Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901, Part 31

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

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G EORGE HINMAN, for more than forty years a prominent Boston mer- chant, but now retired from active business life, was born in Sullivan, Hancock County, Me., November 6, 1818, son of George and Flora (Burritt) Hinman. His parents were natives of Connecticut.

His earliest American ancestor on the pa- ternal side, Sergeant Edward Hinman, who is said to "have belonged to the body or life guard of King Charles I.," emigrated from England before the year 1650, lived for a time at Stamford, Conn., and finally settled in Stratford, Conn., where he was a resident in 1651. Sergeant Edward Hinman had four sons - Captain Titus, Samuel, Benjamin, and Edward, Jr. Benjamin, the third son, married Elizabeth Lum in 1684, and was the father of Benjamin, second, the next in the line now being traced.

The Hinman family became numerous in Southbury, Conn., prior to the Revolutionary War; and thirteen of the name from that town served as officers in the Continental army, among them being Benjamin and his son Joel, each of whom held a Colonel's commission. Colonel Benjamin, Mr. Hinman's great- grandfather, was a son of Benjamin, second, and Sarah (Sherman) Hinman. In May, 1775, he was appointed to the command of the Fourth Connecticut Regiment, and was ordered by Governor Trumbull to march from Connecticut to Ticonderoga to hold possession of the fort. Colonel Benjamin Hinman mar- ried Mary, daughter of Francis Stiles, of Southbury, Conn. Their children were: Aaron; Colonel Joel; Sherman, who died young ; and Sherman, second. Colonel Jocl llinman died in 1815. He had fourteen chil- dren, among them being: Joel, who was Judge

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of the Supreme Court; Jason, who lived in Vermont; and Phebe, Nancy, and Albert, who all lived and died unmarried at the old homestead in Southbury. Phebe Hinman was a famous school teacher. She taught for many years in the old brick schoolhouse in that district. Mr. George Hinman, now in his eighty-second year, well remembers at- tending her school about the year 1825 and 1 826.

Aaron Hinman, the eldest son of Colonel Benjamin and grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1746. He settled in Southbury, and occupied the Hinman farm that was cleared from the wilderness by one of his ancestors about the year 1670; and this property is still owned in the family. He died at about the age of seventy-eight years. He married Ruth Hinman, a daughter of Cap- tain Timothy Hinman, who is said to have been at one time the largest land-owner in Connecticut. Captain Timothy was the youngest son of Captain Titus Hinman, who was the eldest son of Sergeant Edward. Aaron and Ruth Hinman reared a family of four sons and one daughter, all of whom lived to an advanced age.

George Hinman, third, son of Aaron, was born and reared at the homestead in South- bury. After obtaining his education he en- gaged in mercantile pursuits, and in 1806 was sent to Maine by a large lumber company of New Haven for the purpose of purchasing lumber for that market. Selecting Sullivan on account of its shipping facilities, he lo- cated there, and became one of the most ex- tensive general merchants and lumber dealers in that section of the State. For more than twenty years he served as Postmaster at Sulli- van, and he represented his district in the first session of the Maine Legislature. On a visit to Southbury in 1813 he married Flora, daugh- ter of Dr. Anthony Burritt, of that town, a descendant of an old Colonial family. They were the parents of seven children : Henrietta, who married Dr. Jared Fuller (both deceased) ; Harriet, wife of Ambrose Simpson, of Sulli- van; George, the subject of this sketch; Mary, who married William Franklin, also of Sullivan; Truman, who died in Baltimore,

Md. ; Joel, whose death occurred in the same city; and Otis Hinman, president of the Com- mercial National Bank, Boston. George Hlin- man, first, died September 29, 1853, aged seventy-one years, and his wife died March 5, 1858, aged sixty-three. They were members of the Methodist church.

George Hinman completed his education at the Maine Wesleyan Seminary, Kent's Hill, and acquired his business training under the direction of his father. After being associ- ated with the elder llinman for a time he en- tered the lumber trade on his own account, at the same time engaging in general mercantile pursuits, and built up an extensive business, which he sold out in 1847. Coming to Bos- ton in the latter year, he entered the ship- chandlery business, but relinquished that line of trade ten years later in order to engage in the flour and general commission business, establishing the firm of llinman, Winch & Co., of which his brother Otis was a member. He also became interested in various outside enterprises, and occupied a prominent position among the successful business men of the New England metropolis until his retirement, which took place several years ago. In poli- ties he is a Republican, having, with many of his Whig associates, transferred his allegiance to that party at its formation. He was for two years a member of the Boston city government ..

On his twenty-first birthday Mr. Hinman was united in marriage with Miss Maria C. Moseley, daughter of William G. and Maria (Curtis) Moseley, of Sullivan. Mrs. Hinman's great-grandfather was Colonel Increase Mose- ley, who served with distinction in the struggle for American independence; and her grandfather, John Moseley, who was a cente- narian, resided all his life upon the farm in Southbury, Conn., upon which William G. Moseley was born. Her father went to Maine as clerk for the elder George Hlinman when fifteen years old. He later engaged in busi- ness for himself, and was at one time Deputy Collector of Customs for the port of Sullivan. Iler mother was a native of Woodbury, Conn. William G. and Maria C. Moseley died at the home of their daughter, Mrs. Hlinman, in

THOMAS THACHER.

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1896, aged ninety-seven and ninety-five years respectively.

Mr. and Mrs. Hinman have enjoyed a mar- ried life of unbroken happiness extending over a period of nearly sixty-one years. They are highly esteemed by their numerous friends and acquaintances in the Roxbury district, where they reside. They attend the Unitarian church. Of their three children two are now living, namely : Charles G. Hinman, a Boston merchant, who married Anna, daughter of R. G. Gerrish, of Kittery, Me .: and Georgia M., who is the widow of the late Hon. llal- sey J. Boardman, who died in Roxbury, Janu- ary 15, 1900. The other son, William M., who married Georgia W. Nichols, of Cam- bridge, Mass., died January 18, 1889.

Mrs. Boardman has two daughters - Flora M. and Emily I. Flora M. Boardman mar- ried the Rev. T. Jay Horner, November 6, 1890. They have three children: Halsey Boardman, born September 17, 1891: Agnes Ilinman, born August 22, 1895; and Cicely Vanderveeke, born September IS, 1898. Emily I. Boardman is unmarried.

HOMAS THACHER, formerly a prom- inent figure in the mercantile, indus- trial, and railway circles of Boston, was born in Yarmouth, Mass., July 26, 1795, son of Colonel Thomas and Mary (Churchill) Thacher. He was a descendant in the sixth generation of Anthony Thacher, an English- man, who in 1635 arrived at Ipswich, Mass., accompanied by his second wife, Elizabeth Jones, and four children. In August of the same year Anthony Thacher, with twenty-two others, including his friend, "Parson Avery," and family, sailed from Ipswich for Marble- head. In a storm the vessel was wrecked, and all on board were drowned except Mr. and Mrs. Thacher, who were cast ashore on what is now known as Thacher's Island, off Cape Ann. Atter living for a time at Marblehead he settled permanently in Yarmouth.

Anthony's son John, whose birth took place at Marblehead, March 16, 1639, was for over twenty years a Selectman of Yarmouth. For

a number of terms he was Representative to the General Court. He was also a member of the Council of War, holding the rank of Colonel, assistant to Governor Hinckley in 1691, and later a Counsellor of Massachusetts under the new charter. The old Thacher homestead at Yarmouth, which is still standing and is owned by a member of the family, was built by him in 1680. John Thacher died May 8, 1713, and was buried with military honors. On November 6, 1661, he married Rebecca Winslow, of Marshfield, Mass., who was born July 16, 1642, a daughter of the first Josiah Winslow, and was a niece of Governor Edward Winslow of the Plymouth Colony. She died July 15, 1683.

Peter Thacher, first, son of John and great- grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born April 26, 1665. He was one of the most prominent residents of Yarmouth in his day. He served as a member of the General Court. also as a Justice of the Peace. He was the first Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Barnstable County, was intrusted with the care and government of the Indians of that locality in all matters civil and criminal, and for many years he was one of His Majesty's honored councillors. Peter Thacher, first, died Febru- ary 12, 1735-6. His wife was Thankful Sturgis, of Barnstable. The birth of their son, Peter Thacher, second, the late Mr. Thomas Thacher's grandfather, took place in Yarmouth, August 24, 1712. Ile was active in military affairs, holding the rank of Lieu- tenant in the militia. His death occurred _Au- gust 22, 1775. He married Anna, daughter of George Lewis, of Barnstable.

Colonel Thomas Thacher, son of Lieutenant Peter, was born in Yarmouth in 1757. Hav- ing acquired a good education, he was for some time the school-master of his native town, and when a post-office was established at Yarmouth he was appointed the first Post- master. He served in the Continental army during the Revolutionary War, and commanded a militia regiment. He died February 24, 1806, aged fifty years. His wife, Mary, was a daughter of James Churchill, of Barnstable. She survived her husband many years, and her death occurred November 23, 1841.

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Thomas Thacher was eleven years old when his father, Colonel Thacher, died. When a boy he carried the mail on horseback from Yarmouth to Chatham, and otherwise assisted his mother, who continued in charge of the post-office. His education qualified him to teach school, and he followed that vocation for two years. Coming to Boston at the age of nineteen, he was introduced by his friend, George Hallett, to Samuel Billings, a promi- nent merchant, by whom he was offered a clerkship, which he readily accepted, and in due time he succeeded his employer in busi- ness. Ile dealt extensively in cotton, having a warehouse on Long Wharf at a time when many of the enterprising men of Boston ac- quired colossal fortunes, and from a poor boy without capital he became one of the leading merchants of his day. He also turned his attention to other industries and improvements, establishing in company_ with his brother, George C. Thacher, the Fulton Iron Works at South Boston, of which he was president. - He was one of the principal promoters of the Cheshire Railroad, and became its second pres- ident the year following its completion. Hle was also chosen president of the Rutland Rail- road, and after assuming the responsibilities of these offices he retired from mercantile pur- suits. In politics he was a Whig, and among his intimate friends were many of the great party leaders of the day, including Daniel Webster. Ile took much interest in the vari- ous institutions of Boston, and was a member of the Masonic order. Ilis upright character enabled him to permanently retain the esteem and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. He died March 11, 1863.

Mr. Thomas Thacher married Miss Caroline Billings, daughter of Samuel and Ilester (Gill) Billings. Her father, his old employer, was a son of Joseph Billings, of Stoughton, Mass. ; and her mother was a daughter of General Jacob Gill, of Milton Hill, who in 1799 commanded the First Brigade, First Division of Massa- chusetts Militia. He died September 20, 1820, aged seventy-five. Thomas and Caroline Thacher had six children - Thomas Thacher, Jr., Caroline B., Samuel Billings, Mary Anna, Hester Billings, and William Gill Thacher.

Mrs. Thacher died March 20, 1877, aged seventy-three years.

Thomas Thacher, Jr., who succeeded his father as president of the Fulton Iron Works, died December 11, 1869. He married a daughter of Ralph Crooker, of Roxbury, and bad six children, three of whom lived to grow up - Ilester Beecher, Caroline Billings, and Helen Ray.

Hester Beecher Thacher, who married Gus- tavus Lowe, of Bridgewater, Mass., is no longer living. Helen Thacher is the wife of Roland Gamwell, of Fairhaven, Wash., and has one daughter, Ilester Thacher Gamwell. Samuel Billings Thacher died in infancy. Mary Anna died at the age of nine years. Hester Billings Thacher married William A. Beecher, of Southbridge, Mass. Caroline Bil- lings Thacher is unmarried, and resides at the old homestead on Alleghany Street, Roxbury. William Gill Thacher was attorney for his mother, and had charge of his father's estate. He married Elizabeth Bates, of Bridgewater. Their children are : Rebecca Colburn Billings. wife of Charles Liffler, Jr., and mother of one child, Elizabeth Bates Liffler; Elizabeth Bates; Mary Dewolf; Margaret Williams : William, who died in infancy; and Lillian Churchill Thacher. All these children live in Roxbury, Mass.

AMUEL GALE, who for nearly forty years has carried on the gro- cery business in Marblehead, was born in that town, January 21. 1825, son of Captain Benjamin B. and Mary (Carroll) Gale. His parents were natives of Marblehead, and his paternal grandfather, who followed the sea, was lost with his ship and cargo. Captain Benjamin B. Gale, who was also a sea-faring man and a master-mariner hailing from Marblehead, commanded small vessels employed in the coasting and West India trades, and also made fishing trips to the Grand Banks. While serving as a privateer in the War of 1812, he was captured by the British, who took him to Barbadoes, whence he was transported to England and confined for a time in Dartmoor Prison. Of his children,

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four are living: Samuel, the subject of this sketch; Robert, a resident of Marblehead ; Elizabeth, widow of Francis Sweat, late of this town; and Bethiah, who is residing at the old homestead on Watson Street.

Samuel Gale was given a public-school edu- cation. At the age of eleven years he began to learn the shoemaker's trade, which calling he followed until his majority, after which he served an apprenticeship of four years with Otis Tufts, of East Boston, a builder of sta- tionary steam-engines. While following the trade of engine builder in Boston, he set up and operated the engine which furnished the power for printing the first edition of the Bos- ton Herald by steam. Mr. Gale also worked for a short time in New York City, and spent nearly three years on the island of Cuba as en- gineer of sugar plantations at Sagua-Le- Grande. Subsequently he was for several months engaged in setting up machinery on sugar plantations in the vicinity of New Orleans, La. Then, returning in 1861 - to Marblehead, he established himself there in the grocery business, which he has followed continuously to the present time.

Mr. Gale has devoted considerable time to public affairs, having served as Overseer of the Poor and as a member of the Board of Health, which latter office he held for several years. In politics, he is a Republican. His memory carries him back to the time when there were but two dwelling-houses on Marblehead Neck. During the past forty years he has availed himself of every opportunity to promote the growth and prosperity of the town, both as a manufacturing community and as a summer resort. In his religious belief he is a Spirit- ualist. Ile joined Atlantic Lodge, I. O. O. F., over fifty years ago; has been a Master Mason for forty years; and has been a member of the local lodge of Knights of Pythias since its organization.

In 1852, August 12, Mr. Gale married Miss Rebecca Stanley, of Marblehead. They have two daughters and one son : Ellen S., wife of Benjamin Cole, Jr. ; Samuel R. ; and Rebecca R., wife of Gilbert Wright. Samuel R. Gale and Mrs. Cole reside in Marblehead; and Mrs. Wright is a resident of East Orange, N. J.

ALVIN BIGELOW, of Roxbury, who is now living retired from the active cares of business life, was born in Dover, Mass., June 17, 1826, a son of Calvin Bigelow, Sr. His grandparents were Converse and Annie (Park) Bigelow.

Calvin Bigelow, Sr., was born on his par- ents' farm in Sherborn, Mass., June 29, 1790. and died in the month of June, 1872, aged eighty-two years. Learning the blacksmith's trade when a young man, he made that his chief occupation during his earlier life; but in later years he purchased a farm, and thereafter carried on general farming in connection with his trade. He was a man of deep religious conviction, earnest and sincere in his beliefs. and for a long time served as Deacon of the Congregational church. On November 11. IS19, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Jasper Adams, of Medway, Mass. She was born September 26, 1795, and died November 6, 1887, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. The children born of their union were as fol- lows: Francis Adams, born August 5, 1820. who died in infancy; William Adams, born August 31, 1821, who died April 21. 1895 : Elizabeth Mercy, who was born March 19, 1823, and died January 13, 1829; Francis Converse, born November 29, 1824. who re- sides in Worcester, Mass. ; Calvin, the special subject of this brief sketch; Amy Maria, born September 24, 1828, who married Emerson Baldwin, and is now living in Colorado: Charles A., born July 11, 1830, who died No- vember 23, 1892; Warren, born March 31. 1834, who died when but a year old; and Ellen Elizabeth, who was born August 15, 1836, and died January 13, 1867.

Calvin Bigelow remained on the home farm until eighteen years of age. He then went to South Natick, Mass., where he served an ap- prenticeship at the wood-worker's trade, which he subsequently followed in Worcester, Mass .. for nine years. In 1870 he came to Boston to accept a position in the car-shops of the Metropolitan Railway Company, with which he was connected for eighteen years, at the end of which time, on account of ill health. he was forced to retire from active labor.

On December 25, 1874, Mr. Bigelow mar-

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ried Miss Lucy C. Daniels, of East Medway, Mass., a daughter of Paul Daniels, and a grand-daughter of Jeremiah Daniels, who served in the war of the Revolution. The Daniels family has long been represented in Massachusetts, the emigrant ancestor, Joseph Daniels, having settled here at an early date in the Colonial period. Mr. and Mrs. Bigelow have two children : Warren Daniels, born No- vember 20, 1875; and. Eliza Breck, born De- cember 18, 1885. Warren Daniels Bigelow was fitted for college at the Roxbury Latin School, graduated in 1898 from Harvard Uni- versity, and is now preparing for the ministry at the Divinity School of Yale College.

ILLIAM HORACE EMERSON CLAPP, cashier of the Boston Dis- trict Messenger Company, is a man of acknowledged business and executive ability, well filling the responsible position he holds. He was born in Gorham, Me., June 17, 1856, a son of Andrew Leonard Emerson Clapp. Mr. Clapp's paternal grandfather, Andrew Leonard Emerson, married Mary Octavia Clapp, daughter of Captain Asa Clapp, of Portland, Me. They both died in early life, leaving two children - Edward and Mary Octavia. The latter became the wife of Horace Brooks, of New York, one of the larg- est paper manufacturers of the country, with mills at Windsor Locks, Conn.

Edward Emerson was born in Scarboro, Me., but, having been left an orphan when young, was adopted by his maternal grand- father, Captain Asa Clapp, and brought up in Portland, where by legal process his name was changed to Andrew Leonard Emerson Clapp. For a while he was engaged in mercantile pur- suits in company with Captain Clapp, who carried on trade with the West Indies, and was afterwards in business several years with Cap- tain John Williams, being junior member of the firm of Williams & Clapp. Ile was a pro- gressive, public-spirited citizen, devoted to the interests of the city in which he spent so many years of his active life, and served as Magis- trate in Portland. llis father, Andrew Leonard Emerson, bad the honor of being the

first Mayor of the city. He stood high in Ma- sonic circles, having been a Royal Arch Mason and a Knight Templar, belonging to the Port- land Commandery. During the later years of his life he was an invalid, and removed to Scarboro, Me., where his death occurred De- cember 10, 1893. Ile married in 1854 Miss Jennie M. Keith, of Worcester, Mass., a daughter of Timothy Dwight Keith; and they became the parents of two children, namely : William H. E., the subject of this sketch ; and Charles Quincy, born June 28, 1863, now of New York. The mother is still living.

William H. E. Clapp was educated at the " Little Blue" School in Farmington, Me., and at the age of thirteen years went to New York, where he was subsequently engaged in various occupations. In 1875 he entered the employ of the Law Telegraph Company, with which he was identified five years. During the following two years he was connected with the American District Telephone Company, after which he spent a few months in Roches- ter, N. Y., and then a short time in Lowell, Mass. In 1884 he came to Boston to accept the position that he has since held as cashier of the District Messenger Company.

Mr. Clapp. was married, September 26, 1893, to Miss Julia Emrich, of New York, a daughter of John Emrich. Politically, he is a stanch Republican. He is an active member of several Masonic organizations, belonging to Zetland Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; St. Andrew's Chapter, R. A. M .; Roxbury Council, R. & S. M. ; and the Joseph Warren Com- mandery, K. T. He also belongs to Everett Lodge, No. 7. A. O. U. W. ; Star Council, No. 214, R. A. ; and the South Boston Yacht Club.

ZRA O. WINSOR, Postmaster at Chel- sea Station, Boston, was born in Dux- bury, Mass., January 22, 1850, a son of Otis and Julia Drew (Hunt) Winsor. His first known ancestor in this country was Will- iam' Winsor, who is said to have come to Bos- ton from Devonshire, England.

William Winsor was twice married. His son Samuel, by the first wife, settled on

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Clarke's Island in Duxbury Bay, and later built a house on the south slope of Captain's Ilill in Duxbury. He was a ship-builder by trade, and several of the early Massachusetts vessels were built by him. In 1759 he en- listed in Captain John Wadsworth's company, ind served in Canada during the French and Indian War. When twenty-one years of age, he married Rhoda Deland, who was a lineal descendant on her mother's side of John and Priscilla Alden, the " Mayflower " Pilgrims. (In the paternal side Rhoda Deland was de- scended from Phillip De La Noye (now prob- ably Delano), a Walloon, who joined the Pil- grims at Leyden, and came to America in 1621 on the " Fortune."

Their son Samuel, born in Duxbury in 1751, married Aceneth Hunt, who was a descendant of the redoubtable Captain Miles Standish. The fourth son, Otis, adopted a seafaring life, and became master of a merchantman at the age of twenty years. He was lost at sea in 1821. His wife, Keziah, was a grand-daugh- ter of the old Revolutionary hero, Zabdiel Sampson, who first saw service as a minute- man at Lexington, but later enlisted three times, and was finally killed in battle at Harlem, N. Y. Ile had been at one time a prisoner in the hands of the Indians, and had served with the Colonial troops in 1756. He was the great-grandson of George Soule, the thirty-fifth signer of the Compact in the cabin of the " Mayflower." As a result of this union, a son, Otis, was born October 19. Ile was a lifelong resident of his native town. He died September 25, 1864. In 1844 he married Julia Drew, daughter of Barker and Lucy Loudon Hunt. Mrs. Winsor is a direct descendant of Dr. Samuel and Bridget Lee Fuller, who were married in Leyden in 1617. Dr. Fuller came over in the " Mayflower " in 1620, but his wife did not come over until 1623 on the "Ann."

Ezra Otis Winsor, the oldest child of this union and the direct subject of this sketch, it the age of thirteen years entered the academy at Duxbury, and there he soon exhib- ited those superior traits that have been the key-note of his success in every undertaking. Upon leaving school he entered immediately

upon a seafaring life, which had been the dear- est object of his youthful ambition. His love for the sea is best told in his own words: "When a mere child, I was always to be found about the shore, watching in clear weather the long rows of fishing-vessels anchored in the bay. I watched their departing sails with. longing eyes, and in my imagination made many trips with them to their far-off ports." Too ambitious to continue in an occupation the details of which he had practically mas- tered before he was twenty-one, he again en- tered school, this time in Boston, and fitted himself for a commercial life, becoming an employee in 1871 of Jordan, Marsh & Co. This position, owing to ill health, he resigned in 1872. He entered the postal service in Boston on January 1, 1871.

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Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901, Part 31

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

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