USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Essex County, Massachusetts > Part 4
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In 1892 Mr. Messer married Dora E. Howe, daughter of Frederick Howe, of Boxford, Mass. They have no children. Mr. Messer is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a charter member of Andover Lodge, No. 230, in which he was the first Noble Grand, and of Kearsarge Encampment. He also belongs to the Masonic Blue Lodge of Stoneham, Mass .; to the Reading Royal Arch Chapter; and to Hugh de Payens Com- mandery of K. T. in Melrose, Mass.
HARLES C. DODGE, of the C. Dodge Furniture Company, Manches- ter, was born in this town on March 27, 1854. A son of Cyrus and Julia E. (Coes) Dodge, who were respectively natives of Man- chester and Kennebunkport, Me., he is de- scended from Richard Dodge, an Englishman, who came to the New World in 1638, and set-
tled at Salem. Representatives of the Dodge family came to Manchester during the early days of the town's history, and have always been among the prominent men of this sec- tion. Moses Dodge, great - grandfather of Charles C., was the pioneer manufacturer of furniture, as well as the first of the family here. Born in Beverly, near the Wenham and Manchester line, he started manufacturing in Manchester soon after 1760. During the struggle for independence he was a loyal and aggressive patriot, and in 1775 was one of the minute-men. He expired suddenly in 1776, of. heart failure. Moses's son John, the grandfather of Charles C., and who lived to the great age of ninety-one years, was a skip- per during the greater part of his life. He was famed for his skill as a navigator, and was master of many vessels. While the most of his voyages were made in the coasting service or to the fisheries, he sailed on some foreign trips. His wife, familiarly known as " Mother Dodge," a woman of a strong character, was a leader in the Free Will Baptist church, in which she was distinguished for prayer and exhortation.
Cyrus Dodge, the father of Charles C., began life as a sailor boy. When only ten years of age he went to sea with his father; and when only thirteen he took his turn at the helm with the crew, serving in the night watches as well as at other times. Thus obliged to en- dure many hardships at an early age, there was developed in him a certain rugged tenac- ity that made him in later years the bold and fearless champion of whatever cause he es- poused. At the age of sixteen he determined to quit the sea, and began learning the cabi- net-maker's trade with John P. Allen. For this he showed much aptitude, and in a short time earned a reputation for unusual skill. Subsequently, in 1841, he engaged in cabinet-
WILLIAM F. REDLON.
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making on his own account, and in time ac- quired a business employing from thirty to forty men, besides a name for turning out the finest work. During and previous to the Civil War he was a strong partisan of the anti- slavery party. In later years he was a Repub- lican. His death occurred in 1887. His wife, Julia, was a daughter of William Coes, who served in the United States Navy Depart- ment during the War of 1812. Their living children are : Charles C. and Cyrus M., both of whom constitute the C. Dodge Furniture Com- pany.
Charles C. Dodge attended the Manchester public schools, a school at Chelsea, Mass., and Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College in Boston. Beginning at the age of sixteen, he was employed for the following four years in various capacities in the railroad service. At the end of that time, owing to the illness of his father and to business considerations, he took charge of different kinds of wood-working machines, which subsequently led him to learn the business of furniture manufacturing. In 1878 he became partner in the company that bears his name. The mill now in use was erected in 1847, having been started on December 20 of that year, so that it has been in operation continuously for fifty years. This fact will be considered rather remarkable when it is remembered that insurance statistics show the average life of a wood-working mill to be about ten years.
In politics Mr. Dodge is an Independent, voting for the best candidate rather than in accordance with partisan dictates. On various occasions he has been Moderator of town meet- ings, and he is now serving as Park Commis- sioner. For over a quarter of a century he has been a member of the fire department of Manchester, and has been its acting engineer for twelve years. He is a member of the
Congregational church at Manchester and of the Society of Pilgrim Fathers.
ILLIAM F. REDLON, a promi- nent business man of Hamilton, was born November 8, 1861, in Buxton, Me., son of Isaac and Lydia (Cleaves) Redlon. His immigrant ancestor, Magnus Redlon, who came to this country from Scot- land, settled in York, Me., in 1717. Magnus subsequently removed to Biddeford, where he died in 1730.
Ebenezer Redlon, son of Magnus, settled in Buxton, Me. On February 28, 1777, he en- listed in Captain Daniel Lowe's company of Colonel Ichabod Alden's regiment, and on May 5 of that year died in service from fatigue and exposure. It is a noteworthy fact that members of the Redlon family fought in every war of the country since. Ebenezer (second), son of the first Ebenezer, also fought in the Revolution, under Captain Jabez Lane in the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment. His son, Isaac Hancock Redlon, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a successful farmer of Buxton. Isaac Redlon, a blacksmith by trade, had charge of the repair shops of the Portland & Rochester Railroad Company at Portland for many years. Subsequently he carried on business for himself at Buxton Centre depot. He was a tall, well-informed man, and weighed about two hundred pounds. While the Civil War was progressing, he joined the Twenty-seventh Regiment of Maine Volunteers, and served as the blacksmith of the regiment.
William F. Redlon attended the public schools of Buxton and subsequently the acad- emy at Gorham, Me. For a time after leav- ing school he was a clerk in a store at Bux- ton. Later he came to Boston, and for several
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years was travelling salesman for Nicholson & Frost, wholesale dealers in crockery and glass- ware. Tiring of continual travel, however, he resigned this position, and began to manu- facture timber bought in Ossipee, N. H., into lumber of all dimensions for the Boston market. In 1893 hc established himself in Hamilton, where he has now a very large plant devoted to supplying everything needcd in the construction of a house from cellar to roof.
On April 2, 1882, Mr. Redlon was united in marriage with Emma C. McCorrison, a daughter of Daniel and Harriet (Clay) Mc- Corrison. She has borne him two children: Isaac S., in 1883 ; and Grace M., in 1884. Mr. Rcdlon is a member of Star Lodge, No. 26, K. of P., at Centreville, N. H. ; and of Ham- ilton Lodge of Pilgrim Fathers and the A. O. A. M., both of Hamilton. He has been chosen by his fellow-citizens to serve on several important committees, notably on those having in charge the building of the South Hamilton School-house and the new town hall. Mr. and Mrs. Redlon attend the Peo- ple's Church. They have a fine residence on Willow Strcet.
AMUEL R. PRINCE, a well- known agriculturist of Wenham and a Deacon in the Baptist church, was born in Salem, Mass., on April 25, 1833. His parents were Henry and Ruth H. (Ropcs) Prince, both natives of Salem. The father, better known as Captain Prince, a seafar- ing man, was for many years engaged in the United States revenue service. During the latter part of his life he was a superintendent of ship-building at Newburyport, and it was in this town that he dicd.
Samuel R. Prince lived in Salem during the
first cight years of his life. When a child of four he lost his mother. Four years later he went to Cambridge to live with his uncle, Hardy Ropes. When fourteen years of age he left his uncle's home, and went to Con- cord to work on the farm for Captain Cyrus Hubbard, where he remained about six years. At the end of that time he came to Wenham, where he has since resided for most of the time. Upon rcaching his majority, he en- gaged in the milk business, having a milk route in Salem, Mass. After a time he and his brother, Benjamin R., bought a farm in Hamilton for use in the milk business. Rc- turning to Wenham subsequently, he followed the same occupations - general agriculture and milk producing.
Mr. Prince married Martha A., daughter of Augustus Dodge, late of Wenham. Mrs. Prince became the mother of nine children; namely, Henry A., Frank R., Ruth H., Arthur D., Mary L., Annie L., Sarah C., Sydney K., and Fred A. For over thirty years Mr. Prince has been a devoted member of the Baptist church, ever ready to assist by giving personal effort and time for the further- ance of any good cause or to uphold the church by financial aid. For some years now he has filled the office of Deacon in the church. In politics he is a Republican. Pos- sessed of a generous measure of public spirit, every movement promoting the welfare of the town receives his sympathy.
R. JACOB F. SPALDING, a pop- ular physician of Salisbury, was born in Hillsboro, N. H., July 11, 1842, son of Benjamin Spalding. His mother was a Barker, and one of her ancestors was in the Boston Tea Party. The latter, who was somewhat cccentric, left in the hands of
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Uncle Joel Barker a trunk full of papers that were not to be opened for a hundred years. Great-grandfather Nehemiah Barker, who fought in the Revolution, belonged to the branch of the family that gave the country President Pierce. Grandfather Jacob was a blacksmith in Milford and a Deacon in the Presbyterian church.
Benjamin Spalding was a farmer, and lived in Nashua, where he was a prominent and highly valued citizen. Although not physi- cally robust, he lived to the age of ninety- one. His two children are: W. F. Spalding and Dr. Jacob Spalding. W. F. Spalding re- sides in Cambridge, Mass., and is now one of the Aldermen of that city. For a number of years he has been connected both as editor and reporter with various papers, including the Globe and Commercial Bulletin. Some time before the Civil War he married Lizzie Rawson, of Nashua, and has one daughter, Gertrude, who lives at home. He was in the New Hampshire Heavy Artillery as Captain's clerk, later was clerk of a military court, and he is now a member of a Grand Army post.
Jacob F. Spalding was educated in the Nashua High School. Upon leaving that in- stitution he obtained employment in the cabi- net shop of Fletcher & Webster, where he re- mained for some years. Later he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, and preached at Antrim, N. H., for two years ; at New Ipswich for three years; at London- derry for three years; at Salisbury, Mass., for three years; at Hampton, N.H., for three years; at Salisbury again for three years; and at Seabrook, N.H., for one year. Then he retired from the ministry. As a preacher and pastor he was very popular and successful, and churches always prospered under his charge. He was the only man in the New Hampshire Conference who was asked back at
the close of a three years' term. While in the ministry, possessed of a predilection for medi- cal science, he was a constant associate of the physicians in his various charges, and had more or less medical practice. It was there- fore not strange that, when he resigned the pastorate of Seabrook, he became a physician. During the nine years he has been in Salis- bury he has won quite a reputation for skill, and built up a substantial practice.
A member of the O. U. A. M., Dr. Spald- ing has served in all the offices of that fra- ternity. He is also a member of Caleb Cush- ing Council, No. 8. The master of a concise and pleasing literary style, he has written numerous papers for publication on political and agricultural subjects. In politics he has always been a zealous Prohibitionist, and he has been a candidate for the State legislature and Congress on the ticket of that party. He was Moderator and Highway Surveyor in Hud- son, N. H. ; in Londonderry and Salisbury he was a member of the School Board; and in Salisbury now he is an agent of the Board of Health and a member of the committee in charge of the town library, cstablished in the post-office building. This library was started when Dr. Spalding was preaching here; but, upon his going to New Hampshire, it fell into disuse. When the State offered help to the towns, Salisbury took advantage of the offer, and the old library was donated as a part of the present public library.
On April 7, 1864, Dr. Spalding married Miss Delia Annis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John and Delia Annis, of Londonderry. The Doctor's children are: Ephraim, the eldest son, who has been for five years in Boston with R. L. Day & Co., bankers; Albert, who is in the Putnam Free School; Lizzie, who married Newell F. Frothingham, of Salisbury, the foreman with E. P. Dodge & Co., of New-
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buryport, and has three children; Hattie Louise, who is at home; Alice, who is a pupil in the State Normal Art School in Boston; and Charles, who is a student in the Putnam Free School at Newburyport.
ARNHAM STILES, of Middleton, an inventor and manufacturer, was born November 19, 1814, son of David and Nancy (Farnham) Stiles. The first ancestor, Robert Stiles, with a son of the Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, came from England about the year 1669, and settled in Dorchester, Mass. In October, 1660, he married Elizabeth Frye. Six years later he received a grant of lands in Rowley. His son, Ebenezer, settled in Mid- dleton about the year 1700, and in the follow- ing year married Dorothy Dalton. Ebenezer was Selectman for several years, and was hon- ored with the prefix of "Mr." He died in 1746, at the age of seventy-seven. His wife was ninety-three years old at her death. Ebenezer J. Stiles, son of Ebenezer, married Sarah Hew in 1733, and died in 1787. He was one of the founders of the Middle- ton church. His son, Ezekiel, born Octo- ber 5, 1735, married Miriam Richardson, of Marblehead, and died in 1788. Miriam Stiles died in 1819, when seventy-three years of age.
David Stiles, son of Ezekiel and the father of Farnham, married Miss Farnham in 1812 at Andover. He was a Deacon in the church from 1831 until the time of his death in 1863, was Selectman and Overseer of the Poor, and held other offices of importance. Adhering to old-fashioned customs and ideas, he thought the present generation degenerate. His chil- dren were: David, Farnham, Lydia Richard- son, Hiram Abbott, Franklin Osgood, Lyman Bridgman, Nancy Emeline, and Warren.
Franklin Osgood died of consumption at the age of thirty-two. Nancy Emeline married G. H. Tufts.
Farnham Stiles began learning the shoe- maker's trade at the age of sixteen. After- ward he made shoes by hand for some years, carrying on his farm at the same time. Being of an inventive turn of mind, he devised a pegging jack for use in his trade, and in a little shop built by him manufactured a great number of jacks, which he sold all over this section. He also made dies for cutting out heels and soles - work that had previously been done entirely by hand with a knife -- and dies for stamping the name of the maker upon the sole. Next he got out a corrugated heel burnisher, which he sought to patent. The patent applied for was never awarded; and soon these articles were manufactured all over the world, cspecially the burnisher. Other valuable inventions have been produced by Mr. Stiles, one being a calipers used in meas- uring lumber. He is a fine workman although he never learned the machinist's trade. He has been prominent in town affairs; and, while somewhat of an Independent, he gen- erally votes the Republican ticket.
On April 27, 1837, he married Elizabeth Parker Russell, a daughter of Joseph Russell, of Middleton. At the celebration of their golden wedding, held on April 27, 1887, when over one hundred friends were present, Mr. and Mrs. Stiles received many valuable gifts, including one hundred dollars in gold. After fifty-four years of married happiness Mrs. Stiles died in 1891. Of their five children, the first three died in infancy. The others were: Warren, who died in his fifth year; and Mary, the only girl, who grew up, married Milton Jenkins Emerson, and died in middle life, leaving no children. A second marriage united Mr. Stiles with Lucinda Floyd, who
FRANCIS J. STEVENS.
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died two years after. He has been a firm be- liever in Spiritualism for the past forty-eight years, and has received much comfort from his unwavering faith in the manifestations of departed friends.
EORGE F. ALLEN, a leading dry- goods merchant of Manchester, was born in this town September 10, 1826, son of Nathan and Lucy S. Allen, both parents being natives of Manchester. The Allen family is of English origin. William Allen, from whom George F. is seventh in descent on his father's side and eighth on his mother's side, came from England in 1630, and settled in a part of Salem now in- cluded in the town of Manchester, then called Jeffrey's Creek. Mr. Allen's great-grand- father, Jacob Allen, was a Revolutionary sol- dier, and fought at Bunker Hill. Nathan Allen was a carpenter by trade, and lived and died in Manchester.
George F. Allen grew to manhood in this town, receiving his education in the public schools and in a private academy then existing here. In 1849 he was appointed Postmaster of Manchester, and held the position for four years, under Presidents Taylor and Fillmore. In 1850 he engaged in business in a small way. Prospering as the town's population increased, he has now one of the leading dry- goods establishments in the place. However, from 1859 to 1868, he was obliged to give up business on account of his health. During a part of that interval he was connected with the official business of the town, serving for six years as Town Clerk. For five years, also, he was Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor; and for much of that time he was the chairman of the Board of Selectmen. He is now one of the oldest mercliants in Manches-
ter and the oldest in his line of business. A member of the Congregational church, he served as its clerk and treasurer for thirty years.
Mr. Allen married Arabella McCollom, a native of Mount Vernon, N.H. He is at present serving on the Board of Water Com- missioners, and he has served for five years on the School Board. Originally a Whig in pol- itics, he is now a stanch member of the Re- publican party, and has been a member of the Republican Town Committee. He has always taken an active part in town affairs, and is recognized as a man whose judgment is to be respected, and whose opinions are carefully to be sought.
RANCIS J. STEVENS, M.D., a re- tired physician of Boxford and an ex- member of the Massachusetts legislat- ure, was born in Gilford, N. H., June 20, 1824, son of John S. and Lucy (Jewett) Stevens. The great-grandfather, Colonel Ebenezer Stevens, a native of Kingston, N. H., according to tradition, owned large tracts of land in Franklin and Salisbury, and is said to have given to the father of - Daniel Webster the farm upon which that famous statesman was born. He was too old to engage in mili- tary service at the breaking out of the Revolu- tionary War. Born of his second marriage were four sons.
John Stevens, son of Colonel Stevens, was born and reared in Kingston, and resided upon the family homestead until 1810. Then he purchased a good farm in Gilford, and there- after made it his home until his death, which occurred in the prime of manhood. His first marriage was contracted with Ruhamah Fi- field, Dr. Stevens's grandmother. The maiden name of his second wife was Mary
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Secombe. John S. Stevens, son of John, was a native of Kingston. After his marriage he settled upon a farm of his own in Gilford, where he resided for many years. He lived to be eighty years old, spending his last days in Laconia, N.H. Lucy Jewett Stevens, his wife, a descendant of one of the first settlers of Rowley, Mass., reared four children - Francis J., Laura R., Ruth J., and John H. Ruth J. has been twice married, and is now a widow without children. John H., who is a dentist in Sandwich, Mass., married Maria Towle, and has one daughter, Martha.
After obtaining his carly education in the academies of Gilford and Pembroke, Francis J. Stevens engaged in teaching. Later in Schenectady, N. Y., he was for a time em- ployed in a book-store. While here he began the study of medicine. Having graduated from the Albany Medical College in 1851, he entered practice in Hampstead, N. H., where he remained four years. After this he re- sided in Haverhill, Mass., for twenty-two years, practising dentistry for the most of the time and for a part of it editing the Haver- hill Gazette. During the last two years and a half of his father's life the Doctor resided with him in Laconia. After his father's death, he came to Boxford, the home of his wife's parents, where, relinquishing his practice soon after, he has since given his attention to agricultural pursuits.
Dr. Stevens's first marriage was contracted with Susan E. Morrill. His present wife, formerly Miss L. Helen Gould, inherited a farm in this town. The Doctor has no children. While residing in Haverhill, lic served the town upon the School Committee and in the capacity of Coroner; and he repre- sented it in the State legislature for two terms. For the past sixteen years he has been a member of the School Board in Box-
ford. He cast his first Presidential vote for Zachary Taylor in 1848, has supported the Republican party actively since its formation, and is now a member of the Republican Town Committee. For fifty-two years he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1864 he was elevated to the thirty-second degree in Masonry. He has been a Mason for forty-three years and a charter member of Pentucket Chapter, R. A. M., for about forty years. The oldest living member of Merrimac Masonic Lodge, he has been Master of the lodge and council ; and he was the recording officer for eight years. He is also a charter member of Haver- hill Council, R. & S. Masters, and of Haver- hill Commandery, K. T., ; and he has affilia- tion with Merrimac Valley Lodge of Perfec- tion. His religious creed is the Congrega- tional; and he is a member of the North Church, Haverhill, having been one of the eighty-four persons who organized it in 1859.
ILLIAM HOLKER, a well-known merchant of Newburyport and a native of Hindley, Lancashire, England, was born in December, 1845. He came to America in 1848, with his father, John Holker. The latter, who was a mill operative, and had been working for his living since he was seven years old, on coming to Newburyport entered the Bartlett Mills, and was one of the last workmen who used the old hand method of mule-spinning. Ilis wife, Catherine Bell Holker, of English birth, was the mother of seven children, of whom William is the fifth.
William Holker went to work for the Bart- lett Mills Manufacturing Company with his father when ten years of age, continuing until 1862. Then he entered the shop of Daniel
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Young, of Newburyport, remaining there for three years, and learning the tinsmith's trade. For the next seven years he worked at this trade in the employ, successively, of Horace N. Jackman, Wallace D. Wells, and John Sumner. In 1872, forming a partnership with his brother, John Holker, he went into the tinsmith's business on his own account, under the firm name of William Holker & Co. The business started in an unpretentious way at the north end of the brick block on Water Street, known as the Ross Block. In 1874 they removed to Market Square, where by tact and honest dealing they built up one of the leading business enterprises in the city, and a reputation that places them beyond the reach of competition. In 1887 the firm pur- chased the Knight Block. Two years later their increasing business compelled them to buy another building, which makes their place the largest and best of its kind in Newbury- port. John Holker retired from the firm in December, 1893, since which time William has carried on the business as sole proprietor. In March, 1898, he purchased the large hard- ware stock of J. C. Stanley ; and in connec- tion with his stove business he has the largest store in Essex County.
In politics Mr. Holker is a Republican, and has been a member of the Republican City Committee. He has been Councilman for six years and on the Board of Engineers of the Newburyport Fire Department for four years.
A Warden of the New England Order of Protection for some time, he is the only man in town who belongs to the Supreme Lodge. He was an active member of the American Order of United Workmen and the first Deputy of the Good Fellows, but now he has no connection with either organization. Tak- ing an active interest in the Veteran Fire- men's Association, he has been a member
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