Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Essex County, Massachusetts, Part 37

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Boston, Biographical review publishing company
Number of Pages: 636


USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Essex County, Massachusetts > Part 37


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Mr. Saunders was married February 8, 1865, to Mrs. Carrie F. Stickney, daughter of the late John B. Fairfield, of Lawrence.


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Her father, who died in 1858, at the age of fifty years, was well known in this vicinity as a successful educator, and for many years was connected with the public schools of this city. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Baker, died in 1880, leaving but one child, Carrie F., now Mrs. Saunders. Mr. and Mrs. Saunders have resided since their marriage at 362 Andover Street, Lawrence. They have two children, namely: Annie O., wife of Charles H. Baldwin, of Boston; and George F., of Lawrence. The latter married Jennie Donnell, of York, Me., and is the father of three children - Danic], William P., and Carrie C.


R EV. DEWITT S. CLARK, D.D., was born in Chicopee, Mass., Sep- tember 11, 1841. His parents were the Rev. Eli B. and Cornelia (DeWitt) Clark. His immigrant ancestor, Thomas Clark, was born in England in 1690. Thomas Clark had a son Timothy, whose son Eli was the Rev. Dr. Clark's grandfather. Eli Clark was born in Waterbury, Conn., and spent much of his life in that town. A well-to-do farmer, he was prominent in town affairs, and served on the Board of Selectmen. He was a member of the First Congregational Church of Waterbury. He died when his grandson, DeWitt S. Clark, was two years old. One of Eli Clark's sons, Captain Will- iam Clark, was an officer in the militia, and served in the War of 1812.


The Rev. Eli Benedict Clark, above named, son of Eli Clark, was a graduate of Yale, 1836, and of the New Haven Theological Seminary. Ordained October 16, 1839, he was for thirty-six years pastor of the First Congregational Church in Chicopee, spending all his ministerial life in that town. He died in Springfield, Mass., April 2, 1889, in


his eighty-second year. His wife was a daughter of Garrit V. H. and Elizabeth (Bald- win) DeWitt, of Milford, Conn., the former being descended from one of the carly Dutch settlers of New York. Her grandparents were Garrit and Margaret (Van Horn) DeWitt. Garrit DeWitt was born in New York in 1735, and was in business there as a merchant for a number of years. He had a fam- ily of eight children; namely, John, Cather- ine, Garrit V. H. (DeWitt S. Clark's mater- nal grandfather), Margaret, Abraham, Peter, William, and John. Garrit Van Horn De- Witt was born in 1761 in Milford, Conn., and was in trade in that town for a great many years. His last years were spent in retirement from active business. Like all the DeWitts, he belonged to the Episcopal church. He married Elizabeth Baldwin, who bore him ten children - William, David, Elizabeth, Catherine, Avis, Maria, Garrit, Cornelia (Mrs. Clark), John, and Margaret. Mrs. Cornelia DeWitt Clark died in 1880, aged seventy-two. She had but two children : DeWitt Scoville, the subject of this sketch; and a daughter Cornelia who died in 1883.


DeWitt Scoville Clark, after graduating from the Chicopee High School, attended sue- cessively a private school in Orange, Conn., and Williston Seminary, Easthampton, Mass., where he was graduated in 1859. He took his degree of Bachelor of Arts at Amherst College in 1863, delivering one of the class orations at the commencement. After leaving college he taught one term in the Upton (Mass.) High School, and was for two years principal of the Saxonville (Mass.) High School. He then entered the Andover Theo- logical Seminary, from which he graduated in 1868. That same year he received a call to the First Evangelical Church at Clinton, Mass. ; and on November 11, 1868, he was


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ordained and installed pastor of that church. He resigned his charge there on the tenth anniversary of his installation, having re- ceived a call to the Tabernacle Church at Salem, where he was installed January 16, 1879. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Amherst in 1893.


Dr. Clark is a member of the Monday Club, an association of Congregational clergymen, which publishes annually a volume of sermons upon the International Sunday-school Lessons, each member contributing, and has written for the Andover Review. He has been abroad three times. In 1871 he went through the British Isles, Holland, up the Rhine, and home by way of France; in 1886 he visited Hamburg, Denmark, Sweden and Norway - going as far as the North Cape - Germany, and Austria, and started from Paris for home; and in 1895, with the Congregational Oriental party, he visited the Holy Land. During each of these tours he wrote letters for the periodicals at home. He is a director of the Young Men's Christian Association ; a corpo- rate member of the American Board of Com- missioners for Foreign Missions; a trustee of the Massachusetts Bible Society ; a director of the College Educational Society, the Congre- gational Association, and the Board of Pas- toral Supply. He was moderator of the Congregational General Association of Massa- chusetts on the occasion of their conference at Springfield, Mass., in 1893, and was preacher of the annual sermon at their conven- tion in Fall River in 1896. Dr. Clark has given the commencement address at Yankton College, S. Dak., and at Olivet College, Mich., and baccalaureate sermons at the Nor- ton Female Seminary and the Abbott Acad- emy, Andover.


Dr. Clark has been a member of the School Board of Salem since 1883 and chairman of


the High School Committee several years. He is a member of the Essex Institute, has been president of the Winthrop Club of Bos- ton, was for several years secretary of the Essex Congregational Club of Salem and president one year. Among his most valued possessions are the portraits of his great- grandparents, Garrit and Margaret (Van Horn) DeWitt, painted by Benjamin West, which hang in his drawing-room.


On January 18, 1871, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Emma Tiffany, daughter of Hon. Joseph and Phila T. Wood, of Paw- tucket, R.I. Mr. Wood was a prominent manufacturer in Central Falls, of the firm of Wood & Adams. He has four children, three sons and a daughter; namely, Garrit DeWitt, Leigh Freeman, Hilda Goulding, and DeWitt S., Jr. His two eldest sons are in business in Boston.


EUBEN S. LOW, who cultivates a productive truck farm in Essex, was born in this town, October 30, 1836, son of William and Thankful (Burn- ham) Low. His paternal grandfather, also named William, a fisherman and a farmer of this county, wedded Mary Giddings, of Essex, and had a family of six children; namely, Sally, Ariel, Lucy P., Gilman S., William, and Winthrop. Winthrop died in infancy. Sally married John Roberts, and died in I865. Ariel successively married Martha Proctor, Lucinda Dane, of New Hampshire, and Martha A. Dearborne. Lucy P. and her husband, Simon Butler, are both deceased. Gilman S. dealt in hides and leather in Boston.


William Low, the father of Reuben S., and who was lost at sea in 1862, while on a fishing excursion to Georges Banks, first mar-


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ried Thankful Burnham, a native of Essex and a daughter of Richard and Thankful (An- drews) Burnham, of that town. Richard Burnham died in January, 1855; and his wife died March 11, 1867. Their children were: Richard and Thankful; Nancy, de- ceased, who married John Andrews, a ship- carpenter, also deceased; Fanny, residing in Essex, whose husband, Humphrey C. Allen, was lost at sea; Lucy, who is the widow of Josiah Poland, and resides in Essex; Henry IV., who married Eliza Burnham, and died in 1881; Mary W., the wife of Nathan Low, a farmer of North Essex; Clarinda B., who married William H. Gilbert, a shoemaker of South Essex; and Alvin, a shoemaker of the same place, who inarried Helen S. Andrews. William Low's first wife died in August, 1838, leaving two sons: Reuben S., the sub- ject of this sketch; and William, who died in 1839. His second wife, who was before mar- riage Lydia Owens, of Boston, bore him three children - Benjamin O., William Francis, and Charles Gilman. Charles G. died in in- fancy. Benjamin O., who was in the United States Navy during the Civil War, and still holds a commission in the service, married Carrie Sargent, of Boston Highlands. Will- iam Francis Low, a flour broker in Boston, married Hattie A. Francis.


Reuben S. Low was reared by his uncle, Gilman S. Low, with whom he resided from the age of two and one-half years until he was twenty-one. He attended the South Brook- field Family School for Boys and Phillips Academy at Andover, Mass. When seven- teen years old, he began to keep books for his uncle. In 1859 he engaged in farming in Leominster, Mass., where he remained five years. In 1865, after a short residence in Chelsea, Mass., he settled upon the Low farm in Essex, where he has since resided. His


property, on which his grandfather, William Low, settled in 1817, contains about sixty acres. For many years he furnished the Bos- ton market with large quantities of straw- berries and vegetables, but he has now practi- cally retired from active labor.


On October 30, 1857, Mr. Low was joined in marriage with Martha Jane Brooks. She was born in Gloucester, Mass., October 19, 1834, daughter of Captain Benjamin and Louisa (Tarr) Brooks, who were also natives of Gloucester. Her father, who was a sea captain, died December 15, 1841. Her mother, now eighty-nine years old, is living in Rockport, Mass. The rest of their five children were: Louisa, who married James C. Parsons, both now deceased; Mary, who died at the age of five years; George P., who mar- ried Jessie Savage, and is a carpenter in Rockport; and Benjamin F., who died at the age of seven months. Mr. and Mrs. Low have had three children, as follows: Ellen Gertrude, born July 29, 1858; Charles Gil- man, born January 18, 1860; and Susan Emily, born March 11, 1863. Ellen Ger- trude married John E. Jubb, who is connected with a varnish firm in New York City, and had three children, none of whom are living. She died February 24, 1896. Charles Gil- man, now a farmer and trader in Essex, mar- ried Emma L. Andrews, and has four children - Emma, Lester, Althine, and Eleanor. Susan Emily and her husband, John L. Turner, of Halifax, N.S., who is a carpenter by trade, reside with her parents, and have one child, Velma Low, born July 13, 1892.


In politics Mr. Low is a Republican, and he was chairman of the School Board for three years. His kindness and generosity have gained for him the good will of his neighbors and fellow-townsmen, and he has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. He is


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.an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and superintendent of its Sunday- school.


ORENZO A. MARTIN, who has been identified with mereantile business and the quarrying industry of Pigeon Cove for many years, was born in Rockport, August 27, 1840, son of Anthony and Sarah J. (Johnson) Martin. The father was a native of the Island of Madeira, and the mother was born in the State of Maine. Anthony Martin accompanied Captain Edward Griffiths to the United States when he was ten years old, and lived in the Captain's family at Durham, N.H., until he attained his majority. He then came to Pigeon Cove, where he found employment in the granite quarries, and later aeted as foreman for different concerns, resid- ing here for the rest of his life. Of his chil- dren, two are living, namely: Lorenzo A., the subjeet of this sketeh; and Martha A., now residing in Pigeon Cove, the widow of A. A. Peterson, late of South Boston.


Lorenzo A. Martin supplemented his eom- mon-school education with a business eourse at French's Commercial College in Boston. Having entered the store of Austin W. Story as a elerk when sixteen years old, he was in the employ of that merehant at intervals for several years. At one time he was Assistant Postmaster under Mr. Story. He also clerked for John J. Manning, a elothing dealer in Roekport for a season ; and during the Rebel- lion he was head elerk of the groeery depart- ment of a general store earried on by Eames, Stimson & Co., formerly extensive quarrymen of this locality. For some time he was the manager of Edmunds & Lane's general store, the book-keeper and manager of the store kept by the Bay State Granite Company for a num- ber of years, and for fourteen years he ably


filled the responsible position of superintend- ent of the granite quarry operated by Charles Guidet, of New York. He is well and favor- ably known in the business eircles of this sec- tion, and at the present time is a member of the board of directors of the Rockport Na- tional Bank.


Mr. Martin married Emma H. Spinney, of Gloucester. He has two children - Sarah J. and Martha E. Martin. In politics he is a Republican. Though frequently solieited by his party to accept a nomination to offiee, he has invariably deelined. He is, however, greatly interested in the general welfare of the town; and his aid ean always be depended upon to further any movement for its im- provement. Mr. Martin is a member of Ocean View Lodge, Knights of Pythias.


MOS F. HOBBS, a lifelong and es- teemed resident of Wenham, was born here, Mareh 23, 1821, son of Amos F. Hobbs, Sr., and Bethiah (Goodell) Hobbs. The Hobbs family is of English extraction. Jonathan, the paternal grandfather of Amos F., Jr., and a number of his brothers, served in the Revolutionary War. The father was a Lieutenant in a militia company, of which he was the bugler at the time of General Lafay- ette's visit here, when the distinguished for- eigner was eseorted by the militia. A man of exeellent judgment, he enjoyed a large ae- quaintanee in this section of the State, and was popular with all who knew him. A stone- eutter by trade, he carried on business near what is now a part of Rockport, opening the first stone quarry in Lanesville, Mass., and building the first wharf in that town which was then ealled Squam. At one time he was in business at Pigeon Cove. Late in life he removed to Wenham, where he died in 1837.


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His reputation was that of a very generous man.


After attending the common schools of Wenham, Amos F. Hobbs, the subject of this sketch, studied for one term at an academy in Beverly, Mass. He began to learn shoemak- ing when about ten years old, and afterward worked at that trade, more or less, until he was forty-two. He has also had experience in agriculture and fruit-raising. Since the close of the Civil War, the raising of fruit, chiefly of pears and apples, has been his principal business.


On June 15, 1847, Mr. Hobbs married Betsey W. Lamon, a native of Middleton, Mass., and a daughter of Captain Winthrop Lamon. She died August 22, 1893. In pol- itics Mr. Hobbs is a Democrat, but he does not adhere closley to party lines, giving his support to the best candidate. He has not as- pired to official honors, content to enjoy the respect and confidence of his townsmen as a private citizen.


HARLES EDWARD BROWN, a lineal descendant of one of the orig- inal settlers of Old Newbury, was born February 14, 1827, upon the farm he now owns and occupies in West Newbury, son of Robert and Susan L. (Morrill) Brown. The founder of the family in America was Thomas Brown, who with his brothers, Rich- ard and George, accompanied a party from England about the year 1633. They landed upon the banks of the Merrimac River, at a place that was afterward called Old Newbury. Mary Brown, daughter of Thomas, was the first white child born in that town. In 1635 the Browns were granted a tract of land upon which to settle and clear a farm, and which has remained in the family's possession


through seven generations. Stephen Brown, grandfather of Charles E., died in Newbury, his native town. Robert Brown, Charles E. Brown's father, was born in 1781. He culti- vated the farm during the active period of his life, and died in 1862. His wife, Susan L., was a daughter of Winthrop and Susan Mor- rill, of North Berwick, Me. The Brown fam- ily are members of the Society of Friends.


Charles Edward Brown completed his edu- cation at the Friends' School in Providence, R. I., and has always resided at the home- stead. He has tilled the soil with energy up to the present time. In 1857 he married Amanda M. Pillsbury, who, born in Winslow, Me., daughter of George Pillsbury, was reared in Epping, N.H. She is the mother of one son, Robert S., born in 1869, who was edu- cated at the Friends' School in Providence, and still resides on the homestead. In 1896 he married Grace G. Rogers, daughter of Charles and Abbie Rogers, of this town. His only child, Norma R., born August 26, 1897, is of the ninth generation living on this place. Mr. Brown, Sr., attends the Friends' meetings in Amesbury.


OHN W. BAILEY, a successful busi- ness man of Georgetown, was born in Beverly, Mass., May 28, 1840, son of William K. and Elizabeth (Caldwell) Bailey. His grandfather, David Bailey, an industrious farmer and a lifelong resident of North Bev- erly, Mass., married Anna Spiller.


William K. Bailey, the father of John W., was born in Rowley in 1806. He followed the business of shoe and blackball manufacturer until his death, which occurred June 3, 1860. His wife Elizabeth, a native of Beverly, was a daughter of Abram Caldwell, who, born in Beverly in 1773, died in 1843. She became


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1


the mother of two children, namely: John W., the subject of this sketch; and Elizabeth A., born in 1837. Elizabeth A. Bailey was educated at the high school and seminary in Ipswich, and for some time taught school at the House of Correction. She is connected with temperance societies, and is a member of Bethany Lodge, No. 105, Daughters of Re- becca. Mrs. William K. Bailey died in 1894.


John W. Bailey completed his education at the Ipswich High School. At the age of six- teen he began to serve an apprenticeship at the tinner's and plumber's trades with Francis M. Loring in Gloucester. After remaining there four ycars, he worked as a clerk for Asa Lord, grocer in Ipswich, for four years, and at his trade for Mark Newman the same length of time. From 1877 to 1887 he was em- ployed by C. M. Morse, of Georgetown, a dealer in stoves, tinware, and kitchen goods. Having subsequently purchased the business, he has since carried it on ably and success- fully. He deals in hardware, pumps, pipe of all kinds, and conducts a general plumbing and tinning business.


Mr. Bailey is unmarricd. He is connected with Agawam Lodge, No. 52, I. O. O. F., Ipswich, of which he was formerly secretary, chaplain, and organist; and with Martha Washington Lodge, Daughters of Rebecca, of that town. He is a member of Pentucket Lodge, No. 72, Ancient Order of United Workmen, of Georgetown; of Niagara Lodge, No. 50, Good Templars, of Ipswich; and he is actively interested in temperance and other reform movements. His father and grand- father were Deacons of the Congregational church, and he united with that denomination in Gloucester. While residing in Ipswich, he acted as teacher, organist, and leader of the choir at the House of Correction. He is a


Deacon of the Peabody Memorial Church, and since uniting with it has served in various official capacities. In politics he is a Repub- lican.


ARVEY C. SMITH, a wholesale merchant of Gloucester, Mass., was born in the neighboring town of Rockport, November 20, 1847, a son of Cephas Smith. It is a notable fact that both hc and his wife are descended from the very earliest pioneers of Rockport, one of his an- cestors, Richard Tarr, having been the very first settler in that part of Essex County, while one of Mrs. Smith's ancestors, John Pool, was the second. The two families have since in- termarried in succeeding generations.


Mr. Smith is a direct descendant of Will- iam Smith, first, who was an officer in the British army, stationed in 1750 at Castle Island, in Boston Harbor, where his son Will- iam, great-grandfather of Harvey C., was born. William Smith, second, who was Captain of a company of marines in the Revolution, was a man of means at the breaking out of the war, with a well-established home in Gloucester. During the struggle he was taken prisoner and carried to Halifax, where he was detained until its closc. On his return he found his property greatly diminished; and, seeing better facilities for gaining a livelihood in Rockport, he removed to that town, which he afterward made his permanent home.


William Smith, third, Mr. Harvey C. Smith's grandfather, followed the sea as a fisherman the greater part of his life, and after a few years of retirement died at an advanced age. He and his wife were the first in the place to publicly declare their belief in the Baptist creed, and the records show that there was a great commotion among the people when they were taken to the shore for baptism, even


HARVEY C. SMITH.


..


a


بـ سميه


IZETTE B. SMITH.


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the drum corps of the local militia adding its martial tones to the general clamor of disap- proval. That he was a Free and Accepted Mason is evidenced by the square and compass on the headstone that marks his last resting- place.


Cephas Smith was reared to the Baptist faith; but, notwithstanding the fact that his parents were ardent supporters of the church, he became one of the "come-outers," with- drawing, with a few of the more liberally- minded members, because the use of the church was forbidden to a man holding slightly different views from the strict Baptist dogmas. In his early life he was a fisherman, but sub- sequently became a dealer in oils, fertilizers, etc., in Gloucester. He married Tabitha Stevens, of York, Me., and they had eight children, as follows: Sidney, who died at the age of five years ; Angeline and Augusta, who attained the ages of maturity, married, and died on the same day of pneumonia ; George T., who resides in Gloucester ; Harvey C., the subject of this sketch; Samuel, who died in 1896, in Gloucester, leaving a widow and four children ; Isaac A., a book-keeper in this city ; and Geneva, wife of William A. Proctor, of this city.


Harvey C. Smith followed fishing as an oc- cupation from the age of twelve years to that of twenty-three, being for two years captain of a fishing schooner. Establishing himself then in business on shore in 1872, he was for a while in partnership with Edward K. Burn- ham as head of the firm of Smith & Burnham. Selling his interest in that firm, he was after- ward, as travelling salesman, associated with Slate, Gorton & Co., wholesale fish dealers, with whom he remained until the dissolution of the firm four years later. Continuing in the same line with one of his former employ- ers, Charles C. Cressey, they carried on a sub-


stantial business together until 1885, when Mr. Cressey was appointed Postmaster of the city. Mr. Smith has since conducted the business with eminent success, and it is now of such proportions that he keeps four sales- men on the road.


Fraternally, Mr. Smith is a veteran Odd Fellow, having belonged to Ocean Lodge, I. O. O. F., twenty-seven years and to Cape Ann Encampment twenty-six years. He is also a member of the I. O. R. M., in which he has taken the degree of Pocahontas; of the Sons of the American Revolution; of the Society of Colonial Wars; the Knights of Malta; the Gloucester Business Men's Club ; the Gloucester Board of Trade; and the Mas- ter Mariners' Association. A public-spirited citizen, interested in the welfare of the mu- nicipality, he has served two years in the Com- mon Council, has been Alderman one year, and has been chairman of the ward and of the city Republican committee. In 1897 and 1898 he was a Representative to the General Court, in which he served both years on the Fish and Game Committee, and in the last year was also one of the Printing Committee. In 1897 he and his colleague, Charles D. Brown, put through the House the measure which gave to Gloucester its Ocean Park; and in the session of 1898 he carried through the legislature the bill providing for a new city charter for Gloucester. Among the relics which Mr. Smith cherishes is the pen with which Governor Wolcott signed the latter bill. Mr. Smith was appointed as one of the special committee to represent Massachusetts at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, 1898.


On December 24, 1872, Mr. Smith was mar- ried to Izette B., daughter of Wilmot and Lucy (Parkhurst) Reed, of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two sons: Charles T., now eighteen years old; and Arthur C., nine years


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old. Mrs. Smith traces her ancestry through her mother's mother, who was before marriage a Miss Parsons, to Stephen Hopkins and his daughter Constance, who were passengers on the "Mayflower." Mrs. Smith is a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants and of the Daughters of the American Revolution.


ENRY T. BINGHAM, United States Inspector of Immigrants at the Port of Boston and a leading citizen of Manchester, was born in this town on March 9, 1839, son of Henry T. and Mary J. (Norris) Bingham. His father is deceased. His mother, now in her eighty-second year, is a highly esteemed resident of Manchester. After acquiring his education in the public schools of his native town, Henry T. Bingham began learning the trade of cabinet-maker, and afterward followed it for some time. For a number of years he was foreman of the furni- ture factory of Kelham & Fitz, formerly a well-known manufacturing concern of Man- chester. He married Sarah Lowe Marble, a Gloucester lady, daughter of Benjamin and Emily Marble. Mrs. Bingham is now de- ceased.




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