USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Franklin County, Massachusetts .. > Part 42
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farming nor teaching congenial to his taste, he began to read medicine in Greenfield in 1849; and in February, 1853, he was grad- uated from the Cincinnati Medical College. Dr. Severance began the practice of his pro- fession at once, locating in the town of Hins- dale, N.H., but after a few months found a more favorable opening at Shelburne Falls, Mass., where he remained eight years. The following two years the Doctor practised in Vernon, Vt .; and in 1864 he removed to Greenfield, buying his present home at 26 Main Street. During his residence in the town he has won a fair share of the patronage of the best people of the locality. He has gained a wide reputation as a skilful and able practitioner, with a profound knowledge of the causes and cures of the various ailments to which mankind are subjected.
Mr. Severance was married November 24, 1853, to Martha Elizabeth Lyman, of North- field, a daughter of Captain Thomas Lyman, who was a soldier of the War of 1812, going from Northfield to Boston on foot, to enlist, and returning in the same manner. Three children have been born into their pleasant household, namely: William L., born Sep- tember 17, 1858; an infant who died March 1, 1866; and Charles Dore, born December 16, 1868. In the care of his large business, which is ever increasing, Dr. Severance has now the assistance of his elder son, Dr. Will- iam Lyman Severance, who is a graduate of the Vermont Medical Society, and who has also attended lectures at the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons in New York City. The younger son, Charles Dore, who is a graduate of the Poughkeepsie Business College, is now a book-keeper for Wells Brothers & Co., hard- ware manufacturers, of Greenfield.
In politics Dr. Severance is an uncom- promising Republican. Although no office-
seeker, he served while in Vernon, Vt., as superintendent of schools. He is prominent in Masonic circles, being a Knight Templar, and has been through all the chairs of the lodge, chapter, and commandery. The Doc- tor has likewise passed all the chairs in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is still a member of the order.
ARDNER J. OAKES, an enterprising contractor and builder of Bernards- ton, was born September 29, 1840, in Guilford, Vt. His father, Gardner Oakes, was a native of Bolton, Mass., born in 1807, and was the son of James and Sarah (Wilker) Oakes, the former of Bolton and the latter a native of Sudbury, Mass. Eight children were born to the grandparents, seven of whom they reared. But one is now living, James Oakes, a retired carpenter, who resides at Hamden, Conn., and is enjoying life at the advanced age of seventy-seven years.
Gardner Oakes, the father of the subject of this sketch, was an industrious man, and with his brother Emery was engaged for some years in boating on the Hudson Canal. In 1837 he was united in wedlock with Celia Stoddard, a daughter of Levi and Lizzie (Fairman) Stoddard, of Vernon, Vt .; and they became the parents of two children, the elder being Eunice, wife of William Brown, of Vernon. On the Ist of October, just after the birth of his son Gardner J., Mr. Oakes passed to the world beyond. He was then but thirty-three years of age, a fine-looking man, tall, straight, and of a clear, dark complexion. His son resembles him in regard to form and stature only, having inherited the fair skin and blue eyes of his mother. Mrs. Oakes was subsequently married to Justice Clark, of Ber- nardston, by whom she had three children:
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Solomon. who died in infancy; Henry and Charles Clark, both of whom are engaged in agricultural pursuits at the place of their nativity. The mother lived to the ripe age of eighty-one years, dying in 1892, and was laid to rest beside her first husband in the Ber- nardston cemetery.
Gardner J. Oakes was an infant of six weeks when his mother removed to Bernards- ton, and in that town he grew to maturity. He received good educational advantages, attending the district school throughout the entire year the first ten years of his school age. and was afterward a pupil of the winter school until seventeen years old. On the farm he became conversant with the art and science of agriculture, and when twenty years of age started to learn the carpenter's trade, for which he had a special predilection, one of the articles always found among his boy- hood playthings having been a gimlet, which he used indiscriminately. In 1863 Mr. Oakes was drafted for the army, but paid three hun- dred dollars for a substitute, working out this sum at the armory at Watertown, N. Y., where he assisted in the manufacture of guns, and at Slatersville, R.I., in the factory of Mansfield & Lamb, where he worked on swords. In 1865 he returned to the old home at Bernardston, and looked after the interests of his sixty-acre farm for a while; but, find- ing carpentering more to his taste, he resumed his trade, working by the day for ten years or so. In 1875 Mr. Oakes started in business as a contractor and builder, with his older sons as efficient helpers, among his notable works being the fine Conant residence at Turner's Falls, the Riverside Hall at Riverside, and a number of houses in Greenfield.
March 11, 1862, Mr. Oakes was married to Selena M. Courtney, a daughter of James Courtney, of Chazy, N. Y., the ceremony being
performed in Rhode Island, and their union has been blessed by the birth of six children, namely: Robert H., who is in business with his father, and is married; Madora B., who was educated at Powers Institute, has taught school, and is now at home with her parents; Walter S., a machinist, who lives with his father and mother; Herbert C., who has just attained his majority, a carpenter, associated with his father; Frank L., now a student at Powers Institute; and Lyman E., a boy of fourteen years, a pupil in the same school.
Mr. Oakes is a strong Democrat, being a firm believer in the principles supported by that party. He takes a deep interest in pro- moting the welfare of the town and county, and encourages all enterprises conducive to the public benefit, but as yet has held no pub- lic office except that of Highway Surveyor and Sealer of Weights and Measures. He has contributed materially to the industrial interests of the town, and is universally known as a man of strict integrity and upright principles.
A LBERT J. SMART, Superintendent of the Wiley & Russell Mill at Green- field, has occupied his present re- sponsible position the larger part of the time for twenty-one years, being a most capable and efficient business man. He was born at South New Market, N. H., July 26, 1849, and is a son of Joseph N. Smart, a lifelong resi- dent of that town, born in 1811.
Joseph N. Smart was early left an orphan, his father dying from lockjaw, caused by run- ning a fork tine through his foot on falling from a haymow. He was bred to agricultural pursuits, and also learned the stone mason's trade, at which he worked for many years after his marriage, finding it more profitable and more congenial than tilling the soil. In
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1842 he was married to Mary J. Langley, also of South New Market, and to him and his wife five children were born, namely: Frances F., wife of W. S. Rundlett, superintendent of a sugar refinery in Baltimore, Md .; Albert J., the subject of this personal notice; James S., a brass finisher and manufacturer of automatic dampers and regulators at Salem, Mass., senior partner of the firm of Smart & Spencer; Mary Jane, who died when six years old; and Georgia M., wife of Frank L. Durell, a machinist in South New Market. Both parents lived until well advanced in years, the mother passing away April 9, 1886, and the father some four years later.
Albert J. Smart received his schooling in the New Hampshire town in which he was born, and at the age of fifteen years began working at the machinist's trade in the same place. Leaving home, he went to Lowell, Mass., where he was employed until 1869 by Pratt, Grant & Co., for whom he worked a year. Going thence to Miller's Falls, Mr. Smart followed his chosen occupation until 1873, when he entered the employ of the Greenfield firm for whom he is now superin- tendent. Mr. Smart has shown marked abil- ity as an executive officer, and, having started in life without cash capital, has, by his own exertions, excellent management, and good judgment, won his way to affluence and influ- ence. In addition to being superintendent of the mill, he is a stockholder and director of the Wiley & Russell Company.
Mr. Smart has been three times married. His first wife, Augusta L. Cloudman, of South New Market, to whom he was united October 19, 1869, died without issue in January, 1875, aged twenty-nine years. On March 21, 1876, he married Julia J. Frary, of Greenfield; and after three years of hap- piness she passed to the brighter land,
November 29, 1879, at the age of thirty-six years. Mr. Smart's third marriage took place January 20, 1881, Miss Ada F. Hill, of North Bridgton, Me., becoming his wife. She is a daughter of John and Martha (Green- leaf ) Hill, the former of whom died October 12, 1893. Mrs. Smart is one of ten children, two of whom died in infancy. Her mother, Mrs. Hill, now an active woman of seventy- three years, still lives at the family home in North Bridgton. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Smart has been blessed by the birth of four children, one of whom passed to the higher life after a brief sojourn on earth. The liv- ing are: Charles Edwin, born November 19, 1882; Roy, born November 1, 1883; and Albert J., born March 26, 1890.
Mr. Smart is strongly Republican in his political views. He never shirks responsibil- ity, but has served in the various minor offices of the town, and has been a member of the Town Committee for many years. He be- longs to the Masonic fraternity, being a Knight Templar, but is affiliated with no other social organization, being domestic in his tastes and enjoying most the comforts of his home. His residence, which he pur- chased in 1888, is at 38 Conway Street; and there, surrounded by his interesting family, he spends the most of his leisure time.
ILO A. THOMPSON, a successful farmer in Colerain, and the scion of an old and respected family of the vicinity, was born on the farm where he now resides, January 8, 1837. He is the son of Levi and Margaret (Wilson) Thompson, and received his broad acres from his father, to whom they were bequeathed by the grand- father, who came into possession of the estate on the death of the great-grandfather. The
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latter took possession when that part of the country was in a primeval state, when the forests were the home of wild beasts, when game was plenty, and when
.. The wild deer arched his neck from glades, and then, U'nhunted. sought his woods and wilderness again."
The stealthy footfall of the Indian was no infrequent sound as the pioneer worked bravely to establish a home, felling the trees to make a clearing and to build his log house. Grandfather Thompson took up the work where his father left off, carrying on general farming for the support of the family. He was a hard-working man and an exemplary citizen. In politics he was a Whig. In re- ligious views he was liberal. He lived to a good age, dying at the homestead. His wife, Jennie, was the mother of a large family. She, too, lived to a good age.
Levi Thompson, the father of our subject, also spent his days upon the home farm, liv- ing one year longer than the allotted three- score and ten. He followed closely in his father's footsteps, voting the Republican ticket, and holding liberal views in regard to religion. He served as Selectman, and filled various minor offices, winning respect from all who knew him. His wife, Margaret (Wil- son) Thompson, lived to be seventy-one years old. They had eight children, only three of whom are now living, namely: Cordelia, now the wife of George Patterson, of Colerain; Milo, our subject ; and David B., in Wiscon- sin. Elizabeth, Velora, Mary A., and Russell died some time since.
Milo A. Thompson was born and brought up on the farm, receiving his education in the district school. He has devoted his life to farming, and has his two hundred acres in a high state of cultivation, with good buildings, the large barn, which was built in 1893, being
especially well planned. His house is one of the oldest in the vicinity, and the solid tim- bers are good for many a coming year. The old-fashioned rooms have an air of hospitable comfort not to be found in the modern dwell- ing-house, and the tout ensemble breathes of well-preserved respectability.
On December 29, 1871, Mr. Thompson was married to Eunice J., daughter of Oliver and Cynthia Holland, of New York State, both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have five children, as follows: Ozro A., Levi H., Myron A. and Myra A., the latter two being twins, and George M .- all at home with their parents.
Like his father, Mr. Thompson votes the Republican ticket, and is liberal in religious opinions, "judging no man, but filled with charity toward all." He is an indefatigable worker, and is winning the success his indus- try deserves.
R ICHARD N. OAKMAN, JR., who occupies a prominent position among the influential and respected busi- ness men of Franklin County, was born in the town of Hawley, Franklin County, Mass., September 23, 1843, son of Richard N. and Julia P. (Hawkes) Oakman.
Richard N. Oakman, Sr., who was a son of Joseph Oakman, was born in the town of Wendell, Franklin County, Mass., in 1817. In 1842 he married Julia P., daughter of Ichabod and Paulina Hawkes, of Hawley; and they are now living in Montague, honored and respected residents of the place. They reared a family of four children, of whom the follow- ing is chronicled: Richard N., our subject, is the eldest child; J. Kate, who was educated at Holyoke Seminary, now resides with her parents at Montague; Nellie P. is the wife of
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E. A. Taft, of Greenfield; and Frank H., a graduate of Powers Institute at Bernardston, is Treasurer of the Cutlery Manufacturing Company at Shelburne Falls.
Richard N. Oakman, Jr., is a man of schol- arly attainments, having been a student at Powers Institute and Williams College. He began his business career as a book-keeper in a bank at Kenosha, Wis., going from there to La Salle, Ill., where he was employed in the same capacity for a coal mining company. Returning East, Mr. Oakman was engaged as clerk and book-keeper for a cutlery manufact- uring company in New York City for some time. He afterward spent some years in the South, being at first treasurer of a coal min- ing company in Alabama, and subsequently Deputy Collector of Customs at Charleston, S.C. In 1872 Mr. Oakman again came North, and accepted the position of Cashier of the Crocker National Bank at Turner's Falls. In 1874 he became Treasurer of the John Rus- sell Cutlery Company, resigning in 1889 to go abroad. The following three years he spent in Europe, engaged in gas furnace engi- neering, a business with which he is still connected. His financial ability has always met with ready recognition; and he has been interested in various stock companies offi- cially, being now President of the Lamson & Goodnow Manufacturing Company of Shel- burne Falls, and likewise of the A. F. Towle & Son Company, silversmiths, of Greenfield.
On March 17, 1868, Mr. Oakman was united in marriage with Miss Sarah E. Clark, of Exeter, N.H .; and the only child born of their union is Anna O., the wife of Frederick H. Newton, of Holyoke.
Politically, Mr. Oakman affiliates with the Republican party. He is a Past Master of Mechanics Lodge of Turner's Falls, has served as District Deputy Grand Master, and
is a Past Eminent Commander of Connecticut Valley Commandery, Knights Templars. In religious belief he is a Presbyterian. He occupies a pleasant home at the corner of Church and High Streets, into which he moved in 1886. Mr. Oakman is a man of intelligence, untiring industry, and superior executive ability, qualities which have proved of the highest service to him in his business career.
ENRY N. WARNER, whose portrait here attracts the reader's attention, is a worthy representative of the farming and stock-raising interests of the western part of Franklin County. He is a native resident of Charlemont, having been born on August 13, 1840. In devoting him- self to agricultural pursuits, Mr. Warner has followed in the footsteps of his father, New- ton G. Warner, and his grandfather, Newton Warner. The latter was an active and thrifty farmer of the town of Rowe, where he and his wife, formerly Rachel Cobb, lived to advanced years, and at their decease left three children : Newton G., Daniel, and Mrs. R. Williams.
Newton G. Warner was born April 6, 1815, in the town of Rowe, and remained beneath the parental roof-tree until attaining his majority, receiving a practical training in the pioneer labor of clearing and improving a farm. After his marriage, being desirous of establishing a home of his own, he bought the one-hundred-and-fifty-acre farm now owned by Fred Churchill, and worked on it faithfully during the next decade. Disposing of that property, he then removed to Montague, where he engaged in teaming for several years, coming thence in 1848 to Charlemont, where he purchased the Bradford place, con- sisting of a choice piece of property on the river flat and the Charlemont hotel. Selling
HENRY N. WARNER.
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the hotel, he retained the ownership of the land and house on the flat, and moved into the dwelling after having it rebuilt and enlarged. He subsequently bought the Riddle farm of one hundred and sixty acres, much of which was covered with standing timber. This he converted into lumber, which he sold at good advantage; and, after that was all cut off, he sold the land. His next undertaking was the raising of tobacco, in which he was very suc- cessful. the low land being particularly adapted for that purpose. He also owned twenty-five acres of good pasture; and this he utilized by purchasing cattle, which he fed, fitting them for market, carrying on an exten- sive business in this line until his death, at the age of sixty-nine years. He was one of the valued citizens of the town, and an influ- ential member of the Democratic party, with which he uniformly cast his vote. He was a liberal in religious belief.
On November 16, 1836, he married Mary Harris, who was born March 19, 1814, in the town of Charlemont, daughter of David and Thankful (Williams) Harris. Her father was an enterprising farmer, and continued active in his independent occupation until within eight years of his death, which oc- curred at the advanced age of fourscore and four years. His widow survived him, dying at the venerable age of eighty-five years. They were the parents of several children, eight of whom grew to adult life, namely: Semantha, David, Alma, Mary, Elvira, Irene, Lemuel, and Caroline. Mr. Harris was a Whig in politics during his younger years, and on the formation of the Republican party became one of its strongest allies. He was a member of the Baptist church. Mrs. Mary H. Warner, though upward of fourscore years of age, is in good health, and evidently enjoys keeping in touch with the living interests of
to-day. Of the children born to her three - Catherine, George, and Moses - died before two years of age. The survivors are: Henry N. ; Charles M., a carpenter at Waltham, who married Julia J. Huston, and has one child - Alice; William L., a farmer at Charlemont, who married Marion Stanford, and has three children - Frederick W., Marion E., and Mary E .; Sarah F., a woman of artistic taste and practical ability, the lead- ing milliner of Charlemont; and Mary J., who married David W. Temple, of Shelburne Falls, and has two children - Ruth and Robert.
Henry N. Warner acquired an excellent common-school education, and on the home farm received a thorough training in all branches of agricultural industry. He re- mained at home until twenty-two years old, with the exception of a short time when he worked in the match factory. After his first marriage he bought the one-hundred-acre farm now owned by M. M. Mantor; and dur- ing the twenty-eight years that he owned it he made substantial improvements, and car- ried on a thriving business in raising and fattening cattle, which, before the days of Western competition, was a lucrative busi- ness. He also raised and broke steers for use in farm labor, sometimes selling seventeen hundred dollars' worth a year. In 1891 Mr. Warner traded his property for the old home- stead estate on the flats, the house and build- ings having been rebuilt just before according to modern styles and conveniences, the prop- erty now being one of the choicest and most valuable in the locality, giving evidence of the thrift and good management of the owner.
Mr. Warner and Miss Sarah Sherman, daughter of Jacob Sherman, a farmer and stage driver, of Rowe, were united in mar- riage on January 1, 1862. Mrs. Sarah S.
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Warner passed to the higher existence March 22, 1889, being then fifty years, six months, and two days old. She bore her husband five children, of whom we record the following: Minnie E., born May 14, 1868, is the wife of Allie Oaks, of Fitchburg; Allen was born September 12, 1871; Rosa A. was born Octo- ber 27, 1873; Flora E. was born August 24, 1876; and Katie M., who was born November 16, 1865, died September 1, 1870. On De- cember 25, 1890, Mr. Warner married for his second wife Ann Eliza Stetson, a daughter of Sylvester Stetson, a Plainfield farmer. Mr. Warner is numbered among the prominent members of the agricultural community of Charlemont, where his straightforward busi- ness methods and promptness in meeting all of his obligations have won for him the confi- dence and esteem of his fellow-townsmen. He has always taken an active interest in the welfare and progress of his native town, and has served acceptably for fifteen years as Deputy Sheriff.
DWIN STRATTON, who has been Reg- istrar of Deeds at Greenfield since 1880, is a native of Franklin County, Northfield being the place of his birth, which occurred September 17, 1815. His parents were Elihu and Electa (Holton) Stratton, both natives of Northfield (now Erv- ing), Mass. Northfield was the home of his ancestors for several generations. His grand- parents, Rufus and Asenath (Field) Stratton, were lifelong and prominent residents of that town, and among the most prosperous mem- bers of its farming community. They reared a family of five children - four sons and one daughter.
Elihu Stratton, the father of our subject, was born in 1795. He likewise was inter-
ested in agricultural pursuits, and owned a good farm in Northfield. His wife, Electa Holton, was a daughter of Elisha Holton, a respected farmer of Northfield (now Erving), Mass. Four children were born to them, namely: Elijah, for many years an active physician of Northfield, who died when little past his prime, leaving two sons' and two daughters; Elihu, who, always of a frail and delicate constitution, died at the age of twenty-one years; Edwin, the subject of this sketch; and Elisha, who owns and occupies the old homestead at Northfield. The latter had one son, Everett Stratton, who died in young manhood. Both of the parents died in Northfield, the mother in the prime of life; and their bodies were laid to rest in the beau- tiful cemetery at Northfield Farms.
Edwin Stratton attended the public school of the district, completing his school life at the village academy, and just before attaining his majority started out in life for himself, working on farms during the seasons of sow- ing and harvesting, and teaching school in the winter. In 1846 Mr. Stratton entered the employ of the Vermont & Massachusetts Railway Company at Grout's Corners (now Miller's Falls), in the town of Montague. He worked as a draughtsman in the office that winter; and the following spring went on the line of construction, having charge of a divi- sion, with headquarters at Gardner, Worcester County. Three years later Mr. Stratton as- sisted in the survey of the Troy & Greenfield Railway, being stationed at Greenfield. He was next engaged as chief engineer during the construction of the Cape Cod Central road, going thence to Worcester to take the place of the chief engineer of the Worcester & Gardner Railway, who was accidentally killed, and remaining two years with that company. Mr. Stratton's next engagement
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was with the Massachusetts Central Com- pany, as an assistant in its location and con- struction, continuing with them some years. From 1855 until 1857 he was in the West, being one of the surveyors of the Manitowoc & Menasha Railway, and subsequently of the Logansport & Peoria Railroad in Indiana. He was likewise one of the party that sur- veyed the line of the Hoosac Tunnel over the hill, and had the distinction of being the first man to go through the mountain. In 1880 Mr. Stratton was elected to his present office, and has made himself such a general favorite in his official capacity that he has been elected every three years since, and during the heated campaign of 1894 received a hand- some majority of the votes.
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