Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 48

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 48

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TILLMAN HAYNES, one of the most prominent attorneys of Fitch- burg and a veteran law practitioner of Worcester County, was born in Townsend, Mass., April 17, 1833. His par- ents were Samuel and Eliza (Spaulding) Haynes. He is a direct descendant in the ninth generation of Walter Haynes, who came from England to Massachusetts in 1638, and a grandson of Thaddeus Spaulding, who served in the Revolutionary War. After a prelim- inary training in the common schools of his native town, he attended Leicester Academy and subsequently the Normal School at Lan- caster and Kimball Union Academy at Meri- den, N.H., where he graduated in 1859. He took a high rank in his class, excelling partic- ularly in mathematics. During the years of

preparatory study he taught advanced village schools at several places in order to obtain funds for the continuance of his education, and at times resorted to manual labor. He was for a time an assistant teacher at Apple- ton Academy, New Ipswich, N. H., and at the same time a student with E. T. Quimby, afterward professor of mathematics at Dart- mouth College.

In 1859 Mr. Haynes entered the law office of Bonney & Marshall at Lowell as a law stu- dent, and on the 19th of June, 1861, was ad- mitted to the bar. He soon opened an office in Ashburnham, but in 1863 returned to Townsend, where he practised his ·profession till 1868, when he opened an office in Fitch- burg. Here he has since been steadily en- gaged in practice, retaining many of the same clients through the entire period. While he has done all kinds of law business, his prac- tice has consisted largely of insolvency cases, in which he is recognized as one of the most expert practitioners in the county. By honest dealing and rare fidelity to those who intrust their affairs to him, he has attained a high standing in his profession.

Mr. Haynes has always taken an interest in the highest welfare of the community, and especially in educational matters. He was chosen a member of the School Board of his native town when twenty-one years of age, and was several times re-elected. Since his re- moval to Fitchburg he has served nine years on the School Board. In Townsend he was frequently Moderator of town meetings, and he served also as a member of the Board of Selectmen and as Overseer of the Poor. In politics he has always been an adherent of the Republican party, and has frequently been chairman of caucuses and conventions. Mr. Haynes is a loyal Congregationalist, and was active among the founders of the Rollstone Congregational Church in Fitchburg. He was on the Provisional Board of Managers, and prepared and obtained the charter of the society. He has also been active in the Fitchburg Congregational Club.

October 8, 1863, he was married to Miss Harriet M. Kimball, of Temple, N.H. They have five children. The eldest, John Haynes,

STILLMAN HAYNES.

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Ph.D., is a graduate of Johns Hopkins Uni- versity and instructor in history, economics, and civics in the Free Academy, Norwich, Conn. The Rev. Charles S. Haynes, the sec- ond son, is pastor of the Congregational church at Lancaster, Mass. The third child, Frances E., is librarian of the Heywood Li- brary, Gardner, Mass. Harriet T., the sec- ond daughter, is one of the teachers in the Pepperell (Mass.) High School. The young- est child, William K., is a pupil in the Fitchburg High School.

EORGE BRIMMER INCHES, of Edgewood, Grafton, Mass., is a Bos- tonian by birth, breeding, and kin- ship, having an extensive connection in the Back Bay district of that city and numbering among his progenitors some of the leading Boston merchants of the eighteenth century. An American of the fifth generation, he is sprung from mingled Scottish, French, Ger- man, and English ancestry. On the pater- nal side the family record begins with Hen- derson Inches, of Scotland, who in 1771 mar- ried Elizabeth Brimmer in Boston. Her father, Martin Brimmer, was a native of Ger- many, born in 1697; and her mother, Susanna, was a daughter of Andrew Sigourney, Jr., who came from France with his father, An- drew Sigourney, Sr., a Huguenot, somewhat more than two hundred years ago. Hender- son Inches, Jr., son of the first Henderson, married his cousin, Susan Brimmer, a daugh- ter of Martin Brimmer, Jr., and became the father of Henderson, Charles, Herman Brim- mer, and Martin Brimmer Inches. Henderson Inches (third) was graduated at Harvard in 1792.

Martin Brimmer Inches, the father of Mr. George Brimmer, born in Boston in 1821, died in that city, April 28, 1893. He was edu- cated at the Boston Latin School, was a civil engineer by profession, and was promi- nently engaged in the building of the Boston & Albany Railroad and in the construction of the locks at Lowell, Mass. A man of lit- erary tastes and cultivation, he was intimate with the Rev. Edward Everett Hale and

other liberal-minded public-spirited citizens. He married a daughter of the Rev. John Chester, D. D., who was for many years the pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church at Albany, N. Y., and one of the leading Pres- byterian divines in the State. Lafayette was taken to hear him preach on his visit to that city. His wife was before marriage Re- becca Ralston, of Philadelphia. Dr. Chester was a son of Colonel John Chester and a lin- eal descendant of Leonard Chester, who came from England to Watertown, Mass., in 1633, and four years later settled at Wethersfield, Conn., where he died in 1648. Martin B. Inches was survived by his two sons.

George Brimmer Inches acquired his edu- cation in private schools. He made his home in Boston till 1893, when he came to Grafton, having bought an extensive estate on the famous old Brigham Hill, in the northern part of the town, one of the most beautiful spots to be found in the county. The commodious old farmhouse, remodelled into a stately mansion, the graded grounds, showing the skill and tire- less care of the landscape gardener, the spa- cious stables, sumptuously appointed, indicate the abode of affluence and taste. Although but recently established as a stock farm, Edge- wood already enjoys a reputation for blooded stock, having from fifty to sixty fine-gaited, pure-blooded horses, a stud probably unsur- passed as a whole in New England. In Edge- wood stalls are to be found such noted animals as Pedlar, with a record of 2. 181/2, and Elect- wood, half-brother of Arion, which sold for one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. Mr. Inches, although not long a resident of Grafton, takes a genuine interest in the gen- eral welfare and improvement of the town, especially in the matter of roads. He mar- ried Miss Anne Ralston Hasbrouck, of Kings- ton, N. Y., a member of an old Knickerbocker family. On the maternal side Mrs. Inches is a grand-daughter of the Hon. Abram Bruyn Hasbrouck, a former president of Rutgers College. Like her husband, she is a descend- ant of Colonel John Chester.

Mr. Inches is a member of the Sons of the Revolution, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, having been found eligible, first, as great-

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grandson of Henderson Inches, member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1775 and of the Massachusetts General Court in 1776; second, as great-grandson of Colonel John Chester, who was Captain of a company of minute-men called out by the Lexington alarm, April 19, 1775, Captain in Colonel Spencer's regiment at Bunker Hill, Major in Colonel Wolcott's regiment at the siege of Boston in 1776, Colonel Sixth Battalion, Wadsworth Brigade, in the New York and New Jersey campaigns, and a member of the Connecticut Society of the Cincinnati; third, as great-grandson of Major Martin Brimmer, Aide-de-camp to Major-general John Hancock in 1780; fourth, as great-great-grandson of ; Matthew Clarkson, auditor of accounts of the Continental army, 1775-76, and Marshal of Admiralty for Pennsylvania; fifth, as great- great-grandson of Major-general Jabez Hunt- ington, member of the Connecticut Assembly 1775-77, member of the Connecticut Commit- tee of Safety, second Major-general Connecti- cut militia 1776, and First Major-general 1777-79. Mr. Inches is a member of the Somerset Club, the Country Club, the Boston Athletic Association, and the Union Club, Boston. His religious affiliations are Episco- ·palian.

PLUMMER ADAMS, a leading farmer and a prominent resident of Northbridge, was born July 16, 1848, on the home- stead cleared by his great-grandfather, son of Moses and Elizabeth Harriet (Wood) Adams. The family genealogy has been care- fully kept ; and accurate statistics, dating back through eleven generations, are in the posses- sion of its present representatives. The first ancestor here was James Adams, the great- grandfather just referred to, who was also the first settler within the limits of the town. While he was trying to make a clearing and build some sort of shelter for himself, he went regularly on Saturday nights for his weekly provisions to George Hill in Grafton, return- ing to his work on Monday morning. For two years after erecting his rude log cabin, his only companions were the birds and beasts and

the creeping things that were everywhere about in the woods. It is related that, when the wolves became over-bold and disturbed his sleep with their howlings outside his door, it was his custom to frighten them away by rais- ing the end of a slab in his chamber floor, and allowing it to spring back into place with a sharp sound like the report of a gun. After a time his brother joined him; and both men eventually married, and built houses at Adams Corner, where they reared families. James's house was on the site of the present residence of Christopher Adams, near the "Corner."

Of the children of James Adams, Israel Adams, grandfather of Plummer Adams, suc- ceeded to the paternal estate, and resided thereon throughout his life. He was a very prosperous and successful farmer and lumber dealer, and a devout member of the Orthodox church at Northbridge Centre. The maiden name of his wife, who came from Sutton, was Joanna Dodge. Of their six children, Moses, above named, took the home farm. He car- ried on extensive farming and stock-raising, shipping large quantities of beef and pork to the Providence and Boston markets. Like his father, he was a liberal supporter of the Ortho- dox church. He was identified with the Re- publican party from its infancy. At his death he was seventy-nine years old. His wife, who died at the age of eighty-two, was a sister of Perry Wood, of Mendon. Of the six chil- dren born to them, three are living : I. Plum- mer Adams; Perry Adams, of Upton; and Albert Adams, of Grafton.

I. Plummer Adams was educated in the public schools of Northbridge and at Barret Academy, Vt. At the age of twenty years he purchased the homestead where he has since been engaged in agriculture. His success, the product of his energy, industry, and thrift, is well attested by the broad and well-culti- vated fields and the finely equipped barns and outbuildings on his estate. He has rebuilt the house, erected new barns, and from time to time purchased additional areas of land. Not only is his farm one of the best cultivated in the township, but one of the largest. He keeps a herd of forty or fifty cows, and devotes considerable time to market gardening. He

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has also transacted a large amount of lumber business. In the winter of 1896-97 he cut some seven hundred cords of wood.

Mr. Adams has served the town ten years as Selectman, thirteen years as Assessor, and in other public offices. In politics he is al- ways stanchly Republican. He married Emma Rixford, of Northbridge, and is the father of four children. The latter are: Samuel, who was educated in the academy at Worcester and at Hinman's Business College; Austin and Hattie, who are now students in Hinman's Business College; and Lucy, who is yet in the public schools.

EORGE BAYLIS BLAKE, than whom, probably, there is no resident of Milford better known or more highly esteemed, was born in Stoughton, Mass., February 28, 1823, son of Nathaniel and Clarissa (Fisher) Blake. The family, which is of English origin, is believed to have been connected with that of the famous Admiral Robert Blake, who in 1652 defeated the celebrated Dutch admiral, Van Tromp, and contributed much toward making England the mistress of the sea. The first American ancestor was one of three brothers who emi- grated together about the year 1700, one set- tling in New Hampshire and another in Con- necticut. The other brother, from whom George B. directly descends, located in Dor- chester, Mass. The great-grandfather of George B. was Nathaniel Blake, a noted law- yer of his day, who served as Attorney-General in the Colonial period.

Nathaniel Blake, the father, established the stage line from Bridgewater, and afterward conducted it as the proprietor for forty years. At the same time he was the agent for all the passenger and mail lines to Cape Cod and Providence, R.I. Among several documents relating to his business transactions, preserved by his grandson, William T. Blake, is a gov- ernment contract certifying that on October 25, 1828, an agreement was entered into be- tween Nathaniel Blake, of Boston, and the Postmaster-General of the United States, wherein said Nathaniel agrees to carry, or

cause to be carried, thrice a week, the United States mail from Boston by Milton, Randolph, East Stoughton, North and West Bridgewater, to South Bridgewater and back, twenty-eight miles, in stages, at a rate of one hundred dollars for every quarter of a year during the continuance of that contract.

George Baylis Blake attended the academies in Attleboro, Bridgewater, and Middleboro. Subsequently, when given his choice between a college education or a trade, he selected the latter, and was apprenticed to a shoemaker. Later he was appointed confidential secretary to Lincoln Draper, the iron founder of Easton, where he resided for seven years. There, having been the president of a local debating society, he obtained a good knowledge of par - liamentary rules and procedure, and was thrown into association with such men as Joel Talbot, Oliver Howard, Oliver and Oakes Ames, and others. From Easton he went to Mansfield, Mass., where for the succeeding two years he followed the shoemaker's trade. Going from there to Stoughton, he resided in that town after the death of his parents. Coming to Milford in 1861, he, C. V. Quig- gle, and Moses Walker manufactured boots for the next eight years, making a specialty of supplying the California trade and having a large business. Afterward serious reverses caused him to withdraw from business on his own account, and since 1870 he has occupied responsible positions as superintendent or manager in various factories. He was mainly instrumental in causing the town to raise the sum of twenty-two thousand dollars as an in- ducement for the Temple Company to locate in Milford, and he was afterward in the em- ploy of that concern until 1894. Since then he has held the position of inspector for the Draper Company at Hopedale.

In politics Mr. Blake is a Republican, and has supported that party since its formation. Upon reaching his majority he became identi- fied with public affairs, presiding over town meetings in Easton and Stoughton. At the beginning of the Rebellion he immediately threw his whole soul into the patriotic work of raising money and troops to defend the Union. Having settled in Milford, he served with

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much ability there as a member of the Town Committee, and was for one year a member of the Board of Selectmen. When unanimously re- elected to the latter body he declined to serve further. His first term as Moderator gave such universal satisfaction as to cause his re-election continuously for many years. He has presided at fifty-seven town meetings and at many political conventions, displaying on various occasions remarkable address in handling complicated questions. He was a Representative to the legislature during the sessions of 1872 and 1873. It is worthy of note that, when he was elected thereto, the town was Democratic, and that his prede- cessor and successor in the legislature were both Democrats. At his first election he re- ceived a majority of fifty, and he was re- elected by a majority of three hundred and seventeen votes. He introduced and suc- ceeded in obtaining the passage of the resolu- tion to remove the old cemetery from the cen- tre of the town, thereby making possible the erection of Memorial Hall. He also rendered valuable services as librarian of the public library for many years.

In Mansfield on December 18, 1844, Mr. Blake was united in marriage with Harriet C. Quiggle, daughter of Friend and Catherine Reed (Lawton) Quiggle. The children of this union are: Nathaniel Friend, Edith Louise, and William Tilden. Nathaniel Friend Blake, born in Stoughton, October 29, 1846, married Laura Josephine Burr, of Franklin, and has one daughter, Ethelwyn. He is a book-keeper, and for the past twenty- nine years, having succeeded his father, he has been librarian of the Milford public li- brary. Edith Louise, born in Stoughton, August 14, 1853, became the wife of Moses G. Billings, the editor and proprietor of the Milford Gasette, and has one son, George, who is a student at Harvard University. William Tilden Blake, born September 1, 1855, re- sides in Dorchester, and for the past twenty- five years has been in the service of the Bos- ton & Albany Railroad Company, being at present conductor of a passenger train run- ning from Boston to Springfield. He married Frances Louise Bent, and has one son, Carl.

George B. Blake is, without a doubt, the old- est Mason in this vicinity, having joined King David Lodge, Stoughton, in 1845. He is a Past High Priest of Stoughton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and a member of Milford Com- mandery, Knights Templar.

ATHANIEL E. TAFT, of Oxford, an enterprising manufacturer and a vet- eran of the Civil War, was born in Mendon, Mass., December 21, 1841, son of Allen and Sylvia (Allen) Taft. His education was acquired in the public schools of Blackstone, Mass. Learning the shoemaker's trade in Sutton, he followed it until 1861, when he enlisted as a private in the Twenty-fifth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, for service in the Rebellion. He

was honorably discharged on account of dis- ability some six months prior to the close of the war, and spent the succeeding year in en- deavoring to recuperate his health. When able to resume work he found employment as a wool sorter in Rochdale; but some time later he went to Worcester, where he engaged in the woolen waste and junk business in com- pany with Edward Thayer. Mr. Thayer dying a few months afterward, his brother, Frederick Thayer, succeeded to his interest in the firm. The firm of Thayer & Taft, however, was finally dissolved; and in 1875 Mr. Taft pur- chased a water-power privilege at North Ox- ford, where he engaged in the manufacture of shoddy. Later, in 1886, he bought the Ber- non privilege at Oxford Plain, and, establish- ing a satinet factory, continued in business there until 1891, when the factory was burned. That property remained unused until 1895. Then he rebuilt the factory, which was started up under the management of his son, whom he admitted to partnership. Mr. Taft was an unusually able and energetic man, and did much toward reviving the business interests and developing the industrial resources of Ox- ford; and his death, which occurred October 27, 1896, was regarded as a severe loss to the town.

Mr. Taft married Chloe Fitts, of North Ox- ford, daughter of David Fitts and a grand-

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daughter of Benjamin Fitts. His only son, David N. Taft, who is one of the prominent young business men of Oxford, completed his education in Worcester. He is now sole pro- prietor of the business which was inaugurated by his father, whose success he bids fair to equal if not excel. He is a Master Mason, and belongs to Oxford Lodge, of which his father was also a member.

ENRY G. MORSE, the vice-presi- dent and treasurer of the Fitchburg Mutual Fire Insurance Company, born in Sterling, Mass., in 1836, is a son of Joseph and Ann (Winchester) Morse. Several generations of the Morse family have been born in this country. Mr. Morse claims kinship with Professor S. F. B. Morse, the inventor of the electric recording telegraph. His grandfather on the paternal side, who after spending a number of years engaged in farming in Lancaster, Mass., be- came a contractor, built a number of churches in this county, and lived to be about fifty years of age. Joseph Morse, who was also a con- tractor, died at the age of seventy-eight. His wife, Ann, was a daughter of Samuel Win- chester, of Marlboro, Mass., whose father was a soldier in the Revolutionary army. She died at the age of seventy-two, having had but one child, Henry G.

Henry G. Morse went to school in Lancas- ter, and attended New Salem (Mass.) Acad- emy. He began at the age of sixteen to learn the carpenter's trade with his father, and afterward followed the trade for thirty- three years. He worked for Parkhurst & Aldrich, of Fitchburg, three years, entering their employ in 1859. In 1862 he started in business for himself in a small way. As his work was eminently satisfactory, some very important contracts were given him. He built the Rollstone Congregational Church, the pub- lic library, and some of the best dwelling- houses in the town, the Murdock School building at Winchendon, Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, the bank building in Clinton ; and he rebuilt the old jail here. In July, 1888, he was elected vice-president and treas-

urer of the Fitchburg Mutual Fire Insurance Company, a flourishing firm, whose business is yearly increasing. He is likewise the vice- president of the Fitchburg Savings Bank and a member of its Investment Committee, the vice-president of the Fidelity Co-operative Bank and of the Fitchburg Board of Trade; and he is a member of the Merchants' Asso- ciation.

Mr. Morse has been twice married. His first wife, in maidenhood Miss E. Victoria Gates, and a native of Groton, Vt., left one son, Harry, who is in Los Angeles, Cal. His second wife is a daughter of Levi W. Herrick, of Dalton, Mass. Mr. Morse was in the City Council one year, and was Alderman for Ward Six three years. He is a member of Aurora Lodge, F. & A. M. ; of Jerusalem Command- ery, K. T. ; and of Aleppo Temple, N. M. Shrine. A prominent member of the Roll- stone Congregational Church, he is at present chairman of the church Executive Committee and the vice-president of the Fitchburg Y. M. C. A.

ZRA COMEE, a retired farmer of Dana, was born in this town, October 21, 1823, son of Thomas W. and Lydia Comee. His parents were natives (Towne)

of Dana. His grandfather, Ezra Comee, who settled here as a pioneer, was in his younger days a butcher, but his later years were given to farming. He died at the age of eighty years.

Thomas W. Comee was in early manhood a shoemaker. Soon after the introduction of lucifer matches he engaged in their manufact- ure in Dana, where he remained some years. Later he moved to Boston, where he carried on the same business. He had the reputation of making a superior match. He died in Bos- ton at the age of sixty-eight years; and his wife, who lived to be eighty-one or eighty-two, passed her last days in the same city. They attended the Universalist church. Thomas W. and Lydia Comee were the parents of eleven children, seven of whom are living ; namely, Charles, Ezra, Franklin, Nancy, Dennis F., James T., and Frederick T.

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Those deceased are : Wilson, Maria, Sophronia P., and Susan.

Ezra Comee acquired a district-school edu- cation. He took naturally to the independent life of a farmer, and through industry and economy became the owner of one hundred and eighty acres of fertile land situated in the southern part of Dana. He tilled the soil energetically until 1884, when he moved to the Centre, and for the succeeding thirteen years was engaged in trade. In 1897 he disposed of his mercantile business, and, selling his farm of one hundred and eighty acres, retired from active pursuits. He still owns sixteen acres of land in Hardwick, thirty-five in New Salem, and twenty in Petersham. Besides farming he followed the business of a sur- veyor, and for fifty years was employed in that capacity throughout this section.

In 1844 Mr. Comee was joined in marriage with Ardelia Whipple, who was born in Dana, April 11, 1822. Of this union there is one son, Eugene T. Comee, who was born July 6, 1850, and is now residing with his father. Mrs. Comee died November 6, 1874.

For many years Mr. Comee was closely identified with local public affairs, having served a number of terms as chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Assessor, Tax Collector, and Town Agent, in all of which he labored diligently for the best interests of the town. He has also acted as Justice of the Peace for thirteen years, and has been one of the trus- tees of the Barre Savings Bank for the past thirteen years. Politically a Republican, he has voted with that party since its formation. He attends the Universalist church.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 48

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