Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 91

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Boston, Biographical review publishing company
Number of Pages: 1238

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DWARD PRESTON USHER, of Graf- ton, was born November 19, 1851, at Lynn, Mass. He is descended from Robert Usher, who came to New England in 1638. His father was Roland Greene Usher, who was Major in the United States army from 1861 to 1866; Mayor of Lynn in 1866, 1867, and 1868; member of the Governor's Council in 1868, 1869, and 1870; United States Mar- shal for District of Massachusetts from 1871 to 1879; and Warden of the Massachusetts State Prison from 1883 to 1886. His paternal grandmother was Fanny Bucknam, whose de- scent was from William Bucknam, a freeman at Charlestown in 1647. His mother was Caroline Matilda Mudge, who was descended from Thomas Mudge, who came to Malden about 1650.

Edward P. Usher graduated from the Lynn High School in 1869, from Harvard College in 1873, receiving the degree of Master of Arts in 1875 and that of Bachelor of Laws in 1880. From 1873 until 1877 he was Deputy United States Marshal. In September, 1873, he wrote and delivered the poem on the occa- sion of the dedication of the Soldiers' Monu- ment in Lynn. He was admitted to the bar in 1879, and opened an office that year in Bos- ton. He published in 1886 a treatise on the "Law of Sale of Personal Property, " a volume

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of about four hundred pages. Of this book Judge Caleb Blodgett said: "It gives me pleasure to say that in my judgment you have given our profession a very useful book, which presents the law clearly, accurately, and with remarkable conciseness. I expect to make frequent use of the book and to save labor and avoid mistakes thereby."

The Hon. E. R. Hoar, formerly Justice of the Supreme Court and Attorney-General of the United States, wrote: "It is a work highly creditable to your learning, diligence, and ac- curacy.

The Hon. John Lowell, Judge of the United States Circuit Court, wrote : "It appears to me to be remarkably accurate in its statement of the decisions, and very clear and succinct. You have given an admirable presentation of the law."

General B. F. Butler wrote: "I have given your book careful attention. The clearness of statement of the text and the accuracy of the citations to support the text will render it a very valuable assistant to lawyers. You have rendered a service to the profession by your labors.'

Judge E. H. Bennett, Dean of the Boston Law School, wrote: "It is a very creditable piece of work. I shall recommend it to our school as the best elementary text-book for their use yet published."

The Hon. E. J. Sherman, Attorney-General, wrote: "I have examined your book on sales with care and with much interest. In the practical effectiveness and utility of this sort of codification of our laws I thoroughly be- lieve. It seems to me to be a genuine service to this State to gather into a volume, in this clear and concise manner, the rules of law by which its citizens are governed in their mer- cantile transactions which are of every-day oc- currence. Any one who examines your book will find there the only immediate and practi- cal solution of the much-mooted question of codification. Such books as this must neces- sarily precede the preparation of any official legislative code of our common law. If any- thing will ever render such a code possible, it is just such books as yours."

From 1887 until 1890 Mr. Usher was occu-

pied in building the Grafton & Upton Rail- road, of which he has been president from 1887 to this present date. In 1891 he built the Milford & Hopedale Street Railway for operation by storage batteries. In connection with this enterprise he invented a new type of cell specially adapted to such service, and se- cured thereon twelve patents. Based on the success of this road, a large company was formed, called the Hopedale Electric Com- pany. He was president of the street rail- way and general manager of the larger com- pany. Extensive preparations were made for business when, in 1893, the company was attacked by the General Electric Company, and very extensive patent litigation ensued. For two years he gave much of his time to the preparation of this case, the printed record reaching some thirteen hundred pages. The case was finally settled to his satisfaction, the new type of cell being decided to be an in- fringement after the rights thereto had been purchased by the plaintiff.

He moved his residence to Grafton in 1888, retaining, however, his office in Boston. In 1895 he published a "Memorial Volume" in honor of his father, and added to this an elab- orate genealogy of the family from 1636, cover- ing eight generations.

In 1896 Mr. Usher published a volume of nearly five hundred pages, entitled "Protes- tantism, a Study in the Direction of Religious Truth and Christian Unity." This book, which would be classified as broad and liberal in its tone, excited the most diverse criticisms.

In the Living Church it was said: "His atheism, doubly offensive because it masquer- ades as religion, may be left to the attention of those qualified to refute it. It is a very pretentious and a very disingenuous book. We do not say dangerous, because its dishonesty is so evident that no one will be willing to tie to it. As most of us, whether churchmen, dis- senters, or unbelievers, happen to be honest men, it does not seem likely that any appre- ciable number will follow his lead."

The Church Standard said "that nothing was more evident in the volume than the ignorance of its writer. He expounds deep things which he does not in the least understand, the very

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elements of which seem to be unknown to him. He reveals an absolute ignorance of the matter he has in hand."

The Providence Journal denied Mr. Usher's "intellectual honesty," and described the book as "at once false and insulting," "broad and shallow," declaring that "its impertinence is likely to outweigh its infidelity."

The Herald and Presbyter said that the book tended to destroy the Church, that it advocated the unity of sin and death, denial of the truth, and separation from God.

On the other hand, Bishop H. C. Potter, of New York, who is not far from being con- sidered Primate of the United States, referred to the book as "your very interesting and val- uable volume, for which I am much your debtor."

The Rev. Asa Dalton, of Portland, wrote : "Please accept my thanks for your interesting and suggestive volume, with which I am in hearty accord." Dr. Dalton is one of the most prominent Episcopal clergymen in the Diocese of Maine.

The Rev. C. T. Wood, of York, Pa., was lecturer at the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge. He wrote: "We clergy thank you for it, because you have mightily aided us. I can now recall no important point of your book where I am not in entire sympathy with you. I do hope that the volume will be widely read. You are certainly on the right track. "

The Rev. Herbert Symonds, of Peterboro, Canada, a prominent Episcopalian, wrote: "I can assure you that I am in entire agreement with you on almost every detail of your book."

The Rev. R. Heber Newton, of New York, wrote : "I have to thank you for the attractive copy of your book you sent me. I have en- joyed it very much. It is a good piece of work. It is wholly in the right line as I see it, and will surely help on the cause of a pure and more reasonable religion in our church."

The Rev. M. K. Schermerhorn wrote : "Thanks sincere for the copy of your book. I have read it all through with great interest. It is grandly conceived and well done. The many selections are judiciously made and wisely arranged. Your plea and arguments

show the carefully trained, judicial mind, and ought to be convincing and final. The open- ing pages present a masterly summary of the teaching of the Christ, showing wonderful ethical and spiritual insight. Those few pages alone, published in pamphlet form, might be scattered abroad most helpfully as containing the very heart of the four gospels. But, alas! all such presentations seem a hun- dred years in advance of the age."

Professor A. E. Dolbear, of Tufts College, wrote: "I have been reading your work on 'Protestantism.' It interests me very much. While the subject matter, as such, is not new, you have presented the case in a very strong way. Indeed, you have argued and made your case. I think you are right, and I very much wish that others could see and adopt your sug- gestions, so there would be one great church, having all that is good and great and worthy in the world within it."

The Hon. Robert Grant wrote: "I was very much interested in your presentation of the subject. I agree with nearly all you have written. It has long been astonishing to me that human beings should spend so much vi- tality in insisting on non-essentials and ob- scuring the real meaning of religion. I took occasion in one of my books to suggest that a trust of all the various religious denomina- tions in the interests of a common humanity would be a combination which could pay very large dividends without fear of hostile legis- lation. It is too soon to hope for this at once ; but a book like yours serves to blaze the path toward such a realization, and society owes you a debt for the ability and industry and discretion with which you have stated the case. The book ought to have a wide circula- tion. "

The Rev. T. E. Chappell, of Holyoke, wrote: "The book has been both instructive and stimulating to me. You have certainly handled the brief for the Broad Church in a very judicious, fair, and able fashion. The book is packed from cover to cover with the most refreshing heresies."

The Church, an Episcopalian paper, said : "This book is an earnest attempt by a thought- ful and well-read man to help the cause of

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Christian unity by an exposition of the breadth and inclusiveness of the Episcopal church. Such an object is praiseworthy, and the au- thor's contention is just."

The Episcopal Recorder said that the book was "a statement of the comprehensiveness of the Protestant Episcopal church, which we fear is too true. The book is well and earnestly written."

The Public Ledger, of Philadelphia, said : "Mr. Usher is a churchman of the broadest type. He writes without fear or favor, with words so direct and interpretations so liberal that the scholastic or dogmatic churchman will probably place the volume in the Index Expurgatorius; while the so-called liberal- minded may welcome it as an ally on the side of license and negation. The thoughtful, fair- minded reader, the seeker after the true metal, the bottom rock of Christianity, will, however, find in these pages a strong purpose of Christian unity and a new impulse in charity toward all men. To such this volume will have a distinct and stimulating message."

The Methodist Protestant of Baltimore, Md., said : "Here is a book that is not only an in- telligent and thoughtful production, but one that will make the reader think. We do not say that the reader will agree with all the author's conclusions, but we do say that a care- ful perusal will make him see that the purpose of the book is in harmony with the will and the doctrines of Jesus Christ."

The Portland Transcript said : "The volume is the result of long study and thought. While it is free in its discussions and criticism of established forms, it is in no sense agnostic or scoffing, and may fairly be regarded as the sin- cere protest of a scholar, thinker, and Christian against formalism and clannishness in religious life."

The Baltimore Methodist said: "Mr. Usher is an intense believer in Christianity, but be- lieves that the world is not receiving the true vision, because its revelation comes too much through a stilted formalism and too frequent corrupt practices. The work is ably written, the social gospel is grandly proclaimed, but the author will never witness that for which he pleads, however desirable it may be."

The Congregationalist, of Boston, said : His study is reverent and scholarly, and undoubtedly embodies an important truth. Without neces- sarily agreeing with everything which his pages contain, the spirit and method of the book may be cordially approved as well as its general aim."

The Advance, of Chicago, said: "This is a fine, spirited, and thoughtful attempt to forward the cause of Christian unity."

The Chicago Tribune said: "The author's plea for greater tolerance, for more breadth, for less emphasis on non-essentials, will find an answer and response in the hearts of all true Christians. "

The Boston Transcript said: "His view is catholic, and such is the spirit in which he writes. "

The Detroit Free Press said : "It is a strong plea for unity on the basis of the true essence and foundation of religion."

The Hartford Times said: "It is filled with the essence of Christianity."

The Religious Telescope, of Dayton, Ohio, said: "His style and method are scholarly, moderate, and convincing, and we believe the book will do much good. As an encomium on Christianity it would be difficult to excel."

Zion's Herald said: "The author is right in finding true religion in the heart. Once there, it may be allowed to work out along its natural lines. He strikes the keynote."

The Christian Register said: "This book is somewhat ahead of the times. It is a unique performance. It is a blow ab intra that he deals ecclesiastical corruption."

The Church Union said : "It is, in fact, a review of Christianity in the light of reason and common sense. It consigns scholastic theology to its own proper place in a museum of inter- esting specimens, and presents the teachings of Christ as the only test and touchstone of a religious life."

This book on its commercial side was a complete failure. It would, indeed, be difficult to find a case more complete. During the first six months about one hundred and fifty copies were sold. The next six months the number fell to seventy-five. Then it de- scended to eight, while for the last year not

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a single copy was sold. About three hundred copies were given away. By failure of the publisher and winding up of the affairs of the firm, the unsold copies, to the number of fif- teen hundred, were thrown upon the author's hands, and are now in storage at Grafton.

Mr. Usher married June 25, 1879, Adela Louise Payson, who was descended from Ed- ward Payson, who resided in Dorchester in 1640. She was born March 31, 1852, and graduated from the Chelsea High School in 1870. She then went to Europe to complete her education, being at school in Geneva in 1872 and in Hanover during 1873. She then taught French and German at Temple Grove Seminary in Saratoga, N. Y., and in Abbot Academy in Andover, Mass., until 1878. Her career must have been a great success, for in June, 1897, nearly twenty years after leav- ing the school, the Abbot Courant, the official school magazine, referred to her "brilliancy, enthusiasm, and thoroughness as head of the French and German department here, which her pupils and her colleagues so gratefully remember." Mr. Usher's children are: Ro- land Greene, born May 3, 1880, now in Har- vard College, class of 1901 ; Abbott Payson, born January 13, 1883; Edward Preston, born January 3, 1890; and Albert Morse, born Sep- tember 20, 1893.

HARLES MORRIS HARRIS, for twenty-six years treasurer and man- ager of the West Boylston Manu- facturing Company, a man to whose energy and executive ability the growth and success of the business was largely due, was born in Providence, R.I., August 3, 1822. Son of Henry and Waty (Smith) Harris, he was a grandson of Captain Jonathan Smith, of Revolutionary fame, and a descendant of one John Smith, who removed from the Massachu- setts Bay Colony to Rhode Island, with, and at the request of Roger Williams, who wanted him as a miller, and who was afterward known as Smith, the miller.

According to tradition, Captain Jonathan Smith, who stood six feet in height, com- manded a company of equally stalwart men,

each of whom measured six feet or more in height. Henry and Waty (Smith) Harris had six sons and one daughter; namely, Linus M., Mary S., Thomas H., Gideon, Charles Morris, Otis B., and Whipple B. Linus M., Gideon, Charles Morris, and Otis B., have passed away. Mary S., widow of Alfred Whiting, resides in the village of Harrisville in West Boylston; Thomas H., at Canada Mills, Holden, Mass .; and Whipple B. re- sides in the central village, West Boylston. Henry Harris, the father, lived to be only about thirty years of age, and dying left his widow without means. She was a very re- markable woman, and, though uneducated, possessed a strong mind and noble character.

Soon after the birth of Charles Morris Harris, his parents removed to Scituate, where at an early age he began going to school, eight weeks in summer and eight in winter, continuing until he was thirteen. He afterward attended two short winter terms, which completed his schooling when he was about fifteen. When but six years old, in va- cation time he was placed in the Richmond cotton-mill at Scituate, and he continued to work between the terms of school until he was fourteen. At first he received half a cent an hour, and worked fourteen to fifteen hours daily. This was gradually increased to seventy-five cents, one dollar, and a dollar and a quarter weekly. From that time his wages were steadily advanced, until at the age of twenty he received between six and seven dol- lars per week. In the meantime he had gone from the Richmond mill to the Sprague mill at Smithfield, R.I., thence to the Blackstone mill in Mendon, Mass., and from there to Woonsocket, R.I. In the spring of 1842 he began, in company with David S. Wilder, the manufacture of thread at Woonsocket, and in the fall of that year they came to West Boyls- ton, bought the small mill at Central village, and began the manufacture of satinet warps. They also leased a mill at Lovellville in Hol- den, where they conducted a branch of the same business. In 1845, with his brothers, Linus M. and Gideon, and his brother-in-law, Alfred Whiting, who had bought the Holt mill at Harrisville, he went into the manufact-

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ure of cotton cloth. The firm name was L. M. Harris & Co.

The following year Charles M. and Gideon Harris went to Scituate and leased the old Richmond mill, where the former had begun as a boy in its old-fashioned hand-mule room. Two years later these brothers returned to Harrisville, and, greatly increasing the capac- ity of the mill there, did a good business up to 1851, when the mill was burned. They promptly commenced to rebuild, and had the mill running in within a year. In 1857 Charles Morris Harris bought an interest in a cotton factory at Pouqonnock, town of Wind- sor, Conn. The first year he lost six thou- sand dollars; but, unwilling to abandon the enterprise, he kept on, and in the next two years made eighteen thousand dollars. Early in 1860 he sold his interest in Connecticut, and bought into a small factory in Savage, Harvard County, Md., where he remained a year and a half. Returning in 1861 to the old mill of L. M. Harris & Co., he re- mained until 1863, when he and his brother, Linus M., bought one-half of the stock of the West Boylston Manufacturing Company at Oakdale, J. H. Lane, of New York City, buying the balance. Charles M. Harris be- came treasurer and manager of the company, and held the position for twenty-six years, or until his death, in Boston, April 24, 1889, at the age of sixty-six years, eight months, and twenty-one days.

In West Boylston, on Thanksgiving Day, 1848, Charles Morris Harris was married to Emily Dean, then of West Boylston. She was born in Sterling, Mass., November 9, 1823, and was a direct descendant of Thomas Dudley, second governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Harris; namely, Henry Francis, Charles Morris, Jr., and Emily Armilla.

Charles Morris Harris, Jr., died November 10, 1892, aged forty-one years, leaving a widow and five children, two sons and three daughters. He was twice married. He was made superintendent of the West Boylston Company's mills a number of years before the death of his father, and served in that capacity until his own decease. Emily Armilla, who

died March II, 1892, aged thirty-five years and six months, married for her first husband, Lyman P. Goodell, by whom she had one son, Rosco Harris Goodell. For her second husband she married Alonzo R. Wells, and had one son, Ray Dean Wells. Mrs. Emily Dean Harris died August 6, 1892. She rests in Hope Cemetery. He was an at- tendant and believer in the faith of the Universalist church.

ENRY FRANCIS HARRIS, lawyer and treasurer of the West Boylston Manufacturing Company, having an office in the State Mutual Building, Worcester, was born in the village of Harris- ville, West Boylston, August 19, 1849. He prepared for college in the Green Mountain Institute at South Woodstock, Vt., Worces- ter Academy of Worcester, Mass., and in Lancaster Academy, which he attended two years. Entering Tufts College in. 1867, he was graduated in 1871, at the head of his class. He then entered the Harvard Law School, but left at the end of the half-year, after which he studied law for a year in the office of the Hon. Hartley Williams. He en- tered the Boston University School of Law, from which he graduated in the class of 1873, the first class of that institution. During his attendance at the Boston Law School, and for a time afterward, he was in the office of John A. Loring, of that city. He was admitted to the bar in Boston in December, 1873, and began practice in Worcester, January 1, 1874.

On May 17, 1883, Mr. Henry F. Harris was united in marriage with Miss Emma Frances Dearborn, daughter of William F. and Mary F. (Hurd) Dearborn, of Worcester. She was graduated at the Worcester High School, class of 1878, and subsequently studied vocal music with Madam Capianni. She has a fine soprano voice, and has been for many years a member of the choir of the Uni- versalist church, and for the past three years its director. Mr. and Mrs. Harris have lost an infant son, and they have two daughters: Rachel, born December 1I, 1887; and Doro- thy, born March 22, 1890.

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Mr. Harris is a Republican. He is a mem- ber of the Worcester School Committee. Fraternally, he is a Past Master of Boylston Lodge, F. & A. M .; and is a Knight Temp- lar and a member of Aleppo Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is an attendant of the Universal- ist church. Since 1890 he has resided at 67 Lincoln Street.

AMUEL H. RICHARDSON, for many years a leading citizen of Dana, Mass., was born in the neigh- boring town of Hardwick, December

16, 18II. He was the eldest son of Benjamin and Diadama (Hale) Richardson. His paternal grandfather, Benjamin Richardson, Sr., who came to Worcester County from Mansfield, Bristol County, Mass., was a soldier during the War of the Revolution. He died Febru- ary 20, 1837, at the age of eighty-seven. His wife, Bethiah, died June 28, 1844. Their graves are at Dana Centre. They had two sons, Benjamin, above named, and Wyatt. Benjamin Richardson, the younger, bought a farm in Dana, and, moving to this town while his son Samuel was a small child, became a man of influence in local affairs, serving for several years as one of the Selectmen and one term as a member of the legislature. His wife was a native of Dana. They had nine children, three sons and six daughters. One son, Benjamin F., served in the Civil War.

Samuel H. Richardson grew to manhood upon his father's farm, and acquired a good common-school education. At the age of twenty-one he left home, and until he was twenty-four he worked at different places, being employed at one time by a company of tinsmiths at Templeton, Mass., who sent him upon the road as salesman. In that capacity he was very successful; but, an accident finally disabling him for this work, he gave it up. At the age of twenty-four he married and went to Hardwick. He lived there three years, and the last year of his stay was employed as war- den of the Poor Farm, which was that year es- tablished. In this position he and his wife seem to have given satisfaction to both over-

seers and inmates, but declining the offer of the position for the following year he removed with his family to Petersham. The next seven years were spent in Dana and Petersham. During a part of this time he rented a small farm, and was employed by a manufacturer of palmleaf hats to "put out " leaf to be braided into hats. Tired of moving about from place to place he next bought a small farm of twenty- six acres, known as the Hammond place, situ- ated in the south-eastern part of Dana, and after he had remodelled the house and built a large barn he felt that at last he had a home. By good management and the industry of him- self and his family, he was able to add to his first purchase adjoining land, including a small farm that he had previously bought and sold, until he had a good estate of about one hun- dred and thirty acres of fertile land. Sobriety, neighborly kindness, industry, and an unswerv- ing regard and respect for the rights of others were the lessons taught by the daily life on this New England farm, which after the lapse of many years is still spoken of by some mem- bers of the family as home.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 91

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