Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 101

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Boston, Biographical review publishing company
Number of Pages: 1238

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts > Part 101

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Jonathan Grout, Jr., was born in Millbury, September 14, 1815, and there learned the bookbinder's trade of his father. On August II, 1836, he married Mary J. Smith, and five years later came to Worcester to reside. Es- tablishing himself as a manufacturer and bookseller in the building now occupied by Putnam, Davis & Co., his successors, he car- ried on a substantial business until his death. His residence, the Grout mansion, on Main Street, nearly opposite Jackson Street, is one of the landmarks of the city, and is a fine specimen of Corinthian architecture.

His only son, John William Grout, more familiarly known as "Willie Grout," was born July 25, 1843, and was educated at the High- land Military School in Worcester. On the breaking out of the Rebellion he enlisted in the Fifteenth Massachusetts Volunteer Infan- try, and was at once made Second Lieutenant of Company D, becoming one of the youngest officers in the army. After a short time in camp his regiment was sent to Maryland, and on October 21, 1861, was assigned to the troops placed under command of Colonel Devens in the battle of Leesburg. Under the sharp fire that ensued, the young Lieutenant exhibited an heroic bravery and coolness that surprised officers and men, and encouraged

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them to still further effort. After the retreat was sounded, while gallantly leading his men from the field, he was fatally wounded by a rebel bullet. A biographical sketch of "Willie Grout " and a copy of that familiar poem, "The Vacant Chair," written by one who had known him from youth, Henry S. Washburn, and set to music by the late George F. Root, are to be found in the New England Magazine for the month of April, 1897.

AYETTE ASERYL AMIDON, man- ager of the well-known Worcester mar- ket, is a native of Belchertown, Mass., and was born on July 13, 1862, his parents being Edmund Perry and Sophia Olive (Shum- way) Amidon. His great - grandparents, Aseryl, Sr., and Aletheia (Perry) Amidon, came to Massachusetts from Willington, Conn. Three or more of the Amidon family were soldiers in the Revolution. Amidon, Jr., son of the elder Aseryl, married Aurelia McIntyre. Their son Gillett, uncle of Fayette Amidon, went to Minnesota in early manhood for his health, and lived there until his death, a little past middle life. He left two sons, William Nelson and Edmund Perry, second, the former an educator, a civil engineer, and a judge, and the latter living on the old home- stead, both married.

Edmund P. Amidon was born in Belcher- town, Mass., on September 5, 1837, and died in 1874, leaving his widow and their son, Fayette Aseryl, their only child. Mrs. Sophia O. Amidon was born in Pelham, Mass. She received a seminary education, and subse- quently taught school for four years preceding her marriage, which occurred on May 16, 1860. She then settled on the Amidon home- stead, which her husband owned and where his death occurred. She was descended through her maternal grandmother, Amelia Ballou, daughter of Levi Ballou, Esq., from Maturin Ballou, who, on coming to America, joined the company of Roger Williams, being one of the twenty - five founders of the Providence Plantation. Mrs. Amidon's parents were Asa and Orinda (Hall) Shumway. Her father was

for twenty-nine years village merchant at Three Rivers and Postmaster. He was born at Belchertown, and lived to be seventy-four years of age; and her mother was born at Pelham, and died at the age of forty-nine. Of the five children born to them, three grew to maturity - Sophia Olive, Louise Ripley, and Homer Judson, the only son, who died at the age of eighteen. Louise is the wife of the Rev. Myron P. Dickey, of Milton, N. H. Her three children are: Maurice Woodburn, who is a student in the class of 1899, Dart- mouth College; Mark Shumway, aged thirteen years, a musical genius; and Orinda Sophia, aged fifteen, an apt student and promising musician.

Mr. Amidon left school at the age of seven- teen, and the following year, 1880, went with his mother to New Haven. There he began to work in a large pork-packing house, and subsequently he was in a department meat store for some five years. At the end of that time he made his first independent business venture, which was in the butter and eggs business. A year later, being in poor health, he went on a farm for the summer, and follow- ing that he was for a time in Springfield and in Gilbertville, Mass. He then went to Man- chester, N. H., and took charge of the butter and egg department in a large market, where he remained for four years. The market was under the management of a Mr. Swanson, who formed a good opinion of Mr. Amidon's ability and character ; and at the end of the four years a partnership was formed, including Mr. Swanson, Mr. Amidon, and two others, Messrs. Malmstead and Pettee. These gentle- men opened a large department market in Providence, R.I., Mr. Swanson being the gen- eral manager and Mr. Pettee the buyer. In 1894 a branch was established in Worcester, known as The Worcester Market, and this Mr. Amidon has since conducted. Another branch has been started in Providence, and the com- pany is doing a highly prosperous business. The market here has the best patronage of the city, and its management reflects great credit upon Mr. Amidon.

Mr. Amidon and his mother have been to- gether all the years since the death of his

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father. On June 16, 1895, Mr. Amidon was married to Lucy Ella Higgins, of Providence, daughter of Charles and Lucy (Watson) Hig- gins. Her father died in East Greenwich, R. I., at the age of fifty-eight, and her mother died seven years later at Saylesville, R. I., at the age of fifty-seven. Mr. and Mrs. Higgins reared eight of their nine children, six daugh- ters and two sons, all of whom are living. Mrs. Amidon is a graduate of the high school. Mr. Amidon built his present fine residence on Germain Street in the fall of 1898.

AMES HILDRETH, president of the Lunenburg Historical Society, a man of prominence in the farming, politi- cal, and social life of this part of the Commonwealth, was born in Shirley, Middle- sex County, Mass., May 29, 1839. Son of George and Lucy Torrey (Winslow) Hildreth, he is a lineal descendant of Richard Hildreth, who came from England, and settling in Cam- bridge, Mass., was made a freeman of the colony in 1643, and some years later removed to Chelmsford, Mass. This immigrant ances- tor was a man of sterling integrity, honest in all his dealings, high-minded, always ready to give every man his natural rights, but had little respect for the divine rights of kings or clergy. These characteristics seem to have been transmitted to many of his posterity.

George Hildreth was born September 9, 1808, in Westford, Mass., and was a son of Jonas and Deliverance (Johnson) Hildreth and grandson of Zechariah Hildreth. His wife, Lucy, who died February II, 1898, was born in Hanover, Plymouth County, this State, September 26, 1808, daughter of Thomas and Ruth (Grose) Winslow. Her father was son of Thomas Winslow, of Plymouth, spoken of by Davis as a descendant of the first Kenelm, who was a brother of Governor Edward Wins- low

Mr. Hildreth was educated in the common schools of Lunenburg. His father dying in 1856, the care of the farm fell upon his shoul- ders, though he was but seventeen. On attaining his majority he bought the interest of the other heirs, with the exception of his

mother's. He taught school in 1860-61, but aside from that he has confined his attention mainly to the care of his farm. He has a large apple orchard, and keeps a dairy. Mr. Hildreth is a man of unusual versatility. Though his school privileges were limited, he possesses a very keen, intelligent mind, and has acquired a fund of practical knowledge that has placed him among the leading citi- zens ; and his opinion is sought upon a variety of subjects. Much credit is due him for the success of many of the social features of the town. His impersonations of well-known characters has excited the admiration of large audiences and brought forth high encomiums upon his ability in this line. He is a friend to all literary societies and efforts. In his public relations he is broad-minded, and those who have had the pleasure of serving with him are his greatest admirers. He has al- ways been blessed with the best of health, and few men can stand with him in physical effort.

At Cambridge, Mass., on September 18, 1867, Mr. Hildreth married Abbie Amelia, daughter of William T. and Abigail Burnham (Story) Shattuck. They have no children.

Mr. Hildreth cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, and has always been a stanch Republican. He has attended many political conventions, and has served in the principal town offices as Selectman, having been chairman of the board five years, Over- seer of the Poor, and member of the School Board two years. In 1872 he was chosen Moderator, and has served at every annual town meeting since, making twenty-seven years in succession. In 1878 he represented Lunenburg in the lower house of the Massa- chusetts legislature, and was appointed a mem- ber of the Library Committee. That same year he was made a Justice of the Peace. He was a member of the Farmers' Club, the oldest organization of this kind in the State, has been president of the club, and in 1879 was chosen as secretary, a position that he held for sixteen years. Mr. Hildreth is a member of Rollstone Lodge, No. 98, I. O. O. F., of Fitchburg; also of the local grange, which is one of the best known in the

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State, and of which he was master two years, and has been secretary five years. Upon the organization of the grange he was chosen as Master. He was a State Deputy six years, and organized and visited granges. He is a trustee of the Worcester North Agricultural Society, and has received premiums on his exhibits of fruit and vegetables. When the Lunenburg Historical Society was organized in 1897, Mr. Hildreth was chosen president, and in 1898 he was re-elected.

A" MOS BRADLEY HOLDEN, of West- minster, a veteran of the Civil War, in which he held the rank of First Lieutenant, was born in Barre, Mass., on July 11, 1823, son of Justus and Betsy (Minot) Holden.

Few men in New England have a more in- teresting and thrilling ancestral history than Mr. Holden. His paternal grandfather, James Holden, fought for American indepen- dence during the Saratoga campaign; and his maternal grandfather, Jonathan Minot, Jr., rendered valiant service at Bunker Hill, where his great-uncle, Joseph Minot, was killed. Jonathan Minot, Sr., commanded a company of minute-men of Westford, Mass., and with his two sons, Joseph and Jonathan, above named, joined in the pursuit of the British troops in their retreat from Concord on April 19, 1775. Jonathan Minot, Jr., married Hannah Eastman, daughter of Lieu- tenant Amos and Mehitable (Bradley) East- man, of Hollis, N. H.

The names of Eastman and Bradley, espe- cially the latter, are conspicuous in the stories of the old Indian wars. One day in April, 1752, when Lieutenant Amos Eastman was a companion of John Stark, afterward General Stark of Revolutionary fame, on a hunting expedition near Baker's River in the town of Rumney, N.H., both were captured by the Indians and carried to Canada. They were ransomed a few weeks later and returned home. Amos Eastman married Mehitable Bradley in 1743, and settled in Hollis, N.H. His wife was a descendant of the Bradleys of Haverhill, Mass., who suffered severely in

the early conflicts with the Indians, some of their number being slain, and others carried into captivity.

Mr. Holden received his education in the public - schools at Westminster, and subse- quently learned the shoemaker's trade. On the organization of the company in the Thirty- second Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, Mr. Holden was made Sergeant. The bat- talion to which he belonged was stationed at Fort Warren, where many political and mili- tary prisoners of note were under guard, among these being the famous Mason and Slidell. In May, 1862, the battalion was ordered to the front to re-enforce McClellan on the peninsula. In March preceding this Mr. Holden had been commissioned Second Lieu- tenant. Being physically unable to perform military duty at Harrison's Landing, he was detailed on recruiting service, but upon his return to Boston, following the advice of an army surgeon, he sent in his resignation, though much against his own wishes. After six months at home he had recovered his health to a degree that made it safe for him again to enter the service, and accordingly he re-en- listed, this time as Second Lieutenant. He was shortly after made First Lieutenant, and in that capacity served until the discharge of his battalion in October, 1865. During much of the two and a half years in the Heavy Ar- tillery, which he joined upon his second en- listment, Lieutenant Holden was detailed as artillery instructor, and for a time also he acted as Quartermaster and Commissary of Subsistence. Two of the important affairs in which he was engaged were the guarding of the substitutes at the camp at Concord, N.H., and the suppression of the draft riots in Bos- ton. Since the war he has been in the ser- vice of the State as superintendent of stables at the prison at Sherborn, and has been there under every superintendent the prison has had.

Since his return to private life Mr. Holden has been engaged to some extent and has taken great interest in raising fruits of vari- ous kinds. He is a member of the Massachu- setts Fruit Growers' Association, and has two hundred trees devoted to the raising of Anjou

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pears, of which he makes a specialty. In 1872 and 1873 he was Selectman and Overseer of the Poor for the town of Westminster, and in 1875 he represented the Fifth Worcester District in the legislature. While here he was appointed to the Committee on Claims, which that year had brought before it the claim of Shanly Brothers, the Hoosac Tunnel contractors. In religious faith Mr. Holden is a Congregationalist, and for a time he was a Deacon of the church.

He was connected with the State militia from 1842 to 1856, filling all of the company offices, including that of Captain. In the meantime he was chosen Major of the old Ninth, but declined the honor. Later he was connected with the Tenth Regiment from 1866 until 1876. In 1875 he was appointed mustering officer and paymaster of the Tenth Regiment, under Colonel J. M. Drennan. He is a charter member of Joseph P. Rice Post, No. 69, G. A. R., was its first Com- mander, and is its present Quartermaster.

Mr. Holden married Harriet A. L. Smith, daughter of Charles and Polly (Burgess) Smith, November 18, 1847. They have two children : Harriet Josephine, born February 26, 1849; and Frank Milton, born May 23, 1855. Harriet J. married Edgar L. Gilson in 1874, and has one child, Louis Bradey Gil- son, born in 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Gilson re- side at South Framingham. Frank M. Holden married Ella Ruggles. They have three children: Jessamine L., who was born in 1883; Mabel E., who was born in 1886; and Carrol B., who was born in 1893. Their home is in Hudson.

RANCIS E. HUCKINS, the chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Grafton and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in Grafton in 1844, son of Ebenezer and Susan (Sherman) Huckins. The father, who was a native of New Hampshire, came to this town when a young man, and for many years worked as foreman for the Boston & Albany Railroad in building bridges. Later he bought the farm where his son now resides. Of the five children born to him, two died in

maturity. Those living are: Aaron Sherman, who is a farmer, residing in Hubbardston ; Francis E., the subject of this biography; and George H., who resides in North Grafton, is engaged in the milling business, and also deals in grain, hay, etc.

Francis E. Huckins attended the common schools of his native town, and later pursued a high school course under the able tutorship of Professor D. B. Hubbard. At the age of seventeen, when the war between the North and the South was just breaking out, he left his studies and began drilling. On July 12, 1861, he was sworn into the Union army, being the next man after Albert Smith, who was the first, to enroll from Grafton. His parents were opposed to his entering the army at so early an age, and endeavored to dissuade him, but to no purpose. He was appointed to Com- pany G of the Fifteenth Regiment, and was sent on to Washington, his being the first regi- ment to pass through Baltimore after the Balti- more riot. After a two weeks' stay in Wash- ington, Mr. Huckins was detailed for picket duty at Poolsville, Md. The first fighting he saw was at Ball's Bluff, where he swam back over the river at midnight and walked six miles to camp, his clothing consisting of a hat and a pair of stockings. He next took part in the battle of Winchester; and, following this, he was with McClellan in the Peninsula cam- paign, taking part in every engagement. He was at the siege of Yorktown, at Williams- burg, at Seven Pines (more often called Fair Oaks) ; in the seven days' retreat to Harrison's Landing; and at Antietam, where his company was in the thick of the fight and suffered heav- ily. He then followed Lee to Fredericksburg, and was at Chancellorsville, Ball's Bluff, and at Gettysburg. Later he served under Grant in the campaign against Petersburg, and was at Weldon Railroad, where the rebels captured nearly the whole brigade. At Antietam he was offered a Sergeant's place. At Poolsville he was for several weeks in the hospital. Of the men who enlisted from Grafton only three came back, Messrs. Collins, Rhodes, and Huckins, while the regiment ranks eighth as regards the number of men killed in battle. Mr. Huckins reached home after three years

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spent in the defence of the Union, on July 28, 1864. Declining to re-enlist, though offered a commission and eight hundred and fifty dol- lars, he became a conductor on the Boston & Albany Railroad, running to Worcester, which position he afterward held for twenty-three years. At the end of that time, being then in failing health, he retired to the old home, where he has since been engaged in agriculture.

Mr. Huckins is now serving his ninth con- secutive year as a member of the Board of Selectmen, and his sixth year as the chairman of the board. He has also been the chairman of the Republican Town Committee for a num- ber of years. An Odd Fellow, he is a member of Mt. Washington Encampment, No. 6; also a charter member of Bernice Rebecca Lodge, of Boston, and a member of Evening Star Lodge at North Grafton. He has been several times through the chairs of the latter fraternity, and has been one of its trustees since its organiza- tion. He is an active member of Post No. 2, G. A. R., of Boston, and at camp fires is al- ways ready to give a definite and decided opin- ion on any subject that is brought up for dis- cussion along with his reasons therefor. He married Lucy Spear, of Quincy, who is the mother of two children. One is now Mrs. Harry Allen, who is a graduate of Norcross School, Boston, and resides in North Grafton. The other is Lucy F., who married George Stockwell, and resides with her parents. Mrs. Huckins is a prominent member of Rebecca Lodge, has occupied numerous official positions therein, and was for two years District Deputy Grand Master.

e RANK C. LITCHFIELD, the president of the Litchfield Shuttle Company, of Southbridge, Mass., son of the late Festus C. Litchfield, was born here, May 4, 1846. His paternal grandfather, Comins Litchfield, a carpenter by trade and the owner of a good farm in Charlton, Worcester County, married a Miss Blanchard.

Festus C. Litchfield, son of Comins, was born on the old homestead in Charlton in the year 1818. A carpenter and wheelwright by trade, he spent many years of his early life in

the capacity of master mechanic for the Globe Company. In 1843 he and his brother, Leroy, founded the Litchfield Shuttle Company, and he served for a long time as its president. His religious opinions were liberal, and he was a generous contributor to the Congregational church, of which he was a regular attendant. He died October 20, 1883. His first wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Hammond, bore him two children, namely: Frank C., the sub- ject of this sketch; and Charlotte Ann, now the wife of John P. Haynes, a business man of Chicago, formerly of Sturbridge. His second marriage was made with Louisa Amsden, then a teacher in the public schools of Southbridge. Her death occurred on May 20, 1883.

Having received his early education in the Southbridge schools and the academy at Wil- braham, Frank C. Litchfield became an em- ployee of the Litchfield Shuttle Company. Shortly after he resigned that position and went to. Providence, R.I., to take a course in book-keeping and mechanical drawing at the Schofield Commercial College. Having ac- complished this purpose, he resumed his former position in the shops of the Shuttle Company. Subsequently Pliny Litchfield, Liberty and Lybia M. Litchfield were admitted as equal partners, and at a later date Schuyler Whitney, a brother-in-law of the founders of the firm, became one of its active members. About a year after he secured a position with the Bos- ton Lock Company, manufacturers of builders' hardware, of which he was for a time a mem- ber. A year and a half later he severed his connection with that company, and for the next nine months was with the Michinal Toy Company, which was burned out by the Boston fire of 1872. During the following two years he kept a grocery store at Wollaston Heights. Then at the request of his father he sold out, and returned to the shops of the Shuttle Com- pany, where he was employed from 1872 until July 1, 1878. On this latter date he bought one-half of his father's interest in the company. In January, 1879, he was made a director of the company; served as clerk of the corporation from 1884 to 1890; and on the death of Pliny Litchfield in 1890 he became the president of the corporation, which position he has since

FRANK C. LITCHFIELD.

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ably filled. The company makes a specialty of manufacturing patterns originally invented by it. In addition to manufacturing shuttles and shuttle irons for all parts of our own coun- try, it exports many of its productions to for- eign countries.

In politics Mr. Litchfield is a stanch Repub- lican. At present he is serving the commu- nity on the Library Committee of Southbridge. He belongs to Southbridge Lodge, No. 47, I. O. O. F., of which he is Past Grand; to Wachusett Encampment, No. 10, of Worces- ter; to Armor Lodge, No. 87, Knights of Pythias; and to Phoenix Council, Royal Arca- num, No. 353, of which he was the secretary for one year. He is interested in all things pertaining to the moral welfare of the town, and is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church. On March 4, 1872, he was united in marriage with Isabelle R., daughter of the Rev. Pliny Wood, of Worcester. They have one daughter, Ruby Belle, who was born September 4, 1886.

YLVESTER PRESCOTT, a highly respected resident of Rutland, is a native of West Boylston. He was born on February 3, 1812, son of John and Eunice (Dinsmore) Prescott. His paternal grandfather, who was a farmer in Sterling, was born on June 19, 1750, and died on November 22, 1805. He married Tabitha Sawyer, who died on June 4, 1834. His grandfather Dinsmore, who was born on Sep- tember 17, 1743, and died in West Boylston on August 4, 1811, was also a farmer by occu- pation. His grandmother Dinsmore, whose maiden name was Sarah Winn, was born on September 14, 1746, and died on March 2, 1831.

John Prescott, above named, was born in West Boylston on April 18, 1785, and spent his life there, engaged in farming. He was a member of the Congregational church. His death occurred on August 28, 1848. His wife, Eunice, died on July 7, 1862.

Sylvester Prescott was educated in the dis- trict schools in West Boylston, where at an early age he gave evidence of unusual skill

with a pen. He became an expert writer, and has in later years been engaged in teaching penmanship. He resided in his native town until 1864, and was for a number of years a trunk-maker and for one year landlord of the Oakdale House. Upon coming to Rutland in 1864 he bought the farm where he is now liv- ing, and upon which he has since made many improvements. Here he has cultivated his seventy-eight acres of land, and raised general farm products.

On January 19, 1836, Mr. Prescott was united in marriage with Triphena B. Fair- banks, who was born in Holden on September 12, 1819, daughter of Oliver and Prescilla H. (Bennett) Fairbanks, both of whom were na- tives of Sterling. Mr. and Mrs. Prescott have had nine children, namely: Marion W., born on September 20, 1838; Sarah E., born May 13, 1840; William W., born December 29, 1841 ; James M., born January 2, 1845 ; Man- son M., born March 31, 1847; Roland C., born June 24, 1851; Walter H., born August I, 1854; Ezra B., born July 25, 1861 ; and Edwin S., born February 6, 1863. Ezra B., the eighth, died on July 9, 1863; Manson died on April 17, 1871; and Edwin died on Febru- ary 5, 1895. William and James were in Company D of the Second Regiment, Massa- chusetts Volunteers, while Manson was in Company E of the Twenty-first Regiment.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 101

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Boston, Biographical review publishing company Number of Pages: 1238

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Boston, Biographical review publishing company
Number of Pages: 1238