USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County, Massachusetts > Part 2
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was recommended to Nahum Moore, a dealer in dry-goods and furniture in the town of East Abington, now Rockland, by a mutual friend, for the position of the clerk Mr. Moore needed to take charge of his business while he was attending to his legislative duties. The upshot was that Mr. Moore offered Mr. Rice the position, and Mr. Rice accepted it, and came to East Abington (Rockland). He soon proved to his new employer that he possessed the right qualifications for a successful busi- ness man. At the end of one year Mr. Moore took him into partnership. Shortly after Mr. Rice, in company with a Boston man, bought out Mr. Moore's interest in the business, and both conducted the place together for two years under the firm name of Rice & Eldridge. At the end of that time Mr. Rice sold out his interest to his partner, and took a position as clerk with him, which he held for a period of two years. During the Civil War he went to St. Joseph, Mo., with a stock of goods, which he disposed of there at a great profit. This was owing to the fact that in that city public feeling on the subject of the conflict was about equally divided, and Southern partisans were as anxious to get rid of the "greenbacks " as the other side was to get hold of them. Owing to Mr. Rice's shrewdness, he reaped a veri- table harvest, especially during the last year of the war. Upon his return to Vermont, he purchased the old home farm, and took up his residence there, but remained only one year. Returning to Rockland, he resumed his old business. Shortly after, his store was burned out. Not discouraged, he continued business elsewhere until a new building was erected. About this time his brother, Charles L., came back from the war, and went into partnership with him. They continued together for some time, but, upon the business increasing, they separated and divided it, John A. retaining
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the original dry-goods department, and his brother taking the furniture line. They have both achieved success -the logical result of their enterprise, sagacity, and business talents. Athough the business continues, Mr. Rice retired from active participation about twelve years ago.
On May 30, 1857, Mr. Rice married Sarah S. Soule, a native of Rockland, and a daugh- ter of Josiah and Sophronia J. Soule. They became the parents of four children, of whom three are deceased; namely, J. Willard, Eddie Lawrence, and Lester Howard. The survivor is John Wesley, who is at present a student at Harvard, and resides with his parents. In political action Mr. Rice is a Republican. He has strong Prohibition tendencies, but does not believe that the Third Party is an available factor in practical politics at the present time. Besides his hatred of the saloon as a demoralizing agency, he has a strong aversion to tobacco, which he is not afraid to express in a manly way to those about him. His advice on the subject, if not always followed, is always listened to with re- spect, because of his disinterested motives. His religious views identify him with the Congregational church, of which he is a strong, carnest, and useful member, and of which he has been a Deacon for a quarter of a century. He has long been a member in good standing of the Masonic order. A pub- lic-spirited citizen, Mr. Rice is ever interested in any practical movement to promote the moral, social, or intellectual interests of the town.
AJOR SAMUEL H. DOTEN. - Occasionally in the walks of life one meets a man whose energy, courage, and general force of character, are such as to draw to him a train of followers in
whatever enterprise he may choose to embark. Such a man is Major Samuel H. Doten, of Plymouth, who was born in the old Colonial town, June 15, 1812, of genuine "Mayflower " pilgrim ancestry. His parents were Samuel and Rebecca (Bradford) Doten.
Samuel Doten, whose father had three wives, was one of a family of twenty-three children. He was born in Plymouth, and followed the sea for a number of years in the merchant service. During the War of 1812 he was a privateersman, and was so fortunate as to capture a prize. He retired from the sea when past middle age, and was in the lumber business for a while in Plymouth, where he died in 1862, aged seventy-nine years. His wife, Rebecca, was a daughter of Nathaniel Bradford, of Plymouth, who was a Revolution- ary soldier, and a lineal descendant of Gover- nor William Bradford. She was the mother of nine children, six of whom are yet living, the subject of this sketch being the eldest.
Samuel H. Doten was educated in the com- mon schools of Plymouth. Reared amid seafaring men, he went to sea when quite young, and at the age of twenty-four was mas- ter of the packet "Atlanta." After sailing in that capacity for five years, he succeeded his father in the lumber business in Plymouth, and erected a number of the best buildings in the town, including the Milcs Standish Block - both the original edifice, which was destroyed by fire, and the present fine struct- ure - the Masonic Hall, the large dwelling- house on the corner of Mayflower and Robin- son Streets, and his own residence, The Miles Standish Block he still owns. The Masonic Hall he sold to the Masons. He was in the lumber and coal trade some twenty years, and then turned his attention to real estate business, in which he is now engaged.
From early youth he was interested in mili-
SAMUEL H. DOTEN.
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tary matters. and in 1836 he joined the Stan- dish Guards of Plymouth as a musician. Chosen Captain in 1842, he declined to serve in that capacity, but in 1844 he accepted the rank of Lieutenant-Commander. The Stan- dish Guards made a fine figure on gala-days, with military pomp and display, for a number of years; but the crucial test of soldiership did not come until the attack on Fort Sumter awakened so many American citizens to a sense of the awful duty before them. When Lincoln's first call for seventy-five thousand three-years men reached the homes of New England, old Plymouth was aroused, and a mass meeting was called. Excitement ran high, and Major Doten, with characteristic enthusiasm, leaped over the footlights onto the stage, and was the first to put his name on the list, signing, for aught he knew, his own death warrant. Sixty-five men followed his lead, and in the course of a week a company was formed, and he was elected Captain of the Plymouth Rock Guards, which was attached to the old Third Massachusetts Regiment.
They were sent first to Fortress Monroe, where they remained some three months, and were later in Colonel Barnes's command, attached to the Twenty-ninth Massachusetts Regiment. During their term of service they covered nearly the whole seat of war, cam- paigning for a while in the West, fighting under Mcclellan in the seven-days battle before Richmond, retreating to Harrison's Landing, and thence into Maryland, doing brave service on the bloody field of Antietam, camping at Harper's Ferry, entering Burn- side's command at Warrenton, and from there going to Fredericksburg, where they wintered. While at Fredericksburg they made a sortie and were driven back, but the repulse only whetted their courage for the next engage- ment. They were at Vicksburg under Gen-
eral Grant, and after the famous surrender were detached to Jackson, Miss., thence to the Yazoo River, and subsequently to Cincinnati, whence they marched down to Paris, Ky., being the first Massachusetts regiment to enter the Blue Grass State. From Paris they marched over the Cumberland Mountains to Knoxville, Tenn., and participated in the battle of Fort Saunders. The taking of Fort Saunders ended Major Doten's campaigning for a while; for, weakened by the Southern scourge, fever and ague, he was obliged to return home. As soon as able, he returned to the army, but saw no more active service. Discharged in 1864, with the rank of Brevet- Major, he was commissioned by Governor An- drew to recruit a regiment in Tennessee; but his family were so opposed to his going that he yielded to their entreaties and remained at home.
Major Doten was married in September, 1836, to Miss Abbie D. Virgin, of Plymouth, who died April 19, 1844. She was the mother of three children, one of whom sur- vives; namely, Priscilla A., who married Nelson R. Scovel, of Albany, N. Y., but is now residing at Mattapan, Mass. In 1848 he was again married to Laura M., daughter of Gorham Lane, of Lancaster, N.11.
Major Doten represented the town of Plym- outh in the State legislature during the years 1858 and 1859. He cast his first Presi- dential vote for Martin Van Buren, and since early manhood has been a strong Republican. The Major has no desire for public office, and has refused to accept nomination ; but he was Registrar of Probate some seven years, being appointed in 1856 under Governor Gardner, and was Collector of the port of Plymouth for seven years. He was instrumental in organiz- ing Collingwood Post, No. 76, Grand Army of the Republic, his name heading the list of
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members, and he was the first Commander of the post. He is now a member of the Grand Encampment. A Master Mason for many years, he is a member of Plymouth Lodge, A. F. & A. M. He helped to organize Samo- set Chapter in 1873, and, in recognition of his services as its first and only Secretary, was presented by the chapter in 1890 with an elegant diamond-studded charm. As a Knight Templar he belongs to the Old Colony Com- mandery at Abington.
The first Odd Fellow in Plymouth, having been initiated in 1844 at Bangor, Me., he helped to organize Mayflower Lodge in his native town, of which he was the first Vice Grand and the second Noble Grand, and is the only surviving charter member. He is also a member of Sagamore Encampment, and was District Grand Deputy to the Grand Encamp- ment in 1872.
In the early days of temperance reform he was an active worker for the cause of prohibi- tion, and was largely instrumental in organiz- ing the Plymouth branch of the Sons of Tem- perance, established in 1847, being appointed D. G. W. P. Major Doten attends the Uni- tarian Church. His whole life has been char- acterized by self-reliance and fearlessness in danger; and as an incident of his dashing bravery it is related that when he was a young man he helped to rescue six of a ship- wrecked crew, battling a heavy surf in a life- boat.
ILLIAM E. BEALS, a member of the firm of Beals & Orcutt, prosper- ous merchants of Brockton, was born in Middleboro, Mass., June 11, 1855, son of Isaac and Lavinia (Waldron) Beals. The family originated with John Beals, who in 1639 settled in Hingham, where several gen- crations of it have lived and died. Some of
the race settled in Stoughton, and of that branch William E. is a descendant. The family has given to politics and science sev- eral noted men. William E. Beals's grand- father, Isaac, a son of Isaac Beals, was born in Stoughton, and died in Roxbury compara- tively young. He married Cynthia Keith, who also was a member of one of the old fami- lies of this county. Isaac Beals, Jr., father of William E., was in the shoe business during the greater part of his life, and for some time was foreman of a leather room. He died at the age of forty-two. His wife was a daugh- ter of Billings and Polly (Briggs) Waldron. Mr. Waldron was an extensive farmer, and a prominent resident of Dighton, Mass. Isaac Beals, Jr., and his wife reared two children, namely: William E., the subject of this sketch; and Alice, the widow of Clement D. Gardner, of Brockton.
William E. Beals acquired his education in the schools of Middleboro and Brockton. When fifteen years of age, he commenced to work for his living in the shoe factory of Peleg Leach, of Brockton, and was employed there for three years in the cutting-room. He was subsequently engaged in the sole-leather room of Martin Wilds, in Calkins's manufactory, and in the grocery store of Thompson & Pack- ard, six months previous to their failure. After this he worked in the shoe store of Joel T. Packard for eight months, and in the same place, after George H. Jameson became the proprietor, for eleven years. Mr. Beals then started in business with William D. Wilder as partner, the firm name being Beals & Wilder. The partnership was dissolved at the end of three years, and Hosea M. Orcutt took Mr. Wilder's place. Under Mr. Beals's able and judicious management their trade has in- creased from year to year. The present store is twice the size of the original one. They
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keep fresh and seasonable goods, and deal honestly and courteously with customers. A self-made man in all respects, Mr. Beals fully merits the esteem generally accorded to him. He has been a resident of this place since October 14, 1865.
Mr. Beals was married January 11, 1880, to Carrie, daughter of Horace Beals, a distant connection. He has two children : Arthur E., fifteen years of age, attending the Brockton High School; and Edgar N., a pupil of the Winthrop School in this city. Mr. Beals votes the Republican ticket, but takes no active part in politics. He was Chaplain of Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Brockton, and is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry of Brookville. As a member of the Franklin Methodist Episcopal Church he has held every office, except that of class leader. being at present Trustee, Steward, Secretary of the Quarterly Conference, and a teacher in the Sunday-school. At one time he officiated as first superintendent of the Sunday-school. He is Secretary and Treas- urer of the Methodist Social Union; a mem- ber of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion, of which he has been Director; and a zealous member of the Epworth League, in which he has held various important offices.
ENRY L. CRANE, Town Clerk and Treasurer of Bridgewater, is also a member of the firm Crane & Burrill, who are successful merchants of this town. He was born here, January 31, 1860, son of the Hon. Joshua Eddy and Lucy A. (Reed) Crane. His grandfather on the paternal side, also named Joshua Eddy, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
The Hon. Joshua E. Crane was born and reared in Berkeley, Mass. In 1848 he ob-
tained a clerkship in a store at Bridgewater. Within a year or two from that time he started a business of his own at the stand now occu- pied by his successors, Crane & Burrill. Here he conducted a prosperous business until the month of August, 1888, when he died. His career as a business man was marked by probity and good judgment, and he was elected to a number of offices of trust. He was a Trustee of the Bridgewater Academy, of the Bridgewater Savings Bank, and of the Plym- outh County Agricultural Society. He was a stanch Republican, and served the community for a number of years as Town Clerk. He also represented the district in the Lower House of the State legislature and in the State Senate. Mr. Crane was a member of the Congregational church, and a Mason in good standing. His wife, who was born in Weymouth, Mass., in 1825, is a member of an old and highly respected Weymouth fam- ily. Quincy Reed, her father, and his brother were pioneer shoe manufacturers of Massachusetts. She now resides in Bridge- water, and is also a member of the Congrega- tional church. She has borne the following children, namely: Joshua E., the City Libra- rian of Taunton, Mass. ; Charles R., who is in the leather business in Boston, and resides in Bridgewater; Moulton E .; Annie H., a music teacher residing in Bridgewater; and Henry L., the subject of this sketch.
Henry L. Crane was educated in the public schools and at the Bridgewater Academy. He went to work in his father's store when sixteen years old, and literally "grew up in the business," becoming familiar with all its details. After his father's death he formed a partnership with Henry T. Burrill, and for eight years the firm of Crane & Burrill has taken a leading part in the mercantile life of Bridgewater. Mr. Crane was married in 1884
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to Lizzie A. Cole, daughter of Charles H. Cole, of Brockton, Mass. In politics he favors the Republican side. First elected Town Clerk and Treasurer, respectively in 1887 and 1888, he has been re-elected every year since to both offices. An active member of the Masonic brotherhood, he is Past Master of Fellowship Lodge, of Bridgewater, Past High Priest of Harmony Chapter, and a mem- ber of Bay State Commandery at Brockton, Mass. He is a member of Pioneer Lodge, In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, of Bridge- water, having the rank of Noble Grand. Endowed with much natural ability and pleas- ing social qualities, he is respected as a busi- ness man, and esteemed as a member of so- ciety.
LISHA T. HARVILL, Treasurer of the Rockland Welt Company, is one of the old and influential business men of Rockland. IIe was born in South Weymouth, Mass., December 19, 1841, son of Arterius
and Caroline (Thayer) Harvill. Arterius Harvill, who was a native of the State of Maine and a mechanic, died at the age of seventy-five. His wife, a native of Holbrook, Mass., passed away in her fifty-first year. They were the parents of five children, three of whom attained maturity. These were : Augusta, Anna, and the subject of our sketch.
Losing his parents when quite young, Elisha T. llarvill was thrown on his own resources at an age when most boys are thinking of nothing but play. He was then bound out to a farmer in East Abington until he was sixteen years old. In that period he attended school only during the three winter months. After leav- ing the farm he worked in a shoe shop in Rockland. In 1861, at the outbreak of the Rebellion, he enlisted in Company G, Forty- third Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and
later in Company A, Sixtieth Massachusetts Regiment. He served for a year and a half in the North Carolina campaign; and, though he participated in no great battle, he experi- enced all the hardships of a soldier's life, marching and countermarching on bad roads in all kinds of weather, running the gauntlet of rebel ambuscades, standing fire in skir- mishes, and fighting against the lassitude caused by the enervating climate of the South. During a large part of the time he was en- gaged in guarding property and persons. On his return he engaged once more in the shoe business. Thereafter, solely by his own ef- forts, he acquired a large business and a place among the leading financiers of the county. The Rockland Welt Company is an enterprise of his. Its main business is now managed by others, but as Treasurer Mr. Harvill looks after its financial interests. He retired from business about two years ago, after having manufactured shoes for twenty-three years. As a financier he has many interests, both in Massachusetts and elsewhere. For the past ten years he has been President of the Rock- land Savings Bank. He has been a Director of the Rockland National Bank since its or- ganization, about eight years ago. He is President of the Rockland Building Associa- tion ; and it is known that he is President of a corporation controlling a paper pulp-mill in Maine, a large enterprise employing two hundred men.
On November 12, 1865, Mr. Harvill mar- ried Miss Caroline Packard, of Charlestown, Mass., and he has now one child, Esther T., born October 30, 1873. Politically, he favors the Republican side, and he takes a deep in - terest in public affairs. For some time he has been on the Board of Water Commis- sioners. He is a member of the Rockland Commercial Club, of which he has filled the
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President's chair: and he has been Com- mander of Hartsuff Post, No. 74, Grand Army of the Republic.
ETH SPRAGUE, the Postmaster of Hingham Centre, was born here on St. Valentine's Day, 1837, son of Daniel and Tamar (Stoder) Sprague, of Hing- ham.
Josiah, his grandfather, was twice married, the second wife having been a sister of the first. Daniel Sprague, Josiah's second child by the second wife, Susan (Whiton) Sprague, was a tanner and currier for many years in this town, where he was born. He continued to work at his trade until the time of his death, which happened at the age of eighty-seven years. His wife, Tamar, had ten children, six of whom are living. Three died in early life; and Franklin died in August, 1896, at the age of seventy-one years. The surviving children are: Emeline A., Daniel W., Josiah, Seth, Susan W., and Henry. Emeline mar- ried Loring Jacobs, of this town. Josiah has been twice married. His first wife, Adrian (Lincoln) Sprague, had one child, Fred L. His second wife, in maidenhood Sarah Leavitt, also had one child, Myra. Susan W. married R. H Carthell, of this town, and they have one child, Susie L. Daniel. The father, Daniel Sprague, was an old-time Whig in pol- itics. Both he and his wife were members of the Unitarian church. She died in August, 1892, at the age of ninety-one.
Seth Sprague, after obtaining his education in the schools of his native town, learned thc carriage and house-painting trade, and subse- quently followed it until 1882. He was sub- sequently engaged in the paper-hanging busi- ness for six years. In 1888 he was appointed Postmaster, which position he still satisfacto-
rily fills. His political view-point is Rcpubli- can. He has been a member of Old Colony Lodge, A. F. & A. M., since 1866. On Oc- tober 5, 1862, Mr. Sprague was united in mar- riage with Melissa Sprague, daughter of Josiah W. Sprague, of Gardiner, Me. They have had three children ; namely, Charles E., Wal- lace W., and Marion W. Charles and Wallace died when young.
OBERT H. PACKARD, a well-to-do farmer of Brockton, and a descendant of one of the earliest families of North Bridgewater, was born April 29, 1832, upon the farm he now owns and occupies, son of Robert and Betscy (Howard) Packard. He is a descendant in the sixth generation of the original settler of the Packard homestcad. His grandfather, Robert Packard, who in his turn inherited the property, and carried on farming during the active period of his life, was an active member of the Orthodox church, a Captain of militia, and a prominent man in his day.
Robert Packard (second), Mr. Packard's father, was born in North Bridgewater, and occupied the homestead farm. One of the stirring and successful farmers of his day, and a useful and highly respected citizen, he kept the ancestral estate in an excellent condition. His wife, Betsey, who was a native of Mon- tello, the northern part of this town, became the mother of four children, of whom the only survivor is Robert H., the subject of this sketch.
Robert H. Packard attended the common schools of North Bridgewater for the usual period. His education was afterward com- pleted at the Loomis Academy. He began life as a farmer at the homestead, where he has always resided. Here he zealously sus-
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tains the reputation of his predecessors by keeping his property up to a high standard, thereby making it one of the best and most profitable estates in this locality.
In 1857 Mr. Packard wedded Ellen A. Howard, a daughter of Lewis Howard, of North Bridgewater. Mrs. Packard is now the mother of two children, namely: Walter T., who resides at home; and Lizzie J., who was married in June, 1885, to Harry Dunbar, of West Bridgewater, and now resides in Brock- ton, close by the homestead. In politics Mr. Packard supports the Republican party, and he is a member of the Orthodox church. He is also a charter member of the West Bridgewater Grange.
LBERT GARDNER BOYDEN, son of Phineas and Harriet (Carroll) Boy- den, was born in South Walpole, Norfolk County, Mass., February 5, 1827. His father was a man of sterling worth, and by trade a blacksmith. His mother was a woman of fine character, and set before her children the ideal of a noble life. Albert was the oldest of a family of three sons and three daughters. From his early boyhood he was required to rise early, and be actively employed until bed-time. He was a leader in the sports of his fellows, and knew the prod- ucts of all the fields, woods, and streams in the neighborhood of his native village. Hc attended the district school summer and win- ter until ten years of age, and in winter until eighteen. At fourteen years of age he de- cided to be a teacher. Strongly desiring to go to college, but unable to get the funds, he gave his evenings to study, determined to do what he could for himself. He worked on the farm and in his father's blacksmith shop until, at twenty-one years of age, he had mastered
the trade, and in the mean time had taught three winters in the town of Foxboro. On reaching his majority he had good health, good habits, his trade, and the assurance of suecess in teaching.
Having saved some money toward paying his expenses, Mr. Boyden entered the State Normal School at Bridgewater, paying the remainder by serving as janitor. He was graduated from this school in November, 1849, and taught a grammar school in Hing- ham during the next winter. He received the appointment of assistant teacher in the Bridgewater State Normal School in July, 1850, and held the position three years, under the wise counsel and sympathetic help of the distinguished founder of the school, Nicholas Tillinghast; was principal of the English High School for Boys in Salem three years; sub-master of the Chapman Grammar School, Boston, one year; first assistant again in the Bridgewater Normal School three and one- half years, under the able tuition of the second principal, Marshall Conant; was appointed principal of the school in August, 1860, and received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Amherst College. He was a diligent student, studying under private tutors, and during the time he was assistant in the Nor- mal School he was called upon to teach nearly all the branches of the course, and to make a careful study of the principles and method of teaching. He started in life with the deter- mination to do everthing intrusted to him with the best of his ability, and has never sought a position as teacher.
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