USA > Massachusetts > Biographical history of Massachussetts; biographies and autobiographies of the leading men in the state, 1911, vol 9 > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26
He married Anna J. Rollins in 1880, who died the following year. On June 20, 1888, he married Stella, daughter of Orison and Aurilla (Manuel) Hadlock, and granddaughter of Gardner and Susan (Morse) Manuel and of Joseph and Alvira (Bailey) Hadlock. Their home is in Malden and they have one son, George Elwyn Graves, an architect, educated at Harvard and now an officer in U. S. Army.
Asked to furnish from his own experience a suggestion as to the principles which will contribute most to the strengthening of sound ideals in our American life, Mr. Graves has written the following, expressly for this publication: "To make service assist success one should show earnestness of purpose; enthusiasm; loyalty, a
GEORGE HENRY GRAVES
willingness to study and improve his job, whatever it may be, and sometimes help his neighbor, putting aside the tendency to watch the clock."
In a Boston paper for 1912 appeared the following: "On the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Walworth Manufacturing Company twin loving cups were presented to George H. Graves and George T. Coppins, treasurer and secretary, respectively, of the firm, by 20 employees, all but two of whom have seen service under these officers for more than 20 years.
The twin loving cups are inscribed with two quotations. One, by Carlyle, is, " The leafy blossoming present time, springs from the whole past." The other, from Thackeray, reads, " If we mayn't tell you how we feel, what is the use of friends? "
The presentation address, delivered on the afternoon of March 16, was by William A. Jackson, purchasing agent of the company. " The love and sentiment that go with these cups," said Mr. Jackson in the course of his remarks, " are but poorly conveyed by either the cups or their inscription. We ask you to remember that the subscribers count the years as 20 or more that they have served with you; that this company here assembles with an active service record together, which, doubtless, can hardly be equaled, is in itself remarkable and will make the occasion remarkable.
" On this 70th anniversary of the founding of our grand old company, it seems fitting that we, who have so long been associated together, should show in this way our affection and respect to the two men who to us so intimately represent, by their present example, the traditions of the Walworth Manufacturing Company.
" It is sometimes hard to live up to a reputation, but if either of you have found it a difficult task you have never let us know it. In all these years the greatest or the least among us has been free to counsel with you at any time. You have both made us always to feel that our troubles were yours. You have never, either of you, found it necessary to keep any of us at a distance. " There have been trials for you both; financial panics, sharp competition, slack trade, and many other troubles, but through it all, Mr. Treasurer and Mr. Secretary, you have both endured bravely and inspired us to wait and hope for better things. We are proud of our secretary and our treasurer. They are the 'real thing.' "
This spontaneous expression of appreciation on the part of Mr. Graves's fellow workers testifies not only to the solid worth of his services but also to the genuiness of his character.
WILLIAM BLAIR GRAVES
W ILLIAM BLAIR GRAVES was born at West Fairlee, Vermont, February 3, 1834, and died May 5, 1915, at Andover, Massachusetts. He was the son of Cyrus Graves (December 9, 1803-January 29, 1846), a manufacturer of wind instruments, a skilful workman, faithful and intelligent. The ancestors on the father's side came from England. John Graves is mentioned in history as one of the early settlers of New Hamp- shire. Mr. William Graves' grandmother was Jean Blair Graves, a direct descendant of James Gregg, one of the original thirteen who came from Londonderry, Ireland, and settled in London- derry, New Hampshire, in 1718. He was a native of Ayreshire, Scotland.
Mr. Graves' mother was Lucena Thayer, a native of Richmond, New Hampshire, daughter of Alanson Thayer. She was a mother who exerted a powerful influence over her son's career and life. When he was two years of age his parents moved to Winchester, New Hampshire, where his father engaged in the manufacture of brass musical instruments.
As a lad he was fond of books and school. Leaving home at twelve years of age to live on a farm, he did the work required of a young boy. At sixteen he began to teach school, but his health failing him he returned to agricultural pursuits until he was twenty-two.
Mr. Graves studied much during this time and at twenty-four entered college. He borrowed the funds for his college expenses and repaid them principal and interest. He prepared for college at Lawrence Academy, Groton, and graduated at Amherst College in 1862. He received the degree of A.M. in 1865. He received an honorary A.M. from Yale in 1902. He commenced his work in 1862, teaching in Rhode Island, and later in Medfield, Massachu- setts. In the choice of this work he was governed by circumstances, the wish of parents, the presence of opportunities and his own tastes. He became an instructor in Amherst College in 1865, and he was then successively instructor in Phillips Academy 1866-70; Professor of Natural Science in Marietta College, Ohio, 1870-74; Professor of Mathematics and Civil Engineering in the Massa- chusetts Agricultural College, 1874-1881; Professor of Natural Science, Peabody Foundation, Phillips Academy, 1881-1909. In
Eng bu " & Williams _ Br. M.
Mr.Polpavek .
WILLIAM BLAIR GRAVES
1909 he resigned his position in the Academy on account of ill health and received from the trustees the title of Professor Emeritus.
He served on the School Boards both of Amherst and of Andover and on the Charity Fund Board of Amherst College.
He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon and of the Phi Beta Kappa, Amherst College; of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the American Social Science Association, and the American Forestry Association.
He belonged to the Republican Party, and was a member of the Seminary Congregational Church of which he was deacon. He was fond of walking and of golf.
On August 26, 1863, he was married to Luranah Hodges Cope- land, daughter of Elijah and Nancy Hodges Copeland, grand- daughter of Joseph and Luranah (Williams) Hodges, and William and Martha (White) Copeland, and a descendant of John Alden and Priscilla Mullens, who came on the Mayflower.
There were four children of this marriage, two daughters died early in life; William Phillips Graves, a surgeon, head of the Free Hospital for women in Brookline, Massachusetts, and Professor of Gynecology at the Harvard Medical School, and Henry Solon Graves, Chief Forester of the United States, and Head of the Forestry department in France with the rank of Lieutenant- Colonel, are the surviving sons.
Professor Graves was a man of remarkable judgment and of fine personality. In his work he was faithful and loyal to the interests of the school and was greatly loved by the students. He was a great reader, possessed of an excellent memory and fine literary tastes, and had accumulated a valuable library. His brain was ever devising something new in the sphere of his own personal activity and for the general welfare. Under his tutelage the students acquired knowledge of the principles of the studies which they were pursuing and were greatly aided by his own keen perceptions, retentive memory, assiduity, and hard work.
As a citizen he was a model of faithfulness to civic duty, ready to assist in whatever seemed to him right, and equally ready to oppose what seemed to him wrong. He was always deeply and actively interested in the cause of education for the community. Probably no other man did so much to advance the best educational interests of the towns in which he lived, and, certainly, no one deserves higher credit for efforts in this connection.
WILLIAM PHILLIPS GRAVES
W TILLIAM PHILLIPS GRAVES is of Pilgrim stock, a descendant on his mother's side from John Alden, of Mayflower fame. His father, William Blair Graves, was for many years a Professor in Phillips Andover Academy, and the son was reared in an atmosphere of refinement and culture amid the influences of that famous school. His mother's maiden name was Luranah Hodges Copeland.
William Phillips Graves was born in Andover, Massachusetts, January 29, 1870. In childhood and youth he was interested in athletic sports, chiefly tennis, football, baseball, and skating. In his studies, his special tastes included drawing, and he was particu- larly fond of Latin and Greek.
He fitted for college at Phillips Andover Academy and entered Yale in 1887, graduating in 1891 with the degree of A.B. For four years following his graduation he was teacher in the Hill School at Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Deciding to study medicine he entered the Harvard Medical School, graduating at the head of his class in 1899, when he received the degree of M.D. On completing his pro- fessional studies he began the practice of his calling, in 1900, in Boston.
In 1902 he became Assistant Surgeon in the Free Hospital for Women, in Brookline, Massachusetts, and in 1907 was made Surgeon in Chief in that institution. Meanwhile, in 1904, he was appointed Assistant in Gynecology at the Harvard Medical School and, in 1911, he was promoted to a full professorship of that depart- ment of medicine in the University. In 1912 he was appointed Consulting physician to the Boston Lying in Hospital. In 1916 Doctor Graves' " Gynecology," was published. Of this volume the British Medical Journal says: "A new and magnificent volume on Gynecology has emanated from the Harvard Medi- cal School from the pen, and as regards the illustrations in greater part also from the brush, of the professor of Gyne- cology. Both Professor Graves himself and the school are to be congratulated on an achievement which is well worthy of the best
Eng be E : williams & Bre AY
WILLIAM PHILLIPS GRAVES
traditions of its historic birthplace. It is satisfactory to find in the sections dealing with the various ductless glands a very clear and reasonably full discussion of most of the modern work in this very complex, fascinating, and important subject." Doctor Graves has also contributed numerous important papers to Medical Journals.
Doctor Graves has made a special study of heredity, and his views and expressed opinions have thrown much light on that complex science.
He is a member of the American Gynecological Society, the American Medical Association, the Massachusetts Medical Society, the American Association for Cancer Research, the New England Surgical Society, the Boston Surgical Society, and the Obstetrical Society of Boston. He is a Fellow, and on the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons. His social clubs are the Harvard, the St. Botolph, the Somerset, the Tennis and Racquet, the Country Club of Brookline, and the Boston Athletic Association. He has always had a fondness for athletics. He played on the football and tennis teams at Phillips Academy, and when at Yale he played on both the football and baseball teams of the college. He now enjoys golf and racquets, and has won several prizes in the latter in recent years. His College fraternities are the Skull and Bones and the Psi Upsilon. In religious faith he is a Congre- gationalist, and in politics he is a Republican.
On October 10, 1900, he married Alice M., the daughter of Sidney and Ella Chase. Three children have been born of this union, - Sidney Chase, William Phillips, Jr., and Alice.
Doctor Graves holds a high rank in the medical profession and he has the confidence and esteem, not only of his medical associates, but of his fellow-citizens. He has achieved much in personal suc- cess and advancement, and has rendered valuable service in dis- covering, developing, and applying methods for the alleviation of human suffering. He gives these simple, practical rules for the attainment of success: " Rise early in the morning and get to work, hard work, with constant application."
JOSIAH GREEN
J OSIAH GREEN, who has been called " the founder of the wholesale peg boot manufacturing interests in this country," was born in Leicester, Massachusetts, on August 9, 1792. He died December 28, 1876. He was the son of Jabez and Hannah (Willis) Green, and a direct descendant of Thomas Green, of Leicestershire, England, who came to America in 1635 or 1636, and settled in Malden, Massachusetts. General Nathanael Green, of Revolutionary fame, one of Washington's most loved and trusted lieutenants, was of the same family stock.
Jabez Green, Josiah Green's father, was a farmer, born September 18, 1718. Josiah Green's early life was that of a farmer's boy, arduous, with limited educational opportunity, but disciplinary in self-reliance and resourcefulness. He walked two miles on the infrequent occasions when he could attend the common school.
In the fall of 1811, when nineteen years of age, Josiah began making boots in company with an older brother, Nathanael, on a joint capital of five dollars and forty cents. The mother of the boys raised the flax and spun and made the thread used for the sewing. By the spring of 1812 the young bootmakers had two hundred and thirty pairs of made-up boots on hand. Such an accumulation of shoes was unusual at that time. Boot-making was a custom trade. The village shoemaker, or a traveling craftsman, came to the house, took his orders for work, stayed with the family for whom he was working and in due time delivered the goods. The inventive minds of the Green brothers perceived the com- mercial possibilities of ready-made boots.
In the beginning the leather used for the boots and shoes was the left over splits and remnants of Card leather, such as was used by the card manufacturers of Leicester. This was in natural color and had to be oiled, blacked and finished ready for use. Mr. Green bought a stock of new leather in whole sides.
In 1814 the enterprise went farther afield. A "two horse " wagon load of boots was designed for the Albany market. On the road, however, the opportunity came to dispose of the goods to an army trader.
The year 1816 opened a new chapter in Josiah Green's career. The brothers were worth three thousand dollars. Nathanael decided to tempt industrial chances no further. So large a sum was too valuable to be risked in business uncertainties. He with- drew from the partnership, and with his share bought a farm in Maine. Josiah moved to Spencer, Massachusetts, and married Tamer, daughter of Robert Watson, of Leicester. He bought for their use the farm that was later owned and occupied by Samuel Adams. His wife died childless on October 12, 1820. On October 2, 1821, he married Sybil, daughter of Deacon Reuben Underwood,
Jasinh Green
.
JOSIAH GREEN
and Sybil (Whittemore) Underwood of Spencer. Of this marriage eight children were born, of whom three, Charles W. Green, Sybil Ann (Green) Temple, and Sarah Jane Green, are now living.
In 1816, the year of his first marriage, Mr. Green began the mak- ing of pegged boots, another mark of his originative mind. Hitherto boots were hand-sewed, a slow process, resulting in a flexible sole, but increasing the cost. Mr. Green saw the market for a cheaper boot, suited for the rough work of the farm and highways. He con- ceived the idea of fastening the shoes with wooden pegs. At first the pegs were made by himself with a common shoe-knife. Thus was begun a method of making boots and shoes which continued until well after the general use of machine-sewing. The method of distributing was to arrange with storekeepers in country towns to place an assorted lot in their stores for sale. On a subsequent visit Mr. Green would collect for the goods sold and, if the returns seemed entirely satisfactory, he would replenish the stock and continue the arrangement. Again, as in the original venture, the " sale boots," as the ready-made goods were called, were denounced by the old-time shoemakers.
Mr. Green's business steadily increased. In 1831 he bought the homestead which he occupied until his death in 1876, using a room in the mansion as his workshop. In 1834 he built a small shop across the street from his dwelling. It was enlarged with the increasing business of the years. In 1852 one of his sons, Henry R., and a son-in-law, Emory Shumway, became associated with Mr. Green as partners. From that time until his retirement in 1865, the active management passed more and more to his sons and grandsons. In 1874 a large new factory was erected. As a con- necting link with the pioneer days the old sign was placed over the main entrance: " Josiah Green's Boot Manufactory, Established in 1812."
" Opportunity " was the challenge to such youths as Josiah Green. It meant a fair field, but no special privilege or favor. In that field his originative mind and business insight found their rewards. He showed too, an ability to keep as well as to acquire, which the pioneer does not always possess. Through all the periods of business depressions, in 1837 just as he was fairly established, down to 1873, shortly before his death, he passed uncrippled, pre- pared at any time to meet all his liabilities to the full. Vigor of mind and body, tireless industry, persevering, indomitable will, joined to judicious management and commercial foresight, were the sources of his success. He had imagination, without which no man rises above the commonplace. He not only rose from simple beginnings himself, but was noted for giving assistance and en- couragement to other struggling young men.
FREDERICK GREENWOOD
F REDERICK GREENWOOD was born at East Templeton, Massachusetts, June 5, 1850 and died May 13, 1918. His father, Thomas Temple Greenwood (March 25, 1817-July 10, 1885) son of Jonathan (April 18, 1786-October 24, 1846) and Phoebe (Temple) Greenwood, was a manufacturer in Templeton, a man of determination, with great business energy. In 1864 he equipped his factory for the manufacture of furniture and con- tinued in that business the remainder of his life. He was an assessor of the town, was on the committees in charge of trust funds and always actively concerned in matters relating to the town's progress and development. Mr. Frederick Greenwood's mother was Louisa French before her marriage, daughter of Polly Pierce and Stephen French (June 27, 1788-July 28, 1858).
The ancestors of Mr. Greenwood were of an ancient English family, many of whom had titles and bore arms. Thomas Green- wood, the immigrant ancestor, came to America in 1667, and settled at Newton, Massachusetts. He was a weaver by trade. When Newton was incorporated in 1679, he was elected constable. He was also the first town clerk and served as selectman in 1686, 1687, 1690 and 1693. Then there was Deacon William Greenwood, who for twenty-four years was town clerk of Sherborn, six years select- man, and deputy to the general court in 1747. Another was Jona- than Greenwood, a soldier in the Revolution in Captain Henry Leland's Sherborn Company, and in Colonel John Bullard's regi- ment in the Lexington alarm. He was corporal in Captain Abner Perry's regiment, in Rhode Island, in 1780.
Coming from such a lineage Mr. Greenwood naturally inherited many of their best traits and characteristics. Much credit is due to his mother who, being a woman of strong character, cast an influence on the life and development of her son which played an important part in his career. His father was a believer in education and was always willing to assist his children in whatever would prove helpful to them. At the age of ten young Greenwood was placed in his father's factory at manual labor, and worked at all hours when school was not in session. He became skillful in the use of ma- chinery and thoroughly learned his father's business. He had planned on becoming a partner but the long hours and tediousness of the work caused him to change his mind, and he prepared for a different line of work, which led him finally into the newspaper world.
In 1869 graduating from the Templeton High School he then took a two year course in civil engineering at Wesleyan Academy, Wil- braham, Massachusetts.
Frederick Gunn wood
FREDERICK GREENWOOD
In 1771 he began his active career as a civil engineer in Temple- ton, but followed that vocation only two years. In 1873 he became connected with the Boston Post as a newspaper reporter and held that position four years; later in the same capacity with the Boston Daily Globe. In 1878 he took a position offered him in the editorial department of the New York Tribune, followed by four years service in the editorial department of the Chicago Daily Inter-Ocean.
About 1885, the manufacturing business of his father being some- what unsettled because of his death, Mr. Greenwood entered into a partnership with his three brothers to carry on at East Templeton the manufacture of furniture his father had established and the large retail department located at West Gardner, Massachusetts.
Mr. Greenwood has been a member of many special committees of the town, and in 1911 was elected a member of the Board of Overseers of the Poor which position he held until his death. He was an incorporator of the Templeton Street Railway Company and was its first President; he has also been vice-president of the railway company and several years a director.
He has compiled and published a Greenwood genealogy which contains an early history of the family in England, and the origin of the name.
He was a charter member of the Press Club of Boston, Massa- chusetts. In politics he was a member of the Republican party. He was an attendant of the Unitarian Church.
May 11, 1880 Mr. Greenwood married Grandine Leuthesser, daughter of Professor Frederick Henry and Eleonora (Goltz) Leu- thesser, granddaughter of Daniel and Sophia (Ruhl) Leuthesser, and of Mathias and Dorothea (Loberth) Goltz. Her father, Fred- erick Henry Leuthesser was born in Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, May 20, 1833, and came to America in 1857. Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood have one son, Talma Temple Greenwood, a gradu- ate of Tufts College in 1911, cum laude, an electrical engineer.
In offering his suggestions to young people Mr. Greenwood said " Every young man should have a technical education; try and be skilful in every line of work or occupation. It is only the skilled in any employment who command large wages."
Mr. Greenwood died on May 13, 1918, after a protracted illness of several years.
Mr. Greenwood was a man of sincerity and earnestness, with re- markable energy and true kindliness of heart-therein lies the secret of his success. Starting in life with priceless qualities of mind and character inherited from a long line of worthy ancestors, he fol- lowed up this advantage by receiving a good education and an excellent business training in the world of affairs.
SOLOMON BULKLEY GRIFFIN
S I OLOMON BULKLEY GRIFFIN, managing editor of the Springfield Republican, for over forty-five years a member of its editorial force, and since 1878 a director of The Republi- can Company, was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, August 13, 1852. He is the son of Reverend Nathaniel Herrick Griffin and Hannah E. (Bulkley) Griffin, who was daughter of Major Solomon Bulkley of Williamstown. On the father's side he is descended from Jasper Griffin of Southold, Long Island, who was born in Wales about the year 1648, and died at Southold in 1718. On his mother's side his first American ancestor was Reverend Peter Bulkley, one of the founders of Concord, Massachusetts, and its venerated first minister.
Doctor Nathaniel Griffin was long connected with Williams College, as librarian and professor, and prepared his son to enter college with the class of 1872, but because of lack of health Solomon Griffin took only a partial course of study. In 1881, however, after he had accomplished nine years of serious work in journalism, he was given the degree of A.M., and enrolled with his class. He had been one of the editors of the Vidette, the college weekly. In July, 1872, he took a place in the local department of The Republican, where under the thorough training of that master in journalism, Samuel Bowles, he proved his " effectual calling."
When Mr. Bowles in his last illness came to set his house in order, and the new Republican Company was formed to succeed the old firm of Samuel Bowles & Company, Mr. Griffin was appointed managing editor, and made one of the board of three directors, Samuel Bowles, Jr., becoming president. He has held these posi- tions ever since, completing forty years in January, 1918, and during all this period doing constant editorial writing. From the day he entered The Republican office he has devoted himself wholly to his profession, and is now one of the veterans of Massachusetts' journalism.
Mr. Griffin as an editor is progressive and alert, quick to adopt the best of new methods, while holding fast to the old and tried ones, thus tempering advance with a wise conservatism. No disciple of Samuel Bowles has been more faithful than he, and none has been more influential in the growth and character of The Republican. The many young men he has trained in these forty years, and the keen judges of the composing room, would all agree that he is an all-round newspaper man of the first order.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.