  a 
Democrat  in  politics.  He  married,  Novem- 
ber 25,  1837,  Mary  Ann  Hatch,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  three  children:    Fran- 


ces A. ;  Isabella  G.,  who  died  in  childhood; 
Eugene  Clydon   (2),  of  further  mention. 

Mary  Ann  (Hatch)  Alderman  was  a 
daughter  of  Lucius  Hatch,  granddaughter 
of  Major  Timothy  Hatch,  and  great-grand- 
daughter of  Captain  Zephaniah  Hatch,  a 
grandson  of  Captain  Joseph  Hatch,  a  sol- 
dier of  King  Phillip's  War,  who  settled  in 
Tolland,  Connecticut,  son  of  Jonathan 
Hatch,  a  pioneer  in  the  march  of  civiliza- 
tion, son  of  Thomas  Hatch,  of  Plymouth 
Colony,  one  of  the  nine  men  who  in  1638 
proposed  "To  take  up  their  freedom  at 
Yarmouth."  Captain  Zephaniah  Hatch  was 
of  Guilford,  Connecticut,  and  in  1745  mar- 
ried Johanna,  daughter  of  Josiah  and  Han- 
nah Chittenden.  They  were  the  parents  of 
a  family  of  fifteen. 

Major  Timothy  Hatch,  son  of  Captain 
Zephaniah  Hatch,  was  born  in  Oxford, 
Connecticut,  in  1757,  died  June  10,  1838. 
He  entered  the  army  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Revolution,  and  at  the  battle  of  White 
Plains  was  captured  and  confined  in  the 
Bridewell  prison  in  New  York  and  was  not 
exchanged  until  the  war  ended.  He  was 
created  a  major  of  militia  and  at  the  time 
of  the  "Shay  Rebellion"  was  called  out  for 
its  suppression.  He  married  (first)  Luenta 
Rockwell,  (second)  Lucy  Bassett,  (third) 
a  widow,  Mrs.  Dantforth. 

Louis  Hatch, son  of  Major  Timothy  Hatch 
and  his  first  wife,  Luenta  (  Rockwell) 
Hatch,  was  born  October  14,  1785,  in  Blan- 
ford,  Massachusetts.  He  was  the  father  of 
four  children  by  his  first  wife,  among  whom 
were :  Susan,  the  eldest ;  Mary  Ann,  born 
in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  October  15,  181 5, 
died  September  18,  1849,  ^g^d  thirty-four; 
she  married,  November  25,  1837,  Clydon 
Alderman. 

Eugene  Clydon  Alderman,  only  son  of 
Clydon  and  Mary  Ann  (Hatch)  Alderman, 
was  born  in  East  Granby,  Connecticut, 
March  18,  1840,  and  died  at  his  home,  cor- 
ner   Pearl    and    Lincoln    streets,    Holyoke, 


156 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Massachusetts,  June  3,  191 5,  his  death  re- 
sulting from  a  fall  from  an  apple  tree  he 
was  trimming.  Previous  to  his  fall  he  was 
in  perfect  health.  When  he  was  eight  years 
of  age  his  father  died  and  he  was  taken  into 
the  home  of  his  grandfather,  Oliver  Al- 
derman. Upon  the  completion  of  his  stud- 
ies he  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter,  and 
after  completing  his  apprenticeship  at  the 
carpenter's  trade  he  left  East  Granby,  and 
in  1 86 1,  when  war  broke  out  between  the 
states,  he  was  employed  at  his  trade  in  the 
State  of  California.  He  returned  home  in 
order  to  enlist  from  his  native  State,  enter- 
ing the  army  in  1862  as  a  private  in  the 
Twenty-fifth  Regiment,  Connecticut  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  which  regiment  was  as- 
signed to  the  Army  of  the  West  and  fought 
with  General  Banks  from  "Cairo  to  the 
Gulf."  Mr.  Alderman  was  an  active  par- 
ticipant in  some  of  the  fiercest  fighting  of 
that  campaign,  particularly  around  Fort 
Hudson  and  Vicksburg,  the  Twenty-fifth  at 
one  time  being  under  fire  forty-four  con- 
secutive days.  The  regiment  was  later  de- 
tailed to  rid  the  section  of  guerillas  and 
during  this  skirmish  he  was  wounded  on  the 
head.  He  was  made  sergeant  after  a  short 
time  in  service  and  was  discharged  as  such. 
He  enlisted  for  nine  months,  but  served 
fourteen  months,  then  re-enlisted  but  was 
rejected  on  account  of  ill  health  at  the  time. 
After  his  return  from  the  army,  Mr.  Al- 
derman resumed  his  trade,  and  in  1879  took 
up  his  residence  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  enteerd  the  employ  of  the  Hol- 
yoke Water  Power  Company  as  carpenter, 
and  was  employed  by  that  company  for 
thirty-one  years,  retiring  in  1910,  and  the 
following  five  years  were  passed  in  happy 
contentment, rejoicing  in  the  prominent  place 
his  sons  had  won  in  the  business  world, 
happy  in  the  love  of  his  grandchildren,  of 
whom  he  had  nineteen,  and  very  proud  of 
the  fact  that  he  had  two  great-grandchil- 
dren.       In    religious    faith    Mr.    Alderman 


was  an  Episcopalian  and  in  political  faith 
a  Republican.  He  had  been  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  order  for  forty-seven  years, 
having  been  made  a  Mason  in  Evening  Star 
Lodge,  Unionville,  Connecticut,  in  1868. 
After  his  removal  to  Holyoke  he  joined  Mt. 
Tom  Lodge.  He  was  a  member  of  Kilpat- 
rick  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  an 
order  in  which  he  took  a  deep  interest.  He 
rarely  missed  a  reunion  of  his  old  regiment, 
and  was  never  more  pleased  than  when 
meeting  with  his  comrades  and  around  the 
camp  fires  living  again  the  days  of  battle 
and  bivouac. 

Mr.  Alderman  married,  January  22,  i860, 
Ellen  E.  Holmes,  born  in  Thompsonville, 
Connecticut,  January  15,  1842,  daughter  of 
Robert  and  Eliza  (Barrett)  Holmes,  of 
East  Granby,  Connecticut.  Their  married 
life  extended  over  a  period  of  fifty-five 
years,  they  celebrating  their  golden  wed- 
ding anniversary,  January  22,  1910,  in  the 
same  year  that  Mr.  Alderman  retired  from 
active  pursuits. 

FATHER  AND  MOTHER'S  GOLDEN 
ANNIVERSARY. 


HOLYOKE,    MASS.,   JAN.   22,    I9IO. 


Eighteen  hundred  and  sixty, 

On    January   twenty-second, 
It  makes  an  even  fifty  years, 

Unless   I   wrongly  reckon. 

That  Gene  put  on  his   Sunday  clothes, 
Hitched  Old  Bill  in  the  double  sleigh, 

Drove  down  to  fair  Ellen's  home, 
About  three  miles  away. 

"Unless  you're  going  to  change  your  mind, 

This  is  our  wedding  day  ; 
We'll   go   to    Parson    Vinton's," 

Coy  Gene  was  heard  to  say. 

"Arrangements    are   all    quite   complete. 

Two  witnesses  we  must  have ; 
We'll  stop  and  get  your  Cousin  Lib 

And  then  your  brother  Dave." 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


The  Parson  welcomed  in  the  group 

And  singled  out  the  pair; 
Proceeded  thus  to  tie  the  knot 

Which  made  bashful  Dave  declare — 

"Mr.  Parson,  there  is  some  mistake," 

And  shook  his  curly  head, 
"Lib  and  I  are  not  the  ones, 

But   Nell  and  Gene  instead." 

The   parson  bowed   with   humble   grace 

And  said,  "I  do  declare; 
I  'sposed  of  course  you  were  the  ones. 

Not  this  other  youthful  pair." 

And  then  he  quickly  tied  the  knot, 
Pronounced  them  man  and  wife, 

Offered  prayer  and  his  best  wish 
For  a  long  and  happy  life. 

Two  happy  years  went  quickly  by, 

And  sad  the  day  indeed — 
War  was  declared,  the  call   for  men, 

Dad   felt  the  country's  need. 

And  ere  he  was  called  to  the  front 

A  message  came  from  D. : 
"A  little  boy  arrived  last  night 

And  they  call  him  Geo.  P.  B." 

In  eighteen  hundred  sixty-five, 

A  pleasant  Easter  morn, 
The  country  mourning  Lincoln's  death, 

'Twas   then  that  I  was  born. 

In   four   years   more   O.   C.   arrived. 

One  cold  November  day ; 
We  all  felt  sure  as  we  heard  him  cry 

That  he  had  come  to  stay. 

One  day  in  eighteen  seventy-four 

Dad  called  us  with  a  grin, 
"Don't  make  a  noise,  but  come  in  still, 

We've  got  a  little  Hen." 

We  all  looked  round  to  see  a  chick. 

Or  something  that  could  fly, 
But  looked  around  in  blank  surprise 

When  we  heard  a  baby  cry. 

It  seemed  to  us  that  girls  were  scarce, 

None  ever  came  our  way 
'Till  three  years  later  Nell  arrived. 

Late  one  September  day. 

And  when  'twas  seen  how  pleased  we  were 
With  the  one  girl  which  we  had, 


Within  another  space  of  time 
They  sent  us  sister  Cad. 

We  were  all  such  husky  kids 

That  nothing  else  would  do, 
But  there  must  be  another  boy. 

So  'long  came  "Gene  the  Two." 

And  when  the  last  small  baby  came — 

Now  this — it  is  no  bluff — 
We  all  said,  "Let's  call  her  Mae," 

And  Mother  said,  'Enough." 

We've  journeyed  on  through  all  these  years. 
Through   fair  and  stormy  weather; 

Whate'er  the  joys  or  burdens  were. 
We've  borne  them  all  together. 

A  greater  blessing  would  we  ask? 

We  all  will  answer.  Nay." 
Than  this :    Our  lives  have  all  been  spared 

To  celebrate  this  day. 

The  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  strain, 
Through  C.  E.  A. 

You  know  those  fellow  Alderman 

What's  live  on  fifty  Pearl? 
He's  got  one  wife  and  five  big  boy 

And  three  school  teacher  girl. 

He's  goin'  git  marry  fifty  year 

On  Jan'ry  twenty-two. 
If  I  have  time,  I'm  jes'  go  down 

And  tole  him  "How  you  do?" 

I'm  get  some  invitation? 

No,  but  all  he's  friend  can  go, 
Whats  know  the  old  folks  and  the  kids. 

The  ole  man  tole  me  so. 

I'm  tink  I'm  lak  to  see  those  kid 

Whats  grow  for  fifty  year; 
The  ole  man  lak  to  have  me  come, 

I  live  by  him  so  near. 

The  ole  man  say  he   feed  those  kid 

On  stuff  whats  new  to  me ; 
Sometimes  extract  white  birch, 

An  some  time  apple  tree. 

The  Mother,  she's  good  on  the  cook, 

Make  pies  and  cookie  thick. 
And   big   wide    frosting  on    some  cake. 

What's  never  make  you  sick. 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


And  if  you  lak  to  see  those  folks, 

I'm   sure  your   glad  you  go. 
Go  in  an'  ax  'em,  "How  you  do?" 

And  say  I  tole  you  so. 

We're  glad  they  stay  here  for  so  long, 

And  stay  long  as  they  can ; 
And   if  they're  here   in   fifty   years, 

We'll    all   come    roun'    again. 

C.  E.  A. 

Ellen  E.  (Holmes)  Alderman,  wife  of 
Eugene  Clydon  Alderman,  is  a  daughter 
of  Robert  Holmes,  and  a  granddaughter  of 
Robert  Holmes,  the  latter  born  in  Donegal 
county,  Ireland.  He  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1838  and  settled  in  Tariffville, 
Connecticut,  where  he  died  in  June,  1857, 
aged  eighty-three.  He  married  Delilah 
Holmes,  who  died  March  22,  1867.  Their 
children  were  four  sons,  William,  James, 
Robert  and  David  (2),  and  three  daughters, 
Rebecca,  Elizabeth  and  Jane.  Rebecca,  mar- 
ried William  Remington,  of  Suflield,  Con- 
necticut ;  Elizabeth,  married  Oliver  Pome- 
roy,  of  Suffield,  Connecticut.  Jane,  married 
Appleton  Burnett,  of  Suffield,  Connecticut. 

Robert  (2)  Holmes  was  born  in  Done- 
gal county,  Ireland,  in  1820,  and  died  in 
East  Granby,  Connecticut,  February  13, 
1858,  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight  years.  He 
came  to  the  United  States  with  his  parents 
in  1838,  and  for  a  time  was  employed  in  a 
carpet  mill  at  Tarififville,  Connecticut.  La- 
ter, for  several  years,  was  proprietor  of  a 
hotel.  He  married  Eliza  Barrett,  daughter 
of  Henry  and  Sophia  (Fenton)  Barrett, 
born  in  Connecticut,  November  14,  181 5, 
who  survived  him  and  married  (second) 
Alexander  Pattison,  who  served  in  Com- 
pany E,  Twenty-fifth  Regiment  during  the 
war,  and  who  died  at  Andover,  Connecticut, 
January  23,  1897.  She  died  in  Andover, 
Connecticut,  April  15,  1891,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-six.  Robert  (2)  and  Eliza  (Bar- 
rett) Holmes  were  the  parents  of  David, 
Charles  E.,  and  of  Ellen  E.,  who  married 
and  is  now   (1917)   the  widow  of  Eugene 


Clydon  Alderman.  The  Holmes  burial  place 
is  at  Tariffville,  Connecticut. 

Mrs.  Alderman  survives  her  husband  and 
is  now  (1917)  living  at  her  old  home  with 
her  daughter  Carrie  who  is  a  teacher  in  the 
Elm  Street  Public  School.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Eugene  C.  Alderman  were  the  parents  of 
eight  children,  all  of  whom  are  now  living 
— seven  of  them  in  Holyoke  and  one  in 
Springfield,  Massachusetts.  They  are  as 
follows : 

I.  George  Perkins  Bissell  Alderman,  born 
in  East  Granby,  Connecticut,  September  20, 
1862;  attended  school  in  East  Granby,  Con- 
necticut ;  the  family  moved  to  Plainville, 
Connecticut,  where  he  attended  school  one 
year,  and  entered  the  employ  of  H.  D. 
Frost,  who  was  proprietor  of  a  country 
store  at  Plainville.  In  1879  ^^  moved  with 
his  parents  to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  was  employed  with  his  father  and 
learned  the  carpenter's  trade ;  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  architecture  in  the  of- 
fice of  James  A.  Clough,  Architect,  of  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  and  later  was  em- 
ployed in  the  architectural  office  of  Cass 
Chapman,  architect,  of  Chicago,  Illinois.  He 
returned  to  Holyoke,  and  in  1885  opened 
an  office,  and  at  the  present  time  (1917)  is 
located  in  the  Mills-Alderman  Building,  No. 
316  High  street,  in  the  same  line  of  busi- 
ness, under  the  firm  name  of  George  P.  B. 
Alderman  &  Company,  Henry  H.  Alder- 
man having  been  admitted  to  the  firm.  He 
is  a  director  of  the  Hadley  Falls  Trust 
Company,  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Peo- 
ple's Savings  Bank,  and  a  member  of  the 
finance  committee ;  he  is  a  director  and  is 
vice-president  of  the  Potter  Knitting  Com- 
pany of  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  and  is 
a  member  of  the  Second  Baptist  Church ;  he 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Holyoke  Lodge  of 
Odd  Fellows. 

Mr.  Alderman  married  (first)  C.  Belle 
Drake,  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Amelia  Drake,  of 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Newark,  New  Jersey.  Their  children,  all 
born  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  are :  Eliza 
(Lida)  Helen,  born  February  4,  1887  ;  Mar- 
jorie,  born  June  11,  1889,  died  June  12, 
1889;  Albert  Drake,  born  August  24,  1890; 
Helen  Holmes,  born  December  10,  1891, 
died  January  12,  1907,  one  of  the  sweet- 
est souls  that  ever  lived ;  George,  born 
March  20,  1895,  died  August  14,  1896; 
Paul,  born  November  5,  1896;  Lesley,  born 
March  11,  1901.  Mr.  Alderman  married 
(second)  Mrs.  Hortense  (Goslee)  Bacon, 
of  East  Granby,  Connecticut,  daughter  of 
Owen  E.  and  Emma  (Cowles)  Goslee. 
Their  children,  all  born  in  Holyoke,  are : 
Hortense,  born  August  14,  191 1;  Bissell, 
born  September  19,  1912;  Wayne,  born  Ju- 
ly 2,  1914.  Eliza  H.  Alderman  married, 
October  31,  1908,  Robert  Glenn  Ashman,  of 
Salisbury,  Connecticut,  at  present  (1917) 
manager  of  the  Worcester  Pressed  Steel 
Company,  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts. 
Their  children  are :  Barbara  Helen,  born 
in  Milford,  Connecticut,  May  10,  1914; 
Robert  Glenn,  Jr.,  born  in  Milford,  Connec- 
ticut, July  8,  191 5.  Albert  D.  Alderman  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  Holyoke,  and 
Gushing  Academy  and  University  of  Ver- 
mont. He  married  Madelene  L.  Harrigan, 
of  New  York  City,  daughter  of  Michael  and 
Katherine  (McGrath)  Harrigan.  He  en- 
tered the  employ  of  the  Poole  Dry  Goods 
Company,  Steiger  Syndicate,  of  Springfield, 
to  learn  the  dry  goods  business  and  is  still 
(1917)  with  this  firm.  Their  children  are: 
George,  born  in  Springfield,  August  22, 
1914;  Madelene,  born  in  West  Springfield, 
January  19,  1916.  Paul  Alderman  gradu- 
ated at  the  Holyoke  High  School,  and  en- 
tered the  employ  of  George  P.  B.  Alder- 
man &  Company  to  learn  the  business.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Second  Baptist  Church. 
Lesley  Alderman  now  (1917)  junior  in  the 
Holyoke  High  School. 

2.    Charles    Eugene    Alderman,    born    in 
Tariflfville,    Connecticut,    Easter    morning. 


April  16,  1865.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  East  Granby  and  Plainville,  Con- 
necticut. He  removed  with  his  parents  to 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  in  1879,  and  en- 
tered the  employ  of  the  Hampden  Glazed 
Paper  Company.  He  has  been  there  for 
thirty-six  years  and  is  still  (191 7)  in  their 
employ,  the  last  twenty  years  as  superinten- 
dent. He  is  a  member  of  the  Second  Bap- 
tist Church.  A  member  of  the  Mt.  Tom 
Lodge  of  Masons,  and  is  a  past  master  of 
the  lodge ;  a  companion  of  Mt.  Holyoke 
Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  a  Cryptic 
Mason  of  Mt.  Holyoke  Council,  Royal  and 
Select  Masters.  His  interest  in  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  dates  from  the 
foundation  of  that  work  in  Holyoke,  his 
name  appearing  on  the  original  charter  of 
the  Association.  He  married,  June  25,  1890, 
Jennie  Louise  Cook,  of  Constable,  New 
York,  daughter  of  Joseph  S.  and  ]\Iartha 
(Earl)  Cook.  Their  children  are:  Ger- 
trude S.,  born  in  Holyoke,  September  2, 
1892;  Karl  Henry,  born  in  Holyoke,  July 
17,  1897;  Louise,  born  in  Holyoke,  August 
21,  1904. 

3.  Oliver  Clydon  Alderman,  born  in 
Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  November  28, 
1870;  attended  school  in  East  Granby  and 
Plainville,  Connecticut,  and  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts. He  left  school  and  went  to 
work  in  a  hardware  store  in  Holyoke.  In 
1898  he  with  F.  E.  Carlisle  bought  out  the 
Penniman  Hardware  Store  of  North  Adams 
and  ran  it  under  the  firm  name  of  Alderman 
&  Carlisle.  In  1904  they  bought  out  the  C. 
J.  Blackstone  Hardware  Store  in  Spring- 
field, ^Massachusetts,  and  in  1905  Alder- 
man &  Carlisle  dissolved  partnership,  Mr. 
Alderman  taking  the  Springfield  store,  and 
Mr.  Carlisle  taking  the  North  Adams  store. 
In  1912  Mr.  Alderman  bought  the  property, 
Nos.  227-229  Worthington  street,  a  three 
story  building,  and  fitted  the  building  up  for 
his  business  and  is  still  (1917)  located 
there.  He  has  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
60 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


complete  stocks  of  goods  in  Western  Mas- 
sachusetts. He  is  a  member  of  Greylock 
Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  North 
Adams ;  Morning  Star  Chapter,  Royal 
Arch  Masons ;  Springfield  Council,  Royal 
and  Select  Masters ;  Springfield  Comman- 
dery,  Knights  Templar,  and  Melha  Temple, 
Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine ;  Springfield  Board  of  Trade,  and 
of  the  Nyassette  Club.  In  political  faith  he 
is  a  Republican. 

He  married,  June  21,  1893,  Edith  B. 
Stearns,  of  Holyoke,  daughter  of  Willard 
W.  and  Mary  (McBride)  Stearns.  Their 
children  are :  Willard  W.  S.,  born  in  Hol- 
yoke, May  8,  1897.  At  present  (1917)  a 
junior  in  Dartmouth  College ;  E.  Bethia, 
born  in  North  Adams,  Massachusetts,  No- 
vember 6,  1902 ;  Clydon  Eugene,  born  in 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  April  13,  1907; 
H.  Elwood,  born  in  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, July  24,  1908;  Mary  E.,  born  in 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  August  25,  191 1. 

4.  Henry  Holcomb  Alderman  was  born  in 
East  Granby,  Connecticut,  June  10,  1874. 
He  attended  school  in  East  Granby  and 
Plainville,  Connecticut,  and  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts. After  leaving  school  he  com- 
menced work  in  the  office  of  his  brother, 
George  P.  B.  Alderman,  and  has  worked  in 
that  office  ever  since,  and  now  (1917)  has 
a  half  interest  in  the  firm  of  George  P.  B. 
Alderman  &  Company,  Architects,  of  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Mt.  Tom  and  William  Whiting  Lodges 
of  Masons ;  the  Springfield  Commandery 
and  Shrine  ;  the  Holyoke  Lodge  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Or- 
der of  Elks  and  present  vice-president  and 
director  of  Rotary  Club  ;  an  attendant  of  the 
First  Congregational  Church.  He  married, 
June  10,  1903,  Isabelle  E.  Patterson,  of  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  daughter  of  William 
and  Esther  (Mooney)  Patterson.  Their  chil- 
dren are:  Henry  Holcomb  (2),  born  Jan- 
uary 16,  1905,  died  August  i,  1906;  Hol- 
MASS.— 7— n.  I 


comb  Patterson,  born  in  Holyoke,  Novem- 
ber 2T„  1909;  William  Harris,  born  in  Hol- 
yoke, September  20,  191 2. 

5.  Ellen  Isabel  Alderman,  born  in  East 
Granby,  Connecticut,  September  2,  1878; 
attended  school  in  Holyoke,  graduating  at 
the  High  School  and  the  Springfield  Train- 
ing School.  She  taught  in  the  Highland 
Grammar  Public  School.  She  is  a  member 
of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, Mercy  Warren  Chapter,  of  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  and  the  Second  Baptist 
Church.  At  present  (1917)  vice-president 
of  Pynchon  Chapter,  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution.  She  married,  October 
II,  191 1,  Larkin  Howard  Foster,  of  Bever- 
ly, Massachusetts,  who  graduated  at  the 
Beverly  High  School  and  Salem  Commercial 
School.  At  present  (1917)  he  has  charge 
of  the  drapery  department  of  the  Poole 
Dry  Goods  Company  of  Springfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts. 

6.  Carrie  Lull  Alderman,  born  in  Hol- 
yoke, May  20,  1880.  She  graduated  at  the 
Holyoke  High  School,  the  Westfield  Nor- 
mal School,  and  is  now  (1917)  a  teacher 
in  the  Elm  Street  Public  School  of  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts.  She  is  a  member  of 
the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, Mercy  Warren  Chapter,  of  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts,  and  the  Second  Bap- 
tist Church. 

7.  Eugene  Robert  Alderman,  born  in 
Holyoke,  November  20,  1882;  attended  the 
Holyoke  public  schools,  and  in  1897  en- 
tered the  employ  of  the  Farr  Alpaca  Com- 
pany, and  has  worked  for  them  ever  since, 
and  is  at  present  (1918),  superintendent. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Mt.  Tom  Lodge  of 
Masons,  and  an  attendant  of  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church.  He  married,  June 
17,  1908,  Emma  Dickerman,  of  Holyoke, 
daughter  of  Hiram  P.  and  Ellen  (Place) 
Dickerman.  Their  children  are :  Dorothy 
Jean,  born  in  Holyoke,  April  2,  1909;  Rob- 
ert Holmes,  born  July  8,  191 1. 


61 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


8.  Mae  Eliza  Alderman,  born  May  30, 
1885.  She  attended  the  public  schools, 
graduating  at  the  Holyoke  High  School, 
and  the  Twitchel  Kindergarten  School  of 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  and  taught  in 
the  Holyoke  schools.  She  is  a  member  of 
the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution, 
Mercy  Warren  Chapter,  of  Springlield, 
Massachusetts,  and  the  Second  Baptist 
Church.  She  married  Joseph  CoUing- 
wood,  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  He 
graduated  at  the  Holyoke  High  School,  the 
Philadelphia  Textile  School,  and  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Farr  Alpaca  Company  in 
1906  and  has  worked  for  them  ever  since, 
and  at  present  (1917)  has  charge  of  their 
color  dyeing  department. 


ALDERMAN,  George  Brainard, 

Real    Estate. 

The  xA.lderman  family,  of  which  George 
Brainard  Alderman,  of  Springfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, is  a  member,  is  an  old  one  in  Con- 
necticut, where  it  has  resided  for  a  great 
number  of  generations,  and  where  Mr.  Al- 
derman himself  was  born. 

William  Alderman,  the  immigrant  ances- 
tor of  this  family,  settled  in  Windsor,  Con- 
necticut, as  early  as  1672,  afterwards  re- 
moved to  Simsbury,  Connecticut,  where  his 
death  occurred  about  1697.  Here  his  de- 
scendants reside  at  the  present  time,  his 
original  home  being  still  in  their  possession. 
He  married  Mary  Case,  widow  of  John 
Case. 

Daniel  Alderman,  a  grandson  of  Wil- 
liam Alderman,  was  born  at  Simsbury,  in 
the  year  1738.  He  afterwards  removed  to 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  where  his  death  oc- 
curred July  18,  1790.  His  son,  Epaphras 
Alderman,  was  born  at  Simsbury,  Connec- 
ticut, December  14,  1760,  and  spent  the 
earlier  part  of  his  life  in  that  region.  In  the 
latter  part  of  his  life  he  removed  to  Gran- 
bytown,    where    his    death    occurred.      He 


was  an  Episcopalian  in  religion.  He  mar- 
ried Chloe  Hayes,  of  Simsbury,  March  23, 

1781,  when  she  was  but  nineteen  years  of 
age,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  the  fol- 
lowing   children :      Chloe,    born    May    20, 

1782,  became  the  wife  of  Suman  Holcomb; 
Almira,  born  January  26,  1784,  became  the 
wife  of  Ebenezer  Holcomb ;  Daniel  T., 
born  December  22,  1785;  Cornelia,  born 
February  22,  1788,  became  the  wife  of  Ben- 
jamin Holcomb ;  Lydia,  born  April  19, 
1790,  became  the  wife  of  Gramson  Hol- 
comb ;  Harvey,  mentioned  below ;  Sarah, 
born  August  20,  1794;  Harriett,  born  Au- 
gust 27,  1796;  Norman,  born  September 
13,  1798;  Eliza,  born  September  16,  1800; 
Flora,  born  December  i,  1802;  Cynthia, 
born  November  i,  1805;  Esther,  born  May 
20,  1808;    and  Ortha,  born  in  1810. 

Harvey  Alderman,  son  of  Epaphras  and 
Chloe  (Hayes)  Alderman,  was  born  April 
22,  1792,  at  Simsbury,  Connecticut,  and  died 
July  30,  1875.  He  married,  January  19, 
1 81 3,  Sally  Holcomb,  born  July  16,  1796, 
and  died  December  27,  1886,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  ninety.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  the  following  children :  Mary  A., 
born  August  20,  1813;  Martha  A.,  born 
March  13,  1815;  Solomon  Flagg,  born  Feb- 
ruary 19,  1817;  Cynthia  S.,  born  April  9, 
1819;  Laura,  born  February  3,  1821  ;  Chloe 
H.,  born  April  14,  1823 ;  James  H.,  born 
January  3,  1825  ;  Allen  A.,  born  February 
5,  1827;  Esther  J.,  born  April  5.  1833; 
Brainard  Louis  Richardson,  mentioned  be- 
low, and  Ellen  L.,  born  August  24,  1840. 

Brainard  Louis  Richardson  Alderman, 
youngest  son  of  Harvey  and  Sally  (Hol- 
comb) Alderman,  and  father  of  the  George 
Brainard  Alderman  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
October  10,  1837,  at  East  Granby,  Connec- 
ticut. He  received  a  common  school  edu- 
cation, and  during  his  attendance  at  the 
local  schools  made  a  reputation  as  a  skill- 
ful penman.  After  completing  his  educa- 
tion,  he   worked   in   a   dry   goods   store   in 


162 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Hartford,  where  he  was  employed  as  a 
bookkeeper.  Later,  however,  he  left  this 
employment  and  removed  to  Suffield,  Con- 
necticut, April  I,  1866,  where  he  has  since 
devoted  his  attention  to  farming,  and  was 
highly  successful,  both  in  general  farming 
and  in  raising  tobacco,  of  which  he  made 
a  specialty.  Mr.  Alderman,  Sr.,  also  en- 
gaged in  the  buying  and  selling  of  horses, 
which  he  purchased  in  Canada  and  brought 
in  the  United  States,  selling  them  in  the  lo- 
cal market.  He  was  prominent  in  the  gen- 
eral life  of  the  community  where  he  dwelt, 
and  represented  his  district  in  the  State 
Legislature  during  the  year  1883.  This  fact 
speaks  highly  of  his  personal  popularity  and 
the  confidence  wuth  which  he  was  regarded 
by  the  community-at-large,  as  he  was  the 
only  Democrat  to  hold  that  office  up  to  the 
time  of  his  election  or  since.  During  the 
latter  part  of  his  life,  however,  Mr.  Alder- 
man became  a  Republican  and  supported 
staunchly  the  principles  and  policies  of  that 
party.  Among  other  offices  held  by  him  at 
various  times  during  his  life  should  be  men- 
tioned that  of  constable,  also  that  of  state 
game  warden,  which  he  held  for  fifteen 
years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  school  com- 
mittee for  many  years  and  was  active  in  se- 
curing educational  reforms  and  improve- 
ments for  the  region.  Mr.  Alderman,  Sr., 
married,  November  30,  1859,  Elizabeth  Au- 
relia  Root,  born  October  i,  1839,  at  Hart- 
ford, a  member  of  an  old  and  distinguished 
family  in  that  region.  Her  death  occurred 
September  16,  191 1.  To  INIr.  and  Mrs. 
Alderman  the  following  children  were  born : 
Harvey,  born  July  7,  i860;  George  Brain- 
ard,  of  further  mention ;  Martha  Elizabeth, 
born  October  7,  1865,  and  Uriel  Samuel, 
born  February  19,  1875. 

George  Brainard  Alderman,  son  of  Brain- 
ard  Louis  Richardson  and  Elizabeth  Au- 
relia  (Root)  Alderman,  was  born  at  East 
Granby,  Connecticut,  March  2,  1863.  When 
he  was  but  three  years  of  age  he  accom- 


panied his  parents  to  Suffield,  Connecticut, 
where  they  made  their  home  and  where  his 
childhood  was  spent.  Here  he  attended  the 
district  school,  but  after  completing  his 
studies  at  this  local  institution  he  was  sent 
by  his  father  to  the  Connecticut  Literary 
Institute  at  Suffield,  and  still  later  took  a 
course  at  Williston  Seminary.  After  at- 
tending this  school  the  young  man  went 
West,  making  his  home  at  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
holding  there  for  three  years  a  position  as 
conductor  on  the  East  Cleveland  Railroad 
System.  In  1885,  however,  he  returned 
to  the  East  and  settled  at  Springfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts. Here  for  a  time  Mr.  Alderman 
was  employed  by  Kibbe  Brothers  in  the 
manufacture  of  candy,  but  he  afterwards 
withdrew  and  became  associated  with  ^lee- 
kins,  Packard  &  Wheat,  of  Springfield. 
Here  he  remained  until  1891,  when  he  re- 
moved from  Springfield,  and  went  to  live 
at  Suffield,  Connecticut,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  farming  for  some  twenty-three 
years  on  one  farm.  His  farm  contained 
some  one  hundred  and  fourteen  acres  and 
he  made  it  one  of  the  model  farms  of  that 
community.  During  his  residence  at  Suf- 
field, he  also  dealt  in  agricultural  imple- 
ments, fertilizers,  and  the  buying  and  sell- 
ing of  tobacco.  In  this  last  line  he  met  with 
a  high  degree  of  success,  and  was  the  owner 
of  large  tobacco  warehouses  at  Suffield. 
Here  he  handled  large  quantities  of  this 
commodity,  buying  and  packing  the  same. 
This  tobacco  was  disposed  of  through  the 
New  York  market.  In  the  year  1914  Mr. 
Alderman  sold  out  and  returned  to  Spring- 
field and  here  engaged  in  the  real  estate  bus- 
iness, and  at  the  present  time  (1917) 
handles  farm  and  city  properties  in  all  parts 
of  New  England,  conducting  a  very  large 
business  in  the  same.  Mr.  Alderman,  while 
residing  at  Suffield,  was  a  member  of  the 
Village  Improvement  Society.  He  also  held 
various  local  town  offices,  and  after  his 
father    resigned    from    the    office    of    state 


163 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


game  warden,  he  succeeded  the  elder  man  in 
that  position  and  continued  to  hold  it  for 
fifteen  years.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the 
Springfield  Board  of  Trade.  He  was  one 
of  those  concerned  with  the  starting  of  the 
Boys'  Club  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church  of  Springfield,  of  which  he  is  a 
member,  which  has  been  in  existence  ever 
since  Dr.  Burnham's  time.  Mr.  Alderman 
is  a  member  of  Apollo  Lodge,  No.  59,  An- 
cient Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Suf- 
field,  Connecticut ;  of  Washington  Chapter, 
Royal  Arch  Masons ;  and  also  the  Council, 
Royal  and  Select  Masters.  He  is  affiliated 
with  the  local  lodge  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  a  member  of  the  Order  of 
American  Mechanics. 

George  Brainard  Alderman  was  united  in 
marriage,  June  i,  1887,  with  Clara  M.  Shel- 
don, of  West  Suffield,  Connecticut,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  Chandler  and  Helen  M.  (Nel- 
son) Sheldon.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alderman  are 
the  parents  of  the  following  children :  Ed- 
na Clara,  born  January  13,  1891  ;  Ethel 
Sheldon,  born  June  10,  1895,  married  Lieu- 
tenant Harold  Tetford,  graduate  of  Si:f- 
field  Institute  and  with  the  "New  York 
Sun"  for  several  years ;  Edith  May,  born 
Christmas  Day,  1898;  and  Charles  Brain- 
ard, born  February  2"],  1908. 

Charles  Chandler  Sheldon,  the  father  of 
Mrs.  Alderman,  was  born  at  Windsor,  Con- 
necticut, May  I,  1834.  He  is  a  member  of 
one  of  the  oldest  and  most  distinguished 
families  of  the  State,  and  for  many  years 
followed  farming  as  his  occupation  and 
made  tobacco  raising  his  specialty.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  West  Suf- 
field, and  then  attended  the  Connecticut  Lit- 
erary Institute  at  Suffield,  Connecticut,  and 
finished  his  schooling  at  Williston  Sem- 
inary, Easthampton,  Massachusetts.  He 
remained  on  the  home  farm,  assisting  his 
father,  until  he  reached  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-five years,  at  which  time  he  was  given 
charge  of  the  farm.    Since  then  he  has  pur- 


chased a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  acres,  and  has  been  engaged  in  the  rais- 
ing of  tobacco  and  general  farming  and 
there  has  erected  a  fine  residence.  Mr.  Shel- 
don is  a  Democrat  and  has  held  the  offices 
of  selectman  of  his  town,  assessor,  member 
of  the  Board  of  Relief  and  justice  of  the 
peace. 

Mr.  Sheldon  was  united  in  marriage,  De- 
cember 15,  1858,  with  Helen  M.  Nelson,  a 
native  of  Suffield,  daughter  of  Horatio  King 
Nelson,  and  a  sister  of  Clinton  H.  Nelson. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sheldon  the  following 
children  have  been  born:  i.  Emma  H., 
born  December  30,  1859,  educated  in  the 
public  schools  and  the  Connecticut  Literary 
Institute  at  Suffield,  Connecticut,  where  she 
afterwards  taught  school ;  she  married  Nel- 
son Talmage,  of  East  Granby,  April  6,  1898. 
2.  George  Allen,  born  March  9,  1862 ;  mar- 
ried Olive  Root,  a  daughter  of  Francis 
Root,  and  is  the  father  of  four  children : 
Howard  Root,  born  April  27,  1898;  Ruth, 
Helen,  and  Charles ;  is  now  farming  on  the 
old  homestead.  3.  Clara  Martha,  born  Au- 
gust 8,  1864;  married,  June  i,  1887, 
George  B.  Alderman,  as  aforementioned. 


MARBLE,  Jerome, 

Business    Man,   Public    Official. 

The  Marble  family,  represented  in  the 
present  generation  by  Nella  Marble,  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  Jerome  Marble,  is  said  to  be 
of  Scottish  origin.  The  first  ancestor  of 
whom  we  have  any  information  was  Free- 
grace  Marble,  who  was  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Sutton,  Massachusetts,  coming 
to  that  place  early  in  the  eighteenth  century 
from  Essex  county.  He  married  and  was 
the  father  of  three  sons,  Samuel,  Enoch  and 
Malachi. 

Enoch  Marble,  second  son  of  Freegrace 
Marble,  was  born  in  Sutton,  Massachusetts, 
was  there  educated  in  the  district  school, 
spent  his  active  years  in  useful  pursuits,  and 


164 


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'fiftces 


(Uier  hv 


istence  ■ 
Mernun 
59,  An- 
:)f  Suf- 

;er, 

ncil, 

■  ffiliated 


harge  of  the  fan' 


Mr.  ^heluon  was?  uuned  m  inani<tj; 
cember  15,  1858,  with  Helen  M    M'- 
native  of  Stitifieljl,  daughter  of  H; 
Nelsoi>,  and  a  sister  of  Clinton  H.  Aeiboi.. 

T(^    "\Tr     :.r.('    a'    -■     >'ii^1r1;.p    thf-    following 

•  .mma  H., 
■n  the 


mak; 


:  ;«).Mii,ess   Mau,   Public   Official. 

family,   represented  in  the 
>n  hy  Nella  Marble,  d'<-">^- 
rome  Marble,  is  sair 
origin.  ^  Th 
.:   have  any  in^' 
Larble,  who 
of  Sut' 
olace  eai 
-ssex  coi. 
er'of  thr 


i.Inoch  Marbi 
-U..irble,  wa 
wat.  there 
spent  his  active 


su:ts,  and 


1 


I 


n^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


died  at  a  very  advanced  age  in  the  year 
1814,  leaving  as  a  heritage  to  his  descend- 
ants an  honored  name.  By  his  wife,  Abi- 
gail Marble,  he  had  eleven  children,  eight 
sons  and  three  daughters,  and  his  grandchil- 
dren numbered  more  than  a  hundred. 

Thaddeus  Marble,  son  of  Enoch  and  Ab- 
igail Marble,  was  born  in  Sutton,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  1758,  and  his  death  occurred  in 
Charlton,  Massachusetts,  in  181 7,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-nine.  In  Charlton  he  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  scythes,  and  also 
in  connection  with  his  brother,  Aaron  Mar- 
ble, owned  and  operated  a  grist  mill,  both 
of  which  enterprises  proved  remunerative, 
the  result  of  careful  management,  cease- 
less effort  and  prudent  judgment.  He  was 
public-spirited  and  patriotic,  proving  the 
latter  characteristic  by  serving  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War.  He  married,  in  1784,  Olive 
Putnam,  of  Sutton,  Massachusetts,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Putnam.  She  survived  her  hus- 
band twenty-five  years,  her  death  occurring 
in  1842,  aged  seventy-five  years.  They 
were  the  parents  of  six  children,  among 
whom  was  John  Putnam,  through  whom 
the  line  is  descended. 

John  Putnam  Marble,  son  of  Thaddeus 
and  Olive  (Putnam)  Marble,  was  born  in 
Charlton,  Massachusetts,  October  i,  1802, 
and  died  January  23,  1901.  He  resided  at 
the  parental  home  until  the  age  of  twenty- 
five,  when  he  succeeded  his  father-in-law, 
William  P.  Ryder,  of  Charlton,  in  business. 
In  1828  he  also  assumed  the  management  of 
a  hotel  in  Charlton,  which  was  a  profitable 
undertaking,  and  in  1843  ^^  started  to  make 
trips  to  the  West,  selling  boots  and  shoes  at 
wholesale  in  the  southern  and  central  parts 
of  Michigan.  His  son,  Jerome  Marble,  at- 
tended to  the  management  of  the  store  in 
Charlton  during  his  four  months'  absence 
each  year,  the  elder  Mr.  Marble  continuing 
in  the  above  named  line  until  i860,  a  period 
of  seventeen  years.  In  1853  ^^  ^^^o  ^^'^~ 
barked  in  the  buying  and  selling  of  flour  at 


Dexter,  Michigan,  in  partnership  with 
another  man;  his  partner  died  in  i860,  and 
Mr.  Marble  continued  the  business  on  his 
own  account  for  the  following  five  years, 
then  disposed  of  the  same,  and  thereafter 
lived  practically  retired,  enjoying  the  fruit 
of  his  many  years  of  toil.  From  attaining 
his  majority  until  1840,  Mr.  Marble  gave 
his  allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party,  and 
thenceforth  until  his  death  voted  for  the 
candidates  of  the  Republican  party,  in 
which  organization  he  took  an  active  inter- 
est. In  1 841  he  represented  the  Worcester 
district  in  the  Legislature,  being  elected  by 
a  majority  of  three  hundred  and  forty-four 
votes  over  the  Whig  candidate.  The  first 
vote  he  cast  in  the  Legislature  was  in  favor 
of  the  proposition  that  amalgamation,  or  the 
marriage  of  blacks  and  whites,  was  a  crime, 
and  the  offspring  were  illegitimate.  He  al- 
so voted  in  favor  of  straightening  the  Bos- 
ton &  Albany  Railroad,  which  was  at  that 
time  owned  by  the  State.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Universalist  church.  Mr.  Mar- 
ble married,  November  30,  1823,  Ruth  Ann 
Ryder,  of  Charlton,  who  was  born  June  30, 
1806,  and  died  December  14,  1883.  They 
were  the  parents  of  two  children :  Jerome, 
of  whom  further ;  and  William  T.,  who 
died  December  4,  1852,  being  then  a  student 
in  Leicester  Academy,  preparing  for  col- 
lege. 

Jerome  ]\Iarble,  eldest  son  of  John  Put- 
nam and  Ruth  Ann  (Ryder)  IMarble,  was 
born  in  Charlton,  Massachusetts,  Septem- 
ber 10,  1824,  and  died  February  14,  1906. 
He  attended  the  district  school,  and  the 
knowledge  there  received  was  supplemented 
by  attendance  at  Leicester  Academy.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  he  began  his  active  ca- 
reer by  entering  his  father's  store  in  Charl- 
ton, in  which  he  had  previously  worked 
during  his  school  vacations.  Later  he  went 
to  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  for  two 
years  was  employed  in  the  paint  and  oil 
store  of  Randall  &  Bacheller,  but  at  the  ex- 


165 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


piration  of  that  period  of  time  returned  to 
Charlton,  his  native  town,  and  continued 
in  the  general  merchandise  business  for  the 
following  four  years.  He  then  disposed 
of  his  business,  and  removed  to  Worcester, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  engaged  in  busi- 
ness as  a  wholesale  and  retail  dealer  in 
drugs,  paints,  oils,  etc.  For  ten  years,  from 
1853  to  1863,  he  was  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  C.  A.  Harrington  &  Company,  but  upon 
the  retirement  of  Mr.  Harrington  in  1863 
the  firm  name  became  Jerome  Marble  & 
Company.  The  firm  operated  two  stores, 
the  principal  one  at  No.  440  Main  street, 
Worcester,  and  a  wholesale  department  at 
No.  42  Pearl  street,  Boston.  Their  trade 
extended  over  the  New  England  States, 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  from 
eight  to  ten  travelling  agents  were  employ- 
ed. Mr.  Marble  also  travelled  extensively, 
principally  in  the  West  and  throughout  the 
State  of  California.  He  was  a  staunch 
adherent  of  the  principles  of  Republican- 
ism, and  for  one  year  filled  the  office  of  al- 
derman, but  he  preferred  to  devote  his  time 
to  his  business  interests.  He  was  an  at- 
tendant of  the  Universalist  church,  and  in 
all  respects  an  exemplary  citizen,  perform- 
ing well  his  part   in  community  affairs. 

Mr.  Marble  married  (first)  in  1849,  Su- 
san E.  Blanchard,  of  Charlton,  Massachu- 
setts, who  died  in  1881,  aged  fifty-three, 
leaving  two  daughters :  Nella,  who  resides 
in  the  old  homestead  at  No.  23  Harvard 
street,  Worcester,  and  Olive,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Frederick  W.  Bailey,  of  New 
Haven,  Connecticut,  and  the  mother  of  four 
children:  John  Marble,  Nella  M.,  Fred- 
eric Starr  and  Francis  Howarth.  Mr.  Mar- 
ble married  (second)  in  1882,  Abbie  E. 
Redding,  of  Worcester,  daughter  of  John 
Redding,  of  Sturbridge. 


SHUMWAY,  Austin  Lyman, 
Mercliant. 

The  life  of  Austin  Lyman  Shumway,  one 
of  the  leading  merchants  of  Holyoke,  is  one 
full  of  a  useful  lesson,  well  worthy  of  emu- 
lation by  young  men,  who  would  learn  the 
way  to  success.  He  made  his  way  from 
boyhood  with  little  help,  accumulated  capital 
for  his  mercantile  venture  from  his  own 
earnings,  and  rose  to  a  commanding  posi- 
tion in  the  business  life  of  Holyoke.  He 
was  upright  and  honorable  in  all  things, 
and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 

The  Shumways  are  of  French  descent, 
the  name  said  by  some  writers  to  have  been 
Charmois  or  Chamois.  The  family  in  New 
England  begins  with  Peter  Shumway,  who 
came  from  England  as  early  as  1650,  when 
he  settled  in  Topsfield,  Massachusetts.  He 
fought  with  the  Massachusetts  Troop  at  the 
Great  Swamp  Fight,  December  19,  1675, 
and  on  account  of  his  service  during  King 
Philip's  War  his  son  petitioned  later  for  a 
land  grant.  He  resided  at  Salem  Village, 
now  Danvers,  prior  to  his  removal  to  Ox- 
ford. By  his  wife  Frances  he  had  sons, 
Peter  and  Joseph ;  also  a  daughter,  Dorcas, 
born  in  Topsfield,  October  16,  1683,  who 
married  Valentine  Butler.  The  line  of 
descent  from  Peter  and  Frances  Shumway 
to  Austin  L.  Shumway  is  through  their  eld- 
est son,  Peter  (2). 

Peter  (2)  Shumway  was  born  in  Tops- 
field,  Massachusetts,  June  6,  1678.  Al- 
though not  an  original  settler  of  Oxford,  he 
early  settled  there  purchasing  the  land  right 
of  Joshua  Chandler,  January  13,  1713.  He 
married  (first)  February  11,  1701,  Maria 
Smith,  who  died  January  17,  1739.  He 
married  (second)  February  28,  1740,  Mary 
Dana.  His  nine  children  by  his  first  wife 
were  born  in  Oxford :     Oliver,  Jeremiah, 


166 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


David,  of  further  mention ;    Mary,  Samuel, 
John,  Jacob,  Hepzibah,  Amos. 

David  Shumvvay,  third  son  of  Peter  (2) 
Shumway,  was  born  in  Oxford,  but  was 
baptized  in  Topsfield,  December  2;^,  1705. 
He  resided  in  Oxford  until  December, 
1733,  when  he  bought  a  one-fiftieth  share 
of  the  land  in  Sturbridge,  and  became  one 
of  the  pioneer  settlers  there.     He  married 

(first)  Esther ,  they  were  the  parents  of 

Esther,  Asa,  Mary,  David,  and  Solomon,  of 
further    mention.      He    married    (second) 

Alice ,  their  children:    Cyril,  Elijah, 

Alice,    Abigail,     Lavina,     Chloe,     Jemima, 
Dantforth. 

Solomon  Shumway,  youngest  child  of 
David  Shumway  and  his  first  wife,was  born 
in  Sturbridge,  April  i,  1745.  He  moved 
early  in  life  to  Belchertown,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  married  and  became  the  progeni- 
tor of  a  numerous  family,  many  of  the  name 
yet  being  found  in  that  section.  Among 
these  was  Elihu  Shumway,  who  for  many 
years  was  a  resident  of  Belchertown,  and 
there  married  Charlotte  Crittenden.  The 
youngest  of  their  seven  children  was  Aus- 
tin L.  Shumway,  to  whose  memory  this 
review  is  dedicated. 

Austin  L.  Shumway,  of  the  sixth  Ameri- 
can generation  of  his  family,  was  born  in 
Belchertown,  September  13,  1832,  and  died 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  March  23,  1901. 
He  attended  public  school  for  a  few  years, 
but  while  still  a  boy  he  began  making  his 
own  way  in  the  world,  his  education  being 
acquired  through  self  study,  reading  and 
actual  experience.  That  he  was  very  in- 
telligent and  capable  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  he  held  clerkships  in  Enfield  and  other 
places,  commanding  sufficient  salary  from 
which  he  saved  capital  enough  to  enable 
him  to  start  a  store  of  his  own.  He  chose 
Holyoke  as  the  locality  in  which  to  make 
his  venture  and  dry  goods  as  his  main  line. 
He  continued  in  this  line  of  activity  in  Hol- 
yoke for  about  thirty-five  years,  becoming 


one  of  the  substantial,  successful  merchants 
of  the  city.  His  business  grew  in  size  and 
importance  with  the  years,  and  he  con- 
tinued its  capable  head  until  he  retired  in 
1886.  He  then  entered  the  real  estate  busi- 
ness and  continued  in  this  until  his  death  at 
the  age  of  sixty-nine.  He  was  wholly  ab- 
sorbed in  his  business  but  not  selfishly,  en- 
joying the  society  of  his  fellowmen  in  fra- 
ternity and  church.  He  belonged  to  lodge, 
chapter,  council  and  commandery  of  the 
Masonic  order,  and  was  an  attendant  of  the 
Congregational  church,  and  in  politics  a  Re- 
publican. 

Mr.  Shumway  married,  October  25,  1859, 
Louise  F.  Richards,  born  April  21,  1838, 
who  survives  him,  yet  residing  in  Holyoke. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shumway  are  the  parents  of 
nine  sons  and  daughters :  Edward  A., 
born  July  22,  1861,  died  March  24,  1863; 
Arthur  R.,  born  January  16,  1864,  died  in 
1872  ;  Mary  L.,  born  August  28,  1865,  mar- 
ried George  S.  Parsons,  and  has  a  daughter, 
Mary  Louise,  born  July  25,  1900;  Char- 
lotte, born  March  24,  1867,  died  in  1868; 
Sarah,  born  January  15,  1869,  married  A. 
K.  Sibley,  of  Warren,  Massachusetts,  re- 
sides in  Brookline,  Massachusetts,  has  a 
daughter,  Priscilla,  born  December  13, 
1905 ;  William  R.,  born  April  20,  1873, 
married  Mary  Eraser;  Charles,  born  July 
26,  1875,  died  the  same  year ;  Robert,  born 
August  16,  1876,  married  Adelina  Ritter, 
and  has  children:  Helen  E.,  born  April  16, 
1903,  and  Frank  Ritter,  born  March  27, 
1906;  Priscilla,  born  June  24,  1881,  a  grad- 
uate of  Mt.  Holyoke  College,  class  of  1905, 
married  Harry  S.  Scott,  who  is  associated 
with  the  Farr  Alpaca  Company. 

(The  Richards   Line). 

Mrs.  Louise  F.  (Richards)  Shumway  is 
a  descendant  of  William  Richards,  who  by 
his  will,  dated  January  18,  1680,  proved 
July  25,  1682,  gave  to  his  widow  Grace, 
during  her  life  or  widowhood,  the  income 


167 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  improvement  of  "All  my  houseing  and 
outhouseing,  orchard,  lands,  chattels,  and 
moveables,  in  Weymouth  or  elsewhere  with 
power  in  case  of  need  to  sell  any  part  there- 
of for  her  comfortable  subsistence."  Wil- 
liam and  Grace  Richards  were  the  parents 
of  five  sons,  the  line  being  continued 
through  his  son,  Joseph  Richards,  born 
either  in  Plymouth  or  Scituate,  Massachu- 
setts, died  in  Weymouth,  in  1695.  He  mar- 
ried (first)  Susan  ,  (second)   Sarah 

,  she  surviving  him  and  was  execu- 


trix of  his  will.  The  line  is  continued 
through  their  son,  Benjamin  Richards,  born 
in  Weymouth,  Massachusetts,  April  7,  1686, 
died  April  12,  1741.  He  married  (first)  in 
171 1,  Mehetible  Allen,  who  died  in  1720, 
daughter  of  Isaac  Alden,  a  descendant  of 
John  and  Priscilla  Alden  of  the  "May- 
flower." He  married  (second)  November 
20,  1722,  Lydia  Faxon,  who  died  in  1788, 
aged  ninety-two  years.  The  line  is  con- 
tinued through  their  son,  John  Richards, 
born  in  West  Bridgewater,  Massachusetts, 
in  1723.  He  married,  in  185 1,  Keziah, 
daughter  of  Captain  Israel  Bailey,  of  Scit- 
uate. The  line  is  continued  through  their 
son,  James  Richards,  born  in  Bridgewater, 
in  1766.  He  married,  in  1796,  Sarah  Rich, 
daughter  of  Deacon  Ebenezer  Rich.  The 
line  is  continued  through  their  son,  James 
(2)  Richards,  born  at  Enfield,  Massachu- 
setts, March  20,  1801,  and  there  died  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1886.  He  was  educated  in  the 
district  school,  and  spent  his  minor  years 
on  his  father's  farm,  as  his  assistant.  In 
1822  he  purchased  this  farm  and  there  resid- 
ed until  death.  He  was  a  successful  farmer 
and  business  man,  influential  in  his  com- 
munity, and  highly  esteemed.  In  political 
faith  he  was  a  Whig,  in  religious  belief  a 
Universalist.  Mr.  Richards  married,  Au- 
gust 2^,  1822,  Priscilla  C.  Newcomb,  born 
December  3,  1800,  died  November  i,  1881, 
daughter  of  Elisha  and  Rachael  (Collins) 
Newcomb.     Mr.  and  Mrs.   Richards  were 


the  parents  of  nine  sons  and  daughters :  Ma- 
ria F.,  born  March  i,  1823;  Charles,  No- 
vember 18,  1824;  William,  October  27, 
1826;  George,  January  27,  1829;  Jane, 
May  25,  183 1  ;  John,  October  i,  1833  ;  Mary, 
March  7,  1836;  Louise  F.,  April  21,  1838, 
married,  October  25,  1859,  Austin  L.  Shum- 
way,  whom  she  survives ;  Marshall  N.,  No- 
vember 26,  1840. 


STRICKLAND,  Lucius  Wilber, 

Electrical  Engineer   of  Holyoke. 

The  Strickland  preference  in  this  branch 
has  been  for  the  soil,  but  Lucius  W^  Strick- 
land has  departed  from  family  tradition, 
and  as  an  electrical  engineer  has  won  hon- 
orable position. 

Peter  Strickland,  ancestor  of  Lucius  W. 
Strickland,  served  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  participating  in  the  battle  of  New 
London.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  re- 
moved to  Otis,  Massachusetts,  and  pur- 
chased six  hundred  acres  of  land,  upon 
which  he  erected  a  house,  and  a  portion  of 
his  land  is  now  in  Sandisfield.  In  that  town 
his  death  occurred,  and  his  remains  were  in- 
terred in  North  East  Plains  Cemetery,  Sand- 
isfield. His  son,  Daniel  Strickland,  born 
1773,  was  eight  years  old  at  the  time  of 
the  burning  of  New  London  by  Benedict 
Arnold,  in  1 781,  and  he  and  his  mother  wit- 
nessed the  conflagration  from  a  hill  outside 
the  city.  Daniel  Strickland  resided  with 
his  father  until  he  was  eighteen  years  old, 
then  erected  a  log  cabin  on  the  portion  of 
the  original  tract  which  was  in  Otis,  and 
there  spent  his  life,  his  death  occurring 
there  and  he  was  buried  in  Otis  Center 
Cemetery.  By  his  first  marriage  he  was 
the  father  of  nine  children,  five  of  whom, 
all  born  in  the  log  cabin,  are  as 
follows :  Laura,  Whiting,  Amelia,  Lu- 
cinda  and  Clarissa.  He  married  (sec- 
ond) Esther  Case,  who  bore  him  four 
children,  all  born  in  the  house  where  Lucius 


168 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


W.  Strickland,  of  this  review,  was  born 
and  which  is  still  (1918)  standing  in  good 
condition,  namely  :  Hiram  Curtis,  of  whom 
further  ;   Cornelia,  Anna  and  Philo. 

Hiram  Curtis  Strickland,  son  of  Daniel 
and  Esther  (Case)  Strickland,  was  born 
in  Otis,  Massachusetts,  in  1817,  and 
all  his  life  resided  on  a  two  hundred 
acre  portion  of  the  old  homestead, 
which  had  been  divided  and  sold.  He 
engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock 
raising,  and  was  prosperous  in  his  un- 
dertaking. He  married  Mary  Curtis, 
and  they  were  the  parents  of  three  chil- 
dren: Edmund  Hiram,  a  prominent  citi- 
zen of  Sandisfield,  Massachusetts ;  Wilber 
Leroy,  of  further  mention;  and  Giles  Pe- 
ter. 

Wilber  Leroy  Strickland,  son  of  Hiram 
Curtis  and  Mary  (Curtis)  Strickland,  was 
born  at  the  homestead  in  Otis,  Massachu- 
setts, December  13,  1847,  ^^^  died  there 
June  13,  1913.  He  obtained  a  good  edu- 
cation and  devoted  his  youth  to  farm  and 
school  labor.  He  completed  his  studies  with 
graduation  from  Westfield  Normal  School, 
and  at  the  same  time  renounced  farming  as 
an  occupation.  For  a  number  of  years  he 
taught  school  in  different  places,  then  aban- 
doned his  profession  and  returned  to  the 
farm  homestead  in  Otis.  There  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  a  successful  farmer 
of  the  homestead  acres,  and  a  good  citizen. 
His  education  gave  him  prominence,  and 
as  selectman  and  school  director  he  had  a 
leading  part  in  town  government,  his  ser- 
vice also  including  terms  as  road  commis- 
sioner and  on  jury  duty  grand  and  petit. 
He  was  a  Democrat  politically,  was  staunch 
and  true,  shirking  no  duty,  public  or  pri- 
vate, and  aiding  in  all  good  works.  His 
untimely  death  in  the  full  vigor  of  life,  the 
result  of  an  accident  with  his  horses,  was 
deeply  regretted  by  the  entire  community  in 
which  he  lived.  Wilber  L.  Strickland  mar- 
ried Celina  B.  White,  born  April   13,  1853, 


at  Feeding  Hills,  town  of  Agawam,  Mas- 
sachusetts, died  April  14,  191 1,  daughter 
of  Daniel  Hiram  and  Celina  (Bills)  White. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Strickland  were  the  parents 
of  two  sons :  Lucius  Wilber,  of  further 
mention ;  Edwin  White,  born  October  4, 
1885,  now  residing  upon  and  cultivating  the 
old  homestead  acres  at  Otis,  he  the  fourth 
Strickland  to  own  and  till  them.  He  mar- 
ried (first)  Lena  Snow;  (second)  Ber- 
nice  Carter,  they  the  parents  of  a  son,  Louis 
Edwin  Strickland. 

Lucius  Wilber  Strickland,  eldest  son  of 
Wilber  Leroy  and  Celina  B.  (White) 
Strickland,  was  born  at  the  Strickland 
homestead  in  Otis,  Massachusetts,  Octo- 
ber 29,  1879,  and  there  spent  his  youth. 
After  completing  the  district  public  school 
courses  he  attended  Springfield  High 
School,  supplementing  his  study  there  by  a 
course  at  a  business  college  in  Springfield. 
From  student  to  teacher  was  a  quick  tran- 
sition, but  after  two  years  as  a  pedagogue 
he  retired  and  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Westfield  Electric  Light  Company  at  their 
power  house  in  Westfield,  and  there  con- 
tinued for  five  years,  1901-1906.  During 
the  period  he  entered  for  he  completed  the 
electrical  and  mechanical  engineering  course 
with  the  International  Correspondence 
School  of  Scranton,  fitting  himself  for  ad- 
vanced position,  both  in  theory  and  prac- 
tice. From  the  Electric  Light  Company  he 
went  to  the  street  railway  power  house,  as 
operating  engineer,  there  remaining  one 
year.  He  came  to  the  city  of  Holyoke  in 
1907,  entering  the  employ  of  the  city  as 
operating  engineer  at  the  Municipal  Light- 
ing Plant.  He  remained  three  years  in  that 
position,  then  went  with  the  Farr  Alpaca 
Company  as  chief  electrical  engineer  of 
their  great  Holyoke  plant,  a  position  he 
now  occupies.  Mr.  Strickland  is  a  member 
of  the  National  Association  of  Stationary 
Engineers ;  Mt.  Tom  Lodge,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted    Masons,     of     Holyoke ;      Oronoco 


169 


EXXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGR.'\PHY 


Lodge,  Xo.  74,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  of  Westfield,  Z^Iassachusetts ;  is 
a  Republican  in  politics ;  and  a  Congre- 
gationalist  in  religious  preference. 

Mr.  Strickland  married,  October  29, 
1905,  Elizabeth  Jean  Herrick,  born  in  West- 
field,  daughter  of  Hayden  and  Esther 
(Donaldson)  Herrick,  who  were  the  par- 
ents of  five  other  children :  Harriet,  Ada, 
Charles,  George  and  Joseph.  Hayden  Her- 
rick was  born  December  18,  1838,  and  died 
March  13.  1913.  He  was  a  whip  maker,  a 
veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  and  spent  his 
life  in  Westfield.  His  wife,  Esther  (Don- 
aldson) Herrick,  was  born  February  i, 
1846.  Rufus  Herrick,  father  of  Hayden 
Herrick,  was  born  in  Danby,  Vermont, 
March  27,  1816,  and  died  in  Westfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, March  21,  1871.  He  invented 
machines  that  were  of  great  value  to  the 
whip  makers,  and  was  himself  for  many 
years  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  whips. 
He  married  Sophia  Drake,  born  March  i, 
1817,  and  died  April  9,  1913.  They  were 
the  parents  of  six  children :  Hayden,  afore- 
mentioned ;  Harriet ;  Homer ;  Mary,  be- 
came the  wife  of  Frank  Alby ;  Byron,  died 
in  infancy ;   John. 


SMITH,  Edwin  Sawtell. 

Representative   Citizen. 

Edwin  Sawtell  Smith,  secretary  of  the 
American  Writing  Paper  Company  in  Hol- 
yoke,  is  a  son  of  Horace  Cicero  Smith,  a 
native  son  of  New  York,  born  in  Herkimer 
county,  where  his  father,  Cicero  Smith,  was 
a  farmer  before  going  to  Suffield.  Connec- 
ticut, where  he  died  in  1874,  aged  seventy- 
three  years.  He  married  Mar}-  Austin,  of 
Suffield,  Connecticut,  who  died  in  1887, 
aged  eighty-two  years.  Cicero  and  Mary 
(Austin)  Smith  were  the  parents  of  the 
following  children:  Horace  Cicero,  of 
further  mention:  Jane  C,  Frank,  Mary, 
married  David  French ;   Emma.  After  their 


marriage  Cicero  Smith  and  his  wife  moved 
to  Columbia,  Herkimer  county,  New  York, 
and  there  Horace  Cicero  Smith,  their  eldest 
child  was  born,  September  30,  1835,  and 
died  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  April 
21,  1909.  He  remained  in  Columbia  until 
eighteen  years  of  age,  obtaining  a  good  ed- 
ucation in  the  public  schools  and  assisting 
in  cultivating  the  home  farm.  In  1853  he 
left  Columbia  and  went  to  Suffield,  Con- 
necticut, his  mother's  girlhood  home,  and 
there  was  employed  by  her  brother,  his 
uncle,  Cornelius  Austin,  a  nurseryman.  He 
continued  with  his  uncle  and  thoroughly 
mastered  the  nursery  business,  but  paid 
particular  attention  to  plants,  shrubs  and 
flowers.  Finally  he  left  his  uncle's  employ 
and  started  in  business  for  himself  as  a  flor- 
ist, growing  his  own  plants  and  flowers 
very  successfully.  He  later  closed  out  his 
business  in  Suffield,  and  came  to  Massachu- 
setts, locating  in  Springfield,  v^here,  as  mar- 
ket and  floral  gardener,  he  ended  his  use- 
ful and  busy  life.  He  loved  his  flowers 
and  his  home,  and  could  always  be  found 
either  working  in  his  gardens  or  enjoying 
the  comforts  of  his  home,  neither  politics 
nor  fraternities  having  any  allurement  for 
him.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  lived  an  honorable,  upright  life, 
but  one  passed  in  the  quiet,  peaceful  man- 
ner described,  and  all  who  knew  him  were 
his  friends. 

Horace  C.  Smith  married  (first)  Emily 
Austin,  they  were  the  parents  of  a  daughter,. 
Ellen,  deceased,  and  a  son,  Charles  H., 
of  Springfield.  He  married  (second)  Sep- 
tember II,  1873,  Adelia  Eleanor  Sawtell, 
born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  September  12, 
1841,  daughter  of  Edwin  and  Mary  Jane 
(Palmer)  Sawtell,  her  father  born  in  Low- 
ell, Massachusetts,  son  of  Josiah  and  Re- 
becca (Manning)  Sawtell,  of  Pelham,  Mas- 
sachusetts. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  were  the 
parents  of  four  sons:  i.  Frank  Sawtell, 
bom  January  20,  1875,  married  Grace  L, 
70 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Prout,  and  has  children.  ?Torace,  Mildred, 
and  Frank ;  resides  in  Suffield,  Connecticut. 
2.  Edwin  Sawtell,  of  further  mention.  3. 
Herbert  E.,  born  January  2,  1879,  married 
Harriet  M.  White,  and  has  children: 
Gladys,  Grace,  Carl,  Gertrude,  Madeline ; 
resides  in  Springfield.  4.  Harold  Palmer, 
born  May  30,  1880 ;  resides  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio. 

Edwin  Sawtell  Smith,  second  son  of  Hor- 
ace C.  and  Adelia  Eleanor  (Sawtell) 
Smith,  was  born  in  Suffield,  Connecticut, 
February  10,  1876,  but  while  young  his 
parents  moved  to  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  was  educated  in  the  graded 
and  high  schools  of  the  city.  He  began  bus- 
iness life  in  1897,  becoming  in  that  year 
bookkeeper  in  the  Third  National  Bank  of 
Springfield.  He  continued  with  this  bank 
for  nine  years  in  constantly  improved  po- 
sition, his  connection  with  that  institution 
being  most  satisfactory  to  the  management. 
In  1916  he  was  elected  secretary  of  the 
American  Writing  Paper  Company  of  Hol- 
yoke,  and  has  since  resided  in  that  city, 
holding  that  position. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  June  27,  1899,  Ethel 
Margaret  Atwood,  formerly  of  Westfield, 
Massachusetts,  then  of  Springfield,  daugh- 
ter of  Arthur  D.  and  Florence  (Hastings) 
Atwood.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  are  the 
parents  of  a  daughter,  Doris  Hastings,  born 
in  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  June  25, 
1901. 


HURLBURT,  Albert  Francis, 

Educator. 

The  Hurlburts  have  been  a  family  of 
distinct,  energetic  intelligence.  The  over- 
whelming capacity  of  acquiring  knowledge 
and  turning  the  same  into  a  creative  mo- 
tive power  is  characteristic  of  Albert  Fran- 
cis Hurlburt,  as  it  was  of  his  most  excel- 
lent father  and  grandfather  before  him. 

The  immigrant  ancestor  of  the  Hurlburt 


family  in  America  was  the  great-grandfath- 
er of  Albert  Francis  Hurlburt,  who  emi- 
grated from  England  to  Canada.  His  son, 
Francis  Hurlburt,  was  born  in  St.  Peter, 
Canada,  about  181 2.  He  was  a  farmer, 
living  in  Vermont  for  a  time,  from  which 
place  he  moved  to  Hatfield,  Massachusetts, 
then  to  Hadley,  and  finally  to  Holyoke, 
where  he  died  in  April,  1895.  His  wife, 
who  was  Louise  Charboneau,  bore  him  elev- 
en children :  Vitaline,  Frank,  Cordelia, 
Louise,  John,  Paul,  of  further  mention ; 
Joseph,  Julia,  Horace,  Charles  and  Sid- 
ney. 

Paul  Hurlburt,  son  of  Francis  and  Louise 
(Charboneau)  Hurlburt,  was  born  in  Swan- 
ton,  Vermont,  May  2,  1848.  His  education 
was  largely  that  which  he  acquired  on  his 
own  initiative.  With  the  veritable  patience 
of  genius  he  educated  himself  to  be  an  en- 
gineer and  draughtsman,  in  which  he  prov- 
ed to  be  eminently  successful.  From  1868 
to  1890  he  was  with  the  Holyoke  Water 
Power  Company  of  Holyoke.  While  in 
Holyoke  he  built  a  block  on  Park  street, 
in  1884,  to  which  he  added  another  large 
section  ten  years  later.  He  left  Holyoke 
to  join  the  East  Jersey  Water  Company  of 
New  Jersey,  where  he  was  employed  as  as- 
sistant engineer,  and  while  in  this  position 
he  was  often  called  upon  to  lend  his  counsel 
in  conference  with  the  most  eminent  en- 
gineers of  that  and  other  sections.  From 
New  Jersey  he  went  to  Niagara  Falls,  New 
York,  where  he  played  an  important  part 
in  installing  the  power  plant  of  the  Cana- 
dian Power  Company.  He  remained  there 
until  1903,  when  he  met  with  an  accident 
which  ultimately  resulted  in  his  death.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Republican.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  married 
(first)  January  i,  1868,  Jennie  Langlois, 
daughter  of  Antoine  and  Mary  (Berard) 
Langlois,  of  Farnham,  Quebec.  To  them 
was  born  one  child,  Freddie,  who  died  in 
infancy.        Mrs.    Hurlburt    died    April    19, 


171 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


1870.  He  married  (second)  April  12,  1871, 
Louise  Langlois,  sister  of  his  first  wife.  She 
was  born  in  Farnham,  Quebec,  April  10, 
1853.  Her  grandfather  came  to  Canada 
from  France.  The  children  by  this  second 
marriage  were :  Jennie  Louise,  born  Jan- 
uary 18,  1874,  died  September  24,  1895 ; 
Arthur  Paul,  born  August  30,  1876,  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools,  was  with  the 
East  Jersey  Water  Company,  with  his  fath- 
er, and  has  been  actively  engaged  in  the 
insurance  business  in  Holyoke  for  the  past 
eight  years ;  Mary  Cordelia,  born  March 
17,  1882,  died  in  infancy;  Albert  Francis, 
of  further  mention,  and  Hattie  May  Rose, 
born  1889,  died  in  infancy. 

Albert  Francis  Hurlburt,  son  of  Paul 
and  Louise  (Langlois)  Hurlburt,  was  born 
March  15,  1884,  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  was  educated  in  the  public 
and  high  schools,  graduating  from  the  lat- 
ter in  1903.  He  then  entered  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, from  which  he  was  graduated  four 
years  later.  In  1907  and  1908,  he  travelled 
extensively  in  England,  France  and  Spain. 
In  1908  he  entered  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  as  instructor 
in  French  and  Spanish,  and  instructor  of 
French  in  the  summer  school.  Mr.  Hurl- 
burt takes  much  interest  in  music  as  well 
as  an  active  part,  occasionally,  in  amateur 
dramatics,  coaching  and  acting  in  plays  in 
college  and  out.  He  is  church  warden, 
and  one  of  the  officers  of  the  Catholic 
church,  and  a  member  of  the  Cambridge 
Club. 


BOWES,  Robert  J., 

Manager  of  United  States  Rubber 
Company. 

In  1877  William  J.  Bowes  moved  to 
Millville,  Massachusetts,  with  his  family 
which  included  a  son,  Robert  J.  Bowes,  then 
a  child  of  six  years.  In  Millville  ]\Ir.  Bowes 
founded  the   local  plant  of   the   Lawrence 


Felting  Company,  which  he  managed  with 
ability  and  profit  until  his  death,  when  it 
passed  to  the  management  of  the  son,  Rob- 
ert J.,  who  for  twenty-seven  years  was  ac- 
tively and  prominently  connected  with  the 
company,  part  of  that  time  and  after  it  had 
passed  under  the  control  of  another  cor- 
poration. During  his  long  term  as  man- 
ager of  the  local  plant  of  the  Lawrence 
Felting  Company,  Robert  J.  Bowes  won 
the  love  and  confidence  of  his  employees 
and  it  was  largely  due  to  his  untiring  energy 
and  wise  business  management  that  the 
company  maintained  the  high  place  in  the 
business  world  in  which  it  had  been  placed 
by  the  genius  and  energy  of  the  founder, 
William  J.  Bowes. 

Robert  J.  Bowes,  son  of  William  J.  and 
Elizabeth  J.  Bowes,  was  born  in  Lawrence, 
Massachusetts,  July  16,  1871,  and  died  in 
Millville,  Massachusetts,  September  11, 
1916.  In  1877  the  family  moved  to  Mill- 
ville, and  in  the  public  schools  of  Mill- 
ville, Blackstone  and  Woonsocket  he  was 
educated.  After  graduation  from  Woon- 
socket High  School  he  entered  the  ofitice 
of  the  Lawrence  Felting  Company,  found- 
ed in  Millville  by  William  J.  Bowes,  and 
under  the  wise,  loving  care  and  instruc- 
tion of  his  father  he  developed  a  mana- 
gerial ability  which  qualified  him  to  worth- 
ily succeed  his  honored  father  when  the 
latter  was  called  to  his  reward,  leaving  a 
widow,  four  sons  and  two  daughters.  From 
boyhood,  Robert  J.  Bowes  had  been  a  lead- 
er among  the  boys,  and  when  he  succeeded 
his  father  as  manager  of  the  Lawrence 
Felting  Company  there  was  general  sat- 
isfaction that  the  plant  would  continue  un- 
der the  wise  Bowes  rule. 

The  position  to  which  he  had  been  pro- 
moted was  not  an  easy  one,  yet  he  con- 
tinued in  it  most  efficiently  until  July  i, 
1 91 5,  although  the  plant  had  been  sold  to 
the  United  States  Rubber  Company,  that 
company  wisely  continuing  Mr.  Bowes  as 
72 


"".Kob- 


Bbi  f  ad 


:<;«s. 


«ni  :3i- 


i 


1870.    He  rnarri' 
Louise  Lan?!o:.i 
was  bor- 
1853'   I- 


HI 

'    /Ir 

Jt'ekiiig-  Co                                         aged  with 

-he 

ah'Iitv    nmi                                        1.    when  it 

\,  ;".«iaua  , 

err  J.,  vvIvj                                               ,;:5  ac- 

second 

tively  «nd                                                  ';  the 

rn  Jan- 

compa 

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passed  u-iQ^T   n.; 

1876,  edu- 

poration.      During  . 

:is  with  the 

ager  of  the  local  plant  0!    tht 

'   his  fath- 

Felting   Company,   Robert   J.    Lio.\-. 

,   in  the 

the  love  and  confidence  of  his  emi 

for  the  past 

and  it  was  largely  due  to  his  untiring  energy 

>   March 

jstnd   wise    --    ■"-        -  - ment   that   the 

.Vancis, 

company  y                                1  olace  in  the 

ittie  May  Rose, 

busine                                                        ; 'laced 

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ana  i 
Mar-; 
setts, 
and  1 
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versi 


BOWE; 


In    18 

MiHvih'    :.;.■ 

which  mciud 
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founded  the 


Iltu1bl>r>r 


.  jiri  Woon- 
entered  the  office 
ay,  found- 
.  ^owes,  and 
.vise,   loYUig  care  and  instru 
'     '        he  developed  a  mana- 
^ualified  hirn  to  worth- 
honored   father  when  the 
uiird  to  his  reward,  leaving  a 
v.r  sons  and  two  darnyhters   TJ^man 
d,  Robert  J.  Bon' 
..;i;.>ug  the  boys,  and 
^    father    as    manager 
•iiing    Company    thert 
'uction  that  the  plant 
r  the  wise  Bowes  rul 

position  to  v 
■  :.:..^  was  not  i.n 
iued  in  it  most 

■5,  alth(  ^'>id  to 

e   Unitec  ;,   that 

napany   .  Bowes  as 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


its  manager.  His  term  of  service  covered 
a  period  in  excess  of  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
he  havine^  entered  the  plant  a  lad  of  seven- 
teen years.  During  his  period  as  manager 
he  won  the  love  of  the  employees  of  the 
plant  by  his  fairness  and  consideration, 
and  the  unvarying  respect  and  confidence  of 
his  superiors,  officers  of  the  company,  and 
those  associated  with  him  in  the  manage- 
ment. He  was  a  fine  type  of  the  honest, 
public  spirited  citizen,  loyal  to  every  du- 
ty and  to  the  town  in  which  nearly  his 
entire  life  was  spent.  Big  hearted  and 
generous,  no  one  ever  appealed  to  him  in 
vain,  and  from  his  great  loving  heart  went 
out  comfort  and  succor  to  all  in  trouble. 
His  friends  were  legion,  and  when  the 
hour  came  to  pay  him  the  last  mark  of 
respect  the  floral  tributes  were  many,  and 
an  entire  town  mourned,  and  its  business 
was  suspended  during  the  hours  of  the  fu- 
neral. As  the  cortege  passed  from  the 
house  to  St.  Augustine's  Church,  the  bells 
of  that  church  and  the  St.  Lawrence  Felt- 
ing Mill  tolled  solemnly  and  the  streets 
were  lined  w-ith  townsmen,  many  of  whom 
had  for  many  years  worked  with  him  and 
for  him.  A  solemn  high  mass  of  requiem 
was  celebrated  at  St.  Augustine's  Church, 
where  thirty  years  earlier  he  had  been  an 
altar  boy,  and  every  honor  of  the  church 
was  paid  her  faithful  son,  whose  seat  in 
the  church  was  occupied  every  Sunday 
save  when  illness  kept  him  away.  At  his 
funeral  were  delegations  from  the  Millville 
Lodge,  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men ;  and  W  oonsocket  Lodge,  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  buried 
in  St.  Paul's  Cemetery,  Blackstone. 

Mr.  Bowes  married  Fanny  P.  Lamphere, 
who  survives  him  with  two  daughters, 
Elizabeth  and  Isabelle.  During  the  last 
summer  of  his  life  Mr.  Bowes  spent  much 
of  his  time  with  his  family  at  their  sum- 
mer home.  Pleasant  View,  near  Narragan- 
sett  Pier,  seeking  to  regain  his  lost  health. 


He  was  a  devoted  husband  and  father,  a 
man  who  loved  his  home  as  he  did  nothing 
else  on  earth.  His  aged  mother,  Elizabeth 
J.  Bowes,  long  a  widow,  was  his  aflfectionate 
care  as  long  as  he  lived,  and  he  failed 
neither  as  husband,  father  nor  son. 


FOSTER,  George  Herbert, 

Funeral    Director. 

George  Herbert  Foster,  the  well  known 
undertaker  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  is 
a  descendant  of  Christopher  Foster,  born  in 
England    in    1603,    married    there    Frances 

,  born  in   1607.     He  came  to   New 

England  in  1635,  on  the  Ship,  "Abigail," 
embarking  in  London,  June  17.  He  was 
styled  a  farmer  on  the  ship's  papers,  and 
had  with  him  his  wife  Frances,  aged  twen- 
ty-five, and  children :  Rebecca,  aged  five  ; 
Nathaniel,  aged  two ;  and  John,  aged  one. 
He  settled  in  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  in  1636, 
and  two  years  later  was  allotted  sixty 
acres.  He  settled  in  Southampton,  Long 
Island,  in  1651,  where  he  died  in  1687. 
Children :  Rebecca,  Nathaniel,  John,  of 
further  mention ;  George,  Benjamin,  Han- 
nah, married  Daniel  Sayre ;  Joseph,  Sarah, 
married  Samuel  Johns,  son  of  Deacon  Sam- 
uel Johns,  and  grandson  of  Edward  Johns, 
who  was  in  Southampton  in  1644. 

(II)  John  Foster,  son  of  Christopher 
and  Frances  Foster,  was  born  in  England, 
in  1634,  and  was  brought  by  his  parents 
to  New  England,  in  1635,  and  to  South- 
ampton, Long  Island,  in  1651.  There  he 
married  and  died,  leaving  children :  John, 
of  further  mention;  Sarah,  Hannah,  Jere- 
miah, Patience,  Rachael,  Jonathan,  David, 
William,  Phebe,  Abigail. 

(III)  John  (2)  Foster,  son  of  John  (i) 
Foster,  was  born  at  Southampton,  Long 
Island,  February  8,  1662,  and  there  resided 
all  his  life.  He  married,  December  5, 
1689,   Hannah   Abbott.     Children:     John, 


173 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Hackaliah,  Thomas,   Abraham,   of    further 
mention. 

(IV)  Sergeant  Abraham  Foster,  son  of 
John  (2)  and  Hannah  (Abbott)  Foster, 
born  in  1702,  died  in  Wapping,  Connecti- 
cut, April  2,  1781.  He  married  in  East 
Windsor,  his  home,  November  30,  1727, 
EUzabeth  Moore,  born  May  4,  1702,  died 
September  13,  1800,  daughter  of  John  and 
Abigail  (Strong)  Moore,  and  great-grand- 
daughter of  Deacon  John  Moore,  the  orig- 
inal settler,  who  came  in  the  ship,  "Mary 
and  John,"  in  1630,  and  moved  from  Dor- 
chester to  Winchester,  Massachusetts,  in 
1635.  Abigail  Strong  was  the  grand- 
daughter of  Elder  John  Strong,  born  in 
1605,  died  in  1699,  and  of  Rev.  John  War- 
ham,  the  minister,  who  brought  the  Colony 
in  the  "Mary  and  John"  in  1630,  first  to 
Dorchester,  then  in  1635  to  Windsor,  Con- 
necticut. Children:  Thomas,  married  Mar- 
tha Elmer;  Abel,  Hannah,  Peletiah,  of 
further  mention;  Sybil,  Hakaliah,  John, 
Elizabeth. 

(V)  Peletiah  Foster,  son  of  Sergeant 
Abraham  and  Elizabeth  (Moore)  Foster, 
born  in  East  Windsor,  Connecticut,  Novem- 
ber 30,  1732,  died  July  29,  1826.  He  mar- 
ried, January  12,  1762,  Phoebe  Pomeroy, 
born  1740,  died  April  22),  1821.  They  re- 
sided in  East  Windsor.  Children :  Phine- 
as,  born  May  13,  1763,  married  Hannah  Kil- 
bourn;  Eli,  of  further  mention;  Chloe,  died 
young;   Louisa,  died  young. 

(VI)  Deacon  Eli  Foster,  son  of  Peletiah 
and  Phoebe  (Pomeroy)  Foster,  was  born  in 
East  Windsor,  Connecticut,  September  i, 
1767,  died  July  16,  1827.  He  was  a  farmer 
of  Barkhamsted,  Connecticut,  until  1808, 
then  moved  to  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
settling  in  that  section  of  the  town  known 
as  "Sixteen  Acres."  There  he  continued 
farming  operations  until  his  death  at  the  age 
of  sixty.  He  married  Catherine  Lathrop. 
Children:  Lois,  born  March  4,  1810;  Har- 
vey, of  further  mention ;    Marven,  married 


Betsey  Chapin ;  Chloe,  married  Rodney 
Holt,  of  Springfield ;  Milton,  married  Mary 
Markham ;    Laura,  married  Silas  Dimock. 

(VII)  Harvey  Foster,  son  of  Deacon  Eli 
and  Catherine  (Lathrop)  Foster,  was  born 
in  Barkhamsted,  Connecticut,  July  28,  1796, 
died  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  April 
17,  1879.  He  was  twelve  years  of  age  when 
brought  to  Springfield  by  his  parents,  and 
all  his  after  life  he  was  a  resident  of  the 
"Sixteen  Acres"  section,  becoming  a  farm- 
er, landowner,  and  prominent  public  citi- 
zen. He  was  the  second  man  ever  elected 
alderman  from  Ward  8.  He  was  also  cap- 
tain of  the  old  Third  Ward  ]\Iilitary  Com- 
pany ;  surveyor  of  highways  ;  settled  many 
estates  as  executor  and  administrator,  and 
in  1846  was  elected  deacon  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  Springfield.  He  was  a 
man  of  energy  and  integrity,  highly  esteem- 
ed in  his  city.  He  lived  to  the  age  of 
eighty-three  and  left  sons  to  emulate  his  vir- 
tues. Harvey  Foster  married  Laura  Alden, 
born  January  23,  1801,  in  Stafford,  Con- 
necticut, died  October  25,  1862,  daughter  of 
Nathan  Alden,  of  Wilbraham,  and  a  direct 
descendant  of  John  Alden  and  Priscilla 
]\Iullins,  the  "Mayflower"  passengers.  The 
line  of  descent  from  John  and  Priscilla  Al- 
den is  through  their  son,  Joseph ;  his  son, 
John ;  his  son.  Rev.  Noah ;  his  son,  Lieu- 
tenant Elisha ;  his  son,  Nathan  ;  his  daugh- 
ter, Laura,  wife  of  Harvey  Foster.  Har- 
vey and  Laura  (Alden)  Foster  were  the 
parents  of  :  Walter,  Eli,  Franklin,  George, 
of  further  mention;  Festus  H.,  Ralph,  Cy- 
rus Alden,  Nathan  A. 

(VIII)  George  Foster,  third  son  of  Har- 
vey and  Laura  (Alden)  Foster,  was  born 
in  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  August  9, 
1830,  there  engaged  in  farming  all  his  life, 
and  died  x-\ugust  22,  1909.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  school,  assisted  his  fath- 
er in  his  years  of  minority,  and  in  time 
became  a  substantial  landowner,  and  prom- 
inent in  the  public  aflFairs  of  his  city.     He 


174 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


was  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  and 
of  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  He  was  a  Re- 
publican in  i)olitics,  a  man  of  upright  char- 
acter and  blameless  life.  He  married  (first) 
Ella  Warner;  (second)  Matilda  J.  Smith; 
(third)  Ida  A.  Porter;  and  (fourth)  Sa- 
rah E.  Capen. 

(IX)  George  Herbert  Foster,  son  and 
only  child  of  George  Foster  and  his  second 
wife,  Matilda  J.  (Smith)  Foster,  was  born 
in  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  November 
30,  1868.  The  family  home  was  in  the 
■"Sixteen  Acres"  section,  and  there  he  at- 
tended the  public  schools.  After  complet- 
ing his  school  years  he  remained  with  his 
father  until  of  legal  age,  then  started  out 
on  his  own  responsibility.  For  a  time  he 
was  in  the  employ  of  Kibbe  Brothers,  con- 
fectioners, then  was  with  Smith  &  Wesson, 
firearm  manufacturers,  a  still  shorter  pe- 
riod, and  for  ten  months  he  was  with 
Frank  W.  Dickinson,  undertaker.  He  spent 
four  years  in  this  way,  1 889- 1 893,  but  in 
the  latter  year  he  located  in  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  under  Wells  Lathrop  thor- 
oughly learned  the  undertaking  business,  re- 
maining with  Mr.  Lathrop  sixteen  years. 
In  April,  1909,  he  purchased  the  business 
and  for  the  past  eight  years  has  been  its 
sole  owner  and  manager.  Mr.  Foster  is  a 
member  of  Mt.  Tom  Lodge,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons ;  Robert  Morris  Chapter, 
Order  of  the  Eastern  Star;  Holyoke 
Lodge,  No.  134,  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows ;  Glenwood  Lodge, 
No.  104,  Daughters  of  Rebekah ;  Loyal  Mt. 
Holyoke  Lodge,  No.  7103,  Manchester 
Unity;  Connecticut  Valley  Lodge,  No.  28, 
Knights  of  Pythias ;  and  Endeavor  Temple, 
Pythian  Sisters.  He  is  also  interested  in 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  His 
clubs  are  the  Rotary  and  Holyoke!,  his 
church  the  Second  Congregational. 

Mr.  Foster  married.  May  10,  1899,  Ce- 
lenna  Edith  Tower,  of  Worthington,  Massa- 
chusetts, daughter  of  Russell  and  Rebecca 


(Granger)  Tower,  granddaughter  of  John 
Tower,  an  old  stage  driver  between  Bos- 
ton and  Albany,  who  built  the  first  frame 
house  in  Cummington,  Massachusetts,  a 
descendant  of  John  Tower,  of  Hingham, 
England,  and  later  an  early  settler  of  Hing- 
ham, Massachusetts. 


FOSTER,  Cyrus  Alden, 

Civil    War    Veteran,    Well    Known    Citizen. 

Cyrus  Alden  Foster,  one  of  the  gallant 
generation  which  took  up  arms  in  defence  of 
the  Union,  has  been  identified  with  the  life 
of  Springfield  for  over  half  a  century,  and 
his  record  of  long  service  with  one  com- 
pany is  one  he  may  well  be  proud  of. 

Cyrus  Alden  Foster  is  a  son  of  Harvey 
and  Laura  (Alden)  Foster,  and  was  born 
February  18,  1836,  in  that  portion  of 
Springfield  which  was  called  Sixteen  y\cres. 
Here  he  grew  up  and  went  to  the  district 
schools  of  the  place.  After  finishing  his 
studies  at  home  he  attended  Wilbraham,  and 
later  Monson  Academy.  But  it  was  neces- 
sary for  him  early  to  become  a  breadwin- 
ner, and  he  soon  obtained  a  position  with 
Kibbe  Brothers,  wholesale  confectioners, 
and  in  their  service  he  gained  his  first  ex- 
perience in  business.  His  next  opportunity 
came  at  the  time  he  was  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  and  this  opening  was  with  the 
Thompson  Express  Company  of  Spring- 
field ;  he  gave  satisfaction  as  is  proven  by 
the  fact  that  he  remained  with  this  com- 
pany for  thirty-five  years,  with  the  single 
exception  of  the  time  he  enlisted  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  Union  in  the  Civil  War.  In 
July,  1862,  he  was  enrolled  in  Company  A, 
Forty-sixth  Regiment  of  Massachusetts 
Volunteers,  enlisting  for  nine  months,  and 
served  until  receiving  an  honorable  dis- 
charge in  July,  1863.  Although  he  entered 
the  army  as  a  private  he  was  soon  promoted 
to  assistant  quarter-master,  serving  with  his 
regiment   in  the   Department  of  the   Gulf. 


175 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


After  his  discharge  from  mihtary  service, 
he  returned  once  more  to  the  employ  of 
the  express  company.  But  as  the  years 
passed  by  the  desire  came  to  him  to  be  his 
own  employer,  and  invest  for  his  own  prof- 
it the  accumulated  experience,  and  the  good- 
will of  the  many  friends  he  had  gained  by 
faithful  and  conscientious  service.  He 
therefore  organized  an  express  line  of  his 
own,  running  between  Springfield  and  West- 
field,  and  one  that  had  a  profitable  and  suc- 
cessful existence  for  ten  years,  when  he 
closed  up  his  affairs  and  retired  from  active 
business.  Mr.  Foster  keeps  up  his  associ- 
ation with  his  old  comrades-in-arms  by  mem- 
bership in  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
and  in  the  Union  Veterans'  Union,  in  which 
latter  organization  he  holds  the  honorary 
title  of  colonel. 

Air.  Foster  married,  February  i8,  1862, 
Mary  J.  Warner,  of  Wilbraham,  daughter 
of  J.  Russell  and  Huldah  (Stevens)  Warn- 
er, and  granddaughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Ru- 
by   (Herrick)    Warner. 


LYON,  Raymond  Farrell, 

Representative  Citizen. 

This  branch  of  the  Lyon  family  in  New 
England  descends  from  Seth  Lyon,  a  farm- 
er of  Peru,  Vermont,  who  there  lived  a  life 
of  honorable  endeavor,  married,  and  reared 
a  family. 

Seth  Stanley  Lyon,  son  of  Seth  Lyon, 
was  born  in  Peru,  Vermont,  in  1821,  and 
died  in  South  Londonderry,  Vermont,  in 
1894.  He  was  the  owner  of  a  large  farm 
at  Londonderry,  a  man  of  substance  and 
possessed  of  all  the  old  fashioned  virtues, 
hospitality,  charity,  love  for  the  church,  and 
rugged  honesty.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the 
Baptist  church,  in  the  affairs  of  which  he 
took  an  active  part  and  interest.  In  his  good 
works  he  was  aided  and  abetted  by  his  excel- 
lent wife,  Sarah  Jane  (Barnard)  Lyon,  born 
in  Winhall,  Vermont,  in  1823,  died  in  191 3, 


daughter  of  John  Barnard.  They  were  the 
parents  of  three  sons :  George,  Seth,  John 
Stanley,  and  of  a  daughter,  Harriet. 
George,  the  eldest,  enlisted  in  the  Union 
Army  and  gave  his  life  to  his  country  at  the 
battle  of  the  Wilderness ;  Seth,  the  second 
son,  resides  in  Tampa,  Florida ;  John  Stan- 
ley, of  further  mention ;  Harriet,  married 
Clarke  C.  Fitts,  of  Brattleboro,  Vermont. 

Rev.  John  Stanley  Lyon,  son  of  Seth 
Stanley  and  Sarah  Jane  (Barnard)  Lyon, 
was  born  in  South  Londonderry,  Vermont,, 
in  1864.  He  absorbed  all  the  advantages 
of  the  local  schools,  attending  the  Black 
River  Academy,  Ludlow,  V'ermont.  He 
then  entered  the  Colgate  University,  where 
he  remained  a  year.  For  a  time  he  taught 
in  Friends  College.  He  was  graduated  from 
the  University  of  New  York  with  the  de- 
gree of  A.  B.  In  1908  this  university  con- 
firmed upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  and  he  was  ordained  a  minister  of 
the  Gospel  acording  to  the  ordinances  of  the 
Baptist  church.  He  was  settled  over  the 
church  at  Fair  Haven,  Vermont,  was  also 
pastor  at  Bristol,  Connecticut,  and  from 
1900  was  located  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, as  clergyman  until  1914,  then  in  191 5 
was  manager  of  the  Holyoke  Chamber  of 
Commerce.  He  is  now  engaged  in  educa- 
tional work  under  the  Northern  Baptist  So- 
ciety management,  and  in  the  interest  of  the 
Society  travels  all  over  the  United  States. 

Rev.  John  S.  Lyon  married  Ella  Grace 
White,  daughter  of  John  Everett  and  El- 
mira  (Sawyer)  White,  of  Mechanicsville, 
town  of  Mt.  Holly,  Vermont,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lyon  are  the  parents  of  Clifford  Stanley, 
whose  sketch  follows;  Raymond  Farrell, 
of  whom  further ;  and  Margaret  G.,  who 
married  Paul  L.  Houston,  of  Holyoke. 

Raymond  Farrell  Lyon,  second  son  of 
Rev.  John  Stanley  and  Ella  Grace  (White) 
Lyon,  was  born  in  Fair  Haven,  Vermont, 
March  14,  1892.  He  was  eight  years  of  age 
when  Holyoke  became  the  family  home,  and 
76 


%r  ^^2^^^^^-i^z^ 


OPED 


Young 


i-graduate  and  college 
.vork.     He  then  entered  Ham- 

-e,   whence    he   was   graduated, 

class  of  iQi.^,  with  the  Bachelor's  degree. 
Later  in  '  ar  he  entered  the  office 

employ  ••  Truck  Company  of 

Holyok'  f-kship  has  won  his 

general    ma' 
_cturers  in  H     , 
of  veyor,  a  power  truck 

ng  room  and  platform 
.;..  belling  agencies  in  New 
Yo  Chicago.       Mr.  Lyon  has 

trav.  ;...i  extensively  in  the  interests  of  the 
CQiiipany  going  abroad  and  through  all  ac- 
cessible parts  of  the  war  zone.  His  respon- 
sibilities are  heavy  for  a  young  man,  but  his 
promoti*;;-  v;;^  won  on  merit,  and  is  held 
througli  ro  meet  its  every  require- 

:'.her  of  William  Whit- 
■'    Accepted   Masons; 
■tective    Order   of 
and  Hol- 
ind  other 
ond  Bap- 


Ly^. 

schools 
station* 
Vermel 
yoke,  r 
tory  stu>i 
High  School,  ci 
sued  a  four 
lege,  receive :;.   . 
MASS.— 7—1. 


decided  upoi,  ssion  o 

a  full  CO 

awarded  _ 

class  of  1915,  was  admitted 

chusetts  bar  in  S^ 

entered  the  law  , 

Holyoke,  Massachusetts.    On 

he  was  admitted  as  a  partne 

which  is  one  of  the  largest  in 

sachusetts.    He   is   a  member  of   the   la\ 


the  !  )e  Club,  and  Mt.  Ton^ 

Clu;  I  member  o' 

tist  •-.   :nd  as-i'^inr, 

the  Sunday  schc^ 


Mr. 


Tied,  May  27,   i 


trude  A.  .   :  .,  of  Holyoke,  da, 

A.    Judson    and   Ella    (Bentley) 
Mrs.  Lyon  is  of  the  • 

family  founded  in  Nc. 

as  Merrick.    Mrs.  Lyon  is  a  dirt 
dant  of  Captain  John  Merri 
descent  being  through  his  son 
Merrick;  his  son,  Joseph  Me' 
Timothy  Merrick;    his   son,   Jo- 
rick;    his  son,  Rev.  Samuel  Du: 
rick ;    his  son,  Adoniram  Judsor. 
father  of  Mrs.  Lyon.     (See 
,  .  ^..r-   cf>parate  heading).      )■ 
the  parents  of  a  d; 
rrick,   born   in    ; 


M^ 


r 


^^ 


...i,€<£. 


I 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Holyoke,  Springfield,  and  elsewhere  in 
Massachusetts.  In  addition  to  this  Mr. 
Choiniere  is  the  owner  of  valuable  real  es- 
tate in  his  home  city. 

(I)  Narcisse  Choiniere,  grandfather  of 
Amidee  Olivie  Choiniere,  was  a  farmer  in 
Canada,  and  his  children  were :  Theophile, 
Narcisse,  Eugenie,  Louis,  mentioned  below  ; 
Joseph,  Marcile,  Exilide,  Leo,  Pierre,  and 
Alexandre.  Mr.  Choinere  died  in  1879, 
in  Canada. 

(II)  Louis  Choiniere,  son  of  Narcisse 
Choiniere,  was  born  in  1839,  in  Canada,  and 
in  early  life  followed  the  blacksmith's  trade, 
later  becoming  the  proprietor  of  a  country 
store  at  St.  Pie,  Canada.  For  some  twenty 
years  he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  business 
and  was  otherwise  a  man  of  prominence  in 
the  community,  being  an  officer  in  the 
church.  Mr.  Choiniere  married  (first) 
Alice  Bennoit,  and  they  became  the  par- 
ents of  the  following  children :  Victor,  born 
May  15,  1863,  died  in  1908;  Guile  Arthur, 
now  of  Easthampton,  Massachusetts ;  Jo- 
seph Ovid,  living  in  Chicopee  Falls,  Mas- 
sachusetts ;  Amidee  Olivie,  mentioned  be- 
low ;  one  who  died  in  infancy ;  and  Aglae 
Eliza.     Mrs.  Choinere  died  in  1871,  and  Mr. 

Choinere  married  (second) Voucher, 

the  children  of  this  union  being  three  in 
number :  Euclid,  Evige  and  Amile.  Mr. 
Choiniere  died  in  1904,  in  Canada,  main- 
tining  his  activities  to  the  very  end. 

(III)  Amidee  Olivie  Choiniere,  son  of 
Louis  and  Alice  (Bennoit)  Choiniere,  was 
born  October  14,  1868,  in  St.  Pie,  Quebec, 
Canada,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
local  schools.  In  boyhood  and  early  youth 
he  was  trained  to  assist  in  the  labors  of  the 
farm,  and  at  sixteen  began  to  learn  the  car- 
penter's trade.  In  1885  Mr.  Choiniere  came 
to  the  United  States,  the  first  employment 
secured  by  him  being  in  a  cotton  mill  in 
Governorsdale,  Connecticut.  After  being 
employed  there  fourteen  months  he  returned 
to  Canada  and   for  two  years  engaged  in 


farming.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  re- 
turned to  the  mill,  but  in  the  spring  of 
1888  removed  to  Holyoke,  where  he  has 
since  remained.  For  two  years  he  was  em- 
ployed as  a  carpenter  by  John  Prew  and 
then  for  sixteen  years  was  employed  in  the 
same  capacity  by  John  St.  John,  his  term  of 
service  ending  with  the  death  of  his  em- 
ployer. In  1906  Mr.  Choiniere  formed  a 
partnership  wath  Alexandre  Beauregard,  of 
Holyoke,  under  the  firm  name  of  Choiniere 
&  Beauregard,  since  which  time  they  have 
conducted  an  extensive  business  as  contrac- 
tors and  builders.  Their  operations  have 
not  been  limited  to  Holyoke,  but  have  in- 
cluded Springfield  and  Chicopee,  Massachu- 
setts. In  Springfield  the  firm  purchased  a 
number  of  valuable  building  sites,  erecting 
thereon  apartment  houses  and  blocks  of 
structures  and  later  disposing  of  them  to 
advantage.  Mr.  Choiniere  built  and  owns 
individually  the  "Strathmore,"  one  of  the 
finest  apartment  houses  in  the  city  and 
which  adjoins  his  own  residence.  Before 
going  into  business  with  Mr.  Beauregard 
Mr.  Choiniere  had,  in  association  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Azarde  La  Clare,  engaged 
in  building  both  for  Mr.  St.  John  and  for 
themselves.  After  the  formation  of  the 
partnership  with  Mr.  Beauregard  Mr.  Choi- 
niere and  Mr.  La  Clare  were  associated  un- 
til 191 7  in  important  transactions  in  real  es- 
tate. 

Mr.  Choiniere  married.  May  3,  1892,  Ai- 
zelia,  daughter  of  Louis  and  Margaret 
(Valliere)  Gobielle,  of  Canada  (Garden 
of  the  Angels)  Canada,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  the  following  children :  Louis 
Felix  Florimond,  born  August  6,  1895,  ed- 
ucated at  Montreal  College,  and  now  a  con- 
tractor in  Holyoke ;  Antoinette  Mary  An- 
ges,  born  June  10,  1897;  Alberta  Albina, 
born  February  15,  1901  ;  Joseph  Ovid  Har- 
vey, born  August  4,  1902 ;  Joseph  Armand 
Ovile,  born  August  21,  1904;  Adrian  Eu- 
clid, born  July  2^,  1907 ;    and  Joseph  Lau- 


179 


ENXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGR-\PHY 


rent  Amidee,  bom  August  5,  191 5-  Mr. 
Choiniere  is  a  fine  t>'pe  of  the  self-made 
man  and  as  such  is  highly  regarded  by  his 
neiehbors  and  fellow-citizens. 


BOUCHER,  Barthelemie. 

Representative   Citizen. 

Three  generations  of  this  family  have 
made  their  home  in  Holyoke.  all  coming 
from  their  native  Canada.  Isaac  Boucher, 
the  grandfather,  coming  to  be  with  his  chil- 
dren and  dying  in  Holyoke.  He  married 
Olive  Ploud,  who  died  in  Westfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, leaving  children :  Victor,  Da- 
vid, Isaac  (2),  of  further  mention;  Ama- 
lie,  Josephine,  Belzemere,  Agatha. 

Isaac  (2)  Boucher,  bom  in  Antrim,  Can- 
ada, in  1838,  died  in  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, February  8,  1905.  He  obtained  a 
good  education  in  Quebec  schools,  and  until 
coming  to  the  United  States  was  employed 
as  lumber  checker  and  inspector.  He  came 
to  the  United  States  in  1884,  locating  for 
a  short  time  at  Island  Pond,  Vermont,  there 
being  employed  in  the  lumber  camps  and 
saw  mills.  He  was  later  employed  at  Nor- 
ton Mills,  Vermont,  and  at  Whitefield.  New 
Hampshire,  with  the  Brown  Lumber  Com- 
pany, continuing  with  the  last  named  place 
for  four  years.  Then  for  a  short  time  he 
was  with  the  Laconia  Car  Works,  at  La- 
conia,  Xew  Hampshire,  and  for  a  few 
months  at  Tilton,  Xew  Hampshire,  with 
the  Boston  &  Elaine  Railroad  Company.  In 
1892  he  came  to  Holyoke.  Massachusetts, 
where  for  a  time  he  was  in  charge  of  a 
gang  of  workmen  in  the  employ  of  the 
street  railway  company.  He  was  in  that 
service,  building  roads,  etc.,  imtil  entering 
the  employ  of  the  Holyoke  Plush  Manufac- 
turing Company,  a  connection  only  terminat- 
ing with  his  death  at  the  age  of  sixty-sev- 
en. He  was  a  man  of  good  education  and 
superior  intelligence,  active  in  politics  and 
interested    in    public    affairs.      Isaac    (2) 


Boucher  married  Camille  Bergeron,  born  in 
the  Province  of  Quebec,  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph and  Cerevia  (Lafiure)  Bergeron. 
They  were  the  parents  of  three  sons :  Bar- 
thelemie, of  further  mention:  Henry,  de- 
ceased ;  Peter,  deceased :  and  of  a  daugh- 
ter Annie,  who  married  Arthur  Xolan. 

Barthelemie  Boucher  was  born  in  Rua- 
wald,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  March 
6,  1874.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  in  Canada,  Island  Pond.  \'ermont, 
and  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  his  business 
life  beginning  in  the  mills  of  the  Hampden 
Glazed  Paper  &  Card  Company,  of  Hol- 
yoke. After  his  mill  experience,  he  learned 
the  painter's  trade,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  was  connected  with  that  trade  as 
journeyman,  and  also  was  in  business  for 
himself  as  painting  and  decorative  contrac- 
tor. In  191 7  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Westinghouse  Company  of  Chicopee  Falls, 
Massachusetts,  as  tool  maker.  During  these 
years  he  has  accumulated  considerable  real 
estate,  one  of  his  parcels  being  a  twenty 
family  apartment  building.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Holy  Xame  Society  and  The  Im- 
maculate Conception  (Roman  Catholic) 
Church. 

Mr.  Boucher  married.  October  30.  1905, 
Eugenie  Perreault,  daughter  of  Francis 
Perreault,  of  Holyoke.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  four  children :  Blanche,  deceased ; 
Annette  Mayrose,  born  June  24,  1907; 
Doris  Ailine,  born  August  8.  1914;  Don- 
ald Arthur,  bom  October  22,  igiy. 


CHAPUT,  EmU  Arthur, 

Business  Man. 

X'ow  a  prosperous  grocer}',  meat  and  pro- 
vision dealer  of  Holyoke,  Mr.  Chaput  con- 
ducts as  proprietor  the  store  at  Xo.  69  Ely 
street,  where  he  was  long  employed  as  clerk. 
He  is  a  grandson  of  Louis  Chaput,  a  farmer 
of  St.  Jean  Baptiste,  Canada,  who  there 
lived  and  died,   leaving  sons :     Louis,  Jo- 


180 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


seph,  Napoleon  and  Basil,  the  latter  being 
the  founder  of  the  family  in  Holyoke.  Ba- 
sil Chaput  was  born  in  St.  Jean  Baptiste, 
Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  in  1834,  died 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  July  4,  1917. 
He  received  his  schooling  in  the  parish 
school,  and  until  1889  he  remained  in  Can- 
ada, engaged  in  farming.  In  the  latter  year 
he  located  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  and 
for  several  years  he  was  employed  in  vari- 
ous meat  markets  until  about  1902,  then  re- 
tired from  active  business  life  but  continu- 
ing his  residence  in  Holyoke.  He  married 
Adele  Roberts,  born  in  St.  Jean  Baptiste, 
Canada,  in  1853,  died  in  Holyoke  in  1907. 
They  were  the  parents  of  children :  Louis, 
a  farmer  of  South  Holyoke,  Massachusetts ; 
Emil  A.,  of  further  mention ;  Rosanna ; 
Albina,  married  Napoleon  Anthis ;  Corrine, 
married  Louis  Anthis  ;  Rosabella,  deceased  ; 
Anna,  married  and  residing  in  Concord, 
New  Hampshire. 

Emil  A.  Chaput,  second  son  of  Basil  and 
Adele  (Roberts)  Chaput,  was  born  in  Mer- 
ryville,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada, 
July,  1887,  and  when  two  years  of  age 
was  brought  to  Holyoke  by  his  parents. 
He  completed  the  full  courses  of  the 
parochial  school  of  his  parish,  and 
w^hen  through  with  his  studies  became 
an  employee  of  O.  N.  Chaput,  the  gro- 
cer, and  a  relative.  He  continued  in  Mr. 
Chaput's  employ  until  November,  1916, 
when  he  purchased  the  business,  and  is  now 
successfuly  conducting  the  store  in  which 
he  was  formerly  clerk.  Meats,  provisions 
and  groceries  are  carried,  a  good  trade  has 
been  built  up,  and  success  is  assured.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
the  Knights  of  Columbus,  Fraternal  Order 
of  Eagles,  and  Westmount  Canoe  Club.  Mr. 
Chaput  married,  June  9,  191 7,  Eglantine 
Liscault,  of  Chicopee,  Massachusetts. 


THE  PLUMMER  FAMILY 

Francis  Plummer,  the  immigrant  ances- 
tor, was  born  in  England,  and  came  to 
America  from  Norfolk,  England,  in  1633. 
He  was  admitted  a  freeman,  May  14,  1634. 
He  settled  in  Newbury,  Massachusetts,  in 
1635.  Coffin's  "History  of  Newbury" 
states  that  his  descendants  still  own  the 
land  he  once  held ;  that  his  descendants  are 
many  and  distinguished ;  that  one  of  them, 
Hon.  George  Plummer,  was  the  first  white 
child  born  west  of  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains in  Pennsylvania  and  was  the  first 
congressman  elected  from  that  region.  It 
is  said  that  when  the  pioneers  sailed  up 
the  river  to  their  new  home  in  Newbury, 
the  second  to  land  was  Francis  Plummer, 
followed  by  his  wife  and  two  sons,  Samuel 
and  Joseph.  He  was  a  linen  weaver  by 
trade,  and  in  1636  was  the  proprietor  of  a 
tavern  in  Newbury.    He  held  various  town 

offices.  He  married  (first)  Ruth ,  who 

died  May  18,  1647.  He  married  (second) 
March  31,  1648,  Ann  Palmer,  widow,  who 
died  October  18,  1665.  He  married  (third) 
November  29,  1666,  Beatrice,  widow  of 
William  Cantlebury,  of  Salem.  Children  by 
first  wife :  Samuel,  Joseph,  mentioned  be- 
low ;  Hannah,  born  1632,  married.  May  3, 
1663,  Samuel  Morse;  Mary,  born  1634, 
married  (first)  May  26,  1660,  John  Cheney, 
Jr.,  (second)  David  Burnett.  Francis  Plum- 
mer died  in  Newbury,  January  17,  1672-73. 

(II)  Joseph  Plummer,  son  of  Francis  and 
Ruth  Plummer,  was  born  in  England.  He 
married  Sarah  Cheney,  and  their  children, 
born  in  Newbury,  were :  Joseph,  mentioned 
below;  Benjamin,  born  October  23,  1656; 
Sarah,  May  3,  1660,  died  May  26,  1676; 
Francis,  April  23,  1662,  died  December  5, 
1663;  Francis,  February  23,  1664;  Na- 
thaniel, January  31,  1666;  Jonathan,  May 
13,  1668;   Abigail,  July  16,  1669. 

(III)  Joseph   (2)    Plummer,  son  of  Jc 
81 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


seph  (i)  and  Sarah  (Cheney)  Phimmer, 
was  born  at  Newbury,  Massachusetts,  Sep- 
tember II,  1654.  He  married,  January  20, 
1685,  Hannah  Jewett,  and  their  children, 
born  in  Newbury,  were :  Samuel,  May  4, 
1686;  Abigail,  December  11,  1687;  Mi- 
riam,  January    16,    1691  ;    Aaron,  January 

16,  1693;  Eleazer,  January  29,  1694,  died 
young;  Joseph,  January  12,  1695;  David, 
mentioned  below  ;  Sarah,  October  26,  1697  ; 
Sampson,   March    14,    1699;     Sarah,   April 

17,  1700;  Hannah,  July  17,  1702;  Deborah, 
December  19,  1703;  Elizabeth,  April  i, 
1705;    Nathaniel,  May  2,  1711  ;    Elizabeth. 

(IV)  Dr.  David  Plummer,  son  of  Jo- 
seph (2)  and  Hannah  (Jewett)  Plummer, 
was  born  at  Newbury,  Massachusetts, 
March  16,  1696.  He  settled  at  Gloucester, 
Massachusetts,  and  became  the  leading 
physician  of  that  town.  He  married  (first) 
1723,  Ann  Newman,  who  died  in  1736.  He 
married  (second)  Ann  Barber.  Children 
by  first  wife :  Samuel ;  Dr.  Joshua,  and 
five  daughters.  Children  by  second  wife : 
David,  died  July  15,  1801  ;  Daniel,  men- 
tioned below. 

(V)  Daniel  Plummer,  son  of  Dr.  David 
and  Ann  (Barber)  Plummer,  was  born  at 
Gloucester,  Massachusetts,  February  11, 
1 741,  and  died  Deecember  22,  1792.  He 
married  Mary  Davis,  of  Newbury,  May  19, 
1763.  She  died  June,  1833,  aged  ninety 
years  and  three  months.  Children,  born  at 
Gloucester:  Daniel,  December  2,  1765; 
Moses,  mentioned  below ;  Joseph,  March 
II,  1773;  Aaron,  May  3,  1775,  died  Sep- 
tember 12,  1861  ;  Polly,  March  17,  1777, 
became  the  wife  of  John  Atkinson  ;  Joshua, 
May  3,  1780,  married  Thankful  Bray; 
Henry,  March  26, 1784,  married  Mary  Web- 
ber; Mary,  July,  1787,  became  the  wife  of 
Simeon  Dodge,  of  Wenham,  Massachu- 
setts. 

(VI)  Moses  Plummer,  son  of  Daniel  and 
Mary  (Davis)  Plummer,  was  born  at 
Gloucester,    Massachusetts,    November    9, 


1767,  and  died  January  28,  1856,  at  New 
Gloucester,  Maine,  aged  eighty-eight  years, 
two  months,  nineteen  days.  He  married, 
December  6,  1790,  Sarah  Allen,  born  Jan- 
uary 16,  1768,  and  died  July  2,  1846,  aged 
seventy-eight  years,  five  months,  nineteen 
days,  at  New  Gloucester,  Maine.  She  was 
a  daughter  of  Solomon  Allen,  who  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolution,  a  private  in  Cap- 
tain Abraham  Dodge's  company.  Colonel 
Moses  Little's  regiment  (Twelfth)  enter- 
ing service,  February  9,  1776;  muster  roll 
dated  April  24,  1776.  He  was  also  in  Cap- 
tain Andrew  Woodbury's  company,  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Enoch  Hallet's  regiment, 
from  August  i,  to  October  29,  1780.  Solo- 
mon Allen  was  born  December  6,  1737,  and 
died  June  6,  1836;  married  Susan  Riggs ; 
children :  Sarah,  aforementioned  as  the 
wife  of  Moses  Plummer;  Susan,  became 
the  wife  of  Zebulon  Davis;  Martha,  born 
December  2,  1774,  died  at  Dover,  Massa- 
chusetts, May  16,  1870,  and  was  the  wife 
of  Giddings  Tucker ;  Permelia ;  Solomon ; 
Captain  Mark,  died  January  5,  1873;  John. 
Children  of  Moses  and  Sarah  (Allen) 
Plummer,  born  in  Gloucester :  Moses,  Sep- 
tember 22,  1792,  died  August  2,  1822,  in 
New  Gloucester ;  Micajah  Sawyer,  men- 
tioned below ;  Solomon  Allen,  May  10, 
1798,  died  September  13,  1816;  Daniel,  July 
16,  1803,  died  July  21,  1803. 

(VII)  Micajah  Sawyer  Plummer,  son 
of  Moses  and  Sarah  (Allen)  Plummer,  was 
born  at  Gloucester,  Massachusetts,  August 
21,  1796,  and  died  April  10,  1888,  at  Do- 
ver, Massachusetts.  He  was  a  soldier  in 
the  W^ar  of  181 2,  and  in  later  life  a  pension- 
er^ and  during  the  years  that  he  received  a 
pension  he  was  the  only  living  member  of 
the  company  in  which  he  served.  The  pen- 
sion was  obtained  through  the  persistent 
efiforts  of  his  son,  Osgood  Plummer,  who 
found  great  difficulty  in  proving  the  claims 
of  his  father  because  of  the  fact  that  there 
was  only  one  man  living  who  could  verify 


182 


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crt^cC 


i^cyty^^tyi^iys^zy{^ 


! 


■  I 

voter  there  and  voted  "Yes" 

'.'-■)  porating  the  city  of 

'_•  still  a  resident  of 

member  of  the  choir  in 

tnurch.     From  Boston  he 

'and,  Maine,  and  was  there 

business    until 

Acvv  Gloucester,  same 

re  of  the  estate  of  his 

sudden  death  made 

'  led  in  New  Glouces-^ 

V  h  year  he  removed 

ichusetts,  whiere  he  was  en- 

•  j   grocery   business    for 

'■'  ivded   the   Murray 

.ucester,   Mas- 

the    first    church 

in      l;he     Vjr\'\\x-A 

.ev;    CjiOu- 


Gm 

ti(  -;  ■ 

4-   ■ 
H;. 


•imself  to  t!i 
iirm  0/ 
Massa*. 

the  entire  period  of  hi.- 
received  one  dollar  per  \  i   iic 

remained  with  that  firm  .   "hen 

accepted  a  position  as  clerk  and  s;i 
in  the  book  store  of  Z,  Baker  in  ' ' 
and  served  in  that  capacity  for 
In  1857  he  removed  to  Davenport,  Iowa. 
where  1  •      •      •      :         •  .ij^tion- 

ery  bu^  ''S  and 

job  priniinj^.  ntinued  for  a  num- 

ber "f- 


vvi: 

H.. 

Clarenc 

where  he  was  . 

i860,  in  Henry  ._  

Sarah  Eugenia  Van  Tyle, 
Iowa,  born  in   Finchvillc,  C 
New  York,  October  26,  183'^. 
Davenport,  September  12,  1902. 
Edwin  Van  Tyle,  born  in  Dave; 
'ember  28,  1862,  and  Clarence 
n  ,in    Davenport,   September 
-ied,  September  6,  1906,  Maiy  ^ 
'  Kewaunee,  Wisconsin;  she  ■"? 
14,  1874,  at  Kewaunee. 
:  Viilj  Osgood  Flummer,  son 
Sf^vvv,  V    ,,  ri  Betsey  or  Elizal 
.vas  born  at  Ne' 
:  16,  1835.    F 


V-->  111*' 


1  in  hi.s 


*» 


7 


^y*-y 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


In  politics  Mr.  Plummer  is  a  Republican. 
He  has  always  taken  a  keen  interest  in  the 
public  affairs  of  Worcester,  and  was  espe- 
cially prominent  in  the  movement  to  build 
a  new  city  hall  on  the  common.  The  fol- 
lowing extract  from  the  book  published  by 
the  City  Council,  entitled  "The  New  City 
Hall,"  in  1899,  is  official  testimony  of  the 
part  he  took :  "As  a  matter  of  history,  it 
should  be  stated  that  Osgood  Plummer  was 
the  prime  mover  in  this  action,  and  that  to 
his  determined  energy  the  final  outcome  in 
the  City  Hall  location  is  to  be  ascribed.  He 
called  the  meeting  and  directed  its  course. 
A  committee  with  power  to  act  was  chosen, 
of  which  Mr.  Plummer  was  the  working 
member.  He  raised  the  necessary  funds  by 
subscription,  employed  canvassers  and  di- 
rected the  canvass  in  detail."  Another 
quote :  "The  Editor  desires  to  acknowledge 
his  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Osgood  Plummer 
for  the  use  of  his  historical  collection  of 
newspaper  cuttings  and  other  materials  re- 
lating to  the  discussion  of  a  site  of  the  new 
City  Hall  and  the  construction  of  the  build- 
ing. Mr.  Plummer,  with  commendable  fore- 
sight, carefully  preserved  all  references  in 
print  and  other  matter  illustrative  of 
the  undertaking,  and  arranged  them  chrono- 
logically in  a  volume,  the  contents  of  which 
it  would  be  impossible  to  duplicate  at  the 
present  time."  There  w^ere  only  one  hun- 
dred copies  of  the  City  Hall  Memorial  pub- 
lished, and  Mr.  Plummer  has  one  which 
was  presented  to  him  by  the  committee  in 
charge  of  the  book,  and  in  the  book  is  in- 
scribed the  following:  "Presented  to  Os- 
good Plummer  Esq.  by  vote  of  the  com- 
mittee on  'City  Hall  Memorial'  in  recogni- 
tion of  the  valuable  service  rendered  in  the 
preparation  of  this  volume.  Thomas  J. 
Barrett,  for  the  Com.,  Dec.  16,  1899."  The 
present  City  Hall  was  dedicated  April  28, 
1898. 

Mr.  Plummer  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Worcester  County  Mechanics  Association, 


joining  April  16,  1856,  during  the  term  of 
Hon.  Henry  S.  Washburn  as  president  of 
the  association,  just  after  he  had  finished 
his  apprenticeship  with  Furbush  &  Cromp- 
ton ;  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  di- 
rectors fourteen  years,  serving  as  vice-pres- 
ident in  1908,  the  year  he  retired  from  the 
board  ;  he  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for 
president,  a  position  for  which  he  was 
unanimously  recommended  by  the  board  of 
directors.  Mr.  Plummer  is  a  member  of 
Morning  Star  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  joining  in  1863,  ^^^  P^st  master 
in  1873-74;  Worcester  Chapter,  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  since  1865  ;  Hiram  Council ;  Stella 
Chapter,  Eastern  Star,  since  1871,  of  which 
he  is  senior  initiated  member  of  the  or- 
der in  Massachusetts.  He  is  the  senior  past 
master  of  the  Masons  in  Worcester.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  National  Society  of  the 
Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,  and  hon- 
orary member  of  Luther  Burbank  Society 
of  Santa  Rosa,  California.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  First  Universalist  Parish,  Worcester. 
Mr.  Plummer  married,  January  17,  1861, 
Diana  Houghton,  born  September  6,  1837, 
at  Woodstock,  Maine,  and  died  September 
25,  1905.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
Haskell  and  Betsey  G.  (Tuell)  Houghton, 
of  Woodstock,  the  former  named  born  May 
20,  1802,  died  December  i,  1868,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Moses  Houghton,  born  March 
22,  1781,  died  October  31,  1847,  ^^^  his 
wife,  Martha  (Haskell)  Houghton,  born 
February  15,  1780,  died  April  14,  1833,  o^ 
Acton,  Massachusetts,  and  Norway,  Maine. 
Children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Plummer:  i. 
Stella  H.,  born  at  Worcester,  July  28,  1863 ; 
member  of  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  Tim- 
othy Bigelow  Chapter,  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution,  and  the  Massachu- 
setts United  States  Daughters  of  1812.  2. 
Frank  Osgood,  born  April  13,  1872;  mar- 
ried, January  15,  1896,  Maude  Evelyn 
Whaley,  of  North  Sterling,  Connecticut ;  she 
was  born  at  Texas,  Connecticut,   Septem- 


185 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ber  2.2.,  1874;  child,  Dorothy  Whaley,  born 
at  Foster,  Rhode  Island,  February  28, 
1908. 

(VIII)  Sarah  Allen  Plummer,  daughter 
of  Micajah  Sawyer  and  Betsey  or  Eliza- 
beth (Haskell)  Plummer,*  was  born  Sep- 
tember 3,  1836.  She  attended  public  and 
private  schools  at  New  Gloucester,  Maine. 
In  i860  she  entered  the  Woman's  College 
(now  Worcester  Academy)  in  the  city  of 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  was  advanced 
with  honor,  and  later  gained  the  highest 
grade  certificate,  designated  as  "Grade  A" 
at  the  Albany,  New  York,  State  Normal 
School,  followed  by  a  special  scientific 
course  at  the  Peter  Cooper  Institute,  in 
Physics  and  Chemistry.  She  discovered 
that  nature  study  attracted  her  more  than 
any  other  pursuit.  The  way  was  additionally 
prepared  in  1880  by  her  marriage  to  an  en- 
thusiastic botanist  and  patriot.  Professor 
John  Gill  Lemmon.  For  over  twenty-five 
years  they  travelled  together  and  explored 
a  vast  region  of  the  West  American  Con- 
tinent, from  Alaska  to  Old  Mexico,  and  to 
the  western  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
This  quest  was  for  the  discovery  of  plants 
new  to  science,  and  they  contributed  to  the 
botanic  world  hundreds  of  new  species  and 
several  new  genera,  two  of  which  have  been 
dedicated  to  them,  Lemmonia  and  Plum- 
mera,  the  highest  botanic  honor  in  recogni- 
tion of  service  given  to  the  science.  During 
the  explorations  into  out-of-the-way  regions 
often  inhabited  by  native  savage  tribes  and 
w'ild  animals,  they  have  had  many  strange 
and  sometimes  dangerous  experiences.  Be- 
tween the  years  1880  and  1890  the  Apache 
tribe  of  Indians  were  very  troublesome.  Be- 
tween the  years  1895  and  1908,  they  gave 
special  observation  and  study  to  the  native 
trees  of  California;  those  relating  to  for- 
est growth ;  issuing  illustrated  reports  for 
the  State  Board  of  Forestry,  to  populariz- 
ing and  assisting  in  the  preservation  of  the 
noble    forests.     While   Professor   Lemmon 


was  botanist  for  the  State  Board  of  Cali- 
fornia, four  years,  Mrs.  Lemmon's  services 
were  given  as  artist  (botanic).  From  time 
to  time  Mrs.  Lemmon  issued  brochures  on 
Marine  Algae ;  California  native  ferns  and 
sometimes  on  Forestry,  an  illustrated  book- 
let. During  and  after  our  Cuban  and  Phil- 
ippine wars,  she  was  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee for  compiling  and  editing  an  illus- 
trated Record  of  Red  Cross  Work  on  the 
Pacific  Slope.  In  1884  she  was  appointed 
chairman  for  California  by  the  National 
Floral  Emblem  Society  and  procured  the 
selection,  adoption  and  legalizing  of  a  state 
floral  emblem.  The  California  Golden  Pop- 
py. At  this  same  time,  1884,  Professor  and 
Mrs.  Lemmon  were  each  appointed  special 
commissioners  for  the  New  Orleans 
World's  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition,  and 
she  was  also  chosen  to  the  added  honor  in 
the  Woman's  Department  as  one  of  the  six 
vice-presidents,  having  under  her  super- 
vision nine  states  and  territories.  In  1894 
she  assisted  in  the  required  articles  upon 
native  flowers  in  grouping  and  illustrating 
for  the  States  Series  of  revised  school  read- 
ers for  California.  Previously,  in  1891,  she 
established  in  the  City  and  County  Hospital 
in  San  Francisco  the  first  Training  School 
for  Nurses  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  While  a 
student  and  teacher  in  New  York  City,  dur- 
ing the  Civil  W^ar,  every  night  and  morning, 
before  and  after  school  hours,  Sundays,  hol- 
idays and  vacations  she  assisted  to  nurse 
and  care  for  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers 
in  Bellevue  Hospital,  as  a  member  of  the 
Rose  Hill  Soldiers  Association.  During  her 
early  residence  in  California  she  established 
the  first  circulating  library  in  Santa  Bar- 
bara, which  later  she  presented  to  the  city 
as  the  foundation  for  the  present  Free  Pub- 
lic Library  of  that  place.  During  the  last 
twenty-five  years  of  field  work  in  botany 
she  made  a  large  portfolio  of  hundreds  of 
field  sketches  of  flowers  in  water  colors, 
often  sketching  under  great  difficulties.  They 


186 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


took  first  prize  awards  at  an  Interterritorial 
Exposition  and  again  at  a  World's  Exposi- 
tion in  New  Orleans  in  1884-85.  Mrs. 
Lemmon  is  a  member  of  the  Ebell  Club  of 
Oakland,  California ;  of  the  Order  of  the 
Eastern  Star,  of  the  California  Woman's 
Press  Association  and  of  the  Water  and 
Forest  Association. 

(VIII)  Martha  Allen  Plummer,  daughter 
of  Micajah  Sawyer  and  Betsey  or  Elizabeth 
(Haskell)  Plummer,  was  born  August  17, 
1838.  She  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  New  Gloucester,  Worcester 
Academy,  and  graduated  with  honor  at  the 
Westbrook  Seminary,  taking  first  honors  in 
English  Composition.  She  taught  several 
years  in  Maine  and  Massachusetts,  taking 
much  interest  in  the  public  schools  of  Do- 
ver, Massachusetts,  where  she  served  as 
superintendent  of  schools  for  nine  years. 
She  was  chosen  as  delegate  from  Massa- 
chusetts to  the  International  Educational 
Convention  in  Washington,  held  there  dur- 
ing President  Cleveland's  administration. 
She  also  taught  for  two  winters  in  the  Mis- 
sionary School  at  Shelter  Neck,  North  Ca- 
rolina, under  the  auspices  of  the  Woman's 
National  Unitarian  Alliance,  organizing  the 
first  branch  alliance  in  that  State.  She  ed- 
ited the  history  of  the  town  of  Dover,  Mas- 
sachusetts, in  the  "History  of  the  Towns  of 
Norfolk  County,  Massachusetts."  She  has 
always  been  an  earnest  worker  in  the 
Unitarian  church.  She  is  a  member  of  the 
Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  and  a  member 
of  Colonel  Timothy  Bigelow  Chapter, 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  of 
Worcester.  She  has  been  a  trustee  of  Do- 
ver Public  Library  a  number  of  years,  and 
charter  member  of  Dover  Grange.  She 
married,  June  23,  1861,  George  Draper  Ev- 
erett, of  Dover,  Massachusetts ;  he  died 
May  4,  1904.  Children:  i.  Sarah  E.,  born 
May  13,  1862,  at  Dover,  married,  January 
I,  1883,  John  M.  Humphrey,  and  has  one 
child,    Vivian,    born    in    Rochester,    New 


Hampshire,  August  28,  1891.  2.  Martha 
Everett,  born  November  16,  1863;  n^ar- 
ried,  June  26,  1888,  Rev.  Charles  E.  St. 
John  ;  children :  Everett,  born  March  27, 
1889;  Harold,  July  25,  1892;  Lyman  and 
Prescott  Keyes,  twins.  May  8,  1899,  the 
former  died  February  24,  1900,  and  the  lat- 
ter February  26,  1900.  3.  Edward  Plum- 
mer, born  September  2,  1865,  ^'s<^  J^^Y  ^y 
1874.  4.  Charles  Crandall,  born  September 
II,  1871.  5.  George  Osgood,  born  March 
6,  1874,  died  December  15,  1891. 

(VIII)  Seth  Haskell  Plummer,  son  of 
Micajah  Sawyer  and  Betsey  or  Elizabeth 
(Haskell)  Plummer,  was  born  in  New 
Gloucester,  Maine,  January  8,  1845.  When 
about  thirteen  years  of  age,  he  accompanied 
his  parents  to  Dover,  Massachusetts.  He 
attended  the  country  and  village  schools, 
worked  on  his  father's  farm  and  clerked 
in  his  father's  store  in  Dover,  also  in  other 
stores.  In  September,  1862,  he  removed  to 
Davenport,  Iowa,  and  there  clerked  in  the 
book  and  stationery  store  of  his  brother, 
Charles,  for  about  eight  years.  Soon  after 
the  great  Chicago  fire,  he  went  to  that  city 
in  the  employ  of  the  purchasers  office  of  the 
Rock  Island  Railroad,  where  he  remained 
one  season,  then  returned  to  Davenport  and 
soon  after  engaged  in  the  retail  boot  and 
shoe  trade,  which  proved  a  profitable  ven- 
ture until  hard  times  ruined  all  retail  bus- 
iness in  the  West,  and  caused  him  to  close 
out  his  business.  In  the  fall  of  1876,  four 
years  after  his  marriage,  he  removed  to  Dal- 
las, Texas,  where  he  spent  several  months 
prospecting,  but  not  being  favorably  im- 
pressed returned  to  Davenport,  in  the  spring 
of  1877,  where  he  engaged  in  his  former 
trade,  boots  and  shoes,  which  he  again 
closed  out  and  accepted  the  management  of 
the  Frazer  Coal  Yards,  then  the  leading 
yards  in  that  city,  in  which  capacity  he  con- 
tinued until  October,  1882,  when  he  located 
in  Huron,  then  Territory  of  Dakota,  and  be- 
came the  chief  clerk  in  the  United  States 


187 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Land  ofifice,  filling  the  position  until  the 
Cleveland  administration  came  into  power, 
which  caused  a  general  change  in  the  office 
force.  He  then  became  deputy  county 
treasurer  of  Beadle  county,  serving  one 
term,  after  which  he  accepted  a  position 
with  a  farm  investment  company,  with 
whom  he  remained  for  nearly  twenty-eight 
years,  filling  many  positions  with  them  as  a 
trusted  confident,  advisor  and  cashier.  He 
continued  with  that  company  until  after  the 
death  of  two  of  its  members  and  closed 
the  business  for  the  survivors.  He  then  be- 
came interested  as  a  district  manager  for 
a  new  commercial  agency,  he  being  located 
at  Rockford,  Illinois,  while  the  agency  had 
its  home  office  in  Chicago,  and  owing  to 
crooked  work  in  the  general  office  the 
agency  was  short-lived.  After  the  firm 
went  out  of  business,  Mr.  Plummer  and  his 
wife  spent  more  than  a  year  in  California 
and  Omaha,  Nebraska,  but  without  any  spe- 
cial employment,  and  in  the  summer  of 
1914  located  in  the  village  of  Coopersville, 
Michigan,  having  twenty  acres  of  land. 
While  a  resident  of  Davenport,  Mr.  Plum- 
mer joined  the  Masonic  fraternity,  shortly 
after  his  twenty-first  birthday,  and  before 
he  attained  his  twenty-second  year  he  be- 
came a  Knights  Templar  and  a  thirty-sec- 
ond degree  Masoxi,  being  a  charter  member 
of  the  consistory  located  in  Davenport.  He 
filled  various  chairs  in  the  several  bodies, 
was  twice  master  of  Trinity  Lodge  and  de- 
clined two  re-elections ;  served  as  comman- 
der of  the  commandery  of  Knights  Templar 
at  Davenport,  and  also  the  first  commander 
of  the  commandery  at  Huron,  Dakota  Ter- 
ritory. He  was  admitted  to  the  Scott  county, 
Iowa,  bar  as  an  attorney-at-law  at  the  Sep- 
tember term  of  court  in  1882,  but  only  used 
the  knowledge  as  an  assistance  in  business. 
Mr.  Plummer  married,  October  16,  1872, 
Mary  Frances  McConnell,  of  Davenport, 
Iowa.  Children:  i.  Edith  May,  born  in 
Davenport,  Iowa,  May  16,  1878;   she  mar- 


ried, July  2,  1900,  at  Huron,  South  Dakota, 
Millard  Victor  Robins;  children:  Edward 
Plummer,  born  August  29,  1908,  and  Edith 
Victoria,  born  at  Huron,  South  Dakota; 
they  reside  in  Omaha,  Nebraska.  2.  Perry 
Haskell,  born  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  Septem- 
ber II,  1882;  is  a  practicing  dentist,  resid- 
ing in  Rockford,  Illinois ;  married  Kather- 
ine  Dougherty ;  child.  Perry  Haskell,  Jr., 
born  at  Rockford,  Illinois. 


TUCKER,  Albert  Moody, 

Professor  of  Mt.  Holyoke  College. 

Although  yet  a  young  man,  Mr.  Tucker 
has  attained  high  position  as  a  performer 
on  the  pipe  organ.  He  has  for  several  years 
been  associated  with  Mt.  Holyoke  College, 
where  among  his  other  duties  he  plays  the 
organ  in  the  beautiful  college  chapel.  The 
Tucker  name  dates  in  New  England  from 
Robert  Tucker,  from  whom  Albert  M. 
Tucker  descends  in  lineal  line. 

( I )  Robert  Tucker  married  in  Weymouth, 
Massachusetts,  about  1635,  having  come 
there  from  England.  Later  he  moved  to 
Gloucester,  Massachusetts,  where  he  held 
the  office  of  recorder.  He  returned  to 
Weymouth,  held  several  town  offices,  but 
about  1662  moved  to  Milton,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  purchased  in  different  lots 
all  adjoining  lands  aggregating  about 
one  hundred  and  seventeen  acres.  He 
was  town  clerk  of  Milton  for  several  years, 
and  as  the  first  records  of  the  town  are  in 
his  handwriting  he  must  also  have  been  re- 
corder. He  represented  Milton  in  the  Gen- 
eral Court  for  several  years;  was  active 
in  the  church  and  a  good  citizen.  He  died 
March  11,  1682,  aged  seventy-eight  years. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Allen,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  ten  children.  The  line  of 
descent  to  Albert  M.  Tucker,  of  South  Had- 
ley,  Massachusetts,  is  through  Ephraim, 
the  seventh  child  and  fourth  son. 

(II)  Ephraim    Tucker,    son   of    Robert 


[88 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Tucker,  the  founder,  was  born  in  1652,  in 
Weymouth,  Massachusetts,  it  is  beHeved. 
He  was  made  a  freeman  in  1678,  was  town 
clerk  and  selectman  of  Milton  for  many 
years,  and  on  July  31,  1698,  was  elected  a 
deacon  of  the  Milton  church.  He  married, 
September  zy,  1688,  Hannah  Gulliver,  they 
the  parents  of  two  sons,  Ephraim  (2)  and 
Stephen. 

(III)  Stephen  Tucker,  of  the  third  gen- 
eration, son  of  Ephraim  and  Hannah  (Gul- 
liver) Tucker,  was  born  in  Milton,  Massa- 
chusetts, April  8,  1 691.  He  settled  in  Pres- 
ton, Connecticut,  in  1715,  his  brother 
Ephraim  settling  in  Woodstock,  Con- 
necticut, the  same  year.  Stephen  Tuck- 
er married,  August  30,  171 6,  Hannah 
Belcher,  born  in  Milton,  died  in  Preston, 
February  28,  1745.  They  were  the  parents 
of  two  sons,  William  and  Ephraim,  who 
grew  to  maturity  and  reared  families. 

(IV)  Ephraim  (2)  Tucker,  son  of  Ste- 
phen and  Hannah  (Belcher)  Tucker,  was 
born  in  Milton,  Massachusetts,  about  1740. 
He  settled  in  Preston,  Connecticut,  and 
there  resided  until  his  death.  He  was 
a  Loyalist  during  the  Revolution.  The  sil- 
ver knee  buckles  he  wore  were  melted  and 
run  into  spoons  which  descended  to  his 
great-granddaughter,  Mrs.  William  H. 
Bartlett,  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts.  He 
married  and  had  a  daughter  Cynthia,  and 
a  son  Ephraim,  of  further  mention. 

(V)  Ephraim  (3)  Tucker,  son  of  Eph- 
raim (2)  Tucker,  was  born  July  21,  1786, 
in  that  part  of  Preston,  Connecticut,  which 
was  set  off  to  Griswold  in  1815.  He  mar- 
ried September  5,  1810,  Mary  (Polly) 
Coit,  born  September  26,  1786.  They  were 
the  parents  of  Ephraim,  married  Sapphira 
Hall ;  Cynthia  Barstow,  married  Moses 
Lyman  ;  William  Coit,  of  further  mention  ; 
Caroline  M.,  married  Caleb  Howard  Stick- 
ney ;  Samuel,  born  June  7,  1823;  Mary 
Jane,  twin  with  Samuel,  married  Increase 
S.  Waite. 


(VI)  William  Coit  Tucker,  son  of  Eph- 
raim (3)  and  Mary  (Coit)  Tucker,  was 
born  in  Griswold  (Preston),  Connecticut, 
February  11,  1818,  and  died  at  Ludlow, 
Massachusetts,  in  1902.  He  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  residing  at  Montgomery  and 
Westfield,  Massachusetts,  during  his  active 
years ;  married  at  Huntington,  Massachu- 
setts, Laura  Moore,  May  8,  1851.  They 
were  the  parents  of  three  sons:  i.  Myron 
William,  of  further  mention.  2,  Oscar 
Dwight,  married,  February  19,  1885,  Ella 
Sheldon,  and  their  children  are :  Orland 
W.,  born  October  24,  1888,  married,  April 
8,  19 1 6,  Ida  Strong,  and  has  a  daughter, 
Ruth  Alice  Tucker,  born  March  15,  1916; 
Evelyn,  born  February  25,  1896;  Laura, 
February  11,  1898.  3.  Elmer,  who  died 
young. 

(VII)  Myron  William  Tucker,  son  of 
William  Coit  Tucker,  was  born  in  Mont- 
gomery, Massachusetts,  February  11,  1854. 
He  attended  public  schools  in  Montgomery, 
but  when  still  a  boy  his  parents  moved  to 
Westfield  where  he  attended  the  graded 
and  high  schools.  Upon  leaving  school,  he 
went  to  Chicopee,  Massachusetts,  there 
learning  and  for  several  years  following  the 
baking  business.  His  health  did  not  war- 
rant his  remaining  in  so  confining  a  busi- 
ness, and  to  get  the  benefit  of  out-of-doors 
life  he  located  on  a  farm  at  South  Hadley 
Falls,  which  he  now  owns  and  devotes  to 
small  fruits,  market  gardening  and  poul- 
try raising.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  the  Congregational  church.  Mr.  Tucker 
married  Julia  M.  Moody,  born  at  Granby, 
Massachusetts,  September  16,  1857,  daugh- 
ter of  Albert  Moody,  born  in  Granby,  April 
I,  1821,  eldest  son  of  Quartus  Moody,  born 
June  30,  1793,  and  Mary  (Towne)  Moody, 
born  November  29,  1799,  who  were  married 
April  13,  1820.  Quartus  and  Mary 
(Towne)  Moody  had  another  son,  Jonathan 
Fayette,  born  November  2^,  1825,  died  July 


189 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


31,  1850,  and  a  daughter,  Mary  Irene,  born 
May  12,  1831,  died  October  10,  1851.  Al- 
bert Moody,  a  life  long  farmer  of  Granby, 
died  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  June  30,  1895. 
He  married  Grace  M.  Stebbins,  born  at 
Belchertown,  Massachusetts,  October  3, 
1821,  died  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  February 
7,  1889,  fifth  child  of  Henry  Stebbins,  born 
July  16,  1785,  at  Belchertown,  died  Octo- 
ber 3,  1857,  and  Anna  (Jones)  Stebbins, 
born  at  Hebron,  Connecticut,  April  22, 
1788,  died  March  10,  1865,  who  were  mar- 
ried at  Hebron,  May  18,  1812.  Two  of  the 
sons  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moody,  Henry  Fay- 
ette and  Charles  Jones  Moody,  reside  in 
W'estfield,  ^Massachusetts.  Julia  M.,  wife  of 
Myron  W.  Tucker,  resides  in  South  Hadley 
Falls,  the  others  are  all  deceased.  Myron 
W.  and  Julia  M.  Tucker  are  the  parents  of 
two  sons :  Albert  Moody,  of  further  men- 
tion ;  Merton  Myron,  born  at  Chicopee, 
Massachusetts,  February  10,  1884,  educat- 
ed in  South  Hadley  Falls  graded  and  high 
schools,  connected  for  some  years  with  the 
General  Electric  Company  at  Schenectady, 
New  York,  now  connected  with  the  Sche- 
nectady post  office,  a  position  gained  after 
a  competitive   civil   service   examination. 

(VTII)  Albert  Moody  Tucker,  eldest  son 
of  Myron  William  Tucker,  was  born  at 
Chicopee,  Massachusetts,  October  13,  1881. 
The  family  moved  to  South  Hadley  Falls 
in  1885  and  there  he  completed  his  public 
school  course  with  graduation  from  high 
school,  class  of  1900.  From  youth  he  dis- 
played unusual  interest  in  music  and  an 
ability  which  justified  a  musical  education. 
He  developed  his  talent  under  the  best  lo- 
cal instruction,  then  chose  the  pipe  organ 
as  his  special  instrument.  He  studied  un- 
der S.  P.  Warren,  of  New  York  City,  a 
master  organist,  and  then  spent  eighteen 
months  in  Paris  studying  under  those  two 
French  masters,  Guilmant  and  Swayne.  He 
then  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  is 
now   (1918)  associate  professor  in  the  de- 


partment of  music  at  i\It.  Holyoke  Col- 
lege, South  Hadley,  Massachusetts.  He 
has  been  organist  in  several  prominent 
churches  and  presides  at  the  organ  in  the 
beautiful  college  chapel. 

Mr.  Tucker  has  made  several  journeys 
abroad  in  the  interest  of  his  art,  studying 
in  the  musical  centres  of  England,  France, 
Italy,  Switzerland  and  Germany.  His  last 
trip  abroad  was  just  prior  to  the  outbreak 
of  the  European  W^ar  in  191 4,  being  in 
France  when  the  Germans  began  the  war 
with  their  drive  upon  the  French  capital. 
He  speaks  both  French  and  German  fluent- 
ly, his  knowledge  of  these  languages  having 
greatly  facilitated  his  foreign  study.  He 
also  made  a  trip  of  three  months'  duration 
in  the  West.  For  a  good  share  of  the  time 
he  was  a  guest  of  Professor  Lines,  form- 
erly instructor  in  economics  at  Mount  Hol- 
yoke College,  and  who  now  owns  a  ranch 
in  Columbus,  Montana.  On  the  return  trip, 
Mr.  Tucker  spent  a  week  in  San  Francisco. 
Mr.  Tucker  also  spent  a  few  days  in  Salt 
Lake  City,  where  he  inspected  the  big  or- 
gan, recently  rebuilt  by  Austen  of  Hartford. 
He  has  devoted  his  life  to  his  art  and  is 
one  of  the  well  known  organists  of  this  sec- 
tion. He  is  a  member  of  the  American 
Guild  of  Organists  and  of  the  Holyoke  Ca- 
noe Club. 


WOOLLEY,  Mary  Emma,  LL.  D., 

President   of  Mt.  Holyoke   College. 

As  educator,  college  president  and  littera- 
teur. Miss  Mary  Emma  Woolley  has  fairly 
won  her  way  to  eminence,  and  ranks  as  one 
of  the  representative  women  of  the  world 
in  an  age  in  which  there  is  no  dearth  of  bril- 
liant minds  among  the   sex. 

On  paternal  lines  President  Woolley 
descends  from  Joseph  Woolley,  bom  in 
1800,  in  a  Spanish  town  on  the  Island  of 
Jamaica,  West  Indies,  and  who  at  the  age 
of  twelve  years  was  sent  to  New  York  to 


190 


-iML.^C-A.--A^G- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  ^ 


31,  1850,  and  a  daughter,  Mary  Irp^ 
May  12,  1831.  di^d  ^ 
bert  I\'  ody,  a  life  long  lai'nhjr  o 
died  a.   Soinb  H  •dk-y  Frills,  June 

Stebbins, 


He   mi'    1  (i    '■'  ■ 

Belcher   jwn,     I.; 

1 82 1,  di.'d  at  So- 

7,  1889,  tifth  chi. 
July  16,        -5,  at 
ber  3,   1 1          and 

born    at 

1788,  diec     . 

ried  at  He 

sons  of  M 

ette    and 

Westfi^ 

Myr 
F 

college  c 
Ax.  Tucker  ha 
..oroad  in  the  into 
n  the  musical  cerv 


..wife  of 
^outb  Hadle: 


'Tian  fiuen .  - 
having 
y.      He 

'Ml. 


e.o  in  South  Hadiey 


lists  of  this  sec- 
of   the  American 


der  S 

master 

months 

French  i.-.a-L'-i  ■,  v,iu 

then  returned  to  t^^ 

i.ov'~  i  1918)  ass< 


5: ,  Mary  Emma,  Li-.  j-» 

M*lent  of  Mt.  Holyoi.^  Cull-/^..'^. 

educator,  college 
Miss  Mary  Emm 


igfe  m  v>\ 

'^"   mill'! 

On    pa 
Icscends    tro-' 
800,  in  a   ' 
^imaica,  ^ 


the  age 
I'ork  to 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


be  educated.  Joseph  Woolley's  father  died 
not  long  after  the  sending  of  his  son  to  the 
United  States.  When  he  attained  suitable 
age  he  learned  the  cabinet  maker's  trade, 
located  in  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  there 
attained  a  good  position,  and  married  Fan- 
ny Burroughs,  born  April  7,  1804,  daugh- 
ter of  Captain  Stephen  (3)  Burroughs,  of 
Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  granddaughter  of 
Captain  Stephen  (2)  Burroughs,  a  captain 
of  the  Revolution,  and  great-granddaughter 
of  Stephen  (i)  Burroughs.  Joseph  and 
Fanny  (Burroughs)  Woolley  were  the  par- 
ents of  John  ;  Georgianna,  married  Charles 
Beatty ;  Joseph  Judah,  of  further  mention  ; 
and  William. 

Rev.  Joseph  Judah  Woolley  was  born  in 
Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  in  1832,  and  died 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  July  i,  1906. 
He  became  an  eminent  minister  of  the  Con- 
gregational church,  and  during  both  the 
Civil  and  Spanish-American  wars  volun- 
teered his  services,  serving  as  chaplain.  He 
continued  in  the  active  ministry  until  his 
death.  He  married  Mary  Augusta  Ferris, 
born  March  4,  1838,  died  March  28,  1905. 
Children:  Mary  Emma,  of  further  men- 
tion ;  Erving  Yale,  married  Mary  E.  Da- 
vis and  has  children :  Paul  and  Mary  E. ; 
Frank  Ferris,  married  Harriet  Wright,  they 
the  parents  of  Frank  Ferris  (2),  Janet, 
Eleanor,  and  Grace  E.,  who  died  when  a 
child. 

Through  her  grandmother,  Fanny  (Bur- 
roughs) Woolley,  President  Woolley  traces 
descent  to  Robert  Burroughs,  of  Weth- 
ersfield,  Connecticut,  who  is  descended  from 
the  Burroughs  family  long  seated  in  Devon- 
shire, England.  A  noted  representative  of 
that  family  was  Captain  Burroughs,  the 
navigator,  who  in  1553  commanded  one  of 
the  vessels  of  the  ill  fated  expedition  at- 
tempting to  find  a  passage  to  China  by  the 
Nova  Zembla  route.  Captain  Burroughs 
alone  brought  his  vessel  in  safety  into  the 
White  Sea,  and  from  that  event  dates  Eng- 

19; 


land's  commercial  relations  with  Russia. 
Another  Burroughs  of  the  Devonshire  fam- 
ily, "Clerk  and  Comptroller  of  the  Queen's 
Navy,"  received  a  grant  of  a  coat-of-arms 
in  1586,  described  as:  Azure  a  bend  wavy 
argent  between  two  fleurs-de-lis  ermine. 

Robert  Burroughs,  of  Wethersfield,  Con- 
necticut, married  Mary,  widow  of  Samuel 
Ireland,  and  removed  to  New  London, 
Connecticut;  had  (with  perhaps  other  chil- 
dren) a  son  John,  born  in  New  London, 
Connecticut.  He  married  there  Mary, 
daughter  of  John  Culver.  John  (2)  Bur- 
roughs, eldest  child  of  John  ( i )  Burroughs, 
was  born  in  New  London,  Connecticut,  Sep- 
tember 2,  1 67 1.  Removing  in  early  man- 
hood to  Stratford,  Fairfield  county,  Con- 
necticut, he  became  a  prominent  citizen  of 
that  community  and  one  of  its  most  enter- 
prising men.  In  1707  he  purchased  a  half 
proprietorship  in  a  grist  mill,  with  a  dwell- 
ing and  several  acres  of  land  from  John 
Seeley,  who  had  built  the  mill — the  first 
on  the  Pequonnock  river — in  1697;  and 
in  1 710  he  bought  Seeley's  remaining  in- 
terest. Throughout  the  remainder  of  his 
life  he  was  a  prosperous  farmer  and  miller. 
He  married  Patience,  daughter  of  Edward 
Hinman,  of  Stratford.  Stephen  Burroughs, 
eldest  child  of  John  (2)  Burroughs,  was 
born  in  Stratford,  February  25,  1695.  He 
inherited  the  paternal  homestead,  and  also 
received  a  "double  portion"  of  the  estate. 
Subsequently  by  purchase  from  his  sis- 
ters, he  became  the  sole  owner  of  the  mill 
property.  In  addition  to  his  possessions  in 
Stratford,  he  had  lands  "in  Rocky  Hill,  in 
the  mountains  of  Cornwall  and  on  the 
plains  of  Wallingford."  He  married,  March 
3,  1720,  Ruth,  daughter  of  Abraham  Nich- 
ols, a  leading  citizen  and  member  of  a 
wealthy  family  of  Stratford. 

Stephen  (2)  Burroughs,  known  as  Cap- 
tain Stephen  Burroughs,  and  also  as  Ste- 
phen Burroughs,  the  astronomer,  fourth 
child  of  Stephen  ( i )  Burroughs,  was  born 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  Rocky  Hill,  now  North  Bridgeport,  Oc- 
tober 4,  1729.  He  was  a  man  of  extraor- 
dinary mathematical  attainments,  which  ap- 
parently were  acquired  without  the  ad- 
vantage of  any  formal  educational  train- 
ing. Among  his  literary  reviews,  possessed 
by  his  descendants,  is  his  "Navigation 
Book,"  bearing  date  1749  (when  he  was 
only  twenty),  which  contains  intricate  trig- 
onometrical problems,  worked  out  by  log- 
arithms, for  use  in  trigonometry.  He  con- 
tinued his  astronomical  studies  with  great 
zeal  to  the  end  of  his  life,  made  numerous 
calculations  for  almanacs,  and  was  engaged 
in  the  compilation  of  an  extended  work  on 
astronomy,  which  he  was  obliged  to  suspend 
by  the  loss  of  his  eyesight  when  about  sev- 
enty years  old.  To  him  has  been  attributed 
the  invention  of  the  decimal  monetary  sys- 
tem of  the  United  States.  According  to 
Isaac  Sherman,  Mr.  Burroughs  made  the 
original  proposal  in  that  direction  and  sub- 
mitted it  to  Hon.  William  Samuel  John- 
son, "who  after  understanding  its  simplic- 
ity and  great  convenience,  caused  it  to  be 
brought  before  Congress  in  1784,  when  he 
was  a  member  of  that  body."  He  possessed 
an  unusually  large  and  varied  library  for 
those  times,  a  portion  of  which  is  now  pre- 
served in  the  Burroughs  Public  Library  in 
Bridgeport.  The  scientific  and  scholarly 
pursuits  of  Stephen  Burroughs  were,  how- 
ever, only  incidental  to  a  life  of  great  ac- 
tivity and  success  in  practical  affairs.  He 
was  the  principal  merchant  of  the  locality, 
and  his  establishment  at  the  Burroughs 
Landing  at  Rocky  Hill  was  the  centre  of  the 
shipping  business  of  the  Pequonnock  river. 
The  manuscript  records  of  his  transactions, 
kept  with  scrupulous  care,  are  of  great 
historical  value  for  the  information  which 
they  afford  about  the  circumstances  and 
usages  of  life  and  society  in  Connecticut 
during  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. In  the  Revolution  he  was  an  earnest 
patriot    and    raised    a    military    company, 


known  as  the  Householders,  of  which  he 
was  captain.  He  was  twice  a  representative 
in  the  General  Assembly,  and  for  many 
years  was  justice  of  the  peace.  He  died 
August  2,  1 81 7,  on  his  eighty-eighth  birth- 
day anniversary.  Captain  Burroughs  mar- 
ried (first)  May  22,  1760,  Elizabeth 
Browne,  who  died  December  4,  1764,  of  a 
"very  excellent  family"  of  Stratford,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  Browne,  and  sister  of  Anne 
Browne,  who  married  Wolcott  Chauncey 
and  was  the  mother  of  the  famous  Commo- 
dore Isaac  Chauncey,  of  the  United  States 
Navy.  He  married  (second)  December 
II,  1765,  Huldah,  daughter  of  Peter  Pix- 
lee.  and  widow  of  Jeremiah  Judson. 

Stephen  (3)  Burroughs,  second  child  of 
Stephen  (2)  Burroughs  (by  his  first  mar- 
riage) was  born  March  5,  1763.  He  was  a 
merchant  in  Bridgeport,  captain  of  coasting 
vessels,  and  also  made  several  voyages  in 
the  trade  with  China.  He  married  (first) 
March,  1792,  Mary,  daughter  of  Levi  Jen- 
nings, of  Boston;  (second)  November, 
1812,  Pamelia  (Turney)  Higby,  of  Trum- 
bull, Connecticut,  widow  of  Dr.   Higby. 

Fanny  Burroughs,  eighth  child  of  Cap- 
tain Stephen  (3)  Burroughs,  and  his  first 
wife,  Mary  (Jennings)  Burroughs,  was  born 
in  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  April  7,  1804, 
married  Joseph  Woolley,  of  Bridgeport, 
Connecticut. 

Dr.  Mary  Emma  Woolley,  of  the  third 
generation  of  Woolleys  in  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  ninth  American  genera- 
tion of  Burroughs,  was  born  in  South  Nor- 
walk.  Connecticut,  July  13,  1863.  After 
graduation  from  Wheaton  Seminary,  Nor- 
ton, Massachusetts,  she  continued  at  the 
Seminary  as  an  instructor,  1 886-1 891,  then 
entered  Brown  University,  whence  she  was 
graduated  with  the  Bachelor's  degree,  class 
of  "94."  She  returned  to  Brown  University 
the  following  year,  did  post-graduate  work 
and  was  awarded  the  Master's  degree  with 
the  class  of  "95."  The  same  year  she  was 
92 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


appointed  instructor  of  Biblical  History  at 
Wellesley  College,  and  as  associate  profes- 
sor served  during  the  period,  1896- 1899. 
During  the  year  1899- 1900  she  was  profes- 
sor and  head  of  the  department  of  Biblical 
History  and  Literature,  retaining  that  chair 
until  her  election  in  1900  to  the  presidency 
of  Mt.  Holyoke  College,  a  position  of  honor 
and  responsibility  she  most  ably  fills,  her 
executive  service  to  the  institution  having 
been  continuous  since  that  time  until  the 
present  (1917).  The  same  year,  1900, 
Brown  University  conferred  the  degree 
Litt.  D.,  and  Amherst  College,  L.  H.  D.  In 
1910  Smith  College  conferred  LL.  D.,  and 
Yale  University  the  honorary  degree  of  A. 
M.  in  1914. 

There  are  few  avenues  of  usefulness 
open  to  women  which  do  not  engage  Miss 
Woolley's  attention.  She  is  a  member  of 
Current  Opinion  Scholarship  Fund  Com- 
mittee ;  Senate  of  the  United  Chapter  of 
the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society ;  Brown  Uni- 
versity and  Mount  Holyoke  Chapter  of  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  Society ;  Board  of  Governors 
at  Christian  College  for  Women,  Madras, 
India ;  Managing  Committee  of  the  Amer- 
ican School  of  Oriental  Research  in  Jeru- 
salem; Board  of  Electors  of  the  Hall  of 
Fame  ;  American  Association  for  Maintain- 
ing a  Woman's  Table  at  Naples ;  American 
Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science ; 
College  Entrance  Examination  Board ; 
Board  of  Trustees  of  Lake  Erie  College, 
Painesville,  Ohio;  Board  of  Trustees  of 
American  International  College,  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts  ;  Rhode  Island  Society 
for  the  Collegiate  Education  of  Women; 
Northeastern  Territorial  Committee  of  Na- 
tional Board  of  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association;  Church  Peace  Union;  Board 
of  Directors  of  National  Institute  for  Moral 
Instruction;  Society  of  Biblical  Literature 
and  Exegesis;  Advisory  Board  of  the  In- 
tercollegiate Bureau  of  Occupation  in  New 


York  City ;  Polish  University  Grants'  Com- 
mittee ;  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation; 
Corporate  Member  of  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions 
(191 7)  ;  American  Section  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Christian  Education  in  the  Mission 
Field ;  Committee  of  Religious  Education  of 
the  National  Council  of  Congregational 
Churches ;  Woman's  Peace  Party ;  Na- 
tional Council  American  Institute  of  So- 
cial Service ;  Advisory  Committee  of  Stand- 
ing Committee  of  Habit-Forming  Drugs 
(American  Public  Health  Association)  ; 
Women's  Woodrow  Wilson  League ;  Cur- 
tis Guild  Memorial  Committee ;  Advisory 
Council  Massachusetts  Association  for  La- 
bor Legislation ;  Charter  Member  of  the 
Church  Peace  League ;  Central  Organiza- 
tion for  a  Durable  Peace;  Association  of 
Collegiate  Alumnae;  Lyceum  Club,  Lon- 
don ;  Association  of  Collegiate  Alumnae, 
Rhode  Island  Branch ;  Woman's  Cosmo- 
politan Club,  New  York  City;  Woman's 
University  Club,  New  York  City;  Paw- 
tucket  Chapter  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution.  She  is  an  honorary 
member  of  Salem  Society  for  Higher  Ed- 
ucation of  Women;  New  England  Women's 
Press  Association;  Boston  College  Club; 
Springfield  Club;  Pawtucket  Women's 
Club;  Sorosis.  She  is  vice-president  of 
Constantinople  College  Association;  Wom- 
an's Home  Missionary  Association  ;  Rhode 
Island  Branch  Woman's  Board  of  Mis- 
sions; Religious  Educational  Association 
(also  Director-at-large)  ;  American  School 
Peace  League;  American  Peace  Societies; 
Massachusetts  Branch  of  the  Peace  Socie- 
ty;  League  to  Enforce  Peace;  and  honor- 
ary vice-president  of  the  National  Consum- 
er's League;  Massachusetts  Woman's  Suf- 
frage League ;  Massachusetts  Audubon  So- 
ciety. She  is  the  author  of  historical  mon- 
ographs, "Early  History  of  the  Colonial 
Post  Office,"  "Development  of  the  Love  of 


MASS.— 7— 13. 


193 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Romantic  Scenery  in  America,"  "History 
of  the  Passover  Scandal,"  and  many  edu- 
cational articles. 


HANLEY,  Francis  J., 

Physician  and  Surgeon. 

The  State  of  Massachusetts  with  its 
highly  specialized  educational  system  and 
rapid  industrial  development  demands  that 
practitioners  of  any  profession  be  men  of 
sound  training  and  marked  ability.  It  is 
in  this  way  that  its  progress  has  been  aided 
and  its  high  rank  among  the  states  main- 
tained. The  medical  profession  is  no  ex- 
ception among  the  others  and  to  be  admitted 
to  practice  in  this  State  is  proof  that  ed- 
ucation and  ability  have  been  thoroughly 
tested. 

Dr.  Francis  J.  Hanley,  to  whom  this  re- 
view is  devoted,  is  a  physician  in  Whitman, 
to  whom  the  county  owes  its  gratitude  on 
account  of  his  faithful  and  efificient  ser- 
vice. Martin  and  Elizabeth  Hanley,  par- 
ents of  Dr.  Francis  J.  Hanley,  are  residents 
of  Massachusetts  and  have  spent  their  en- 
tire lives  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston.  For 
many  years  Mr.  Hanley  was  engaged  in  the 
Reynolds  Woolen  Mills,  of  Monson,  Mas- 
sachusetts, where  his  services  were  much 
appreciated  by  his  employers  to  whom  he 
gave  his  most  devoted  attention.  He  had 
the  honor  of  being  a  member  of  the  Fifty- 
seventh  New  York  Regiment  during  the 
Civil  War.  He  is  now  retired  from  active 
business  cares,  and  for  the  past  several 
years  has  made  his  home  in  Middleboro, 
Massachusetts. 

Dr.  Francis  J.  Hanley  received  his  early 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  Hins- 
dale, Massachusetts,  where  his  birth  occur- 
red on  January  lo,  1869.  After  completing 
the  courses  given  by  the  public  schools  he 
was  sent  to  Monson  Academy,  where  he 
prepared  to  matriculate  at  the  Georgetown 
University.      During  his   college   career   at 


the  latter  institution  he  decided  to  take  up 
the  practice  of  medicine  later  in  life.  He 
selected  his  courses  with  that  end  in  view. 
After  receiving  his  degree  he  entered  Jef- 
ferson Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  remained  the  full  four 
years,  familiarizing  himself  not  only  with 
the  general  medical  practice  but  with  sur- 
gery also.  His  high  rank  among  his  asso- 
ciate physicians  is  particularly  emphasized 
by  the  fact  -that  he  is  not  only  a  member 
of  many  medical  organizations,  but  also  dif- 
rector,  officer  and  trustee  of  several  of  these 
societies.  This  shows  his  desire  to  keep 
abreast  with  the  latest  developments  in  med- 
ical science,  as  well  as  his  desire  to  assist 
others  in  gaining  all  possible  benefits  from 
fraternal  intercourse  with  their  fellow  prac- 
titioners. Thus  Dr.  Hanley  is  not  only  ex- 
tremely busy  and  successful,  but  is  also 
in  great  demand  socially  in  these  organi- 
zations. Being  interested  in  education  be- 
yond that  of  the  medical  profession,  he  has 
for  ten  years  held  the  position  of  trustee  of 
the  Whitman  Public  Library.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Plymouth  County,  Massachusetts 
and  Brockton  Medical  societies ;  Massachu- 
setts Society  for  Examining  Physicians  and 
Surgeons ;  Boston  City  Club  and  Samoset 
Club  of  Whitman ;  Benevolent  and  Protec- 
tive Order  of  Elks ;  Whitman  Council ; 
Knights  of  Columbus ;  Sons  of  Veterans ; 
George  A.  Custer  Camp  of  Whitman.  He 
is  the  medical  director  of  Massachusetts 
Catholic  Order  of  Foresters,  trustee  of  the 
Knights  of  Columbus  Bed  in  Carney  Hos- 
pital, Boston ;  and  past  grand  knight  of 
Whitman  Council,  Knights  of  Columbus. 
Following  the  religion  of  his  parents,  both 
Dr.  Hanley  and  his  family  have  always  been 
members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 

On  November  17,  1897,  Dr.  Hanley  mar- 
ried Mary  E.  McGovern,  daughter  of  James 
and  Elizabeth  McGovern,  of  Dorchester, 
Massachusetts.     They   are   the   parents   of 


194 


Gv  .  y  .  J^(nrU^ 


r 


BIOGRAPHY 


Edward  J.,  iviiooi. 

L,..;ary  27,  1 903,  and  1\ , 

HP  birth  occurred  May  li,  1906. 

'    JOUY,  rlotiert  JOlin,  U.  D., 
■r-i .s .  nr  ^- .;.  n  rt     VI  «>. former. 

V.  "^r    Robert   John 

Fi,  ichusetts,  will 

be  01    his   Christian 

•  I  the  religious  lore 

be  most  popularly 

■    revered  by  the 

.   /'.merica  for  whom 

better  living,  greater 

iiigUcr  places  in  the  world  as 

Dr    Floody  was  a  native  of  Cartright, 

(..Charles  and  Hannah  (Vir- 

^iid  a  descendant  of  Scotch- 

y.    He  obtained  his  early  edu- 

^blic  schools  of  his  native 

'rom  the   High   School. 

Tencher's   Training 

cellent  prepa- 

■'■-■■^  and  pre- 

which  he 

was 


ister 
pointni 
MethG(' 
red    t( 
Church 
was  ordai: 
Michigan  <. 
the  world  i' 
ambitions  rov. 
c'f'.atrT  des^ree 


convince 

-;  aocomp'. 
deeper  stu 


in  1890 

,        .  -        -  -ii^nce.      i .      i 

oime  a  stud  :  University    • 

graduated  in  -ree  of  F' 

elor  of  Sacreu  -  .. ., ,      -.ame  yea.  ;; 

was  awarded  the  degree  ot  Master  of  Sci 
ence  by  Albion  College,   and   in    1910  hi^ 
Alma    Mater    conferred    upon     him    th 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.     In  1892  ht 
became  a  member  of  the  American  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Advancement  of  Science  and 
on   several   occasions   was   called   upon   to 
prepare  and  read  pajers  for  that  body. 

Dr.  Floody  was  a  scholar  and  a  deei 
thinker.  He  studieti  well  the  higher  sci 
ence.s  th  .»ader  know' 

edg'.'     '  <■•'  "*'  '•'  '" 

He. 
'  regarde 

his  finisi 

bath  and  Sunday     whiCL 
standard  work  upon  this  - 
est  work,  certainly  the  r; 
of  his  lifetime,  was  the 
Garden  City  movement,     i . ; 
ized  the  Worcester  Social  S 
sociation   with   the   object   ot    helping    t- 
v/ard   bettering   life    for   the    residents   of 
^he  tenement  districts  of  Worcester.    ^!  's 
perhaps   the  beginning  of  the 
'  ' ,     for    the    next    year     ■:  1 

''^"1  City  Movement  whi  1 

and    bears    the    nan 
-.     <.i;L)-i,.<-n    City    Ir        .  riii 

■rxry  motive  behind  is  to 

rime  among  the  juv  dents 

which  ha  '  '  n 

-'-.  nnd  t_. 


>  under  the 


and   he    entered   Albi* 


Iling  in  th< 


/'^\ 


iX    )/  .  J^'Co'irT^Uf 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


er  of  this  branch  of  the  Springfield-Hol- 
yoke  district  of  Massachusetts.  Children : 
William;  Ruth,  born  February  8,  1684; 
Benjamin,  February  14,  1686;  Samuel, 
August  24,  1689;  Elizabeth,  February  14, 
1692;  Rachel,  October  25,  1694;  Jonathan, 
of  further  mention ;  Job,  December  29, 
1700;    Mary,  August  12,  1703. 

Jonathan  Smith  was  born  October  20, 
1697,  and  died  in  West  Springfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, February  9,  1772.  He  married 
Margaret  Ball,  daughter  of  Samuel  Ball. 
Children:  Jonathan,  born  June  27,  1729; 
David,  August  12,  1731  ;  Margaret,  De- 
cember 10,  1733;  Solomon,  May  20,  1737; 
Daniel,  of  further  mention;  Caleb,  Septem- 
ber 17,  1743;    Simeon,  March  3,  1750. 

Daniel  Smith  was  born  June  20,  1739, 
and  died  March  6,  1808.  He  married,  June 
30,  1766,  Mary  Noble,  born  August  19, 
1738.  Children  :  Son,  died  aged  nine  years  ; 
Mary,  born  February  26,  1768,  died  July  2, 
1836;  Daniel,  of  further  mention;  Electa, 
born  December  25,  1772,  died  July  15,  i860; 
Enoch,  born  May  20,  1775,  died  Novem- 
ber 9,  1847;  Anna,  born  June  21,  1778, 
died  November  11,  1858. 

Daniel  (2)  Smith  was  born  April  9, 
1770,  and  died  December  11,  1845.  He 
married,  December  18,  1801,  Sarah  Day, 
daughter  of  John  and  Rhoda  (Chapin) 
Day.  Children :  Sally,  born  October  19, 
1802,  died  December  13,  1880;  John  Day, 
born  February  19,  1805,  died  January  10, 
1899;  Thankful,  February  i,  1807,  died 
April  9,  1888;  Mary  Ann,  October  3,  1809, 
died  January  21,  1884;  Rhoda  Chapin,  born 
April  9,  1812,  died  July  29,  1882;  Daniel, 
of  further  mention. 

Daniel  (3)  Smith  was  born  February  9, 
1816,  and  died  April  28,  1897.  He  married, 
December  21,  1840,  Lou  Luce,  daughter 
of  George  W.  Luce,  of  Martha's  Vineyard, 
Massachusetts.  Children :  Sarah  Elizabeth, 
born  August  i,  1842;  Edward  Chapin,  born 
October    26,     1843,    ^i^d    July    21,    1902; 


George  Edy,  born  February  i,  1846;  Daniel 
Herbert,  of  further  mention;  Henry  Au- 
gustus, born  August  23,  1851,  died  Janu- 
ary 4,  1908. 

Daniel  Herbert  Smith  was  born  in  West 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  February  23, 
1848,  and  died  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
November  19,  191 4.  He  was  educated  in 
Springfield  schools  and  Westfield  State 
Normal  School,  a  graduate  of  the  latter  in- 
stitution. In  his  younger  years  he  taught 
school  for  one  year  in  Pittsfield,  Massachu- 
setts, then  for  a  time  was  principal  of 
Greenville  Academy,  New  York  State. 
While  at  Greenville  he  began  studying  dent- 
istry with  his  brother,  George  E.  Smith. 
In  1871  he  opened  an  ofhce  in  South  Had- 
ley  Falls,  but  a  year  later  moved  his  office 
to  Holyoke.  His  first  office  was  in  the 
Baker  Block,  later  in  the  old  Prentiss  block 
on  Main  street.  In  1874  his  brother,  Ed- 
ward C.  Smith,  joined  him  in  practice,  and 
the  firm  of  Smith  Brothers  sprang  into  be- 
ing, continuing  until  Edward  C.  Smith  re- 
tired from  the  firm  in  1886,  and  left  the 
city,  going  to  the  old  farm  in  West  Spring- 
field. Later  he  practiced  in  Westfield,  then 
retired  and  his  death  occurred  on  the  old 
farm.  He  had  one  son,  Charles  H.  Smith, 
engaged  in  the  automobile  business  in  New 
London,  Connecticut,  being  the  first  to  open 
a  garage  there.  In  1881,  Dr.  Daniel  H.  Smith 
moved  his  dental  offices  to  No.  235  High 
street,  in  the  old  Tilly  Building,  there  con- 
tinuing in  practice  up  to  1899,  then  moved 
to  the  Senior  Building,  now  the  City  Bank 
Building,  but  wherever  located  he  was  the 
leading  dentist  of  the  city,  serving  a  large 
and  influential  clientele,  who  appreciated  his 
skill  and  gentleness.  He  continued  in  ac- 
tive practice  up  to  191 2,  then  retired,  after 
forty-one  years  of  continuous  practice.  Dr. 
Daniel  H.  Smith  married,  November  15, 
1871,  Anna  Stevens,  born  in  June,  1848, 
died  December  13,  1913,  daughter  of  Orrin 
and  Mary  (Smith)   Stevens,  of  Greenville, 


197 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


New  York.  They  were  the  parents  of  two 
sons :  Edward  Harper,  of  further  mention ; 
Herbert  Daniel,  born  December  31,  1877, 
died  March  6,  1900. 

Dr.  Edward  Harper  Smith,  of  the  eighth 
American  generation  of  the  family  founded 
in  Connecticut  by  William  Smith,  and  in 
West  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  by  his  son, 
Benjamin  Smith,  was  born  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  December  2,  1874.  He  was 
educated  in  Holyoke  grade  and  high 
schools,  completing  his  school  years  with 
graduation  from  high  school  with  the  class 
of  1893.  After  working  under  his  father's 
instruction  for  three  years,  he  entered  Phil- 
adelphia Dental  College,  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania, whence  he  was  graduated  D.  D.  S., 
class  of  1899.  After  obtaining  his  degree  he 
was  associated  with  a  dental  practitioner  in 
New  Jersey  for  a  time,  and  for  six  months 
with  his  father  in  Holyoke,  then  on  Janu- 
ary I,  1901,  he  opened  ofifices  in  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  there  practicing  very  suc- 
cessfully until  1906,  when  he  returned  to 
Holyoke  and  there  succeeded  to  the  honors 
and  emoluments  so  long  enjoyed  by  his 
honored  father,  whose  skill  and  popularity 
have  fallen  upon  his  son.  He  is  a  thorough 
master  of  the  practice  of  modern  dentistry, 
and  is  highly  rated  in  his  profession.  He  is 
a  member  of  William  Whitney  Lodge,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons ;  the  Bay  State  Club, 
ex-trustee ;  Holyoke  Canoe  Club ;  the  City, 
State  and  National  Dental  societies,  and  the 
Second  Congregational  Church. 

Dr.  Smith  married,  February  9,  1899, 
Nellie  Baugham,  of  North  Carolina.  They 
are  the  parents  of  two  children:  Dorothy 
Huston,  born  March  19,  1900;  Herbert 
Daniel,  born  December  13,  1910. 


WEISER,  Walter  Rupert,  M.  D., 

Physician. 

The  Weisers  came  to  America  in  1710, 
landing  at  New  York,  where  Conrad  Weis- 


er,  the  great-great-grandfather  of  Walter 
R.  Weiser,  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
remained  until  1714.  His  parents  continued 
in  New  York  until  1723,  when  they  settled 
on  Tulpehocken  creek  in  Berks  county, 
Pennsylvania.  Conrad  Weiser  was  born  in 
Germany  in  1696,  and  in  1710  was  brought 
to  New  York  City  by  his  parents,  arriving 
June  13,  1710.  His  father  became  acquaint- 
ed with  a  Mohawk  Indian  chief,  who  be- 
coming interested  in  young  Conrad  offered 
to  take  him  to  the  New  York  home  of  his 
tribe  and  teach  him  the  Mohawk  language. 
The  father  consented,  and  in  1714  he  be- 
gan his  residence  with  the  Indians.  Although 
he  suffered  many  trials  and  privations  dur- 
ing the  following  years  he  became  an  adept 
in  the  Indian  tongue,  their  signs,  symbols 
and  mysteries.  He  did  not  settle  in  Penn- 
sylvania until  1729,  then  joined  the  fam- 
ily at  the  home  on  Tulpehocken  creek.  In 
1730,  Governor  Gordon,  of  Pennsylvania, 
learning  of  his  knowledge  of  the  Indian 
tongue,  called  upon  him  to  act  as  an  inter- 
preter with  the  Indians,  and  during  the  fol- 
lowing twenty-five  years  he  acted  in  that 
capacity  at  all  the  Indian  treaty  councils 
and  was  one  of  the  most  famous  Indian  in- 
terpreters of  that  period.  During  the 
French  and  Indian  War  he  was  lieutenant- 
colonel  in  command  of  the  second  battalion 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Regiment.  He  settled 
in  Lancaster,  later  York  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  was  one  of  Lancaster's  early 
men  of  note.  In  1752  he  was  appointed  a 
trustee  of  the  schools  held  in  Lancaster, 
York  and  Reading,  Pennsylvania.  He  died 
July  13,  1760. 

Conrad  Weiser  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Martin  Weiser,  who  died  in  York  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1822,  leaving  a  son  Mar- 
tin (2)  Weiser,  born  in  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, a  merchant  of  York,  died  in  1829.  He 
married  Catherine  Haller.  They  were  the 
parents  of  William,  Susan,  Mary,  Cather- 
ine, Martin  Haller,  of  further  mention,  and 


198 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Emma.  Martin  Haller  Weiser  was  born  in 
York,  Pennsylvania,  in  1825,  and  died  in 
1886.  He  learned  the  mercantile  business 
in  his  father's  store  in  York,  and  nearly  his 
entire  life  was  spent  as  a  merchant.  He 
the  German  Lutheran  church  as  deacon,  and 
was  an  earnest  Christian  worker,  served 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows.  He  married  (first)  Caroline  J. 
Peififer,  a  daughter  of  Christopher  and 
Mary  (Hyde)  Peififer,  of  New  York.  He 
married  (second)  Mary  Tyler.  The  chil- 
dren of  his  first  marriage  were :  Edwin 
Christopher,  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
and  William  P.,  of  Camden,  New  Jersey. 
By  his  second  marriage :  Dr.  Walter  Ru- 
pert Weiser,  of  further  mention ;  Martin 
Luther,  of  Long  Island  City,  New  York ; 
and  Margaret  Haller,  deceased. 

Dr.  Walter  Rupert  W'eiser,  eldest  son  of 
Martin  Haller  W^eiser  and  his  second  wife, 
Mary  (Tyler)  W^eiser,  was  born  in  York, 
Pennsylvania,  June  13,  1870.  He  prepared 
in  the  grade  and  high  schools  of  York,  then 
entered  the  College  of  Pharmacy,  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania,  finishing  his  course  in 
1889  with  the  degree  of  Ph.D.  Deciding 
upon  the  profession  of  medicine,  he  entered 
the  medical  department  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  receiving  his  M.  D.  with 
the  graduating  class  of  1892.  The  follow- 
ing years  were  spent  in  hospital  work  in 
Philadelphia,  special  attention  being  given 
to  surgery.  In  1894  he  located  in  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts,  where  for  eight  years 
he  practiced  both  medicine  and  surgery.  In 
1902  he  went  abroad  and  for  two  years 
made  a  special  study  of  surgery,  receiving 
his  degree  from  the  University  of  Vienna. 
From  1904  until  the  present  he  has  practiced 
surgery  exclusively  in  Springfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, being  managing  director  of  the 
Hampden  Hospital,  which  he  founded.  He 
has   been    surgeon   to   the    Springfield   and 


Mercy  Hospitals,  and  State  Hospital  for 
Epileptics,  and  consulting  surgeon  to  the 
Noble  and  Wing  Hospitals.  He  is  a  skilled 
surgeon,  never  operating  unless  an  op- 
eration is  necessary  and  never  delaying 
an  operation  to  the  detriment  of  a  patient. 
He  combines  the  gentleness  of  a  woman 
with  the  nerve  and  courage  of  the  surgeon 
who  cuts  to  cure,  and  has  a  record  of  uni- 
form success.  Dr.  Weiser  is  president  of 
the  Academy  of  Medicine  of  Springfield, 
and  a  trustee  since  its  organization ;  he  is 
an  ex-secretary  and  ex-president  of  the 
Hampden  District  of  the  Massachusetts 
Medical  Society ;  member  of  the  American 
Medical  Association ;  the  Nayasset  Club 
(member  of  board  of  governors)  ;  Spring- 
field Country  and  Springfield  Automobile 
clubs ;  Roswell  Lee  Lodge,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons ;  is  a  thirty-second  degree 
member  of  the  Ancient  Accepted  Scottish 
Rite ;  a  Noble  of  the  Mystic  Shrine ;  an 
Odd  Fellow  and  an  Elk.  Dr.  Weiser  was 
appointed  a  captain  in  the  Massachusetts 
Red  Cross,  United  States  Army.  April  9, 
191 7,  and  was  called  into  the  service  in 
June,  191 7.  He  was  ordered  to  camp  Green- 
leaf,  Fort  Oglethorpe,  Georgia.  On  Sep- 
tember 10,  1917,  he  was  commissioned  a  ma- 
jor, and  is  at  present  serving  with  the 
United  States  army. 

Dr.  Weiser  married  (first)  October  2, 
1895,  Harriet  Lamson,  of  Springfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, who  died  November  9,  191 5, 
leaving  a  son,  Franklin  Hall,  born  in 
Springfield,  August  30,  1897,  a  graduate 
of  Springfield  High  School,  Phillips  Ex- 
eter Academy,  class  of  191 5,  and  is  now  a 
student  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
class  of  1919  (College  Department).  Dr. 
Weiser  married  (second)  February  i,  1917, 
Karolin  M.  Dietrich,  of  Springfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, a  daughter  of  Albert  and  Matil- 
da Dietrich. 


199 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


FITZGIBBONS,  Edward  P., 
Merchant. 

As  one  of  the  largest  United  States  deal- 
ers in  leather  remnants,  Mr.  Fitzgibbons  has 
added  to  the  industries  of  Whitman,  Mas- 
sachusetts, one  of  the  largest  and  most  im- 
portant plants.  The  great  benefit  so  large 
an  industry  is  to  a  community  is  at  once 
apparent,  but  the  impetus  he  has  given  to 
material  prosperity  is  but  one  obligation 
under  which  Whitman  rests  to  Mr.  Fitz- 
gibbons. There  he  has  erected  his  beauti- 
ful mansion  surrounded  by  an  extensive 
Italian  garden  designed  and  built  by  the 
noted  landscape  gardener,  Windsor  Wyn- 
an,  house  and  grounds  forming  one  of  the 
great  attractions  of  the  town.  In  addition 
he  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  upbuild- 
ing of  Whitman,  and  lent  generous  aid  to 
every  enterprise  which  promised  temporal 
or  moral  benefit.  He  is  a  son  of  James 
and  Ellen  Fitzgibbons,  his  father  also  hav- 
ing been  a  leather  merchant. 

Edward  P.  Fitzgibbons  was  born  in  Whit- 
man, Massachusetts,  July  28,  1870,  and 
was  educated  in  the  grammar  and  high 
schools  of  Whitman.  He  completed  his 
education  with  a  course  at  Bryant  &  Strat- 
ton's  Business  College,  after  which  he  en- 
tered the  business  in  which  he  has  been  so 
conspicuous  a  success.  The  business  has 
grown  to  great  proportions  and  products 
of  the  Fitzgibbons  plant  are  found  all  over 
the  United  States  and  form  a  large  item  of 
the  leather  export  trade  with  England  and 
France.  The  plant  at  No.  68  Temple  street 
was  established  in  1902,  and  the  devel- 
opment of  the  business  has  been  remarka- 
ble, Mr.  Fitzgibbons  being  widely  known  as 
one  of  the  leading  operators  in  his  spe- 
cial line  in  the  United  States.  In  addition 
to  dealing  in  leather  remnants,  stay  fac- 
ings, tongues  are  cut  to  order,  and  cut  lifts, 
outersoles,  innersoles  and  taps  are  bought 
and  sold.     An  idea  of  the  business  trans- 


acted may  be  gained  from  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Fitzgibbons  handles  the  remnants  of  such 
large  shoe  manufacturing  concerns  as  Rice 
&  Hutchins,  of  Rockland;  E.  T.  Wright, 
of  Rockland;  Louis  A.  Crossett  Company, 
of  North  Abington;  the  Commonwealth 
Shoe  Company,  of  Whitman,  and  many 
others.  In  the  management  of  his  large 
business,  Mr.  Fizgibbons  displays  sterling 
qualities  that  have  won  him  enviable  rep- 
utation among  the  progressive,  sagacious 
business  men  of  the  Bay  State.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Whitman  Board  of  Trade, 
and  has  many  interests  in  the  city  of  his 
birth.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and 
in  religious  faith  a  Roman  Catholic.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Republican  Club,  the 
Knights  of  Columbus  (Fourth  Degree)  and 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks. 

He  married,  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  1891, 
Julia  Morey,  daughter  of  Dennis  J.  and 
Margaret  Morey.  They  have  two  children : 
I.  Harold  E.,  born  November  26,  1893, 
graduate  of  Whitman  High  School,  of  Phil- 
lips Andover  Academy,  class  of  191 1,  and 
of  Harvard  University,  class  of  191 5,  and 
is  now  associated  in  business  with  his  fath- 
er, making  the  third  generation  to  engage  in 
the  same  line  of  activity ;  while  a  student  at 
Harvard  he  was  active  in  athletics,  pitching 
for  two  years  on  the  Varsity  base  ball  team. 
During  the  World  War  he  served  as  clerk 
in  the  Quartermaster's  Department,  United 
States  Army,  having  charge  of  the  final  in- 
spection of  the  army  shoes  made  in  the 
Brockton  district.  2.  Agnes  M.,  born  Feb- 
ruary II,  1895. 


THOMPSON,  John  J., 

Skillful  Physician. 

Dr.  John  J.  Thompson,  practicing  phy- 
sician in  Webster  and  vicinity  for  more 
than  a  third  of  a  century,  respected  by  the 
community  and  beloved  by   all   as   a  phy- 


200 


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ot  Tn^le, 


Me 


It)!  1,  and 
{')['>,  and 


.j  a  derk 


„v  ;n  the 
wrnFeb- 


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iji 


[raduat- 


.liat  Mr. 

nts  of  such 

■  as  Rice 

Wright, 

mpany, 


her  of  ti 


Trade, 
He 


■  ,]5,  and 
in  busine.s<s  with  his  fath- 

'  ;'- ''■  ",  to  engage  in 

?  a  student  at 

'■■:  m  athletics,  pitching 

arsity  base  ball  team. 

ir  he  served  as  derk 

-  Depar^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


sician  for  his  skill  in  treating  the  sick,  and 
for  his  life-long  acts  of  painstaking  and 
self-sacrificing  benevolence,  was  a  native  of 
Webster,  Massachusetts,  born  February  lo, 
1858,  son  of  Richard  and  Bridget  ( Farrell) 
Thompson,  respected  and  influential  resi- 
dents of  Webster. 

The  foundation  for  his  education  was  de- 
rived in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
town,  and  in  1876  he  was  graduated  from 
the  Webster  High  School.  In  June,  1877, 
he  received  his  diploma  from  Nichols 
Academy  in  Dudley,  then  entered  Holy 
Cross  College  in  Worcester,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1882,  and  in  1887,  five 
years  later,  was  graduated  with  high  hon- 
ors from  Jefferson  IMedical  College  at  Phil- 
adelphia. Shortly  afterward  he  passed  the 
examination  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical 
Board,  and  began  the  active  practice  of  his 
profession  in  Webster.  A  pleasing  per- 
sonality, coupled  with  proper  training,  ex- 
perience and  rare  judgment  in  critical  cases, 
increased  his  practice  in  an  incredibly  short 
space  of  time,  and  he  came  to  be  recognized 
as  one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  his  com- 
inunity.  In  addition  to  his  private  practice, 
which  increased  with  each  passing  year,  he 
served  for  many  years  as  town  physician, 
and  also  served  as  physician  to  the  An- 
cient Order  of  Hibernians,  Knights  of  Co- 
lumbus, Royal  Arcanum  and  the  Order  of 
Foresters.  Although  deeply  absorbed  and 
interested  in  his  chosen  line  of  work,  Dr. 
Thompson  devoted  considerable  of  his  time 
to  the  improvement  of  the  public  school  sys- 
tem, serving  the  town  of  Webster  for  nine 
years  on  the  school  board,  he  being  con- 
sidered an  authority  on  educational  mat- 
ters, his  study  being  careful  and  unbiased. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  committee  which 
designed  and  built  the  school,  the  most  mod- 
em in  town,  located  on  Prospect  street, 
named  in  his  honor.  His  interest  in  this 
building  was  shown  in  many  ways,  includ- 
ing  substantial  gifts   for  advanced   school 


equipment  and  furnishings.  Dr.  Thompson 
was  active  in  the  lodge  and  society  life  of 
Webster.  He  was  affiliated  with  many  of 
the  leading  organizations,  including  Divi- 
sion II,  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians; 
Webster  Council,  Knights  of  Columbus; 
Ben  Franklin  Council,  Royal  Arcanum; 
Court  Friendship,  Foresters  of  America; 
Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  Nichols 
Academy  Alumni  Association  and  Holy 
Cross  Alumni  Society. 

The  close  attention  he  gave  to  his  pro- 
fessional and  other  duties  caused  his  health 
to  break,  and  about  three  years  prior  to  his 
death  he  suffered  a  paralytic  shock,  which 
left  him  practically  helpless,  this  calamity 
causing  wide-spread  sorrow  throughout  his 
large  circle  of  friends,  patients  and  ac- 
quaintances. Through  his  many  months  of 
suffering  he  bore  his  trial  with  patient  forti- 
tude, looked  for  the  cheerful  side  of  life 
and,  although  helpless  and  suffering,  he  de- 
rived considerable  pleasure  from  the  declin- 
ing years  of  his  life.  Dr.  Thompson  died 
at  his  late  home  on  Lake  street,  Webster, 
September  16,  1916.  The  high  esteem  in 
which  Dr.  Thompson  was  universally  held 
was  made  evident  by  the  many  who  attend- 
ed the  funeral  services,  men  and  women  of 
all  ages  and  conditions  in  life,  all  of  whom 
respected  and  admired  him  for  his  many 
excellent  characteristics,  and  for  the  part 
he  played  in  the  conduct  of  affairs  in  Web- 
ster. Funeral  services  were  held  in  St. 
Louis  Church,  and  a  solemn  high  mass  of 
requiem  was  celebrated  by  Rev.  Garrett  H. 
Dolan,  pastor,  with  Rev.  James  J.  Farrell, 
Worcester,  deacon  ;  Rev.  Patrick  J.  O'Mal- 
ley,  Clinton,  sub-deacon,  and  Rev.  James 
W.  Dolan,  master  of  ceremonies.  Inter- 
ment was  in  Calvary  Cemetery. 

The  Worcester  District  Medical  Society 
in  their  Memorial  of  their  late  respected  as- 
sociate. Dr.  John  J.  Thompson,  said  in  part : 

In  the  passing  from  this  life  of  our  Townsman 


201 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  also  Associate  and  Co-worker,  we  mourn 
with  the  personnel  of  this  Association  in  the  loss 
of  our  esteemed  Member,  one  whose  devotion  to 
the  medical  profession  was  not  only  respected  by 
his  hundreds  of  patients,  but  one  whose  quiet  dig- 
nity and  scholarly  bearing  were  an  honor  to  the 
Worcester  District  Medical  Society. 

There  are  those  of  your  Committee  who  can 
not  only  attest  to  the  value  of  the  late  Dr.  Thomp- 
son's life  as  a  most  successful  physician,  but  as  an 
educational  force  in  the  community  long  favored 
by  his  professional  skill  and  as  an  efficient  pub- 
lic servant  in  connection  with  our  institutions  of 
learning ;  but  also  have  been  intimate  and  asso- 
ciated with  him  as  a  playmate,  schoolmate  and 
co-worker.  A  student  from  early  life,  always  con- 
siderate of  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact, 
which  noble  characteristic  was  a  predominating 
force  through  his  professional  life  to  the  extent 
that  his  own  interests  were  constantly  sacrificed, 
and  his  health  thereby  permanently  undermined. 

At  a  Special  meeting  of  Court  Friendship, 
No.  59,  Foresters  of  America,  the  following 
resolutions  were  adopted : 

Whereas,  it  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  call 
from  our  midst  our  beloved  brother,  Dr.  John  J. 
Thompson,  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  while  humbly  bowing  before 
Divine  will,  we  cannot  but  regret  the  loss  to  our 
Court  of  an  honest  and  faithful  brother,  one 
who  was  ever  ready  to  uphold  the  motto  of  Lib- 
erty,  Unity,   Benevolence   and   Concord. 

Resolved,  That  our  charter  be  draped  for  a 
period  of   thirty   days. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  his  sister  our  heartfelt 
sympathy  in  her  sad  bereavement. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be 
spread  on  the  records  of  our  Court,  and  that  a 
printed  copy  be  sent  to  his  sister.  Miss  Ellen 
Thompson,  as  a  lasting  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
our  beloved  brother. 

We  offer  our  heartfelt  sympathy  to  Miss  Ellen 
M.  (Nellie)  Thompson,  a  graduate  of  the  old 
Mount  Saint  Mary,  in  the  sorrow  for  a  beloved 
brother.  Dr.  John  J.  Thompson,  of  Webster,  who 
had  been  in  the  medical  profession  for  a  number 
of  years,  and  was  remarkable  for  his  kindness 
to  poor  patients  who  were  tended  with  extreme 
care.  May  our  Dear  Lord  console  his  sister  as 
only  he  can  and  give  eternal  rest  to  the  soul  of 
the  departed  one. 

Nothing  is  our  own;   we  hold  our  pleasures  just 


a  little  while,  ere  they  are  fled.  One  by  one 
life  robs  us  of  our  treasures ;  nothing  is  our 
own  except  our  death. 


GILMORE,  Edward, 

Public    Official. 

In  every  community  or  state  when  eco- 
nomic or  political  conditions  require  their 
leadership  there  are  found  men  of  unusual 
ability  as  organizers  who  step  forward  from 
the  younger  ranks  and  assume  the  burdens 
of  the  occasion,  men  who  form  their  plans 
quickly  and  execute  them  with  determina- 
tion. Such  men  are  never  satisfied  with 
present  canditions  and  delight  in  changing 
what  is  old  and  inefficient  into  new  and 
progressive  customs  laws,  whose  scope  is 
equal  to  the  advances  brought  about  by  com- 
mercial development  and  civilization.  At 
such  an  occasion  Edward  Gilmore  became 
prominent  in  the  political  life  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

Born  in  Brockton,  January  4.  1867,  son 
of  John  and  Ellen  Gilmore,  his  early  years 
were  spent  at  home,  frequently  assisting  in 
his  father's  grocery  store  and  always  giv- 
ing due  attention  to  his  studies  pursued  in 
the  public  schools.  He  later  entered  the 
high  school  and  completed  the  full  course. 
During  this  time  he  had  learned  much  about 
the  grocery  business  from  his  father's  store 
and  he  immediately,  after  finishing  school, 
started  in  this  line  himself,  and  is  still  con- 
tinuing it.  His  business  interests  have  not 
been  confined  to  the  grocery  and  provision 
trade,  as  he  is  also  a  director  of  the  Brock- 
ton Savings  Bank,  to  which  institution  he 
gives  considerable  attention.  Throughout 
his  life  he  has  been  an  ardent  and  enthusi- 
astic supporter  of  the  Democratic  party  and 
his  political  career  has  been  a  fine  example 
of  his  logical  way  of  undertaking  things ; 
first  starting  with  his  own  city's  interests 
and  working  from  that  to  district  and  then 
branching  out  to  state  and  national  politics. 


202 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


At  the  time  that  he  first  interested  himself 
in  the  activities  of  his  party  the  Democrats 
were  in  an  apparently  hopeless  minority  and 
they  needed  just  such  an  active,  courageous 
fighter  as  Mr.  Gilmore  to  start  and  turn  the 
tide.     His  first  political  office  in  this  city 
was  as  alderman  and  he  was  a  member  of 
the   Board  in   1901,    1903,   1904,    1905   and 
1906,  and  acted  as  chairman  of  the  Board 
of    Aldermen    in      1903.       His    work    on 
the     Brockton     Democratic     city    commit- 
tee   served    as    a    stepping    stone    for    his 
later  service  on  the   Massachusetts  Demo- 
cratic committee,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber for  several  years.    In  1907  and  1908  he 
was  elected  representative  to  the   Legisla- 
ture   of     Massachusetts     from    the    ninth 
Plymouth  district.     His  willingness  to  ful- 
fill   every    obligation    which    this    election 
placed  upon   him   was   appreciated   by   the 
speaker  and  he  was  made  a  member  of  the 
committee  on  roads  and  bridges.     At  this 
time  roads  in  America  were  a  big  problem 
and    on    account   of   the   highly    developed 
state  of  his  territory  it  was  particularly  im- 
portant that  the  public  highways  should  be 
put  in  good  condition  as  early  as  possible. 
In  this  work  Mr.  Gilmore  was  particularly 
active  and  made  plans  not  only  for  the  pres- 
ent and  for  his  own  state  but  also  for  all 
New  England.     During  his  term  as  repre- 
sentative he  became  one  of  the  leaders  of 
his    party    and    seldom    was    any    question 
brought  up  on  which  he  was  not  asked  to 
give  his  advice.     In  1901  and  1902,  at  the 
solicitation  of  his  friends,  he  consented  to 
allow  his  name  to  be  used  as  a  candidate 
for   mayor   of  the   city,   and   although   the 
Democratic  party  was  in  the  minority,  Mr. 
Gilmore  received  a  strong  indorsement  from 
the  people,  running  far  ahead  of  his  ticket, 
but  was  defeated. 

There  are  some  men  who  are  born  to  be 
leaders  and  it  seems  as  though  Mr.  Gil- 
more had  this  innate  quality  in  an  unusual 
degree.     It  was  while  he  was  a  member  of 


the  State  Democratic  central  committee  that 
he  first  brought  forward  the  name  of  Wil- 
liam L.  Douglas  as  candidate  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  for  governor.  At  first  there  was 
great  opposition  to  Mr.  Douglas'  name.  The 
state   leaders   were  convinced  that   if    Mr. 
Ham  L.  Douglas  as  candidate  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  for  governor.  At  first  there  was 
cede  to  his  wishes  and  have  Mr.  Douglas' 
name  brought  before  the  public.     Mr.  Gil- 
more's   faith  in  Mr.   Douglas'  ability  as  a 
drawing  power  with  the  people  was  not  mis- 
placed and  the  election  resulted  in  a  Demo- 
cratic landslide.     In  fact  political  history  in 
Massachusetts    was    made    right    then    and 
there.     As  manager  of  the   Douglas  cam- 
paign Mr.  Gilmore  was  active  in  forty-eight 
cities  and  towns,  the  result  being  ample  proof 
of  his  ability  and  success.     In  the  spring  of 
1 910  it  was  necessary  to  fill  a  vacancy  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  for  the  four- 
teenth congressional  district.     The  Repub- 
lican party  had  held  the  country  in  its  grip 
for  years  and  now  its  spoils  system,  its  lack 
of    foreign  trade  efficiency,   its  high  tariff 
program,   its    forgetfulness   of   needed   do- 
mestic   reforms,    all    these    conditions    had 
shattered  the  public's  faith,  gave  Air.  Gil- 
more, an  idealist,  the  opportunity  to  appeal 
to  a  sympathetic  public.     This  was  shortly 
after  the  revision  of  the  tariff  by  the  fa- 
mous   Payne-Aldrich    Bill    and    was    at    a 
time  when  a  crisis  had  indeed  arisen  in  the 
afifairs    of    the    Republican    party.        Quite 
naturally   the   state   Democratic  leaders  of 
Massachusetts    looked   to   Mr.    Gilmore   as 
the  candidate  for  the  vacancy  but  Mr.  Gil- 
more, however,  disagreed  with  the  leaders 
and  brought  forward  the  name  of  Eugene 
Noble  Foss.     There  again  was  much  oppo- 
sition to  Mr.  Gilmore,  and  it  took  all  of  the 
skill  and  ingenuity  of  Mr.  Gilmore's  polit- 
ical ability  to  convince  the  leaders  that  Mr. 
Foss  was  the  man  who  could  give  Massa- 
chusetts the  best  service.     Mr.   Foss  duly 
received   the    nomination   and   was   elected 


203 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


against  Mr.  Buchanan,  the  RepubHcan  can- 
didate. Again  this  historic  election  was 
made  through  Mr.  Gilmore's  political  abil- 
ity. During  the  campaign  for  Mr.  Foss 
some  of  the  greatest  speakers  of  the  country 
were  pressed  into  service  and  the  fight  was 
made  on  the  tariff  question.  The  entire 
country  watched  this  campaign  and  the  re- 
sult was  gratifying  to  the  majority.  The 
district  was  one  of  the  strongest  Republi- 
can districts  in  the  United  States,  having 
a  normal  Republican  majority  of  15,000, 
and  regardless  of  this  fact,  Mr.  Foss  car- 
ried a  majority  of  6,000  and  had  the  honor 
of  being  the  first  Democratic  representative 
sent  to  the  House  from  the  fourteenth  dis- 
trict. It  is  conceded  by  many  that  this  elec- 
tion had  a  greater  influence  on  the  subse- 
quent defeat  of  the  Republican  party  than 
any  other.  It  was  not  long  after  that  Mr. 
Foss  was  elected  to  the  governorship  of 
Massachusetts,  an  ofiice  to  which  he  has 
been  re-elected  twice.  After  Mr.  Foss'  term 
as  congressman  expired  Mr.  Gilmore  was 
prevailed  upon  to  enter  the  race  for  the 
Democratic  nomination  in  191 2.  After  a 
close  and  interesting  primary  campaign  he 
defeated  both  the  Republican  and  Progres- 
sive candidates.  His  election  to  Congress 
was  simultaneous  to  the  presidential  elec- 
tion of  191 2  and  throughout  his  campaign 
he  spoke  more  frequently  for  the  national 
candidate  than  for  himself.  His  achieve- 
ments as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives has  been  gratifying  to  his  dis- 
trict and  they  look  upon  him  as  a  man 
whose  ability  and  dignity  will  always  re- 
flect with  credit  upon  this  district.  To  have 
been  a  member  of  the  last  congresses  is 
honor  for  any  man  because  of  the  many 
critical  questions  brought  before  the  Legis- 
lature. Mr.  Gilmore  voted  for  the  Under- 
wood Tariff,  the  Trade  Commission  Bill, 
the  Anti-Trust  Bill,  Child  Labor  Laws, 
Panama  Canal  Tolls  Repeal,  the  Currency 
Bill  and  many  other   important  measures. 


which  were  of  national  and  international  im- 
portance. Quite  naturally  he  was  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  tariff  on  shoes  as  he  repre- 
sented the  greatest  shoe  district  in  the 
world,  but  he  was  not  unmindful  of  the 
people  of  the  entire  country.  His  patriot- 
ism led  him  to  take  considerable  interest 
in  the  pensions  for  widows  and  children  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  veterans, 
but  his  chief  speech  made  during  his  polit- 
ical campaign  was  in  support  of  the  Presi- 
dent's position  in  favor  of  the  repeal  of  the 
Panama  Tolls  Act,  before  the  Brockton 
public  forum,  and  was  heard  by  over  two 
thousand  people.  His  friends  look  upon 
this  as  the  best  speech  ever  heard  in  Brock- 
ton. He  took  the  ground  that  the  United 
States  must  keep  faith  with  the  nations  of 
the  world  and  that  the  friendship  of  nations 
was  at  stake.  He  believed  that  the  repeal 
would  broaden  the  business  interests  of  the 
country  and  in  favor  thereof  said,  "It  is  not 
dishonorable  for  us  to  repeal  this  act  but 
rather  an  honor  to  be  big  and  generous 
enough  to  give  way  to  the  opinion  of  the 
world."  On  January  25,  191 5,  Mr.  Gilmore 
was  appointed  postmaster  of  Brockton  by 
President  Wilson  and  his  administration 
has  been  marked  by  many  needed  reforms 
and  benefits.  Before  closing  the  account  of 
his  political  career  it  will  be  necessary  to 
note  one  of  the  closest  campaigns  he  ever 
managed,  i.  e.,  that  of  Thomas  C.  Thacher 
when  he  was  running  for  Congress  and  lost 
by  fifty-seven  votes.  At  another  time  Mr. 
Gilmore  assisted  Mr.  Thacher  in  winning 
the  election.  Mr.  Gilmore  was  a  delegate 
to  the  Democratic  National  Convention  at 
both  Kansas  City  and  St.  Louis.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hiberni- 
ans, Division  i,  of  Brockton,  and  has  been 
treasurer  of  this  organization  for  eight 
years.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Knights  of 
Columbus,  Seville  Council ;  Catholic  Order 
of  Foresters;  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles 
and  Owls ;    Benevolent  and  Protective  Or- 


204 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


der  of  Elks,  and  the  Order  of  Moose,  of 
which  he  is  honorary  past  dictator.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
Russell  Club,  Harmony  Club,  Hoffman 
Club,  and  Press  Club.  His  religious  affilia- 
tion is  with  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 

On  September  19,  1887,  Mr.  Gilmore 
married  Annie  M.  Owens,  daughter  of 
Robert  and  Katherine  Owens,  of  Brockton. 
They  have  five  children  :  John  E. ;  Charles 
F. ;   Robert  O. ;  Edward  B. ;  and  Phillip  J. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Gilmore  gave  his 
time  and  services  without  hope  of  personal 
reward,  but  he  had  the  pleasure  of  see- 
ing the  strength  of  his  party  starting  from 
practically  nothing  to  the  important  posi- 
tion it  now  occupies.  He  was  prominent  in 
many  cities  and  districts  of  Southern  Mas- 
sachusetts, which  territory  is  always  con- 
sidered fighting  ground  in  political  elec- 
tions. His  many  years  of  labor  were  re- 
warded personally  when  he  was  elected  to 
Congress.  His  career  is  an  example  of  the 
highest  type  of  citizenship  and  it  would  be 
tautological  to  enter  into  a  series  of  state- 
ments to  show  him  to  be  a  man  of  keen 
intelligence  and  public  spirit  for  the  fore- 
going record  suggests  these  in  each  detail. 
His  abilities  fit  him  for  leadership  and  his 
sympathies  make  him  a  true  democrat  of 
the  highest  type.  His  success  can  be  meas- 
ured, like  that  of  his  party,  by  what  he  has 
actually  accomplished. 


LELAND,  Forrest  L.,  M.  D., 

Physician. 

A  graduate  of  Tufts  College  Medical 
School,  Dr.  Leland  began  professional  prac- 
tice at  South  Hadley  Falls  in  191 1,  and  is 
winning  his  way  to  eminence  in  his  chosen 
profession.  He  is  of  the  ninth  generation 
of  the  family  founded  in  America  by  Henry 
Leland,  born  in  England  in  1625,  coming 
to  Massachusetts  with  his  wife  in  1652.  In 
England  the  name  Leland  is  a  distinguished 


one,  John  Leland,  chaplain  to  King  Henry 
VIII.,  and  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
scholars  and  voluminous  writers  of  his  own 
or  any  other  age,  having  been  the  only  per- 
son to  hold  the  office  of  "King's  Antiquary." 
The  family  in  England  bore  arms :  Gules 
a  saltier  argent,  charged  with  three  Pallets 
azure  on  chief  or  crest  with  a  crow  rising 
transfixed  with  an  arrow.  Motto:  Cui 
deveo  fidus.  The  Lelands  of  America  have 
numbered  many  men  of  prominence  within 
their  ranks,  men  distinguished  for  firmness, 
courage,  endurance,  moral  and  religious  in- 
tegrity and  intellectual  ability. 

Henry  Leland,  only  son  of  Hopestill  Le- 
land, according  to  the  church  records  of 
Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  united  with  the 
church  in  that  town  in  1653.  After  a  short 
residence  in  Dorchester,  he  settled  on  land 
which  was  afterward  within  the  town  of 
Sherbourne,  on  which  he  resided  until  his 
death,  April  4,  1680.  He  was  a  tailor  and 
followed  that  trade  for  twelve  years,  then 
became  a  farmer.  He  wrote  his  name  Lay- 
land  as  did  his  son  Hopestill,  also  his  Hol- 
liston  descendants  for  many  years,  but  since 
1820  the  universal  spelling  in  all  branches 
has  been  Leland.  Henry  Leland  married 
in  England  Margaret  Badcock,  who  bore 
him  five  children.  Hopestill  Leland,  son  of 
Henry  and  Margaret  (Badcock)  Leland, 
was  born  November  15,  1655,  and  died  in 
1729.  He  was  a  farmer  of  Sherburne, 
Massachusetts.  He  married  (first)  Abigail 
Hill,  (second)  Patience  Holbrook,  and  had 
eight  sons,  seven  of  whom  settled  in  Sher- 
burne and  Holliston,  the  latter  town  set 
off  from  Sherburne  in  1724.  John  Leland, 
son  of  Hopestill  Leland,  was  born  in  Sher- 
burne in  1687,  and  died  in  Holliston  in 
1759.  His  wife  was  Abigail  Babcock.  They 
were  the  parents  of  Samuel  Leland,  born 
1 71 1,  died  1783,  a  farmer,  who  married 
Dinah  White.  Asa  Leland,  son  of  Samuel 
and  Dinah  (White)  Leland,  was  born  in 
Holliston,    in    1738,    and    died    in    Chester, 


205 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Vermont,  in  1822.  He  married  Lois  Mar- 
shall. Their  son  was  Nathan  Leland,  and 
his  son  was  Leander  F.  Leland,  and  his 
son  was  Stark  Leland,  father  of  Dr.  For- 
rest L.  Leland,  of  South  Hadley  Falls. 

Leander  F.  Leland  was  born  in  HoUiston, 
Massachusetts,  in  1826,  and  when  a  young 
man  came  to  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
W'here  he  was  in  business  for  a  time.  He 
then  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Second  Regi- 
ment Massachusetts  Volunteers,  August 
2,  1862,  where  he  served  until  the  close  of 
the  Civil  War,  being  mustered  out  Septem- 
ber 2^,  1864.  He  then  returned  to  Spring- 
field, shortly  after  went  to  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  where  he  remained  for  a  short  time, 
then  went  to  Marlboro  where  he  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes,  and 
followed  this  up  to  his  death  in  1902. 

Stark  Leland  was  born  in  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  and  after  an  active  life  is 
now  living  retired  from  business  at  the 
home  of  his  son.  Dr.  Forrest  L.  Leland.  His 
early  life  was  spent  in  Springfield  and  Hol- 
liston,  Massachusetts,  but  later  he  was  fore- 
man of  a  shoe  factory  at  Calais,  Maine, 
where  he  remained  seventeen  years.  He 
was  also  engaged  as  a  foreman  in  a  shoe 
manufacturing  establishment  at  Hudson, 
Massachusetts,  then  went  to  Windsor,  Ver- 
mont, as  foreman  of  a  similar  factory.  Af- 
ter severing  his  connection  with  that  con- 
cern he  retired  and  has  since  made  his  home 
with  his  son.  Dr.  Forrest  L.  Leland.  Stark 
Leland  married,  1876,  Josephine  Kimball, 
born  in  Holliston,  Massachusetts,  daughter 
of  Ebenezer  Kimball,  a  prominent  shoe 
manufacturer  and  public  official,  serving 
several  terms  in  the  State  Legislature.  He 
married  Sarah  Travis.  She  was  born  on  a 
farm  upon  which  the  buildings  of  Wel- 
lesley  College  are  now  located,  the  house 
having  stood  on  the  spot  which  is  now  the 
entrance  to  the  college  grounds.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kimball  had  the  following  children: 
Arthur,  a  druggist  of  Holliston,  and  Jose- 


phine, wife  of  Stark  Leland.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Stark  Leland  have  two  sons:  i.  Frank 
Kimball,  a  graduate  of  Johns  Hopkins 
University  and  attended  Columbia  Univer- 
sity; was  an  instructor  in  New  York  City, 
but  now  giving  his  entire  time  to  Red  Cross 
work ;  married  May  Galvin  Hopper,  of 
Philadelphia,  October,  1915.  2.  Forrest 
L.,  of  further  mention. 

Dr.  Forrest  L.  Leland  was  born  at  ]Marl- 
boro,  Massachusetts,  November  28,  1880, 
and  there  spent  his  early  years.  Later  he 
accompanied  the  family  to  Calais,  Maine, 
where  he  attended  grammar  and  high 
school.  Deciding  upon  the  medical  profes- 
sion, he  prepared  at  Tufts  College  Medical 
School,  Boston,  whence  he  was  graduated 
M.  D.,  class  of  1908.  He  then  went  to  the 
Worcester  City  Hospital,  where  he  served 
an  interneship  from  September,  1908,  to 
May,  1910.  He  then  secured  a  research 
fellowship  which  entitled  him-  to  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  Pathological  Laboratory  at 
Tufts  College  and  passed  there  a  profitable 
year.  In  August,  191 1,  he  located  at  South 
Hadley  Falls,  where  he  has  built  up  a  good 
practice,  one  commensurate  with  his  learn- 
ing and  ability.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Hol- 
yoke  Medical  Society,  and  was  its  president 
in  1915;  the  Massachusetts  Medical  So- 
ciety and  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion, and  is  highly  esteemed  by  his  profes- 
sional brethren.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
surgical  staflF  of  the  City  Hospital  of  Hol- 
yoke ;  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Health  of 
South  Hadley,  and  was  a  visitor  to  Tufts 
College  ]\Iedical  School  in  1910  and  191 1. 
His  college  fraternity  is  Alpha  Kappa  Kap- 
pa, his  religious  affiliation,  Congregational, 
and  he  is  also  a  member  of  Mt.  Holyoke 
Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

Dr.  Leland  married,  June  20,  1910,  Avis 
Janette  Dwelly,  born  at  Fall  River,  Mas- 
sachusetts, daughter  of  Arthur  Dwelly,  a 
cotton  mill  superintendent  of  Fall  River, 
Massachusetts,   and    North   Pownall,   Ver- 


206 


■'''7^'^'^'-, 
^V^    , 


■7 


V    Terome  ] 


ain.i   III   i! 


WHS  '^nionf: 


to   California. 


;nie  of  h: 
raduate   of 

Dr.   ar^ 
s:  Ayis 
rion   Cr 
3;    and   ivj.H;-,;Mi 


-.  22,  TO17. 
,HAMBERLAiN,  Loyed  Eliis, 

Loyed  Eilis   Chamberlaii; 

Mas^nchiisetts.  justice  of  '" 
"lympto- 


also 
Hieh 


rS84,   he 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


sentatives   of   various   coal  companies,   the      grandmother,     Prudence     Wilkinson,     and 


Order  of  Foresters,  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  the  Wash- 
ington Club.  During  the  hour  of  the  ser- 
vices all  the  general  offices  of  the  Worces- 
ter Coal  companies  were  closed  out  of  re- 
spect to  Dr.  Kelley.  The  choir  sang  the 
Gregorian  Mass,  and  the  celebrant  was  the 
Rev.  Dr.  William  H.  Goggin,  pastor,  assist- 
ed by  the  Rev.  James  H.  Burke  and  the 
Rev.  John  J.  Keating,  as  deacon  and  sub- 
deacon.  Many  beautiful  floral  tributes 
were  clustered  about  the  casket,  testifying 
to  the  love  and  devotion  of  a  multitude  of 
friends  and  associates.  The  body  was  laid 
to  rest  in  St.  Michael's  Cemetery,  Spring- 
field,   Massachusetts. 


WILKINSON,  Edward  Holman, 

Business  Man. 

This  name,  of  great  antiquity  in  Eng- 
land, was  brought  to  New  England  by  Pru- 
dence Wilkinson,  a  widow,  who  was  living 
in  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  in  1630,  and 
there  recorded  as  the  owner  of  several 
pieces  of  land.  She  moved  from  Charles- 
town  to  Maiden  and  there  died  leaving  two 
children,  John,  of  further  mention,  and 
Elizabeth,  who  married  George  Felt.  The 
will  of  Prudence  Wilkinson  was  probated 
July  26,  1653.  It  is  from  John  Wilkinson, 
son  of  Prudence  Wilkinson,  that  the  Wilk- 
insons of  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
descend,  Edward  Holman  Wilkinson,  man- 
ager of  the  Springfield  Blanket  Company, 
and  of  the  tenth  generation,  being  a  repre- 
sentative of  this  ancient  and  honorable  fam- 
ily. 

John  Wilkinson,  born  about  1602,  came 
to  New  England  with  his  widowed  mother, 
residing  in  Essex  and  Middlesex  counties, 
Massachusetts.  He  married  Joanna  Sikel- 
ton,  they  the  parents  of  Susannah,  John 
(2),  and  Ebenezer.  John  (2)  Wilkinson, 
born  about  1645,  inherited  the  estate  of  his 


lived  in  Maiden,  Massachusetts,  until  his 
death  in  17 14.  He  married  Abigail  Con- 
way, and  was  succeeded  by  their  son  John 
(3)  Wilkinson,  born  at  Attleboro, Massachu- 
setts, 1679,  died  January  1,  1725.  He  mar- 
ried Rachel  Fales,  born  April  19,  1680, 
daughter  of  James  and  Anna  (Brock) 
Fales,  who  came  from  Chester,  England, 
and  were  among  the  first  settlers  in  Ded- 
ham,  Massachusetts.  James  Fales  was  a 
soldier,  serving  with  Massachusetts  men  in 
King  Philip's  War.  The  children  of  John 
and  Rachel  Wilkinson  were:  John  (4), 
Joseph,  Abigail,  Hepzibah,  Sarah,  Hannah. 
Joseph  Wilkinson,  of  the  fifth  generation, 
was  born  in  Attleboro,  Massachusetts, 
March  21,  1715,  where  he  resided  until 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  then  moved  to 
Walpole,  Massachusetts,  and  also  lived  in 
Stoughton,  Massachusetts.  He  married, 
October  17,  1733,  Hannah  Warren.  They 
were  the  parents  of :  Joseph,  born  Septem- 
ber 9,  1734;  Ebenezer,  August  i,  1736; 
Thankful,  September  6,  1740;  David,  of 
further  mention. 

David  Wilkinson  was  born  in  Stoughton, 
Massachusetts,  February  15,  1740,  and  on 
April  19,  1775,  marched  on  the  alarm  at 
Lexington,  and  later  saw  service  with  Cap- 
tain Josiah  Pratt  in  Colonel  Samuel  Rob- 
inson's regiment,  serving  from  Stoughton. 
After  the  war  ended,  he  moved  to  Town- 
shend,  Vermont.  He  married  Abigail  Ware, 
intentions  published  at  Wrentham,  Decem- 
ber 19,  1761-62.  Their  children  were:  Da- 
vid, of  further  mention ;  Oliver,  born  June 
29,  1765;  Hezekiah,  August  12,  1768; 
Mary,  June  7,  1770;  Elijah,  May  10,  1772; 
Susan,  February  2,  1774;  Abigail;  Betsey; 
Irene. 

David  (2)  Wilkinson  was  born  in  Shar- 
on, Massachusetts,  August  20,  1763,  and 
died  December  10,  1842.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  he  began  learning  the  harness 
maker's  trade  in  Walpole,  Massachusetts, 


MASS.— 7— 14. 


209 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


but  before  completing  his  trade  he  enhsted 
in  the  Continental  Army  and  suffered  with 
Washington's  brave  troops  at  Valley  Forge. 
He  was  at  West  Point  at  the  time  of  Ar- 
nold's treason  and  witnessed  the  execution 
of  Major  Andre.  On  his  return  from  the 
army  he  resumed  work  with  his  old  em- 
ployer in  Walpole,  and  completed  his  years 
of  apprenticeship.  Later  he  went  into  the 
woods  of  New  Hampshire,  blazing  a  trail, 
and  after  examination  bought  a  tract  of 
timber  north  of  Marlboro.  There  he  built 
a  log  cabin,  returned  to  Walpole  for  his 
wife,  and  the  next  year  they  started  for 
their  home  in  the  woods  north  of  Marl- 
boro, New  Hampshire,  each  riding  a  good 
horse,  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Wilkinson's  father. 
On  his  horse  he  carried  a  stock  of  leather 
with  which  to  start  a  harness  maker's  shop ; 
her  horse  was  loaded  with  a  feather  bed  and 
household  goods.  They  reached  the  cabin 
in  safety  and  there  resided  all  their  lives. 
He  cleared  and  cultivated  the  soil,  and  when 
not  employed  on  his  farm  made  saddles  and 
harness  which  found  a  ready  sale.  He  mar- 
ried, in  Walpole,  Massachusetts,  January  i, 
1788,  Ruth  Allen,  who  died  May  3,  1863, 
aged  ninety-seven  years.  Children :  David, 
of  further  mention ;  Sarah,  born  October 
29,  1790;  Mary,  September  18,  1792;  Ruth, 
August  6,  1797;  Esther,  April  6,  1807; 
Irene,  August  3,  1809. 

David  (3)  Wilkinson,  of  the  eighth  gen- 
eration, son  of  the  New  Hampshire  settlers, 
David  and  Ruth  (Allen)  Wilkinson,  was 
born  at  the  Marlboro,  New  Hampshire, 
farm,  June  30,  1789,  and  died  there  No- 
vember 3,  1879.  He  followed  his  father's 
trade  of  saddler  and  harness  maker,  and 
was  one  of  the  prominent  and  substantial 
men  of  his  community.  He  married  (first) 
October  23,  1823,  Patty  Hubbard,  born  in 
Putney,  Vermont,  October  9,  1801,  died  Oc- 
tober 17,  1870.  He  married  (second)  Au- 
gust 7,  1873,  Mrs.  Harvey  (Locke)  Abbott, 
a  widow.     Children,  all  by  his  first  mar- 

210 


riage :  Warren  H.,  of  further  mention ; 
Sarah,  born  December  23, 1825,  died  June  25, 
1838;  Solon  Stone,  of  further  mention; 
Mary,  born  June  8,  1832,  died  September 
9,  1832;  Martha,  twin  with  Mary,  died 
September  18,  1832 ;  Mary  Eliza,  born 
March  31,  1834,  died  March  4,  1838;  Mar- 
tha, born  October  9,  1836,  died  November 
20,  1836;  Cyrus  Kingsbury,  born  December 
17.  1839,  died  July  10,  1867;  Oliver  A., 
born    May    13,    1842,    died    September   25, 

1843. 

Warren  H.  Wilkinson,  eldest  son  of  Da- 
vid Wilkinson,  was  born  in  Marlboro,  New 
Hampshire,  July  9,  1824.  During  his  boy- 
hood, besides  the  routine  of  attending 
school  and  the  farm  labor  at  home,  he  be- 
gan as  early  as  the  age  of  ten  to  work  in 
the  harness  shop  of  his  father,  and  during 
his  minority  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  business  by  which  he  mainly  attained 
the  competence  he  enjoyed  in  later  years. 
Before  reaching  his  majority,  he  attended 
two  terms  at  an  academy,  which  completed 
his  school  days.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
three,  he  became  a  partner  with  his  father, 
and  continued  in  the  harness  business  in 
Marlboro  until  1853,  supplying  not  only  the 
home  demand,  but  also  stores  in  Keene  and 
Peterboro,  New  Hampshire,  and  Greenfield, 
Massachusetts.  He  was  in  business  in 
Greenfield  for  six  years,  when  he  removed 
to  Springfield,  which  was  his  home  until  his 
death. 

Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War, 
Mr.  Wilkinson  received  an  order  for  mili- 
tary work  from  the  quartermaster  of  the 
State  of  Connecticut,  which  being  satisfac- 
torily filled  led  to  orders  from  other  states 
and  from  the  United  States  government  for 
the  manufacture  of  military  leather  goods 
of  various  kinds  during  the  continuance  of 
the  war.  For  many  of  these  he  furnished 
improved  patterns,  which  were  adopted  and 
are  still  in  use  in  the  service.  He  also 
received  orders  for  military  work  in  large 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


quantities  from  foreign  countries.  In  1869 
he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  horse 
blankets,  being  located  first  at  Marlboro, 
then  at  Winchendon,  Massachusetts,  and 
finally  removed  to  Holyoke,  where  he  built 
up  one  of  the  most  extensive  businesses  of 
its  kind,  having  one  of  the  largest  mills  in 
the  country,  employing  at  times  as  high  as 
three  hundred  persons.  Mr.  Wilkinson  was 
a  man  who  while  his  life  was  devoted  to  his 
business,  yet  remembered  the  various  in- 
stitutions needing  support  and  especially 
the  Congregational  church  to  which  he  was 
a  liberal  giver.  He  was  a  Whig  in  politics 
and  later  became  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Republican  party,  in  which  he  was  espe- 
cially active,  serving  as  alderman  of  the  city 
of  Springfield  for  three  years. 

He  married  (first)  Almira,  daughter  of 
Asa  Frost.  She  died  in  1874.  He  mar- 
ried (second)  Emily  J.,  daughter  of  James 
Brown,  of  Brimfield,  Massachusetts.  He 
died  January  10,  191 4. 

Solon  Stone  Wilkinson,  second  son  of 
David  Wilkinson,  was  born  in  Marlboro, 
New  Hampshire,  March  22,  1828,  and  died 
in  Keene,  New  Hampshire,  February  20, 
191 2.  He  learned  the  trade  followed  by 
his  grandfather,  David  (2)  Wilkinson,  the 
Revolutionary  soldier,  and  his  father,  Da- 
vid (3)  Wilkinson,  and  after  becoming  a 
skillful  workman  opened  a  saddlery  and 
harness  maker's  shop  at  Keene,  New  Hamp- 
shire, carrying  in  connection  a  stock  of 
horse  and  leather  goods  of  all  kinds,  trunks 
and  traveling  bags.  For  half  a  century  he 
conducted  a  successful  business  in  Keene 
and  was  prominent  in  city  affairs.  He 
served  on  the  Board  of  Aldermen ;  repre- 
sented Keene  in  the  Lower  House  of  the 
State  Legislature,  as  a  Republican ;  was 
a  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  belonging 
to  lodge,  chapter,  council  and  command- 
ery ;  was  an  active  member  of  the  Congre- 
gational church,  superintendent  of  the  Sun- 
day school,  and  one  of  the  substantial  men 


of  his  city.  He  married,  June  22,  1852, 
Chestina  Holman,  daughter  of  Charles  and 
Polly  (Converse)  Holman,  born  in  Marl- 
boro, New  Hampshire,  resided  in  Keene, 
New  Hampshire,  until  her  death,  October 
4,  1917,  aged  eighty-nine  years. 

Edward  Holman  Wilkinson,  of  the  tenth 
generation,  only  child  of  Solon  Stone  and 
Chestina  (Holman)  Wilkinson,  was  born  in 
Marlboro,  New  Hampshire,  June  15,  1859. 
He  was  taken  to  Keene  by  his  parents  when 
the  removal  to  that  city  was  made  in  the 
winter  of  1859,  and  there  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools,  completing  his  study  by 
graduation  from  high  school.  He  began 
business  life  with  his  uncle,  Warren  H. 
Wilkinson,  in  his  manufacturing  plant  in 
Massachusetts,  and  in  1878  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Springfield  Blanket  Company 
at  South  Holyoke,  founded  by  Warren  H, 
Wilkinson.  He  was  employed  in  the  of- 
fice and  in  the  store  room,  handling  boxes 
of  goods  and  freight,  but  in  due  course  of 
time  he  became  superintendent  of  the  plant 
located  in  Holyoke.  Upon  the  death  of 
Warren  H.  Wilkinson,  Edward  H.  Wilkin- 
son was  appointed  manager  of  the  business 
for  his  aunt  and  administrator  of  his  uncle's 
estate.  Since  1878  he  has  retained  his  resi- 
dence in  Springfield.  For  eleven  years  he 
served  on  the  Springfield  School  Board  and 
for  nine  of  those  years  was  vice-chairman. 
He  is  an  active  member  and  treasurer  of 
the  Memorial  Church. 

Mr.  Wilkinson  married,  June  22,  1904, 
Mary  Waite  Allis,  who  was  born  in  Hat- 
field, Massachusetts,  daughter  of  Daniel 
and  Jennie  (Hurlburt)  Allis,  and  a 
descendant  from  Lieutenant  William  Allis, 
who  came  from  England  in  1635.  The  line 
of  descent  from  Lieutenant  William  Allis 
is  through  his  son.  Captain  John  Allis ;  his 
son,  Ichabod  Allis ;  his  son,  Elisha  Allis ; 
his  son,  William  Allis ;  his  son.  Dexter  Al- 
lis ;  his  son,  Daniel  Allis ;  his  daughter, 
Mary  Waite  Allis,  of  the  eighth  American 


211 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


generation,  who  married  Edward  H.  Wilk- 
inson. She  is  also  a  descendant  of  the  Hast- 
ings  family. 


MILLER,  George  Dexter, 

Business  Man. 

George  Dexter  Miller,  treasurer  of  the 
Coburn  Trolley  Track  Company  of  Hol- 
yoke,  comes  of  an  old  Connecticut  fam- 
ily, grandson  of  Solomon  Ezra  Miller,  and 
son  of  Solomon  Evelin  Miller. 

Solomon  Ezra  Miller  was  a  farmer  of 
Hartland,  Connecticut.  He  married  a  Miss 
Hoadley  and  they  were  the  parents  of 
Hoadley  Milo,  Seth,  Eugene  and  Eu- 
genia, twins,  and  Solomon  Evelin,  of  furth- 
er mention. 

Solomon  Evelin  Miller  was  born  in  Hart- 
land,  Connecticut,  April  28,  1824,  and  died 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  April  13,  1909. 
He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  moved 
to  Canada,  in  1874,  where  he  pursued  his  oc- 
cupation. In  that  year,  although  fifty  years 
of  age,  he  closed  up  his  affairs  and  with 
his  family  moved  first  to  Sweetsburg  and 
later  to  Sutton,  Province  of  Quebec,  Can- 
ada, and  there  he  conducted  a  general 
smithing  business  for  about  fifteen  years. 
He  then  returned  to  the  United  States,  lo- 
cating in  Philmont,  New  York,  there  re- 
maining two  years.  From  Philmont  he 
went  to  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  thence 
to  Holyoke,  in  1892,  where  he  lived  retired 
from  business  until  his  death  in  1909.  He 
married  Matilda  Philbrook  Dexter,  of  Au- 
gusta, Maine,  born  April  2,  1824,  died  Sep- 
tember 25,  1906.  Both  she  and  her  hus- 
band attained  octogenarian  honors.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Dexter,  her 
mother  a  Moody.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miller  were 
the  parents  of  Evelin  Proctor,  deceased ; 
Mary  Elizabeth,  married  Carlos  More- 
house ;  Orion  Vincent ;  Charles  Albert,  de- 
ceased ;   and  George  Dexter  Miller. 

George  Dexter  Miller  was  born  in  Hart- 


land,  Connecticut,  October  30,  1867,  and 
there  spent  the  first  two  years,  the  next 
five  years  being  spent  in  Winsted,  Connec- 
ticut, when  in  1874,  he  was  taken  to  Sweets- 
burg and  later  to  Sutton,  Canada,  by  his 
parents,  and  there  attended  public  and  pri- 
vate schools.  When  through  with  his 
school  years  he  began  business  life  as  a  mer- 
cantile clerk,  continuing  as  such  for  three 
years.  He  then  returned  to  the  United 
States,  spent  two  years  in  a  Philmont,  New 
York,  hosiery  mill,  going  thence  to  Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts.  At  Worcester  he 
pursued  a  course  in  Hinman's  Business 
College,  receiving  his  diploma  with  the  class 
of  1889.  His  first  position  after  graduation 
was  with  the  Coburn  Trolley  Track  Com- 
pany, whose  offices  were  then  located  in 
Worcester,  and  that  company  is  the  only 
employer  he  has  known  for  the  past  twen- 
ty-eight years.  In  1891  the  headquarter 
offices  of  the  company  were  moved  to  Hol- 
yoke, Mr.  Miller  coming  at  the  same  time 
in  a  clerical  capacity.  Some  time  after  com- 
ing to  Holyoke,  he  was  promoted  to  the  po- 
sition of  assistant  treasurer  of  the  company, 
and  two  years  later,  in  1910,  was  made 
treasurer,  his  present  position.  He  is  also 
a  director  of  the  company,  which  is  one 
of  the  important  firms  in  that  field.  He 
belongs  to  Belcher  Lodge,  Free  and  Accept- 
ed Masons,  of  Chicopee,  Massachusetts; 
Unity  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons; 
Springfield  Council,  Royal  and  Select  Mast- 
ers; Springfield  Commandery,  Knights 
Templar ;  also  Melha  Temple,  Nobles  of 
the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  highly  regarded 
by  his  associates  in  business  and  much 
esteemed  by  his  brethren  of  the  Masonic 
order  and  by  his  many  friends. 


EATON,  Herbert  Scott, 

Clothing    Merchant. 

Ebenezer  and  Samuel  Eaton,  descendants 
of  John  Eaton,  who  came  to  Massachusetts 


212 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


about  1640,  settled  in  Landaff,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  there  James  Eaton,  son  of  Sam- 
uel Eaton,  was  born.  He  lived  for  fifteen 
years  in  Sutton,  Vermont,  but  then  returned 
to  LandafT.  He  died  at  Sugar  Hill,  New 
Hampshire,  at  the  age  of  ninety-three  years. 
James  Eaton  married  Drusilla  Priest,  who 
died  in  LandafI  in  1888.  Both  were  active 
church  workers,  James  an  official  member, 
serving  on  many  committees  and  staunchly 
supporting  all  church  interests.  They  were 
the  parents  of  a  daughter  and  two  sons : 
Phoebe,  married  Edward  Jenkins,  has  two 
daughters,  Kate  and  Cora,  and  resides  in 
Beloit,  Wisconsin ;  Timothy  A.,  of  furth- 
er mention ;    Martin. 

Timothy  A.  Eaton  was  born  at  Sutton, 
Vermont,  in  1841,  and  died  at  Orleans, 
Vermont,  in  1870.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  and  St.  Johnsbury  Academy, 
and  until  his  marriage  continued  his  resi- 
dence in  Sutton.  He  soon  afterward  moved 
to  Orleans,  Vermont,  where  he  resided  un- 
til his  death  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
nine  years.  He  was  never  a  man  of  even 
average  health,  being  rejected  by  the  re- 
cruiting surgeon  on  his  attempt  to  enlist 
during  the  Civil  War.  He  followed  farm- 
ing as  an  occupation,  was  deeply  interested 
in  religious  matters,  and  was  highly  respect- 
ed in  his  community.  He  was  an  earnest 
worker  and  one  of  the  most  active  laymen 
of  the  church,  his  interest  also  extending 
to  the  cause  of  education.  His  sterling 
character  won  him  many  friends,  and  his 
death  at  life's  threshold  was  deeply  regret- 
ted. He  married  Mary  Bartlett,  born  June 
I,  1842,  in  Sutton,  Vermont,  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Phoebe  (Noyes)  Bartlett,  her 
father  a  farmer  and  lumberman  of  Sutton 
and  Orleans,  Vermont.  Joseph  Bartlett 
also  had  a  son,  Silas  S.  Bartlett,  whose 
daughter,  Eva  Bartlett,  is  a  resident  of 
Warren,  New  Hampshire.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Timothy  A.  Eaton  were  the  parents  of 
three  sons  and  a  daughter :    Herbert  Scott, 


of  further  mention ;  Helen,  born  June  3, 
1864,  died  aged  sixteen  years;  Amos  J., 
born  May  3,  1869,  now  residing  in  Royal- 
ton,  Vermont,  married  and  has  Wendell, 
Lucy  and  Robert  Eaton ;  Anson,  twin  with 
Amos  J.,  died  in  infancy. 

Herbert  Scott  Eaton,  eldest  son  of  Tim- 
othy A.  and  Mary  (Bartlett)  Eaton,  was 
born  in  Sutton,  Vermont,  May  11,  1862. 
His  parents  moved  to  Orleans  when  he  was 
six  years  of  age.  He  attended  the  common 
school  and  then  entered  Montpelier  Sem- 
inary, an  institution  of  high  grade  conduct- 
ed in  Montpelier,  Vermont,  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Four  years  later  he  was  graduated  from 
the  Seminary  and  entered  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, Middletown,  Connecticut.  He  con- 
tinued two  years  at  Wesleyan,  sickness  in 
the  family  causing  his  return  home  at  the 
close  of  his  sophomore  year.  He  was  free 
to  return  to  the  University  a  year  later,  but 
the  year  lost  influenced  his  decision  to  fore- 
go his  university  course  and  to  enter  bus- 
iness life. 

The  year  1889  was  spent  in  railroad  em- 
ploy at  New  Haven,  the  year  1890  witness- 
ing his  start  in  the  clothing  business  in 
Westfield,  Massachusetts.  He  started  a  re- 
tail business  in  clothing  in  a  small  way,  but 
conducted  along  modern  merchandising 
lines,  and  met  with-such  success  that  after 
six  years  in  his  original  location  he  was 
compelled  to  seek  a  larger  store  to  accom- 
modate the  trade  his  energy  and  ability  had 
attracted.  In  1897  he  moved  to  his  present 
location  at  No.  108  Elm  street,  and  there 
has  continued  his  prosperous  and  honorable 
career  as  a  merchant.  His  finely  fitted  store, 
well  stocked  with  men's  and  boy's  clothing 
and  furnishings  for  every  demand  of  bus- 
iness, society  or  outing,  is  one  of  the  best 
and  most  popular  in  his  section,  while  the 
proprietor  is  highly  regarded  not  alone  for 
his  quality  as  a  merchant  but  for  his  high 
character,  his  public  spirit  and  deep  interest 


213 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  all  good  causes.  The  business  is  now  in- 
corporated as  The  H.  S.  Eaton  Clothing 
Company,  Mr.  H.  S.  Eaton  being  president. 
He  has  always  been  interested  in  church  and 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  work, 
is  a  good  musician  and  at  one  time  was 
leader  of  a  church  choir. 

Mr.  Eaton  married,  June  29,  1889,  Ellen 
M.  Eastman,  born  in  Landaff,  New  Hamp- 
shire, October  8,  1859,  daughter  of  Oliver 
Dodge  and  Mary  (Clark)  Eastman.  Oliver 
D.  Eastman  was  born  in  Kingston,  New 
Hampshire,  March  3,  181 5,  and  died  at 
Landaflf,  New  Hampshire,  November  29, 
1891.  In  his  early  life  he  taught  school 
at  Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  and  Isle  of 
Shoals,  New  Hampshire,  but  after  his  mar- 
riage moved  to  Landaff  to  a  farm  inherited 
by  his  wife.  He  married,  April  12,  1851, 
Mary  Clark,  born  at  Landaff,  February  2, 
1826,  died  May  10,  1912,  a  teacher  prior  to 
her  marriage.  Their  only  child,  Ellen  M. 
Eastman,  married  Herbert  Scott  Eaton. 
They  are  the  parents  of  two  sons,  Richard 
William  and  Arthur  C. 

Richard  William  Eaton  was  born  March 
29,  1892,  in  Westfield,  Massachusetts.  Af- 
ter graduation  from  Westfield  High  School, 
he  entered  Wesleyan  University,  whence  he 
was  graduated,  class  of  191 2,  with  the  de- 
gree A.  B.  During  his  freshman  year  he 
started  a  small  store  in  Middletown,  which 
he  named  the  Wesleyan  Store,  and  in  its 
one  room  started  a  business  which  was  so 
well  received  that  he  continued  it  all  through 
his  university  course.  In  his  junior  year 
three  rooms  were  necessary  and  two  clerks. 
He  dealt  in  school  supplies  originally,  but 
as  the  business  grew,  confectionery,  soda 
water,  a  telephone  and  telegraph  office 
were  added  and  a  circulating  library  in- 
stalled. After  graduation  he  continued  the 
profitable  business  he  had  built  up,  and  the 
"Wesleyan  Store"  became  not  only  a  pop- 
ular resort  for  University  students,  but  a 
feature  of  the  town's  business,  employing 


eight  clerks.  He  remained  in  business  for 
two  years  after  graduation,  then  sold  out 
and  for  one  year  was  with  the  Rand  Com- 
pany of  Tonawanda,  New  York.  He  then 
formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother, 
bought  out  a  business  in  Buffalo,  New 
York,  incorporated  as  The  Eaton  Brothers 
Company  and  they  conduct  a  successful  bus- 
iness in  office  furniture  and  supplies.  He 
married  Edith  Allyn  and  has  two  sons, 
Richard  William  (2),  born  December  25, 
191 5,  and  David  Herbert,  born  August  9, 
1917. 

Arthur  C.  Eaton  was  born  in  Westfield, 
May  10,  1894.  He  is  a  graduate  of  West- 
field  High  School  and  Wesleyan  University, 
class  of  1914.  After  graduation  he  spent  a 
year  with  the  Mortgage  Bond  &  Trust  Com- 
pany of  New  York  City,  then  with  his 
brother,  became  a  member  of  The  Eaton 
Brothers  Company,  Inc.,  of  Buffalo,  New 
York,  previously  mentioned,  and  there  con- 
tinues in  successful  business.  He  married. 
May  19,  191 7,  Rebecca  Farwell,  of  Turn- 
ers Falls,  daughter  of  Norman  and  Eliza- 
beth (Austin)  Farwell.  Mr.  Norman  Far- 
well  is  cashier  of  the  Turners  Falls  Sav- 
ings Bank. 


BRITTON,  Herbert  Royal, 

Deputy  Sheriff,  Contractor,  Bnilder. 

Herbert  Royal  Britton,  at  present  (1917), 
deputy  sheriff  of  South  Hadley  Falls,  has 
for  many  years  held  offices  of  trust  and 
responsibility,  demonstrating  his  fitness  and 
efficiency  in  every  case.  In  both  paternal 
and  maternal  lines,  Mr.  Britton  comes  of 
old  Colonial  stock,  and  his  ancestry  has 
been  traced  to  the  first  settlers. 

(I)  James  Britton,  his  immigrant  ances- 
tor, was  born  in  England  in  1610,  and  came 
to  this  country  in  the  ship  "Increase"  in 
1637.  He  subscribed  to  the  town  orders 
of  Woburn,  Massachusetts,  in  1640,  and 
soon  afterward  was  one  of  the  Charlestown 


214 


old  out 


stfield, 

^' ^••st- 


all   Vdl- 

,1!-.      ''i.-r^V- 


BrJl»l«r. 


th  Hadl« 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


men  who  settled  the  town.  His  name  ap- 
pears on  the  first  tax  list  of  Woburn  in 
1645,  and  he  died  there  May  3,  1655,  leaving 
a  widow  Jane,  who  subsequently  married 
Isaac  Cole  and  returned  to  Charlestown  to 
live.  She  died  March  10,  1687.  Children 
of  James  and  Jane  Britton :  Peter ;  Wil- 
liam, mentioned  below. 

(II)  William  Britton,  son  of  James  anl 
Jane  Britton,  married  Mary,  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  Captain  James  and  Mary  (Palmer) 
Pendleton,  of  Westerly,  Rhode  Island, 
granddaughter  of  Major  Brian  Pendleton, 
a  distinguished  pioneer  of  historical  import- 
ance. Among  their  children  was  William, 
of  further  mention. 

(III)  William  (2)  Britton,  son  of  Wil- 
liam (i)  and  Mary  (Pendleton)  Britton, 
married,  October  26,  1698,  at  Taunton, 
Massachusetts,  Lydia  Leonard,  born  March 
10,  1679,  daughter  of  James  Leonard,  of 
Taunton  and  Raynham.  She  was  among  the 
petitioners  of  the  Taunton  church,  Octo- 
ber 7,  1 73 1,  asking  for  a  new  parish  at  what 
is  now  Raynham.  She  died  May  20,  1775, 
aged  ninety-four  years.  William  Britton 
died  in  1732.  Children:  James;  William, 
of  further  mention ;  Abiel ;  Ebenezer,  of 
further  mention  ;  Abigail,  Pendleton,  Mary, 
Lydia,  Sarah,  Elizabeth. 

(IV)  William  (3)  Britton,  son  of  Wil- 
liam (2)  and  Lydia  (Leonard)  Britton,  was 
born  at  Taunton,  about  1710.  He  married 
at  Raynham,  March  21,  1733,  Sarah  Wood- 
ward, who  died  February  22,  1795,  daughter 
of  Robert  Woodward,  granddaughter  of 
John  Woodward,  and  great-granddaughter 
of  Nathaniel  Woodward,  who  was  the  pro- 
genitor of  the  Woodwards  who  settled  early 
in  Westmoreland,  New  Hampshire.  His 
son,  William,  came  with  his  uncle,  Ebenezer 
Britton,  to  Westmoreland  about  1765. 

(IV)  Ebenezer  Britton,  son  of  William 
(2)  and  Lydia  (Leonard)  Britton,  was 
born  in  Raynham,  June  i,  1715.  He  re- 
moved to  Westmoreland  in  1771,  and  pur- 


chased one  hundred  acres  of  land  there,  a 
grist  and  saw  mills.  He  was  selectman, 
member  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  a  prom- 
inent patriot  in  the  Revolution,  and  a  lead- 
ing citizen.  He  married  twice  and  was  the 
father  of  eighteen  children.  His  sons, 
Dana  or  David,  Job,  Samuel,  Seth,  and 
Stephen,  were  heads  of  families  in  West- 
moreland in  1790. 

(V)  Nehemiah  Britton,  son  of  Ebenezer 
Britton,  was  born  in  Westmoreland,  New 
Hampshire,  December  12,  1776,  and  died 
there,  June  22,  1845,  ^g^<^  sixty-eight  years. 
He  married  at  Westmoreland,  ceremony 
performed  by  Joseph  Burt,  Esq.,  Sally 
Prentiss,  of  Walpole,  New  Hampshire,  born 
April  23,  1783.  Children,  born  at  West- 
moreland: Sally,  born  October  4,  1802, 
married  Jason  Williams ;  Sophia,  born  Au- 
gust 27,  1804,  married  Henry  Evans,  and 
lived  at  Bellows  Falls ;  Prentiss,  born  Janu- 
ary 19,  1807,  died  at  Northfield,  Massachu- 
setts, married  Abigail  Maynard ;  Harlow, 
born  March  25,  1809,  married  Mercy  May- 
nard;  Crissana,  born  June  2,  181 1,  mar- 
ried, April,  1831,  Alonzo  Maynard,  born 
March  11,  1809;  Clarissa,  born  January 
6,  1814,  married  Liberty  Page,  and  died  at 
Keene,  aged  ninety-nine  and  a  half  years ; 
Francis,  born  March  4,  1816,  married  Ame- 
lia Randall,  widow,  and  died  at  South  Had- 
ley  Falls;  Hiram,  born  October  11,  1818, 
lived  at  Springfield,  Vermont,  married  Har- 
riette  Burt,  and  died  at  Bellows  Falls ;  Levi, 
born  January  17,  1821,  married  Maria  Burt, 
and  died  at  Keene ;  Royal,  of  further  men- 
tion;  Chandler,  born  December  2,  1826, 
married  Mary  Thompson,  lived  at  Keene, 
died  aged  fifty  years. 

(VI)  Royal  Britton,  son  of  Nehemiah 
and  Sally  (Prentiss)  Britton,  was  born  at 
Westmoreland,  New  Hampshire,  July  31, 
1823,  and  died  January  2,  1891,  at  South 
Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts.  He  received 
his  education  in  the  district  schools  of 
Westmoreland,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 


215 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


according  to  a  not  uncommon  custom  then 
in  vogue  with  enterprising  youths,  he 
"bought  his  time"  of  his  mother  for  the 
sum  of  $200  and  engaged  in  business  on  his 
own  account  as  a  lumberman,  purchasing 
wood  lots,  cutting  the  timber  and  selling  it. 
About  1855  he  came  to  South  Hadley  Falls 
and  continued  in  the  same  line  of  business, 
after  a  year  of  business  as  contractor  and 
builder,  and  purchased  extensively  in  the 
timber  districts.  His  experience  in  New 
Hampshire  was  of  great  value  to  him.  His 
judgment  as  to  the  value  of  standing  tim- 
ber was  second  to  none  and  he  prospered 
accordingly.  At  one  time,  it  is  said,  that  he 
owned  more  land  than  any  other  man  in 
Hampshire  county.  In  addition  to  his  large 
interests  in  wood  and  lumber,  he  entered 
upon  the  field  of  brick  making,  the  pioneer 
in  this  line  of  business  in  South  Hadley 
Falls,  which  since  that  time  has  become  the 
center  of  a  very  large  industry.  It  was 
characteristic  of  Mr.  Britton  to  take  the 
lead  in  business.  He  possessed  unusual 
foresight,  had  the  courage  of  his  convic- 
tions, and  he  occupied  a  place  of  distinction 
among  the  business  men  of  the  community, 
honored  and  trusted  by  men  of  all  classes 
and  conditions  in  life.  Though  he  was  in- 
terested in  public  affairs  and  strong  in  his 
faith  in  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party,  which  he  supported  from  young  man- 
hood to  the  close  of  his  life,  he  never  ac- 
cepted public  office.  When  a  young  man  he 
was  active  in  the  militia,  joined  the  Keene 
Light  Infantry,  a  very  select  organization  at 
that  time,  and  advanced  to  the  rank  of  cap- 
tain. While  he  commanded  the  company  it 
was  kept  in  the  front  rank  of  military  or- 
ganizations in  the  State.  He  possessed  a 
natural  gift  for  military  affairs,  and  se- 
cured efficiency  and  enforced  discipline  with 
marked  success. 

Mr.  Britton  married  (first)  Mary 
Blanchard,  born  in  1829,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam Blanchard  (see  Blanchard).    He  mar- 


ried (second)  November  28,  1855,  Sarah 
Arabel  (Blanchard)  Miller,  sister  of  his 
first  wife,  widow  of  Robert  Miller.  She 
died  October  8,  1907,  aged  seventy-six 
years  at  South  Hadley  Falls.  The  child  by 
first  wife  died  in  infancy.  Children  by  sec- 
ond wife :  Herbert  Royal,  of  further  men- 
tion ;  Frank,  born  at  South  Hadley  Falls, 
died  aged  seven  years ;  Fred  Lewis,  born  at 
South  Hadley  Falls,  April  3,  1871,  mar- 
ried Fannie  M.  Wolcott,  born  at  South 
Hadley  Falls,  May  25,  1871,  daughter  of 
Austin  D.  and  Abbie  (Hutchins)  Wolcott, 
of  that  town;  children:  Ralph  Royal, 
Grace,  Marion,  Frances. 

(VII)  Herbert  Royal  Britton,  son  of  Roy- 
al and  Sarah  A.  (Blanchard-Miller)  Brit- 
ton, was  born  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  Mas- 
sachusetts, March  30,  1858.  His  early  edu- 
cation was  received  in  the  public  schools, 
and  he  was  graduated  from  the  South  Had- 
ley Falls  High  School  in  the  class  of  1875. 
Afterward  he  was  for  a  time  a  student  in 
Williston  Seminary  at  Easthampton,  Mas- 
sachusetts. When  he  left  school  he  became 
associated  in  business  with  his  father  in  con- 
tracting and  building,  and  in  the  develop- 
ment and  care  of  real  estate.  He  has  held 
many  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility  in 
South  Hadley  Falls.  As  a  member  of  the 
prudential  committee  of  the  town  he  proved 
his  high  civic  spirit  and  earnestness  in  pro- 
moting the  welfare  and  progress  of  the 
town.  For  three  years  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Assessors,  where  his  knowl- 
edge of  real  estate  and  its  value  was  highly 
useful  to  the  community.  For  three  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Select- 
men and  during  part  of  that  time  its  chair- 
man, and  his  record  in  that  office  will  bear 
comparison  in  every  particular  with  any 
man  who  has  served  the  town  in  the  same 
capacity.  Other  offices  he  filled  from  time 
to  time.  Since  1910  he  has  held  the  office 
of  deputy  sheriff,  being  reappointed  by  the 
sheriff  for  five  years  in  191 6.     He  is  well 


216 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


known  and  highly  esteemed  throughout  the 
county.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  Mr. 
Britton  is  a  popular  member  of  various 
fraternal  organizations,  namely :  Mt.  Hol- 
yoke  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ; 
lona  Lodge,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows ;  and  Connecticut  Valley  Lodge, 
Knights  of  Pythias.  He  and  his  family  at- 
tend the  Congregational  church. 

Mr.  Britton  married,  April  20,  1885,  at 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,.  Myra  Jeanette 
Stone,  born  in  Lakeland,  Minnesota,  July 
10,  1859,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Mary 
Elizabeth  (Spear)  Stone.  Her  father  was 
born  in  Brookline,  Massachusetts,  Septem- 
ber 26,  181 1,  died  in  Lakeland,  Minnesota, 
May  20,  1877.  Her  mother  was  born  in 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  February  7,  181 2, 
died  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  Decem- 
ber 10,  1896.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stone  were 
the  parents  of  four  children:  Katherine 
Frances,  born  in  Dorchester,  November  29, 
1837,  died  in  Cambridge,  February  11,  1884, 
unmarried ;  Mary  E.,  born  in  Brighton,  No- 
vember 2,  1842,  became  the  wife  of  George 
H.  Stearns,  of  Cambridge,  where  she  is  liv- 
ing at  the  present  time  (1917)  ;  Henry  Her- 
bert, born  in  Brighton,  October  23,  1844, 
died  in  Togus,  IMaine,  December  13,  1915; 
Myra  Jeanette  (Mrs.  Britton).  Children 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Britton :  Mary  Elizabeth, 
born  June  24,  1892,  died  January  17,  1915; 
Ruth  Blanchard,  born  September  24,  1894, 
resides  with  her  parents. 

(The  Blanchard  Line). 

(I)  Thomas  Blanchard,  the  immigrant, 
was  born  in  England  and  came  to  this  coun- 
try from  Penton,  Hampshire,  in  the  ship 
"Jonathan"  in  1639.  He  was  a  resident  of 
Braintree,  Massachusetts,  in  1646,  and  later 
resided  in  Charlestown  and  Maiden.  He 
died  May  21,  1654,  his  will  being  dated  five 
days  earlier.  He  bequeathed  to  wife  Mary ; 
to  children :  George,  Samuel,  Nathaniel  and 
Thomas;    grandchild  Joseph;    to  the  Mai- 


den church,  '"provided  that  Benjamin 
Thompson  should  be  fitted  for  the  Univer- 
sity if  his  parents  consent."  (N.  E.  Reg. 
XVII,  156  and  XXXII,  411).  His  first 
wife  died  in  England.  He  married  (sec- 
ond) Agnes  (Bent)  Barnes,  sister  of  John 
Bent.  She  died  on  the  voyage,  and  he  mar- 
ried    (third)     Mary     .       Children: 

George,  Nathaniel,  Thomas,  Samuel,  of 
further  mention. 

(II)  Samuel  Blanchard,  son  of  Thomas 
Blanchard,  was  born  August  6,  1629,  and 
came  to  Massachusetts  with  his  father  in  the 
ship  "Jonathan"  when  ten  years  old,  land- 
ing June  23,  1639,  as  stated  in  his  own 
writing.  He  came  to  Andover,  Massachu- 
setts, June  10,  1686.  He  died  at  Andover, 
Xpril  17,  1707.  He  married  (first)  Janu- 
ary 3,  1654-55,  Mary  Sweetser,  daughter  of 
Seth  Sweetser.  She  died  February  20,  1669. 
He  married  (second)  June  24,  1673,  Han- 
nah   ,  who  died  July  10,  1725,  aged 

seventy-nine  years.  Children  of  first  wife, 
born  at  Andover :  Samuel,  born  September 
29,  1656;  Sarah,  February  15,  1657-58; 
Mary,  April  18,  1659;  Jonathan,  May  25, 
1664;  Joshua,  August  6,  1667;  Abigail, 
March  5,  1668-69.  Children  by  second  wife: 
Thomas,  of  further  mention ;  John,  born 
July  3,  1677;  Samuel,  June  4,  1680;  Han- 
nah, September  26,  1681. 

(III)  Thomas  (2)  Blanchard,  son  of 
Samuel  and  Hannah  Blanchard,  was  born 
at  Andover,  April  28,  1674,  and  died  there, 
March  17,  1759.  A  deed  of  land  to  his  son 
Nathaniel,  of  Roadtown,  established  the 
line.  The  descendants  of  the  Shutesbury 
family,  however,  have  ample  other  evidence 
that  Nathaniel,  son  of  this  Thomas,  went  to 
Shutesbury.  (See  N.  E.  Reg.,  1906,  page 
375,  for  copy  of  the  family  records).  Thom- 
as Blanchard  married  (first)  March  22, 
1698-99,  Rose  Holmes,  of  Marshfield.  She 
died  August  27,  1714.  He  married  (sec- 
ond) September  21,  1715,  Hannah  Gowen, 
of  Newbury.    She  died  June  25,  1724.    He 


217 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


married  (third)  February  21,  1728,  Jude 
Hill.  Children  by  first  wife,  born  at  An- 
dover :  Thomas,  born  January  15,  1700; 
Joseph,  February  19,  1701  ;  Isaac,  Septem- 
ber 20,  1702,  died  January  25,  1722 ;  Josiah, 
August  16,  1704;  Elizabeth,  March  25, 
1706;  Hannah,  May  6,  1708;  Rose,  Janu- 
ary 12,  1709,  died  November  22,  1724;  De- 
borah, April  18,  1712;  Lida,  August  22, 
1714.  Children  by  second  wife:  Mehita- 
ble,  born  October  3,  1716;  Nathaniel,  of 
further  mention;  Isaac,  born  October  23, 
1723.    Child  by  third  wife  :    Abiah. 

(IV)  Nathaniel  Blanchard,  son  of  Thom- 
as (2)  and  Hannah  (Gowen)  Blanchard, 
was  born  at  Andover,  February  2,  1 718-19. 
He  removed  to  Shutesbury,  ^Massachusetts, 
where  he  died  in  1805,  aged  eighty-six 
years.  In  1800  he  deeded  land  to  sons,  Jo- 
seph and  Lemuel,  who  moved  to  New 
Hampshire  and  settled  in  Acworth,  Wal- 
pole,  Westmoreland  and  vicinity.  His  sons 
were :  Joseph,  married  Relief  Osgood ; 
Aaron,  of  Acworth  and  Barnard,  Vermont ; 
Lemuel,  of  Acworth,  soldier  of  the  Revo- 
lution, present  at  the  burning  of  New  Lon- 
don; Isaac,  married  Miriam  Lord;  Asa; 
William;    Nathaniel,  of   further  mention. 

(V)  Nathaniel  (2)  Blanchard,  son  of 
Nathaniel  (i)  Blanchard,  was  born  before 
1750.  He  settled  in  Westmoreland,  New 
Hampshire,  and  according  to  the  census 
was  living  there  in  1790,  having  seven  in  his 

family.      He   married  De   Bell,   of 

Boston.  He  was  a  "famous  iiddler."  He 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  from  New 
Hampshire,  in  Captain  William  Humph- 
rey's company,  according  to  a  pay  roll  dat- 
ed in  1776  (New  Hampshire  Papers,  vol. 
I,  p.  355).  According  to  the  town  records 
of  Westmoreland,  Nathaniel  and  Sarah 
Blanchard  had  the  following  children  in 
that  town  :  William,  of  further  mention  ;  a 
daughter,  born  May  5,  1782;  Willard,  Au- 
gust 9,  1783;  a  daughter,  May  12,  1785; 
Heber,  December  2,  1786;  Martha,  Novem- 

21 


ber  29,  1789;  Nancy,  October  28,  1792; 
Nathaniel,  April  6,  1794;  Amarilla  (son), 
June  16,  1799;  Henry,  March  11,  1805; 
Almira,  January  18,  1807. 

(VI)  William  Blanchard,  son  of  Na- 
thaniel (2)  Blanchard,  was  born  at  West- 
moreland, New  Hampshire,  July  8,  1780, 
and  died  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachu- 
setts, August  15,  1864.  He  lived  on  his  fath- 
er's homestead  at  Westmoreland  for  a  time, 
afterward  purchasing  a  farm  in  Walpole, 
New  Hampshire.  He  married  (first)  Rox- 
anna  Burt,  daughter  of  ]\Ioses  Burt.  She 
died  about  1825.  He  married  (second) 
1828,  Laura  Powers,  born  in  Bernardstown, 
Massachusetts,  1810,  died  at  Walpole,  New 
Hampshire,  July,  1846.  Children  by  first 
wife:  I.Moses.  2.  William.  3.  Son,  died 
young.  4.  Sally,  died  aged  twenty  years. 
5.  Roxanna,  married  George  McNeil.  6. 
Martha,  was  the  third  wife  of  her  brother- 
in-law,  George  McNeil.  7.  Sophronia,  mar- 
ried, April  5,  1843,  Hiram  Britton  (see 
Britton).  8.  Submit,  married  Theron  Ad- 
ams. Children  by  second  wife :  9.  Mary, 
born  in  the  summer  of  1829;  married  Roy- 
al Britton  (see  Britton).  10.  Sarah  Ara- 
bel,  born  January  13,  1831 ;  married  (first) 
Robert  Miller,  (second)  Royal  Britton  (see 
Britton).  11.  Jeannette,  born  December  5, 
1833 ;  married  Lewis  Watson,  who  died  in 
Minnesota;  they  had  three  sons  and  three 
daughters ;  she  died  at  South  Hadley  Falls, 
February  2,  1913.  12.  Harriet  Laura,  born 
October  28,  1837;  married  in  Holyoke,  No- 
vember 16,  1858,  Homer  Taft,  born  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1832;  he  spent  the  early  years  of 
his  life  with  a  relative,  Josiah  Taft,  and  in 
young  manhood  removed  to  Watertown, 
Massachusetts ;  he  was  a  carpenter  by 
trade ;  moved  to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
and  engaged  in  business  for  himself  as  a 
contractor  and  builder;  resided  in  South 
Hadley  Falls  for  twenty-eight  years,  but 
conducted  business  in  Holyoke ;  retired 
from  active  work  in  1897,  then  retired  to  a 


8 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


farm  in  Putney,  Vermont,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death,  February,  1908;  children, 
all  born  in  South  Hadley  Falls:  Alfred 
Homer,  born  December,  i860,  resides  in 
New  York  City,  married  and  is  the  father 
of  three  children ;  Will  Forest,  born  De- 
cember, 1862,  resides  in  Paterson,  New  Jer- 
sey, married  and  is  the  father  of  two  chil- 
dren and  one  grand-child ;  Mary  Emma, 
born  March,  1866,  died  1888,  unmarried; 
George  Ernest,  born  April,  1868,  resides 
in  Corona,  New  York,  married  and  is  the 
father  of  eight  children,  two  grandchil- 
dren: Fred  Leon,  born  August,  1871,  un- 
married, resides  in  Worcester,  Massachu- 
setts; Hattie  Mabel,  born  1877,  resides  in 
South  Hadley  Falls,  married  H.  H.  Spauld- 
ing,  of  South  Hadley,  and  has  two  children ; 
Frank  Lewis,  born  May,  1879,  resides  in 
North  Brattleboro,  Vermont,  married  and 
has  one  child.  Mrs.  Taft  resides  on  the 
farm  in  Putney,  Vermont.  She  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Eastern  Star  and  the  Relief 
Corps.  13.  Henry,  born  August  17,  1842, 
died  in  Illinois,  January,  191 5;  married 
Eliza  Fieber,  of  Easthampton,  Massachu- 
setts. 14.  Lizzie,  born  Alay  2^/,  1846;  mar- 
ried (first)  Fred  Miller;  (second)  Na- 
than W.  Loveland,  born  near  Burlington, 
Vermont,  January  16,  1842,  died  in  Chico- 
pee,  April  20,  1914;  he  was  a  veteran  of 
the  Civil  War,  having  served  three  years  in 
the  First  Vermont  Cavalry;  Mrs.  Loveland 
died  in  South  Hadley  Falls. 


WREN,  Rev.  Humphrey  James, 
Priest. 

Father  Wren,  the  well  known  priest  of 
South  Hadley  Falls,  is  a  close  student  of 
history,  and  has  had  much  to  do  with  the 
upbuilding  of  the  communities  in  which  he 
has  labored.  This  name  is  of  Norman  ori- 
gin, and  the  family  came  to  Ireland  during 
the  regime  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  Sir  Chris- 
topher Wren,  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  Lon- 


don, is  a  descendant  of  the  same  family. 
Humphrey  Wren,  grandfather  of  Rev. 
Humphrey  James  Wren,  lived  and  died  in 
Ireland.  He  married  Joanna  Cronin,  and 
they  had  the  following  children :  Mary, 
Margaret,  John, Cornelia  C,  and  Humphrey. 
Of  these,  Humphrey  Wren,  father  of  Rev. 
Humphrey  James  Wren,  was  born  in  Bally 
Longford,  County  Kerry,  Ireland,  in  1831, 
and  died  in  Killarney,  Ireland,  June  21, 
191 1,  while  on  a  visit  there.  He  was  edu- 
sated  in  the  common  and  national  schools  of 
Ireland,  and  was  a  well  read  man.  In 
youth  he  was  apprenticed  to  learn  the  shoe- 
maker's trade,  later,  in  1852,  came  to  Amer- 
ica, locating  in  the  town  of  Hardwick, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits  throughout  his  active 
life.  His  farm  consisted  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  acres  which  he  successfully 
conducted.  He  w^as  much  interested  in  lo- 
cal afifairs,  and  was  a  man  of  influence  in 
the  community.  At  the  age  of  eighty-one 
years  he  made  a  visit  to  his  native  land,  in 
company  with  his  son,  Rev.  Humphrey  J. 
Wren,  and  was  there  taken  ill  and  died,  as 
previously  noted.  He  married,  in  1859, 
^Margaret  Walsh,  who  was  a  native  of  Coun- 
ty Kerry,  Ireland,  daughter  of  Patrick  and 
Joanna  (Shea)  Walsh.  She  died  in  1908, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  Their 
first  children  were  twins,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. The  others  are :  Cornelius,  a  build- 
er in  Hardwick,  Massachusetts ;  Rev. 
Humphrey  J.,  of  further  mention ;  Joanna 
M. ;  and  Michael  J.,  who  resides  on  the 
homestead  in  Hardwick. 

Rev.  Humphrey  James  Wren  was  born 
August  26,  1863,  in  Greenwich,  Massachu- 
setts, and  pursued  his  early  studies  in  the 
schools  of  Hardwick.  Afterward  he  took  a 
classical  course  in  St.  Hyacinthe  College, 
Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  and  completed 
his  college  education  at  North  East,  Erie 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  grad- 
uated.   Returning  to  St.  Hyacinthe  College, 


219 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


he  held  a  professorship  at  that  institution 
for  a  period  of  three  years,  after  which  he 
entered  upon  his  theological  studies  at  the 
Grand  Seminary  in  Montreal,  Canada.  He 
was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  at  St.  Hy- 
acinthe.  May  30,  1889,  and  immediately 
went  to  Monson  for  one  year,  then  to  the 
Sacred  Heart  Church  at  West  Fitchburg, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  served  eight 
months  as  a  curate.  He  was  next  engaged 
at  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts,  as 
an  assistant  in  the  parish  which  included 
Plainville,  and  during  this  time  the  present 
parish  of  Fairview  was  organized.  Later 
he  was  sent  to  Warren,  Massachusetts,  as 
curate,  to  assist  Rev.  J.  T.  Madden,  at 
present  Monsignor  and  Vicar  General  (see 
sketch  elsewhere  in  this  work),  and  after  a 
short  stay  was  made  rector  of  the  French 
speaking  parish  at  Mittineague,  Massachu- 
setts, which  parish  then  included  East  and 
West  Long  Meadow.  When  the  parish  of 
Warren  was  divided  by  the  Bishop,  Father 
Wren  was  made  pastor  of  the  West  War- 
ren parish,  and  was  called  thence  to  North 
Brookfield,  Massachusetts,  where  he  re- 
mained fourteen  years.  In  191 3  he 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  parish  of 
South  Hadley  Falls,  where  he  has  since 
remained  and  where  his  work  has 
been  crowned  with  gratifying  success.  Fath- 
er Wren  is  an  especially  versatile  man,  and 
is  as  much  at  home  with  the  French 
language  as  with  the  English.  He  is  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  the  French  people, 
and  is  eminently  fitted  to  attend  to  their 
wants,  being  a  man  of  large  heart.  His 
influence  is  extensive,  and  he  is  ever  lead- 
ing his  charge  to  thoughts  of  higher  and 
better  things,  and  the  benefits  of  his  influ- 
ence are  incalculable. 


BANNISTER,  Jesse, 

Cotton  Expert. 

The  honored  and  long-time  resident  of 
Chicopee,  Massachusetts,  whose  name  heads 
this  article,  was  of  notable  qualtities  as  a 
citizen.  He  was  for  many  years  associated 
with  the  Dwight  Manufacturing  Company, 
and  was  a  recognized  authority  in  matters 
pertaining  to  the  cotton  business. 

William  Bannister,  grandfather  of 
Jesse  Bannister,  was  born  in  England,  and 
spent  his  life  as  a  truckman  in  the  town  of 
Blackburn.  He  married  Alice  Hurst,  and 
their  children  were :  William,  born  in 
1815;  Thomas,  1817;  John,  1819;  James, 
1821 ;  Henry,  1823;  Robert,  of  further 
mention;  Mary  Ann,  born  in  1827;  Lewis, 
1829;  Edward,  1831 ;  Jesse,  1833;  Rich- 
ard, 1835  ;  and  Joseph,  1837.  All  these  are 
now  deceased.  The  mother  of  the  family 
died  in  England  in  1862.  She  and  her  hus- 
band attended  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church. 

Robert  Bannister,  son  of  William  and 
Alice  (Hurst)  Bannister,  was  born  Jan- 
uary 15,  1825,  in  Blackburn,  England,  and 
in  1863  emigrated  to  the  United  States.  His 
occupation  was  that  of  a  cotton  spinner.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Republican.  During  his 
long  residence  in  this  country  he  made  four 
trips  to  his  native  land.  Mr.  Bannister  mar- 
ried Catherine  Brocklehurst,  whose  family 
record  is  appended  to  this  biography,  and 
of  the  ten  children  born  to  them  seven  died 
in  infancy.  The  following  reached  maturi- 
ty:  I.  William,  born  October  9,  1845  >  ^^ow 
lives  with  his  sister  Nancy  in  Springfield, 
Massachusetts;  he  married  Frances  Jack- 
son and  of  the  four  children  born  to  them 
two  died  at  birth,  Alice  died  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  and  Lewis  lived  to  be  nine.  2. 
Nancy,  married  Ellis  Cunliffe,  and  they 
now    live    in    Springfield,    Massachusetts; 


220 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


their  children  were :  Eva,  born  September 
i8,  1877,  died  at  birth  ;  Albert  E.,  born  Jan- 
uary 5,  1879;  Alice  M.,  born  August  24, 
1881,  died  August  15,  1892;  James  W., 
born  December  23,  1886.  3.  Jesse,  of  furth- 
er mention.  It  was  in  the  home  of  this  son, 
at  Chicopee,  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bannister 
passed  away,  the  mother  dying  April  23, 
1907,  aged  eighty-two,  and  the  death  of 
the  father  occurring  January  29,  1909,  at 
eighty-four.  Both  attended  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church. 

Jesse  Bannister,  son  of  Robert  and  Cath- 
erine (Brocklehurst)  Bannister,  was  born 
March  7,  1853,  i"  Blackburn,  England, 
and  there  received  his  primary  education 
in  public  schools.  He  was  eleven  years  old 
when  the  family  emigrated  to  the  United 
States,  settling  first  at  Cohoes,  New  York, 
after  a  short  time  removing  to  Easthamp- 
ton,  Massachusetts,  thence  going  soon  to 
Holyoke,  in  the  same  State,  and  finally  tak- 
ing up  their  abode  in  Chicopee.  In  this  town 
Jesse  Bannister  was  employed  as  a  young 
man  by  the  Dwight  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, becoming  a  first-class  mechanic.  In 
1892  Mr.  Bannister  was  made  overseer  of 
the  spinning  department,  one  of  the  largest 
in  the  mill,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he 
became  widely  known  for  his  knowledge  of 
the  business.  Such  was  his  reputation  in 
this  respect  that  in  1902  he  was  sent  by  the 
company  to  England  in  order  that  he  might 
make  a  thorough  study  of  the  cotton  indus- 
try in  that  country.  In  1907  Mr.  Bannister 
resigned  his  position  with  the  intention  of 
retiring  from  active  business ;  he,  however, 
immediately  received  the  appointment  of 
superintendent  of  the  Fairview  Cemetery, 
a  position  which  he  retained  to  the  close  of 
his  life.  In  everything  which  he  deemed 
calculated  to  promote  betterment  of  condi- 
tions in  the  community  Mr.  Bannister  took 
a  helpful  interest,  being  a  man  of  civic  spir- 
it and  benevolent  disposition.  He  affiliated 
with  the  Masonic  lodge  of  Chicopee,  and 

221 


Bela-Grotto,  Order  of  the  Veiled  Prophets 
of  the  Enchanted  Realm,  of  Springfield,  but 
never  held  office  in  either.  He  and  his  wife 
attended  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church. 
Mr.  Bannister  married  (first)  in  the 
spring  of  1882,  Mary  Ann  Dawson.  Mrs. 
Bannister  died  in  1904.  On  December  5, 
1905,  Mr.  Bannister  married  (second)  Belle 
M.  Hubbard,  whose  family  record  is  ap- 
pended to  this  biography.  The  only  child 
of  this  marriage  is  a  son,  Jesse  Horace, 
born  September  18,  1906.  Mr.  Bannister 
was  a  man  of  strong  domestic  tastes  and  af- 
fections, devoted  to  the  ties  of  family  and 
friendship.  The  death  of  Mr.  Bannister, 
which  occurred  on  January  13,  191 6,  after 
a  brief  illness,  was  mourned  by  the  entire 
community.  All  felt  that  Chicopee  had  lost 
one  of  her  best  citizens. 

(The  Brocklehurst  Line). 

William  Brocklehurst,  father  of  Mrs. 
Catherine  (Brocklehurst)  Bannister,  was 
a  hand-loom  weaver  in  England,  and  mar- 
ried Jane  Marsden,  who  was  also  a  native 
of  that  country.  Their  children  were : 
Mathew,  born  in  1817;  John,  1819;  Mar- 
garet, 1821  ;  Ann,  1823;  Catherine,  men- 
tioned below;  James,  1827;  Joseph,  1829; 
Jane,  1831  ;  Mary,  1833;  and  Alice,  1835. 
All  these  are  now  deceased.  William  Brock- 
lehurst, the  father,  died  in  July,  1875. 

Catherine  Brocklehurst,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam and  Jane  (Marsden)  Brocklehurst, 
was  born  November  19,  1825,  in  Houlton 
Tower,  England,  and  became  the  wife  of 
Robert  Bannister,  as  stated  above. 

(The  Hubbard  Line). 

Charles  Hubbard,  grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Belle  M.  (Hubbard)  Bannister,  was  bom 
in  1802,  in  Chesterfield,  New  Hampshire, 
and  married  Mary  Sybil  Streeter,  who  was 
born  in  1808.  Their  children  were :  Hor- 
ace J.,  mentioned  below  ;  Leavett,  born  in 
Hinsdale,  New  Hampshire ;  Delos,  born 
in    Hinsdale,    New    Hampshire ;    Cabbott, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


born  in  Hinsdale,  New  Hampshire,  as  were 
the  two  following:  Mary,  died  in  1916, 
aged  seventy-two ;  and  Willard,  died  in 
1912,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four.  Mr.  Hub- 
bard passed  away  in  1848,  in  Hinsdale, 
and  his  widow  survived  him  forty  years, 
her  death  occurring  in  1888. 

Horace  J.  Hubbard,  son  of  Charles  and 
Mary  Sybil  (Streeter)  Hubbard,  was  born 
August  I,  1835,  in  Chesterfield,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  was  a  bobbin-maker  and  machin- 
ist. He  married  Mary  E.  Wheeler  (see 
Wheeler  line),  and  they  became  the  par- 
ents of  two  children :  Horace  Albert,  born 
July  28,  1861,  died  eight  weeks  later;  and 
Belle  M.,  mentioned  below.  Mrs.  Hubbard 
passed  away  February  2,  1872,  in  Chicopee, 
Massachusetts,  and  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band occurred  at  the  same  place  on  August 

25,   1905- 

Belle  M.  Hubbard,  daughter  of  Horace 
J.  and  Mary  E.  (Wheeler)  Hubbard,  was 
born  July  17,  1866,  in  Chicopee,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  became  the  wife  of  Jesse  Ban- 
nister,  as   stated   above. 

(The  Wheeler  Line). 

Otis  H.  Wheeler,  father  of  Mary  E. 
(Wheeler)  Hubbard,  was  born  March  11, 
1812,  and  married,  September  2,  1837, 
Melisse  E.  Thurston,  who  was  born  March 
19,  1815.  Their  children  were:  I.  Loren 
O.,  born  April  26,  1838,  died  October  3, 
1861.  2.  Albert  E.,  born  November  15, 
1839,  went  to  Montana  and  died  there.  3. 
Mary  E.,  mentioned  below.  4.  Emma,  born 
August  10,  1844;  married,  September  5, 
1859,  Andrew  E.  Willis,  who  died  August 
5,  1913;  they  had  two  children.  5.  Helen 
j\I.,  born  March  20,  1846,  died  July  21, 
1850.  6.  Stella  M.,  born  May  21,  1848, 
married,  September  5,  1865,  Lucius  J.  Par- 
melee,  and  they  had  two  children;  Mrs. 
Parmelee  died  December  8,  1880,  and  the 
death  of  her  husband  occurred  in  1916. 
7.   Ellen   M.,  born  June  9,    1851,   married. 


March  10,  1873,  James  Cargill,  and  they 
had  two  children :  ]\Irs.  Cargill  died  ^larch 
19,  1883,  and  her  husband  passed  away 
April  12,  1 89 1.  The  mother  of  these  sev- 
en children  passed  away  November  20, 
1865,  and  the  father  survived  until  Decem- 
ber  16,    1891. 

]\Iary  E.  Wheeler,  daughter  of  Otis  H. 
and  ]Melis5e  E.  (Thurston)  Wheeler,  was 
born  December  2,  1841,  in  Chesterfield, 
New  Hampshire,  and  became  the  wife  of 
Horace  J.  Hubbard,  as  stated  above. 


YOUNG,  Hiram  Joel, 

Representative  Citizen. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  the  Youngs 
of  New  Hampshire  settled  in  Canada,  but 
the  branch  from  which  Hiram  Joel  Young 
descends  came  to  New  Hampshire  after 
the  Revolution,  his  father  Wilson,  and  his 
grandfather  Samuel,  having  been  born  in 
that  State  near  the  famous  "Ox  bow"  in 
the  Connecticut  river.  Later  both  settled 
in  Canada,  Samuel  at  Kingsley  Falls,  a 
post  village  of  Drummond  county,  prov- 
ince of  Quebec,  on  the  Nicolet  river.  Wil- 
son Young,  when  seeking  a  location  for 
himself  chose  W^arwick,  a  banking  town 
of  Arthabaska  county,  province  of  Que- 
bec. There  his  son,  Hiram  Joel  Young, 
was  born  and  lived  until  eighteen  years 
of  age,  and  since  1884  has  been  a  resident 
of  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts. 

Samuel  Young  grew  to  manhood  at  his 
New  Hampshire  home,  there  married 
Ruth  Aldrich,  and  when  his  son,  Wilson, 
born  in  181 7.  was  yet  a  boy  moved  with 
his  family  to  Kingsley  Falls,  Canada, 
where  he  died  about  1843,  his  wife  sur- 
viving him  until  about  1857.  They  were 
the  parents  of  Ruby,  married  a  Mr.  Gal- 
lup;  Ruth,  married  Levi  Judd,  Andrew; 
Lynda;  Elizabeth;  Jane;  Wilson,  of  fur- 
ther mention. 

Wilson    Young,   born   in    New    Hamp- 


222 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


shire,  May  13,  1817,  died  in  Warwick, 
Canada,  in  1877.  He  was  taken  to  King- 
sley  Falls,  Canada,  when  a  boy  by  his 
parents,  and  there  obtained  a  public 
school  education.  When  about  twenty 
years  of  age  he  enlisted  in  the  Canadian 
militia  and  was  in  active  service  during 
the  insurrection  of  that  period  known  as 
the  Papinou  War.  He  settled  later  at 
Warwick  in  the  same  province,  and  there 
was  engaged  in  farming  until  his  death. 
He  was  a  Republican  in  politics  and 
•somewhat  active,  but  never  sought  nor 
held  political  office.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  order  and  of  the  Baptist 
church.  Wilson  Young  married  Mary 
Ardella  Shaultrie,  of  French  descent, 
•daughter  of  Peter  Shaultrie,  a  farmer  of 
Kingsley  Falls,  and  a  merchant  of  Somer- 
set, a  nearby  town.  Later  Peter  Shaultrie 
moved  to  Warwick,  where  he  died  about 
1870,  leaving  sons,  Charles  and  Frank, 
and  daughters,  Sophie,  and  Mary  Ardella, 
wife  of  Wilson  Young.  Mrs.  Young  sur- 
vived her  husband  about  thirty-four 
years,  and  died  at  the  home  of  her  son 
Nelson,  at  Danville,  province  of  Quebec, 
in  1904.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Young  were  the 
parents  of  eight  daughters  and  five  sons : 
Jane  and  Emily,  died  in  infancy ;  Hiram 
Joel,  of  further  mention ;  Louisa,  born 
March  17,  1850,  married  and  resides  near 
Keene,  New  Hampshire;  Matilda,  born 
May  18,  1852,  deceased;  Phoebe,  born  in 
1855;  Ruby,  born  in  1857,  deceased;  Har- 
riet, died  in  infancy;  Elizabeth,  born  in 
1859,  deceased  ;  Samuel  Wilson,  born  July 
15,  1861,  now  a  resident  of  South  Hadley 
Falls,  married  Margaret  Reid  and  has 
seven  children ;  Nelson,  born  in  June, 
1863,  now  residing  in  Danville,  Quebec; 
John,  born  in  March,  1865,  now  living  in 
South  Hadley  Falls;  Freeman,  born  in 
April,  1867,  deceased. 

Hiram  Joel  Young,  eldest  son  of  Wil- 
son and  Mary  Ardella  (Shaultrie)  Young, 


was  born  in  Kingsley,  Quebec,  Canada, 
August  30,  1848.  The  first  eleven  years 
of  his  life  were  spent  on  the  home  farm  in 
that  town  and  then  in  Warwick.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  made  his  first  visit  to 
the  United  States,  coming  in  1866  with  a 
drove  of  cattle  for  the  Boston  market, 
walking  from  Richmond,  Canada,  to  the 
stock  yards  at  Brighton,  Massachusetts. 
He  did  not  at  once  return  to  Canada,  but 
made  his  home  in  Paris,  Maine,  and  here 
attended  the  public  school,  and  for  three 
years  went  to  Canada,  each  season  return- 
ing with  a  drove  of  cattle.  From  1869  un- 
til 1871  he  resided  in  Norway,  Maine, 
where  he  attended  the  academy,  and  there 
belonged  to  one  of  the  crack  military  or- 
ganizations of  the  State,  the  Norway 
Light  Infantry,  this  company  being  al- 
ways a  feature  at  inauguration  and  on 
special  occasions.  After  leaving  Norway 
he  spent  a  short  time  at  the  old  home  in 
Canada,  but  the  years,  1872-74,  were 
passed  in  Vermont.  He  then  spent  a  year 
at  Kingsley  Falls,  Canada,  learning  paper 
making.  In  1875  he  married  and  then 
moved  to  Valleyfield,  above  Montreal, 
Canada,  remaining  there  five  years  em- 
ployed at  his  trade.  In  1881  he  settled  in 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  securing  em- 
ployment in  the  paper  mills.  In  1884  he 
removed  to  South  Hadley  Falls  and  erect- 
ed a  fine  residence,  and  has  there  continu- 
ously resided  until  the  present  year,  1917. 
Mr.  Young  married,  in  Canada,  in  1875, 
Janet  M.  Walkinshaw,  born  of  Scotch 
parentage  in  Windsor,  province  of  Que- 
bec. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Young  are  the  parents 
of  four  sons  and  five  daughters:  i.  Alice 
Edith,  born  November  19,  1876,  at  Valley- 
field,  Canada;  married  Dr.  James  C.  Mas- 
ton,  one  child,  Edith;  resides  in  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts.  2.  Wilson  A.,  born 
September  17,  1878,  in  Valleyfield;  mar- 
ried Helen  Brown,  born  in  Scotland  and 
resides  in  Oakland,  California;  one  son. 


223 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Wilson.  3.  Lily  M.,  born  May  10,  1881, 
in  Windsor,  Canada;  married  Frank 
Brown,  born  in  England,  and  resides  in 
Williamantic,  Connecticut;  two  children: 
Evelyn  and  Dorris.  4.  Hiram,  born  July 
20,  1884,  died  in  infancy.  5.  Ida  M.,  born 
July  29,  1886,  died  in  infancy.  6.  Walter 
R.,  born  October  7,  1888,  in  Chicopee, 
Massachusetts ;  married  Norene  Gallivan 
and  resides  in  Williamantic,  Connecticut. 
7.  Norman  R.,  born  January  10,  1892,  died 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years.  8.  Hazel 
Ruth,  born  November  2^,  1893,  at  Chico- 
pee, Massachusetts;  married  Carroll  Can- 
non and  resides  in  Springfield ;  one  son, 
Russell.  9.  Ruby  Ethel,  born  August  23, 
1897,  at  Chicopee,  residing  with  her  par- 
ents in  South  Hadley  Falls. 


LAWTON,  Dwight  Barker, 

Army    Xiieuteuant. 

The  Reed  family,  of  which  Mrs.  Susan 
E.  (Reed)  Lawton,  a  well  known  resident 
of  Worcester,  is  a  representative,  is  of  Eng- 
lish origin,  tracing  back  to  the  sixteenth 
century,  its  members  in  the  various  genera- 
tions bearing  well  their  part  in  pubhc,  mil- 
itary and  private  life,  leaving  behind  them 
the  indelible  impress  of  their  industry,  per- 
severance and  uprightness. 

(I)  William  Reed,  emigrant  ancestor, 
was  born  in  England,  in  1587.  He  was 
reared  and  educated  in  his  native  land,  re- 
maining there  until  the  year  1635,  when 
he  emigrated  to  the  New  World,  sailing 
in  the  ship,  "Defence,"  accompanied  by  his 
wife,  Mabel  (Kendall)  Reed,  and  three 
children:     George,  Ralph,  Justus. 

(II)  George  Reed,  eldest  son  of  William 
and  Mabel  (Kendall)  Reed,  was  born  in 
England,  1629,  and  was  brought  by  his 
parents  to  New  England  in  1635.  He  mar- 
ried, October  4,  1652,  Elizabeth  Jennison. 
Children :  Elizabeth,  Samuel,  Abigail, 
George,  William,  Sarah. 


(III)  William  (2)  Reed,  youngest  son  of 
George  and  Elizabeth  (Jennison)  Reed,  was 
born  in  Woburn,  Massachusetts,  September 
22,  1662.  He  married.  May  24,  1686,  Abi- 
gail Kendall,  who  bore  him  six  children: 
Abigail,  William,  Mary,  Benjamin,  Joshua, 
Hepsibah. 

(IV)  William  (3)  Reed,  eldest  son  of 
William  (2)  and  Abigail  (Kendall)  Reed, 
was  born  at  Lexington,  Massachusetts,  July 
18,  1693.  He  married,  about  1719,  Sarah 
Poulter.  Their  children,  born  in  Lexing- 
ton, were :  William,  Samuel,  Sarah,  Mary, 
Oliver,  John,  Hammon,  Eliot,  Hannah,  Na- 
than. 

(V)  Samuel  Reed,  second  son  of  William 
(3)  and  Sarah  (Poulter)  Reed,  was  born  in 
Lexington,  Massachusetts,  May  4,  1722.  He 
married  Eunice  Stone,  of  Lexington,  born 
July  2,  1724,  who  bore  him  nine  children: 
Samuel,  Micah,  Moses,  Frances,  Eunice, 
Abigail,  Lucy,   Sarah,   Mary. 

(VI)  Micah  Reed,  second  son  of  Sam- 
uel and  Eunice  (Stone)  Reed,  was  born  in 
Lexington,  Massachusetts,  September  28, 
1746.  About  1780  he  removed  to  Hard- 
wick,  Massachusetts,  and  later  to  New 
Braintree.  He  married  Elizabeth  Paige. 
Their  children  were:  Micah,  Elizabeth, 
Elizabeth  (2),  Elizabeth  (3),  Samuel,  Eu- 
nice. 

(VII)  Colonel  Micah  (2)  Reed,  eldest 
son  of  Micah  (i)  and  Elizabeth  (Paige) 
Reed,  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  October 
17,  1773.  In  early  boyhood  he  accompanied 
his  parents  upon  their  removal  to  Hard- 
wick,  but  the  greater  part  of  his  active 
career  was  spent  in  New  Braintree,  his 
homestead  being  located  in  the  part  known 
as  Ditch  Meadow,  where,  in  addition  to  ag- 
ricultural pursuits,  he  was  also  the  proprie- 
tor of  the  Reed  Tavern.  He  took  an  ac- 
tive interest  in  military  afifairs,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  served  as  colonel  of  a  Wor- 
cester county  regiment.  He  married  Debo- 
rah   Thurston,   born    September    23,    1778, 


224 


GRAPHY 

-ieed,  youngest  ictn  of 

id  Elizabeth  (Jennison)  Reed,  was 

\Voburn,  Massachusetts,  September 

He  married,  May  24.  t6B6,  Abi- 

rvcndall,  hildren: 

'am    (3) 


ner  p 


1,  uaoul 

1719,  b<.;:  '. 

eii,  bor 

M  in   Lexuig- 

Sarah,  Mary, 

liannah,  Na- 

a  of  William 

in  in 

]!>. 

ptember    ;^8, 

ii  /ved  to  Hard- 

:.d   later  to   New 

ied    Elizabeth    Paige. 

i,     ...c:      Micah,    Elizabeth, 

;.  Elizabeth  (3),  Samuel,  Eu- 

..........    ,^_,    Reed,   eldest 

.)   and  Elizabeth   (Paige) 
>  ifurn  in  Massachusetts,  October 

T-,  .■■■)!•! ,- 1). \;...h1  ]i-    ...rompanied 

Haid- 


■  &f 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


daughter  of  Samuel  Thurston,  of  Hard- 
wick.  Their  children,  all  born  in  New 
Braintree,  were:  i.  Arminiley,  born  Sep- 
tember 22,  1798,  never  married.  2.  Rebecca 
Paige,  born  July  6,  1801,  died  January  6, 
1808.  3.  Infant  son,  born  April  16,  1803, 
died  same  day.  4.  Abel  Wheeler,  born  Jan- 
uary 15,  1805,  died  1874;  married  Eliza- 
beth Scovil,  of  East  Haddam,  Connecticut, 
and  had  a  daughter,  Nellie,  deceased.  5. 
Micah  Thurston,  born  May  21,  1807,  died 
January  11,  1885;  married  Abigial  Har- 
low, child,  Thomas  Harlow.  6.  Samuel 
Gardner,  born  May  21,  i8og,  died  1884; 
married  (first)  Lucella  P.  Ware,  of  Wor- 
cester, and  had  two  children :  Charles  Ar- 
thur and  Frank  Theodore;  married  (sec- 
ond) Elizabeth  P.  Field,  of  Philadelphia, 
and  had  one  child,  Karl  Beagary ;  married 
(third)  Hannah  W.  Whitcomb.  7.  Ham- 
mond, born  August  7,  181 1.  8.  Sumner, 
born  March  29,  181 3,  married  Jane  Hen- 
shaw,  of  Carlton,  Massachusetts.  9.  Re- 
becca, born  December  2,  181 5,  married 
James  B.  Bardwell,  of  New  Braintree,  and 
had  three  children :  Everett  J.,  Frederick, 
deceased,  and  Alice  R.,  deceased.  10. 
Dwight,  of  whom  further.  Colonel  Micah 
Reed  died  in  New  Braintree,  August  3, 
1825.     His  wife  died  June  30,  1828. 

(VIII)  Dwight  Reed,  youngest  son  of 
Colonel  Micah  (2)  and  Deborah  (Thurs- 
ton) Reed,  was  born  in  New  Braintree, 
Massachusetts,  August  25,  181 7.  He  at- 
tended the  schools  of  his  native  town,  Lei- 
cester Academy,  and  Wilbraham  Academy, 
thus  acquiring  an  excellent  education.  He 
served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade  of 
spoke  making,  and  operated  a  factory  for 
some  time  in  Brookfield,  Massachusetts. 
From  there  he  moved  to  Worcester,  Mas- 
sachusetts, where  he  was  associated  with 
Thomas  Reed  as  stove  dealers,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Reed  &  Company,  their  place 
of  business  being  on  Main  street.  This 
enterprise  proved  successful  and  remunera- 


tive, and  the  connection  continued  during 
the  remainder  of  his  active  life.  He  became 
one  of  the  well  known  citizens  of  Wor- 
cester, was  active  in  worthy  movements  for 
the  betterment  of  his  adopted  city,  and  cast 
his  vote  for  the  candidates  of  the  Repub- 
lican party.  Mr.  Reed  married,  in  New 
Braintree,  March  15,  1842,  Susanne  Lu- 
ther Vaughn,  born  in  Prescott,  daughter 
of  Josiah  and  Susanne  (Shaw)  Vaughn. 
They  were  the  parents  of  three  children : 
George  D.,  born  November  i,  1848,  died 
August  23,  1849;  Susan  E.,  of  whom 
further ;  I\Iary.  Dwight  Reed  died  in 
Worcester  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years, 
and  his  remains  were  interred  in  Hope  Cem- 
etery. His  wife  died  in  Worcester,  1893,  and 
is  also  interred  in  Hope  Cemetery. 

(IX)  Susan  E.  Reed,  eldest  daughter  of 
Dwight  and  Susanne  Luther  (Vaughn) 
Reed,  was  born  in  Brookfield,  Massachu- 
setts. She  married  Christopher  P.  Law- 
ton.  After  completing  her  studies,  Susan 
E.  Reed  pursued  a  course  of  study  of  mu- 
sic in  New  York,  Chicago,  Mexico  and 
Boston.  She  possessed  musical  talent  of 
marked  degree,  especially  on  the  harp  and 
organ,  and  for  several  years  thereafter 
had  pupils  on  both  these  instruments.  She 
is  a  lady  of  culture,  artistic  taste  and  tem- 
perament, and  is  prominent  in  social  cir- 
cles in  Worcester,  in  which  city  she  is  re- 
siding at  the  present  time  (191 7).  She  is 
a  member  of  the  Army  Relief  Society,  Red 
Cross  Society,  Equal  SuflFrage  League,  a 
fellow  of  the  National  Geographic  Society, 
and  takes  an  active  part  in  charitable  work. 
There  was  one  child  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lawton,  Dwight  Barker,  of  whom  further. 

(X)  Dwight  Barker  Lawton,  son  of 
Christopher  P.  and  Susan  E.  (Reed)  Law- 
ton,  was  born  in  Webster,  Massachusetts. 
During  his  boyhood  he  resided  for  a  time 
in  New  York  City,  receiving  a  military 
training  in  several  New  York  military 
schools.    He  was  formerly  a  sergeant  in  B. 


MASS.— 7— 15. 


225 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Battery.  His  first  enlistment  was  at  the 
recruiting  station  in  the  Walker  Building 
shortly  after  the  office  had  been  opened.  He 
was  assigned  to  Company  K,  Twelfth 
United  States  Infantry,  made  up  entirely 
of  men  from  Worcester.  Owing  to  his  pre- 
vious experience  with  B.  Battery,  his  pro- 
motion from  private  to  first  sergeant  was 
rapid.  He  did  not  go  to  Cuba  with  the  rest 
of  the  regiment,  as  his  battalion  was  not 
in  readiness  to  go  at  that  time.  After  the 
close  of  the  war.  Sergeant  Lawton  obtained 
his  discharge  under  the  volunteer  act,  and 
returned  to  Worcester.  Soldiering  was  so 
much  to  his  liking  that  he  re-enlisted  again 
at  the  Walker  Building  Recruiting  Station, 
and  once  more  was  a  private.  He  again 
rose  through  all  the  grades  of  non-commis- 
sioned officer  and  was  appointed  battalion 
sergeant-major  in  June,  1899,  of  the  Twelfth 
United  States  Infantry.  He  was  appointed 
second  lieutenant  of  the  same  company  in 
February,  1901,  and  first  lieutenant  of  the 
Sixteenth  United  States  Infantry  in  May, 
1906.  The  examination  for  these  ranks  was 
very  rigid,  but  he  passed  with  a  grade  of 
84  per  cent,  or  over.  He  saw  five  years' 
continuous  service  in  the  Philippine  Islands, 
after  which  he  was  retired  on  account  of  ill 
health.  Previous  to  his  retirement  he  had 
been  ordered  to  proceed  to  Alaska.  He 
won  about  twelve  medals  for  valiant  ser- 
vice from  the  dififerent  army  corps  he  had 
served  in,  including  the  Congressional  Med- 
al. He  was  a  member  of  the  Army  and 
Navy  Club,  Washington  and  New  York ; 
the  Carabao  Club  in  the  Philippines ;  the 
Army  Relief  Club  and  the  Red  Cross  Associ- 
ation. Lieutenant  Lawton  was  a  brilliant  of- 
ficer and  socially  popular.  When  he  was  first 
stricken  with  the  nervous  ailment  which 
caused  his  death.  Lieutenant  Lawton  was 
sent  to  the  Walter  Reed  Army  Hospital 
at  Washington,  D.  C.  After  an  illness  of 
four  and  a  half  years  of  paralysis  of  the 
nerves.    Lieutenant    Lawton    died    October 


23,  1914.  The  funeral  services,  which  were 
private,  were  conducted  at  the  home  of  his 
mother.  No.  10  Institute  Road,  Worcester, 
and  the  chaplain  of  the  Second  Massachu- 
setts Infantry,  Massachusetts  National 
Guard,  officiated.  He  was  buried  with  mil- 
itary honors  in  Hope  Cemetery.  A  squad 
from  the  Second  Massachusetts  Infantry, 
under  Captain  Stevenson,  fired  a  volley 
over  the  grave  and  taps  were  sounded.  Ad- 
jutant-General Charles  H.  Cole,  of  the 
Massachusetts  National  Guard,  ordered  the 
flag  at  the  armory  to  remain  at  half  mast 
during  the  funeral  services,  and  from  his 
death  until  his  interment  the  flag  at  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  headquarters 
was  at  half  mast. 


BARDWELL,  George  Edwin, 

Representative  Citizen. 

The  history  of  this  branch  of  the  Bard- 
wells  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  leads  in 
direct  paternal  line  to  Robert  Bardwell, 
who  came  from  London,  England,  in  1670, 
then  being  about  twenty-three  years  of 
age.  His  great-grandson.  Deacon  Joseph 
Bardwell,  married  Sibyl  Worthington 
Smith,  daughter  of  Captain  Elijah  Smith, 
of  Belchertown,  Massachusetts,  great- 
great-grandson  of  Joseph  Smith,  who  was 
a  resident  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  in 
1655.  His  son.  Sergeant  Joseph  Smith, 
removed  in  1680  to  Hadley,  Massachu- 
setts, and  in  1687  he  took  charge  of  the 
grist  mill  at  Mill  River,  three  miles  from 
Hadley.  His  son.  Deacon  John  Smith, 
settled  at  Belchertown,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  died  in  1777,  aged  ninety.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Hovey,  they  the  par- 
ents of  Captain  Elijah  Smith,  of  Belcher- 
town, a  captain  in  the  French  War  of 
1756.  Captain  Elijah  Smith  married 
(first)  in  1751,  Sibyl,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Worthington,  of  Colchester,  Connecticut. 
Their  eldest  daughter,  Sibyl  Worthington 


226 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Smith,  married  Deacon  Joseph  Bardwell, 
of  Belchertown,  their  marriage  uniting 
two  prominent  Colonial  families  of  Con- 
necticut and  Massachusetts. 

Robert  Bardwell,  the  American  ances- 
tor,  was  a  hatter  by  trade,  and  at  the  time 
of  the  great  plague  in  1665  was  in  London 
learning  this  trade,  being  there  also  at  the 
time  of  the  great  fire.  He  was  sergeant 
of  the  militia  in  the  Indian  wars,  and  was 
actively  engaged  in  King  Philip's  War. 
About  1675  he  was  sent  to  the  Connecti- 
cut Valley  with  dispatches  for  the  troops, 
making  the  trip  alone  on  foot  through  the 
forests,  after  this  making  his  home  in 
Hatfield.  He  was  in  the  fight  at  Turner's 
Falls,  May  18,  1676,  and  came  through 
many  engagements  without  a  serious 
wound.  He  married,  November  29,  1676, 
Mary  (Gull)  Foote,  who  died  November 
12,  1726,  daughter  of  William  and  Eliza- 
beth (Smith)  Gull,  and  widow  of  Nathan- 
iel Foote.  He  died  January  9,  1726,  aged 
seventy-nine  years.  Children  :  Ebenezer, 
born  October  19,  1679;  Mary,  October  15, 
1681 ;  John,  September  16,  1683,  died  1685  ; 
Samuel,  September  26,  1685;  John,  of  fur- 
ther mention;  Elizabeth,  July  30,  1689; 
Thomas,  December  8,  1691  ;  Esther,  Au- 
gust 8,  1693,  married,  October  23,  1717, 
Joseph  Belden  ;  Sarah,  married.  May  19, 
1713,  Jonathan  Barrett;  Thankful,  mar- 
ried. May  23,  1717,  Abram  Graves;  Abi- 
gail, born  1699,  married,  June  6,  1720, 
David  Graves. 

John  Bardwell,  son  of  Robert  and  Mary 
(Gull-Foote)  Bardwell,  was  born  at  Hat- 
field, August  18,  1687,  and  died  there. 
May  25,  1728.  His  will  was  proved  June 
24,  1728.  He  married  Mehitable  Graves, 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  Graves,  of 
Hatfield.  Children:  Moses,  born  1712, 
married  Azubah  Graves ;  Joseph,  of  fur- 
ther mention ;  Sarah,  March  23,  1719,  died 
unmarried,  March  18,  1736;  Martha,  Oc- 
tober 27,    1720,    married    David    Waite ; 


John,  October  26,  1723;  Jonathan,  1724, 
captain  in  the  Revolution,  married  Violet 
Amsden. 

Joseph  Bardwell,  son  of  John  and  Me- 
hitable (Graves)  Bardwell,  was  born  in 
1713,  at  Hatfield,  and  was  a  prominent 
man  in  Belchertown.  He  served  in  the 
Revolution  twelve  months,  according  to 
Graft's  History  of  Whately.  He  died  in 
Belchertown,  January  i,  1791.  He  mar- 
ried, May  I,  1735,  Lydia  Morton,  daugh- 
ter of  Ebenezer  Morton,  of  Hatfield. 
Among  their  children  were  Obadiah  and 
Joseph  (2)  Bardwell. 

Joseph  (2)  Bardwell  (also  known  as 
Deacon  Bardwell),  son  of  Joseph  (i)  and 
Lydia  (Morton)  Bardwell,  was  born  in 
Belchertown,  Massachusetts,  in  1750,  and 
died  in  South  Hadley  Falls,  November  23, 
1829.  He  married,  at  Belchertown,  in 
1774,  Sibyl  Worthington  Smith  (previous- 
ly mentioned),  who  died  May  26,  1858, 
aged  one  hundred  and  one  years.  They 
were  the  parents  of  eleven  children  in- 
cluding Alonzo,  of  further  mention, 
grandfather  of  George  Edwin  Bardwell, 
of  Holyoke. 

Alonzo  Bardwell,  son  of  Deacon  Joseph 
(2)  and  Sibyl  Worthington  (Smith) 
Bardwell,  was  born  in  Belchertown, 
Massachusetts,  in  1793,  and  died  in  South 
Hadley  Falls,  July  4,  1868.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  business  activity,  and  froui  the 
date  of  his  settlement  in  South  Hadley 
Falls,  about  181 5,  was  one  of  the  public 
spirited,  progressive  men  of  that  com- 
munity. He  built  several  houses  in  the 
town,  one  of  them  erected  in  1819  being 
now  occupied  by  a  descendant.  He  took 
advantage  of  the  fine  water  power  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  town  by  damming 
Buttery  brook  on  which  stood  a  large  tan- 
nery, grist  and  saw  mill,  all  ultimately 
destroyed  by  fire  and  never  rebuilt.  He 
was  one  of  the  early  manufacturers  of 
farming    machinery,    and    in    connection 


227 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


with  the  factory  was  a  foundry  which  was 
three  times  destroyed  by  fire.  A  woolen 
mill  also  stood  near  the  dam,  but  was 
leased  to  outside  parties.  Alonzo  Bard- 
well  was  also  interested  in  river  transpor- 
tation, and  prior  to  the  coming  of  the  rail- 
roads conducted  a  very  profitable  busi- 
ness. The  family  preserve  many  interest- 
ing relics  of  that  period,  old  bills  of  lad- 
ing, insurance  policies,  etc.,  also  various 
costumes  peculiar  to  the  Colonial  period. 
In  addition  to  his  business  activities, 
Alonzo  Bardwell  was  a  large  landowner, 
his  estate  in  that  portion  of  the  town  in- 
tersected by  North  Main  and  Bardwell 
streets,  the  latter  named  in  his  honor  but 
not  opened  during  his  lifetime.  He  was 
very  progressive  in  his  farming  opera- 
tions, using  a  great  deal  of  machinery  for 
that  day,  his  hay  tedder,  the  first  in  the 
town,  creating  a  great  deal  of  interest 
among  the  farmers.  He  was  a  strong  ad- 
vocate of  temperance  and  an  ardent  Abo- 
litionist ;  aided  in  the  operation  of  the 
"Underground  Railroad"  and  helped 
many  escaping  slaves.  He  supported  the 
candidacy  of  Abraham  Lincoln  for  presi- 
dent, and  was  a  strong  supporter  of  the 
Union  cause.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the 
church  and  abounded  in  good  and  chari- 
table work.  His  interest  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  community  in  which  he  lived 
for  half  a  century  was  constant,  and  many 
public  improvements  were  carried  to  com- 
pletion through  his  aid,  including  the 
South  Hadley  Falls  bridge.  Alonzo 
Bardwell  married  Harriet  White,  born  at 
South  Hadley  Center,  August  2,  1794,  her 
birthplace  known  as  the  Eastman  Place, 
now  a  part  of  the  Joseph  Skinner  Estate. 
She  died  in  South  Hadley  Falls,  Novem- 
ber 13,  1874.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Dea- 
con Josiah  White,  born  March  30,  1761, 
died  February  26,  1829,  married,  Novem- 
ber 22,  1787,  Mabel  Mitchell,  born  in  1765, 
died  February  2,  1840.    Alonzo  and  Har- 


riet (White)  Bardwell  were  the  parents 
of  nine  children :  Alonzo  S.,  born  in  1822, 
died  November  26,  1855;  Charles  Addi- 
son, October  8,  1826,  died  April  22,  191 1 ; 
Harriet,  married  James  B.  Fenton,  lived 
and  died  in  South  Hadley  Falls;  Carlos, 
born  in  1829,  married  Orra  Louisa  Frink, 
born  1831,  died  January  18,  1874,  resided 
at  Summit,  New  Jersey,  and  died  at  Sara- 
toga, New  York,  September  2,  1884;  Jo- 
seph, of  further  mention ;  Mabel,  married 
H.  A.  Frink,  and  now  resides  in  Balti- 
more, Maryland ;  three  sons  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

Joseph  Bardwell,  son  of  Alonzo  and 
Harriet  (White)  Bardwell,  was  born  at 
South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts, 
March  9,  1835,  now  a  resident  of  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts.  He  grew  to  manhood  at 
the  place  of  his  birth,  engaged  in  farm- 
ing several  years,  then  became  a  meat  and 
provision  merchant,  continuing  until  his 
retirement.  He  married,  at  Westfield, 
April  27,  1859,  Emily  J.  Hamlin,  born  at 
Westfield,  April  29,  1836,  died  December 
26,  1900,  at  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  They 
were  the  parents  of  two  daughters  and 
three  sons  born  at  South  Hadley  Falls : 
Emma  Hamlin,  born  June  25,  1862,  died 
December  4,  1863;  Ella  Josephine,  May 
12,  1863,  died  July  7,  1864;  Fred  Lincoln, 
born  April  i,  1866,  married  and  resided  in 
Holyoke,  now  in  Chicopee ;  George  Ed- 
win, of  further  mention. 

George  Edwin  Bardwell,  son  of  Joseph 
and  Emily  J.  (Hamlin)  Bardwell,  was 
born  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachu- 
setts, February  23,  1875.  He  was  educated 
in  Holyoke  public  schools,  and  while  yet 
a  boy  became  a  paper  mill  employee  and 
has  advanced  through  all  branches  of  the 
business  to  his  present  position,  sales 
manager  for  the  Carew  Manufacturing 
Company  of  South  Hadley  Falls.  Mr. 
Bardwell  married,  December  4,  1901,  at 
Hartford,    Connecticut,    Mary    Williams 


228 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Allen,  born  at  Enfield,  Connecticut, 
daughter  of  All)ert  Francis  Allen,  a  farm- 
er, died  September  15,  1892,  and  his  wife, 
Julia  Ann  (Patten)  Allen,  born  April  30, 
1837,  died  December  9,  1887. 


RUSSELL,  John  Whitney, 

Representative  Citizen. 

The  real  germ  of  a  human  stock  is  undis- 
coverable,  though  as  expressed  in  the  fam- 
ily, like  Tennyson's  brook  "it  goes  on  for- 
ever." Through  change  of  habitation  came 
the  change  in  name.  The  flow  of  emigra- 
tion in  Continental  Europe  in  the  Middle 
Ages  was  from  the  north,  the  south  and  the 
east  concentrating  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Seine,  the  Rhone,  the  Rhine,  and  the 
Danube.  Transferred  to  England  in  1060 
the  stock  was  reinforced  by  the  Anglo- 
Saxons.  The  name  Rozel  (Roz-castle,  el, 
a  synonym  for  water)  was  first  given  to  a 
castle  located  in  lower  Normandy  in  1045 
and  implied  a  tower  or  castle  by  the  water. 
Hugh,  son  of  William  Bertrand,  was  invest- 
ed with  this  stronghold  and  took  its  name, 
calling  himself  Hugh  Rozel,  from  which 
came  Rosel,  Rousel  and  Russell.  The  Ber- 
trand ancestry  traces  to  Norwegian  Earls 
of  the  seventh  century,  whose  descendants 
were  in  the  train  of  William  the  Conqueror 
and  received  large  grants  of  the  public  do- 
main taken  from  the  Saxons.  They  were 
the  founders  of  the  English  family  of  Rus- 
sell, from  whence  came  the  American  Rus- 
sells,  progenitors  of  John  Whitney  Russell, 
of  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts. 
They  settled  in  Massachusetts  with  the  Pu- 
ritans, later  branches  aided  in  founding 
Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  then  to  the  banks 
of  the  "Great  River"  and  founded  Hadley, 
Massachusetts,  thence  again  to  Connecti- 
cut, where  John  Whitney  Russell  was  born. 
There  were  many  ministers  in  the  early 
family,  and  in  all  other  professions  and 
walks  of  life  they  have  been  important  fac- 


tors in  the  upbuilding  of  more  than  one 
commonwealth. 

John  Whitney  Russell,  son  of  George 
Russell,  and  grandson  of  Jonathan  Russell, 
was  born  in  Vernon,  Connecticut,  Febru- 
ary 6,  1842.  Jonathan  Russell,  a  drover  and 
stock  raiser,  was  born  in  Massachusetts, 
and  died  there  about  1854.  He  married 
Asenath  Stebbins,  who  died  about   1836. 

George  Russell  was  born  in  Enfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, October  30,  1818,  and  died  in 
Vernon,  Connecticut,  in  February,  1890. 
He  lived  the  life  of  the  country  boy  of  his 
period,  and  though  he  craved  education  it 
was  denied  him  further  than  that  which  the 
public  schools  afforded.  He  remained  on 
his  father's  farm  as  his  assistant  until  twen- 
ty-three years  of  age,  when  he  married, 
and  soon  afterward  he  moved  to  Vernon, 
Connecticut,  where  he  purchased  a  farm 
and  continued  an  agriculturist  all  his  life. 
He  was  a  man  of  a  fearless,  progressive 
nature,  took  a  positive  stand  on  all  public 
questions,  and  maintained  his  opinions.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Whig  party  and  took 
a  firm  stand  with  the  Abolition  element  of 
that  party,  and  when  it  failed  to  fairly  meet 
the  issue  he  affiliated  with  the  Abolition 
wing  which  founded  the  Republican  party. 
He  also  joined  in  the  Know-Nothing  move- 
ment, and  although  he  was  one  of  the  most 
active  of  party  workers  he  never  sought 
nor  accepted  public  office.  In  his  business 
he  was  equally  progressive  and  'far  ahead 
of  his  times.  He  held  advanced  ideas  and 
was  a  pioneer  in  lines  of  fruit  culture,  now 
so  well  established  that  it  is  difficult  to 
imagine  a  time  when  strawberries  and 
peaches  were  not  raised  for  the  public  mar- 
ket. Yet  George  Russell  is  credited  with 
being  the  first  man  in  New  England  to  raise 
those  fruits  for  the  market.  George  Rus- 
sell married  Nancy  Cutler  Powers,  born 
at  Templeton,  Massachusetts,  April  2"], 
1819,  died  at  East  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
May  29,  1896,  an  active  church  member  and 


229 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


a  devoted  Christian,  training  her  children 
in  habits  of  industry  and  integrity.  She  was 
a  daughter  of  Joseph  Powers,  a  shoemaker 
of  Enfield,  Massachusetts,  who  died  in 
1865.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  Whitney.  Their 
children,  all  deceased,  were :  Nancy  Cut- 
ler Powers,  married  George  Russell;  Da- 
vid Powers,  a  sea  captain ;  Bentley  San- 
ger Powers,  superintendent  of  various  penal 
institutions  in  Connecticut  and  New  York. 
George  and  Nancy  Cutler  (Powers)  Russell 
were  the  parents  of  six  children:  i.  John 
Whitney,  of  further  mention.  2.  S.  Loraine, 
who  married  George  Bissell,  whom  she  sur- 
vives with  three  daughters  and  a  son,  re- 
siding at  East  Hartford,  Connecticut.  3. 
Jennie  L.,  married  Erastus  Geer,  and  re- 
sides in  East  Hartford,  Connecticut.  4. 
Alice  L.,  married  Albert  Curtis  Roby,  a 
leading  druggist  of  Unionville,  Connecticut. 
5.  Florence,  died  in  191 5.    6.  George. 

John  Whitney  Russell  spent  his  early 
years  in  Vernon,  Connecticut,  was  educat- 
ed in  the  public  schools  and  prepared  for 
the  battle  of  life  by  serving  a  full  term  of 
apprenticeship  at  the  machinist's  trade.  He 
became  an  expert  worker  in  metal  and  in 
different  shops  gained  a  thorough  general 
knowledge  of  various  lines  of  manufacture 
which,  added  to  his  mechanical  skill,  se- 
cured him  responsible  positions  with  plants 
of  world-wide  reputation.  He  was  fore- 
man of  a  department  of  the  Deane  Steam 
Pump  Company  for  fourteen  years ;  with 
Harris  &  Hawkins ;  Colt's  Armory  at  Hart- 
ford; Parker  Brothers  of  Meriden,  Con- 
necticut, makers  of  the  famous  "Parker 
Gun;"  master  mechanic  with  the  Farr  Al- 
paca Company  of  Holyoke,  one  year,  and 
for  seventeen  years  was  with  Prentiss  & 
Company,  wire  manufacturers,  of  Holyoke. 
He  was  an  authority  on  certain  lines  of 
manufacturing  machinery,  was  a  superior 
workman  and  most  capable  shop  manager. 
During  his  last  years  he  lived  a  retired 
life  at  Hadley  Falls,  where  he  died  January 


16,  191 7.  While  business  responsibilities 
took  Mr.  Russell  to  different  cities,  he  was 
wherever  located  connected  in  membership 
with  the  Congregational  church  and  active 
in  Sunday  school  work.  After  his  return 
to  Massachusetts  he  served  the  church  as 
deacon  for  many  years,  and  the  Sunday 
school  both  as  a  faithful  teacher  and  ca- 
pable superintendent.  He  was  a  man  highly 
esteemed  and  had  a  host  of  warm  friends. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Republican. 

Mr.  Russell  married,  June  12,  1866,  Eliz- 
abeth Hitt,  born  in  Devonshire,  England, 
April  10,  1843,  di^d  September  16,  1916, 
daughter  of  John  Hitt,  a  paper  manufac- 
turer, who  came  to  the  United  States  with 
his  family  in  1855  ^"^  ^i^^  ^^  South  Had- 
ley Falls,  Massachusetts,  June  17,  1905.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Russell  had  an  only  child,  Cora  A. 
Russell,  who  married,  in  1885,  Harvey  G. 
Smith,  now  a  leading  and  prominent  mer- 
chant of  South  Hadley  Falls.  They  are  the 
parents  of  Russell  B.,  born  in  1887,  died  in 
1889;  Carlton  Russell,  born  September  21, 
1893,  married  L.  Mildred  Lay  and  has  a 
daughter,  Marjory  Russell,  born  August 
8,  1916;  Harvey  G.,  Jr.,  born  October  9, 
1904. 


EVERSON,  George  Howard, 

Retired   Business   Man. 

The  name  of  Everson  is  one  of  long  and 
honorable  standing  in  several  of  the 
towns  of  Massachusetts,  and  is  allied  by- 
marriage  with  early  Pilgrim  families.  In 
the  records  of  Plymouth,  Massachusetts, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, are  found  the  names  of  John  and 
Richard  Everson,  and  their  names  are 
also  found  in  a  list  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Plympton  in  1708  entitled  to  vote. 

The  branch  of  the  family  to  which 
George  Howard  Everson,  of  South  Had- 
ley Falls,  belongs,  settled  in  the  town  of 
Hanson,  Massachusetts.     Pembroke  was 


230 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


earlier  a  part  of  Duxbury,  and  later  from 
Pembroke  came  the  town  of  Hanson,  all 
of  these  towns  originally  a  part  of  Plym- 
outh. Seth  Sylvanus  Samuel,  Levi  Joseph 
and  James  Everson  are  all  credited  with 
Revolutionary  service.  The  ancestor  of  the 
Hanson  branch  was  Richard  Everson,  of 
Plymouth,  who  with  his  wife  Elizabeth, 
who  died  February  i6,  1816,  reared  a  fam- 
ily of  four  sons:  Richard  (2),  of  whom 
further;  Ephraim,  September  i,  1702; 
Ebenezer,  April  14,  1705;  Benjamin,  Jan- 
uary 26,  171 1.  Richard  (2)  Everson,  born 
November  10,  1700,  married,  March  31, 
1718,  Penelope  Bumpus.  Their  son,  Rich- 
ard (3)  Everson,  married,  October  30, 
1750,  Mrs.  Averick  (Churchill)  Standish, 
widow  of  Ebenezer  Standish,  and  daugh- 
ter of  Isaac  and  Susannah  (Leach) 
Churchill.  Their  eldest  son,  Samuel  Ever- 
son, born  September  22,  1751,  married  and 
was  the  grandfather  of  Isaac  Henry  Ever- 
son. 

Isaac  Henry  Everson  was  born  in  Bry- 
antville,  town  of  Hanson,  April  14,  181 1. 
After  his  marriage  he  removed  to  what 
is  now  Rockland,  a  part  of  Abington, 
where  he  followed  the  shoemaker's  trade 
until  his  death  about  the  year  1873.  His 
wife,  Lucy  (Hobart)  Everson,  was  a 
granddaughter  of  Rev.  Peter  Hobart,  who 
came  with  his  father,  Edmund  Hobart, 
from  Hingham,  Norfolkshire,  England,  in 
1633,  and  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  fa- 
mous Ship  Church  of  Hingham,  Massa- 
chusetts, which  was  framed  in  England, 
brought  to  Hingham  and  there  erected  in 
1681.  Lucy  Hobart  was  born  April  4, 
181 1,  died  in  1897,  aged  eighty-six.  Both 
she  and  her  husband  were  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  They 
had  children :  Isaac  Henry,  born  June  9, 
1832;  Lucinda  H.,  born  December  7,  1834, 
yet  living  in  Rockland,  Massachusetts; 
John  Wesley,  of  further  mention ;  a  son, 
died  in  infancy ;  George  Edward,  born  De- 


cember 29,  1840,  died  September  30,  1862; 
a  daugliter,  died  in  infancy;  Elbridge  H., 
born  April  2,  1844,  yet  living  in  Rockland  ; 
Darius  H.,  ])orn  September  12,  1846,  died 
in  August,  1917;  Irene,  born  December 
20,  1848,  died  in  March,  1850;  Ellerene  A., 
born  November  10,  1850,  yet  living  in 
Rockland  ;  a  son,  born  and  died  December 
5,  1852;  Delwin,  born  July  25,  1854,  de- 
ceased. 

John  Wesley  Everson  was  born  in  Ab- 
ington, Massachusetts,  March  29,  1837, 
and  died  in  Hanover,  Massachusetts,  July 
10,  1912,  in  his  seventy-sixth  year.  He  at- 
tended public  schools  until  beginning 
work  with  his  father  at  the  shoemaker's 
bench  early  in  life.  He  married  at  the 
early  age  of  nineteen  and  shortly  after- 
wards opened  a  shop  for  himself.  He  con- 
ducted his  business  alone  for  about  eight 
years,  then  formed  a  partnership  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Jacob  Whiting,  which 
continued  two  years.  Owing  to  ill  health 
he  sold  his  interest  in  the  shoe  business 
and  purchased  a  farm  in  Hanover  upon 
which  he  resided  until  his  death.  Never 
a  robust  man,  Mr.  Everson,  although  he 
volunteered  for  military  service  during 
the  Civil  War,  was  rejected  by  the  exam- 
ining physician.  He  was  very  active,  how- 
ever, in  the  relief  work  for  the  soldiers' 
w'idows  and  orphans,  and  was  treasurer 
of  the  Rockland  Society  organized  to 
carry  on  that  work.  He  was  a  Whig  in 
politics  in  early  life,  later  afifiliating  with 
the  Republican  party,  but  was  very  inde- 
pendent in  political  thought  and  action. 
For  thirty-five  years  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Registrars,  and  in  1879  ^^^ 
1880  represented  his  district  in  the  State 
Legislature.  He  was  reared  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  faith  and  bore  the  name  of 
the  great  founder  of  Methodism,  but  later 
became  an  active  LInitarian  and  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  church  of  that  faith 
in  Rockland.     He  was  prominent  in  the 


231 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and 
a  man  thoroughly  respected  and  highly 
esteemed  in  his  community. 

John  Wesley  Everson  married  Laura 
Ann  Whiting,  born  in  Hanover,  Massa- 
chusetts, July  29,  1837,  who  still  resides 
in  Rockland,  Massachusetts,  and  is  very 
active  in  church  and  community  work. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Sylvanus  Whiting, 
now  deceased,  a  farmer  of  Hanover.  He 
married  Lucy  Bates  and  had  children : 
Sylvanus  (2) ;  Thomas  Hart  Benton ; 
Laura  Ann,  married  John  Wesley  Ever- 
son ;  Elmer,  now  living  in  Rockland ;  Bet- 
sey, married  Jacob  Whiting  (not  a  rela- 
tive) ;  Adelaide,  married  William  Glover, 
and  died  at  Quincy,  Massachusetts.  John 
W.  and  Laura  Ann  Everson  had  three 
children:  i.  Wesley  Elroy,  born  August 
14,  1857;  married  Adeline  Lowell,  and 
they  reside  at  Hanover,  Massachusetts. 
2.  George  Howard,  of  further  mention.  3. 
Eva  May,  married  Herbert  Emir  Thayer, 
of  South  Hadley  Falls,  whom  she  sur- 
vives, residing  with  her  mother  in  Rock- 
land. 

George  Howard  Everson,  second  son  of 
John  Wesley  and  Laura  Ann  (Whiting) 
Everson,  was  born  in  Rockland,  Massa- 
chusetts, April  II,  1862.  He  was  three 
years  of  age  when  his  father  located  on 
the  farm  in  Hanover  and  there  resided  un- 
til he  was  fifteen,  attending  school  and 
doing  a  boy's  work  on  the  farm.  At  about 
the  age  of  fifteen  he  started  a  milk  distrib- 
uting business,  covering  his  entire  route 
in  time  to  enter  a  shoe  shop  at  7  a.  m., 
and  there  performing  a  full  day's  work. 
He  operated  the  milk  route  for  a  few 
years  only,  but  continued  working  in  shoe 
shops  until  1890,  giving  special  attention 
to  the  upper  leather  department  and  be- 
coming an  expert  cutter.  He  held  re- 
sponsible positions  in  some  of  the  best 
shops  in  the  country  in  the  upper  leather 
and  cutting  departments,  his  last  years  in 


that  line  being  with  Charles  Groce  & 
Sons,  a  firm  now  dissolved.  About  1890, 
Mr.  Everson  located  in  South  Hadley 
Falls,  there  entering  the  employ  of  the  old 
firm  of  Smith  &  Bartlett,  continuing  with 
them  until  about  1896.  He  then  estab- 
lished in  business  for  himself,  and  for  fif- 
teen years  conducted  a  large  and  success- 
ful grocery  business  under  his  own  name. 
In  1905  he  admitted  his  son,  Howard  Tha- 
yer Everson,  to  a  partnership  under  the 
name  of  the  Everson  Grocery  Company 
and  this  continued  until  George  H.  Ever- 
son retired  in  191 3,  and  he  is  now  enjoying 
the  benefits  of  his  life  of  efficient  labor,  in 
retirement  from  business  cares.  Inde- 
pendent in  his  political  opinions,  he  has 
acted  with  the  progressive  element  of 
both  parties  and  shapes  his  course  solely 
with  a  view  to  the  public  good.  He  has 
been  on  the  Board  of  Selectmen  for  the 
past  four  years  and  clerk  of  the  Board  of 
Health  and  still  serving.  He  has  worked 
his  own  way  to  success  through  that  per- 
severing quality  which  balks  at  no  obsta- 
cle or  discouragement.  He  is  highly  es- 
teemed in  the  community  in  which  he  has 
resided  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  and  an  attendant  of  the 
Congregational  church. 

Mr.  Everson  married,  December  22, 
1886,  Emma  Estella  Thayer,  born  in 
Leyden,  New  York,  September  22,  1862, 
daughter  of  Sandford  Coe  Thayer,  an  ice 
dealer,  born  in  Leyden,  New  York,  No- 
vember II,  1837,  died  in  South  Hadley 
Falls,  Massachusetts,  March  7,  1902.  He 
married,  March  13,  1855,  Emily  Melissa 
Avery,  born  October  11,  1838,  died  at 
South  Hadley  Falls,  June  25,  1905.  They 
had  three  children :  Wilbur  H.  Thayer, 
born  February  2,  1856,  married  Emma 
Bullard,  of  Newport,  New  York,  and  now 
resides  in  South  Hadley  Falls  ;  Emma  Es- 
tella Thayer,  married  George  Howard 
132 


w. 


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ames, 

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(  f  con:munication  betwc 
and  England,  James  D. 
memory     this 
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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Cordes,  born  at  Schwarmen,  Kingdom  of 
Hanover,  Germany,  about  1827,  died  in 
Bremen  in  1880.  After  being  left  a  widow 
with  sons  and  daughters  she  married  a 
second  time.  Bremen  presented  but  two 
branches  of  activity  which  were  open  to  a 
youth  of  honorable,  respectable  family, 
and  after  giving  one  of  these,  merchan- 
dising, a  trial,  he  found  that  clerical  work 
was  wholly  unsuited  for  a  lad  of  his  ac- 
tive, adventurous  nature,  and  he  there- 
fore decided  to  try  the  other,  the  sea,  and 
without  consulting  the  family  left  home 
quietly  and  shipped  as  a  seaman  on  board 
one  of  the  vessels  of  a  transatlantic  line 
plying  between  Bremen  and  New  York. 
He  made  several  voyages,  and  while  in 
New  York  met  some  relatives  and  formed 
some  friendships  that  decided  him  to 
make  the  United  States  his  home.  This 
intention  became  a  fact  in  1870,  and  for  a 
year  he  made  his  home  in  Brooklyn  with 
relatives.  He  then  went  to  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  and  became  an  apprentice  to 
Carl  Schenk,  a  painter  and  decorator.  He 
remained  an  apprentice  two  and  a  half 
years,  then  worked  as  a  journeyman  deco- 
rator until  1878.  Realizing  the  import- 
ance of  the  decorator's  art  in  the  rapidly 
growing  New  England  community  in 
which  he  had  cast  his  lot,  and  feeling  his 
own  lack  of  proper  artistic  training,  he 
went  abroad  and  for  eighteen  months 
studied  under  the  best  mural  artists  in 
Munich,  Germany. 

He  returned  to  the  United  States  in 
1880  and  for  two  years  was  employed  in 
New  York  City,  becoming  known  as  a 
decorative  artist  of  taste  and  ability.  Late 
in  1881  he  embraced  an  offer  to  engage  in 
business  for  himself  in  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  for  a  few  months  was  as- 
sociated there  with  Napoleon  Coulture. 
In  1882  Mr.  Cordes  purchased  his  part- 
ner's interest  in  the  business,  conducting 
it   alone    until    1888,   when    he   admitted 


Robert  Johannes  a  partner  under  the  firm 
name  F.  D.  Cordes  &  Company.  The 
store,  which  was  a  part  of  their  business, 
carried  a  full  line  of  artists'  and  painters' 
supplies,  while  painting,  paper  hanging 
and  interior  decoration  employed  a  force 
of  skilled  mechanics  and  artists.  In  1893 
Mr.  Cordes  withdrew  from  the  firm  to  de- 
vote himself  exclusively  to  mural  decora- 
tion, Mr.  Johannes  continuing  the  store. 
Since  that  year  Mr.  Cordes  has  executed 
important  commissions  in  all  parts  of  the 
United  States  and  ranks  among  the  lead- 
ing mural  artists  of  the  country.  After 
permanently  settling  in  the  United  States, 
he  took  the  required  steps  to  perfect  his 
citizenship  and  has  long  been  an  Ameri- 
can in  fact  as  well  as  by  adoption.  He  has 
always  affiliated  with  the  Republican  par- 
ty, but  has  never  accepted  public  office 
with  the  exception  of  one  year  as  select- 
man of  South  Hadley  Falls,  his  home.  He 
is  a  member  of  Holyoke  Lodge,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  and  a  member  of  the 
Congregational  church  of  South  Hadley 
Falls. 

Mr.  Cordes  married  (first)  at  South 
Hadley  Falls,  November  27,  1879,  Anna 
Thieme,  born  November  i,  i860,  died  at 
South  Hadley  Falls,  the  place  of  her  birth, 
December  14,  1891,  daughter  of  Morris 
Thieme,  born  in  Germany.  Mr.  Cordes 
married  (second)  at  South  Hadley  Falls, 
June  27,  1892,  Annie  P.  Thranhardt,  born 
there  February  25,  1875,  daughter  of  Ern- 
est and  Rosinda  (Bishop)  Thranhardt, 
both  born  in  Germany.  Mrs.  Cordes  has 
a  brother,  Edward  Thranhardt,  residing 
in  South  Hadley  Falls,  and  a  sister,  Helen 
Thranhardt.  a  graduate  nurse  residing  in 
New  York  City.  Frank  D.  and  Anna 
(Thieme)  Cordes  were  the  parents  of  a 
son,  Frank,  born  November  27,  1880,  now- 
residing  at  home,  and  of  five  daughters: 
Ella,  born  March,  1882,  died  June  17, 
1895;   Lillian,    residing  at    home;    Clara, 


235 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


married,  in  1909,  George  Pease,  and  re- 
sides at  Stratford,  Connecticut,  and  they 
have  two  children :  George,  born  in  1910, 
Meta  in  1912;  Mabel,  born  August  17, 
1888,  married,  in  1916,  Edward  Meacham, 
and  resides  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania; Annie,  born  December  16,  1890. 
Frank  D.  and  Annie  P.  (Thranhardt) 
Cordes  are  the  parents  of  two  sons,  both 
residing  with  their  parents,  Walter,  born 
in  1893,  ^"d  Karl  in  1894. 


LEPORE,  Anthony  A., 

Public    Official. 

The  influence  that  is  being  exerted  upon 
our  institutions  and  general  life  by  the 
Italian  element  in  our  body  politic  is  one 
that  is  rapidly  growing  greater,  and  is  in  all 
respects  a  healthy  and  wholesome  one.  It 
is  no  wonder  that  this  is  so,  considering  the 
type  of  enterprising  and  capable  young  men 
that  Italy  is  constantly  sending  to  our 
shores,  here  to  make  their  homes  and  work 
out  for  themselves  careers  of  which  any 
country  might  well  be  proud.  An  example 
of  this  enterprise  and  ability  is  to  be  found 
in  the  career  of  Anthony  A.  Lepore,  already 
one  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  Worcester. 
Massachusetts,  despite  his  youth,  and  one 
whose  future  gives  promise  of  unusual  bril- 
liancy. 

Born  at  Melezzano,  in  the  Province  of 
Benevento,  Italy,  April  5,  1884,  Mr.  Lepore 
spent  his  childhood  up  to  the  age  of  twelve 
in  his  native  town.  He  was  a  son  of  Aniel- 
lo  and  Appolonia  (Rossi)  Leport,  and  a 
descendant  of  a  family  which  had  lived  in 
that  region  from  time  immemorial.  Aniello 
Lepore,  the  father  of  Anthony  A.  Lepore, 
first  came  to  this  country  in  1888,  and  lived 
for  five  years  in  the  City  of  Worcester.  In 
1893  he  returned  to  Italy,  and  in  1896  again 
made  the  trip  to  this  country.  This  time  his 
son,  Anthony  A.,  who  had  already  received 
an  excellent  education  in  the  schools  of  his 


native  land,  accompanied  him  and  the  two 
took  up  their  abode  in  Worcester.  The  fath- 
er did  not,  however,  remain  in  America  per- 
manently, returning  finally  to  Italy  in  1902, 
where  he  still  lives  and  is  the  owner  of  a 
successful  farm  in  the  Province  of  Bene- 
vento. The  son,  however,  has  continued  in 
this  country  from  that  time  to  this  and  has 
in  the  interim  become  completely  identified 
with  the  life  and  customs  of  his  adopted 
country.  Mr.  Lepore  is  the  youngest  of 
five  children  of  whom  three  were  daughters. 
His  brother,  Pasquale  Lepore,  also  accom- 
panied his  father  to  this  country  but  re- 
turned with  him  in  1902.  The  opportuni- 
ties which  he  found  awaiting  him  in  Amer- 
ica, however,  were  such  as  to  induce  him 
to  come  here  again  in  1904  and  he  is  now 
a  resident  of  Worcester,  where  he  has  a 
successful  barber  shop,  having  learned  this 
trade  from  his  father.  The  three  sisters 
of  Mr.  Lepore  are  as  follows:  Lucia,  now 
the  wife  of  Gaetano  Rossi,  a  resident  of 
Melezzano,  where  he  w^as  engaged  in  farm- 
ing until  he  was  recently  called  to  the  col- 
ors in  the  great  European  war ;  Maddel- 
lena,  now  the  wife  of  Joseph  Mancino,  a 
farmer  in  Italy ;  and  Felomena,  who  mar- 
ried Cosimo  Mancino,  who  is  also  engaged 
in  farming  in  his  native  land. 

Anthony  A.  Lepore  continued  his  studies 
for  two  years  at  the  grammar  schools  of 
Worcester  and  for  another  two  in  the  Wor- 
cester High  School,  graduating  from  the 
evening  department  of  the  High  School.  He 
is  a  man  of  very  large  ambitions  and  re- 
alized that  his  best  chance  to  advance  in 
this  country  was  to  become  well  acquainted 
with  many  branches  of  knowledge.  Accord- 
ingly, after  completing  his  studies  in  the 
Evening  High  School,  he  took  up  courses 
in  French,  Spanish  and  Greek,  and  now 
speaks  and  writes  five  languages  fluently. 
He  also  took  a  course  in  music  and  drawing 
and  is  now  proficient  in  both  of  these  arts. 
For  eight  years  after  coming  to  this  coun- 


236 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


try,  Mr.  Lepore  worked  in  the  barber  shop 
started  here  by  his  father,  attending  school 
and  following  up  his  courses  of  study  during 
his  leisure  hours.  He,  himself,  conducted  the 
barber  shop  for  about  seven  years,  and  then 
entered  the  real  estate  and  fire  insurance 
business,  selling  the  barber  shop  and  utiliz- 
ing the  capital  to  start  him  in  his  new 
line.  He  holds  commissions  as  justice  of 
the  peace  and  notary  public.  Up  to  Jan- 
uary, 191 6,  Mr.  Lepore  continued  in  the 
real  estate  business,  in  which  he  was  re- 
markably successful,  gaining  the  reputation 
of  being  one  of  the  most  prominent  Italians 
in  the  city  of  Worcester  and  came  to  be  a 
well  known  figure  in  the  general  life  of  the 
community.  At  the  opening  of  1916  the 
Norton  Company,  which  enormous  concern 
is  engaged  in  manufacturing  at  Greendale, 
Massachusetts,  made  an  offer  to  Mr.  Le- 
pore that  he  should  take  the  supervision 
of  the  four  hundred  or  more  Italian  hands 
who  worked  in  their  mills.  Mr.  Lepore 
at  once  accepted  this  offer,  and  from  that 
time  to  the  present  oversees  the  work  of 
this  small  industrial  army.  He  has  also 
been  placed  at  the  head  of  the  employment 
department  and  attends  to  the  hiring  and 
discharge  of  all  help. 

Mr.  Lepore  has  been  extremely  active 
in  the  political  situation  at  Worcester,  tak- 
ing a  prominent  part  in  many  of  the  cam- 
paigns of  recent  years  and  becoming  a 
recognized  factor  in  politics  there.  In  1910 
he  became  the  Democratic  candidate  for  the 
City  Council  from  Ward  Three,  and  al- 
though he  was  defeated  the  vote  cast  for 
him  was  of  such  a  kind  as  to  encourage  him 
and  his  constituents  to  repeat  the  can- 
didacy. In  191 1  he  was  successful  and  again 
in  191 2.  In  191 5  he  was  elected  alderman 
from  the  Third  Ward  and  is  still  serving 
his  term  in  that  body,  having  done  much 
efficient  work  for  his  district  and  for  the 
city-at-large.  He  is  a  strong  factor  in  pro- 
gressive legislation  in  the  Board  of  Alder- 


men and  is  a  member  of  committees,  among 
which  is  that  on  sewers,  ordinances,  fire  de- 
partment, claims,  enrollment  and  bills  of 
second  rating.  He  has  always  been  devoted 
to  the  Democratic  party,  the  principles  and 
policies  of  which  he  staunchly  upholds.  He 
is  not  less  active  in  club  and  fraternity  cir- 
cles in  Worcester,  being  a  member  of  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
the  Lodge  Columbo  Mazzini,  of  the  Sons  of 
Italy  of  America,  also  a  member  of  the 
Court  Mazzini  Foresters.  He  also  belongs 
to  the  Aztec  Club,  and  is  particularly  active 
in  the  organization  known  as  the  Italian 
Citizens  Progressive  League  of  Massachu- 
setts. He  was  elected  to  the  vice-presi- 
dency of  this  organization,  the  object  of 
which  is  to  look  after  and  establish  in  some 
adequate  way  the  naturalization  of  Italian 
immigrants  in  this  country  and  to  look  after 
their  general  welfare.  He  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  this  society  from  the  time  of  its  or- 
ganization in  1 91 3  in  Boston  and  has  been 
one  of  the  most  active  in  furthering  its  ex- 
tremely valuable  work.  Mr.  Lepore,  in  his 
religious  belief,  is  a  Roman  Catholic  and  is 
a  communicant  of  Mount  Carmel  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Catholic  Society  of  the  Knights  of  Co- 
lumbus. 

On  June  22,  191  o,  ^Ir.  Lepore  was  mar- 
ried to  Rose  Mazza,  a  daughter  of  Domine- 
co  Mazza,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts.  Mrs. 
Lepore,  like  her  husband,  is  a  native  of 
Italy  and  came  to  America  with  her  parents 
when  but  ten  years  of  age.  Three  children 
have  been  born  to  them,  as  follows :  Er- 
vino  A.  A.,  deceased  in  infancy;  Ervino 
A.  A. ;   and  Margaret  Carmel. 

Mr.  Lepore  has  made  it  a  point  to  cham- 
pion the  cause  of  the  Third  Ward  of  Wor- 
cester and  is  one  of  the  most  popular  fig- 
ures living  in  that  district.  It  was  he  who 
secured  the  handsome  drinking  fountain 
which  now  stands  in  Washington  Square 
and   also   the   appropriation    from   the   city 


237 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


government  for  beautifying  Washington 
Park  with  a  double  line  of  columns  on  eith- 
er side  of  the  entrance  and  for  enlarging  the 
swimming  pool.  Mr.  Lepore,  on  account 
of  his  unusual  linguistic  acquirements,  has 
made  himself  of  value  to  the  courts  of  the 
city  and  has  acted  as  interpreter  there  and 
in  a  number  of  law  offices.  In  addition  to 
his  other  studies,  he  has  taken  a  course  in 
commercial  law  from  the  School  of  Inter- 
national Correspondence. 


ATWOOD,  Benjamin  S., 

Capable  Man  of  Affairs. 

The  type  that  has  become  familiar  to 
the  world  as  the  successful  New  Eng- 
lander,  practical  and  worldly-wise,  yet 
governed  in  all  matters  by  the  most  scrup- 
ulous and  strict  ethical  code,  stern  in  re- 
moving obstacles  from  the  path,  yet  gen- 
erous even  to  his  enemies,  is  nowhere  bet- 
ter exemplified  than  in  the  person  of  Ben- 
jamin S.  Atwood,  of  Whitman,  Massa- 
chusetts, a  figure  who  has  carried  down 
into  our  own  times  something  of  the  sub- 
stantial quality  of  the  past.  The  success- 
ful men  of  an  earlier  generation  who  were 
responsible  for  the  great  industrial  and 
mercantile  development  of  New  England, 
experienced,  most  of  them,  in  their  own 
lives,  the  juncture  of  two  influences,  cal- 
culated in  combination  to  produce  the 
marked  characters  by  which  we  recognize 
the  type.  For  these  men  were  at  once  the 
product  of  culture  and  refinement,  being 
descended  generally  from  the  most  dis- 
tinguished families,  and  yet  were  so 
placed  that  hard  work  and  frugal  living 
were  the  necessary  conditions  of  success. 
Such  was  the  case  with  Mr.  Atwood,  who 
was  descended  from  a  fine  old  English 
family,  the  members  of  which  have  from 
the  early  Colonial  days,  down  to  the  pres- 
ent, maintained  the  same  high  standard 
which  was  set  for  them  by  their  founder. 


The  Atwood  family  has  been  associated 
with  Plymouth  county,  Massachusetts, 
and  prior  to  that  with  Plymouth  colony, 
since  the  earliest  days  of  American  his- 
tory. According  to  Davis,  the  Plymouth 
historian,  the  name  w-as  originally  Wood, 
and  John  Wood,  the  founder  of  the  house 
in  America,  afterwards  became  John  At- 
wood, in  which  form  the  name  was  hand- 
ed down  to  his  descendants.  (i)  This 
John  Wood,  or  Atwood,  was  married  to 
Sarah  Masterson,  a  daughter  of  Richard 
Masterson,  and  of  this  union  came  the  fol- 
lowing children:  John,  born  1650;  Na- 
thaniel, of  whom  further;  Isaac,  1654; 
Sarah,  who  married  John  Fallswell ;  Abi- 
gail, who  married  Samuel  Leonard ;  Han- 
nah, who  married  Richard  Cooper;  and 
Mary,  who  married  (first)  the  Rev.  John 
Holmes,  of  Duxbury,  Massachusetts,  and 
(second)  Major  William  Bradford. 

(II)  Nathaniel  Atwood,  the  second  son 
of  John  and  Sarah  (Masterson)  Atw^ood, 
generally  known  as  Deacon  Nathaniel  At- 
wood, was  born  February  25,  1651-52,  and 
died  December  17,  1724.  He  was  married 
to  Mary  Morey,  a  daughter  of  Jonathan 
Morey,  and  the  following  children  were 
born  to  them:  John,  May  I,  1684;  Eliza- 
beth, April  24,  1687;  Joanna,  February 
27,  1689;  Mary,  April  26,  1691 ;  Nathaniel, 
of  whom  further;  Isaac,  December  29, 
1695;  Barnabas,  January  i,  1697-98,  and 
Joanna  (2),  June,  1700. 

(III)  Nathaniel  (2)  Atwood,  the  fifth 
child  of  Deacon  Nathaniel  (i)  and  Mary 
(Morey)  Atwood,  was  born  October  3, 
1693,  and  lived  at  Plympton,  Massachusetts. 
He  was  a  lieutenant  in  a  military  com- 
pany, and  was  twice  married  (first)  to 
Mary  Adams,  daughter  of  Francis  Adams, 
and  (second)  to  Mrs.  Abigail  Lucas.  The 
children  of  the  first  marriage  were  as  fol- 
lows: Mary,  born  1723;  Nathaniel,  1725; 
Francis,  1728;  those  of  the  second;  Sarah, 
married  Joseph  Barrows ;  Mercy,  married 


238 


Elated 


colony, 


*  job  At- 

•*«lian(l. 

11)  This 

blamed  to 


1650:  Na- 


«ptr;  and 


m. 


October  3, 


k-jijtol- 

initi.  i''5; 

dirtied 


■^- 


^leen  associated 

tassachusetts, 

'i  colony. 


.arried  to 

Richard 

e  the  fol- 

050;   Na- 

■     T654; 


(first)  f 

•,  Massachusetts,  and 

i  Imtti    Tl  t  :)rif,~  ?    ' 


saniel  A; 


rr:cd 

■  ;  than 

ren  were 

1084;  Eliza- 

.a.    February 

Nathaniel, 

i'ecember    29, 

I,   1607-98.  and 


rried 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Josei)h  Warri-n ;  l'"J)i-iu-zcr,  Ixjrn  1735; 
Keziah,  1737;  William,  1740;  Joseph, 
1741  ;  and  Ichahod,  of  whom  furtlicr. 

(IV)  Ichahod  Atwood.  tin-  youngest 
child  of  NatiianicI  (J)  and  Ai)igail  (Lu- 
cas) Atwood,  was  horn  in  IMympton  in 
1744,  hut  aftt-rwards  moved  to  Middlc- 
boro,  Massachusetts,  where  he  died  Au- 
gust 24,  1819.  lie  married  Il.annah  Shaw, 
a  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  llannah 
(Perkins)  Shaw,  the  ftjrmer  haviufj^  heen 
a  captain  in  the  Continental  army  <Iuring 
the  Kevolution.  (  )f  this  union  the  issue 
was  as  follows:  Ansel,  h(jrn  August  24, 
1770;  Amasa,  April  15,  1772;  Ichahod, 
May  4,  1774;  Polly,  March  27,  1776;  Ste- 
phen, June  6,  1778;  Pelham,  June  16, 
1780;  Nathaniel,  of  whom  further;  Uri.'ih, 
February  24,  1784;  Betsey,  May  17,  1786; 
Hannah,  January  30,  1788;  George,  Au- 
gust 16,  1790;  Sarah,  horn  July  [4,  1792. 

(V)  Nathaniel  (3)  Atwood,  the  sev- 
enth child  of  Ichahod  and  llannah 
(Shaw)  Atwood,  was  born  at  Middlehoro, 
Massachusetts,  April  28,  1782.  He  mar- 
ried Zilpha  ShurtlilT,  a  daughter  of  Fran- 
cis and  Mary  (Shaw)  Shurlliir,  of  Plym])- 
ton,  Massachusetts,  and  to  them  were 
born  the  following  children  :  h'lora,  h"eh- 
ruary  25,  1807;  (lardiner,  ( )ct(jl)er  21, 
1809;  Ruel,  of  whom  further;  Polly,  June 
5,  1818;  and  Ichahod  h\.  May  13,  1820. 

(VI)  Ruel  Atwood,  the  third  child  of 
Nathaniel  (3)  and  Zilpha  (ShurtlifT)  At- 
wood, was  horn  June  24,  t8ii.  He  was 
the  father  of  Henjamin  S.  Atwood,  with 
whose  career  this  sketch  is  chiefly  con- 
cerned. He  married  Abigail  S.  Tillson, 
a  daughter  of  Ichahod  Tillson,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children  as  fol- 
lows:  Ruel  G.,  Lucy  C,  Flora  M.,  Zilpha 
S.,  Benjamin  S.,  of  whom  further;  Elijah 
H.,  and  Lafayette. 

(VII)  Benjamin  S.  Atwood,  the  fifth 
child  of  Ruel  and  Abigail  S.  (Tillson)  At- 
wood, was  born  June  25,  1840,  at  Carver, 


Massachusetts.  His  childhood  was  passed 
in  the  town  of  his  birth  and  it  was  there 
at  the  rural  schools  that  he  f)btained  his 
education.  I  laving  completed  his  school- 
ing, he  sought  for  S(jme  work  to  d(j  and 
soon  secured  a  position  in  a  lumber-mill 
at  Middlehoro,  where  he  learned  how  to 
make  varitms  objects  fr(;m  w(jod  and  thus 
was  introduced  to  the  business  in  which 
he  was  afterwards  to  become  a  leader. 
I'rom  Middlehoro  he  removed  to  IMymp- 
ton, Massachusetts,  the  home  of  his  an- 
cestors for  many  years,  and  here  secured 
a  similar  p(jsiti(jn  in  a  lumber-mill.  It 
was  here  that  the  outbreak  of  the  ('ivil 
War  foimd  him.  Mr.  Atwood's  record  in 
that  momentcnis  struggle  is  such  that  any 
man  might  wcdl  be  ])roud  <>{  it,  showing 
as  it  does  the  most  interested  love  of  his 
country  and  a  willingness  to  sacrifice  all 
in  her  interests.  The  first  call  (jf  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  for  sevc-nty-five  thousand 
volunteers  for  three  months  had  hardly 
gone  forth  before  he  responded.  The  very 
day  ill  which  it  was  published  he  enlisted 
in  ('ompany  II,  Third  Regiment,  Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer  Inf.antry,  and  the  next 
day  started  for  the  front  under  sealed  or- 
ders. The  regiment  sailed  from  Boston 
and  eventually  found  that  their  destina- 
ti(jn  was  Fortress  Monroe,  now  famous  in 
history.  On  April  20,  they  disembarked 
and  marched  to  the  parade  ground  inside 
of  the  fort  where  they  had  a  lunch  oi  Bos- 
ton crackers  and  b(Mled  ham.  Before  they 
had  finished  the  same  the  young  Colonel 
volunteered  the  regiment  to  embark  on 
the  "Pawnee"  to  go  .somewhere  that  neither 
he  nor  any  one  else  in  the  ref,Mment  knew 
where.  They  proceeded  to  the  Navy 
Yard,  where  their  object  was  the  destruc- 
tion of  dry  docks  and  a  c<jnsiderahle  store 
of  munitions  which  there  was  some  fear 
might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Confed- 
erates. The  Third  Massachusetts  has  the 
distinction  of  being  the  first  regiment  to 


239 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


invade  the  hostile  southern  territory  and 
thus  well  earned  the  title  that  has  been 
given  them  of  the  "Minute  Men  of  Sixty- 
One."  They  it  was  who  carried  on  the 
splendid  tradition  of  the  "Minute  Men  of 
Concord  and  Lexington"  and  passed  it 
in  turn  to  the  "Minute  Men"  of  today, 
whose  heroism  has  turned  back  the  ad- 
vancing tide  of  tyranny  and  evil  which 
threatened  to  engulf  civilization  in  that 
second  Thermopylae,  the  battle  of  the 
Marne.  He  was  one  of  the  three  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  five  men  honored 
by  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts 
by  the  presentation  to  them  of  those  much 
desired  medals  inscribed  with  the  words 
"Massachusetts  Minute  Men  1861,"  to 
commemorate  the  fact  that  they  had  been 
the  first  to  respond  to  the  call  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln.  The  medals  were  presented 
by  the  hand  of  the  governor  and  consti- 
tute a  reward  for  patriotism  of  which  the 
members  of  the  regiment  may  well  feel 
proud.  At  the  expiration  of  the  three 
months'  term  of  enlistment,  Mr.  Atwood 
returned  to  his  home  in  Massachusetts 
and  at  once  entered  into  the  work  of  re- 
cruiting with  all  his  might,  a  work  which 
was  then  imperatively  important  for  the 
countr}'.  There  were  few  who  were  more 
successful  than  he,  and  there  were  many 
more  who  responded  to  his  arguments 
than  sufficient  to  fill  up  the  gaps  of  his 
Company  H,  which  had  been  his  object. 
But  although  this  was  so,  Company  H 
w^as  not  completed,  since  so  great  was  the 
country's  need  for  men,  that  as  soon  as 
they  came  in  they  were  sent  off  to  the 
South,  there  to  join  other  units  already 
at  the  front.  For  his  services  in  this  work 
Mr.  Atwood  was  given  a  commission  as 
first  lieutenant  by  Governor  Andrews,  of 
Massachusetts,  but  he  did  not  feel  satis- 
fied for  long  to  continue  his  efforts  in  the 
North,  longing  to  be  back  in  action  once 
more.     Accordingly  he  and  his  old  com- 


rades that  formed  the  fragment  of  Com- 
pany H  joined  with  a  similar  fragment  of 
Company  K,  also  of  Carver,  and  consoli- 
dating with  Company  B,  of  Plymouth, 
returned  under  the  latter  name  to  the 
South  with  their  regiment.  He  was  ap- 
pointed fourth  sergeant  of  the  company, 
and  during  the  campaigns  that  followed 
saw  much  active  service,  especially  in 
North  Carolina,  where  he  took  part  in  a 
number  of  important  engagements.  He 
remained  with  his  regiment  until  the  very 
close  of  the  struggle  and  was  then  honor- 
ably discharged,  when  the  army  was  put 
back  on  its  peace  basis.  Returning  to  the 
North  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Plympton, 
Massachusetts,  and  turned  his  attention 
once  more  to  the  tasks  of  peace. 

This  was  in  the  year  1866,  and  Mr.  At- 
wood at  once  entered  into  a  partnership 
with  his  brother,  Elijah  H.  Atwood,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Atwood  Brothers,  and 
established  a  factory  at  North  Abington, 
Massachusetts,  for  the  manufacture  of 
wooden  boxes.  In  1872  this  business  was 
removed  to  South  Abington,  which  later 
became  the  town  of  Whitman,  and  here, 
too,  Mr.  Atwood  made  his  home,  a  home 
that  he  has  continued  until  today.  In  the 
year  1879,  Elijah  H.  Atwood  retired  en- 
tirely from  the  concern,  and  Benjamin  S. 
Atwood  became  the  sole  owner  of  an  en- 
terprise that  even  at  that  time  promised 
great  things,  which  it  has  more  than  real- 
ized subsequently.  Under  his  careful  yet 
progressive  management  the  business  has 
grown  steadily  and  without  interruption 
until  it  is  today  one  of  the  largest  of  its 
kind  in  the  country,  operating  mills  which 
are  without  a  superior  in  equipment  and 
method  anywhere,  and  giving  employ- 
ment to  a  large  number  of  the  townspeo- 
ple of  Whitman.  During  his  whole  busi- 
ness career  Mr.  Atwood  has  kept  before 
him  as  an  ideal,  not  less  than  his  own  suc- 
cess,   the    advantage    of    the    community 


240 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  which  he  forms  a  member,  and  has  been 
untiring  in  his  efiforts  to  build  up  and  de- 
velop its  industrial  interests.  He  was  one 
of  those  who  in  1901  founded  the  Whit- 
man Board  of  Trade,  and  was  for  twelve 
years  thereafter  its  president,  his  term  of 
office  being  marked  by  his  splendid  efforts 
towards  a  cleaner  and  better  town,  and 
towards  the  inducing  of  new  business  en- 
terprises to  make  their  home  there.  He 
has  been  instrumental  in  bringing  to  the 
town  some  of  the  most  important  indus- 
trial enterprises  that  now  make  their 
home  there,  and  in  persuading  others  to 
remain.  As  recently  as  1916,  when  the 
great  Regal  Shoe  Company  contemplated 
removing  its  factories  elsewhere,  it  was 
Mr.  Atwood  almost  more  than  any  other 
man  who  dissuaded  them  from  their  de- 
termination, and  who  was  responsible  in 
remedying  certain  conditions  of  which 
they  complained. 

Mr.  Atwood  is  a  staunch  and  life-long 
Republican,  and  at  one  time  served  for  a 
period  of  ten  years  as  chairman  of  the 
Whitman  Republican  Town  Committee. 
His  advice  is  often  sought  by  the  State 
leaders  of  the  party.  When  a  man  was 
needed  in  the  year  1916  to  redeem  the 
party  from  the  defeat  it  has  suffered  for 
several  years  in  the  assembly  district,  Mr. 
Atwood's  name  was  suggested  as  the 
strongest  that  could  be  found.  He  was 
for  a  time  reluctant,  but  w-as  finally  pre- 
vailed upon  to  accept  the  nomination  for 
the  State  Assembly.  He  carried  his  party 
through  to  victory  and  served  as  assem- 
blyman for  the  1916  term,  during  which 
time  he  was  instrumental  in  having  en- 
acted much  valuable  legislation  for  the 
community.  He  was  also  for  several  years 
a  member  of  the  school  committee  of 
Whitman. 

Mr.  Atwood  is  a  conspicuous  figure  in 
the  social  life  of  Whitman,  and  a  member 
of  a  number  of  important  organizations. 
MASS.— 7— 16.  241 


He  has  always  kept  up  his  old  military 
associations,  and  is  a  member  and  past 
commander  of  Uavid  A.  Russell  Post,  No. 
78,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  of  Whit- 
man, and  was  for  several  years  comman- 
der of  the  Plymouth  County  Division  of 
that  organization,  and  a  member  and  past 
commander  of  McPherson  Post,  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  of  Abington.  He 
is  also  a  member  and  past  commander  of 
the  Association  of  Massachusetts  Minute 
Men.  He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Masonic  order  and  belongs  to  all  the  lo- 
cal bodies  of  the  order,  including  Puritan 
Lodge,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, of  Whitman;  Pilgrim  Chapter,  Roy- 
al Arch  Masons,  of  Abington ;  Old  Colony 
Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  of  Ab- 
ington ;  and  he  is  also  a  member  of  Aleppo 
Temple,  Nobles  of  the  ^^lystic  Shrine,  of 
Boston. 

The  domestic  life  of  Mr.  Atwood  has 
been  a  long  and  happy  one.  On  Septem- 
ber 24,  1862,  he  married  (first)  Angelina  F. 
Weston,  a  daughter  of  Lewis  and  May 
Weston,  of  Plympton,  Massachusetts. 
His  children  by  this  union  were  three, 
Winthrop  F.,  Bertrand  W.  and  Mabel  F. 
The  two  sons  are  now  associated  with 
him  in  the  great  box  manufactory.  Mrs. 
Atwood  died  on  March  4,  1908,  at  the 
home  on  Pleasant  street.  She  was  in  her 
seventy-first  year,  and  had  long  been  a 
leader  in  the  work  of  the  Unitarian  church 
in  Whitman,  where  she  left  a  host  of  de- 
voted friends.  On  June  i.  1910,  Mr.  At- 
wood married  (second)  Mrs.  Lizzie  A. 
Sanborn,  of  Roxbury,  Massachusetts. 

There  is  much  to  suggest  the  gentleman 
of  the  old  school  in  Mr.  Atwood.  and  the 
courtesy  of  this  type  and  the  uncompro- 
mising firmness  of  the  practical  man  of 
the  world  fittingly  complement  and  mod- 
fy  each  other.  During  the  many  years  of 
his  residence  in  Whitman  he  has  been 
looked  up  to  as  have  few  other  men  in  the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


community ;  with  respect  for  the  unim- 
peachable integrity,  the  clear-sighted  sa- 
gacity, the  strong  public-spirit  that  marks 
him,  but  with  affection  also,  for  his  tact  in 
dealing  with  men,  his  spontaneous  gener- 
osity and  the  attitude  of  charity  and  toler- 
ance he  maintains  toward  his  fellow-men 
which  makes  him  easy  of  approach  and  a 
sympathetic  listener  to  all,  the  humblest 
as  well  as  the  proudest.  There  is  many  a 
man  in  Whitman  today  who  has  good  oc- 
casion to  remember  these  traits  of  Mr.  At- 
wood,  many  a  man  whose  difficulties  have 
been  cleared  away  by  the  good  offices  of 
this  true  friend. 


KILLIAN,  Thomas, 

Prominent  Business  Man. 

Thomas  Killian,  son  of  Thomas  and  Mar- 
garet Killian,  both  natives  of  Ireland  who 
came  to  America  many  years  ago,  was  born 
in  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts,  July  3,  1854, 
and  died  in  the  same  town,  July  26,  19 12. 
His  education  was  acquired  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  town,  and  upon  its 
completion  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Russell  Woolen  Mills,  in  which  his  father 
was  employed  many  years.  He  was  one  of 
two  brothers  and  three  sisters,  of  whom 
there  is  now  living  but  one  brother,  Patrick 
Killian.  After  some  years  spent  in  work- 
ing in  the  above  mentioned  mill,  Mr.  Kil- 
lian decided  to  establish  himself  in  business 
independently,  and  for  this  purpose  selected 
the  house  furnishing  line,  with  which  he 
was  successfully  identified  for  a  considera- 
ble length  of  time.  Other  business  inter- 
ests also  claimed  a  share  of  his  time  and  at- 
tention for  a  number  of  years  prior  to  his 
death.  While  he  never  evinced  any  desire 
to  hold  public  office,  he  took  a  deep  interest 
in  all  public  affairs,  and  was  a  consistent 
supporter  of  the  Democratic  party.  As  a 
member  of  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church,  he 
gave  generously  toward  its  support,  and  he 


was  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  and  of  Division  No. 
5,  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  for  more 
than  thirty  years. 

Mr.  Killian  married,  November  19,  1891, 
Mary  Heaphy,  of  Lee,  Massachusetts.  She 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Lee,  Mas- 
sachusetts, whence  she  came  to  Pittsfield, 
where  she  followed  the  occupation  of  dress- 
making until  her  marriage.  She  is  a  mem- 
ber of  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church  of  Pitts- 
field, and  of  the  Ladies'  Benevolent  Cath- 
olic Association  of  Pittsfield.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Danahee) 
Heaphy,  a  contractor.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thom- 
a"s  Heaphy  had  the  following  children: 
Mary,  mentioned  above  ;  Elizabeth,  born  in 
Lee  and  now  living  in  Pittsfield;  William 
A.,  a  contractor  of  Lee,  who  married  Mary 
E.  Bossidy,  of  that  town,  and  they  have 
the  following  children :  Harry  W.,  a  civil 
engineer  ;  Mary  C,  a  bookkeeper  ;  William 
A.,  is  in  his  third  year  at  Holy  Cross  Col- 
lege ;  Margaret  Elizabeth,  in  her  second 
year  at  Middlebury  College,  in  Vermont; 
Edward  Thomas,  attending  high  school. 

Mr.  Killian  was  essentially  a  home  man, 
and  though  very  busy  all  the  time,  he  never 
permitted  other  things  to  detract  his  atten- 
tion from  his  home,  where  he  found  his 
greatest  enjoyment.  He  was  in  the  truest 
sense  of  the  word  a  self-made  man,  having 
begun  at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder  and 
worked  his-  way  steadily  upward.  He  held 
to  a  high  standard  of  business  ethics  and 
had  no  use  for  trickery  of  any  nature  or 
for  anything  savoring  of  dishonesty.  Per- 
sonally, he  was  genial  and  unassuming,  and 
he  enjoyed  a  wide  circle  of  friends  through- 
out the  city  of  his  residence.  At  the  time 
of  his  death  it  was  said  repeatedly,  "Pitts- 
field has  lost  a  man  she  could  ill  afford  to 
lose." 


242 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


GRUNOW,  Frank, 

Business  Man. 

In  the  death  of  the  late  Frank  Grunow,  of 
Pittsfield,  Massachusetts,  the  city  lost  one 
of  its  most  energetic  men  of  affairs,  whose 
potent  influence  for  good  will  continue  to 
pervade    the    lives    of    men.     As   the    day, 
with    its    morning    of    hope    and    promise, 
its    noontide    of    activity    and    accomplish- 
ment,   its    evening    of    successful    efforts, 
ending     in    the    grateful     rest     and    quiet 
of  the  night,  so  was  the  life  of  this  good 
and  honored  man.     His  career  was  a  busy 
and  useful   one,   fraught   with   much   good 
to  himself,  his   family  and  humanity,  and 
his  memory  will  long  be  revered  by  those 
who  had  occasion  to  come  in  contact  with 
him  on  Hfe's  pathway.    His  activities  added 
in  a  material  way  to  the  welfare  of  the  city 
of  his  residence.     Devoting  the  major  part 
of  his  time  and  attention  to  business  inter- 
ests, he  did  not,  however,  allow  commercial 
pursuits  to  warp  his  kindly  nature,  but  pre- 
served his  faculties  and  the  warmth  of  his 
heart   for  the  broadening   and   helpful   in- 
fluence of  human  Hfe,  being  to  the  end  a 
kindly,  genial  friend  and  a  gentleman  whom 
it  was  an  unending  pleasure  to  meet. 

Frank  Grunow  was  born  in  the  Province 
of  Brandenburg,  Germany,  October  28, 
1858,  and  was  a  son  of  Heinrich  and  Char- 
lotte Grunow,  who  lived  and  died  in  Ger- 
many. His  education,  which  was  acquired 
in  his  native  country,  was  a  substantial  one, 
and  upon  its  completion  he  entered  upon  his 
business  career.  Having  acquired  a  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  business  procedures,  he 
became  the  owner  of  what  were  known  as 
combination  stores,  and  was  connected  with 
these  until  he  came  to  this  country.  He  was 
still  in  his  early  twenties  when  he  came  to 
America,  arriving  in  Pittsfield,  June  6,  1882, 
and  from  that  time  until  his  death  he  was 
closely  identified  with  the  interests  of  this 
city,   which   profited  greatly   thereby.     His 


first  field  of  activity  was  in  the  Pomeroy 
Woolen    Mills,    w^here    he    remained    three 
years,    then    removed    to    North    Monson, 
where  he  continued  in  the  same  line  of  in- 
dustry for  another  three  years.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Pittsfield,  and  found  employment 
in  the  Hinsdale  Mills  at  Hinsdale,  and  when 
he  left  this  concern  established  himself  in 
business  independently,  his  first  location  be- 
ing  in    Depot   street    from   whence   he   re- 
moved to  North  street.     He  purchased  the 
property  now  owned  by  George  White  and 
it  was  mainly  through  his  efforts  that  the 
block    known    as    the    Grunow    Block    was 
erected.     He  retired  from  active  participa- 
tion in  business  affairs  about  six  months  pri- 
or to  his  death.    In  political  matters  he  gave 
his    consistent    support    to    the    Republican 
party,  but  never  desired  to  hold  public  of- 
fice.    For  many   years   he  was  a  member 
of  the  German  Lutheran  church,  taking  an 
active  part  in  furthering  its  interests,  and 
served  it  as  a  delegate  to  the  General  Con- 
vention.    He  was  a  member  of  the  German 
Harmonic  Society,  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective  Order  of   Elks,   the  Veteran   Fire- 
men's   Association    and   the    Turn   Verein. 
While    still   living   in   Germany   he    was   a 
member  of  the  Reserves,  and  the  soldierly 
bearing  he  acquired  in  early  life  never  de- 
serted him.     He  had  one  brother,  Herman 
Grunow,  of  Pittsfield,  and  a  sister,  Wilhel- 
mina,  who  lived  and  died  in  Germany.    Al- 
ways  loyal  to   family  ties,  he  assisted  his 
brother  and  his  wife's  sisters  and  brothers 
to  come  to  America. 

Mr.  Grunow  married,  in  Pittsfield,  Octo- 
ber 4,  1882,  the  ceremony  being  performed 
by  the  Rev.  Haeger,  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  Elizabeth  Becker,  who  was  born  in 
the  Province  of  Pomerania,  Germany,  No- 
vember 8,  1859,  and  landed  in  this  coun- 
try a  few  days  prior  to  her  marriage.  She 
received  an  excellent  education  in  her  native 
land,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Christian  and 
Emilie   Becker,   of   Germany,   whose   other 


243 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


children  are  :     Gertrude  ;    Emilie,   married 

Schultz,  and  lives  in  Washington ; 

Martha,  is  married  in  Germany,  and  never 
came  to  this  country;  Emma,  married 
Wolff,  of  Pittsfield ;  Maria,  married 

Schultz,  of  Washington,  a  brother 

of  the  husband  of  her  sister  Emilie ;  Ber- 
tha, married  George  Ende,  of  Washington, 
who  was  educated  in  Germany.  ]\Irs.  Gru- 
now  is  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church  and  the  W.  W.  Rockwell  Woman's 
Relief  Corps.  ]Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grunow  had 
children :  Elizabeth,  a  deaconess  in  the 
Drexel  Home,  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania; Henry  F.  H.,  died  in  191 5,  at 
the  age  of  almost  thirty  years,  was  a  mas- 
ter mechanic ;  Frank,  deceased  ;  William, 
residing  with  his  mother ;  Walter,  a  minis- 
ter in  Sunbury.  Pennsylvania ;  Bertha,  a 
student  of  music,  also  resides  with  her 
mother,  and  is  a  member  of  several  musical 
associations ;  Otto,  the  youngest,  is  a  stu- 
dent at  Wagner  College,  Rochester,  New 
York  ;   three  died  in  infancy. 


WHITE,  Benjamin  Smith, 
Engineer. 

For  several  years  Mr.  White  has  been  en- 
gineer in  charge  of  the  pumping  department 
at  the  South  Hadley  Center  Water  Works, 
but  he  is  a  native  son  of  \'ermont  and  there 
spent  his  early  years  prior  to  locating  in 
Holyoke,  a  young  man  of  twenty-one  years. 
He  is  a  descendant  of  Peregrine  White,  son 
of  William  White,  a  "Mayflower"  passen- 
ger, and  Susanna  (Fuller)  White,  the  child 
Peregrine  being  born  in  the  cabin  of  the 
"Mayflower,"  as  she  lay  at  anchor  in  Cape 
Cod  harbor.  This  birth  is  of  deep  his- 
torical interest,  as  he  was  the  first  child 
born  of  English  parents  in  a  New  England 
colony.  His  name  Peregrine  was  given 
from  the  fact  that  he  was  born  during  the 
peregrinations  of  his  parents  from  Leyden 


with  the  "Mayflower,"  the  landing  at  Ply- 
mouth Rock  occurring  after  his  birth. 

W'illiam  White,  the  American  ancestor, 
was  born  in  England  and  went  to  Leyden, 
Holland,  with  the  Pilgrims,  where  he  mar- 
ried Susanna  Fuller.  The  "Society  of  May- 
flower Descendants"  published  a  transcript 
of  the  marriage  records  as  follows:  "En- 
tered XXVI,  January  1612.  William 
White,  wool  comber,  unmarried  man  from 
England,  accompanied  by  William  Jepson 
and  Samuel  Fuller  his  acquaintances,  with 
Ann  Fuller  single  woman  also  from  Eng- 
land accompanied  by  Rosamond  Jepson  and 
Sarah  Priest  her  acquaintance.  They  were 
married  before  Jasper  Van  Banhem  and 
William  Cornelius  Tybault,  sheriffs.  This 
nth.  February  1612."  One  child,  Resolved 
^^'hite,  was  born  in  Leyden.  They  came  in 
the  "]\Iayflo\ver"  and  Peregrine,  their  sec- 
ond child,  was  born  on  board,  November 
20,  1620.  Both  Resolved  and  Peregrine 
\\'hite  had  many  descendants. 

Peregrine  White  was  reared  in  the  fam- 
ily of  Governor  Edward  Winslow  in  Plym- 
outh Colony,  and  about  1647  married  Sarah 
Bassett,  whose  parents,  William  and  Eliz- 
abeth Bassett,  came  from  Leyden  in  the 
ship  "Fortune"  in  1621.  He  finally  set- 
tled in  Marshfield ;  was  one  of  the  thirty 
volunteers  from  Plymouth  colony  in  1637 
to  assist  the  Massachusetts  Bay  colonists  in 
the  Pequot  War;  was  made  a  freeman  in 
1644;  held  many  oflfices,  was  deputy  to  the 
General  Court  in  1659  ^^<^  ^^73'  ^"d  mem- 
ber of  the  Council  of  War  in  1673  with  the 
rank  of  captain.  He  died  July  20,  1704; 
his  wife  Sarah  died  January  20,  171 1.  He 
had  sons  :  Daniel,  Jonathan,  Peregrine  (2) 
and  Silvanus.  A  branch  of  his  family  set- 
tled in  \''ermont,  from  whence  sprang  Her- 
man White,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution. 
Captain  Calvin  W'hite,  son  of  Herman 
White,  was  the  father  of  Calvin  (2)  White, 
and  grandfather  of  Benjamin  Seth  White. 
Captain  Calvin  White,  a  farmer  and  car- 


244 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


penter,  resided  at  Essex  Center,  Vermont, 
where  he  died  leaving  sons :  Horace  and 
Calvin   (2). 

Calvin    (2)    White   was  born   at   Essex, 
Vermont,  August  28,  1816,  and  died  in  Col- 
chester, Vermont,  July  12,  1870.     Both  he 
and  his  brother  learned  the  carpenter's  trade 
with  their  father.    Calvin  (2)  White  became 
a   leading  building  contractor   and  erected 
many  houses  and  barns  in  the  Essex-Col- 
chester section.  Many  of  the  houses  he  built 
were  distinguished  by  an  elm  tree  planted 
in  front,  which  is  still  standing.     He   fol- 
lowed the  carpenter's  trade  in  Essex,  but 
later   moved    to    Colchester    and   built    the 
homestead   which   is  now  occupied  by   his 
youngest  son.     After  moving  to  Colchester 
he  gave  up  contracting  and  confined  himself 
to    wagon   building,    doing    all    the    wheel- 
wright  and   blacksmith    work   at   his    own 
shop.     He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.     Calvin 
White   married   Hannah   Melissa   Furman, 
born    in    Milton,    Vermont,    December    17, 
1826,  and  died  in  Colchester,  Vermont,  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1888.     Calvin  and  Hannah  Melis- 
sa White  were  the  parents  of  five  sons  and 
four  daughters:      i.   Laura  A.,  born  June 
28,  1845  ;   married  Spencer  Hine,  and  has  a 
daughter,  Mrs.  George  Waite ;   all  reside  at 
Athol,  Massachusetts.    2.  Ray  Ashley,  born 
August   22,    1847,    died   August    18,    1907; 
married  Edith  Luke  and  had  seven  children ; 
from  1874  until  his  death  resided  in  Cali- 
fornia.    3.  Truman  C,  born  February  22, 
1850;    married  a  Miss  Smith  and  had  one 
son ;   resides  in  Fresno,  California.    4.  Lois 
S.,  born  March  4,  1853;    married  Edward 
Wiater,  and  has  one  son ;    resides  in  Los 
Angeles,  California.     5.   Mary  Alice,  born 
March  6,  1856  ;married  Charles  Dwelley  and 
has  two  children ;    resides  in  Fresno,  Cali- 
fornia.    6.  Benjamin  Smith,  mentioned  be- 
low.    7.  Jesse  M.,  born  August   19,   1866; 
married  Minnie  Thompson,  and  resides  at 
Westminster,  Vermont.     8.  Sarah  Augusta, 


twin  with  Jesse  M.,  married  Edward  Sa- 
win,  and  resides  in  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts. 9.  Harris  Stanton,  born  February  10, 
1868;  resides  on  the  White  homestead  in 
Colchester,  Vermont ;  married  and  has  five 
children. 

Benjamin  Smith  White,  third  son  of  Cal- 
vin (2)  White,  was  born  at  Colchester, 
Chittenden  county,  Vermont,  December  16, 
1858.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  and  remained  with  his  parents  until 
of  legal  age,  then  located  in  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts. For  eighteen  years  he  remained 
in  Holyoke,  employed  in  the  paper  mills, 
then  changed  his  occupation  to  farming.  He 
located  at  South  Hadley  and  for  eight  years 
was  a  market  farmer  and  poultry  raiser. 
He  also  for  several  years  supplied  a  milk 
route  in  Holyoke.  As  the  years  progressed 
he  wearied  of  the  burden  of  his  large  farm 
and  sold  it,  purchasing  a  small  place  near- 
by. When  he  retired  from  the  farm  he 
took  a  position  with  the  water  works,  and 
for  several  years  has  been  engineer  in 
charge  of  the  pumping  department  of  the 
town  water  supply.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  charter  member  and  past  noble 
grand  of  Zona  Lodge,  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  and  an  attendant  of  the 
Congregational   church. 

Mr.  White  married,  July  17,  1884,  Fran- 
ces L.  Morrison,  born  at  Plattsburg,  New 
York,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Ruth  Ann 
(Jersey)  Morrison.  Henry  Morrison,  a 
farmer,  was  born  in  Peru,  New  York,  and 
died  in  Plattsburg  in  1870.  Ruth  Ann  Jer- 
sey was  born  in  Beekmantown,  New  York, 
and  died  in  Plattsburg,  New  York,  about 
1907.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Benjamin  S.  White 
are  the  parents  of  three  sons  and  a  daugh- 
ter:  I.  Henry  C,  born  June  27,  1887  ;  mar- 
ried Lillian  Tiffany,  and  resides  at  South 
Hadley  Center ;  three  children :  Alice 
Frances,  Ralph  Morrison,  and  Dorothy  Ida. 
2.  Ella  F.,  born  October  i,  1888;  married 
Roy  Tiffany,  and  resides  in  South  Hadley 


245 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Center  ;  two  children  :  Muriel  and  How- 
ard Loomis.  3.  Benjamin  C,  born  May  25, 
1895  ;  resides  with  his  parents.  4.  Lester 
R.,  born  June  26,  1899;  also  living  at  home. 


SMITH,  George  I., 

Merchant,    Public    Official. 

Although  a  native  son  of  Maine,  the 
greater  part  of  the  life  of  George  I.  Smith 
was  spent  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts, 
the  last  twenty-nine  of  his  seventy-two 
years  in  South  Hadley  Falls.  He  was  born 
in  Kennebunkport,  Maine,  June  26,  1835, 
died  in  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts', 
May  8,  1907,  son  of  James  Smith,  of  an  old 
family  of  the  Kennebunkport  region.  James 
Smith  was  the  father  of  eight  children, 
three  sons  and  five  daughters,  of  the  form- 
er all  are  deceased  and  of  the  latter  three 
are  still  living:  Clara,  who  married  Lyn- 
don Fairfield,  of  Dorchester,  Massachu- 
setts ;  Lucy,  who  married  Alphonso  Leech, 
of  Lawrence,  Massachusetts ;  Lillie,  who 
married  a  Mr.  Carr,  of  Lawrence,  Massa- 
chusetts. 

George  I.  Smith  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools,  and  remained  at  home  until  his 
twentieth  year,  and  during  that  period  be- 
come an  expert  weaver.  In  1855  he  went 
to  Saco,  Maine,  to  become  an  overseer  in 
the  weaving  department  of  a  Saco  mill, 
there  remaining  four  years.  He  then  went 
to  West  Warren,  Massachusetts,  and  re- 
mained there  an  overseer  of  weaving  for 
twelve  years.  In  1878  he  located  at  South 
Hadley  Falls  as  overseer  in  the  Glasgow 
Mills,  a  position  he  ably  filled  until  1888, 
when  he  abandoned  mill  work  and  opened  a 
shoe  store,  catered  only  to  high  class  trade 
and  continued  a  very  successful  merchant 
until  1897.  He  then  sold  his  business  and 
devoted  the  remainder  of  his  life  to  the  care 
and  improvement  of  his  property  and  in  the 
development  of  the  borough.     In  1895  he 


had  purchased  real  estate  on  Bardwell 
street  extending  from  Carew  street  to  a 
point  opposite  School  street,  and  the  man- 
agement of  this  tract  with  the  buildings 
thereon  furnished  his  chief  business  prob- 
lem after  retiring  from  mercantile  life.  He 
was  a  Republican  in  politics,  served  six 
years  as  assessor,  serving  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  also  town  clerk,  and  was  always 
interested  in  borough  affairs.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  order  for  thirty- 
nine  years,  taking  a  demit  from  Warren 
Lodge  on  coming  to  South  Hadley  Falls 
and  joining  the  lodge  there.  For  many 
years  he  was  treasurer  of  the  lodge  and 
held  in  high  esteem  by  his  brethren.  He 
was  an  attendant  of  the  Congregational 
church,  and  a  lover  of  his  home,  there 
spending  his  happiest  hours. 

]\Ir.  Smith  married,  July  3,  1873,  Annie 
M.  Drew,  born  in  Eaton,  New  Hampshire, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Jefferson  and  Matilda 
(Wilkinson)  Drew,  both  of  old  New  Hamp- 
shire families.  Thomas  J.  Drew,  a  farmer, 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy,  son  of  Josiah 
Drew,  also  a  farmer.  Matilda  Wilkinson 
was  a  daughter  of  John  Wilkinson,  of  Alls- 
ton,  New  Hampshire,  where  his  whole  life 
was  passed.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  J. 
Drew  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  five 
of  whom  are  living.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith 
are  the  parents  of  three  sons:  i.  Herman 
M.,  born  at  West  Warren,  Massachusetts; 
now  paymaster  at  the  works  of  the  Coburn 
Trolley  Track  Company,  at  Willimansett, 
Massachusetts ;  he  married  Mabel  Long, 
and  has  a  son,  Herbert.  2.  Warren  I., 
residing  at  home.  3.  Dwight  C,  a  draughts- 
man in  the  employ  of  the  Coburn  Trolley 
Track  Company;  he  married  Nellie  Mills, 
and  has  two  sons,  Ernest  and  Henry.  Mrs. 
Smith  continues  to  ably  manage  the  large 
property  left  by  her  husband,  and  in  1914 
erected  her  present  residence  in  South  Had- 
ley Falls. 


246 


N 


SIX 


^«as 


"ere 


^  Annie 


ENCYCLC 


Center;    two  children:     ^luriel  a' 
ard  Loomis.    3.  Benjamin  C,  bor 
1895;    resides  with  his  parents 
R.,  born  June  26,  1899  ;  also  li 


SMITH.  George  I., 

Mercliant,    Publi' 

Although    a    native 
greater  part  of  the  lif^ 
was   spent  in  the   St 
the    last    twenty-ni' 
years  in  South  Ha 
in  Kennebunkpo" 
died  in  South  F 
]\Iay  8,  1907,  ? 
family  of  the 
Smith    was 
three  sons 
er  all  arc 
are  still 
don    F 
setts 
of   " 
mr 
c' 


I 


ENXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


SOUTHWICK.  William  Henry, 
Real    Estate    Operator. 

William  H.  Southwick,  a  well  known  real 
estate  dealer  in  Chicopee  Falls  and  towns 
adjoining,  is  a  worthy  representative  of  an 
English  ancestry,  his  grandfather,  David 
Southwick,  having  been  a  native  of  that 
land,  from  whence  he  came  to  this  country 
in  the  eighteenth  century. 

Orin   Southwick,    father   of   William   H. 
Southwick,  was  born  in  Salem,  Massachu- 
setts, where  his  parents  settled  upon  their 
removal   from  England,  in  the  year   1793, 
and  died  in  Mooers,  Clinton  county,  New- 
York,  in  1887.  aged  ninety-four  years.     He 
received  his  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  town,  where  he  resided  until 
he  attained  the  age   of  twenty  years,   and 
then  removed  to  Mooers.  New  York,  where 
he  took  up  four  hundred  acres  of  govern- 
ment land,  located  on  English  river,  which 
he  cultivated  and  improved  and  on  which 
he  erected  a  saw  mill,  which  he  conducted 
successfully    for    many    years,    having    the 
contract  for  supplying  the  railroad  ties  for 
the  old  Ogdensburg  Railroad.  He  also  made 
potash  during  the  winter  months,  ^Montreal, 
Canada,  being  the  nearest  market  to  sell  his 
produce,  and  in  those  days  of  slow  trans- 
portation he  made  the  journey  with  a  wagon 
and  team  of  oxen,  this  journey  requiring 
one  week.     He  was  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, but  never  sought  nor  held  public  office. 
He  was  an  active  participant  in  the  War  of 
1812,  and  as  the  result  of  meritorious  ser- 
vice attained  the  rank  of  colonel.    He  was  a 
member    and    deacon    of    the    Presbyterian 
church    in    Mooers,    his   wife   also   holding 
membership  therein.     He  married  Hannah 
Stone,  daughter  of  Isaac  Stone,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years,  having  been 
a  farmer  on  a  large  scale  in  Perrys  Mills, 
New  York,  along  the  Chazy  river.    Mr.  and 
ISIrs.  Stone  were  the  parents  of  seven  chil- 
dren:     Alonzo,  Eldridge,  Lafayette,  Sarah. 


Hannah,  Finetta  and  Rachel.    Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Southwick  were  the  parents  of  twelve  chil- 
dren :     I.  Hosea,  died  in  infancy.    2.  Isaac, 
died  in  infancy.     3.  Edward  Alonzo,  died 
aged    seventy-three    years ;     married    Axie 
Bateman,  who  died  aged  sixty-eight  years; 
they  were  the  parents  of  five  children ;  they 
resided   in    Mooers,    New   York.     4.    Orir\ 
Frederick,  died  aged  sixty-nine  years ;  mar- 
ried Mary  Benson,  who  is  living  at  the  pres- 
ent time  (1917)  in  Wells,  Minnesota;   they 
were  the  parents  of  four  children.     5.  Da- 
vid A.,  died  aged  sixty-nine  years;  married 
Fannie  Benson,  sister  of  Mary  Benson ;  she 
is  living  at  present  in  Minneapolis,  Minne- 
sota.    6.   Horatio  J.,  born   1838;    married 
(first)    Julia  Hay,   married    (second)    Ella 
Thompson ;    they  reside  on  the  old  farm  in 
:\Iooers.  New  York.     7.  William  Henry,  of 
whom  further.     8.  Eldridge  G.,  born  1842; 
married.     June     28.     1865,     Mary     Louise 
Brewster,  who  bore  him  three  children ;  she 
died    December    5,    191 5,   aged    seventy-six 
years ;    he  resides  in  Northampton,  Massa- 
chusetts.    9.  Titus  A.,  born  1844;    married 
Margaret    Purdy.   who  bore   him   six  chil- 
dren;  she  died  in  191 5  ;   he  resides  in  Har- 
vey, Illinois.     10.  Pliny  F.,  married  Laura 
Tabb  ;  they  reside  in  Colorado  Springs,  Col- 
orado.     II.   Marion   E.,   died  aged  twenty 
years.      12.    Flora   J.,   born    1857;    became 
the  wife  of  Dr.  Ralph  Erwin.  who  died  in 
1903;    they  were  the  parents  of  two  chil- 
dren,   and    Mrs.    Erwin    resides    with    her 
daughter,     Mrs.     William     Frowley,     Mr. 
Frowley  serving  as  postmaster  of  Worces- 
ter, Massachusetts.  Hannah  (Stone)  South- 
wick,   mother    of    these    children,    died    in 
Mooers,  New  York,  aged  eighty-six  years. 
William  Henry   Southwick  was  born  in 
Mooers.  Clinton  county.  New  York,  August 
13.   1840.     He  gained  a  practical  education 
in  the  schools  of  the  vicinity,  and  in  assist- 
ing his  father  with  the  work  of  the  farm 
and  mill.    Upon  attaining  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-one, he  hired  out  to  his  father  at  a  wage 


247 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  twelve  dollars  a  month,  and  for  the  fol- 
lowing year  worked  thus  in  the  mill  and  on 
the  farm.  He  then  went  to  Sunderland, 
Massachusetts,  and  assumed  the  duties  of 
manager  of  the  farm  belonging  to  John 
Smith,  where  his  compensation  was  thirty- 
two  dollars  a  month  and  board.  After 
serving  in  that  capacity  for  one  year,  he  re- 
turned to  JNIooers,  New  York,  and  engaged 
in  buying  and  selling  horses,  cattle,  sheep 
and  poultry,  to  which  he  later  added  the 
buying  and  selling  of  lumber  and  shingles, 
shipping  a  large  amount  of  lumber  to  North- 
ampton, Holyoke,  Chicopee  and  Springfield, 
Massachusetts.  About  five  years  later,  af- 
ter his  marriage,  he  located  in  Chicopee 
Falls,  Massachusetts,  and  there  continued 
the  lumber  and  shingle  business,  purchas- 
ing a  tract  of  land,  a  portion  of  the  Belcher 
and  Taylor  farm,  on  what  is  now  (191 7) 
East  street.  Subsequently  he  relinquished 
this  business  in  order  to  devote  his  entire 
attention  to  his  property  holdings,  cutting 
the  land  up  into  building  lots,  which  he 
disposed  of,  also  erecting  houses,  his  activi- 
ties carry  him  outside  of  the  confines  of 
Chicopee  Falls.  He  has  always  given  his 
political  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party, 
but  the  only  public  office  he  ever  held  was 
that  of  collector  for  one  year  in  Mooers, 
New  York.  He  attends  the  services  of  the 
Congregational  church  in  Chicopee  Falls, 
as  did  also  his  wife,  in  which  he  takes  a 
keen  and  active  interest. 

Mr.  Southwick  married,  1865,  Eveline 
Crocker,  died  in  1905,  daughter  of  John 
Crocker,  of  Roxbury,  Vermont.  They  were 
the  parents  of  two  children:  I.  Effie,  born 
1871  ;  she  married  (first)  Clinton  Clark, 
of  Westfield,  Massachusetts,  who  died  in 
1913;  she  married  (second)  Martin  Sayles, 
a  chemist  for  the  Westinghouse  Company 
of  Chicopee  Falls ;  they  reside  in  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts.  2.  Grace,  born  1881  ; 
she  became  the  wife  of  Robert  Lindsey,  a 
salesman  and  collector  for  Silver  Brothers, 


confectionery  manufacturers  of  Hartford, 
Connecticut ;  they  have  two  children :  Ma- 
rion and  Franklin;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lindsey 
reside  on  Wait  avenue,  Chicopee  Falls, 
Massachusetts,  and  since  the  death  of  his 
wife  Mr.  Southwick  resides  with  them. 


RATIGAN,  Martin, 

Postmaster   of   'Whitman. 

Prior  to  his  locating  in  Whitman,  Mas- 
sachusetts, Martin  Ratigan  was  engaged 
in  business  in  Spencer,  Massachusetts, 
and  there  took  as  prominent  a  part  in 
town  politics  as  he  has  in  Whitman.  A 
lifelong  Democrat  he  was  there  and  has 
been  in  Whitman  one  of  the  trusted  party 
leaders.  In  1892  he  headed  the  Demo- 
cratic legislative  ticket  in  the  Spencer- 
Leicester  district.  In  Whitman  he  is  the 
present  postmaster,  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent Wilson,  February  27,  1916.  His 
period  of  active  interest  in  political  and 
public  affairs  covers  his  entire  voting  life, 
and  Democracy  has  no  more  stalwart  ex- 
ponent. He  is  a  son  of  John  and  Cath- 
erine Ratigan,  of  Worcester,  Massachu- 
setts, his  father  being  deceased  since 
1895.  John  Ratigan  was  a  shoemaker  by 
trade.  He  was  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War, 
serving  nine  months  in  the  Fifty-first 
Regiment,  Massachusetts  Volunteer  In- 
fantr\%  and  two  years  in  the  Twenty-fifth 
Regiment  of  Infantry  from  the  same 
State.  He  saw  hard  service  and  among 
the  battles  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
Newbern,  Cold  Harbor,  and  the  siege  of 
Petersburg  were  the  more  important.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic. 

Martin  Ratigan  was  born  in  W^orces- 
ter,  Massachusetts,  September  17,  1858. 
He  obtained  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  city  and  Brookfield.  His 
business  experience  covers  many  years  at 
the  shoe  manufacturing  trade  in  Spencer 


248 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  Whitman,  and  five  years  in  Spencer 
as  proprietor  of  a  variety  store.  In  191 3 
he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  high  school 
building  in  Whitman,  and  since  February 
27,  1916,  has  been  postmaster  of  the  bor- 
ough. He  is  a  man  of  energy  and  indus- 
try, highly  respected  in  his  community. 
For  fourteen  years  Mr.  Ratigan  was  a 
member  of  the  Spencer  Democratic  town 
committee,  and  in  1892  the  candidate  of 
his  party  for  representative.  For  seven 
years  he  has  held  the  office  of  Democratic 
town  committeeman  in  Whitman,  and  is 
one  of  the  influential  men  of  that  commit- 
tee. As  postmaster  he  has  given  the  town 
good  service  and  administered  the  affairs 
of  the  office  to  the  satisfaction  of  both  the 
patrons  and  the  postal  department.  He  is 
a  member  of  George  A.  Custer  Camp,  No. 
II,  Sons  of  Veterans,  W^hitman ;  and  of 
the  Order  of  United  Workmen.  In  reli- 
gious faith  he  is  a  Catholic. 

Mr.  Ratigan  married,  in  November, 
1883,  at  Spencer,  Mary  A.  Bell,  daughter 
of  John  and  Fannie  Bell.  They  are  the 
parents  of  one  daughter,  Lillian  C,  born 
March  31,  1898. 


WYNN,  Captain  John  Patrick, 

Captain   in   Fire    Department. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  John  P.  Wynn  was 
first  entered  upon  the  rolls  of  the  Holyoke 
fire  department  as  a  "call  man."  Three 
years  later  he  became  a  permanent  member 
of  the  department,  and  for  twelve  years  has 
ranked  as  captain,  having  won  his  way  up- 
ward through  gallant,  devoted  service.  For 
the  past  two  years  he  has  been  in  charge  of 
the  Elm  wood  Station,  one  of  the  important 
districts  of  the  city.  He  is  a  son  of  Wil- 
liam Wynn,  and  a  grandson  of  Peter  Wynn, 
both  born  in  Ireland,  and  both  coming  to 
the  United  States.  Peter  Wynn  settled  in 
Connecticut,  and  is  buried  in   Derby,  that 


State.  He  left  children:  Peter,  William, 
Elizabeth,   Mary,  Catherine,  Ann. 

William  Wynn,  born  in  Ireland,  in  1825, 
died  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  January 
28,  1879.  Hs  ^^''is  sixteen  years  of  age 
when  he  came  to  the  United  States  with  his 
parents,  and  in  Connecticut  worked  at  pa- 
per making  in  Derby,  New  Haven  and 
Chaplin  Mills.  Later  he  located  in  Hol- 
yoke, where  until  his  death  he  was  a  paper 
manufacturer,  no  better  informed  man 
concerning  that  industry  to  be  found  any- 
where. William  Wynn  married  (first) 
Mary  McCabe,  of  County  Waterford,  Ire- 
land, who  died  in  1862,  aged  thirty-three. 
He  married  (second)  Margaret  Downey, 
born  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  who  died  Novem- 
ber 23,  1893.  Children  by  first  marriage: 
Peter ;  Catherine,  married  Frank  L.  Clapp, 
deceased ;  William ;  and  Mary.  Children 
by  second  marriage  :  James  H. ;  John  Pat- 
rick, of  further  mention ;  Elizabeth,  de- 
ceased ;    and  Thomas  F. 

John  Patrick  Wynn,  son  of  William 
Wynn  and  his  second  wife,  Margaret 
(Downey)  Wynn,  was  born  in  Unionville, 
Connecticut,  March  17,  1869.  At  the  age 
of  five  years  he  was  brought  to  Holyoke  by 
his  parents,  and  later  spent  two  and  a  half 
years  at  Palmer  Falls,  New  York.  He  at- 
tended the  public  schools  in  both  Palmer 
Falls  and  Holyoke,  and  from  the  time  he 
was  thirteen  years  of  age  worked  in  the 
paper  mills  during  vacation  periods.  He 
continued  a  mill  worker  exclusively  until 
1892,  and  during  the  years  from  thirteen  to 
twenty-three  he  was  employed  in  the  Chem- 
ical, Franklin  and  Excelsior  Paper  Com- 
pany Mills.  In  1892  he  applied  for  admis- 
sion to  the  Holyoke  fire  department,  and 
after  passing  all  tests  was  enrolled  as 
a  "call  man."  He  was  then  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  and  during  the  years  1892- 
1895  he  was  carried  on  the  rolls  as 
"call    man,"    then    was    appointed    to    a 


249 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


permanent  position  as  fireman  attached  to 
the  Central  Station.  He  was  connected  with 
the  Central  Station  for  twenty  years,  1895- 
191 5,  the  People's  Savings  Bank  now  oc- 
cupying the  site  of  the  station,  so  long  a 
prominent  feature  of  High  street.  He  was 
promoted  lieutenant  in  April,  1898,  and 
captain  in  April,  1905,  both  promotions 
coming  in  recognition  of  efficient,  honorable 
service.  In  March,  191 5,  he  was  trans- 
ferred from  the  Central  Station  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Elmwood  Station,  his  present 
post.  He  was  treasurer  of  the  Fireman's 
Aid  Association  for  ten  years ;  is  a  member 
of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks ;  and  is  highly  esteemed  wherever 
known.  His  record  as  a  fireman  is  of  the 
highest  quality,  his  quarter  of  a  century  of 
service  teeming  with  deeds  of  bravery  and 
self  sacrifice.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  church. 


GUSHING,  George, 

Business  Man,  Public  Official. 

The  Cushing  family  is  undoubtedly  one 
of  the  oldest  in  existence,  and  is  able  to 
trace  its  descent  back  to  the  latter  part  of 
the  eighth  century  to  one  of  the  old  jarls 
and  vikings  of  Norway.  Hrolf  Nefja  Jarl 
is  the  first  authentic  figure  in  this  long 
genealogy,  and  reference  is  found  to  him 
and  to  his  more  or  less  mythical  ancestors 
in  the  Sagas  relating  to  the  eighth  cen- 
tury, the  period  when  authentic  Norse 
history  may  be  said  to  have  begun.  He 
appears  to  have  lived  in  Throndjem,  that 
abode  of  so  many  of  the  famous  Scandi- 
navian vikings,  among  whom  this  worthy 
must  be  classed.  Through  his  daughter 
Hild,  who  married  Rognvald  Maera  Jarl, 
who  participated  in  the  conquest  of  Nor- 
way under  the  famous  Harold  Hadradda, 
the  line  descends  through  a  long  series  of 
splendid  old  soldiers,  both  in  that  north- 
ern land  and  later  in  Normandy,  until  it 


finally  makes  its  way  into  England  in  the 
person  of  the  nephew  of  William,  the 
Conqueror,  himself — Ralf,  who  later  be- 
came Baron  of  Oxburg,  in  Norfolk, 
through  the  gift  of  his  great  uncle.  The 
name  Cushing  seems  to  have  come  into 
use  in  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, its  original  form  having  been  Cusyn. 

The  founder  of  the  family  in  America 
was  Matthew  Cushing,  who  was  baptized 
in  Hingham,  England,  March  2,  1589,  and 
died  in  Hingham,  Massachusetts,  Septem- 
ber 30,  1660.  He  and  his  family  came  to 
the  American  colonies  from  Ipswich  in 
1638,  on  the  good  ship  "Diligent,"  John 
Martin,  master.  His  emigration  from  his 
native  land  was  owing  to  religious  trou- 
bles, and  he  soon  became  a  prominent  fig- 
ure in  the  affairs  of  the  little  community 
in  the  New  World.  He  had  married  as 
early  as  August  5,  161 3,  Nazerith  Pitcher, 
who  accompanied  him  to  this  country, 
and  died  in  Hingham,  January  5,  1682,  at 
the  age  of  ninety-six.  Their  descendants 
have  been  for  long  prominently  associated 
with  the  life  of  Hingham  and  various  oth- 
er communities  in  Massachusetts  and 
New  England  generally,  whither  they 
have  spread.  From  this  worthy  progen- 
itor the  line  descends  through  Daniel, 
Captain  Theophilus,  Captain  Abel,  Colo- 
nel David,  David  (II)  and  David  (HI)  to 
George  Cushing,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  David  Cushing  (HI)  was  a 
prominent  farmer  of  Hingham,  Massachu- 
setts, and  was  married  to  Mary  Lapham, 
also  of  that  region. 

Born  June  16,  1841,  at  Hingham, 
Massachusetts,  George  Cushing,  son  of 
David  and  Mary  (Lapham)  Cushing, 
spent  the  early  years  of  his  life  in  his  na- 
tive town.  During  his  childhood  he  at- 
tended the  Hingham  Grammar  School, 
where  he  received  his  education  and  dur- 
ing this  same  period  of  his  life  he  helped 
his  father  on  the  latter's  farm.    Believing 


250 


' '  'n  the 


di     ^     ^ 


/    ^ 


service 


CUSr 


CrnaiavJi)*    M- 


ijem,  th 


:^RAPf 


*  of  his  gi 
^  seems  to  ha\ 
t  iy  part  of  the  for: 
riginal  form  having 

■  -   ^  "  family 


Mary 


■  ni- 

-  to 

Ipswich  in 

^ent."  John 

>n  from  his 

s  trou- 


•  uar 

y  5- 

.  iieir 

,l..c 

•mineni 

".  arious  oiii- 

usetts    and 

hither    they 

progen- 

Daniel, 

Captain 

Abel,  Colo- 

■  ""■■ . 

ivid  (III)  to 

_ct    of     this 

Aitit. 


helped 
Believing 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


that  larger  opportunities  awaited  him  in 
another  occupation,  he  engaged  in  1872 
in  the  hotel  business,  purchasing  the 
Drew  Hotel,  and  met  with  instant  suc- 
cess. He  had  already  conducted  an  ex- 
press business  from  1858  to  1864,  and 
from  the  latter  year  to  1872  had  kept  a 
livery  stable.  In  both  of  these  former  en- 
terprises, he  had  met  with  success,  but  it 
was  as  the  owner  of  the  hotel  now  well 
known  as  the  Cushing  Hotel,  that  he  first 
came  into  very  wide  prominence  in  the 
community.  He  is  peculiarly  well  adapted 
to  his  present  business,  being  of  an  ex- 
tremely democratic  nature,  a  friend  of  all 
men  and  enjoying  a  very  wide  popularity 
with  all  his  associates.  He  has  built  up  a 
very  successful  business  for  himself,  and 
his  hotel  has  the  reputation  of  being  the 
best  conducted  hostelry  in  that  section  of 
the  country.  Mr.  Cushing  has  always  tak- 
en an  extremely  active  part  in  the  public 
affairs  of  the  community  and  is  keenly  in- 
terested in  politics,  although  his  inde- 
pendent nature  has  withheld  him  from 
identifying  himself  too  closely  with  any 
organization.  He  may  be  described  as  an 
Independent  Democrat  in  politics,  but  is 
never  actuated  by  partisan  motives,  re- 
serving for  himself  the  right  to  vote  for 
that  issue  or  candidate  which  he  believes 
truly  to  the  advantage  of  the  community. 
He  is  not  an  office  seeker  but  his  personal 
popularity  is  such  that  he  has  been  elected 
to  several  important  offices.  He  became 
chief  engineer  of  the  Fire  Department  in 
1879,  and  has  held  that  office  to  the  pres- 
ent time.  He  was  appointed  postmaster 
of  Hingham  by  President  Cleveland  dur- 
ing the  latter's  first  term  as  president,  and 
was  reappointed  by  the  succeeding  presi- 
dents up  to  and  including  President  Taft, 
his  term  of  office  expiring  in  October, 
1913.  He  is  a  member  of  many  fraternal 
and  social  organizations,  among  which 
should  be  mentioned  Old  Colony  Lodge, 


Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Pentalpha 
Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  South 
Shore  Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  of 
which  he  is  a  past  eminent  commander; 
and  Old  Stony  Lodge,  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Fire  Chief's  Club,  and  of  the  Nauga- 
tuck  Club.  In  his  religious  affiliations 
Mr.  Cushing  is  a  Unitarian,  belonging  to 
the  First  Church  of  that  denomination  at 
Hingham. 

Mr.  Cushing  was  united  in  marriage  at 
Hingham,  Massachusetts,  on  the  15th  day 
of  January,  i860,  to  Miss  Deborah  Ellen 
Cushing,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Harriett 
(Gilkey)  Cushing,  old  and  highly  respect- 
ed residents  of  Hingham.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Cushing  are  the  parents  of  two  children, 
as  follows  :  Wallace  Gilkey,  born  Decem- 
ber II,  i860;  and  Ralph  Edwards,  born 
March  8.  1873.  The  qualities  that  are  re- 
quired for  success  in  the  hotel  business 
are  of  a  perfectly  definite  order  and  quite 
as  capable  of  being  formulated  as  those 
needed  in  any  other  calling.  Many,  too, 
are  of  a  high  order  and  closely  connected 
with  some  of  the  most  fundamental  of 
the  virtues.  Of  course  the  same  may  be 
urged  of  any  occupation  in  the  case  of 
that,  perhaps  the  most  fundamental  of  all 
virtues,  honesty,  for  it  is  not  difficult  to 
maintain  that  no  success  worthy  of  the 
name,  or  of  any  stability,  unless  it  is  built 
upon  this  sure  foundation,  can  ever  be 
gained.  Next  to  integrity,  the  most  es- 
sential trait  for  the  successful  hotel  man 
is  that  larger  democratic  sympathy  that 
comes  near  to  the  virtue  of  Christian  char- 
ity, which  leads  to  a  complete  sympathy 
with  and  understanding  of  all  men  without 
regard  for  class  or  race  and  which  finds  its 
expression  in  that  fine  relationship  be- 
tween comrades  that  is  one  of  the  purest 
and  most  disinterested  to  be  found.  Such 
is  the  character  of  Mr.  Cushing  and  as 
such  he  occupies  an  almost  unique  place 


251 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  community.  His  success  in  the  past 
has  been  great  and  there  is  every  reason 
to  prophesy  with  confidence  that  it  will 
continue  to  grow  in  the  future. 


NARDI,  William  Francis, 

Councilman. 

About  the  year  1868,  Francis  Nardi  came 
to  Worcester  from  Italy  and  made  that  city 
his  home  for  the  following  forty-three 
years,  being  at  his  death  one  of  the  oldest 
Italian  citizens  of  the  city  of  his  adoption. 
Twenty-one  years  after  his  arrival,  his  son, 
William  Francis  Nardi,  was  born,  and  so 
completely  has  he  imbibed  the  national  spir- 
it of  America,  that  he  is  now  numbered 
among  the  city  fathers  of  Worcester  as  a 
councilman  from  Ward  Three.  He  is  the 
first  man  of  Italian  parentage  to  be  elected 
to  Council  in  the  city,  although  since  his 
election  one  other  has  been  chosen  a  mem- 
ber. 

Francis  Nardi,  one  of  the  early  Italian 
settlers  in  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  was 
born  in  Italy,  came  to  Worcester  about 
1868,  and  there  died  in  February,  191 1.  He 
married  Stella  Baroni,  who  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1869,  died  in  Worcester 
in  December,  1898,  aged  forty-seven  years. 
They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
five  of  whom  are  living  and  residing  in 
Worcester :  Teresa  A. ;  Thomas  J.,  a  ma- 
chinist ;  Delya  E.,  assistant  superintendent 
of  nurses  at  Worcester  City  Hospital ;  Alex- 
ander J.,  a  traveling  salesman;  William 
Francis,  of  further  mention. 

William  Francis  Nardi  was  born  in  Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts,  August  4,  1889.  He 
was  educated  in  the  Worcester  public 
schools,  attending  the  Hedge  and  Grafton 
Street  Grammar  and  the  High  School,  spend- 
ing three  years  in  study  at  the  latter.  He  is 
a  graduate  of  the  Worcester  School  of  Tel- 
egraphy, and  passed  through  a  variety  of 
occupations  before   coming  to   his   present 


position.  For  a  time  he  was  associated  with 
his  father  in  the  fruit  business ;  for  two 
years  was  in  the  employ  of  the  city  at  the 
Kendall  Reservoir ;  for  one  year  conducted 
a  cafe  at  No.  21  SuflFolk  street;  for  one 
year  was  steward  at  the  Wayside  Club 
house,  at  Lake  Quinsigamund ;  was  in  the 
employ  of  Grayton  &  Knight  on  Franklin 
street  until  1915;  was  foreman  for  the 
Worcester  Construction  Company  until  Feb- 
ruary, 1916,  then  became  manager  of  the  tool 
department  of  the  American  Ammunition 
Company,   his  present  position. 

He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  his  prefer- 
ence for  that  party  being  influenced  by  his 
frequent  reading  and  study  of  the  life  of 
Thomas  Jefiferson  while  yet  a  school  boy. 
The  teachings  of  Jefferson,  particularly  con- 
cerning the  rights  of  men,  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  him,  and  in  his  political  life 
he  has  been  interested  most  deeply  in  all 
that  concerns  the  betterment  of  conditions 
for  the  working  man.  His  activity  in  work- 
ing for  party  success  brought  him  prom- 
inently before  the  voters  of  Ward  Three, 
and  in  December,  1914,  they  elected 
him  to  represent  them  in  Common  Coun- 
cil, his  term  not  yet  having  expired. 
He  is  a  member  of  committees  on  public 
building,  health  and  printing,  and  it  is  to 
the  credit  of  the  public  buildings  committee 
that  more  was  accomplished  during  1915 
than  in  any  two  previous  years.  To  enu- 
merate, there  was  erected  in  that  year  an 
addition  to  the  North  High  School  at  a  cost 
of  $200,000 ;  a  police  station  costing  $500,- 
000;  a  free  station  for  Hose  Company 
No.  2  ;  additions  to  Portland  Engine  House ; 
a  school  house ;  Hose  House  No.  7  on 
Lamertine  street.  Mr.  Nardi  also  voted 
for  the  Underground  Fire  Alarm  System; 
repairs  to  the  Adams  street  school  house ; 
re-decorating  the  City  Hall ;  repairs  on  Ash 
street  school  house ;  new  cells  for  police 
stations  Nos.  i  and  2  to  cost  $94,000 ;  oth- 
er school  house  improvements  to  cost  $8,- 


252 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ooo,  and  strongly  advocates  an  addition  to 
Belmont  Hospital  for  Consumptives.  Dur- 
ing the  recent  ravage  of  the  hoof  and  mouth 
disease  among  cattle,  he  favored  labeling  all 
meats  exposed,  that  a  purchaser  could  bene- 
fit by  the  knowledge.  He  is  fond  of  out-door 
sports,  a  taste  which  has  continued  from 
his  high  school  days,  when  he  played  upon 
the  football  team.  His  home  at  No.  51 
Suffolk  street  is  the  house  in  which  he  was 
born,  his  summer  residence  being  a  beautiful 
cottage  at  No.  11 46  Pleasant  street.  In  re- 
ligion he  is  a  Roman  Catholic,  belonging  to 
Mt.   Carmel   Parish. 

Mr.  Nardi  married,  in  191 5,  Clara  Le 
Fort,  of  Shrewsbury,  and  has  a  son,  Rich- 
ard William,  born  in  August,  1916. 


JUDD,  Myron  H., 

Agricnlturist,  Honored  Public  Official. 

In  the  faithful  and  judicious  conduct  of 
public  business,  Myron  H.  Judd  was  con- 
spicuous and  naturally  enjoyed  the  esteem 
and  confidence  of  his  fellows.  Coming 
from  a  line  of  intelligent  and  upright  for- 
bears, he  was  reared  in  that  devotion  to 
principle  and  public  welfare  which  made 
him  a  most  useful  and  exemplary  citizen. 
The  surname  Judd  is  one  of  the  oldest  of 
of  English  surnames,  and  is  identical 
with  Jude,an  old  and  almost  obsolete  person- 
al name.  Henry  Judde,  of  County  Kent,  and 
John  Judde,  of  Oxfordshire,  were  men- 
tioned in  the  Hundred  Rolls  of  the  year 
1275,  and  the  family  has  been  in  Kent  down 
to  the  present  time.  Sir  Andrew  Judd, 
dealer  in  skins  and  furs,  of  London,  son  of 
John  Judd,  of  Tunbridge,  Kent,  was  mayor 
of  London  in  1550,  a  man  of  wealth  and  in- 
fluence, and  endowed  a  grammar  school 
in  Tunbridge. 

(I)  Deacon  Thomas  Judd  came  from 
England  in  1633  or  1634,  and  settled  at 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  where  he  had 
a  home  lot  granted  to  him  in  August,  1634. 


It  was  in  that  part  of  the  town  known  as 
the  West  End,  on  the  road  to  W'atertown. 
He  had  other  land  granted  in  1635,  and 
was  admitted  a  freeman.  May  25,  1636. 
He  removed  to  Hartford,  Connecticut,  in 
1636,  had  two  acres  for  a  home  lot,  near  the 
Charter  Oak,  was  one  of  the  first  proprie- 
tors and  settlers  of  Farmington,  Connecti- 
cut, and  removed  there  from  Hartford 
about  1644.  His  home  lot  was  on  the  main 
street,  and  he  was  a  substantial  farmer  and 
an  influential  man,  a  deputy  to  the  General 
Court  several  times,  a  charter  member  of 
the  Farmington  church,  and  was  a  second 
deacon.  He  moved  to  Northampton  in 
1679,  and  resided  there  the  remainder  of 
his  life,  and  was  selectman  there  in  1682. 
He  died  November  12,  1688,  aged  about 
eighty.  His  first  wife  died  in  Farmington, 
and  he  married  (second)  December  2,  1679, 
Clemence,  widow  of  Thomas  Mason,  of 
Northampton. 

(II)  Samuel  Judd,  son  of  Deacon  Thom- 
as Judd,  was  born  about  1651  or  1653,  ^"*^ 
died  January  10,  1721.  He  was  admitted 
a  freeman  in  Massachusetts  in  May,  1684. 
After  the  death  of  his  father  he  took  care 
of  his  mother,  and  she  deeded  to  him  her 
property  on  Pleasant  street.  Besides  he 
owned  land  in  Farmington  given  him  by  his 
father.  He  married  Mariah  Strong,  who 
died  May  18,  1751,  aged  nearly  eighty- 
eight  years. 

(III)  Thomas  (2)  Judd,  second  son  of 
Samuel  and  Mariah  (Strong)  Judd,  was 
born  January  28,  1691,  in  Northampton, 
and  died  December  31,  1749.  He  lived  for 
a  time  in  Northampton,  and  removed  to  the 
east  side  of  Mount  Tom,  in  the  same  town, 
to  what  was  known  as  South  Farms,  oppo- 
site South  Hadley.  He  married  Hannah 
Bascom,  daughter  of  Thomas  Bascom. 

(IV)  Thomas  (3)  Judd,  fourth  son  of 
Thomas  (2)  and  Hannah  (Bascom)  Judd, 
was  born  in  1723,  in  Northampton,  and  re- 
sided in  South  Hadley,  where  he  died  De- 


253 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


cember  21,  1802.  He  was  four  times  mar- 
ried. His  second  wife,  Esther  (Graves) 
Judd,  born  1734,  in  Greenfield,  Massachu- 
setts, died  May  3,  1772,  in  South  Hadley, 
was  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Thankful 
(Smead)  Graves,  of  Deerfield  and  Green- 
field, Massachusetts.  Daniel  Graves  was 
killed  by  the  Indians  in  1756. 

(V)  Levi  Judd,  eldest  child  of  Thomas 
(3)  and  Esther  (Graves)  Judd,  was  born 
October  27,  1765,  in  South  Hadley,  where 
he  purchased  a  tract  of  land  in  the  then 
unbroken  forest.  He  made  a  clearing  and 
erected  a  log  house  upon  what  is  now  a 
part  of  the  farm  owned  by  the  late  Myron 
H.  Judd.  The  farm  later  passed  to  his  son, 
Zebina  Judd.  Levi  Judd  moved  to  Geneva, 
New  York,  in  1827,  and  there  died  in  Sep- 
tember, 1829.  He  married,  in  1786,  Lucy 
Snow,  born  September  2,  1768,  in  South 
Hadley,  daughter  of  Josiah  Snow,  of  that 
town.  She  married  (second)  Deacon  Wild- 
er, of  Geneva,  and  died  in  June,  1846. 

(VI)  Zebina  Judd,  eldest  child  of  Levi 
and  Lucy  (Snow)  Judd,  was  born  Septem- 
ber 24,  1787,  in  South  Hadley.  He  inherit- 
ed the  old  homestead  from  his  father  and 
there  remained,  adding  considerably  to  its 
cleared  area.  He  married  there,  November 
23,  1812,  Laura  Smith,  born  March  10, 
1789,  daughter  of  Deacon  Silas  and  Asen- 
ath   (Chapin)   Smith,  of  South  Hadley. 

(VII)  Warren  Smith  Judd,  son  of  Ze- 
bina and  Laura  (Smith)  Judd,  was  born 
September  6,  1820,  in  South  Hadley.  He 
went  to  Geneva,  New  York,  when  a  young 
man,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  carpen- 
ter from  his  uncle,  Thomas  Judd.  After 
his  return  East  he  built  the  house  where  his 
son,  Myron  Henry,  was  later  born  and 
which  is  now  the  home  of  his  widow,  and 
is  still  in  fine  condition.  He  married,  No- 
vember 25,  1847,  Jerusha  Dickinson,  born 
February  15,  1819,  eldest  daughter  of  Eli- 
jah and  Clarine  (White)  Dickinson,  of 
Hadley. 


(VIII)  Myron  Henry  Judd,  son  of  War- 
ren Smith  and  Jerusha  (Dickinson)  Judd, 
was  born  October  19,  1848,  in  South  Had- 
ley, in  the  house  built  by  his  father,  as 
noted  above,  and  lived  in  the  same  house 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  January  31, 
1916.  He  received  a  good  education  in  the 
local  public  schools  of  South  Hadley  Falls, 
and  on  reaching  manhood  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. In  this  he  was  prosperous,  and  came  to 
be  regarded  as  one  of  the  substantial  citi- 
zens of  the  town.  Early  in  life  he  began  to 
take  an  interest  in  the  conduct  of  public  af- 
fairs, and  was  always  independent  in  his 
principles,  and  voted  for  whom  he  consid- 
ered the  best  man.  For  ten  years  he  served 
as  selectman  in  the  town  of  South  Hadley, 
and  for  a  like  period  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  assessors,  and  also  of  the  board 
of  registration.  In  1891  Mr.  Judd  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature  and  served  one 
year.  The  Holyoke  "Transcript"  said  of 
him  :  "Mr.  Judd  was  a  man  eagerly  listen- 
ed to  as  he  pleaded  for  this  or  that  cause 
in  the  annual  meeting  of  the  town  in  past 
years."  His  home  was  in  the  section  of 
South  Hadley  known  as  Falls  Woods,  and 
he  was  known  as  a  public  spirited  citizen  of 
the  first  rank,  and  a  sturdy  example  of  na- 
tive born  New  England  stock.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  building  committee  which 
constructed  the  present  town  hall.  For 
thirty-four  years  he  was  a  member  of  Mt. 
Holyoke  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, of  which  he  was  past  master.  He  was 
also  a  member  of  lona  Lodge,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Hadley  Centre. 
He  married,  March  18,  1874,  Nancy  Ingra- 
ham,  daughter  of  Alonzo  and  Mary  Ingra- 
ham,  of  his  home  town.  Both  were  faith- 
ful attendants  of  the  Congregational  church. 
There  were  four  children  of  this  marriage : 
Mary  E.,  who  died  young;  Mabel  L.,  Hel- 
en D.  and  Warren  H.  On  the  day  follow- 
ing his  death  the  local  paper  said  of  him : 
"South   Hadley  has   lost   one   of  her   solid 


254 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


men.  For  more  than  forty  years  he  had  tak- 
en a  keen  interest  in  town  affairs.  It  was 
his  clear  vision  that  made  him  a  power  in 
town  affairs.  He  had  served  several  times 
on  the  board  of  selectmen,  was  a  member 
of  the  town  hall  building  committee,  and 
at  the  time  of  his  death  was  a  member  of 
the  board  of  registrars.  He  was  a  man  of 
few  words,  yet  behind  that  reticence  was  an 
alert  mind.  There  was  little  sentiment  in 
his  makeup,  but  there  was  a  generous  com- 
plement of  common  sense  and  good  judg- 
ment. Mr.  Judd  was  unfailingly  right  on 
town  problems  because  he  thought  them  out 
for  himself  and  he  always  stood  by  his 
opinions.  It  is  this  kind  of  men  that  are 
valuable  in  any  community.  Mr.  Judd  was 
a  lover  of  his  home  and  found  his  greatest 
happiness  on  his  cozy  Falls  Woods  farm. 
Our  New  England  towns  have  far  too  few 
of  such  helpful,  practical  forces." 


CHAPMAN,  Edward  Earl, 

Agriculturist,  Legislator. 

It  is  a  trite  but  true  saying  that  there 
is  always  room  at  the  top,  and  when  one 
has  advanced  far  beyond  others  who,  per- 
haps, started  out  ahead  of  him  on  the  high- 
way of  life,  it  is  because  he  has  exerted 
in  superior  degree  those  qualities  which 
constitute  the  basis  of  success.  This  re- 
mark is  descriptive  of  the  career  of  Edward 
Earl  Chapman,  of  Ludlow,  Massachusetts, 
who  has  not  alone  earned  fame  as  an  agri- 
culturist, but  has  made  a  name  for  himself 
in  the  political  world,  and  has  attained  high 
rank  in  fraternal  circles. 

Charles  Chapman,  his  father,  son  of  Da- 
vid Chapman,  was  born  May  5,  1824,  and 
died  July  10,  1876.  For  some  years  he  was 
engaged  in  the  meat  business  in  association 
with  Albert  Allen,  was  then  associated  in 
the  grocery  business  with  Mr.  Cate  for  a 
time,  and  subsequently  was  a  traveler  for  a 
firm  of  cattle  dealers  for  a  number  of  years. 


Mr.  Chapman  married,  in  November,  1845, 
Sarah  Whittemore  Popkins,  born  May  22, 
1826,  died  November  28,  1898,  a  daughter 
of  Stephen  and  Beulah  (Bates)  Popkins. 
They  had  six  children:  i.  Charles  Albert, 
born  April  26,  1848,  is  treasurer  of  South- 
bridge  Savings  Bank.  2.  Sarah  Howe,  born 
July  3,  1852,  died  December  5,  1871.  3. 
John  Benjamin,  born  July  16,  1855,  died 
December  6,  1909.  4.  Martha,  born  Febru- 
ary 28,  1858.  5.  Edward  Earl,  whose  name 
heads  this  sketch.  6.  Amelia,  born  Septem- 
ber II,  1866. 

Edward  Earl  Chapman  was  born  in 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  February  13, 
1862,  and  was  reared  in  that  town.  There 
he  attended  the  public  schools,  acquiring  a 
sound,  practical  education,  which  he  has 
supplemented  throughout  his  life  by  ju- 
dicious and  well  chosen  reading,  and  by  the 
continued  use  of  his  unusually  keen  powers 
of  observation.  At  the  age  of  seventeen 
years  he  went  to  Wilbraham,  where  he  was 
resident  on  various  farms  until  the  year 
1883,  when  he  removed  to  Ludlow,  with 
which  community  he  has  been  identified 
since  that  time.  He  purchased  his  pres- 
ent farm,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  which  he  is  cultivating  to  the 
greatest  advantage,  for  general  farming 
purposes.  He  is,  and  not  without  good  rea- 
son, regarded  as  an  authority  in  matters  of 
agriculture,  and  follows  the  most  approved 
methods  of  scientific  cultivation  in  all  his 
agricultural  work.  He  is  of  the  progres- 
sive nature  which  has  made  him  a  leader 
in  everything  connected  with  farm  labors, 
and  has  attained  a  high  rank  in  the  Order 
of  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  For  a  period  of 
five  years  he  was  master  of  Ludlow 
Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry ;  two  years 
master  of  Pomona  Grange,  of  the  same  or- 
der, of  Springfield;  deputy  of  the  State 
Grange,  ten  years ;  overseer  of  the  State 
Grange,  four  years,  and  was  then  elected 
master  of   the   State   Grange,   an  office  of 


255 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


which  he  is  still  the  incumbent,  at  present 
serving  his  second  term  in  it,  also  elected 
lecturer  of  National  Grange  in  191 5  for 
term  of  two  years.  In  the  field  of  politics 
his  name  is  no  less  well  known.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature  in  19 14,  and  served 
with  such  signal  ability  that  he  was  re-elect- 
ed in  191 5,  was  in  office  in  1916,  and  is  a 
member  and  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Agriculture.  Mr.  Chapman  is  a  man  of 
many-sided  ability,  and,  had  he  chosen  to 
devote  himself  to  the  study  of  music, 
would  undoubtedly  have  attained  a  high 
rank  in  that  art.  As  it  is,  in  spite  of  the 
manifold  other  demands  made  upon  his 
time  and  attention,  he  has  been  a  leading 
spirit  in  the  musical  circles  of  the  town.  For 
almost  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  had  charge 
of  the  music  in  the  Third  Congregational 
Church  of  Chicopee,  resigning  this  office, 
April  I,  191 5.  As  a  member  of  the  School 
Committee  he  rendered  excellent  service, 
remaining  in  office  nine  years.  He  is  a 
member  of  Brigham  Lodge,  Free  and  Accept- 
ed Masons,  of  Ludlow ;  Ludlow  Lodge,  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows ;  the 
Hampden  Harvest  Club.  All  of  his  chil- 
dren have  inherited  his  talent  for  music  and, 
at  various  times,  have  sung  in  church 
choirs. 

Mr.  Chapman  married,  December  6,  1883, 
Charlotte  Elizabeth  Corbin,  born  July  9, 
1862,  a  daughter  of  Charles  A.  and  Lovisa 
(Lawson)  Corbin,  of  Wilbraham.  Mrs. 
Chapman  before  her  marriage  was  a  school 
teacher  in  the  Monson  and  Wilbraham  grad- 
ed schools.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Ladies' 
Church  Societies,  and  has  filled  the  offices 
of  president  and  treasurer.  All  the  mem- 
bers of  the  family  are  regular  attendants  at 
the  church  of  which  they  are  members. 
Children:  I.  Charles  Earl,  born  September 
II,  1886,  farm  manager  of  Rutland  State 
Sanitorium ;  a  past  master  of  Ludlow 
Grange;  he  married,  September  29,  1909, 
Mabel    Cheney    Johnson,    daughter    of    A. 


Lincoln  and  Leora  (Emmons)  Johnson.  2. 
Myron  Edward,  born  June  9,  1890  ;  a  farm- 
er of  Ludlow ;  is  also  a  member  of  the  lo- 
cal Grange;  he  married,  March  29,  191 1, 
Jeannette  Florence  Jones,  of  Bangor, 
Maine.  3.  Isabelle  Louise,  born  August  8, 
1892;  is  the  lecturer  of  Springfield  Po- 
mona Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry ;  she 
was  graduated  from  high  school,  and  is  or- 
ganist in  the  church  at  Ludlow,  and  sang 
in  the  First  Church  chorus  at  Springfield 
for  a  period  of  three  years. 


FLINT,  John, 

Public    Spirited    Citizen. 

Many  there  are  who  will  instantly  recog- 
nize this  name  as  that  of  one  who  was 
widely  known  as  "the  father  of  the  Web- 
ster water  department."  For  more  than 
half  a  century  Mr.  Flint  was  a  resident  of 
Webster,  and  during  the  greater  part  of 
that  long  period  was  unceasingly  active  both 
as  business  man  and  citizen.  When  his 
death  occurred,  he  was  still  in  the  field, 
fourscore  years  and  upward  having  appar- 
ently abated  but  little  of  his  energy. 

John  Flint  was  born  September  22,  1831, 
in  Templeton,  and  was  a  son  of  John  and 
Fannie  (Holman)  Flint.  In  1862  he  came 
to  Webster,  purchased  the  bakery  of 
Holmes  &  Shumway,  and  successfully  con- 
ducted the  business  until  October,  1884, 
when  he  sold  out  to  Frederick  R.  Childs. 
In  the  twenty  years  and  more  during  which 
he  had  been  the  proprietor,  Mr.  Flint,  by 
tireless  industry  and  strict  adherence  to 
good  business  principles,  had  rendered  the 
establishment  extremely  lucrative,  and  a 
large  portion  of  his  profits  he  later  invest- 
ed in  Webster  real  estate.  Public  spirit  was 
ever  one  of  Mr.  Flint's  dominant  traits,  and 
in  1876  he  first  became  an  office-holder, 
serving  for  three  years  as  fire  engineer,  and 
for  two  years  as  constable.  In  1877  he  was 
elected    assessor,    an    office    which    he    re- 


256 


IF  BIOGF 


'^  farm- 


'P-pt 


Jted    Citizen. 

!1  instantly  recog- 


:  ihe  field, 

us  and  upvsuj'i  having  appar- 
but  little  of  his  energy. 
.  was  born  September  22,  1831, 
;.  and  was  a  son  of  John  and 
.nan")   Fiinl.     In  1862  he  came 
purchased    the    bakery    of 
•vay,  and  successfully 
iiess    until    October. 
it  to  Frederick  i 


and 


V  hich    h 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tained  until  1881.  From  1882  to  1884  he 
served  as  selectman,  and  also  filled  the  po- 
sition of  overseer  of  the  poor.  He  was 
president  of  the  Webster  &  Dudley  Street 
Railway,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  Webster, 
until  the  road  was  absorbed  by  the  Wor- 
cester &  Webster. 

Identified  as  Mr.  Flint  was  with  numer- 
ous public  interests,  it  was  with  the  water 
works  that  he  was  specially  associated  and 
it  was  in  their  inception  and  development 
that  his  progressive  spirit  and  willingness  to 
take  the  initiative  were  most  plainly  mani- 
fested. When  the  water  works  were  found- 
ed, in  1893,  they  were  looked  upon  as  an 
experiment,  and  it  was  mainly  through  his 
encouragement  and  guidance  that  the  de- 
partment developed  until  at  the  present 
time  (1917)  it  is  regarded  as  the  town's 
greatest  asset.  At  the  time  of  its  organiza- 
tion, Mr.  Flint  became  chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Water  Commissioners  and  for 
twenty-four  years  he  served  continuously  in 
this  capacity,  still  holding  the  office  at  the 
time  of  his  death.  His  sound  business  sense 
was  of  incalculable  value  in  directing  the 
transactions  of  the  department,  and  it  has 
been  well  said  that  the  greatest  monument 
to  his  memory  is  the  solid  foundation  upon 
which  he  has  placed  it. 

Mr.  Flint  married  (first)  Mary  Nugent, 
of  Hubbardston,  who  died  several  years 
ago.  He  married  (second)  Mrs.  Ella  Hol- 
lis,  who  survives  him.  Always  devotedly 
fond  of  his  home,  Mr.  Flint,  although  so 
active  in  public  aflfairs,  led  a  life  compara- 
tively retired.  Especially  was  this  true  of 
his  later  years,  when  he  seldom  appeared  on 
the  streets,  always,  however,  attending  with 
regularity  the  meetings  of  the  Board  of 
W^ater  Commissioners. 

On  May  17,  1917,  this  veteran  in  the 
public  service  passed  away,  followed  by  the 
respect,  admiration  and  gratitude  of  the  en- 
tire community.  Recognized  by  his  home 
town  as  a  benefactor,  he  was  sincerely  loved 


by  a  large  circle  of  devoted  friends.  John 
Flint  was  a  man  who  will  be  remembered, 
because  his  labors  were  not  for  his  own 
day  and  generation  alone.  Those  who  come 
after  him  will  reap,  in  increasing  measure, 
the  benefit  of  what  he  accomplished,  and 
the  record  of  his  work  will  form  part  of  the 
annals  of  his  communitv. 


LYMAN,  John  Elliott, 

Agriculturist. 

John  Elliott  Lyman  spent  his  entire  life 
in  South  Hadley,  Massachusetts,  where  he 
was  always .  highly  respected  and  looked 
upon  as  a  i-eady  and  capable  servitor  of  his 
community,  -He  -held  the  most  worthy  ideals 
of  life  which  gained  for  him  the  love  of 
those  who  knew  him  either  slightly  or  well. 

His  grandfather  was  George  Lyman» 
born  in  the  old  farhily  homestead  near  the 
Hockanum  ferry  at  Hadley,  Massachusetts, 
December  13,  1792.  He  married  Laura 
Wadsworth  and  to  them  were  born  seven 
children:  Lorenzo  W.,  born  September  18, 
1820;  Laura  S.,  born  November  19,  1823, 
died  June  25,  1825 ;  George  Julius,  born 
September  13,   1826;    Laura  S.,  born  July 

6,  1828,  died  November,  1838;  Warren, 
born  October  19,  1830;  David,  born  August 

7,  1835;  and  John,  born  April  17,  1822, 
was  educated  in  the  district  schools  near  his 
home.  He  married  Julia  A.,  daughter  of 
Hiram  Smith,  of  South  Hadley,  who,  for 
his  skill  as  a  navigator  on  the  Connecticut 
river,  when  it  was  the  only  means  of  com- 
mercial intercourse  between  points  along  its 
tributaries  and  the  ocean,  was  called  King 
Hiram.  The  Smith  family  may  be  traced 
back  from  King  Hiram  through  six  genera- 
tions to  its  progenitor,  Lieutenant  Samuel 
Smith,  who  came  to  America  from  England 
in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  down  through  Fred  M.  Smith,  now  res- 
ident of  South  Hadley  Falls.  Massachu- 
setts.    After    his    marriage,    John    Lyman 


MASS.— 7— 17. 


257 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


moved  to  the  southern  part  of  Amherst, 
where  he  lived  on  a  farm  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven 
years.  Then  his  wife,  Julia  (Smith)  Ly- 
man, moved  to  her  father's  house  in  South 
Hadley,  taking  with  her  the  two  children: 
Mary  Isabelle,  born  1853;  and  Nellie  Em- 
ily, both  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  It 
was  here  on  the  Hiram  Smith  farm  that 
her  third  child,  John  Elliott  Lyman,  was 
born  July  i,  1859,  only  a  few  months  after 
his  father's  death. 

He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
South  Hadley  and  in  the  high  school  there. 
Upon  leaving  school  he  devoted  his  entire 
time  to  the  work  on  the  farm  of  his  grand- 
father. When  the  latter  died,  John  E.  Ly- 
man succeeded  to  the  property,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  best  managed  farms  in 
that  district,  and  from  this  time  he  carried 
on  the  work  of  the  farm,  making  improve- 
ments and  additions  which  kept  the  place 
in  an  up-to-date  condition.  He  made  a 
specialty  of  dairying  of  a  very  high  grade, 
keeping  for  this  purpose  a  very  fine  herd 
of  Holstein  cow^  and  a  number  of  thor- 
oughbred Guernseys.  He  did  not  produce 
butter  but  sold  milk  to  a  select  trade  for 
many  years,  supplying  the  Holyoke  Baby 
Feeding  Association,  and  a  great  deal  of 
his  energy  was  devoted  to  making  his  farm 
one  of  the  best  in  the  production  of  milk. 
In  politics,  he  was  a  Republican  and  took 
a  keen  and  active  interest  in  matters  per- 
taining to  the  welfare  of  South  Hadley, 
serving  as  selectman  two  different  terms, 
1902-03-04,  and  in  1911-12  as  member  of 
the  State  Legislature,  during  the  latter 
year,  191 2,  being  chairman  of  the  commit- 
tee on  agriculture.  He  was  a  member  of 
lona  Lodge,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows ;  trustee  of  the  Gaylord  Library ; 
.and  member  of  the  Evergreen  Cemetery  As- 
sociation. He  also  belonged  to  the  Frank- 
lin Harvest  Club,  a  limited  organization  of 
dairymen,  which  had  only  one  or  two  mem- 


bers in  each  town.  He  was  active  in  the 
affairs  of  the  Congregational  church.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Republican. 

On  September  3,  1885,  John  Elliott  Ly- 
man was  married  to  Emily  Elizabeth  Brock- 
way,  born  in  Chester,  Massachusetts,  Au- 
gust 27,  1863.  Her  father,  Wilson  Bar- 
nard Brockway,  a  farmer  of  Southampton, 
Massachusetts,  and  later  of  South  Hadley 
Center,  was  born  in  Southampton,  Septem- 
ber 14,  1824,  and  died  at  South  Hadley  Cen- 
ter, September  i,  1909.  Her  mother,  Susan 
(Taylor)  Brockway,  was  born  June  19, 
1831,  at  Huntington,  Massachusetts,  and 
died  March  8,  1898.  John  Elliott  and  Em- 
ily Elizabeth  Lyman  were  the  parents  of 
two  sons.  Hiram  Smith  Lyman,  born  July 
27,  1898,  at  South  Hadley,  went  to  school 
there,  but  during  his  third  year  at  high 
school  the  illness  of  his  father  made  it 
necessary  for  him  to  discontinue  his  stud- 
ies and  take  charge  of  the  farm.  While 
in  school  he  was  a  good  student,  being  at 
the  time  he  left  at  the  head  of  his  class  in 
scholarship  as  well  as  its  president.  Since 
his  father's  death  he  has  taken  over  the 
management  of  the  farm  entirely,  and  with 
the  aid  of  some  of  his  father's  old  em- 
ployees is  making  a  success  in  the  dairy 
business  and  stock  raising.  The  second 
son,  Elliott  Brockway  Lyman,  born  July  5, 
1903,  is  now  a  student  in  South  Hadley 
High  School. 


GROSSMAN,  Josiah, 

Real  Estate  Investor. 

While  educational  advantages  are  by  no 
means  to  be  despised,  and  while  they  tend  to 
render  smooth  and  pleasant  the  path  of  a 
business  man  so  equipped  for  his  life 
work,  there  are  some  men  so  generously 
endowed  by  nature  that  they  rise  superior 
to  many  difficulties  to  which  those  less  gift- 
ed easily  succumb.  Josiah  Grossman,  of 
Lynn,  Massachusetts,  well  known  as  an  ex- 


258 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ceptionally  fine  business  man,  is  one  of  those 
who  had  many  difficulties  to  contend  with, 
and  whose  courage  and  other  fine  quaHties 
appeared  to  grow  with  the  struggles  in 
which  they  were  engaged,  and  in  which 
their  true  worth  ultimately  met  with  well 
merited  success.  It  has  been  universally 
conceded  that  the  busiest  men  are  those 
who  always  find  time  to  spare  in  order  to 
assume  additional  duties,  and  apparently 
they  are  able  to  accomplish  wonders.  The 
very  simple  principle  lying  at  the  root  of 
this  state  of  aflfairs  is  systematic  and  me- 
thodical work.  Every  moment  of  time  is 
given  its  full  valuation,  and  every  phase 
of  life  is  appreciated  in  proportion  to  the 
useful  work  which  has  been  faithfully  per- 
formed. A  fine  exponent  of  this  admirable 
class  of  men  is  Josiah  Grossman. 

Josiah  Grossman,  son  of  Philip  and  Lena 
Grossman,  was  born  in  Kiev,  Russia,  where 
he  attended  the  schools  until  he  was  thir- 
teen years  of  age,  and  this  was  the  only 
opportunity  that  offered  itself  in  his  life 
to  obtain  training  in  an  educational  insti- 
tution of  any  kind.  At  this  early  age  he 
came  to  America  and  at  once  entered  upon 
a  business  career  which  has  since  become 
noteworthy.  His  first  venture  was  as  a 
peddler,  and  for  a  period  of  ten  years  he 
went  about  carrying  his  bundle  of  dry 
goods.  Profits  were  small  at  first,  but  his 
sound  business  sense  combined  with  his  nev- 
er varying  courtesy  and  his  progressive 
methods  enabled  him  to  amass  a  sufficient 
capital  to  warrant  his  engaging  in  the 
real  estate  business,  as  a  builder  as  well 
as  a  buyer  and  seller  of  houses.  He  has 
always  been  a  producer  and  never  a  des- 
troyer, and  has  erected  many  fine  apart- 
ment houses  in  the  Back  Bay  District  of 
Boston.  He  commenced  his  real  estate  op- 
erations in  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  in  1905, 
and  has  always  conducted  his  business  in- 
dependently. His  operations  have  run  into 
large   figures,   as   he  has   already   handled 


one   and  a  half   millions  of   dollars  worth 
of    property,    selling    one    million    dollars 
worth,  and  retaining  a  half  million  dollars 
worth.     Included  in  the  last  mentioned  por- 
tion   is    the    magnificent    Grossman    office 
building,   which   he   holds   as  a   permanent 
investment.     Among  the  buildings   he  has 
erected    in    Lynn    are :      The    Longfellow, 
Gladstone,  Whittier  and  Essex  Castle  ;  Saga- 
more   Hall ;     Elliot    Hall ;     Lincoln    Hall ; 
Jefferson  Hall;    Madison  Hall;    The  Bilt- 
more.  No.  135  Ocean  street,  and  Brookledge 
Hall,    named    after    the    street    in    Boston 
where  he  maintains  his  winter  home.     His 
summer  home  is  "The  White  House,"  Lynn 
Shore  Drive.  He  organized  and  owns  the 
Grossman  Realty  Trust,  which  erected  the 
Grossman  Building.      He  is  a  member  of  the 
Lynn  Chamber  of  Commerce ;   the  Massa- 
chusetts Real  Estate  Exchange ;    Aberdour 
Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Bos- 
ton ;     Lynn    Lodge,    Benevolent    and    Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks ;   and  the  Park  Club 
of  Lynn. 

Mr.  Grossman  married,  February  21, 
1899,  Rose  Nichols,  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
Nichols,  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  and 
they  have  one  daughter,  Alma  G. 

Mr.  Grossman  is  a  great  lover  of  outdoor 
sports  and  exercises.  He  is  a  golf  enthusi- 
ast, and  canters  his  thoroughbred  every 
morning.  His  success  has  been  the  result 
of  his  love  for  his  work,  and  the  efficient 
manner  in  which  he  has  attended  to  even 
the  smallest  detail;  his  absolute  honesty 
and  square  dealing ;  and  his  willingness  to 
demonstrate  that  these  methods  are  the  only 
infallible  ones  to  business  success.  He  has 
shown  remarkable  and  consummate  judg- 
ment in  locating  his  properties.  He  is  lib- 
eral in  his  mode  of  living  as  well  as  in  his 
business  affairs,  demanding  the  best  and 
giving  the  best.  A  careful  and  discriminat- 
ing buyer  of  materials,  he  is  able  to  pro- 
duce and  build  at  a  minimum  cost  and  a 


259 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


maximum  of  excellence,  consequently  is  al- 
ways able  to  show  the  capitalist  a  good  in- 
vestment. 


POWERS,  Lyman  Milton, 

Retired  from  Active  Pursuits. 

Lyman  Milton  Powers,  now  retired,  who 
resides  in  West  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
is  a  son  of  Stephen  Milton  Powers,  who  was 
born  in  Deerfield,  Massachusetts.  Stephen 
Milton  Powers'  early  manhood  was  spent 
in  that  town,  the  family  moving  to  Gill, 
Massachusetts,  in  1856,  and  to  Amherst  in 
1859.  Stephen  M.  Powers  was  a  carpen- 
ter by  trade,  which  he  followed  in  both 
Deerfield  and  Amherst,  dying  in  1858,  aged 
forty-three.  He  married  Mary  Ann  Allen, 
born  in  Vermont,  died  in  Gill,  Massachu- 
setts, at  the  age  of  thirty-seven.  They  were 
the  parents  of  four  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters: Mary  L.,  married  (first)  Orin  Eaton, 
(second)  Walter  L.  Snow,  and  resided  most 
of  her  life  in  Amherst,  but  died  in  Green- 
field, Massachusetts ;  Marilla  L.,  married 
Lucius  Dickinson,  and  after  a  lifetime  spent 
in  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  died  in  Flori- 
da; Lyman  Milton,  of  further  mention; 
Henry  Leroy,  died  in  Colorado,  unmarried ; 
Charles  B.,  married  Emma  French,  and  died 
in  Florida;  Francis  H.,  died  in  New  York 
State. 

Lyman  Milton  Powers,  the  only  living 
child  of  Stephen  Milton  and  Mary  Ann 
(Allen)  Powers,  was  born  in  Deerfield, 
Massachusetts,  August  15,  1848,  and  there 
lived  until  eighty  years  of  age,  when  the 
family  moved  to  Gill  and  three  years  later 
to  Amherst,  Massachusetts.  He  attended 
school  in  Deerfield  and  Gill,  completing  his 
studies  in  the  Amherst  public  schools,  re- 
siding in  that  city  until  1870,  two  years  af- 
ter the  death  of  his  father.  He  then  moved 
to  Springfield,  where  he  was  employed  as 
a  paper  maker  for  thirty-five  years  before 
retiring  to  a  well  earned  life  of  ease,  al- 


though he  has  since  been  engaged  to  some 
extent  in  real  estate  dealings.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics,  and  both  he  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Congregational 
church. 

Mr.  Powers  married,  October  18,  1882, 
Cora  F.  Knowlton,  born  in  Wilbraham, 
Massachusetts,  in  1862,  daughter  of  Phineas 
and  Mary  Curtis  (Carew)  Knowlton,  of 
Wilbraham.  Phineas  Knowlton,  a  farmer, 
kept  the  first  store  in  Wilbraham  for  many 
years,  and  later  removed  to  Springfield, 
where  he  died  April  25,  1906;  his  wife  died 
August  19,  1899,  aged  seventy-two  years. 
They  were  the  parents  of  three  daughters : 
Laura  Carew,  born  November  13,  1859, 
died  July  26,  1891,  unmarried;  Cora  F., 
born  September  8,  1862,  married  Lyman 
Milton  Powers,  and  resides  in  Springfield ; 
Lizzie,  born  February  10,  1864,  married 
Albert  Ormsbee,  and  resides  in  Springfield. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Powers  are  the  parents  of 
two  sons  and  two  daughters :  Leroy  K., 
born  in  1881,  married  Charlotte  Sloane; 
Ruth  Madeline,  born  in  1894,  resides  at 
home  ;  Laura  Carew,  died  aged  nine  years ; 
Roger  Milton,  at  home.  The  family  home 
is  No.  816  Westfield  street.  West  Spring- 
field. 


HADLEY,  Edward  M., 

Successful  Business  Man. 

A  fine  example  of  the  self-made  man 
starting  from  a  small  beginning  and  be- 
coming one  of  the  successful  lumber  oper- 
ators of  his  day,  Mr.  Hadley's  Hfe  is  an 
inspiration  to  the  young  man  who  is  bat- 
tling against  adverse  circumstances.  He 
was  born  in  Sterling,  Massachusetts,  but 
at  the  age  of  seven  years  his  parents  moved 
to  Princeton,  Massachusetts,  and  there  he 
resided  and  had  his  business  headquarters 
until  about  1900,  when  he  moved  to  W^or- 
cester,  his  home  until  his  death,  November 
27,  1910. 


260 


POW 


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raring  to 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


He  was  educated  in  Princeton  public 
schools  and  Wilbraham  Academy,  begin- 
ning his  long  connections  with  the  lumber 
business  immediately  after  leaving  school. 
He  began  in  a  lowly  position,  but  soon  ad- 
vanced and  in  time  reached  the  topmost 
rounds  of  the  ladder  of  success.  He  con- 
tinued a  lumber  operator  until  his  removal 
to  Worcester  in  1900.  During  many  of  the 
later  years  of  his  life  he  was  associated 
with  W,  C.  Davis,  the  bonds  of  friendship 
between  these  men  being  strengthened  by 
their  business  association  in  the  affairs  of 
the  Baker  Box  Company,  of  Worcester,  a 
corporation  of  which  Mr.  Hadley  was  direc- 
tor and  superintendent.  He  was  also  inter- 
ested in  the  C.  N.  Chapin  Company,  a  re- 
tail provision  house  on  Pleasant  street, 
Worcester.  He  was  a  striking  example  of 
the  straightforward,  honorable  man  of  af- 
fairs, democratic,  genial  and  unchanging  in 
disposition,  modest  concerning  his  own  mer- 
its, concealing  beneath  an  unassuming  ex- 
terior a  kindliness  of  heart,  a  love  for  his 
fellow-man  and  a  sense  of  honor  and  justice 
that  made  men  his  friends  and  gained  him 
their  respect.  With  his  employees  he  was 
on  friendly  terms,  their  good  will  being 
gained  by  his  fairness  and  his  timely,  gen- 
erous aid  when  in  trouble.  His  own  family 
never  knew  the  extent  of  his  charities  and 
only  since  his  death  are  they  becoming 
known.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Worces- 
ter Board  of  Trade,  and  the  Automobile 
Club  of  Worcester. 

Mr.  Hadley  married,  in  1900,  Laura  E. 
Urban,  of  Westminster,  Massachusetts, 
who  survives  him. 


BEATTIE,  James, 

Prosperous  Dairy  Farmer. 

For  several  generations  this  ancient 
Scotch  family  has  been  connected  with  tex- 
tile industries  in  Aberdeenshire,  Scotland, 
the    family   seat   being   at    Gordon's    Mills. 

261 


They  were  men  of  worth  and  steady  hab- 
its, strict  in  their  Presbyterianism,  upright 
and  honorable.  James  Beattie,  now  a  resi- 
dent of  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts, 
is  a  grandson  of  John  Beattie,  and  a  son  of 
John  Beattie,  both  of  whom  were  associ- 
ated with  the  industries  mentioned  before, 
living  and  dying  in  their  native  Scotland. 
John  Beattie,  the  grandsire,  was  employed 
at  the  Grandholm  Mills,  Woodside,  Aber- 
deenshire, Scotland,  and  after  a  long  and 
useful  life  died  at  Gordon's  Mills  in  the 
same  shire  in  1893,  at  the  great  age  of 
ninety  years.  He  married  Margaret  Deans, 
who  died  about  1881,  aged  seventy-five 
years.  Their  children,  all  born  at  Gordon's 
Mills,  were :  John,  of  further  mention ; 
James,  died  at  Gordon's  Mills  in  1906; 
Hugh,  died  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania ; 
William,  yet  living  in  Aberdeenshire ;  Mar- 
garet, died  in  Scotland,  unmarried. 

John  (2)  Beattie,  son  of  John  and  Mar- 
garet (Deans)  Beattie,  born  1843,  spent  his 
youth  and  early  manhood  at  Gordon's  Mills, 
engaged  in  farming.  About  1865  he  began 
work  in  the  paper  mill  of  A.  Pirie  &  Sons 
at  Stony  Wood,  Aberdeenshire,  and  con- 
tinued in  the  paper  making  business  until 
his  death.  He  married,  1865,  Margaret 
Dann,  daughter  of  John  Dann,  born  in  Kin- 
cardin,  O'Neil,  Aberdeenshire,  Scotland,  in 
1844,  and  is  yet  residing  at  Stony  Wood 
in  her  native  land.  John  and  Margaret 
(Dann)  Beattie  have  ten  children:  Joan, 
born  in  October,  1867,  married  John  Moir, 
and  resides  in  South  Hadley  Falls ;  James, 
of  further  mention  ;  William,  died  in  Scot- 
land ;  Elizabeth,  married  and  lives  in  Scot- 
land ;  Alexander,  married  in  Scotland  Mary 
Philipps,  came  to  the  United  States  and 
resides  at  Fairview,  South  Hadley  Falls ; 
Margaret,  married  George  Davidson,  and 
resides  in  Virginia ; .  Mary  Ann,  married 
and  resides  in  BuflFalo,  New  York ;  Wil- 
helmina,  married  and  resides  in  Aberdeen- 
shire ;  George,  married  and  resides  in  Min- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


neapolis,     Minnesota ;     Hugh,     unmarried, 
resides  in  Detroit,  Michigan. 

James   Beattie,  eldest   son  of  John    (2) 
and  Margaret  (Dann)  Beattie,  was  born  at 
Woodside,    Aberdeenshire,    Scotland,    No- 
vember 2,  1868.     He  attended  the  common 
schools  until  ten  years  of  age,  then  began 
working  under  the  Scotch  system,  one  day 
in  school,  one  day  in  the  mill.    After  a  few 
years  of  this,  he  entered  the  mill  in  which 
his  father  was  working  and  became  an  ex- 
pert worker  in  his  department  of  the  paper 
making  mills  of  A.  Pirie  &  Son.     In  1888 
he  decided  to  come  to  the  United  States, 
and   engaging  passage   on   the    State   Line 
Steamship,  "State  of  Georgia,"  crossed  the 
ocean,  arriving  in  New  York  City,  Septem- 
ber 4,  1888.     He  had  friends  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  whom  he  joined,  and  obtain- 
ing a  position  in  the  paper  mill,  there  passed 
the  following  twenty  years.    He  made  Hol- 
yoke his  home  until  March  17,  1899,  when 
he  moved  to  South  Hadley  Falls.    He  held 
his  position  in  the  paper  mill  nine  years  af- 
ter   that    date,    retiring    in     1908,    when 
he      changed     his     indoor      life      for      an 
outdoor    occupation.      He    purchased    the 
milk  business  of  Thomas  Kirley,  of   South 
Hadley      Falls,      and      from      the      small 
farm  he  owns  just  over  the  South  Hadley 
Falls  line  in  Chicopee  conducts  a  profitable 
business,  collecting  milk  from  select  private 
dairies  and  supplying  a  select  family  trade 
with  the  best  and  purest  dairy  products.  He 
keeps  no  cows  of  his  own,  but  obtains  for 
his  trade  the  best  among  the  dairy  farmers 
of  the  section.     Mr.  Beattie  affiliates  with 
the  Republican  party  and  has  ever  been  loy- 
al in  its  support.     He  is  an  active  member 
of  the  Caledonian  Club ;  is  a  member  of  St. 
John's  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
of   Aberdeen,   Scotland ;    Chicopee   Lodge, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  both  he  and  his 
wife    are    members    of    the    Presbyterian 
church. 

Mr.  Beattie  married  at  Holyoke,  Massa- 


chusetts, August  23,  1892,  Alexandrina  Im- 
ray,  born  in  Aberdeenshire,  Scotland,  No- 
vember 15,  1870.  Children:  James,  born 
August  23,  1894,  unmarried,  resides  at 
home ;  John,  born  May  24,  1897,  died  aged 
seven  years ;  Douglas,  born  October  8, 
1899;   William,  born  September  11,  1903. 


DECELLES,  Ferdinand  Magloire, 

Representative  Citizen. 

Ferdinand  Magloire  Decelles,  carpenter 
and  real  estate  owner  of  Holyoke,  is  a 
grandson  of  Michael  Decelles,  who  died  in 
Canada,  in  191 2,  aged  eighty-two  years.  He 
was  born  in  Canada,  and  in  early  manhood 
came  to  the  United  States,  but  later  re- 
turned to  his  native  land  and  there  died. 
When  young  he  learned  the  carpenter's 
trade,  but  later  became  a  farmer  and  in  that 
occupation  passed  most  of  his  years.  He 
married  and  had  children :  Hector,  Ar- 
midore,  Demose,  Michael,  of  further  men- 
tion ;  Arthur,  Clara,  a  child  who  died 
young. 

Michael  (2)  Decelles  was  born  in  St. 
Armours,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  and 
is  now  (191 7)  living  in  Canada,  aged  six- 
ty-seven years.  He  learned  the  carpenter's 
trade  under  the  capable  instruction  of  his 
father  in  Canada,  and  there  followed  his 
trade  until  1897.  He  then  came  to  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  and  until  his  retire- 
ment in  191 3  worked  as  a  cabinet-maker.  In 
that  year  he  returned  to  his  native  Canada, 
and  now  is  residing  at  the  farm  upon  which 
his  father  lived  until  his  death.  Michael 
(2)  Decelles  married  Valoni  Benoit,  who 
died  in  1882,  leaving  children:  Ferdinand 
M.,  of  further  mention ;  Phyllis,  Owen, 
Erwin,  Orrin,  Raoul. 

Ferdinand  M.  Decelles,  eldest  son  of 
Michael  (2)  and  Valoni  (Benoit)  Decel- 
les, was  born  at  St.  Armours,  Province  of 
Quebec,  Canada,  May  10,  1875.  He  attend- 
ed the  public  schools  until  fourteen  years  of 


262 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


age,  then  spent  two  years  in  a  Montreal 
mill,  coming  thence  to  the  United  States, 
in  1890,  and  locating  in  Holyoke.  Here  he 
attended  night  school  and  was  employed  in 
different  mills,  then  was  with  the  Merrick 
Thread  Company,  in  their  mill,  finally  leav- 
ing mill  for  carpenter  work.  He  became 
an  expert  wood  worker,  and  for  the  past 
sixteen  years  has  followed  his  trade  in 
Holyoke,  being  employed  by  the  leading 
contractors  of  the  city.  He  has  invested 
his  savings  in  Holyoke  real  estate,  and  is 
the  owner  of  one  twenty-four  family  apart- 
ment house  at  No.  47-57  Bowers  street,  al- 
so a  three  tenement  house  and  store.  He 
attends  to  the  renting  and  upkeep  of  his 
property,  and  has  won  a  competence 
through  the  labor  of  his  hands. 

Mr.  Decelles  married,  October  26,  1899, 
Alma  Bail,  born  in  Abbottsford,  Quebec, 
Canada,  daughter  of  Pierre  and  Victoria 
(Marinier)  Bail.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Decelles 
are  the  parents  of  a  son,  Fernand,  born 
November  28,  191 1,  and  of  a  daughter. 
Marguerite,  born  April  11,  191 5. 


FAFARD,  Oscar, 

Representative  Citizen. 

The  Fafards  came  from  France  to  Cana- 
da and  from  St.  Cuthbert,  in  the  Province 
of  Quebec,  to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  Os- 
car Fafard,  of  Holyoke,  is  a  son  of  Charles 
Fafard,  and  a  grandson  of  Pierre  Fafard. 
the  latter  dying  in  Canada,  in  1858,  aged 
fifty-four  years.  He  married  Marie  Ma- 
negre,  they  the  parents  of  eleven  children : 
Pierre,  Charles,  of  whom  further :  Denis, 
Felix,  Julia,  Margaret,  Louise,  Philomene, 
Lena,  Josephine,  Mathilda. 

Charles  Fafard  was  born  in  St.  Cuthbert, 
Quebec,  Canada,  April  8.  1840,  and  died 
April,  191 6,  in  his  native  province.  All  his 
life  until  1897  he  was  a  Canadian  farmer, 
but  in  that  year  he  was  persuaded  to  come 
to    Holyoke.       He    remained    here    about 


eighteen  months,  employed  in  a  mill,  then 
returned  to  his  farm  in  Canada  and  there 
resided  until  his  death.  He  was  a  success- 
ful man,  his  farm,  largely  devoted  to  stock 
raising,  being  well  cultivated  and  valuable. 
He  was  a  Conservative  in  politics,  and  a 
man  highly  respected  in  his  community. 
Charles  Fafard  married  Louise  Bourgeault, 
born  in  St.  Cuthbert,  Canada,  in  1845,  "ow 
(1917)  residing  in  Holyoke,  with  her  son. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Fafard  were  the 
parents  of :  Charles,  Damien,  Oscar,  of 
whom  further;  Mary  Louise,  Annie,  Mar- 
tin, Matilda,  Amelie,  Amanda,  and  two  chil- 
dren who  died  young. 

Oscar  Fafard,  son  of  Charles  and  Louise 
(Bourgeault)  Fafard,  was  born  in  St.  Cuth- 
bert, Quebec,  Canada,  September  2"],  1880. 
He  was  educated  in  St.  Cuthbert  schools, 
and  until  seventeen  years  of  age  was  his 
father's  farm  assistant.  This  was  in  the 
year  1897,  the  year  Charles  Fafard  came  to 
the  United  States,  with  his  family,  but 
eighteen  months  later  he  returned  to  his 
farm  in  Canada.  Oscar  Fafard,  however, 
did  not  return  to  Canada  with  his  father, 
but  for  seven  years,  1897-1904,  continued  in 
the  employ  of  the  Springfield  Blanket  Com- 
pany at  their  Holyoke  mill.  Following  that 
employ,  he  was  for  a  short  time  in  a  silk 
mill,  then  formed  a  connection  with  the 
Hampden  Glazed  Paper  &  Card  Company, 
which  has  continued  for  thirteen  years,  he 
now  being  second  hand  in  the  pasting  ma- 
chine department.  In  191 2  he  bought  the 
sixteen  family  apartment  house  on  Chest- 
nut street,  in  which  he  has  his  own  home. and 
which  he  cares  for  as  both  owner  and 
agent.  He  takes  an  interest  in  public  af- 
fairs, is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Club 
of  Ward  2,  the  Artisans  Society,  and  the 
Order  of  Foresters. 

Mr.  Fafard  married  (first)  June  22, 
1908,  Louise  Caideux,  who  died  February 
12,  191 1  ;  she  was  the  mother  of  two  daugh- 
ters:    Eva,  born  June  19,  1909,  and  Aman- 


263 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


de,  born  December  30,  1910.  He  married 
(second)  ]\Iay  5,  1913,  Anne  Durand,  born 
in  Lisbon,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada, 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Noemie  (Bour- 
geault)  Durand,  the  last  named  being  a  sis- 
ter of  Louise  Bourgeault,  wife  of  Charles 
Fafard,  and  mother  of  Oscar  Fafard.  By 
this  marriage  Mr.  Fafard  has  children : 
Cecelia,  born  August  2"],  1914;  Rachel,  Au- 
gust 20,  1915;   Blanche,  November  4,  1916. 


BLACKWOOD,  George  A., 

Business  Man. 

In  the  prime  of  a  splendid  life  of  busy  ac- 
tivity, George  A.  Blackwood,  of  Worcester, 
Massachusetts,  ended  his  career,  April  24, 
1916,  having  barely  attained  his  fiftieth 
year.  By  virtue  of  his  native  ability  and 
energy,  he  had  risen  to  a  place  of  promin- 
ence in  the  business  world,  and  at  the  time 
of  his  death  and  for  a  number  of  years 
previous  was  secretary  and  assistant  treas- 
urer of  the  Massachusetts  Corset  Company, 
of  Worcester.  He  held  the  supreme  con- 
fidence of  his  business  associates,  was  a 
popular  employer  and  worked  in  utmost 
harmony  with  his  employees.  His  person- 
ality attracted  men  and  his  sterling  attri- 
butes of  character  held  them  ever  as 
friends. 

George  A.  Blackwood  was  born  in  Lan- 
caster, Massachusetts,  March  9,  1866.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Clin- 
ton, Massachusetts,  and  at  Hinman's  Busi- 
ness College,  Worcester,  Massachusetts, 
completing  his  studies  with  graduation 
from  the  latter  institution.  He  then  en- 
tered the  employ  of  E.  H.  Stark  &  Com- 
pany, at  one  time  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  successful  boot  and  shoe  concerns  in 
the  country,  and  served  that  company  in  the 
capacity  of  bookkeeper  for  ten  years.  His 
next  employment  was  with  the  Royal  Wor- 
cester Company,  which  he  served  four  years 
as  accountant,  after  which  he  occupied  a  re- 


sponsible position  as  chief  accountant  with 
the  Wright  W^ire  Company,  one  of  the  larg- 
est wire  concerns  in  the  city  of  Worces- 
ter. The  Massachusetts  Corset  Company, 
of  which  Mr.  Blackwood  was  secretary  and 
assistant  treasurer  from  its  beginning  to  his 
death,  began  its  business  career,  February 
13,  1907,  by  the  purchase  of  the  plant,  bus- 
iness and  good  will  of  the  United  States 
Corset  Company,  located  at  No.  15  Union 
street,  Worcester.  The  latter  company  was 
formerly  known  as  the  Globe  Corset  Com- 
pany, and  was  founded  by  the  late  John 
E.  Lancaster,  who  was  its  president  and 
active  business  head  until  his  death.  The 
Massachusetts  Corset  Company  started  out 
under  an  entirely  new  management,  all  of 
the  officers  connected  with  the  United  States 
Corset  Company  having  retired  from  the 
business  with  the  formation  of  the  new 
company.  The  Massachusetts  Corset  Com- 
pany was  capitalized  at  $300,000  and  was 
officered  as  follows  :  President,  Richard  H. 
Hammond,  of  the  Hammond  Reed  Com- 
pany ;  treasurer,  George  T.  Dewey ;  vice- 
president  and  general  manager,  Herbert  L. 
Adams ;  secretary  and  assistant  treasurer, 
George  A.  Blackwood ;  superintendent,  Oli- 
ver G.  Nutting ;  the  directors  of  the  com- 
pany were  the  above  named  officers  and  A. 
W.  GifTord,  Walker  Armington  and  Wil- 
liam Woodward.  In  his  capacity  of  sec- 
retary and  assistant  treasurer,  I^Ir.  Black- 
wood displayed  his  peculiar  talents  to  the 
best  advantage,  having  no  superior  in  the 
systematizing  of  accounts,  credits  and  bal- 
ances. Mr.  Blackwood  took  a  keen  interest 
in  public  affairs,  was  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, active  in  municipal  campaigns  as  a  cit- 
izen, not  an  office  seeker.  He  was  a  valued 
member  of  the  Worcester  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce and  Worcester  Credit  Men's  Asso- 
ciation, and  a  member  of  Central  Lodge, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and 
Athelstane  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons. 


264 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Mr.  Blackwood  married,  June  26,  1889, 
Edith  Persis  Carter,  who  survives  him,  also 
a  son,  Roland  F.  As  a  man  and  as  a  citi- 
zen, Mr.  Blackwood  displayed  a  personal 
worth  and  an  excellence  of  character  that 
not  only  commanded  the  respect  of  those 
with  whom  he  associated,  but  won  him  the 
warmest  personal  admiration  and  the 
staunchest  friendships.  Aside  from  his  bus- 
iness affairs,  Mr.  Blackwood  found  time 
for  the  championship  of  many  progressive 
public  measures,  recognized  the  opportuni- 
ties for  reform,  advancement  and  improve- 
ment, and  labored  effectively  and  earnestly 
for  the  general  good.  His  death  deprived 
his  community  of  an  enterprising,  energetic 
and  public-spirited  man. 


GOODYEAR,  Austin  Bryant, 

Civil    Engineer. 

On  the  Goodyear  homestead  in  Holyoke, 
four  generations  of  the  family  have  resided, 
and  there  Austin  Bryant  Goodyear  was  born, 
the  birthplace  of  his  father,  Austin  Good- 
year, and  the  homestead  the  property  of  his 
grandfather  and  his  great-grandfather.  His 
father,  Austin  Goodyear,  was  almost  the 
last  of  an  interesting  group  of  men  who 
were  born  in  the  locality  of  Holyoke  before 
that  city  was  even  thought  of,  men  whose 
ancestors  scarcely  two  generations  back 
were  pioneer  settlers  of  that  region.  Home- 
stead avenue,  so  named  in  recognition  of 
its  past  history  and  character,  was  the  im- 
portant street  of  the  community  known  as 
Ireland  Parish,  which  was  the  forerunner 
of  Holyoke.  It  was  in  this  street  that  Aus- 
tin Goodyear  and  his  son,  Austin  Bryant, 
were  born,  and  in  the  house  now  standing 
the  father  passed  most  of  his  life  and  the 
son  the  greater  part  of  his.  It  was  in  this 
section  that  Austin  Goodyear  was  employed 
by  his  cousin,  Charles  Goodyear,  the  invent- 
or of  the  art  of  vulcanizing  rubber  and  mak- 
ing   it    a    marketable    commodity.      Austin 

265 


Goodyear  was  associated  with  Charles 
Goodyear  in  his  experiments  and  inventions 
and  was  sent  to  Central  America  to  investi- 
gate the  source  of  the  rubber  supply  and  its 
extent.  But  Austin  Goodyear  was  during 
most  of  his  long  life  engaged  in  farming, 
beginning  with  a  small  tract  he  had  bought 
and  which  he  improved  and  developed. 

Austin  Bryant  is  of  the  eighth  generation 
of  the  family  founded  by  Stephen  Good- 
year, deputy  governor  of  New  Haven  Col- 
ony, 1643-58.  The  line  of  descent  is  through 
Deputy-Governor  Goodyear's  son,  Lieu- 
tenant John  Goodyear,  born  in  New  Haven, 
in  1650,  and  his  wife,  Abigail  (Gibbard) 
Goodyear ;  their  son.  Lieutenant  Theophil- 
us  Goodyear,  born  1698,  died  1757,  and  his 
wife,  Esther  (Sperry)  Goodyear;  their 
son,  Theophilus  (2)  Goodyear,  born  1731, 
a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and  his  wife, 
Sarah  (Munson)  Goodyear  ;  their  son,  Aus- 
tin Goodyear,  born  1759;  moved  from 
Hampden,  Connecticut,  to  West  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts,  and  his  wife,  Sarah 
(Pardee)  Goodyear;  their  son,  Lyman 
Goodyear,  born  September  23,  1792,  died 
January  7,  1874,  and  his  wife,  Esther  (Hu- 
miston)  Goodyear;  their  son,  Austin  (2) 
Goodyear,  and  his  wife,  Anna  Judson 
(Chapin)  Goodyear;  their  son,  Austin 
Bryant  Goodyear,  of  the  eighth  generation. 

Lyman  Goodyear  (1792- 1874),  of  the  sec- 
ond generation  in  the  West  Springfield  sec- 
tion, was  married,  in  1816,  to  Esther  Hu- 
miston,  daughter  of  Caleb  and  Sarah  ( Bish- 
op) Humiston.  They  were  the  parents  of 
three  daughters  and  a  son :  Sarah,  born 
September  5,  1817,  married  James  R. 
Boise ;  Esther,  born  October  20,  1822,  died 
1848;  Austin,  of  further  mention;  Susan- 
na, born  November  27,  1832.  died  Decem- 
ber 2,  1883. 

Austin  Goodyear  was  born  on  the  farm 
in  what  is  now  Homestead  avenue,  Hol- 
yoke, (bought  by  his  grandfather  and 
owned  by  his  father),  March  31,  1828,  died 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


March  17,  19 10.  When  thirteen  years  of 
age  he  was  sent  to  Suffield  Literary  Institute, 
remained  there  two  years,  then  to  Provi- 
dence, and  under  the  tutoring  of  Professor 
James  R.  Boise,  a  most  scholarly  man,  he 
prepared  to  enter  Brown  University.  But 
on  account  of  sickness  he  left  college  at  the 
close  of  his  sophomore  year.  He  then  en- 
tered the  employ  of  his  cousin,  Charles 
Goodyear,  the  inventor  and  creator  of  the 
vast  rubber  industry,  remaining  for  five 
years,  and  during  that  period  made  a  journ- 
ey to  Central  America.  During  that  most 
interesting  journey  he  sailed  up  the  Nica- 
ragua river  with  Commodore  Vanderbilt, 
visited  the  Mosquito  King,  and  returned 
to  New  York  with  the  Commodore.  Soon 
afterwards  he  left  his  cousin's  employ  and 
began  his  connection  with  agriculture  which 
was  continued  until  he  retired.  The  land 
he  owned  was  a  particular  source  of  pleas- 
ure to  him,  and  he  took  pride  in  improving 
the  property,  adding  to  its  area,  and  pass- 
ing it  to  his  sons  as  he  received  it  from 
his  father,  only  greater  in  extent  and  better 
improved.  During  his  college  years  he 
joined  the  Baptist  church  and  ever  after- 
ward was  a  member  of  that  church,  and  for 
many  years  was  deacon  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  of  Elmwood.  Austin  Goodyear 
married,  in  1855,  Anna  Judson  Chapin,  born 
in  Chicopee,  Massachusetts,  January  9, 
1835,  died  April  4,  1914,  surviving  her  hus- 
band four  years.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Bryant  and  Lucinda  (Jones)  Chapin.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Goodyear  were  the  parents  of  a 
daughter  and  two  sons :  Sarah  Lovira,  born 
July  13,  1859,  died  December  6,  1892; 
George  Lyman,  born  January  7,  1862,  now 
residing  at  the  Goodyear  homestead ;  Aus- 
tin Bryant,  of  further  mention. 

Austin  Bryant  Goodyear  was  born  at  the 
homestead  in  Holyoke,  June  22,  1875.  He 
was  educated  in  the  city  schools,  completing 
his  studies  in  the  high  school.  For  ten 
years  he  aided  in  the  cultivation  and  man- 


agement of  the  farm,  then  began  the  study 
of  civil  engineering,  and  in  1905  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Holyoke  Water  Power  Com- 
pany, and  he  has  been  connected  with  the 
engineering  department  of  that  corporation 
until  the  present  (1917).  He  is  a  member 
of  Mt.  Tom  Golf  and  Holyoke  Canoe  clubs, 
William  Whiting  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons ;  and  of  the  Baptist  church. 

Mr.  Goodyear  married,  June  27,  1900, 
Florida  Morse  Winchester,  of  Holyoke, 
daughter  of  Samuel  B.  and  Emily  Adelle 
(Morse)  Winchester.  They  are  the  parents 
of  Adelle  Winchester  Goodyear,  born  Feb- 
ruary 5,  1903. 

(The    Winchester    Line). 

The  Winchesters  are  an  old  English  fam- 
ily, and  for  many  generations  prior  to  the 
seventeenth  century  were  seated  in  Kent, 
from  whence  the  American  ancestor  of  the 
branch  herein  considered  came  to  New 
England. 

John  Winchester,  "one  of  the  founders 
of  New  England,"  and  who  bears  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  ancestor  of  all  who 
bear  the  name  claiming  early  Colonial  an- 
cestry on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
sailed  from  London  in  the  "Elizabeth,"  in 
April,  1635,  being  then  nineteen  years  of 
age.  In  1636  he  settled  in  Hingham,  in  the 
Plymouth  Colony,  with  his  fellow  voyagers, 
the  Bates  family.  He  joined  the  first 
church  in  Boston  in  1636,  was  made  free- 
man in  1637,  and  admitted  a  member  of  the 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company 
in  1638.  Soon  after  1650  he  left  Hingham 
and  went  to  Muddy  River,  that  part  of  Bos- 
ton which  now  is  Brookline,  where  he  was 
surveyor  in  1664-9-70,  constable  in  1672- 
73,  and  tythingman  in  1680.  He  seems  to 
have  prospered  at  Muddy  River,  and  at  his 
death,  April  25,  1694,  left  an  estate  w^hich 
inventoried  three  hundred  and  seven 
pounds,  ten  shillings,  which  was  inherited 
by  his  sons,  John  and  Josiah.     John  Win- 


266 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Chester  married,  October  15,  1638,  Hannah 
SeaHs,  daughter  of  Deacon  Richard  SeaHs, 
of  Scituate.  She  died  September  18,  1697, 
leaving  four  children :  John,  Mary,  Jona- 
than, and  Josiah. 

John  (2)  Winchester,  son  of  John  (i) 
and  Hannah  (Sealis)  Winchester,  was  bap- 
tized in  1644,  and  died  in  Brookline,  Feb- 
ruary I,  1 718.  He  was  a  prominent  figure 
in  the  early  history  of  Brookline,  and  by  oc- 
cupation was  a  mason  and  farmer.  He  was 
the  first  representative  from  Brookline  to 
the  Colonial  Assembly  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  1709-10,  served  as  constable,  commis- 
sioner, selectman,  and  in  171 7  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Brookline  church.  Dur- 
ing King  Philip's  War  he  was  a  soldier  and 
is  mentioned  as  having  been  stationed  at 
the  garrison  of  Punkapauqua  (now  Can- 
ton), April  24,  1676.  He  died  in  17 18,  leav- 
ing an  estate  which  inventoried  one  thou- 
sand and  six  pounds,  nine  shillings.       He 

married  (first)  Hannah  ;    (second) 

Joanna  Stevens,  born  May  28,  1652.  Their 
children  were :  Joanna,  John,  Mary,  Ben- 
jamin, Ebenezer,  Henry,  Stephen,  Mehit- 
able,  Jonathan. 

Benjamin  Winchester,  son  of  John  (2) 
and  Hannah  Winchester,  bought  land  in 
Framingham,  in  1727,  where  his  brother 
Ebenezer  had  preceded  him  by  about  ten 
years ;  and  afterward  lived  in  Grafton, 
Massachusetts,  mentioned  as  one  of  the 
"alarm  soldiers  during  the  French  and  In- 
dian War." 

Joseph  Winchester,  son  of  Benjamin 
Winchester,  lived  in  Grafton,  Massachu- 
setts, until  about  1772,  when  he  removed 
with  his  family  to  Marlboro,  Vermont, 
where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days. 
He  married,  April  15,  1755,  Lucy 
Harrington,  born  in  Grafton,  May  13,  1740, 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Miriam  Harrington, 
of  Grafton,  and  their  children  born  in  that 
town  were  as  follows :    Anna,  Hulda,  Ben- 


jamin, Asa,  Joseph,  Joshua,  Antipas,  Lu- 
ther. 

Luther  Winchester,  son  of  Joseph  and 
Lucy  (Harrington)  Winchester,  was  bom 
in  Marlboro,  Vermont,  August  17,  1773, 
and  for  many  years  was  one  of  the  foremost 
men  of  that  town.  He  was  a  farmer, 
thrifty  and  energetic,  and  through  his  own 
efforts  accumulated  a  fortune.  He  married, 
December  19,  1793,  Elizabeth  Warren,  who 
died  in  Marlboro,  October  10,  1853,  aged 
seventy-four  years.  He  died  January  30, 
1853.  Children,  all  born  in  Marlboro:  An- 
tipas, Clark,  Betsey,  William  Ward,  Han- 
nah, Luther,  Isaac  Harrington,  John  Quin- 
cy  Adams. 

Antipas  Winchester,  son  of  Joseph  and 
Elizabeth  (Warren)  Winchester,  was  born 
in  Marlboro,  Vermont,  October  6,  1794, 
died  May  19,  1871.  Like  his  father  he  was 
a  substantial  farmer  and  a  prominent  man 
in  the  town.  He  married,  Janaury  2,  1822, 
Lois  Kelsey.  Children :  Williston,  Eunice, 
Reuben,  Louis,  Betsey,  Asa,  and  a  daugh- 
ter, Anthony,  Clark,  Polly,  Ann,  a  daugh- 
ter, Sarah  A. 

Reuben  Winchester,  son  of  Antipas  and 
Lois  (Kelsey)  Winchester,  was  born  in 
Marlboro,  Vermont,  January  7,  1825,  died 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  May  26,  1906. 
Until  the  age  of  twenty  he  lived  at  the  home 
farm  and  gave  all  his  earnings  to  his  father. 
The  principles  of  honesty  and  personal  in- 
tegrity instilled  into  his  mind  when  a  boy  he 
never  forgot,  practicing  them  to  the  last  day 
of  his  life.  He  started  out  in  life  by  deal- 
ing in  cattle,  later  added  produce  to  his  bus- 
iness interests  and  became  one  of  the  most 
extensive  dealers  in  that  part  of  the  State. 
At  various  times  he  owned  many  yoke  of 
cattle  and  often  said  that  he  had  bought  and 
sold  more  than  five  hundred  yoke  of  cattle, 
oxen  and  steers.  He  was  an  intelligent  and 
progressive  man,  and  on  questions  of  local 
and  general  interest  he  was  considered  a 
standard  authority.     He  was  a  man  of  the 


267 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


highest  integrity  and  a  firm  beHever  in  the 
"square  deal."  His  business  life  was  re- 
warded with  substantial  success  and  his  suc- 
cess was  deserved.  In  politics  a  strong  Dem- 
ocrat, he  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  peo- 
ple of  his  town  without  distinction  of  party, 
and  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature 
with  Republican  votes.  In  1865  Mr.  Winches- 
ter removed  from  Marlboro  to  West  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts,  and  purchased  a  farm 
in  that  town,  paying  for  the  same  in  cash. 
He  married,  February  19,  1850,  Hannah  K. 
Brown.  Children:  Samuel  B.,  of  further 
mention ;  Reuben  Clark,  born  November 
10,  1857,  married  Mary  A.  Cole,  they  the 
parents  of  Austina  Hannan,  married  Hen- 
ry C.  Wainock ;  Ralph  Cole,  died  aged 
fourteen  years ;  William  L.,  born  October 
23,  1865,  dis*^  July  I4>  1903-  married,  June 
6,  1895,  Addie  E.  Stockwell,  they  the  par- 
ents of  Miriam  Stockwell,  born  March  31, 
1896,  and  Reuben  Stockwell,  born  Febru- 
ary 26,  1902. 

Samuel  B.  Winchester,  son  of  Reuben 
and  Hannah  K.  (Brown)  Winchester,  was 
born  in  Marlboro,  Vermont,  October  2, 
1852,  died  February  26,  1906.  He  located 
in  West  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  in  1865, 
there  remaining  four  years,  then  moving 
to  Holyoke.  He  at  once  entered  high  school, 
whence  he  was  graduated  class  of  1872,  and 
began  business  life  with  Thomas  W.  Mann, 
a  well  known  architect  and  civil  engineer. 
He  was  also  in  the  employ  of  Merrick  & 
Company,  and  a  little  later  moved  to 
Springfield,  Massachusetts.  From  there  he 
went  to  Three  Rivers,  in  the  employ  of 
Ruggles  Brothers,  photographers,  thence  to 
Worcester,  where  he  opened  a  photograph 
gallery  under  his  own  name.  In  1884  he 
returned  to  Holyoke  and  became  superin- 
tendent of  the  lighting  plant  just  put  in  op- 
eration by  the  Holyoke  Water  Power  Com- 
pany. The  new  plant  was  built  up  to  a  large 
and  successful  condition  by  Mr.  Winchester, 
and   he   remained   its   superintendent   until 


1902,  highly  esteemed  by  his  employees  and 
business  associates,  his  sterling  integrity 
and  sound,  sensible  opinions  attracting 
them.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  of  the  Bay 
State  Club.  Mr.  Winchester  married,  July 
22,  1875,  Emily  Adelle  Morse,  of  Spring- 
field, daughter  of  A.  T.  Morse.  They  were 
the  parents  of  two  daughters :  Florence  E., 
born  June  21,  1876,  died  in  infancy;  Flori- 
da Morse,  born  February  17,  1878,  married 
January  27,  1900,  xA.ustin  Bryant  Goodyear. 


ROCHETTE,  Edward  Charles,  M.  D., 

Prominent   Physician. 

Dr.  Edward  C.  Rochette,  one  of  the  most 
successful  physicians  of  Worcester,  has  con- 
siderable natural  ability,  but  is  withal  a 
close  student  and  believes  thoroughly  in  the 
maxim  that  ''there  is  no  excellence  without 
labor."  His  devotion  to  the  duties  of  his 
profession,  therefore,  combined  with  a  com- 
prehensive understanding  of  the  principles 
of  the  science  of  medicine,  has  made  him  a 
most  able  practitioner,  whose  prominence 
is  well  deserved. 

Dr.  Edward  C.  Rochette  was  born  in 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  October  29, 
1879,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Melvina  (Phil- 
lips) Rochette,  grandson  of  Charles  Roch- 
ette, who  lived  and  died  at  Chambly  in  the 
Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  and  of  David 
and  Eliza  Phillips,  residents  of  Chazy,  New 
York.  Joseph  Rochette  was  born  in  Cham- 
bly, Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  about  the 
year  1851,  and  for  four  decades  was  a  cab- 
inet maker  in  an  organ  factory.  He  came 
to  the  United  States  in  company  with  an 
elder  brother,  Edward  Rochette,  who  was 
also  a  cabinet  maker,  and  they  located  in 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  where  both 
were  residing  in  1916,  Edward  aged 
seventy  years  and  Joseph  aged  sixty- 
five  years.  The  two  brothers  worked 
together    for    many    years,    and    Edward 


268 


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He  accepted  an 

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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  was  detailed  as  hospital  steward,  serv- 
ing until  honorably  discharged,  and  must- 
ered out,  September  22,  1865.  After  return- 
ing from  the  army  he  spent  several  years  in 
Connecticut,  engaged  in  the  wood  and  lum- 
ber business,  settling  in  Holyoke  in  1873. 
Later  he  was  in  charge  of  a  number  of 
large  buildings  and  apartment  blocks,  con- 
tinuing in  that  line  of  activity  until  his 
death.  He  married  Ann  Sylvina  Kinne, 
born  in  Great  Harrington,  Massachusetts, 
November  20,  1835,  daughter  of  Ashbel 
Kinne,  whose  life  was  largely  spent  in  Great 
Barrington.  He  was  the  tenth  child  of 
Rev.  Aaron  Kinne,  a  chaplain  in  the  Con- 
tinental Army,  who  for  a  time  was  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Egremont  near  Great  Bar- 
rington. Lawrence  and  Ann  Sylvina 
(Kinne)  Stedman  were  the  parents  of  Eva 
Ann  (Stedman)  Canney,  of  previous  men- 
tion; Florence  May,  born  May  19,  1861, 
married  Frederick  Sears,  who  died  in  Hol- 
yoke, leaving  three  children  including  a  son, 
Philip  Sears  ;  Henry  Morgan,  born  Novem- 
ber 20,  1863,  a  farmer  of  Blandford,  Mas- 
sachusetts, twice  married  and  has  eight 
living  children ;  Robert  Byron,  born  March 
10,  1869,  married  Annie  Bogart,  of  Hol- 
yoke, and  died,  leaving  a  daughter  Elsie ; 
Lily  Mabel,  born  October  4,  1879,  married 
Charles  Nobles,  and  resides  at  South  Had- 
ley  Center  with  two  sons.  Mrs.  Ann  Syl- 
vina (Kinne)  Stedman  is  still  living,  the 
grandmother  of  seventeen  children  and  the 
great-grandmother  of  eight  children.  Fre- 
mont W.  and  Eva  Ann  (Stedman)  Canney 
are  the  parents  of  five  children,  all  born  in 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts  :  i.  George  Fremont, 
mentioned  below.  2.  Byron  Henry,  born  Au- 
gust 23,  1883,  married  in  Columbia,  South 
America,  Carola  Johnson,  and  there  resides 
with  three  children.  3.  Florence  Elizabeth, 
born  January  7,  1886,  married,  March  2^, 
1912,  Reginald  Sidney  Carey,  and  resides 
at  South  Hadley  Falls ;  they  are  the  par- 
ents of  Reginald  Sidney  Carey,  Jr.,  born 


February  21,  191 4;  Warren  James  Carey, 
September  6,  1915.  4.  Edward  Lawrence, 
born  January  21,  1888,  residing  in  North- 
ampton, Massachusetts,  unmarried.  5.  Hazel 
Stedman,  born  April  18,  1890,  also  residing 
at  the   Northampton  home. 

George  Fremont  Canney,  son  of  Fre- 
mont Warren  and  Eva  Ann  (Stedman) 
Canney,  was  born  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, July  28,  1882,  and  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  the  city.  After  three 
years  in  high  school  he  was  so  anxious  to 
become  a  wage  earner  that  he  left  school, 
and  until  he  was  seventeen  he  ran  a  wagon 
route,  supplying  a  select  trade  with  vegeta- 
bles raised  in  his  own  garden  or  purchased 
from  neighbors.  At  the  age  of  seventeen 
he  became  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  Charles 
A.  Gridley,  a  prominent  merchant  of  South 
Hadley  Center,  with  whom  he  remained  for 
three  years  mastering  the  details  of  a  large 
business.  He  then  entered  the  employ  of 
the  American  Thread  Company,  there  gain- 
ing desired  office  experience  to  which  he 
added  during  another  period  spent  in  the 
office  employ  of  the  Farr  Alpaca  Company. 
On  April  i,  1907,  Mr.  Canney  returned  to 
mercantile  life  with  Mr.  Gridley,  whose 
business  had  been  constantly  increasing,  and 
was  admitted  to  a  partnership.  On  July  i, 
1913,  Mr.  Gridley  retired  and  since  that 
date  Mr.  Canney  has  conducted  the  busi- 
ness alone,  carrying  large  stocks  of  general 
merchandise  with  special  lines  attractive  to 
the  student  trade.  In  191 5  he  purchased  the 
building  which  he  occupies,  altered,  enlarged 
and  improved  it  in  keeping  with  the  large 
business  he  transacts.  In  addition  to  his 
general  store  he  has  successfully  conducted 
an  automobile  business  for  two  years,  hav- 
ing organized  a  company  to  act  as  general 
sales  agent  in  his  section  for  a  light  weight, 
popular  priced,  six  cylinder  car.  He  was 
selectman  for  five  years,  clerk  of  the  board 
for  three  years,  and  has  long  been  an  active 
participant  in  town  affairs.    He  was  one  of 


271 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  leaders  in  the  movement  resulting  in  the 
defining  of  fire  districts,  putting  in  a  suita- 
ble town  water  supply  and  installing  ap- 
paratus for  fire  fighting  purposes.  He  was 
the  first  treasurer  of  Fire  District  Xo.  2, 
and  a  member  of  the  Prudential  Committee 
placed  in  charge  of  the  finances  of  the  dis- 
trict. He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
South  Hadley  Driving  Park  Association 
(Inc.),  and  the  first  secretary-treasurer  of 
the  association.  He  is  a  Republican  in  pol- 
tics,  and  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church,  active  in  its  afitairs,  and  under  his 
direction  a  campaign  was  inaugurated  and 
continued  which  resulted  in  freeing  the  con- 
gregation from  debt.  He  is  a  member  of 
Mt.  Holyoke  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons  ;  Mt.  Holyoke  Chapter,  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  and  Lodge  of  Perfection,  and  of 
lona  Lodge,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows.  As  an  organizer  of  business  and 
social  aflFairs  he  displays  exceptional  abil- 
ity, and  is  a  most  efficient  manager.  Honor- 
able and  upright,  he  has  won  the  unvary- 
ing respect  and  confidence  of  his  communi- 
ty, and  is  the  centre  of  a  wide  circle  of 
intimate  friends. 

Mr.  Canney  married,  October  24,  1906, 
Bessie  Maria  Gridley,  born  at  South  Hadley 
Center,  November  11,  1878.  daughter  of 
Charles  Addison  and  Martha  Pamelia  (  Mill- 
er) Gridley.  They  are  the  parents  of  two 
children :  George  Gridley.  born  February 
14,  1909,  and  Marjorie  Elizabeth,  born  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1 91 2. 

Charles  Addison  Gridley  was  born  in 
Granby,  October  27,  1845,  ^^^  son  of  Addi- 
son and  Sibbel  (Ayres)  Gridley.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Granby 
and  attended  Burnham's  Business  School  at 
Springfield.  He  started  in  business  with 
Eliott  Montague  at  South  Hadley  in  the 
general  store  line  in  1870,  and  six  years 
later  the  store  was  burned.  ]Mr.  Gridley 
moved  to  Brattleboro,  and  two  years  later. 


in  1878,  returned  to  South  Hadley,  and 
opened  the  store  of  which  he  was  the  pro- 
prietor up  to  the  time  of  his  retirement,  two 
years  prior  to  his  death.  In  1903  he  took 
his  son,  James  Leonard  Gridley,  into  part- 
nership with  him  under  the  firm  name  of 
C.  A.  Gridley  &  Son.  When  the  younger 
Mr.  Gridley  moved  to  Chicopee  three  years 
later,  George  S.  Canney,  son-in-law  of  Mr. 
Gridley,  joined  forces  with  him.  In  addi- 
tion to  conducting  the  general  store,  Mr. 
Gridley  was  for  a  long  term  of  years  a  no- 
tary public  and  conducted  a  general  insur- 
ance business.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
building  committee  picked  by  William  Gay- 
lord  to  put  through  the  building  of  the  Gay- 
lord  Memorial  Library,  and  Mr.  Gridley 
served  as  a  library  trustee  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death.  He  served  six  years  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  board,  and  for  a  long  term 
of  years  served  as  superintendent  of  Ever- 
green Cemetery,  and  that  this  cemetery  is 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  valley  is  due 
in  large  measure  to  Mr.  Gridley's  personal 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  cemetery  as- 
sociation. He  was  clerk  of  the  association 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  also  served 
on  the  committees  charged  with  the  erec- 
tion of  both  the  last  two  churches  built  at 
the  Center,  and  he  was  also  the  pioneer  in 
the  movement  to  bring  public  lighting  to 
the  Center  and  looked  on  the  successful  ac- 
complishment of  that  enterprise  with  par- 
ticular pride.  Mr.  Gridley  married  Martha 
Pamelia  Miller,  born  in  Amherst,  Massa- 
chusetts, daughter  of  Edward  Curtis  Mill- 
er. She  survives  her  husband  and  con- 
tinues her  residence  at  South  Hadley  Cen- 
ter. Their  only  son,  James  Leonard  Grid- 
ley,  born  October  4,  1876,  is  connected  with 
the  Gaylord  Kendall  National  Bank,  and 
married  Pauline  Clark.  Charles  A.  Gridley 
died  at  his  home  at  South  Hadley  Center, 
October  19,  191 6.  By  his  death  the  town 
loses  one  of  its  most  substantial  citizens,  a 


272 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


man  valuable  in  the  life  of  any  community 
for  his  devotion  to  public  affairs,  to  private 
business  and  for  an  upright  home  life. 


CAREY,  Reginald  Sidney, 

Florist. 

Reginald  Sidney  Carey,  the  well  known 
florist  of  South  Hadley,  has  had  a  long  ex- 
perience in  his  chosen  line,  his  first  ex- 
perience being  in  his  native  Bristol,  Eng- 
land, under  his  capable  father,  then  in 
London  with  a  leading  florist,  and  later  in 
the  United  States  as  manager  of  large  es- 
tates. He  is  a  thorough  master  both  of  his 
art,  landscape  gardening,  and  of  his  busi- 
ness, florist,  and  since  191 2  has  been  head 
of  a  business  developed  from  that  of  Jo- 
seph Beach,  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachu- 
setts, which  he  purchased  at  that  time.  He 
is  a  son  of  James  Fuller  Carey,  of  Bristol, 
England,  a  professional  gardener,  and  a 
grandson  of  William  Carey,  a  farmer  of 
Bristol. 

William  Carey,  born  in  Abbotts  Leigh, 
County  Somerset,  England,  followed  farm- 
ing all  his  life,  and  died  in  Bristol,  Eng- 
land, in  1886.  He  married  and  was  the 
father  of  a  family  of  seven  children,  all  now 
deceased. 

James  Fuller  Carey,  son  of  William 
Carey,  was  born  at  Abbotts  Leigh,  County 
Somerset,  England,  February  12,  1845,  ^"*^ 
died  in  Bristol,  England,  December  3,  1910. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
Bristol,  and  there  spent  his  life,  a  profes- 
sional gardener  in  care  of  large  estates.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England,  a 
man  of  strong  character,  highly  esteemed. 
He  married  Matilda  Parks,  born  in  Bristol, 
England,  of  Welsh  parentage,  her  three 
brothers  living  in  Swansea,  Wales.  She  sur- 
vives her  husband,  a  resident  of  Bristol, 
England.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carey  had  seven 
children,  all  living  and  married  and  residing 
in  England  save  Edith  Eliza,  who  accom- 


panied her  husband  to  South  Africa,  and 
Reginald  Sidney,  who  came  to  the  United 
States.  The  children  are :  Mary  Emma, 
Annie  Elizabeth,  Caroline,  Esther,  Edith 
Eliza,  William  Henry,  and  Reginald  Sid- 
ney. 

Reginald  Sidney  Carey,  son  of  James 
Fuller  Carey,  was  born  in  Bristol,  England, 
June  24,  1886,  and  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools.  As  a  boy  and  young  man  he 
worked  with  his  father  and  learned  land- 
scape gardening,  pursuing  his  vocation  on 
large  private  estates  at  Bristol.  Later  he 
went  to  London  in  the  employ  of  Veach  & 
Company,  the  largest  floral  house  in  the 
city,  and  there  learned  the  business  of  a 
florist.  With  an  expert  knowledge  of  the 
growing  of  plants  and  flowers,  and  of  the 
best  methods  of  their  sale  and  distribution, 
added  to  the  art  of  the  landscape  gardener, 
he  sought  a  new  field  of  endeavor  in  the 
United  States,  coming  in  1907.  His  first  six 
months  in  this  country  were  spent  as  as- 
sistant superintendent  of  the  magnificent 
country  estate  of  Ex-Governor  Morton  at 
RhinecliflF,  New  York.  After  the  termina- 
tion of  his  first  engagement,  he  spent  some 
time  in  Washington,  D.  C,  with  one  of  the 
leading  florists.  His  next  engagement  was 
as  manager  of  the  gardens  on  the  estate  of 
William  Guggenheim  at  Long  Branch,  New 
Jersey,  his  duties  also  including  the  man- 
agement of  the  gardens  of  Mr.  Guggen- 
heim's brother.  After  leaving  the  Gug- 
genheims,  Mr.  Carey  came  to  the  estate 
of  Joseph  Skinner  at  South  Hadley  Falls, 
where  he  spent  eighteen  months  in  design- 
ing the  landscape  feature  and  developing 
the  grounds  and  gardens  of  that  beautiful 
home.  After  completing  his  work  for  Mr. 
Skinner,  he  purchased  in  191 2  the  business 
of  Joseph  Beach,  florist,  and  has  developed 
a  wonderful  trade  in  cut  flowers,  shipping 
to  all  parts  of  New  England.  He  has  at- 
tained both  professional  and  business  prom- 
inence, and  is  but  in  the  morning  of  his  ca- 


MASS.— 7— 18. 


273 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


reer.  Mr.  Carey  was  president  of  the  Hol- 
yoke  and  Northampton  Florists  Club,  1915; 
member  of  Mt.  Holyoke  Lodge,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons ;  and  George  E.  Fisher 
Chapter,  Order  of  Eastern  Star,  both  of 
South  Hadley  Falls ;  Holyoke  Aerie,  Fra- 
ternal Order  of  Eagles ;  lona  Lodge,  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows ;  the 
Congregational  church,  and  in  political  faith 
is   strongly   Republican. 

Mr.  Carey  married,  March  23,  1912, 
Florence  Elizabeth  Canney,  born  January 
7,  1886,  daughter  of  Fremont  Warren  and 
Eva  Ann  (Stedman)  Canney  (see  Canney). 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carey  have  two  sons,  both 
born  in  South  Hadley  Falls :  Reginald 
Sidney,  Jr.,  born  February  21,  1914,  and 
Warren  James,  born  September  6,  191 5. 


COLSON,  Charles  D., 

Business  Man,  Public  Official. 

To  Mr.  Colson,  late  of  Holyoke,  belonged 
the  honor  of  holding  longer  than  any  other 
citizen  in  Massachusetts  the  position  of 
chairman  of  the  Republican  City  Commit- 
tee of  Holyoke.  Throughout  his  term  of 
thirty-five  years  he  earned  and  held  the  es- 
teem and  confidence  of  all  his  associates 
and  of  the  people  of  the  city.  As  a  business 
man  his  reputation  was  unsullied,  and  he 
retired  from  active  business  with  the  warm 
regard  and  friendship  of  all  who  were  in 
any  way  associated  with  him.  Charles  D. 
Colson  was  born  May  10,  1846,  in  Lowell, 
Massachusetts,  son  of  Sullivan  and  Delia 
(Curtis)  Colson.  His  father  went  to  Cali- 
fornia during  the  gold  fever  days  of  1849, 
and  there  died. 

The  son  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Lowell,  graduating  from  the  high  school, 
and  immediately  entered  upon  a  business  ca- 
reer as  clerk  in  the  employ  of  the  Hamil- 
ton Company,  where  he  continued  for  a  pe- 
riod of  nine  years.  In  1875  he  came  to 
Holyoke  to  fill  the  position  of  paymaster  at 


the  Lyman  Mills,  where  he  continued  six 
years.  In  1881  he  was  appointed  bookkeep- 
er and  paymaster  of  the  Whitmore  Manu- 
facturing Company,  and  continued  in  this 
position  up  to  January  i,  1916,  when  he 
retired  from  active  business,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  George  Web- 
ster. Mr.  Colson  was  very  active  in  the 
social  life  of  Holyoke,  as  well  as  in  political 
movements.  In  Lowell  he  became  affiliated 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, Oberon  Lodge,  a  member  for  twen- 
ty-eight years,  and  there  filled  all  the  offices 
of  the  subordinate  lodge,  including  that  of 
noble  grand,  and  soon  after  he  came  to 
Holyoke  he  assisted  in  forming  Holyoke 
Lodge,  No.  134,  in  which  he  also  passed 
through  all  the  chairs,  and  of  which  he  was 
a  member  until  his  death,  nearly  fifty-two 
years.  He  was  one  of  the  charter  mem- 
bers of  Tuscarora  Encampment  of  the  same 
order,  in  Holyoke,  in  which  he  held  the 
chief  offices,  and  was  one  of  the  oldest  mem- 
bers of  the  order  in  the  city.  He  held  mem- 
bership in  Canton  Patriarchs  Militant,  of 
Springfield,  the  highest  branch  of  this  or- 
der, and  was  always  an  enthusiast  in  pro- 
mulgating its  grand,  benevolent  and  fra- 
ternal principles.  He  held  official  stations 
in  various  fraternal  bodies,  including  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  of 
which  he  was  a  charter  member ;  the  Im- 
proved Order  of  Red  Men,  and  Knights  of 
Pythias.  Besides  these  organizations  he 
was  affiliated  with  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  the  Royal  Arcanum,  and 
Knights  of  Honor.  For  twenty  years  Mr. 
Colson  held  the  office  of  quartermaster  of 
the  Second  Regiment  of  Infantry,  Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer  Militia,  later  promoted 
to  lieutenant  and  later  to  captain,  at  which 
rank  he  retired.  After  having  filled  the 
position  of  chairman  of  the  Republican  City 
Committee  of  Holyoke  for  thirty-four 
terms,  upon  the  occasion  of  his  re-election 
for  the  thirty-fifth  term  he  declined  to  ac- 


274 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


cept,  and  was  very  regretfully  excused  by 
his  associates  and  co-workers.  In  that  pe- 
riod of  time  the  city  had  trebled  in  popu- 
lation, and  more  than  doubled  in  assessed 
valuation.  Mr.  Colson's  long  continuance 
in  the  position  of  chairman  testified  to  his 
fairness,  his  good  nature,  and  his  excep- 
tional executive  ability.  He  had  no  polit- 
ical enemies,  and  was  respected  by  both  his 
opponents  and  friends.  He  was  first  elect- 
ed to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  as  a  represen- 
tative of  Ward  Four,  and  continued  eight 
years  in  that  body.  Subsequently  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Common  Council.  For  sev- 
eral years  he  was  water  commissioner  of 
the  city  of  Holyoke.  He  was  a  member 
of  Company  D,  Veterans'  Association,  and 
was  always  a  w^elcome  guest  at  its  gather- 
ings. Through  his  various  activities  he  ac- 
quired a  wide  acquaintance  throughout 
Western  Massachusetts,  and  frequently  par- 
ticipated in  visitations  to  various  fraternal 
bodies.  Wherever  he  went  he  was  popular 
and  esteemed,  and  he  enjoyed  during  his 
last  years  in  quiet  retirement,  the  fruit  of 
a  long  life  of  industry.  For  several  years 
Mr.  Colson  had  spent  his  summers  at  Ston- 
ington,  Connecticut,  where  he  erected  a 
comfortable  building  and  where  he  enjoyed 
the  cooling  breezes  of  Long  Island  Sound. 
Mr.  Colson  married,  in  Holyoke,  April 
2,  1885,  Ellen  E.  Adams,  born  in  Willing- 
ton,  Connecticut,  daughter  of  Asa  and 
Cornelia  Adams,  of  Warren,  Massachu- 
setts. Mr.  Colson  was  and  Mrs.  Colson 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Holyoke.  They  have  an  adopted 
child,  Nettie  Colson,  who  married  George 
Webster,  now  paymaster  of  the  Whitmore 
Manufacturing  Company  of  Holyoke.  Mr. 
Colson  passed  away  in  Holyoke,  December 
2,   1917. 

275 


WALKER,  Charles  Edward, 
Merchant. 

When  after  a  long  term  of  clerical  ser- 
vice in  other  cities,  Mr.  Walker  returned 
to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  and  purchased 
the  sporting  goods  business  of  M.  D.  Steb- 
bins,  he  invested  it  with  his  own  energetic 
personality  and  has  attracted  to  the  largest 
sporting  goods  store  in  the  city  a  line  of 
patronage  which  attests  the  appreciation  of 
the  public  he  wishes  to  serve.  Mr.  Walker 
is  of  English  parentage,  but  of  American 
birth,  his  father,  William  Walker,  coming  to 
the  United  States  in  i860  and  settling  in 
Pittsfield,  Massachusetts. 

William  Walker  was  born  in  Derbyshire, 
England,  in  1834,  and  there  learned  the 
trade  of  wire  weaver,  using  a  hand  loom. 
He  remained  in  England  until  i860,  then 
came  to  the  United  States,  obtaining  em- 
ployment in  the  paper  mills  at  Middlefield 
after  a  prior  settlement  at  Pittsfield.  Later 
he  spent  some  time  in  the  State  of  Connec- 
ticut, then  returned  to  Middlefield,  thence 
about  1891  locating  in  Holyoke,  where  for 
a  number  of  years  he  has  lived  retired  from 
active  life.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church,  and  a  man  of  up- 
right life,  highly  regarded.  Mr.  Walker 
married  Ruth  Scholls,  born  in  Yorkshire, 
England,  daughter  of  Isaac  Scholls.  They 
are  the  parents  of  six  sons:  Elijah,  mar- 
ried, has  a  son  Harold  Walker,  married, 
and  has  a  daughter,  Alta  Walker ;  William, 
married,  and  has  children.  Earl,  Robert, 
Fred  and  Francis  Walker ;  Frank ;  George, 
married,  and  has  children,  Dorothy,  Eliz- 
abeth, Mildred,  Lucy,  and  Ralph  Walker; 
Fred,  married,  and  has  children:  Ruth, 
William,  Agnes,  Esther  and  Fred  (2) 
Walker ;  Charles  Edward,  mentioned  be- 
low. 

Charles    Edward    Walker    was    born    at 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Middlefield,  Massachusetts,  August  22, 
1868.  He  was  educated  in  the  pubHc 
schools  of  South  Windsor,  Connecticut, 
North  Adams  and  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts. He  began  his  wage  earning  career  in 
a  clerical  position  with  a  paper  manufac- 
turing mill  at  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  re- 
turning to  Massachusetts  after  eighteen 
months,  obtaining  a  position  as  clerk  in  a 
Huntington  store.  He  spent  three  years 
in  Huntington,  then  for  a  year  and  a  half 
was  a  clerk  in  the  H.  W.  Cooley  grocery 
business  in  Holyoke.  He  was  next  em- 
ployed in  a  general  store  at  Chester,  Mas- 
sachusetts, for  two  years,  then  returned  to 
Holyoke,  filling  for  a  time  a  clerical  posi- 
tion in  the  J.  B.  Whitmore  General  Store. 
The  next  eight  years  were  spent  as  clerk 
in  the  Springfield  department  store  of  Mee- 
kins,  Packard  &  Wheat,  which  service  ter- 
minated his  clerical  career. 

These  years  spent  in  different  cities  in 
varied  mercantile  lines  had  invested  him 
with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  modern  mer- 
chandising, a  clear  idea  of  its  pitfalls  and 
with  well  digested  plans  for  his  own  fu- 
ture. Believing  himself  to  have  arrived  at 
the  proper  time  of  life  to  engage  in  busi- 
ness for  himself,  and  to  have  found  the 
proper  opening  in  Holyoke,  he  purchased 
the  sporting  goods  business  of  M.  D.  Steb- 
bins.  His  keen  judgment  guided  him  wise- 
ly in  making  this  investment,  and  the  years 
which  have  since  intervened  have  brought 
him  prosperity.  The  business  is  conducted 
under  the  firm  name  of  C.E.Walker  &  Com- 
pany ;  all  kinds  of  sporting  goods  of  su- 
perior manufacture  are  handled,  the  store 
is  headquarters  for  that  line  of  goods  in 
the  city,  in  fact  outside  of  the  largest  cit- 
ies no  larger  or  better  stocked  store  can 
be  found.  In  1904  Mr.  Walker  bought  the 
business  block  at  No.  396  High  street,  and 
occupies  its  floors  as  sales  and  display 
rooms.  Above  this  store  he  uses  the  sec- 
ond floor,  covering  the  space  over  the  stores 


of  Nos.  394,  396  and  398,  taking  up  the 
entire  block  on  that  floor,  and  carrying  the 
largest  stock  of  sporting  goods  in  Western 
Massachusetts. 

To  his  business  enterprise,  Mr.  Walker 
adds  fraternal  and  social  activities,  and  he 
is  one  of  the  popular  men  of  his  city.  He 
is  a  member  of  Mt.  Tom  Lodge,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons;  Mt.  Holyoke  Chapter, 
Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Holyoke  Council, 
Royal  and  Select  Masters ;  Springfield  Com- 
mandery.  Knights  Templar;  Melha  Tem- 
ple, Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine ;  Bay  State 
Club ;  Holyoke  Canoe  Club ;  and  Second 
Baptist  Church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican. 

Mr.  Walker  married  (first)  May  24, 
1893,  Emma  Galbraith,  born  in  South  Rox- 
ton,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  daughter 
of  Major  Joseph  and  Isabelle  (Howe)  Gal- 
braith. They  were  the  parents  of  a  son, 
Roy  Galbraith,  born  in  Springfield,  Mas- 
sachusetts, May  24,  1895,  a  graduate  of 
Holyoke  High  School,  now  associated  in 
business  with  his  father,  and  of  a  daughter, 
Leah  Emma,  born  July  21,  1897.  Mrs.  Em- 
ma (Galbraith)  Walker  died  January  4, 
1900.  Mr.  Walker  married  (second)  Sa- 
rah Squires,  of  Plattsburg,  New  York. 


COLVIN,  Lewis  A., 

Businegs  Man. 

At  one  time  the  iron  foundry  operated 
by  the  Colvins  was  one  of  the  largest  in  the 
city  of  Worcester,  and  one  of  the  noted 
plants  of  the  city.  There  a  general  foundry 
business  was  conducted,  many  of  the  fac- 
tories and  mills  of  Worcester  having  special 
work  done,  some  of  the  mills  including  the 
Knowles  Loom  Works,  being  supplied  with 
all  their  castings  from  the  Colvin  foundry. 
The  plant  was  established  by  James  A.  Col- 
vin and  when  his  son,  Lewis  A.  Colvin,  ar- 
rived at  a  suitable  age  he  joined  his  father 
and  eventually  became  head  of  the  business. 


276 


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riY 


g  up  the 
rying  the 


yuebec,  Caj 

— i  Isabelle  <  xi^' 
^h'^  parents  of 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Lewis  A.  Colvin,  son  of  James  A.  and 
Amey  A.  (Johnson)  Colvin,  was  born  in 
Danielson,  Connecticut,  in  1864,  and  died 
in  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  April  8,  191 5. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  school,  and 
after  his  years  of  educational  preparation 
were  completed  he  began  his  business  ca- 
reer in  association  with  his  father  in  the 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  foundry.  He 
continued  active  and  prominent  in  the  busi- 
ness life  of  Worcester  until  his  death.  He 
was  a  man  of  strong  character  and  business 
ability,  successful  in  his  undertakings,  and 
highly  respected  by  his  associates  in  busi- 
ness and  social  circles.  He  was  absorbed 
in  business,  taking  little  interest  in  city  af- 
fairs, but  a  lover  of  home  and  family.  Mr. 
Colvin  is  survived  by  his  wife,  Sara  H. 
Colvin,  by  a  son,  Kenneth,  and  a  daughter, 
Amey  L. 


DICKINSON,  Everett  Mifflin, 

Investment    Broker. 

Mr.  Dickinson,  a  descendant  of  early  col- 
onists of  New  England,  came  to  Holyoke, 
in  1 90 1,  and  has  since  been  a  prominent 
figure  in  commercial  and  financial  circles. 
He  is  a  native  son  of  New  York,  and  in 
1890  returned  to  the  State  to  which  his  an- 
cestor, Nathaniel  Dickinson,  came  from 
Connecticut,  in  1659.  This  founder  of  the 
Dickinson  family  in  New  England,  Nathan- 
iel Dickinson  was  born  in  England,  and 
came  to  this  country  as  early  as  1637,  mak- 
ing his  home  in  that  year  at  Wethersfield, 
Connecticut.  In  1645  he  was  town  clerk  of 
Wethersfield,  and  from  1646  to  1656  rep- 
resented the  town  in  the  General  Assembly. 
In  1659  he  settled  in  Hadley,  Massachu- 
setts; in  1661  was  admitted  a  freeman  of 
Massachusetts  by  the  General  Court ;  for 
many  years  was  deacon  of  the  Hadley 
Church  and  first  recorder  of  the  town.  For 
a  few  years  he  lived  in  Hatfield,  but  re- 
turned to  Hadley  and  there  died,  June  16, 


1676.  Children  by  wife,  Anne:  Samuel, 
born  July,  1638,  Obadiah,  April  16,  1641 ; 
Nathaniel,  August,  1643;  Nehemiah,  1645; 
Hezekiah,  February,  1645 !  Amariah,  Oc- 
tober 4,  1648;  Thomas;  Joseph;  John; 
Anna  or  Hannah,  married  (first)  John 
Clary,  and  (second)  Enos  Kingsley. 

In  later  years  Christopher  Dickinson,  a 
descendant  of  Nathaniel  Dickinson,  found- 
ed a  branch  of  the  family  in  Canaan,  New 
York,  and  from  Christopher  Dickinson 
comes  Everett  Mifflin  Dickinson,  of  Hol- 
yoke. Christopher  Dickinson,  born  in  Con- 
necticut, in  1740,  left  his  native  State  after 
the  Revolutionary  War,  settled  with  his 
family  at  Canaan,  Columbia  county,  New 
York,  where  he  followed  the  pursuits  of  a 
farmer  until  his  death.  One  of  the  family 
which  accompanied  him  to  Canaan  was 
his  son  James,  born  in  Connecticut,  not  lat- 
er than  1774,  who  in  youthful  manhood 
joined  the  tide  flowing  westward,  but  found 
a  satisfactory  location  at  Roseboom,  Otsego 
county,  New  York.  This  James  Dickinson 
was  one  of  the  true  pioneers  and  from  the 
wilderness  wrested  a  good  farm,  upon 
which  the  greater  part  of  his  years,  seven- 
ty-seven, were  spent  clearing,  improving 
and  cultivating. 

In  the  next  generation  the  spirit  of  un- 
rest, adventure,  ambition  or  whatever  the 
contrary  influence  may  be  called  which 
takes  man  away  from  his  home  and  sends 
him  forth  to  seek  fortune  in  other  places 
claimed  Lyman  Dickinson,  son  of  James 
Dickinson  and  grandson  of  Christopher 
Dickinson,  and  he  carried  the  name  to 
Northern  Indiana.  Lyman  Dickinson  was 
born  in  Canaan,  New  York,  one  of  seven 
sons  and  daughters  of  James  Dickinson,  the 
first  dweller  and  owner  of  the  Homestead 
farm  in  Roseboom,  Otsego  county.  It  was 
on  that  farm  that  Lyman  Dickinson  grew  to 
manhood,  but  as  soon  as  he  came  to  legal 
age  he  left  the  homestead  and  engaged  for  a 
number  of  years  in  farming  and  mechanical 


277 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


work  at  Henrietta,  New  York.  From  there 
he  went  to  Northern  Indiana,  there  remain- 
ing ten  years  before  returning  to  the  old 
home  in  Roseboom,  New  York.  There  he 
remained  several  years,  but  finally  bought 
a  farm  in  the  Tioga  \'alley,  New  York, 
upon  which  he  spent  the  balance  of  his 
years,  eighty-eight.  He  was  a  man  of  good 
standing,  a  Presbyterian  in  religious  pref- 
erence, and  even  after  passing  to  octogenari- 
an honors  was  quite  active. 

His  first  wife,  Harriet  A.  (Webster) 
Dickinson,  a  Quakeress,  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-six  years,  leaving  a  son.  Charles. 
He  married  (second)  Sarah  Sutphen,  who 
died  aged  eighty,  and  they  were  the  parents 
of  Orville,  yet  living ;  Lyman  D.,  and  three 
others,  all  now  deceased.  Harriet  A.  Web- 
ster was  born  in  Canaan,  New  York,  and 
was  a  descendant  of  John  Webster,  fifth 
Governor  of  Connecticut,  a  founder  of 
Hartford,  magistrate,  deputy  governor, 
(1656)  first  magistrate  of  the  colony,  led 
the  list  of  signers  agreeing  to  move  to  Had- 
ley,  Massachusetts,  went  to  Northampton, 
there  became  a  judge,  and  died  April  5, 
1661.  From  him  descended  Daniel  Web- 
ster, the  eloquent  statesman  through  Thom- 
as Webster,  his  third  son ;  and  from  Robert 
W^ebster,  the  fourth  son  of  Governor  Web- 
ster, sprang  the  lexicographer,  Noah  Web- 
ster. The  line  of  descent  to  Harriet  A. 
Webster  is  also  through  William  Webster, 
eighth  son  of  Robert  Webster;  Samuel 
Webster,  the  fifth  son  of  William  and  Sarah 

(Nichols)  Webster,  married  Elizabeth . 

Their  son,  Aaron  Webster,  a  favorite  scout 
of  General  Putnam,  who  settled  in  Canaan. 
New  York,  then  went  with  the  Dickinsons 
to  Roseboom.  Otsego  county,  married  Mary 
Shepard ;  their  son,  Aaron  (2)  Webster, 
married  Amy  Bentley,  and  their  sixth  child. 
Harriet  A.  Webster,  married  Lyman  Dick- 
inson. 

Charles  Dickinson,  only  son  of  Lyman 
and  Harriet  A.   (Webster)   Dickinson,  was 


born  in  Henrietta,  Monroe  county,  New 
York,  May  31,  1833,  and  died  April  29, 
1913,  at  the  home  of  his  only  daughter.  Hat- 
tie  A.  Shafer,  in  Cobleskill,  New  York.  Af- 
ter completing  public  school  and  the 
Academy  courses,  at  Cherry  Valley,  New 
York,  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  with 
Dr.  James  E.  Sutphen,  of  Seward,  New 
York,  subsequently  completing  his  studies 
at  Albany  Medical  College  (now  the  med- 
ical department  of  Union  University),  Al- 
bany, New  York,  and  there  received  his 
'M.  D.  in  class  of  i860.  After  graduation 
he  at  once  began  practice  in  Seward,  re- 
mained here  until  1869,  then  moved  to 
Binghamton,  New  York,  but  eighteen 
months  later  returned  to  Seward  and  there 
practiced  until  1910,  when  he  retired,  after 
being  in  practice  half  a  century,  a  record 
equalled  by  no  other  physician  of  that  sec- 
tion. He  was  a  skilled  physician,  greatly 
beloved,  a  capable  business  man,  a  wide 
reader,  deep  student,  and  a  citizen  of  high- 
est repute.  In  his  practice  he  gave  himself 
unreservedly  to  the  demands  of  a  very  large 
clientele  during  most  of  his  life,  but  when 
the  years  grew  heavy  and  the  shadows  long, 
he  limited  his  activities  to  an  office  prac- 
tice. He  was  a  member  of  the  Schoharie 
County  Medical  Society,  wrote  and  read 
many  papers  of  medical  value  before  the 
society,  served  as  its  president,  and  was 
often  delegate  from  the  society  to  the  an- 
nual meetings  of  the  New  York  State  Med- 
ical Society,  of  which  he  was  a  member.  He 
continued  in  practice  until  191  o,  then  retired 
and  spent  three  years  in  his  favorite  pur- 
suits at  the  home  of  his  son-in-law,  Clar- 
ence H.  Shafer,  where  he  met  and  cheer- 
fully responded  to  the  call  of  the  Great 
Physician,  having  nearly  attained  octoge- 
narian honors. 

During  the  summer  of  1896,  Dr.  Dickin- 
son went  abroad,  and  while  absent  wrote 
several  travel  letters  which  appeared  in  the 
"Cobleskill  Index."'     His  study  carried  him 


278 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


far  beyond  medicine  into  the  realm  of  sci- 
ence and  literature,  the  learned,  skillful 
physician  being  not  more  esteemed  than  the 
cultured  gentlemen,  who  was  an  authority  on 
other  subjects.  He  was  one  of  the  strong 
men  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Schoharie 
county,  and  for  years  took  an  active  part 
in  public  affairs.  He  held  the  office  of  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  of  the  town  of  Seward.  He 
was  state  railroad  commissioner  and  held 
other  offices  of  honor  and  trust  during  the 
years  when  the  physical  man  could  carry 
the  weight  of  both  private  and  public  busi- 
ness. He  was  an  active  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  during  the 
half  century  of  practice  in  Seward  he  was 
for  thirty-four  years  of  that  period  a  teach- 
er in  the  Sunday  school  of  his  church.  He 
was  also  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order. 

Dr.  Charles  Dickinson  married,  in  1859, 
Celia  M.  France,  who  died  aged  thirty- 
eight  years ;  she  was  the  daughter  of  Gil- 
bert France,  and  a  descendant  of  Sebastian 
Frantz,  the  first  of  his  family  to  come  to 
America.  He  was  born  in  Wurtemberg, 
Germany,  in  1732;  married  Anna  Fritz, 
born  in  Wurtemberg,  1733,  and  soon  after- 
ward came  with  other  German  Lutherans  to 
this  country,  landing  in  New  York,  in  No- 
vember, 1753.  He  located  in  what  is  now 
the  town  of  Seward,  New  York.  He  was 
a  man  of  great  piety  and  zeal.  From  the 
fatherland  he  brought  with  him  his  Bible, 
which  has  been  preserved  and  is  now  in 
the  possession  of  his  descendants.  Children 
of  Sebastian  and  Anna  Frantz :  Anna, 
Ernest,  Christopher,  Eva,  Elizabeth,  Ja- 
cob, Margaretta,  John,  Catherine,  Henry, 
Lena,  Lawrence  and  David. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  the  two 
elder  sons,  Christopher  and  Jacob  Frantz, 
enlisted  in  the  American  army.  Sebastian 
was  occupied  in  the  government  service 
and  away  from  home  when  his  home  was 
entered  by  an  Indian  Chief  in  the  employ  of 
the  British ;  two  of  his  sons,  John  and  Hen- 


ry, were  taken  as  prisoners ;  his  barn  and 
other  buildings  destroyed  by  fire.  Sebas- 
tian's wife  made  her  escape  with  the  other 
children  and  for  three  days  was  in  hiding 
on  Gravel  Mountain,  not  daring  to  make  a 
fire  for  fear  of  revealing  her  hiding  place. 
The  son  John  was  killed  and  scalped,  but  the 
son  Henry  escaped  on  the  day  he  was  taken. 
The  young  woman  who  was  engaged  to  be 
married  to  Christopher  was  slain.  Sebas- 
tian Frantz  died  in  1805  and  his  widow  in 
1 81 6.  Henry  Frantz,  son  of  Sebastian 
Frantz,  married  Maria  Horn.  They  had  fif- 
teen children,  all  of  whom  with  one  excep- 
tion lived  to  maturity  and  thirteen  had 
children. 

Gilbert  G.  France,  the  youngest  son  of 
Henry  Frantz,  was  born  December  25,  1816, 
and  was  the  last  survivor  of  the  family. 
When  a  young  man  he  took  up  government 
land  in  Wisconsin  and  the  "grant"  of  the 
land,  signed  by  President  Polk,  is  in  pos- 
session of  his  descendants.  He  cleared  the 
land  and  lived  for  many  years  in  what  is 
now  the  town  of  Sharon,  but  eventually  re- 
turned to  New  York  State  and  located  at 
Seward.  He  was  an  active,  useful  and 
prominent  citizen ;  one  of  the  promoters  of 
the  railroad  which  connects  Cherry  Valley 
with  Cobleskill,  and  he  was  railroad  com- 
missioner for  fifteen  years.  He  married, 
in  1840,  Angeline  Ottman,  daughter  of 
Christian  Ottman.  They  were  the  parents 
of  Celia  M.,  who  married  Dr.  Charles  Dick- 
inson, Augusta,  Anna,  Helen,  Millard  Fil- 
more,  Ida,  and  Frank  H.  France. 

Dr.  Charles  and  Celia  M.  (France)  Dick- 
inson were  the  parents  of  sons :  Everett 
Mifilin  and  Melville  Day  Dickinson,  and  a 
daughter,  Hattie  Angeline,  a  graduate  of 
the  Cobleskill  High  School.  She  married 
Clarence  H.  Shafer,  a  jeweler  of  Coble- 
skill, New  York.  Melville  Day  Dickinson 
was  a  graduate  of  Cobleskill  High  School, 
attended  Cornell  University  for  two  years, 
studied  medicine  under  his  father's  direc- 


279 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tion,  then  entered  Albany  Medical  College ; 
(also  his  father's  Alma  Mater)  and  there 
was  graduated  M.  D.  with  the  class  of 
1890.  He  at  once  began  practice  at  Troy, 
New  York,  and  is  now  senior  surgeon  at 
the  Troy  City  Hospital  and  attending  phy- 
sician to  St.  Vincent's  Orphan  Asylum,  dep- 
uty health  offtcer  and  medical  inspector  of 
schools  of  Troy,  New  York.  He  married 
Emma  G.  Cole.  They  have  one  son,  Mel- 
ville Day  Dickinson,  Jr. 

Everett  Mifflin  Dickinson,  eldest  son  of 
Dr.  Charles  and  Celia  M.  (France)  Dick- 
inson, was  born  in  Seward,  Schoharie  coun- 
ty. New  York,  May  16,  1864.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  Seward  grade  and  Cobleskill  High 
Schools.  He  served  an  apprenticeship  at 
watchmaking  at  Clayville,  New  York,  and 
for  seven  years  was  with  one  of  the  Albany, 
New  York,  leading  jewelers.  In  1890  he 
established  in  the  jewelry  business  under 
his  own  name  in  North  Adams,  Massachu- 
setts, there  continued  in  business  for  eleven 
years.  In  1901  he  closed  out  his  North 
Adams  interests  and  located  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  that  city  ever  since  has  been 
his  home  and  scene  of  his  business  activity. 
From  1901  imtil  1908  he  conducted  a  sta- 
tionery and  art  store  of  high  class.  He  then 
retired  from  mercantile  life  to  become  an 
investment  broker,  and  by  close  attention  to 
business  has  built  up  a  very  substantial 
clientele,  for  high  grade  securities.  Mr. 
Dickinson,  in  his  sixteen  years'  residence  in 
Holyoke,  has  closely  identified  himself  with 
•other  than  business  interests  of  the  city.  He 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Religious 
Educational  Association  of  Holyoke  and  vi- 
cinity. He  was  chosen  its  first  president. 
He  was  head  of  the  Hampden  District  Sun- 
'day  School  Association,  a  member  of  the 
First  Congregational  Church,  a  teacher  and 
:superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school.  His 
inasonic  memberships  are :  Temple  Lodge, 
INo.  14,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Albany, 
NIew  York ;  Composit  Chapter,  Royal  Arch 


Masons,  North  Adams,  Massachusetts ; 
Springfield  Commandery,  Knights  Temp- 
lar ;  and  Melba  Temple,  Nobles  of  the  Mys- 
tic Shrine,  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
also  a  member  of  Mount  Tom  Golf  Club. 
His  sympathies  are  broad,  and  while  his 
own  life  is  ordered  strictly  according  to  the 
rules  he  has  found  the  best,  he  gives  to 
every  man  the  same  rights  he  demands  for 
himself  and  questions  no  man's  decision  on 
matters  purely  personal. 

Mr.  Dickinson  married  (first)  October 
19,  1885,  Laura  C.  Mann,  of  Cobleskill, 
New  York,  who  died  April  i,  1894,  at 
North  Adams,  Massachusetts.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Peter  S.  and  Ellen  E. 
(Gurley)  Mann.  He  married  (second)  Oc- 
tober 29,  1895,  Mrs.  Louise  (Tower)  Wal- 
lace, daughter  of  John  W.  and  Elizabeth 
E.  (Peavey)  Tower.  By  her  first  marriage 
Mrs.  Dickinson  has  a  daughter,  Gertrude  L. 
Wallace,  who  attended  Simmons  College, 
and  married,  November  25,  1916,  Philip 
Foster  Shutler,  a  graduate  of  Union  Col- 
lege, class  of  1910;  A.  B.  and  B.  E. ;  a 
member  of  the  Phi  Delta  Theta  Fraternity, 
and  Sigma  Xi.  Everett  M.  and  Laura  C. 
(Mann)  Dickinson  are  the  parents  of: 
I.  Angle  Celia,  born  August  21,  1887;  she 
attended  Simmons  College,  and  married, 
June  30,  191 5,  Arthur  Edmund  French,  of 
Holyoke,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College, 
class  of  1912,  a  member  of  Psi  Upsilon 
Fraternity,  son  of  Arthur  M.  and  Millicent 
(Rideout)  French,  and  they  are  the  par- 
ents of  Arthur  Edmund  French,  born  June 
12,  1916;  he  is  of  the  eleventh  generation 
of  the  family  founded  in  New  England  by 
Governor  John  Webster,  of  Connecticut, 
through  his  great-great-grandmother,  Har- 
riet A.  (Webster)  Dickinson,  the  wife  of 
Lyman  Dickinson.  2.  Everett  Mann,  born 
November  25,  1889;  a  graduate  of  Rens- 
selaer Polytechnic  Institute  as  C.  E.,  class 
of  191 3,  a  member  of  Delta  Tau  Delta  Fra- 
ternity, now  manager  of  the  advertising  de- 


280 


■^Ui:, 


Wt 


Qj<iAejj^Ji     cL.^aJ^r^ayf7iAQi6^ 


'4UUlCAPii\ 


Aav.  r  of   W'iiiiam  Page  anci 

:  '";    Newman,   of   Albany,    i  <  vn 

They   have   one    daughter,    Helen 
Prentice     Dickinson,     bom    November    5, 

'    '"        '  '     -•     '  - ' 'i;:rton,   Massa- 


LAFRP 


ibert. 


^Ir.  Lafrajiiuu  n-  ch?';'.- 
n  his  association  with 
ests  of  the  city,  an  : 
tent  effort  has  rl 
as  president  of 
Coal  Company.    He  is  a  grcc 
Devagnon    Laframboise,    who   c  aTjc    v  oni 
France  to  Canada,  there  being  a  tradition 
in  the  family  that  he  had  at  one  time  hel 
tral  in  the  French  Armv 
'Uowed  the  peaceful  pur 
ilture  and  tilled  his  own  acres. 
■a  j  '"rancois,  Felix,  Henry  and 


He  work 


and  bu-; 
the    real    estate    activ 
boise  was  one  of  the  o 
Northampton  Volunteer   j 
and    for   thirty-three   years   was   assistant 
chief  of    '  nts.     It  is  r  ' 

much  to  .     I  no  better 

lonned  a  helmet  than  he.    When  he  finally 
reliri-d   fron^i    "         '     nrtment  he 
"-■•t'^d    with  Clip   comme 

!s  record  charter  member 

o;    ■■  ■     '      '    y    CI    :;l.    Jean    "■"  v"^ 

Nor"  .  and  a  man  oi 

iry  Tisdale,  born 


and  Mary 

vvcic  the  y  '  seven 

ria,  married  Jer  Drar 

seph  Albert,  of  further  mention  : 
married  O.  J.  Adams,  of  New  Hav.;a.  Lou 
tiecticut;    Cora,  Sister  Ursula,  a  Sister  0) 
harity  in  a  Convent  at  Bristol,  Connec- 
'  ">uis;    Antoinette,  married   F-      ■ 
';   George,  Brother  Pierre 
hristian  School  at  Baltir 

born  i. 


educated 


;hoi.)i 


Felix 

Scb^' 

in  :',,,,. 

sachusetf 

Vacksrr-- 
.cKttd  :,, 
'  ipton,  Ma 


Northampton,  there 
In  1904  he  Ic 
-'■ent  partri'"' 
•-s  of  1- 


<:f<J4S<* 


oZiA^e'CCvx-  yis2^^^<./\JLZZi^/y^^ 


ember  2i,  1899,  Mi.  Charoii  waa 


10   Julia    Ber' 


e  and  Adeline 

Holyoke.      T' 

childre"  •      ^  ' 
and   : 


daughter  of 
■ergeron,  oi 
.  nts   of    five 


s  shown  a  will- 
,  .    dertake  work  re- 
■',   promptness,   and   ardr 

is  known  in  the  commiui..; 
.  es  as  an  expert  dairyman  and 
;Mock-raiser. 

Felix  Charoii  »^i.-.  u'jin  October  5,  1880, 

'n  Canada,  the  son  of  Joseph  Charon,  whose 

history  appears  in  the  preceding  sketch  of 

■  1  '  'r^?.ron,  and  Julia  (Charrette)  Char- 

yeat-  1890  be  rame  to  the  United 

here  in  Wiscon- 


twenty- 


.iliiC    L'l'.  ■ 

r-r   ni   th 


To  the;^ 
T^' '"monu 

Bertha, 
'it  Catherine,  I.- 


CHRETIEN, Lucien, 

Contractor,   Builder. 

For  a  quarter  of  a  century  Mr.  Chretien 
has  been  a  resident  of  Holyoke  and  Spri'^^'^- 
field,  Massachusetts,  his  New  England  '  - 
idence  only  having  been  broken  by  a  yt      s 

onnec- 
■,,  htb  pii  ir 

;,,,,•.  ie 

ve 
i.  )al 

of 

re- 

thc    'Cami)  ia" 

.1.     u..  i9i6,  the  "Com- 

He   is  a  tjr^ndson   of 


issa-     i" 
283 


const; 
sides,  wa 

in    191 5,    til.:       v   ..;<.'i 

modore"   in   191 7. 

Louis    Chretien,    of    St.    Joh;  bee, 

Canada,  a  farmer  and  brickma  son 

of  Fv^n.orelis  Chretjen,  also  a  and 

of  Quebec.    Louis  Chre         had 

'  Denis,  Alphonst-,     .rch- 

.mgelis.   Arcuille,   all  of 

whom  lived  in  the  Province  of  Quebec,  and 

•ler's  trade,  biickmaking. 

r.  1     St. 

there 
>m  his 
arried 
da,  in 
sachu- 
iter  of 
mteau- 
.eudde, 
n   Hol- 
low de- 
married 
,ed    Al- 


cien    was 
nada.  in 


C^w^--*^- 


"ioyA.ySJLZZiA/^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Thomas  Boyd's.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolution  in  Captain  Benjamin  Plumer's 
company,  Colonel  William  Jones's  regiment, 
July  6  to  September  24,  1779,  serving  at 
Majorbagaduce,  Maine.  (See  p.  740,  Vol. 
II,  Mass.  Soldiers  and  Sailors  of  the  Revo- 
lution).     He    married    (first)    at    Kittery, 

Huldah  ,  who  died  June   15,   1813; 

(second)  in  1814,  Hannah  Booker,  who 
died  June  2,  1846,  aged  ninety-seven  years. 
Children :  Samuel,  mentioned  below  ;  Wil- 
liam, born  April  17,  1767;  John,  March  23, 
1769;  Elizabeth,  March  31,  1771  ;  Jere- 
miah, February  27,  1773;  Elihu,  February 
23,  1775;  Huldah,  May  13,  1777;  Robert, 
February  19,  1780;  Joseph,  October  8, 
1 781. 

(V)  Samuel  (2)  Bryer,  son  of  Samuel 
(i)  Bryer,  was  born  at  Kittery,  Maine,  July 
10,  1765,  and  died  August  5,  1848.  He  mar- 
ried at  Boothbay,  in  1793,  Betsey,  daughter 
of  William  McCobb.  She  died  August  5, 
1849.  They  lived  on  a  farm  adjoining  his 
father's  homestead.  Children,  born  in 
Boothbay:  Samuel,  born  April  i,  1794, 
married  Huldah  Bryer;  Mary,  May  13, 
1796;  Betsey,  January  5,  1798;  Rachel, 
September  2^,  1799;  John,  mentioned  be- 
low. 

(VI)  John  Bryer,  son  of  Samuel  (2) 
Bryer,  was  born  at  Boothbay,  Maine,  Au- 
gust 13,  1803,  and  died  there  in  his  eighty- 
sixth  year.  He  resided  at  Pleasant  Cove 
on  the  farm  originally  settled  by  his  grand- 
father and  still  owned  by  the  Bryer  fam- 
ily. He  married,  in  1828,  Elizabeth  Giles, 
and  they  had  children :  Caroline,  John,  Hat- 
tie,  Susan,  Charles,  and  Samuel  G.,  men- 
tioned below. 

(VII)  Samuel  G.  Bryer,  son  of  John 
Bryer,  was  born  about  1836  in  Boothbay, 
and  lived  in  that  town  and  in  Lynn  and 
Saugus,  Massachusetts.  He  followed  the 
trade  of  quarryman  in  Lynn.  He  served  in 
the  United  States  navy  for  three  years  in 
the  Civil  War,  enlisting  at  Boston.  He  mar- 


ried Susan  G.  Goldsmith,  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin Goldsmith.  Her  father  served  in 
Company  F,  commanded  by  Captain  Edwin 
Knell,  of  Wiscasset,  Maine,  in  the  Twenty- 
eighth  Regiment,  Maine  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, in  the  Civil  War,  and  took  part  in  the 
battle  of  Cairo  Station,  West  Virginia.  Her 
maternal  grandfather  was  a  soldier  in  the 
War  of  1 81 2,  and  her  maternal  grandmoth- 
er and  sister  both  lived  to  the  age  of  one 
hundred  and  one  years.  Her  mother  lived 
to  the  age  of  more  than  eighty  years.  Chil- 
dren of  Samuel  G.  and  Susan  G.  Bryer : 
Arthur  E.,  mentioned  below  ;  Joseph  G.,  an 
attorney,  chairman  of  the  school  commit- 
tee at  Cliftondale,  Massachusetts. 

(VIII)  Arthur  E.  Bryer,  son  of  Samuel 
G.  Bryer,  was  born  in  Saugus,  Maine,  May 
21,  1868.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  town,  and  soon  after  he  grad- 
uated from  the  grammar  school,  went  with 
his  parents  to  Boothbay,  Maine,  where  he 
lived  until  he  came  of  age,  assisting  his 
father  in  conducting  the  old  homestead 
farm.  Then  he  removed  to  Lynn,  where  he 
was  employed  for  a  year  as  driver  of  a 
horse  car  plying  between  Lynn  and 
Swampscott,  the  distance  being  covered  in  a 
period  of  forty-five  minutes.  He  was  after- 
ward associated  with  his  father  in  the  quar- 
rying business  for  two  years.  Since  that 
time  he  has  been  in  business  on  his  own 
account  in  Lynn,  a  general  contractor.  From 
a  small  beginning  he  has  built  up  a  large 
and  flourishing  business,  making  a  specialty 
of  contracts  for  excavating,  and  for  the 
construction  of  roads  and  sewers.  Mr. 
Bryer  is  a  man  of  public  spirit  and  keenly 
interested  in  municipal  affairs.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican,  but  independent  of  par- 
ty dictation.  His  formula  for  success  in 
life  is  briefly  and  bluntly  stated :  "Do  an 
honest  job  and  pay  your  debts."  His  repu- 
tation in  business  circles  shows  that  he  lives 
up  to  his  creed.  He  is  a  member  of  Bay- 
side    Lodge,    Independent    Order    of    Odd 


285 


E-NXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Fellows,  and  Palestine  Encampment  of  the 
same  order.  The  family  attends  the  North 
Congregational  Church  of  Lyrm. 

Mr.  Bryer  married,  Jime  27,  1895.  An- 
nie Trask.  daughter  of  Addison  Trask,  of 
Edgecomb,  Maine.  Children:  Amos,  died 
at  the  age  of  fourteen  years ;  Frank,  bom 
1898;  Everett,  bom  1900;  Walter,  born 
1901 ;   Susie,  bom  1904. 


WALKER,  Harold  Elijah, 

Representatire  Citizen- 
Three  generations  of  this  family  have 
been  cormected  with  paper  manufacture  in 
Holyoke,  William  Walker,  the  grandfather, 
who  came  from  England,  in  1863;  Elijah 
C.  Walker,  his  son.  also  born  in  England ; 
and  Harold  E.  Walker,  born  in  Middlefield, 
Massachusetts,  where  the  family  first  found 
a  home  in  the  United  States.  \Mlliam 
W^alker  was  bom  in  Derbyshire.  England. 
in  1834,  and  is  now  living  in  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, long  since  retired  from  active 
part  in  the  industrial  world.  In  Derbyshire 
he  learned  the  trade  of  wire  weaver,  using 
a  hand  loom,  and  remained  in  his  native 
land  until  i860,  when  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  settling  first  at  Pittsneld,  Massachu- 
setts, where  five  years  were  spent  in  the 
woolen  mills,  then  moving  to  Middletield, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  found  employment 
in  the  paper  mills.  Two  years  were  next 
spent  in  a  paper  mill  at  Bancroft,  Massa- 
chusetts, after  which  he  was  employed  in  a 
paper  mill  at  South  Windsor,  Connecticut. 
Later  he  again  located  at  Middlefield.  his 
home  until  about  1 891,  when  he  moved  to 
Holyoke,  continuing  active  in  business  there 
until  his  retirement  about  1907.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
a  man  of  integritj'  and  blameless  character. 
He  married  Ruth  Scholis,  bom  in  York- 
shire, England,  daughter  of  Isaac  Scholis. 
they  the  parents  of  six  sons:  Elijah  C, 
of  further  mention  ;   William,  a  paper  mak- 


er of  East  Hartford,  Connecticut,  married 
and  has  children :  Earl.  Robert,  Fred.  Fran- 
ces ;  Frank,  of  Holyoke  ;  George,  who  is  em- 
ployed with  the  Irvnng  Paper  Company  of 
Orange,  Massachusetts,  married  and  has 
children :  Dorothy,  Elizabeth,  ISIildred,  Lu- 
cy, Ralph  :  Frederick  Isaac,  of  Boston,  mar- 
ried and  has  children :  Ruth,  William.  Ag- 
nes, Esther.  Frederick :  Charles  Edward,  a 
merchant  of  Holyoke. 

Elijah  C.  W  alker  was  born  in  Glossop, 
Derbyshire,  England,  September  19,  1861, 
now  a  resident  of  Holyoke,  sales  manager 
of  the  Collins  ^Manufacturing  Company.  He 
was  two  years  of  age  when  brought  to  the 
United  States  by  his  parents,  and  in  the 
public  schools  of  the  different  towns  in 
which  they  lived,  he  obtained  a  good  educa- 
tion, finishing  with  graduation  from  high 
school  in  1878.  He  then  began  learning 
paper  making,  became  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  different  branches  of  manufactur- 
ing and  selling,  securing  his  knowledge  and 
experience  in  paper  mills  in  Massachusetts, 
New  York.  Connecticut  and  Illinois.  In 
1893  he  first  located  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, and  for  a  year  was  with  the  Chemical 
Paper  Mill,  then  spent  a  year  in  Goshen, 
New  York,  in  charge  of  a  paper  mill,  then 
for  eight  years  was  in  Bumside,  Connecti- 
cut, as  overseer  of  the  three  mills  operated 
by  F.  R.  Walker  &  Son.  Leaving  Burnside, 
he  became  a  partner  in  the  Hartford  Board 
Company  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and 
successfully  engaged  in  manufacturing  there 
until  the  company's  mill  was  destroyed  by 
fire.  He  then  re-entered  the  employ  of  the 
Chemical  Paper  Company  of  Holyoke,  and 
for  eight  years  was  general  manager  of 
their  Holyoke  plant.  Two  years  thereafter 
were  spent  as  sales  manager  of  the  Eastern 
Manufacturing  Company,  of  Bangor, 
Maine,  after  which  he  again  returned  to 
Holyoke,  which  has  ever  since  been  his 
home.  Until  the  spring  of  191 7,  he  was 
connected  with  the  sales  depanment  of  the 


286 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


American  Writing  Paper  Company.  He  then 
transferred  his  allegiance  to  the  Collins 
Manufacturing  Company  of  which  S.  R. 
Whiting  is  the  head,  and  as  sales  manager 
serves  that  corporation.  He  is  a  member 
of  Orient  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  of  which  he 
is  a  past  master ;  his  clubs,  Mt.  Tom  Golf 
and  Holyoke  Canoe ;  his  church,  the  Sec- 
ond Congregational  of  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts. 

Elijah  C.  Walker  married,  November  21, 
1880,  Frances  May  Elder,  born  in  Jamaica, 

Long  Island,  daughter  of  David  and 

(Whittier)  Elder,  her  father  born  in  Scot- 
land, coming  to  the  United  States  when  a 
boy  with  his  father,  John  Elder.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Walker  are  the  parents  of  a  son,  Har- 
old Elijah,  their  only  other  child  dying  in 
infancy. 

Harold  Elijah  Walker  was  born  in  Mid- 
dlefield,  Massachusetts,  January  21,  1883, 
and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
Burnside  and  East  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
and  at  Riverview  Military  Academy  at 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  attending  the  last 
named  institution  three  years,  1898-1901. 
His  education  completed,  he  learned  the 
family  trade  in  the  Burnside,  Connecticut, 
Mill,  coming  thence  to  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, with  the  Chemical  Paper  Company. 
Later  he  went  to  Ohio,  there  having  charge 
of  a  paper  mill  for  two  and  a  half  years. 
From  Ohio  he  went  to  Bangor,  Maine,  as 
assistant  superintendent  of  the  Eastern 
Manufacturing  Company,  remaining  one 
year  there,  going  thence  to  Bellows  Falls, 
Vermont,  where  he  was  in  charge  of  the 
John  T.  Moore  &  Sons  paper  mill  until 
February  i,  191 /,  when  he  again  came  to 
Holyoke,  and  took  a  position  as  superinten- 
dent of  the  Norman  Mill  of  the  American 
Writing  Paper  Company,  where  he  still 
continues.  Like  his  father  and  grandfath- 
er, he  is  master  of  his  business  in  all  its 
detail,  and  is  one  of  the  men  whose  skill  and 


ability  have  brought  them  honored  position 
in  their  chosen  field  of  labor.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  King  Solomon  Lodge,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  of  Bellows  Falls,  Vermont ; 
of  Abenaqui  Chapter,  No.  19,  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  of  Bellows  Falls,  Vermont ;  Hol- 
yoke Council,  Royal  and  Select  Masters ; 
and  Holy  Cross  Commandery,  No.  12, 
Knights  Templar,  of  Bellows  Falls,  Ver- 
mont. In  religious  preference  he  is  a  Con- 
gregationalist,  attending  the  Congregational 
church,  of  Holyoke. 

Mr.  Walker  married,  June  15,  1912,  Mari- 
on Frank  Pierce,  of  Bellows  Falls,  Vermont, 
daughter  of  Frank  G.  and  Alta  (Robbe) 
Pierce,  and  granddaughter  of  Edward  A. 
and  Martha  J.  (Davis)  Robbe,  and  of  Jo- 
seph B.  and  Lucinda  J.  (White)  Pierce.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Harold  E.  Walker  are  the  par- 
ents of  a  daughter,  Alta  Frances,  born  April 

2,   1913- 

Mrs.  W^alker  is  a  descendant  of  Thomas 
Pierce,  born  in  England,  who  came  to  Mas- 
sachusetts, in  1633  or  34,  accompanied  by 
his  wife  and  several  children.  He  settled 
in  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  where  both 
he  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the 
church,  and  he  died  October  7,  1666.  The 
line  of  descent  to  Mrs.  Walker  is  through 
Thomas  (2)  Pierce,  born  in  England,  in 
1618,  resided  in  Woburn,  and  is  frequently 
referred  to  in  the  record  as  "Sergeant 
Pierce."  His  son,  Stephen  Pierce,  settled 
in  Chelmsford,  Massachusetts,  and  there 
his  son,  Stephen  (2)  Pierce,  was  born  in 
1679,  ^"d  <^'sd  September  9,  1749.  His  fifth 
child,  Stephen  (3)  Pierce,  born  about  171 5, 
was  the  father  of  Stephen  (4)  Pierce,  born 
in  New  Ipswich,  New  Hampshire,  in  1738, 
and  there  died  in  1819.  Among  his  ten  chil- 
dren was  Stephen  (5)  Pierce,  who  mar- 
ried Hannah  Gordon,  they  the  par- 
ents of  Joseph  B.  Pierce,  born  March 
II,  181 1,  who  married  Lucinda  Johnston, 
they  the  parents  of  Frank  G.  Pierce,  born  in 
Petersboro,  New  Hampshire,  May  4,  1854, 


287 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


married,  November  19,  1876,  Alta  Robbe, 
born  November  5,  1856.  Their  daughter, 
Marion  Frank  Pierce,  of  the  tenth  Ameri- 
can generation,  married  Harold  E.  Walker, 
of  previous  mention. 


LANGELIER,  Victor, 

Real   Estate   Operator. 

When  a  lad  of  fifteen  years,  Victor  Lan- 
gelier  came  to  the  United  States,  with  his 
parents,  and  after  spending  two  years  in 
Connecticut,  came  to  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, his  home  until  the  present,  1918,  his 
residence  dating  from  1887.  From  the  lat- 
ter year  until  191 1,  the  Victor  Langeliers, 
father  and  son,  conducted  a  harness  shop  on 
Main  street,  the  father  dying  in  1900,  the 
son  continuing  the  business  until  191 1. 
Their  shop  was  long  a  well  known  feature 
of  Main  street,  and  their  harness  making 
and  harness  repairing  was  an  important 
and  profitable  business,  the  shop  is  known 
by  about  every  horse  owner  in  or  living  near 
the  city.  Victor  (2)  Langelier  is  a  son  of 
Victor  (i)  Langelier,  and  a  grandson  of 
Francois  Langelier,  a  farmer  of  St.  Barn- 
abe,  Canada.  Francois  Langelier  had  chil- 
dren :  Francois,  Pierre,  Victor,  of  further 
mention,  Louis. 

Victor  Langelier  was  born  at  St.  Barn- 
abe,  Canada,  in  1844,  and  died  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  in  January,  1900.  He 
learned  harness  making  in  Canada,  and  at 
St.  Cesaire  established  and  conducted  a 
large  shop  until  his  coming  to  the  United 
States  in  1885.  He  first  located  in  Connec- 
ticut, but  in  1887  permanently  settled  in 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  and  established 
the  shop  on  Main  street,  which  he  person- 
ally conducted  until  his  death  in  1900.  He 
was  an  excellent  workman,  and  a  good  busi- 
ness manager,  his  harnesses  and  his  char- 
acter being  both  of  the  highest  quality.  In 
Canada  he  was  a  Liberal  in  politics,  and 
held  many  town  offices.    He  married  Philo- 


mene  Coderre,  born  in  Beloeil,  Quebec,  who 
survives  him,  and  now  (1918)  is  residing 
in  Canada,  daughter  of  John  Baptiste  and 
Pauline  (Bousquite)  Coderre. 

Mrs.  Victor  Langelier  is  a  descendant  of 
Pierre  Coderre  and  his  wife,  Mary  Louise 
(Ferron)  Coderre,  who  came  to  Canada 
from  France.  Their  son,  Alexander  Co- 
derre, was  born  in  France,  and  came  to  Can- 
ada with  his  parents.  He  married  Margaret 
Ladeaux.  Their  son,  Andre  Coderre,  was 
born  in  the  Province  of  Quebec,  and  mar- 
ried Gertrude  Lemondes.  John  Baptiste 
Coderre,  son  of  Andre  and  Gertrude  Co- 
derre, was  born  in  Beleoil,  Canada,  Febru- 
ary 12,  1803,  died  in  St.  Cesaire,  Canada,  in 
January,  1881.  He  married  Pauline  Bous- 
quite. Their  daughter  Philomene,  of  the 
fifth  generation  of  her  family  in  Canada, 
married  Victor  Langelier.  They  were  the 
parents  of :  Delios,  married  Alexander 
Charlebois ;  Roselina,  married  Zoel  Du- 
pont ;  Alphonse ;  Victor  (2),  of  further 
mention ;  Arthur ;  Henry  D. ;  Alexena, 
married  F.  Pelland ;  Marie ;  Anne,  and 
others  who  died  young. 

Victor  (2)  Langelier  was  born  May  15, 
1870,  at  St.  Cesaire,  a  banking  village  of 
Rouville  county,  Quebec,  Canada,  on  the 
Yamaska  river,  thirty-three  miles  north  of 
Montreal.  There  he  attended  college  pre- 
paratory school  until  fifteen  years  of  age, 
then  came  to  the  United  States  with  his  par- 
ents, the  family  settling  first  at  Versailles, 
Connecticut,  where  Victor  (2)  worked  in 
the  textile  mills  of  the  village.  In  1887  set- 
tlement was  made  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, that  city  still  being  the  family  home. 
Victor  (2)  Langelier  was  employed  in  a 
Holyoke  woolen  mill  for  three  years,  then 
began  an  apprenticeship  under  his  father, 
who  thoroughly  taught  his  son  the  harness 
maker's  trade.  Together  father  and  son 
worked  until  the  death  of  the  father  in 
1900,  Victor  (2)  then  succeeding  to  the  sole 
control.    He  continued  the  Main  street  har- 


288 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ness  shop  alone  until  191 1,  then  sold  out 
and  has  since  devoted  himself  to  the  real 
estate  business.  He  has  been  very  success- 
ful in  all  his  business  enterprises,  and  has 
built  up  a  very  large  business  in  real  es- 
tate. He  owns  and  has  personal  charge  of 
forty-three  apartments,  four  stores  and  sev- 
eral garages,  and  gives  to  his  business  his 
entire  time.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Monu- 
ment Nationale  Association  of  Holyoke  ;  the 
Artizan  Society  of  Montreal ;  member  of 
St.  Jean  Baptiste  Society  ;  and  of  the  Church 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception. 

Mr.  Langelier  married,  February  29, 
1900,  Febriana  Grise,  born  in  St.  Cesaire, 
Canada,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Eliza 
(Broncetti)  Grise.  They  are  the  parents  of 
five  children :  Henry,  born  December  24, 
1904;  Victor  (3),  born  October  2,  1909; 
and  Antoine,  Luna  and  Paul,  the  last  three 
dying  young. 


RHEAUM,  Charles, 

Business  Man. 

It  was  not  until  May,  1886,  that  Charles 
Rheaum  took  up  his  residence  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  permanently,  he  then  being 
an  experienced  man  of  business,  trained  in 
the  merchandising  methods  of  Canadian  and 
American  merchants.  Since  1896  he  has 
been  proprietor  of  his  own  business,  meats, 
groceries  and  provisions,  occupying  the 
same  stand,  and  also  is  the  owner  of  the 
entire  block  of  nine  apartments  in  which  he 
opened  his  store  as  a  tenant.  He  is  a  son 
of  Alexander  (2)  Rheaum,  and  a  grand- 
son of  Alexander  (i)  Rheaum,  the  latter 
a  farmer  of  Quebec,  Canada,  where  he  died 
at  the  age  of  eighty-nine.  He  was  the  fath- 
er of  the  following  children :  Charles,  Alex- 
ander (2),  Narcisse,  Sophia,  and  Henrietta. 

Alexander  (2)  Rheaum  was  born  at  Cha- 
teau Richer,  a  post  village  of  Montmorency 
county,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  lo- 
cated about  fifteen  miles  from  the  city  of 
MASS.— 7— 19.  289 


Quebec.  Here  he  spent  his  short  life  of 
forty-two  years,  engaged  in  farming  with 
his  father.  He  married  Loie  Cauchon,  of 
the  same  village,  who  died  in  1863.  Their 
children:  Marie,  married  a  Mr.  Beaure- 
gard, they  the  parents  of  fifteen  sons  and 
daughters;  Charles,  of  further  mention; 
Julie,  married  Joseph  Rheaum,  they  the 
parents  of  thirteen  sons  and  daughters ;  Jo- 
sephine, married  Napoleon  Taillon  ;  Henri- 
etta ;  and  another  child  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

Charles  Rheaum  was  born  at  Chateau 
Richer,  Quebec,  Canada,  May  14,  1857,  and 
there  attended  school  until  fourteen  years  of 
age.  From  fourteen  until  nineteen  he  was 
employed  on  a  farm,  then  journeyed  to  the 
neighboring  city  of  Quebec,  and  obtained 
a  position  as  clerk  in  a  grocery  store.  Four 
years  he  remained  in  that  position,  then  in 
1880  he  came  to  the  United  States,  and 
made  a  brief  stay  in  Holyoke.  From  Hol- 
yoke he  went  to  Chicago,  Illinois,  there  re- 
maining one  year,  then  returned  to  Canada 
and  spent  four  years  more  as  a  grocer's  clerk. 
In  May,  1886, he  again  came  to  Holyoke,  and 
here  for  ten  years  he  was  a  mercantile 
clerk,  having  but  two  employers  during  that 
period,  Mr.  Roullard  and  Louis  Cloutier. 
In  1896  he  began  business  under  his  own 
name  at  No.  557  Summer  street,  and  has 
there  conducted  a  successful  meat,  grocery 
and  provision  business  until  the  present, 
1918.  He  has  purchased  the  entire  block  in 
which  he  began  business,  and  has  prospered 
in  his  undertakings.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Artisans  Order  of  Protection,  and  a  man 
highly  respected. 

Mr.  Rheaum  married,  September  25, 
1881,  Zeba  Coulombe,  born  in  the  City  of 
Quebec,  daughter  of  Fabian  and  Natalie 
(Roy)  Coulombe.  Their  children  are:  Min- 
nie, who  married  P.  J.  Lawrence,  and  has 
Erline  and  Charles ;  Blanche,  now  deceas- 
ed, who  married  Ernest  Parades,  and  they 
had  two  daughters  :     Juliette  and  Aurore  ; 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Alice ;  Albert,  who  married  Alida  Beau- 
champ,  and  their  children  are :  Vincent, 
Charles,  and  Theresa ;  Arthur,  married 
Regina  Cloutier ;  Romeo,  now  a  student  at 
the  Grand  Seminary  at  Montreal,  preparing 
for  the  priesthood ;    and  Edgar. 


LeCLAIR,  Azarde, 

Representative  Citizen. 

Until  attaining  legal  age  Azarde  LeClair, 
of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  resided  in  his 
native  St.  Valier,  a  post  village  of  Belle- 
chasse  county.  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada, 
thirty-six  miles  below  the  city  of  Quebec, 
on  the  St.  Lawrence  river.  His  father's 
mill,  in  which  he  worked,  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  that  being  the  cause  of  the  family  em- 
igration. Azarde  LeClair  is  a  grandson  of 
Clement  LeClair,  a  farmer  of  Sainte  Em- 
elie,  a  post  village  of  Lotbiniere  county, 
Quebec,  Canada,  thirty-nine  miles  from  St. 
Romuald.  He  died  in  1846,  aged  forty-two. 
His  children  were :  Pierre,  Marie,  Lucie, 
three  other  daughters,  and  a  son,  Anaclet. 

Anaclet  LeClair  was  born  in  Sainte  Eme- 
lie,  Quebec,  in  1837,  and  died  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  December  16,  1912.  His 
father  died  when  the  boy  was  but  nine  years 
of  age,  and  until  he  was  eighteen  he  was 
under  the  care  of  an  uncle.  He  spent 
the  early  years  of  his  manhood  in  the  lum- 
ber woods  and  on  the  river  as  a  log  driver, 
three  years  being  spent  on  the  rivers,  the 
remaining  years  in  the  lumber  camps.  He 
prospered,  and  in  1875  built  a  grist  mill  at 
St.  Valier,  to  grind  for  the  farmers  there- 
about. Later  he  added  a  saw  mill  and  a 
shingle  mill,  operating  all  for  a  number  of 
years,  then  sold  to  a  party  who  could  not 
complete  his  part  of  the  contract,  which 
caused  the  mill  to  return  to  its  original  own- 
er, who  ran  it  very  profitably  until  its  des- 
truction by  fire,  March  19,  1888.  Mr.  Le- 
Clair did  not  rebuild,  but  the  same  year 
came  to  the  United  States,  going  to  Thomp- 


sonville,  Connecticut,  there  remaining  from 
May  until  August  of  that  year,  moving  to 
Holyoke  in  the  last  named  month,  that  city 
becoming  his  permanent  home.  He  was 
employed  as  a  carpenter  for  five  years,  then 
began  the  manufacture  of  washing  ma- 
chines, having  his  shop  at  No.  25  Cabot 
street,  and  continued  in  that  line  until  his 
death  in  1912.  He  married  Adelaide  He- 
bert,  born  in  St.  Gregoire,  Nicolet  county, 
Quebec,  Canada,  in  1836,  and  died  in  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  October  28,  191 1, 
daughter  of  John  and  Sophie  (Richards) 
Hebert.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  LeClair  were  the 
parents  of :  Azarde,  of  further  mention ; 
Beatrice,  deceased ;  Marie ;  Annie,  de- 
ceased. 

Azarde  LeClair,  only  son  of  Anaclet 
and  Adelaide  (Hebert)  LeClair,  was  born 
at  St.  Valier,  Bellechasse  county,  Quebec, 
Canada,  August  26,  1867.  He  attended 
school  in  St.  Valier,  and  was  employed  in 
his  father's  mill  there  until  its  destruction 
by  fire  in  1888,  when  he  came  to  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts.  He  learned  the  carpenter's 
trade  in  Holyoke,  and  was  employed  four 
years  more  as  a  journeyman  by  John  St. 
John.  He  then  began  contracting,  but  two 
years  later  returned  to  the  employ  of  Mr. 
St.  John,  as  a  foreman,  remaining  with  him 
seventeen  years  and  four  months,  at  the  end 
of  which  time  he  was  again  in  business  for 
himself  as  a  contractor,  continuing  for  two 
years,  when  he  gave  it  up,  and  for  the  next 
nine  years  w^as  employed  by  Mr.  LaLiberte. 
In  April,  1917,  he  entered  the  employ  of  P. 
J.  Kennedy,  contractor  and  builder  of  Hol- 
yoke, and  so  continues.  During  the  years 
in  business  for  himself  he  built  a  number  of 
blocks  and  residences  in  Holyoke,  and  in 
1913  erected  the  "Hampshire,"  a  beautiful 
twenty  apartment  house,  which  he  owns, 
and  in  which  he  has  his  own  home.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Church  of  Perpetual  Help, 
and  in  his  political  faith  a  Republican. 

Mr.  LeClair  married,  November  5,  1892, 


290 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Rosanna  Gobielle,  of  Ange  Gardien,  Row- 
ville  county,  Quebec,  Canada,  daughter  of 
Louis  and  Margaret  (Valier)  Gobielle. 
Children:  i.  Henry  Osias,  born  August  i, 
1893,  now  serving  in  the  United  States  Ar- 
my, enlisting  December  13,  191 7,  and  now 
on  duty  at  Jacksonville,  Florida,  as  store 
keeper.  2.  Donat  Theodore,  born  January 
I,  1896,  a  druggist.  3.  Antole  Romeo,  born 
September  22,  1898,  a  mercantile  clerk.  4. 
Ulric  H.,  born  November  20,  1899,  now 
paymaster  at  the  Dean  Steam  Pump  Works. 
5.  Louis  Leonard,  born  January  22,  1900, 
died  July  22,  1900.  6.  George  Azarde,  born 
September  26,  1901.  7.  Rose  Lina,  Janu- 
ary 21,  1903.  8.  Novelle  Anna,  December 
25,  1904.  9.  Leonard,  July  10,  1907,  died 
November  29,  1908.  10.  Felix  Rene,  born 
December  i,  1909.  11.  Blanche  Margaret, 
July  28,  191 2. 


LAPLANTE,  Joseph, 

Business  Man. 

Like  many  other  French  families  of 
Holyoke,  the  Laplantes  came  from  St.  Hy- 
acinthe,  the  capital  of  St.  Hyacinthe 
county.  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada, 
a  city  rich  in  Catholic  churches  and 
institutions,  and  a  busy  manufacturing 
point,  forty-five  miles  from  Montreal.  There 
Antoine  Laplante,  a  farmer,  who  cultivated 
his  ow^n  farm  consisting  of  sixty  acres,  lived 
all  his  life,  and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
six.  He  married  Angelique  Rhodier,  who 
died  in  1901,  centenarian,  having  lived  to  be 
ninety-eight  years  of  age.  They  were  the 
parents  of  a  son,  Antoine  (2),  and  a  daugh- 
ter, Lucy,  who  became  the  wife  of  Peter 
Fountain. 

Antoine  (2)  Laplante,  only  son  of  An- 
toine (i)  and  Angelique  (Rhodier)  La- 
plante, was  born  in  St.  Hyacinthe,  Canada, 
in  1832,  and  died  there  in  April,  1903.    He 


was  a  substantial  farmer,  owning  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  of  well  improved,  fer- 
tile land,  which  he  cultivated  until  late  in 
life,  when  he  retired  from  active  pursuits. 
He  married  Lucia  Laporte,  born  in  St.  Hy- 
acinthe, in  1833,  died  in  1909,  daughter  of 
John  and  Margaret  (Grow)  Laporte.  Chil- 
dren: I.  Antoine,  born  in  Saskatchewan. 
2.  Lucia,  born  in  Canada,  married  (first) 
Jack  Gounard,  two  children ;  married  (sec- 
ond) John  Chawette,  four  children.  3. 
John,  born  in  Canada.  4.  Margaret,  became 
the  wife  of  Joseph  Pratt;  children:  Del- 
ma,  became  the  wife  of  Joseph  Marrisette, 
one  son,  Ernest ;  Emma,  of  Fall  River,  be- 
came the  wife  of  Alphonse  Clement,  eight 
children:  Eliza,  became  the  wife  of  Jo- 
seph Pelliter ;  Joseph,  of  Fall  River.  5. 
Rose  A.,  became  the  wife  of  Albert  La- 
Croix.  6.  Lila  B.  7.  Frank,  born  in  Al- 
berta, Canada.  8.  Rosanna,  became  the 
wife  of  Frank  Gauvin,  and  they  have  one 
child,  Marcella.  9.  Joseph,  of  this  review. 
Joseph  Laplante,  youngest  son  of  An- 
toine (2)  and  Lucia  (Laporte)  Laplante, 
was  born  in  St.  Hyacinthe,  Canada,  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1873.  He  attended  the  schools  of 
his  native  place.  The  years  of  his  minority 
were  spent  as  his  father's  farm  assistant, 
but  upon  arriving  at  legal  age  he  came  to 
the  United  States,  going  to  Northern  New 
York,  where  he  purchased  a  farm,  which  he 
cultivated  for  fifteen  years.  In  1910  he  sold 
his  farm  and  came  to  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, in  which  city  he  has  since  made  his 
home.  He  purchased  the  Arlington  block 
of  sixteen  apartments,  one  of  the  best  in  the 
city,  soon  after  coming  to  Holyoke,  has 
other  interests,  and  is  also  employed  as  a 
carpenter.  Mr.  Laplante  married,  April  2, 
1894,  Ellen  Dupre,  of  Black  Brook,  Clinton 
county,  New  York,  daughter  of  Charles 
and  Mary  (Jarvis)  Dupre. 


291 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


WIESS,  Herman, 

Musician. 

Herman  Wiess  was  born  in  Lichte  By- 
wallendorf,  Germany,  about  1848,  and  died 
in  Desbach,  Germany,  in  1874.  He  was  a 
man  of  good  education,  and  became  an  ar- 
tist, possessing  much  skill,  and  was  also  a 
good  musician.  As  an  artist  he  was  highly 
rated  and  successful,  receiving  a  substantial 
financial  reward,  and  incidentally  he  gained 
considerable  income  from  his  music.  He 
was  a  member  of  an  Evangelical  church,  un- 
der state  control,  open  to  all  who  wished 
to  attend,  regardless  of  their  personal  faith. 
He  married,  in  Desbach,  Germany,  about 
1868,  Christine  Louise  Ida  Girbardt,  who 
was  born  in  Teesbach, Germany,  about  1850, 
and  died  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  in  1904. 
She  was  well  educated,  coming  from  a  fine 
family,  her  father  a  chemist  and  druggist, 
conducting  a  successful  business  in  Des- 
bach, and  ranking  among  the  leading  citi- 
zens. Her  mother  was  a  superior  woman, 
very  kind  to  the  poor,  and  a  leader  in  Red 
Cross  work.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herman  (Gir- 
bardt) Weiss  were  the  parents  of  three  chil- 
dren :  Rosa,  who  died  young  in  Germany ; 
Alma  Wilhelmina,  of  whom  further  ;  Clara, 
who  died  young  in  Germany. 

Alma  Wilhelmina  Wiess  was  born  in  Des- 
bach, Germany,  September  6,  1871.  She 
was  well  educated  in  the  private  schools  of 
Poessneck,  Thueringen,  Germany,  and  at 
the  age  of  nineteen  years  came  to  the  United 
States,  with  her  mother  and  stepfather, 
landing  in  New  York  City,  May  15,  1891, 
going  immediately  to  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, where  she  has  since  made  her  home. 
For  fifteen  years  she  was  engaged  in  one 
of  the  large  silk  mills  of  the  city,  then 
availing  herself  of  her  savings  and  business 
inheritance  she  embarked  in  the  real  estate 
business  on  her  own  account.  She  pros- 
pered and  from  her  savings  purchased  a 
twenty   family   apartment  house   on   Cabot 


and  Newton  streets,  which  she  still  retains 
interest  in.     During  the  same  time  she  also 
conducted  a  grocery  and  a  millinery  busi- 
ness, both  successful  enterprises.     In  191 5 
she  retired  from  business  on  account  of  ill 
health,  and  has  since  spent  her  time  look- 
ing after  her  private  property.     She  mar- 
ried Frederick  P.  Giehler,  born  in  Saxony, 
Germany,    August    8,    1864,    son    of    Fritz 
Giehler,  of  that  place.     Four  children  were 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Giehler,  two  dying  in 
infancy.      The    living   ones    are:      i.    Wil- 
liam Bruno,  born  June  20,   1895,  in  Hol- 
yoke, now  a  business  man  of  the  city  ;    he 
married    Alma    Senft,    of    Brooklyn,    New 
York,  and  has  a  son,  William.    2.  Otto  Ru- 
dolph, born  June  16,  1903,  in  Holyoke,  now 
living  at  home  and  attending  school.     Mrs. 
Giehler  resides  in  the  winter  at  her  home. 
No.  125  Cabot  street,  Holyoke,  and  in  the 
summer  at  her  residence  at  Wendell,  Mas- 
sachusetts.    She  is  a  member  and  was  at 
one   time    president   of   Thusnelda    Lodge, 
Sons  of  Herman,  and  was  the  first  dele- 
gate sent  from  that  lodge  to  the  Massachu- 
setts State  Convention  of  that  order.    She 
was  a  leading  member  of  the  Dramatic  Club 
of  the  Holyoke  Turn  Verein,  having  taken 
the   leading  part   in   many  of   their   plays. 
She  has  traveled  extensively  in  this  coun- 
try and  in  Europe.    She  is  a  member  of  the 
Second  Congregational  Church  of  Holyoke. 


BLAIS,  Wilfred, 

Business  Man. 

The  family  of  which  Wilfred  Blais  is 
representative  was  founded  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  by  Antoine  Blais  in  1880. 
Antoine  Blais  was  born  in  St.  Hyacinthe, 
Canada,  and  died  in  Holyoke,  November 
9,  1907.  After  coming  to  Holyoke  he  learn- 
ed the  carpenter's  trade,  and  for  twenty- 
two  years  was  in  the  employ  of  one  man, 
John  Prew.  He  married  Julia  Cote,  who 
died   December   12,   191 6.     They  were  the 


292 


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setts,   after 
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BAULNE,  Adalbert  George, 

;«tiY«  Ciiiaten. 


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his  life  to  their  c.o  -  and  upkeep 
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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


cated.  At  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  left  Can- 
ada, and  came  to  Hookset,  New  Hamp- 
shire, where  for  one  summer  he  was  em- 
ployed in  a  brickyard  then,  following  a 
common  custom  along  the  border,  returned 
to  Canada.  He  came  permanently  to  Hol- 
yoke,  Massachusetts,  April  15,  1886,  and 
has  ever  since  been  a  resident  of  that  city. 
For  six  years  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
Newton  Paper  Company ;  for  the  follow- 
ing nine  years  was  connected  with  the 
freight  department  of  the  Boston  &  Maine 
Railroad;  three  years  were  then  spent  in 
the  freight  department  of  the  New  York, 
New  Haven  &  Hartford  Railroad,  and  sev- 
en years,  until  1917,  with  the  Holyoke  De- 
partment of  Streets.  Since  1917  he  has 
been  in  the  employ  of  the  B.  F.  Perkins 
Company  of  Holyoke.  Mr.  Gaumond  is  a 
good  citizen  and  the  kind  that  helps  to 
make  up  a  strong  Nation.  He  is  thrifty, 
works  hard  and  saves,  and  one  can  see  the 
result  of  his  labor  in  large  real  estate  hold- 
ings, he  being  one  of  the  large  tax  pay- 
ers of  Holyoke.  In  191 3  he  purchased  the 
large  apartment  house  in  which  he  resides. 
He  is  a  home  loving  man  and  believes  first 
in  the  care  of  his  family  and  home. 

Mr.  Gaumond  married,  September  10, 
1888,  Rosanna  Blais,  born  in  St.  Hyacinthe, 
Canada,  daughter  of  Antoine  and  Julie 
(Cote)  Blais.  Children:  Fabiola,  born 
September  29,  1889;  Grace,  born  October 
23,  1894;  William,  born  1897,  died  aged 
one  year;   and  Lillian,  born  April  10,  1903. 


UNTERDOERFEL,  Henry, 

Honored  Employee. 

It  was  with  Casper  Ranger,  now  the  firm 
of  Casper  Ranger  Sons,  whose  sketch  also 
appears  in  this  work,  that  Henry  Unter- 
doerfel  passed  the  first  years  of  his  Amer- 
ican residence  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
he  having  been  a  machinist  trained  in  his 
native  Saxony.     He  is  a  grandson  of  Karl 


and  a  son  of  Karl  Unterdoerfel,  the  latter 
born  in  Weischlitz,  about  1813,  and  there 
died  July  8,  1886.  Karl  (2)  Unterdoerfel 
married  Fredericka  Pastor,  they  the  parents 
of  Frederick,  Christian,  Karl  (3),  Freder- 
icka, Wilhelmina,  and  Henry,  mentioned 
further. 

Henry  Unterdoerfel  was  born  in  Weisch- 
litz, Saxony,  Germany,  December  24,  1840, 
and  there  grew  up  at  the  farm,  obtaining 
a  public  school  education  in  the  country  dis- 
trict in  which  he  lived.  When  school  years 
were  ended  he  began  learning  the  machin- 
ist's trade,  and  to  that  added  mill  wright- 
ing,  being  employed  at  these  trades  in  his 
native  land  until  1890,  when  he  came  to 
the  United  States,  locating  at  Dalton,  Mas- 
sachusetts. He  was  there  two  months,  then 
came  to  Holyoke,  which  has  since  been  his 
home.  He  received  employment  with  Cas- 
per Ranger  upon  first  coming  to  the  city, 
and  finding  his  duties  both  pleasant  and  re- 
munerative remained  with  Mr.  Ranger 
several  years.  He  became  an  expert  wood 
worker  during  those  years,  and  upon  leav- 
ing his  first  employer  then  became  em- 
ployed with  the  Germania  Mills,  where  he 
was  made  head  carpenter  and  millwright. 
In  this  position  he  is  in  charge  of  all  re- 
pairs and  still  continuing  (1918).  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Sons  of  Herman,  and  an 
attendant  of  the  German  Lutheran  church. 

Mr.  Unterdoerfel  married,  November  26, 
1873,  in  Saxony,  Harriet  Hupper,  born  in 
Germany,  September  30,  1853,  daughter  of 
Ludwig  and  Paulina  (IMaumeister)  Hup- 
per. The  family  residence  in  Saxony  was 
at  Reichenbach,  eleven  miles  from  Plauen. 
There  all  the  children  of  Henry  and  Har- 
riet Unterdoerfel  were  born  except  Elsie, 
the  youngest,  who  was  born  in  Holyoke. 
The  children  all  came  to  the  United  States 
with  their  parents  in  1890,  and  all  are  now 
living:  i.  Otto,  a  United  States  mail  car- 
rier in  Hoboken,  New  Jersey ;  married 
and  has  children :     William  H.  and  Ingard. 


295 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


2.  Richard  Hugo,  whose  sketch  follows.  3. 
Paul,  a  United  States  mail  clerk  in  Ho- 
boken,  New  Jersey ;  married  and  has 
daughters :  Helen,  Emily  and  Caroline.  4. 
Oscar,  now  connected  with  the  Department 
of  Public  Works,  Holyoke ;  married  and 
has  children :  Delia  and  Lester  C.  5.  El- 
sie, born  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  De- 
cember 10,   1897. 


UNTERDOERFEL,  Richard  Hugo, 

Skilled   Artisan. 

Eleven  years  prior  to  the  coming  of  the 
Unterdoerfel  family  from  Saxony,  Rich- 
ard H.,  son  of  Henry  and  Harriet  (Hup- 
per)  Unterdoerfel,  was  born  in  his  native 
place,  Reichenbach,  a  town  of  Saxony, 
eleven  miles  northeast  of  Plauen,  his  natal 
day,  December  6,  1879.  From  the  year  of 
his  admission  to  the  state  school  in  Reich- 
enbach until  the  departure  for  the  United 
States  in  1890,  he  attended  school,  and  af- 
ter his  arrival  in  Holyoke,  the  same  year, 
he  became  a  pupil  in  the  public  schools  of 
that  city.  Finally  school  days  ended,  and 
he  went  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the 
world.  He  began  with  the  National  Blank 
Book  Company  of  Holyoke,  and  during  the 
nearly  eight  years  that  he  was  in  the  ser- 
vice of  that  company  became  skilled  in  the 
methods  of  that  book  and  stationery  manu- 
facturing corporation,  a  most  excellent 
school  of  instruction  for  the  young  man. 
From  the  National,  he  went  to  White  & 
Wyckoff,  of  Holyoke,  and  is  yet  connected 
with  that  company,  his  present  position  be- 
ing foreman  of  the  paper  ruling  depart- 
ment. A  thoroughly  skilled  artisan,  Mr. 
Unterdoerfel  also  possesses  a  talent  for 
music.  His  talent  has  been  developed  along 
instrumental  lines,  and  for  fifteen  years  he 
has  been  a  teacher  of  the  violin,  saxaphone 
and  piano.  He  is  the  accomplished  director 
of  the  Elks  Orchestra  of  Holyoke,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 


lows, the  Manchester  Unity,  Holyoke  Turn 
Verein,  Sons  of  Herman,  Musicians  Union, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  the  Second 
Baptist  Church. 

Mr.  Unterdoerfel  married,  November  16, 
1904,  Ella  Richter,  of  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, daughter  of  Julius  Richter.  They  are 
the  parents  of  two  daughters:  Alice,  born 
October  28,  1905;    Jean,  April  22,  1913. 


COUTURE,  Joseph, 

Enterprising  Citizen. 

Joseph  Couture,  of  an  exceedingly  indus- 
trious and  zealous  nature  since  his  early 
boyhood,  has,  by  these  very  characteristics 
together  with  a  steadfastness  and  integrity 
of  spirit  in  all  business  affairs  of  whatever 
moment,  arrived  at  a  position  of  well- 
earned  ease  and  respect  among  his  fellow 
citizens  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts. 

His  father,  David  Couture,  was  born  in 
the  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  about 
1825.  He  learned  the  trade  of  a  black- 
smith in  Canada,  and  was  in  business  for 
himself  there  for  a  number  of  years  prior 
to  his  departure  from  the  Dominion  to  the 
States.  It  was  in  1882  that  he  came  from 
his  native  country  to  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, where,  immediately  upon  his  arrival, 
he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Springfield 
Blanket  Company.  He  worked  in  the  mills 
of  this  company  until  two  years  previous 
to  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Holyoke, 
in  1894.  He  married,  before  coming  to  the 
United  States,  Scholastigue  Goulet,  of  Can- 
ada. To  them  were  born  twelve  children : 
David,  Marie,  Octave,  Joseph,  of  whom 
further;  John  Baptiste,  whose  sketch  fol- 
lows ;  Alphonse,  Eulie,  Emma,  Exdras,  Ed- 
mund, Napoleon,  and  Delina. 

Joseph  Couture,  son  of  David  and 
Scholastigue  (Goulet)  Couture,  was  born 
in  St.  Claire,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada, 
May  12,  1862.  He  began  his  education  in 
the  town  of  his  birth,  but  at  the  early  age 


296 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  nine  years  left  school  and  began  work 
on  a  farm  near  that  place.    During  the  win- 
ter time  he  found  employment  in  the  woods 
of  Canada.    In  1880  he  came  from  there  to 
New  Hampshire,  where  for  a  short  time  he 
worked    in    the    woods    and    saw    mills    of 
Whitefield.     He  then  removed  to  Concord, 
New  Hampshire,  engaging  in  employment 
for  the  city.     In  1882  he  returned  to  Can- 
ada and  in  that  same  year  came  again  to 
the  States,  this  time  bringing  with  him  his 
parents.     They  settled  in  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, the  son,  Joseph  Couture,  taking  up 
work    in    the    box   shop    of    the    Hampden 
Glazed  Paper  &  Card  Company,  with  which 
organziation  he  has  continued  to  be  identi- 
fied  ever   since.      Aside    from   his    regular 
work    here,    Mr.    Couture    has    developed 
rather  extensive  interests  in  real  estate.    At 
the  present  time  he  owns  a  large  and  well 
equipped  apartment  house,   where   he  now 
resides.     He  is  a  member  of  the  St.  Jean 
Baptiste  Society,  and  he  and  his  family  at- 
tend  the   Precious   Blood   Roman   Catholic 
Church  of  Holyoke. 

Mr.  Couture  married  in  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts,   July    26,    1884,    Julia    Hebert, 
born  June   12,   1864,  in  St.  Rosalie,  Prov- 
ince of  Quebec,  Canada.    She  is  the  daugh- 
ter of  Xavier  and  Felecite  (Guerten)   He- 
bert, and  one  of  nine  children  born  to  them, 
of  whom  the  other  eight  are:     Xavier,  Jr., 
Joseph,  Horace,  Exilda,  Clafose,  Alphonse, 
Francis,  and  Rosanna.     To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Joseph  Couture  have  been  born  these  chil- 
dren:     Rosanna,  born  September  20,  1886, 
in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts;    Flordia,  April 
3,    1888,    in    Holyoke;    Emma,  April     12, 
1890,   in   Holyoke;    Angelina,  January   18, 
in   Holyoke;    Joseph,   December    18, 
in  Holyoke;    Eugene,  November  24, 
in  Brownton,  Canada;    Delina,  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1 901,  in  Holyoke  ;   Napoleon,  July 
6,  1904,  in  Holyoke;    Anna,  September   i, 
1906,   in  Holyoke. 

297 


1892, 
1896, 
1897, 


COUTURE,  John  Baptiste, 

Trusted  Employee. 

John  Baptiste  Couture,  a  vigorous,  ac- 
tive man  of  affairs,  spent  a  boyhood  and 
early  youth  that  held  experiences  which 
tried  and  proved  a  character  of  enviable 
qualities,  thereby  being  developed  a  most 
worthy  type  of  manliness  and  energy. 

John  B.  Couture  was  born  November  12, 
1864,   in   St.   Claire,    Province   of   Quebec, 
Canada,    son    of    David    and    Scholastigue 
(Goulet)   Couture.     He  attended  the  com- 
mon    school     of     his     native     town     until 
he  was  ten  years  of  age,  when  he  gave  up 
his   studies   in  order  to  go  to   work  on   a 
farm.     Later  he  became  employed  in  con- 
struction   work    for   the    Canadian    Pacific 
Railroad  Company,  with  which  he  remained 
for  a  period  of  two  years.    In  the  year  1882 
he  came  with  the  rest  of  the  family  to  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts.     He,  however,  at  first 
secured  employment  at  Granby,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  worked  for  about  one  and 
one-half  years.     Eventually  he  entered  the 
mills  of  the  Springfield  Blanket  Company 
of  Holyoke,  and  with  this  organization  he 
has  been  associated  for  many  years.  For  the 
past  two  decades  he  has  been  foreman  of 
the  finishing  department  of  that  plant,  and 
still   holds   that  position,   serving  with   ef- 
ficiency.    In  addition  to  his  mill  work  he 
occupies  himself  with  other  interests,  chief 
among  which  is  the  large  twenty-five  apart- 
ment house  which  he  owns  and  takes  care 
of  himself. 

Mr.  Couture  married,  June  28,  1886, 
Amanda  Turgeon,  daughter  of  Jerome  and 
Mary  (Goulet)  Turgeon,  of  St.  Jervis, 
Canada.  To  them  these  children  have  been 
born:  Alphonse,  born  June  6.  1887;  John, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  two  and  one-half 
years;  Alfred,  born  October  12,  1890,  mar- 
ried Laura  Robedeaux ;  Annie,  born  July 
23,  1892,  married  William  Sawyer;   Delina, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


born  October  i6,  1893;  Napoleon,  born 
February  9,  1895;  Rosario,  born  June  i, 
1898;  Amedee,  born  August  5,  1899;  Al- 
ma and  Eugene,  twins,  born  March  8,  1901  ; 
the  latter  died  in  infancy;  Rose,  born  March 
13,  1909;  Annette,  who  died  in  childhood; 
Freeman  and  Raymond,  twins,  who  also 
died  in  infancy. 


CHAGNON,  Charles  Hiram, 

Representative  Citizen. 

In  1858,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years, 
Charles  H.  Chagnon  came  to  the  United 
States,  settling  in  St.  Albans,  Vermont. 
Nine  years  later  Holyoke  became  his  home, 
and  there  he  has  resided  for  half  a  century. 
He  is  now  nearing  his  eightieth  year,  and 
though  active,  has  practically  retired  from 
his  trade.  He  is  a  grandson  of  Thomas 
Chagnon,  who  sailed  from  Bordeaux, 
France,  with  his  father,  making  settlement 
at  St.  Hyacinthe,  a  city  and  port  of  entry 
of  Quebec,  Canada.  There  Thomas  Chag- 
non became  a  farmer,  and  there  lived  to  a 
good  old  age.  He  left  sons :  Joseph,  of 
further  mention,  Augustine  and  James. 

Joseph  Chagnon  was  born  at  St.  Hya- 
cinthe, Quebec,  Canada,  about  1800,  and 
there  lived  to  nearly  one  hundred  years,  dy- 
ing in  September,  1899,  lacking  only  five 
months  of  attaining  the  honors  of  a  cente- 
narian. He  was  educated  in  the  St.  Hya- 
cinthe schools,  became  a  successful  farmer, 
owning  two  hundred  acres,  well  cultivated, 
and  there  his  almost  century  of  life  was 
passed.  He  conducted  extensive  dairying 
operations,  keeping  large  herds,  and  man- 
ufacturing their  product  into  butter  and 
cheese.  He  continued  active  until  eight 
years  prior  to  his  death,  then  and  then 
only  he  laid  down  the  reins  of  management 
and  retired.  He  was  a  Liberal  in  politics, 
and  a  man  of  considerable  influence.  He 
married  Mary  Madeline  Bamour,  of  St.  Hy- 
acinthe, born   1802,  died  in   1857.       Their 


children  were :  Augustus,  Charles  Hiram, 
of  further  mention,  Edward,  Emore,  Aurile, 
Rosalie  and  Julia. 

Charles  Hiram  Chagnon,  son  of  Joseph 
and  Mary  Madeline  (Bamour)  Chagnon, 
was  born  in  St.  Hyacinthe,  Quebec,  Canada, 
July  17,  1838,  and  there  attended  the  town 
school  during  two  winter  terms  only.  He 
was  his  father's  farm  assistant  until 
eighteen  years  of  age,  then  began  learning 
the  millwright's  trade,  and  two  years  later, 
in  1858,  came  to  the  United  States,  settling 
at  St.  Albans,  Vermont,  there  remaining 
five  years,  going  thence  to  New  Britain, 
Connecticut,  there  remaining  four  years,  en- 
gaged in  millwrighting  and  carpentering.  In 
1867  he  settled  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
and  there  yet  resides,  having  been  actively 
engaged  in  mill  work,  employed  by  dilTerent 
manufacturing  plants  of  the  city  up  to  with- 
in a  few  years.  He  is  still  hale  and  hearty, 
giving  little  evidence  of  his  years,  and  bids 
fair  to  attain  the  great  age  to  which  his 
father  lived.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
a  member  of  the  Church  of  the  Precious 
Blood. 

Mr.  Chagnon  married,  October  i,  1861, 
Armine  Lapointe,  born  in  Canada,  lived  in 
St.  Albans,  Vermont,  and  died  in  Holyoke 
in  1901,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mary 
Lapointe.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chagnon  were  the 
parents  of  sixteen  sons  and  daughters,  six 
of  whom  are  now  living:  Harriet,  married 
Albert  Mero  ;  Mary,  married  Wilfred  Mar- 
cetta ;  Josephine,  married  Eugene  Griffin ; 
Philip,  of  Holyoke ;    Fauste ;    Victor. 


GROGAN,  John, 

Representative  Citizen. 

John  Grogan,  who  for  the  past  six  years 
has  been  shipping  clerk  with  the  Eureka 
Blank  Book  Company  of  Holyoke,  is  the 
son  of  James  Grogan,  who  was  born  in  1828 
in  the  city  of  Quebec,  and  died  in  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  April   19,   1901.     From  his 


298 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


sixteenth  year  James  Grogan  worked  at 
blacksmithing  in  different  sections  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  being  an  expert 
worker  in  metals.  He  came  to  Holyoke  in 
1896  and  this  city  was  his  home  until  his 
death.  He  was  a  man  of  intelligence,  well 
read  and  well  posted  on  all  public  questions. 
He  married  Margaret  Shehan,  born  in  Nova 
Scotia,  and  now  (1918)  living  in  Toronto, 
Canada,  aged  eighty-one  years,  daughter 
of  Thomas  and  Mary  Shehan.  James  and 
Margaret  Grogan  were  the  parents  of : 
Amelia,  deceased ;  Thomas,  living  in  North 
Dakota;  William,  a  member  of  the  North- 
west Mounted  Police  of  Vancouver,  British 
Columbia;  James;  Annie,  married  Charles 
Dunn,  of  Ottawa,  Canada ;  Kate,  married 
John  Le  Roque ;  Peter;  John,  of  further 
mention. 

John  Grogan  was  born  in  Chelsea,  Otta- 
wa, Canada,  June  6,  1874,  and  was  there  ed- 
ucated. His  first  work  was  in  the  lumber 
woods,  where  he  had  a  wide  and  varied  ex- 
perience in  every  department  of  the  wood- 
man's life,  not  only  in  driving  the  logs  to 
market,  but  in  saw  mills,  in  manufacturing 
the  logs  into  lumber.  In  1897  he  came  to 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  obtaining  employ- 
ment in  the  Germania  Mills,  where  he  re- 
mained eighteen  months,  and  then  went  to 
the  Farr  Alpaca  Company,  remaining  here 
a  short  time.  For  the  next  six  years  he  was 
with  the  Beebe-Holbrook  Paper  Mills ;  then 
for  two  years  with  the  Riverside  Paper 
Company,  and  still  later  was  with  the 
Hampshire  Paper  Company  and  the  High- 
land Manufacturing  Company.  In  191 1  he 
took  his  present  position  as  shipping  clerk 
with  the  Eureka  Blank  Book  Company,  and 
here  he  has  since  remained. 

Mr.  Grogan  married,  April  29,  191 2, 
Mary  Sullivan,  of  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Bren- 
nan)  Sullivan,  and  granddaughter  of  Mich- 
ael and  Ellen  (DriscoU)  Sullivan.  Michael 
Sullivan  came  to  the  United  States  in  1849, 


and  here  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life, 
dying  in  Holyoke.  John  Sullivan  was  born 
in  County  Kerry,  Ireland,  December  25, 
1832,  and  died  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
September  27,  1900.  He  came  to  the  United 
States  with  his  parents  in  1849,  ^"^  ^^r 
many  years  was  employed  in  the  dye  house 
at  the  Germania  Mills.  His  wife,  Mary 
(Brennan)  Sullivan,  was  born  in  County 
Kerry,  Ireland,  and  died  in  Holyoke  in  1896. 
Their  children  were:  Cornelius,  Michael, 
John,  Annie,  Patrick,  William,  James, 
Mary,  wife  of  John  Grogan,  of  Holyoke ; 
and   Margaret. 


ANDREWS,  Morris  Henry, 

Building  Contractor. 

Mr.  Andrews'  ancestors  have  lived  for 
several  generations  in  New  England,  and 
were  of  English  origin,  Ex-Governor  An- 
drew being  of  the  same  lineage.  There  were 
no  less  than  five  immigrants  among  the  pio- 
neers of  New  England  bearing  this  name, 
all  of  whom  left  a  numerous  progeny.  Per- 
sons bearing  the  name  have  achieved  dis- 
tinction and  wealth,  and  many  have  occu- 
pied worthy  stations  in  life,  in  many  states 
and  communities. 

Robert  Andrews,  a  native  of  Boxford, 
England,  settled  in  Boxford,  Massachusetts, 
in  1656,  locating  on  a  one  hundred  acre 
farm  which  he  purchased  from  John  Lam- 
bert, of  Rowley.  Subsequently  he  pur- 
chased other  lands,  and  died  May  29,  1668. 
He  brought  with  him  from  England  six 
children.  His  widow,  Grace  Andrews,  died 
December  25,  1700,  and  both  are  buried  in 
Topsfield,  Massachusetts.  Their  second 
son,  John  Andrews,  born  1648,  resided  in 
Boxford,  was  made  a  freeman  in  October, 
1690,  was  a  farmer  in  Boxford,  and  in 
1 714  purchased  land  "in  ye  Chestnut  coun- 
try or  nutfield"  now  known  as  Chester,  New 
Hampshire.  He  married,  April  18,  1684, 
Sarah   Dickinson,   of   Rowley.     Their   sec- 


299 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ond  child,  Robert  (2)  Andrews,  was  born 
in  Boxford,  where  he  was  a  farmer,  and 
died  May  14,  1751.  He  married,  March  10, 
1720,  Deborah  Frye,  of  Andover,  Massa- 
chusetts, born  February  26,  1691,  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Mary  (Aslett)  Frye,  who 
survived  him. 

Their  eldest  child,  Lieutenant  James  An- 
drews, was  born  March  19,  1721,  in  Box- 
ford,  where  he  was  a  farmer,  and  received 
land  by  his  father's  will,  located  in  New 
Hampshire,  in  1751.  He  married,  Febru- 
ary 18,  1747,  Ruth  Wood,  baptized  Septem- 
ber 29,  1 71 7,  died  April  7,  1764,  eldest  child 
of  John  and  Ruth  (Peabody)  Wood.  Their 
youngest  child,  Amasa  Andrews,  was  born 
May  13,  1758,  in  Boxford.  Amasa  An- 
drews appears  with  his  wife,  Achsah,  in 
Claremont,  New  Hampshire.  Four  of  the 
children  by  his  wife  Achsah  are  recorded  in 
that  town,  namely:  Luman,  born  January 
22,  1781  ;  Amos,  December  29,  1782  ;  Irene, 
November  21,  1784;  Amos  Butler,  Septem- 
ber 13,  1788.  There  were,  no  doubt,  oth- 
ers, among  whom  may  be  reckoned  Elisha 
Andrews. 

Elisha  Andrews  was  born  in  the  year 
1794.  He  lived  for  a  time  in  Claremont, 
New  Hampshire,  w-ith  his  wife  Elizabeth, 
after  which  they  removed  to  Claremont 
Hill,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  settled 
by  families  from  Claremont,  New  Hamp- 
shire, where  they  both  died.  A  search  of 
the  vital  records  of  New  Hampshire  gives 
no  information  concerning  them. 

Donald  Andrews,  son  of  Elisha  and  Eliz- 
abeth Andrews,  born  early  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  lived  in  Claremont,  and  was  a  car- 
penter by  trade.  He  married  Lucretia  or 
Lucetta  Forsyth,  daughter  of  Linus  and  Sa- 
rah Stevens,  the  former  said  to  have  been  a 
native  of  Warner,  New  Hampshire,  and  the 
latter  of  Barre,  Massachusetts.  The  New 
Hampshire  records  give  these  places  with  a 
question   mark,    indicating   an   uncertainty. 


In  1861  the  family  moved  from  Claremont 
to  the  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada. 

Morris  Henry  Andrews  was  born  May 
22,  1861,  in  W^arwick,  Province  of  Quebec, 
and  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  Ryegate  and  East  Haven,  Vermont, 
where  his  parents  lived  for  a  time.  Under 
the  instructions  of  his  father,  he  acquired 
the  trade  of  carpenter  and  builder,  and  from 
1888  to  1903,  excepting  one  year,  was  en- 
gaged in  this  line  in  Manchester,  New 
Hampshire.  In  1899  he  was  engaged  at 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  in  construc- 
tion of  a  thirty-three  thousand  dollar  resi- 
dence for  Irvin  E.  Conant.  In  1903  he  re- 
moved to  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  where  he 
has  since  been  actively  engaged  in  the  build- 
ing line,  mostly  of  houses  costing  from  six 
to  seven  thousand  dollars,  and  also  tenement 
blocks.  Mr.  Andrews  is  an  intelligent  and 
industrious  business  man,  active  in  promot- 
ing the  development  of  good  morals,  a  reg- 
ular attendant  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  a  steadfast  Republican  in  polit- 
ical principle.  He  is  a  member  of  the  An- 
cient Order  of  United  Workmen,  and  en- 
deavors to  inculcate  by  precept  and  example 
the  principles  of  upright  living  and  fraternal 
interest  in  human  welfare.  He  married, 
December  9,  1883,  in  Manchester,  New 
Hampshire,  Roxanna,  daughter  of  Peter 
O'Malley.  They  have  two  sons,  William 
Donald,  born  March  16,  1888,  and  Benja- 
min Morris,  May  15,  1891.  The  senior  son 
is  associated  with  his  father  in  building  op- 
erations, and  the  junior  is  a  salesman  with 
the  Hutchinson  Hardware  Company  of 
Lynn. 


CELCE,  Dr.  Frank  P., 

Physician    and    Surgeon. 

The  career  of  Dr.  Frank  F.  Celce  in  Hol- 
yoke  has  been  one  calculated  to  confer  cred- 
it upon  himself  and  benefit  to  the  commu- 
nity-at-large.      In  the  practice  of  his  pro- 


300 


inremont 


construc- 
.1  dollar  resi- 

■y    Ton-;   V-.-*  rp. 


yl  example 
and  fraternal 
He   married, 
fi Chester,    New 
er    of    Peter 
.    :>ons,  William 
i888,  and  Benja- 
.    The  ,' 
•r  in  bi; 
alesmar: 


*t»'!.«s;;     .*i./;     «'..irjg«t>-«.. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


fession  he  has  been  ably  seconded  by  his      cine,  in  which  he  has  continued  with  ever 


talented  wife,  who  is  fully  as  competent  as 
himself  in  medical  labors.  His  father,  Fred- 
erick Celce,  was  born  in  the  Rhine  province 
of  Germany,  where  he  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated, and  came  to  the  United  States  on  at- 
taining his  majority.  In  his  native  land  he 
had  served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  cutlery 
business,  and  after  coming  to  New  York 
took  a  position  with  the  Seymour  Cutlery 
Company,  with  which  he  continued  and  lat- 
er removed  with  this  concern  to  Holyoke  in 
1877.  Here  he  was  made  superintendent 
of  the  factory,  and  this  position  he  con- 
tinued to  hold  until  his  retirement  in  1894. 
He  has  been  active  in  the  social  life  of  the 
community,  especially  in  Masonic  affairs, 
having  passed  through  all  the  York  Rite 
bodies,  being  a  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge, 
Royal  Arch  Chapter,  Council  of  Royal  and 
Select  Masters ;  Knights  Templar  Com- 
mandery,  and  Ancient  Arabic  Order  No- 
bles of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  married  Rose 
Meyer,  who  like  himself  was  a  native  of 
Germany,  and  the  only  child  born  to  them 
is  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Dr.  Frank  Frederick  Celce,  only  child  of 
Frederick  and  Rose  (Meyer)  Celce,  was 
born  September  24,  1867,  in  the  Rhine 
province  of  Germany,  and  was  seventeen 
years  of  age  when  he  came  to  America.  He 
received  an  excellent  education  under  the 
magnificent  German  system,  attending  the 
public  and  high  schools.  Shortly  after  com- 
ing to  the  United  States,  Dr.  Celce  entered 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  M.  D. 
in  1893.  Desiring  to  make  further  prep- 
aration for  the  practice  of  medicine,  he  went 
to  Europe,  where  he  took  a  post-graduate 
course  in  the  hospitals  and  universities  at 
Vienna,  Heidelberg  and  Munich,  spending 
nearly  two  years  in  this  special  preparation 
for  his  life  work.  Returning  to  Holyoke, 
he  settled  there  January  i,  1895,  and  at 
once  took  up  the  general  practice  of  medi- 


increasing  popularity  and  success.     At  the 
present  time  there  are  but  two  physicians 
in  the  city  who  antedate  him  in  service,  and 
he  is  the  only  physician  in  the  city  of  Ger- 
man birth.     Dr.  Celce  is  a  man  of  broad 
sympathies  and  great  kindness  of  heart,  and 
his  noble  work  has  brought  to  many  relief 
from  suffering  and  sorrow.    He  is  a  master 
of    his    profession,    and    takes    high    rank 
among  his  contemporaries.     He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Holyoke  Medical  Society,  Hamp- 
den    County     Medical     Society,     Academy 
of     Medicine,     Eastern     Hampden     Med- 
ical    Association,     and     American     Med- 
ical   Association.       He    has    given    gener- 
ous service  to  the  public  on  both  the  med- 
ical and  surgical  staffs  of  the  Holyoke  City 
Hospital,  and  is  still  active  on  the  medical 
staff,   this   service   now   covering   nearly   a 
quarter  of  a  century.     Dr.  Celce  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Holyoke  Club,  Mount  Tom  Golf 
Club,  Holyoke  Canoe  Club ;    was  formerly 
a  member  of  the  Bay  State  Club,  and  is  a 
member  of  the   German  Turn-Verein  and 
Sons  of  Herman,  and  also  Holyoke  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce.     Like  his  father,  he  has 
been  active  in  promoting  the  fraternal  and 
benevolent  work  of  the  Masonic  order,  af- 
filiating   with    the    Blue    Lodge,     Council, 
Chapter,  Commandery  and  Shrine.     He  is 
also   a   member   of   the    D.    Hayes   Agnew 
Surgical    Society    of    Philadelphia,    and    in 
most  of  the  associations  with  which  he  is 
affiliated  he  has  served   in  various  official 
and  committee  capacities. 

Dr.  Celce  was  married,  in  1892,  to  Jean 
Henrietta  Hose,  a  native  of  Johnstown, 
New  York,  where  she  received  her  prelim- 
inary education.  Entering  the  Women's 
Medical  College  at  Philadelphia,  she  was 
graduated  with  the  degree  of  M.  D.  in  June, 
1892.  Following  this  she  became  an  in- 
terne and  resident  physician  at  the  Penn- 
sylvania Lying-in  Hospital,  having  charge 
of  the  lying-in  department,  and  at  the  same 


301 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


time  taking  special  courses  in  post-graduate 
work.  After  one  year  of  this  she  went 
abroad,  and  studied  in  the  universities  of 
Vienna  and  Heidleberg,  where  she  pursued 
post-graduate  work  in  hospital  practice. 
Returning  to  the  United  States  she  located 
in  Holyoke,  where,  like  her  husband,  she 
has  been  actively  engaged  to  the  present 
time  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  She  has 
attained  a  high  reputation  and  ranks  as  one 
of  the  leading  women  physicians  of  Western 
Massachusetts.  She  is  also  on  the  medical 
and  surgical  staff  of  the  Holyoke  City  Hos- 
pital, is  a  member  of  the  Holyoke  City  and 
Hampden  County  Medical  associations,  and 
the  American  Medical  Association.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Celce  are  the  parents  of  a  daugh- 
ter and  a  son,  Rosamond  E.,  a  graduate  of 
Smith  College,  class  of  1917,  and  Frederick 
William,  now  a  student  at  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege in  the  class  of  1919.  In  the  spring  of 
191 7  he  left  college  to  volunteer  for  service 
in  the  United  States  Army,  attaching  him- 
self to  the  Medical  Corps  of  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Fourth  Infantry,  leaving  for 
France,  October,  1917.  Since  then  he  has 
been  transferred  from  the  One  Hundred 
and  Fourth  Infantry  to  Medical  Headquar- 
ters of  the  Twenty-sixth  Division  in  the  of- 
fice of  the  Chief  Surgeon.  The  entire  fam- 
ily are  attendants  and  contributors  to  the 
support  of  the  Second  Congregational 
Church  of  Holyoke,  and  bear  their  full 
share  in  promoting  the  social  and  moral  in- 
terests of  their  home  city.  Dr.  Celce  is  a  man 
of  impressive  personality,  strong  mentality 
and  settled  purpose.  He  is  in  active  sym- 
pathy with  every  movement  in  the  commu- 
nity which  makes  for  progress.  He  is  a 
wise  counsellor,  a  man  of  commanding  in- 
fluence, not  only  within  the  circle  of  his 
profession,  but  also  in  the  community-at- 
large.  He  is  liberal  in  his  judgment  of  men, 
but  exacts  the  most  open  sincerity.  His 
personal  endowments  command  attention, 
and  he  enjoys  widespread  esteem,  attention 


and  respect.  Of  similar  character  is  his  no- 
ble wife,  and  together  they  are  carrying 
forward  works  of  humanity  entitling  them 
to  universal  esteem. 


MORRISON,  William, 

Representative     Citizen. 

Scotland,  the  "Land  of  the  Thistle  and 
Heather,"  from  whence  have  come  so  many 
of  our  representative  citizens,  men  who 
have  been  willing  to  sacrifice  their  lives  if 
necessary  for  the  honor  of  their  adopted 
country,  was  the  birthplace  of  William  Mor- 
rison, of  this  review,  a  man  whose  life  has 
been  both  active  and  useful,  and  whose  in- 
dustry and  perseverance  has  been  the  means 
of  securing  for  him  a  lucrative  livelihood 
and  a  competence  for  his  declining  years. 

Thomas  Morrison,  grandfather  of  Wil- 
liam Morrison,  was  a  native  of  Scotland, 
lived  and  died  there.  In  his  youth  he  was 
impressed  in  the  English  navy,  in  which  he 
served  for  a  number  of  years.  During  the 
greater  part  of  his  active  career  he  followed 
his  trade  as  a  cotton  spinner,  the  details  of 
which  he  was  thoroughly  familiar  with.  He 

married   (first)  and  they  were  the 

parents  of  one  child,  Agnes,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Arthur  GilfiUan.  He  married 
(second)  Miss  McLaughlin,  who  bore  him 
two  children :  Thomas,  of  whom  further, 
and  Maria.  He  married  (third)  Miss  Mar- 
quis, who  bore  him  one  child,  Dougal. 

Thomas  Morrison,  Jr.,  father  of  William 
Morrison,  was  born  in  Glasgow,  Scotland, 
and  died  in  Middleboro,  England,  whither 
he  removed  during  his  manhood.  He  fol- 
lowed the  same  occupation  as  his  father, 
cotton  spinning,  was  equally  expert  in  his 
trade,  and  in  his  later  years  was  employed 
in  English  mills.  He  was  a  man  of  indus- 
trious habits,  and  was  held  in  high  esteem 
by  all  who  knew  him.  He  married  Mar- 
garet Stratton,  born  in  Ayrshire,  died  in 
Glasgow,  Scotland,  who  bore  him  four  chil- 


302 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


dren,  as  follows :    Thomas,  resides  with  his      church,  and  he  has  ever  used  his  best  ef- 


brother,  William  Morrison;  William,  of 
whom  further ;  Elizabeth,  who  became  the 
wife  of  John  Curry,  a  machinist  of  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts ;  and  Catherine,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Charles  AUardyce,  of 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  a  boiler  maker. 

William  Morrison  was  born  at  Glasgow, 
Scotland,  August  25,  1842.  He  attended  the 
excellent  public  schools  of  his  native  city, 
and  in  early  youth  accompanied  his  parents 
to  Carlisle,  England,  where  he  completed 
his  schooling  in  the  night  schools.  He  fol- 
lowed in  the  footsteps  of  his  father  and 
grandfather,  becoming  a  cotton  spinner,  and 
worked  in  the  cotton  mills  of  Carlisle  from 
the  completion  of  his  studies  until  the  year 
1870,  when,  having  decided  the  opportuni- 
ties for  advancement  and  bettering  his  con- 
dition were  greater  in  the  New  World  than 
in  the  Old  World,  he  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try, accompanied  by  his  wife  and  one  child. 
He  located  in  Easthampton,  Massachusetts, 
and  during  the  first  seven  years  of  his  res- 
idence in  this  country  was  employed  at  his 
trade  in  the  cotton  mills  of  that  city.  He 
then  removed  to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  has  since  resided,  and  for  the  long 
period  of  thirty-five  years  was  employed  in 
the  Merrick  Thread  Company  of  Holyoke, 
in  which  for  many  years  he  held  positions 
of  responsibility  and  trust.  From  191 2  to 
the  present  time  (1916)  he  has  devoted  his 
attention  exclusively  to  looking  after  his 
beautiful  apartment  house  known  as  "The 
Oxford"  and  a  number  of  other  pieces  of 
property  which  he  owns  in  Holyoke.  He  is 
a  director  of  the  Citizens  Coal  Company  of 
Holyoke,  having  served  for  a  number  of 
years  as  its  treasurer,  and  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  company. 

Mr.  Morrison  has  devoted  considerable 
of  his  time  to  religious  work  and  has  attend- 
ed many  religious  gatherings  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  as  a  delegate  from  his 


forts  to  advance  the  cause  of  religion.  Dur- 
ing his  residence  in  Easthampton  he  was  for 
some  years  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday  School 
of  the  Second  Congregational  Church  there. 
Upon  his  removal  to  Holyoke  he  joined  the 
Second  Congregational  Church,  and  later 
became  one  of  the  organizers  and  builders 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which 
he  is  an  earnest  and  zealous  member,  serves 
on  the  board  of  elders,  was  a  member  of 
the  building  committee  upon  the  erection 
of  the  present  church  edifice  in  1889,  and 
has  been  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday  school 
connected  therewith,  and  assistant  superin- 
tendent since  the  erection  of  the  church.  He 
is  a  member  of  Clan  McClellan,  Caledonian 
Society;  of  Holyoke  Lodge,  No.  134,  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  was 
a  director  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  for  several  years.  He  was  made 
an  Odd  Fellow  in  England,  passed  all  the 
chairs  of  the  lodge  there,  and  has  kept  up 
his  membership  since  coming  to  this  coun- 
try. He  casts  his  vote  for  the  candidates  of 
the  Republican  party,  to  which  organization 
he  has  given  his  allegiance  since  becoming 
a  citizen  of  this  great  Republic. 

Mr.  Morrison  married  (first)  in  i860, 
Ann  Morley,  a  native  of  England,  and  her 
death  occurred  in  Holyoke,  February  7, 
1900.  He  married  (second)  June  5,  1901, 
Agnes  McCulloch,  a  native  of  Glasgow, 
Scotland,  born  April  2,  1869,  daughter  of 
William  and  Mary  (Bunton)  McCulloch. 
Child  of  first  wife :  Thomas,  died  at  the 
age  of  twenty-five,  was  a  ball  player.  Chil- 
dren of  second  wife :  William,  born  Octo- 
ber 22,  1903  ;  Thomas,  born  November  28, 
1906.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morrison  are  worthy 
Christian  people,  and  are  held  in  high  es- 
teem by  all  who  know  them,  performing 
well  their  part  in  the  community  where  they 
reside. 


303 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


TETRAULT,  Philias  Joseph, 

Public    Official. 

Charles  Tetrault,  from  whom  PhiHas  Jo- 
seph Tetrault,  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts, 
traces  descent,  died  at  St.  Jean  Baptiste, 
de  Rouville,  a  post  village  of  Rouville  coun- 
ty, province  of  Quebec,  at  one  hundred  and 
six  years  of  age.  Here  he  was  a  substantial 
farmer  of  the  higher  class.  He  is  believed 
to  have  come  from  France  to  Canada,  and 
to  have  been  the  first  of  his  family  to  set- 
tle in  the  Dominion.  He  was  succeeded  by 
a  son,  Dominique  Tetrault,  born  in  St.  Jean 
Baptiste,  de  Rouville,  in  1799,  and  died  in 
St.  Cesaire,  a  banking  village  of  the  same 
county,  in  1841.  He  settled  on  a  farm  of 
ninety  acres  at  St.  Cesaire,  in  the  midst  of 
a  wilderness,  only  eighteen  acres  being 
cleared.  It  was  a  peculiarly  shaped  tract, 
lying  near  the  Yamaska  river,  a  parallelo- 
gram thirty  acres  in  length,  and  three  acres 
wide.  He  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  at 
St.  Cesaire,  and  selected  his  farm  about 
where  he  pleased.  He  married  Charlotte 
Luscies,  born  in  1803,  died  in  1897,  in  St. 
Cesaire,  and  is  buried  in  Abbotsford,  Can- 
ada. She  survived  her  husband  fifty-six 
years,  living  to  the  great  age  of  ninety-four. 
Their  children  were:  Dominique,  Theo- 
dore, Francis,  Mary  Louise,  Priscilla,  Adele 
and  Joseph. 

Joseph  Tetrault,  youngest  son  of  Domi- 
nique and  Charlotte  (Luscies)  Tetrault,  was 
born  at  the  farm  in  St.  Cesaire,  Rouville 
county,  Canada,  six  months  after  the  death 
of  his  father  in  1841.  There  he  has  spent 
his  life,  owns  two  farms,  and  is  yet  actively 
engaged  in  their  management,  devoting  his 
land  to  general  crops  and  live  stock  raising. 
His  home  is  in  the  town  of  Abbotsford, 
Rouville  county,  and  there  he  has  held  the 
office  of  mayor  and  served  as  councilman. 
He  is  a  liberal  supporter  in  politics,  and  one 
of  the  substantial  men  of  his  community. 
He  married  (first)  Saphrina  Roberts,  who 


died  May  30,  1880,  aged  thirty-seven  years^ 
daughter  of  Clovis  and  Mary  (La  Porte) 
Roberts.  He  married  (second)  in  1889, 
Adeline  Wenard.  Children:  Philias  Jo- 
seph, of  further  mention ;  Napoleon  J.  \ 
Mary  Louise,  married  Pierre  Coutiere ; 
Claudia,  married  Adelare  Berre,  their  chil- 
dren :  Albert  J.  and  Arthur  J.  Berre ;  Ri- 
zidia,  married  Philias  Roberts ;  Antoinette, 
married  Albert  Lajoie. 

Philias  Joseph  Tetrault,  eldest  son  of  Jo- 
seph Tetrault  and  his  first  wife,  Saphrina 
(Roberts)  Tetrault,  was  born  at  St.  Ce- 
saire, Rouville  county,  Canada,  March  26, 
1866.  St.  Cesaire  boasts  of  its  excellent  ed- 
ucational institutions,  and  in  his  native  town 
he  secured  a  college  education.  After  he 
completed  his  studies  he  obtained  a  posi- 
tion in  a  grocery  store  in  Montreal,  that 
city  but  thirty  miles  south  of  St.  Cesaire. 
Upon  attaining  his  majority,  in  March, 
1887,  the  young  man  came  to  the  United 
States,  locating  in  Holyoke,  which  has  ever 
since  been  his  home.  Mr.  Tetrault  began  his 
business  life  in  Holyoke  as  a  grocer,  opening 
a  store  on  Cabot  street,  there  conducting 
a  successful  business  for  six  years,  until 
1894.  The  following  year  was  spent  in  the 
employ  of  the  Springfield  Provision  Com- 
pany as  foreman,  then  in  1896,  in  partner- 
ship with  a  brother,  he  established  a  bakery 
in  Holyoke,  continuing  in  that  business  un- 
til 1905,  when  he  accepted  the  appointment 
as  city  sealer  of  weights  and  measures,  a 
position  he  held  until  July  20,  1907,  when  he 
was  appointed  State  Inspector  of  Weights 
and  Measures  with  main  offices  in  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  and  a  local  office  in  Hol- 
yoke. That  position  he  yet  holds,  and  to 
the  duties  of  his  office  devotes  his  entire 
time.  Even  before  attaining  citizenship  Mr. 
Tetrault  took  an  unusual  interest  in  polit- 
ical affairs,  allied  himself  with  the  Repub- 
lican party,  and  is  one  of  the  leaders  of 
the  party,  his  influence  with  his  country- 
men  being   particularly    strong.      He    is    a 


304 


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in  July,  1916,  he  was  a  ci. .,. 
>f  the  running  races.  He  turn 
to  gay"  and  the  reverse,  as  occasioi*  %j' 
marui      •-:  ■'    ;'!)'nws   himself    with   all    !■ 
hco  /er  duty  is  assis^ned 


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mercantile    house:- 
-he  everyday  needs 
city  as  lew  do,  a  fact  which  has  cont 
largely  to  his  usefulness  as  common  -.  .. 
oilman  and  alderman.    His  business  care 
:  rogress  from  its  beginning, 

prrester  confi- 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


McELWAIN  FAMILY. 

James  AIcElwain,  immigrant  ancestor, 
with  his  two  sons,  James  and  Timothy,  came 
over  previous  to  1727.  In  1728  he  hought 
of  Lamb  &  Company  one  hundred  acres  of 
land  at  the  junction  of  Ware  and  Swift  riv- 
ers, in  what  was  known  as  the  "Elbow 
Tract."  This  he  sold  in  1729  to  Green  & 
Walker,  merchants  of  Boston.  At  this 
time  he  called  himself  of  New  Marlbor- 
ough, and  in  1733  his  widow,  Lienor,  quit- 
claimed her  right  of  dower  in  the  same 
land,  dating  it  "New  Marlborough,  or 
Kingsfield."  In  1729  he  received  pay  from 
the  town  for  a  journey  to  Boston,  to  pre- 
sent a  petition  to  the  General  Court  in  re- 
gard to  the  titles  to  the  land  bought  of  this 
company.  He  was  collector  of  rates  for  the 
town,  clerk  of  the  church  and  on  a  com- 
mittee to  provide  a  site  for  the  meeting 
house.  His  farm  was  in  that  part  of  the 
"Elbow  Tract"  which  was  set  oflf  as  the 
town  of  Western  (now  Warren),  Massa- 
chusetts. He  died  in  1730.  Children:  James, 
sold  his  land  and  returned  to  Ireland,  nev- 
er married  ;  Timothy,  mentioned  below. 

(II)  Timothy  McElwain,  son  of  James 
McEIwain,  was  born  in  1709,  and  died  Sep- 
tember 7,  1790.  He  came  to  New  Eng- 
land with  his  father  and  was  granted  a 
hundred  acre  lot  near  his  father's.  In  1733 
he  served  on  a  committee  to  lay  out  high- 
ways, also  on  a  committee  to  select  a  site 
for  the  meeting  house.  He  was  constable 
in  1774,  and  was  a  taxpayer  of  Palmer  in 
1786.  He  married  (first)  August  24,  1738, 
Anna  Spear,  who  died  April  28,  1746.  He 
married  (second)  August  10,  1750,  Susan- 
nah Thomson.  Children:  i.  Sarah,  born 
August  24,  1739;  married,  December  i, 
1 761,  Timothy  Ferrell.  2.  Betty,  born  March 
24,  1741  ;  married,  May  19,  1764,  John 
^^^S-  3-  John  Allen,  born  March  12,  1743. 
4.  Timothy,  mentioned  below.  5.  Samuel, 
born  June  18,  1751  ;   married,  June  2,  1776, 


Sarah  Ferrell.  6.  Anna,  born  February  27, 
1753;  married,  July  9,  1778,  Adonijah 
Jones.  7.  Elizabeth,  born  January  31,  1755  ; 
married  Israel  Jones.  8.  Lienor,  born  June 
29.  1757-  9-  Roger,  born  August  23,  1759; 
married,  November  29,  1790,  Delina  Hill. 

(III)  Captain  Timothy  (2)  McElwain, 
son  of  Timothy  ( i )  McElwain,  was  born 
April  17,  1746,  and  died  November  6,  1830, 
aged  eighty-four.  He  lived  in  Middlefield, 
Massachusetts.  The  house  which  he  built 
in  1797  on  his  farm  on  the  hill-top  still 
stands,  a  fine  example  of  simple  old  Colon- 
ial architecture,  and  of  a  size  to  meet  the 
needs  of  his  good  old  fashioned  family  of 
twelve  children.  The  place  has  come  down 
in  regular  succession  in  the  family,  being 
now  occupied  by  his  great-grandson,  Edwin 
Smith  McEhvain.  He  served  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary W^ar,  and  was  a  prominent  mili- 
tary figure  in  his  day.  He  married  in  Som- 
ers,  Connecticut,  January  9,  1772,  Jane 
Brown,  who  died  January  2,  1832,  aged 
eighty-one.  Children:  i.  Timothy,  born 
October  21,  1772.  2.  Anne,  born  June  12, 
1774.  3.  Jane,  born  September  24,  1776, 
died  January  7,  1787.  4.  Alexander,  born 
November  9,  1778.  5.  James,  born  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1781.  6.  George  Washington,  born 
May  4,  1783.  7.  Betsey,  born  August  18, 
1785.  8.  Sarah,  born  March  30,  1787.  9. 
David,  born  April  19,  1789.  10.  Jennet,  born 
March  31,  1791.  11.  Jonathan,  mentioned 
below.     12.  Laney,  born  June  21,  1795. 

(IV)  Jonathan,  son  of  Captain  Timothy 
(2)  McElwain,  was  born  at  Middlefield, 
June  II,  1793,  and  died  February  23,  1866. 
He  lived  all  his  life  on  the  McElwain  place. 
A  broad-minded  man,  he  was  thoroughly 
devoted  to  the  town  and  its  interests,  at  one 
time  representing  his  district  in  the  Legis- 
lature. His  breadth  of  view  is  well  illus- 
trated by  the  fact  that  w^hen  Mary  Lyon 
went  through  that  section  soliciting  money 
for  the  founding  of  Mt.  Holyoke,  an  insti- 
tution for  the  education  of  women,  he  con- 


307 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tributed  one  hundred  dollars,  no  small  sum 
for  the  New  England  farmer  of  that  day, 
and  this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  himself 
had  five  sons  and  no  daughters  to  educate. 
Only  two  other  men  in  the  town  subscribed 
to  the  fund.  He  married,  October  15,  1818, 
Lucy  Smith,  of  Middlefield.  Children:  I. 
Jonathan,  born  July  14,  1819,  died  January 
23,  1899;  he  succeeded  his  father  on  the 
farm  and  was  also  prominent  in  town  af- 
fairs, holding  the  office  of  town  clerk  for 
nearly  thirty  years,  and  that  of  secretary  of 
the  Highland  Agricultural  Society  for  many 
years;  he  married  (first)  May  20,  1847, 
Clarissa  Lyman,  of  Chester;  (second)  De- 
cember, 1852,  Mary  Smith,  of  Salisbury, 
Connecticut ;  children  :  i.  Albert,  born  No- 
vember, 1853,  died  in  1855.  ii.  Edwin 
Smith,  bom  April  20,  1855 ;  succeeded  his 
father  on  the  old  place  ;  married,  February 
13,  1876,  Lucy  Maria  Graves,  of  Middle- 
field  ;  children :   a.  Bessie  Lillian,  born  April 

18,  1879.  married,  July  18,  1898,  Walter  S. 
Newell;  b.  Jessie  Bell,  born  July  10,  1880, 
died  April  15,  1917,  married,  October  18, 
1904,  Reuben  Franklin  McElwain.  of  West 
Springfield ;  c.  George  Edwin,  born  De- 
cember 16,  1885,  engaged  in  the  paper  man- 
ufacturing business  at  Holyoke.  iii.  Mary 
Jane,  born  June  5,  1858;  married  (first) 
June  12,  1885,  Fitzhugh  Babson,  of  Glou- 
cester; (second)  Clark  B.  Wright,  of  ^lid- 
dlefield,  Massachusetts,  iv.  Lura  \'erona, 
born  April  20,   1862;    married.   November 

19,  1891,  Arthur  D.  Pease,  of  Middlefield. 
2.  Oliver,  mentioned  below.  3.  Timothy 
D wight,  bom  August  10,  1825.  died  Sep- 
tember 3,  1841.  4.  John  Smith,  born  March 
17,  1828,  who  became  one  of  the  leading  cit- 
izens of  Holyoke,  being  closely  identified 
with  all  civic  interests,  prominent  in  the 
paper  manufacturing  business ;  he  married 
(first)  in  West  Springfield,  in  1858,  Esther 
M.  Ely,  daughter  of  Homer  Ely;  he  had 
one  son  by  this  marriage,  Henry  Ely,  who 
engaged    in   mining    interests    in    Colorado 


subsequent  to  the  forming  of  the  American 
Writing  Paper  Combination,  and  who  mar- 
ried Isabel  Hazen,  of  Hartford,  Vermont. 
John  S.  McElwain  married  (second)  in 
1863,  Celia  S.  Ely,  a  sister  of  his  first  wife. 
5.  Edwin,  born  November  5,  1833,  died 
October  19,  191 1;  on  leaving  the  firm  of 
McElwain  Brothers,  he  entered  the  firm 
of  Kibbe  Brothers  &  Company,  of  Spring- 
field, confectionery  manufacturers,  and  on 
the  death  of  the  Kibbe  Brothers  he,  with 
S.  D.  Porter,  acquired  the  business.  Later 
his  son  Charles  C.  entered  the  same  firm ; 
married,  December,  1863,  Caroline  Church, 
of  Middlefield  ;  children :  i.  Charles  Church, 
born  May  14,  1872,  married,  November  8, 
1899,  Greta  Parks,  of  Springfield;  one 
son,  Edwin  (2nd),  born  December  17,  1908; 
ii.  Arthur  Edwin,  born  February  8,  1879, 
died  July  14,   1880. 

(\')  Oliver  ^IcElwain,  second  son  of 
Jonathan  and  Lucy  (Smith)  McElwain, 
was  born  in  Middlefield,  Massachusetts, 
August  24,  182 1,  and  died  in  West  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts,  December  17,  1907. 
After  completing  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Middlefield  and  atWilliston  Sem- 
inary, Easthampton,  he  became  a  mill- 
wright and  went  into  the  lumber  manu- 
facturing business  in  Becket,  Massachu- 
setts, with  his  uncle,  Reuben  Smith.  In 
1881  he  removed  to  his  brother's  stock 
farm  in  West  Springfield,  remaining  in  bus- 
iness there  until  1901,  when  he  retired  from 
the  farm,  but  made  his  home  in  West 
Springfield  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
married,  in  Becket,  February  10,  1853, 
Paulina  Doane  Witherell,  of  South 
Wellfleet ;  children  born  in  Becket :  i 
Lucy  Hannah,  born  December  6,  1854, 
married,  June  16,  1881,  CHfton  A. 
Crocker,  of  Springfield.  2.  Laney 
Smith,  born  April  14,  1857,  married  Jan- 
uary 4,  1888,  Arthur  E.  Ford,  formerly  of 
Chicago,  now  of  Springfield.  3.  Harriet 
Aurelia,  born   February    12,    1859,   unmar- 


308 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ried,  was  graduated  at  Mt.  Holyoke  Col- 
lege and  became  a  teacher ;  she  was  for 
nineteen  years  head  of  the  department  for 
women,  at  The  Pennsylvania  State  College ; 
she  now  lives  at  West  Springfield.  4.  Oliver 
Dwight,  of  whom  further.  5.  Reuben 
Franklin,  of  whom  further.  6.  Carrie  Ma- 
bel, born  February  20,  1870,  married,  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1896,  Edward  Pontany  Butts,  of 
Springfield.  The  parents  of  these  children 
were  members  of  the  Second  Congregation- 
al Church. 

(VI)  Oliver  Dwight  McElwain,  eldest  son 
of  Oliver  and  Paulina  Doane  (Witherell) 
McElwain,  was  born  in  Becket,  Massachu- 
setts, February  10,  1862.  His  preliminary 
education  was  obtained  in  the  grammar 
schools  of  his  native  town,  and  was  sup- 
plemented by  a  course  of  study  at  Claflin 
Academy.  His  first  employment  was  at 
wood  turning  in  a  shop  at  Becket  for  a 
period  of  about  three  years,  where  he  be- 
came thoroughly  familiar  with  that  line  of 
work.  He  then  went  to  Clifton  Springs, 
New  York,  where  he  was  employed  on  the 
farm  of  a  Mr.  Johnson,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained until  the  fall  of  1881,  then  returned 
to  his  native  State,  and  secured  employ- 
ment on  the  J.  S.  McElwain  Stock  Farm  in 
West  Springfield,  of  which  his  father  had 
charge,  and  which  was  the  property  of  his 
uncle,  John  S.  McElwain.  For  nineteen 
years  he  faithfully  performed  the  duties 
assigned  to  him,  meriting  the  approbation 
and  approval  of  his  superiors  by  the  interest 
he  manifested  in  his  work,  and  by  his  close 
attention  to  every  detail,  and  at  the  expira- 
tion of  that  period  of  time  he  retired  from 
active  pursuits,  since  which  time  he  has 
made  his  home  with  his  sister,  Harriet  Au- 
relia  McElwain,  on  the  old  homestead  in 
West  Springfield.  He  is  a  man  of  con- 
genial nature,  is  public-spirited,  and  he  can 
be  depended  upon  to  contribute  and  cooper- 
ate in  any  movement  tending  to  advance  the 


general   interests  or   promote   the   material 
welfare  of  the  community-at-large. 

(VI)  Reuben  Franklin  McElwain,  young- 
est son  of  Oliver  and  Paulina  Doane  (With- 
erell) McElwain,  was  born  at  Becket, 
March  30,  1865;  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Becket  and  Holyoke.  In  1881 
he  entered  the  Valley  Paper  Company  of 
Holyoke,  remaining  in  the  office  for  two 
years,  when  he  entered  the  manufacturing 
department  where  he  remained  for  another 
two  years.  He  then  went  to  Minneapolis, 
Minnesota,  taking  a  position  in  a  wholesale 
paper  house  where  he  remained  until  1887, 
when  he  returned  to  Holyoke,  entering  the 
employment  of  the  Parsons  Paper  Com- 
pany. Later  he  became  assistant  treasurer 
of  the  Valley  Paper  Company,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  until  1889.  He  then  became 
connected  with  the  Crocker  Manufacturing 
Company  as  secretary.  In  1899  this  com- 
pany was  merged  into  the  combinaiton 
known  as  The  American  Writing  Paper 
Company.  Mr.  McElwain  was  made  sec- 
retary, and  later  manager  of  manufacturing. 
He  resigned  from  this  position  in  1903,  in 
which  year  he  became  associated  in  business 
with  his  brother-in-law,  C.  A.  Crocker. 
They  purchased  a  mill  and  site  on  Cabot 
street,  Holyoke,  which  they  equipped  with 
machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  writing 
paper.  Since  1905  the  plant  has  been  op- 
erated under  the  firm  name,  "Crocker-Mc- 
Elwain  Company,"  Mr.  McElwain  holding 
the  position  of  vice-president  and  manager 
of  manufacturing.  In  191 3  the  Crocker- 
McElwain  management  took  over  the  Chem- 
ical Paper  Company,  of  which  Mr.  McEl- 
wain also  became  vice-president.  Mr.  Mc- 
Elwain is  a  director  in  The  Hadley  Falls 
Trust  Company,  and  a  member  of  the  fol- 
lowing clubs  :  Nyasset  of  Springfield ;  the 
Holyoke,  the  Bay  State,  the  Mt.  Tom 
Golf,  and  the  Holyoke  Canoe  Club.  The 
family  attend  the  First  Congregational 
Church. 


309 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Mr.  McElwain  married,  October  i8, 
1904,  Jessie  B.,  daughter  of  Edwin  S.  Mc- 
Elwain, of  Middlefield.  They  have  two 
children,  Paulina  Witherell,  born  March  8, 
1906,  and  Rachel  Doane,  born  October  16, 
1910.  The  mother  of  these  children  died 
April    15,    1917. 


LAFRANCE,  Louis  A., 

Builder. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  the  coming 
of  Louis  A.  Lafrance  to  the  City  of  Hol- 
yoke  may  be  regarded  as  an  important 
event,  and  many  others  why  Mr.  Lafrance 
may  regard  his  coming  to  Holyoke  as  the 
most  momentous  event  in  his  life  history, 
although  he  was  but  three  years  of  age  at 
the  time.  The  city  needed  this  natural  lead- 
er among  the  French  speaking  people  of  the 
city,  needed  his  influence  among  his  coun- 
trymen, his  energy,  his  mechanical  skill  as 
a  builder,  his  initiative  and  public  spirit, 
while  he  needed  such  a  city  as  Holyoke  to 
broaden  and  expand  his  powers  and  furnish 
an  outlet  for  his  active,  vigorous,  virile  per- 
sonality, and  to-day  Mr.  Lafrance  is  the  lar- 
gest builder  in  the  city,  and  everywhere 
may  be  seen  large  buildings  w'hich  are  trib- 
utes to  his  skill  as  a  builder.  He  was  the 
first  man  in  Holyoke  to  develop  the  modern 
apartment  house  plan  of  housing,  and  it  is 
due  to  him  that  in  Holyoke  this  plan  has 
been  so  developed  that  comfortable  homes 
are  possible  even  in  the  crowded  districts 
of  the  city.  He  has  won  an  unusual  suc- 
cess and  is  highly  regarded  in  the  city  where 
he  has  risen  from  apprentice  boy  to  leader- 
ship in  the  building  field. 

His  family  is  an  ancient  one  in  Canada, 
the  early  members  bearing  the  name  La- 
france Deragondit  Lafrance,  and  coming 
from  France  to  Canada.  Chambly,  in  the 
Province  of  Quebec,  was  long  the  family 
seat,  and  there  Julien  Lafrance  was  born 
about    1784,   and   lived   until   his   death    in 

3I' 


1834,  a  farmer.  He  married  Ursule  Grave- 
line,  who  died  about  1831,  they  the  parents 
of  Moses,  Joseph,  Francis,  William,  of 
further  mention  ;  Ursule,  Clemence,  Esther, 
Elsie,  the  last  named  now  living  in  Hol- 
yoke, aged  eighty-eight  years  (1917), 
widow  of  Joseph  Daignault. 

WilHam  Lafrance,  son  of  Julien  La- 
france, was  born  in  Chambly,  Canada,  and 
there  resided  until  1869,  when  he  came  with 
his  wife  and  children  to  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts. In  Holyoke  he  was  for  a  time  in 
the  employ  of  the  Lyman  Mills,  but  after 
the  death  of  his  wife,  in  1880,  he  returned 
to  his  native  Chambly,  resumed  farming, 
and  there  ended  a  useful  life  in  1895,  aged 
sixty-eight.  He  married  Philomene  Du- 
rocher,  born  in  Canada,  in  1835,  died  in 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  in  1880,  daughter 
of  Solomon  Durocher.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of :  Zilda,  who  was  burned  to  death  at 
the  burning  of  the  French  Church  in  Hol- 
yoke;  William  (2),  whose  sketch  follows; 
Eudessa,  married  Emery  Perreault,  and  re- 
sides in  Trenton,  New  Jersey ;  Albert,  of 
Holyoke  ;  Aglee,  deceased  ;  Elizabeth,  de- 
ceased ;  Maria,  married  Tancrede  Burger; 
Louis  A.,  of  further  mention ;  Josephine, 
married  James  E.  Allen,  of  Holyoke ;  Jo- 
seph, of  Newark,  New  Jersey ;  Rosanna, 
married  Alfred  Thomas,  of  Chicopee  Falls, 
Massachusetts. 

Louis  A.  Lafrance,  son  of  William  and 
Philomene  (Durocher)  Lafrance,  was  born 
in  Chambly,  Quebec,  Canada,  March  17, 
1866.  In  1869  his  parents  moved  to  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  and  until  1880  he  re- 
sided at  home  and  attended  public  school. 
In  the  latter  year  his  mother  died  and  soon 
afterward  his  father  returned  to  Canada, 
leaving  the  boy  Louis  A.  to  the  care  of  a 
countryman,  Gilbert  Potvin,  a  pioneer 
among  the  French  Canadians,  and  then  one 
of  the  leading  contracting  builders  of  Hol- 
yoke. Louis  A.  completed  his  studies  in  the 
public    school,    attending    Appleton    street 


.1 


;ive- 
:nLS 


1! 


tunc  la 

ut  after 

'^turned 

irming, 

'>  c^ed 


hose  sk 


de- 

line, 

r  Holyoke;    Jo- 

•   rsey;    Rosanna, 

Chiconee  Falls, 

ner)  Laf ranee,  was  born 
hec,   Canada,    March    17, 
!-  parents  moved  to  Hol- 
•  .;s,  and  until  iSfV)  he  re- 
:  attend- 
...    his  V'--"  '  ■ 
father 


fle 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


school,  then  under  the  principleship  of  H. 
B.  Lawrence.  He  first  began  business  Hfe 
as  a  clerk  in  the  Holyoke  Dry  Goods  Store, 
operated  by  E.  A.  Dickinson,  but  later  took 
a  clerkship  in  the  A.  L.  Shumway  store. 
From  there  he  went  to  the  firm,  Ferguson 
&  Logan,  then  the  leading  dry  goods  store, 
there  becoming  head  clerk  and  buyer.  For 
several  years  he  bore  the  reputation  of 
drawing  the  largest  salary  of  any  clerk  in 
Holyoke.  But  he  was  ambitious,  and  when 
the  promise  of  partnership  interest  failed 
to  materialize,  he  resigned,  and  in  1889  be- 
came a  partner  with  Gilbert  Potvin,  his  life- 
long friend  and  childhood  benefactor.  To- 
gether they  conducted  building  operations 
until  1892,  when  Mr.  Potvin  retired.  Then 
Mr.  Lafrance  formed  the  partnership  with 
his  father-in-law,  Mr.  Octave  A.  LaRi- 
viere,  of  Indian  Orchard,  Massachusetts,  as 
Lafrance  &  LaRiviere,  and  this  continued 
for  several  years  after,  and  since  then  Mr. 
Lafrance  has  conducted  his  large  building 
operations  alone,  and  today  he  is  one  of 
the  largest  builders  of  the  city. 

He  was  in  advance  of  his  time  in  build- 
ing ideas,  but  Holyoke  quickly  responded 
to  his  apartment  house  idea,  and  in  all  he 
has  erected  more  than  one  hundred  and  fif- 
ty apartment  blocks,  these  containing  over 
three  thousand  apartments  and  fifty  stores. 
The  first  large  tenement  apartment  struc- 
ture built  by  him  and  the  first  in  the  city 
was  erected  at  the  corner  of  Mosher  and 
Bowers  streets,  a  modern  building,  which 
furnished  under  its  ample  roof  many  com- 
fortable homes  for  those  compelled  to  re- 
side in  the  thickly  populated  section  of  the 
city.  The  apartment  idea  spread  rapidly, 
and  soon  "The  Robinson"  appeared,  the 
first  modern  apartment  house  in  the  "Up- 
town" District.  This  building  is  yet  ranked 
as  one  of  the  best  in  the  city,  but  at  the 
time  of  its  erection  it  was  the  talk  of  New 
England.      The   "Rutland"   on   Elm   street. 


the  "Carleton"  on  Chestnut  street,  most  of 
the  large  apartment  houses  on  lower  Elm 
street,  the  eight-story  Lafrance  Hotel  on 
High  street,  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception,  the  Polish  Church  at  Chicopee 
Falls,  the  Jewish  Synagogue,  many  school 
houses,  and  countless  other  large  buildings 
have  arisen  under  his  masterly  direction  and 
often  ownership,  his  fame  as  a  builder  ex- 
tending over  a  large  portion  of  the  New 
England  States.  In  the  year  191 7  his  con- 
tracts for  buildings  to  be  erected  in  the 
town  of  Springfield,  Vermont,  alone  totaled 
$150,000.00,  including  apartment  houses  and 
cottages.  He  gives  employment  to  a  large 
force  of  mechanics  of  all  kinds  and  to  many 
laborers  and  teams.  For  ten  years  he  has 
been  rated  the  highest  individual  taxpayer 
in  the  city  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  his 
fortune  being  invested  largely  in  real  es- 
tate. 

While  he  knows  no  interest  superior  tc^ 
his  business  of  building  and  caring  for  his 
real  estate,  he  is  both  bfoad-minded  and 
generous,  contributing  liberally  to  all  Hol- 
yoke's  charities  and  philanthropies.  He  is 
a  Republican  in  politics,  was  a  member  of 
the  Holyoke  Playground  Commission,  hav- 
ing been  appointed  by  Mayor  Avery  as  a 
member  of  the  original  commission.  His 
public  spirit  can  always  be  depended  upon, 
and  his  aid  for  any  good  cause  may  always 
be  had  for  the  asking. 

Mr.  Lafrance  married,  June  21,  1893, 
Eugenie  LaRiviere,  of  Indian  Orchard, 
Massachusetts,  daughter  of  Octave  A.  and 
Edesse  (Goyette)  LaRiviere,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Honore  and  Flavia  Brouillard 
LaRiviere,  of  French  ancestry  and  Canadi- 
an birth.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lafrance  are  the 
parents  of :  Beatrice,  Estelle,  Annette  and 
Paul.  The  family  is  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent in  the  social  life  of  Holyoke.  The  fam- 
ily home  is  at  No.  240  Linden  street,  PIol- 
yoke,  Massachusetts. 


3" 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


LAFRANCE,  William, 

Hotel    Manager. 

William  (2)  Laf ranee,  eldest  son  of  Wil- 
liam (i)  and  Philomene  (Durocher)  La- 
france,  was  born  at  Chambly  Basin,  Que- 
bec, Canada,  December  19,  1856,  and  there 
spent  the  first  twelve  years  of  his  boyhood. 
He  attended  school  until  brought  to  Hol- 
yoke,  Massachusetts,  in  1869,  here  begin- 
ning work  in  the  Lyman  Mills,  his  father 
also  securing  employment  there.  He  con- 
tinued in  that  employ  for  several  years, 
then  worked  in  various  positions,  including 
twenty  years  as  foreman  with  his  brother, 
Louis  A.  In  April,  1917,  he  became  man- 
ager of  the  Lafrance  Hotel  in  Holyoke,  and 
to  this  devotes  his  entire  time. 

Mr.  Lafrance  married,  in  September, 
1879,  Matilda  Leveault,  born  in  Chambly 
Basin,  Quebec,  Canada,  daughter  of  Abra- 
ham and  Julia  (Lamoraux)  Leveault.  They 
are  the  parents  of:  i.  Abraham,  died  in  in- 
fancy. 2.  Almouzel  Louis,  born  November 
19,  1891,  married  Hazel  Hanby,  and  their 
children  are:  David  Louis  and  Jean;  this 
family  resides  in  Milford,  Connecticut.  3. 
Emil,  died  in  infancy.  4.  Lionel,  died  in 
infancy. 


WINKLER,  Frederick  Adam, 
Contractor. 

The  founder  of  this  family  in  Holyoke 
was  George  Winkler,  born  in  Hesse,  Ger- 
many, in  1829,  who  died  in  Rockville,  Con- 
necticut, in  1902.  In  Germany  he  was  a 
manufacturer  of  cloth,  in  business  for  him- 
self until  1861,  when  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  locating  then  for  a  time  in  Connec- 
ticut. Later  he  came  to  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  for  many  years  he  was  em- 
ployed in  the  Germania  Mills.  Eventually 
he  returned  to  Connecticut,  living  in  Rock- 
ville until  his  death.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Snyder,  who  like  himself  was  born  in  Hes- 


se,  and  who  died  at  the  age  of   seventy- 
seven  years.    Their  children  were :    Cather- 
ine, married  (first)  Jacob  Fellen  ;    (second) 
Jacob  Schanz ;   Henry,  of  further  mention. 
Henry  Winkler  was  born  in  Niederingel- 
heim,  a  town  of  Hesse,  Germany,  July  5, 
1849.     He  attended  school  there  until  the 
coming  of  the  family  to  the  United  States 
in  1861,  and  in  the  public  school  of  Rock- 
ville, Connecticut,  he  completed  his  studies. 
He  worked  in  the  woolen  mills  until  gaining 
a  good  knowledge  of  that  business,  then  be- 
gan learning  the  machinist's  trade.     In  1869 
he  came   to   Holyoke,   Massachusetts,   and 
was  for  a  time  employed  in  the  Germania 
Mills,   and   later   in  the   Holyoke   Machine 
Works.     One  of  the  mills  of  Springfield  at 
this  time  was  the  New  York  Woolen  Mills, 
owned  by,  Alexander  T.  Stewart,  the  New 
York  merchant  prince,  and  of  that  mill  Mr. 
Winkler  was  in  charge  for  several  years.  In 
1868  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  city  of 
Holyoke  in  charge  of  all  out-door  work  on 
highways,  sidewalks  and  sewers,  street  wa- 
tering, etc.     Since  that  year  he  has  contin- 
ously  been  in  the  city's  employ  and  is  yet 
the  active  head  of  the  department  of  public 
works.    He  built  the  reservoirs  as  a  part  of 
the  city  water  system ;    was  identified  with 
the  fire  department  for  five  years;    served 
five  years  in  Common  Council;    four  years 
on  the  Board  of  Aldermen;    and  six  years 
on  the  School  Board.     He  is  a  member  of 
the  Germania  Benevolent  Society,  Holyoke 
Gymnastic  Club,  Harrigari  Lodge,  and  the 
Lutheran  Church. 

Henry  Winkler  married,  July  16,  1868, 
Elizabeth  Leining,  born  in  Scalten,  Ger- 
many, daughter  of  Henry  and  Katherina 
Leining.  Children:  Frederick  Adam,  of 
further  mention;  Henry  (2),  married  Jen- 
nie Fletcher,  and  has  a  son,  Allen ;  Amelia, 
married  Cornelius  Hurley,  and  has  chil- 
dren :  Evelyn,  Lillie  and  Cornelia  Hurley ; 
Minnie,  married  Jeremiah  Hurley;    Lillie, 


312 


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ins  special  linc-^. 

on  and 

aierested  in  sports, 

ill 

•  the  Holyoke  Ea^M- 

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ague.     He  is  a  mer.  'v, 

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urn  Verein ;  Gerniaj! 

olent  Society 

Springfield  Lodge. 

;s,  Frank  an 

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listed    for   three   ye:us    u^   :lic 

e     Free    and    Accept. 

iiierit.  Connecticut  Heavy  Artili' 

Royal  Arch 

d  with  his  battery  at  Gettysburg  and 

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result  of  his  service  and  exp . 
ted    him   within   hospital   walls, 
■  to  remain  for  r. 

..       I    service.     He 

discharged  from  the  service  of  the  govern-' 
then  returned  to  his 
and  following  tV- 
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/^i 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


years  before  his  death.  Frank  J.,  the  son, 
inherited  the  father's  adventurous  disposi- 
tion, and  during  his  twenty  years  service  on 
the  Holyoke  police  force  evidenced  the  same 
devotion  to  duty  and  fearlessness  of  dispo- 
sition which  distinguished  the  father. 

Frank  J.  Gallagher  is  a  grandson  of 
Frank  Gallagher,  born,  lived  and  died  in 
Glasgow,  Scotland,  a  dyer  by  trade.  His 
wife  died  young,  leaving  an  only  son,  Pat- 
rick Frank  Gallagher,  the  father  of  Frank 
Joseph  Gallagher.  Patrick  Frank  Gal- 
lagher was  born  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  in 
1842,  died  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  in 
February,  1916.  He  attended  all  available 
schools  during  his  boyhood,  but  early  began 
learning  the  steam  fitter's  trade.  The  Cri- 
mean War  then  came  on,  and  as  a  drum- 
mer boy  he  took  the  Queen's  Shilling  and 
served  until  that  war  was  over.  Upon  his 
return  he  was  employed  as  cabin  boy  on  a 
steamer  plying  the  Irish  sea  between  Glas- 
gow and  Belfast.  Later  he  went  to  the  en- 
gine room  as  fireman,  and  was  so  employed 
for  several  years.  Becoming  an  expert,  he 
enlisted  as  a  first  class  fireman  in  the  Eng- 
lish Navy.  He  traveled  on  English  ships  to 
many  ports,  and  in  1862  was  in  Halifax, 
Nova  Scotia.  With  others  he  came  to  the 
United  States,  and  enlisted  in  the  Navy  for 
a  term  of  three  years,  receiving  an  honora- 
ble discharge  at  the  end  of  his  term.  After 
his  discharge  from  the  United  States  Navy 
he  returned  to  Glasgow,  and  was  there  em- 
ployed as  a  stationary  engineer  in  the  Tre- 
mont  Chemical  Works,  the  largest  plant  of 
its  kind  in  Scotland.  In  1870  he  came  to 
the  United  States,  settled  in  Brooklyn,  New 
York,  and  for  two  years  was  an  engineer 
on  the  ferry  boats  of  the  Fulton  Ferry  Com- 
pany, plying  the  East  river  between  the  cit- 
ies of  New  York  and  Brooklyn.  In  1872 
he  came  to  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  and 
that  city  was  his  home  until  his  death  in 
1916.  He  continued  as  fireman  or  engineer 
in  the  Holyoke  plants  until   1908,  then  re- 


tired. He  built  a  six  apartment  house  at 
No.  411  Maple  street  in  1890,  and  was  for 
many  years  in  prosperous  circumstances. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  but  was  a  most  quiet,  unas- 
suming man,  fond  of  his  home  and  taking 
little  part  in  outside  affairs,  his  early  life 
of  adventure  and  excitement  having  satis- 
fied his  cravings  for  the  strenuous  life. 

Mr.  Gallagher  married  Jane  McNaught, 
daughter  of  Frank  McNaught,  of  Glasgow, 
who  survived  her  husband  and  is  still  a  res- 
ident of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts  (1918). 
Their  children  were :  Frank  Joseph,  of 
further  mention ;  Jennie  and  Catherine, 
died  in  infancy  ;   Margaret. 

Frank  Joseph  Gallagher  was  born  in  Glas- 
gow, Scotland,  October  3,  1862,  and  there 
spent  the  first  seven  years  of  his  life.  He 
came  to  the  United  States  with  his  mother 
in  1869,  a  year  before  the  father's  coming, 
and  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  Brooklyn,  New 
York,  and  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  his  ed- 
ucation was^'acquired.  After  schooldays 
w^ere  ended  he  was  variously  employed, 
finally  becoming  a  capable  stationary  engi- 
neer. In  1890  he  was  appointed  to  the 
Holyoke  police  force,  and  for  twenty  years, 
ending  February,  1910,  he  was  one  of  the 
capable  men  of  the  force.  In  February, 
1910,  he  resigned  his  position,  and  since 
that  time  has  been  engaged  in  business,  con- 
ducting a  tobacco  and  confectionery  store. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Loyal  Order  of 
Moose  and  of  Holy  Cross  Church. 

Mr.  Gallagher  married  (first)  in  1885, 
Margaret  Murphy,  born  in  Killarney,  Ire- 
land, daughter  of  Owen  and (Bren- 

nan)  Murphy,  their  two  children  both  dy- 
ing in  infancy.  He  married  (second)  in 
1896,  Nora  Delaney,  born  in  Ireland,  daugh- 
ter of  Maurice  and (Fitzgerald)  De- 
laney. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gallagher  are  the 
parents  of  a  daughter,  Jennie,  born  in 
March,  1898,  and  of  a  son,  Frank,  born 
August  13,   1900. 


315 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


LeBLANC,  Joseph  A., 

Respected  Citizen. 

The  LeBlanc  family  was  founded  in  Can- 
ada by  Arthur  LeBlanc  who,  with  his  two 
brothers,  came  from  France  and  settled  at 
St.  Jacques,  where  he  married,  and  en- 
gaged in  farming,  assisted  by  his  only  son, 
Charles  LeBlanc,  father  of  Charles  (2) 
LeBlanc,  and  grandfather  of  Joseph  A.  Le- 
Blanc, of  Holyoke.  Charles  LeBlanc,  a 
farmer,  and  wife  Margaret,  were  the  par- 
ents of:  Joseph,  Charles  (2),  of  further 
mention,  Edward,  Margaret,  Celia  and 
Philomene,  all  deceased. 

Charles  (2)  LeBlanc  was  born  in  St. 
Jacques,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  in 
1838,  died  there  in  1871.  He  was  a  harness 
maker  by  trade,  and  for  many  years  con- 
ducted his  own  shop  at  St.  Jacques.  He 
married  Odele  Burque,  born  in  the  Prov- 
ince of  Quebec,  in  1838,  and  died  there  in 
1894.  Children :  Joseph  A.,  of  further 
mention;  Edward  A.,  a  priest  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  church  in  Canada ;  Margaret, 
deceased ;  Albina ;  Mary  Louise ;  Eliza- 
beth, deceased. 

Joseph  A.  LeBlanc  was  born  in  St. 
Jasques,  Quebec,  Canada,  December  25,  1862, 
and  there  attended  town  schools  until  fifteen 
years  of  age.  He  then  began  learning  the 
harness  maker's  trade,  and  in  May,  1883, 
came  to  the  United  States  and  found  em- 
ployment at  Richboro.  He  then  spent  a 
year  in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  in  these 
towns  found  work  at  his  trade,  becoming  an 
expert  at  all  kinds  of  harness  work.  From 
Hartford  he  came  to  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts, which  city  has  ever  since  been  his 
home.  For  a  time  he  was  in  the  employ  of 
the  Norman  Paper  Company,  of  Holyoke, 
then  for  fifteen  years  was  with  the  Victor 
Sporting  Goods  Company,  of  Chicopee 
Falls,  and  later  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
following  that  service  by  three  years'  work 
in  the  gun  shop  at  Chicopee  Falls.     For  a 


short  time  he  was  with  an  automobile  man- 
ufacturing concern,  then  for  two  seasons 
was  in  charge  of  all  the  parks  in  Holyoke  as 
park  keeper.  In  1910  he  built  the  "Nor- 
man," a  twenty-five  apartment  house  in 
Holyoke,  and  since  that  year  has  devoted 
his  time  to  its  management  and  care.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Church  of  Perpetual  Help 
(Roman  Catholic). 

Mr.  LeBlanc  married,  September  21, 
1887,  Athemise  St.  Pierre,  born  at  Bromp- 
ton  Falls,  Canada,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Philomine  (Crosslin)  St.  Pierre.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  LeBlanc  are  the  parents  of  two  sons, 
I.  George,  born  June  14,  1890,  died  in  July, 
1916;  he  was  one  of  the  rising  business 
men  of  Holyoke  at  the  time  of  his  death; 
he  married  Eva  Raymond,  and  left  a  son, 
Lester,  born  September  i,  1912.  2.  Lionel, 
born  August  28,  1896,  is  now  (1918)  with 
the  American  expeditionary  forces  in 
France. 


MERRICK,  Judson  Leonard, 

Assistant    Superintendent    of    Merrick 
Liumber    Company. 

Nine  generations  of  Merricks  have  in- 
habited New  England  since  the  first  settle- 
ment, and  until  the  removal  of  "Esquire" 
John  Merrick,  of  the  third  generation, 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  was  the  fam- 
ily seat.  Thomas  Merrick,  the  founder,  was 
one  of  the  early  settlers  of  that  city.  He 
was  a  man  of  considerable  influence  and 
standing  in  that  settlement,  which  was  at 
the  time  a  new  one.  Esquire  John  Merrick 
became  equally  prominent  in  Willington, 
Connecticut,  that  being  the  family  seat  un- 
til the  return  of  the  thread  manufacturing 
branch  of  the  family  to  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  the  founding  there  of  the 
Merrick  Thread  Company,  which  through 
the  universal  use  of  that  commodity  has 
made  the  city  famous  throughout  the  world. 
The  founder  of  the  Merrick  Thread  Com- 


316 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


pany  was  Timothy  Merrick,  son  of  Colonel 
Joseph  Merrick,  brother  of  Rev.  Samuel 
Dunton  Merrick,  and  uncle  of  Joseph  Stu- 
art Merrick,  (who  was  long  associated  with 
the  company,  and  other  important  business 
interests).  Joseph  Stuart  Merrick,  the  fath- 
er of  Judson  Leonard  Merrick,  of  the  ninth 
American  generation,  settled  in  Holyoke, 
something  over  a  half  a  century  ago,  hav- 
ing returned  the  year  before  from  two 
years  service  in  the  Union  army.  He  chose 
the  lumber  business  as  his  activity,  and  in 
its  own  sphere  the  Merrick  Lumber  Com- 
pany did  a  great  deal  toward  the  upbuilding 
of  a  great  commercial  city.  Holyoke  has 
vastly  profited  through  the  energy  and  pub- 
lic spirit  of  Merricks,  not  only  in  a  business 
sense  but  from  the  encouragement  and  sup- 
port given  to  civil  affairs,  philanthropy  and 
religion.  Judson  Leonard  Merrick,  a  twen- 
tieth century  representative,  of  the  ninth 
generation,  has  been  a  resident  of  Holyoke 
since  his  fifth  year  and  from  youth  has 
been  identified  with  the  Merrick  Lumber 
Company,  of  which  he  is  now  assistant  su- 
perintendent. 

Thomas  Merrick,  the  founder  of  this 
branch  of  the  Merrick  family,  was  born 
about  1620,  and  came  to  New  England 
about  the  year  1636.  He  was  at  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts,  in  1638,  and  on  July 
14,  1639,  married  (first)  Sarah  Stebbins, 
daughter  of  Rowland  Stebbins,  of  Spring- 
field. He  married  (second)  August  2, 
1653,  Elizabeth  Tilley,  the  line  of  descent 
being  through  their  eldest  son.  Captain  John 
Merrick,  who  like  his  father  was  a  man 
of  means  and  influence  in  the  city  they 
aided  to  found  and  build.  Captain  John 
Merrick  was  born  in  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, November  9,  1658,  died  April  10, 
1748.  He  served  eight  terms  as  selectman; 
was  captain  of  the  military  company  and  a 
man  of  consequence  in  his  community.  He 
married  Mary  Day,  and  they  were  the  par- 
ents of  thirteen  sons  and  daughters. 


Esquire  John  Merrick,  son  of  Captain 
John  Merrick,  was  born  in  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  September  27,  1692,  died 
January,  1778.  He  married,  January  23, 
171 7,  Sarah  Parsons,  of  Springfield,  who 
died  December,  1776.  They  moved  to  Wil- 
lington,  Connecticut,  where  he  became  in- 
terested in  banking,  he  being  the  first  man 
in  Willington  to  hold  bank  official  position. 
He  was  treasurer  of  the  town  for  several 
years ;  served  as  selectman  and  was  one 
of  the  town's  useful,  progressive  citizens. 
The  line  of  descent  is  through  his  son,  Jo- 
seph Merrick,  born  at  Willington,  Connecti- 
cut, in  October,  1733,  died  in  April,  1787. 
He  married,  in  January,  1755,  Ann  Holt, 
who  died  in  1806.  They  were  the  parents 
of  five  sons,  all  of  whom  studied  medicine, 
but  all  did  not  practice. 

Timothy  Merrick,  of  the  fifth  generation, 
son  of  Joseph  and  Ann  (Holt)  Merrick, 
was  born  at  Tolland,  Connecticut,  in  Au- 
gust, 1760,  but  lived  at  Willington,  where 
he  died  at  the  homestead  farm  in  West 
Willington  in  January,  1810.  He  studied 
medicine  and  was  qualified  to  practice  but 
never  did  so,  being  an  agriculturist  all  his 
life.  He  built  the  homestead  at  W'est  W'il- 
lington,  in  1790,  and  all  the  lumber  used 
in  its  construction  grew  upon  his  own  farm. 
It  was  a  very  fine  dwelling  for  that  period, 
the  interior  finish  being  in  hard  woods.  He 
was  a  private  of  the  Twenty-second  Regi- 
ment, Massachusetts  militia.  He  married, 
in  November,  1787,  Mehetabel  Atwood, 
who  died  in  July,  1855,  aged  ninety  years. 

Colonel  Joseph  Merrick,  son  of  Timothy 
and  Mehetabel  (Atwood)  Merrick,  is  of 
greater  interest  to  the  present  generation 
in  Holyoke,  as  he  was  the  father  of  Tim- 
othy Merrick,  founder  of  the  Merrick 
Thread  Company ;  of  Rev.  Samuel  Dun- 
ton  Merrick,  the  Baptist  minister ;  and  of 
Lovina  Merrick,  who  married  Joseph  G. 
Rider ;  and  was  the  grandfather  of  Joseph 
Stuart  Merrick,  one  of  the  founders  of  the 


317 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Merrick  Lumber  Company;  and  great- 
grandfather of  Judson  Leonard  Merrick, 
all  of  whom  live  or  did  live  in  Holyoke  and 
were  well  known  citizens.  Colonel  Joseph 
Merrick  was  born  at  Willington,  July  2, 
1789,  died  January  5,  1854.  He  married, 
April  10,  1814,  Lodicea  Dunton,  born  April 
24,  1794,  died  September  i,  1857.  They 
were  both  deeply  religious,  and  in  the  rear- 
ing of  their  children  spared  nothing  that 
would  add  to  the  proper  development  of 
their  minds  and  bodies,  with  due  weight 
being  given  to  the  care  of  their  spiritual 
being.  Precept  and  example  was  often  re- 
inforced by  more  worldly  methods,  but  the 
family  was  a  noted  one  and  from  that  Wil- 
lington farmhouse,  where  all  labored,  there 
went  out  sons  who  carried  the  message 
taught  by  godly  parents  into  the  pulpit  and 
into  great  business  enterprises.  Colonel 
Joseph  Merrick  inherited  the  old  Willing- 
ton  farm,  and  in  its  cultivation  and  in  pur- 
suit of  his  trade  he  lived  a  busy  life.  He 
was  a  good  singer,  as  was  also  his  wife ; 
taught  a  singing  school ;  led  the  choir  of 
their  church ;  and  was  a  pillar  of  the 
church.  The  Merricks  were  Congregation- 
alists,  but  Lodicea  Dunton  was  a  Baptist, 
and  after  her  marriage  to  Colonel  Joseph 
Merrick  his  religious  views  underwent  a 
change  and  the  children  were  reared  in  the 
Baptist   faith. 

Rev.  Samuel  Dunton  Merrick,  son  of 
Colonel  Joseph  and  Lodicea  (Dunton)  Mer- 
rick, was  born  at  Willington,  Connecticut, 
April  29,  181 5,  died  in  Addison,  New  York. 
He  obtained  a  public  school  education,  and 
until  twenty-one  years  of  age  remained  at 
the  home  farm  as  his  father's  assistant.  He 
followed  farming  in  connection  with  prep- 
aration for  the  ministry,  for  he  felt  that 
was  a  call  he  could  not  disregard.  '  He  was 
licensed  to  preach  in  1859,  and  was  regularly 
ordained  a  minister  of  the  Baptist  church, 
in  1 861,  and  for  thirty-one  years  followed 
his  holy  calling  most  acceptably  to  the  con- 

3 


gregations  he  served.  He  was  at  various 
times  stationed  as  pastor  of  Baptist  church- 
es at  Ontario,  Webster,  Caton,  and  Addi- 
son, all  in  New  York  State,  and  for  twelve 
years  was  pastor  of  the  church  at  Tioga, 
Pennsylvania.  He  married,  March  14, 
1839,  at  Eastford,  Connecticut,  Evalina 
Jones  Lyon,  daughter  of  Francis  Lyon. 

Joseph  Stuart  Merrick,  son  of  Rev. 
Samuel  Dunton  and  Evalina  Jones  (Lyon) 
Merrick,  was  born  in  Willington,  Connec- 
ticut, May  17,  1842,  died  in  Holyoke,  Mas- 
sachusetts, January  9,  1908.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  public  schools,  and  for  a  time  after 
leaving  school  was  employed  in  New  York 
State.  On  August  8,  1862,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  B,  Ninth  Regiment,  New  York 
Heavy  Artillery,  and  served  creditably  un- 
til honorably  discharged  in  January,  1864. 
A  year  later  he  came  to  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  later,  with  his  brothers,  Tim- 
othy, John,  and  A.  Judson  Merrick,  pur- 
chased the  well  established  lumber  business 
of  Wiggin  &  Flagg  and  for  several  years  the 
brothers  conducted  a  prosperous  business, 
as  a  firm  partnership.  They  then  organized 
as  an  incorporation.  The  Merrick  Lumber 
Company,  of  which  Timothy  Merrick  was 
president.  Joseph  S.  Merrick  continued 
actively  associated  with  the  business  and 
corporation  until  his  death,  contributing  his 
full  share  to  its  development.  The  Merrick 
Lumber  Company,  in  its  field,  is  as  great 
a  commercial  success  as  is  the  Merrick 
Thread  Company  in  its  field,  and  both  have 
contributed  largely  to  Holyoke's  greatness. 
The  brothers  who  founded  and  long  con- 
trolled the  business  have  departed,  only  A. 
Judson  Merrick  remaining  of  the  original 
four. 

Joseph  Stuart  Merrick  married,  at  Wood- 
stock, Connecticut,  Florence  Deane,  daughter 
of  Charles  R.  and  Olive  (Leonard)  Deane. 
Their  only  daughter,  Josie  E.,  died  in  1893, 
their  only  son,  Judson  Leonard,  is  of  furth- 
er mention.    Mr.  Merrick  was  a  man  of  ex- 


18 


5F  BIOGRAPHY 


lUghter  ■: 

art    Me: 

n  and  E\ 

born  in 

1842,  di-..  .  , 

■uiary  9,  1908 

schools,  ant' 

V  IS  employ'  : 

I  8,  186; 

'■\  Regimcai, 

■■'  served  crt 

i  in  Jar. 


various 

fist  church- 

'    '  Addi- 

f-xvelve 

•  4> 


"les  (Lyon) 
n,  Connec- 
.lypke,  Mas- 
He  was  edu- 
:e  after 

V  York 
sted  in 

V  York 


■  tsiness, 

i.K'ii  crganized 

>ierrick  Lumber 

imothy  Merrick  was 

.    .1.    Merrick   continued 

i   with  the  business  and 

Ml  his  death,  contributing  his 

' .  lis  development.    The  Merrick 

ompany,  in  its  field,  is  as  great 

rcial    success   as   is   the   Merrick 

.  ^_ompany  in  its  field,  and  both  have 

rjuted  Wgely  to  Holyoke's  greatness. 

>rothers  who  founded  and  long  con- 

!  the  business  have  departed,  only  A. 

>n  Merrick  remaining  of  the  original 

:vh  :-■•:•.,?  Merrick  married,  .t' 
lorence  Df:;' 


only  dr.   , 
only  son,  Juc 


is  of  f  urth- 
..t  man  of  ex- 


r]-:< 


^'!i    m^. 


^^Om^r''^ 


^iC   ; 


steemed 


■i)  Merrick, 

ut,  Decem- 

.„  .    .,^,  ,  _,   ..,..■,  brought  to 

HoK'oke   '  -,  which  city  is  yet 

full  course  of 

ass  of  1890. 
.«us  u  student  at  Worcester  School  or  Tecii- 
iiology,  but  before  finishinr    '■    .     :r....  .,-. 
tered  the  employ  of  the    ' 
Company,    in    an    humble    pos: 
which  he  has  r^-'-  0-       »•-  "^  ■■■ 
tions  to  hi*  oi 
tendes 


hand    it 

635   and 

ne  came 

home  in 

z,   Sam- 

moving 

ecticut ; 

whelhci    li: 

yet  an 

open  quest  : 

Boston 

as  early  a^ 

Hen- 

.■■>i , .    .1 1  ■■..  1.1 

tly    in 

He    marriet- 

bitha, 

'd    in 

end- 

-y  it 

nuel 

luel 

-ds, 

lis- 

ns- 

;c- 

In 

nt 

is 

y 

ti 

are  ot 

«'■  • 

ne  fami! 

A     ■      J 

Fay,  I 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


dock)  Eddy,  of  Middleboro,  and  lived  in 
Berkley.  Children :  Charlotte  Maria,  born 
1811,  died  1818;  Susanna  W.,  1815,  mar- 
ried Samuel  Breck;  Elisha,  1817,  died  1843, 
a  physician,  unmarried;  Charlotte  M.,  1820, 
died  1841  ;  Joshua  Eddy,  mentioned  be- 
low ;  Irene  Lazell,  1826,  married  Dr.  Thom- 
as Nichols;  Lydia,  1829,  died  1833;  Mor- 
ton Eddy,  1831,  died  1857,  unmarried.  Ly- 
dia (Eddy)  Crane  died  February  10,  1842. 
Barzillai  Crane  married  (second)  in  1844, 
Eliza  Tobey,  daughter  of  Apollos  and  Han- 
nah (Crane)  Tobey,  of  Berkley.  He  died 
June  15,  1 85 1.  Eliza  (Tobey)  Crane,  born 
October  29,  1801,  died  December  9,  1882. 

Mrs.  Lydia  (Eddy)  Crane,  wife  of  Bar- 
zillai Crane,  was  born  December  23,  1787, 
daughter  of  Captain  Joshua  and  Lydia 
(Paddock)  Eddy,  Joshua  Eddy  being  a  di- 
rect descendant  of  Samuel  Eddy,  who  was 
the  son  of  William  Eddy,  A.  M.,  vicar  of 
St.  Dunstan's  Church,  Cranbrook,  County 
Kent,  England,  and  his  wife,  Mary  (Fost- 
en)  Eddy.  Samuel  Eddy  came  from  Box- 
ted,  County  Suffolk,  England,  to  America 
in  the  ship  "Handmaid,"  in  1630,  settling 
in  Plymouth,  where  he  purchased  property 
in  1 63 1.  From  this  Samuel  Eddy  and  his 
wife  Elizabeth  the  descent  of  Lydia  Eddy  is 
through  Obadiah  and  his  wife  Bennet, 
Samuel  (2)  and  his  wife  Melatiah  (Pratt), 
Zechariah  and  his  wife  Mercy  (Morton), 
and  Captain  Joshua  Eddy  and  his  wife 
Lydia  (Paddock). 

Captain  Joshua  Eddy  saw  much  hard  ser- 
vice in  the  Revolution.  He  entered  the  ser- 
vice, enlisting  in  1775,  in  Captain  Benson's 
company.  Colonel  Cotton's  regiment ;  was 
at  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  during  the  siege 
of  Boston,  and  at  the  battle  of  Breed's 
(Bunker)  Hill.  In  1776  he  was  lieutenant 
in  Colonel  Marshall's  regiment  and  went  to 
Castle  Island.  He  was  in  the  retreat  from 
Ticonderoga  and  was  at  Saratoga  at  the 
surrender  of  General  Burgoyne.  He  then 
went  to  New  Jersey,  was  in  winter  quarters 

MASS.— 7— 21.  32] 


with  General  Washington,  and  was  at  the 
battle  of  Monmouth.  After  the  close  of 
the  war  he  was  extensively  engaged  in  vari- 
ous kinds  of  business.  He  was  a  man  of 
unusual  energy.  For  many  years  he  was  a 
deacon  in  the  church  of  his  community.  He 
died  in  1833. 

(VII)  Joshua  Eddy  Crane,  son  of  Bar- 
zillai and  Lydia  (Eddy)  Crane,  was  born 
July  9,  1823,  in  the  town  of  Berkley,  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  acquired  his  education  in 
both  the  public  and  private  schools  of  his 
native  town.  Desiring  to  enter  business  he, 
at  sixteen  years  of  age,  began  preparation 
for  it  in  the  office  of  a  commission  mer- 
chant in  New  York  City.  Later,  in  1844,  he 
was  at  Bridgewater  with  his  uncle,  Morton 
Eddy,  who  retired  from  the  firm  in  1848. 
Thereafter  while  in  active  business  the  con- 
cern was  conducted  by  Mr.  Crane.  A  man 
of  ability,  good  judgment,  one  successful  in 
the  management  of  his  own  business  affairs, 
Mr.  Crane  was  soon  found  by  his  fellow 
citizens  to  possess  the  qualities  required 
in  the  same,  and  as  a  conservative  public 
man  was  often  sought  and  long  continued  in 
public  official  service.  He  cast  his  first  vote 
in  1844  for  the  candidates  of  the  Liberty 
party,  having  been  present  at  the  organiza- 
tion of  that  party  at  Boston.  He  soon  be- 
came active  politically  in  local  affairs.  He 
was  a  delegate  to  the  Worcester  convention, 
at  which  Judge  Charles  Allen  presided,  and 
at  which  was  organized  the  Republican  par- 
ty in  Massachusetts.  For  many  years  he 
was  chairman  of  the  Republican  town  com- 
mittee of  Bridgewater,  and  also  a  member 
of  the  State  Republican  Committee.  In 
1857  he  was  a  representative  for  the  town 
in  the  General  Court.  On  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Civil  War,  in  1861,  when  party  lines 
were  almost  obliterated,  he  was  chosen  sena- 
tor from  the  South  Plymouth  district,  and  in 
the  following  year  was  almost  unanimously 
again  elected  to  that  body,  the  Democrats 
making  no  nomination  ajrainst  him.     While 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  Senate  he  had  the  honor  of  taking  Appleton,  1865,  died  1887.  Joshua  E. 
part  in  the  election  of  Hon.  Charles  Sum- 
ner to  the  United  States  Senate  from  Mas- 
sachusetts. In  the  Senate  he  served  on  the 
committees  on  claims  and  on  mercantile  af- 
fairs and  insurance.  He  was  town  clerk 
of  Bridgewater  for  several  years,  from 
1855  to  1858  inclusive,  and  in  1873  '^'^•^ 
1874.  For  more  than  thirty  years  he  was 
in  various  capacities  connected  with  the 
Plymouth  County  Agricultural  Society,  and 
for  a  number  of  years  was  treasurer  and 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  that  so- 
ciety. On  the  occasion  of  the  celebration 
of  the  fiftieth  anniversary,  September  30, 
1869,  he  delivered  the  historical  address. 
For  a  dozen  and  more  years  he  served  as 
chairman  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
State  Workhouse  at  Bridgewater,  and  for 
twenty  and  more  years  was  a  trustee  of  the 
Bridgewater  Academy,  and  was  active  in 
the  erection  of  the  present  school  build- 
ing. For  upward  of  twenty-five  years  Mr. 
Crane  was  a  correspondent  for  the  news- 
papers of  the  vicinity,  writing  many  sketch- 
es of  interest  to  those  of  antiquarian  tastes. 
He  prepared  the  sketch  of  the  town  of 
Bridgewater  contained  in  the  "History  of 
Plymouth  County,"  published  in  1884.  His 
religious  faith  was  that  of  the  Central 
Square  Congregational  Church  in  Bridge- 
water,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and  he 
was  chairman  of  the  building  committee 
at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  present 
church  edifice. 

On  January  9,  1849,  Mr.  Crane  married 
Lucy  Ann  Reed,  born  September  25,  1825, 
daughter  of  the  late  Quincy  and  Lucy 
(Loud)  Reed,  of  Weymouth,  Massachu- 
setts, and  their  children  were :  Joshua  Ed- 
dy, mentioned  below ;  Charles  Reed,  born 
1852;  Lucy  Reed,  1854,  died  1856;  Mor- 
ton Eddy,  1857,  of  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
Henry  Lovell,  January  31,  i860,  died 
March  16,  1905;  Anna  Howe,  1862,  mar- 
ried  Charles   A.    Drew,    M.    D. ;    Edward 


Crane  died  in  Bridgewater,  August  5,  li 
Lucy  Ann   (Reed)    Crane  died  September 
24,  1898. 

Quincy  Reed,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Crane, 
descended  from  William  Reade,  who  set- 
tled in  Weymouth  in  1635,  from  whom 
his  descent  is  through  Thomas  Reed  and 
his  wife  Sarah  (Bicknell)  ;  John  Reed  and 
his  wife  Sarah  (Whitmarsh)  ;  John  Reed 
(2)  and  his  wife  Mary  (Bate)  and  Ezra 
Reed  and  his  wife  Mary  (Lovell). 

(VIII)  Joshua  Eddy  (2)  Crane,  son  of 
Joshua  Eddy  (i)  and  Lucy  Ann  (Reed) 
Crane,  was  born  October  i,  1850,  in  Bridge- 
water,  Massachusetts,  and  there  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  the  place  and  at  the 
Bridgewater  Academy,  then  under  the  in- 
struction of  Mr.  Horace  M.  Willard.  He 
furthered  his  studies  at  Brown  University, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1872.  Mr. 
Crane  was  preceptor  of  Bridgewater 
Academy,  1873-75  J  principal  of  the  English 
preparatory  department  of  the  Syrian  Prot- 
estant College,  Beirut,  Syria,  1876-79 ;  sub- 
sequently was  employed  as  private  tutor ; 
and  was  in  charge  of  the  Latin  classes  of 
Albany  Academy,  Albany,  New  York,  un- 
til 1884,  when  he  became  librarian  of  the 
Young  Men's  Association  of  Albany.  In 
1887  he  accepted  the  position  of  associate 
principal  of  the  Portland  Latin  School  at 
Portland,  Maine,  and  in  1890  resumed  his 
former  position  at  the  library,  from  which 
he  withdrew  in  1892.  He  became  librarian 
of  the  Public  Library  of  Taunton  in  1895. 
He  is  an  officer  of  the  Old  Colony  His- 
torical Society,  and  of  the  Old  Bridgewater 
Historical   Society. 

Mr.  Crane  married,  January  i,  1884, 
Katharine  Perkins,  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Amelia  Bartlett  (Sherman)  Perkins,  of 
Bridgewater  (see  Perkins  VIII).  Their 
daughter  is  Clara  Whitney  Crane  (Rad- 
clifife,  1914). 


322 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


(The   Perkins   Line). 

(I)  Abraham  Perkins,  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  was 
made  a  freeman,  May  13,  1640.  He  was 
a  man  of  good  education,  was  much  em- 
ployed in  the  service  of  the  town,  and  died 
August  31,  1683,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two. 
His  widow  IMary  died  May  29,  1706,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-eight.  The  will  of  Abraham 
Perkins,  dated  August  22,  1683,  and  pro- 
bated September  18,  1683,  contains  the 
names  of  his  wife  and  sons  Jonathan, 
Humphrey,  James,  Luke  and  David.  To 
the  last  two  were  given  five  shillings  each, 
as  they  had  already  received  their  share. 
The  names  of  the  children  of  Abraham 
Perkins  were  :  Mary  ;  Abraham ;  Luke  ; 
Humphrey,  died  young ;  James,  died  young ; 
Timothy,  died  young;  James,  Jonathan, 
David,  Abigail,  Timothy,  Sarah  and 
Humphrey. 

(II)  David  Perkins,  son  of  Abraham  and 
Mary  Perkins,  born  February  28,  1653,  set- 
tled in  Beverly  about  1675,  and  in  1688  be- 
came a  resident  of  Bridgewater,  in  that  part 
of  the  town  which  became  the  South  Pre- 
cinct. In  1694  he  built  the  first  mill  at  the 
site  of  the  iron  works  of  Messrs.  Lazell, 
Perkins  &  Company,  known  afterwards  as 
the  Bridgewater  Iron  Company,  and  was  en- 
gaged in  the  occupation  of  blacksmith.  He 
was  the  first  representative  of  the  town  in 
the  General  Court  at  Boston  after  the  union 
of  the  colonies  of  Plymouth  and  Massachu- 
setts, in  1692,  and  also  served  in  this  ca- 
pacity in  1694,  and  from  1704  to  1707,  in- 
clusive. His  death  occurred  October  i, 
1736.  He  married,  in  1676,  Elizabeth 
Brown,  born  October  17,  1654,  died  July 
14,  1735,  daughter  of  Francis  Brown,  of 
Beverly.  In  his  will  of  June  17,  1736,  he 
names  his  sons  :  David  ;  Abraham ;  Thom- 
as, sole  executor,  and  Nathan,  deceased, 
and  grandchildren :  David  and  Jonathan, 
children  of  his  son  David,  and  Nathan,  Tim- 
othy, James,  Solomon,  Martha  and  Silence, 


children  of  Nathan.  His  children  were : 
Mary,  David,  Nathan  and  Thomas,  who 
resided  in  Bridgewater  ;  and  Abraham,  who 
became  a  settler  in  Kingston,  Rhode  Island, 
and  died  in  1746. 

(III)  Thomas  Perkins,  son  of  David  and 
Elizabeth  (Brown)  Perkins,  born  May  8, 
1688,  in  Bridgewater,  lived  near  the  site  of 
the  present  iron  works,  and  died  June  5, 
1761.  He  married,  February  20,  1717, 
Mary  Washburn,  supposed  to  be  the  daugh- 
ter of  James  and  Mary  (Bowden)  Wash- 
burn, of  Bridgewater,  died  April  23,  1750. 
Children:  Mary,  born  1718,  married,  1742, 
Josiah  Hay  ward  ;  Hepzibah,  1720,  married, 
1746,  Elezer  Carver;  Thomas,  1722,  mar- 
ried, 1748,  Mary  Pratt;  Charles,  1724, 
died  1726;  Ebenezer,  mentioned  below; 
Francis,  1729,  married,  1762,  Susanna  Wa- 
terman. 

(IV)  Ebenezer  Perkins,  son  of  Thomas 
and  Mary  (Washburn)  Perkins,  born  April 
20,  1727,  died  May  31,  1770.  He  married, 
February  28,  1751,  Experience  Holmes. 
Children :  Ebenezer,  mentioned  below ; 
Mary,  born  1753;  Holmes,  1757;  Hepzi- 
bah, 1759;  Susanna,  1764;  Nancy,  1769, 
married  Rufus  Leach. 

(V)  Ebenezer  (2)  Perkins,  eldest  child 
of  Ebenezer  (i)  and  Experience  (Holmes) 
Perkins,  born  1752,  died  1823,  was  a  pa- 
triot in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  The 
records  of  Massachusetts  give  the  follow- 
ing: 

Ebenezer  Perkins,  of  Bridgewater,  private,  Capt. 
James  Allen's  company,  Col.  Simeon  Gary's  regi- 
ment, pay  abstract  for  mileage  dated,  "Camp  near 
New  York,  Aug.  9,  1776,"  mileage  for  251  miles 
allowed  the  said  Perkins,  private ;  also  Capt.  Na- 
thaniel Packard's  company,  Col.  Thomas  Carpen- 
ter's regiment,  entered  service  July  25,  1778,  dis- 
charged Sept.  9,  1778 — service  one  month  and  six- 
teen days,  at  Rhode  Island.  Roll  sworn  to  at  Ply- 
mouth. Was  also  among  the  descriptive  list  of 
men  raised  in  Plymouth  county  in  1779  to  serve 
in  the  Continental  army,  aged  twenty-seven  years, 
stature  six  feet,  complexion  dark.  Engaged  for 
town  of  Bridgewater;  reported  delivered  to  Capt. 


323 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


L.  Bailey.  Was  also  private,  Capt.  L.  Bailey's 
company,  Colonel  Bailey's  (2)  regiment;  entered 
service  July  25,  1779,  discharged  April  25,  1780, 
term  nine  months.  Was  also  among  a  descriptive 
list  of  men  raised  to  reinforce  the  Continental 
army  for  the  term  of  six  months,  agreeable  to  re- 
solve of  June  5,  1780;  returned  as  received  of  Jus- 
tin Ely,  commissioner,  by  Brig.  Gen.  John  Glover, 
at  Springfield,  Aug.  2,  1780,  aged  twenty-eight 
years,  stature  six  feet,  complexion  dark,  engaged 
for  town  of  Bridgewater,  arrived  at  Springfield 
July  31,  1780,  marched  to  camp  August  2,  1780, 
under  command  of  Lieut.  Benjamin  Pike.  Was 
also  among  the  list  of  men  raised  for  the  six 
months'  service  and  returned  by  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral Paterson  as  having  passed  muster  in  a  re- 
turn dated  October  25,  1780;  was  commissioned 
corporal.  Pay  roll  for  six  months'  men  raised  by 
the  town  of  Bridgewater  for  service  in  the  Conti- 
nental army  at  West  Point  during  1780,  marched 
July  12,  1780,  discharged  January  13,  1781,  service 
six  months  and  thirteen  days,  including  travel 
(240  miles)   home. 

Ebenezer  Perkins  married,  in  1782,  Mary 
Pratt,  daughter  of  Solomon  and  Mary 
(Keith)  Pratt,  died  in  1849.  Children: 
Ebenezer,  born  1783,  died  1784;  Mary  K., 
1784,  died  1786;  Daniel,  1786;  Thomas, 
1788;  Solomon,  mentioned  below;  Aaron, 
1792;  Oman,  1794;  Minerva,  1796;  Eb- 
enezer, 1798;  Simeon,  1801  ;  Mary  K., 
1802;   Ozias,  1804. 

(VI)  Solomon  Perkins,  son  of  Ebenezer 
(2)  and  Mary  (Pratt)  Perkins,  born  May 
16,  1790,  lived  in  Bridgewater,  and  died 
there,  February  26,  1880.  He  was  long 
engaged  as  a  foundryman  in  the  works  of 
Messrs.  Lazell,  Perkins  &  Company.  He 
married,  in  Bridgewater,  February  14,  1813. 
Clarissa  Robinson,  daughter  of  Dyer  and 
Abigail  (Stetson)  Robinson,  died  October 
12,1859.  Children:  Henry,  mentioned  be- 
low;  Charles  Robinson,  born  1816;  Wil- 
liam Franklin,  1818;  George  Sproat,  1820; 
Ebenezer,  1826;  Mary  K.  and  ^Martha  H. 
(twins),  1828;   Alfred  Holmes,  1830. 

(VII)  Henry  Perkins,  eldest  child  of 
Solomon  and  Clarissa  (Robinson)  Perkins, 
was  born  April  25,   181 4,  in  Bridgewater, 


and  died  March  24,  1901.  In  the  maternal 
line  of  descent  he  was  grandson  of  Dyer 
Robinson,  of  Bridgewater,  a  forgeman  in 
the  iron  works  of  Messrs.  Lazell,  Perkins 
&  Company,  and  was  a  nephew  of  Increase, 
Dyer,  Gad  and  Jacob  Robinson,  long  asso- 
ciated with  the  iron  works  in  Bridgewater, 
and  of  Charles  and  Enoch  Robinson,  of  the 
Old  Colony  Iron  Works  of  Taunton.  Mr. 
Perkins  received  his  early  training  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  place  and  at 
Bridgewater  Academy,  and  at  an  early  age 
entered  upon  the  occupation  of  an  iron 
worker  and  foundryman  with  employment 
at  Bridgewater,  Swanzey  and  in  the  Hud- 
son Valley.  In  1847,  about  the  time  of  his 
marriage,  Mr.  Perkins  established  an  iron 
foundry  in  Bridgewater  near  the  site  of  the 
cotton  gin  factory  of  Messrs.  Bates,  Hyde 
&  Company,  now  the  Continental  Gin  Com- 
pany factory,  and  soon  after  the  period  of 
the  Civil  War  erected  a  spacious  foundry 
and  machine  shop  on  the  line  of  the  Old 
Colony  railroad,  now  the  New  York,  New 
Haven  &  Hartford  railroad,  which  has  ever 
held  an  important  place  in  the  manufactur- 
ing establishments  of  the  town.  Mr.  Per- 
kins possessed  a  profound  knowledge  of  the 
history  and  development  of  the  iron  in- 
dustry and  with  the  eye  of  an  expert  gave 
attention  to  every  requirement  of  his  office 
and  to  the  operations  and  products  of  his 
foundry.  For  many  years  the  large  an- 
nual production  of  pianoforte  frames,  the 
inventions  of  the  Chickerings  and  other 
manufacturers,  included  much  of  the  work- 
manship of  this  foundry  and  established  its 
reputation  for  the  production  of  work  of 
the  best  quality  of  American  iron  and  illus- 
trative of  the  perfection  of  the  art  of  cast- 
ing. For  many  years  also  Mr.  Perkins  was 
interested  in  the  prosperity  of  the  Eagle 
Cotton  Gin  Company  of  Bridgewater,  which 
gave  employment  to  a  large  number  of  men, 
and  for  a  long  period  held  the  position  of 
president   of   the   company.      Interested   in 


324 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


public  affairs,  he  did  not  seek  nor  hold  po- 
litical office,  but  devoted  himself  to  the  de- 
mands of  his  occupation,  and  remained  in 
active  business  life  for  more  than  sixty 
years.  As  a  man  of  untiring  energy  and 
honorable  business  methods,  he  was 
enabled  to  achieve  success  in  his  under- 
takings and  was  respected  and  esteemed  by 
those  who  were  in  his  employ,  and  by  the 
members  of  the  community  of  which  he 
was  a  benefactor.  He  will  long  be  remem- 
bered for  his  spirit  of  benevolence  and  for 
the  qualities  of  heart  which  endeared  him 
to  his  family  and  associates. 

Mr.  Perkins  married,  July  i6,  1848,  Ame- 
lia Bartlett  Sherman,  daughter  of  x^aron 
Simmons  and  Lydia  (Whitney)  Sherman, 
of  Bridgewater.  Children :  Ralph,  born 
March  26,  1849;  Katharine,  mentioned  be- 
low; Henry,  November  24,  1853,  died  De- 
cember 12,  1854;  Annie,  January  24,  1855, 
died  July  2,  1858;  Clara,  May  11,  1856, 
died  May  24,  1888;  Ebenezer,  March  27, 
1859;  Charles,  March  24,  1862;  Amelia, 
June  16,  1864;  Enoch,  October  24,  1866; 
Harry  K.,  August  11,  1868;  Saba,  Septem- 
ber 7,   1869. 

(VIII)  Katharine  Perkins,  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Amelia  Bartlett  (  Sherman)  Per- 
kins, born  October  6,  185 1,  married,  Janu- 
ary I,  1884,  Joshua  Eddy  (2)  Crane,  of 
Bridgewater  and  Taunton  (see  Crane 
VIII).  They  have  a  daughter,  Clara  Whit- 
ney Crane  (Radcliffe,  1914). 


SACKETT,  George  I., 

Representative  Citizen. 

George  I.  Sackett,  the  well  known  yard 
master  of  the  Boston  &  Maine  Railroad,  lo- 
cated at  Holyoke,  comes  of  an  old  English 
family,  being  traced  back  in  that  country  to 
the  year  1066,  when  their  ancestor  came 
from  Normandy  with  William  the  Con- 
queror. The  names  Sackett  and  Sackville 
are  borne  by  the  descendants  of  this  Nor- 


man Knight,  and  in  the  Sackville  line  there 
is  a  record  of  Thomas  Sackville,  Earl  of 
Dorset,  born  in  1636. 

(I)  Simon  Sackett,  the  first  of  this  pres- 
ent line,  accompanied  by  his  brother  John 
and  a  nephew  John,  came  to  New  England, 
in  the  company  with  Roger  Williams,  in  the 
ship,  "Lion,"  which  sailed  December  i, 
1630,  from  Bristol,  England.  Simon  Sack- 
ett was  also  accompanied  by  his  wife  Isa- 
bel and  their  infant  son,  Simon,  Jr.  They 
landed  after  an  unusually  stormy  voyage,  at 
Boston,  February  5,  1631.  Simon  Sackett 
settled  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  and 
his  home  was  on  the  north  side  of  what  is 
now  Winthrop  street  in  the  center  of  the 
block  between  Brighton  and  Dunster  streets. 
He  lived  but  a  short  time  after  coming  to 
America,  his  death  occurring  in  October, 
1635.  On  November  3,  1635,  his  widow,  Is- 
abel Sackett,  was  granted  leave  to  admin- 
ister on  his  estate.  The  Widow  Sackett  and 
her  two  sons  were  among  the  company  of 
Roger  Williams  which  made  the  hard 
journey  to  form  the  settlement  at  Hartford, 
Connecticut.  She  there  became  the  wife  of 
William   Bloomfield. 

(II)  John  Sackett,  son  of  Simon  and  Is- 
abel Sackett,  was  born  in  Cambridge,  Mas- 
sachusetts, in  1632,  and  is  supposed  to  have 
been  the  first  white  child  born  there.  In 
1653  he  became  a  resident  of  Springfield, 
and  was  granted  land  there.  Shortly  after 
his  first  marriage  he  sold  his  house  and 
land  at  Springfield  and  removed  to  property 
he  had  purchased  at  Northampton.  He  re- 
sided there  until  1665,  when  he  again  sold 
his  property  and  removed  to  a  farm  pur- 
chased of  one  Chapin,  near  Westfield,  on 
what  are  now  Sackett's  Meadows.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  settlers  at  Westfield.  He 
built  a  house  and  barn,  both  of  which  were 
burned  October  27,  1675,  by  the  Indians, 
who  at  the  same  time  destroyed  a  large 
amount  of  other  property  and  drove  off  his 
cattle.     He  rebuilt  his  house  and  barn,  and 


325 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


erected  a  saw  mill  on  a  creek  which  ran  into 
the  Westfield  river.  John  Sackett  was  se- 
lectman in  Westfield  in  1672  and  at  various 
times  afterward,  as  late  as  1693.  He  mar- 
ried (first)  November  23,  1659,  Abigail 
Hannum,  born  1640,  died  October  9,  1690, 
daughter  of  \\'illiam  and  Honor  (Capen) 
Hannum.  He  married  (second)  Sarah, 
daughter  of  John  Stiles  and  widow  of  John 
Stewart,  of  Springfield.  His  will,  dated 
May  10,  1718,  was  proved  May  20,  1719. 
He  gave  all  his  real  estate  away  prior  to 
his  death. 

(III)  John  (2)  Sackett,  son  of  John  (i) 
and  Abigail  (  Hannum)  Sackett,  was  born 
in  Westfield,  November  4,  1660,  and  died 
December  20,  1745.  He  married  (first) 
December  i,  1686,  Deborah,  daughter  of 
William  and  Margaret  Filley,  of  Windsor, 
Connecticut.  He  married  (second)  May 
17,  1702,  ]Mehitable,  daughter  of  Robert 
and  Elizabeth  (Swift)  Banks,  and  widow 
of  John  Harris. 

(IV)  Eliakim  Sackett,  son  of  John  (2) 
and  Mehitable  (Banks-Harris)  Sackett, 
was  born  March  12,  1712,  and  died  in  1764. 
His  will  was  dated  July  5,  1764.  He  mar- 
ried, July  5,  1738,  Bethesda  Fowler,  born 
1 717,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  ^laria 
(Root)  Fowler. 

(V)  Ezra  Sackett,  son  of  Eliakim  and 
Bethesda  (^Fowler)  Sackett,  was  born  No- 
vember 15,  1750,  and  died  in  1834.  He  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  and  served  three 
months  from  October  20,  1777,  under  Cap- 
tain Daniel  Sackett,  in  the  Department  of 
the  North.  He  married,  February  14.  1779, 
Lydia  Lovering.  of  Ipswich,  born  1751. 

(VI)  Charles  Sackett,  son  of  Ezra  and 
Lydia  (Lovering)  Sackett,  was  born  at 
Westfield,  December  6,  1783.  He  married 
Abigail  Otis,  and  among  their  children  was 
Abner,  of  whom  further. 

(VII)  Abner  Sackett,  son  of  Charles  and 
Abigail  (Otis)  Sackett,  was  born  in  West- 
field,  Massachusetts.     He  early  learned  the 


trade  of  blacksmith,  following  this  in 
Springfield,  and  conducted  a  shop  in  part- 
nership with  a  ]\Ir.  Ely.  Later  he  went  to. 
Rowe,  Massachusetts,  where  he  conducted 
a  shop  from  1849  ^o  1859,  then  went  to 
Shelburne  Falls  and  was  employed  by 
George  Enniss  and  continued  so  until  his 
death  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  A  fea- 
ture of  his  shop  work  was  the  shoeing  of 
oxen,  a  practice  as  common  in  that  day  as 
the  shoeing  of  horses  is  now.  Mr.  Sack- 
ett married  Electa  Dewey,  who  died  De- 
cember 3,  1866,  aged  forty-six  years.  They 
were  the  parents  of  five  children,  among 
whom  were  Henry,  who  is  in  the  Soldiers' 
Home  in  Chelsea,  ^Massachusetts ;  Mary,  be- 
came the  wife  of  Ezra  F.  Smith,  and  resides 
in  Springfield;  and  George  I.,  of  whom 
further. 

(VIII)  George  I.  Sackett,  son  of  Abner 
and  Electa  (Dewey)  Sackett,  was  born  in 
Chicopee,  Massachusetts,  February  16, 
1847,  ^""i  '^  "o^'^'  living  in  Holyoke,  one  of 
the  oldest  railroad  employees  in  the  United 
States  in  point  of  service.  He  was  educat- 
ed in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town, 
learned  the  trade  of  cutlery  maker  at  Shel- 
burne Falls,  and  during  the  Civil  War  pe- 
riod held  an  important  position  with  the 
firm  of  Lamson,  Goodnow  &  Company,  the 
well  known  cutlery  firm,  but  only  remained 
a  short  time.  He  then  went  West  and  was 
employed  on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad, 
and  upon  his  return  East  was  employed  for 
a  short  time  in  railroad  work  in  Connec- 
ticut. He  then  entered  the  yard  of  the 
New  York,  New  Haven  &  Hartford 
Railroad,  at  Springfield,  ^Massachusetts, 
and  for  three  years  performed  general 
work,  finally  being  promoted  to  the  posi- 
tion of  conducting  a  yard  crew.  In  1887  he 
became  an  employee  of  the  Connecticut 
River  Railroad,  accepting  the  position  of 
yard  master  in  Springfield  and  so  remained 
from  February  15  to  May  15,  1887,  and  then 
came  to  Holyoke,  where  he  has  remained 


326 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


up  to  the  present  time  (1918).     On  Febru-      queror.     He  was  mentioned  in  the  Domes- 
ary  16,  191 7,  he  was  presented  by  the  em-      day    Book    as    an    extensive    landholder    in 

Herefordshire,  and  the  Marches  of  Wales. 

He  married  Agnes,  daughter  of  Alured  de 

Merleberge,  a  Xorman  Raron  who  settled 

in  Wales. 

(II)  Eustace,  son  of  Turstin,  was  a  ben- 
efactor of  the  monastery  of  St.  Peter  in 
Gloucester.  He  or  his  immediate  descend- 
ants took  the  title  de  Whitney  from  the  vil- 
lage of  Whitney,  where  his  principal  castle 
was  located.  His  estate  comprised  2,000 
acres.  The  castle  is  said  to  have  been  buried 
by  the  changing  of  the  course  of  the  River 
Wye. 

(III)  Sir  Robert  de  Whitney,  a  direct 
descendant  of  Eustace,  was  living  in  Whit- 
ney in  1248. 

(IV-V)  Sir  Eustace  de  Whitney,  son  or 
grandson  of  Sir  Robert,  deeded  the  monas- 
tery of  St.  Peter  in  1280,  confirming  a  deed 
made  by  his  ancestors.  He  was  Lord  of 
Bencombe,  Little  Cowern  and  Whitney  in 
1 281  ;  was  granted  Free  Warren  by  Ed- 
ward I  in  1284;  was  summoned  to  the  war 
beyond  the  seas  in  1297;  tenet  of  part  of 
the  Manor  of  Huntington  in  1299;  served 
in  the  Scotch  war  in  1301. 

Sir  Eustace  de  Whitney,  son  of  Sir 
Robert,  was  knighted  by  Edward  I  in  1306; 
was  member  of  Parliament  for  Hereford- 
shire in  1313  and  later. 

(VI)  Sir  Robert  de  Whitney,  son  of  Sir 
Eustace,  was  one  of  the  200  gentlemen  who 
went  to  Milan  in  the  retinue  of  the  Duke 
of  Clarence  in  1368;  was  member  of  Par- 
liament in  1377,  1379  and  1380;    sheriff  in 

1377- 

(VH)  Sir  Robert  Whitney,  son  of  Sir 
Robert,  was  sent  abroad  to  negotiate  a 
treaty  with  the  Court  of  Flanders  in  1388; 
was  a  member  of  Parliament  for  Hereford- 
shire in  1 391  ;  was  sent  to  France  to  deliver 
the  castle  and  town  of  Cherbourg  to  the 
King  of  Navarre  in  1393;  was  knight  mar- 
shal in  the  court  of  Richard  II ;  sent  on  the 


ployees  under  him  with  a  most  beautiful 
gold  watch  and  chain  and  Knight  Templar 
charm,  thus  demonstrating  their  high  ap- 
preciation of  his  kindness  to  them  during 
his  many  years  of  service.  For  almost  half 
a  century  Mr.  Sackett  has  been  a  member 
of  De  Soto  Lodge,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  and  he  also  holds  all  the  de- 
grees of  York  Rite  Masonry,  belonging  to 
Mt.  Tom  Lodge,  Holyoke  Chapter,  Spring- 
field Commandery,  and  the  Temple,  Ancient 
Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine. 

Mr.  Sackett  married  (first)  Sarah  Har- 
vey, of  Scotch  descent,  her  father  a  pioneer 
farmer  of  St.  Lawrence,  Canada,  where  he 
cleared  a  tract  of  land,  erected  a  house,  and 
reared  a  family  of  ten  children.  Later  he 
removed  to  Lomas,  Plymouth  county,  Iowa, 
taking  a  tract  of  prairie  land  and  bringing 
it  up  to  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  residing 
there  until  his  adventurous  life  ended  at  the 
great  age  of  ninety-six  years.  Sarah  (Har- 
vey) Sackett  died  June  16,  1906,  leaving  an 
only  child.  Dr.  Harry  R.  Sackett.  Mr.  Sack- 
ett married  (second)  in  1908,  Clara  Whit- 
ney, daughter  of  Edwin  Whitney  (see 
Whitney  XXIII). 


WHITNEY. 

The  parish  from  which  the  Whitneys 
take  their  name  is  in  County  Hereford, 
England,  and  the  name  is  derived  from  the 
Saxon,  meaning  white  water.  The  coat-of- 
arms  is  described :  Azure,  a  cross  chequey 
or  and  gules.  Crest :  A  bull's  head  couped 
sable,  armed  argent,  the  points  gules.  The 
English  ancestry,  as  traced  by  Henry  Mel- 
ville, is  given  below : 

(I)  Turstin  "The  Fleming,"  otherwise, 
Turstin  de  Wigmore,  and  probably  also  as 
Turstin,  son  of  Rolf,  and  Turstin  the 
White,  was  a  follower  of  William  the  Con- 


327 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


king's  business  to  Ireland  in  1394;  was 
killed  with  his  brother  and  others  of  his 
family  at  the  Battle  of  Billeth  in  1402. 

(VIII)  Sir  Robert  Whitney,  son  of  Sir 
Robert,  was  granted  the  Castle  of  Clifford 
and  Lordships  of  Clifford  and  Glasbury  by 
Henry  IV  in  1404  on  account  of  the  ser- 
vice of  his  father.  He  was  sheriff  of  Here- 
fordshire in  1413,  1428,  1433  ^rid  1437; 
member  of  Parliament  in  1416  and  1422 ; 
fought  in  the  French  War  under  Henry  V 
and  was  captain  of  the  castle  and  town  of 
Vire  in  1420;   died  March  12,  1441. 

(IX)  Sir  Eustace  de  Whitney,  son  of 
Robert,  was  born  in  141 1  ;  was  head  of  a 
Commission  sent  to  Wales  by  Henry  VI  in 
1455  ;  member  of  Parliament  in  1468;  mar- 
ried (i)  Jennet  Russell;  (2)  Jane  Clif- 
ford. 

(X)  Robert  Whitney,  son  of  Sir  Eustace, 
was  probably  a  knight;  took  an  active  part 
in  the  War  of  the  Roses  and  was  attainted 
as  a  Yorkist  in  1459;  probably  took  part  in 
the  Battle  of  Mortimer's  Cross  in  1461.  He 
was  the  subject  of  a  poem  by  Lewis  Cothi 
on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage  to  the  great 
granddaughter  of  Sir  David  Gam.  He  mar- 
ried (i)  Alice,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Vaughn;  (2)  Constance  Touchett,  mother 
of  his  sons,  a  descendant  of  William  the 
Conqueror  through  Edward  I. 

(XI)  James  Whitney,  son  of  Robert, 
was  appointed  receiver  of  the  confiscated 
estate  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  in  1522; 
married  Blanche  Kilbourne,  daughter  of 
Simon. 

(XII)  Robert  Whitney,  son  of  James, 
was  of  Icomb  and  in  charge  of  other  con- 
fiscated estates;  sheriff  of  Gloucestershire 
in  1527-28-29-30;  nominated  knight  of  the 
Bath  by  Henry  VII  at  the  coronation  of 
Anne  Boleyn  in  1531 ;  granted  part  of  a 
monastery  at  Brewer  in  1535  furnished  40 
men  to  put  down  a  Rebellion  in  1536;  was 
named  to  attend  on  the  king's  person ;  died 


1 541  and  his  will  was  proved  June  11,  1541 ; 
married  Margaret  Wye. 

(XIII)  Sir  Robert  Whitney,  son  of  Rob- 
ert (XII),  was  knighted  the  day  Queen 
Mary  of  Scotland  was  executed,  Oct.,  1563  ; 
was  summoned  before  the  Privy  Council  in 
1555  and  1559;  member  of  Parliament  for 
Herefordshire,  1559;  died  August  5,  1567; 
married  Sybil  Baskerville,  descendant  of 
William  the  Conqueror.  (See  her  ances- 
try). 

(XIV)  Robert  Whitney,  son  of  Sir  Rob- 
ert (XIII),  was  mentioned  in  the  will  of 
his  father  and  also  in  an  inquisition  taken 
after  his  father's  death.  He  married  Eliz- 
abeth daughter  of  IMorgan  Quillims. 

(XV)  Thomas  Whitney,  son  of  Robert 
(XIV),  was  of  Westminster,  buried  at  St. 
Margaret's,  April  14,  1637;  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  John  Bray  of  Westminster ;  she 
was  buried  at  St.  Margaret's,  September  25, 
1629.  Children:  John,  baptized  July  20, 
1592,  mentioned  below;  Nicholas,  William, 
Richard,  Margaret  and  Anne. 

(XVI)  John  Whitney,  American  immi- 
grant, son  of  Thomas,  was  born  in  Eng- 
land about  1592  and  baptized  July  20,  1592. 
He  was  educated  in  the  Westminster 
School,  now  St.  Peter's  College,  and  was 
apprenticed  February  22,  1610,  at  the  age 
of  eighteen  to  William  Pring  of  the  Old 
Bailey,  London,  and  became  a  freeman  of 
the  Merchant  Tailors'  Company.  This  was 
the  most  famous  and  prosperous  of  the 
trade  guilds  and  numbered  in  its  member- 
ship many  distinguished  men  of  various 
trades,  many  nobles  and  even  the  Prince  of 
Wales.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  years, 
March  17,  1614,  Whitney  became  a  full- 
fledged  member.  His  younger  brother  Rob- 
ert was  apprenticed  to  him  later.  He  lived 
in  Insworth  and  London  (on  Bow  Lane). 
In  September,  1631,  he  placed  his  son  John, 
Jr.,  in  the  Merchant  Tailors  School.  Early 
in  April,  1635,  he  and  his  wife  Elinor  and 
seven  children  registered  to  sail  in  the  ship 


328 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Elizabeth  and  Ann.  He  settled  in  Water- 
town,  and  bought  the  homestead  of  John 
Strickland  at  what  is  now  Waltham,  at  the 
corner  of  Belmont  and  East  Common 
streets.  He  was  admitted  a  freeman,  March 
3,  1635-36;  was  a  constable  in  1641  ;  se- 
lectman, 1638  to  1656;  town  clerk  in  1655. 
His  wife  Elinor  died  May  11,  1669,  and  he 
married,  second,  September  29,  1669,  Ju- 
dith Clement.  He  died  June  I,  1673.  Chil- 
dren:    I.  Mary,  baptized  in  Isleworth,  May 

23,  1619.  2.  John,  baptized  September  14, 
1621.  3.  Edward,  baptized  January  6,  1623- 

24.  4.  Richard,  mentioned  below.  5.  Na- 
than, baptized  1627.  6.  Thomas,  born  1629. 
7.  Jonathan,  born  in  Watertown,  July  6, 
1635.  8.  Joshua,  born  at  Watertown,  July 
6,  1635.  9.  Caleb,  born  July  12,  1640.  10. 
Benjamin,  born  June  6,   1642. 

(XVII)  Richard  Whitney,  son  of  John, 
was  born  in  England  about  1626;  married, 
March  19,  1650,  Martha  Coldham,  and  he 
w^as  admitted  a  freeman  May  7,  165-.  He 
was  a  proprietor  of  Stow,  June  3,  1680. 
He  was  released  from  training  by  the  court, 
April  7,  1697,  being  then  seventy  years  old. 
Children,  born  at  Watertown :  Sarah,  born 
March  17,  1652;  Moses,  mentioned  below; 
Johanah,  January  16,  1656;  Deborah,  Oc- 
tober 12,  1658;  Rebecca,  December  15, 
1659,  died  young;  Richard,  January  13, 
1660;  Elisha,  August  26,  1672;  Ebenezer, 
June  30,  1674. 

(XVIII)  Moses  Whitney,  son  of  Rich- 
ard, was  born  at  Watertown,  August  i, 
1655;  married,  September  30,  1686,  Sarah 
Knight,  of  Stow.  He  was  a  soldier  in  King 
Philip's  War  in  1676.  He  was  granted  land 
at  Stow,  April  8,  1681.  He  bought  land  in 
Sudbury  of  Richard  Burke  in  1708  and 
lived  in  that  town  for  a  time.  His  wife 
died  March  23,  1755.  Children:  Sarah, 
born  July  2,  1687;  Moses,  1690;  Abraham, 
May  29,  1692;  Jonas,  mentioned  below; 
Jason,  1704;  Lemuel,  August  i,  1714; 
John ;    Ephraim. 


(XIX)  Jonas  Whitney,  son  of  Moses, 
was  born  in  Stow,  February  i,  1699;  mar- 
ried, January  19,  1723,  Dorcas  Wood,  who 
died  February  22,  1725;  married,  second, 
March  12,  1726,  Margaret  Stratton.  He 
died  September  18,  1770.  He  lived  at  Stow 
and  Harvard,  Massachusetts.  Children: 
Jonathan;  Dorcas,  died  1725;  Jonas,  men- 
tioned below ;  Ephraim,  born  September 
19,  1728;  Timothy,  February  i,  1729;  Mar- 
garet, October  22,  1732;  Moses,  October 
17,  1733;  Ruth,  September  8,  1736;  Aaron, 
July  2,  1740. 

(XX)  Jonas  Whitney,  son  of  Jonas,  was 
born  in  Harvard,  July  2,  1727;  married, 
September  13,  1750,  Zebudah  Davis,  who 
was  born  in  Harvard,  April  ii,  1728,  died 
1806.  He  was  elected  selectman  in  1751. 
His  will  was  proved  in  1791  and  his  wife's 
November  3,  1806.  He  died  December  23, 
1 79-.  Children,  born  at  Harvard:  Merri- 
am,  born  August  8,  1752;  Ephraim,  April 
2,  1754;  Jonas,  March  3,  1765  ;  Lydia,  Oc- 
tober 17,  1757;  Solomon,  mentioned  below; 
Joel,  October  15,  1762;  Israel,  January  16, 
1767;  Peter,  August  17,  1772;  Levi,  June 
I3>  1751 ;  Lucy.    Not  in  order  of  birth. 

(XXI)  Lieutenant  Salmon  Whitney,  son 
of  Jonas  (XX)  was  born  in  Harvard,  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1760;  married  Hepsibah  Ray- 
mond, who  was  born  in  1761,  died  Decem- 
ber 6,  1850.  He  was  a  farmer  in  Harvard 
and  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  enlisting 
July  ID,  1776,  for  eight  months  in  Captain 
Sawyer's  company  from  Lancaster ;  also  in 
1777  he  was  in  Captain  Joseph  Sargent's 
company  of  Princeton,  Colonel  Stearns'  reg- 
iment in  the  Rhode  Island  campaign;  in 
1780  he  was  lieutenant  in  Captain  William 
Scott's  company.  The  record  shows  he  was 
twenty  years  old ;  five  feet  seven  inches  in 
height.  He  died  in  1844.  Children,  born 
in  Harvard:  Salmon,  born  January  31, 
1788;  Ephraim,  June  12,  1791  ;  Nathan, 
mentioned  below;   Persis,  August  12,  1796; 


329 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Justin,  July  24,  1801  ;  John,  September  i, 
1803. 

(XXII)  Nathan  Whitney,  son  of  Lieu- 
tenant Salmon,  was  born  in  Harvard,  Au- 
gust I,  1793;  married.  May  23,  1816,  Nan- 
cy Farwell,  born  1793,  died  1855.  He  died 
in  1871.  He  removed  from  Harvard  to 
Chicopee,  Massachusetts.  Children :  Na- 
than, born  November  3,  1816;  Nancy  La- 
vinia,  August  23,  181- ;  Newton,  July  26, 
1820;  Angelina,  April  15,  1822;  Julianna, 
November  13,  1824;  Edwin,  mentioned  be- 
low; Melissa  A.,  March  10,  1829;  Mary 
Farwell,  January  4,  1832;  Serena  A.,  Au- 
gust 22,  1834. 

(XXIII)  Edwin  Whitney,  son  of  Na- 
than, was  born  August  22,  1826,  married 
Rhoda  Waite.  Their  daughter  Clara  mar- 
ried, first, Williams ;  second,  George 

I.  Sackett.  (See  Sackett).  By  her  first 
marriage  she  had  a  daughter,  Ethel  Wil- 
liams. 


READ,   Charles   French, 

Historian,  Antiquarian. 

Charles  French  Read,  clerk  and  treasurer 
of  the  Bostonian  Society  since  1899,  is  a 
son  of  William  Read  and  his  wife,  Sarah 
Fuller  (McLellan)  Read;  he  was  born  in 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  September  17, 
1853.  He  is  a  descendant  in  the  seventh 
generation  from  Thomas  Read,  of  Chelms- 
ford, Massachusetts,  the  lineage  being 
Thomas,  William,  Robert,  William,  Robert, 
William,  and  Charles. 

Neither  the  birthplace  nor  the  parent  of 
Thomas  Read  has  yet  been  authoritatively 
ascertained ;  but  certain  depositions  by 
him  on  file  in  early  court  records  place  the 
date  of  his  birth  about  the  year  1656.  This 
fact  is  sufficient  to  prove  that  he  was  not  a 
son  of  Obadiah  Read,  of  Boston,  for  the 
latter  did  not  marry  until  1664.    Unfortun- 


ately, this  erroneous  statement  of  Thomas 
Read's  parentage  has  obtained  wide  circu- 
lation and  has  been  published  in  several  lo- 
cal histories.  He  was  a  tailor  by  trade,  and 
served  when  a  young  man  in  King  Philip's 
War.  He  was  in  the  force  commanded  by 
Major  Thomas  Savage,  of  Boston.  He  was 
taken  prisoner  at  Hadley,  Massachusetts,  re- 
maining in  confinement  for  about  one 
month ;  he  received  a  grant  of  land  for  his 
military  service. 

(II)  William  Read,  son  of  Thomas 
Read,  born  in  Chelmsford,  married  Han- 
nah Bates,  of  that  town.  In  1734  he  sold 
his  "messuage"  to  his  brother  Thomas  and 
removed  to  Litchfield,  New  Hampshire, 
which  was  then  in  the  Province  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

(HI)  Robert  Read,  son  of  William  Read, 
born  December  25,  1720,  removed  with  his 
father  to  Litchfield  and  later  to  Amherst, 
New  Hampshire.  He  was  moderator  in  1768, 
selectman  1761-68,  on  committee  to  build 
a  meeting  house  in  1770,  and  keeper  of  the 
jail  in  Amherst  for  many  years.  He  was 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Sixth  Regiment  of 
New  Hampshire  Militia  in  1775,  but  re- 
signed his  commission  because  of  dissen- 
sions in  the  regiment,  and  did  not  partici- 
pate in  the  Revolution  as  he  had  desired.  He 
died  in  Amherst,  September  11,  1803.  On 
May  II,  1743,  he  married  Mary,  daughter 
of  Ephraim  Abbott,  of  Andover,  Massa- 
chusetts. 

(IV)  William  (2)  Read,  son  of  Robert 
Read,  born  in  Amherst,  August  14,  1754, 
was  a  corporal  in  the  Amherst  company  at- 
tached to  the  Twenty-seventh  Massachu- 
setts Regiment,  and  which  was  afterwards 
united  with  Colonel  John  Stark's  command 
and  shared  in  the  defense  of  Bunker  Hill. 

(V)  Robert  (2)  Read,  son  of  William 
(2)  Read,  born  in  Amherst,  October  18, 
1785,  died  in  Nashua,  New  Hampshire, 
March    10,    1857.     ^^  married,   December 


330 


ma.  one 


''•  Thonias 


'■  -.auSiiier 


■r*f'  Hill' 


selectrna 


uT    i  nomas 

wide  circu- 

'  veral  lo- 


I/M 

i  iiuinas 
:d  Han- 
he  sold 

■f 

-^     ure, 
Massa- 

Regiment  of 
.11  u  1775,  but  re- 
n  because  of  dissen- 
and  did  not  partici- 
as  he  had  desired.  He 
ember  11,  1803.  On 
he  married  Mary,  daughter 


Kl,,. 


A, -..A, 


Af',  ceo. 


\2j  Read,  son  oi  Robert 

/.aiherst,  August  14,  1754, 

.1  in  the  Amherst  company  at- 

'    Twenty-seventh    Massachu- 

•md  which  was  afi^<  ■ 'v.i; -i  •, 

;el  John  Stark's 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


i6,  1818,  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
French,  of  Dunstable.  She  died  October  18, 
1836. 

Prominent  among  his  fellow-townsmen, 
he  served  three  terms  in  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Legislature  as  representative  for  Am- 
herst, and  was  aide-de-camp  to  Governor 
Bell  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  by  which 
title  he  was  generally  known.  Removing 
to  Nashua,  he  represented  that  municipality 
in  the  New  Ham]ishire  Legislature.  He 
also  resided  in  Manchester,  New  Hamp- 
shire, for  some  time.  He  was  prominent  in 
business  circles,  being  agent  for  the  Nashua 
Manufacturing  Company,  general  manager 
of  the  Land  &  Water  Power  Company  of 
Manchester,  and  president  of  the  Nashua  & 
Lowell  railroad.  While  connected  with  the 
Land  &  Water  Power  Company  he  was  ac- 
tive in  the  laying  out  of  Manchester. 

(VI)  William  (3)  Read,  son  of  Robert 
(2)  Read,  was  born  in  Amherst,  January 
29,  1820,  and  died  in  Boston,  May  6,  1889. 
He  was  a  physician  for  more  than  fifty 
years,  being  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege in  the  class  of  1839,  and  of  the  Har- 
vard Medical  School  in  1842.  He  resided 
five  years  in  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  where  he 
began  practice  and,  afterward  in  Boston, 
where  he  w^as  city  physician  for  several 
years.  As  a  member  of  the  Boston  School 
Committee  he  did  much  to  establish  the 
teaching  of  vocal  music  in  the  public 
schools.  He  represented  Ward  Ten  of  Bos- 
ton in  the  Legislature  of  1850.  He  married 
on  June  22,  1843,  Sarah  Fuller,  daughter  of 
Isaac  and  Eliza  (Hull)  McLellan.  She  was 
born  September  18,  1820,  and  died  May  20, 
1905.  Mrs.  Read  was  a  descendant  of  Hugh 
McLellan,  a  Scotch-Irishman  who  was  one 
of  the  first  settlers  of  Gorham,  Maine,  and 
an  elder  of  the  Gorham  church.  He  was  a 
sergeant  in  the  First  Massachusetts  Regi- 
ment under  command  of  Sir  William  Pep- 
perell  in  the  expedition  against  Louisburg 
in  1745.     He  died  in  Gorham,  January  2, 


1787.  His  son,  Alexander  McLellan,  was 
captain  of  the  Gorham  company  in  the  Rev- 
olution, and  died  on  October  4,  1779,  of 
hardships  endured  by  him  in  the  illfated 
Penobscot  expedition  of  1779.  Isaac  Mc- 
Lellan, son  of  Alexander,  was  born  in 
Gorham,  September  15,  1769,  and  died  in 
Boston,  September  13,  1849.  He  was  a 
Boston  merchant  for  many  years.  He  mar- 
ried, on  March  13,  1805,  Eliza,  daughter  of 
William  and  Eliza  (Fuller)  Hull,  of  New- 
ton, Massachusetts.  William  Hull  was  a 
lieutenant-colonel  in  the  Revolution,  serv- 
ing during  the  entire  war.  He  was  assistant 
inspector-general  under  Baron  Steuben,  and 
refused  the  post  of  aide-de-camp  to  Wash- 
ington, perferring  more  active  service. 
In  the  W^ar  of  181 2  he,  as  major-general, 
was  commander  of  the  American  forces 
when  they  surrendered  to  the  British  at  De- 
troit, Michigan,  on  August  16,  1812.  This 
act,  which  brought  on  him  much  undeserved 
obloquy,  has  been  proven  justifiable.  The 
chapter  of  the  Daughters  of  the  Revolution 
in  Newton,  Massachusetts,  is  named  the 
Sarah  Hull  Chapter,  after  the  wife  of  the 
general,  and  the  chapter  of  the  Daughters 
of  the  American  Revolution  in  Derby,  Con- 
necticut, the  birthplace  of  William  Hull,  is 
named  the  Elizabeth  Clark  Hull  Chapter  af- 
ter his  mother,  a  resident  of  Brookline, 
Massachusetts. 

(VII)  Charles  French  Read,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Boston  public  schools  and  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology ;  he 
has  been  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Class  Association  of  1874,  M.  I.  T.,  for 
many  years.  He  had  been  in  business  for 
many  years  when  in  1899  he  was  elected 
clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  Bostonian  So- 
ciety, which  offices  he  still  holds.  This  so- 
ciety, which  has  its  home  in  the  historic  Old 
State  House,  was  incorporated  in  1881  to 
promote  the  study  of  the  history  of  Bos- 
ton and  the  preservation  of  its  antiquities; 
it  has  now  almost  twelve  hundred  members. 


331 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


On  October  24,  1887,  Mr.  Read  married 
Mary  Bickerstaff,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Elizabeth  (Bickerstaff)  Comer.  They  have 
two  children,  both  living:  A  son  Harold 
Comer  Read,  born  in  Boston,  December  2. 
1888;  married  May  8,  191 5,  Margaret 
Frances,  daughter  of  Charles  Marshall  and 
Effie  (Richardson)  Scudder.  They  have  a 
son,  Robert  Scudder  Read,  born  March  31, 
191 7.  Their  daughter  is  Edith  Bickerstaff 
Read,  born  in  Brookline,  April  23,  1898. 

Mr.  Read  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Colonial  Wars  in  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts,  the  Massachusetts  Society, 
the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,  the 
Massachusetts  Society  of  1812,  the  New 
England  Historic-Genealogical  Society,  the 
Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association,  the 
Bostonian  Society,  the  Brookline  Historical 
Society,  the  Massachusetts  Charitable  Fire 
Society,  the  Reade  Society  and  the  Old 
School  Boys  of  Boston. 


WOODS,  John  Henry, 

Ex-Mayor    of   Holyoke. 

John  Henry  Woods,  the  well  known 
real  estate  broker,  newspaper  owner  and 
editor  and  ex-Mayor  of  Holyoke,  son  of 
James  and  Ellen  Woods,  both  natives  of 
Ireland  and  later  residents  in  the  United 
States,  was  born  in  Mechanicsville,  New 
York,  in  1868.  His  childhood  was  spent  in 
that  city,  but  while  he  was  still  very  young 
his  parents  moved  to  Troy,  New  York, 
where  he  spent  his  youth,  and  received  a 
good  education  there  in  the  public  schools. 
Almost  immediately  after  leaving  school  he 
entered  a  real  estate  and  insurance  office, 
but  he  considered  himself  too  young  and  in- 
experienced to  start  in  this  line  independent- 
ly. His  experience  in  the  office,  however, 
gave  him  his  first  insight  into  business  and 
business  principles.  Photography  interested 
him  greatly  and  he  soon  took  it  up  as  a 
study  preparatory  to  doing  independent  pro- 


fessional work.  This  work  became  very  in- 
teresting and  his  careful  study  and  natural 
ability  made  him  successful.  He  discon- 
tinued photography  to  enter  the  newspaper 
field  and  eventually  became  the  owner  of 
the  Holyoke  "Free  Press,"  which  now  has 
the  distinction  of  being  the  oldest  weekly 
newspaper  in  Western  Massachusetts.  In 
politics  Mr.  Woods  is  a  Democrat  and  is  a 
most  earnest  advocate  of  the  principles  and 
ideals  of  that  party.  Besides  conducting  the 
activities  of  his  newspaper,  Mr.  Woods  is 
engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  bus- 
iness, having  offices  in  Holyoke  and  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts.  As  mayor  of  Hol- 
yoke for  two  terms  he  gave  his  fellow  citi- 
zens a  good  clean  government  and  his  term 
of  service  was  especially  noted  for  its  many 
progressive    features. 

In  October,  1897,  Mr.  Woods  married 
Agnes  Hans,  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and 
they  have  eight  children :  Florence,  Fran- 
ces, Agnes,  Viola,  Ruth,  John  Henry,  Jr., 
Louise  and  Edmond  G.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Woods  are  popular  socially.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Holyoke 
Club,  Holyoke  Country  Club,  and  the  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and 
is  active  in  their  circles. 


STREETER,  Philander  Alphonso, 
Master    Mechanic. 

Philander  Alphonso  Streeter,  the  well 
known  master  mechanic,  for  many  years 
connected  with  the  American  Writing  Pa- 
per Company  of  Holyoke,  is  of  the  eighth 
generation  of  the  family  founded  in  Amer- 
ica by  Stephen  and  Ursula  Streeter,  of 
Gloucester,  Massachusetts,  the  line  of  de- 
scent being  through  their  son,  Stephen  (2) 
Streeter,  his  son,  John  Streeter,  his  son, 
James  Streeter,  his  son,  James  (2)  Streeter, 
his  son,  Paul  Streeter,  his  son,  Benjamin 
Arnold  Streeter,  his  son,  Philander  Al- 
phonso Streeter. 


332 


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^e  discon- 

Mr.  Woods  IS 

!  in  u;c  T-ii'.i  I 

insurance  bus- 

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Massachusetts. 


e  and  Spring- 
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oods  n: 


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He  is  a  ,..l.l. 
>mnierce,  Holyoke 
■>.  and  the  Be- 

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Philander  Alphonso, 

Mar^tfj     Mechanic. 

Streeter,    the    well 

anic,   for   many   year.s 

'    :  rican  Writing  Pa- 

e,  is  of  the  eighth 

founded  in  Amer- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Philander  Alphonso  Streeter  was  born  in      again  went  to  the  front  and  fought  until  the 


Vernon,  Vermont,  September  15,  1840,  son 
of  Benjamin  Arnold  Streeter,  and  a  mater- 
nal grandson  of  Uriah  B.  Green,  a  colonel 
in  the  War  of  1812.     He  was  educated  in 
Vernon   schools,  and   for  a  time   was  em- 
ployed  on   the    farm.      Later    he    went    to 
Brattleboro,  Vermont,  to  learn  the  carriage 
builder's   trade,   but   when   war   broke   out 
between  the  North  and  South  he  responded 
to  President  Lincoln's  call,  although  much 
against  his  employer's  wish  and  strerKuous 
argument;    he   enlisted   in    June,    1861,    in 
Company    C,    Second    Regiment,    Vermont 
Volunteer  Infantry,  his  regiment  following 
the  Sixth  Massachusetts  in  their  tumultu- 
ous passage  through  Baltimore,  and  being 
the  second  regiment  to  arrive  in  Washing- 
ton from  the  North.     He  saw  hard  service 
with  the  Sixth  under  tw^o  enlistments,  but 
nearly    came    to   grief    in    his    first   battle, 
through  an  act  of  mercy  to  a  wounded  com- 
rade which  reflects  great  credit  upon  him. 
At  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  in  a  pause  of 
his  retirement  to  aid  a  w^ounded  comrade, 
he  was  taken  prisoner  by  a  party  of  cavalry, 
whom    he    and    four    of    his    companions 
thought    were    Union    troopers,    but    who 
proved   to   be    Confederates.      W^ith    many 
others    captured    in   the    same   battle,    they 
were  sent  by  rail  to  Richmond.    When  dis- 
embarked from  the  freight  cars  and  formed 
into  line.  Philander  Alphonso  Streeter,  the 
young  man  above  referred  to,  was  placed  in 
the  van,  and  at  the  head  of  the  line  entered 
"Libby  Prison,"  the  first  Union  prisoner  of 
war  to  enter  that  converted  tobacco  ware- 
house, which  was  to  prove  a  place  of  such 
suffering  and  woe.     He  was  exchanged  at 
the  end  of  five  months,  but  the  change  that 
had  taken  place  in  this  time  was  most  terri- 
ble, and  the  man  of  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  pounds,  on  entering,  was  the  skeleton 
of  less  than  one  hundred  pounds  on  leaving. 
He  was  sent  North  and  once  again  recov- 
ered  his  health  to   such  a  desrree  that  he 


end.  Among  his  battles  were  Second  Bull 
Run,  the  Wilderness,  and  the  battles  around 
Richmond.  In  addition  to  being  slightly 
wounded  in  the  furious  fighting  at  the 
"Bloody  Angle,"  at  Spottsylvania,  he  had 
several  narrow  escapes  having  a  number  of 
bullets  pass  through  his  clothing,  but  he  re- 
turned bronzed  and  scarred,  and  had  the 
pleasure  of  entering  Richmond  a  second 
time  a  victor,  and  not  a  prisoner. 

After  the  war,  Mr.  Streeter  for  a  time 
conducted  a  carriage  repair  shop  in  Vernon, 
but  later  went  to  Poughkeepsie,  New  York, 
where  until  1871  he  was  engaged  as  a  car- 
penter. In  1871  he  located  in  Holyoke, 
where  he  was  employed  by  Beebe  &  Hol- 
brook,  paper  manufacturers,  assisting  in 
building  their  mill,  and  continuing  in  their 
employ  for  twelve  years.  He  sustained  an 
injury  that  for  a  time  caused  him  to  retire 
from  mill  work,  and  he  engaged  in  light 
farming  until  entering  the  Mt.  Tom  Paper 
Mill  as  master  mechanic.  When  that  mill 
was  absorbed  and  became  the  Parson's  di- 
vision of  the  American  Writing  Paper  Com- 
pany, Mr.  Streeter  continued  as  master  me- 
chanic and  served  continuously  for  thirty 
years,  retiring  in  191 3  from  the  active  per- 
formance of  his  duties.  He  is  a  charter 
member  and  past  commander  of  Kilpatrick 
Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and 
in  political  faith  is  a  Republican. 

Mr.  Streeter  married,  December  5,  1866, 
Nettie  M.  Tracey,  born  in  Delhi,  New 
York,  February  2,  1845,  daughter  of 
Frederick  M.  and  Susanna  (Wood)  Tra- 
cey. ]\Irs.  Streeter  descends  from  ancient 
Colonial  family,  her  paternal  line  Tracey, 
her  maternal  line  Wood.  Through  her 
mother  she  traces  to  a  great-great-grand- 
father, Benjamin  Rush,  a  signer  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence.  Her  father,  Fred- 
erick M.  Tracey,  was  of  Delaware  county. 
New  York,  both  his  ancestors  and  descend- 


333 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ants  being  prominent  in  New  York  City  and 
State.  Three  of  his  sons,  Christopher  C, 
Dewitt  C,  and  WilHam  W.  Tracey,  now 
reside  in  Brooklyn,  and  one,  Clarence  H. 
Tracey,  in  Hartford,  Connecticut.  His  four 
daughters,  Mrs.  Streeter,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Hast- 
ings, Mrs.  J.  A.  Dakin,  and  Miss  Maria 
Tracey,  all  reside  in  Holyoke. 

While  Mr.  Streeter  was  in  service,  his 
patriotic  wife  to  be  was  doing  her  "bit  at 
home,"  and  in  after  years  ]\Irs.  Streeter, 
the  moving  spirit  of  the  Woman's  Relief 
Corps,  received  every  honor  the  organiza- 
tion could  confer.  She  has  held  all  the  of- 
fices of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps,  and  was 
long  the  moving  spirit  in  the  work  as  an 
auxiliary  to  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub- 
lic and  the  mainspring  of  its  successful  ex- 
istence. She  has  also  received  honors  from 
the  state  organization  of  the  Woman's  Re- 
lief Corps  and  all  during  the  years  of  their 
Holyoke  residence  both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Streeter  have  been  active  in  work  of 
these  patriotic  societies.  Mrs.  Streeter 
has  for  many  years  been  a  delegate  to  the 
National  Convention  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  in  various  cities  of  the  United 
States,  including  Atlantic  City,  Saratoga 
Springs,  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  Buffalo, 
Springfield,  and  two  conventions  in  Boston. 
Among  the  gifts  which  came  to  them  on  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  their  marriage,  there 
was  one  from  the  past  department  com- 
mander of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps  and 
George  B.  McClellan  Camp,  Sons  of  Vet- 
erans, and  from  Kilpatrick  Post. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Streeter  have  three  sons, 
nine  grandchildren,  and  one  great-grand- 
child, and  there  is  a  picture  extant  showing 
Mr.  Philander  A.  Streeter,  his  son,  Herbert 
E.  Streeter,  his  son,  Harold  Snell  Streeter, 
and  his  son,  Russell  Kline  Streeter,  four  liv- 
ing male  generations  of  Streeters.  The  eld- 
est son,  Herbert  Ellsworth,  born  January  7, 
1869,  see  sketch  following  under  separate 
heading.     The  second  son,  Austin  Taylor, 


born  June  28,  1870,  see  sketch  following  un- 
der separate  heading.  The  youngest  son, 
Oscar  Alonzo,  was  born  January  15,  1875, 
died  March  22,  1905 ;  he  was  a  veteran  of 
the  United  States  Regular  Army,  serving 
at  the  time  of  the  Spanish- American  War ; 
he  married  Carrie  MeryhoflF,  and  left  chil- 
dren :  Philip  Alonzo,  Herbert  Edward 
Irene  Nettie.  These  children  and  grandchil- 
dren are  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  generation 
of  Streeter  in  New  England,  the  great- 
grandson,  Russell  Kline  Streeter,  of  the 
eleventh  in  direct  male  line. 

On  December  5,  1916,  this  aged,  patriotic 
couple,  in  whose  beings  courses  the  blood  of 
Colonial  patriots  and  heroes,  celebrated 
their  golden  wedding  day  in  a  way  and  man- 
ner peculiarly  appropriate  in  view  of  the 
past  war  service  of  both,  and  in  considera- 
tion that  a  dark  war  cloud  was  again  hov- 
ering over  their  loved  land.  The  decora- 
tions of  the  house  included  a  generous  dis- 
play of  ''Old  Glory"  in  every  room,  and  in 
entertaining  their  guests  the  patriotic  idea 
predominated,  proudly  the  Civil  War  relics 
were  displayed ;  the  rings  and  trinkets 
carved  from  meat  bones  while  a  prisoner  in 
Libby ;  the  coat  cartridge  box  and  blouse 
he  wore  in  the  war  ;  the  canteen,  still  coated 
with  Virginia  mud,  which  he  carried,  and 
from  which  the  last  drink  was  taken  by  a 
badly  wounded  Confederate  who  expressed 
wonder  that  an  enemy  could  be  so  kind.  It 
was  a  wonderful  day,  enjoyed  not  alone  by 
family  and  intimates,  but  many  members  of 
the  patriotic  orders  of  the  city  with  which 
both  host  and  hostess  had  been  identified 
since  their  organization.  Many  were  the 
beautiful  remembrances  of  the  day  received 
by  the  aged  couple,  but  they  gave  more  than 
they  received,  and  each  guest  carried  away 
that  intangible  something  that  causes  the 
eye  to  glisten  and  the  heart  to  beat  faster, 
and  the  lesson  in  patriotism  was  an  in- 
spiration that  bore  fruit  in  abundance. 


334 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


STREETER,  Herbert  Ellsworth, 

Representative     Citizen. 

Herbert  Ellsworth  Streeter,  of  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts,  general  manager  of 
The  Swedish  Gage  Company,  Incorporated, 
with  offices  in  Montreal,  Canada,  is  a  son  of 
Philander  Alphonso  and  Nettie  M.  (Tra- 
cey)  Streeter,  and  was  born  in  Lagrange, 
Dutchess  county,  New  York,  January  7, 
1869.  He  was  but  three  years  old  when  his 
parents  took  up  their  residence  in  Hol- 
yoke,  -Massachusetts,  and  there  he  received 
his  education  in  the  public  schools.  He  then 
entered  the  Holyoke  Machine  Company,  to 
learn  the  machinist's  trade,  continuing  there 
for  a  time,  and  later  entered  the  Dean 
Steam  Pump  Works.  In  1895  he  went  to 
Utica,  New  York,  where  he  followed  his 
trade  for  a  period  of  sixteen  years,  proving 
his  proficiency  to  such  a  degree  that  he  was 
advanced  from  time  to  time,  ultimately  be- 
ing given  charge  of  one  of  the  important 
manufacturing  plants  of  that  city.  In  1906 
he  removed  to  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
and  for  two  years  held  a  position  in  the 
United  States  Armory,  and  for  eleven  years 
afterward  was  connected  with  the  Smith  & 
Wesson  Arms  Company. 

In  1908,  Mr.  Streeter  became  associated 
with  the  Package  ^Machinery  Company, 
taking  a  position  as  traveling  salesman,  and 
continuing  with  them  for  three  years,  up 
to  191 1.  His  next  position  was  with  The 
International  Tool  Company  of  Indianapo- 
lis, Indiana,  whom  he  represented  for  the 
following  two  years.  His  twenty-five  years' 
association  with  the  machinist  trade,  rising 
from  the  position  of  that  of  the  average 
machinist  to  that  of  superintendent  of  a 
large  plant,  and  his  subsequent  positions  in 
representing  large  builders  of  machinery  in 
diiTerent  sections  of  the  country,  had  placed 
him  among  the  best  known  experts  in  the 
world  of  machinery;    thus   it  was  that   in 


191 3  he  attained  to  the  position  of  general 
manager  of  the  Canadian  business  of  The 
Swedish  Gage  Company,  Incorporated,  with 
offices  at  Montreal,  one  of  the  largest  con- 
cerns of  its  kind  in  the  world,  selling  agents 
of  precision  tools,  more  especially  the  world 
renowned  "Johansson  Gages,"  which  are 
the  only  gages  measuring  one  one-thou- 
sandth, one  ten-thousandth  and  one  one 
hundred-thousandth  of  an  inch.  Mr. 
Streeter  has  charge  of  the  entire  bus- 
iness of  the  Canadian  branch  of  this 
Company,  his  territory  extending  from 
Halifax  to  Winnipeg,  and  in  addition 
to  his  position  as  manager,  he  is  one 
of  the  directors  of  this  corporation,  and 
he  has  exercised  a  potent  influence  in  its 
afl'airs.  Besides  holding  these  positions,  he 
has  personally  placed  the  goods  of  his  con- 
cern with  many  of  the  largest  concerns  in 
the  Canadian  Province.  Mr.  Streeter  is  a 
a  member  of  the  Engineers'  Club  of  Mon- 
treal, and  of  the  Commercial  Travelers' 
Club. 

Mr.  Streeter  married,  March  11,  1891, 
Hannah  Lang,  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah 
(Simmons)  Lang,  of  Lambertville,  New 
Jersey.  Children:  i.  Harold  Snell,  born 
February  28,  1892 ;  with  Barney  &  Berry 
Company,  of  Springfield,  Alassachusetts ; 
married  Myrtle  Kline,  of  Springfield ;  one 
child,  Russell  Kline,  born  December  13, 
1914.     2.  Maud  Lang,  born  July  i,  1894. 

3.  Chester  Allen,  born  September  22,  1897. 

4.  Eleanor  Ruth,  died  in  infancy.  5.  Doro- 
thy Beatrice,  born  July  8,  1909.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Streeter  and  family  are  members  of 
the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  of  Hol- 
yoke, Massachusetts,  and  while  Mr.  Street- 
er's  business  interests  are  in  Canada,  he 
maintains  his  home  in  Springfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  never  for  a  moment  loses  in- 
terest in  the  United  States  and  the  princi- 
ples embodied  in  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 


335 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


STREETER,  Austin  Taylor, 

Engineer. 


A  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  man 
in  his  home  town  of  West  Springfield  is 
Austin  Taylor  Streeter,  engineer  on  the 
Boston  &  Albany  Railroad,  whose  name 
heads  this  article.  He  has  been  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  a  resident  of  West  Springfield, 
where  he  is  interested  in  the  promotion  of 
the  community. 

Austin  Taylor  Streeter  is  the  son  of  Phil- 
ander Alphonso  and  Nettie  M.  (Tracey) 
Streeter,  was  born  June  28,  1870,  in  La- 
grange, Dutchess  county.  New  York.  He 
was  a  child  when  his  parents  moved  to 
Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  His  education  was 
received  in  the  public  schools  of  that  place, 
and  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  choose 
an  occupation  he  became  an  electrician.  For 
a  time  Mr.  Streeter  was  in  business  for 
himself  in  Northampton,  Massachusetts, 
but  eventually  decided  to  become  a  locomo- 
tive engineer.  Accordingly,  on  June  15, 
1899,  he  became  a  fireman  on  the  Boston  & 
Albany  Railroad,  and  at  the  end  of  three 
years  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  en- 
gineer. He  began  as  the  engineer  of  a 
freight  train,  but  was  advanced  step  by  step, 
until  he  reached  the  highest  point  in  that 
service,  that  of  engineer  of  a  passenger 
train,  which  position  he  has  since  held.  The 
political  principles  of  Mr.  Streeter  are  those 
advocated  by  the  Republican  party,  but  he 
has  never  had  either  time  or  inclination  for 
office-seeking  or  office-holding.  His  only 
fraternal  association  is  with  the  Brother- 
hood of  Firemen  and  Locomotive  Engi- 
neers. He  and  his  wife  attend  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church. 

Mr.  Streeter  married,  March  3,  1894,  in 
Holyoke,  Martha  Henrietta  Voigt,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  four  sons:  i. 
Edwin  William,  born  April  9,  1895 ;  now 
enlisted  in  the  hospital  corps  of  the  Sec- 
ond    Regiment,     Massachusetts     National 

336 


Guard;  sailed  for  France,  September  25, 
191 7.  2.  Henry  Philip,  born  March  13, 
1899;  now  in  the  Third  National  Bank  of 
Springfield.  3.  Albert  Austin,  born  August 
24,  1902;  now  attending  the  West  Spring- 
field High  School.  4.  Kenneth  Voigt,  born 
July  8,  1906.  The  first  and  second  of 
these  sons  were  born  in  Holyoke  and  the 
third  and  fourth  in  West  Springfield.  Three 
of  them  are  still  (1917)  at  home  with  their 
parents.  Mr.  Streeter  is  a  man  devoted  to 
the  ties  of  family  and  friendship.  He  and 
his  wife,  who  has  ever  been,  in  all  senses  of 
the  word,  a  true  helpmeet,  are  the  centre  of 
a  circle  of  warmly  attached  friends. 

Christian  Adolph  Voigt,  father  of  Mrs. 
Martha  Henrietta  (Voigt)  Streeter,  was 
born  October  18,  1837,  in  Querfurt,  Ger- 
many, and  in  1862  emigrated  to  the  United 
States.  His  business  was  that  of  a  jeweller 
and  watchmaker,  and  he  was  a  resident  of 
Boston,  later  of  Holyoke,  where  he  carried 
on  business  for  thirty  years,  until  his  death, 
August  12,  1910,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three 
years.  Mr.  Voigt  married,  January  i,  1866, 
in  Boston,  Johanna  Henrietta  Regestein, 
who  was  born  May  18,  1838,  in  the  city 
of  Weisenfels,  Germany,  and  their  children 
were :  Augustus  Adolph,  born  October  26, 
1866,  died  September  27,  1867  ;  Emma  Wil- 
helmina,  born  November  2,  1867,  wife  of 
Franklin  A.  Snyder,  of  Holyoke,  Massa- 
chusetts; Martha  Henrietta,  born  May  25, 
1869,  in  Boston,  became  the  wife  of  Austin 
Taylor  Streeter,  as  stated  above ;  and  Frank 
William,  born  May  20,  1875,  now  living  in 
New  York  City.  The  widow  of  Mr.  Voigt 
resides  in  West  Springfield,  in  the  home  of 
her  daughter,  Mrs.  Streeter. 


METCALF  FAMILY. 

Among-  the  men  of  Holyoke  whose 
memory  will  ever  be  held  in  reverence 
should  be  mentioned  Joseph  Metcalf,  who 
gave  many  years  of  his  life  to  the  found- 


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nufacturing     - 
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339 


Xr:-^    ^  / 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  founder,  died  in  Weymouth,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  1678,  having  been  like  his 
brothers  prominent  in  town  affairs  and  a 
land  owner  of  frequent  mention  in  the 
records.  He  married,  July  19,  1660,  Han- 
nah Rogers.  Children :  Judith,  John, 
Hannah,  Mary,  Samuel  (2),  of  further 
mention ;     Experience,    Ebenezer. 

Samuel  (2)  Pratt,  son  of  Samuel  (i) 
and  Hannah  (Rogers)  Pratt,  was  born  in 
Weymouth,  November  15,  1670,  died  Au- 
gust II,  1728.  Shortly  after  the  birth  of 
his  eldest  child,  he  moved  to  Taunton, 
Massachusetts,  having  land  in  that  part 
of  the  town  known  as  Norton.  He  was 
a  man  of  prominence,  owned  a  large  es- 
tate and  seems  to  have  had  a  share  in  all 
divisions  up  to  1714.  He  married  Patience 
Chard,  born  in  1675,  died  January  8,  1735. 
They  had  children :  Judith,  Samuel, 
Josiah,  Jonathan,  Benjamin,  of  further 
mention ;    Peter,  Paul,  Hannah,  Patience. 

Captain  Benjamin  Pratt,  son  of  Samuel 
(2)  and  Patience  (Chard)  Pratt,  was  born 
in  Norton,  Massachusetts,  in  1705,  died 
in  Mansfield,  June  29,  1785.  He  was  a 
soldier  and  was  always  known  as  "Cap- 
tain," but  there  is  no  record  of  his  having 
actually  having  held  that  rank.  He 
married,  January  22,  1729,  Mary  Turner. 
Children :  Wealthy,  Mary,  Katherine, 
Sarah,  Solomon,  of  further  mention; 
Jebel. 

Solomon  Pratt,  son  of  Captain  Benja- 
min and  Mary  (Turner)  Pratt,  was  a  res- 
ident of  Mansfield,  Massachusetts,  and 
died  November  6,  1776.  He  married,  May 
13,  1767,  Hannah  White  or  Hues,  who 
survived  him.  They  were  the  parents  of: 
Benjamin,  Solomon,  Jonathan,  of  further 
mention;    Hannah. 

Jonathan  Pratt,  son  of  Solomon  and 
Hannah  (White  or  Hues)  Pratt,  was  born 
in  Mansfield,  Massachusetts,  May  13, 
1773,  died  at  Pelham,  Massachusetts, 
April   16,  1846.     He  married,  March   19, 


1794,  Abigail  Phillips,  born  May  5,  1776, 
died  October  16,  1861,  daughter  of  John 
and  Priscilla  Phillips.  Children:  Solo- 
mon, born  at  Attleboro,  November  8, 
1797;  Benjamin,  February  i,  1800,  died 
May  8,  1852;  John,  born  September  3, 
1802,  died  September  8,  1850;  Luke,  of 
further  mention;  Betsey  Bishop,  born 
August  29,  1807,  died  February  8,  1880; 
Polly,  born  February  11,  1810,  died  Sep- 
tember 19,  1830;  William  Foster,  born 
September  14,  1812,  died  September  9, 
1882;  Olney  Paine,  born  October  5,  1815; 
Hannah,  died  young;  Aseaneth,  died 
young.  All  but  the  two  first  children 
were  born  in  Mendon. 

Luke  Pratt,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Abi- 
gail (Phillips)  Pratt,  was  born  in  Men- 
don, April  6,  1805,  died  in  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  January  3,  1885.  He  mar- 
ried, September  15,  1829,  Eliza,  daughter 
of  Russell  and  Betsey  (Pratt)  Sage,  of 
Saybrook,  Connecticut.  Children  :  Sophia 
Amelia,  born  June  29,  1830,  died  Novem- 
ber 29,  1849;  Sarah  Frances,  born  May 
13,  1832,  married  Frederick  S.  Strong,  of 
Coventry,  Connecticut;  Benjamin  Olney, 
born  June  24,  1834;  Harriet  Eliza,  born 
October  13,  1837,  married  James  M.  Bly, 
of  Chicopee  Falls ;  Charles  Foster,  born 
December  28,  1839,  died  October  28,  1849; 
Lusanna  Phillips,  of  further  mention. 

Lusanna  Phillips  Pratt,  youngest  child 
of  Luke  and  Eliza  (Sage)  Pratt,  was  born 
in  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  November 
6,  1842.  She  married,  November  22,  1866, 
Lewis  Warner;  they  the  parents  of 
Mabel  A.  Warner,  wife  of  Frank  H.  Met- 
calf. 


DICKINSON,  Marquis  Fayette, 

J 
Prominent  Liairyer. 

Marquis    Fayette    Dickinson,    Jr.,    was 
born  in  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  January 


341 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGR.\PHY 


i6,  1840,  the  oldest  son  of  Marquis  F.  and 
Hannah   (Williams)   Dickinson. 

His  education  was  obtained  in  the 
schools  and  academy  of  Amherst,  also  in 
the  academy  at  Monson,  and  Williston 
Seminary  at  Easthampton,  graduating 
there  in  1858.  That  fall  he  entered  Am- 
herst College,  and  studied  so  diligently 
that  he  was  graduated  in  1862  with  one 
of  the  three  highest  commencement  hon- 
ors. From  1862  to  1865  he  taught  classics 
at  Williston  Seminary;  the  next  two 
5'ears  he  studied  law  at  Springfield  and 
the  Harvard  Law  School,  and  later  with 
George  S.  Hillard.  He  took  a  high  stand 
from  the  first,  and  was  Assistant  United 
States  Attorney  from  1869  to  187 1.  He 
then  became  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of 
Hillard,  Hyde  &  Dickinson,  afterward 
well  and  honorably  known  as  Hyde,  Dick- 
inson &  Howe,  and  later  Dickinson  & 
Dickinson.  He  was  counsel  for  the  West 
End  Street  Railway,  and  director  and 
counsel  for  the  Metropolitan  Steamship 
Company  and  other  corporations.  In 
1871  Mr.  Dickinson  became  a  member  of 
the  Boston  Common  Council,  and  the 
next  year  was  president  of  that  body. 
Since  1872  he  has  been  a  trustee  of  Wil- 
liston Seminary,  and  one  of  the  overseers 
of  the  charity  fund  of  Amherst  College 
since  1877.  He  has  also  been  a  trustee  of 
the  Boston  Public  Library,  the  Massachu- 
setts Agricultural  College,  and  lecturer  on 
law  as  applied  to  rural  affairs,  in  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Agricultural  College ;  and  trustee 
of  the  Massachusetts  Homeopathic  Hos- 
pital. Mr.  Dickinson  is  the  author  of 
"Legislation  on  the  Hours  of  Labor" 
(1871),  and  "Amherst  Centennial  Ad- 
dress" (1876).  His  strength  is  mainly 
devoted  to  the  engrossing  duties  of  his 
law  business,  a  large  part  of  his  time 
during  the  months  when  the  courts  are 
in  session  being  spent  in  the  trial  of 
causes.    He  is  a  director  of  the  American 


Congregational  Association,  member  of 
the  American  Bar  Association  (vice-pres- 
ident and  member  of  executi\e  commit- 
tee). International  Law  Association,  Phi 
Beta  Kappa,  and  of  the  following  clubs : 
Amherst.  Algonquin,  University,  Boston 
Art,  Rural,  Brookline,  Thursday. 

On  November  23,  1864,  Mr.  Dickinson 
married  Cecelia  R.,  adopted  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Emily  (Graves)  Williston. 
Of  their  three  children  Charles  alone  sur- 
vives. The  deceased  were  Williston  and 
Florence.  Mr.  Dickinson  has  also  adopt- 
ed as  his  own  the  daughter  of  a  deceased 
sister. 


BATES,  John  Lewis, 

La'VTyeT. 

John  Lewis  Bates  was  born  at  North 
Easton,  Massachusetts,  September  18, 
1859.  son  of  Lewis  Benton  and  Louisa 
Dary  (Field)  Bates.  His  father,  a  native 
of  Easton,  Massachusetts,  is  a  prominent 
Methodist  clergyman  of  Boston ;  his 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  Leonard  and 
Lemira  B.  Field.  By  both  lines,  he  is  of 
New  England  colonial  stock,  being  direct- 
ly descended  from  Clement  Bates,  who 
settled  at  Hingham,  Massachusetts,  in 
1635,  and  from  Rev.  John  Rogers,  a 
martyr  of  Queen  Mar\''s  time.  He  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  Millville,  New 
Bedford,  Taunton,  Chelsea  and  Boston, 
where  his  father  was  successively  settled 
as  pastor,  and  was  graduated  at  Boston 
University  in  1882.  His  professional 
studies  were  made  in  the  law  school  of  the 
university,  and  during  this  period,  as  well 
as  a  part  of  his  college  course,  he  taught 
in  evening  schools.  Also  for  a  year  after 
his  graduation,  he  taught  a  school  at 
Jamestown,  New  York.  He  completed 
the  three  years'  course  of  law  in  two 
years,  and  being  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1885,  he   entered   upon   a   successful   law 


342 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


practice,  which,  with  his  constant  activity 
in  politics,  made  him  favorably  prominent 
in  his  city  and  state.  For  two  terms 
(1891-92)  he  served  in  the  Boston  com- 
mon council,  and  for  six  years  (1894-99) 
was  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the 
state  legislature.  He  was  speaker  during 
the  last  three  years ;  a  member  of  com- 
mittees on  insurance  and  corporation 
laws  (1894-95),  chairman  of  insurance  in 
1895,  and  on  metropolitan  affairs,  and  in 
1896  chairman  on  committee  on  bills  in 
third  reading  and  on  metropolitan  affairs. 
In  the  speakership,  an  office  to  which  he 
was  three  times  unanimously  elected,  he 
greatly  distinguished  himself  as  a  master 
of  parliamentary  procedure  and  for  his 
exceptional  ability  in  maintaining  order 
and  dispatching  business.  He  also  added 
to  his  reputation  as  an  able  orator  and 
keen  debater.  In  the  autumn  of  1899  he 
was  elected  lieutenant-governor  on  the 
Republican  ticket,  headed  by  Hon.  W. 
Murray  Crane,  and  was  formally  sworn 
into  office  on  January  4,  1900.  He  served 
as  lieutenant-governor  until  1902;  was 
governor  of  Massachusetts,  1903-04. 
Throughout  his  career  Mr.  Bates  has 
been  deeply  active  in  all  movements  for 
the  benefit  of  the  masses  and  the  enact- 
ment of  more  equable  laws,  and  in  1893- 
94  was  president  of  the  East  Boston  Cit- 
izens' Trade  Association.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  fraternity;  the  Odd 
Fellows;  the  United  Order  of  the  Pil- 
grim Fathers,  of  which  he  was  for  three 
years  (1892-95)  supreme  governor,  and 
several  other  fraternal  and  benevolent 
organizations.  Among  positions  of  trust 
and  honor  held  by  him  may  be  mentioned 
a  directorship  in  the  Columbia  Trust 
Company;  a  trusteeship  in  the  Wildey 
Savings  Bank  and  in  the  Boston  Uni- 
versity. 

On  July  12,  1887,  Mr.  Bates  was  mar- 
ried to  Clara  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Sam- 


uel C.  and  Julia  Smith,  of  Jamestown, 
New  York.  Of  their  three  children,  John 
Harold   and    Dorothy   are    living. 


BATES,  Katherine  Lee, 

Anthor  and  Educator. 

Katherine  Lee  Bates  was  born  at  Fal- 
mouth, Massachusetts,  August  12,  1859, 
daughter  of  William  and  Diantha  (Lee) 
Bates.  Her  father  was  a  Congregational 
minister,  the  son  of  Rev.  Joshua  Bates,  D. 
D.,  the  erudite  president  of  Middlebury  Col- 
lege, Vermont.  She  was  educated  at  the  pri- 
mary and  grammar  schools  of  Falmouth, 
where  her  eagerness  to  learn  made  her 
an  apt  pupil.  In  her  thirteenth  year  she 
accompanied  her  mother  to  Wellesley 
Hills,  Massachusetts,  and  entered  the 
high  school  of  Wellesley,  taking  a  di- 
ploma there  in  1874.  The  family  subse- 
quently making  their  home  at  Newton- 
ville.  Miss  Bates  studied  in  the  high 
school  of  that  place  as  well,  and  from 
there  entered  Wellesley  College,  when 
her  literary  work  began.  She  was  class 
poet,  and  also  received  tw^o  prizes  for 
poems,  the  first  a  Latin  boat-song  and  the 
other  some  English  verses.  Her  stories 
and  sketches  written  during  this  period 
were  published  in  the  Springfield  "Re- 
publican" as  well  as  in  local  publications. 
One  of  her  poems  was  printed  during 
her  junior  year  in  the  "Atlantic  Monthly." 
After  her  graduation,  in  1880,  she  taught 
mathematics,  classics  and  English  in  the 
Natick  high  school  for  one  year,  and  from 
1881  until  1885  taught  classics  in  Dana 
Hall  Preparatory  School,  in  Wellesley. 
In  the  latter  year  she  was  appointed  in- 
structor in  English  literature  at  Welles- 
ley College,  and  two  years  later  became 
associate  professor.  In  1889  she  went  to 
Europe  and  spent  fifteen  months  in  for- 
eign study,  after  which  she  returned  to 
Wellesley     College    to    fill     the    chair    of 


343 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


professor  of  English  literature.  Through- 
out a  busy  career  Miss  Bates  has  neces- 
sarily made  her  literary  work  subordinate 
to  her  other  employment,  but  has  never 
entirely  resisted  her  natural  impulse  to 
write.  She  has  been  a  frequent  contrib- 
utor of  verse  and  prose  to  the  "Century," 
"Independent,"  "New  England  Maga- 
zine," "Youths  Companion,"  "Wide 
Awake"  and  other  magazines.  In  1889 
she  won  a  prize  of  $30  for  a  quatrain  con- 
tributed to  the  "Magazine  of  Poetry," 
and  in  the  same  year  was  awarded  a  $700 
prize  for  a  juvenile  story  entitled  "Rose 
and  Thorn,"  which,  in  the  next  year,  was 
followed  by  a  second  book  of  the  same 
description,  "Hermit  Island."  In  1887 
and  1890  respectively  the  Wellesley 
alumni  published  privately,  for  the  benefit 
of  a  college  fund,  "The  College  Beautiful 
and  Other  Poems"  and  "Sunshine  and 
Other  Verses  for  Children";  the  poem 
from  which  the  second  volume  take  its 
title  having  also  been  awarded  a  prize  in 
a  competition.  Her  other  independent 
works  are :  "The  English  Religious 
Drama,"  a  series  of  college  lectures 
(1893)  and  "American  Literature" 
(1897);  "Mabie's  Norse  Stories,"  1901 ; 
"Keats'  The  Eve  of  St.  Agnes  and  other 
Poems,"  1902;  "English  History  as  Told 
by  English  Poets"  (with  Katharine 
Coman),  1902;  Lenox  Edition  of  "Haw- 
thorne's Romances,"  1902;  Ruskin's 
"King  of  the  Golden  River,"  1903 ;  "Early 
Poems  of  Alice  and  Phoebe  Cary,"  1903 ; 
Tennyson's  "Princess,"  1904;  "Selections 
from  Tennyson's  Idylls  of  the  King," 
1905;  Hawthorne's  "Our  Old  Home," 
1906;  Sophie  Jewett's  "The  Heart  of  a 
Boy,"  1912;  Sophie  Jewett's  "Folksong 
of  Southern  Europe,"  1913;  Heywood's 
"A  Woman  Killed  with  Kindness,"  and 
"The  Fair  Maid  of  the  West"  (Belles 
Lettres  Series),  191 5.  Translator  (with 
Cornelia  Frances  Bates)  "Becquer's  Ro- 


mantic Legends  of  Spain,"  1909.  Besides 
these  writings.  Miss  Bates  has  prepared 
a  number  of  works  in  connection  with 
her  educational  labors.  She  edited  Cole- 
ridge's "Ancient  Mariner"  (1888)  ;  "A 
Ballad  Book,"  (1890);  "The  Merchant 
of  Venice"  (1894) ;  "A  Midsummer 
Night's  Dream"  (1895) ;  and  "As  You 
Like  It,"  (1896),  and  compiled  "A  Wed- 
ding Day  Book"  (1880).  She  has  earned 
a  reputation  as  one  of  the  most  scholarly 
of  American  woman  writers. 


BLAKE,  Henry  Nichols, 

Civil  War  Soldier,  Jurist. 

Henry  Nichols  Blake  was  born  in  Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts,  June  5,  1838,  son  of 
James  Howe  and  Mary  (Nichols)  Blake, 
and  a  descendant  of  William  Blake,  who 
emigrated  from  England  to  Massachu- 
setts in  1630,  and  became  one  of  the  prom- 
inent factors  in  the  early  history  of  Dor- 
chester. 

He  was  educated  in  the  Dorchester 
high  school,  and  in  1858  was  graduated 
from  the  law  school  at  Harvard  College 
with  the  degree  of  LL.B.  He  then  began 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Boston, 
but  when  the  first  call  for  volunteers  was 
made  in  April,  1861,  he  enlisted  in  the 
Eleventh  Massachusetts  Infantry  Regi- 
ment, and  served  for  three  years,  attain- 
ing the  rank  of  captain.  He  participated 
in  twenty  of  the  battles  in  which  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  was  engaged,  was 
slightly  wounded  at  the  first  battle  of 
Bull  Run,  and  was  so  severely  wounded  in 
the  battle  of  Spottsylvania  Court  House, 
May  12,  1864,  that  his  injuries  unfitted 
him  for  further  service.  In  1806  he  re- 
moved to  Virginia  City,  Montana,  and 
entered  upon  the  practice  of  law.  He  was 
editor  of  the  "Montana  Post"  from  Au- 
gust, 1866,  to  January,  1867,  and  about 
the  same  time  published  "Three  Years  in 


344 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  Army."  On  April  22,  1869,  he  was 
appointed  United  States  Attorney  for 
Montana  Territory,  but  resigned  this 
position  in  March,  1871,  in  order  to  accept 
that  of  attorney  for  the  First  Judicial  Dis- 
trict of  the  Territory,  tendered  him  by  the 
governor.  In  1871  he  was  elected  by  the 
people  to  succeed  himself,  and  being  ap- 
pointed reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court 
decrees,  January  9,  1872,  prepared  the 
first  volume  of  Montana  Report,  and 
assisted  in  the  preparation  of  volumes 
two  and  three.  In  1874  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Montana  Legislative 
Assembly,  but  resigned  from  that  body  on 
being  appointed  August  10,  1875,  Asso- 
ciate Justice  of  the  Territorial  Supreme 
Court,  an  office  he  held  until  March  2, 
1880.  He  was  again  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  in  1880,  1882,  and  1886;  was 
appointed  Chief  Justice  of  the  Territory, 
March,  1889;  and  being  elected  to  the 
same  position  at  the  first  State  election  in 
October  following,  remained  on  the 
Supreme  bench  until  January,  1893.  He 
was  president  of  the  Montana  Bar  Asso- 
ciation, 1888.  In  religion  a  Unitarian,  in 
politics  a  Republican. 

Justice  Blake  was  married,  January  27, 
1870,  to  Clara  J.,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
F.  and  Mary  (Choate)  Clark,  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 


CHEEVER,  David  Williams, 

Surgeon,  Professional  Instrnctor. 

David  Williams  Cheever  was  born  in 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  November 
30,  1831,  son  of  Charles  Augustus  and 
Adeline  (Haven)  Cheever.  He  is  a 
descendant  in  the  seventh  generation  of 
Ezekiel  Cheever.  His  grandfather,  Abi- 
jah  Cheever,  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard 
College  (1779),  and  one  of  the  first  sur- 
geons in  the  American  navy:    his  father 


was  also  a  Harvard  graduate  (181 3),  and 
a  successful  physician  in  New  Hampshire. 
David  W.  Cheever  was  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1852,  and  at  the  Har- 
vard Medical  School  in  1858.  After  about 
three  years  of  practice  at  Boston  he 
received  appointment  as  Demonstrator  of 
x^natomy  for  his  ahna  mater,  and  held  the 
position  for  six  years.  He  w'as  then  ap- 
pointed Assistant  Professor  of  Anatomy; 
in  1868  became  Adjunct  Professor  of  Clin- 
ical Surgery;  in  1875,  Professor  of  Clin- 
ical Surgery,  and  in  1882,  Professor  of 
Surgery.  He  held  the  latter  position  until 
1893,  when  he  retired  with  the  title  of 
Professor  Emeritus.  Dr.  Cheever  has 
been  an  overseer  of  Harvard  University 
since  1902;  was  senior  surgeon  of  the 
Boston  City  Hospital,  and  Emeritus  Sur- 
geon since  191 3,  and  an  ex-president  of 
the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society.  Dr. 
Cheever  is  senior  fellow  of  the  American 
Surgical  Association,  a  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  and  his 
clubs  are :  St.  Botolph  and  Athletic.  He 
was  at  one  time  editor  of  the  "Boston 
Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,"  and  is 
author  of  "Medical  and  Surgical  Reports 
of  City  Hospital"  (5  vols.),  "Lectures  on 
Surgery,"  and  of  a  number  of  articles  and 
monographs.  His  wife  was  Annie  C. 
Nichols,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts. 


PIDGIN,  Charles  Felton, 

statistician,  Inventor  and  Author. 

Charles  Felton  Pidgin  was  born  at  Rox- 
bury,  Massachusetts,  November  11,  1844, 
son  of  Benjamin  Gorham  and  Mary  Eliza- 
beth (Felton)  Pidgin.  His  father  was 
an  undertaker  by  profession ;  his  mother 
was  the  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Hepzi- 
beth  (Skinner)  Felton.  He  was  educated 
in  the  Boston  public  schools,  and  upon 
being  graduated  at  the  Quincy  Grammar 


345 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


School  and  at  the  EngHsh  High  School 
he  secured  the  Franklin  medal  on  both 
occasions.  In  1864  he  became  a  book- 
keeper for  a  manufacturing  firm,  and  after 
two  other  employments  in  1873  he  was 
appointed  secretary  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labor,  and  three 
years  later  chief  clerk  of  the  bureau,  a 
position  he  was  holding  in  1901.  He  pre- 
pared the  schedules  and  superintended  the 
tabulations  of  the  Massachusetts  state 
censuses  for  1875,  1885  and  1895,  and  in 
this  line  of  effort  has  invented  many  new 
methods  and  machines,  among  them  self- 
counting  tally  sheets  (1875) ;  and  adding 
machine  (1882) ;  the  electrical  adding 
and  multiplying  machine  (1883),  which 
has  been  in  constant  use  since  that  time ; 
a  special  machine  for  the  tabulation  of 
punched  cards  (1885) ;  the  chip  system 
(1886)  by  means  of  which  144  columns 
of  figures  can  be  added  at  a  time ;  and 
the  electrical  typewriter  tabulator  (1900), 
with  a  capacity  for  registering  540  differ- 
ent points  at  each  handling  of  the  sched- 
ules. He  published,  in  1888,  "Practical 
Statistics,  or,  The  Statistician  at  Work," 
a  hand-book  for  statisticians,  and  later 
was  engaged  in  preparing  a  new  and  re- 
vised edition  for  the  press.  He  also  deliv- 
ered numerous  lectures  upon  statistical 
subjects  before  the  Boston  Scientific  Soci- 
ety, the  Parker  Memorial  Society,  the 
New  England  Chautauquan  Association 
and  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology. Mr.  Pidgin  has  always  shown 
literary  talent,  and  has  contributed  many 
poems  and  prose  articles  to  the  press. 
He  has  been  connected  editorially  with 
the  Boston  "Daily  Times"  and  "Daily 
News,"  and  as  a  writer  with  the  New 
York  "Arcadian,"  the  Philadelphia  "Sun- 
day Mirror,"  and  other  papers.  Besides 
several  plays,  he  has  written  the  follow- 
ing novels,  "Quincy  Adams  Sawyer" 
(1900);     "Blennerhassett;     or.    The    De- 


crees of  Fate"  (1901),  "Miss  Frou-Frou" 
(1902),  "Stephen  Holton,"  1902;  "The 
CHmax,"  1902;  "The  Letter  H,"  1904; 
"A  Nation's  Idol,"  1904;  "Little  Burr," 
1905 ;  "Sarah  Bernhardt  Brown,"  1905 ; 
"The  Corsican  Lovers,"  1905 ;  "The  Hid- 
den Man,"  1906;  "The  Toymakers," 
1907;  "Theodosia,  The  First  Gentle- 
woman of  Her  Time,"  1907;  "Labor,  or. 
The  Money-God,"  1908;  "The  Further 
Adventures  of  Quincy  Adams  Sawyer," 
1909;  "Chronicles  of  Quincy  Adams 
Sawyer,  Detective"  (with  J.  M.  Taylor), 
1912;  "The  House  of  Shame,"  1912;  "The 
Courtin',"  comic  opera,  191 3,  while  his 
musical  publications  are  numerous,  prom- 
inent among  them  being  "Mercedes"; 
"Cambyses ;  or.  The  Pearl  of  Persia" ; 
"The  Adventure  Club" ;  "Sunflowers  and 
Lilies" ;  "The  Electric  Spark",  a  comic 
opera  produced  more  than  three  thousand 
times  in  the  United  States  and  England, 
and  the  musical  comedy,  "Peck's  Bad 
Boy,"  which  has  been  rendered  continu- 
ously for  seventeen  years.  He  establish- 
ed the  Coupon  Musical  Publishing  Com- 
pany, of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  1890, 
embracing  wholesale,  retail  and  publish- 
ing departments,  but  retired  from  the  firm 
in  1894.  Mr.  Pidgin  is  a  member  of  the 
Quincy  School  Association,  of  which  he 
has  been  president;  the  English  High 
School  Association ;  the  Sons  and  Daugh- 
ters of  Nantucket;  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows ;  the  American 
Statistical  Association ;  the  Bibliophile 
Society,  and  other  organizations. 

He  was  married,  July  3,  1867,  to  Lizzie 
Abbot,  daughter  of  Joseph  Moore  and 
Ann  (Kershaw)  Dane,  who  died  in  July 
of  the  following  year.  On  November 
2y,  1873,  he  was  married,  the  second  time, 
to  Lucy  Sturtevant,  daughter  of  Samuel 
B.  Gardner,  of  Nantucket,  Massachusetts. 
She  became  a  physician,  and  practiced  in 
Cambridge,      Massachusetts,     until     her 


346 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


death  in  June,  1896,  and  his  third  wife 
was  Frances  Fern,  daughter  of  Edward 
Foster  and  Cerethe  (Rhyno)  Douglass, 
of  Nova  Scotia. 


PUTNAM,  Herbert. 

liibrarian. 

Herbert  Putnam  was  born  in  New 
York  City,  September  20,  1861,  son  of 
George  Pahner  and  Victorine  (Haven) 
Putnam.  His  father  was  a  noted  pub- 
Hsher  and  founder  of  the  firm  now  known 
by  the  style  of  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.  He 
was  educated  in  the  private  school  of 
James  H.  Morse  in  his  native  city,  and 
was  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in 
1883.  Then,  after  a  year  at  the  Columbia 
Law  School,  he  became  librarian  of  the 
Minneapolis  Athenaeum,  which  owned  a 
collection  of  some  12,000  volumes,  and 
continued  in  this  position  about  five 
years.  In  1885  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  of  Minnesota.  Meantime,  in  the  win- 
ter of  1885,  he  had  been  active  in  pro- 
moting the  organization  of  a  free  public 
library  for  the  city,  which  was  incorpor- 
ated in  the  following  year  with  a  board 
of  trustees,  having  power,  by  special 
amendment  of  the  city  charter,  to  main- 
tain also  art  collections  and  museums. 
Land  was  purchased,  and  a  building  be- 
gun in  1888,  and  Mr.  Putnam  was  desig- 
nated by  the  trustees  to  prepare  a  pur- 
chase list  of  books.  He  went  abroad  in 
1888,  and  during  that  and  the  following 
year  expended  nearly  $30,000  in  behalf  of 
the  library.  In  1889  he  was  appointed 
acting  librarian ;  in  November,  1890,  was 
elected  regular  librarian,  and  was  re-elect- 
ed to  the  same  position  in  Januanv%  1891. 
The  building,  which  in  course  of  erection 
had  cost  $335,000,  was  opened  to  the  pub- 
lic on  December  16,  1890.  Lender  Mr. 
Putnam's  organization  and  management 
the    Minneapolis    public    library    became 


one  of  the  most  useful  and  progressive  in 
the  country.  It  contained  in  1899  over 
100,000  volumes,  with  a  total  circula- 
tion (home  and  reference  use)  of  nearly 
1,000,000.  It  is  supported  from  the  pub- 
lic funds,  and  including  the  interest 
on  its  original  endowment,  has  a  total 
income  well  over  $60,000,  being  rated 
fourth  in  this  respect  among  American 
libraries.  The  building  contains  also  ex- 
tensive art  galleries  and  a  museum,  of 
which  the  librarian  has  general  supervis- 
ion. His  successful  record  with  this  insti- 
tution so  enhanced  his  reputation 
throughout  the  country,  that  in  Febru- 
ary, 1895,  he  was  elected  librarian  of  the 
Boston  public  library,  a  position  which 
had  been  vacant  for  two  years,  since  the 
resignation  of  Mellon  Chamberlain,  in 
1890,  and  of  Theodore  F.  Dwight,  in 
1893.  At  that  time,  the  main  library  had 
moved  into  its  new  building  on  Copley 
square,  but  had  neither  been  reorganized 
nor  opened  to  the  public.  He  reorganized 
the  old  departments  and  established  sev- 
eral new  ones,  such  as  the  newspaper 
room,  fine  arts,  children's  printing  and 
statistics  departments  ;  improved  the  bus- 
iness methods  of  the  library,  and  extend- 
ed and  perfected  the  outlaying  system. 
During  the  four  years  of  his  administra- 
tion, the  original  income  of  the  library 
increased  from  $190,000  to  $262,000,  the 
total  of  employes,  from  193  to  345,  and 
the  circulation  of  books  for  home  use 
alone,  from  800,000  to  1,200,000  volumes 
per  year.  The  central  library  building 
was  improved  in  arrangement  and  equip- 
ment by  the  expenditure  of  $125,000.  The 
outlaying  departments  (branches  and 
delivery  stations)  were  increased  to 
twenty-eight.  This  work  accomplished 
forms  a  noble  monument  to  his  persever- 
ance and  executive  ability.  The  library 
now  contains  over  700,000  volumes  and 
has   an   annual   income   of  $263,000.     On 


347 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


March  13,  1899,  he  was  nominated  by- 
President  McKinley  to  succeed  the  late 
John  Russell  Young  as  head  of  the  con- 
gressional library,  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia,  and  the  wisdom  of  the 
choice  was  recognized  throughout  the 
Union.  Few  men  have  so  completely  the 
skill  and  experience  required  in  the  com- 
plicated duties  of  this  position,  nor  the 
ability  more  adequate  to  discharge  its 
responsibilities.  Mr.  Putnam  has  for 
many  years  been  an  active  member  of  the 
American  Library  Association,  and  dur- 
ing part  of  the  term  of  1897-98  was  its 
president.  All  his  relations  with  the  asso- 
ciation have  been  of  direct  service  in 
advancing  the  cause  of  scientific  library 
economy.  In  December,  1891,  Mr.  Put- 
nam had  resigned  his  position  in  Minne- 
apolis, and  taken  up  the  practice  of  law 
in  Boston.  It  was  while  at  Suffolk  bar 
that  he  was  oflfered  the  librarianship  of 
the  Boston  Public  Library.  He  was  an 
overseer  of  Harvard,  1902-06.  He  is  a 
fellow  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts 
and  Sciences.  He  has  published  numer- 
ous articles  in  reviews  and  professional 
journals.  Mr.  Putnam  was  married  in 
October,  1886,  to  Charlotte  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Charles  W.  Munroe,  of  Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren, Shirley  and  Brenda  Putnam. 


HALL,  Granville  Stanley, 

Educator  and  Author. 

Granville  Stanley  Hall  was  born  at  Ash- 
field,  Massachusetts,  February  i,  1846;  son 
of  Granville  Bascom  and  Abigail  (Beals) 
Hall ;  grandson  of  Thomas  and  Rachel 
(Howes)  Hall  and  of  Robert  and  Abby 
(Vining)  Beals;  and  a  descendant  of  John 
Hall,  who  emigrated  from  Coventry,  Eng- 
land, to  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  in 
1630,  also  of  John  Alden,  William  Brewster 
and  five  other  "Mayflower"  immigrants.  He 

348 


prepared  for  college  at  Sanderson  acad- 
emy, Ashfield,  and  Williston  seminary, 
and  was  graduated  from  Williams  A.  B., 
1867,  A.  M.,  1870.  He  attended  Union 
theological  seminary,  1867-68,  studied  in 
Europe,  1869-70,  and  was  graduated  at 
Union  theological  seminary  in  1871.  He 
was  professor  of  philosophy  at  Antioch 
college,  1872-76;  instructor  in  English  at 
Harvard,  1876-77,  and  received  from  Har- 
vard the  degree  of  Ph.D.  in  1878;  again 
studied  in  Europe,  1878-80;  was  lecturer 
at  Harvard,  1880-83  5  lecturer  on  the  his- 
tory of  philosophy  at  Williams,  1881-84; 
professor  of  psychology  and  pedagogy, 
John  Hopkins,  1881-88;  visited  Europe 
again,  and  became  president  of  Clark  uni- 
versity and  professor  of  psychology, 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  in  1889.  He 
founded  and  became  editor  of  the  Ameri- 
can Journal  of  Psychology  in  1887,  the 
Pedagogical  Seminary,  in  1893,  American 
Journal  of  Religious  Psychology  and  Ed- 
ucation, 1904,  and  Journal  of  Race  Devel- 
opment, 1910.  He  was  married  first,  in 
1880,  to  Cornelia  M.  Fisher  of  Cincinnati, 
who  died  in  1890;  and  secondly,  in  1899, 
to  Florence  E.  Smith  of  Newton,  Massa- 
chusetts. His  son,  Robert  Granville,  was 
born  in  1881.  Dr.  Hall  is  a  fellow  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences, 
member  of  the  American  Historical  Soci- 
ety, the  American  Philosophical  Society, 
the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  and 
first  president  of  the  American  Psycho- 
logical Association,  organized  at  his 
house.  He  received  the  degree  of  LL.D. 
from  the  University  of  Michigan  in  1887. 
He  is  translator  of:  Rosenkrong's  "Hegel 
as  the  National  Philosopher  of  Germany" 
(1874);  "Aspects  of  German  Culture" 
(1881);  "Methods  of  Teaching  History" 
(1883);  "Hints  toward  a  Select  and 
Descriptive  Bibliography  of  Education" 
(with  John  M.  Mansfield,  (1886)  ;  "How  to 
Teach     Reading     and     What     to     Read" 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


(1890);  "Adolescence"  (2  vols.),  1904; 
"Youth — Its  Education,  Regimen  and 
Hygiene,"  1907;  ''Educational  Problems" 
(2  vols.),  191 1 ;  "Founders  of  Modern 
Psychology,"  1912,  and  many  pamphlets, 
addresses  and  contributions  to  periodical 
literature. 


HARRIS,  George, 

Clergyman  and  Educator. 

George  Harris  was  born  at  East  Machias, 
Washington  county,  Maine,  April  i,  1844, 
son  of  George  Harris,  a  native  of  that  town 
and  a  lumber  manufacturer,  and  Mary  Ann 
(Palmer)  Harris,  a  native  of  South  Ber- 
wick, Maine.  One  of  his  ancestors.  Weld 
Noble,  was  a  paymaster  in  the  Revolution- 
ary army.  His  grandfather,  Robinson 
Palmer,  was  a  state  senator  of  Maine, 
and  served  in  the  governor's  council,  be- 
sides holding  various  local  offices.  He 
prepared  for  college  at  Washington  Acad- 
emy, East  Machias,  was  graduated  at 
Amherst  in  1866,  and  then  entered  And- 
over  Theological  Seminary,  where  he  was 
graduated  in  1869.  He  was  pastor  of  the 
High  Street  Congregational  Church, 
Auburn,  Maine,  in  1869-72,  and  of  the 
Central  Congregational  Church,  Provi- 
dence, Rhode  Island,  in  1872-83.  In  the 
latter  year  he  was  appointed  Abbot  pro- 
fessor of  Christian  theology  in  Andover 
Seminary.  In  1884  Dr.  Harris,  with  four 
of  his  colleagues,  became  editors  of  the 
"Andover  Review^"  which  was  published 
until  1894.  In  1886  the  editors  were  put 
on  trial  for  heterodoxy,  and  after  several 
years  of  litigation,  were  acquitted  in  1892. 
In  1887  he  edited  "Hymns  of  the  Faith," 
for  the  use  of  congregations.  In  1896  Dr. 
Harris  published  "Moral  Evolution,"  in 
1897  "Inequality  and  Progress,"  "A  Cen- 
tury's Change  in  Religion,"  1914.  In  1896 
he  was  appointed  president  of  the  faculty. 
In  1894-99  he  was  on  the  staff  of  preach- 


ers at  Dartmouth  College,  and  in  1897-99 
at  Harvard  University.  In  1899  he  was 
elected  president  of  Amherst  College,  and 
was  inaugurated  in  October.  He  received 
the  honorary  degree  of  D.  D.  from  Am- 
herst College  in  1883,  and  from  Harvard 
University  in  1899;  and  the  degree  of 
LL.D.  from  Dartmouth  College  in  1899. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  University  Club 
of  Boston.  Dr.  Harris  was  married  in 
Providence,  Rhode  Island,  December  24, 
1873,  to  Jane  Anthony,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam and  Mary  Brayton  (Anthony)  Viall. 


JOHNSON,  Clifton, 

Author  and  Illustrator. 

Clifton  Johnson  was  born  at  Hadley, 
Hampshire  county,  Massachusetts,  January 
25,  1865,  son  of  Chester  L.  and  Jeanette 
(Reynolds)  Johnson.  As  a  boy  he  worked 
on  his  father's  farm,  and  attended  the  Had- 
ley grammar  school  and  academy.  At  the  age 
of  fifteen  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  book  store 
of  Bridgman  &  Childs,  Northampton, 
where  he  remained  for  five  years,  return- 
ing then  to  the  farm.  The  familiarity  with 
books  thus  gained  gave  a  literary  bent  to 
his  mind,  and  in  the  intervals  of  farm 
work  and  school  teaching  he  constantly 
employed  himself  in  writing  and  drawing, 
occasionally  going  to  New  York  City  in 
the  winter  time  to  study  in  the  art  schools 
there.  His  work,  both  with  pen  and 
pencil,  meeting  with  encouragement  in 
that  city  and  in  Boston,  he  published  his 
first  book  in  1892,  "The  New  England 
Country,"  a  realistic  study  in  text  and 
pictures  of  Yankee  farm  folk  and  their 
surroundings,  that  was  immediately  suc- 
cessful. For  several  years  he  has  spent 
his  summers  abroad,  gathering  much  ma- 
terial in  pictures  and  notes  for  works  on 
old  world  country  life.  Besides  the  vol- 
ume already  mentioned,  he  is  the  author 
and  illustrator  of  "The  Country  School" 


349 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


(1893) ;      "The    Farmer's     Boy"    (1894)  ; 
"What    They    Say    in     Xew    England" 
(1896) ;  "Among  EngHsh  Hedge   Rows" 
(1899),     and     "Along     French     Byways" 
(1900),  besides  frequent  articles  publish- 
ed in   leading  magazines.      He   has   also 
illustrated  the  following  for  holiday  edi- 
tions:    White's  "Natural  History  of  Sel- 
borne"  (1895) ;    Burrough's  "Year  in  the 
Fields"     (1896)  ;     Barrie's     "Window    in 
Thrums"  (1896) ;   Maclaren's  "Beside  the 
Bonnie  Brier  Bush"  (1896),  and  "In  the 
Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne"  (1896) ;    Jane 
Barlow's   "Irish   Idyls"    (1897)  ;    Charles 
Dudley  W^arner's  "Being  a  Boy"  (1897)  ; 
Dickens'    "Child's    History   of    England" 
(1898)  ;      Blackmore's     "Lorna     Doone" 
(1900),  and  Sally  Pratt  McLean's  "Vesty 
of     the     Basins"     (1900);     other     of     his 
writings  are:      -The    Isle    of    the    Sham- 
rock,"   1901 ;     "New    England    and    Its 
Neighbors,"  1902;    "The  Land  of  Heath- 
er,"     1903:       "Old-Time      Schools      and 
School-Books,"     1904:      "Highways     and 
Byways  of  the  South."  1904:   "Highways 
and  Byways  of  the   Mississippi  \^alley," 
1906:     "Highways    and    Byways    of    the 
Pacific    Coast,"    1908:     •'The    Picturesque 
Hudson,"     1909;     "The     Picturesque     St. 
Lawrence,"    1910;    "Highways    and   By- 
w^ays    of    the    Rocky    :\Iountains."    1910; 
"Highways    and    Byways    of    the   Great 
Lakes,"    191 1;    "Highways   and   Byways 
from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  \'irginia,"  1913; 
"Highways    and    Bvwavs    of   New    Ene- 
land,      1915;     "Battleground   Adventures 
in  the  Civil  War,"  1915.     He  has  edited 
and  illustrated  a  number  of  juvenile  and 
other  works.     Mr.  Johnson  was  married, 
^J^ay  25,  1896,  to  Anna  Tweed,  daughter 
of  John  McQuestion.  of  Hadley,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  they  reside.     Thev  have 
two  children  :   Margaret  and  Arthur  John- 
son. 

350 


KNOWLTON,  Marcus  Perrin, 

Jurist. 

Marcus  Perrin  Knowlton  was  born  in 
Wilbraham,  Massachusetts,  February  3, 
1839,  son  of  Merrick  and  Fatima  (Perrin) 
Knowlton,  grandson  of  Amasa  and  Mar- 
garet (Topliff)  Knowlton,  and  seventh  in 
descent  from  William  Knowlton,  who, 
with  his  mother  and  brothers,  John  and 
Thomas,  settled  in  Ipswich,  Massachu- 
setts, in   1632. 

His  boyhood  was  spent  on   a  farm  in 
Monson,  Massachusetts,  whither  his  par- 
ents had  moved  when  he  was  five  years 
old.      He   was   educated    in    the   common 
schools,  at  the  Monson  Academy,  and  at 
Yale    College,   where    he   was   graduated 
in   i860.     Previous  to  entering  upon  his 
college  course  he  had  engaged  in  teach- 
ing a  district  school  in  the  winter  months, 
and  while  at  Yale  he  served  as  instructor 
in  the  Westfield   (Massachusetts)   Acad- 
emy,   and    in    Hopkins    Grammar    School, 
New  Haven.    In  1861  he  became  principal 
of  the  Union  School  at  Norwalk,  Connect- 
icut.    He  began  the  study  of  law  early 
in  1861,  reading  first  with  James  G.  Allen, 
of  Palmer,  and  later  with  John  Wells  and 
Augustus   L.   Soule,  of  Springfield,  both 
of  whom  were  afterward  on  the  Supreme 
bench.     He  was  admitted  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts bar  the  latter  part  of  1862.  Eight 
years  later  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
in    the    Supreme     Court   of    the    United 
States.     In  1872  and  1873  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the   common   council   of   Spring- 
field;   in  1878  was  a  representative  in  the 
lower  house  of  the  Legislature,  where  he 
served    on    important    committees    on    the 
judiciary-,  the  liquor  law,  State  defective 
force,    and    constitutional    amendments ; 
and  in  1880  and  1881  he  represented  the 
first  Hampden  District  in  the  Massachu- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


setts  Senate.  At  this  time  also  he  was  a 
director  of  the  Springfield  &  New  London 
Railroad  Company;  director  of  the  City 
National  Bank  of  Springfield;  and  trus- 
tee and  treasurer  of  the  Springfield  City 
Hospital.  He  was  appointed  a  justice  of 
the  Superior  Court  in  August,  1881,  was 
promoted  to  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court 
in  1887,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
resignation  of  Judge  Gardner,  and  in  De- 
cember, 1902,  became  Chief  Justice,  which 
position  he  filled  until  September,  191 1, 
when  he  resigned.  He  was  chairman  of  a 
board  of  five  trustees  appointed  by  the 
Federal  Court  in  1914  to  take  over,  hold 
and  dispose  of  a  majority  of  the  capital 
stock  of  the  B.  &  M.  R.  R.  in  the  interest 
of  the  N.  Y.,  N.  H.  &  H.  R.  R.  Co.  The 
honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  was  conferred 
on  him  by  Yale  University  in  1895,  and  by 
Harvard  in  1900. 

Judge  Knowlton  was  married,  July  18, 
1867,  to  Sophia,  daughter  of  William  and 
Saba  A.  (Cushman)  Ritchie,  who  died  in 
1886.  On  May  21,  1891,  he  was  married 
to  Rose  Mary,  daughter  of  Cyrus  K.,  and 
Susan  Ladd,  of  Portland,  Maine. 


BANCROFT,  William  Amos, 

Lia-wryer,    Soldier,    Street   Railv^'ay  Manager. 

William  Amos  Bancroft,  lawyer,  sol- 
dier and  street  railway  manager,  was 
"born  Groton,  Middlesex  county,  Massa- 
chusetts, April  26,  1855,  son  of  Charles 
and  Lydia  Emeline  (Spaulding)  Ban- 
croft. His  ancestors  on  both  sides  settled 
in  Massachusetts  about  1640.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  and  at  the 
Lawrence  Academy,  in  his  native  town. 
He  was  graduated  at  Phillips  Exeter 
Academy  in  1874  and  at  Harvard  College 
in  1878.  He  studied  at  the  Harvard  Law 
School,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Suffolk 
bar  in  1881,  and  settled  in  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts.    Joining  the  militia  when 

35 


a  college  freshman,  he  passed  through  the 
various  grades,  becoming  captain  of  his 
company  (B)  in  1879,  and  colonel  of  his 
regiment  (the  Fifth)  in  1882.  He  became 
the  senior  colonel  of  the  Massachusetts 
militia,  and  as  such  commanded  the  2d 
brigade  at  the  mobilization  of  the  state 
troops  in  Boston  in  1895.  In  July,  1897, 
he  was  unanimously  elected  brigadier- 
general  of  the  2d  brigade,  and  in  May, 
1898,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Mc- 
Kinley  brigadier-general  of  United  States 
volunteers,  and  was  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  2d  brigade  of  the  2d  division 
of  the  7th  army  corps,  with  which  he 
remained  until  the  cessation  of  hostili- 
ties, when  he  resigned  and  was  honorably 
discharged  the  last  of  August.  In  1885, 
he  left  the  practice  of  law  to  become 
superintendent  of  the  Cambridge  Street 
Railway  Company,  and  afterwards  was 
general  roadmaster  of  the  West  End 
Street  Railway  Company,  with  its  240 
miles  of  track.  While  superintendent  of 
the  Cambridge  railroad,  not  only  was  his 
management  financially  successful,  but  in 
1887,  when  all  but  thirty  of  the  650  em- 
ployees went  out  on  strike,  such  was  his 
firmness,  energy  and  organizing  ability 
that  in  a  short  time  all  the  company's 
twenty-two  lines  were  in  full  operation. 
In  spite  of  his  determined  conduct,  the 
strikers  admitted  his  fairness,  and  accord- 
ed him  their  respect.  General  Bancroft 
left  the  street  railway  business  in  1890, 
and  returned  to  the  practice  of  law,  in 
which  he  has  since  been  engaged.  In 
1882,  he  was  elected  to  the  common  coun- 
cil of  Cambridge.  In  the  fall  of  that  year 
he  was  elected  a  representative  to  the 
legislature,  and  was  twice  re-elected, 
serving  during  the  years  1883,  1884  and 
1885.  In  1890  he  was  elected  to  the  board 
of  aldermen,  and  re-elected  the  follow- 
ing year,  being  made  president  of  the 
board  for  both  terms.     In   1893  ^^  was 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


elected  mayor  of  Cambridge,  and  was 
three  times  re-elected.  His  administra- 
tion was  characterized  by  economy  and 
progress.  General  Bancroft  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics,  though  national  party 
lines  are  not  recognized  in  Cambridge 
municipal  elections,  and  at  this  time  the 
city  was  Democratic  by  a  large  majority. 
He  presided  at  the  state  convention  of 
his  party  in  1893.  In  the  same  year  he 
was  chosen  by  the  alumni  of  Harvard 
College  a  member  of  the  board  of  over- 
seers, and  in  1894  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  New  England  Alumni,  of  the 
Phillips  Exeter  Academy.  He  was  a  trus- 
tee of  Norwich  University,  1904-05 ; 
president  of  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  an- 
niversary, Groton,  1905 ;  trustee  of  Law- 
rence Academy,  Groton,  1908;  chief  mar- 
shal of  Harvard  Alumni  and  of  Hooker 
Monument  Parade,  Boston.  He  was 
president  of  the  Mayors'  Club  of  Massa- 
chusetts, Cambridge  Club,  member  of  the 
Order  of  the  Cincinnati,  Order  of  Foreign 
Wars,  Order  of  Spanish  Wars,  and  his 
clubs  are :  Union,  Commercial  (presi- 
dent three  years).  Exchange,  Harvard, 
Colonial  (Cambridge),  Traffic.  General 
Bancroft  is  a  forcible  speaker,  and  pos- 
sesses great  executive  ability.  He  was 
married,  in  1879,  to  Mary  Shaw,  of  Pea- 
body,  and  has  two  sons  and  one  daughter. 


WALCOTT.  Henry  Pickering, 
Physician. 

Henry  Pickering  Walcott,  physician, 
was  born  at  Hopkinton,  Massachusetts, 
December  23,  1838,  son  of  Samuel  Baker 
and  Martha  (Pickman)  Walcott,  and  a 
descendant  of  William  Walcott,  who 
came  from  Lincolnshire,  England,  prior 
to  1634  and  settled  in  Salem,  Massachu- 
setts. His  father  was  a  lawyer,  noted 
for  his  learning  and  high  character.  The 
'son    was    prepared    at    the    Salem    Latin 


School  and  was  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1858.  In  1861  he  received  his 
medical  degree  at  Bowdoin  College,  and 
afterward  spent  two  years  in  study 
abroad.  In  1862  he  began  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  Cambridge,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  has  since  resided.  Dr. 
Walcott  has  been  a  member  of  the  state 
board  of  health  since  1881,  and  its  chair- 
man since  1886.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  board  of  commissioners  of 
metropolitan  water  and  sewerage,  and  has 
written  various  public  reports  upon  the 
water  supply  and  drainage  of  the  state, 
beside  portions  of  the  reports  of  the  state 
health  board  since  1882.  In  1900-05  he 
was  acting  president  of  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, of  which  he  has  been  one  of  the 
overseers ;  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  uni- 
versity board  of  president  and  fellows. 
He  was  president  of  the  American  Public 
Health  Association  in  1886,  succeeding 
Dr.  James  E.  Reeves ;  was  president  of 
the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  and 
in  1904  was  president  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Horticultural  Society  and  of  the 
Massachusetts  Forestry  Association,  is 
chairman  of  the  trustees  of  the  Massachu- 
setts General  Hospital,  trustee  of  Carne- 
gie Institution  of  Washington  ;  president 
XV  International  Congress  on  Hygiene 
and  Demography,  Washington,  1912;  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Thursday  Evening 
and  Union  clubs  of  Boston,  the  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  and  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  Dr. 
Walcott  was  married.  May  31,  1865,  to 
Charlotte  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Reuben 
Richards  of  Boston.  They  have  two  sons, 
George  and  Robert  Walcott. 


RICHARDS,  Robert  Hallowell, 

Metallnrgiat. 

Robert    Hallowell    Richards    was    born 
at    Gardiner,    Maine,    August    26,     1844, 


352 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


son  of  Francis  and  Anne  Hallowell 
(Gardiner)  Richards.  He  was  graduat- 
ed at  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology  in  1868  and  immediately 
became  an  assistant  professor  of  chemis- 
try, remaining  until  1871  when  he  was 
elected  to  the  chair  of  mineralogy.  He 
has  been  for  a  number  of  years  professor 
of  mining  and  metallurgy  and  under  his 
direction  the  laboratory  for  mining  en- 
gineering and  metallurgy  was  developed. 
His  professional  work  has  been  devoted 
mainly  to  the  introduction  of  laboratory 
methods  into  the  teaching  of  mining  and 
metallurgy.  As  an  inventor  he  has  per- 
fected a  jet  aspirator  for  use  in  chemical 
and  physical  laboratories,  1874,  an  ore 
separator  for  the  Lake  Superior  copper 
reduction  mills,  1881,  and  a  prism  for 
stadia  surveying  in  1890.  In  1886  he  was 
president  of  the  American  Institute  of 
Mining  Engineers.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  several  other  scientific  societies.  He 
has  paid  much  attention  to  the  improve- 
ment of  ore  dressing  processes,  particu- 
larly those  employed  in  the  concentration 
of  copper,  in  which  he  is  a  recognized 
authority.  His  papers  on  chemistry 
which  were  his  early  publications,  appear- 
ed in  the  "American  Journal  of  Science," 
those  on  metallurgical  subjects  have  been 
published  in  "The  Transactions  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers," 
and  he  published  "Ore  Dressing,"  Vols. 
I  and  II,  1903.  Vols.  HI  and  IV,  1909; 
Ore  Dressing  (text-book)  1909.  Prof. 
Richards  was  married  in  Boston,  June 
6,  1875,  to  Ellen  Henrietta,  daughter  of 
Prof.  Peter  Swallow,  of  Worcester. 


ROBINSON,  Benjamin  Lincoln, 
Botanist  and  Educator. 

Benjamin  Lincoln  Robinson,  botanist 
and  educator,  was  born  at  Bloomington, 
Illinois,  November  8,  1864,  son  of  James 


Harvey  and  Latricia  Maria  (Drake)  Rob- 
inson, and  a  descendant  of  Rev.  John 
Robinson,  who  led  the  Pilgrims  to  Ley- 
den,  and  whose  son,  Isaac,  settled  at  Ply- 
mouth, Massachusetts,  in  1630.  From  the 
latter  and  his  wife,  Margaret  Hanford,  the 
line  of  descent  runs  through  John  and  his 
wife,  Elizabeth  Weeks;  Isaac  and  his 
wife,  Hannah  Harper ;  Peter  and  his  wife, 
Martha  Greene ;  Elihu  and  his  wife,  Sarah 
Sanford,  and  Benjamin  and  his  wife, 
Ruhama  Wood,  who  were  Prof.  Robin- 
son's grandparents.  His  father  was  pres- 
ident of  a  bank.  The  son  attended  the 
Illinois  State  Normal  School  and  Wil- 
liams College  before  entering  Harvard, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  1887.  Going 
abroad  he  was  a  student  at  Strasburg  and 
Bonn  universities,  and  received  the  de- 
gree of  Ph.D.  from  the  former  in  1889. 
In  1890  he  was  appointed  assistant  in  the 
Gray  Herbarium,  Harvard  University,  of 
which  he  has  been  curator  since  1892. 
In  1900  he  became  Asa  Gray  professor  of 
systematic  botany  in  Harvard  University, 
which  position  he  has  occupied  since  that 
time.  In  the  summer  of  1894  he  engaged 
in  a  botanical  exploration  of  the  unsettled 
interior  of  the  island  of  Newfoundland. 
Prof.  Robinson  is  the  editor  of  "Synop- 
tical Flora  of  North  America,"  and  of 
"Rhodora,"  the  journal  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Botanical  Club,  and  is  the  author  of 
"Flora  of  the  Galapagos  Islands,"  beside 
many  scientific  papers  upon  the  classifica- 
tion of  the  higher  plants  of  North  Amer- 
ica and  Mexico.  He  is  a  fellow  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences, 
American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science ;  nonresident  member  of 
the  Washington  Academy  of  Science ; 
member  of  the  New  England  Botanical 
Club  (president  1906-08)  ;  member  of  the 
Botanical  Society  of  America,  of  which 
he  was  president  in  1900;  of  the  Vermont 
Botanical  Club,  Washington  Academy  of 


MASS. — 7 — 23. 


353 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Sciences,  Boston  Society  Natural  His- 
tory, and  the  American  Folklore  Society, 
and  a  corresponding  member  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts and  Rhode  Island  Horticul- 
tural Societies,  Botanischer  Verein  der 
Provinz  Brandenburg,  Deutsche  Botan- 
ische  Gesellschaft.  He  was  married,  at 
Hennepin,  Putnam  county,  Illinois,  June 
29,  1887,  to  Margaret  Louise,  daughter  of 
William  Henry  Casson,  of  that  place. 


PILLSBURY,  Albert  Enoch, 

Lawyer. 

Albert  Enoch  Pillsbury  was  born  at 
Milford,  New  Hampshire,  August  19, 
1849,  son  of  Josiah  Webster  and  Elizabeth 
(Dinsmoor)  Pillsbury,  and  a  descendant  of 
William  Pillsbury,  who  came  from  Derby- 
shire and  settled  in  Newbury  (now  New- 
buryport),  Massachusetts,  in  1641.  His 
great-grandfather,  Parker  Pillsbury,  was  a 
soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and  Parker  Pills- 
bury, distinguished  as  an  anti-slavery  ora- 
tor, was  his  uncle.  He  attended  the  high 
school  in  his  native  town,  Appleton 
Academy,  New  Ipswich,  New  Hampshire, 
and  Lawrence  Academy,  Groton,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  was  graduated,  and  entered 
Harvard  in  1867,  but  did  not  finish  the 
course.  He  read  law  with  James  Dinsmoor, 
his  uncle,  at  Sterling,  Illinois,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1870.  Return- 
ing to  the  East,  he  was  admitted  to 
the  Massachusetts  bar  in  187 1  and  began 
practicing  in  Boston.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  state  legislature  in  1876,  1877  and  1878. 
From  the  beginning  he  took  his  place  among 
the  leaders.  He  was  elected  to  the  senate 
in  1884,  and  twice  re-elected,  being  presi- 
dent of  the  senate  in  1885  and  again  in 
1886.  In  1891-93  he  was  attorney-general 
of  the  commonwealth.  Mr.  Pillsbury  is  in 
extensive  practice  as  counsel  for  several 
corporations ;  is  vice-president  and  a  direc- 
tor of  the  United  States  Trust  Company, 


and  a  trustee  of  the  Franklin  Savings  Bank, 
Lawrence  Academy  and  World  Peace 
Foundation.  Since  1896  he  has  been  lec- 
turer on  constitutional  law  in  the  Law 
School  of  Boston  University,  and  he  is  a 
member  of  the  commission  to  revise  the 
charter  of  the  city  of  Boston.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Algonquin,  Art  and  Univer- 
sity clubs  ;  of  the  Massachusetts,  Middlesex, 
and  other  political  clubs ;  vice-president 
of  the  Massachusetts  Society  for  the  Pre- 
vention of  Cruelty  to  Animals ;  a  member 
of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and 
Social  Science,  New  Hampshire  Historical 
Society,  American  Humane  Educational 
Society,  International  Law  Association,  and 
various  other  scientific,  charitable  and  liter- 
ary societies.  He  was  given  an  honorary 
degree  by  Harvard  in  1891.  He  is  the  auth- 
or of  "Daniel  Webster  the  Orator,"  1903; 
"Lincoln  and  Slavery,"  1913,  also  addresses 
and  contributions  to  reviews  and  maga- 
zines on  legal,  historical  and  political  sub- 
jects. 


PICKERING,  William  Henry, 
Astronomer. 

William  Henry  Pickering  was  born  in 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  February  15,  1858. 
He  is  a  great-grandson  of  Timothy 
Pickering,  adjutant-general  on  the  staff 
of  General  Washington,  and  a  member 
of  his  cabinet,  who  was  himself  a  great- 
grandson  of  John  Pickering,  the  first  Amer- 
ican ancestor,  who  settled  in  Salem,  Massa- 
chusetts, 1630.  William  Henry  was  edu- 
cated in  Boston,  and  was  graduated  at  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  in 
1879,  an*i  fo'"  o"^  y^a^  experimented  upon 
marine  electrical  devices  at  home.  From 
1880  to  1886,  he  was  instructor  of  physics 
in  that  institution.  In  1878  he  observed  his 
first  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  in  Denver,  Col- 
orado, and  ascended  the  Half  Dome  in 
Yosemite  Valley.    In  1882  he  ascended  sev- 


354 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


eral  of  the  Alps  in  Switzerland.  In  1886 
he  went  to  the  West  Indies  with  his  family, 
in  order  to  observe  the  total  eclipse  of  the 
sun.  In  1887  he  was  appointed  assistant  at 
Harvard  College  Observatory,  and  placed 
in  charge  of  the  newly  established  Boyden 
department.  Later  in  the  same  year  he 
visited  Colorado  in  search  of  a  suitable  site 
for  an  observatory,  to  be  used  in  connec- 
tion with  that  at  Cambridge.  In  the  winter 
of  1888-89  ^^  went  to  California  and  ob- 
served the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  in  the 
northern  part  of  that  state.  Later  he  visit- 
ed the  southern  portion  of  the  state,  and  se- 
lected as  a  site  for  an  observatory,  Mount 
Wilson,  near  Los  Angeles.  This  station  was 
occupied  for  over  a  year  and  several  thou- 
sand photographs  of  the  heavens  were  se- 
cured from  it.  In  December,  1890,  he  was 
made  assistant  professor  of  astronomy,  and 
that  year  established  in  Peru,  South  Amer- 
ica, Harvard's  Southern  Observatory  near 
the  city  of  Arequipa.  From  this  station 
many  thousand  photographs  have  been  ob- 
tained, and  numerous  visual  observations 
have  been  made  upon  the  moon  and  the 
planets,  especially  Mars.  He  established  a 
meteorological  station  upon  Mount  Chachoco- 
mani,  at  an  altitude  of  16,650  feet,  and  an 
ascent  of  Mt.  El  Miste,  19,400  feet,  was 
successfully  accomplished.  He  also  made  a 
survey  of  the  Andes  in  Bolivia,  and  ob- 
tained the  altitude  of  some  twenty  of  the 
highest  points  upon  the  American  continent. 
In  1893  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  by 
way  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan  and  Europe, 
incidentally  observing  a  total  eclipse  of  the 
sun  in  Chili,  and  making  a  redetermination 
of  the  altitude  of  Mount  Aconcagua.  In 
the  spring  of  1894  he  established  the  Lowell 
Observatory  at  Flagstaff,  Arizona,  the  work 
at  this  point  having  been  chiefly  upon  Mars 
and  the  satellites  of  Jupiter.  In  1899  he  dis- 
covered Phoebe,  the  ninth  satellite  of  Sa- 
turn, and  showed  later  why  it  revolved  in  a 
direction  opposite  to  all  the  others ;    also 


discovered  Themis,  the  tenth  satellite ;  vis- 
ited Hawaii,  1905,  the  Azores  in  1907,  in 
order  to  compare  their  crater  formations 
with  those  in  the  moon. 

Among  his  more  important  published 
works  are,  "Walking  Guide  to  the  Mount 
Washington  Range"  ( 1882)  ;  "Investiga- 
tions in  Astronomical  Photography"  (Vol. 
XXXII,  Part  I,  Annals),  1895;  "Visual 
Observations  of  the  Moon"  (Vol.  LI,  An- 
nals), 1903;  "The  Moon,"  1903;  "Mis- 
cellaneous Papers"  (Vol.  LIII  Annals), 
1905 ;  "Lunar  and  Hawaiian  Physic- 
al Features  Compared,"  1906;  "Researches 
of  the  Boyden  Department"  (Vol.  LXI, 
Part  I,  Annals),  1908;  "A  Search  for  a 
Planet  Beyond  Neptune"  (Vol.  LXI,  Part 

II,  Annals),  1909;  "A  Statistical  Investiga- 
tion of  Cometary  Orbits"  (Vol.  LXI,  Part 

III,  Annals),  191 1.  He  began  a  series  of 
"Reports  on  Mars,"  in  "Popular  Astrono- 
my," 1914.  Contributor  to  astronomical 
journals. 


TOWNSEND,  Luther  Tracy, 

Clergyman  and  Educator. 

Luther  Tracy  Townsend  was  born  at 
Orono,  Penobscot  county,  Maine,  Sep- 
tember 2/,  1838,  son  of  Luther  K.  and 
Mary  True  (Call)  Townsend,  the  form- 
er a  native  of  Hill,  New  Hampshire, 
and  the  latter  of  Franklin,  New  Hamp- 
shire. His  boyhood,  after  his  father's 
death,  was  passed  in  central  New  Hamp- 
shire. When  twelve  years  of  age  he 
began  work  on  the  Boston,  Concord  &  Mon- 
treal Railroad,  now  a  part  of  the  Boston 
and  Maine  system,  not  long  afterwards  de- 
termining to  become  a  locomotive  engineer. 
While  employed  as  a  fireman,  he  felt  an 
overmastering  desire  to  obtain  an  education 
and  devoted  his  spare  moments  to  the  study 
of  English  branches  and  Latin.  Leaving  the 
railroad  for  a  year,  though  intending  to 
return,  he  studied  at  the  New  Hampshire 


355 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Conference  Seminary,  Tilton,  and  in  1855 
entered  Dartmouth  College.  During  his 
course  he  taught  winter  schools  and  during 
his  summer  vacations  worked  with  his  step- 
father at  the  carpenter's  trade.  He  was 
graduated  in  1859,  and  at  Andover  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  in  1862  (honorary  de- 
gree A.  M.,  Wesleyan,  1866;  D.  D.,  Dart- 
mouth, 1871).  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the 
Sixteenth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Vol- 
unteers. Not  long  after  he  was  promoted 
to  the  adjutancy  of  the  regiment  and  served 
under  that  commission  in  the  Nineteenth 
Army  Corps  until  the  muster  out  of  the  reg- 
iment nine  months  later.  He  performed 
other  duties  while  under  arms,  serving  as 
ordnance  officer,  surgeon,  commissary, 
nurse  and  chaplain.  Prior  to  the  return 
of  the  regiment,  he  was  urged  by  the  chief 
staff  officer  of  General  Banks  to  take  the 
colonelcy  of  one  of  the  regiments  then  re- 
cruiting; but  feeling  that  the  war  was 
nearly  over  and  that  he  ought  to  return  to 
his  professional  work,  he  declined  the  hon- 
or. He  entered  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
ministry  in  1864.  In  1868  he  was  chosen 
to  fill  the  chair  of  Hebrew,  Chaldee  and 
New  Testament  Greek  in  Boston  Univer- 
sity; but  in  1870,  at  his  own  request,  was 
transferred  to  the  chair  of  historical  the- 
ology, and  in  1872  to  the  chair  of  practical 
theology  and  sacred  rhetoric.  His  profes- 
sorship continued  until  1893,  when  he  re- 
signed to  give  his  time  exclusively  to  liter- 
ary work,  though  he  is  still  catalogued  by 
that  institution  as  professor  emeritus.  He 
was  appointed  delegate  to  the  ecumenical 
council  in  London  in  1881,  was  delegate  to 
the  congress  of  all  religions  at  Chicago, 
1893,  a^^d  was  dean  of  the  Chautauquan 
School  of  Theology,  in  1882-85.  As  a 
preacher  and  lecturer,  Dr.  Townsend  has 
taken  a  high  rank,  having  filled,  during  his 
professorship  in  Boston,  some  of  the  lead- 
ing Congregational  pulpits  in  New  England 
and  some  of   the  best  Methodist   appoint- 


ments in  the  northern  and  the  middle  south- 
ern states.  He  is  now  (1917)  associate  ed- 
itor of  the  "Bible  Champion,"  New  York. 

He  has  been  a  voluminous  writer,  publish- 
ing twenty  volumes  and  being  editorially 
connected  with  several  newspapers  and 
magazines.  Among  his  most  popular  works 
are:  "Credo"  (1869);  "Sword  and  Gar- 
ment" (1871);  "God-Man"  (1872);  "Lost 
Forever"  (1873);  "Arena  and  Throne" 
(1874)  ;  "Supernatural  Factor  in  Revivals" 
(1877);  "Intermediate  World"  (1878); 
"Fate  of  Republics"  (1880);  "Art  of 
Speech,"  two  volumes,  (1880-81);  "Bible 
Theology  and  Modern  Thought"  (1883); 
"Faith-Work,  'Christian  Science'  and  Oth- 
er Cures"  (1885);  "The  Bible  and  Other 
Ancient  Literature"  (1885);  "History  of 
the  Sixteenth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire 
Volunteers"  (1896);  "Story  of  Jonah  in 
the  Light  of  Higher  Criticism"  (1897); 
twelve  discourses  of  the  Credo  series 
(1898);  "Evolution  of  Creation"  (1899); 
and  "Anastasis"  (1900);  "Satan  and  De- 
mons," 1902;  "God's  Goodness  and  Sever- 
ity, or  Endless  Punishment,"  1903  ;  "Adam 
and  Eve — History  or  Myth?"  1904;  "Col- 
lapse of  Evolution,"  1905 ;  "God  and  the 
Nation,"  1905;  "New  Theologies — Only 
Bubbles,"  1906;  "The  Deluge — History  or 
Myth?"  1907;  "Doctrine  of  the  Trinity," 
1910;  "Is  there  a  God  Such  as  the  Bible 
Describes?"  1913;  "End  of  the  World; 
Biblical  and  Scientific  Points  of  View," 
1913;  "Bible  Studies,  Rules  of  Interpreta- 
tion and  Current  Difficulties  and  Objec- 
tions," 1913;  "The  Stars  Are  Not  Inhab- 
ited," 1914.  "Is  There  A  Place  of  Punish- 
ment Called  Hell?"  1914;  "God  and  War," 
1 91 5.  The  merits  of  "Evolution  of  Crea- 
tion" secured  for  him  an  election  to  mem- 
bership in  the  Victoria  Institute,  of  London. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity 
and  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society.  Dr. 
Townsend's  places  of  residence  since  1892 
have  been  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  Wash- 


356 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ington,  D.  C.  He  was  married  at  Water- 
town,  Massachusetts,  September  27,  1865, 
to  Laura  C,  daughter  of  David  T.  and  Sa- 
rah F.  (White)  Huckins.  Three  daughters 
were  born  to  them,  only  one  of  whom  is  Hv- 
insr. 


NOBLE,  Edmund, 

Journalist  and  Author. 

Edmund  Noble  was  born  in  Glasgow, 
Scotland,  January  8,  1853,  son  of  John 
and  Eliza  Noble.  His  parents  were  na- 
tives of  England.  After  the  death  of 
his  father,  in  1868,  his  mother  and  oth- 
er members  of  the  family  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1872,  and  located  in  Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts.  He  was  educated  un- 
der the  instruction  of  his  grandfather,  the 
Rev.  William  George  Nevatt,  and  in  the 
public  schools  of  St.  Helen's,  Lancashire, 
England.  Upon  completing  his  studies  he 
entered  the  journalistic  field.  He  began 
newspaper  work  on  St.  Helen's  "Newspa- 
per and  Advertiser  ;"  reporter  and  editor  of 
St.  Helen's  "Standard,"  1872-73;  reporter, 
1873-80,  editorial  writer,  1880-82,  Liver- 
pool "Courier  ;" editor  and  proprietor  of  Liv- 
erpool "City  News,"  1882  ;  in  Russia  as  cor- 
respondent of  London  "Daily  News,"  Lon- 
don "Daily  Globe,"  Manchester  "Guardi- 
an," Glasgow  "Herald,"  1882-84;  foreign 
editorial  writer  of  New  York  "Herald," 
1887.  Being  deeply  interested  in  the  social 
and  political  conditions  of  Russia,  he  twice 
visited  that  country,  in  1882-84.  Upon 
his  return  from  Russia  he  began  the 
historical  and  philosophical  studies  in 
which  he  is  still  engaged  (  1904). 
He  is  the  author  of  "The  Russian 
Revolt"  (1885);  "Russia  and  the  Rus- 
sians" (1900)  ;  and  (in  collaboration  with 
Lydia  L.  Pimenoff),  of  "Before  the 
Dawn,"  a  story  of  Russian  life ;  "The  White 
Cross  a  Story  of  the  World's  Last  War," 
Boston  "Herald,"  1900 ;  also  of  philosophical 


and  general  articles  in  "Appleton's  Popular 
Science  Monthly,"  "North  American  Re- 
view," "Atlantic  Monthly,"  and  the  "Inter- 
national Journal  of  Ethics."  In  1892-94  he 
edited  the  American  edition  of  "Free  Rus- 
sia." It  is  the  organ  of  the  Society  of 
American  Friends  of  Russian  Freedom,  or- 
ganized in  1 891,  of  which  he  was  secretary 
until  1904.  In  1904  he  issued  his  prospect- 
us of  "The  Relational  Philosophy,"  under 
the  general  title  of  "The  World  of  Power 
and  Intelligence,"  with  these  subdivisions : 
I.  "The  Two  Worlds ;  or  Knowledge  in  Its 
Absolute  and  Relative  Aspects ;"  2.  "The 
Interpretation  of  Nature — Its  History  and 
Principles ;"  3.  "The  Teleology  of  the  In- 
organic ;"  4.  "The  Teleolog>-  of  the  Or- 
ganic ;"  5.  "The  Conditions  of  Organic  De- 
velopment ;"  6,  "The  Development  of 
Mind." 


RICE,  Alexander  Hamilton, 

Former  Governor  of  Massacliusetts. 

Alexander  Hamilton  Rice,  twenty-sixth 
governor  of  Massachusetts,  was  born  at 
Newton,  Massachusetts,  August  30,  1818, 
where  his  father  owned  a  paper  mill.  Alex- 
ander obtained  a  fair  education  in  the  pub- 
lic schools,  and  at  fourteen  years  of  age 
went  into  business  in  the  wholesale  linen 
house  of  Fales  &  Dana,  Boston.  After  a 
few  months,  however,  he  left  them  for  the 
wholesale  paper  establishment  of  J.  H.  Wil- 
kins  and  R.  B.  Carter  of  the  same  city.  In 
1840  he  gave  up  business  for  a  time  and  en- 
tered Union  College,  Schenectady,  New 
York,  where  he  was  graduated  with  distinc- 
tion four  years  later.  Then  his  old  employ- 
ers, Wilkins  &:  Carter,  offered  him  a  part- 
nership in  their  business,  which  he  accept- 
ed. Mr.  Carter  dying  some  years  later,  the 
two  remaining  partners  continued  the 
wholesale  paper  and  publication  business, 
new  members  being  eventually  added  to  the 
firm.     Mr.  Rice  was  of  a  retiring  disposi- 


357 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tion,  but  took  a  philosophical  interest  in  pub- 
lic questions,  and  did  not  decline  office 
when  it  was  pressed  upon  him  as  a 
duty.  In  1 85 1  he  became,  at  the  urgent 
solicitation  of  his  friends,  a  member 
of  the  Boston  school  committee  and 
board  of  public  institutions.  In  1853  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  city  council, 
and  one  year  later  was  chosen  to  preside 
over  the  deliberations  of  the  board.  In 
1855  he  consented  to  accept  the  nomination 
for  mayor  of  Boston,  tendered  by  the  lead- 
ers of  a  citizens'  movement  irrespective  of 
party,  and  was  elected  by  a  majority  of 
2,000.  In  this  position  he  made  so  fine  a 
record  that  he  was  renominated  and  re- 
elected in  1856,  his  majority  being  increased 
to  6,000.  In  1858  he  was  again  recalled 
from  his  retirement,  to  enter  congress  from 
the  fourth  Massachusetts  district.  During 
this  term  he  served  on  the  committee  on  the 
District  of  Columbia.  In  i860  he  was  re- 
elected, and  again  in  1862.  He  served  on 
the  committee  of  naval  affairs  during  both 
congresses,  and  was  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee the  last  two  years.  He  was  elected 
for  a  fourth  time  in  1864,  and  continued  his 
service  as  chairman  of  the  naval  committee. 
He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Philadelphia  "loy- 
alists' convention"  of  1866,  and  to  the  Chi- 
cago convention  of  1868,  and  in  1875  was 
named  by  the  republicans  for  governor  of 
Massachusetts.  He  was  elected  by  a  large 
majority,  and  was  twice  re-elected,  serving 
during  the  years  1876,  1877  and  1878.  In 
the  course  of  his  administration  the  affairs 
of  the  state  were  put  on  a  more  prosperous 
basis  than  ever.  The  state  board  of  chari- 
ties having  unearthed  a  system  of  irreg- 
ularities practiced  at  the  state  almshouse, 
reforms  were  at  once  inaugurated  in  all  the 
eleemosynary  institutions  of  the  state.  It 
was  the  era  of  centennial  celebrations,  and 
Governor  Rice  presided  with  grace  and  dig- 
nity at  many  of  the  most  important  of  these, 
including  attendance  at  the  great  centennial 


exhibition  of  Philadelphia.  During  his  sec- 
ond term  of  office,  he  vetoed  the  local  option 
liquor  bill,  which  had  passed  both  houses, 
and  the  next  year  he  signed  the  savings 
bank  bill,  which  has  proved  of  so  much  ad- 
vantage to  depositors  throughout  the  state. 
In  1878  he  retired  definitely  from  politics, 
and  could  not  be  induced  to  enter  the  sena- 
torial race  in  1880,  although  his  name  was 
frequently  mentioned  in  that  connection. 


MORTON,  Marcus,  Jr., 

Laiiryer,  Jurist. 

Marcus  Morton  was  born  in  Taunton, 
Massachusetts,  April  8,  1819,  the  son  of 
Marcus  Morton,  fourteenth  governor  of 
Massachusetts.  After  obtaining  his  prelim- 
inary education,  he  was  sent  to  Brown  Uni- 
versity, where  he  was  graduated  in  1838. 
He  studied  two  years  at  the  Harvard  Law 
School,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1841, 
and  practiced  in  Boston  until  1850,  when  he 
removed  to  Andover.  In  1853  he  was  sent 
as  a  delegate  to  the  State  Constitutional 
Convention,  as  was  his  father,  and  in  1858 
both  father  and  son  were  in  the  Legislature. 
The  same  year  the  son  received  the  ap- 
pointment of  justice  of  the  Superior  Court 
of  Suffolk  county,  and  in  1859  he  became 
a  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  the  State. 
At  the  end  of  ten  years  he  was  made  Asso- 
ciate Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
Chief  Justice  in  1872.  The  degree  of  LL.D. 
was  conferred  upon  him  by  Princeton  Uni- 
versity in  1870,  and  by  Harvard  University 
in  1882. 


ESTABROOK,  Alvin  E., 

Business  Man,  Civil  War  Veteran. 

A  veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  a  veteran  in 
years  and  in  business  experience,  Mr.  Esta- 
brook  honorably  bore  a  name  founded  in 
Massachusetts  two  centuries  before  his 
birth,  a  family  of  which  he  was  of  the  sev- 


358 


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v)nr«r.  Jurist. 


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Constitutional 

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on  were  in  the  Legislature. 

son  received  the  ap- 

of  the  Superior  Court 

juniy,  and  in  1859  he  became 

'or  Court  of  the  State. 

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the   Supreme  Court,   and 

iji  1872.    The  degree  of  LL.D. 

d  upon  him  by  Princeton  Uni- 

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TABROQK,  Alvin  E.. 
S««ine«s  VUa,  Clrll  War  Veteran. 


his 
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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


enth  American  generation.  He  was  a  son 
of  Cyrus  M.  Estabrook,  of  Westminster 
and  Princeton,  Massachusetts,  farmer  and 
land  owner. 

Alvin   E.   Estabrook   was  born  near  the 
old   Estabrook  homestead  at  Westminster, 
Massachusetts,  August  29,   1841,  and  died 
in    Leominster,    Massachusetts,    June    27, 
1916.      His    parents    moved    to    Princeton, 
Massachusetts,   in    1845,   and  there   and  at 
Leominster  his  after  life,  a  period  of  sev- 
enty-one years,  was  spent.    He  attended  the 
district    school    nearest    the    farm,    and    at 
times   assisted  his    father   in   work   at   the 
farm.      At    Princeton,   when   the    State    of 
Massachusetts    was    enlisting   nine    months 
men,   he  enlisted   in   the   Fifty-third   Regi- 
ment,  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  and   saw 
service  at  the  front.    At  the  age  of  twenty- 
three    in    1864,    he    moved    to    Leominster, 
Massachusetts,   there    entering   the   employ 
of  F.  A.  Whitney,  a  manufacturer  of  baby 
carriages.     He  remained  with  Mr.  Whitney 
many  years,  became  foreman  of  the  wheel 
room,  and  so  continued   for  twenty  years. 
Close  attention  to  the  confining  details  of 
factory  work  as  foreman  broke  his  health 
and  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  his  trade. 
He  then  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business 
very  successfully,  promoting  and  carrying 
through     some    important    transactions    in 
lands  and  improved  property.  He  also  dealt 
in  lumber  and  kept  actively  in  the  harness 
until  his  death.     Too  busy  ever  to  accept 
office,  he  yet  took  a  deep  interest  in  public 
affairs  and  consistently  supported  the  can- 
didates of  the  Republican  party.     Both  he 
and  his  wife  were  active  members  of  the 
Congregational  church.     At  their  attractive 
home  in  Leominster  they  entertained  their 
many  friends  with  a  generous  hospitality. 

Mr.  Estabrook  married,  April  3,  1866, 
Harriet  A.  Roper,  daughter  of  John  Roper, 
a  prominent  citizen  of  Princeton,  Massa- 
chusetts. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Estabrook  were  the 
parents   of  two  children,   Harriet   I.,  born 


June  i-j,  1867,  died  July  23,1871  ;  Alvin  C, 
born  February  18,  1874,  died  July  23,  1884. 
Mrs.  Estabrook  survives  her  husband,  a 
resident  of  I^eominster,  Massachusetts. 


BRUNELLE,  Arthur  Joseph, 

Business  Man. 

Arthur  Joseph  Brunelle,  since  beginning 
work  at  a  very  early  age,  has  had  experi- 
ences in  many  occupations,  and  these  have 
served  him  well  in  preparation  for  the  pro- 
fession of  his  ultimate  decision,  that  of  un- 
dertaking. His  contact  with  many  people 
during  these  years  was  very  profitable  to 
him  in  forming  a  nucleus  to  the  more  diffi- 
cult work  which  he  was  to  take  up  later  and 
which  required  the  qualities  of  a  rare  under- 
standing of  people  and  an  alert  and  keen 
ability  to  organize  and  carry  out  plans. 

Louis  Brunelle,  grandfather  of  Arthur 
Joseph  Brunelle,  was  a  farmer  who  lived 
practically  his  entire  life  at  Egypt,  Canada. 
His  children  were :  Louis,  Jr.,  Mitchell  and 
Jean  Baptiste. 

Mitchell  Brunelle,  father  of  Arthur  Jo- 
seph Brunelle,  was  born  in  Egypt,  Canada, 
in  1 85 1.  His  early  years  were  spent  in  farm- 
ing in  that  dominion,  but  in  1890  he  came 
to  the  United  States  and  located  in  North- 
ampton, Massachusetts,  where  he  was  first 
employed  by  the  Street  Railway  Company. 
He  later  was  a  motorman  for  that  company 
and  continued  as  such  until  the  year  191 5, 
when  he  became  associated  with  the  West- 
inghouse  Company,  of  Chicopee  Falls, 
where  he  remained  one  year.  He  is  now 
(1917)  contemplating  returning  to  farming. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Street  Railway 
Union.  He  was  married  to  Siviline  Bash- 
and,  daughter  of  Paschal  Bashand,  of  St. 
Damase,  Canada.  They  have  had  eleven 
children,  of  whom  eight  are  deceased,  and 
among  those  living  are :  Charles  Emile,  who 
is   a   stationary   engineer,   living  in   Peeks- 


359 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Hathcrly  Medical  Club;  the  Massachu- 
setts Association  of  Boards  of  Health ;  life 
member  of  the  Old  Bridgewater  Historical 
Society ;  member  of  the  Plymouth  County 
Club ;  for  several  years  of  the  Republican 
Oub  of  Massachusetts;  Puritan  Lodge,  An- 
cient Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Whit- 
man, of  which  he  is  a  past  master;  of  Pil- 
grim Chapter,  Koyal  Arch  Masons;  of  Old 
Colony  Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  of 


Abington;  of  Aleppo  Temple,  Ancient 
Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine, 
of  Boston ;  of  the  Knights  of  Constantine 
and  Alabama,  and  of  George  A.  Custer 
Camp,  No.  28,  Sons  of  Veterans,  of  Whit- 
man. He  is  past  district  deputy  grand 
master  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Masonic  Dis- 
trict, and  is  past  president  of  the  Worship- 
ful Masters'  Association  of  the  same  dis- 
trict. 


362 


IN 


ADDENDA  AND  EIRRATA 


Smith,  page  196,  Harper  should  be  Hopper  all  through  the  sketch ;  page  197,  first  column,  line 
42,  Lou  should  be  Mary;  second  column,  line  20,  Prentiss  should  be  Perkins;  page  198,  first 
column,  line  31,  Whitney  should  be  Whiting. 

INDEX 


Alderman,  Brainard  L.  R.,  162 

Carrie  L.,  161 

C.  Belle,  159 

Charles  E.,   160 

Clara  M.,  164 

Clydon,   156 

Daniel,  162 

Edith  B.,  161 

Elijah,  155 

Ellen  E.,  157,  159 

Emma,  161 

Eugene  C,  155,  156 

Eugene  R.,  161 

George  B.,  162,  163 

George  P.,  159 

George  P.  B.,  159 

Harvey,  162 

Henry  H.,  161 

Hortense,  160 

Isabelle  E.,  161 

Jennie  L.,   160 

Oliver,  156 

Oliver  C,  160 

William,  155,  162 
Allen,  Carl  A.,  Dr.,  131 

Ina,  132 

Raymond  P.,  131 
Andrews,  Benjamin  M.,  300 

Donald,  300 

Elisha,  300 

James,  Lieut.,  300 

Morris  H.,  299,  300 

Robert,  299 

Roxanna,  300 

William  D.,  300 


Angers,  Anna,  109 

George,  109 

Pierre  P.,  109 

William  G.,  109 
Atwood,  Angelina  P.,  241 

Benjamin  S.,  238,  239 

Bertrand  W.,  241 

Ichabod,  239 

John,  238 

Lizzie  A.,  241 

Nathaniel,  238,  239 

Ruel,  239 

Winthrop  F.,  241 

Baesler,  Carl  B.,  87,  148 

Christian  L.,  87,  148 

Ernestine,  149 

Lillian  E.,  148 

Marie,  87 

Oscar,  148 
Ball,  Benjamin,  117 

Charles,  117 

Charles,  Lieut.,  117 

Edwin  H.,  117 

Edwin  H.,  Col.,  117 

Francis,  116,  117 

Francis  W.,  118 

Frederick  T..  119 

Georgiana,  118 

James  R.,  116,  118 

Jonathan,  117 
Bancroft,  Charles,  351 

Mary,  352 

William  A.,  351 
365 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Bannister,  Belle  M.,  221 

Jesse,  220,  221 

Mary  A.,  221 

Robert.  220 

William,  220 
Bardwell.  Alonzo,  22-j 

George  E.,  226.  228 

John, 227 

Joseph,  226,  2Z-J,  228 

Mary  W..  12& 

Robert,  226,  227 
Bates.  Clara  E.,  343 

John  Lewis,  342 

Katherine  E.,  343 

I^wis  B.,  342 

William.  343 
Baulne,  Adalbert  G.,  293,  294 

Agnes,  294 

Gertie,  294 

I^is,  293 

Louis,  293 

Wilfred,  294 
Baiiman.  Julia  L.,  Dr.,  86 

Lucian.  87 
Beattie.  Alexandrina,  262 

James,  261,  262 

John,  261 
Biggins,  Patrick  J.,  135 

Rose  v.,  135 

Timothy,   135 

William   E.,   135 
Blackwood,  Edith  P.,  265 

George  A.,  264 

Roland  P.,  265 
lilais,  Antoine,  292 

Wilfred,  292,  293 
Blake,  Clara  J.,  345 

Henry  N.,  344 

James  II.,  344 
Blanchard,  Nathaniel,  218 

Samuel,  217 

Thomas,  217 

William,  218 
Bolduc,  George,   136 

Gilbert,    136 

Joseph,   136 


Mathilde,  137 
Bosbach,  Bertha,  ^6 

Hermann,  75 

Julius,  75 
Boucher,  Barthelemie,  180 

Eugenie,  180 

Isaac,  180 
Bowes,  Fanny  P.,  173 

Robert  J.,  172 

William  J.,  172 
Bray,  George,  96 

James,  96 

Temperance,  96 

Thomas,  96 
Britton,  Ebenezer,  215 

Herbert  R.,  214,  216 

James,  214 

Myra  J.,  217 

Nehemiah,  215 

Royal,  215 

William,  215 
Brocklehurst,  William,  221 
Brodeur,  Euphemie,  141 

Honore,  140 

Philias  J.,  140,  141 

Troussaint,  140 
Brunelle,  Angelina,  360 

Arthur  J.,  359,  360 

Louis,  359 

Mitchell,  359 
Bryer,  Annie,  286 

Arthur  E.,  284,  285 

John,  285 

Richard,  284 

Samuel,  284,  285 

Samuel  G.,  285 

William,  284 
Buckley  (Bulkeley),  Emma,  40 

George  C,  39 

George  C,  Jr.,  35,  39 

Gershom,  38 

Gershom,  Rev.,  37 

James,  38 

John,  38 

John,  Rev.,  37 

Peter,  Rev.,  36 
366 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Burkhardt,  Christian  J.,  129 

Florence  C,  129 

Frederic  T.,  130 

George,  129 

Gottlob  H.,   129 

Grace  E.,  130 

Harold  H.,  129 

Herman  G.,  129 

Lena,  129 

Ralph  W.,  130 
Burroughs,  John,  191 

Robert,  191 

Stephen,   191,  192 

Canney,  Bessie   M.,   272 

Fremont  W.,  270 

George  F.,  269,  271 

William,  269 
Carey,  Florence  E.,  274 

James  F.,  273 

Reginald  S.,  273 

William,  273 
Celce,  Frank  F.,  Dr.,  300,  301 

Frederick,  301 

Jean  H.,  Dr.,  301 
Chagnon,  Armine,  298 

Charles  H.,  298 

Joseph,  298 

Thomas,  298 
Chamberlain,  Loyed  E.,  207 

Mina  C,  207 

Robert  M.,  207 
Chapman,  Charles,  255 

Charles  E.,  256 

Charlotte  E.,  256 

David,  255 

Edward  E.,  255 

Isabella  L.,  256 

Myron  H.,  256 
Chaput,  Basil,  181 

Eglantine,  181 

Emil  A.,  180,  181 

Louis,  180 
Charest,  Elzear,  141 


IMary  J.,  142 

Odilon  Z.  E.,  141 
Charon,  David,  282 

Elizabeth,  283 

Felix,   283 

Joseph,  282 

Julia,  283 

St.  Luke,  282 
Cheever,  Abijah,  345 

Annie  C,  345 

Charles  A.,  345 

David  W.,  345 
Choiniere,  Amidee  O.,  178,  179 

Aizelia,  179 

Louis,  179 

Louis  F.  F.,  179 

Narcisse,  179 
Chretien,  Evangelis,  283 

Louis,  283 

Lucien,  283,  284 

Maria,  284 
Clark,  Chester,  52 

Herbert  S.,  52,  53 

John,   52 

John  T.,  53 

Mabel  E.,  54 

Martin,  52 

Watson  L.,  53 
Clarke,  John  S.,  71 

Rutherford,  70 

William,  70 
Collins,  Catharine  J.,  145 

Patrick  J.,  144 
Colson,  Charles  D.,  274 

Ellen  E.,  275 

Sullivan,  274 
Colvin,  James  A.,  277 

Lewis  A.,  276,  277 

Sara  H.,  277 
Corbett,  Cornelius  W.,  305,  306 

John,  305 
Cordes,  Anna  T.,  235 

Annie  P.,  235 

Frank  D.,  234 

John   D.,   234 
367 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Couture,  Amanda,  297 

Anna,  116 

David,  296 

George,   116 

John  B.,  297 

Joseph,  296 

Julia,   297 

Louis,  116 

Michael,  116 
Crane,  Barzillai.  320 

Benjamin,  320 

Elisha,  320 

Gershom,  320 

John.  319,  320 

Joshua  E.,  319,  321 

Katharine,  322 

Lydia  E.,  321 
Craven,  Hannah,  113 

John  J.,  112 

Patrick,  112 
Crevicr,  Charles,  Rev.,  67,  68 

Louis,  68 

Simon,  68 
Gushing,  David,  250 

Deborah  E.,  251 

George,  250 

Matthew,  250 
Cwiklinski,  Casimer  F.,  Rev.,  149 

Joseph,   149 

Daly,  John  B.,  Rev.,  55,  56 

Timothy,  56 
Darby,  Addison  S.,  64 

Arthur  \V.,  63,  64 

Heulah  M.,  65 

George.  63,  64 

Mabel  E.,  65 

Morgan  A.,  65 
Davis,  Ella,   124 

Frank  A.,  123 

Herbert  F.,   122,   124 

John,  122 

Peter,  123 

Samuel  A.,  123 

Shorey,  122 
Decelles,  Alma,  263 


Ferdinand  M.,  262 
Michael,  262 
Desmarais.  Charles,  48 
Henry,  48 
Joseph  A.,  47,  48 
Laura,  49 
Margaret  A..  49 
Pierre,  48 
Desrosiers,  Eloide,  "/"j 
Joseph,    76 
Napoleon,  76 
Narcisse,  76 
Dibble,  Abraham,  54 
Frank  H.,  54,  55 
Jennie  E.,  55 
Nelson  O.,  54 
Orlin,  54 
Dickinson.  Cecelia  R.,  342 
Celia  M.,  279 
Charles,  Dr.,  278 
Christopher,  2"/^ 
Everett  M.,  2^-/,  280 
James,  2^" 
Laura  C,  280 
Louise,  280 
Lyman,  2'jy 
Marquis  F.,  341,  342 
Melville  D.,  279 
Nathaniel,  277 
Dietz,  Ann  M.,  151 
Bertha,  151 
Hermann,   150 
Richard  H.,  150 
Walter  H..  151 
Dillon,  John  A.,  Dr.,  43,  44 
Thomas,  43,  44 
William  T.,  45 
Dorr,  Francis  L.,  234 
James,  234 
Jam.es  F.,  234 
Douville,  Arthur,  178 

Louis,   177,   178 
Drouin,  Francois  X.,  84 
Nellie,  85 

Wilfred  G..  Dr.,  84,  85 
368 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Duckworth,  Annie  E.,  234 

Christopher,  233 

James,  233 
Duclos,  Henry  H.,  83 

Olivian,  84 

Pierre,  83 
Dwight,  Anna,  29 

Minnie  A.,  29 

William,  28 

William  G.,  27,  29 
Dyer,  Christopher,  360 

Ebenezer  A.,  Dr..  360,  361 

Edward  L.,  360 

William,  360 

Eaton,  Arthur  C,  214 
Edith,  214 
Ellen  M.,  214 
Herbert  S.,  212,  213 
James,  213 
John,  212 
Rebecca,  214 
Richard  W.,  214 
Timothy  A.,  213 
Eddy,  Joshua,  Capt.,  321 
Ely,  Aaron,  61 
Joseph,  61 
Lucinda  E.,  62 
Moses,  61 
Nathaniel,  60,  61 
Samuel,  61 
Willard,  60,  62 
Estabrook,  Alvin  E.,  358,  359 
Cyrus  M.,  359 
Harriet  A.,  359 
Everett,  George  D.,   187 

Martha  A.,    187 
Everson,  Emma  E.,  232 
George  H.,  230,  232 
Howard  T.,  233 
Isaac  H.,  231 
John  W.,  231 
Richard,   231 
Samuel,  231 

Fafard,  Anne,  264 
Charles,  263 
MASS.— 7— 24. 


Louise,  263 
Oscar,  263 
Pierre,  263 
Fitzgibbons.  Edward  P.,  200 
Harold  E.,  200 
James,  200 
Julia,  200 
Flint,  Ella,  257 
John,  256 
Mary,  257 
Floody,  Addelene,  196 
Charles,  195 
Robert  J.,  Rev.,  195 
Foley,  Daniel  M.,  137 
Katherine  L,  138 
Michael,  137 
Patrick,  137 
Foster,  Abraham,  174 
Celenna  E.,  175 
Christopher,  173 
Cyrus  A.,  175 
Eli,  174 
George,  174 
George  H.,  173.  ^7S 
Harvey,   174 
John,  173 
Mary  J.,  176 
Peletiah,  174 
Freeman,  Annie,  112 
Peter,  111 
Peter  F.,  in,  112 
Frew,  Joseph  N.,  103 
Matilda,  104 
Nicholas,  103 
Friedrich,  August,  152 
Bertha,   153 
Ernest  H.,  151,  152 

Gallagher,  Frank,  315 

Frank  J.,  3^4,  3^5 

Margaret,  315 

Nora,  315 

Patrick  F.,  314 
Gaumond,  Abraham,  294 

Alfred,  294 

Rosanna,  295 

369 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Giehler,  Alma  W.,  292 

Frederick  P.,  292 

Fritz,  292 

Otto  R.,  292 

William  B.,  292 
Gilmore,  Annie  M.,  205 

Edward,  202 

John,  202 
Gleason,  Margaret,  72 

Patrick,  71 

Patrick  C,  71 
Glesmann,  August,  65 

August  F.,  65 

Louise  G.,  66 

Robert  A.,  66 
Goodyear,  Austin,  265 

Austin  B.,  265,  266 

Florida  M.,  266 

Lyman,  265 
Goyette,  Amable  (Amos),  119 

Jonathan,  119 

Mary  A.,  119 

Stephen  J.,  119 
Grady,  Frederick,  73 

James,  -]■}> 

Mary,  75 

Thomas,  73 
Gridley,  Addison,  272 

Charles  A.,  272 

James  L.,  2"] 2 
Griffin,  Jeremiah,  78 

John  F.,  Rev.,  78,  79 

Michael,  78 

Michael  A.,  Rev.,  78 
Grogan,  James,  298 

John,  298,  299 

Mary,  299 
Grossman,  Josiah,  258,  259 

Philip,  259 

Rose,  259 
Grunow,  Elizabeth,  243 

Frank,  243 

Heinrich,  243 

Hadley,  Edward  M.,  260 
Laura  E.,  261 


Hall,  Granville  B.,  348 

Granville  S.,  348 
Ham,  Daniel,  no 

Lydia  A.,  in 

William  G.,  109,  no 
Hanley,  Francis  J.,  Dr.,  194 

Martin,  194 

Mary  E.,  194 
Harris,  George,  349 

Jane  A.,  349 
Hatch,  Lucius,  156 

Timothy,  Maj.,  156 
Hebert,  Elmire,  86 

George  J.,  Dr.,  85 

Wilfred,  85 
Hill,  Carlton  J.,  127,  128 

Delia  E.,  128 

George,  56,  128 

John,  56,   128 

Laura  F.,  57 

Lawrence  G.,  56,  57 
Hitchcock,  Dexter  B.,  40 

Frances,  40 

Warren,  40 
Horrigan,  Catherine  M.,  89 

Patrick,   87,   88 

William  J.,  88 

William  J.,  Dr.,  87,  88 
Hubbard,  Charles,  221 

Horace  J.,  222 
Hunter,  John  T.,  80 

Mabel  E.,  81 

Roy  J.,  80 

Thomas,  80 
Hurlburt,  Albert  F.,  171,  172 

Francis,  171 

Paul,  171 

Ivers,   John,   41 
John  C,  Rev.,  41 
Richard,  41 

Johnson,  Anna  T.,  350 

Chester  L.,  349 

Clifton,  349 
Jones,  Amasa,  114 
370 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Catherine,   115 

Israel,  114 

Jabez,  113 

Jehiel,  113 

Julius  W.,   114 

Leonard  F.,  113,  114 

Thomas,  113 
Judd,  Annie  E.,  52 

Clara  A.,  51 

Dwight  O.,  50 

Eli,  50 

Gilson,  50 

Levi,  254 

Myron  H.,  253,  254 

Nancy,  254 

Samuel,  49,  253 

Thomas,  49,  253 

Warren  S.,  254 

William,  49,  50 

William  D.,  49,  52 

Zebina,  254 
Judge,  Anthony,  30 

Joanna  B.,  31 

John,  30 

Martin  J.,  30,  31 

Kelley,  Joseph  H.,  Dr.,  207,  208 

Kathryn  M.,  208 

Patrick,  208 
Kenney,  Claudia,  67 

Edward  J.,  66,  67 

James,  66 
Killian,  Mary,  242 

Thomas,  242 
King,  Celia,  91 

Moses,  90 

Samuel,  90 
Knight,  Elizabeth,   12 

Homer  L.,  1 1 

Horace  B.,  11 

Horace  W.,  11 
Knowlton,  Amasa,  350 

Marcus  P.,  350 

Merrick,  350 

Sophia,  351 
Kohler,  Christian,  93 


Edward  C,  93 
Edna,  94 

Laframboise,   Devagnon,   281 

Felix,  281 

Ida  M.,  282 

Joseph,  281 

Joseph  A.,  281 
Laf ranee,  Eugenie,  311 

Julien,  310 

Louis  A.,  310 

Matilda,  312 

William,  310,  312 
Langelier,   Febriana,  289 

Francois,  288 

Philomene,  288 

Victor,  288 
Laplante,  Antoine,  291 

Ellen,  291 

Joseph,  291 
Lasonde,  Anna,   142 

Napoleon,  142 

Prospere,  142 
Lawton,  Christopher  P.,  225 

Dwight  B.,  224,  225 

Susan  E.,  225 
Le  Blanc,  Arthur,  316 

Athemise,  316 

Charles,  316 

Joseph  A.,  316 
Le  Clair,  Anaclet,  290 

Azarde,  290 

Clement,  290 

Rosanna,  291 
Lekston,  Josephine,  154 

Michael,  153 

Roman,  Dr.,  153 
Leland,  Asa,  205 

Avis  J.,  206 

Forrest  L.,  Dr.,  205,  206 

Henry,  205 

Hopestill,   205 

John,  205 

Leander  F.,  206 

Samuel,  205 

Stark,  206 

371 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Lemmon,  John  G.,  i86 

Sarah  A..  i86 
Lepore,  Aniello,  236 

Anthony  A.,  236 

Rose,  2y] 
Lippman,  Henry,  154 

Richard  B.,  154 
Lyman,  Charles  P.,  8,  9 

Cora  M.,  122 

Elias,  9 

Emily  E.,  258 

George,  257 

George  \V.,  121 

Hiram  S.,  258 

Jennie  E.,  9 

John,  8,  120,  257 

John  E..  257 

Joshua,  Lieut.,  120 

Moses,  8 

Moses,  Capt.,  8 

Richard,  8,  120 

Samuel,  9,  121 

Samuel  T.,  9 

Seth,  Capt.,  120 

Stephen,  9 

Warren,  121 

Warren  M.,  120,  121 
Lyon,  Clifford  S.,  177 

Gertrude  A.,  177 

John  S.,  Rev.,  176 

Raymond  P.,  176 

Seth,  176 

Seth  S.,  176 

McElwain,  James,  307 

Jessie  B.,  310 

Jonathan,  307 

Oliver,  308 

Oliver  D.,  309 

Reuben  F.,  309 

Timothy,  307 

Timothy,  Capt.,  307 
Madden,  John  T.,  Rt.  Rev.,  46,  47 

Thomas,  46 
Mahoney,  John,  91 

Sarah  V.,  92 


William,  91 

William  J.,  91 
Marble,  Abbie  E.,  166 

Enoch,  164 

Freegrace,    164 

Jerome,  164,  165 

John  P.,  165 

Nella,  166 

Susan  E.,  166 

Thaddeus,  165 
Mauer,  Johann  P.,  70 

Martha  S.,  70 

William  A.,  70 
Maxfield,  Arthur  L.,  42 

Elizabeth  R.,  43 

George  A.,  Dr.,  42,  43 

Martha  H.,  43 
Merrick,  John,  316,  317 

Joseph,  Col.,  317 

Joseph  S.,  318 

Judson  L.,  316,  319 

Mary  C,  319 

Samuel  D.,  Rev.,  318 

Thomas,  316,  317 

Timothy,  317 
Metcalf,  Clara  W.,  338 

Frank  H.,  338 
^Howard  F.,  339 

Joseph,  336,  337 

Mabel  A.,  339 

Rose  B.,  340 
Miller,  George  D.,  212 

Solomon  E.,  212 
Monk,  George,  28 
Moore,  Goff,  6,  7 

Ida  A.,  8 

John,  Maj.,  6 

Lydia  M.,  8 

Philander,  6,  7 
Morrison,  Agnes,  303 

Ann,  303 

Thomas,  302 

W^illiam,  302,  303 
Morton,  Arthur  H.,  81 

Henry,  81 
372 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Luthera  J.,  82 
Marcus,  358 
William  R.,  81 

Nardi,  Clara,  253 

Francis,  252 

William  F.,  252 
Noble,  Edmund,  357 

John,  357 

O'Connell,  Bessie,   147 

Charles  J.,  147 

Daniel,  145,  146 

Daniel  J.,   147 

Eva  M.,  147 

Johanna,  146 

Mary,  147 
O'Connor,  Daniel,  139 

Ella  G.,  140 

Thomas    J.,    139,    140 
Octo,  Francis,  115 

Frank,  115 

Philemon,  115 

Paris    (Parris),  Daniel,   106 

Daniel  E.,  105,  107 

Elkanah,  106 

Harriet,  107 

John,  105 

Thomas,  105 

Walter  M.,  106 
Perkins,  Abraham,  ^2^ 

Amelia  B.,  325 

David,  323 

Ebenezer,  ^2^ 

Henry,  324 

Solomon,  324 

Thomas,  323 
Pickering,  Timothy,  354 

William  H.,  354 
Pidgin,  Benjamin  G.,  345 

Charles  F.,  345 

Frances  F.,  347 

Lizzie  A.,  346 

Lucy  S.,  346 
Pillsbury,  Albert  E..  354 


Josiah  W.,  354 

William,   354 
Plummer,  Charles  G.,  183 

Daniel,    182 

David,  Dr.,  182 

Diana,  185 

Francis,    181 

Frank  O.,   185 

Joseph,  181 

Mary  F.,  188 

Micajah  S.,  182 

Moses,   182 

Osgood,  183 

Seth  H.,  187 

Stella  H.,   185 
Potvin,  Gilbert,  97 

John,  97 

Lucy,  98 

Odele,  98 
Powers,  Cora  F.,  260 

Lyman  M.,  260 

Stephen  M.,  260 
Pratt,  Matthew,  340 

Samuel,  340 
Preston,  Edward  W.,  130 

Ernest  T.,   130,   131 

Jonathan,   130 

Mae,  131 

William  T.,  130 
Prew   (Proulx),  Caroline,  104 

Joseph   N.,    103 

Matilda,  104 

Nicholas,   103 
Price,  Charles  A.,  107,  108 

Lathrop,  107 

Lillian  M.,  108 
Putnam,  Charlotte  E.,  348 

George   P.,  347 

Herbert,  347 

Ratigan,  John,  248 
Martin,  248 
Mary  A.,  249 
Read,     Charles  F.,  330.  331 
Mary.  332 
Robert,  330 
373 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Thomas,  330 

William,  330 

William,  Dr.,  331 
Reed,  Dwight,  225 

George,  224 

Micah,  224 

Micah,  Col.,  224 

Samuel,  224 

William,   224 
Rheaum,  .-Mexander,  289 

Charles,  289 

Zeba,  289 
Rice,  Alexander  H.,  357 
Richards,  Benjamin,  168 

Charles  H.,  89 

Ebenezer  T.,  89 

Ellen  H.,  353 

Ettie,  90 

Francis,  353 

James,   168 

John,  168 

Joseph,  168 

Louise  F.,  167 

Margaret  L.,  354 

Robert  H.,  352 

William,  167 
Rider,  Claudius  W.,  45 

Joseph  G.,  45 

Josephine  A.,  46 
Robinson,  Benjamin  L.,  353 

James  H.,  353 
Rochette,  Arthur  P.,  269 

Charles,  268 

Edward  C,  Dr.,  268,  269 

Joseph,  268 

Joseph  E.,  269 
Russell,  Elizabeth,  230 

George,  229 

John  W.,  229,  230 

Jonathan,  229 
Ryan,  Arthur,  30 

James,   29 

Patrick,  30 

Sackett,  Abner,  326 
Charles,  326 


Clara,  327 

Eliakim,  326 

Ezra,  326 

George  L,  325,  326 

John,  325,  326 

Sarah,  327 

Simon,  325 
Sawin,  Albert  E.,  59 

Edith  M.,  59 

Edwin  A.,  60 

Ezekiel,  58 

John,  57,  58 

Martin,   59 

Robert,  58 

Sarah  A.,  60 

Thomas,  58 

Timothy,  58 

Wallace  E.,  57,  59 
Sears,  Lemuel,  32 

Martha  M.,  33 

Nathan,  32 

Richard,  32 
Seymour,  Frank  S.,  133 

Friend,  133 

Ira  C,  133 

Olive,  134 

Solomon,   133 
Shaw,  Charles  S.,  134 

Mary,  134 

William  H.,   134 
Sheldon,  Alice  A.,  314 

Amos,   313 

Charles  C,  164 

Charles  F.,  313 

Charles  L.,  313,  314 

Helen  M.,  164 
Shumway,  Austin  L.,  166,  167 

David,   167 

Louise  F.,  167 

Peter,  166 

Solomon,  167 
Smith,  Amos,   125 

Anna,  197 

Annie  M.,  246 

Benjamin,  3,  196 

C.  Fayette,  3,  4 
374 


ENCYCLOPEDIA    OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Charles  M.,  126,  127 
Cicero,  170 
Claude  H.,  126 
Cora  A.,  230 
Daniel,  197 

Daniel  H.,  Dr.,  196,  197 
Dwight  C,  246 
Edward  H.,  Dr.,  196,  198 
Edwin  S.,  170,  171 
Ernest  P.,  126 
Estelle  M.,  127 
Ethel  M.,  171 
Ethelyn  J.,   126 
Eunice  A.,  27 
George  H.,  124,  126 
George  I.,  246 
George  R.,  26,  27 
Harvey    G.,   230 
Herman  M.,  246 
Horace  C,  170 
Isaac,   125 
James,  246 
Jonathan,  3,   197 
Jonathan  M.,  3 
Josiah  R.,   15 
Leroy  E.,   127 
Lewis,  82 
Lu  H.,  16 
Luther,  26 
Margaret,   171 
Margaret  A.,   127 
Milo  J.,  82 
Milo  L.,  82 
Nathan,  125 
Nehemiah,  124 
Nellie,  198 
Oren  B.,  125 
Pearl,   127 
Philip,   26 
Thomas,   125 
Timothy  P.,  15 
Warren  I.,  246 
William,  3,  196 
Snell,   John,    17 


Phebe  A.,   18 

Samuel,  16,  17 
Solin,  Abraham,  72 

Fannie,  73 

Jacob,  72 

Meyer,  72 
Southwick,  David,  247 

Eveline,  248 

Orin,  247 

William  H.,  247 
Sparrow,  Isabelle,  143 

Jonathan,  143 

Rosa,   144 

William,  143 

William  A.,  144 
Street,  Franklin  M.,  33 

Jennie  E.,  33 
Streeter,  Austin  T.,  336 

Benjamin   A.,   332 

Hannah,   335 

Herbert  E.,  335 

James,  332 

John,  332 

Martha  H.,  336 

Nettie  M.,  333 

Paul,  332 

Philander  A.,  332,  333 

Stephen,  332 
Strickland,  Daniel,  168 

Elizabeth  J.,  170 

Hiram  C,   169 

Lucius  W.,  168,  169 

Peter,  168 

Wilber  L.,   169 

Tetrault,  Charles,  304 

Dominique,  304 

Joseph,   304 

Leonie  M.,  305 

Philias  J.,  304 
Thompson,  Ellen  M.,  202 

John  J.,  Dr.,  200,  201 

Richard,  201 
Towne,  Arthur  G.,  6 

Cynthia,   6 

Edward   S.,  6 
375 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


P>ank  B..  6 

Israel,  5 

James  W.,  4,  6 

Joseph,  4.  5 

Joseph  M.,  6 

Rebecca,  6 

William,  4 
Townsend,  Laura  C,  357 

Luther  K.,  355 

Luther  T.,  355 
Triquet,  Camille,  Rev.,  62,  63 

Charles,  63 

Joseph,  62 
Tucker,  Albert  M.,  188,  190 

Ephraim,  188,  189 

Myron  W.,  189 

Robert,    188 

Stephen,  189 

William  C,  189 
Turgeon,  Henry,  99 

Joseph,  98 

Louis  A.,  98 

Mary  M.,  99 

Unterdoerfel,  Ella,  296 
Harriet,  295 
Henry,   295 
Karl,  295 
Richard  H.,  296 

Vogel,  Fannie,  78 

I'Vank,  "]"] 

Oletta,  78 
Voigt,  Christian  A.,  336 

Wagner,  Anna,  70 

I'^cderick  W^.,  69 

Herman,  69 

Paul,  70 
Walcott,  Charlotte  E.,  352 

Henry  P.,  352 

Samuel  B.,  352 
Walker,  Charles  E.,  275 

Elijah  C,  286 

Emma,  276 

Harold  E.,  286,  287 

Marion  F.,  287 


Roy  G.,  276 

Sarah,  276 

William,  275,  286 
Walsh,  Ellen,  139 

Thomas,    138 

William   J.,    138 
Webster,  John,   12,   13 

John,  Col.,  13 

John  R.,  14 

Minnie  E.,  15 

Nathan,  13 

Samuel,  13 

William  E.,  12,  14 
Weis,  Isabel  G.,  96 

Joseph,  94 

Joseph  B.,  94,  95 
Weiser,   Conrad,    198 

Harriet,    197 

Karolin  M.,  199 

Martin,    198 

Martin  H.,   199 

Walter  R.,  Dr.,  198,  199 
Wetherell,  Arthur  B.,  Dr.,  104 

Barney,  104 

Erminie,  105 

Solomon,    104 

Tisdale,   104 

William,  104 
Wheeler,  Otis  H.,  222 
Wheelock,  Cornelia  E.,  34 

Ebenezer,  Rev.,  34 

Maud  A.,  35 

Moses,  34 

Ralph,  Rev.,  34 

William  E.,  35 

William  F.,  33,  34 
White,  Alice  L.,  22 

Benjamin  S.,  244,  245 

Calvin,  244,  245 

Edward  N.,   19,  21 

Ephraim,  20 

Frances  L.,  245 

Herman,  244 

John,  20,  21 

John  J.,  9,  10 

Jonas,  21 


376 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Joseph,  20 

Letitia  J.,  22 

Martin,  10 

Nicholas,  19 

Peregrine,  244 

Rose  A.,  II 

WilHam,  244 
Whiting,  Anna  M.,  25 

Daniel,  22 

Elijah,  22 

James,  22 

Joseph,  22 

Samuel  R.,  26 

Whitfield,  22 

William,  22 

William  B.,  22 

William  P.,  26 
Whitney,  Edwin,  330 

John,  328 

Jonas,  329 

Moses,  329 

Nathan,  330 

Richard,  329 

Salmon,  Lieut.,  329 
Whitten,  Edmund  S.,  102 

Ellen  M.,  loi 

Humphrey,  100 

John,  99,  100 

Laura,  102 

Michael,  99 

Nathan,  100 

Nathan  H.,  99,  loi 

Philip  F.,  Dr.,   102 

Sumner  H.,  102 
Wiess,  Christine  L.  I.,  292 

Herman,  292 
Wilkinson,  David,  209,  210 

Edward  H.,  209,  211 

John,  209 


Mary  W.,  2ii 

Solon  S.,  211 

Warren  H.,  210 
Winchester,  Antipas,  267 

Benjamin,  267 

John,  266,  267 

Joseph,  267 

Luther,  267 

Reuben,  267 

Samuel  B.,  268 
Winkler,  Frederick  A.,  312,  313 

George,  312 

Henry,  312 

Martha  E.,  313 
Woods,  Agnes,  332 

James,  332 

John  H.,  332 
Woolley,  Joseph,   190 

Joseph  J.,  Rev.,  191 

Mary  E.,  190,  192 
Wren,  Humphrey,  219 

Humphrey  J.,  Rev.,  219 
Wright,  James,  82 

James  F.,  82 

Susan,  83 
Wynn,  John  P.,  Capt.,  249 

Peter,  249 

William,  249 

Yenlin,  Celina,  93 

Sebastian,  92 
Yoerg,  John  M.,  132 

Mary  G.,  133 

Michael  J.,  132 

William  P.,  132 
Young,  Hiram  J.,  222,  223 

Janet  M.,  22;^ 

Samuel,  222 

Wilson.   222 


377 


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