Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 96

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 96

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

807

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

ter County West Agricultural Society. Both he and Mrs. Barr are members of the North Brookfield Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, and they attend the Congregational church.

ALTER S. V. COOK, a prominent and respected citizen of Milford, is a native of this town, and was born on August 12, 1851. A son of Aldrich S. and Elizabeth (Landers) Cook, he is of the seventh generation descended from Walter Cook, the first ancestor of the family in this country. The line of descent comes from this Walter, by Nicholas, Deacon Nicholas, Dan- iel, David, and Reuben, to Aldrich S. Cook. Deacon David Cook, the great-grandfather of Walter S. V., was one of the leading men of Milford in his time, and was highly esteemed by all who knew him. The author of Bal- lou's History of Milford says of him: "I knew Deacon David Cook and most of his children. He was an aged man when I com- menced my ministry, but I remember that he came six miles to hear my first discourse in the ancient Ballou meeting-house. His first wife was Susannah Legg Cook. They had five sons certainly and perhaps, unknown to me, daughters." Their sons were: Abner, born in Bellingham, Mass., on June 20, 1778; Reuben, born in Bellingham, Decem- ber 7, 1780; Abijah, born in Bellingham, September 24, 1784; "Lealon" (whose name as it appears in the records is probably a misspelling of Leland), born in Bellingham, April 3, 1787; and Caleb, born in Belling- ham, August 13, 1793. The first named of these was married in 1799 to Waity Picker- ing, and he died in 1831. Reuben married Esther Holbrook, just when is not known. He died in 1828. Abijah, who married Roxy Holbrook, died at the age of eighty-five. Lealon, who married Louisa Smith, died in 1836. Caleb married Margaret Pickering, and died in Nashua, N.H., on August 27, 1871.

Aldrich S. Cook, above named, was born in Bellingham on October 4, 1818. He was married in Boston on August 27, 1850, to Elizabeth Landers, who was born in New

York, April 5, 1830, daughter of John M. and Eliza (Brown) Landers. Her children were: Walter S. V., Herbert A., Willie E., Reuben A., Grace Elizabeth, Aldrich S., and Elizabeth L. The last two were twins. Her- bert A., born in Milford on March 10, 1856, died on July 25, 1874. Willie E., born Sep- tember 27, 1858, is now in business in Boston. Reuben, born September 18, 1861, is the treasurer and manager of the Queen City Cot- ton Company at Burlington, Vt. Grace Eliz- abeth, born December 18, 1866, is the wife of Elmer E. Harris, of Worcester. Of the twins, who were born on Christmas Day, 1871, Aldrich died on July 14 of the following year. Elizabeth, who resides with her brother Walter S. V. in Milford, was educated in private schools, including a boarding-school. The mother died upon the day her twin chil- dren were born. The father subsequently married on October 2, 1873, Mrs. Miranda Clapp. He was a skilful and energetic 'me- chanic.

After finishing his school days Walter S. V. Cook entered the employ of what is now the Milford Shoe Company, and for the last quarter of a century has been engaged in the shoe manufacturing business. In this posi- tion he has shown himself both efficient and trustworthy, and has merited the full confi- dence of his employers. For nine years he was the secretary and treasurer of the co-oper- ative bank, and for twenty years he has held various offices in the Quidnunc Association, of which for the last thirteen years he has been the secretary. He is a Past Grand in the Odd Fellows Lodge and Past High Priest of Quinshepaug Encampment ; also a member of Franklin Lodge, of Boston; and also of Montgomery Lodge, F. A. M., of Milford; Mount Lebanon Chapter, R. A. M., Milford Commandery, K. T .; and Aleppo Temple, N. M. S.

Mr. Cook has always taken a warm interest in the public affairs of Milford. He first held public office in 1887. He was a member of the Board of Assessors. From 1889 to 1896 he was a member of the Board of Regis- trars. For three consecutive terms he has served his town, together with those of Upton,

808

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

Mendon, and Hopedale, as a member of the Massachusetts General Court, where at the present time he is the chairman of the Com- mittees on Towns and Street Railways, two of the most important committees of the House. In consideration of the fact that this is a strongly Democratic district, the number of votes polled for Mr. Cook's election has been remarkable. In 1895 he received fourteen hundred and fifty-eight votes; two hundred and fifty being democratic, having eighty-five majority. Afterward the district was changed, making it Republican. The percentage of votes polled for him increased each year. He was chairman of the Republican Town Com- mittee for two years and the secretary for ten years, and he has attended many Senatorial and legislative conventions.

LARENCE HENRY ELLIOT, a well-known produce merchant of Graf- ton, was born in Sutton, Mass., Au- gust 9, 1850, son of Joseph F. and- Elmira (Jaques) Elliot. His early ancestors in this country were of old Puritan stock. He is a descendant in the fifth generation from Jo- seph Elliot, who took up wild land in Sutton more than one hundred and fifty years ago, being one of the original settlers of that region.

The History of Sutton, published in 1878, says of this pioneer : " When he first came to take possession he was accompanied by two or three young men, who came to see the place. After they left, finding himself alone, he sat down on a large stone up toward where the barn now stands, and wept like a child. After relieving himself in this way he aroused his manhood, seized his axe, and commenced fell- ing the trees. He soon had a respectable opening, after which he cultivated the land, built himself a house, married Jerusha Fuller, and reared an honorable family." He was an honest, upright, thrifty farmer. That he be- longed to a branch of the Elliot family that for several generations had been living in the south-west part of Essex County, this State, may be justly inferred from the fact that the will of one of their number, Elizabeth Elliot,

single woman, of Middleton, dated 1760, pro- bated 1761, mentions among her kinsfolk "Jo- seph Elliot, of Sutton." Stiles, the historian of Middleton, names Francis Elliot as living there in 1692.

The Fuller family, descended from Thomas Fuller, was early settled at Middleton; and a Jerusha Fuller, it may be noted, is recorded as having been baptized May 8, 1709.

Joseph Elliot, Jr., son of Joseph and Jerusha (Fuller) Elliot, of Sutton, and probably their eldest child, was born in 1731. Their son Aaron, born in 1747, was the next in this line. He married Lydia Taylor.

Aaron Elliot, Jr., eldest son of Aaron and a great-uncle of the subject of this sketch, was a scythe-maker of note in his day, his work being highly tempered and of fine quality. It is said that he not only knew how to make a scythe, but knew also how to handle one better than any of his neighbors for miles around. He was an athlete, and swung a scythe four feet long; and no one thought of tempting to outmow him. Once for a wager he mowed an acre quicker than an expert could rake it. When he was sixteen years old, the water at the house being hard, they had to carry water for washing from a well some thirty rods away. So on one occasion he took a common cider barrel of thirty-two gallons' capacity down to the well, filled it, drove in the bung, and, shouldering the barrel, took the wooden tunnel in one hand and carried them both to the house. The family in Sutton was prominent in town and church affairs. That they were energetic and successful in business is evi- denced by the fact that the homestead farm, when it came into the possession of Captain James Taylor Elliot, son of Aaron and grand- father of Clarence H., comprised an area of about a mile square. James T. Elliot's wife was Submit Baylies. She was of the old Ux- bridge family of Baylies Hill.

Through his mother, whose maiden name was Elmira Jaques, Mr. Elliot of Grafton is de- scended from Henry Jaques, who settled at Newbury, Mass., in 1640. Mrs. Elliot's ma- ternal grandfather was the Rev. James Jaques, a Methodist minister and presiding elder, born in Bowdoin, Me., son of John Jaques and

809

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

grandson of Benjamin Jaques, a sea captain, who married Betty Varnum. Lieutenant Richard Jaques, of York, Me., father of Ben- jamin, fought valiantly in resisting the attacks of the Indians on the settlement, but finally fell by their hand. The Rev. James Jaques married Anna Marshall, daughter of Antipas Marshall, of Ipswich, Mass. Her father served in the Revolutionary War, and was once taken prisoner, but was exchanged. He was a seafaring man, and was also the Lieuten- ant of a military company. Later in life he was an itinerant and a local preacher, ordained by Bishop George in Barre, Vt.

Clarence Henry Elliot was born at the old homestead and educated in the common schools . of Sutton. When a young man he embarked in the hay and wood business, buying of the farmers in the surrounding towns and finding a market in Worcester and Whitinsville. About twenty-five years ago he removed to Grafton and entered the employ of Silas Vinton, taking charge of freight to and from Graftonville before the Grafton & Milford Railroad was built. About eight years after coming to Grafton he purchased the Jourdon store, one of the oldest places of business in the town. By dint of energy, enterprise, and straightforward dealing he has gained the con- fidence of his patrons and built up a good business. For some years his store has been the only one of its kind in Grafton Centre.

Mr. Elliot affiliates with the Republican party politically, and takes an active interest in the affairs of the town. He is now serving on the Board of Selectmen. He is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a member of Evening Star Lodge, No. 102, of North Grafton. For twenty-eight years he has been a member of the Orthodox church, of which he is a trustee.

He was married June 20, 1876, to Miss Annie G. Dwyer, of Grafton, a daughter of James Gordon Dwyer and Louisa Lesure Dyer. She was born in Hopkinton, July 31, 1855. Mrs. Elliot was a school teacher before mar- riage, as were four of her five sisters. She has one brother, Dr. E. G. Dyer, a dentist in Fitchburg. They are descendants of the Sutherlands of Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. Elliot

have four children : Mildred Sutherland, now a student at Wellesley College; Helen F., who is attending the Grafton High School ; Philip D. and Gordon B., who both attend the Grafton Grammar School.

RANK EDWARDS, formerly a well- known business man of Southbridge, Mass., was born in that town on April 20, 1852. He was a son of William and Catherine (Wardwell) Edwards and grandson of Jacob Edwards, a farmer of Dudley. His mother was a daughter of Dr. Wardwell, of Hardwick, Mass.

Mr. Edwards was educated in the public schools of Southbridge and at Phillips Exeter Academy. His business life began in 1875, when he formed a partnership with his brother, under the name of William Edwards's Sons, for the purpose of dealing in hay and grain .. This proved to be a prosperous undertaking, and was continued for a number of years. Mr. Edwards married Miss Lizzie Abby Barnes on December 12, 1878. He died on June 19, 1882, and is survived by his wife and two sons, George Barnes and Albert Van- derford.

Mrs. Edwards is a daughter of William Curtis and A. Frances (Tatem) Barnes, of Southbridge, who were married March 31, 1852. Her father was in the jewelry business for forty years, retiring in 1893. Her pater- nal grandfather, Jonathan Barnes, Jr., was a son of Jonathan, Sr., a native of Marlboro, Mass., who was graduated at Harvard in 1770, and was the first minister of Hillsboro, N. H. The wife of the Rev. Jonathan Barnes was Abigail Curtis. Through her Mrs. Edwards is descended from Ephraim Curtis, who was the first white man to settle in what is now the city of Worcester. Thomas Barnes, the founder of this branch of the Barnes family in America, came over from England in 1656. Mrs. Edwards's maternal grandfather was the Rev. John Henry Tatem. His father, who was born in Cork, Ireland, was drowned by the capsizing of a boat in Salem Harbor, Mass. Elder Tatem, as Rev. John Henry Tatem was known, married August 18, 1816, Abby A.

810

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

King, daughter of Joseph and Alice (Mathew- son) King. Through her grandmother Tatem Mrs. Edwards traces her descent from a Huguenot emigrant, Gabriel Bernon, a native of Rochelle, France, who came to New Eng- land from Holland in 1688, and who died in Providence, R.I., in 1736, aged ninety-one years. He is said to have been of the eleventh generation from Raoul de Bernon, of Burgundy. The line from Gabriel may be thus shown: Susanna Bernon, his daughter, married in 1734 Joseph Crawford; her daugh- ter Sarah married Silas Cooke; their daughter Abigail married Nicholas Mathewson, and was, the mother of Alice, who married Joseph King, above named, father of Mrs. Tatem.

In November, 1896, Mrs. Edwards with her sons removed to Worcester. The elder son, George Barnes Edwards, who was born in 1879, attended the high school for a time, and subsequently was graduated at Childs's Busi- ness College. He is now engaged in business in Worcester.

A. Vanderford Edwards, who was born in 1882, is now a student in the English High School. He is named for Captain Benjamin Vanderford, a sea captain, who was the first to bring the tomato to this country. Captain Vanderford was a half-brother of the Rev. J. Henry Tatem and great-uncle of Mrs. Edwards. His immigrant ancestors, who were from Hol- land, are said to have been early settlers in Virginia.

Mr. Edwards was a member of the South- bridge Lodge of Masons, of the Royal Ar- canum, and of the Southbridge Lodge of Odd Fellows. He was a regular attendant of the Universalist church in Southbridge.

HARLES A. HARRINGTON, for many years one of the leading drug- gists of Worcester, was a lineal descendant of Robert Harrington, an English immigrant, one of the original proprietors of Watertown, Mass., 1642-44, who married Susanna, daughter of John George. John Harrington, son of Robert, was a soldier in King Philip's War, and was wounded in the Northfield fight. His wife

was Hannah, daughter of John Winter, Jr., of Cambridge. Among their children were Jo- siah and Joshua, Sr. (twins), born in 1709. Joshua Harrington, Sr., a resident succes- sively of Waltham, Holliston, and Worcester, was the father of Samuel and Joshua, Jr., Revolutionary soldiers, who owned neighbor- ing farms in Worcester, where they both lived nearly all their lives. Joshua Harrington, Jr., married Sarah, daughter of Deacon David Bigelow, of Worcester, and niece of Colonel Timothy Bigelow. He died in Pelham, Mass., in 1817.

Samuel Harrington, who was born in 1754, and died March 27, 1834, came to Worcester from Dorchester. He was one of the early settlers here, and from that time to the pres- ent the name of Harrington has held an hon- ored place in the annals of the city. Samuel Harrington was a soldier in Captain Timothy Bigelow's company during the Revolution. He married a Miss Evans, and they had eight children - Susanna, James, Lucretia, Samuel, Sarah, Ebenezer, Mary, and Austin.

Ebenezer Harrington, the sixth child, was born in Worcester, September 22, 1793, and died March 26, 1822. His wife, whose maiden name was Ethelinda Marsh, was born in Hadley, January 13, 1795, and died August 5, 1840. They had three children: Charles A., the subject of this sketch, whose personal history is given below; Theodore, born in 1820, died in 1821; and Ebenezer M., who was born January 1, 1822, and died May 3, 1851.

Charles A. Harrington was born in Worces- ter, May 6, 1818. On account of the death of his father a few years later, he was brought up and educated in Hadley, Mass. When a lad of sixteen he returned to this city to learn the trade of a druggist. Entering the store of Dr. Spaulding, he remained with him as apprentice and then as partner until the Doctor retired and moved to Brooklyn, Wis. Mr. Harrington's brother Eben then succeeded to the business, and was a member of the firm until he, too, died, when but thirty years of age. Mr. Harrington then took another partner, Jerome Marble, with whom he carried on an extensive retail busi-

8II

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

ness at their store on Main Street for thirteen years. This enterprising firm then began the manufacture of drugs of various kinds, also keeping and selling large quantities of paints, oils, dyes, and manufacturers' sup- plies. Adding a wholesale department to their store, they built up a very successful and lucrative trade, and for years were the leading druggists of this vicinity. In 1863, owing to failing health, Mr. Harrington sold out to his partner. He died at his home in this city, April 8, 1864. A man of strict integrity and honesty of purpose, he was universally es- teemed and respected, and his death was a loss to the community.

Mr. C. A. Harrington's first wife, Maria Perkins, died in early womanhood, leaving one son, Frederick A., who died March 24, 1862. In January, 1849, he married Try- phena Stone, a daughter of Deacon Israel Stone and a descendant of one of the promi- nent families of Auburn, Mass. Two sons were the fruit of this union, namely: Eben, who was born in Worcester, May 3, 1851; and Theodore, who was born May 11, 1854. Theodore Harrington for some time held the position of superintendent of the steel works of the Union Rolling Mill Company, Chi- cago. In 1886 he went to Pasadena, Cal., where he was engaged in the real estate busi- ness. In 1889 he returned to Worcester where he died on December 23 of that year. He married, May 9, 1881, Miss Emma Fran- ces Willard, daughter of W. H. Willard of Worcester. Of this union there are two children: Jean Lizette Harrington, born in Worcester May 14, 1883, and Theodore Har- rington, Jr., born in Pasadena, Cal., Febru- ary 15, 1889.

Eben Harrington received his education in the common schools of this city, the high school, and the Polytechnic Institute. He was subsequently teller in the Citizens' Na- tional Bank for three years, after which he engaged in the fire insurance business with John D. Washburn. Later he was in the furniture business with John D. Chollar, and afterward he accepted the position of cashier in the Oxford National Bank at Oxford, Worcester County, Mass., where he remained

five years. He then went to California for one year as teller and assistant cashier of the First National Bank, Pasadena. While there he was offered and accepted a position with the State Mutual Life Assurance Company, of Worcester, and has since been connected with it. He is now cashier in the Boston office of this company. On May 16, 1876, Mr. Eben Harrington married Miss Etta L. Hancock, of Worcester, youngest daughter of Frederick Hancock. They have one son living, Fred- erick, born February 11, 1885. The other son, Charles Theodore Harrington, was born June 16, 1877, and died August 2, 1882.

YMAN G. PETTS, of Holden, the proprietor of the Eagle Lake House and the senior partner in the firm of L. G. Petts & Co., was born in Stoddard, N.H., October 15, 1835. His par- ents, David T. and Phœbe S. (Stevens) Petts, were natives respectively of Nelson and Stod- dard, N. H. The father was a drover in early life. . Afterward he managed the Forest House at Stoddard and a hotel of the same name at Marlow. He was a man of much energy. While in the cattle trade he did a very large business. He died at Marlow on December 3, 1855, aged forty-five years. His wife is still living in Keene, N.H. Of their seven children, six grew to maturity, and four are living. The latter are: Ferdinand Petts, a real estate broker of Keene; Lyman G., the subject of this biography; George A., who is conducting the hotel in Marlow for- merly managed by his father; and Mrs. Mi- randa M. Warner, a resident of Keene. Those deceased were: Rosanna, who died in infancy; Rosanna Richardson; and Mrs. Christina L. Cook.

Lyman G. Petts spent his early days in Stod- dard and in Marlow, receiving his education in the common schools of those towns. From the age of twelve to that of eighteen years he was employed in the glass works at Stoddard. Then he went to Ashbury, Mass., where he was for some time in the employ of the pail factory. After meeting with an accident that obliged him to give up his work here, he

812

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

returned to. Marlow. When again able to at- tend to business he began to assist his father in the hotel, and was so employed until the father's death. After that event he went to work in the Marlow & Currier paint shop. Subsequently he bought a farm in Alstead, N.H., and for four years carried on farming there. Coming then to Massachusetts, he engaged as salesman for Lord & Stone, of Otter River, dealers in stoves. After spend- ing five years with that firm he went to Jefferson, Mass., in 1872, and for the follow- ing year and a half he managed the hotel there, which he had leased. After another visit to Marlow he came to Holden in 1875, and bought the hotel which he has since con- ducted. Eagle Lake House is one of the long- established hotels in this section of the State. In the early days it was one of the chief stop- ping-places of the stage-coach. With accom- modations for from thirty-five to fifty guests, it has always been noted for its excellent class of patrons. Since Mr. Petts has been in charge of it he has made many desirable alterations, and maintained a first-class livery.

On August 11, 1857, Mr. Petts was mar- ried to Maria N. Johnson, a native of Nashua, N. H., and a daughter of John H. and Heph- zibah T. (Hopkins) Johnson. Of this union three children have been born: William C., on July 30, 1860; Flora A., on July 6, 1869; and Eugene A., on October 6, 1883. Will- iam, who married Rose Elliot, is in charge of the store of L. G. Petts & Co .; and Flora is the wife of Austin J. Warren, of Worcester, Mass. Both Mr. and Mrs. Petts attend the Baptist church. Mr. Petts is a Republican in politics. He is a member of St. John Lodge, F. & A. M., at Alstead, N.H. His success in business has been achieved by hard work.

AMUEL WOOD, late president of the National Bank of Northboro, Mass., was a native resident of this town, where for a number of years he was" engaged in mercantile business. Born Febru- ary 13, 1831, son of Deacon Samuel and Eliza- beth (Bowman) Wood, he was a worthy scion

of old Colonial stock, being a lineal descendant in the seventh generation of William Wood, who came to Massachusetts in 1638 and settled in Concord.

Michael Wood, only son of William, died at Concord in 1674, only three years after the death of his father. He had five sons and a

daughter, Abigail. The daughter married Stephen Hosmer. Abraham Wood, son of Michael, was the father of three sons and four daughters. His eldest son, Samuel Wood, born in Sudbury, Mass., March 17, 1710, settled in 1749 or 1750 in that part of West- boro which in 1766 was incorporated as North- boro. In 1751 he was clerk of the precinct. He was a clothier and fuller of cloth. He died March 18, 1760. His children by his second wife, Keziah Moore, daughter of John Moore, of Sudbury, were: Lydia, who married Captain Timothy Brigham; Captain Samuel, who was wounded at the battle of Bunker Hill; Jesse; Hannah, who married Lieutenant Thomas Seaver; Beulah, whose husband, Na- than Johnson, was a soldier at Bunker Hill, and, as he claimed, there "fired the last gun "; and Abraham, born July 30, 1752, who mar- ried April 1, 1773, Lydia, daughter of Eleazer Johnson, of Berlin, Mass.

Among other interesting particulars con- cerning individual members of the Wood fam- ily of Northboro in a book compiled by T. W. Valentine, to which we are indebted for the foregoing names and dates, are the following relating to the grandparents of the subject of this sketch: Abraham Wood in April, 1775, was clerk of the company of minute-men of which his brother Samuel was Captain. He marched with his company to Cambridge, but, being needed at home to dress cloth, remained with the army but a short time. He was after- ward Captain of a militia company. A musi- cian of considerable note, he published one or two small collections of church music, also an elegy on the death of Washington. His wife, Lydia Johnson Wood, reputed the "best of grandmothers," is said to have sat up all night previous to the departure of the minute- men, melting her pewterware into bullets, the soapstone mould used for that purpose being still preserved in the family. She died in

813

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

Northboro, April 3, 1843, in the eighty-ninth year of her age. The "best woman that ever lived," once said her son-in-law, Mr. Gassett.

Abraham and Lydia (Johnson) Wood were the parents of thirteen children, namely : Sabra, who died young; Keziah, born 1775, who married Asaph Rice, and died April 3, 1813; Abraham, who died in his third year; Otis, who died in childhood; Lydia, born in 1781, who became the second wife of Asaph Rice, and died in 1820; Sarah, who died in her twenty-fourth year; Abraham, who died unmarried, aged thirty-five; Elizabeth, born January 31, 1788, who died unmarried in 1873; Sabra, born October 17, 1791, who married Gill Valentine in 1814, and died in Worcester, August 30, 1865; John Hancock, who died in his tenth year; Lucy, born June 22, 1795, who was married in 1812 to Henry Gassett, of Bos- ton, and died November 3, 1873; Mary, born November 15, 1796, who married Joseph Davis, and died in Templeton, January 3, 1869; and Deacon Samuel, born February 22, 1799, who married, April 16, 1826, Elizabeth Bowman, daughter of Joseph and Ann (Valentine) Bow- man.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 96

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