USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Essex County, Massachusetts > Part 51
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Captain John Caldwell married, and had five
sons and one daughter - William, Joseph, John, Alexander, George, and Ellen. Will- iam Caldwell, who is a graduate of Bowdoin College, and has published a volume of poetry, was declared to be the best lyric poet in New England by John G. Whittier. Jo- seph is in business in Philadelphia, and John is in Newburyport. Alexander and George still carry on the business founded by their grandfather, maintaining the family reputa- tion for producing the best rum in America for medicinal and scientific purposes. The buildings of the company, including a bonded warehouse, cover an acre of ground. The business pays the largest tax in town, the largest amount having been assessed in 1873, when the total was three hundred thousand dollars, about a thousand dollars for every working day in the year. Mr. Caldwell has also built and sailed ships, and has been a stockholder in the principal corporate indus- tries of the city, including the manufacture of cotton, carpets, hats, paper, and silverware. For twenty-five years he has been a director of the Ocean Bank. His charities have been many and large, and he has been always ready to help the needy or distressed. Much inter- ested in the welfare of his native city, he is relied on to support any project designed for its benefit. After serving for one term in the Common Council, he declined renomina- tion.
Mr. Caldwell has been twice married. On the first occasion he was united with Eliza- beth H. True, of New Hampshire, who died in 1894. Born of that marriage was one son, George M., who married Lavinia Smith, of Cape Breton, and has four children living - Arthur G., James S., Viola G., and Elizabeth H. Mr. Caldwell's second marriage was contracted with Adelaide A. French, of Hodgdon, Me.
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ANIEL COONEY, a prosperous business man of West Newbury, Mass., where for two terms he has held the office of Postmaster, was born in this town, May 27, 1857. He was named for his father, who cmigrated from County Cork, Ire- land, in 1845, and settled in West Newbury. Daniel Cooney, Sr., dicd March 15, 1860. His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Lemasney, died on September 26, 1892. She .. also was a native of Ireland.
Daniel Cooney acquired his early education in the public schools, and subsequently, while learning the shoemaker's trade, continued to pursue his studies in the evening school. After working in a factory here for three years, he entered the shoe manufacturing busi- ness as a contractor. In 1885 he engaged in the grocery and provision trade, which he has since carried on, having a liberal share of pa- tronage in his line. In politics he is a Dem- ocrat, and the party has in him an earnest and able supporter. He was first appointed Post- master in 1885, was again appointed in 1893, and served until October 15, 1897. In 1886 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace. In the fall of 1892 the Democratic party unani- mously nominated him as their candidate for Representative to the General Court; and, al- though the district is overwhelmingly Repub- lican, he received a very flattering vote. In
1893 he was appointed a Notary Public. Hc has also held many minor offices. Without doubt Mr. Cooncy has settled more estates in the Probate Court than any other man of his age in town.
On February 7, 1880, Mr. Cooney was united in marriage with Margaret L. Mitchell, daughter of John Mitchell, of West Newbury. Five children have been born of this union, namely: Mary E., now aged seventeen; M. Blanche, aged cight; Alice M., aged six;
John J., who was born in 1885, and died in 1886; and Catherine, who died in infancy. The surviving children are now attending school.
Mr. Cooney is Chief Ranger of the Court of Foresters in this town, and has occupicd that chair since its organization. He is highly respected both as a progressive busi- ness man and a faithful public official, and has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. The family attend St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church.
EV. MICHAEL T. McMANUS, pas- tor of St. Patrick's Church, South Lawrence, Mass., was born in Ire- land, a son of Terence and Mary (McManus) McManus. His father, who was a farmer, died at the age of forty-eight; and his mother was left a widow with four children. Mrs. McManus, though before marriage of the same surname as her husband, was of a different family, not related to his, it is said.
Michael T. McManus was the youngest child in the family, and was but two years old when his father died. He was brought to this country when ten years of age, and went to live with his uncle, Father James T. Mc- Manus, who was forty years pastor at Geneva, N.Y. In Geneva he was prepared for col- lege, and he was ordained at Troy, N. Y., in 1870. In 1871 he was assistant pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Lowell. Therc he re- maincd until 1876. He then went to West Newton, his first pastorate. Hc was the first resident Catholic pastor in this part of New- ton, and in 1882 he was transferred to Law- rence.
The society here then numbered about twenty-five hundred souls. The church was unfinished and heavily in debt, and there was
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no parish house. Under the able manage- ment of Father McManus the church edifice has been completed, a parsonage built, and the whole developed into one of the most de- sirable church properties in the State. The church is a large brick structure, over two hundred feet by seventy-five, with an audience- room in the basement. The interior decora- tion is rich and tasteful. Including four beautiful altars of marble and onyx, with gold ornaments, the interior furnishings cost sixty- five thousand dollars. The parsonage is large and well planned. The congregation now numbers about three thousand souls.
Father McManus has two assistants, the Rev. John E. Cronley and the Rev. Alexander J. Hamilton. In 1886 he rebuilt St. Michael's in North Andover, which now has a congrega- tion of some seven hundred; and this parish also is under his direction. Father McManus is a modest but dignified gentleman, of large stature and noble appearance, and has many warm friends. He is a man of broad culture and intelligence. In 1881 he visited Rome, Switzerland, and his native land; and in the winter of 1896-97 he was in California.
ATHANIEL POOL, of Rockport, a graduate of Brown University, is re- garded as one of the leading agri- culturists of Essex County. He was born Au- gust 18, 1831, son of Nathaniel and Abigail (Hadley) Pool. His parents were native resi- dents of this locality, formerly known as Sandy Bay, Gloucester. His father, who was a prosperous farmer, served as a soldier in the War of 1812. He was a son of Caleb Pool and a lineal descendant of John Pool, a native of England, who settled at Sandy Bay about the year 1700.
Caleb Pool, grandfather of the subject of
this sketch, was for eleven years a member of the Board of Selectmen of Gloucester. His wife was Lucy Wise Haskell, a daughter of Deacon Nathaniel Haskell, of West Glouces- ter, and grand-daughter of the Rev. John Wise, the first pastor of Chebacco, now Essex, Mass.
Nathaniel Pool acquired his elementary ed- ucation in the common schools, and was fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., then under Samuel H. Taylor, LL. D., commonly called " Uncle Sam," and at Kim- ball Union Academy, Meriden, N. H., where he was a classmate of Chief Justice Field, of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. In 1854 he was graduated, with the degree of Master of Arts, from Brown University, then under the presidency of Francis Wayland. Among his classmates there were the late Governor Ames, of Massachusetts; and Governor Bourn, of Rhode Island, with whom he has had a lifelong acquaintance and a warm friendship. After teaching in the public schools of St. Louis, Mo., for a year, he returned to Rock- port, where he has since devoted his time and energies to agriculture. In spite of the many syenitic ledges for which this locality is famous, Rockport contains several well-culti- vated farms, and among them the Pool prop- erty, which is level, fertile, and desirably located. Mr. Pool has displayed a deep inter- est in general farming, to which he has ap- plied modern scientific methods with excellent results.
Mr. Pool married Cynthia A. Morrill, who was born in Wilmington, Mass., April II, 1836, daughter of Deacon Isaac Morrill, of that town. He has seven children, namely : Edward C .; Hattie A., widow of Charles Pool; Alice A., wife of Ferdinand Orne; Addie F., wife of Frank Dodd; Carrie A .; Francis Wayland; and Melville C. Pool.
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Politically, Mr. Pool is a Republican with strong Prohibition sympathies. He belongs to the Order of the Golden Cross and to Gloucester Commandery; and is a trustee of the K. A. E. O., Mount Sinai Senate, of Rockport. He is an active member of the Rockport Methodist Episcopal church; also of the Young Men's Christian Association, of which he has been president, having also represented it in several international con- ventions. Mrs. Pool is connected by mem- bership with the Daughters of Liberty of this town. Like her husband, she is a member of the Methodist church.
EV. JAMES L. HILL, D.D., Salem. Dr. Hill's life inseparably blends with Essex County institutions and churches. Born in Iowa and graduating from Iowa College, he came East, and took, like his father before him, his theological course at the Andover Seminary in this county. Before he had completed his studies, he was called to the pastorate of the North Church in Lynn. Here he remained for twelve years. His portrait and a biographical sketch are found in "Pict- uresque Lynn. " While in Lynn, he was elected to preach the Election Sermon before the governor and the legislature of Massachu- setts. This sermon, upon "The Growth of Government," was published by the State. Governor Rice did Dr. Hill the honor to tell him that it was the best Election Sermon preached during his term of office.
It was while still in this happy and prosper- ous Essex County pastorate that Dr. Hill be- came so much interested in the Society of Christian Endeavor that by it his whole life has been affected. He went to England cam- paigning with others in its behalf; and, as his appointments lay in the north-cast of England,
he founded there the society at Old Boston, which still has a prosperous carcer. He was present when the United Society of Endeavor was formed, and has been a trustee from the beginning. He helped to secure the Golden Rule, which became the organ of the societies, and has attained a large ciculation. He has made hundreds of convention, anniversary, Grand Army, and commencement addresses ; and he makes annually a midwinter trip West to fill his lecture appointments. His leaflets and newspaper articles are very numerous, and his fugitive pieces that have been gathered fill four hundred and fifty pages as large as an atlas. At her last commencement his Alma Mater elected him a trustee for life. She had earlier conferred upon him the degree of Doc- tor of Divinity.
His emigrant ancestor settled at Biddeford Pool, near the mouth of the Saco River, Me. Thence the family spread out as far as Phipps- burg, where Dr. Hill's grandfather maintained a mansion, in which he lived when appointed collector of the port of Bath and when he be- came Senator from Maine. "It was my lot," wrote Jefferson in 1820 to Mark Langdon Hill (Dr. Hill's grandfather), "to be charged with the duty of changing the course of the govern- ment from what we deemed a monarchical to its republican tack." Governor Langdon, of New Hampshire, from whom Dr. Hill receives his middle name, is an ancestor.
Dr. Hill's father went to Iowa when it was a Territory, as one of the far-famed Iowa band. His mother died when she was twenty-eight years old from the privations and hardships of this pioneer life, saying, "Somebody must be built into these foundations." His father gave the first dollar to found Iowa College, which has become the mother of missionaries and patriots. Of these parents, two sons sur- vive, one of them the subject of this sketch,
REV. JAMES L. HILL, D.D.
FREDERICK M. LIBBEY.
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and the other Dr. Gershom H. Hill, who is superintendent of the State Institution for the Insane at Independence, and thus has lived in a building that cost over a million dollars, with a hospital family of over twelve hundred persons.
Dr. Hill was married March 28, 1878, to Miss Lucy B. Dunham, only daughter of the Rev. Isaac Dunham, who was at that time chaplain of the Massachusetts Senate. Mrs. Hill has been an ideal wife and helper, and is quite a voluminous writer, particularly upon missionary work and that of the Junior Soci- ety of Christian Endeavor. She is president of the Essex South Branch Auxiliary to the Woman's Board of Missions. She is vice- president of the Salem Woman's Club, and superintendent of Junior Christian Endeavor Societies for Massachusetts.
As to politics and religion, Dr. Hill cares only to state that he believes in this present Spanish-American War, July, 1898, with all his heart and mind and soul. He believes we have a mission to the misruled. On the theory that there is no better place on this footstool, while perfect health reigns in his home, he has bought an unoccupied lot in Harmony Grove Cemetery, named from the harmonies of the birds that sing and lodge there, so that, living or dead, his associations must be with Essex County.
REDERICK MARCELLUS LIBBEY, residing on Prospect Street, Lawrence, is the superintendent of the pulp-mills connected with the works of the Russell Paper Company. A son of Nathaniel B. Libbey, he was born September 27, 1852, in Farmington, N. H. His father's paternal grandfather, whose name was Benjamin, was born January 18, 1758, in Lebanon, Me., being a son of an
early pioneer of that section of the State. The woods surrounding Benjamin's family home in the wilderness were infested with bears and other wild animals, and he naturally became accustomed to firearms while yet a youth. When the colonists resisted the demands of the mother country, he shouldered his musket, and was an active participant in the struggle for independence. His wife Polly, who was born in June, 1759, bore him ten children, as follows: Dorcas, on April 7, 1780; John, March 10, 1782; Wentworth, in 1784; Benja- min, September 17, 1786; Oliver, December 23, 1788; Lucy, September 6, 1791 ; Daniel, December 7, 1793; Polly, March 31, 1796; Nabby, July 19, 1798; and Isaac, September 14, 1803, who died in infancy.
A man of fine physique, Oliver Libbey was five feet eleven inches in height, broad and muscular, and weighed two hundred pounds. He served in the War of 1812 as Captain of a company. In 1813 he first married Hannah Delano, who was born in 1793. She died in early womanhood, leaving one child, Nathaniel B. Libbey. Oliver's second marriage was made with Lydia Littlefield, of Brooks, Me., who bore him eight daughters. Of these, the eldest, Hannah, born in 1817, died in 1891. Another daughter, Mary, now seventy-six years old, is bright and active, with her mind clear as ever, and her hair of its original color. She was a teacher for some years prior to her marriage with the late Rev. Charles Stratton, an advent preacher, and is now a widow, re- siding in Albion, Me.
Nathaniel B. Libbey, born September 4, 1814, in Lebanon, Me., learned the trade of a stone mason in his native town. He went to sea when he was young, and he was after- ward in the Aroostook War. He then worked at his trade for a time in Boston, where, after the Civil War, he assisted in building the At-
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lantic Avenne sea-wall. Going thence to New Hampshire, he lived first in Farmington and then in Somersworth. During the Civil War he enlisted from Somersworth as a soldier in Company F, Fourth New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry. After serving for two years, he was discharged for physical disability, and has been in poor health ever since. Now, in his eighty-fourth year, he makes his home with his sister, Mrs. Mary Stratton, in Albion, Me. On January 1, 1851, he married Martha Noble, of South Berwick, Me., who was born in that town October 30, 1822, daughter of Moses Noble. Their children were : Frederick M., the subject of this sketch; Charles, who died at the age of two and one-half years; Nettie, whose birth and death occurred during the absence of her father in the army; Estelle, who died in April, 1895, leaving a beautiful little girl of four years, Edna S., who lives with her uncle, F. M. Libbey; and Elfie, who is now the wife of Charles F. Young, a car- riage manufacturer in Haverhill, Mass. Mrs. Martha N. Libbey died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Young, in Haverhill, in Janu- ary, 1896.
Frederick M. Libbey attended the Somers- worth Grammar School until fifteen years old. Going then to Boston, he was employed at first in the Adams House, and afterward in a whole- sale produce house, remaining in the city until 1873. Accompanied by a young friend, he started in that year for the West, going on a prospecting tour ; and, as long as his money held out, he had a pretty good time. He sub- sequently worked in the passenger service of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad for a year, at the end of which he returned to the pa- rental roof-tree, then in Haverhill, Mass. He was next employed as a common laborer with others by the East Boston Bridge Company. In a short time he proved himself so capable
that he was made foreman of the whole gang of fifteen. During the ensuing nine years he resided in Haverhill, where he was employed by the Lawrence Ice Company in the summer season, and worked in shoe factories in the winter. On September 15, 1883, he secured a position with the Russell Paper Company of Lawrence, and for five years had charge of the department of paper stock. Since that time, a period of nearly ten years, he has filled his present responsible position as overseer of the pulp-mills.
Mr. Libbey is a Master Mason. In the Order of Odd Fellows he is Past Grand of Monadnock Lodge of Lawrence, and Past Chief Patriarch of Kearsarge Encampment. A steadfast Republican in politics, he was for three years a Councilman of Lawrence, being on the floor in 1886 and 1887, and the presi- dent of the Council in 1888. In 1890 he rep- resented his ward on the Board of Aldermen. In 1879 he married Mrs. Jennie Hamlin, of Buxton, Me., a widow with two children. She died in 1890, after bearing him four daughters, three of whom died in infancy, two having been twins. Estelle Libbey, the sur- viving daughter, is a pupil in the high school. On November 11, 1891, Mr. Libbey married Mrs. Emma J. Ricker, a daughter of Jeremiah and Ann (Warren) White, both of whom have departed this life. Mr. Libbey is not con- nected by membership with any religious denomination, while the other members of his family are strong Universalists.
OHN EDWARD McCUSKER, a well- known business man of Newburyport, was born here August 14, 1860, son of the late John McCusker. The father, who was brought by his sister to this country from County Tyrone, Ireland, when a young child,
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came to Newburyport when fifteen years of age, and when he was the only person hereabouts bearing that surname. He was for many years in the newspaper and stationery business, and was also employed at the old Dexter House on High Street when the old mansion was used and occupied as a hotel. He lived here for some fifty years, modest and retiring, yet a man of genial temper and ready wit, winning a large circle of friends by his readiness to oblige. By his wife, who is a daughter of Andrew Haynes, an old-time sail-maker of Newbury- port, representing one of the first families, he became the father of eight children, of whom three daughters, besides John E. McCusker, are now living in this city. Mrs. McCusker, now seventy years old, survives her husband.
John Edward McCusker received a good public school education, graduating from the Brown High School in the class of 1876. He went into business under his father's manage- ment, remaining from 1877 to 1881. In Sep- tember, 1881, when the Newburyport Water Works Company was organized, he became the company's book-keeper, which position he filled for eight months. By this time his interest in the business and knowledge of its details had become so evident that he was appointed superintendent and assistant treas- urer. In these capacities he was practically the manager of the company until February, 1895, when the city assumed control. He is still the active agent Mr. McCusker's grasp of the business and his recognized executive ability have caused him to be sought for far and near as organizer and developer of water supply systems. In 1885 he was appointed superintendent, assistant treasurer, and di- rector of the Gloucester Water Supply Com- pany, which connection he still retains. In the same year he was elected to a like position in the Franklin Water Company, and he has
been connected with other water-works in Rhode Island and New York States. His experience, extending over a period of fifteen years, has given him a thorough understanding of the management and control of public water supplies, and has especially fitted him to take charge of such enterprises.
Mr. McCusker is a member of the St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M., which was organized in 1766; of Cyrus Chapter, R. A. M., the third oldest in the State, organized in 1790; of Amesbury Council, R. & S. M. ; and of New- buryport Commandery, K. T., the third oldest in the State, organized in 1805, and of which he is a Past Eminent Commander. He has also membership in Quascacunquen Lodge, No. 39, I. O. O. F. He married Miss Hattie Swan, a daughter of Isaac and Mary (Good- win) Swan, and a descendant of one of the old Newburyport families. In politics he is a Republican, and he is an esteemed member of the Unitarian church.
R. GEORGE H. NEWELL, at the present time the leading dentist of Gloucester, was born in Pittsfield, N. H., April 29, 1854.
His father, W. J. Newell, was a son of W. H. and Olive (Dennett) Newell, and grandson on the father's side of Samuel and Betsey (Hill) Nute, and on the mother's side of Moses and Betsey (Hodsdon) Dennett, the grandfather of Dr. George H. Newell, W. H. Newell having, by act of legislature, changed his name from that of Nute after his marriage and the birth of one son, from no apparent motive.
His mother, Nancy Cate Newell, was a daughter of Shepherd and Hannah (Bickford) Cate. Shepherd being the son of Daniel Cate, and Hannah the daughter of Colonel
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John and Nancy (Hodgdon) Bickford, and as all of the above were descended from among the early settlers, it will be seen that the Doctor is a thoroughbred American.
The father of Colonel John Bickford was Sergeant John Bickford, and served in the Colonial army under the king. Colonel John Bickford was a persistent patriot during the Revolutionary War, having enlisted first at Nottingham, N. H., in July, 1776, as a private under Captain Joseph Chandler in Colonel Wyman's regiment. In September of that year he re-enlisted under Captain Nathan Sanborn in Colonel Tash's regiment, with whom he served until discharged some three months later ; and on September 23, 1776, he enrolled himself in Colonel Joseph Badger's, serving until the expiration of the stipulated term, March 15, 1777, when he received his pay, amounting to nine pounds, four shillings, and sixpence. In September, 1777, he again joined the army as a private in Captain Page's company, for service in Rhode Island under General Sullivan. He was mustered out Janu- ary 7, 1778; and on July 22 following he once more enlisted for a longer term, which lasted until the later part of December, 1780, when he was mustered out as a Sergeant at Kingston, N. H., by Josiah Bartlett, receiving his pay, it is said, of ten hundred and eighty-one pounds ; but this is probably a mistake. In later years he was commissioned a Colonel in the State militia, a reward which he certainly deserved.
Daniel Cate was quite prominent as an Ind- ian fighter, being among the garrison sta- tioned at a block-house a few miles north of Dover, N. H., at which place tradition gives him credit for being of much worth.
George H. Newell graduated from the pub- lic schools of Dover, N. H., and then entered the dental office of Dr. C. M. Murphy of that city, a practitioner of high reputation, with
whom he remained three years, removing to his present home in September, 1873, to be- come associated with Dr. J. P. Dennett, to whose practice he succeeded on the latter's removal to Boston some nine years ago. Dr. Newell was married in 1880 to Carrie A. Rust, of Gloucester, and has a family of four children: Clara L., born in 1882; Marjorie C., born in 1889; Katharine, born in 1892; and Edward D., born in 1894. Both the Doc- tor and his wife come of musical people, and have always been very prominent in the musi- cal circles of Gloucester.
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