USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County, Massachusetts > Part 44
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For several years he was a member of the Mattapoisett School Committee.
APTAIN WILLIAM BATES, of Scituate, is one of the best-known citizens of this part of Plymouth County, and highly popular by reason of his genial, whole-souled disposition. He was born in Scituate, August 16, 1828, a son of Captain John and Sallie (Northey) Bates.
Captain John Bates, who was born on the Cape, was a seafaring man, and commanded a number of fishing schooners and coasting vessels. His wife was born in Scituate, on the farm immortalized by Samuel Woodworth in "The Old Oaken Bucket," now owned by H. H. Northey. Three of their children are living to-day, namely: Betsey, widow of Jo- seph Tuttle, residing in Chicago, Ill. ; Will- iam, the subject of this sketch; and Coleman, in North Ellsworth, Me.
William Bates was educated in the common schools of Scituate. While still a boy, he often accompanied his father on fishing trips; and ships and sailors became vital parts of his life. He went to Boston when he was twenty- one to learn the trade of calking and graving, and, after finishing his apprenticeship of two years, obtained employment as a journeyman. He followed his trade exclusively for ten years, and then, returning to Scituate, en- gaged in fishing, also entertaining fishing parties in the summer season and building boats in the winter. In this way he has now been occupied for a great many years ; and he is well known to the fishermen of the South Shore, and to the summer excursionists who come here for recreation. Captain Bates is a Grand Army man, having served in Company D, Forty-second Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. During the greater part
of his term of service he was on military police duty at Alexandria, Va. He belongs to George W. Perry Post, Grand Army of the Republic, No. 31, of Scituate.
He has been twice married. His first wife, who was Miss Sarah A. Pepper, of Boston, Mass., left two children: Emma, wife of Charles A. Cole, of Oshkosh, Wis .; and Walter C., a resident of Boston, Mass. His second wife, formerly Miss Ermina T. Earley, is a native of Queen's County, Nova Scotia, daughter of Benjamin P. and Hannah F. (Ringer) Earley. She has one child, William C. Bates. Captain Bates votes the Republi- can ticket. He takes an active interest in local affairs, and ranks among the foremost citizens of the place.
RO OBERT T. DELANO, D.D.S., a popular dentist of Wareham, Mass., was born in the town of Marion, this State, July 13, 1857. His parents were John and Elmira (Benson) Delano, his father being a native of Marion, Mass., and the mother a native of Newburg, N. Y. They had seven children, of whom five are now living: William H. C .; Lizzie R .; John W. ; George M .; and Robert T., the subject of this sketch.
Robert T. Delano acquired his first knowl- edge of books in the district school, and after- ward attended Peirce Academy in Middleboro. He began to study for his profession when eighteen years of age, entering the private office of Dr. E. V. McLeod in New Bedford, where he was employed for a year. He then entered the Philadelphia Dental College; and, after a year's close application to study there, he went back to New Bedford for a while, subsequently returning to the college, where he was graduated in 1879. Immediately after receiving his diploma, he opened an office in
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Wareham; and, with the exception of two years, 1886 and 1887, spent in Gardner, Mass., he has since followed his profession in this town. Dr. Delano is a skilful dentist, and has a large practice. He is also engaged in cranberry culture, owning meadows in the town of Marion.
He was married June 26, 1886, to Miss Mary L. Davis, of Falmouth, Mass., daughter of John W. and Susan Davis. Dr. and Mrs. Delano have two children: Florence L., born April 13, 1887; and Mildred E., born March 22. 1896.
In politics Dr. Delano is a Republican. He is a man of much practical ability, and has won the respect of his townsmen, who have kept him in office as Town Auditor for four years. He has been Master of Social Harmony Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Ware- ham, for three years, and Past Grand of Wankinquoah Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being very prominent in frater- nal circles.
UGUSTUS PRATT, an enterprising and public-spirited citizen of North Middleboro, was born in Wareham, Mass., May 24, 1829, son of Jared and Jemima Williams (King) Pratt. His father, Jared Pratt, who was a native of Bridgewater, early in life removed to North Middleboro, where he began a successful business career in a country store. From North Middleboro he removed to Wareham, and began the manu- facture of cut nails, which was one of the first, if not the first, established industry of the kind in the country. This business, which grew to extensive proportions, was first car- ried on under the firm of I. & J. Pratt, and was afterward incorporated as the Wareham Iron Company. Mr. Jared Pratt was the man- aging agent and treasurer of both of these
firms until 1836, when he purchased extensive iron establishments in Harrisburg and Fair- view, Pa., which were devoted to the manu- facture of boiler plate and nails. About the same time he purchased a large farm in North Middleboro, and removed with his family to this place. He began in Harrisburg what proved a very successful business, forming a partnership with his oldest son, Christopher C. K Pratt, the firm being known under the name of Jared Pratt & Son. He'divided his time between his farm at North Middleboro and his iron establishments at Harrisburg.
Augustus Pratt, who was the second son of his parents, was educated at the public schools of Middleboro, Peirce Academy, Middleboro, and Bridgewater Academy. Preferring an agricultural to a mercantile life, he was, when very young, given the management of the farms at North Middleboro, and has con- ducted them successfully for fifty years. He enjoys an agricultural life, and is satisfied with the soil of New England, having never felt any desire to try Western farming. He has long taken an active interest in the success of the Plymouth County Agricultural Society, has been a member of the Board of Trustees for many years, and was President of the so- ciety for the years 1894 and 1895. He has been elected by the Board of Trustees for three successive terms, of three years each, as a member of the State Board of Agriculture, and at the present time holds that position. Through an election by the State Board of Agriculture, he has been for several years a member of the Committee for the Suppression and Extermination of the Gypsy Moth, the Board being legally intrusted with that work. Since early manhood Mr. Pratt has been inter- ested in the planting of both fruit and forest trees. In 1850 he gathered and planted white pine seed on a large tract of barren waste land,
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and for the last few years has been cutting valuable pine logs for timber and boards, this proving an excellent way to make use of such unproductive land.
Mr. Pratt is a Republican, and has taken an active part in politics since the first election of Abraham Lincoln. In 1869 he had the honor of representing the town in the legislat- ure. In religion he is a Congregationalist, having united with the church at North Middleboro in 1868. In 1883 he was elected Deacon, and has served in that office up to the present time. When the church edifice was destroyed by fire in 1893, a parish meeting was called for the purpose of rebuilding it; and a committee of five was chosen, of which he was made Chairman. He was very active in raising funds for the purpose, contributing one thousand dollars himself. Mr. Pratt has all his life been interested in the cause of cd- ucation. When the Hon. Enoch Pratt, of Baltimore, established and endowed the insti- tution known as the Pratt Frec School, Mr. Augustus Pratt was appointed by the donor as a member of the Board of Five Trustees, with power to fill vacancies as they should occur. For the last twenty years he has been Presi- dent of the Board of Trustees. He has also served eleven years as a member of the School Board of the town of Middleboro; and he was a member of the Building Committee of Five chosen by the town to contract for the erection of the high school building.
Mr. Pratt was married in 1851 to Emily M. Eaton, daughter of Colonel Oliver and Diana W. Eaton. Their children are: Herbert Au- gustus, born February 28, 1854; Emma Louisa, born June 9, 1862. Herbert A. Pratt has been for more than twenty years en- gaged in the manufacture of shoes in company with N. W. Keith, the firm being known as Keith & Pratt. He married Lucy E. Rich-
mond, and has two children - Alton Gerard and Harold Maxwell. Emma L. Pratt mar- ried Theodore A. Richmond.
OP THAN E. PIERCE, a farmer of Lake- ville, was born in this town, June 24, 1824. He is the eighth in line of descent from Abraham Pierce, the immigrant ancestor, who joined the Plymouth Colony in 1623, the line being as follows: Abraham, Abraham, Jr., Isaac, Isaac, Jr., Job, Elkanah, Ethan, Ethan E. The elder Ethan Pierce, who was a farmer by vocation, married Miss Fanny Hoard, and to them five children were born: Elizabeth; Elkanah; Ethan E., the subject of this sketch; Job; and a son who died in infancy. Of this family only two, Elkanah and Ethan E., are now living.
Ethan E. Pierce was sent to the district schools in his boyhood, and also to Peirce Academy at Middleboro, and thus acquired a fair education. In his early manhood he as- sumed the charge of the paternal estate, and, with the exception of fourteen years spent in Berkley, his entire life has been passed in his native locality. By judicious management and wise investment he has become an exten- sive land-owner, possessing, besides one hun- dred acres of the farm settled by the founder of the Pierce family in Plymouth County, two hundred and fifty acres in this county, and also lands in Bristol County. In addition to general farming Mr. Pierce has engaged in the business of marketing lumber, and has also devoted a great deal of time to cultivating strawberries, an industry of recent date in this part of the country.
On December 31, the last day of the year, 1857, Ethan E. Pierce was united in marriage with Miss Rhoda M. W. Pierce, daughter of Alvin T. and Loda (Williams) Pierce, of
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Taunton, Mass. Five children were born of this union: Eliza M., who is a teacher; Will- iam Chester; Rhoda W., wife of David S. Hoard, of New Bedford; Ethan Alvin, named for his two grandfathers; Fanny B., the wife of S. N. Stoples, of Berkley. There is but one grandchild in the family, Luther B. Hoard. .
Mr. Pierce has never aspired to public office. His special interest has been elicited in the local grange of the Patrons of Hus- bandry, with which, as a farmer of large in- fluence, he has naturally become affiliated. Mrs. Pierce is a conscientious member of the Unitarian church. Ethan E. Pierce stands out as one of the representative farmers of Plymouth County, where he now keeps up the good reputation of those of his name who have gone before.
OLONEL HIRAM A. OAKMAN is a distinguished citizen of Marshfield, who has long been known to the public, having won his epaulets in active ser- vice in the War of the Rebellion, served with credit as a government employee, and repre- sented this district in the State Senate; and during his entire life, as a teacher and school officer, he has taken great interest in the pub- lic schools. He was born in Marshfield, April 10, 1827, son of Hiram and Jane Soule (Rogers) Oakman. The first of the family in this country was Samuel Oakman, an English- man who settled near Portland, Me., as early as 1657; and his son Tobias, Colonel Oak- man's direct ancestor, and the founder of the Marshfield branch of the family, moved from Spurwink, Me., to this town. Constant Fobes Oakman, the Colonel's grandfather, was born in Marshfield. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary army; and one of his sons,
Hatch Oakman, was a carpenter on board the "Chesapeake " at the time of her memorable battle with the "Shannon " in Boston Bay in June, 1813, when the brave Lawrence uttcred his famous command, "Don't give up the ship!"
Hiram Oakman, father of Colonel Oakman, was a native and lifelong resident of Marsh- field, where he died in 1884. He was a shoe- maker, and was also engaged in farming. His wife, Jane Soule Rogers, was a daughter of Thomas Rogers, of Marshfield, a Revolution- ary soldier. Three of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Oakman are living to- day, as follows: Hiram A., whose name ap- pears at the head of this article; Henry P., in Boston, Mass .; and Mary J., wife of Henry A. Turner, of Norwell, Mass. Colonel Oakman's mother was a descendant of George Soule, one of the "Mayflower" Pilgrims; and both the Colonel and his wife, it may be men- tioned, number among their ancestors four others of that famous band; namely, Edward Doty, Richard Warren, John Howland, and Edward Tilly.
Hiram A. Oakman was educatcd in the common schools of Marshfield and the State Normal School at Bridgewater. Ile taught school for a number of years, was also for some time engaged in agricultural pursuits, and for fifteen years he was employed in the weigher's department in the Custom-house, Boston. He has likewise donc a great deal of survey- ing. In April, 1861, he enlisted in Company E, Seventh Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered in in June as First Lieu- tenant; and on the first day of the following December he was commissioned Captain. Attached to the Army of the Potomac, he was in a number of serious engagements; and at the second battle of Fredericksburg, in the charge on Marye's Heights, May 3, 1863, was
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wounded in the right thigh. In July he was discharged for disability caused by this wound; and in January, 1864, he re-entered the service, and was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel in the Thirtieth United State Colored Troops. He organized this regiment in Baltimore; and when it took the field Colonel Bates, afterward General Bates (of whose gallantry Colonel Oakman speaks in the highest praise), was appointed commander, and served as such until he was severely wounded at the Crater fight on the 30th of July, 1864, when the com- mand of the regiment devolved upon Colonel Oakman, he continuing its leader till the reg- iment was mustered out in December, 1865. Among the engagements in which he took part was the siege of Fort Fisher. At the end of his term of service Colonel Oakman returned to Marshfield, where he has since made his home.
Colonel Oakman married Lucinda, daugh- ter of Ichabod Hatch, late of Marshfield, and six children have blessed their union, three of whom are living : Edward H., born on April 29, 1853, now in Brockton, Mass .; Celia J., born May 21, 1854, now wife of George F. Wilson, of Marshfield; and Otis B. Oakman, A.M., born October 27, 1864, a Harvard graduate, now professor in Thayer Academy at Braintree. In public affairs Colonel Oakman has long been an active factor. He has been a member of the Marshfield School Committee for a number of years, and Chairman of the School Board for an extended period; and in 1890 he represented the First Plymouth District in the Massachusetts Senate. For several years he has held the office of Justice of the Peace. He has retained his connection with the Grand Army, being at present Commander of David Church Post, No. 189; and he is a member of Old Colony Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Hing- ham; and of the South Shore Commandery,
Knights Templars, at East Weymouth. In politics he has always been a strong anti- slavery man and a Republican. In religious belief, while a pronounced Unitarian, he is charitably disposed toward all denominations.
APTAIN JOB H. GODFREY, whose death occurred in Lakeville on Sep- tember 8, 1895, and who had been an esteemed citizen and successful farmer of the town for three decades, was a native of Taunton, Mass. He was born September 4, 1819, son of Captain Job and Catherine (Montgomery) Godfrey.
Captain Job H. Godfrey grew to manhood in Taunton, receiving his education in the public schools of that city and at Peirce Academy in Middleboro. When a young man, he went to sea for a few years, then returned home, and lived on a farm in Taunton until 1865, when he removed to Lakeville, and purchased a farm of sixty-three acres, on which he resided until his death, the date of which appears at the beginning of this sketch. While living in Taunton, he became a member of the volunteer fire department, and was subsequently chosen captain of one of the companies. He was connected with the department for about twenty years.
For his first wife Captain Godfrey married Miss Elizabeth Hart, who bore him six chil- dren, namely : Elizabeth, who died in infancy ; Jones; Isabel; Job; Abbie E., deceased; and Herbert, deceased. Their mother died in 1865. Captain Godfrey's second and last marriage took place in 1866, uniting him with Miss Jane Reed, daughter of Daniel Reed, of West Bridgewater. There were no children by this union. Mrs. Jane R. Godfrey is still living.
Captain Godfrey was successful in his busi-
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ness operations, and at his death had acquired considerable property. In politics he was a Democrat, and served one term in the State legislature. He also served as Overseer of the Poor in Lakeville, and as Town Auditor.
OHN BARKER, Town Clerk and Treas- urer of Hanson, Mass., was born in the town of Hanover, Plymouth County, November 3, 1840. His parents were Benja- min, Jr., and Deborah C. (Damon) Barker. Benjamin Barker, Sr., his grandfather, was a native of that part of Pembroke which is now Hanson. He acquired a common-school edu- cation, and became a successful farmer. He was one of the pillars of the orthodox church, with which he was connected by ties of mem- bership. He married and had a large family, of whom Benjamin, Jr., born in Hanson, Jan- uary 17, 1811, was the second child. Having completed his education in the common schools, he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for seven or eight years, and afterward gave his attention to farming, also taking an active interest in town affairs. He married Deborah C. Damon, who was a resident of Hanover, and they had eight chil- dren. Mr. Benjamin Barker, Jr., died Feb- ruary 26, 1885.
John Barker came with his parents to Han- son when he was but five years of age. After receiving the mental equipment of the public schools, he learned the shoemaking trade at the age of fifteen. Five years afterward he responded to the first call for troops, enlisting in the Twenty-second Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Company B. At Gaines Mills he was wounded in the breast, and was subse- quently captured and taken to Libby Prison. About six months after his liberation he re- turned to active duty, and was again wounded
at the Battle of Gettysburg, where a ball struck him above the mouth, knocking out seven teeth, and passing through the right side of his face. At the expiration of three years he was honorably discharged, and return - ing home resumed his trade until 1878. Since that time Mr. Barker has spent his time at home looking after his farming interests, and also actively participating in town affairs. For about ten years he officiated as Collector of Taxes, and since 1879 he has been Town Clerk and Treasurer. In 1885 he was sent as Representative from the Third Plymouth District to the legislature, in which he served one year. He has done considerable business as agent for the Abington Insurance Company. In politics he is a Republican. Fraternally, he is a member of T. L. Bonney Post, No. 127, Grand Army of the Republic. He was Commander of the Post for two years, and has held all the other offices.
Mr. Barker was first married on April 28, 1870, to Ellen A. Dyer, of South Abington. She died on December 5, 1886, leaving two daughters; and on December 25, 1887, he was united in the bonds of matrimony with Ida C. Reynolds, of Harwinton, Conn.
LEANDER WILLIAMS is a prom- inent citizen and successful farmer in Lakeville, formerly a part of Middleboro, Plymouth County, Mass. A son of Elkanah and Catherine (Hoard) Williams and grandson of George Williams - all of this town - he was born here on February 9, 1833, being one of a family of five children. A sister, Keziah, died in infancy; and Mr. Williams has two sisters and one brother liv- ing, namely: Eliza, the wife of Granville Leonard; John, who lives on his father's es- tate; and Cordelia A., who is Mrs. Filo H.
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Pickens, of Taunton. The graves of the par- ents are in the Corswell Cemetery. The life of Elkanah Williams was a quiet and unevent- ful one, and his attachment to his home so strong that he has always been content to re- main in the region of his nativity.
H. Lcander Williams, the fourth child of the parental household, was reared on his father's farm in Middleboro (now Lakeville), leading the healthful, simple life of a farmer lad, attending the district schools, and enjoy- ing and suffering the common joys and griefs of boy life. After assimilating the mental food supplied by the neighboring schools, he became a pupil at Peirce Academy, where his education was completed, and at eighteen years of age entered upon the work of teach- ing. This occupation he followed for a few years, and then he temporarily abandoned it to accept a position as assistant to Chief En- gineer James Pierce, his cousin, who was at this time in charge of the construction of the railroad between Middleboro and Taunton. When the road was completed, Mr. Williams removed to Rutland, Ill., where he again pur- sued his former vocation, teaching in that town for a period of a year and a half. At the expiration of that time he returned to Lakeville, and began farming on the old place of his grandfather, George Williams, which he now owns.
Besides the ancestral estate of one hundred and fifty acres he has other tracts, and he is one of the most prominent landed proprietors in the locality. Since settling down as a farmer in his native county he has held many offices of honor and trust, serving in the capacity of Selectman, Assessor, and Justice of the Peace, and filling each and all satisfac- torily. He is at the present writing one of the Justices of the town, and has been an in- fluential factor in the Republican politics of
Lakeville for more than thirty years. He is a Mason, belonging to Mayflower Lodge, A. F. & A. M., in Middleboro, and is a consistent member of the Congregational church of his precinct. H. Leander Will- iams has won respect and success, to both of which he is justly entitled.
APTAIN GEORGE H. BROWN, keeper of the United States life-sav- ing station at North Scituate, is well and favorably known on the South Shore. He was born in Boston, Mass., July 15, 1841, a son of George W. and Mary (Sherman) Brown.
The Browns are one of the old families of Scituate, and the Captain's grandfather, Ben- jamin Brown, was born in this town, as was also his father, George W. Brown. The latter was an enterprising and successful business man, a member of the ship-building firm of Brown & Lovell, prominent for many years in East Boston. He spent his last years in Scituate, dying here in 1889. In politics Mr. George W. Brown was a Democrat. Mrs. Mary S. Brown was a native of Free- port, Me.
George H. Brown was reared in Boston, and obtained his education in the common schools of that city. When he was fourteen years old he went to sea before the mast in one of the first clipper ships built, the "Staghorn," mak- ing a voyage around the globe, touching at California, Honolulu, Hong Kong, and Foo Chow, and returning by way of the Cape of Good Hope. When he was seventeen years old he began to learn the ship caulker's trade in Boston, serving with his father until he was twenty-one years old. Shortly after attaining his majority, in September, 1862, he enlisted in Company C, Forty-second Massachusetts
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Volunteer Infantry, as a nine months' man. The detachment to which he was assigned was named the Washington Light Guards, and was sent to New Orleans to join General Banks's army. Mr. Brown was enrolled in the en- gineer corps, and served in that body for a year in and about New Orleans. After receiv- ing his discharge he returned to Scituate, and for a short time was in command of the schooner "Frank," a packet plying between Scituate and Boston; and he was subsequently engaged for a number of years in fishing in Massachusetts Bay and vicinity. In 1879 he received a government appointment as a surf- man at Fourth Cliff, one of the United States life-saving stations, and in 1886 he was ap- pointed keeper of the station at North Scitu- ate. Here he has been on duty now for more than ten years, and no braver or more trust- worthy member of the life-saving corps can be found on the coast.
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