Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 76

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 76

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MORTON E. CONVERSE.

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at the Framingham Normal School, Wisconsin University, and Boston Institute of Tech- nology, and has taught in private schools of Greenfield and Sherborn; Edward, who gradu- ated from the Worcester Institute of Tech- nology and the Johns Hopkins University, and who died at the age of twenty-seven, when he was about to take the chair of mathematics at the Rose Polytechnic Institute, Terre Haute, Ind. ; and Amy, who is the wife of Samuel T. Maynard, the professor of botany and horti- culture at Amherst College, and has two chil- dren, Ednah Barnes Maynard, and Edward Barnes Maynard.

ORTON E. CONVERSE, manu- facturer, Winchendon, Mass. - The subject of this sketch belongs to . a family whose original seat was in France, whence Roger de Coigniers is said to have migrated to England near the end of the reign of William the Conqueror. Late in the sixteenth century, after the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, Pierre Coigniers, Huguenot, fled with his wife and two children to England. Others of the family may have settled in Eng- land. The name in that country was changed to Conyers and from that to Convers. The coat of arms of Coigniers, Conyers, and Convers being essentially the same sustains the theory of a common origin. (See History of Rindge, N. H., by Ezra S. Stearns.) Another writer says that Roger de Coigneriès, as he spells the name, was at the battle of Hastings with the Conqueror.

Edward Convers, who was born in England about 1589, came to America in 1630. He settled at Charlestown, Mass., was shortly afterward made a freeman, and served as a Se- lectman from 1635 to 1640. He was one of the seven commissioners "chosen by the church of Charlestown to effect the settlement of the town of Woburn." He served as Se- lectman of Woburn from 1644 until his death, which occurred at what is now Winchester, August 10, 1663. Sarah Convers, his first wife, died January 14, 1661-62; and on Sep- tember 9, 1662, he married Joanna Corbin Sprague, widow of Ralph Sprague. Edward

Convers was the father of four children, all of whom were by his first wife.

Ensign James Convers, the next in this line, was born in England in 1620. He died in Woburn, May 10, 1715. On October 24, 1643, he married Anna Long, who was born in 1625, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Long, of Charlestown.

Major James Convers, son of Ensign James, was born in Woburn, November 16, 1645. He took a prominent part in the public affairs of the colony, serving for ten years as a Rep- resentative to the General Court and being three times elected Speaker of the House. For his gallant defence of Storer's Garrison in 1691 he was promoted to the rank of Major in the Colonial militia. He died July 8, 1706. On January 1, 1668-69, he married Hannah Carter, who was born January 19, 1650, daughter of Captain John and Elizabeth Car- ter, of Woburn.

John Convers, son of Major James, was born in Woburn, August 22, 1673, and died in that town January 6, 1707-8. On May 22, 1699, he married Abigail Sawyer, who was born March 17, 1679, daughter of Joshua Sawyer, of Woburn; and on November 29, 1720, she married for her second husband John Vinton. Joshua Convers, son of John, was born in Wo- burn, June 3, 1704. He resided for a time in Dunstable, Mass., from which town he re- moved in 1729 to Naticook, N. H. (now Merri- mac) ; and he was drowned in the Merrimac River in 1744. On July 31, 1729, he was married in Dunstable to Rachel Blanchard, who was born March 23, 1712, daughter of Jo- seph and Abiah (Hassell) Blanchard.

The next in line was Morton E. Converse's great-grandfather, Zebulon Convers, who was born March 21, 1744, and who changed his name to Converse. In 1773 he married Sarah Merriam, who was born October 10, 1753, daughter of Nathaniel and Olive (Wheeler) Merriam, of Bedford, Mass. Prior to the Rev- olutionary War, Zebulon settled in Rindge, where he died November 10, 1805 ; and his wife died November 28 of the same year. Joshua Converse, son of Zebulon and Sarah (Merriam) Converse, who was grandfather of Morton E., was born in Rindge, April 23, 1781. He

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followed general farming in connection with the manufacture of lumber and woodenware, and was a successful business man. He served as a Selectman in Rindge for seventeen years. He was Representative to the legislat- ure and a delegate to the Constitutional Con- vention in 1850. He died November 1, 1862. On May 6, 1808, he married for his first wife Polly Piper, who was born February 13, 1791, daughter of Thomas and Hephzibah (Jewett) Piper ; and she died February 7, 1840. His second wife, whom he married May 20, 1841, was Polly Kimball, who was born September 25, 1789, daughter of William and Abigail (Hamlet) Kimball, of Rindge. She died Sep- tember 10, 1866.

Ebenezer H. Converse, the father of Morton E., was born in Rindge, N. H., November 14, 18II, son of Joshua Converse by his first wife. He was engaged in the manufacture of lumber and woodenware at Rindge for more than forty years. Soon after the firing on Fort Sumter in April, 1861, he raised a company in Rindge and vicinity, of which he was Captain. This company became a part of the Sixth New Hampshire Regiment of Volunteers, and ac- companied General Burnside's expedition to North Carolina. Sarah Darling, his first wife, whom he married October 8, 1835, was a daughter of Jewett B. and Hannah (Mur- dock) Darling, of Winchendon. She died July 10, 1875. On June 2, 1877, he married for his second wife Mrs. Harriet E. Dearborn, born Leland, daughter of James and Hannah (Kidder) Leland. She died July 16, 1888.

Morton E. Converse, the subject of this sketch, was born in Rindge, N. H., September 17, 1837, son of Ebenezer H. and Sarah (Darling) Converse. He was educated in the public schools at Rindge and at several acad- emies. At the opening of the Civil War he was in the clothing business at Salmon Falls, N. H. Closing out his business, he enlisted for three years in the company of which his father was Captain in the Sixth New Hamp- shire Volunteers. For a considerable time he was in the commissary department. Under General Burnside in North Carolina he partici- pated in the second battle of Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, and Chantilly ;

and later he served under General Grant in Mississippi, at Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and other memorable engagements. In 1867 he engaged in the manufacture of pyroligneous acid and other wood acid products at Converse- ville, in the town of Rindge, continuing in that business some eight years. In 1873 he built a mill, in which he engaged in the man- ufacture of light woodenware; and it was then and there the later successful toy manufactur- ing business was conceived and inaugurated. Feeling the need of a larger field in which to carry out his plans, he came to Winchendon, Mass., where in company with Orlando Mason, under the firm name of Mason & Converse, he made toys and woodenware for six years. This business showed continuous growth until in 1883 Mr. Mason withdrew, and Mr. Con- verse became associated with his uncle, Alfred C. Converse, under the firm name of the Con- verse Toy and Woodenware Company, which firm continued for four years. Since 1887 this business has been conducted by the same parties under the style of Morton E. Converse & Co., Morton E. being the managing partner.

At the formation of the partnership with Alfred C. Converse in 1883 the Monadnock steam mill property was purchased. To meet the rapidly increasing demands of the busi- ness, an additional factory was erected in 1886 and another in 1891. Besides these buildings, which were each one hundred by forty feet, with four floors, a number of others were erected. This firm manufactures wooden toys, children's and dolls' furniture and nov- elties. Special departments are devoted to the manufacture of toy and military drums, also dolls' trunks. The wonderful develop- ment of this business in a new field of opera- tion has led others to enter into the manu- facture of similar goods, though this firm is far in the lead of all, and has the most extensive toy manufacturing business in any country. Their factories are located by the side of two railroads, and have good side-track facilities for the receiving and forwarding of merchan- dise.

The buildings are heated by steam and lighted by electricity. The town water sys- tem is made available by hydrants upon the

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streets and grounds, and an automatic sprinkler system is provided throughout all the build- ings. These buildings are also equipped with an automatic thermostat fire alarm system. At the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893 this firm made an extensive exhibit of its goods, which attracted much at- tention. The highest awards, a medal and di- ploma, were given to this firm for the finest toys in the world.

This business did not mount to its present proportions and pre-eminence by chance. Its management and development with all its re- quirements have demanded untiring energy, perpetual alertness, and a peculiar genius for successfully meeting emergencies, conquering obstacles, and discerning opportunities. The business now employs from one hundred and fifty to two hundred hands, and has a pay-roll of nearly fifty thousand dollars. Its products are shipped to all parts of the United States and Canada; and latterly this firm has become known and its products are called for from all continents. Many of the goods and manufact- uring processes of this firm are protected by letters patent, these patents being almost en- tirely brought out by and issued to Morton E. Converse, the managing partner and central force of this unique business.

On June 30, 1896, one of the large factories and several other buildings were entirely de- stroyed by fire, as also a large amount of lum- ber in the yard; but new buildings were at once erected, and in a few weeks all was pro- gressing as usual, the business suffering hardly a perceptible interruption.

On August 19, 1869, Mr. Converse married Hattie M. Atherton, daughter of Thomas and Susan (Peacock) Atherton, of Lowell, Mass. Mrs. Converse died October 28, 1886, leaving two children, namely : Grace A., born Novem- ber 17, 1873; and Atherton D., born January 7, 1877. September 17, 1889, he married Bertha E. Porter, of Chicago, Il1., daughter of the Rev. Samuel Porter.

Mr. Converse is a public-spirited citizen, finding time to enter personally into active efforts to promote the welfare and progress of the community in which he lives. He has been prominent in the affairs of the Winchen-

don Electric Light and Power Company, hav- ing been one of the originators of this com- pany, of which he is president. He is treasurer of the New England Baby Carriage Company, president of the New England Lock and Hinge Company, director in Granite State Manufacturing Company, director in the Win- chendon Board of Trade, and active in church and society organizations. He is a thirty-sec- ond degree Mason, an Odd Fellow, a member of the I. O. Red Men, also of the G. A. R., and of the Sons of Veterans. He is also a member of the Republican Club of Massa- chusetts and of the Home Market Club, Boston. In 1890 and 1891 he was a Repre- sentative in the State legislature, and served as chairman of the House Committee on Banks and Banking and as a member of the Committee on Water Supply.

Mr. Converse has a fine residence on Front Street, Winchendon. The location is conven- ient, the view down the valley of Miller's River most charming, and the residence itself is at- tractive and convenient, possessing as it does all the appointments that can be found in a model New England home in these closing days of the nineteenth century.

HARLES BUCK, a manufacturer of chisels, gouges, razors, and other edge- tools at Millbury, was born in Shef- field, England, March 22, 1829, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Taylor) Buck. His grandfather, also named Joseph Buck, born in 1746, died in 1824, aged seventy- eight years. The grandfather was a skilled worker in steel and a good accountant, and for thirty years held the position of manager in Newbold's edge-tool factory in Sheffield. Joseph Buck, second, born in Sheffield, Eng- land, March 6, 1801, died there at sixty-four years of age. His wife, Elizabeth, whom he married April 5, 1825, was a native of Don- caster, England, born in the year 1804. Her father was a carpet manufacturer. Joseph and Elizabeth Buck had three sons: John, born February 20, 1826; Charles, the subject of this sketch; and Richard T., born October I, 1831. All the sons served an apprenticeship

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under their father and became skilful in the art of finishing edge-tools. Richard came to America in 1853. John, the first to emigrate, came to America in August 1849. He worked in Williamsburg, N. Y., where he received less than a dollar per day, until his skill brought him to the attention of D. R. Barton, a prominent manufacturer of Roches- ter, N. Y., who sent for him, and by whom he was employed for three years. At the ex- piration of that time he started in business for himself in Newark, N.J., but soon re- turned to Rochester, where he remained until I853. He is now deceased.

Charles Buck received his early education in Sheffield, England. After leaving school he entered the edge-tool works, and under the experienced eye of his father learned the trade of grinding and polishing edge-tools. In 1853, about three years after coming to America, he began the manufacture of cutlery. In the fall of 1873 be built his first shop in Millbury on a site purchased by him in 1865, and on which was a dwelling into which he moved at that time. He employs from fifteen to twenty hands, and sells his goods partly through commission houses in New York, Chicago, and Baltimore. Though now nearly seventy years of age, he is very active and makes frequent trips, going as far west as Chicago and St. Louis. Also, occasionally, he takes a hand at the forge, tempering tools, as a reminder of his earlier days. The suc- cess which he has achieved is the result of close personal attention. He is very conser- vative, preferring small and safe profits to the uncertainty which so often attends large un- dertakings.

In 1850 Mr. Buck was first united in mar- riage with Isabella Monroe, a native of Scot- land, who had three children, of whom one died in infancy. The others are: Elizabeth, now the widow of Dennis P. Hodge, resid- ing in Worcester, Mass. ; and Isabella, who is the widow of Charles Crossman, lives at home, and has one son, Charles F. Crossman. Mrs. Buck died August 15, 1855. A second marriage united Mr. Buck with Mary Small, a native of England, who bore him four chil- dren. Of these, two grew to maturity and one

is living. The latter is Martha, now the wife of Luther Wheeler, residing at New York Mills, N. Y., and the mother of six chil- dren. Mrs. Mary Small Buck died September 1, 1864. Mr. Charles Buck contracted a third marriage on November 23, 1864, with Maria C. Kendall, a native of Canada and a daughter of Lyman and Maria Kendall, who were successful farming people. There were four children by this union, namely: Charles Buck, who died when three years of age; Josephine, who became the wife of Fred Ogden, and has one son, Leopold Earle, hav- ing lost an infant son; Julia, the wife of Fred Wheeler, who is in the employ of Mr. Buck; and Edith M., a young lady of seven- teen, who is attending the Classical High School. In politics Mr. Buck is a Republi- can. For over forty-one years he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as class leader for many years and as Sunday-school superintend- ent for ten years. He has a modest and com- fortable home with two acres of land, on which he also has his shop, storage buildings, and other buildings.

HARLES S. STOUGHTON, mechanic at the loom manufactory of the Cromp- ton & Knowles Company, was born in Gill, Mass., September 2, 1855, son of Samuel and Hannah Eliza (Spaulding) Stoughton. He is a lineal descendant of Thomas Stoughton, who was admitted a free- man of Dorchester, Mass., in 1630, and a few years later settled at Windsor, Conn. The family is spoken of as one of "remote anti- quity in County Surrey, England."

The first member of the family to settle in Gill bought a tract of land of the Indians. He cleared a farm which has passed through several generations of his descendants, and is now owned by an aunt of the subject of this sketch.

Samuel Stoughton, the father of Charles S., was a prosperous farmer and a lifelong resi- dent of Gill. His wife was a native of Jaffrey, N.H. They were married at the home of her parents, who owned a farm in the

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immediate vicinity of Mount Monadnock. She became the mother of four children, namely: Sarah, who at the time of her death, which occurred at the age of twenty-two, had gained considerable reputation as a writer for the Youth's Companion and other papers ; Frederick S., a mechanic of Worcester; Anna, wife of George R. Bliss, of Worces- ter; and Charles S., the subject of this sketch. The father and mother lived to be seventy-six and sixty-eight years old respec- tively, and both died on Christmas Day, 1891.

Charles S. Stoughton was educated in the district schools. He resided at the parental home until fifteen years old, when he came to Worcester, and for a year was employed as a clerk by Messrs. Ware & Pratt, clothing dealers. He then began his apprenticeship at the machinist's trade with the Knowles Brothers, and has worked his way forward through the different departments to his pres- ent position. He has witnessed the develop- ment both in size and importance of these works, where, in place of the thirty men orig- inally employed, over one thousand are now necessary to meet the requirements of the business.

In politics Mr. Stoughton is a Republican. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Royal Arcanum. He pos- sesses a pleasing tenor voice, which has been heard to advantage in the various church choirs of the city, including the First Uni- versalist, the Old South, of which he is a member, and the Main Street Baptist Church. He has two sons, aged fourteen and nine years. He resides at 938 Main Street, Worcester.

EORGE EPHRAIM JONES, a Se- lectman and honored citizen of Lunenburg, was born in this town, June 23, 1831, son of Ephraim and Jemima (Barrett) Jones. He is a representative of the eighth generation from the emigrant ancestor of the family, Lewis Jones, who settled in Roxbury, Mass., in 1640, and died at Water- town, Mass., in 1684, and whose wife was Ann Stone.

William Jones, the great-grandson of Lewis, was the first of the name in Lunenburg, com- ing here in 1741, and being admitted to the church the same year. He built a house in the north part of the town, on what has since been known as Jones Hill. The estate passed down through three succeeding generations to the subject of this sketch, who sold it in 1874. When William Jones occupied it, it was forti- fied and called the " castle. " He was a king's surveyor, and in that capacity went to Nova Scotia to survey some land. Returning, he died of yellow fever, and was buried at sea January 26, 1761, aged fifty-four. He was held in high esteem by his townsmen. He served as Selectman three years, on the School Board, as Collector, and as Constable. He was married in Woburn, Mass., to Sarah Locke, a brave and noble woman. She saved the life of a squaw who was chased by Indians, letting her into the house just as a tomahawk struck into the door jamb. Mrs. Sarah Locke Jones died in 1788, aged eighty-one years.

William Jones, Jr., the next in this line, in- herited the homestead. He was Constable in 1768, and held the offices of Collector and School Committee. He died in 1809, aged seventy-two.

Captain William Jones, born May 15, 1765, son of William, Jr., died May 15, 1854, his eighty-ninth birthday. At sixteen he enlisted and saw service in the Revolutionary War. Later he became Captain of a company of mi- litia, and the title afterward clung to him. He was a man of considerable prominence in the town. He served on the School Commit- tee, sixteen years as Selectman, and he helped to found the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he was very active, giving both of his time and of his money. He was married at Harvard, Mass., in 1791, to Susannah Pollard, of that place. They had six children.

Major Ephraim Jones, the eldest of these, born May 21, 1792, died December 25, 1880, aged eighty-eight, having been a very strong and active man up to within three days of his death. His title came from his rank in the State militia. He served on the Board of Se- lectmen four years. He was thrice married : first to Jemima Barrett, who died July 7,

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1846, aged fifty; second to her sister Lu- cinda, widow of Walter Carlton; and third to Mrs. Adeline E., widow of Luther M. Graves. His second wife died April 5, 1864; and his third wife survives. Major Ephraim Jones was the father of six children, three sons and three daughters: Henrietta, Maria L., William F., Susan Elizabeth, George E., and Charles Gustavus. Henrietta, who lived to be nearly eighty, married for her first husband Joseph S. Ellis, for her second husband Abram Pierce, and her third husband was Benjamin Hall. Maria L., wife of the Rev. Randall Mitchell, died at fifty. William F., a car- penter by trade, died at twenty-six. Susan Elizabeth, wife of Jonathan Piper, lives at Somerville, Mass. Charles Gustavus died at the age of twenty-five. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College, a very promising young man, and was teaching the Upton High School when taken ill. After his third marriage Major Jones moved to Lunenburg village.

George Ephraim Jones, the special subject of this brief biography, is the only son living. He received a common-school education, sup- plemented by one term at an academy, and at nineteen he began work at Daniel Putnam's in Lunenburg. In 1856 he spent some time in the West. Two years later he took charge of a farm in Groton belonging to a widow, and car- ried it on about seven years. In 1865 he pur- chased the home farm, to which he brought his bride. The buildings were all burned in 1870 with heavy loss. He rebuilt and continued to live there until 1874, when he sold the prop- erty and removed to Lunenburg village. He bought his present homestead in 1879.

Mr. Jones was first married on April 5, 1865, to Miss Susan Elizabeth Lawrence, of Pepperell, Mass. She died May 16, 1873; and he was married on June 22, 1882, to Miss Lucy A. Peabody, daughter of Joseph Peabody, of Lunenburg. There are no children by either union.

In political matters Mr. Jones is a Republi- can, and has served as delegate to various party conventions. At the age of twenty-two he was elected Constable; in 1876 he was on the Board of Selectmen, of which he is a mem- ber at the present time, having now served

continuously for ten years with the exception of the year 1891, when at his request another was elected in his stead. He is of the fifth successive generation of his family to hold the office of Selectman in Lunenburg. He is a member of the Lunenburg Grange, and has served as director in the Westminster Na- tional Bank. He attends and supports the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his father was a member, a prominent officer, and a liberal supporter.

HARLES EMERY STEVENS, law- yer and littérateur, for many years a prominent resident of Worcester, where for a quarter of a century he was Register of Probate and Insolvency, was born in Pembroke, N.H., March 24, 1815, being the eldest son of the Hon. Boswell and Catherine Hale (Emery) Stevens. His father, who was born in the District of Columbia, was Judge of Probate for Mer- rimack County, New Hampshire; and his mother was a grand-daughter of Noah Emery, a member of the Provincial Congress from that State during the time of the Revolution. Mr. Stevens was born in the historic old house, long since demolished, which was erected more than a century ago by General Asa Robinson. This house was the birth- place of the Hon. Peter Robinson, at one time Speaker of the House of Assembly in the State of New York; and in it resided for a time the Hon. Richard Bartlett, Secretary of State for New Hampshire. There also Mr. Stevens's parents died.

Mr. Stevens prepared for college at Pem- broke Academy, which he entered at the age of ten. In 1831 he was enrolled as a student at Dartmouth College, and in 1835 he was there graduated. Among his classmates were, as known in later life: the Hon. John P. Healy, the law partner of Daniel Webster and for a generation City Solicitor of Boston; the Hon. Bradford N. Stevens, member of Congress from Illinois; the Hon. Charles T. Woodman, Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives; the Hon. George Barstow, Speaker of the House of Representatives in

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 76

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