USA > Massachusetts > Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901 > Part 58
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to the City Council by his constituents of Ward Sixteen, leading his ticket by a good majority. In the Council he has served ac- ceptably on many committees of importance, including the following: Overseers of the Poor, Water Department, Claims, Public In- stitutions, Health, Public Grounds Depart- ment; on special committees: extending the courtesies of the city to the President of the United States on the occasion of his visit to Boston ; on committee extending the courtesies of the city to the Boer Peace Envoys; on City Lighting; and that of City Employees. In 1899 he was re-elected for a second term in the Council. Politically, he is a strong Re- publican and an active member of the Massa- chusetts Republican Club.
ENRY OLIVER SYMONDS, a retired hardware merchant of Marblehead, re- siding at Devereux, was born in Salem, Mass., January 18, 1826, son of John and Hannah Symonds. His parents were also natives of Salem, and his paternal grandmother lived to be nearly one hundred years old. His father, who was a cooper by trade, shipped on board of the privateer " Grand Turk" during the War of 1812, and, being captured by the British, was for some time con- fined in Dartmoor Prison. Upon returning to Salem he resumed his trade, and he died there in his sixty-fourth year. He had a family of eight children, of whom the youngest-born, Henry Oliver, the subject of this sketch, is the only one living.
Henry O. Symonds was educated at the Pickering School, Salem, under the direction of Professors Dodge and Lackey, well-known edu- cators of their day. At the age of nineteen he went to Concord, N.H., where he learned the trade of a hair-dresser ; and, coming to Marble- head, he opened a hair-dressing room in the old Hinkley Building, and shortly afterward removed to the Columbian Building, a landmark which was afterward destroyed by fire. Relinquishing that business some ten years later, he in 1858 established himself in the hardware trade on School Street, Marblehead. On August 17,
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1864, he enlisted as a private in Company A, Fourth Regiment, Massachusetts Heavy Artil- lery, which was attached to the Army of the Potomac; and he performed garrison duty at Washington and Arlington Heights, receiving an honorable discharge as a Corporal, June 17, 1865. After his return from the army he re- sumed the hardware business in Marblehead, and continued it successfully until 1894, when he retired, selling out his business to its present proprietor, William A. Brown, 2d, ex-postmas- ter of that town. Mr. Symonds was a sufferer by each of the big fires in Marblehead, in 1877 and 1888.
Mr. Symonds assisted in organizing the Marblehead Co-operative Bank, and is now its vice-president. Though not active in public affairs, he takes a lively interest in all matters relative to local improvements ; and in politics he aets with the Republican party. He affiliates with the Masons, Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias, and is the oldest charter member of Neptune Lodge, No. 31, of the latter order. He is also a comrade of John Goodwin, Jr., Post, No. 82, Grand Army of the Republic, and was its quartermaster for three years.
On April 13, 1848, Mr. Symonds was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Graves, who was born in Marblehead, August 13, 1826, daughter of Joseph B. and Margaret H. (Bessom) Graves. Her parents were natives of Marble- head. Her grandfather, Joseph Graves, who settled there at an early date, was a Deacon of the Baptist church. He followed the prevailing custom, adhered to by gentlemen of his day, of wearing a queue. Her father, who died in his sixty-ninth year, was prominently identified with the Methodist church. Mr. and Mrs. Symonds have had three children : Henry Graves ; John Girdler; and Minnie Nason, who became the wife of John Lancey, Jr., a prominent shoe manufacturer of Marblehead. None are now living. Their daughter, who was a graduate of the Salem Normal School, taught in various places in this State, and for some time was supervisor of the Marblehead primary schools.
Mr. and Mrs. Symonds celebrated the fiftieth (or golden) anniversary of their marriage on the 18th of April, 1898, at their home at Dev- ereux.
OIIN AUGUSTUS SARGENT, a re- tired business man residing in Melrose, was born on May 6, 1818, in that part of Methuen which is now the city of Lawrence. His parents were William Kim- ball and Wealthy (Austin) Sargent. He is a descendant in the seventh generation of Will- iam Sargent, who came to New England prior to April, 1633, and was one of the first settlers at Agawam, now Ipswich, Mass. William Sargent removed from Ipswich to Newbury, and afterward lived successively in Hampton, N. H., and Salisbury and Amesbury, Mass. Thomas Sargent, who was born in Salisbury in 1643, son of William, married Rachel, daugh- ter of William Barnes. His son, Captain John Sargent, whose birth occurred at Amesbury, May 18, 1692, was on January 12, 1713, joined in marriage with Hannah Quimby. John Sar- gent, Jr., born of this union March IS, 1721, married for his first wife, in 1745, Mary Tucker, and for his second, in 1777, Miriam Swan. He resided in Methuen. John Sar- gent, third, John A. Sargent's grandfather, son of John and Mary, was born in Methuen, Au- gust 5, 1749. He married for his first wife Elizabeth Bodwell, who died in November, 1803, and in October of the following year he married for his second wife Dorothy Huse.
William Kimball Sargent, Mr. Sargent's father, was born in Methuen, January 26, 1792, and died in 1877. His occupation was that of a tanner and currier. His wife, Wealthy Austin, was a daughter of John Austin, of Salem, N. H. They had three children, namely : John Augustus, the subject of this sketch; Mary, who in 1841 married M. Woodbury; and Samuel P., who is now resid- ing in Hampton Falls, N. H. Samuel P. Sar- gent served in Company FF, Seventh Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, in the Civil War. He married Elizabeth Cutts.
The educational opportunities of John Au- gustus Sargent were limited, as at the age of eight years he was sent away to earn his own living with Benjamin Amery, of Atkinson, N. II., where he was allowed but a few weeks' attendance at school each year. Realizing that his treatment was not what it should be, he finally decided to improve his circumstances.
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Leaving his unpleasant surroundings, he re- turned to Methuen, where he worked long enough to earn a sum sufficient to purchase a suit of clothes; and then, going to Lowell at the age of thirteen, he found employment in the spinning-room of the Appleton Cotton Mills, under the supervision of Charles West, who took considerable interest in his welfare. Too close confinement at length caused a some- what protracted illness. After his recovery therefrom he returned to the factory; but at the expiration of a year he relinquished that occupation in order to learn the carpenter's trade, commencing his apprenticeship under Henry Austin, of Lowell, and completing it in Boston under B. H. Clark.
Entering as a journeyman the employ of Captain Samuel G. Adams, of Boston, at that time Commander of the Washington Light In- fantry, he was engaged in carpentering and metal-working for nearly twelve years, at the end of which time he established himself on Sudbury and Hawkins Streets as a metal roofer. Some twelve years later he closed out that business and became associated in the gro- cery trade at 141 Court Street, with Mr. A. H. Evans, now president of the Boston Five Cents Savings Bank. The firm of Evans & Sargent continued in business for two years, or until Mr. Sargent sold his interest to his partner. Mr. Sargent next purchased a number of horses and carts, which he took to Lawrence, Mass., for teaming purposes. But, on his arrival there, finding an opportunity of immediately selling his equipment with profit, he did so, and, returning to Boston, purchased another lot of teams, which also be sold to good advantage. Once more engaging in the roofing business at the South End in Boston, he was thus occupied until 1865, when he became clerk and collector for Messrs. Cook, Jordan & Morse, extensive dealers in coal, wood, brick, cement, lime, sand, etc., in which capacity he remained for the succeeding twenty-five years, or until his retirement from business, preserving during that long period the most amicable relations with his employers.
For the past thirteen years Mr. Sargent has resided in Melrose. He is a member of Wyo- ming Lodge, F. & A. M., of that city. In
politics he is a Republican and in his relig- ious affiliations a Unitarian, having been for many years a member of Dr. Edward Everett Hale's church in Boston.
December 24, 1837, Mr. Sargent married for his first wife Mary Ann Higgins, daughter of John Higgins, of Boston. She died in 1869. He married April 3, 1883, his present wife, Mary Ann Shaw, daughter of Thomas Shaw, formerly manager of a large oil concern in East Boston. Six children were born of his first union, namely: J. Francis; Louis Augustus; Charles A., who died in 1889; George W. ; Henry Rufus; and Anna Leonora - all natives of Boston. J. Francis Sargent was for several years an official of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Com- pany (Midland Division). He is now in the Boston custom-house, and resides at I Rock Avenue, Dorchester. Louis Augustus is en- gaged in the painting business at Wolfboro, N. H. George W. is a floor-walker in a large New York mercantile establishment. Henry Rufus Sargent (Harvard, class of 1877) began the study of theology in New York City, and completed it with the Cowley Fathers in Eng- land. He is now an Episcopalian clergyman at Westminster, Md., belonging to the Association of the Holy Cross. Anna Leonora Sargent is a graduate of the Boston Normal School, and is now principal of the Harrison School, Wash- ington, D.C., where she has been a teacher for the past twenty-five years.
DWARD B. DOUGLASS, a well-known and respected resident of Chelsea, Suf- folk County, Mass., was born in Port- land, Me., January 21, 1854, son of John and. Frances (MacIntosh) Douglass. John Doug- lass, Sr., who came to America from Scotland when a lad, became a sea captain, and died at sea in 1862. Hle resided when on shore in one or another of the seacoast towns of Maine.
Edward B. Douglass was educated in the public schools of Portland, Me. After leaving school he learned the trade of saw-maker, which he followed for a while. Subsequently, however, he became a professional nurse, and was thus engaged for a period of about nine
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years. In ISSS he entered the employ of Mrs. James Lynd, Jr., undertaker, for whom he worked for about five years. Then, succeed- ing his employer, he entered into business on his own account as undertaker, and has so con- tinued up to the present time. He holds a diploma from Clarke's School of Embalming, dated September 13, 1894, having attended that school in order to keep abreast of the times and in touch with the latest ideas in connection with his vocation. He is a mem- ber of the Massachusetts Undertakers' Associ- ation, also of the Massachusetts Embalmers' Association.
Mr. Douglass has various fraternal and secret society affiliations. He is a member of Robert Lash Lodge, F: & A. M .; Naphthali Council, R. & S. M .; Shekinah Chapter, R. A. M; Palestine Commandery, K. T .; Mystic Lodge, I. O. O. F .; Samaritan En- campment, I. O. O. F. He has taken the Rebecca Degree, I. O. O. F .; is a charter member of Apollo Lodge, No. 74, Knights of Pythias; a member of General John Glover Council, No. 69, A. O. U. M .; and of the New England Order of Protection. He at- tends the Central Congregational Church.
In 1876 Mr. Douglass married Ella P. Sprague, daughter of John Wyman and Pamelia F. (Flint) Sprague. He has three children, namely : Arthur F., born May 18, 1882, who is at present assisting his father in business; Ina E., born January 31, 1885, a graduate of the grammar school and at present residing with her parents; and John W., born Decem- ber 22, 1892, who is attending the public school in Chelsea.
Through their mother and their maternal grandfather, John Wyman Sprague, the chil- dren trace their descent from Percival ' Lowell (or Lowle), born in England in 1571, who died in Newbury, Mass. The connection may be indicated as follows: Percival's son Rich- ard,2 born in England in 1602, emigrated to America with his father, and died in Newbury in 1682. Richard's son Percival,3 born in Newbury in 1639, was father of Gideon + Lowell, a sea captain, born in Newbury, 1672, who died in Amesbury before 1753. The latter was father of Stephen, s who was born in
Newbury in 1703, and died in 1776. Captain Abner 6 Lowell, Stephen Lowell's son, born in Amesbury in 1731, was father of Stephen 7 Lowell, who served as a private in Captain Timothy Barnard's company, which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, from Ames- bury. Stephen7 Lowell married Prudence Blaisdell, and settled at Phippsburg, Me. His second son, Captain Abner Travers S Lowell, married Hannah Wyman; and their daughter Wealthy, born at Phippsburg in 1806, married Captain Alden Sprague, and was the mother of John Wyman Sprague.
T HOMAS JEFFERSON BOWDEN, of Marblehead, senior member of the firm of Thomas J. Bowden & Son, carpenters and manufacturers of several patented machines and appliances, was born in Marblehead, Feb- ruary 22, 1826. His parents, Thomas and Rebecca (Doliber) Bowden, were lifelong resi- dents of that town, the father being a carpenter by trade. The Marblehead branch of the fam- ily was founded by the grandfather, Captain Joshua Bowden, who commanded an early local military company. Of the children of Thomas and Rebecca Bowden four are now living - Thomas J., Rebecca, James F., and Mary H. Rebecca is the wife of Samuel R. Adams. Mary H. is the wife of George W. Brown. All reside in Marblehead except Mrs. Brown, who is a resident of Danvers, Mass.
Thomas J. Bowden attended the common schools of his native town. Having learned the carpenter's trade under the direction of his father, he followed it continuously for twenty years, with the exception of a short time de- voted to shoemaking. In 1864 he enlisted in Company A, Fourth Massachusetts Heavy Ar- tillery, with which he performed guard duty in and around the national capitol, remaining in the service some eleven months. He subse- quently became associated with his father in the wood-working business, under the style of Thomas Bowden & Son, which firm existed until 1877, when the entire plant was de- stroyed by fire. In the following year the present firm of Thomas J. Bowden & Son was established for the purpose of continuing the
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general carpentering and wood-working busi- ness; and they also now manufacture a number of improved machines and appliances, includ- ing Bowden's patent heel-chamfering mnachines, adjustable benches for dinking-blocks and glue- cutting machines, pine and hard-wood shoe- cutting blocks, board dressing, etc. In poli- tics Mr. Bowden is a Republican. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and a comrade of John Goodwin, Jr., Post, G. A. R., and is held in high esteem by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. In 1848 he joined the Salem Brass Band, and remained a member for thirty-three years; and he still takes a lively interest in local musical affairs.
Mr. Bowden has been twice married. Of his union with Lydia A. Atkins, his first wife, who was a native of Marblehead, there is one daughter, Annie F., wife of Charles A. Choate, of Marblehead. The maiden name of the pres- ent Mrs. Bowden was Emeline R. Knight, and the children of this marriage are Russell and Amy K. Russell Bowden, who is associated in business with his father, is a skilful me- chanic, and has acquired a high reputation as a violin maker.
OHN WORCESTER FIELD, whole- sale leather dealer, Boston, was born in Brighton, Mass., June 11, 1839, son of John and Sarah E. (Worcester) Field. His father was born in Peterboro, N. H., No- vember 22, ISIo, being a son of John Field, second, whose birth took place in Braintree, Mass., October 27, 1777, and grandson of John Field, first, who was born in Braintree, April 16, 1752. Mr. Field's ancestors, above named, were all engaged in the leather business in New England. In 1786 his great-grandfather, John Field, first, who was a tanner by trade, settled at Peterboro, where he operated a large tannery, and where his death occurred January 28, 1826. He married Ruth Thayer, of Braintree, Mass., who was born July 2, 1752.
John Field, second, succeeded his father in business, and carried on the tannery for many years. He died November 18, 1856. The
maiden name of his first wife, whom he mar- ried January 20, 1802, and who was the mother of his children, was Beulah Reed. She died July 30, 1835, aged fifty-seven years. His second wife, whom he married July 5, 1838, was Tabitha Colburn. Her death occurred October 7, 1848.
John Field, third, Mr. John W. Field's father, acquired a good education, and after the completion of his studies learned the tan- ner's trade. He also taught school for some time. In 1831 he came to Boston, where his brother Isaac, with James W. Converse, was conducting a hide and leather business, the firm of Field & Converse being one of the first concerns in the New England metropolis to engage exclusively in that line of trade. Shortly afterward John Field purchased the in- terest of his brother, and, in company with Mr. Converse, under the old firm name, car- ried on a profitable business until 1863, when he retired in favor of his son, John W., and William Henry Allen, retaining, however, an interest in the concern as a special partner. The reorganized firm of Field, Converse & Allen continued in business until 1871, when it was succeeded by that of Allen & Field, Mr. Converse retiring in that year. John Field was also financially interested in another wholesale leather enterprise, conducted by his son, William E. Field, and his son-in-law, A. C. Lawrence. Both concerns having been burned out in the great fire of 1872, the elder Field, who owned the property occupied by them, rebuilt, and the business was thence- forward carried on by Mr. Allen, William E. Field, and Mr. Lawrence. John W. Field withdrew, and the elder Field retained his
financial interest in the reorganized firm. At the time of his death, which occurred July 31, 1876, John Field was one of the oldest leather dealers in Boston; and, aside from his long and honorable connection with that trade, he was favorably known in financial circles, being a director of the State National Bank. At first a Whig and ultimately a Republican in politics, he voted for Winfield Scott in 1852, for John C. Fremont in 1856, and for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Ile was deeply interested in the American Peace Society. Ilis relig-
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ious connections were with the Congregational church at West Cambridge, now Arlington, Mass., of which he was a Deacon.
His first wife, Sarah E. Worcester, whom he married August 2, 1836, was a native of Brighton, Mass., being a daughter of David Worcester and grand-daughter of Noah Worces- ter, D. D., founder of the Massachusetts Peace Society. She died .June 20, 1839, leaving two sons : Henry Martyn, M. D., a graduate of Harvard, class of 1859; and John W., the subject of this sketch. Henry M. Field, M. D., who was formerly a prominent physi- cian of Newton, Mass., and is now residing in Pasadena, Cal., was for twenty years offi- cially connected with the medical department of Dartmouth College. He married Lydia Morgeana Peck, of Arlington, Mass. On Oc- tober 13, 1840, John Field married for his second wife Sarah A. Baldwin, whose death occurred July 1, 1896 .- She was the mother of five children, namely : Sarah Ann Baldwin Field, who was born May 9, 1846, and is now the wife of Arthur C. Lawrence, of Boston ; William Evarts Field, who was born May 29, 1848, married Louisa S. Swan, of Arlington, and died March 19, 1892; Arthur Dwight Field, who was born December 21, 1850, mar- ried Annie March, of Newton, and died May 9, 1887; George A. Field, who was born No- vember 10, 1854, and married Harriet Prosser, of Lexington; and Lilla Frances, who was born June 25, 1857, and married H. B. Stephens, of Newton.
John W. Field was educated at the Chauncy Hall School, Boston, and at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. He was employed by the firm of Field & Converse from 1855 to 1862, when he was admitted to partnership under the firm name of Field, Converse & Allen. He was subsequently, until 1872, a member of the firm of Allen & Field. For the past twenty- seven years he has transacted an extensive wholesale leather business under the style of J. W. Field & Co. and Field, Bullivant & Field.
Mr. Field is one of the successful merchants in that line of trade. He resides in Dorches- ter, and is actively interested in the moral and religious welfare of that district, being a
Deacon of the Second Congregational Church. In politics he is a Republican.
On March 28, 1867, Mr. Field was united in marriage with Miss Amelia Caswell Reed, daughter of Josiah and Sarah (Fogg) Reed, of South Weymouth, Mass., and a descendant of William Reed, of Abington (1635). They have had five children : John Howard, who was born August 6, 1868, and is now a member ci the Charles A. Eaton Company, shoe manu- facturers, Boston and Brockton, Mass. ; Walter Reed, who was born October 23, 1870, and is associated with H. B. Reed in the shoe manu- facturing business; Kenneth Worcester, who was born October 15, 1873, and died May 31. 1884; Henry Martin, who was born November 16, 1875, and is a graduate of the Boston Latin School and of Yale University; and Gertrude Baldwin, who was born October 3, 1877, and died August 8 of the following year. On June 9, 1897, John H. Field married Miss Lizzie Lee Jones, of Brockton. He has one daughter, Helen Eveleth, who was born March 19, 1900. Walter R. Field was joined in marriage November 5, 1895, with Miss Har- riet N. Bolster, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Bolster, of Nashua, N. H.
ILLIAM HENRY BERRY, a prom- inent and prosperous citizen of Som- erville, proprietor of the custom- house stables in Boston, is a fine type of the self-made men of our country, having by his own persistent efforts steadily ascended the ladder of success. He was born in Newark. N. J., March 25, 1855, son of Robert T. and Maria (McMahon) Berry.
Robert T. Berry died before reaching man- hood's prime, in Newark, N. J., whither he had removed soon after starting in life on his own account. Of his union with Maria Mc- Mahon, of Lexington, Mass., three children were born, namely: Robert T. ; William H .. the subject of this biographical sketch; and Charles M. Cornelius McMahon, the father of Maria McMahon, was of Irish descent, and served for several years in the English navy. On emigrating to America he settled first in St. Andrews, N. B., whence he removed with
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his family to Lexington, Mass., where he spent the remaining years of his life, and had the distinction of being the only Irish Free Mason of the town.
William H. Berry was but a small child when his father died, and his widowed mother returned to her old home in Lexington. He received his education in the public schools of Lexington and of Somerville, where the family settled in 1867, and in a commercial college in Boston. He then went to work in the Middlesex Bleachery in Somerville, and was afterward for a short time in the employ of Dr. Dio Lewis and for three years in the wholesale department of the store of R. H. White & Co., of Boston. At the age of eigh- teen years he began to learn the trade of a mason of John W. Leighton, of that city, with whom he remained two and one-half years, in the mean time working on the Post-office, Simmons, and the Rialto -Buildings. Going then to California, he there followed his trade three and one-half years, and, returning to Massachusetts in 1877, he worked as a mason in Somerville and Boston. Embarking next in the hack business in Boston, he met with excellent success, and on August 29, 1881, leased the boarding stables located at 14 to 20 Custom House Street, where he has remained until the present time. In May, 1889, he purchased this valuable property, which is known as the Custom House Stables. Here he carries on a very lucrative business, putting up from one hundred to two hundred horses daily. Prosperous from the beginning of his career, Mr. Berry has accumulated a large property, being the owner of considerable real estate in both Somerville and Winthrop.
Politically a steadfast Republican, Mr. Berry takes an active part in municipal affairs, having been a member of the Common Couneil of Somerville in 1894 and 1895, and in 1896 and 1897 one of the Board of Aldermen. Fra- ternally, he is a member of St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M., of Boston; of Somerville Chap- ter, R. A. M .; of Orient Council, of Somer- . ville; and of De Molay Commandery, K. T. On December 8, 1881, Mr. Berry married Eliza Jane Brown, of New Brunswick. They are the parents of three children, namely :
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