Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 149

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 149

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Mr. Howe is a Republican in political principles. He has taken an active interest in local affairs, and has served the town in various important positions. For nine years he was a member of the Board of Assessors, and he is now one of the Metropolitan Ap- praisers for the Commonwealth. For a year he was Selectman of the town and Overseer of the Poor, and was also for the same length of time Highway Surveyor. He is an Odd Fel- low, member of Centennial Lodge of West Boylston, and was formerly a member of the grange. He and his family attend the Con- gregational church.

ILLIAM M. FARWELL,* founder and proprietor of an extensive comb manufactory at Northboro, was born in this town in 1852, son of Alonzo C. and Mary (Wyman) Farwell. His great- grandfather Farwell was a Revolutionary sol- dier. Melvin Farwell, his grandfather, was a prosperous farmer in Bethel, Me. He reared a family of fourteen children. Alonzo C. Farwell, the father of William, came from Bethel to Northboro as a young man, and was engaged in the employ of the Hon. Milo Hil- dreth, a comb manufacturer, for the succeed- ing twenty-five years. Afterward he was in business with his son for about five years.

William M. Farwell obtained his education in the Northboro public schools and at Bryant and Stratton's Commercial College, Boston. After becoming proficient in the manufacture of combs, he was for some years in charge of a department in S. Harris's factory, Clinton, Mass., and for the Centennial Exposition of 1876 he designed a unique exhibit containing many novel patterns, notable among which

was a huge back-comb, representing an old- fashioned stage-coach, and a modern United States mail train. In 1877 he engaged in business for himself at Northboro, beginning operations in a little room on the site of his present factory, with a limited supply of tools and a small coal stove. His knowledge of the mechanical part of the business was practically perfect, but to a young man without the neces- sary experience in disposing of his goods the road to success is filled with many obstacles, which must be overcome in the same manner as are the numerous difficulties met with in mastering a trade. Mr. Farwell's first attempt to find a market for his wares in New York was unsuccessful on account of the sharp com- petition carried on by manufacturers of long ex- perience : he returned home without an order, but undaunted and determined to make up for his lack of business knowledge by producing a line of goods that would command the atten- tion of the large dealers solely upon its merits. . Accordingly, bringing his powers of originality into action, he made from his own design a new line of samples, including hair- pins, sleeve-buttons, and monogram jewelry. Upon his next visit to the metropolis he found that his attractive display not only interested those who had previously declined to purchase, but immediately touched the spring which sets the wheels of commerce in motion, and he re- turned home with a well-filled order list. His goods have since commanded a ready sale, necessitating the increase both of his facilities and working force, which, during the business depression of the past five years, has consisted of from thirty-five to forty hands. He has reached a financial standing which gives him ample prestige among business men, and he is a director of the Northboro National Bank.

Mr. Farwell married Hattie W. Wood, daughter of David F. Wood, of Northboro, and has one son, Lawrence, aged twelve years.

In politics Mr. Farwell is a Republican, and for several years has acted as registrar of voters. He is connected with the local Ma- sonic Lodge; Houghton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Marlboro; and Trinity Comman- dery, Knights Templar, of Hudson. In his religious belief he is a Congregationalist.

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AMUEL H. COLTON,* for a num- ber of years in the first half of the century one of the proprietors of the Worcester Spy, and long a well- known resident of this city, was born in Long- meadow, Mass., November 24, 1802. He was the son of Reuben Colton, and grandson of George Colton, both natives of Longmeadow, where his emigrant ancestor, George Colton, first, who came from England, was an early settler. Reuben Colton reared a family of four sons and one daughter, of whom the only survivor is Lewis Colton, of Worcester.

Samuel H. Colton learned the printer's trade, and, coming to Worcester about the year 1825, he, in company with John Milton Earle, under the firm name of S. H. Colton & Co., edited and published the Worcester Spy for twenty years. Failing health caused him to withdraw from that enterprise, and, believing that some out-of-door occupation would hasten his recovery, he engaged in the nursery busi- ness, having grounds at the corner of Austin and Main Streets, and at South Worcester. He was later in the insurance business. He was quite prominent in the public affairs of his day, and served with ability in the Com- mon Council. He died in Chicago while on a business trip to that city in 1871 ; and it is a singular coincidence that his father's death oc- curred at the same place in 1825, while visit- ing the West for a similar purpose. Samuel H. Colton was twice married. His first wife, who was, before marriage, Anna Earle, of Leicester, Mass., died young, leaving no chil- dren. On December 14, 1835, he married for his second wife Ann King, who survives him. She was born in New York, daughter of John and Mary (Browne) King. Her father was a London banker, who emigrated to New York about the year 1791, and became treasurer of the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company. He died in the metropolis. Mary B. King, his wife, whom he married in 1801, was born in Flushing, Long Island, in 1777, daughter of James and Caroline (Rodman) Browne. She was the mother of three sons and seven daugh- ters. The daughters all married. One of them died in New York in August, 1898, aged eighty-five years. There are two survivors,

Mrs. Bufford, of Providence, R. I., and Mrs. Colton, of Worcester. The only son who grew to maturity was John Browne King, M. D., for many years a prominent physician of Pawtucket, R. I. Mrs. Colton has four children, namely: John Browne Colton, who retired from the Bay State Shoe Company in 1895, and is now travelling in Europe; Mary, who is unmarried and lives with her mother ; Reuben, who is now residing in Boston; and Samuel H. Colton, treasurer of the Wright and Colton Wire Cloth Company of Worcester. Mrs. Colton resided on Hospital Hill for forty years. Her home is now at 41 Cedar Street. She was brought up in the Society of Friends, and she continues to attend their meetings.

Samuel H. Colton, of the Wright & Colton Wire Cloth Company, was born in Worcester, August 19, 1857. He was educated at the Friends' School in Providence. He has been engaged in his present enterprise since 1885, when the concern of which he is treasurer bought a wire-cloth factory in Palmer, Mass. Since the business was removed to this city, it has developed into the second largest of its kind in the United States. The company is the only one that manufactures its own wire. It occupies a floor space of three acres, em- ploys two hundred and seventy-five hands, and transacts a business of three hundred thou- sand dollars annually.

In 1891 Mr. Colton married Elizabeth Slater, of Worcester, daughter of the late William Slater. He has four children : Catherine, aged six; Samuel, aged four ; James, aged two years; and John B., aged six months. Mr. Colton resides at 38 May Street. He is a communicant of All Saints' Church, Episcopalian. He belongs to the Worcester Club.

EORGE WASHINGTON WARREN, M. D.,* who for forty-one years was actively engaged in the practice of medicine in South Boylston, where he is now living in retirement, is a native of Lunenburg. He was born on January 6, 1819, being a son of W. Ephraim and Nancy (Moore) Warren. His father was three times married and had a

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family of thirteen children, twelve by the first wife above named, who died of consumption, and one, a daughter, by the second wife, who was, before marriage, the widow of Abbie Allen. The third wife of Ephraim Warren survived her husband about six years. Ten of his children grew to maturity. The following is a brief partial record of the family: Lewis Warren, who is a graduate of Phillips Acad- emy and of Amherst College, and has been a hospital doctor in Melrose, is now living retired in Boston; Lafayette is a well-to-do farmer in Shirley; Frank is a carpenter of Townsend; Valeria is Mrs. Smith, a widow, of Worcester; Ann S. married for her second husband Dr. Field, who survived her sixteen years, dying in 1876; Emily, who died in 1878, was the wife of Thomas Page; Angelina died in childhood.

From early boyhood Dr. Warren desired a college training, and, as his father did not feel able to meet the expense, he set to work, at the age of sixteen, to provide the necessary means for himself, teaching his first school in Lancaster. This was the beginning of a career which lasted through twelve winter terms and in which the young man met with excellent success. He taught in Boylston, in Amherst, and in Clinton, part of this being while he was in college. He also worked at various kinds of manual labor, such as digging potatoes and painting, and in the end secured the education for which he so manfully struggled. Amherst College conferred upon him the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts, and he later took the degree of Doctor of Medicine at Woodstock, Vt. Without funds, and a thou- sand dollars in debt, but with courage and hopefulness, he began his practice in South Boylston in June, 1847. Since that time he has seen the coming and going of thirty-five doctors in this place. About ten years ago the Doctor found that he needed rest, and he passed his practice over to his son, Dr. Ernest War- ren, who is a worthy successor.

Dr. Warren joined the Massachusetts Medi- cal Association at the beginning of his profes- sional career, but is now a retired member. For many years he was town physician and also Superintendent of Schools of South Boylston.

The Republican leaders of the town have solic- ited him to become a candidate for the legislat- ure, but this honor he has declined to accept, the demands of his profession calling for all his energies. He is a member of the Congre- gational church.

Dr. Warren's first wife, Lydia Lucretia Big- elow, whom he married in September, 1847, had three brothers who were clergymen. She died thirty-seven years ago, leaving three of her four children, namely : Henry, who died at the age of sixteen; Nellie, who married Samuel Bullard, and died in 1890; and Charles, a farmer in Lancaster. In 1862 the doctor married Ellen S. Flagg of Boylston. The two children born of this union are : Ernest L. Warren, M. D., above mentioned, a graduate of the Brooklyn Medical College; and Nellie, who resides in Yonkers, N. Y., the wife of Frank Curry. Her children, four in number, are the doctor's only grandchildren.

Dr. Warren sometimes recalls incidents of the days of his early struggles when the com- forts of life were hardly obtainable and luxu- ries quite out of the question. At one time he was sadly in need of a new suit of clothes, but had not the wherewithal to purchase them. So he went to a merchant with a proposition that the latter send cloth to a tailor and pay him for making a suit without himself receiv- ing any promise for payment. The merchant said it was a novel proposition, but he would do it. It is needless to add that the Doctor got his suit and the merchant in time his pay.

W. Ephraim Warren was driven away from his farm in Lunenburg by the water supply company of Shirley, and Dr. Warren is now in danger of suffering a like unpleasantness from the demands of the Boston Water Supply Com- pany.

ILLIAM JAMES DENHOLM,* a graduate of Harvard, was born in Worcester, April 24, 1873, son of William A. and Grace (McLay) Denholm. His parents were born in Scotland - his father in Dundee, May 8, 1837, and his mother in Glasgow.

John Denholm, his grandfather, who carried

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on an iron foundry, was born in the south of Scotland, near the English border. He died in 1851, at the age of over sixty years. His wife, Jessie Milne, a native of Perth, lived to be seventy. They had eight children, five of whom grew to maturity, namely : John, who went to South America and died there, leaving a daughter; James, who located in Glasgow; Jessie, who married Thomas Hamilton and re- sides in Worcester; George, who settled in England ; and William A.

William A. Denholm began active life in a dry-goods store in Glasgow, and later went to London, where he was employed as a clerk by a mercantile firm, who sent him over to their office in New York in 1857. He resided in Brooklyn, N. Y., and Passaic, N. J., previous to settling in Worcester. Coming to this city about thirty years ago, he bought a store at the corner of Main and Mechanic Streets, which he named the Boston Store, and had as a part- ner William C. McKay, a native of Canada, who came here from Boston. The firm of Denholm & McKay, dealers in dry goods, con- tinued until the death of Mr. Mckay in 1884, when Mr. Denholm became sole proprietor of the business, which had previously been moved to more spacious quarters in the Jones Block on Main Street, the establishment being one of the most extensive of its kind in New Eng- land, outside of Boston. At the time of his death, which occurred in March, 1891, his em- ployees numbered three hundred.

That William A. Denholm was a man of unusual energy and business ability is shown from his having risen, by his own personal ex- ertions, to be the head of a flourishing mercan- tile enterprise. He was mainly self-educated and was well informed, a man of strict integ- rity. The claims of his business prevented him from devoting much time to outside mat- ters, and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows is the only fraternal organization of which he was a member.

He is survived by his wife, formerly Grace McLay, whom he married in 1869, and five children, namely: Elizabeth, wife of Edward L. Smith, of Worcester; Jessie M., wife of John G. Howland, of Bridgeport, Conn. ; Grace P., wife of Harry H. Cook, of this city ; Will-

iam J., the subject of this sketch ; and John A. Denholm, a student at Harvard University, class of 1899. Since 1893 Mrs. Denholm has resided on Channing Street.

William James Denholm was graduated from Harvard in the class of 1897. While a stu- dent he took an active part in athletic sports, and was a fleet runner at one hundred or two hundred yards. He was married, April II, 1898, to Miss Mabel E. Norcross, daughter of the well-known contractor, O. W. Norcross, in whose employ he now is. Mr. and Mrs. William J. Denholm occupy a pleasant resi- dence at 14 Claremont Street.

EORGE TIFFANY AND EDWIN D. TIFFANY,* well-known residents of

Auburn, are sons of the late Demos- thenes Tiffany, and grandsons of Dr. Daniel Tiffany, a native of Attleboro, Mass. They are descendants of the emigrant ancestor from whom the celebrated jewellers, Tiffany Brothers, of New York, are derived.

Dr. Daniel Tiffany was born April 1, 1764, in Attleboro, where his father Daniel Tiffany, Sr, was born in 1739. Dr. Tiffany was twice married, and he reared eight of his ten chil- dren : namely, Demosthenes, George, Laura, Adelaide, Emelaide (whose home is in Daniel- son, Conn.), Nancy, Sally, and Valetta, who resides in Essex, Conn. The doctor and his wife came to Auburn from Ashford, Conn., in 1843, he being then practically retired from professional duties. His wife died here in 1848, aged sixty-seven years, and he afterward fived with a daughter in Webster until his de- cease, at the age of ninety-two years.

Demosthenes Tiffany, who was born March 23, 1803, in Canterbury, Conn., spent the earlier years of his life as an employee in dif- ferent factories, working much of the time for the Slaters. He subsequently bought a farm in Auburn and thenceforward spent his life here. He became actively identified with the leading interests of the town, and besides serv- ing as chairman of the Board of Assessors sev- eral years was Justice of the Peace many terms. To the latter position he was first appointed by Governor Briggs, and he was subsequently re-

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appointed a number of times. He was an ardent supporter of the principles of the Free Soil party, and at one time came within six votes of being elected as Representative to the State legislature. In 1875 he was stricken with paralysis, and for two and one-half years before his death, which occurred July II, 1878, he was unable to walk. His wife, whose maiden name was Almira Twiss, was born in Charlton, Mass., April 12, 1806, and died in Auburn, after an illness of only four days, December 28, 1875. They had seven children, as follows: William, who lived but three years; George, who was born January 12, 1831, in Webster, Mass. ; William Henry, who died suddenly on the streets of Spring- field, when about fifty years old; Edwin D., who was born April 16, 1838, in Canaan, Conn. ; Almira, who died at the age of two years; Mary A., wife of Thomas Francis, of Middletown, Conn., who has one daughter and three sons; and Charles M., a resident of Worcester County.

In 1867 Messrs. George and Edwin D. Tiffany built their conveniently arranged cot- tage home in Auburn, which they have since occupied. They are Republicans in politics. Edwin D., the youngest brother, was employed in the cotton mill of C. W. and J. E. Smith at Stonesville for eleven years, but for the past quarter of a century has been an operator in the factory of the Monnahonsett Manufactur- ing Company. Mr. George Tiffany was mar- ried in 1875 in Worcester to Emeline E. Angelier, of Palmer, Mass., a daughter of Isaac Angelier.

HEOPHILUS WILLIAMS WIL- MARTH,* agent and manager of the Millbury Cotton Mill, was born in Oxford, Mass., on July 4, 1857, son of The- ophilus and Delia A. (Mowrey) Wilmarth. His grandfather, Joseph Wilmarth, of Smith- field, R.I., was a cotton-mill manager, and died in Pawtucket, that State. His grand- mother, whose maiden name was Ruth Brown Williams, survived her husband for a number of years, and died on August 4, 1856, at the age of seventy-one. Of the six sons and six

daughters of this family, all of whom grew to maturity, only one, Ruth, the youngest, is living. She is the widow of James F. Fletcher, and resides in Central Falls, R.I.

Theophilus Wilmarth, son of Joseph, was born at Smithfield on November 20, 1818. He was married on May 23, 1839, to Delia A. Mowrey, who died on May 3, 1858, at the age of thirty-six years, leaving six children, Theophilus W. being the youngest. Their son Frank, late physician of East Orange, N.J., was born at Smithfield, R. I., March 28, 1841, and was graduated at Rutgers College in 1869. In his career as a medical practi- tioner, Dr. Wilmarth displayed unusual abil- ity. His death in June, 1881, arrested a life of rare promise and usefulness. His co- workers on the staff of the hospital with which he was connected paid him a warm tribute in their expressions of regret at his loss.

Theophilus W. Wilmarth was educated in the common schools of Oxford, the Melrose High School, and Worcester Polytechnic In- stitute. He entered the employ of the Amos- keag Cotton Company as a cotton classer in 1881, and remained thus engaged for about two years. After that he went South, and was manager of the Lane Cotton Company. Returning North in May, 1886, he built his summer residence, which is called Rock Crest, on the rocks of Ogunquit, Me. In Oc- tober of that year he took charge of the Rock- dale Mills at North Leicester, and in April, 1887, he assumed also the management of the Riverdale Mill. In April, 1890, he went to Denver, Col., where he fitted up the Overland Cotton Mill, which is one of the largest in the West. Leaving Denver in January, 1893, he spent some time in Ogunquit, and in May, 1894, came to Millbury as general manager of the Millbury Cotton Mill, of which he has entire charge. This plant is one of three owned by the same company.

On January 12, 1881, Mr. Wilmarth was united in marriage with Mary Seymour, of Wilkinsonville, Mass., a daughter of James S. and Mary Green (Robinson) Simmons, and said to be a descendant of General Greene, of Revolutionary fame. Mr. Wilmarth is inter- ested in things about town, and is an active

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member and an officer of the library and liter- ary club. As a Mason he is Senior Warden of the Blue Lodge, a member of Tyrian Chap- ter, also a Worthy Patron of the Order of Eastern Star. In politics he is a Republican, and is now serving as a member of the Town Committee. He is a warden of St. Luke's Episcopal Church.

A LFRED L. CHENEY,* farmer and manufacturer of West Auburn, Mass., residing on Maple Street, was born in Oxford, Mass., February 14, 1836, being a son of Asa Cheney. His pater- nal grandfather, Ephraim Cheney, was for many years engaged in general farming in West Auburn.

Asa Cheney was born in Vermont. He settled in this town in 1836, and cleared and improved a part of the farm now belonging to his son, Alfred L. His death occurred at the age of seventy-five years in 1853. His wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Jones, was born and bred in Maine. They had nine children, five daughters and four sons, of whom the fol- lowing survive: Mrs. Sarah Clapp, of Denver, Col .; Alfred L., the special subject of this sketch; and George, a banker in Creighton, Neb. The mother attained the age of seventy- five years.

Alfred L. Cheney was but a few months old when his parents removed from Oxford to West Auburn to take possession of the present Cheney homestead. He attended the district school until fourteen years old, when, in 1850, he went with an older brother and sister to California, making the trip by way of the isthmus. On account of the serious illness of their mother and a sister, the three venture- some members of the family returned home in less than a year. Mr. Cheney owns a well- kept and productive farm of eighty-two acres, including a part of the original homestead left by his father. He carries on general farming, but pays especial attention to dairying, keep- ing from eight to eighteen cows, and selling the milk to regular customers along his route. He has rebuilt and enlarged the original dwelling-house, and added other substantial

improvements to the place, including the erec- tion of a fine barn in 1880. For the past thirty years Mr. Cheney has also been pros- perously engaged in the manufacture of sack- ing and bags, an industry which he carries on in the shop near his house.

In 1857 Mr. Cheney married Miss Lucy Lovering, who, with her twin children, died some months later. On November 8, 1858, Mr. Cheney married Mary, daughter of Silas Taft and Hannah (Hurd) White, of Millbury. Mrs. Cheney, having been left motherless when but five years of age, was brought up by relatives. She is an active member of the Baptist church. In politics Mr. Cheney is a stanch . Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Cheney have four children, as follows: Herbert Has- kell, of Southbridge, who is married and has five children; Lucy, the wife of Charles Amidon, of Nebraska; Frederick, of West Auburn, who married Hattie Lamb; and Edwin F.

HARLES ANDREW WHITNEY,* a retired manufacturer and esteemed citizen of Millbury, was born in Princeton, Mass., on November 14, 1834, son of Colonel John and Eliza A. F. (Watson) Whitney. His grandfather, An- drew Whitney, who was a Massachusetts man, married Lucy Miles. They had six sons and five daughters, all of whom grew to maturity except a son and a daughter. Only one, William Whitney, remained unmarried. They were all persons of commanding figure, the men standing six feet or more in height, and their mental and moral growth corre- sponded to their physical stature. Only one of the family is now living. Colonel John Whitney was the third child and the second son. The eldest was Reuben Miles Whitney, who was born on May 23, 1788, and the youngest was Charles Andrew, born on Au- gust 20, 1810. Grandfather Whitney died on October 26, 1818, and his widow, Lucy, died twenty-four years later, at the age of seventy- six.

Colonel John Whitney was born in Prince- ton on December 31, 1792, and died there in

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1844. His first wife, who as a maiden was Mary Newton, of Royalston, died in October, 1827, leaving three of her six children, namely: William N., who was born on De- cember 15, 1825; Marion Eugene, who died at the age of sixteen; and Mary Newton, who was born on September 28, 1821, and died on January 22, 1892. On October 4, 1832, Colonel Whitney married Eliza A. F. Wat- son, who was born in Princeton on April 22, 1814. The children of this union were: John Newton; Charles Andrew; Eliza A. F .; Levi Lincoln; Eliza A. F., second; and Lydia, who died in infancy. John Newton, who was born on July 6, 1833, has a cattle ranch in Wyoming, with some ten thousand head of cattle. He is unmarried. The first Eliza, who was born on February 26, 1836, died at three years of age. The second Eliza, who was born on the first day of July, 1840, is the wife of H. L. Norton. Levi Lincoln, who was born on January 20, 1838, is a stock broker in Boston.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 149

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