Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 39

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 39

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the Methodist Episcopal church. Amanda, his wife, who was born in Templeton, June 13, 1811, bore him eight children, of whom Luke S. is the only sur- vivor. The others were: Jane A., Otis P., Henry M., Francis L., Lucy M., Lewis S., and Mary A. Their mother died in Temple- ton, August 26, 1881.

Luke S. Moore was educated in the common schools of his native town. When eighteen years old he began to learn chair-making, which he subsequently followed as a journey- man for ten years. Since 1861 he has been occupied in dairy farming and fruit-growing in Hubbardston. His property, which is known as Sunnyside Farm, containing fifty- five acres of fertile land, is desirably located upon high ground, commanding a splendid view of the surrounding country. Keeping an average of eight cows, he annually makes about eighteen hundred pounds of superior butter, which is sold to regular customers. From his apples, which he raises in consider- able quantities, he obtains evaporated apple, cider, and vinegar. On May 21, 1856, Mr. Moore married Cynthia Follett, who was born at Sunnyside Farm, September 28, 1830, daughter of Jonathan M. and Mary (Wheat) Follett. Mrs. Moore died May 8, 1897, leav- ing no children. Politically, Mr. Moore is a

Republican ; and he has served with ability as Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, and Tax Collector. He is a member of Hubbardston Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. In religious belief he is a Congregationalist. Mr. Moore is one of the most energetic men in the town.

HARLES T. FLETCHER, a well- known landscape gardener of Lancas- ter and an ex-member of the legis- lature, was born in this town, March 23, 1826. A son of Joshua and Nabby (War- ren) Fletcher, he belongs to a family that has been identified with Lancaster since 1712. In that year John Fletcher, his great-great- grandfather, who afterward became an exten- sive land-owner and farmer, came here from Chelmsford, Mass.

Timothy Fletcher, the grandfather, who was born in Lancaster, learned the trade of a shoe- maker, and followed it in connection with farming in different localities, principally in Grafton, Mass. His last days were spent upon a farm in his native town. During the Revolutionary War he made shoes for the pa- triots. It is related that on one occasion he led a team load of footwear from Grafton to Washington's army at Valley Forge. Joshua Fletcher, born in Alstead, N.H., spent the greater part of his life in Lancaster, where he worked at shoemaking until his death, which occurred when he was sixty-one years old. Nabby, his wife, who was a daughter of Moses Warren, of Watertown, died at the age of sixty-five. Of her six children, the survivors are : Eleanor L. and Mrs. Andrew J. Brown, who live in Milford, Mass. ; Julia, who married Thomas J. Carney, and resides in Galesburg, Ill. ; and Charles T., the subject of this sketch. Both parents were members of the Universalist church.

Charles T. Fletcher acquired his education in an academy of his native town. Afterward he learned the shoemaker's trade, and followed it for some time. He was also employed for some time in the construction of the New York & Lake Erie Railway. Upon his return to Lancaster in 1856 he took the position of landscape gardener with Nathaniel Thayer.

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Hle has since retained his connection with the family, serving both the grandfather and the father of the present generation, and has graded and decorated the grounds of each new residence built by the descendants of his orig- inal employer. At the present time he has charge of the old family homestead.

Mr. Fletcher contracted the first of his two marriages in 1856, with Mrs. Cornelia Jack- man, a daughter of L. D. Maynard, and who died at the age of forty-five years. His sec- ond marriage united him with Isabella Frances Maynard, his first wife's sister, who died in 1894. He has an adopted daughter, Gertrude M. Fletcher. Various important town offices have been filled by him, including those of Assessor and Auditor. He was a member of the Library Board of Trustees in 1879, and he ably represented this district in the leg- islature in 1891. Politically, he acts with the Republican party. He erected his present residence in 1869, upon land purchased by his father. The family attend the Unita- rian church.

ILLIAM ROGERS, the founder of the Clinton Worsted Company, was born in Scotland, February 23, 1856, son of John and Clementine (Woods) Rogers. Both his father and paternal grand- father were born and reared in the vicinity of Paisley, Scotland. The latter, William Rogers, who was engaged in the manufacture of Paisley shawls during his active period, lived to be ninety-three years old. John Rogers learned the weaver's trade, which he followed in Scotland until 1866. Then he emigrated to the United States, locating in Schaghticoke, N. Y., where he was overseer in a woollen-mill for some years. Later in Au- burn, N. Y., he was similarly employed for a time. Then, after spending a season in his former position at Schaghticoke, he was con- nected with mills in Glendale, Mass., Glen- ville, Conn., Winooski, Vt., and Leominster, Mass. He came to Clinton in 1891, and is now living here in retirement. Clementine, his wife, who is a native of Paisley, Scotland, has been the mother of nine children. Of

these, seven grew to maturity ; namely, Agnes, William, Clementine, Janet, John, George, and Alexander. Both parents attend the Con- gregational church.

William Rogers attended schools in Scot- land and the United States. He first worked for wages in a cotton-mill. Joining his father at Schaghticoke in 1867, he entered the woollen factory and learned the business. While still a youth he was advanced to the po- sition of loom repairer. Later he became a designer at the Hawthorn Mills in Glenville, Conn. When twenty-one years old he was ap- pointed to a similar position in the Burlington Woollen Mills at Winooski, Vt. Here he re- mained for seven years in all, acting as super- intendent during the last three years. Then he resigned his position in order to accept the superintendency of the Rockwell Woollen Mills at Leominster, Mass., with which he was connected for one year. Later, having al- ready started in business upon his own account with a force of ten hands, he and William H. Chase formed the Leominster Worsted Com- pany and erected a new mill. After a time the increasing demand for their goods necessi- tated the enlargement of their force to one hundred operatives. In 1890 the company was incorporated, with Mr. Rogers as presi- dent. Mr. Rogers withdrew from the enter- prise about six months later ; and early in 1891 he and his brother, John Rogers, established the Clinton Worsted Company. This firm, which began work with forty hands, now em- ploys two hundred operatives, occupies two large buildings, and daily produces thirteen hundred yards of worsted of different weights. The worsteds, which are sold throughout the United States, were awarded a medal and di- ploma at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. Notwithstanding the present business depres- sion, the factory has continued in active opera- tion; and the returning prosperity, which is already making itself felt in every branch of business, will no doubt cause a heavier de- mand upon its capacity.

In 1877 Mr. Rogers married Mary Connell, a native of Ennis, Ireland. Mrs. Rogers is the mother of four children - John Gray, Nora Clementine, William Rogers, Jr., and Arthur

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H. Rogers. Mr. Rogers is connected with Trinity Lodge, F. & A. M. ; Clinton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; with the Commandery and Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Prescott Club. In politics he is a Repub- lican.

SA HOSMER, the treasurer of the Templeton Savings Bank in Baldwins- ville, was born in Templeton, Feb- ruary 2, 1842. A son of Asa and Lucy P. (Bryant) Hosmer, he comes of one of the oldest families in the town. His great- grandfather, Josiah Hosmer, came to this vi- cinity from Concord, Mass., and settled upon a farm. The grandfather, Asa Hosmer, first, was a prosperous farmer and a lifelong resident of this town. Asa Hosmer, second, the father, who was born in Templeton, March 29, 1795, tilled the soil energetically from early manhood until his death, which occurred in 1869. He won the good will of his fellow- townsmen by his many commendable qualities. Politically, he supported the Democratic party. Lucy P. Hosmer, his wife, who was born in Templeton, May 11, 1818, had seven chil- dren, three of whom are living. These are : Asa, the subject of this sketch; Oscar, a resi- dent of Wenham, Mass., and the financial edi- tor of the Boston Herald; and Frank L. Hosmer, a well-known hot-house gardener of this town. The others were: Geraldine, Na- than, Flora, and James, who died young. The mother is also deceased. After receiving his education in the public schools and at the academy in New Ipswich, N. H., the subject of this biography obtained employment in the chair factory of Sawyer, Thompson & Perley, with whom he remained eight years, having charge of the cane department for the greater part of the time. For the succeeding ten years he was a member of the firm of E. Saw- yer & Co., furniture manufacturers of Bald- winsville. Chosen treasurer of the Temple- ton Savings Bank in 1880, he has ably filled that position up to the present time. Another of his occupations is that of local representa- tive of twelve reliable insurance companies, and in the capacity of Justice of the Peace he

has been employed to settle many estates. On January 6, 1868, he contracted his first mar- riage with Maria L. Moore, who died in 1888. His second and present wife, whom he wedded August 6, 1889, was formerly Isabella San- ders, of Templeton. She has given birth to two children - Asa Hosmer, Jr., and Kath- leen S. Hosmer.

Mr. Hosmer is a member of the Congrega- tional church. In politics he is a Republi- can, and he has served upon the School Com- mittee for the past sixteen years. He is a member of Narragansett Lodge, No. 222, I. O. O. F. ; of Star Lodge, No. 20, Ancient Order of United Workmen, of Baldwinsville; of Tribe No. 48, Improved Order of Red Men ; and of Crystal Lodge, No. 1072, Knights and Ladies of Honor, of Gardner, Mass. As a business man he is reliable, alert, and progres- sive; and the present prosperous condition of the savings-bank speaks well for his ability as a financier.

A LSON J. GREENWOOD, one of the most prosperous farmers and promi- nent residents of Hubbardston, was born here, September, 27, 1829, son of Silas and Julia (Daniels) Greenwood. The paternal grandfather was Abijah Greenwood, who came from Holden to Hubbardston about the year 1770. Settling in the eastern part of the town, upon the farm where his grandson was born, he resided here until his death, which occurred January 9, 1814, at the age of sixty-five years. He was Town Treasurer from 1800 to 1803 and again in 1809; and he was a Selectman in 1780, 1783, 1787, 1792, and 1794. In politics he acted with the Whig party. He attended the Unitarian church. The maiden name of his first wife, whom he married July 14, 1774, and who died July 16, 1782, was Rhoda Pond. On Octo- ber 3, 1783, he married Elizabeth Marean, who died February 15, 1814.

Silas Greenwood, who was born in Hub- bardston, November 19, 1786, learned the millwright's trade, and followed it for some time. Eventually he returned to the home- stead for the purpose of caring for his parents

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during their declining years. In 1837 he moved from there to the farm now owned by his son. He held various town offices, includ- ing that of Selectman, which he occupied for upward of thirteen years; and he was a member of the State legislature in 1835. In politics he voted with the Whig party. He was a member of the Unitarian church. His death occurred March 12, 1857. Julia Greenwood, his wife, who was a native of Hopkinton, Mass., gave birth to nine children, namely : Joseph E., on March 14, 1813, who died Au- gust 31, 1872; Abijah H., December 28, 1814, who died January 3, 1864; Silas M., October 21, 1817, who resides in Hubbards- ton ; Harriett, August 12, 1819, who died Au- gust 18 of the same year; Julia, October 27, 1820, who lives in Hubbardston; Abigail D., June 12, 1823, who also resides in Hubbards- ton; Harriett, second, April 15, 1825, who is no longer living; Hannah, August 24, 1827, who is a resident of this town; and Alson J., the subject of this sketch. The mother died January 9, 1864, aged seventy-one years.

Alson J. Greenwood was educated in the town schools. He assisted in carrying on the farm until nearly twenty-one years old, and what money he earned by doing outside work he gave to his father. Subsequently he learned the shoemaker's trade, and followed it for about five years. At the end of that period he returned to the homestead, and after his father's death succeeded to the property by purchasing the interest of the other heirs. The farm proper contains one hundred and eight acres of well-improved land. Conjointly with his son, he owns some outlying property amount- ing to about two hundred acres, and is inter- ested in the lumber business. In 1853 Mr. Greenwood was joined in marriage with Martha G. Moulton, who was born in Hub- bardston, July 9, 1833, daughter of Sewell and Polly Moulton. Mrs. Greenwood is the mother of five children, namely : S. Elliott, M. D., who was born September 15, 1853; Silas A., born December 6, 1854; Arthur D., born May 23, 1858; Grace, born February 3, 1862; and Harrison, born August 31, 1863. Arthur D. Greenwood is associated with his father in farming, stock-raising, and lumber-

ing. In politics Mr. Greenwood is a Demo- crat. He was elected Assessor in 1875 and 1878, and he has been a member of the board continuously since 1881. For the greater part of the time from 1872 to 1896 he was a Select- man, being the chairman of that body for three years. He also served as Tax Collector and Overseer of the Poor. In Hubbardston Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, he has occu- pied the Master's and Overseer's chairs, and he takes an active interest in the general wel- fare of the community. He attends the Uni- tarian church, and is a member of the society.

AMES PERKINS PAINE, of Worces- ter, Mass., was born December 16, 1827, on the estate where he now re- sides. He is a son of the late Fred- erick William Paine, a gentleman of means and a useful and highly esteemed citizen, for many years prominent in town affairs; and he is a descendant in the eighth generation of Stephen Paine, Sr., who crossed the Atlantic in the ship "Diligence" in 1638, bringing with him his wife, Rose, their three sons, and four servants.

Stephen Paine, Sr., came from Great Ellingham, near Hingham, Norfolk County, England. He settled at Hingham, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, where he had a land grant, and in 1639 was made a freeman. In 1641 he was a Deputy to the General Court. In 1643, in company with four of his neigh- bors, he removed to Seekonk, Bristol County, Mass., and, taking up a large tract of land, became one of the leading settlers there, as is proved by the early town records, in which his name appears frequently, and in which it is shown that his estate was in that year valued at five hundred and thirty five pounds sterling. In 1645 he was elected a Deputy to the Plym- outh Court, a position which he held sixteen consecutive years. He survived King Philip's War, and died in January, 1677, soon after the death of two of his sons.

Another son, Stephen Paine, Jr., born in 1629, was but nine years old when he arrived in New England with his parents. He ac- tively participated in King Philip's War, and

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contributed liberally toward the local expenses incurred at that time. He was an early set- tler of Rehoboth, Mass., where he died in 1710, leaving a widow and five sons. Na- thaniel Paine, Sr., one of the five, was born in Rehoboth, October 18, 1661. In his early manhood he became one of the pioneer propri- etors of Bristol, R. I., where he afterward served as Selectman, and in 1710 was ap- pointed one of the Judges of the Court of Com- mon Pleas for Rhode Island. He was also Probate Judge for Bristol County five years, and was one of the Council of Massachusetts Bay from 1703 until his death in 1723. He married Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Eben- ezer Williams, and by this union had one child, Nathaniel, Jr., who was born in Bristol, R. I., March 9, 1688. Nathaniel Paine, Jr., married Dorothy, daughter of Jonathan Rains - ford, of Boston.

Timothy Paine, born in Bristol, R. I., July 30, 1730, son of Nathaniel, Jr., and Dorothy Paine, was the fifth in this line of descent from the original American ancestor, and was the founder of the Worcester branch of the Paine family. He came here from Bristol with his mother and her second husband, the Hon. John Chandler, in 1740. In 1748 he was graduated from Harvard College as the fifth in his class, which at that time was graded ac- cording to the dignity of the families repre- sented. In 1749 he married Sarah, daughter of the Hon. John Chandler. In 1751 he was appointed Clerk of the Court of Probate, from 1754 till 1764 he was Town Clerk, from 1765 until 1768 he was one of His Majesty's Coun- cil, from 1761 until 1775 he served as Register of Deeds, and from 1785 until 1788 he was a Representative to the General Court. He was an extensive landholder, owning more than three hundred acres of land on Lincoln Street, where, just before the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, he began the erection of a house, which was not completed until after the close of the struggle for independence. The Paine family were Tories, or loyalists, their sympathies being with the Crown; and in 1774 he was appointed under the new Acts of Parlia- ment one of His Majesty's Mandamus Coun- cillors. This was specially obnoxious to the

large majority of Worcester patriots; and, though he personally was held in high esteem, the feeling against the Tories was so bitter that he resigned the office after receiving a visit on August 23, 1774, from fifteen hun- dred or more of his fellow-townsmen. He and his wife subsequently gave a large dinner party to the court and the bar, and among the guests of prominence invited by Judge and Mrs. Paine was John Adams.

William Paine, M. D., the sixth in the an- cestral line, son of Timothy and Sarah (Chand- ler) Paine, was born on the old homestead in Worcester, June 5, 1750, and was graduated from Harvard College in 1768, standing the second in his class. He subsequently studied medicine with Dr. Edward Holyoke, of Salem, Mass., and in 1771 began the practice of his profession in Worcester, where in 1772 he opened the first apothecary store established in Worcester County, becoming head of the firm of Paine & Co. A loyalist, he went to Eng- land soon after the resolutions adopted in Au- gust, 1774, and remained abroad until the fol- lowing spring. Returning home soon after the battle of Lexington, he found that he had been denounced as a Tory. He again sailed for Liverpool, where he studied and practised in the hospitals until appointed to the office of apothecary to the English forces in America. He received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from Marischal College, Aberdeen, Scotland. In the summer of 1784 he took possession of an estate on Passamaquoddy Bay presented to him by the English government for his ser- vices ; but, finding he could not there educate his children as he wished, he removed in 1785 to St. John, N. B., where he was afterward elected to the Assembly and made clerk of the House. In 1787 he removed to Salem, Mass., and on the death of his father he returned to Worcester. Here he occupied the parental estate, which on account of the forests near was called the Oaks, until his death, April 19, 1833. Dr. Paine and his wife, Lois Orne, the daughter of a Salem merchant who was en- gaged in the East India trade, reared six chil- dren.

Frederick William Paine, their youngest child, was born in Salem, Mass., May 23,

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1788, and in 1793 came with his parents to Worcester. Ten years later, in 1803, he en- tered Harvard, but at the end of nine months he left the college to engage in a mercantile career. Engaging in commerce with foreign countries, he made voyages around the world, embarking in 1806 and again in 1809, visiting China and other important ports. From 1818 until 1822 he represented the American house of James & Thomas Perkins in London, Eng- land. In 1826 he returned to Worcester as a permanent resident, and during the remainder of his life was actively interested in local pub- lic affairs. In 1829 he was a Representative to the General Court, during the greater part of the time from 1827 until 1839 he was one of the Selectmen of the town, and from 1829 until 1848 was an Assessor. A great lover of flowers and plants, he was very successful in their cultivation, and took great pleasure in laying out his spacious grounds and adorning them with choice plants of all descriptions. For many years he was a leading member and the treasurer of the Worcester County Horti- cultural Society. He possessed excellent lit- erary tastes, and collected a valuable library of several thousand volumes, which is still pre- served in the old homestead owned by his son, the Rev. George Sturgis Paine.

Frederick William Paine married May 5, 1822, Ann Cushing Sturgis, a daughter of the Hon. Russell and Elizabeth (Perkins) Sturgis. Six children blessed this union, and three of them are now living, namely : Elizabeth, widow of Henry Parkman Sturgis, of Salem, Mass. ; James Perkins, the subject of this sketch; and the Rev. George Sturgis Paine, of the Episcopal church, who has for several years passed much of his time in Europe. Fred- erick William Paine died September 16, 1869. Mrs. Paine survived her husband until 1892, when she died at an advanced age. She was one of a family of sixteen children.

James Perkins Paine was educated in the schools of Worcester and Northboro. As a young man he made frequent voyages to India on business, but since his marriage he has re- sided most of the time in this city. On May II, 1855, Mr. Paine married Sarah L., daugh- ter of Otis and Sarah Loring (House) Turner,

of Boston, Mass., where her father was a well- known bank official. Mr. and Mrs. Paine have four children: Lois Orne, who was named for her great-grandmother ; Rose Chandler; Russell Sturgis; and Alice.

J OHN HAPGOOD BROOKS, a well- known dairy farmer of Worcester, re- siding in Ward One, son of John Hap- good and Olive (Morse) Brooks, was born at Chadwick Square, near by, on May 9, 1849. The paternal grandfather, who bore the same name as himself, born in Princeton, Mass., in 1778, died on October 18, 1864. This ancestor's wife, whose maiden name was Tabitha Lovell, died on September 26, 1863, at the age of eighty-three. Both were buried in Princeton, Mass. Of their eight or nine children, four sons and two daughters grew to maturity. The only surviving son, James Oliver Brooks, now over sixty-five years old, resides in Minnesota.

John Hapgood Brooks, Sr., was born in Princeton, January 3, 1809. On May 4, 1837, he married Olive, a native of Dedham and a daughter of Lewis and Nabby (Fisher) Morse. She died in 1871, aged fifty-five, leaving only one of her eight children. The father was again married in 1873 to Lydia Eveline Keyes, of West Boylston. By this union there is one son, Albert Raymond Brooks, who resides with his mother on a part of the farm. The father came to Worcester in 1837, and engaged in farming and black- smithing at Greendale. His shop was located in Chadwick Square, where he owned con- siderable property. Soon after 1850 he bought a farm of forty acres here, which he subsequently enlarged until it covered about one hundred and fifty acres. Though he started in life poor, having only a small patri- mony, he succeeded in acquiring a comfortable competency. In politics he was a Republi- can. He was a member of the Worcester Common Council and in 1856 of the State legislature. For many years he was a Deacon in the Central Congregational Church and for some time the superintendent of its Sun- day-school.

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Mr. Brooks, the subject of this sketch, has lived on the home farm since he was six years of age. On October 2, 1872, he was united in marriage with Ella Ball, of Holden, a daughter of Israel Manning and Mary (New- ton) Ball. She has been the mother of nine children, of whom two died in infancy. The rest are: Olive Marion, John Hapgood, Jr., Alice Warren, Ida Louise, Lewis Manning, Hazel Newton, and Roger Emerson. Olive, who resides with her parents, has decided musical taste. John Hapgood, Jr., is on his second year in the Worcester Polytechnic School, being a member of the class of 1900. Alice Warren is in Middlebury College, Ver- mont. Ida Louise and Lewis are students in the high school. The two younger children attend the graded school in this district.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 39

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