Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 143

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 143

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Her father, Simon A. Clay, was born in Yorkshire, England, June 3, 1805. He emi- grated to the United States at the age of twenty-one, and located in Sturbridge sixty-

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one years ago, having previously held the posi- tion of overseer in a cotton-mill in South- bridge, Mass. Mrs. Brigham's mother, Mrs. Lutina Abigail Clay, was born on November 22, 1809, and died August 8, 1894. A ca- pable and industrious woman, she labored dili- gently for the well-being of her family. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church in Brookfield, Mass.

On April 15, 1857, Mary Grace Clay mar- ried James M. Brigham, who was born on June 29, 1833, and his earlier years were spent in Burlington, Vt. When a young man he lo- cated in Brookfield, where he was employed in a shoe factory for some time, and later he fol- lowed the same business in Sturbridge. En- listing in September, 1861, as a private in Company K, Twenty-second Regiment, Massa- chusetts Volunteers, he took part in the battles of Kingston, the Wilderness, and Laurel Hill. In the last-named engagement in May, 1864, he received a serious wound, from the effects of which he died twenty-four hours afterward. He was buried in the National Cemetery at Arlington Heights, Va. He was a Democrat in politics previous to the war, but differed with his party on the slavery question and became a Republican.

Mrs. Brigham has one son, Charles Henry Brigham. He married Mary W. Barnes, and has one daughter - Florence D. B. Brigham, born September 24, 1890. Mrs. Brigham attends the Methodist Episcopal church.

OVELL BAKER,* a resident of Worcester, who has been largely in- terested in real estate since the Civil War, was born at Upton, Mass., December 8, 1808, son of Lovell and Mary (Legg) Baker. His father was a cabi- net-maker by trade.

The earliest home of Mr. Baker's paternal ancestors in this country was at Lynn, Mass. They came from England. Thomas Marshall Baker, his grandfather, who settled at Upton, fought in the Revolution, and was once wounded in battle. He was a Sergeant in 1776, Lieutenant in 1777, and in 1778 he was commissioned Captain,

Lovell Baker, the subject of this sketch, at- tended the common schools and Upton Acad- emy. With his father he was interested in the old United States Hotel in Worcester, then a village of three thousand people. After his father's death he engaged in trade for several years in Grafton and Providence, and was uniformly successful in his business ventures. In 1837 he was appointed Deputy Sheriff of Worcester County, which office he held until 1856. During this time he was in- terested in the manufacture of woollen and cotton goods in Grafton and Dudley, Mass., putting capital into the mill at Dudley, which was successfully carried on by him until 1865. His residence has always been in Worcester, and since 1865 he has been practically retired from business, having accumulated a compe- tency in manufacturing. He has invested largely in real estate, and has continued pros- perous throughout his long life.

He married in 1829 Sarah Porter Page, of Salem, Mass., who died in 1887, leaving two children - Cynthia Elizabeth and John L. Mr. Baker's daughter married Simon Farns- worth, of Millbury, who died in 1890. Mrs. Farnsworth now lives with her father. She has two children : Milton Grafton Farnsworth ; and Fannie, who married Dr. George A. Adams of Worcester and has a son and daugh- ter. John L. Baker was engaged with his father in several enterprises, and was Deputy Sheriff of the county. He died in 1895.

Mr. Baker is a very interesting old gentle- man. " He has been a prominent figure in the life of the city for many years, though he has never held office. His health and strength are wonderfully well preserved. He has been a hard worker, but full of resources within himself, being a deep thinker; and his long life has been one of enjoyment. He attends the Unitarian church. He has led a life of integrity.

C ESSE JOHNSON COBURN,* founder of Lake View, one of the prettiest suburbs of Worcester, was born in Northfield, Mass., in 1831. The Coburn family is of English descent. At

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

least four generations have lived in this country.

Mr. Coburn acquired his early education in Northfield. In 1849, when he was in his eighteenth year, he went to California, join- ing relatives, who were there engaged in the search for gold. He was one of the youngest Forty-niners. For some time he worked in the mining camps, and the wild life and law- less conditions developed both his powers of observation and a spirit of self-reliance and independence. He had many thrilling ex- periences in the mountains, and many victori- ous encounters with wild beasts. During the three years of his stay in California his life was full of excitement and adventure; and he was very popular with his fellows. An expert with the rifle, he was esteemed one of the best shots in camp, and he was no less fortunate in fishing. He had some gold when he started to return home; and the shrewdness and knowledge of character developed by contact with men older than himself, many of whom were sharpers, was in itself an invaluable cap- ital. He was then twenty-one. For some time he worked at whatever he could find to do. Eventually, having made some money by trading, he purchased a large tract of low sward-land at Lake Quinsigamond, extending south-east a mile along the shore and nearly to the Boston & Albany Railroad, and pre- ceeded to develop it. People laughed at his folly, but he had plans of which they did not dream. He laid out streets and sold lots for cottages; houses sprang up in all directions ; churches and schools followed; and it was not very long before the population of Lake View numbered a thousand. The claims of scenery were recognized, and the place became popu- lar as a pleasure resort. Mr. Coburn built the hotel now known as Hotel Belmont, and managed it for years. He built a boat-house, had boats on the lake, and developed Lincoln Park and other picnic-grounds. In time he placed steamboats on the lake, and formed a company to control the enterprise, the town itself owning stock; and he then started to build the Worcester & Shrewsbury Railroad, from Washington Square, Worcester, to the lake, interesting capital. He himself was a

member of the Board of Directors. Lake View grew rapidly. Mr. Coburn built houses, and loaned money to build with. The place became a part of himself, and he loved it as a father does his child. He always aimed to maintain the respectability of the lake resorts, and no form of vice was permitted there while he was in control. Mr. Coburn met with much opposition, but he always accomplished his object, and his success was phenomenal. In 1879 one of his steamboats was overturned, and several lives were lost. The shock affected his health so that he never fully re- covered; and in 1884 he disposed of his land, buildings, railroad stock, steamboats, hotel and other property, and retired. He died in June, 1885. A genial and whole-souled man, he was very popular, and, though he was envied by some for his success, he had many warm friends.

Mr. Coburn was three times married. He is survived by his third wife, formerly Miss Anna C. Perry, of Worcester, and their four children -- Jesse Johnson, Claire Martha, Charles Bertrand, and Amy - and also by an older child, Alvarada A.

EORGE ELBRIDGE BOYDEN,* late of the firm of E. Boyden & Son, architects of Worcester, and a lead- ing member of the Masonic fraternity in these parts, died at his home in this city on Octo- ber 19, 1885.

We condense the following from the trib- utes of the daily press to the memory of this worthy citizen.

Mr. Boyden was born in Athol, Mass., on August 29, 1840, and came with his parents to Worcester at the age of four years. After attending the public schools he studied at the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard Uni- versity, and subsequently spent several months abroad to further fit himself for his chosen pro- fession. In 1875 he was elected a member of the Common Council, and the next year he was chosen its president, to which position he was twice unanimously re-elected. Affable, cour- teous, and generous, but always firm in his rulings, particularly in the preservation of the

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dignity of the body, he had the faculty of so enforcing its rules, and so deciding the vari- ous parliamentary questions as to be able to prevent even temporary unpleasantness, and no one ever retired from the office more gen - erally and more highly esteemed than he. It was mainly through his efforts that weekly payments for the city laborers were adopted, and in this direction Worcester was the first to take favorable action.

Mr. Boyden had taken the thirty-second de- gree in Masonry, and in addition to having filled all save two of the offices of the local bodies, had been for several years the secre- tary of the Masonic Mutual Relief Associa- tion of Central Massachusetts, which office he held at the time of his death. He was also a member of the Odd Fellows and of the Worcester County Mechanics' Association, for which he performed much valuable service as a director.

These fraternal organizations were officially represented at the obsequies: Worcester County Commandery, K. T .; Massachusetts Consistory; Worcester Grand Lodge of Per- fection; Hiram Council, R. & S. M .; Eureka Royal Arch Chapter, Montacute Lodge, F. & A. M. ; Worcester Lodge, I. O. O. F. ; Royal Arcanum ; United Workmen; and Stella Chapter of the Order of Eastern Star. The Masonic burial ritual was read.

From the resolutions of condolence and sympathy, adopted by the directors of the Ma- sonic Mutual Relief Association, the follow- ing paragraphs are quoted : -

"Resolved, That our brother in his life embodied, and by his death exemplified, those qualities of heart and that perfection of char- acter which resulted from the adoption and constant practice of those fundamental princi- ples of Masonry that ennoble and elevate man- kind; that by his sweetness of temper, genial converse, unselfish devotion of self to the good of others, untiring labor in every position of trust he was called to fill, he has left us an example worthy of emulation.

" Resolved, That the success of our associa- tion is largely due to the service of our brother as secretary, from its inception to the time of his death, which he always performed with

singular fidelity, systematic accuracy, and in- variable courtesy."

Mr. Boyden was married on January 1, 1867, to Helen M. Holman Harris, daughter of Oliver and Sophia P. (Badger) Holman, of Portsmouth, N.H. Mr. Holman was for many years a respected merchant of that city, as was also his father before him. M Mrs. Boy-

den survives her husband.

ENRY J. HOWLAND,* for forty years a leading printer of Worcester, and for sixty years an active worker in the Baptist Sunday-school, was born. at West Brookfield, Mass., on October 26, 1810. He was one of the thirteen chil- dren of Southworth Howland, and was of the sixth generation in descent from John How- land, who came over in the "Mayflower " in 1620, and who married Elizabeth Tilly. This is the line: John,' John,2 John, 3 Job, 4 Southworth, 5 Henry J.6 At the age of four- teen years Henry J. Howland was apprenticed to True & Greene, of Boston, printers and newspaper publishers. There he passed the long, hard period of service then exacted, and learned to do every part of the work necessary in book making, from setting the type to putting on the covers. His hours were long, it being his duty to open the office in the morning, and to go to the theatres at night for corrected programmes. Thoroughness and conscien- tious attention to detail characterized what- ever he did, and he was an honor to the trade to which he devoted his life. When he be- came of age he bought out Moses Spooner's printing office in Worcester, but later sold his interest to his brother, S. A. Howland, and returned to Boston. In 1835, however, he came back to Worcester, and from that time until a few years prior to his death, which oc- curred on April 29, 1897, he was engaged in job printing here. He established the Worcester Directory, and published it from 1844 to 1871. A variety of other publica- tions were issued from his office, among them being the first book of lessons for the primary Sunday-school, which he had prepared for his own class. This little volume is now treas-

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ured as a significant memento of the begin- ning of what is to-day a movement of great importance. Although Mr. Howland retired some years before his death, he never lost in- terest in the business, but was fond of visit- ing offices and setting a " stickful " to keep his hand in. He followed with keen interest and intelligence the development of the art of printing, the invention of fast presses and type-setting machines. He was a master in the trade, and was the dean of the craft in this city.

Descended as he was from Pilgrim stock, Mr. Howland early became identified with re- ligious activity, and particularly with the Sunday-school. At the convention which took place in 1895, he was much touched by the expressions of regard and affection ten- dered him by the Sunday-school workers and the children, who gathered about him and sang, or otherwise gave expression to their feelings. His life was filled with the graces of courtesy and unselfishness. Simple, genuine, and unostentatious, he was a favorite with all who knew him. The anti-slavery movement found in Mr. Howland an earnest champion. He was interested also in temperance, and was an advocate of the woman suffrage move- ment.

In 1832 Mr. Howland was married to Miss Dow, a daughter of Phineas Dow, of Boston. In 1887 the fifty-fifth anniversary of that happy union was celebrated by the family, and a large number of friends, prominent among the latter being the members of the Baptist church society, with whom Mr. and Mrs. Howland had been so many years associated in good works. One incident of the celebra- tion was the presentation to the veteran couple of fifty-five gold dollars. Mrs. Howland died in 1890. They had a family of six daughters, and ten grand-children and seven great-grand- children were living at the time of his death.

OHN SAMUEL BALLARD,* who was for many years prominent among the business men of Worcester, was born in Boston, June 8, 1824. He was the third son of John and Hannah (Green)

Ballard, and was in the seventh generation from William Ballard, who was born in Eng- land in 1605, and died in this country in 1695. From William ' his line of descent is traced through William,2 John, 3 John, 4 Will- iam,5 to John,' his father, who was born in Boston in 1782, and died in that city in Octo- ber, 1859. John Ballard 6 was a carpet mer- chant. He was married July 15, 18II, to Hannah Green.

John Samuel Ballard was educated in the Boston schools, taking a course of study in the high school. He worked first as clerk in a store in Boston. When he was eighteen or nineteen years of age he, with a companion, went on a prospecting tour, with the intention of purchasing promising farming territory. They travelled on horseback for hundreds of miles, often through the wilderness, carrying their money in their saddle-bags. They failed, however, to make profitable invest- ment; and Mr. Ballard, his love of adventure satisfied, purchased a farm in Shrewsbury, Mass. Here he was engaged in general farm- ing for ten years. In 1855, with capital he had earned and saved, he started a general grocery store in Worcester on Main Street, Elijah Spurr being his partner for some time. Mr. Spurr eventually retired, and Mr. Ballard was sole proprietor of the enterprise. He built up one of the largest stores in the city, had a first-class trade, and placed his profits to good advantage. About 1887 or 1888 he changed the site of his business to the corner of Park and Portland Streets. In 1872 he purchased large tracts of land in Quinsiga- mond village, and developed there extensive granite quarries. Much of the land that he bought now affords valuable building sites for dwelling-houses. Among his purchases at Quinsigamond was the historic Lincoln man- sion. He added to this estate, and developed the beautiful grounds, making it one of the most attractive suburban residential estates in this vicinity. He worshipped nature, and loved to watch her changing moods; and the cultivation of flowers was an especial delight to him. He built greenhouses, and interested others to bring rare plants; and his flower culture developed into a successful business.

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Mr. Ballard was connected with the Worces- ter Agricultural Society and the Worcester Horticultural Society. As a business man he was prudent, just, and scrupulously honor- able. He established an enviable credit, and always maintained it, and he had the respect and esteem of his employees. Quiet and home-loving, he had no taste for public office. He was self-reliant and deeply thoughtful, studying the problems of existence, and set- tling them to his own satisfaction. Dr. Ed- ward Everett Hale was one of his close friends.

In 1845 he was married to Miss Mary A. Gibbs, of Sandwich, Mass., a member of an old family, several generations of which have lived in Sandwich and vicinity. Four chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ballard; namely, Edgar, Jennie, Harry, and Anna. Harry Ballard was in his father's grocery store for a number of years, and he carried it on for some time after his father's death. In 1897 the grocery business was sold by Mr. Ballard's heirs, who are now operating the quarries opened by him and the greenhouses which he established.

ALVIN LUTHER PROUTY,* a for- mer wealthy nail manufacturer of Worcester, was born March 16, 1808, at Spencer, Mass., son of Jo- seph and Betsey (Draper) Prouty. His people have lived in Massachusetts since Richard Prouty settled in Scituate as early as 1670, and have been residents of Spencer for several generations.

Calvin Luther Prouty was educated at Spencer. In 1834 he went to North Hadley, Mass. He there learned wire-making, and, having become an expert at the trade, he de- cided to come to Worcester, where wire-mak- ing was a recognized industry. In 1842 he engaged as book-keeper for the old firm of Draper & Clark, dealers in flour and grain. While in their employ he saved money, and watched for an opportunity to go into the wire-making business. He was soon able to begin the manufacture of wire, and estab- lished himself in the Merrifield building,

where he remained until the great fire of 1854, afterward resuming business on Front Street, and continuing it for some years with splendid success. He was then associated in busi- ness with Asa Allen, and manufactured shoe nails largely, succeeding in this industry as he had in his other enterprises. He retired with a small fortune in 1870.

He married in 1838 Mary Russell, of Northampton. Mr. Prouty had a strong per- sonality. He was intensely practical and a man of unremitting energy. His purpose, once conceived, was always pushed to. a suc- cessful conclusion. He was a man of the strictest integrity, and possessed the entire confidence of all with whom he was associated. He never cared for public office, and served but once on the Common Council, declining re-election. Modest and unassuming, he was a kind neighbor and a friend in all relations of life.

OHN A. FARLEY,* whose name is still known among the organ manufact- urers of the country, was born in Con- cord, N. H. His father, Asa Farley, was by occupation a currier, and afterward a worker in marble.

John A. Farley completed his education in the high school at Concord. When about twenty-seven years of age he came to Worces- ter, and iearned organ manufacturing under his brother. He mastered the business, and then formed a partnership with Mr. Taylor, under the firm name of the Taylor & Farley Organ Company, erecting a factory where the post-office now stands. The successful de- velopment of the business was largely due to Mr. Farley's executive ability shown in its management, Mr. Taylor being the mechani- cal expert. The location of the factory was changed several times. Finally a large fac- tory was erected on Hermon Street and equipped with every modern appliance. Here they were able to greatly increase their busi- ness, passing through a long era of prosperity, with Mr. Farley at the head of the concern. He was esteemed as a very able man, and be- came well known in the organ trade and to

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the outside business world. The business at length grew so large that a corporation was formed in 1871, known as the Taylor-Farley Organ Company, with Mr. Taylor as presi- dent, Mr. Farley, treasurer, and Mr. Newton Tyler, secretary. Eight years after the incor- poration of the company, upon the death of Mr. Taylor, Mr. Farley became resident, and filled this office until his death, November 21, 1879.

He married in 1843 Elizabeth Green, who was born at Guildhall, Vt., by whom he had one daughter, Mary Ella, who married George S. Hoppin, of Worcester. Mr. Farley was an upright man, liberal, high-minded, and just in all his dealings. He was interested in the welfare of the city, and a liberal contributor to public enterprises. He was a member of the Main Street Baptist Church.

HOMAS HARRINGTON,* now living retired at his home in Worcester, en- joying the leisure faithfully earned by years of useful industry, was born in 1812 at Plainfield, Conn., being a son of George and Thankful (Bennett) Harrington. On the pa- ternal side he is the descendant of a good old English family that settled in Foster, R.I., in early Colonial times.

Mr. Harrington began life as a bobbin boy in a cotton-mill at Killingly, Conn., when but twelve years old, and gradually worked his way upward through every department until he became conversant with every detail of the work of manufacturing and familiar with the machinery used in each process of converting the raw material into cloth of different kinds and qualities. For three years he filled the position of overseer of the mill. Having be- come an adept at fitting up and starting new cotton-mills, he was subsequently so em- ployed, with the help of his brothers, in vari- ous New England towns, and was superintend- ent and general manager for a time of mills in Southbridge, Oxford, and Webster, Mass., and in Jaffrey, N. H. He was afterward man- ager of a corporation store and a mill in Au- burn, Mass. After a varied experience of this kind of work, Mr. Harrington settled in

Worcester, and in 1857, as junior member of the firm of Hawkins & Harrington, began the manufacture of monkey wrenches and similar implements. A few years later he disposed of his interest in that concern, and after spending a brief time as a farmer and lumber dealer, he went into the card-clothing busi- ness, being a stockholder of the Howard Brothers Manufacturing Company. He con- tinued in that business until 1895. He has since lived free from active pursuits, and has devoted himself mainly to his real estate in- terests. His executive and financial ability, which is of a high order, has brought him suc- cess in his various enterprises, and placed him among the most thrifty and prosperous citizens of this thriving municipality.

In politics he has been identified with the Republican party since its formation, and in 1869 and 1870 he was an Alderman. He also served the city as appraiser on claims for dam- ages from the breaking of the Leicester Res- ervoir, which cost Worcester several hundred thousand dollars. He is considered an expert judge of real estate, and has frequently served as appraiser. He united with the Baptist church many years ago, and has since been an active member.

Mr. Harrington married in 1833 Esther Pray, who died in 1838. His second wife, Rhoda Truesdale, died in 1867. He has two children, namely : Esther, now Mrs. Studley, of Pittsfield, N.H .; and Norman, who is en- gaged in the insurance business in Worcester, Mass.

BENEZER ESTABROOK,* a former prominent and prosperous business

man of Worcester, Mass., was born July 18, 1814, in Holden, Worcester County, and died in the city of Worcester, March 19, 1872. His father, Jonathan Estabrook, and his grandfather, Ebenezer Estabrook, were both lifelong residents of Holden, Mass., and both engaged in agricultural pursuits during their years of activity.

Ebenezer Estabrook, the subject of this brief sketch, grew to manhood on the home farm; but instead of succeeding to the occupa-

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tion of his ancestors he early determined upon a mercantile career, and with that end in view opened a country store in Holden when a young man, and carried on a fair business in that town until 1842. Coming then to Worcester, already somewhat noted as a man- ufacturing centre, he formed a partnership with a friend, and was an extensive manu- facturer of wall paper for a few years. He was subsequently connected with several re- tail establishments in this locality, being chiefly engaged for many years in company with Samuel Parker in the hat, cap, and gen- eral furnishing business, in which he built up a lucrative trade. At a later date he devoted himself to the buying and selling of real estate for others, in which he met with good success, but from which he was forced to retire after a few years on account of impaired health, and for some time prior to his death he lived comparatively free from business cares. A man of more than aver- age ability, honest and upright, he was held in high esteem as a citizen. He was a strong supporter of the principles of the Re- publican party, and was interested in the ad- vancement of enterprises conducive to the public welfare.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 143

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