USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County, Massachusetts > Part 40
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AMES N. TURNER, a resident of Scituate, and a descendant of one of its founders, was born in this town, May 28, 1834, son of Nathaniel and Mary (Ellms)
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Turner. His parents were natives of this town, as was also his grandfather, Nathaniel Turner: and the family trace their lineage directly to Humphrey Turner, a member of the colony from Kent, England, which settled here soon after the establishment of the Plymouth Col- ony. Nathaniel Turner, father of James N., followed the sea for more than twenty years. He passed his last years upon the farm which is now occupied by his son, and died May 31, 1872, being nearly seventy years old. His wife, Mary Ellms Turner, became the mother of two children : James N., the subject of this sketch; and Mary, who is no longer living.
James N. Turner was educated in the public schools of his native town. At the age of seventeen he began to learn the ship-carpen- ter's trade, and served an apprenticeship of three years with J. T. Foster, a ship-builder in Medford, Mass. He subsequently followed that trade for about twenty years. A short time previous to his father's death he returned to the old homestead in Scituate, and has since carried on the farm. He owns some forty acres of fertile land, from the cultivation of which he derives a good income. On May 17, 1859, Mr. Turner married Lizzie W. Cottle, a native of Martha's Vineyard, and daughter of Charles and Mary (Norton) Cottle, also natives of that island. Mr. and Mrs. Turner have had six children, four of whom are living, namely : Nathaniel, a civil engineer, and engineer-in-chief of the Monterey & Mexican Gulf Railroad in Mex- ico; Charles C., a contractor and builder of Canton, Mass .; James W. and George F., who are residing at home. The deceased are : Frederick F. and Mary E.
Mr. Turner is a Republican in politics. He is a thrifty and industrious farmer, a man of high moral character, and one of Scituate's most esteemed citizens.
LBRIDGE H. CHANDLER, a member of the Board of Selectmen of Duxbury,
Mass., was born in this town, June 17, 1842, son of Elbridge and Martha (Chand- ler) Chandler. The Chandler family of Dux- bury was founded in America by Edmund Chandler, an Englishman, who settled in Dux- bury about 1633. His descendants have con- tinued to reside here, and are traced in the line we are now considering, as follows: Jo- seph, first, son of Edmund, the original set- tler, through Joseph, second, Philip, and Perez, to Wadsworth, Elbridge H. Chandler's grandfather. Wadsworth Chandler was a life- long resident of Duxbury, but some of his brothers settled elsewhere. Two of them, Seth and Benjamin Chandler, both of whom were doctors, represented the district of Maine in the General Court of Massachusetts, before that State was set off from this Common- wealth.
Elbridge Chandler, son of Wadsworth, was born in Duxbury, October 15, 1810. He at- tended the town schools until he was sixteen years old; and he then engaged in farming, which has been his principal occupation through life. Settling upon the farm where he now resides, he tilled the soil successfully during the rest of his active period, and, aside from his legitimate calling, he became widely known for his ability and activity in local public affairs. For thirteen years he was a member of the Board of Selectmen, of which he served as Chairman for a considerable length of time. He held other town offices, and in 1855 he represented this town in the legislature. In politics he was originally a Whig, but has acted with the Republican party since its formation, and for many years was identified with all measures for public improvement in this town. He is now in his eighty - seventh year. His wife, Martha
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Chandler, reared two children, namely: El - bridge H., the subject of this sketch; and Horace, who is no longer living.
Elbridge H. Chandler began his education in the common schools, and completed his course of study at the Duxbury Academy. He taught school for a short time, and then learned the bricklayer's trade, which he fol- lowed for a number of years. He was one of the contractors engaged in building the Cord- age Company's plant in Plymouth. In 1872 his health failed, causing him to relinquish his business, and since that time he has re- sided at the homestead farm. In politics he is a Republican. He is now serving his sec- ond year as a member of the Board of Select- men, has been a member of the School Com- mittee for several years, and is also a Justice of the Peace.
Mr. Chandler married Sylvia B. Atwell, daughter of Samuel Atwell, late of Duxbury. They have three children, namely : Martha B., wife of Chester A. Baker, of Kingston; Ilenry W., a member of the Whitman Grain and Coal Company, of Whitman, Mass .; and Helen B.
As an honorable and straightforward busi- ness man Mr. Chandler has gained the confi- dence and esteem of his fellow-townsmen, who, in testimony of their faith in his ability, have elected him Treasurer and a Trustee of the Duxbury Free Library, and a Trustee of the Partridge Academy Fund. He is a member and Past Grand of Mattakesett Lodge, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows.
OHN W. DELANO, who for many years has been closely associated with the leading interests of Marion, Plym- outh County, was born in this town at Upper Village, April 16, 1852. He is a son of John
Delano, and doubtless a descendant of Philip De La Noye, who came to Plymouth in the "Fortune" in 1623, and was the founder of the Delano family in New England.
John Delano at the age of seventy-eight years is a hale and vigorous man. He has followed the trade of ship-builder the larger portion of his long and useful life, although during the war he served as Quartermaster eighteen months, being located at Charles- town, Mass. ; and he was for a time employed as constructor of the Pacific Guano Company, near Beaufort, S.C. His wife, whose maiden name was Myra Benson, was a native of New- burgh, N. Y. She bore him seven children, namely : William H. C., now a manufacturer residing in Brooklyn, N. Y .; Lizzie R. ; John W., the subject of this brief biographical sketch; George M., a farmer in Marion ; Robert T., a dentist at Wareham, this county .; Adolphus, who was accidentally drowned about thirty years ago; and Myra, who died in infancy.
John W. Delano passed his boyhood days in Marion, and after leaving the district school attended the Rochester Academy for a time. At the age of fifteen years he made his way to Boston, where he shipped as a deck hand on board a vessel bound for the British provinces. The following year he was a seaman on a whaling vessel, and the next two summers was engaged in coasting. He then spent three years as an apprentice in a carpenter's shop in Boston, after which he worked for Norcross Brothers, of Worcester, Mass., two years. In 1876, giving up carpentering, Mr. Delano entered the employ of Captain A. S. Gurney, flour, grain, and coal merchant in Wareham, but continued his residence in Marion.
In 1887 Mr. Delano was elected Represen- tative to the State legislature, in which he served two consecutive years. In 1890 he
JOHN W. DELANO.
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was appointed Deputy Fish Commissioner, and the duties of this office have since required his entire time, he being acting superinten- dent of the Hatching Department of the Mas- sachusetts Fish and Game Commission. He takes an active part in the management of local affairs, and is at the present time serving his second term as Selectman of Marion. In poli- tics he is a stanch Democrat, and his election to prominent offices in this Republican strong- hold is a gratifying testimonial to his popu- larity with all parties. Mr. Delano is a mem- ber of Pythagorean Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Marion.
Mr. Delano was married November 26, ยท 1875, to Miss Estella L. Gurney, who is a daughter of Captain A. S. Gurney, of Marion, and was born and reared in this town. Mr. and Mrs. Delano have three children - Walter S., Estelle R., and Elmira B., all living at home.
ON. CHARLES GIDEON DAVIS, Judge of the Third District Court of Plymouth, is one of the few surviv- ing leaders of the Abolition movement. He was born May 30, 1820, in Plymouth, son of William and Joanna (White) Davis. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Davis, was a son of Thomas and Catherine (Wendell) Davis. The wife of Thomas Davis, Sr., be- longed to the Albany, N. Y., family of Wen- dells, to which Wendell Phillips and Oliver Wendell Holmes were related. The mother of Judge Davis was of the seventh generation from Peregrine White, who was born on the "Mayflower." By the death of her husband in 1824, she was left a widow with five children. All the children, except Sarah, who died in childhood, reached maturity. The Hon. Will- iam T. Davis, the younger brother of Judge Davis, has also won a distinguished name.
Charles Gideon Davis was sent to a private school in Hingham when ten years of age. After finishing his studies there he attended the Plymouth High School until the spring of 1836. Then he went to Bridgewater, and completed his preparation for college. He was graduated from Harvard University in the class of 1840, and throughout the following year studied law in the office of the Hon. Jacob H. Loud, of Plymouth. He further qualified himself for the legal profession by a year's attendance in the Dane Law School of Harvard, and a year's work in the office of Hubbard & Watts, of Boston, after which, in August, 1843, he was admitted to the bar. Thereupon he opened an office in Boston with William H. Whitman as partner. Subse- quently he was associated with George P. Sanger and Seth Webb. In 1851 he was obliged to abandon the Boston office on account of bronchial trouble. At that time he purchased a farm on the outskirts of Plym- outh, and in the following year built on the property the house in which he still lives. He did not retire from practice altogether on that occasion, as he continued to do a little office work. Almost as soon as Judge Davis was qualified to exercise the right of suffrage, he joined in the anti-slavery movement. He was associated with John A. Andrew, the war governor of Massachusetts, F. W. Bird, and others, in opposing the re-election of Robert C. Winthrop to Congress in 1846, and he offered in Faneuil Hall the resolution which first nominated Charles Sumner for that honor. He attended the National Whig Convention of 1848, held in Philadelphia, which nomi- nated General Zachary Taylor for President ; and two weeks later he was present at the " Barn-burners'" Convention in Utica, N. Y., which nominated Martin Van Buren as the Presidential candidate of the Free Soil
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party. Judge Davis subsequently joined the ranks of the Free Soilers. During all this time he was an ardent Abolitionist, and in 1851 he was tried before a United States Commissioner for assisting in the rescue of the negro, Shadrach, claimed as a fugitive slave. He was a delegate to the Massachu- setts Constitutional Convention, held in 1853; and in 1854 and 1855 he was Chairman of the Republican State Committee. In 1856 he was one of the four Massachusetts members of the convention at Pittsburg that organized the Republican party ; and in June of the same year he was a delegate to the national conven- tion which nominated Fremont for President. As a member of the State legislature in 1862, he was House Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture. He was appointed Assessor of Internal Revenue under Lincoln, and subse- quently held that office until April, 1869. Shortly after that date he sailed with his family for Europe, and remained abroad until August, 1870. His next appearance in public affairs was made at the mass convention held in Cincinnati, which nominated Horace Greeley for the Presidency. At that time he became associated with the Democratic party, and he has since voted with the Democratic party, has been a Democratic candidate for Congress, and has served on the Democratic State Committee. He has been a member of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture for twenty-three years, and the President of the Plymouth County Agricultural Society for twenty years. Upon the incorporation of the Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1862, he was appointed a Trustee of the institution by the legislature, and subsequently served as such until 1887. He was a Trustee of the Samoset House from 1850 to 1869. He has been a Trustee of the Pilgrim Society since 1853, and was elected an Overseer of Harvard
in 1859. While a student at Harvard he be- came a member of the Phi Beta Kappa. IIe has aided materially in the development of Plymouth by erecting many business blocks and private residences, and setting out over four hundred elms. In 1874 he was appointed Judge of the Third District Court of Plym- outh, over which he has now presided for twenty-two years. (For the facts here stated the publishers are indebted to the work en- titled "One of a Thousand.")
Judge Davis was married in Plymouth, No- vember 19, 1845, to Hannah S., daughter of Colonel John B. and Mary Howland (Le Baron) Thomas. He has been the father of four children. Of these there are living: ' Joanna White, now the wife of Richard H. Morgan, of New Bedford; and Charles S., a resident of Plymouth, and a promising lawyer in that town.
AMES F. HAMMOND, of Mattapoi- - sett, has long been identified with the town government, acting in different official capacities. He was born in this town, February 17, 1852, a son of William and Jane (Snow) Hammond. His father was engaged in the manufacture of soap at one time, in which line he did quite an extensive business. He also was one of the first to engage in the culture of cranberries in this part of the State.
James F. Hammond was educated in the public schools of his native town. When twenty-one years old he began to learn the cabinet-maker's trade, and was employed for six years in New Bedford, part of the time as foreman in a novelty manufactory. He then returned to Mattapoisett, where he has since been chiefly engaged in cranberry culture. He is a man of ability and good judgment and has been successful in life.
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Mr. Hammond was married in 1871 to Miss Rebecca Cowen, daughter of Abner and Lydia Cowen, of Mattapoisett. He has one child, William H. In politics he is a Republican ; and he votes always for the measures that are, in his judgment, calculated to promote the best interests of the town. He has served as Selectman of Mattapoisett three years, as Assessor and as Overseer of the Poor; and he has been Postmaster of East Mattapoisett five years. He is prominent as an Odd Fellow; and he is also one of the Charter members of the Mattapoisett Grange, No. 215, Patrons of Husbandry, in which he at present holds the office of Treasurer.
APTAIN BENJAMIN F. GIBBS, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Wareham, Mass., and port war- den of Buzzard's Bay and Vineyard Sound, was born at sea, May 28, 1820. His father, Stephen Gibbs, was a seafaring man, and his mother, whose maiden name was Louisa Fear- ing, sometimes accompanied her husband on a voyage. When Benjamin F. was two months old the couple settled in Wareham, Mass., Stephen Gibbs then retiring from the sea, purchasing a homestead in this town. Here he and his wife died and are buried. They had three children: Charles Gibbs, M. D., who was lost when the steamship "Cen- tral America" went down in 1857; a child who died in infancy; and Benjamin F., the special subject of the present sketch.
Benjamin F. Gibbs acquired a fair educa- tion in the public schools of Wareham. When he was sixteen years of age he took to his native element, the sea, shipping on a whaling vessel from New Bedford, which made a com- paratively short voyage. On his second trip he sailed as a common seaman and was gone
two years, cruising in the South Atlantic Ocean. He next went as boat steerer on a whaling expedition to the Indian Ocean, and was out from the home port two years. By this time he was thoroughly versed in naviga- tion, and when he sailed again it was as third mate of a whaler bound for the Indian and Pacific Oceans. He rose rapidly, making his next voyage as second mate, and the next on a whaling voyage to the coasts of New Zealand and California as mate.
In 1847 he sailed for the first time as Cap- tain, and for fourteen years he voyaged back and forth between New Bedford and the whal- ing grounds,' each time as master of a vessel. He sailed in the Okhotsk Sea and the Arctic Ocean, also in the waters of Japan before the treaty was made with that country; and he likewise cruised along the coast of California toward the northern seas, visiting nearly every quarter of the globe, passing through the ex- treme heat of the torrid belts and running the gauntlet of huge icebergs in the polar regions. His wife accompanied him on two voyages to the Arctic Ocean. He was successful and fortunate, bringing home generous cargoes of whale oil, and meeting with few mishaps ; and, as he purchased shares in the vessels which he sailed, he realized a comfortable income. In 1861 he retired from the sea, settling on the farm which had been his father's. Captain Gibbs at one time owned all the land where Onset is now. His property at present covers two hundred acres; and his farm, on which he has made all the improvements, is a very val- uable one.
In politics Captain Gibbs is a Republican. He represented Wareham in the State legis- lature in 1862 and 1863. He served as Se- lectman from 1862 to 1865, and was re-elected in 1869, since which date he has remained continuously in office, and has been Chairman
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of the board sixteen years. He has served as Assessor and Overseer of the Poor, and has been in office as Justice of the Peace fifteen years. He is well known throughout l'lym- outh County, and has the respect of all.
YRON L. KEITH, Vice-President and Superintendent of the George E. Keith Company shoe fac- tory of Brockton, Mass., was born in this city, March 26, 1859, son of Franklin and Betsy (Bailey) Keith.
The following account of the family ances- try we glean from the "Keith Memorial," pre- pared and published by the Hon. Ziba Cary Keith in 1889. Robert Keith is mentioned in Brown's "Peerage " as a chieftain among the Catti, from which the name Keith is said to be derived. In 1006 A.D., at the battle of l'anbridge, Robert slew Comus, the Danish general, for which service King Malcolm drew red strokes or pales on his shield, which was the origin of their armorial bearings. In IOIO he was made hereditary Mareschal of Scotland, and presented with a barony and the Island of Inchkeith in the Firth of Forth. Robert's descendant, Sir William Keith, mar- ried a daughter of the Earl of Crawford, and they had a son, also named William, who was created Earl Mareschal previous to 1458. The title descended lineally to William, third Earl, who was the father of two sons - Robert and William, the former of whom was slain at the battle of Flodden Hill. William was the father of a son, William, the fourth Earl, whose grandson, George, the fifth Earl, was the founder of Mareschal College in Aberdeen. He married Lord Hume's daughter. George, the tenth Earl, was a Colonel in Queen Anne's Guards. His brother James was a Field Marshal in the service of Peter the
Great of Russia, and later served with the same rank in the Prussian Army, being killed at the battle of Hochkirch with the Austrians in 1758. The king of Prussia erected a mon- ument to his memory.
The Rev. James Keith, the founder of the family in America, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1644, and came to this country in 1662. Hc was introduced to the church in Bridgewater, Mass., by Increase Mather, D.D., and settled over that parish on February 18, 1664. He was twice married. By his first wife, with whom he was united on May 3, 1668, Susanna, daughter of Deacon Samuel Edson, he had nine children; namely, James, Joseph, Samuel, Timothy, John, Josiah, Mar- garet, Mary, and Susanna. Mrs. Susanna Keith died October 16, 1705, at the age of sixty-five years. Mr. Keith's second wife was Mary, widow of Thomas Williams, of Taunton, Mass. The Rev. James Keith died July 23, 1719. The house he occupied in Bridgewater is still standing.
Timothy, the fourth son of the Rev. James Keith, was born in 1683. He married Han- nah, daughter of Deacon Edward Forbes, and they had four children - Timothy, Abiah, Nathan, and Hannah. The father died No- vember 3, 1767. Timothy, second, who died in 1740, at the age of twenty-nine years, mar- ried Bethiah, daughter of William Ames, on June 2, 1737, and their two children were Levi and Timothy. Levi, born August 25, 1738, married Jemima, daughter of Mark Per- kins, on November 8, 1759. Their children werc: Bethiah, Timothy, Reuben, Benjamin, Jemima, Jemima, second, Molly, Levi, Molly, second, and Anna. Levi Keith owned a tan- nery at the corner of Montello and Garfield Streets. He was also a shoe manufacturer, being the pioneer of that industry here. His residence was on the corner of Maine and
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Plain Streets, where the George E. Keith mansion now stands .. Levi Keith accumulated considerable property, and was an influential citizen. He died in 1813.
Benjamin Keith, third son of Levi, owned an extensive tract of land, on Main Street, and engaged principally in farming, though he also made shoes, and operated his father's tannery. On December 18, 1788, he married Martha, daughter of Simeon Cary, by which alliance there were seven children; namely, Ziba, Arza, Bela, Charles, Polly, Jason, and Benjamin. Mr. Benjamin Keith died Sep- tember 9, 1814. His wife lived until June IO, 1852, dying at the age of eighty-six years.
Ziba Keith, son of Benjamin and Martha (Cary) Keith, was born November 10, 1789, at the old homestead on Main Street. In early life he was a shoemaker, carrying on the business in the old Red Shop of his ancestors, where he also instructed his sons in the trade. On May 29, 1816, he was commissioned by Governor Brooks as Ensign in a company of the Third Regiment of Infantry; and on De- cember 5, 1822, he was promoted to Captain, which title he retained through life. Just and upright in all his dealings, and -a kind neighbor, he was much respected.
On November 25, 1813, Captain Ziba Keith married Sally Cary, daughter of Jonathan Cary, by which union there were nine chil- dren: Benjamin; Franklin; Martha C .; Martin, who died in infancy; Martin L .; Nancy, who died in early life; David and Jonathan, twins, the former of whom died in infancy; and Levi W. Mrs. Sally C. Keith died September 26, 1832. On March 13, 1834, Captain Keith married Polly, daughter of Daniel Noyes, of Abington. By his sec- ond marriage there were three sons - Daniel N., Edwin, and Ziba Cary. The father died
September 28, 1862, and the mother, June 14, 1882.
Franklin, the second son of Ziba Keith, was born January 28, 1816. After acquiring a common-school education, he engaged in the shoe business with his brother, Martin L. During the Civil War they dissolved partner- ship, Mr. Franklin Keith carrying on the business alone until within a few years of his death, which occurred April 7, 1877, at the age of sixty-one years. He served as Select- man, and in other offices. On October 8, 1840, he married Betsy Bailey, of Sidney, Me., by which union there are six children : the Rev. A. F. Keith, who is now located in California; Helen Maria; Flavel B .; George E .: D. Cary; and Myron L., the subject of this biography. Mr. Franklin Keith was a member of the South Congregational Church, of which he officiated as Collector and Treas- urer, and as a member of the Parish Commit- tee. Exemplary in his walk and conversation, he was highly respected. He was the head of a family which has figured conspicuously in the business history of Campello, and was the progenitor of sons whose careers have been marked in the mercantile world, and in vari- ous spheres of social and moral activity.
Myron L. Keith, after completing his edu- cation in the Brockton schools, served as book- keeper in the shoe factory of his brother, Flavel B., with whom he remained until March, 1883. He then entered the employ of his brother, George E., as superintendent of his large shoe factory. In January, 1897, the business of George E. Keith was formed into a corporation, under the laws of Massachu- setts, with a capital of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, called the George E. Keith Company. Myron L. became one of the stockholders, and was elected Vice-President and a Director of the same. Their shoe
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factory, which is located at Campello, near the railroad station, is the largest in the city, and employs some seven hundred hands.
On January 6, 1886, he was married to L. Ada, daughter of Henry Cummings, of Boston, by which alliance there has been a daughter, Edith, born April 23, 1889, who died in in- fancy. In 1885 Mr. Keith built a residence on Plain Street near Main, where he still re- sides.
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