Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 4

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 4

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Having been fitted for college at the school of Deacon Samuel Greele and at the Boston Latin School, Samuel May entered Harvard in 1825, aged fifteen, and received his aca- demic degree in 1829. He was elected class secretary, and still holds the office. The roll of his class includes a long list of distin- guished names, among them, to mention but a few, Oliver Wendell Holmes, who favored the annual class meeting for forty years save one (1851-89 inclusive) with a class poem, such as he knew so well to write; Judge Ben- jamin R. Curtis, of the United States Su- preme Court; the Rev. S. F. Smith, author of "America"; the Rev. William H. Chan- ning; Professor Benjamin Pierce, mathema- tician; Chief Justice George T. Bigelow; and James Freeman Clarke, D.D. The class numbered fifty-nine. There are now living, besides Mr. May, Charles S. Storrow, of Bos- ton, and Edward L. Cunningham, of Newport, R. I., while "all the rest are sleeping."

The year after leaving college Mr. May spent at Brooklyn, Conn., studying for the ministry with his cousin, the Rev. Samuel J. May, who, soon to become one of the first adherents of Mr. Garrison, and a lifelong abolitionist, at a later period was settled in

Syracuse, N. Y., where for over twenty-five years he was very active in all educational and philanthropic work, as well as in the anti- slavery movement. Continuing his studies at the Harvard Divinity School, 1830-33, Mr. May was graduated at the end of his course, and in August, 1834, was or- dained as a Unitarian, and settled as minister of the Second Congregational Church at Leicester, where he had taken up his resi- dence in the March previous, and where he has since continuously made his home, one of the best known, most revered, and influential citizens of the town.

From a biographical sketch written by the Rev. Nathaniel Seaver and published in the Worcester Evening Gazette on the Saturday preceding the celebration of his eighty- seventh birthday, we condense the following account of his activities during the busy years following his settlement, which was of twelve years' duration. In 1833 he had begun to feel the nation's responsibility for slavery ; and he early identified himself with the small and despised body known as abolitionists - men and women from every sect and party, and of pronounced views in religion, politics, and social philosophy, many of them thought- ful and devoted moral heroes who "recog- nized in slavery the one great curse, disgrace of, and menace to, American institutions, and spared no labor or sacrifice in denouncing and opposing the iniquitous legislation and party bargains which tended to reinforce and extend the evil." Party feeling was intensely bitter, and there was prevalent a very general opinion that a minister should have no decided politi- cal views, or, if he had, should refrain from their expression. On questions of justice and human rights it may safely be assumed Mr. May did not refrain from opening his lips.

Being in England in 1843, he was instru- mental in calling the attention, especially of British Unitarians, to the American anti- slavery movement, and in enlisting the strong and valuable co-operation of Dr. John B. Estlin and the Rev. George Armstrong.

Resigning his pastoral charge in 1846, being led to this step by the inevitable logic

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of events, he thenceforward devoted himself to the great anti-slavery movement, as repre- sented by the American Anti-slavery Society. He became general agent of the Massachu- setts Anti-slavery Society in 1847; and, with the exception of about six months, when his health debarred him from working in the cause, he held the position, doing yeoman's service as a platform speaker and organizer, till 1865, when the mission was accomplished. He was president of the Worcester County South Division Anti-slavery Society several years. After the close of the war he, with other kindred spirits, embarked in the activi- ties of the Freedman's Aid Society, whose beneficent work, enlarged and increasingly honored, continues in the Hampton School, Virginia, the Tuskegee School, Alabama, the Atlanta University, Georgia, and others.

Being fifty-one years old at the outbreak of the Rebellion and exempt by age and profes- sion from taking arms, with renewed zeal he wielded his pen and raised his voice on be- half of liberty and justice. His sons enlisted in the national service.

Mr. May's interest in the church at Leices- ter, his former charge, and in the town affairs has never abated. For twenty-one years he served as a member of the School Board, and he is still a trustee of the Leicester Academy. For thirty-four years he was a trustee and the purchasing agent of the Leicester Public Li- brary, whose growth and usefulness he has always had very much at heart. In 1875 he was a member of the House of Representa- tives in the State legislature, and served as chairman of the Committee on Federal Rela- tions, also as a member of the Committee on the Labor Question and of the Committee on Woman's Suffrage, he being a stanch friend of this movement as well as of the temper- ance reform. In politics he is a Republican, but with independent proclivities and advo- cating prohibition. He is a life member of the American Unitarian Association, a mem- ber of the Bostonian Society, and of the Worcester Society of Antiquity. In June, 1898, he became the senior alumnus of the Harvard Divinity School.

Mr. May was married November 11, 1835,

by the Rev. Charles Lowell, D.D., to Miss Sarah Russell, daughter of Nathaniel P. Rus- sell, sometime treasurer of the Bunker Hill Monument Association and of the Massachu- setts General Hospital. Mrs. May was born January 5, 1813. She died June 13, 1895, after nearly sixty years of wedded life, leav- ing four children: Adeline; Edward, a staff officer in the United States navy; Joseph Russell, of Boston; and Elizabeth Goddard.

The commodious and comely old mansion in which Mr. May has had his home for sixty years and more is delightfully situated on Leicester Hill, and commands a broad and picturesque view. The whole appearance of the house betokens welcome and hospitality; and here friends and neighbors, near and re- mote, are received with charming old-time grace and courtesy. Many notable visitors have been here entertained, as the life of Mr. May has been singularly rich in friendships with men and women of worth. It was a happy thought of some of the number to make memorable his eighty-fifth birthday by col- lecting and binding together in book form let- ters from such of the anti-slavery and other philanthropic workers as were then living, making a unique and choice volume, contain- ing contributions from Dr. William H. Fur- ness, Dr. C. A. Bartol, Governor John D. Long, Robert Purvis, the Garrison brothers, Susan B. Anthony, Mary A. Livermore, Mary Grew, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Mrs. Jose- phine Butler, Dr. James Martineau, Senator George F. Hoar, Dr. S. F. Smith, Peter Ran- dolph (once a slave), Parker Pillsbury, and others. The four-volume biography of Will- iam Lloyd Garrison by his sons, W. P. and F. J. Garrison, is dedicated to Mr. May.

Mr. May has now passed his eighty-eighth year. His mind is still vigorous, and he takes a keen interest in current events and the prominent issues of the day. His eighty- seventh birthday was especially noticed by the religious society and Sunday-school with which he has been connected for more than sixty years. The sentiment on that occasion voiced by the children to whom he had been giving a series of lessons on the Beatitudes, and who brought him a gift of Easter lilies,

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may fitly close this brief biography, "Blessed is the man whose life is in accord with the Sermon on the Mount, for him shall all men delight to honor."

ERENO AUSTIN CHILDS, for many years a prosperous farmer and real estate dealer of Fitchburg, Worcester County, Mass., was born in Henniker, Hillsboro County, N.H., Sep- tember 17, 1820, son of Deacon Josiah and Abigail (Ward) Childs. His parents were sturdy and industrious farming people. Deeply interested in religious work, they taught their children to venerate the church and assist in extending its influence. Josiah Childs served as Deacon of the Congrega- tional church at Henniker for fifty years, and was one of the first men in the town to advo- cate the temperance cause. He died at the age of over seventy years, and his wife lived to be eighty-eight. They were the parents of eleven children, three of whom are living. Two of their sons, who were educated for the ministry, died previous to ordination.

Sereno Austin Childs completed his educa- tion in an academy in his native town. About the year 1848 he came to Fitchburg ; and, pur- chasing a farm in the north part of the town, he tilled the soil with unusual energy and success for some eight or nine years. He then turned his attention to the real estate and insurance business, and, establishing an office on Main Street, was identified with the development and sale of city property for the rest of his life. His early Christian training was evident in his every-day life, and charac- terized his business transactions, the sincerity and reliability of which were beyond question. He was a trustee for a number of years of the Fitchburg Savings Bank. He was an active member of the Rollstone Congregational Church and one of the first presidents of the Young Men's Christian Association in this city. Politically, he was a Republican.

In 1849 Mr. Childs married Mary H. Lowe, daughter of Stephen and Susan (Kinsman) Lowe, both natives of Fitchburg. Mrs. Lowe was a daughter of Jeremiah Kinsman. She

died at the age of forty-nine. Stephen Lowe was a shoemaker, and followed his trade in connection with farming until his death, which occurred when he was forty-seven years old. He was a zealous church member, and took a deep interest in the moral and religious welfare of the community. Mr. and . Mrs. Stephen Lowe had a family of ten children, four of whom are living, three in this city and one in California, Mrs. Childs being the eldest daughter.

Sereno Austin Childs died in 1892, leaving a widow and an adopted son, Frederick A., who has removed to Leominster, and is there engaged in the carriage business.

HARLES F. RICE, a prosperous business man of Brookfield, is well known as a successful grain dealer and lumber manufacturer. Born in Brookfield, Mass., September 16, 1831, he is a son of Columbus Rice and a grandson of William Rice. The latter was one of the early settlers of this town, who for several years prior to his death, at the advanced age of ninety-seven years, drew a pension from the government for his services in the Revolu- tionary War. Columbus Rice spent his en- tire life in Brookfield. One of its active and prominent men, he served for a number of years as Selectman. He was a farmer by oc- cupation, and engaged in the various branches of agriculture until his death, which occurred in October, 1870. By his marriage with Experience Turner, who was born in Salem, Mass., he became the father of several chil- dren. Of these, four survive, namely: Cas- sandana, the wife of William Pike, of this town; William E., a resident of East Brook- field; Charles F., the subject of this biog- raphy; and Benjamin F., also of Brookfield.

Charles F. Rice grew to maturity on the home farm. Having obtained his elementary education in School No. 4, he was afterward a pupil in a select subscription school for a while. Subsequently he taught school in the winters for several years, spending the rest of each year at the carpenter's trade. In 1855 he established himself as a miller, having a

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saw-mill and a grist-mill on Mason's Brook, his present location. In grain grinding, log sawing, and the manufacturing of lumber he has built up a profitable business, one of the largest of the kind in this vicinity.

While a Republican in politics and true to the interests of his party, Mr. Rice has never been an aspirant to official honors. He is an active member of the Unitarian Congrega- tional church, in which he served several years as Deacon. He was married February 24, 1857, to Miss Maria Walsh, a daughter of Michael and Ciliscia Walsh, of Warren, Mass. His children are: Charles A. and Annie G. Annie is now the wife of Claude H. Laflin, of Brookfield. 1138943

NSON B. POLAND, who for the past thirty years has served efficiently as Road Commissioner of North Brookfield, Mass., and is now a member of the Board of Selectmen, was born in this town, September 20, 1835, a son of Deacon Barnet and Sarah (Foster) Poland. His paternal grandfather, Joseph Poland, was the first of the Poland family to locate in this section of Worcester County.

Deacon Barnet Poland, a lifelong resident of North Brookfield, was the owner of a com- fortable homestead farm, which he managed successfully in connection with his trade of a carpenter and contractor. He was a decided Republican in politics and an active member of the First Congregational Church, in which he was a Deacon many years. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Foster, was a native of Vermont, and was there bred and educated. Of their children five are now living, as follows: Rachel, wife of Luther Woodis, of North Brookfield; Luther F., of Worcester, Mass .; Anson B., the particular subject of this sketch; Abigail, wife of John Hibbard, of Worcester; and Phebe, who is the widow of the late Albert Knight and resides in Omaha, Neb.

Anson B. Poland in his boyhood and youth obtained his education in the district schools, and on his father's farm acquired a practical knowledge of the various branches of agricult-

ure, to which he has devoted his energies since attaining his majority. He has been actively interested in the welfare and prosper- ity of the town, and, in addition to serving as Road Commissioner for three decades, has been Constable for a quarter of a century, and in the spring of 1897 and again in 1898, the present year, was elected Selectman on the Republican ticket, which he uniformly sup- ports. Fraternally, he is a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the North Brookfield Grange, P. of H., of which he was treasurer a number of years. On November 24, 1857, Mr. Poland married Miss Hannah Maria Hill, daughter of Erastus Hill, of this town. They began their married life at the home of Mrs. Poland's father, where they have since resided continuously, the farm having come into their possession at the death of Mr. Hill. Mr. Poland has made various improvements on the place, and in the pursuit of general farming has met with success. The only child born to Mr. and Mrs. Poland, a son, Albert L., died May 10, 1860, aged three and one-half months. Mrs. Poland is an active worker in the temperance cause, of which she has always been a warm advocate, and is a member of the North Brookfield W. R. C., the local grange, and the Daughters of Rebekah of this town.

On the paternal side Mrs. Poland is of Eng- lish origin. The emigrant ancestor, John Hill, who was born in London, England, came to Massachusetts in old Colonial times, and settled in North Brookfield, where he died at the remarkable age of ninety-nine years. The line was continued through his son, Peter Hill,2 Thomas Hill,3 Kittredge Hill,4 to Erastus Hill, father of Mrs. Poland. Erastus Hill was a representative citizen, active and influential, and rendered valuable service to his fellow-townsmen as Selectman and Over- seer of the Poor, offices which he filled many terms. He was a man of honest integrity, respected in the community, and a stanch ad- herent of the Democratic party. He married Hannah Whittier, who was born in Charles- town, Mass., but passed the greater part of her early life in West Amesbury, now Merri- mac, Mass. Her father, Isaac Whittier, died of fever in the War of 1812. Only two of the

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children of Erastus and Hannah W. Hill are now living, namely: Mrs. Poland; and Ada- line, wife of Frank Hamilton, of Spencer, Mass.

AMES PRENDERGAST and his son, WILLIAM J. PRENDERGAST, are widely known as proprietors of the Mount Pleasant House in Holden, which is one of the leading summer hotels in Worcester County and is well patronized throughout the year.

Mount Pleasant House is beautifully situ- ated in the midst of charming scenery near Jefferson. It has an elevation of about one thousand feet above the sea, and commands a view of the village of Jefferson, Eagle Lake, and a broad expanse of hills and vales. Pub- lic accommodations were first furnished here in the summer of 1889, when ten guests were entertained. From this modest beginning the growth has been rapid and steady. Ex- cellent service is provided, and at any time during the heated season about two hundred guests may be found here. The roads in this vicinity are in good condition, and many beautiful spots are to be seen in driving.

The present house has been recently built. It is finished in hard pine, and is equipped with every modern convenience for the com- fort of its inmates. It has spacious parlors and hallways, and a dining-room that will seat one hundred and fifty guests. Its sleeping apartments are light and airy, freshly fur- nished, and in every way attractive. The plumbing of the house is perfect, and the commodious bath-rooms are freely supplied with both hot and cold water. Broad ve- randas, three hundred and twenty-five feet in length, extend along the front and side, and furnish a delightful promenade in every kind of weather. Extensive grounds surround the house; and the lawns and avenues are shaded by fine large elms, some of them over a hun- dred years old. Here, under the cool shade, hammocks and swings are hung; while, on the carefully levelled plots adjoining, lawn tennis, croquet, and other games are played. Boating and fishing are to be had in Eagle

Lake and at Maple Springs Reservoir. The house furnishes boats, also carriages and drivers at reasonable rates.

A dancing pavilion, seventy-three by thirty feet, bowling alleys, and rooms containing pool and billiard tables, are attached to the main house; and one of the very pleasant weekly events during the summer is the regu- lar Saturday night hop. The vegetables, milk, and cream, daily served in the hotel dining-room, are of the freshest and choicest to be had, and are all obtained from the farm which is run in connection with the hotel. This, the owners justly feel, is one of the strongest attractions of their house for those who desire the choicest of diet. In every re- spect the location is healthful, and even in the hottest weather a cooling breeze is gen- erally prevalent to refresh tired nerves. The hotel is kept open the whole year, and during the winter numerous sleighing parties are en- tertained. For these, hot suppers are pro- vided, cooked and served in first-class fashion. Mount Pleasant House is forty-six miles from Boston, fifty-three from Providence, and only nine miles from Worcester. Sixteen pas- senger trains daily go through Jefferson, con- necting with these cities. The house is sup- plied with a long-distance telephone, No. 916-5.

The host, James Prendergast, was born in Kilkenny County, Ireland, on April 3, 1828, his parents being Patrick and Margaret Pren- dergast. He came to America in the spring of 1849, and during the same year found his way to Holden, and began working as assist- ant on a farm. For his first eight months' work in America his wages were thirteen dol- lars a month. He next secured a position in the tannery of Mr. W. G. Warren in Holden, where he worked for seven years. At the end of this time he had saved a small amount of money, and was able to buy a small farm of seven acres, which is in sight of his present home. After farming there for seven years, he bought the estate, comprising about a hun- dred and twenty-five acres, upon which the Mount Pleasant House is now situated. Here he gave his attention to general farming until he started the hotel business.

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CHARLES A. DEWEY.

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He was married in 1852 to Joanna Flem- ming, who was born in Ireland in 1831. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Prendergast, namely: Thomas, who died at the age of thirty-two; William J .; and James M. Prendergast. The last named is now the Rev. Father Prendergast, of Mill- bury, this county. He was born in Holden on January 21, 1861, and was educated for the priesthood at Holy Cross College, Worcester.

William J. Prendergast was born in Holden on June 21, 1857, and received his education in the public schools of the town. His early life was devoted to agriculture; but, since his father started the hotel business, this son has devoted his energy to the work of developing and extending the business. Many of the features that make the Mount Pleasant House so attractive have been due to his suggestion. He has also been active in town affairs, and has served as Selectman three terms, being only twenty-nine years of age when first elected. He has also been Road Commis- sioner for the town, and was Postmaster dur- ing Mr. Cleveland's two administrations. He is a member of Holden Lodge, No. 201, A. O. U. W .; and of the Knights of Colum- bus at Worcester. In politics he is a Demo- crat. He is unmarried.

The elder Mr. Prendergast was formerly Superintendent of Roads, holding the office for five years. He is a member of the Cath- olic church at Holden, and has always been one of its most liberal supporters. In poli- tics he is a stanch Democrat.

J' UDGE CHARLES A. DEWEY, of Milford, was born December 29, 1830, in Northampton, Mass., son of Judge Charles Augustus Dewey. His grand- father, Daniel Dewey, also a lawyer of note and for many years a Judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, who was born and bred in Sheffield, Mass., afterward removed to Williamstown, where he was elected a mem- ber of Congress. Daniel married Maria Noble, of Williamstown.

Charles Augustus Dewey, Sr., was born March 13, 1793, in Williamstown, Mass.

After his admission to the bar he was District Attorney for a time, and later he served for thirty years as Judge of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. He married Caroline Clin- ton, daughter of General James and Mrs. Mary Gray Clinton and a sister of Governor De Witt Clinton, of New York. General Clinton was an officer in both the French and Indian War and the war of the Revolution. During the latter he served in New York, and was in command of the central division of the army at the battle of Yorktown. Of the eight children born to Judge Dewey, Sr., and his wife, three are living, namely: Charles A., the subject of this biography; Mary Clin- ton, the wife of Judge H. B. Staples, of Worcester; and Maria Noble, who resides in Worcester with Mrs. Staples. Both the Dewey and the Clinton families are descended from early settlers of Massachusetts. Thomas Dewey, the emigrant ancestor of the former, was made a freeman in Dorchester, May 14, 1634. Colonel Charles Clinton, the founder of the Clinton family in New England, was a direct descendant of William the Conqueror. He was born in Ireland, whence he came to Cape Cod very early in the seventeenth cen- tury, and from there removed to Orange County, New York.

Charles A. Dewey was fitted for college at Williston Seminary, and was subsequently graduated from Williams College with saluta- tory honors in the class of 1851. After read- ing law in the office of his brother, Francis H. Dewey, of Worcester, for a time, he took a year's course at the Harvard Law School. Thence he went to New York City, where in 1854 he was admitted to the bar. After studying and practising in New York for the ensuing two years, he went to the West, locat- ing in 1856 at Davenport, Ia., where he re- mained two years. In 1859 he came to Mil- ford, and during the first two years of his residence here was associated with Hamilton B. Staples, afterward District Attorney and Judge of the Superior Court. In 1861 he was made Trial Justice in Milford; and in 1864, when the Milford police court was established, he was appointed its Judge. He resigned this office in 1872, when the Third District Court

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of Southern Worcester was organized, and Governor William B. Washburn appointed him Judge thereof, a position which he has since held.

For twenty-five years Judge Dewey has been a trustee of the Milford Town Library and for much of the time the chairman of the board. Also, for seven years he has been a member of the Milford School Board and its chairman. In politics he is a stanch Repub- lican. He is a member of the Congregational church, in which he is an active and zealous worker. On March 12, 1867, he married Miss Marietta N. Thayer, a daughter of Alexander W. and Marietta (Dustin) Thayer. On the maternal side she is a descendant of Hannah Dustin, who in March, 1697, was car- ried off from her home in Haverhill, Mass., by the Indians, and subsequently escaped from captivity, returning to her family with the scalps of ten redskins whom she had tom- ahawked. Judge and Mrs. Dewey have one child, Maria Thayer, who, born August 8, 1872, married Dr. Charles H. Cole, a promi- nent young physician of Milford.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 4

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