Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 19

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 19

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Mr. Child married Eliza Congdon, daughter of Welcome A. Congdon, of Putnam, Conn. He has three children living, namely: Frank S., born in 1860, who married Carrie Gates, of Shrewsbury, and resides in Worcester, hav- ing one daughter, Lora, born in 1891; Mary, born in 1862, who is the wife of Charles Marsh, of Oxford, and has one son, Westley Child Marsh, born in 1892; and George Child, born in 1868, who is unmarried, and resides in Worcester. Mr. Child had four other children, all of whom died in child- hood; namely, Charles, Eva, Lora, and Edwin.

Mr. Child is a comrade of Charles Devins Post, No. 27, G. A. R.

A" LDEN B. SPOONER, an enterprising lumber manufacturer of Hardwick, was born in this town, November 12, 1824, son of Bradford and Are- thusa (Earl) Spooner. His paternal grand- father, who was a pioneer of the place, reared four sons; namely, Bradford, Grover, Barnabas, and Charles C.

Bradford Spooner in early life was engaged in lumbering and brick-making, both of which occupations he followed quite extensively in connection with farming. He lived to be about eighty-four years old. In politics he was successively a Whig and a Republican. His wife, Arethusa, bore him nine children, six of whom are living, namely: Sarah C., who married Charles Woods, and resides upon the old homestead; Alden B., the subject of this sketch; Harmon C. Spooner, of Waltham, Mass .; Carrie E., the widow of George R. Paige, late of Cambridge, Mass .; Henry A., a lumber manufacturer of Hardwick; and Jane M., who became the wife of A. S. Barr, of Cambridge, and died in 1898. The others were: Albert H., Maria, and John F. R. Spooner. When the mother died she was over seventy years old. Both parents were members of the Congregational church.

Alden B. Spooner acquired a public-school education in Hardwick. When a young man he engaged in the manufacture of lumber, which he has since followed, in company with his brother, Henry A. Spooner. Their saw- mills, which have been in the possession of the family for many years, and which were three times rebuilt, are well equipped with modern machinery driven by water-power. In them are produced all kinds of long and short lumber, matched boards, and other building material. The Spooner brothers are also large land-owners. Since 1857 they have jointly cultivated a farm of five hundred acres, keeping an average of twenty head of cattle.

At the age of thirty-three Mr. Spooner con- tracted with Sarah M. Morton the first of his two marriages. His second wife, whose maiden name was Julia Alden, died in March, 1894. He has one son, Stephen H. Spooner, who resides in West Boylston, Mass., and is engaged in the manufacture of varnish in

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Worcester. Politically, Mr. Spooner is a Re- publican. He has served acceptably as Over- seer of the Poor and Superintendent of Streets for three years. His aid and influence can al- ways be depended upon to help all measures likely to benefit the town. He attends the Congregational church.

UMNER STOCKWELL, the pro- prietor of Prospect Hill Farm in Hardwick, was born in New Brain- tree, Mass., December 31, 1847, son of Simon and Abiah Sophia (Gage) Stock-

well.

His grandparents were Simon and

Dolly Stockwell. Simon was a nail-maker and a farmer. The greater part of his life was spent in Prescott, where he died in his eighty-fourth year. His wife lived to be eighty-six.

Simon Stockwell, Jr., who was born in Prescott, Mass., June 24, 1811, and resided there until 1846, followed the business of a stone-layer in connection with farming. In the fall of 1847 he bought a part of the farm in Hardwick which his son now owns, and took possession April 1, 1848. He added more land to the original acreage, and he tilled the soil industriously for the rest of his active period. His death occurred April 23, 1897. In politics he was a Democrat. His wife, a native of New Salem, born December 25, 1822, whom he married March II, 1846, had three children, namely : Sumner, the sub- ject of this sketch; Emma J., born June 8, 1858, who is the wife of George H. Vachon, and resides in West Gardner, Mass .; and Ida J., born July 26, 1863, who died June 22, 1879. The mother died at the homestead, May 31, 1898.

Sumner Stockwell acquired his education in the district schools of Hardwick. He has resided at Prospect Hill Farm for the greater part of his life. Having succeeded to its possession after his father's death, he is the owner of one hundred and fifty acres. The estate is devoted chiefly to dairying, for which from twenty to twenty-five cows are kept. On June 1, 1875, Mr. Stockwell was united in marriage with Imogene Lydia Gage,

who was born in Sunderland, Mass., March I, 1857, daughter of Amasa W. and Lydia (Carpenter) Gage. Her father was born in New Salem, June 4, 1826; and her mother was born July 30, 1827, in Brattleboro, Vt., where they now reside. Mr. Gage is a pros- perous farmer, and is still attending to his every-day duties. He is the father of two children - Imogene Lydia and Frederick W. The latter, who was born April 26, 1860, lives in Brattleboro. In politics Mr. Stock- well is a Republican. A member of the Ma- sonic fraternity, he is the present Worship- ful Master of Mount Zion Lodge in Barre. He has no children.

ENRY H. PIKE, one of the foremost men of Paxton and the present chairman of its Board of Selectmen, was born in Spencer, Mass., March

14, 1843. His parents were Sylvanus R. and Margaret C. (Sylvester) Pike, the latter of whom was born and bred in Leicester, Worcester County. The father, born in Stark, Coos County, N. H., was a direct de- scendant of Robert Pike, a prominent pioneer of that part of the Granite State. Very early in life he removed to Massachusetts, and thereafter lived at different times in various towns, including North Brookfield, Hopkin- ton, Holden, Spencer, and Leicester. He died in Leicester, April 24, 1880. Of the children born to him and his wife, the follow- ing survive: Maria, the wife of Austin E. Skiff, of Paxton; Henry H., the subject of this sketch; Horace S., a prominent contrac- tor of Worcester, Mass .; and Ophelia L., the wife of Martin L. Olmstead, of Paxton.

Henry H. Pike was but a few months old when his parents returned to the town of Stark, N.H., where he spent the first ten years of his life. During the ensuing five years he lived with them in Holden, From there he accompanied them to Leicester, where he resided until he reached his majority. He gleaned his early education in the district schools of these towns. In early manhood he learned the trade of a boot-maker, and subsequently followed it for some time.

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For the past fifteen years he has been suc- cessfully engaged in agriculture at Paxton, where he has a well-improved farm of one hundred acres. He makes a specialty of dairying, and has an extensive lumber busi- ness. He has also been a superintendent and contractor in the construction of State roads.

Politically, Mr. Pike is a sound Republi- can. He has served most satisfactorily in the Boards of Selectmen and Overseers of the Poor for several terms, being at present the chairman of each. He was also Tax Collector for five successive years, a Constable for a long time, a Highway Commissioner for a number of terms, a Justice of the Peace for many years, and he was formerly one of the trustees of the public library. On March 3, 1864, he married Miss Pauline H. Holmes, of East Boston, Mass. They have four children, namely: Elsie O., the wife of Arthur Thomp- son, of Worcester, Mass .; Charles S .; Walter H. ; and Philip A.

ARREN TYLER, M.D., who for nearly a half-century was the lead- ing physician and surgeon of North Brookfield and vicinity, was born here, Febru- ary 6, 1819. His parents, David and Nancy (Bartlett) Tyler, both natives of the county, were well-known residents of North Brookfield for many years. The father was one of the prominent farmers of the town.

The early years of Warren Tyler were spent on his father's farm, and his elementary educa- tion was obtained in the common schools near his home. Later he attended the academies at Leicester and Westfield. When a very young man he practised dentistry for a time, but believing that he could do greater good in the medical profession he began to read medi- cine with Dr. Oramel Martin, the leading physician of North Brookfield in his time. Three years after he entered the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, which was then, as it is to-day, one of the leading pro- fessional schools of the country. His col- lege course was one of self-denial and hard work, as he was obliged to be entirely self- supporting. He did not graduate from the

Jefferson College, but took his degree from the Pittsfield (Mass.) Medical School, and immediately thereafter began the practice of medicine in North Brookfield. This was in 1848, from which date he continued in active practice here up to the time of his death on April 18, 1891. He achieved a wide reputa- tion for skill, both in medicine and in sur- gery, and people came to him from all the adjoining towns for treatment. Although past seventy years of age at the time of his death, he had lost none of the skill that had marked his earlier practice, seeming rather to have gathered wisdom and knowledge with each succeeding year's experience. He was known not only in his own town, but through- out the county.

On October 22, 1848, the Doctor was united in marriage with Diantha Walker, who was born in Exeter, Otsego County, N. Y. Her parents, John and Laura (Tucker) Walker, were residents of Exeter and natives of Woodstock, Conn. . Mrs. Tyler, who sur- vives her husband, is a devoted member of the Union Congregational Church. Dr. Tyler took an active interest in town affairs, and was always ready to help a good cause. For many years he served as Selectman of the town, and he was for several terms a member of the School Board. He also represented the town in the legislature, first during the fif- ties, shortly before the war, and again in the seventies. In politics he was a Republican. He belonged to the Masonic Lodge at North Brookfield. In 1859 he travelled abroad, visiting most of the large hospitals and mak- ing observations concerning their methods of treatment and procedure. This trip was of great advantage to him in many ways, and he showed its helpful influence in his later prac- tice. When the war broke out, the Doctor offered his services as surgeon in the army, and shortly after he was appointed to the Thirty-sixth Massachusetts Regiment. After two years of unremitting effort in behalf of the brave men who were his companions, his health gave out, and he was obliged to return to North Brookfield In later years he was a member of Ezra Batcheller Post, No. 51, G. A. R.

DAVID C. ALLEN.

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D AVID C. ALLEN, a real estate dealer of Leominster, was born in this town, July 31, 1815, son of David and Sarah (Fullum) Allen. His father, who was a carpenter, worked in this vicinity for a number of years. The boy acquired his education in the common schools of Leominster. For the purpose of breaking him of a tendency to run away from home, he was put to work on a farm two summers before he was eight years old. Then he began to learn the carpenter's trade, but he did not go to work in earnest until he was fourteen years of age. He was employed on Deacon Bur- rage's farm and with a Mr. Richardson, both of Leominster, for two years each. As a car- penter he first worked on a cotton factory at Whalom Pond with his father. He was with his father for two years, then in Leominster Centre for a while, and in Worcester Centre two years. After this he returned to Leo- minster and started in business for himself. Subsequently he filled contracts for building dwellings, factories, and meeting-houses, em- ploying from thirty to forty men. Thrown by a runaway horse one day, he was so seriously injured that he was obliged to give up his business.

In the early part of 1849 Mr. Allen was one of a party of forty-six, who, after chartering a steamboat at New York with the intention of going to California around Cape Horn, took the overland route on a prairie schooner drawn by oxen as the more practicable. They were nine months on the way, and suffered untold hardships and privations. Out of twenty yoke of oxen with which they started, two yoke lived to reach the journey's end. The others either died from exhaustion or were killed for food. The animals that were killed were so lean that only the heart and the tongue were fit to eat. Of the forty-six men, only five were in the company that reached Califor- nia. The others had either turned back dis- couraged or joined other parties. Mr. Allen was quite successful in his quest for gold. The first seven hundred dollars' worth that he dug out he sent in its original form to the Fitchburg bank. A similar amount sent by him to the United States mint was coined into

twenty-dollar gold pieces. Fortune favored him from the very beginning. In the first two half-days in the mines he obtained twenty-five dollars' worth of gold each half- day. Then in the next three days he took out successively forty-eight dollars, fifty-eight dollars, and sixty-four dollars. In all he spent seven months in the mines and three years in California. On his return he en- gaged in building once more. At the time of the war he was engaged to build cavalry bar- racks in Annapolis, Md., and was there about three months. He was then employed on a pontoon frain, was at Fortress Monroe for a while and in Yorktown to repair boats and see that they were at the proper stations. While a party of his men were engaged on one bridge, the Confederates attacked them, killing six of their number and wounding twelve. At this time Mr. Allen was executing another order at Ship Point. He had charge of men and boats at Fortress Monroe for about a year under General McClellan. Now he gives his whole attention to the real estate business. He owns two stores and twenty-one tenements. Though he is eighty-three years old, the spirit of adventure is still fresh within him, and he talks of going to Klondike.

In 1841 Mr. Allen was married to Lucy W. Lyon, of Leominster, who died in 1853. A second marriage in 1855 united him with Maria A. Blodgett, of Vermont. Two of his children lived to be but three months of age. George A. Allen, their only surviving son, is a cucumber grower in West Leominster. The father has served on the Leominster Road Committee, was Constable for a number of years, and a member of the fire department for forty years, being for a part of the time an officer and practically giving his services gra- tuitously. He was a member of the artillery for seventeen years. Having helped to organ- ize the New England Association of Forty- niners, he has attended their annual and semi- annual meetings, except one held in Boston, for which he was two days late, having made a mistake in the date. He is the only surviv- ing charter member of Leominster Lodge, No. 86, I. O. O. F., which was organized some fifty years ago. Both he and Mrs. Allen were

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in the Raymond excursion party of 1892 that visited California, when he was surprised to note the wonderful growth of the Golden State since 1849.

B ENJAMIN B. NOURSE, Special Justice of the Westboro District Court for a score of years, was born March 31, 1816, in Berlin, Worces- ter County, where his paternal grandfather, Benjamin Nourse, was formerly a prominent physician and surgeon. The father, Captain Theophilus Nourse, was a farmer by occupa- tion, and served as an officer in the State mi- litia, having charge of a company. He was active in local affairs; and prior to his death, at the early age of thirty-seven years, he served as Assessor and in other offices of minor importance. His wife, whose maiden name was Lois Brigham, survived him; and her death, at the advanced age of ninety-six years, when she was mentally and physically vigorous, was caused by an accident. Of their children, three are living, as follows: Benjamin B., the subject of this sketch; Jane, the widow of Charles P. Rice, late of West- boro; and Catherine, the widow of the late Lyman G. Stephens, of Marlboro.

Benjamin B. Nourse lived in the family of the late Senator Elmer Brigham at Westboro from the age of nine years to that of fourteen, and then spent two years in Marlboro. Re- turning to Westboro, he served an apprentice- ship of five years at the carpenter's trade with Jonas Longley, his only compensation being his board and clothes. He subsequently worked as a journeyman carpenter until 1843, when he embarked in business for himself as a contractor and builder, confining his atten- tion mostly to fine grades of work. In 1860 he conceived the idea of manufacturing wooden trellis supports for plants; and, enter- ing extensively into this new industry, he soon acquired a wide reputation for his goods, which found a ready market, and were shipped to nearly every part of the Union. This business, in connection with other lines, he followed successfully for three decades, or until 1890, when he retired from active pur-

suits. For ten years Mr. Nourse devoted much time to civil engineering, and he had charge of the construction of the Westboro sewerage system. For more than twenty years he has been Special Justice of the Dis- trict Court ; and during the war and for many years afterward, a period aggregating sixteen years, he was a member of the Board of Se- lectmen and its chairman for several terms. He was also an Assessor many years, and for a long time was one of the Prudential Com- mittee and the Moderator of parish meetings. In politics he is an uncompromising Demo- crat. Formerly very active in the ranks of that organization, he was a member of the Democratic State Committee, the chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, and was seven times his party's candidate for the State legislature.

On October 19, 1843, Mr. Nourse married Mary Elizabeth Longley, a daughter of Jonas and Susan (Smith) Longley. The golden an- niversary of their union, October 19, 1893, was a very pleasant social event. Mr. and Mrs. Nourse have two children, namely : Walter B., an architect in Worcester and the junior member of the firm of Barker & Nourse; and Emma S., who was formerly a teacher in the public schools, and is a woman of literary tastes and talents, an artist in crayon and oils, and a member of the Library Committee. Walter B. Nourse married Miss Emma L. McClellan; and they have three children - Madeline G., Carlisle, and Clifton.

OEL L. POWERS, one of the Hard- wick Board of Selectmen and a sub- stantial citizen, was born in Hardwick, November 17, 1844. He is the eldest son of the late Lysander and Hannah (Dexter) Powers.

His grandfather, David Powers, was born in Derry, N.H., March 25, 1783. He was married in Langdon, N.H., February 17, 1814, to Mary Gleason, who was born in Langdon, April 18, 1791. He died in Hard- wick, December 17, 1866, and she on June 29, 1844. About 1831 he came to Hardwick, settled in the south-west part of the town, and .

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engaged in general farming. Prior to this he was a hotel-keeper.

Lysander Powers was born in Petersham, Mass., November 28, 1816. He was a farmer and butcher. Coming to Hardwick the year before his marriage and while still a young man, he purchased the farm on which his son now resides. It contains about one hundred and sixty-five acres, and he also owns con- siderable other land. Most of the improve- ments were made by him, including the erec- tion of the present house. He was a very stirring, energetic man and a good manager. In politics he was a Republican, in religion he was liberal. His townsmen elected him a member of the Board of Assessors, a position for which he was well qualified, and in which he rendered excellent service. He died De- cember 4, 1891, nearly three years after the death of his wife, Hannah Dexter Powers, which occurred on January 31, 1889. They had three sons, all of whom are living, namely: Joel L., of Hardwick; A. Frank, born August 31, 1846, a hotel-keeper in New York City; and Elmer D., born December 12, 1853, a real estate dealer in Springfield, Mass.

Joel L. Powers was educated in the Hard- wick schools and at Wilbraham Academy, which he attended one term. He remained at home, and for twenty years before his father's death had the management of the farm. In fact, he has practically carried on the farm since he was a boy. In addition to the home- stead property he owns about four hundred acres elsewhere. He formerly conducted a retail business, but now devotes his attention to the wholesale trade, and buys and sells live stock. On the home farm he keeps a dairy of eighteen cows and other stock. He is the manager of the Hardwick Co-operative Cream- ery, of which he was one of the organizers and one of the original stockholders. Besides attending to his own affairs, he has settled many estates, and is still sought for this pur- pose, such is the confidence placed in his abil- ity and integrity.

Mr. Powers was first married on New Year's Day, 1866, when Jane E. Knight be- came his wife. She was born in Hardwick,

December 21, 1842, daughter of Albert E. and Electa A. (Phelps) Knight, both of whom have passed away. She died August 4, 1889. On April 10, 1894, Mr. Powers married Mrs. Caroline A. Severance, widow of Levi Sever- ance. He has no children by either marriage.

A Republican in political affiliation, Mr. Powers has been chairman of the Republican Town Committee for several years past. He has filled with credit nearly all the offices within the gift of his townsmen. At the present time he is second Selectman, and has been a member of the board for ten successive years with the exception of one year. He is chairman of the Board of Assessors, of which he has been a member twenty-three years and chairman the past twenty. He is serving his fourth year as Tax Collector, and is Superin- tendent of Streets, a position that he has held for fourteen years. Mr. Powers is a member of the Congregational church, and is treasurer of the society, in which capacity he has served for many years.

FRANKLIN WALLACE EDWARDS, M.D., a successful homœopathic physi- cian of Southbridge, was born in Wheeling, W. Va., December 31, 1856. A son of Dr. Edward W. and Catharine Rosalba (Diffenderffer) Edwards, he represents an old Maryland family of repute, whose estates are located in Kent County, on the eastern shore. Edward W. Edwards, M.D., the father, a na- tive of Maryland, having acquired his profes- sional education in Baltimore, practised as an allopathic physician in Wheeling, Chicago, and other places, until his death, which oc- curred in 1891. He was a member of the Masonic order. Catharine, his wife, who was a native of Baltimore, became the mother of two children: James A. Edwards, now of the Chicago commission house J. A. Edwards & Co. and a member of the Board of Trade of that city; and Franklin W., the subject of this sketch.

Franklin Wallace Edwards acquired his early education at private schools in Chicago. Later he pursued a course at Helmuth Col- lege, London, Ont., and was graduated from

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the Rush Medical College in Chicago, class of 1876, with the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. After a stay of six months at the Cook County Hospital as attending physician, he became associated with his father in Chicago, where he practised as an old school physician for some years. Subsequently he spent a year in Kinsale, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Then he was a Special Examiner in the United States pension office at Washington, D.C., for a period, at the end of which he resigned. After residing in Burlington, Vt., for a time, he went to Meriden, N.H., where he took up the practice of homoeopathy. Since 1891 he has resided in Southbridge, where he has won success as a homœopathic physician and sur- geon. For a time he was the town physi- cian. He is a member of both the Worcester County and Massachusetts State Homœo- pathic Medical Societies and of the American Institute of Homoeopathy. The Medical Rec- ord has had several interesting articles upon surgery from his pen, and he is a frequent correspondent of the medical magazines.

On January 18, 1882, Dr. Edwards was united in marriage with Helen M. Kingsland, a daughter of A. W. and Helen (Cutting) Kingsland, of Chicago. In politics the Doc- tor is a Democrat. An esteemed Mason, he belongs to Quinnebaug Lodge, F. & A. M .; Doric Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and Hiram Council, Royal and Select Masters. He has also a fellowship in the Royal Ar- canum, and acts as medical examiner for its local council. In the Baptist church, of which he is an active member, he is the chairman of the Prudential and Building Com- mittees.

EORGE L. CLEMENCE, a promi- nent dairyman of Southbridge and an ex-member of the Massachusetts legislature, was born in Great Barrington, Mass., February 17, 1852, son of Harvey and Maryette (Marsh) Clemence. The paternal grandfather, Luther Clemence, a native of Charlton, Mass., who followed agriculture during the active period of his life, died in 1860, aged sixty-two years. He was quite ac-

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 19

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