Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 142

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 142

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EORGE M. MORSE, M.D., came to Clinton in 1846. He was born in Walpole, N. H., in 1821, and was the son of Dr. E. and Esther (Crafts) Morse. Dr. Morse studied at Dartmouth College, and grad- uated at the Harvard Medical School in 1843. For the next three years he practised in Clare- mont, N. H., where he married Eleanor C. Chase, daughter of Bishop Carleton Chase. From this marriage there is one son, George F., now living in Lancaster. For his second wife he married Mary F. Stearns, of Clinton, daughter of Deacon William Stearns, and has two daughters. Besides his long time of pub- lic service in his medical practice, he has

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served in various town boards, such as School Committee, Assessors, and Fire Engineers, and was for many years chairman of the Library Committee. For fourteen years he was Medi- cal Examiner for this district. In later years he has been especially interested and active in the organization and development of the Clinton Hospital, of which he is vice-president and chairman of the medical staff.

HARLES J. G. HUBBARD,* a thriv- ing farmer and dairyman of Berlin, Mass., was born in Ashby, Middle- sex County, this State, October 21, 1863, son of A. J. and Eliza (Willington) Hubbard. His mother died at fifty-five years of age. His father is now living, at the age of eighty. His grandfather Hubbard's name was Jonathan. He was a native of Concord, but spent the greater part of his life in Ashby, and died there when he was eighty years old.

A. J. Hubbard was born in Ashby, and reared to agriculture, which he has success- fully followed through life. He cultivated the homestead property for some years, but later purchased a farm in his native town, and is residing there now. His wife, who was a native of Ashby, became the mother of three children, two of whom are living, namely : E. A. Hubbard, a prosperous farmer of Ashby ; and Charles J. G., the subject of this sketch. Mr. Hubbard's mother was a member of the Congregational church, with which his father is also united.

Charles J. G. Hubbard acquired his educa- tion in the common schools and at an academy. As a young man he went to Fitchburg, Mass., where he was employed for nine years as foreman of Dr. Fisher's farm. In 1896 he bought his present farm of thirty-eight acres in Berlin, where he is now engaged in general farming, dairying, market gardening, and the cultivation of fruit, working with an intelli- gence and push calculated to insure continuous and increasing prosperity.

In 1887 Mr. Hubbard married for his first wife Helen Brooks, daughter of Ives Brooks, a farmer of Rindge, N. H. She died at the age of twenty-four years, leaving two children -

Harold and Amy. His present wife was for- merly Clara Welch, of Manchester. She has been quite an extensive traveller, having crossed the Atlantic as many as nine times.

In politics Mr. Hubbard is a Republican. In 1897 he was elected a member of the Board of Assessors. He was formerly steward and treasurer of the Fitchburg Grange. While residing in that city he served as superintend- ent of the Sunday-school connected with the Rollstone Congregational Church, is now act- ing as assistant superintendent of the Sunday- school in Berlin, and is a member of the Exec- utive Committee of the church.

HOMAS QUIRK,* who was for half a century a leading business man of Mil- ford, was born in Ireland, and came to this country when a young man. Settling in Milford, he went into the grocery business, which he carried on successfully for a number of years. He also dealt largely in coal and wood. Both branches of his business are now conducted by his sons.

Open-handed almost to a fault, Mr. Quirk was constantly assisting those in need, and many were the poor families in Milford car- ried over hard places through his kindness. His books show uncollected and uncollectable bills representing thousands and thousands of dollars. Pleasant and cordial, with an ever- ready fund of humor, he was a welcome guest wherever he went.

The following resolution, passed by the Ancient Order of Hibernians consequent upon Mr. Quirk's death, gives adequate expression to the esteem in which he was held :

"Whereas, Almighty God, by his visitation of the Angel of Death, has called from among us one of our oldest, kindest, and most chari- table members, a man who was always ready to give his time, money, and service for those who were in distress or needy circumstances, not only to members of the organization, but to God's poor, no matter of what race, creed or nationality ; and Whereas, we who were affili- ated with him in Hibernianism knew his worth as a man and his advice as a friend, and deeply deplore the loss to our town of a good citizen,

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our organization a worthy member, and the poor a true friend; therefore, be it resolved that in his death his family will mourn the irreparable loss of a most devoted husband and father, the Catholic Church a most dutiful son, the cause of Ireland a true champion, and the town of Milford a most public-spirited citizen.'

Mr. Quirk's first wife, by whom he had three sons and a daughter - all now respected citizens of Milford -died some fifteen years ago. He married for his second wife Mary Elizabeth Cochran, by whom he had one son, Joseph Stephen. Mrs. Quirk, who is a grad- uate of Framingham Normal School, is a lady of literary tastes, and was for a number of years a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of Milford. Her eldest brother, Captain John J. Cochran, was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, and subsequently served as a sur- geon in the United States Army until his death in 1890. Mrs. Quirk's surviving brothers are: George Cochran, who is a grad- uate of the New York College of Pharmacy, and is engaged in business as a druggist in New York City; Robert H., a graduate of the New York Dental College, now practising his profession in Milford; William J. Cochran, a graduate of the Harvard Medical School, and now a practising physician in Natick, Mass. ; Alexander Leo Cochran, who graduated at the New York College of Pharmacy, and is now a wholesale druggist in that city.

OHN C. HAMMOND,* a general in- surance agent of East Douglas, was born in Petersham, this county, April 21, 1825, son of John D. and Nancy (Marsh) Hammond. Mr. Hammond's father was a prosperous farmer during the active period of his life, and was known as a worthy, upright man. He had a family of thirteen children ; namely, Almira, Malinda, Charles, Susan, Samuel, John C., Louisa, Enoch, Lucy, Nancy, Lemuel H., Samuel A., and Moses Hammond. The mother was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

John C. Hammond, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the schools of Douglas.

For eight years after the completion of his studies he worked in the cotton mills, and sub- sequently learning the shoemaker's trade fol- lowed it until 1857. He next engaged in general mercantile business at East Douglas, carrying on a flourishing trade for thirteen years. Since selling out he has given his attention to the insurance business, being local agent for several strong companies.

On February 9, 1846, Mr. Hammond was joined in marriage with Lucy Jane Thayer, who was born in Uxbridge, Mass., in Novem- ber, 1824, daughter of Turner and Lydia B. Thayer. She died March 29, 1869, leaving two children, namely: Wilberforce Beecher, born April 1, 1856; and Lillie B., born in October, 1859, who is now Mrs. Turner, and has three children - Helen, John H., and Lucy Turner.

Politically, Mr. Hammond is a Republican. He was for a number of years a member of the School Committee, and he ably represented his district one year in the legislature. In his religious belief he is a Methodist.

AVID SCOTT,* who died at his home in Worcester, Mass., in 1878, was prominently identified with the mercantile interests of this city dur- ing his active career as a business man. As a druggist he stood high in the profession, and as an honorable, public-spirited citizen he had the esteem and confidence of the entire com- munity in which he resided. The son of David Scott, Sr., he was born June 7, 1821, in Leicester, Mass.

David Scott, Sr., was born in Auburn, Worcester County. He came from a long line of sturdy New England ancestors, who for generations had earned their living by culti- vating the soil, an occupation to which he clung during his life. He married Chloe Ryder, of Auburn, and afterward settled in Leicester, where he met with success in the pursuit of agriculture.

David Scott, the subject of this brief biog- raphy, completed his education at the Leices- ter Academy, and at the age of seventeen began a four years' apprenticeship in the

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apothecary shop of Dr. James Green, of Worcester. After attaining his majority he became a clerk in the store of his employer, and proving himself very apt at the business, and likewise ambitious to know all that he could of medicine and surgery, he was en- couraged and helped by Dr. Green, who fre- quently took him along as an assistant in sur- gical operations. In 1845 Mr. Scott opened a drug store on Main Street, near Exchange Street, where for five years he carried on a good business. Purchasing the interest of his partner in 1850, he moved to the corner of Main and Mechanic Streets, where he built up an extensive trade. He made money, and at a later time bought the four-story block in which he was located. This proved a wise invest- ment. The property has greatly increased in value, so that it is now one of the most im- portant business corners in the city. He

subsequently began manufacturing and com- pounding many medicinal preparations, which found favor with the public, and in which for many years prior to his death he had a very profitable wholesale and retail trade, built up by his own ability and good judgment. He bought real estate in Worcester to some extent, and with his brother, Nelson R. Scott, erected the flatiron, four-story block, which is located directly opposite the United States Government Post-office Building, at the junc- tion of Main and Southbridge Streets. He stood high in Masonic circles, and was one of the comparatively few men of the city who had taken the thirty-second degree in Masonry.

In 1846 Mr. Scott married Lucinda H. Fay, daughter of Silas Fay, an old resident and a prominent citizen of Princeton, Mass. Two children were born of their union, namely : a son, Frederick, and a daughter, Alice, who now lives with her widowed mother. Frederick Scott received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Brown University, and the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Jefferson Medical School, Philadelphia, Pa. He then went to Dakota, where he soon ac- quired a fine reputation for professional knowl- edge and skill, and built up an extensive prac- tice. Devoted to his chosen labor, he spared not strength in the time of need, and, in caring

for the many sufferers of the great blizzard in that far western State, overworked himself to such a degree that he never recovered his health. His physical strength was unequal to the demands then made upon it, and in 1894 he passed to the higher life.

A® NDREW JACKSON MCFARLAND,* who died in Worcester on April 27, 1887, was born in Hopkinton, Middlesex County, Mass., in 1826. His parents were Wallace and Olive (Lover- ing) McFarland. As the name shows, the McFarlands came originally from Scotland. A sturdy, honest, independent race, they have been domesticated in this county not far from two hundred years. Some of the name were among the early settlers of Worcester, but there are only three or four families of Mc- Farlands now in this city. Andrew J. Mc- Farland's grandfather fought in the Revolu- tion.

Andrew Jackson McFarland was reared on his father's farm, and had a common-school education only. A strong and active youth, he learned the butcher's trade in his native town, and worked at it till he acquired some capital, wherewith he engaged in the retail grocery and dry-goods business in Hopkinton with a Mr. Heaton, under the firm name of Heaton & McFarland. After continuing in this business for nine years, having a profitable trade, he sold out and sought a broader field of activity: In 1868 he purchased a market in Worcester, which he managed for three years with fair success. Then, hearing of a good chance in Auburn, N. Y., he sold out and moved thither. There he was engaged in the retail meat business as a member of the firm of McFarland & Tyler for a year. Returning to Worcester, he opened a meat and provision store on Green Street. This he managed for three years. Then he sold out and engaged with a large Boston house, with which he was connected for a number of years. His health finally broke down, and in 1883 he retired to his home in Worcester. An invalid during his few remaining earthly years, he bore his long confinement with patience and fortitude.

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Mr. McFarland was a man of enterprise, courage, and perseverance - self-reliant and energetic. To his constant application to business, continued by force of his indomitable will, is due perhaps his early death. As a merchant his reputation was unblemished and his integrity never questioned. He left a good name as a heritage to his children. Though he gave little time to politics, he was con- cerned for the success of his party and for the triumph of good principles and good govern- ment. He was a strong believer in the saving influence of religion, and lived up to what he professed. Cordial, good-natured, and compan- ionable, he had many friends. Mr. McFar- land was a highly esteemed member of the Masonic brotherhood, belonging to the lodge in Hopkinton.

He was married in Hopkinton, April II, 1849, to Miss Ann Eliza Thompson, of whose family several successive generations have lived in Worcester County. Three chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. McFarland - Curtis A., Walter J., and Orilla. Curtis A. is a landscape gardener, residing in Worcester. Walter J. is employed in a shoe factory in Webster, Mass. Orilla is the wife of N. Gordon Williams, of Dedham, Mass., a well- educated and highly respected citizen. He is connected with the envelope firm of Logan, Swift & Brigham. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have two children - Stella and Irving.

OBERT RUDDY,* chief promoter of the Ruddy Thread Company, of Worcester, of which at the time of his death on August 3, 1896, he was president and treasurer, was born in the north of Ireland in 1844, son of George and Jane (Murphy) Ruddy. Mr. Ruddy spent his boy- hood in Norwich, Conn., where he came when a child with his mother, his father having died in Ireland. As he was one of a family of five children, he had early to become not only self- supporting, but of material assistance to his mother, so that his youth was one of toil and was without the opportunities for education which most young people have. In 1859, when only fifteen years of age, he entered the

employ of the Willimantic Thread Company, taking the humblest place in the factory. Here he spent nine years, during which he showed not only faithfulness and attention to his work, but indomitable will and persistence. He learned all the processes in the manufact- ure of thread, and in time he became head of a department. Later on he secured employment at Holyoke, and subsequently he went to the Williston Mill at Easthampton, Mass., where he was appointed superintendent of the finish- ing department. After some years of success- ful service in this position he was made super- intendent of the Mount Tom Thread Company at Easthampton, where he remained until 1874. Coming to Worcester in that year, he was appointed superintendent of the finishing de- partment of the Warren Thread Company. By this time he had become recognized as a man of unusual executive ability, and one who was sure to make a success of whatever he under- took, and different manufacturers were anxious to secure his services. He was a strong man intellectually and physically, and gave his splendid force and vitality to his business, understanding full well that faithful effort always meets its reward.

After remaining in Worcester for about a year, Mr. Ruddy received an offer of a posi- tion as superintendent of the Alexander Stew- art Thread Mill at Leeds, N. Y., this bearing with it an increase of salary. Three years were spent in Leeds, during which time the business prospered and Mr. Ruddy made many friends. Returning then to Worcester, he again entered the employ of the Warren Thread Company as superintendent of one of its departments, but a few years later went to the Mount Tom Company, where he remained for about a year. He was then called by the Warren Thread Company to take charge of their plant at Ashland.

While there he conceived the idea of put- ting up glazed thread on paper tubes, and in 1887 he secured a partner willing to invest money to promote the new invention. The Ruddy Thread Company was organized at Worcester, the place of business being on Foster Street. A fine new block was after- ward built on Central Street, and the business

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was removed thither. Mr. Ruddy was made president and treasurer, and his entire energy and force of character were bent toward mak- ing it a success. This company was the first to wind thread upon paper tubes, putting them up originally for the Reed Buttonhole Works, but in a short time the plan was adopted by other of the leading manufacturers. Mr Ruddy rapidly developed his business as he won the confidence of the trade, and in time devised other specialties. He put up threads on spools and cards as well as on tubes, the length of the thread varying from two hundred to two thousand yards, and the weight from a few ounces to a pound. By personally super- intending the manufacture whenever possible, he made sure that only the best quality of thread was produced, and by visiting many cities himself in exploiting his product he was able to advertise and introduce it widely. In 1891 the company was incorporated, Mr. Ruddy still remaining the guiding spirit in the enterprise. None of the goods produced were handled by jobbers, but all were shipped direct to consumers, the latter in this way obtaining the best thread at a very low price.

Mr. Ruddy died in Paris, while on a busi- ness trip to Europe. He was well-known among Masonic fraternities in Worcester and elsewhere, and had received the thirty-second degree. Of a social, genial, warm-hearted nature, he had a wide acquaintance and a host of friends. His fund of quiet humor helped him through many hard places in life, and caused him to find reason for enjoyment often- times where other men would have been totally downcast. This was especially true in his early life.

Mr. Ruddy and Anna Stetson, of Williman- tic, Conn., were married in 1868. One child was born to them; namely, a daughter, Mary Louise Ruddy, of this city.

ENRY HARRISON STRATTON,* for some years the leading travelling salesman in the leather trade in New England, and a prominent resident of Worcester, was born in Athol, Mass., son of Joseph and Martha (West)

Stratton, of that town. His father was by occupation a shoemaker.

The Stratton family has been known in New England for two hundred and fifty years. Samuel Stratton came from England before 1648, with his sons, Samuel and John, and settled at Watertown. His son Richard came in the " Speedwell " from London in 1656. There were also other early immigrants bear- ing this surname. The heritage of the later generations is the sturdy character and pure lives of their worthy ancestors.

Henry Harrison 'Stratton passed his boy- hood in his native town. After his school- days were over he went to Greenfield, Mass., and secured employment as clerk in a store where leather goods and leather specialties were sold. Proving to be an unusually suc- cessful salesman, at the end of a few years he was engaged as travelling agent for a firm in South Deerfield that manufactured leather goods and specialties. In a short time he built up a remarkable trade, his sales being enormous. Tactful and courteous, he was sure to make friends wherever he went. He became so well known in the large cities of the United States that in time he practically controlled the leather trade. His connection with the Deerfield firm lasted for eleven years. During the remaining eight years of his life he represented a house in Philadelphia that was the largest manufacturing concern for leather goods in the eastern part of the United States. Mr. Stratton commanded a larger salary. than any other travelling man in the trade. He made careful investments, and later years have proved them to have been wise ones. Mr. Stratton died suddenly on February 9, 1885, in Boston, while on a trip to that city.

Mr. Stratton married Emily W. Holman, of Royalston, Mass., a member of a highly re- spected family. Mrs. Stratton has two daugh- ters : Emily Holman; and Marion Esty, now Mrs. Foraker, of Worcester. Mr. Stratton was a member of the Masonic fraternity. For some years before his death he had made his home in Worcester, and his family reside here at the present time. He erected a commodi- ous dwelling on Hancock Street, and, being

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quick to realize the growing value of real es- tate in this city, he built several houses in the vicinity for rent; and these have proved good paying investments. Of Mr. Stratton's character as a man too much that is laudatory can scarcely be said. He was one who made money by entirely honorable methods.

In the second year of the Civil War, in Oc- tober, 1862, Mr. Stratton enlisted in the Fifty-third Regiment of Massachusetts Volun- teers, and was sent to the Gulf States in Gen- eral Banks's division. He was with his regi- ment in all its engagements and marches up to June 14, 1863, when he was wounded in the head, being engaged in the assault upon Port Hudson. He was sent to St. Louis Hospital in New Orleans, but by August 7 of that year he had so far recovered as to be able to rejoin his company. He shortly returned to Athol, after having seen nine months of active service.

EORGE PERRY KENDRICK,* for nearly half a century one of the best known business men of the city of Worcester, was born in Warren in 1825. His parents were Jacil and Hannah (Coleman) Kendrick. When he was only three years old they removed to Enfield, and in that town his boyhood and school-days were passed. Start- ing in life for himself an energetic and ca- pable youth, he came to Worcester, and went to work on a farm in Quinsigamond village, where for some time he had charge of one of the largest milk routes in the city.

Mr. Kendrick's career as proprietor of a livery stable began in 1849, when, in com- pany with Amherst E. Coleman, he purchased of Andrew J. Waite the stable on the old Trumbull estate, at the corner of Franklin and Foundry Streets. The firm of Kendrick & Coleman carried on a successful business for some years, and, upon the retirement of Mr. Coleman, Mr. Kendrick formed a partnership with the late Willard Brown, Jr., which con- tinued until the death of the latter. From that time on Mr. Kendrick managed the busi- ness alone until he took into partnership his two sons, George A. and Edward H., and

formed the firm of George P. Kendrick & Co. The business increasing, successive additions to the accommodations were made; and in Jan- uary, 1882, when the large stable that Mr. Kendrick had built on Franklin Street was burned, he removed to the present commodi- ous quarters in the large brick building erected by him on Trumbull Street. Here his sons are now carrying on one of the larg- est and best arranged livery establishments in the country.

On September 23, 1850, he was united in marriage with Candace S., daughter of Cap- tain Sumner and Candace Holman, of Au- burn. Mr. Kendrick was seventy-one years old at the time of his death. His health had been failing for some time. He is survived by his sons, above named, two of his brothers, and five of his sisters, two of the last named residing in Worcester. A stanch Republican in politics, he was for several years a member of the Republican City Committee. In 1877, 1878, 1879, and 1880, he was on the Board of Aldermen, and in 1872 and 1873 he was a Representative to the General Court.

Mr. Kendrick was a member of the Salem Street Church, which was organized about the time he came to Worcester. After the Rev. Dr. Lamson left the pastorate Mr. Kendrick went elsewhere, and during the latter part of his life attended the First Universalist Church, He was a man of liberal. views both in politics and in religion, and was extremely charitable toward those who differed from him, albeit he always had decided opinions of his own. He was a liberal giver to every good cause.

RS. MARY GRACE BRIGHAM,* widow of James M. Brigham, who sacrificed his life in defence of the Union during the Civil War, is a well-known resident of Sturbridge. Her maiden name was Clay. She is a native of Millbury, Mass.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 142

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