Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 71

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 71

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Marcia Ann, Henry, Jane, Adelia, James, and Levi. Marcia Ann is the wife of George Park, of Worcester; Henry is a merchant of West Boylston, dealing in coal and lumber ; Jane is the widow of Leonard Newton, of Pittsfield, Mass. ; Adelia is the widow of Dr. C. A. Willcox, of Uxbridge, Mass. ; and Levi, third, resides in Springfield. Mr. and Mrs. Levi Peirce, Jr., were members of the Uni- versalist church.

James E. Peirce was educated in the com- mon schools of his native town and Shelburne Falls Academy. He assisted his father in various industries until the elder man died, then took part of the farm for his own use, comprising thirty acres of homestead and eight acres of woodland. This he paid for, and he subsequently bought twenty-seven acres of pasture land. He has added from time to time to his real estate, and now owns some ninety-seven acres in all. Most of it is de- voted to general farming. Mr. Peirce has a good dairy and considerable trade in Worces- ter. Like his father and grandfather, he is en- gaged in basket-making, manufacturing a fine grade of heavy hand-made baskets; and he was actively engaged for a number of years in land surveying. Essentially a self-made man, he has achieved success and prominence by energy, enterprise, and close application to business.

He was married in 1859 to Eliza, daughter of Ephraim Lovell, a physician long in prac- tice here. She was born in Marshfield. Eight children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Peirce; namely, Elmer E., Mary L., William C., Susy, Helen E., Irvin, Annie R., and Jessie F. Seven of these are now living. Elmer E. is a pattern-maker, resid- ing in Worcester. He married Miss Mary Baker. Mary is the wife of John Glover, and has one child, Raymond. William C. is with his father on the farm.

In politics Mr. James E. Peirce is a Repub- lican. He has been a member of the Board of Selectmen seven years and chairman three years, a member of the Board of Assessors eight years and chairman seven years, and a member of the School Board fifteen years. Active in social affairs also, he is a charter

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member of Boylston Lodge, F. & A. M .; a life member of the New England Agricultural Society and of the Bay State Agricultural So- ciety; and a member and trustee of the Worcester Agricultural Society. He is also a member of West Boylston Grange. In relig- ious belief he is a Congregationalist.

ON. WILSON HENRY FAIR- BANK, of Warren, State Senator from the Fourth Worcester Senato- rial District for 1898-99, is one of the most widely-known and successful busi- ness men of Massachusetts. Born here, April 3, 1836, he is a son of Asahel Fairbank, who was also a native of Warren, and who died in 1887. His mother, in maidenhood Mary A. Chapin, was born in Windham County, Ver- mont. Both parents came of English and early Colonial stock.

At the age of seventeen years Wilson H. Fairbank left the high school, where he had finished the course, and began to assist his father in the lumber business of A. Fairbank & Co. Later on the firm also engaged in the grain trade, having dealings in New York, Chicago, and Pittsburg markets. The lumber interest, however, remained the principal one. Asahel Fairbank furnished the poles for the first telegraph line between Lowell and Bos- ton, which was the second established in New England. Young Fairbank soon became a specialist in furnishing telegraph supplies. Shortly after he also engaged in building. His first contract, in 1856, with the American Telegraph Company, he filled by delivering nine thousand poles in forty-five days, or five days ahead of time. After that he was with the United States Telegraph Company for a while as superintendent of construction. In 1864 he and A. J. Baldwin built a telegraph line from New York to Washington, and in 1865 W. H. Fairbank & Co. took the con- tract to build the lines of the Monongahela Valley Telegraph Company. This they did, establishing and furnishing the offices, and delivering to the stockholders the working plant complete. In 1876 Mr. Fairbank was employed by the Atlantic & Pacific Company

to locate the line from Louisville, Ky., to New Orleans and to buy the poles therefor. In 1877 he had full charge of construction, under E. Middleton & Co., of the Continental Telegraph Company's line from New York to Philadelphia. Thousands of miles of the American Union Telegraph Company's lines were put up under his supervision; and in General Eckert's line, so-called, between Jer- sey City and Philadelphia, he constructed what is considered, it is alleged, "the best sixty miles of telegraph line in the world." After putting up in a masterly manner, for the Pos- tal Telegraph Company, lines from New York to Chicago and St. Louis, from Buffalo to Pittsburg through the oil region, and from New York to Washington, he became the general superintendent of construction and repairs for the United Telegraph lines. Be- ginning in June, 1885, till impaired health compelled him to give up the business, a period of six years, he was the general super- intendent of construction for the American Telegraph and Telephone Company, having full charge of the work of building long-dis- tance telephone lines. The business of Mr. Fairbank has taken him into every State of the Union east of the Rocky Mountains, and no doubt he has equipped more miles of tele- graph lines than any other contractor in America.

Since 1893 Mr. Fairbank has been a per- manent resident of Warren. His townspeople early showed their estimation of his ability and trustworthiness by electing him at the age of twenty-one to the office of Tax Col- lector and re-electing him in the following year. His subsequent course in life has been such as to confirm their confidence in him as a thoroughly capable, upright, and honorable man of affairs. He is now serving his third year as Selectman. In politics he is a Re- publican, and he has served for two years as chairman of the Republican Town Committee. In 1896, while representing the Fifth Worces- ter District in the House, he served on the Mercantile and Redistricting Committee; and in 1897 he served on the Railroad and other special committees. An esteemed Mason, he belongs to Quaboag Lodge and King Solo-

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mon Chapter, both of Warren; and he is a member of Arcturus Lodge, I. O. O. F., and of the local grange, P. of H. One of the prime movers in establishing the Warren Pub- lic Library, he is a life trustee of the institu- tion and the president of the corporation. On September 27, 1865, he married Miss Mary E. Sibley, daughter of the late Simon H. Sibley, of Warren. Mr. Fairbank attends the Con- gregational church, and is a member of the parish society.

ILLIAM HAMILTON, a prosperous farmer and a highly esteemed resi- dent of Hardwick, son of David and Betsy (Upton) Hamilton, was born in New Salem, Franklin County, March 6, 1822. The paternal grandfather, Maltia (Malctiah) Hamilton, a seafaring man, spent his active years in fishing, principally off Cape Cod, on which he had his home for many years. His death occurred in New Salem. He was twice married. The maiden name of William Ham- ilton's grandmother was Annie Eldredge.

David Hamilton, who was born in Chat- ham, Mass., was thirteen years old when his parents removed to New Salem. Afterward he followed the occupation of farmer in Shutes- bury for a number of years, and died there at the age of sixty-seven. In politics he was a Republican. His wife, Betsy, was a daughter of Benjamin Upton, a Revolutionary patriot who was wounded at Bunker Hill. She lived to about the same age as her husband. Both belonged to the Baptist church. They had eight children, of whom Annie, Almira, and Charles are deceased. The others are : David, a resident of New Salem; William, the sub- ject of this sketch ; John and Joseph, who live in Prescott, Hampshire County; and Sarah, the wife of Howard Freeman, of New Salem.

William Hamilton, who was but two years old when his parents removed from New Salem to Shutesbury, received his education in the district schools of the latter town. Then he worked out by the month, giving his earnings to his father until he reached his majority. He subsequently worked in the State Lunatic Asylum at Worcester for three years. In the

following year, also in Worcester, he was employed at bottoming boots. After that he . took up farming, hiring a place in Hardwick, on which he lived for a year. The next year was spent in New Braintree, after which he cultivated a hired farm in Barre for five years. In 1858 he purchased of Elbridge Ruggles the farm on which he still lives, moving here from Barre. This property is known as the old Lawrence homestead, on which, after it was cleared by a member of that family, three gen- erations of his descendants subsequently lived. Ebenezer Lawrence bought a part of this farm from one Sprout as early as 1752, and Mr. Hamilton has the deed in his possession. The property was sold to Mr. Ruggles by a de- scendant. The house of Mr. Hamilton is one of the oldest in this section. The farm covers about one hundred and twenty acres. Mr. Hamilton has made a specialty of dairying in connection with general farming. Having formerly kept from twenty to thirty head of cattle, he now keeps nine. When he pur- chased this farm he went in debt for it, but within ten years he had it fully paid for. Since then he has acquired a small place in New Braintree, formerly owned by Mrs. Ham- ilton's brother.

At the age of twenty-six Mr. Hamilton was married to Harriet Johnson. Born in Charl- ton, Mass., August 9, 1824, she is a daughter of Nathaniel and Susanna (Clemence) John- son, who were natives respectively of Charlton and Southbridge, Mass. Mr. Johnson, besides farming, made and repaired shoes, being a very industrious man, and died January 12, 1863, when about seventy years of age. His wife died March 26, 1826, aged twenty-seven. Mrs. Hamilton has not given birth to any children. She and her husband, however, have brought up two boys and two girls, namely : William J. Flood, who is now in business in Chicago, Ill. ; Edward C. Cheney, whose place of residence is not at present known; Della Hamilton, the wife of Charles Horn, of Leicester, Mass. ; and Alma B. White, who is now living with them. Others have also found a home with Mr and Mrs. Hamilton for a few years at a time.

Mr. Hamilton has been a Republican from

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the organization of the party. At one time he held the office of Road Commissioner, and he served for three years as Overseer of the Poor. He has been a member and often one of the Trustees of the Worcester West Agri- cultural Society since 1855, and also a promi- nent exhibitor at its fairs. Both he and his wife were members of the Hardwick Grange until the weight of years led them to with- draw. They attend and support the Congre- gational church.

IRAM FOBES, for many years a rep- resentative business man of Worces- ter, was born in Oakham, Mass., on September 25, 1829, son of Perez and Melissa (Nye) Fobes. He remained in his native town until 1846, his early years being years of industry and hardship, and his mental training limited to that offered by the common schools. Coming to Worcester, he was employed as clerk in a meat and provision store, where he continued until 1854, when he began business on his own account on Front Street. In this undertaking he was remark- ably successful, so much so that in twenty-five years he had accumulated a competence and was able to retire from business. A part of his wealth had been made in dealing in real estate and live stock.

Few men in Worcester were better known than Mr. Fobes, and none were more highly respected for integrity and entire trustworthi- ness. As a citizen he stood conspicuously eminent for liberality in both public and pri- vate affairs, for his public-spiritedness, and for his keen appreciation of what would best meet the needs of the community. In 1879-80 he was a member of the Worcester Common Council, and in 1881-82 was on the Board of Aldermen. His career in these positions as a public servant and as trustee of the public in- terests was marked by affability, prudence, and conscientious regard for the general welfare. His services were constantly called for in a semi-public way in positions of trust and re- sponsibility, where ripe judgment, vigilance, and unquestionable integrity were prime requi- sites. Among positions of this kind which he

filled were directorships in the Fire Insurance Company, the Worcester Safe Deposit and Trust Company, and in the Street Railway Company.

Mr. Fobes's religious views were practically unsectarian, although he was connected with the Trinitarian Congregational Society. In political creed he was a Republican, and could always be counted upon to support the Repub- lican platform. He was married in Septem- ber, 1870, to Celia Elizabeth Brayton, of Smithfield, R.I. Her father resided a few years in Worcester. He died in 1875. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fobes, and two of these are living. The death of Mr. Fobes occurred on August 16, 1889.

EWIS BOYDEN GASKILL, a repre- sentative man of Hopedale, son of Nahum and Sally (Southwick) Gas- kill, was born in Mendon, this county, on January 4, 1829. His ancestors were of English origin; and the first of the family in this country was Edward Gaskill, who had land grants in Salem as early as 1637. Edward's son, Samuel, who became interested in Quaker preaching, received severe punish- ment under the laws of that day for attending Quaker meetings. It was probably Samuel, a great-grandson of Edward, that came to the South Parish of Mendon, now Blackstone, in 1736, and bought a large farm of Stephen Sweet for four hundred and fifty pounds ster- ling. Samuel, of Mendon, had at least two sons - Ebenezer and Benjamin. Ebenezer's son, Samuel, was the father of Nahum Gaskill.

Nahum lived on the paternal estate in Men- don, and carried on farming on an extensive scale. He was also a pioneer dealer in grain and flour in that town, and did a thriving busi- ness. He died at the age of seventy-two. His twelve children were born as follows: John Southwick, on December 12, 1807; Samuel, January 14, 1810; Hannah, Septem- ber 9, 1811; Olive, June 10, 1813; Micajah Collins, September 26, 1816; Mary Thurber, August 13, 1818; Almira Fairbanks, June 8, 1821; Gilbert, April 28, 1823; Nahum, April 18, 1825; Richard George, March 16,

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1827; Lewis Boyden, as already stated; and Albert Warren, December 28, 1831. John S., who died in 1878, married Harriet E. Staples, who died on September 3, 1874. Samuel, residing in Mendon, now in his eighty-eighth year, is still vigorous and hearty. Hannah, who was the wife of Abner K. Sprague, died a widow in Blackstone, No- vember 15, 1892. Olive, who married El- haneh Barrows, died July 12, 1881. Micajah Collins, who resided in Mendon, was a well- known civil engineer, and was engaged largely in railroad business with David Davenport. He assisted in making surveys for the roads between Worcester and Barre and Worcester and Orange, and was employed on various roads in Maine and other parts of New Eng- land. Active in public affairs, he served for several terms as Assessor and Selectman, and also represented his district in the General Court. He was twice married. Mary Thur- ber, who married Willis Gould, died March 5, 1898. Almira married Charles Fletcher, a contractor. Gilbert, who is now living retired on his farm in Mendon, has been well known as a contractor for building roads and as an extensive farmer. Nahum, also a farmer, married Fannie Eliza Wheelock, and died in Hopedale in 1895. Richard George was twice married. Albert Warren, who is a prominent farmer of Mendon, a well-known granger, and has been Road Commissioner, served for thirty consecutive years on the Board of Selectmen of that town, and there- after declined the office.

Lewis Boyden Gaskill resided during early life on the homestead farm. In 1863, upon the death of his father, he bought the historic place. Here Benjamin Alby built the first corn-mill in all these parts, more than two hundred and ten years ago. Mr. Gaskill has been chiefly engaged in farming, and has also dealt extensively in wood and lumber. Pro- gressive, thrifty, and successful, he has re- placed the old farm buildings with more modern ones. However, the solid and comfortable old house built here in 1783 by George Kel- ley remains practically as it originally was. Mr. Gaskill was identified in town affairs when Hopedale was a part of Milford, and since it |

has become a separate town he has been a member of the Board of Selectmen, Overseer, and officer of the Board of Health. On May 8, 1863, he married Annie E. Jenckes, a daughter of Ezra and Julia A. (Swan) Jenckes and a native of Mendon, born February 9, 1844.

EORGE FRANK DODGE, a well- known contractor of Southboro and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in Francestown, N. H., in 1830, son of Will- iam and Lucy (Gould) Dodge. The father was a brick-mason, and followed that trade throughout the active period of his life. He reared a family of eight children; namely, Albert Davis, Timothy Page, William Bixby, Mary Ann, John Dexter, Horace Richards, Charles Frederick, and George Frank Dodge. Timothy Page Dodge, who was a graduate of Dartmouth College, died six months after his ordination to the ministry. William Bixby Dodge died at the age of forty-six years. John Dexter Dodge went to California in 1849, and Charles Frederick Dodge is a con- tracting mason of Greenfield, Mass.

George Frank Dodge was educated in the common schools. At the age of sixteen he went to Nashua, N. H., where he was em- ployed with his father at brick-laying for three years. Afterward, for seven years, he worked in cotton-mills at Nashua and Salmon Falls, N. H. He then moved to Wilmington, Vt., and from there to Shelburne Falls, Mass., in which place he followed his trade. While residing in Wilmington he enlisted, December II, 1863, in Company F, Eighth Regiment, Vermont Volunteers, and was later transferred to the band. He served under Sheridan at Winchester, Cedar Creek, and Fisher Hill, and at one time was with detachment known as Harper's Weeklies, which was engaged in skirmishing in the region of Harper's Ferry, Va. Mustered out in June, 1865, he resumed his former business, residing for some time in Shelburne Falls, where he erected a residence. Later he moved to Greenfield, where he was en- gaged as a contracting mason with his brother, Charles F. Dodge, for six years. Removing

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to Northboro in 1883, he continued in the same business alone. He erected many fine buildings, among them the D. B. Wesson mansion, one of the handsomest private resi- dences in that section. In 1890 he came to Southboro, where he built for his own occu- pancy a residence located upon the outskirts of the town, overlooking the mammoth basin of the metropolitan water system.

On November 24, 1853, Mr. Dodge was united in marriage with Charlotte Jane White, daughter of Aaron White, a prosperous mer- chant of Ludlow, Vt. He has two sons - Frank Le Roy and Frederick Orion Dodge. Frank Le Roy is a musician of more than local celebrity. At one time he was a member of the Orpheus Club of Springfield, Mass., and he was formerly the leader of the Episcopal church choir. He married Clara E. Walker, daughter of Lucius Walker, of Wilmington, Vt., and is now engaged in the poultry busi- ness, occupying a residence adjoining his father's property. Frederick Orion Dodge, who was formerly a travelling salesman for R. H. White and Jordan, Marsh & Co., both of Boston, is now in the employ of Goldsmith & Co., of New York City, and resides in Dor- chester, Mass. He married Annie Laura Whitney, and has one daughter, Mariquita White Dodge. Mr. Dodge, Sr., has filled the principal chairs of Pocomtuck Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Greenfield; is a member of Social Lodge, F. & A. M., of Wilmington, Vt. ; and is a comrade of Northboro Post, G. A. R., of which he has served as Adjutant, and has attended as a delegate several national encampments. Mrs. Dodge is senior vice- president of the Women's Relief Corps and the presiding officer of the Order of the East- ern Star.

OHN W. OGDEN, a prominent secret society man of Fitchburg and super- intendent of the Worcester & Clinton Electric Street Railway, was born in this city, April 18, 1857. A son of John and Julia A. (Willard) Ogden, he comes of an old and distinguished family. Mr. Ogden him- self, who has been for the past twelve years at

work on his genealogy, has traced it back thirty-four generations. He is connected with the Grosvenors of New York; and Ogdens- burg, in that State, was named for his great- grandfather, David Ogden, who was the first settler there. One of his ancestors, John Oakton, for helping King Charles II. to escape from his enemies by hiding him in a tree, was knighted, and received a coat of arms bearing for its crest an oak-tree with a lion rampant beneath. John Ogden, the first of the family to settle in this country, arrived here in 1627. His son, David, came from England in the ship "Welcome " with William Penn.

The subject of this sketch is of the eighth generation descended from the first John Ogden. His grandfather, David Sayers Ogden, was a sea captain. The father, John Ogden, who was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., with his father in early life sailed around the world several times. He was the first engineer to guide an engine over the Fitchburg & Worcester Railroad. He served for a time in the Civil War aboard the "Cumberland." From 1864 to 1868 he had charge of the supply de- partment of a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1868 he returned to Fitchburg from Delaware, and he died at the age of thirty-nine. His wife's father, Joseph Will- ard, one of the most prominent real estate men of Fitchburg, was an early settler of the town, and laid out several streets. Mr. Willard was a Justice of the Peace for a number of years and a member of the Trinitarian church. He died at the age of eighty-six. John and Julia A. Ogden reared three children - John W., Fred S., and Mary. Fred S. is an upholsterer of Fitchburg. Mary is deceased.

John W. Ogden attended school in Wil- mington, Del., and was for some time a stu- dent in the Fitchburg High School. He travelled with a physician for nearly eight years, studying medicine, and then took a course at the College of Physicians and Sur- geons in Boston. He decided, however, not to adopt a profession, and in 1878 he began to publish the Commercial Advertiser, a monthly paper of from four to eight pages. This he conducted for two years, and at the same time was correspondent in Northern Massachusetts

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for the Boston Daily and Sunday Globe, then under the editorial management of B. P. Palmer. Mr. Ogden was also for some time the correspondent for the Boston Times. In 1884 he established the Fitchburg Rubber Stamp Works, which manufactured all kinds of rubber stamps. He had control of this plant some ten years, and had a large and prosperous business. At the same time he became the proprietor of the famous Washa- cum Lake picnic grounds at Sterling Junction, which he developed from a cow pasture, suc- cessfully engineering a bill through the legis- lature providing for the incorporation of the Washacum Lake Land Company. Mr. Ogden's enterprise has made this one of the most noted picnic grounds in the State. Here on June 20, 1882, sixteen of the greatest oars- men in the world, including Hanlon, Lee, Ross, Ten Eyck, Sr., and Gaudar, contested a rowing match that was witnessed by twenty thousand people. The Worcester Turnverein and a number of prominent societies have held their picnics here. Mr. Ogden was the treasurer of the Whitney Opera House for five years and the manager for two seasons. He has served as secretary and treasurer of several endowment orders, always working for the in- terest of the people. When the Rising Sun Endowment Order was in difficulties he worked until he secured five thousand seven hundred dollars, and restored to the people all that they had paid in. When the Golden Lion went into insolvency he advised the stockholders not to sell to brokers, and those who followed his advice secured one hundred per cent. of the amount then paid in.

Mr. Ogden is a member of Aurora Lodge, F. & A. M .; of Thomas Chapter, R. A. M .; of Jerusalem Commandery, K. T .; of Lady Emma Chapter, Eastern Star; of Apollo Lodge, No. 205; and of Pearl Hill Rebecca Lodge, No. 47, I. O. O. F. - all of Fitchburg. He is Past Sachem of Nashua Tribe, No. 37, I. O. R. M .; Past Chancellor of Alpine Lodge, No. 35, K. of P. ; Past Commander of Overlook Council, No. 972, A. L. of H. ; and a member of Minnestema Council, No. 28, D. of P., I. O. R. M. - all of the same place. In the Masonic fraternity he is also a member

of Hiram Council, R. & S. M., of Worcester ; of Lafayette Lodge of Perfection, fourteenth degree; of Giles F. Yates Council, Princes of Jerusalem, sixteenth degree; of Mount Olivet Chapter, Rose Croix, eighteenth degree; of Massachusetts Consistory, S. P. R. S., thirty-second degree; and of Aleppo Temple, N. M. S .- all of Boston. Here it may be mentioned that he has represented some of the largest regalia houses in America, being agent for secret society goods, such as charms, pins, badges, regalia, etc. He has fitted him- self for a superintendent of electric railway, having commenced at the bottom and worked up to the top, so that he understands the busi- ness in all its branches. He is now Superin- tendent of the Worcester & Clinton Street Railway which he successfully opened Decem- ber II, 1898, and has it operating in a manner satisfactory to the directors and public. He serves the public in the capacity of Justice of the Peace.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 71

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