USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 2 > Part 55
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It is peculiarly fitting that the history of such a life as that of Joseph Lyman Sweet should find permanence in these annals of the city of Attleboro, . for from the least to the greatest of his fellow- townspeople he is honored and beloved among them, and there is scarcely any interest of the community in which he has not borne an active part. Indeed the daily progress of the entire city is close to his heart, and every worthy effort commands his sym- pathy and cooperation.
HON. HAROLD EDWARD SWEET-As the managing executive of one of the foremost manu- facturing jewelry concerns of Attleboro, Massachu- setts, which recently celebrated the fiftieth anniver- sary of its existence, Harold Edward Sweet is a prominent figure in the jewelry trade. As the first mayor of the city of Attleboro and a leader, in all civic and welfare advance, Mr. Sweet is one of the best known and one of the most popular men of this city. Mr. Sweet is a member of an old and honored family of Massachusetts and a son of Joseph Lyman Sweet, whose sketch precedes this.
Harold Edward Sweet was born at West Mans- field, Massachusetts, June 24, 1877. His education was begun in the public schools of Attleboro and he later entered the English and Classical High School of Providence, Rhode Island. Thereafter en- tering Tufts College, Mr. Sweet was graduated from that institution in the class of 1898 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Following the completion of his education, Mr. Sweet entered the employ of the R. F. Simmons Company, manufacturing jewelers, of which his father was then a leading executive. Beginning as a bench hand Mr. Sweet served through the various positions, familiarizing himself with every department of the plant by the very practical method of experience. Rising to the posi- tion of road salesman he was active in that capacity for several years, in the fall of 1899 becoming a member of the firm. The history of this enterprise is mentioned at length in the preceding sketch.
· Harold Edward Sweet has various other affilia- tions in Attleboro; indeed there is scarcely any local interest which does not command his generous aid and hearty cooperation. He is a director of the
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First National Bank, of Attleboro and of many of the industrial corporations which make this city one of the most prosperous civic bodies in New Eng- land. He is a member and past president of the Attleboro Chamber of Commerce and has been prominent in Democratic party affairs in the State, having been nominated as presidential elector from the Fifteenth Massachusetts District on the Demo- cratic ticket in 1920. In minor official capacities he served with efficiency and excellent judgment in the public progress in Attleboro, and for nine years was a member of the school committee, serving on various boards and committees of that body. His wide usefulness as a citizen and his definite public services led to his election as the first mayor of the city of Attleboro, taking up the duties of his office when the city charter came into effect, and serving two terms, from 1914-1918 inclusive, being un- opposed for reelection in 1916. This period cover- ing, as it did, the trying years of the World War, Mr. Sweet's ability and diplomacy were put to very exacting tests, but in all that involved the public welfare of the spontaneous patriotism of the hour, his leadership proved that of the man of great wis- dom, as well as of vital force. Always deeply inter- ested in military affairs, Mr. Sweet served while mayor in Company M, 14th Regiment, 5th Brigade, Massachusetts State Guard, with the rank of second lieutenant. Fraternally he is affiliated with many of the leading organizations of this section among which may be enumerated Free and Accepted Ma- sons, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Benev- olent and Protective Order of Elks, and United Work- men. In college Mr. Sweet joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity. Mr. Sweet's benevolences are those of the man giving his best to the world and frankly acknowledging his responsibility to society. He pre- sented to the city of Attleboro the Hayward Ath- letic Field as a memorial to his maternal family name, Hayward, but aside from this universally ap- preciated public benefaction his charitable and ben- evolent activities are invariably withheld from the public eye whenever it is possible to do so. He is a member of the Universalist church, of which he has been moderator for several years, and is a trustee of Massachusetts Universalist Convention. Mr. Sweet is also a trustee of Tufts College and of Dean Academy at Franklin. He is a member of the Economic and Universalist clubs of Boston, the Highland Country Club of Attleboro, and the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, having a summer home at North Falmouth.
Mr. Sweet married, in the year 1900, Gertrude O. Hunton, of Detroit, Michigan, and they are the parents of two children: Hayward H., born Janu- ary 18, 1909; and Marian H., born August 1, 1912.
WILLIAM EDDY (2) FULLER-From 1863, when the father was admitted, until 1917, when the son passed away, William Eddy Fuller (1) and (2), were members of the Bristol county bar, the father located in Taunton, the son in Fall River. For a quarter of a century William Eddy (1) Fuller, ad- ministered the office of judge of probate and insol-
vency at Taunton. His twenty-fifth anniversary was made the occasion of a notable gathering of the members of the Bristol bar, and at the request of the meeting, Judge Fuller sat for an oil painting which, when completed, was hung in the court room. He was regarded by other probate judges of the State as their chief justice, and his name is pre- served in history as an intelligent and devoted student of probate law. In 1891 he published a work on Massachusetts probate law which became a standard handbook, ever since in use by the law- yers throughout the State. He was known as a model judge and citizen, and to his only son, Wil- liam Eddy (2) Fuller, he transmitted his ability, talent and professional love for the law. Sixteen years before the father's death, the son was ad- mitted to the same bar, and during those years they were contemporaries, the father on the bench, the son at the bar. William Eddy (2) Fuller to his legal ability added a keen business acumen that brought him into prominence among the textile manufacturers of his city, but until the time of his death he continued his legal partnership and prac- tice. The father lived to almost acquire octogenar- ian honors, but the son passed away in the prime of his splendid powers, leaving the Bristol bar with- out a William Eddy Fuller for the first time in fifty-four years.
Fuller is a name honored in New England since "Mayflower" days, and long before, in England, Fullers had won both fame and high position in the church and in literature. Of Thomas Fuller, chap- lain to Charles the Second, it was written: "Fuller was incomparably the most sensible, at least the least prejudicial great man of an age that boasted a galaxy of great men." In the United States a most distinguished member of the family was Mel- ville W. Fuller, who became chief justice of the United States Supreme Court.
The New England founder of the family, Dr. Samuel Fuller, of the "Mayflower," was a son of Robert and Frances Fuller, of Redenhall, Norfolk- shire, England, and grandson of John Fuller, several of whose descendants were "Mayflower" passengers. The line as traced to William Eddy (2) Fuller follows:
Dr. Samuel Fuller, of the "Mayflower," and his third wife, Bridget (Lee) Fuller, who came to New England in the ship "Ann" in 1632. Their son, Rev. Samuel Fuller, and his wife, Elizabeth (Brewster) Fuller. Their son, Dr. Isaac Fuller, and his wife, Mary (Eddy) Fuller. Their son, Dr. Jabez Fuller, and his wife, Elizabeth (Hilliard) Fuller. Their son, Dr. Jonathan Fuller, and his wife, Lucy (Eddy) Fuller. Their son, Jabez (2) Fuller, and his wife, Sarah Hudson (Churchill) Fuller. Their son, Judge William Eddy Fuller, and his wife, Anna Miles (Corey) Fuller. Their son, William Eddy (2) Ful- ler, to whose memory this review is dedicated.
It will be noted that Jabez (2) Fuller of the sixth generation was the only head of these eight genera- tions of Fullers that was not a professional man, the list including four physicians, one minister and two lawyers, one a judge. Collateral lines which
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are interwoven with Fuller history are many, includ- ing the Corey family, founded in New England by Giles Corey, 1649; the Rhodes family which springs from Henry Rhodes, 1640, and the Churchill family, beginning with John Churchill, this line also includ- ing descent from that great captain of the Pilgrims, Captain Myles Standish.
William Eddy (2) Fuller, only son of Judge Wil- liam Eddy (1) and Anna Miles (Corey) Fuller, was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, August 14, 1870, and died at his home in Fall River, Massachusetts, July 18, 1917. After preparation at Bristol Academy he entered Harvard University, whence he was grad- uated A. B., class of 1892. With strong inherited professional instincts it was but a question which profession he should embrace, his choice falling upon the law. He further prepared at Harvard Law School, and in 1895 received from that institution his LL. B. His father was then judge of the Court of Probate and Insolvency for Bristol county, resid- ing in Taunton, the son choosing Fall River as the seat of his practice. Here he formed a partnership with Arthur S. Phillips, they practicing from 1895 until 1907 as Phillips & Fuller. Then the firm was dissolved, Mr. Fuller becoming associated in practice with William C. Gray, Fuller & Gray continuing until dissolved in 1917 through the death of the senior partner. Mr. Fuller was an able lawyer, standing high among his contemporaries and always commanding a good practice. He was a member of the Bristol County, Massachusetts State and American Bar associations, and was a close observer of the strictest construction of the ethics of his pro- fession.
In 1904 Mr. Fuller first came prominently into business life, then accepted election as secretary and general manager of The Solvents Recovery Com- pany. He was also a member of the board of directors of the Davis Mills, and from the organiza- tion of that corporation in 1902 until his passing was counsel to that corporation. At the time of the re- organization of the Kilbourn-Lincoln Machine Com- pany, Mr. Fuller was chosen treasurer of the com- pany, an office he ably filled, as he did all others, until the fall of 1916, when he was compelled by ill health to resign.
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In religious preference Mr. Fuller was a Unitarian, member of the Fall River Society of that faith. He was always interested in civic affairs, but as a public- spirited citizen, never as a seeker for office. His political bias was Republican. He served the Cham- ber of Commerce as a director; was a member of the Quequechan Club; the Harvard Club of Fall River; the Coffee Tavern Association; the old Colony His- torical Society and the Fall River Country Club. The last ten years of his life Mr. Fuller was afflict- ed with most serious eye trouble and "sat in dark- ness" most of that period. His general health was poor, and the winter of 1916 he spent in Florida, hoping to regain his lost strength and vigor. But his race was nearly run and the following summer he passed away, aged forty-seven years.
William Eddy Fuller married, September 22, 1897, May Queen Newcomb, daughter of Cyrenius A.
and Mary E. (Haskell) Newcomb, of Detroit, her father the founder of and until his death in March, 1915, president of the Newcomb-Endicott Company. Detroit's leading department store. He was suc- ceeded in the presidency of that corporation by his son, C. A. Newcomb (2). To Mr. and Mrs. Fuller three children were born: 1. William Eddy (3), born June 29, 1898; a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, (1915); Harvard University, A. B., 1919, LL. B., (1921); and thus, after a lapse of four years, a third William Eddy Fuller appears at the Bristol county bar. He married Ethel Kilder, of Assonet, Massachusetts, and they are the parents of William Eddy (4) and Elizabeth Hatheway, born June 4, 1923, of the tenth American Fuller generation in direct lineal line. During the World War period, 1917, he attended the Junior Training Camp at Plattsburg, New York, and later, Plattsburg Offi- cers' Training Camp, and in September, 1918, was commissioned second lieutenant, then was assigned to duty at Camp Taylor, Louisville, Kentucky. He continued in the service until honorably discharged with his command in December, 1918. 2. Newcomb, born September 22, 1900. He prepared for college, entered Harvard, but after completing his sopho- more ycar did not return, but graduated from Exeter in 1920, and later was a student in The Textile School of Fall River, from which he finished in 1923. 3. Anna C., born April 27, 1907, now a junior in B. M. C. Durfee High School, Fall River.
Mrs. May Q. (Newcomb) Fuller survives her husband and continues her residence in the Fuller - home at No. 745 Highland avenue, Fall River. She is a member of the Woman's Club of Fall River; the Fall River Country Club; the Acoaxet Country Club; the Fortnightly Club; and the Unitarian Soci- ety of Fall River, being active in church and char- itable work as well as of social prominence.
LEONTINE LINCOLN, A. M .- Of those truly great men who have won power and influence through their own high achievements, then have given to the world benefactions of permanent sig- nificance, Leontine Lincoln, late of Fall River, Massachusetts, is an eminently noteworthy example. A man of distinguished, yet benevolent presence, forceful and gifted with broad abilities, yet possess- ing the keenest sympathy for the weak or unfortun- ate, Mr. Lincoln's spirit was one of rare beauty, and his life meant much to all who came within the circle of his acquaintance. Rising from the position of a clerk in the offices of the corporation of which his honored father was a leading executive, he ad- vanced by regular steps until he reached the high- est position in textile manufacturing, and in his citizenship he won a place among the devoted and public-spirited men of his city and State. Much as his business activities meant to the textile industry, his comprehensive service to the people in many realms of unrewarded effort means infinitely more, and its significance will endure for generations to come. It would be difficult in the extreme to con- sider Fall River during the past half-century without constant reference to Leontine Lincoln, for his work
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Leonts
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is everywhere apparent, and his influence permeates very department of the life of the city. His death, which occurred in the early summer of 1923, was a public calamity, and when the news of his passing became known, the entire city mourned.
The pioneer of the Lincoln family in America was Thomas Lincoln, who has come down in his- tory as "the miller," and who came from England to this country in 1636, settling at Hingham, Massa- chusetts. Thomas Lincoln became the owner of a mill in Taunton, on Mill river, and this he operated for thirty-three years, after which he was succeeded by his sons. The line of descent is through his son, Thomas (2) Lincoln, and his wife, Mary Austin; their son, Thomas (3) Lincoln, and his wife, Mary Stacy; their son, William Lincoln, and his wife, Re- becca Walker; their son, William (2) Lincoln, and his wife, Hannah Wade; their son, Caleb Lincoln, "miller and Revolutionary soldier," and his wife, Mercy Thayer; their son, Jonathan Thayer Lincoln, and his wife, Abby Luscomb; their son, Leontine Lincoln, and his wife, Amelia Sanford Duncan, de- ceased; and their sons, Jonathan Thayer (2) and Leontine (2) Lincoln, who now carry forward the business interests of their late father.
Down the generations of this family line every period of the history of the Colonies and the young Republic has seen the achievements of men of this name. In the sixth generation, Caleb Lincoln, "the miller," of Westville Village, trained his sons to the business, and through him and his descendants the manufacturing genius of the family has developed, subsequent generations having in turn been identi- fied with the great enterprises of the city of large industries, Fall River. Notable among them was Jonathan Thayer Lincoln, a man of great business ability and mechanical genius, who was largely re- sponsible for the upbuilding of the firm, later the cor- poration, Kilburn, Lincoln & Company, of which he was for years the executive head. Henry C., Ed- ward, and Leontine Lincoln, all sons of Jonathan Thayer Lincoln, were trained under the direction of their able father.
Jonathan Thayer Lincoln, being of the seventh generation in this country, was born at Taunton, Massachusetts, October 17, 1805, and died at Fall River, July 23, 1881, "an ingenius and skillful me- chanic, a business man of unquestioned integrity, worthy and valued citizen." His parents moved to Westville, Massachusetts, where they occupied lands which had been in the family since 1660. Jon- athan T. Lincoln learned the machinist's trade, be- ginning at the age of sixteen, and became a skilled workman. He worked at Pawtucket and Taunton, settling in Fall River in 1829, as master mechanic, with the Massasoit Mill Company. In 1845-46 he built two-thirds of the looms installed by the Wat- uppa Manufacturing Company, and in the latter year became a member of the firm of E. C. Kilburn & Company, manufacturers of turbines, shafting, and various kinds of machinery for print works and iron mills. In 1856 the firm was organized as Kilburn, Lincoln & Son, the junior member being Henry C., son of Jonathan T. Lincoln. The firm specialty was
the "Fourneyon Turbine," and in 1867 iron foundry was added to the plant. In 1868 the busi- ness was incorporated as Kilburn, Lincoln & Com- pany, Jonathan T. Lincoln, the first president of the company, holding office until his death. A large and finely equipped plant was erected, and the manufacture of looms was made the principal activ- ity, the company becoming the most important in this section in the manufacture of looms for silk and cotton weaving. The concern is now universally known as the Kilburn-Lincoln Machine Company. Henry C. Lincoln succeeded his father in the presi- dency, which he filled until his death in 1884, a period of twelve years. Edward Lincoln, the second son, was for more than half a century identified with the manufacture of paper.
In the year 1855 Jonathan T. Lincoln became associated with his son, Edward, in paper manufacturing enterprise in North Dighton. He had large interests also in various other Fall River industries, and was a director of the Tecumseh Mills from their organization. One of the oldest Master Masons in the city, for many years treas- urer of Mount Hope Lodge, his fraternal activities were only the expression of a broad benevolence, a sunny temperament and an earnest purpose in life. Rigorously upright in his personal attitude towards all responsibility, his judgment of others was char- itable, and he gave generously to all worthy objects. He was a free soil Whig until the formation of the Republican party, of which he was thereafter a loyal supporter, but never an office-seeker. He mar- ried (first) Mary Cook; (second) Abby Luscomb, of Taunton. The former bore him two sons and a daughter: Henry C., Edward, and Mary; the latter, a son: Leontine, of whom further. Abby (Lus- comb) Lincoln was descended from Robert Lus- comb and his son, Francis, who came from Ash- burton, Devonshire, England, in 1690, settling in Taunton.
Leontine Lincoln, only son of Jonathan Thayer and Abby (Luscomb) Lincoln, was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, December 26, 1846, and died in the city of his birth, June 1, 1923. Not only as manufacturer, but as citizen and philanthropist, as friend and companion of men in every walk in life, Leontine Lincoln became one of the best known and most highly prized men of this city, and the record of his rise to prominence and the useful part he bore in the community is one of vital interest to the people. His education was begun in the public schools of Fall River, and completed in private schools at Providence, Rhode Island. In 1865 he began his career in the offices of the Kilburn, Lin- coln & Company's plant, his father then being president of the corporation. In 1872 Mr. Lincoln became treasurer of the company, succeeding E. C. Kilburn, who then retired. From that time on the young man rose rapidly in official rank, both in this enterprise and in other leading industries of Fall River. He filled the office of treasurer of the firm of Kilburn, Lincoln & Company for thirty-one years. Jonathan Thayer Lincoln, the first president of the company, was succeeded at his death by his eldest
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son, Henry C. Lincoln, who in turn filled that office until his death, in 1884, to be succeeded by his brother-in-law, Andrew Luscomb. The latter passed away in 1903, and Leontine Lincoln suc- ceeded to the presidency, which had then become the largest of all corporations manufacturing silk and cotton machinery. He was thereby the fourth president of the concern since its incorporation in 1868. He carried the enterprise to ever higher success, his genius for direction and administration qualifying him for leadership of the highest type. His extensive affiliations in the business would re- veal in no uncertain way the world's appraisal of his abilities. At the time of his death he was president of the following corporations: The Lincoln Manu- facturing Company; the Davis Mills; the Luther Man- ufacturing Company; the Arkwright Mills; the Sea- connet Mills; the Parker Mills, as well as Kilburn, Lincoln & Company. He was president of the sec- ond National Bank of Fall River for nearly twenty years, or until the expiration of its charter. A director of the Massasoit-Pocasset National Bank, he was also at one time affiliated with the Fall River Five Cents Savings Bank as a trustee.
Mr. Lincoln's public service covered a long period of years and reached many important phases of the progress of the city and the commonwealth. He was many times heard to recall the fact that his first teacher was Mrs. Mary Buffington, mother of Fall River's first mayor, James Buffing- ton. He was one of the first to recognize the value to the city of vocational training along the line of Fall River's greatest industry, and was one of the moving spirits in the founding of the Brad- ford Durfee Textile School, of which he was ap- pointed an original trustee, upon its incorporation in 1903, and before the close of the year he was elected president, which office he ably filled until his death. The graduating class of 1923 was inex- pressibly saddened by the death of Mr. Lincoln, which occurred the day before their public exercises. He was a member of the Fall River School Com- mittee for a period of twenty-four years (1880-1904), and during sixteen years of the time served as chair- man. He was also a trustee of the B. M. C. Durfee High School from its establishment, serving as secretary. That his endeavors in this field were ap- preciated is evidenced by the naming of the Lin- coln School, which stands at the corner of High and Pine streets, in his honor. As far back as March, 1878, Mr. Lincoln was elected a trustee of the pub- lic Library, and in this connection he was active until his death. His taste for good literature was an inherited one, and set a high standard in the library, which for many years he was accustomed to visit for a short time every evening. He wrote much on educational topics, and addressed many public gath- erings convened for the furtherance of educational advance. He was also the author of pamphlets on economic and social subjects, and his work, "Leprosy and its Treatment," is esteemed a reference book on the subject by authorities on this disease.
This work was the outgrowth of Mr. Lincoln's service on the State Board of Lunacy and Charity,
to which he was appointed by Governor Greenhalgh on February 15, 1894, and by reappointment of suc- ceeding governors continued to serve. Upon the division · of the board into two, covering the two branches of work, Mr. Lincoln was made chairman of the State Board of Charity. This was in 1898, and he served until the abolishment of this board in 1919 by Governor Cox. One of the most wide- reaching and important phases of the work accom- plished by this board was the founding of the leper colony on Penikese Island, in Buzzard's Bay, the island being purchased during the chairmanship of Mr. Lincoln. His political prominence was the least important of all his public activities. Always a staunch Republican, Mr. Lincoln was a worker for the good of the party, and in 1896 accepted the ap- pointment as delegate to the Republican National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, at which William Mckinley was nominated for the presidency. On that occasion Mr. Lincoln declared for the gold standard, and throughout his lifetime his utterances on public questions were fearless, wise, and keenly relevant to the conditions or progress of the mo- ment. But never did he accept a salaried office in the service of others, declining twice the mayoralty of the city of Fall River, and once the nomination for Congressman.
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