Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901, Part 57

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

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Miss Boit is said to be the only woman in the United States who is actively engaged in con- ducting a textile fabric manufactory. Although her numerous business duties are so exacting as to demand her closest personal attention, she has found time to familiarize herself with vari- ous other interests and institutions, being treas- urer of the Aged Women's Home, treasurer of the Kosmos Club (a local literary organization ), and being actively associated with several other bodies, notably the Ladies' Aid Society of Massachusetts. She is especially interested in the welfare of young girls, particularly those in her employ, and avails herself of every oppor- tunity to further the progress and well-being of the wage-earners of her sex.

RRIN MILO WHITMAN, whose death occurred December 29, 1894, was prominently identified with the business and manufacturing interests of Boston for several years as the head of the firm of O. M. Whitman & Co., patentees and manufacturers of grocers' refrigerators. He was born July 27, 1837, in North Haverhill, N. H. His father was Willard Whitman, a large manufacturer of that town and a descend- ant of John Whitman, one of the early settlers of Weymouth, Mass.

Mr. Whitman began life for himself as a carriage builder, working a few years in his

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father's factory at North Haverhill, N. H. He subsequently engaged in the provision business in Boston, and in his efforts to properly care for his stock in trade tried various methods of cooling. Having been successful, he patented a refrigerator in 1883, and the following year, in company with George A. Ward, under the firm name of O. M. Whitman & Co., estab- lished a factory at 99 Bristol Street. In 1887 the firm, having outgrown its original quarters, removed to Boston Street, South Boston, where at Nos. 82 and 84 it has since carried on an extensive business in manufacturing refrigera- tors for use in groceries and creamerics.

These refrigerators are made under special patterns designed by Mr. Whitman, who made a scientific study of the matter ; and the coolers used are those for which he received patents March 16, 1886, October 13, 1891, and June 12, 1893. Mr. Whitman also originated the idea of making the coolers with rolling glass cases in front, a feature that makes them espe- cially desirable to the purchasers. The Whit- man Improved Grocers' Butter Refrigerators are sold throughout the United States, and have been awarded medals and diplomas on various occasions, among them a silver medal and diploma at the fairs of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, held in Bos- ton in 1884 and 1888, a bronze medal at the American Institute Fair in New York in 1885, at the Franklin Institute, held in Philadelphia the same year, receiving honorable mention. These refrigerators are in general use in the grocery trade, the larger cities of the Union being well supplied with them, as are most of the smaller cities and towns of importance. In 1891 Mr. Ward withdrew from the firm, and in 1893 was admitted to partnership Mr. Whitman's son, Willard Minot Whitman, who since the death of his father has conducted the business alone.

On November 26, 1863, Mr. Whitman mar- ried Miss Mary J. Marsh, of North Haverhill, N. H., a daughter of Henry Marsh. Of this union two children were born; namely, Effie D. and Willard M. Effie D. Whitman mar- ried R. L. Clark, of Boston. They have one child, Vivian D. Clark. Mr. Whitman was a man of great inventive genius, energetic, and

enterprising, and everywhere held in high es- teem for his sterling qualities of heart and mind. He was prominent in several fraternal organizations, including the I. O. O. F., the F. & A. M., and the R. A. M.

Willard M. Whitman was born July 29, 1869, in North Haverhill, N. H., but was edu- cated in Boston, whither he came with his parents when he was but an infant. On leav- ing school he entered the factory of his father in order to learn the business connected with the manufacture of refrigerators, and continued as an employee until 1893, when he became a member of the firm of O. M. Whitman & Co. In the management of the business, of which he has had the responsibility since the death of his father, he has been unusually successful. In 1896 he married Miss Anna Dell Eaton, daughter of Samuel and Sarah Eaton, of New Hampshire. Fraternally, he is a member of Amicable Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; of Mount Vernon Chapter, R. A. M. ; Roxbury Council, R. & S. M .; Joseph Warren Commandery, K. T .; and the Massachusetts Consistory, thirty-second degree.

R EV. CHARLES ROBINSON BLISS, B.D., a retired clergyman residing in Wakefield, was born in Longmeadow, Mass., November 5, 1828, son of Deacon Ebenezer and Marilla (Moore) Bliss. English ancestors of Mr. Bliss were early set- tlers in Massachusetts and Connecticut. On the paternal side he is a descendant of Thomas Bliss, second, son of Thomas, first, of Belstone Parish, Devonshire, England. Thomas Bliss, first, who did not come to America, had three sons, namely: Thomas and George, who emi- grated to New England in 1635 on account of religious persecution ; and Jonathan, who died in England in 1635 or 1636.

Thomas Bliss, second, and his wife, Margaret, lived for a time at Braintree, Mass., where they first settled, and then removed to Hartford, Conn., where he died in 1640. He had ten children, six of whom were born in England. The youngest child, John, who was the next in the ancestral line now being traced, was born in Hartford in 1640. After his father's death

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he went with his widowed mother to Springfield, Mass. He removed to Northampton in 1672, but returned to Springfield in 1682, and died at Longmeadow in 1702. In 1667 he married Patience, daughter of Henry and Eulalia Burt, who on their arrival from England located in Roxbury, Mass., whence in 1640 they removed to Springfield.

Ebenezer, son of. John and Patience (Burt) Bliss, was born in 1683. He married Joanna, daughter of Samuel and Rebecca Lamb. Eben- ezer Bliss, second, who was born in Long- meadow in 1725, married for his first wife Mary, daughter of John and Lydia (Chandler) Booth, both of Enfield, Conn. She died in 1757; and on August 27, 1760, he married for his second wife Abigail, daughter of Joseph and Mary Cooley, of Somers, Conn. Gaius Bliss, son of Ebenezer, second, and Abigail, was born in Longmeadow, May 17, 1761. He followed the tanner's and shoemaker's trades in connection with farming, and he died in 1843. His first wife, Eunice Robinson, daughter of Noah and Hannah Parmelee Robinson, of Granville, Mass., died in 1803. She was a descendant of Henry Parmlier, a French Huguenot, an early settler of Guilford, Conn. His second wife was Flavia Keep.

Deacon Ebenezer Bliss, Mr. Bliss's father, son of Gaius and Eunice (Robinson) Bliss, was born in Longmeadow, June 5, 1795. He also was a tanner, shoemaker, and farmer. He was prominently identified with political and religious affairs, and was a Deacon of the Congregational church for about forty years. He died March 20, 1868; and his wife, Mrs. Marilla Moore Bliss, died March 3, 1866. She was a daughter of Asher and Experience (Everett) Moore, of Tolland, Mass. Her paternal grandfather was Reginald Marvin Moore, who came from Mid- dletown, Conn .; and her mother's father was Samuel Everett, son of Israel Everett. Samuel Everett removed to Ohio, and was a pioneer settler in the town of Granville, that State. The living children of Ebenczer and Marilla M. Bliss are: Georgiana M., of Longmeadow, widow of George McQueen, who went to Africa as a missionary and dicd there in 1859; Julia M., teacher, newspaper correspondent, and writer ; Flavia S., ten years missionary teacher at Sivas,

Turkey, and now wife of Frank E. Garner, of Longmeadow; and Charles R., the subject of this sketch. Mr. Bliss's great-grandfather, Ebenezer, and his grandfather, Gaius Bliss, both served in the Continental army during the Rev- olutionary War. (For more extended informa- tion concerning the ancestry of the Bliss family the reader is referred to " The Genealogy of the Bliss Family in America," compiled by J. Homer Bliss (ISSI). A brief account of the Everett family will be found in Orcutt's "History of Torrington," Conn.)

Charles Robinson Bliss pursued his element- ary studies in the Longmeadow public schools, was prepared for his collegiate course at the Westfield (Mass.) Academy, and took the de- gree of Bachelor of Arts at Williams College as a member of the class of 1854, and that of Bachelor of Divinity at the Andover Theologi- cal Seminary in 1858. Called to the pastorate of the Presbyterian Church in Beverly, N.J., he retained it nearly three years, and then ac- cepted the pastorship of the First Congrega- tional Church, Wakefield, Mass., where he labored continuously for fifteen years. On re- linquishing his Wakefield pastorate he engaged in educational work, first as agent for Colorado College, two years later being appointed secre- tary of the New West Education Commission, with headquarters in Chicago, Ill. During the succeeding fifteen years he established and superintended a large number of schools in Utah and New Mexico. In 1893 he took the editorial secretaryship of the Congregational Education Society of Boston, which he held three years, and for two years afterward was its Western secretary. He is now living in retire- ment in Wakefield.

Mr. Bliss has devoted much of his spare time to literary pursuits. Besides a volume of " His- torical Sketches of the Old Church and Pastors of Wakefield" (1876), he has published several occasional sermons and extended educational reports, and is now engaged in preparing a " History of the New West Education Con- mission." He has travelled extensively in the United States, Europe, and the East, visiting Turkey in 1871, and going to England in 1891 as a delegate to the National Council of Con- gregational Churches. For ten years he served

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upon the Wakefield School Board, of which he officiated as chairman for a greater part of the time. He has been a trustee of Salt Lake Col- lege and of several academies. He holds mem- bership in various college societies and the Wakefield Historical Society, and is a life mem- ber of several denominational bodies.

On October 15, 1862, Rev. Mr. Bliss was joined in marriage with Miss Mary Farnham Smith, daughter of Henry and Susan J. (Farn- ham) Smith, of North Andover, Mass. They have no children.

9 RANK AYRES FOSTER, civil engi- neer, a resident of the Dorchester dis- trict, was born February 15, 1859, in a house at the corner of Centre Street and Dor- chester Avenue, a son of James and Mary (Ayres) Foster. He comes of an old Dorches- ter family, being the seventh in direct line of descent from Timothy Foster, a resident of the old town in 1662. Timothy was a son of Edward Foster, of Scituate, the founder of this branch of the family in America, who came from England in 1633. Edward Foster is named as a lawyer in the town records of Scituate. He was an associate of Anthony Annable as Deputy to the first Colony Court in 1639, and he was frequently employed in public affairs. He died while yet a young man, in 1644. He was married in April, 1635, to Lettice Hanford.

Timothy Foster, born in 1640, only son of Edward, removed to Dorchester in 1662. He married October 13, 1663, Mrs. Ruth Tileston Denton. His wife, Ruth, dying in 1677, he married in 1680 Mrs. Relief Holland Dowse. He had ten children, five by each marriage. He died December 9, 1688.

Captain Edward Foster, his third son, born in 1682, died January 22, 1761. He married in 1705, as his first wife, Jemima, daughter of Jonathan Turner, of Scituate. Their son Tim- othy, born April 12, 1709, married Abiel Will- iams, of Roxbury. While in advanced years he responded to the Lexington alarm. He died in 1776.

His son Edward, born March 22, 1752, served in the coast guard during the Revolu- tionary War. Ile married Polly Blake, of Dor-

chester, and had ten children. The sixth of these was James, born in Dorchester in 1790, who married in November, 1821, Rachel Lam- bert, daughter of Paul and Patience (Howe) Lambert, of Dorchester. The children of James and Rachel were as follows: James, father of the subject of this sketch ; Rachel A., who married Edward Jaques, of Neponset ; Suriah L., who was the wife of the late Robert Elder, of San Francisco, Cal. ; Mary, who died in Decem- ber, 1897, and whose husband, George E. Hersey, of Brookline, died in September, 1894; Elizabeth G., now a resident of California ; Sarah M., whose husband, James W. Stearns, formerly of Somerville, but later of California, is now de- ceased ; Martha, widow of Dr. Charles E. Blake, of San Francisco; and Samuel, a resident of San Francisco. James Foster was a farmer. A member of the militia, he served in the War of 1812, being Orderly Sergeant of his company. He was a member of Dr. Codman's church. His death took place in 1873.

James Foster, second, father of Frank A., was born in Dorchester, September 9, 1822. He was educated in the schools of Dorchester. and in his youth assisted in the work of the home farm. When twenty years old he estab- lished a milk business, which he followed sub- sequently for forty-three consecutive years, and then retired with a competence. He now resides in Dorchester. He was married on November 25, 1848, to Mary Ayres. Of this union there were born five children, namely: Arthur J., now a resident of San Francisco; Anna M., who died at the age of two years and two months ; Mary Ellen, wife of Gideon M. Mansfield, of Dorchester ; Frank Ayres ; and Edward Howe, who is a resident of Dorchester. After the death of the mother, Mrs. Mary Foster, Mr. Foster married for his second wife Mrs. Eliza- beth E. Kendall, whose maiden name was Farnsworth. He is a member of the Second Church of Dorchester and in politics a Repub- lican.

Frank Ayres Foster, whose ancestry is above recorded, was educated in the Dorchester schools. In 1878 and 1880 he voyaged around the world, visiting notably China, the Philippine Islands, Java, and Sumatra: On his return, March 1, ISSo, he entered the employ of the

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city of Boston, and served faithfully and effi- ciently in various capacities for fifteen years in the city engineer's department. Here he gained valuable experience, qualifying him for success in his professional and civic duties. Since 1894 he has followed his profession as civil engineer and surveyor at his present office, 34 School Street, Boston, devoting his attention latterly to the development of large traets of unimproved land, many of them located in Dor- chester. In connection with the Metropolitan Park Commission he has had charge of the two important preliminary surveys, Saugus River Valley and the Mattapan Parkways.

Politically, he has always been a stanch Republican, taking active interest in ward, municipal, and national affairs. Mr. Foster was selected to represent the Twentieth Suffolk District (which comprises the northerly portion of Dorchester) in the Legislature in 1899 and 1900. He served on Committee on Cities during both terms. Socially prominent, he was presi- dent of the Dorchester Central Club during its first and most flourishing period, and is at present honored by the presidency of the Dor- chester Centre Improvement Association. He is a member of Aberdour Lodge, F. & A. M.

Mr. Foster was married on February 3, 1886, to Annette Sarah Lapworth, daughter of James W. and Maria (Black) Lapworth. He has two children : Rachel Lambert, born October 27, 1889; and Dorothy, born February 27, 1892.

UCIUS BEEBE, in former years a prominent and respected citizen of Wakefield, where his name is still held in honored remembrance, was born in Hebron, Conn., March 2, ISIO, son of Stewart and Sophia (Gilbert) Beebe.

He was a descendant, in the eighth genera- tion, of John Beebe, "sometime of Brough- ton, Northamptonshire," England, who died, it is said, May 18, 1650, on his passage to America. The line was: John, ' Samuel, 2 Jonathan, 3 Jonathan, Jr., + Samuel, s Stewart,6 Stewart, 7 Lucius. > The four sons of John' are spoken of in the History of New London, Conn., as "the Beeby brothers." They were John, 2 Thomas, 2 Samuel, 2 and Nathaniel. ?

Samuel married Agnes Keeney, and settled in New London, Conn. Jonathan, born in 1674, married Bridget Brockway, who bore him four children. Their son, Jonathan, Jr., born in 1694, married Hannah Coley, and was the father of nine children. Samuel, son of Jonathan, Jr., was born in East Haddam, Conn., in 1726. He was one of those Ameri- can patriots who in 1774 pledged themselves to abstain from the use of certain specified articles of common consumption imported from England. He lived to see the triumph of American independence, dying in 1786. He and his wife, Margaret Stewart Beebe, were the parents of two children. Of these one was Stewart, born at Haddam, Conn., in 1752. Stewart Beebe, sharing his father's stalwart Americanism, is said to have taken part under Ethan Allen in the capture of Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775. He enlisted December 25, 1776, as a private in Daniel Caldwell's com- pany, Colonel Timothy Robinson's Hampshire County (Massachusetts) regiment ; discharged April 2, 1777; service three months, nine days, at Ticonderoga; also in Captain Ephraim Chapin's company, Colonel Ruggles Wood- bridge's regiment, service, August 15, 1777, to October 20, 1777. He was commissioned Captain by Governor Hancock in 1792. His death occurred in 1825.

He and his wife, whose maiden name was Huldah Beebe, were the parents of eight chil- dren, among them Stewart, father of the sub- ject of this sketch. Stewart Beebe, second, was born at Wilbraham, Mass., in 1779. Re- ceiving his education at Williams College, from which institution he was graduated in ISO2, he subsequently studied law, was ad- mitted to the bar, and practised his profession in Hebron, Conn., and Hampden, Mass. His death took place in 1851. His wife, Sophia, was a daughter of Sylvester and Pa- tience (Barber) Gilbert, of Hebron, Conn. They were the parents of five children - Jun- ius, Lucius, Marcus, Decius, and Cyrus. Sylvester Gilbert was the second Chief Judge of the County Court of Tolland County, Con- necticut, and a member of the Fifteenth Con- gress of the United States.

Lucius Beebe began life for himself at the

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early age of fifteen years, finding employment at the Yantic factory in Norwich, Conn. Bringing to his work a large fund of energy, backed by intelligence, he made such progress that when he had arrived at the age of eighteen he was placed in charge of one of the depart- ments. He held this position, to which was attached a liberal salary, until 1834, by which time he had acquired sufficient means. and experience to enable him to engage in business for himself with reasonable prospects for suc- cess. Then in company with four of his brothers he opened a store in New Orleans, with which was connected an office in Boston, Mr. Lucius Beebe having charge of the busi- ness in the North for the sale of cotton and for the purchase of merchandise for the New Orleans store. In 1838 this store was de- stroyed by fire, which caused him to sustain a heavy loss. Subsequently the Civil War put an end for the time being to his dealings in cotton ; but after the war was over he continued the cotton business in Boston, with two of his sons, under the firm name of Lucius Beebe & Co. With three other sons he engaged also in the leather business under the style of Lucius Beebe & Sons. In both these enterprises he was successful, although he suffered another heavy loss by the burning of his leather store in Boston in the great fire of November 9, 1872.

In 1844 Mr. Beebe removed from Cambridge to Melrose, and in 1851 he removed again, this time to South Reading (now Wakefield), where he purchased a large estate, formerly owned by Haley Forrester, of Salem, and pleasantly situated on the eastern shore of Lake Quanna- powitt. Here he made his home until his de- mise, which took place very suddenly on April 15, 1884.

Although a quiet, unpretending citizen, Mr. Beebe was always active in promoting the best interests of the town of his adoption. He was no office-seeker, yet he accepted, upon urgent solicitation, many offices within the gift of the town, and of various social and business organi- zations. He was a member of the Board of Selectmen for several years, and in ISSo, al- though a Democrat, was elected to the Legis- lature over the Republican candidate, in spite

of the fact that the town was strongly Republi- ean and usually gave large Republican majori- ties. While in the Legislature he served on the Committee on Banking. In the autumn of ISSo he was nominated as Representative to Congress by the Democrats of the Fifth Dis- trict, but was defeated by the Hon. Selwyn Z. Bowman. In town affairs his interest in the fire department was so practically manifested that his name was bestowed upon the fine Sils- bee steamer. Mr. Beebe was a trustee of the public library from its establishment in 1856 until his death; and in 1868 it took the name of "The Beebe Town Library of Wakefield," in his honor, he having contributed largely to its benefit through his means and influence. He was also for many years a member of the School Board, and for several years its presi - dent. For thirty-four years he was a Justice of the Peace, and he served also in the settle- ment of many large estates. He was trustee of the Wakefield Savings Bank, president of the National Bank of South Reading, and presi- dent of the Wakefield Real Estate and Build- ing Association. He was also one of the cor- porators of the Wakefield Water Company and of many other corporations within the limits of the town, and was chairman of the committee on the erection of the Hamilton School build- ing. From the beginning of his business career and all through life he held fast to the principles of temperance and morality, with the Golden Rule as his motto, and was known to all his associates as a man of unswerving integrity and unsullied character. At his death the Executive Committee of the New England Shoe and Leather Association paid him a tribute of respect by passing resolutions of condolence with his family, and testifying to the esteem in which he was held among them.

In 1836 Mr. Beebe was united in marriage with Miss Sylenda Morris, daughter of Joseph and Lydia (Russell) Morris, of Wilbraham. Mrs. Beebe died in 1869, having borne her husband twelve children - Lucius M., Will- iam, Charles S., Joseph, Louise, Cyrus G., Decius, Marcus, Junius, Frederick, Alice, and Sylenda M. Lucius, William, Joseph, and Louise are deceased. Charles S. resides in

HENRY O. SYMONDS.

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Baltimore, Md. Cyrus, Decius, Marcus, Ju- nius, and Frederick are all engaged in busi- ness in Boston. Alice and Sylenda are mar- ried, and reside the one in Boston and the other in Chicago.

RANK STANFORD ATWOOD, as- sistant secretary of the Boston Herald Company of Boston, is connected with the government of the municipality as a mem- ber of the City Council, in which he is a rep- resentative from Ward Sixteen. He was born in Baltimore, Md., July 23, 1870, a son of Richard A. and Mary L. (Stanford) Atwood. His paternal grandfather, Richard Atwood, who was for many years a resident of Cape Cod, was the descendant of a prominent Colo- nial family of that part of Massachusetts.

Richard A. Atwood was born September 3, 1846, in Wellfleet, Barnstable County, Mass., and there grew to man's estate. During the Civil War he served as a volunteer soldier in the Union army; and at the close of the con- flict he settled in Baltimore, Md., where he was engaged in the oyster business several years. In 1875 he removed with his family to Boston. Here he has since been actively em- ployed as a manufacturer, being located on State Street. He married Mary L. Stanford, the descendant of a Colonial family of prom- inence in Maryland and the daughter of I. H. W. Stanford, who was a member of the Maryland Legislature when that State refused to secede from the Union. Of their marriage four children were born, namely : Frank S., the special subject of this sketch; Helen M. ; Martha A. ; and Lulu.

Frank S. Atwood in his early years attended the public schools of Boston, and in 1886 was graduated from the Lincoln Grammar School. Very soon after he entered the employ of the Boston Herald Company as an office boy, a capacity in which he proved himself so effi- cient that he was soon promoted. He has since served in the various intervening posi- tions, until becoming assistant secretary of the company, an office that he is filling with char- acteristic ability and fidelity.

In the fall of 1898 Mr. Atwood was elected

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Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901, Part 57

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

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