USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Franklin County, Massachusetts .. > Part 41
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In 1874 Mr. Crafts was united in marriage to Miss Helen Graves, daughter of Randall Graves, a well-known and prominent farmer of Whately. Mr. Crafts was formerly a Re- publican in politics, but now supports the Democratic party. He was elected a member of the School Committee at the age of twenty- three, and served on the board ten years. In 1871 he was elected to the legislature, in which body he served for one term. He also was upon the School Board at Conway for two years, and in March, 1891, was elected a Selectman in Whately, a position which he most admirably fills at the present time, hav- ing for the past four years been chairman of the board. He is a member of Morning Star
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Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Conway, and at- tends the Congregational church.
BER NASH LARABEE, a farmer of Greenfield, was born June 5, 1834, on the farm where he now resides. His father, Hart Larabee, was born in Guilford, and came to Greenfield when fifteen years of age. He inherited his farm of two hundred and fifty acres on condition that he should take care of his uncle Corse, one of the very first settlers of Greenfield, and also of Asher Corse's son's wife and her nine children - no small task for a youth of fifteen. But he manfully went to work to care for this large family, and nobly fulfilled his duty by them, giving each child at a specified time the sum agreed upon. He was a good business man and a successful farmer, and was a Captain and Lieutenant in the State militia in the old training days. In politics he was a Whig, and he was an attendant of the Unita- rian church. He died on the old farm, Au- gust 29, 1854; but his widow lived until April 8, 1888. Mr. Hart Larabee was twice married, and father of four children: Eber Nash Larabee, first, died at two years of age; Hart Larabee, Jr., resides in Indiana; Har- riett C. is the widow of J. K. Brown, of Ber- nardston; and Eber Nash Larabee, second, the eldest child of the second wife, Clarissa Nash. is the subject of this sketch.
Eber Nash Larabee got his early education in the district schools of Greenfield, and has followed the occupation of farmer all his life, and is also interested in the lumber business. He purchased his father's farm, where he now resides, and has since put up good build- ings, and made many other improvements. He is a stanch Republican in politics. On April 12, 1871, he was united in marriage to
Elvira S. Phillips, who was born October 25, 1845. They have a fine family of four chil- dren : Clara, born May 9, 1872; Anna, June 25, 1874; Lizzie, February 17, 1878; and Hart, born December 4, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Larabee attend the Unitarian church at Ber- nardston, being liberal in their religious views.
On Mr. Larabee's farm, near the roadside, stands a monument of granite, the gift of the late Henry Childs, of Buffalo, N. Y., which was dedicated August 12, 1884, under the auspices of the P. V. & M. A., and commem- orates the cruel massacre of Mrs. Eunice Williams, wife of the Rev. John Williams, in the winter of 1704. Mrs. Williams, with one hundred and eleven other captives, com- menced the march of three hundred miles to Canada, in charge of the French and Indians. Their progress through the snow was neces- sarily slow and very fatiguing to the women and children; and Mrs. Williams, especially, soon found her strength unequal to the task. When they reached the hill above what is now Mr. Larabee's place, Mr. Williams, who had previously been separated from his wife, en- treated his captor to allow him to return and help her, but was refused; and she was left to struggle along as best she might. Her brutal master, soon finding her a burden, sunk his hatchet in her head, and left her dead at the foot of the hill.
YRUS N. DANIELS, a well-known and respected citizen of Conway, was born in Plainfield, Hampshire County, Mass., April 22, 1830. His parents were Cyrus D. and Sally (Kent) Daniels, the former of whom was a native of Plainfield, where he was successfully engaged in agri- culture, spending his life on the farm where he was born. His death occurred at the age
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of sixty-five years. His wife, Sally Kent, reared four children; namely, Mary Ann (Mrs. Smith), Sarah (Mrs. Barnard), Cyrus N., and John F.
Cyrus N. Daniels remained with his par- ents, and assisted his father on the farm until reaching the age of thirty-one years. He then came to Conway, and purchased the place on which he has since resided - a farm containing one hundred and fifty acres -; which he conducts with profitable results. In early life he learned the trade of a butcher, and for thirty years has been successfully en- gaged in that business in connection with his agricultural duties. He began by selling his meats from an ox cart, but later on, as condi- tions changed, he purchased horses. He makes several trips each week through Con- way and the adjoining towns, throughout which he has established an excellent trade. On May 10, 1852, Mr. Daniels was joined in marriage with Miss Lucelia A. Morse, a daughter of Alonzo Morse, a carpenter and miller of Dalton, Mass., in which place she was born and grew to womanhood. Her father and mother are no longer living, but each attained the age of eighty years. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Daniels has been blessed by the birth of four children, two sons and two daughters, namely: Elmira (Mrs. Howe); William, who married Eme- line Shoemaker, and has two children - Paul and Nelson; Everett, who resides at home, and assists his father in the care of the farm. The other child - Mattie Alice - died at the age of thirteen months.
OHN WILSON WHEELER, or, as he usually writes his name, John W. Wheeler, was born in Orange, Frank- lin County, Mass., Tuesday, November 20,
1832. He is a son of Wilson and Catherine Holmes (Warden) Wheeler, and is the second of nine children. Wilson Wheeler was a na- tive of Athol, and was born October 5, 1804. He died in Orange, December 26, 1887, aged eighty-three years, two months, and twenty- one days. Catherine Holmes Warden was a native of Worcester, where she was born July 8, 1805. She died in Orange, August 2, 1876, at the age of seventy-one. Wilson Wheeler and Miss Warden were married May 26, 1830.
Wilson Wheeler removed to Orange with his father, Zaccheus Wheeler, about 1823, and lived there most of the remainder of his life, though in the practice of his trade as carpenter and builder he spent two years or more in Winchendon. He was a farmer as well as a carpenter, and for the last part of his active life he devoted himself to farming exclusively. When a young man, he was Constable and Collector of the town for sev- eral years; and from 1852 to 1867 he was Deputy Sheriff for Eastern Franklin County. Wilson Wheeler was short of stature, but firmly built and a man of great endurance. He was hardly ever known to be sick; and in physical soundness his son is like him, though in personal appearance perhaps more resem- bling the mother's family. The ancestors of John W. Wheeler on both sides were mostly mechanics or farmers; but his paternal great- grandfather -- who, as well as his grandfather, was named Zaccheus - was a merchant in New York City. A maternal uncle was also a merchant in Worcester. It is interesting to notice how the commercial instinct again appeared in the subject of this sketch, and led him, in spite of early training in other direc- tions, to become first a storekeeper and afterward one of the managers of a large man- ufacturing enterprise.
JOHN W. WHEELER.
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His educational advantages were of the most limited character, and were confined to the district schools of his native town, with a few terms of select school taught by Beriah W. Fay. now of New Salem. The terms of the district school were short, and many more weeks during the years of Mr. Wheeler's boy- hood and youth were spent in work than in school. Such educational facilities as were to be had were improved much as by the aver- age boy, and Mr. Wheeler remembers no par- ticular preference for any branch of study. He recalls much more vividly the labor and small expedients he was forced to, in order to earn a little money for himself. It was the day of small things, his parents, like most of their neighbors, being able to afford the necessaries of life for their large family, but not much else; and John W., the eldest son, does not remember ever receiving a dollar in money from his father.
As a lad, he was brought up to work both at farming and carpentering, though neither occupation was congenial to him. But, noth- ing better offering, he worked for a year or two at the carpenter's bench after reaching his majority. Then he gladly accepted an opportunity to enter mercantile life, and took a place in the grocery store of Joseph Bald- win, of Fitchburg, at one hundred and twenty- five dollars a year and his board. At the close of the year his employer voluntarily made the amount one hundred and fifty dol- lars, to show his appreciation of faithful ser- vice. This year and part of the year before, when working as a carpenter, also at Fitch- burg, constitute the longest periods Mr. Wheeler has spent away from his native town. Returning to Orange in May, 1856, he took a place in the general store of Daniel Pomeroy ; and he remained in his employ three years. Then he succeeded his employer in the busi-
ness, which he conducted for three years longer. When he closed it out, he found he had made little beyond his living expenses, but he had established the reputation of a young business man of ability and integrity ; and after a year's clerkship in the claim agency office of D. E. Cheney, two of the leading men of the village, Mr. Cheney and R. E. Carpenter, were glad to loan him about two thousand dollars, on his personal secur- ity, to buy A. J. Clark's grocery store. This venture was abundantly successful, and was only given up, in 1867, to enter the firm of A. F. Johnson & Co., who had recently started, in a small way, the business of mak- ing sewing-machines in Orange.
When Mr. Wheeler thus began what was to be the great work of his life, he was thirty- five years old and in the prime of vigorous manhood. Without ever possessing a very robust physique, being of medium stature and slender form, weighing only about one hun- dred and thirty-five pounds, Mr. Wheeler is blessed with a sound body as well as an active mind, and has had the ambition to make the most of himself in whatever engaged. He has also an equable temperament, wasting no strength in worrying, but has always been capable of the hardest kind of work, and has proved himself to possess great endurance. Always temperate in his habits and moderate in his desires, he was able to meet the oppor- tunity offered him with all his matured powers, and turn it to the best advantage. And there was need of all his resources. The sewing-machine business was in the ex- perimental stage. Johnson & Co. employed only about forty men, and their product was small. There was trouble about patents, and the style and name of the machine were sev- eral times changed. The firm itself was changed in 1869 to a corporation with the
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name, "Gold Medal Sewing Machine Com- pany," Mr. Wheeler being the secretary and treasurer. In January, 1882, the name was changed again to "The New Home Sewing Machine Company." Of this company Mr. Wheeler is vice-president as well as secretary and treasurer; and from the beginning he has been the financial manager of the firm or com- pany, under whatever name. He has seen the business grow from small beginnings till it now employs nearly six hundred men, and turns out about four hundred sewing-machines every working day.
For years Mr. Wheeler did the work of sev- eral men in the office; but recently he has been able to trust the details to a well-organ- ized corps of assistants, and to take an active interest and part in other business or enter- prises, chiefly those which are of value to the growth and well-being of Orange. He is President of the Orange Savings Bank - which has over three-quarters of a million dollars on deposit - as well as President of the Orange National Bank. He was Presi- dent of the Orange Power Company, a cor- poration organized a few years ago to build a large shoe-shop, as an inducement to Jay B. Reynolds, a Brockton manufacturer, to bring a new industry to the town, and President of the Orange Board of Trade; and Mr. Wheeler has himself built a large shop alongside the railroad in the east part of the village, fully equipped with steam-power, which is rented to the National Keg and Box Company. This company already employs a large number of hands, and the shop has a capacity of employ- ing two hundred or more men. Houses are rapidly going up in the vicinity, many of them built by the owner of the property; and this important suburb is appropriately named Wheeler. But Mr. Wheeler's business activ- ity and reputation are not confined to his
own town. He is President of the Boston Mutual Life Association, and a Director of the Athol & Orange Street Railway Company, as well as of The Leavitt Machine Company, the latter a corporation doing a successful business in Orange.
Mr. Wheeler was married October 9, 1856, to Almira E. Johnson, one of the seven daughters of Daniel and Almira Porter John- son, of North Orange. The marriage cere- mony was performed at the home of the bride by the Rev. Hosea Ballou. Three children have blessed this union, all daughters. Only one, Marion L., the oldest, survives, and with her husband, John B. Welch, con- tinues to have her home in her father's house. The other children, Clara Jane and Rosa A., died in infancy. One of the founders of Orange Lodge of Masons in 1859, Mr. Wheeler was its first Secretary, and afterward its Treasurer. He is a member of Crescent Royal Arch Chapter, was for several years its Treasurer, and is also a member of Orange Commandery, Knights Templars.
It goes almost without saying that so busy a man as Mr. Wheeler has had little time to devote to the demands of society. Still, he is social by nature, enjoys meeting his friends in an informal way, and, when he allows him- self to throw aside the cares of business, is an entertaining companion. He is on the most familiar terms with his neighbors, having none of the purse pride that is so offensive; and the companions of his boyhood still call him " John," as when they went to school and played together. Mr. Wheeler has always been a consistent Republican, taking an ear- nest and active interest in the success of his party, but has held office less frequently than his townsmen would have been glad to have him hold it. From 1861 to 1867 he was Town Clerk of Orange, and in 1864 was
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appointed by Governor Andrew a Justice of the Peace. In 1866 he was one of the Select- men of the town, and in 1876 was elected to the legislature from the First Franklin Dis- trict, serving on the Committee on Finance. In 1888 he was one of the delegates from the Eleventh District to the National Convention at Chicago which nominated Harrison and Morton.
In addition to his other business interests, Mr. Wheeler owns a large farm near Orange village, which from the beauty of its situa- tion is called Grand View. It may be doubted if the farm is as prontable as some other of his business enterprises; but he greatly enjoys his residence upon it in the summer, and gets rest and recreation in directing its cultivation. His attention is especially turned to the breeding of fine horses and cattle, and lovers of good stock always feel repaid by a visit to his stables. During the year 1891 Mr. Wheeler was Presi- dent of the Worcester North-west Agricult- ural and Mechanical Society at Athol; and the secretary of the society, in the annual report, paid this fitting tribute to the value of his services: "The enthusiasm of President John W. Wheeler, his endeavors to promote the success of the fair by his exhibit of fine- bred stock and the elegant art display of the New Home Sewing Machine Company, and the interest he manifested in various ways to have the celebration a success commensurate with its importance, demonstrate his eminent fitness for the position."
One of the most noticeable traits of Mr. Wheeler is his strong affection for his native town. He has never been abroad, but he has travelled in every part of our own country in the interest of his vast business; and he always comes back with increased love for Orange. It is this passion for his home that
still keeps him active in new industries, when he might justly seek relief from business cares, having already accomplished so much. The new manufacturing suburb that he has established at Wheeler has already been alluded to. Another enterprise in which he takes just pride is the laying out of a large tract of land north of the village into streets and building lots. This is known as Orange Highlands, and from the advantages of its situation it cannot help becoming the favorite residence portion of the town. And, if he lives and has his health, it is safe to say that Orange has yet to learn of more plans for her benefit from her most distinguished son, the subject of the foregoing sketch and of the lifelike portrait to be seen in close proximity hereto.
REDERICK E. PIERCE, Postmaster at Greenfield, Franklin County, Mass., a valued and respected citizen of the town, is a native of Iowa, born in Glenwood, May 5, 1862, but is of New England ancestry. His parents were William and Ellen A. (Coates) Pierce, the former a native of North- ampton, the latter of Vernon, Vt .; and his paternal grandfather, George Pierce, was born in Northampton in the latter part of the last century. (For further ancestral history see the sketch of George Pierce on another page of this work. )
William Pierce, the father of our subject, was born August 7, 1828. He was a tinsmith by trade, and followed that occupation in the vicinity of his home for some years. In 1856 he went to the West, settling in Glenwood, Ia., where he carried on a very successful business for about ten years. He won a posi- tion among the foremost men of the place, and was very influential in the management of local affairs, serving as an Alderman of the
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city and filling the responsible office of County Treasurer. In 1866, his health be- coming impaired, he returned with his family to Greenfield, where his death occurred the following year. Mr. Pierce was a member of the Masonic fraternity, being a Chapter Mason. He was interested in military mat- ters, and during the progress of the late Rebellion drilled a company of men, and was chosen Captain, but did not pass the requi- site physical examination. His widow, whose maiden name was Ellen A. Coates, is still living, tenderly cared for by her children, to whom she has devoted the better part of her life, finding her greatest happiness in so doing. She was born October 25, 1827, and is the daughter of John B. and Demeris (Briggs) Coates. Mr. Coates was formerly engaged in farming at Bernardston, Mass., and in Guilford, Vt. He was twice married, and reared seven children, of whom Mrs. Pierce is the only one now living. Mr. and Mrs. William Pierce became the parents of four children, one of whom, Henry, died at the age of eight months. The record of those living is as follows: William T. is a resident of Delton, Barry County, Mich .; Nettie A. is a successful and esteemed teacher in Green- field; and Frederick E. is the subject of this brief personal narrative.
Frederick E. Pierce received a good educa- tion, graduating from the Greenfield High School in 1882, and is well informed on all topics of general interest. He entered the post-office when quite young, acting as clerk under the regime of Postmaster Merriam, and was Assistant Postmaster under Mr. Hamilton for one year. He was next employed at the First National Bank, remaining there as clerk, book-keeper, and teller for eleven years, resigning to accept his present posi- tion, to which he was appointed August 2,
1894, by President Cleveland. In the dis- charge of his duties since that time Mr. Pierce has met with general approval.
Socially, Mr. Pierce is popular and promi- nent among the Masons, being a Knight Templar, and having been High Priest of the Chapter two years and Treasurer of the Re- publican Lodge two years. Like his father, he takes an active interest in military affairs, and during the past four years has filled the office of Captain of Company L, Second Regi- ment of the State militia. Another member of the Pierce family has a military record, an uncle, named Henry Pierce, having served dur- ing the Civil War, first as Captain of a com- pany; and afterward he was brevetted Major. This same uncle was also a man of high men- tal attainments and some literary note, one of his works being a translation of Homer's Iliad.
ILLIAM SIDNEY SEVERANCE, M.D., a homœopathic physician of Greenfield and a man of promi- nence in his profession, was born in Leyden, Franklin County, Mass., March 24, 1820. He is the son of Chester and Martha (Smith- Nash) Severance, natives of Greenfield, and on the paternal side is descended from one of the early settlers of Massachusetts, the first ancestor of whom he has any definite knowl- edge being one John Severance, who was mar- ried in Ipswich, England, in 1634, to Abigail Kimball, and three years later immigrated to America with his family, landing at Boston, Mass., and afterward became one of the founders of the town of Salisbury. . He was a noted man in his day, at the forefront of all social and business enterprises, and was a charter member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, which was organized in America the first Monday in June, 1638.
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The next in line of descent was John Sever- ance (second), who was followed by Joseph (first). Then came Joseph Severance (sec- ond). after him being Matthew Severance, Sr .. the great-grandfather of the Doctor. He was born in June, 1735, and after attaining his majority removed to Greenfield, Mass., where he married Experience Nash, a daugh- ter of Daniel Nash. Matthew Severance was a soldier during the French and Indian War, being a member of Captain Burbank's com- pany, and met with some thrilling adventures. He was at one time captured by the Indians while out on a scouting expedition at Sabbath Point on Lake George, N. Y., and carried thence to Canada. where, it is said, he ran the gauntlet of a long double file of dusky savages. and when nearly at the end was felled by a blow from a squaw, but quickly recovered himself, and gave her a kick that prostrated her, a feat for which he was lionized by the redskins. He soon afterward escaped to the woods. and hid from his pursuers in a hollow log, going in feet first, and covering the en- trance with leaves and weeds, so that he was not discovered, although he heard the Indians on the log. He did not dare venture out for several days, but finally made his escape. In the early part of the present century he re- moved with his family, which included his son Matthew and his grandson Chester, to Leyden, Mass., and was thereafter a resident of that town.
While a resident of Greenfield, he was mar- ried to Mary Welles, the ceremony taking place in that town, November 25, 1784. Four daughters and six sons were born to them, of whom four sons and three daughters grew to adult life. Matthew Severance and his wife died in Leyden, where they were numbered among the most respected citizens.
Chester Severance, Dr. Severance's father, who was born April 20, 1799, was but little more than six years of age when his parents removed to Leyden. Following in the foot- steps of his ancestors, he engaged in agricult- ural pursuits, becoming one of the influential and well-to-do farmers of the vicinity. He was also very prominent in local affairs, fill- ing satisfactorily the offices of Selectman, Assessor, and Collector. He died in 1885. Chester Severance married Mrs. Martha Nash (née Smith), daughter of Elijah Smith, of Greenfield. Mrs. Severance died in Leyden in 1860. Seven children were born of their union, one of whom died in infancy. Three sons and one daughter are now living, namely: Adaliza, wife of John M. Thayer, of Rochester, N.Y .; William Sidney, the sub- ject of this sketch; Chester Welles, a pros- perous farmer of Leyden; and Charles E., a practising physician of Brattleboro, Vt. The mother had one son by her first marriage -- Robert S. Nash - a farmer, whose last days were spent in retirement in Edinburg, Ill. He lived to be over fourscore, dying April 21, 1895.
Matthew Severance, Jr., the grandfather of our subject, was born in Greenfield, July II, Dr. William S. Severance spent the first years of his life on the home farm, attending the district school, and later the Goodell Academy at Bernardston and the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham. At the age of eigh- teen years he began teaching, and was thus employed three terms, his last school being at 1765. He purchased one hundred acres of land in Leyden; and the property is still in the possession of the family, being owned and occupied by C. C. Severance, an uncle of the Doctor. Matthew Severance was commonly known as Captain Severance, having been Captain of a company of the State militia. | Nash's Mills in Greenfield. Finding neither
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