Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 80

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 80

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On January 1, 1860, Mr. Holden married Mary J. Gilbert, daughter of Darius Gilbert, of Phillipston, Mass. Mrs. Holden and her only child, named Mary Elizabeth, reside in Worcester. A young woman of unusual apti- tude for affairs, Miss Holden during the last year of her father's life successfully managed his business.

OSES ALLEN WHEELER, su- perintendent of the Dean & Whit- ing Elevator Company at Worces- ter, Mass., is the representative of an old New England family, being a de- scendant in the ninth generation of George Wheeler,' whose name appears in the first year's records of the town of Concord, Mass., in 1638.

It is probable that this remote ancestor was

a member of the first party of settlers in Con- cord in 1635, though from what part of Eng- land he came is uncertain. He appears to have been a person of consequence and presum- ably of education and sound judgment, as he was often intrusted with important matters, and served on many committees for the transaction of public business. He was Selectman in 1660. He died between the years 1685 and 1687. His wife, Katherine, died in Concord, January 2, 1684-5. They had eight chil- dren - Thomas, Elizabeth, William, Ruth, Hannah, Sarah, John, Mary.

Thomas,2 the next in line of descent, was probably born in England. He married Oc- tober 10, 1657, Hannah Harrod (or Harwood, as the name is now spelled), and died in De- cember, 1686. His children were: Hannah, Thomas, and John.

Thomas, 3 called in the records of Concord Ensign, was born in that town, January I, 1659-60. He married November 13, 1695, Sarah Davis, daughter of Lieutenant Simon and Mary (Blood) Davis. She was born March 11, 1665-6, and died August 5, 1728. He died October 2, 1734. Their children were: Thomas, Sarah, Dorcas, Hannah, and Mary.

Thomas, 4 called in the town records Lieu- tenant and later in life receiving the title of Deacon, was born in Concord, August 14, 1696. He married first Mary Brooks, daugh- ter of Daniel and Ann (Meriam) Brooks. She was born in Concord, March 2, 1699-1700, and died in Worcester, May 18, 1740. His second wife, Susannah, died in Worcester, September 23, 1760, aged fifty-eight years. This Thomas Wheeler was first Town Clerk of Acton (in 1735-36). He was also Selectman in that town and later in Worcester, to which place he moved about 1739 or 1740. He died in Hardwick, Mass., January 31, 1769. His children were : Thomas, Mary, Daniel, Charles, Amos, Nathan, Sarah, and Thomas (second), the first Thomas having died in boyhood.

Thomas, 5 who was born in Acton, March 22, 1738-9, and died July 10, 1804, was a farmer, and settled in Hardwick. His wife, Sarah Warner, daughter of Jonathan Warner, of Hardwick, Mass., was born November 1, 1742,

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and died in 1837. Their children were : Charles, Thomas, Moses, Daniel, and Sally.

Thomas6 was born in Hardwick, March 3, 1767. He married first, June 3, 1790, Anna, daughter of Lieutenant Job Dexter. She died March 20, 1804. He married second, Febru- ary 14, 1805, Mary, daughter of Timothy Paige. She died September 18, 1828. He married twice afterward. He was an ingen- ious blacksmith and iron founder. He was long in military service, and rose to the rank of Colonel. He resided in Hardwick until about 1818, then removed to Ticonderoga, N. Y. He returned about 1830, and died in Worcester, April 26, 1851. He was buried in the family lot in the old cemetery at Hard- wick, Mass., where subsequently a monument was erected to his memory by his son, William Augustus. His children were : Charles, Sally, William Augustus, Ann Dexter, Thomas Alonzo, Charlotte Sophia, Mary Emeline, Re- becca Ann, Eliza Jane, Juliet Elvira, and five others who died in infancy.

William Augustus Wheeler 7 was born in Hardwick, Mass., March 31, 1798. He mar- ried January 13, 1825, Almira Warner Allen, daughter of Moses Allen, of Hardwick. She was born February 20, 1803, and died February 28, 1867. He died February 16, 1873. He learned the trade of blacksmith, and was one of the oldest iron founders in the State, having begun in 1812 at "Old Furnace Village," Hardwick, named for a furnace es- tablished many years previously by his father. From Hardwick he went to Brookfield and thence in 1823 to Worcester, where he es- tablished an iron foundry business at the cor- ner of Thomas and Union Streets. In 1825 he became associated with some of the leading men in Worcester in a foundry at Brookfield, where all kinds of castings were made, the doors of the court-house in Worcester being of his manufacture. He is credited with using the first steam-engine employed in the State west of Boston. In 1830 he returned to Worcester and established himself as an iron founder on the old ground, where he conducted a large and successful business for over forty years. In 1840 a machine shop was added to the establishment. Castings were made for

the iron workers and tool-makers in the city, besides a great variety of other work. He de- signed the first boring machine in Worcester, and in 1838 got out patterns for cooking stoves and box stoves for heating, and manufactured them. In 1842 he invented a furnace for heating buildings with wood or coal. In 1838 he added to his business the manufacture of brass castings. In 1852 his son Charles became associated with him in business, the partnership continuing until the latter's death in 1867.

Mr. Wheeler filled many official positions from Worcester's earliest history as a city. He was always interested in its public welfare and growth, and his opinion and services were required in many schemes for the development of the fast-growing city. He was one of the Worcester Aqueduct Company in 1845. In 1848, urged thereto by influential citizens, he became the contractor for building the Worcester & Nashua Railroad, an enterprise which his indomitable energy and skill enabled him to carry through successfully in spite of many discouragements and financial perils.

He was one of the original founders of the Worcester Mechanics' Association in 1841, and was elected its first president in 1842. He was influential in the erection of Mechanics' Hall in 1857, being one of the building com- mittee, and, when through financial embarrass- ments the building was in danger of passing out of the hands of the mechanics, his energy and enthusiasm helped in a great measure to save it to the association. He joined the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics' Associa- tion in 1838, and was also a member of the old Worcester Fire Society. He was a member of the old Second Church (Unitarian) of Worces- ter. In politics he was first a Whig and then a Republican. In both church and party he was an active, zealous, and disinterested worker. His children may be briefly named as follows : Charles Augustus, born January 27, 1826; William Fiske, born June 24, 1830; Anna Maria, born September 12, 1832, married No- vember 13, 1856, William Read, resides at Cambridge, Mass. ; Josephine, born November 12, 1834, died December 15, 1834; Moses Allen, born August 19, 1838; Eliza Jane,

RICHARD T. BUCK.

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born December 19, 1841, died December II, 1871 ; Sarah Frances, born April 10, 1844, married June 8, 1871, Frederick W. Jenkins, resides at Barre, Mass. ; Thomas and Franklin, twins, born July 19, 1847, died July 31, 1847.

Moses Allen Wheeler, & the third son, was educated in the public schools of Worcester and at Groton, Mass. He was in the office of his father's foundry in Worcester for a number of years, or until his failing health induced him to lead an outdoor life. He engaged in farming on an estate in the outskirts of Worcester. Here his death occurred Novem- ber 28, 1884. In politics he was a Re- publican. He was a regular attendant at the Unitarian church in Worcester under Dr. Alonzo Hill's pastorate. He married January 18, 1865, Helen Marion Erwin, who was born August 9, 1840, a daughter of James David and Harriet (Barnard) Erwin. She still re- sides in Worcester. Her children are: Moses Allen, born March 18, 1866; Harriet Erwin, born July 18, 1867; Fanny, born August 26, 1869; Helen Eliza, born June 27, 1872; and Marion Barnard, born February 4, 1877.

Moses Allen Wheeler, 9 son of Moses A. and Helen M. Wheeler, received his elementary education in the Worcester public schools. He subsequently took a business college course, and then entered Worcester Polytech- nic Institute with the intention of graduating therefrom; but his father's failing health obliged him to change his plans and return home to carry on the farm, which he did for seven years. After his father's death he ob- tained employment with the Dean & Whiting Elevator Company, and applied himself to learn the business thoroughly. Having a nat- ural taste for mechanics, he made such progress that he was advanced from one position to another until he became superintendent of the entire works, which position he now holds. He formerly had charge of the outside work, superintending the building of elevators in various places, which caused him to travel considerably, but he now remains at the fac- tory. He is an expert in his particular line of business, and doubtless much of his mechani- cal ability and inventive genius is inherited from his grandfather, William A, Wheeler.

Still a young man, his future is bright with possibilities, and in the opinion of those who know him he is sure to preserve untarnished the good name that has come down to him through so many generations of worthy New England ancestors.

R ICHARD T. BUCK, for many years a successful manufacturer of edge- tools in Millbury, Mass., where he died in 1893, was born in Sheffield, England, October 1, 1831, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Taylor) Buck.

Joseph Buck, Sr., grandfather of Richard T., was born in Sheffield in 1746, and died in 1824, seventy-eight years of age. His life was spent in Sheffield, where for thirty years he was manager of an edge-tool factory, being a very skilful mechanic and capable of direct- ing the labors of those under him. He was the father of two sons and one daughter that grew to adult life. Joseph Buck, Jr., was born in Sheffield in 1801, and died there on September 16, 1865, sixty-four years of age. After his sons came to America he visited them in Worcester, making a stay of two years. Elizabeth Taylor, to whom he was married on April 5, 1825, was born in Don- caster, England, in 1804. She was the daugh- ter of a carpet manufacturer. They were the

parents of four children. Three of their sons emigrated to America : John in 1848, Charles in 1849, and Richard T. in 1851. John and Charles, who had served an apprenticeship under their father, worked at their trade of edge-tool makers in Rochester, N. Y., for a time.

Richard T. Buck, special subject of this sketch, received his schooling and learned his trade in Sheffield. After he came to America, in company with his brothers John and Charles, who were then working in Rochester, N. Y., he went to Worcester, Mass., in 1853, and on a small scale established an edge tool factory at South Worcester. Their business survived the financial panic of 1857, and in the summer of 1864 they came to Millbury, buying the mill privilege of A. March. The firm was dissolved in 1873, and Richard T,

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Buck continued the business. About that time he erected the model factory in which the business is still carried on. The main building is a handsome and substantial brick structure, and the tenement houses surround- ing it form an attractive little village. Con- tent only with a high standard of excellence, Mr. Buck established an enviable reputation for his tools, and they have found a good sale in the principal markets of the country.

Buck Brothers Riverlin works represent one of the earliest examples of a branch of Shef- field trade (edge-tools) successfully trans- planted to this country and still in successful operation.

On November 10, 1857, Mr. Buck married Elizabeth Edge, one of his own country- women, she having been born in Manchester, England, daughter of Joseph and Agnes (War- burton) Edge. Mr. Edge died in 1833, shortly before the birth of his daughter. He was a merchant tailor, and had for his cus- tomers many of the officers of the English army. His widow, who was left with two sons and one daughter, died in 1847. Eliza- beth Edge came to America less than a year before her marriage. She made the acquaint- ance of Mr. Buck in Worcester, where he was then engaged in business, as noted above. Mr. and Mrs. Buck lost two children in in- fancy, a son Willie at the age of five years and six months and a daughter Mary Ann at the age of nineteen. The two living are: Annie M., wife of Edward M. Wood, of Worces- ter, and Sarah E., wife of W. L. Proctor. Mr. Buck made his wife the sole executrix and the residuary of his will. His bequests were two thousand to the Second Congregational church of Millbury, an equal sum to the American Congregational Home Missionary Society, ten thousand to each of his two daughters. Mrs. Buck is a typical English woman, highly esteemed and beloved by a large circle in Millbury. She resides in the home to which she came with her husband twenty-eight years ago.

Mr. Buck gratified his literary taste by ac- cumulating a large and select library and also travelled abroad extensively upon several Eu- ropean trips.

Mr. Buck was a Republican, and took a deep interest in politics, but on account of the demands of his business had no time for public office. He was a director in the Millbury Bank. He was an active member of the Con- gregational church and a liberal contributor toward its support.

EORGE N. AND HENRY W. HAR- WOOD, retired lumber manufact-

urers of Barre, sons of George and Lucinda (Stetson) Harwood, represent a large and highly reputable family. Their immi- grant ancestor was probably Henry Harwood, who came from England with Winthrop. Daniel Harwood, their great-grandfather, who was born in 1736, moved with his family from Sutton, Mass., to East Barre, about the year 1800, and settled upon partially cleared land, which was a portion of a tract of thirteen hundred acres purchased by William Caldwell, the first settler in this part of the town. It is thought that he erected the first frame house in this section of Barre. He afterward resided here until his death, which occurred February 28, 1823. By his marriage with Lydia Gould, who, born in Sutton, August 27, 1742, died October 8, 1814, he became the father of Wil- cut, the grandfather of Messrs. Harwood.

Wilcut Harwood, born in Sutton, was a lad of twelve when he accompanied his parents to Barre. Having succeeded to the homestead after his father's death, he became one of the stirring farmers of his day. Taking an active interest in public affairs, he was Selectman for eight years and Moderator for one term. In politics at first a Whig, he went with the ma- jority of that party into the Republican party at its formation. In religious belief he was a Universalist. At his death on January 15, 1866, he was eighty-two years old. He mar- ried Sally Sibley, also of Sutton, who died September 27, 1859, aged sixty-nine years. They were the parents of seven children, three of whom are living; namely, George, Wilcut, and Daniel G. The others were: Hiram, Samuel, Calista, and Caleb. George Har- wood, born at the homestead in Barre, October 24, 1809, was reared to farm life. About the

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year 1838 he bought land adjoining the home- stead, that was also a part of the Caldwell purchase. This he afterward cultivated suc- cessfully for fifty years. After the death of his wife he sold it to his sons, and, moving to the village, has since resided with his son, Henry W. Harwood. He was quite prosperous dur- ing his active period. With farming he also carried on a lumber business. One of the. in- corporators of the Barre Savings Bank, he has served it continuously in an official capacity since its establishment, and he is now a direc- tor of the institution. In politics he is a Re- publican, and he has been a Selectman of the town. At the age of twenty-six he married Lucinda Stetson, who was born in Winchester, N. H., February 11, 1813. She died October 27, 1886, leaving two sons: George Nelson, born July 15, 1842 ; and Henry W., born Feb- ruary 17, 1845.

In 1867 the Harwood Brothers first engaged in the lumber business. They afterward carried it on successfully for thirty years, hav- ing mills in the eastern part of the town, and manufacturing all kinds of lumber for building purposes. In 1897 they retired, with a repu- tation for integrity of which they have every reason to be proud. George Nelson Harwood resides in the village. In politics he is a Re- publican. Excepting an interval of two years he was a member of the Board of Selectmen from 1874 to 1891, being the chairman for a part of the time; and he was Overseer of the Poor for twelve years and an Assessor for five years. He has been a trustee of the Worces- ter County West Agricultural Society for fif- teen years, and he is also a trustee of the savings-bank. For years he has dealt largely in cattle, frequently buying stock on commis- sion in the Brighton market. On March 27, 1872, he married Olivia M. Wheelock, of Barre. He has one daughter, Ethel I., born October 27, 1882.

Henry W. Harwood has acquired a wide reputation as a taxidermist, which is now his principal occupation ; and he possesses a unique and interesting collection. While supporting the Republican party, he has always declined public office. On April 15, 1874, he married Hattie S. Austin, who was born in Hubbards-

ton, Mass., February 20, 1847, daughter of Charles Austin. Mrs. Hattie Harwood is the mother of one son, Charles A., born March 23, 187.5, who is now book-keeper for J. J. Warren & Co .; Worcester. Both George N. and Henry W. Harwood attend the Unitarian church.

RTHUR W. PARMELEE, a manu- facturer of wire nails, screws, etc., in Worcester, and a naval veteran of the Civil War, was born in Utica, N. Y., September 1I, 1842, son of Horace and Marietta M. (Jones) Parmelee. The father, a native of Claremont, N. H., born in 1807, when a young man was engaged in the hard- ware business, both as a dealer and manufact- urer. From a small beginning he expanded his business into large proportions, and erected one of the best buildings in Claremont. Sell- ing out subsequently, he went to Buffalo, N. Y., which was at that time coming into notice as a promising mercantile and manu- facturing centre. Here he established him- self in the hardware trade, and he had become one of the substantial business men of the city when he died in 1889, leaving an honorable rec- ord and a good estate. His wife, Marietta, was born in Claremont, daughter of Roys Jones, a prominent man of that town in his day. She became the mother of seven children, namely : Henry, who died at the age of eleven years ; Arthur W., the subject of this sketch; Mari- etta, now the widow of the late J. Brown Greenan and the mother of one son; Julia F., now the wife of Charles B. Hill, of Buf- falo; Horace J., who was in the insurance busi- ness in New York, and died in 1893, leaving a widow and three children; Edward F., who is a merchant in Boston ; and Alice Parmelee, who resides with her mother in Buffalo.

Arthur W. Parmelee completed his educa- tion at the Kimball Union Academy in Meri- den, N. H., where his father was also educated. He had been in the employment of the elder Parmelee for some time when in 1862 he enlisted in the United States navy, and served through the remainder of the Civil War in the North Atlantic blockading squadron. He saw considerable active service under Lieutenant

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William B. Cushing, one of the bravest and most dashing naval officers of the day, and was promoted for his part in one of Cushing's ex- ploits. He was made commodore's secretary under Admiral Lee, and, although he was exposed to the dangers of both battle and ship- wreck, he escaped without injury. After re- turning to Buffalo upon his discharge, he was connected with the Buffalo Cutlery Company until 1868. Then he moved to New York City, and there carried on a manufacturing business successfully for fifteen years. Com- ing to Worcester in 1883, he has since been engaged with others in producing the same line of goods, including wire nails, screws, etc., and is now the president and treasurer of the corporation. The concern is transacting a profitable business, and is represented in different parts of the country by a capable force of travelling salesmen.

On October 5, 1868, Mr. Parmelee married Delia S. Kinney, a daughter of Henry M. Kinney, of Buffalo. He has four children : Bessie Pratt, now the wife of C. W. Coffin, of Boston ; and Minnie, Marie, and Arthur N., who reside at home. In politics he acts with the Republican party, but takes no active part in public affairs. His religious belief is the Congregationalist, and he belongs to the Pied- mont Church. The family reside at 4 King Street.

R EV. SILVANUS HAYWARD, A. M., pastor of the Evangelical Free Church in Southbridge, was born in Gilsum, N.H., December 3, 1828, son of Amherst and Sarah (Fish) Hay- ward. On the father's side he is descended from early settlers of Norfolk County, Massa- chusetts. His great-grandfather, Peter Hay- ward, was a Revolutionary soldier. The grandfather, Silvanus Hayward, who was born in Westmoreland, now Surry, N.H., May 16, 1757, marched with a company of New Hamp- shire recruits to Ticonderoga in 1777. After completing a three years' course at Dartmouth College, he was engaged in teaching school for a number of years, and later became a sur- veyor and cultivated a farm. He was three

times married. The maiden name of the Rev. Silvanus Hayward's paternal grand- mother was Olive Metcalf. The Fish family were also from Massachusetts; and Mr. Hay- ward's maternal great-grandfather, the Rev. Elisha Fish (first), a graduate of Harvard, class of 1750, resided in Upton, this State. The grandfather, the Rev. Elisha Fish (sec- ond), also a graduate of Harvard, class of 1779, who was the first settled minister in Gilsum, married Abigail Snell, a sister of Sarah Snell Bryant, who was the mother of William Cullen Bryant, the poet, and a lineal descendant of John and Priscilla Alden.

Mr. Hayward's father was born in Surry, November 18, 1788. He was a prosperous farmer during his active years, and took a prominent part in the public affairs of his town, serving as chairman of the Board of Se- lectmen. He was a Deacon in the Congrega- tional church for more than twenty years, and led the choir for nearly fifty years. In poli- tics he was successively a Whig and a Re- publican. He died January 16, 1867. By his three wives he was the father of sixteen children. Of that number Sarah Fish Hay- ward, who was born January 20, 1801, was the mother of seven. Of the latter, two are living, namely : Sarah J., who married George Learoyd; and the Rev. Silvanus Hayward, the subject of this sketch. The mother died August 16, 1883.

Silvanus Hayward's early education was conducted wholly at home by an aunt. He was assisted in preparing for college by the Rev. James Tisdale, of Gilsum, and was graduated from Dartmouth with the class of 1853, having taught school in order to defray his college expenses. Afterward he taught the academy in Francestown, N. H., for three years; the academy in McIndoe's Falls, Vt., for two years; in Pembroke, N.H., for one year; at Kimball Union Academy, Meri- den, where he became an assistant in 1859, for one year; and at the Appleton Academy in New Ipswich, N.H., assisting Professor E. T. Quimby. While engaged in the last- named institution he was approbated as a preacher by the Hollis Association of Congre- gational Ministers, and supplied the pul-

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pit of the Second Congregational Church in New Ipswich until the two societies were united.

October 9, 1861, he was ordained to the ministry and installed pastor of the Congregational church in Dunbarton, N.H. Five years later he accepted a call to South Berwick, Me., beginning his duties there in May of that year. He labored in that place until 1873, when on account of impaired health he relinquished his pastorate. For the succeeding two years he taught mathe- matics at the Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn. Upon his return North, in 1875, he was called to the Congregational church in his native town, where he remained for four years. After a year's residence in Keene, N. H., he came to Southbridge, January I, 1881, and was installed pastor of the Evangel- ical Free Church, where he still remains after eighteen years' service. Mr. Hayward has served upon the Examining Committees of Dartmouth College, Bangor (Me.) Theological Seminary and Hartford (Conn.) Theological Seminary, and is a member of the Pastoral Union. He was a delegate from Maine Con - ference to the National Congregational Coun- cil in 1872. His literary ability, which is of a high order, has been exercised on various subjects. His writings include the follow- ing : a sermon entitled "Liberty, of God "; histories of Gilsum and Rochester, N. H. (the latter a revision) ; a poetical memorial address entitled "Freedom," delivered be- fore Malcolm Ammidown Post, No. 168, G. A. R., at Town Hall, Southbridge, May 30, 1892 ; an address delivered before a grad- uating class of the Woodstock (Conn.) Acad- emy; a sermon preached to the graduating class and alumni of the Southbridge High School; and a large number of other sermons, addresses, and papers, embracing "Creeds as a Test of Fellowship," the "King's Daugh- ters," "Signs of the Times," and a poem read at a reception of soldiers returned from Cuba, after the war with Spain. He has also written poems for the anniversary exercises of the lit- erary societies and alumni dinners of Dart- mouth College. Of these none have found their way into print except two, which were

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 80

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