Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 132

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 132

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

thirty years. He never married. Levi, who resides at 103 Elm Street, Worcester, was a volunteer in the same regiment with his father, going out in 1862 as Second Lieu- tenant of Company E. George Trumbull Lin- coln died unmarried, February 6, 1869, from a surgical operation, the removal of an abscess from the sciatic nerve. He was salesman for a hardware firm. Winslow Sever Lincoln, Sr., resides on the fine farm of over two hun- dred acres left him by his father. He was educated in Worcester. He married Miss Helen Blake Webber, who was born in Chi- cago, Ill., November 28, 1858. She is a daughter of Edwin A. and Lydia (McClellan) Webber and grand-daughter of the Rev. S. P. Blake, a Methodist preacher. They have five bright and interesting children : Margaret, aged sixteen, born July 17, 1882; Elizabeth, born November 28, 1883; Penelope Winslow, born June 20, 1888; Winslow Sever, Jr., third, born April 30, 1893; and Edward Blake, born May 4, 1898.

Mrs. Winslow S. Lincoln is a member of the Woman's Club of Worcester and of the School Board.

T HOMAS W. MONROE, M.D., one of Milford's successful and popular phy- sicians, was born in Providence, R. I., on September 1, 1845, son of Dr. Franklin and Marcy Ann (Morris) Monroe. His father was a native of St. Johnsbury, Vt., where his grandfather, Dr. John Monroe, was for many years a physician.

Dr: Franklin Monroe settled in Providence, R. I., when a young man, and for forty years was one of the well-known physicians of that city and a leading member of the Baptist church, in which he served for many years as Deacon. He was a physician of the old school. His wife was born in Providence, where they were married. Her father, Cap- tain John Morris, of Barcelona, Spain, com- manded one of the largest full-rigged merchant ships afloat. Eleven children were born to Dr. Franklin and Marcy A. Monroe, three at one birth; and six grew to maturity. These were : Hannah H., Mary A., Franklin, John,

1093

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

Fanny M., and Thomas. Hannah H. Monroe, who is the widow of William P. Newhall, resides in Providence, R.I. Mary A., also of Providence, is the widow of C. E. Goff. Franklin, who was born in St. Johnsbury, now resides in Providence. He enlisted in the Eleventh Rhode Island Regiment of Infantry for nine months, and was made Captain. He is married and has a family. Fanny M. is the widow of John H. Mason, a manufacturing jeweller of Providence. John Monroe enlisted in Company B of the Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, and served throughout the Civil War. He was at the second battle of Bull Run, at James Island, at Morris Island, Tybee Island, and in numerous other engage- ments. He entered the service as a private, but for meritorious conduct was promoted through various grades to the rank of Major. He died a few years after the war. Dr. Franklin Monroe had a brother Augustus, who practised in St. Johnsbury, Vt., taking up the work where their father left it.

Thomas W. Monroe obtained his profes- sional education at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in 1879. He practised medicine for about eight years in Providence, R. I., and about twelve years ago removed from that city to Milford. His object in doing this was to secure a change of climate, as his health at Providence was not of the best. His practice there was an extensive one and very lucrative. The Doctor's fame preceded him, and he quickly secured a large practice in his new location.

He is a member of the following organiza- tions : Solomon's Temple Lodge, F. & A. M., of Uxbridge, Mass., and the Oneita Tribe, Improved Order of Red Men; also of Fletcher Post, G. A. R. Of this last named organiza- tion he was surgeon for eight consecutive years, but he recently tendered his resigna- tion.

When fifteen years of age he enlisted as drummer boy under the first call of President Lincoln for troops, but on arrival at Washing- ton he was discharged. On February 3, 1862, he enlisted in Company G of the Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, and went at once to Port Royal, being at the time only seventeen

years of age. He was in the service for three years and four months, and during this time was for a year Orderly on General Terry's staff. Among the engagements in which he took part were those at Jones's Island, Morris Island, and Fort Pulaski; and he was also in the four months' siege of the city of Charles- ton.

Dr. Monroe has been twice married, the first time to Rebecca Brown, of East Doug - las, Mass., and the second time to Olive A. Crooker, of Upton. He has one adopted daughter, Fannie E. Monroe.

EACON JAMES PACKARD, one of the best known residents of Oak- ham, Mass., and an ex-member of the State legislature, was born in this town, February 25, 1824, son of Jonathan and Susan W. (Crawford) Packard. He is a descendant in the seventh generation of Sam- uel Packard, known, some one says, as Sam- uel, the "Packer, " having been a packer of dry goods in Windham, England, who was born prior to 1616, and, emigrating to New Eng- land in 1638, settled first at Hingham, Mass., and thence about 1660 removed to what is now West Bridgewater, Mass. From Samuel the line is traced, we are told, through Na- thaniel (born in 1657), George (born about the year 1692, who married Mary Edson), Ichabod (born in 1738), Caleb (born in 1771), to Jona- than, above named. Ichabod Packard was an early settler in Oakham, and took a lively in- terest in the first church and society there. His son Caleb was a lifelong resident of Oakham. He married in 1791 Hepsibeth Bullard, daughter of Captain Jonathan Bul- lard, a Deacon of the church in Oakham.

Jonathan Packard, Deacon James Packard's father, was born in Oakham, January 8, 1792. Learning the trade of carpenter when a young man, he followed it during his active years, and was widely known throughout this local- ity as a reliable mechanic. He died Decem- ber 14, 1856. He was an attendant of the Congregational church, of which his wife, Susan W., was a member. She was born in Oakham, March 2, 1793, and she died Janu-

1004

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

ary 29, 1871. Eleven children were the fruit of their union. Four of them are living, namely: Julia A., born January 8, 1822, who is now Mrs. John Whipple Ayres, of Oakham; James, the subject of this sketch; Charles S., born October 15, 1828, now residing in Florida; and Charlotte B., born August 15, 1835, now Mrs. Charles Gleason, of this town. Abigail F., born March 14, 1812, died November 6, 1884; Susan W., born Oc- tober 3, 1813, died April 23, 1890; Salmon C., born November 13, 1815, died March 24, 1830; Edith B., born October 1, 1817, died February 9, 1879; Ophelia P., born March 27, 1820, died February 9, 1879; Stoughton W., born January 16, 1832, died March 25, 1832; and Mary A., born December 4, 1833, died January 5, 1834.

James Packard was educated in the public schools of Oakham. He has followed the car- penter's trade here since he was thirteen years old, having begun his apprenticeship under his father at that early age; and he is to-day as well able to mount stagings and steep roofs as many of his associates who are younger in years. He works at house paint- ing in connection with his other trade, and he has been the undertaker of the town for over fifty years.

On April 4, 1844, he married Sarah E. Ayres, who was born in New Braintree, No- vember 8, 1820. Deacon and Mrs. Packard lived happily together for a period of fifty- three years, and the golden anniversary of their wedding was fittingly observed by their many friends and acquaintances, who pre- sented them with numerous gifts. Mrs. Pack- ard died July 28, 1897. She was the mother of five children, namely: James W., who was born September 27, 1845, and died July 8, 1846; Charles M., born August 3, 1847, now residing in Oakham; Lizzie J., born Febru- ary 10, 1850, who married for her first hus- band Samuel Fairbanks, of Oakham, and for her second Watson A. Bushnell, of Connecti- cut; N. Wendell Packard, born November 1, 1854, who married Rosa J. Bullard, Decem- ber 31, 1879, and is in mercantile business in Oakham and Barre; and Frank K., born May 5, 1861, who died February 3, 1887.

Politically, Mr. Packard was formerly a Re- publican, and is now a Prohibitionist. For several terms he served as a Selectman and Overseer of the Poor. He ably represented his district in the legislature of 1864, and for many years he was identified with local public affairs. He was Postmaster during the Civil War. His present easy circumstances are the result of his persevering industry. For thirty-three years he has been a Deacon of the Congregational church and for eighteen years the superintendent of the Sunday-school.

FREDERICK THAYER, of Woon- socket, R. I., manufacturer of satinets and other fabrics at North Oxford, Mass., was born in Blackstone, Mass., son of Caleb and Hannah (Gaskill) Thayer. He is of the eighth generation in descent from Thomas Thayer, who became a landholder and freeman at Braintree, Mass., in 1636, and is known as the founder of one branch of the family in New England, the other branch comprising the posterity of Richard Thayer, also of Braintree.

From Thomas the line continued through his son Ferdinando, born in England, who married Huldah Hayward, of Braintree, Mass., in 1652 and removed to Mendon. Ferdinando Thayer's son Benjamin was the great-grandfather of Caleb, Sr., a farmer, whose son Caleb, above named, married Han- nah Gaskill. Among the children of Caleb, second, and Hannah Thayer are: Adin, the well-known judge, so prominent in Massachu- setts politics for many years; Elizabeth, who married Hiram Daniels, resides at the Daniels homestead in Blackstone, and has two chil- dren - Carrie, born in 1871, and Hiram T., born in 1873; Caleb Edmund, who was born in 1841, and was graduated at Brown Univer- sity in 1864; and Frederick, the subject of this sketch.

Frederick Thayer completed his studies at the Wilbraham (Mass.) and the Greenwich (R.I.) Academies. After teaching school for a time in Blackstone and Apponaug, he was engaged in the wood and lumber business until the death of his brother Edmund, who

1095

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

was a member of the firm of Thayer & Taft, of Worcester. He then succeeded to his brother's interest in that concern, which was soon afterward dissolved. Mr. Thayer now became manager of a company of Worcester capitalists who had purchased a mill and water-power privilege at Blackstone, which was formerly owned by the late A. T. Stewart, of New York. This property fell into the hands of the late Mr. Banigan, of Providence, the rubber king, of whom Mr. Thayer leased the Southside privilege, with a shoddy, flock, and satinet mill, which he sub- let to other parties. They were unable, how- ever, to make a success of the enterprise, and in order to save himself from loss he took the plant and continued the manufacture of shoddy and satinet until the lease expired, when he removed his machinery to the water- power at the upper village of North Oxford. Besides his own goods he handles the entire product of David N. Taft, of Oxford Plain, Samuel Scott, of Uxbridge, and that of another mill at East Blackstone. He is therefore one of the largest dealers in these fabrics in New England, and his business at the present time is in a most flourishing con- dition. While at Blackstone he represented his district in the General Court two winters, 1879 and 1880, also holding town offices at various times.

Mr. Thayer married for his first wife Adelia L. Greene, a sister of his present wife, whose maiden name was Carrie D. Greene. Their mother was a daughter of James Pike; and their father was Francis Greene, a descendant of John Greene, who settled in Rhode Island shortly after the founding of Providence by Roger Williams. General Nathaniel Greene, of Revolutionary fame, it is said was of the same stock. The children of Mr. Thayer's first marriage are: Cora E., who was born in 1875, and resides at the parental home; Earl F., who was born in Woonsocket, and is now in business with his father; and Florence J., who was born in 1879, and is now an attend- ant of the Bradford (Mass.) Academy. The children of his second marriage are: Frederick B., who was born in 1888; and Walter Ewart, who was born in 1893,

HARLES H. NORCROSS, a success- ful dentist of Winchendon, was born in Rindge, N. H., September 29, 1848. A son of Jeremiah and Mary (Pillsbury) Norcross, he is descended from Jeremiah Norcross, an Englishman, who settled at Watertown, Mass., as early as 1642, and became a large property owner. This ancestor was duly made a freeman, served upon the Board of Selectmen, and died in 1657. By his union with his first wife, Adrian, there were two sons. On June 24, 1650, his second marriage united him with Mary Brooks, who bore him seven children. Jere-

miah Norcross, the great-grandfather of Charles H., on November 23, 1769, married Lucy Chaplin, of whose seven children Daniel was the second-born. Daniel Norcross, the grandfather, who resided in Rindge and was Captain of the local militia company, died August 1, 1858. He contracted his first mar- riage with Polly Jones, a daughter of Asa Jones. She had borne him fourteen children, of whom Jeremiah was the ninth, when she died July 21, 1834. For his second wife he married Sally Hubbard Rand.

Jeremiah Norcross was born in Rindge, April 25, 1814, a brother of Amasa Norcross, of Fitchburg. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, and when a young man engaged in general farming, which continued to be his chief occupation during his active years. He also carried on lumbering operations to some extent. An upright, conscientious man, he was a Deacon of the Congregational church from 1864 until his death, which occurred in August, 1886. In politics he was a Republi- can. Mary, his wife, whom he married Octo- ber 8, 1839, was born in Winchendon March 13, 1815, daughter of the Rev. Levi and Mary (Pickard) Pillsbury, of this town. She had seven children, two of whom are living, namely : Charles H., the subject of this sketch and the fourth-born; and Mary K. B., born Novem- ber 4, 1851, who married Clarence Towne, of Rindge, and has two children - Archie and Lena. The mother resides in West Rindge.

Charles H. Norcross obtained his elementary education in the common schools, and com- pleted his studies with a full course at the

1006

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

academy in Jaffrey, N. H. Subsequently he studied dentistry for three years under the direction of Dr. Thomas Palmer, of Fitchburg. Locating at Winchendon in 1871, he has since followed the dentist's profession, acquiring a lucrative practice. On May 20, 1874, he was first joined in marriage with Evangeline E. Perry, who was a daughter of the Rev. Isaac Stearns Perry and a grand-daughter of Chauncy Perry. She died in August, 1875, aged twenty-two years. By that union there is one daughter, Alice E., born in July, 1875, who married John Stone, of Swanzey, N. H., and has had three children - one who died in in- fancy, Maud, and Raymond Charles. On Jan- uary 2, 1883, he married for his second wife Minnie M. Brown, of Bethel, Vt., a daughter of Cornelius and Sarah (Chadwick) Brown, of Montpelier, that State. She is the mother of two children : Leon Amasa, born August 24, 1886; and Ola Mae, born August 19, 1891.

Although prevented by his professional duties from taking any active part in public affairs, the Doctor, nevertheless, is much interested in them, and is esteemed as a worthy, high-minded citizen. Politically, he acts with the Republican party. Both he and Mrs. Norcross attend the Congregational church.

A MOS G. GETCHELL, an undertaker of Grafton, was born in Springvale, Me., June 30, 1834, son of Isaiah and Dorothy (Trafton) Getchell. His father was born in Springvale, Me., and his mother in Alfred, Me. The grandfather, Ephraim Getchell, who was an extensive farmer of Springvale, owned the entire local- ity known as Beaver Hill. Ephraim reared four sons, and to each of them he gave a farm. Mr. Getchell's maternal grandfather, Ben- jamin Trafton, a Revolutionary soldier, left home at the commencement of hostilities, and served through the entire struggle. Ben- jamin's family, who had heard nothing from him after his departure, were happily sur- prised one day when a bearded veteran came marching along the road to the old farmhouse, with other soldiers returning from the war.

He was recognized by some of his neighbors, who shouted his name, and the family gathered around him anxious to know where he had been and what he had seen. Having quietly entered the house, he deposited his gun in its accustomed place, and, after seating himself, said, "Get a pitcher of cider, and I will tell you all about it." His request was quickly complied with, and he proceeded to relate his experience with the victorious American army, to the delight and wonderment of his hearers.

Isaiah Getchell, who resided in Springvale, was accidentally killed at the age of forty- eight years, and left a family of seven chil- dren. Of the latter, Ephraim enlisted in the Seventeenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volun- teers, for service in the Rebellion, and died of pneumonia in Newbern, N.C .; Benjamin is now in business in Swampscott, Mass .; Edwin I. enlisted in the Fourteenth Massa- chusetts Regiment, which was afterward reor- ganized as the Second Heavy Artillery, and he was accidentally killed while in the dis- charge of his duty as a non-commissioned officer.

Amos G. Getchell, the subject of this sketch, resided in Maine until he was twenty- one years old. Then he started for the West- ern frontier, with the purpose of growing up with the country, as he jokingly expressed it. On the night following his arrival in Kansas an officer came to the house where he was stopping, for the purpose of ascertaining how many able-bodied men could be mustered there for service in quelling some border dis- turbance. At that period business in Kansas had to be carried on in the face of much danger, so widespread and daring was the ruffian element. After a short residence there, finding that there was more bloodshed than profit, Mr. Getchell returned to the East, locating at North Grafton. Here he found employment in a cotton factory for twenty- three years, having charge of a department during the whole of the time. After the closing of the mill in 1880, he opened a market in the village, and later organized the Grafton Copying Company, with which he was connected for some time, Since 1891 he

1097

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

, has been village undertaker. He gives atten- tion also to a variety of business enterprises, principally in the water pipe and plumbing line. For thirty-five years he served as Con- stable, was Overseer of the Poor for three years ; and he has been a Republican since the formation of the party, and has served as a delegate to various conventions. On Novem- ber 7, 1898, while serving as Constable, he effected the capture of three burglars who were attempting to rob the North Grafton post-office, two being captured alive, and the other killed while resisting arrest.

Mr. Getchell married Catherine Reddy, of Woonsocket, R.I. Of their six children, the only one living is William A., who is in business with his father, is now serving as Constable, and belongs to the Emperor Fire Company, of which the elder Getchell was formerly a member. Mr. Getchell is a char- ter member of Evening Star Lodge, No. 102, I. O. O. F., and he has been the treasurer since its organization. He united with the Baptist church in 1858.

EORGE ALDEN THAYER, who will be remembered as an enterpris- ing young business man of Worces- ter, son of Alden and Martha C. (Knowles) Thayer, was born in this city, March II, 1856. His father, who in early life kept a grocery store at old Boylston, came later to Worcester, and there engaged in the same business. For a number of years he was lo- cated in Pleasant Street, doing a most suc- cessful trade in general groceries and provi-

sions. Subsequently he removed to the corner of Chandler and Mason Streets, where he had erected a store, stable, and dwelling. After acquiring a comfortable fortune he sold out and went to Tatnuck village, taking up his residence on a farm. Here he died in 1889, possessed of the esteem and confidence of all who had known him. His children were: Ida Forest, born September 18, 1851 ; Walter Quimby, born July 31, 1853, who died in 1854; George Alden, the date of whose birth has been already given; Sarah Maud, born April 1, 1858; Isadore Grace, born Jan-

uary 8, 1862; Charles Austin, born June 24, 1863, who died in 1881 ; and Lucius Knowles, born December 7, 1871.

George Alden Thayer passed his boyhood in his native city, and studied in its public schools. After leaving school he entered the office of a wholesale pork-packing establish- ment as assistant book-keeper, remaining there for seven years. Subsequently he spent about three years and a half in Ithaca, N. Y., as the resident manager of Swift & Co.'s branch establishment there. After returning to Worcester he entered into partnership with his father, and in a short time became practi- cally manager of the business, as the elder Mr. Thayer was in poor health. The store, which was one of the largest general grocery and provision depots in the city, required a man of unusual ability, and he showed him- self equal to all the demands it made upon him. After the business was sold out in 1884, he opened a meat and provision store at Lincoln Square, and built up the business of the place until it was in a most flourishing condition. In 1890 he disposed of it in order to have his full time to devote to his real es- tate interests. Purchasing a large tract of land on May and June Streets, he had it laid out in house lots for sale, some of which he shortly sold at a good figure.

In 1884 Mr. Thayer was married to Eliza A. Rice, of Northboro, Mass., a daughter of Dana Rice. Born of the marriage were: Ida May, Ralph T., Helen, and Carl A., all of whom are living. Since Mr. Thayer's death, which occurred February 13, 1893, his family has continued to receive returns from his real estate investment that have proved its wis- dom. In politics he was a Republican. Al- though one of the younger men of Worcester when he died, he held a prominent place in the city, and was an influential factor in its business life. Of a genial, warm-hearted nature, he easily made friends, and seemed to have the happy trait of keeping them his ad- mirers and supporters.

He was a devoted Christian, having become a member of a Baptist church while very young. He was a member of the Main Street Church at the time of his death and superin-

1098

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

tendent of the Sunday-school, and loved deeply his work therein. Like his father, he was a great student of the Bible. He was also a member of several other organizations. Very many friends were present at his funeral to pay their last tribute of respect.

LDEN THAYER was for many years one of the substantial and prosperous merchants of Worcester. A son of Alden Thayer, Sr., he was born February 3, 1826, at Mendon, Worcester County. The father, who was engaged in agriculture in Mendon for several years, but subsequently removed with his family to Worcester, opened a grocery store on Ex- change Street, conducting it successfully for a few years. Then, selling out to his son Alden, he retired to a farm near by, and there resided until his death in 1889. He married Silence McNamara, who bore him five chil- dren.

Alden Thayer, the subject of this biogra- phy, passed his boyhood in Mendon. He completed his education at the Worcester Baptist School, the precursor of the present academy, taking a course in civil engineering. On leaving school he found employment as surveyor's assistant in making the surveys for the Boston & Worcester, now the Boston & Albany Railway. This position he gave up after a while to become a clerk for his father, who had recently opened a new store. In this capacity he made himself so useful that in a few years he was intrusted with almost the entire management of the grocery. Hav- ing saved some money, he was able about 1850, the year of his marriage, to buy out a business on Pleasant and Mason Streets. Soon after taking possession of the store he removed to more commodious quarters at the corner of Chandler and Mason Streets, where he built up a large trade in the years that he remained in that location. In 1851 his in- creasing trade demanded better facilities, and, buying land in the same locality, he erected a large building, with a large barn adjoining. The upper floors were fitted as a residence, while the ground floor was arranged for a

store. By a careful attention to the details of his business and a wise handling of the profits he acquired a competency, and became one of the foremost general merchants of the city. He dealt in flour, grain, groceries, provisions, vegetables, fruits, and cord wood. His son, George A., when he came of age was admitted into a partnership which continued until the entire establishment was sold out in 1884. Mr. Thayer then bought a desirable estate at Tatnuck, a suburb of Worcester, and there spent the rest of his life in retirement. He was everywhere known as a conscientious, honest man, conservative in judgment, care- ful in action, and one that made few mistakes. One of the leading Baptist laymen of this city, he was largely instrumental in building up the Dewey Street Baptist Church, of which he was an active member. He died in 1889.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 132

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