Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 13

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 13

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On January 1, 1850, Mr. Young was united in marriage with Angelia Ballou, daughter of Luther and Clara Ballou, of Royalston, Mass. Mrs. Young died in March, 1891, having been the mother of four children, one of whom, a daughter, is now the wife of Augustine S. Belding, and resides in this city. Mr. Young has been quite active in public affairs. He was a member of the Common Council for one year ; was chosen a member of the Massachu- setts legislature for the year 1882; was chosen an Assessor in 1888, and with the exception of one year, in which he acted as chairman of the board, he has served as its clerk with marked ability until the present time. He at- tends the Unitarian church.

ILLIAM E. PATRICK, a well- known resident of Warren, Mass., and the chairman of its present Board of Selectmen, was born in this town, May 2, 1847. A son of William A. and Sophia (Bishop) Patrick, he is a direct de- scendant of John Patrick, who came here when the country was in its primeval wildness, built his log house, and reared his family. John's son, Matthew, the great-grandfather of Will- iam E. Patrick, was a man of prominence among the early pioneers, and served as Se- lectman of the town. The grandfather, Isaac, son of Matthew, was also a Selectman, served in other town offices, and represented Warren in the General Court. William A. Patrick, a lifelong resident of Warren, was engaged in agriculture throughout his active period, and was one of the substantial men of the town. Also active in public life, he served acceptably as Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor for a number of years. His wife, Sophia, was born in Brimfield, Mass.

Having completed his early education at

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Eastman's Business College in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., William E. Patrick assisted his father in the management of the home farm for a number of years. Accepting then the posi- tion of agent for C. Brigham & Co., wholesale milk contractors of Boston, he shipped dairy products to that firm from Warren and adjoin- ing towns for fifteen consecutive years. In 1885 he settled on his present fine farm, where he has since been prosperously engaged in general farming. Also, as senior partner of the firm W. E. Patrick & Son he has owned and attended an extensive milk route in this locality. He has been a member of the Board of Selectmen for several terms, and for the past six years the efficient chairman of that body. For one year he has been Assessor, and he is also a director of the Warren Public Library and a justice of the Peace. A Repub- lican in politics, he is a member of the Re- publican Town Committee.

Taking much interest in agricultural ques- tions, Mr. Patrick has performed excellent work for the farmers of the county in the Warren Grange, of which he is now the Mas- ter, and in the West Brookfield Farmers' Club -- the largest organization of the kind in the State - of which he has been the president for a number of years. He belongs to Arcturus Lodge, I. O. O. F., and is an active member of the Congregational church. On June 29, 1870, he was married to Ella F., daughter of Sumner Sibley, late of Warren. His chil- dren, all living in Warren, are: Grace M., the wife of Herbert N. Shepard; William S. ; and Ralph B.

AMES QUIGLEY, a prosperous farmer of Mendon, was born in Queens County, Ireland, in November, 1838. His father, Timothy Quigley, was also a farmer. He came to this country in 1851, then less than fourteen years old, intent on finding his fortune in the New World. After learning the shoemaker's trade, he worked at it industriously for nearly forty years in vari- ous parts of the country, including Philadel- phia, Springfield, Mass., and Hartford, Conn., but chiefly in the factories of Mendon, Hop-

kinton, and Milford. In 1890, having acquired some means by his industry, persever- ance, and frugality, he purchased what is known as the Davenport farm in Mendon, and there settled down to farming. To-day he is regarded as one of the most prosperous farmers in the township. He has always taken an in- terest in whatever pertained to the welfare of the town in which he lived. An ardent Dem- ocrat, he has been actively identified with his party as delegate to its various State, legisla- tive, and senatorial conventions. He served Mendon for three years as a member of its Board of Assessors. In 1889 he represented his district in the legislature, where he served with credit in the Committee on the Consti- tution.

Mr. Quigley married Mary Welsh, who has lived in Mendon since her thirteenth year. Of their nine children, six are living, namely : Nellie, who is the wife of William Foley, the Tax Collector of Milford, and has three chil- dren; Lizzie, who resides with her uncle in Hopkinton; Annie, who is the wife of John Colbert, of Upton; Alice, who resides in Framingham; James, who is a machinist at Hopedale; and Rose, who is a student in the Mendon High School. The eldest son, Tim- othy, died in Mendon at the age of thirty.

ANIEL CURTIS MILES, national bank examiner, is a well - known citizen of Worcester County, resid- ing in Westminster. He was born in the eastern part of this town on June I, 1827. Mr. Miles is a son of the late Daniel and Mary (Curtis) Miles, and is the elder brother of Major-general Nelson A. Miles. His first paternal ancestor in America was the Rev. John Myles, a Baptist clergyman, born in Wales in 1621 and educated at Ox- ford, who, being persecuted for non-con- formity, left Wales and came to New England about 1663, and for many years was pastor of a Baptist church founded by him at Swansea, Mass. He died in 1683. His family his- tory, as given in part by different early writers, is incomplete and sometimes contra- dictory. John Myles, Jr., is mentioned at an

Il miles

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early date as Town Clerk of Swansea. Samuel Myles, grandson of Elder Myles, was born in 1689.

Daniel Miles, a native of Pomfret, Conn., thought to have been of the fourth generation in descent from the first John Myles, removed to Petersham, Mass., and was the founder of the Worcester County branch of the Elder's posterity. He died in 1777. Both Daniel Miles, and his son Joab, who was born in 1742, and died in 1832, aged ninty-one, fought in the Revolution.

Daniel Miles, son of Joab, came from Petersham to Westminster about 1824, and engaged in farming and lumbering. He was a man of energy and executive ability and a public-spirited citizen. He held the office of Selectman, and was a prominent member of the Baptist church. During the latter part of his life he lived on what was known as the Miles homestead. He died in 1875, at the age of seventy-five; and his wife, whose name before marriage was Mary Curtis, died the same year, aged seventy-three. She was the eldest daughter of Francis and Mary (Gilbert) Curtis and a sister of the father of ex-Mayor Curtis of Boston. Her father was a son of the Rev. Philip Curtis, of Sharon, Mass., Daniel and Mary (Curtis) Miles were the par- ents of four children, namely : Daniel Curtis; Mary Jane, now Mrs. Gardner Merriam, of Leominster; Ann Maria, now Mrs. Samuel H. Sprague, of Westminster; and Nelson Appleton, now General Miles, Commander of the United States army.

Daniel Curtis Miles, after obtaining his education in the public and in private schools and at Westminster Academy, taught school for sixteen terms in Lancaster, Westminster, and Gardner, one of his pupils at West- minster being his younger brother, Nelson A., when eleven and twelve years of age. Daniel C. Miles began his active business life as a farmer, but gradually enlarged the field of his operations, and became proprietor of a saw and grist mill and of a factory for the production of chair stock. He also dealt largely in lumber. The chair factory and connected buildings at South Westminster were erected largely through his efforts, and

for three years he was a partner with Messrs. Merriam & Holden. Mr. Miles also owned and operated the Westminster and Winchen- don bakeries for three years. Prospering in these enterprises, he went into partnership with Mr. Lombard for the purpose of manu- facturing cane and ratan chairs. The firm was known under the name of Miles & Lombard, and the plant was located at North Westmin- ster. The name was subsequently changed to that of Miles & Son, and became one of the most important industries in that part of the town, giving employment to seventy-five persons.

Mr. Miles was the prime mover in estab- lishing the Westminster National Bank, of which he was president from its organization in 1875 until 1895, when he resigned. For some years past he has been interested in real estate, and has operated extensively in land in Southern California and elsewhere; and he now has an interest in a large cattle ranch near Miles City, Mont. This city was founded by his son, George M. Miles, and named in honor of General Miles.

Mr. Miles enlisted for service in the Civil War; but, his town being called upon to fur- nish only two men, he was not mustered in. He, however, accompanied his younger brother to the Potomac bridge, which was as far South as he was allowed to go as a citizen ; and twice afterward, when his brother was re- ported mortally wounded, he went to the front to help him home. He also went once to the seat of war to bring home the body of his brother-in-law, James Puffer, which he dug from a grave on the field of Gettysburg, put- ting it into a freight car attached to the first train that left Gettysburg after the battle. His only resting place was the box that held the body of the dead soldier, upon which he laid his boots as a pillow. The car held fourteen other boxes, each containing the dead body of a soldier.

On May 22, 1851, Mr. Miles was married to Lucy Ann, daughter of James and Lucy (Jones) Puffer. Of this union five children were born, namely: Mary Josephine, now wife of M. M. Parker, president of the Univer- sity at Tucson, Ariz .; George M., of Miles

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City; Herbert J., now with his father; Ar- thur W., of Livingston, Mont .; and Martha G., deceased. Mrs. Lucy A. Miles, a woman of most excellent qualities of heart and mind, passed to the higher life on February 9, 1869.

While successfully engaged in business, Mr. Miles has not overlooked the fact that he had responsibilities toward the public and duties as a citizen. He has held the office of Auditor, Selectman, Assessor, and Collector for the town, and has served several years as chairman of the School Board. He has also been president of the Worcester North Agri- cultural Society for two years and trustee ten years, superintendent of the Baptist Sunday- school for twenty years, clerk of the Baptist society for sixteen years, a member fifty-nine years, and president of the Wachusett Bap- tist Association and Justice of the Peace for many years. He is at present, November, 1898, national bank examiner for all the banks of the State outside of Boston.

During the past twenty years Mr. Miles has travelled extensively, and has visited many foreign countries, as well as all the States and Territories and many of the large cities of the United States and the chief points of interest in California, Wyoming, Oregon, Colorado, and the British Provinces. In Europe he journeyed in Italy, Switzerland, France, and the British Isles.

6 ELSON APPLETON MILES, Major- general, commanding United States Army. - General Miles was born on a farm in Westminster, Mass., August 6, 1839, being the younger son of Daniel and Mary (Curtis) Miles and a repre- sentative of the fourth generation of his fam- ily in Worcester County.

The immigrant progenitor of this stock was the Rev. John Myles, the pastor of a Baptist church in Wales, who, being forced to give up his charge on account of non-conformity, came to New England with members of his flock in 1662 or 1663, founded a Baptist church at a place in or near Rehoboth, which in 1667 was incorporated as the town of Swan- sea. He was engaged by the town as a school-

master to teach Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, besides English grammar; and being a man of valor, as well as a learned and pious divine of the more liberal sort for those days, he did good service as commander of the garrison at Swansea in King Philip's War, his own house being fortified. For three or four years after the close of the war, his people being scattered, he lived and preached in Boston, returning then to Swansea. He died in 1683. Samuel Myles, his grandson, was born in 1689. Daniel Miles, a descendant of the Rev. John Myles and great - grandfather of General Miles, removed from Pomfret, Conn., to Petersham, Mass., and died there in 1777. Both he and his son Joab fought in the Revo- lution. His grandson, Daniel, born in 1799, son of Joab, removed to Westminster in 1824. From Heywood's History of this town we learn that Mary Curtis, the wife of Daniel Miles, of Westminster, and mother of General Miles, was a daughter of Francis Curtis, a grand-daughter of the Rev. Philip Curtis, of Sharon, and a descendant of William Curtis, who with his wife, Sarah Eliot, came over from England in 1632, and settled at Rox- bury, Mass. Daniel and Mary C. Miles reared four children: Daniel C., a sketch of whom appears on another page of this work; Mary J., now Mrs. Gardner Merriam; Ann Maria, now Mrs. Samuel H. Sprague; and Nelson Appleton.

Country-born and country-bred under the best of parental guidance, his father a man of "sterling integrity, resolute will, and the highest sense of honor," his mother gentle, watchful, inspiring him to noble endeavor, Nelson A. Miles acquired his elementary edu- cation in the district school, out of school hours became an expert at skating, hunting, and horseback riding, and completed his course of study at the village academy. While yet in his school days he evinced strong military instincts, it being a favorite occupation of his to line up his school-fel- lows in two bodies, as Indians and whites, and lead them in mimic warfare. From stories of his ancestors told at the family fire- side he learned lessons of patriotism, which doubtless helped to form his character and

NELSON A. MILES.

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influence his purpose in later life. Leaving home at the age of sixteen, he became clerk · in a crockery store in Boston. It is doubt- ful if he ever showed any special aptitude for a mercantile career. From what followed it may be gathered that he looked about with his eyes open, and held himself ready for new occasions and new duties.

With the approach of the Civil War his opportunity came. Taking, with other young men, lessons in drilling of an old French- army officer in Boston, he began to prepare himself for action and for a leading part. Largely through his efforts was recruited a company of infantry, which became Company E, Twenty-second Massachusetts Volunteers, and of which he was commissioned Captain, and mustered in as such on September 9, 1861. Shortly, however, before leaving camp, at the request of Governor Andrew, he gave up his commission, which was wanted for an older man, and accepted instead that of First Lieutenant. In his book of "Personal Recol- lections " he says, "I therefore began my mil- itary service as a Captain reduced to a First Lieutenant in the Twenty-second Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers.

Intent on serving his country, energetic, resolute, daring, and an excellent horseman, he was shortly detailed for staff duty as an Aide-de-camp and afterward as Assistant Ad- jutant-general of a brigade. In May, 1862, on recommendation of Colonel Francis C. Barlow, of the Sixty-first New York Volun- teers (afterward General Barlow), he was ap- pointed Lieutenant Colonel of that regiment ; and on September 30, 1862, he was commis- sioned Colonel. He was made Brigadier-gen- eral, United States Volunteers, May 12, 1864 ; brevetted Major-general of Volunteers in Au- gust following; and promoted to the rank of Major-general, United States Volunteers, in October, 1865. His commission as Colonel in the regular army is dated July 28, 1866. He was brevetted Brigadier-general and Major-general, United States Army, on March 2, 1867; transferred to the Fifth United States Infantry in March, 1869; commis- sioned Brigadier-general in December, 1880; commissioned Major-general, April 5, 1890.

He accepted the office April 14, 1890, and is now, 1898, in command of the United States army.

The career of General Miles during the Civil War was a brilliant one. His rapid promotions were the just reward of valiant deeds. Before the close of the conflict this citizen soldier had risen to the command of the Second Army Corps, consisting of twenty- seven regiments and two batteries; and for two weeks he commanded the corps of about twenty-five thousand men, having charge also of Fortress Monroe, with Jefferson Davis as a prisoner. He was engaged in nearly all the battles of the Army of the Potomac, particu- larly distinguishing himself at Fair Oaks, at Antietam, at Fredericksburg, and at Chancel- lorsville. He was four times wounded, twice severely and, it was feared, mortally. Im- mediately after the disbanding of the volun- teers he enlisted in the regular army as Colo- nel. In later years, in the conduct of six victorious Indian campaigns, with the result of opening up vast territory in the Far West to the advance of civilization, General Miles gave further proof of his efficiency as a com- mander, in the words of the historian of West- minster, "exhibiting in his dealings with and treatment of the Indian wards of the nation a degree of common sense, practical wisdom, humane feeling, and Christian principle, alike creditable to both his head and his heart."

In the volume of "Personal Recollections," already alluded to, the reader will find a very interesting account of the aforesaid Indian campaigns and explorations, together with valuable notes and comments on the develop- ment and progress of the great West.

It is a fact worthy of notice in this connec- tion that Sarah Eliot, wife of William Curtis, from whom General Miles through his mother is a descendant of the seventh generation, was a sister - so the genealogists say --- of John Eliot, of revered memory, the apostle to the Indians.

The part taken by General Miles in the conduct of the Spanish War of 1898 is not so well known to the public now as it will be later, after the writing of the history of the war. His presence and counsel were long

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needed in Washington. His orders to Gen- eral Shafter were sent in the capacity of com- manding General. Arriving in Cuba with re-enforcements at a critical juncture, he con- ducted to a successful issue the pending ne- gotiations for the surrender of General Toral. The well-planned campaign of Porto Rico, happily victorious without bloodshed, was led by him in person. "The sentiment of the people," it has been said, "was in no sense outraged by the invaders, but on the contrary was successfully propitiated." At Guanica, on July 27, he issued to the inhabitants of the island a proclamation, of which the following is a part : -

"In the prosecution of the war against the kingdom of Spain by the people of the United States, in the cause of liberty, justice, and humanity, its military forces have come to occupy the island of Porto Rico. They come bearing the banners of freedom, inspired by noble purposes. .

"The chief object of the American military forces will be to overthrow the armed author- ity of Spain, and give the people of your beautiful island the largest measure of liberty consistent with this military occupation. . . .

"They bring protection, not only to your- selves, but to your property. .. . It is not their purpose to interfere with the existing laws and customs, which are wholesome and beneficial to the people, so long as they con- form to the rules of the military administra- tion, order, and justice. This is not a war of devastation and dissolution, but one to give all within the control of the military and naval forces the advantages and blessings of enlightened civilization.

To this proclamation a very friendly re- sponse was made by the municipal officers of the island.

The order issued by General Miles to the army officers at an early date in the war with Spain shows him to be a man who has a deep sense of responsibility as a military leader : " Every officer, of whatever grade, will, so far as may be in his power, guard and preserve the health and welfare of those under his charge. He must labor diligently and zeal- ously to perfect himself and his subordinates

in military drill, instruction, and discipline; and, above all, he must constantly endeavor, by precept and example, to maintain the high- est character, to foster and stimulate that soldierly spirit and patriotic devotion to duty which must characterize an effective army."

At a banquet recently given in his honor in New York City on November 11, 1898, Gen- eral Miles spoke of the war as having been waged "in the interest of humanity and in be- half of a heroic people, who for many years have been struggling against cruel atrocities, oppression, and despotism of a once powerful nation." "One great blessing to the country," he went on to say, "in this brief but de- cisive war, has been to firmly unite in bonds of imperishable union all sections of the United States - North, South, East, and West. . Still more, it has given us reason and opportunity to appreciate our obligation to the mother country for the dignified and powerful influence of the British empire in the main- tenance of our principles and right.

" We are ascending to a clearer atmosphere, up to a higher Mecca, where we should take a stronger position than ever before occupied by our government and people. ... This much I think is apparent to all, that the grave responsibilities of the nation are too great to be contaminated by personal, partisan, or sec- tional interests. Our interests are national in the highest degree."

Governor Wolcott, of Massachusetts, speak- ing in behalf of the Commonwealth, said of the distinguished guest of the evening : -

"He has reversed the order that prevails in Great Britain, where an honored career finds its close in Westminster : General Miles drew his first breath in Westminster, Mass. It was a happy augury ; and yet, when a man has attained lofty heights of achievement in civil or military life, he steps beyond the bounds of his native State, and knows no North, no South, no East, or West. He is, in its broadest sense, an American citizen ; and all American citizens unite to do him honor."

General Miles married Mary Sherman, daughter of Judge Charles Sherman and niece of General William T. Sherman and of John

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Sherman, former Secretary of State. Of this union two children were born, Mary Cecelia Sherman Miles and Daniel Sherman Miles.

ON. LUTHER HILL, one of the fore- most residents of the town of Spen- cer, was born in Hillsville, this town, November 22, 1825. His father was a prosperous merchant. At the age of fourteen years he left the district school to begin the battle of life for himself, and for a year thereafter was employed as a clerk in Worcester, Mass. During the following three years he drove a team from Spencer to Boston. After this he was a clerk in his father's store until he reached his majority.

Mr. Hill has since then been prominently identified with public affairs. Although he has never had any special advantages for ac- quiring legal knowledge, in the capacity of Trial Justice he has tried more than eight thousand criminal cases. For five years he represented this district in the House of Rep- resentatives, and for one year was State Sena- tor. He has been Deputy Sheriff for three years, Postmaster for eight years, chairman of the Board of Selectmen for twelve years, and for three decades he served as chairman of the annual town meetings. Deeply interested in advancing the welfare of his native town and county, he has been a promoter of the erection of public buildings, and has advocated the im- provement of highways, the construction of railways, and the establishment of the present system of sewers and water-works.

A man of unusual force of character, inde- pendent and self-reliant, he has splendid friends and warm enemies, the common lot of men with more than one idea. He is temper- ate in habits, generous, and sympathetic. In politics he is a devoted Republican, while his religious creed is quite liberal.

ILLIAM E. ANDERSON, a thriv- ing dairy farmer of New Braintree, son of Charles and Mary (Robinson) Anderson, was born in East Brookfield, Febru- ary 13, 1836. The great-grandfather, Will-

iam Anderson, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, resided for a time in Ireland, where he either learned the weaver's trade or followed it as a journeyman. Coming to America afterward, he settled in New Braintree as a pioneer, and purchased of one Shaw, who was the first man hanged in Worcester, the farm now owned by William E. Anderson. Wolves were so nu- merous and troublesome then that one of his daughters was chased in broad daylight by a number of them. At the same time salmon in the river were easily shot. William Anderson lived to be over eighty years old, and was buried with the rites of the Masonic order, to which he belonged.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 13

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