Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 95

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

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On January 22, 1867, he was united in mar- riage with Dell F. Hosley, of West Chester- field, N. H., a daughter of Nahum and Mary (Farr) Hosley, both of whom are now de- ceased. Of this union two children have been born, Edwin Goodell Putnam and Edith Clare. The former, who was named for one of Mr. Putnam's army chums, a Mr. Edwin D. Good- ell, died in 1873, when about two years of age. Edith is now attending the Women's College

ALFRED C. STODDARD.

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of Baltimore, Md., class of 1900. She is a young woman of unusual promise, ranks high in her class, and has given special attention to music, both vocal and instrumental. Mr. Putnam has a summer residence at Sterling, while his residence in Worcester is at 769 Main Street, The Standish. Mrs. Putnam is an artist of some merit, and has adorned her home with sundry products of her skill.

LFRED C. STODDARD, a promi- nent and progressive agriculturist and an extensive milk producer of North Brookfield, is well known through- out Worcester County in connection with his labors in behalf of the Patrons of Husbandry. A son of Curtis Stoddard (second), born here, September 14, 1857, he is a descendant of one of the English settlers of Maine when that State formed a part of Massachusetts. Bela Stoddard, who came to Massachusetts from Maine, was a pioneer of Brookfield and the founder of the family in Worcester County. His son, Leonard Stoddard, the grandfather of Alfred C., was a lifelong resi- dent of this town and the first of that name to own his farm.

Curtis Stoddard (second) spent the most of his life engaged in farming. After living in the village for several years, he had posses- sion of the farm on which he was born and reared for some time before he died. He affiliated with the Republican party, and for many years was a member of the First Con- gregational Church. His death occurred De- cember 10, 1873. Of the children born to him and his wife, Elvira Doane Stoddard, three survive, namely: Alfred C., the subject of this biography; Alice E., the wife of Ed- ward H. Bryant, of Spencer, Mass .; and Carrie L., the wife of Harry D. Childs, of North Brookfield. The mother died at the home of her son, June 12, 1894.

Alfred C. Stoddard lived on the home farm until the death of his father. Then, with his widowed mother and sisters, he removed to the village, and there resided until after he had completed a four years' course at the high school. He returned to the farm in 1877, and

he has since been chiefly occupied in agricult- ure. The estate, which came into his grand- father's possession in 1835, was previously owned by another branch of the Stoddard fam- ily. For two or three winters, when there was but little farm work to be done, he taught in the public schools; and subsequently, at such times as he could be spared from home, he travelled as a salesman for different firms, including some manufacturers of agricultural implements. The money so earned he wisely expended in improving the homestead prop- erty by building new fences, erecting an ice- house and silos, enlarging and repairing his barns and sheds, and increasing his stock. By following scientific methods in agricult- ure he has become an important factor in ad- vancing the farming interests of this part of the county and State. He has now a dairy of fifty cows. A small milk route, purchased by him in 1892, is fast becoming an extensive one, the sales having already increased from fifty quarts to nine times that quantity each day. He employs six men the year around to assist him; and last season, in addition to the peas, oats, and hay which he raised, he filled his silo with corn grown on seven acres of his farm.

On September 27, 1887, Mr. Stoddard mar- ried Miss Georgia Jackson, a daughter of Harry and Hannah (Lufkin) Jackson, of Ar- cade, N. Y. Both he and Mrs. Stoddard are active members of the First Congregational Church, and he belongs to the A. O. U. W. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and he served on the local School Board for nine years. In 1886 he assisted in organizing the North Brookfield Grange, P. of H., and has since been prominently identified with the order. After serving as Master of the local grange -for two years, he was made Deputy State Master, a capacity in which he ably served for seven years, in the meantime be- coming the founder of the Worcester South- west District Grange, of which he was Master during the first two terms of its existence. In 1891 he was elected Overseer of the Mas- sachusetts State Grange, and he was re-elected for another two years in 1893. When the application of the northern granges of the

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Worcester South-west Pomona Grange for a charter was granted, seventy-seven members were admitted, and Mr. Stoddard was selected as its Master, the grange being incorporated under the laws of the Massachusetts State Grange as the Quoboag Pomona Grange.

ELIX D. FONTAINE, M.D., a pop- ular physician in Worcester, engaged in the practice of his profession, was born in Canada, December 14, 1832, son of Louis and Eudose (Bourboniere) Fontaine. He comes of a vigorous and long-lived race. His great-grandfather, Felix Fontaine, lived to the remarkable age of one hundred and nine years, and the Doctor saw him when he had reached the age of one hundred and seven. Dr. Fontaine's grandfather, also named Felix, and a laborer by occupation, lived to be nearly ninety-nine years old, and reared a family of nineteen children. Louis Fontaine, the father, was an industrious farmer, who died at the age of eighty-seven. His wife, Eudose, became the mother of seven sons and seven daughters. Among the sons are two doctors, one lawyer, and three farmers. . The mother died at the age of sixty-five.

Felix D, Fontaine received his general edu- cation at the College of St. Hyacinthe, and studied medicine in Montreal, where he was graduated in 1858. He practised in St. Jude two years, in St. Barnabé, St. Maurice County, seventeen years, and in Nicolet one year before coming to Worcester; and he has re- sided here about twenty-one years. Aside from his large local practice he is frequently sum- moned to other places for consultation. His office and residence are located at 16 Portland Street, in a building that he purchased in 1886. He has lately erected a fine brick block containing several tenements. Dr. Fontaine was married July 4, 1860, to Aimée Regnault, of St. Pierre les Becquets, P.Q. She died in 1867. For his second wife he married Mary Cressy, of Nicolet, who died April 28, 1898. He is the father of twenty children, seven by his first wife and thirteen by his second. Six sons and six daughters are living, all but one

of whom are the children of his second wife. His eldest son, Albert Fontaine, who is now at the Klondike gold fields, is a young man of rare ability, possessed of considerable inven- tive genius.

Dr. Fontaine is a member and was the first president of the French Medical Society of Massachusetts. He also belongs to the various French benevolent societies and to St. Joseph's Society.

JDWARD HARTSHORN, M.D., edi- tor and publisher of the Golden Cross Journal, has his summer home in Berlin, Worcester County, his winter residence being in Somerville, Mass. He was born in Gloucester, Essex County, June 28, 1817. His parents were the Rev. Levi and Hannah (Elliott) Hartshorn, natives of Amherst, N. H.

His paternal grandfather, whose name he bears, was born in Reading, Mass., in 1764, and was of the fifth generation in descent from Thomas Hartshorn, who came from England and settled at Reading two hundred and fifty years ago. From Thomas ' the line of descent was Timothy 2; John 3; James, 4 who removed

with his family to Amherst, N. H., about 1765 ; Edward, 5 who married Lucy Elliott, daughter of Francis and Phebe (Wilkins) Elliott, early settlers of Amherst, going there from Middle- ton, Mass. Edward Hartshorn, first, was a member of the Congregational church in Amherst. He lived to the advanced age of ninety years. His wife, Lucy, died at seventy-five.

Levi Hartshorn, Dr. Hartshorn's father, son of Edward and Lucy (Elliott) Hartshorn, was reared on a farm, and acquired his early edu- cation in the common schools of Amherst. He was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1813, and was ordained and settled as minis- ter of the First Church in Gloucester, Mass., in October, 1815. He died in September, 1819, "greatly lamented by his church and people." His wife, who was a daughter of Amos Elliott, a farmer of Amherst, attained the age of seventy-eight years, having been left a widow with two sons, Edward and Samuel, when she was thirty.

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After her husband's death Mrs. Hannah E. Hartshorn removed to Reading, and her son Edward acquired the rudiments of his educa- tion in the common schools of that town and at a private school. He studied medicine with Dr. Davis, of Reading, and Dr. Spaulding, of Wakefield, and attended the medical schools of Dartmouth and Harvard. Receiving his medi- cal diploma in 1840, he began to practice im- mediately in Berlin, and up to 1855 he was the only physician in this locality. In 1850 he began to prepare a patent medicine, which met with increasing popularity; and in 1855 he took a partner to aid him in his practice, Dr. Lemuel Gott. He eventually sold his prac- tice, and devoted all his time to the manufact- ure of his patent medicine. Until 1870 he made his medicine in Berlin, and from that time until 1887 he superintended the manufact- ure in Boston. Besides his medicine he made cooking extracts, which won a reputation for purity and strength. But two other manufac- tories of cooking extracts in New England have been longer established than his. His industry had much to do with the growth of Berlin. He at one time had forty men in his employ and eight handsome wagons on the road.

In 1880 he began to edit and publish the Golden Cross Journal, and his energy and enterprise have brought the circulation up to ten thousand. This publication is a monthly, the official organ of the Golden Cross Order. It has had much to do with the growth of the society, whose membership when Dr. Harts- horn began to edit the paper was eight hun- dred, and is now thirty-five thousand. He was Grand Commander of the Massachusetts branch four years. He has held other offices, and he has been a member of the Supreme Command- ery since 1880.

Dr. Hartshorn is also a member of the American Legion of Honor. In politics he is a Republican. He was for a number of years a member of the School Committee of Berlin, and he was chairman of the Building Com- mittee of the town house. The shoe shop now owned by Mr. Parker was built by Dr. Hartshorn, who at first manufactured his med- icines there. He erected a number of other

buildings in Berlin, materially aiding the growth of the town; and the large shoe com- pany owes its origin and prosperity to him. He was a member of the Congregational church in Berlin, and was superintendent of the Sun- day-school many years. In Somerville he was one of the founders and is a Deacon of the Prospect Hill Church; and he has been super- intendent of the Sunday-school connected with that church several years. He was also one of the founders of the Day Street Church in that city.

In 1841 Dr. Hartshorn was married to Lucy E., daughter of Solomon and Sarah (Stowe) Howe. She was born May 2, 1817, in a house that stood on the site of her present residence in Berlin. Her grandfather, Deacon Josiah Howe, was a native of Marlboro, Mass., and a member of one of the early families there. He spent his life in Marlboro, following the pur- suit of agriculture. Solomon Howe was born in Marlboro. About 1802, having purchased a large tract of land within the boundaries of the present town of Berlin, he established a home here. He was engaged in farming, was an innholder and a storekeeper, and he manu- factured cards for carding cattle. He was Se- lectman and Assessor, and held other town offices. He died at the age of fifty - three. His wife, also a native of Marlboro, was a daughter of John and Grace Stowe. She died at the age of forty-eight. Mr. and Mrs. Howe were members of the Congregational church. Seven children were born to them, and five attained maturity and married.

Mrs. Hartshorn died in 1898. She was the mother of two children - Edward Howe and William Henry. Edward Howe Hartshorn was born December 16, 1842. At the time of the war he enlisted, and he served for nine months in Company I, Fifth Massachusetts Regiment. After that he was in business with his father. He was prominent as a Grand Army man; and Edward H. Hartshorn Camp, Sons of Veterans, was named for him. He died January 8, 1887. He was twice married. His first wife, Lucinda, daughter of the Rev. W. A. Houghton, left two children - Mary G. and William A. His second wife, formerly Miss Louise S. Hastings, bore him three chil-

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dren - Lucinda H., Ralph E., and Edward H. William A. Hartshorn married Miss Ida Rice.

William Henry Hartshorn, Dr. Hartshorn's second son, continues the business started by his father, under the firm name of E. Harts- horn & Sons. The office is at 71 Blackstone Street, Boston. William H. Hartshorn mar- ried Ellen A., daughter of James F. Maynard, of Clinton, Mass., and has two children - Ed- ward H. and James H. Edward H., who is a graduate of Dartmouth, is a physician, prac- tising in Allston, Mass. James H. is in busi- ness with his father. The house in which Mrs. Hartshorn was born in Berlin, built by; her father in the last century, is still standing. The house in which she lived in later years was built by her sister, and has been purchased by the Doctor's son. Dr. Hartshorn began to practise in the old house, using for an office a room which was in the same relative position as the one now occupied by him. Mrs. Lucy E. Hartshorn distinctly remembered when there were but two houses in the village of Berlin.

ILLIAM E. FYFE, of Clinton, a prominent business man, senior member of the grocery firm of Fyfe, Fay & Plummer, was born in Bolton, Mass., August 10, 1837. His father, William Fyfe, was a native of the same town, as was also his grandfather, William, the latter being a son of William Fyfe, the first American ancestor of the family, who emigrated from Fifeshire, Scotland, and settled early in 1700 upon a tract of wild land in Bolton. The grandfather succeeded to the farm which had been cleared and improved by his father, and devoted the active years of his life to agriculture. He was one of the best farmers of Bolton in his day, and also took a leading part in the public affairs of the town. He died at the age of seventy-six years.

William Fyfe, father of William E., was reared upon the homestead farm, and when a young man he engaged in the business of trans- porting produce by team to the Boston market. He later returned to the homestead and mar- ried, but eventually settled upon a farm in the neighborhood, where he resided for the rest of

his life. His wife, whose maiden name was Sally Carruth, was born in Spencer, Mass., and married him for her second husband. By her union with William Fyfe she had three children, of whom William E., the subject of this sketch, is the only one living. William Fyfe died at the age of sixty-four years, and his wife at the age of sixty-three. They attended the Unitarian and Baptist churches respectively.

William E. Fyfe is a representative of the third generation' born on the old Fyfe home- stead. He was educated in the common schools of Bolton, Mass., which he attended until reaching the age of thirteen years. He then assisted his father on the farm. The suc- ceeding four years he spent partly as a mill operative and partly as an employee in a shoe shop. At the age of seventeen he went to Cambridge, where he drove a bread cart for two years, and later a wagon for Kennedy, the cracker manufacturer, for four years. Then after a short period, during which he was em- ployed chiefly in a grocery store, he opened a grocery on his own account, that he con- ducted successfully for two years. He sub- sequently sold out this store and purchased a bakery that he conducted in connection with a grocery at the corner of Main and River Streets, Cambridgeport. At the end of eight years, disposing of that business, he moved to Clinton, Mass., where he engaged in the real estate business and erected a handsome residence known as Fifeshire, on the Bolton hills. Selling that property three years later, he bought a farm of sixty-two acres, that for five years he devoted to the raising of garden produce. He then subdivided it into lots, retaining a large share for himself and selling the remainder, upon which have since been erected about sixty dwellings. His real estate business has grown, and he has sold much land for resident purposes in different parts of the town. For two years also he carried on a bakery in Clinton. He was interested for twelve years in a large comb manufactory, being a director and purchasing agent. For eight years he was in company with B. L. Nowell & Co., of Montreal, in the horn glue stock and Canada ash business. Some years

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ago he formed a partnership with E. L. Plum- mer for the purpose of carrying on a butter business. This firm later consolidated with that of C. M. Fay, and in April, 1895, moved into their present spacious quarters in the block in Depot Square, erected especially for their use by Mr. Fyfe. The firm, which is known as Fyfe, Fay & Plummer, occupies the entire ground floor, and carries on an extensive wholesale and retail grocery and produce busi- ness. Mr. Fyfe is also a director of the Clin- ton Wall Trunk Company.

In 1861 Mr. Fyfe married Miss Josephine Carruth, who was born in Cambridgeport, June, 1839, daughter of C. Edward Carruth, a grocer of that city. He has one daughter, Dora J., who married Edward L. Plummer, her father's business associate, and is the mother of three children - Helen L., Josephine Fyfe, and George Fyfe Plummer.

Politically a Republican, Mr. Fyfe has served as Road Commissioner for five years. He has travelled extensively in the United States, Canada, and Europe, and, having seen much of general interest in the principal parts of the world, is now content to enjoy the com- forts of his pleasant home. His residence, corner of Water and Prescott Streets, is built in the most thorough manner, and contains every modern improvement. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church. Mr. Fyfe owns thirty-two acres of land in Bolton that came to the original Fife as a grant from the king and formed a part of it. This he has cleared and trimmed up for a pleasure ground, making it into a nice park, with a small lake. He has further provided that it shall go to a charitable institution and be forever known as Fifeshire, in honor of its ancestral history, coming as it did directly from the king.

IDWARD L. SPALDING, the cashier of the First National Bank of Webster, was born in Sharon, Vt., April 7, 1839. A son of Jason C. and Susan (Trask) Spalding, he is a descendant of Edward Spald- ing, who came to this country in 1630, and in 1633 settled in Braintree, Mass. Edward's son, Benjamin, born in 1643, died in 1708.

Benjamin's son, Edward, born June 18, 1672, became the father of Ephraim Spalding, who was born on April 3, 1700, and was the great- great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch. Ephraim had a son, Ephraim, who married Abigail Bullard, and had a son Reuben, who was the grandfather of Edward L. Spalding. Reuben Spalding, born in Plainfield, Conn., removed to Vermont when twelve years of age, and there spent the greater part of his life engaged in farming. He fought for the Amer- ican cause during the Revolution, and was one of the brave men that wintered at Ticonderoga. In his later years he received a pension from the government. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Pierce, bore him twelve chil- dren, all now deceased. The last survivor, Dr. Phineas Spalding, who was the author of the "Spalding Memorial," resided at Haver- hill, N. H., and died in 1897.

Jason C. Spalding was born at Sharon, Vt., on April 29, 1801. In 1824 he began the study of medicine. Subsequently he entered the medical department of Dartmouth College, from which he duly graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After entering upon his profession in Dixfield, Me., he practised for a time in Dennisville, Me., and Spencer, Mass. From Spencer, on account of poor health, he returned to his old home in Sharon, Vt., where he followed his profession for the remainder of his life. When typhus fever broke out among the workmen engaged in building the Central Vermont Railroad, Dr. Spalding at one time had thirty of the victims under his care. He was able to save the lives of all; but in doing so he caught the fever himself, and died of it in October, 1847. His wife, Susan, a daughter of Peter and Azubah (Leland) Trask, and whom he married in 1831, became the mother of five children, namely : Jason C., now deceased; Julia, who died in infancy; Helen Trask, who resides in Webster with her brother, and has been a teacher for many years; George C., who died in infancy ; and the subject of this sketch.

Edward L. Spalding was educated in the common schools of Haverhill, N. H., at the Worcester High School, and at Montpelier (Vt.) Academy. When twenty years of age

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he obtained employment in the store of Arte- mus Hawes at Worcester, Mass., and remained there during the four succeeding years. He then became clerk and assistant cashier of the bank at Derby Line, Vt. After remaining there for fourteen months he went to the First National Bank of Worcester, where for ten years he was assistant cashier and teller. Leaving Worcester in 1876 and coming to this town, he was appointed to the position in the newly established national bank that he has since so successfully filled. He served on the Republican Town Committee for several years. For the last ten years he has been a member of the Board of Registry. He is a' member of the Congregational church and the treasurer of both the church and society. He also belongs to Ben Franklin Council, No. 333, R. A., was its first Regent, and for the past twelve years has been its treasurer; to the Webster Lodge, No. 31, A. O. U. W., of which for several years he was the treasurer; and to the Sons of the American Revolution at Boston.

In 1871 Mr. Spalding was married to Ella A. Leland, a daughter of S. R. and Mary (Hall) Leland. His children were: Leland J., born in 1877, who graduated from the Webster High School, spent one year in Worcester Academy, and is now a student in Harvard University; and Edward E., born in 1879, who died the same year.

AMES E. BARR, one of New Braintree's business men and agriculturists, son of James H. and Hannah (Waterman) Barr, was born upon the farm he now occupies, July 23, 1844. His grandparents were Harvey and Eunice Barr. The former, who was a farmer and who settled here when he was a young man, served as a Lieutenant in the War of 1812, and died before reach- ing his thirtieth year. His wife bore him six children: Elizabeth, who became Mrs. Field; Sarah, who is unmarried (both of whom are residing in Ware, Mass.) ; James H. and Micah R., who lived in New Braintree; and Debora N. and Rebecca, both of whom died young, After the death of Harvey Barr,

his widow married a Mr. Granger, and died August II, .1854, aged sixty-seven years. James H. Barr, who was born in New Brain- tree in 1812, in March, 1835, settled upon the farm now owned by his son, and he spent the rest of his active years occupied in its cultiva- tion. In his later years he supported the Re- publican party, and for a number of terms he served as a Selectman. His wife, Hannah, whom he married in West Brookfield, and who was a native of this State, became the mother of four children, namely: Jane, who is now Mrs. Snow, and resides in New Braintree; Eliza R., who is now Mrs. Gray of this town; Sarah E., who is now Mrs. Cummings, of Ware; and James E. Barr, the subject of this sketch. The father died in March, 1897, hav- ing survived his wife, whose death occurred on August 9, 1874, when she was sixty-six years old. They attended the Congregational church.

James E. Barr obtained his education in the public schools of his native town and at the Westfield Academy. Since his youth he has tilled the soil of the home farm. He bought the property in 1875, and subsequently in- creased it to two hundred and fifty acres. Chiefly engaged in dairying, he keeps an aver- age of twenty-five head of cattle. His resi- dence occupies an elevated position with pic- turesque surroundings, and is among the best in this locality. Also, for about ten years he has operated a saw and grist mill driven by water-power ; and he deals quite extensively in grain and feed.

On December 15, 1869, Mr. Barr was united in marriage with Elizabeth F. Hervey, who was born in New Braintree, November 8, 1846, daughter of Byram H. and Octavia (Pierce) Hervey. Her father, who was a prosperous farmer of this town, died at the age of sixty- nine years. Her mother is residing in West Brookfield. Mr. and Mrs. Barr have had three children : Charles H., born July 27, 1871 ; James Arthur, born June 1, 1878; and Luella F., born December 26, 1879, who died January 5, 1883. Charles and James reside at home. Mr. Barr has served with ability as a member of the Board of Assessors. He was formerly the president of the Farmer's Club, and for six years he has been vice-president of the Worces-

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 95

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