Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 97

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 97

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Henry Gassett, who married Lucy Wood, was born in Northboro, Mass., February I, 1774. He was graduated at Harvard College in 1795, and was subsequently engaged in mer- cantile business in Boston, where he made his home till his death in August 15, 1855. Of the nine children reared by Mr. and Mrs. Gas- sett, only one is now living, Catherine, widow of the late Edward R. Hall.

Deacon Samuel and Elizabeth B. Wood had six children: Abraham, born November 20, 1828, who died June 23, 1831 ; Samuel, whose personal history is given below; Albert, born February 19, 1833, who married Emma Allen, and is now a physician in Worcester; Charles J., born August 28, 1838, who married Helen S. Dodd, and lives in Hartford, Conn. ; Lydia A., born March 19, 1844, who died September 22, 1848; and Emma E., born March 14, 1848, who died April 25, 1851.

Samuel was the second son and the eldest of the three that grew to maturity. His educa- tion was acquired in the public schools, which after the age of thirteen years he attended only

during the winter terms, his evenings at the same period being occupied in gaining a prac- tical knowledge of mercantile business as a clerk in the general store kept by Seaver & Gale. Later the firm became Cyrus Gale, Jr., & Co. In 1853, at twenty-two years of age, Mr. Wood formed a partnership with Mr. Cyrus Gale, who had become his brother-in- law. The firm of Gale & Wood, dealers in general merchandise, carried on business in Northboro for about eight years; and Mr. Wood, who at the end of that time bought out his partner, subsequently conducted it alone for more than twenty years. His store was the principal one in the village, and under his able management during the Civil War period the books showed an annual trade of from sixty thousand to seventy thousand dollars. Not considering the accumulation of wealth the great end of life, and satisfied with a compe- tency, Mr. Wood in 1884 sold his business to Mr. J. Q. Hatch, and gave himself up to the rational enjoyment of well-earned leisure, seek- ing with his family that cultivation and en- largement of mind and sympathy that comes from travel. With his wife he spent six months in California in 1885; and in 1886 he made a trip to Europe, where he spent one year. He became a director March 6, 1876, of the Northboro National Bank; was made vice-president January 12, 1882 ; and president June 13, 1888.

A public-spirited, progressive citizen, deeply interested in the welfare of the town, a man of high moral principles and a strong temperance advocate, his character recommended itself to his fellow-citizens as that of one likely to serve them well in public affairs. He was Se- lectman for two years, and in 1890 was sent as Representative to the General Court, where he served on the committees on Banking and on County Estimates. As chairman of the com- mittee in charge of building the beautiful Gale Public Library of Northboro, he rendered valu- able service to the town, and this he continued to do as a trustee of the Gale & Gassett funds. He was also one of the first Water Commis- sioners, after the water works were established in Northboro. In politics he was always a strong Republican, never having voted any

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other ticket. He was an active member of the First Congregational (Unitarian) Society, of Northboro, founded in 1746. His death took place September 7, 1898.

Mr. Wood married, April 22, 1862, Lucre- tia Goodwin Hubbard, a lady of cultivated lit- erary tastes, born in Concord, Mass., daughter of Cyrus and Susanna (Hartwell) Hubbard, and closely related to several of the old and prominent families of that historic town. Mrs. Wood survives her husband. They had one child, who died in infancy.

ENERAL JOHN W. KIMBALL, of Fitchburg, Mass., State Auditor, was born in this city, February 27, 1828. He is a son of Alpheus and Harriet (Stone) Kimball and a direct descendant of Richard Kimball, an Englishman, who em- barked for this country April 10, 1634, in the ship "Elizabeth," after his arrival lived for a short time in Watertown, Mass., and then settled permanently in Ipswich, where he had a grant of land in February, 1637-8. Rich- ard Kimball was chosen one of seven Select- men of the town of Ipswich in March, 1645- 6. From Richard the line of descent is traced through Thomas, 2 Thomas, 3 Ephraim, 4 Ephraim,5 and Ephraim,6 to Alpheus,7 father of the subject of this sketch.

Alpheus Kimball was born in Fitchburg, June 26, 1792. He was in business in this city as a merchant, and was engaged in scythe manufacture, establishing the firm of Alpheus Kimball & Sons. Actively interested in poli- tics, he was successively a Whig and a Free Soiler, and cast his vote for Fremont in 1856. He was a member of the Congregational church and leader of a faction when the church was divided on the slavery question about 1840. Mr. Alpheus Kimball died in 1859, aged sixty-seven. His wife, who was a daughter of Luther and Mary (Trowbridge) Stone, of Framingham, Mass., died January 5, 1888, aged ninety-seven years and five months. They had four sons and two daugh- ters, John W. being the youngest of the family.

John W. Kimball acquired his education in

the common schools of his native place and at Fitchburg Academy, and was then em- ployed in his father's scythe factory. After his father's death he managed the business in company with his brother William until 1864. Enlisting for service at the time of the Civil War, he was commissioned Captain of Com- pany B, Fifteenth Massachusetts Regiment. Before leaving the State he was promoted to be Major of the regiment, and in April, 1862, he was its Lieutenant Colonel. The Fifteenth was attached to the First Brigade, Second Division, Second Corps, Army of the Potomac. In November, 1862, Mr. Kimball was commissioned Colonel of the Fifty-Third Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and at- tached to the Third Brigade, Third Division, of the Nineteenth Army Corps, Department of the Gulf. He was in action in all the battles of the Peninsular Campaign, at Ball's Bluff, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, and before Richmond. At Antietam three hundred and forty-four out of his regiment - officers and men - were killed, wounded, or missing. The regiment was stationed near Dunker church and monument. At Port Hudson, June 14, 1863, Colonel Kimball was wounded in the thigh. For some time he was pros- trated with malarial fever; and in the winter of 1864 he was superintendent of recruiting in Worcester County. During the winter of 1864 he recruited the Fifty - seventh Regi- ment. He was brevetted Brigadier - general, March 13, 1865.

General Kimball was Tax Collector of Fitchburg from 1865 to 1872, and at the same time was Constable and a member of the State Police and Police Commissioner. From 1873 to 1877 he was United States Pension Agent, and until 1879 he was custodian of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the Treasury Department at Washington. Ap- pointed Postmaster of Fitchburg by Presi- dent Hayes in 1879, he was in office until 1887, being reappointed by President Arthur in 1883. He was elected State Auditor in 1891 and entered on his duties in January, 1892. He has filled the office in such a sat- isfactory manner that through successive re- elections he has kept the position up to the

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present time. General Kimball has been a trustee and auditor of the Fitchburg Savings Bank for a number of years. He represented this district in the legislature in the winters of 1864 and 1865 and in 1872, 1888, 1889, 1890, and 1891, serving on the Military Committee in 1864 and 1865 and as its chair- man in 1872, on the Finance Committee in 1888, on the Railroad Committee in 1889-91 and as its chairman in: 1890-91.

In 1851 he was married to Almira M., daughter of Newell M. Lesure, of Fitchburg. The following children have blessed their union : Emma F., born May 13, 1852; Mary Elizabeth, born May 9, 1854; Edward Frank- lin, born September 25, 1857; and Josephine White, who was born April 28, 1876, and died September 2, 1881. General Kimball was Captain and Adjutant in the Ninth Regi- ment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, before the war. After the war he was Engineer on the Staff of Major-General B. F. Butler, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, from August 15, 1870, to April 28, 1876, and Colonel of the Tenth Regiment Infantry Massachusetts Volunteers from August 1, 1876, to Septem- ber 21, 1878. He became a member of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1867, joining Edwin V. Sumner Post, No. 19, of Fitchburg. He was elected Commander in 1871, and re- elected in 1872 and 1874; and in 1874 he was Department Commander. He is a mem- ber of Aurora Lodge, F. & A. M .; Thomas R. A. Chapter, in which he has held several of the minor chairs; Jerusalem Commandery, K. T., of which he was two years Eminent Commander, and in which he has held all the offices from Senior Warden up. He is a member of the Fitchburg Grange, No. 186, Patrons of Husbandry, Home Market and Middlesex clubs.

ILAS BARBER, formerly a re- spected resident of Worcester, was born in North Worcester, October 24, 1818, a son of Silas Barber. He was educated in a small country school adjoining his home. When twenty-one years of age he became engaged in the boot and

shoe business on Front Street, where he re- mained for ten years. In 1845 he married and settled in Templeton, Worcester County, where he carried on a livery business for four years. Owing, however, to the failure of his health he removed to Petersham, where he oc- cupied himself for two years in the cultivation of a farm. His health not improving, he went to Otter River, Mass., where he remained until his death on September 24, 1874.

Mr. Barber married Eunice D. Clapp, who was born in Holden, Mass., daughter of David Clapp, a retired farmer and the representative of an old New England family. Their three children are as follows: Frank, who married Susie Reed, and has two children - Ada Barber and Louie Reed Barber; Arthur, un- married, who is engaged in the grocery and provision business; and Isadore, who is fifty years of age and unmarried. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Barber has resided in Worcester, making her home at 25 Court Street. She is now in the seventy-eighth year of her age, but is still strong and vigorous.

OHN BUSH DEWING, of North Brookfield, Representative of the Fourth Worcester District in the Gen - eral Court, was born here, January 28, 1835, son of John Fisk and Harriet (Mathews) Dewing. The first of the Dewing family to settle in North Brookfield was Samuel Dewing, grandfather of Representative Dewing. The father, who was born in North Brookfield, and died in 1865, was a lifelong resident of this place. During the War of 1812 he was drafted, but his company was not called on to serve. He was prominent in local politics and was a stanch Whig. For several years he was Selectman of North Brookfield. His wife, Harriet, a native of Hardwick, Mass., was reared in Brookfield. She was the mother of three children - Lydia D., John B., and George F. Of these the last named is deceased; while Lydia is the widow of William H. Newton, late of North Brookfield.

With the exception of the period during which he attended Pierce Academy in Middle- boro, the lifetime of John Bush Dewing has

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been spent in his native town. His early years were passed on his father's farm in the eastern part of the town, now owned and occu- pied by H. H. Leach. After leaving the public schools he attended Pierce Academy, as already stated, and duly graduated at that institution. Returning to North Brookfield, he then entered the employ of Messrs. Batch- eller, boot and shoe manufacturers, and for the thirty-seven succeeding years was identi- fied with the interests of this concern. For the last twenty-five years of that time he was the superintendent of the fitting department, having under his charge an average of one hundred workmen, and showing high execu- tive ability and a fine understanding of human nature. This position he resigned on the first day of July, 1894. Having an interest in the North Brookfield Railroad Company, he serves it in the capacities of a director and the treasurer.

Mr. Dewing has always been actively inter- ested in public affairs. From 1872 to 1882 he served as Selectman of the town, and for twelve years he was Registrar of voters. This latter position he resigned in order to accept that of Assessor, in which capacity he is now serving his third term. For ten years he has been the chairman of the Republican Town Committee, and to his vigorous leader- ship the Republicans of the town owe much. At his election to the legislature he received all but twelve of the total number of votes polled, a remarkable recognition of his ser- vices. To be chosen a member of the legis- lature of Massachusetts practically without opposition is an honor seldom conferred, par- ticularly in Worcester County, where the in- terest in party candidates is always lively. Mr. Dewing is a member of the Committee on Agriculture, and has also served on a special committee to investigate and condemn cattle affected with tuberculosis and other diseases.

On June 2, 1857, Mr. Dewing was married to Lomira C. Thompson, a daughter of the late Joseph W. Thompson, of North Brook- field. By this union he became the father of three children - Marion L., Alfred F., and John W. Marion is the wife of Harry S. Little, of North Brookfield; Alfred is a

druggist in Providence, R.I .; and John W. resides in North Brookfield. Mr. Dewing's second marriage was contracted on June 25, 1879, with Susan M. Bucklin, a native of Providence, R.I. He has been Justice of the Peace for fifteen years, and he was a trustee of the Free Public Library at North Brook- field. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic lodge at North Brookfield, also of the Odd Fellows organization. For the past forty years he has been a member of the First Congregational Society and one of its warm- est supporters, both morally and financially.

ORACE MANN LOCKE, M.D., a successful medical practitioner of Sturbridge, Mass., is a native of Lockeford, Cal. His parents were Dean Hewitt and Delia M. (Hammond) Locke.

Dean Hewitt Locke was one of the Califor- nia gold-seekers of 1849. Starting from Bos- ton on April 16, he journeyed overland. He died May 5, 1888. Thirteen children were born to him and his wife, Delia M. Hammond, names and birth dates being as follows: Lu- ther J., April 16, 1856; Ada Cook, December 16, 1857; Nathaniel Howard, July 19, 1859; Horace Mann, December 31, 1860; Ida L. Parker, April 10, 1862; Mary Moore (de- ceased), April 6, 1864; William W., Novem- ber 19, 1865; Hannah Demgot, November 19, 1867; John Calvin, May 30, 1869; Edward Moore, October 30, 1871; Eunice Webster, August 13, 1874; George Hammond, October 19, 1877; Theresa, September 8, 1879.

Horace Mann Locke, the fourth child and special subject of this sketch, received his early education in the schools of San José, Cal. In 1881 he entered the Harvard Medical School, from which he received his degree in 1886. After a year spent in his California home he returned East, and for three years was a physician in the McLean Asylum, Somerville, Mass. He next opened an office in Brockton, Mass., where he became very popular and successful, serving three years as City Physician, and was elected and served on the Board of Health. In connection with the City Engineer he was influential in securing

HORACE M. LOCKE.

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the superb system of sewerage which the city of Brockton now enjoys. It is what is known as the intermittent downward filtration. He remained in Brockton up to 1895, when he settled in Sturbridge. He has a large and lucrative practice as a regular physician and surgeon.

On December 12, 1888, Dr. Locke was united in marriage with Eunice Blanchard, who was born in Brockton, July 27, 1862. They have two children: Dean Jewett, born February 14, 1890; and Louise, born June 13, 1892.

Dr. Locke votes the Republican ticket. He is a member of the following organizations : the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Har- vard Medical Alumni Association, the Ameri- can Medical Society of Chicago, and the Mas- sachusetts Emergency Hygienic Society. In 1894 he was a member of the Massachusetts Association of Boards of Health. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and the Improved Order of Red Men.

JDWIN GRIMES, the proprietor of the Forest House in Princeton, is a native, of Hubbardston, Mass. He was born January 25, 1827, son of Aaron and Sally (Stowe) Grimes, and is of the fourth genera- tion in descent from Joseph Grimes, Sr., the pioneer settler of that town.

In the History of Hubbardston we find this record : "Joseph Grimes came from Tewks- bury in 1761. He was the first man who came here with the intention of making a permanent settlement.' The house lot "re mained in the family till sold to E. M. Coffin in 1879."

Joseph Grimes, Jr., born August 9, 1744, was a youth of seventeen when he went to Hubbardston with his father and brothers. He spent the active period of his life in the cultivation of a farm situated in the eastern part of Hubbardston. He died November 19, 1834, in his ninety-first year; and his wife died April 22, 1833. They were the parents of ten children, born as follows: Susanna, May 23, 1772; Zephaniah, March 31, 1774; Attarah, March 18, 1776; Aaron, January 14,

1778; Ruth, April 29, 1780; Asenath, April 4, 1782 ; Betsey, October 28, 1784; Amiable, March 12, 1787; Lucretia, February 17, 1789; and Clarissa, January 28, 1794.

Aaron Grimes, having succeeded to the homestead, was industriously occupied in farming throughout his active years. Like his father, he survived his ninetieth birthday, his death occurring July 5, 1868. At first a Whig, he later became a Republican. He was an active member of the Congregational church. Sally, his wife, who was a native of Concord, Mass., gave birth to ten children, as follows: Aaron, November 27, 1804; Sophia, January 23, 1806; Otis, September 14, 1808; Charles, November 11, 1810; Silas, July 27, 1815; Jarvis, July 5, 1817; Joseph, April 18, 1820; Sarah, October 21, 1821; Sewell, August 24, 1824; and Edwin, the subject of this biography. The survivors, besides Edwin, are: Otis, who resides in New York City; and Sewell, a resident of Hub- bardston. The mother died October 28, 1868, aged eighty-six years.

After beginning his education in the com- mon schools, Edwin Grimes attended the Westminster Academy for one term, paying for his tuition with money he had earned by chopping wood. He resided at home until twenty-one years old, assisting in carrying on the home farm and performing outside work for wages, which were duly given to his father. As a young man, he taught school in Hubbardston and Rutland for a time. He was also otherwise employed for several years, during which he bought his present property in Princeton. Then, returning to the home- stead, he cared for his parents during their last days. In 1869 he settled on his Prince- ton farm, which he has owned since 1853; and, opening the Forest House, he has since given his attention to the entertainment of summer boarders. The house was built for a tavern by one Dr. Wilson, near the close of the last century. With its airy, high-studded rooms, containing old-fashioned fireplaces, and its table well supplied with dairy products and vegetables from the farm, it accommodates about twenty guests. It is situated near the centre of the town, a short distance from

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churches, schools, library, post - office, and hotels, and is in close proximity to Mount Wachusett, thus affording splendid opportuni- ties for driving and the enjoyment of beautiful scenery.

On October 3, 1858, Mr. Grimes was united in marriage with Hannah E. Ferguson, of Bel- fast, Me., who was born April 15, 1833. He has four sons, namely : Albert B., born June 30, 1859, who married Mary Wood of Holyoke, is a journalist, and resides in Somerville, Mass. ; E. Lincoln, born November 8, 1864, who married Elizabeth A. Shangraw, of Pitts- ford, Vt., and is a civil engineer, residing in Rutland, Vt. ; Thaddeus S., born October 13, 1866, who married Mary M. Jessop of Atlanta, Ga., is a mechanical engineer, and resides in Atlanta, Ga. ; and Maurice W., born March 19, 1871, who resides in Princeton, and is employed by the Massachusetts Highway Commission as Resident Engineer in the construction of State roads. In politics Mr. Grimes is a Republi- can. He has been Overseer of the Poor for four years in succession, and he has served as Town Clerk since 1886. Both he and Mrs. Grimes are members of the Congregational church, and he serves the society in the capac- ity of Deacon.

ON. JEREMIAH GATCHELL, Na- tional Bank Examiner, a prominent resident of Blackstone, Mass., was born in Woonsocket, R. I., July 13,

1836, son of John G. and Mary (Warren) Gatchell. He belongs to a family of Eng- lish origin that has been settled in New Eng- land somewhat more than two hundred years. His grandfather was Jeremiah Gatchell, of Marblehead, Mass., who served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War and in the War of 1812, and was afterward lost at sea. His grandmother Gatchell, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Gifford, being left a widow with a large family, went to live in Black- stone, where employment could be found in the mills; and she later removed to Woon- socket. She received a pension from the gov- ernment.

John G. Gatchell, son of Jeremiah and Eliz-

abeth, was born in Marblehead in 1813. He settled in Blackstone in 1847, and resided here for the rest of his life. He was for some years engaged in the manufacture of carriages. He was quite active in public affairs, and held several important town offices. He married Mary Worrall, daughter of Ottiwell Worrall, of Dorchester, Mass. Two sons were the fruit of this union, namely : Moses, who entered the service as Captain in the Fifteenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and was killed at the battle of Ball's Bluff; and Jeremiah, the subject of this sketch. The father died in Oc- tober, 1897.

Jeremiah Gatchell obtained his education in the public schools and at the Wilbraham Academy. When sixteen years old he entered his father's carriage factory, and at the age of twenty was admitted to partnership. The firm of J. G. Gatchell & Son carried on business in Blackstone until 1865. He then engaged in another line of business at East Blackstone in company with Thomas Worrall, and after continuing in that for about three years he sold his interest in order to embark in the manufacture of cotton yarn, in which he car- ried on quite an extensive business for four years. At the end of that time he closed his factory.

Politically, Mr. Gatchell is a Democrat, and was formerly a leading spirit in the public affairs of Blackstone. He was Town Clerk four years, chairman of the Board of Select- men for the same length of time, and Commis- sioner of the Sinking Fund for fifteen years. During the years 1874 and 1875 he was a member of the State Senate, serving as chair- man of the Committee on Public Lands in the first session, and in the second being assigned to the same chairmanship, and also to the Committee on Towns. He was appointed Postmaster by President Johnson in 1864, and held office until 1866. In July, 1875, he was appointed Savings Bank Commissioner by Governor Gaston for three years. He was re- appointed by Governors Rice, Long, and Robinson, and resigned to accept his present position of National Bank Examiner, tendered him by Secretary of the Treasury Manning. At the time of his original appointment as

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Commissioner of Savings Banks he was the only examiner in Massachusetts. During the panic of 1892 he was subject to duty wherever called, and was placed in charge of insolvent banks in New York and New Hampshire. He is still financially interested in business enter- prises in Blackstone, and is treasurer of and a heavy stockholder in the Electric Light Com- pany. He is a member of Blackstone River Lodge, F. & A. M., and has served as Deputy Grand Master.

In October, 1855, Mr. Gatchell married for his first wife Rosetta Wood, daughter of Thomas F. Wood, of Woonsocket. The only child of this union died in infancy. His first wife died in 1857 ; and in September, 1864, he wedded Marietta Stafford, daughter of Christo- pher Stafford, also of Woonsocket. Of this union there is one daughter - Edith, who was born November 23, 1874, is married to W. H. Chase, and resides in Woonsocket.

T VER JOHNSON, who was known through- out the country as the founder of Iver Johnson's Arms and Cycle Works of Fitchburg, and a manufacturer of fire- arms and police goods, was a native of Nord- fjord, Norway. Born February 14, 1841, he in 1863 settled in Worcester, Mass. Here, eight years after, in partnership with Martin Bye, he hired a small factory on Church Street, and began the manufacture of revolvers, doing business under the firm name of Johnson, Bye & Co. In 1873 the business had so increased as to necessitate its removal to larger quarters at 44 Central Street, and in 1875 the firm bought the entire building. Thereafter room after room was added for manufacturing pur- poses until 1881, when the whole edifice was in use. Two years later Mr. Johnson bought out the interest of Martin Bye, and since then the business has been conducted under the present firm name.

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 97

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