History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Part 1

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, editor
Publication date: 1924
Publisher: New York, Chicago, Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 566

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 1

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GENEALOGY COLLECTION

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HISTORY

WORCESTER COUNTY

MASSACHUSETTS

SUPERVISING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ELLERY BICKNELL CRANE

Former Librarian of Worcester Society of Antiquity (now the Worcester Historical .Society), Editor of Its Proceedings and Former President, Author "Raw- son Family Memorial," "The Crane Family," "History of the 15th Regiment in the Revolution," and Other Works

STAFF HISTORIAN E. MELVIN WILLIAMS OF NEW YORK CITY

Historical Editor of "Americana," Author of "Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, A History" 1924; "Municipality of Buffalo, New York, A History, 1721-1923," and Earlier Works

VOLUME III

LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, Inc., NEW YORK AND CHICAGO 1924

1128249

WORCESTER COUNTY MASSACHUSETTS

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019

https://archive.org/details/historyofworcest03cran

BIOGRAPHICAL

comb) Ellis, was born at Bolton, Massachusetts, and died in Springfield, January 21, 1877, when Albert Nelson Ellis was only a child.

Albert Nelson Ellis was born at Enfield, Massachu- setts, March 29, 1871. The family removing to Athol when he was a child and not long afterward making a second change to Springfield, it was in the public schools of the city of Springfield that his education was re- ceived. At the age of seventeen years Mr. Ellis returned to Athol, and on August 22, 1888, entered the employ of his grandfather, Nelson Whitcomb, in the coal busi- ness. He was active in this connection until the year 1894, when he bought the interest, changing the name to Albert N. Ellis & Company, but only a few years later, on July 1, 1897, he sold the business, to accept a position with the firm of Bates Brothers, one of the leading manufacturing concerns of Athol, producers of pocketbooks. Upon the incorporation of this concern in the year 1898, Mr. Ellis was made secretary of the company and later became assistant treasurer. In the year 1914, upon the death of his father-in-law, George D. Bates, who for many years had been treasurer of the corporation, Mr. Ellis succeeded to that office, which he still ably fills at the present time.

Mr. Ellis is affiliated with the financial world of Athol as a director of the Millers River National Bank, and is broadly interested in all that pertains to civic and in- dustrial advance. He was recently elected delegate to the State Chamber of Commerce, after having been a member of the Athol Board of Trade for many years, and during the past three years, president of that body. Politically Mr. Ellis was formerly an adherent of the Democratic party, but now holds independent convic- tions and gives his influence to whatever party or candi- date he believes best suited to meet the needs of the people. For twelve years he served as a member of the school committee, but has otherwise never accepted political honors. During the World War Mr. Ellis was active as a member of Company E, 20th Regiment, Massachusetts State Guard, and was sent to Boston, Sep- tember 10, 1919, and was returned on October II, of the same year. He was on duty during the intervening period at Scollay Square, Boston, this unit being active in the quelling of the strikes and riots of that period. Mr. Ellis enlisted as a private, was later made corporal and was mustered out of the service second lieutenant. Active in all that counts for community advance and pub- lic welfare, he has served for some years as president of the Athol branch of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Fraternally Mr. Ellis is widely prominent, being a member of Star Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he served as Master in 1901 and in 1913; Union Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Harris Council, Royal and Select Mas- ters, all of Athol; also Athol Commandery, Knights Templar; and 1914 was District Deputy Grand Master of the Masonic order. He is further a member of Lodge No. 1296, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Greenfield, Massachusetts; and of Tully Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His clubs are the Poquaig, of Athol, of which he is vice-president; and the Greenfield Country. In religious endeavor Mr. Ellis has long borne a constructive part, being a member of Hope Congregational Church of Springfield, and also of

Wor-6

the First Church, Unitarian, Inc., of Athol. He v one of the moving spirits in the agitation which resulted in the combining of the First and Second Unitarian churches of Athol into one body, which is now called the First Church Unitarian, Inc., and has acted as col- lector for this parish for twenty years. Mr. Ellis is one of the foremost men of this community, and although he has never accepted public responsibility of any great importance, he is one of the most influential men in the progress of all forward movements.

Mr. Ellis married, in Athol, Massachusetts, Maude Emily Bates, who was born at Montague, Massachusetts, December 24, 1870, the ceremony taking place June 20, 1894. Mrs. Ellis is a daughter of George D. and Har- riet Wheat (Warner) Bates. Her father, who died February 5, 1914, had been a leading manufacturer of Athol since 1870. He was a native of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, and his mother, who was born at Green- field, Massachusetts, died at Athol, in the year 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Ellis have two children: Margaret, who was born at Athol, July 16, 1904, is a graduate of Athol High School, class of 1922, and is now a student at the Boston Conservatory of Music, specializing on the piano and organ; and Richard Bates, born at Athol, May 27, 1906, now attending Athol High School. The beautiful Ellis residence, at No. 124 Ridge Avenue, Athol, is the center of a wide social circle.

PATRICK F. CANNON, a man of sterling char- acter, whose natural qualities for leadership have won for him many honors at the hands of his associates, has been for nearly twenty years a practicing attorney in Clinton. Mr. Cannon is of Irish birth and parentage, having been born in County Galway, Ireland, February 10, 1861. Both his parents were born on Bobbin Island. The father, Arthur Cannon, who was engaged in farm- ing throughout his life, died in 1904. The mother, who before her marriage was Bridget O'Malley, died in 1886.

Mr. Cannon acquired his early education in the public schools of his native land, supplemented with studies in the Clinton schools after the removal of the family to this country. He next took a commercial course at Bryant & Stratton's Business College, after which he attended the Boston University Law School, and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1904. Immediately opening his office in Clinton, he began to build up a prac- tice, meeting with flattering success, and has continued to follow his profession throughout the years to the present time. His office is located in the Bank Block.

In leading social, religious, and political circles, as well as professional, Mr. Cannon has always played a conspicuous part in the community life of Clinton, bringing the weight of his influence to bear upon what- ever project was proposed for the improvement of con- ditions here. In political life he is high in the councils of the Democratic party, and for seven years served as secretary, treasurer and chairman of the Democratic Town Committee. He also was solicitor for the town of Clinton for two years. He is a devout communicant of St. John's Roman Catholic Church of Clinton, and very active in various prominent Catholic organizations. In the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Clinton he has filled all the offices of the order, including those of the president and treasurer of the Clinton order, president of

HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY

the county order, secretary of the State organization, and vice-president of the national order. Of the Massa- chusetts Catholic Order of Foresters he has been Chief Ranger and treasurer, as well as Deputy High Chief Ranger. He is also a prominent member of St. John's Temperance Society, and of the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks. For two years he served as presi- dent of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, and has always been one of its most influential members.

The marriage of Mr. Cannon and Mary A. McGrath, of Clinton, took place in 1906, and they have one child, Arthur P. Cannon, who was born here March 21, 1908.

DR. GEORGE MOSSMAN-In choosing the med- ical profession as the field of his life work Dr. Moss- man followed in the footsteps of his honored father and in his success, his choice has been well justified. Dr. Mossman comes of Scotch and English ancestry, and is a son of Dr. Alvero E. and Mary A. (Eacott) Moss- man, his father of Scotch parentage and his mother a native of London, England. Dr. Alvero E. Mossman was born in Sweetland, California, his parents having crossed the plains to that State from Illinois in a prairie schooner at the time of the gold rush in 1849. They returned to the East via the Isthmus of Panama, thence by boat to New York City and located in Dracut, in the vicinity of Lowell, Massachusetts. Thirteen years of age when he became a resident of this State, Alvero E. Mossman, upon the completion of his elemen- tary and preparatory studies, entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College, in New York City, and was graduated in the class of 1884. Locating in Westminster, Massa- chusetts, he followed the practice of medicine until his death, which occurred December 19, 1913. Prominent in medical circles in the East, he was a member of the first medical staff of the Henry Heywood Memorial Hospital, of Gardner, and had an extensive practice in the town of Gardner, as well as in Westminster. He was active in civic affairs in both communities and was well known fraternally, having been a member of all the Masonic bodies up to and including the commandery. The mother survived her husband for nearly two years, passing away August 6, 1915. They were married in Lowell, in 1878.

George Mossman, son of these parents, was born at Westminster, Massachusetts, November 16, 1889. His education was begun in the local public schools and he later attended Fitchburg High School, then Cushing Academy, at Ashburnham, Massachusetts, and was grad- uated from that institution in the class of 1909. He then took one year of pre-medical work at Harvard Uni- versity, after which he entered the college of medicine at Burlington, Vermont, from which institution he re- ceived the degree of Doctor of Medicine upon his grad- uation with the class of 1914. One year's internship followed at the Burbank Hospital at Fitchburg, Massa- chusetts, also a year's internship at the Carney Hos- pital, at Boston, Massachusetts, where he had charge of the special work in orthopedic sur- gery. With this excellent and unusually compre- hensive preparation Dr. Mossman entered upon the private practice of medicine in Westminster in 1916, then in December, 1921, he removed to Gardner, where he now resides. He still retains his Westminster office and

divides his time between that community and the city of Gardner, his practice being very extensive in both places. Dr. Mossman stands high in the profession, is assistant surgeon and obstetrician at the Henry Heywood Me- morial Hospital, of Gardner, and is dispensing physician for the Society for the Prevention and Control of Tu- berculosis, of Gardner. Dr. Mossman is a member of the American Medical Association, the Massachusetts State Medical Society, and the Worcester North District Medical Society, also the Gardner Medical Society. In October, 1917, Dr. Mossman enlisted in the United States Medical Corps and was assigned to the ortho- pedic section, going to France with Base Hospital Unit No. 114, in May, 1918. He saw much service in France with this unit at Beau Desert, and was later transferred to Buffalo Unit Hospital, at Vittel, France, where he remained until the signing of the armistice. He was then returned to Base Hospital No. 114, and reaching the United States on July 1, 1919, received his honorable discharge from the service on the fourth day of the same month. He was commissioned first lieutenant on his enlistment and was promoted to the rank of captain during his period of service. Dr. Mossman is a mem- ber of Burlington, (Vermont) Lodge, No. 100, Free and Accepted Masons; Burlington Chapter No. 3, Royal Arch Masons; Rajah Temple, of Reading, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and Calwell Consistory, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rite. He is also a member of Gardner Lodge, No. 1426, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His chief relaxation is water sports and golf, and he is a member of the Gardner Boat Club, the American Legion, and the Oak Hill Country Club, of Fitchburg.

Dr. Mossman married, on June 25, 1921, Esther Jane Curtis.

FRANK L. MacNEILL, as president of the New England Envelope Company of Worcester, Massachu- setts, holds a leading position in executive circles in the industrial life of Worcester, Massachusetts. A native of Nova Scotia he has been a resident of the United States since his youth, and during the greater part of the time has been identified with the business life of Worcester. He is a son of Joseph L. and Joanna A. (Israel) MacNeill. His father was a sea captain, and sailed from Baltimore and Philadelphia to foreign countries, his vessels carrying grain.

Frank L. MacNeill was born in Freeport, Nova Scotia, August 15, 1870. Receiving a practical education in the public schools of his birthplace, he left home at the age of seventeen years, and coming to Boston, he secured a position with the Bay State Watch Case Company, manufacturers of watch cases. There he was active in office work for about one year, after which he came to Worcester and secured employment with C. H. Ellsworth, a leading dry goods merchant, then in the Burnside Building. Remaining in this connection for about six months, he later entered the employ of the W. H. Hill Envelope Company. Forming this connec- tion with a view to permanency Mr. MacNeill began in the packing department, then later served in the ship- ping department, eventually going into the office and continuing with that firm, in all, for about nineteen years.

George Whoseway

BIOGRAPHICAL

Then, in November, 1906, he began the manufacture of envelopes independently, under the name of the New England Envelope Company. Mr. MacNeill acted as superintendent of the plant, also directing the business office of the enterprise personally, and went forward until February 22, 1922, when the concern was reorganized, Mr. MacNeill becoming president, and Charles I. New- ton, treasurer. This concern has attained a very high position in local business circles and also in the trade generally, their product being distributed widely in the East. As the head of the organization, Mr. Mac- Neill is doing much to carry the interest constantly for- ward, and his practical ability has long since placed it on a stable and enduring foundation. He is further in- terested in the business world of Worcester as president of the Standard Paper Goods Manufacturing Company, and is a member of the Worcester Chamber of Com- merce. Fraternally, Mr. MacNeill is widely prom- inent, being a member of Morning Star Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Worcester Chapter Royal Arch Masons; Hiram Council, Royal and Select Mas- ters; Worcester Lodge of Perfection; Goddard Coun- cil, Princes of Jerusalem; Lawrence Chapter, Rose Croix; Massachusetts Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; and Alethia Grotto; also Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Economic Club of Worcester, and his political convictions align with the principles of the Re- publican party, but he is never an office seeker. He attends the South Baptist Church.

Mr. MacNeill married, in Worcester, on December 12, 1892, Florence M. Wright, daughter of Horace and Mary Wright, and they have two children: Stanley W., born September 22, 1895; and Phyllis M., born September 16, 1899, now the wife of E. E. Eaton, and they have one son, Albert Conrad Eaton.

CLARENCE G. STEVENS, of Worcester, Massa- chusetts, in one of the most necessary and practical lines of commercial endeavor, is bearing a part in the public welfare and achieving large success. As one of the younger executives of the city he fills a responsible position in one of the oldest enterprises of its kind in Worcester County, for many years known under the firm name of the Genery Stevens Company, wholesale dealers in butter, eggs, cheese, lard, and flour, with the most complete and modern cold storage facilities.

Genery Stevens, founder of this business, was born in Athol, Massachusetts, and died in the city of Wor- cester, August I, 1921, aged seventy-five years and one month. His first business experience in the field in which he won distinction was gained in the employ of a dealer named Heslor, whose organization he entered in 1867. During the two years in which he was con- nected with this interest he became thoroughly familiar with the business, and in 1869 established his own interest in partnership with a Mr. Chamberlain. This affili- ation continued for about five years, the location of the business being at No. 525 Main Street, Worcester, Massachusetts. The firm was known as Stevens & Chamberlain until 1874, when Mr. Stevens purchased the interest of his partner. Later, when his son, William A. Stevens, became sixteen years of age, he was re- ceived into the organization as an employee, and event-

ually became the head of the firm. Meanwhile, the scope of the business was widened, and its growth was steady, therefore larger quarters were required, so in 1895 Mr. Stevens built the storehouse at No. 64 Bridge Street, where they are still located. Five stories were added to the building in 1915. The founder continued at the head of the organization until his retirement from all business activity in the year 1918. He was a man of large prominence in many branches of forward en- deavor, having been a member of all the Masonic bodies, active in benevolent matters, and a deacon in the old South Congregational Church. On February 22, 1868, he married Ada S. Blakesley, of Barre, and they cel- ebrated their golden wedding in 1915.

William A. Stevens, son of Genery and Ada S. (Blakesley) Stevens, was born in Worcester, Massachu- setts, April 4, 1880. Educated in the local schools, he has been closely identified with the above organization since the completion of his studies, and from the early years of his activity has been an important factor in the development of the business. Even before his father's retirement he held a large measure of responsibility, and when the concern was incorporated on April 1, 1919, William A. Stevens became president and treasurer of the company. Recognized as an able and progressive executive, he is highly esteemed by his contemporaries in every field of commercial advance. He spends his leisure in outdoor interests, and is a member of the Commonwealth Club of Worcester and the Worcester Country Club. He married, in August, 1897, Florence E. Kingston, daughter of George and Georgiana (Kin- dred) Kingston, and they are the parents of two chil- dren : Clarence G., of whom further; and Muriel C., born September 27, 1905.

Clarence G. Stevens was born December 15, 1901. He received his education in the public and high schools of the city of Worcester, and as a young man became inter- ested in the affairs of the Genery Stevens Company, of which his grandfather was then still the head. Taking a subordinate position in the organization, Mr. Stevens familiarized himself with every detail of the business. He is now filling a position of executive responsibility, and is counted among the broadly alert and promising young men of the day in the business life of Worcester County. Mr. Stevens is well known and popular in social and club circles in Worcester, and is deeply in- terested in all lines of progressive effort for the com- munity.

Mr. Stevens married, on March 29, 1922, Eleanor C. Miller, of Worcester, and they reside in the suburbs of this city.

JOHN EDWARD TALBOT, A. B., LL. B., M. D. -One of the foremost names in the medical profession in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, is that of Dr. John Edward Talbot, whose training was received in the institutions of his native State, and who has been in active practice in this city for about ten years. Dr. Talbot is prominent also fraternally and among club circles in this city. He is a son of Zephaniah Talbot, who was active in the United States Navy during the Civil War, and for two years prior to that struggle was chief engineer. He later became a prominent manu- facturer of Boston, and his lifetime was spent in the

HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY

production of shoe nails and tacks. The mother, Eliza Frances (Paul) Talbot, was also a member of a Massachusetts family.

John Edward Talbot was born at Holliston, Massa- chusetts, November 1 1879. His education was begun in the local public schools and he later attended the Boston Latin School and thereafter Volkman's Private School, where his preparatory studies were covered. Entering Harvard University, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from that institution in the class of 1902, after which he took up the study of law at the same univer- sity and received his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1905. Determining thereafter to make the profession of med- icine the scene of his life work, he entered Harvard Medical School and was graduated in the class of 1912, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. His hospital experience was unusually comprehensive, for he was first active as interne at the Free Hospital for Women, then was identified with the medical service of the Massachusetts General Hospital, after which he was active at the Boston Lying-in Hospital. Coming to Worcester to take up the practice of his chosen profes- sion, Dr. Talbot has been engaged along this line con- tinuously since, specializing in obstetrics. He has been largely successful and is considered an authority along the lines of his specialty, in which he is widely sought in this city and vicinity. In political affairs Dr. Talbot supports the Republican party, but his professional ac- tivities have commanded his attention so fully that he has never as yet found leisure to take a leading part in public affairs. He is a member of the American Medical Association and the Massachusetts Medical Society, and fraternally is a member of Mount Hollis Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is Past Master; Mt. Lebanon Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Milford Commandery, No. 1I, Knights Templar; Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Boylston Society and the Aesculapian Society. He belongs to the Worcester Club and the Tatnuck Country Club, and is also a member of the Bohemians. His religious affiliation is with the Unitarian church.

Dr. Talbot married (first), at Framingham, Massa- chusetts, June 12, 1907, Florence Sanger, who died March 12, 1908. He married (second), at Brookline, Massachusetts, April 8, 1916, Florence L. Moore. John E. and Florence (Sanger) Talbot were the parents of one child, Elizabeth, born March 7, 1908, and died March 24, 1908.

CAPTAIN HERBERT F. HARTWELL, A. B .- In the industrial world of Gardner, Massachusetts, Cap- tain Hartwell holds a broadly responsible position as export manager for the John A. Dunn Company, manu- facturers of chairs, reed furniture of various kinds, and baby carriages. Educated both in America and in France, and with extensive experience as a member of the American Expeditionary Forces during the World War, Mr. Hartwell is especially fitted for his present responsibilities, and his work is giving great impetus to the export business of the concern. Captain Hartwell comes of a very old family of Massachusetts, for many years residing in Bridgewater, where they settled late in the eighteenth century. Captain Hart-

well's grandfather, Isaac Hartwell, was a lieutenant in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Francis Hartwell, Captain Hartwell's father, was born and reared in old Plymouth Colony, but is now a resi- dent of Brockton, and holds a prominent position in the shoe industry in that city. He married, in Brockton, in the seventies, Nellie Mowry, who was also born and reared in old Plymouth Colony, and is still living.

Captain Herbert F. Hartwell was born at Brockton, Massachusetts, June 8, 1880. His education was begun in the public schools of the city, and he is a graduate of Boston University, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, with the class of 1903. He later went abroad and attended the Sorbonne, at Paris, France, during 1903-04, then, in the fall of 1904, he re- turned to America. He was made an instructor at the Boston University, filling that position for one year. He then took up public school work and was made the head of the modern language department of the Portland (Maine) High School. He later filled a similar posi- tion at the Technical High School, at Springfield, Massachusetts, and his work in this field covered a period of about eleven years. It was from such duties as these that he left civilian life to enter the military service, and his record, which follows below, is one of honor and distinction. Upon his return to civilian life in June, 1919, Captain Hartwell accepted his present re- sponsible position with the John A. Dunn Company, of Gardner, and as their export manager has carried the interests of the concern into new fields, where they are meeting with constantly widening success. His work carries him abroad once or twice each year, and his marked executive ability, added to his extensive ex- perience in foreign countries, gives the Dunn interests an executive of unusual worth in Captain Hartwell. He is a member and director of the Gardner Chamber of Commerce, and is active in all that pertains to the wel- fare and advance of the community, serving also as vice-chairman of the Gardner School Board.

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Part 1

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, editor Publication date: 1924 Publisher: New York, Chicago, Lewis Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 566

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, editor
Publication date: 1924
Publisher: New York, Chicago, Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 566