USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County, Massachusetts > Part 24
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Alexander R. Gurney attended the common schools of Wareham, whither his parents re- moved when he was five years old. He spent one season on the sea in his nineteenth year, but his boyhood was principally spent in farm work. This occupation not being to his liking, he learned to manage an engine, begin- ning as a fireman. His carefulness and intel- ligence in time won for him high recommen- dations and constant employment. In 1885. after filling responsible positions in Brockton and Wareham, he was appointed to his present position. He has now a license as a first-class engineer, under the act of 1895. The general appearance of the pumping station plainly in- dicates that it is in thoroughly competent hands. Mr. Gurney is a voluntary observer for the Agricultural Department of the United States, and keeps a full and systematic meteo- rological record, noting temperature, precipi- tation, winds, clouds, frosts, etc.
In 1887 Mr. Gurney was married to Miss
Alice W. Loring, of Wareham. In politics he favors the Republican side. He belongs to one fraternal association, the Royal Society of Good Fellows. He accompanies Mrs. Gur- ney to the Congregational Church, of which she is a communicant. He has a pleasant home at 3 Rock Street.
OSIAH W. ATWOOD, a farmer of Carver, was born in Carver Centre, April 2, 1844. His parents were Ebenezer and Waitstill (Lucus) Atwood, who had ten other children; namely, Mary A., Stilmans, Waitstill S., Sarah, Abbie, Louisa, Ebenezer, Charles H., Hannah, and George S. Mr. Atwood grew up on his father's farm, re- ceiving his education in the district schools. He was still beneath the family roof tree when the Civil War broke out. In Septem- ber, 1862, he enlisted in Company B, Third Massachusetts Infantry ; and his company was mustered at Lakeville, this county. The reg- iment was shortly after sent to North Caro- lina, where it took part in the actions at King- ston, Whitehall, and Goldsboro. Mr. Atwood was honorably discharged at Lakeville in June, 1866.
On returning to his home, illness, resulting from the hardships to which he was exposed in the army, rendered him unable to resume his former routine of life for some time. As soon as he was sufficiently recuperated he began to work at farming. In 1864, while at home, his term of service having expired, he was joined in matrimony with Miss Lydia Gammons. Their only child is Sadie F., now a teacher of music. Soon after his marriage Mr. Atwood moved to the farm upon which he now resides, and which he has since cultivated. In politi- cal affiliation he is a Democrat, and belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, Colling-
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wood Post, No. 76, where, among his war- worn comrades, he recalls his military experience.
AMES F. ANDERSON, a well-known tack manufacturer of Rockland, Mass., was born in Sandwich, Cape Cod, October 1, 1857, son of William P. and Hannah T. (Vaughn) Anderson. William P. Anderson, who was a Virginian by birth, and by profession an engineer, went to Sandwich, Mass., where he spent the rest of his life. His wife, Hannah, was a native of Plymouth County, Massachusetts. They became the parents of thirteen children, seven boys and six girls, of whom seven are now living. Mrs. Hannah Anderson, who is now seventy- six years old, resides with her son, James F. Mrs. Anderson takes a pardonable pride in her large family, all of whose members as they grew up subsequently reflected credit upon their parents.
James F. Anderson, who was the seventh son born to his parents, resided at home until he was twenty-one years old, and received a prac- tical education. His first employment was in a glass factory in his native town, where he remained for about one year, having begun work at the age of twenty. A year later he learned the art of manufacturing tacks, and going to Whitman, in this county, he worked at that trade for some time. He afterward came to Rockland, where he found employ- ment in the same line of industry with French, Hall & Company, who established their large business here in 1884. Going into their factory, he worked faithfully until two years ago, when he bought out the plant, and has since conducted it himself. His business is the only one of the kind in the place, and under his effective management it has grown to large proportions. His goods are sold over a
wide extent of country, going as far as St. Louis, St. Paul, and other large Western cities.
On November 17, 1885, he was married to Helen D. Wentworth, of East Bridgewater. Mr. Anderson has a comfortable dwelling- house on Maple Street, not very far from his factory and offices, which are on Grove Street. In his political opinions Mr. Anderson is a stanch Republican, but has taken no very active part in politics. He belongs to the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, being a charter member of the lodge at Whitman. He is an active and prominent member of the Congregational church.
E WITT CLINTON BATES, Chair- man of the Board of Selectmen, As- sessors, and Overseers of the Poor of the town of Hingham, Mass., formerly a well-known public-school teacher of Plymouth County, is now residing on a farm a short dis- tance from Hingham Centre, and about a mile . from Hingham, and engaged in market garden- ing. He was born in Cohasset, Norfolk County, Mass., October 28, 1827, a son of Lot and Winifred (Ellms) Bates.
The founder of the Bates family in America came to these shores a few years after the set- tlement at Plymouth in 1620. Of that remote progenitor, the following is recorded in the "History of Hingham": Clement Bates (Bate, Batte), aged forty, with his wife, Anna, and five children, embarked at London for New England, April 6, 1635, in the ship "Eliza- beth." On his arrival he settled in Hingham, at about the time the Rev. Peter Hobart and his followers came here; and on September 18, 1635, he received a grant of land on Town (South) Street. This lot contained five acres, and was bounded on the north-east by land of
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George Russell, and on the south-west by land of Thomas Johnson. It was the fifth in num - ber from Bachelor (Main) Street, and has been in the possession of some of the posterity of the original grantee for nearly two and a half centuries. In 1883 the estate, including an ancient dwelling-house formerly known as the "Anchor Tavern," was sold to the owners of the land adjoining. A portion of the estate, however, has since been repurchased; and on the spot where the old house stood, a dwelling of modern style has been erected, and is now occupied by a descendant of the early colonist. The name "Bate" was a common one in Eng- land for nearly two centuries before any of the family took their departure for America; and the English ancestors of Clement are traceable for five generations prior to that time.
The father of Clement Bates was James, who died in 1614, at Lydd, Parish of All Hal- lows, England. Anna, wife of Clement, died in Hingham, Mass., October 1, 1669, aged seventy-four. Clement died September 17, 1671, aged seventy-six. Clement and Anna Bates had six children, of whom only the youngest was born in Hingham. Joseph, their fourth child, who was born in England about 1630, married in Hingham, Mass., Jan- uary 9, 1657, Esther, daughter of William Hilliard. Joseph Bates died April 30, 1706, and his wife Esther on June 3, 1709 .. He was a bricklayer by trade. He served as Constable three years, and as Selectman four years; and in 1673 he was appointed sexton of the parish, in which capacity he served a number of years. He resided on the paternal homestead on South Street. Joseph and Esther Bates had a family of nine children.
Joshua, their fifth child, was born in Hing- ham, August 14, 1671. He was married Jan- uary 15, 1695, to Rachel Tower, who was born in Hingham March 16, 1674, daughter of
Ibrook and Margaret (Hardin) Tower. Seven children were born of this union. Joshua, Jr., the second of these, was born June 15, 1698. He married December 28, 1721, Abi- gail Joy, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Andrews) Joy. She was born in Hingham, December 29, 1701, and survived her husband, who died March 16, 1766. He was a brick layer, and at his death left a large estate. In 1735 he served as Constable of the town.
Nathaniel, the fifth of the seven children of Joshua and Abigail Bates, was born October 3, 1733, in Hingham. On December 18, 1760, he married Mary Hamlen. His residence was on Beechwood Street, and his life was spent in Hingham, except the period of his absence as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Na- thaniel and Mary Bates had two sons, namely : Cornelius, who died in 1850, aged eighty-eight years; and Jessaniah, the grandfather of De Witt Clinton, the special subject of this brief biography. His birth occurred in Hingham, June 29, 1768, and, after he established a home of his own, he lived on Beechwood Street, Cohasset, where he followed farming. He married Phoebe Litchfield, of Scituate, who died April 13, 1849, aged seventy-five years. His death occurred nearly five years later, March 6, 1854. Their eight children, all born at Cohasset, were: Phoebe, Rufus, Lot, Lewis, Warren, Silas, Mary, and Eze- kiel. Lot Bates, the father of De Witt Clin- ton, was born in 1802. He married Winifred Ellms, and they had three children, born at Cohasset - De Witt Clinton, Lot W., and one that died. Lot W. Bates resides in Cohasset.
De Witt Clinton Bates attended the com- mon school until fourteen years old, at which time, having made good progress in his studies, he entered the Cohasset High School. He continued to live on the farm with his parents until he was seventeen, and then went
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to Dorchester to learn the carpenter's trade, remaining there until twenty-one years of age. Returning to his home in Cohasset, he after- ward studied under the Rev. Joseph Osgood, and at the Merrimack Normal Institute in New Hampshire; and, beginning in 1851, he taught school, first in Cohasset, then two years in Hingham, two years in North Brain- tree, and twelve years in the Hingham Centre Grammar School. While teaching the last- named school, in 1866 and 1867, he repre- sented Hingham at the General Court. In 1871 he was elected to the offices of Select- man, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor, which he has held continuously since that time, and he has been Chairman of the Board the past fifteen years. In politics he was for- merly a Free Soiler ; and since 1856, when he cast his Presidential vote for John C. Fre- mont, he has affiliated with the Republican party.
Mr. Bates and Sarah A. Burbank were married on May 8, 1853, and their union has been blessed by the birth of six children : William Clinton, a graduate of Harvard Col- lege, in the class of 1877, and now Superin- tendent of Schools in Fall River, Mass .; Ellery Webster, who died while attending Harvard College; Mary Winifred, a teacher, living at home with her parents; Herbert Osgood, a farmer, also living at the parental homc; Sarah Elizabeth, a teacher in the Hing- ham Centre Grammar School; and Grace Lin- coln, deccased. William Clinton Bates, thc eldest son, married Edith E. Taggert, and has two children - Edith Dorothea and Clement Taggert.
APTAIN WILLIAM S. McFAR- LIN, a veteran of the Civil War, and an estcemed citizen of Carver, Plymouth County, Mass., was born on the
farm on which he now resides, July 11, 1827, son of Sampson and Polly (Shurtleff) McFar- lin. He is the eldest of a family of ten chil- dren, eight sons and two daughters; namely, William S., Almena L., Horatio, Charles H., Thomas H., Charles D., Polly S., Henry L., Peleg, and Jason B. Henry L. McFarlin, the sixth son, enlisted in Company E, of the For- tieth Massachusetts Regiment, with which he served until the battle of Cold Harbor, early in June, 1864, when he was mortally wounded, and died nine days later. He had risen from the ranks to the position of First Sergeant, and a Lieutenant's commission awaited him at his death. Mrs. Polly McFarlin died at thirty-eight years of age. Her husband sur- vived her many years, dying on the farm now owned by his son, William S., at the age of eighty-two.
William S. McFarlin spent his boyhood and his early manhood, up to twenty-three years of age, on his present farm. He then began working at the iron moulder's trade, which he followed until the breaking out of the Civil War. He had previously been a Captain in the State militia, and he was one of the first to go into service, responding to the first call for seventy-five thousand men, and going di- rect to Fortress Monroe. After being out between three and four months, he returncd home and raised one hundred men in Carver and adjoining towns, forming what was after- ward known as Company C, Eighteenth Mas- sachusetts Volunteer Infantry. They went to Washington, were there ordcred to join the Army of the Potomac, and were in the en- gagements at Yorktown, Hanover Court-house, and the Seven Days' Fight in front of Rich- mond. On the Peninsula, June 27, 1862, in the march from Cold Harbor to White House Landing, Captain McFarlin received a sun - stroke, from the effects of which he was under
WILLIAM L. DOUGLAS.
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the doctor's care for about two months. He then went to Fredericksburg, but was subse- quently confined in the Douglas Hospital at Washington for about six weeks. On account of his impaired health, as soon as able to leave the hospital, he resigned his commission in the army, and returned to Carver. At the present time he is engaged in carrying on the old homestead farm, cranberries being one of the principal crops thereon.
On May 9, 1891, Captain McFarlin was married to Miss Elizabeth C. Monroe, widow of Granville Monroe, of Bridgewater, Mass., and daughter of David Wilber. In 1873 and 1874 Captain McFarlin was a member of the State Board of Police, and was stationed at Wareham. He has also served as Constable and on the School Board. In politics he is a stanch Republican. He is a member of Plym- outh Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; of Winthrop Lodge of Good Templars; and Post No. 8, Grand Army of the Republic, of Middleboro. Captain McFarlin is a communicant of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a Trustee, and is active in other offices.
ON. WILLIAM LEWIS DOUG- LAS, of Brockton, originator of the famous "Douglas three-dollar shoe," was born in the town of Plymouth, Mass., August 22, 1845. The death of his parents left him at an early age wholly de- pendent on his own exertions for a livelihood. His schooling was limited; but he had plenty of determination and pluck, and, obtaining employment in a shoe shop, he gave his tal- ents and whole attention to thoroughly and systematically learning the trade. His close application to business and the interest shown in his work soon attracted the notice of his employer, who early recognized the
ability of the man, and it was not long be- fore he occupied positions of importance, all of which he filled most satisfactorily. Mr. Douglas became a resident of Brockton, then North Bridgewater, in 1870, and worked in several factories there. In July, 1876, he began business for himself, with small capital but plenty of confidence. At that time was laid the foundation of the enormous business which he controls at the present time.
Besides manufacturing shoes, Mr. Douglas is engaged in other business enterprises. He is President of the People's Savings Bank ; Director of the Home National Bank; Vice- President of the Brockton City Hospital Asso- ciation; and proprietor of the Brockton Daily Times, a newspaper occupying already an im- portant place in the journalistic field of Mas- sachusetts, although comparatively young.
In Brockton affairs Mr. Douglas has been particularly conspicuous, and he has done much in promoting the interests of this thriv- ing city. Through his advertising alone he has made the name of Brockton almost as famous as his three-dollar shoe. In politics Mr. Douglas has always been a Democrat. Although his district is largely Republican, he has been twice elected to the State legisla- ture, and once to the State Senate. He served in both places with honor to his constit- uency and to himself, doing much to benefit factory employees, and originating the famous "Arbitration Bill," creating the State Board of Arbitration. The principle of arbitration has been established in his factory since 1888, and it has proved satisfactory both to himself and his employees. In 1890 Mr. Douglas was elected Mayor of Brockton, and on three dif- ferent occasions he served in the City Council. While in the service of the city he improved the various departments, by introducing busi- ness methods in transacting the affairs of the
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city. Mr. Douglas is at present Chairman of the Sewerage Commission, and takes great in- terest in the commission's work.
As a manufacturer Mr. Douglas has made the welfare of his employees a major consider- ation. As far as business would permit, he has made their work as agreeable and remu- nerative as it is possible to do. For their benefit he has established free medical attend- ance, any person in his employ being entitled to receive the best medical treatment without any expense.
Mr. Douglas is exceedingly domestic in his habits and tastes. Surrounded by his family, he thoroughly enjoys life in his beautiful home on West Elm Street. Few men are better known or more highly regarded in the commercial world to-day.
LBERT LORING MURDOCK, the proprietor of Murdock's Liquid Food, and a summer resident of Hingham, was born in Boston, September 4, 1829, son of Amasa Murdock, Jr., and his wife, Jane (Loring) Murdock. His grandfather, Amasa Murdock, Sr., was a wheelwright and carriage- maker in Boston for many years. A genial, sociable man, a Whig in politics, and a Uni- versalist in religious belief, the grandfather had many friends, was highly esteemed, and lived to the age of eighty-five years. His first wife, whose maiden name was Crane, was the mother of four children, none of whom are now living. She died at the early age of thirty-five years. His second wife, formerly a Miss Green, who had no children, lived to the age of seventy years.
Amasa Murdock, Jr., was a native and life- long resident of Boston. From early manhood until his death, which occurred in April, 1843, at the age of thirty-nine years, he was
engaged in business as a plane-maker, in the firm of Gardner & Murdock on Green Street. In politics he was a Democrat. A Univer- salist in religious faith, he attended Dr. Bar- rett's church on Chambers Street. His wife survived him, attaining the age of seventy- seven years. They had four children, three of whom are now living, namely: Albert L., the subject of this sketch; Alonzo A., now of Boston; and Mary Jane, the wife of Washing- ton King, of Lynn, Mass., and mother of two children - Cora and Jennie.
Albert Loring Murdock, elder son of his father, grew to manhood in Boston, and was educated in the public schools. On leaving school, he gave some time to the study of life insurance, collecting and examining statistics. Prompted by the information he acquired in this way, he procured the passage of the law requiring the payment of the value of forfeited insurance. Later he established the John Hancock Life Insurance Company. In July, 1861, just after the first battle of Bull Run, he was one of the three men through whose efforts was raised the Boston contribution of twenty-two hundred cases of hospital stores and seven thousand dollars in money, which he was deputed to take to the front. At the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 Mr. Murdock was very active, being largely instrumental in securing exhibits from the manufacturers of this State, and being espe- cially successful in the collecting of the agri- cultural exhibit. In 1881, after twelve years spent in experimenting, he brought before the public the Liquid Food which bears his name, and which has been received with such signal favor. The use of this food in the free hospitals which he founded and sustained in Boston, including the Surgical Hospital for Women, which was continued for six years and in which three thousand two hundred and
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seventy-eight cases were treated, with the loss of only five on the last thousand, was a strik- ing confirmation of its value.
Mr. Murdock was married on November 25, 1855, to Helen W. Loring, daughter of Enos and Jane (Hersey) Loring, of Hingham, Mass. They have two sons - Albert W. and Walter A. Mr. Murdock is a Republican in poli- tics. He makes his home in the winter in Boston and in the summer at Hingham. In the latter place he has a beautiful country seat, a farm of about one hundred and fifty acres, with a fine residence, grounds orna- mented with fountains and statuary, and a thick-set grove, with four miles of foot paths. His estate includes the old Cushing farm, on which stands a small house built in 1687, called Pilgrim Cottage, the most ancient dwelling in Plymouth County. Its stout tim- bers are of oak. With a view to preserving this time-honored domicile as a memorial of past generations and a connecting link there- with, Mr. Murdock has had the original inside finishing taken out, and replaced with good hard oak. Nor is the house kept uselessly idle. It is the home of the hired man and his family; and smoke goes up the great chimney flue, and children play about the door. Only a little less ancient than Pilgrim Cottage is a house built by ancestors of Mrs. Murdock in 1729, which, having been put in good order at much expense, now constitutes a wing of the . Murdock mansion. For so preserving these old landmarks, Mr. Murdock is entitled to lasting gratitude.
Mr. Murdock is an earnest supporter of the cause of the higher education of women, and gives much of his time to forward the same. In politics he is an adherent of the Repub- lican party. Both he and his wife are Unita- rians in religious faith. Mr. Murdock is known in the business world for a man of
integrity, foresight, and good judgment, and is esteemed by the general community for his good citizenship, works of improvement, and his readiness to befriend the needy.
HARLES E. KNIGHT, M.D., a popular physician residing in Rock- land, Mass., was born in Liver- more, Me., April 20, 1854. He is a son of William and Rebecca (Soper) Knight, both natives of the Pine Tree State. William Knight is an enterprising farmer in comfort- able circumstances, a dealer in poultry and eggs. He has reared two children - Rose and Charles E.
Charles E. Knight was reared on a farm; but agriculture had no charms for him, one of his earliest ambitions being to qualify himself as a physician. He attended Waterville In- stitute and Bates College, read medicine first with Dr. Bridgham, who is now in Cohasset, Mass., and was graduated from the Medical School of Bowdoin College in 1879. With an admirable spirit of independence he earned a great part of the money needed for his pro- fessional training, teaching for eight or ten years. He began to practise in his native town, then moved to Livermore Falls, and in 1895 located in Rockland as successor to Dr. Bradbury. He has a good grasp of his profes- sion, is naturally energetic and progressive, and his methods have proved effective in the cure of disease. During his short stay in Rockland he has won the public confidence, and established a growing practice.
In 1879 Dr. Knight was united in marriage with Miss Flora B. Howard, of Harrison, Me .; and one child, Chester L., has blessed their union. The Doctor is a strong Republican, and has taken an active part in every campaign since casting his first vote. He is a Royal
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Arch Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is very prominent socially.
B ENJAMIN W. ROBBINS, a suc- cessful farmer of Carver, was born here, August 12, 1835, son of Chandler and Sarah (Burgess) Robbins. He is the fourth in line of descent from his earliest American progenitor in this locality. His great-grandfather left a son bearing the name of Joseph, who in turn had a son named Chandler. Chandler Robbins, who was born and reared in Carver, married Sarah Burgess, a native of Plymouth, who became the mother of seven children. These were: Chandler, who died in 1895; Sarah, also deceased ; Sarah, second, who is the wife of Charles Shaw; John, who was killed at the second battle of Bull Run, in which he fought as a private in Company E, Eighteenth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers ; Joseph and Ben- jamin, who were twins; and Hannah, who married Richard W. Wilber, of Bridgewater. Joseph, who was also a soldier in the Federal army, serving in the same regiment with his brother John, received three wounds at the second battle of Bull Run. He died in 1892. Chandler Robbins's life was for the most part spent in Carver, where he was born. He died March 27, 1895, aged seventy-one. His wife is still living.
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