USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Essex County, Massachusetts > Part 46
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ten thousand dollars, now kept as the B. F. Emerson Fund. Mr. Fletcher is one of the trustecs of both thesc funds.
Mr. Fletcher was married January 1, 1865, to Carolinc Augusta Stiles, daughter of the late David and Rebecca (Perry) Stiles. Mr. Stiles was a well-known citizen of Middleton, a farmer and blacksmith by occupation, a man of much intelligence, a writer for the press, and a lecturer on agricultural topics. He was the author of the History of Middleton, pub- lished in the History of Essex County in I888. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher have two chil- dren, both daughters - Lillian Perry and Edith Louise, the latter now a student in the Danvers High School.
Mr. Fletcher is a member of Amity Lodge, F. & A. M., Danvers, Mass. Mrs. Fletcher is a member of the Congregational church.
EORGE J. TENNEY was the pio- neer shoe manufacturer in George- town and vicinity. Born in this town, August 28, 1805, he was a son of Amos J. and Lucy (Spofford) Tenney. The founders of the family were Thomas and Ann Elizabeth (Stickney) Tenney, the former of whom came from England with the Rev. Eze- kiel Rogers in 1638, and settled in Rowley, Mass. Daniel Tenney, son of Thomas, was born in Rowley in 1653. His son, William Tenney, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, born in the same town in 1695, wedded Mchitable Pcarson. Richard Tenney, the grandfather, born in Rowley in 1736, died in 1802. The maiden name of his wife was Abigail Pcrley. Amos Jewett Tenncy, the father, who was born in 1780, made boots and shoes in Georgetown for many years, and was a prominent and respected man in the com- munity. Possessed of sound judgment in
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business affairs and honesty, he was called upon to settle many estates. He died in 1840. His wife, Lucy Spofford, was a daugh- ter of Jeremiah Spofford and a sister of Dr. Jeremiah Spofford, of Groveland, Mass.
Having acquired a limited education in the common schools, George J. Tenney at an early age engaged in shoemaking. After a time, ambitious to advance, he began to man- ufacture ordinary footwear on a limited scale for the retail trade. This was when all the work was done by hand. When he had fin- ished a sufficient quantity to make a team load, it was his custom to drive to Boston, sell his goods, and, when returning, to stop at Salem and purchase supplies. Having begun in this modest way, by rigid economy and steady application to business he became the most extensive manufacturer of boots and shoes in Georgetown. Several large factories erected by him were devoted chiefly to the production of men's heavy footwear, which previous to the Civil War was sold mostly in the Southern States. These goods were later shipped direct to his agents, Gerney & Co., of St. Joseph, Mo., who in turn sent them further West by ox team. Boots of his make were the first kind to arrive in Denver, Col., after its settlement. He also shipped con- siderable heavy footwear, packed in hogsheads, to the West Indies. His extensive plant was twice destroyed by fire, first in 1874 and again in 1885. Retaining a financial inter- est in the business, he retired from active connection therewith six years prior to his death, which occurred in July, 1897. Orig- inally a Whig, he joined the Republican party at its formation. At one time he repre- sented the district in the State legislature, where he served upon the Committees on Cities and Towns. He always displayed an earnest interest in the welfare of his native
town, and he was esteemed as one of its most generous and public-spirited men.
On December 21, 1836, Mr. Tenney was united in marriage with Susan Nelson, a daughter of Jonathan Nelson, of Georgetown, who represented an old and highly reputable family of Essex County. Born of this union were two children: Milton G., on September 4, 1837; and Lucy T., on October 26, 1839. Milton G. Tenney, who graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, became a part- ner of his father, forming the firm of George J. Tenney & Son. While residing in George- town, he carries on business in Haverhill, under the old firm name. He married Au- gusta Noyes, of Mount Desert, Me., and has three children: Susan N., born in 1865, who is now the wife of Charles Falconer, a teacher in the high school of Amherst, Mass. ; George B., born in 1866, who is in business with his father; and Robert M., born in 1877. Lucy T. Tenney graduated from the Putnam High School, Newburyport, in 1857. In Septem- ber, 1864, she married John B. Brown, of Ipswich, Mass., and is now residing in Chi- cago. Mr. Tenney, Sr., was an active mem- ber of the Peabody Memorial Church, of which he was a generous supporter.
I HE LAMBERT FAMILY, which is well known and highly respected in Essex County, was first represented in this country by Francis Lambert, who came from Yorkshire, England, in 1638, with nine- teen other persons, including his wife and two children - John and Ann. The carly annals of Rowley are filled with an account of the doings of these first settlers, and prom- inent among them was Francis Lambert. By his wife, Jane, he had three sons born after the family came to this country: Jonathan,
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1639; Gershom, 1643; and Thomas, 1645. Francis Lambert died in 1647. His will, be- queathing the bulk of his large property to his widow, is still preserved among the Salem records. Mrs. Lambert afterward married the Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, and carried into the Rogers family a large amount of the Lambert wealth, much of which at his death the Rev. Ezekiel Rogers willed to the Congregational Church of Rowley, besides a large amount to Harvard College.
Thomas Lambert, born 1645, the next in line of descent, married Edna Northend, and had two sons - Thomas, born 1678; and Na- than, born 1681 - and two daughters, whose names are not given. The son Thomas, just mentioned, great-grandfather of the Misses Lambert of Rowley, had by his wife, Sarah, three sons and six daughters, the sons being: Thomas, born 1711; Nathan, 1716; and Jonathan, 1718. It was he who built the fine old family residence now occupied by the Misses Lambert, which, together with a large share of the Lambert property, has been in the family for more than two centuries. The house, which is in an excellent state of pres- ervation, contains many interesting relics, and is replete with memories of the past gen- crations of the Lamberts. Every room has some valued association - a marriage, a birth, or a death - or contains some memento of Revolutionary or Colonial times.
Thomas, born 1711, the next in line of descent, married first Elizabeth Hobson, by whom he had one son, Thomas, and three daughters. He married for his second wife Anna Kimball Lord, by whom he had two sons and one daughter: Jonathan, born in December, 1763; Nathaniel, 1765; and Me- hitable.
Jonathan Lambert, born December 13, 1763, the eldest son of the last Thomas Lam-
bert, whose children are the subject of this sketch, married Hannah Gage, daughter of William Gage, of Rowley, in 1795. He was a man of more than local prominence and a Captain in the militia for many years. At muster time he kept open house, and his wife always provided breakfast for the "boys " of her husband's company. No matter how carly they might arrive, they were sure to find wait- ing for them the most hospitable entertain- ment and a finely cooked, steaming hot break- fast. Captain Lambert was a gentleman of the old school, refined, courteous, and digni- ficd, a loyal inember of the Congregational church, and a strict observer of the Sabbath. He died December 3, 1837. His children were: William G., Thomas, Frederick, Annie L., Hannah M., Alfred, Elizabeth Gage, Me- hitable, Mary, and Jonathan. Thomas, born in 1800, who died in 1839, was never married. Frederick, born in 1803, successively married a Miss Jewett and Sarah Lancy. Frederick lived in Bangor, Me., engaged in the mercan- tile and lumber business. Later he removed to New York, and went into the insurance business. William G. Lambert, born in 1798, was a member of the firm of N. A. Lawrence & Co., of New York. He was especially prominent in religious circles, and was a Deacon in the church with Henry Ward Beecher's father. Afterward he went to Brooklyn, and was an Elder in the Presbyte- rian church there and a Deacon of Broadway Tabernacle. It was through his influence that Dr. Taylor was settled as pastor of the Taber- nacle. He had five sons - George, Alfred, William, James, and Edward. Edward, a graduate of Yale College and now a promi- nent physician in New York, is a medical examiner for the Equitable Life Insurance Company. He married a Miss Waldron, of Boston, and has a family of three sons and
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four daughters - Samuel Waldron, Alexander Elliot, Adrian, Sally, Katie, Edith, and Ruth. Alfred, Edward's brother, is also a graduate of Yale; while James's Alma Mater was Williams College.
Elizabeth Gage, Mehitable, and Mary G. Lambert, the three daughters of Captain Lam- bert, are unmarried, and reside in the beauti- ful old family mansion to which they are greatly attached, and of which they are justly proud. The youngest, Miss Mary, is the business manager of the family, and looks after the affairs of the household. For many years she was a teacher in the public schools, beginning at the age of seventeen, and receiv- ing at first only one dollar and forty-two cents per week. After some twenty years of successful teaching she resigned on account of poor health. Since then she has had charge of the Lambert estate, now in an excellent condition, with the land brought to a high state of cultivation.
GILMAN BAILEY, the manager of Shadyside Grove at Andover, was born in this town, June 7, 1827, son of Samuel and Prudence (Farmer) Bailey. The family is an old one in New England, many generations having resided here. The grandfather, Samuel Bailey, Sr., lived and died in Andover. Samuel Bailey, Jr., a na- tive of Andover, spent his life here, chiefly occupied in farming. Prudence, his wife, was born in North Tewksbury. They had four children, all living; namely, Charles K., John B., Abbie O., and S. Gilman. Abbie is the wife of Thomas Everett Perrin, of Attleboro, Mass.
S. Gilman Bailey obtained his education in the public schools of Andover. On leaving home he went to Lowell, Mass., where in
1848 he started a market. Six months later he sold out, returned to Andover, and subse- quently went to Wakefield. He learned shoe- making, and went to Lowell to work at that trade. In 1853 he again returned to An- dover, and worked at shoemaking till 1861. Then he took charge of the Shadyside Grove, a beautiful summer resort, which he continues to conduct. Among the attractions of the resort are boating and fishing. In 1859 he married Caroline P., daughter of Amos Gil- christ, of Andover. They have had three children, namely: Lilla E., who married Edwin W. Cooley, of Winchester, Mass .; Charles L., at home; and William K., who died in 1884.
EORGE N. JANVRIN, a present resident and former Chief of Police of Amesbury, was born in Seabrook, N. H., March 21, 1839. His father died in middle life, leaving to him at the early age of seventeen years the care and responsibility of the family. In 1862 he left his home to go to the war, enlisting in Company D, Four- teenth New Hampshire Regiment, and was appointed Sergeant on September 5 of that year. During his first year of service he was on duty in the Department of Washington, and served at Poolesville and Edwin's Ferry. In the spring of 1863 his company was ordered back to Washington, where Mr. Janvrin was on provost duty until winter. During this time he was stationed at the Central Guard- house and the old Capitol Prison, and was thus brought in contact with thousands of pris- oners of every description. Later in the year he participated in the engagements in Shenandoah Valley, at Harper's Ferry, Cedar Creek, and Fisher's Hill. Returning to Washington then, he remained there for seven
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or eight months. In January, 1864, he went to Harper's Ferry, and was in that vicinity for about one month, when he returned to Washington. In March the regiment was furloughed to return to New Hampshire and attend the State election. After twelve days it went to New York and thence to Louisi- ana. Then it took part in a short campaign in the Red River section. From Louisiana it went to City Point, Va., crossed the James River to Newmarket Road, and at the end' of about two weeks returned to City Point. After this it joined Sheridan at Winchester, September 17, and was with that general throughout his campaign. In February it went to Baltimore, thence to Savannah, where it relieved Sherman's troops, and on the 5th of May commenced a march through the woods to Augusta. During this memorable march in search of Jefferson Davis, vast crowds of negroes followed the regiment, which was the first Union troops they had seen during the war. Negroes came from all directions, seem- ing to spring up from behind every bush and fence; and on the Saturday morning before it went into Augusta it was accompanied by twenty-seven hundred of these refugees, by actual count. Mr. Janvrin has a vivid recol- lection of one old white-haired darky, who sat on a fence, and, as the troops passed, swung his arms continually, shouting: "Brcss de Lord! Bress de Lord ! I knowed you'd come. Bress de Lord !" On the day the reg- iment arrived, Jefferson Davis, who was capt- ured the day before, was brought in, and a guard, which was detailed by Mr. Janvrin, conducted the prisoner to Savannah. July 6, 1865, the regiment sailcd from Savannah, Ga., to Hilton Head, S.C., where it was mus- tered out of the United States service on July 8. It then embarked on the steamship "Con- stitution," landed on Constitution Wharf in
Boston on July 20, and then went to Concord, N.H., where he was discharged on July 26.
In 1871 Mr. Janvrin devoted his attention to the packing and shipping of carriages in cars. Prior to this time, transportation had been made at great expense, with but one or two carriages in a car. Mr. Janvrin loaded the first shipment ever sent across the coun- try, packing twenty-six carriages in one car. This carload was sent from Amesbury to San Francisco, Cal., the freight charges amount- ing to six hundred and ninety-six dollars. Since this first successful experiment he has reduced the work to a science, often packing forty and even fifty carriages in one car. Per- haps no man in the country has so thorough a knowledge of the business. His services in superintending shipments of this character are now in demand throughout New England. Manufacturers in foreign countries have fre- quently addressed him, asking information on this important subject.
In the year 1895 Mr. Janvrin was elected Chief of Police of Amesbury, and during three years of service proved himself a re- markably efficient and careful officer. No prisoner that he has arrested and brought be- fore the court was discharged. He married Miss Mary Manley, of Danielsonville, Conn., who had two children: Emma H., a graduate of the Amesbury High School; and Gertrude May, who is still at school. A prominent member of the G. A. R., he is a Past Com- mander of the E. P. Wallace Post, No. 122; and he is also a member of the New Hamp- shire Veterans' Association.
ORACE N. HASTINGS, a promi- nent and enterprising journalist of Lynn, was born in Cambridgeport,
Mass., February 1, 1829. When elevcn
WILLIAM OSWALD.
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years old he learned to set type in Woburn, Mass., on the first newspaper published in that town, the Sentinel and Middlesex Adver- tiser. He afterward worked on the Woburn Gazette, Waltham Sentinel, Woburn Adver- tiser, and Cambridge Chronicle. When but eighteen years old he was proprietor of the Woburn Guidepost, a weekly which succeeded the Advertiser. When Lewis Josselyn started the Lynn Bay State in 1849, Mr. Hastings came to Lynn, and worked on that paper for a time. He was foreman in the Woburn Jour- nal office for a year, when that paper first started, in 1851. In 1857 he established the Woburn Budget, its publication being con- tinued until the breaking out of the Civil War. Enlisting for active service, he was Sergeant of Company G, Fifth Massachusetts, for nine months. Then, re-enlisting in 1864 in Company B, Eleventh Massachusetts Vol- unteers, as Second Sergeant, he served in that company, and was in command as First Ser- geant at the surrender of General Lee at Ap- pomattox. After the war Mr. Hastings spent four years in Oregon, and was foreman on the Portland Oregonian about one year. In 1870 he returned to Lynn, and was local editor of the Lynn Reporter until 1876, when, with his sons, he established the Lynn City Item (weekly), and in 1877 the Daily Evening Item. At the present time he is president of the Hastings & Sons Publishing Company.
Mr. Hastings married, in 1853, Augusta A. Houghton, of Clinton, Mass. They had six children, whose names and names of grand- children are as follows: Henry Nelson Hast- ings, born in Woburn, Mass., June 15, 1856; married in Loudon, N.H., June 22, 1882, Charlotte M. Rand of that town; he died in Lynn, Mass., April 18, 1898, leaving no chil- dren. Charles Houghton Hastings, born in
Woburn, Mass., July 20, 1858; married in Newburyport, Mass., November 18, 1885, Lucy I. Glines of that city. Their children were: Vera Marguerite, born in Lynn, Mass., April 7, 1887; Louise Houghton, born in Lynn, Mass., January 12, 1889, died in Lynn, Mass., Aug. 4, 1889; Hazel Houghton, born in Lynn, Mass., September 5, 1890, died in Lynn, Mass., October 8, 1891. Wilmot Reed Hastings, born in Woburn, Mass., June 23, 1860; married in Swampscott, Mass., July 6, 1886, Maria S. Hayford of that town. Their children were: Elsie Hayford, born in Swamp- scott, Mass., June 28, 1888; Claire, born in Swampscott, February 16, 1892; Abner Hor- ace, born in Swampscott, December 31, 1894. Etta Augusta Hastings, born in Woburn, Mass., Sept. 8, 1862; married in Lynn, Mass., August 16, 1887, Fred C. Rundlett, of Lynn. Horace Frost Hastings, born in Clin- ton, Mass., January 19, 1865, died in that town March 21, 1866. Alfred Lear Hastings, born in Lynn, Mass., March 21, 1876.
ILLIAM OSWALD, a retired mer- chant and an honored citizen of Lawrence, residing at 191 Jackson Street, was born at St. Andrew's, Fifeshire, Scotland, June 30, 1848, son of Duncan and Eliza (Falconer) Oswald. The family history extends back several centuries in Scotland, to which country ancestors of it emigrated from the Netherlands. The grandfather of William Oswald, also named William and a native of St. Andrew's, was a stone-cutter by trade, and was in business as a contractor and builder of stone structures. His wife, Catherine Kennedy before marriage, had seven children. He died aged fifty-five, and his widow aged sixty-five. Duncan, son of William and Catherine Oswald, was born at St. Andrew's
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in 1818. He married Eliza Falconer, and had a son and two daughters. The mother and younger daughter died of scarlet fever, and the elder daughter when twenty-four years old.
William Oswald, the only son of his parents, left motherless when a babe of nine months, was taken by his grandfather Fal- coner, in whose home he spent his boyhood. He received a good education, which was completed at St. Andrew's Madras College, the institution of learning founded and en- dowed in 1840 by Andrew Bell, a Scotch mer- chant, who acquired much wealth in Madras, India. At fifteen young Oswald left school. After serving a five years' apprenticeship at the dry-goods business, he went to London as a salesman, and there spent two years most profitably. However, not content with his progress, at the end of that time he came to this country, and in Boston obtained the posi- tion of salesman in the large dry-goods store of Hogg, Brown & Taylor, with whom he re- mained fifteen months. In August, 1873, he came to Lawrence, and, with Thomas Simp- son, of New York, as a partner, embarked in the dry-goods business for himself. The firm of Simpson & Oswald opened the "Boston Store," a few doors from the store now con- ducted under that name, and were very suc- cessful. In 1878 they opened a branch store in Norwich, also named the "Boston Store," which was sold in the same year to Reid & Hughes, when Mr. Simpson withdrew from the firm. Mr. Oswald subsequently started another store in Lowell. Three years later he and Mr. Armstrong, forming the firm Os- wald & Armstrong, started still another store in Lewiston, Me. His interest in this Mr. Oswald sold in 1890; and two years later he disposed of his business in Lawrence to Reid & Hughes, the former of whom had been in
his employ as the manager of the Norwich store. The three stores, respectively in Law- rence, Lowell, and Lewiston, had all together about one hundred and fifty employees, and did a large and profitable business. The large brick block in Essex Street, Lawrence, in which there are five stores on the ground floor, which was remodelled by the firm of Simpson & Oswald, has been owned by Mr. Oswald for some years. The "Boston Store," now con- ducted by Reid & Hughes, embracing Nos. 225 to 235 Essex Street, occupies nearly the entire length of the block, and is one of the finest stores in the city. In 1891 Mr. Oswald erected the Gleason Block, a handsome, six- story brick and terra-cotta structure, contain- ing a large store and sixty-five offices. This was badly damaged by fire a few months since, but is now being repaired. Mr. Oswald is a director of the Merchants' National Bank, es- tablished in 1888, and of which he was an original stockholder. One of the promoters of the Lawrence Street Railway, he owned one-sixth of the whole road. Credit is also due to him for the establishment of the An- dover branch, of which he secured the fran- chise. He is a stockholder and director of both the Wright Manufacturing Company and the Archibald Wheel Company of Lawrence.
Mr. Oswald casts his vote with the Re- publican party. He is a Master Mason and a member of the Ancient and Honorable Ar- tillery Company of Boston, Mass. Seventeen years ago he married Florence M. Gleason, of Methuen, a daughter of Kimball C. Gleason, now deceased. They lost a son in his infancy, and have one daughter living, Alma G., now fifteen years old. The family resides in the substantial brick residence erected by Mr. Oswald in 1881 or 1882. Both he and Mrs. Oswald are Episcopalians. When in active trade, Mr. Oswald followed the motto of
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"One price to all," was courteous in his treatment of customers, and, as a result, while acquiring wealth, he also won many friends. Some years ago he gave up active business cares.
ILLIAM H. B. CURRIER, the vet- eran editor of Amesbury, was born in Salisbury, Mass., July 13, 1828. His parents were Moses and Annie (Stevens) Currier. The family to which he belongs has been prominent in this section since the ear- liest settlement of the Merrimac valley. In fact, the name Currier probably originated here, the earlier form, it is said, being Cur- rie. The Curries of France, England, and Canada belong to the same stock; and tradi- tion connects them with some of the proudest families of England.
Richard Currier was one of the first land- holders and settlers in Salisbury, locating there in 1638. From him are descended all the Curriers in the valley of the Merrimac. His family was one of twenty delegated to move across to the west bank of the Powow, and he set up the first saw-mill on the Powow River. He was one of the active men of the settlement, and served for some time as Town Clerk.
Nathaniel Currier, of a later generation, held a commission under the English govern- ment at the breaking out of the Revolution ; and he was then commissioned Major in the Colonial forces. A full and interesting sketch of his life was recently published in the Ames- bury News by his great-grandson, W. H. B. Currier. Major Currier owned large estates, and was one of the prominent men of his day. His son, David Currier, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, inherited a good deal of property ; and he became owner of a large
mill privilege on the bank of the Powow. Mr. Currier has deeds showing that his grand- father owned from Hamilton Mills almost to tide-water, from Market Square the whole length of Market Street, a farm in South Hampton, eight hundred acres of wild land in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, and twelve hundred acres of wild land in Maine. After his death his two sons, Jacob and Moses, and his nephew David shared this property.
Moses Currier, W. H. B. Currier's father, with his brother Jacob, managed a large farm, and operated a grist-mill, saw-mill, and card- ing-mill. He engaged, also, in ship-build- ing to some extent, likewise in the manu- facture of woollen goods, and was one of the first to suffer from the existing political con- ditions. There was no port tariff; and Eng- lish manufactures were beginning to crowd the country, selling at lower rates than home manufacturers could afford. Most of the ex- perienced mill hands were imported help. Mr. Moses Currier was obliged to trust men over whom he could have no direct oversight ; and a factory near Epping, which he placed in charge of a man from England who claimed to be thoroughly experienced, was a total fail- ure. Moses Currier's wife, who was born on the Merrimac, was one of the family springing from Jonathan and Lemuel Stevens, wealthy landholders of this vicinity. Her father and his brothers, Jacob and Lemuel Stevens, were said by one of the old settlers to be "the smartest and handsomest men in the Merrimac valley." They, too, were engaged in ship- building, and were ruined by the embargo.
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