USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Essex County, Massachusetts > Part 57
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"For the noon hour the office business was suspended. The strictness of office rule was relaxed, and the students' room was given up to mirth and recreation. At such times it was Thompson's wit that outshone all others; yet even in its wildest moments his merriment was always of a kindly nature, and was never meant to wound or offend an antagonist. After his admission to the bar he remained awhile with Mr. Hallett in discharge of the duties of Assistant District Attorney, conducting pre- liminary hearings before the United States Commissioners and the Grand Jury while Mr. Hallett held the office. In that practice he became proficient in shipping and in admi- ralty jurisprudence, and acquired his taste for that branch of the law. It was that which probably led him to remove to the seaport of Gloucester, when he began his successful practice there."
In May, 1857, Mr. Thompson located in Gloucester, where he built up a very successful general law practice, which included office work of all kinds, the trying of cases in police courts, before trial justices, and in the Supe- rior and Supreme Judicial Courts, his business being confined the first few years to the local courts of this city and to the justice courts of near-by towns. He proved himself a skilful advocate, and soon won a reputation as one of the foremost lawyers of the county. Possess- ing in an eminent degree a sound knowledge of common law and of the principles of juris- prudence, and endowed with a keen intellect and a well-balanced mind, he attained a rare success in his profession, and won the absolute confidence of his numerous clients.
In 1871 and 1872 Mr. Thompson repre- sented Gloucester at the General Court, where he served on important committees, and in the support or the defence of petitions presented often spoke in terms of eloquence and wit.
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When the matter of selling the Old South Church property of Boston was brought before the House, he listened to the arguments of the petitioners, who urged its great value for busi- lless purposes, and to the opponents, who re- garded the removal or destruction of the build- ing as a sacrilege. Mr. Thompson strongly opposed the granting of the petition, and in an effective speech, in referring to the mone- tary value of the estate, said, "Mr. Speaker, I did not know before that land had got to be so high in Boston that the Lord cannot afford to own a corner lot. " In 1874 Mr. Thomp- son was elected to the House of Representa- tives of the United States Congress, and while there earned an excellent reputation. As chairman of the committee appointed to go to Florida to make investigations regarding the vote of that State in the Presidential election, he exercised great ability and impartiality ; and, as an influential member of a committee to investigate and report the facts in certain dis- puted elections to the House, he performed his duties in a manner that commanded the respect of his political opponents. At the close of his term in Congress he resumed the practice of law, and continued it until his appointment to the bench of the Superior Court in 1885 -a position which he held until his death. The manner in which he there performed the duties devolving upon him are well expressed by an associate upon the bench in these words : "As a judge, his conduct for impartiality, independence, and integrity, was above all praise. The high and the low, the rich and the poor, the humblest and the proudest, stood upon the same level before him; and to all alike, so far as he could control the final de- cisions of the court, even-handed justice was meted out."
Services commemorating the life of the late Judge Thompson were held in the City Hall,
Gloucester, Monday evening, April 9, 1894, at which John Corliss, Esq., the presiding officer, made an eloquent address, and the Hon. William D. Northend, of Salem, de- livered a brilliant eulogy. On June 29, 1894, at a session of the Superior Court held in Salem, a memorial of judge Charles P. Thompson, prepared by Messrs. Northend, Moody, Moulton, Herrick, Niles, and Saunders was presented to the Essex Bar Association, and was subsequently entered upon the records of the court. Elbridge Burley, Daniel Saun- ders, Henry P. Moulton, William H. Niles, and Justice Sherman also eulogized Judge Thompson on that occasion.
A printed rule of conduct, whose author- ship has been ascribed to various persons, found in his desk at home shortly after his death, expresses in a few words religious principles that governed the judge : "I expect to pass through this life but once. If, there- fore, there is any kindness I can show or any good thing that I can do to any fellow-being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neg- lect it, for I shall not pass this way again."
On January 10, 1861, Mr. Thompson mar- ried Miss Abby Herrick, of Gloucester. Of this union two children were born - Frank Hallett Thompson and Grace Thompson.
AVID T. PORTER,* a successful dentist of Lawrence, whose home and office are at 258 Essex Street, was born in Taunton, Mass., July 8, 1827. A son of Thomas and Julia (Hathaway) Por- ter, he is a grandson of Benjamin Porter, of Freetown, who raised a company for the Revo- lutionary struggle. The family originated with an Englishman, who, after his arrival in this country, received a grant of land ten miles long, some of which is still in the possession
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of the family. Benjamin and Betsey (Hatha- way) Porter reared a family of nine children, five sons and four daughters, born between the years 1797 and 1817, all of whom grew to maturity. Two of the daughters, Ann and Eliza, were twins. The father died about the year 1830. The mother had passed away some time previously. Both lie in the Freetown Cemetery.
Thomas Porter, born in Freetown, Mass., April 9, 1801, died September 16, 1881. He came to Lawrence in early manhood, and for many years held the position of foreman in the machine works of the Essex Company. His marriage to Julia Hathaway took place in IS27. The record of her family, which is one of the oldest in New England, is traced through six centuries of Old England's his- tory. The wife of William Shakespeare is said to have been a scion of this family.
While Mrs. Julia Porter's great-grandfather was a Loyalist, and in command of a company of militia, his sons fought with the patriots in the struggle for independence. It is related that, when the Revolutionists came to take his stock, he and his men received them with three cheers for King George. Then, as they began to let down the bars to free the animals, he threatened to blow them into eternity; and they desisted. Thomas and Julia Porter had four children ; namely, David T., Anna, Fan- nie, and Harriet. Anna, now the Widow Grover, resides on North Andover Street in Lawrence. Fannie died soon after her mar- riage. Harriet is the wife of Frederick Clark.
David T. Porter was educated in the com- mon schools. When twenty years of age, he began to learn the machinist's trade under his father, and subsequently followed it for about six years. Having duly studied at the Boston Dental College, he was graduated in 1874.
He had previously started in the dental busi- ness on May 26, 1858, more than forty years ago. In 1869 he built the Porter Block, num- bers 256, 258, 260, and 262 Essex Street, a four-story brick structure, of fifty feet front and eighty feet deep, having two large stores on the ground floor.
The first of Dr. Porter's two marriages was contracted December 7, 1856, with Julia A. Joy, who was born January 5, 1834, in Stark, Me. She died in her twenty-second year, leaving no children. His second marriage, on December 1I, 1870, united him with Susan Amy Woodbury, a daughter of Benjamin and Sarah (Emery) Woodbury, of Salem, N. H. Mr. Woodbury was killed on a railroad in New Hampshire only seven days after his daughter's marriage, when he was sixty-five years of age. His five children, of whom Mrs. Porter is the youngest, are all living. His widow died in May, 1897, aged eighty-seven years. Both were buried in Salem, N. H., where his life was spent as a farmer. Mrs. Porter was edu- cated in the schools of Salem. She has no children. Leonora Smith, a cousin who has been adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Porter, has lived with them since she was seven years old. Mr. Porter is a Master Mason and a member of the Model Club. He also belongs to the Home Club, which comprises one hundred and sixty of the best citizens of Lawrence.
OHN SPALDING STARK,* who car- ried on a thriving meat and provision business in Ballardvale, Andover, was born in this town, September 10, 1845. His parents were William D. and Martha A. (Perry) Stark. His father was a native of Middlesex village, now a part of Lowell, Mass .; and his mother was born in New Hampshire. His paternal grandfather was a
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near relative of General Stark of Revolution- ary fame.
William D. Stark resided in Vermont until he was twenty-one years old, and in 1842 he settled in Ballardvale. He was in early life a carpenter, but abandoned that occupation for the purpose of engaging in the meat and pro- vision business, which he followed for the rest of his life. His wife was related to the Tenneys, of Lexington, Mass., some of whom were minute-men in 1775. She became the mother of three children, namely: Caroline E., wife of Arthur Butler; John S., the sub- ject of this sketch; and another son, who died young.
John Spalding Stark acquired a common- school education; and, after completing his studies, he entered his father's store as an as- sistant. He has conducted business on his own account for the past twenty-five years, and is known and respected as an enterprising merchant and a public-spirited citizen. For eleven years he has been Captain of the fire department. He has served upon the Board of Engineers for six years, and is at the pres- ent time a member of the Board of Selectmen. In politics he is a Republican. He is con- nected with Andover Lodge, I. O. O. F., and the Royal Arcanum, and is a member of the Congregational church.
Mr. Stark married Ellen Fletcher, daugh- ter of John and Bathsheba Fletcher. Six children have been born of this union, and five of them are living, namely: Martha E., wife of E. R. Lawson; John W .; Ada E .; Sarah J. ; and Frederic S. Stark.
F. R. BIRON, M.D.,* a popular physician of Amesbury, was born in ยท Sherbrooke, P.Q. He concluded his general education at St. Charles College,
Sherbrooke, and was subsequently graduated from the Montreal School of Medicine. Be- ginning the practice of his profession at Skow- hegan, Me., he remained there six years, and was very successful; but the necessity of rid- ing much of the time over rough country roads in all varieties of weather caused his health to suffer. In February, 1896, he went to Cin- cinnati, where he took a post-graduate course, also studying in the hospitals. Coming then to Amesbury, he has since been engaged in practice here, and through his practical skill and up-to-date knowledge of his profession has made a very favorable impression. He is a member of the Maine Medical Association, the Massachusetts Medical Association, and the Amesbury Medical Society. He belongs also to Amesbury Lodge, A. O. U. W.
Dr. Biron was married February 25, 1892, to Miss Mary Louise Clarke Fales, of Foxboro, Mass., daughter of a prominent citizen of that town. His children are: Mary Louise, Hubert Francis, and Elise Fales.
AMES DURGIN, a former shoe manu- facturer of West Newbury, was born in that town, November 4, 1808, son of Nicholas and Mary (Foster) Durgin. Nicho- las Durgin, a native of Durham, N.H., pros- perously followed agriculture in West New- bury for a number of years. He lived to be seventy-five years old. His wife, Mary, died at the age of ninety years.
Having acquired a common-school education in his native town, James Durgin at the age of fourteen years was hired as a farm assistant. Six months later he entered upon an appren - ticeship at the shoemaker's trade with Dudlcy Heath in West Newbury, and remained with him six years, receiving his board, clothing, and three months' schooling each year. He
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MR. AND MRS. JAMES DURGIN.
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subsequently worked at his trade in Hamp- stead, N.H., for eight years, and then re- turned to West Newbury to take charge of a shoe factory carried on by Benjamin Edmunds. Four years later he engaged in the shoe man- ufacturing business on his own account, con- tinuing alone until the firm of Holsom, Bailey & Durgin was organized. During the two years of that firm's existence he acted as gen- eral superintendent of the factory, while his partners attended to the selling of the goods. He was next in partnership with Benjamin Edwards, Jr., for two years. Then, after carrying on business alone for a number of years, he established the firm of Durgin & Son. In 1886, after this firm had conducted a large and profitable business for over thirty years, he retired from active pursuits. Dur- ing the Civil War J. Durgin & Son had a con- tract to furnish army shoes to the government. They introduced much new and improved machinery, which greatly increased their fa- cilities.
In June, 1831, Mr. Durgin wedded Martha Heath, a daughter of John and Abigail Heath, of Hampstead, N.H. Mrs. Durgin has had three children, as follows: James Henry, born in 1833; John A., born in 1838; and Charles W., born in 1848. John A. was in the hotel business in Bethlehem, N.H., at the time of his death, which occurred in 1890. Charles WV. died in 1852. James Henry Durgin com- pleted his studies at the academy in Gilman- ton, N.H., and then engaged in business with his father. He is now carrying on a shoe factory in Haverhill, Mass., under the firm name of J. H. Durgin & Son. After his re- tirement from business Mr. Durgin resided upon his farm, which is situated near the village of West Newbury. In politics he supports the Republican party. He was con- nected with Quascacunquen Lodge, No. 39,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and with Indian Hill Council, No. 11, Junior Order of United American Mechanics. For many years he was a Deacon of the Second Congre- gational Church, and he took an active inter- est in religious affairs. Mr. Durgin died on October 28, 1897, aged eighty-seven. His widow resides at the old homestead, which was their home for the past fifty years.
OHN NELSON COLE, of Andover, the editor and publisher of the An- dover Weekly Townsman and the Law- rence Daily Telegram, was born in Groveland, Mass., November 4, 1863. He is a son of George S. and Nancy (Bodwell) Cole. The first members of the Cole family in this country came from England, and settled in Derry, N.H .; and its first representatives in Massachusetts moved from Derry to Box- ford early in the seventeenth century. Ephraim F. Cole, John N. Cole's grandfather, one of a line of Boxford farmers, died in 1888, aged about seventy-eight. He married Miss Sarah Spofford, a member of one of the old Boxford families. She is now living in Boxford, and, though eighty-seven years old, is bright and active. Ten children were born to her, six of whom, five sons and a daughter, are yet living.
George S. Cole, who was born in West Boxford, has lived in Andover for the past forty years. For a number of years he was in business as a contractor and builder. He has served the people in a number of public offices, and has been Deputy Sheriff for some years. In the year 1859 he was married to Nancy Bodwell, of Boxford, niece of Asa M. Bodwell, one of the early settlers and large land-owners of Lawrence. They had five children, namely: Rebecca F., now the
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wife of Richard Carden, residing in Law- rence; John Nelson, the subject of this biog- raphy; Emma L., the wife of Edward S. Gould, of Lawrence; Maud, residing with her parents in Andover; and George Warren, who died in New London, Conn., in 1894, being then but twenty-five years of age. A first- class workman, George W. was sent to New London as supervising architect for a Boston firm. He left a widow and one daughter.
John Nelson Cole attended the common schools and the Punchard High School. At the age of fifteen he went to work in a store, and subsequently for some time he was office boy in the mill of M. T. Stephens & Sons in Andover. While in the employ of the Messrs. Stephens he was promoted to the re- sponsible position of paymaster, which he held four years. In 1887 he started in the printing and publishing business, bringing out the Andover Townsman ; and in 1896 he purchased the Lawrence Telegram. Under his management the circulation of the latter paper has increased from thirteen hundred to over five thousand. Mr. Cole is one of the busiest men in Andover, and, though a young man, he has accomplished more than many who are well advanced in life. In the columns of his journals he advocates sound morals and high principles, and he lives up to his teaching.
On September 22, 1886, Mr. Cole was mar- ried to Minnie White Poor. They have three children - Abbie Beth, Margaret, and Philip Poor, aged respectively ten, eight, and six years. . Mr. Cole votes the Republican ticket. At present he is a member of the Andover School Board. In the Masonic fraternity he is a Master, and he is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. The family has a pleasant home at 8 Locke Street, which he erected in 1893.
RANCIS M. ANDREWS,* who has been the efficient superintendent of the Manchester Water Works since they were started in 1891, was born at Marblehead, Mass., May 16, 1847, his parents being Au- gustus and Rebecca (Clotman) Andrews. His father was a native of Essex, Mass., and his mother of Marblehead, both representing old and respected families. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, died nearly twenty- five years ago.
Francis M. Andrews resided in Marblehead with his parents until about twelve years of age. The family then removed to Hamilton, Mass., where he lived until he reached his majority. His education was obtained in the common schools of Marblehead and Hamilton. In his twenty-fourth year he entered the em- ploy of the city of Salem as second engineer of the pumping station, which position he filled for some time. Subsequently going to Natick, he became engineer there of the pumping station of the Natick Water Works. Later he was in the employ of Henry R. Worthington, of New York, and of the New England Water Works Syndicate, resigning this last position to become superintendent of the Manchester Water Works. He has satis- factorily fulfilled the duties of the position, and given evidence of exceptional ability in his chosen line of work.
Mr. Andrews married Susan N. Huntoon, of Salem, Mass. She has borne him four children - Rebecca T., Frederick H., Eleanor C., and Francis M., Jr. Mr. Andrews is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge at Natick, also of the Royal Arcanum of that place, and of Rebecca Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Manches- ter. He has won the respect and esteem of the community in general since coming to Manchester, and has made many warm friends here,
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OSES PRAY,* formerly a well- known blacksmith of West New- bury, who died in 1893, at the age of sixty-four years, was born in Newbury- port in 1829. His father, Rufus Pray, who was a native of Sanford, Me., followed the ice business in Amesbury, Mass., for a number of years. Moses Pray, grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch, was a lifelong resident of Maine.
Moses Pray attended school in Newburyport and Oldtown. When sixteen years old, he was apprenticed to J. & E. Gerry, of Newbury- port, to learn the blacksmith's trade. He was subsequently employed as a journeyman by different parties for several years, and finally settled upon a farm situated five miles west of Newburyport, on the middle road to George- town. He continued to work at his trade in connection with tilling the soil for the rest of his life. He attended the old Parish Congre- gational Church, and in politics acted with the Democratic party. In 1852 Mr. Pray was joined in marriage with Sarah E. Wellman, who survives him. She is a daughter of John G. and Eliza Wellman, of Searsmont, Me. Her father was a prosperous farmer, and lived to be eighty-four years old. Her grandfather, Samuel Wellman, who was a native of Bremen, Me., received a pension from the United States government for his services in the Continental army during the Revolution- ary War. His widow was retained upon the pension list until her death.
Mrs. Pray has had six children, as follows : Charles G., born in 1854, who is now resid- ing in Newburyport; George W. and Georgia A., twins, who were born in 1856, and died in infancy; Ellen F., born in 1861, who was educated in the West Newbury common and high schools, and resides with her mother; Bessie Anna, born in 1863, who also resides
with her mother at the homestead; and John William, born in 1866, who is a carpenter in Salem, Mass.
LARENCE IRVING ALLEN,* the City Messenger of Lynn since Janu- ary, 1893, was born in this city, October 25, 1854. A son of Daniel W. Allen, he belongs to an old and respected fam- ily of this part of Essex County. The pater- nal grandfather, Ezekiel Allen, a lifelong resident of Lynn and one of its early shoe- makers, was prominent in religious circles, and one of the founders of the Second Uni- versalist Church. Born in 1800, he died in 1879, nearly fourscore years old.
Daniel W. Allen, who has passed his seventy years of life in Lynn, occupies a place among its most respected citizens. He worked at the shoemaker's trade until 1861, when he was elected City Messenger, an office which he had satisfactorily filled for three years, when he resigned in 1864, to enlist in defence of the Union. He served in the Civil War until the expiration of his term of enlistment with Company D, Eighth Massa- chusetts Volunteer Infantry, being mustered out in December of the same year. From 1865 to 1895 he was engaged in the manu- facture of shoes for the New England trade, carrying on a substantial business. Since that time he has lived retired from active pur- suits, enjoying in his declining years the re- ward of his previous toil. He was a member of the State legislature in 1895 and 1896, representing the Nineteenth Essex District. In the legislature, besides serving in the committees on Street Railways and Prisons, he was one of a special committee sent to Chattanooga and Chickamauga to assist at the dedication of the national cemeteries. His
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wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Steel, was born in Hull, England.
Clarence Irving Allen acquired his early education in the Lynn public schools, which he attended regularly until fifteen years of age. His first steady employment was that of clerk in a grocery store. Leaving that posi- tion, he learned the shoemaker's trade, and afterward the trade of a shoe cutter. Having become proficient in the latter, he was fortu- natc enough to secure a position as cutter in the shoe factory of Morgan & Dore, with whom he afterward remained for eighteen years. He was subsequently employed in the same capacity for four years by different firms. In 1893 he was elected to the office of City Messenger, his present position.
Mr. Allen is a Republican in politics, and active in all public affairs of the eity. In 1890, 1891, and 1892 he represented Ward Five in the Common Council, serving in the committces on Fire, Printing, and Public Grounds, He was made an Odd Fellow in Providence Lodge, No. 171; is a charter member of Euphrates Senate, No. 362, K. A. E. O .; and a charter member and Past Chancellor of Abraham Lincoln Lodge, No. 127, K. of P., and has been a representative to the Grand Lodge.
LINT WESTON,* a farmer of George- town, Mass., the son of Samuel and Mehitable (Cowdry) Weston, was born in Georgetown in 1807. His father was born in Reading, Mass., in 1768. He was a cooper by trade, but was engaged in farming. He married Mehitable, a daughter of Na- thaniel Cowdry, of Reading.
Their son, Flint Weston, was edueated in the public schools of Georgetown, and has been engaged in farming there ever since.
During the winter he works at shoemaking. He was married in 1830 to Caroline M., a daughter of Joseph Hardy, of Bradford. Mr. and Mrs. Weston have had four children : Charles H., born in 1832, who married Au- relia Adams, of Bradford, and is now engaged in farming; Charlotte Howard, born in No- vember, 1832, who married George Marcy, of Bradford, and is now deceased; John B., born in 1837, a carriage-maker by trade, who en- listed in 1861, and was killed in the battle- field; and Bartlett H., born in Georgetown in 1840. The last-named was educated at Tops- field Academy and Dartmouth College, gradu- ating from the latter institution in 1864. He then taught until 1893, when he entered the ministry of the Congregational churcli, and is now located in Dunstable, Mass. He mar- ried Sarah, daughter of Benjamin S. Dodge, of Rowley.
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