USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Hampshire County, Massachusetts > Part 27
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years of age at the time of the Boston Tea Party, December 16, 1773. She joined the church at Williamsburg under the pastorate of the Rev. Joseph Strong; and in 1851, on the formation of the Haydenville church, she transferred her membership to the latter, al- though then ninety-one years of age. She and her husband were the parents of twelve chil- dren, six sons and six daughters. In 1879 there were four of the twelve whose respective ages summed up three hundred and forty-seven years, namely : Cyrus, aged eighty-two years ; John, aged seventy-nine years; Mrs. Betsey Fairfield, aged ninety-four years; and Mrs. Sarah Graves, of Sunderland, aged ninety-two years. Their mother died on March 4, 1859, aged ninety-eight years and four months.
Cyrus Miller, second, the grandfather of Edwin Cyrus Miller, who was born in 1797, acquired his education in the district school of Williamsburg, two miles away. He, too, spent his life on the old farm. At the time of the Mill River flood, May 16, 1874, he and his family barely escaped a watery grave. He married for his first wife Miss Harriet King- man Hannum, and for his second, Mrs. Phi- lena Ford, a widow with one son. The latter union was blessed by the birth of three sons : Edward F. Miller, Arthur F. Miller, and Lewis C. Miller. Lewis C. resides at South Hadley Falls and has four sons. In politics Cyrus Miller voted the Whig ticket up to the time of the formation of the Republican party, which he afterward supported ; but he was not a man to share in the excitement of political life. He was widely and favorably known as Major Miller, and led a most consistent and useful life. He was for years a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and on the forma- tion of the Haydenville church he joined that society. He belonged to a family of great longevity. His sister, Betsey Fairfield, died
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one hundred and three years old; another sister, Patty Holley, at ninety-seven years of age; and a brother died in his eighty-ninth year. His own death occurred in his eighty- seventh year, and his wife also lived to an advanced age.
Edward F. Miller, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born May 3, 1838. He also chose the independent life of a farmer and resided on three hundred of the nine hundred acres owned by his grandfather, John Miller. He took an active part in public affairs; and among the offices he was called upon to fill was that of Selectman, in which he rendered acceptable service during several terms. He also acted as Trustee of the Hayden-Sanders School Fund. In 1863 he was united in mar- riage with Miss Ellen N. Woodburn, of Graf- ton, Vt., a daughter of Samuel D. and Laura (Fay) Woodburn, both of whom were natives of Vermont. Her father was a talented and successful music teacher.
Edwin Cyrus Miller, the subject of this biographical sketch, received his education in Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, from which he graduated in 1882, at the age of fourteen years. He then secured a position in the Mill River button factory, which is the largest and one of the oldest ivory button factories in the United States. He remained there a year, and then, on September 20, 1884, he entered the Conway National Bank. He resigned this position in October, 1886, to take that of book-keeper in the First National Bank of Northampton. In a short time, at the age of twenty-one, he became the teller, succeeding Lucius S. Graves (now deceased), who left on account of poor health. Mr. Miller has ren- dered most efficient service in this position. On June 17, 1891, he was married to Miss Edith Dunbar Childs, a daughter of Henry Childs, of Northampton.
In politics Mr. Miller is a Republican, and is at the present time chairman of the Repub- lican County Committee, Clerk of the Com- mon Council, and a member of the School Committee from Ward Four. He and his wife are active and consistent members of the Con- gregational church. They reside at No. 74 High Street, a pleasant and modest dwelling surrounded with shrubbery and flowers, where they settled soon after their marriage.
B ENJAMIN FRANKLIN DAVIS, a prosperous and practical farmer of Ware, was born at Three Rivers in the town of Palmer, Mass., on November 9, 1837, son of Benjamin, Jr., and Cordelia (Buffington) Davis, the former of whom was a native of Ware.
The Davis family are of Welsh ancestry. The earliest progenitor in this country of whom anything definite is known was Benja- min Davis, the great-great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch. He died at South Gore in the town of Oxford, Mass., in 1787, seventy-four years of age. His son, Crafts Davis, who was born in Oxford, in 1744, lived to the advanced age of ninety-three years. Benjamin Davis, the grandfather of Benjamin Franklin Davis, was born in Oxford on Sep- tember 20, 1774. He was reared to a farm life and continued in it with advantage to him- self, first in Oxford and later in Ware, whither he removed about the year 1800. He died in Ware on September 19, 1860, aged eighty-six years. His wife, Theodosia Davis, to whom he was married on October 3, 1796, reared nine children, all of whom married, except one daughter. Two are now living, namely : Dr. Willard Gould Davis, born March 1, 1815, residing in Dunnsville, N. Y. ; and Sarah, the widow of Fisk Brooks, living at Stafford,
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Conn., and now eighty-seven years of age. Her son, P. H. M. Brooks, is a high-rank mechanic in the Springfield Armory. Mrs. Theodosia Davis died January 29, 1861, at the age of eighty-four years and six months. Ben- jamin Davis, Jr., born in Ware, July 16, 1811, spent his early years on his father's farm; but when he started for himself he engaged in manufacturing, which he followed with success, first at Three Rivers and later at Thorndike, both in the town of Palmer, Mass. Then, in 1846, he came to Ware. He was married May 4, 1836, to Cordelia Buffington, a daughter of Royal Buffington, of Connecticut. Nine children were born of their union, and four sons and four daughters are now living.
Benjamin F. Davis received his education in the Ware High School and at Williston Seminary. He taught school for one winter ; but after that he engaged in farming, which he has since followed with good success. He keeps a dairy of twenty-five or thirty choice cows, and has sold the milk in Ware during the past thirteen years. The products of his farm and dairy combined have in a single year brought him in about four thousand dol- lars, a good percentage of which is profit. In addition to his home farm he has three others, and in all owns about seven hundred acres of land. His success must be largely due to his apparently unfailing energy and industry. His day's work usually begins between three and four o'clock in the morning, and continues till late in the evening. He still enjoys ex- cellent health.
On July 26, 1856, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Jane Phillips, of Chicopee Falls, Mass. She was a daughter of Walter Phillips, who came to Ware about fifty years ago. She lived to the age of forty-four years, dying March 4, 1882. Ten children were born of her union with Mr. Davis, of whom
nine are now living, namely : Jennie Fremont, the wife of Frank E. Morris, of Monson, Mass. ; Emma C., who married L. Walter Newton, of Allegheny, Pa., and has five chil- dren; Mary E., residing at home; Benjamin F., Jr., a teamster and farmer, who is married and has one son; Anna Belle, the wife of Frank L. Boothe, of California, who has two sons; Cora Maria, who lives at home; Helen Augusta, living at home; Charles Henry, who is in the Sophomore class at Williams College ; and Mabel Phillips, a young lady attending the high school. George W. Davis died on January 18, 1884, when but fourteen years of age. The daughters are graduates of Ware High School, and Miss Cora M. Davis spent one year in Wellesley College. Mr. Davis was again married on November 24, 1894, to Miss Susan M. Goyette, of Ware.
In politics Mr. Davis is a Republican. He has served his town as Selectman, Assessor, and in other offices; and in 1875 he was elected Representative to the State legislature for the Ware district.
APTAIN EDWIN C. CLARK, a much esteemed citizen of Northamp- ton, Mass., was born here October 23, 1826, son of Allen and Sophia (Cook) Clark. The Clark family trace their lineage back to William Clark, who was born in Eng- land in the year 1609, and came to Massachu- setts among the early colonists, being known to have been living in Dorchester in 1638, and to have removed to Northampton about twenty years after.
This progenitor, who, like his contempora- ries, was engaged in agricultural pursuits, bore the title of Lieutenant and was a very able and public-spirited man. He served as Trial Justice and was often one of the Select-
EDWIN C. CLARK.
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men of Northampton. Captain Clark has a souvenir of the olden times in the shape of a photographic copy of the autographs of the five Selectmen of 1666, one of whom was Lieuten- ant Clark. He was also a consistent church member and served as Deacon for many years. He died in Northampton in 1691. In 1880, in place of the simple headstone that had marked his grave, a monument of Quincy granite, costing five hundred dollars, was erected to his memory by his descendants, some ten of whom, including Captain Edwin C. Clark, were active in tracing the genealogy of the family.
His son, John Clark, who was born in Dor- chester, as appears from the history of that town, also devoted much time and attention to public affairs; and in addition to the other positions of public trust which he filled he served as a Representative in the General Court during fourteen sessions. He was the father of ten children, by whom he had over eighty grandchildren; and, like his father, he held the office of Deacon in the church of which he was a member. His son, Increase Clark, was born in Northampton in 1684; and directly after him the lineal representatives are Daniel, born in Northampton in 1712, and Daniel's son, Deacon Solomon, who was also a native of Northampton, born in 1744, and who became a well-to-do farmer. He died in 1821, leaving a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters. A brother Daniel was one of the pioneer settlers of Ohio, near Cleveland, where he reared a family of ten children.
Allen Clark, son of Deacon Solomon, was born in 1789, was reared to the vocation of a farmer, and later became the owner of the old homestead, where his life was successfully spent as an agriculturist. He died in August, 1849. His wife, Sophia Cook Clark, was a
daughter of William and Annie (Gorman) Cook, both of whom were natives of Hadley, Mass. Their marriage was solemnized in Northampton in 1814; and they reared a fam- ily of seven children, four sons and three daughters, of whom Edwin C. was the sixth child and third son. The only survivors are Edwin C. and his sister Pamelia, the widow of Heman Smith, of Springfield, Mass.
Edwin C. Clark received a good common- school education, and remained on his father's farm until in his twenty-third year, when he was aroused by the reports of discovery of gold in California, and went thither by way of the Isthmus. He was engaged for a time as a placer miner on the American River, but a year later he came home; and in the fall of 1850 he secured a position in New York City as salesman and shipper for the firm of Beebe & Co., hatters, remaining with them four years. In 1854, returning to Hampshire County, he became associated with William Clark, under the firm name of E. C. Clark & Co., in the manufacture of lumber, which they carried on at Southampton, Mass., for five years, conducting a steam saw-mill, and dur- ing that time sold nine thousand cords of wood. He subsequently engaged in the livery business with his brother in Northampton, and later conducted it alone and on quite an ex- tensive scale, having two stables with thirty to fifty horses. In 1877 he became superin- tendent of the Northampton Street Railway ; and he also served as Treasurer from that time until 1893, rendering very efficient service in both offices. He has since lived retired from active business.
In 186: Mr. Clark enlisted as Second Lieu- tenant in the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and served in the Burnside expedition, taking part in the battles of Roa- noke and Newbern. In 1862 he re-enlisted
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in the Fifty-second Massachusetts Infantry as First Lieutenant of Company C, and later re- ccived a commission as Quartermaster. He went to Louisiana under the command of Gen- eral Banks, was present at the capture of Baton Rouge ; he also served at Port Hudson, and was with his regiment when it ascended the Mis- sissippi River. He was mustered out of ser- vice in the fall of 1863, at Greenfield, Mass.
On November 20, 1850, Mr. Clark was united in marriage with Miss Emily L. Hines, of Lee, Mass., a daughter of William and Hannah (Putnam) Hines. She was the eighth in a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters, of whom but three are living : Mrs. Clark; Saralı, the wife of John Williams, of Williamsburg, Mass. ; and Marshall Hines, of Coltsville, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Clark are the parents of two sons and two daughters, namely : Ida Beebe, the wife of Joseph Carhart, Presi- dent of the State Normal School at St. Cloud, Minn. ; Edwin C., who succeeded his father as superintendent of the street railway company ; Mary A., the wife of E. V. Mitchell, of Hart- ford, Conn. ; and William Clark, a coal dealer, residing in Lansingburg, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Clark began married life forty-five years ago ; and the only death that has been in the family, which now numbers twenty-six, is that of a grand-daughter, Ida Clark, at eight years of age.
In political affiliation Mr. Clark is a Repub- lican, and, though never a man who sought public office, has served acceptably as Alder- man. For twenty-five years he was an active fireman and was the engineer many years. Mr. Clark is a Master Mason of thirty-four years' standing, and has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. He and his family reside at 94 Crescent Strcet, in their fine dwelling which was completed in November, 1892. A portrait of Captain Clark is placed on another page of this volume.
WEN MCARDLE, of the firm of Owen McArdle & Son, wholesale and retail liquor dealers of Ware, where they are doing a prosperous business, was born in Ire- land, August 15, 1816, son of Patrick and Mary (McGeon) McArdle. Patrick McArdle successfully followed the trade of a blacksmith throughout the active period of his life. In 1845 he and his wife with three of their chil- dren came to America. He was between seventy and eighty years of age at the time of his death; and his widow, who died in 1878, attained the advanced age of ninety-six years.
Owen McArdle grew to manhood in his native land. In 1841, in company with his brother Felix, and with only sufficient money to pay his passage, he took shipping for this country, and after a long and stormy voyage landed at Quebec. Soon after, he came to Ware, secured work as a currier, and con- tinued at that occupation for several years. In 1876, at the introduction of the "local option " principle, he engaged in his present business of wholesale and retail liquor dealer; and in 1892 he erected his store at 2 Pine Street.
About the same time that Mr. McArdle and his brother came to America, Miss Bridget Dolan, a native of County Leitrim, Ireland, sailed for the same general destination on the ship "Industry," under the command of Cap- tain Barrett. On her arrival, after a tempest- uous voyage of seven weeks, she went to Worcester, Mass., and later to Ware, where she secured a situation in a hotel. While here employed she made the acquaintance of Mr. McArdle, and was subsequently married to him at Worcester, in the year 1850. Five children were the fruit of their union. Of these three reachcd maturity, namely : Owen H., who follows the trade of a mason in Ware ; Francis P., living in Ware; and Michael John, who has charge of his father's store, and in
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1 895 became a member of the firm. Michael John received a good practical education in the public schools of Ware, graduating in June, ISSO. Since that time he has been employed in his father's store. Though crippled and a great sufferer from his affliction, he possesses much physical courage, combined with consid -. erable firmness of character. He is a man of literary tastes and inclinations; and, had he been favored with better educational advan- tages, no doubt he would have chosen an occu- pation more suited to his disposition. The family are influential members of All Saints' Catholic Church. They reside on East Street, where Mr. McArdle purchased his present home in 1855.
OHN E. BATES, a resident of North- ampton and senior partner in the firm of Bates, Lyman & Locke, was born in in South Hadley, Mass., June 12, 1847, being a son of Emerson and Sarah Ann (Edwards) Bates. The Bates family originated in Eng- land, the first of the name to cross the ocean and locate in this country having been one Joshua Bates, who settled in Hingham, Mass., at Cohasset, at an early period in the settle- ment of New England.
John Bates, grandfather of John E. Bates, was born March 12, 1772, in Cohasset, and, when a young man, came to this county. He lived for a while in Chesterfield, and was there married to Nancy Cogswell. Soon after their union they removed to Westhampton, where their ten children, five sons and five daughters, were born, all of whom, except one who died in infancy, grew to adult life. Of these one daughter still lives. This is Mary Ann, widow of Asahel Judd, formerly a resi- dent of Charlemont, but now of Aurora, Ill. Emerson improved his land and spent his life and remaining days upon it with his fam-
ily, dying March 12, 1856. He was united in marriage in 1833, to Sarah Ann Edwards, who was born at Roberts Meadow, Northampton, daughter of David Edwards, grand-daughter of Nathaniel Edwards, former well-known resi- dents of the locality. For many years after their union they kept the hotel and toll-gate on the old Boston and Albany Pike, and also owned and operated a tannery. They reared five children, as follows: Henry E., a volun- teer in the late Rebellion, Corporal of Com- pany H, Fifty-second Massachusetts Volun- teer Infantry, born in 1844, died August 19, 1863; Mary A., the wife of T. C. Cooley, of Springfield; Catherine I., living on the old homestead ; John E., the subject of this sketch ; and Nathaniel Edwards, who owns and occupies the old home farm. The mother sur- vived her husband, passing away March 22, 1895, at the good old age of seventy eight years. She was buried beside her husband in the South Hadley cemetery. The soldier son was laid to rest in the Cypress Grove Cemetery in Louisiana.
John E. Bates was a student in the high school when his eldest brother enlisted. The departure of his brother obliged him to give up his studies to assist on the home farm. This he continued to do until 1870, when he came to Northampton and secured work in the bis- cuit factory of Carr & Lyman, where he re- mained until the death of Mr. Carr, which occurred more than fifteen years afterward. Mr. Bates subsequently became a member of the new firm. The company was organized March 15, 1886, and has since carried on a flourishing business under the title of the Smith Carr Baking Company. This bakery was first established a century ago, since which time it has passed through different hands. The firm carry on a large trade. The fac- tory at times has made one hundred and
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seventy-five barrels of crackers per day. The larger part of this output consists of the Smith Carr Butter Crackers, which are unsurpassed by any other, and are extensively sold throughout New England and the West. The firm keeps three commercial travellers busily employed.
Mr. Bates was united in marriage October I, 1872, to Harriet E. Wright, of Northamp- ton, by the Rev. Ephraim M. Wright, for- merly Secretary of the State of Massachusetts, and an uncle of the bride. Mrs. Bates is a daughter of Ozro C. and Emeline (Clark) Wright, her mother being a native of East- hampton and a daughter of Luther Clark. Mr. and Mrs. Bates reside at 14 Fruit Street, having settled in this locality soon after their marriage. Since then they have changed their residence but once, on that occa- sion having been compelled to do so by a fire which burned them out. This was in 1876, when they bought the Daniel Kingsley place. They are the parents of five children, namely : Clinton Monroe, born July 25, 1874, now in the office of the company; Edith W., born Jan- uary 28, 1876, attending the high school; S. Emeline, born in October, 1880; Harriet I., born July 18, 1882; and Lucy A., born Au- gust 9, 1886. Mr. Bates evinces a warm in- terest in the progress and advancement of the city. In politics he is independent of party. He has served three years as a member of the City Council. He has passed all the chairs up to that of Clerk in the Canton, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a Knight of Pythias, and belongs to the American Legion of Honor and to the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
ZIAS BISSELL OWEN, a retired farmer now residing in Ware, was born in Belchertown, Mass., on November 3, 1822, son of Ralph and Fanny
(Bissell) Owen, and grandson of Eleazer Owen, who was of English parentage.
Eleazer Owen was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary War. It is stated he enlisted at the age of fourteen years, and that at fifteen he was one of the most powerful men in the Colo- nial army, standing six feet in height and weighing two hundred and forty pounds. In 1794 he settled in Belchertown, where he pur- chased a farm and thereafter turned his atten- tion to agriculture. He married Miss Abigail Bicknell, a farmer's daughter. They reared seven sons and three daughters. Two of the sons died unmarried, when but a little over twenty years of age. Their mother died in 1836, between seventy and eighty years of age; and their father in 1840, eighty-two years of age. They rest in the Belchertown cemetery.
Ralph Owen, whose birth occurred in Ash- ford, Conn., June 3, 1785, became a farmer, and, after his marriage, settled on the old homestead in Belchertown. In politics he was a Democrat, and he served his town accept- ably as Tax Collector. He was a Past Master Mason, and a prominent member of the Con- gregational church. He died October 31, 1864, and was buried November 3, the day his son, Ozias Bissell Owen, was forty-two years of age. His wife, whose maiden name was Fanny Bissell, was born in Manchester, Conn., on February 9, 1790. Their marriage took place November 9, 1807. Five sons and five daugh- ters were born of their union, all of whom attained maturity. Three sons and three daughters are now living. One son, Charles M., born January 28, 1818, now residing in Osage, Mitchell County, Ia., is seventy-eight years of age. Their daughter Frances died in 1831, seventeen years of age; and their young- est-born, Willard, died at the age of seventy- two years. The mother's death occurred in
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August, 1879, when she was eighty-nine years and six months old.
Ozias Bissell Owen after reaching the age of nine years was unable to attend school except in the winter sessions. He remained at home with his parents until thirty-three years of age. Before settling in the place where he now resides he lived for twelve years upon a farm of one hundred acres about four miles from Ware. His present farm contains thirty acres of land, and was purchased about seventeen years ago.
On November 20, 1855, he was united in marriage with Miss Maria P. Davis, of Ware, who was born March 7, 1832, and is a daugh- ter of Samuel and Nancy (Hartwell) Davis, who were respectively natives of Worcester County and Sterling, Mass. Her father was a hotel-keeper and likewise filled the office of Deputy Sheriff. He died at the age of forty- four years, when Mrs. Owen was but six years old. He left a widow and four children, a son and three daughters. Joseph H. Davis died in Colorado in December, 1894, aged seventy-five years. Having been a ranchman in the Rocky Mountains located at the foot of Spanish Peak, his body had to be carried forty miles on a bed in order to have it prepared for burial in the East. The surviving members of the family are: Mrs. Owen; and a sister, Frances H., the wife of Mr. Stearns, of War- ren, Mass. Their mother died in 1863, in the sixty-seventh year of her age. Mr. and Mrs. Owen have an adopted daughter, Harriett May Owen, now the wife of Charles F. Clark, of Ware; and they have one son, Francis Owen Clark, three and a half years old.
In his political relations Mr. Owen is a Democrat, as was his father before him. Their home is a pleasant and attractive one, and both are esteemed members of the commu- nity in which they live.
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