Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 18

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 18

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D AVID R. DEAN, a manufacturer of lumber in Oakham, son of Elijah and Mary M. (Goodale) Dean, was born in this town, July 27, 1832. Elijah Dean, Sr., his grandfather, who served in the army during his younger days, settled upon a farm in the southern part of Oakham, and resided here for the rest of his life. The maiden name of Grandmother Dean was Both- well.

Elijah Dean, the father, who was born in Oakham, August 22, 1802, spent the active period of his life at farming in the south- western part of the town, and died March 2, 1885. He served as a Selectman for a num- ber of years, and was a member of the Congre- gational church. His wife, Mary, who was born in Oakham, March 9, 1812, became the mother of the following children: David R., the subject of this sketch; Mary L., born June 29, 1834, who died young; Caroline M., born June 18, 1836, who died October 29, 1886; Eunice C., born June 12, 1838, who married William S. Crawford, and resides in Oakham; E. W. Dean, of North Brookfield; Mary A., born September 3, 1844, who died April 22, 1869; Emily K., born November 19, 1847, who resides in this town; and John A. Dean, born January 31, 1851, who resides

in Worcester. The mother died February 21, I 866.

David R. Dean acquired his education in the town schools. Since he was a young man he has been engaged in the manufacture of long and short lumber a period of more than forty years. With the exception of Daniel M. Parker, he carries on the largest business in that industry in this locality. His saw- mill, which is driven by water-power, is equipped with modern machinery, and fur- nishes employment to several men for nearly the year around. He also manufactures cider on quite an extensive scale. Besides his well-kept homestead of thirty acres and other land, he owns a good farm in the western part of Oakham.

On October 1, 1855, Mr. Dean married Sarah E. Reed, who was born in Oakham, daughter of Lewis H. Reed. Mrs. Dean is the mother of four children, namely: Addie M., born August 16, 1856, who is now the widow of the late J. F. Robinson, and resides in West Brookfield, Mass .; Walter R., born December 27, 1857, who married Nellie Tracy, and resides in Oakham; Mason S., born May 22, 1859, who married Julia A. Nash, and lives in this town; and Martha I., born December 12, 1862, who married S. C. Cochran, and resides in Worcester. Mr. Dean has been a Selectman for eleven years and a member of the Board of Assessors, of which he is now the chairman, for the past twelve or fourteen years. In politics he is a Republican.

EORGE M. STUART, a well-known farmer of Sterling, son of Charles F. and Sarah S. (Wright) Stuart, was born on November 9, 1851, at the homestead where he now resides, situated about a mile and a quarter from the village, on the road from Fitchburg to Worcester. This property was purchased by his paternal grandfather, Samuel Stuart, in 1802.

Samuel Stuart, who was Lieutenant in a cavalry regiment, was born on Rowley Hill, and was a lifelong resident of Sterling. He was by occupation a farmer and a chair-maker.

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He died here at the age of fifty-three years. Charles F. Stuart was one of ten children, and was brought up on the farm now occupied by his son George. In the latter part of his life he removed to the farm adjoining, and there died at the age of seventy-nine. He was a highly esteemed citizen. Always fond of music, he early became a skilled performer on the bass-viol, and played for years in the church and for various entertainments and dances. He served the town as Highway Surveyor. His wife, Sarah, was the daughter of Elijah Wright, of Ashby, Mass., and was one of ten children. She died in 1894, at the age of seventy-nine. Mrs. Stuart was a mem- ber of the Congregational church, and her husband was a member of the Unitarian church. Of the three sons born to them, two - George M. and Joseph C. - are now living. The other son, who inherited musical talents and sang in the church choir for several years, died of apoplexy.

George M. Stuart attended the common schools of the town until he was fifteen years of age, when he began to work out on a farm. Returning to the home of his boyhood at the end of a year, he stayed with his father and mother until he was nineteen. He then went into the tannery, and was employed there for six years. Subsequently he worked at carpen- tering, and resided for two years on a place he owned in Sterling village. Since then Mr. Stuart has lived on the old farm where he first saw the light of day, and has given his attention to agricultural pursuits. About one hundred acres are devoted to his dairying in- terests. He has built a new barn, which is forty by sixty feet, and he keeps a dairy of twelve cows, selling milk in Boston.

Mr. Stuart was married in 1895 to Lizzie J. Goss, who was born in Northfield, Vt., and is one of three children of Franklin Goss, a rail- road engineer.

Mr. Stuart is a Republican in politics. He has been Constable for two years, and in 1893 served the town as Overseer of the Poor. He has been a member of Sterling Grange for fourteen years, has been through all the chairs in that body, and is now Past Master. He is a member of the Farmers' Club, and has been

its president for two years. A life member of the Worcester East Agricultural Society, he was one of its trustees for five years. Be- sides being connected with the above-men- tioned societies, Mr. Stuart has been a mem- ber of Lancaster Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Clinton, for twenty-three years, and has been through all the chairs. He is also a member of Clinton Encampment, of the Daughters of Rebecca, and of the American Order of United Workmen of Sterling.

Mr. Stuart attends the Unitarian church. He has been the leader of the church choir for twenty-five years. At various periods he has been a member of a brass band.

I ELMER GOULD, of West Brook- field, a well-known dealer in coal, grain, and flour, was born September 4, 1847, in Holland, Hampden County, son of John B. Gould. His grandfather, Lyman Could, was a lifelong resident of that town. The father spent the earlier years of his life in Holland, where he was numbered among the leading agriculturists of the place. Re- moving from there with his family to Warren, Mass., he purchased a large grist-mill, and from that time until his death, in 1892, car- ried on an extensive business as a dealer in grain and flour. A man of much force of character, intelligent, progressive, and pub- lic-spirited, he served as Assessor of the town while living in Holland; and in 1890 he rep- resented Warren in the General Court of Mas- sachusetts. He was a valued member of the Universalist church, and during his later days was identified with the Democratic party as one of its strongest adherents. Of his chil- dren by his marriage with Olive M. Moulton, of Wales, Mass., the survivors are: Jerome M., of Brookfield, Mass. ; T. Elmer, the sub- ject of this biography; Mary L., the wife of Charles B. Blair, of Warren; Frank J., also of Warren; Carrie, the wife of William Blake, of Fitchburg, Mass .; and Cora M., of Warren, Mass.

T. Elmer Gould attended the public schools of Holland until he came to Warren with his

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parents, being then a boy of thirteen years. He subsequently continued his studies in the Warren High School, which he left at the age of sixteen to begin an apprenticeship in the Knowles Steam Pump works in Warren. At the expiration of two years, the period of his apprenticeship, he remained in the works as a journeyman for the ensuing eleven years, dur- ing which time he became perfectly familiar with the trade of pump-making. In 1876 Mr. Gould established himself in the grain and coal business at West Brookfield, as senior member of the firm Gould & Burbank, which existed ten years. Buying then the interest of his partner, he has since carried on the business alone with much success. Be- sides coal and grain, his stock now includes feed of all kinds, lime, cement, fertilizers, and other goods. On January 1, 1892, he bought his father's mill property in Warren, and now has full control of the business in both places.

Mr. Gould is a trustee of the Warren Sav- ings Bank, of the Quaboag Building Associa- tion, and of the Olmstead Quaboag Corset Company at West Brookfield. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party, and he is an active member of the Universalist church at Warren. On September 4, 1871, he mar- ried Lizzie A., daughter of the late Lincoln Lathe, of Southbridge, Mass. They have one daughter, Rose M. Gould.

HARLES V. COREY, an esteemed resident of Sturbridge, where he has conducted a general store for over thirty years, was born in this town, July 8, 1838, son of George Vernon and Martha M. (Griggs) Corey. His paternal grandparents were Jacob and Betsey (Walker) Corey. The former, who lived eighty-three years, was for fifty years engaged in medical practice here in Sturbridge, where travelling was then chiefly done on horseback. He also followed farming with success, and at his death owned a place containing one thousand acres.

George Vernon Corey, born October 10, 1800, learned the printer's trade in Spring-

field. At the age of twenty-one, in company with Timothy Upham, also of Sturbridge, he started from New York, and walked the entire distance to Pittsburg, Pa. Here he and his companion took a flat boat, and sailed down the Ohio River to New Harmony, in the State of Indiana. Leaving Mr. Upham there, he went on to New Orleans, where he secured work on a paper, the New Orleans Picayune, on which he was employed for nearly two years. . During that period he had many ex- citing experiences. Then, having reached New York on a sailing-vessel, he came direct to Sturbridge. In Sturbridge he soon took up farming on the old homestead, and became one of the leading agriculturists of the town. In 1844, while residing in Washington, D. C., he was correspondent for the Worcester Spy. He represented Sturbridge in the Massachu- setts General Court in or about the year 1850, and was its Town Clerk for a time. When he died, in April, 1887, he was in his eighty- seventh year. His wife, whose maiden name was Martha M. Griggs, a native of Brimfield, born in May, 1813, died in September, 1893, in the eightieth year of her age. They had six children - G. Gordan, Gilbert M., Charles V., Lizzie M., Charlotte L. Foster, and Francis E. G. Gordan was born in 1831; Gilbert M., born in 1833, died in 1889; Lizzie M. was born September 9, 1841; Char- lotte L. Foster, in April, 1843; and Francis E., in May, 1845.

Charles V. Corey received his education in the Sturbridge public schools. At the age of eighteen he left home and went to Loda, Ill., where he worked on a farm for a few years. Returning home at the end of that time, he assisted his father for a year. Then he went to Philadelphia, and clerked in a shoe store. In 1865 he returned from Philadelphia, and bought out the general store here in Stur- bridge, which he has since conducted. On February 28, 1868, he was married in the town of Upton to Maria A. Gibson, who was born in May, 1847, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah Gibson. Three children have blessed the union, namely: Helena M., born Decem- ber 6, 1870; Henry V., born December 7, 1874; and Carl F., born October 6, 1885.

CAMERON CORBIN.

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Mr. Corey is a Republican in politics. Ap- pointed Postmaster of Sturbridge in January, 1868, under the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, he served in that capacity for twenty- eight years and seven months. He has also been Selectman of the town and a member of the School Committee for three years each, and he is the secretary and treasurer of the Worcester South Agricultural Society. Dur- ing the existence of the Quinebaug Library Association he was librarian, and he was in- fluential in obtaining for the town the presen - tation of four hundred volumes. In religious belief he is a Unitarian.

AMERON CORBIN, formerly a pros- perous farmer of Barre, was born in Steuben County, New York, March 17, 1821. His parents, Stephen and Sarah Corbin, were natives of Vermont or New York. The father, who was a farmer, passed his last days in the Green Mountain State. Having been reared and educated in Vermont, Cameron Corbin came when a young man to Barre in 1841, and was engaged in farming until after his marriage. He then went to Boston, where he resided about two years, at the end of which time he returned, and, settling upon the farm owned by his wife's parents, managed the property during their declining years. After their death he contin- ued to carry on general farming for the rest of his life. He died August 17, 1892, aged over seventy-one years. He was a worthy, upright man, and he stood high in the estimation of the community. In politics he was a Repub- lican.

On May 22, 1845, Mr. Corbin was joined in marriage with Phileura Adams, who survives him. Born in Barre, August 31, 1825, she is a daughter of James and Mary (Sibley) Adams, who were natives respectively of New Braintree and Sutton, this State. Her pater- nal grandfather, Luther Adams, was a compar- atively early settler in Barre. Her father in 1812 bought the property she now owns. In 1825 or 1826, after converting it into a good farm, he built the present brick house. In politics he acted with the Democratic party.

At his death he was seventy-five years old, and his wife reached the age of seventy- two. They attended the Baptist church. Of their three daughters, Phileura is the only one living. The others were: Sarah Ade- laide, born October 11, 1813, who married John D. Cooper; and Mary Sibley, born No- vember 22, 1818, who became the wife of John W. Corbin. Mrs. Phileura Corbin has had one son, born December 20, 1858, who died December 26, 1862. Since the death of her husband she has successfully carried on the farm with the aid of hired assistants. In 1863 she united with the Congregational church, of which her late husband was a mem- ber for many years.

IMON C. ABBOTT was a highly esteemed resident of Paxton. Born here, February 8, 1828, he was a son of Aaron and Betsy (Howe) Abbott and a grandson of Abijah Abbott, a former resident of Paxton. Both of his par- ents were born here. His father, who lived to be about fifty years of age, and was by oc- cupation a farmer, spent the greater part of his life in Paxton. The family is said to be of English origin.

Shortly after the death of his father, being then a lad of five or six years, Simon went to live in the family of Homer Chase, where he remained for seven years. He then worked for several years in the employment of David G. Davis, who was a prominent farmer in Paxton. In his eighteenth year he removed to Worcester, and obtained work in a shoe fac- tory. Subsequently for some years he was engaged in treeing boots, both in Worcester and Paxton. Following this he turned his attention to farming and the lumber business. He settled permanently in Paxton in 1853, In August, 1864, he enlisted in Company F. First Battalion, Heavy Artillery, being in Captain Perry's command. Stationed at Fort Warren, Mass., he was on duty there until the close of the war. He was honorably dis- charged on July 1, 1865.

Mr. Abbott's marriage took place on Janu- ary 16, 1851. His wife, whose maiden name

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was Elizabeth C. Chapin, is a native of Ber- nardston, Mass. Her parents, Otis and Betsy (Stevens) Chapin, were born in Bernardston and Gill, Mass., respectively. Of their chil- dren, three others are living, namely: Try- phena, who is the wife of Rodney Park, of Bernardston; Martha, now Mrs. Aldrich, a widow residing in Bernardston; and Albert, who is a resident of Montague, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Abbott have been the parents of two children - Charles C. and Lizzie - both of whom are deceased. In politics Mr. Abbott was an Independent. True to his convictions in every matter, he commanded the respect of all who knew him. He died April 2, 1898.

IRA CARLOS DUDLEY, one of the leading farmers of Rutland, was born in Vermont State, at Chittenden, on October 2, 1842. His parents, Julius and Italy (Thompson) Dudley, were natives of Vermont. The father was a farmer by occupa- tion. Of his four children, Sidney and Jonas are deceased. His only daughter, Diantha, is now Mrs. Stoddard, of Emporia, Kan.

Having received his education in the com- mon schools of Vermont, Era Carlos Dudley, then about sixteen years of age, came to Mas- sachusetts, and was there employed at farm work by the month until his marriage. He then bought a little place in Shrewsbury, con- taining an acre of land, and resided on it for the next three years. At the end of that period he purchased his present fine estate, the Dudley homestead, which is one of the most attractive and desirable properties in the vicinity. To its original purchase of one hundred and seventy-five acres he has added more land, until at the present time the estate comprises about three hundred and fifty acres, making it one of the largest farms in the town. Besides carrying on general farming, he does a large dairy business, keeping about forty head of cattle.

On September 18, 1865, Mr. Dudley was married to Eleanor Stearns. A native of Holden, she is a daughter of Luther and Jane (Stott) Stearns, who are now the oldest mar- ried couple living in that place. Mr. Stearns

was born in Holden, February 25, 1818. His wife, a native of Manchester, England, was born May 6, 1824. They have been the par- ents of nine children, as follows: Ezra J., born June 24, 1842, who fought in the Civil War with Company C of the Thirty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment; Mrs. Hannah Bal- lou, born September 21, 1844; Mrs. Eleanor Dudley, born July 18, 1846; Mrs. Jane Stone, born August 19, 1848; Luther T., born April 9, 1851; Henry E., born November 15, 1853; Alfred A., born October 12, 1855; Hattie L., born January II, 1861; and Mrs. Lydia A. Myrick, born September 23, 1863. Luther, Harriet, and Lydia are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Dudley have had seven children, of whom Flora M. died at the age of eleven months, and Ida A. at the age of thirteen months. The living children are: Ira Gor- don, born in Shrewsbury, June 25, 1867; Leon S., born February 22, 1872; Dora I., born November 23, 1876; Cora O., born No- vember 8, 1878; and Enola A., born Novem- ber 21, 1884. Mrs. Dudley is a member of the Church of Christ at Worcester, Mass. She has proved a valuable assistant to her hus- band in all the years of their married life. During the summer months her home is open to boarders, who find here a delightful spot in which to rest. The rooms are large and airy, the rates reasonable. About twenty-five guests are accommodated. There are ample facilities for boating and fishing, and the guests of the house have the use of carriages without extra charge. The farm is about a mile and a quarter distant from the railroad.

OSEPH M. OLNEY, a well-known business man of Southbridge and one of the survivors of the crew of the United States ship "Cumberland," that was sunk in Hampton Roads by the Con- federate ram "Merrimac" in 1862, was born in Ashford, Conn., July 8, 1844, son of Thomas H. and Mary (Marcy) Olney. The father, son of Jeremiah Olney, of Ashford, was born in Ashford in 1804. He followed the trade of a machinist, and died in South- bridge in 1858. His wife, who was a daugh-

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ter of Stephen Marcy, of Hartford, Conn., be- came the mother of eight children, six of whom are living, namely: Nellie F., the wife of Thomas Sanders, of the Southbridge Print- ing Company; Abby, who married Albert Kinney, of Union, Conn .; Martha, who mar- ried Benjamin Warren, and resides at Maple Hill, Kan. ; Susan, the wife of Henry Potter, of Putnam, Conn .; Marietta, now residing in Brooklyn, who is the widow of Barnard Os- born, late of Windsor, N. Y. ; and Joseph M., the subject of this sketch.

Joseph M. Olney was educated in the com- mon and high schools of Southbridge. While still a youth he shipped as cabin boy on board the merchantman "H. M. Hayes," Captain Loring, bound for the East Indies, and during the voyage visited Bombay, Calcutta, and Hong-Kong. Upon his return he entered the United States navy as an apprentice boy, join- ing the "Cumberland." After the loss of the "Cumberland " and half its crew of three hundred and seventy men he received an honorable discharge. Subsequently he re-en- listed, and was ordered to the "Tioga," an armored yacht that had been built for Presi- dent Lincoln, which now entered the service with a roving commission to capture blockade runners and Confederate cruisers. After spending some time stationed near the mouth of the James River, the "Tioga " cruised for twenty months among the West Indies, capt- uring seventeen prizes. Then the appearance of yellow fever on board compelled her to re- turn North. The yacht was subsequently con- demned. Her crew was transferred to the "Octario," which afterward took part in the battles of Mobile Bay and Hatris Inlet, and was in the Alabama River when the news of Lee's surrender reached her. From there she went to New Orleans and thence to New York, where her crew were honorably dis- charged. Thereupon Mr. Olney returned to Southbridge, and entered the employ of the Hamilton Woollen Company as a machinist and cotton carder, remaining with them until 1872. In company with his brother he then bought the grocery business of Thomas Potter & Co., and conducted it under the firm name of M. K. Olney & Co. for a year. At the end

of that time his brother retired, and the busi- ness was carried on by Olney & Cook. Mr. Olney finally sold his interest in the concern to E. C. Ellis, and, entering the hotel busi- ness, was for a number of years connected with the Dresser House as clerk and manager. Appointed Deputy Sheriff in 1890, he served in that capacity until 1894. Since then he has devoted his attention to the real estate business and public affairs. He is a stock- holder of the Water Supply, Electric Light, and Street Railway Companies, having been one of the promoters of the last-named enter- prise; and he is a director of the Southbridge, Sturbridge & Brookfield Railway Company and the secretary of the Board of Trade.

In 1872 Mr. Olney was joined in marriage with Abbie Phipps Lyon, a daughter of Lib- erty A. and Abbie (Phipps) Lyon, of South- bridge. The two sons of this union are: William R., born in 1876; and Thomas L., born in 1888. William R. Olney, who is a graduate of the Southbridge High School and the Worcester Academy, completed his studies with a business course at Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College in Boston, and is now in- voice clerk for the Southbridge Printing Com- pany. Mr. Olney, Sr., was first chosen Se- lectman in 1891, since which time he has served either as clerk or chairman of the board. He has also been Tax Collector for the same length of time. A Mason of Quin- nebaug Lodge, he belongs to Doric Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Worcester Commandery, Knights Templar; and Aleppo Temple of the Mystic Shrine, Boston. The other beneficiary organizations of which he is a member in- clude Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He attends the Methodist Episcopal church.

EORGE C. CHILD, a well-known resident of Oxford and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in Pomfret, Conn., January 27, 1833, son of Elisha and Lora (Davidson) Child. His great-grand- father came from Scotland; and the grand- father, Charles Child, who was a prosperous farmer of Pomfret, served five years in the

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American army during the Revolutionary War. Elisha Child, father of George, suc- ceeded to the ownership of the homestead, and his active years were spent in tilling the soil.

George C. Child acquired his education in the district school, which he attended winters, the rest of his time being occupied in assist- ing his father upon the farm. When a young man he learned the carpenter's trade, at which, prior to the Civil War, he worked as a journeyman in Worcester. In 1862 he en- listed in the Twenty-first Regiment, Con- necticut Volunteers, and served in the ranks about one year, during which time he partici- pated in the battles of Fredericksburg and Suffolk. He was afterward detailed as a car- penter in the Quartermaster's department, where he remained for most of the time until the close of the war. He has a vivid recollec- tion of the broken-down condition of the army wagons and gun carriages surrendered by General Lee at Appomattox; and as that event took place near the corps headquarters, where he was at work, he stood but a short distance from General Grant during the cere- mony. After his discharge he resumed his trade, working in Webster, Mass., from which town he moved to Worcester, where he re- mained for some time. He then purchased a house in Oxford, which soon afterward (a few years ago) he exchanged for a small farm, in the cultivation of which he has since been engaged.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 18

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