USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County, Massachusetts > Part 42
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the name of Levi, was a son of Stephen Gurney. Levi Gurney formerly owned the farm now in possession of the Captain, and here spent the larger part of his long life, death leaving him uncalled for till some time in his ninety-eighth year.
Ansel S. Gurney was reared and educated in Marion, attending the public schools until eleven years old, when he went on board one of the coasting-vessels as cook. His promo- tion to higher positions was rapid, being in each case well merited; and he passed through the various grades of seamanship to the posi- tion of Captain by the time he attained his majority. Henceforth, until 1861, Captain Gurney was master and part owner of each vessel in which he sailed, his seventeen years as commander being fraught with success. With the thrift and enterprise characteristic of the true-born New Englander, the Captain, while yet a follower of the sea, embarked in the grain business, succeeding so well in this venture that in 1857 he opened a grain store in Wareham, hiring a man to take charge of it while he was away from home. His business was affected by the financial panic of that year, which caused the failure of several firms with which he had dealings, and was more or less disastrous to all. Captain Gurney, how- ever, withstood the storm, and, meeting all his obligations, received a just meed of praise for his honesty of purpose so faithfully carried into action. Since that time he has increased his mercantile business, becoming one of the largest dealers in flour, feed, hay, wood, and coal, in this locality. Soon after his mar- riage Captain Gurney bought the homestead property of his paternal grandfather; and here, in addition to general farming, he is paying a good deal of attention to the culture of the cranberry, which has proved such a prolific and profitable fruit crop in this region.
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Captain Gurney was married March 15, 1849, to Miss Lovicy B. Hathaway, daughter of Rufus F. and Ruth (Sampson) Hathaway, of Wareham. Of the children born to Captain and Mrs. Gurney, the following is the record : Estella, the first-born, is the wife of John W. Delano, of whom a short sketch appears on another page of this volume; Gilbert died in infancy; and Ruth S. is the wife of George M. Delano. Politically, Captain Gurney is an earnest supporter of the principles of the Republican party. Religiously, he and his wife may be numbered among the followers of Wesley, being members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JRNEST LINCOLN COOK, of Bridge- water, manufacturer of building, sewer, and paving brick, was born in Mil- ford, Mass., July 22, 1865, a son of Levi A. and Sylvia (Holbrook) Cook. The Cooks are an old New England family, originally of Plymouth County. Francis Cook, the first of this surname here, was one of the "May- flower Pilgrims." Mr. Ernest L. Cook's im- mediate ancestors settled about a century ago in Mendon, Mass. His father, Levi A. Cook, who is at present residing in Milford, was in the coal and wood business in that town for a number of years.
Ernest L. Cook acquired his education in the public schools of Milford. When about eighteen years of age he began to learn the machinist's trade in Providence, R.I., where he was engaged for four years in the Rhode Island Locomotive Works. He was subse- quently in the employ of George Draper & Sons, of Hopedale, Mass., manufacturers of cotton machinery, setting up their machines in various places. He then began to manu- facture brick in a small way, employing
about twenty-five men at first ; and he has been so successful that he has been obliged to more than double his force. In 1891 he established his plant near the State Farm in Bridgewater, and here he has every facility for successfully carrying on his work. He has installed the latest improved machinery, of which he is a competent judge, being a practical machinist himself; and his equipment includes a valu- able steam drying-plant. The works are ad- mirably managed, and the plant is second to none in the State. Mr. Cook, though a young man, is gifted with ripe judgment and unusual executive ability, and is worthy of a place in the front rank of Bridgewater's successful manufacturers. In political matters he affili- ates with the Republican party. He belongs to one social organization, the Masonic brotherhood, being a member of Fellowship Lodge, of Bridgewater, and is an attendant of the First Unitarian Church of this town.
On October 26, 1896, he was married to Georgiana M. Wrisley, of Orange, Mass. Since that time he has resided in the Alden homestead on Titicut Street.
ATHANIEL TAYLOR, Secretary of the Board of Selectmen of Marshfield, was born in this town, January 28,
1840. His parents were William and Eliza S. (Kent) Taylor -the former a native of Scituate, Mass., the latter of Marshfield. Mr. Taylor's paternal grandfather was Richard Taylor, a citizen of Scituate, whose father was an Englishman.
William Taylor was a master ship-builder, a skilled mechanic, who took pride in making his work of the finest, and had charge of the building of several costly vessels. He was well endowed mentally, and kept step with the progress of his time in industrial and social
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matters. For some time he was connected with the State militia. In politics he was a Democrat. He died in Marshfield in Decem- ber, 1889, in his ninety-fourth year, having survived his wife, who passed away in 1875, fourteen years. Of their children nine are dead, and the following are living: Elizabeth, wife of Captain John J. Cook, of Province- town; Christiana, wife of Edward Arnold, of Rockland, Mass .; Captain William H., in Marshfield; Captain Smith Taylor, in the same town ; and Nathaniel.
Nathaniel Taylor was educated in the dis- trict schools of his native town, attending regularly until twelve years of age; and then, until he was seventeen, attending only the winter sessions, doing farm work the rest ( f the year. At the age of seventeen he shipped as a sailor, and was for some time engaged in the Grand Banks fisheries, and subsequently in the foreign merchant service and whaling ex- peditions in the Atlantic. He followed the sea fifteen years in all, and during the last twelve years was an officer on different ves- sels. About 1872 he retired, settling in his present home in Marshfield; and since that time he has occupied himself with carpentry and farming. He was married September 26, 1867, to Mary A. Cook, a native of Whitman, Mass., daughter of Asa and Mary J. (Lewis) Cook. Mr. Cook was born in Whitman Mass., his wife in Marshfield. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been bereft of two children, and have one living, a daughter, Martha E. She is a grad- uate of the State Normal School at Bridge- water, has taught school for eight years, and at the present time is engaged as clerk in the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor in Boston.
Mr. Taylor votes the Republican ticket. He is serving his fourth term as Secretary of the Board of Selectmen, and by virtue of his
Selectman's office is also Assessor and Over- seer of the Poor. He and his estimable wife and daughter are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Marshfield, of which he is Recording Steward and Treasurer.
T HERON M. COLE, a prosperous mill- owner of Carver, was born October 13, 1843, on the farm he now occupies, son of Harrison and Lucy (Chase) Cole. His great-grandfather, who was the first member of the family to locate in Carver, owned consid- erable land here. Hezekiah, the paternal grandfather, established the box and saw mills, which are now operated by his grandson, the subject of this memoir. He was married twice, and was the father of twelve children, four sons and eight daughters, of whom four yet survive. He passed away February 17, 1843, in his sixty-sixth year; and his wife, Jane, died March 6, 1825, aged forty-five years.
Harrison Cole was born on the paternal es- tate, and there spent his entire life. He also entered twice into matrimony. His first wife, Lucy P. (Chase) Cole, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Levi Chase, of Carver, where she was born in 1819, died December 8, 1874. She gave birth to seven children ; namely, Hannah L., Theron M., Sarah A., Emma, Henry H., Horace C., and Elmer B. Hannah L. and Emma are now deceased. The mother passed away November 4, 1873. The father's second marriage was contracted with Miss Rebecca Richards, who is now living. He departed this life at Carver in November, 1886, at the age of sixty-nine years.
Theron M. Cole attained to man's estate on the ancestral farm, acquiring his education at the public schools of his native town. In his early youth he began to assist his father
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in the work of the farm; and he was still a boy when he took charge of the box and saw mills. Both mills ultimately came into his possession, and he Mas operated them uninter- ruptedly to the present time. In the box-mill he manufactures cranberry boxes and barrels, and in the saw-mill he manufactures lumber.
Mr. Cole likewise has been twice married. In 1866 he wedded Miss Nancy B. Chandler, a native of Carver, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Job Chandler, of Carver. She died in 1881, and in 1885 Mr. Cole entered his second marriage with Miss Annie H. Robbins, daughter of Benjamin W. and Lydia F., of Carver. By the last wife he became the father of four children; namely, Philip S., Frank H., Elsie L., and Annie H. The mother died November 11, 1896. Mr. Cole's politieal principles are those of the Demo- eratic party. In religious faith and sympathy he is in fellowship with the Congregational church of Carver, in which he officiates in the responsible capacity of Treasurer.
NSLOW W. MAGLATHLIN, a resi- dent of Silver Lake, and senior mem- ber of the firm of O. W. Maglathlin & Co., tack manufacturers of North Hanson, was born in Kingston, November 4, 1846, son of Peter W. and Marcia (Bradford) Maglathlin. The Maglathlin family, which is one of the oldest in Kingston, was founded in this eoun- try by John Maglathlin, a native of Scotland. Some of his descendants in a direct line have resided in Kingston up to the present day.
Peter W. Maglathlin, the father, above named, was a lifelong resident of Kingston. He was twice married, and Mr. Maglathlin's mother, whose maiden name was Mareia Bradford, was a native of Turner, Me. There are now living seven children of the late
Peter W. Maglathlin, and they are as fol- lows: Harvey W., Hanover, Mass .; Phile- mon W., Onslow W., the subject of this sketch, Edwin L., and Horace B. - all of whom reside in Kingston; Angie, wife of Elliott Blanchard, of Turner, Me. ; and Helen A., who married Barker Baker, of North Hanson, Mass.
Onslow W., the third son as here given, acquired his education in the publie schools of Kingston. He was engaged in various kinds of employment until reaching the age of twenty-one, when he began to serve an ap- prenticeship of three years at the tack-maker's trade, one year of which he served under Porter C. Reed, at Silver Lake. After finishing his trade with his brother, Horace B. Maglathlin, he worked for a number of years as a journey- man, and in 1883 he became a member of the firm of L. E. Ford & Co., of Kingston. In January, 1885, he withdrew from the firm, and, in company with Barker Baker, engaged in the same business in North Hanson. The firm of O. W. Maglathlin & Co. manufacture all kinds of shoe tacks, which find a ready market in the various shoe-manufacturing eentres, their travelling salesman and representative being Ira W. Drake, of East Bridgewater.
On March 31, 1870, Mr. Maglathlin was united in marriage with Hattie J. Bradford, a native of Turner, Me., daughter of Philemon W. and Lydia J. Bradford. Her father is no longer living, but her mother is still residing in Turner. Mr. and Mrs. Maglathlin have two children -- Edna and Wallace L.
Although Mr. Maglathlin favors the Repub- lican party he votes independently, and pre- fers to be directed in voting by the character and ability of the candidates for office. As a business man he is widely and favorably known throughout this locality, and his suc- eess is the result of his own unaided efforts.
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APTAIN ALBERT T. SPRAGUE, a retired ship-master, one of the lead- ing town officers of Marshfield, was born here, June 18, 1843, a son of Captain Seth F. and Jane (Ford) Sprague. His father and mother were natives of Marshfield, as was also his paternal grandfather, Luther Sprague. Seth F. Sprague followed the sea for some twenty years, during which he was master of different vessels. He died in 1891, in the ninety-third year of his age. In politics he was formerly a Whig, but in later years affili- ated with the Republican party. Of his three children by his second wife, Jane Ford, only Albert T. survives.
Albert T. Sprague was born in the house in Marshfield village where he resides. He attended public and private schools, and later was a student of Phillips Academy. In his seventeenth year he went to sea as a cabin boy, and through successive promotions rose to be ship-master when twenty-seven years of age, having prior to that time been on board a number of different vessels. The first of which he was Commander was the " Annapo- lis," a Baltimore packet that was refitted for the California trade, and carried merchandise of various kinds between San Francisco and Europe and China. He was with the " An- napolis" several years, after which he was Captain of others, among them being the clip- per "Derby." During his nautical career he doubled Cape Horn twenty-six times, and visited the Philippine Islands, and many of the largest seaports of the world. In 1875 he retired from the sea, and for three years was assistant wharfinger at Constitution Wharf, Boston. Since that time he has resided in Marshfield, where he has been chosen to fill many of the principal town offices. He has served as Selectman a number of years at in- tervals, and is one of the present board. In
1896 he represented this district in the lower house of the State legislature. He is a mem- ber of the School Committee, one of the special Commissioners of Plymouth County, Chairman of the Board of Assessors, and an Overseer of the Poor. He is also a member of the Railroad Sinking Fund Commission of Marshfield, and Secretary of the Board. In political affiliation Captain Sprague is a Republican.
On April 6, 1865, Captain Sprague was united in marriage with Miss Rosella F. Hatch, daughter of Israel and Abigail (Ames) Hatch. Five children were born to them, of whom four are living, namely: Rosa M., the librarian of the Free Library of Marshfield; Albert T., Jr., a Civil Engineer on the Boston & Maine Railroad; Seth F., who is connected with the wholesale grocery business of Charles F. Moody & Co., of Boston; and Willard H., who is employed in the Charles River National Bank at Cambridge, Mass. Mrs. Sprague is a member of the Congregational church, and both she and her husband are popular in social circles.
HARLES MANSON, Town Clerk of Scituate, was born in this place, July 22, 1845. His parents, Captain Joel L. and Mary (Jenkins) Manson, were also born in Scituate. The Manson family is of English origin, and has been known and re- spected in Scituate for generations, Captain Joel L. Manson's grandfather, John Manson, having settled here considerably more than a century ago.
John's son Nehemiah, Charles Manson's grandfather, was a sea captain of Scituate, and a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His son, Captain Joel L. Manson, was also a master mariner. He died in 1851. Mrs. Mary Jenkins Manson's father, Coleman Jenkins,
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who was a well-to-do farmer, was a member of an old Scituate family. The first of this sur- name in the town was Edward Jenkins in 1646. Of the children of Captain Manson and his wife, two are living: Charles, the sub- ject of this sketch; and Horace, in South Boston, Mass.
Charles Manson was reared on the farm which he at present occupies - originally, the property of his maternal grandfather, Coleman Jenkins -and was educated in the public schools of Scituate. He has been engaged in general farming since early manhood, and has been very successful. Gifted with sound judgment and good executive ability, he does well whatever he undertakes. Mr. Manson votes the Republican ticket. He was first elected Town Clerk in 1886, and has been honored with re-election every year since.
On September 8, 1893, Mr. Manson was united in marriage with Emma B. Pentz, of Meadville, Pa., daughter of William and Mary (Campbell) Pentz. Mr. Pentz, who was born in York, Pa., has been Trial Justice for about twenty years. Mr. and Mrs. Manson have two children: a son, Joel, born August 30, 1894; and a daughter, Ruth, born November 23, 1896. Mr. Manson and his wife are members of the Unitarian church; and he has held the office of parish clerk for seventeen years.
DMUND HERSEY, 2d, is a well- known boot and shoe dealer of Hing- ham, Plymouth County, Mass. He was born July 7, 1829, son of George and Lydia (Marsh) Hersey, and is a lineal de- scendant of one of the early settlers of this ancient town, where the family has continu- ously been represented by enterprising and in- fluential citizens.
The surname Hersey, also written in former
days Hersee, Ilarsie, and Hearsey, is a very ancient one.
The earliest record of the Hersey family that can be obtained is the name of a certain Malvicius de Hercy, in the year 1210. The family appears to have come originally from Flanders, and a Hughe de Hersey was gov- ernor of Trou Normandy in 1204. Edward I. held another Hugh when a minor; i.c., took all his rents till he came of age. There is a Count Herce, Maine, France, running from the year 1500. Sir Malvicius married Theo- phania, daughter of Gilbert de Arches, Baron of Grove; and from him descended the family of Hercy of Grove, one of the first families in the county of Nottingham. In Warwickshire there is a village which still bears the name of Pillerton Hercy, or Hersey. The name also frequently appears in Berkshire,
In the year 1635 Richard Hercy, aged twenty-two years, sailed from London for Vir- ginia in the ship " America"; and in the same year William sailed for New England. Will- iam was the son of Nathaniel, who died in Reading, Berkshire, England, in 1629. Will- iam settled in Hingham, Mass .; and the records of the town clearly show his identity. Thus the present American branch of the Hersey family, who descended from William, are able to establish their connection through Nathaniel with the English Berkshire family, and to trace their ancestry back to Sir Malvi- cius, who lived in the reign of King John.
William Hersey, the progenitor of all the descendants who bear the name in Hingham and vicinity, came to New England, as above stated, in 1635, and early in the autumn located in this town. On July 3, 1636, a five- acre house lot was granted him on what is now South Street, nearly opposite West Street. This lot included within its limits the estate now owned by the heirs of the late Ebenezer
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Gay, Esq. At the time of the trouble about the election of officers for the train band, 1644-45, William Hersey was assessed a heavy fine for supporting the views of the Rev. Peter Hobart and his friends; and the family rate toward the erection of the new meeting- house was the largest one on the list.
He and his wife, Elizabeth, had six chil- dren. He was by occupation a husbandman. He was made a freeman in 1638, officiated in the Board of Selectmen in 1642, 1647, and 1650, and was a member of the Artillery Com- pany in 1652. He died here March 22, 1657-8. His wife lived until October 8, 1671. Their fifth child, John Hersey, who was baptized in Hingham, August 9, 1640, was a tailor by occupation, and served as Con- stable in 1701. He and his wife, Sarah, whom he married on May 18, 1669, in Dedham, it is said, resided on South Street, Hingham, where their eleven children were born. He died August 7, 1726; and his wife, surviving him, died on January 17, 1731, at eighty-two years of age.
Jeremiah, their youngest child, was born June 18, 1697. He was a cooper, and his home also was on South Street. On Decem- ber 8, 1726, he married Elizabeth, - who is thought to have been a daughter of Nathaniel and Judith Gilbert. By this alliance there were eleven children, who were all born in Hingham. The mother died here on January 21, 1775, at the age of about sixty-four years, while the father lived until February 9, 1790. Jeremiah, Jr., their eighth child, baptized October 18, 1741, was a trader, and resided on South Street. On December 31, 1772, he was united in marriage with Mary Hersey, daughter of Isaiah and Margaret (Sprague) Hersey. Ten children blessed their union. The father died October 7, 1796; and the mother, born in Hingham, October 9, 1755,
died August 13, 1833, having been a widow nearly twenty-seven years. George, their seventh child, was born October 19, 1787. During his active manhood he was engaged in trade on North Street. On October 11, 1821, he married Lydia, daughter of Lot and Lydia (French) Marsh. Three children - Mary, George, and Edmund - were the fruit of their union. The mother, Mrs. Lydia Marsh Hersey, who was born here, October 15, 1787, died February 15, 1864. The father, George Hersey, lived until May 31, 1871.
Edmund Hersey, 2d, their youngest born, a bright, precocious child, was educated in the public schools. At the age of sixteen he commenced his business career, being vari- ously employed until he became a dealer in boots and shoes, which enterprise he still con- tinues. In politics he affiliates with the Re- publican party. Officially, he has been a member of the School Committee for over twenty years, Overseer of the Poor for twelve years, which office he still holds, and Rep- resentative in 1886-87. Mr. Hersey is a Director of the Hingham National Bank, on the Board of Investment of the Hingham In- stitution for Savings, and also Director of the Hingham Fire Insurance Company. Frater- nally, he belongs to Old Colony Lodge, A. F. & A. M., which he has served as Chaplain for years. He has also been active in promoting public improvements.
Mr. Hersey has been twice married. His first wife, formerly Adelaide Waters, died May 1, 1857, leaving a daughter, Adelaide W., now wife of Frederick W. Howard, of Boston Highlands, and mother of one child, Freddie L. Howard. His second wife, whose maiden name was Mary Howard, died three years ago. She had one child, Howard P. Hersey, now clerk of the Hingham Savings Institution. He married Ruth Lane, daugh-
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ter of Morallus Lane; and they have two chil- dren - Ethel L. and Celia Howard. In religion Mr. Edmund Hersey, 2d, is a Univer- salist; and, being a man of strong convic- tions, he is "able to give to every man a reason for the faith that is in him."
ON. GEORGE BARTLETT DUN- BAR, formerly a well-known con- tractor of Brockton, was born in Plymouth, Plymouth County, Mass., July 16, 1809. His family belonged in Halifax, this county ; and his father, William Dunbar, and his father's brothers, were seafaring men. William Dunbar married Jerusha Holmes, of Plymouth; and they had five children, not any of whom are now living.
George B. Dunbar acquired a common- school education in his native town, and then learned the carpenter's trade in East Bridge- water. He subsequently formed a copartner- ship with Oakes S. Soule, under the style of Dunbar & Soule, which continued for twenty- eight years. They were at first contractors for building, but afterward engaged in the lumber business During the latter part of his life, after the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Dunbar was engaged in the real estate busi- ness.
In politics he was a Republican, being also a man of pronounced temperance views. He served the town on the Liquor Prosecuting Committee for a time; and he had the honor to represent his district in the State legisla- ture one term, only missing a second election by a few votes, this loss being probably due to his temperance principles. He originally affiliated with the Sons of Temperance, but later with Fraternal Lodge, No. 24, Inde- pendent Order of Good Templars, in which he was active, influential, and popular. He
was a faithful member of the Porter Congrega- tional Church.
Mr. George B. Dunbar died on May 30, 1875, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. He had been married three times. His first wife, Sylvia Davis, daughter of Jethro Davis, of Fairhaven, Mass., bore him three children - William Henry, Mary A., and Sarah Jane -all of whom died unmarried. By his sec- ond wife, Betsey Kingman, daughter of Abel Kingman, he had one daughter, Betsey K., who was married to Daniel B. Littlefield in 1864, and resides in Brockton.
Mr. Dunbar is survived by his third wife, formerly Mary B. Richards, with whom he was united on December 22, 1850. Her parents were Luther and Mary (Sawin) Rich- ards, of Dover, Mass. The children born of this union were: Frederick B. and Emma L., who died in infancy; and Maria N., who was married on April 18, 1877, to Austin F. Gurney. This daughter and son-in-law make their home with Mrs. Dunbar.
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