USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 2 > Part 46
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In 1871 Mr. Milne purchased the land at the corner of Bedford and Main streets for a new location for the News office. The price paid was $15,000. He had hardly completed the transaction when Samuel Hathaway, president of the Pocasset Bank, asked him to sell the land to the bank at the price he had paid for it. Although he could easily have turned a handsome profit on the sale of the land to other parties, Mr. Milne turned it over to
the bank. As a director of the institution, sworn to look out for its best interests always, he felt that he could not refuse the bank's request.
Mr. Milne was one of the original board of di- rectors of the Osborn Mills. He became president of that corporation upon the death of James M. Osborn, in May, 1898. He was also a director of : the Slade Mills from the time of incorporation in 1871 until 1898, when, under new control and man- agement, the name was changed to the Ancona Company. Hc was a director of the Stafford Mills since 1898.
From his carliest life Mr. Milne had been deeply interested in religious work. He was the first clerk of the Second Baptist Church, being elected June 18, 1846, and serving for many years. He was for a long time the superintendent of the Sunday school of this church also. Mr. Milne was one of those who proposed the construction of stores on the South Main street front of the Baptist Temple, a plan which has brought the church substantial revenue each year since it was put into effect. For the past thirty-two years Mr. Milne had attended the Central Congregational Church. He was one of the promoters of the Fall River Hospital, the predecessor of the Union Hospital.
John C. Milne died October 10, 1918. Mrs. Abby Ann (Gifford) Milne died July 21, 1916, their mar- ried life covering a period of sixty-seven years.
Five years after the "Weekly News" was founded, on June 28, 1849, John C. Milne married Abby Ann Gifford, daughter of George W. and Betsy (How- land) Gifford. Mr. and Mrs. Milne were the par- ents of nine children, four of whom died in early life. The survivors are: 1. Mary J., who married Henry S. Fenner, and has four children: Henry M., Joseph A .; Laura, who married Richard G. H. Knight, and has two children, Mary and Richard; and George A. 2. Joseph D., his father's associate and successor in business, who married Georgie A. Wright, and has two children: Janet, who married Roland H. Ballou, and has two sons, Richard M. and John M .; and John C. 3. Abbie G., who mar- ried Charles H. Carr, and has one daughter, Eliza- beth. 4. Jeannette D., who married Edward B. Remington. 5. Hannah E., who married James A. Chadwick, and has two children, Mary and Katherine.
MATTHEW CHALONER DURFEE BOR- DEN, in 1880, took over and re-organized the business of the American Print Works, founded by his father, Colonel Richard Borden, in 1834. The new organization was incorporated as the American Printing Company of Fall River, Massa- chusetts, and today is one of the largest textile industries of its kind in the country and still con- tinues to be under Borden control and management. Colonel Richard Borden was president of the American Print Works; Matthew C. D. Borden, his son, was the first president of the American Printing Company, and now, Bertram Harold Borden, his son, is president of that company, and head of M. C. D. Borden & Sons, Inc., located at No. 90 Worth street, New York City. This is a remarkable rec-
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ord of family control of a great industry which in- cludes another son of Matthew C. D. Borden, How- ard Seymour Borden, vice-president and treasurer " of the company.
This fine old family traces its ancestry in New England to Richard Borden, who came from Eng- land to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, 1637-8, with his wife Joan. Richard Borden was of the ninth re- corded generation of the Borden family of England, a family name which came in with William the Conqueror in 1066, and is found on the Roll of Battle Abbey as Bordoun. In early English records the name is found under thirty-two different spell- ings, varying from Bourdon to Borden. The name was conspicuous in France as well as in England, where the line begins with Blundel at Burdoun, from whom came the name Burdon, so numerously found in England and Scotland. In the United States the name is spelled in different ways, but in this branch, beginning with Richard, the name has always been Borden. Richard, the ancestor, was of the Kent family, which is definitely traced to Henry Borden, of the parish of Hedcorn, Kent, England, born during the decade 1370-80. In the eighth generation in direct line from Henry came Matthew Borden, a church warden in Hedcorn, Kent, in 1598, who died in October, 1620. Two of his sons, Richard and John, came to New Eng- land.
(I) Richard Borden, of the ninth English and the first American generation, was born in Hed- corn, Kent, England, February 22, 1595-96, and died at Portsmouth, Rhode Island, May 25, 1671. He married, in Hedcorn parish church, September 28, 1625, Joan Fowle, and in 1628 they moved to the neighboring parish, Cranbrook. In 1637-38 they came to New England, locating in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where Richard, a surveyor, acquired large tracts of land as he also did in New Jersey. He became a man of high standing and official im- portance in Rhode Island, his list of offices includ- ing that of deputy to the General Assembly in 1667 and 1670. His nuncupative will was admitted to probate May 31, 1671, by the Town Council of Portsmouth. Richard and Joan (Fowle) Borden were the parents of twelve children, the line of descent being through John, the fourth son, of whom further.
(II) John Borden was born in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in September, 1640, and there died, June 4, 1716. He married, December 25, 1670, Mary Earle, born in Portsmouth, and died there in 1734, daugh- ter of William and Mary (Walker) Earle. They were the parents of eight children, the eldest a son, Richard (2), of whom further.
(III) Richard (2) Borden was born October 25, 1671, and at the time of his death, sixty years later, was the largest landowner in his town and one of the wealthiest men. His home was on the main road, about one mile from the east shore of Mount Hope Bay, and two and one-half miles south of the City Hall at Fall River, his home- stead farm containing about two hundred acres. He married, about 1692, Innocent Wardell, and they
were the parents of seven children, descent in this branch being traced through Thomas, the second son, of whom further.
(IV) Thomas Borden was born December 8, 1697, died at Tiverton, Rhode Island, in April, 1740. He owned that part of the south side of Fall River stream that lay south of the Great Falls and the adjoining land down to salt water, besides other farms and outside lands. He married, August 14, 1721, Mary Gifford, born October 6, 1695, daugh- ter of Christopher and Meribah Gifford. They were the parents of five children, the eldest a son, Rich- ard (3), of whom further.
(V) Richard (3) Borden was born in 1722, died July 4, 1795. He inherited from his father an estate which had been owned by his grandfather and fore- saw the future development of the water power of Fall River. During the Revolutionary War, British troops burned his saw mill, together with a great deal of manufactured lumber, owned by his sons, who were operating the mill, Mr. Borden being car- ried away a prisoner by the raiders, who also burned his home. He married, March 12, 1747, Hope Cook, and they were the parents of six chil- dren, the second-born, a son, Thomas (2), of whom further.
(VI) Thomas (2) Borden was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, October 26, 1749, and there spent his life, becoming a man of wealth and importance, dying May 30, 1831. He married Mary Hathaway, born November 21, 1757, died February 18, 1824. They were the parents of thirteen children, all born at Fall River, the ninth a son, Colonel Richard, of whom further.
(VII) Colonel Richard Borden was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, April 12, 1795, and died in the city of his birth, after a long and useful life, February 25, 1874. He was educated in Fall River schools, and spent his early life at the home farm. From 1812 until 1820 he operated a grist mill at the fall nearest the river's mouth, and also engaged in ship-building in association with Major Bradford Durfee. He enlisted as a private in the second war with Great Britain, 1812-14, advancing through the ranks of ensign, lieutenant, captain, lieutenant- colonel, to the grade of colonel. After the war was over he engaged in shipbuilding, working upon the woodwork of a craft during the day, then, with his partner, going to a neighboring blacksmith shop and working on the iron work of the vessel. In this way he managed to launch one coasting ves- sel each year, these being from twenty to seventy- five tons burden. This blacksmith shop was the beginning of the later extensive Fall River Iron Works, which became one of the most important industries of Fall River. Borden & Durfee later, with others, incorporated as the Fall River Iron Works Company, with an original capital of $24,000, which was reduced soon afterward to $15,000, but was later increased until in 1845 the capital was nearly $1,000,000. This company was the . first makers of iron wire for the manufacture of wood screws in this country. For over fifty years, from the organization of the . company until his death,
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Colonel Richard Borden was treasurer of the Fall River Iron Works Company, and to his energy and industry the great development of the business was largely due.
It was through Colonel Borden's influence that the Old Colony railroad was induced to extend its line in the direction of Fall River and Narragansett Bay, he, with his brother, Jefferson, establishing the Fall River Steamboat Company in 1847, with a capital of $3,000 to operate in connection with the railroad. Colonel Borden was interested in many other important Fall River enterprises, includ- ing the American Print Works, organized in 1834; the American Linen Company; the Troy Cotton and Woolen Manufactory, and the Richard Borden Manufacturing Company. He was also a director of the Annawan Manufactory, and the Metacomet Mill; president and director of the Fall River National Bank; director, agent and corporation clerk of the Fall River Iron Works Company; president of the Watuppa Reservoir Company; agent of the Fall River Furnace Company; director of the Fall River Gas Company, these all being Fall River corporations. He held high official posi- tion with corporations outside the city, being presi- dent of the Bay State Steamboat Company; the Providence Tool Company; the Cape Cod Railroad Company; and the Borden Mining Company, and was a director of the Old Colony Railroad Com- pany. He was asssessor; representative; State Sen- ator, and, in 1864, presidential elector on the Re- publican ticket. The soldier's monument, erected at the entrance to Oak Grove Cemetery, was his gift to the city.
Colonel Borden married, February 21, 1828, Abby Walker Durfee, born March 22, 1798, in Pawtucket, died November 14, 1884, at the Borden Fall River home, surviving her husband more than a decade of years. She was a daughter of James and Sally (Walker) Durfee; granddaughter of Thomas and Patience (Borden) Durfee; great-granddaughter of Benjamin and Prudence (Earle) Durfee; great-great- granddaughter of Thomas Durfee, born in England in 1643, who came to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in 1660, and there died, in 1712, Benjamin Durfee being the youngest son of his first wife, to whom he was married as early as 1664. This was a Tiverton, Rhode Island, family during the first four American generations, then, in 1803, this branch was trans- planted to Fall River, Massachusetts.
Colonel Richard and Abby Walker (Durfee) Borden were the parents of seven children: 1. Car- oline, born September 20, 1829, a resident of Bos- ton, died March 19, 1922. 2. Colonel Thomas James, born March 1, 1832, at Fall River, and there died, November 21, 1902, a prominent business man and eminent citizen, his military title derived from service in the Massachusetts National Guard. He married Mary Elizabeth Hill, and they were the parents of four children. 3. Richard Baxter, born át Fall River, Massachusetts, February 21, 1834, and there died, October 12, 1906. He was a textile manufacturer whose term of active service extended over a longer period than that of any man in Bris-
tol county, and a man of stainless integrity and ad- mirable citizenship. He married Ellen F. Plumer, and left three children. 4. Edward Payson, born February 12, 1836, became a resident of Philadel- phia, and died December 15, 1916. He married Margaret Lindsey Durfee, and left one son, Edward Shirley Borden. 5. Captain William Henry Harri- son, born September 13, 1840, died in Menada, France. He married, September 25, 1867, Fannie Ingram Bosworth, of Augusta, Maine. 6. Matthew Chaloner Durfee, of further mention. 7. Sarah Walker, born May 13, 1844; married, May 19, 1869, Alphonso S. Covel.
(VIII) Matthew Chaloner Durfee Borden, fifth son of Colonel Richard and Abby Walker (Durfee) Borden, was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, July 18, 1842, and died at his summer home in Rumson, Monmouth county, New Jersey, May 27, 1912. He attended Fall River public schools and a school at Auburndale, Massachusetts, prepared for college at Phillips-Andover Academy, and was graduated from Yale University, class of 1864. In 1865 he began his marvelous business career, his first position being as a clerk with Lathrop, Lud- dington & Company, dry goods jobbers of New York City. He soon left that house for . Low, Harriman & Company, a commission firm, acting as selling agents for the American Print Works, of Fall River, of which Colonel Richard Borden was president. The print works from its small begin- ning in 1834 had grown to be a large corporation, but two disastrous fires during the winter of 1867 caused the works to become involved in financial difficulties, and finally, in 1879, to make an assign- ment. In 1880 Matthew C. D. Borden re-organized the business, which was then incorporated as the American Printing Company, with a capital of $300,000. Its history since has been one of rapid and substantial growth, and under the efficient Borden management stands today the largest busi- ness of its kind in the United States. Matthew C. D. Borden, in 1887, purchased the interest of his brother, Colonel Thomas James Borden, and be- came practically the sole owner of the business. In 1889 he bought the property of the Fall River Iron Works Company and erected the first of that corporation's large mills, adding a second mill in 1892, and a third in 1893. Business men freely predicted Mr. Borden's early downfall, and the depressed condition of the textile industry at that time was most discouraging, but when other manu- facturers were discussing reduced time and lower wages Mr. Borden startled them by announcing an advance of ten per cent in the wages of all em- ployees. This advance he followed two weeks later by beginning the erection of a fourth mill, which was to be the largest print cloth mill in America.
Mr. Borden's boldness staggered the trade, but his judgment and foresight, his courage and deter- mination, won success, and in due time other manu- facturers fell in line and acknowledged him as their leader. When in 1899 the industry suffered another period of depression, Mr. Borden again raised the wages of his employees ten per cent, and in time
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others followed his lead. Mr. Borden's courage in the face of financial danger and his resourcefulness in time of business crisis were most remarkable. Another instance of these characteristics was in 1901, when the Fall River textile market was greatly overstocked and prices very low and falling. In this critical period Mr. Borden purchased nearly a million dollars worth of cotton cloth, taking all that was offered. This strengthened the market, and prices advanced, and the movement resulted in a good profit for Mr. Borden personally, and also in a good profit for the entire textile trade.
In 1902 the American Printing Company acquired the property of the Fall River Machine Company and a large storehouse. The company's fifth mill was built in that year, and later, when a sixth and a seventh mill was added, the cloth mills of the American Printing Company were by far the lar- gest in the United States. In 1912 the company's plant covered an area of twenty-eight acres; it had in operation twenty-nine printing machines, the weekly output being about 135,000 pieces. In the same year the Fall River Iron Works Company operated 485,000 spindles and 13,000 looms, produc- ing weekly 80,000 pieces, or 205,000,000 yards of print cloth annually, requiring, to produce, over 50,000 bales of cotton. This marvelous development was due to the energy, enterprise and vision of Matthew C. D. Borden.
In 1910 the firm M. C. D. Borden & Sons took over the selling agency of the American Printing Company, and is still acting in that capacity, though the wise and efficient head which built up the busi- ness has been laid at rest. No man in the industry ever accomplished so much in maintaining a steady and safe market. On many occasions he placed in storage large quantities of goods which, if launched on the market, would have greatly depressed it, and on several occasions he took over the surplus stock of other manufacturers in order to maintain the market. No one other man ever accomplished so much as he in bettering the conditions of the mill operatives of Fall River, for his action in raising the wages of his own employees forced others to do the same, and his frequent bolstering of the industry in times of depression averted lock- outs, strikes and other occasions making idle labor. His boldness and prompt action always redounded to his own benefit, and he never made any preten- tions as a public benefactor, though everyone con- nected with the cotton manufacturing industry shared in his advantages. There is no doubt that he was inspired in all of these dealings with a strong sense of responsibility toward the thousands who derived their living from the industry. Mr. Borden entertained high ideals of a man's duty to his fellow- men and carried them out with unostentatious and unpretending sincerity. At one time he said: “I I believe in success, and the greater the better. believe in the accumulation of wealth, without any limit, except, always, that fixed by clean and honor- able methods, but I believe, also, that unusual suc- cess brings with it inseparably extraordinary re- sponsibility."
Though Mr. Borden exhibited in marked degree the business qualifications inherited from worthy sires, he possessed a strong and very distinct in- dividuality. His mind was open and his attitude was never intolerant, but he made his own de- cisions, and never wavered in their execution. He considered great chances as a matter of course in handling great affairs, and faced his responsibilities without flinching. With confidence in his own judg- ment, he took steps which, in the opinion of all his associates, seemed certain to result in disaster, and the result invariably justified his action. Alto- gether he was one of the most remarkable of the long list of remarkable business men who have made this country great. While he was familiar with all details, he had a very great grasp of mind and a keen foresight. Like all broad-minded men, he was charitable in the widest sense, most of his benefactions were kept under cover. This could not be accomplished in some cases, such as a gift of $100,000 to the charities of Fall River, on the occasion of starting Mill No. 4, October 17, 1895. This gift was made, as he expressed it, "in grateful recognition of a kind Providence that has so
favored me." Of this gift $15,000 went to the building fund of the Home for Aged People, smaller sums to other institutions, and the bulk for the erection of a home for the Boys' Club, a magnifi- cent building, with accommodations for 2,000 mem- bers, containing a theatre, gymnasium, swimming pool, library and bowling alleys. This is used ex- clusively by street boys for social and educational purposes, and is by far the finest institution of its kind in the United States. In 1906 Mr. Borden made extensive additions to this building for the use of men. Though a very busy man, caring for enormous interests, he still found time for recrea- tion, and had many interests in life. Fond of out- door sports, he was an enthusiastic yachtsman and horse owner. His famous steam yacht, the "Sov- ereign," is now owned by the United States Govern- ment, under the name of the "Scorpion." Mr. Bor- den's home was for many years in New York, and he was associated with many sporting clubs of that section, including the Seawanhaka Yacht Club, South Side Sportsmen's Club, New York Yacht Club, New York Athletic Club, Larchmont Yacht, and Jeykll Island Clubs. He was also interested in literature and art, and possessed a library and art gallery surpassed in value and excellence by very few in this country. More than a million dollars worth of paintings were hung in his gallery, and his library contained many volumes of unusual in- terest. A friend of education, he was a ready con- tributor to its advancement, and among his benefici- aries was his alma mater-Yale, which received from him a quarter of a million dollars. For six years he was park commissioner of New York City. He was interested in many of its business concerns: a di- rector of the Lincoln National, Astor Place, and Manhattan Company banks, New York Security and Trust Company, and the Lincoln Safe Deposit Com- pany. He was also a member of many social organ- izations of the city, including the following clubs:
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Union League, Republican, Metropolitan, Players,' Merchants,' Down Town, Yale Alumni, Riding, Rumson Country and other clubs. He was a mem- ber of the New England Society, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural His- tory, and a trustee of the Young Men's Christian Association.
Mr. Borden married, September 5, 1865, Harriet M. Durfee, daughter of Dr. Nathan and Delena (Borden) Durfee. Two of the seven children of this marriage survive: Bertram Harold, a sketch of whom follows; and Howard Seymour, a sketch of whom will be found on following pages.
Harriet M. (Durfee) Borden was of the sixth American generation of the family founded in New England by Thomas Durfee, who was also the ancestor of Abby Walker (Durfee) Borden, wife of Colonel Richard Borden. Her father, Dr. Nathan Durfee, was a graduate of Brown University, class of 1824, and of the Medical Department of Har- vard University, class of 1831. He married (first) at Fall River, Delena Borden, daughter of George and Phoebe (Borden) Borden.
BERTRAM HAROLD BORDEN, son of Mat- thew C. D. and Harriet M. (Durfee) Borden (see preceding sketch), was born in New York City, October 3, 1868. He was educated in private New York City schools, and at the age of twenty en- tered business life in the dry goods commission firm of Bliss, Fabyan & Company, where he was in- timately associated with his father. In the fall of 1895 he was elected treasurer of the American Printing Company, of which his father was presi- dent. On July 1, 1910, the firm of M. C. D. Borden & Sons was established at No. 90 Worth street, New York, Bertram H. Borden becoming a partner. In 1912, upon the death of Matthew C. D. Borden, Bertram H. Borden succeeded his father as senior partner of the M. C. D. Borden & Sons, and in the presidency of the American Printing Company and the Fall River Iron Works Company. On January 1, 1918, the cloth mills of the Fall River Iron Works Company became a part of the American Printing Company. In 1923 the firm of M. C. D. Borden & Sons was incorporated under that name and Bertram H. Borden became the president.
In 1918 Mr. Bordan organized the Association of Cotton Textile Merchants, of New York, and was its first president. He is a director of The Bank of Manhattan Company; Claflin's Inc .; The Merchants' Association of New York City; the Liverpool, London and Globe Insurance Company, Ltd .; the Globe Indemnity Company; the Prudential Life Insurance Company; the Star Insurance Com- pany; and a trustee of the Union Square Savings Bank of New York. These responsibilities he car- ries with ability and zeal, devoting himself closely to his business interests. He is one of the strong men of the textile trade and a fitting executive for that industry's active corporation.
Mr. Borden, a native son of New York City, has taken a deep interest in many departments of city life. When a young man he served in the National
Guard, and was on duty during the Brooklyn strikes of 1893. He is on the board of managers of St. Mark's Hospital; is a member of the board of trustees of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and of the Grant Monument Association. He is a mem- ber of the New England Society of the City of New York; the Union League, Racquet and Tennis, Union, Merchants' (president), New York Yacht and Atlantic Yacht clubs; the Quequechan and Country clubs, of Fall River; and the Rumson Country Club, of Rumson, New Jersey. Mr. Borden is a keen sportsman, and all his life has enjoyed riding, yachting and country club sports. His home is at Rumson, New Jersey. He is greatly inter- ested in the Borough of Rumson and is active in its civic interests. He is a man of quiet, dignified, fine personality, highly esteemed by his contempor- aries of the business world, and popular socially.
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