USA > Massachusetts > Biographical history of Massachussetts; biographies and autobiographies of the leading men in the state, 1911, vol 7 > Part 10
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NATHANIEL LINCOLN GORTON
N ATHANIEL LINCOLN GORTON was born at Cranston, Rhode Island, on April 26, 1865. He died in Gloucester, Massachusetts, December 3, 1914. The family came from the little town of Gorton, now a part of Manchester, England. His earliest American ancestor was Samuel Gorton, who came to this country in 1636, and was the first settler of Warwick, Rhode Island. The genealogy of the Gorton family, prepared by Adelos Gorton, gives sketches of many of those of the name who dis- tinguished themselves by their abilities, their character, and their public services.
His father, Slade Gorton (1832-1892), the son of Job Gorton and Anthy Matheson, was married to Margaret Ann Jordon, of Irish ancestry, who although deprived of the advantages of early education was a woman of sterling principles and exerted upon her children a most beneficent influence and encouraged them to develop their intellectual lives in every possible way.
His father, a man of strong force of character and ability, rather stern but benevolent to a fault and with deep, strong feelings, was first a cotton-mill overseer, but when his son, Nathaniel, was four years old he removed from Rhode Island to Gloucester and engaged in the business of cutting and distributing fish. The boy from an early age took great interest in his father's success and after attend- ing school in Gloucester he went to Boston to take a business course in the Bryant and Stratton Commercial College.
At the age of eighteen he began his active career as a salesman for Gorton's codfish and threw into his work all his interest and energy. He made the fish business his chief concern and he early became convinced that a still greater success would be achieved by extensive advertising. He studied all forms of methods of bringing commodities before the public, from billboard to news- paper, and finally he devised the characteristic title by which the products of the Gorton business became known all over the world. "Gorton's Boneless Codfish" was brought before the public eye, and the popularity of the food was greatly increased by reason of the attractive packages with fancy label in which they were put up.
About two years before his father's death, he was admitted into the firm and the name was changed to Slade Gorton and Company. Later three other firms engaging in the same business-John Pew and Company, David B. Smith and Company, and Reed and Gam-
NATHANIEL LINCOLN GORTON
mage-were consolidated with his father's firm and the name was again changed to the Groton-Pew Fisheries Company, and he was made the treasurer of the corporation, in which capacity he re- mained till the end of his life.
In spite of his unceasing business activities he was interested in many intellectual pursuits. His mind was extremely receptive to new ideas. He was fond of music and art. He enjoyed reading. He had a keen sense of humor and found life full of enjoyments. He had quiet tastes, and yet he was always happy and making other people happy by making the most of the good things which he was enabled to provide for himself and his friends.
He was a man of genuine popularity and always felt that he profited from association with others. He belonged to the Tyrian Lodge of Free Masons, the Bethlehem Commandery of Knights Templar of Gloucester, the Aleppo Temple of Boston, and the Mystic Shrine. He was a heartily enthusiastic member of the An- cient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston and held a commission as First Sergeant of the Gloucester Company in that famous organization. He was also a member of the Commonwealth Club of Gloucester. He was always a Republican in politics and was a much beloved member of the Unitarian Church of that city. He was fond of hunting and fishing and of golf, and was a frequent patron of the theatre.
In February, 1885, he married Nellie S. Gilbert, daughter of Noah and Melissa (Andrews) Gilbert, a descendant of Lieutenant John Andrews, who came from England to Ipswich, about 1641.
Mr. and Mrs. Gorton had one daughter, Anthy Matheson, (a family name) by this union.
He had made a distinguished name for himself as a practical, enterprising, thoroughly reliable man. Everywhere he went he found friends, because he was himself friendly. He was highly respected in the community in which he lived and was regarded as deservedly successful because he had applied himself diligently to his lifework, and had brought all his native intelligence to focus upon making his commodity known wherever there was opportunity to dispose of it. As it was a wholesome and inexpensive food it naturally found a ready market in all parts of the world. "The Original Fish Cake-No Bones," which he himself designed and patented, was and still is a household standby everywhere.
Such a career is an admirable example for enterprising youths, for it shows what can be acomplished by high character combined with steadiness of purpose and readiness of invention.
JOHN ROBERT GRAHAM
F ROM the humble home of a mechanic to become the founder of a great business; to turn at middle age to the world of rapid transit and accomplish there what veterans in that field had failed successfully to achieve; to enter the field of finance as if to the manner born and become a leader; that surely is a remarkable record for one life. Yet this, and more, John Robert Graham did.
He was democratic by nature, and wherever he resided there at once he appeared as a public-spirited citizen. Though he spent most of his life in and around Boston, nevertheless, when he be- came a resident of Bangor, he at once interested himself with local affairs, as if he had lived there all his life. The people of Bangor felt instinctively that he was their friend, and followed his leader- ship unquestioningly. Nor were they disappointed; for when that city suffered from the great fire wherein many of its finest buildings were burned, when many were discouraged and said, "Bangor will never recover from the blow," it was Mr. Graham who sounded the note of confidence in the city's future. "Will Mr. Graham now put up the large edifice which he contemplated building ?" was asked on every hand. His answer was unhesitating; "Yes, it will be built, and if there is any man who, because of the fire, has real estate to sell, I am ready to buy it." The effect was immediate; men who had lost heart, hearing the words of this leader of finance, took courage again and a new and better Bangor is the result.
He was born in the north of Ireland at Florence Court, County of Fermanaugh, on December 19, 1847. He died at Intervale, New Hampshire, in the White Mountains, August 24, 1915. His parents were of Scotch descent, as were all his ancestors. His paternal grandfather was Matthew Graham; his maternal grand- father was Anthony Henderson, who married Anne Moffatt.
His mother was Anne Jane Henderson, a woman of character
JOHN ROBERT GRAHAM
and grace, who exercised no little influence upon the developing character of her son. His father was James Graham (1810-1878), who was a mechanic and who was beloved in his home town for his jovial and industrious disposition.
In 1848 the family removed to America, settling in Boston. Here John R. Graham was reared and sent to school. At ten years of age he worked out for one dollar per week and his board, and was allowed to attend the Brimmer Street School. This con- tinued until he was thirteen years of age, when he left school per- manently and entered into business life. From fourteen to six- teen he was with his brother, Matthew Graham, who was in the shoe business. At sixteen, he entered the employ of James T. Pen- niman of Quincy.
When seventeen years of age, he showed his devotion to his adopted country by enlisting in the army, being attached first to the Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry, Company E, and later join- ing Company A of the Forty-Second Massachusetts Infantry. He was mustered out in 1865. He was afterward a leading member of the Post 88, G. A. R., of Quincy.
Although he never spoke of his exploits in the army, it is only fair that it be noted here that he was at Petersburg and his regi- ment was among the first to enter Richmond.
At the close of the war, he returned to Massachusetts, and, with the aid of his brother who had been engaged in the shoe business with the T. E. Mosely Company, opened a factory at Quincy. This plant enlarged rapidly until the Graham Shoe was known far and wide. It is still manufactured, Mr. Graham's sons carrying on the business.
In 1887, the Quincy Street Railway Company had fallen upon very difficult times. Mr. Graham undertook its reorganization and was more than successful. He became recognized as an able street railway man, and was consulted as such by men far and near. At this same time he became interested in electric lighting in connection with the street railway.
He was appointed one of the members of the first Rapid Tran- sit Commission in Massachusetts in 1893. This was a source of some gratification in later years. When the Quincy and Boston Street Railway Company was taken over by the Brockton Street Railway Company, he was elected General Manager of the latter
JOHN ROBERT GRAHAM
corporation. From 1898 to 1901, he was the 2nd Vice President of the Boston & Northern and Old Colony Street Railways, later merged into the Bay State Street Railway Co.
In May, 1892, upon his return from a trip to Europe, he re- ceived a pressing invitation from the President of the General Electric Company to investigate the condition of the Public Works Company of Bangor, Maine. This company was the first in New England to run electric cars and second only to Richmond, Vir- ginia, in the country.
So impressed was he with the possibilities of the city that upon his return to Boston, he took an option from the General Electric Company for the purchase of the control of the Public Works Com- pany, and which he later took up, after he had demonstrated the possibilities of the system.
In 1905 he interested New York and Philadelphia capital, and it was in that year that the Bangor Railway and Electric Company was organized, and took over all the railway, light and water de- partments of the old Company. He became President and General Manager.
So well was his work done that even while carrying a vast im- provement enterprise, his company from a no-dividend basis earned and paid regularly its 7 per cent. annually. So great was the con- fidence of his fellow directors, that whatever plan he proposed, they were ready to finance.
In addition to this great work, he instigated the building of the Lewiston, Waterville, and Augusta trolley line through a sec- tion of territory that had before enjoyed no electric traction fa- cilities. He was instrumental in taking over the syndicate of the Portland Street Railway Company which became the Cumberland County Power and Light Company, with several plants and a large business. He also constructed the Fairfield and Shawmut Street Railway. The Penobscot Central Railway from Bangor to Charles- ton was taken over by his company February 1, 1907, rehabilitated, and brought to a paying basis. The Hampden Street Railway was acquired about this same time.
Besides his street railway improvements, Mr. Graham was a Director of the Merrill Trust Company of Bangor and of the Union Trust Company of Ellsworth. He was President of the Bangor Power Company and of the Orono Water Company, of the Bar
JOHN ROBERT GRAHAM
Harbor and Union River Power Company, and of the Graham Realty Company. Through this latter company he instigated large improvements in the erection of fine office and business build- ings in his adopted city. Indeed, he showed himself a public-spir- ited citizen in every way.
Mr. Graham was a Republican in politics and was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He found much recreation in riding behind a spirited horse. When he was the owner of a stock farm in Kentucky, no blooded horses had better records than his. He owned, at one time, the famous stallion, Constantine. He took great interest in light harness racing and was one of the orig- inators of the Readville Race Track.
For a number of years he fought ill health and went twice to California. In 1913 he visited the Azores, Italy, and other parts of Europe. All through his life Mr. Graham was a great reader.
Mr. Graham was twice married, his second wife surviving him. He first married Miss Mary Eliza Brooks, daughter of James T. and Maria A. (Brooks) Penniman, granddaughter of Stephen, Jr., and Relief (Thayer) Penniman, and of Thomas and Eliza (Thayer) Brooks, and a descendant from James Penniman who came from England to Boston on the Lyon in 1631. There were eleven chil- dren of whom the following survive: Robert; Clara, now Mrs. F. E. Jones of Quincy; John; Edith, now the widow of Walter L. Sawtelle; Mary, now Mrs. Perley Barbour of Quincy; Annie, now Mrs. Elmer Ricker of Quincy; Harold who is now a Director of the Graham Realty Company; Lester; Beatrice; and Edward M., who has been connected with his father in his Bangor inter- ests and succeeded him in the management of all the companies in which he was actively engaged.
Although never exploiting his charities, Mr. Graham was a generous giver. He was a noble father, a devoted husband, and a patriotic citizen.
C. Williams -
Robert grant.
ROBERT GRANT
P ATRICK GRANT, the grandfather of Robert, was the sixth of seven sons of John Grant, of Leith, Scotland, who was himself the son of Patrick Grant, of Kirkmichael, Banffshire, of the Grants of Clan Allan, and branch of Auchernach, their an- cestor being Sir Allan Grant, youngest son of Sir John Grant, of Grant, who founded the house of Auchernach at the end of the fif- teenth century. The grandfather of Robert was born in Scotland, July 25, 1777, and came to America about 1800 and married Anna Powell Mason, a daughter of Jonathan Mason, who was United States Senator from Massachusetts a little more than a hundred years ago.
This Patrick Grant died November 20, 1812, leaving a son of the same name, born March 17, 1809 (St. Patrick's day), who be- came a prominent Boston merchant and died October 7, 1895. He was the father of Robert Grant, whose mother was Charlotte Bord- man, daughter of Henry Gardner Rice, formerly of West Brook- field, Massachusetts, but later a resident of Boston.
Young Robert Grant attended a private school until he was ten years of age, and then for six years was a member of the famed Boston Latin School, where he graduated as a Franklin medal scholar in 1869.
He immediately entered Harvard, graduating with an A.B. degree in 1873. He took a post-graduate course in Philology and obtained his Ph.D. in 1876, and graduated at the Law School in 1879. He was admitted to the Bar in Boston at that time and commenced the practice of his profession. While still at the Law School he began his successful literary career, publishing in the Harvard Lampoon "The Little Tin God on Wheels," a taking sa- tire on society in verse.
He had been the poet of his class, and while in the Law School was one of the editors of the Harvard Lampoon. Ever since his first venture in the literary field he has wielded a busy pen, and be- sides the many novels, stories, and sketches published in book form he has been a contributor, both in prose and verse, to the Century,
ROBERT GRANT
Scribner's, and other standard magazines. His keen and dramatic portrayal of the virtues and limitations, the fads, fancies, and jeal- ousies, of Boston "society," as somewhat lengthily but charmingly described in "The Chippendales," his last published novel, is a fair sample of the pungency and wit of the author and of the very able manner in which he clothes the people of his imagination. Prob- ably the most original and best known of his novels is "Unleavened Bread," in the heroine of which, Selma White, he relentlessly por- trays a certain type of aspiring but crude and shallow American womanhood.
A chronological list of Mr. Grant's works comprises: "The Little Tin God on Wheels" (verse), 1879; "The Confessions of a Frivolous Girl," 1880; "The Lambs" (verse), 1882; "Yankee Doodle" (verse), 1883; "An Average Man," 1883; "The Knave of Hearts," 1885; "The Oldest School in America" (verse), 1885; "A Romantic Young Lady," 1886; "Face to Face," 1886; "Jack Hall" (juvenile), 1887; "Jack in the Bush" (juvenile), 1888; "The Carletons," 1891; "The Reflections of a Married Man," 1892; "The Opinions of a Philosopher," 1893; "The Bachelor's Christ- mas, and Other Stories," 1895; "The Art of Living," 1895; "Search Light Letters," 1899; "Unleavened Bread," 1900; "The Undercurrent," 1904; "The Orchid," 1905; "The Law Breakers," 1906; "The Chipendales," 1909; "The Convictions of a Grand- father," 1912; "The High Priestess," 1916.
Also, in conjunction with John Boyle O'Reilly, F. J. Stimson, and J. T. Wheelright, "The King's Men," in 1884.
Mr. Grant's works, the salient characteristics of which are satire and humor, are very popular with American readers of fiction, and many of his books have been republished in England.
He delivered the Phi Beta Kappa poem before the alumni of Harvard University in June, 1883, and was elected an honorary member of that society.
He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and of the Somerset, Tavern, and Country clubs, of Boston. He is a Unitarian in re- ligious belief, and is fond of golf and salmon fishing.
In 1883 Mr. Grant was appointed water commissioner of Boston to fill a vacancy, and was reappointed the following year and served
ROBERT GRANT
as chairman of the board until, in 1893, he was nominated by Gov- ernor William E. Russell a Judge of the Courts of Probate and In- solvency for the county of Suffolk. Since the retirement of the late Judge McKim he has served with entire satisfaction to all as the First Judge of these courts.
Judge Grant was elected an overseer of Harvard University in 1895, and still enjoys that honorable distinction.
Mr. Grant was married in Montreal, Canada, July 3, 1883, to Amy Gordon, daughter of Sir Alexander T. Galt, G. C. M. G., and Amy Gordon (Torrance) Galt, and granddaughter of John Galt, the Scotch novelist, and his wife Elizabeth Tilloch Galt.
Judge and Mrs. Grant have four children: Robert (A.B. Har- vard, 1906) ; Alexander Galt (A.B. Harvard, 1907) ; Patrick (A.B. Harvard, 1908) ; and Gordon, born 1892.
It was Bulwer who wrote, "The man who succeeds above his fellows is the one who, in early life, clearly discerns his object, and towards that object habitually directs his powers. Even genius itself is but fine observation strengthened by fixity of purpose. Every man who observes vigilantly and resolves steadfastly grows unconsciously into genius."
Judge Grant wrote especially for this work, the following words of advice to young people :-
" Absolute honesty both towards others and towards one's self seems to me the fundamental trait in the building of character; and, as helpmates to this, one should cultivate tenacity of purpose, a receptive, not a hidebound mind, fearlessness of spirit, and joy in living, tempered by observance of the old Greek motto 'Nothing overmuch.' If one is born with a sense of humor, so much the better."
HORACE GRAY
H ORACE GRAY was born on the 24th of March, 1828, in Boston. He died at Nahant, Mass., September 15, 1902. He was the son of Horace and Harriet (Upham) Gray, both of whom came from illustrious families.
His mother's father, Jabez Upham of Brookfield, Massachu- setts, was one of the noted lawyers of his day, although he died at the early age of forty-six. Harriet Upham was a woman of rare loveliness of disposition, who exercised a lasting influence upon the character of her son, although she died when he was a mere boy.
Horace Gray's grandfather, William Gray, was a man of note. He was the largest shipowner in the country. Sixty square-rigged vessels sailed the sea in his service, and he was among the most successful merchants of his day. He was a man of wit also, and by his marriage with Elizabeth Chipman became connected with a family which counted several learned jurists among its sons. Mrs. Gray's brother was a judge of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, and his son became Chief Justice of the same Court.
One son of William and Elizabeth Gray, Francis Calley Gray, was an accomplished scholar, to whose learning and research was due the recovery of the manuscript of "The Body of Liberties" of Massachusetts; a code of laws never printed for fear of being dis- covered and suppressed by the Royal Councillors, but privately passed about from town to town of the Commonwealth. Francis Gray was among the large benefactors of Harvard College. His brother Horace, first of the name, was a wealthy manufacturer. In such a home, with such traditions of riches and intellectual attain- ments, Horace the second passed a happy boyhood, and when he was graduated from Harvard College in 1845 and sailed for Eu- rope, unlimited as to time or means, his plan was to devote his life to the study of Natural History, for he had already gone far in Botany and Ornithology.
ba by d a thamans I Bre . 22
HORACE GRAY
He was only seventeen. Life was opening before him in fairest colors. But his plans were utterly changed by sudden business reverses which left his father in comparative poverty.
Horace Gray hastened home and fitted himself for a life of self- support by a course at the Harvard Law School. The new study proved absorbingly interesting, and the young man stood high in his classes. Upon his graduation in 1849, he continued his legal studies in the offices of John Lowell, afterwards Judge of the United States District Court, and of Sohier & Welch. Two years later he was admitted to the Suffolk Bar.
Soon after this a great opportunity came to Horace Gray. He was asked by Mr. Luther S. Cushing, who was out of health, to take his place on the circuit as Reporter of Decisions for the Massachusetts Supreme Court. To do the required work with the necessary accuracy and skill was no slight task for so inexperienced a man; but he did this and more. He interested himself in the cases on trial, and often brought to the attention of some noted lawyer arguing before the Court just the case he wanted to prove his point. Mr. Gray's memory was phenomenal, and he seemed to find by intuition the citation for which he was looking.
In this way he came to be known and liked by the foremost law- yers of the time; and when Mr. Cushing died most of these men recommended Mr. Gray for the position. It was a post of honor which many a man of assured rank in his profession would have been glad to take; and Horace Gray was only twenty-six; but he received the appointment and held the office for seven years, from 1854 to 1861, during which time he wrote sixteen volumes of Reports.
In 1857 he entered into a partnership with Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar and Edward Bangs, an arrangement which was terminated by the appointment of Mr. Hoar to the Supreme Court two years after.
Mr. Gray was entrusted with some very important cases and had learned and brilliant counsel opposed to him, but met with a great measure of success. In 1864, he was appointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, the youngest judge ever appointed to that Court. In 1873, he was advanced to the Chief Justiceship in the same Court.
His decisions were remarkable for the historical learning shown
HORACE GRAY
and also for their original wisdom and good sense, and for the skill with which he discerned the truth underneath a mass of conflicting testimony.
During the seventeen years that Judge Gray sat upon this Bench, he wrote but one dissenting opinion, showing a surprising harmony among the justices, or, as he was a man very tenacious of his carefully formed opinions, that he had considerable power of influencing his associates.
In 1881, the death of Mr. Justice Clifford made a vacancy on the Bench of the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge Gray was mentioned as a fitting person to fill it. It was a promo- tion desired by him, but when Judge Hoar, his former partner, asked him to say what he considered the best and most important of the opinions delivered by him as Chief Justice in Massachusetts, Judge Gray, divining that the information was to be used in advancing his cause with the President, declined to give it. He would not seem to work for the place. It must be offered unsolicited.
The appointment was made by President Arthur in the fall of 1881, and Horace Gray passed from the Supreme Bench of Massa- chusetts to the place of Associate Justice on the Supreme Bench of the United States. His great learning, his calm, judicial mind and long years of experience fitted him for marked usefulness in this exalted position, which his noble and commanding presence adorned. He devoted all his powers to doing well the important work of his office, and so succeeded that it has been said of him that he ranks with Marshall, Story and Curtis, and with Miller and Bradley, among the greatest judges in the history of the Su- preme Court of the United States.
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