USA > Massachusetts > Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901 > Part 19
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STEPHEN AUGUSTUS POPE, of the firm of E. A. Carlisle, Pope & Co. (successors to Levi
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Boles & Son), was born in Dorchester, Decem- ber 6, 1855, third son of James and Sarah L. (Swan) Pope. He was educated in the public schools of Dorchester, and subsequently be- came associated with his father in contracting and building, following that occupation till 1894, in which year he formed his present business connection. He was married Decem- ber 5, 1888, to Miss Jessie McIsaac, daughter of Hugh and Alexina (McDonald) Mclsaac, of Cape Breton. Her father was a native of Scot- land. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Pope - Sarah Elizabeth, Marion Katharine, James Herbert, and Marga- ret Alexina. Mrs. Pope died in Dorchester, May 28, 1895.
JDWARD GILEAD MORSE, M.D., one of the best-known physicians and surgeons in Roxbury, was born in that district prior to its annexation to Boston, on December 8, 1848, being a son of Dr. Ho- ratio Gilead and Sarah D. (Griggs) Morse. Ilis parents also were natives of Roxbury, where the father (born April 14, 1817, a son of Amos Morse) acquired both professional and political prominence.
Horatio Gilead Morse pursued his elemen- tary studies in the Roxbury schools, then attended the New Hampton (N. H.) and Worcester (Mass.) academies, and took his bachelor's degree at Brown University with the class of 1840. He studied medicine in the office of Dr. Lewis and at the Harvard Medical School, where he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1843; and he prac- tised successfully in Roxbury from that year until his death, which occurred May 12, 1886. Ile was an active member of the Massachu- setts State and Norfolk District Medical Soci- eties. He also took a lively interest in pub- lic affairs, served with ability in the Massa- chusetts House of Representatives, and was for many years chairman of the Roxbury School Committee and a member of the Boston School Board after the annexation. He was long identified with the local Masonic organi- zations, being a member of Washington Lodge, Mount Vernon Chapter, and Joseph Warren
Commandery ; and he also held membership in Warren Lodge, I. O. O. F. His religious affiliations were with the Dudley Street Bap- tist Church. His first wife, Sarah D. (Griggs) Morse, whom he married April 22, 1847, was a daughter of John Griggs, and be- longed to an old and respected Roxbury family. She died July 11, 1851, leaving but one child, Edward G., the subject of this sketch. On January 19, 1859, Dr. Horatio G. Morse mar- ried for his second wife Martha Ann Walker, of Barnstead, N. H. Of this latter union there were two daughters: Alice Walker, wife of Amos R. Buck, of Washington, D.C., whose only child died in infancy; and Sarah Creigh- ton Morse, who did not live to maturity. Mrs. Martha Ann Morse died April 22, 1879.
Edward Gilead Morse in early youth at- tended the Dearborn School, Roxbury; also the Roxbury Latin School and Peirce Acad- emy at Middleboro, Mass. Entering the Har- vard Medical School with the class of 1867, he took his degree at the conclusion of the regu- lar course, March, 1870, and, locating in the Roxbury District, has followed closely the footsteps of his father in building up a large and lucrative practice.
Dr. Morse is connected officially and as a member with various scientific, fraternal, re- ligious, and beneficent associations, including the Massachusetts Medical Society and Nor- folk District Medical Society, which latter he has served as treasurer for the past eighteen years; Washington Lodge, F. & A. M. ; Mount Vernon Chapter, R. A. M. ; Warren Lodge, I. O. O. F. ; the Knights of Honor, the Pilgrim Fathers, and the Royal Arcanum ; Dearborn Lodge, A. O. U. W., of which he has been secretary twenty years; and the Dud- ley Club. He is also a member of the stand- ing committee of the Dudley Street Baptist Church, and of the Baptist Social Union.
On October 31, 1879, Dr. Morse was united in marriage with Miss Nannie Parsons Knight, daughter of William H. and Nannie (Parsons) Knight, of Boston. Dr. and Mrs. Morse have three children : Martha Knight, born October 17, 1881; Helen Marguerite, born July 22, 1884; and Edward Lawrence, born November 11, 1893.
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ON. WINTHROP MURRAY CRANE, Governor of the Common- wealth of Massachusetts, was born April 23, 1853, in Dalton, Berk- shire County, son of Zenas Marshall and Louise F. (Lafin) Crane. He is of the seventh generation in descent from the immi- grant Henry Crane, who as early as 1654 was a resident and landholder in Milton, then a part of Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The line is: Henry,' Stephen.2 Benjamin, 3 Stephen, + Zenas,5 Zenas Marshall,6 Winthrop Murray .?
Henry Crane married for his first wife Tabitha, daughter of Eller Stephen Kinsley, of Braintree. Ile died in 1710, and was sur- vived by his second wife, Elizabeth.
Stephen Crane, born about 1657, son of Henry, married for his first wife Mary Deni- son. Their son Benjamin, born in 1692, married December 27, 1722, Abigail Hough- ton, daughter of Joseph and Margaret Houghton, of Milton, and a grand-daughter of Ralph Houghton, who was one of the founders of the town of Lancaster, Mass.
Stephen Crane, second, son of Benjamin and Abigail, of Milton, born in 1734, married Susanna Badcock, daughter of Nathan and Susanna (Tucker) Badcock, of Milton, and a descendant of early settlers of the town. On August 21, 1778, Susanna Crane, of Milton, was appointed administrator of the estate of Stephen Crane, late of Milton, carpen- ter, deceased. (Probate Records, Sutfolk County.) Iler account, rendered in 1784, mentions the bringing up of five young chil- dren. As we learn from the published genea- logical record of Henry Crane and his de- scendants, these children were: Luther, born in 1764; Stephen, Jr., 1766; Susanna, 1770; Nathan, 1774; and Zenas, May 9, 1777. The home of the family was not far from the old mill in Milton in which the first paper ever manufactured in Massachusetts was made about the year 1730, the mill having been built for other purposes in 1708. From 1775 to ISoo the paper-mill was owned and oper- ated by Daniel Vose. Stephen Crane, Jr., the second son of Stephen and Susanna, is said to have worked in this mill in his boy-
hood, learning the business, in which he afterward engaged for himself in a mill in Newton.
Zenas Crane, youngest son of Stephen and Susanna, learned the art of paper-making in his youth and early manhood, working succes- sively in mills at Newton and Worcester; and in 1799, at the age of twenty-two, he started forth on a Western trip to find and secure a mill site and establish himself in business as a paper manufacturer. His qualities of man- hood were such as command success, which came to him through continued effort, when two years later, with two others, he became a proprietor of a paper-mill at Dalton, the first one built west of the Connecticut River. In 1807 he sold his share in the Old Berkshire Mill, but in 1810 he again became a part owner, one of four. Buying out his partners in 1822, he carried on the business alone and with good results, introducing various im- provements in the manufacture till 1842. when it passed into the hands of his sons - Zenas Marshall and James Brewer.
In politics Zenas Crane was a Federalist and later a Whig. He served several terms in the State Legislature, and in 1836-37 was a member of Governor Everett's Council. He died in 1845. Zenas Crane married Lucinda. daughter of Gaius and Lucretia (Babcock) Brewer. His children were: Lucretia. Zenas Marshall, James Brewer, Lindley Murray, and Seymour.
Zenas Marshall Crane was born in IS15. Like his father, he devoted his energies to paper-making, striving and thriving in the good old way, overcoming obstacles and re- pairing losses, and finally passing over the business into the hands of his sons. He did not enter much into public life, but in 1863 was one of Governor Andrew's Council. Ile married on August 29, 1839, Caroline E. Laflin, of Lee, Mass. She died on January 16, 1849. and he married on April 2, 1850. her sister, Louise F. Laflin. The children born of the first marriage were: Zenas, third. and Kate F .; of the second, Caroline, Winthrop M., and Clara L.
Winthrop Murray, the younger son, re- ceived his early mental training in the Dalton
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HON. W. MURRAY CRANE.
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public schools and at Williston Seminary, Easthampton. His connection with the paper-making business began at the age of seventeen, when he entered his father's mill as a workman. Here, earning his weekly wages with the humblest of them all, he worked day in and day out for a number of years, winning promotion from time to time, and diligently using his, brain as well as his hands, acquainting himself with the different processes of the manufacture, acquiring also a knowledge of the business management and gaining withal an experience that has given him a clear understanding of the rights and the duties of both employers and employed. which, together with his native largeness of heart and his "amiable tactfulness," as it has been happily termed, has enabled him in these later years as a mill-owner and capitalist to steer his bark clear of labor troubles. The Crane mills in time increased to four -- the Old Berkshire; the Pioneer, whose specialty is bank-note paper; the Bay State, noted for the highest grades of writing-paper, envelopes, and so forth, for polite correspondence; and the Government Mill in Pittsfield, where for twenty years, or since 1879, has been manu . factured on contract all the paper used for United States securities.
A Republican from the start, casting his first vote at a national election for Rutherford B. Hayes, it is said that Governor Crane has never swerved from party allegiance. It is, however, only within recent years that he has actively engaged in politics, serving on com . mittees and as delegate to conventions, not- ably to the National Republican at St. Louis in 1896. Three times, 1896, 1897, 1898, elected Lieutenant Governor on the ticket with Roger Wolcott, Governor, he served three years in that office, and in November, 1899, was elected Governor of the State, his fellow-townsmen in Dalton, be it noted, cast- ing for him five hundred and sixty-four votes, and only fifteen for the opposing candidate. No need of further word to show the esteem in which he is held where he is best known, and where, it may be assumed, his unostenta- tious generosity has been most freely exer- cised and most deeply felt. It has been well
remarked that "while Mr. Crane, who is es- sentially a business man, has the sagacity, the coolness, and the judgment indispensable to the equipment of the influential politician. it is for his personal qualities that he is hon- ored by the people of Massachusetts."
He took the oath of office as Chief Magis- trate of the Commonwealth, and delivered his inaugural address, a carefully prepared paper. weighty with facts and practical suggestions. on Thursday, January 4, 1900.
Governor Crane married on February 5, ISSo, Mary Benner, the daughter of Robert and Mary (Shaw) Benner, of Astoria, L. I. She died on February 16, 1884, leaving one child, Winthrop Murray, Jr., born September 12, 1881.
EORGE O. KNOWLES, a prosperous merchant of Provincetown, is a de- scendant on both paternal and mater- nal sides of early settlers of the Cape, of which he is a native, having been born in Province- town, June 5, 1842, a son of Joseph Pepper and Delia (Cook) Knowles.
His paternal grandfather, Samuel Knowles (who was a grandson of Willard, born Febru- ary 8, 1712), was born in Eastham, Mass .. on October 26, 1775, four months after the battle of Bunker Hill. In his younger days Samuel Knowles followed the sea, but later became a farmer and resided at Eastham. He died at the age of eighty-two. llis wife. whose maiden name was Hannah Pepper, was born at Eastham, and was a daughter of Joseph and Zilpha Pepper.
Joseph Pepper Knowles was born in East- bam, August 29, 1815. Ile learned the trade of harness-maker, which, however, he followed but a short time, leaving it in order to engage in the manufacture of boots and shoes, which business he followed subsequently until his death, September 2, 1885. He married Delia Cook, a native of Provincetown and daughter of Stephen and Deliverance (Conwell) Cook. She was a great-grand-daughter of Solomon Cook, who was, judging from the best informa- tion at hand, a native of England. and who. with his wife Rebecca, his companion on the
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voyage to America, was among the early settlers of Provincetown. Solomon Cook's son, her grandfather, Samuel Cook, who was born in Provincetown, August 29, 1756, fol- lowed the sea as a master mariner, and per- ished in a wreck off Wood End on February 18, 1825. He married Jane, daughter of
Phineas Nickerson. Mrs.
Joseph P. Knowles's father, Stephen Cook, was, like his father, a master mariner, engaged in the fish- ing and merchant marine service. He was also interested in the curing and packing of fish. His death occurred January 8, 1859. His wife was a native of Boston, Mass., and a daughter of Robert and Sarah Conwell. She died September 24, 1872. Mrs. Knowles died July 9, 1899, at Provincetown. She had reared four children - George Osborn, the sub- ject of this sketch, Joseph Williston, Lucy Ann, and Julia Cook.
George O. Knowles received his elementary education in the public schools of Province- town, and subsequently pursued more advanced studies at the academy at Greenwich, R. I. When his school days were over, he en- tered the employ of Stephen Cook as clerk in Mr. Cook's store, and after remaining with him for twenty years succeeded to the busi- ness, which he has since carried on success- fully. He is also financially interested in both the fishing and whaling industries. For seventeen years he was a member of the Board of Engineers of the Fire Department of the town, having joined the organization at the age of sixteen. He cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864.
On June 11, 1866, Mr. Knowles was united in marriage with Miss Georgie M. Dyer, a native of Provincetown and a daughter of Ben- jamin and Thankful (Snow) Dyer. Mr. and Mrs. Knowles have one child, a daughter, Carrie Dyer. They all attend the Methodist Episcopal church.
IMEON ATWOOD, president of the Wellfleet Savings Bank, was born in this town, July 27, 1825. His father and grandfather were also named Simeon, and his great-grandfather was
Ephraim Atwood. The maiden name of his mother was Ruth Newcomb. Simeon Atwood, first, the grandfather, was a prosperous farmer of Wellfleet.
Simeon Atwood, second, was in his younger days a sailor; but, abandoning the sea in 1832, he engaged in the ship-chandlery business in Wellfleet, which he carried on until 1864. He died at the age of seventy-one, and was survived by his wife, Ruth, who lived to be eighty-three years old. They reared a family of eight children; namely, Maria, Richard, Simeon, William, Timothy, Ruth, Ebenezer, and Mary. Maria, now aged eighty years, is the widow of Simcon Baker, late of Boston, and resides in Melrose, Mass. Richard died at the age of sixty-three years. William, who resides in Brockton, is married, and has seven children. Timothy, who lives in Boston, has been twice married. Ruth is the wife of Thomas Kemp, of Wellfleet. Ebenezer, who lives in East Boston, is married, and has two children. Mary married the Rev. George F. Walker, of Holliston, Mass. ; and she died in 1 896.
Simeon Atwood, son of Simeon, second, and Ruth, was educated in the common schools, which he left at about the age of eleven for the purpose of going to sea. In 1850, after leading a sailor's life for fourteen years, he built a store, and engaged in the hardware busi- ness, which he is still carrying on in the same building. He has been president of the Well- fleet Savings Bank for twelve years, has been a member of the board of directors of the Barn- stable County Mutual Fire Insurance Company for thirty-five years, and its president for the past six years.
On December 5, 1848, Mr. Atwood married Mercy Waterman Higgins, of Wellfleet, daugh- ter of Joseph and Abigail (Brown) Higgins, the former of whom was a seafaring man en- gaged in the foreign trade. Mr. and Mrs. Atwood have one daughter, Mary Steele. She married William H. Tubman, of Brewster, Mass. ; and her only daughter, Mabel Steele Tubman, who was graduated from the Well- fleet High School in 1898, is now attending the Abbot Academy, Andover, Mass.
Mr. Atwood took the first steps to organize
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the Republican party in Wellfleet, and has supported it with activity ever since. As Representative to the Legislature from this district in 1860, he was assigned to the Valua- tion Committee, which during that session was called upon to transact an unusual amount of important business, and held an extra sitting of one hundred days. In 1861 he was ap- pointed Collector of Customs at Wellfleet ; and that office he held continuously for thirty-five years, or until it was abolished in 1896. He is a Deacon of the Congregational church, and was its organist for fifty years.
OHN J. DVER, who is now living re- tired from the active cares of business life at his home in Roxbury, was for many years prominently connected with the book and periodical trade of Boston. He was born October 3, 1826, on Cape Cod, in the town of Wellfleet, which was likewise the birthplace of his father, Freeman M. Dyer. His paternal grandfather, Captain Micah Dyer, was a seafaring man, and during the French and Indian War had charge of a vessel, which was seized by the enemy, he, as its commander, being carried as a prisoner to Leghorn. He married Bethiah Gross, and both lived until well advanced in years.
Freeman M. Dyer was engaged in the oyster traffic when a young man; but on coming to Boston, in 1839, he turned his attention to the shipping business, in which he was success- fully engaged for many years. A man of strong moral force and deeply interested in the religious welfare of the community, he was a valued member of the Winthrop Street Metho- dist Episcopal Church, and for a number of years served on its official board. He lived to a ripe old age, his birth taking place in 1801, and his death in 1890. He married l'olly Bradford Jacobs, born in 1803, a daugh- ter of Justin Jacobs, who spent his early life in North Carolina, but was a resident of Bos- ton in his later years. They were the parents of six children, namely: Lydia Young, now deceased, who married first Charles H. Pierce, and second Freeman Smith; Bothiah Gross, who married Thomas Bagnall, of Boston; John
J., the special subject of this sketch; Free- man, who was drowned on the Back Bay when six years old; Mary Bradford, who married William B. Merrill, of Boston; Eunice Pierce, who is the wife of Dr. C. E. Miles, of Rox- bury, Mass.
John J. Dyer was educated in Boston, first at the primary schools, then at the Adams and Franklin Schools, and in 1840 entered the Boston Latin School, where he graduated in 1842. He subsequently entered the book busi- ness as a clerk, in the 'employ of Saxton & Pierce, 133 Washington Street, with whom he remained two years, was subsequently with Hotchkiss & Co. at 13 Court Street, and afterwards with Fetridge & Co. on Washing- ton Street. In 1850 he embarked in business for himself on Water Street, as senior member of the firm of John J. Dyer & Co. The firm later removed to State Street, thence to Court Square, and finally to School Street. Mr. Dyer, recognizing the advantages of an organ- ized stock company, was one of the prime movers in forming the New England News Company, of which he was president for many years. When this organization was at a later period consolidated with the American News Company of New York, its original name of "The New England News Company " was re- tained, and Mr. Dyer was made manager - a position that he ably filled until his retire- ment from the book and periodical trade. He was subsequently interested, however, for three years in the manufacture of lumber, owning a mill in Watertown for a while.
On January 14, 1849, Mr. Dyer was married to Miss Emeline Ripley, who was born in Boston, and died in 1887. She was a daugh- ter of George and Ann Ripley, the former of whom was a seion of the Ripley family, prom- inent residents of the North End in the days when it was the aristocratic part of Boston. Of their union six children have been born - John J., Freeman M., George R., William Bradford, Arthur T., and Edwin H. John J. died in infancy, and George R. at the age of two years.
Mr. Dyer was formerly an old line Whig, but has been identified with the Republican party since its formation. Ile was for a long
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time a sergeant in the old Boston Light Guards, and also in the Boston City Guards, and was afterwards an officer in the Roxbury City Guards, serving first as Lieutenant and subsequently as Captain. He stands very high in Masonic circles, being a member of the Gate of the Temple Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Boston; St. Matthew's Chapter,
R. A. M., of which he is a charter member ; St. George Commandery, K. T., of Nashua, N. H. ; Lafayette Lodge of Perfection; Yates Council of Princes of Jerusalem; Gourgas Chapter of Rose Croix; and of the Massachu- setts Consistory. He attends the Episcopal church.
FORGE MOODY TOWNE, who is engaged in business as a saddler and harness-maker in Chelsea, Suffolk County, Mass., was born in Hudson, N. H., July 25, 1837, son of Moody B. and Harriet (Stimpson) Towne.
The family name of Towne appears in Eng- lish records of the year 1274, when William de la Towne was living at Alvely, a village in Shropshire. In 1635 William Towne, who is thought to have come with his wife and six children from Lincoln, England, was an in- habitant of Cambridge, Mass., and in 1639 was Town Clerk. In 1640 he removed from Cambridge to Salem, and in 1665 was in Topsfield, Mass. He was the common ances- tor of the New England Townes
The paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch resided in Londonderry, N. II., and was a farmer by occupation. Moody B. Towne, father of George Moody, was born in Londonderry, N. HI. Brought up to agricult- ural pursuits, he carried on his father's farm for some years. He died at Litchfield, N. H., in January, 1888, at the age of eighty-three years. His wife, Ilarriet, was a daughter of Andrew Stimpson, third, born 1759, a saddler of Charlestown, Mass., who enlisted twice in the Continental army, first as a private in Cap- tain John Watrous' company, September 4, 1778, and second in Captain Frost's company, Colonel Howe's regiment, July 31, 1780, for service in Rhode Island. Andrew, third, was
a son of John Stimpson, second, born 1728, a baker in Charlestown, who married Susannah Fosdick in 1751. John Stimpson, second, was a son of John, a saddler, born in 1686, who married Ruth Wyer in 1715. The John last named was a son of Andrew, second, born in Cambridge in 1650, a housewright and shop- keeper, who married Abigail Sweetser in 1678. The second Andrew was son of An- drew, first, who came from Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, and settled in Cambridge, and whose wife's Christian name was Jane. Mr. and Mrs. Moody B. Towne were the parents of seven children - William Leander, Lucy Ann, Martha Grecly, Oscar Wallace, George Moody, Mary Boyd, and Moses Albert. Of these chil- dren, two only are living, namely : Lucy Ann ; and George M., the subject of this sketch.
George Moody Towne was educated in the schools of Nashua, N. H. After completing his studies, he learned and worked at the trade of saddle and harness-maker, and also made machinery belting in Boston. In 1868 he settled in Chelsea, Mass., and engaged in business for himself as a member of the firm of Burke & Towne. Not long after beginning business he bought out his partner, Mr. Burke, and has since conducted the business alone under his own name. He has been successful, has built up a good trade, and at the present time has the largest store in his line in the city. He is a member of Mystic Lodge, No. 51, I. O. O. F., of Chelsea; also of the Order of Red Men, Powhatan Tribe No. 40, and other social organizations.
Mr. Towne married, September 25, 1883, Miss Anna Cruikshank. They have one child, a son, George William, born March 21, 1885, who is attending school in Chelsea. Mr. Towne has a sister, Lucy Ann, who married Benjamin Leahy, and after his death married for her second husband L. A. Barnes. She now resides in Omro, Wis.
UGUSTUS PECK CLARKE, A. M., M. D., professor of gynæcology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Boston, and dean of the faculty, was born in Pawtucket, R. I., September 24, 1833,
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AUGUSTUS P. CLARKE, M. D.
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