Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 28

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 28

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Cornelius B. Morton, son of Mordecai, was born at Middleboro, Mass., in 1807, and died in 1852. He was by occupation a shoe mer- chant. His first wife, Adaline, whom he married on June 23, 1832, was the daughter of Elias and Abagail (Chase) Partridge, of Paris, Me. Her grandfather, Eleazer, was a Revolutionary soldier. She died on Novem- ber 17, 1842, having been the mother of six children. Of these, Albert is now in South- ern California; Alfred is a retired Captain of the United States Army; and Edward and Frank are in business in San Francisco. Cornelius B Morton married for his second wife Mrs. Eliza Towle, of Augusta, and by this union had two children, namely: Ade- line, who is now the wife of Samuel T. Can- non, and resides in Augusta; and Charles, who also resides in Augusta.

Elias P. Morton in his boyhood attended the schools at Brownfield, Me., in Oxford County. In 1861 he enlisted in Company A of the Eleventh Maine Infantry, under Cap- tain Pennell and Colonel Caldwell. In Washington, in November of that year, the regiment joined the Army of the Potomac, and

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was assigned to the Fourth Corps, General Keyes commanding. Private Morton was pro- moted on January 20, 1862, to be Corporal. At Fair Oaks, Va., on May 31, 1862, he was wounded, but was able to rejoin the army again at Harrison's Landing on the 13th of the following July. On December 19, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, and on May 10, 1864, to that of Sergeant Major. He was mustered out of the service on Novem- ber 18, 1864. From February 1, 1865, to December of the same year he was employed as clerk in the Quartermaster's department. Returning to Webster, he assumed the posi- tion of clerk and paymaster for Henry H. Stevens in his linen crash manufactory at Dudley. Subsequently he was book-keeper of the concern until January, 1877, when he was appointed agent of the Stevens Linen Works, which is now a corporation.

Mr. Morton and Arabella, daughter of Amory and Nancy S. (Lyman) Gamage, of Boston, were united in marriage on September 6, 1866. Three children have blessed this union, namely: Maud, who was born on Jan- uary 4, 1872, and died on August 14, 1873; Frank Lyman, who was born on April 4, 1875, and died on August 1I, 1876; and Charles Edward, who was born on August 6, 1877. Charles Edward Morton acquired his elementary education in the schools at Dud- ley, and then attended Phillips Exeter Acad- emy, where he was graduated in the class of 1895. He is now a student in the medical department of Columbia College, better known as the New York School of Physicians and Surgeons.

Mr. Morton is a member of various fraternal organizations, notably of the following: Na- thaniel Lyon Post, No. 61; Webster Lodge, F. & A. M .; Doric Chapter, R. A. M., at Southbridge; Hiram Council, R. S. M., at Worcester; Worcester County Commandery, K. T .; Maänexit Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Webster; Wachusett Encampment at Worces- ter; and the Union Veterans' Legion of Worcester. He has held nearly all the offices in the Grand Army Post, and is one of its charter members. He attends the Universal- ist church. In politics he is a Republican.

He has been Selectman, Town Treasurer, and a member of the School Board of Dudley. He is one of the Investment Committee of Webster Savings Bank and a member of the Textile Club of Boston.

HAUNCEY L. OLMSTEAD, the official head of the Olmstead Quaboag Corset Company of West Brook- field, which has its chief office at 53 Leonard Street, New York City, is actively identified with the business interests of this section of Worcester County. A son of Chauncey Olmstead, he was born August 18, 1839, in Fairfield County, Connecticut. He comes of Dutch ancestry on his father's side and of Scotch on the mother's side. The father, a Connecticut man by birth, served in the War of 1812, and was afterward exten- sively engaged in the manufacture of coaches at Ridgefield, Conn., of which he was a well- known resident.

Chauncey L. Olmstead was graduated from the high school at Wilton, Conn. When six- teen years old he entered his father's factory to learn the trade of a coach-maker, at which he served an apprenticeship of five years. In the ensuing year he became foreman of the shop. This position he soon after resigned to take a special course of study in civil engi- neering. Going then to Toledo, Ohio, he be- came the junior member of the firm B. S. & C. L. Olmstead, civil engineers, which for three years did a large business in that por- tion of the Buckeye State. Ill health then forced him to give up that work; and, return- ing to Connecticut, he became a partner in the firm of J. Wilcox & Co., corset manufact- urers at Meriden. He continued with this company as their agent in New York City for eight years, at the end of which time, in 1875, he was admitted to the firm of Waterman & Mayer, corset manufacturers in West Brookfield. When this firm was dis- solved, the Bay State Corset Company was organized, with Mr. Olmstead as its presi- dent, a responsible position, which he held for several years. On December 1, 1894, he helped to organize the Olmstead Quaboag

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Corset Company, one of the largest and most prosperous of the kind in this part of the State, and of which he has since been the general manager. In politics Mr. Olmstead takes an independent course.

AURICE P. CLARE, Selectman and Constable of the town of Webster, Deputy Sheriff of Worcester County, and a member of the firm of M. P. Clare & Co., undertakers, was born in Norwich, Conn., August 26, 1852, his parents being Michael and Ellen (O'Con- nor) Clare. Mr. Clare's ancestors came to this country from Ireland. The Irish family, descended from Norman-French stock, was founded by Richard de Clare, surnamed " Strongbow," who lived during the reign of Edward II., and who, for services rendered the English government, received a land grant located in Cork County. The estate, which has been handed down through succes- sive generations, is still in the possession of the Clare family.

Michael Clare was born in Ireland on the ancestral place in 1796. When about eigh- teen years of age he came to America, and settled in Saratoga, N. Y. There he worked at railroad contracting for nearly twenty years. He came to Webster in 1867, and died there in 1879. His wife, Ellen, born in County Limerick, Ireland, in 1802, was a daughter of John and Ellen (Donovan) O'Con- nor. She came to this country in 1850, and was married in 1851. The children of Mi- chael and Ellen Clare are: Maurice P., the subject of this biography; Ellen, who was born in Hadley, Mass., and is now Mrs. Henry King, of Webster; and Michael, now residing in Fitchburg, Mass., who is a fixer of woollen looms.

Maurice P. Clare left Norwich when very young, and removed to Albany, N. Y. His elementary education was obtained in the pub- lic schools of that city and Troy. Coming to Webster at the age of twelve, he attended school here for the next four years. Then he went to work in Chase's woollen-mill. Here he was employed for twenty-two years, ad-

vancing to the position of foreman. He left the mill in 1892, and went into the undertak- ing business, which he has since followed. In April of the same year he was elected Se- lectman of the town, which position he has since held through successive re-elections. Since 1893 he has been Constable and since January of the same year Deputy Sheriff of the County. His appointment to the last- named position was received under Sheriff Robert H. Chamberlain. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of Webster Lodge, No. 58, A. O. U. W., of which he was foreman one term. He is also a member of Division No. 1I, A. O. H., of Webster, of which he was twenty-one years president and four years State president ; and the Chancellor of Webster Lodge, Knights of Columbus. He attends St. Louis Catholic Church.

Mr. Clare was married on July 1, 1875, to Margaret, daughter of Peter and Mary (Caffery) Henry, of Oxford, Mass. The fol- lowing-named children have been born to him: Nellie, in 1876; John, in 1877; Margaret, in 1879; Maurice, in 1882; and Margaret Mary, in 1885. Nellie, who was educated in the parochial schools of Webster, resides with her parents. She is a teacher of instrumen- tal music and the organist of St. Louis Church. Margaret died in infancy. The other children reside with Mr. and Mrs. Clare, the two youngest still attending school.

ATHAN RICHARD GEORGE, one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of Mendon, the proprietor of Miscoe Spring, from which is obtained the famous Miscoe Spring Water, was born in this town on November 10, 1837, son of Nathan and Caroline (Thayer) George. He received his education in the public schools of Mendon and at Leicester Academy, and subsequently was employed for some years as an accountant in the Aaron Claflin shoe factory in Milford. In 1863 he returned to Mendon, and formed a partnership with his brother, Julius A. George, with whom he was associated for five years in the

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manufacture of boots and shoes. Since 1868 he has been engaged to some extent in real estate transactions, and has carried on the homestead farm. In politics Mr. George has always been a stanch Republican. His first Presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lin- coln.

For a number of years past Mr. George has devoted considerable attention to developing the Miscoe Spring Water, which is now be- coming favorably known, not only in this county, but throughout the State. Miscoe Hill, which is an elevation of about six hun- dred feet above the level of the sea, is situ- ated in the town of Mendon, near the Upton and Northbridge lines. Its name is of Indian origin. From its summit there is no human habitation within a radius of a mile or more, except three small farmhouses. Near the summit and a half-mile distant from any house are several springs coming to the sur- face through a broken granite ledge and from such a depth that the flow and temperature of the water remain nearly the same summer and winter. The one from which the Miscoe water is obtained is on what was once a large farm belonging to Daniel Rawson. This farm, containing sixty-five acres of land, was deeded in 1821 to Richard George, grand- father of the present owner. About 1845 the farm buildings were torn down; and from that time to 1894, or about fifty years, it was used as a pasture for young cattle and horses, and allowed to grow up to wood, until now it is nearly covered. Since 1894 its use as a past- ure has been discontinued. The sixty-five- acre tract comprising the original farm is al- most entirely surrounded by wild land and pasturage, making an area of hundreds of acres of uninhabited and uncultivated land. The spring water has been known and used for at least sixty-five years, always being con- sidered exceptionally good. In the summer of 1892 several people who visited the local- ity many times during the season, to enjoy the exhilarating air and magnificent view to be obtained from the summit of the hill, drank freely of the water of this spring, and, feeling that they received much benefit from it, have continued to use it ever since. The opinion

being formed that the water had some cura- tive properties, other people became inter- ested in it; and in a short time a local demand sprang up in the neighboring towns of Mil- ford, Hopedale, and Uxbridge, without adver- tising.

In October, 1894, and again in December, 1897, the water was analyzed by Henry Car- michael, Ph.D., of Boston. While the two analyses are substantially alike, the one of 1897 shows that the water has not only re- tained its former purity but has become even purer. The situation of the spring, above and at a great distance from any source of con- tamination ; the geological nature of the sur- rounding country; the depth of the spring, shown by the even flow and temperature of the water - all tend to show it an ideal spring. Mr. George believes that by putting this pure and health-giving water within the reach and knowledge of his fellow-men he is doing a public service. He has opened an office in Boston, and Miscoe Spring Water is rapidly taking its place along side of Poland Spring Water, which has for so many years held its own against all other spring waters. Mr. George has been Selectman three years and Town Treasurer six years.

He married for his first wife a daughter of Genery Taft. By this union there was one child, a daughter named Rosa F. She was educated at the Framingham Normal School and at Wellesley College, and is now the wife of Arthur R. Taft, who is one of the progres- sive citizens of Uxbridge and at the present time Representative to General Court. For his second wife Mr. George married a daugh- ter of Joseph Blanchard, of Uxbridge. She has been the mother of four children; namely, Nancy C., Nathan R., Melissa B., and Her- bert J. Nancy C. George is a graduate of Wellesley College and a successful teacher in music, languages, and other branches. She was for three years superintendent of the pub- lic schools of Mendon.

Nathan R. George, Jr., was graduated from Harvard College in the class of 1890, receiv- ing his diploma with a magna cum laude, and is now an instructor of mathematics in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He

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received his master's degree from Harvard in 1892. Melissa George completed her art edu- cation with three years' study in Berlin, Ger- many, and was subsequently for two years a teacher at Wellesley College and five years a teacher in Depauw University, Indiana. Her- bert George was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and at Harvard College, and has been for the last six years in business in Bos- ton. He is now associated with his father in his plan for putting the Miscoe Spring Water on the market, and has charge of the Boston office, which is at 206 Devonshire Street.

ENRY RUFUS STOWELL, of Athol, Mass., a successful manufact- urer, is a native of Petersham, another Worcester County town. He was born June 19, 1832, and was the eld- est of three children reared by his parents, Rufus and Anna (Allen) Stowell. His brother, Austin E., a resident of Tully, is in- terested with him in the woodenware busi- ness. Their sister, Mary E., died at eigh- teen years of age. Rufus Stowell was born in Petersham, and spent his life there as a farmer. He died when but forty-seven years old.

Henry Rufus Stowell remained on the farm with his parents until sixteen. Then, with a pack on his back, he left home and went to North Amherst, where he let himself on a farm for one season. The following year he did farm work in Deerfield. Later he secured a position as foreman of a mattress factory in Greenfield, which he held till he was twenty years old, when he left the factory. He pos- sessed unusual mechanical ability, and he invented machinery to be used in mattress- making, his observations while foreman hav- ing taught him what was needed in this line. Obtaining an order from a man named Rogers, who agreed to pay him a good price, he built some of these machines in Greenfield, and took them to Lafayette, Ind. Within less than a year Mr. Rogers failed, owing him seven hundred dollars, which he refused to pay. Mr. Stowell had been collecting bills, and, knowing of some nine hundred dollars

that was due, he proceeded to collect it, hav- ing charged himself with the bills on the books, and then again demanded a settlement. Learning that he already had the money in his pocket, his employer caused him to be ar- rested; but, upon the advice of his attorney and the judge, he finally made the settlement which Mr. Stowell desired.

Mr. Stowell next went to Quincy, Ill., where he was engaged at one hundred dollars per month to erect machinery in a cotton fac- tory. He became a partner in the business, but after two years spent there he was obliged to leave Quincy on account of the malaria. He returned to Massachusetts, and within a short time he opened a grocery store in Green - field. In the meantime he had married a niece of Joseph Pierce, who had a woodenware manufactory at Tully ; and he soon took a posi- tion in Mr. Pierce's shop on contract at one dollar per day for two years. In a few years he was given an interest in the concern, the firm name then being Pierce & Stowell. Be- ginning without means, he felt that he should be happy had he but a thousand dollars. The business of the firm prospered. He had reached the coveted mark, and, passing it, was worth about five thousand, when, in the financial crash of 1857, his savings were all swept away. However, he courageously started again, made money rapidly, and passed the ten thousand mark that he had set before him as a coveted goal.

Unfortunately, through a misconception of the revenue law, he had placed himself in a position where he was now called upon to make a heavy payment, which involved him in a debt of fifteen hundred dollars. Nothing daunted, he again returned to the old mill, bought lumber on time (though he found it hard to obtain credit of old friends, as it was generally reported that he was about to fail), and was soon doing a paying business; for he met his obligations exactly as due, even when forced to borrow money to do so, in this way regaining the confidence of the trade. A third time his property was wholly swept away, this time by fire; but his former con- duct in time of adversity was remembered, and his credit was not impaired. So he found

. . .

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it comparatively easy to get started again, and was soon making money.

On his fiftieth birthday he removed to his present residence, on the beautiful eminence midway between the two villages of Athol and Athol Centre, and commanding as fine a view as any place in the valley. Here he has ex- pended thousands of dollars in terracing, dec- orating, and general improvement. But he was not to enjoy this home with all its com- forts unmolested, but must suffer an ordeal more severe than any that had preceded. Keeping a safe in his sitting-room, he had in it his valuable papers, notes, and bonds, to the amount of nearly fifty thousand dollars. His house was entered on Thanksgiving night, 1889, and the safe broken open, and all these valuables stolen.

To trace the burglars, secure their convic- tion, and recover his securities, was the work of thirteen months, the most trying period of his eventful life. He entered upon the task with his usual energy and determination. The story is full of incident and intense inter- est, but space precludes a review in detail. After futile efforts in the usual channels he did some searching on his own account, and secured one of the brightest young detectives in the country for an assistant. It was re- ported after some months that one of the notes had been presented to a Boston bank for collection. Clever detective work revealed where it was sent from; and through this the two principals in the breaking were caught, and one is now serving a ten years' sentence in the Charlestown prison. Mr. Stowell re- covered the greater part of the bonds, deeds, and other papers after a negotiation with parties in New York. He still keeps his woodenware factory. For years the firm was Pierce & Stowell, then H. R. Stowell until he came to Athol village, when he received as a partner Frank C. Warrick, under the style of Stowell & Warrick. The latter now has charge of the details of the business.

In 1862, in response to a call from Presi- dent Lincoln for soldiers, the quota of his town lacking eight, Mr. Stowell, his foreman, and four other men enlisted; and his mill was closed for a year. They went out in Company

F of the Fifty-second Massachusetts Regi- ment, under Captain Stone, and served in Louisiana. Only four of the six lived to come home.

Upon his return from the West, Mr. Stowell married Lucina Houghton. She died in less than a year after, while they were visiting at her home in Petersham. He subsequently married Ellen A. Davis, daughter of Jarvis Davis, one of the leading men of Royalston, Mass. Three daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stowell, namely : Carrie L., wife of W. H. Jewell, an attorney in South Flor- ida, Mass .; Bertha L., wife of E. C. Gaynor, book-keeper for Stowell & Warrick, living at the parental home; and Della E., unmarried, 'also at home.

Mr. Stowell is a director of the Miller River National Bank and a trustee and vice- president of the Athol Savings Bank and member of its Board of Investment. He is one of the oldest members of Orange Lodge of Masons.

JDWIN A. HARRIS, formerly one of Clinton's most prominent business men, fourth child of Sidney and Sally (Kilburn) Harris, was born May 31, 1837, at the Harris homestead in Clinton. His father, who was long and favorably known in this community, started the comb business here in 1823. A man of much force of character, he built up a prosperous busi- ness.

The boyhood of Edwin, outside of school, was spent in his father's workshops, where he gained a thorough knowledge of the business. When he came to the years of manhood, he was fully prepared to assume the responsibil- ity of directing the establishment. His father practically gave up the management of it some years before his death, on account of his failing health; and it then passed into the hands of Edwin and his younger brother, George S. Harris. Upon the death of the latter, which occurred some years after that of his father, the full management of the busi- ness fell upon Edwin.

From the start Mr. Harris was remarkably

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successful. Under his vigorous efforts the works rapidly increased in size and capacity until they became, it is asserted, the largest comb works in the United States. He be- lieved thoroughly in industry and in all it can do; and, though only a young man, he was able to show what earnestness and persever- ance can accomplish. The admiration of his fellow-citizens was won for him by his excel- lent business traits. His death on May 28, 1875, when only thirty-seven years of age, was mourned by all who knew him, particu- larly by the residents of the village that bears his name. The funeral procession that fol- lowed his remains to Woodlawn Cemetery was one of the largest ever seen in this town, and well attested his worth.

Mr. Harris's religious creed was the Uni- tarian. Movements for reform or progress found him in the vanguard of its promoters. He was one of the projectors of the Agricult- ural Branch Railroad, the opening of which created a new era in the growth of the town, and was on its Board of Directors. He was also a director of the First National Bank of Clinton. In politics he was a Republican. He was a leading member of the Masonic fra- ternity and of the Knights Templar, both of which organizations were officially represented at his obsequies.

Mr. Harris was united in marriage Decem- ber 28, 1858, with Adeline K. Damon, of Fitchburg, Mass. Their children were: Her- bert Christopher, born April 28, 1862, de- ceased June 24, 1863; and Flora Kate, born July 20, 1865, deceased January 6, 1883.

AMUEL D. HARDING, who was for many years prominent among the building contractors of Worcester, was born in New Sharon, Franklin County, Me., November 27, 1806. His par- ents were Jedediah and Lydia (Dyer) Harding, residents of New Sharon. Jedediah Harding, who was captain of a vessel, was lost at sea ; His son, Samuel D., was then only four years of age. The lad's educational advantages, therefore, were very limited. When he was fifteen years old he went to sea; but his

mother feared that he would suffer his father's fate, and in deference to her wishes he gave up the study of navigation and learned the car- penter's trade, serving his apprenticeship in Mercer. The place was so small there was little building to be done; and he took ad- vantage of a chance to go to Leicester, Mass. There he was in the employ of Heman M. Burr, and enlarged his knowledge of the trade, learning fine grades of work. He proved an apt and careful artisan, and worked for Mr. Burr several years before starting in business for himself as a contractor and builder. The first house which he contracted for was in Leicester. The work was well done and other contracts rapidly followed. The city of Worcester offering a larger and better field, he moved thither, and soon established a reputation as a first-class builder. Many of the finest structures of that period were erected by him. He built the First Universalist church, on the corner of Main and Foster Streets, now known as Continental Hall; the old Episcopal church on Pearl Street, which was burned down; and many business blocks and houses in city and country. Some of his money he invested in a large block on Front Street, corner of Trumbull, which stands to- day and is still valuable property. He had contracts for many blocks in the growing parts of the business section of Worcester. Making his money honestly, he invested it wisely, so that it increased handsomely in value. In 1880 he retired from business, and devoted the rest of his life to looking after his in. vestments.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 28

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