USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Essex County, Massachusetts > Part 19
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until 1894, when he was chosen president. Since 1867 he has been treasurer of the Cape Ann Anchor Works, which has a world-wide reputation ; and he was one of the incorpora- tors of the Cape Ann Isinglass Company, of which he has been treasurer since 1873. His investments in other industries and financial enterprises have been numerous and produc- tive of excellent results. He was formerly manager and now is president of the Glouces- ter Gas Light Company, and is president of the Russia Cement Company, who conduct the largest fish glue establishment in the world, manufacture Le Page's liquid glue, and are the proprietors of the Essex Fertilizer. He is a director of the Pigeon Hill Granite Company, is president of the Gloucester Safe Deposit and Trust Company, and president of the printing company which publishes the Cape Ann Breeze.
Mr. Bradford married Emma Sewall, of Rockport, daughter of Levi Sewall, one of the original members of the firm of Eames, Stim- son & Co. Having no children of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Bradford have reared her niece. Mr. Bradford attends the Congrega- tional church, of which Mrs. Bradford is a member. He took an active part in organiz- ing the Gloucester Fishermen's Institute, in- augurated for the purpose of improving the moral and religious welfare of the seafaring men of the city. He is a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity, and connected with Ashley Lodge, Rockport.
RANK E. DAVIS, Mayor of Glouces- ter, was born in this city in 1851. A son of Eben Davis, he is descended from one of the earlier settlers of Cape Ann. His great-grandfather, Ebenezer Davis, and Ebenezer's brother, Samuel, participated in
the battle of Bunker Hill. Ebenezer subse- quently located at Rockport, where he spent his remaining days. At his death he was buried in the Rockport cemetery. His son, Eben Davis, Sr., the grandfather of Frank E., spent his entire life on Cape Ann. The father of Frank E. was born in Rockport, where he grew to man's estate. Coming then to Gloucester, he was master of a fishing- vessel for some thirty years. Afterward he es- tablished himself in business as a stove dealer and plumber, and in the course of a few years built up an extensive and lucrative trade. He is now living in this city, retired from active pursuits, enjoying the fruits of his early in- dustry. He married Annie S. Wheeler, a descendant of one of the oldest families in this part of Essex County. They reared two children - Frank E. and Flora. Flora is now the wife of George C. Lovis, of Newton, Mass.
Frank E. Davis was educated in the graded schools and high school of Gloucester. At the early age of ten years he began to spend his summers on board the fishing - vessels, often taking long trips. For several years he was in partnership with Mr. Mayo in the firm of Mayo & Davis. In 1873 he embarked in the stove business as junior member of the firm Davis & Co. Some experiments of his having proved successful, he decided to con- fine his attention entirely to fish curing and dealing. For the past twelve years he has been profitably engaged in handling fish, prin- cipally mackerel, which he buys in large quantities from the various vessels employed at the Banks, and, after repacking them, sells to the consumers in all parts of the country, his trade being outside of Gloucester. His products are well known throughout the United States.
Mr. Davis has served the city most effi-
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ciently in various capacities. For two years he was a Councilman, and he was a member of the Board of Aldermen in 1895. In 1897 he was the Independent candidate for Mayor of the city upon the citizens' ticket, which was supported by the leading men of the place ; and he was elected without the use of political machinery. During the recent water contest he labored early and late in the interests of the municipality, and the case is now before the court. His connection with secret or- ganizations includes membership in the Knights of Pythias, the I. O. of R. M., the I. O. O. F., in which he has filled all the offices, the encampment of the same society, and the Masonic fraternity, in which he is a Master. He is one of the Executive Com- mittee of the Board of the Business Men's Association, and was formerly a member of the Gloucester Board of Trade.
Mr. Davis married Miss Alice E. Colbey, who was born in Gloucester, Mass., August 30, 1859, a daughter of Abner L. and Cyrena A. (Foss) Colbey. He has three children - Alice P., Arthur C., and Carrie M.
HE CHALLIS FAMILY has made its home for more than two hundred years on Challis Hill, one of the historic and picturesque spots of Amesbury. From the observatory on the roof of the beautiful resi- dence now occupied by Mrs. Challis Os- borne, which is one of the most sightly in the whole country-side, glimpses can be had of three States and twenty towns.
Phillip Watson Challis, from whom the family is descended, was one of the original settlers of old Salisbury. He located near the Mudock Road, opposite Carr's Island, where was established in 1639 the first ferry crossing the Merrimac River. Besides being very
prominent in town affairs, he was First Lieu- tenant in the militia for many years. In 1669, 1670, 1672, 1674, 1676, 1678, and 1680 he served on the Prudential Committee. His death occurred about the year 1680. He had served as Deputy to the General Court in 1662, and had been on the Prudential Com- mittee also in 1659, about seven years be- fore the town was legally incorporated in 1666. The large tracts of land he owned were inherited by his children. His son, Thomas, was a man fully equal in ability to his father. Although a Quaker, Thomas took a very active part in town affairs. Thomas Challis, Jr., born December 18, 1709, mar- ried Sarah Weed, and had five children. Of the latter, David, born in September, 1737, married on December 22, 1763, Ruth Dow. Samuel, son of David, born September 18, 1767, married Judith Dow. He was also a member of the Society of Friends, as were all the members of the family. After spend- ing his life in agricultural pursuits on the old homestead, he died suddenly while sitting at the breakfast-table.
Josiah Dow Challis, father of Mrs. Osborne, was born on December 19, 1802. The resi- dence standing opposite the old Challis house was built by him. He was esteemed as a man of good judgment, and at one time was Select- man of the town. At his death, on February 22, 1885, he was eighty-two years old. His wife, Ruth Jones Challis, who died Febru- ary 2, 1879, was a daughter of Philip Jones, the celebrated Friend at Lion's Mouth. Her uncle, Ezekiel Jones, married Miss Hussey, whose sister became the mother of John Greenleaf Whittier. Josiah and Ruth Jones Challis had two children - David Edwin and Ellen Maria. David Edwin, born September II, 1827, died at the age of twelve. Ellen Maria, born September 30, 1836, married
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Jonathan H. Osborne, and for some years re- sided in the old house built in 1696. Mr. Osborne afterward built the present beautiful residence upon the summit of the hill. An active and energetic man, he was prominent in town matters, especially at the time when the town was divided. He was Selectman for five years, and was a member of the Friends' So- ciety for many years. John G. Whittier, with whom he was intimate, said of him, "He is a man who thinks for himself." He died April 1, 1890. His children by Mrs. Os- borne are Annie and Ruth Ellen. Annie, who married M. Berry Chesley, lives in the old homestead, where her mother began house- keeping, and has two children. The younger daughter, Ruth Ellen, lives with her mother. Mrs. Osborne has always taken a deep interest in the affairs of the church. She is a member of the Elizabeth H. Whittier Club and of the W. C. T. U. It is a peculiar fact that for more than a hundred years no member of the Challis family has moved away from the home- stead. It was in the eighteenth century that a grand-aunt of Mrs. Osborne's married and settled in Lynn.
PEASLEE LITTLE, a prominent lumber manufacturer and farmer of Amesbury, and a well-known breeder of fancy live stock, was born in Hampstead, N. H., in 1839, son of David and Louise (Peaslee) Little. On the paternal side he is descended from early settlers of Newbury, Mass. His mother was a daughter of Obadiah Peaslee, of Hampstead. Jonathan Little, J. Peaslee Little's grandfather, moved from Newbury to Hampstead, where he took up a large tract of land, and became an extensive farmer. He was active in public affairs, served in the New Hampshire House of Rep-
resentatives, and held a Colonel's commission in the State militia. David Little, after passing the greater part of his life upon a farm in Hampstead, spent his last years in New- buryport, where he died in 1884.
J. Peaslee Little was educated in his native town. When twenty-seven years old he set- tled in Amesbury. As a stock farmer he has acquired a wide reputation, having raised some of the finest specimens of thoroughbred cattle ever produced in this part of the State. For many years he was a well-known figure at the Brighton market, where his stock always brought high prices. During the past twenty- five years he has taken a lively interest in agricultural societies, having won many money prizes, as well as blue ribbons and other trophies, for exhibits at Bangor and Lewiston, Me., and Rochester, N.H. Visitors at the Essex County and the Amesbury and Salis- bury fairs are also familiar with his prize cattle. Mr. Little has been a trustee of the Essex County Agricultural Society for a num- ber of years, and has rendered valuable aid in securing its successful exhibits. Both as an operator and manufacturer he is extensively interested in the lumber business. In 1896 he sawed six hundred thousand feet at his Amesbury mills. These mills furnish much of the building material used in this section, Lawrence, and Haverhill.
On January 15, 1867, Mr. Little married Mary A. Jewell, daughter of George Jewell, a representative of an old and highly reputable family of Essex County. Mrs. Little is the mother of one daughter, Annie Louise, who is a graduate of the Amesbury High School. On December 28, 1897, Miss Little was united in marriage with George Ashley Wood- som, of Berwick, Me., who comes of an old Maine family. Mr. and Mrs. Woodsom re- side with her parents at the old homestead.
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Mr. Little by preference spends his leisure with his family in his pleasant home at Lion's Mouth.
DWARD SMITH EVELETH, M. D., for over thirty years a successful medi- cal practitioner in Gloucester, was born in Essex, October 14, 1841, son of Ed- ward and Lucy (Mears) Eveleth. The immi- grant ancestor of the family was Sylvester Eveleth, or Yeverleigh, probably a native of Devonshire, England, and he was a Select- man of Gloucester in 1648. He was made a freeman in 1652, and was a Representative to the General Court in 1673. In 1666 he was licensed to keep an ordinary, or public house of entertainment, and he acquired large tracts of land. He died in 1689. Besides a daugh- ter he had two sons- Joseph and Isaac. Joseph Eveleth located in Ipswich in 1674, and died in 1740, at the unusual age of one hundred and five years. In 1667 he married Mary, daughter of Edward Bragg. Jonathan Eveleth, Dr. Eveleth's grandfather, became a sea captain in his young manhood; and his vessel was captured by the English while on a voyage.
Edward Eveleth, Dr. Eveleth's father, was born in Essex in 1812. Having learned the trade of ship-carpenter, he was engaged in ship-building for a number of years. His last days were spent in retirement, and he died in 1893. He avoided notoriety in any form, being naturally quiet and reserved. His wife, Lucy, who was a daughter of John Mears, of Essex, became the mother of three children. Of these, besides the subject of this sketch, Philemon Eveleth, M.D., of Marblehead, Mass., is living. Mrs. Edward Eveleth was a member of the Congregational church.
Edward Smith Eveleth acquired his ele-
mentary education in the public schools. He completed the course at Phillips Exeter Academy, fitting himself to enter the Sopho- more class at Harvard University. Then he attended the Harvard Medical School for two years. Having graduated from the Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City, in 1866, he located for practice in Gloucester, where he has since resided. He is a member of the Massachusetts State Medi- cal Society and the American Medical So- ciety, and is upon the staff of the Addison Gilbert Hospital. An esteemed Mason, he is connected with Acacia Lodge, A. F. & A. M. In politics he is a Republican, and for ten years was a member of the School Board. He married Louisa F. Parsons, daughter of Will - iam Parsons, 2d, of this city.
ILLIAM HENRY NEWHALL, a rctired business man of Saugus, was born in Groton, Mass., February II, 1821, son of David and Phebe (Kimball) Newhall. The grandfather, Jonathan New- hall, a prosperous farmer and lifelong resident of Saugus, lived to an advanced age. David Newhall, the father, a native of Saugus, learned shoemaking, and was one of the pio- neers of that business in Lynn, where he re- sided for some years. The greater part of his life was spent in his native town, where he figured prominently in public affairs for many years, serving as a Selectman, Town Treas- urer, Tax Collector, Oversccr of the Poor, and Constable. He died in 1871, aged eighty-one years. His wife was born in Andover, Mass.
William Henry Newhall was educated in the public schools of Saugus. Having previ- ously worked at shoemaking with his father
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for nine years, he was prosperously engaged in that business on his own account in Saugus for nearly forty years. From 1852 to 1895 he served as Town Clerk. He has also been a Selectman; and he was the chairman of the Board of Assessors for twenty-seven years, Tax Collector for five years, and a member of the legislature in 1856. In politics he is a Republican.
In November, 1844, Mr. Newhall married for his first wife Harriet L. Fiske, of Saugus, who died in 1853, leaving two children - George Francis and Henry L. Newhall. On May 30, 1854, he was married a second tinie in Malden, Mass., to Lucinda H. Boardman, also of this town. By this union there is one son, Elmer B. Newhall. Mr. Newhall has been an Odd Fellow for fifty-three years, and is a member of Bay State Lodge, No. 40.
ENRY W. MEARS, the well-known manufacturer of fish-lines in Essex, was born here, April 1, 1846, son of William Henry and Mary N. (Peabody) Mears. He belongs to the third generation of the family to follow the business of making fish-lines in this locality, that industry having been established by his grandfather, John Mears. John Mears, who was a highly re- spected man, died in September, 1865. He successively married Susannah Story and Eliza- beth Colc.
William Henry Mears, born in Newbury- port, Mass., was the first to manufacture cot- ton lines here; and he conducted a prosperous business until his death, which occurred June 10, 1887. In politics he was an earnest advo- cate of Republican principles, and ably repre- sented this district in the legislature of 1870. His wife, Mary, a native of Topsfield, Mass., was a daughter of Ebenezer Peabody, who was
a prosperous farmer of that town. Her grand- father was Alexander Peabody, an English- man, who taught school in New York State for some time, and passed the rest of his life in Massachusetts. William Henry and Mary N. Mears were the parents of six children - Gilbert, Mercy, Eliza, Mary Ann, Henry W., and Eliza C. Gilbert was engaged in the manufacture of fish-lines until October 7, 1862, when he enlisted in Company E, Forty- eighth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers ; and he died at Baton Rouge, La., June 21, 1863. He wedded Mary E. Burnham, of this town; and his only son, Charles G., married Carrie Berry, and is now station agent at Danvers Plains, Mass. Mrs. Gilbert Mears is now the wife of Eben Peabody, a shoemaker of Topsfield. Mercy and Eliza Mears died in infancy. Mary Ann married F. P. Haskell, of Essex, and died August 3, 1873. Eliza C. married Samuel Trask, of Danvers, and died in October, 1884, leaving one daughter, Mary Alice. Mrs. William Henry Mears died De- cember 12, 1877.
Henry W. Mears was educated in the com- mon schools. Since completing his studies he has been engaged in his present occupation. After the death of his father he succeeded to the business, which he carries on with energy and success, finding a ready market in New England for all the goods he can produce. Politically, he acts with the Republican party, but has never aspired to public office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business.
On June 4, 1871, Mr. Mears was joined in marriage with Elcanor E. Story. . She was born in Essex, April 6, 1846, daughter of Charles and Elcanor (Burnham) Story. Her father, who was a ship-builder of this town, died October 20, 1880, and his wife on Octo- ber 25, 1891. They were the parents of two
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children - Charles H. and Eleanor E. Charles H. married Jennie Mclaughlin, and died in 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Mears have one daughter, Annie S., born September 24, 1877, who possesses many rare accomplish- ments, and is a member of the Congregational church. The family occupies a pleasant resi- dence overlooking the occan. The house is one of the principal landmarks in Essex, as it was built by Dr. Russ over two hundred years ago.
J OHN HOWE COGSWELL, a well- known citizen of Ipswich, Mass., son of the late Deacon Aaron Cogswell, was born June 24, 1837, in the house where he now lives. He is a lineal descendant in the eighth generation of John Cogswell, one of the earliest settlers of Ipswich. John was a son of Edward and Alice Cogswell, of West- bury Leigh, County of Wilts, England, where his father was engaged in the manufacture of woollen fabrics.
On May 23, 1635, John Cogswell embarked at Bristol for New England, accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth Thompson, and eight chil- dren, in the ship "Angel Gabriel," which three months later, on August 15, 1635, was wrecked in a very severe storm off the coast of Maine. John Cogswell, with his family, reached the shore at Pemaquid, Me., and a few weeks later came to Ipswich. In 1636 he received several grants of land, some in the village and one of three hundred acres in Che- bokoe (Chebacco), on which he built a house the same year. This tract of land is now, after a lapse of two hundred and sixty years, owned by his descendants. He was very prominent, and early honored with the appella- tion of "Mr." He divided his property largely while living, and having died Novem- ber 29, 1669, aged seventy-seven years, was
buried in the church grounds on High Street in this town.
His son William, the next ancestor, was born in England in 1619, and was sixteen years old when he came to America. He died on December 15, 1700, in Chebacco, a parish of Ipswich which was established, after much opposition mainly through his efforts. He maintained an interest in its welfare to the last, and gave the lot for the first meet- ing-house. In 1649 he married Susannah Hawkes; and their son John, born May 12, 1665, and afterward known as Lieutenant John Cogswell, was the third in this line. Lieu- tenant Cogswell married Hannah Goodhue, and died in 1710, leaving among other chil- dren a son William, through whom the line is continued. William Cogswell, second, was born September 24, 1694, and died in 1762. He first married Mary Cogswell, and after her death he married Mrs. Elizabeth Wade Apple- ton. In 1732, having succeeded to the owner- ship of the original homestead, he erected a new house, the one recently occupied by his great-grandsons, Albert and Jonathan.
Deacon Jonathan Cogswell, son of William and Mary Cogswell, was born May 9, 1725, and died in 1812. He married Mary Apple- ton, daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Wade) Appleton. By this union he was the father of thirteen children. The farm de- scended to his sons Benjamin and Aaron, the former of whom was born August 15, 1766, and died January 17, 1841. The latter son, Aaron, the grandfather of John Howe Cogs- well, was born December 28, 1771, and died July 20, 1847. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Kinsman, four chil- dren were born, namely: Aaron, Jr., the father of John H .; Albert; Lucy; and Jona- than.
Lucy, the only daughter, married Aaron
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L. Burnham of Essex, and at her death left a daughter, Lucy Abbie, who is the wife of George F. Fuller, of Essex. Jonathan, who never married, always lived on the old home farm in Chebacco, or Essex, he and his brother Albert occupying the house built in 1732, which is the third dwelling erected on the estate, and the second to occupy the present site. Jonathan born March 5, 1820, died April 4, 1896, under peculiarly sad circumstances. He was burning off his past- ure that day, and the fire apparently got be- yond his control, extending to a neighbor's field, in which his body was subsequently found, somewhat scarred by the fire, but show- ing no signs of struggle, proving beyond a doubt that life was extinct before the blaze reached him. His death, it is supposed, was caused by heart failure, induced by intense excitement. He was a man of sterling integ- rity, and had the respect of all who knew him. Albert, born October 5, 1810, died July 5, 1885; and his widow passed away January 2, 1897, leaving two sons - Albert E. and Aaron, who now occupy the homestead so long in possession of the Cogswells.
The Cogswell coat of arms bears the follow- ing inscription : "These arms appertaineth to the name of Cogswell, being first granted to Lord Humphrey Cogswell in the year 1447, from whom it descends to the ancient family of Cogswell."
Deacon Aaron Cogswell, father of John H., was born February 21, 1807, in Chebacco Parish, now Essex, and was educated at Phillips Academy, Andover, and Pinkerton Academy, Derry, N.H. At the age of six- teen he began teaching on Hog, now Choate, Island, in Essex, and in 1832 was made mas- ter of the High Street Grammar School in Ipswich and continued his professional career for twenty-five years, teaching in various parts
of the town. In 1857 he retired, and devoted himself to farming and public business. For twenty years he was an active member of the School Committee, and he frequently served as Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer. In 1877 he represented Ipswich in the State legislature, serving on the Committee on Finance. In early life he united with the First Congregational church, in which he was chosen Deacon in 1866. He was a man of broad and expansive mind, ever ready to re- ceive new ideas, keeping abreast with the times until the last. He passed to the higher life March 10, 1880; and from the notice of his death the following tribute is quoted : "The memory of 'Master' Cogswell will be fragrant in the minds and affections of his townsmen for many years to come. His in- fluence for the good and lasting welfare of the community will survive long after the last of his generation shall have passed away."
On February 21, 1836, "Master " Cogswell married Mrs. Hannah Stacy Burnham, who was born October 29, 1799, in Marblehead, a daughter of Benjamin and Charity (Pritchard) Stacy. When Hannah Stacy was a maiden of sixteen she came to Ipswich to make her home with John Howe Boardman, the fourth hus- band of her grandmother, and her step-grand- father. Mr. Boardman enlisted in the Revo- lutionary army from Ipswich, his native town, and was in the battle of Bunker Hill, after- ward serving until the close of the war. Miss Stacy married first Isaac Burnham, a sea- man, who died in the East Indies. She con- tinued her residence with her grandfather, who died in 1845, aged ninety-one years, she in the meantime having married Mr. Cogs- well, who had boarded in the family while teaching here. The house became hers by in- heritance; and here she remained until her death, May 14, 1890, when it fell into the
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possession of her son, John H. Cogswell, the subject of this sketch.
John Howe Cogswell was educated partly under his father's instruction and partly at Dummer Academy in Newbury, Mass. He was afterward employed for several years in the general ticket and freight offices of the old Eastern Railway Company in Boston. In 1864 he returned to Ipswich to engage in the lumber business, which he carried on success- fully twelve years. In 1867 he was appointed Postmaster, an office which he held nineteen consecutive years, serving under Presidents Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, and Cleveland. Since 1886 he has been a mem- ber of the Ipswich School Board, and has done much to advance the cause of education. In 1874 he was one of the town's Selectmen. Mr. Cogswell is much interested in local his- tory, and has been secretary of the Ipswich Historical Society since its organization. He has succeeded his father as Deacon of the First Congregational Church, and is likewise clerk of the church and of the parish.
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