USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County, Massachusetts > Part 12
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NDREW JACKSON GARDNER, Tax Collector of Hingham, Plymouth County, Mass., was born here on January II, 1815, son of Jesse and Delight (Lincoln) Gardner. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Gardner, was also a native of Hing- ham, where he engaged in farming, both he and his wife living to a good old age. He was a hard-working man, who stood well among his townspeople. In politics he affiliated with the Whigs, and in his religious belief he was a Unitarian. He had ten children.
Jesse Gardner, son of Samuel, was born in this town, December 15, 1780. In early man- hood he learned the carpenter's trade, and that was his life occupation. In politics he was a Democrat, and served as a member of the School Committee several years. He married Delight Lincoln, daughter of Laban and Eliz- abeth Lincoln, of Hingham. She was born September 24, 1793, and died at the age of fifty-three years, August 17, 1846. Jesse Gardner survived his wife several years, and died October 30, 1851, aged seventy-one years. They were both highly respected members of the Unitarian church. Only three of the seven children born to them are now living - Andrew Jackson, Laban, and
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Elizabeth Ann. Laban married Catherine Burrell, of Hingham, and they had six chil- dren, five of whom are now living - Laban F., Catherine B., Arthur, Walter, and Martin B. Elizabeth Ann was united in marriage with Edwin D. Gardner, of this town, and had five children, three of whom are living - Edwin A., Sarah, and Lizzie.
Andrew J. Gardner, after attaining a public- school education in his native town, learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed in this town for twenty-five years. In 1850, when the town offices were put up at auction, he purchased the office of Tax Collector, to which he was elected by the people in 1852. He is the present incumbent, having served for forty four consecutive years. In days gone by he was on the police force, and subse- quently served in the offices of Constable and Highway Surveyor. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party.
Mr. Gardner married first Mary Ann, daugh- ter of Stephen and Peggy Remington Stod- dard. She was a native of this town, and was born March 3, 1822, and she died April 17, 1847, at the age of twenty-five years. Mr. Gardner married second, February 13, 1848, Rebecca Ann Ewell, of Marshfield, Mass. She died March 27, 1892, at the age of sixty- nine years and five months. Mr. Gardner's children by his wife, Mary, were: Lucy Stod- dard, born December 12, 1842, who married October 1, 1884, Frazer F. Blauvelt; Andrew Wallace, born December 1, 1844; and Albert Stoddard, born March 11, 1847. His children by his wife, Rebecca, were: John Hersey, born February 11, 1850, who died April 30, 1891 ; and Mary Ann, born May 26, 1851, died August 19, 1853. Andrew Wallace Gardner, his eldest son, married May 24, 1868, Mary Jane Price, daughter of James and Rebecca (Souther) Price. She was born in
Hingham, August 19, 1843. They have a child, Mary Ann, born January 19, 1871.
Albert Stoddard Gardner, the second son, married January 5, 1868, Mary Ellen Fearing, daughter of Henry and Mary (Cushing) Fear- ing. She was born in Hingham, February 13, 1844, and died February 20, 1871, aged twenty-seven years. Albert S. Gardner died March 29, 1873, aged twenty-six years. He had one child, Henry Fearing, born in Hing- ham, April 29, 1869. Both wives attended the Universalist church, in which Mr. Gardner has been prominently active. For thirty-six years he has been Collector of the Universalist Society. Personally, he is a man of the high- est integrity, who has ably filled most impor- tant offices of trust.
TIS COBB, a successful carpenter and contractor of Brockton, was born March 17, 1827, in Carver, this county, son of Otis and Mercy B. (Morse) Cobb. He is descended from immigrants who came with the early settlers of the Plymouth Colony. Benjamin Cobb, his grandfather, born in Carver, February 13, 1750, was a farmer, and served in the militia. He died on March 3, 1812. Sarah, his wife, born April 1, 1754, died October 20, 1820. Their son Otis, born November 20, 1795, was a farmer, who also manufactured nails by hand. He was a member of the Congregational church, and sang in the choir. His wife, Mercy, had two children besides Otis. Of these, Benjamin died at the age of two years. The other was a daughter, who is now the wife of Henry B. Whitman, and resides in Brain- tree, Mass. The father, who was a resident of Carver all his life, died April 4, 1840. The mother lived until December 31, 1841.
At the age of sixteen, after acquiring a
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common-school education, Otis Cobb came to North Bridgewater, now Brockton, and worked with Vinal Lyon at the carpenter's trade for several years, and then went into business for four years. He subsequently worked as a journeyman for himself. In 1864 he enlisted in one of the unattached companies of the old Boston Fusileers. which afterward formed a part of the Fourth Massachusetts Artillery and was stationed at Fort Richardson for eight months. They had previously landed at Fort Albany, where they stayed a month, taking charge of forts extending all the way to Alexandria. He was put to carpenter's work for a while, after which he became regimen- tal carpenter, having the supervision of fifty men. Returning home in 1865. he soon re- sumed business, which he managed success- fully until 1893. He has built forty-four factories, mostly plants, for the manufacture of shoes. and more than one hundred houses, besides four school-houses for Brockton, and some public buildings for other towns. In politics Mr. Cobb is a Republican, and he has been Surveyor of Lumber for twelve years.
On May 7, 1848, Mr. Cobb was united in marriage with Lydia L. Packard, daughter of Lebbaus Packard, of West Bridgewater. They have three children - Jane, Sarah, and Nor- man. Jane married S. S. B. French, and re- sides in Braintree; Sarah, who married Frank I'. Brown, is at home; and Norman, who mar- ried Fanny Hayden, is in Haverhill, Mass. Mrs. Cobb's father, Lebbaus, was Selectman in West Bridgewater for sixteen consecutive years. During the War of 1812 he served as fifer on the march from West Bridgewater to Plymouth. He was a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, and he died at the age of sixty-four. Mr. Cobb is a member of Paul Revere Lodge, Brockton, A. F. & A. M .; a charter member of St. George Lodge, of
Campello; a member of Satucket Royal Arch Chapter; of Brockton Council, Royal and Se- lect Masters; of Bay State Commandery, Knights Templars; and of Aleppo Temple, being a Mason of the thirty-second degree. He also belongs to the Order of Rose Croix, and has been Tyler of St. George's Lodge to Massasoit Lodge, No. 69, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; to Fletcher Webster Post, Grand Army of the Republic, No. 13; to the Legion of Honor, of which he was Commander for two years, having occupied all the other chairs. In religious circles he is also prom- inent, having been a member of the South Con- gregational Church at Campello for forty-two years. He has served on various committees, was a member of the Parish Committee for three years, usher for nearly twelve years, and sang in the choir about ten years. He recently severed his connection with the Congregational church, and became a member of the South Street Methodist Episcopal Church of Brockton.
COLEMAN BROWN, M.D., city physician of Brockton, was born in East Boston, June 4, 1869, son of Lieutenant Edwin Young and Frances (Saw- yer) Brown, residents of East Boston. The Doctor is a descendant of Peter Brown, one of the Colonial settlers of New England. His grandfather's grandfather served on General Washington's staff, and his great-grandfather was in the War of 1812. His grandfather, Charles Brown, died in Scituate about twenty years ago, aged about seventy years; and his grandmother was ninety-two when she passed away in 1893. This couple had a family of fourteen children, five of whom are living: one, Charles, who has served in the State legislature, and is a comrade of the Grand Army, resides on the family homestead in
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Scituate; James, killed in action ; Wilbur and Edwin Young also served in the late war. Moses, another of the sons, owns and lives upon the noted "Bulrush Farm" at North Scituate, the largest farm in Plymouth County.
At the first call to arms, Edwin Young Brown enlisted as a private in Company B, First Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, and served throughout the war, winning promo- tion to the rank of Lieutenant for meritorious conduct on the field. His regiment was at- tached to General Joseph Hooker's brigade, and shared in several of the engagements of that command. In the second battle of Bull Run he was shot in the head, and, having been left for dead on the field, was taken prisoner and confined in Libby Prison for a year. He and a number of other prisoners were then packed in freight cars, and sent to Anderson- ville. On the way Mr. Brown, with two con- panions, cut the lock, and jumped from the moving car into the darkness of the night. After wandering about for three months, en- during many privations, they reached the Union lines. Lieutenant Brown was dis- charged in 1865, at the close of the war. He is highly esteemed in East Boston, and has been State Inspector of Factories and Public Buildings for some time. He is the father of three children, who are all living.
After acquiring his preliminary education in the public schools of East Boston, E. Cole- man Brown graduated from the Boston Latin School. He received his medical training at the Boston College of Physicians and Sur- geons, his degree being conferred upon him in 1894. He then became attending physi- cian at the Deer Island Hospital. In Sep- tember of that year he located in Brockton, where he has remained since. In the short time that has elapsed since he has won the confidence and regard of a large number of
citizens. Dr. Brown was elected City Physi- cian in 1896, succeeding Dr. Roland M. Hammond. In politics he is a Republican. He was married September 25, 1889, to a daughter of Captain Joseph E. Kimball, his father's comrade all through the war. Cap- tain Kimball also rose from the ranks. Of the three children born to Dr. and Mrs. Brown, one is living. The Doctor has held nearly all the chairs in the East Boston Ma- sonic lodges, and is second officer at present in the Chapter and Council. He now belongs to the Masonic bodies of Brockton, and to Aleppo Temple of the Mystic Shrine of Bos- ton. He is a member of Zenith Lodge, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of East Bos- ton; Medical Examiner for Montello Lodge, Knights of Pythias; a Director of the Union Pythian Relief Association; a member of Bay State Commandery, Knights Templars, of Brockton, and of R. B. Grover Camp, Sons of Veterans. He attends the Universalist church in this city; and he resides at 32 Upland Road, in the northern part of the city, called Montello, where he lately purchased a resi- cence.
ON. CHARLES H. HOWLAND, of Plymouth, has represented the old Colonial town in the State Senate and House of Representatives, and has served it as Land and Harbor Commissioner for a number of years. He was born in Plym- outh, September 15, 1826, son of John and Nancy (Lucas) Howland, who were both born in this vicinity. The family comes of old Puritan stock. It began with three brothers, John, Charles, and Henry, who came origi- nally from England. John made the voyage in the "Mayflower," and Charles and Henry in the ship "Ann" which followed. The family has been content to remain in the home
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established by their forefathers, and genera- tion after generation of it has lived and died in Plymouth. John Howland, the father of Charles H .. was a seafaring man. While serving in the War of 1812 he was taken prisoner. carried to England, and for some time was confined in Dartmoor Prison, from which he eventually escaped. He died in 1841 at the age of fifty-four. His wife, who was a daughter of Lazarus Lucas, of West Plymouth, died in Plymouth in 1890, at the advanced age of ninety-two. They reared four children. of whom the subject of this sketch was the third child born.
Charles H. Howland was educated in the common schools of Plymouth. His parents being poor, he was obliged, at the age of nine. to take employment of George Bramhall, a grocer, of Plymouth. He was afterward employed in the Harvard University book - store in Cambridge. Mass. Here his health became impaired. To restore it, he joined a fishing expedition, under the condition that he would be paid just what he was found to be worth. He proved so useful on that occasion that, at the end of the trip. he had as much money as the other boys, some of whom were accustomed to the work. For some years after he followed the sea, and in due time be- came captain of a schooner and part owner of a vessel. Finally he gave up seafaring, and at the age of twenty. learned the painter's trade from Calvin Howland, of Stoughton, Mass. He remained with Mr. Howland some three years, and for some time subsequent was employed as a clerk in different places. Then, starting in business for himself, he managed a general store in Chiltonville, l'lymouth, for a number of years. This store he left when the Rebellion broke out, in order to enlist. When President Lincoln's first call for seventy-five thousand men reached
Plymouth, he was the second man to write his name on the list of volunteers, and he was subsequently appointed one of the mili- tary storekeepers of Massachusetts, under Quartermaster General John H. Reed, in which capacity he served until 1862. Com- missioned First Lieutenant in the Thirty- fourth Massachusetts Regiment of Volunteer Infantry, June 9, 1862, he was appointed Quartermaster of the regiment, and served as Regimental and Acting Assistant Brigade Quartermaster until July, 1865, when he was mustered out of the service at Richmond, Va. Returning to Plymouth, he remained for a while. Subsequently he was in the clothing business in Boston for two or three years. His next venture was in the oil regions of Canada, where he dug one or two wells; but, being unsuccessful, he returned home.
Mr. Howland cast his first Presidential vote for the Free Soil candidate in 1848, and he has long been prominent as a Republican, and has filled a number of public offices. In 1870 he took the census of Plymouth and Carver, and in 1880 he, in company with Thomas Loring and another gentleman, took the census of Plymouth. In the State Senate in 1860 he was House Chairman of the Commit- tee on Fisheries, and one of the Committee on the Valuation of the Commonwealth, which sat during recess ; and in the House of Rep- resentatives in 1879, 1880, 1883, and 1884, he presided as Chairman of the Committee on Labor, Fisheries, and Prisons, and of a special committee appointed in 1883 to sit during the recess, which was to make certain inquiries relative to the charitable and penal institu- tions of the State. Again elected to the Senate, he was in 1885 Chairman of the Com- mittee on Taxation and was a member of Committees on Public Charitable Institutions and Woman Suffrage. Mr. Howland was ap-
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pointed Land and Harbor Commissioner by Governor Robinson in 1886, to fill out Joseph K. Baker's unexpired term of three years. He was reappointed by Governor Ames in 1887, and received three subsequent reappoint- ments, one by Governor Brackett in 1890, one by Governor William E. Russell in 1893, and one by Roger Wolcott in 1896. Governor Russell having been a Democrat, it is evident that Mr. Howland's efficiency in office is the cause of his many reappointments.
Mr. Howland has been twice married. His present wife, to whom he was united in No- vember, 1869, is the daughter of John and Deborah Finney, of Plymouth, and also belongs to an old Puritan family. Mr. and Mrs. Howland have six children - Henry B., a graduate of the Plymouth High School and Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College, who has been for some time in the employ of Jo- seph Huse & Son, dealers in stoves and fur- naces, Boston, Mass .: Lucy W., a graduate of the Plymouth High School; Deborah, a graduate of the Plymouth High School and of the Bridgewater Normal School, where she took the four years' course, and is now a teacher in the public schools of her native town; George B., a high-school graduate, who is now attending Bryant & Stratton's Com- mercial College at Boston; and Charles B. and Rose W., who are in the lower schools.
ZEKIEL R. STUDLEY may be called the father of Rockland, for at the time when the town was organized he was the leading spirit in the movement, and, elected Town Clerk and Treasurer and First Chairman of the Selectmen, he did an im- mense amount of clerical and other work; and after the new town was fairly established he still continued to guide its affairs in the direc-
tion of prosperity. Mr. Studley was born in Hanover, Mass., November 30, 1831.
His parents, David and Hannah (Torrey) Studley, were of English descent. David Studley, who also was born in Hanover, Mass., was a clockmaker, and followed his trade until 1835, when he turned his attention to the pur- suit of agriculture. He attained the great age of ninety years and six months, his wife hav- ing died at the age of fifty-eight. This couple were the parents of twelve children, ten of whom lived to be over fifty years of age. The only survivors to-day are Walter B., a jeweller in Rockland; and Ezekiel R., the special sub- ject of this biographical sketch.
Ezekiel R. Studley acquired his education in the common schools of Hanover and the seminary at Easthampton; and after finishing his studies he taught school for two winters, working at farming in the summer. He began to make shoes in his fifteenth year, and later he was employed as a cutter in a factory some twenty years. In 1857 he located in Abing- ton, where he was engaged in shoe cutting and shoe manufacturing until 1874, when his re- sponsibility in connection with town affairs was so great that he was obliged to devote all his time to their management.
He joined the Republican party when he was qualified to vote, and cast his first Presi- dential ballot for John C. Fremont; but his character and conduct have been such that, from the very beginning, he has had the fullest confidence of both parties. He was elected to the legislature in 1864, and again in 1877 and 1878, serving in the latter year as Chairman of the Committee on Towns. In 1871 he was elected to the Abington Board of Selectmen, and served until 1874; and he was one year on the School Board. When Rockland was separated from Abington he was invested with authority to manage the work of organizing
WILLIAM H. BATES.
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the new town, and, with the entire confidence of the people. he gave heart and hand to its accomplishment, collecting and wisely expend- ing the funds, and discharging efficiently the duties of his triple office of Clerk, Treasurer, and Chairman of the Selectmen, Assessors, and Overseers of the Poor.
For twenty years he served ably and consci- entiously as both Treasurer and Clerk, and no smallest item was neglected. In 1894 he resigned the office of Treasurer, but is still acting as Town Clerk. In 1890 he was a member of the Rockland School Committee. Mr. Studley was made a Justice of the Peace twenty years ago, and is still exercising the functions of his office. In addition to his official duties he has had charge of the Rock- land Savings Bank for twenty years, having been appointed Treasurer in 1876 to succeed his brother, Walter B. Studley. He is one of the best-known figures in Rockland, and is held in the highest regard by his townsmen. Mr. Studley is an active member of the Rock- land Commercial Club.
In 1855 he was united in marriage with R. Augusta Studley, and his married life of thirty-five years was an unusually happy one, a bond of the strongest sympathy existing be- tween himself and his wife. Mrs. Studley died in 1890, leaving three sons: Orville F .; Hermon L., cashier of the savings bank; and Harold F.
ILLIAM H. BATES is President and Manager of the Rockland Com- pany, a large shoe and leather cor-
poration. He was born in Rockland (then East Abington), May 8, 1837, a son of George and Lucy W. (Warren) Bates. George Bates passed his life in Abington and the adjoining town of Hanover. He died in 1859, in the fifty-second year of his age; his wife, also a
native of Plymouth County, lived to be sev- enty-eight years old. They were the parents of three children, two of whom, William H. and George W., are living, both citizens of Rockland.
William H. Bates was one year old when his parents removed to Hanover, and he was there reared and educated, qualifying as a book-keeper. In 1862 he enlisted in the Thirty-eighth Regiment, Massachusetts Vol- unteer Infantry, and was assigned to the non- commissioned staff of General William H. Emory. His proficiency in clerical work made his services of value in that line, and for a year he was thus employed in the Depart- ment of the Gulf. After his return to Hano- ver he was engaged as book-keeper in the shoe manufactory of George B. Clapp some ten or twelve years, obtaining a practical knowledge of the shoe business, which has since been of much use to him.
He then took an interest in the firm of W. E. Putnam & Co. ; and from this association he formed the Rockland Company - W. E. Putnam and H. S. Jenkins, former members of the house, retiring from active business, but taking stock in the new concern. The new company erected a factory which is a model of completeness and convenience - an attractive building without and within - and moved into their new quarters January 1, 1896. Their business, which includes not only the output from this factory, but also work done in other places, amounts to over half a million a year. The enterprise, as conducted under the name of W. E. Putnam & Co., had been established about eleven years when Mr. Bates took charge of it. The present board of management con- sists of William H. Bates, President and Man- ager; Henry M. Currier, Vice-President ; William P. Taylor, Treasurer; and William E. Putnam and H. S. Jenkins, stockholders.
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Mr. Bates was united in marriage with Julia A. Turner, of Hanover, Mass., on May 8, 1860, and five children have blessed their union : Nettie W., wife of George T. Smith, of Hanover, and mother of two children - Ethel and Julia; Annie E., wife of Fletcher Jenkins, manager of an express business in Rockland, who has two children -- Nettie B. and Helen; George A., superintendent of the Rockland Company's factory ; Samuel T. ; and Marion F., now thirteen years old.
Mr. Bates's ancestors for generations were strong Democrats, and his grandfather rejoiced in the election to the Presidency of James Buchanan ; but he has departed from the family traditions, and is firm in his support of the Republican side. He cast his first Presiden- tial vote for Abraham Lincoln. Prominent so- cially as well as in a business way, he is a Mason, a Knight of Pythias, a Knight of Honor, and a Grand Army man; and he is President of the Rockland Commercial Club. He has a pleasant home in Rockland and a cottage at the beach; and his happiest hours are spent with his family, to whom he is deeply attached.
ON. JOHN JAY WHIPPLE, the first of Brockton's mayors who have sat in the City Hall, was born in Worcester, Mass., December 31, 1847, son of Ferdinand and Hannah (Sweet) Whipple. His ancestors on the paternal side settled in Rhode Island, and in that State his father was born, and was engaged in business for a num- ber of years. His mother was a native of New Hampshire. She reared two daughters and three sons, John Jay being the youngest of the family.
John Jay Whipple received his preliminary schooling in the common schools of Hopkin-
ton, Mass., and subsequently graduated from Hopkinton Academy. He commenced his business life in the general store of ex-Gover- nor William Claflin at Hopkinton, where he was employed as clerk for a year. Afterward he was engaged as clerk in the drug store of Dr. W. D. Burdett. In December, 1866, he purchased a drug store in Brockton, and in partnership with his father, under the firm name of J. J. Whipple & Co., conducted it for a quarter of a century. In 1891 he sold the drug store, to which for some years he had given merely a general supervision. In the spring of 1892 he was elected Presi- dent of the Wildey Savings Bank at 52 Boyl- ston Street, Boston. He was subsequently President of the Brockton Savings Bank for twelve years, was one of the incorpo- rators of the Brockton National Bank, and has been one of its Directors since its incorpora- tion. He is President of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Accident Insurance Company of Boston, has been President of the New England Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany of the same city for the past four years, and was one of the incorporators of the Brock- ton, Bridgewater & Taunton Electric Street Railroad. His real estate, which is consider- able, is located principally in Brockton, and includes a quarter interest in the Brockton City Theatre that cost one hundred and sixty thousand dollars.
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