USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 2 > Part 58
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Dr. Learned is a member of the staff of the Truesdale Hospital; served during the War with Germany (1917-18) in the United States Army Medical Corps, ranking as first lieutenant, stationed at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; is a member of Fall River Medical Society, Massachusetts State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association; is a member of Alpha Kappa Kappa fraternity; Fall River Country Club; and in politics is a Republican. Dr. Learned is unmarried, and his home and offices are at No. 46 Franklin street, Fall River, the old family home, his father's offices being the same as those of his son. This rather unusual instance of family devotion to a profession has been of benefit to Fall River, and in some of the older families of the city the services of Dr. Learned have been called for in each generation.
CHARLES O. SWEET .- A well known figure in the city of Attleboro, Massachusetts, is Charles O. Sweet, who is a native of this place and has spent his lifetime here, participating in the constant advance which has developed the small town of his boyhood into one of the most prosperous and enter- prising cities of the Commonwealth of Massachu- setts. His personal energy and initiative have car- ried him to a high position among the leading manufacturing jewelers of Attleboro, and his breadth of interest and benevolence of spirit have made him a largely significant figure in the civic progress.
Descended from John Sweet, a Bristol county pioneer, Mr. Sweet is a son of Joabert Sweet, who was an early resident of Attleboro and achieved considerable fame in mechanical lines, making a number of important improvements on the spinning and shuttle machinery of his day, and thereby con- tributing in a marked degree to the advance of the textile industry. The mother, Eliza (Nelson) Sweet, was born at Lyme, New Hampshire, and was a direct descendant of Lord Nelson, of Trafalgar.
Charles O. Sweet was born at Attleboro, Massa- chusetts, November 14, 1848. His early education was received in the common schools of this com- munity, and in the year 1865 he was graduated from Schofield Commercial School, of Providence, Rhode Island. Two years later he attended the Connecticut Literary Institute, at Suffield, Con- necticut. With this comprehensive preparation for his . career, Mr. Sweet entered the business world as an office assistant with the firm of Bates & Bacon, of Attleboro, and his business ability and interest in his work carried him in their employ to the position of superintendent of the entire business in the twenty years during which he was connected with the firm. In the year 1889, in association with H. T. Regnall and J. A. Bigney, Mr. Sweet formed a partnership under the firm name of Regnall, Big- ney & Company. Nine years later the enterprise suffered total loss by fire in the historic conflagra- tion, which destroyed a considerable section of the business part of the town, but their recovery from
this blow was remarkable, for their business was re- established within a week. In the year 1903 Charles O. Sweet resigned from this partnership to form a corporation in company with his son, Ervin Vial Sweet, under the firm name of C. O. Sweet & Son Company. Under this title they began the manu- facture of a special and attractive line of popular priced jewelry for ladies, including pins of many kinds, waist sets, cuff buttons, hat pins, bracelets, et cetera. The reputation of this concern, which was founded on the quality and finish of its prod- ucts, as well as upon the business integrity of its personnel, has grown and widened until now it is a leading concern in this general field. Keeping in touch with the movement of the times, they have frequently brought out novelties, catering to fads of the moment, and their principal lines are always of the choicest design and the finest workmanship. The present personnel of this organization is as fol- lows: Ervin Vial Sweet, president; Charles O. Sweet, secretary and treasurer. The plant of the company covers a ground area of 50 by 140 feet, and its location on Union street, Attleboro, is an advantageous one. They ship their goods to all parts of the United States and do more or less of an export trade. They employ 100 hands and oc- cupy a floor and one-half of the present building.
Broadly interested in every phase of public affairs, although never a seeker after the honors of office, Charles O. Sweet has for many years been one of the useful men of this city, devoting much of his time to those avenues of advance which carry little in the way of recompense beyond the satisfaction of civic duty performed. He has long been a mem- ber of the Attleboro Chamber of Commerce, but declined the office of president of that body, al- though he has served as first vice-president and as a member of the board of directors. He was elected to the City Council and served many times as president protem, also has represented the Council for a number of years on the board of man- agers for the Sturdy Memorial Hospital. He was made a delegate to the laying of the corner stone of the new Attleboro post-office, which took place July 4, 1916, representing the City Council on that occasion. During the last year of the existence of this body he served as its president (1919), this making a total of five years during which he had filled this office, and for several years has acted as chairman of the town finance committee, one of the most important committees of this body. Mr. Sweet's public usefulness goes back, however, to earlier years, and in 1875 he participated in the organization of the Attleboro improvement district, which with its later consolidation with the water district formed the fire district, of which he was the first secretary, later serving as treasurer. When Attleboro voted to become a city, in November, 1914, Mr. Sweet was elected counselor-at-large to serve for one year, taking up the duties of office when the city charter went into effect, January 1, 1915. He was twice re-elected for a term of two years each, and also served as chairman of the finance committee of the Council. Meanwhile, at
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the special meeting held here on December 4, 1914, for the election of city officers, Charles O. Sweet was tendered the mayorality by a group of citizens, but very definitely discouraged this movement and threw his influence in favor of the nomination of Harold E. Smith, who was made the first mayor of the city of Attleboro. Nevertheless Mr. Sweet felt that in considering him for this honor the people of Attleboro had yielded to him the most gratifying distinction. His own remark at the time is worthy of perpetuation :
The fact that I was considered and urged to run for the first mayor of Attlehoro, where. I have been brought up and lived all my life, is highly pleasing and gratifying to me and a sufficient honor. I have no particular ambition for the office. I have always worked for the best interests of the Town and shall work for what I consider the best interests of the City, regardless of any personal gain.
In moral uplift work and benevolent advance, Mr. Sweet has long been a leader of progress. He took an uncompromising stand for prohibition when still a young man, and about forty years ago was brought forward as prohibition candidate for repre- sentative to the State Legislature, and although there was no possibility of his election he ran ahead of his ticket and received a very large vote. During the activities of the early temperance societies, the Good Templars and the Temple of Honor, he was prominent in these organizations and an office holder in both. For many years he has been in- terested in the Woodlawn Cemetery Association, and is one of the charter members of the old Kirk Cemetery, for which cemetery his pioneer ancestor, John Sweet, first gave the land to the little village of Attleboro and in which yard several of his ancestors are buried, Mr. Sweet himself being the eighth generation from the pioneer; he is serving as president of both cemeteries at the present time (1923).
He has for many years been an associate member of William A. Streeter Post, No. 145, Grand Army of the Republic, and a worker for the interests, not only of the organization, but of the rapidly thinning ranks of men who form it. He is a member of the Massachusetts State Society, the Sons of the Ameri- can Revolution, and of the Old Colony Historical Society, of Taunton, Massachusetts. He has always given much attention to historical matters and to the preservation of the records of Colonial and Revolutionary activities. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of Ezekiel Bates Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Bristol Commandery, Knights Templar; Orient Lodge, No. 165, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Attleboro Lodge, No. 1014, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Attleboro Council, No. 366, Royal Arcanum, and he is past presiding officer of the organization last named. From childhood Mr. Sweet has been affiliated with re- ligious advance, and was a regular attendant of the Second Congregational Church and Sunday school until the formation of the Methodist Episcopal church and Sunday school, and from that time he continued with that organization until the founding of the Pilgrim Church Society, when he became a
chaarter member of that body and has now for several years been president.
Charles O. Sweet was married in 1869. to Elizabeth J. (Cooper) Wallace, of Attleboro, daugh- ter of John Cooper, and they have one son: Ervin Vial Sweet, associated with his father in business, a sketch of whom follows.
ERVIN VIAL SWEET .- A prominent figure in the business life of Attleboro, Massachusetts, is Ervin Vial Sweet, who is a native of this city and has spent his lifetime in the industrial activities of this and a nearby State. Mr. Sweet is a son of Charles O. and Elizabeth J. (Wallace) Sweet, both of Attleboro, a review of his life appearing in the preceding sketch.
Ervin Vial Sweet was born at Attleboro, January 25, 1870. His education was begun in the local public schools, and he later attended Mowry & Goff Business School, of Providence, Rhode Island, also Bryant & Stratton Business College, of that city. His first industrial experience was in the em- ploy of the Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Com- pany, of Providence, Rhode Island, which affiliation he formed for the purpose of gaining a thorough knowledge of mechanics from the practical view- point of experience. Thereafter returning to Attle- boro, Mr. Sweet learned the trade of pearl cutting with the firm of J. W. Luther & Company, with which house he remained for two years, and he also learned the trade of enameling with E. T. Bright. He then was active for a time with vari- ous concerns until he became affiliated with Reganall, Bigney & Company, with which concern he was active as a salesman on the road. With this breadth of experience, Mr. Sweet associated himself with his father in the year 1903 as a member of the firm of C. O. Sweet & Son, and during the twenty years which has since elapsed he has been a definite factor in the progress and success of this industrial organization, an account of which is given in the preceding sketch.
Ervin V. Sweet holds a position of more than usual prominence in the business life of Attleboro, and is a member of the New England Jewelers' and Silversmiths' Association, also of the Attleboro Chamber of Commerce. In political matters he sup- ports the Republican party, but takes only the in- terest of the citizen in public advance. During the World War he gave his time principally to the activities of the moment in support of the American Expeditionary Forces, and was a leading worker in Liberty Loan drives, also in the efforts for the Red Cross and Salvation army. In recognition of his services in this period of stress the United States Government sent him a certificate. The local ben- evolences have always held his sympathy and com- manded his aid, and for some years he was chair- man of the Hayward athletic field. Science, in- vention and many other interests come within the scope of Mr. Sweet's attention. He is a member of the Geographical Society, and the Boston Chap- ter of the Sons of the American Revolution. He is affiliated with Orient Lodge, No. 165, Independent
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Order of Odd Fellows; Gideon M. Hoton Encamp- ment, No. 80, of the same order; Poconoket Tribe, No. 38, Improved Order of Red Men, of which he is past sachem; and Attleboro Lodge, No. 1014, Ben- evolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is past exalted ruler (1919-1920) and also member of the Grand Lodge. His clubs are the Highland, Country, Ogallala, and the West Side. Mr. Sweet's religious affiliation
is with the Congregational church.
Ervin Vial Sweet married (first) Maude Cunliffe. He married (second) Bertha A. Purdy (September 20, 1893), daughter of John and Mary (Frazer) Purdy, and they have one daughter, Elsie Evelyn, wife of George Osterguy.
ARBA N. LINCOLN .- For fifty years an hon- ored and distinguished member of the Massachu- setts bar, and during almost the entire period of his active career a resident of Fall River, and a practicing attorney and counselor-at-law of this city, Arba N. Lincoln was one of the foremost figures in professional circles in Bristol county, Mas- sachusetts. His death, which occurred in the fall of 1922, removed from the city of Fall River one of the most beneficially constructive forces which had ever borne a part in civic, professional and social advance. Mr. Lincoln was the head of the firm of Lincoln & Hood, one of the foremost legal firms in this part of the State of Massachusetts, in which organization his son, Carl Kimball Lincoln, now succeeds him. A native of Sherburne, Rutland county, Vermont, Arba N. Lincoln was a son of Charles F. and Eliza (Avery) Lincoln, both mem- bers of noted families of the State of Vermont.
Arba N. Lincoln was born at Somerset, Vermont, June 3, 1849. His early education was received in the local schools, and when still scarcely more than a child, he decided to make the profession of the law the field of his life-work. To this purpose he adhered as a young man, covering preparatory courses at Woodstock, Vermont and Haverhill, Massachusetts. Reading law under competent pre- ceptorship, he was admitted to practice in Vermont in 1872, and was professionally active at Wood- stock for about one year. Then admitted to the bar of Massachusetts, he removed to Haverhill, where he practiced until 1874, when he settled permanently in Fall River. Opening offices in the Granite block, Mr. Lincoln went forward independently with marked success until 1887, at which time he be- came associated in partnership with Alfred H. Hood. The firm of Lincoln & Hood became one of the most widely known in the State of Massachu- setts and was influential in countless ways in the advancement of the city of Fall River and of Bristol county. Mr. Lincoln's practice became more extensive as a counsellor rather than as a trial law- yer, and the firm, in addition to its extensive activi- ties in the law, became well known in the insurance field and in the executing of loans on various securi- ties. As he gained breadth of experience in his chosen field of endeavor, Mr. Lincoln won increas- ing prominence in affiliated and contemporary lines
of effort and became a very influential figure in pub- lic life, although except in one instance, he never accepted public office, and this instance was his appointment as special justice of the Second Dis- trict Court of Bristol County, and in this capacity he served for a number of years. Judge Lincoln's service on the bench was marked not only with keen perceptions and exhaustive knowledge of the law, but with the judicial mind, tempered by the great benevolence which was one of the striking characteristics of the man.
Public life was not to Mr. Lincoln an arena of political strife, but a door to opportunities of broader and highter service. He was one of the leading spirits in the formation of the Fall River Chamber of Commerce, and the early years of its activity were carried forward along lines more or less defin- itely mapped out by him. Always, however, Mr. Lincoln was an influence rather than a voice in public affairs. He gave of his best to civic ad- vance, choosing to give the place of leadership to others rather than to seek to create a following for himself. In every phase of community en- deavor he bore a helpful part and was for years identified with the financial world as an organizer and member of the board of directors of the Fall River Cooperative Bank, which received its charter in 1888. Long an influential member of the Fall River Bar Association, his fraternal affiliations included membership in Hope Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; and the Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of which he was past high priest. Few men of such wide and varied business activities retain in so great a degree 'as did Mr. Lincoln the modest tastes of the lover of nature and the keen appreciation of all things worthy as did this man among men. Greatly interested in travel, he made extended trips as frequently as his professional responsibilities would permit and took the keenest delight in all manifestations of the beauties of nature. Flowers, shrubs and trees were his special delight, and on the grounds of his beautiful home he personally gave a great deal of attention to the growth of rare and lovely varieties. Books were his frequent companions, and he was a discrimin- ating, as well as an extensive reader. His home was his sanctuary and there he spent his leisure hours. There he answered the call which comes once to every man and which closes the active chap- ters of his life, leaving only the fragrant and treas- ured memories. Not even Mr. Lincoln himself was aware that his heart was affected in any way, but on October 12, 1922, after having spent an evening at a bank directors' meeting, he rose to the leisure of a holiday and was considering with Mrs. Lincoln various plans for spending the day together. He . was suddenly stricken and instantly died. It was true that he passed out of life as he would have chosen to do, merely stepping from the activities of a serious and useful life into the future world, but the shock to the community was great. When the news was spread about that Mr. Lincoln was no more, friends, associates and the general public sustained a shock of consternation. So useful and
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beneficent had been his life, his name had come to bear a direct significance to every citizen of Fall River, and his loss was deeply felt in every circle where he had been known. The current press of the hour commented upon his demise with the most sincere expressions of esteem and re- gret. One Fall River paper said, editorially:
Fall River is shocked and saddened hy the sudden death of one of its prominent and elder men of affairs. With scarcely a moment's forewarning, Arha N. Lincoln has heen called from the midst of his family circle and from his pro- fessional activities. * *
* For many years Mr. Lincoln had exerted a salutary influence on our public life. His spacious and beautiful home had heen a center of benign in- fluence in the community. From it had gone forth many silent henefactions, manifesting sympathy with the suffering and sorrowing, and illustrating the Christian law of life: "Bear ye one another's hurdens."
He was ever a friend and promoter of that which seemed good in the community life as well as hostile to that of the contrary character. A great lover of the beautiful in nature, he kept himself surrounded with some of its choice treasures, which gave delight to others than their owner, as well as to him. A benevolent, upright, quiet life has come to a sudden end on earth, leaving a memory redolent of good deeds and a friendly, Christian spirit.
Arba N. Lincoln married, in Haverhill, Massachu- setts, in 1876, Mira Kimball, and they were the par- ents of five children: Ernest A .; Grace; Ralph, de- ceased; Kenneth B .; and Carl K. The family have always been members of the Congregational church.
JOSHUA E. CRANE .- For twenty-eight years librarian of the Taunton Public Library, Joshua E. Crane is one of the best known figures in this city, and his long devotion to the work of this institution has counted as a broadly constructive and beneficent influence in the conimunity. Widely read and possessing a scholarly mind, Mr. Crane's discriminating taste in literature has always kept the standards of the library at the highest level, and both as an official of marked usefulness and as a private citizen he is sincerely esteemed by all who know him.
The Crane family is a very old and honored one in the State of Massachusetts, and this branch of the family is descended from Henry Crane of Dor- chester, Massachusetts. John Crane, his son, was born in 1658; and married Hannah Leonard, daugh- ter of James and Hannah Leonard of Taunton. They became settlers in the South Purchase of Taunton, and died in that part of Dighton which is now Berkley, John Crane passing away in 1716. In direct line of descent Barzillai Crane was a prominent citizen of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and married Lydia Eddy. Joshua Eddy Crane, son of these parents, and father of the subject of this review, was born and died in Bridgewater. He married Lucy A. Reed.
Joshua E. Crane, son of Joshua Eddy and Lucy A. (Reed) Crane, was born in Bridgewater, Massa- chusetts, October 1, 1850. His early education was acquired in the local public schools, then he pur- sued a course of four years at the Bridgewater Academy, and in the year 1868 entered Brown Uni- versity at Providence, Rhode Island, from which he
was graduated in the class of 1872. During the next scholastic year Mr. Crane taught a public school in Duxbury, then for two successive years was a preceptor of the Bridgewater Academy. In the year 1876 Mr. Crane went abroad to take up the duties of an exacting and largely responsible position to which he had been chosen, that of principal of the English preparatory department of the Syrian Protestant College of Beirut, Syria. He served faithfully and well for a period of three years, then returned to his native land and accepted a position as an instructor in Latin at the Albany Academy at Albany, New York. He was thus active until 1884, also during this period doing much private tutoring. In the year 1884 Mr. Crane be- came librarian of the Young Men's Association of Albany, and served for three consecutive years thenceforth, then for two years at a later date (1890-92). The intervening years up to 1895 were occupied in teaching, principally in Portland and in Bristol.
In 1895 Mr. Crane was elected librarian of the Taunton Public Library, in which connection he still ably serves. Alert to the movement of the times, and possessing the ability to take ever fresh and inspiring viewpoints in his survey of life, Mr. Crane undoubtedly has many years of usefulness yet be- fore him, although his venerable and benevolent head is crowned with gray and his retrospect covers many decades. Valuing deeply the lessons of the past and the permanent records of early times in America, Mr. Crane long ago identified himself with the Old Colony Historical Society and the old Bridgewater Historical Society, and in both these organizations ably serves in an official capacity.
Mr. Crane married, on January 1, 1884, Katherine Perkins, daughter of Henry and Amelia (Sherman) Perkins, of Bridgewater, and they are the parents of one daughter, Clara Whitney Crane, a graduate of Radcliffe College, class of 1914.
JOSEPH LEONARD ANTHONY is a native son of the Old Bay State and "still in the harness" after a lifetime of splendid business activity within her borders. The Anthony name has been a con- spicuous one in New England for more than two and three-quarters centuries. The first member to arrive was John Antonie, as he wrote it, who came from England in the barge "Hercules," April 16, 1634. He married Susan Potter, and from them sprang a numerous and influential family.
Joseph Leonard Anthony, son of Joseph S. and Sarah A. (Wood) Anthony, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, March 26, 1866. In 1868 Providence, Rhode Island, became the family home, and in 1878 the family returned to Massachusetts, locating in Taunton, Bristol county. There he completed gram- mar and high school courses of public school study, entering the employ of the Mason Machine Works at the age of sixteen, as apprentice, being employed a greater part of this time in the mechanical en- gineering department. He continued with this com- pany for four years, then spent three years in White Pine, Gunnison county, Colorado, engaged in silver
Joshua & Cane -
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mining and ranching. In 1891 he returned to
Taunton, which city has since been his home.
Upon his return to Taunton in 1891 Mr. Anthony entered the employ of the Weir Stove Company, beginning as shipping clerk and working his way to the presidency, his career being largely made in the service of that company, although he holds close relation with other important Taunton cor- porations. He remained in the shipping room until appointed superintendent of the plant in 1894. In 1908 he was elected a member of the board of directors; in 1918 was elected vice-president; and in November, 1919, was elected president of the com- pany. He has now been associated with the com- pany for thirty-two years and has been one of the prime factors in its growth and development, having been connected with the management since 1894.
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