USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Essex County, Massachusetts > Part 27
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In 1857 he was married to Helen Jane Fielden, a member of one of the stanch old abolition families of this section. Mr. and Mrs. Hume have two daughters. The elder, Isabelle, lives in Ohio, where her father's woollen .mill is. She is the wife of George E. Batchelder, and has four children, two daughters and two sons. The other daughter, Elizabeth, a graduate of Wellesley, is a young lady of high literary and musical attain- ments, and is closely identified with the so- cial, literary, and musical clubs of the villagc.
Mr. Hume has no personal political aspira- tions, but has often been "the power behind the throne" in local movements. In 1848, at the special request of the poct Whittier, he was a delegate to the first Free Soil National Convention, at Buffalo, when Van Buren was nominatcd. Travelling extensively, he was frequently in Washington, and was often the guest of the great lobbyist, Sam Ward. Mr. Hume was in the national capital when the attempt was made to impeach Andrew John- son, and was presented to the President. He said: "I am on my way from Ohio to my home in Massachusetts. I simply wanted to shakc hands with President Johnson." "What!" said the President, "don't you want anything at all?" "No, nothing." "Well, that is remarkable. Don't go: sit right down here. I want to talk with you." Mr. Hume sat down and passed some time in pleasant con- versation. Mr. Hume was early allied with the abolition movement, and with Whittier he was closely interested in the underground railroad. Many a fugitive slave has sought and found shelter bencath his roof. In the State legislature as Representative from the First Essex District in 1870 and 1871, he was prominently identified with several important measures before the House.
AMUEL A. BOYNTON, one of the most successful business men of Rowley, was born in that town, Feb- ruary 16, 1842, son of Henry and Elizabeth W. (Chamberlin) Boynton. The Boynton family originated with two brothers of the name, who came from England to Rowley in 1639. Major Ebenezer Boynton, the grand- father of S. A. Boynton, was one of the unique characters of his time. He was for many years the proprietor of the old tavern
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on the western side of the common, opposite the present Eagle Hotel, which was then owned by the Smiths. His characteristic tavern sign read: "Major Ebenezer Boynton. Take your choice." Report says that a ma- jority of travellers chose the Major's cheery hostelry. His business was a prosperous one for those days, and he was in very comfortable circumstances. His seven sons - John, Eze- kiel, Daniel, Eben, William, Charles, and Henry - all became successful merchants. John had three children, namely: John, who is engaged as hackman for S. A. Boynton; Frank, a well-to-do tailor in Haverhill; and William, who is also in Haverhill, where he owns a large livery and sale business. Eze- kiel never married. Daniel left four children : Warren, who is in business in Ipswich ; Charles, residing in Chelsea; Hannah, who married Daniel Appleton and lives in Ips- wich; and Harriet, who married Daniel Mer- rill and lives in Rowley. Eben had three sons and two daughters, namely: George, who was well known for many years as cap- tain of the State police, and died recently at his home in Georgetown; Eben, who lives in Rowley; John Henry, who is a farmer in Rowley; Mary, now deceased, who married Moses Dodge and lived in Albany, N. Y. ; and Elizabeth, who married Edward Parker and lived in Rowley, where she died in 1886. William, who resided in Melrose and died there in 1891, besides one daughter, had a son, Justin, who lives in New York. Henry Boynton left three children, of whom Lizzie died nearly twenty years ago. The others are: Henry P. and Samuel Augustus, the subject of this sketch. The father owned a large amount of real estate in Rowley. He died in April, 1888. The mother, who was the only surviving member of her generation, died in Rowley at the age of ninety-one.
Samuel A. Boynton attended the schools of Rowley until he was twenty-one years of age. He then opened a livery stable in his native place, where he is also extensively interested in the manufacturing of heels. Besides the hands in his large factory he employs thc inmates of the Lawrence jail and of the house of correction at Ipswich. He also has a blacksmith shop, a mail business, a depot livery, a leather concern in Boston, a heel factory in Dover, N.H., and a skating rink. Likewise he carries on a farm of fifty acres, on which he cuts from thirty to forty tons of hay annually.
Mr. Boynton has been Tax Collector, Town Treasurer, and Selectman. A Mason in good standing, he is a member of the John T. Heard Lodge, of Beverly Chapter, at Salem, and of Aleppo Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is a charter member of the O. U. A. M., in which society he has held office. In 1872 he married Sarah M. Howe, of Ipswich, a daughter of George Howe. Mrs. Boynton has made him the father of one son, Augustus Bennett, now twenty-three years of age, and residing with his parents.
J OSIAH PEABODY PERKINS, an agriculturist of Topsfield, was born on his present homestead, October 4, 1832. He is a descendant of John Perkins, who emigrated from England to Boston in 1631, and located in Ipswich in 1633. John's son, Deacon Thomas Perkins, born in Eng- land in 1616, married Phebe Gould, also a native of England, and in 1638 settled in Topsfield, where he died in 1686. The pres- ent farm of Josiah Peabody Perkins was a part of the estate acquired by Deacon Thomas. His son Thomas, born in Topsfield in 1659, died here in 1722, having married Sarah
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Wallis. Thomas was a man of some note, and served on the jury during the witchcraft trials. His son Samuel, born in Topsfield in 1699, married Margaret Towne, and died in 1764. Their son Samuel, born here in 1730, married Dorothy Perkins, and died in 1810. The next in descent was their son Elijah, the grandfather of Josiah Peabody Perkins.
Elijah Perkins was engaged in tilling the soil during his active period, having inherited the original homestead. Born in 1765, he married Ruth Fisk, and died in 1851. His son, Dudley Perkins, born in 1795, was reared a farmer, and resided on the homestead until his death, which occurred September 2, 1879. A man of much ability, Dudley served the community in sundry capacities, includ- ing those of Overseer and member of the School Committee. In politics he was a strong Republican, and he was an active member of the Congregational church. He married Miss Sarah Perkins, a daughter of Robert Perkins. Of his seven children two are living, namely: Josiah Peabody, the sub- ject of this sketch; and Samuel Webster, of Topsfield. The mother died December 2, 1874.
Josiah Peabody Perkins obtained an educa- tion in his early days by attending the public schools when he was not needed on the farm. He subsequently carried on farming, and worked at the shoemaker's trade for many years. On his part of the old homestead, which contains one hundred and thirty acres of land, he raises a large crop of hay each sea- son, while devoting a section of it to grazing. He is especially interested in dairying, which he deems one of the most profitable branches of agriculture, keeping from ten to twenty cows. The large measure of success he has met with may be attributed to the practical knowledge and experience he gained while
with his parents. A faithful, law-abiding citizen, living in peace with all men, he has the respect of the entire community. He is a member of Topsfield Grange.
Mr. Perkins was married August 10, 1854, to Miss Phebe W. Towle, who was born in Topsfield, Mass., on the ancestral homestead of the Bradstreet family, daughter of Samuel and Cynthia (Bradstreet) Towle. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have had seven children, namely : Mary E., who married f first Arthur W. Phillips, of Topsfield, and second Edward S. Towne, of Chicago, Ill .; Josiah Fremont ; Jessie Marion, now the wife of Benjamin F. Paige, of Pembroke, Mass. ; a child that lived but a brief time; Nellie, now the wife of Wilbur Paige, of Manchester, Mass .; Willie, who died in infancy; and Alice Lilian, who is living with her parents.
AMES M. FAIRFIELD, a capitalist and a real estate owner in Lawrence, has been actively identified with the business interests of this city since early manhood. He was born November 16, 1823, in Douglas, Mass., which was the birth- place likewise of his father, Simon Fairfield. His grandfather, Abram Fairfield, married Abigail White, who belonged to a prominent Quaker family. Abram died while yet a young man, leaving two sons, Simon and Reuben. His widow afterward became the wife of a Mr. Walling, by whom she had one son.
Simon Fairfield, born in 1801, died at South Douglas in 1848. A farmer by occu - pation, industrious and honest, he by his persistent energy accumulated a considerable fortune for his day and generation. In 1820 he married Phœbe Churchill, who, born in 1802 in Scituate, died at South Douglas in
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1860. Of their ten children, eight sons and two daughters, seven grew to maturity, namely : James M., the subject of this sketch; Charles, a speculator and banker in Kansas; Enos W., a wealthy ranchman of California; Clark, a dealer in grain and lumber in Des Moines, Ia. ; Asa C., a retired merchant and real estate dealer in Waverly, Ia. ; John N., who resided in Waterloo, Ia., and died, leaving one son and three daughters; and Al- bert, who died in Worcester, Mass., leaving one son and three daughters.
James M. Fairfield acquired a good com- mon-school education in his native town. At the age of nineteen he went to Pascoag, R. I., where he served an apprenticeship of two years at the machinist's trade. Having spent the next year working in Pawtucket, R. I., he came to Lawrence in 1848. Here he estab- lished himself as senior member of the grocery firm J. M. Fairfield & Co., and continued in business until burned out a year later. Dur- ing the following six years he carried on a substantial trade in dry goods. Then he changed to ready-made clothing, in which he dealt for eighteen years, first located at the corner of Essex and Newbury Streets and afterward on Essex Street near Lawrence. Having previously become somewhat inter- ested in real estate, he then retired from the clothing business and devoted himself to buy- ing and selling realty. His first venture in this line was made in 1853, when he bought a small cottage on Oak Street. His next was the purchase of the lot on which was his Essex Street store, and which he subsequently traded for a double tenement on Newbury Street. He now owns from 413 to 441 Essex Street, four brick blocks, containing stores, rooms, and offices; a wooden block, 541 to 545 Essex Street; and the Fairfield Block, 563 and 565 Essex Street, a handsome brick structure, five
stories in height, with a large store on the ground floor and fine offices above. The last named building was completed in 1896, and is considered one of the most desirable business locations in the city. In 1885 Mr. Fairfield bought his present residence at 339 Haverhill Street. He also owns the build- ings numbered from 404 to 412 Common Street, in which there are three stores and twenty-six tenements; two tenements at 230 Tremont Street ; and two tenement houses in Methuen. A keen, far-sighted man of busi- ness, he has acquired this large property by enterprise and untiring industry.
In politics Mr. Fairfield is a strong Repub- lican. He is an attendant of the Methodist church. Having twice entered matrimony, he is now a widower. His children are: Agenor D., a bright and active Christian woman, living in Methuen, and the treasurer of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the New Hampshire Conference; Samuel M., a Methodist Episcopal minister, at pres- ent engaged in the church mission work in Tennessee, to which place he went from New York City; and William, a resident of Law- rence. William's first wife died, leaving him two daughters, Anna Marie and Helen, who live with their grandfather, Mr. Fair- field, and are now attending school. William subsequently married again, and by his second wife has had one son, James Albert, a sturdy little lad of six years.
OHN F. WOODMAN, a successful business man of Amesbury, was born in this place, March 14, 1840, son of Stephen and Sally (Osgood) Woodman. Stephen Woodman, whose early life was spent in Kingston, N. H., first came to Amesbury in 1830, but removed in 1840 to South Hamp-
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ton, N. H. In 1845 he returned to Amesbury, and bought a farm at the junction of Winter and High Streets, now a busy and thickly settled portion of Amesbury village. There he built his substantial residence, now occu- pied by his widow and daughter. Besides carrying on his farm he conducted a prosper- ous meat market. He was president of the savings-bank for several years and a director of the Powow River National Bank. A lead- ing member of the Baptist church for many years, he was especially active in its affairs; and at the time of his death, which occurred in May, 1884, he was a Deacon and its treas- urer. With the poet Whittier, he was an old Free Soiler and abolitionist. He married Sally Osgood, of Amesbury, of whose children Stephen F., Ellen, Mary A., and John Fran- cis (the last named the subject of this sketch) are now living. Stephen F., who is a general agent of the Travelers' Insurance Company, corner of State and Kilby Streets, Boston, and the president of the Underwriters' Life and Fire Insurance Association, married a daughter of R. W. Patten, has two children, Willis Patten and Esther, and resides in Jamaica Plain. Ellen is unmarried, and lives with her mother at the old homestead. Mary A. married George W. Osgood, a prominent carriage manufacturer, located on Carriage Hill, Amesbury. They have a son and a daugh- ter, and occupy a beautiful home in the resi- dential part of the town.
John Francis Woodman was educated in the Amesbury schools and at the Putnam Free School in Newburyport. At the age of eigh- teen he went to work in his father's market, and when twenty-three years of age became a partner in the business under the firm name of S. Woodman & Son. Since the retirement of his father in 1881 he has conducted the store. He also succeeded his father as a
director of the Powow River National Bank. Since 1869, when he joined the society, he has been devoted to the interests of the Bap- tist church. He was active in the rebuilding of the church edifice in 1871, and since his father's death he has acted as treasurer.
In 1863 Mr. Woodman married Vandora Rich, of Belfast, Me., who died in 1882. She was prominent in church and social cir- cles, yet devoted to her children and home. Their five children, all of whom graduated from the high school, are: Emmerette R., who lives at home ; Mabel, who married Roland C. Fraser, lives in Melrose, and has two chil- dren; Myrtie P., who attended school at An- dover after graduating from the high school, then pursued a musical course in Boston, and is now at home; Wilton F., who graduated from the high school at the age of sixteen years, and is now in business with his father ; and Ernest L., who graduated from the high school at the age of eighteen, class of 1897. In political belief Mr. Woodman is a Repub- lican.
OHN G. PLUMMER, formerly a suc- cessful fish dealer in Newburyport, was born there, December 25, 1819. A son of Nathaniel and Sarah (Higgins) Plum- mer, he is descended from Francis Plummer, who was born in Wales, at the foot of Snow- don Mountain. This ancestor came to Essex County with his wife and their two sons, Samuel and Joseph, in the year 1635, and settled on the banks of the Parker River. They were farming people, and bought land. Francis built a house, and obtained a license to keep a tavern and run a ferry across the river. He was the first settler to keep a public house in the eastern part of the State. His son Joseph settled on the south side of
JOHN G. PLUMMER.
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the river, on what is now called Newbury Neck. Samuel, from whom John G. Plummer is descended, bought land on the north side of the river, where he built a house. The sons intermarried with the Doles and the Danforths, and had many children and grandchildren, who grew up and scattered through Maine, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, becoming law- yers, doctors, ministers, traders, and farmers, and attaining prominence in their various walks of life. Governor Plummer, of New Hampshire, is a connection of the family. A son of Samuel bought land further up the river, near the site of the Dummer Academy.
Nathaniel Plummer, born September 15, 1761, was twice married. His first bride was Mary Greenleaf, born in Newburyport, June 27, 1763, who had six children. The latter were: Mary Greenleaf, born June 27, 1787; Amos, born September 5, 1789; Dolly, born December 20, 1791 ; Ebenezer, born Septem- ber 3, 1796; and two who died in infancy. Ebenezer, the youngest son, who served in the United States navy for many years, was with Decatur and Hull on the frigate "Constitu- tion," and was afterward killed by pirates and buried on the island of Juan Fernandez. Nathaniel Plummer's second marriage was contracted with Sarah Higgins, who was born in Augusta, Me., May 24, 1772. By her he became the father of eight children, namely : Jesse Iliggins, born September 2, 1800; Na- thaniel Foster, born August 25, 1802; Sarah Higgins, born March 9, 1805; Nancy Sillo- way, born October 20, 1807; Fanny Maria, born April 10, 1810; Emeline, born May 25, 1813; Catherine Mariott, born March 1, 1816; and John Greenleaf, the subject of this biog- raphy.
John Greenleaf Plummer, the youngest of fourteen children, came into the world, like all the rest, on the old homestead. He grew
up an ardent sportsman, being expert with rod and gun at the age of thirteen. At the age of fourteen he began to learn shoemaking with Eben Rodgers; and a year later he could turn out ten pairs of shoes daily, at the rate of twenty-two cents a pair. In 1837, business having been dull with him, he tried a fishing trip on a mackerel schooner. This life proved uncongenial; and on his return he attended the Branch Academy, then kept by John R. Rollins. His next effort to earn an honest penny was keeping the toll-gate on the turn- pike, near the Glen Mills. In 1838 he was able to return to his home and build a shoe shop, where he worked at his trade as the occasion offered. He also acted as pilot for boats going up the river, spending his leisure time in fishing and farming on the old place. After his father's death in 1840 he sold the house, and came with his mother to Newbury- port. In this town he worked at shoemaking for several years. Then, desiring a change of occupation he entered the dress department of the James Cotton Mill. Upon leaving this position he began to deal in fish, buying in Gloucester to supply the market in Newbury- port. Competition was strong; but by care- ful buying, honest dealing, and close attention to business, he outsold his competitors, and soon had the route to himself. In 1852 he sold his team and removed to Gloucester, where he went into partnership with Harry Merchant, buying fish and curing and smoking halibut. They hired Five Pound Island in Gloucester Harbor, and continued in business together for three years. At the end of that time Mr. Plummer returned to Newburyport, and engaged in the business of extracting oil from the livers of pollock. Soon after, he en- tered into partnership with Eben B. Phillips and John Marston, of Boston. This firm is alleged to have obtained the best and purest
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cod liver oil in the world. In 1857 Moses Stevens joined Mr. Plummer, and in 1861 Charles W. Hale was admitted into the firm. The three continued in business for several years, until the city railroad company bought their wharf. They then bought some land and built their halibut houses on Victoria Avenue. After the death of Mr. Hale, Mr. Plummer and Mr. Stevens conducted business together until the year 1892, when both re- tired. Mr. Plummer was the first to smoke salt halibut. He had a large business in this commodity, shipping to E. & C. Nickerson, of New York, and other parties in Chicago and Boston. He also dried pollock, and sold to a firm in Portland, Me. This business was given up in 1892. He was also in the dry fish trade, which he sold out to Thomas Den- nett Aubin, May 10, 1889.
Mr. Plummer was married November 29, 1842, to Clara, daughter of Samuel II. Poore, of Newburyport. Born of the marriage were two children : Clara Greenleaf, who died young ; and Catherine Marriott, who married Hiram Gilmore Janvrin. Mr. Janvrin is chief member of the hardware firm of M. C. Warren & Co., Dock Square, Boston, and resides in Lexington. He and his wife have two chil- dren. Mrs. Clara Plummer died in 1881. Mr. Plummer was an old Free Soiler, one of the first three in Newburyport ; and he has been a Republican since the Civil War. Not caring for public life, he has always refused office. He joined the I. O. O. F., but after- ward left the society and became a member of the J. O. G. T., Mountain Rill Lodge, and Sons of Temperance. He is also a prominent Red Man.
Strict attention to business, added to his commercial daring and enterprise, has made Mr. Plummer one of the most prosperous men in his native place.
J EREMIAH J. DESMOND, a leading pharmacist of Lawrence and the pro- prietor of the spacious and well- equipped drug store at 565 Broadway, was born November 3, 1867, on Park Street, not far from his present place of business. His paternal grandparents, Patrick and Ellen (Sullivan) Desmond, emigrated from Ireland to America in 1847, and with their seven children, four sons and three daughters, lo- cated in Lawrence. The death of the grand- father occurred in 1877, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. The grandmother, having survived him ten years, died at the home of one of her sons in California, when eighty- seven years old. After coming to this city the four sons - Humphrey, Daniel, Cornelius, and Jeremiah -- established themselves in busi- ness as manufacturers of woollen hats, each of the brothers assuming the charge of a depart- ment. Having but limited means to start with, they began on a modest scale. With the lapse of time they enlarged their opera- tions, and became known as particularly suc- cessful manufacturers. In 1867, just after the insurance on their plant had run out, a dire misfortune befell them. Owing to some unexplainable cause, probably incendiarism, their factory was burned to the ground, and the eighty thousand dollars which by industry and thrift they had accumulated vanished in smoke. Instead of rebuilding the three younger brothers went to California, two locating in San Francisco, and the third going into business in Los Angeles.
Humphrey Desmond, born in 1826, was a native of Ireland, where he learned the hat- ter's trade. After coming to Lawrence, as above mentioned, he was in business with his brothers until their factory was burned. Thereafter he worked with Mr. Tenney, a former competitor, as a journeyman hatter
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until 1873. In that year he was elected Su- perintendent of Streets for the city of Law- rence, a position which he had held for twelve months when the Republicans came into power. From that time until his retirement from active pursuits in 1887, he was engaged in the grocery business with his sons, Patrick J. and Daniel E. A man of excellent judg- ment, he acquired a large property. In 1859 he purchased about seven acres of land on Park Street, where he built a small house and a hat factory. The house, numbered 316, was the family residence until 1881, when the present fine residence at 370 Park Street was com- pleted. In 1850 he married Ann Halloran, who came to Lawrence about 1845 from County Kilkenny, Ireland, with her parents. Ten children were born of the union, namely : Patrick J., August 27, 1854, who died August 10, 1889, leaving a widow; Daniel E., Au- gust 3, 1856, grocer and fruit dealer, carrying on business at the stand previously occupied by his father, corner of Broadway and Park Street ; Mary Agnes, who died August 19, 1863, aged five years; Ellen Maria, who died July 15, 1860, in infancy; Nora Agnes, born April 29, 1860, who was educated at St. Mary's Parochial School of Lawrence, Mass .; Humphrey Joseph, who died in August, 1865, aged two years; C. Joseph, born December 10, 1865, whose education was completed at Villanova College, Pennsylvania, and who is the junior member of the firm of D. E. & C. J. Desmond, grocers and fruit dealers ; Jeremiah J., the special subject of this sketch ; Mary M., born May 27, 1869, who was grad- uated from the Lawrence High School, class of 1889; and Margaret E., born May 3, 1871, who, after graduating at the Lawrence High School, class of 1891, became a pupil of the Academy of the Sacred Heart at Manhattan- ville, N.Y. The father died January 15,
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