Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 63

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 63

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than Fisk Perry, who spent his life on the farm where Miss Mary S. Perry now resides, and where he died, past middle life, in 1888. One of the sons of this family, David Brainerd Perry, graduated from Yale in the class of 1863, subsequently tutored there, and in 1872 was ordained as a minister of the gospel. Later he became professor of Latin in Doane College, Crete, Neb., which was named for his wife's father, and since 1881 has been president of the college. Yale University in 1898 conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.

Joseph Stone Perry completed his education in the academy at Wilbraham. He has been one of the most extensive dealers in land in the city of Worcester, and has erected many buildings. All the property he has amassed has been from general and dairy farming in connection with real estate transactions. He laid out Harlem Street, Perry Avenue, and other streets and avenues, making many miles, for all of which he gave the land. For three years he was Street Commissioner of Worcester. He is a Republican in politics, and in 1885 was elected to a seat in the legislature, the first Republican ever elected from this strongly Democratic district. Since that time only one other Republican candidate has been returned. Mr. Perry has travelled ex- tensively in the United States, visiting every State except Texas, and has made two trips to Europe, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, and Austria. Mrs. Perry has been abroad three times. The last time they went, sailing on July 1, 1897, Mr. and Mrs. Perry were accompanied by their youngest daughter. They sailed from New York on the " Werra " of the German Lloyd line, and after being twelve days out touched at Gibral- tar. Thence they went to Naples and later on to Moscow, visiting there the places made fa- mous by their connection with the great Na- poleon. They remained until October. Mr. Perry now owns here in his own estate about forty acres, in the Goss and Tatman lot about sixty acres, on the Thayer farm some twelve acres and a half, and on the Stockwell farm some thirty acres more. He has also wood- land tracts of eighty and four acres in extent

and about eighty acres of pasture land. Be- sides this he has in Auburn thirty acres of the finest apple orchard in Massachusetts. This was started in 1893, and now contains nearly fourteen hundred trees.

In January, 1855, Mr. Perry was united in marriage with Lucy Ann Day, of Ludlow, Mass., who was born on April 8, 1835. Of this union were born the following named children : Adelle Esther, on October 21, 1856; Alfred Dwight, on October 12, 1858; Helen Day, on January 19, 1860; Francis J., on May 14, 1863; Lucy Day, on October 14, 1865; and Josephine, on June 6, 1874, now residing with her parents. The first named of these is the wife of Francis W. Grout, and has two sons. Alfred married Luella J. Cleveland, of Barre. Helen, who is the wife of Frank P. Johnson, a civil engineer, is the mother of three sons. Lucy married Franklin C. Green, who was born in the Hawaiian Islands. She died in Worcester on November 2, 1888, survived by two sons. She was a woman of great charm of manner, a lover of nature, and a fine horse- woman. Francis J. died on October 10 in the year of his birth.

Miss Mary S. Perry, sister of Mr. Joseph S. Perry, resides at 124 Vernon Street, in the house where she was born, on the estate that was settled in 1751 by her great-grandfather, Nathan Perry. She is greatly attached to the old place, and is interested in the family his- tory. It is through her kindness that much of the above information has been secured.

ONATHAN SMITH, an attorney-at-law residing in Clinton, son of John and Susan (Stearns) Smith, was born Octo- ber 21, 1842. His birthplace was the house built by his great-grandfather, Will- iam Smith, on the old Smith homestead in Peterboro, N. H. William was one of the pio- neers of Peterboro, a member of the First Provincial Congress of New Hampshire, that met at Exeter in 1775, and one of those who pledged their private property to sustain the Colonial cause against Great Britain.

Jonathan Smith, son of William and grand- father of the present Jonathan, remained on

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the old place, and spent his active life in culti- vating the farm. He served in the capacities of Deacon of the Unitarian church and Select- man of the town for many years. In politics he was a Federalist and then a Whig, and he represented his town in the legislature for eleven years. He was eighty years of age at the time of his death. His son, John, like his ancestors, followed the occupation of farmer. John died when seventy-eight years of age, having been a Selectman of the town, a Representative to General Court, and for forty years a Deacon of the Unitarian church. His wife, Susan, born in Waltham, Mass., who died at the age of sixty, was a daughter of John Stearns. Of the six children born to her, four are living ; namely, John, Jonathan, Caroline, and Jeremiah.

Having lived in Peterboro until he was eighteen years of age, the present Jonathan Smith went to Keene, N. H., to learn the printer's trade. In the summer of that year he enlisted in the Sixth New Hampshire Vol- unteers for three years, and shortly after went to the front. After participating in several hard-fought battles of the Civil War, he was discharged in 1863 for disabilities caused by sickness contracted in the service. In 1864 he re-entered the army, joining the First New Hampshire Cavalry, with which thereafter he served until the close of the war. Return- ing then to New Hampshire, he became a pupil of New Hampton Institution, where he fitted for Dartmouth College. Having gradu- ated from Dartmouth in 1871, he taught for a time in an academy at Lancaster, N. H., and subsequently became editor of the Coos Repub- lican. Later he began the study of law at Manchester, and in 1875 was admitted to the New Hampshire bar. He entered on the prac- tice of his profession at Manchester, and re- mained there until 1878. Then he came to Clinton, where he has since resided ; and he is now the oldest practising lawyer in the town.

Mr. Smith was married on December 13, 1876, to Miss Tirzah Dow, daughter of Levi and Hannah (Drake) Dow and a native of New Hampton, N. H., who died in 1881. By this marriage there was one daughter, Susan D. In 1886 Mr. Smith married Elizabeth C.

Stearns. A Republican in politics, he was sent as Representative to the legislature on the Republican ticket in 1886. For three years he was City Solicitor of Manchester, and in Clinton he was Town Solicitor for two years. At present he is a special Justice of the Sec- ond District Court. He is a Past Master of Trinity Lodge, F. & A. M. ; Past High Priest of the Clinton Chapter; Past Grand King of the Grand Chapter of Massachusetts; and he - is the president of the twenty-five Associates. Mr. Smith attends the Unitarian church, and is president of the Unitarian society. Also an active member of the Clinton Historical Society, he has been connected with that body since its organization.

ENRY AUGUSTUS HARRING- TON, who resides upon a productive farm in Worcester, was born in the house he now occupies, September 8, 1846, son of Captain Benjamin and Lu- cretia (Flagg) Harrington. His first ancestor in Worcester was Francis Harrington, who came from Watertown and acquired four hun- dred acres of wild land, a portion of which he cleared for agricultural purposes. Nathaniel Harrington, son of Francis and the great- grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a Revolutionary soldier. He inherited the prop- erty, which at his death was divided between his two sons, Francis and Jonathan. Jonathan Harrington, the grandfather, born October 31, 1779, was a successful farmer, and resided here until his death, which occurred May 4, 1858. He married Mary, daughter of Captain Benjamin Flagg. Their only child was Ben- jamin Harrington. The mother lived to be eighty-eight years old.

Benjamin Harrington was born April 5, 1805. Like his predecessors, he tilled the soil energetically, made a specialty of dairy farm- ing, and established a milk route, which is still owned in the family. He served as a Captain in the State militia. On March 18, 1835, he married Lucretia Flagg, who was born in Worcester in 1805, daughter of Abel Flagg. She had five children, namely : Mary Elizabeth, born in 1836, who is the wife of

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Samuel G. Curtis, of this city; Benjamin F. Harrington, an account of whom will be found elsewhere in the REVIEW; Hannah, who died at the age of two years and six months; Henry Augustus, the subject of this sketch; and Sarah Amelia, who married Gonzalo E. Buxton, M. D., a prominent physician of Providence, R. I., and has two sons. The father died Au- gust 13, 1873, and the mother in 1891.

Henry Augustus Harrington acquired his elementary education in the old red school- house which formerly stood on Plantation Street, and subsequently attended the Worces- ter Academy. Succeeding to a portion of his father's property, including the residence, he has since devoted his energies to general farm- ing, dairying, and the raising of small fruits. He keeps about thirty head of cattle -full- blooded Jerseys and grades, and all bred upon his farm-and milks from twenty-two to twenty-eight cows. In politics he is a Repub- lican, and he has served as Overseer of the Poor for nine years.

On October 15, 1872, Mr. Harrington was united in marriage with Delia Maria Griggs, a native of Grafton and a resident of Worcester. She is a daughter of Salem and Maria (Cleve- land) Griggs, the former of whom is a retired tanner, and now resides with his wife at 7 Ox- ford Street, this city. Of their eight chil- dren, four are living, namely : Delia Maria, who is a graduate of the Worcester Academy, and was married at the age of twenty-two; Alice E., now the wife of Lucius E. Eldridge, of Worcester; Gertrude, a retired school teacher of this city; and Carrie E., the wife of John B. Scott, a well-known lawyer of Worcester. The others were: John Griggs, a graduate of the Worcester Polytechnic School, who became the superintendent of a mill in Pittsburg, Pa., and died at the age of twenty- two years; George, who was superintendent of Lapham's Mill in Millbury; Emma, who died at the age of fifty-one years; and Mar- garet, who died at the age of twenty-eight.

With the exception of the time spent in a hunting trip to the Indian Territory in 1883, Mr. Harrington since reaching manhood has been exclusively occupied in agriculture. One of the best-known farmers in this local-

ity, he is highly esteemed for his many fine qualities. Both he and Mrs. Harrington are members of the Union Congregational Church.

OHN MILTON DANIELS, a retired cotton manufacturer, residing at 125 Piedmont Street, Worcester, son of Adolphus and Alsey (Fowler) Daniels, was born in the town of Uxbridge, Mass., April 10, 1813. His paternal great-grand- father was David Daniels, and the paternal grandparents were Darius and Ruth (Aldrich) Daniels. The latter was a native of Ux- bridge. Darius died from the results of a fall in 1825, aged ninety-two; and he was buried in the cemetery between Uxbridge and Men- don, which was given by the Aldriches. He and Ruth were the parents of eleven children, of whom nine grew to maturity. Of that number, Nathaniel, who was a wealthy farmer, became an octogenarian ; and Joseph, who was also a large farmer, lived to a good age.

Adolphus Daniels, born October 1, 1778, at Mendon, Mass., was a farmer in good circum- stances in the town of Uxbridge up to 1824. Then he sold out and removed to another farm in Mendon, where he continued to follow agri- culture. His wife, Alsey, born in Smithfield, R. I., January 12, 1785, was a daughter of Ezekian Fowler, who was born in 1754, son of Samuel Fowler. Adolphus and Alsey Daniels were the parents of eleven children, of whom John and Sarah died in childhood. All the others reached maturity ; namely, David, Har- riet, Urania, John Milton, Ezekiel, Sarah S., Ruth, Horace, and Royal. David, born in 1804, who died May 17, 1847, was a Judge in Rhode Island. Harriet, born April 4, 1810, who died in Providence, R. I., at the age of eighty-six years and six months, was the wife of Isaac Fowler, and left two children. Urania was born August 27, 1811; and Eze- kiel on December 20, 1814. Sarah S., born in 1817, died in 1838. Ruth, born in 1819, is the wife of William P. Clemence. Hor- ace, born in 1821, is a large farmer in Paxton ; and Royal, born in 1823, died in 1855.

At the age of twenty John Milton Daniels left the home farm and went to work in a

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woollen-mill at Waterford with his cousin, Welcome Farnum. He was subsequently en- gaged in the cotton manufacturing business at Branch Village, in the firm of Moore & Daniels, until 1854, a period of eight years, when Mr. Daniels sold out and came to Worcester. Subsequently for fifteen thousand dollars he purchased of George M. Rice four- teen acres of land and an excellent water-power at Northville, and thereon established a cotton factory, which he conducted from 1863 to 1885. For about half of that time his sons were in partnership with him, and the firm name was Daniels & Sons. He has since lived retired in the residence which he has oc- cupied since 1858.

The first of his three marriages was con- tracted in 1837 with Alsada Smith, who died at the age of thirty-five. She was the mother of three sons and two daughters. The daugh- ters died in childhood. The sons were : Byron, Pliny M., and David M. Byron was a soldier in the Civil War, and died at the age of thirty-three, of consumption, brought on by the exposure of army life. He left three sons and a daughter. Pliny M., a grocer in Worcester, married and has one son. David M., who also served in the Civil War, was wounded at Antietam, and died of con- sumption when twenty-eight years of age, leaving one son. Mr. Daniels's second mar- riage was made with Amanda S. Smith, a sis- ter of his first wife. She died September 8, 1862. On May 23, 1864, by the third mar- riage he was wedded to Mary L. Whitney, of Newton, Mass., who was born November 25, 1839, daughter of Leonard and Abby E. (Day) Whitney. She traces her ancestry to one of three brothers who came from England in the early days and settled in Watertown, Mass. Her father, who was born in South Orange, Mass., September 12, 1811, died June 4, 1883 ; and her mother, who was born Decem- ber 2, 1816, died in 1877, aged sixty-one. Both were buried in Hope Cemetery. Mr. Whitney was a piano-maker by trade. Begin- ning without capital, he acquired a fortune estimated at thirty thousand dollars. His father, who served in the War of 1812, died soon after, leaving to him the care of his

mother and five other children. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels have two children - Ella E. and George Milton. Ella E., born September 29, 1865, married Alfred G. Wesson, June I, 1887, and has two sons, aged nine and seven years respectively. George Milton Daniels, born December 10, 1869, is a piano tuner and a pianist of ability. On August 1, 1896, he married Georgia L. Bierly, who died July 31, 1898.

ILLIAM WILLARD, of Sturbridge, who ranks among American artists of distinction, was born in Stur- bridge on March 24, 1819, his parents being Seth and Susan (Fay) Willard. His father, who was born in Charlton in 1772, died on July 20, 1843; and his mother was born in 1782 and died in 1879.

Seth Willard, after obtaining his education in the public schools in his native town, learned the trade of machinist. In 1812 he came to Sturbridge and took charge of the General Timothy Newell estate. In politics

he was an old-time Whig. His wife, in maidenhood Susan Fay, of Charlton, was the mother of the following named children : Susan, Jerome, Estes, Andrews, Fitzroy, William, and George.

At the age of fourteen William Willard went to Worcester, and there learned the watch-maker's trade with Daniel Goddard & Co., who were the first to engage in the manu- facture of watches in that city. But his artis- tic temperament and his power of expression were not satisfied with purely mechanical effort, and after he had served his apprentice- ship he went to Boston and secured an engage- ment in the old Warren Theatre to play minor parts. During the acts, at the intervals be- tween the scenes, while the scenery and stag- ing were being arranged, it was his duty to go before the curtain and amuse the audience by singing and dancing. In those days the actor was under a sort of social ostracism, and the profession was not a lucrative one. Mr. Will- ard gave it up after a short time, learned the process of manufacturing silk hats, and in 1837 started in business for himself in Cam-

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bridge as a hatter. He remained there until 1846, when he renounced trade and opened an artist's studio in the old Tremont Temple building in Boston. Here some of his best work was done. In 1850, despite the opposi- tion of P. T. Barnum, the famous showman, he painted a portrait of Jenny Lind, which was considered by the great singer as the best likeness she ever had painted. It was placed on exhibition at the Academy of Fine Arts, of which Mr. Willard was at the time a director.

From 1884 to 1887 Mr. Willard was profes- sor of portraiture in the New England Con- servatory of Fine Arts. In 1865 he painted his portrait of Charles Sumner, which is now hanging on the walls of the Boston Art Mu- seum. Mr. Sumner sat for the picture, and expressed himself as well pleased with the re- sult. Mr. Willard has frequently written on art topics, and has contributed critical and other essays to the various art magazines and to the columns of the daily press. In 1867 he took up his residence permanently in Stur- bridge, purchasing the General Newell estate. His studio here is adorned with many fine paintings of celebrated personages, among them being a portrait of Daniel Webster, who was one of the artist's favorite subjects. A later work, which, when placed on exhibition, won high encomiums from Boston art critics, was the " portrait of a woman in the complete bloom of health and play of spirit, full of re- sources for the best exercise of art and of per- plexities which offer it a challenge," all well met by the artist, whose crowning work it was considered at that date, being "a complete, carefully studied picture, such as the masters delighted to paint."

Mr. Willard has been much interested of recent years in making experiments in artistic posing for photographic purposes and in de- veloping photography which has correct values and artistically blended light and shade effects. A number of prominent Worcester gentlemen have given him sittings, and un- commonly fine portraits have been the result, these productions resembling photographs of perfectly drawn and correctly colored oil paint- ings. The first step in Mr. Willard's method is to arrange the light. The subject is placed

so that a strong light strikes his head from a window seven or eight feet above, the rays pouring over the right shoulder and bringing out the high light on the forehead. No other strong light is allowed. Mr. Willard then studies the atmosphere, and observes, with the trained eye of an artist, whether it is warm or cold. If it be cold, as on a perfectly bright day, a warm gray is reflected on the subject's face; if there is an unnatural warmth, a cold light is given, by a white screen, for instance. The background is arranged the same as for a portrait in oils - dark, of warm grays, and in places mingling with the darker shades of the portrait. If the likeness be that of a man, his coat is not conspicuous. There is no real black and no real white, not even the linen. Grays pervade in infinite variety. Thus every characteristic of the painting is retained. The plate is exposed a little longer than is neces- sary to secure the ordinary photograph taken in a strong light. The photographs when finished are always unpolished, the dead sur- face being highly effective. When these por- traits are placed side by side with those of the works of the great painters, the similarity in effect is strikingly exact. Mr. Willard has managed to produce the same effect from life that the camera produces from a masterpiece of the painter's art. This is certainly an achievement, for it proves that the subject is pictured with all the tints of flesh, hair, and dress. The correct values remain ; and conse- quently the reflections and inflections are de- lineated, giving that quality to the portrait which makes it stand out and brings out the character of the subject. It is, of course, im- possible for the ordinary photographer to pro- duce works like these. It requires the trained eye of an artist who understands the relations of tones and atmospheres.

Mr. Willard was married on June 16, 1838, to Charlotte Dean, of Birmingham, England. Mrs. Willard died on December 13, 1894. She had been the mother of seven children, as follows : Albert Henry, who was born on Au- gust 23, 1839, and died on February 3, 1858; Susan Fay, who was born on October 16, 1840, and died on December 19, 1885; Eliza- beth, who was born on December 23, 1842,

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HENRY F. RICE.

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and died on August 11, 1847; Laura L. Rich- ardson, who was born on December 17, 1844, and died on September 2, 1879; Seth Webs- ter, who was born on November 29, 1846, and died on April 29, 1869; Annie E. Bryden, who was born on August 10, 1850; and Char- lotte MI., who was born on July 3, 1859.

In political views Mr. Willard is a Repub- lican.

ENRY F. RICE, of Sutton, a promi- nent manufacturer, an ex-member of the legislature, and a Civil War veteran, was born in this town, Jan-

uary 29, 1844. A son of Hosea and So- phronia (Barton) Rice and a grandson of Noah Rice, he is descended from Edmund Rice, a native of Berkhamstead, England, who settled at Sudbury, Mass., in 1639. Having been educated in the public schools of his native town, he was employed as a farm assistant until he was seventeen years old. Then he enlisted in Company E, Fifty- first Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer In- fantry. At the expiration of its term of ser- vice the regiment voted unanimously to remain another month, after which it was finally dis- charged July 27, 1863. On August 30, 1864, Mr. Rice re-enlisted in Company F, First Bat- talion, Heavy Artillery, and subsequently did garrison duty at Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, until mustered out on June 25, 1865. Upon his return to Sutton he worked for a while in the shuttle shop of E. S. Marble, and for the succeeding fifteen years he was employed in the manufacture of shuttles at the Crompton Loom Works, Worcester. After this, con- tinuing in Sutton, he engaged in the manu- facture of dobby chain, an important factor in the weaving of cotton fabrics. In 1883 he patented an improvement on the pegs used in these chains, which is regarded by factory experts as a valuable invention.

In politics Mr. Rice is a Republican. He served as a Selectman in 1880, 1891, and 1892, was an Assessor for seven years, and at the present time is the Town Treasurer and Collector. A Representative in the leg- islature of 1895, he was assigned to the

Committee on Game and Fisheries, and ap- pointed from the House a member of the Mas- sachusetts delegation to attend the dedication of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park on September 19 and 20, 1895. He married Abbie A. King, a daughter of Putnam and Jerusha (Davis) King. They have one daughter -- Alice Julia, born May 14, 1884. Made a Mason in Olive Branch Lodge, Millbury, Mr. Rice is a member of Tyrian Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; of Worcester County Commandery, Knights Templar; of the Massachusetts Consistory, thirty-second degree; and Aleppo Temple of the Mystic Shrine, Boston. Also he belongs to Sutton Grange, No. 109, Patrons of Hus- bandry; and he is a comrade of George A. Custer Post, No. 70, G. A. R., of Millbury. He is a member of the First Congregational Church, and for fifteen years was the treasurer and collector of that society.

I HE CLINTON DAILY "ITEM," the first daily paper established in Clinton, made its appearance July 17, 1893. From the start it met with a hearty support both from the advertisers of the vicinity and the newspaper reading public in general. Its constant aim has been to present to its clien- tèle a daily of essentially a home nature, and the managers feel that in this respect it has been unusually successful. That a daily paper was wanted at the time its sponsors put it forth cannot at this time be doubted. It ap- peared at a time when every industry in the country was under the spell of hard times, but despite this fact it continued to grow from day It to day in value as an advertising medium. has been enlarged several times during the four years of its existence, and the circulation of the first year has at this time (1898) been more than trebled. It goes into the homes of the best classes of people in Clinton, Lancas- ter, and the suburban towns, six days of every week; and it is not saying too much that in the majority of these homes no paper is read with more avidity than is the Item. Typo- graphically it is unexcelled by any country

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 63

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