Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 74

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 74

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Mr. Stuart was married in 1866 to Charlotte M., daughter of Horace Piper, of Sterling. Three children have been born to them, namely: Ida M., who is a stenographer in Boston; Charles L., who died at two years of age; and Fred W., a cornetist and elec- trician.

In politics Mr. Stuart is a Republican. He served as Assessor of Taxes for the town of Clinton and five years on the Republican Town Committee. Fraternally, he is a mem- ber of Lancaster Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and he is Senior Past Sachem of the local organization of Red Men. He takes great interest in the G. A. R., and has been very active in its affairs. He is a Past

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GEORGE F. HOWE.

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Commander of E. D. Baker Post and Aide-de- camp of the national department staff, also inspector on the department staff. He is also a member of the Golden Cross, and both he and his wife are members of Germanic Lodge, No. 42, and of the Daughters of Pocahontas. Mr. and Mrs. Stuart are members of the Uni- tarian church.

G EORGE FRANCIS HOWE, shoe manufacturer, a highly esteemed citizen of West Boylston, was born in Roxbury, Mass., on April 22, 1825, son of Thomas and Esther (Carter) Howe. His grandfather, David Howe, a painter by trade, who was born August 20, 1750, resided in Dorchester, and died in that town. He was married in Roxbury, May 16, 1780, by the Rev. Thomas Abbot, to Elizabeth Chamberlin.

Thomas Howe, father of George F., was born in Dorchester, one of a family of six chil- dren. He was reared and educated in Dor- chester, and began his working life as a market gardener. From 1826 until 1834 he resided in Sterling. He then removed to Princeton, where he passed his remaining years on a farm, dying there at the age of eighty-four. He was one of the substantial and honorable citizens of his time, incorrupti- ble as a business man, a constant church- goer, and for many years an earnest teacher in the Sunday-school. He was interested in public affairs and served on the School Com- mittee for some years. His wife, Esther, who died at the age of eighty-three, was born in Gloucester, the daughter of a fisherman. Both parents were zealous members of the Bap- tist church. Of the six children born to them, five reached maturity, and three are still living, namely : George F. ; Adeline, wife of Horace Brown; and Julia M., now Mrs. Coburn. George F. Howe's early life up to the age of twenty-one was devoted to farm work on the paternal acres. After reach- ing his majority he married and worked out by the month until about twenty-four years of age, when he purchased a farm in Princeton, and settled on it. Three years later he came to West Boylston to engage in the boot and shoe

business. He was employed by D. G. & R. T. Rawson for three years; and at the end of that time a new company was formed, known as Hastings, Howe & Co. This firm, which was subsequently known as that of George F. Howe & Co., built up a large and successful trade. At the end of ten years Mr. Howe became sole proprietor of the business, and for eight years was without a partner. He then associated with himself H. E. Morton. Subsequently the business was carried on under the name Howe, Atwood & Morton, the present successors being Howe, Morton & Lovell, who manufacture men's, boys', and chil- dren's boots and shoes. Founded forty-five years ago, this concern is now one of the oldest business houses in West Boylston. About seventy-five workmen are employed by the firm.

In 1846 Mr. Howe was united in marriage with Louisa Rice, who was born in Holden. She became the mother of two children, one of whom is living; namely, Ellen L., who mar- ried James F. Ackley, an employee of the Old Colony Railroad. Mr. and Mrs. Ackley have one son - George L. Mr. Howe's first wife died at the age of twenty-three. His second wife, who was before her marriage Julia A. Childs, and was a native of this town, died at the age of sixty-seven. His third wife was before her marriage Emma L. Dunbar of Worcester.

Mr. Howe is a Republican in politics. His record as a public official is unique in this town in point of length of service. Since 1862 he has been Town Treasurer, having been elected successively, with three excep- tions, for thirty-four years. For the same length of time, also, he has been Moderator of town meetings; and for thirty years he has been chairman or secretary of the School Board. He has served two terms as Select- man of the town, and one as Assessor, and in 1876 he was Representative to the General Court. Mr. Howe has been connected with Security Savings Bank since its organization, being at that time vice-president and subse- quently holding for many years the presidency of that institution. There has scarcely been a committee formed in the town in the depart- ment of public service during the last half-

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century upon which Mr. Howe has not served. If a school-house was to be built, a bridge constructed, or any other public work under- taken, his advice and judgment were sure to be sought. Mr. Howe has been a member of the local grange for many years, and has served as Master and chaplain and in other offices. He is a member of the Baptist church, and has taken an earnest part in its varied activities, serving on the Executive Committee of the church and as teacher and superintendent in the Sunday-school connected with it, also as trustee of the Church and a member of the Prudential Committee. Mr. Howe owns a farm in this town. The mill building occu- pied by the boot and shoe manufactory was erected by Mr. Howe. It is three and one- half stories in height, and its floorage is one hundred feet by forty feet.

AVID A. MATTHEWS, Captain of Police in the city of Worcester, Mass., was born in Boston, March 7, 1847, son of George R. and Mar- garet (Deering) Matthews. His paternal an- cestry were Scotch-Irish Protestants, and his mother's family were Roman Catholics.

His father, George R. Matthews, was born in Ireland in 1815. When seventeen years old he emigrated to Canada, but soon after- ward went to Boston, where he learned the machinist's trade and followed it for twenty years. He settled in Worcester in 1865, and is still residing here. He was married in Boston in 1840; and he and his wife reared a family of seven sons and three daughters, of whom four sons and two daughters are living. The mother died in 1897, aged seventy-three years.

David A. Matthews comes of healthy and robust stock, and is himself unusually strong and vigorous. He attended the common schools until twelve years old, and then learned the shoemaker's trade. On October 24, 1863, he enlisted in Boston as a private in the Third Massachusetts Battery, Light Artil- lery, under Captain A. P. Martin, ex-Mayor of Boston and now chairman of the Board of Police Commissioners, Joining the Army of

the Potomac (Fifth Corps) under General Grant, he participated in the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna River, Laurel Hill, Cold Harbor, Weldon Railroad, Hatcher's Run, Five Forks, and the siege of Petersburg, and was present at Lee's surren- der. He was discharged as a Corporal, June 12, 1865, having been in excellent health throughout the entire period of service. Re- suming work as a shoe finisher in West Boyls- ton, he was thus employed until June 4, 1867, when he enlisted in Troop E, Eighth United States Regulars. During his five years of army experience in the West he met with many hair-breadth escapes in Indian warfare. He was honorably discharged in New Mexico, June 4, 1872, and was awarded a medal by Congress for bravery and faithful service. He joined the Worcester police force, September 3, 1872, was made a roundsman in 1879 and appointed a captain in 1884.

On November 16, 1872, he was united in marriage with Mary A. Sweeney, of this city. He has had four children: namely, two that died in infancy, a daughter Marietta, and a son George. Marietta Matthews is a graduate of the State Normal School, Worcester, and now a teacher in the public schools. George Raymond Matthews, who was graduated from the English and Classical High Schools and later attended the Polytechnic Institute, was with Washburn & Moen until 1898, and is now employed at the Worcester County Insti- tution for Savings. Both he and his sister are proficient in vocal and instrumental music.

Captain Matthews is highly esteemed both as an official and a citizen, and is popular in Grand Army of the Republic circles. He and his family reside at 122 Austin Street.

EORGE FREEMAN CUMMINGS, for eleven years superintendent of the Stoneville Worsted Mill in the town of Auburn, Mass., was a native of Bridgewater, N.H. He was born on Septem- ber 26, 1839, son of Walter Webster and Phœbe (Marston) Cummings, his father a cousin of Daniel Webster. His great-great- grandfather Cummings, a Scotchman by birth,

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emigrated from Dundee to New England in 1713, and eventually settled in Dunstable.

The emigrant's son Elisha, who was born in Westford, Mass., then a part of Dunstable, removed to New Hampton, N. H., where he settled on a farm. During the war of the Revolution he was one of the Portsmouth Home Guards. He died in 1793, and is buried in Lowell, Mass. His wife survived him some seven years, and died at the ad- vanced age of ninety-nine. They had four sons and three daughters, all of whom grew to maturity and married. None of these are now living. One daughter, Relief Robinson, the youngest, died recently at Scottsburg, Va., at the age of eighty-five.

Andrew Jackson Cummings, son of Elisha and grandfather of the late George F. Cum- mings, was born in New Hampshire in 1761, and was a lifelong farmer in that State. He married Hannah Crawford, daughter of Colonel Jonathan Crawford, who, we are told, for val- iant service in the old French and Indian War was given a grant of land, six by twenty miles in extent, in Bridgewater and Bristol. His tract was twenty miles from any settle- ment and forty-five miles from Concord. He made his way to it through the dense forest by a trail and blazed trees. The house he erected in Bridgewater in 1763 is still stand- ing in good preservation, but is no longer in the possession of the family.

Walter Webster Cummings, the father above named, who was born in Bridgewater in 1806, and died there in 1868, was a dentist by profession. In 1849 he went out to Cali- fornia across the plains, and remained there two years. He was fairly successful in his quest, and his son now has the bags of deer- skin in which he brought home gold dust. He was buried in Plymouth, N. H. His mar- riage with Phobe Marston took place in 1831, she being then only eighteen years of age. She was born in New Hampton, N.H., in 1813, and died at the age of seventy-eight. Her son George not long before his death erected a fine monument to her memory. Three children were born to Walter W. and Phœbe M. Cummings; namely, Cyrus Web- ster, Alvin Newton, and George Freeman.

The first of these is a civil engineer. In 1854 he went to Peru and Chile, South America. He was last heard from when he had been there five years. Alvin Newton died at the age of five years.

George Freeman Cummings received a limited education in the common schools, and at the age of twelve went into a woollen- mill to work. This was at Bridgewater, N. H., and he remained there for three years. Later he was at Hookset, N.H., for a year, at Nashua for a year, and from 1853 to 1869 in Lowell, Mass., as overseer. When only nine- teen years of age he had reached this position. He was ten years at Milford, N. H., as super- intendent of a worsted-mill. After that he was engaged in various departments of the mill from the carding - room up. For five years he ran a mill which he had started at Chelmsford. During one year of this time he also operated a hosiery or knitting mill. At the time of his death he had been in Stone- ville over eleven years.

Mr. Cummings was married on July 3, 1862, to Alice A. Neal, of Staley Bridge, England, near Manchester. Her parents were Allen and Ellen (Wild) Neal, her father a manufacturer of fabrics. He died in England in 1849; and two years later the mother came to America with her daughter, the latter being ihen only five years of age. The mother died in New York City in 1869. Mr. Cummings ts survived by his wife and four children - Cyrus W., George Walter, Minnie Irene, and Alice Ward Cummings. The first named of these is an overseer in the mill. He is mar- ried and has one son, Cyrus Freeman Cum- mings, the only grandchild in Mrs. Cum- mings's family. George W. Cummings is an operative in the mill. Minnie, who resides with her mother, is a graduate of the Auburn High School. Alice is ten years of age. Cyrus W. was eleven years old when his brother was born, and there are ten years of difference in the ages of the third and fourth children. Mr. Cummings has served as Se- lectman three years, has also been Road Com- missioner and a member of the Board of Health, and has held other town offices. Mr. Cummings was a Knight Templar and an Odd

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Fellow, and in the latter organization had taken all the degrees. In politics he was in- dependent. He was a member of the Veteran Firemen's Association.

Services at the funeral of Mr. Cummings were conducted by the Rev. Guy F. Wheeler, of Worcester. Mention was made of the pleasant relations that had always existed be- tween Mr. Cummings and his employees and of the love and kindness that characterized his home life. Many friends were present. The numerous floral tributes from societies and individuals were very beautiful. The burial was at Hillside Cemetery in Auburn.

ILLIAM ALPHONSO SAWIN, a department foreman at the Cromp- ton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, was born in this city, February 22, 1846, son of Charles Horatio and Emeline (Stearns) Sawin. His paternal grandfather, Henry Belah Sawin, was a prosperous farmer of Sherborn, Mass., and died there in 1858, aged over seventy years, having reared a large family. The only survivor of Grandfather Sawin's four sons is Dana Sawin, who resides in Townsend, Mass.

Charles Horatio Sawin, the father of Will- iam A., was born in Sherborn, April 12, 1811. Learning the gunsmith's trade, he fol- lowed it in Shrewsbury, Mass., until coming to Worcester; and, although he worked at other mechanical employments to some ex- tent, the greater part of his active life was spent in the manufacture of firearms. He died in 1888. For his first wife he married Almira Stratton, of Leominster, Mass., who died in January, 1843, leaving no children. On April 6, 1845, he married. Emeline Stearns, daughter of Adolphus Stearns, of Holden, Mass. She died January 21, 1856, leaving three children: William A., the sub- ject of this sketch; Henry B., of Worcester; and Elizabeth B., who died in 1881. His third wife, Diana Stearns, a sister of his second wife, died in 1879.

William Alphonso Sawin attended school regularly in Worcester until thirteen years

old, when he went to work upon a farm; and for the succeeding three years he pursued his studies the winter terms only. At the age of sixteen he began work in the factory of Ethan Allen, manufacturer of rifles and pistols, where he remained two years, being subse- quently employed in a steam valve and whistle manufactory for the same length of time; later by the Union Water Meter Company; Paul Blaisdell, manufacturer of machinists' tools; and R. Ball & Co., makers of wood- working machinery. His connection with the loom manufacturing business dates from the spring of 1873, when he entered the employ of Lucius J. and Francis B. Knowles. He continued with their successors, the Knowles Loom Works Corporation, which was consoli- dated with the Crompton Company some two years ago; and he now holds a responsible po- sition as foreman of one of the important de- partments. A master mechanic of recognized ability, he does all of his own designing and draughting, and makes all of his gigs and tools.

Mr. Sawin contracted the first of his two marriages in 1866 with Georgiana Smith, of Holden, daughter of Moses Smith. Four children were born of this union, namely: Viola E., who died at the age of twenty-three years; Edith G., who married Frederick C. Williams, of this city; and two daughters - Anna Josephine and Flora Lillian - who died in infancy. The mother died in May, 1890, aged forty-five years and twenty-seven days.

In January, 1892, Mr. Sawin married Mrs. Susie B. Sprague, widow of .George H. Sprague and a daughter of Henry M. and Susan D. (Perry) Smith, of Homansville, R.I. She was seven weeks old when her mother died, and she was reared by relatives and her two step-mothers.

In politics Mr. Sawin is a Republican, but takes no active part in public affairs beyond casting his vote. He belongs to the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows. In his religious belief he is a Second Adventist, as was also his father. He was one of the founders and is a leading member of the church, whose house of worship is at the corner of Piedmont and Chandler Streets, He makes his home in

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his apartment house on Jacques Avenue, and is one of the well-to-do residents of that lo- cality.

DIN C. ESTABROOK, a teacher of high reputation, residing in Lunen- burg, was born in Reading, Vt., De- cember 9, 1828, son of Thomas and Sybil (Brown) Estabrook. He is of the sixth generation from Thomas Estabrook, of Eng- land, who came over in 1660 and settled at Concord, Mass., and of the eighth generation from Nicholas Brown, an early settler of Read- ing, Mass.

Thomas and Sybil Estabrook were the par- ents of seven children. Thomas went to Michigan to marry a lady he had known years before. He was killed when within three miles of her home by three highwaymen. One of them confessed the crime, and after a six weeks' trial, with two hundred witnesses, they were all convicted and sentenced to im- prisonment for life. Mary Viola, who married Augustus V. Jones, of Fitchburg, is now de- ceased. William is a resident of Indianapolis, Ind. Alonzo Flagg Estabrook was a civil en- gineer and surveyor, lawyer, and teacher. His last work was the survey of the Black Hills Railroad from Omaha to Gordon, Neb. The parents came to Lunenburg with their son Adin, and subsequently resided with him, the father dying seven years later at the age of eighty-four. Mrs. Sybil Estabrook survived her husband thirteen years, passing away at the age of ninety-two. They had been married sixty-one years.

Adin C. Estabrook when seventeen years old began attendance at a school near Buffalo, N. Y., and was subsequently a student for two years at the Woodstock (Vt.) Academy. At the age of twenty he began teaching, and five years later became principal of a school in Centreville, Mich., where he remained two years. Then, returning East, he taught suc- cessively in Vermont, New York, and New Hampshire, and later, since coming to Lunen- burg, in Massachusetts. His last school, a private one to fit teachers, was attended by many of the best young people of the town.

Mr. Estabrook compiled and published a list of the books in the Lunenburg Library. He also wrote a brief history of Lunenburg for the Worcester County History.

On January 5, 1857, at Woodstock, Vt., Mr. Estabrook was married to Emma W. Tarbell, daughter of Daniel and Rebecca (Dickerman) Tarbell and a native of Tunbridge, Vt. Mr. Tarbell was a builder in Royalston, and was a man prominent in public affairs. Mr. and Mrs. Estabrook have two children, namely : Viola May, who has been a trustee of the library and is now a member of the School Committee; and Othelia Gertrude. Both are graduates of the Normal School at Randolph, Vt., in which they taught. They have also taught here and in Fitchburg, Mass. They now reside at home with their parents. For ten years, or until her death, November 9, 1897, Mr. Estabrook's uncle's widow from Hancock, N. H., had a home with him. She was the oldest person in Lunenburg, having been born in October, 1801.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Estabrook has been active in public affairs since he was eigh- teen years old. He attends the caucuses and usually the conventions of his party. In 1876 he was a member of the Massachusetts legis- lature, and served on the committee for redis- tricting the State. He was elected a member of the Lunenburg School Committee in 1868, and has been connected with the schools and library since. He is a member of the grange and also of the Worcester North Agricultural Society, being an exhibitor of fruit and farm products. He attends and supports the Ortho- dox church.

J OHN D. LOVELL, a lifelong resident of Worcester, was born April 30, 1818. He was a son of Cyrus and Lois (Temple) Lovell and one of a family of five children. He had three brothers - Edwin H., Cyrus A., and George A. ; and one sister, Abby M. His father, who owned and cultivated a farm on the outskirts of the town, came of a long-lived family, and attained the age of nearly ninety years.

John D. Lovell obtained his education in the

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district schools and at Phillips Academy, An- dover. After teaching school two terms he settled upon a farm, which he carried on until he was thirty-eight years old. Then, selling his property, he moved into the city, with a view of engaging in mercantile pursuits. In July, 1857, he established himself as a dealer in seeds and agricultural implements at 588 Main Street, where for nearly twenty years he had a monopoly in his line of trade. Selling out to John and John A. Rice in 1875, he re- tired, having accumulated a competency. After relinquishing business, he devoted his time to the settlement of estates, and as trus- tee, executor, or administrator satisfactorily adjusted the affairs of several. He was con- sidered an authority on real estate valuations, as he was constantly appraising city property for the Mechanics' Savings Bank, of which he was a trustee.

He was a director of the First National Fire Insurance Company from the time of its organization in 1868. He was also a trustee of the Rural Cemetery Corporation, and at one time was similarly connected with the Worcester County Horticultural Society. In politics he was a Whig, then a Free Soiler, and later a Republican ; and, although not de- sirous of holding office, he was a faithful supporter of the party. He was elected to the Board of Aldermen from Ward Seven in 1866, serving two years, and during the years 1877- 78 he was Representative to the legislature. Mr. Lowell died at his home, 774 Main Street, February 7, 1898, after a prolonged illness.

His first wife, Eleanor Winch, of Holden, whom he married on April 18, 1843, died April 26, 1882. On November 20, 1883, he wedded for his second wife Mrs. Ellen C. Bigelow. Mr. Lovell was her second hus- band, and she survives him. Her maiden name was Ellen M. Clifford.

She was first married in 1861 to Samuel T. Bigelow. He was born in Worcester in 1834, son of Walter R. and Eliza (Mower) Bigelow. He completed his education in Europe, and upon his return to the United States he be- came treasurer of the Bigelow Carpet Com- pany, of Clinton, Mass., a position which he

occupied for many years. In his later years Mr. Bigelow was secretary and treasurer of the Worcester Safe Deposit and Trust Com- pany, from which he severed his connections in 1874. He died in 1879. He was a prom- inent Mason and highly esteemed in social circles. By her first marriage Mrs. Lovell became the mother of three children, namely : George Clifford, who died at the age of nine- teen years; Grace Mower, who married W. J. Denny, and resides in Lowell, Mass .; and Alice Murdock Bigelow, who married J. William Buzzell, and resides in Dorchester.

In religion the late Mr. Lovell adhered to the Trinitarian Congregational faith and form of worship, and contributed liberally toward the support of the church and to benevolent objects. In May, 1884, he left the Salem Street Church to join the Piedmont Church. He was an Assessor for two years.

R ICHARD A. LEONARD, an exten- sive box manufacturer of Fitchburg and an ex-member of the legislature, was born in Raynham, Bristol County, Mass., October 5, 1830. A son of Artemas and Mercy (Holmes) Leonard, he belongs to the seventh American generation of the family. During the time of King Philip all who bore the name of Leonard were exempt from harm by order of that sachem, in return for services rendered to the Indians by one of the family. James Leonard, an early ancestor, constructed the first forge in New England. Several of the Leonards, including a great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, participated in the Revolutionary War. Solomon Leonard, Richard A. Leon- ard's grandfather, was a native of Taunton, Mass., and a prosperous farmer during his active years. He performed his customary amount of labor on the day of his death, when he was seventy-seven years old. He was the father of twelve children, of whom three sons and three daughters were born of his first mar- riage. Nine of his children lived to celebrate the golden anniversary of their weddings, an example of longevity which few families can equal.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 74

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