USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County, Massachusetts > Part 15
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AMUEL ADAMS HOLBROOK, one of Brockton's most popular citizens while proprietor of the market at the corner of Centre and Montello Streets, was born in Elmwood, Mass., July 24, 1834, a son of Arvin and Sarah J. (Keen) 'Holbrook. Arvin Holbrook, a native of South Weymouth, Mass., had three other chil- dren, all daughters. Samuel having been reared and educated in Elmwood, came in 1855 to Brockton, then North Bridgewater, and made his home here for the rest of his life. In 1874 he opened a market on Main Street, and in course of time acquired a flourishing trade. His ownership of the market on Centre and Montello Streets dated from 1855. An honest, upright man, and of the cheery dis- position so frequently a trait of marketmen, he kept his old customers, and continually added new ones to his list, making his market one of the most successful in the locality. Mr. Holbrook sang bass in the Gurney Glee
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Club, the Masonic Quartet of Paul Revere Lodge, which he joined in 1870; and for nine- teen years he was a member of the choir of the First Congregational Church of Brockton. He died February 18, 1895, aged sixty years, six months, and five days, and was buried with Masonic honors.
Mr. Holbrook was married December 28, 1859, to Susan J., daughter of Nathaniel H. and Lucy C. Cross, of Brockton. Two chil- dren blessed the union - Lucy Cross and Jennie Adams. The elder daughter, who had a fine, alto voice, and sang a great deal in public, married T. A. Norris, of Brockton, and died on December 12, 1895. Jennie A. is the wife of W. Fred Allen, of Brockton. Mrs. Holbrook now manages the market left by her husband. An intelligent and capable lady, she has proved herself fully equal to the responsibilities devolving upon her. A
IDWIN MULREADY, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Rockland, Mass., is one of the active business men of the place, engaged extensively in placing in- surance risks. He is a native of Rockland, born November 18, 1853, a son of Luke and Sarah (Carroll) Mulready. Luke Mulready, who was born in Mulligan, Ireland, came to this country in 1849, and worked for some time at shoemaking. He died in his fifty- fourth year. His wife is still living in Rock- land. Six children were born to them -- Ed- win, Marcella, Luke F., Maria, John, and Annie.
Edwin Mulready was graduated from the grammar school at the age of fifteen, and then went to work in a shoe shop. Having a nat- ural bent for clerical work, after a while he left the factory to take a course of study at a commercial college; but, finding no suitable
opening, upon the completion of his studies he again took up factory work. While en- gaged in the shoe shop he began to take insur- ance risks, and in 1891 he established a busi- ness of his own, which has had a large growth, and which includes fire, life, accident, and marine insurance. Being a inan of more than ordinary intelligence and ability, he is now on the high road to success.
He was married in 1876 to Miss Catherine Kenneally, of Abington, Mass., by whom he has had nine children, one of whom, a little daughter, has passed away. The others are named respectively: Luke, Josephine, Paul, Edwin, Sadie, Joseph, Frank, and Marion. In political matters Mr. Mulready is inclined to be independent, though favoring the Demo- cratic side. He was elected to the Board of Selectmen in 1884, and has presided as Chairman since 1892. A strong believer in total abstinence, he is an active worker for the temperance cause, and has been connected with a temperance society for a quarter of a century. In religious belief he is a Roman Catholic.
ON. ZIBA CARY KEITH, President of the Plymouth County Safe Deposit and Trust Company, is a native res- ident of Brockton, where he has been for the last twenty years an important factor in busi- ness and civic affairs. Nor is his merely a local reputation. He has filled various re- sponsible positions in the service of the State. He was born July 13, 1842, at the homestead of his father, Captain Ziba Keith, on the op- posite side of the street to his present resi- dence in Campello.
The following account of his ancestry we glean from the Keith Memorial volume pre- pared by him at the cost of great labor and ex- pense and published in 1889. The Keith
ZIBA C. KEITH.
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family originated in Scotland. Brown's Peer- age makes mention of one Robert (from whom this family is supposed to be descended) who was a chieftain among the Cotti, from which tribe the surname of Keith is said to be derived. He was at the battle of Panbridge in 1006 A. D., and slew Camus, a general of the Danes, for which service King Malcolm drew red strokes, or pates, on Robert's shield, which was the origin of their armorial bearings. In 1010 he was made hereditary marischal of Scotland, and was presented with a barony and also with the Island of Inchkeith in the Firth of Forth. His descendant, Sir William Keith, married a daughter of the Earl of Crawford, and had a son William, who was created Earl of Mari- schal before June, 1458.
The title descended lineally to William, third Earl, who had two sons - Robert and William. Robert was slain at Flodden Field. William had a son William, who was the fourth Earl; and he had a grandson George, fifth Earl, and founder of Marischal College at Aberdeen. He married Lord Hume's daugh- ter. The tenth Earl, George, was a Colonel in Queen Anne's Guards. His brother James was a Field Marshal in the service of Peter the Great of Russia, and later served with the same rank in the Prussian army. He was killed at Huckkirch in battle with the Aus- trians in 1758, and a monument was erected to his memory by the King of Prussia.
The Rev. James Keith, the founder of the family in America, was born at Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1644, and came to this country in 1662. He was introduced to the church in Bridgewater, Mass., by Dr. Increase Mather, and was settled as its pastor on February 18, 1664. The house in which he lived still stands in West Bridgewater. He died July 23, 1719. His first wife was Susanna, daugh- ter of Deacon Samuel Edson. They were mar-
ried May 3, 1668, and had nine children ; namely, James, Joseph, Samuel, Timothy, John, Josiah, Margaret, Mary, and Susannah. Mrs. Susanna Keith died October 16, 1705, aged sixty - five years. The Rev. James Keith's second wife was Mary, widow of Thomas Williams, of Taunton.
Timothy Keith, his fourth son, was born in 1683, and became one of the first settlers of North Bridgewater. He died November 8, 1767. He and his wife, Hannah, daughter of Deacon Edward Forbes, had four children : Timothy, second; Abiah; Nathan; Hannah. Timothy Keith, second, died in 1740, aged twenty-nine years. He married Bethiah, daughter of William Ames, June 2, 1737, and had two children-Levi and Timothy.
Levi, the elder, born August 25, 1738, married Jemima, daughter of Mark Perkins, November 8, 1859, and had Bethiah, Timothy, Reuben, Benjamin, Jemima, Jemima (second), Molly, Levi, Molly (second), and Anna. Levi Keith owned a tannery at the corner of Mon- tello and Garfield Streets. He was a shoe manufacturer to some extent, being the pioneer of that industry here, and was a man of con- siderable property and influence in the town. He owned and occupied the house on the cor- ner of Main and Plain Streets, where now stands the mansion of Mr. Ziba C. Keith. He died in 1813.
Benjamin Keith, born in 1763, third son of Levi, was principally a farmer, and owned an extensive tract of land on Main Street, though he also made shoes and operated his father's tannery. He married Martha, daughter of Colonel Simeon Cary, December 18, 1788, and had seven children; namely, Ziba, Arza, Bela, Charles, Polly, Jason, and Benjamin. Mr. Benjamin Keith died September 9, 1814. His wife died June 10, 1852, at the age of eighty-six years.
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Ziba Keith, son of Benjamin and Martha (Cary) Keith, was born November 30, 1789, at the old homestead on Main Street. He was a shoemaker in early life, and carried on this business in the "Old Red Shop" of his ances- tors. He taught his sons shoemaking also. May 29, 1816, he was commissioned by Gov- ernor Brooks, Ensign of a Company in the Third Regiment of Infantry ; and December 5, 1822, was promoted to be Captain, which title he retained through life. An upright and just man in all his dealings, and a kind neighbor, he was much respected. He married Novem- ber 25, 1813, Sally Cary, daughter of Jonathan Cary, and by this union had nine children : Benjamin; Franklin; Martha C. ; Martin, who died in infancy ; Martin L. ; Nancy, who died young ; David and Jonathan (twins), the former of whom died in infancy ; and Levi W. Mrs. Sally C. Keith died September 26, 1832, and Captain Ziba Keith married March 13, 1834, Polly, daughter of Daniel Noyes, of Abington. By his second wife he had three sons - Daniel N., Edwin, and Ziba Cary. The father died September 28, 1862, and the mother June 14, 1882.
Ziba Cary Keith, early learning that his success in life must depend largely upon his own exertions, applied himself betimes to the work before him. His industrial training began as soon as he was able to wield a ham- mer and drive pegs in the "Old Red Shop" and use a rake in the hay field. Meantime he diligently improved his opportunities for ob- taining an education in the district schools and at Pierce Academy. At eighteen years of age he went to work in the shoe manufactory of his brothers, Martin L. Keith & Co., then doing a large business. He was afterward book- keeper for them in Boston until July, 1863, when he returned to Campello and started in business with Embert Howard, under the firm
name of Howard & Keith. They conducted a dry-goods and variety store for two years and then sold out to Jonas Reynold. Six months later Mr. Keith bought the business, which, with the exception of the dry-goods depart- ment, for some time controlled by H. P. Hub- bard, he carried on alone till 1882, when he disposed of the entire interests to Pitts & Hay- ward and Thayer & Whitman.
In 1875 and 1876 Mr. Keith served as Rep- resentative to the General Court. In 1879 he was one of the Selectmen of the town. In 1881 he was a member of the Committee for drafting the city charter, and when Brockton was made a city, in 1881, he was elected the first Mayor, being re-elected in 1883, 1884, 1891, 1892, and 1893. He was State Senator from the Second Plymouth Senatorial District in 1887 and in 1888, and was Tax Collector in 1887-89. He was largely instrumental in organizing the Campello Co-operative Bank, which has been of great service in building the southerly wards of the city and stimulating the workmen in the many large factories to own their own homes. He was also Director and first Vice-President of the Brockton Sav- ings Bank, Director of the Brockton National Bank, and one of the incorporators of the Plym- outh County Safe Deposit and Trust Com- pany, of which he is President. In January, 1890, he was appointed by Governor Ames on the State Commission of Health, Lunacy and Charity. He was elected in the fall of 1892 a member of the Governor's Council, which office he held to 1896.
He has ever had the interests of Campello in mind, and has done much to promote the growth and prosperity of the place. He was a member of the Parish Committee several years, and when the society remodelled and enlarged their church in 1888 he was one of the Build- ing Committee. He is prominently identified
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with the Commandery, Chapter, and Lodge of the local Masons. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and in religion connected with the South Congregational Church of Campello. Mr. Keith was a corporate member of the original street railway corporation in Brockton, and Treasurer of same for several years, and is now Treasurer of the Monarch Rubber Com- pany at Campello. Wherever he has served it has been to the satisfaction of the great mass of citizens and thus with honor to himself. During the mayoralty of Mr. Keith was inaug- urated the system of sewerage for the city of Brockton which has recently been completed. Then also was brought about the building of the elegant new City Hall, and by the city in conjunction with the Old Colony Division of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Rail- way, the abolishment of sixteen grade crossings.
It is a well-known fact that much of the early prosperity of Brockton was due to his able and energetic administration of its affairs and his wide knowledge of men and business, added to a courteous personality, which has endeared him to the hearts of his fellow-citizens. Mr. Bradford Kingman in his "History of Brockton," says, "He is a person as universally beloved and esteemed as any one whom it is our pleasure to know." Any one meeting him to know him could not but be impressed with his sterling integrity of character, while admiring his frankness and kindly bearing toward every person irrespec- tive of nationality or station. He has a fine ear and a cultivated talent for music, and for forty years he was organist in the South Church.
Mr. Keith married on December 3, 1865, Abbie Frances Jackson, who was born October 21, 1848, daughter of Oliver and Malvina Frances Packard Jackson, of North Bridge- water, now Brockton. They have one son,
Willie Clifton Keith. He was born August 31, 1866, married Eva M. Place, April 28, 1887, and has one son - Ziba Cary Keith, Jr., who was born June 13, 1888.
T HEODORE T. VAUGHN, the pro- prietor of a saw-mill in Centre Carver, was born here, July 22, 1857, son of Thomas Vaughn, a farmer, who was also a native of the town. He grew to manhood on the home farm, having more than the usual advantages enjoyed by a country lad. After attending the district schools in his boyhood, he became a pupil of the Middleboro Acad- emy when he was nineteen years old. After- ward he spent a term in the Eastman Busi- ness College of New York.
After leaving college he and his brother, James A. Vaughn, engaged in the nursery business, and carried it on for about five years. At the expiration of that time he withdrew from it, and assumed charge of a steam saw- mill in Centre Carver, which he still ofer- ates. In this venture he has been quite successful. The mill is principally engaged in the manufacture of box boards. Mr. Vaughn has also been successful in raising cranberries for the city markets. On Septem- ber 15, 1878, he was married to Miss Eliza- beth Leach, daughter of Ezra H. and Nancy W. Leach, of Plymouth. Their three chil- dren are: Lillian M., born December 28, 1879; Bertha F., born June 24, 1885; and Herbert J., born March 25, 1887. In politics Mr. Vaughn acts independently of party, and takes a deep interest in the labor question. He has served in the offices of Overseer of the Poor and Assessor, and he was Selectman for seven years. He is a member of the Order of United Workmen. Both he and his family attend the Baptist church.
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APTAIN JUDAH HATHAWAY, of Rochester, now prosperously engaged in farming and the manufacture of lumber, after spending many years in seafar- ing, was born in Wareham, Mass., March 10, 1832, son of Judah and Bethia Hathaway. His father having died when he was two years old, as soon as he was able to be of service he went to work on a farm. He received very little schooling, but his natural intelligence has since adequately made up for that loss. After working as a farm hand until he was seventeen years old, he shipped before the mast on a New Bedford whaling-vessel, under the command of Captain Alden Besse. In his first voyage, which was a long one, lasting three years and a half, he went to the whaling- grounds of the Atlantic and Pacific. Before the end of his second voyage, which was made on a schooner from Marion, he had taken rank as an able seaman, and was promoted to the position of second mate. After that he made several whaling voyages, and at the age of thirty-three became master of a vessel. Dur- ing the war he was mate of the brig "Alta- hama," which was seized by the famous Con- federate privateer, the " Alabama." The brig
was burned, and the crew were carried by the " Alabama " to one of the Azores, from which, after remaining a week, they were sent home.
Captain Hathaway owned shares in a num- ber of the vessels which he sailed, and had an interest in several when he retired from the sea in 1869. In that year he settled in his present home, which has been his abode for nearly thirty years. He owns one thousand acres of land and two mills. In the mills he manufactures long lumber and shingles.
Captain Hathaway was married in 1860 to Miss Ellen L. Lewis, of Rochester, Mass. He has five children - Mary L., Elizabeth T., David L. K., Ellen A., and Hattie F. In
politics he favors the Republican side, and was in the State legislature in 1869. Work- ing his way from the penniless condition of a fatherless boy, he has well earned the ease and affluence he now enjoys.
ERBERT L. TINKHAM, Treasurer of the W. L. Douglas Shoe Com- pany, is one of the capable and pro- gressive young business men of the city of Brockton, Mass. A son of Charles C. and Abigail (Ashley) Tinkham, he was born March 13, 1869, in Middleboro, Mass., and is a representative of one of the old families of that vicinity.
A Seth Tinkham served in the French and Indian War. John Tinkham, Mr. Herbert L. Tinkham's great-grandfather, who was a farmer, was a lifelong resident of Middleboro, and a Deacon of the first church there. His son Josiah, the next in this line, was also a farmer of Middleboro. He was a man of character and ability, commonly called Cap- tain Tinkham, as he was an officer in the Plymouth militia; and he was elected to the State Senate on the Democratic ticket. He lived to an advanced age. Five children grew up in the home of Captain Tinkham, only one of whom, Charles C., is living to-day.
Charles C. Tinkham was born and educated in Middleboro, and for thirty years has been in business in that place as a contractor. He is now sixty-two years of age. His wife, who also is living, is a daughter of Noah Ashley, of Lakeville, Plymouth County, Mass. They have reared two children - Herbert L. and Amelia C. The daughter is with her parents in Middleboro.
Herbert L. Tinkham attended the common schools of his native place, and also the Eaton
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Commercial School, where he learned book- keeping. His first position after leaving school was as book-keeper for Mitchell, Fales & Co., a shoe firm of Campello, with whom he remained two years. In 1889 he was engaged as book-keeper in the W. L. Douglas factory, which position he filled for three years; and in 1893 he was elected to his present position of Treasurer of the well-known W. L. Douglas Shoe Company. The business has increased rapidly during the past five or six years. The position is a responsible one, requiring gen- eral financial ability, with sound judgment and thoroughness in inatters of detail. Mr. Tinkham is regarded as one of the leading business men of Brockton, though not yet thirty years old. In 1896 he was elected a Director of the Brockton, Bridgewater & Taunton Street Railroad.
He was married April 24, 1894, to Alice A., eldest daughter of W. L. Douglas, Mrs. Tinkham died December 30, 1895, aged twenty-six years. Mr. Tinkham is a member of Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Sa- tucket Royal Arch Chapter; Harmony Lodge, No. 27, Knights of Pythias; and the Commer- cial Club of this city. He is also a member of the Universalist church of Brockton.
REDERICK G. BRACKETT, an en- terprising wood and lumber dealer of Kingston, Mass., was born in Exeter, N.H., September 20, 1854, son of George W. and Bathsheba (Eldridge) Brackett. His grandfather, William Brackett, was a native of New England. George W. Brackett, who was a native of New Hampshire, for many years conducted a store in Colebrook, that State. He subsequently moved from that town to Everett, Mass., where he continued in mercantile business for the rest of his life.
He died in 1884. His wife, Bathsheba, was also a native of New Hampshire.
Frederick G. Brackett began his education in the common schools of Colebrook, and then attended the academy at Fryeburg, Me., from which he was graduated in 1872. At an early age he was accustomed to assist his father in the store. When eighteen years old he went to Newton, Mass., where he was employed by the Hon. C. P. Hoogs, with whom he re- mained until Mr. Hoogs's death in 1877, when he came to Kingston, and purchased a farm here. After following agricultural pur- suits for a few years, he engaged in his present business, conducting a saw-mill, and dealing in lumber and wood, and he now has a large and growing trade.
In 1872 Mr. Brackett was united in mar- riage to Cora E. Merrill, a native of Lovell, Me., and a daughter of Albert Merrill.
In politics Mr. Brackett acts with the Re- publican party, and is now in his second year of service as a Road Commissioner. He is an able and energetic business man, and a pro- gressive citizen, taking an active interest in all public improvements. Since settling in Kingston, he has gained the good will and esteem of the townspeople, and is very popular in social circles. He is a member of Adams Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows of this town.
URGESS P. TERRY, a well-known machinist of Plymouth, Plymouth County, Mass., was born in Exeter, Washington County, R. I., August 1, 1816, a son of Moses and Sarah Terry. He was reared on the home farm; and at the age of nineteen years he began to learn the machin- ist's trade in Pawtucket, R.I. After a period of five years he removed to Newton Upper Falls, Mass .; and thence in 1855 he came to
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Plymouth, where he resided uninterruptedly until 1886. For twenty-three years he acted as the repairer for the Old Colony Duck Mills, located at Chiltonville; and for a period of six years he was employed in a like capacity in the Russell Mills at Plymouth. Since 1886 he has lived at Chiltonville, and has been principally occupied with the care of a garden. In 1839 Mr. Terry married Miss Naomi Doten, a native of Plymouth, where she was born to Mr. and Mrs. Prince Doten on January 14, 1821. Mr. and Mrs. Terry are the parents of eight children; namely, Lucy M., Sarah R., N. Augusta, Lorenzo B., Almon B., Viola V., Arthur L., and Ella D.
Mr. Terry's political principles bring him into fellowship with the Democratic party. In religious faith he is a Universalist. Mr. Terry has achieved a goodly degree of success in his industrial career, and he is now the possessor of a considerable amount of property in Plymouth. He has attained to a venerable age, and it is hoped that the passing of many more milestones of life is yet in store for him.
BEL WASHBURN KINGMAN, M.D., was for many years the leading physi- cian of Brockton; and his death, which occurred in 1883, was the cause of uni- versal sorrow. He was born April 22, 1806, on Pine Street, in the eastern part of the city, which was then a portion of old Bridgewater. His parents were the Hon. Abel and Lucy (Washburn) Kingman. The Kingman family, founded by Henry Kingman, who settled in Weymouth, Mass., in 1636, has for many years occupied a prominent position in this part of Plymouth County. The Hon. Abel Kingman, who was the owner of large estates, was a man of ability, Representative to the General Court, State Senator, and a leader
among his contemporaries. He and his wife had a family of fifteen children.
Abel Washburn, who was the seventh child, attended the schools of his native town, also the Bridgewater State Normal School, and was graduated from Amherst College at the age of twenty-four. As soon as his profes- sional training was finished, he began to prac- tise at Dartmouth, Mass., and subsequently settled permanently in North Bridgewater, now Brockton. A skilful and successful phy- sician, he was kind-hearted and was conscien- tious in the discharge of his duties; and he won the love and respect of all who knew him best. For some time he was by many years the senior physician in the town. About twelve years prior to his death, a nervous trouble with which he was afflicted deprived him of sight, and he was obliged to retire from practice and from active participation in town and church matters, in which he had always been interested. In politics, Dr. Kingman in his early manhood was a Demo- crat. He was in office only once, serving as Postmaster of Brockton, under Presidents Bu- chanan and Pierce. Being a man filled with patriotism, during the war he became a Re- publican, and was an ardent admirer of Presi- dent Lincoln. He belonged to no social organizations, not approving of secret orders. He died May 4, 1883, a few days after his seventy-seventh birthday.
Dr. Kingman was twice married. His first wife, formerly Miss Clarissa Alden, was a daughter of Williams Alden, who was a lineal descendant of John and Priscilla Alden, and also of Richard Williams, one of the founders of Taunton, Mass., and a cousin of Oliver Cromwell. His second wife, to whom he was united in 1860, was Olive Tucker, daughter of Deacon Daniel Alden, of -- Randolph, Mass. Her father, who was a carpenter by trade, and
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