A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 3, Part 19

Author: Hutt, Frank Walcott, 1869- editor
Publication date: 1924
Publisher: New York, Chicago, Lewis historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 528

USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 3 > Part 19

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Charles Capron Wilmarth was born at Attle- boro, Massachusetts, May 6, 1850. His education was limited to the advantages of the local public schools, and as a young man he entered the jewelry industry in a minor capacity, working for various concerns of Attleboro. In 1887 he became foreman for the firm then known as Hayward & Sweet, remaining in that capacity for ten years. With the various changes of the organization he has still been identified with the same enterprise practically . chusetts. the entire time since. From 1897 to 1908, a period of eleven years, Mr. Wilmarth was factory superin- tendent for Walter E. Hayward, and, following the withdrawal of Mr. Hayward from the interest, he was associated with Frank J. Ryder (see biography following) in this same business for about ten years. Mr. Wilmarth then withdrew from the concern, but upon the incorporation of the Walter E. Hayward Company on January 1, 1921, he be- came president of the organization, in which re- sponsible capacity he still serves. This business has a very long and interesting history. Its incep- tion occurred in the year 1851, and throughout its entire history it has enjoyed a steady and continu- ous growth. The changing fashions have largely governed the character of the product, but the standards of quality and business integrity which have made the name one of international honor have always remained the same. Mr. Wilmarth was active as factory superintendent for twenty-one years before he became a member of the firm on March 1, 1908, and his ability as an executive was enhanced by the long years of practical experience which lay behind him. Under his administration in 1911, also in 1912 and 1913, additions to the factory building were made which largely increased its capacity, and on March 3, 1913, another interest was taken over by the company, the engine-turning business of F. L. Aeschliman being purchased and since being carried forward under their management.

The product of the Walter E. Hayward Company comprises a standard line of solid gold front and gold plate ladies' and men's jewelry and they are leaders in the manufacture of Waldemar knives. Their present floor space aggregates 26,000 square feet and their goods are sold to the wholesale trade exclusively, being distributed throughout the United States, also in Canada, the Philippine Islands, China, Japan and South America. The personnel of the concern is now (1924) as follows: Charles C. Wil- marth, president; Frank E. Smith, vice-president; Frank J. Ryder, treasurer; and Walter G. Moon, secretary. Mr. Ryder handles the interests of the company in New England, John A. Malcolm in New York and other eastern States, while the Mid- dle West and West are under the management of Elmer S. Smith, these executives having all been identified with the concern for many years. Mr. Wilmarth holds other business affiliations, including a directorship of the Attleboro Trust Company. He is a Republican by political affiliation, but has never been more closely interested in public affairs than .is usual as a private citizen. Fraternally he is identi- fied with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has held all offices in the subordinate lodge. He is a member of the Highland Country Club, of Attleboro. His religious affiliation is with the Murray Universalist Church.

Charles Capron Wilmarth married, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, on January 1, 1873, Mary A. Wil- marth, daughter of William Albert and Joanna S. (Carter) Wilmarth, also descended from prominent people long resident in Bristol county, Massa-

FRANK J. RYDER, who is treasurer of the firm of. Walter E. Hayward Company, stands among the broadly prominent executives of Attleboro, Mas- sachusetts, in the manufacture of jewelry, and his progressive attitude toward all advance places him in the front rank of progress. Mr. Ryder is a son of Thomas J. Ryder, of Wellsfleet, Massachusetts, a retired sea-faring man and merchant. His early years were spent on the water, and for forty years he was a merchant of Melrose, Massachusetts. This is a very old family of Wellsfleet, and genera- tion after generation the men of this family fol- lowed the sea as a means of livelihood. The mother, Mary E. (Rich) Ryder, was born at Truro, Massachusetts, and is also still living.

Frank J. Ryder was born at Melrose, Massachu- setts, February 11, 1876. His education was limited to the advantages of the public schools, and, after completing his studies, he spent two years in the employ of the wholesale jewelry concern of A. Stowell & Company of Boston, Massachusetts. Then coming to Attleboro, Mr .Ryder entered the jewelry industry in the employ of Watson & Newell, where he was active for about two years. There- after he became identified with the firm of which he is now a leading executive, then owned solely by Walter E. Hayward. For five years he was employed by Mr. Hayward, then became a member of the firm, Charles C. Wilmarth also being re-

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ceived into the firm at the same time, the firm name then becoming the Walter E. Hayward Com- pany, an account of which will be found in the preceding sketch of Charles C. Wilmarth.

Mr. Ryder is also a director of the Frank Moss- berg Company, the Attleboro Chamber of Com- merce, the New England Jewelers' and Silversmiths' Association and the Manufacturing Jewelers' Board of Trade, of Providence, Rhode Island, also the Boston Jewelers' Club. In the general advance Mr. Ryder takes a deep interest, but holds a leading part in few organizations except those of a business nature. He is a director of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association, president and one of the founders of the North Purchase Cemetery, and in political affairs supports the Republican party, although never an aspirant for official honors. During the World War he was captain of the team that secured the largest amount in subscriptions to the Liberty Loan drives. Socially he is identified with the Pomham Club, of Rhode Island, and the Highland Country Club, of Attleboro. He is affiliated with the Universalist church.

Frank J. Ryder married, April 19, 1906, Gertrude M. Fales, of Norton, Massachusetts, daughter of William M. and Lydia M. (Chase) Fales, of Norton, Massachusetts, her father a mason by trade. Mr. and Mrs. Ryder are the parents of four children: Helen H., born June 11, 1912; Frank J., Jr., born July 5, 1917; Elizabeth F., born July 12, 1919; and Mary M., born February 7, 1921.

WALTER G. POWERS-The younger profes- sional group of the city of Taunton, Massachusetts, is bearing direct significance to the advance of the city and the welfare of the people, and in this group Walter G. Powers is taking a leading posi- tion as a member of the law firm of Regan & Powers, with offices in the Taylor building. Mr. Powers is a young man of progressive spirit, inter- ested in all that pertains to public advance. He is a son of Walter Powers, who was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, and was active as a mem- ber of the Taunton Police Force for a period of thirty-two years, continuing in this connection until his death, which occurred in 1912. The mother, Catherine (Croak) Powers, who was also born in Taunton, is still living.

Walter G. Powers was born in Taunton, Massa- chusetts, in 1895. Attending first the public schools of his birthplace, and later covering the high school course, he was graduated in the class of 1915. His choice of a profession was early made, and he entered Boston University Law School, from which he was graduated in the class of 1920 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Admitted to the bar before the close of the same year, Mr. Powers be- gan the practice of his profession in Boston, in association with the noted law firm of Spaulding- Baldwin & Shaw, and was active in that connection until February, 1921. At that time Mr. Powers returned to Taunton to enter into partnership with Raymond J. Regan, and under the firm name of Regan & Powers they have since carried forward

a prosperous and constantly-increasing practice. In the public life of the community he has borne a constructive part, and as a worker in the ranks of his party, his services and usefulness were recog- nized by his election to the City Council. He took up his duties in this body in 1920, under the ad- ministration of Mayor Coughlin, and his work in the deliberations of the Council was so effective and acceptable that his re-election returned him to this body in 1922, where he still serves. He is a member of the Bar Association of Taunton, and fraternally is a member of the Knights of Columbus, of which he is past grand knight; the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the United Com- mercial Travelers' Association. He is also a mem- ber of Boston University Alumni. His religious affiliation is with St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church.

JAMES EDWARD OSBORN-The year 1845 marked the arrival of James Monroe Osborn in Fall River, Massachusetts. He quickly secured a foot- hold in the business life of the town and became one of the important textile manufacturers of that section. He also gave to the' textile industry his capable son, James Edward Osborn, whose position in that industry is both important and influential. The family originally settled in Newport, Rhode Island, but later in Tiverton, that State, James M. Osborn being born there. The family is of English ancestry, several Osborns settling in New England- in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. This branch traces descent from Jeremiah Osborn, who settled in Newport, Rhode Island, and there taught school until his death in 1673, the record be- ing preserved by Samuel Hubbard, who wrote, No- vember 8, 1673: "This week two of Christ Church (called Mr. Vahan's) departed to wit: John Turner, and Jeremiah Osborn, Schoolmaster." In the early records the name was spelled Osbon. The line of descent from Jeremiah Osborn to James Edward Osborn of Fall River is thus traced: (I) Jeremiah Osborn, the ancestor; (II) Jeremiah (2); (III) William Osborn; (IV) William (2) Osborn; (V) Thomas Osborn; (VI) James Monroe Osborn; (VII) James Edward Osborn. James Monroe Os- born and his brother, Weaver, were the first of the family to locate in Fall River, Massachusetts, the former in 1845, his brother in 1855, they both being blacksmiths. They bought the shop of Gideon Packard, standing on the present site of the Fall River post office, and continued their smithy there until 1867, when they retired from that activity to give more time to the greater enterprises in which they had become interested. Weaver Osborn was a director of the original Pocasset Bank, was elected president of the Pocasset National Bank in 1873, and held that office many years. He represented his district in the State Senate and won a place in his community second to none.

James Monroe Osborn was born at Tiverton, Rhode Island, August 27, 1822, and died at his home in Fall River, Massachusetts, No. 540 Cherry street, May 13, 1898. He was seven years younger

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than his brother, Weaver, who was a blacksmith, and after school years were over he learned that trade under his brother. At the age of twenty he returned to the farm which had been his home during the first seventeen years of his life, but later worked at his trade in Providence. In 1845 he located at Fall River, where he was in the employ of John Kilburn and Kilburn & Lincoln until 1855. In that year the shop operated by Weaver Osborn at Tiverton, Rhode Island, was destroyed by fire and he then came to Fall River, where the Osborn brothers formed a partnership under the firm name of W. and J. M. Osborn, blacksmiths. In 1859 the partners helped to build the Union Mill, the fore- runner of several other cotton mills erected in Fall River. They became large owners in the Granite Mill and in 1867 became interested in the Merchants' Manufacturing Company, and with others built the Stafford Mill. They discontinued their. blacksmith shop in 1871 and that year James M. Osborn was elected a director and the first treasurer of the Slade Mill, and superintended the building of the mill. Osborn Brothers were also interested in founding the Osborn Mill and until 1880 they con- tinued their partnership, but their interests were almost identical.

James M. Osborn was for many years a director of the Globe Yarn Mills, and of the Merchants', Osborn and Stafford companies; president of the Globe and Merchants' companies, and a member of the board of investment of the Five Cent Savings Bank. He was a Whig in politics, later a Republi- can, was an alderman from 1856-58, and a council- man in 1866 and 1871. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Fall River, 1843-1846, then was dismissed to the Second Baptist Church, of which he was a deacon from 1884-1896. He was chairman of the standing committee of the church for many years and served the congregation well.

Mr. Osborn married, August 9, 1847, Mary B. Chace, born June 11, 1826, daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth (Buffington) Chace, of Somerset. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn were the parents of three children: Anna Elizabeth, who died in infancy; Nathan Chace, who died in early childhood; and James Edward, of further mention. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn are buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, she passing away in 1917 at the great age of ninety-two.

James Edward Osborn, of the seventh generation, only son of James Monroe and Mary B. (Chace) Osborn to survive childhood, was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, January 24, 1856. In 1859 the home at No. 540 Cherry street was built by James M. Osborn and there he lived until his death in 1898. James E. Osborn was educated in the public schools, finishing with graduation from high school in 1874. He then began his business career as office boy with the Merchants' Manufacturing Company, William H. Jennings then being treasurer. Four years with that company were followed by an association with B. F. Randall & Company, cot- ton brokers, then, in 1884, he bought the A. B. Sanford interest in the firm of Sanford & Covel, dealers in hardware and mill supplies. The firm

Covel & Osborn was later incorporated, Mr. Os- born being president until July, 1896, when he retired from active connection with the business.

In July, 1896, Mr. Osborn was elected treasurer of the American Linen Company of Fall River, succeeding Philip D. Borden, and in April, 1898, was elected to the same responsible position with the Merchants' Manufacturing Company, succeeding An- drew Borden, offices that he held until October, 1921, when he resigned the treasurership of the American Linen Company. He has acquired other weighty interests, however, and is now treasurer of the Merchants' Manufacturing Company, cotton cloth manufacturers; director of the Stevens' Manu- facturing Company; president of the Osborn Mills; director of the Granite Mills of Fall River; the Warren Manufacturing Company of Warren, Rhode Island; the Hill Manufacturing Company of Lewis- ton, Maine; the New Market Manufacturing Com- pany of New Market, New Hampshire; Fall River Electric Light Company; the B. M. C Durfee Fruit Company; First National Bank of Fall River; the Parker Mills of Fall River; the Apponaug Printing Company, of Boston; and President of the Fall River Cotton Manufacturers' Association.

Mr. Osborn is a trustee of the Citizens' Savings Bank and Home for Aged People, both well known Fall River institutions. He is a member of the Masonic order, affiliated with King Philip Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Fall River Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and Godfrey de Bouillon Commandery, Knights Templar. His clubs are the Quequechan, of which he is president; Fall River Country; Rhode Island Country and the Acoaxet. In church relation he is connected with Central Congregational Church of Fall River.

On October 12, 1880, Mr. Osborn married Delia S. Carr, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Dur- fee) Carr, of Fall River. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn are the parents of four children: 1. Marian, who mar- ried Joseph F. Sherer, president of the C. T. Sherer Company, department store merchants of Worcester, Massachusetts, and they have five children: Osborn, Jeanette, Helene, Joseph F., Jr., and Charles T. 2. Helen, who died in infancy. 3. Elizabeth Carr, who married Leeds Burchard, treasurer of the Covel & Osborn Company of Fall River, and they have a daughter, Hope, and a son, William Leeds Burchard. 4. Richard, a sketch of whom follows.

RICHARD OSBORN-For three-fourths of a century, a period of great growth and prosperity for Fall River, Massachusetts, the name Osborn has been closely identified with mill promotion and operation and with banking. This prominence began with Weaver and James Monroe Osborn; was continued in the next generation by James E. Osborn, son of James Monroe Osborn, who was active and prominent in the same lines as his father; was treasurer of the Ameri- can Linen Company and the Merchants' Manufactur- ing Company, and president of the Covel & Osborn Company, hardware and mill supplies. Richard Osborn, son and contemporary of James E. Osborn, and the present representative of the third generation in the

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manufacturing life of Fall River, is a graduate of Yale, A. B. 1914; is president of the Towne, Brayton & Osborn, Inc., cotton merchants, a firm organized in 1916. Mr. Osborn is the son of James E. and Delia S. (Carr) Osborn, grandson of James Monroe and Mary B. (Chace) Osborn, great-grandson of Thomas and Ann (Durfee) Osborn, and great-great-grandson of William and Elizabeth (Shrieve) Osband, as he spelled the name.

Manufacturing came into the family with Weaver and James Monroe Osborn, brothers, originally black- smiths, and their business relations are described at length in the preceding sketch of James Edward Osborn.

Richard Osborn, only son of James E. and Delia S. (Carr) Osborn (q.v.), was born at Fall River, Mas- sachusetts, July 22, 1891, and there attended the public schools. He prepared at the Westminster School, Simsbury, Connecticut, finishing with graduation in 1910, then entered Yale University, whence he was graduated in the class of 1914. He then entered Fall River's business circle and became assistant treasurer of the firm of Towne, Brayton & Osborn, Inc., organ- ized in January, 1916, Mr. Towne president, Edward Brayton treasurer. The firm are cotton merchants, located at No. 24 Bedford street, Fall River. Mr. Towne died in January, 1919, Mr. Osborn then succeed- ing to the presidency, an office he is capably filling. He was one of the incorporators of the Citizens' Sav- ings Bank, and is gaining high reputation as a business executive.

In 1917 Mr. Osborn attended Officers' Training Camp at Plattsburg and Fortress Monroe, but on account of sickness he was honorably discharged in September of that year. He had previously served (1915) as an ambulance driver in the Fifth Regional Red Cross service with the French Army, and assisted in the organization of a French hospital at Passy, Yonne, France, later known as Hospital No. 32, its capacity one hundred and twenty beds. He is a member of Deita Kappa Epsilon, Skull and Bones (Yale), Lions Club of Fall River, Fall River Country Club, Queque- chan Club, the Yale Club of Boston, and is an attendant of the Congregational church.

Mr. Osborn married, at Fall River, October 20, 1917, Eleanor Shove, of that city, daughter of Charles M. and Laura (Gross) Shove, and a descendant of Rev. George Shove, a son of Margery Shove, widow, who was admitted to the church at Boston in 1638. Rev. Shove married Hopestill Newman, daughter of Rev. Samuel Newman, a distinguished divine of Roxbury. Mrs. Osborn traces her descent from Rev. George and Hopestill (Newman) Shove through their son, Ed- ward Shove, and his wife, Lydia Witherall; their son, Theophilus Shove, for half a century a minister of the Society of Friends, and his wife, Philadelphia Os- born; their son, Clarke Shove, and his wife, Lydia Purinton; their son Clarke Shove, and his wife, Eliza- beth Slade; their son, Charles O. Shove, and his wife, Rachel E. Haines; their son, Charles M. Shove, and his second wife, Laura Gross; their daughter, Eleanor Shove, wife of Richard Osborn, of previous mention. Her father, Charles M. Shove, is a prominent manu- facturer and financier of Fall River, now president of the Massasoit-Pocasset National Bank.

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Osborn are the parents of a son, Richard Osborn, Jr., born September 20, 1918 and a daughter, Mary Shove, born June 25, 1920. The Osborn home is at No. 431 Rock street, Fall River, Massachusetts.

LEWIS MASON WITHERELL-As the head of one of the most progressive firms of Taunton, Massachusetts, the name of Mr. Witherell is well known, for, besides his business activities, he is prominently associated with many of the leading financial organizations as well as with the fraternal activities of the community.

Mr. Witherell was born in Berkley, Massachu- setts, on July 17, 1851, son of George Lewis and Lucy Mason (Thrasher) Witherell, and received his education in the town school of Berkley, the high school of Taunton, and the Bristol Academy. After learning the trade of carpenter with Z. Sher- man, he became associated and formed a partnership with Mr. Barnaby, under the firm name of Barnaby & Witherell, conducting a general contracting and building business. Mr. Barnaby had formerly been associated with a Mr. Pinkerton, under the firm name of Pinkerton & Barnaby, but after the death of Mr. Pinkerton, Mr. Barnaby ran it alone for a few years, and in 1881 took in as a partner Mr. Witherell, Sr. In 1883, when Mr. Barnaby died, Mr. Witherell bought out the heirs' interests in the business, and continued the same under his own name until 1911, when he admitted his two sons into the business and the firm name was changed to L. M. Witherell & Sons. The business is located at No. 29 Court street, and employs upwards of eighty people.

Mr. Witherell has always lived up to high ideals in his dealings with his fellow-men, both in personal and business ways. To his credit as contractor and builder are standing some of the best residences and manufacturing plants, as well as educational build- ings, in Taunton and its vicinity. Some of these are: The residences of Walter C. Baylies, Esq., Mrs. Charles T. Newbury, and Miss Harriet New bury, also the residence of Mrs. George T. Harts- horn, of which he also made the plans, the Crocker building, Wilbur building, H. L. Davis Company building, Young Men's Christian Association build- ing, Winthrop Club House, and the dining-hall, the Lucy Larcum dormitory and the chapel at Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts.

Mr. Witherell has always been interested in Taunton's welfare, having served on many commit- tees, and has been one of Taunton's delegates to the Atlantic Deeper Waterways Convention for sev- eral years. He is a member of the Corporation of Bristol County Savings Bank; director of Taunton Morris Plan Bank; and of the Taunton Co-Opera- tive Bank. Fraternally he is a member and past master of Ionic Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; member and past high priest of St. Mark's Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Taunton Council, Royal and Select Masters; St. John's Commandery, Knights Templar; Boston Consistory, in which he holds the thirty-second degree, Ancient Accepted Scottish

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Rite; and he is past patron of the Rose Croix Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star. He is also a member of Palestine Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; of the Old Colony Historical Society; and of the Taunton Auto, Win- throp, Rotary and Yacht clubs, in the latter of which he is past commodore. In his religious affili- ation he was brought up from his boyhood to at- tend the Methodist church.

Lewis Mason Witherell married, in Taunton, Massachusetts, on May 5, 1878, Josephine Seaman, daughter of Noble and Mary (Snow) Seaman. Mr. and Mrs. Witherell are the parents of four chil- dren: Lucy Josephine, born August 28, 1880, now Mrs. Myron Hill; Lewis Mason, Jr., a sketch of whom follows; Robert Carlton, a sketch of whom appears on the same page; and Florence Gertrude, born October 3, 1891, now Mrs. Charles R. Wil- liams.

LEWIS MASON WITHERELL, Jr., since 1911, has been one of the junior members of the firm of L. M. Witherell & Sons, his father being the head of the firm, and his brother the other member.

Lewis M. Witherell, Jr., was born at Taunton, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1886, son of Lewis M. and Josephine (Seaman) Witherell, the latter a na- tive of Pugwash, Nova Scotia, his father, a con- tractor and builder, a native of Berkley, Massa- chusetts. The son was educated in the public schools and high school of his native town, being graduated from the latter with the class of 1905. His further studies were conducted under the auspices of the Young Men's Christian Association, of Boston, where he took extension courses in plan reading and estimating. He early joined his father in his business, learning the building trade, and in 1911 was admitted to the firm. (For history of concern see preceding sketch of Lewis M. With- erell, Sr.).

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A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 3, Part 19

Author: Hutt, Frank Walcott, 1869- editor Publication date: 1924 Publisher: New York, Chicago, Lewis historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 528

Author: Hutt, Frank Walcott, 1869- editor
Publication date: 1924
Publisher: New York, Chicago, Lewis historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 528