USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 3 > Part 28
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Mr. Kerkhoff supports the Republican party in political affairs, is a member of the Attleboro Cham- ber of Commerce, and the Manufacturing Jewelers' Board of Trade, of Providence, Rhode Island, also various other organizations of a business nature. During the World War, Mr. Kerkhoff was one of the "four minute" speakers, also a member of the War Chest Committee, and was identified with Lib- erty Loan drives and Red Cross work. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Ezekiel Bates Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Orient Lodge, No. 165, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past grand and district deputy; and the G. M. Horton Encampment. He is a communicant of the Episcopal church.
Mr. Kerkhoff married, in 1893, Etta L. Reed, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the parents of four children: Two sons, Leon Chester and Joseph Francis, who died at an early age; Edith, a graduate of Tufts Medical School, now a prac- ticing physician in Attleboro, Massachusetts; Bes- sie Ellen, a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, at Boston, Massachusetts.
REV. CHARLES WILFRED CULLEN -- In the religious advance of the city of Taunton, Massa- chusetts, Rev. Charles Wilfred Cullen holds a lead- ing place, and in his devoted care of the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family he is contrib- uting in a large degree to the upbuilding and pro- gress of the city and its people. He has for nearly twenty-four years been rector of this church, and he has seen children whom he has baptized grow to useful manhood and womanhood and take their stand in the march of progress with courage for the battle of life and with faith in God.
Father Cullen is a native of Canada, and a son of Charles Cullen, who was born in England, and came to New Brunswick as a young man, later re- siding in the Province of Quebec. Charles Cul- len's business activities on this side of the Atlantic began in mercantile lines in Dalhousee, New Bruns- wick, in the forties, and from that time forward, for nearly forty years, he conducted stores both there and in Carleton, Province of Quebec. At the great age of ninety years he took a trip to England, and died shortly after his return to this country. Charles Cullen married Esther Meagher La Billois, youngest daughter of Dr. Charles M. La Billois, one of the founders of the Tracadie Hospital for
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Incurables in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada.
Charles Wilfred Cullen was born in Carleton, Province of Quebec, Canada, July 9, 1864. His edu- cation was begun in the Carleton Grammar School, and later attending the Seminary of Rimouski, in the Province of Quebec, he there covered a course in theology and philosophy, and was ordained to the holy priesthood by the Archbishop of Leonto- polis, January 29, 1888. Father Cullen's first ap- pointment was as assistant in Westerly, Rhode Island, then, after a few years of service there, he was appointed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, also in the capacity of assistant. In September, 1900, he was made first rector of the Church of the Holy Family of Taunton, Massachusetts, a newly established parish, and a long period of service has given him a lofty position in the es- teem of the people generally, while in his own congregation he is regarded as indeed a father of his flock. Not only in his pulpit utterances, but in his daily teaching and admonition of the people, Father Cullen upholds the principles and ideals for which the church has always stood. A spiritual teacher and leader, Father Cullen takes a deep interest also in the material welfare of his people and he is looked up to among them with the sin- cerest reverence and affection. In the many or- ganizations of the church, both for young and old, Father Cullen feels the deepest solicitude for the progress of their members, and his teachings and leadership are eminently inspiring. Among his con- temporaries in other religious organizations he is universally respected, and his championship of every worthy cause counts in a marked degree for the local welfare. The beautiful buildings and grounds of the Holy Family Parish, all the buildings erected by him, have been greatly improved under Father Cullen's oversight and this is considered one of the finest church properties in Bristol county, Massa- chusetts.
The great task, when he first took possession of the newly-formed parish, was to find a proper site for buildings; he had an eye on the Fairbanks' es- tate, but there was lots of opposition, and finally, through Ira Bosworth, a non-Catholic, and George A. King, also a non-Catholic, he got the desirable site, in the very center of the parish, one of the finest in the eastern part of the city. The rectory was first built, the old chapel-church on Liberty street being used for services, and finally, in 1908, the so-called beautiful church edifice on Middleboro avenue was erected, the architect being Charles M. McGennis, of Washington fame, and the contractor, the late Charles B. Maguire. Red brick, with gray brick trimmings, give the church a tone all its own. The interior, decorated by Arnold Lock, of Brook- lyn, is unique in its kind, simple but inspiring. The entire property is out of debt, and we understand plans are ripe for a large hall to be built in near future, for parish purposes, facing the magnificent school built by the city, at a cost of over $200,000, the best in the city, after the Taunton High School.
WILLIAM HENRY BLY-As a successful busi- ness man and an able and conscientious public official, William Henry Bly is well known in New Bedford and Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Mr. Bly is of old Colonial ancestry. His great-great-grandfather, John Bly, of Middleboro, Massachusetts, was born No- vember 12, 1759. He served several enlistments during the Revolutionary War; was corporal in Captain Abiel Pearce's second company, April 19, 1775; private in Captain Amos Washburn's company, December 8, 1776; private in Captain Edward S. Sparrow's company, Colonel Nathan Tyler's regiment, from July 11, 1779, for a period of five months and twenty-two days. . His great-grandfather, Isaac Bly, served on the "Essex" under Captain Porter in the War of 1812. He enlisted at Valparaiso, Chile, where he had landed from a "whaler" from New Bedford, on March 23, 1813. After cruising in the Pacific for more than a year the "Essex" was captured by the British, and Captain Porter and his officers and men who survived were re- turned to New York. His grandfather, William Bly, was born in New Bedford on October 10, 1818, and was one of the "forty-niners" who went to California in the rush for gold. He died in Sacramento, Cali- fornia, from fever, soon after his arrival.
William Henry Bly, son of Edward Everett and Henrietta Davis (Washburn) Bly, was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania, on August 3, 1877, his father and mother having come out from New Bedford in 1867 on the discovery of oil. At the age of five, his parents returned to New Bedford, and in the public schools of that city he received a careful, practical education. Graduating from the high school in 1896, he associated himself with the firm of John A. Wood & Company, wholesale dealers in provisions and produce. He maintained that connection, serving as salesman and collector for fifteen years. In 1911 he decided to make a change, and engaged in the insur- ance and real estate business, associating himself with George A. York & Company, of New Bedford. He was successful in that field of activity and became well known as a keen appraiser of real estate values. In 1912 he removed to Fairhaven. In 1917 he was elected to the Board of Assessors of Fairhaven, and was re- elected in 1920. In 1921 he was elected town clerk and treasurer of Fairhaven, which position he now holds.
Mr. Bly is well known in Masonic circles, being a member of George H. Taber Lodge, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, of Fairhaven, which body he served as Worshipful Master, his term expiring in 1925; of Fairhaven Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Fall River Lodge of Perfection, Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rites; of Samuel C. Lawrence Council, Princes of Jerusalem; St. Andrew's Chapter, Rose Croix; Massachusetts Consistory; Aleppo Temple, An- cient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and Past Patron of Gifford Chapter, No. 105, Order of the Eastern Star. He is treasurer of the Fairhaven Ma- sonic Club, a member of the Brooks Club, of New Bedford, and of the Leighton Club, of Fairhaven.
Mr. Bly is a communicant of Grace Episcopal Church, of New Bedford, and was a member of the choir for a period of twenty-one years. He has taken an active interest in the Church of the Good Shepherd,
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an Episcopal Mission in the northern part of Fair- haven, is now serving as superintendent of the Sunday school, and is licensed as a lay reader in the church.
William Henry Bly was married, on October 25, 1906, at New Bedford, Massachusetts, to Ida Maleen Hale, a daughter of Dr. George C. and Martha (Har- graves) Hale, and they have one daughter, Eleanor Hale Bly, who was born May 25, 1909.
CHARLES MASON HOLMES, organizer, treas- urer and agent of the Holmes Manufacturing Com- pany, is one of the men who contributed to that era of New Bedford's industry in which New Bedford won first place among the cotton manufacturing cities of the United States. Mr. Holmes's achievement was un- usual in several particulars. The manufacture of cloths and yarns was a well established industry at the time he built his mills, but there had been no local development of the mercerizing and dyeing of the yarns produced, these processes having been left to out- side plants. Mr. Holmes undertook to add these processes to that of the manufacture of fine combed yarns, and within a short time secured an identity through the trade-marking of his goods which gave the Holmes product a reputation and enviable name throughout the country.
The Holmes Mill made handsome earnings from the start, which was an unusual thing at this period, be- cause, while the building of the mill was started when the cotton industry was on the top of the wave, a de- pression intervened in the interval between the com- mencement and completion of the mill, and many of the new enterprises which were inspired by the earlier prosperity which led to the multiplication of new en- terprises, were put to their shifts to finance them over the lean years which followed.
It is therefore
personal tribute to Mr. Holmes's perception and sagacity. exceptional training and experience, and busi- ness ability, that he produced a special type of yarns which appealed to buyers in a market surfeited with conventional product. So it happened that whereas some other of the new mill enterprises were compelled to run at a loss until business revived, the Holmes Mill earned dividends throughout these unpropitious times.
Mr. Holmes came of a race of cotton manufacturers, and his experience was wide and thorough. His career brings credit to New Bedford, inasmuch as most of his earlier training was in the mills of New Bedford .. Mr. Holmes was born in Providence, March 23, 1864, the son of Denison Baldwin and Catherine Elizabeth (Whitman) Holmes. His great-grandfather, Olney Angel, of Centerdale, Rhode Island, built and operated the old Graystone mill, which was the second cotton mill in the United States. His maternal grandfather, William Whitman, of Centerdale, was also a cotton manufacturer. His uncle, Gilbert P. Whitman, built the Armory mills of Manchester New Hampshire; and another uncle, John Kilburn, of Lowell, was also identi- fied with the manufacture of cotton.
Denison B. Holmes, father of Charles M. Holmes, was the only child of Daniel B. Holmes, a soldier in the War of 1812, whose source of livelihood was farm- ing. He was born in North Stonington, Connecticut, June 9, 1815, and died at Manchester, New Hampshire,
March 14, 1889. He was an engineer, steam and me- chanical, and at one time superintendent of the me- chanical department of the Old Colony railroad, with headquarters at Fall River. He was connected with the Corliss Steam Engine Company, of Providence, and employed by other large companies as consulting engineer. He retired from business six years before his death. He married Catherine Elizabeth Whitman, daughter of William Whitman, of Centerdale, a cot- ton manufacturer. She was born at Centerdale, July 15, 1826, and died at Lowell, March 28, 1902. Denison B. Holmes was a member of the Congregational church, and was a Republican in politics. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Denison B. Holmes were Charles Mason, subject of this review; and Annie Whitman, born March 8, 1869, who married Elmer D. Robinson, of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
After leaving the high school at Rockport, Massa- chusetts, where he attended the public schools, Charles M. Holmes began a textile career at the Potom- ska Mills in New Bedford, where he remained three and one-half years. Then he went to the Lawrence Manufacturing Company of Lowell, of which his uncle, John Kilburn, was agent, and spent three years in the machine shop, eighteen months in the draughting room, and a year as assistant overseer in the carding room. From Lowell he went to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he was assistant overseer in the carding room of the Jefferson Mill, a part of the great plant of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. He remained three and one-half years in Manchester, when he went to Clinton, Massachusetts, as overseer of the carding room of the Lancaster Mill, holding that position for three years. Then Mr. Holmes returned to New Bedford to take a position as overseer of carding in Mills Nos. 1, 2 and 3 of the Wamsutta plant. After two years in this position he was appointed superintendent of the Wamsutta Mills, a position he held for eighteen months. From the Wamsutta Mills, Mr. Holmes went to the Manchaug Mills at Manchaug, Massachusetts, as super- intendent, then to the Natick Mills at Natick, Rhode Island, in a similar position, both mills being owned and controlled by B. B. and R. Knight. Mr. Holmes was in the employ of the Knights for four and one- half years.
And then, in 1903, at the age of thirty-nine, after this long and successful experience on the manufactur- ing side, Mr. Holmes commenced his career as a man- ager of great enterprises. He came to New Bedford as agent of the first Manomet Mill, having the respon- sibility for the building and equipping of that plant. A second mill was added, and Mr. Holmes acted as agent for both until May, 1909. Mr. Holmes in the latter year organized the Holmes Manufacturing Company, with a capital of $1,200,000. The mill was built on Clark's Point, on the river front, for the manufacture of fine combed yarns, gassed, mercerized, bleached and dyed. The mill employs twelve hundred hands. Mr. Holmes is agent and treasurer of the mill, and it has paid handsome dividends from the beginning, paying in 1916 the highest dividend rate of any cotton manu- facturing corporation in New Bedford, with one ex- ception. Mr. Holmes' success with this enterprise was so striking that when the Gosnold Mills passed into the hands of Boston capitalists in 1916, Mr. Holmes
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was asked to become treasurer and agent of that com- pany, capitalized at $1,650,000 and operating two mills engaged in manufacturing fine cotton goods, plain and fancies, jacquards, silk and cotton mixtures.
As the guiding genius of these enterprises, Mr. Holmes might seem to be well occupied, but he has found opportunity to take active part in various public- spirited activities, such as the reorganization of the Board of Commerce, and many of the fund-raising movements for promoting the comfort and welfare of the young men in the army. Mr. Holmes is a director of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company of Springfield, the Manufacturers' Mutual Fire Insur- ance Company, of Providence, director of the First Na- tional Bank of New Bedford, trustee of the New Bedford Institution for Savings, director of the Mor- ris Plan Bank, trustee and member of the executive committee of the New Bedford Textile School, trustee of Friends' Academy, trustee of the Free Public Li- brary, director of the Board of Commerce, member of Washington Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Manchester, New Hampshire; the Royal Arch Masons, of Phoenix, Rhode Island; Sutton Commandery, Knights Templar, of New Bedford; Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Boston. His clubs are the Wamsutta and Country Club, of New Bedford; the Country Club of Rock- port, Massachusetts; the Textile Club and the South- ern New England Club. He is a member of the Na- tional Manufacturers' Association, and a vestryman of the Grace Episcopal Church of New Bedford. Mr. Holmes is a Republican in politics.
Mr. Holmes married, June 30, 1891, Alice Parker, daughter of the late Frederick and Augusta (Tripp) Parker. They have three sons: 1. Harold Denison, born December 12, 1893; two years in New Bedford High School, graduate of Phillips-Exeter Academy, Harvard University, Bachelor of Arts, class of 1916; assistant superintendent of the Holmes Mill; now sec- ond lieutenant United States Regulars, Bureau of Ord- nance, stationed in Washington, D. C. 2. Charles Par- ker, born January 16, 1899; graduate of Friends' Academy, New Bedford, and Phillips-Exeter Academy ; now a student at Harvard University, class of 1918. 3. Standish Whitman, born April 11, 1906, now attend- ing Friends' Academy.
EDWARD REVERE HATHAWAY-Hathaway is a name which for nearly three centuries has been well known in the town of Dartmouth, a sec- tion now covered by the towns of Dartmouth, West- port, New Bedford and Fairhaven. The name was brought to Dartmouth by Arthur Hathaway, who was a man of importance in the town, the ancestor of a numerous family, of which Edward Revere Hathaway, ex-mayor of New Bedford, is a twen- tieth-century representative. Arthur Hathaway, who married, in 1652, Sarah Cook, daughter of John and Sarah (Warren) Cook, and granddaughter of Richard Warren, of the "Mayflower," had three sons, John, Thomas and Jonathan, all of whom owned farms along the Acushnet river, John's be- ing at what is now Belleville Wharf. These sons founded families, were interested in shipping, and
many of the name have owned and commanded ships engaged in whaling 'and coasting. Many of the name have, like their early ancestors, taken active part in public affairs, and held various city, town and county offices. Through inter-marriage the Hathaways are connected with many of the old families of Dartmouth, Edward R. Hathaway's grandmother being a Slocum, his mother a Lind- say. He is a grandson of John B. Hathaway, a one-time sheriff of Bristol county, who was born, lived and died in New Bedford. He married Han- nah Slocum, and had sons: Franklyn L., of further mention; Albert, now retired, formerly superintend- ent of the Wamsutta Mill, Suffolk of Lowell, Mas- sachusetts, connected with the Lowell Textile School and with the Whittenton Mill in Taunton.
Franklyn L. Hathaway is now a keeper at the Bristol County House of Correction. He married Ella G. Lindsay, daughter of Revere G. and Eliza Lindsay, of Maine, later of New Bedford, and had sons: Edward Revere, of further mention; Frank- lyn L. (2), overseer in the Manomet Mill; and Henry L., a tobacco merchant.
Edward Revere Hathaway, son of Franklyn L. and Ella G. (Lindsay) Hathaway, was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, January 29, 1874, and was educated in the grade and high schools of his native city. He began his business career with the shoe manufacturing corporation, Hathaway, Soule & Har- rington, Inc., a business founded by Savoy C. Hathaway in 1865. For eight years, 1894-1902, he was associated with that company, then in 1902 he began a connection with the retail clothing business which yet continues, he being head of the Hatha- way Clothing Company, on Purchase street. He is a man of strong character, clear-headed and broad-minded, a successful merchant, an upright, public spirited citizen, a true friend and a good neighbor.
A Republican in politics and always interested in public affairs, Mr. Hathaway has been prominently in the public eye for several years. He is one of the two men who in twenty-two campaigns have successfully opposed Charles S. Ashley for mayor of New Bedford, Walter Clifford winning over Mr. Ashley in 1888-89. Mr. Hathaway, his opponent, in 1913-14-15-16, losing in 1913, his vote of 4,506, Ashley's 5,822. In 1914 he won the verdict of the polls, 5,632, against Ashley's 5,488. In 1915 Mr. Hathaway again was the victor, 6,701 against 6,253, but in 1916 Mr. Ashley came back with 7,825 against 5,742. Mayor Hathaway gave the city good administrations and left the chair high in the re- gard of his fellowmen. He was an active member of the school committee for three years, and for five terms, 1909 to 1913, represented a New Bedford district in the Massachusetts Legislature. His years of public service have been years of honor- able effort to serve his constituency well, and in all things he has proved an efficient, upright official. He is fond of sports of the open, particularly yacht- ing and fishing. He is an active member of the New Bedford Board of Trade, belongs to the Mer-
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chants, New Bedford Yacht, Wamsutta, The May- or's of Massachusetts, and Dartmouth clubs. He is a member of New Bedford Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Sippican Tribe, Im- proved Order of Red Men; New Bedford Lodge, Loyal Order of Moose; and New Bedford Aerie, Fraternal Order of Eagles. In religious faith he is an Episcopalian, belonging to Grace Church.
Mr. Hathaway married, in New Bedford, March 16, 1897, Luella Kingsley, born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, daughter of Nelson Kingsley, a Civil War veteran, contractor and builder. Mr. and Mrs. Hathaway are the parents of a son, Edward Wil- cox, born in New Bedford, August 12, 1903, now a student in high school.
ALFRED GARFIELD GREANY, a prominent business man of Bristol county as senior member of the well known contracting firm of Greany & Sherry, was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, on February 26, 1887, a son of Thomas and Mary A. Greany, respected residents of that place. For many years the senior Mr. Greany was engaged in Fall River and its environs as a general contractor, and under the influences and in the atmosphere of build- ing operations was the young Alfred Garfield Greany reared.
Alfred Garfield Greany's early education was ac- quired in the public schools of his birthplace, fol- lowing which he entered the Fall River High School, where he remained for three years, leaving to take a course in the business school. Upon the completion of his education in 1912, he immedi- ately engaged in the general contracting business, following this line of endeavor until the year 1917, when the World War claimed his interest and at- tention. He enlisted on September 5, 1917, in Com- pany C, 302nd Infantry, 76th Division, and with this division went overseas and became an integral part of the American Expeditionary Forces. Mr. Greany was appointed an instructor of the Third Corps School, at Clamecy, France, and in this ca- pacity served for a period of eight months. He re- mained in military service until August 7, 1919, when he was honorably discharged. Mr. Greany at once returned to Fall River, and resumed his neglected profession. During the year 1920 he formed a partnership with a Mr. Sherry, which as- sociation has been successful from its very be- ginning. Today the general contracting firm of Greany & Sherry is one of the firmly established and popular concerns of its kind in Bristol county. Headquarters of the firm are located at No. 57 North Main street, Fall River, Massachusetts. Fra- ternally he is an interested and active member of Lodge No. 118, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His religious affiliation is with the Catho- lic church.
Alfred Garfield Greany was married, on May 26, 1921, at Fall River, Massachusetts, to Mary E. Walkden, a daughter of Pensacola and Rebecca Walkden. Mr. and Mrs. Alfred G. Greany are active members of Fall River society.
RUFUS ALBERTSON SOULE, the son of Thomas Howard and Margaret Albertson (Dun- ham) Soule was born in Mattapoisett, Massachu- setts, March 16, 1839, and died in New Bedford, Massachusetts, January 9, 1913. He was a direct descendant of George Soule, a "Mayflower" pas- senger and signer of the Immortal Compact. On his mother's side he was a descendant of John Dunham, the founder of the Dunham family in America.
His father, Thomas H. Soule, was long identified with the business and civic life of New Bedford. Although born in Enfield, Massachusetts, his home was in Duxbury, where he learned the trade of ship-building. He came to New Bedford in 1841, and in 1856 founded the firm of Edwards & Soule, shipbuilders, continuing actively in this business until his retirement in 1872. Mr. Soule took a deep interest in public affairs. He was a member of the Republican party from its formation. He was one of the first Republicans to be elected to the Legislature from New Bedford, serving in 1857-58, and supported Charles Sumner for United States Senator. He was a member of the Common Council of New Bedford, and took an active part in the establishment of the Free Public Library. He was also active in and long identified with the Old Fire Department. He died in 1900, at the age of ninety, a man beloved and respected by all who knew him.
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