Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901, Part 3

Author:
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Boston, Graves & Steinbarger
Number of Pages: 924

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Pursuing her studies at home under able in- structors, Julia Ward hecame well versed in music and several languages, in after years taking up German philosophy and the study of Greek, which she still continues. She was married in April, 1843, to Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, of Boston, world-famous philanthropist and teacher, in his early manhood one of the heroes of the Greek revolution, of which he subsequently wrote an historical sketch. After a year or more spent abroad, and the birth of a daughter, Julia Romana, in Rome, Dr. and Mrs. Howe took up their residence in Boston, he to continue his beneficent activities as superintendent of the School for the Blind (1832-76), head of the School for Feeble- minded (1848-75), as member of the State Board of Education and president of the Board of Charities -to mention only a few of the many lines on which he worked to the end of his days - she in the meantime not to remain idle.

Five children were born to them in Boston. The four now living are: Florence Marion, author and lecturer, wife of David P. Hall, lawyer, of New York and Plainfield, N. J. ; Henry Marion, professor of metallurgy in Columbia University, New York City: Laura E., author, wife of Ilenry Richards, of

Gardiner, Me. ; and Maud, author, wife of John Elliott, artist, at present residing in Rome, Italy. Samuel, the younger son, died in May, 1863, aged four years. Julia Romana, poet and student, who died in March, 1 886, was the wife of Michael Anagnos, a na- tive of Greece, Dr. llowe's successor as direc- tor of the School for the Blind at South Boston.

Mrs. Howe has written much both in prose and verse. She has been a contributor to the New York Tribune; the Independent ; the Atlantic Monthly, in which the "Battle Hymn," written in Washington after behold- ing the camp-fires by night, first appeared in print (February, 1862): the North American Review; and other periodicals. Among her books may be named "Passion Flowers," issued anonymously in 1854; "Later Lyrics," 1866; "From the Oak to the Olive," 1867; "Is Polite Society Polite? and Other Essays," 1895; "From Sunset Ridge," IS98; and "Reminiscences," 1899, covering fourscore years of exceptionally rich and varied expe- riences.

Mrs. Howe's connection with the woman suffrage movement began in 1868. Her first speech in its advocacy before a legislative committee was made in the Green Room of the State House in 1869. She has been officially connected from the start with the New England and other woman suffrage organizations, in which she has taken an ac- tive part. For some time she was an associate editor of the Woman's Journal. As lecturer and preacher the greater number of her jour- neyings have been made since the death of Dr. Howe, in January, 1876. In her lectures she has given interesting recollections with appre- ciative judgments of Longfellow and Emer- son and Whittier, has spoken sympathetically of "Patriotism in Literature," has offered a "Plea for Humor," and has treated a variety of other subjects with characteristic grace and vigor.

Music, for which Mrs. Howe has a culti- vated taste, is her favorite recreation. She has composed a number of songs, some of which are well known among her friends, al- though unpublished. A Unitarian in relig-

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ion, she is a member of the Church of the Disciples, Boston. For many years she has been the honored and beloved president of the New England Women's Club and of the As- sociation for the Advancement of Women. She is Regent of Liberty Tree Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and an honorary member of the Society of Colo- nial Dames in the State of Rhode Island.

J OHN ALLEN FOWLE, of Dorchester, a wool merchant, who, with his wife, performed much philanthropic service in behalf of the soldiers during the great Civil War, was born in Boston, April 4, 1826, a son of George Makepeace and Margaret Lord (Eaton) Fowle. He comes of good old stock, being a descendant in the seventh gen- eration of George Fowle, who was born in Scotland in 1610, was admitted a freeman at Concord, Mass., in 1632, and who died in 1682. From George Fowle the line of de- scent is as follows :-

Isaac, born 1648, died 1718; Isaac, second, born 1676; Henry, born 1707, died 1756; Jonathan, born in 1752; George Makepeace, born February 3, 1796; John Allen, the sub- ject of this sketch.

Jonathan Fowle, the grandfather of John Allen Fowle, married Miss Sarah Makepeace, daughter of George Makepeace, a prominent merchant of Long Wharf, Boston; and they were the parents of five children.

George M. Fowle, son of Jonathan, was born in Roxbury, Mass. For many years he was engaged in the shipping and commission business at the wharves on Commercial Street, Boston. His wife, Margaret Lord Eaton, was born in Boston, February 3, 1799, being a daughter of Ebenezer Eaton, who about 1800 built the house on Chambers Street called "Eaton's Folly." Their children were as follows: George Washington, born July 9, 1821, now a resident of Jamaica Plain; John Allen, who died in infancy in 1825; John Allen, second, whose name begins this sketch ; Samuel Abbott, who died in infancy in 1831 ; and Samuel Abbott, second, born in June, 1832, who is now a resident of Arlington.

George Makepeace Fowle died in 1874, having survived his wife about two years.

John Allen Fowle was educated in Boston, attending school for some time at the corner of Boylston and Washington Streets, where his teacher was Mr. George Fowle, and at North- ampton Academy, under the preceptorship of George Bancroft. After completing his studies he entered the employ of the old firm of Waterston, Pray & Co., with whom he re- mained for several years. In 1855 he went into business for himself, and so continued until the breaking out of the Civil War. He then joined the Marine Coast Guards, as aid to Commander Robert B. Forbes. This organ- ization offered its services to the government ; but they were not accepted, as there was no law by which outside and independent organi- zations could be received as a body into the regular naval service. Through the influence of Commander R. B. Forbes, Mr. Fowle was appointed to a position in the Navy Depart- ment at Washington; and during his connec- tion with the department he recommended some forty officers of the old Coast Guard for positions in the volunteer navy.

Mr. Fowle's philanthropic work began as soon as he became a resident of Washington, he being chairman of the Navy Association for the Relief of Soldiers. In company with his future wife, then Miss Elida Barker Rumsey, he established a series of religious and other meetings that were largely attended by the soldiers, and the interest of which was largely increased and sustained by Miss Rumsey's sweet voice; for she was musically gifted in more than an ordinary degree. It was in No- vember, 1861, that Miss Rumsey first began to visit the hospitals with Mr. Fowle, and sing to the soldiers; and the knowledge of how little the boys had to look forward to from day to day, while under such depressing influ- ences, first inspired the thought of supplying them with pictures, books, and other reading matter. One of the first things established was a Sunday evening prayer-meeting and a week-day concert in Columbia College Hospi- tal, in an upper room in Auntie Pomeroys' ward (Mrs. Rebecca Pomeroy, of Chelsea. Mass., a well known hospital nurse, who

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served for a time in President Lincoln's family). "The room was crowded night after night, and overflow meetings were held in the dining-room. The interest steadily increased; and the enthusiasm of the soldiers could not be repressed when Miss Rumsey's sweet voice stirred their souls, and rekindled the noble, self-sacrificing spirit that had brought them to such a place. The soldiers planned what they wanted her to sing; and she threw into the songs all her great desire to bring the boys to their better selves, and help them to feel that they were not forgotten and alone." Mr. Fowle and Miss Rumsey also established a course of concerts in many of the hospitals, and founded a Soldiers' Free Library in Judi- ciary Square, Washington. The first one hun- dred dollars for the building fund was given by Mrs. Walter Baker, of Dorchester, Mass. ; and this was followed by donations from many of the friends of Mr. and Mrs. Fowle, a greater part of the remainder being earned by Miss Rumsey and Mr. Fowle through their concerts. They also wrote letters and requests for aid for this purpose to newspapers in Boston, by which means they realized a fair sum and gathered a good-sized library. Each of the concerts in Washington netted about one hun- dred and fifty dollars. A grant of land for a site for the building was obtained by govern- ment appropriation, a joint resolution to that effeet being introduced in the House of Repre- sentatives at Washington by Congressman Thomas D. Elliot, of New Bedford, and into the Senate by Solomon Foote, of Vermont, and, passing both Houses, was signed by Pres- ident Lincoln the same day. The building was erected, and dedicated March 1, 1863, and contained between five thousand and six thou- sand volumes. . Thus was founded the first free library in Washington. The Secretary of War gave an ambulance for the use of the library, to distribute reading matter and sup- plies; and the building, besides fulfilling the library purposes, became the headquarters of various State soldiers' relief associations. Mr. and Mrs. Fowle were prominently con- nected with this work for some two and a half years, and their services were entirely gratui- tons. He was married to Miss Rumsey (his

second wife) on March 1, 1863, in the Hall of Representatives, at Washington, D. C., about four thousand being present, mostly soldiers. The marriage service was performed according to the rites of the Episcopal church, by the late Rev. Alonzo H. Quint, pastor of the church which Mr. Fowle attended in Jamaica Plain and chaplain of the Second Massachu- setts Regiment. Mr. Fowle's first wife, Ade- line Frances Gifford, to whom he was united in 1851, died in 1860, leaving two children : John Allen, Jr., who lives in Oakland, Cal. : and Adeline Gifford, who lives at the home of her parents.

After the war Mr. Fowle returned to Massa- chusetts and engaged in the wool business. carrying on his operations both in New York and Boston. He resided in Brooklyn, N. Y .. for some ten years, but in 1877 returned to Boston, where he has since continued in busi- ness, his residence being in Dorchester. He is a member of the Dorchester Historical Society, the North Dorchester Improvement Society, and the Dorchester Republican Club. Ile was clerk of Plymouth Church. Brooklyn. N. Y., for three years, and is now president . : the Mutual Improvement Society of Pilgrim Church, of Dorchester. Mr. and Mrs. Fowie are connected, by membership or otherwise. with several literary and social or benevolent organizations. Mrs. Fowle was a member of the Old Couples' Home, the Helping Hand Society, the Miss Burnap's Home, and the Women's Charity Club. She belongs to Bunker Hill Chapter, and is an honorary mem- ber of the Army Nurses' Association. During the residence of herself and husband in Brock- lyn, N. Y., she was a leading member of the choir of Plymouth Church. Mrs. Fowle's parents were John Wickliffe and Mary Un- derhill) Rumsey, of New York City, and descendants of English and Dutch ancestry. With respect to her services during the war, it has been said of her: "Of all the women who devoted themselves to the soldiers in the Civil War, perhaps none had a more varied experience than Elida Barker Rumsey, a girl so young that Miss Dix would not receive her as a nurse. Undaunted by seeming difficul- ties, she persisted in doing 'the next thing,

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and so fulfilled her great desire to do some- thing for the soldiers; for, wherever she saw a soldier in need, her ready sympathies were enlisted, little caring if the heart beats stirred a coat of blue or gray."

Mr. and Mrs. Fowle have had four children, namely: Florence Iloward, born in 1867; Edith Rumsey, who was born in 1869, and died at the age of five years; Edward Rumsey, born in 1872, who is engaged in business in Boston; and James Walter, born in 1878, de- ceased March 13, 1900. Florence is the wife of William J. Parker, Jr., and they have three children : Gladys Fowle, born in 1893 ; Howard Jefferson, born in 1895; and Kenneth Rumsey, born in 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Fowle adopted two other children, both soldiers' orphans : Annie Geisenheiner, who died in New York, and was buried in Washington; and Jennie Ormsby, who is still with her foster-parents in their Dorchester home.

B ENJAMIN FOSDICK PITMAN, M.D., a retired physician of Nan- tucket and a veteran of the Civil WVar, was born in Nantucket, Febru- ary 25, 1828, son of William and Eunice (Coffin) Pitman. His paternal grandfather, Charles Pitman, a native of the State of Rhode Island, came to Nantucket from Newport when a young man. He married here, and, remaining on the island, worked at his trade of cooper during the rest of his active period.

William Pitman began at an early age to follow the sea, and, having mastered the higher branches of his calling, he became captain of the "Spartan," in which he made two voyages. In 1845, on account of ill health, he gave up seafaring, and removing to Portage County, Ohio, purchased a farm in the township of Charlestown. He resided there until 1865, and then returned to Nantucket, where he spent his last years, dying in 1878, at the age of seventy-eight. His wife, Eunice, attained the age of eighty-six years. She was the daughter of Ariel and Priscilla (Fosdick) Coffin. Her father, who was a lineal descend- ant of Tristram Coffin, the first progenitor of that family in Nantucket, commanded ships

in the whaling service for a number of years, and later was captain of a packet running be- tween Nantucket and New Bedford. Subse- quently retiring from the sea, he engaged in the insurance business, and was also a director of the Pacific National Bank and one of the first trustees of the Coffin School. William and Eunice C. Pitman reared six children : namely, Benjamin F., William, Alexander, Ariel, Phebe A., and Emma. William Pit- man, Jr., was a member of the Pennsylvania Reserves during the Civil War, and died while in the service.

Benjamin Fosdick Pitman received his ele- mentary education in the public schools of Nantucket. Accompanying his parents and the rest of the family to Ohio, he devoted his energies to various employments, and saved money with which to obtain a medical educa- tion. In 1861, having pursued the ordinary course of study, he was graduated at the Cleveland Medical College, and began the practice of his profession in Charlestown, Ohio. He had scarcely done so, however. when there came President Lincoln's first call for troops, and he enlisted for three months as a private in an independent company. On the expiration of that time he re-enlisted in Company A, First Regiment of Ohio Volun- teer Light Artillery. On the Ist of April in the following year, after having served eleven months, he was honorably discharged by special order and appointed Assistant Sur- gcon. Commissioned Assistant Surgeon (1 the One Hundred and Seventy-first Ohio Vol- unteers in 1864, he served until the expira- tion of his term, when he was honorably dis- charged. He then resumed practice . in Charlestown, Ohio. Returning to Nantucket in 1873, he practised here until his retirement in 1890, and in company with Dr. F. A. Ellis and later with Mr. R. E. Congdon was inter- ested in the drug business for a number of years.

Dr. Pitman was married in 1859 to Sarah A. Curtiss, who was born in Charlestown. Portage County, Ohio, daughter of Chauncey and Clarissa ( Loomis) Curtiss. Dr. and Mrs. Pitman have two children: Charles, who is a resident of Colorado Springs, Col .; and

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Clara, who resides in Boston, Mass. Dr. Pitman is a member and Past Commander of Thomas A. Gardner Post, No. 207, G. A. R.

OYAL PIERCE BARRY, a citizen of Melrose, Middlesex County, senior member of the firm of Barry, Thayer & Co., commission merchants of Boston, was born in Boston, December 5,

1839. His parents were Royal Pierce and Elizabeth (Serrat) Barry; and his father, his grandfather Barry, and his great-grandfather Barry, the latter a farmer, whose given name cannot now be ascertained, were all natives of Holderness, N. H. The grandfather, Newell Barry, also a farmer, was a Deacon in the Congregational church at Holderness. He married a Miss Lucretia Howe, and they had a family of seven children.

Royal Pierce Barry, first, eldest son of Newell and father of the subject of this sketch, was born at Holderness in 1813, and there received his education in the public schools. Subsequently he went to Boston, where in 1837 he engaged in the furniture business on Exchange Street, the name of the firm being Barry & Gridley; and he continued so occupied until his death, March 7, 1851. He was a member of the Christian Church, corner Summer and Sea Streets, now on Tyler Street, Boston, and a member and Past Grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married in 1837 Elizabeth Serrat, daugh- ter of Leonard and Margaret ( Yeaton) Serrat. Her father, Leonard Serrat, was a native of Landau, Alsace, then a province of France, and had been a soldier in the army of the Rhine. He left his native land, intending to settle somewhere in the West Indies; but the vessel putting into Portsmouth, N.H., for supplies, he was so pleased with the aspect of the place that he disembarked, determined to make it his home, which he did. He subse- quently married there Margaret Yeaton. His occupation was that of merchant tailor. Mr. and Mrs. Royal Pierce Barry, first, had four children, namely: Royal Pierce, second; William Francis; Charles Copeland: and one other, a daughter, who died in infancy.

William Francis Barry enlisted July 28, 1862, as a recruit in Company A, Thirteenth Massachusetts Volunteers, under Captain Fox and Colonel Leonard, for service in the Civil WVar. With his regiment he joined the Army of the Potomac, and took part in the battles of Thoroughfare Gap, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, and Antietam, in the last of which he was killed, September 17, 1862. His body was brought home to Melrose for inter- ment. The William F. Barry Camp, Sons of Veterans, was named in his honor.

Charles Copeland Barry, the third son, above named, was born at Melrose, July II, 1848. He was educated in the Melrose schools, graduating from the high school in 1864. After a post-graduate course of six months he entered the employ of W. E. Coffin & Co., iron merchants, on State Street, Boston, with whom he remained until they went out of business in 1878. He then be- came connected with the firm of Ropes, Gray & Loring, lawyers, as confidential clerk, which position he still holds. For the last twenty-five years he has been secretary and treasurer of the Boston Associates, 1874-99. He is a member of the corporation of the Melrose Savings Bank and of the Melrose Hospital, and was secretary of the com- mittee formed for the drafting of the city charter recently adopted. He was one of the founders in 1863 of the Franklin Fraternity of Melrose. and has been a trustee of the Melrose Public Library from its establish- ment in 1871 to the present time. A mem- ber and a Deacon of the First Baptist Church, he has also been superintendent of the Sunday-school since 1878; corresponding secretary, Massachusetts Baptist Sunday-school Association, 1885 to date. He was treasurer of the Massachusetts Interdenominational Sunday-school Association, 1893-98; presi- dent, Baptist Social Union, 1895; president, Amphion Club of Melrose, 1893-98.

He was married November 8, 1871, to Har- riet Louisa, daughter of Colonel Ephraim and Harriet Newell ( Phillips) Moulton. She died December 4, 1885, leaving one son, Charles Gardner Barry, born August 10, 1877, a graduate of the Melrose High School, 1895.

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now a student (class of 1899) at the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Charles C. Barry married for his second wife, October 10, 1889, Sarah Maria, daughter of George and Sarah Bigelow Cushing Warren, a native of Weston, Mass. By this union there is a daughter, Eleanor Elizabeth, born June 14, 1896. Mrs. Barry is a representa- tive of the Warren family of New England.

Royal Pierce Barry, the direct subject of this sketch, was educated in the public schools of Boston and Melrose. After completing his studies he entered the employ of Thayer, Rice & Co., commission merchants, 32 India Street, Boston. Beginning as office boy, he worked his way upward, receiving promotion from time to time. In the summer of 1862 he enlisted in Company D, Forty-fifth Regi- ment, Massachusetts Volunteers, under Cap- tain N. W. Bumstead and Colonel Charles R. Codman, for nine months' service in the Civil War, and went with the regiment to New- bern, N.C., joining the Eighteenth Army Corps, under General James G. Foster; was in battle at Kinston, Whiteball, and Golds- boro, N.C., and other engagements. Mus- tered out at the close of the term of enlist- ment, he returned to his former position in the house of Thayer, Rice & Co., and in 1865 he became a partner in the business. In 1897 the firm removed from their old quarters on India Street to their present location at 60 Congress Street, where they do a large com- mission business in cotton. Mr. Barry is a director of the Eliot National Bank of Boston and of the Melrose National Bank. He served two years on the Melrose School Board, and is now a member of the Melrose Sinking Fund Commission; also President of Mel- rose Hospital Association since its incor- poration. He belongs to Wyoming Lodge, F. & A. M., and is a warden of the Episcopal church at Melrose.

In 1864 Mr. Barry married Eleanor M. Jones, daughter of Isaac and Susan R. (Chase) Jones, of Wolfboro, N. H. They have had eight children - Mabel Grace, Amy Frances, Royal Pierce, Jr., William Thayer, Charles Wingate, Ruth Harriet, Alice (deceased). and Bessie (deceased). The first named, Mabel

Grace, is now the widow of George A. Wills, and resides in Melrose. She was edu- cated in the Melrose schools and at St. Mar- garet's School, Boston. Amy F. also, who lives at home with her parents, received her education in the Melrose schools and at St. Margaret's School. Royal P. Barry, Jr., who was educated in the Melrose public schools and at St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H., is now employed as clerk with Barry, Thayer & Co. William Thayer Barry, a graduate of the Melrose public schools and of St. Paul's School, Concord, is in the employ of Cumner, Jones & Co., Boston. Charles Wingate is a graduate of the Melrose High School, class of 1899, and has just entered Harvard College, class of 1903. Ruth H. is at home with her parents.

G CON. GRANVILLE AUSTIN FUL- LER, ex-member of the Massachu- setts Senate, was born in Brighton, where he now resides, March 13, 1837, son of Granville and Rebecca Bullard (Fuller) Fuller. His parents were natives of Wellesley, Mass., as was also his grandfather, Jonathan Fuller; and his original American ancestor was Thomas Fuller, who, it is said, was born in Wales in 1618, and was at Salen, Mass., in 1638, and who settled at Dedham in 1643. Thomas Fuller was a surveyor and an Ensign in the militia. He served fourteen years as a Selectman of Dedham and three years as Representative to the General Court. He married Hannah Flower, a niece of the wife of John Kingsbury, of Watertown. From Ensign Thomas' Fuller the line descended through John,? Captain Robert, 3 Lieutenant Robert, + Lieutenant William, 5 Jonathan, Granville,7 to Granville Austin, the subject of this sketch.

John2 Fuller, born in 1645, was a soldier in King Philip's War, and was wounded in battle. He served as Town Clerk and Select- man of Dedham and as Representative. He married Johanna Gay.

Captain Robert, 3 born in 1685, married for his first wife Mary Parker. She was the mother of Lieutenant Robert,+ born in 1714,

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who married Sarah, daughter of William and Mary (Starr) Eaton, of Dedham. Lieutenant Robert Fuller lived in Needham in a house that he built in 1735. He was Town Clerk twenty-seven years and . Selectman nineteen years. His son, Lieutenant William, 5 born in 1743, married in 1769 Sarah Hunting, daugh- ter of Ebenezer and Lydia (Woodward) Hunt- ing. He was Sergeant in Captain Aaron

Smith's company, which responded to the Lexington alarm April 19, 1775, was com- missioned Second Lieutenant in September, 1776, and a little later Lieutenant. llis son, Jonathan,6 the grandfather named above, born in 1772, married Mary Broad, daughter of Timothy and Dorothy (Colburn) Broad.

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Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901, Part 3

Author: Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Boston, Graves & Steinbarger Number of Pages: 924

Author:
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Boston, Graves & Steinbarger
Number of Pages: 924