USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Essex County, Massachusetts > Part 17
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RNEST AUGUST DICK, a contractor and builder, residing at 209 Ferry Street, Lawrence, was born July 21, 1849, in Saxony, Germany, son of Frederich August Dick. The father, also a native of Saxony, born January 9, 1826, was a son of a carpenter of repute. He learned the weaver's trade in his youth, and subsequently worked at it, and manufactured fabrics on his own account for some time. In 1871 he came to America, and, locating in Lawrence, spent the next ten years employed in the Washing- ton Mills. Afterward he kept a restaurant and lunch-room on Essex Street, where he had a substantial business until his retirement
from active pursuits some eight years ago. He and his wife are now spending their de- clining years in comfort at their cosey home, 217 Ferry Street. His wife, Ernestina Myer Dick, whom he married in 1848, was born in Saxony, May 26, 1826. They had six children, all born in Germany; namely, Ernest August, Richard, Hugo, August, Emil, and Bertha. Bertha is now the wife of Gustav Loeckler, a designer for a textile manufactory in Pawtucket, R.I. Richard Dick, the second son, went in 1874 from Law- rence to Milwaukee, Wis., where he studied gymnastics and physical culture for a year, and then went to San Francisco as a teacher. Afterward, in the same city, he followed the business of contractor and builder until his death, which occurred in 1881, at the age of twenty-seven years. Active and enterprising, he was fairly prosperous, and at his demise left a good property. He was a Mason, and his body was laid to rest in the beautiful Ma- sonic cemetery of San Francisco. Hugo Dick is the editor and proprietor of the Advertiser and Post, the leading German organ of New England and the only German newspaper published in Essex County. August, who learned the carpenter's trade of his older brother, is now doing a large manufacturing business in Worcester, Mass. Both he and his brother Hugo are married, and have fam- ilies. Emil, who was born in 1858, having received his early education in Lawrence, later graduated from a school of design in Germany. He was subsequently employed as a designer in a factory of Canada, and is now superintendent of the Lewiston mills in Maine.
Ernest A. Dick received his education in an academy, and early in life became con- versant with the German, French, and Eng- lish languages. He served three years in the
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German army as a non-commissioned officcr. Though he was wounded at the battle of Gravelotte, he afterward participated in the siege of Paris. In 1872 he followed his par- ents to New England, and, coming directly to Lawrence, soon afterward found employment with the firm of Briggs & Allyn, contraetors. At the end of seven years, having mastered the details of the carpenter's trade, he estab- lished himself as a contraetor and builder, and in 1881 built his present dwelling. Among the important buildings erected by him are the shops of John W. Horn & Co., the Emer- son Manufacturing Company's works, Hiber- nian Hall, Buxton Block, Turne Hall, the Cushing Hotel at Salisbury Beach, and the residences of Frank Page, Richard Sugget, Herbert Whittier, and Walter Coulson. The first to pereeive the possibilities of the dis- trict around his residenee, to which the only approach then was a cow-path, he purchased three acres of the land, divided it into lots, built upon it, and otherwise improved it, and then sold at a deeided advantage. Hc has also erected a factory and sheds in the local- ity, and he owns cottages on Willoughby Street. In executing his contracts he em- ploys as many as sixty men.
Mr. Diek was married October 7, 1875, to Miss Joanna Matthews, a daughter of Ernest and Joanna (Wolf) Matthews, who emigrated from Germany in 1857, and was one of the first German families to locate in Methuen, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Diek lost one child, Hugo, who died at the age of three years. They have six sons and four daughters living; namely, Ernest, Otho, Ida, Riehard, Oscar, Emma, Walter, Albert, Elsie, and Eleanor. Eleanor is two years old, while Ernest is a young man of twenty. Mr. Diek is one of the original stockholders of the South Side Brewery, which he built. He is a Master
Mason and a strong Republican in politics. In 1882 he served in the Common Council, al- though he prefers devoting his time to his business affairs rather than to publie office.
SA HOWE, a lumber surveyor and in- spector for a Danversport firm, was born June 18, 1830, son of Ben- jamin and Hannah H. (Berry) Howe. John Howe settled on the farm in Middleton about two hundred years ago, and built a part of the present dwelling-house. His son, Mark, had a son Asa, who was the grandfather of the present Asa Howe. Grandfather Asa, be- sides several sons, had three daughters, to caeh of whom by his will he left property. The homestead became the property of Ben- jamin and Mark. Benjamin married Hannah H. Berry, and died at thirty-six, leaving three children. These were: George; Benjamin ; and Asa. Another ehild, Caroline, had died at the age of two years. Mark sold his in- terest in the homestead to his brother Benja- min for the sum of three thousand dollars.
At the early age of eleven the present Asa Howe began to learn the shoemaker's trade. After a time he bought his brother's interest in the farm, and has since devoted himself to its eultivation. Since it came into his pos- session he has added seventy-five aeres to the original one hundred and fifty, which ex- tended two miles to the south. For eleven years past hc has been employed by Woodman Brothers & Ross, of Danversport, as surveyor and inspector of all lumber eut in the vicinity, the duties of which position occupy his entire time during six months of the year.
On May 27, 1857, Mr. Howe married Olive M. Richardson, daughter of Danicl and Olive Berry (Perkins) Richardson, of Middleton. They have two children: Carrie Maria, now
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the wife of George M. Derry, who is in the box business in Boston; and Henry Erskine, who is with his father. Mr. Howe is a Re- publican, and has been a Selectman for ten years. He is a member of the Congrega- tional church, where he was a Deacon for eight years. His son has long been the super- intendent of the Sabbath-school.
ITZ E. RIGGS, formerly an extensive salt-fish dealer of Gloucester, was born May 3, 1811, son of Andrew and Nancy (Merchant) Riggs. The first ancestor of the Riggs family of whom there is any authentic knowledge was Thomas Riggs, born about the year 1632. According to the records he first appeared as a resident of Gloucester in 1650; and in 1658 he received a grant of six acres of land, located at Little River. A part of the log house that he built in 1660 is still standing and used for a habita- tion. In 1661 he bought houses of Matthew Coe and Thomas and John Wakeley. He is said to have been educated in England for the profession of a scrivener, and must have been a welcome acquisition to the community, half of the male members of which were unable to write. He served as Town Clerk from 1665 to 1716 inclusive, was a Selectman from 1669 to 1705 inclusive, was Representative to the General Court in the year 1700, and as one of the town officials was fined by the Superior Court in Salem for non-compliance with an order of Governor Andros, calling for an as- sessment from the inhabitants of Gloucester. In 1698 he was chosen the first schoolmaster at a salary of one shilling sixpence per day during the town's pleasure, and at one time he was the largest land-owner in the common territory. There is in existence a small book with a parchment cover, upon the first page
of which is written the following: "Thomas Riggs, his book, 1655.
" And if this book, whereon you look, should casually be lost,
Restore it to me ; for I am that who knows best what it cost.".
Another book, in the same handwriting, con- tains items of sums received and paid, but is chiefly devoted to notes of sermons in short- hand.
Thomas Riggs died February 26, 1722. On June 7, 1658, he married Mary, daughter of Thomas Millett; and his son, Thomas (sec- ond), was born December 7, 1666. Thomas Riggs (second) drew one of the Cape lots, and was assessed in the first tax list in 1693. He settled on the westerly side of Annisquam River. - In 1723 he was a commoner, and he received woodland with others in the general distribution. He died in August, 1756, and his will was proved in October of that year. On November 22, 1687, he married Ann Wheeler, of Salisbury, Mass. ; and his son, Aaron, the next in line, was born January 18, 1700. Aaron Riggs followed the trade of a housewright during his active years, and died about the year 1790. He first married Thomazine Wentworth, of Dover, N. H. His second marriage was contracted with his cousin, Annie Riggs. Aaron Riggs (second), the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, born in Gloucester, March 18, 1749, was a farmer and a fisherman. A family tradition affirms that he was a minute-man during the Revolutionary War, though his name does not appear upon any list. His death occurred September 15, 1828. He successively mar- ried Martha Adams and Mrs. Polly Oakes. Andrew Riggs, the father of Fitz E. Riggs, was born in Gloucester, April 6, 1783. He was engaged in the fishing industry. In
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1812, while on board the private armed schooner "Orlando" of Gloucester, com- manded by Captain Robert Evans, he was wounded. He died December 27, 1814, from the effects of wounds received on board the United States ship " Madison " on Lake On- tario. On November 28, 1805, he married Nancy Merchant.
Fitz E. Riggs was educated in Gloucester. For some years he followed the sea, first in the merchant service and later as a fisherman, becoming the master of a vessel while still a young man. Associating himself with his brothers, Gorham and Nathaniel, he estab- lished the firm of Riggs Brothers, which was later known as Fitz E. Riggs & Brother. At one time the latter was probably the largest salt-fish concern in the city. Mr. Riggs per- sonally superintended every detail of the busi- ness, believing that success depended as much upon the minor points as upon the more im- portant requirements. In the course of time he acquired a fortune. He was a director of both the Gloucester Mutual Fishing Insurance Company and the Cape Ann National Bank. Public office he invariably declined. He was a member of the Baptist church.
Mr. Riggs married Elizabeth L. Robinson, daughter of Samuel Robinson, of this city. Of his nine children, two grew to maturity, namely: Elizabeth, now the wife of Edward S. Eveleth, M.D., of Gloucester; and Fitz E., born July 12, 1850. He died March 8, 1886.
HARLES HENRY RAMSDELL, an extensive property owner and real es- tate dealer of Lynn, was born in this city, September 26, 1840. A grandson of Bijah Ramsdell, he is descended from one of the early settlers of this part of Essex County. Bijah spent a long and useful life
here, dying at a very advanced age. Robert Ramsdell, son of Bijah and the father of Charles H., was born in Lynn in 1805, and died in this city in 1884. He was a shoe- maker by trade, an occupation which he fol- lowed throughout the larger part of his life. He married Mary Ann Vickery, who was also a native of Lynn, and with her reared eight children.
After leaving the Lynn public schools Charles Henry Ramsdell entered the grocery store of his uncle, Oliver Ramsdell, in whose employment he spent twelve years. In Au- gust, 1864, he enlisted for service in the Civil War, joining Company D, Eighth Massachu- setts Volunteer Infantry, under command of Colonel Benjamin F. Peach. After serving for one hundred days, located for the most of the time in Baltimore, Md., he was mustered out, November 1, 1864, at Readville, Mass. At once he returned to his position with his uncle, continuing with him about five years. In 1869 he purchased the grocery business of W. R. Hawkes on Maple Street, this city, an excellent location. Since then he has here built up a flourishing and lucrative trade in groceries. A man of superior business ability and tact, he has made wise investments, and has acquired a good property, much of it being in realty.
In politics Mr. Ramsdell is a Republican. During the years 1892, 1893, and 1894 he was a member of the Common Council. In the first year he served on the Committee for Altering and Laying out Streets and on that on State Aid, and in the next two terms he was on the Committees on State Aid and Fire De- partment. An Alderman in 1895 and 1896, he served during the first term as chairman of both the State Aid and the Fire Department Committees; and in 1896 he was in addition a member of the Committee on License and
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of the Special Committee on Butman's Mills. In the fall of 1897 he was elected to represent the Thirteenth Essex District in the State legislature, and is serving on the Committee of Public Services and Parishes and Religious Societies. He is a member of General Lander Post, No. 5, G. A. R. ; a member of Glenmere Lodge; and a charter member of Palestine Encampment, No. 37, I. O. O. F .; charter member of Winniperket Tribe, I. O. R. M .; a member of Mount Zion Sen- ate, No. 363; and of the Lynn Veteran Fire- man's Association, having been an engineer in the fire department for twelve years. In communion with the Maple Street Methodist Episcopal Church, he is a trustee and the treasurer of the society.
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In November, 1862, he married Miss Louise L. McGown, of Ellsworth, Me. Two children were born into their household, namely: Ruby Z., now the wife of H. E. Minot, of this city; and Hattie L., the wife of William J. Morgan, also of Lynn.
ERMON COOPER, M.D., of Ames- bury, son of Reuben and Cynthia Cooper, was born in Croydon, N.H., February 6, 1859. The Cooper family is of English origin, being the one to which Sir Astley Cooper, the noted English sur- geon, belongs. Dr. Cooper's immigrant an- cestor came to this country in May, 1636, with two nephews, and settled in Cambridge, Mass .; while one nephew settled in Sutton, Mass., and the other in Connecticut. The history of the town of Croydon is closely linked with that of the family, as the name Cooper appears on almost every page. Coopers were among the first settlers, locating there in the time when witchcraft was be- lieved to exist, having made the journey
through miles of forest on foot and in ox teams. It is alleged that an uncle of the Doctor swam the Connecticut River with the first plough ever used in Sullivan County, New Hampshire. Two other great-uncles were: William F. Cooper, M. D., of Kelloggs- ville, N. Y. who practised in one town for sixty-four years; and Lemuel B. Cooper, who died about the year 1890, always a farmer. The historian, Augustus Cooper Blistol, is Dr. Cooper's cousin.
The Coopers are a hardy race, broad-shoul- dered and muscular, robust and long-lived. Twenty Coopers, all old men, voted at one election. The family characteristics are industry, sobriety, and unpretentiousness. There is a minister or deacon in every genera- tion, and the family has produecd many able physicians. Dr. Cooper's grandfather and father were farmers and graziers in Croydon. In war time they made a specialty of sheep- raising, and sometimes there were as many as nine hundred head on the home farm. The Doctor remembers when wool brought one dollar and fifteen cents. He has three brothers : John A., a professor of dancing in Boston; Orville R., the superintendent of a coal wharf in the same city; and Milon, on the homestead in New Hampshire.
Hermon Cooper fitted for college at Kim- ball Union Academy in Meriden, N.H., and then entered Dartmouth. Having graduated from the Dartmouth Medical School in 1883, he began practice in Meriden, where he re- mained five years. In November, 1888, he lo- cated in Amesbury, where he now has a large practice. Especially proficient in surgery, he performed fifty delicate operations last year, and lost but two patients. He is a member of the Dartmouth College Alumni Associa- tion, the Massachusetts Medical Association, and the Amesbury Medical Society ; and he is
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the medical examiner for the A. O. U. W. Besides reading a number of valuable papers before medical associations, he has published in pamphlet form an article on the use o for- ceps in obstetrics and two on laparotomy. He is a very popular physician, and has a wide circle of acquaintance. By his marriage with Miss Ellen F. Currier, of Holliston, Mass., he has a daughter, Maude, thirteen years old.
APTAIN WILLIAM F. MARTINS, a veteran of the Civil War, now living in retirement in Merrimac, was born on the Island of St. Bartholomew, Octo- ber 21, 1816. His father was a native of the West Indies; while his mother was a niece of Judge Joseph Story, the eminent jurist of Massachusetts. Having previously resided upon his native island until he was sixteen years old, he then came to Salem, Mass., and there attended school. He learned the car- riage trimmer's trade in Boston, and after- ward followed it as a journeyman in Piermont, N. H., for a number of years. Later he took up his residence in Merrimac, which was then a part of Amesbury. At the breaking out of the Rebellion he joined Captain J. W. Sar- gent in raising a company, was commissioned its First Lieutenant, and arrived with it in Washington in August, 1861. Here the men were assigned to the Fourteenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, as Company E, and subsequently did garrison duty in the fortifications about the capital until General McClellan took command of the Army of the Potomac. The Fourteenth was ordered to the front at Bull Run, but upon reaching Centre- ville, Va., was ordered back to Washington. In October, 1862, Lieutenant Martins was promoted to the rank of Captain, and trans- ferred to Company I; and in June, 1863, he
was detached and ordered to report to General Milroy at Winchester. After the evacuation of Fort Jackson, which took place two days previous to the battle of Gettysburg, Captain Martins was placed in command of a force to cover the Federal army's retreat; but Milroy was cut off by Confederate General Rhodes, and the retreating division was captured by the enemy. While confined in Libby Prison, Captain Martins witnessed an interesting in- cident that made a lasting impression upon his memory. It seems that the authorities in Richmond had received word that Lee had completely routed the Federal army at Gettys- burg, and that General Meade was retreating North. This news gave them confidence to retaliate for the recent hanging of two Con- federate spies by General Burnside. The seventy-two Union captains then confined in Libby were ordered to draw lots as a means of selecting for execution. The captains were drawn up in line, slips of paper bearing the name of each were placed in a box, and the first two names taken out were to decide whom the victims should be. Then venerable Chaplain Brown, with tears rolling down his furrowed checks, while his lips moved in prayer, drew forth the names of Captain Henry W. Sawyer, of the First New Jersey Cavalry, and Captain Flynn, of the Fifty- seventh Indiana Volunteers. Though these officers were immediately placed in close con- finement, some humane power must have in- terceded in their behalf, as they were not exe- cuted. Captain Martins, with others, was exchanged, May 13, 1864, in time to rejoin his regiment at Spottsylvania. Here he re- ceived a gunshot wound in the arm, but refused to go to the rear. While advancing at the head of his company shortly after, a shell burst in close proximity to him, so shat- tering his leg that the remaining portion had
WILLIAM GOODHUE.
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to be amputated that night. As a result he was sent home, and later discharged. Upon his recovery, however, he joined the Veteran Relief Corps, in which he subsequently did duty at Annapolis and Baltimore. After the close of the war he was placed on waiting orders, and remained at home until 1866. Then he requested to be discharged or as- signed to duty, and was ordered to report to General Tilton. He was sent to Georgia, where he performed light duty for some time, and was finally discharged from the service in 1868.
In December, 1839, Captain Martins mar- ried Jane F. Newell, who had five children. These were: Charlotte Rebecca and Belle, both of whom died in infancy; Agnes, who married and died, leaving her children with their grandfather; Newell B., who also served in the Rebellion, and died shortly after its close; and John Sanborn, who died in 1859, at the age of nine. Captain Martins was one of the organizers of C. R. Mudge Post, G. A. R., and served as its first Senior Vice- Commander. He retired from active business pursuits some time since, and receives a merited pension from the government.
THIS HOMAS H. HOYT, an able lawyer and prominent resident of Merrimac, was born in this town, May 11, 1849. He is of Puritan ancestry. His father was one of the nine abolitionists who, hcaded by the poet Whittier, marched to the polls in Amesbury to support the Free Soil party in the face of much popular antipathy.
After completing his early education at the New Hampton (N.H.) Literary Institute, Thomas H. Hoyt graduated from the law de- partment of the University of Michigan in 1874 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and
was admitted to the bar in the following ycar. Returning to New England some time later, he was for two years associated with D. C. Bartlett in the practice of his profession in Haverhill, Mass. In 1880 he located in his native town, where he has acquired a large and profitable general law business, and won the confidence of the general public, as well as of his numerous clientage, by his legal ability and sterling integrity. Though not a politician, Mr. Hoyt is decply interested in local affairs and educational matters. He served upon the Board of Selectmen for three years and on the School Board for fourteen years, having been the chairman of the latter body for the greater part of the time.
SA ILLIAM GOODHUE, a well-known farmer and dairyman of Ipswich, was born September 20, 1835, on the old Goodhue homestead, three miles west of the village. A son of the late Aaron Good- hue, he belongs to an old and honored family. His first ancestor in this country was Will- iam Goodhue, who, born in England in 1612 or 1613, married Margery Nutsen, of Kent, England, and came to America in 1635 or 1636, his wife dying here in 1668. The line of descent comes through Joseph, born in Ips- wich in 1639 on the homestead above men- tioned, who married Sarah Whipple; Will- iam, born in 1666, who marricd Mary Lou- don; their son William, born in 1687 or 1688, who married Abigail Adams; William, the succeeding ancestor, born in 1727, who married Mary Lord, and died in 1807; and Aaron, the grandfather of William, born in 1761, who married Mary Kimball. The last-named ancestor served in the Revolution- ary War, and died in 1847.
Aaron Goodhue, Jr., the father of the pres-
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ent William, belonged to the seventh genera- tion descended from the first William. He was born April 12, 1794, on the old home- stead, which became his by inheritance, the title having passed by will from descendant to descendant since it came into possession of the family. He was in every respect a worthy representative of his family, maintain- ing in a marked degree those traits of honesty, industry, and thrift, characteristic of the early New Englander. He carried on mixed hus- bandry during his active years, residing on the old farm until his death, which occurred June 16, 1868. His widow, whose maiden name was Fanny Maria Cooper, resides near her son William, a well-preserved woman of eighty-nine years, retaining to a noted degree her mental and physical powers, not even needing glasses to aid her sight. One of her sons, Charles Leonard Goodhue, is a promi- nent business man of Springfield, being the contractor, builder, and one of the promoters of the fine system of water-works in that city.
William Goodhue remained on the home farm until after the death of his father, assist- ing in the various labors incidental to farm life. He inherited the homestead property, on which the original house, erected probably more than two hundred and fifty years ago, stood until 1882. The barn now standing contains a part of the original barn, which, without doubt, was built at about the same time as the house. In 1879 Mr. Goodhue re- moved to his present farm, which lies nearer the village, being one mile west of the Ips- wich railway station. On his eighty acres of land, which was formerly included in the Dawson homestead, he carries on general farming with success, at the same time mak- ing substantial improvements on the place, including the erection of a fine set of build- ings well adapted for his business. Formerly
he manufactured large quantities of cider ; but he is now especially devoting his time to dairying, which he finds quite profitable. His reputation is that of an able business man.
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