USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County, Massachusetts > Part 37
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facturing. For several years, in the thirties, he served as Town Clerk; and for many years he was a member of the Massachusetts legis- lature. In his boyhood he was a companion of Mr. Lovell, of the John P. Lovell Arms Con- pany ; and in later life he was for a time com- mander of an artillery company, and was fa- miliarly known as Captain Hollis. He and his wife, Emily Harvey Hollis, had eleven children, of whom the following are living, namely : David; George; Lydia, the wife of Joseph Smith; Mary, wife of Thomas Smith ; Emily, wife of Edwin French; Carrie, wife of Timothy Hersey; Susie; Georgia; and John B. Captain Hollis was a Jacksonian Demo- crat. He lived to be over ninety-four years of age, and his mother lacked but a few months of being a eentenarian at the time of her death. A few years ago there were resid- ing at Cohasset, Mass., in one house, five generations of the Hollis family.
John B. Hollis, the special subject of this sketch, lived in Weymouth until about sixteen years old, when he went with his parents to Cohasset, Mass., and resided there several years. He received his education in the pub- lie schools of Weymouth and Cohasset, after which he learned the shoe business. At the time of the invention of the Blake Sole-sewing Machine by Lyman R. Blake, Mr. Hollis and others became interested in the foreign patents ; and he spent about a year in Europe, introdue- ing and exhibiting the workings of the ma- chine, Leeds, England, and Paris, France, being among the eities visited. On his return to Massachusetts he took charge of the ma- chines of Emerson & Sons, shoe manufacturers at what is now . Wakefield, Mass., remaining with them several years, leaving there to take charge of the sole-sewing machines of the Hayward Rubber Company at Wyoming, Mass., his work being the oversight of the
sewing of the rubber soles of rubber shoes made by that firm for the United States Army. He had been with them but a short time when they went out of business. In 1857 he came to Duxbury, and has practically resided here sinee. For five years he was on the State police foree under Major Jones and William H. Clemenee, of Lowell, his duties being principally in Plymouth and Suffolk Counties. He next served two years under General Stevenson of the State Department of Inspec- tion of Public Buildings. In 1881 he was appointed a messenger of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, in which capacity he has now served about fifteen years.
In 1857 Mr. Hollis was joined in marriage with Miss Gertrude W. Prior, daughter and only child of Captain George C. and Caroline Prior, of Duxbury. Sylvanus Prior, the grandfather of Mrs. Hollis, was an early settler of Duxbury, in which town her father spent his youth. At fourteen George C. Prior became a sailor, at twenty-one he had risen to be master of a vessel; and from that time on he was in command of various vessels, engaging principally in the Smyrna trade, but visiting many of the principal ports of the world. In 1849 Captain Prior went to Cali- fornia, where he spent several years. He died in Duxbury in 1892, at about eighty-four years of age. His widow, who is now in her eighty- sixth year, is living in Boston. In politics he was a Republican. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was identi- fied with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. and Mrs. John B. Hollis have two children living, namely : John E., resid- ing in Boston; and Carrie G., at home in Duxbury.
In political affiliation Mr. Hollis is a Re- publiean. For a number of years he was a member and Chairman of the Republican
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Town Committee. He is a member of the Duxbury Yacht Club, also of Corner Stone Lodge, A. F. & A. M., which is one of the oldest Masonic lodges in the State. He be- longs to the Standish Monument Association, and is a member of its Executive Committee ; also a member of the Norfolk Club at Boston and the Plymouth County Club. Mr. and Mrs. Hollis are very popular in social circles.
OHN SHERMAN, one of the stirring and progressive farmers of Plympton, Mass., and an ex-member of the State legislature, was born upon the farm he now owns and occupies, March 15, 1834, son of John and Sally (Ransom) Sherman. Mr. Sherman is truly a representative of Old Col- ony stock, as he numbers among his ancestors some of the passengers in the "Mayflower " in 1620, his great-great-great-grandfather, Will- iam Sherman, second, having married in 1667 Desire Doty, daughter of the Pilgrim Edward Doty, and their son, William, third, his great-great-grandfather, having married in 1697 Mercy, daughter of Peregrine White.
John Sherman, first, father of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Carver, Mass. ; but, when a young man, he settled upon the farm in this town which is now owned by his son, and he was engaged in agricultural pur- suits until his death, which took place in I845. He was an able and industrious farmer and a useful citizen, who displayed a deep interest in all matters affecting the general welfare of the community ; and he was highly respected and esteemed by his fellow- townsmen.
John Sherman was reared upon the paternal homestead, and his education was acquired in the district schools. He was but eleven years old when his father died. His youth was
passed in assisting in carrying on the farm, which has always been his home; and upon attaining his majority he took entire charge of the property. He owns one hundred acres of well-improved land, which is devoted to general agriculture and the raising of small fruits; and, by industriously applying himself to maintaining the fertility of the soil and exterminating weeds, he realizes excellent results for his labor.
On January 9, 1859, Mr. Sherman married Sarah N. Wright, of Plympton. Three chil- dren were born of this union, as follows: S. Jennie, who is the wife of John S. Robbins, of Plymouth, and has one daughter, Helen S. ; Georgie Etta, who died at the age of six- teen; and Nellie F., who lives at home with her father. Mrs. Sherman, the mother, died in December, 1895.
In public affairs Mr. Sherman is very prom- inent, and has by his long and faithful service proved himself of great value to the town in the transaction of its official business. Dur- ing a period of eighteen years he at different times served as a member of the Board of Se- lectmen. He was an Assessor for nineteen years, Overseer of the Poor for nearly that length of time, and in 1892 he was elected by the Republican party, of which he is a leading spirit in this part of the county, to represent the Second Plymouth District in the legislature.
ILMER B. COLE, of the firm of Clark & Cole, box manufacturers of Middle- boro, Mass., was born in North Carver, another Plymouth County town, Jan- uary II, 1858. His parents, Harrison G. and Lucy (Chace) Cole, were also born in Carver. Harrison G. Cole was in business there as a box manufacturer for about forty years, and was looked upon as one of the lead-
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ing business men of the place. He died at the age of sixty-nine years and three months. His wife died in Carver in her fifty-fifth year. She was the mother of seven children, three daughters and four sons, four of whom are liv- ing besides the special subject of this biogra- phy, namely: Theron M., in North Carver ; Sarah L., wife of Gustavus Swift, of Middle- boro; Henry H., who is in the clothing busi- ness in Plymouth ; Horace C., a tack manufact- urer in Kingston.
Elmer B. Cole received a common-school education in his native town. He went to work in his father's box factory at the age of fourteen ; and it may be said that he grew up in the business, for he learned all the details from the beginning to the final completion of a box. He was subsequently in business with a brother under the firm name of Cole Brothers at North Carver; but, after remaining there about eight years, he moved to Middleboro, leaving the business in Carver under his brother's direction, and in partnership with J. S. Clark established his present enterprise, which has prospered from the beginning. Mr. Cole's natural ability and long experience combined have placed his business on a firm footing.
He was married on December 25, 1883, to Miss Emma M. Anderson, who was born in Palmyra, Mo., and reared in the State of Maine, which became her home when she was two years old. They have had one child, Forest, now deceased. Mr. Cole is a member of the Commercial Club, an organization which has for its object the upbuilding of the business industries of Middleboro.
Politically, Mr. Cole favors the Democratic party. He belongs to three of the leading fraternal organizations of the day -the Ma- sonic order, Knights of Pythias, and the Royal Society of Good Fellows. The teaching of
his religious belief is summed up in the pre- cept, Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you.
EORGE P. CUSHMAN, Commodore of the Duxbury Yacht Club, has . served with distinction in the United States Navy, both in time of war and in peace, and is now living in pleasant retirement in his native town, Duxbury. He was born Oc- tober 14, 1837. His parents, George and Judith (Weston) Cushman, were natives of Duxbury, and members of old Colonial families.
Mr. Cushman is a lineal descendant, in the ninth generation, of Robert Cushman, who embarked with the "Mayflower " Pilgrims in 1620, but, on account of the "Speedwell " proving unseaworthy, went back to London with others of the company. He was a mem- ber of the Pilgrims' Church in Leyden, Hol- land; and for a number of years he served as their business agent in England. He came to Plymouth with his son Thomas in the "Fortune" in November, 1621, and returned to England in December, leaving Thomas, his only child, in the family of Governor Bradford. Thomas Cushman married Mary Allerton, who came to Plymouth with her father, Isaac Allerton, in the "Mayflower."
George Cushman, first, father of the second George named above, was a soldier in the Rev- olutionary War. He married a Miss Perry, who lived to be ninety-seven years old. Their son, George Cushman, second, father of George P., followed the sea for a number of years, and retired on account of acquired deaf- ness, settling on a farm in Duxbury. He, too, was in the United States military service, participating in the War of 1812. He died in Duxbury in 1874. The Weston family, of
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which his wife was a member, dates back to the coming of Governor Winthrop to this country in 1628, the first New England Weston having been a member of the Boston colony. The following children were born to George and Judith (Weston) Cushman : Rufus, residing in East Boston, Mass .; Alden, in Duxbury; Rebecca T., wife of Allen Holmes, of this town; George P., the subject of this sketch ; and John, deceased.
George P. Cushman was reared in Duxbury, attending school until he was fourteen years old. He went to sea before he was fifteen, being engaged the first summer in fishing at the Grand Banks, Newfoundland; and he then shipped as a sailor on merchantmen in the foreign trade. When he was seventeen years old, he was foremast hand, and was promoted to the rank of second officer of an East India- man called the "Levanter." While in the merchant service, he visited most of the princi- pal parts of the world. In the fall of 1857, when in his twenty-first year, he was second officer of the ship "Banshee," of Baltimore. This vessel, of some seven hundred tons' burden, with a complement of eighteen men and officers, made port at Rio Janeiro, Brazil, for a cargo of coffee. The yellow fever was then raging in that port, and most of the ships in the harbor were infected. The crew of the " Banshee " fell a prey to the scourge; and, when she sailed for Baltimore, her force was reduced to five working hands, under command of Mate Cushman. Though so short-handed, the vessel made the home port in safety after a voyage of thirty-one days; and during thirty days of that period Mr. Cushman was on deck most of the time, night and day.
The achievement was unprecedented in the merchant marine, and made the turning-point of his destiny. Lieutenant James P. Foster, of the United States Navy, then attached to
the recruiting service, hearing of it, was so impressed with the ability of Mr. Cushman that he induced him to join the navy. Mr. Cushman was first assigned to the receiving ship " Alleghany," with which Mr. Foster was connected. In May, 1858, he went aboard the "Plymouth," sloop-of-war and gunnery prac- tice ship, and remained until she went out of commission in November, 1858. He was sub- sequently ordered to the receiving ship "Pennsylvania" at Norfolk, Va .; but in May, 1859, Lieutenant Foster, who had been ordered to the "Constellation," caused Mr. Cushman to be transferred to that vessel. There he remained until October, 1860; and in the mean time the "Constellation " cap- tured several slavers in African waters, among them the barque "Cora," with seven hundred negroes. Mr. Cushman was the first to board the "Cora," and was sent home in the store ship " Relief " to witness against the slaver. In the early part of the Civil War he was appointed gunner's mate of the "Crusader," and was in active service capturing blockade runners. One of the captives taken at this time was the famous slave yacht "Wanderer," commanded by Captain Latham.
Discharged from the service in October, 1861, Mr. Cushman went to Washington, and passed the examination; and on December 18 of that year he was appointed gunner in the United States Navy, receiving his warrant October 10, 1862. This slip of paper is very precious to him now; for it bears the auto- graph signature of Abraham Lincoln, besides that of Gideon Welles, then Secretary of the Navy. He saw much active service while the Rebellion was in progress, and at the battle of Hone Hill, Ga., was wounded in the left leg. After the war he was retained in the navy as gunner for a long period, in the course of which he received other injuries. On account
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of these he was placed on the retired list of the United States naval service, July 22, 1891. Since that time he has made his home in Duxbury, still keeping up his connection to a certain extent with nautical affairs. He is full owner of one schooner, and part owner of another in the mackerel fisheries, the only fishing schooners left of a former numerous fleet from Duxbury ; and he is Commodore of the Duxbury Yacht Club.
Mr. Cushman was married January 2, 1862, to Rosa A. Gutteriez, a native of Malaga, Spain, and has one daughter living, Frances J. He has long been a member of the Repub- lican party, and has been honored in various ways by his fellow-partisans, his practical ability, intrepidity, and good judgment being generally recognized. He has served as national delegate from Duxbury. In 1896 he was a member of the body which in Boston elected delegates for the Republican National Convention at St. Louis; and in the same year he was a delegate from Duxbury to the Brockton convention, which nominated Will- iam C. Lovering for Congressman from this district, and also nominated the Presidential elector. Mr. Cushman is a Mason, belonging to Corner Stone Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Duxbury.
HOMAS GAFFIELD, who presented Gaffield Park to the town of Norwell, is well known in Boston as a merchant, a manufacturer, and a public-spirited citizen, actively interested in education and philan- thropy. He was born in Boston, January 14, 1825, a son of Thomas and Betsey (Chester) Gaffield. Some of his ancestral kin bore the name Garfield, another form of spelling, denoting, no doubt, the same original stock.
Thomas Gaffield in his boyhood attended the Boston publie schools and the Lawrence
Scientific School. In 1840 he was engaged as clerk in the store of Caleb G. Loring Com- pany, of Boston, dealers in hardware and win- dow glass; and in 1847 he became a member of the firm. For twenty-two years, or until 1869, he was in business at 10 Merchants' Row, Boston. In 1863 he began some experi- ments on the action of sunlight in changing the color of glass. The interesting results which he observed until 1889 have been pub- lished in several scientific journals at home and abroad. He became gradually interested in real estate matters, and has now for a num- ber of years been engaged extensively in real estate transactions in Brookline and other sub- urbs of Boston; and he has been appointed cxecutor and manager of several large estates, his well-known integrity and conservative man- agement making him a most desirable trustee. Mr. Gaffield's home is in Boston at 54 Allen Street. He is personally interested in the city government and institutions.
Mr. Gaffield is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Society of Arts, and the Natural History Society. He has been a Director in the Franklin Savings Bank from 1872 to the present time, and is also a Director of the American Unitarian Association. He attended for many years during the ministry of the Rev. Dr. Lowell and the Rev. Dr. Bartol the old West Church, where he was successively pupil, teacher, and acting superintendent of the Sunday-school. From 1852 to 1857 he was successively Di- rector, Vice-President, and President of the Young Men's Christian Union. He has been a visitor since 1846, and is now President, of the Young Men's Benevolent Society. He has been for many years an officer of the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches for the support of the ministry-at-large in the city of Boston, and of the Children's Mission to the
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Children of the Destitute. Mr. Gaffield was one of the original members, and from 1876 to 1881 the Secretary, of the Commercial Club. In 1864 he represented Ward 5 in the Common Council of Boston, and in 1865, 1866, 1867, and 1873 was a member of the Board of Alder- men. He was on the Primary School Com- mittee from 1851 to 1855, and on the School Committee under its new organization from 1882 to 1885.
Mr. Gaffield was married September 19, 1848, to Miss Sarah W. Kendall, who died in 1887; and on March 12, 1890, he was united with Maria W. Turner, who was born in the town of South Scituate, now Norwell, in 1837. Her parents, Samuel and Lydia (Sim- mons) Turner, were old residents here; and the summer residence in Norwell occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Gaffield, into which they moved in 1891, stands on land purchased in 1784 by her ancestor, Israel Turner, a descendant of Humphrey Turner, to whom land was granted in Scituate in 1636. Mrs. Gaffield before her marriage taught school in Boston for a number of years. She and her husband are members of the Church of the Disciples in Boston, which was founded by the Rev. James Free- man Clarke, D. D., and whose present minister is the Rev. Charles G. Ames.
The manner in which Mr. Gaffield has recently disposed of some of his most valuable books and specimens of glass and minerals for the benefit of the public, and especially of art students, may be learned from the following announcements. We quote first from the Re- port of the Library Committee of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, for 1895: "The most important gift of the year, and the most important ever made to the library, is the collection of books on various branches of art presented by Mr. Thomas Gaffield. This collection comprises one hundred and eighty-
seven works in two hundred and seventy- nine volumes, many of them folios and richly illustrated. It contains, among other note- worthy books, Layard's 'Nineveh,' Jones's 'Alhambra,' Hamilton's 'Greek Vases,' Haufstaengl's 'Dresden Gallery,' Bartsch's 'Peintre-Graveur,' Lippman's 'Dürer,' Rich- ter's 'Da Vinci, ' Ottley's 'Italian Art, ' Shaw's works on mediaval decoration, and a number of volumes illustrative of the arts of glass painting and staining. The collection has been placed in a case provided for the purpose, inscribed with Mr. Gaffield's name and the date of the gift." The museum also received from Mr. Gaffield some etchings by James Whistler, specimens of Persian, Venetian, English, and Roman glass and crystal or- naments.
The Report of the Boston Public Library for the same year acknowledges the receipt of thirty-seven volumes from Mr. Gaffield; and the Report of the President and Trustees of the Institute of Technology contains the following : "Mr. Thomas Gaffield has presented to the In- stitute his collections relating to the manu- facture of glass, a subject on which he has long been known as an authority. His gift comprises a considerable library, as well as large and varied collections, chemical, mine- ralogical, metallurgical, and mechanical. The library contains two hundred and sixty-one volumes dealing with glass and kindred sub- jects, six volumes on precious stones, and thirty-four referring to the effects of light upon glass. Perhaps the most interesting and valuable part of the collection is composed of sixty-three volumes on works of art in glass and porcelain, many of them beautifully illus- trated with colored plates. Among these are two large folios, Delange et Borneman, 'Re- cueil de Faïence Italienne de XV., XVI., XVII. Siècles'; Warrington, 'History of
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Stained Glass'; Fortnum, 'Maiolica in South Kensington' ; and Jacquemart, 'Histoire de la Céramique,' 1875. On the practical side the collection includes sets of glass-makers' tools, models of furnaces and glass pots, samples of materials used in glass-making, samples of glass-blowers' work, specimens of old cathe- dral glass ; also many which show the results of Mr. Gaffield's study of the varying action of sunlight upon glass, and others showing the action of sand blast, of glue, mucilage, and of hydrofluoric acid."
The park which Mr. Gaffield has presented to the town of Norwell he purchased in 1895, and it was accepted by the town in 1896. It covers some eight acres of land. The genera- tions to come who will enjoy its natural ver- dure and the shade of its trees will remember gratefully the man who rescued for them, from the grasping hands of modern progress, a breathing-spot where Nature may minister to the sick and weary, and where childhood and youth may sport in undisturbed innocence and old age dream restfully of the past.
ORATIO B. MAGOUN, a retired merchant of Hanover, was born in this town, November 20, 1826. His parents were Abner and Mary (Ellis) H. Magoun. The first years of his life were spent in West Hanover. At the age of twelve he began working for his father, who was a shoemaker. Four years later he secured employment as a cutter, and followed that occupation for three years. Then, in 1857, he opened a general store at West Hanover, where he carried on a lucrative business until 1880, about twenty-three years, at the end of which he sold to Mr. M. V. Bonney. He has since been engaged in the sale of agricultural implements and in farming, having about one
hundred and fifty acres of land. The store now occupied by Packard & Joslin was erected by Mr. Magoun in 1889. Mr. Magoun was appointed Postmaster of West Hanover in 1861, and has since held the office continu- ously, a period of about thirty-five years. Politically, he is a Republican. He is a member of the North River Lodge of Odd Fellows at Hanover.
On May 12, 1850, Mr. Magoun was united in marriage with Miss Catherine B. Bonney. They have had three children, of whom but one is living, Flora J., who is the wife of William H. White. The deceased are: Frank W. and Austin B. Mr. Magoun is a gentle- man of high personal character, and through all his past career has enjoyed in a large measure the respect and esteem of his fellow- men.
LIFT RODGERS is one of the oldest and wealthiest citizens of Marshfield, a self-made man, who has for some time been enjoying the leisure earned by long years of industry. He was born in Marsh- field, December 4, 1806, a son of Luther and Nabby (Tilden) Rodgers, both natives of this town. His paternal grandfather also, Simeon Rodgers, was born in Marshfield. Luther Rodgers was born in 1778. He was engaged in farming, and also kept a general store at Marshfield Hills (then called East Marshfield) during his active life. He died March 3, 1860, his wife, who also was a member of an old Marshfield family, having passed away January 28, 1858. Of their children two are living, namely: Alvin, at Marshfield Hills; and Clift, a brief sketch of whom is given below.
Clift Rodgers began the work of life with such educational advantages as his native town afforded. He began to learn the trade of tan-
CLIFT RODGERS.
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ning and currying in Quincy, Mass., when he was seventeen years old, serving as an appren- tice with Francis Williams until he attained his majority. After his apprenticeship was finished, he worked as a journeyman in Mr. Williams's employ some seven years, and then established a shop of his own in Quincy. In the spring of 1852 he went into the leather commission business in Boston, with Francis Williams as partner, under the firm name of Williams & Rodgers; and Mr. Williams's place was subsequently taken by Lysander Richards and John L. Rodgers, the firm name being changed to Rodgers, Richards & Co. This house controlled a large and prosperous leather commission business for a number of years. Mr. Rodgers eventually retired; and in the beautiful village of Marshfield Hills he has grown old without the decrepitude of age, advancing to his ninetieth milestone on life's journey as if it were no more than his sixtieth birthday.
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