USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Franklin County, Massachusetts .. > Part 29
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John Andrew Adams grew to manhood in Greenfield. He received a good common- school education, finishing his studies at Shel- burne Academy, and after leaving school gave his attention mostly to farming. His active life, with the exception of two years spent in Bernardston, was passed in Greenfield, the lat- ter part near the home of his father. He died December 3, 1880. June 29, 1864, he was married to Charlotte E. Meriam, a native of Barre, Mass., born February 26, 1843, daugh- ter of Jotham A. and Charlotte (Harwood) Meriam. Mr. Meriam was born in Oxford, February 25, 1813. He was a great reader, a good school-teacher, and well informed in law, and was also a practical farmer. He died June 24, 1887. His wife, to whom he was united at Barre, Mass., May 3, 1841, was a native of that town, born November 5, 1814. She died October 16, 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Meriam were liberal in religious views, and were attendants of the Congregational church. They had two children: Charles Addison, born February 8, 1842, who died August 25, 1877; and Charlotte E., the wife of our sub- ject. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Adams was blessed by two daughters : Ruth C., born Sep-
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tember 27, 1865; and Elizabeth L., born March 25, 1867, in Greenfield. These young ladies graduated from the Greenfield High School in 1885, and taught for some time in Greenfield, but now give their time to the management of their real estate interests. Their grandfather, Peleg Adams, bequeathed to them - his only grand-daughters - much valuable property, including the Mansion House in Greenfield, which he left to them and their mother; and they are to inherit large tracts of land and other valuable property from their mother and their aunt, Mrs. Morgan. They are very accomplished young ladies, richly endowed mentally as well as financially. They reside at the old home farm with their mother, who also is a well-educated and re- fined lady.
NSEL C. SMITH has been connected with the business interests of Colerain for many years, being now one of its most prosperous and progressive agricultu- rists, and one of its most influential and re- spected citizens. He was born December 29, 1816, in the town of Wilmington, Vt., and is of Massachusetts ancestry. His parents were Rufus and Achsa (Ingraham) Smith, the father a native of Dover, Mass., born in 1790, and the mother of Amherst, where their nuptials were celebrated.
Rufus Smith was a tanner and currier by trade, and during his earlier years worked at tanning and currying ; but, seeing no prospect of bettering his condition while working at his trade, he took charge of a grist-mill at Wil- mington, Vt., and also engaged in the hotel business. He was an industrious man, but not very successful in financial matters. He spent his last years in Colerain, dying at the advanced age of eighty-four. He was liberal in his religious views and a strong Universalist
in belief. Rufus Smith was twice married. His first wife died in Wilmington, Vt., leav- ing five children. Of these, Ansel C., the subject of this brief biographical review, and Mrs. Barbara Russell, of Greenfield, are the only ones now living. The other three, Cath- erine, Mary, and Louisa, all married, reared families, and are now deceased. Rufus Smith subsequently married Elizabeth Browning, who bore him two children : a daughter named Elizabeth, who married and died; and a son, Horace A. Smith, who lives in Rowe.
Ansel C. Smith went to Colerain when a lad of seven years, and there completed his education, attending the district schools. His home was with Mr. John Browning until he was sixteen years old, when he went to Rowe, intending there to learn the carriage- maker's trade; but before he had completed his apprenticeship he removed to Athol, N. Y., and, living there for some time with a brother of Mr. John Browning, worked at car- riage-making. He next located in Greenfield, Mass., where he learned the trade of a tanner and currier of Mr. Isaac Barton, and also became proficient in shoemaking. He re- mained with Mr. Barton three years as an apprentice and one year as a journeyman, after which he worked two seasons with Mr. I. Sheldon at Factory Hollow. Removing thence to Colerain, he continued his trade on his own account at Griswoldville three years, and the following three years was in the em- ploy of Mr. J. Perkins, manufacturing wagon- shafts. Mr. Smith subsequently established himself in the latter business at Foundryville, remaining five years. In 1862 he began his mercantile career, purchasing the stock of Cal- vin Shattuck, of Colerain, who had a general country store. This he conducted successfully until 1878, when he sold out to the firm of Thomas & Hillman; and since then he has
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been actively engaged in agricultural pursuits. He has also assisted in building up the village of Colerain, erecting the present hotel of the place, and aiding materially in many radical improvements.
On June 7, 1848, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Sophia J. Thompson, who was born July 28, 1827, in Colerain, and is a daugh- ter of Hollis and Jane (Taggart) Thompson, the former of whom died June 23, 1856, and the latter March 31, 1874. Mrs. Thompson is descended from one of the oldest and most honored families of this section of the county, the Taggarts having been prominent among the pioneers of the town. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Henry A. and Mary. Henry A., who was born November II, 1850, is now in business with his father, and shares with him the ownership of the hotel and of a half interest in the store formerly con- ducted by Thomas & Hillman, the firm name now being Smith & Hillman. He was mar- ried October 8, 1873, to Margaret Mcclellan, who was born in Colerain, October 22, 1849, and died there, August 1, 1894, without issue. She was an active Christian woman, a member of the Congregational church. Henry A. Smith is an influential citizen of the place, strongly Republican in politics, and for five consecutive years served as Selectman. Ansel C. Smith's daughter, Mary, who was born April 19, 1855, is the wife of C. H. Wilcox, a tin-smith, residing at Shelburne Falls. They have one child, Hattie Maud.
In political views Mr. Smith is a stanch Republican. He represented his district in the State legislature in 1870, and has ever taken an active and intelligent interest in town affairs, serving as Selectman one term, Asses- sor three or four years, and as Town Clerk for twenty-six continuous years, resigning the office in 1893. In his religious views he is
liberal, and a firm believer in the doctrines of the Unitarian church. The life record of Mr. Smith furnishes a forcible illustration of the prosperity to be attained by persevering energy and a steady application to the details of busi- ness. He has attained his present high posi- tion among the leading men of the county by his own untiring efforts, his strong hands, will- ing heart, and courageous spirit having been his only endowments.
MERSON C. WARNER, an energetic farmer of Whately, residing near the Hatfield line, was born in Granby, Mass., August 26, 1839, son of Foster J. and Achsah A. (Morton) Warner, the former of Amherst, the latter of Whately. The Warner family has been well and favorably known in Amherst for many years, our subject's great- grandfather, Josiah Warner, having been a resident of that town during a great part of his life. There he died, and there his only child, Josiah, the grandfather of Emerson C. Warner, was born and passed his life, engaged in farm- ing. There also Foster J. Warner, the father of Emerson C., was born. He was trained by his father in the practice of agriculture, and also engaged in manufacturing brooms for a time. About 1842 he moved to Whately, where he purchased the farm now owned and occupied by his son, and erected the house. There he resided until his decease, which occurred when he was sixty-nine years of age. He was an industrious man, and left a farm of about one hundred and sixty-five acres, as the result of his labors. On March 2, 1837, he married Achsah A. Morton, daughter of Sylvester and Lydia (Frary) Morton, of Whately. Her grandfather, Justin Morton, was one of the early settlers of the town. Her father, Sylvester Morton, was a wheel-
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wright in Whately. He raised a family of ten children, eight of whom are still living. Mrs. Warner became the mother of four chil- dren, of whom Emerson C. is the only sur- vivor. She still resides at the old homestead, bright and active at the age of eighty-three years, and continues to attend personally to her household duties.
Emerson C. Warner was three years of age when his parents removed to Whately. Dur- ing his boyhood he assisted his father upon the farm, receiving his education in the district school and at a high school in Vermont. He resided with his parents until 1868, when he purchased a farm in East Whately, which he conducted until 1880. After his father's death, he returned to the homestead, where he has since resided. The farm, which consists of two hundred and eighty acres, he devotes principally to dairy interests ; and he keeps a large herd of Jersey cows.
In 1862 Mr. Warner was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Hunter, daughter of Abraham Hunter, a carpenter of Chester, Mass. Mr and Mrs. Warner have two children ; namely, Lizzie Ann and Minnie B. The former is the wife of George Graves, formerly of Whately, now a fruit-grower in California, and has two children, Lillian and Lemuel.
Mr. Warner is a Republican in politics. In religious belief he is a Congregationalist.
ORENZO D. ELMER, a successful business man of Miller's Falls, Mass., was born in Vernon, Vt., December 26, 1832, son of Levi and Clarissa (Silvester) Elmer. His grandfather, Reuben Elmer, was also a resident of Vernon, where his last years were passed. Levi Elmer was reared to the vocation of a farmer, which he followed with success throughout his life. His death oc-
curred in Vernon, Vt. His wife, Clarissa Sil- vester, was a native of Maine. She died in Guilford, Vt. They reared a family of nine children, of whom two are now living - Ralph and Lorenzo D.
Lorenzo D. Elmer was left an orphan at an early age, both parents having died before he was ten years old. He lived with his brother until he was fourteen, and was then brought face to face with the neccessity of earning his own livelihood. Until he was twenty years of age he worked out by the season. He then secured a position on the railroad, where he had charge of construction work for a number of years. In 1863 he enlisted in Company F, Sixth Vermont Regiment, and, going to the front, received a severe wound from a minie- ball, which so disabled him that he was con- fined in the hospital for several months. On his recovery he was transferred to the Reserve Corps, in which he served until the close of the war, receiving an honorable discharge September 4, 1865, after a service of twenty- six months. Mr. Elmer then returned to rail- roading, making his home in Vermont at first, and later removing to Northfield, Mass., where he remained three years. From there he went to Templeton, Worcester County, where he lived eighteen years, or until 1889, when he located in Miller's Falls, and hired the station- ery store which he now occupies. He subse- quently purchased the news business, and now carries a complete line of sporting goods, cigars, stationery, periodicals, books, etc., and has a large and growing business.
Mr. Elmer was married in 1857 to Marie C. Redfield, daughter of Joel Redfield, a black- smith of Woodford, Vt., where Mrs. Elmer was born. She is the youngest of six chil- dren. Mr. and Mrs. Elmer have reared two sons and two daughters, namely : George D., now station agent at Erving, Mass., who mar-
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ried Emma Stoddard, and has two children - Maud and George; Carrie, who married Fred Howland, a dentist in Portland, Me. ; Mary E., wife of Charles L. Cook, who is associated with Mr. Elmer in the stationery business; and Frank R., who is with the Miller's Falls Company. All these children graduated from the high school at Templeton, Mass.
In political affiliation Mr. Elmer is a Re- publican. He is a Mason, belonging to the lodge at Gardner, Mass. Mrs. Elmer is an attendant of the Congregational church.
ORNELIUS G. TROW, M.D., a pub- lic-spirited citizen and successful phy- sician of Sunderland, whose features are portrayed on the opposite page, and whose personal and family record is briefly here set forth, was born in Buckland, Mass., March 1, 1847, son of Dr. Nathaniel G. and Catherine (Brooks) Trow. His great-grandfather, Josiah Trow, who was a native of England, served with distinction in the French and Indian and the Revolutionary wars; and his grandfather, Nathaniel Trow, son of Josiah, was a native of Beverly, Mass., but settled in New Hamp- shire, where he followed agriculture. Nathan- iel G., son of Nathaniel the elder, was born in Wendell, N. H., July 25, 1811. He was reared to farm life, and carefully educated in the schools of Wendell, N. H., and the Cum- mington Academy. He then taught in the district schools, and began the study of medi- cine with Dr. Kittridge, of Hinsdale, later entering the Berkshire Medical School, from which he graduated, and commenced the prac- tice of his profession at Buckland in 1837. He resided there until 1850, when he removed to Sunderland, and remained in active practice until within five years of his death, which occurred at the age of seventy-six years. He
was a skilful and reliable practitioner of the old school, and a man of many rare attain- ments. Dr. Nathaniel G. Trow was officially connected with the Congregational church, and served upon the School Board. His wife, who was a native of Buckland, became the mother of six children, Cornelius G., of Sun- derland, being the only one to reach maturity. Mrs. Catherine Brooks Trow died in Sunder- land at the age of sixty-two.
Cornelius was about four years of age when his parents moved to Sunderland, and he pur- sued the primary branches of his education in the schools of this town. After completing his preparatory studies at the Williston Semi- nary, he entered Amherst College, where he was graduated, and then began the study of medicine with his father. He subsequently pursued a thorough medical course at the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons, and, after graduating from that well-known school in 1872, began the practice of his profession in Sunderland, where he has since resided.
In June, 1872, Dr. Trow wedded Genevra A. Shaw, of Springfield, a daughter of Samuel A. and Mary (White) Shaw, the former of whom was a prominent grocer of that city. Mr. Shaw's wife, who was a native of Ware, Mass., became the mother of ten children, three of whom are now living ; namely, George D., C. W., and Genevra A., Mrs. Trow. Mrs. Mary White Shaw died in Springfield at the age of fifty-six; and Samuel A. Shaw, who was again married, died at the age of seventy- nine, leaving, by his second wife, one daugh- ter, Mary Frances Shaw. He was a member of the South Church of Springfield.
Dr. Cornelius G. Trow is a member of the Knights of Honor, the various college socie- ties, and the Massachusetts and the Franklin District Medical Societies. He is indepen- dent in politics, has served upon the School
CORNELIUS G. TROW.
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Board for twelve years, has been Chairman of the Town Committee, and a member of the Library Board, of which he has been a Trustee for twenty-three and Treasurer for fifteen years. He attends the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Trow is a member ; and they are both active in the different church societies.
AMUEL C. BROWN, a highly re- spected farmer and worthy citizen of Leyden, Mass., was born in Guil- ford, Vt., March 15, 1808, son of Elijah and Rhoda (Childs) Brown, the former of whom was a native of Woodstock, Conn .; and the latter of Deerfield, Franklin County, Mass. His grandfather, Elisha Brown, who was born in Rhode Island, was among the sturdy pio- neers who settled in Leyden, and was a patriot soldier of the Revolutionary War. He and his good wife both lived to advanced age, he being over eighty years old at the time of his death. They reared seven children, all of whom are now dead.
Elijah Brown removed from Woodstock, Conn., to Guilford, Vt., and thence to Leyden, Mass. He was an industrious man, and throughout his life followed farming with suc- cess. In town affairs he took a prominent part, serving as Selectman several years, and also in many minor offices. In his religious view he was liberal. Elijah Brown died at the age of eighty-four. His wife died in her sixty-second year. They were the parents of eight children, of whom seven grew to matu- rity and three are now living, as follows : Mrs. Tirzah Clark, widow of Elan Clark, who resides in Monroe, Wis., and is over ninety years of age; Samuel C., the subject of this sketch; and Mrs. Caroline Carpenter, widow of Austin Carpenter, who also lives in Monroe, Wis. The deceased are: Eliza-
beth, Willard, Henry K., Frank, and Willard (second).
Samuel C. Brown removed with his parents, when a small boy, from Guilford, Vt., to Ley- den, where he received a good practical educa- tion in the district schools. At twenty-one years of age he started to earn a livelihood, and was first employed in a saw-mill and grist- mill in Deerfield, Mass., where he received twenty dollars for his first month's labor. He soon gave up this business, and, returning home, took charge of his father's farm, of which he has since become the owner. Mr. Brown has so prospered in his agricultural pur- suits that he has been enabled to add to his property by the purchase of other land from time to time, and is now the owner of consid- erable real estate.
On September 10, 1835, Mr. Brown was joined in marriage to Miss Mary N. Carpenter, a native of Leyden, born December 10, 1815, who died in 1858. Their union was blessed by the birth of six children: Lorietta, who died at the age of a year and a half ; Franklin C., who enlisted in the Fifteenth Massachu- setts Volunteers at the time of the war, and died in service, aged twenty-three years ; Henry K., who has been employed as collector of the Manhattan Gas Company of New York City the past twenty years; Elijah, who man- ages a planing-mill in New York City; Sam- uel C., Jr., general agent of the American Express Company at Kansas City ; and Dwight C., a bridge-builder in Greenfield, Mass. Mr. Brown was subsequently married March 29, 1862, to Miss Sarah A. McCloud, who was born in Rowe, Franklin County, Mass., Jan- uary 15, 1828, daughter of Charles and Hen- rietta (Knight) McCloud, each of whom represented an old and respected family of Franklin County. Charles McCloud was born in Colerain, and was successfully engaged in
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agriculture up to the time of his death, which occurred in his seventy-third year. His wife, who was a native of Pawtucket, R. I., died at the age of sixty years. In politics Mr. Mc- Cloud was a supporter of the Republican party. He and his wife were members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. Five children were born to them, three of whom are now living, namely : Hiram McCloud, of Colerain; Mrs. Lurena Smith, of Silver City, Ia. ; and Sarah A., the wife of Mr. Brown. One child died in infancy ; and a daughter, Lucy, died at twenty-one years of age. One daughter was born of Mr. Brown's second union, Ellen L., who is head nurse in the Dr. Pierce Hospital at Greenfield, Mass.
In politics Mr. Brown is a Democrat. He takes an active part in town affairs, and has rendered efficient service as Selectman for three years, and has filled minor offices. In religious views he is liberal. Though in his eighty-eighth year, Mr. Brown is still active, and appears many years younger. The pros- perity which he now enjoys has been attained through years of unremitting toil and the exer- cise of prudence and good management ; and in his work his estimable wife has been an able helper.
ONATHAN E. DAVENPORT, a suc- cessful farmer and extensive fruit- grower of Colerain, was born in that town on May 7, 1857. He is a son of Otis J. and Sarah (Johnson) Davenport, both of whom were natives of the above-named town, Otis having been born on March 26, 1829, and his wife on February 26, 1832. Mr. Daven- port traces his ancestry in a direct line to Thomas Davenport, who, in company with two brothers, is supposed to have immigrated from England and settled in Dorchester, Mass., some time previous to the year 1640. Eben-
ezer Davenport, son of Thomas, was born at Dorchester on April 2, 1661, and died on July 19, 1738. His wife, Dorcas Andrews, was born in 1663, and died in 1723. Their son Ebenezer was born in Dorchester, October 23, I 706 ; and his wife, Submit Howe, also a native of Dorchester, was born in April, 1707. Both lived and died in Dorchester; and in that town their son, Joseph Davenport, was born, August IO, 1747. He was the first of the family to settle in Colerain, and was one of the pioneers in that part of the country. Acquiring a tract of land, he established a home not far from Mr. Davenport's present dwelling, and became a very prosperous farmer. Vigorous and ener- getic, he met the difficulties of pioneer life with courage and perseverance, and surmounted all obstacles in his path to prosperity. He died April 14, 1821. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary White, was born in 1746. She died February 22, 1817.
Mr. Davenport's grandfather, Edward Dav- enport, son of Joseph, was born in Dorchester, September 6, 1774. He received a good edu- cation, and was ordained a minister of the Baptist church, preaching at Colerain and being employed for some time as a missionary among the white settlers who lived among the Indian tribes of Pennyslvania. Edward Davenport died December 8, 1863. He was twice married, and raised a family of four- teen children, of whom there is but one survivor, Mrs. Mary Newton, of Shelburne. His second wife, whose maiden name was Lurana Andrews, was the grandmother of our subject. She was born in Ashfield, March I, 1792, and died March 7, 1875.
Otis J. Davenport, the father of Jonathan E., was the second son of his father's second wife. He entered into the pursuit of agricult- ure with a spirit and energy which were pro- ductive of the most substantial results, and
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became one of the largest general farmers in the section, owning at one time over four hun- dred acres of land, including his father's old farm. He purchased the farm where his son now resides in 1867. Mr. Davenport was recognized as one of the most successful farmers in Colerain, and he was a very exten- sive fruit-grower. He kept in touch with agricultural progress, and was an active mem- ber of the board of agriculture up to the time of his decease. Politically, he was a Repub- lican. He represented his district at the General Court in 1864, and was prominent in town affairs, serving on the School Board seventeen years. For a period of thirty years Mr .. Davenport was an earnest member of the Baptist church. He was a man highly es- teemed for his many commendable traits of character; and his death, which occurred on September 6, 1880, was the cause of much regret to the entire community. His wife, who now resides with her son, Jonathan E. Davenport, was the mother of seven children, one of whom died in infancy. The others were as follows: Sarah M., wife of George Maxam, of Colerain, who was born on Septem- ber 3, 1855; Jonathan E., the subject of this article; William H., born May 27, 1862, a Baptist minister at Rochester, Minn. ; Clara F., a resident of Colerain, who was born June 22, 1864; Albert O., a carpenter of Colerain, born July 13, 1868; and Walter, Jr., a farmer of Greenfield, whose birth occurred on July 21, 1874.
Jonathan E. Davenport attended the schools of his native town, and was also a student at Powers Institute in Bernardston, at intervals, during a period of four years. He taught school for five terms in early manhood, and after his father's decease succeeded to the pos- session of the farm, which he has since suc- cessfully managed. He has in all one hundred
and ninety-two acres of finely improved land, ten acres of which are devoted to the growing of fruit, and, besides conducting general farm- ing, also has a well-equipped dairy. He keeps a herd of ten full-blooded Jersey cows, and is also profitably engaged in sheep-raising.
On October 22, 1882, Mr. Davenport was united in marriage to Miss Lucy A. Stone, who was born in Reedsboro, Vt., March 28, 1859, daughter of Royal and Carrie A. (Ken- drick) Stone. Royal Stone died at the age of thirty-six years; and his widow subsequently married the Rev. S. P. Everett, of Ayer, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Davenport have had three children, namely: Royal W., born December 14, 1885; Edna A., born December 16, 1887; and Milton J., born January 23, 1 890.
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