Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 36

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 36

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prior to her marriage she rode on horseback through the woods to Montreal.

Having worked upon the home farm since he was old enough to be of service, Luther Rice Eames became a proficient gardener. Afterward for six years he was employed upon an estate in North Dorchester, owned by a retired Boston merchant. While there he lived in the house in which Edward Everett was born. With that exception, his active life has been spent where he now resides; and he cultivated the farm successfully until his retirement. He is not a church member, nor has he ever joined any social or fraternal order; but he belongs to the local agricult- ural and horticultural societies.

On June 3, 1856, Mr. Eames was united in marriage with Mary A. Wadel, a native of Germany. Two of his children died of scarlet fever, one at fifteen and the other at eight years. The others are: Canly, who is resid- ing at home, and who was for ten years a bridge builder on the Northern Pacific Rail- road, and who is married and has an infant son, Kenneth Reid; Valdo, who is also a bridge builder in the employ of the same company; Ilia, who is the wife of James Murphy, of Greendale, and has three children ; and Estus, an engineer on the Boston & Maine Railroad, residing in Northampton, Mass. Mrs. Eames died from influenza in 1895. Mr. Eames has suffered severely from the same disease for the past four years.

J SAMUEL BURPEE, a thriving farmer and prominent citizen of Sterling, Mass., was born in this town, June 30, 1850, son of James and Eunice W. (Goss) Burpee. His paternal grandfather was John Burpee, a native of Sterling, by occupa- tion a tiller of the soil.

James Burpee, son of John, was born and reared in Sterling; and when a young man he bought a farm located in the vicinity of his son's present residence. He later purchased the Oliver Johnson farm, which he carried on for a number of years; and he then moved to where he now resides. He was formerly a Road Commissioner. Though now eighty-

one years old he is still healthy and in full possession of his physical and mental powers. His wife, whose maiden name was Eunice W. Goss, was a daughter of John Goss, a prosper- ous farmer of Lancaster. She died in 1892, aged seventy - five years, having been the mother of ten children. Eight of this family are living, namely : William H., foreman of E. W. Pollard's farm, Leominster ; Mary, who married Henry S. Sawyer; Fred W. Burpee ; J. Samuel, the subject of this sketch; Addie M., for many years a school teacher; Ethel J., wife of Calvin L. Brigham; Sarah R., who married G. Frank Buttrick, foreman of the Cloverly Farm, Lancaster; and Hattie C. Burpee, who is residing with her father. The parents attended the Congregational church.

J. Samuel Burpee completed his education at the Allendale Institute, and when a young man he taught school for seven winters. When he was twenty-six years old he and his brother bought a farm in the Redstone dis- trict ; and, after cultivating the land together for five years, they divided the property. J. Samuel Burpee has added to his portion by purchasing adjoining land, and now owns about forty-three acres, which he devotes to general farming, making specialties of dairy- ing, fruit and poultry raising, his pens of Bucks County fowls being greatly admired by all observers. He has improved his property by increasing the fertility of the soil, which enables him to raise large crops of hay and feed. In 1897 he kept thirteen cows and three horses. In politics he is a Republican, and has been clerk of the Board of Selectmen since 1894. He is also a member of the Board of Health, and was for eleven years upon the School Committee.

In 1879 Mr. Burpee was joined in marriage with Alice M. White, a native of Worcester, Mass. Her father, Leonard White, who was for many years a well-known marketman in that city, moved to Sterling, where he resided for some time. He died in Clinton at the age of seventy-eight years. The only child born to Mr. and Mrs. Burpee died in infancy.

Mr. Burpee has been Master of Sterling Grange two years, lecturer two years, and treasurer for seven years. He is a charter

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member of the local lodge of Ancient Order of United Workmen, was formerly Receiver and Overseer, and is now its Master Work- man. He was at one time a reporter for the New England Homestead. He was one of the organizers of the Worcester East Agricultural Society, and for some years a trustee and has been president of the Farmers' Club. He attends the Congregational church.

ALTER B. MELLEN, a leading agriculturist and retail milk dealer of Brookfield, son of Henry L. and Maria (Merrick) Mellen, was born here, Sep- tember 24, 1860. The father, a son of Jere- miah Mellen, born in Pelham, Mass., came with the latter at the age of two years to the farm now occupied by Walter B. Mellen. Here he grew to manhood, and in the school not far distant acquired his early education. Later he was sent to Wilbraham Academy, from which he duly graduated. For a time he taught school. The greater part of his life was devoted to agriculture. He was a member of the First Congregational Unitarian Church of Brookfield. One of the most progressive men of the town, he was active in public affairs. He served on the Board of Assessors, was Overseer of the Poor and Selectmen; and he was also a member of the School Commit- tee, taking a special interest in educational matters. He died on December 25, 1881. His wife, a native of Brimfield, was a daughter of the late Captain Thomas Merrick, of Stur- bridge, an officer in the militia and at one time a Representative in General Court. Of their six children, four are living, namely : Sarah J., who is the wife of E. Harris Howland, of Spencer; George H., an attorney well known in Boston as counsel for the defunct West End Street Railway Company of that city; Frank L., who is a teacher in the Worcester High School; and Walter B., the subject of this sketch. Albert H. Mellen, who died at Smithville, N.C., in 1876, was a graduate of West Point, and had received his commission as Second Lieutenant in the United States army. The mother died in March, 1865.

Mr. Mellen's education was obtained in the elementary schools and high school of Brook- field. He has devoted his working life to agriculture, and now owns the farm which was settled maany years ago by one of his great- grandfathers, Moses Hastings. He attends a milk route in the town, and has a large num- ber of customers. In 1883 he was married to Lucy P., daughter of John W. Livermore, of this place, whose biography appears on an- other page of the REVIEW. Like his father, he has been actively connected with the ad- ministration of local affairs, and has given much valuable service to the town. For sev- eral years he was Overseer of the Poor, and he is now the chairman of the Board of High- way Commissioners. Politically, he is a Re- publican. A member of the First Congrega- tional Unitarian Church, he is an active worker in that body and one of its liberal supporters. Fraternally, he is a member of Hayden Lodge, F. & A. M. ; of the Royal Arcanum ; and of Brookfield Grange, No. 174, P. of H., of which he has been the Master for three years. Both officially and in his private capacity he commands the respect of his townsmen.

LIVER B. WYMAN, a prominent agriculturist and a substantial citi- zen of Worcester County, was born September 16, 1826, in the town of Shrewsbury, where he now resides. His parents were Seth, Jr., and Lucy (Baker) Wyman. He owns and occupies the house built by his great-grandfather, Colonel Ross Wyman, a native of Woburn, Mass., who came to Shrewsbury in 1746, one of the early set- tlers of this place.

Ensign Wyman, of Woburn, father of Ross, greatly distinguished himself by his self-pos- session, fortitude, and valor at Lovewell's fight, so called. Colonel Ross Wyman was a farmer and gunsmith, and in the latter ca- pacity he made muskets for General Ward. As commander of a company of Shrewsbury artillery minute-men, he served gallantly during the Revolutionary War. He was a typical representative of the Wyman family,

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possessing remarkable physical powers. It is said that he could easily pick up a barrel of cider and drink from the bung. An incident of his early life illustrates his strength, agil- ity, and courage. On one occasion, while driving to market with a load of fish, he was overtaken by a press-gang of seven men from a British man-of-war, bent upon forcing him into service. Rather objecting to their method of procedure as well as their errand, he seized a huge fish by the gills with both hands, and laid about him vigorously, until his would-be captors were glad to leave him. He lived to the advanced age of ninety-two years.

Colonel Seth Wyman, son of Colonel Ross, succeeded his father in the ownership of the homestead property in Shrewsbury. He built the saw-mill and the grist-mill now in opera- tion here, and, in addition to general farming, was extensively engaged in lumbering. Colo- nel Seth Wyman was one of the solid men of the town, and served at various times as Se- lectman.

Seth Wyman, Jr., son of Colonel Seth, was for some years engaged in mercantile pursuits ; but on the death of his father he bought the interest of the other heirs in the ancestral estates, and afterward devoted himself to agri- cultural pursuits. He paid especial attention to dealing in cattle, which he gathered from all sections of the country and drove to the Brighton market. A man of great enterprise, he was vigorous and alert, keeping on the move from early morning until late at night, scarce giving up work until his death, at the age of seventy-seven years. To him and his wife, Lucy Baker, of Shrewsbury, ten children were born, one of whom died in infancy, and the following grew to mature life : John B., Charles, Jane, Anna M., Oliver B., Lucy, Henry Seth, Mary, and Sarah. John B. Wyman superintended the building of the Illi- nois Central Railway. He served several years as Adjutant-general of Illinois. At the break- ing out of the late Civil War he took com- mand of the Thirteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was Acting Brigadier-general when shot from his horse and killed, while in command of troops at the siege of Vicksburg.

Anna M. married Augustus Irving, of Hart- ford, Conn., who was for nearly three years, during the administration of President Pierce, Secretary of the American Legation at St. Petersburg. About the close of the year 1855 Mr. Irving resigned his position, and left Russia. His wife met him in Paris. They spent several weeks visiting places of interest in France, England, and Scotland, and on January 23, 1856, sailed for New York on the ill-fated steamer "Pacific," which was never again heard from. Charles Wyman, one of the pioneers in construction of tele- graph lines, died some years ago in Minne- sota. Henry S. Wyman was a railroad man. He died in Shrewsbury in 1866. Jane, de- ceased, married Henry Pratt, of this town. Lucy at the time of her death, in 1864, was a teacher in a private school in St. Louis.

Oliver B. Wyman grew to manhood in Shrewsbury, and received his education in the public schools of the town. He was afterward for a number of years engaged, in company with his brother Charles, in the construction of telegraph lines, having headquarters at Hartford, Conn. In that capacity he built the first telegraph line along the Fitchburg Railroad, the lines from Burlington and from Rutland, Vt., to Boston, the line from New London to Meriden, Conn., and others. In 1850 he gave up the telegraph business and came home to Shrewsbury to take charge of the old homestead, which is one of the histori- cal places of the town. In early stage-coach days the house was kept as a tavern. In 1851 Mr. Wyman succumbed to the gold fever, and, going to California, was there engaged in mining for a year and a half, returning then to his home. With the exception of fifteen months' military service, Mr. Wyman has since been extensively engaged in general farming and lumbering, in the latter business buying and clearing wood lots and timber lands, and manufacturing lumber, which he sells to home markets. His farm is one of the best improved in this vicinity, and is largely devoted, and with eminent success, to market gardening and dairying. Mr. Wyman enlisted in 1863 in the Fifty-first Massachu- setts Infantry, and was mustered out in 1864,

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having served fifteen months in North Caro- lina under General Foster.

In politics Mr. Wyman is a straightforward Republican, prominent in the party, and has served acceptably as chairman of the Republi- can Town Committee. He has filled the vari- ous local offices, from Field Driver to Select- man, and on the latter board has been chairman a number of years. He has also rendered good service as one of the Library Committee; and in 1878 he represented his district in the State legislature, where he served on the Committee on Parishes and Religious Societies. Fraternally, he is a Master Mason, belonging to Montecute Lodge, F. & A. M .; and he is likewise a member of Shrewsbury Grange, P. of H.

On January 31, 1852, Mr. Wyman married Miss Hannah L. Carter, a descendant in the eighth generation of the Rev. Thomas Carter, the first ordained and settled minister of Wo- burn, Mass. Their only child is Miss Agnes Wyman.

ENRY N. BIGELOW, a retired manufacturer of Clinton and the treasurer of the local gas company, was born in Lancaster (now Clin- ton) on October 6, 1839, son of Horatio N. and Emily (Worcester) Bigelow. His grand- father, Ephraim Bigelow, son of Abel, was a wheelwright and chair-maker by trade, cul- tivated a small farm, and died in 1837. Ephraim's wife, Polly Brigham Bigelow, sur- vived him eighteen years.

Horatio N. Bigelow early began to be self- supporting. In youth he worked upon his father's farm and in the neighboring mills. When twenty years of age he became the over- seer of a small factory, started by his father on the banks of the Nashua. In 1836 he was called to Shirley as superintendent of a cotton factory there. From that town he came to Clinton in company with his younger brother, Erastus B. Bigelow, and secured possession of the water privileges on South Meadow Brook. In the early part of 1838 the Clinton Carpet: Company was duly incorporated, the incorpo- rators being John Wright, H. N. Bigelow,

and Israel Longley. Six years later the Lan- caster Mills Company was incorporated for the purpose of manufacturing ginghams. Mr. Bigelow continued the management of the mill until 1849. In the building of the town he was the master spirit. He was the first Post- master of Clinton, and was its Representative to General Court during the first two years after it was incorporated as a town. On Sep- tember 24, 1834, he was married to Emily Worcester. Of their four children, two died before the father. The two remaining are Henry N. and Charles B., the latter being manufacturing agent of the Bigelow Carpet Company.

Henry N. Bigelow was educated in the common schools of Clinton and at Easthamp- ton Seminary. After leaving school he went into the Clinton Company's mills, later the Bigelow Carpet Company. After the death of his father he acted as agent until 1882, when he resigned. He has also been a director of the First National Bank 'and a trustee of the savings-bank, which positions he resigned after some fifteen years of service. Since then he has been connected with the gas com- pany, of which he is now treasurer and man- ager. His home, which is in Clinton, was built in 1867. In 1866 he was united in mar- riage with Clarissa, daughter of Franklin Forbes, who was formerly agent of the Lancas- ter Mills. Of the five children born to him and Mrs. Bigelow, three are living, namely : Henry F., who married a Miss Davis, of Worcester, and is an architect; Horatio N., who is in the gas company referred to; and Charles Willard, who is in business in Boston. Mrs. Clarissa Bigelow died after ten years of married life, being then thirty-five years of age. The present Mrs. Bigelow, in maiden- hood Cornelia W. Lathrop, of Boston, is the mother of Nina and Rosamond L. Bigelow.

In politics Mr. Bigelow is a Republican. He has been a trustee of the Public Library since it was founded, a member of the Ceme- tery Committee, Road Commissioner, and a member of the School Committee for eight years. A Mason of the thirty-second degree, he belongs to Trinity Lodge, Free and Ac- cepted Masons ; to the Council and Chapter of

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Clinton ; to Worcester County Knights Temp- lar; and to the Consistory. He has been a director of the Boston, Clinton & Fitchburg and of the Worcester & Nashua Railroads. He and his family are Episcopalians and mem - bers of the Church of the Good Shepherd, which he serves in the capacity of senior warden. He remembers Clinton when there were only fifteen hundred people in the town, and when his father was its leading man.

WIGHT R. SCOTT, City Weigher of Worcester for the last ten years, was born in Worthington, Mass., April 26, 1836, son of Francis Arva and Melinda (DeWolf) Scott. His great- grandfather, Elijah Scott, who came to this country from Scotland, owned an immense tract of land on the shores of Lake Champlain in New York State. There his grandfather, Rufus Scott, was reared. Rufus, a deaf-mute, was educated in the school for deaf-mutes at Hartford, Conn. A man of bright, keen in- tellect, he had a successful business career despite his affliction. He married Melinda Gurrillon, who was of Scotch descent. She was a woman of great size, weighing three hundred pounds. Her death, at the age of fifty-two, resulted from injuries received when she was accidentally thrown from a wagon. She left three sons and three daughters, of whom the sons and a daughter are living. These are: Sophronia, who resides in Gill, her native place, and who is still active and in full possession of her faculties at the advanced age of ninety-two years; Francis A., the father of Dwight R. ; and Zimri and Henry, who live in Gill. Rufus Scott died in 1865, and was buried in the cemetery at Gill, of which he owned a quarter.

Francis Arva Scott now resides in Willi- mantic, Conn. He and his wife, who was a native of New London, Conn., had thirteen children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest. The others were: Charles, who died at the age of seven years; Eunice, who married a Mr. Summers, and died at the age of twenty two, leaving two sons; Lewis, a vet- eran of the Civil War, now residing at 9 Rus-

sell Street, this city; William, who is at Fortress Monroe; Amelia, who died at the age of fifteen; Emma, who is the wife of D. L. Whittaker, of Willimantic, Conn. ; Charles, who died in February, 1896, leaving four sons; Dexter, who died at the age of seven years; George, who resides in this city ; Ella, whose death from diphtheria occurred at the same time as those of Dexter and another of the children ; Clarence, who resides in New York City; and a daughter that died in infancy. The father and five sons were in the war at one time. The mother died in 1891, at the age of seventy-nine.

Dwight R. Scott grew to manhood in Gill, where he obtained a common-school education. At the age of sixteen he began learning the pail-maker's trade, at which he worked until his enlistment on September 6, 1861. He had volunteered, together with his father and his brothers Lewis and William, in Company G, Tenth Massachusetts Infantry. All saw gallant fighting, and honorably sustained their part. Lewis, William, and Dwight were wounded. After receiving his discharge Mr. Scott engaged in pail-making. At the end of a year and a half he started a saw-mill busi- ness, and continued it subsequently for fifteen years.

Mr. Scott was first married on November 27, 1857, to Caroline Turner, who bore him two children - Flora and William. Flora is now the wife of Robert Kenniston, of Upton, Mass., and the mother of two children. Mr. Scott's second marriage was contracted on April 13, 1871, with Caroline H. Tisdale, of Dedham. She has borne three children, namely : Warren A. Scott, who is a civil en- gineer ; Louise A., who teaches in the public schools of Worcester, the ninth grade; and Eunice, who is a stenographer with the Whit- comb Envelope Company of Worcester. One of the organizers of the Union Veteran Legion, Mr. Scott has always been its Quarter- master. He is a Master Mason, and has been a life-long Democrat. His children are Con- gregationalists and members of the Christian Endeavor Society. The family has resided in its present home at 64 Locust Avenue, Lake View, since 1880.

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J AMES RICE, who was, until his retire- ment from active work, a prosperous farmer of Barre, was born in this town, January 27, 1822, son of Lemuel and Hannah (Allen) Rice. His paternal great- grandfather, Jotham Rice, who was born Feb- ruary 17, 1696, came to Barre from Worces- ter previous to 1749, and, settling upon wild land in the northern part of the township, re- sided here for the rest of his life. Jotham married Mary, daughter of Ralph Earl. James Rice, the grandfather, was born on the Jotham Rice farm about the year 1746. Ac- cording to the deed he then received, he bought ten acres of the present Rice home- stead in 1766, and afterward added more land. He served as a volunteer in the Revolutionary War, and took an active part in public affairs, serving as a Selectman. His death occurred July 21, 1832. In 1770 he first married Su- sanna Cutting, who died in 1780, aged thirty- five years. A second marriage, on July 12, 1787, wedded him to Ruth White, who died February 12, 1837, aged ninety-one. He at- tended the Unitarian church.

Lemuel Rice, father of the subject of this sketch, was born December 12, 1772. When a young man he went to Vermont and took up new land. After some time spent there, en- gaged in stock dealing, he returned to the homestead, and died here, September 21, 1846. He married Mrs. Hannah Allen, a native of Barre and a widow, who died July 23, 1867, aged eighty-eight years. They attended the Unitarian church, of which she was a mem- ber. Their children were: Allen, born Sep- tember 26, 1806, who died in January, 1885; . Susan S., born May 7, 1808, who married Luke Hammond, and resides in Boston; Han- nah, born April 22, 1811, who is the widow of Josiah D. Howe, and now resides in Barre; Harriet, born November 27, 1813, who is no longer living; Lemuel M., born January 21, 1817, who died July 31, 1821; Alice, born January 8, 1819, who died June 18, 1852; James, the subject of this sketch; and Lem- uel P. Rice, born April 29, 1825, who resides in Barre.

James Rice was educated in the schools of this town and at the Keene (N. H.) Academy.

His active life has been spent on the home farm, which he cultivated industriously until his retirement. On December 7, 1848, he married Sarah Hawes, who was born in this town in September, 1822. His only son, Warren H., died at the age of two years. Mrs. Rice passed away October 10, 1877. She was a member of the old Unitarian parish. Mr. Rice resides on the farm now owned by his nephew, James A. Rice. In politics he has acted with the Republican party since its formation, and he was Selectman for one year. He is a member of the old Unitarian parish.

J AMES A. RICE, of Barre, who is now carrying on the farm formerly owned by his uncle, James Rice, was born in this town, January 6, 1869, son of Lemuel P. and Lucia (Dunton) Rice. His great-grandfather was James Rice, and his grandparents were Lemuel and Hannah (Nye) Allen Rice, of Barre. (A more detailed ac- count of the family will be found in the biog- raphy of James Rice.)

Lemuel P. Rice, born April 29, 1825, was educated in the schools of Barre, and reared upon the farm of James Rice. After the death of his father he and his brother James carried on the home farm for a time. At the age of thirty-seven Lemuel sold his interest to his brother, and, moving to Hubbardston, Mass., resided there for a short time. Re- turning to Barre in 1865, he bought his pres- ent farm of one hundred and seventy-six acres, and has since been engaged in its cultivation. He makes a specialty of dairy farming, keep- ing about thirty head of Durham cows. Other land owned by him makes his total es- tate two hundred and sixty-one acres. Politi- cally, he is a Republican, and he has rendered efficient service to the town as a Selectman. He is still strong and active, and his farm and buildings are among the best in his section of the town. His wife, Lucia, born in Hub- bardston, March 2, 1841, and whom he mar- ried in 1863, died September 19, 1879. She left three children, namely: Susie D., who resides at home; James A., the subject of this sketch; and Louise S. Rice, a school teacher

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JAMES RICE.

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in Barre. The father attends the Congrega- tional church.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 36

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