Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 140

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 140

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ENRY C. WADSWORTH* was engaged in the manufacture of fire- arms in Worcester for many years, and, although he had removed from the city prior to his death, he had a large circle of friends and acquaintances here that still remember him with pleasure. He was a son of Thomas Wadsworth and a native of Augusta, Me., where he grew to manhood and received his education.

When twenty-one years old he came to Worcester, and, entering the shops of Ethan Allen & Co., manufacturers of firearms, he continued with the firm until the death of Mr. Allen, one of whose daughters he had married. Then, forming a partnership with S. Forehand, he became junior member of the firm of Fore- hand & Wadsworth, successors to Ethan Allen & Co., and continued manufacturing pistols, revolvers, guns, and firearms of all descriptions, in the meantime making many improvements in the designs. Their business grew from year to year, the firm becoming the leading one of the kind in New England. Mr. Wadsworth finally disposed of his interest in the concern to his partner, by whom the busi- ness has since been carried on at the old quar- ters on Tainter Street. Prior to this time, however, Mr. Wadsworth had served nine months in the late Civil War. He enlisted in Company C, Fifty-first Massachusetts Volun- teer Infantry, as a private, and at the expira- tion of his term of enlistment was discharged as Sergeant of his company. After giving up active business he resided in Worcester a short time, going then to Boston, and later becoming a resident of New York City. He was ap- pointed by President Harrison vice-consul at

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Santos, Brazil, where he served as an able official, and was just about to engage in a promising business enterprise when he became a victim to yellow fever, from which he died in March, 1892. He was a man who had the respect of his associates in business as well as in social life to an unusual degree, and stood high in the community. He was an active Mason, belonged to Quinsigamond Lodge, F. & A. M.

Mr. Wadsworth married Lauraette Allen, daughter of the late Ethan Allen, the noted firearms manufacturer of Worcester. Two children were the fruit of their union, namely : Harry Lincoln, born on the day of President Lincoln's death; and Florence, deceased. Harry Lincoln Allen, who was educated in Worcester and Boston, is now connected with the Forehand Arms Company, and is a promis- ing and popular young business man of this city. He is married, and has one son, Lincoln Wadsworth.

ANIEL FRANKLIN ESTA- BROOK,* real estate dealer of Worcester, born in Paxton, Mass., September 9, 1832, is a descendant of the Rev. Joseph Estabrook, of Enfield, Eng- land, who came to this country in 1660, was graduated at Harvard College in 1664, and ordained in 1667 at Concord, Mass., as col- league to the Rev. Edward Bulkley, whom he succeeded as minister of the church. His son Joseph, of Lexington, was Captain of a mili- tary company, and was sent as a Representa- tive to the General Court. On the maternal side Mr. Estabrook, we are told, is descended from Peter Browne, who came over in the "Mayflower."

Mr. Estabrook received a limited education at Paxton, and upon leaving school went to work for a wholesale and retail clothing house. In 1861 he bought out the firm, and went into partnership with Mr. Knowlton, under the firm name of Knowlton, Estabrook & Co. Nine years later he bought out his partner's interest in the business, and carried on independently what was then the largest business of the kind in the city, His health failing in 1871, he

sold all his interest in the business to Adam Putnam, and became the agent for a Boston firm. Afterward he went into the real estate business in Worcester. On November 26, 1856, he was married to Delia A. How, of Paxton. He has no children. Mr. Estabrook was Inspector of Elections in 1857-58. He is a Republican in politics.

His twin brother, Dr. D. Francis Estabrook, born in Paxton, September 9, 1832, was edu- cated at Leicester Academy. When a young man he engaged in the boot and shoe findings business as a member of the firm of Goddard & Estabrook. On giving up business, he took a five years' course of study in dentistry with Dr. H. F. Bishop, and, opening an office in 1871, he has continued in practice in Worces- ter up to the present time. He married in 1865 Sarah Bigelow Fitch, of Stonington, Conn., by whom he has had two children - Marie Antoinette and Harry Francis.

Mrs. Estabrook was born in Boston, daugh- ter of George Washington Fitch, by his wife Cassandra Eastman Morrill, of Biddeford, Me. She is a grand-daughter on the paternal side of the Rev. Moses Morrill, a graduate of Harvard College, and a grand-daughter on the mater- nal side of the Rev. Samuel Mcclintock, D. D., a graduate of Princeton College, New Jersey, who was of Scotch extraction, though a native of Medford, Mass. He was Chaplain at the battle of Bunker Hill, and is repre- sented in Trumbull's painting, the " Death of General Warren." "He was elected to preach a sermon before the Honorable the Council and the Honorable the Senate and House of Rep- resentatives of the State of New Hampshire, June 3, 1784, on occasion of the Commence- ment of the New Constitution and Form of Government. Text : Jeremiah xviii., 7-10." He also delivered on September 9, 1798, at Greenland, N. H., "a discourse occasioned by the present severe drouth, the mortal fever which prevails in Portsmouth, in this new vicinity, and in many of our capital seaport towns, and the threatening prospect of a calam- itous war with a powerful nation." This ser- mon was printed by Thomas Adams, Court Street, Boston, Mass. ; the other by Robert Gerrish, Portsmouth, N.H. A printed copy

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of each is in the possession of Mrs. Estabrook, and she also preserves a sermon in his own handwriting. The Rev. Dr. McClintock mar- ried Mary Montgomery, of Portsmouth. Grace Fletcher, the first wife of Daniel Webster, was a cousin of Cassandra Eastman Morrill.

ATHAN C. UPHAM, * though a young man, now ranks as the senior real estate dealer in the city of Fitch- burg. He was born here on Janu- ary 3, 1862, son of Nathaniel Bradley and

Sarah Elizabeth (Carleton) Upham. His

grandfather, Nathan Upham, who was the first of the family to settle in Fitchburg, was for thirty years a partner in the old Caldwell store, and subsequently treasurer of the Emer- son Piano Company. He was the first secre- tary of the Worcester County Agricultural Society. A musician of unusual ability and possessed of a fine voice, he was choir leader in the North Unitarian Church.

Nathaniel Upham, father of Nathan C., was born in Philadelphia and came here as a boy. He learned the trade of harness manufacturer, but went to war in the fall of 1862 in Com- pany A of the Fifty-third Massachusetts Vol- unteer Militia, and was out for eight months. On June 14, 1863, he was killed in the attack on Port Hudson under General Banks, being then in Colonel Kimball's regiment, Nine- teenth Army Corps. Mrs. Upham is still living. Her father, Mr. Carleton, of Groton, was a stage driver and kept the tavern.

Nathan C. Upham, after completing his education at the Bay Street Grammar School, was employed for ten years in the Putnam Machine Works. In August, 1888, he went into the real estate business, having his office at II Water Street. Mr. A. S. Lawton was soon admitted to partnership, and still later Mr. E. E. Staples, the firm being known suc- cessively as Lawton & Upham and Lawton, Upham & Co. In a short time the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Upham has since con- tinued the business alone. He has had charge of the Moses Wood estate, including " General Wood's Hill," and has the credit of having im- proved the district. He has also improved

and built up the North Street plot. Mr. Upham combines the work of an auctioneer with his other business, and is a fluent and forceful speaker. Popular among the business men of the city, and of a social temperament, he is a leading member of various fraternal societies, notably of Charles W. Moore Lodge, F. & A. M., of which he is Past Master; of Mount Roulstone Lodge, No. 98, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and of King David Encampment, No. 42. He is also a valued member of the Merchants' Association, of the Board of Trade, and of the Fitchburg Athletic Club. He served on the Common Council one

year. Although he has held numerous official positions in various organizations, he is proba- bly most widely known as being the State Colonel of the Massachusetts branch of the Sons of Veterans. He attends the Unitarian church.

Mr. Upham was married on October 15, 1891, to Clara W. Blodgett. They have one child.

HARLES R. B. CLAFLIN,* who spent the larger part of his active life in Worcester, Mass., died at his residence, 2 Charlton Street, No- vember 7, 1897, aged eighty years. He was born in Hopkinton, Mass., September 28, 1817, a son of Elliot and Chloe (Burnett) Claflin. On the paternal side he came from Scotch-Irish ancestry, being a lineal descend- ant of an emigrant named McClaughlin, or McLaughlin, who came to America in the early part of the eighteenth century. The Burnetts, an old family of Southboro, Mass., are said to be of French descent, and the mother of Chloe Burnett was born in France.

Deprived of a father's care when a young lad, Mr. Claflin was early thrown upon his own resources. Ambitious, energetic, and capable, he found but little difficulty in mak- ing his own way in the world. Studying by himself, and by long practice becoming skilled in the use of the pen, he taught writing in his own and neighboring towns. He also made some money by giving lessons in another art in which he excelled; namely, horseback riding,

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a common mode of travelling in those days. Mastering the Daguerrean process of taking pictures when it first came into use, Mr. Claflin journeyed through Worcester County, taking portraits of men, women, and children, many people of prominence sitting before his camera. In 1850 he settled in Worcester, and in company with a Mr. Adams, whom he soon after bought out, opened a daguerreotype gallery in the Scott Block. A taker of am- brotypes afterward located near by, and the two artists carried on quite a war through the local papers for a few months, when the later comer left the field. Mr. Claflin was ever alive to the interests of his business, and whenever any new improvement was brought forth he quickly took advantage of it. He was one of the first in Worcester to use the dry-plate process of photographing. During the Civil War no business was livelier than that of the photog- rapher, and in taking pictures of the soldiers and their friends he made a profit of thirteen thousand dollars in one year. His property shortly amounted to about seventy-five thou- sand dollars, but it decreased during the last twenty years of his life. He continued as one of the leading photographers of this city until 1894, when he sold out to a Mr. Marrion, of Lowell, Mass. He soon after had a severe attack of the grip, from which he never fully recovered.

In 1849 Mr. Claflin married Emma H. Locke, who was born in Westminster, Mass., a daughter of Theodore Prescott Locke, whose grandfather at one time owned the whole of Winter Hill. The family was an aristocratic one, and Mr. Locke was himself a man of lit- erary tastes and talents. He was public- spirited and progressive, and a personal friend of William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and other prominent anti-slavery men. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Claflin, namely : Charles R. B., Jr., a manufacturer of dental implements in this city; and Mrs. A. S. Maynard, of Wakefield, Mass. Mr. Claflin belonged to a family of note in the political and financial world, having been a nephew of Lee Claflin, of Hopkinton, and a cousin of his son, ex-Governor William Claf- Jin, and a kinsman of the late Horace B.

Claflin, of New York City. Elliot Claflin was for many years an officer in the regular army of the United States.

ILLIAM M. JOHNSON,* for many years a well-known and highly re- spected business man of Worcester, was a resident of this city from the time of his birth in 1834, until his death, on April 8, 1895. He was the representative of a family that came from Scotland to Massachusetts in the early part of the eighteenth century. His father, Micah Johnson, a well-to-do farmer, who was born, lived, and died in Worcester, married a Miss Albee.

William M. Johnson obtained his education in the public schools, and at the age of seven- teen entered the machine shop of Bickford & Lombard to learn the trade, for which he had a natural aptitude. He became an expert me- chanic, and served as foreman of his em- ployer's shop; also as a sub-contractor for the firm, in which capacity he hired his own men. Having unbounded energy he put forth his powers to their full strength, and was very efficient. He subsequently became sub-con- tractor and foreman for the Cleveland & Bas- sett Company, builders of machinery for wool- len-mills, and did well in their employ for a few years. He was skilled in the creation of woollen machinery; and had his capital been ample he would undoubtedly have built ma- chinery on his own account on an extensive scale, as he possessed the needful ambition, knowledge, and push. The concern failed, and Mr. Johnson then accepted a similar posi- tion with Tainter & Wood, with whom he remained until his health began to fail.

Thinking a change of occupation might prove beneficial, Mr. Johnson, in 1876, with Mr. Kendrick, under the firm name of Ken- drick & Johnson, established a livery stable on Franklin Street, where they carried on a suc- cessful business for a few years. When that partnership was dissolved, Mr. Johnson started an independent stable on Pearl Street, on the present site of the Young Men's Christian As- sociation building, remaining there till the property was sold for its present use. He sub-

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sequently became senior partner of the firm of Johnson & Knibbs, and, building a new stable on Barton Place, engaged in a lucrative busi- ness. Mr. Johnson habitually applied himself to his work to such an extent that he seriously injured his health. He at length sold out to Mr. Knibbs, and was afterward practically re- tired from the activities of life, although for one year he owned an interest that he bought of H. B. Wellington in the blacksmith shop on Exchange Street. He was a sound Republican in politics, and was a member for some years of the American Mechanics Association.

In 1853 Mr. Johnson married Mary J. Gla- zier, of Gardner, Mass., a member of a well- known and prominent family. Two children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, namely: Theodore W., born February 23, 1854; and Elmer Clifford, born February 8, 1867. The elder son is manager of the Burn- side property and place in this city. Elmer Clifford is engaged in the carriage and buggy business as manufacturer's agent for rubber tires, exhibits in a marked degree the ener- getic and self-reliant characteristics of his father, and has been most successful as a sales- man.

J. WHITE,* who in his earlier days was a noble worker in the mission- ary field under the auspices of the Congregationalists, and at a later time was a respected business man of Worcester, died at his home on Hollywood Street, this city, Oc- tober 20, 1889. He was born in 1811, at Boylston, Worcester County, whither his par- ents, Aaron and Mary (Avery) White, removed from Watertown, their birthplace. His father was a successful farmer and store-keeper.

W. J. White remained on the parental farm in Boylston until he became of age, when he sought new employment at the home of an uncle, a manufacturer of hand cards in Ver- mont. He worked for this uncle until he had saved some money, and then went through Williams College. After that he worked his way through the Andover Theological Semi- nary by teaching school in the winter seasons. Being well prepared for the work he had

chosen, he offered his services as a missionary, and was sent by the American Board to Can- ada, Michigan, Vermont, and other States. He was a fluent, forcible preacher, earnestly devoted to his work, and through his influence many men and women were induced to identify themselves with the church and to lead better lives.

In 1850 Mr. White gave up his missonary work, and coming to Worcester established the business of grinding coffee and spices, in which he was prosperously engaged in the Merrifield building on Union Street for fifteen years. He built up a large wholesale and re- tail trade, and was doubtless the leading man in his line in all Worcester County. He ac- quired considerable property, and, purchasing land on Hollywood Street, he there built the fine residence now occupied by his family. For more than twenty years he was an active member of the Central Congregational Church and continued his Christian work in the Sun- day-schools of this locality. A steadfast Re- publican in politics, he performed the duties of a loyal citizen willingly and gladly.

Mr White was married in 1850 to Miss Annie R. Ames, of West Boylston, Mass. They had two children; namely, John Will- iam, deceased, and Aaron Avery. The latter, who was born in Worcester in 1856, entered the hardware store of his cousin, of the firm of White & Conant, having worked his way up until he became chief clerk of the establish- ment. Starting then in business for himself in 1896 as a real estate dealer and broker at 492 Main Street, he has continued it with ex- cellent success up to the present time. Mr. A. A. White married Mary Stowell, of Worcester. They have two children - Han- nah and George Avery.

LBION P. K. RICHARDSON,* who for a number of years prior to his death, which occurred on December 25, 1875, was one of the leading manufacturers of Worcester, Mass., was born in Machias, Me., in 1826. He was of Eng- lish ancestry, and, we are told, a lineal de- scendant of Ezekiel Richardson, first, who

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came to Charlestown, Mass., in 1630, in one of the ships of Winthrop's fleet.

Ezekiel, first, was followed a few years later by his brothers, Samuel and Thomas - the three brothers, as is well known, being after- ward among the original settlers of the town of Woburn, Middlesex County. Ezekiel and Mary (Randall) Richardson, the parents of Al- bion P. K., were lifelong residents of Maine, where his father was interested in agricult- ural and seafaring pursuits.

Mr. Richardson received a limited education in the common schools of the coast town in which he grew to manhood, and during his youth engaged alternately as a farmer and a sailor. For several years he followed the sea, in a number of his longer trips being master of a vessel. His experiences as a navigator were many and varied, and proved useful to him in after years as having developed remarkable strength of character and good executive abil- ity. Being a natural mechanic, he at length sought employment in which his talent in that line might be utilized, and learned the ma- chinist's trade, at which he worked for a few years in Stoughton, Mass. In 1855 he came to Worcester, and with a partner embarked in business as a manufacturer of lasts. He subse- quently retired from that firm, and in the Hey- wood building on Central Street began to build the Buckeye Mowing-machine, having for a silent partner Lucius W. Pond, who furnished the tools.

Mr. Richardson here found free play for his inventive genius, and after the retirement of Mr. Pond he continued the business alone, and each season developed and improved his ma- chines. In 1871 he erected a large brick fac- tory on Prescott Street, and organized the Richardson Manufacturing Company, of which he was afterward the head and the manager until his death. The business is still contin- ued by his heirs, whose ability has placed this company among the most successful and best known manufacturers of their line of goods in the world. The Buckeye Mowing-machine has always led all other inventions for its purpose, and has found ready sale. Mr. Richardson achieved great financial success, and accumu- lated a fine property, including the shop on

Heywood Street, the factory on Prescott Street, the handsome family residence on Main Street, besides valuable real estate elsewhere, and like- wise an interest in the firm of Colby, Swan & Co., last makers, on Union Street. He was an active member of many fraternal societies, and as a man was everywhere respected and esteemed.

Mr. Richardson married for his first wife Rachel Porter, of Stoughton, Mass. She died a few years later; and he married for his sec- ond wife Jane P. Capen, daughter of Asa Capen, of Stoughton. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Richardson, namely : Annie A., wife of R. J. Healey ; Helen ; and Frank A., of the Richardson Manufacturing Company, who married a Miss Fay.

IRAM M. JENCKS,* manager of the firm of H. M. Jencks & Co., dealers in grain, hay, feed, and flour in Webster, was born in Slatersville, R. I., on April 26, 1842, son of James and Emily (Williams) Jencks. He is a lineal descendant of Joseph Jencks, one of the early settlers in Rhode Island, and the founder of the town of Pawtucket.

His father, James Jencks, who was born in Pawtucket, R. I., and died in 1893, at the age of seventy-four years, was a factory man, and in the course of his life worked in many dif- ferent towns. His mother, Emily, was the daughter of Cyrus Williams, who fought in the Revolution, and was a descendant of Roger Williams.

Mr. Jencks received his education in the public schools of Slatersville and of Daniel- sonville, Conn. At an early age he began working in the Quinebaug Cotton Factory at Danielsonville, and subsequently remained there until he was twenty-two years old. Going then to Blue Hill, he took charge of the construction of a new mill for the manu- facture of cotton goods, and was there a year. At the end of that time he went to Eagleville, and started a weave-mill for John L. Ross. After seeing the plant in successful operation, he removed to Claiborne Parish, La., where for two years he had charge of a cotton-mill,

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During the next seven years he occupied a similar position in Arkwright, R.I. From there he went to the yarn-mill at Woodstock, R. I., and still later to the yarn-mill in War- ren, R. I. After a four years' stay in Warren, he opened a general merchandise store at Day- ville, Conn., and conducted it for seven years under his own name. From Dayville he went to Providence, R. I., and for the next four years managed a store there in the same line of trade. The Providence store was burned out, and in 1894 he came to Webster and started the busi- ness in which he is at present engaged, having built up a fine trade.

In politics Mr. Jencks is a Republican. He attends the Methodist Episcopal Church, and takes much interest in the various social and charitable activities of the society. Frater- nally, he is a member of Warren Lodge, No. 50, F. & A. M., at South Coventry, Conn. ; of the Royal Arch Chapter at River Point, R. I. ; and of Webster Lodge, No. 58, A. O. U. W.

Mr. Jencks was married in May, 1862, to Mary, daughter of William and Matilda (Cal- kin) Underwood, of Woodstock, Conn. Two children are the fruit of this union, namely : Charles L., who was born on December 3, 1864; and Carrie L. Charles, who was edu- cated in the Providence High School and at Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College in Providence, is now a book-keeper in that city. He married Mertie James, of Danielsonville, Conn., and has two children - Leroy and Ethel. Carrie is the wife of William R. Williams, and resides in Webster.

OHN F. LUNDBERG, of Worcester, an enterprising real estate and insur- ance agent, was born in Filipstad, Sweden, August 24, 1857. His father, who was for many years a foreman on one of the large Swedish railways, died in 1888. After completing the usual course of study in the common schools, young Lundberg entered mercantile business as clerk in a retail store, in which capacity he continued for some years. He then went into the railway service, and, after working under his father for a year, he was for the succeeding six years employed as a

foreman and conductor on a large railroad. In 1883 he came to the United States with the intention of entering the railway service here, but his inability to speak English prevented him from doing so, and he was therefore obliged to seek another occupation. Locating in Worcester he was employed as a carpenter until the spring of 1884, when he secured a clerical position in the office of the Worcester Malleable Iron Company, and remained with that concern until it went out of business. In 1886 he associated himself with Charles F. Lybeck for the purpose of engaging in the grocery business, and, opening a store on Car- roll Street, shortly afterward admitted another partner. In 1891 Mr. Lundberg secured the entire control of the business by purchasing the interests of his associates, and carried it on successfully until 1893, when he sold out. Afterward he established a real estate and in- surance agency, which has proved beneficial to his countrymen as well as to himself. He was one of the original founders of a news- paper established in the interest of the Swedish population of this city, and in 1895 became its manager and editor. A year later he bought up the shares held by the other stockholders, and since becoming its sole proprietor has changed its title to Nya Faderneslandet. It is a general newspaper, having for its chief aim the welfare and improvement of the Scandi- navian American residents of Worcester, and is well supported. In politics an earnest Re- publican, Mr. Lundberg has rendered much valuable service to his party by explaining its principles to those of his countrymen who are not so well informed as himself, thus gaining their support. He served in the City Council from Ward Two in 1894-95, is a member of that body the present year, and is also a Special Constable, having been appointed by Mayor Marsh in 1894 to act in civil cases.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 140

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