Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 133

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 133

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In 1850, at Epsom, N.H., Mr. Thayer mar- ried Martha C. Knowles, a daughter of Jona- than Knowles and a descendant of a family that moved from Cape Cod to New Hamp- shire, having previously emigrated from Eng- land to the Cape. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Thayer were: Ida, Walter L., George A., Charles Austin, Sarah Maud, Isadore Grace, and Lucius Knowles. Walter and George A. are deceased; Charles Austin, born in 1861, died in 1878; Sarah Maud is the wife of L. J. Kendall, of Worcester; and Isa- dore Grace is the wife of H. E. Kendall, also of this city. Lucius Knowles, who was grad- uated from the Boston Dental College, is now a dentist in Charlestown, N. H.

ENRY MARTYN SMITH, formerly of Worcester, was known in many parts of the Union as an able and brilliant journalist. He was born in New Bedford, Mass., May 5, 1830. A son of the Rev. Stephen S. and Lucretia (Bishop) Smith, he was a descendant of some of the most prominent families of Colonial days. His grandfather, Eathan Smith, was a well- known Congregational minister in Vermont and New Hampshire; and his great - grand- father, David Sanford, preached in Medway, Mass., and in other localities for many years,

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The Smith family to which he belonged con- tained many noted preachers, twenty-two of its members having been ordained to the min- istry. His great-grandfather on his mother's side served for four years as a chaplain in the Revolutionary army. His great-grandmother attained the remarkable age of one hundred and two years. The Rev. Stephen S. Smith was a clergyman in the Congregational denom- ination, and for some years held a pastorate in Chicago.

Henry M. Smith took a full course of study at the Westminster Academy, and in 1851 was graduated from Amherst College. He subsequently taught school for a while, and then read law with George E. Hand, of Detroit, Mich., intending to enter the legal profession. Owing to a serious throat trouble he relin- quished that ambition, and, going to Chicago, was there connected with the Chicago Tribune from 1853 until 1875. For several years, in- cluding those of the Civil War, he was one of the associate editors of that journal. Begin- ning in September, 1872, he was the manag- ing editor until 1875, when the health of his family made it necessary for him to remove to the East. In journalism he proved himself a consistent and vigorous advocate of good government and in every respect a representa- tive American citizen. Thoroughly patriotic, he enlisted for the war in one of the first reg- iments formed in Illinois. Prominent per- sons, however, including President Lincoln, insisted upon his remaining at his desk in the Tribune office, persuading him that his pen would prove mightier than his sword. He accompanied Lincoln on his trip to Washing- ton at the time of his inauguration, and throughout the remainder of the President's life was in frequent communication with him. He several times visited the Union army at the front, that he might present to the public clear and accurate impressions of the great struggle. While he was at the front, messages flew over the wires from the seat of war to his Chicago office, as he worked day and night with an unsparing intensity of devotion of brain and heart, that resulted in serious injury to his health.

After leaving Chicago Mr. Smith was editor

of the Brooklyn (N. Y.) Union for two years. In 1879 he came to Worcester, where he was connected with the Washburn & Moen Manu- facturing Company, which is the largest pro- ducer of wire goods in the world, until failing health compelled him to retire from all busi- ness. He wrote many publications for that concern, including "The History of the Tele- graph " and "The History of Fences in Eng- land and America." In Worcester, in 1882, he established the New England Home Jour- nal, which he conducted successfully until he sold out in 1884. In 1884 and 1885 he rep- resented his district in the State legislature, where he served ably and acceptably. He frequently read papers of interest before the Worcester Antiquarian Society, of which he was a valued member. He was also an able writer of biography, and prepared sketches of many men of prominence. A man of genial temperament, social and pleasant, he main- tained his characteristic cheerfulness through- out his long and painful illness. He was a member of the Congregational church, and was actively interested in that denomination wher- ever he lived.

In 1854 Mr. Smith married Harriet A. Hudson, a daughter of the Hon. Charles Hud- son, of Westminster, who represented this dis- trict in Congress in 1851 and 1852. She died in the early part of 1875. In December, 1876, Mr. Smith contracted his second mar- riage with Elizabeth, daughter of the late Rev. William H. Sanford. He died June 7, 1895, after a prolonged illness. Besides his wife he left two children, namely: George Sanford, now a lawyer in Portland, Ore. ; and Fanny Heyward, who is the wife of the Rev. Joseph McC. Leiper, a clergyman of Blau- velt, N. Y.

OHN MINOT RICE, PH. D., for twenty years and more professor of mathematics in the United States navy, was born in Northborough, Mass., where he now re- sides, March 13, 1832, being the son of Alta- mont and Laura (Holt) Rice. The house he now occupies was built by Nathan Rice, his paternal grandfather, who served in the war

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for American Independence, and who died here a Revolutionary pensioner in 1836, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. Nathan Rice was a son of Abraham Rice, of Framing- ham, whose father, Abraham Rice, Sr., was killed by lightning in 1777 at the age of eighty-one years. He was of the fourth gen- eration in descent from the colonist, Deacon Edmund Rice, of Sudbury. Mr. Rice's grandfather on his mother's side was Amasa Holt, of Berlin, who married Nabby Nourse. He was a lineal descendant of Nicholas Holt, who came from England in 1635, and in 1644 was one of the original settlers of Andover, Mass.

In youth Mr. Rice was employed as a comb- maker and as a clerk in a country store. He also worked at other occupations; but, becom- ing dissatisfied with one after another, he at length turned his attention to systematic study in order to fit himself for a teacher, and was graduated at the Massachusetts State Normal School at Bridgewater in 1854. He taught school in Provincetown, Mass., in 1855-56; was principal of Houghton School in Bolton, 1856-57; and of a grammar school in Nan- tucket, 1857-59. He studied also at the Allen School, West Newton, and at Phillips Exeter Academy, N. H., and pursued a special course of study at Brown University, Provi- dence, R.I., in 1860. Entering the Lawrence Scientific School at Cambridge in September, 1860, he was tutor there 1861-62, and was graduated in 1862. He was assistant profes- sor of mathematics at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., from October, 1863, to January, 1870, and civil professor of mathematics from this date to March, 1873, when he was commissioned professor of mathe- matics, United States navy. He was in- structor in the department of physics and chemistry and in the department of mathe- matics, and was head of the department of mechanics and applied mathematics from 1875 to his retirement on account of failing health in 1890. He has the degrees of Bachelor of Science (Harvard), 1862, and Doctor of Philosophy, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, N. J., 1879. He was made a Fellow of the American Association for the

Advancement of Science in 1881 and Fellow of the American Geographical Society in 1887. He is an honorary member of the United States Naval Academy Graduates' As- sociation, a member of the United States Naval Institute, and of the American Mathe- matical Society. He is the author of several pamphlets on applied mathematics, and joint author of Rice & Johnson's "Differential Cal- culus. "

Some knowledge of nautical matters acquired during his residence in Provincetown and Nantucket proved of service to him in later days. He made one practice cruise to Europe as assistant navigator and instructor in naviga- tion. He was also a guest of officers on prac- tice ships during several short cruises.

The course of study at the Naval Academy was extended and greatly improved during his connection with the institution. His efforts in this direction brought him into intimate contact with the most progressive officers of the navy, including nearly all who have been prominent in the recent war with Spain. He spent the summer of 1886 in the West on the plains of Wyoming and in Kansas, Colorado, and Idaho. The summer of 1887 he spent in Europe. One summer was passed in Canada. He has visited all the Great Lakes on our northern frontier. From his youth up he has been an enthusiastic sportsman.

Mr. Rice married Henrietta Estella Brasher, of Boston, Mass., in 1891. Since his re- tirement from the navy he has resided at the ancestral homestead in Northborough. "The Rice homestead was formerly an old-fashioned school-house, which was purchased by his grandfather well toward a century ago and moved to its present location, and to which additions were made. The dwelling, with its broad piazza and the supporting pillars, pre- sents a decidedly Colonial aspect. But what is far more interesting and entertaining is the interior of the house, with its heavy timbers, old-style ceilings, the little nooks, settles, closets, tucked away in unexpected places, the array of antique furniture, the vast collection of souvenirs and antiquities which have come from every part of the world. Skins from various quarters of the globe are on the floors,

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mounted heads of animals hang about the walls, scattered about the home are rare pieces of furniture from foreign lands, while weapons of many kinds, antlers of mammoth size, and the handiwork of many of the semi-barbaric tribes of the earth are seen in profusion in almost every room in the old-fashioned dwell- ing." During the winter of 1895-96 Mr. and Mrs. Rice were in Bermuda. He is an Independent in politics, and in religion a Uni- tarian.

UCIUS GRAVES LINCOLN, a well- known farmer of Worcester, residing in the First Ward at 6 Park Avenue, was born in Petersham, Mass., De- cember 7, 1822, his parents being Alanson and Laura (Graves) Lincoln. The paternal grandfather, Enos Lincoln, born September 17, 1749, settled on a farm in the woods a mile and a half distant from Petersham Centre, which was reached by a pathway from the vil- lage. He was married to Sarah Burt, who was several years his junior, and who died on Oc- tober 23, 1825. Grandfather Lincoln died on

May 6, 1819. Their children were: Enos, born in 1772, who died in 1855; Sarah, born on August 11, 1774, who became the wife of Mr. Clapp, and died on November 14, 1842; Lucinda, born on October 8, 1776, who was the wife of Oliver Clapp, and died in 1860; Lydia, born on February 13, 1779, who mar- ried William Pierce, had seventeen children, and lived to be eighty-nine years of age, bright and active to the last; Susannah, born on March 12, 1781, who married a Mr. Sprague, and died on August 3, 1834; Amasa, born on April 29, 1783, and died on June 2, 1860; Burt, who was born on December 20, 1785, and died on December 14, 1866; Alanson, the father of Lucius Graves Lincoln; Hannah, the wife of John Foster, who was born on March 20, 1790; Prudence, born on May 23, 1792, who died on October 28, 1860, unmar- ried; Lucy, born on November 4, 1794, who was the wife of a Mr. Goddard, had three chil- dren, and died in 1878; and Emily, born on February 25, 1797, who died at the age of nineteen years.

Alanson Lincoln, who was born on the farm in Petersham in 1800, spent his whole life there, and died on May 24, 1842. He carried on a saw-mill, and to some extent worked at the trade of his father, that of cooper. He and his father also had a saw and shingle mill, which was originally a small wire-mill. On September 19, 1818, he married Laura Graves, a native of Athol, born March 19, 1796. She was a daughter of Eleazer and Olivia (Ken- dall) Graves, farmer folk of Athol. Her father, born on January 10, 1759, died on November 9, 1822; and her mother, born on March 31, 1760, died on April 23, 1809. They were the parents of four daughters and two sons, as follows: Sally, born August 6, 1782, who died in 1865; Elijah, born October 17, 1789, who died January 1, 1804; Nancy, born December 16, 1793, who died September I, 1804; Laura, who became the wife of Alan- son Lincoln; Jesse, born April 12, 1798, who died February 23, 1801 ; and Lois, born July 20, 1800, who is also deceased. Mrs. Laura Lincoln, after surviving her husband thirty-two years, died in the house where her son Lucius now lives, on September 22, 1874, at the age of seventy-eight. Both were buried with Alan- son's parents, in the cemetery at Petersham which was formerly the family burial-ground on the old farm. Their children were: Laura G., born March 5, 1820, who died on August 7 of the same year; Lucius G., the subject of this sketch; Olivia Kendall, born January 31, 1824, who married Dr. Samuel Taylor, reared six children, and died on February 2, 1862 ; Sarah Ann, born on March 4, 1826, who be- came the wife of Loomis Look, and died on September 16, 1857; Ellen M .; Charles F. ; Janette C. ; and Luen.

When only nine years of age Lucius Graves Lincoln began working on the farm during the summer. Afterward he had one term of schooling in Westminster Academy. At his father's death he took charge of the farm and the mill, buying out the other heirs. In 1860 he sold the estate, and in April, 1863, he came to this city. He was married on No- vember 22, 1854, to Ellen Chamberlin, who was born in Quincy, Mass., in 1834, daughter of Ebenezer and Lucy (Hardwick) Chamber-

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lin. Her father, who was by trade a wheel- wright and carriage manufacturer, owned a large farm and a stone quarry. Her mother died at the age of thirty-four, leaving four of her ten children. The father was again mar- ried, and his second wife bore him six chil- dren. He died in September, 1863, aged sixty-three. Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln have had four children, of whom a daughter died in infancy, and another, named Emma, died in her sixth year. Their living children are : Charles H., who is an architect; and Edwin L., who conducts a hardware store. Mr. Lin- coln votes the Republican ticket, and takes an active interest in local affairs.

HARLES L. LELAND, coal dealer, an enterprising business man of Gard- ner, Mass., was born in the adja- cent town of Templeton, August 7, 1849, son of Charles and Julia F. (Sawyer) Leland. He is of the eighth generation of the family founded by Henry Leland, who was born in England in 1625, came to America in 1658, and was one of the original proprietors of Sherborn, Mass. After Henry1 came in direct line Hopestill2; Hopestill3; Daniel4; Moses, 5 born in 1751, who married Mercy Twitchell; Moses,6 born in 1784, who married Patience Babcock, and was the father of Charles and grandfather of Charles L., the subject of the present sketch. Moses Leland, 6 the grandfather, who was a Captain in the State militia, removed from Sherborn to Tem- pleton. He served as a Representative to the State legislature in 1838, 1839, and 1840. Charles Leland, the father, was a well-known resident of Templeton in his day, and his wife was a native of that town.

Charles L. Leland acquired a common- school education in Templeton. He learned chair-making in Gardner in the shops of A. & H. C. Knowlton, with whom he remained for over twenty years. For the past nine years he has carried on the coal business himself in Gardner.

Mr. Leland married Sarah J. Guild, daugh- ter of Willard G. Guild, of Gardner. He has one son, Harry W., who was born in 1874, is

a graduate of the Worcester Polytechnic Insti- tute, and now resides in Atlanta, Ga., as pro- fessor in Atlanta University.

Mr. Leland has served with ability as a Selectman for eight years. He is a member of Hope Lodge, F. & A. M. He has occupied the important chairs of William Ellison Lodge, I. O. O. F., has served as District Deputy Grand Master of the order, and is a member of the encampment and Rebekah branch.

RA CLARK GUPTILL, M.D., who for twenty years has successfully practised his profession in Northboro, was born in Cornish, York County, Me., April 9, 1844, son of Obadiah True and Harriet New- ell (Cilley) Guptill. On both sides he had ancestors among the pioneers of the Pine Tree State. His great-grandfather, Daniel Guptill, was a native of North Berwick, Me., where he married Miss Sarah Morrill; and they reared a large family of children. His maternal grand- father was Benjamin Cilley, of Limerick, Me.

Dr. Guptill's preliminary education was obtained in the common and high schools and the classical institutes, and his collegiate training at Bowdoin and Dartmouth. He was graduated from the medical department of Dart- mouth College, November 4, 1874, and further fitted for his profession through clinical prac- tice in the office of his instructor, Dr. Alvin Brawn, who was City Physician of Biddeford, Me. Soon after his graduation he settled in Manchester, N. H., and was in active practice there . and in Auburn for about three years. Then on account of poor health he spent some time in travel. Upon his return he resumed practice in his native State, but in October, 1879, he removed to Northboro, where he has since remained in the enjoyment of an exten- sive practice and a very pleasant home. He is a member of the Worcester District Medical Society and a fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Society. He has read several papers before the societies, has been concerned in a number of literary works, and has also contrib- uted poems to magazines and · newspapers, which have been extensively copied. He be-

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longs to the Masonic Fraternity, the Odd Fel- lows, to the Royal Society of Good Fellows, and is president of the Fredonia Club of Social Fellows.

In politics he is a Republican, and has served on the Town Committee. In his pro- fessional work, by offices of kindness and gratuitous service, he has done much, often at a sacrifice, to ameliorate the condition of the poor and unfortunate, which has been to him rather a pleasant privilege than a forced task or irksome duty. Dr. Guptill married Novem- ber 4, 1871, Miss Jennie J. Jones, of North Lebanon, Me., a graduate of the West Lebanon Seminary and a very successful teacher.

HOMAS WINDLE, of West Millbury, . prominent manufacturer and wood dealer, born at Bernley, England, on March 6, 1845, is a son of John and Grace (Wakely) Windle. His mother died leaving six children. While Thomas was still very young, his father came to America, and soon after married Eliza Sargent, who proved a kind mother to her step-children. Of her five chil- dren by John Windle, four grew to maturity. John, who had been a confectioner in the old country, after arriving in America became a dresser in a cotton-mill. Subsequently, in 1854, he settled on a farm in the vicinity of Worcester. His death, which occurred in 1863, was caused by eating poisonous fungi, which he supposed to be mushrooms. He was about fifty-six years of age. Some of his chil- dren by his first wife came to America in 1847, after their father's second marriage. The eldest son, James Windle, enlisted in the English army, and died in India, while sta- tioned there with his company. James left one son, a physician, who came to America with the hope of finding his relatives, but fail- ing in that returned to England.

Thomas Windle attended the common schools, where he secured but a meagre educa- tion. Going to Cherry Valley, Mass., at the age of fifteen, he there learned wool sorting with David Dawson, remaining for a year and a half. In 1862 he enlisted. His decision

to do so was made one day while he was mow- ing in the fields, when he at once dropped his scythe. Having agreed to pay one hundred and thirty dollars for his time, he joined Com- pany K of the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts In- fantry. At Newbern, N.C., in the vicinity of the Dismal Swamp, he contracted malaria and pneumonia; and he would undoubtedly have succumbed to these maladies but for the excellent care given him by the surgeon. After recovering sufficiently to go into active service, he took part in a number of skirmishes and in ten hard-fought battles. Although he was never wounded, he was at one time knocked down by the air current caused by a cannon-ball which passed near him. In 1875 he began the manufacture of cloth in Baltic, Conn., in company with his brother-in-law, Edwin Hoyle, the firm being known as Hoyle & Windle. After being there for two years, he was successively in Millville, Mass., Hope- ville, Conn., and Woodville, R.I., during a part of the time managing two mills simul- taneously. Coming to Millbury in 1880, he bought out the tannery of Salem Griggs, and converted it into a wool scouring mill. Aside from attending to his milling interests here, he speculates to some extent in wool, and spends a large part of his time in Boston. He resides on his farm of forty-four acres. He also owns a third-interest in the Wheeler Cot- ton Mill, which he purchased in 1895 or 1896 in company with Messrs. S. E. Hull and A. S. Winters. Fraternally, he is a Master Mason, and politically a Republican. He is a charter member of General Thomas Post, No. 121, G. A. R.

Mr. Windle was married on September 2, 1866, to Hannah M. Buckley, who was then in her sixteenth year. She is a daughter of Charles and Sarrah Buckley, both of whom were of English birth. Mr. Buckley, who was a mill overseer, succeeded in saving some ten thousand dollars. He was the father of two children - Mrs. Windle and Mrs. Hoyle. Mr. and Mrs. Windle are the parents of three children : William W., who was born on November 2, 1870, and is now a travelling salesman; Arthur D., who was born on Octo- ber 3, 1878, and is now in his father's employ ;

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and Grace G. Windle, who was born on Janu- ary 29, 1887. William was formerly in the bicycle business, and achieved a phenomenal record as a bicycle rider. When he was fif- teen years of age he defeated the fastest rider in the county, and for the succeeding five years he held the world's championship. His high- est record in that period was 2.08. He has since then made a mile in 1.42 time. On May 25, 1888, he won a hotly contested race in Canada from Klueky and Foster. Young Mr. Windle was the recipient of many handsome trophies and souvenirs, including one prize of a thousand dollars, which was secured to him by his father. For some years past he has not indulged in racing, giving his whole time to business. He is an active member of the Ad- vent Church and an earnest and consistent Christian.

EORGE S. HOWE,* for many years an active business man of Worces- ter, Mass., died at his home in this city in April, 1876. He was born in Rut- land, Worcester County, and was a lineal de- scendant of one of the earlier settlers of that historic town. (See Biographical Sketches in the History of Rutland.)

George S. Howe was reared and educated in Rutland. He came to Worcester when a young man, and worked a few years as clerk in a dry-goods store. Being prudent and thrifty, he saved a large per cent. of his earn- ings; and, forming a partnership with his brother-in-law, a Mr. Hobbs, he embarked in the grocery business as the head of the firm of Howe & Hobbs, which was for some years the leading house of the kind in the city. When Mr. Hobbs left the business after a few years of successful experience, the senior partner admitted W. H. Hackett into the firm; and the latter in 1874 bought out Mr. Howe, whose ill health forced him then to retire from active pursuits. Mr. Howe was a man of excellent business qualifications, and by his careful management with close attention to details he accumulated a good property. As a man of sterling integrity, broad-minded, upright and honorable in all of his dealings,

he was well known in the community, and was held in eminent respect.

In 1849 Mr. Howe married Miss Anna Hobbs, daughter of George Hobbs, of Worces- ter, and the descendant of a family that set- tled in the town of Princeton, Mass., in old Colonial days.

W. ESTABROOK,* a leading busi- ness man of Worcester, is a native of

· Concord, N.H. He came to Worces- ter many years ago, and established himself as a painter and interior decorator. His suc- cess in this line has been great. In theory anybody can paint: in practice few are able to do it with the best results. Many people seem to think that, as long as a surface is smeared over with some substance resembling paint, that is all that is necessary, and that the nature of the material used and the man- ner in which it is applied are of no special consequence. In reality nothing could be further from the truth, for the fact is that the best painters cannot produce satisfactory work with poor materials; while, on the other hand, a building on which the finest paint is lavishly expended may be neither ornamental nor pro- tected by the operation, if the work has been improperly done. The moral is obvious. House painting and decoration should be in- trusted only to those who are capable of doing first-class work and who are known to use only reliable material. In both these re- spects Mr. Estabrook may be depended upon. His methods have made so excellent an im- pression on this community that in order to fill his contracts he requires a force of men averaging twenty in number. His office and shop are located in rear of 49 Main Street; and he receives orders for painting, glazing, graining, decorative painting, hard - wood finish, and kalsomining solutions. He is able at all times to do any such work at short notice and at reasonable prices. His long years of experience, coupled with the perfect finish of his work, have enabled him not only to build up a large business, but one that is recognized as taking the lead in this line in the city of Worcester. Mr. Estabrook's tele-

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 133

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