USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Essex County, Massachusetts > Part 47
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Mr. and Mrs. Moses Currier had the follow- ing named children: Jacob, Cyrus, Charles, William H. B., Ruth, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Susan. Jacob, Cyrus, and Charles learned the machinist's trade in the Lowell machine
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shop, a great establishment at that time. In 1838 Jacob and Cyrus went West; and Jacob was one of the first settlers in Van Buren County, Michigan, erecting the first saw-mill there. Cyrus entered the employ of Seth Boyden, of Newark, N.J., the inventor of patent leather and the connecting-rod of en- gines, and had much to do with establish- ing those inventions. He eventually became owner of the machine shop which is at pres- ent in charge of his son. Charles Currier, now residing in Hyde Park, was on the United States steamship "Ohio" on her first trip up the Mediterranean under Commodore Perry, and was afterward in the coasting trade. He and Cyrus were among the first forty- niners. Cyrus travelled overland to Califor- nia, and, with a Mr. De Hart, erected a steam saw-mill, which was the first machinery oper- ated by steam in California.
Charles, who resided in Augusta, went round Cape Horn in the first company sailing from Augusta. Ruth Currier died unmarried some years ago. Sarah is the widow of the late Jacob Flanders, a retired business man, who died at his residence on Powow Hill in April, 1898. Elizabeth, widow of Joseph Green, resides in Amesbury; and Susan, widow of Charles Pierce, lives in Amesbury.
William H. B. Currier acquired his early education in the common schools and Davis Academy. The best part of his life from early boyhood has been devoted to newspaper work. When a lad he carried papers down to the chain bridge and back over Rocky Hill in summer and winter, often being obliged to pull himself out of huge snowdrifts by means of his paper-basket. In 1848 Daniel Morrill, who was just out of college, bought the Ames- bury Transcript, and, at the poet Whittier's suggestion, changed the name to the Ames- bury Villager. Mr. Currier was his foreman.
Mr. Morrill published six numbers of the paper, and, finding it unsuccessful, decided to discontinue. Mr. Currier had his valise packed ready to go to Haverhill, but citizens who knew how well he was fitted for the work requested him to continue the paper. Ac- cordingly, hiring the plant of Mr. Morrill, he assumed charge, though he had only thirty- five dollars in cash. Subscriptions increased, and he kept the enterprise well up with the progress of the times. He was editor and proprietor of the Villager from 1849 to 1871, twenty-two years. He then sold to the Pot- ters, but did not completely sever his connec- tion with the paper, for several years editing the daily. The long life of the Villager is due to the untiring energy of Mr. Currier, who many times had his type set ready to go to press before he had the paper to print it on, and who frequently delivered the papers him- self when the boys failed to appear. In addi- tion to his newspaper work, he has written and prepared for publication many pages on his- torical and genealogical subjects. Nor is writ- ing his sole accomplishment. He is a public speaker of no mean order, so that a public gathering in this section, especially of an his- torical nature, is hardly considered a success unless Mr. Currier grace the occasion with one of his "talks."
Mr. Currier was married in 1850 to Sarah Elizabeth Currier, whose father was the sixth Richard in direct line from Sir Richard Cur- rier mentioned above. Her great-uncle, Cap- tain John Currier, was in command of a com- pany in the battle of Bunker Hill. Mr. and Mrs. Currier have four children - George W., Frederick, Isabelle, and Annie Stevens. George W., who was for many years associated with his father, and is now engaged in print- ing in Boston, married Mary A. Lock, and has one daughter. Frederick, a carriage
OTIS F. BROWN.
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worker in Amesbury, married Adeline Lane, and has four boys. Isabelle is the wife of Charles Flanders Dodge, of Denver, Col. ; and Annie S. is the wife of Clarence W. Peaslee, of Amesbury. Mr. Currier's politi- cal association was with the Abolition and Republican parties. He was chairman of the Amesbury Board of Selectmen, Assessors, and Overseers of the Poor from 1866 to 1874, from 1877 to 1881, and in 1886 and 1887; Assessor three years; and, appointed Postmaster in 1869 by President Grant, he was in office four years. While in the post-office he effected radical changes for the better, and, with the assistance of General Butler, then Congress- man for this district, succeeded in having the mails brought direct to Amesbury by railroad instead of to Newburyport, and thence next day by stage. He represented this district in the State legislature in 1857-58, serving on the Committee on Printing; and during his legislative term he was accustomed to edit his paper between-times in the State House.
OWELL F. WILSON, manager of 1 the Ballardvale Woollen Mills, was born in New York City, February I, 1860, son of John H. and Esther A. (Hay- ward) Wilson. His father was a merchant in the metropolis for the greater part of his life. Mr. Wilson's maternal grandfather was Eben- ezer Hayward, who served in the War of 1812, and for many years was engaged in the West India trade in Boston.
Howell F. Wilson passed his boyhood in Brooklyn, and was educated in the public schools of that city. He was for a time em- ployed in a real estate office, and later took a position in a wholesale smallware establish- ment in Boston. In 1877 he came to Ballard-
vale, and, accepting the position of clerk in the office of the Ballardvale Woollen Mills, gradually rose to his present position of man- ager. His business ability has been fully demonstrated, and his long connection with the Ballardvale concern is ample testimony of the high regard in which he is held by his employers. In politics a Republican, he takes a lively interest in public affairs, and has served upon the Board of Health. Hc is a member of St. Matthew's Lodge, F. & A. M .; and of Andover Lodge, I. O. O. F. He at- tends the Congregational church, and acts as treasurer of the society. Mr. Wilson married Lizzie A. Pasho, daughter of Henry F. Pasho, of Andover.
TIS F. BROWN, Town Clerk of Hamilton, was born here, April 7, 1833, son of Arza and Sally (Adams) Brown. He resides on the farm which has been for five successive generations in the Brown family. His paternal grand- father, Lemuel Brown, was elected Town Clerk of Hamilton in 1794 at the first town meeting held here, which met in the basement of the Congregational church. Lemuel after- ward held the office by successive elections for seventeen years. It is a noteworthy fact that, at every town meeting since except one, some member of the Brown family was elected to some one of the town offices. Arza Brown was noted throughout this section as a musi- cian, and sang for many years in church choirs. He taught for sixteen winters in the South School, did surveying for the town, and served as School Committee.
Otis F. Brown secured a good education in the public schools and at Westminster and At- kinson Academies. He has taught school in several places, and has travelled much in this
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country. A penman of extraordinary skill, he can write rapidly and with perfect ease any word, beginning at the end or writing upside down. He was for many years a teacher of penmanship in various parts of the country. Finally he returned to his birthplace, and settled in the old home.
Mr. Brown was married in 1868 to Lydia A. Dodge, a daughter of Herbert and Mary J. (Ethridge) Dodge. Their only child, a daughter, is a music teacher in Hamilton. Mr. Brown was a Representative to the General Court in the year that the final and strongest effort was made to have Beverly Farms set off from the town of Beverly; and it is remem- bered to his credit by his constituents that the failure of the project was due principally to his efforts. His ridicule of the plan and his original way of putting the matter had more effect on the vote of the House than the elo- quence of the paid attorneys of the Beverly Farms people who were seeking a division of the town. Mr. Brown has been Town Clerk of Hamilton for many years, and so satisfac- tory is his work in that important office that he is likely to hold it for as long as he may wish to do so. He has also been Justice of the Peace for nineteen years, and he served for nine years as School Committee. In politics he is a Republican.
J OSEPH MERRILL, the historian of Amesbury, was born on his father's homestead at Pond Hills, Amesbury, November 4, 1814. A son of Joseph and Lydia Merrill, he descended from Nathaniel Merrill, who came from the south of England to Ipswich in 1633, and to Newbury in 1635. With Nathaniel came his brother John, who also settled in Newbury, and whose farm ad- joined Nathaniel's on the shore of the Merri-
mac River. From Nathaniel descended the Massachusetts Merrills, by Abraham,2 Abra- ham, 3 Isaac, 4 Jacob,5 and Joseph.6 Abraham3 settled in Amesbury about the year 1722, bringing with him his sons - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - and his daughters - Abigail, Elizabeth, and Lydia. Isaac was the only son who left male descendants. Joseph Mer- rill, the father of the historian, was a farmer of Pond Hills, Amesbury. The ancestors of his wife in this country were: Robert Pike, George Martin, Richard North, John Hoyt, and the Rev. Thomas Wells.
Joseph Merrill, the subject of this biog- raphy, received his education in the common schools and at an academy. Beginning at the age of eighteen, he followed the occupation of teacher during the winter season for some years. First elected Town Clerk in 1844, he filled the office for thirty-six years. He was twenty-four years on the School Board, elected in 1860, thus holding town office forty consecutive years. He was first commis- sioned Justice of the Peace in 1854 by Gover- nor Washburn, and last acted under the seventh commission. Much of his time re- cently, for some years, was devoted to settling estates, surveying, and writing deeds and wills. In 1881 he published a history of Amesbury, including an account of Merrimac and of the first settlement of Salisbury. Al- though Salisbury had been settled about two and a half centuries, and Amesbury more than two, yet no history of them had been previ- ously written. Mr. Merrill's great familiar- ity with town records, localities, incidents, and traditions, enabled him to give much val- uable information. In 1888 he wrote a brief history of Amesbury for the valuable and pop- ular work in two volumes, entitled the His- tory of Essex County. In addition to his his- torical publications, he has annually written
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for the papers, and for special occasions, with the purpose of perpetuating the memory of the fathers of the nation. When more than fourscore years of age, he still cared for his farm and business, and was engaged in histor- ical work to some extent. He passed away February 9, 1898.
EORGE W. BOYNTON, formerly of Georgetown and a son of Eben and Elizabeth (Durgin) Boynton, came of an old and well-known Rockport family. The father, a native of Rowley, born in 1795, died there in 1850. He was a dealer and trader. His wife Elizabeth was from West Newbury, Mass. Their son, George W., who was born in Rowley in 1820, received his ed- ucation in the public schools of his native town and at Dummer Academy in Byfield. After leaving school, he worked in a shoe shop of Georgetown for a short time. Then he went into the livery business, and followed it for fifteen years, at the same time attending to other duties. In 1844 he was appointed Constable of Georgetown. Several years later he was made Deputy Sheriff of Essex County. During the Civil War he was in the Provost Marshal's office in Salem. At the close of the war he was appointed Deputy Constable of the State Police force, under Major Jones. This position he held until 1871, when Gov- ernor Talbot made him Chief of the State Police. For many years he held the govern- ment contract for carrying mails through New Hampshire and other routes in New England. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge at Danvers; also of the chapter and commandery at Charlestown.
In 1844 Mr. Boynton was married to Abbie N. Stocker, a daughter of Eben Stocker, of Bath, N.H., born in 1819. Mr. and Mrs.
Boynton had two children - George N. and William K. The elder, George N., in 1862 enlisted in Company K, Fiftieth Massachu- setts Volunteers, under Captain John Barnes. After serving in New Orleans and Baton Rouge with General Banks's army, he died of fever on July 3, 1863. While his father was in the South, with the purpose of bringing the body home, the younger boy, William K., died of diphtheria. The brothers were buried in the same grave. Mr. Boynton died March 23, 1877. His widow was married in 1889 to Theodore Elliot, a blacksmith by trade, who died in 1893. Mrs. Elliot is now living in Georgetown.
EORGE C. PIKE, a well-known agriculturist of Salisbury, was born here, June 6, 1856. The genealogy of the family from which he springs is traced back to the Norman Conquest of England. Among its representatives were: the Bishop of Lichfield, who was consecrated in 1127; Richard, consecrated Bishop of Coventry in 1 162; Harmon, 1216; Gilbert, 1261 ; Robert, 1321; Alexander, 1329; Nicholas, 1332; and John, 1385, who went to Spain with the Duke of Lancaster. In the line was the Rev. G. Pike, followed by Thomas, Sheriff of London ; John, 1462, Baron of London; John, who married a grand-daughter of Sir Thomas More; the Rev. William, 1591, who died a Roman Catholic martyr; Attorney John, 1635, the first of the family in America, who went to Ipswich.
George C. Pike was educated in the com- mon schools of his native town. After leav- ing school, he went as a farmer on the old homestead until 1886. In 1888 he bought his present fine residence, which is beautifully located at the corner. For two years he
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drove a barge from Seabrook to Amesbury, and for one year from Seabrook to Newbury- port, and carried a large quantity of materials for shoemakers. Since that time he has been engaged in general farming. Last season he cut meadow grass from one hundred and twenty-four acres of salt marsh land. He has been Road Commissioner for five years, and his executive ability is well known and recog- nized. He is a member of the United Order of American Mechanics, Caleb Cushing Coun- cil, and has held various offices in that organ - ization. He also belongs to the American Order of United Workmen, Robert Pike Lodge of East Salisbury. For three years he was the financier and examiner of that organi- zation, and he is now Master Workman.
On August 17, 1885, Mr. Pike married Mary D. Pike, a daughter of W. H. Pike, of Salisbury, and now of Amesbury. W. H. Pike was a son of Jacob Pike, and his wife was a daughter of Joseph Pike. The children of George C. Pike and his wife are: Annie M., aged twelve years; James H., aged ten years; Clinton T., aged eight; and George D., aged four. Mr. Pike was one of the jurors who tried the celebrated Williams case at Salem in the winter of 1898.
ILLIAM 'R. USHER, of Newbury- port, a well-known boot and shoe manufacturer, was born in Boston, Mass., July 4, 1845. The Ushers trace their family genealogy back to the time of Roger Neville. Ambroise Usher, father of William R., was born in England, and came to Amer- ica about 1842. He engaged in the tailoring business in Boston. His death occurred in Stoneham about ten years ago. His wife died in the same place a few years later.
William Robert Usher, the subject of this
sketch, was born in East Boston, and received his education in Stoncham, Mass. He began to learn the boot and shoe business before he was ten years old. About 1876 he assumed the management of the Stoneham Co-operative Shoe Company, and continued there until 1884, when he formed a copartnership with Daniel S. Burley, under the name of Burley & Usher. In 1885 they started a shoe factory at Milton, N. H., and in 1887 moved their Stoneham plant to Beverly, Mass. In the spring of 1889 they established another factory at Springvale, Me. ; and in the fall of 1890 they removed the Beverly factory to Newbury- port. In 1894 this latter factory was burned, and the partnership was dissolved. Since that year Mr. William A. Usher, son of William R., has been connected with his father in the management of two factories at Springvale, Me., carrying on the business under the firm name of W. R. Usher & Son. These factories are able to manufacture from fifteen to eighteen hundred pairs of boots in a day. Their ship- ments cover every part of the United States, being principally, however, to the Western and Middle States. They employ in their fac- tories about two hundred and twenty-five work- men.
Mr. Usher, Sr., is a member of the New- buryport Board of Trade and director of Ocean National Bank. He was formerly director of Lake National Bank of Wolfboro, N.H. In politics he is a Republican. He is a mem- ber of St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M., and formerly belonged to Melrose Chapter, R. A. M. He is also a member of the Baptist church and of the Y. M. C. A. of Newbury- port. He has had two children, of whom William A. Usher is the only one living.
William A. Usher was educated in the com- mon schools of Stoneham, and afterward in the high school in that town. He began his busi-
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ness life by entering the Stoneham Co-opera- tive Shoe Company managed by his father, with whom he has remained associated up to the present time. He is a member of St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M. ; of King Cyrus Chapter, R. A. M. ; and of Newburyport Com- mandery, K. T. In the spring of 1886 Mr. Usher married a daughter of John Brown, of Somerville, Mass. He has a family of two children - Helen G. and Abbie M. He is one of the progressive, enterprising business men of Newburyport, of unimpeachable charac- ter and recognized ability, an active citizen, and interested in every movement for the wel- fare of the public.
ILIAS ANDREWS, whose ancestors were among the original settlers of Essex County, was born March 8, 1842, in the town of Essex, where he now resides. A son of Elihu and Mary (Hatch) Andrews, he descended from Captain Robert Andrews, mas- ter of the ship "Angel Gabriel," which was wrecked upon the rock-bound coast of Maine in 1635. Captain Andrews settled in Ipswich, Mass., where he kept the White Horse Inn, and became an extensive real estate owner. His descendant, Lieutenant John Andrews, was the father of Joseph, who was the great- great-great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch. Joseph Andrews owned and cultivated a farm located about one and a half miles east of where the present Elias Andrews lives. He married and reared four sons; namely, Elias, Moses, Levi, and Joseph.
Elias Andrews, the grandfather of the pres- ent bearer of the name, was an industrious farmer of Essex in his day. He wedded Mar- tha Lufkin of this town, and had a family of eight children; namely, Achsah, Hiram, Jo- seph, Martha, Horatio, Elias, Miles, and
Elihu, none of whom is living. Elihu An- drews, who was a lifelong resident of Essex, spent his active period in general farming, which he pursued with prosperity. He died October 31, 1876. His wife Mary, whose father was a resident of Wells, Me., became the mother of four children. Of these, one died in infancy ; and a daughter, Mary Louise, died young. The others are Elias and Elihu B. Elihu B. Andrews, who is a successful dairy farmer and has a milk route in Glouces- ter, wedded Mary Andrews, of Essex, and has one daughter. His only daughter, Mary Lou- ise, is now the wife of James Warren Butler, a native of Gloucester, and has one daughter, Nellie W. Mrs. Elihu Andrews resides in Essex with her son, Elihu B.
Elias Andrews, the subject of this biogra- phy, was reared and educated in his native town. Since reaching manhood, he has been an industrious tiller of the soil. Remaining upon the homestead farm, he managed it dur- ing his father's last days. When the property was divided, he settled upon the farm he now occupies. He has seventy-five acres of fertile land, which he devotes to dairy and truck farming, producing and selling a considerable quantity of milk. A Republican in politics, he takes much interest in public affairs, while averse to entering office.
On July 28, 1864, Mr. Andrews married Elizabeth Hardy Prince. She was born in Peabody, March 31, 1845, daughter of the Rev. John and Mary Parker (Burnham) Prince. Her father, formerly a prominent Universalist minister, subsequently held a government po- sition in Washington, and is now living in retirement at the home of his daughter in this town. Her mother died January 28, 1897. The other children of her parents were : Mary, John, Sarah, and Parker B. Mary is the wife of J. Leverett Story. Parker B. Prince mar-
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ried Emma Gough, and for several years filled the position of chief law clerk to the Pennsyl- vania Railroad Company in Philadelphia. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews have had six children. Of these, the only survivor is Lizzie, the wife of Frank G. Gilbert, who is the shipping clerk at Hill & Green's shoe factory in Athol, Mass., and by whom she is the mother of two children, Francis and Howard. The others were: Martha Lufkin; Elias, who was a prom- inent young man in Essex when he died Feb- ruary 24, 1890; John Prince (first) ; John Prince (second) ; and Elihu.
EV. SAMUEL JONES SPALDING was an esteemed clergyman of New- buryport. Born December 20, 1820, at Lyndeboro, N. H., he was a descend- ant in the eighth generation from Edward Spalding, the first of the family in this coun- try, who arrived in America about 1619, and came to Massachusetts in 1630. Two of his ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, designated respectively as Samuel the elder and Samuel the younger. The elder Samuel was enrolled in 1776 by Abiel Abbott, and was in the battle of White Plains, being at that time Lieutenant. Another ancestor was Roger Conant, who was appointed first gover- nor of Cape Ann Colony in 1625, and was the founder of Salem.
Samuel J. Spalding fitted for college in Nashua, N. H., under the well-known teacher David Crosby. Subsequently he entered Dartmouth College, and graduated therefrom in the class of 1842. In this year he entered Andover Theological Seminary, where he studied for the ensuing three years. On Oc- tober 26, 1846, he was ordained pastor of a new parish in Salmon Falls, N.H. A few years later, having accepted a call from the
Whitefield Congregationalist Church at New- buryport, he was dismissed from his first charge, and was installed in this city June 30, 1851, where he served as pastor for thirty-two years. On December 29, 1862, having pro- cured a leave of absence from his people, he was mustered into the Forty-eighth Massachu- setts Regiment, holding the commission of chaplain. With his regiment he served in the First Brigade and First Division of the Army of the Gulf, under Major General Auger. This regiment was at the battle of Plains Store, May 21, 1863; at the siege of Port Hudson, where it was actively engaged in the first and second assaults on May 27 and June 14; and in the fight at Donaldsonville on July I 3. It was mustered out of service August 30, 1863.
The Rev. Mr. Spalding was a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and a corresponding member of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. He was also a member of the Essex North Asso- ciation, of which he prepared a history that was published in Boston in 1865, under the title "Contributions to the Ecclesiastical His- tory of Essex County, Massachusetts." He was twice married. The first marriage was contracted June 27, 1848, with Sarah Lydia Metcalf, of Medway, Mass., who was born August 3, 1829, daughter of the Hon. Luther Metcalf and his wife, Sarah Brown (Phipps) Metcalf. Her death occurred September 1, 1849, at Salmon Falls (Rollinsford), N. H. The second marriage, on September 16, 1851, united him with Sarah Jane Parker Toppan, of Hampton, N. H. She was born September 7, 1822, daughter of the Hon. Edmund and Mary (Chase) Toppan. Her children, all born in Newburyport, were: Mary T., Annic T., and Edmund S. The first two live at home. Annie T. was married July 11, 1888, to Na-
NATHANIEL MIGHILL.
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thaniel D. Chappin, of Cleveland, Ohio. Mrs. Spalding is a descendant of Christopher Toppan, who was settled as pastor of the Oldtown Church at Newburyport for forty years; and of Judge Pepperell, the father of Sir William Pepperell. Other ancestors of hers were Colonel Wingate, who commanded at the siege of Louisburg; the Hon. John Frost, who was in the Governor's Council in 1727; and Judge Parker, the father of Bishop Parker, who was formerly the rector of Trinity Church of Boston, being the only Episcopal clergyman that remained at his post during the Revolution, and who died in 1804, soon after he was elected bishop.
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