USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Hampshire County, Massachusetts > Part 38
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LIAS RUDE, a prosperous farmer of Huntington, was born in that town, November 29, 1834, son of Zara and Elizabeth (Patch) Rude. Mr. Rude's great- grandfather, John Rude, was a native of Nor- wich, Conn., and settled in Huntington, Mass., when there were but three houses in the town. He cleared and improved the farm, which is now owned and occupied by his great- grandson, and successfully followed agriculture until his death. He raised a family of three children, of whom John Rude, Jr., was Mr. Rude's grandfather. Grandfather Rude was born in Norwich, Conn., succeeded to the pos- session of the farm, and resided there until his death, which occurred in 1848. He was the father of seven children, as follows: Zara, Alvin, Clara, Elias, Harvey, Esula, and Nor- man.
Zara Rude, Mr. Rude's father, was born in Huntington and reared to agriculture, which he followed successfully through life. He was a Whig in politics, was highly esteemed, and was very popular with his fellow-townsmen. He died at the age of seventy-four years. His wife, who was a native of Huntington, be- came the mother of twelve children, of whom
Elias Rude is the sole survivor. They were as follows: Thomas, who married Miranda Demon; John, who married Maria Holmes; Lucy, who became the wife of James Steven- son ; Eliza, who married Ora Miller ; Jerome, Lydia, and Electa, who died young; Nancy, who died at the age of twenty-two; Electa (second), who died at the age of twenty; Ora, who died aged twenty-four; Weltha, who died aged eighteen; and Elias, the subject of this sketch. The mother died in Huntington.
Elias Rude succeeded his father in the ownership of the old homestead, and has since resided there. He carries on general farming and dairying, and is engaged to a considerable extent in the manufacture of maple sugar. On December 14, 1857, Mr. Rude was united in marriage to Nancy A. Merritt. She was born in Conway, Mass., November 3, 1833, daugh- ter of Austin Merritt, a prosperous farmer of that town. In politics Mr. Rude has always supported the Republican party.
ARTHUR WAINWRIGHT, a rising young lawyer of Northampton and a member of the law firm of Hill & Wainwright, is a New Yorker by birth, having been born in Fairport, Monroe County, N. Y., December 17, 1859, where his father, William C. Scott, was engaged in farming. His mother was before marriage Miss Mary Ann Woodin, and he was the youngest of the seven children born of her union. She died in mid- dle life, leaving her infant son when but a week old. His father again married, and his second wife had one child. He was about forty years of age when he died, leaving his family in humble circumstances.
His paternal grandfather, John Scott, of Monroe County, was well known in that sec- tion through his profession of civil engineer.
AUSTIN ROSS.
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He did a large amount of surveying in that vicinity, and was often called upon to settle disputed boundaries. His vocation seems to have been conducive to longevity, for he lived to be an octogenarian. Mr. Wainwright's maternal grandfather, Henry Woodin, spent his early life in Orleans, N. Y., whence he afterward removed to Birmingham, Mich. Here he engaged in agricultural pursuits, which had been his occupation in New York. He served as a soldier in the War of 1812; and his father, Amos Woodin, served for six months in the Revolutionary War, during which brief time he was promoted from the ranks to the office of sergeant.
At his mother's death J. Arthur Wain- wright was adopted by a maternal aunt, Louisa Wainwright, the widow of Horatio Wain- wright, who reared him from his mother's death. She is still living in Easthampton. He attended school in Orleans, N. Y., until he was twelve years of age. On April 1, 1872, the following year, he came with his adopted mother and sister to Easthampton. He then entered Williston Seminary, from which he entered Amherst graduated in 1875. In the fall of that year he College, completing his course with honors in the class of 1879, being in the first third of the class. While in col- lege he became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He next read law under Judge Bassett. In 1882 he graduated from the Boston University, and in June of that year he was admitted to the bar in Northamp- ton. The succeeding year he spent in the WVest on the Pacific Coast and in the vicinity of Puget Sound. Returning to Northampton he engaged in the practice of his profession with David Hill, forming the present firm of Hill & Wainwright. They do a large fire in- surance business, representing a half-dozen companies at their Northampton office. Some
time ago they had an agency at Easthampton, which they subsequently disposed of.
Mr. Wainwright is a Democrat in his poli- tics. He is a member of the Nonotuck Lodge, No. 61, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed the chairs; of the Mary Lyon Lodge, No. 62, Daughters of Rebecca ; of Mount Holyoke Encampment, No. 16; of Canton Meadow City, No. 29; of Knights of Honor, Norwood Lodge, No. 3343, in which he holds the official position of D. D. G. D. He was Major on the staff of George F. Am- idon of the Brigade of the East, and is now serving as Aide-de-camp on the staff of Frank M. Merrill, Department Commander of Massa- chusetts. Mr. Wainwright is a communicant of Edwards Congregational Church, in which he is one of the committee on notices.
USTIN ROSS, of Florence, Mass., a prosperous farmer now living in restful retirement after many seasons of sowing and reaping, is one of the few remain- ing members of the famous "community " of fifty years ago. He was born at Mansfield, Tolland County, Conn., in 1812, and passed his early boyhood in Windham County in that State. His father, Elnathan Ross, who was born at Chaplin, in the above-named county and State in 1771, died of an epidemic fever in 1813, leaving a widow and eleven children, Austin being then but one year old. His wife, whose maiden name was Olive Storrs, and who was of a prominent family in the Con- necticut valley, returned to the homestead of her father and cared for him until his decease, which occurred at the age of ninety-seven. Mrs. Olive S. Ross lived to the age of ninety- two years. Her children, who were distrib- uted among strangers, all grew to maturity and became heads of families. With the ex-
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ception of Austin Ross, all are now at rest. Harriet, wife of George Hunt, a farmer of Yates County, New York, reared one son, and died at the age of nearly fourscore years; and Caroline, who was born previous to Austin, and became the wife of George Wyman, of Potter, Yates County, reared a family of thir- teen children, and died at the age of about seventy years.
Austin Ross was practically thrown upon his resources at the age of ten years, but con- tinued to make his home among his brothers and sisters until reaching the age of fifteen, when he went to live with Deacon Knight, a rigid Presbyterian, from whom he acquired the shoemaker's trade, an occupation which he followed for a number of years at Chaplin.
In 1834, when he was twenty-two years of age, he married Miss Fidelia Rindge, who was born in Chaplin, Conn., in 1813. They came to Florence early in 1845, and entered the "community " founded in 1842 by the "North- ampton Association of Education and Indus- try," Mr. Ross assuming charge of the agri- cultural department. An intelligent, liberal- minded, progressive class of people were drawn hither, including some prominent abolitionists. Mr. Ross, who had been dismissed from the Presbyterian church on account of his anti- slavery sentiments, is credited in the history of those times with having been a successful station agent on the "underground railroad." The community at Florence lasted only about four years. When it disbanded, Mr. Ross, in company with his uncle Abel Ross and J. C. Martin, purchased the farm for the sum of five thousand dollars, his portion consisting of about one hundred and fifty acres of the original four hundred. This he continued to cultivate with extremely profitable results ; and, having in the course of time added to his estate, he now owns two hundred acres
of valuable land, which is divided into two farms.
Mr. and Mrs. Ross have buried an infant son. Their living children are: E. S. Ross, a merchant of Leeds, having two children ; Dwight A. Ross, who resides upon his father's farm and has two sons and one daugh- ter; and Martha Jane, wife of Robert M. Branch, a merchant of Florence, having two children. Mr. Ross retired from active labor in 1890, leaving the farm in charge of his son, and now lives at his pleasant home, which is situated upon the opposite side of Mill River. He is a Republican in politics, but was never an aspirant for public office. Well known and highly esteemed, he occupies a warm place in the hearts of the older residents of Florence.
On another page is given a portrait of this venerable citizen. Long years hence shall it be told for a memorial of him that he was wont to succor the distressed, that he helped to break the oppressor's yoke and set the captive free.
RANK H. N. GATES, overseer in the knitting department of the Otis Mill at Ware, Mass., was born where he now resides on July 26, 1858, son of Daniel and Sarah (Bullen) Gates, the former of whom was born in Barnard, Vt., in 1828.
Foster S. Gates, a descendant of an old New England family, and the grandfather of the subject of this biography, was also a native of Barnard, Vt., where his birth occurred in 1800. He followed the calling of an agriculturist, in which he met with a fair degree of success.
He married Miss Betsey McCormack, who was of Scottish ancestry; and they reared a family of two sons and three daughters, but all have since passed away. He died in 1884, twelve years after his wife's death, which oc- curred when she was seventy-six years of age.
F. H. N. GATES.
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Daniel Gates, whose early years were spent on his father's farm in Barnard, Vt., re- moved in early manhood to Ware, Mass., where he secured employment in the Otis Mills. He rose rapidly to the position of overseer of the finishing department of the cloth mill; and, shortly after the hosiery de- partment was started, he was made overseer in the knitting-room, and was employed there for twenty-three years, making in all forty-six years with the Otis Company. He was a member of the Masonic Council, and a com- municant of the Methodist Episcopal church. His connection with the latter lasted many years, and during a portion of that time he held the offices of Steward and Trustee. He died in 1889, sixty-one years of age. His wife, who was born in Waldo, Me., is a daughter of Samuel and Margaret (West) Bullen, both of whom were natives of Maine, his birth occurring in Farmington and hers in Belfast. They reared two sons and three daughters. Two are now living; namely, Mrs. Gates and her sister, Mrs. Margaret G. Marsh, residing in Malden, Mass. Mrs. Gates bore her husband five children, as fol- lows : a daughter Bessie, who died in infancy ; Ida Belle, who lived to be seventeen years of age; Foster S. Gates, an engineer on the Connecticut River Railroad, who is married and has one son; Edith L., the wife of A. D. Talbert, of Boston; and Frank H. N. Gates.
Frank H. N. Gates received a good com- mon-school education. When sixteen years of age he left the high school and went into the mill with his father. He afterward succeeded his father as overseer in the knitting depart- ment, a position that has been held by father and son for nearly the entire time since the hosiery business started. He was married when twenty-two years of age, on May 22, 1880, to Miss Grace Esther Lamson, a daugh-
ter of Irving T. and Augusta (Kinney) Lam- son, both of whom were born in Randolph, Vt. Her mother died in 1874, leaving four sons and four daughters, all of whom are still living, except a son that died in infancy. Her father, who is a successful agriculturist, is living with his second wife in West Randolph, Vt.
Mr. Gates and his wife are attendants at the Episcopal church. He is a member of Eden Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Ware; King Solo- mon Chapter of Royal Arch Masons; Warren and Northampton Commandery, Northampton, Mass. ; Ware Lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and Ware Rod and Gun Club. They reside at 34 Park Street, which has been his home since his birth.
EWIS A. CLARK, a widely known farmer of Huntington, was born in Southampton, Mass., January 8, 1839, son of Elisha and Minerva (Stearns) Clark. Mr. Clark's father was a native of Massachusetts, and followed at different times the occupations of farmer and cooper. He moved to Huntington in 1865, where he was engaged in agriculture until his death, which occurred February 10, 1869. He was a Whig in politics, but beyond casting his vote he took no active interest in public affairs. Elisha Clark's wife, who was born in Hinesburg, Vt., became the mother of six children, as follows : Mary, wife of Dexter Lyman, a resident of Huntington; Martha, deceased, who married for her first husband Thomas Wright and for her second Joshua Bemis ; Sophronia, deceased, who married W. Graves; John E., who married Julia Freeman, and is now a farmer in East- hampton, Mass. ; Ellen E., widow of Isaac Avery; and Lewis A., the subject of this sketch. The mother died April 6, 1891.
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Lewis A. Clark resided at home until his fourteenth year, when he began to support himself. At the age of seventeen he com- menced to learn the trade of a mason, and after working at that calling in Southampton and the West for five years he went to Easthamp- ton, where he labored as a journeyman for an- other five years. From Easthampton he went to Springfield, Mass., where he was employed at his trade for one year; and in 1869, when his father died, he went to Huntington to take charge of the home farm. He has since suc- cessfully carried on the farm, while continuing to work at his trade. He is independent in politics, and has served as a Selectman for eight consecutive years.
On December 20, 1866, Mr. Clark was united in marriage to Hattie R. Howes, daugh- ter of Charles and Mary Howes. Mrs. Clark is a member of the Congregational church. They have one adopted son.
EDEDIAH POST WEBSTER, lately deceased, a prosperous farmer of En- field in his lifetime, was born in Wilbraham, Mass., on March 17, 18II, son of Elijah and Martha (Chapin) Webster.
His father, a native of Hebron, Conn., born in 1767, was a tanner by trade and followed that calling with success for many years. Toward the close of his life he turned his at- tention to agriculture, and purchased the farm owned by him at the time of his death. He died very suddenly of heart disease, on Decem- ber 22, 1849, eighty-two years of age. He was twice married. His first marriage was with Miss Deborah Post, and was performed March 27, 1797. She bore him four sons and a daughter. After her death he married Miss Martha Chapin, who was born October 2, 1779. They became the parents of eleven children,
nine of whom have since died. The survivors are : Mrs. Marey Edson, a widow residing at Jamaica Plain, Mass. ; and Miss Betsey Web- ster, living in Wilbraham, Mass. Their mother died October 20, 1852.
Jedediah P. Webster, who received his edu- cation in the district school, remained with his father on the farm, and throughout the active period of his life successfully engaged in agri- culture. His farm, containing about two hun- dred acres, was left by him in an excellent condition. It lies partly in Enfield and partly in Ware. Mr. Webster died October 15, 1895. At the age of twenty-six years he was married, on October 8, 1837, to Miss Diana Houghton, whose birth occurred in Union, Conn., June 17, 1817. They took up their home on the farm on March 31, 1846. Their long and happy union of fifty-eight years was blessed by a son and a daughter. The elder of the two was Mary Jane, born October 19, 1841, who died August 12, 1887, nearly forty- six years of age. She left besides her husband, Joel W. Martinsdale, a son and six daughters, all of whom are now living and occasionally gather at the old homestead. They are as fol- lows: Florence L., born in Hebron, Conn., January 17, 1865; William Webster Martin- dale, born in Hebron, Conn., September 16, 1866; Susan Forbes, born April 28, 1870; Bertha Haughton, born November 18, 1872; Martha E., born September 26, 1874; Mary Diana, born October 13, 1875; and Alice Maria, born June 27, 1880. The last five are natives of Massachusetts. George Henry Webster, born in Enfield on July 3, 1846, was married on November 17, 1869, to Miss Louise Amelia Martindale, of Hebron, Conn. She died in Enfield, Mass., in 1884, leaving two sons and a daughter, namely : Edward M. Webster, born June 26, 1871 ; Jennie L., born July 17, 1877, living in Ware; and Henry
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Chapin, born August 21, 1881, residing in Enfield. Her husband was again married on June 12, 1886, in Springfield, Mass., to Miss Sarah Louise Miller, daughter of Edmund and Alicia Elizabeth (Bell) Miller. She was born in Kinderhook, Columbia County, N. Y., May 22, 1863. The fruit of this second union was a son and daughter, namely: Susie Alicia, born May 30, 1887; and Theodore Miller Webster, born November 13, 1894. George Henry Webster was part owner of the farm, and had the whole management of it during the last few years of his father's life. He is prominent in town affairs, and is serving his second term of three years as Highway Com- missioner. He is now sole proprietor of the farm.
In politics Jedediah P. Webster always cast his vote with the Republican party. He served as Highway Surveyor of Enfield, and for five successive years was a member of the School Committee. During his younger days he was appointed Ensign, and later Lieutenant of the Wilbraham militia. Both he and his wife were members of the Congregational church. His widow, who continues in union with the church, is an intellectual woman. It was she who furnished data for a genealogical work relating to the Webster family, pub- lished a few years ago, and to which we refer for a more extended account. She lives on the farm with her son and his family.
SA A. TODD, deceased, an esteemed resident of Chesterfield for nearly his entire lifetime, was born in that town, August 12, 1820, son of Lyman and Sarah (Kinney) Todd, respectively natives of Chesterfield and Worthington. Lyman Todd died in November, 1846. He was the father of thirteen children, three of whom are now
living. These are: Horace, who resides in Heath, Mass. ; Aurelia Frances, wife of Jo- seph Cudworth, of Worthington; and Effie Deliza, wife of Samuel Eddy, of Chesterfield. Lyman Todd's widow, now deceased, married Quartus Rust, of New York, and spent the last years of her life in that State.
Asa A. Todd received a common-school edu- cation. He was a man of many resources. He was for three years employed in a tannery, giving entire satisfaction to his employers. In 1847 he engaged in general farming, in which he was also very successful. In that year he settled on the farm where his widow now resides; and, excepting one year spent with his family in Chesterfield, it was his home up to the time of his death. Mr. Todd was a good business man. He had the faculty of applying himself closely to whatever he un- dertook. In time he attained a comfortable degree of prosperity. His death occurred January 23, 1895.
Mr. Todd was twice married. His first wife, Mary Cudworth, of Chesterfield, died nine months after marriage. Subsequently, on June 2, 1847, he was united to Ellen J. Cud- worth, a native of Chesterfield, born March 7, 1829, daughter of Charles and Susanna (Keith) Cudworth. The father was a native of Chesterfield, and the mother of Scituate, Mass. Mr. Cudworth, who was a farmer, is now deceased; and his wife also has passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Todd were the parents of seven children, namely: Isabelle, wife of Walter B. Trow, of Providence, R. I. ; Mary, who died some time since; Esther S., who also is deceased; Lyman, who married Mary Pease, and lives in Worthington; Monroe, who now manages the homestead ; Flora E., wife of William A. Trow, of Westfield; and Asa Augustus, likewise deceased. All the children were given a good education, their
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father fully realizing the advantage thereof. Monroe, who was born March 18, 1862, learned the mason's trade and followed the same for some years. After his father's death he took charge of the home farm, of which he is the present proprietor, his mother making her home with him. He is married, his wife's maiden name having been Letty L. Middlebrook. In politics Monroe Todd is in- dependent, voting for the candidate he con- siders best fitted to further the interests of the people. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Huntington Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Huntington. He is carry- ing on the work begun by his father with satis- factory results. He also possesses the esteem in which his father was held.
EACON SIMEON KELLOGG, of Granby, whose portrait accompanies the present sketch, is an excellent representative of the intelligent and thrifty agriculturists of Hampshire County. He was born in this town on December 13, 1832. His father, David Kellogg, a native of Am- herst, came to Granby when a young man, and here bought a tract of land, from which he im- proved a good homestead property. In his later years he conducted a country hotel in the village. He was twice married, his first wife, Almira Barton, being a native of this place. She died, leaving four children, namely : Walter B .; Holland David, who died in New York in 1858; Mary C .; and Almira M. His second wife, whose maiden name was Portia Preston, was born in Granby on Febru- ary 24, 1801, and died here in 1849, he sur- viving her many years, dying in 1864. Of the second union nine children were born, as follows: Norris Preston, who died at the age of fifty years; Chester, who died in Spring-
field in 1893; Simeon and an elder sister, Ellen, who makes her home with him; Henry, who married Carrie Bates, and resides in De- troit, Mich .; Mary, the wife of Dwight Pres- ton, living at Elkhorn, Wis .; Eliza, a resi- dent of Granby; Jennie Maria, who died in infancy; and Jennie M., second, wife of D. R. Barnes, of this town.
Simeon Kellogg obtained his education in the public schools, and on attaining his major- ity began the battle of life for himself. Going to the city of New York, he worked for ten years as clerk and cashier in a hotel, being in the employ of two different proprietors in that period, and at its expiration returning to the place of his nativity. It was in 1863 that he came to Granby at the urgent solicitation of his father, who gave him the old home farm if he would continue its management. The estate contains about one hundred acres, in whose care and improvement Mr. Kellogg has shown excellent judgment, and has been unusually successful.
Mr. Kellogg and Harriet Pease, a daughter of the late Peter Pease, a farmer of Granby, were married in 1868. Their union has been blessed by the birth of four children: Mary Eliza, Cora H., Effie L., and Edith J. All of these daughters are well educated, three being teachers in the public schools of Granby, and Effie L. assistant principal of the high school, Gorham, N.H. Mr. Kel- logg is an energetic and capable business man, and is amply endowed with qualities which constitute him a useful and valued citizen. For many years he has been a member of the local Grange, and likewise of the Good Tem- plars. He is a stanch adherent of the Repub- lican party in politics ; and both he and Mrs. Kellogg are active in religious matters, being faithful members of the Congregational church, of which he is senior Deacon.
SIMEON KELLOGG.
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REN B. SMITH, a retired manufact- urer and an influential citizen of Northampton, was born in Kirby, Vt., December 6, 1827, son of Thomas B. and Jane (Barron) Smith, the former of whom was born in Sturbridge, Mass., in 1792.
His grandfather, who followed the calling of a farmer, removed from Sturbridge into the State of Vermont, where he settled on a tract of forest land. He died in middle life, leav- ing eight sons and two daughters. John Smith, the youngest son, became a Methodist preacher, and for some years was stationed at Lowell, Mass. Frank Smith was at one time a government surveyor in Illinois. Subse- quently he and another brother located in the State of Texas. Phillip Smith followed the trade of a cloth-dresser in Burke, Vt., where his life was spent. He celebrated his golden wedding in 1883, and, although then eighty- one years old, was strong and active both in mind and body. He died when about eighty- seven years of age. Thomas B. Smith, who chose the calling of a farmer, became quite prosperous in time. His wife, Jane Barron Smith before marriage, to whom he was mar- ried in Vermont, was born in Gilson, N. H., in 1787. They had eight children, three sons and five daughters. All lived to maturity, married, and reared families; but Oren B. Smith and a sister, Florilla, the widow of Lewis McCrillis, residing at Brimfield, Mass., are the only survivors now. Leander served in the Civil War, enlisting from Palmer, Mass., and was no doubt killed in the service, as nothing has since been heard of him. The father died in Thorndike village, in the town of Palmer, in 1866; and the mother died in 1869, eighty-two years of age. Their remains rest in the Palmer Four Corners burying- ground.
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