Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 47

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 47

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is of a cheerful and kind disposition. With the memory of his early days are associated the thoughts of the spinning-wheel, weaving-loom, tallow candle, open fireplace, and flint-lock gun. At the age of eighty-three, he superin- tends the farm, and does all the marketing. He has voted at every State election since 1836.

ORATIO A. BROWN, buying agent of the stores of the Slater Woollen Company, of Webster, Mass., was born in the State of Rhode Island, on Escoheague Hill, in the town of Exeter, on January 3, 1847, son of Ambrose and Lydia (Green) Brown. His paternal grandfather, Seth Brown, who was a native of West Green- wich, R. I., married a Miss Bailey. His father, who was born in West Greenwich in 1806, and died on the 4th of February, 1897, was by occupation a farmer and later a con- tractor and builder. He carried on a large business, and was known all over the States of Rhode Island and Connecticut. Both Am- brose Brown and his wife were active in church work. She was the daughter of Amos and Amy Green. Her grandfather, the Rev. Stafford Green, and her great-grandfather, the Rev. Elisha Green, were clergymen of the Baptist church.

Horatio A. Brown was the only child born to his parents. He received an excellent education in the public schools of Plainfield, Conn., at Professor Walker's private school at Jewett City, Conn., Professor Aldrich's seminary at River Point, R. I., and at East Greenwich Seminary. At the age of twenty- one he became a clerk in the grocery store of James Fisher at Pawtuxet, R. I., where he remained for a year. His life since then has been spent in various places, and he has been interested in many different enterprises.

Going from Pawtuxet to Attawaugan, Conn., he first entered the employ of the Attawau- gan Manufacturing Company, and remained with them four years as foreman in a general merchandise store. He then went to Santa Fé, N. M., where for two years, in company with his uncle, Almon Green, he traded in wool, fur, and hides. Returning then to Con-

necticut, he engaged as clerk in the grocery store of E. B. Burlingame & Co., of Daniel- sonville, and remained with them until the firm was dissolved. Then, in company with Henry Tillinghast, one of the retiring part- ners, he opened a store for the sale of general merchandise at Branford, Conn., under the firm name of Tillinghast & Brown. Upon the death of Mr. Tillinghast in 1878 and the consequent breaking up of the partnership, he became resident agent at Sutton, Mass., for the B. B. & R. Knight Company, exten- sive cotton manufacturers, with their head- quarters at Providence, R.I. He remained in Sutton four years, rendering valuable ser- vice to the company by which he was em- ployed, and gaining a warm place in the es- teem of the people of Sutton. Being offered a position with Whitford, Aldrich & Co., wholesale grocers of Providence, R. I., as travelling salesman, he saw in that a better opportunity, and resigned his position at Sut- ton. After a year spent on the road he en- tered the employ of Arnold, Maine & Co., of Providence, and organized a branch store for them at Pawtucket and another at Worcester. In 1892 he came to Webster, and assumed his present position.

In politics Mr. Brown is a Republican. Fraternally, he is a member of various or- ganizations, notably of the following: Moriah Lodge, No. 15, F. & A. M., at Danielson- ville, Conn .; Warren Chapter, R. A. M., at Killingly; and Montgomery Council, R. & S. M., and Holy Sepulchre Commandery, K. T., at Pawtucket, R. I., Providence Consis- tory ; and Good Samaritan Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Pawtucket. He is a Past Commander of the Commandery to which he belongs. Mr. Brown is a constant attendant of the Baptist church in Webster, and is active in church and Sunday-school work; but his church membership is in the First Baptist Church of Pawtucket. While at Attawaugan he organ- ized the first Baptist Sunday-school there, and he has organized Sunday-schools in other places.

On October 20, 1869, Mr. Brown was united in marriage with Emily, daughter of John and Susan (Fenner) Smith, of Killingly,

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Conn. One child, a daughter, Minda, was born of this union on August 29, 1873. She was educated in the Providence schools, and subsequently married William A. Newell, of Pawtucket, R. I. She is the mother of one little daughter, Minda, who was born on Janu- ary 20, 1895.

Mr. Brown has been active in politics, as well as in business and religious life. While in Sutton he was on the School Board, and was chairman of the Board of Assessors for some years. In Pawtucket, also, he was on the School Board, and was a member of the Town Committee. Under President Arthur's ad- ministration he was appointed Postmaster of Manchaug, and he was reappointed by Presi- dent Hayes. When Governor Robinson was the chief executive officer of this State, Mr. Brown was appointed Justice of the Peace to issue criminal warrants and take bail. He is highly respected in this town, and wields a large amount of influence.

ENRY L. PARKMAN, a leading agriculturist of North Brookfield, formerly Assessor of the town, was born here, June 13, 1840, son of Ebenezer and Harriet (Robinson) Parkman. His paternal grandfather, also named Eben- ezer, a tailor by trade, fought for Ameri- can independence in the war of the Revolu- tion. Ebenezer (second), father of Henry L. Parkman, was born in North Brookfield, and spent the greater part of his life here engaged in farming. He died several years ago. His wife, Harriet, who was a native of Oakham, Mass., bore him four children, all of whom survive, namely : Charles; Mary, wife of Tim- othy Keefe; Henry L. ; and Alfred D.

Henry L. Parkman grew to manhood in his native town. He attended the district school of his neighborhood during his early years, and when older was sent to a private school in the town. Adopting farming as his vocation, he has since been quite successful. His pres- ent farm, which is well cultivated, consists of one hundred and twenty-five acres. Besides raising large crops of vegetables, he does con- siderable dairying.

Mr. Parkman married Mary E. Bush, a native of Vermont and daughter of the late Eli Bush, of North Brookfield. Four children have been born of this union, of whom three are living ; namely, William H., George G., and Fred T. The only daughter, Hattie L., is deceased. In politics Mr. Parkman is a stanch Republican. He served the town for one term as Assessor, and under a former law was for several years Highway Surveyor. He is a member of the Congregational church at North Brookfield, and takes an active part in the work of the society. Fraternally, he be- longs to the grange, in which he has held office, and also to the Patrons of Husbandry. He ranks among the most successful and pro- gressive agriculturists of North Brookfield.

AMES M. BRONSON, the popular librarian of the Leominster Public Li- brary, son of the Rev. Asa and Ma- rinda (Jennings) Bronson, was born in New Bedford, Mass., December 25, 1833. His grandfather, Albert Bronson, served in the war of independence. The Rev. Asa Bronson began preaching when twenty years of age, and continued in the ministry until his death at the age of sixty-eight years. For twenty years he was settled over the Baptist church at Fall River. Four of his sons be- came clergymen. Another son, George W. Bronson, who has been a teacher for forty-five years, is the master of one of the Fall River grammar schools.

Having been taken to Fall River when an infant of six months, James M. Bronson re- sided there until he was twenty-four years of age. In 1861 he enlisted in Company D of the Second Rhode Island Regiment, and sub- sequently served for fourteen months in the Civil War. Since 1864 he has been the libra- rian of the public library of Leominster. At that time the library had but thirty-five hun- dred volumes : it now contains about nineteen thousand. The duties incident to this posi- tion demand all Mr. Bronson's time. In for- mer years he was Assistant Postmaster for two years, and had also charge of the town hall and of the church. For fifteen years he

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has been the secretary and treasurer of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Association, of Leominster; for eight or ten years the treas- urer of the Baptist church and member of its Executive Board; for fourteen or fifteen years Special Policeman. He is now a member of the Congregational church. In politics he is a strong Republican.

Mr. Bronson was married in 1856 to Pris- cilla Colburn, whose father was the Postmaster of Leominster for forty years. Mrs. Priscilla Bronson died in 1890; and on December 25 of the following year Mr. Bronson married her cousin, Clarissa Elizabeth Eaton. Mr. Bron- son has no children.

ILLIAM WHITTEMORE, an es- teemed resident of Sturbridge, is a native of this town, born February 10, 1851, son of Dwight and Adelaide (Tourttlelotte) Whittemore. Dwight Whitte- more, the father, was also a native of Stur- bridge, born February 17, 1807, and spent his life in this town. By occupation a farmer, his homestead included about two hundred and fifty acres of land. He was also engaged in the lumber business, having a saw-mill on his farm. He was very energetic and a successful business man. In politics he was a Democrat and in his religious views liberal. He died in Sturbridge, January 2, 1881. His wife, Adelaide, was born in 1809, and died in 1854. Five children were born of their union --- namely, Dwight T., Stanley, Austin, James, and William, of whom but William and James are now living.

William Whittemore, the youngest child of his parents, after receiving his education, went to work as clerk in a general store in Southbridge, Mass. He subsequently ob- tained employment on a farm. In 1878 he bought his first property, a farm of fifty acres. Fourteen years later he purchased his present homestead, a farm of ninety acres, located in one of the pleasantest parts of the town of Sturbridge. Mr. Whittemore has always taken great interest in town affairs, and has served most acceptably in the offices of Select- man, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. In

1894 he was a trustee of the Hyde Fund, a gift of twenty thousand dollars to the town of Sturbridge for the establishment and mainte- nance of a public library. He also took a very active part in procuring the charter for the electric road, which met with great oppo- sition from many of the older residents of the town. In political affiliation he is a Demo- crat.

On May 1, 1879, Mr. Whittemore was united in marriage with Jennie E. Barnes, who was born in Sturbridge, April 12, 1850, daughter of George Nelson and Elvira (Cham- berlain) Barnes. Both her parents were na- tives of Grafton. Mr. and Mrs. Whittemore have five children, who were born as follows : Alice E., June 7, 1880; Ethel E., July 3, 1883; William, Jr., January 1, 1886; Dwight N., June 12, 1888; and Jennie F., March 18, 1894.

ON. GEORGE FRISBIE HOAR, LL. D., lawyer, statesman, orator, is

a lineal descendant of Charles

Hoare,'. sometime Sheriff of the city of Gloucester, England, who died in 1638, and whose widow, Joanna, with five children - John, Daniel, Joanna, Leonard, and Margerie - came to this country a year or two later, his eldest son, Thomas, remaining in England. Mrs. Joanna Hoare died at Braintree, Mass., in 1661. Her son Daniel returned to England. Leonard Hoar became president of Harvard College. He had one daughter who died in infancy and one who married the Rev. Thomas Cotton and settled in England. Margerie married the Rev. Henry Flint, and Joanna married Edmund Quincy. Descendants of the two daughters and of the second son, John, 2 are numerous. From John Hoar,2 who settled in Concord in 1660, the line of descent to Senator Hoar, of Worcester, is as follows: Daniel Hoar, 3 who married Mary Stratton; Lieutenant Daniel, 4 who mar- ried Sarah Jones; John,5 whose second wife was Elizabeth Coolidge; Hon. Samuel,6 born in 1743, an officer of the Revolution, who married Susanna Peirce, daughter of Colonel Abijah Peirce, of Lincoln, and resided in that

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town; the Hon. Samuel,7 born in Lincoln, Mass., in 1788, who married Sarah, daughter of Roger Sherman, and was the father of George Frisbie Hoar.

The Hoars of Middlesex County have long been conspicuous in public life. Samuel Hoar, of Lincoln, who was a Lieutenant in 1775 and later a Captain of militia, served as Town Clerk, as Representative to the General Court, and for two years as State Senator. His son, the Hon. Samuel Hoar, LL.D., of Concord, a graduate of Harvard College, class of 1802, an eminent lawyer for thirty years in practice, was State Senator two years and member of Congress from December, 1835, to March 3, 1837. He was a Federalist in poli- tics and afterward a Whig. In his later years he devoted himself to educational and philanthropic work. So exemplary was he in character and conduct that Starr King said of him, "He lived all the beatitudes daily." He died on November 2, 1856. He was sur- vived by his wife, Sarah Sherman Hoar, and five children -Elizabeth, Ebenezer Rockwood, Sarah Sherman, Edward Sherman, and George Frisbie - two of the sons having been named for his college classmates. Mrs. Hoar died August 30, 1866. She was the youngest child of Roger Sherman, signer of the Decla- ration of Independence, by his second wife, Rebecca Prescott. Her father was a son of William, grandson of Joseph, and great-grand- son of Captain John Sherman, of Watertown, 1634, who was steward of Harvard College in 1660. Mehitable Sherman, sister of Mrs. Hoar, married Jeremiah Evarts, and was the mother of William M. Evarts, Secretary of State during the administration of President Hayes. Rebecca Sherman, another sister, married Judge Simeon Baldwin, and was the mother of Governor and Senator Roger S. Baldwin, of Connecticut.

George Frisbie Hoar was born in Concord, Mass., August 29, 1826. He was educated at the Concord Academy, Harvard College, class of 1846, and Harvard Law School. His political career began in 1852, when he served as a Representative in the State legislature. In 1857 he was a State Senator. He has been in Congress continuously since March, 1869,

eight years as a member of the lower house, and since March, 1877, as Senator. He served as a delegate to the Republican Na- tional Convention in 1876, 1880, and 1884, and was a member of the Electoral Commis- sion which decided the election of President Hayes. To the eminent satisfaction of his constituents, who feel that his wise counsel and patriotic services were never more needed in Washington than at the present juncture, Senator Hoar has declined the appointment recently proffered him by President Mckinley of Ambassador to Great Britain.

Mr. Hoar was married in 1853 to Mary L. Spurr, of Worcester. She died, leaving two children - a son, Rockwood; and a daughter, Mary. He was again married in 1862 to Ruth A. Miller, of Worcester.

A Republican from principle, high-minded, conscientious, strong with the courage of his convictions, and using his influence to hold the party together and to high issues, he has yet been no mere party servant: he has not failed on occasion to reprove it for shortcom- ings. A supporter of educational, religious, and other elevating institutions, and an advo- cate of woman's suffrage, he has served as overseer of Harvard College and as regent of the Smithsonian Institution, as trustee of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology, president of the American Antiquarian Society, and presi- dent of the American Unitarian Association. He is a member of the Massachusetts Histori- cal and of the New England Historic Genea- logical Societies. A close and loving stu- dent of American history, especially, we may say, of New England history, with a taste and patience even for genealogical detail (vide his monograph on President Garfield's New Eng- land ancestry, and a paper entitled "Will of Charles Hoare, of Gloucester," in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. xlv., and one on the Hon. Samuel Hoar, LL. D., in vol. iii. of the Memorial Biog- raphies), he is especially happy in his efforts as a speaker on great historic anniversaries. Of these memorable utterances we inay men- tion two, his oration at Plymouth on Fore- fathers' Day, December 21, 1895, with its scholarly analysis and differentiation of Pil-

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grim and Puritan, and his address, a biog- raphy and an appreciation, at the unveiling of the tablet in honor of General Rufus Put- nam a few weeks since, on September 17, 1898, at Rutland, Mass., both destined, we trust, to be preserved in print and covers.

Paragraphs and sentences from his pen lend themselves easily to quotation. For example : "The past is not secure unless it be followed by a worthy future. The Pilgrim will fail unless his posterity be fit to keep his fame." " The freest people must submit to the sever- est and most strenuous sense of obligation, if it would lift itself to its own ideals." "Wherever the son of the Pilgrim goes, he will carry with him what the Pilgrim brought from Leyden - the love of liberty, reverence for law, trust in God, a living God, belief in a personal immortality, the voice of con- science in the soul, a heart open to the new truth which ever breaketh from the bosom of the Word. His inherited instincts for the building of states will be as sure as that of the bee for building her cell or the eagle his nest.'

"I have, in my time, known many men famous in war, in statesmanship, in science, in the professions and in business. If I were .asked to declare the secret of their success, I should attribute it, in general, not to any superiority of natural genius, but to the use they made in youth, after the ordinary day's work was over, of the hours which other men throw away or devote to idleness or rest."

"In my opinion the resolutions of Congress demanding the evacuation of Cuba by Spain, which brought on the war, were the result, not of the destruction of the 'Maine,' but of Senator Proctor's report that half a million of people were being starved to death at our very doors.

"As I said in the Senate, I think that this is the most honorable war in all history, ex- cept wars which people have undertaken in defence of their own liberty. .. . As our Rev- olutionary War resulted in great benefit to England, as the Franco-Prussian War resulted in great benefit to France, as the Civil War was a great benefit to the South, so I believe the Spanish people will awake from their long

sloth of centuries, and will learn that true glory and greatness are to be found, not in sitting with folded hands and levying tribute from their subjects, but in honest industry, and in developing her own resources, and in studying and learning the spirit of the age."

OAH WADSWORTH, a prominent merchant of Northboro, was born in Westboro, this county, November .27, 1846. He is a son of John and Sarah (Bowen) Wadsworth. The family, which is an old one, was founded by Christo- pher Wadsworth. John Wadsworth was en- gaged in shoe manufacturing, and also kept a grocery store in Westboro until 1856 He then bought a small country store in North- boro, and with a partner was engaged in busi- ness successively under the firm names of Wadsworth & Graves and Wadsworth & Mon- tague. In politics he was an active Demo- crat. He died in the winter of 1884, aged seventy-one. Of his four children, three died young.

Noah Wadsworth was educated in the North- boro schools. He went to work in his father's store at the age of sixteen; and in 1863, by purchasing Mr. Montague's interest, he be- came a member of the firm founded by his father. In 1875 he became sole proprietor of the business, which has prospered and in- creased under his direction. It occupies one entire floor, and the basement of a block one hundred and twenty-five feet long, and two ample storehouses, and employs five clerks. A very large stock of goods is carried. Mr. Wadsworth is a trustee of the Gale Fund and the Gassett Fund, and he has been for thirteen years a director of the Northboro National Bank.

In 1877 Mr. Wadsworth was married to Ar- villa W. L. Page, of Northboro, who died in 1882, leaving one son, William Lorenzo Wadsworth. He subsequently married Myra A. Barney, of Fairhaven, Mass., who has had one son, Ralph Emerson Wadsworth. Ap- pointed Postmaster by President Cleveland on February 27, 1886, Mr. Wadsworth served for four years in that capacity. He has served for

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three years on the Northboro Board of Select- men, and he has taken an active part in town affairs as a member of various committees. He is a Knight Templar; a member of Hud- son Lodge, F. and A. M. ; of Houghton Chap- ter, R. A. M., of Marlboro; and of Trinity Commandery, of Hudson. In religious belief he is a Unitarian.

R EV. CHARLES H. PEIRCE, who was serving as pastor of the Congre- gational church in Millbury at the time of his death, October 5, 1865, was born in Peru, Berkshire County, Mass., November 29, 1822. He was one of the eleven children of Henry and Minerva (Cush- man) Peirce.

His mother was a direct descendant of Mary Allerton, who with her parents, Isaac and Mary (Norris) Allerton, were passengers on the "Mayflower " in 1620. Mary Allerton married Elder Thomas Cushman, and died in 1699, aged eighty-three years, having the dis- tinction of being the last survivor of the little band of Pilgrims that came over in the "May- flower.

Charles H. Peirce was an ambitious student from his early boyhood. While still pursuing his own studies he taught in a select school at New Braintree for two years. After receiv- ing his diploma at Oberlin College he entered the Andover Theological Seminary, at which he was graduated in 1850. He at once ac- cepted a call to the Congregational church at West Andover, where he remained until 1855. In that year he went to Illinois, and from that time until 1861 preached in Kewanee and other towns in that locality. Returning then to Massachusetts, he supplied the pulpit of the Congregational church in Millbury for a time, and gave such satisfaction to its members that he was urged to become its pastor, and, being regularly settled, held the pastorate until his death, as previously mentioned. A man of exemplary character, conscientious, and true to his highest convictions, and a zealous worker in his Master's cause, he was beloved by his parishioners and respected and esteemed by his fellow-citizens,

On October 29, 1850, Mr. Peirce married Miss Mary Richardson Bigelow, of New Braintree, a grand-daughter of General Sam- uel Lee, of Barre. They had four children, of whom the eldest, Anna Lee Peirce, survives. Mrs. Peirce died January 1, 1861.

On May 21, 1863, Mr. Peirce married for his second wife Elizabeth Waters Goffe, a daughter of Ebenezer W. and Hannah P. (French) Goffe and a grand-daughter of the Rev. Joseph and Elizabeth (Waters) Goffe. Her paternal grandfather was a distinguished Congregational minister, who settled in Mill - bury (which at that time was known as the North Parish, Sutton), September 5, 1794, and for thirty-six consecutive years filled the pulpit of this church. Mrs. Peirce's mother died in December, 1847. Her father, who survived his wife many years, passed away January 27, 1872. They had two daughters : Mrs. Peirce and her sister, Hannah French Goffe, who with the daughter, Anna L., re- side together in Millbury. Both are ladies of culture and refinement, and acquired their education at Mount Holyoke Seminary, from which Mrs. Peirce was graduated in 1855.

ON. HENRY CLAY HALL, of Millbury, who is now living retired from active business pursuits, was born in Dutchess County, New York, a son of Dr. Asa and Catharene (Van der Berg) Hall. He is of English descent, his immigrant ancestor, John Hall, having come from England to Boston in 1637. In 1639 John Hall removed to Connecticut, locating first in New Haven; but a short time after he settled in Wallingford, which was the home of his descendants for several genera- tions. Aaron Hall, the paternal grandfather of Henry C., was a prosperous farmer of Wallingford, and, as a soldier in the Revolu- tionary army from 1777 until 1781, served in the New Jersey campaign. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Cook, five sons and six daughters were born, all of whom married and reared families. Dr. Asa Hall was a surgeon in the United States army, and during the latter part of the War of 1812

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was stationed at Fort Griswold, Conn. He subsequently located in Dutchess County, New York, as a practising physician, and lived there until his demise, which occurred in Poughkeepsie in 1877, at the age of eighty- five years. His wife, Catherine Van der Berg Hall, died in 1880, at the age of eighty-eight years. They had four children, who attained maturity.

Henry C. Hall after leaving school went to Mexico as clerk for a commercial firm, a capacity in which he was there employed nine years, during which time occurred the Mexi- can War. On returning to New York he lo- cated in Fishkill, where he was engaged in commercial business until 1853, when he went to Cuba in the interests of the firm with which he was connected. At the end of nine years he was appointed consul at Matanzas, and after serving eleven consecutive years re- ceived the appointment of Consul general at Havana, where he remained nine years. In 1882 Mr. Hall was appointed Minister to Cen- tral America, a position which he retained until 1889. He then accepted a position in the Nicaragua Canal Company, which he held three years, since which time he has made his home in Millbury. On March 27, 1856, Mr. Hall married Leila Echeverria, a native of Cuba.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 47

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