USA > Massachusetts > Biographical history of Massachussetts; biographies and autobiographies of the leading men in the state, 1911, vol 1 > Part 10
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From this time he ranked as one of the big manufacturers of Worcester County as well as of the State. In 1890 he purchased the plant at Rochdale, Massachusetts, the village which singularly enough bore the name of his own birthplace across the water. This plant he continued to operate until his death in 1905.
During the last eight years of his life he was a sufferer from rheu- matism, but he never wholly disassociated himself from business. Even in the last few years of his life his mind was alert and his will as vigorous as ever, and he kept a close eye upon affairs.
Mr. Howarth was a man of irreproachable character in all the relations of life. He was high minded, generous and public spirited. He took liberal views of public affairs, and was in his relations to the community and the State the embodiment of the highest ideals of civic duty. Mr. Howarth enjoyed the respect and confidence of all who knew him. Few men enjoyed in a larger measure the love and respect of his children.
Mr. Howarth was married September 26, 1846, to Martha Moor- croft and had one son, Francis A., born in 1849, at Richmond, Vir- ginia. After his graduation from Brown University, Francis A. Howarth associated himself with his father. One grandson, Andrew P. Howarth, and two great great-grandsons, Andrew John Howarth and Francis George Howarth, added much to the joy of Mr. Howarth's last years.
His domestic life was as pure, as even and as useful as his public life. His home was attractive, and in the company of his family he was entirely happy.
JOSEPH JEFFERSON
J OSEPH JEFFERSON, son, grandson and great-grandson of actors, dean of the American stage, his service extending over seventy-five years, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 20, 1829. The father, Joseph Jefferson (1804-1842), was a great actor, especially in the rôles of old men. He was as well a manager, scene painter, stage carpenter, in fact proficient in every- thing connected with the stage. As a boy he preferred the busi- ness of architect and draftsman and received instruction in these branches as well as in painting. He made his first appearance, in 1814, at the Chestnut Street Theater in Philadelphia. His son, in 1905, said of him, "His marked characteristics were simplicity and honesty." He was married in 1826 to Cornelia Frances (Thomas) Burke, an actress, daughter of M. Thomas, a French refugee from the island of Santo Domingo, and widow of Thomas Burke, the actor. She was a popular comic actress and vocalist, and their two children, Joseph Jefferson and Cornelia Jefferson (1835-1899), adopted the profession of the stage. Joseph Jefferson's grandfather, Joseph Jefferson (1774-1832), was born in Plymouth, England; son of Thomas Jefferson, a successful actor, connected with Drury Lane Theater, London, England, where he played with David Garrick. He was proprietor and manager of the theater at Plymouth, England, where his son Joseph made his first appearance on the stage. He came to America under contract with Charles Stewart Powell, who had gone to England to procure actors for the Federal Street Theater in Bos- ton. Through bankruptcy proceedings the Federal Street Theater was closed before the arrival of Mr. Jefferson in Boston, and he made his first appearance in America at the John Street Theater in New York City, February 10, 1765, as Squire Richard in "The Provoked Husband." He married Euphena Fortune, daughter of a Scotch merchant of New York City, and she adopted the profession of her husband and made her first appearance on any stage at the Park Theater, New York City, December 22, 1800, and from there she
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JOSEPH JEFFERSON
appeared with her husband in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Washing- ton, District of Columbia, and Richmond, Virginia. He was pro- nounced by competent critics, themselves professionals, "the funniest comedian of the age in which he lived."
Joseph Jefferson, the third noted actor of the name and the fourth generation of actors in the Jefferson family in America, had delicate health as a child and showed an early inclination to paint and to act. He had no home life, his waking hours being spent mostly be- hind the scenes of a theater. He had, however, the tender care of a devoted mother who had a potent influence over his intellectual, moral and spiritual life. He never attended school, but was in- structed by his mother and other interested professional friends, who willingly answered his questions in his process of self instruction. His active life began as a property baby; when three years old he was "Hercules Strangling a Lion" in a living statue scene. At four years "Jim Crow" (Thomas B. Rice) emptied him out of a bag, dressed as a negro dancer, and he imitated Rice in his various antics. When eight years old he was a "pirate" to another lad "sailor " in a sword combat. In 1838 the Jefferson family took charge of a thea- ter in Chicago, Illinois, and this proving unprofitable, they became strolling players, Joseph and his father painting signs and decorating the ceilings of theaters and private residences to help out the support of the family when they had no audiences. They followed the United States Army into Texas and Mexico, 1846-47, and in 1848 returned to Philadelphia, where he played low comedy parts. He was married May 19, 1850, to Margaret Clements Lockyer, an actress under engagement at the Chatham Theater, New York City. He played Marrall to the elder Booth's Sir Giles Overreach in "A New Way to Pay Old Debts," in 1851, having in 1849-50 been a stock actor at Chanfrau's New National Theater, New York City. He was actor and stage manager in different cities in the South and secured for his theater such talent as Agnes Roertson, Dion Boucicault, Edwin Forrest, Edwin Adams and other notable actors of the time and also produced novel stage effects and show-pieces. He was in Europe, 1856, playing in London and Paris, and opened at Laura Keene's Theater, New York City in September, 1857, as leading comedian, making his first appearance as Dr. Pangloss in "The Heir at Law," when he was severely criticised for interpolation which he excused on the ground of its being "good art." From October 18, 1858, he
JOSEPH JEFFERSON
played one hundred and forty consecutive nights as Asa Trenchard in "Our American Cousin." This play he owned and in this part made his first bow to the public as a star, when twenty-nine years old. He acted the part of Caleb Plummer in "Cricket on the Hearth" under the engagement with Dion Boucicault in 1859, and the same year was one of the principals in "The Octoroon." In 1860 he appeared in California in "Our American Cousin," and in the East in his own version of "Oliver Twist," taking the title rôle. His wife died in March, 1861, and he left his native land for Australia, where he starred, 1861-65, as Asa Trenchard and Caleb Plummer; as Rip in an old version of Rip Van Winkle and as Bob Brierly in "The Ticket of Leave Man" where his audience included over one hundred actual ticket of leave men. On reaching England in 1865 he revised "Rip Van Winkle" in collaboration with Dion Boucicault, Jefferson working over much of the piece and entirely rewriting the third act in accordance with his own conception of the legend as narrated by Irving. Boucicault was responsible for the ending of the first act and of the recognition of Rip by his daughter in the third act, bor- rowed from Shakespeare's "King Lear." The revised play was presented to a London audience at the Adelphi Theater, September 4, 1865, and it was an immediate success, running one hundred and seventy nights.
On August 31, 1866, be brought the play back to its home at the Olympic Theater, New York City, where it was most heartily wel- comed. After enjoying a long run East it was taken to Chicago August 31, 1867, where at McVicker's Theater he had a profitable four weeks' run when it was withdrawn to make room for "The Rivals" with Jefferson as Bob Acres.
Mr. Jefferson was married secondly on December 20, 1867, to Sarah Isabel, daughter of Henry and Sarah (de Shields) Warren, and in 1869, with the proceeds from his successful starring tours, he se- cured an estate near Tarrytown, on the Hudson River, not far from Sunnyside, the home of Washington Irving, who had been dead only ten years, and also a farm at Hohokus, New Jersey, and a plantation on Bayou Teche, an island west of New Iberia, Louisiana, where his fondness for hunting and fishing could be fully satisfied. He was in New York from August 15, 1869, to December, 1870, producing at Booth's Theater, "Rip Van Winkle," which was witnessed by over one hundred and fifty thousand persons from all parts of the
JOSEPH JEFFERSON
world. He acted only a part of each season, spending his summer vacations at his farm in New Jersey and his winters in Louisiana. Later in life he made his summer home at Buzzard's Bay, Massa- chusetts, where President Cleveland became a neighbor and com- panion in fishing and in social enjoyments. His avocation for many years had been painting in oils, and when he retired from the stage in 1904 he continued to indulge in his favorite pastime. The products of his brush were highly prized by his friends, fortunate enough to be favored with a landscape from his easel. In 1900 he placed on exhi- bition at Fischer's studio in Washington a considerable number of his paintings, and his friends made the occasion one of the social events of the Washington season. Of the eleven children born of his two marriages seven were living in 1905, as were also fourteen of his grandchildren. Mr. Jefferson's characters in the order of their popularity probably stood: Rip Van Winkle, Bob Acres, Caleb Plum- mer, Dr. Pangloss, Asa Trenchard, Dr. Olapod, Bob Brierly, New- man Noggs, Jack Rockford, Goldfinch. He wrote his autobiography for the Century Magazine in 1889-90, and it was issued in book form in 1891: He also wrote "Reply to Ignatius Donnelly on the Shakes- peare-Bacon Arguments," and contributed articles on the stage to magazines. He received the honorary degree of M.A. from Yale University in 1892 and from Harvard University in 1895. He was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and belonged to no policital party, but voted for "the man and the issue." He was a member of the Society of Psychical Research, and his recreations were chiefly gardening, fishing and playing with his grandchildren who made their home with him at Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts. To young men he says: "Industry and earnestness have helped me."
ANDREW JACKSON JENNINGS
A NDREW JACKSON JENNINGS, lawyer, legislator, cotton- mill director, was born in Fall River, Bristol County, Massa- chusetts, August 2, 1849. His father, Andrew M. Jennings (1808-1882), was a son of Isaac and Susan (Cole) Jennings and a descendant from John Jennings of Plymouth Colony. Andrew M. Jennings was a machinist noted for his industry, firmness and honesty. He served as foreman in the machine-shops of Hawes, Marvel & Davol for about thirty-five years. His family consisted of eight children, four of whom died in infancy, and his eldest son, Thomas J. Jennings in 1872, leaving Andrew J., George F., and Anne P. (Mrs. J. Densmore Brown), of Milford, Connecticut, with his widow to survive him.
Andrew Jackson Jennings attended the public school, his school attendance being liberally interspersed with hard work, his boy- hood tasks giving him health, strength and an experience in accomplishing things by facing and overcoming obstacles. His mother greatly influenced his moral and spiritual life. He was prepared for college in the classical school of Mowry & Goff, in Provi- dence, Rhode Island, and graduated in 1868, matriculating the same year at Brown University where he graduated with special honors in 1872. While at college he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, and was prominent in the athletic field, being captain of the class and of the university nine. While attending college he taught night school two winters. He pursued a course in law at Boston University after having taught the high school at Warren, Rhode Island, from September, 1872, to July, 1874; was a student of law in the office of James M. Morton, of Fall River, during the fall of 1874 and graduated at Boston University School of Law in 1876. His adopting the law as a profession was entirely from personal preference.
He began the practice of law in Fall River in partnership with his preceptor, Hon. James M. Morton, and this partnership con-
Andrei& Sannings.
ANDREW JACKSON JENNINGS
tinued up to 1890, when Mr. Morton went upon the bench, and he then formed a partnership with John S. Brayton, Jr., as Jennings & Brayton. His position at the bar was one of marked prominence " as an able, painstaking and energetic lawyer and advocate." He was a member of the school committee of Fall River, 1875, 1876 and 1877; a Representative in the Legislature of Massachusetts, 1878 and 1879; State Senator, 1882, declining reelection. In the House he was a prominent member of the judiciary committee and chairman of the joint committee on the removal of Judge Day by address of 1882. He was active in securing the passage of the civil damage law and in introducing the school house liquor law in the Senate.
He was married December 25, 1879, to Marion, daughter of Cap- tain Seth and Nancy J. (Bosworth) Saunders, of Warren, Rhode Island, and their children are Oliver Saunders and Marion Jennings. Mr. Jennings affiliated with the Baptist denomination, and he has been president of the Young Men's Christian Association, Fall River, since 1893, clerk of the Second Baptist Society of Fall River since 1884. He was president of the Brown Alumni in 1891 and 1892, and was elected a trustee of Brown University. He is a member of the Quequechan Club of Fall River, Massachusetts, and the University Club of Providence, Rhode Island. His law practice is extensive and he has conducted many notable cases, the largest advertised being the Lizzie A. Borden trial for homicide in 1893, he being counsel for the defendant from the first. He served the State as district attorney for the southern district of Massachusetts from November, 1894, to fill a vacancy, and from 1895 by reelection to full term of three years. Mr. Jennings is a director in several cotton-mill corporations. He is also a trustee of the Union Savings Bank of Fall River. To young men seeking to attain true success Mr. Jennings would give this message: "Keep in good health; work and play equally hard; try to diminish your desires; be square, and helpful to everybody who needs help."
PRESTON BOND KEITH
P RESTON BOND KEITH, manufacturer and bank president, was born in North Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massa- chusetts, October 18, 1847. His father, Charles Perkins Keith, son of Charles S. and Mahitable Perkins Keith, and a de- scendant from the Rev. James Keith, who came from Aberdeen, Scotland, to Plymouth, in 1644, and settled in Bridgewater. His mother, Mary Keith Williams, was a daughter of Josiah and Sylvia (Keith) Williams of West Bridgewater.
Preston Bond Keith was brought up in the country and grew up a strong and healthy boy fond of play. He was compelled to form habits of industry, essential to every successful life, by working in his father's shop when not attending the district and high school, and he early displayed a greater fondness for manual labor than for school instruction. His mother largely influenced his moral and spiritual life and grounded him in the evangelical faith. He began independent life as a clerk in a Boston boot and shoe store on Pearl Street in 1866 and he married December 8, 1869, Eldora Louise, daughter of Josiah W. and Margaret (Dunlap) Kingman, of Cam- pello, and the one child born of this marriage was living in 1905. They made their home in Campello village, Plymouth County, and he has been a justice of the peace, city alderman of Brockton, 1883 and 1884, a boot and shoe manufacturer there from 1871, president of the Home National Bank of Brockton from 1894, a director of the Brockton Savings Bank, and a member of the Commercial Club of Brockton.
Mr. Keith is a Republican in politics and a member of the South Congregational Church. His recreation is in horseback riding and playing golf. To young men he commends the principles that made Joseph's life in Egypt a success as applicable to-day: "Faith in God and a determined purpose to be faithful and earnest in the discharge of every duty will remain the cardinal principles. Willingness to apply them is where the rub comes."
WILLIAM HENRY LINCOLN
W ILLIAM HENRY LINCOLN, son of a Boston shipping merchant; student in public and private schools; secretary of the Boston Y. M. C. A. four years and vice-president one year; president of the New England Shipowners Association for several years; member of the school committee twenty-two years, and chairman sixteen years; member of the Brookline Park Com- mission nine years; bank president twenty-four years; member of the Massachusetts Nautical Training School Commission four years and chairman two years; president of the Boston Commercial Club three years; president of the Boston Chamber of Commerce four years; trustee of the Episcopal Theological School from 1894; director of the Episcopal City Mission from 1894; member of the corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1895; trustee of Wellesley College from 1898; president of the Economic Club, of Boston from 1902, - was born in Boston, Massachusetts, June 13, 1835. His father, Henry Lincoln, son of Rev. Henry Lincoln and Susannah (Crocker) Lincoln, was a shipping merchant, member of the Boston City Council, director of the Insane Asylum of Boston, a man of integrity and Christian character. His mother, Charlotte A. Lewis Lincoln, was the daughter of Leonard French Lewis. His first paternal ancestor in America, Samuel Lincoln, came from Hing- ham, England, to Hingham, Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1636. Samuel Lincoln was also the ancestor of President Abraham Lincoln, Governor Levi Lincoln, of Massachusetts and Governor Enoch Lincoln, of Maine. William Henry Lincoln is also descended from the Rev. John Robinson, of Leyden, the pastor and leader of the Puritans.
He began his active business life as a clerk in his father's office when eighteen years of age as a matter of duty, his father needing his services and he recognizing the beginning of an opportunity to carry out an ambition to be useful to the community in which he lived. He remained as clerk and from 1856 a partner, with his father in the management of a line of sailing packets between Boston and New
WILLIAM HENRY LINCOLN
Orleans, Mobile and Galveston up to 1861, when the Civil War interfered with their business and the partnership was dissolved. Young Lincoln then formed a partnership with Frank N. Thayer and the firm of Thayer & Lincoln continued up to the time of the death of Mr. Thayer in 1882. Mr. Thayer was engaged in the ship chandlery business on Lewis Wharf and Thayer & Lincoln organ- ized a line of sailing ships which they built at Newburyport, Massa- chusetts, and Kennebunk, Maine, and acquired as many more by purchase. They traded with all the principal parts of the world, and the last ship they built, the John Currier, cost $120,000, and was the last wooden ship launched in Massachusetts.
Mr. Lincoln, perceiving that the days for wooden ships were numbered, secured in 1872 the winter agency of the Dominion Line of steamers for Boston, the ice preventing their reaching Montreal, and in 1876 the firm completed arrangements with Frederick Leyland, under which a fortnightly line of Leyland steamships was estab- lished between Liverpool and Boston. Thayer & Lincoln became the American agents and subsequently Mr. Lincoln the resident director of the Leyland Line of Steamships. In 1877 the business made a weekly sailing necessary.
This experience made Mr. Lincoln anxious for the supremacy of American shipping and he was an earnest advocate of the repeal of the navigation laws, so as to enable Americans to purchase vessels abroad and put them under the American flag. As president of the New England Shipowners Association he called a national conven- tion of shipowners in 1883 to consider the subject. As president of the convention he spoke with authority in favor of free ships, but the majority of the convention opposed the proposition. He was secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association, 1857-61, also serving as vice-president of the association in 1860, which was his first experience in office. In 1873 he was made a member of the Brookline school committee, serving in that capacity for twenty-two years, and as chairman of the board for sixteen years. In 1877 he was made president of the Brookline Savings Bank and held the office twenty-seven years. He was elected president of the New England Shipowners Association in 1880 and served by reelection for several years. As president of the Boston Commercial Club his service ex- tended from 1883 to 1886 and as vice-president of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, 1885-87 and 1899-1900, and as its president from 1900
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William H. Lincoln
WILLIAM HENRY LINCOLN
to 1904. In 1904 he was in active association with the Boston Insur- ance Company as a director, having been a member of the board from 1881. He served the Episcopal Theological School at Can- bridge as a trustee for ten years; the Episcopal City Mission as di- rector for ten years; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a member of its corporation from 1895; Wellesley College as a mem- ber of its board of trustees about six years; the Mercantile Trust Company as a director from 1900; the Economic Club as president for two years and the Bostonian society as a director.
He was married April 21, 1863, to Cecelia Frances, daughter of James W. and Elisa N. Smith, of Boston, and they make their home in Brookline, Massachusetts, and have four children.
He was a member of the Independent Corps of Cadets, of Boston, during the period of the Civil War and was for a short period in the United States service at Fort Warren, Boston Harbor. His club and society membership includes the Commercial and Economic Clubs, the Bostonian Society and St. Andrews Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. He was always a liberal Republican in politics. His church affiliation has been with the Protestant Episcopal Church. To young men starting out in life he says: "Remember life is short at best. True success does not consist in amassing wealth. Cultivate high ideals; read lives of men who have been the greatest benefactors to mankind and made the best use of time. Be diligent, honest and upright-faithful in little things. Cultivate a love for the good, the beautiful, the true. Be public spirited, unselfish and stand for what's right and just. Make yourself a master of your business or profession."
THOMAS DIXON LOCKWOOD
T HOMAS DIXON LOCKWOOD, though so long a distin- guished leader in the peculiarly American art of telephony, and an electrical expert and inventor of typical Yankee push and versatility, is a native of Smethwick, Staffordshire, a suburb of Birmingham, England, where he was born, December 30, 1848. He is a son of a plate glass manufacturer, and his early craving for knowl- edge appears to have developed in later life into a general aptitude in varied fields of labor. The father, John Frederick Lockwood, was born November 14, 1819, and died in July, 1879, and was the son of James Lockwood (1803-1863) and Mary Ann (Barton) Lock- wood; he married Mary Dixon, the daughter of Thomas Dixon (1784- 1854) and Esther (Rogers) Dixon.
The story of the career of Thomas Dixon Lockwood reads like a romance. With very little education before beginning his active work, he yet early acquired a taste for mineralogy, biography, his- tory, engineering and chemistry, and by industry and indomitable perseverance gained a wide general acquaintance with these sub- jects, long ago becoming a recognized authority in his special elec- trical branches of study. For a short time he attended a day school attached to Messrs. Chances' glass works at West Smethwick. His studies here were ended at the age of ten, and since then he has had no further instruction, his varied accomplishments having been self-acquired by home study and practical experience.
His first employment was washing emery at the Birmingham Plate Glass Works, which he began in 1859. He entered the machine- shops of the factory in 1861, and worked there, learning and practis- ing the trade of machinist, until 1865. In that year he immigrated with his father's family to Port Hope, Ontario. Here he was em- ployed at first in a machine-shop and then in a tannery, but soon learned telegraphy, and in 1867 became the first operator at Port Hope for the Provincial Telegraph Company. Here and in subse- quent telegraphic positions he preferred night work as affording
Thomas & Lockwood
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