Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 120

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

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in New York; Dr. Jesse Bullard, who went to California in 1849, and died while on his pas- sage home; Eunice Bullard, who became the wife of the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher; Jo- seph, Henry B. Bullard's father; Oliver, who for a number of years had charge of Mr. Beecher's farm in Peekskill, and was later superintendent of Prospect Park, Brooklyn; Maria, who married Judge Barton, of Worcester, and whose son, William Sumner Barton, was the treasurer of that city for thirty years; Lucy Ann, the wife of the Rev. Lott Jones, an Episcopalian clergyman resid- ing in New York; and Talbot. Artemas, Asa, and Ebenezer Bullard were graduates of Amherst College. During their student days they were chums of Henry Ward Beecher, who on one occasion accompanied them home, and fell desperately in love with their sister Eunice. The father, who dearly loved his children and entertained somewhat ambitious desires for their future, was not favorably impressed with the young man who was destined to become the noted Brooklyn preacher. However, Mr. Beecher not only won the heart of the daughter but soon found means to secure the father's consent, and their marriage took place at the homestead in Sutton.

Joseph Bullard, like the rest of the family, acquired a good education, and afterward taught school in Sutton for fifteen winters. Besides conducting the homestead farm of two hundred acres, which is still one of the best pieces of agricultural property in the town, he carried on an extensive wood and lumber business. In religious belief he was orig- inally a Congregationalist. Later he united with the Baptist church. He married Olivia Hill, who became the mother of six children ; namely, Eliza, Ira, Franklin E., Agnes, Mary, and Henry B. Eliza is residing at the homestead. Ira enlisted for nine months in the Fifty-first Regiment, Massachusetts Vol- unteers, under Colonel Higginson, at the breaking out of the Civil War. Subse- quently, re-enlisting for three years, he was made Color Sergeant. He died at the age of twenty-seven years from the effects of wounds received at the battle of Antietam. Franklin

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E. participated in twenty-seven engagements of the Civil War with the Fifteenth Massa- chusetts Regiment, and was wounded while swimming the river at Ball's Bluff under the enemy's fire. Afterward, when confined in hospital with typhoid fever, he refused a dis- charge, informing his people by letter that he would return home "with his regiment or in a coffin." After the war he became a travel- ling salesman, and is now in business in Mill- bury, Mass. Agnes died in infancy. Mary, who was formerly a successful school teacher in Sutton, is now the wife of Frank Tucker, a merchant and the Postmaster of Rochdale, Worcester County.

Henry Beecher Bullard went with his par- ents to reside at the Bullard homestead when five years old. Afterward, succeeding to its ownership, he cultivated the property until he was thirty years old, at the same time con- tinuing the wood and lumber business for- merly carried on by his father. In 1869 he established himself in business at his present stand, where he has since conducted a profit- able trade as a general merchant. He mar- ried Huldah Wilcox, daughter of Joseph Wilcox, of Sutton, and now has two children - Louisa I. and Clifford Henry. Louisa I. is the wife of Charles R. Luther, of this town, and has two children - Robert Henry and Clifford Raymond. Clifford Henry Bul- lard, who is in business in Boston and resides in Hyde Park, married the only daughter of the Hon. John P. Stockwell, of Sutton, and has one daughter, Louie Belle Bullard.

Mr. Bullard has served as a Selectman for nine years, never missing a meeting, and being the chairman of the board for five years of the period. Also for three years he was the chairman of the Board of Assessors; a Representative to the legislature in 1891, serving upon the Agricultural Committee; and he has been the Postmaster of West Sut- ton for the past twenty-nine years. In poli- tics a Republican, he has been a delegate at various Republican conventions and a mem- ber of the Republican Town Committee. He belongs to Oxford Lodge, F. & A. M .; and to Sutton Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. An esteemed member of the Baptist church, he is

the chairman of its Standing Committee and the clerk of the church and society; and he has been the superintendent of its Sunday- school. Mrs. Bullard is also a member of the grange and actively interested in church work.

LBRIDGE BOYDEN, an architect of wide reputation and at the time of his death, which occurred at his home in Worcester, March 25, 1898, probably the oldest man in his profession in the country, was born in Somerset, Vt., July 4, 1810. He was a son of Amos and Abigail (Wood) Boyden, and was a lineal descendant of Thomas Boyden, who came from Ipswich, England, in 1634. His paternal grandfather, who also bore the name Thomas, fought both in the French and Indian War and in the Revolution, and died while in the service. His father, Amos, and his uncle, Justus Boy- den, were also Revolutionary soldiers.

Amos Boyden was born April 15, 1763, and in 1779 he enlisted with six others at Stur- bridge, Mass. Prior to their departure for the army a public meeting was called; and the recruits, being assigned seats of honor in the front pew of the gallery, listened to a pa- triotic, inspiring sermon by the Rev. Joshua Paine, in which he declared that if they were killed in battle they would be sure of eternal happiness. Amos Boyden removed from Somerset, Vt., to Orange, Mass., when his son Elbridge was about six months old, and engaged in the manufacture of lumber. He died April 1, 1837. Of his five children, the subject of this sketch was the third-born and the last survivor.

Elbridge Boyden's early educational oppor- tunities were confined to the district schools of Orange, which he attended three winter terms. Even while pursuing his primary studies his aptitude for drawing attracted the attention of the school-master, who predicted for him a brilliant future. When but eight years old he began to assist his father in the saw-mill, and at the age of sixteen he entered upon his apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade with Joel Stratton, of Athol, working

ALFRED L. CONVERSE.

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nine months a year for the usual length of time, and receiving seventy dollars the first, seventy-five the second, and eighty dollars the third year. After learning the trade he bought his employer's business, and estab- lished himself in Athol as a builder. At the age of twenty he accomplished his first work as an architect by drawing plans for a large farmhouse in Orange, an effort that made him quite a hero among his fellow-townsmen, fifty of whom assembled at the raising of the frame. This work was completed in two hours, and they then proceeded, according to the prevailing custom of the day, to celebrate the event by imbibing freely of the liberal supply of liquor, which was regarded as a necessary adjunct even at the raising of a church. Before the beginning of the temper- ance movement Mr. Boyden had become a total abstainer, and a short time later, when called upon to plan and erect a house of worship at Wendell, he successfully accom- plished, at the request of the Building Com- mittee, the unique task of raising the frame without the aid of strong drink. He resided in Athol for a number of years, and came to Worcester in the early forties. His first not- able achievement in this city was the building of turn-tables for the Boston & Albany Rail- way from his own models. The inventive genius displayed in that undertaking attracted the notice of the engineers of the Providence & Worcester Railway, which was then in process of construction ; and he was selected to design and erect the stations, which he ably and satisfactorily completed. In 1848 he be- came associated in business with Mr. Ball, a civil engineer, and, opening an office in the Central Exchange, the firm of Boyden & Ball had a successful career of fourteen years. Prompted by an earnest desire to excel in his profession, Mr. Boyden spent much time in assiduous study in order to familiarize him- self with the various styles of architecture, with the result that his reputation for design- ing ordinary or novel structures in an original and superior manner extended far beyond the limits of his own State. He furnished plans for more than fifty church edifices, including St. Paul's and the Salem Street Churches in

this city. He was also the architect of Mechanics' Hall, which was completed in 1857, and is still one of the finest buildings in Worcester; of the famous Congress Hall, Saratoga, which cost four hundred thousand dollars; and of the Taunton Insane Asylum, which cost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Although for the sake of rest he gave place to younger aspirants, he never per- manently retired; and during his last years he executed some of his best designs, his draughting implements being constantly within reach as long as he possessed the strength to use them. He was justly proud of many of his achievements, and some of them will live to be admired by future gener- ations. Soon after settling in Worcester he erected a residence on Hancock Street, but his last days were passed at 14 Harvard Street.

About the year 1830 Mr. Boyden married Louisa Davis, of Royalston, Mass. He was the father of four children, two of whom are living, namely: Mason A., of this city, a Civil War veteran and now an architect and civil engineer; and Mary, wife of S. Hamil- ton Coe, of Worcester. A daughter, Ellen, who was born in 1837, died in 1843; and George E., a civil engineer and architect, died some eleven years ago. Mason A. Boy- den married Cornelia Muzzy, and has one son, Harry Chester Boyden, also a civil engineer.

Mr. Elbridge Boyden was a member of the Mechanics' Association, and he attended its last reunion, which took place a short time be- fore his death.

LFRED L. CONVERSE, a prominent resident of Warren and an ex-member of the legislature, was born in Brimfield, Mass., August 23, 1824, son of Marcus and Sophia (Lyon) Converse. His immigrant ancestor was Edwin Converse, who, in company with his brother Allen, came from England in 1630, with the party headed by Governor Winthrop, and settled near Boston. Edwin Converse served as an Appraiser of Land, Road Commissioner, and Representative to the General Court from Woburn. The commission appointing him a

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Justice of the Peace, signed by Governor Winthrop, is still in the family's possession. He was an active church member and a Deacon.

Marcus Converse, son of Alpheus and Jerusha Converse, of Woburn, born in Wo- burn, settled in Brimfield, where he became a leading man. He served with ability in all of the important town offices, represented his district in the legislature, and had the sincere esteem of the entire community. His death happened in 1842, when he was fifty-seven years old. In 1896 a drinking fountain was erected to his memory by his heirs, the village furnishing the foundation, piping, and water. In politics he supported the Whig party, and in religious belief he was a Congregationalist. He was the father of eight children, two of whom are living: Eudocia, the widow of W. N. Flint, late of Monson, Mass. ; and Al- fred L., the subject of this sketch.

The education of Alfred L. Converse, begun in the common schools, was completed with a short course at the Quaboag Seminary in Warren, under Professor Joshua Pearl. He followed general farming and lumbering in his native town for many years, and incident- ally he carried on several building enter- prises. In the fall of 1859, through his brother-in-law, Colonel J. W. Foster, then land commissioner of the Illinois Central Rail- road, he was given a position as land examiner on said road. At the expiration of the six months required for the fulfilment of his duties as examiner, he was offered a lucrative posi- tion in the office of the land department of the railroad, but preferred to return East and cast his lot among his kindred. He still re- verts to this time, however, as one of the pleasantest episodes of his life. In 1881 Mr. Converse moved to Warren, where he has since given his attention to the real estate business, and has already erected eleven dwellings. On October 20, 1847, he married Almira Sedgwick, of Palmer, Mass., daughter of John Sedgwick, who was a leading resident of that town. Born of this union were two children: Mary S., who is no longer living; and Charles L., who married Kittie M. Jen- nings, and has three children - Alfred L.,

Philip R., and Mary E. Mrs. Almira Con- verse, who was an esteemed member of the Congregational church, died October 30, 1893.

For a period of thirty-one years in succes- sion Mr. Converse served as Town Treasurer of Brimfield. He also filled the offices of As- sessor, Selectman, Overseer of the Poor; and he represented the town in the legislature. Chosen the treasurer of the Hitchcock Free High School when its funds amounted to ten thousand dollars, he served in that capacity for twenty-five years, 'having been instrumental in securing the erection of the building, and at his retirement leaving to his successors the custody of eighty-four thousand dollars. During the Rebellion he assisted in collecting and disbursing funds subscribed for the pur- pose of furnishing the town's quota to the army. He has served as a Selectman of War- ren for two years. In politics he is a Repub- lican, while he favors the Prohibition move- ment. He is actively engaged in church work, taking special interest in the Sunday- school. His progressive tendencies, as well as the integrity he has displayed in managing public trusts, have won for him the esteem of the entire community.

HARLES ARTEMAS GOODRICH, of Lunenburg, a veteran schoolmas- ter, was born in this town, Novem- ber 5, 1824, son of Artemas and Lydia (Ramsdell) Goodrich. His first an- cestor in America was William Goodrich, who came in 1634 with his wife, Margaret, from Bury St. Edmunds, England, to Watertown, Mass. William's son, Jeremiah, who married Mary Adams, lived and died in Newbury. Phillip Goodrich, 1669-1729, son of Jere- miah, came to Lunenburg in 1719, nine years before it was incorporated as a town, and be- came the original proprietor of lot No. 70, now known as the Goodrich farm. He was prob- ably the first person interred in the South Burying-ground. He was prominent in all public affairs, and was a highly esteemed citi- zen. The maiden name of his wife was Mehitabel Woodman. Captain Phillip Good-

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rich, 1712-97, was Constable of Lunenburg at various times, and also filled the office of Selectman. He lived on the homestead set- tled by his father, but during the French and Indian War became Captain of a militia com- pany. He married in 1743 Jane Boynton, of Lunenburg. Their son, Simon, who built the present Goodrich house and married Sarah Bailey in 1794, died in 1832. Artemas Goodrich, son of Simon, had two sons - Charles Artemas and Andrew, the last named of whom died April 7, 1897. Both resided on the homestead, each building a house thereon ; and in 1850 Charles A. purchased a part of the estate.

Charles A. Goodrich attended the common schools until fifteen years of age, and then be- came a student at Lunenburg Academy, the principal of which at that time was John R. Rollins, subsequently Mayor of Lawrence. At the age of seventeen he became a teacher, and subsequently taught for ninety-seven terms in the common and high schools in this and adjoining towns, his last term being in 1895. Since then he has been engaged in farming, and also to some extent in land sur- veying, civil engineering, and conveyancing. The male members of the Goodrich family have usually been noted for size and strength; and the subject of this sketch is no exception to the rule, being six feet, five and a half inches in height and correspondingly propor- tioned.

At an entertainment participated in by all the schools of the town, Mr. Goodrich was thus spoken of by Mr. D. B. Locke, the super- intendent of schools: "It is with just pride that in this connection we refer to the long and valuable services of the chairman of the School Board, in whose honor the entertain- ment was given. For fifty years Mr. Good- rich has been intimately allied with the educational interests of this town, whose term of service as committee man, as well as teacher, has been exceeded by only a very few, if indeed by any, in this Commonwealth. His counsels have ever been helpful and timely, and by his thorough knowledge of the town and its customs and by his genial disposition he has exerted a powerful influence in unify-

ing and wisely directing the actions of the School Board. The town has honored him, as well as herself, by giving him her confidence, and has in turn been abundantly rewarded by his long and faithful service."

On December 10, 1850, Mr. Goodrich was married in Lunenburg to Martha A. W. Bailey, daughter of Samuel H. and Mary (Hart) Bailey. She died on the 12th of De- cember, 1884, leaving two children: Charles Edwin, who married Ella J. Fairbanks and is the father of one daughter, Ruth; and Addie Elizabeth, now Mrs. Edwin E. Marshall. On June 18, 1887, Mr. Goodrich married for his second wife Mrs. Josephine M. Colburn. For eighteen years Mr. Goodrich has been superintendent of the Unitarian Sunday- school and for forty years a member of the School Board, most of the time serving as its chairman. For nearly twenty-five years he has been Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor, and for many years a Justice of the Peace and Notary Public. In the last named capacity he has been called upon to act as ex- ecutor of wills and administrator of estates. He has been guardian for nine children, some of whom have resided in his family for years. Mr. Goodrich takes an active interest in the work of the grange, of which he is a member.

EREGRINE FOSTER WHITE, a contractor and builder of Worcester, was born November 21, 1832, in the ancient town of Plymouth, Mass.,

founded by the Pilgrims. His father, Thomas Foster White, was of the sixth gener- ation in descent from Peregrine White, whose birthplace was the cabin of the "Mayflower " while the vessel was at anchor in Province- town Harbor.

Peregrine, first, was the son of William and grandson of Bishop John White, of London. His father died in February after the landing; and his mother, Susanna Fuller White, be- came the second wife of Governor Edward Winslow. Peregrine White ' received a grant of land in the town of Marshfield, and there lived and died. He married Sarah Bassett. The line was thus continued: Daniel,2 Ben-

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jamin, Benjamin, 4 Luther, 5 Thomas Foster, 6 above named.

Thomas Foster White, father of the subject of this sketch, was a tanner and farmer in Marshfield, where he died on April 2, 1887. His wife, whose maiden name was Hannah Clark, was a native of Plymouth. She died in 1876. They reared eight children, three sons and five daughters; namely, Luther, Peregrine Foster, Edward, Hannah Thomas, Mary Ann, Mehitable Mercy, Sarah Eliza- beth, and Betsy James.

Peregrine F. White was educated in the public schools of Marshfield, and after leav- ing school he learned the mason's trade in Brockton and Whitman. In 1863 he removed to Worcester, and since that time he has built many important structures. In 1886 and

. 1888 Mr. White served the city as a member of the Board of Aldermen, and took an active interest in the construction of public build- ings, being chairman of the Public Building Committee.

Mr. White was first married to Margaret A. Paine. He has two sons, namely: E. F. White, who was born October 4, 1860; and W. L. White, born September 2, 1863. Both are married and live in Worcester. Mr. White was married the second time on March 19, 1884, to Mrs. Sarah E. Douglass.

B ENAJAH URBAN BUGBEE was for a number of years identified with the Southbridge Optical Company first as treasurer and manager and afterward as president, holding that office at the time of his death, which occurred. April 20, 1898. He was born in Thompson, Conn., August 13, 1845, son of Joseph and Adeline (Matthews) Bugbee. Ancestors of the fam- ily were early settlers in Woodstock, Conn., whither they removed from Roxbury. Joseph Bugbee's grandfather, Elijah Bugbee, served in the Revolutionary War, accompanying a New York Regiment to Lake Champlain. Leonard Bugbee, the next in this line, was a native of Pomfret, Conn., and followed the cabinet- maker's trade in that town. The maiden name of his wife was Martha Buck.

Their son Joseph, above named, who was born in Pomfret, made agriculture his princi- pal occupation during the active period of his life. He died in 1891. His wife, Adeline, was a daughter of Benajah Matthews, of Killingly, Conn. They had three children, namely: Benajah Urban, the subject of this sketch; Elijah, a telegraph operator in Wash- ington, D.C .; and another child, who died young.

Benajah U. Bugbee acquired his education in the public schools of Thompson. At the age of seventeen he entered the office of the American Telegraph Company in Globe Vil- lage, where he learned telegraphy, which he subsequently followed for eight years in Bos- ton and two years in Southbridge. He then engaged in the dry-goods business at Globe Village, having as a partner Mr. A. H. Wheeler; and he continued in trade some twenty years. About 1884 he invested in the Southbridge Optical Company, becoming treasurer and manager of that concern; and, selling out his interest in the dry-goods store to his partner some time later, he afterward devoted his entire energy to that enterprise, of. which he was elected president in 1892. The Southbridge Company manufacture seam- less gold-filled, steel, German silver, and solid gold spectacles and eye-glasses, which are sold only to the wholesale trade, a con- siderable per cent. of their product being ex- ported.

In July, 1867, Mr. Bugbee married Emma J: Curtis, daughter of Dr. Lucian W. and Jane (McCune) Curtis, of Southbridge. The three children of this union are: Sadie A., who was born in 1869; Lucian W., born in 1871; and Benajah Leonard Bugbee, born in 1874. Sadie A., who completed her educa- tion at the St. Johnsbury (Vt.) Academy, married William H. Wyman, and resides in Chelsea, Mass. Lucian W. completed his education at the Massachusetts School of Technology, Boston, and was master mechanic at the Southbridge Optical Works, and is now president of the company. He married Jacobina Taylor, of this town. Benajah L. Bugbee, who was educated in Southbridge and at Worcester Business College and was

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subsequently employed as an assistant at the factory, is now treasurer of the company. He married Maude Goodier, also of this town.

In 1882 Mr. Bugbee served with ability in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, being assigned to the Committee on Agricult- ure. In 1898 he was a member of the com- mittee appointed to superintend the erection of the new school building in Southbridge. In politics he was a Republican. He was formerly superintendent of the Sunday-school and choir director of the Evangelical Free Church, but later was associated with the South Congregational Church, and had charge of the musical part of the service.

AMILTON BOYD, of Northbridge, a Deputy Sheriff of Worcester County, was born in Ireland on the twenty- third day of March, 1847. At the age of nine years he came to America, and not long after reaching this country settled in Grafton. He received his education in the public schools of that town. Subsequently he worked in the Farmersville cotton-mills until 1861, when he removed to North Ux- bridge. Later he came to Northbridge, and began the manufacture of shoes, which occu- pation he followed here for ten years. He then became travelling agent for a shoe house, and was thus employed for a while, but seven- teen years ago took charge of the boarding- house for the Rockdale Mills, and has since continued its management. He is popular with all the guests of the house on account of his progressive methods and constant atten- tion to their comfort.

From his youth Mr. Boyd has been a stanch Republican in politics, and is actively identi- fied with local affairs. The esteem in which he is held by the citizens of Northbridge is well evidenced by the various public posi- tions he has been called upon to fill. He has served on the Board of Overseers of the Poor, is now serving his twenty-first year as Town Constable and his seventeenth as Collector of Taxes. He has been Deputy Sheriff for the past six years.

Mr. Boyd married Jane Louisa, daughter of

Christopher Adams, a well-known farmer of Adams Corner, in the town of Northbridge, and a direct descendant of James Adams, the pioneer settler of Northbridge.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 120

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