Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 32

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 32

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Mr. Turner married Sarah Andrews, of Bos- ton, a daughter of John Andrews, of Boston, and sister of P. St. M. Andrews, the superin- tendent of the Norwich road. Mrs. Turner died February 28, 1887, leaving two daughters - Harriet I. and H. Gertrude Turner, both of whom reside at the family home in Worcester.

A man of striking appearance and agreeable manners, the late Mr. Turner had as many friends as his quiet tastes would allow. While he did not care for society or public life, he was never known to shirk any rightful responsibility. As a railroad man he thor- oughly understood his business, and was com- petent to direct in any department of the road.

ERRITT N. HORR, of Spencer, Mass., a prominent contractor and builder, was born in the town of Prescott, Hampshire County, Mass., January 6, 1841, son of Nelson and Laura (Lumbard) Horr. Both his parents were natives of Prescott. The father was a farmer, who worked also at shoemaking. Mr.

Horr grew to manhood in Prescott, where he remained until he reached his majority. He received his education chiefly in the public schools of that town, but also attended for a few terms the academy at New Salem. When about sixteen years old he assisted his father in building a new house, and at that time took such a liking to carpenter work that he decided to follow it thereafter. For sev- eral years he worked at the trade as a journey- man in Prescott and other places, until he understood it thoroughly, and also knew how to figure for estimates. Coming to Spencer over twenty-five years ago, he soon afterward began business for himself as a contractor and builder. He has met with excellent success, and has built many important structures. He keeps employed constantly from four to ten workmen, according to the season or the amount of work on hand. Besides contracting he also operates a lumber yard, in which he carries quite an extensive stock, both for his own use and for sale to customers.

Mr. Horr married Mary Reed, and is the father of three children - Laura N., Olive S., and Helen M. He is a member of the Con- gregational church. In politics he is a Re- publican. At all times he has the best inter- ests of the town at heart, and may be depended upon to give active support to any movement for the general good.

HESTER. N. JOHNSON, formerly an enterprising manufacturer of East Templeton, was born in Templeton, October 16, 1828, son of Steadman and Cynthia (Merritt) Johnson. His paternal grandfather was Enoch Johnson, a prosperous farmer of this town. Steadman Johnson, who was born in Templeton, March 20, 1802, car- ried on general farming for a number of years. He was later engaged in the manufacture of winnowing or fanning mills.

Chester N. Johnson, after being associated in business with his father for some time, in 1858 began the manufacture of toy wagons, wheel-barrows, and similar articles at East Templeton. From a small beginning the business expanded into large proportions. In

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1868 a spacious factory was built, and later additional room was made necessary by the increased demands of an enterprise that had developed into a most profitable industry. Mr. Johnson continued in business until 1891, when he retired. He died January 22, 1893, aged sixty-five years. His business foresight, enterprise, and integrity brought him a fit- ting reward; and his name is held in honor as that of one who did his full share in develop- ing the business resources of the county and in the employment of labor. He was equally respected as a man and citizen, and his many sterling traits of character were recognized and appreciated by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. Politically, he was a Re- publican.

Mr. Johnson married Mary A. Peckham, who was born in Petersham, Mass., July 6, 1829. She survived her husband but a few months, her death occurring July 14, 1893. She left one daughter, Nellie M., who was born March 1, 1864. Both Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were members of the Baptist church. On May 20, 1882, Nellie M. Johnson married Joshua M. Greenwood, who was born in Bald- winsville, May 20, 1858, son of Levi Green- wood. She has had four children, namely : Lois A., who died at the age of ten years ; Blanche J., who was born January 28, 1883; Levi C., who was born October 2, 1887; and Mary E., whose birth occurred August 2, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood reside in West Gardner, Mass.

UFUS CARTER, a respected citizen of Millbury, Mass., born in this town, November 24, 1823, is living re- tired from active pursuits at the home of his son, Henry W. Carter, who has one of the most extensive and best appointed farms in this locality. Mr. Carter traces his ancestry in the male line back to the Rev. Thomas Carter, the first pastor of the church in Woburn, Mass., of whom he is a descend- ant in the seventh generation.

The Rev. Thomas Carter, who was born in England in 1610, was graduated at St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1629. Coming over'

to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, he was an inhabitant of Dedham in 1636, later was liv- ing in Watertown, and on November 22, 1642, was ordained and settled over the church in Woburn, where he continued as pastor until his death, September 5, 1684. His widow survived him three years, dying March 28, 1687. (Further account of the Carter family may be found in the History of Sutton, of which Millbury was a part until 1813. See also Sewall's History of Woburn.)

The line was continued through Thomas Carter,2 and his son Eleazer, 3 who died in Sudbury, Mass., October 3, 1758, Joshua, 4 the founder of the family in Worcester County, and Joshua, 5 to Rufus Carter, Sr., 6 father of Rufus, the subject of this sketch. The elder Joshua, son of Eleazer, came from Woburn to Sutton in 1744, and from lands bought of Timothy Carter improved a home- stead, which, however, passed out of the fam- ily upward of sixty years ago. One of his three wives was Miss Elizabeth Lovell. The younger Joshua Carter, son of Joshua and Elizabeth (Lovell) Carter, was born on the Sutton homestead in 1759. He fought in the Revolutionary War, and for several years prior to his death, which occurred in 1848, drew a pension for his services. His first wife, Rachel Putnam, of Worcester, bore him three children, namely: Selma, born Febru- ary 7, 1787; Cimena, born October 19, 1789, who married Oliver Hall; and Rufus, Sr., born February 24, 1791. After the death of his first wife he married her sister, and by that union had four children - Jonathan, Sally, Aaron, and Newman, the latter of whom was born January 18, 1810.

Rufus Carter, Sr., who died in early man- hood in 1824, was engaged in agricultural pursuits during his brief active career. On December 13, 1819, he married Hannah Hall, daughter of Josiah and Mary (Marble) Hall, of Sutton. They had four children, namely: Mary, widow of the late Daniel G. Prentice, of West Millbury; Harriet and Hannah, twins; and Rufus, of Millbury. Hannah, who married Samuel A. Prescott, of Sutton, died at the age of thirty years. Har- riet died when sixteen years old. After the

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death of her first husband the mother married Cyrus Faulkner; and after his demise, May 2, 1866, she spent her last days with her son Rufus. She died in the fall of 1889, at the venerable age of ninety-four years. The Hall family were noted for their longevity, Mrs. Faulkner's mother and also one of her brothers, Oliver Hall, having lived ninety- six years.

Rufus Carter, son of Rufus, Sr., and Han- nah (Hall) Carter, completed his schooling at the Leicester Academy, and afterward worked on his present farm for his step-father, Cyrus Faulkner, until eighteen years old. Being then afflicted with a lameness of the knee that interfered with his active labors in the field, he secured employment with a shoe- maker at pegging boots, an occupation which he successfully followed twenty-five years in Millbury and Grafton. From 1866 until 1890 he was engaged in agricultural pursuits on the farm on which he spent the greater portion of his early life. He has since re- sided with his son on Elmwood Street, as above mentioned.

Mr. Carter is a Master Mason. He was formerly a strong anti-slavery man, and is now a stanch Republican. He has held vari- ous town offices, in all of which he has served with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. He has been Road Sur- veyor, was a Selectman nine years, and for fifteen years was Tax Collector.

In the spring of 1850 Mr. Carter married Sarah Ward, daughter of Jonas and Susan (Thurston) Ward. Mrs. Carter died January I, 1889, on the old farm. Her grave is in Central Cemetery, Millbury. She had been the mother of eleven children, eight of whom are now living; namely, Charles Sumner, Henry W., Fannie Ermina, Mary E., Will- iam W., Lewis E., Jennie L., and James Al- lison. Anna Louise, the first-born, passed away at the age of thirteen years; Laura Emma, at nine; and Cyrus F., who was a physician in Boston, died in that city, leaving a widow. Charles Sumner Carter went from Millbury to Chicago, thence to the State of Washington, but is just now in Alaska, his wife being in Tacoma, Wash. Henry W.,

who owns the Sabin farm, formerly Elder Samuel Water's farm, and has a large whole- sale and retail milk trade in the city of Worcester, married Louette G. Griggs, and has four children - Addie Louette, Clara May, Henry Rufus, and Ruth. Fannie Er- mina is a teacher in Wakefield, Mass. Mary E. is the wife of Charles F. Mansfield, and has two children. William W., with the firm of Cutting & Bardwell in Worcester, is mar- ried. Lewis E., a grocer in Wakefield, Mass., is married and has two sons - Minot Heath and Cyrus F. Jennie L. teaches school in Wakefield. James Allison Carter is in Boston with the firm of Dodge & Co., publishers in the interests of builders and architects and builders' materials,

EORGE E. BRYANT, Postmaster at Baldwinsville, was born in Temple- ton, March 13, 1851, son of George W. and Althine H. (Day) Bryant. His father was a native of Templeton, Mass., born in 1824; and his mother was born in Win- chendon, Mass., in 1825. Ancestors on both sides served in the Revolutionary War. His paternal great-grandfather, Nathan Bryant, was a pioneer farmer of Templeton. Nathan Bryant (second), the grandfather, who was a lifelong resident of this town, also followed farming. He was prominent among his fel- low-citizens, and for a number of years served as Deputy Sheriff. The farm now owned by the subject of this sketch was originally the property of his grandfather, and was inherited by his father, George W. Bryant, who culti- vated it energetically from the time it came into his hands until his death, at the age of fifty-four years. Politically, the father was a Republican. His wife, Althine, lived to be seventy-three years old. Both parents were members of the Congregational church.

George E. Bryant, who was the only child of his parents, was educated in the town schools of Templeton. He began business life as clerk in a store, and, becoming propri- etor of a general mercantile business in Bald- winsville at about the age of twenty-one, he has been engaged in trade here for some

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twenty-five years since. He was appointed Postmaster in 1885, held the position until 1889, and was reappointed in 1893. For many years he has acted as a Justice of the Peace and Notary Public. He is also secre- tary and treasurer of the Baldwinsville Co- operative Bank and treasurer of the Hospital Cottages for children. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In re- ligious belief a Congregationalist, he has been clerk and treasurer of that society for the past twenty-five years. His homestead prop- erty has been in the possession of the family for at least three generations, and he owns one of the finest libraries in town. In poli- tics he is a Democrat.

J OHN W. LAWRENCE, a prominent agriculturist of Warren, was born in North Brookfield, Mass., March 29, 1840, son of David B. and Lucinda (Atwood) Lawrence. The father, who was born in Franklin, Mass., in the year 1800, resided in North Brookfield for a number of years. Moving from that town to Brimfield in 1842, he subsequently remained a resident of that place until his death, which occurred in 1865. His wife, Lucinda, who was a na- tive of North Brookfield, became the mother of eight children, three of whom are living: John W., the subject of this sketch; Albert B., a hardware and iron merchant of Fitch- burg, Mass. ; and Nettie, wife of B. S. Jordan, of Framingham, Mass.

John W. Lawrence was educated in the common schools of Brimfield, to which place he accompanied his parents when two years old. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, which he followed in that town some ten years. Subsequently becoming a member of the firm of Thomas Rice & Co., of Shrews- bury, for the succeeding six years he travelled to and from Kansas City, Mo., engaged in the purchase of hides for that concern. Since 1879 he has resided upon a farm in Warren near the Brimfield line, where he owns two hundred and seventy-five acres of excellent land, and has carried on general farming ener- getically and successfully. He was a stock-

holder in the Worcester County Cheese Com- pany, which was absorbed by the Worcester County Creamery, was for a number of years upon the Executive Committee of the last- named concern, and has been its president for the past seventeen years.

Mr. Lawrence married Demaris Newton, daughter of Cheney Newton, of Brimfield, and has three children: Fred N., a resident of Warren; Nellie M., wife of David Henshaw, of West Brookfield; and John C. Lawrence, who resides at home. In politics Mr. Law- renee is a Prohibitionist. While residing in Brimfield he served as Selectman and Asses- sor for two years, and he has served on the School Committee and as Overseer of the Poor in Warren. He is regarded as one of the foremost and most public-spirited men of the town, and as a capable, honest, and reli- able citizen he has the respect and confidence of the entire community.

ARREN J. MERRIAM, a promi- nent attorney, resident in West Boylston and having an office in the Five Cent Savings Bank Building at 314 Main Street, Worcester, was born in South Carolina on July 19, 1865, son of John Q. A. and Emeline A. (Hutchinson) Merriam. His grandfather, John G. Merriam, was a planter in South Carolina, and lived in the South until shortly before the Civil War. He then came North, and located in Springfield, where he is still living. John Q. A. Merriam was one of five children. He also came North in 1860, and a year later, May 31, 1861, en- listed in Company E of the Tenth Massachu- setts Regiment of Volunteers. He was mus- tered out as a private, July 1, 1864. Going to Enfield, Mass., when he was married, July 28, 1864, and afterward to Ware, Mass., he there engaged in the manufacture of woollen goods for several years. His wife, Emeline, who was born in Enfield, was one of the seven children of Zina and Jemima (Gibbs) Hutch- inson. Her mother, Jemima, who was a na- tive of Bennington, Vt., died at the age of seventy-four. On her father's side Mrs. Merriam was of English descent. Both her

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parents were members of the Congregational church.

Warren J. Merriam received a common- school education, and at an early age learned the woollen business. Upon coming to Ware he became a student at the high school, where he prepared for college. Entering Amherst College in 1885, he was graduated at that in- stitution on the 3d of July, 1889. The following year he taught at Nichols Academy in Dudley and the year after that in the high school at Sterling. Subsequent to this he came to West Boylston, and was for three years principal of the high school here. Dur- ing this time he began the study of law with Messrs. Sheehan & Cutting, of Worcester. After being admitted to the bar in 1895, he began the practice of his profession, taking an office at 314 Main Street, Worcester. Since beginning the practice of law Mr. Merriam has met with unusual success. He was for a year the local attorney of the Metropolitan Water Board of Boston, which was negotiat- ing with the people of West Boylston for their property, preparatory to constructing the great Wachusett Reservoir. Since severing his connection with the board he has been re- tained by many West Boylston people in the settlement of their claims against the Com- monwealth, resulting from the taking of their property for the reservoir. Mr. Merriam was counsel for Ida W. Briggs, who was indicted for murder of her infant, May 2, 1898. Mrs. Briggs was tried and acquitted at Fitch- burg, August 23, 1898. In politics Mr. Merriam is a Republican, in religious faith a Congregationalist.

OHN G. ALLEN, a prosperous dairy farmer of Hubbardston, was born where he now resides, June 19, 1831, son of Breck and Sally (Derby) Allen. The paternal grandfather, Ephraim Allen, who was a native of Shrewsbury, Mass., and came to this town from Rutland, cleared and improved the Allen homestead. He was a Selectman for the years 1798-99, 1809-10, and 1812-13; and during the last two years he was Repre- sentative in the General Court, In politics he

acted with the Whig party. He was a Deacon of the Unitarian church. His death occurred in October, 1848. He married Lydia War- ren, who died in 1827.

Breck Allen, the father, was born at the homestead, April 9, 1798. As a youth he as- sisted his father upon the farm. Afterward he and a brother jointly carried it on until 1836. Then he took the entire management of the property, and tilled the soil successfully for the rest of his life. He died June 28, 1857. Like his father, he took an active part in town affairs, and was one of the first in this town to join the Republican party after its formation. He was a prominent member of the Unitarian church. Sally, his wife, who was born in Lancaster, N. H., in 1797, had six children, of whom the only other survivor besides John G. is Mary, who resides in Chelmsford, Mass. The others were: Lucy, who died at the age of fourteen years; Calvin, who served in Com- pany H, Fifty-third Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, during the Civil War, and died August 14, 1863; Sarah, who died in 1895; and Lydia W., who died in 1846. The mother passed away on October 18, 1890.

Having been educated in the district schools, at the Westminster Academy, and by private instruction, John G. Allen taught school for a short time, and then engaged in lumbering. At the death of his father he took charge of the homestead, where, with the exception of thirteen months, his entire life has been passed. Besides the home farm of one hundred and ninety-six acres, he owns out- lying timber land amounting to one hundred and seventy-two acres. The various improve- ments he has made upon his land and buildings place the Allen farm among the most valuable estates in this locality. He gives his chief attention to the dairy business, keeping from fifteen to twenty head of stock, cuts about thirty-five tons of hay annually, and produces butter of a superior quality.

On December 16, 1858, Mr. Allen was joined in marriage with Hannah Greenwood, who was born in Hubbardston, August 24, 1827. Her parents, Silas and Julia (Daniels) Greenwood, were natives respectively of this town and Hopkinton. Silas Greenwood was a

JOHN G. ALLEN.

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prominent farmer of Hubbardston in his day and a leading spirit in public affairs, serving as a Selectman for ten years, and representing his district in the legislature of 1835. Late in life he acted with the Republican party in politics. In religious belief he was a Unita- rian. He died March 12, 1857, and his wife died January 9, 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are the parents of two children : Abbie G., born August 17, 1860; and J. Harry, born May 27, 1865. Abbie G. married J. C. F. Mirick, of Princeton, in 1881, and her chil- dren are: Edith A., Ethel R., Allen A., Philip C., and Harry L. Mirick. Politically, Mr. Allen is a Republican. Since his major- ity he has taken a lively interest in town affairs. He has served as a Selectman at in- tervals since 1866, and he is now the chairman of the board. For several years he has been an Overseer of the Poor. He has occupied the Master's and Overseer's chairs in the local grange, and is actively concerned in all mat- ters relative to the general welfare of the com- munity.

ILLIAM H. AND ELWIN C. WHEELER, of Hubbardston, gen- eral merchants, are the sons of Silas and Amanda (Rice) Wheeler and repre- sentatives of a highly reputable family, an account of which will be found in a sketch of Silas Wheeler, which appears elsewhere in the REVIEW.

The elder brother, William Harvey Wheeler, was born in Lexington, Mass., Sep- tember 4, 1848. His education was acquired in the public schools. In 1875, in partner- ship with his brother, he opened a general store; and the firm has since carried on a thriving trade, dealing in dry goods, grocer- ies, boots, shoes, crockery, hardware, paints, oils, flour, grain, feed, fertilizer, etc. Mr. Wheeler has served his fellow-townsmen in various offices. He was a trustee of the pub- lic library from 1887 to 1897; member of the School Committee one year; Assessor for the years 1884, 1885; Overseer of the Poor in 1886-87 and 1888; Selectman from 1886 to 1891, being chairman of the board during the

last three years of that period ; and Representa- tive to the legislature in 1894, serving upon the Committee on Finance and Expenditure. He has been Town Clerk and Treasurer since 1895, and his ability and capacity are widely appreciated by his fellow-townsmen. He married Eliza S. Morrison, a native of Bos- cawen, N.H., and has had six children, namely : William H., born January 16, 1880, who died June 14, 1893; Katharine A., born January 16, 1882; Bessie, born December 26, 1883; Mildred, born August 26, 1885; Silas M., born April 12, 1888; and Madeline, born May 10, 1890, who died on May 6, 1894. Mr. Wheeler is a member of Hope Lodge, F. & A. M., of Gardner; and of the local lodge, Ancient Order of United Workmen.

Elwin C. Wheeler was born in Barre, Mass., July 28, 1851. He has been a mem- ber of the firm of Wheeler Brothers since its establishment, and his business ability has aided materially in bringing the concern for- ward to its present position as the leading mercantile house in Hubbardston.

On May 28, 1877, Mr. Wheeler married for his first wife Etta D. Conant, who died October 10, 1879. March 8, 1893, he mar- ried for his second wife Carrie M. Grimes, who was born in Hubbardston, July 28, 1869. The children of this union are: Guy M., born January 17, 1894; and Dorothy, born July 20, 1897.

Mr. Wheeler is a member of the Public Li- brary Committee. He is a thirty-second de- gree Mason, and is Worshipful Master of Hope Lodge, Gardner. In religious belief he is a Unitarian. Both he and his brother William are Republicans in politics.

REN WHITE, formerly a prosperous merchant of Clinton, was born in Middlesex, Vt., July 1, 1834. His father was Sanford White, a native of New Hampshire, who passed the greater part of his life as a farmer in that State and in Vermont.

Oren White, after attending the common schools, at the age of eighteen entered the service of the Vermont Central Railroad Com-

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pany, and subsequently worked his way for- ward to the position of conductor, which he continued to hold for a number of years. Then, retiring from the railway service, he engaged in the clothing business in Meriden, Conn., where he remained two years, after which he carried on the same business in Taunton, Mass., for a short time. In 1872 he opened a clothing store in Clinton, which he conducted successfully for a number of years thereafter. Honest, enterprising, and obliging, he retained his popularity with his business associates and the general public until his death, which occurred in 1889, when he had attained the age of fifty-five years. He was at one time quite active in local affairs, and capably filled some of the town, offices. In religious belief he was a Congre- gationalist.

ILLIAM A. KILBOURN, superin- tendent of the Thayer farms in South Lancaster, was born in Gro- ton, Mass., July 16, 1838, son of Jeremiah and Patty (Flint) Kilbourn. Ancestors of the Kilbourn family were early settlers in Rowley, Mass., and some of its representa- tives became identified with the settlement of Fitchburg. The grandfather, William Kil- bourn, who was a native of that town, moved to Groton, where he followed farming and shoemaking until his death, which occurred in 1857. He reared a family of six children.

Jeremiah Kilbourn, father of William A., was born in Fitchburg, and learned the hatter's trade, which he followed in Groton for some years. His last days were spent upon a farm in that town, and he died at the age of sixty-five. His wife, Patty, was a daughter of John Flint, a prosperous farmer of Concord, Mass., and a native of that section. She became the mother of eight children, two of whom are living, namely: Frances J., wife of James E. Wellington, of Wellington, Mass; and William A., the subject of this sketch. The mother lived to be seventy-five years old. Both she and her husband attended the Unitarian church.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 32

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