USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County, Massachusetts > Part 26
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In politics Mr. Marble affiliates with the Republican party. For five years he officiated on the Board of Registration for voters, then resigning to become a member of the Board of Health, of which he is Chairman. He is a Director of Hingham Co-operative Bank, and for the past three years he has served as Presi- dent of the Hingham Centre Croquet Club.
On July 17, 1884, Mr. Charles H. Marble was married to Estella L., daughter of Reuben and Sarah J. (Dyer) Sprague, of Hingham Centre, and a descendant of William Sprague, who settled in Hingham about 1636. Mr. Marble is very prominent in Masonic circles, being Past Master of Old Colony Lodge, A. F. & A. M. While he was master in 1892 the lodge celebrated its one hundredth anniver- sary, the success of which was largely due to his efforts. A book, entitled "One Hundred Years of Old Colony Lodge, A. F. & A. M.," contains an interesting account of this occa- sion, and also a fine portrait of Mr. Marble. It is the testimony of brother Masons that Worshipful Master Marble's work, both in the lodge room and on public occasions, was
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masonically perfect and very impressive. In religion he is a Universalist in belief, but with his wife affiliates with the First Parish Unitarian Church, of which he is Treasurer.
RANKLIN E. NESMITH, manufact- urer of paper boxes, is one of the suc- cessful young business men of Rock- land, Mass. He was born in Tewksbury, Middlesex County, Mass., November 9, 1861. His parents were Thomas and Frances A. (Crane) Nesmith, the former a native of New Hampshire, the 1 latter of Connecticut. Thomas Nesmith was engaged in farming for a number of years, and lived in Tewksbury and in Lowell. He died in August, 1895, aged seventy-four. He had three children, namely: Franklin E., the subject of this sketch; Henry I., in Lynn, treasurer of the Lynn Box Company ; and Elizabeth F., wife of Amasa Harrington, of Waltham, Mass.
Franklin E. Nesmith passed his youth in his native town and in the city of Lowell, acquir- ing a good practical education. As soon as his studies were finished, he went to work in a box factory in Lowell, and in course of time learned all the details involved in the manu- facture of paper boxes. He then took charge of the business which is now under his control in Rockland, and his factory on Grove Street is the centre of a large trade. He manufact- ures principally boxes for shoes, and during the twelve years that he has been in business has supplied a large demand, keeping a num- ber of hands employed, and weathering suc- cessfully financial crises like the one which is at present vexing the public.
In 1887 Mr. Nesmith was united in mar- riage with Miss Hattie F. Lawrence, of Rock- land. He has a pleasant home at 18 Union Street. In politieal preferenee he is a Re-
publican. He is a Mason, belonging to John Cutter Lodge of Abington; Pilgrim Royal Arch Chapter; and Old Colony Commandery, Knights Templars, of Abington; and, as an Odd Fellow, he is a member of Standish Lodge, No. 177, of Rockland. He is very popular as a member of society, and as a busi- ness man has displayed much ability.
EORGE A. BEAL, of Abington, Treasurer of the Savings Bank, was Town Treasurer twenty-five years in succession, and has been identified with the welfare of the place for a much longer period. He was born in Abington, December 21, 1830. His parents, Benjamin and Dorothy B. (Nash) Beal, were natives and lifelong residents of this town.
His mother died in 1837, at the early age of thirty-three; and his father, who was by occupation a boot and shoemaker, died in 1888, at the age of eighty-eight years.
George A. Beal was given good educational opportunities, completing his studies at a pri- vate academy in his native town. He em- barked in the boot and shoe business in 1857, and was prosperously engaged in this manu- facturing industry for nearly thirty years. In company with Joshua L. Nash, under the firm name of Nash & Beal, he carried it on by the steam factory system, the firm being one of the first to use steam power in this section of the State. From 1872 to 1883 Mr. Beal was a member of the Board of Investment of the Savings Bank, and in 1884 he retired from the shoe business to enter upon his duties as Treasurer of the bank. Since. July of that year he has filled this responsible position, giving entire satisfaction to all concerned, and establishing a firm hold upon the confidence of the community.
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Mr. Beal married three sisters, members of an old and prominent family of Plymouth County, which originally settled in Wey- mouth. In 1852 he was united to Helen M. Reed, who died January 30, 1861, leaving one son, Herbert A. In 1864 he was married to Lucretia A. Reed, by whom he had two chil- dren - George C. and Charles A. She died February 2, 1885. In 1886 he married Flor- ence L. Reed, who has no children. Mr. Beal was Selectman and Town Clerk of Ab- ington for ten years, and, as stated above, Town Treasurer twenty-five years; and he is also Treasurer of the Old Colony Command- ery, Knights Templars. He is a regular at- tendant of the Congregational church.
OVENDON L. HOWARD, a retired farmer of Brockton, was born in Bridgewater, March 15, 1821, son of Sidney and Sally (Littlefield) Howard. His paternal grandfather was Daniel Howard, Jr., a Justice of the Peace. He had ten chil- dren, of whom Sidney, born in 1790, was the eighth. Sidney Howard was engaged in shoe- making for some years, and also owned and worked a small farm. A Republican in poli- tics, he served as Constable for a number of years. His wife was a daughter of Major Samuel Littlefield, of East Stoughton. She became the mother of four children: Hoven- don, the subject of this biography; John S .; Nathan Capen; and Vesta. John S. has passed away; Nathan Capen resides at Cam- pello; and Vesta married F. W. Hatch, of Marshfield. The father died at the age of sixty-three years, the mother surviving until her seventy-seventh year.
Hovendon L. Howard was educated in the common schools of his native town. At the age of twelve he began to learn shoemaking,
which trade he subsequently followed for twenty-two years. He then turned his atten- tion to farming, which occupation he pursued until his retirement from active labor. He owns one hundred acres of land, which is at present under the management of his son, J. Capen Howard. In September, 1846, he mar- ried Emily J., daughter of Sumner French, of Turner, Me. By her he has had six children, four of whom are now living - Sidney, Charles A., J. Capen, and Ellis C. The two deceased are: Sumner F., who died in 1865; and Clinton F., who died July 8, 1896. Three of the children reside in this city. İn politics Mr. Howard is a Republican.
ALTER F. CLEAVELAND, a well- known city official of Brockton, was born at Franklin, Mass., February 17, 1830, son of Albert and Susan (Daniels) Cleaveland. Bela Cleveland, the father of Albert, was born at Medfield, Mass., and died on May 20, 1832. He married Hannah Adams, of Medfield, and they had a family of eight children, four boys and four girls, of whom but one is living. Albert Cleaveland, the eldest child, went to California in 1849, where he spent the remainder of his life, and died when about seventy-six years of age. Susan (Daniels) Cleaveland, his wife, was born in Franklin, Mass., October 6, 1808, and was a descendant of one of the early New Eng- land families. She died February 6, 1834. They were the parents of two children - Wal- ter F. and a boy that died in infancy.
Left motherless when but four years old, Walter F. Cleaveland, within a year after, went to live with his paternal grandmother. At the age of ten he accompanied his father to Woonsocket Falls, and later to Providence, R. I., attending the common schools in the dif-
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ferent places in which he lived. He then learned the sash and blind business, at which he worked in Providence for about four years, with his uncle at East Freetown until 1856, and in New Bedford until September, 1859. Removing from there to North Bridgewater, now Brockton, he followed his trade for about two years more, and then went into the ice, wood, and teaming business, as a member of the firm, Daniel Eames & Co. At the end of three years he purchased his partner's interest, and carried on the business alone until the spring of 1883, when he sold out to Wallace C. Flagg. He next built a shop, and for four years did wood sawing.
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In 1851 Mr. Cleaveland married Marietta H. Whipple, daughter of Amos and Rosella Whipple, of Cumberland, Mass. She died some years later, and Mr. Cleaveland then married Mary E. Chipman, of Sandwich, Mass., who died October 21, 1884. There were six children by his first union, namely : Susan L., who died when two years of age; Albert A., who married Eva Cook, of Brock- ton, resides in Brockton, and is employed in the shoe shop; Frances R., who married Charles A. Braley, of Brockton; Lillian G., who died at the age of five years; Henry W., who married Helen Ransom, and works in the Brockton shoe shop; and Carrie A., who lives with her father. In .1879 Mr. Cleaveland, who was a member of the Board of Selectmen, became a member of the Building Committee. He served on the Board of City Water Com- missioners until 1893, being for a number of years Superintendent of Works. He is now a member of the Board of Sewerage Commission- ers, and he has been Superintendent of Sewers sinee 1893. With one exception, he has al- ways voted the Republican ticket, and is a firm believer in the importance of maintaining the present monetary standard of the country.
TIS WINSLOW SOULE, of Abing- ton, elerk of the District Court, and President of the Savings Bank, was born in Middleboro, Mass., January 25, 1828. He is a son of the late Otis and Irene (Cush- man) Soule. Otis Soule was born February 13, 1799, and died August 13, 1871. He was a tanner and currier at Middleboro, Mass. Four children were born to him and his wife, and three are living at the present time, as follows: Otis Winslow, Augustus H., and Carrie Elizabeth, all residing in Middle- boro, Augustus H. being married to Amanda Sears, of Halifax, Mass. Mrs. Irene Cush- man Soule, who died December 24, 1881, was a daughter of Jacob and Sylvia (Sampson) Cushman; and her mother was a sister of Deborah Sampson, who served in the Revolu- tionary War. Deborah and Sylvia Sampson were daughters of Jonathan and Deborah (Bradford) Sampson, and great-great-grand- daughters of Governor William Bradford.
Otis Winslow Soule acquired his education in the publie schools of Middleboro. He first worked for his father in the tannery in that town, and in 1844 obtained employment in a shoe shop in Abington. While earning a livelihood by manual labor he displayed ability as a financier and a public servant, and increasing responsibilities were thrust upon him by his townsmen. For a number of years he was Trustee of the Abington Savings Bank; in 1884 he was elected a member of the Board of Investment; and he has been President since 1892. In 1861 and 1862 he represented the district in the legislature. In 1868 he was appointed Trial Justice, and was in office till 1874, when the District Court was established, and he was appointed elerk. As elerk of the court for nearly a quarter of a century he is well known to the public, and has many friends, among the legal fraternity
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OTIS W. SOULE.
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especially. Mr. Soule was chosen a member of the School Committee in 1884, and served four years. In every office to which he has been elected he has performed his duties ably and conscientiously.
He was married February 21, 1847, to Mary Brown, of Abington, a descendant of the Rev. Samuel Brown, the first minister in the town, and has two children: Abbie Frances, wife of Frank E. Goddard; and Carrie Brown, wife of Herbert F. Ellis, both living in Ab- ington. Mr. Soule has three grandchildren, as follows: Frederick Edwards, Mary Eliza- beth Brown, and William Otis, all children of Abbie Frances and Frank E. Goddard. Mr. Soule is prominent in Masonic circles, belonging to John Cutler Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Pilgrim Chapter of the Royal Arch; and Old Colony Commandery, Knights Templars. He attends the Congregational church. In politics he is a stanch Republican.
EORGE C. CARY, a former resident and native of Brockton, who was prominently identified with the busi- ness and religious interests of the city, was born on Cary Hill, April 5, 1831. He was educated in the common schools and at the Adelphian Academy. He served as workman and foreman in various branches of the shoe industry, and as a manufacturer until he be- came the manager of a business plant of his own. He was a shoe crimper for about five years, working for himself until a few months previous to his death. He then became a col- lector. In November, 1852, he joined the Porter Congregational Church, and subse- quently took an active interest in all its various lines of Christian endeavor. In 1869 he was elected Deacon, and for about twenty- two years officiated as Clerk and Treasurer,
rendering also efficient service to the Young Men's Christian Association. He had been superintendent of the Sunday-school, in which he taught until the Sunday before his death. He was esteemed as the motive power of the church machinery among the laymen, and he was a member of the Congregational Club. In politics he belonged to the Republican party.
On August 2, 1855, Mr. Cary was united in marriage with Harriet G. Ford, a daughter of Daniel Ford, who was engaged in the shoe in- dustry in this city. By her he had one child, Henry Martin, who was born in January, 1857, and died at the age of eight years. Deacon Cary died of heart disease on September 12, 1896, his last words to Mrs. Cary being a sug- gestion to get the notices for the Sunday ser- vices to Deacon Wade in time for proper attention. A fine epitome of his life was given by the Rev. R. L. Rae, in the text chosen for his funeral sermon, from 2 Chron. xxxi. 21, "And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, . . . he did it with all his heart, and prospered." His funeral was largely attended, and bore evidence of the respect in which he was held by men of all classes. Mrs. Cary, who united with the Porter Congregational Church in November, 1852, is a lady of prominence in church work, and is greatly beloved by her class of Chinese pupils, and by all who know her unselfish nature and practical Christian spirit.
EORGE L. SOULE is one of the prominent business men and well- known citizens of Middleboro, Plym- outh County, Mass., where he was born on March 25, 1832. His parents, George and Mary (Harlow) Soule, both of early Colonial stock, were also natives of this town.
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His father, the elder George Soule, estab- lished himself here as a furniture dealer and funeral director, and successfully carried on the business for a number of years, attending to the larger patronage incident to the growth of the town. He died at the age of sixty- seven. Mrs. Mary Harlow Soule is living in Middleboro, and, though eighty-six years of age, is active and in good health, appearing much younger than she really is. Three chil- dren were born to her and her husband, namely : George I .. , the subject of this sketch ; Charles W., residing in Middleboro; and one who died in infancy.
George L. Soule acquired a good education, attending the common schools of his native town and Pierce Academy. He has a natural talent for music, and for some time was en- gaged successfully as a dealer in musical in_ struments and teaching music. He also helped his father somewhat; and after his father's death he, in company with his brother, assumed the management of the business, so that he is now manager of one of the most lu- crative enterprises in the town. Mr. Soule is gifted with the faculty that wins financial suc- cess, and he also knows how to win and keep friends -an important item in business as well as in social life.
He was married to Miss Anna S. Cathcart, of Nantucket, in 1855, and they became the parents of the following children: Mary Susan, now wife of Abbott Jones, of Plym- outh; Annie L. ; William L., who is asso- ciated in business with his father; and Mabel, who died in infancy. Mrs. Anna S. C. Soule died in 1867; and in August, 1871, Mr. Soule was again married to Miss Amanda Earl Bart- lett, of Middleboro. Three children - Ida Lamb, George, and Charles Howard Soule - have been born of this union.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Soule repre-
sented the town in the State legislature in 1892 and 1894. He has been a member of the Prudential Committee of the Middleboro Fire Department since its organization. In several of the leading fraternal organizations he takes an active interest, being a member of the Masonic order, the Sons of Temperance, and the Middleboro Grange. In religious belief he is a Congregationalist.
HARLES S. PIERCE, of Brockton, is a good example of our self-made men. A son of Charles S. and Elizabeth (Copeland) Pierce, he was born in North Bridgewater, this county, November 29, 1852. Charles S. Pierce, Sr., was born in Fall River, Mass. A cabinet-maker by trade, he worked for Howard & Clark, furniture man- ufacturers of Brockton some thirty years, and was one of their most reliable and trusted em- ployees. He was a member of the Central Methodist Episcopal Church, and he died in 1866, at the age of forty-seven. His wife is a daughter of Ward and Martha Copeland. Her father was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Widow Pierce, now seventy-two years of age, is living in Brockton. She had four children, namely: Abbie C., now deceased, who was the wife of Stanford W. Vincent; George R., of the firm of Pierce & Packard, of Campello; Susan M., the widow of Walter O. Packard, late of Brockton; and Charles S., the subject of this sketch.
Charles S. Pierce attended the common schools of Brockton until he was fourteen years old. He then decided that he was old enough to work, and, taking matters into his own hands, obtained employment in the shoe factory of Peleg S. Leach, were he had been working for a month before his father discov- ered that he had left school. Judging it best
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not to interfere then, the father left him to follow his own inclination. For a year or more he remained in that factory, receiving four dollars a week. After that he earned fairly good wages, his father allowing him to keep all over five dollars a week. For ten years he worked for wages, employed in the shoe factory when business was good, and as clerk at other times in the stores of the Hon. J. J. Whipple, and other merchants. In 1872 he borrowed one hundred dollars, and started in business, in company with Enos S. Maloon, "bossing " vamps. The firm, which at first was Maloon & Pierce, became Maloon, Pierce & Morey in 1881, and the manufacture of shoes was added to their business, though kept apart from the vamping business. At the death of Mr. Maloon in 1884, W. S. Morey purchased his interest, the style being changed to W. S. Morey & Co. In 1888 Mr. Pierce, having other business to occupy his attention, pur- chased the interest of Mr. Morey, and discon - tinued the manufacture of shoes. Since then he has been without an associate. Mr. Pierce was the first to "crimp " congress shoes, a method of adjusting the shoe to the shape of the last. The machine he used was his own invention, called the J. C. Locket Crimping Machine. He has recently patented a canvas box-toe, which is said to be practically inde- structible. This is manufactured by the Carver Cotton Gin Company of Boston, a firm formed in 1890, and of which Mr. Pierce is the President. In 1895 he erected on Mon - tello Street the large business block that bears his name. It is a handsome structure, with a street frontage of one hundred feet, and an area extending back to the railroad, which is connected with the building by a private track. Mr. Pierce also owns a val- uable piece of land on Montello Street. It has five hundred feet frontage, and runs back
one hundred and fifty feet to the railroad and Crescent Street.
Mr. Pierce was married June 18, 1889, to Annie L. Bigelow, a daughter of Charles and Hannah B. Bigelow, of Millis, Mass., and now has one child, Marion B. Mr. Pierce is a member of the Commercial Club, an associa- tion of business men of Brockton; and of Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M. A Congrega- tionalist in religious belief, he attends the Porter Church.
LBERT M. NILES, for a number of years a well-known shoe manufacturer of Brockton, was born in Randolph, Mass., April 14, 1846, son of Captain Isaac and Maria Niles. His father was a shoe man- ufacturer in Randolph. His brother, Captain Horace Niles, who commanded Company E, Thirty-fifth Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, was wounded at Antietam, and died from the effects thereof at Spring Hill Hospital on September 27, 1862.
Albert M. Niles acquired his education in the common schools of his native town and the Stetson High School, and for several years thereafter he was employed in his father's shoe shop in Randolph. Later he came to Brockton, and entered Charles F. Porter's shop, where, with the exception of a short time, he worked continuously until he went into business for himself. In 1873 he formed a partnership with Hamilton Gould, under the style of Hamilton Gould & Co., which lasted two years, Mr. Niles then buying out his part- ner. The business was managed alone by him for two years, when Dexter E. Wilber was admitted to partnership, the firm name chang- ing to A. M. Niles & Co. Eight years later Mr. Niles gave up business for two years on account of poor health. At the expiration of
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that time a corporation was formed, under the firm name A. M. Niles Shoe Company, Mr. Wilber again becoming associated with him. In 1894 they dissolved partnership, and Mr. J. C. Frederic, of Philadelphia became asso- ciated with Mr. Niles. They carried on an extensive business until Mr. Niles's death in 1896. In politics he affiliated with the Re- publican party.
Fraternally, he was an enthusiastic Mason, belonging to Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Satucket Royal Arch Chapter, and Bay State Commandery, Knights Templars. The Commercial and Howard Clubs also in- cluded him in their membership rolls. Mr. Niles was a great lover of horses, and was the owner of several animals of local reputation. Among these were Paddy De Long, who made a record of 2.29, Homer, and Miss Barbe, who are also well-known pacers on the track. He was greatly interested in the national game, rarely missing an opportunity to witness a match. Personally, he was fond of and popu- lar with children, even the newsboys contrib- uting many floral decorations at his funeral. Among all classes of people of a larger growth, he was likewise a great favorite. In his religious views he was liberal, attending the Universalist church, of which his wife was a member. On May 15, 1876, at North Easton, he was united in marriage with Mrs. Helen F. Thayer Calkins, widow of Clarence Calkins.
Her first husband, Clarence Calkins, was born in West Bridgewater, October 4, 1842, and died April 26, 1873. He was a shoe manufacturer, doing business alone until within three years of his death, Henry J. Me- lendy, of Boston, was admitted to partnership, the plant continuing under Mr. Calkins's name. At the time of the Civil War Mr. Calkins enlisted in Company I, Fifty-eighth
Massachusetts Regiment, and served as Cor- poral of the Color Guard in the assault on Petersburg. He was taken prisoner, and con- fined for a long time in Libby and Danville Prisons, remaining in the service until the close of the war. On April 5, 1866, he mar- ried Helen F., daughter of Joseph G. Thayer, a shoe manufacturer of Brockton. Three chil- dren blessed their union: Clarence L., who is a foreman in the factory where the late A. M. Niles, his stepfather, carried on business; Clara, who married John Smith, of New Bed- ford, Mass., where she now resides; and Oscar L., who lives in this city.
RANK E. ANGERER, Secretary and Director of one of the large shoe manu- facturing companies of Brockton, was born in Walhalla, S.C., July 24, 1865, a son of August W. and Matilda (Fahrig) Angerer. August W. Angerer, who was born in the province of Wülfrath, Germany, February 22, 1832, studied in different universities in Ger- many, and became an accomplished linguist and deeply learned in the sciences. Herr Angerer lived for a number of years in Wash- ington, D.C., and was associated with some of the leading scholars of his time. In 1874 he was American Representative to the World's Congress of Languages at Berlin. For some time he was Lecturer on Political Economy at Cornell University. Subsequently he was Chief Translator and Statistician of the Treas- ury Department at Washington from 1865 up to the time of his death, which happened Feb- ruary 23, 1877, at the age of forty-five. While in the service of the United States gov- ernment, he travelled for four years around the world to verify the statistics of different coun- tries. He was a member of the German Lutheran church. His wife, who was born in
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